Guwahati, Mar 8 (IBNS): At least five persons including three women were injured in a blast in Manipur's capital city Imphal on Wednesday evening amid the second and final phase Assembly poll in the north eastern Indian state.



The blast occurred at around 5-30 pm inside of a medical store at Kashturi bridge Thangal Bazar mid of Imphal.

Manipur police said that, at least five people including three women were injured in the blast triggered by suspected Naga militants.

The injured persons were rushed to nearest hospital.

Top police and army officials rushed to the blast area and cordoned the capital city of the north eastern Indian state.

The blast occurred few minutes after the second and final phase assembly poll in the state concluded.

The phase registered a record voter turnout over 86 percent till 5 pm.

A total of 98 candidates were in fray for 22 assembly constituencies in the final phase poll spreading across the valley district of Thoubal and hill districts of Chandel, Tamenglong, Ukhrul and Senapati.

Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Deputy CM M Gaikhangam, human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila contested in the final phase poll.

On the other hand, reports said that, miscreants destroyed an EVM at Khambathel booth in Chandel constituency.

Local villagers have demanded re-poll at the polling booth.



(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Moscow's bustling Sheremetyevo Airport might seem like an odd choice for a sit-in.

But 52-year-old Gulkan, a Kyrgyz national who declines to give her full name, and her teenage daughter have been there for three months and say they'll remain camped out on the tandem seats of Terminal D until justice is done.

They claim a Tajik man living in the Russian capital promised to marry the girl, Ular, before absconding with their bank card and thousands of dollars' worth of savings.

"He turned out to be a thief, a fraudster," Gulkan says of the August incident.

They are among the many Central Asian migrants who travel to Russia -- legally or undocumented -- in hopes of building a nest egg on the ruble-based economy.

"We worked in Moscow and collected about 150,000 rubles ($2,600)," Gulkan says of her efforts before both returned to their home in the village of Kok-Bel in the Osh region of southern Kyrgyzstan. "[Then] my daughter communicated with a young man via the Odnoklassniki social network. He asked her to lend him money. She agreed. He came to Osh, took our Sberbank card, and disappeared."

"We know him. He's a Tajik citizen. We have his passport data and number, and we also know his address," she says.

Belongings In Plastic Bags

Gulkan says she returned to Moscow, filed a complaint with the Krylatskoye district police, and appealed to the Kyrgyz Embassy for help.

"[Russian] police told us that they had launched an investigation. Now we're waiting," she says. "When they find the thief and our money, we'll go home."

So with their belongings piled in plastic bags and stacked on baggage carts among the travelers, Gulkan and her daughter maintain a makeshift home in the departures hall where they eat, sleep, and wait in their desperate bid for justice.

Gulkan, a widow, says she gets some help from her son, who is working in Russia.



"He sends us money so that we can buy bread and tea," she says. "He is a contractor; he doesn't have a permanent job. I couldn't ask him to take care of us because he himself has no ability to do so."



She also says their relatives in Kyrgyzstan are aware of the situation but "they have their own families" to take care of.

The Russian language and other ties among former Soviet states have contributed to decades of labor migration by Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and Kazakhs to Russia, although there have been periodic crackdowns by Russian authorities to stem undocumented labor alongside new visa regulations.

Gulkan and Ular are known among the Kyrgyz taxi drivers working out of the airport.

One of them, nicknamed Cadet, says the drivers offered to help their two compatriots buy plane tickets to return to Kyrgyzstan but the offer was declined. "I don't know how to help them," he says. "I wanted to give some money to buy a ticket and send them to Osh, but they do not want to leave."

"We're not living in this airport because we want to," Gulkan says. "We hope to leave after we receive our money. We won't go anywhere before that."

Written by Antoine Blua based on reporting by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service


ON MY MIND

We should all watch very closely what Russia does next in Ukraine.

The developments in recent weeks -- Russia recognizing documents issued by separatist authorities, the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic" adopting the ruble, the Ukrainian nationalist blockade of separatist-held territories, and the seizure of Ukrainian oligarchs' properties by separatist authorities -- makes a couple things clear. The Minsk process is dead in the water. And the last links between the separatist-held territories in the Donbas and the rest of Ukraine are being severed.

We are moving into a new phase of this war.

If Russia chooses to escalate, it would be a clear sign that the Kremlin believes it will face little push-back from a distracted West. It would also be a test of what Moscow can get away with in what it sees as an increasingly favorable geopolitical environment. And it would mean that Vladimir Putin's regime believes it can get what it wants -- a free hand in the former Soviet space -- without a so-called "grand bargain" with the West.

Escalation can take various forms. Moscow could recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics' independence and freeze the conflict. It could outright annex them and claim victory. Or, in the most extreme case, it could launch a drive to take more territory.



And any of the above would be a clear signal about Moscow's broader intentions.

IN THE NEWS

Russia says the International Court of Justice in The Hague has no jurisdiction to issue an order Ukraine seeks to halt Moscow's support for separatists in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.

Envoys from six European countries that border Russia have pushed for more U.S. military and economic support, as they repeated warnings to U.S. senators about an increasingly aggressive Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin says U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has assured him that Washington will continue to support Kyiv in its standoff with Russia.

The U.S. House Select Committee on Intelligence will hold its first public hearing on March 20 in its investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

A U.S. federal prosecutor who is poised to oversee Justice Department investigations into alleged connections between Russian officials and White House aides during the 2016 presidential election campaign has said he isn't aware of any reason for him to recuse himself from those probes.

The United States says it has begun deploying a missile-defense system in South Korea, prompting a quick rebuke from Russia and China.

The chiefs of staff of the Turkish, Russian, and U.S. militaries have met in southern Turkey in an effort to boost coordination in Syria and prevent skirmishes between rival groups that are all battling Islamic State militants.

Russian Orthodox Church officials in the Kremlin-annexed Crimea region have refuted a controversial claim by State Duma Deputy Natalya Poklonskaya that a bust of Tsar Nicholas II in Simferopol wept tears on the centennial of his abdication of power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned a woman who was convicted of high treason for sending a text message to a friend in Georgia during the brief August 2008 Russian-Georgian war.

The prosecutor-general of Russia's Tatarstan region has asked a judge at a high-profile terrorism trial to sentence the defendants in the case to prison terms ranging from 22 years to life.

Europe's top human rights court has prolonged its suspension of an attempt by the government in Tbilisi to put the country's biggest independent television station under the control of an alleged close government ally.

WHAT I'M READING

2017 Is Not 1917

In Republic.ru, Dmitry Travin, head of the department for modernization studies at the European University of St. Petersburg, looks at four scenarios for revolution that won't happen in Russia.

Hysterical About Russia?

Nikolas Gvosdev, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, has a piece in The National Interest on how "hysteria" has harmed U.S.-Russian relations.

Corruption and Espionage

In the Jamestown Foundation's Eurasia Daily Monitor, Pavel Baev argues that for Western politicians, "the problem with Russian connections is corruption, not espionage."

The Changing Russian View On Trump

Peter Savodnik, author of the book The Interloper: Lee Harvey Oswald Inside The Soviet Union, has a piece in Vanity Fair on why the Kremlin is reassessing its view on the Trump presidency and what it means for Moscow.

Ukraine and Historical Memory

In a piece for New Eastern Europe, Andreas Umland, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation in Kyiv (and a regular guest on The Power Vertical Podcast), tackles the thorny and divisive issue of historical memory in Ukraine.

Faking Democracy and Fracturing Democracy

For readers in London, Andrew Wilson, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (and regular guest on The Power Vertical Podcast), will give a public lecture at University College London titled: The Faking Of Russian Democracy And The Fracturing Of Democracy In America: Political Technology Versus Disruptive Technology. Details are available here.

SRB Podcast

The latest SRB Podcast, hosted by Sean Guillory of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies (a frequent guest on The Power Vertical Podcast), looks at Perestroika And The Chinese Model. Sean's guest is Chris Miller, associate director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale University and author of the book The Struggle To Save The Soviet Economy: Mikhail Gorbachev And The Collapse Of The USSR.
Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti says he is in constant contact with international security authorities to ensure stability in Kosovo as more ethnic Serb police officers in the north of country resigned.



Kurti said on November 6 after a rally by ethnic Serbs in the streets of North Mitrovica that the security situation in Kosovo was threatened by various criminalized individuals and groups, but said that during his time in office, we have made great progress in the fight against crime and corruption."



He added that the rule of law goes hand in hand with peace and security and cannot be threatened, adding that authorities do not distinguish criminals on the basis of ethnicity, but only on the basis of their criminal acts."



When asked about the decision on November 5 by the Serbian List party to leave Kosovo's institutions, Kurti repeated his call that Kosovo Serbs refrain from doing so.



"I once again I invite all Serb citizens of our country to not abandon institutions, not to resign, not to leave their jobs, because there would be less service for the people," he said.



Kurti has blamed Belgrade for seeking to destabilize Kosovo by supporting the ethnic Serbs in their boycott of state institutions.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on November 5 that the withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from Kosovo institutions "is not a solution to the current disputes" and it has the potential to further escalate tensions.



A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo released to RFE/RL's Balkan Service late on November 6 said the United States agrees with the European Union that the recent developments around relations between Kosovo and Serbia "are of great concern and put important progress achieved in the EU-facilitated Dialogue at risk.



"The Kosovan Serbs' withdrawal from Kosovan institutions is not a solution to the current disputes and has the potential to further escalate the tensions on the ground," the statement added. "All involved must take steps to reduce tensions and ensure peace and stability on the ground."



The Serb officers who resigned on November 6 submitted written resignations to the police station in North Mitrovica. One of the policemen told RFE/RL that the officers only submitted their resignations in writing but had not yet turned in their uniforms and weapons. However, he said this will follow in the coming days.



Numerous media outlets reported that the police officers took off their uniforms as part of the wider Serb movement to withdraw from institutions in Kosovo touched off by a move to implement a mandate on the conversion of vehicle license plates.



A statement from the Kosovar police force said it was aware that Serb police officers had abandoned their posts and that some have handed over police equipment.



The rally by ethnic Serbs in North Mitrovica on November 6 came a day after Serbs there said they would quit their posts in state institutions to protest against the use of license plates issued by Pristina.

Following a meeting of Serb political representatives in the north of Kosovo on November 5, the minister of communities and returns, Goran Rakic, said he was resigning from his post in the Pristina government.



He told reporters that fellow representatives of the Serb minority in the north had also quit their jobs in municipal administrations, the courts, police, and the parliament and government in Pristina.



Rakic said they would not consider returning unless Pristina abolishes the order for them to switch their old car license plates, which date to the 1990s when Kosovo was a part of Serbia, to Kosovo state plates.



Addressing the rally on November 6, Rakic accused Kosovo government authorities of not respecting international law and agreements negotiated in Brussels.



Rakic has called on the protesters "not to fall for provocations and to continue the fight with peaceful and democratic means."



The license-plate measure took effect on November 1, and Kosovo authorities said enforcement would be gradual.

The U.S. Embassy statement reiterated the U.S. position that the Kosovar authorities should extend the process of converting vehicle license plates and suspend any punitive actions until the license plates issue can be resolved through dialogue.

Many ethnic Serbs in Kosovo refuse to recognize the countrys independence from Serbia, which it declared in 2008.



The European Union has told Kosovo and Serbia that they must normalize ties if they want to advance toward membership in the 27-nation bloc.

With reporting by dpa, AP, and AFP
Ukrainian authorities are threatening to impose sanctions on the local subsidiary of Sberbank, Russia's main state bank, after Sberbank said it would recognize passports issued by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian central bank (NBU) made a statement on March 7, after Sberbank said it would comply with Russian President Vladimir Putin's February 18 decree ordering Russian authorities to recognize identity documents issued by separatists who hold parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

It said that if Sberbank's acceptance of separatist-issued documents was confirmed, the NBU would ask Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council to impose sanctions on the Russian bank's subsidiary in Ukraine.

It did not specify what measures it would seek, and added that the sanctions would be subject to approval by President Petro Poroshenko.

The bank issued its statement after Interior Minister Arsen Avakov called for a ban on Sberbank's operations in Ukraine.

Putin's decree has been criticized by Kyiv, Western governments, and international groups that say it violates or will undermine the European-brokered Minsk peace accords.

The Minsk accords are aimed at ending the war between the government forces and the Russia-backed separatists, which has killed more than 9,750 people since April 2014.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Reuters
WASHINGTON -- Envoys from six European countries that border Russia have pushed for more U.S. military and economic support, as they repeated warnings to U.S. senators about an increasingly aggressive Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, speaking after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, told the U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee on March 7 that he had been assured of U.S. support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia-backed separatists.

Lithuanian Ambassador Rolandas Krisciunas pointed to new U.S. and NATO military deployments in the three Baltic states, saying the deployments were essential to deter Russian aggression.

U.S. armored brigades have begun deploying to Poland, and other NATO members are sending battalions of between 800 to 1,200 troops to each of the three Baltic states and Poland.

"Uncertainty and insecurity best describes the current environment we are in," Polish Ambassador Piotr Wilczek told the panel.

"The threat of Russian subversive measures has expanded far beyond the flank of Eastern Europe," Estonian Ambassador Eerik Marmei, said. "We as neighbors in Russia are a just bit more used to witnessing this behavior" than you are.

David Bakradze, the Georgian ambassador to the United States, also testified at the Senate subcommittee.

Senator Lindsay Graham, the Republican chairman of the subcommittee and longtime critic of Russian policies, said Washington wanted a better relationship with Russia.

But Graham said "that will never be achieved so long Russia continues trying to drive democracy into the ground."
The U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt was the hub for U.S. cyberespionage in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, according to some of the thousands of purported Central Intelligence Agency documents released by WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks on March 7 published what it says are almost 9,000 documents taken from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence that purportedly are part of a U.S. cyberespionage toolkit.

The CIA has declined to comment. The German government said on March 8 that it took the publication seriously and was in close touch with U.S. authorities about the issue, but could not verify the authenticity of the documents.

Experts who have begun to examine the material said it appears legitimate.

The latest release has renewed scrutiny of WikiLeaks.

During the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, the organization released embarrassing e-mails that had been hacked from key figures in Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign team.

The timing of the release of the hacked e-mails has been blamed for influencing U.S. public opinion and undermining Clinton's race against Republican Donald Trump.

In January, the U.S. intelligence community issued a report that said, among other things, Wikileaks had been a conduit for the e-mails that were hacked by the Russian military intelligence agency, GRU.

That assessment has been embraced by a growing number of U.S. lawmakers and policy makers.

"Wikileaks was used by President Putin and Russia to advance their agenda to disrupt our election. So that was clear," Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told RFE/RL. "The information was obtained by Russia; Russia gave it to Wikileaks as part of a strategy that needs to be part of our investigation."

The documents appear to reveal internal CIA discussions concerning techniques used to hack devices and showed that CIA hackers could get into Apple iPhones, Google Android devices, and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.

In Europe, CIA hackers were given diplomatic passports and cover from the U.S. State Department, according to the documents. Operatives would tell German border police that they were entering the country to provide the consulate with technical support.

"Breeze through German customs because you have your cover-for-action story down pat, and all they did was stamp your passport," the instructions said, adding employees should take advantage of airline Lufthansa's free alcohol "in moderation" and not leave electronic devices in their hotel rooms for security reasons.

If the release does prove to be authentic, it would be another major breach for the U.S. intelligence community at the hands of WikiLeaks, an antisecrecy group led by Julian Assange, and its collaborators.

WikiLeaks has been hinting at the release for the past month. It said on March 7 that the CIA had "recently" lost control of a massive arsenal of CIA hacking tools and related documentation.

WikiLeaks said that "the archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner" and that one of them "provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive."

CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said the intelligence agency did "not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents."

Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who has been living in Russia under an asylum deal since his leaks of classified information in 2013, said the documents showed the U.S. government deliberately put the public at risk of attack by leaving vulnerabilities in software and hardware.

"The CIA reports show the USG developing vulnerabilities in US products, then intentionally keeping the holes open. Reckless beyond words," Snowden wrote on Twitter.

WikiLeaks published only small portions of computer code from the hacking tools drawn from what it said was a data set of several hundred million lines of code, including the CIA's "entire hacking capacity."

It did not release the full programs someone would require to carry out an operation and said it wasn't publishing usable code "until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA's program and how such weapons' should be analyzed, disarmed, and published."

White House spokesman Sean Spicer refused to confirm or deny the authenticity of the materials. But he noted that the alleged theft took place during the administration of Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

"This alleged leak should concern every single American," Spicer told reporters on March 8, noting also the potential national security implications.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa, Deutsche Welle, and The New York Times
Guwahati, Mar 8 (IBNS): Security forces apprehended a hardcore militant of Manipur based outfit group Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) in Arunachal Pradeshas Tirap district on Tuesday evening, officials said on Wednesday.

Kohima based Defence PRO Colonel Chiranjeet Konwer said that, based on specific intelligence input, the Khonsa Battalion under the aegis of DAO division conducted a operation at Kunsa village on Tuesday evening about presence of a militant trying to infiltrate into Indian territory from Myanmar.

During the operation, security personnel had apprehended a hardcore militant of KCP group, who identified as Noaba Metei.

In spot interrogation he admitted allegiance to KCP, he further divulged that he has been with the banned outfit since July 2016 and was undergoing basic training at Langkhaw camp. He further admitted to being forcibly recruited by the banned outfit which highlights the evil of forced recruitment carried out by these factions where the youth are forced and threatened into joining these terrorist groups crushing their dreams and further prospects, Colonel Konwer said.

The parents of Noaba had filed an FIR at Lamlai, Manipur after he was forcibly taken by KCP. Noaba is barely 17 years of age, it brings out the cruelty of insurgents that they forcibly recruited a young boy to lead a life of an insurgent rather than let him study and lead a peaceful life, the top cops said.

Security forces have been carrying out aggressive operations in South Arunachal Pradesh for domination of Indo-Myanmar border and this apprehension is a reflection of its capabilities.
Kevin Chidwick is no longer leading the herd at Elephant Insurance Services LLC.

Chidwick, who had been the CEO of the fast-growing Henrico County-based company since 2012, has stepped down, company officials confirmed Wednesday.

Stepping into the CEO role at Elephant is Henry Engelhardt, the co-founder and former CEO of Elephants United Kingdom-based parent company, Admiral Group PLC.

Engelhardt retired as CEO of Admiral Group in May after 24 years at the helm, though he described it as semi-retirement because he maintained a management role with the companys global online price-comparison businesses.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Engelhardt said he expects to be with Elephant for the foreseeable future, but he could not say specifically how long.

I guess that sort of depends on how good of a job I do, he said. It is not always up to me. It is not forever. I still have a retirement to go back to.

The transition was effective Monday, he said.

When asked why Chidwick stepped down, Engelhardt said, Kevin decided it was time.

Chidwick had previously declined to comment when contacted on a personal cellphone Sunday and asked whether he was still with the company.

Chidwick, 53, is a native of Gosport, England. He moved to the Richmond area in 2012 to become CEO of Elephant. He also served as Admiral Groups chief financial officer from September 2005 until August 2014 and had previously worked in accounting and finance for several other UK companies.

Chidwick, with his distinctively British accent, has frequently appeared in Elephants advertising, including local television commercials.

The change in leadership comes as Elephant Insurance has been growing.

The company was founded in Henrico in 2009 as the first U.S. subsidiary of Admiral Group. Both companies sell auto insurance directly to customers online and by telephone.

Since starting U.S. operations, Elephant has expanded sales into six states: Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Texas, Indiana and Tennessee. Elephant started writing car insurance in Indiana and Tennessee last year.

It has hired more than 600 people in the Richmond area and occupies an office in the Deep Run I office building on Mayland Drive in western Henrico.

Also on Wednesday, Admiral Group reported its financial results for 2016. The company is one of the United Kingdoms largest automobile insurers, with subsidiaries elsewhere in Europe and in the U.S.

The company said revenue improved in 2016 in both of its U.S. subsidiaries, Elephant Insurance and Compare.com, a Henrico-based insurance price-comparison website that is majority-owned by Admiral but separately managed from Elephant. Engelhardt said there were no management changes at Compare.

Elephant had a 20 percent increase in customers to 168,000 in 2016 compared with 2015, while revenue in the subsidiary was up 49 percent to $216 million, Admiral reported.

Elephant has not turned a profit yet as the company has been investing in building its operations, marketing and a customer base. It posted a loss of $21 million for 2016, which narrowed from a loss of $23 million in 2015.

In a presentation to shareholders and analysts on Wednesday, Admiral Group CEO David Stevens  who succeeded Engelhardt when he retired last year  described the companys U.S. insurance business as a picture of very rapid growth, combined with falling losses.

In the U.S., the focus is on reducing losses, and the principal focus in that context is on reducing the loss ratio, Stevens said.

One of the most important things we are doing is simply increasing prices very materially, he said.

Engelhardt said he does not expect any major changes at Elephant, though he stressed that he has only been in the CEO role for three days.

I have got to review everything and make sure I am on board with the direction we are heading, he said.

I am working closely with all the senior managers, he said. I dont anticipate any radical changes, but perhaps over time we will take a look at different markets to go after and different states to enter.

In Admirals report, it said Elephant does not anticipate adding new states in the next 12 months, but plans to increase its investment in the six existing states.

Elephant announced in January that it had chosen the location of its first U.S. office outside the Richmond region. That office, in a suburb of Dallas, now has 10 employees, Engelhardt said. Texas is the companys fastest-growing U.S. market.

Henrico will remain the companys headquarters, Engelhardt said. However, he has a home in the United Kingdom and currently does not have plans to permanently move to the Richmond area.

Engelhardt, 59, grew up in Chicago and graduated from the University of Michigan where he majored in journalism. He co-founded Admiral in the U.K. in 1992 after attending graduate school in Paris and working for a small firm in England.

As a farewell gift last year, Engelhardt and his wife, Diane, personally gave 1,000 British pounds (or $1,448 at the time for U.S. workers) to each employee with more than a years service with the company, and 500 pounds to other employees. The total gift was worth 7.3 million pounds, or nearly $10.6 million in U.S. dollars.

We have got a great group of people here, Engelhardt said of Elephant Insurance. We have got a really exciting business. I am expecting great things to happen.

Asked whether he had anything else to say about Chidwicks departure, Engelhardt said: Thank you. You put your heart into it and we appreciate it.
Guwahati, Mar 8 (IBNS) : The troops of Border Security Force deployed at Gujangpara, South West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya detected a tunnel near International Border in the area of Gujangpara.

The bordering area flanking both the West Garo Hills and South West Garo Hills districts has become very sensitive due to increase of cattle smuggling recently.

There has been huge seizures of cattle by the vigilant troops of Border Security force in this particular area.

To keep effective check on the trans-border crimes, the BSF has plugged all the gaps and Hume pipes, culverts which were being utilized by the cattle smugglers buy placing iron grills and wire meshes.

The intensity of the patrolling has also been increased by the BSF.

The area between the International Boundary and Indo Bangladesh Border Fence (IBBF) also being regularly scanned by the Sentinels of Border.

During the similar exercise the alert BSF troops detected the newly dug soil near the Indo - Bangladesh Border Fence (IBBF) which was due to digging a tunnel by some miscreants.

On thorough search a newly dug tunnel was found on the hilly slope of the area.

Ct Amit Kutre and Ct Puneet Kumar who were on duty identified the suspected place, thus foiled the attempt of Anti National Elements.

The BSF is exploring to find out the possibilities of such attempt.

Though, it appears to be the ill design of smugglers for smuggling of cattle but BSF enquiring the matter with other possibilities also.

The detected tunnel was 3X2 in dimension with 20-25 ft depth with dead end.

After analyzing the terrain it appears the miscreants needed to dig further 200 more mtrs to reach another end under the Indo-Bangladesh Border Fence (IBBF).

Alert BSF troops once again foiled the attempt of miscreants which would have been disastrous if successful.

P K Dubey, Inspector General Meghalaya has praised the good work done byh the BSF jawans at the border in detecting the tunnel.

As the area is densely vegetated with bamboo growth and terrain is undulating, the visibility is not very clear ahead of the fence.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
photo illustration by rafael bustamante and alexa welch Edlund/times-dispatch

There you stand in your local grocery store, two ears of corn before you. One was grown from seeds on a farm using organic farming practices and is labeled organic; the other from a genetically modified seed on a conventional farm, a seed that made the ear of corn more resistant to weeds and pests.

Both ears look the same, though the organic corn costs more than the genetically modified corn  the only obvious difference between them.

Which one do you choose?

The simple act of choosing your food is anything but simple these days, as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have spawned battles from supermarket aisles and farmers markets to courtrooms and boardrooms and everywhere in between.

GMOs are foods that have been genetically engineered in order to include desired traits, such as resistance to bugs and weeds and diseases, as well as frost and drought. Others are grown to have more nutrients than are usually found in their organic and conventional counterparts. Essentially, researchers are looking to enhance the good traits and suppress the least desirable ones by inserting DNA from one organism into another, until they achieve what theyre looking for.

Corn, soybeans and cotton are the most common GMO foods, though others include alfalfa, canola, papayas, sugar beets, squash, potatoes and apples.

Proponents point to the value of GMOs, in that crops with inherent resistance to bugs and weeds require fewer applications of pesticides and herbicides, which is better for the environment. They say GMOs can produce higher yields on the same amount of land with less waste, because crops arent lost to pests and diseases, and that keeps food costs down. They argue that GMOs are as nutritious  and maybe more  than their non-GMO counterparts, and are just as safe because they go through upward of 10 years of vigorous testing and research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency before being approved for commercial consumption.

Critics, however, say GMOs havent been around long enough to allow for conclusive research on their safety for consumers, and point to links between GMOs and cancer, obesity, allergies and other health issues. They say research has revealed that the bugs and pests that GMOs were bred to be naturally resistant to are now immune to them, meaning farmers are spreading more chemicals  not less  to combat those problems. They say the large agricultural biotechnology corporations that create the modified seeds put profits over public safety, and are helped along by weak federal oversight that allows these corporations too much flexibility in reporting  or not reporting  their actions.

What many people dont understand is that plants and animals have been genetically modified since plants and animals were created, said Elaine Lidholm, communications director for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It just took longer when you left it up to natural processes.

***

Today, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 92 to 94 percent of all planted acres of corn, soybeans and cotton are genetically modified crop varieties. Upward of 90 percent of all sugar beets  from which comes half of all sugar sold in the U.S.  are GMO varieties, and without GMOs, the majority of papayas would be wiped out by disease.

Overall, about 80 percent of processed foods contain GMO products.

Lidholm said that GMOs are simply a matter of supply and demand as the worlds population will increase by the billions over the next few decades.

Standard food practices are not going to feed the world  youre going to have to employ these new technologies, she said. Creating plants that can survive pests and diseases and that produce larger yields per acre  while using less water and fuel and reducing erosion  is one way to do that. We cant increase production by gobbling up more land, because its not there.

The first GMO product approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for grocery store shelves was the Flavr Savr tomato in the early 1990s. It was made to have a longer shelf life than other tomatoes because it didnt ripen as quickly. Fast-forward a few decades and, in 2015, two other products were FDA-approved: Granny Smith and Golden Delicious varieties were engineered to turn brown much slower when bruised or cut than organically or conventionally grown apples. Those are scheduled to hit store shelves in Midwestern test markets later this spring, and more varieties are on the way.

Additionally, three varieties of potatoes have been approved for commercial use that are less prone to black spots, have a longer shelf life and contain less acrylamide, a naturally occurring and potentially toxic chemical thats released when potatoes are fried at high temperatures, such as for french fries or potato chips. The potatoes have been genetically modified with other potato genes only, from an Argentinian potato variety that naturally produces those defenses.

But Claire Jordan, policy and program coordinator for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Food Safety, said genetic engineering hasnt produced the crop yields it was supposed to because recent findings showed that insects and other pests have now become less resistant to GMO crops. That means farmers are spreading more chemicals than were intended to fight them.

GMOs were supposed to reduce the need for pesticides and other chemicals, Jordan said, but the opposite has happened.

She also said theres an ongoing fight to put labels on foods that contain GMOs or GMO ingredients.

GMO labeling made headlines in 2016 when a Vermont law took effect that required any and all GMO foods  or items made with GMO ingredients  sold in that state to be plainly labeled for consumers.

But a federal labeling system followed, effectively overriding Vermonts law and any other states that intended to enact their own laws. The federal statute, which is problematic because its actually only voluntary on the part of the manufacturers, Jordan said, would include the use of QR codes on packaging. These codes would require a smartphone to use, or manufacturers could include a phone number on the package for people to call to learn about that products ingredients. The statute is currently undergoing a mandatory yearlong study, which should conclude next summer, she said.

Jordan said the federal system is discriminatory against anyone who doesnt have a smartphone or access to an internet connection, such as people who live in rural areas. She also said it goes against the wishes of the 90 percent of Americans who want the labels.

Its denying Americans the right to know whats in their food, she said, adding that there are all sorts of labels already in place, such as organic and fair-trade labels. Further, she said, GMO labels are just as important as the nutritional information and ingredient lists currently on food packaging, and no food company today would think of taking away that information. An effective labeling system, she said, would alert consumers to GMOs, and to the possible residues and toxins that remain on their foods from the chemicals used by farmers.

Lidholm, with Virginias Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, urges caution when it comes to labeling. The mere presence of a label could unfairly paint foods as unsafe, or worse  mislead the public by portraying foods as GMO-free that have never actually been grown as GMO crops in the first place.

In some instances, having a food labeled GMO next to another thats not labeled implies my food is good, and yours is bad, Lidholm said. While marketing is a necessary tool when it comes to farming and agriculture, she said, consumers should try not to buy into the public misperceptions.
A man sentenced to death in Rockingham County in the murder-for-hire of his ex-girlfriend is asking a federal appeals court for a stay of his April 25 execution.

Lawyers for Ivan Teleguz, 38, filed the petition with the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday seeking a delay of the execution so the U.S. Supreme Court can have adequate time to review his case. The Virginia attorney generals office has been given until noon Friday to respond.

Teleguz was sentenced to death in 2006 for the 2001 capital murder of Stephanie Yvonne Sipe, the mother of their 23-month-old son. Sipe was stabbed to death in her Harrisonburg apartment.

Evidence showed that Teleguz, who had moved to Pennsylvania, was angry that he had been ordered to pay child support. He hired two men to kill Sipe for $2,000 and drove them from Pennsylvania to Harrisonburg.

Sipe suffered defensive wounds and three other knife wounds  one wound went from the left side of her neck to the right side. The fatal wound was 2 inches deep into her trachea, larynx and a major artery.

The body was discovered by a neighbor who also found her 23-month-old son, unharmed, in a bathtub full of water.

His lawyers argue that evidence has emerged since the trial suggesting Teleguz may be innocent. Two of the prosecutions key witnesses against Teleguz have recanted their trial testimony in sworn written statements and said they lied during the trial.

However, one of the witnesses has left the country and the other refused to testify when told it would violate his plea agreement if he testified differently and he would face re-prosecution, according to lawyers for Teleguz.

Teleguzs appeal asks for a review of claims that he was denied the right to counsel. His lawyers say no court has ever reviewed those claims.

They argue his claims must be reviewed under a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring federal courts to address claims like his.

If the execution is not stayed, Teleguz will ask Gov. Terry McAuliffe to stop the execution. More than 112,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking the governor to prevent Teleguzs execution.
Gary Thaxton has owned an auto shop on West Broad Street in Richmond for 32 years, and in that time, he says, the rutted alley his customers use to exit the shop has only gotten worse and worse.

The alley is supposed to be city-maintained, but Thaxton said he hasnt seen a city crew come by to patch potholes in at least six years, so he has started filling them with dirt himself.

Weve fixed more than they do, he said.

None of this surprised Mayor Levar Stoney, who on Tuesday toured a handful of the worst alleys in Richmonds Fan District with Councilwoman Kim Gray.

Stoney said that since taking office, he has learned that the city hasnt funded alley maintenance since 2014, putting the city more than two years behind on maintenance.

The director of the Department of Public Works, Bobby Vincent, who accompanied Stoney on the tour, said the backlog for alley maintenance requests currently stands at 3,200.

Its decrepit, Stoney said. I think you can see the disrepair all around.

This is the quintessential example of the sort of the deferred maintenance you see throughout the city and the lack of investment and the unwillingness to actually have the conversation about what we do well and what we dont do well.

Stoney said the budget proposal he introduced Monday calls for dipping into a projected year-end budget surplus to provide $700,000 to address problems in 1,300 alleys.

That only gets to half of them, but at least were going to start the conversation on alley maintenance in the city of Richmond, he said.

Gray said concerns about the maintenance of alleys in her district was among the first issues her constituents raised with her. She said she invited Stoney to view the problem firsthand.

The councilwoman said that shes glad to hear Stoney is including money in the budget to begin addressing the problem, but added that she would like to see more included.

Other business owners the politicians spoke to echoed Thaxtons experience.

Lucas Fritz, a co-owner of The Broadberry, a medium-sized music venue on Broad Street near the intersection with the Boulevard, said touring bands that drive their buses and trailers through the alley complain.

He said he hasnt seen any alley maintenance in the three years the venue has been open.
A Richmond man entered no contest pleas Tuesday to charges from an undercover sting where police said the man thought he was going to have sex with a 13-year-old.

Aaron Jerome Megatron, 32, made the pleas to charges of using a communications system to try to proposition a minor for sex and to a charge of attempting to solicit a minor for prostitution.

Michael Feinmel, a deputy commonwealths attorney, said the case began when a prostitute told a Henrico County police detective that one of her clients had asked her if she knew any underage prostitutes.

An undercover officer then got in touch with Megatron via text messages. The police officer posed as the mom of a 13-year-old daughter who was trying to arrange sex with the fictitious girl for money, Feinmel said.

Megatron was told to go to a local motel where he was arrested, according to a prosecutors report in the case. When he was arrested, he had an unopened condom as well as the agreed upon $150, according to the prosecutors report.

Charles Homiller, the defendants attorney, told Circuit Court Judge Lee A. Harris Jr. that his client is a U.S. Marines veteran.

After court, Homiller said his client was cooperative with police during his arrest.

Homiller said his client, at some point, changed his name to Megatron, but the attorney could not say why that was done.

The defendants last name is a reference to a character from The Transformers, a 1980s cartoon show about shape-shifting robots that has been remade in recent years into a series of blockbuster films.

In pleading no contest, a defendant does not admit or deny the charge, and it has the same immediate effect as a guilty plea.
The 43rd annual Richmond Times-Dispatch Regional Spelling Bee will feature 30 students vying for a chance to compete on a national stage.

This years regional bee features a new twist: A documentary film crew will be in the audience on Saturday at the Library of Virginia in downtown Richmond as competitors try to outspell one another for a shot at representing central Virginia at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.

Producer Chris Weller and director Sam Rega will be among the crew shooting video for their documentary Breaking the Bee, which is set to be released later this year.

The film aims to explore the trend of Indian-American children winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Since 1999, 17 of the 21 winners have been of Indian-American descent, according to Rega and Weller.

Specifically, the film crew is going to be here to follow Tejas Muthusamy, who has won the last three Times-Dispatch regional bees and is competing again on Saturday. Tejas, 14, is an eighth-grader at Moody Middle School in Henrico County.

Weller said he and Rega have examined a subculture of spelling bees held specifically for Indian-American children that allow them to practice spelling in the spotlight from an early age.

Aside from that, theres a strong cultural component related to the Indian-American culture that values language, Weller said.

The spellers will gather at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Library of Virginia, 800 E. Broad St. Seating is limited to the families of the spellers and their invited guests.
New Delhi, Mar 8 (IBNS): India on Wednesday condemned the militant attack in Kabul hospital which killed at least 30 people.

"India strongly condemns the terrorist attack on Sardar Daud Khan Hospital in Kabul today, and condoles sincerely the loss of innocent lives, including of those receiving medical care there," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

"The heinous attack on a hospital is the most deplorable expression of the diabolical designs of terrorists and those who continue to provide safe havens and sanctuaries to terrorists," it said.

"India will continue to support Afghanistan in fighting all forms of terrorism and bringing perpetrators of terrorist violence to justice, wherever they may be," read the statement.

At least 30 people were killed as terrorists attacked Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Military Hospital in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Wednesday, media reports said.

The attack left 50 others injured, reports said.

Syed Ismael Kawasi, public relation officer of the MoPH, told Pajhwok Afghan News the injured had been shifted to Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan and Emergency Hospitals.

Militant group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Image: Wikimedia Commons
CHARLOTTESVILLE  A Charlottesville circuit judge has dismissed a petition to remove City Councilor Wes Bellamy from office after the special prosecutor appointed to the case determined that the petition did not have enough signatures for a court to consider the complaint.

In a court filing submitted Tuesday, Lynchburg Commonwealths Attorney Michael Doucette said right-wing provocateur and blogger Jason Kessler needed approximately 1,000 additional signatures to meet the number required by the state code.

The judge ruled in favor of Doucettes motion to non-suit, but Kessler or any other citizen may still attempt to collect the 1,580 signatures needed to seek Bellamys removal from office.

Kesslers campaign to remove Bellamy began late last year after he published on his website several dozen offensive tweets from Bellamy between 2009 and 2014.

Most of those tweets, Kessler and others have said, displayed contempt for white people, women and homosexuals.

Kessler, whose actions and commentary have been criticized by some as racially motivated and evidence of support for white ethno-nationalism, collected nearly 600 signatures for his petition.
With the subtly of a nightstick, ex-cop Jackson Miller is rattling politics in Prince William County, an increasingly blue, election-deciding outer suburb of Washington, D.C. A Republican, Miller wants to trade his part-time job as a state legislator for a full-time gig as chief administrator of the county courts.

Ordinarily, such an announcement would generate little attention  other than a mention that a shift from the statehouse to the courthouse would be accompanied by a giant pay raise and a fattened taxpayer-supplied pension. As a member of the House of Delegates, Miller is paid $17,640. If he wins a special election for clerk of court next month  Michele McQuigg, herself a former delegate, died in February  Miller will make at least $161,000.

But Miller is no ordinary Republican. In just over a decade, he has risen to No. 4 in the House GOP hierarchy, serving as whip, or chief vote-counter. It is a post once held by another Republican who seldom smiles: Kirk Cox of Colonial Heights, the next House speaker. That assumes Republicans, as is likely, retain their majority.

Millers planned departure from the General Assembly  currently a real estate agent, he did not return a telephone call and email Tuesday seeking comment  calls attention to two nagging problems for House Republicans.

One of them is short-term: this Novembers elections for House and governor. The other is long-term  and larger: whether Republicans will still be able to manipulate legislative boundaries in the 2021 redistricting to protect their diminishing presence in Democrat-friendly, densely populated Northern Virginia.

In other words: this special election may be Millers best opportunity for the softest of landings.

Millers district, which is split between the city of Manassas and Prince William, is one of 17 held by Republicans that fell to Hillary Clinton for president. That a Republican-held district shows a Democratic reflex in presidential years is not unusual, given the quirks of Virginia politics.

Presidential elections  and to a lesser degree, gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections  generate higher turnouts dominated by more moderate and liberal urban and suburban voters who prefer Democrats. This advantage is often erased by Republican hyper-partisan gerrymandering and the sharp decline in turnout in off-year elections. The two combine to maximize the strength of the narrowing GOP vote.

Turnout could hit rock bottom in the special election April 18 for Prince William clerk, possibly playing to Millers advantage. He is an officeholder, representing at least 85,000 of Prince Williams 437,000 residents. But his Democratic opponent, lawyer Jacqueline Smith, isnt a nobody. She ran against McQuigg in 2015  a year in which House and Senate seats were decided  pulling nearly 48 percent of the countywide vote.

It was a sure sign that Democrats  aided by dramatic population growth and accelerating diversity  are making significant inroads against Republicans in what had been one of their partys bulwarks.

Perhaps Prince William is about to shake off its year-to-year swings, imperiling Republicans such as Miller in the 2017 contests for the House. Though Republicans are positioning a replacement candidate, at least one Democrat had declared for the Miller seat before Millers announced switcheroo  and others could now jump in. Part of the explanation may lie 32 miles northeast  in Washington.

Prince William, along with neighboring Loudoun County, is a federal suburb, home to thousands directly and indirectly employed by Uncle Sam. Because their livelihood depends on it, their focus tends to be national politics. Donald Trumps vow to take a cleaver to the federal payroll made it easy for them to vote  in huge numbers  for Clinton.

So did Trumps immigrant-hostile pronouncements, the most recent being his revised executive order closing U.S. borders to residents of six majority-Muslim nations. In Prince William, such views are taken personally  by Democrats and Republicans  because of the countys heavy ethnic and racial diversity.

Clinton did not just win Prince William, she swept it  carrying all seven magisterial districts. Her performance is not reflected by the makeup of the countys legislative delegation. Of 13 delegates and senators who represent all or part of Prince William, eight are Republicans and five are Democrats. Chalk that up to GOP gerrymandering.

Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William, an unrepentant conservative whose district tipped twice to Barack Obama and was won by Clinton, has survived the rising Democratic tide by talking ideas rather than ideology  a strategy for which U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock is a poster child. The Republican won a second term in a Northern Virginia district that Clinton carried by double-digits.

Marshall, again targeted by Democrats, emphasizes constituent services, frequently walks his district and is studying Spanish so he can communicate directly with Latino residents. The Republicans are going to have to emphasize local issues with practical effects on the daily lives of everybody up here, he said.

Prince William is a majority-minority county, 54 percent of its residents are either African-American, Hispanic or Asian. This has fed  long before Trump  nativist Republican politics, the embodiment of which is Corey Stewart, a candidate for governor and member of the countys governing body, the board of supervisors.

Miller, too, has played to immigrant fears since his election to the House in 2006. In his first legislative session in 2007, Miller sponsored a measure that would ban an organization from using public funds to provide any service to an illegal immigrant who is 19 or older.

That Prince William is a hotbed of diversity is interpreted differently by Republicans and Democrats.

For Republicans who associate immigration with crime, this justifies Prince Williams agreement with federal authorities  apparently one of the few in the state  to assist in enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. For Democrats who view newcomers as new voters, the antidote to one partys jitters over immigration is the embrace by the other.

Federally oriented voters fury over Trump and the growing strength of New Virginians affected by the presidents dictates could prove a potent mix in Prince William  or so Democrats believe.

One measure: more than 200 people turned out for a town hall-type meeting at a Dale City firehouse organized by the National Organization For Women after the Womens March on Washington, itself timed to the Trump inaugural. State Sen. Jeremy McPike said many were unfamiliar with state and local politics, but nearly one in 10 promised to become active.

Theyve paid attention federally, McPike said. They dont know much ... about the General Assembly. But now theyre fired up to get involved on all levels.
From Lynchburg College to the University of Lynchburg, the new name still is growing on people.

In two separate forums Tuesday, staff and students met to discuss the recent name change, which will become official in fall 2018. The forums featured President Kenneth Garren and other administrators who laid out the process of the name change and the reason for it and fielded questions.

We have a lot of challenges, but we have a lot more opportunities by moving forward, Garren told about 50 staff members gathered in the Hall Campus Center Memorial Ballroom for the first forum.

Challenges include raising funds for facility upgrades outlined in Vision 2020, the new strategic plan for LC.

Adopted in October after a town-hall style meeting with students, staff and alumni, Vision 2020 has three key areas of focus: engagement, facilities and stewardship.

Photos: Lynchburg College, the early years

A decision by the Lynchburg College Board of Trustees to change the school's name to the University of Lynchburg prompted us to dip into our archives for this collection of photos of Lynchburg College through the years.

Questions Tuesday were wide-ranging and even involved tears for a couple of staff members.

One accused LC of doing staff a disservice by not including them in the name change process.

Michael Jones, assistant vice president of communication and marketing, apologized.

I dont expect you to get over it, but I hope that you can accept it one day, Jones said.

Smith, who joined LC in the fall, brings experience as a former beat and motorcycle cop, a DEA agent, and international military operations consultant.

He added he had spoken publicly more than 30 times in the past two years about the possibility of the name change before it was approved by the 26-member LC Board of Trustees on Feb. 24 after a full day of deliberations.

According to officials, the change was made in part to entice students who pass on LC because of the college label.

Another staff member broke down in tears as she asked how administration would market LC as a university while there still are facility issues she believed should have been handled first.

We cant do it all at once, said Steve Bright, LC vice president of business and finance.

He explained LC continues to fundraise for facility needs and said the first step toward addressing those issues was a space study performed by a consultant last year to identify needs.

Though technically already considered a university, the new name makes that designation apparent.

The term college and university often are used interchangeably, though unlike universities, colleges typically do not offer graduate programs. LC already offers a variety of graduate programs.

Though there were emotional moments, most of the first forum was routine, with questions about providing guidance or talking points to staff to aid with recruitment of students or employees.

The second forum of the day offered students a chance to weigh in on the name change.

Sally Selden, the vice president and dean for Academic Affairs, said students who were accepted to the college prior to fall 2018 will be able to choose if their degree lists Lynchburg College or University of Lynchburg as the school. Students accepted for the fall 2018 semester and beyond will have University of Lynchburg on their degrees.

She said staff still is discussing how to handle alumni degrees, but it may be possible alumni will be given a chance to have their degree reissued with the school listed as University of Lynchburg.

Student Laura Meisner, 22, of Greensboro, North Carolina, doesnt think the name change is a good idea.

Im really disappointed, she said. I think its just superficial; Any monetary benefits that they think it will bring, I dont think its gonna be a big enough benefit.

Meisner said instead of spending $3 million on a name change, the school should put that money toward repairing and renovating the aging buildings on campus.

Proponents claim changing the schools name to include university would allow for the college to reach new heights and have a better reputation among potential students. However, Meisner did not agree.

We have the status [of a university], she said. We dont get anything for the name change. Any advantages of being a university we already have. Its just the name.

Though a majority of students who spoke Tuesday felt negatively about the name change, history major and sophomore Sunny Clough liked the idea.

I transferred here at the beginning of fall semester last year, so I dont really have a lot of loyalty to the name itself, and I know we already function on the university level in terms of our graduate and masters programs, so I think it makes sense for us to have our name changed to reflect that, she said.

Clough said the name change will help students who dont understand the nuances between a college and a university understand LC is a place where students can continue their higher education past a bachelors degree.

I understand that this is a cosmetic change, but Im excited to see how this goes because I came in as a Lynchburg College student and now Ill graduate as a University of Lynchburg student, she said.

Students raised concerns varying from the diversity of teaching staff to class size to how teachers are trained for online courses, but the most heated topic was the idea of LC spending $3 million on a name change many of the students felt was unnecessary.

Jones explained the $3 million effort is to increase the marketing effort to bring new students to the institution.

Right now, the demographics tell us that the number of prospective students who might come to Lynchburg College in the state and in the region, that number is decreasing, and at the same time, competition for that number of students is increasing.

Jones emphasized state schools are LCs main competition for students, and the two usually are fighting for the same potential students.

The $3 million is really spread over a multi-year period of time in terms of increasing marketing, Bright said. We have excess capacity at Lynchburg College; we had more students a few years ago, we had about 200 more full-time undergraduate students than we have today. So we have capacity that we would like to fill, and we have been spending a lot less on marketing than we should.

So whether we change the name or didnt change the name, we needed to increase that marketing.

Polly Flint, chair of LCs Board of Trustees, said the decision to change LCs name was a clear majority.

It wasnt just over half, it was a clear majority who voted and that had to take a whole bunch of alums in favor of the decision, she said.  I just wanted you to know that we care very much, we care about all of our students, we care about all of our alumni and we care about this place.

Flint described her time at LC as one of change when she was an undergraduate student. She said pools were moved, buildings changed and entire new areas built.
On April 23, our French friends will hold the first round in a presidential election with the potential to remake Europe. The probable outcome threatens global peace and prosperity.

Donald Trumps election and the United Kingdoms vote to leave the European Union set the stage for Frances descent. An Op/Ed column by Charles Krauthammer explained that France has had five republics since its revolution, the U.S. but one. Does a sixth loom?

France appears exhausted. Mainstream parties are on the ropes. Francois Hollande, a socialist, is the first president in modern times not to seek re-election. A tax hike early in his term sent his approval ratings tumbling; he never recovered.

Victory in Frances election could go to parties and persons committed not only to withdrawal from the European Union but also to the abandonment of a common currency. The union rose as a result of the rapprochement between France and Germany, two former antagonists. A French withdrawal would doom the enterprise.

Trumps victory proves instructive. An analysis by The Economist depicts a France similar to Ohio and the other battlegrounds won by Trump. Paris and other high-tech regions are flourishing but smaller towns in Frances rust belt have declined. A way of life may have come to an end. Unemployment varies by location and sector. Ruin haunts the villages and towns that once defined the French countryside. A stark division is apparent not only in a Virginia sliced by the I-95/I-64 crescent but in a France of boom towns and backwaters. Immigration from Muslim countries has changed Frances demographics. Terrorism stalks its streets. Anti-Semitism is on the rise.

A biographer once called Charles de Gaulle the last great Frenchman. France lacks a credible political party representing what Americans would consider the conservative mainstream. Statism applies to both ends of the ideological spectrum. The National Fronts Marine Le Pen taps Trumpian resentments, although she projects a constancy and coherence he lacks. Francois Fillon, a self-identified disciple of Margaret Thatcher, suffers from substantive charges of corruption and cannot be supported by citizens of conscience. The traditional left has fallen into disrepute. The Times-Dispatch does not publish a Parisian edition, but if we did we would, with reluctance, endorse Emmanuel Macron, described by The Economist as the upstart leader of a liberal movement.
A snow chance is still in play for the Richmond area on Sunday thanks to an impressive mid-March cold snap.

If you are hoping for a snow-free weekend, youd want to see the weather forecast trend in a warmer and drier direction. Snow fans, however, would want to see things trend colder and wetter.

Instead, the latest trend in the data takes the weekend in a colder, slightly drier direction. If precipitation falls, it would be more likely to come down as snow. But if low pressure tracks through the Deep South and heads swiftly out to sea, that would mean less moisture in Virginia.

It looks likely that colder-than-average air  the type more typical of midwinter  will charge into the area on Friday night and stick around through Sunday. It should yield highs in the 30s or lower 40s on Saturday and Sunday, with lows well into the 20s.

Regardless of Sundays outcome, the daytime hours on Saturday still look dry and brisk with increasing clouds.

With warm air displaced well into the Deep South, that also means that an all-rain system now looks unlikely in Virginia on Sunday. The odds are also going down for a mix of sleet and snow, or snow and rain.

If theres enough snow to accumulate, the next question is: a coating or a snowstorm?

The odds are probably tilted toward lighter amounts at this point, below 4 inches, but higher amounts cant yet be ruled out.

Another system late on Monday or Tuesday could spread more showers through the lingering cold air, but those precipitation details are even sketchier for now.
New Delhi, Mar 8 (IBNS): The 11th North East Business Summit (NEBS) will begin here on Thursday.

The two-day event is an initiative to facilitate investment, highlight strengths of the North-East Region (NER) and business opportunities which North-East has to offer.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, will address the conclave on Friday.

The 11th NEBS aims to display the strengths, potentials and initiatives of the NER, promote investment in the region and also have focused deliberations on strategic areas like healthcare, infrastructure and connectivity, agriculture and horticulture, food processing, service sector and energy to highlight the investment and business opportunities in these sectors as well as ease of doing business in the NE States and address the key issues.

The Summit will also showcase the untapped business potential of North-East to investors worldwide.

The Summit will have focused sessions highlighting the key potential areas for trade and commerce in the NE States, Regulatory Framework & Incentives to promote the NER as an ideal business destination. Sectoral panel discussions will be held Infrastructure & Connectivity, IT & ITeS, Agri, Horti & Food Processing, Service Sector and Energy.

A Roundtable and Open House Session will be held on Make in North East. Agri-Horti Products, Handloom and Handicrafts of the NER will be put out on display. The Summit will also showcase the rich cultural heritage of the North East states.

The conclave will also be addressed by Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and Mizoram Governor Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma.

Besides, the Summit will witness active participation from Senior Government Officials and Industry stalwarts. Key dignitaries include Secretary, DoNER, Naveen Verma, Secretary, Electronics & IT, Ms. Aruna Sundararajan and Secretary, DIPP, Ramesh Abhishek.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Kolkata, Mar 8 (IBNS): Lead pair Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan reined in the spirit of Holi in Kolkata with their newest rom-com, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, as they promoted the film here ahead of its release this coming Friday, urging cinegoers to experience an evolved love story of two small town characters.

Directed by Shashank Khaitan, the film is produced by Karan Johar under Dharma Productions and Fox Star Studios and traces the love story of two small town characters, Badrinath Bansal (Varun Dhawan) and Vaidehi Trivedi (Alia Bhatt) from Jhansi and Kota respectively.

In town to promote the film, the actors spoke about the challenges of getting the rural accent right and how maths is a vital part of Badrinath and Vaidehis love story.

The difference between Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya and this one is that Humpty Sharma was more of a puppy love story, while Badrinath is a lot more evolved, passionate, and mature, even in terms of the characters. There are real life conflicts and difficulties depicted, said Varun.

As far as the accent is concerned, we both had to undergo serious workshops for almost 6 months, and that was a specification by Shashank Sir (Shashank Khaitan, director)," said Aliya.

Yeah and at times, because I felt Aliya would get it right more quickly than me, Id go for these workshops alone, said Varun, to which she immediately quipped, And I would hate it whenever he would do that.

As far as my character Kavya from Humpty Sharma is concerned, compared to her, Vaidehi is lot more serious and mature, about her life and career. Which is probably why she takes more time to accept Badri and he had to improve his education and specially maths to impress her, she said.

Yes, there is a lot of discussion on the formulae of Simple Interest and Compound Interest in the film, because Badri wants to impress his dulhaniya and thus, even the students who have exams going on now, can watch the film with their families, he joked.

While we were shooting in Rajasthan on a lake, this one time I fell in the water because I tried to stop the boat and there were real crocodiles in it," Varun elaborated on being asked upon some memorable moments.

On being asked to reveal something candid about herself and Varun, Alia said, "Varun has this habit of waking me up whenever Im sleeping in the car or plane. To which, her co-star immediately responded, Yeah thats because I cant sleep myself, and I need someone to talk to.

(Reporting by Tanushree Sen, Images by Subhodeep Sardar, IBNS)
Candy Long

981-3342

East Salem Elementary celebrated what wouldve been Dr. Seusss 113th birthday on March 2 ranch-style with Howdy partners all around. Faculty, staff and students came dressed either western-style or Seussical-style and were read to by members of Salem High Schools National Honor Society.

Many of the high school honors students were once East Salem Patriots themselves and enjoyed visiting their alma mater and the happy reunions with favorite teachers.

This is the first time that Ive been back here since I was in fifth grade, said senior Hannah Coulling, who will be heading off to James Madison University next fall. I cant believe we used to fit in these chairs; everything seems so small!

Every class in every grade were welcomed into the Patriot Ranch for a special interactive storytime and a delicious trail mix snack.

We hope that everybody will hear a story today or take some time to read  because reading is so important, said Janice Simmons, Title 1 Reading Specialist.

Technology has changed and with that, so has reading books to the students. Interactive electronic books can now be shown on smartboards to many students at once and include animation, individual voices for each character as well as educational games. Teachers can even read a book old-school at their desk while the smartboard enlarges each page on the screen.

The high schoolers also took a few minutes to mentor the up and coming Spartans. Noah Turner, whose mom is first grade teacher Susan Turner, explained to a third grade class the requirements for National Honor Society,

Good grades, positive attitude and service hours to help the community so work hard," she said.

Teachers and staff were just as excited to reconnect with their former students. Mrs. Julie Mowles stopped class to come out into the hall to hug each one, taking the time to ask, especially the seniors, about their plans for college and career.

"Find something that you are passionate about and do it  and you will always enjoy it," she encouraged them, ever the mentor.

I cant believe she remembered my name! remarked several of the high school students throughout the day, touched that that indeed were remembered.

I could never forget you, said Mowles as she wrapped up each one  all now taller than she  into a hug. Seeing teachers I know and once had is definitely the coolest part, said Coulling with a smile.
Military uniforms from World War I onward. Plus an East German officers coat via my late brother. (Oh, the questions I have! But, hey, I also dont know how a Pennsylvania Boy Scout uniform landed in my own closet.)

[break]

SO NOW Im still working on my folks file cabinets and boxes. I love what youve done with the place, joked neighbor H.C. Crotts, eyeing what Id brought home for sorting out.

My any day now project has been picked at for three years. For fun Ive been decorating the file cabinets for major holidays. Heres hoping that I wont pass the burden  uh, the best time  on to MY descendants.

But I do wish I could show you that turquoise bedpan filled with tire-chains.
New York, Mar 8 (Just Earth News): Hearing the heart-wrenching stories of desperate families displaced in Somalia, United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres on Tuesday urged a massive scale up in international support to avert a famine in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa nation and curb the spread of cholera.

It is exactly because it is tragic and because it is hopeful that it makes sense to make a very strong appeal to the international community to support Somalia at the present moment, Guterres told reporters in the country's capital, Mogadishu.

With almost half of the Somali population in need of assistance, including 330,000 children who are acutely malnourished, the UN chief reiterated an appeal for $825 million for the support of 5.5 million people for six months.

There is a chance in Somalia to avoid a situation like the one we had in 2011, he said, referring to the previous famine that killed many in that country.

He said that 3.3 million people are in need of health support and that cholera has been developing and making hunger even worse and more dangerous. In the last two months, there were 7,731 cases of cholera with 183 people dying. Just last week, there were 1,352 cases of cholera and 38 people dying. It's a process in acceleration, he warned.

But now is also a moment of hope because Somalia is turning the page, with a new President elected and a new Prime Minister appointed, he said.

There is a very strong commitment to enhance security and at the same time to enhance the capacity of the government to start to provide effective services to the population, he said.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is doing a job that the world should be grateful for because it is not only protecting Somalis, but protecting all against terrorism, has not been effectively helped by the international community, he said.

The severe climate is also forcing many people to leave their homes. Leving the capital, Guterres met and spoke with victims of the current drought when he visited a settlement for internally displaced people (IDPs) on Tuesday in the town of Baidoa.

According to estimates from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) the Liibaan IDP settlement houses some 700 people driven by drought from rural villages since 14 February. Some walked for hours or even days in search of humanitarian assistance.

One of the victims is Nuria Hussein. She and 10-month-old daughter Samira left home in Qansax Dheere district and moved to the settlement, 90 kilometers away, because of the drought. Husseins husband stayed behind.

If we have stability and if it rains, we can avoid famine and well return home, she told UN News.

Another victim recalled her long journey to the settlement. A mother of four, she is alone with her children on the site. Her fifth child died of acute diarrhea.

According to OCHA, estimates indicate that over 80 per cent of these newly arrived IDPs are women and children.

In Baidoa, after meeting with President of the Southwest state of Somalia, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, Guterres visited two camps for internally displaced people just outside the city.

For over an hour, he walked through the camp, asked question and listened to the stories of men, women and children who had come to Baidoa to seek food and water. Some had recently resettled from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya only to be forced to move again because of the drought.

Photo: UN News/Laura Gelbert

Source: www.justearthnews.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE  A judge has dismissed a legal petition to remove Charlottesville City Councilman Wes Bellamy from office after the special prosecutor appointed to the case determined that the petition did not have enough signatures for a court to consider the complaint.

In a court filing submitted Tuesday, Lynchburg Commonwealths Attorney Michael Doucette said blogger Jason Kessler needed approximately 1,000 additional signatures to meet the number required by the state code.

The Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of Doucettes motion to non-suit, but Kessler or any other citizen may still attempt to collect the 1,580 signatures needed to seek Bellamys removal from office.

Kesslers campaign to remove Bellamy from office began late last year after he published on his website several dozen offensive tweets made by Bellamy between 2009 and 2014.

Most of those tweets, Kessler and others have said, displayed contempt for white people, women and homosexuals.

Bellamy resigned from the Virginia Board of Education Nov. 30 in the wake of the revelation of the tweets. He also was placed on leave from and later resigned his teaching job at Albemarle High School.

Kessler, whose actions and commentary have been criticized by some as racially motivated and evidence of support for white ethno-nationalism, collected nearly 600 signatures for his petition.

According to the petition, Bellamy received 4,688 votes in the 2015 City Council election. Election records show that 15,798 votes were cast in the election. In that election, three city council seats were open, allowing each voter to cast up to three votes.
Letters 11-4-22 A Vote For Tom Sullivan Dear Editor: On Election Day, I will be proudly voting for Colonel Thomas P. Sullivan for State Assembly. A proven leader, and financial professional. A vote for Tom Sullivan is...

Letters 10-28-22 Thanks, Stacey Dear Editor: I would like to recognize Stacey Amato for the tireless work she has done in our community. She responded to every call I have ever made to her office with results....
New York, Mar 8 (Just Earth News): The United Nations human rights office on Tuesday launched a joint report with the African Union and UN Women detailing the progress and challenges to womenas struggle for human rights in Africa, while the UN rights chief warned that the womenas movement around the world is facing a backlash that hurts both men and women.

We need to be alert  the advances of the last few decades are fragile and should nowhere be taken for granted, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein said in a statement ahead of International Womens Day, marked annually on 8 March.

The UN High Commissioner added that it is extremely troubling to see recent roll-back of fundamental legislation in many parts of the world.

Such roll-backs are underpinned by the renewed obsession with controlling and limiting womens decisions over their bodies and lives, and by views that a womans role should be essentially restricted to reproduction and the family, he said.

While such pushbacks are carried out in the name of tradition, Zeid noted that they are often a response to segments of society calling for change.

Among examples he gave, Zeid pointed to recent legislation in Bangladesh, Burundi and the Russian Federation, which weakens womens rights to fight against child marriage, marital rape and domestic violence, respectively.

He noted also the fierce resistance in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to political and civil society efforts to open up access to sexual and reproductive rights.

With the worlds young population concentrated in developing nations, retrogressive measures denying women and girls access to sexual and reproductive health services will have a devastating effect, Zeid said, noting more maternal deaths, more unintended pregnancies, fewer girls finishing school and the economic impact of failing to fully include women in the workforce.

In short, a generation without choices and a collective failure to deliver on the promises of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he added, referring to the internationally agreed action plan for eradicating poverty while assisting all people and maintain the health of the planet.

Meanwhile, Zeid praised womens movements in countries such as Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia, where women and men took to the streets to demand change, but warned that it is time to come together to protect the important gains of the past and maintain a positive momentum.

Women as active agents of change

In Africa, women continue to be denied full enjoyment of their rights in every country, according to a new report released on Tuesday entitled Womens Rights in Africa.

Statistics show that some African countries have no legal protection for women against domestic violence, are forced to undergo female genital mutilation, and forced to marry while still children.

According to the report, however, in Africa  as around the globe  when women exercise their rights to access to education, skills, and jobs, there is a surge in prosperity, positive health outcomes, and greater freedom and well-being, not only of women but of the whole society.

Human rights are not a utopian fairy-tale -they are a recipe for sound institutions, more sustainable development and greater peace, Zeid wrote in the Foreword to the report.

When all women are empowered to make their own choices and share resources, opportunities and decisions as equal partners, every society in Africa will be transformed.

Among its recommendations, the report calls on African governments to encourage womens full and productive employment, to recognize the importance of unpaid care and domestic work, and to ensure women can access and control their own economic and financial resources.

The report stresses that women should not be seen only as victims but, for example, as active agents in formal and informal peace building processes.

Photo: ILO/A. Khemka

Source: www.justearthnews.com
New York, Mar 8 (Just Earth News): Disasters in the Americas over the past year such as Hurricane Matthew show the challenge the world faces meeting the risk reduction targets established by the UNas Sendai Framework.



Thats according to Robert Glasser, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), addressing the opening of the Fifth Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas, taking place this week in Montreal, Canada.

The Sendai Framework, agreed by 187 countries in 2015, aims to reduce loss of life and injury by shifting from managing disasters, to managing disaster risk, and being better prepared.

A group of four indigenous elders opened proceedings on Tuesday with prayers and blessings for around 1,000 delegates from across the Americas.

More than 50 countries and territories are represented at the forum, aiming to agree a Regional Action Plan by the time they wrap up their work on Thursday, on the Americas contribution towards the Sendai targets, which follow the timetable of the overall 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Glasser also highlighted the impact of Hurricane Matthew, which ripped through the Caribbean in early October last year, causing widespread devastation to Haiti, including 546 deaths and losses estimated at $2.78 billion.

Sendai means saving life by making economies and societies more resilient, he said.

Disaster events [] over the last 12 months in the Americas have highlighted how challenging its going to be to achieve those targets, he said, noting that Matthew, the first Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in almost 10 years was a stern test of the regions preparedness for an event  or something similar  that is likely occur more frequently in future as a result of climate change.

The UNISDR chief said it had been heartening to see the response in Central and South America especially to the major slow onset disaster event posed by the El Nino weather pattern of the past few years.

Its efforts such as these that we must now build on as we prepare to meet the first deadline of the Sendai Framework, the substantial increase in national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020. These strategies will lay the foundations for a decade of concerted action on reducing disaster losses, added Glasser.

The conference is due culminate with a Montreal Declaration that will go forward to the 2017 Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, in Mexico, in May.

Photo: UNISDR

Source: www.justearthnews.com
New York, Mar 8 (Just Earth News): The United Nations refugee agency voiced deep concerned at a new law voted on Tuesday by the Hungarian Parliament that could lead to mandatory detention of all asylum-seekers, including many children a for the entire length of the asylum procedure a and warned that it would have a terrible impact on people who have already suffered greatly.



In practice, it means that every asylum-seeker, including children, would be detained in shipping containers surrounded by high razor wire fence at the border for extended periods of time, Cecile Pouilly, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the media on Tuesday at a news briefing at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG).

The new law violates Hungarys obligations under international and European Union (EU) laws, and will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who had already greatly suffered, she added.

According to the UN agency, under international and EU laws, the detention of refugees and asylum-seekers could only be justified on a limited number of grounds, and only where it was necessary, reasonable and proportionate.

That requires authorities to consider whether there were less coercive or intrusive measures to achieve those goals, based on an assessment of the individuals particular circumstances, explained Pouilly, adding that alternatives to detention should always to be considered first.

Failure to do so could render detention arbitrary, she said.

Until now, asylum-seekers had been allowed to stay in open reception centres across the country. However, with the new law the people who had entered the country, having passed through the transit zones, would be moved back to those zones and confined to the containers.

This is extremely worrying, especially thinking about children being detained, noted Pouilly, adding: Children should never be detained under any conditions as detention was never in a childs best interest.

She also said that the Government had also already erected a razor wire barrier along the entire border with Serbia and, now, only 50 asylum seekers were allowed to enter the country per week, at two crossing points.

Lack of legal pathways to access Europe and because of the closed borders, many people are resorting to smugglers, which make them, and especially children, event more vulnerable and harder to track.

The UNHCR spokesperson further told the media that the physical barriers already erected, together with legislative and policy obstacles, make it nearly impossible for asylum-seekers to enter the country, apply for asylum and receive international protection.

Photo: IOM

Source: www.justearthnews.com
New York, Mar 9 (Just Earth News): Expressing strong condemnation of the most recent ballistic missile launches carried out by the Democratic Peopleas Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United Nations Security Council reiterated that the country should refrain from any actions, including nuclear tests, in violation of the relevant Council resolutions, and comply fully with its obligations under those resolutions.

Such [ballistic missile] activities contribute to the DPR Koreas development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension in the region and beyond as well as the risk of a regional arms race, stressed the 15-member Security Council in a statement issued late yesterday.

[We regret] that the [country] is diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles while [its] citizens have great unmet needs, the members added.

Three of the ballistic missiles launched on 5 March landed in Japans Exclusive Economic Zone.

These latest ballistic missile firing follows at least 14 launches between April last year and February this year, as well as a nuclear test in September 2016. These actions are also in violation of a number of Security Council resolutions, including one adopted in March last year that had imposed fresh sanctions on the country.

Further in the statement, Security Council members underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in north-east Asian region at large and expressed their commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation.

They also welcomed efforts by Council members, as well as other States, to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue, emphasised the importance of DPR Korea showing sincere commitment to denuclearisation, and stressed the importance of working to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had also condemned the missile launches and reiterated his call for the DPR Korean leadership to refrain from further provocations and return to full compliance with its international obligations.

UN Photo/JC McIlwaine (file)

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Japan will release a raft of data on Wednesday, setting the pace for a busy day in Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are final Q4 numbers for gross domestic product, January figures for current account and leading index, and February results for bank lending.

GDP is expected to add 0.4 percent on quarter and 1.6 percent on year after gaining 0.2 percent on quarter and 1.0 percent on year in the third quarter.

The current account surplus is pegged at 254.5 billion yen, down from 1.112 trillion yen in December. The leading index is expected to show a score of 105.4, up from 104.8, and the coincident is called at 114.3, down from 114.8.

Overall bank lending was up 2.5 percent on year in January, while lending excluding trusts added 2.6 percent and bankruptcies slipped 10.37 percent.

China will see February data for imports, exports and trade balance. Imports are expected to surge 20.0 percent on year after rising 16.7 percent in January. Exports are called higher by 14.0 percent after gaining 7.9 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $27.50 billion, down from $51.35 billion a month earlier.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
While some conservative groups and lawmakers have been critical of the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, top officials from President Donald Trump's administration have come out in support of the proposal.

Vice President Mike Pence defended the plan an interview on Fox News on Tuesday, rejecting claims from Republicans such as Senator Rand Paul, R-Ken., that the bill is "Obamacare Lite."

"We'll listen to the senator and others about ways that we can improve it, but this is a bill that repeals the disastrous policy of Obamacare, which has resulted in premium increases for Americans in excess of 100 percent," Pence said.

He added, "We set up in our replacement bill a national marketplace that will lower the cost of insurance, even as we allow Americans to take advantage of tax credits to offset some of the costs of the insurance that they'll be able to buy. We give states flexibility on Medicaid."

Pence argued that the debate over the legislation would show the American people that Obamacare will be replaced with a system that captures the power of consumer choice in the private marketplace to lower the cost of health insurance.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price also expressed support for the plan in a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Tex.

Price claimed the proposals released by the committees align with Trump's goal of rescuing Americans from the failures of Obamacare.

"These proposals offer patient-centered solutions that will provide all Americans with access to affordable, quality healthcare, promote innovation, and offer peace of mind for those with pre-existing conditions," Price said.

The HHS Secretary acknowledged that all of Trump's goals to reform healthcare are not possible using the budget reconciliation process but called the proposals a necessary and important first step.

(Photo: Gage Skidmore)

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Business News
Yahoo has launched a new text messaging-based bot called Captain, which will help family members manage each other's busy schedules.

In order to start using the bot you have to text "Hi" to 773-786.

Captain will allow you and your family to remind one another about tasks that need to be completed throughout the day. Yahoo also included list support, which can be added to at any time.

For example, you can text Captain to remind your partner to pick up the kids on Friday at 11am or add "paper towels and sugar" to the shopping list in real-time while they're at the store.

"Gone are the days of interrupting your spouse's workday with updated carpool information and fielding text messages from your kids about what they need from the store," wrote Shani Clark, senior director of product management at Yahoo, in a blog post.

Captain is free to use, however text messaging rates will. Additionally, Yahoo has also asked Sprint users to unblock "shortened links" before using this bot.

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Business News
Solange took on an unexpected duet partner during the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival over the weekend. She connected with Doobie Brothers rocker Michael McDonland for a cover of that band's classic track "What A Fool Believes."

Solange shared a photo via Instagram of them together on stage at the festival and added:

"Anyone who knows me knows that the doobie brothers are my musical/harmonic/chord change hero's and that I listen to "it keeps you running" everyday for encouragement. that was fun michael."

McDonald also recently connected with fellow soul and jazz artist/producer Thundercat on a track for his new release Drunk.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Entertainment News
Credit and debit card payments giant Verifone is investigating a breach of its internal computer networks, Krebs on Security said in a blog post. The breach is said to have impacted a number of companies running its point-of-sale solutions.

Verifone spokesman reportedly said that the company saw evidence of an intrusion in a limited portion of its internal network in January 2017. The extent of the breach was limited to its corporate network, while payment services network was not impacted.

On January 23, Verifone sent an urgent email to all its staff and contractors, asking them to change all company passwords within 24 hours.

In the email memo, Verifone senior vice president and chief information officer Steve Horan said, "We are currently investigating an IT control matter in the Verifone environment. As a precaution, we are taking immediate steps to improve our controls."

Along with the required password change, the company also said it will apply limitations to end user capabilities on desktops/ laptops. The company informed employees they would no longer be allowed to load any additional software on these devices.

As per the report, Verifone sent out the email in response to a notification from Mastercard and Visa of the potential intrusion.

San Jose, California-based Verifone is the largest maker of credit card terminals used in the United States. The company now operates in more than 150 countries worldwide and employ nearly 5,000 people globally.

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Business News
President Donald Trump has seen a modest improvement in his approval rating following his generally well-received speech to Congress last week, according to the results of a new Quinnipiac University poll.

The poll found that 41 percent of voters approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, up from 38 percent in a poll conducted before his speech.

Fifty-two percent of voters still disapprove of Trump's job performance, although that is down from 55 percent last month.

The improvement in Trump's approval rating comes as 49 percent of voters said his address to Congress was better than expected.

Another 39 percent of voters said Trump's speech was about what they expected, while just 3 percent said it was worse than expected.

However, Quinnipiac noted that voters still have negative opinions of some of the president's personal qualities.

A majority of voters said Trump is not honest, he does not care about average Americans, he is not level-headed, and he does not share their values.

"The Trump camp can only hope the president's blip in approval is not a fleeting nod to his speech to Congress," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Malloy added, "He remains on his heels in so many character categories that this survey is only slightly more encouraging than the troubling Quinnipiac University survey of a few weeks ago."

The Quinnipiac survey of 1,283 voters was conducted March 2nd through 6th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

(Photo: Gage Skidmore)

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Business News
The percentage of Americans who believe Russian involvement influenced the results of last year's U.S. presidential election has grown sizably, according to a new national poll.

According to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted last weekend, 41 percent of registered voters said Russia influenced the result of the 2016 presidential election. 42 percent believe it didn't, while 17 percent aren't sure.

When the same question was asked in a December poll, only 32 percent had said "yes."

Most voters (57 percent of respondents) also agree that a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate alleged ties between President Donald Trump's campaign staff and the Russian government.

The Russia controversy has dogged the Trump administration over its first seven weeks, and the Democrats have repeatedly called for an investigation.

According to the poll, voters expect Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress to implement most of the president's key policy proposals in his first year in office.

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Political News
While President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the media in the early days of his administration, the results of a new Quinnipiac University poll found that most voters disagree with his statement that certain news organizations are the enemy of the American people.

Fifty-eight percent of voters disagree that certain news organizations are the enemy of the American people, while 39 percent agree.

The poll showed a significant partisan divide on the issue, as the vast majority of Democrats disagree with Trump's statement about the media but most Republicans agree with the president.

Trump has called "fake news" the enemy of the people and accused the media of making up sources in order to report false stories about his administration.

However, the poll found that voters are more likely to trust the media than Trump to tell the truth about important issues.

Fifty-three percent of voters said they trust the media more, while 37 percent trust Trump more. Republicans and Democrats are unsurprisingly divided on the issue.

A majority of voters said they disapprove of the way the media has covered Trump, although an even larger majority said they disapprove of the way the president talks about the media.

The Quinnipiac survey of 1,283 voters was conducted March 2nd through 6th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

(Photo: Gage Skidmore)

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Japan, South Korea, and China next week, his first visit as Secretary to the East Asia and Pacific region.

In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, the State Department's Acting Spokesperson Mark C. Toner said in a statement.

The meetings will include discussions on strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea.

Tillerson will also reaffirm the Administration's commitment to further broaden and enhance U.S. economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Secretary will arrive in Tokyo on March 15, continue on to Seoul on March 17, and travel to Beijing on March 18.

Toner said the Trump administration is also intent on pursuing a constructive relationship with China while remaining determined to ensuring that China abides by international rules and plays fair with respect to trade, regional issues, and human rights.

Secretary Tillerson has already met with China's state councilor as well as its foreign minister in Washington.

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Political News
It seems that all the negative campaign, boycotts and controversies surrounding Ivanka Trump's namesake clothing line has inadvertently worked in her favor.

The clothing line owned by President Donald Trump's elder daughter Ivanka Trump has reported record sales.

"Since the beginning of February, they were some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand," Abigail Klem, the president of the Ivanka Trump fashion brand, tells Refinery29 in an interview published Tuesday. "For several different retailers Ivanka Trump was a top performer online, and in some of the categories it was the [brand's] best performance ever."

In early February, Seattle-based department store chain Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) said it will discontinue selling Ivanka Trump clothing and accessories due to poor sales performance.

The decision to drop the clothing line was made amid the "Grab Your Wallet" campaign started by an anti-Trump group that encourages shoppers to boycott products that has ties with President Trump or his family.

The anti-Trump group has called for the boycott of more than 70 companies for doing with the Trump family or selling Trump products.

Several retailers dropped the first daughter's clothing line in the following weeks, citing poor sales. Retailer Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD), the parent company of Sears and Kmart, discontinued online sales of 31 Trump Home items. South Jersey-based Burlington Coat Factory also dropped Ivanka Trump products.

President Donald Trump took to Twitter to express his chagrin on Nordstrom's decision to drop his daughter's clothing line, raising concerns whether the new president will mix his family's businesses and his White House power.

"My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" Trump wrote on twitter.

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Business News
Image: Google Maps

At least two killed as military hospital comes under attack in Kabul India Blooms News Service | | #KabulMilitaryHospital, #HospitalAttackKabul, #KabulAttackHospital

Kabul, Mar 8 (IBNS) : At least two persons were killed and seven injured as a military hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul came under attack on on Wednesday, CNN reported.
A slim majority of voters think Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied about his communications with Russian officials and should resign, according to the results of a new Quinnipiac University poll.

The poll was conducted following revelations that Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice last year despite previously telling Senators during his confirmation hearing that he did not have communications with the Russians.

Sessions argued that he was asked about an exchange of information between surrogates for President Donald Trump's campaign and intermediaries for the Russian government and said he believes he answered the question honestly.

The Attorney General said he met with the ambassador in his capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and not as a Trump surrogate.

However, the Quinnipiac poll found that 52 percent of voters think Sessions lied under oath during the hearing. Another 40 percent think he made an unclear statement.

Eighty-three percent of Democrats and 53 percent of independents think Sessions lied under oath compared to just 14 percent of Republicans.

The survey also showed that 51 percent of voters think Sessions should resign over the matter, while 42 percent think he should remain as Attorney General.

Not surprisingly, Democrats and independents are far more likely to say Sessions should resign than Republicans.

President Donald Trump has expressed "total" confidence in Sessions, who recused himself from investigations related to the presidential campaign.

Sixty-one percent of voters also said they are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about Trump's relationship with Russia.

The poll also found that 62 percent of voters think alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election is a "very important" or "somewhat important" issue.

"The gavel comes down hard on Attorney General Jeff Sessions," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "He lied and he should quit because of it, say Americans, who are clearly very concerned about the Russian affair and all the administration personnel involved with it."

The Quinnipiac survey of 1,323 voters was conducted March 2nd through 6th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

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Business News
Hyperloop One has revealed the first images of its Hyperloop development site in Nevada desert dubbed DevLoop at a rail conference in Dubai.

Rob Lloyd, CEO of Hyperloop One, shared a bird's-eye view of how construction is progressing at the world's only full-system and full-scale Hyperloop test site during his international keynote address at the 11th annual Middle East Rail Dubai conference.

The 500 meter-long DevLoop, which has a diameter of 3.3 meters is located 30 minutes from Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. Hyperloop One is expected to perform a public test sometime during the first half of the year.

Hyperloop One acquired 50 acres of land at Apex in 2015, opening a 105,000-square-foot manufacturing plant dubbed Hyperloop One Metalworks last summer.

In November, Hyperloop One announced a deal with UAE authorities to study the feasibility to construct a 500 mph hyperloop that could connect Dubai with UAE city of Abu Dhabi in just 12 minutes.

"While is revolutionizing many facets of our lives, we have not seen a radical change in transportation since the Wright brothers introduced air travel over 100 years ago," said Lloyd.

"Tying together the Middle East region would produce greater virtual density, without congestion and pollution, spurring innovation, productivity, job growth and more powerful sharing of knowledge, labor and investment. Building a Hyperloop would vastly impact the and make any major city in the GCC accessible within one hour."

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Business News
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 ...
By SA Commercial Prop News

Mike Upton, Group Five CEO



JSE-listed construction company, Group Five has posted headline earnings per share of R1.80 were 64.4% lower than a year earlier but expects earnings to improve within the next year.

Group Fives main growth will be in Africa and the company will be moving away from operations in the Middle East, CEO Mike Upton said on Monday.

"We have some target markets, which would be in East and West Africa, more to do with mining contracts," he said.

"The Middle East is definitely for another time. We will be winding down operations in the Middle East, we have one contract there at the moment," Mr Upton told a conference call at the release of the companys annual results on Monday.

"We see our focus on Africa and see opportunities in Eastern Europe."

Fully diluted headline earnings per share from continuing operations fell by 62.9% to R1.77 and diluted HEPS declined to R1.15 from R3.10 a year ago.

Factors affecting the results included delayed construction revenue; in the construction materials unit, operating losses prior to its sale, and further impairments of its assets; Middle East contract losses; and impairments of claims due from previously discontinued operations in India.

"Against ongoing tough markets the group continued to implement the conservative approach adopted last year in terms of both the quality of the order book secured and its philosophy towards cash preservation to fund activity which will support future profit growth" Group Five said in a JSE announcement.

Revenue for the year increased to R8.78bn from the previous corresponding periods R8.77bn but operating profit declined to R331.4m from R605.6m, largely due to losses from the Middle East.

The total secured construction order book increased to R11.3bn from R8.8bn a year ago, with the over-border portion growing to 38%.

Some 43% of the contracts in the order book are multidisciplinary, indicating the further progression of more business segments working together.

The groups infrastructure concessions and operations and maintenance services secured order book stands at R4.8bn.

"It is encouraging to see an improvement in the construction order book with a good cash position supporting this strategy," the group said.

Group Five declared a gross dividend of 14c per ordinary share which brings the total dividend for the year to 36c from 72c last year.

Looking ahead, Mr Upton said that against the actions taken, Group Five expected margins and earnings to improve in the coming year.

"Our construction order book has improved, and the client and sector mix is more balanced. Our concessions and services order book gives us a good line of sight on annuity income," he said.

"The value of the groups target opportunity pipeline stands at R148bn, up from R134bn in June 2011 and R144bn in December 2011. We are experiencing activity in all our markets, with the emphasis on over-border growth aligned to resources and basic infrastructure," he added.

"The investments and concessions cluster is delivering annuity business growth, with group-wide opportunities in active infrastructure sectors in increasing geographies.

"Manufacturing has been refocused and its performance is improving on higher sales volumes to a broadening number of markets.

"Based on the good underlying performance of all its continuing businesses and the groups positioning in the key infrastructure growth sectors of power, mining, oil and gas, water and transport, and in the concessions and public-private partnership market for specific projects, as well as the progress made in terms of improving the groups internal efficiencies, management expects an improvement in the groups trading performance from full-year 2013," Mr Upton said.

Group Five shares traded flat on Monday at R22.85, while the construction sector fell 0.47%.
Both the Congress and the BJP on Wednesday claimed victory with a comfortable majority ahead of the counting of votes in the February 4 state assembly polls.

Both parties held review meetings with their respective candidates and polling agents, prepping them for counting day on Saturday.

"We are expecting 23 to 25 seats. We should have the majority this time. I know that many, including some of our senior leaders, were saying that the Congress will not get more than three seats. The situation is now from minus to plus," state Congress President Luizinho Faleiro told reporters here.

Faleiro also said that the Congress was open to support from leaders of other political parties and independent candidates.

"As I said before, if any other candidate believes in the Congress ideology, programme and manifesto, they're free to support us," Faleiro said.

State Bharatiya Janata Party president Vinay Tendulkar also expressed confidence about winning the assembly elections.

After conducting a meeting with party leaders and candidates, Tendulkar told reporters in Panaji that the ruling party would win 22-23 seats in the 40-member Goa legislative assembly.

"The BJP is sure to win 22-23 seats when results are declared on March 11," Tendulkar said.

When asked whether current Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar ' title=' Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar '>Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar would be anointed to the post once again if the party wins the polls, Tendulkar said: "That is up to the party MLAs and the Parliamentary board".
3 things to think about for Kansas mens basketballs opener

The No. 5 Jayhawks are opening their season Monday. Its the start of their run to try to defend their national championship this past season.
At least seven objections from the California Coastal Commission could leave the proposed $13 million replacement of Anthonys Fish Grotto stuck in a quagmire as thick as a cup of Mama Ghios clam chowder.

The commission is scheduled to tackle the first issue Wednesday at its meeting in Ventura  whether it has jurisdiction over Brigantine Restaurants Portside Pier project on North Harbor Drive.

If the commission prevails, then issues of size, design, parking and public access would come up next and possibly require months of negotiations among the commission, port and Brigantine.

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Port officials plans to make a presentation at the meeting. Brigantine representatives did not return calls for comment.

Anthonys Fish Grotto  founded by Catherine Mama Ghio 71 years ago elsewhere on the bay and famous for its clam chowder and other fish dishes  closed its doors Jan. 31 to comply with its lease requirements. It is in the process of clearing out the building at 1360 N. Harbor Drive and turning the keys over to the port next week.

As my grandma would say, Testa dura, said her grandson and Anthonys president, Craig Ghio. The phrase literally means hard headed or you gotta be kidding. He said an auction of interior fixtures and equipment yielded about $20,000.

Brigantine won the bid last year to build a replacement  Brigantine on the Bay, Miguels Cocina, Ketch Grill & Taps  plus a gelato and coffee bar, enlarged dock-and-dine facility, public viewing deck and promenade.

The company already faces delays, perhaps into late fall, in getting federal and state clearance before it can commence demolition. The company had hoped to be open by the summer of 2018.

The port stands to lose $50,000 a month in lost lease payments and even more if Brigantines opening is delayed into 2019 or later.

In more than 800 pages of staff and legal opinions and backup material, the coastal commission staff argues that state law allows it to review restaurants on port tidelands. The San Diego Unified Port District and Brigantines attorney argue just the opposite.

The ports conclusion is based on an extremely narrow interpretation, the coastal staff report says.

Restaurants serve the general public and are not principally devoted to port business activities, the staff continued. Restaurants are not dependent on waterfront locations. They can be located anywhere. Therefore restaurants are appealable developments.

Rebecca Harrington, the ports deputy general counsel, called the commissions stance an action in excess of the authority and jurisdiction granted by the state, interference with a contract and a taking of property rights.

Neither restaurants nor eating establishments are listed as appealable (in the coastal act), she said, and the Legislature did not itemize them as it did for office buildings, hotels and other uses. It knew how to use a plain term to describe a restaurant. However, the Legislature did not do so, leaving restaurants as nonappealable developments.

Steven Kaufmann, the Brigantines attorney, said the coastal staffs reasoning attempts to squeeze a square into a round hole.

If the coastal commissioners agree with their executive director that the project can be reviewed, an appellate hearing will be set, most likely at its May 10-12 meeting in San Diego.

Its also possible the port might sue the commission. But that could delay final approval even further.

Besides jurisdiction, the coastal commission staff raised six other issues:

The new restaurant complex, to be built on a series of new pilings, is much bigger than Anthonys, 40,805 square feet versus 24,855 square feet, and covers 4,480 square feet of additional water. The port should have considered a reduced-project alternative, the coastal staff said.

The facility includes two new public access areas  a 45-foot-wide public walkway around the building and a 3,711-square-foot public viewing deck on the second floor. But the coastal staff said the public would have to enter the restaurant to gain access and a 6-inch-round directional sign, reading public access, would be too small to alert the public.

The dock-and-dine facility will grow from its present 565 square feet to 3,370 square feet. The coastal staff considers it a recreational small craft marine-related facility but one that would only be accessible by restaurant patrons, which essentially privatizes the dock.

The parking requirements should be recalculated to take into account the larger restaurant. The old restaurant had 536 seats and no reserved parking and the new one will have about 1,000 seats. The port required 84 spaces and the commission thinks 391 are needed.

The projects proposed signs and lighting would be incompatible with the character of the surrounding development, namely the San Diego Maritime Museums Star of India historic sailing ship.

The port might need a master plan amendment before the restaurant can be approved because the current plan does not list the redevelopment of the site. The port is working on a new master plan that the commission will eventually have to approve. It is unclear if the commission would approve the Brigantine before an amendment is granted or the new plan is approved. The new plan is not expected to be completed and presented to the commission until sometime next year.

The port and commission staff have been wrangling over the Anthonys/Brigantine project since last May, when the commission staff first raised various objections. After the port approved the project in December, the commission repeatedly asked the port to confirm its action. Once that took place Feb. 6, the commission started a 10-day appeal period and two of its commissioners filed an appeal.

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roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rogershowley
San Diego will be getting a return of nonstop service to Colorado Springs this summer, thanks to Frontier Airlines.

Beginning July 10, Frontier will operate the new daily flights between San Diego and Colorado Springs on its Airbus A320 aircraft. San Diego departures are scheduled for 11:25 a.m., while the Colorado Springs flights will leave at 10:35 a.m.

The airline is offering one-way promotional fares starting at $29, but the offer will expire by midnight Eastern time on Wednesday, for travel through Aug. 9.

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Frontier is marking a return to a route that it had previously operated out of San Diego on a seasonal basis. No other airline currently offers nonstop service to Colorado Springs.

Were pleased that Frontier is returning service between San Diego and Colorado Springs, San Diego International Airport spokeswoman Rebecca Bloomfield said. It gives San Diegans direct access to the majestic beauty of Pikes Peak, and those in southern Colorado a convenient link to the beaches of San Diego.

The new route is in addition to three other nonstop destinations  Austin, Cincinnati and Cleveland  that the airline announced last month that it will be debuting in April and May. Its also one of 10 new year-round and seasonal routes nationwide that Frontier announced on Tuesday.

Our network continues to expand in markets where people want to fly, said Josh Flyr, vice president  network planning. Customers traveling in these new markets will now have a new low-cost option.

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lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
A new public transit fare collection system developed by San Diegos Cubic Corp. has hit a few potholes in its initial rollout in Chicago.

Customers have complained of long waits to get through to the Cubic-operated call center, as well as instances in which the cards dont work on buses or trains. Some customers also complain of double charging.

Two elected city officials have called for hearing on what went wrong with the $454 million, multiyear contract. But Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel defended the Chicago Transit Authoritys switch to the Ventra card this week and said Cubic wouldnt get paid until the system is working properly.

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Cubic officials said the company is fixing the problems, including tripling its work force in the call center and making other changes to get the new Ventra card system to operate smoothly.

Theres a technology shift underway in public fare payment toward so-called open systems, said Richard Wunderle, senior vice president for Cubic Transportation Systems. Cubic has installed such a system in London, and Chicago was next. Eventually, these systems aim to allow riders to pay for fares with debit or credit cards.

In Chicago, the Ventra card replaces Cubics prior, transit-only smart card system. It gives riders the option to create an account so the Ventra card doubles as a debit card.

We have over 1 million accounts set up already, said Richard Wunderle. Fifty-five percent of ridership is using the Ventra card, and about 1.6 million people use public transportation every day in Chicago, so we are north of 800,000 transactions a day.

The Ventra card system launched in September. The citys transit authority told the citys existing 2.5 million transit card holders they needed to switch to Ventra by Dec. 15.

That overwhelmed Cubic, particular at the call center. It has boosted staff to more than 300 workers to handle the load.

The driving force here is the Chicago Transit Authority putting everyone on notice that they had to convert to a new card in a very short time period, said Jay Thomas, Cubics chief financial officer. Its an unusual rollout strategy, but it is what the customer wanted to do.

Cubic has two main businesses  one that provides military training and services and a second that makes fare gates and payment systems for some of the worlds largest public transit agencies, including London, Chicago, New York, Sydney and San Francisco.

Thomas said Cubic does not expect the problems in Chicago to impact the companys financial results.

Under terms of the contract, the company has until January to reach milestones to get paid. Those include wait times of less than five minutes for the Ventra customer hotline, 99 percent of Ventra equipment working properly and fare transactions processed in 2.5 seconds 99 percent of the time.

Wunderle said fares sometimes get double charged when a card user taps multiple times on the fare gate reader. In addition, Cubic has improved response times so money loaded onto a card enters the system quicker, which the company believes will help prevent multiple taps. It has made other software changes to prevent overcharges.

Cubic has won a contract to install an open fare payment system in Vancouver and is participating in the proposal process for a similar system in Washington, D.C.
Early next month, a grieving Fallbrook couple will host a free public event to thank the community and celebrate the life of their late son, whose devastating, yearlong struggle with pediatric brain cancer was followed by nearly 18,000 people worldwide.

On Feb. 20, 6-year-old kindergartner Parker Landis passed away after a 13-month battle with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a rare brainstem cancer that strikes children ages 6-10. The survival rate for DIPG is less than 1 percent, with an average life expectancy of just 9 months after diagnosis.

Parkers parents, Mark and Jennifer Landis, knew their sons illness was terminal when they got his diagnosis on Jan. 17, 2016. But they never stopped fighting, and their roller-coaster journey  chronicled with Marks raw, honest posts and touching photographs on the Facebook page Hope for Parker  inspired a community support campaign that still continues.

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Portrait of Mark and Jennifer Landis and their 3-year-old daughter Taylor, photographed March 4 at their Fallbrook home. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Press)

After we got the diagnosis we kept it to ourselves until we could digest it, but when we went public we were overwhelmed with the outpouring of public support, Jennifer said. Theres no way we couldve done what we did without the support. Im glad that we could be there to hold his hand until the end. We never left his side.

Over the past year, the Landises were the beneficiaries of a community carnival, a crowdfunding campaign that raised nearly $60,000, numerous individual fundraisers and a meal train of home-cooked meals that are still arriving on their doorstep. The Make-A-Wish Foundation also granted Parkers wish for a family trip to Hawaii last year, though he was too ill at the time to enjoy it.

The money raised allowed the Landises to take leaves from their jobs  hes a software engineer, shes a pharmacist  and to fund nearly a dozen trips to New York last year for a high-profile clinical trial that might someday lead to a cure for DIPG.

Since Parkers death, the Landises say theyve been struggling through each day in a state of shock. They avoid phone conversations and dont leave the house much. Jennifers not sure when shell return to work.

I think this will always be hard, said Jennifer, 35. We will always be a family of four minus one, not a family of three.

Up until last year, the Landises thought theyd exhausted their share of bad luck. They lost everything they owned (except for their cat and a laptop computer) when the Witch Creek Fire swept unexpectedly into their Rancho Bernardo neighborhood in the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 22, 2007.

We thought that would be the worst thing in our lives forever, Jennifer said. This foreign force had entered our sacred space and took everything.

Mark, 38, said the shock of their sudden loss haunted him for many years. Now it seems insignificant.

The couple met in 1995 when they were students at Rancho Bernardo High School (she was a freshman, he, a junior) and theyve been together ever since. They married in 2004 and six years later welcomed their first child, Parker Steven (their bubbly, talkative daughter Taylor is now 3).

Parker was a thriving, goofy, introspective boy who loved to swim, ride his bike and lead the neighborhood children around the cul-de-sac dressed in his beloved Captain America costume. Most weekends Jennifer worked, so Mark took a big hand in child-rearing.

I was grateful. A lot of fathers dont have that alone time in the early years with their child, Mark said. He was my little buddy. We got into all sorts of trouble together.

In retrospect, the couple say they now realize the first symptoms of Parkers illness were appearing in fall 2015, when his behavior became a bit more cranky and clingy and he seemed a little clumsy.

Once he tripped while we were walking and I asked him what happened. He said my leg stopped working. I didnt think anything of it at the time, Mark said.

Then one Friday after school, Mark found Parker sound asleep on the floor at daycare. As they walked to the car, Parker was groggy and stumbling. He would later be diagnosed with strep throat, so the Landises initially thought the boys fever was virus-related.

The next morning, Parker began vomiting and holding one eye shut when he watched TV, so Jennifer took him and Taylor to the pediatrician for a check-up. When the doctor saw that Parkers eyes couldnt follow his finger back and forth, he feared an infection behind the eyes.

An ambulance rushed Parker to a nearby emergency room, where an MRI showed a lemon-sized mass in his brain. Twenty-four hours later, now at Rady Childrens Hospital, the final diagnosis came in. The Landises say they dont much remember that day, other than feeling numb, helpless and confused.

DIPG is whats known as an orphan disease. Its so rare (1 in a million children, with only about 300 cases diagnosed each year in the U.S.) that it gets scant money for research.

One of just a handful of DIPG clinical researchers worldwide is Dr. Mark Souweidane, who last spring was seeking diagnosed patients for a Phase 1 clinical trial in New York. Hundreds of chemotherapy trials for DIPG had failed, but Souweidane had pioneered a way to surgically deliver drugs directly to the brainstem.

Rather than take their son home to die, the Landises decided to go for the moonshot and apply for the trial. A few weeks later, Parker was accepted as Patient No. 26.

Portrait of Mark and Jennifer Landis and their 3-year-old daughter Taylor at their Fallbrook home on March 4. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune/Zuma Press)

The time off and expense of travel would require more resources than the couple had, so after two weeks of difficult discussions, they launched a crowdfunding campaign and accompanying Facebook page.

Jennifer said it was hard exposing their lives to strangers.

I didnt want to sacrifice our sons dignity. Its like we were the car crash on the side of the road and people were driving by looking at it.

Mark said the page was initially created as a necessity, but eventually it became a therapeutic way to express the struggle he and Jennifer were going through. On the page he promoted fundraisers for other children with DIPG and for disease research. And he published dozens of photos of Parker enjoying brief respites of health and often sleeping after procedures. The Landises refused to publish any photos that showed their son suffering.

People mightve wanted to see the car crash, but we werent going to show that, he said.

Parker would later be written up in news articles and the doctors blog as the first trial patient to receive the highest dose of the new drug and the only one of the 31 patients to endure three surgical infusions.

The drugs results were inconclusive  almost all of the young patients have since passed from the disease  but it did prove that the drug-delivery procedure was survivable.

The Landises say they hope their sons participation helped contribute to a future cure. They live by a pact not to regret the treatment choices they made for their son.

Last year was a roller-coaster. We had a lot of hope, then not hope, then hope again, then not hope after that, she said. Parents who get this diagnosis, we all go in different directions because were so desperate. But in the end it all ends up the same. They all pass away.

Parkers health seesawed between six-week bouts of vitality after a month of radiation last spring and after the first surgery in New York last June. But by fall, hope began to fade.

He first lost the use of his arms, then his legs, then his ability to speak. In December he was placed on hospice. As Parkers death neared, Marks posts on Facebook became more sporadic. In the final weeks there were no words, just a series of photos of Parker taken before he got sick so people could remember him for how he lived, not how he died.

Theyre now working together on Parkers celebration of life service, which will be detailed on the Hope for Parker page in the coming weeks. It will take place at 3:30-5:30 p.m. April 9 at the Grand Tradition Estate, 220 Grand Tradition Way in Fallbrook. For Parkers friends and former classmates, there will be a bounce house, face painting and fire trucks.

Mark said that although the experience of the past year was unimaginably sad, it was also inspiring in how so many people, friends and strangers, locally and abroad, reached out to offer support and words of encouragement online.

Id like to say Ive found some enlightenment, he said. Im so much more compassionate than I used to be and I have no problem expressing my feelings now ... Before this, I didnt really know what death was, but now I understand it. Theres horror in it, but theres a beauty, too.

Celebration of Life for Parker Landis

When: 3:30-5:30 p.m. April 9

Where: The Grand Tradition, 220 Grand Tradition Way, Fallbrook

Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/364303683969187/

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
A plan to replace a series of rusting, sheet-metal seawalls in Del Mar with new concrete-topped barriers is so far moving forward without a fight, a rarity along the California coast where environmentalists and the state Coastal Commission often oppose armoring the beach.

The first of three new seawall applications  submitted by side-by-side property owners whose homes are on Ocean Front, just a few feet above the sand  was unanimously approved Monday by the Del Mar City Council, where no one opposed the project.

It is important that this be approved, Councilman Dave Druker said. We do want a continuous seawall along our beach. This is one of those things that should have been done years ago.

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The bigger hurdle is often getting the permits approved by the California Coastal Commission, which has increasingly tightened restrictions on seawalls up and down the state. The controversy has led to lawsuits in communities like Encinitas, where property owners are fighting to protect costly homes perched atop sandstone bluffs as high as 80 feet above sea level.

The Ocean Front application approved Monday by the city is within Del Mars coastal zone, and will only go to the Coastal Commission if appealed. The two other two applications, scheduled to go to the council in April, are outside the zone and will automatically go to the Coastal Commission.

The Surfrider Foundation, which has helped lead the battle against seawalls, is waiting to look at the Del Mar seawall applications until they are forwarded to the Coastal Commission, said Julia Chunn-Heer, a policy manager for the foundations San Diego office. She said the nonprofit group may take a position on the applications at that time.

The foundations position on seawalls in general is that they prevent the natural erosion that contributes to a healthy beach, often taking public property for private use. The foundation has filed a number of lawsuits in San Diego County, sometimes opposing property owners who try to build seawalls and occasionally supporting cities that impose restrictions and fees on the structures.

But seawalls have long been a fact of life in Del Mar, where most oceanfront property practically sits on the sand. The seawall approved by the council on Monday would replace one built about 1980.

The existing 290-foot-long wall protects a public access point at the end of 29th Street and two oceanfront residential lots on the south side of the street. The wall is made of sheets of steel hammered into the sand, and the part extending above the sand is badly corroded. In spots it has rusted completely through and sand from behind the wall has begun to erode away.

The new wall also also feature sheets of steel, hammered more than 20 feet deep into the sand, but will topped with 15 feet of concrete above the sand to last longer and to match the existing concrete structures on both sides.

An emergency permit issued by the city in December allowed the property owner to install rock riprap to slow the erosion.

Erosion is only a problem on the metal that extends above the sand, said Walter Crampton, an architect for the property owners. Below the sand the lack of oxygen slows corrosion, and the steel lasts much longer than it does when exposed to the air.

The new wall will be a state of the art design, Crampton said, with a wave deflector at the top that will send some of the force of the highest waves back out into the ocean.

Del Mar received the seawall application last year, along with two others, and decided to treat all three as a single application, city associate planner Jean Crutchfield told the council.

The citys staff has recommended two more similar replacement seawalls for approval next month. All are on the northern end of the small city, near the Del Mar Fairgrounds and the mouth of the San Dieguito River.

The other two applications, for lots north of 29th Street, are scheduled to be considered by the City Council in April. The city staff has recommended the council approve all three, although final approval will be up to the California Coastal Commission.

All the seawalls replace existing structures on or at about the same spot so no mitigation fees are required, Crutchfield said. All of the existing rock riprap would be removed.

Not a single objection has been received to the three applications, the citys planning manager, Tracy Elliot Yawn, said Tuesday.

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehl
Serendipity and a shared passion for the music of Johann Sebastian Bach have inspired an unprecedented concert series from three well-established San Diego arts organizations. Sounds of the Baroque presents four early-music concerts, Thursday through Tuesday.

Initially it was a nail-biting experience, hoping we could pull this off, said Greta Treadgold, president of San Diego Early Music Society.

Last September, Treadgold realized that for this Marchs Early Music Month, San Diego Early Music Society wasnt alone in scheduling Bach-centered programs. La Jolla Music Society and Bach Collegium San Diego were also planning to honor the revered composer, born March 21, 1685.

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The planned concerts  two on the same date  all featured respected artists. They include Torontos Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the San Diego debut of Berlins Akademie Fur Alte Musik (AKAMUS) and the pairing of soprano Nell Snaidas and violinist Julie Andrijeski.

It all started with an ad trade. Over the years, the three San Diego organizations have placed ads featuring their upcoming concerts in each others programs. While preparing for an ad meeting, Treadgold noticed the convergence of concerts.

A flurry of phone calls and meetings ensued, as Treadgold sought to coordinate with La Jolla Music Society and Bach Collegium.

La Jolla Music Society Marketing Director Kristen Sakamoto and Artistic Director Leah Rosenthal agreed immediately. Bach Collegiums Executive Director Will Neblett and Artistic Director Ruben Valenzuela were also on board.

Rosenthal suggested the concerts be preceded by lectures. UC San Diego professor Steven Cassedy will speak before tonights performance by acclaimed jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. The other lectures will be by former Union-Tribune classical music critic James Chute.

Mehldau will play six works by Bach and three of his own compositions, which use The Well-Tempered Clavier as a jumping-off point.

I will play Bachs piece directly before the piece of mine it inspired; in this way, the listener can hear the connections in real time, Mehldau explains in the La Jolla Music Society program.

Saturday and Sunday Bach Collegium concerts feature Snaidas, a busy vocalist in New York, and violinist Andrijeski, a music professor at Ohios Case Western.

The stars were aligned, Treadgold said. All groups promoted each others concerts. All of us worked very hard to make this happen. Everybody involved deserves credit for this. It was way beyond an ad trade  a true group effort.

In addition to observing Early Music Month, San Diego Early Music Society is celebrating its 35th anniversary by presenting AKAMUS on Tuesday. The esteemed German chamber orchestra is also marking its 35th year. Using instruments of the baroque period, the musicians will explore pieces centered on nature.

Fridays La Jolla Music Society concert showcases a return performance by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Also playing early-music instruments, Tafelmusik employs modern technology to illustrate the craftsmanship of the era through a multimedia presentation.

Treadgold credits this collaboration in part to San Diegos flourishing music scene. With ambitious programs presented by three organizations, the project required a lot of dedication and coordination.

Synergy between (arts) groups is the future, she said. If we can work together, theres no limit to what can happen in this town.

Sounds of the Baroque

La Jolla Music Society Presents Brad Mehldau, Three Pieces after Bach

When: 8 Thursday (pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.)

La Jolla Music Society Presents Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra: J.S. Bach: The Circle of Creation

When: 8 p.m. Friday (pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.)

Where: Sherwood Auditorium, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 700 Prospect St., La Jolla

Tickets: $30-$80

Phone: (858) 459-3728

Online: LJMS.org

Bach Collegium San Diego Presents Nell Snaidas & Julie Andrijeski, Agony & Ecstasy: Bachs Muses

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday (pre-concert lecture at 2 p.m.)

Where: Saturday at All Souls Episcopal Church, 1475 Catalina Blvd., Point Loma; Sunday at St. James-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 734 Prospect St., La Jolla

Tickets: $37.92-$53.74; student and senior discounts available

Phone: (619) 341-1726

Online: bachcollegiumsd.org

San Diego Early Music Society Presents Akademie Fur Alte Musik, Of Frogs and Men: The Nature of the Baroque

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m.)

Where: St. James-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 734 Prospect St., La Jolla

Tickets: $28-$40

Phone: (619) 291-8246

Online: sdems.org
Is San Diego a good place to make art? Thats recently been a subject for debate in San Diegos visual art community, but things were different, if not incomparable, for three artists who moved here in the early and mid-20th century and found San Diego to be a generous and generative adoptive home.

Belle Baranceanu, Maurice Braun and Harry Sternberg each found success elsewhere and then headed west. Their works, before and after their moves, are the focus of an intriguing exhibition at the San Diego History Center.

San Diego was really the edge of the world for them, at that moment. They could come here and redefine themselves and their artistic practice, said Tara Centybear, the exhibitions curator.

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Braun, born in 1877, painted at a time when photography was still a rarity, making his work valuable from a historical perspective. An oil from about 100 years ago shows a eucalyptus-dotted dell  now perhaps a freeway or gas station? A painting from 1930 shows Point Loma as a brushy outback.

Hes documenting this landscape that is now completely changed, Centybear said.

These sunny landscapes are a departure from his work in New England  mostly portraits and still lifes, Centybear said. In California, the sky became much more important. The landscape was really his sole muse.

Baranceanu was born in 1902 and taught at Francis Parker School for decades. Her artistic transformation, visible in the contrasting types of works on display, was driven by the new professional opportunities she earned here.

She was a studio painter in her native Chicago. One example in the show is a cramped little oil of a railroad yard, from 1927, on loan, with a number of other works in the show, from Sandra and Bram Dijkstra. The horizon is high, the sky is heavy, and save for a patch of shrubbery in the foreground, the scene is a thicket of metal and smoke.

Here her art became spare and monumental, but also broadly significant, thanks to a series of commissions for murals from the Works Progress Administration. Those pieces, including two on display at the museum, ended up cementing her fame.

Its especially impressive as a woman artist at the time to be jumping into this very male-dominated field and to have accomplished as much as she has, Centybear said.

The show also features a newly restored landscape of Mission Hills and downtown. The paint was flaking off so badly that the canvas had to be transported horizontally to prevent the cracked chips from sliding away.

It took hundreds of hours to repair, said Morgan Wylder, a Mellon Fellow in paintings conservation at the Balboa Art Conservation Center.

Sternberg died in Escondido in 2001.

Combining realism with aspects of abstraction and surrealism, Sternberg created dark, dramatic works, often with a distinctly oneiric impact, Bram Dijkstra, an art historian and a professor emeritus of comparative literature at the University of California San Diego, wrote in a biographical note.

The show includes nine of Sternbergs screen prints, all portraits of other artists, done in New York in the 1940s. Could the lanky, lounging hippies in the Borrego Desert, circa 1970, in hot neons, possibly be by the same person?

In San Diego, Sternberg found the license to experiment with form, medium and color, Centybear said.

The exhibition is part of a broader show at the museum about San Diegos Jewish community. The artists were born Jewish, and while religion was not a pivotal aspect of their artistic practice, it is a theme in some works on display.

In a subtle way, the work of the three artists in the History Centers exhibition reflects the position of all Jews in society, Bram Dijkstra wrote in an email. Because good art upsets the cultural applecart, truly serious artists, by their very nature, are outsiders. For most of the 20th century, Jews, too, have largely been outsiders whether or not they wanted to be. But, the farther from the norm they found themselves, the more likely they were to want to normalize their position.

The three San Diego Jewish artists in Art & Heritage, for this reason, reflect the changing cultural position of Jews in American society: Braun, as a new immigrant to America from Hungary, seeking cultural compliance in most (tho not all) of his work, Baranceanu, adventurously exploring modernism by stepping beyond her eras visual norms, and Sternberg, reflecting a further opening of the American mind, comfortably and expertly thumbing his nose at convention.

Sternberg arrived here later in his life, but especially for Braun and Baranceanu, they were creating the San Diego art world by participating in it, Centybear said.

While it might be tempting to try to understand their careers in terms of these poles  East Coast or Midwest versus San Diego, intimate versus grand, canonical versus inventive  that would be reductive. What San Diego did appear to do, for all three, was to illuminate new possibilities, which they seized.

Art & Heritage, Three San Diego Jewish Artists: Braun, Baranceanu & Sternberg

When: Through July 9

Where: San Diego History Center, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park

Tickets: Suggested donation: $5

Phone: (619) 232-6203

Online: sandiegohistory.org/current_exhibitions

Popescu is a freelance writer.
The nude photos scandal rocking the Marine Corps is yet one more example of the continued failure of senior female Marines to speak out against systemic cultural problems related to gender in the corps. Their silence is deafening.

A few days ago, a female retired colonel and I had the opportunity to speak to a group of under graduate students at Georgetown on gender issues and the Marine Corps. The class professor had invited us based on our participation in Dan Sagalyns in-depth PBS Newshour feature on the adverse impacts of segregated Marine Corps recruit training.

Throughout the class, the colonel repeatedly talked about how bad the harassment and abuse of women had been in her day. But at the same time, she was exceedingly quick to defend the Marine culture and talk about how much it has improved  despite not providing any specific evidence to that end.

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Her comments were indicative of the cognitive dissonance that comes with being a woman in the Marines: We want to belong, and therefore we are uncomfortable speaking out about the gender problems we know exist.

There can be no unvarnished truth, because it would necessitate the admission of our own culpability for the Corps systemic cultural problems, either through commission or omission.

In my desire to be seen as competent, strong and one of the guys, I refused to touch most gender issues with a 10-foot pole when I was a young officer.

And so, we maintain our silence no matter the existence of clear cut evidence of sexism and bias in the Corps  evidence like that presented in Thomas J. Brennans article on the sharing of illicit photos of women Marines via the Facebook group Marines United.

Its hard to deny a cultural problem in the Marines exists when you consider the fact that over 30,000 active-duty and veteran Marines allegedly participated.

But my own experiences and the comments by the female colonel at Georgetown fully reinforced what I already knew about the concept of willful blindness and how it applies to the Marines.

There is a strong tendency among senior leaders, retired or not, to be protective of the Corps in a way that actually harms the institution and the Marines they lead.

My husband and I call these individuals true believers because they are unable to reconcile the problems they know to exist in the Corps with their earnest desire to belong to the tribe. For them, affiliation with the Corps is a near-religious experience.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the ranks of senior female Marines.

I often publicly say that one of my greatest regrets from my time on active duty was refusing to acknowledge, until late in my career, what was happening around me.

I saw first-hand how women, both Marine and civilian, were talked about, treated and maligned by some of my fellow Marines. But in my desire to be seen as competent, strong, and one of the guys, I refused to touch most gender issues with a 10-foot pole when I was a young officer.

After all  I wanted to belong to the tribe. I saw, but refused to see, that women  the women to whom I had a leadership obligation  were consistently viewed as second-class citizens in the Marine Corps. I wanted to be the exceptional female. The last thing I wanted was to be labeled as a feminist, which in the Marines is synonymous with problem.

I realized I had to act when I commanded the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion, the only all-female unit in the Defense Department.

After a short time in command, I came to believe that segregated training was bad for not only the women, but also the Corps. I discovered the Marine Corps had recruited women to lower standards and trained them to lower expectations for decades, but that the institution was Ok with the results because they substantiated why women should be banned from combat jobs.

Much to the chagrin of my boss, I began to vocally question the policy of segregation at bootcamp.

Time and time again, I was told to just shut up and color, but I felt I had a moral imperative to try to change the system. My public expression of dissent did not work out well, and I think the thing that I was most struck by when I was fired was that there was not a single senior female Marine, retired or otherwise, who came forward to acknowledge that gender bias and sexism are alive and well in the Corps.

Even the former Fourth Battalion commanders, women who would have had first-hand experience dealing with training inequities and the poor culture on the recruit depot, failed to speak out.

I never expected or wanted them to defend me personally. However, from a moral and ethical perspective, I strongly believe they had an obligation to speak publicly about sexism and bias in the Marines when they knew the discussion was taking place in the media as a result of my relief.

But even after the publication of Brennans article, even after the failure of the senior generals to vociferously condemn the actions of the 30,000 Marines, still no senior women Marines have been willing to comment on the record.

Instead, we place that burden squarely on shoulders of the victims, most of whom are junior Marines.

To some extent, I understand the reticence of senior female Marines to speak out publicly against the entrenched bias and sexism they have long witnessed. After all, as you progress further up the promotion pyramid, there is more and more pressure to submit and conform to group think.

Senior Marines are very quick to circle the wagons to insulate themselves from public scrutiny by the media or Congress as a result of the words or actions of one of their own. After all, it is more comforting to be safely confined inside the circle of wagons than to experience the humiliation and indignity of being banished from the tribe.

But whatever happened to matters of principle and the obligation to lead and advocate for junior Marines, especially those who are most marginalized in our culture?

Todays female Marines feel like they have to go underground to discuss gender bias and related issues on secret Facebook pages. The fact is, they feel compelled to do so because there isnt a tribe of senior female Marine leaders  retired and active duty, enlisted and officer  speaking out for them against what we all know is wrong with our culture.

In the next few weeks, article after article will be written about the Marine Corps photo scandal. No doubt the Marine Corps will continue to try to manage the stories on the defense by saying it takes every allegation seriously.

But until there is a public outcry by women Marines on behalf of women Marines, nothing will ever change.

Kate Germano is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. She took command of the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion in June 2014, but was relieved after one year due to the perception by senior leaders that she was abusive. You can reach her at germanoki@gmail.com.
Charter school backers had their first chance on Tuesday to win majority control of the Los Angeles Board of Education, but now that goal has been deferred, if it happens at all.

In the highest-profile contest, in District 4, charter partisans were unable, for now, to unseat two-term incumbent and board President Steve Zimmer, who finished on top with 47% of the vote, according to unofficial final returns.

Because he did not win a majority, Zimmer still will face a May runoff against second-place finisher Nick Melvoin, who had 31% of the vote in a field of four.

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Also in a runoff is charter-backed Kelly Gonez, who finished in front of a field of six, with 36% of the vote, in District 6. Shell face Imelda Padilla, who, like Zimmer, was financially supported by the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles.

But charter backers did have one victory to celebrate. Incumbent Monica Garcia, an ally, cruised to victory in District 2, with 58% of vote.

Tuesdays races marked the latest battle between supporters of charter schools and those allied with the teachers union. Those two factions spent millions of dollars on outside campaigns that dominated the election.

Looking ahead to the runoff, Zimmer said he hoped that voters understood whats at stake.

Voters have a stark choice, he said, between whether we can make more dreams come true for kids through working together with our teachers and parents or whether were going to return to the politics of conflict, competition and confrontation.

School board candidate Nick Melvoin, who made the May runoff, watches early returns with campaign fundraiser Tracy Austin at an election night gathering in Venice. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

Melvoin said a win for his side would represent new thinking and opportunity.

I want to change the paradigm of the school district from a bureaucratic school system to an innovative ecosystem of public schools, Melvoin said. The district hasnt adapted to a reality of innovation. They see it as a threat, but it doesnt have to be.

The noise of the campaigns often obscured the competing visions of reform. Zimmer and his allies described a school system making progress, which would benefit from stability while expanding successful programs, graduating more students and enhancing social services to families.

Charter allies backing Melvoin  and also Allison Holdorff Polhill, who finished third in District 4  included civic leaders who want a major shake-up, which starts but doesnt end with charter schools.

The last time this faction was in power, from 2011 to 2014 under then-Supt. John Deasy, it pushed to close or restaff low-performing, district-operated schools, end seniority protections for teachers and make standardized test scores a substantial part of teacher evaluations.

The districts subsequent leadership, including Supt. Michelle King, moved away from Deasys priorities.

Charter advocates hoped to emerge with three victors who could form a four-vote majority with board member and charter school founder Ref Rodriguez. That milestone gain remains possible, pending the outcome of balloting in May.

Charters are privately managed public schools that are exempt from some rules that govern traditional campuses. Most are nonunion. L.A. has more charters than any other school system does; charter students make up about 16% of enrollment.

As election day began, charter backers liked their chances because they had endorsed competitive candidates and could count on seemingly unlimited financial resources from wealthy donors and support from the growing number of charter families.

But a major unknown was whether this core would turn out in greater numbers than supporters of the teachers union

Also unknown was the impact of a fiercely negative campaign in District 4, which covers the Westside and portions of the west San Fernando Valley. The union and its supporters tried to make voters see Melvoin and Holdorff Polhill as puppets of President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who favor government support for many kinds of school choice, including charters and religious schools. Charter school advocates blamed Zimmer for an array of the school districts past and current ills.

Monica Garcia celebrates her reelection to the L.A. school board in District 2. (Sonali Kohli / Los Angeles Times)

Garcia won charter backers support, despite the fact that she has been making decisions on the board longer than Zimmer has.

Garcia, who surged ahead of two challengers Tuesday, has a sturdy political base in a district that covers downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. And she faced no challenge from a perennial foe, the teachers union, which conserved its resources for the other contests.

Garcia said her goals as a board member  a 100% graduation rate and all students qualified to enter college  have resonated with the striving, low-income community she represents and grew up in.

I think our movement gets stronger each election, she said during a gathering at Puente Learning Center in Boyle Heights, which featured a mariachi band from Mendez High School and an arch of blue, white and gold balloons. There are a lot of folks who want to see an LAUSD that serves more kids well.

In that contest, longtime Eastside teacher Lisa Alva came in second with 32% and parent activist Carl J. Petersen was third with 10%.

Either way, I win, Alva said early Tuesday evening. If I win, I win. If I dont win the election, I get to go back to the classroom.

District 6, in the east San Fernando Valley, came down to a face-off, at least in financial resources, between Gonez, a charter school science teacher, and Padilla, a community organizer.

Charter school backers, hoping for an outright win, ran a positive campaign for Gonez, along with negative campaigns targeting Padilla and Patty Lopez, a former state Assembly member who also was on the ballot. Lopez finished third with 13% of the vote.

Provisional ballots have yet to be counted, so the final percentages for each candidate could move up or down, but the outcomes are unlikely to change given the margins between candidates.

Those who win seats on the board face serious challenges. State laws are friendly to charter growth, so their numbers are expected to grow. When they siphon off more students, L.A. Unified loses funding based on enrollment, threatening its financial stability. A pro-charter board still would have to balance the district budget.

Its one thing to be a reformer on the outside, but I dont think any of them would want to be on the board when the system collapses and they would be responsible, said Pedro Noguera, a professor at UCLAs Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences. They will have to be much more creative than simply authorizing more charter schools.

Times staff writers Joy Resmovits, Sonali Kohli and Anna M. Phillips contributed to this report.

howard.blume@latimes.com

@howardblume

UPDATES:

8:50 a.m., March 8: This article was updated with final unofficial results, including vote percentages for the leading candidates, and comments from candidates Monica Garcia and Lisa Alva.

10:45 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from candidate Nick Melvoin.

9:15 p.m.: This article was updated with candidates comments.

This article was originally published at 8:30 p.m., March 7.
The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday will decide whether to approve a $26-million proposal to renovate the last of 46 oceanfront cottages at the popular Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County.

Commissioners are scheduled to consider a development permit to refurbish 17 historic cottages that will increase overnight accommodations at the park, which occupies a stretch of scenic coastline between Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.

When finished, the cottages will help relieve the parks heavy demand for affordable rental units and complete the current project to renovate the Crystal Cove Historic District. The commission staff recommends approval of the permit.

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Our organization, California State Parks and the California Coastal Commission have been working together on this project for almost two decades, said Laura Davick, vice president of the Crystal Cove Alliance, a nonprofit involved with preservation of the park.

In addition to rebuilding the cottages, the proposed work includes grading, a 650-foot beachfront boardwalk, utility lines, landscaping, expanded parking and mitigation for environmental impacts.

Officials say the new cottages will create 22 affordable rental units, including a dormitory-style lodge. Prices will range from $35 a night for a lodge bed to $245 a night for the largest cottages that sleep up to 10 people.

The restoration of the first 22 Crystal Cove cottages was completed in 2006. Thirteen became available for visitors, while park operations, education programs and food concessions occupied the other nine. Seven more renovated cottages opened between 2009 and 2011, with five as rental units.

The commission will consider the latest restoration project during its regular meeting in Ventura.

dan.weikel@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @LADeadline16
San Diego State University President Elliot Hirshman announced Wednesday he is leaving SDSU to become the president of Stevenson University in Maryland. His last day at SDSU will be June 30.

The last six years have been the most extraordinary period of my and Jeris professional lives, Hirshman wrote, referring to his wife in a letter he wrote to the SDSU community. The opportunity to work with the dedicated and talented students, faculty, staff, alumni and community supporters of San Diego State has inspired us, and it has been a privilege to contribute to the growth and development of this great university.

Hirshman wasnt available to talk further about his decision on Wednesday, but others at the school and the community praised his skills at fundraising and his efforts to increase the schools rankings in several areas.

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We hate to lose him, said Jerry Sanders, former San Diego mayor and current president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. I think hes been absolutely phenomenal as the president of the university. Elliot took us to places I didnt think we could go in terms of fundraising and really improving the ranking of the university.

California State University Chancellor Timothy P. White said Hirshman has made an lasting impact on the university.

His focus on academic excellence and on life-changing educational opportunities for students from all backgrounds has contributed to SDSUs emergence as a top public research university, White said. His legacy at SDSU will be felt for generations to come.

Hirshman will be the sixth president at Stevenson University, a private school founded as Villa Julie College in 1947. The school changed its name in 2008 and has three campuses with about 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students.

Hirshman is the eighth president at SDSU, which was founded in 1897 and has an enrollment of about 35,300 undergraduates and graduates.

Hirshman was hired at SDSU in July 2011 for a salary of $400,000, including $50,000 from the campus foundation, which made him the highest-paid CSU president. His salary was $100,000 higher than his predecessor, Stephen Webber, prompting criticism from Gov. Jerry Brown, among others.

Six months later, CSU trustees voted to limit salaries of incoming campus presidents to 10 percent over their predecessors. A 2015 increase brought Hirshmans combined pay to about $420,000.

Hirshmans salary at Stevenson University was not revealed Wednesday, but tax records from 2014 revealed the schools previous president earned $691,000 in reportable compensation and $31,200 in other compensation.

The Stevenson University website reported that 200 people applied for the presidents position, and quoted Hirshman as saying he was honored to join the school

Stevensons unique integration of career preparation and the traditional liberal arts reflects the best traditions of American higher education while envisioning a future that serves our students and our communities, he said on the site.

Besides a likely salary boost, the move also brings Hirshman closer to family and past colleagues.

Before coming to SDSU, Hirshman was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Stevenson University also is in Baltimore County.

He also served as chief research officer and Department of Psychology chair at George Washington University.

Hirshman earned his bachelors degree summa cum laude in economics and mathematics from Yale University in Connecticut and began his academic career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Obviously he has a lot of people there he knows and people there know him, said Mary Ruth Carleton, SDSU vice president for university relations and development, adding that his daughter, son, brother, sister and parents live on the East Coast.

Carleton praised Hirshman with raising SDSUs profile as a research institute, bringing in hundreds of millions in donations and helping improve its rankings.

During Hirshmans tenure, SDSUs has moved up 37 spots in the U.S. News & World Reports rankings of Americas best colleges, and in October the school announced that 74 percent of first-time freshmen had graduated in six years or less, a record high and a 68 percent increase from the previous year.

Also during his time, SDSU implemented an integrated budget and financial strategy, a new strategic plan and raised more than $785 million for scholarships and new initiatives. The university also established and endowed the Susan and Stephen Weber Honors College and built or remodeled facilities across campus.

Hirshman also has pushed for SDSU to become one of the nations top 50 public research schools, and the university is building a new science and engineering complex.

CSU Trustee Adam Day, whose father Thomas Day was president of SDSU from 1978 to 1996, said Hirshman created an impressive legacy in a short tenure.

Hes a true gentleman and a scholar, and he will be sorely missed by San Diego State and the entire community, Day said.

I cant tell you how many times Ive been on campus and he has been uniformly praised by all contingency groups, he continued. Not just on campus, but at community events and nonprofit event and local government events. Theres no one who has had a bad word to say about Elliot Hirshman.

But Hirshmans tenure wasnt without controversy.

Last September, former SDSU womens basketball coach Beth Burns won a $3.35 million wrongful-termination suit that claimed she was fired as retaliation for complaining about gender discrimination.

Hirshman testified at the trial and evoked controversial former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight when discussing Burns. A juror later said the reference seemed designed to portray Burns as a villain, something that was discussed during deliberations.

Hirshman also was criticized by many faculty members and students for not condemning posters that last year identified current and former students as allied with Palestinian terrorist. After he called the posters a form of free speech, representatives of the Rev. Al Sharptons National Action Network, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and others demanded Hirshmans resignation, although nothing came of the effort to have him ousted.

Among faculty members who praised Hirshman on Wednesday was University Senate Chair Marcie Bober-Michel, who said the schools focus on academic performance under him was greater than she remembered as an SDSU graduate student.

It would be a lie to say we never disagreed with anything, but overall this has been a very successful tenure for him, she said.

Hirshmans departure comes at a time when the school was in discussions to contribute $100 million to redevelopment Qualcomm Stadium for a joint-use soccer-SDSU facility.

Nick Stone, a partner with FS Investors, a group proposing the sweeping development that would include a stadium, said he hopes to figure out a way to reach a deal with Hirshmans successor or the interim campus president.

SDSU athletic director John David Wicker said Hirshman has done a lot of great things at San Diego State but didnt think his his leaving changes the equation on the pursuit of a stadium for Aztec football.

Elliot has been the leader through this all the way, Wicker said in Las Vegas, where he was attending the Mountain West basketball tournament.

Hes still going to be on campus for a few more months. As far as the (FS Investors) piece, that will go to the City Council (in June) before he leaves down if their timeline goes as they say. Well keep pressing forward.

The Chargers left and went to L.A. San Diego State is still here, Wicker continued. Elliot Hirshman is going to be the president at Stevenson University. San Diego State is still here, a lot of great people at San Diego State are still here, and were going to keep pushing forward for whats best for Aztecs football, for the university, for the community and for Mission Valley.

Anthropology professor Seth Mallios, whose 2012 book Hail Montezuma chronicled the history of SDSU, credited Hirshman with many things during one of the shortest tenures of any of the schools president.

Elliot will have tied for the shortest term, along with Brage Golding, Mallios said, referring to the SDSU president from 1972 to 1977. At 56, Hirshman is about the same age Golding was when he left SDSU, he said.

He created quite a stir when he left, he said about Golding. For all the other presidents, this was their last stop.

Hirshman and Golding are the only SDSU presidents who didnt retire, but left the school for another university, he said.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
The San Diego Unified School District is looking to cut the equivalent of 977 full-time positions to balance its budget, a move that would affect almost 1,400 employees in a wide variety of jobs.

The reductions could mean almost 900 full- and part-time teachers could receive pink slips next week.

District Superintendent Cindy Marten clarified Tuesday the number of positions in jeopardy as trustees grapple with a projected $124 million shortfall to its $1.3 billion budget.

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The cuts will be deep and the cuts will be serious, she said in a meeting with the Union-Tribune editorial board.I said that from the beginning.

She also explained that earlier reports about 850 job loses referred specifically to certificated employees, which includes teachers, counselors, librarians and other positions that require credentials.

The bottom line is a loss of 977 full-time positions. Those include 891 teachers and other certificated full- and part-time workers who make up the equivalent of 473 full-time positions.

The remaining 504 positions being cut are classified workers, which include custodians, technicians and office, food service and maintenance workers.

In all, the reductions could affect 1,395 employees in full- and part-time district jobs. Because senior employees can bump newer employees in some cases, all who could possibly be laid off must be notified.

The district is making the reductions based on a preliminary budget from the state, but wont know how much it actually will receive until later this year. Despite the uncertainty, however, state law requires school districts to notify certificated employees of possible layoffs by March 15.

Marten said Tuesday that even if the state provides more money than now expected, the district should stick with the number of job reductions it now is considering to create what she called a structural, long-term solution to balancing the budget.

As the CEO of the organization and superintendent of the district, that is my job, she said. To take personal responsibility for the situation and take appropriate action.

She said in the past Unified has frequently faced annual shortfalls in the neighborhood of $100 million and that more needs to be done than short-term fixes.

Budget analysts have estimated that the governors revised budget could bring another $20 million to the district later this year. Marten said the district should not be tempted to rehire positions with the money, however, because the extra funds could go toward reducing a $50 million deficit already projected for the 2018-19 budget.

Thats not $20 million to bring people back, she said. One of our strategies for 18-19 is not taking any money in to backfill (positions) that are cut.

While the district does plan to stick to the number of job cuts in the coming budget, the actual number of layoffs is uncertain because a greater number of employees than usual are expected to retire this year.

The district has about 17,000 employees, including part-time workers. Of those, 5,100 have reached age 50, making them eligible for retirement. About 1,700 of those eligible for retirement are teachers.

About 150 teachers usually retire from the district each year, but employees are being offered an early retirement incentive this year. District public information officer Andrew Sharp said analysts have projected 460 teachers may take the early retirement, which could significantly reduce the number of teachers who otherwise would be laid off.

Its unclear how many would still face layoffs, however, because a certain number of teachers still will be needed for specific positions, Sharp said.

Marten, who took a 5.6 percent salary reduction as part of the budget cuts, said the district must continue to look for savings because revenue is not keeping up with expenses and the districts pension obligation is increasing.

The district paid $116 million in pensions this year, and next year the cost will increase to $132 million.

(The above paragraph reflects revised figures from what was reported in an earlier version of this article.)

In January, Marten called for a hiring freeze in the district, which left some positions vacant to help reduce job cuts.

Looking ahead, Marten said the district is looking at other cost-saving measures, such as a freeze on travel expenses.

The district also is looking at a foundation to help funds arts programs, and the board adopted a strategy two years ago that could generate revenue through joint-use agreements of property it owns, Marten said.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939

UPDATES:

This article was updated with a revision from what was published 4:55 p.m. March 7.
When the Zarours fled their home in Homs, Syria, in 2012, they left just about everything behind.

Bombs were dropping in the street outside, and the family heard gunshots at one end of the street, recalled Eman Zarour, one of the familys five children. They spent no time gathering belongings  they darted from house to house until they could escape down a small side street, she said.

We didnt even take our clothes, said Eman Zarour, 22. The situation was very bad, so you cant take anything with you.

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Their harrowing journey took them for several years to Egypt, where they were kidnapped and robbed, the family said. Eventually, six of the seven Zarours made it to safety in El Cajon as refugees in September 2016.

President Donald Trumps new executive order, signed Monday, will greatly complicate matters for families like the Zarours hoping to seek refuge in the United States.

Trumps first version of the order, signed in late January, blocked all Syrians from entering the U.S. for 90 days and placed an indefinite ban on acceptance of Syrian refugees.

The new version blocks refugees from all countries from coming to the U.S. for 120 days and stops Syrians from entering the U.S. for 90 days unless they have an already-valid visa. After the waiting period, the ban may become more permanent if the Syrian government is unable or unwilling to provide information that the Homeland Security Secretary decides is necessary for migration to continue.

Under the current security situation and the current state of relations between the U.S. and Syria, it is unlikely that Syria will comply with those conditions, said Leon Rodriguez, former director of U.S. Customs and Immigration Services, the branch of the Department of Homeland Security that issues visas and grants citizenship.

He said its unlikely the Syrian government would cooperate in efforts of its residents to get into the U.S.

A report released last week by the Department of State said the Syrian government had committed numerous human rights violations against its citizens.

The most egregious human rights violations stemmed from the states widespread disregard for the safety and well-being of its citizens, the report says. This manifested itself in a complete denial of citizens ability to choose their government peacefully, a breakdown in law enforcements ability to protect the majority of citizens from state and nonstate violence, and the use of violence against civilians and civilian institutions. The government arbitrarily and unlawfully killed, tortured, and detained persons on a wide scale.

Rodriguez said that when he worked for the Department of Homeland Security, the process for screening Syrians was based on an assumption that the Syrian government would not give any information to the U.S. about them, and the U.S. was able to work around that to verify identities and histories.

Whats tragic about the way this is being done, Rodriguez said, is the people with the most need are going to be given the most difficult time in achieving refuge in the United States. Essentially under current conditions, Syrian refugees will no longer be admissible to the United States. Period.

Meanwhile, the Zarours are working to adjust to their new lives in the U.S.

When asked about their favorite thing about being in the U.S., Eman Zarour and both of her parents had the same answer  here, they feel safe.

I can go out from my house without fear, said Heba Harisah, the mother of the family, with her daughter interpreting for her from Arabic.

Harisah said after the family was kidnapped and robbed in Egypt, she didnt leave the apartment for a long time.

The six Zarours tried to leave Egypt for Europe on a boat for migrants, Eman Zarour said. They paid about $2,000 per person for the trip, but as they were about to leave on the boat in a group of about 300 migrants, a group of men with guns and long knives took them captive and took everything of value that they had. One man who objected to the robbers searching his wife for hidden valuables was struck in the head with a knife.

The family members struggled with anxiety that kept them from sleeping at night for a long time after that, Eman Zarour recalled.

We imagined that the people will come back and do the same thing again, she said.

That was when they decided to go to the United Nations office to seek help. After about two years of interviews and other screenings, the Zarours were placed in San Diego.

Their lives in the U.S. contrast starkly with their descriptions of life in Syria before the war. With two cars and two houses (one in the city and one in the country), the Zarour family was well-off in Syria thanks to Ahmad Zarours perfume and cosmetics business.

Now, they share a small apartment that they can barely afford with the money theyre given to survive while they learn English and look for jobs. With no car and limited English skills, Ahmad Zarour has been frustrated by the struggle to find work.

The clock is ticking for him  the $1,560 per month that the family receives from the U.S. government will be reduced in May, to $850. That will no longer cover even the $1,550 the family pays in rent.

When I came, I didnt find what I hoped to find, Harisah said with her daughter interpreting from Arabic.

Eman Zarour said that when the family first arrived, they were placed in a hotel for about a week because there was no apartment available for them. She remembered her mom crying because they hadnt yet found a home.

Then we came to the house here. Its empty, nothing, Eman Zarour said. We slept 10 days on the floor.

She said local organizations like the Syrian Community Network helped them get furniture, and theyve begun making American friends through places like the Family Welcome Center run by Dan Bender and Mkram Shahatit, which provides English conversation classes and other support services to refugee families in El Cajon.

Adding to Harisahs unease in her new home, one member of the family, the eldest son, Anas Zarour, is in Malaysia. Fearing that Anas would be forced into the army, his father sent him to study there when the war in Syria first broke out in 2011.

Harisah smiled with motherly pride as she pulled a picture of him up on her phone. She had hoped he would be able to join the family in the U.S., she said.

The family could no longer afford the cost of university after the Zarours moved to Egypt, and Anas Zarour, now 24, is working at a yogurt and cheese factory in Malaysia, his sister said.

Because Anas Zarour is already an adult, it wouldve been a long and complicated process to try to bring him here, even under the administration of former President Barack Obama.

With Trumps posture toward refugee families, its even less clear if and when the family might realistically hope to be reunited.

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate
The FBI has launched a criminal investigation into the security breach that resulted in the publication of detailed records concerning the CIAs super-secretive computer hacking operations, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

Nearly 9,000 of those documents were posted Tuesday by WikiLeaks , providing a detailed look at the Central Intelligence Agencys efforts to capture conversations, encrypted communications and online browsing data by hacking into smartphones, computers and even televisions.

The U.S. official who confirmed the existence of the federal probe requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive investigation. CNN reportedthat the FBI and CIA are coordinating reviews of the matter.

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Reuters reported Wednesday that the intelligence community has been aware since last year of a security breach that led to the publication of the records.

Current and former U.S. officials have said the publication of the tools could harm the ability of the United States to gather intelligence on other countries and terrorists.

Carol Cratty, an FBI spokeswoman, referred calls on the matter to the CIA. Heather Horniak, a CIA spokeswoman, in a statement declined to comment on the status of any investigation into the source of the documents. She also declined to say whether the records were authentic.

The American public should be deeply troubled by any Wikileaks disclosure designed to damage the intelligence communitys ability to protect America against terrorists and other adversaries, Horniak added. Such disclosures not only jeopardize U.S. personnel and operations, but also equip our adversaries with tools and information to do us harm.

It is no surprise that the CIA uses malicious software to gather information about specific individuals. Even so, the leaked documents are a stunning look at the agencys hacking capabilities.
The San Diego City Council has allowed continuation of a program that kills rats, crows, gulls and other predators of two endangered bird species that mate in Mission Bay Park.

Without the councils approval Tuesday, predators could have jeopardized the April mating season of the birds: the California least tern and the light-footed Ridgways rail.

Council members stressed that their vote was not an endorsement of the methodology used by federal officials who conduct the predator management, but simply saying that the city properly declared the program environmentally exempt.

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The San Diego Sierra Club, the San Diego Humane Society and nonprofit San Diego Animal Advocates filed papers in January appealing the programs environmental exemption.

RELATED: Activists seek halt to San Diegos predator-killing program in Mission Bay Park

They say less lethal methods, such as improved fencing and better maintenance of habitats for the endangered birds, could be more effective at protecting them and cost taxpayers less money.

They also say city and federal officials havent adequately studied the consequences of killing so many predators since the program began in 1991, or evaluated the risks for nearby domestic pets.

Councilman Scott Sherman said it wasnt within the councils discretion this week to evaluate such concerns.

I havent heard anything that says the exemptions that were applied by staff were inappropriately applied, Sherman said.

Councilwoman Georgette Gomez agreed, but said she would like city and federal officials to be more forthcoming about the program in the future.

There is a lack of public transparency in regards to how this project is being implemented, Gomez said.

The council voted 8-1 to deny the appeals of the environmental exemption. Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, whose district includes Mission Bay Park, cast the lone no vote without explanation.

City officials say they are required to protect the birds by the federal Endangered Species Act and that their predator management program was carefully developed in the 1990s with help from state and federal wildlife agencies and UC San Diego.

This was the first time in the 25-year history of the program that anyone has sought to block it, city officials said.

The San Diego chapter of the Audubon Society supports the predator management program.

To the endangered birds that rely on Mission Bays few remaining natural resources, this is a matter of life and death, said Rebecca Schwartz Lesberg, Audubons local director of conservation.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Orange County environmental attorney Mike Levin has announced that he is challenging Rep. Darrell Issa, becoming the second prominent Democrat to enter next years race against the nine-term incumbent.

Levin sent an email Wednesday morning announcing his candidacy against the Vista Republican, and, while not specifically naming him, fellow Democrat Doug Applegate, Issas opponent last year. Applegate is running again.

Levin, the former executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County, said he committed to running when Donald Trump was elected president.

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Really, when Donald Trump became president of the United States, I was there in New York watching election returns, and I realized on the way home that the time is now for all of us, he said in an interview. Its all about the urgency of personal action. For me, I started evaluating right then and there.

This race, like many others in 2018, could shape up to be a referendum on Trump and his administration. The political parties of presidents have often struggled in the midterm election of their first term. But Democrats have also struggled to with voter-turnout outside of presidential years.

Levin, who grew up in Orange County and lives in San Juan Capistrano, said there is a groundswell of grassroot, anti-Trump enthusiasm in Southern Orange County, unlike anything he has seen before.

The reason why, like so many others, a lot of folks think that our principles of democracy are in jeopardy, he said. And if we are to reclaim who we are as a nation, we need to elect a House of Representatives that will conduct some meaningful oversight of the Trump administration. The only path is to defeat Darrell Issa.

He said he plans to have an unprecedented level of direct voter contact, and make sure that his campaign turns grassroots enthusiasm into voter turnout on Election Day.

He said that Issa has been a full-blown Trump apologist who supported Trump every state of the way, who hasnt taken real action to hold the new administration accountable.

Issas and Applegates campaigns did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The National Republican Congressional Committee took Levins announcement as a sign of concern within the Democratic Party, noting a finance reporting problem where $400,000 in cash-on hand in Applegates campaign committee could not be accounted for.

Democrats are in disarray and are searching for anyone but Doug to keep this seat in play, NRCC spokesman Jack Pandol said. Republicans are organized and motivated to stand behind Darrell Issa, a fighter for Southern California families.

Issa won re-election last year by 1,621 votes, but now-President Donald Trump lost in the district to Clinton by 7.4 percent. Issa won the Orange County portion of his district where 25 percent of voters live, but lost in the San Diego portion.

After Applegates narrow loss last year, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted the district for early action, including an assignment of campaign staff. Likewise, the NRCC added Issa to a list of GOP representatives who are facing tough re-election efforts.

Californias 49th Congressional District includes coastal northern San Diego County, including Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, and Camp Pendleton, as well as San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano in southern Orange County.

Levin announced that he is trying to raise $100,000 by March 31, the end of the current campaign finance reporting period. His chief strategist is Parke Skelton, the campaign manager for several members of the California House delegation.

Levin also noted that he is a friend of Chelsea Clinton, a classmate and resident of the same dorm when they were students at Stanford University.

I had kind of a unique perspective of knowing the mother, from knowing the daughter, Levin said.

He volunteered on Hillary Clintons presidential campaign last year, and has worked for other Democratic candidates at the national, state, and local levels.

This is the first time hell appear on the ballot himself.

An environmental lawyer, he started an Orange County trade organization for the clean energy industry. The owner of hydrogen-powered cars, he is also on the board of the California Hydrogen Business Council. Besides a degree in political science from Stanford, he went to law school at Duke University. He lives in Orange County with his wife and their two young children.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
San Diego would have clear rules for naming city libraries, parks and other assets in honor of civic leaders or major donors under a new policy the City Councils Budget Committee approved on Wednesday.

The goals of the policy are encouraging more philanthropy, preventing inappropriate commercialization of city assets and protecting the city from having assets named for harmful, controversial or disreputable people or organizations.

The nine-page policy, which must be approved by the full council this spring, would the first to cover all city assets and combine a hodgepodge of policies individual city departments have been using.

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The policy also outlines the criteria, conditions and procedures that govern naming and renaming of city assets.

Natasha Collura, the citys executive director of corporate sponsorships, said one motivation for the policy was avoiding problems a city in Missouri had when the Ku Klux Klan successfully sued to participate in an adopt-a-highway program.

Collura said the citys new policy wont prevent such lawsuits, but would help the city defend itself.

The policy does allow us the discretion based on values and controversy and several other items, she told the Budget Committee. I cant say we wont be sued, it just gives us something to point to, which we didnt have before.

The policy allows the city to reject naming or renaming proposals that portray or include depictions, words, or phrases that the city deems to be harmful, controversial or that otherwise dont support city principles.

The policy also allows the city to rename any city asset if the resident, organization or business for which it is named turns out to be disreputable or becomes disreputable.

Councilwoman Barbara Bry said she hopes the new policy spurs more large donations to the city.

Hopefully there are a lot of generous companies and San Diegans out there who would like to have city assets named after them, she said. We certainly need the money.

Andrea Tevlin, the citys Independent Budget Analyst, said such a comprehensive policy has long been needed, noting that the absence of procedures was an issue during discussion last year of the Balboa Park Plaza de Panama renovations.

Tevlin also noted that any proposed naming of a city asset will include a 30-day public comment period so city residents can express support or opposition.

The policy stipulates that donors must have made a significant financial contribution vital to the success or completion of a project, but it doesnt include specific amounts or percentages to preserve flexibility for the city, Collura said.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Once a year, firefighters  with an extra boot in hand  take to intersections across the county to solicit donations for the Burn Institute.

The local non-profit seeks to reduce burn injuries and deaths in San Diego and Imperial counties through burn prevention education, burn care research and treatment and burn survivor support services, including Camp Beyond The Scars for children.

Last year the Boot Drive raised $240,000.

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Firefighters will be standing near more than 100 intersections tomorrow between 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Use this map to find the fundraising location closest to your morning commute.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
The body of a 30-year-old Arizona woman who was reported missing last month after presumably disappearing near Sunset Cliffs was discovered in the ocean at Mission Beach on Sunday.

Investigators used dental records to identify Amanda Cruses decomposing corpse, which was pulled to shore by a bystander near Ocean Front Walk about 4:45 p.m.

The womans family had long feared Cruse fell into the ocean while taking pictures of a sunrise from the popular cliffside. Investigators have not been able to determine the exact circumstances surrounding her death, but nothing suspicious has been uncovered, San Diego police Lt. Mike Holden said.

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Cruse, who drove to San Diego from Scottsdale, Ariz., was last seen leaving her Point Loma hotel early in the morning on Feb. 19. Using an iPhone application, police tracked her parked car to Monaco Street, near Sunset Cliffs.

Officers found her purse and backpack concealed under clothing inside the car. Her high-quality digital camera was missing.

Cruse, who went by Mandy, was born and raised in Canada and enjoyed traveling on her own. It was her first visit to San Diego.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center received another bomb threat that was quickly determined to be bogus Wednesday morning, police said.

An employee at the center on Executive Drive in University City came across the emailed threat about 10:50 a.m., San Diego police Officer Billy Hernandez said.

The message, which was sent Tuesday night, said bombs had been hidden around the facility.

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It also claimed people would be murdered with assault rifles and machine guns, Hernandez said.

The employee called police, and officers searched the grounds. Nothing threatening was found and the location was deemed safe about 30 minutes later.

The center was not placed on lock down or evacuated.

The threat comes a day after a rash of threats were phoned in or emailed to Jewish community centers in a number of states overnight and early on Tuesday. Centers in New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario were affected, according to news reports.

Since January, Jewish community centers, schools and other organizations across the country have received more than 100 threats. The University City center has received a number of hoax threats since the start of the year including on Jan. 9, Jan. 18, Jan. 31, Feb. 21 and Feb. 27.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com
An argument inside a downtown San Diego motel ended in a stabbing Tuesday night, police said.

The 46-year-old victim was taken by medics to a hospital with a wound described only as not life-threatening.

Police were called to the Marina Inn & Suites on Pacific Highway at West Grape Street shortly before 10 p.m.

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Two men had been fighting in one of the rooms, but only the victim was there when officers showed up.

He described the man who stabbed him as Latino, in his 20s, 5 feet tall, 145 pounds, with long hair in a ponytail. He wore a dark tank top, Dickies-style pants and had tattoos on his arms and upper body, police said.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography on Tuesday raised the attention level for two earthquake faults, saying theyre actually a single system that could produce devastating temblors affecting Tijuana to the Los Angeles region.

If offshore segments of the Newport-Inglewood and Rose Canyon fault system ruptured, they could generate a magnitude 7.3 quake capable of damaging much of the Southern California coastline, according to the scientists at Scripps, which is part of UC San Diego.

An earthquake on a land-based portion of the system could reach magnitude 7.4 and create similarly widespread harm, the research team said.

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This system is mostly offshore but never more than four miles from the San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles County coast. Even if you have a high 5- or low 6-magnitude earthquake, it can still have a major impact on those regions, which are some of the most densely populated in California, said the lead scientist on the project, Valerie Sahakian, who earned her doctorate at Scripps before moving to the U.S. Geological Survey as a postdoctoral fellow.

Her groups findings were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

The 47-mile-long Newport-Inglewood fault begins in Culver City and extends southeast to the Newport Beach area, where it heads offshore. The 19-mile-long Rose Canyon fault starts in San Diegos Mission Valley neighborhood and angles past Mount Soledad and La Jolla, where it then veers offshore.

Scientists have long said a quake on either fault could trigger a rupture on the other. Some researchers also have suspected that the faults are connected in some way offshore. The new Scripps study is the first to formally identify the two sections as being the two parts of a joint fault system.

Over the decades, seismologists have primarily focused on land-based faults, such as the San Andreas and Elsinore systems. Both of those faults are capable of producing catastrophic quakes in Southern California.

In general, such a threat  fueled by Hollywood blockbuster movies, documentaries, books and other pop culture references to it  has overshadowed the danger posed by offshore faults.

That doesnt mean noted scientists havent tried to raise public awareness about the offshore systems. For example, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones has said marine faults could produce a tsunami capable of damaging parts of San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Theres also concern about the on-shore section of the Rose Canyon fault.

San Diego State University seismologist Tom Rockwell recently completed research in Old Town that suggests the fault has been far more active there in the past than once believed, raising the prospect that a significant quake could hit one of San Diegos most developed areas.

And by comparison, scientists harbor more concern about the Newport-Inglewood fault based on its seismic history. In March 1933, for instance, the fault produced a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that devastated parts of Long Beach, killing at least 115 people.

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Twitter: @grobbins

gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis solicited $50,000 in donations to a charity whose tax-exempt status was revoked by the Internal Revenue Service and has not been registered with the state for 10 years.

The nonprofit organization, Village of Promise Health Outreach, received five separate contributions solicited at Dumanis request from donors like San Diego Gas & Electric and Wells Fargo, among others, according to reports she is required to file as a public official.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis (Nelvin C. Cepeda/San Diego Union-Tribune)

The donations are disclosed as behested payments  contributions made at the suggestion of public officials that are made for charitable, educational or legislative purposes. The payments are legal as long as contributions of $5,000 or more are publicly disclosed.

U-T Watchdog has been examining behested payments reported by state and local officials over the past several weeks. In all, Dumanis reported six donations at her request totaling $60,000 since June 2015.

Dumanis spokesman Steve Walker said the $50,000 solicited by the district attorney on behalf of Village of Promise Health Outreach was used to pay travel and production costs for a stage show two years ago.

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In her capacity as the top law enforcement official in San Diego, the D.A. sometimes lends her support to public safety-related and other charitable organizations, he said. Five of the six behest disclosures are connected to a successful crime-prevention event sponsored by the Village of Promise that occurred in June of 2015.

Specifically, Walker said, the money paid to present a performance of Alive and Kicking, a Harlem-based musical theater that features artists over 55 years old. The event received very positive feedback from the community and the D.A.s Office was proud to support it, he said.

According to the IRS, Village of Promise Health Outreach is a federally recognized tax-exempt organization that was established in 2007. It works to break the cycle of incarceration from one generation to the next and to provide mentoring and other services to at-risk youth.

The organizations exempt status was revoked by the IRS in 2010 after it failed to file tax returns for three consecutive years, records show. The exempt status was reinstated in late 2014, the IRS website indicates.

According to the California Attorney Generals Office, which regulates charities, Village of Promise Health Outreach is not registered with the state as typically required for a charity  a situation that has been unchanged since 2007.

Arlene Smith, the charitys volunteer program manager who is a retired administrator for the District Attorneys Office, said Village of Promise Health Outreach operated for its first seven years under other charities.

She said the failure to register with the state of California was an administrative oversight that would be corrected.

We were not aware of the AG registration requirement as it was handled by our parent organizations in the past, Smith wrote in an email. Thank you for bringing it to our attention, we plan to remedy it.

Smith provided copies of the organizations recent tax filings for the 2014 and 2015 tax years, which includes the period during which Dumanis solicited the donations.

One of the state tax filings was submitted to the California Franchise Tax Board electronically on Tuesday, one day after U-T Watchdog requested to see the records. The state tax filing says the charity received $78,694 in revenue over the year ending June 30, 2015.

The federal record shows the group filed a short-form return for organizations that normally take in $50,000 or less. Smith said the charitys average revenue for the three most recent years did not exceed that amount.

Dumanis spokesman Walker said the district attorney relies on a two-page guideline and application when determining which organizations to support with behested payments.

The checklist asks if applicants have been convicted of crimes, including drug offenses. It also asks them to certify that the money will not be spent on political or personal expenses and that the charity is compliant with all federal laws.

The D.A.s Office is comfortable with our focus on ensuring that the charities we support are IRS tax exempt organizations and are in good standing, Walker said. We will follow up with the Village of Promise to let them know they need to comply with their administrative responsibility to register with the California Attorney Generals Office.

In addition to reporting $50,000 in behested payments for the Village of Promise Health Outreach, Dumanis last year solicited $10,000 from car-accident attorney King Aminpour for the San Diego County Safe Communities Fund.

The fund was set up by the District Attorneys Office to benefit crime victims and promote crime-prevention efforts. The fund website prominently features Dumanis.

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jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
President Trump has cost us taxpayers more than $10 million so far for his weekend trips to Florida. Barack Obama spent about $96 million during his entire 8 years in office.

As Trump does this, he proposes cuts to the budget, which could cost the loss of thousands of jobs. He seems to have his priorities mixed up.

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Hallie Burch

University City

Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below.

How loudly would the righties be crying if Obama had flown to Chicago every weekend? And, using Air Force One? Where is the outcry now?

Jo Lanzrath

Vista

Want to see more letters that appear only online? Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook.
On Wednesday, in honor of International Womens Day, females from coast to coast will take a day off work to demonstrate what A Day Without a Woman looks like. The event is expected to draw crowds and criticism.

Inspired by last months Bodega Strike in New York City and the more recent Day Without Immigrants strike nationwide, the organizers behind last Januarys historic Womens March on Washington have joined forces with grassroots activists to plan a national  and, perhaps, international  economic protest in the form of mass walk-outs, rallies and marches.

Detailing the plan of action on their website, organizers laid out three ways for people to participate:

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Women take the day off, from paid and unpaid labor Avoid shopping for one day (with exceptions for small, women- and minority-owned businesses). Wear RED in solidarity with A Day Without A Woman

The goal of the strike is to highlight the economic power and significance that women have in the US and global economies, while also focusing attention on the economic injustices women and gender nonconforming people continue to face.

A day before the event, it was unclear how many women would participate in the strike, but activists, publishers and others have already been showing enthusiastic support for the strike.

.@TheCut and @bustle will go dark tomorrow for A Day Without A Woman: https://t.co/vJG11IIMIj  marisa kabas (@MarisaKabas) March 7, 2017

Proud that @Jezebel is participating in A Day Without a Woman. @ellieshechet on what you need to know abt the strike https://t.co/wZ8mqnHq7v  Prachi Gupta (@prachigu) March 7, 2017

here's how you can make a statement and show your support for A Day Without a Woman, even if you can't strike: pic.twitter.com/4dLiPyAr2N  MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) March 7, 2017

The event has already impacted public schools in Virginia, North Carolina and Washington D.C.Citing the observance of International Womens Day, as well as the high-volume of teachers who requested time off for the Day Without A Woman strike, administrators have sent out notes to students and their families advising them to stay home on Wednesday.

The Day without a Woman strike is going to shut down schools around the country https://t.co/JmnLXqmksk via @LEBassett  Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) March 6, 2017

Not all women?

While some have praised the strike as a welcome return to the historic roots of International Womens Day, others have looked at the movement with a skeptical eye, citing that nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers in the United States are women  many of whom have neither the flexibility nor benefits to participate in the strike.

Journalist Maureen Shaw, writing for Quartz, even went as far as to call the strike a protest of the privileged.

Likely an unpopular opinion, but my latest for @qz argues that the #WomensStrike is a privileged woman's strike https://t.co/Qd9lxrN1SV  Maureen Shaw (@MaureenShaw) March 6, 2017

Anybody else feel like Day Without a Woman is something only rich women can do w/o suffering for it  aubs (@aubway) March 7, 2017

I cannot attend the day without a woman strike because I count on each day's wages to make ends meet  Tamara Yajia (@DancesWithTamis) March 6, 2017

Taking part in tomorrow's 'A Day Without a Woman' costs more for low-income women & women of color.https://t.co/2n2TnMJMLO  Danielle Paquette (@DPAQreport) March 7, 2017

I agree (as usual, but still) with @Meghan_Daum: 'A Day Without a Woman' is a strike for privileged protesters https://t.co/aPGoLFAMx4  Kimberly Burns (@kimberlyburnspr) March 5, 2017

While organizers behind the strike noted this discrepancy on their website  stating that many women in our most vulnerable communities will not have the ability to join the strike, due to economic insecurity  the gesture was an empty one to people like Shaw, who wrote:

As any good union organizer knows, there is strength in numbers. Without this sort of collective power, a large number of working-class women may abstain from the strike because the risks of sticking out will seem to outweigh the benefits.

Cant afford to miss work?

There are options for women who cant skip work. Megan Collier, a Womens March organizer from Michigan, told the Detroit Free Press that there are other meaningful ways to engage in protest without missing work.

If you cant strike, were encouraging participation by having an economic impact in some other way. For example, dont go shopping Wednesday. Dont buy gas. Dont buy groceries. If you must go shopping, buy from a local, woman-owned business. Open bank accounts at credit unions or small, local banks. Find a progressive woman who is running and support her. If you must to go work, have a mini-act of resistance with other co-workers. Wear something red or your pussyhat from the Womens March and find a way to talk about it with your co-workers.

What do you think? Will you be participating in the strike?
Dr. Marian Kim-Phelps was approved as superintendent the Poway Unified School Districts board meeting Tuesday night on a split vote that heralded renewed warfare between the board members.

Both the vote to approve Kim-Phelps as the new superintendent in closed session and the vote to approve her contract in open session was 3-2, with board President Michelle OConnor-Ratcliff, board Vice President T.J. Zane and board member Darshana Patel voting yes and board members Kimberley Beatty and Charles Sellers voting no.

Kim-Phelps will earn a base salary of $287,500. Her first day will be April 3.

Beatty and Sellers expressed their reasons for not supporting the new superintendent during their board member reports, which contained several allegations of corruption and illegality in the hiring process.

Beatty said that during the interview process, unethical collusions occurred that eliminated from consideration candidates that had yet to be interviewed. She also said that because the process was corrupted and laws were violated there are now multiple legal challenges to this hiring.

Sellers said he did not feel that Kim-Phelps was the best-qualified candidate available to the board and the compensation called for in her contact is excessive. I believe we could make a better hire for less money, he said.

Sellers also said the contract was never reviewed by Maribel Medina, the boards official counsel. It was instead reviewed solely by President OConnor-Ratcliff without either the prior consent or knowledge of the rest of the board. This egregious act was only able to stand because members Zane and Patel would not agree to compel the president to use Ms. Medina, thereby rendering them complicit in her actions.

Beatty also accused OConnor-Ratcliff of secretly working with an attorney that had never worked for our district to draft a contract for her personally-chosen candidate, two weeks before the board had made a decision to choose a finalist.

OConnor-Ratcliff on Wednesday denied Beattys allegation, saying the board worked with an attorney from Lozano Smith, a board-approved law firm, on the proper legal procedures for hiring and on the provisions for the contract. She also said Medina was hired solely to represent the board in dealing with former Superintendent John Collins and that was the only thing she has ever worked on for the board.

She also refuted Kim-Phelps as being her personally chosen candidate, saying the board went through the hiring process with Kim-Phelps as with all candidates and while she supported Kim-Phelps, so did two other board members.

OConnor-Ratcliff said the contract successfully addresses longevity and vacation payout problems that arose with our former superintendent. Longevity will not even begin to accrue until she has been on the job for 10 years. Vacation payouts are explicitly prohibited until she separates from the district.

Zane said at the meeting that he did not suffer from conspiracy theories and delusions that afflict some others and that he was looking forward to working with Kim-Phelps, while Patel said legal staff worked with the board on the contract and one candidate rose to the top. She called Kim-Phelps a unifier and creative thinker who will keep the board and districts focus on the students.

In addition to the base salary, on July 1, 2018 her salary will increase to $296,125 and on July 1, 2019 it will increase to 305,009. She will receive any health and welfare plan offered to other district certified management employees for herself and her dependents.

Eight speakers on Tuesday voiced their support of her hiring, including Poway Federation of Teachers President Candy Smiley and several former coworkers, and an additional 13 people expressed their support, but did not speak.

Email: news@pomeradonews.com
Proud of the recent remodel of the Ramona Chamber of Commerce building, chamber officials invite the community to stop by and see the redesign.

With the help of Greg Freman and Ray Vorlik at Resurrected Rustic next to the chamber, the facelift transformed the inside lobby from a standard office feel to a rustic look that is commemorative of Ramona, said the chamber announcement.

We at the chamber are thrilled with the remodel of the chamber offices, said Sally Westbrook, chamber president. With our new rustic look, our offices exhibit the true country look of Ramona and gateway to Old Town. Thank you to Resurrected Rustics Greg and Ray for creating our new look.

Reclaimed wood was used to give the lobby walls and reception counter a rustic feel, noted the chamber.

All the business information including business cards, pamphlets, and other items have been relocated on the walls of the lobby, creating an effortless way for guests to find the information about Ramona they are looking for, the chamber added.

Ramona Chamber of Commerce is at 960 Main St. Residents and visitors are welcome during the chambers normal business hours of Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, call the chamber at 760-789-1311 or visit www.ramonachamber.com.
President Trump is campaigning for his re-election in 2020, four years prematurely. Hes wasting millions of dollars in taxpayers unnecessary funded trips, rallying his supporters in the states he won, while ignoring the rest of the country, particularly California. Its as if hes at the end of his first term, when in reality, hes barely six weeks into his first term.

Trump, the liar and chief, is the producer of more fake news than any other president in American history. For example, at a Florida rally, he claimed that Muslim refugees in Sweden had carried out a terrorist attack. Kellyanne Conway claimed there was a massacre in Bowling Green, Ky., recently. Both Trump and Conway made up these stories for political gain.

He falsely blames former President Obama for having left him a mess to clean up. If Trump ever does tell the truth, its likely accidental. Under Obama, we had GDP (gross domestic product) of 1 to 2 percent, good when measured over eight years, and 75 straight months of job growth leaving an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, the lowest since the Great Recession in 2008. Obama made it one of the easiest transitions of one president to another.

President Obamas eight years in office produced virtually no scandals, while Trumps whole life is mired in scandals because of his many sleazy business deals.

Blessedly, millions of citizens are protesting peacefully Donald Trumps unconstitutional executive orders at their local congressional district offices. Representatives Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa seem to be incompetent in handling their own constituents who do not support Donald Trump.

However, violence at anti-Trump rallies occurred at Berkeley, Calif., and Lansing, Mich., this past weekend; and that is inexcusable. These people are hooligans who must be arrested and prosecuted. The demonstrations are not related to the nationwide Indivisible movement of which there is a vibrant Ramona chapter. Trump has failed to disavow violence of any kind at Trump rallies and anti-Trump rallies. In his initial campaign last year, he encouraged violence saying, If you see someone getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them. Just knock the hell out of them. I promise Ill pay your legal fees.

Trump is a polarizing figure. What kind of human being boasts about grabbing womens crotches, claiming when youre a celebrity women like it and let you do whatever you want.

What kind of president cavalierly talks about nuclear war and winning again. He cares about increasing military arms by $54 billion. What kind of president highlights tax breaks for the wealthiest people in corporations while throwing the middle class a paltry 2 percent tax cut. The only way this goal can be accomplished is by offsetting the expense in Social Security and Medicare cuts as Senator Marco Rubio stated last week.

Since Trump has come to power, hate crimes have increased across the nation exponentially. There have been hundreds of bomb threats and vandalism of black organizations, Jewish synagogues, cemeteries and schools, reports the Alabama-based Poverty Law Center. Hate and bigotry have reached unprecedented levels under the Trump regime.

This week Trump is accusing Mr. Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. In retrospect, Trump deserves to be pitied. He needs a thorough psychiatric examination. His paranoia and instability are out of control. It seems too early to initiate impeachment proceedings.

The best thing to do is for Congress to pressure him to step down and allow Vice President Pence to complete his term.

Peter W. Quercia is a Ramona resident.
Ground has officially been broken at the site of Palomar Colleges future Rancho Bernardo campus, although construction began on the site a couple months ago.

The March 3 groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Palomar College officials, Poway Unified School District representatives and others in the community.

This will be a real college campus, said Daniel Sourbeer, Palomar Colleges interim assistant superintendent/vice president of instructional services.

The campus  officially known as the Palomar College South Education Center  is expected to open for the summer 2018 term. It will be able to accommodate up to 2,000 full-time equivalent students and have an estimated 38 full-time faculty members plus another 37 staff members and administrators, according to Dr. Joi Lin Blake, Palomar Colleges superintendent and president.

The 27-acre site at 11111 Rancho Bernardo Road primarily consists of a 110,000-square-foot building that Swinterton Builders has gutted in order to create 37 classrooms for lecture and laboratory usage, academic division offices, spaces for student support services, a bookstore, food services, information services and an estimated 2,500-square-foot community room.

Sourbeer said the buildings design will be student friendly with the student spaces placed along the exterior walls so they can see the outside views. It will be a true campus, he said when explaining how it will be functional via a vertical design over several stories.

He said the community college has been serving the area for 70 years and the project funded by Proposition M general obligation bond funds that voters approved in November 2006 is setting the stage for another 70 years of service to the community.

According to Sourbeer, the campus will offer general education and career technical courses, along with classes that will appeal to students still attending Poway Unified high school campuses. It will consolidate in RB Palomars educational offerings offered at other facilities in the districts southern region, such as those at Mt. Carmel High School in Rancho Penasquitos.

I am excited about the possibilities open to us at this facility, Blake said. In addition to partnerships with PUSD, she said other partnerships will be with the North San Diego Business Chamber plus businesses and industries in the area.

To encourage on-site parking among the campus 574 parking spaces in the existing parking garage plus an additional 218 surface parking spaces, spokeswoman Laura Gropen said there will be no parking fee during the campus first year of operation.

The college has also reached a settlement with the City of San Diego, which includes a good neighbor outreach program designed to educate students on the availability of on-campus parking and financial subsidies for purchasing parking passes when a fee is implemented. The district also has to monitor students parking habits and, if a problem is created in the adjacent Westwood neighborhood once the parking fee is implemented, pay up to $10,000 for the city to proceed with steps required to establish a residential permit parking district.

The campus operating hours will be from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com
Bills focusing on human trafficking and dental care for children are among issues state Senator Toni Atkins says she will be working on this year, along with finalizing the state budget for 2017-18.

Atkins, elected in November to her first term representing the 39th Senate District, discussed some of her priorities plus the upcoming state budget while speaking at the March 2 Rancho Bernardo Community Council meeting.

The South Park/Golden Hill resident is new to the Senate, but not to Sacramento. The Democrat served three terms in the Assembly (2010-16) and was Assembly speaker from 2014-16. Before that she served two terms on the San Diego City Council (2000-08), which included five-months as interim mayor in 2005.

Atkins said her goal is to work four days a week in Sacramento, returning to San Diego early enough on Thursdays so she can attend at least two community meetings in her district each Thursday night, plus work in San Diego on Fridays and Saturdays. Her district includes Rancho Bernardo and 4S Ranch. (Poway is in the 38th Senate District, represented by Joel Anderson.)

Among the most pressing issues this spring will be passing the states fiscal year 2018 budget before the July 1 deadline. The first draft issued by the governor  a second, dubbed the May revise is also expected  allocates $179 billion, with $122 billion of that marked for the general fund, she said. Gov. Jerry Browns proposed budget includes $1.1 billion added to the states rainy day fund, which if approved will bring the balance to almost $8 billion.

Having money set aside is a vast contrast to when she was first elected to state office, a time when California had a $26 billion deficit, Atkins said.

She called the budget very fiscally prudent and conservative, saying if additional money comes in most will be designated for education, with some additional money allocated to the rainy day fund.

Atkins said people ask her most about the education budget, which will potentially have $52.2 billion allocated for K-12 schools, 42 percent of the general fund and a $1.5 billion increase over last year. In addition, $9.1 billion is designated for community colleges; $3.7 billion for the California State University system (it includes San Diego State University), an increase of $184 million; and $3.4 billion for the University of California system (includes UC San Diego), a $169 million increase. The total for education would be $68.4 billion.

She said people also ask about lottery money going to education. She said $1.2 billion is divided among K-12 schools, $226 million goes to community colleges, $55 million to the CSU system and $36 million to the UC system. It does not go far, Atkins said about the lottery money.

When the revised budget comes out, Atkins said she would like it to reinvest money in the courts system since its funding was cut in the mid-1990s and now more responsibility for prisoners has been placed on county jails in lieu of state prisons.

Three bills she is authoring address human trafficking. Atkins said one she is working on with District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis would close a loophole that does not let prosecutors bring in a perpetrators past history of similar crimes. Another would provide services, such as counseling and housing, for victims under age 18 and a third would focus on hotel staff getting training to spot potential human trafficking victims. According to Atkins, last year there were 11,000 human trafficking victims in San Diego County.

Among other bills  Atkins said around 2,000 have been proposed between the Senate and Assembly  is one she is coauthoring with Assemblyman Brian Maienschein (whose 77th District includes Rancho Bernardo, Poway and 4S Ranch). Its focus is on assuring dental care for children. No proper dental care leads to all kinds of health problems and it can kill you, she said.

Some of her other bills include environmental issues and low-income housing.

She also said legislators will likely work on some type of health insurance if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. Wed like to preserve what we can of (it), she said, adding, Californians have a higher expectation of coverage and it takes time to see the health and financial payoff of people getting preventative care due to having insurance.

Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com
Graham Mitchell, Escondidos city manager for one year before announcing his resignation last October, has been named the new assistant city manager in El Cajon.

Mitchell, 47, will replace Majed El-Ghafry, who left El Cajon last month to become assistant city manager in Dallas. His starting date will be March 13 and his annual salary will be $210,500

I feel that we are quite fortunate to have him join our team, El Cajon City Manager Doug Williford said. I could ask for no one better to fill this important position, and I am sure that our City Council, our staff, and the entire El Cajon community will all enjoy working with him.

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Mitchell holds a bachelors degree in International Relations from BYU and a masters degree in Public Administration from USC.

To say I am ecstatic to work for the city of El Cajon would be an understatement, Mitchell said.

He was the city manager in Lemon Groves for 12 years before going to Escondido in July 2015 to take an assistant city manager position.

Just a few months later then-City Manager Clay Phillips announced his retirement and Mitchell was promoted to the top city job, taking over at the end of December.

Mitchell said his decision to leave Escondido was made for personal reasons.

His salary in Escondido was $239,000 a year, plus benefits.

Lemon Grove City Councilman Jerry Jones said he always appreciated that Mitchell lived in Lemon Grove and became part of the community.

Im proud to say that since he left Lemon Grove I still call him friend, and Im glad to have him back in East County, Jones said. He will server El Cajon well and they are lucky to have him.
By Press Trust of India: From Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Mar 8 (PTI) Nearly 5,000 women in Pakistan are killed annually mostly for reasons linked to social issues of "honour and harassment", a women rights activist has said.

"On an average, 5,000 women are murdered every year compared to 1,442 men. While the male casualties are primarily related to terrorism, the womens killings are mostly linked to social issues of honour and harassment," rights activist Sarwar Bari said here yesterday.

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Speaking at a consultation workshop, Making workplace safe for women, on the eve of the International Womens Day, Bari said Pakistan has deviated from the vision of its founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah as political parties never dared to stand against so-called religious scholars who have been opposing pro-women laws in the country.

Bari said that in 1928, women of the subcontinent held a demonstration against early marriages. Jinnah reached the spot to express solidarity with the protesters, he said.

"Today religious scholars resist all kinds of legislation in favour of women which is a deviation from the vision of the Quaid (Jinnah). Last year, the Punjab government passed a women protection bill but the religious parties did not accept it," he added.

Hundreds of women are killed every year in Pakistan often by their family members on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour.

Pakistans National Assembly in October last year passed a much-anticipated new law that mandates a minimum 25-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of carrying out an honour killing, and prohibits families of victims from forgiving the killer, a common occurrence in these tragic crimes.

At least 40 clerics of the Barelvi school of thought in Pakistan on June 12 last year issued a fatwa against honour killing, declaring it un-Islamic and unpardonable sin.

The clerics under the banner of Sunni Itehad Council said that honour killing is kufr (infidelity).

The Conservative Council of Islamic Ideology - an Islamic body that enjoys constitutional status and gives non-binding proposals to Parliament to make laws according to Islam - last year declared killing of women in the name of "honour" as un-Islamic. PTI SH AJR ZH AJR

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Former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern received at least (EURO)209,779 ($276,000) in secret payments while in office and repeatedly lied about this under oath, a mammoth fact-finding judicial investigation ruled Thursday in a long-awaited verdict.

The three judges led by Justice Alan Mahon stopped short of finding Ahern guilty of corruption, because they couldnt prove that Ahern gave favors to any of his cash donors when he was finance minister in the 1990s.

The judges did find two other former lawmakers in Aherns Fianna Fail party, including former Cabinet minister and European Union commissioner Padraig Flynn, guilty of corruption for soliciting payments from property developers for personal use. They also found 11 past and present 11 members of local councils guilty of the same offense.

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While the report itself was a fact-gathering effort and not a direct finding of any criminal wrongdoing, Prime Minister Enda Kenny referred its contents to state prosecutors, the national police force, tax collection authorities and the Standards in Public Office Commission. Potential offenses include corruption, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.

The report clearly sets out corrupt practices among a number of politicians, said Kenny, who declined to say whether he considered Ahern among them.

Kenny said Ahern had stained the integrity of his office by making a litany of unacceptable statements to the judges.

Ahern, whose often bizarre and implausible 2007 testimony enraptured the nation, denied doing anything wrong, but resigned from office in 2008 after 11 years in power. He issued a lengthy rebuttal Thursday night accusing the judges of unfairness and vowing to clear his name.

I am disappointed that the tribunal has said that I failed to give a truthful account, Ahern said. "... I never took a bribe or corrupt payment. I never made a political decision in return for a payment. I hid nothing.

Yet even his own party, whose name means soldiers of destiny in Gaelic, failed to believe him.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin announced after a late-night meeting of party lawmakers that he intended to expel Ahern from party membership. The decision was expected to become official March 30.

The receipt by a senior office holder of large amounts of money which a sworn tribunal has held is of unclear origins, and the failure to give any credible explanation, requires an unequivocal response, said Martin, who served in three Cabinet posts in Ahern-led governments.

He said Aherns receipt of surreptitious funds, and his delivery of false testimony, betrayed the trust placed in him by this country and this party.

No Irish politicians have been convicted of corruption as a result of investigations into the bribery culture at the heart of Irish property development. Prosecutions are hampered, in part, by the fact that the government passed no credible anti-bribery laws until 1996, leaving tax evasion as the only readily proven offense.

Aherns longtime accountant and friend, Des Peelo, conceded that Aherns testimony had been hard to swallow, but said the judges couldnt prove Ahern was lying.

The fact that something is bizarre does not make it untrue. Some aspects of his finances were bizarre, Peelo said.

Aherns former special adviser in government, Gerry Howlin, described the findings as far worse than anything I expected or believed possible.

He told me he was telling the truth, Howlin said. His narrative is not believed, and it is damning and it is serious. ... His reputation has been very seriously damaged.

Voters last year ousted Fianna Fail from power and devastated its parliamentary ranks, a historic defeat driven by Irelands humiliating negotiation of an international bailout. Ahern, 60, did not seek re-election.

Interest in the judges final 3,211-page report - the climax of a 15-year investigation expected to cost taxpayers more than (EURO)200 million ($260 million) - was so great that the investigators Web site repeatedly crashed. The probe, which has published four previous reports on other scandals, has collected 60,000 pages of testimony from approximately 600 witnesses.

Much of the explanation provided by Mr. Ahern as to the source of the substantial funds identified and inquired into in the course of the tribunals public hearings was deemed by the tribunal to be untrue, the judges found.

They accused Aherns government, which founded the original fact-finding tribunal in 1997, of launching extraordinary and unprecedented attacks on their work in a bid to stop it once the target of their investigation became Ahern himself.

The judges said lawmakers must do much more to stamp out corruption in their ranks. They recommended judges receive the power to ban lawmakers from office who are convicted of bribery; tougher laws to protect whistleblowers; better reporting of politicians donations and other gifts, many of which still are kept secret; a new registry for lobbyists and politicians contacts with them; and new requirements for lawmakers to disclose all their business interests and potential conflicts of interest.

During his 15 days of testimony in 2007, Ahern admitted keeping most of the money in personal safes at his office and home from 1992 to 1994; failing to keep a personal bank account during much of the time under investigation; and paying no tax on any of it until the investigators uncovered its existence.

Ahern testified that undocumented cash payments he received while in Britain were all unsolicited gifts, while identical payments he received in Ireland were loans. Under tax law at the time, overseas gifts and domestic loans were not taxable. Ahern made no repayments on the 1993 loans until the investigators discovered them in 2007. He ultimately negotiated a tax settlement for the unearthed funds.

The judges repeatedly dismissed Aherns explanations for the source of myriad 1990s cash payments in Irish pounds, British pounds and U.S. dollars that eventually were deposited into accounts in the name of his then-girlfriend, Celia Larkin, and his two daughters. Ahern claimed to have won much of the money betting on horses.

They rejected testimony provided by Ahern and several business friends who claimed to have raised money for Ahern without his consent at a pub event in December 1993. The judges ruled that the alleged pub fundraiser was fictional.

The judges instead accepted as truthful the testimony of a senior Dublin stockbroker whom Ahern had identified as one of those friends. The stockbroker, Padraic OConnor, said he barely knew Ahern and had been asked by Fianna Fail to make a 5,000 Irish pound ((EURO)6,350, $8,300) political donation in a company check for Aherns benefit, which he did.

The judges said they could not prove or rule out allegations by an Irish property developer, Tom Gilmartin, that a rival developer, Owen OGallaghan, paid Ahern two bribes in 1989 and 1992 totaling more than (EURO)100,000 ($130,000). This allegation inspired the judges to launch a probe of Aherns finances.

On this key substantive point there is no evidence whatsoever to show I received anything from Mr. OCallaghan, Ahern said. Nor could there be because, put simply, this never happened.

Gilmartin also testified that he bribed Flynn and another Fianna Fail lawmaker, Liam Lawlor, as part of his unsuccessful effort to develop a Dublin shopping center.

The judges accepted that Gilmartin paid Flynn about (EURO)63,500 ($83,000), which the EU commissioner used toward buying a farm in his wifes name. They found that Gilmartin paid Lawlor 75,000 British pounds ((EURO)91,000, $120,000), and that both payments were corrupt.

Lawlor was briefly imprisoned several times for obstructing the tribunals work and was killed in a Moscow car crash in 2005 while on a personal trip to buy properties.

Ahern, who cultivated a persona as an affable and plainspoken Dubliner, was personally popular while in office and credited with leading a frugal personal life.

He was Fianna Fails fundraising director in the early 1990s and a protege of former Prime Minister Charles Haughey, who was found guilty by a previous tribunal of receiving more than (EURO)10 million ($13 million) in secret payments from many of Irelands top businessmen while in office. Haughey faced no criminal charges, paid taxes and penalties of (EURO)6.5 million, and died in 2006.

---

Online:

Mahon Tribunals final report, https://bit.ly/GLI1En

(This version corrects that his 1993 donation involved Irish pounds rather than euros.)
By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Mar 8 (PTI) Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchans father Krishnaraj Rai has been admitted to a city hospital.

"Aishwaryas father Krishnaraj Rai has been admitted to Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra," Aishwaryas publicist told PTI.

The publicist, however, did not share any further details.

Last night, Aishwarya and her actor husband Abhishek Bachchan visited him in the hospital.

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Meanwhile, on the work front, speculations are rife that the couple will reportedly be seen together after a gap of seven years in a film titled "Gulab Jamun", to be backed by Phantom Films. PTI KKP ARS SHD

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By Peggy Kelly

Santa Paula News

Santa Paula Fire responded early Sunday to a fire that destroyed a Fillmore church and displaced the pastors family of five, who lived in the nearby parsonage.

According to the Fillmore Fire Department, they responded about 4:50 a.m. to a report of a fire in the 900 block of 3rd Street, the Christian Evangelical Church.

Mutual aid was requested from Ventura County Fire and Santa Paula Fire departments.

Upon arrival firefighters found the three-story steeple fully involved in flames below electrical power lines, which prevented firefighters from entering the one-story church.

Those flames were also threatening several surrounding structures including the pastors residence.

Firefighters attacked the main fire and fanned out to protect the other structures including the pastors home. The family of five was able to exit their home without injury.

Eventually, the steeple collapsed into the church and the fire was knocked down by 5:42 a.m.

Santa Paula Assistant Fire Chief Vern Alstot said six engines responded to the scene including SPFD Engine 81.
Women won the vote 95 years ago, but their political struggles had only begun.

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The year was 1920 and U.S. politicians were worried.

Women had set aside their differences in income, education, and background to win the right to vote. Theyd applied pressure to legislators and built support among the American public. Now, having achieved suffrage with the 19th Amendment, there was no telling what they might do next.

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Some men feared women would take over the countrys political system. If women voted together, as a bloc, it would outweigh the male vote that was divided mainly between the Republican and Democratic parties.

To prevent women voters from creating a political party of their own, Republicans and Democrats began recruiting women. They also supported legislation on what wed call womens issues.

For example, Congress passed the Sheppard-Towner Act of 1921 to help reduce maternal and newborn deaths. At the time, one in five infants died in their first year, and childbirth was the second leading cause of death for women. The new law provided federal funds to help states establish maternal and child health centers.

The bill was originally introduced by Jeanette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, but in 1921 it was voted down by 39 members, including the only woman holding a seat in Congress in 1921, Alice Mary Robertson.

It soon became apparent there would be no womens bloc. Having won the right to vote, the womens coalition broke apart. In subsequent elections, womens voting patterns were nearly indistinguishable from mens.

Realizing they didnt need to pass targeted laws to obtain womens votes, politicians ended the funding for the Sheppard-Towner Act in 1929.

In the following decades, women seemed to make little progress toward the equality suffragettes thought the vote would bring them.

In 1948, the grandniece of Susan B. Anthony looked back at what women had accomplished politically since womens suffrage passed and was not impressed. As she concluded in her Post article, We Women Throw Our Votes Away.

Women have frittered away our massive power at the polls, Susan B. Anthony II wrote. If we voted together on any issue  we probably could name the next president of the United States.  Our economic, political, and social position is only slightly better now than it was in 1920, when we got the all-powerful vote. The right to vote, in fact, is the only unqualified victory we have gained in a century.

Because they wouldnt cast a united vote for their rights, Anthony wrote, Americas women were barely represented in the government and in the workplace.

Much has happened since Anthonys Post article. While women still dont enjoy full, legal equality, there have been significant changes.

There are several explanations for these changes. One would be a gradual shift in thinking about gender roles. For instance, many Americans began to rethink their ideas about womens capabilities after seeing them take over mens jobs during two world wars.

Another change was a shift in womens voting. Beginning in 1952, Gallup polls noticed a 10 percent difference between mens and womens voting patterns in the presidential election.

Politicians realized they could no longer count on gathering womens votes with the same appeal that worked for male voters. At least the presidential candidates would need to address womens concerns.

The gender gap narrowed to 4 percent in 1992, but rose to 11 percent when Bill Clinton ran for re-election. By the 2012 election of President Obama, it had grown to 20 percent.

Today, women are not only becoming more independent in politics, they are also voting in greater numbers than men. But they are still a long way from flexing enough political muscle to obtain legal equality. American society can be highly resistant to change. Keep in mind that all the progress noted above took place over more than 60 years. And while the gender gap in pay continues to shrink, the change is coming at glacial speed. If it continues to narrow at todays rate, it will take over 120 years before women earn equal pay for equal jobs.
A decade before women gained the right to vote in the U.S., the womens rights movement was working hard to claim incremental victories.

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A decade before women gained the right to vote in the U.S., the womens rights movement was working hard to claim incremental victories. Most progress came through quiet grit, relentless recruitment, and tireless organizing.

In 1909, there were many factions of the suffrage movement, all with varying perspectives. Some wanted only partial suffrage (victory at the municipal level), while others believed that they must fight for national suffrage. The National Womens Party was often confrontational, organizing protests and marches. The National American Woman Suffrage Association focused on lobbying. Most work was done at the grass-roots level, with women holding luncheons, lectures, and letter-writing campaigns and traveling to state capitals to make their case.

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An article by May K. Warwick from the June 12, 1909, issue of the Post applauded the headway the womens rights movement had made. In the article, Warwick enumerates the many benefits of giving women the right to vote:

The suffragists assert that their movement has been related to that of higher education for women, and they point with pride to the seven thousand women doctors, three thousand ministers and one thousand lawyers in our country, to the three hundred occupations open to women and to the thousands of womens organizations.

The author notes that in the four states where women had the right to vote in 1909, regulations protecting women and children were enacted more quickly. This included laws that raised the age of consent, gave women the right to control their own income and property, and established free kindergarten.

Of course, things were still very different in 1909. While Warwick lobbied eloquently for the right to vote, she assured readers that women were not very interested in running for elected office.

The histories of the enfranchised states show that women have not rushed into office and that those they do hold are mainly educational and charitable. They will state that in all the parties women work in harmony with the men.

Warwick notes that if women were able to show equal pluck and determination after getting the right to vote as they did in petitioning for the right, they would prove a formidable force in American politics. Her article ends on an encouraging note:

The people of America have been stirred from their apathy and are thinking about suffrage. The race is indeed not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong; but some kind of worthy success always follows energy and courage.

Its a good thing that the women had plenty of that energy and courage; the right to vote was still more than a decade away, and the road ahead would be a bumpy one. Protests continued throughout the 1910s. In 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilsons inauguration, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns organized a suffrage parade. Opponents brought the protest to a near riot, and mounted police were called in.

Film of suffragettes marching from Newark, New Jersey to Washington, 1913.

In 1917, 200 suffragists were arrested and half were convicted following a protest at the White House. The harsh treatment of some of the women, including forced feeding in prison, bent public sympathies toward the movement.

After several false starts, the 19th amendment was eventually passed and ratified. The first presidential election in which women were permitted to vote in every state occurred in 1920. Despite this fact, many states took their sweet time ratifying the amendment. Mississippi was the last state to do so  in 1984.
The chief organiser of the India Pakistan London Fashion Show, Gurbani Kaur, has alleged that Bipasha Basu subjected her manager to "violent abuse."

By India Today Web Desk: After Bipasha Basu was accused of being unprofessional and bowing out of a fashion show at the last minute, the chief organiser of the show Gurbani Kaur has alleged that Bips got violent and scratched her manager.

Gurbani spoke with SpotboyE and said that Bipasha's manager, Sana Kapoor, was crying and requesting the actor to open the door. "She showed us Bipasha's nail marks on her arm. She had marks of violent abuse... The condition that these managers were treated in, I was super-shocked... These people have no humanity," Gurbani said.

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When the publication reached out to Sana, she replied that she didn't want to be disturbed on vacation. She also said that she was crying because of some bad news that she got, and it was personal, nothing to do with Bipasha.

However, she later texted them saying, "Sorry that I haven't responded to your last msg but I have been dealing with a personal crisis and have been in and out of the hospital... with regard to your last msg, this is absolutely untrue and she would never do anything of this sort... I don't know where you've gotten this ridiculous information from."

Meanwhile, Bipasha took to Twitter to respond to the allegations against her. "15 years you don't last any business being unprofessional. You last because you are clear and particular and have self respect."

15 years you don't last any business being unprofessional. You last because you are clear and particular and have self respect. Bipasha Basu (@bipsluvurself) March 6, 2017

Hearing about a con woman talking utter rubbish about my work ethics and some section of the media giving them space too. Bipasha Basu (@bipsluvurself) March 6, 2017

ALSO READ: Bipasha ditches show, organiser says she used the money for honeymoon

ALSO WATCH: Karan and I are very happy for all the love you guys are giving us, says Bipasha

--- ENDS ---
Deira, Dubai -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/07/2017 -- BEST RELAXATION, a leading provider of full body massage service in Dubai, offers a wide range of massage therapies at the most competitive prices. Rendered by a team of highly qualified therapists, each of their massage therapies eases tension in the body, calms the mind and provides relief and relaxation. All of their massage therapies are coupled with all-natural substances to promote and improve health and wellness in a natural way. To meet the highest quality standards, this massage center has state-of-the-art equipment and tools. Anyone looking for full body massage service in Dubai can count on them for getting one of the best massage services.



BEST RELAXATION is one of the most reputable provider of massage services in Dubai, which helps individuals improve the quality of their life and ensure overall well-being. This massage center incorporates proven methodologies for attaining maximum customers' satisfaction. Their massage services provides health benefits like increases the oxygen level in the blood, decreases muscle toxins, relieves stress, eases tension, and many others. A variety of massages, which one can get from them includes traditional Thai massage, foot and hand reflexology, Swedish massage in Dubai, Moroccan Bath, etc.



One of their representatives talked more about massage treatments, "We take great pride in our reputation in providing a holistic approach to massaging using high quality virgin oils in a clean and healthy ambience. We have separate areas for ladies and gents with private shower facilities."



About BEST RELAXATION

BEST RELAXATION is synonymous with two words, each with its own characteristics having a special meaning to reflect their services and commitment to you. BEST, because they are BEST at what they do and that is to make individuals feel completely rejuvenated after a relaxing massage. They are extremely proud of their team of carefully selected qualified and professionally trained masseuses and masseurs from Thailand who will tranquilize the individuals with their special technique in the unique art of Thai therapy which has become the most sought after and popular spa treatments worldwide. RELAXATION, because the moment individuals enter their specially designed sanctuary, their journey of tranquility begins. After choosing an appropriate therapy from the company's wide selection, individuals will be settled in one of their specially designed serene rooms where trained therapists will create the perfect balance of body and soul so that the individuals leave completely relaxed and rejuvenated.



For more information, please visit: http://www.bestrelax.ae/
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/07/2017 -- Growth in the prevalence of diabetes among the population coupled with growing focus on technology has resulted in the rising of market for glucose monitoring devices globally.



Global Glucose Monitoring Devices market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6.52% during 2016 2021F, driven by the increasing number of diabetic patients as a consequence of sedentary lifestyles. As per capita healthcare expenditure is rising along with the growth in the disposable income, it has resulted in increasing healthcare spending including expenditure on diabetes.



While blood glucose monitors are holding major market globally due to its prominence and affordability among the emerging nations, technological advancements have led to the growth of Continuous Glucose Monitoring devices which is expected to grow faster in the future. Among the regions, North America holds the major market due to the higher disposable income as well as insurance coverage. However, among emerging markets, Asia Pacific is expected to grow the highest due to the growth in aging population as well as per capita expenditure.



According to Azoth Analytics research report, Global Glucose Monitoring Devices Market: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts (2016-2021F) Global Glucose Monitoring Devices market is projected to exhibit a CAGR of over ~6.52% during 2016 - 2021. In 2016, market for Continuous Glucose Monitoring is expected to grow at a faster pace due to the non-invasiveness as well as increasing adoptability mainly in developed regions.



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Global Glucose Monitoring Devices Market: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts (2016-2021) - (By Devices Type: BGM - Monitors, Strips, Lancets and CGM - Monitors, Transmitters and Receivers, Sensors; By Region-North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East; By Country- US, Canada, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, India, China, UK, Germany) analyses the following aspects of global Glucose Monitoring devices market:

- Global Glucose Monitoring device market size, Share & Forecast

- Device Types - Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices and Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices

- Regional Analysis - North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East

- Country Analysis - United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, India, China, United Kingdom, Germany

- Policy & Regulatory Landscape

- Changing Market Trends & Emerging Opportunities

- Competitive Landscape & Strategic Recommendations



Research Methodology



Historic market trend has been figured out by various paid databases which was further triangulated with inputs and insights from industry experts, companies and stakeholders, through primary research. Back-of-the-Envelope calculation for the market estimation has been made through proper understanding of the market as well as future business strategies of the companies operating in the market.



Why You Should Buy This Report?

- To gain an in-depth understanding of global Glucose Monitoring device market

- To identify the on-going trends and anticipated growth in the next five years

- To help industry consultants, Glucose Monitoring device manufacturers, suppliers and distributors align their market-centric strategies

- To gain insights on the prevalent market entry strategies in Glucose Monitoring device market for domestic as well as foreign companies

- To obtain research based business decision and add weight to presentations

- To avail limited customization in the report without any extra charges



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Deira, Dubai -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/07/2017 -- A reputable name in the massage industry, BEST RELAXATION offers multitude of massage therapies that helps individuals reap the health benefits of massage within their limited budget. They have two spa centers in different locations of Dubai, Deira and Jumeriah, where individuals can not only reduce their daily stress, but can also eliminate accumulated toxins from the body, and improve their overall well-being. They have a team qualified and professionally trained masseuses and masseurs from Thailand, who dedicatedly tranquilize the customers with their special technique in the unique art of Thai therapy, which is considered as the most sought after and popular spa treatments worldwide. It's the result of the hard efforts of their masseuses and masseurs that today they are highly regarded across Dubai for providing full massage services at the most competitive prices.



BEST RELAXATION has been in this industry for years, and within this time span has served a huge number of individuals with one-of-a-kind services of body massage in Dubai. Moreover, they also apply a holistic approach to massaging employing high quality virgin oils in a clean and healthy ambience. They also have separate areas for ladies and gents with private shower facilities to ensure no one is left behind from getting the health benefits of the massage. Those planning to visit any of their spa centers can book an appointment online from their official website, BESTRELAX.ae. The variety of massages that one can experience at their spa centers includes, foot and hand reflexology, traditional Thai massage, herbal hot compress massage, aromatherapy oil massage, etc. So don't wait long, they are ready to welcome everyone to their sanctuary, and say "Sawasdee Ka".



A representative of BEST RELAXATION talked more about the benefits of their massage therapies, "Our massage therapies are beneficial for people recovering from osteoarthritis, muscle spasms, postural problems, and injuries, especially those which occur while playing any kind of sports. Our massage therapists aims to provide relief by working on deeper tissues and help customers to avoid treatment that can be uncomfortable than the traditional massage. If you are looking for a spa in Jumeirah, then you are at right place."



About BEST RELAXATION

BEST RELAXATION is synonymous with two words, each with its own characteristics having a special meaning to reflect their services and commitment to you. BEST, because they are BEST at what they do and that is to make individuals feel completely rejuvenated after a relaxing massage. They are extremely proud of their team of carefully selected qualified and professionally trained masseuses and masseurs from Thailand who will tranquilize the individuals with their special technique in the unique art of Thai therapy which has become the most sought after and popular spa treatments worldwide. RELAXATION, because the moment individuals enter their specially designed sanctuary, their journey of tranquility begins. After choosing an appropriate therapy from the company's wide selection, individuals will be settled in one of their specially designed serene rooms where trained therapists will create the perfect balance of body and soul so that the individuals leave completely relaxed and rejuvenated.



For more information, please visit: http://www.bestrelax.ae
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/08/2017 -- Safety Sensors Market: Overview and Growth Enablers



Safety sensors are used to monitor the work place environment and provide timely indications in order to prevent accidents. These sensors are widely applicable in construction, manufacturing, healthcare and defense industry among others. The market is expected to grow during the forecast period.



The global safety sensors market is driven by the increasing awareness for the safety of workers in the manufacturing industry. Moreover, the stringent government regulations for safety at the workplace are also aiding the growth of this market. In addition, the technological advancements across all the sectors are creating a demand for automation. Sensors play an important role in the automation process. Hence, the demand for automation is in return fueling the growth for global safety sensors market. Furthermore, safety in manufacturing and industrial applications is not required for the workers but also to prevent the wear and tear or damage to the good being manufactured. This factor is also acting as a driver for the market.



Browse Market Research Report @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/safety-sensors-market.html



However, the installation charge for safety sensors is very high which is acting as a restraint for the market. Moreover, the safety sensors are automated in nature and can malfunction by giving false indications which can lead to confusion at the workplace. This, in return is hindering the market from growth.



Safety Sensors Market: Segmentation



Safety sensors are increasingly being applied across several sectors such as manufacturing, construction, defense and automobiles. In the future, these sensors are expected to be applied in the cars in the form of radar sensors, nigh vision, adaptive cruise control systems and driver assistances such as driver monitoring. The application of these will ensure enhanced safety for vehicle drivers.



The market can be segmented on the basis of sensor types, application, and geography. By sensors type, the market is segmented into accelerometers which include capacitive, Hall Effect sensors, heat transfers and MEMS; biosensors include methane, microbial and BOD sensors among others; image sensors include CMOS and CCD image sensors; and motion detectors.



By application, the market is divided into construction, oil and gas, mining, healthcare, defense, manufacturing, logistics, and food and beverages among others.



Safety Sensors Market: Region-wise Insight



In terms of geography, the market has been divided into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world. North America and Europe are known to be adapters of new technology. However, Asia Pacific is the largest market for safety sensors. The reason for their dominance is due to the large presence of manufacturing industries in countries, like Philippines, China and India.



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With factory workers putting in long hours and lacking adequate safety knowledge, the Asia Pacific region has now begun to see a growing demand for safety systems. This has also been the result of stringent safety regulations applied by governments in various countries. This factor has fuelled the growth by extensive application of safety sensors in this region. Moreover, the region has a wide numbers of sensor manufacturers which is also aiding to the region's dominance.



Safety Sensors Market: Key Players



The key players in this market include Allen Bradley, Keyence Corporation, Omron Corporation, IFM Efector GmbH, Siemens, ABB ltd, Baumer Limited, Panasonic Corporation, AMETEK Factory Automation, Asteel Sensor and Delphi among others.
[ACCRA] Africa needs to nurture girls in science to generate more empowered women in various scientific fields such as drug regulation for accelerated sustainable socioeconomic development, experts say.



The experts made this call during the launch of an initiative that facilitates networking and mentee-mentor relationships to ignite female students aspirations towards careers in drug regulation and pharmaceutical manufacturing in Africa.



Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, president of Mauritius, while commenting on the launch of Center for Pharmaceutical Advancement and Trainings (CePAT) Women In Science Exchange (WISE) in Ghana last month (14 January), said it is important to engage with young girls for a better feminine representation in sciences to help develop Africa.

We need more advocacy [and] more mentoring to take these girls by the hands. If we engage with the girls to make them realise that they can do anything from a very tender age, we can see more girls in sciences. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, president of Mauritius

CePAT is the US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) capacity building programme site based in Ghana and its WISE programme convenes undergraduate and high school female science students with CePAT honorees and global health professionals across Sub-Saharan Africa.



This is done through capacity building and skills development in group mentorship for participating students, knowledge sharing workshops, career guidance trainings and internships to motivate and prepare the next generation of medicines quality champions for Africas expanding pharmaceutical industry.



We are talking about women in the age bracket of 15-22 and it is here that the difference is made because women are not being encouraged with sciences. There is a lot of stereotyping in the way science is being taught, the infrastructure [too] doesnt encourage the girls to stay in school, Gurib-Fakim says.



She adds, We need more advocacy [and] more mentoring to take these girls by the hands. If we engage with the girls to make them realise that they can do anything from a very tender age, we can see more girls in sciences.



According to Patrick Lukulay, vice president, USPs Global Health Impact Programs, Africa, it is not enough to wait until people get out of the universities to take up the profession but it is more important to go downstream to start building future leaders so that they would become more effective in what they do.



He says, it is undebatable that girls are disadvantaged, particularly in Africa and there is great need to change this dynamic. We have to do it very aggressively because we know the potential that women have. We know the influence they have in communities. If you prepare them well theres cascade effect, he adds.



Lukulay says that women champion health-seeking behaviour in Africa, and convincing them of quality could have the most impact even in terms of health outcomes.



WISE programme, he explains, is aimed at building human resource capacity, giving them core competency in drug regulation.



Lukulay says, It is not enough to just focus on in-service training  It is crucial to go to high schools and universities impacting those principles.



We are trying to provide opportunity whereby high school students are invited to the centre to interact with professionals, trying to establish linkages between high school and university students with women that have skills that could impact on them.



Ronald Piervincenzi, chief executive officer of the USP, says it is important to access quality medicine and it is useful to have many women in the network, hence the need for building their capacities in the continent at early ages.



According to Jennifer Ahenkora, a student at Accra High School, the mentoring has given confidence and taught her the value of women in society.

There are no boundaries for women and they can take up challenges that require scientific knowledge, she tells SciDev.Net.Ahenkora notes that she feels inspired and encouraged. She intends to work hard to meet the objectives of the mentoring project. Talking and interacting with the mentors has given me a new level of understanding and inspiration and I want to go to great heights in achieving the reasons for which the project has been created, she says.Disclaimer: The US Pharmacopeial Convention sponsored Ochieng Ogodo to attend the event in Accra, Ghana.
In Biloxi, Mississippi, a freight train smashed into a charter bus, leaving four people dead. Rescuers then spent over an hour removing passengers from the heavily damaged bus, eventually cutting through the frame to extract the last of the passengers.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the bus, pushed at least 300 feet down the tracks, was seen straddling a CSX Transportation locomotive pushed up against its side. It was said to have stopped on the tracks when the 52-car train slammed into it. Biloxi Police Chief John Miller noted that there had been no clear reason regarding the accident, adding that the police did not know whether or not a mechanical issue took place.

The police allegedly described the crash as a terrible, chaotic scene where 35 out of the total 46 passengers on the bus operated by Echo Transportation have been hospitalized. The bus was traveling from Hollywood in Bay St. Louis to Boomtown in Biloxi and is confirmed to be privately chartered and transporting patrons from Holywood Gulf Coast Casino 45 miles away from the site of the accident.

WLOX station also noted tha the train crossing the site of the crash had already previously been in trouble. Only two months ago, a separate CSX train slammed into a delivery truck from Pepsi when the said truck got stuck on the tracks.

Medical workers from a nearby hospital also set up a triage area by the scene as helicopters carried other injured passengers to other hospitals. The train crew, however, remained uninjured. The dangerous crossing was said to have warning lights and gates, with Federal Railroad Agency noting that 10 trains a day usually use the track at a maximum speed of 45 mph.

Elisa Fox, the lawyer for the bus company, said that they cannot confirm anything at this point in the series, although they are trying to mobilize assets and assess. The Federal Railroad Administration, meanwhile, is sending three inspectors to investigate the problem.
The long-hidden palace of ancient Assyrian King Sennacherib was found underneath the Tomb of the Prophet Jonah, in which it was ravaged by Islamic State in 2014. The said militants were digging tunnels in search for ancient artifacts to plunder and sell them to the black market.

The palace dated back around 600 BC was built by King Sennacherib, who ruled Assyria from 705 BCE to 681 BCE. It was later enlarged by his son, Esarhaddon, King Sennacherib's successor. During the reign of Sennacherib, Nineveh, one of the oldest cities in Assyria, was also one of the richest cities in the world. Sennacherib's military campaign against the Kingdom of Judah was mentioned in the Bible. Meanwhile, the palace was partly destroyed during the Sack of Nineveh in 612 BCE, according to Breaking Israel News.

The shrine was built on the burial site of the Prophet Jonah, who preached to Nineveh to turn to God and repent their sins during the reign of Jeroboam in 780 BC to 750 BC. It was written in the Bible that the people of Nineveh listened to the Prophet Jonah and repented their sins. His burial site was in the northern Iraq city of Mosul. Meanwhile, the ISIS destroyed the shrine using the dynamite.

Iraqi archaeologist Layla Salih, who led the emergency exploration, said that she can only imagine how much Daesh (ISIS) discovered down there before they got there. They thought that the Daesh took many of the artifacts like pottery and smaller pieces away to sell. On the other hand, those things that were left by them will be examined and could aid the researchers in understanding the life during that period. Salih also found a marble cuneiform inscription of Assyrian King Esarhaddon inside one of the tunnels, which dated back around 672 BC, according to Fox News.
HARTSVILLE, S.C.  In celebration of Engineering Week, young girls in Hartsville met on Feb. 24 at the Startsville Innovation Center in downtown Hartsville to explore the possibilities of a career in the typically male-dominated engineering field.

Free to girls in second through sixth grades, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Night filled up with a waiting list, said Ashli Smith, national program director for Girls University, which was in charge of the event.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Night was all about encouraging girls to consider a route into engineering and inspiring a generation who might grow up to be the great innovators and problem solvers of the next generation.

With the help of female students at the South Carolina Governors School for Science and Mathematics, Smith introduced the young girls to the concepts involved in engineering.

She said there are many opportunities with a degree in engineering, lots of job security and a way to make a difference in the world.

Although these girls have a long time before settling on a career, it is never too early to plan.

The GSSM students are in the 11 th and 12th grades and are already thinking about careers in engineering and other fields related to science and math.

Nine-year-old Isabella Hess was the first to arrive, accompanied by her father, John Hess. He said Isabellas mother signed her up because she is interested in science.

I dont know anything about engineering, said Sumayah Robinson. I like science and I like to read.

Hess said she likes reading and cooking, too.

Twins Amanda and Emma Johnson are only 11 but already have an idea about what they want do when they grow up. Amanda wants to be a lawyer, but Emma wants to be an engineer.

I want to be an engineer and work on planes for the government, Emma said. Im really good in math and science.

Kathryn de Ridder-Vignone, director of Startsville and an adjunct instructor in GSSMs BlueCross BlueShield Economics and Finance Institute, said this was their first time partnering with Girls University, an after-school program that provides mentoring, leadership, social and life skills, academic reinforcement and career exploration.

Its turned out great, she said. We sold out really fast.

After talking to the girls about the different job options with a career in engineering, they were given a project to accomplish in pairs or threes. They were asked to design and build a free-standing tower out of newspaper, one that was sturdy and tall. They were given 25 minutes to complete the task.

Afterward, they discussed how well they accomplished the task, how they could have made their individual tower better, stronger or taller.
DARLINGTON, S.C.  Sharae Meredith, an aerospace engineer working for Lockheed Martin, visited the Darlington County Intervention School on Feb. 23 to deliver a message of encouragement to students.

During her presentation she encouraged students to be brave, unique, tenacious and loved.

Meredith paid homage in her presentation to famous engineers and aeronautical professionals who inspired her career directly and indirectly, including Guion Bluford, Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson.

Afterward Meredith fielded several questions from students about her job and how she kept focused through so many years of school.

Zenobia Edwards, director of DCIS, said Merediths discussion provided important insight and inspiration for students to focus on their academics and character building.

Dr. Meredith is a living, breathing Unhidden Figure who is an inspiration in many ways, Edwards said. Her life is an inspiring story of success rising from struggle, and she is a young black woman who has mastered the critical disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. My hope for students is if they see it, theyll want to be it.

Meredith holds degrees from Tuskegee University, Georgia Tech and Penn State. She spent time working for companies known for innovation, such as Northrop Grumman Corporation and Boeing.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party today hailed the Delhi budget as "pro-poor" and "pro-middle class", even as the Opposition slammed the finance bill as "disappointing".

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the AAP government has not imposed any new tax for the third consecutive year.

Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said every section of the society was in his mind while preparing the budget.

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Picking holes, the BJP said the budget is "disappointing" and has remained silent on several key projects like setting up of CCTVs, free wifi and womens safety while the Congress said, contrary to the governments claim, the economy of Delhi is slowing.

"It is a wonderful budget for poor and middle class people. Delhi government has tabled zero-tax budget. No new tax has been introduced in this budget.

"Earlier, a major part of public money went into corruption, but since we have come to power, public money is being saved due to which we are investing more money in education, health and infrastructure projects," Kejriwal said.

Hitting out at the Kejriwal government, Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari said the budget is mum on key projects like the mohalla clinics and increasing the number of buses on the city roads.

Tiwari also slammed the government on its "insensitivity towards legislative proceedings" over the delay in presenting the budget by 15 minutes due to lack of quorum in the House.

Sharmistha Mukherjee, chief spokesperson of Delhi Congress termed the budget as "anti-development".

She said, according to the Economic Survey, Delhis economic growth has slowed down for the first time in five years from 8.82 per cent in 2015-16 to 8.26 per cent in 2016-17.

"The revenue receipts have fallen short by Rs 4,468.93 crore than the estimate and the fiscal surplus of Delhi has come down from 1.9 per cent of GSDP in 2013-14, the last year of the Congress government, to 0.24 per cent of GSDP in 2015-16.

"We fear that from a fiscal surplus state, Delhi might even become a fiscal deficit state," Mukherjee said.

Slamming the budget, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav said it obfuscates more than it reveals with selective presentation of favourable statistics and non-acknowledgment of limits and challenges.

Taking a jibe at Sisodia, Yadav said the budget appears to have borrowed the language and practice of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his predecessor P Chidambaram. PTI PR SMJ

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With this, the elite security force will be responsible for the security of 69 out of 96 airports in India.

By Ajay Kumar: Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is going to expand its security cover to ten more airports in the country. With this, the elite security force will be responsible for the security of 69 out of 96 airports in India.

"As per the observation, the overall annual growth of airports in India is 15 to 16%. We also want to grow accordingly to match with the pace," said OP Singh, director general of CISF.

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So far, the force has decided to provide security to Jabalpur, Jamnagar and Gagan project in Bengaluru and studies are on for Vijaywada airport before its final takeover. Discussion are on with the ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for six more airports.

STRENGTH OF FORCES WILL BE ENHANCED BY 35,000

Besides, the civil aviation has also selected airports such as Bareilly, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Allahabad for regional connectivity airports. CISF will be handling these as well, says the DG.

The security of smaller airports like Varanasi is gaining more importance because of VVIP constituencies. Union ministers and opposition leaders have frequently travelled these places recently for election campaigning.

The DG also admitted that there are shortages of man power. Hence the strength of the forces will be enhanced by 35,000 to meet rising demands.

DEMAND FOR BULLET-PROOF VEHICLES

Currently, CISF has 1.45 lakh securitymen on its rolls.

The security force has also demanded from ministry for Civil Aviation and bureau of civil aviation for bullet proof-vehicles for CISF personnel, deployed as part of Quick Response Team (QRT) at major airports. The bulletproof vehicles would have the capacity of armed ones.

ALSO READ | CISF to raise Special Tactics Wing to enhance combat advantage

Banaras Hindu University asks for CISF security cover

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) Criticising SBIs decision to raise the minimum balance required to be maintained in savings account to as high as Rs 5,000, the Communist Party of India (CPI) today said banks are now finding it difficult to tackle the issue of rising NPAs.

The countrys largest lender has increased the monthly average balance (MAB) requirement to as high as Rs 5,000 in six metros. For urban and semi-urban branches, the MAB has been fixed at Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000, respectively.

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"The Central Secretariat of CPI severely condemns the decision of State Bank of India to make it compulsory to have a minimum amount of Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,000.

"It seems that the banks are no more in a position to bear with the burden of rising non-performing assets on the one side and the lower credit off take on the other hand," the Communist Party of India (CPI) said in a statement. Observing that on one side the government is forcing that all financial transactions should be through the banks and digitalisation and crores of citizens were forced to open the bank accounts, the CPI said "restricting the ATM withdrawals will create serious problems for many of them".

The party pointed out that all the tall talks of higher growth and demonetisation as a crusade against black money are proving to be mere hoodwinks to save and protect the corrupt and loan defaulters.

"Instead, the masses who are being forced to open bank accounts with unheard of formalities are being fleeced to compensate the heavy losses to the banks due to rising NPAs and demonetisation blues," the party said. Noting that the banks that they are dependent fully on account holders especially the large number of middle, upper and lower class citizens, the CPI said any additional curb namely fees for more transactions will force the customers to withdraw huge money and store huge cash at home. "This will affect the banking sector very badly," it said. The party said the government must dare to take action against the defaulters including those guilty of NPAs, confiscate their property, recover their loans and other dues at the earliest, instead of compensating banks from non-defaulter depositors hard-earned money.

State Bank of India has decided to increase manifold the minimum balance required for maintaining savings account from April 1, hitting 31 crore depositors including pensioners and students.

However, these restrictions are not applicable to basic savings account and corporate salary accounts. Savings bank account holders of SBI and its five associates (merging with it on April 1) will have to maintain the monthly balance or else they will invite a penalty ranging from Rs 20 (rural branches) to Rs 100 in (metro cities). SBI has 31 crore savings bank accounts.

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As of now, monthly average balance (MAB) for a savings bank account is Rs 500 without facility of cheque book and Rs 1,000 with cheque book across the country. PTI BKS MKJ

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By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) The Delhi government today proposed setting up of a commission for senior citizens in the budget to look into their welfare and safety related issues.

Delhi has a population of around 12 lakh of the elderly people (60 years and above). The Census puts the population of elderly people being 6.8 per cent of the total population in national capital.

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Presenting the budget for 2017-18, Deputy CM and Finance minister Manish Sisodia proposed an allocation of Rs 3,467 crore for social security and welfare head.

It includes an expenditure of Rs 3,081 crore for various schemes, programmes and projects for social security and welfare undertaken by the government.

The governments pension scheme for senior citizen, specially-abled persons, widows and homeless women covers around 6.3 lakh.

The budget allocation for these pensions in 2017-18 will be Rs 1,595 crore. The estimates on this head it in the 2016-17 budget was Rs 1,137 crore.

The government has also proposed to allocate Rs 900 crore, a rise of around 27 per cent from the last fiscal, for scholarships to students belonging to SC, ST, OBC and Minorities. PTI VIT SMJ

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By Press Trust of India: From Yoshita Singh

United Nations, Mar 8 (PTI) The UN human rights chief has praised movements around the world by women to "reclaim public spaces", including in India, but warned the gains made over the years were fragile and should not be taken for granted.

"It is heartening that women are mobilising in massive numbers to call for their rights to be respected," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein said, as the world marks the International Womens Day on March 8.

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Al Hussein praised womens movements in Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia, where women and men are taking to the streets to demand change, marching against legislative proposals to criminalise some sexual and reproductive rights and fighting femicide.

"In India, we have seen womens protests against sexual violence and movements to reclaim public spaces," he said in a statement.

"It is time to come together to protect the important gains of the past and maintain a positive momentum," he said.

The UN high commissioner, however, termed "extremely troubling" the recent rollback of fundamental legislations in Bangladesh, Burundi and Russia, which weakens womens rights against child marriage, marital rape and domestic violence.

He said such rollbacks are "underpinned by the renewed obsession" to control and limit womens decisions over their bodies and lives, and by views that a womans role should be essentially restricted to reproduction and the family.

"We need to be alert ? the advances of the last few decades are fragile and should nowhere be taken for granted," Al Hussein said.

He noted the "fierce resistance" in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to political and civil society efforts to open up access to sexual and reproductive rights.

"With the worlds young population concentrated in developing nations, retrogressive measures denying women and girls access to sexual and reproductive health services will have a devastating effect," Al Hussein said.

He said denying womens their rights would lead to "a generation without choices and a collective failure to deliver on the promises of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," referring to the internationally-agreed action plan for eradicating poverty while assisting all people and maintain the health of the planet. PTI YAS ABH

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By Press Trust of India: Hyderabad, Mar 8 (PTI) After launching Digital Unlocked, a training programme to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) go digital, Google India today announced the launch of SMB Heroes, a nation-wide programme designed to recognise SMBs that have embraced digital platform to grow their business.

A nation-wide programme SMB Heroes will comprise three categories -- Business Innovation through Digital, Impacting Change through Digital and Woman Business Leader, Kevin OKane, Managing Director, Google Marketing Solutions- Asia Pacific, told reporters here.

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Google today launched Digital Unlocked programme here. Since its launch in January this year, Google has hosted Digital Unlocked workshops in five cities across the country and trained over 4,000 businesses across the offline and online training.

Starting today businesses from across the country can submit their nominations on the SMB Heroes website g.co/smbheroes.

The last date for entries is April 24. "One winner from each category will be shortlisted for five major zones, culminating in a national final in Delhi later this year," Kevin said.

Citing a joint research study by Google-KPMG, Google (India and South-East Asia) Vice President Rajan Anandan, said, 68 per cent of the 51 million Indian SMBs are offline.

"A large number 35 per cent of small businesses are not aware of the benefits and 31 per cent cited lack of technical skills for the reasons that they are not on internet. At Google we want to address these barriers," Rajan said.

"We will be investing heavily in helping SMBs to benefit from digital technology," he said.

SMBs contribute 37 per cent to India?s GDP and employ 120 million people. Today, there are only 32 per cent of small businesses in India that have any sort of web presence, said Rajan.

Digital Unlocked, will empower SMBs with essential digital skills to help them get online and start using the internet to grow their business.

The programme is built across the different formats of online, offline and mobile. "The offline training is being conducted in partnership with FICCI and over the next three years, 5,000 workshops will be held across 40 Indian cities," Rajan said.

Quoting the report, he said rising Internet penetration and greater uptake for digital by SMBs could help increase their contribution to Indias GDP by 10 percentage points, taking it up to 46-48 per cent by 2020.

"SMBs that leverage digital platform grow revenues fast compared to offline SMBs," he added. PTI VVK RMT RDS

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The trustees of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) which has 20,000 members in the Scunthorpe area have welcomed the deal between Tata Steel and the trade unions to close the defined benefit fund to future new members.

As reported, Tata Steel employees in the UK overwhelming voted to back the company's plans to scrap the existing 50-year-old British Steel Pension Fund and replace it with a defined contribution scheme.

The measures, designed to protect the long-term future of steel-making in Port Talbot, have been welcomed by Roy Rickhuss, the leader of Scunthorpe's main steel union Community.

Allan Johnston, the chairman of the trustee board, said: The Trustee of the British Steel Pension Scheme welcomes the conclusion of the consultation between Tata Steel and its employees over future pension provision.

"The closure of the scheme is an important step in securing its future outside of the Pension Protection Fund ('PPF') and making available the choice of better pension benefits for the vast majority of members than would be available to them following freefall entry into the PPF."

He added: We continue to have constructive discussions with Tata Steel, HM Government, the Pensions Regulator, the Pension Protection Fund and other stakeholders about how to secure a better outcome for the BSPS membership. These discussions are ongoing and the membership will be kept informed of developments."

The Department for Work and Pensions has been in consultation since last July over whether to place the scheme which is worth 15 billion into the hands of the Pension Protection Fund.

If that was the case, thousands of stake-holders in the Scunthorpe area stand to lose a chunk of their investments.
The cruise line will create a curriculum to prepare many thousands of students for careers aboard a Royal Caribbean ship. The classes will be facilitated by dedicated instructors and offer theoretical and practical knowledge to help students develop marketable hospitality skills. In addition to the classroom experience, students will get on-site guidance and training from shipboard professionals.

Royal Caribbean said it has committed to rapidly growing the number of Bahamian nationals it employs in the next five years.

The company's agreement with the Bahamas also includes a commitment to help grow tourism and, as part of that, an investment in private island CocoCay to build a pier and provide new experiences there.

'Tourism is an important engine of growth for the economy of destinations in the Caribbean and the Bahamas, and we are excited to bring more visitors on our newest and most innovative ships to this popular vacation spot,' Royal Caribbean president and ceo Michael Bayley said.

'Our commitment to the Bahamas is multifold. It is our responsibility to contribute to the country's economic diversity, to its employment base and the training of Bahamian youth as well as the protection of the environment. We are excited about the continued growth of tourism in the Bahamas, and look forward to doing our part to keep that growth and progress moving along in the years to come.'

Royal Caribbean currently carries 1.7m visitors a year to the Bahamas, with plans to significantly expand that number in the next decade as it adds capacity in the region. With its strategic location and proximity to the United States, Bahamian destinations are already marquee ports of call for 13 Royal Caribbean ships and are consistently highly rated by passengers, the company said.

In addition, Royal Caribbean is one of the owners of Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport where major ship revitalizations and drydock maintenance takes place.
China Bohai Banks Shanghai branch will extend a one-year loan of RMB500m and a three-year loan of RMB1bn to Cosco Shipping Leasing, while Bank of Nanjings Shanghai branch has offered a one-year loan of RMB500m.

Cosco Shipping Development announced that it will act as the guarantor for the loans.

Up until 7 March 2017, Cosco Shipping Development has guaranteed RMB1.17bn worth of loans for Cosco Shipping Leasing.

Cosco Shipping Development is the leasing business and ship financing arm of the parent group China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited (Cosco Shipping), formed from the merger of shipping giants Cosco and China Shipping.

To know more about the merger of Cosco and China Shipping, click here.
The recent statements from the Government present an unacceptable risk for Immigration Voice members that DOJ might decide after 60 days to adopt the position of Save Jobs USA.

By Press Trust of India: The Trump Administration has sought 60 days to respond to a court case that challenges the decision of the previous Obama Administration to authorise spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the US.

While the move by the Obama Administration during its last phase was welcomed by the large H-1B community which mainly included Indians, several American groups challenged this decision in a federal court in Washington DC.

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On February 1, the Department of Justice had filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit entitled "Consent motion to hold proceedings in abeyance for 60 days".

The Government has asked for a 60-day pause in the case to "allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues."

In a statement, Immigration Voice on Tuesday said that this is "especially concerning" because Attorney General Jeff Sessions, when he was a US Senator, called the H-4 Rule a "change (in) immigration law in a way that hurts American workers."

WHAT TO EXPECT

Even though this rule has actually allowed many H-4 visa holders, including named intervenors, the ability to start businesses in the United States that employ American workers that would otherwise not have jobs if the Rule had not been promulgated, Immigration Voice said.

Immigration Voice on Tuesday announced to intervention in the Save Jobs lawsuit arguing that this was the "only option" to protect the rights of its members and their families, including children who are US citizens.

"There is nothing for the Department of Justice attorneys to confer with their leadership about given the District Court's clear decision stating that this case had no basis for ever being filed," said Aman Kapoor co-founder and president of Immigration Voice.

The recent statements from the Government present an unacceptable risk for Immigration Voice members that DOJ might decide after 60 days to adopt the position of Save Jobs USA.

WHY THE HUE AND CRY

"Any failure to provide the strongest possible defence of the District Court's decision risks establishing a precedent prohibiting H-4 visa holders from working under the current statutory regime. Under these circumstances, Immigration Voice felt compelled to act to protect the existing and future work permits of our members," Kapoor said.

One of the petitioners Sudarshana Sengupta, said she has been involved in biomedical research for the last 13 years in the country, initially as a J2 dependent (work authorisation) and later on H-1B visa.

"In August 2015, I decided to use H4- EAD work authorisation to continue my research...I am currently involved in preclinical research and I am on the verge of launching my own startup developing cancer immunotherapy strategies based on my preclinical studies," Sengupta said.

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If H4-EAD is taken away, I will not be able to launch my startup, she said.

Another intervenor Anuj Dhamija, who has been legally working in the US since 2010 as a Project Manager for a reputed Fortune 100 company, said due to decades long wait to get green card, he made a switch to the H4 EAD program as it was the only option for him to pursue his business ventures in the interim.

"On this program, I was able to keep my existing job and also start up my small high-end luxurious home remodelling business. As per my business plan, I targeted to generate USD 775k revenue in year 1, USD 1.6m in year 2 and USD 1.9m in Year 3," he said.

"Along the way, I expected to create 5-10 new American jobs in the construction industry. If this program ceased to exist, I will lose all my investment in the new business and also my job as there will be no other legal option for me to work in the USA," Dhamija said.

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Also read: After US shootings, Indian man faces shocking racial abuse in New Zealand

Also read: US advises citizens against travelling to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan

Also read: Dalai Lama says Chinese hardliners have parts of brain missing

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The Korean-owned, 2012-built, bulker had planned to head to Fiji for hull cleaning after it was expelled by New Zealands Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) on Sunday.

Biosecurity Authority of Fiji ceo Xavier Khan was reported as saying it had issued an inspection certificate to local agents Campbell Shipping that DL Marigold would not be allowed into Fijian waters to clean its hull.

Divers in New Zealand had found the ship to have dense fouling of barnacles and tube worms on its hull and other underwater surfaces.

Khan said the bio-fouling on the vessel could introduce invasive species into Fijian waters. "This will never be allowed as it would be very devastating for the Fijian marine and aquatic species."

The DL Marigold had planned to call in Fiji on 10 March specifically to have its hull cleaned before returning to New Zealand to finish discharging its cargo of palm oil expeller.

New Zealand authorities said the vessel would not be allowed back in its waters until its hull had been thoroughly cleaned.

The latest move by the Fijian authorities to ban the DL Marigold from entering its waters would appear to leave the vessel in limbo.
Taiped officials have reportedly said the aim is to set a deadline within 2017 for the submission of binding bids, subject to approved by the inner cabinet first, for the second major port in Northern Greece.

The port is being developed as the north Aegean's gas hub where it is planned to locate a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU).

Peter G Livanos-led GasLog has bought a 20% stake in a company developing the FSRU. Under a separate agreement, GasLog will also provide operations and maintenance for the FSRU.

The deal sees a GasLog subsidiary linking with a private Greek company, Gastrade, which is licensed to develop an independent natural gas system offshore of Alexandroupolis.

Gastrade is also in discussions with several additional potential investors, including Greece state owned gas company,

DEPA and Bulgarian Energy ministry's holding company Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH). Indeed, GasLog said other large-scale international companies have expressed an intention to participate in the ownership and development of the terminal and a number of companies have also expressed interest in supplying LNG to the project.

GasLog ceo, Paul Wogan said the development is a strategically important energy import project for the region.

He said that alongside GasLogs recent announcement it had ordered long-lead items for the conversion of one of its LNG carriers into a regasification unit, this latest move demonstrates the ongoing development of the companys FSRU strategy.
According to the Evening Standard Abdullahi was caught on CCTV plunging a broken bottle in Broadleys head. Broadley, a director of Freight Investor Services in Singapore, was attacked shortly after leaving the Tiger Tiger nightclub in London.

The 18-year old and an unknown accomplice attacked Broadley in a quiet street near the nightclub. Abdullahi was caught on CCTV dragging Broadley to the ground, stabbing him repeatedly and stamping on his head twice. Abdullahi stole his Rolex watch, mobile phone and wallet.

In a statement to the Old Bailey court in London, Bradley said he feared his scars would frighten his young children. He said he was still bewildered by the intensity and the violence of the crime. He thanked the CCTV operator, adding that he felt lucky to be alive. If this had not happened in central London, if things had been different, then the outcome could have been very bad indeed, he said.

Broadley needed stiches to 24 stab wounds, suffered broken teeth and still has shards of glass embedded in his scalp.

Jailing Abdullahi for 12 years, Judge Christopher Moss QC said: This was a sustained and ferocious attack on an innocent man whom you had selected  you caused 24 injuries and you stamped on the victims head.
By Press Trust of India: From Yoshita Singh

New York, Mar 8 (PTI) Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, one of Harvard Universitys most famous dropouts, will return to his one-time alma mater this summer to deliver the commencement address at the convocation ceremony.

Zuckerberg, 32 will be the featured speaker at Harvards 366th Commencement on May 25, the University announced yesterday. This is an honour that brings distinguished political leaders, business chiefs and artists to address graduating students.

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A young Zuckerberg, now among the worlds most powerful and influential billionaires, had founded Facebook in 2004 in his Harvard dormitory and had then dropped out of the prestigious institution to focus full-time on building the social media company, which transformed the way people interacted with each other.

Harvard President Drew Faust lauded the former students leadership and his companys impact on how nearly 1.9 billion people interact, saying she looks forward to welcoming Zuckerberg back to the varsity on Commencement day.

"Mark Zuckerbergs leadership has profoundly altered the nature of social engagement worldwide. Few inventions in modern times can rival Facebook in its far-reaching impact on how people around the globe interact with one another," Faust said.

She added that few individuals can rival Zuckerberg in his drive to change the world through the innovative use of technology, as well as his commitment to advance science, enhance education, and expand opportunity through the pursuit of philanthropy.

Zuckerberg is not the first Harvard dropout to give the commencement address at his former university. Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft and is a Harvard dropout, spoke at the universitys Commencement in 2007.

Born in White Plains, New York in 1984, Zuckerberg was already writing software in middle school, including a program called "ZuckNet" which he created for his fathers dental practice.

As a teenager, he built a platform called Synapse Media Player that used machine learning to analyze a users listening preferences. The program was recognised by PC Magazine and earned him job offers from Microsoft and AOL.

Zuckerberg enrolled in Harvard College in 2002 as a member of the Class of 2006. While he was a second-year student, he and a group of friends created a platform called thefacebook.com, initially designed as a social networking website for Harvard students. The website quickly gained unprecedented popularity and drew the attention of investors.

Zuckerberg dropped out of college and moved to California to rebrand the company as a global service.

He and his wife Priscilla Chan, a pediatrician and 2007 Harvard College graduate, have pledged to donate 99 per cent of their Facebook shares over their lifetimes through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), which is committed to advancing human potential and promoting equal opportunity. PTI YAS CK

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This article is one of a series of stories about Michigans agricultural economy. It is made possible with funding from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Other stories in this series can be found here When Gene and Patricia McFarland began selling gourmet popcorn in 2011, they used a small, hot-air popper and their oven to create sweet and savory popcorn flavors in their home kitchen. The popcorn was sold at farmers markets and events under Michigans Cottage Food Law. Today, they have a fully equipped, state-licensed kitchen located inside their Pop-Pops Gourmet Popcorn retail store in Midland, Mich. Their product is placed in seven locations throughout the region.Gene and Pat didnt set out to start a retail popcorn shop. The idea sprouted after a daughter said all she wanted for her birthday was Pats coveted peanut butter popcorn. Pat has always made gooey peanut butter popcorn for her family. The request from her daughter planted a corny idea of making popcorn to sell at farmers markets to bring in extra money. Gene was working as a waiter and Pat had been laid-off from her job and was back in college to earn a bachelors degree. They were too young to retire, so finding a way to supplement income was necessary.With an expensive oil-popping machine out of reach, a $20 hot-air popper was the couples first investment. Next, they invested hours of research and experimentation into ingredients and methods of coating air-popped popcorn. The name of the business came from a moniker that Genes children called his dad, Pop-Pop. Now, Genes grandchildren call him, Pop-Pop. The name was a natural fit for their new venture.Pop-Pops Gourmet Popcorn may not have had the opportunity to scale up their business if it werent for Michigans Cottage Food Law. The law, enacted in 2010, exempts producers of certain foods from the licensing and inspection requirements of the Michigan Food Law. A cottage food operation still must comply with other provisions of the Food Law and other laws and ordinances but gets a chance to test the waters with a small-scale business before jumping into a commercial kitchen and food license.The Cottage Food Law allows entrepreneurially-spirited individuals the opportunity to try out ideas without a large investment, Pat explains.People making non-potentially hazardous foods can produce them in their home kitchens for direct sale under the provisions of the Cottage Food Law. To qualify, they must sell less than $20,000 annually. The Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development maintains a list of which foods may be produced under the Cottage Food Law , such as fruit jams and jellies, breads, cookies, vinegars, and more. The foods that are allowed dont require strict time and temperature control for safety. Cottage foods may be sold at farmers markets, roadside stands, or other direct markets, and carry a special label indicating the cottage food is produced in a non-inspected home kitchen.Pat and Gene appreciate that the Cottage Food Law allowed them the freedom to research, develop their popcorn products, and market them from home on their own schedules. Using their existing home kitchen meant low start-up costs, little overhead, and minimal investment in equipment and supplies. As they grew, though, some limitations encouraged them to seek out Michigan Food Law licensing.The process to create our product grew too laborious with the limitations we faced, Pat says. The $20 hot-air popper they used in their home kitchen couldnt keep up with demand, so they decided it was time to go for licensing and a commercial kitchen. This would enable increased production and decreased production time, she says.They also thought about some practical considerations that made continuing the home-based business difficult. Sometimes customers showed up unannounced to buy popcorn. The liability of an accident if anyone fell down our front stairs was a major concern, Pat says. Also, unannounced customers brought other concerns with sequestering our dogs, being dressed, having a clean house and having product.The turning point of developing their business came at a time when the job market was not yielding productive work. The couple needed more than unreliable paychecks and Genes supplemental income. We faced the decision to keep struggling with finding jobs or create our own place in the commercial market. We chose to move forward with preparing for a food license, Pat says. Our time, energy, space, equipment, access to customers, and ability to purchase ingredients at wholesale prices were scarce and limited.They find a major benefit of being licensed is being able to market their product however they choose, not being limited to only direct sales.Pat and Gene are proud of their fresh and tasty, air-popped popcorn that keeps customers coming back. They specialize in handcrafted flavors made from scratch.Customers pop in for free samples and leave with favorite flavors such as old-fashioned Caramel Corn or Cheddar, or get hooked on trendier treats like Chocolicious, Cheddar Blues, Pumpkin Spice and Mango Habanero. A frequent popper card offering a free bag after buying 12 is what Gene describes as a 12-step addiction creation program. We encourage popcorn addiction, Gene says cheerfully.It took a lot of research and experimentation to learn how to coat air-popped popcorn, Pat says. Toying with flavors and researching to find the best ingredients is enjoyable for the couple. We love to research and find what is being developed that might work with our goals and processes.The couple is working on relocating to a new retail location that better meets their needs and managing the business as it expands. We sell our products mainly through our storefront and the farmers market, but also participate in events like festivals, craft shows, and ball games, Pat says. We have just ventured into the wholesale arena with our popcorn currently being sold in seven different locations.Most recently, two 7-Eleven stores in Bay City began carrying Pop-Pops Gourmet Popcorn. One location sold out in just two days. They also craft custom flavors and bags for weddings and other parties, and offer a fundraiser program. They are working on updating their website to allow for online sales.We believe in small business. We keep in mind that every large company started as one, Pat says.Working with customers is one of the best parts of the business. While the growth is slow, we are so blessed to have wonderful people who enjoy our products, Pat says. They share their appreciation and critiques to help us grow. There are many who truly want to see us succeed because what we offer is not just popcorn. We love the freedom to sit and talk to customers on our own time schedule. Sometimes they come in and give us a hug, just because. And, we get to hug them in return.Small business ownership works for Pat and Gene. Case in point: staff meetings. They take on a different appeal when youre eating a bowl of ice cream in your robe and slippers discussing work topics, Pat jokes.Her advice to new food business owners? The important things to do are to not give up and keep believing in their product, Pat offers. If an entrepreneur doesnt believe in their product, they cannot expect anyone else to believe in it.When asked what they like best about owning their business, Pat says, Being our own bosses.Gene interjects, Pats the bossiest.Am not, Pat teases. Get to work!The responsibility to make their venture successful is something Pat and Gene enjoy. While the effort can be very challenging, tiring, and sometimes discouraging, Pat explains, we keep in mind that its our venture, our investment, and our lives. We have friends and family who volunteer to help us keep popping. These factors keep us going forward.Pat warns other new business owners to be flexible. What a person thinks their business will develop into is sometimes different from how public demand influences it to actually become, she says.For those interested in preparing and selling foods under Michigans Cottage Food Law, Michigan State University Extension offers an online Cottage Food Law Food Safety Training program. Funded largely by a Food Safety Education Fund grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, the training covers safe food production, packaging and labeling, storing, and transportation.For a taste of Pats and Genes handcrafted popcorn flavors, visit Pop-Pops Gourmet Popcorn at 136 Ashman Circle, Midland. You can also find them on Facebook and their website Sue Stuever Battel is a homeschooling mother of four, a commercial maple syrup maker, daughter of dairy farmers, and a freelance agricultural writer born and raised in the Thumb of Michigan. She holds a bachelor of science in Agriculture and Natural Resources Communication from Michigan State University.
Around 10,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, our sharp-eyed ancestors noticed an odd stand of wild grass. Instead of scattering its mature seeds at the slightest touch, the plant held its cluster of seminal grains securely in place. Knowing how difficult it is to harvest fragile, windblown grains, the savvy prehistoric man or woman saved those seeds and replanted them.

The mutant grass that resulted - a chance accident of nature - evolved into wheat, the foundation of human agriculture.

This was how plants were domesticated for millennia, a combination of continual genetic mutation and lots of luck. Bathed in ultraviolet light, plants constantly undergo mutations, some more beneficial than others. Ironically, it's the mutations that make a plant less likely to survive and pass on its genes - softer seed husks, more flexible stems, tightly held bundles of grain - that make it more useful for cultivation.

The trick is catching those useful mutations before they're gone.

Of the 300,000 plant species on earth, we've successfully domesticated less than 200 for large-scale agriculture, and most of the world's farmland is dominated by just three: wheat, corn and rice.

But what if we don't have to depend on luck? A team of plant biologists, ethicists and social scientists from the University of Copenhagen proposes to use CRISPR, the precision gene-editing technology, to rapidly domesticate wild plants. Tweaking the genes of wild foods could produce nutritious new grains that are far more sustainable to grow.

In an opinion paper published in Trends in Plant Science, the Danish researchers argue that CRISPR's genetic "scissors," which can snip a single gene within a plant's DNA, represent a more effective and ethical way of genetically modifying food.

RELATED: 'Rewilding' Movement Aims to Restore Land to the Way It Was 11,000 Years Ago

In an interview with Seeker, lead author Michael Palmgren explained that mapping plant genomes has led to exciting new knowledge about how domestication works on the genetic level, including which specific genes were mutated to create the traits we most desire in our agricultural crops.

"But as plant biologists, we're kind of frustrated," said Palmgren. "In the last 10 years or so, there's been a tremendous increase in our knowledge about plants. For us the question has to be, how can we use this knowledge for the benefit of society?"

Part of the frustration is fierce public opposition to anything having to do with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Palmgren explained that the CRISPR method is different than traditional GMOs, which are often produced by mixing the DNA of different species to produce desired traits in plants. CRISPR can't create so-called "Frankenfoods," because it is limited to editing existing genetic material by shutting off specific genes.

Interestingly, this is exactly how natural domestication works. Almost all mutations that have produced domesticated food crops are called "loss of function" mutations. A single gene stops working, accidentally producing a trait that's attractive to growers and consumers.

"People think that domestication occurs because something new was added, that the plants became 'better' in some way," said Palmgren, "but they have actually lost function."

Take the cauliflower, for example. Each tiny white curd is actually a bud that has failed to flower. The gene that tells the buds to blossom has been turned off, so the plant's energy is redirected to produce more and more buds.

"We think of cauliflower as this wonderful vegetable, as nature's gift, but it's a monstrous mutation," Palmgren said.

Using CRISPR, plant biologists could turn off the same genes in wild plants that have mutated naturally over millennia to produce our favorite domesticated varieties. For instance, scientists know that a gene in rice called sh4 is partly responsible for "seed shattering," the rice plant's natural ability to disperse its mature seeds. Thousands of years ago, plants with a mutated sh4 gene were domesticated because they held onto their seeds.

That very same gene exists in all wild rice plants, including varieties that grow abundantly in poor conditions. Using CRISPR, researchers can select hardier wild rice varieties that require less fertilizer or have a natural pest resistance, and turn off the one "seed shattering" gene that has made them undesirable to growers.

RELATED: How Food 'Age' Affects Lifespan - and Why Eating Less Could Mean Living Longer

The Holy Grail of this precision CRISPR method would be to domesticate wild perennial grasses that could be substituted for annual grains like wheat and corn. Annual crops have shallow roots and require continuous irrigation and fertilizer to provide the plant with sufficient nutrients. And since annual fields are left fallow over winter, the bare soil erodes and leaches fertilizer into streams.

Imagine engineering a wild perennial grass to grow the kind of nutrient-rich seed heads that we harvest from annual wheat. Perennial crops would require less fertilizer, less equipment and fuel to replant each season, and would provide year-round ground cover. All with the snip of a single gene.

"Not only could we domesticate perennials, but also grasses that are tolerant to drought or to salt," said Palmgren. "You can go into every marsh or desert or coastal area and find grasses that have adapted to those very harsh conditions. Instead of trying to let our wheat do it all, let's be inspired by nature. That's the idea."

The greatest obstacle to developing more sustainable "CRISPR crops" isn't the science, but public perception. GMO crops have been banned by several European countries - including France, Germany and Italy - and face similar threats in the US largely based on the public's unease with a scientific process that they don't fully understand or trust.

Palmgren blamed some of the backlash against GMOs on "really bad marketing." Companies like Monsanto developed products like corn that was resistant to the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate), which had no clear value to consumers. Farmers loved it because it greatly boosted their yields, and Monsanto loved it because the patented corn greatly boosted the company's profits, but all the consumer saw was an unnatural, genetically altered seed.

For the CRISPR method to win acceptance, biologists and ethicists must learn from Monsanto's mistakes by putting the concerns of the consumer first. If no one is willing to eat these new food crops, after all, no farmers will grow them.

"A much better starting point is to clearly identify the benefit of these crops for society and why they are important to the future of agriculture," Palmgren said. "When you have identified those issues, you can see what's possible to solve through plant biology. But you have to take consumers' concerns seriously, because they're the ones that buy the product."

WATCH: What Is CRISPR, and How Could It Edit Your DNA?
A large contingent of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel has been deployed with latest arms and ammunitions since Wednesday afternoon.

By Manogya Loiwal : The Border Security Force (BSF) is on high alert after the recent explosion in Malda district of West Bengal, which took place near the Indo-Bangladesh border.

Earlier on Tuesday, a blast was reported in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train, injuring at least 10 people. The train blast has only added threat to the nation's security system.

HERE'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW The West Bengal police is now taking all safety measures to avoid any mishap. Security has been augmented in the city and urban areas including railway stations and airports. A 24-hour surveillance took over in Howrah station, which is India's largest railway complex. Security has been beefed up in Sealdah railway station also. Security check has been levelled up in the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Terminal. A large contingent of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel has been deployed with latest arms and ammunitions since Wednesday afternoon. Every car entering in the city airport is being closely monitored and passengers, along with their luggage are screened and frisked.

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ALSO READ | From MP train blast to Lucknow standoff: Terror acts put agencies on alert ahead of crucial UP poll phase

4 including TMC panchayat Pradhan killed in a blast in Malda

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Press Release

March 7, 2017 De Lima denounces degrading 'strip search' of Cebu inmates Sen. Leila M. de Lima today denounced the inhuman and degrading anti-drug operation against inmates who were stripped naked as law enforcers scoured for contraband inside the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center last Feb. 28. De Lima filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 312 seeking a Senate probe on manner by which some law enforcers and soldiers scoured the penal facility for contraband, stripping naked all of the inmates. "The conduct of how the State handled the situation reflects not of the inmates' humanity but our own," she said. "This degrading and inhuman treatment of prisoners seem reminiscent to the situation of how concentration camp captives were once treated in Nazi Germany wherein human rights were belligerently violated and trampled upon," she added. Last Feb. 28, a composite team of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Philippine National Police, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducted a surprise inspection of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. The composite team ordered inmates to strip naked as it scoured the facility for contraband. The anti-drug operation, known as "Greyhound" operation, led to the confiscation of 76 mobile phones, 19 medium sachets of shabu, a laptop and media players, among others. Uncensored photos of naked inmates which were allegedly released by the PDEA and provincial police, however, were published in the news, causing uproar among human rights advocates and organizations. The former justice secretary called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) which she once headed to bring these erring officers and their officials before the bar of justice for the inhuman treatment accorded to Cebu inmates. "Citizens should be educated that incarceration does not strip prisoners of their human rights, and that even in detention, inmates still have the claim to be treated as members of society," she said. "It is the duty of the State to value the rights of all human beings, and it should not be tight-lipped upon the occurrence of human rights violations even when it was made at the pretense of achieving the greater good," she added.
Bam on death penalty: Di pa tapos ang laban

Hindi pa tapos ang laban!

A senator commended the 54 lawmakers who voted against the revival of the death penalty even as he assured that the proposal will go through the proverbial eye of the needle in the Senate.

"Kahanga-hanga ang kanilang katapangan at matibay na paninindigan laban sa death penalty," said Sen. Bam Aquino, the deputy minority leader.

"Nabigo man sila, hindi pa tapos ang laban dahil inaasahan nating dadaan ang panukala sa butas ng karayom sa Senado," the senator said.

The proposal to restore death penalty hurdled the House on third and final reading Tuesday after getting 217 affirmative votes from lawmakers.

Earlier, Sen. Bam urged the Senate to allow the proper legislative process to run its course on the proposal.

"Kailangang dumaan sa tamang debate at tamang proseso ang panukala at dapat mapakinggan ang lahat ng panig sa isyu," the senator said, adding that the new minority will actively participate in the discussion.

With just six members, Sen. Bam said the minority vote is not sufficient but he expressed confidence that fellow senators will cross party lines and follow the dictate of their conscience on the matter.

"The minority votes clearly aren't enough but I'm hoping there will be enough senators to vote this measure down. This should be a conscience vote and not done because of political affiliations," Sen. Bam stressed.
Press Release

March 8, 2017 De Lima seeks Senate probe on gov't failure to stop ASG Sen. Leila M. de Lima today called for a Senate investigation into the Duterte administration's own admission that it failed to end the scourge of the kidnap-for-ransom activities of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other lawless groups in Mindanao. De Lima filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 311 calling on the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security to look into the capacity of government forces to combat and neutralize the ASG and other lawless elements. "These lawless groups are not only sowing domestic terror, but may also prove to be a weak spot making us vulnerable to external threats," she said. "Congress should investigate what legislative measures may be passed in order to address the factors that may have contributed as to why government forces have not yet succeeded in neutralizing the ASG, towards the ultimate end of enacting measures that will strengthen and boost capacities of Government forces in eradicating or neutralizing the ASG and other lawless groups," she added. President Duterte has admitted that his administration has failed to run after the dreaded ASG despite the heightened military operations against the terror group whose latest victim included German Juergen Gustav Katner who was beheaded last Feb. 27. According to the Department of National Defense, the ASG is still holding 31 foreign and local hostages, which include, among others, 12 Vietnamese, seven Indonesians, five Malaysians, a Dutchman and six Filipinos as hostages. When she was Justice Secretary, De Lima filed an application for the proscription of the ASG as a terrorist organization as defined in Section 17 of Republic Act 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007. The application was granted by the Regional Trial Court of Basilan in September 2015. De Lima lauded the court's action which she said "only formalizes the longstanding position of the government that the group is nothing more than a terrorist organization, thereby boosting the government's effort to put an end to its existence and to capture all its members." She added the declaration would also allow the government to file criminal charges not just against ASG members, but also against their supporters and financiers under the Human Security Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act. The Senator from Bicol noted that the government should look not only on beefing up the capacities of its armed forces but also, most importantly, on employing a more synchronized and holistic approach to combat the ASG and similar criminal groups. "Congress should also ensure that measures are in place to maintain government functions in Mindanao despite challenging situations," she said. In her proposed resolution, De Lima noted how the ASG has continued to carry out its nefarious activities over the years, even despite the declaration of its proscription since September 2015, victimizing local residents and foreign nationals alike. While commending the efforts of the government forces against the terror group, De Lima also pointed out that there is still an obvious and pressing need for the government to look into why the ASG continues to carry out their criminal activities with apparent support of local communities.
Press Release

March 8, 2017 MANIFESTATION OF SOLIDARITY FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY Mr. President, I will not interpellate the lady senator from Capiz. I would just like to manifest my solidarity as well to all Filipino women who are celebrating the International Women's Day today. We often forget how important women are in our lives - how they work hard to keep our homes and businesses going, how they raise our children with devotion, molding our youth to be future leaders, and contributing to the development of our country. Today, as we celebrate the International Women's Day, allow me to salute our own notable women who remain to be the country's driving force. Foremost, I salute the lady senators here and those before them - Senator Loren Legarda, Senator Nancy Binay, Senator Cynthia Villar, Senator Risa Hontiveros and Senator Leila De Lima. May your brilliance, passion and feistiness continue to challenge and inspire all of us male senators here in this august chamber to step up our game and remain committed to doing what is right and just for our country. Know that it gives us great honor to serve our country and the Filipino people alongside with all of you, wonderful women. Salute also to Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, who, only hours ago was here, passionately defending her plans and programs to the Committee on Appointments, and to all the courageous women like her in the Cabinet - Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial, Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, and Vice President Leni Robredo. To all women in government service, Governors, Mayors, Councilors, Barangay Captains, Nurses, Teachers and all the rest of government officials and employees, (including, of course, all the hardworking and beautiful women here in the Senate). I salute all of you! Thank you for continuously reminding us what it means to be not only true leaders, but humans with hearts and souls. Thank you for working even harder than anybody else. Thank you for knowing when to put politicking aside in the interest of the people, for making sacrifices, to urgently address the needs of those we should nurture most - our environment, our health, and the most vulnerable of all, our women, children, Indigenous Peoples and Persons with Disabilities. Isang mainit na pagbati and pagpupugay sa lahat ng kababaihan!
Press Release

March 8, 2017 Opening Address of Senator Loren Legarda

V20 Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting

08 March 2017 | ADB Headquarters, Mandaluyong City It is an honor to open the first regional gathering of the V20 here in the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank in the Philippines. Our country is proud to have taken part in the founding of the V20 during our presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which we handed over to Ethiopia in August last year, here in Manila. And we continue to take great pride in being a member of the CVF and V20 Troikas. It has been a week since President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed the Paris Agreement and transmitted the Instrument of Accession to the Philippine Senate. We in the Senate have been waiting for the baton to be passed to us. And now we are most eager to do our part. I assure you we will shepherd the climate deal with dispatch in order to give our country the platform it requires to lead our own region's climate action agenda. As chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines has a unique opportunity to work even more closely with multilateral development banks and climate champion countries to increase investments that will allow all our economies to become more resilient, more efficient, more inclusive, and more sustainable. In the Marrakech climate talks last November, at the High Level Meeting called by the CVF, China and Germany, together with Norway and France, pledged to fully support the ambition of vulnerable countries to transform their economies. Ladies and gentlemen, we are the ants leading the elephants. And we are only being consistent. In 2015, the sister initiatives of the CVF and the V20 led the successful push to enshrine the tougher warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius in the Paris Agreement, and today I laud President Duterte for recognizing the value of this landmark deal for vulnerable countries. Colleagues, our nations bear the brunt of climate change even if we are among those who contributed the least to the crisis. We know if the V20 does not remain ahead of the curve, pulling the world along with us, we will have no chance of seeing our 1.5 vision realized, especially in the current geopolitical climate. We need not only survive but also to thrive, and keeping within the 1.5 degrees Celsius global temperature limit is critical. Our countries took part in launching the CVF's Low Carbon Monitor report in the UN climate negotiations in Marrakech. The report shows that pursuing a development path consistent with 1.5 degrees will not only protect our people and the environment, it will also spur economic growth. For instance, low-emission power generation and renewable energy produce the greatest number of jobs per megawatt, far more than carbon intensive energy systems. By aiming for 1.5 degrees instead of 2 degrees, and investing more in energy efficiency and renewable energy, we can create almost 70% more jobs as early as 2030. Furthermore, fossil fuels are highly volatile commoditized products on the international markets. When we purchase them from overseas, we drain financial resources from our domestic economies to support employment abroad, all the while increasing our exposure to financial risks outside our control. This simply makes no economic sense when our countries have access to a great abundance of locally-available clean energy resources. Off-grid renewable energy solutions will also be indispensable with more than one billion people outside of existing grid power systems, much of that in V20 economies. In the Philippines, for instance, we have over 7,000 islands and a national grid system is simply impossible. For many of our small island nation colleagues, the situation is the same. For these reasons, I was pleased to hear that the Climate Vulnerable Forum committed in Marrakech to strive to achieve, with the support of our development partners, 100% clean energy generation for all members way before or by 2050. The call to transform and steadily decarbonize our economies will help us all pursue a path of development compatible not just with Paris Agreement ambitions but with the very needs of our people. Here at ADB, we are reminded how even more crucial the international development system would be as we work to realize our vision of resilient, sustainable development. ADB President Takehiko Nakao himself said as he launched the Bank's flagship report last week: "The demand for infrastructure across Asia and the Pacific far outstrips current supply. Asia needs new and upgraded infrastructure that will set the standard for quality, encourage economic growth, and respond to the pressing global challenge that is climate change." ADB projects infrastructure needs in developing Asia and the Pacific will exceed 22.6 trillion dollars through 2030, or 1.5 trillion dollars per year, if the region is to maintain growth momentum. But the estimates rise to over 26 trillion dollars, or 1.7 trillion dollars per year, when climate change mitigation and adaptation costs are incorporated. Here's the rub: the 1.7 trillion dollars annual climate-adjusted estimate is more than double the 750 billion dollars ADB estimated in 2009. We have a lot of work ahead of us. And yet as I have often reminded policymakers across the world, while the transition to clean energy-powered economies is critical to climate action, there is more than just energy to consider. The race to 1.5-compatible economies presents to the ambitious an opportunity to transform development itself. Due to the increasingly dire threat posed by climate change, we need to upgrade everything. Infrastructure, supply chains, urban services, logistics, food supply, and more. In order to make everything more resilient, we need to upgrade virtually all facets of our economies, which can only produce massive jobs and pump prime our economies. Climate action makes development sense. Climate vulnerable nations suffer economic losses amounting to 2.5 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) every year, according to previous estimates from the Department of Finance. The Philippines alone loses around 6.5 billion dollars every year to disasters caused by natural hazards.[i] Our particular vulnerability to climate change moved me to author the landmark People's Survival Fund Law, which established the country's first climate finance mechanism and pioneered direct access climate finance in the local setting. The PSF Board has already approved two local government projects worth over P120 million and is considering 95 more proposals. More local governments are lining up to submit more applications. Like some of you, our government also tags climate change expenditures in the national budget, which totaled 201.4 billion pesos this year. The administration has also allocated over 15.7 billion pesos for National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund. And clearly this is still not enough. While we need to ensure that pledges amounting to 100 billion dollars in public finance annually are delivered with the right balance--at least half going to adaptation - I need not remind any of you that this figure pales starkly in comparison to private finance, that is several magnitudes greater, which we need to tap with urgency. Instead of billions we need to tap trillions, because this is the big prize. And we can only achieve this if the plans we develop are truly responsive to the scale of the impacts of the climate crisis in our respective shores. I hope this regional meeting will set a good tone for the other regional meetings planned for Africa and the Middle East and for Latin America and the Caribbean later this year. V20 Focus Groups are also meeting at the end of this conference, and one of their tasks is to establish a technical committee that will work with CVF counterparts to develop and put forward innovative collective proposals to international funding mechanisms, including the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund. This is all exciting. I encourage you to focus on innovation and to use transformation as your ultimate yardstick. Because while it is true that finance can enable ambition, it is equally true, if not more important, to note that ambition can and will enable greater finance flows to our countries. We hope many inspiring examples of success in climate and disaster risk finance will be shared here today, including efforts to increase the bankability of programs and projects that employ a whole-of-government approach. Working closely with our development partners, and with boldness, we can more rapidly de-risk investments even as we rapidly increase incentives that pull in the right kind of private sector capital towards climate-resilient, sustainable and inclusive plans that likewise contribute to the fight to keep warming within the 1.5 degree threshold. Survive and thrive, ladies and gentlemen. This is our collective goal. Nothing more. And certainly nothing less.*** ________________________________________ [i] https://www.gfdrr.org/protecting-lives-and-property-disaster-risk-philippines
Press Release

March 8, 2017 Opening Statement of Senator Loren Legarda

Committee on Foreign Relations

Subcommittee on the Paris Agreement

8 March 2017 | Recto Room, Senate Good afternoon and welcome to this hearing of the Committee on Foreign Relations - Subcommittee on the Paris Agreement. I would like to express my gratitude for your presence. On December 12, 2015, 196 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted the Paris Agreement. The Agreement primarily aims to limit global temperature rise to "well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels." On April 22, 2016, at least 175 countries, the Philippines included, formally signed the Agreement at the United Nations Headquarters. To enter into force, the Agreement required ratification by at least 55 nations representing 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This threshold was reached on October 5, 2016, and one month later, the Agreement took effect. As of today, 133 nations have ratified. While the 1.5 degrees global warming limit is an aspirational goal, climate vulnerable countries like the Philippines have set it as a minimum deliverable--it is a matter of survival. The uncertainty of our future due to climate change impacts--on rising frequency of natural hazards, on increased vulnerability to disasters, on losses to agricultural production, on the threat to food security, on health--is the very reason why we have been actively participating in the climate negotiations. The Philippines, as chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) during the Paris climate talks last December 2015, was among the most influential in the crafting of the Paris Agreement as it led the call to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to be able to survive. The Paris Agreement establishes the obligation of all Parties to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Paris Agreement does not dictate specific emissions targets upon any country. Instead, the Agreement is governed by voluntary mitigation contributions and transparent processes that will ensure continued collective progress towards meeting the ambitious global goal. This also means that the implementation of the Paris Agreement, as well as compliance with the obligations, will take into consideration the different capacities, circumstances, and responsibilities of countries. The Paris Agreement is a vehicle towards achieving climate justice as it compels developed nations that have contributed most to cause global warming to finance the Green Climate Fund and provide support to developing and vulnerable nations through capacity building and technology transfer. Bearing in mind the Senate's Constitutional duty to review all treaties and international agreements, I urge our agencies and stakeholders to work together. Let us align our efforts as we advance our collective climate agenda so that the Philippines can be true to its commitment in the Paris Agreement. Let us work with the global community to help the Earth survive and provide life for the future generations. Thank you very much.
Press Release

March 8, 2017 LIBERAL PARTY SLAMS YASAY ON CLAIMS OF DESTABILIZATION MANILA - After publicly contradicting himself about his American citizenship, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay on Wednesday was scolded by Liberal Party treasurer Rep. Josephine "Nene" Ramirez-Sato for accusing critics to his appointment as part of a destabilization effort. Sato, member of the bicameral Commission on Appointments, noted Yasay's earlier lies: his public admission that he once carried an American passport, which he said he returned with his naturalization certificate. She said how this contradicted his earlier statement to the CA, which put his confirmation on hold due to his questionable citizenship. On the morning of another hearing with the CA, Yasay gave another radio interview where the secretary expressed his "suspicion that questioning his citizenship in the Commission on Appointments is part of the destabilization effort against the administration," said Sato, representative of the lone district of Occidental Mindoro. "It pains me, Mr. Chairman, that anything and everything that cannot be answered could be attributed to destabilization. The actuations of the secretary, at the very least, are contemptuous of this commission," she added. Asked about Yasay's contradictory statements, Liberal Party president Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, another CA member, said: "The destabilization issue being raised by Secretary Yasay is a poor attempt at diverting the issue from the real issue of his unfitness to assume the office. He lied without compunction before the Commission on Appointments on the matter of his having acquired American citizenship and thought he could take the CA members for fools. Clearly the CA members found this offensive and completely unacceptable." Yasay apologized. He said his admission about his citizenship has been the same he gave in his media interviews. "I did not legally acquire US citizenship," he said. The CA suspended the hearing and had an executive session of Yasay's appointment.
By India Today Web Desk: An advocate of Women's Rights more than anything else, Hillary Clinton was recently in New York to accept Girls Inc.'s Champion for Girls award.

Being her usual, composed and dignified self, Clinton addressed the gathering and spoke about everything from the need to encourage young women to the dire need of accepting their choices.

Also Read: 5 life lessons to learn from Hillary Clinton's dignified, emotional concession speech

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"Let us hope there is a wave of young women running for office in America, and let's be sure we support them in every way we can. Let's help them shatter stereotypes and lift each other up. They are the history-makers, the glass-ceiling breakers of tomorrow. They are among the reasons I am so optimistic about our future," Vanity Fair quotes her as saying.

Teen Vogue. Because girls can and do care about both. (??? @hillaryclinton) A post shared by Teen Vogue (@teenvogue) on Mar 7, 2017 at 10:48am PST

But it weren't just her strong words that did the talking. Dressed in a bright red pantsuit, Clinton's outfit sent a powerful message not many understood at the first go. Red is the colour associated with the Day Without A Woman protest to be held on International Women's Day.

In wearing the red pantsuit, Clinton lent her unconditional support to the movement and made her feelings about the movement that has been brewing since Donald Trump's surprise election win in November, 2016.

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San Francisco art collector and philanthropist Pamela Joyner is rapidly becoming an influential figure around the world. A trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago and a member of support committees at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Britains Tate museums, Joyner was elected last month to the 14-member Board of Trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust. At that time, Getty Trust President James Cuno called her an art collector of distinction, and praised her commitment to education and her deep understanding of the value of a research library.

A scholarly catalog of the works she and her husband, Fred Giuffrida, have amassed, Four Generations: The Joyner Giuffrida Collection of Abstract Art, was published in September to strong reviews.

Now, an extensive exhibition drawn from the collection has been announced. It will tour to at least five prominent museums throughout the United States, beginning this fall at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and making stops at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the museums of Duke and Notre Dame universities. Current plans call for the tour to end at the UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive in August 2019, though additional venues are under discussion.

This kind of attention would please any committed art collector. The Joyner Giuffrida Collection, however, has a particular distinction: It comprises some 300 works by leading African American artists, and artists of the African diaspora. And it has a mission. Joyner, by phone, said that is to try to be a catalyst to reframe art history around artists of African descent who have been overlooked by the full arc of the canon.

Christopher Bedford enthusiastically embraces that goal. He is director of the Baltimore Museum of Art and co-curator of the exhibition with Baltimore Museum curator Katy Siegel.

Her collecting practices are astoundingly topical, he said by phone. In the history of collecting, we have never seen this mix of commitment to the quality of the objects and to their social import.

The exhibition, titled Solidary and Solitary: The Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida Collection, will look at the work of the four generations of artists on which Joyner and Giuffrida have focused. It will span from the 1940s to the present.

The work of Norman Lewis, in particular, but also Alma Thomas, Beauford Delaney and others associated with Abstract Expressionism and its offshoots are well represented among the collections earliest objects. Other significant first-generation artists include Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Richard Hunt and Jacob Lawrence.

Venerable artists like Sam Gilliam, Charles Gaines, Melvin Edwards, David Hammons, Raymond Saunders and Jack Whitten are among the second generation. The Freestyle generation, named after a groundbreaking 2001 exhibition at the Studio Museum of Harlem, is a large group encompassing many key artists of our day, from Mark Bradford  who will represent the U.S. this year at the Venice Biennale  to Kara Walker. The final group is defined, according to Four Generations essayist Joost Bosland, as artists connected to the African continent by birth or recent family history. It includes Odili Donald Odita, Moshekwa Langa, Robin Rhode and others, with a strong representation of the British portraitist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

Bedford, the Baltimore Museum director, said the show is a particular passion for me. As museums, we do a really poor job of representing the interests of all our audiences. He said his museum will devote 12,000 to 14,000 square feet of galleries to an expanded version.

We are just taking the first step here, he said. When all is said and done, the story to be told is not one of exclusion but integration.

Asked whether she had models in building such an extensive and incisive collection, Joyner said, We started 20 years ago, like a lot of people start, with a need to enhance our living environment by hanging things on the wall. But as we got into this more deeply, what emerged was a strand of stories that really has been of interest to me.

Over time, she came to love the Anderson Collection, now permanently installed at Stanford University, where works from her collection hang on loan as part of Stanfords effort to broaden the story it can tell. She also admires the scholar and collector Estrellita Brodsky, who really has shined a keen light on Latin American artists whove been overlooked.

It took me some time to develop a strategy, a mission statement  we have all of that, you know. I actually write these things down. Thats the businessperson in me, said the collector, who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and retired early from a successful career in finance.

And, she said, I have an acquisitions target list. After buying about 30 works annually in recent years, the couple plans to slow down now. Although, in preparation for the exhibition, were trying to fill a few holes or enhance a few story lines.

The collecting bug is a pretty bad bug to have  you become addicted to the process.
BART officials had hoped their $500 million connector to Oakland International Airport would be a money maker  but instead it has wound up costing the financially beleaguered transit agency $860,000 in the past two years, as ridership has dropped below the break-even point.

We didnt anticipate Uber and Lyft and the others, and thats hurting us, said BART spokesman Jim Allison.

Oakland International reports that the number of airline passengers taking ride-hailing services to and from the airport totaled more than 11 percent in January  up from 7 percent in July.

With the competition, ridership on BARTs connector has been dropping below the 2,800 rides a day needed to cover the lines $6.1 million annual operating costs.

That wasnt always the case. In the months following its November 2014 opening, the line was averaging 3,200 daily riders  or about 400 over the break-even point.

No more. For the past three months, ridership has been down an average of 11 percent over the same time a year earlier.

The feeling is that while taking BART may be a good deal for solo travelers, for families and groups of people, the ride-shares are more affordable, said Robert Raburn, vice president of the BART Board of Directors, whose district includes the line.

The explanation for the decline appears to be a combination of cost and convenience.

Case in point: A solo traveler taking BART from Walnut Creek to the airport needs to buy a ticket to the Coliseum Station for $3.85 and pay an additional $6 for the ride on the connector to the airport, for a total of $9.85. Thats for a ride with two transfers  one at MacArthur Station in Oakland, and another at the Coliseum.

For a family of four, the hassle is just the same  and the bill is $39.40.

Its the latest chapter in a long, ugly history of the line, said Raburn, who was never a fan of the connector.

When it was proposed, the cost of the 3.2-mile elevated tram line was put at about $134 million. By the time work began in 2010, the cost had risen to about $500 million  requiring BART to issue $110 million in bonds to pay for it.

Despite the growing costs, the project was propelled forward because it was seen as a boon for the airport and a job creator in the midst of the post-2008 economic crash.

Now, however, its a headache for BART  and another red line in the systems looming $477 million budget deficit over the next decade.

Berkeley brawl: Berkeley authorities have a long history of dealing with demonstrators confronting police  but Saturdays rumble between pro- and anti-President Trump demonstrators was a bit different, in part because the two sides were more interested in fighting each other than the cops.

They came with pipes. They came with 2-by-4s. They came with 2-by-4s loaded up with nails. They came with helmets and body armor. They came with the intent to fight, said city spokesman Matthai Chakko.

And fight they did, with some of the combatants going to the sidelines to be treated by paramedics who were on hand, and then they went back again, Chakko said.

One fighter who went back in after being treated came back out again  this time to be arrested on suspicion of assault. He was one of 10 people taken into custody.

As with the riot that shut down the speaking engagement of right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley last month  where campus police were the ones on the front lines  city police for the most part stayed on the sidelines Saturday and made arrests only when they thought it was safe to do so.

It was a crying shame that these people were allowed to have at it with each other like that, said former Berkeley Peace and Justice Commissioner Phoebe Sorgen, who was one of the peaceable demonstrators who witnessed the slugfest.

The police tactics raised the question of whether city officials ordered them in advance to stand down. Absolutely not, Chakko said.

The cops won praise from Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who as a councilman raised questions about the police use of tear gas during Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2014. This time, he said, they did a very good job under difficult circumstances.

And likely, there will be more to come.

Immigrant rights: One of the behind-the-scenes losers in the fight to fund new positions in the San Francisco public defenders office to help immigrants facing deportation may be Francisco Ugarte, husband of new District Nine Supervisor Hillary Ronen.

Ugarte works in Public Defender Jeff Adachis office as an immigrant specialist, making $131,896 a year.

Had Adachi won his budget tug-of-war with Mayor Ed Lee, 10 attorneys and seven staffers would have been hired to fight what is expected to be a growing number of deportations.

The proposed unit would have been overseen by a new chief deputy earning up to $209,000 a year.

In the end, Lee funded just three positions  and no new manager.

Adachi confirmed that Ugarte probably would have been interviewed for the managers job, but its an issue we dont have now because we are not going to have a manager.
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A 63-year-old man was arrested after confessing that he beat his daughter-in-law to death with a hammer in the garage of their Suisun City home because she disrespected him, police said Wednesday.

The killing happened Tuesday when the suspect, Amarjit Singh, became upset while confronting his daughter-in-law about her attitude toward him, police said their preliminary investigation has found.
Police sources said they arrested Riyaz Ahmad Wani, Ikhlaq Ahmad Khanday both residents of Dachan and Tosweef ul Nabi, a resident of Kishtwar town.

By Ashraf Wani: Jammu and Kashmir Police has busted a terror module in the state capital of Srinagar, sources said on Wednesday.

Sources said that police had arrested three local militants, who were part of Hizbul Mujahideen, after they established a check point in the capital's Bemina locality.

All three militants are from Kishtwar in Jammu division, sources said.

Police sources said they arrested Riyaz Ahmad Wani, Ikhlaq Ahmad Khanday both residents of Dachan and Tosweef ul Nabi, a resident of Kishtwar town.

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ARMS AND AMMUNITION SEIZED

Two Chinese pistols, 20 rounds of pistol, 4 grenades, a wireless set and one packet of explosive were recovered from their possession.

The arrested militants were working with Jehangir Saroori, one of the longest surviving militant commanders, in Jammu division.

According to the police, Saroori is the operational chief of Hizbul Mujahideen for Jammu division.

He has been on the NIA radar for long and has been charged with providing logistics for Delhi bomb blast that killed 15 people and injured 80 others", police sources added.

Also read |

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In an August campaign speech on foreign policy, Donald Trump discussed what he called a grave threat to the country: honor killings of women by Muslims.

Shockingly, he said at the Ohio rally, this is a practice that has reached our own shores ... many, many cases have happened.

He cited only one such case, which occurred seven years earlier in Arizona.

Trumps contention that the practice is growing in the U.S.  a claim for which there is no evidence  is now enshrined in official policy. A provision in Mondays executive order temporarily banning immigration from six Muslim-majority countries instructs the Department of Homeland Security to track and publicize information about gender-based violence against women committed by foreign nationals, including so-called honor killings in the United States.

To some proponents of the travel ban, calling for this kind of reporting is a way to bring important information to the American public.

Critics say the language suggests the administration is seeking to exploit fear by unfairly tying foreign nationals, specifically Muslims, to a unique affinity for barbaric crime. They compare it to an earlier order for the publication of weekly reports on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants in sanctuary cities like San Francisco.

Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a professor of history and race at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, said the tactic allows the administration to vilify individuals associated with specific ethnic groups without using explicitly race- or religion-based terminology.

The reference to honor killings could also be problematic for the White House if President Trumps revised travel ban is challenged in court as violating the constitutions protections against religious discrimination, said Leti Volpp, a professor at UC Berkeley School of Law who researches gender, culture and identity.

This is about the Trump administration promoting and inflaming ideas about immigrants as a danger to the American public, Volpp said. Honor killings are mistakenly thought to be a uniquely Muslim practice, and represent the idea of Muslim barbarity.

The reference was presumably included despite the legal risk because the orders authors decided that this risk was outweighed by the productive use of the term in misleading a gullible public to believe that the president was keeping America safe, Volpp said.

Michael Short, a White House press aide, said nothing in the executive order has anything to do with any particular faith, so any story stating or suggesting otherwise would be completely wrong. This administration strongly believes that gender-based violence in all of its forms has no place in this country.

The term honor killings typically refers to the murder of girls and women by family members or loved ones for bringing perceived dishonor on the family. Its an issue in Pakistan, where there were nearly 1,100 honor killings in 2015.

The president referred to a 2009 case in Arizona in which an Iraqi immigrant ran down his daughter in a vehicle and killed her because he believed she had become too Westernized. He was sentenced to more than 34 years in prison.

But researchers say little evidence exists that the practice is prevalent or growing in the U.S. Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said, There is nothing based on facts to suggest that this is something the U.S. government needs to be worried about. Instead, he said, the goal of the order appears to be to gather any evidence that can potentially highlight that foreigners, immigrants and Muslims are a problem.

A study by a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice estimated that 23 to 27 honor killings are committed every year in the U.S. However, the researcher told New York magazine this week that the statistic  which was repeated in a 2014 report funded by the Obama administrations Department of Justice  did not represent a tally of actual cases but an estimate based on data on the frequency of honor killings in Europe.

To critics like Volpp, who has researched domestic violence and culture, focusing on honor killings as a specific brand of violence is problematic.

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Cases of gendered violence, when perpetrated by Muslims, are described as honor killings and blamed on non-Western culture or on Islam, she said. Cases of gendered violence, when perpetrated by non-Muslims, are not, and are instead typically blamed on individual deviancy or psychological pressures.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that in 2007, 1,640 women were slain by intimate partners in the U.S. In 2015, at least 509 women were killed by their husbands, 496 by their boyfriends and 162 by one or more parents, according to the FBI.

Some conservatives have voiced fears that honor killings are a cultural practice that could become commonplace in this country. Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., argued in a 2016 article in Breitbart News that massive Muslim immigration on the horizon could lead to honor killings coming to a town near you.

Theres a historical context behind the approach employed by the Trump administration to conduct such data collection, said Muhammad, the Harvard professor. He noted that in the early 20th century, opponents of immigration sought to use crime reports to fuel claims about the danger of newcomers coming from European nations.

In this case, the decision to track honor killings and document crimes committed by immigrants is an effort to win over the public on the administrations plans to restrict immigration and accelerate deportations, said Pratheepan Gulasekaram, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law.

Its a concerted publicity campaign, said Gulasekaram, to associate immigrants with criminality, national security threats, and terrorism as a way of convincing the public that all of their actions are justifiable  even if those claims are not based on evidence or reality.

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz
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If religion is defined in part by the tension between soaring faith and realitys grind  a tension that this year is stark  then the new home of Sufism Reoriented outside Walnut Creek offers a parable for our age.

The bulbous sanctuary with 13 concrete domes has moments of elegant grace, yet it also feels massive and static. The soft floral landscape seems cramped behind a gravel parking lot and a solid white fence.

But despite all this, the curvaceous compound radiates an otherworldly air. It also bears witness that one-of-a-kind buildings can blossom in our suburbs.

Though not without a struggle.

Natasha Dangond/The Chronicle

Before the project was approved in 2012, more than 1,000 neighbors from the unincorporated community of Saranap attended two hearings of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors. Some critics likened the proposed building to a nuclear reactor. Many insisted their communitys semi-rural character was at stake  even though Saranap sits wedged between Highway 24 and Interstate 680 on the west edge of Walnut Creek. There are tree-shaded homes but also stark apartment blocks, including one next door to the project.

More than four years of construction later, the small religious order has opened its large new home. And the most intrusive aspect isnt the unusual circular structure but the all-too-common white fence.

The 6-foot-high vinyl wall runs along Boulevard Way, a busy four-lane artery that is Saranaps main drag. The one opening is the gated driveway, where you confront the sanctuary in all its conflicted grandeur.

The grandeur is as obvious as the curved marble panels that adorn the voluptuous form, four clusters of orbs surrounding the central prayer hall. The snowy marble cloaks the entry plaza, which also includes a circular granite fountain flanked by such plantings as snowball ceanothus and iceberg roses.

The circles arent by chance. Neither are the layers of white upon white, which continue inside the prayer hall, ringed by thick round columns and topped by a glassy oculus in a gold-leaf-accented dome.

We have designed our new sanctuary to be a physical manifestation of our faith, Sufism Reorienteds spiritual leader, Dr. Carol Weyland Conner, told the supervisors in 2012. The circles are intended to embody the essential unity of Creation and the Universal Love at the heart of all life ... the color white symbolizes purity, unity and inclusiveness.

If the overall inspiration is the teaching of Indias Meher Baba  his best-known follower may be Pete Townshend of the rock group the Who  the form is rooted in Weylands affection for a multi-domed art pavilion at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.

That small building was designed in the early 1960s by Philip Johnson, Americas most celebrated architect of the era, and foreshadowed his monumental Lincoln Center in New York City. Johnson died in 2004, but a year later Weyland reached out to Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects.

We came up with the idea of placing the sanctuary space at the heart of the building, surrounded by an array of smaller cylinders, said Ritchie, who worked with Johnson off and on for more than 20 years before the current firm was established in 1994. Ive always liked to make a building kind of sculptural. She looked up and said, This is wonderful, exactly what Ive envisioned.

Thats the strength of the complex: the design is inseparable from the beliefs of its 350 members, most of whom live nearby. Form follows mission, to mangle an architectural cliche.

The disconnect between desire and reality is where the conflict comes in.

This is a building that wants to be nestled in nature, a placid retreat amid folds of green. Instead, what greets you inside the gate is the parking lot with its porous pavers and gravel. The sanctuary is like a polished fortress on the left, the still-young plantings by the landscape architecture firm SWA no match for the gleaming expanses of marble and the blunt concrete domes.

You also sense the sanctuary wanted to be taller, lifting ones eyes toward the heavens. No such luck, given the parcels 35-foot height limit.

To its credit, Sufism Reoriented played by the rules and placed more than half of the building below ground. But one result is a contorted design.

The glass doors at the end of the plaza, for instance, dont open from the outside, even though the prayer hall beckons beyond; theyre a fire exit. The main entrance is, in fact, a flight of stairs leading down from one side of the plaza. Members trade outdoor shoes for indoor ones and ascend a curved staircase to the hall.

Ultimately, though, the new home of Sufism Reoriented shows that architecture can still be a forum for expressing strong spiritual conviction.

There also are touches that show Ritchies poise and Johnsons spirit. My favorite: the stout columns ringing the prayer hall, almost theatrical in their stocky brawn beneath the vast gold-leafed, skylit dome.

Heavy or heartfelt or both, nothing here does damage to Saranap and central Contra Costa County. Instead, it embodies our cultures diversity  structurally as well as in terms of devotional faith.

Place is a weekly column by John King, the San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
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When a group of about a dozen women in San Franciscos Financial District was asked who was skipping work for Wednesdays A Day Without a Woman protest, the question was met with silence.

We need to go to work tomorrow, said Stacy Villalobos, a 27-year-old fellow at Legal Aid at Work, a nonprofit that supports the rights of low-wage workers. Because we do things that are urgent for the population we serve.

A Day Without a Woman is a movement that was born out of the January Womens March that drew millions of people around the world to protest misogyny and gender inequality the day after President Trumps inauguration. The point of Wednesdays event is to highlight how paid and unpaid work by women keeps households, communities and economies running.

While the Womens March was focused on bringing women together in one place, A Day Without a Woman  which coincides with International Womens Day  is intended to show what happens when a woman isnt around, said Cassady Fendlay, a spokeswoman for the national event.

We do all of this and get paid less than men, get sexually harassed, get inadequate family leave, Fendlay said. We provide all this value and keep the system going, and receive unequal benefits from it.

Fendlay said the organizers were inspired by the Day Without Immigrants protests last month, in which participating immigrants nationwide stayed home from work and school to demonstrate how important they are to the countrys economy.

It is unclear how many women in the Bay Area will take part in Wednesdays event. Some organizations around the country have said they will either close or give female employees the day off. School districts including Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools in North Carolina have canceled classes in anticipation of employee participation.

But many women, like Villalobos, worry that taking the day off will inconvenience the very people the protest is intended to support. So instead, they plan to participate in other ways suggested by the event organizers: wearing red to signify love and sacrifice, shopping only at small, women- and minority-owned businesses, and talking to their employers about the issue of unequal pay.

The Rev. Liz Tichenor, a priest at All Souls Episcopal Parish in Berkeley, said she appreciates the intent of A Day Without a Woman, but that boycotting work would not make any difference.

My absence didnt seem like it would have any impact, so instead I have decided to spend the day researching a paid parental leave policy, she said, adding that while her church has such a policy, the Episcopal Diocese of California does not.

Some people noted that participating in the protest will not be possible for many women.

Not everyone has the work flexibility, paid time off or work authority to take a day off, said Marisa Diaz, a staff attorney at Legal Aid at Work in the Bay Area.

But, regardless of how people decide to express their views Wednesday, Kim Turner, a nonprofit attorney in the Bay Area, hopes this is just the beginning of people taking concrete actions against an administration that she feels is a threat to women and minority rights.

These are important actions, but only if they are accompanied by doing palpable things, she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
The Central Intelligence Agency may be using everyday devices  from the phone in your pocket to the television set in your bedroom  to spy on people at home and abroad using sophisticated hacking tools and software, according to a trove of documents released Tuesday by WikiLeaks.

The antigovernment-secrecy organizations data dump, which contained nearly 9,000 pages of purported internal CIA documents, indicated that the spy agency had gained access to Android and Apple smartphones, Samsung SmartTVs and Internet-enabled cars using a variety of tools. WikiLeaks, which did not identify the source of the information, said Tuesdays release was just a part of the documents it had obtained, and that it also had the underlying code the CIA used to carry out cyberattacks.

The data did not indicate how many devices had been compromised or name any specific targets of CIA cyberattacks, though dozens of device-specific vulnerabilities and attacks were named in the leak.

While the technology companies whose products were cited in the documents scrambled to identify and patch security holes, experts warned that the leak may do more than compromise government operations  it may open people up to attacks from criminals or other countries aiming to exploit the same vulnerabilities to collect private data.

Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

The Chronicle could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents, though several cybersecurity experts, some with previous government experience, said they appeared legitimate.

Among the more unsettling revelations in the leaked documents was the indication that the CIA had found a way around even the most secure communications apps, which encrypt communications in such a way that no third party can access them.

Signal, developed by San Francisco nonprofit Open Whisper Systems, and WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook and widely used by refugees, migrants and those traveling abroad, were among several apps whose messages were compromised, according to the data released by WikiLeaks.

CIA hackers found a way to break into smartphones and read  or listen  to messages in real time, before the communication could be encrypted by the apps transmitting them, according to the documents.

Downloads of encrypted messaging apps like Signal have spiked since Donald Trump won the presidency in November. Intelligence experts have attributed the spike to widespread concern among activists, whistle-blowers, journalists and marginalized communities about how Trump might use the nations intelligence apparatus to target them.

On Tuesday, many took to social media to fret over the extent to which messaging apps that they believed secure may not be.

But Moxie Marlinspike, founder of Open Whisper Systems, said, if anything, the data show that Signal and apps like it are actually working.

End-to-end encryption has pushed intelligence agencies from unfettered access to mass surveillance to a world where they have to use expensive, high-risk, targeted attacks against individuals to gain access to their information, he said. If you use these kinds of attacks on a massive scale, it increases the risk of detection. So to break into peoples phones and get access to encrypted messages, these agencies now have to be very selective. I think thats a good thing.

Because end-to-end encryption means that only the people engaged in a conversation have the keys to unlock the scrambled message they are sharing, outsiders attempting to intercept the communication would be unable to make sense of it without the key.

But according to the leaked documents, the CIA appears to have bypassed this obstacle by hacking the phones used to send messages or make calls. Hackers who gain access to a devices operating system may be able to record calls and messages in real time, as a person is speaking into their microphone or typing on their keyboard  before the message is actually sent.

Once you have malware on an operating-system level, you can record keystrokes as theyre being typed, said Jeremiah Grossman, SentinelOnes chief of security strategy.

Security experts advised that people continue to encrypt their communication and use apps like Signal and WhatsApp to do so.

The worst thing that could happen is for users to lose faith in encryption-enabled tools and stop using them, wrote Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The dark side of this story is that the documents confirm that the CIA holds on to security vulnerabilities in software and devices  including Android phones, iPhones and Samsung television  that millions of people around the world rely on.

Apple, Google and WhatsApp declined to comment on the security risks revealed in the leak. Samsung did not reply to a request for comment.

Hoarding information about vulnerabilities that are unknown to the creator of the technology, or what are known in the intelligence community as zero days, leaves those holes open to anyone looking to hack or attack peoples devices.

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It was not immediately clear how many zero-day vulnerabilities were revealed Tuesday, though WikiLeaks wrote in a news release accompanying the leak that the data included 24 such vulnerabilities for Android devices alone. The data dump included a comprehensive list of attacks the CIA had used to gain access to Android and Apple devices, including several mentions of malicious software that the government appears to have purchased.

One such vulnerability was used to hack into Samsungs SmartTV and falsely show it as turned off, which allowed CIA hackers to surreptitiously record audio through the device.

Alex Rice, the chief technology officer of San Francisco cybersecurity firm HackerOne, said the WikiLeaks data disturbed him on a personal level; he has a Samsung TV in his bedroom.

My Samsung Smart TV faces my bed, and Im upset that the government was sitting on known vulnerabilities that could have made me and my family a target for criminals, he wrote in an email to The Chronicle. Vulnerabilities are difficult to keep secret, and this news shows they dont remain secret for long. The longer these vulnerabilities stay unpatched, the more threatening they become because they can fall into criminal hands. The CIA put consumers at risk by not reporting these bugs.

For years, technology companies have asked the government to hand over information on vulnerabilities and zero days it discovers. Under the Obama administration, the White House issued a compromise known as the Vulnerabilities Equities Process, which asked intelligence agencies to disclose as many security vulnerabilities as possible unless there was a demonstrated public interest in keeping some quiet.

Critics have long denounced the agreement for being opaque and difficult to enforce, while still allowing the government unchecked authority to decide when to keep information that may compromise millions of devices to itself.

The CIA cache published by WikiLeaks seems to validate these concerns, experts said, and point to a need for greater information sharing between tech companies and government agencies.

If there is a vulnerability in the wild and it is not making it into the hands of the vendor so it can be resolved, something is broken, Rice said. This ultimately strains tech companies relationship with the U.S. government.

Marissa Lang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mlang@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @Marissa_Jae
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Two men were arrested on suspicion of trying to kill a 43-year-old San Francisco man by beating him with their fists and a gun after forcing their way into his home, police said Tuesday.

Jeremy Anthony Flores, 33, and Ivan Gonzalez, 38, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, burglary, false imprisonment, and conspiracy, officials said.

Obviously, this is a serious crime, said Officer Robert Rueca, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department. Based on the charges, the investigation shows they went in there to kill this victim.

The men allegedly forced their way into a home in the citys Portola neighborhood on Feb. 26, where they seriously injured the victim. Police officers responded about 1:30 a.m. to the home on the 1000 block of Bowdoin Street, where the victim told them he was awakened by knocking at his front door.

He opened the door and the suspects rushed in and immediately began beating him, police said. The victim told police one suspect pistol whipped him and the other punched him repeatedly.

A 35-year-old man who also lived at the home heard the noise and walked into the hallway to see what was happening when one of the suspects pointed a gun at him and ordered him to sit down, police said.

The suspects ran from the scene, firing gunshots in the direction of the house as they fled, according to police.

Rueca would not say whether the suspects knew the victim or provide any motive for the assault. No valuables were taken from the home, said Rueca.

The victim initially suffered life-threatening injuries that have since been downgraded, Rueca said.

Investigators would not disclose how they identified the men. Flores was arrested on Thursday during a traffic stop at an Antioch gas station on the 3400 block of Hillcrest Avenue, and Gonzalez was arrested at a home on the 1200 block of Kilcrease Circle in El Sobrante, police said.

Both men were being held without bail at San Francisco County Jail.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
A police officer in Richmond opened fire on a driver who tried to run him over with a car Tuesday before driving away, police said.

The officer, who was not identified, was responding as backup to a report of an attempted car burglary in the 6100 block of Sutter Avenue just after 1 a.m., said Lt. Felix Tan, a spokesman for the Richmond Police Department.

It was unknown whether the driver was struck by the gunfire. No police officers were injured, Tan said.

The first patrol officer on the scene attempted to arrest the man, described as between 20 and 30 years old and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, but he took off on foot, Tan said. The man ran west on Sutter, losing the pursuing officer when he turned right onto Carlson Boulevard, Tan said.

Bill Hutchinson / Bill Hutchinson /

Another backup officer responding to the call said he got out of his car on Carlson Boulevard and saw no signs of the man.

All of a sudden, he hears the roar of a car coming toward him, said Tan, describing the silver sedan as possibly a Mercedes with tinted windows. He felt like his life was in danger, like he had no choice.

The officer opened fire on the car bearing down on him, shooting toward the drivers side multiple times, Tan said, before rolling out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.

Just after noon, a caller in Berkeley reported spotting the car that might have been involved in the shooting, according to the Berkeley Police Department. Officers found the vehicle abandoned near Channing Way and Fourth Street, police said.

Police fanned out and searched the area, after witnesses reported seeing the driver running toward Aquatic Park.

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michael_bodley
By India Today Web Desk: She made her big screen debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in 2001 film Asoka, and later went onto do a number of films in Bollywood. But it's been a while since Hrishitaa Bhatt has been missing from 70mm. While her professional career might be going through a rough patch, the 35-year-old actor is in a happy space in her personal life as recently got hitched.

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The Haasil actor tied the knot with UN diplomat Anand Tiwari in a private ceremony in Delhi on March 4 in the presence of family and close friends.

Hrishitaa, who was last seen in Junooniyat, said in a statement, "We kept it a low key affair with just family and friends at the celebration. Since our families wanted the wedding to be a low key affair we mutually decided to keep it private. We seek your blessings on embarking this new journey of our lives."

She took to Instagram to share a few pictures from her wedding celebrations.

Lovely #engagement #outfit by #sweet #malvikabajaj #pinkoutfit #hairandmakeup by #ajaybisht #delhidiaries A post shared by Hrishitaa Bhatt (@hrishitaa_bhatt) on Mar 7, 2017 at 7:24pm PST

The couple will host a reception in the capital on March 10, which will be followed by a reception party in Mumbai for Hrishitaa's B-Town friends.

ALSO READ: These photos of Neil Nitin Mukesh and wife Rukmini Sahay are too cute to miss

WATCH: Neil Nitin Mukesh shakes a leg to Kala Chashma at his engagement in Udaipur

ALSO WATCH: Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech's mesmerising first dance wins hearts

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Regarding Hacking by CIA alleged (March 8): At times, I view Edward Snowden and Julian Assange as villains and other times as heroes. Either way, they have brought our attention to the corruption of the CIA and FBI.

It turns out they are spying on our own citizens and blaming the Russians. It has been a long time since I read George Orwell, but it seems like 1984 in America. It turns out that not only your smartphones but also your TV can be spying on you. And all this time, we believed that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act courts would protect us. The Democrats have been calling for an investigation of election tampering. They are right, and we need a full investigation of all parties, including the CIA, FBI, NSA and IRS.

Keith De Filippis, San Jose

Selfish travel ban

Regarding Just a little less cruel (Editorial, March 7): Theres only one word for the revised President Trump administration travel ban: unconstitutional. A blanket ban on travelers from six (rather than the original seven) Muslim-majority countries still blatantly targets a group of people because of their religious background.

And, as this newspaper notes, none of the countries in this new executive order were involved in the 9/11 attacks. Why didnt Trump also include Saudi Arabia  a country from which many of the 9/11 terrorists came  in this new travel ban? Well, if he had done that, he could have jeopardized his extensive business interests there. This new president puts himself  not America  first.

Dorothy Van Horne, San Francisco

Valid reasoning

Regarding Friedman unfit for the job (Open Forum, March 7): Sen. Dianne Feinstein has, for a change, garnered my full support for writing in The Chronicle all the many reasons that David Friedman is absolutely the wrong man for the job of ambassador to Israel. As an American Jew, it is a great relief to read Feinsteins logical list of reasons to reject Friedman. His support of expansion of the settlements is one example of his personal views being an obstacle to peace in the Middle East, and there are others that she clearly outlines. May her longevity and status as a senior member of Congress hold sway. Feinstein hit the nail on the head.

Lorraine Lerman, Berkeley

Cost of travel

Regarding Travel ban for the Trumps (Letters, March 8): How much does the writer figure that former President Barack Obama cost us, the taxpayers, for his seemingly hundreds of fundraising trips to Atherton and Woodside over eight long years, including trips as a lame duck?

Jon Van Zanten, El Granada

Breastfeeding woes

Regarding Breastfeeding may get boost from S.F. (March 7): I find it disheartening that the best San Francisco City Hall could do is install a lactation pod in the City Hall basement. City Hall is huge compared to many small businesses that maybe only have several rooms. Many have off-site storage. They would love to have a basement. I wish The Chronicle would have shown a picture of this pod.

I can only guess its next to a broom closet since its in the basement. If City Hall wants to lead by example, move the city councils offices to the basement. Funny how they can make rules as long it doesnt affect them!

Jeff Miller, Millbrae

Unproved claims

The adage goes, Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Considering how many times our so-called president had made unsubstantiated claims, I wonder who is being smarter, President Trump or the press?

Raghavendra Rao Loka, Palo Alto

Warren in 2020

Regarding A shadow Cabinet roundup (Open Forum, March 8): I felt wistful seeing Sen. Elizabeth Warren as the top choice of readers who submitted their picks for a shadow Cabinet to counter President Trumps Billionaire Mens Club. Had she tossed her hat into last years presidential race, Warren, a fierce advocate for greater oversight of our nations financial institutions, would have had a better chance to become our nations first female commander in chief than Hillary Clinton. She has much less political baggage than Clinton does. That glass ceiling in the Oval Office is still waiting to be shattered. Im ready to have a bumper sticker that reads Warren in 2020.

Claire Rutherford, San Francisco

TrumpCare Less

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was right. The Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will be a catastrophe for the 22 million people who gained health insurance since 2011. President Trump couldnt care less. Coverage options will be less affordable for millions while health insurance costs increase. Millionaires will see lower taxes while government subsidies for health service providers are reduced. Womens health will be severely impacted by cutting Planned Parenthoods Medicaid services. The Republican plan will remove medical care for women and those who need help the most. The GOP plan is now Trumps plan, and we can label it as TrumpCare Less.

Ted Loewenberg, San Francisco

Entitlement plan

House Speaker Paul Ryan gets my vote as Coward of the Month for trying to rush through a vote on his poor replacement for the Affordable Care Act before the Congressional Budget Office can weigh in on it. Even members of his own party are critical of Ryans plan to replace the ACAs subsidies with tax credits as yet another entitlement program. Ryans plan will make it impossible for millions of less-affluent Americans to obtain health insurance, while allowing insurance companies to fatten their profits.

Is this the best the Republicans can come up with after seven years of calling for repealing and replacing President Obamas most notable legislative achievement?

Jean Louis Cook, San Francisco
John Blanchard, The Chronicle

With controversy swelling over President Trumps picks for the top executives in his administration, we asked readers to create their own shadow Cabinet. That is, to list their choices for the key administrative posts  attorney general, secretaries of defense, interior, commerce, education and others  to advise the president and set the tone for the federal government over the next four years.

Readers read Open Forum writer James W. Loewens commentary about shadow Cabinets, a feature of political life in many democracies, and took the invitation to heart: More than 100 readers sent in detailed lists of names of those they felt reflected their views and values and could help steer the country.
If you thought you were going to miss your shot, as its title character says, for tickets to the blockbuster musical Hamilton, SHN has released a new block of tickets just as the shows first San Francisco performances are about to begin on Friday, March 10.

As of Wednesday, March 8, at 11 a.m., tickets in the Orpheum Theatres orchestra ($768-$868) and mezzanine ($197) were available for 19 performances from March 10-31. That may sound expensive, but tickets are going for thousands of dollars on the secondary market. SHN has also promised that there will be a lottery for 44 $10 tickets before each days performance, but details on that have not been announced.
WASHINGTON  A day after it was unveiled, a Republican House plan to replace the Affordable Care Act seemed in jeopardy Tuesday as opposition mounted from influential conservative groups and key GOP lawmakers, who derided the legislation as Obamacare 2.0.

The Trump administration and congressional supporters warned opponents within their party that the bill is the only means Republicans have to keep their long-held promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

If you like your Obamacare you can keep it, Vice President Mike Pence told Republican senators after meeting with them for a weekly luncheon. The simple fact is Obamacare must go.

House Republican leaders made clear they would attempt to move the plan rapidly through the House and send it to the Senate for passage, without hearings or expert testimony in either chamber.

But conservative Republicans ripped the plan for keeping intact regulations in the Affordable Care Act that they say have caused insurance prices to rise and for providing a new entitlement in the form of tax credits to help people buy insurance.

Given the swift opposition to the bill and a glaring lack of a political groundswell in its support, the plans future remains an open question. If the legislation fails to gain traction, the struggle over fulfilling the bedrock promise of President Trump and congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act could consume the Republican agenda for weeks if not months, delaying action on tax reform and grinding the new administrations legislative agenda to a halt.

With Democrats unlikely to support the bill in either chamber of Congress, the plan cant afford to lose more than three Senate Republicans or roughly 20 GOP House members. So far, at least two Republican senators  Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah  have signaled they may not go along with it.

The House bill would replace the Affordable Care Acts subsidies to help people buy health insurance with a system of tax credits, but it would retain the most popular provisions of Obamacare such as requiring insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay on their parents plans until age 26. It would replace the current laws mandate to buy health insurance, but would allow insurers to charge a 30 percent penalty to people who let their insurance lapse and then try to buy a new policy.

The bill lifts a welter of taxes on high-income individuals and other sources of revenue that pay for the current system. The legislation also promises, beginning in 2020, to restrict the governments big expansion of Medicaid that has allowed states such as California to cover millions of low-income workers. The restriction will not apply to people who are already being helped by the expansion by then.

On Tuesday, conservative lawmakers and outside groups ridiculed the plan as Obamacare Lite, Ryancare, after House Speaker Paul Ryan, or RINO-care, as in Republican in name only, even as the president and other party leaders said it was just a starting point.

DOUG MILLS/NYT

Were going to do something thats great, Trump said after emerging from a White House meeting with GOP House and Senate leaders. And I am proud to support the replacement plan.

Trump said the plan follows the guidelines I laid out in my congressional address.  This will be a plan where you can choose your doctor, and this will be a plan where you can choose your plan. And you know what the plan is. This is the plan.

But Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a member and former chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus, called the bill a slimmed-down version of Obamacare and criticized his colleagues for offering it as the first thing we bring a Republican president.

Paul said Republicans are united on repeal, but we are divided on a replacement.

Jordan, Paul and a raft of other conservative lawmakers said at a news conference that they would introduce a straight repeal bill Wednesday and work on a replacement later. They suggested a more free-market-style alternative, adding that the acid test for any legislation is that it must lower the cost of policies.

Democrats also criticized the plan, saying its proposed tax credits are too skimpy and would force millions to lose their insurance or accept inadequate policies. They also said the legislation is poorly thought out.

I dont think it adds up, said Rep. Frank Pallone, of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee. I dont know if the whole thing collapses.

The tumult appears to be pushing Democrats toward an embrace of so-called single-payer health care in which the government provides and pays for universal coverage, an idea President Barack Obama rejected as too radical.

We should have gone for Medicare-for-all, said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont. Such a plan would have been simpler, more popular and more intellectually consistent, Khanna said. I would go so far as to say any Democrat who doesnt embrace the vision of Medicare-for-all and single payer should not be the nominee of our party.

J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees will begin voting on the legislation Wednesday, without hearings or an analysis of its cost, coverage or other effects by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, an official agency that helps Congress understand the fiscal and economic consequences of legislation.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the architect of the Affordable Care Act, was quick to react to the unusual move. The San Francisco Democrat denounced the lack of hearings and of a CBO analysis. To underscore her point, she provided a chart showing that the House held 79 public hearings, and the Senate 58 hearings on the Affordable Care Act, adopted nearly 150 Republican amendments on the final legislation, and held roughly 3,000 town hall meetings.

Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn of Texas dismissed the need for hearing and told reporters that the legislation will probably come straight to the floor of the Senate, because Republicans have already had a lot of consultation with each other.

The simple question facing the GOP is, he said, Are we going to keep our promises or not?

But outside conservative groups and Democrats were swift and brutal in their assessment.

Avik Roy, a leading Republican health care expert who advised former presidential nominee Mitt Romney, issued a critique titled, House GOPs Obamacare Replacement Will Make Coverage Unaffordable For Millions  Otherwise, Its Great.

Dan Holler, a vice president at Heritage Action for America, a conservative political action committee, added his voice to the criticism that the GOP bill leaves in place the current laws regulations that, he said, drive up the cost of insurance, while creating a new entitlement in the form of tax credits, rather than straight subsidies, to help people afford it.

Democrats quickly labeled the GOP plan Trumpcare, with Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut calling it a dumpster fire that was written on the back of a napkin. Republicans acknowledged that they expect zero Democratic support.

Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com
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Aquatic Park is a San Francisco landmark, and like many of the citys favorite spots, its history is as quirky as it is rich.

Recently I headed down to The Chronicles archive to learn more about the Streamline Moderne building at the heart of the grounds near Ghirardelli Square. I dug up dozens of photos and many stories about the location thats now the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park and how it has transformed over the decades.

The interest in making the site a swimming park dates to 1909, but the project didnt start until April 1936. The Works Progress Administration secured $1.2 million in federal funding and managed the undertaking, providing hundreds of jobs in the area. Costs rose and construction began to lag, but the workers hustled and hit their deadline for the dedication ceremony on Jan. 29, 1939.

The Chronicle edition from a week before the event raved about the Aquatic Park bathhouse and casino. The people of San Francisco will gasp in astonishment and delight when they see what has been created for them down there in the little cove, a story read.

The building carried the curves of a cruise ship, with about a quarter set aside for the bathhouse. Dining and meeting rooms took up most of the building, with the walls decorated by murals created by WPA artists led by Hilaire Hiler.

The Aquatic Center was something to behold, but a steady stream of problems afflicted it from the beginning.

By April 1939, the Health Department had banned swimming and the bath facilities had gone unused. Because of the rush to make the opening date, the building was not complete when it was turned over to the city. The WPA then started working again May 1, 1939, to finish the project. The concessionaire withheld rent, because the building wasnt done, and the Parks Department didnt buy furnishings because of the Health Department edict.

Other than that, it was a perfectly smooth start.

Lawsuits kept the building empty until April 1941, when a compromise was reached and the Army took over to provide a recreation area for troops stationed in the Bay Area. When World War II began, an Army anti-aircraft group also used part of the site.

The property was declared surplus on July 24, 1946, but the city ruled that Aquatic Park would be closed for another year. The casino needed extensive restoration upon transfer from the Army, and funding for its operation wasnt included in the city budget.

Things finally started to look up when San Franciscos Senior Recreation Center moved into the Blue Room in 1948. Furnishings were procured, and soon activities for seniors were up and running.

Mayor Elmer Robinson in the late 1940s announced ambitious ideas for a maritime and railroad museum at the park, with historic ships in the cove and exhibits in the old casino. The first step was accomplished Nov. 22, 1950, when Robinson signed an ordinance turning over parts of the Aquatic Park building to the San Francisco Maritime Museum Association. Thousands attended the activities surrounding the opening, and 5,000 people visited on the first day.

Today, the museum collection has grown, and its housed in the renovated Aquatic Park bathhouse. Visitors show up daily to see the WPA-era murals that have been restored to their New Deal glory, and to tour the building itself, which remains an only-in-San Francisco landmark.

Bill Van Niekerken is the library director of The San Francisco Chronicle, where he has worked since 1985. In his weekly column, From the Archive, he explores the depths of The Chronicles vast photography archive in search of interesting historical tales related to the city by the bay.
The flooding danger is over San Jose, Guerneville and other Northern California towns and cities. The mold danger has just begun.

When the Coyote Creek overflowed its banks last month in San Jose, residents had to contend with flooded basements, standing water in living rooms, ruined appliances and damaged furniture. Some houses were posted with red or yellow tags, restricting access.

But even in those with green tags  indicating the house is safe to live in  mold is a concern.

"Lucky the water was only a half inch from going into the house," San Jose resident Hugo Sanchez told KCBS. "Very close."

But water did get into the crawl space of his green-tagged home. When the water receded, the mold took over. "Green and black, disgusting," Sanchez said.

Mold spreads quickly in a damp environment, with spores multiplying overnight. In only 48 to 72 hours, fungi can invade a home, covering surfaces with a fuzzy carpet.

In some cases, the spores aren't visible, hiding between walls and under floorboards. Unchecked, mold will continue to grow.

While many people are not affected by mold, some suffer reactions ranging from minor cold-like symptoms  sore throats, runny noses and burning eyes to damaged immune systems and lung infections.

Unfortunately, getting insurance to pay for cleaning up mold can be difficult. Most homeowners policies exclude water damage caused by floods. If floodwater was responsible for creating a mold colony in your house, you're probably not covered.
Bail-bond companies can intervene in a San Francisco case and defend the law requiring newly arrested defendants to post bail, a law that the city and state have refused to defend, a federal judge has ruled.

The suit contends the California law, as applied in San Francisco, discriminates against the poor by keeping them in jail while wealthier people charged with the same crimes go free. It was filed in 2015 on behalf of two San Francisco women who were kept in jail because they could not afford bail, and were freed only when prosecutors decided not to charge them.
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A 63-year-old man was arrested after confessing that he beat his daughter-in-law to death with a hammer in the garage of their Suisun City home because she disrespected him, police said Wednesday.

The killing happened Tuesday when the suspect, Amarjit Singh, became upset while confronting his daughter-in-law about her attitude toward him, police said their preliminary investigation has found.
Having received inputs on the Indian Mujahideen founder leader's intentions, the department has beefed up security and kept him in a high-surveillance ward at Tihar Jail.

Yasin Bhatkal, who got capital punishment for his role in the 2013 blasts that killed 18 people, still has more than 30 cases pending against him.

By Sneha Agrawal: Death row convict Yasin Bhatkal is planning a prison break, Delhi Police told a court on Tuesday.

Having received inputs on the Indian Mujahideen founder leader's intentions, the department has beefed up security and kept him in a high-surveillance ward at Tihar Jail.

The court was told this while hearing an application filed by Bhatkal's lawyer MS Khan, who claimed that the terrorist was being kept in solitary confinement only because he has been awarded capital punishment by a special National Investigation Agency court in Hyderabad.

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BHATKAL NOT IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

The jail superintendent from Tihar, however, told the court that Bhatkal is not in solitary confinement, and there is no such provision in Delhi, but he is in a high-security ward owing to the intelligence inputs that hinted at his escape plans as he still has 30-40 cases pending against him in courts.

Bhatkal, also known as Ahmed Siddibappa Zarrar, has been blamed for a string of bomb blasts, the most high-profile being the Mumbai train blasts in 2006 and explosions in Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi in 2010. He is also accused of bombing the Delhi high court in 2011.

Bhatkal's counsel had filed an application seeking directions to the jail authorities to not keep him in solitary confinement "in view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court's constitution bench that lodging an inmate in isolation in a separate cell was in violation of articles of the Constitution."

BHATKAL'S LIFE UNDER THREAT: JAIL AUTHORITIES

The jail authorities also said during the hearing that Bhatkal's life is under threat and that was one of the reasons to keep him in the high-surveillance ward.

Speaking to Mail Today advocate MS Khan said, "Keeping Bhatkal in solitary confinement on the pretext of prison escape was incorrect as Tihar has enough security to ensure that a prisoner does not flee."

Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which an inmate is isolated from any human contact, with the exception of members of prison staff. In India, maximum period of solitary confinement is 3 months and it cannot exceed 14 days at a time. Legal experts are divided on keeping an inmate in solitary confinement. Some argue that it is against human dignity to keep somebody away from human contact.

Doctor Rajiv Mehta, consultant psychiatrist at Sir Ganga Ram hospital, told Mail Today, "Solitary confinement is considered to be the worst of punishment. Man is a social animal. When he is left to live alone, he starts introspecting. With no external contact from the world, he starts getting irritated and eventually leads to depression or psychosis at times leading to schizophrenia."

CHARGES AGAINST THE INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN FOUNDER

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On December 19, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court Bhatkal and four others to death in the 2013 Hyderabad blasts case, which killed 18 people.

Bhatkal was charged with murder, treason and terrorist act. "The judge observed that after going through the entire record... that this case especially, on facts and circumstances, falls under the category of rarest of rare and the Supreme Court also says capital punishment should only be carried out in 'the rarest of rare' cases in India, among a dwindling group of nations that still have the death penalty.

Yasin Bhatkal had risen to become the IM's key executioner and took charge of the organisation's India operations after founders Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal fled to Pakistan in 2008 after the Batla House encounter in Delhi. He was arrested from the India-Nepal border in Bihar's Raxaul town in August 2013. The terror mastermind hails from Bhatkal district in Karnataka.

Media reports said his talent for disguising himself in part enabled him to remain on the run for years. On one occasion in 2009, he was apparently able to walk out of a police station in Kolkata on bail after being accused of theft.

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ALSO READ | Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal to be brought to Bengaluru

Exclusive: Hyderabad twin blasts convict Yasin Bhatkal's wife says no money to feed 10 kids

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Rallies and protest events are a part of political life in the Bay Area. Heres a roundup of whats happening in the next few weeks.

Thursday

Discussion on executive orders: UC Berkeley law professors will discuss the scope of the presidents authority on executive orders. The event is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the World Affairs Auditorium, 312 Sutter St., San Francisco.

Discussion on climate change: Hosted by the Lamorinda Democratic Club, the discussion will focus on local effects and actions. The event is from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Lafayette library, 3491 Mount Diablo Blvd.

Friday

Standing Rock march and day of action: A march and rally calling for President Trump to meet with tribal leaders before continuing work on the Dakota Access Pipeline. The event is from 5 to 9 p.m. outside the San Francisco Federal Building, 90 Seventh St. Protesters will gather at 1 p.m. outside the Shelterpoint Business Center, 591 Redwood Highway in Mill Valley, to defend our water, our land and our planet for future generations.

International Womens Day party: A celebration hosted by the Friends of the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women and the Young Womens Christian Association of San Francisco and Marin County. The party is from 6 to 9 p.m. and will include speakers from the Global Fund for Women and U.S. National Committee for U.N. Women. It will be held at 940 Powell St. in San Francisco. Registration: www.friendscosw.org/event-2448198.

Saturday

Health care discussion: A conversation about single-payer health care proposals and a proposed state law, SB562, which would establish a single-payer plan in California. The event starts at 1 p.m. at the Community Health and Wellness Center, Room 103, 50 Phelan Ave., San Francisco. For directions: https://www.ccsf.edu/Info/Map/ocean.shtml.

Sunday

Peace gathering: To denounce an incident in Kansas in which a man allegedly shot two natives of India and a third man after telling the Indian men to get out of my country. One of the Indian men died. The gathering is from 1 to 4 p.m. at Lytton Plaza, 200 University Ave., Palo Alto.

Monday

Postcard party: A campaign to send 1 million postcards to President Trump on issues including womens rights, religious freedom, immigration and economic security. The event is from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Booksmith, 1644 Haight St., San Francisco. RSVP to the Postcard Party at Booksmith event page on Facebook.

Tuesday

Anti-Trump rally: Members of the tech community are expected to rally on Pi Day, March 14, in protest of President Trump. The rally is from 2 to 6 p.m. at 250 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto.

Wednesday

Call for secure elections: A meet-up with the San Francisco Elections Commission, 6 p.m. at City Hall, Room 408, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place.

March 19

Community conversation: Sierra Club leader Arthur Feinstein leads a discussion on local and statewide environmental issues. The event is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Northern Police Station Community Room, 1125 Fillmore St., San Francisco. RSVP: www.sierraclub.org/san-francisco-bay/activities.

March 26

Womens rally and march: A Walk for Equality from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Rinconada Park, 777 Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto.
Anyone who owns and operates a pot business in Oakland will have to live in the city, Oaklands lawmakers have decided.

Thats bad news for established businesses like Dark Heart Nursery, run by a San Leandro resident whos worked in the city for more than a decade and whose family has lived in Oakland for three generations.

Were sitting here with millions of dollars of investments, millions paid in taxes to the city and 60 local employees. And were going to have to shutter our doors, said Dan Grace, who runs the East Oakland nursery.

The residency requirement was a last-minute addition during a contentious meeting Tuesday of the Oakland City Council as it overhauled legislation on how marijuana businesses will be regulated in the city. A faction of the council fought to change the rules approved in May that were meant to provide reparations to the people whose marijuana use was disproportionately policed in recent decades  a landmark effort to inject racial equity into regulation.

But the attempts were met with fierce opposition from Councilwoman Desley Brooks, the architect of the original program, and her supporters, who were able Tuesday to keep the program in place, but with some dramatic revisions. Ultimately, the council found a semblance of common ground and approved the overhaul unanimously.

Black folks built this city and we demand ownership in the industry, said Carroll Fife, a local organizer with a coalition pushing for the equity laws. Were watching the end of an empire... And the part that we need to do to make sure that happens is have that economic base. We do that as owners, not as workers.

The action Tuesday came after nearly a year of disputes and delays over the controversial set of cannabis ordinances. Some people thought the May laws didnt go far enough in promoting racial equity or too narrowly defined who could qualify for the program. Others said the regulations were overreaching and would all but paralyze the market before it could even get rolling.

The council heard three hours of public comment and drafted and redrafted the legislation on the fly, much of which was summarily shot down by Brooks. More than 100 people, nearly all supporters of the plan, signed up to speak at the meeting.

Although the laws passed unanimously last year, half the council quickly regretted their votes and wanted to scrap the ordinances, advocating instead a program that would grant loans and other assistance to low-income African Americans and Latinos hoping to open a cannabis business.

The ordinances are designed to bring the city in line with state laws that will regulate all aspects of the multibillion-dollar cannabis industry by 2018. Those laws stipulate that all cannabis businesses get a license from the city in which they operate.

Before Tuesdays revisions, the laws included a provision that reserved half the citys cannabis permits for residents who were jailed on marijuana convictions in Oakland within the past decade, or who had lived for at least two years within six police beats in East Oakland where pot arrests were concentrated in 2013. All of the police beats fell in the districts represented by Brooks or Council President Larry Reid, another supporter of the legislation.

Now the cannabis permits will be doled out in two phases. The first still reserves half of the licenses for equity applicants but will end once an assistance program  funded by expected cannabis business tax revenue  reaches $3 million. The program will provide zero-interest business loans and technical help to equity applicants. In phase two, there wont be any restrictions on who can get a license.

The definition of an equity applicant radically changed Tuesday, too. Now there are triple the number of qualifying neighborhoods, some of which are in West Oakland and Fruitvale. Applicants are required to have lived in one or a combination of the neighborhoods for 10 of the last 20 years, and their current income must be below 80 percent of the citys average median income. They can also qualify if they were arrested in Oakland and convicted on a pot offense in the last two decades.

The residency requirement was met with reluctance by some council members.

We might have to revisit those later this year, Councilman Dan Kalb said Wednesday morning. Kalb said he was shocked that small amendments he put forward with Council members Annie Campbell Washington and Abel Guillen were rejected. One would have allowed Oakland residents arrested on a cannabis charge in another city to meet the equity qualification.

None of the equity laws apply to eight Oakland dispensaries that already have licenses. City officials, though, estimate that roughly 130 other businesses, from edible delivery services to collectives, have been operating without a permit in Oakland and will have to vie to get one.

Grace, the owner of Dark Heart Nursey, which grows starter plants, wasnt happy about the change, even though he applauded and agreed with the efforts to establish equity in the industry.

It certainly wouldnt be fair to characterize us as outsiders, Grace said. Were all on the same side and the same page in terms of the disparity and the war on drugs and its impact on black and brown communities. (But) we feel the blame is being misallocated.

Many industry insiders remained critical of the revised laws. Some worried that longtime Oakland businesses like Dark Heart, whose owners arent considered equity applicants, wont be able to get their operating permits ahead of Jan. 1, the deadline by which businesses must have a local license or be in good standing with a city in order to continue operating under new state regulations.

Its better than what we had, which was just an absolute effort to destroy any cannabis industry in Oakland, said Robert Raich, a veteran Oakland marijuana attorney. Someone who might want to move to or invest in Oakland is still motivated to take their jobs and their money to another city.

The changes that passed Tuesday were based on a report by Darlene Flynn, director of Oaklands newly created Department of Race and Equity. It was the first project she tackled in the role.

The report showed stark differences in arrest rates between whites and African Americans, despite their cannabis use being roughly the same. In 2015, for instance, 77 percent of all cannabis arrests in Oakland were of African Americans, even though they are less than a third of the population. Whites, by comparison, made up 31 percent of the city population last year but only 4 percent of the cannabis arrests, according to Flynns report.

We have great disparities between more well off and less well off operators  those that, especially in the cannabis industry, cant get a traditional loan from a bank, cant get traditional business advice, (compared to) those that have mom and dad offering a loan to help start your business (who) havent been arrested and convicted of a cannabis offense, said Greg Minor, assistant city administrator, who worked on the report. If we were to just open permitting today, we would just be maintaining those disparities into the future, if not exacerbating them.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov

Revised Oakland medical pot program

In phase 1, half of permits go to equity applicants. Someone can be considered an equity applicant in one of two ways:

The person lived in a designated Oakland neighborhood for 10 of the last 20 years. The applicant must also have a salary at or below 80 percent of the citys average median income.

The person was arrested in Oakland and convicted for a cannabis crime after November 5, 1996.

In phase 1, the other half of permits will be prioritized based on whether the applicants are serving as an incubator for one of the aforementioned types of people. Incubation means the person is providing free rent or real estate to an equity applicant, and will thus get a preference for one of the general permits.

In phase 2, there are no restrictions based on equity.

For both phases and for all types of applicants  equity, incubator or general  the person must provide proof of Oakland residency for the last three years in order to get a permit.
While few Americans feel comfortable taking a backseat in a fully self-driving vehicle, many would like some of the less-automated bells and whistles in their next car, a survey found.

The survey conducted by AAA, which polled 1,832 adults across the nation, found that 75 percent of Americans are afraid to ride in a self-driving car, with Baby Boomers more likely than Millennials to be timid over the technology.

Some believe public opinion will improve as automated-driving technology becomes more familiar to people.

As this technology becomes more commonplace and improves, so will public perception, said John Moreno, spokesman for AAA Northern California.

Recent headlines have given people some reason to be wary  a self-driving car operated by a General Motors subsidiary was involved in an accident in San Francisco in late February, and back in December, video emerged of a self-driving Uber running a red light outside the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Tesla Motors Autopilot feature was connected to two fatal crashes in 2016, as well.

But a majority of drivers of all ages say automated driving features like adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, self-parking technology, and lane departure warnings are qualities they would want in a new car, according to AAA.

Men are more likely than women to be comfortable with self-driving technology. Older drivers are more likely than other age groups to gravitate toward such features for safety reasons, while younger drivers are more likely to be lured by the promise of greater convenience, the survey found.

Over the past two years, traffic fatalities have risen 19 percent in California and 14 percent nationwide (though not in San Francisco), potentially adding to the allure of more advanced safety features.

Some of the trends reported by AAA may hold true outside the United States as well. A 2016 study by the Boston Consulting Group that surveyed drivers across 10 countries also found that older drivers are more skeptical of self-driving cars than their younger counterparts. It also found that most respondents trust traditional car companies, not tech companies, to manufacture self-driving cars.

Self-driving car technology has become a point of contention in the streets of San Francisco, where Uber tried to test the technology without the permit required by state regulators in December 2016, leading to a clash with the DMV.

But if, as the AAA survey found, older drivers are the most likely to have doubts about self-driving cars, San Francisco might not be the most fertile market for the technology. Of the 15 largest U.S. cities, San Franciscos median age is the highest, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Filipa A. Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
GENEVA  The top executive of Frances PSA Group had a message Tuesday for the two European companies its buying from General Motors: Were here to help. Any job cuts down the road, he says, would stem only from overall changes in the auto industry, not any preconceived plans.

Carlos Tavares, CEO of the automaker behind Peugeot and Citroen, said in an interview that PSA could actually seek to take GMs brands Opel and Vauxhall global after the closing of the planned $2.33 billion deal.

GM pulled Opel out of China in 2014 due to low sales.

On the sidelines of the Geneva auto show, Tavares said PSA hopes to tap into its own experience as a once-troubled automaker: It needed a bailout from the French state and Chinese investors in the wake of the financial crisis.

The position we are taking here is: We are here to help. We think we can help because we were in the same position four years ago. We were also in a difficult financial position, and we were able to turn around our company, he said.

We believe that, with humility but some confidence, we can help Opel and Vauxhall turn around.

Tavares noted the size of the challenge: Opel-Vauxhall, he said, has been making red ink for 10 years, and burning 1 billion euros ($1.056 billion) of cash every year. I think we need all to realize that there is a problem.

In their announcement Monday, GM and PSA said they expect annual savings of $1.79 billion by 2026. Amid uncertainty over Britains exit from the European Union, Britains Vauxhall  and its 4,500 jobs  appears most vulnerable to any cuts.

Tavares said Brexit was completely marginal in PSAs decision to strike the deal.

While PSA could contend with whichever way Britain chooses to leave the bloc, Tavares all but cast his vote against a hard Brexit  in which Britain would leave without retaining some form of privileged access to the EUs tariff-less single market.

If it is a hard Brexit, it would be better to source from inside, than from outside, he said, citing the British manufacturing sites of Opel and Vauxhall as a strategic opportunity.

If its not a hard Brexit, then everybody will be happy and the markets will be better, and everybody will enjoy it.

Taveres said PSA wants to create a European champion that could sell Opel and Vauxhall vehicles outside the continent.

Thats where things are exciting: If we improve our cost competitiveness in the manufacturing, in purchasing, in engineering ... then we can sell more Opels and more Vauxhalls overseas, and it represents more work for the European plants, he said.

Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann said the industrial logic is obvious from a PSA tie-up with the German automaker and its British sister company.

We will benefit from size, from the joint development and manufacturing of cars, and from two very strong engineering teams joining their forces, Neumann told a news conference attended by Tavares  potentially his new boss.

Together with Carlos, we are doing everything we can do to shape a sustainable and even brighter future for Opel, and for Vauxhall, and for PSA, Neumann said.

Jamey Keaten is an Associated Press writer.
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Google is moving past the planning stage for its futuristic new campus after receiving key approvals from the Mountain View City Council on Tuesday.

The project, dubbed the Charleston East campus, is the first major real estate project that Google will build from the ground up. At its heart is a planned 595,000-square-foot, two-story office building shaped to resemble a puffy white cloud, with solar panels on the roof. The building is intended to hold up to 2,700 workers and is expected to be completed in late 2019.

The measures passed Tuesday include permission to remove nearly 200 trees and extend Googles sublease of some lots for temporary parking as the project gets under way. Google still needs to complete the citys building permit process before it can break ground, though the council approved an environmental study.

One element that makes the project unique  and attractive to Mountain View  is that it allows the public to walk through the bottom floor of its main building and dine in the same cafes as Google employees. The campus also will have a plaza where the public can soak in performances.

This is a project that other cities would die for, including Cupertino, said Vice Mayor Lenny Siegel.

Cupertino is home to Apple and its new main campus, Apple Park  a 175-acre property that houses a giant ring-shaped building some refer to as a spaceship. The campus, to open in April, will have two miles of walking and biking paths for employees inside the ring. Members of the public will have access to a retail store and cafe near the ring-shaped building.

Mountain View Councilman Christopher Clark said that one downside to some of new corporate offices is that a lot of them, while they might be visually striking, arent as open to the public as they could be. He appreciates that Google is making its campus accessible to the public.

That makes a statement not just for Google, but also for our community, Clark said at Tuesdays council meeting.

Google employs roughly 20,000 people in Mountain Views North Bayshore area, where the campus is located.

Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Googles parent company, Alphabet, reaffirmed the companys commitment to Mountain View at Tuesdays meeting.

We do foresee ourselves being here for many years to come, she said. Google chose Mountain View for our headquarters because we love everything about being here.

The company plans on moving 6,000 workers out of the North Bayshore area to Sunnyvale through 2018, in order to reduce traffic and give engineers more room. It hasnt been determined if Google CEO Sundar Pichais office will move to the Charleston East campus, said John Igoe, Googles director of real estate. Pichai currently works in an office adjacent to the Googleplex, a North Bayshore complex in Mountain View, Igoe said.

As part of its new campus project, Google plans to remove 196 heritage trees and plant 392 trees, including oak, willow and buckeye trees, to replace the ones that will be removed.

The council meeting was packed with people eager to hear about the project and weigh in on Googles commitment to the city. Several people from organizations including the local chapter of the Sierra Club and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition  as well as the superintendent of the Mountain View Whisman School District  spoke about how Google had helped their groups. One speaker even called it a lovefest.

Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendylee
While the new permanent members would in principle have veto powers that the current five have, Akbaruddin said, "they shall not exercise the veto until a decision on the matter has been taken during a review".

By India Today Web Desk: India and other members of the G4 have offered to initially forgo veto powers as permanent members in a reformed Security Council as a bargaining chip to get the reform process moving.

"The issue of veto is important, but we should not allow it to have a veto over the process of Council reform itself," said India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin, who was speaking on Tuesday on behalf of the G4 at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) on Council reforms.

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While the new permanent members would in principle have veto powers that the current five have, Akbaruddin said, "they shall not exercise the veto until a decision on the matter has been taken during a review".

TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AT THE UN: India, Brazil, Germany and Japan constitute the G4, which lobbies for Council reforms and they mutually support each other's candidatures for permanent seats on an expanded body. The G4 group rejected suggestions to create a category of longer-term elected members of the Council as a ploy to block adding new permanent members. Expanding only the non-permanent categories would only worsen "the imbalance of influence" in the Council and "tilt the scales" in favour of an outdated set-up, he said. Akbaruddin was responding to Italy's Permanent Representative Sebastiano Cardi, who opposed expanding the permanent membership and instead suggested creating a new category of elected membership with longer terms than the current two years. Cardi made the proposal on behalf of Uniting for Consensus (UfC), a 13-member group that includes Pakistan. The group has been waging a decades-long battle against expanding permanent membership and blocking the reform process. Approaching reforms from a narrow national perspective of ensuring that certain countries do not get permanent membership - for example, Pakistan's opposition to India - through the reform process, the UfC suggested adding 11 seats to the Council, with nine of them having longer terms. Deriding the UfC proposal as "old hat", Akbaruddin said that the 1944 Dumbarton Oaks conference held in Washington to negotiate the shape of the UN had rejected suggestions for the longer-term Council membership. Any proposal for Council reforms without an expansion of the number of the permanent seats does "grave injustice to Africa's aspirations for equality," he said. The G4 also pointed out that the number and allocation of non-permanent seats have outlived their relevance since the UN was formed and the reform in 1965 when the number of non-permanent members was increased from six to 10. Akbaruddin said that 53 members of the Asia-Pacific group of nations have only two elected seats on the council, while the 26-member Western Europe group also get two.

(Inputs from IANS)

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Roughly one week ago, New Seasons Market announced it was coming to Hayes Valley. The Portland-based grocer's first California outpost opened not long ago in San Jose. The chain also has stores slated for Emeryville and Sunnyvale.

The new location will be a 29,000-square-foot space at 555 Fulton St., an address associated with the complicated construction of a five-story, 139-unit condo complex by Fulton Street Ventures.
City Hall meetings can be routine, but one San Francisco resident decided to mix things up by dropping some original rhymes.

In a public meeting on Tuesday, Christopher Logan took to the mic to relay his parking gripes  by rapping.
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Legendary journalist and activist Gloria Steinem dropped down in San Francisco's Mission District on Monday to kick off The Women's Building speaker series.

An audience of more than 400 people made their way to the Brava Theatre on 24th Street to see Steinem in conversation with Lateefah Simon, a self-proclaimed "daughter of San Francisco" and a newly elected BART board member.

Steinem was in town to attend the City Hall funeral of fellow feminist and Bay Area activist Aileen Hernandez. "I am walking in her path," she said, prior to a moment of silence for her departed friend.

Like Hernandez, Steinem is undeniably an icon in the feminist movement, and she has been since the 1960s. And at 82, Steinem has hardly slowed her pace. The "joy of learning" keeps her going, she said.

Although the audience of mostly women seemed to hang on her every word, Steinem implored, "Do not listen to me. Listen to yourself. Inside you is a unique person that can never happen again."

Steinem also stressed the importance of intersectionality in contemporary approaches to feminism. "There is no way on earth to be a feminist without being anti-racist," she said. "White feminism is not feminism by definition."

Speaking to Simon after the conversation, she explained that Steinem's intersectionality and radical attitude have been cornerstones of her feminism since the 60s.

"She is an iconic figure for disdain," explained Simon, "but it's easy to preach to the converted."

Steinem has long fought for the rights of women of all races, nationalities, and socioeconomic statuses, but the octogenarian's work is far from over. When asked what she is most proud of, she responded, "I haven't done it yet."

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called Tuesday for the appointment of a special counsel to lead the criminal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, saying the appointment is necessary to shield the inquiry from the appearance of political interference by the Trump administration.

This is about more than just one individual, Feinstein said. This is about the integrity of the process and the publics faith in our institution of justice.

But the Republican chairman of the panel, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, said he saw no need for the appointment of a special counsel as the panel took up the confirmation of Trumps nominee to be deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein.

Because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from overseeing any criminal investigation into 2016 campaign matters, Rosenstein would be in charge of that case if he is confirmed.

There are times when special counsels are appropriate, Grassley said in his opening statement. But its far too soon to tell here. And even if there were evidence of a crime related to any of these matters, once confirmed Mr. Rosenstein can decide how to handle it. I know of no reason to question his judgment, integrity, or impartiality.

Grassley noted that Rosenstein  the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland  is a career prosecutor who served under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.

Feinstein, however, said her call was not related to Rosensteins integrity, but the need to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. She also said that the prosecutor should be a nonpartisan person who is appointed independently rather than by the attorney general.

However, the law that permitted the appointment of an independent counsel by a three-judge panel, rather than by the attorney general, has expired. Under Justice Department regulations for special counsels, Rosenstein, if confirmed, would essentially be the attorney general for the purpose of the Russia case since Sessions is recused. It would be Rosensteins decision to appoint a special counsel, who would answer to him.

Charlie Savage and Eric Lichtblau are New York Times writers.
WICHITA, Kan.  Kansas rancher Greg Gardiner got into some of his scorched pastures for the first time Wednesday and surveyed what he likened to a battle zone: carcasses of dead cattle everywhere.

Its pretty much a catastrophe, Gardiner said as he looked out on his ranch near Ashland, charred by wildfires that have burned through hundreds of acres in four states. Its as bad as a mind can make it.

Gardiner cries when he talks about how thankful he is that none of his family members were lost in wildfires that have led to the deaths of six people. Gardiners brother Mark lost his home  like dozens of other people in largely rural areas of Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado  but he is safe.

Gardiner figures he lost 500 cattle. Any badly burned animals found still alive are mercifully shot.

While cattle producers like Gardiner spent much of Wednesday assessing their losses, fire crews were attempting to extinguish the blazes. Most of the burned land is in Kansas, where more than 1,000 square miles has been consumed in a series of blazes, including one believed to be the largest in the states recorded history.

It is too soon to know yet how many animals perished. In Clark County, where Gardiner lives, ranchers so far have lost about 2,500 adult cattle and at least 1,000 calves, said Randall Spare, co-owner of Ashland Veterinary Center.

Ranch hands were among those who have been killed in the fires. In the Texas Panhandle, three ranch hands died trying to save cattle from fires that have burned nearly 750 square miles.

A fourth person who died in Texas  25-year-old Cade Koch  was attempting to drive home when smoke from a separate fire to the north enveloped him.

In Kansas, the Highway Patrol said Corey Holt of Oklahoma City died Monday when his tractor-trailer jackknifed as he tried to back up because of poor visibility on a highway, and he succumbed to smoke.

Roxana Hegeman and Jim Suhr are Associated Press writers.
PHILADELPHIA  Many American women stayed home from work, joined rallies or wore red Wednesday to demonstrate how vital they are to the U.S. economy, as International Womens Day was observed with a multitude of events around the world.

The Day Without a Woman protest in the U.S. was put together by organizers of the vast womens marches that drew more than 1 million Americans the day after President Trumps inauguration.
By Press Trust of India: From Yoshita Singh

New York, Mar 8 (PTI) A 42-year-old Indian in the US has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for plotting terror attacks in Indiaby providing material support and resources to the Khalistan movement.

Balwinder Singh was a member of two terrorist groups and provided material support to "intimidate" the Indian government and harm persons who were not supporting the terrorism groups cause, said US Attorney Daniel Bogden for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C Rouse for the FBIs Las Vegas Division.

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Singh was sentenced yesterday by US District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno to 180 months in prison, Bogden said.

"This case is an example of multi-law enforcement agencies working collaboratively together to protect the United States and our foreign allies from a terrorist act," Bogden added.

Singh, who also went by the alias Jhaji and Baljit Singh is a citizen of India and a permanent US resident. He had pleaded guilty in November last year.

According to court documents, between September and December 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India as part of the Khalistan movement to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region.

Singh agreed to provide "material support" by helping facilitate a co-conspirators travel to and within South Asia, to provide necessary funding and to provide materials necessary to carry out the attack, the court documents said.

On occasions, Singh travelled from Reno to California to meet a co-conspirator in person.

In October 2013, Singh and his co-conspirators agreed that one of them would travel to India and carry out a terror attack ? likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian governmental official. The final target was to be determined after the co-conspirator arrived in South Asia.

In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles and a laptop computer and provided these items to a co-conspirator who was going to carry out the planned terror attack., the documents said.

The co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok in December 2013 in order to carry out the terror attack but US law enforcement prevented the co-conspirator from boarding that flight, thwarting the planned terror attack, it said.

After these events, Singh and his co-conspirators continued to discuss and plan the terror attack in India until Singhs arrest in December 2013, the court documents said. PTI YAS CK UZM

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TULSA, Okla. (AP)  A 5-year-old girl is bound for the Scripps National Spelling Bee after becoming the youngest winner of a regional competition in Oklahoma.

Edith Fuller won the Tulsa-area contest by correctly spelling jnana (juh-nah-nuh). Merriam-Webster defines the word as meaning knowledge acquired through meditation in the Hindu tradition.
Months after actress and women's advocate Emma Watson admitted on Instagram to leaving feminist books on the London tube transit system, she's rallying other people across the world to join in on her efforts, in a special event for International Women's Day.

Since midnight New York City time, 40 worldwide "Book Fairies" (as they've been dubbed) have been leaving copies of feminist classics by Gloria Steinem, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Caitlin Moran on public transit systems in the U.K., U.S., Mexico, Italy, Turkey, Japan, Argentina, India, and in more than a dozen other countries.
An Indigo pilot was caught lying about the flight delay to his passengers in order to cover up for his absent co-pilot.

By Press Trust of India: An Indigo pilot faced major embarrassment when he was caught attributing a flight delay to the Air Traffic Controller to "cover up" the absence of his co-pilot.

Following the incident, which took place at Chennai airport last week, the Airports Authority of India raised the issue with IndiGo, asking it not to pass the blame for flight delays "falsely" to the ATC, sources said.

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One of the sources said the incident prompted IndiGo to send an e-mail to its pilots, instructing them to desist from such acts.

The departure of IndiGo flight 6E-859, operating on the Chennai-Madurai route, had already been rescheduled to 1225 hours from 1145 hours, which was conveyed to passengers via text messages.

What happened: The Pilot-in-Command later announced that the flight had been further delayed "because the Air Traffic Controller was not clearing the aircraft for departure", the source told PTI here. However, the commander was "unaware" of the presence of an ATC among the passengers on the plane. "After the pilot attributed the delay to the air traffic management team, the controller called up the Chennai ATC to know the reason for the delay in clearance. But he was told that the PIC had not even asked for a push back from the tower controller," another source said. "The ATC then met the pilot through the flight attendant in the cockpit and found that the co-pilot was not in his seat. The pilot was pulled up by the ATC for making a false announcement, blaming the air traffic management team and maligning the reputation of the fraternity in front of the public," the source said. Later, the commander apologised "unconditionally" for the delay and announced that it was due to the absence of his co-pilot. IndiGo, in a detailed response, said the flight was delayed by three minutes. "Our captain while monitoring ground frequency noticed there was ramp and air congestion prevailing on other aircraft and proactively made an announcement citing the same. "The ATC personnel travelling as a passenger came up and spoke to the captain and our captain made a second announcement," he said. "Having said that we would have appreciated had the said passenger taken up the issue through proper channel instead of intervening with the operating crew before a flight when they need to focus on procedures and safety," he added.

Also read: Air India flight makes emergency landing at Delhi's IGI airport after engineers forgot basic step

Also read: Technical snag in Indigo flight from Mumbai to Delhi was fire

Also read: Jet Airways Goa-Mumbai flight with 161 on board skids off runway, all passengers evacuated

Also watch: Plane hijack: Jet Airways denies held up, says delay due to technical glitch

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The heavy rains may be wiping out California's drought, but they're breeding a different sort of problem. One that's tiny, irritating, and makes a high pitch buzzing sound in your ear.

"Persistent rains require persistent mosquito control," said Jamesina Scott, district manager and research director for Lake County Vector Control, and President of Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California. "We have had a lot of heavy rain and a lot of standing water. Our early season mosquitoes are taking full advantage of it. Mosquito control workers across the state have been inspecting all the standing water that's out there now to find the best control solution."

There are 56 different types of mosquitoes that live in California. Every one has its own season, is own habitat, its own hosts, and ability to transmit disease.

Two types of mosquitoes vector control worries about the most are the Northern house mosquito and western encephalitis mosquito. Both can carry the West Nile Virus.

"What the weather does in the coming months will really determine what type of mosquito season and West Nile virus season we have," Scott said. "Higher temperatures are better for mosquitoes; they are able to reproduce faster.

There are things people across the state can do to cut down on mosquito breeding.

"We're asking residents to take a walk around their yard and look for places water remains and dump that out. Some places are obvious, like buckets and kids' toys," Scott said. "But there are a couple areas people overlook. When rain gutters get clogged they hold water that can produce thousands of mosquitoes. Another place is tarps. When rain falls on those tarps, they hold water, and it's really easy to forget about those."

Vector control is also working hard to figure out just how to control the mosquito population.

"We go out, see which of the mosquitoes we're finding, what's producing that water, and then we look for ways to get rid of that water," said Scott. "We also educate residents, do vegetation management and use microbial and chemical control. We pick which is going to be the best solution for the mosquitoes that are present, so it's case by case."

There are about 65 mosquito and vector control agencies across the state, and their goal is to protect public health by controlling mosquitoes. You can give your local agency a call if you need help getting rid of mosquitoes or standing water on your property.

Kristin Hanes is a frequent contributor to SFGATE. Follow her on Twitter @KristinHanes.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) A two-week-long Indo-Nepal joint military exercise began today at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand with an aim to enhance anti-terror cooperation.

Christened Surya Kiran, it is eleventh such joint exercise between armies of the two countries in boosting counter insurgency operations in mountainous terrain.

The Nepal Army is being represented by the officers and troops of the elite Durga Baksh battalion while Indian side was represented by the Ekta Shakti battalion of the Punjab Regiment of the Army.

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The exercise will help enhance defence co-operation and military relations between the two countries, the Defence Ministry said. PTI MPB SMJ

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Only in the liberal bastion of San Francisco.

A Girl Scout troop made a business-savvy decision in an unlikely partnership with a medical cannabis dispensary to raise money to help city kids pay for college.

Troop 31678 challenged the Apothecarium, located in the Castro on Market Street, to see who could bring in the most donors (not dollars) to the Kindergarten to College (K2C) fund-raising campaign last week. The wager was the losing team would have to bake cookies for the winning team.

The challenge ended Saturday, March 4, and the Girl Scouts won by a landslide, attracting 65 donors while the dispensary had 37. The effort raised $867, for K2C, a city-backed program that encourages families to begin saving for college when their children begin kindergarten.

This means the dispensary will be baking cookies for the Girl Scouts, and this reporter couldn't help but ask, "What kind of cookies will you be baking?"

"If I have anything to do with it, they will be chocolate chip," Eliot Dobris, a spokesperson for the Apothecarium said. "They will be kid-friendly cookies of course. I hope you won't even joke about that."

Troop 31678 has supported K2C for several years. The girls presented S.F. City Treasurer Jose Cisneros with $1,000 made through cookie sales in 2015.

And one of the troop's members, Danielle Lei, made news headlines in February 2014, when she set up a cookie stand outside a pot dispensary and sold 117 boxes in one day.

Danielle and her sister first began selling cookies in front of a dispensary in 2012, and have worked with five dispensaries over the years. The troop co-leader and the girls' mom Carol Lei explained that the dispensaries were appealing sales sites because they weren't located close to where other girls were selling and provided a unique opportunity.

"They were also very welcoming and supportive of the girls' goals," Lei said. "It was a chance for me to take them different areas of the city -- they've sold at Union Square, Financial District, upper and lower Haight, Sunset, Mission Bay, Bayview, Excelsior, South of Market, and other areas around our home, where they've met diverse customers from around the world and different socio-economic backgrounds."

The Apothecarium is happy to work with the Girl Scouts and Dobris said that when Danielle sells cookies in front of the shop they match the number of boxes she sells.

"One of the reasons we love hosting Danielle in front of our dispensary is it's a very clear message that dispensaries are safe," Dobris said. "They're not a threat to the neighborhood. In some neighborhoods dispensaries actually reduce crime."

The Apothecarium doesn't only support the Girl Scouts. Dobris said the business has donated $335,000 to local nonprofits since it opened six years ago.

"We're really proud of it," Dobris said. "Most of the giving has been concentrated in Castro. Now we're looking to expand into new areas."

It's not too late to donate to K2C: Go to the fund-raising page.
On International Women's Day, let us celebrate India's female filmmakers who have tried to bring a new perspective, a new angle to how India, the world and its stories are portrayed on the big screen.

By Devarsi Ghosh: Guys, it is International Women's Day! This day i.e March 8 has its roots in working women's movements that laid claim on equal rights for women. Today, more than a hundred years after the date of March 8 was first observed as International Women's Day, majority of the world's women have obtained universal suffrage, the opportunity to make a living in various fields along with men, and rights over their bodies. Well, almost. The fight is still on in places where these have not been achieved or are in the way of being achieved as of this moment.

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A major tool to bring change in social consciousness among the public is cinema. That cinema all over the world for aeons have been an output of the male gaze, as Laura Mulvey put it, is not news anymore. People, particularly, women have become aware of the existence of the 'male gaze', and today, in India, regressive cinematic elements like item songs and the vile lyrics that go hand-in-hand with these are not tolerated lightly anymore. Today, there is a massive voice out there in India that speaks against the crass or ignorant misrepresentation of women in our films and for that, we cannot thank our female filmmakers enough.

On International Women's Day, let us celebrate India's female filmmakers who have tried to bring a new perspective, a new angle to how India, the world and its stories are portrayed on the big screen.

Zoya Akhtar (Dir: Luck By Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do)

Sure, Zoya was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Daughter of Javed Akhtar and screenwriter Honey Irani and of course, sister of Farhan Akhtar, Zoya entered Bollywood with a bang with her 2009 film Luck By Chance.

The film did not make money but those who were meant to notice immediately understood that an extremely talented writer-director had emerged in their midst. Today, after the commercial successes of ZNMD and DDD, Zoya is one of Bollywood's most sought-after filmmakers.

Geetu Mohandas (Dir: Liar's Dice)

By the time Geetu made her directorial debut, she was already a top actor in Malayalam cinema. In 2013, she released Liar's Dice, that she both wrote and directed. An absolutely fantastic film, Liar's Dice is a gripping road movie with socio-political themes which went on to win two National Awards and even became India's official entry to the 87th Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film Award.

Aparna Sen (Dir: 36 Chowringhee Lane, Mr and Mrs Iyer)

Aparna had an illustrious career as a Bengali movie star and was one of Satyajit Ray's most favourite collaborators. She made her directorial debut with the 1981 film 36 Chowringhee Lane that won her a National Award for Best Director. She went on to make multiple award-winning and critically acclaimed films over the next three-and-a-half decades. Her 2002 film Mr and Mrs Iyer made her popular among pan-Indian audiences. It was this film that brought Aparna's daughter Konkona Sen Sharma to the limelight.

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Anjali Menon (Dir: Bangalore Days)

Anjali Menon is probably contemporary Malayalam cinema's most famous female filmmaker. Her 2015 film Bangalore Days became a phenomenon throughout the South and further accentuated the 'Dulquer Salmaan'-craze across the country. Winner of one National Award and the FIPRESCI prize for her full-feature directorial debut Manjadikuru, Anjali Menon, today, is a name to reckon with.

Sai Paranjpye (Dir: Sparsh, Chasme Buddoor)

Sai Paranjpye made films at a time when there were not many female filmmakers around. Sai was truly one of a kind during her heydays and she made some all-time classics that pushed the envelope in Hindi mainstream cinema. Her treatment of blind characters in Sparsh and that of young, male students and their fantasies in Chashme Buddoor are nothing but inspirational today for not just young filmmakers but also cinema lovers.

Anu Menon (Dir: Waiting)

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Anu Menon made a (relatively) big-budget directorial debut with the 2012 romantic comedy London, Paris, New York. That film pretty much disappeared from public memory but Anu made a powerful comeback with the 2016 film, Waiting.

Waiting was an Alexander Payne-like slice-of-life drama that revolved around the unique relationship between an old man and a young woman who meet in the hospital where they are looking after their respective comatose better-halves. The film was a modest hit and was noted for its writing, direction, acting and music.

Sudha Kongara Prasad (Dir: Iruddhi Suttru / Saala Khadoos)

Like Anu Menon, Sudha Kongara took some time to taste success as a director. Her first screenplay Mitr, My Friend, directed by Revathi won a National Award. As a director, her film Drohi, though interesting in parts, did not work as a whole and consequently fell flat at the box office. However, her 2016 sports drama Iruddhi Suttru (released in Hindi as Saala Khadoos) became one of the year's most acclaimed films and a decent box-office success.

Farah Khan (Dir: Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om)

Farah Khan is the most unique filmmaker in the list because unlike others, her films never had a sociological angle. Neither, did she ever care two hoots for realistic treatments. Her films are full of wacky humour and are more inspired by Manmohan Desai than they are by Satyajit Ray. Farah's first two films Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om are first-rate wholesome entertainers, unlike anything you had ever seen Bollywood make in the last two decades. Her recent work has been bit of a drag but it is never too late to make that one great comeback.

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Gitanjali Rao (Dir: Orange, True Love Story)

Gitanjali Rao is best known for her animated short films. Rao is an illustrator, animator, writer and director who has stuck to what she does best i.e animation and has made a name for herself as a top-notch Indian animated film director. Her film Printed Rainbow won multiple accolades at Cannes 2006.

Mira Nair (Dir: The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding, Salaam Bombay!)

A US-resident, Mira Nair, born in India, has been responsible for making some seminal international films with some of India's best actors. Her 1988 film Salaam Bombay! was a poetic ode to Mumbai's street urchins and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film award at the Oscars. She went on to make such all-time classics as Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake. Her latest film, Queen of Katwe, received mostly positive reviews.

(The writer tweets as @devarsighosh .)

ALSO SEE: 10 sexist ideas from Bollywood that we need to do away with ASAP

ALSO SEE: Katrina to Alia; when feminist-talk spelt trouble for Bollywood

ALSO READ: Men can be feminist too, it isn't about male-bashing, says Sonakshi Sinha

WATCH: What happens when the 'male gaze' turns feminine?

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The internet has given the world many things, but these women have made sure they remain unapologetic and real in whatever they choose to do.

By India Today Web Desk: Of course it's International Women's Day and of course it's the ONLY day women should feel special. Not. But now that we're here, and are discussing women, why not utilise the time and celebrate the existence of these four wonderful ladies who have been a gift from the internet to the world.

1. Mallika Dua: Before she crept into our lives and multiple 'X people you must follow on Snapchat' lists, Mallika Dua was juggling between being a part-time advertising scriptwiter and a full-time dreamer.

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Dua earned a degree in theatre from Franklin and Marshall College, USA before finding a solace in advertising and subsequently, the internet. With her impressive impersonations and inherent sense of humour intact, it didn't take long for Dua to emerge as an internet sensation--and rightly so.

One has so much to thank her for, most importantly for being unapologetically real.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/Mallika Dua

Also Read: Shouldn't you already know what Sonam and Alia are saying about women and sexism?

2. Sumukhi Suresh: You might best remember Sumukhi-Behti Naak-Suresh from the mockumentary internet series, Better Life Foundation, her portrayal of a 10-year-old school girl and for being Mallika Dua's vagina in AIB's latest video, Woman's Best Friends (yes guys, it's exactly how it sounds). Suresh who came from Bengaluru to Mumbai in 2016, has carved a niche for herself in a profession that demands an eternal supply of creativity and one that is quick to rule out those who 'aren't funny'. But being a 'female comic' is the last thing she wants to be.

"I am a comic. I'm working towards being the best in the field, not just in my gender," an interview in Hindustan Times quotes her as saying.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/Sumukhi Suresh

3. Kaneez Surka: One must use her/his weakness to their benefit wherever possible is something Surka has abided by for long. As a child, she didn't receive formal training in Hindi and went on to use her broken skills with the language as a character on Cyrus Broacha's popular show, The Week That Wasn't. Between then and now, Surka has headlined various improvisation workshops, tried her hand at stand-up comedy and has been an overall source of inspiration for many.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/Kaneez Surka

Also Read: 4 outfits Indian women should wear to prevent PCOD, eve-teasing and rapes

4. Nidhi Bisht: Bisht, who's headlining internet giant, The Viral Fever's latest offering Bisht Please! is a creative genius we honestly can't get enough of. The lawyer-turned-filmmaker dons many hats including those of an actor, a casting director and a scriptwriter.

A background in theatre coupled with an inclination towards the creation of original internet content makes Bisht the queen of real stories that have just the right amount of drama and realism.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/Nidhi Bisht Picture courtesy: Instagram/Nidhi Bisht

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A divisive building project adjacent to the MacArthur BART station in Oakland may get the green light Tuesday night during a Oakland City Council meeting.

One of the building's more controversial points is that developer McGrath Properties is planning to place 45 below market-rate apartments in the bottom quarter of the 24-story building, per the East Bay Express. The project is part of the MacArthur Transit Village.

The partitioning of those paying subsidized rents raises the question of whether these tenants will have access to the same amenities and services as those paying market-rate rents on higher floors.

If not, the resulting tenancy for those BMR units may be likened to a practice sometimes referred to as "poor door" planning, or the practice of allowing wealthier tenants benefits and amenities not allowed to those in the more inexpensive apartments. The practice gained recognition after being put into use in New York City in recent years.

The whole of the building's plan has previously "riled" nearby residents; as locals told the San Francisco Chronicle. Some believe the new project will worsen traffic, obstruct views, and contribute to income disparity tensions growing in Oakland.

"It's 'haves' versus 'have-nots,'" said project opponent Eden Brukman, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Appropriate Development last winter. "The people in those luxury apartments would literally be staring down at us."

Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb has requested that affordable apartments be better dispersed throughout the building, a practice that's common in San Francisco. For example, in the case of the Folsom Bay tower at 160 Folsom, 80 of 156 moderate income units (of 391 units total) are planned to be interspersed in townhomes and in the lower 26 of 39 stories. The others will go into two smaller adjacent buildings.

There are, however, more community-friendly benefits to the building. A project labor agreement mandates that McGrath Properties hire at least half local residents, and that they are paid Oakland's minimum wage or higher. Additionally, prospective employees with a criminal conviction will not necessarily be excluded from hiring.

McGrath Properties has not responded to a request for comment.
Even those who are afraid of snakes have to admit this python doesn't look as intimidating as others.

The ball python is covered with markings that resemble smiley face emojis. According to the Daily Mail, the snake, which was found in Georgia, is a lavender albino piebald ball python, which are usually found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Women troopers from the 232 Mahila Battallion of the Central Reserve Police Force stood guard in six Manipur polling booths on International Women's Day.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: Guns on their shoulders, wearing camouflage combat uniforms, and eyes focused on the voters trickling in, women troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) stood guard in six Manipur polling booths on International Women's Day.

These brave women are from the 232 Mahila Battallion. They've led the force from the front in maintaing law and order, and in overseeing the peaceful conduct of elections.

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The troopers were excused from joint patrolling with their male counterparts.

The all-women team has been deployed in three districts: Imphal West, Bishnupur and Jiribam.

ALSO READ | Manipur election: Irom Sharmila takes on CM Okram Ibobi as BJP looks to firm its grip on North East

WATCH VIDEO | Manipur election: Irom Sharmila squares off against three-time Manipur CM Ibobi Singh

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On International Women's Day, Bollywood actors Juhi Chawla, Radhika Apte and Manisha Koirala had interesting things to say about the condition and status of women in the film industry.

By India Today Web Desk: March 8 is celebrated as International Women's Day each year to celebrate the struggle of women to get their rights, fair and square.

In India, one area where women have been slowly bringing sociological change not just by their work but also the influence of that work, is cinema.

Bollywood's finest spoke about the change that they would like to see in regard to women in the film business on International Women's Day.

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Advocating for equal pay for women was actor Manisha Koirala.

Speaking to Pinkvilla.com, Manisha Koirala said, "Actresses are equally important and they are a major part of the film and they should be paid an equal amount. And whoever is demanding an equal pay, is doing a good job. I did a little research on woman issues, and I was a little taken aback to know, that normally pay disparity exists around 11 to 25 per cent, despite same qualifications and the amount of hard work. A boy gets paid 25% more salary just because of the gender. The differences are quite high in two areas - labour class and the film industry. It is high time the actresses demand equal pay."

Echoing her stance was actor Radhika Apte, best known for her work in Badlapur and Phobia.

"Of course, there has to be more equality on that front (wages). In fact, not just gender, there must be equality in everything else too," Radhika told Hindustan Times.

Adding to the discussion was Juhi Chawla who said that even though women might get more opportunities to do interesting things in films, they are still not being respected adequately.

"We are giving our women all the freedom and opportunities, but are we actually respecting them?," Juhi was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times, "Being a part of the movie industry I will speak from the film point of view. Films mirror society and society mirrors films. Our girls today have to wear the tiniest of clothes, they are made to do item numbers and then they are being called item girls. Also the lyrics of our films nowadays are talking about relationship with girls, all about drinking and what not. I find this whole culture shallow."

On that note, Manisha added that regardless of the interesting roles women are getting in Bollywood these days, she would like to see change of a different kind.

"I am still looking forward to the protagonist role where the woman is 40-plus. We still need to do that. We haven't done that yet. We have actresses getting the lead role but they are all young. And we have actors above a particular age getting good roles. But not the other way round." Manisha said.

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These are interesting points raised by all the three women. The question is, is Bollywood listening? They better.

ALSO READ: Virat's sweet message for gf Anushka on Women's Day will make you go aww

ALSO READ: Ram Gopal Varma wishes all women to make men happy like Sunny Leone

WATCH: Six 'womanly' things women are sick of hearing | International Women's Day

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By Manogya Loiwal : Celebrating womanhood on International Women's Day, the students of JD Birla Institute (JDBI) organised a silent rally, from Calcutta Rowing Club (CRC) to their college campus in Lower Rawdon street.

The 6-kilometre silent walk was based on UN's International Women's Day theme for 2017, Be Bold For Change. The rally marked the second of its kind by the college, after 2013.

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"The department of Human Development in the institute organised the rally, based on this year's theme, Be Bold For Change. With this rally, we wanted to create awareness among our children that if they are bold enough, they can conquer almost anything. We hope that one day, we would make India the most beautiful and the greatest country ever," said DR Deepali Singhi, principal of JD Birla Institute.

Also Read: International Women's Day: Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhaskar tell you how much cleavage is 'okay'

Supriya Chturvedi, a student of the institute, said, "We took this step to show the society that all we need is the determination to do what we want. This objective was to put forward the message of women's empowerment. We could do this only because of the support of our college. This was to show that if we all come together, we all can achieve a lot."

The rally was attended not only by the women but also men. "We gathered to walk with the women and let them know that they are not alone. We will support them in their struggle for rights that they have long been deprived of," said Abrati Saha, student of JDBI college.

The walk saw around 500 students holding placards with powerful messages on them. A few of them also dressed up as some famous female torchbearers of the society, including Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi, Jhasi ki Rani and Kiran Bedi.

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The attack on the 400-bed military facility, located near two civilian hospitals in Kabul's heavily-guarded diplomatic quarter, set off clashes with security forces that lasted several hours.

By AP: Gunmen wearing white lab coats stormed a military hospital in Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The attack on the 400-bed military facility, located near two civilian hospitals in Kabul's heavily-guarded diplomatic quarter, set off clashes with security forces that lasted several hours.

The brazen assault reflected the capability of militant groups in Afghanistan to stage large-scale and complex attacks in the heart of Kabul, underscoring the challenges the government continues to face to improve security for ordinary Afghans.

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General Dawlat Waziri, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said there were "more than 30 killed and more than 50 wounded" in the attack. Afghan forces battled the attackers floor by floor, he added. The ministry said the attackers were dressed like health workers.

According to Waziri, four gunmen were involved, including two suicide bombers who detonated their explosives vests once the group was inside the hospital.

SECURITY FORCES KILL ATTACKERS

The two other attackers were shot dead by security forces, the spokesman said. A member of the security forces was killed in the shootout and three other security officers were wounded. Along with the suicide vests, the attackers also had AK-47 rifles and hand grenades, Waziri said.

Obaidullah Barekzai, a lawmaker from southern Uruzgan province, said Wednesday's attack by the Islamic State group and other similar assaults, especially in the capital, are very concerning.

"This is not the first attack by the Islamic States group, they have carried out several bloody attacks in Kabul," he said.

The assault lasted for several hours, with Afghan helicopters circling over the hospital building, troops rappelling onto rooftops and security forces going floor-by-floor in a gunbattle with the attackers. By mid-afternoon, the attack was over and a clean-up operation was underway.

SURVIVOR RECOUNTS ORDEAL

Abdul Qadir, a hospital worker who witnessed the attack, said an attacker in a white coat shot at him and his colleagues. Ghulam Azrat, another survivor, said he escaped through a fourth floor window after attackers killed two of his friends.

IS claimed the attack in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency.

An affiliate of the extremist group has carried out a number of attacks in Afghanistan in the last two years, and has clashed with the more powerful and well-established Taliban, who carried out another complex attack in Kabul last week.

Mohammad Nahim, a restaurant worker in Kabul, said he worries that IS militants are getting stronger. "Daesh has no mercy on the humanity," he added, using an Arabic name for the group.

Afghan security forces have struggled to combat both groups since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to an advisory and counterterrorism role.

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AFGHAN PRESIDENT CONDEMN ATTACK

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned Wednesday's attack during an address in honor of International Women's Day, calling it "an attack on all Afghan people and all Afghan women."

The foreign ministry in neighboring Pakistan condemned the Kabul attack, describing it as a "heinous terrorist attack" and expressing Islamabad's condolences to the victims.

The acting U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, Adele Khodr, warned in a statement that hospitals, medical staff and patients "must never be placed at risk, and under no circumstances be subject to attack" and urged all parties in the conflict to abide by and "respect all medical workers, clinics and hospitals in compliance with international law."

She said that in 2016, at least 41 attacks on health care facilities and workers were recorded across Afghanistan - "an appalling catalogue of attacks that ultimately further hinders delivery of essential and life-saving health care to all Afghans across the country."

Also read:

Kabul: Gunmen disguised as doctors attack military hospital; ISIS claims responsibility

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By Jugal R Purohit: The IED blast that rocked the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train and the subsequent 12-hour encounter with an ISIS suspect in Lucknow on Tuesday, has now fueled apprehensions about the Islamic State's reach in India.

Speaking to India Today on the Lucknow encounter, ISIS' role among other things, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says

ISIS UNSAFE IN INDIA

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ISIS-like ideology is unsafe in India, as our forces are in place to take them on. It has shown itself as an enemy of peace and humanity and we are well positioned to defeat them.

They can succeed anywhere but not here. Our minorities are as nationalistic as anyone else. They haven't succeeded before and they won't ever in the time to come. Earlier the Al-Qaida did not gain much traction and similar will be the fate of ISIS.

REACHING OUT TO MINORITIES

Our Dalits, Muslims and other minorities are being reached out to. Our efforts are on to make them a part of mainstream. Empowering them, providing employment and education and making development possible for them is our goal.

ON INTOLERANCE AND EXTREMISM

Intolerance has no place in this country. Having said so, I do not think there is any aspect of intolerance in India and it is merely an election plank which vanishes as elections come and go. So to say, it contributes to extremism is out of the question. We function by the Constitution and democratic principles.

Also read: Lucknow encounter: Home grown ISIS module was planning big strike. All you need to know

Also read: Lucknow encounter ends, ISIS terror suspect killed: What we know so far

Also read: Bhopal-Ujjain train blast a terrorist attack, says Madhya Pradesh top cop

WATCH VIDEO

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Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a military hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday in which gunmen dressed as doctors slipped into the facility and battled security forces inside the building for several hours.

By Reuters: Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a military hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday in which gunmen dressed as doctors slipped into the facility and battled security forces inside the building for several hours.

A spokesman for the public health ministry said at least three dead and more than 60 wounded had been taken to other hospitals.

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The attack began when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the rear of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital and three attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades entered the complex, security officials said.

The gunmen, dressed as medical personnel, had taken position on upper floors of the hospital and engaged special forces sent to the scene, officials said.

Security forces blocked off the area around the hospital, near a busy traffic intersection and special forces soldiers descended on to the roof of the main building from helicopters. As fighting went on, a second explosion was heard from inside.

'HEAVY FIGHTING'

"Our forces are there and there is heavy fighting," said defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri. He said one attacker had been killed and another two were holding out, while one soldier had been killed and three wounded.

A Taliban spokesman denied responsibility, saying the movement had "no connection" with the attack.

A statement from Islamic State's Amaq News Agency said its fighters had attacked the hospital. The group has mounted several high-profile attacks on civilian targets in Kabul over the past year, including several on prominent Shi'ite targets.

The raid on the hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified U.S. embassy, underlines warnings by government officials that high-profile attacks in Kabul are likely to escalate this year

ATTACK 'TRAMPLED ON ALL HUMAN VALUES'

President Ashraf Ghani said the attack "trampled on all human values".

"In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan," he said in impromptu remarks during a speech for International Women's Day in Kabul.

The NATO-led Resolute Support mission said it was ready to assist Afghan security services.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

Abdul Qadir, a worker at the hospital, told Reuters he saw one gunman dressed in a white doctor's coat take out a concealed AK-47 assault rifle and open fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker.

As the fighting went on, some patients climbed out of the building and could be seen sheltering on window ledges visible from outside the hospital, which treats military casualties from around Afghanistan.

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The attack comes just a week after dozens of people were killed and wounded in coordinated attacks on a police station and an office of the intelligence service in Kabul.

That attack was claimed by the Taliban, who are seeking to expel foreign troops, defeat the U.S.-backed government and reimpose Islamic law after their 2001 ouster.

Away from Kabul, dozens of people have been killed over the past few days in fighting across Afghanistan, from Kunduz and Baghlan in the north to Farah in the southwest and Helmand and Kandahar on the Pakistan border in the south.

ALSO READ | US advises citizens against travelling to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan

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By Press Trust of India: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Mar 8 (PTI) Kansas Governor San Brownback has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing "profound regret" at the terrible act of violence against the Indian nationals last month and said that acts of hate and intolerance have no place in his state.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and Alok Madasani, another Indian of the same age, injured in a shooting by navy veteran Adam Purinton, who yelled "terrorist" and "get out of my country" before opening fire on them in Kansas last month.

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The Kansas incident and the two hate crime incidents against Indians and Indian-Americans since then has sent shock waves among the large Indian community in the US.

"As Governor of the State of Kansas, I would like to express my deep sadness and profound regret at the terrible act of violence committed against Srinu Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani. The people of Kansas share in my shock and horror. Words cannot express the sorrow that we feel for Srinus wife, Sunayana, and his family in Hyderabad," Brownback wrote.

"In the time since Srinus death, we have reflected on his life, and the words I have heard most often to describe him are that he was courageous, and that he loved his family, and that he respected elders. We strive to live in Srinu?s example of courage and love and respect," he wrote in the letter dated March 3, a copy of which has been seen by PTI.

Brownback wrote that Kansans have been awed by Sunayanas grace and determination.

Her indomitable spirit has moved the entire community and they pray for her comfort and peace in this time of grief.

Telling the Prime Minister that open arms of friendship are the very hallmarks of being a Kansan, the Governor said Srinu embodied the essence of what it means to be a Kansan.

"His friends describe him as charming, caring and loving. He brought with him his immense talents and education and passion. His story is similar to the thousands of Indian diaspora who have called Kansas home over generations," he wrote.

"They have enjoyed tremendous success through their ingenuity, hard work, and determination. Our state has thrived because of their contributions," Brownback wrote, adding that he would like to personally welcome Indians to his state.

"Before they moved here, Sunayana said: Kansas was (the) instant choice. We are humbled that this was the case. I would like to personally welcome Indians to Kansas, and assure them that Kansas is a welcoming, hospitable place," he said.

Noting that Sunayana also spoke about being without her family in Kansas, Brownback wrote in the letter that it is their solemn hope that the community in Olathe and all of Kansas may nourish and love her in the difficult months ahead.

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"Acts of hate and intolerance have no place in Kansas. Since our founding, Kansas have fought against injustice and senseless hatred. We are recommitted daily to protecting our family, our neighbors, our guests. We find wisdom and peace in the Sanskrit mantra Satyameva Jayate," Brownback said.

The Governor had met the Indian Consul General Dr Anupam Ray in Topeka and expressed his sincere condolences and reiterated his strong commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment in Kansas. PTI LKJ ZH

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By Devarsi Ghosh: (THIS ARTICLE IS A WORK OF HUMOUR INSPIRED BY RECENT EVENTS AND IS NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.)

Tough, female cop Kangana Ranaut who has had a great run in the last few years battling the Bollywood movie mafia with successful operations like Queen, Tanu Weds Manu and Tanu Weds Manu Returns is suddenly on the backfoot after the failure of Operation Rangoon.

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The very definition of a self-made woman with no godfather or backing in Bollywood, Kangana Ranaut carved her career from scratch sans any sir pe haath. To achieve what she has achieved, she gave her best in absolute senseless duds like Shakalaka Boom Boom where she teamed up with hawaldar Bobby Deol and at the same time, she proved her mettle gunning down the big, bad, Bollywood mafia with projects like Queen whose success sent a shiver down the spine of the Mumbai-nexus of the KJos, the Chopras, the Khans and their minions.

But now, Karan Johar, the kingpin of Mumbai, the Tony Montana of Bandra, the "flag-bearer of nepotism" as Kangana Ranaut calls her, has found Kangana at her weakest post Rangoon. As such, he gave a hard blow to her rising curve recently by saying some nasty things that would make you want to throw that Koffee over his smug, hundred-dollar face.

At a recent event, Karan said that if Kangana has a problem with Bollywood, the hotbed of nepotism that gives birth to such third-rate crooks as Abhishek Bachchan, Tusshar Kapoor and the good-for-nothing Shraddha Kapoor, she might as well leave it!

"You cannot be this victim at every given point of time who has a sad story to tell about how you have been terrorised by the bad world of the industry, leave it," Karan meowed.

Karan went on to add that how he was basically Jesus giving a platform to poor Kangana to speak her views on his show, Koffee With Karan.

"She was my guest and I had to hear what she had to say. She has a right to have an opinion. When she says 'Flag-bearer of Nepotism', I just want to say to her, I am glad she knows what it all means. I don't think she has understood the entire meaning of the term," KJo added.

OPINION: Nepotism exists in Bollywood because film-making is a family business

Then he went on to list the various directors who have worked under him, those who don't come from any film background. Conveniently, he forgot Ayan Mukerji, Dharma's most successful filmmaker and cousin of Kajol. KJo also revealed that he suffers from selective amnesia as he could not remember working with Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan in film after film. Forget that, he is launching Sridevi's daughter Jhanvi and in all likelihood, Saif's daughter Sara Ali Khan as well - two individuals best known for simply existing on Instagram. And of course, KJo had also said that he is going to launch SRK's son Aryan as well, if and when the boy chooses to 'act'.

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Of course, Kangana Ranaut who has made it a mission to break the back of the Bollywood elite is not going to take this quietly. She earlier AK-47ed the arrogance of the world's most original filmmaker Rakesh Roshan (is it a surprise that he backed Anurag Basu and Sanjay Gupta?) and his 43-year-old child Hrithik who cannot walk two steps without his dad. She brought down the Suman crime empire (not that it was an empire to begin with) and today, Shekhar Suman and Adhyayan Suman have been reduced from moving and shaking to taking petty jibes at Kangana on Twitter.

Kangana Ranaut has had a tough time on the streets battling the onslaught of talent-less star-kids who would need ten flops before belting a Neerja or a Kaminey. She has somehow thrived and she will continue too for the simple reason that A. her talent and B. her face has a certain value in the system. So, as long as that is intact, she will continue to engage in major operations to consolidate the power of the deserving over the insecure, potty-mouthed Bollywood elite headed by the worst of them all, Karan Johar.

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If the Bollywood elite has closed its doors on Kangana Ranaut, she has the opportunity to join hands with the rag-tag team of the outsiders a la Anurag bhai and his compatriots. The Arabian Sea will get bloody, the streets of Mumbai will be full of smoke. As kingpin KJo will ask Kangana to say hello to his li'l friend, Kangana will have only one thing to say: Do ya feel lucky, punk?

(The writer tweets as @devarsighosh .)

MOVIE REVIEW: RANGOON

OPINION: Beware, Kangana Ranaut. The Bollywood elite wants to take you down

ALSO READ: I am done with Kangana playing the woman and the victim card, says Karan Johar

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WATCH: KJo lashes out at Kangana, asks her to leave Bollywood

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Southern California venture capitalist John Cox became the first major Republican to jump into the 2018 governors race Tuesday, saying he would reform state government by making it more representative and removing the influence of big money.

There are two Californias  the one we have, and the one we could have. The California we have is in trouble, and we need to do something about it, Cox, 61, said in announcing his campaign via Facebook video.

Cox, who ran for office three times in his native Illinois but never won, joins four Democrats as declared candidates: former Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Treasurer John Chiang, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin. Cox, who has lived in California for eight years, is a resident of Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County.

In 2016 he spent $1 million on a proposed ballot measure that would have required legislators to wear the corporate logos of their top 10 donors when advocating for a measure in the Legislature. It did not qualify.

As he tried to do in 2014, Cox wants to put a measure on the 2018 ballot to create a neighborhood legislature. By dividing current Assembly and Senate districts into smaller pieces so each assembly member represents about 5,000 people and each senator about 10,000 constituents, Cox said it would remove the incentive for legislators to spend an inordinate amount of time fundraising and currying favor with monied interests.

He bristled at the notion that it would betray conservative principles by creating a larger bureaucracy, with hundreds more representatives.

I know thats what my opponents are going to try to say, Cox said in an interview Tuesday, but it actually will save more than $100 million, pointing to a nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office report on a previous neighborhood legislature measure that failed to qualify for the ballot.

Cox faces an uphill battle in a state where only 26 percent of voters are registered Republicans. No Republicans hold statewide office, and Democrats have a supermajority in both houses of the Legislature.

Cox declined to say whether he voted for President Trump, who remains highly unpopular in California, according to recent polls.

I know my opponents will try to tie me to Mr. Trump. I am not Mr. Trump, Cox said. Im analytical, Im policy-oriented. I read five newspapers a day. Im not a reality TV star thats going to insult people. Im going to try to rally people.

He also declined to state his positions on social issues like abortion rights or same-sex marriage. Thats not what Im running on at all, he said.

Still, Cox could give Republicans an opportunity as the Democratic favorites are either consummate insiders or products of the political system. So this gives Republicans a chance to say this is no longer business as usual, said David McCuan, professor of political science at Sonoma State University. But on the downside, their (Republican) politics of usual is called irrelevance at the state level.

Coxs main challenge is that unlike is his Democratic opponents, who have held elective office, Californians have no idea who he is, said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego. And while Cox is wealthy  he has already put $1 million into his campaign  Kousser said, Hes a millionaire, not a billionaire.

Cox said he is not fully self-funding his candidacy. He argued that he is a self-made man who was raised by a single mother and worked two jobs to help put himself through college and law school.

Im not going to apologize for being successful, Cox said.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
San Francisco wants to divest from companies and banks that help finance the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, but doing so could prove financially impossible.

On Tuesday, Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer introduced a resolution calling on city Treasurer Jose Cisneros to add the Dakota Access Pipeline to the list of factors he considers when managing the citys $8 billion portfolio. Around $1.2 billion of that portfolio is invested in companies and institutions that finance the pipeline.

The pipeline construction is a violation of human rights and degradation of the natural environment, Fewer said at Tuesdays Board of Supervisors meeting.

City officials have already expressed their disapproval of the pipeline. In November, the supervisors passed a resolution proclaiming the citys solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in opposition to construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline across the Tribes ancestral lands, waters, resources, and sites of cultural, historical and religious significance.

In late February, a coalition calling itself the SF Defund DAPL Coalition wrote a letter to the supervisors urging the city to disinvest from companies associated with the pipeline.

City funds should not be entrusted to financial institutions that choose to finance projects that threaten the environment, public health, indigenous rights, and human rights, the coalition wrote.

It added that the value of the citys funds is perversely linked to the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline because of its investments with companies like Bank of America that help finance the pipeline.

After that letter went out, Cisneros said he would consider divesting from such companies, but made no promises.

I hear the strong outcry for divestment from institutions financing the Dakota Access Pipeline, he said in a statement. First and foremost, my responsibility is to keep the Citys money safe. I am considering adding financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline to the socially responsible investment matrix when we do our annual update of the screening factors in October.

But making that move could be difficult. The city has an obligation to make sure its investments are secure and yield a profit. That means investing in major institutions that have a proven track record  including some of the very banks that help finance the pipeline. In total, about three dozen banks, including Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and Goldman Sachs, are financing Energy Transfer, the company building the pipeline.

its
HOUSTON -- Peter Thiel, the technology investor and advisor to President Donald Trump, questioned the global push toward restricting carbon emissions as "group think" while speaking Tuesday at an international energy conference here.

"I'm not sure I'm an extreme skeptic of climate change, but I have my doubts about the extreme ways that people try to push it through," he said. "Even if climate change is quite as bad as people think it is, if we group think we're more likely to misdiagnose the problem. Maybe it's methane emissions, and the real problem is eating steak."

The question of how the Trump administration will handle climate change is a central issue for energy companies, as they face the prospect of a shift to a lower carbon economy.

Trump has promised to roll back policies of former President Barack Obama, including his Clean Power Plan, and is considering whether to pull the United States from the Paris climate accord.

Thiel offered little insight on where Trump might ultimately end up on that decision. But as a close associate of the president, who worked on his transition team, he is believed to have his ear on a wide range of issues.

A co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook, Thiel is known for his contrarian points of view and seeking investments missed by mainstream investors. He commented during his talk with Dan Yergin, who leads the annual conference called CERAWeek by IHS Markit, that he was surprised hydraulic fracturing had generated the profits it had considering the degree of competition within the energy space.

"There is not necessarily a link between great innovation and great economic reward," Thiel said.

Like most industries nowadays, energy companies have been nervously trying to figure out what President Donald Trump will mean. Yergin said it was among the first questions he got when talking with attendees in the lead up to this year's event.

The common thinking is Trump's pledge to grow American jobs and reduce regulation should be good news for an oil and gas industry that was hit with climate change regulations during the Obama administration.

Already, Trump has OKd the long delayed Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines and signed executive orders expected to aid fossil fuel production.

"Congress and the White House are going in the right direction, and it's a different direction from what we've seen the last eight years," said Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Association. "Keystone and [Dakota Access] were early signs he's serious about this."

Thiel has become a controversial figure in liberal Silicon Valley for his support of Trump, including a $1.25 million donation to Trump's campaign in October. Critics called on Facebook to remove Thiel from its board of directors, prompting a response from CEO Mark Zuckerberg defending Thiel.

"We care deeply about diversity," Zuckerberg wrote. "That's easy to say when it means standing up for ideas you agree with. It's a lot harder when it means standing up for the rights of people with different viewpoints to say what they care about."

But among the oil and gas executives who dominate CERAWeek, Thiel faced a more politically conservative audience.

Asked about what the Trump administration would mean for the oil and gas industry at the conference Tuesday, Pioneer Natural Resources executive chairman Scott Sheffield said, "Hopefully better than the last eight years."
Katrina Kaif posted a photo of herself chilling on the beach on her Facebook account.

By India Today Web Desk: Katrina Kaif may be busy with her upcoming films, Jagga Jasoos with Ranbir Kapoor and Tiger Zinda Hai with Salman Khan, but the actor makes sure she treats her fans to snippets of her life on social media. Katrina, who is quite active on Facebook, posted a photo of herself in a white swimsuit looking out into the ocean.

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She captioned the picture with a quote by the former President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica. "All my life I've been rowing against the tide. What can I do? It seems I was born that way," she wrote.

Katrina is quite the water baby and has earlier posted pictures of her swimming underwater and posing by the beach in a white mesh swimsuit.

On the work front, it is rumoured that Katrina will star in Salman Khan's home production to be directed by Atul Agnihotri, after she wraps up the Ek Tha Tiger sequel, Tiger Zinda Hai.

SEE PIC: Katrina Kaif's 'romantic' date in England

ALSO READ: Katrina miffed with KJo because of ex-boyfriend Ranbir?

ALSO WATCH: Katrina Kaif at Maldives for the Harper's Bazaar Bride India cover

--- ENDS ---
It would be easy enough to write a French recipe book and stick to the traditions and innovations of Paris, Lyon and Provence. So in her book Provence to Pondicherry (Quadrille, 287 pages, $35) author Tessa Kiros follows the threads of French cuisine out to the countries and cultures of Frances colonial empire, past and present, from Guadeloupe to Vietnam to La Reunion. Going beyond just recipes, Kiros begins each chapter writing about the destination, establishing a strong sense of place  and explaining how the cuisines and ingredients of each make up a tapestry so richly intertwined from so many traditions and cultures around the world. Here are a few small bites from the book.

 Spud Hilton, shilton@sfchronicle.com

La Reunion

We swirl on towards the ancient, extinct volcano with its open crater in the middle  like a switched-off oven on the moon. There must be a million species of flowers and trees out here amongst the gorges, valleys and waterfalls, many of them seemingly untouched by a human hand. We stop at a local fruit market. Bibasse, zatte, jackfruit, mangoes, sapate, lychees, small and sweet Victoria pineapples, passion fruit, palm hearts and papayas  along with chillies, cloves, pink peppercorns and rum.

Pondicherry

I can picture the French here. Under the shade of these beautiful trees drinking chai, showing the locals their favourite dishes. At first glance, it is hard to see any influence left by the French on the food of Pondicherry. After a while though, some distinctions are noticeable: a more subtle combination of spices and chilli, and the use of certain French cooking techniques that lean towards a more delicate plate  loosely labelled as Creole and based on the cooking of South India.

Guadeloupe

I am staring out at the Caribbean waters. Everyone has come out onto this white sand and brought much of their homes with them. They have come with their tables and are setting up card games under the shade of the sea-grape trees. Some are setting their lunch tables out on the beach. Tablecloths and chairs. Pots carried from their houses. People are lighting barbecues. I ask if the food is just for them, or if they are selling. Its just for them: pate en pot, boudin noir, poulet grille, baguette, Callaloo, lambis and soupe des habitants. Showered with creole sauce and fine rums.
Q: 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.

I filed a complaint four months ago and havent heard anything. I also submitted receipts for the shuttle ($82) and extra day of parking ($10). I cant get a response from Wow, and when I try calling, I get a recording that says it doesnt hear anyone on the line and the call is disconnected.

Id 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?

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 wouldnt 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. Ill 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 thats not exactly how it works. Unless you have a specific agreement with an airline representative  preferably in writing  Wows contract with you is fulfilled when you land. You accepted its return flight, and thats it. In other words, the airline is probably ignoring you because it has nothing to say. Still, thats 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 airlines 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 EU261  requires that airlines compensate passengers when theres a lengthy delay. Under EU261, you could be entitled to 250 euros (about $265) 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. Find travel tips at www.elliott.org. Email: chris@elliott.org Twitter: @elliottdotorg
BAIDOA, Somalia  Visibly shocked by the suffering of malnourished Somalis and cholera victims during an emergency visit, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged international support to alleviate Somalias worsening hunger crisis.

Every single person we have seen is a personal story of tremendous suffering. There is no way to describe it, Guterres said after seeing skeletal men, women and children in a cholera ward in Baidoa, 151 miles northwest of the capital, Mogadishu.

Somalias prolonged drought has caused widespread hunger, and the shortage of clean water has resulted in cholera.

On his first field trip since becoming the U.N. chief, Guterres said Somalias famine crisis requires a massive response. He said 6 million people, or almost half of the countrys population, need assistance.

People are dying. The world must act now to stop this, he tweeted on his arrival in this Horn of Africa nation.

We need to make as much noise as possible, Guterres said. Conflict, drought, climate change, disease, cholera. The combination is a nightmare.

In Baidoas cholera wards, adults and children had sunken eyes and protruding ribs. Because of the cholera-induced diarrhea, medical workers sprayed the wards with chlorine to disinfect the areas.

Guterres also visited a camp with hundreds of families displaced by the drought and Somalias battle against the Islamic extremists of al-Shabab. He saw hungry families seeking shelter under flimsy plastic.

I have nothing. This is not a shelter, we barely get any food here and we have no protection. Its not safe, I am suffering, said 34-year-old Deira Mohamed Nor, with her 10-month-old baby girl Dahiro Ishaak Hussein, who is sick with malaria. Nor said she recently lost one of her children to diarrhea.

Guterres said he was moved by the misery.

It makes me feel extremely unhappy with the fact that in todays world, with the ... the richness that exists, that these things are still possible. It is unbelievable, Guterres said. He wore personal protection armor and was surrounded by African Union peacekeepers and bodyguards to protect against possible suicide bombings and attacks by the extremists who plague Somalia.

Khaled Kazziha is an Associated Press writer.
LA CARMELITA, Colombia  Amid the makeshift tents and communal kitchens where Colombias largest rebel army is preparing to lay down its weapons, a new sound is emerging: the cries of babies.

Playpens and strollers rest on the bare dirt ground next to assault rifles. Young mothers change diapers while their guerrilla comrades carry wood planks across fields of mud. Fathers still dressed in fatigues shake rattles and lift their giggling infants playfully into the air.

For decades, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) kept such strict control over its fighters reproductive rights that female guerrillas who became pregnant were forced to leave newborns with relatives or even abort. The practice flew in the face of the rebels claim that by enrolling female warriors they were freeing women from traditional gender roles that restricted their choices, and it angered many in this devoutly Roman Catholic country.

But in the last year, as the FARC and government reached an agreement to end Latin Americas longest-running armed conflict, those stringent battlefield rules have loosened. The result is a veritable baby boom, which has struck a chord even among urban Colombians far removed from the conflict, a few of whom have mobilized to transport diapers and creams to the new mothers after seeing images of sweltering infants on cots in the rural encampments.

It wasnt seen as viable for us to have children, because why is someone going to have them when there are bullets flying around? said Jerly Suarez, 29. She gave birth shortly before the FARC began its march to one of the 26 demobilization zones.

Among the 7,000 guerrillas gathered at the demobilization zones across the country, 114 women are pregnant and 77 babies have been born recently, according to the government. Dozens of other older children who had been left with relatives during the conflict have also arrived. That has injected a sense of optimism into camps where war-hardened rebels are beginning their transition to civilian life.

Many are referring to the babies as the children of peace.

I think in some ways these children symbolize the hope of a country that needs peace and reconciliation, said Carlos Antonio Lozada, a member of the FARCs ruling secretariat who is awaiting a child of his own with a fellow combatant.

In Bogota, Diana Rodriguez and a group of wealthy young women moved by the tales of guerrilla moms struggling to provide for their children got together to send backpacks filled with basic products for newborns like soap, diapers and moisturizing creams.

Alba Tobella is an Associated Press writer.
MOSUL, Iraq  The antiquities museum in the Iraqi city of Mosul is in ruins, with exhibition halls housing piles of rubble and the basement filled with ankle-deep drifts of ash.

Associated Press reporters were granted rare access to the museum on Wednesday after Iraqi forces retook it from the Islamic State group earlier this week.

They saw the jagged remains of what appeared to have been an ancient Assyrian bull statue and fragments from cuneiform tablets. The museum once housed Mesopotamian artifacts dating back thousands of years.

Islamic State captured Mosul in 2014 and released a video the following year showing fighters smashing artifacts in the museum with sledgehammers and power tools. The extremists view ancient artifacts as idols.

Iraqi officials at the time said most of what the militants destroyed were copies, as much of the museums inventory had been moved to Baghdad for safekeeping.

Federal Police Cpl. Abbas Muhammad said he was one of the first to enter the building after it was retaken from Islamic State.

Daesh came to Iraq to destroy our heritage because they dont have their own, he said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.

The territory Islamic State overran in Syria and Iraq is home to some of the regions most important historical sites and monuments.

Over the past 2 years, the militants have systematically destroyed ancient palaces, temples and churches. They have even demolished some mosques, saying they were used to venerate saints, which Islamic State considers a form of polytheism.

The extremist group is also believed to have looted ancient artifacts in order to sell them on the black market to finance its operations.

A handful of history books remained in the main entryway of the museum beside a bag of placards from old exhibits.

They describe flint objects found in Nineveh dating back to about 4000 B.C., copper oil lamps discovered in Ur dating back to 2600 B.C. and Sumerian statues dating back to 2050 B.C.

Mosul is the heart of Iraqi civilization, said Federal Police Maj. Muhammad al-Jabouri, a Mosul native from a nearby neighborhood.

When I heard how Daesh destroyed this place, he said as his eyes filled with tears. Death would have been a greater mercy for me.

Also Wednesday, Iraqs prime minister vowed to continue targeting militants in neighboring countries, as Iraqi forces did last month with air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria.

Addressing a forum in the autonomous Kurdish region, Haider al-Abadi said he will not hesitate to target terrorism positions that pose a threat to Iraq from inside neighboring countries.

Susannah George is an Associated Press writer.
The Treasury's ability to closely monitor the largest and most complex government projects is stretched as demand for greater oversight from public sector agencies expands.

Speaking to Parliament's finance and expenditure select committee, Treasury deputy secretary of budget and public services Struan Little confirmed it was getting tougher to keep on top of the growing number of major projects that demand extra supervision. The government's financial adviser has 53 major projects on its watch, up from just nine when the current administration took office in late 2008.

The committee was hearing submissions on the Office of the Auditor-General's report 'Using Gateway reviews to support public sector projects', which found the independent reviews had helped specific projects, but that more could be done to share any lessons found across the wider public sector, something Little said the Treasury was trying to do. Gateway reviews are independent and confidential peer reviews that seek to get a project over the line and rate their chance of success rather than an audit.

Labour Party finance spokesman Grant Robertson questioned how the reviews fit into the wider suite of oversight tools the Treasury uses to monitor major projects and noted the department's briefing to the incoming minister flagged the need for a ministerial decision on reducing the number of major projects under its watch.

The Treasury's Little said demand for some of those reviews had been rising. With a broader array of projects, "inevitably we are stretched" with an "almost inexhaustible line of projects we could look at". That meant the department has to apply "judgment in terms of applying ... resources."

Last year when he was still finance minister, Bill English scaled back the number of major project reports published annually by the Treasury to one full report and two high-level updates from what had been three reports, in an effort to cut costs.

The gateway reviews cost $75,000 apiece and because the agencies undertaking the work are charged, the Treasury covers its costs once 25 are done in a year. Since they were introduced in 2008, more than 180 have been completed on 80 projects, with a total value of some $42 billion and involving 40 agencies,

Treasury investment asset management performance manager Ricky Utting told the committee that demand for the reviews had "gone through the roof", with between 35 and 45 likely to happen this year, compared to the usual 20-to-30. It is bringing in short-term resource to help cover the shortfall.

"There's a real demand for this - part of it's that we're victims of our own success in trying to promote these tools in the system," Utting said.

A cost-benefit analysis hadn't been done for the New Zealand gateway reviews, but UK analysis had found cost savings of between 2 percent and 4 percent. Green Party co-leader James Shaw questioned why that value hadn't prompted Treasury to scale up its coverage of major projects, to which Little said it was down to ministerial priorities.

"There's opportunities throughout our business. If the government wants to invest more, we could do more," Little said.

When asked by NZ First leader Winston Peters whether the wrong people were running the major projects in the first place, Little said the public sector's commercial skills had traditionally been weak, especially in contract management and procurement.

Utting said there were efforts across government to raise the capability of the public sector, which should lift performance and capability. However, procurement was one of several areas suffering from a national skills shortage, he said.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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NZX has appointed Richard Bodman as a director, replacing Alison Gerry who has resigned after five years on the board.

Bodman has 25 years' experience in the financial services sector, having worked at FNZC (previously First NZ Capital) for 17 years, and is currently an independent director of Forsyth Barr Custodians and Forsyth Barr Cash Management Nominees. He will join the board from April 11, but will retire and offer himself for election by shareholders at the stock market operator's annual meeting.

Gerry, who has served as a director since February 2012, was chair of NZX's wholly owned subsidiary, New Zealand Clearing and Depository Corporation, and a member of its regulatory governance and human resource committees. She has stepped down due to responsibilities she has with Spark New Zealand and Wellington International Airport, NZX said.

"I have been impressed by the strength of Alisons contribution to the board serving NZX through an exciting, but challenging period, and want to extend a personal thanks for her wise counsel and dedicated service," chairman James Miller said. "Alison is an exceptional talent, with her skills now recognised by New Zealands highest quality companies. Alison leaves a passionate member of NZXs alumni network and we wish her all the best with her new director responsibilities."

Miller said the board wanted a director with deep experience in capital markets, funds management and clearing, a skill-set provided by Gerry, and Bodman's appointment will ensure continuity in the role.

"The board are focused on ensuring we have a well-balanced set of governance skills and experience that is aligned to NZXs strategic priorities, and Richards appointment reflects this," Miller said. "NZX plays a critical role in supporting the development of New Zealands capital markets and I am confident that Richard will make a valuable contribution to our business and the markets network. We look forward to welcoming him to the board and the NZX team."

NZX shares last traded at $1.11 and have gained 17 percent over the past 12 months.

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New Zealand shares rose in a trading day that started late because of a technical glitch at the exchange. Chorus, Comvita and Contact Energy gained while Property for Industry dropped.

The S&P/NZX50 Index gained 10.6 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,178.23. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 16 fell and eight were unchanged. Turnover was $150 million.

The stock market opened late after IT connection problems caused an hour-and-a-half delay. The late start was due to problems in Wellington-based NZX's trading system and FIX gateway connections.

Chorus led the index, up 2.8 percent to $4.02. It beat first-half profit expectations and raised its forecast for annual earnings in February, although the shares dropped back after the result, having gained ahead of that.

"It has basically just made back everything they've lost since February, the result looking back was not outstanding," said Greg Easton, investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. "Their performance has been okay but it's not a company that's going to provide a lot of growth. It's going to have to maintain a very steady dividend to remain attractive."

Comvita rose 2.6 percent to $7.80 and Contact Energy gained 1.9 percent to $4.91.

Vista Group International advanced 1.7 percent to $5.55. It expects to generate "meaningful revenue" for its Movio analytics division after signing US cinema advertiser Screenvision Direct as a customer. The deal boosts Movio's market share of onscreen advertising, with Screenvision operating programmes across 15,000 screens in 2,400 US theatres.

Restaurant Brands gained 0.6 percent to $5.39. It has changed its corporate structure, splitting into three regional operating divisions following its acquisition of the largest fast-food operator in Hawaii. In April 2016, it bought the biggest KFC franchisee in New South Wales, Australia. These acquisitions have transformed the business into a more complex international company, which it expects to accelerate when it pursues future growth options, it said.

Property for Industry was the worst performer, down 1.3 percent to $1.58, while A2 Milk dropped 1.2 percent to $2.43.

Outside the benchmark index, New Zealand Oil & Gas was unchanged at 62.5 cents. The Wellington-based company plans to return $100 million of the $168 million it reaped on the sale of its stake in the Kupe oil and gas fields through a court-approved share cancellation. It signalled the payment when it sold the Kupe investment, and today said it will do so via a scheme of arrangement to cancel one out of every two shares for a payment of 62.7 cents per share. Part-paid shares issued as part of NZOG's employee share scheme won't participate in the capital return.

ASX-listed Downer EDI dipped 0.07 percent to $7.205. The Australian-based infrastructure and mining firm will become New Zealand's second biggest 'vertical' construction company after Fletcher Building with the acquisition of Hawkins from the McConnell family. The company said today it has agreed to acquire Hawkins with a settlement date of March 31 but didn't give a price, which was likely in a range of A$50 million to AS$100 million. Fletcher fell 1.1 percent to $9.52.

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Assuring utmost safety and speedy justice to the victims, Vijayan said strict action will be taken against sex offenders.

By India Today Web Desk: While Kerala government has been at the receiving end of criticism for the spate of increasing sexual violence against women in the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today took to Facebook to express the state's stand on the incidents.

The state government was criticised widely following the recent incidents of alleged sexual abuse of seven children at Kalpetta, death of two minor girls in Walayar and rape of a teenage girl by a catholic priest. The Congress-led UDF opposition condemned the incidents and attributed the rise in such incidents to police inaction.

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Assuring utmost safety and speedy justice to the victims, Vijayan said strict action will be taken against sex offenders.

"The Kerala state government understands the gravity of sexual violence perpetrated against young girls and women in the state. The police will ensure stringent action against perpetrators of such crimes. Persons responsible for such crimes will be brought before the law and subjected to severe punishment. Anyone justifying paedophilia cannot be considered any less than a criminal. Anybody touching children in a sexual manner is a criminal and those supporting such acts are equally culpable of the crime and do not deserve any kind of consideration," Pinarayi said in his Facebook post written in Malayalam.

"We will take stern measures to ensure safety of women. Police stations across the state will maintain a list of sex offenders. Top police officials from each district have been directed to prepare a database of sex offenders in the past 10 years. Those responsible for the deaths of the Walayar sisters will not be spared. They will be brought to justice and given harshest punishment," he added.

Kerala CM's Facebook post.

Earlier today, while replying to the notice for an adjournment motion moved by the UDF, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was taking the incidents very seriously and was committed to bring the accused before law. The CM also rejected the opposition's charge that the police was inactive.

SEXUAL CRIMES ON THE RISE

Vijayan said that the post-mortem reports of the two minor sisters who were found hanging in their residence in Walayar revealed that they were sexually exploited. An offence have been registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 376 (rape) of IPC.

In another shocking incident, a catholic priest from Kottiyoor allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl following which she gave birth to a child. The prime accused identified as Fr Robin, who was allegedly trying to flee to Canada, was arrested from near Nedumbassery airport in Kochi.

On the recent alleged abduction and attack on a film actress in Kochi, the chief minister said that the probe was moving in the right direction. Describing the rape of seven minor girls of an orphanage at Kalpetta in Wynad as "unfortunate", he said six accused had been arrested and charged under various sections, including rape and also the POCSO Act.

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CONGRESS SLAMS GOVERNMENT

Earlier, seeking notice for adjournment, K Muraleedharan from the Congress alleged that a lack of police vigilance led to increasing crimes against women and children after the LDF came to power. He also expressed anguish that the House was discussing such an issue on the International Women's Day.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said despite Kerala claiming to be 100 per cent literate, there were an increasing cases of sexual assaults against women and children. The opposition members, including the Kerala Congress (M) and the BJP staged a walkout after the government disallowed a discussion on the matter.

Also read:

'Kerala priest raped, because temptations', church-backed magazine resorts to victim blaming

7 minor girls in Kerala orphanage raped for 2 months

Father rapes his 16-year-old lesbian daughter to prove "sex was better with men"

--- ENDS ---
By Revathi Rajeevan: In yet another incident of moral policing, a group of Shiv Sena activists today threatened and manhandled couples who were sitting at Marine Drive in Kochi.

The motley group of Shiv Sena supporters wielding canes held a march across Marine Drive. In a video that went viral, activists were seen threatening and chasing away couples who were sitting.

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Incidentally, all this took place in the presence of policemen. The group were marching with banners that said 'Stop crime against girls'. One of the bannerss read, "love under umbrellas must be stopped."

The activists also hurled abuses at the couples to the shock of the citizens who were mortified by the sight. Eyewitnesses told local media that the group leader was seen brandishing a cane at unaware couples.

Following the incident, six men belonging to Shiv Sena were arrested under non-bailable offences. Sources said that the group had not taken permission to hold the protest at Marine Drive today.

An Ernakulam central sub-inspector was suspended pending investigation.

Ironically, on the occasion of Women's Day, chairperson of Shiv Sena's youth wing tweeted endorsing independence and the right of choice for women.

Aditya Thackeray's tweets on Women's Day.

Youngsters have come forward against the incident and are likely to carry out a 'Kiss of Love' protest in Kochi on Thursday.

In 2014, an incident of moral policing triggered a massive outrage following which youngsters carried out a massive Kiss of Love protest. The protest was marred with violence as several political factions like Shiv Sena and Hanuman Sena vehemently opposed it.

Also read:

Kerala moral police: Why Valentine's Day turned tragic for Aneesh in Kollam

Kerala: Victim of moral policing on Valentine's Day found hanging dead outside house in Kollam

WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Somnath (Guj), Mar 8 (PTI) Former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel was today reappointed as chairman of the Somnath Temple Trust for a year.

The decision was taken in a meeting held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Somnath temple office in Gujarats Gir-Somnath district today.

Modi, who is one of the trustees, performed puja at the Somnath temple today. He then attended the meeting of the temple trustees.

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Veteran BJP leader L K Advani and partys national president Amit Shah were also present in the meeting in the capacity as trustees.

"During the meeting, all the trustees agreed to reappoint Keshubhai Patel as the trusts Chairman for 2017. The proposal for this was put forward by PM Modi while Advaniji supported it," trustee-secretary P K Lahiri told reporters after the meeting.

According to him, Modi spent about 20 minutes more than the scheduled time for the meeting and discussed various issues related to development of the place of pilgrimage.

"Under the Central governments PRASAD scheme, we intend to build a facilitation centre for large number of tourists who come here from across the country. The Centre has also given its nod for three projects of solid waste management," Lahiri said.

PRASAD is a National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive launched by the Central government.

During the meeting, a discussion was also held on setting up a high-tech museum and building a walk way along the sea shore near Somnath temple.

"We have discussed about a project to build a walk way along with sea shore near Somnath to enable people to have a peaceful stroll. The Centre would give approval to the project after it gets environmental clearance," he said.

"The trustees also discussed a project to set up a virtual reality museum," Lahiri added. PTI PJT PD GK RDS

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Kanpur (UP), Mar 8 (PTI) "A traitor cannot be my son, straight and simple," said Sartaj about Saifullah, a suspected ISIS terrorist who was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police today.

Feeling ashamed of his sons activities, Sartaj refused to take Saifullahs body, saying, "A traitor cannot be related to me, let alone be my son."

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He said he would have handed over his son to the police if he had even "an iota of inkling" about his activities.

Saifullah, suspected to be self-proclaimed ISIS activist, was killed in Lucknow this morning in an exchange of fire with the police after a 12-hour stand-off. He was allegedly linked to the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said.

"My child has done a wrong thing and I have regrets for it...I would have handed him over to the police had I even an iota of inkling about it...The entire world would have seen and noticed how a father could put his own son in police hands," Sartaj told reporters.

"There is no need to hide a disease, else it becomes an incurable wound," Sartaj told reporters.

"We are Indian citizens. I was born here, my ancestors were born here," he said, adding, "Almost everyone in the family is sad. But it is more shame than sadness for what he has done." He said even his neighbours are wondering as to how this could have happened to a son belonging to a decent family. On his decision not to take the body, he said he was not concerned about what relatives would say.

Sartaj said he had heard this morning about the death of his son in the encounter.

He said Saifullah had left home about two-and-a-half months back after he beat him up for not finding work and not listening to him. Since then, he was not aware of his sons whereabouts, he said.

"On Monday, I got a call from Saifullah, who told me that he had got a visa to visit Saudi (Arabia) and he was preparing to go there. I told him go ahead," the father said.

When asked whether he had any regret for not taking proper care of his son, Sartaj said he feels he could have kept a better watch and saved him from all this.

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Sartaj said after Saifullah left home, he was concerned but felt that he will return on his own as he was angry with him.

On Saifullahs mother, who is not alive, Sartaj said she would have been really pained. "It seems that she is not alive to see this bad day...If she had stopped him from moving out of the house he would not have left," he added. On police seeking mediation of his other son Khalid to make Saifullah surrender, Sartaj said he has been told about it and that the conversation lasted for one hour but the voice on the other side was not clear.

Confirming that Sartaj had refused to take the body, Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said the police may again make an attempt to convince the family about it.

Meanwhile, the father of two other men, who have been arrested on terror-related charges, has claimed that they were innocent and has sought a fair probe. PTI ZIR SAB SMI ADS AKK AKK

--- ENDS ---
An ISIS flag, eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train time table were found along with the suspect's body.

Huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the house where the terror suspect was hiding in Lucknow's Thakurganj

By India Today Web Desk: It took security forces more than 11 hours to neutralise a terror suspect hiding at a house in Haji Colony of Lucknow's Thakurganj area. Sources said the house belonged to one Badshah Khan, resident of Malihabad, and the suspect had been living there with two others for the past couple of months. They posed as students and did not mingle with the neighbours

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An ISIS flag, eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train time table were found along with the suspect's body.

Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), which conducted the operation, claimed that Saifullah was an active member of ISIS. Police have launched a massive manhunt to nab Saifullah's roommates. Six suspects were arrested from across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday following a blast in Ujjain-Bhopal Express in which 10 people were injured. Intelligence inputs pointed out that more ISIS suspects could be at large and that they are planning something big.

An ISIS flag was also recovered from Saifullah's room.

TERROR SUSPECTS MET ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Sources told India Today that Saifullah and other suspects were linked to a home grown, self radicalised group inspired by ISIS owing allegiance to its elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Six suspects nabbed in UP and MP were active on social media and were in regular touch with ISIS handlers.

Their chats were monitored. Like in previous cases, encrypted chat sites and rooms, were used to hoodwink investigators.

Suspects, as reported earlier, got indoctrinated by regularly visiting ISIS linked social media sites. None had ever stepped out of India.

How people in two states (Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh) met and planned the attack, is still being probed. It could be possible that they met in an online chat room.

Standard explosives metal pipe and locally procured urea were used the bomb that went off in a train in Ujjain.

HOW RECRUITMENT HAPPENS VIA CHAT SITE

One Shafi Amrar is said to be the self appointed amir of Junud-Al Khalifa-e-Hind (soldiers of Indian Caliphate) and Abu Sulemain are chief recruiters or 'motivators' for ISIS.

Amrar, a fugitive, was first associated with the Indian Mujahideen and then joined the ISIS. Sultan Amrar, his elder brother, too had joined ISIS but was killed in a drone strike. Amrar is based in Raqqa, Syria.

In the past, NIA has seen Shafi Amrar recruiting, motivating people to join Islamic State. Unconfirmed reports say Shafi too was killed in a drone strike in April 2016.

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WATCH: How youth of India have been lured by terror outfit ISIS in recent times

ALSO READ:

Lucknow encounter ends, ISIS terror suspect killed: What we know so far

Pakistan's ISI planning fresh attack on India in 2017: Agencies

ISI killed two Indians over failed train derailment plan, recorded audio of murders

--- ENDS ---
Saifullah's father Sartaj said that what his son did was "not in the country's interest". "We will not accept the body of an anti-national," he said.

By Atir Khan: At least for an hour suspected terrorist Saifullah's brother and Uttar Pradesh Police tried to make him surrender even as he was hiding in a house in Haji Colony of Lucknow's Thakurganj area.

The invocation of Prophet Mohammad did not deter him to drop the gun. He was finally gunned down following a 12-hour siege and anti-terror operation that ended today morning.

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His father Sartaj said the family will not take accept the body of an "anti-national". "He left home two months ago after I had beaten him up for not working. Last Monday he called me up and said he is going to Saudi Arabia," he said.

Sartaj said that what his son did was "not in the country's interest". "We will not accept the body of an anti-national," he said.

Top sources in the Uttar Pradesh Police told India Today that what Saifullah and his associates were planning was nothing less than "disastrous." A senior police officer said the plans if executed would have been "catastrophic".

SAIFULLAH WAS ADAMANT

All possible efforts were made by police to dissuade Saifullah but sources said he was adamant despite his family's intervention.

When Saifullah did not surrender despite persuasion by police, a meeting took place between top officers of the Uttar Pradesh Police to chalk out a strategy to discourage him from resisting security forces.

Police by then had managed to identify Saifullah's relatives and decided to rope them in to talk him into surrendering.

Senior police officers opened channels of communication and made his Kanpur-based brother Khalid speak to him for at least one hour.

Saifullah, however, was not receptive; rather he was hostile and did not respond. He was "screaming that he wanted to die".

FOCUS ON STUDIES, SAID FATHER

His brother Khalid then tried to bring in their father Sartaj to talk to him. Sartaj was in tears and tried his best to convince him but in vain. He told Saifullah that he should devote himself to studies and not terror activities.

At one point, his brother Khalid invoked Prophet Mohammad and asked Saifullah to give up in the name of Prophet. Saifullah, however, was not prepared to listen to anything. Officers said he was indoctrinated to a point where family members found it impossible to make him see the other side.

"His family members were shattered when they discovered that someone who had spent his childhood and best years of his life with them was not willing to listen to them at all," said a senior police officer.

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ISIS INCREASING PRESENCE IN INDIA

When the family members failed to dissuade him, police launched a full-scale operation to eliminate him, a senior police officer said.

The Lucknow encounter shows that ISIS, which has so far asked Muslim youth to join them in the fight in Syria and Iraq, is now increasing its footprint in India with its Khorasan module .

After receiving a tip-off from police in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh police swooped down on Saifulla's hideout.

WHAT HAPPENED ON GROUND ZERO

Police drilled holes and used fiber-optic cameras to monitor his movement. They fired tear gas and chilly shells to force him out of the house.

ATS commandos issued a warning and stormed inside the house. Saifullah opened fire and in retaliation ATS commandos started firing.

The rooms were searched, and Saifullah was found dead. The commandos saw a wire wrapped around his stomach, possibly to carry out a fidayeen attack.

The UP police wanted to catch him alive as his interrogation could have shed light on the ISIS' Khorasan module, its plans and its sympathisers. Large cache of arms and ammunition, explosives, maps, ISIS flags were seized from the hideout.

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WATCH: Lucknow encounter: Know Saifullah, the killed ISIS suspect

ALSO READ:

Lucknow siege: How 4 states - UP, Telangana, MP, Kerala - worked together to bust ISIS Khurasan module

Lucknow encounter: Home grown ISIS Khorasan module was planning big strike. All you need to know

ISIS will meet al-Qaeda's fate in India, it will flop: Union Minister MA Naqvi to India Today

--- ENDS ---
Eduardo Morales was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for what the judge called a "planned assassination" of a man in South Beach.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In a letter read in court Wednesday, a woman who is the mother of murder victim Marco Huallpa Aguirre's children asked a judge for justice in imposing sentence on the killer.

And justice in the form of the maximum sentence of 25 years to life behind bars came swiftly for the defendant, Eduardo Morales, who slayed Aguirre two years ago in South Beach.

"The overwhelming circumstantial evidence shows the victim's death was a planned assassination," said Justice William E. Garnett.

The goateed Morales, 25, sat expressionless at the defense table as a Spanish interpreter translated the judge's words for him.

Moments earlier, Morales told the court he plans to appeal the verdict.

Last month, a jury in state Supreme Court, St. George, convicted Morales, of Brooklyn, of second-degree murder in the death of Aguirre, 46, on Jan. 20, 2015.

Special prosecutors Jennifer Tubridy and James Evangelou told jurors Morales had gunned down the victim, a Queens resident, inside Aguirre's vehicle on Sand Lane near Cedar Avenue.

Prosecutors did not provide a motive for the slaying, nor are they required to.

However, sources familiar with the case previously told the Advance Morales was believed to be an enforcer for a rival prostitution crew, and he killed the victim over a territory dispute.

Aguirre had dropped off a female prostitute before he was slain, investigators have said. Prosecutors could not locate the woman for trial.

The defendant did not take the stand.

A key prosecution witness, Jesus Aguilar, testified the defendant, who he knew as "El Rubio," had phoned him shortly before the 10 p.m. slaying and asked to be picked up at Sand Lane and Cedar Avenue.

Aguilar testified Morales entered his Honda CRV holding a gun, and he drove the defendant to Brooklyn. Morales paid him $50 for tolls and gas, he said.

The defense contended Aguilar was a liar who admitted to initially fabricating a story to police.

Prosecutors said Aguilar was afraid, at first, of getting himself and Morales in trouble, but told the truth once he realized he was being quizzed about the South Beach murder.

Perhaps the most damaging piece of evidence was the murder weapon, a .380-caliber Bersa handgun.

Cops found it in Morales' possession when they arrested him three days later on Jan. 23, 2015, in Jackson Heights, Queens, said Tubridy.

Ballistics tests showed the gun fired the bullets and shell casings found at the crime scene, she said.

Even so, defense attorney Manuel Ortega contended that Morales' having the gun in his possession after the crime didn't prove the defendant had shot the victim.

He said no witness had come into court and identified Morales as the shooter.

At Wednesday's sentencing, Tubridy told the court the victim was working to support three young daughters who remained with family in Peru.

"This was a young life that did not need to be taken away," she said.

In her translated letter to the court, Lisa Mallo, the mother of Aguirre's children, said she was "going through very bad things" due to the victim's death.

"This man is guilty of the suffering of my whole family," she said, referring to Morales.

Ortega, Morales's lawyer, told the court his client has a common-law wife and two children who also are suffering.

"I'm asking Your Honor to temper justice with mercy," he said.

The maximum sentence doesn't put a lid on Morales' legal troubles.

He's also accused of committing three separate burglaries - two in Pleasant Plains and one in Concord - between Nov. 11 and Nov. 24, 2014.

In addition, he was charged in a brazen home invasion in Huguenot on Dec. 11, 2014, and an armed robbery on Jan. 19, 2015.

Those cases are pending in state Supreme Court, St. George, and both sides will return to court on April 5 for a conference.

Morales also has a weapon-possession case pending in Queens state Supreme Court, stemming from his arrest on Jan. 23, 2015, in that borough.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Jen Senko isn't worried about protests when she risks rubbing NYC's reddest borough the wrong way Thursday night: "But I don't want them throwing anything at me."

The filmmaker's critically acclaimed documentary, The Brainwashing of My Dad, screens at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Aspect Ratio Film Festival at ETG Book Store Cafe, 208 Bay St. in Tompkinsville.

Narrated by Matthew Modine (Stranger Things) and featuring animation by Oscar nominee Bill Plympton, the film examines the "rise and powerful influence of right-wing media" through the lens of her own father.

Formerly an open-minded, non-political Democrat, he became a "radicalized right-wing fanatic" after discovering talk radio on a lengthened commute to work, a shift which Senko reports is happening in families across America.

By a process of six degrees ("maybe even five degrees") of separation, Senko says she discovered, "This is a phenomenon: If I talked to five people, one of them knew someone who was changed completely by right-wing media. Not just beliefs changed but personality, much like in cults. The person becomes angry, kind of obsessed and fearful. But the biggest one is anger. It becomes all of who they are."

That's when what started as a personal story morphed into a larger project.

"I saw the writing on the wall and felt nobody was listening to me: I mean, who am I?.' So, I made a film. I saw what was going on, and in my mind thought, 'This is very dangerous. People don't understand how powerful the media is.'"

THE PENDULUM OF HISTORY

Senko takes a deep dive into the history of what shaped modern media. Interview subjects range from revered linguist Noam Chomsky to former Fox News commentator Jeff Cohen, who discuss the tactics used to influence our national discourse.

Senko details her "pendulum" theory: "In 1964, when Goldwater lost to Johnson, it really seemed like everyone wanted to be liberal; the right was declared dead by pundits."

Then the "right," and conservative advocacy groups like the John Birch Society, started to fight back.

"They realized they lost the war via the media -- so they started planning back then. Painting the media as 'liberal' was the first move of these watchdog groups. The myth of the liberal media is one of the single biggest accomplishments of the right in the last 40 years. It's repeated ad nauseam; even by liberals sometimes, which is crazy."

POLARIZING BOTH SIDES

"We finally have this term, 'Fake News,' which is great -- but the right is again trying to get a hold of it," Senko says. "It's really a case of the pot calling the kettle sooty."

One thing the filmmaker didn't expect: Extremist left-wing sites in need of fact-checking are a "baby quickly developing into adolescence," Senko says. "They are dangerous and further polarize all of us."

But that doesn't mean she's letting the right off the hook for the "monster" she says it created.

"They started this by using all of their power and money and think tanks to capture the media, the language and the framing over these years," she says. "When one side is exceedingly unfair, the other side gets poked and poked and finally turns into angry hornet's nest."

Senko stressed her end game is not to trash far-right media. She's "seeking truth by not letting emotions rule" like in the days of Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley.

"I don't think it should strive to be fair and balanced, as Fox claimed to be doing. It needs to go back to objectivity and truth -- and both sides need to check their sources."

DE FACTO ADVICE COLUMNIST

After months on the film festival circuit, Senko finds herself as something of an Ann Landers for politically estranged families.

"People are writing me constantly, saying 'This happened to my fill in the blank,'" she says. "Earlier today, I answered a Facebook post that read, 'We no longer allow my dad in the house. We had to banish him because he was too angry.'"

Touring with her doc has led to some moving face-to-face testimonials -- and no shortage of hate from online commenters.

"It's interesting, the fights that go on on Youtube, where we have two trailers posted. I get notifications in Gmail saying, 'Oh, LMAO this left-wing idiot.' ... I rarely have to answer because there are two or three other people responding to them! Youtube videos have their own life, and I get that."

That said, there are certain lines she won't allow you to cross.

"I actually had to ban one guy who said something about my Dad. You just don't go there."

HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think media outlets use "tactics" to frame the national conversation? Sound off in the comments section.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Michael Greene went through more in his first 28 years than most of us will face in our entire lifetimes combined: Two new hearts. An extra set of kidneys. But who's counting?

We last touched base with the Annadale native a year ago, when his family was gearing up for Michael's second hefty-priced heart and kidney transplant. Well, this Staten Island survivor finally found his donor match.

Michael is in recovery after spending more than 80 days in hospital.

"I feel all right," Michael told SILive in a post-surgery interview. "I haven't been sleeping very well, though. I'm not used to not being woken up every other hour."

Michael says the need for another new heart first came to light after he experienced a sharp pain in his arm and vomiting. He grabbed the phone to call his doctor and was admitted into the Staten Island Hospital.

He was having a heart attack.

Michael transferred to Mount Sinai in Manhattan. Doctors told him his valves were not opening as much as they should, leading half the blood that's supposed to circulate throughout his body straight into his heart.

HOW HE STAYS SANE

Michael said he will never stop fighting to enjoy life outside his hospital bed. Even in his darkest days of treatment, he said laughter got him through.

The doctors who took the time to talk and joke with him, namely Dr. Elliot Levine, made his experience a bit more bearable.

"I don't see myself as any kind of miracle or anything special," said Michael. "The doctors did all the work. I just kinda laid there."

He said the women in his life -- wife Susan Emanuele Greene; mom Cindi; sisters Megann and Amanda; and nieces Kaylee and Emma -- are the backbone of what keeps him going.

"They were there for me the entire time," said Michael. "It's always nice to know they're there. They mean the world to me."

A TALE 20 YEARS IN THE MAKING

All his life, Michael has lived with cardiomyopathy -- an enlargement of the heart -- one of the main reasons for his first pediatric heart transplant in 1994.

When he was 7, he had a stroke -- and recalls playing Nintendo in the hospital with one hand as one of his most vivid childhood memories. At 8, it was determined he needed his first heart transplant, which also was performed at Mount Sinai in Manhattan.

"I feel better than I did when I didn't have this new heart," little Michael said during a press conference two weeks post-surgery. "I didn't feel so good. I felt like I was short of breath and everything."

In 2008, when Michael experienced kidney failure, a complication from his anti-rejection medication, his mom didn't miss a beat before volunteering to get tested.

She was a perfect match.

Alas, by 2016, he needed another heart and kidney -- all before his first wedding anniversary.

TRANSPLANT SURVIVAL ISSUES

The median survival rate of pediatric heart transplant is 13-to-15 years, according to Dr. Sean Pinney, director of the heart transplant program at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Overcoming the natural response of the body's immune system to reject the new organ as a foreign body is the main challenge after the transplant.

Because of the threat of rejection, follow up care -- and complications -- become a major part of post-transplant life. In 2014, Michael said he takes five to six medications, totaling 10 pills, every day -- anti-rejection or immunosuppressant drugs among them.

With a suppressed immune system, infections are common and can be deadly. Michael has had whooping cough and Legionnaire's Disease. He has also had to deal with rejection episodes, one major one in particular.

Since coming home from the hospital last month, Michael said has not experienced any sign of rejection in his weekly biopsies. His doctors told him coming home and getting a good nights sleep will be a challenge after being hospital bound for so long.

"They told me to 'Just try and go back to how your life was before -- and I said 'Sounds good to me.'"

-- For more information on organ donation, visit New York State Department of Health website.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A typical party night at Angelina's Ristorante in Tottenville: Merrymakers revel in the beauty of the waterfront dining spot as they indulge in fine Italian fare.

Couples and singles dot the well-appointed mahogany bar with Tuscan influence -- that imparts a subtle illuminated glow -- all the while sipping high-style cocktails. Live music reverberates in the background.

Many may recall the impressive South Shore dining spot is situated in one of our borough's most sought after historical buildings built over 110 years ago. (It was once the home to the former Tottenville Inn.)

FYI: Angelina Malerba's eatery brims with European flair -- and was once owned and occupied by independent playwright, screenwriter and film director Andy Milligan, a location where he chose to shoot many of his films.

The multi-level restaurant, located at 399 Ellis St., sits in a remote part of the quaint town surrounded on three sides by water: The Arthur Kill waterway to the west, and Raritan Bay to the south and east.

Now featured on Saturday is the popular and talented Arlette who performs pop tunes and music from the Great American Songbook -- to the delight of diners who yearn for live musical performances.



So once again, to prove it all true, take a gander at our latest festive photo gallery above!

Enjoy!
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Rep. Daniel Donovan said he won't vote for a repeal of Obamacare without a replacement that covers people who already have insurance. (Staten Island Advance/Rachel Shapiro)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Rep. Daniel Donovan has said he won't support a Republican replacement to the Affordable Care Act that pulls the rug out from beneath people, and won't say yet whether he supports the GOP replacement plan, which would leave some people uninsured.

Congressional Republicans unveiled their replacement for Obamacare earlier this week, and have gotten pushback from members of their own party, as well as Democrats.

UNDOING MEDICAID EXPANSION



The replacement does away with the Medicaid expansion that gave coverage to people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

Only 31 states and the District of Columbia opted to participate in the expansion and receive federal funding.

The GOP proposal would bring coverage under the low-income health care entitlement program back down to the pre-Obamacare level of those making 100 percent of the poverty level or less.

This wouldn't happen immediately -- current Medicaid enrollees would be grandfathered in, but in 2020, the federal government would turn off the tap in federal funds that covered the expansion, leaving it to the states, which would have to stop covering some people.

Donovan (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) said recently of the plan to roll back Medicaid funding, "I have to make sure these people aren't harmed." Although he couldn't say how to prevent it.

NO OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES

In addition to undoing the Medicaid expansion, the Republican replacement proposal would remove subsidies for low income people, remove the employer mandate and the individual mandate and undo nearly all the ACA taxes.

Like rolling back the Medicaid expansion, undoing the Obamacare subsidies would not take effect until 2020.

TAX CREDITS



The replacement would provide annual tax credits for those not receiving insurance through their employers or through a government program. Beginning at $2,000 for a person under 30, the credit would rise to $4,000 for a person 60 or older. The tax credit would increase up to $14,000 for a family.

That provides less financial assistance for low-income and older people than ACA but gives more assistance to younger people and those with somewhat higher incomes.

The GOP proposal keeps the "Cadillac tax" on generous plans after 2025.

A controversial proposal that appeared in earlier drafts would have taxed some employer-sponsored health insurance but is not included in this proposal.

PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

The GOP replacement will maintain coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and keep younger people on their parents' insurance plans, two components Donovan has long supported.

Pointing out the burden on people who can't afford insurance on their own and don't get enough in subsidies, Donovan has yet to say whether he supports the replacement.

He notes that premiums on the exchanges increased 25 percent this year.

In 2015, the last year complete figures were available, 19.2 million Americans either paid the penalty for not having insurance or claimed an exemption to avoid purchasing insurance, while only 10.4 million people total were enrolled in coverage, Donovan noted.

"In a few years, Medicaid spending will be higher than defense spending, while studies conclude those with Medicaid have no better physical health outcomes than people who have no coverage at all!" the congressman said. "For example, under the status quo, doctors serving Medicaid patients in New York receive less than half the fee that Medicare provides for the same service. This system is failing."

"Unlike Obamacare, we actually have time to thoroughly digest this proposal. I've said all along that we need to help those harmed by Obamacare while not harming those helped by Obamacare. I think this bill represents thoughtful analysis and some smart, innovative policies, and I'm glad it grandfathers in Medicaid beneficiaries. I'm waiting on the [Congressional Budget Office] score, speaking with health care stakeholders in my district, and doing what legislators are supposed to do: thoroughly analyzing the proposal. This is the beginning of a weeks-long process of consideration and updates."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The cause of a Great Kills fire that killed an 83-year-old woman Monday is still under investigation, a spokesman for the FDNY said Tuesday.

Fire marshals are working with city officials to devise a plan so they can safely enter the Driggs Street building that was left with its structural integrity in question after the blaze that began at approximately 4:01 a.m., the spokesman said.

Focus is currently on a space heater that the victim, Carolyn Samuel, kept in the home.

Nine firefighters suffered minor injuries, according to a spokesman for the FDNY/EMS.

"Due to volume of fire and limited access on the street, it was a challenging situation," said FDNY Deputy Chief Brian Gorman.

Firefighters could only enter the house through the front door and the entryway was blocked with three to five feet of debris, he said.

Monday's fire was brought under control at approximately 7 a.m., according to a FDNY spokesman.

Neighbors described Samuel as kind and independent.

"She was a very sweet woman and very talkative," neighbor Joy Giovannone said. "What happened this morning is very tragic."

This is the second fatal fire in the borough in 2017. John Russell, 69, was killed in a Port Richmond blaze on Feb. 9.

The total number of fatalities for 2016 was two. John Quattrocchi of Westerleigh, 57, was fatally injured on Jan. 16, while Bruno Mauer, 95, died Jan. 21. There were no other fatalities the rest of the year.
Maharashtra's Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar says the government is expecting the state's economy to grow by 8.5 percent in the current fiscal year.

By Kiran Tare: The Maharashtra government is expecting the state's economy to grow by 8.5 percent in the current fiscal year, Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said on Tuesday.

"Our economy will show growth this year," said Mungantiwar, citing the good monsoon last year and the growth in the agriculture sector.

Last year, the state's economy had registered economic growth from 5.7 percent to 7.9 percent.

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Mungantiwar will present the state's economy survey on March 17 and the general budget on the following day.

The government will merge non-planned and planned expenditure proposals. Planned expenditure is sanctioned by the legislature before spending, whereas non-planned expenditure gets the legislature's approval after spending.

MORE NON-TAX REVENUE THAN TAXES

Mungantiwar said the government will put an emphasis on collecting more non-tax revenue than taxes.

"We need to increase the fees and amount of fines in several areas," he said. "Till when we will collect fine of Rs 100 or Rs 200 for certain offences? If the amount of fine is increased the offenders will definitely learn a lesson."

The finance minister also said the Union government will reimburse the loss of around Rs 7,000 crore to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which won't be able to charge octroi after Good and Service Tax (GST) comes into force in July this year.

"Of course, the money will be routed through the state government only," he said.

When asked whether the provision will give BJP an opportunity to corner Shiv Sena as far as BMC's finances are concerned, Mungantiwar said, "Absolutely not. We will release the money after every two months."

ALSO READ | Maharashtra Budget session: Opposition disrupts governor's speech over loan waiver

ALSO WATCH | Lewd messages: More Maharashtra women politicians come out to complain

--- ENDS ---
Khizr Khan

Khizr Khan, a Pakistani-American lawyer and gold star father, reacts as he is introduced during a House Democratic forum on President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ORG XMIT: DCAB104

(Alex Brandon)

Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father whose impassioned speech at the Democratic National Convention in July called on Americans to reject a ban on Muslims entering the United States, claimed that his "travel privileges are being reviewed" by U.S. authorities, forcing him to cancel a scheduled speech in Toronto.

The announcement on Monday coincided with President Donald Trump's rewritten order to temporarily ban entry of citizens from six Muslim-majority nations to the United States. Khan has been a U.S. citizen for more than 30 years and was born in Pakistan, which is not one of the six nations.

Ramsay Talks, the organizer of the event Khan was to speak at, seemed to take Khan at his word on Monday and included a statement from him in a cancellation post on Facebook. "This turn of events is not just of deep concern to me but to all my fellow Americans who cherish our freedom to travel abroad," said Khan, according to the post. "I have not been given any reason as to why. I am grateful for your support and look forward to visiting Toronto in the near future."

The claim, which does not state which U.S. agency contacted him, immediately raised doubts about how it was possible that a U.S. citizen was being prevented from traveling abroad.

On Tuesday, Bob Ramsay, who runs Ramsay Talks, said he didn't know the specifics of Khan's predicament. "I don't know exactly who conducted the review, but in speaking with Mr. Khan, it was certainly U.S. authorities," Ramsay said. "That's all I know."

As questions about his motivations for making the claim swirl, Khan has refused to elaborate on his initial statement to The Washington Post and other publications. A more detailed request for clarification did not receive an immediate response Tuesday afternoon.

It is unclear whether Khan has previously traveled outside the United States since he was naturalized.

U.S. citizens don't need visas to enter Canada, or even the electronic travel authorizations required of all other foreign visitors there. As a general rule, the United States cannot prevent passport-holding citizens from traveling if they have not been charged with a crime. Public records indicate that Khan has no criminal history, either at the federal level, in Charlottesville, where he lives, or in Silver Spring, his previous place of residence. Furthermore, U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Politico that, as a rule, it does not contact travelers before their trips.

The Canadian foreign ministry also denied issuing any review of Khan's ability to travel there.

"We are unaware of any restrictions regarding this traveler," said Camielle Edwards, spokeswoman for Canada's Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen.

Khan's son Humayun was killed in 2004 while in Baqubah, Iraq. He was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for saving the lives of other soldiers. Since the convention in July, Khan has appeared widely on television and at public events in which he has spoken against the Trump administration and its immigration orders.
CTY Staten Island AERIALS

Staten Island Ferry Terminal at St. George Thursday, September 26, 2013. Staten Island Aerials

(Staten Island Advance/ Bill Lyons)

CITY HALL -- Staten Island won't be part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's so-called "citywide" ferry service anytime soon.

But Borough President James Oddo said a plan is in the works for a direct fast ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan.

"With respect to the more immediate need for direct fast ferry service to Manhattan, including Midtown, we are pursuing an initiative outside of the five borough plan in order to get relief to Staten Islanders sooner," Oddo said in a statement on Wednesday. "We will have further details about that endeavor in the coming weeks."

De Blasio's new "citywide" ferry service is expected to launch this summer, eventually reaching 21 stops in all five boroughs except Staten Island.

Routes to Rockaway, South Brooklyn and Astoria in Queens will launch this year and ferries to Soundview in the Bronx and Manhattan's Lower East Side will start in 2018.

Service to Stapleton is part of a proposed phase of the system's roll out that hasn't been funded or scheduled yet.

FUTURE EXPANSION?

"As I have said repeatedly, you can't have a '5-Borough Ferry Plan' that doesn't actually serve five boroughs," Oddo said.

"Ideally, fast ferry service would connect Staten Island directly to Downtown or Midtown -- or both," he said. "Short of getting that, we have pressed the administration to make Staten Island a stop on the planned South Brooklyn route."

Oddo said an analysis of that proposal should be taking place now.

"Once we successfully make the case it should be implemented as soon as possible," he said.

LIKELY YEARS AWAY

A route from somewhere on Staten Island is unlikely to be included in de Blasio's "citywide" ferry service for at least a couple years.

De Blasio said that the city will explore expansions only after reviewing initial phases that are launching this year and next.

"I'm very open to making additions after we see how the initial runs go," he said during an event about the service in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Some Staten Islanders were perplexed and even insulted by the new route to the borough. Though Stapleton is poised for development, the neighborhood is already well-serviced by the Staten Island Railway and the free ferry going from St. George.

"GOING TO LOOK AT ALL OF THEM"

A proposal for fast ferry to the South Shore is slowly moving forward given challenges of launching service there. Oddo also pushed the city to study adding another Manhattan stop on the Staten Island Ferry.

"Jimmy Oddo has spoken to me about several different options, we're going to look at all of them, for sure," de Blasio said.

"It's going to be a budgetary decision as well as a decision about what the ridership levels look like, the mayor added. "Look, if it's very popular, people are using it, that's going to encourage us to want to go farther. So all those Staten Island options are on the table."

Asked what he would say to Staten Islanders who are frustrated that the borough isn't part of the new service right away, de Blasio pointed to the borough's existing ferry.

"The Staten Island Ferry to begin with is one of the greatest ferry systems in the country, one of the biggest riderships in the country, and connects immediately to a lot of the other things we're doing with mass transit," he said. "But, again, we're starting with a vision in addition to what the Staten Island Ferry already does for so many people, we're going to reach the other four boroughs now, we're going to connect a lot of people to a lot of jobs, we're going to see what the ridership levels are like, and then it's an open opportunity to see what we should do beyond that."

The Staten Island Ferry carries 23.1 million commuters, tourists and other passengers a year.

De Blasio's new "citywide" ferry service is expected to carry 4.6 million riders per year across the six initial routes to the other four boroughs.

Note to readers: We're testing the short survey below about ferry service. If it does not appear properly on your mobile device, try turning it sideways or please visit this link.
NY Wheel bigcrane on barge in rain

Pieces of a large crane -- weighing 1,000 tons -- that will help erect the legs of the NY Wheel began arriving by barge on the St. George waterfront from Brooklyn Marine Terminal this week. (Courtesy of Jay Fine/NY Wheel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While it won't open until 2018, each day progress is made on the New York Wheel. Arrival of a large crane -- weighing 1,000 tons -- on the St. George waterfront from the Brooklyn Marine Terminal began this week.

The large crane, which has a 460-foot boom (height) and can lift 1,350 tons, is arriving in pieces on two barges. It takes about three days to load each barge and three days to unload each one. After that, the crane will be erected in about a week, a NY Wheel spokesman said.

The first part of the crane arrived Tuesday, while the main crane base and several boom (height) sections will be unloaded Wednesday and Thursday.

The second barge will arrive on site approximately next week.

HELPER CRANE

A helper crane, which is 380 feet high and weighs 400 tons, arrived in February.



That crane can lift 600 tons, according to a spokesman.

After the two cranes are up and running, they will be used to lift the legs, which are in eight pieces.

"The cranes are critically important to phase two of construction, which is where we are right now," Rich Marin, CEO of the NY Wheel, told the Advance last month of the project to erect the 630-foot observation wheel.

Phase two includes erecting the legs. Once the legs are erected, the next step is waiting for the "A-frames" to arrive from Holland, which will then be lifted to the top of the leg sections, according to a NY Wheel spokesman.

It will be possible to see the legs being lifted by early spring, he said.

Other subsequent steps include putting up the terminal curtain wall and terra cotta fins that wrap both the terminal and garage, the spokesman added.

CONSTRUCTION ALREADY COMPLETE

After traveling by barge from Canada, four 100-ton pedestals were erected at the site of the New York Wheel in December.

The New York Wheel, which will be the world's tallest observation wheel at more than sixty stories high, is expected to attract more than 3 million visitors per year. The $590 million project is part of a $1.2 billion redevelopment of Staten Island's North Shore.
nws litter

Borough President James Oddo is teaming up with the city Parks Department to help rid the borough of trash after a winter season of fewer cleanup activities. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Litter removal projects using heavy equipment around major Staten Island thoroughfares will require road closures in March and April.

Borough President James Oddo is teaming up with the city Parks Department to help rid the borough of trash after a winter season of fewer cleanup activities.

"Unfortunately, the selfish actions of certain individuals make it necessary to close the roads to remove bottles, fast food wrappers and other items from the perimeter. While it may be an inconvenience to some when these roads are closed, it is the only way the agencies can safely address this issue," Oddo said.

Below is a list the scheduled cleanups, which will require full road closures, and will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.:

March 16 :

Travis Avenue, from Richmond Avenue to Victory Boulevard.

March 23 :

Victory Boulevard, from Travis Avenue to Signs Road

March 30 :

Rockland Avenue, from Forest Hill Road to Manor Road

April 6 :

Forest Hill Road, from Yukon Avenue to Richmond Hill Road

April 13

:

Forest Hill Road, from Richmond Hill Road to Rockland Avenue

Motorists are advised to be aware and plan alternate routes.

The cleanup efforts are made possible through collaboration with the Parks Department, NYPD, the city Department of Transportation and the Department of Sanitation.
Page Content

Fellow St. Maarteners,

Residents of our beautiful island,





And in particular, ALL the women of this land.





For over 100 years now, the world has been celebrating International Womens Day, which began as a female workers struggle for shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. More than a century later, despite the great strides that we have made, gender equality, equal pay for equal work, and an end to violence, exploitation and oppression against women remain elusive in many parts of the world, including here on our beloved St. Maarten. This, I believe, is perhaps why the theme chosen for this years celebration is: #beboldforchange.





Indeed, it would take a whole paradigm shift for us to change the condition of women in the world today. The myth that women are inherently and biologically inferior to men is at the basis of the pervasive gender inequality we are experiencing and as you know, myths die hard.





In the biblical creation story, God first created the universe and everything within it before He created man to have dominion over it. God then realized that this wasnt going to work, so He created something better, woman, to complement man in such a manner that they would be co-proprietors and managers of the universe. Somewhere along the line, men usurped the joint authority and began to lord it over women.





The resistance against such usurpation of power is what we are celebrating today. Women have been pushing back and fighting the baseless prejudice against them with admirable strength and unfaltering spirit.





You dont have to be a feminist to join in that struggle and be pro-women. In fact, nobody  man or woman  can seriously be anti-woman because that would be tantamount to being anti- ones mother or wife or sister or daughter or. Being pro-women is being a champion for social change, for equality, pure and simple, and for justice that is based on shared values and fairness. That is why womens rights are, in my view, human rights.





Of course, in the world we live in today, women are still victims of domestic violence and of subtle and often not-so-subtle discrimination at home as well as at work. The liberation of women is, therefore, a task for ALL of us who believe freedom knows no gender or sexual orientation, no color or race, no religion or class; no nationality or ethnicity. That is why we are all called to be bold for change, because womens liberation is the express way we need to take to reach the full potential of our communities.





To put it bluntly, no community, nay, no nation can claim to be civilized unless its women are equal participants in its development. In fact, no nation can achieve any meaningful progress unless its women are on equal footing with its men. Former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, was right when he said: Countries with higher levels of gender equality have higher economic growth. Companies with more women on their boards have higher returns. Peace agreements that include women are more successful. Parliaments with more women take up a wider range of issues - including health, education, anti-discrimination, and child support.





His predecessor in office, Kofi Anan, expressed similar sentiments when he declared: Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.





If, indeed, gender equality is a condition sine qua non to achieve good governance, shouldnt we on St. Maarten, where good governance has become such a coveted political ideal, be bold and change our laws to guarantee equal representation for women in our public institutions?





We can beat our chests and proclaim to the whole wide world that St. Maarten women are strong; that St. Maarten women are well represented in all facets of our public and private lives. But we cannot deny the fact that they are often at the receiving end of sexist remarks or that few of them have broken the glass ceiling of corporate board rooms.





Yes, we have had and still have women in several professional fields including health, education, banking and politics. True, our first prime minister and president of parliament were women. But is that enough as a measure of gender equality?





International Womens Day is meant to celebrate the achievements of our women, but it is also a day of introspection. And if we do an honest soul-searching, we should be bold enough to evaluate how we raise our boys and girls. The legendary feminist author and activist, Gloria Steinem once noted that We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.





I believe that is the direction we should be going if we are serious about eliminating the gender gap. And we cannot hide behind our culture on this score. Culture does not make people, the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote in We should all be feminists. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.





I make bold to say that this is the kind of change that will transform our society and indeed, the world.





Happy International Womens Day!




She urged the women in the country to join the WCD Ministry's "I am equal" campaign on Twitter.

By Indo-Asian News Service: There should be one day dedicated to men, Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi suggested to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"The Delhi Chief Minister has taken so many initiatives. He should now start a Men's Day in the state," Gandhi said at an award function to celebrate International Women's Day today.

"International Women's Day is a very important day. I feel that it will be just if there is also one day in the year dedicated to men," she said.

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Gandhi was speaking at the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Annual Awards.

TWITTER CAMPAIGN

She urged the women in the country to join the WCD Ministry's "I am equal" campaign on Twitter. "We should start by saying -- I am equal -- and I am sure there will be equality one day," she said.

Earlier today, Kejriwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pull up those who "abuse" women and to take action against them.

Speaking at the same ceremony, Kejriwal made a plea to Modi to "unfollow all those who abuse and threaten women and take strong action against them".

"When we celebrate one women's day, the rest of the days of the year seem like men's days. All 365 days should be women's days," he said.

Also read| Maneka Gandhi: Early hostel curfew a Lakshman Rekha to protect youngsters from hormonal outbursts

Also read| Virat's sweet message for girlfriend Anushka on Women's Day will make you go aww

Also watch| International Women's Day: What happens when the 'male gaze' turns feminine?

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The second and final phase of polling in the Manipur Assembly election ended at 3 pm. As many as 22 constituencies were up for grabs, and 98 candidates were in the fray.

By India Today Web Desk: The second and final phase of polling in the Manipur Assembly election ended at 3 pm. As many as 22 constituencies, located in Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati districts, were up for grabs, and 98 candidates were in the fray.

Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and new entrant Irom Sharmila faced off against each other in Thoubal constituency.

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Security was deployed across 1,151 polling booths to prevent any untoward incidents. Nearly 280 companies of central forces worked to ensure polling happened in a free and fair manner.

The first phase of Manipur election saw a voter turnout of 84 per cent. Polling was held for 38 assembly seats.

Here are the live updates:

Voting ended at 3 pm. Those present at polling stations at 3 pm will be given tokens to continue voting beyond that time.

There are long queues at polling stations.

Till 2 pm, a turnout of 78 per cent has been recorded in second phase of polling in Manipur.

As of 1 pm (after six hours of voting), Manipur has recorded 67 per cent polling in phase two.

As of 12 pm, 56 per cent polling recorded.

As of 11 am, 45 per cent polling recorded.

As of 10 am, 31 per cent polling recorded.

As of 9 am, 21 per cent polling recorded.

21% voter turnout recorded till 9 AM in the final phase of Manipur elections. pic.twitter.com/fDN3H4gjj6 ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh says his party will get a clear majority, and that Irom Sharmila isn't a factor this time. He blames BJP and PM for the blockade.

First time voters cast their vote in Thoubal, CM Okram Ibobi Singh's constituency.

#ManipurPolls2017: First time voters cast their vote at polling booth 35/41 at Athokpam Makha Leikai PO in Thoubal pic.twitter.com/uUP5UEPu0I ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

Voting hasn't begun at polling booth number 240 in Mirzapur due to a technical glitch in the Electronic Voting Machine.

Urging all those voting today, in the 2nd phase of the Manipur Assembly Elections to turn out in large numbers and vote, says PM Modi.

Sure of our win: Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh's son Okram Surjakumar Singh.

Sure of our win, we are confident: Okram Surjakumar Singh (Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh's son) contesting from Khangabok constituency pic.twitter.com/jTFet96kcf ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

Will get a clear mandate, this election is something like a referendum, both hill and the Valley: Manipur CM Okram Singh after casting vote.

Final phase polling begins for assembly elections in Manipur covering 22 constituencies, CM Okram Ibobi Singh casts his vote.

ALSO READ

Manipur election: Irom Sharmila takes on CM Okram Ibobi as BJP looks to firm its grip on North East

Exclusive: Shunned by supporters, Irom Sharmila says India may understand me, Manipuris do not

Manipur Assembly polls: Our fight is not symbolic, contesting to win, says Irom Sharmila

Will Modi magic work in Manipur: All about Assembly election 2017

ALSO WATCH | What Congress didn't do in last 15 years, BJP will do in 15 months: Modi in Imphal

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Imphal, Mar 7 (PTI) Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla today appealed to the electorate who will cast their votes in the second phase of polling to the assembly tomorrow to come out in large numbers and exercise their fundamental rights.

Polling will be held in 22 constituencies spread across the districts of Thoubal, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati and will cover 1151 polling stations.

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Heptulla appealed tto the voters to show "their constitutional responsibility" to make the north eastern state ?the first state in the country with the highest number of voter turnout.?

The first phase of polling on March 4 recorded a voter turnout of 84 per cent with record polling in the valley districts of Imphal East, Imphal West and Bishnupur.

The second phase of polling will decide the political futures of human rights activist-turned-politician Irom Chanu Sharmila and Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh. PTI COR KK KK KKB

--- ENDS ---
According to early information, at least five people were injured in the blast, which took place in the city's western area.

Pictures from the site of the explosion

By Indrajit Kundu: Hours after second phase polling ended in Manipur, a blast ripped through a medical story in the capital city's Thanhgal Bazar.

According to early information, at least five people were injured and they have been taken to city's RIMS hospital in Imphal for treatment.

The blast took place in the Imphal west, near Kasturi Bridge at 6.15pm

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Police officials have reached the site of the explosion, the nature of which was not immediately clear.

Voting in Imphal had already taken place in the first phase, which was held on March 4.

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A second major business is closing its doors at Majura Park in the space of several months, with Jim Murphy set to follow Masters at the end of March.

The family owned and run liquor retailer will shut down Airport Cellars after 10 years of trading.

The general manager of Canberra family-owned liquor retailer Jim Murphy, Adrien Murphy, said it was a hard decision to close the Majura Park store. Credit:Karleen Minney

Store manager Robbie O'Dea said no jobs would be lost.

He said the business would continue to operate at Market Cellars in Fyshwick, Jim Murphy Express at Majura Park and online.
Canberra Airport has slammed what it described as a "disgraceful" and "grubby" campaign it says is using the Essendon Airport crash to cast doubt on its safety.

Airport managing director Stephen Byron said a former pilot, who he did not name, was trying to draw a number of media outlets into reporting safety problems caused by buildings around the airport.

Aircraft landing at Canberra Airport is at risk of building-induced turbulence, a pilots association has warned. Credit:Rohan Thomson

"The attempt is to draw an analogy between the tragic crash at Essendon, and the safety of operations at Canberra Airport, and the insinuation is that buildings at airports are unsafe and that buildings at airports caused the accident at Essendon Airport, and because we too have a shopping centre at Canberra Airport that there is a danger to aircraft here at Canberra Airport," Mr Byron said.

He said there was no danger to aircraft flying in and out of the airport, that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority reviewed its operations, and that airlines using it weren't concerned about its building locations and safety.
The ACT government cares more about the rights of outlaw bikies than praying nuns, the Canberra Liberals have claimed.

The Barr government has ruled out controversial anti-consorting laws to target outlaw motorcycle gang activity because of human rights concerns.

Rebels bikies: Perhaps on the way to a pottery class. Credit:Jay Cronan

But in committee hearings on Wednesday, Liberal politicians Giulia Jones and Jeremy Hanson questioned how the government could reject the laws but uphold its protest exclusion zone outside Canberra's abortion clinic.

"How do you make an argument about the human rights of people ... with either a criminal history or an evidence-based association versus the meeting of people for prayerful, quiet protest outside a health clinic in the ACT?" Mrs Jones asked.
Let's get less political and take a look at the day's headlines.

How did you celebrate International Women's Day? Men worried about having the spotlight taken away can breathe a sigh of relief: we're back to normal programming. The weather is playing along too, with a moderate 26 degrees forecast.

Kirsten Lawson reports a newly-formed City Renewal Authority will control a new precinct carved from Flemington Road, down Northbourne Avenue through to the lake from July.

The plan was revealed when Chief Minister Andrew Barr released some details of his planned shake-up of the Land Development Agency on Wednesday.

The agency, beset by controversies in 2016, will be abolished, and replaced with two new organisations, each of which will have their own board and their own chief executive. Read more here.

Parents detail concerns about Priest
Canberra construction and retail workers, bus drivers, public servants, nurses and teachers will rally in the city centre on Thursday, with plans to bring six busloads of workers to the lunchtime event.

The unions are protesting outside the Bunda St office of Liberal Senator for Canberra Zed Seselja's at the decision to cut penalty rates for weekend work, and the Turnbull government's plans to revive the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

United Voice secretary Lyndal Ryan: "It's beyond anger, it's distress." Credit:Katherine Griffiths

Construction, Forestry, Minister and Energy Union ACT boss Dean Hall said six busloads of workers would join the rally, and he expected hundreds to attend, with workers fired up after site meetings over the past week.

Construction workers were attending in their lunchtime with the support of employers, he said.
A new precinct will be carved out from Flemington Road in the north, down Northbourne Avenue to the lake to come under the control of a new "City Renewal Authority" from July, Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced on Wednesday.

Mr Barr released some details of his planned shake-up of the Land Development Agency, with plans to introduce legislation later this month.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has announced some detail of his new City Renewal Authority. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Agency chief executive David Dawes met staff on Wednesday to brief them on the changes, but refused public comment. He also declined to say whether he would apply for a position with one of the new agencies, or seek to remain in the public service.

The agency, beset by controversies in 2016, will be abolished, and replaced with two new organisations, each of which will have their own board and their own chief executive.
A Canberra man who escaped from prison last year was acquitted on Tuesday of a single charge of aggravated burglary from 2015.

But he will stay behind bars until at least December for the escape.

Jacob McDonald escaped from prison last September.

Jacob Howard MacDonald, 21, attracted attention when on September 2, 2016, he and another detainee Patrick McCurley became the first to escape from the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

The pair used a makeshift ladder to scale three fences in 4 minutes.
The boss of one of Australia's biggest banks has used International Women's Day to declare the company has closed the gender pay gap.

Westpac Banking Corporation chief executive Brian Hartzer told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday the bank has closed the gender pay gap at the bank on a "like-for-like basis".

Full-time female employees in the banking and insurance industry could expect to earn on average around $30,000 or 20 per cent less each year on base salary than men employed within the industry. Credit:AP

A like-for-like basis in the sense of the gender pay gap means paying both women and men the same amount to people doing the same job with the same experience.

But, other measures for pay equality in businesses include "organisational wide" and "by-level".
Union Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha has expressed concern over busting of an ISIS module in the country.

Union Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha has expressed concern over busting of the Khurasan ISIS module in the country.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Union Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha has expressed concern over busting of the Khurasan module of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the country which has sent the security agencies into a tizzy.

Speaking exclusively to India Today, Sinha said the issue of ISIS making inroads in the country was being strictly monitored by the Union Home Ministry. Sinha said the Centre was working on to crack down on ISIS in days to come.

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"ISIS making inroads in India is a cause of concern. The Union Home Ministry is keeping a tab on this issue. In days to come we will be able to crack down on ISIS," said Sinha.

Speaking on the recent terror attacks on trains in various parts of the country, including the explosion that took place in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train in Madhya Pradesh, he said Centre and State governments need to work together on the issue.

"Trains being targeted lately is a cause of concern. Law and order is a state subject and cracking (down) on terror activities is work of Home Ministry.However, Centre and state have to work together to curb incidents like these where trains are targeted by terrorists," said Sinha.

Talking on a separate issue, Sinha -- who cast his vote in his village Mohanpura in Ghazipur today -- said that BJP will be forming the govt in Uttar Pradesh comfortably.

"We are going to get comfortable majority in UP. There is no doubt. BJP is giving tough fight to opponents on all seven assemble seats in Ghazipur. We will win all seven seats in Ghazipur and in UP we will get more seats than the target we had fixed," he said.

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Australian self-storage start-up Spacer has put its planned expansion into Asia on ice to jump into the world's largest economy first.

Spacer - which founder Mike Rosenbaum calls "Airbnb but for storage" - began connecting Australians eager to cash in on their spare space with those in need of more in 2015.

Spacer connects people with space, with people who need space. Credit:Fuse

Now the Sydey-based group has acquired its American counterpart Roost to move into the US.

Mr Rosenbaum said grabbing a slice of the US storage market - which he says is 33 times the size of Australia's - took priority over the company's previously planned expansion into Asia.
Rents across Sydney are rising with the same ferocity as the recent spate of hailstorms that cut a swath across western and northern suburbs have caused havoc, with many office and industrial properties needing to be evacuated

Action Smart Repairs signed a six-month lease on two units at 12 Frederick Street, St Leonards.

According to the major insurers, Suncorp and IAG, they received more than 31,000 claims from customers when the storms hit the Sydney basin on February 18, causing an estimated $370 million damage.

The same occurred on Anzac Day, 2015, when industrial properties in Sydney's west were destroyed, costing about $300 million in insurance and forcing rents up three-fold as groups such as Metcash, whose building's roof collapsed, had to find short term accommodation.
Students at the failed Sage Institute of Fitness have been told they must pay "outstanding fees" before they can receive certificates that will enable them to continue their suspended studies elsewhere.

Sage announced on Tuesday that it would cease to trade in Sydney and Brisbane  and suspend classes in Melbourne for a week  after administrators failed to find a buyer.

Sage, which trades as a range of associated training businesses specialising in fitness, aged care, education, massage and child-care among others went into voluntary administration in February.

Administrators Ferrier Hodgson initially intended to restructure the business and sell it and had been in talks with a Melbourne company but in a notice to students on Tuesday, administrator George Georges said that plan would not be going ahead.
During my career as an employment lawyer I've represented many women who have experienced pregnancy-related discrimination, particularly surrounding their return to work. Illustration: Simon Bosch According to a 2014 Australian Human Rights Commission's report looking at support for working parents, one-in-five women are made redundant upon their return to work from parental leave, while one-in-two women experience some form of pregnancy-related discrimination. My experience acting for women pursuing legal action for these reasons suggests the real figures could be even higher. Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Libby Lyons would benefit from stronger powers. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The report identified the many different types of discrimination in the workplace ranging from negative attitudes and comments from colleagues and managers, through to loss of opportunities for further training and career advancement, a reduction in pay and conditions, and redundancy and job loss. These types of discrimination tend to be more subtle and, therefore, are much harder to prove or connect with a period of parental leave or gender. The lawsuit brought by Amber Harrison's lawyers will put Seven on the defensive. Credit:Twitter There should be a requirement to pay a premium on top of any redundancy package given to an employee who is made redundant on parental leave or within six months after their return. The impact of such discrimination can be devastating. There can be significant short and long-term negative impacts on individuals and their families  especially on their mental and physical health.

It can also hinder their career advancement and earning capacity and many of my clients struggle to understand how their employers can treat them in such a way simply because they took a break to have a baby. They also can't comprehend why the law does not do a better job to protect them. So what legal changes are required? Examples abroad Sweden is a pacesetter in this area with laws that go well beyond asking organisations whether they have policies in place. Their laws actually demand that there is measurable evidence on the ground. This is what we need in Australia. A good place to start is demanding more stringent reporting obligations of employers to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). Currently, employers are required to report on a range of gender issues in the workplace. Many employers take this role seriously and find great benefit from doing so in providing further reinforcement of the need to continue to drive change internally when it comes to gender equality.

But with reporting obligations in place that lack any real bite, unfortunately, many employers still treat this important exercise as just another red tape process rather than an effort to enact meaningful change. Employers outline their commitment to diversity in the workplace and tick a few boxes, but aren't compelled to follow through with anything concrete. Those who don't meet their reporting obligations usually receive a mild slap on the wrist and a public shaming at the most. Stronger powers Bearing this in mind, there is scope for the reporting obligations to the WGEA as well as its role and powers to be strengthened and go even further. This could include requiring employers to submit more transparent data around issues such as equal pay, conditions and the numbers of women who return from parental leave and remain employed after six months. Employers should be required to address any areas of systemic discrimination that is subsequently revealed in that data. Another element to consider is more opportunities for anonymous reporting by employees and a reconciling between what the employer portrays, and the reality of their employees' experience. From what my clients tell me, there can be, at times, a massive disconnect between the two, even in organisations that regard themselves as leaders of gender equality.

The WGEA should also be given the tools to play a more investigative and prosecutorial role akin to that of the Fair Work Ombudsman. Complaints could be made to the agency and action taken on behalf of women, and indeed men, who are discriminated against and who have a disincentive or feel powerless to stand up to their employer. There should also be legislated financial penalties for employers who fail to comply with their reporting obligations and a financial deterrence for employers who sack new parents. For example, there should be a requirement to pay a premium on top of any redundancy package given to an employee who is made redundant on parental leave or within six months after their return. These suggestions are far from sweeping changes, but no doubt some will argue they go too far or will be too hard to implement. But unless we make such changes, our workplaces will continue to fail to be places of truly equal opportunity for women. So let's call upon the government, and not just women, to be bold for change this International Women's Day.
When US President Donald Trump effectively banned the discussion of abortion by groups that receive federal government funding, there was immediate global outrage. How could women's freedoms be blithely axed with the stroke of a pen?

That would never happen here in Australia, I'm sure many thought.

Yet it already has. For 13 years, Australia had its own version of the gag rule. Innocuously named the family planning guidelines, it banned aid agencies that received Australian government funding from providing advice or counselling on abortion.

Many would be surprised to learn the policy was only scrapped in 2009. How many preventable deaths it caused, we will never know. What's clear is Australian funding through our aid program for family planning collapsed, and it was those most at risk in our region who lived with the consequences.
I so often hear the idiom walk the talk corrupted to talk the walk or walk the walk or some other horrid variation that even I am becoming confused as to the correct usage, writes Steve of Killara. I am hopeful that C8 can clear this up. Dont baulk Steve but dont you have to walk the talk to talk the talk ... so to speak?

Browsing the local pharmacy, Richard Stewart, of Pearl Beach, spotted the labels of Olive Leaf Products advising they were just picked. I noted the use-by date was May 2018, indicating the leaves have an extremely long stay-fresh time.

Replacing little red men with little red women on Melbourne traffic lights may be progressive but Kevin Johnston of Forster thinks its just skirting the issue. On matters sexual, Warren Menteith, of Nyatnyatan, asks: Arent residents of Wales called Welsh? Whats wrong with New South Welsh? (C8)

Tim Ingall of Arizona says the C8 item on milkshakes for blood donors in Wollongong brought back fond memories of The Aunty Jack Show which celebrated Wollongong as the home of the fish milkshake. Are fish milkshakes still being sold in Wollongong? he wonders. We live in hope Tim, one way or the other.It may have taken only four days for Australia Post to get a parcel to Canada (C8) but Margaret Combley, of Maclean, is not so impressed. Last night my friend in Canada rang to thank me for the lovely calendar which she had just received. I had posted it three weeks before Christmas. Wait, theres more. Edi Wright, of Drummoyne, says two of her family sought postal votes for the 2016 federal election. Despite each receiving a text message from AEC advising their ballot papers had been lodged with Australia Post on June 18, 2016, theyve yet to arrive. 264 days and counting.

Philip Kinsella, of Killara, points out that the intestinal rumblings reported by Terry Williams sisters kindergarten teacher (C8) have a melodic scientific name ... borborygmi. Meanwhile Keith Ridler-Duttons teachers sounded off with these gems: The improvement in his handwriting has revealed his inability to spell and He has an overdeveloped unawareness.
Home loan solution Ross Gittins ("Unpleasant Home Truth", March8, p.16) points out why most efforts to make housing affordable do not work. They fail, not because the homes are unaffordable, but because the money market that provides the money to buy a home favours those who already have assets. A way to address the problem is to provide an alternative to the money market. Mutual credit schemes and building societies used to do it. They now operate as minibanks and use money debt rather than mutual credit.

A way for the government to make housing affordable is to encourage mutual credit institutions by providing them with a line of credit from the Reserve Bank at the Reserve Bank rate of interest. The mutual credit institutions can provide high-return annuities to long-term investors like superannuationfunds. Most of the cost of interest goes and buyers give super funds a high return by repaying their loans for longer rather than paying more money through interest. The housing market for new homes will have more buyers and this will stimulate the home-building industry, which will increase supply to meet the demand. Kevin Cox, Ngunnawal

Economy for whom? It has been claimed that when an assistant recommended to Winston Churchill he cut funding to the arts to increase funding to the war effort, Churchill allegedly replied, "Then what are we fighting for?" The story is almost certainly apocryphal, but it makes a point that goes well beyond thearts. The economy continues to grow, but the real income of most Australians is going down. Then what, we should ask, is the economy for? By any empirical measure it's for the CEOs and the captains of industry, who are profiting handsomely; for the politicians we employ to manage it on our behalf, all of whom are doing very nicely; for the millionaires and multinational companies that make fortunes in Australia but pay no tax; for the gas exporters of our common mineral wealth, who sell to overseas buyers while it becomes increasingly unaffordable to those who owned it. Whoever the economy is for, it's certainly not for us ordinaryAustralians.

Fred Pilcher, Kaleen Independent politics Len Goodman's letter "Unfair Work" (Letters, March 6) rightly or wrongly points out the lack of independence of the Fair Work Commission. One or the other of the major parties have been in power now for 76years, and the independence of our major institutions has been constantly eroded by these ideology-based, self-serving oligarchies. The FWC is a typical example, with first Bill Shorten appointing unionists to the commission while in power, followed by Michaela Cash appointing business-associated people to the commission in2015.

All parties whilst in power will use that power poorly, and our democracy will always be under attack while we vote for political parties. Vote independent, and individually they will provide the checks and balances we need. There will not be a government and an opposition. Just a government working for the benefit of Australia. Max Jensen, Chifley Failed fixer Mark Thomas (Public Sector Informant, March, p16) is insightful to draw Trump parallels from Thucydides and his account of the Peloponnesian war.

What Mark may have overlooked is the Trump parallel with Cleon, the populist leader to whom the Athenians turned in desperation, because he said he could fix things with theSpartans. Cleon led a disastrous expedition to Amphipolis, where he was slain by a peltast. Thucydides doesn't have an ending for his account of the Peloponnesian war, but we know that the Athenians lost, and much else was lost besides. Roy Darling, Florey 18C example Michael Webb (Letters, March7) seeks an example of something section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act prevents one from saying and is not covered by section 18D.

Try this, Michael: " It's segregation for QUT to have a computer room reserved forAborigines." The poor sods who passed this emailed sentiment around are now considerably poorer through having to seek legal advice to defend themselves from charges related to two people accusing them of offences under 18C. Need more be said? Bill Deane, Chapman Vladimir Abbott

If Putin is unavailable to provide the strong leader Pauline Hanson craves, would she settle for Vladimir Abbott? T.Puckett, Ashgrove, Qld Grateful for vaccinations In our family we remember a little boy born long ago on a Pacific island where his father worked with a trading company. When the little boy became ill he and his mother made the long journey to Australia for treatment for poliomyelitis.

Robbie returned home and some days the frail child was carried down the steep Levuka steps to school. On days he could not go to school, his big sister told him what she had learnt. In her 93rd year, his sister recalled her amazement that her mother did chores for her while she was talking to Robbie. One afternoon he played on the veranda with the assistant to a visiting dentist; that was all it took for Robbie to be diagnosed with leprosy. Robbie went to live in isolation on an island where nuns cared for him and other leprosy sufferers. He was the only child. Although the family could see the island from their house, his mother was allowed to visit just twice a year during the three years he lived there.

His three sisters never saw him again. We remember Robbie and vaccinate our children with gratitude for the science that makes it possible. R. McCallum, Higgins Voters responsible While people may disagree with the policy preferences expressed by Jenna Price ("How Hanson rose again", p16, March 7), it is very hard to logically disagree with her that "It's you"  really us voters as a group  who are responsible for the composition of Australia's Parliaments.

Reread the last two sentences of Jenna's opinion piece, where essentially she urges voters to consider the impact of politicians' promises and likely actions on not only themselves but also their neighbours, friends and indeed the whole country. Furthermore, I suggest considering their long-term impact. Until many more voters think broadly and about the long term before voting, we should not be surprised that Australia is not doing anywhere near as well as it could. Bruce Paine, Red Hill Respect the uniform

Defence Minister Marise Payne and our top military leaders should remain above politics however this does not appear to be the fact when it comes to the politically charged Gay Mardi Gras. Over generations men and women charged with protecting our freedoms have not been allowed to participate in our political debates while in uniform with examples when members of our armed forces were refused permission to march in the Queensland pro-life March for the Babies while in uniform and last year Liberal MP and former SAS operator, Andrew Hastie was essentially forced out of the Army Reserve for using photos of himself in uniform while campaigning. It is also very shameful that there is now a special rainbow Rising Sun Badge commissioned to celebrate Mardi Gras. The Rising Sun Badge has been unlawfully adjusted with rainbow colours. This has devalued a time honoured, globally recognisable, sacred and integral piece of army uniform, worn by our soldiers for over 100 years.

Bruce Hambour, North Haven, SA PM must bite bullet Tom Switzer's article ("Abbott Mark II looms" CT, p12 March 6), is very "wishy-washy" in terms of recent past Australian politics and ignores the cost to Australia of Abbott's meddling with the NBN, the negative strategic implications of his treatment of the car industry and his meddling with the then existing carbon mitigation policy. I won't address Abbott's "shirt-fronting" of Mr Putin  his continual shirt fronting of PM Gillard showed us what he is made of and there are also his Knights and Dames and other Captain's Picks. Leaving aside the irrefutable fact that Labor lost the election that saw him become our PM and then together with his Treasurer, he was "cock-a-hoop' in their assurance that; wait for it; "Budget deficits aren't in our DNA".

Labor may have been on the ropes recently however in the past, it has given us PMs including Curtin, a school teacher, Chifley, an engine driver and Hawke, an intellectual  they all excelled in the Parliament and in their role when PM. I believe our future is too important to be left to the likes of the Deputy PM and Ms Hanson. To PM Turnbull, I say; "Bite the bullet and show your true colours" because we are dicing with the future of our civilisation. Les Brennan, Sunshine Bay, NSW Abortion 'wrongs' There is much wrong surrounding abortion. People getting abortions are wrong. People giving abortions are wrong.

Public commentators and politicians (on both sides) are wrong. People framing this as a women's rights issue are wrong. Protesters outside clinics are wrong. People against abortion who do nothing to provide viable alternatives are wrong. That women feel shame instead of confidence society will assist them is wrong. I am wrong. Everyone is wrong.

There is no right on any side in the abortion debate. Next time you see or hear anyone comment on abortion, or are tempted to comment yourself, bear in mind they and you are wrong. Then do something to assist those who have befallen the extreme difficulty of an unplanned pregnancy and be thankful it isn't you. Christopher Budd, Turner Leftist cultural changes

The Western progressive left is engaged in radical change to our cultural mores. Rod Matthews, Melbourne, Vic. TO THE POINT WHY NO CHARGES? Re: "Church set to move another ex-priest," March 8.

If two claims against Brian Hassett in an investigation overseen by the NSW Ombudsman were substantiated, why were no charges laid? Is the legal hierarchy full of good Catholics reluctant to embarrass the church? M. Davis, Charnwood DEADLY IGNORANCE I have no sympathy for anti-vaxers whose medieval views put public health at risk, especially the lives of infants and children. Proponents of such conspiracy theories either have guacamole for brains or are ignorant cement-heads. Either way, they are dangerous. Gerry Murphy, Braddon

THE BIGGEST FAKE Congratulations Keith Hill (letters, March 7) on nailing the six top items of fake news. My only gripe is his placement of "giving companies tax and wages relief will boost employment" at No.4. This is the biggest. T. J. Marks, Holt Congratulations Keith Hill. Your letter was succinct and comprehensive. Deserved placement on page one. Jeff Bradley, Isaacs

BAN MISSES TARGET Trump's new Muslim ban is now downsized to include six nations. It should be re revised to include one nation only. Saudi Arabia. Mokhles K. Sidden, Strathfield, NSW Who would have guessed that nested inside the Russian political babushka is a funny fellow with orange hair? Matt Ford, Crookwell, NSW

A QUESTION OF CHOICE John Lynch (letters, March 7) claims Canberra's low rate of births to teenage mothers is because of the sex education they receive. Canberra's low rate of teenage births is because of the ease with which people can get abortions. Daryl Powell, Griffith CHINA'S ATTACK DOG The mad dog China keeps tethered at its door is becoming strident in its demands to see the efficacy of the West's anti-missile systems ("Anxiety in Tokyo over missiles," March 8, p13). That is alarmingly indicative of China's short-term intent.

Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor SCALING THE HEIGHTS Nice idea to have height restrictions ("Storeys of the city set for next chapter", March 8, p6) but they don't appear to be worth anything. Barton used to have a restriction of five storeys. Then Doma got permission for nine. Go figure. Lesley Fisk, Barton Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message eld, not as an attached le. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.
It's hard to find defenders of the My School website, which allows people to compare schools' literacy and numeracy test results. Teachers, on the whole, loathe it. And while most parents I know say they look at the site, they also add they would never use it to select a school for their children.

Nonetheless, last year, when The Canberra Times stopped publishing "league tables" that ranked schools by their NAPLAN test results, we received more than a few complaints from parents who wanted them.

Daramalan College students sit the national literacy and numeracy test in 2011. Credit:Gary Schafer

I can tell you what the league tables would say: the same thing they said every year. Kids in rich schools  whether elite independent schools or public schools in the wealthier parts of Canberra  tend to get higher scores, and vice versa for poorer schools/areas. Which simply confirms everything we already knew about our education system, and is partly why we stopped publishing the tables.
The implosion of One Nation's Western Australian branch days before the state's election is no real surprise. This is not just because we have seen this party self-immolate before, but because the tensions have been escalating throughout the campaign.

For weeks candidates and staff have complained about poor organisation and a distant autocratic head office, while support has fallen from over 13 per cent to about 8.5 per cent.

Though Western Australia has a system of fixed four-year government terms, the party did not secure the necessary 500 members to register in WA until late October and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson did not conduct candidate interviews until just before Christmas.

Even the eventual announcement of candidates was botched. Hanson was unable to say in which order the upper house candidates would be ranked and media were not provided full list of candidates until hours after the event. One Nation, still portraying itself as the new third force in Australian politics, was able to field only 45 candidates for the state's 59 lower house seats.
The stories brought back by Fairfax Media's reporter Michael Bachelard and photographer Kate Geraghty from two weeks in Iraq with survivors of Islamic State's rule are horrifying. The worst of it? The atrocities, human rights abuses, fighting and despair are ongoing for hundreds of thousands of people caught in the areas still controlled by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and for millions more forced to flee their homes for their lives. Hussein Hatem, 10, from Mosul. He lives in a tent with his family at Khazer Camp 1, home to 38,000 displaced Iraqis who have fled Mosul and surrounding villages. Credit:Kate Geraghty Who could forget the account of Hussein Hatem, a 10-year-old from an outer suburb of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul? He described how Islamic State fighters came to his primary school and knocked on the door of every classroom, requiring all the children to gather in the cement playground? There, they hacked off the head of his classmate singled out for apparently no reason. Or 12-year-old Luma whose mother was shot before her eyes when they were caught trying to escape. Or Zahara Muhasen, a once prosperous, well-regarded woman reduced to begging. She weeps and sighs and wishes she were dead while telling how she was beaten for three days then dumped in Mosul 400 kilometres from her home after IS militants beheaded her policemen husband and two adult sons.

These are among the early accounts of the IS occupation of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city and the largest urban centre controlled by IS in Iraq or Syria since a few thousand fighters defeated a government garrison of 60,000 to seize it in 2014. It was in Mosul that IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called all Muslims to his so-called caliphate from the lectern at the al-Nuri mosque. In January the Sunni militants were driven out of the eastern part of the city, which had been their stronghold, by an offensive which began in October. Now, in the offensive's second phase, some 650,000 civilians and an estimated 5000 IS fighters are essentially under seige from a 100,000-strong Iraqi coalition force supported by US air strikes. Australia has deployed 780 defence personnel as part of the US-led coalition against IS in the Middle East, including special forces soldiers based within 50 kilometres of Mosul. A total of 19,000 Iraqi soldiers have gone through training at the Taji base near Baghdad, along with 1900 police, while the Australian Air Task Group is involved in air combat and support operations against IS. More than 160,000 civilians have been displaced since the Mosul offensive began, and several thousand people have been killed or wounded. The battle is expected to be a long one because it's now in the old part of the city where close-packed buildings and narrow alleyways limit the use of tanks and armoured vehicles. Half of those still trapped in Mosul are children. They face a diabolical choice, as described by Save the Children: "Bombs, crossfire and hunger if they stay  or execution and snipers if they try to run". With some 50 air strikes a day, the horror of the bombardment for the civilians hiding in their cellars or under their stairs is scarcely imaginable. Islamic State is losing ground in northern Syria too; Aleppo has been in government hands since December. Its territory, personnel and material resources are vastly diminished since the height of its power when it ruled over 5 million-plus people. The fall of Mosul, when it comes, will likely end the dream of the caliphate. But there will be no respite. If anything, the situation then becomes even more complex and dangerous, for the US and allies such as Australia, when the uneasy alliances formed against IS as the common enemy disintegrate.
At least 4,000 families in the MIG Mixed Housing Complex nearby have threatened to boycott the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls.

Residents have threatened to boycott MCD polls to protest inaction over foul smell from Kondli sewage treatment plant. (Photo: Ramesh Sharma)

By Baishali Adak: Residents of Mayur Vihar Phase III in east Delhi are up in arms against the Kondli Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in their neighbourhood. They say the facility emits so much foul smell that it has turned the entire area into a "gutter gas chamber."

At least 4,000 families in the MIG Mixed Housing Complex nearby, which are worst affected, have threatened to boycott the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls.

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They rue they have written to BJP MP Maheish Girri, CM Arvind Kejriwal and PM Narendra Modi. But with only assurances and no respite coming, they now prefer to give a thumbs down to each one in the civic elections.

The 45 million gallons per day (MGD) STP (Phase IV) was commissioned in August 2013. It is spread over 172 acres.

RESIDENTS SHARE PLIGHT

Urvashi Popli, president of Astha Apartments RWA, said, "I have been living here since 1999. After the STP was set up, life became hell. It stinks throughout the day. ACs, fridges, computers get damaged in weeks. Companies refuse Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMCs)."

President of Sunshine Apartments RWA, Cholayil Shashidharan, said, "All are affected. Many have fallen victim to asthma, recurrent sneezing and throat infections. They are living on inhalers and nebulisers."

A local resident, Indu Choudhury said, "It's embarrassing. We can't call over relatives".

LOCALS WRITE TO NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

Shashidharan said, "Failing to get an answer from any of the authorities we approached, we have now written to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). We are determined not to vote in the MCD elections since they clearly don't care."

He said they would mobilise residents of affected Kondli and Dallupura colonies and villages as well, taking their strength to three MCD wards.

Shesh Ram Singh, executive engineer at Delhi Jal Board, who spoke to Mail Today over phone said, "We understand the difficulty the locals are going through. The company running the facility - Va Tech Wabag Ltd. - is not meeting our parameters as well. We have served them a show-cause notice as to why they shouldn't be replaced."

ALSO READ | MCD polls: Nizamuddin station revamp plan put on hold, votebank politics to blame?

Work on eastern peripheral expressway in full swing, to be finished by June 2018

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Childcare workers and supporters from Dawson Street Child Care Co-operative walk down Sydney Road, Melbourne during a protest march as part of a campaign for higher wages. Credit:Getty-Images My eldest brother has spent his adult life with a paralysed arm and a weakness in one leg, the result of the polio epidemic in the 1950s (Letters, March 8). He was one of the lucky ones who survived, after months in hospital. I'm sure he'd be happy to speak to any parents wavering about vaccinating their children.



Joan Brown Orange Australia's anti-vaxxer movement is proof positive of Barry Jones' 2012 thesis that "stupidity is on the rise in our age of enlightenment". There is still a societal belief in the discredited study by Andrew Wakefield, published in The Lancet in 1997 and later retracted by the same medical journal, which linked vaccination to autism. Accused of 'empire building': Minister Peter Dutton. Credit:Andrew Meares The historic and scientific validity of the benefits of vaccination is hard to challenge by any reasonable, analytical person. The anti-vaxxers are akin to the moon-landing-was-a-fake movement, but conspiracy theorists such as Pauline Hanson and Donald Trump will continue to give hard currency to Jones' 2012 thesis.

Robert Barnes Wedderburn 1974 Living in the 70s by Skyhooks. Credit:NF&SA

While I am totally opposed to denying medical care to children, hospitals could take a simple measure to protect vulnerable children in the various children's hospitals. They should make it a hard and fast rule that any unvaccinated child that needs to be admitted to hospital is automatically admitted to the adult wards of general hospitals. While this may be hard on the child, it may be a salutary lesson to their irresponsible parents.



Terry Goulden Wentworth Falls

If the "No Jab, No Pay" policy is "acceptable" to some, then a pensioner driving under the influence should perhaps, as a

consequence, be threatened with "Pension No Payment". Parents need to be directed to scientific and objective information on the web, from where they can become fully informed. That is their right but then, choosing to not immunise their children jeopardises

their health and that of the community. That deserves some form of condemnation but blackmailing with "No Pay" is unjust, and if the

disease strikes, that will be punishment enough.

John Feller Randwick Crikey, I didn't realise pro-vaxxers were so powerful. They managed to shut Pauline Hanson up in just one day. Your "vaxxer heretics" article, though, forgot to mention that actor Robert De Niro recently offered $100,000 to any scientist who could prove vaccines were safe. While the medical community might argue there should be no debate on the merit of vaccines, science fundamentally should always challenge the status quo, no matter how hot the political potato.



Michael Troy Fairlight Time we all paid higher regard to role of parenting Amy Cairns has outed a key issue in asserting that early childhood educators are undervalued because they do what mothers traditionally did for nothing ("Why I'm supporting childcare workers", March 8). At some stage in our nation's recent history the attitude took hold that a person's contribution didn't count unless it could be factored into "the latest economic figures" or GDP. If parenting is not valued in and of itself then neither will its substitute be. The value system and framing of our culture have been so materially financially skewed that society and community are no longer afforded sufficient status. We need to pay much higher regard to parenting and its contribution to the wellbeing, cohesion and stability of society, then rethink the whole issue of alternative childcare.



Meredith Williams Dee Why

On Tuesday I collected my granddaughter from her long day care centre. Whilst there I asked a senior staff member if the staff of about 10 carers would be stopping work on Wednesday to demand improvements to their low hourly pay rates. The carer hastened to reassure me that only two carers were union members and that neither they nor any others would be striking. Rather than feeling reassured I felt alarmed and saddened. As a retired high school and TAFE teacher I know that if you want change you must stand up and demand it. Jan Boyd Sylvania

NAPLAN essential for the disadvantaged Michael Anderson's comments that NAPLAN testing is stifling creativity in school students are proof of why NAPLAN has been supported by both Liberal and Labor federal governments ("Forget the 3Rs, we need the 4C", March 8). We have much evidence that children from the most educationally impoverished backgrounds are often failing to learn to read and count in primary school. This failure goes on to have a devastating impact upon these children's ability to experience success in life. This seems to be particularly profound for poor boys. About 90 per cent of our prisoners (90 per cent are male) are illiterate when entering the justice system. Our federal governments have become increasingly frustrated that state education systems and our teacher training institutions have continued to fail our most disadvantaged children, hence the need for NAPLAN.

A rigorous program to ensure almost all children can read and count does not stifle creativity. Following the nonsense espoused by Michael Anderson, however, can be a death sentence for children who have not been taught the basics before they enter school. Andrew Humphreys Narrawallee I must say, as a retired teacher, that I am impressed by Carlingford West Public School's results ("School takes a bow for making significant improvements," March 8). They must all be taking the 4Cs ("Forget the 3Rs, we need the 4Cs," SMH March 8).





Barrie Smillie Duffy ACT Don't stop please Ross Thank you Ross Gittins for attempting to out the ludicrous assertion that home affordability is only a supply issue, a moronic mantra that Turnbull, Morrison and Berejiklian repeat ad nauseam ("The cost of keeping prices high", March 8). But please don't stop there. Please keep going with this. If the average Sydney homeowner receives $100,000 per year, tax free, for doing nothing but owning a home, where does that money come from? Ross Gittins, please address this specific accounting question. Does it come from those people who don't own a home, i.e. the poorest in the community? Is the Government's housing "solutions" a deliberate ploy to widen the wealth divide? Mr Gittins, your article is a start. Please keep going.

John Harrison Coogee The good old days I am old enough to confirm that life was better in the '70s ("Was it better in the '70s?", March 8). Houses were affordable, my first house cost roughly the same as my annual salary. Universal health care worked well without all the rip-offs and inefficiencies of private health insurance. Education was free to tertiary level, no debts to pay when starting out in life. The rich were taxed and poor were taxed less, the fiction of the trickle-down effect was never mentioned. Then came The Dismissal. It took about five years for our worst ever Treasurer, Little Johnny Howard, to make life miserable for what he so charmingly called "the great unwashed".



John Grinter Katoomba As a male chauvinist, anti-feminist sexist, I can't comment on what it was like for women in the '70s versus today, but for men, the '70s were the best.



George Fishman Vaucluse Extend the lockouts

There's no need for cynicism about the Kings Cross lockouts, Julian Hare (Letters, March 8)  developer lobbying had nothing to do with it. It was the desperate cries of a community  and I include wider Sydney in that  begging for some sanity and safety in a precinct that had spiralled out of control. There were five avoidable deaths since 2008, plus inestimable other injuries and hospital admissions, that stemmed directly from the 24-hour booze-culture in the Cross. Today I'm happy to see rows of new apartments, rather than the sad and violent 24-hour sleaze that engulfed the area and made it an ulcerating boil on the backside of our city. Keep Sydney and NSW safe  extend the lockouts.

Patrick McGrath Coogee



Home and Away Land Security? Hmm ... a more Aussie name for our version of Homeland Security (Letters, March 8)? How about Sunburnt Country Squad? Swagman Special Ops? Bushranger Black Ops? Duttonators? D.R.A.T. Patrol (Dutton Reviles Aussie Terrorists)? When they arrest "enemy combatants" on evidence either real or expedient, off they go to a special tribunal called Kangaroo Kourt and/or shipped off to Goannatanamo Bay. Thomas Gough Casula Why does everyone assume that Peter Dutton is the leading candidate to become Minister of Homeland Security? Many of us will remember the excellent work done by Kevin Andrews in bundling Dr Muhamed Haneef into detention in 2007, which should push him to the top of the shortlist. Sure, a few mistakes were made, some compensation paid and a career  and life  almost ruined, but that is a small price to pay for national security. Especially when the victim  oops! suspect  had a foreign-sounding name. Kevin's talent has been wasted on the backbench for far too long. Come on Malcolm, as a bonus it will earn you brownie points with the Toned Abbs faction. You know it's a good idea.



Ian Morris Strathfield

Ban children from quads Susan Goodson (Letters, March 8) appeals for the banning of quad bikes. Perhaps a less extreme measure would be limiting use of them to those with a motor vehicle driver's licence and definitely banning children from driving or riding on them.

Stephanie Edwards Wollstonecraft Thirst for growth has Olympic-sized catch Surely people living at Olympic Park would be drinking Gatorade ("Olympic Park's housing plans face transport, water challenges", March 8). Peter Miniutti Ashbury



Back in 1798 Samuel Taylor Coleridge had a prophetic word for the future Sydney Olympic Park and its suburbs along the Parramatta River: "Water, water every where, nor any drop to drink".



Doug Walker Baulkham Hills One can only hope that the $745,000 in fines handed out to Jetstar and Virgin for drip pricing ("Airlines penalised, March 8) are plus court costs, plus administration charges, plus transaction processing fees, plus  Gareth Davidson Thornleigh National Party failing farmers I see that the National Farmers' Federation has declared its support for a market-based mechanism to reduce carbon emissions ("Climate change impact 'pervasive'", March 8). I recently read that the vast majority of farmers are concerned about climate change, so why is the National Party, which professes to represent them, not listening?
The judge was required to be nice  he had no jurisdiction after all  DPP Champion was there on indulgence. But when Justice Lasry asked about when this case might come to trial, a slip of the tongue, and a little joke laid bare the issue. Champion: I would have thought that it's clearly going to be in 2018 sorry, 2017. Lasry: No, 2018. Champion: Things are moving too quickly, Your Honour. Lasry: Not quickly enough.

Champion went on to hint that it might take even longer that that, and Lasry observed of the system he has spent his whole career serving: "Cases like this tend to get lost in the list for months and sometimes years." Why so slow? Because, according to Champion, the police are taking statements from 1000 witnesses, there are hundreds of victims, "countless hours of video footage, CCTV and footage from mobile telephone devices" and the police are set on "assessing it all". "There are multiple crime scenes, even within the CBD, which need to be dealt with," he told the judge. As this gargantuan undertaking inches along, to maintain scrupulous fairness to Gargasoulas, every time the media mentions the alleged crime, the word alleged needs to be used. Under well-known principles, we cannot depart from the "bare facts" of the case, or anything said in a courtroom. These are the ordinary restrictions. On top of this, Champion has sent a fire-breathing letter to all media outlets in Victoria.

"I am aware that some outlets may publish material that has the effect of exposing the above person's alleged violent character, or past adverse history," Champion wrote on January 21, just a day after the alleged killings. "Such material, or other material having the effect of commenting adversely on this person's character, must not be published. I advise you that I will carefully monitor media coverage in this matter and will not hesitate to act quickly if I form the view that the acceptable limits have been transgressed." This is an unusually restrictive set of words. It is so broad that most of us are withholding from the public all sorts of information that we're aware of. Publishing may mean being charged with contempt of court. In the meantime, the public debate on this issue is about the actions of everyone but Gargasoulas. A bail justice is in the firing line for allowing him to walk free  the state government has launched an inquiry into this. We're talking about the policy of police chases and erecting bollards in Swanston Street. Some of these questions might be justified, but it's a seriously limited public debate if the man allegedly at the centre of it can barely rate a mention. Champion has a job to do and he takes it seriously.

"I'm obliged to conduct prosecutions in an effective, economic and an efficient manner and I also, importantly, need, and am required to ensure that the prosecutorial system gives appropriate consideration to the concerns of victims of crime," he told the judge. The police, too, are presumably driven by the best motives. They want to secure a conviction without a shadow of a doubt. But are 1000 statements necessary? Is months, or years of evidence-gathering really required? Even in the largest case a court could never hear all this material. Six people lie dead. Dozens are injured. Their families, presumably, want the alleged perpetrator brought to justice as soon as possible. Surely this is a case where all the smart and well-intentioned actors in the legal system could, and should, put their heads together to make the prosecution of Jimmy Gargasoulas as efficient, timely, and sensible as possible, without unnecessary fanfare or detail. Then, armed with the full facts, we can have a full public discussion about it. That seems to be in the interests of us all  the victims, the witnesses and the wider public.
It is a different model to the Gillard-era carbon price scheme that was repealed in 2014 following claims by Coalition MPs it would lead to devastating increases in prices that would wipe South Australian steel centre Whyalla from the map and push the cost of a roast beyond $100. Greens climate and energy spokesman Adam Bandt said the analysis showed the extent to which electricity prices had risen under the Coalition. National emissions have also increased. Illustration: Ron Tandberg Mr Bandt said the biggest surge had been in Queensland and NSW, both overwhelmingly reliant on coal-fired power.

"The Liberals' credibility is shot. This is game over for the Liberals' electricity-bill scare campaign," Mr Bandt said. "High prices have nothing to do with renewables or state government [renewable energy] targets and everything to do with the Liberals' failure to properly run our national energy network." Mr Bandt said prices could be driven down by building more renewable energy and storage capacity, and the introduction of a national transition plan to a cleaner system. Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said wholesale prices were being pushed up by a range of factors, including high demand for limited gas, which the government was attempting to address, and renewable energy pushing out some cheaper coal-fired plants.

He stressed the role of gas as a transition fuel with only half the emissions of coal. "This is why we are calling on the states and the Northern Territory to drop their counter-productive gas bans and moratoriums . . . We need more gas and more gas suppliers to increase competition and drive down prices," he said. "What we won't do is pursue a reckless 50 per cent renewable energy target like that of Bill Shorten and Labor Party which will drive up electricity prices and put at risk our energy security." In a report to be released on Thursday, the Australian Energy Market Operator warns parts of south-eastern Australia could run short of gas within two years, potentially triggering electricity blackouts and household shortages for cooking and heating. Labor climate and energy spokesman Mark Butler said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was ignoring investor, business and expert calls for an emissions intensity scheme.

"Without a drastic and urgent change in direction, [the Coalition] will be remembered as the government that blamed straw men as they oversaw the greatest energy crisis in Australia's history," he said. The Turnbull government is reviewing its climate policies, but has ruled out introducing an emissions intensity scheme to help meet its 2030 target of a 26-28 per cent cut in emissions compared with 2005 levels. Fairfax Media revealed it took this decision due to a right-wing backlash despite being advised the intensity scheme could save consumers households and businesses up to $15 billion in electricity bills over a decade. Experts say the national grid has more generation than it needs to keep the lights on despite nine ageing coal plants shutting in seven years. Victoria's giant Hazelwood station will make it 10 when it closes this month. The supply issues and high prices experienced this summer largely came on extremely hot days when air-conditioners when running at maximum capacity, and supply was down due to outages at power plants or along transmission lines.

Dylan McConnell, from the Climate and Energy College, said the high price of gas  pegged to demand on export markets hungry for Australia's liquefied natural gas - was affecting wholesale electricity prices. Gas sets the marginal price because it is required to keep the lights on when the wind does not blow. This particularly affects South Australia, which has a far greater proportion of gas and wind than other states, but flows through to prices in Queensland and NSW. Mr McConnell said Queensland was also hit by a lack of competition - its power stations are owned by two state-owned companies where there used to be three  and increased demand to operate the huge LNG plants built in recent years. Victoria was less affected because it is the most connected state in the national grid, with links to South Australia, Tasmania and NSW, and because it still gets much of its power from brown coal.
Felicity is often asked if she gets scared at work. Women ask not because she's working with toxic chemicals, or hazardous equipment, but because she's working with men. Often drunk men. And they think it's dangerous.

As a driver for a ride-share company in Melbourne, Felicity said, "It's funny, lots of women ask me about that."

George McEnroe is starting a new ride share business for woman and children. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer.

"I don't often get scared at work, but I am wary."

And she is not alone. Twenty-five cases of sexual assault committed by taxi drivers were reported to police over three years in Melbourne. There's no information on reports against ride share drivers, or how many times it happened and was never reported, but two male Uber drivers were up on sexual assault charges in Sydney late last year.
Most people would not consciously decide to hire candidates based on whether they remind them of themselves. But one unconscious bias  affinity bias  may lead people to favour candidates who are like themselves, research shows.

Affinity or similarity bias is where people seek out those who share their backgrounds, group membership, or experiences.

One way women have coped in hostile working environments is to ally themselves to other women. Credit:Stocksy

If hiring managers and boards of directors are made up of mostly men who unconsciously engage in such bias, it stands to reason that more men than women will continue to be hired and promoted  particularly men who share the same background with current managers. This only serves to perpetuate the cycle of men outnumbering women in leadership positions.

Gender targets, de-identifying CVs and structured interviews are but a few of the strategies that can help eliminate such bias in recruiting employees.
Drug safety and regulation in Australia are under threat from US President Donald Trump, says leading Australian doctor John Rasko.

Professor Rasko, with two international colleagues from Japan and Canada, has penned a comment article in the journal Nature published on Thursday calling for the US Food and Drug Administration to continue regulation of pharmaceuticals for both efficacy and safety.

In January, Mr Trump told pharmaceutical industry executives: "We're going to be cutting regulations at a level that nobody's seen before."

Professor Rasko, who is head of cell and molecular therapies at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and affiliated with the University of Sydney, said: "The most extreme proponents of deregulation say the market should be the sole arbiter of utility: if a medicine sells well, then it must be safe and effective."
The NSW government's child abuse reporting hotline is clogged with thousands of less serious cases that do not warrant high level investigation, a royal commission has heard.

Department of Family and Community Services secretary Michael Coutts-Trotter told the inquiry the large volume of less serious reports affected resources available for the more severe cases, known as "risk of significant harm" reports.

Almost half the reports made to the FaCS child protection helpline in 2016 did not meet the criteria for statutory action, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard.

"We have effectively 100 child protection caseworkers receiving reports of risk that don't clear the statutory threshold and we really want to try to free that effort up to be more effective in keeping children safe," Mr Coutts-Trotter said.
A woman has been charged with high-range drink-driving after she was allegedly stopped in Sydney's west with four children in the car, police say.

The 33-year-old woman allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading more than four times the legal limit after police stopped her on Goldmark Crescent in Cranebrook about 3.45pm on Wednesday.

Police say there were four children - aged between six and 10 - inside the white Toyota vehicle at the time. It's understood the woman was picking up her children from school when patrolling officers stopped her.

Police then went to the woman's house where they allegedly found two other children - aged two and four - who were home alone at the time.

The woman was arrested and taken to Penrith Police Station, where she allegedly returned a reading of 0.212.
In a capacious brick warehouse in the historic Eveleigh railway precinct, hundreds of tonnes of heritage railway carriages and equipment is sitting idle after the NSW government terminated a tour company's access to the site and changed the locks.

For 30 years, 3801 Limited, a heritage rail company run by volunteers, has had almost exclusive use of the warehouse - called the Large Erecting Shop - to run its historic railway tours through the Southern Highlands and along the Hawkesbury River.

The heritage rail group's access to the site, so close to Redfern Station, has been periodically threatened. When in 2006 the former Labor government indicated it might sell the site for development, then opposition transport spokeswoman Gladys Berejiklian insisted it should continue to be used for heritage rail, and said 3801 had been doing a great job.

But in January, after years of failed negotiations and time extensions, Ms Berejiklian's government acted on its plans to convert the warehouse into a facility that could also be used by other rail heritage companies.
Hours before Jagdish Singh allegedly murdered his wife, he made a trip to his local shopping centre.

After dropping in to the Kings Park Tavern, the watering hole he visited almost daily to place a bet, he went into a nearby supermarket in Sydney's north-western suburbs.

It was here, police allege, Mr Singh, 57, bought the knife allegedly used to stab his wife in the neck in their house in Glenwood, north-west Sydney, on Tuesday afternoon.

One of the couple's two sons arrived home just after 4pm to find his mother, Harjit Kaur, lifeless on the floor.
The special drive was conducted from February 7 to 17 as nine students of a government school were taken ill last month after consuming lunch that had a dead rat in it.

By Priyanka Sharma: The city's food department is puzzled by the stellar report card of 40 schools in hygiene and cleanliness tests on their mid-day meal programme as nine students of a government school were taken ill last month after consuming the lunch that had a dead rat in it.

The special drive was conducted from February 7 to 17 while the incident at the Government Boys' Senior Secondary School in southeast Delhi's Deoli was reported on the final day of the inspection.

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The free meals are provided in schools across the country to encourage poor parents to send their children to study. However, over the years, there have been reports of lizards, snakes and worms in the meals, and of children suffering from food-poisoning.

"We feel there's something suspicious about the rat incident," said sources in the department. "Even if the food was unhygienic, the inspectors could have identified it easily. Even after the incident, the department has again conducted surprise checks in 71 schools, which again cleared all the hygiene and cleanliness tests."

FOUL PLAY INVOLVED?

Rats cannot reach inside the kitchen where extremely hot vessels are kept and this involves foul play, the sources said.

Delhi has a centralised kitchen system for mid-day meals unlike several other states where the food is cooked in individual schools.

"All the legal samples before and after the grim incident of February 17 have cleared the hygiene and cleanliness standards under Schedule 1V as per provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. As food commissioner, I can certify that mid-day meal in Delhi schools is perfectly fine," city food commissioner Dr Mrinalini Darswal told Mail Today.

The school lunch scheme is the largest such programme in the world and has been widely lauded as one of the most-successful welfare measures in India.

95 % OF 365 MEAL SAMPLES FAILED TO MEET NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The Delhi government lodged an FIR against the mid-day meal supplier following the February 17 incident. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia tweeted: "Such irresponsibility in case of children will not be tolerated."

Last week, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued a notice to the Delhi government over the matter, seeking a report within four weeks including details of the action taken against the agencies concerned.

About 43 NGOs are catering to the mid-day meal requirements of 18.46 lakh students in schools run by the Delhi government.

According to an NHRC report, 95 per cent of 365 meal samples failed to meet nutritional requirements in 2011-12 and 98 per cent of 322 samples failed the tests in 2010-11.

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ALSO READ | NHRC notice to Delhi government over dead rat in mid-day meal

Delhi: Mid-day meal from April 1 for Class 9-12 girl students

--- ENDS ---
An accused fake doctor who operated in public hospitals for more than a decade without being detected was eventually discovered by a private medical company.

Shyam Acharya, who is believed to have left the country, is accused of working under false pretences at hospitals in Manly, Wyong, Hornsby and Gosford from 2003 to 2014.

NSW Health Minster Brad Hazzard has called for a law change that would allow fake doctors to be jailed.

Mr Acharya is alleged to have stolen the name and medical qualifications of Indian doctor Sarang Chitale to become registered as a medical practitioner in NSW, where he worked in hospital emergency departments until he failed to meet Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency requirements.
The mother of a baby girl who drowned in a bath tub has pleaded not guilty to murder, on the grounds she was suffering a mental illness at the time, but guilty to manslaughter.

The six-month-old girl drowned in the bath tub of a North Strathfield home in November 2010 after months of obsessive worrying by her mother that the girl had dwarfism.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her six-month-old daughter, who drowned in a bath tub. Credit:Peter Rae

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Crown prosecutor Mark Hobart, SC, accepted the manslaughter plea on the basis the woman was suffering from a substantial impairment, being a schizophrenic disorder, at the time.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian was sent details of a $549 million blowout in the cost of the Sydney light rail project just weeks before, as transport minister, she issued information misleading the public about the reason for the increase.

The revelation, contained in a Transport for NSW response to a request for government information by Fairfax Media, will ramp up pressure on Ms Berejiklian to come clean about what she knew at the time.

But Ms Berejiklian is refusing to release the document, which has been deemed cabinet information by the transport department under the Government Information (Public Access) Act.

"GIPA applications are entirely a matter for the relevant departments," she said in a statement.
Although the police were with her in the kitchen of her Cremorne home, Kimberley McGurk was nervous and distressed about an impending visit from the man police believed had killed her husband.

It was August 8, 2010  almost a year after her husband had been shot dead outside their home  and property developer Ron Medich was still pursuing Mrs McGurk over debts he claimed her late husband owed him.

Michael McGurk's widow, Kimberley McGurk. Credit:Peter Rae

Mrs McGurk sat in court on Wednesday as phone intercepts, in which Mr Medich called her and her husband "crooks", were played to the jury.

"The guy was a down and out crook  and she was complicit," said Mr Medich in one call. In other calls Mr Medich complained bitterly about his lack of success in ongoing legal disputes with Mrs McGurk.
Six-year-old leukaemia patient Hayden Macarthur was chuffed with his important mission as an official show bag tester for the 195th Sydney Royal Easter Show.

For more than 100 years, the annual show bag preview has been a reality check for organisers, said Sydney Royal Easter Show general manager Murray Wilton.

"Our first sampling of show bags occurred back in 1909, so they've been with us for well over 100 years, and they are probably one of the most iconic things that we have," he said.

Hayden and his friend Jack Graham, also six and battling the same cancer, were among 30 children from the Westmead Children's Hospital and the Royal Far West in Manly to cast their eyes over the record 381 show bags.
A British backpacker allegedly raped, assaulted and held against her will during a terrifying outback road trip has been reunited with friends and family.

She is also reportedly making urgent plans to return to the UK.

Police confirmed the 22-year-old, from Liverpool in England, is now in Brisbane speaking with the British Consulate, as they try to make arrangements to allow her to return home, the Nine Network has reported.

Police were on Wednesday continuing to investigate the ordeal as the woman sought further treatment for her injuries.
Good Morning



How was International Women's Day for you? There was certainly plenty of debate and discussion about gender equality, perhaps more than any other year. As IWD drew to a close for another year, I enjoyed this piece by Brisbane blogger and podcaster Kaitlyn Plyley, whose message last night was "we must remember our victories to guard against despair".



A shock at our place this morning, as we read that Uber drivers are refusing to take unaccompanied minors as passengers. An Uber or a taxi is our back-up plan for the school run if either Nikki or myself can't get there. Today, The Courier-Mail reveals that's against Uber's rules - and not only are children being refused rides, their parents are then being slugged the $10 cancellation fee. Oh well, at least our water isn't pink this morning! Yes, there is pink water in the taps and toilets in the Canadian town of Onoway!

Images for the Gateway 09032017



1. `If you're so confident I killed her, try me again'

You have to hand it to Graham Stafford, the man who served 15 years for the murder of schoolgirl Leanne Holland before having his conviction overturned. He is confident and convincing when he argues he did not commit the crime. Police say new evidence proves Stafford is the only person who could have killed her. Stafford says bring it on , let's go to trial again.

2. Gas (and therefore electricity) crisis looming

Australia is facing a major gas shortage from next year. The Australian Energy Market Operator is warning that the country needs to come up with new ways of supporting gas-powered electricity generation. Widespread shortages would hit NSW and South Australia first, then Victoria in 2021 and Queensland between 2030 and 2036.
A former union boss allegedly helped a woman break into her house before raping her, a Brisbane court has been told.

The man, who cannot be named, was granted bail on Wednesday in the Brisbane Magistrates Court over fresh charges relating to the alleged rape on Saturday night.

The court heard the man helped the victim break through her front door because she had lost her keys. Credit:Peter Stoop PAS

It's alleged the pair had been drinking at Eleven Rooftop Bar in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley before they caught a cab back to her home.

The court heard he helped her break through the front door because she had lost her keys.
Power troika: Campbell Newman liked to lead from the front. "The breakdown wasn't just one thing, it was a thousand cuts over a long period of time and almost as soon as the government was sworn in," one LNP source told Fairfax Media. "There was jealousy almost immediately, with Campbell looking over his shoulder at what Tim, and to a lesser extent, Jeff were doing, thinking that they were out to get him. In happier times - Queensland's leadership trio. . Credit:Renee Melides "He had just won an election with 78 seats in an 89-seat parliament and he thought there was going to be a coup. There was a breakdown in staff, everyone thought everyone else was out to get them and it all came top down.

"He never transitioned from lord mayor to premier. He didn't understand how the politics worked. While in council, he was beholden to no one, including the party. He did what he wanted. You can't do that in parliament. And he never understood the magnitude of that switch." He would rather burn down the house with Nicholls in it, than see the LNP returned to government with Nicholls as Premier. As the party rushed to implement policies it had spent the better part of 15 years in opposition dreaming about, Newman became the face of every single change - whether he supported it or not. Amid ideological changes to the state's civil partnership legislation, which Newman had fought against, the slashing of the public service and allegations of cronyism, undermining and conspiracies began early. Newman couldn't understand the backlash to his changes. For a man used to spotting potholes and calling straight through to council maintenance to have them repaired  immediately  the slower pace of state parliament  and the politics  began chafing from almost the beginning.

"And the worse things got for the government, the worse things got for Campbell," said another LNP figure. "He just couldn't understand why his message wasn't getting through, why what we were doing wasn't getting through. He'd never really had to sell anything before, but I don't think he got all the support he could have." The policy that drove a wedge By the time 'Strong Choices', the Newman Government asset sales plan rolled around in 2014, the relationship between Nicholls and Newman was hanging by a thread. Newman opposed the policy internally at first, but Nicholls' win in the cabinet  putting asset sales on the agenda  severed the relationship.

Former ETU State Secretary Peter Simpson  one of the biggest bugbears of the Newman government  said he had written to Newman just after the 2012 election win to get his views on asset sales. "His response outlined that he didn't have much interest in it, although if he did, he would take it to the people, unlike Bligh," Mr Simpson said. "He made a number of statements in the press after that regarding not seeing privatisation as the panacea to the state's ills. "That's why we found it so curious when Strong Choices was announced. We later learnt it was Nicholls who was driving the agenda, along with Treasury." Newman made Nicholls take ownership of the ultimately doomed policy, sending him on a listening tour across the state to sell the deeply unpopular plan.

"But he signed off on everything, every single step of the way," one senior LNP member said. "He was just as excited as everyone else, because it meant he could build more tunnels and things. He wanted to be known as the infrastructure premier and he knew that was the way to get him there." Publicly, all three would deny there was a problem with the relationship, despite repeated questions from journalists, who couldn't miss the looks of frustration and, at times, contempt being thrown.

But when the election was lost Newman turned the blame on Strong Choices and pointed the fingers at those he believed responsible  Nicholls and Seeney. "He just couldn't understand that he played a role, that people didn't like him," another senior LNP figure said. "Perfect example  when we lost the by-elections. There was an internal revolt after he came out and said that voters just weren't listening to what we were saying, because he just couldn't take any responsibility for it. "We needed the public to know that we had heard them and would change, but he just refused to back down. It wasn't until there was that second big loss in Stafford  and a lot of shouting, because the gloves were well and truly off by then  that he came out and begrudgingly apologised. "Even then, he had to have his digs at Nicholls and Seeney, saying sorry for policies they had pushed, which hadn't really come up."

Election spells the end By the time of the doomed election campaign, called so quickly in January 2015 it caught LNP MPs unaware, Nicholls and Newman were barely talking. Other ministers who had watched the breakdown would tell Nicholls that he just had to "ensure the election". Newman losing Ashgrove was a given. No one believed the LNP would lose government. Seeney's admission following the election that mistakes had been made from the beginning and the party didn't properly understand the magnitude of parachuting someone unfamiliar with state politics into the leadership was the final stake in their relationship. Following the election, political circles would watch as Newman ignored Nicholls and Seeney at events and took jabs from the sidelines, first on his book tour, and later, on Sky Television.

That ramped up following the leadership coup which saw Nicholls replace Lawrence Springborg as LNP leader. "Bligh, Beattie, they all moved away when they lost their elections. And for the most part  especially Bligh  they kept their mouths' shut  even when their legacies were being trashed, because they knew it was for the betterment of the party, even if they hated some of the personalities," another senior LNP member said. "But Newman? Newman not only stayed, he started lobbing bombs. And you can see how happy he is to be doing it. He would rather burn down the house with Nicholls in it, than see the LNP returned to government with Nicholls as premier." Made to take the blame for more than his fair share of what was a dysfunctional government heady on power and too eager to wield it, Newman's bitterness is understood by many in the party, despite the frustration at his tactics. Both Nicholls and Seeney appeared at the unveiling of Newman's formal portrait in the Premiers' Hall of the state parliament, which features the would-be infrastructure premier wearing a Brisbane City Council high-vis vest, the three putting appearance above fractured relationships,

But not many were surprised at the very public smack down Newman delivered to Nicholls over social media just days later, following the LNP leader's own very public distancing from the legacy he helped to create. Labor has already seized on the tweets, posting them on a billboard in Fortitude Valley. "It was sh*t, but he had to do it  he has to put distance between him and the Newman government, if he wants to win the next election. Which he does, which we all want him to do," one LNP MP said. "It grates, because we all know he was part of the leadership team which led us to that defeat. But it's what leaders have to do. Palaszczuk was part of the Bligh government. She has had to apologise for that. I am sure that hasn't gone down well in some Labor circles, but this is politics. You do what you have to do to get into power and start putting in the policies you believe are right for the state. "But now we have a former leader, who like Abbott, who like Latham, can't separate themselves and their own ego, from the greater good. "He'd rather see Nicholls lose, than us win."
The rise of fake news and populist propaganda has prompted broader concerns ahead of German elections in September. A government-led task force, which includes representatives from Facebook, Google and Twitter, is looking into how such companies deal with posts deemed hateful.

The case, one of several against Facebook in Germany, was viewed as an important indicator of how the country's stringent laws on personal privacy will be applied to social media companies. It also raised questions about whether those companies should be treated as data providers, and whether they should follow stricter media laws or even new legislation.

The refugee, Anas Modamani, became a potent symbol of the wave of migrants flooding into Germany, and of the country's immigration policy when he posed for a selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2015. But the image surfaced in social media posts falsely linking him to terrorist attacks in Brussels and on a Christmas market in Berlin, prompting Modamani to seek an injunction against Facebook in a court in Wurzburg, in the southern German state of Bavaria.

A Syrian refugee whose image showed up in fake news reports linking him to terrorism lost a closely watched case in Germany that sought to prevent Facebook from allowing users to repost the picture.

In the case on Tuesday, Judge Volkmar Seipel ruled that there were no grounds for an injunction because Facebook had not in any way manipulated the content, which would have made it legally responsible for the distribution. The judge added that a host provider, according to the European Union's electronic commerce laws, could be held responsible for eliminating content from its site only when it was considered technically possible.

Facebook had argued that it was not possible to search the entire contents of its site. Modamani's lawyer disagreed. "This question was disputed by the parties and could not be clarified in the hearing," the judge said, suggesting it could be answered in a separate trial if pursued.

Modamani, who lives in Berlin, was not present at Tuesday's announcement and declined to comment on the ruling. His lawyer, Chan-jo Jun, said that although some of the altered images remained available on Facebook, the attention the trial generated had resulted in a drop in threats against Modamani since late December.

Jun, however, arrived at the court flanked by two police officers. He said the security detail had been ordered after an anonymous call several weeks earlier in which the person threatened to murder him and cited information that Jun said only an insider could have known.

"We learned a lot from this case," Jun said after the ruling. "People have learned that Mr. Modamani is not a terrorist. We lawyers have learned that we cannot help victims of libel and slander with the laws we have. But we have learned which laws have to be changed."
The woman, identified as Shalini from Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi, tried to reach the stage while Modi was speaking and was immediately taken away from the auditorium.

By India Today Web Desk: A protesting woman had to be dragged out of an event by security forces as she tried to disrupt an award ceremony where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honouring women sarpanchs in Gujarat's Gandhinagar city.

The woman, identified as Shalini from Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi, tried to reach the stage while Modi was speaking at the event to mark the International Women's Day. She was immediately taken away from the auditorium.

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India Today TV aired visuals of the security personnel dragging the woman out of the Swachh Shakti 2017 event in Gandhinagar. The motives of the woman behind the protest are not yet known. It is also not clear if she has been detained or not.

Speaking at the event, Modi said, "The women we are honouring today have broken so many myths. They have shown how a positive change has begun in rural India. I can see the determination to make a positive difference when I meet these women sarpanchs. They want to bring a qualitative change."

"2019 we will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He always said India lives in the villages. Gandhiji also said cleanliness is more important than political freedom. You can imagine the commitment he had towards cleanliness," he said.

Also read:

On last day of UP election, PM Modi visits Somnath temple in Gujarat

From home constituency in UP to home state: Why PM Modi's 2-day Gujarat tour beginning today is significant

--- ENDS ---
Wearing pink pussy hats and waving hand-painted cardboard placards, women have taken to Melbourne's streets to fight for equal pay, reproductive rights and an end to family violence this International Women's Day.

About 2000 women and supporters gathered at the steps of Parliament House on Wednesday evening before marching to Trades Hall in Carlton.

The women carried signs which read "Act your rage", "Get your laws off my body" and "Girls just want fun[damental] rights".

"It's not the 1960s," Michelle Jackson, from the Australian Services Union, told the crowd. "We're not talking about mums earning a bit of pocket money to buy a new frock.
Police are appealing for assistance after a terrifying robbery that saw the alleged victim tied with his own socks and left for hours on the street.

The incident reportedly occurred in Rowville on Sunday evening, finally ending when the victim was able to crawl to safety.

A 22-year-old man was walking along Bridgewater Way at about 11.30pm after visiting nearby shops, when another man grabbed him from behind and demanded his wallet and phone, investigators were told.

"The man continued to hold the victim forward and when he tried to turn around, the man threatened to stab him," a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

"He then forced the victim on to the ground and tied his hands behind his back, then removed his shoes and socks.
Melbourne Express: Thursday, March 9, 2017

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Underworld gun-for-hire Noel Faure, the man who murdered Lewis Moran, has died in prison.

Faure, 62, was serving a life sentence with a 23-year minimum for the murder of Moran and shooting of Herbert Wrout at the Brunswick Club in 2004.

Noel Faure in July 2004.

He died on December 30 in Hopkins Correctional Centre, Ararat, after battling illness for more than seven years.

Faure and others involved in the slaying of Moran were paid $150,000, a court heard.
Bol, 1, left, Hanger, 4, centre and her twin brother Madit, right, were killed when their mother's car crashed into the lake. Forensic psychiatrist Danny Sullivan said Guode denied to him she intended to kill the children and could not explain her actions, but had accepted responsibility for their deaths. Dr Sullivan told the court a retrospective analysis of the woman's mental state showed it declined in between Bol's traumatic birth  in which Guode lost a lot of blood  and the children's deaths. The children's father Joseph Manyang outside court. Credit:Joe Armao Mr Manyang said the surviving daughter, now seven, missed her siblings and was scared of the water and had feared there were crocodiles in the lake.

Guode's plea hearing was halted three times on Wednesday when she became upset; firstly 40 minutes into the hearing, when she began crying as prosecutor Kerri Judd, QC, outlined how Bol was not breathing when pulled out of the car by a rescuer. Akon Guode at her children's funeral in April 2015. Credit:Chris Hopkins The hearing was adjourned for 35 minutes while Guode left the court and regained her composure, with the help of a counsellor. The hearing was also delayed either side of the lunch break. Akon Guode's car in the lake where three of her children died in April 2015. Credit:Pat Scala

Justice Lex Lasry excused her at one point from hearing the rest of the prosecutor's opening, but later said Guode had to be in court for the substantive part of her defence. Ms Judd told the court Guode drove her children past the lake four times in the hours before the car entered the water, and performed a U-turn in a side street just beforehand. CCTV footage played to the court showed the car turn and drive towards the lake. There were then three distinct steering movements required for the car to enter the water, Ms Judd said: one to mount the kerb, another to drive past trees and a third to go into the lake. When the car entered the water, neighbours told triple-zero operators they thought there was no immediate danger, as the water came to the bottom of the door seal. But, the court heard, Guode then drove further into the lake, and water flooded into the car. At that point, the car was 21.5 metres from the edge of the lake.

The prosecutor said Guode initially told ambulance paramedics and police she had experienced dizzy spells and headaches since Bol's birth. But, the prosecutor said, Guode was medically assessed after the children's deaths and no neurological problems were found. Mr Manyang was one of about 10 members of Melbourne's Sudanese community in court on Wednesday. Ms Judd told the court Guode was effectively ostracised from her community at the time of the tragedy, as she became involved in a relationship with Mr Manyang when he was married, and was involved in several confrontations with his wife. Guode was also experiencing financial problems, the prosecutor said, as she was sending money to relatives in Sudan and being pursued by debt collectors for almost $4000 in unpaid bills.

Guode arrived in Australia as a refugee with her three eldest children, whose father was killed in the Sudanese civil war, defence counsel Marcus Dempsey said. But it was in Australia, Mr Dempsey said, that Guode was "on the brink of utter destitution" trying to cope with financial problems, social isolation and caring for seven children, and had "internalised" her problems. The court heard she appeared distant with her children after Bol's birth and it became the job of her eldest daughter to care for the other children. "There is an operating disturbance on her mind when she [Guode] committed all relevant acts," Mr Dempsey said. The charge of infanticide  which relates to Bol's death  applies to women who kill their own children [who are younger than two years] in instances where the women have either not fully recovered from childbirth, or were affected by a mental-health disorder related to childbirth.
A mass break-in of lockers has left dozens of year 12 students in Melbourne without essential study equipment at the beginning of the biggest year of their school lives.

CCTV footage has been released of a man, with a distinct ambling walk, who was at the school in the city's north the night the items were stolen.

Students arrived at Gladstone Park Secondary College last Wednesday morning to discover that about 40 lockers in an outdoor storage area had been broken into.

"At first we thought wind had blown the lockers open as there were notes and paper all over the ground," said one student.
Former child migrants have told a British inquiry they will never forgive England for "deporting" them to Australia to be routinely bashed and sexually abused in boys' homes.

Giving evidence to the child sex abuse inquiry sitting in London on Tuesday, the men aged in their late 60s to 80s recalled the abuse they suffered in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Two British child migrants brought to Australia in the 1950s. Credit:SMH

Under the child migration schemes of the time, English children who were put into care by struggling parents, including single mothers, were often sent to church-run homes in Australia.

The Australian government encouraged such migration to boost its post-war population with "good, British stock".
The WA Labor party is planning to sell the naming rights for the new Perth Stadium and the Perth Arena in a bid to fix the state's gaping budget deficit if it wins the MArch 11 election.

Shadow Treasurer Ben Wyatt said the party would create naming right agreements for both venues in a plan to scoop around $10.5 million for the taxpayers.

Labor plans to sell the name for Perth Stadium in a bid to fix the WA budget. Credit:Perth Stadium

"After years of reckless spending, it's crucial that we take advantage of all options available to help get our budget back on track," he said.

"I don't envision the Perth Arena or Perth Stadium being removed, we simply add the commercialised name to it," he said.
A District Court Judge has delivered a stinging criticism on the "handwringers in Canberra" and the "so called Department of Corrections" over their handling of Aboriginal offenders.

WA Judge Phillip McCann said the prison system was a "failure" and the way in which Aboriginal people were dealt with was nothing short of an "international disgrace."

WA Judge Phillip McCann said the prison system was a "failure." Credit:Michele Mossop

Judge McCann made the scathing comments last week in the WA District Court as he sentenced Daniel Joshua Ward, an Indigenous man, to 12 years jail for raping a 61-year-old woman in Meekatharra last year.

Ward was on bail at the time and had been jailed previously on five separate occasions.
London: Britain's Foreign Secretary says he has had "frank" talks with Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israeli Prime Minister's major expansion of "illegal settlements" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Mr Johnson tweeted on Wednesday local time that he had conducted "friendly and frank" discussions with Mr Netanyahu during his visit to Jerusalem.

"[We] discussed Two State solution, trade & concern over illegal settlements," Mr Johnson said.

Mr Johnson's pointed reference to Israel's "illegal settlements" is in stark contrast to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has refused to say whether the government considers Israel's expansion into the occupied territories as "illegal".
This is Narendra Modi's first visit to Somnath temple since taking charge of the Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi. He had last visited the temple on February 1, 2014.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the famous Somnath temple in Gujarat's Gir-Somnath district today even as Uttar Pradesh and Manipur vote in the last phase of Assembly elections.

Modi, who is one of the trustees of the Somnath Temple Trust, performed jalabhishek. He was accompanied by trust chairman and veteran BJP leader Keshubhai Patel and party president Amit Shah.

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This is Narendra Modi's first visit to Somnath temple since taking charge of the Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi. He had last visited the temple on February 1, 2014.

PM Modi is on a two-day tour of Gujarat. His visit is being linked with prepration for Assembly election scheduled in the state later this year.

On the first day of his two-day visit, PM Modi inaugurated ONGC Petro additions Ltd's (OPaL) Rs 30,000 crore plant at Dahej Special Economic Zone.

He also unveiled a four-lane cable-stayed bridge over river Narmada in Bharuch district.

ALSO READ:

From home constituency in UP to home state: Why PM Modi's 2-day Gujarat tour beginning today is significant

How PM Narendra Modi turned saviour for ailing 8-day-old child

Is Prime Minister Narendra Modi like Lal Bahadur Shastri? Former PM's son says yes

--- ENDS ---
Beijing: The story dripped with intrigue.

A frantic President Donald Trump, holding court in a bathrobe, ordered his aides to wrap the White House telephones in tinfoil, several Chinese publications reported this week, citing The New Yorker.

After a sleepless night, Trump called staffers Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer at 6am, ordering them to buy enough tin foil to cover every phone in the building.

"Wrap it tighter," he was heard bellowing at Conway, The New Yorker reported.
Partners in top secret intelligence such as Australia are all OMG! ()

Top secret faces of the internet.

Russia is just innocently whistling to itself: _|

And we can guess all this, courtesy of the CIA's own special top secret list of Japanese emojis. Yes, you read that right. And we've copied and pasted some favourites.

The discovery of the list by social media users is one of the lighter aspects of the dump of classified documents by WikiLeaks that appear to reveal the hacking tools developed by American spooks to snoop across the internet.

The emoji list began as a thread "Faces of the Internet" on what appears to be the chat system for developers inside the CIA, with the first version simply a collection of the clever keyboard constructions that people use to decorate messages online.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has hinted he may run for UK Parliament. Credit:AP The trove released Tuesday, which could not be independently verified and the CIA has declined to confirm, included 8761 documents - the first batch in a series of planned releases, WikiLeaks said. This first group, at least, has important differences from the 2013 revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. His trove of documents largely described mass surveillance of internet-based communications systems, while the WikiLeaks release more often describes attacks on individual devices. US President Donald Trump's new CIA director, Michael Pompeo. Credit:AP By targeting devices, the CIA reportedly gains access to even well-encrypted communications on such popular apps as Signal and WhatsApp, without having to crack the encryption itself. The WikiLeaks reports acknowledged that difference by saying that the CIA had found ways to "bypass", as opposed to defeat, encryption technologies.

"The idea that the CIA and NSA can hack into devices is kind of old news," said Johns Hopkins University cryptography expert Matthew Green. "Anyone who thought they couldn't was living in a fantasy world." Snowden's revelations and the resulting backlash made strong encryption a major, well-funded cause for privacy advocates and, perhaps more important, technology companies that had the engineering expertise and budgets to protect data as it flowed across the world. Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo and many other companies announced significant new initiatives, in part to protect their brands against accusations by some users that they had made it too easy for the NSA to collect information from their systems. Many websites, meanwhile, began encrypting their data flows to users to prevent snooping. Encryption tools such as Tor were strengthened. Encrypting apps for private messaging, such as Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp, exploded in popularity, especially among users around the world who were fearful of government intrusion. In the days after the US presidential election last fall, Signal was among the most downloaded programs in Apple's app store, and downloads grew by more than 300 per cent. Open Whisper Systems, which developed Signal, released a statement on Tuesday saying, "The CIA/Wikileaks story today is about getting malware onto phones, none of the exploits are in Signal or break Signal Protocol encryption."

WhatsApp and Google declined to comment. Telegram and Samsung did not respond to requests for comment. "Apple is deeply committed to safeguarding our customers' privacy and security. The technology built into today's iPhone represents the best data security available to consumers, and we're constantly working to keep it that way," Apple spokesman Fred Sainz said on Tuesday. "While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities. We always urge customers to download the latest iOS to make sure they have the most recent security updates." US government authorities had complained loudly that the post-Snowden wave of encryption was undermining their ability to investigate serious crimes, such as terrorism and child pornography. The FBI in 2016 sued Apple in hopes of forcing it to unlock an iPhone used by the San Bernadino, California, killers before announcing, amid heavy public criticism, that it had other ways to crack the device. Against that backdrop, many privacy advocates argued that devices - often called "endpoints" for their place in chains of communications that can criss-cross continents - were the best available targets in a world with widespread online encryption. The WikiLeaks documents suggest that the CIA may have reached the same conclusion.

"It would certainly be consistent with the hypothesis that we've made real progress in the encryption we've been introducing," said Peter Eckersley, technology projects director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil liberties group. "It's impossible to be 100 per cent certain, but reading the tea leaves, it's plausible." The WikiLeaks revelations also serve as a reminder that, whatever the political backlash to revelations about digital spying, it is not going away and probably will continue to grow. Aside from the United States, many other advanced nations such as China, Russia, Britain and Israel have extremely sophisticated tools for digital spying. Less-advanced nations have gained access to powerful online spying technology through a robust and lightly regulated industry of surveillance contractors throughout the world. On Tuesday, resignation and frustration rippled through Silicon Valley as technologists grappled with the revelations of yet another US government attempt to exploit their systems. And cyber security experts reacted with alarm. "This is explosive," said Jake Williams, founder of Rendition InfoSec, a cyber security firm. The material highlights specific anti-virus products that can be defeated, going further than a release of NSA hacking tools last year, he said.

The WikiLeaks release revealed that the CIA has sophisticated "stealth" capabilities that enable hackers not only to infiltrate systems but to evade detection, as well as abilities to move inside a system freely as if they owned it. Nicholas Weaver, a computer security researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, said the dates in the WikiLeaks files suggest that the documents were taken in February or March 2016. At least two of them are marked top secret, "which suggests that somebody in early 2016 managed to compromise a top-secret CIA development system and is willing to say that they did." One internal CIA document listed a set of Apple iPhone "exploits" - tools that can be used to compromise the device by taking advantage of software flaws. Some of the tools are based on "zero day" vulnerabilities that have not been shared with the manufacturer. Loading So "some of these descriptions will allow Apple to fix the vulnerabilities," Weaver said. "But at the same time, they're out in the public, and whoever stole this data could use them against US interests."
Fellow St. Maarteners,

Residents of our beautiful island,

And in particular, ALL the women of this land.

For over 100 years now, the world has been celebrating International Womens Day, which began as a female workers struggle for shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. More than a century later, despite the great strides that we have made, gender equality, equal pay for equal work, and an end to violence, exploitation, and oppression against women remain elusive in many parts of the world, including here on our beloved St. Maarten. This, I believe, is perhaps why the theme chosen for this years celebration is: #beboldforchange.

Indeed, it would take a whole paradigm shift for us to change the condition of women in the world today. The myth that women are inherently and biologically inferior to men is on the basis of the pervasive gender inequality we are experiencing and as you know, myths die hard.

In the biblical creation story, God first created the universe and everything within it before He created man to have dominion over it. God then realized that this wasnt going to work, so He created something better, woman, to complement men in such a manner that they would be co-proprietors and managers of the universe. Somewhere along the line, men usurped the joint authority and began to lord it over women.

The resistance against such usurpation of power is what we are celebrating today. Women have been pushing back and fighting the baseless prejudice against them with admirable strength and unfaltering spirit.

You dont have to be a feminist to join in that struggle and be pro-women. In fact, nobody  man or woman  can seriously be anti-woman because that would be tantamount to being anti- ones mother or wife or sister or daughter or.... Being pro-women is being a champion for social change, for equality, pure and simple, and for justice that is based on shared values and fairness. That is why womens rights are, in my view, human rights.

Of course, in the world we live in today, women are still victims of domestic violence and of subtle and often not-so-subtle discrimination at home as well as at work. The liberation of women is, therefore, a task for ALL of us who believe freedom knows no gender or sexual orientation, no color or race, no religion or class; no nationality or ethnicity. That is why we are all called to be bold for change because womens liberation is the expressway we need to take to reach the full potential of our communities.

To put it bluntly, no community, nay, no nation can claim to be civilized unless its women are equal participants in its development. In fact, no nation can achieve any meaningful progress unless its women are on equal footing with its men. Former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, was right when he said: Countries with higher levels of gender equality have higher economic growth. Companies with more women on their boards have higher returns. Peace agreements that include women are more successful. Parliaments with more women take up a wider range of issues - including health, education, anti-discrimination, and child support.

His predecessor in office, Kofi Anan, expressed similar sentiments when he declared: Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.

If, indeed, gender equality is a condition sine qua non to achieve good governance, shouldnt we on St. Maarten, where good governance has become such a coveted political ideal, be bold and change our laws to guarantee equal representation for women in our public institutions?

We can beat our chests and proclaim to the whole wide world that St. Maarten women are strong; that St. Maarten women are well represented in all facets of our public and private lives. But we cannot deny the fact that they are often at the receiving end of sexist remarks or that few of them have broken the glass ceiling of corporate board rooms.

Yes, we have had and still have women in several professional fields including health, education, banking and politics. True, our first prime minister and president of parliament were women. But is that enough as a measure of gender equality?

International Womens Day is meant to celebrate the achievements of our women, but it is also a day of introspection. And if we do an honest soul-searching, we should be bold enough to evaluate how we raise our boys and girls. The legendary feminist author and activist, Gloria Steinem once noted that We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.

I believe that is the direction we should be going if we are serious about eliminating the gender gap. And we cannot hide behind our culture on this score. Culture does not make people, the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote in We should all be feminists. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.

I make bold to say that this is the kind of change that will transform our society and indeed, the world.

Happy International Womens Day!
CAY HILL:--- The St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) has received benevolent donations for their pediatric patients from both the Rotary Club of Sint Maarten and the St. Martin of Tours Catholic Parish since the start of this year.

As a generous gesture, the Rotary Club members visited the hospital to hand-deliver their donation of toys, books, and other items to the ward. SMMC appreciates the continued support from the Rotary Club of Sint Maarten, which has been an existing contributor to SMMC through the years.

On behalf of the St. Martin of Tours Parish, Fr. Adam Oleszczuk and Mrs. Ludwina Hodge-Sprock also visited the medical center to present the gifts for the children. The donation was part of an initiative of the church where their congregation collected several of their Christmas presents, wrapped in decorative paper, to share with the child patients of SMMC. Most of the items were wrapped and will be a surprise for the kids. However, several unwrapped items were amongst the gifts, such as an Alphabet Foam Puzzle mat and collectible dolls. SMMC is grateful to the parish for their gifts and their display of selfless generosity.

The giving spirit of the community adds communal value to the work done at SMMC. Together the community and SMMC join forces in providing caring environments for their patients. Donations are always appreciated by the St. Maarten Medical Center. If you would like to contribute to your local hospital, donations can be made via SMMC website www.smmc.sx, or by contacting their Communications Department for more information about the hospitals donations program at 543-1111 ext. 2508.

SMMC Press Release
Simpson Bay:--- Training Professionals International Firm, TPI will offer their ACCREDITED ADMINSITRATIVE/EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TRAINING in St. Maarten on Thursday, April 13, 2017 at the Westin Dawn Beach Resort from 8:30am  5:00pm, lunch included.

TPI facilitated the training in partnership with Anguilla Chamber of Commerce on March 1, 2017 and it was a huge success. A class of over 25 Executive/Administrative assistants from fifteen business and organizations in Anguilla jam packed the room for a full day of accredited training. The training focused on: Self-Management, Time Management, Minute Taking, Microsoft Office Programs, Leadership Skills, Event Planning, Communication Skills and Accounting and Bookkeeping.

The participants had the following to say about the training:

Memorable and informative.

An event in learning that will resonate with me forever.

Finally, I have an accredited training that employers recognize worldwide.

More than a training, life changing.

I have a certificate of value that mean something everywhere.

TPI is the new Mc Donalds of Training in the Caribbean.

President and CEO, Dr. Natasha J. Gittens stated in a recent press release, the success in Anguilla is just a glimpse in the mindset of professionals today. They have spoken, no longer are trainings acceptable without being approved by a national accrediting body that is a thing of the past. TPI continues to educate the community to abort the idea that trainings are good just because their offered. If a training is not accredited do not enroll it is a waste of time, money and valuable work hours. On the other hand, certificates offered by TPI are recognized globally and provides professionals with unlimited possibilities.

The accredited certificate illustrates that a participant has been trained in current trends and have been exposed to best practices, role playing and selective curriculum and theories that supports their comprehensive understanding of course materials. In short whether professionals attending TPI courses remain in the Caribbean or desire to travel outside, their accredited TPI certification will be instrumental in all stages of their career ambitions.

To enroll in the course contact TPI Client Services at 526.2052/2050 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Visit our website @ http://firmtpi.com/. Follow us on Instagram at TPI_SXM.
PHILIPSBURG:---- Minister Plenipotentiary Doran-York once again commemorated International Womens Day in The Hague, by honoring 12 ladies, for their individual achievements and also for their contribution towards the People of Sint Maarten living in the Netherlands.

Minister Doran-York stated in her presentation, that she has been made aware, and has also experienced where persons of the Islands, who have been residing in The Netherlands for a very long period, have been going beyond the call of duty, to assist others in need of such especially students and newcomers.

This evening, I am honored to have in our midst a group of distinguished Ladies, who throughout their years here in the Netherlands, have stood out in various ways.

I salute these Ladies because of the many lives that they have touched in a very special way, from the elderly, right down to the students. You have been an inspiration and encouragement to your fellow country men and women, by leading by example while constantly influencing, pushing and encouraging them. You are now considered as their heroes. Your actions should not and will not go unrecognized.

I must remind you, of the strength that women display, when they ban together in order to get things done. We see the great results every day.

I am extending heartfelt thanks to you, on behalf of myself as your Minister Plenipotentiary, your Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary, the staff at this Cabinet and on behalf of the Government and the people of Sint Maarten whom we represent, Minister Doran closed by saying.

Deputy Minister Hasani Ellis also congratulated the honorees, and told those in attendance that he fully knows the strength of women, as he recalled his childhood days, where he saw especially how his mother and grandmother work extremely hard and succeeded to assist in maintaining their families. He mentioned that without these strong women in his life, he would not be where he is today and so therefore he has a great deal of respect for women on the whole.

The evening closed off with the honorees thanking the Minister Plenipotentiary and the entire Cabinet for the honors bestowed upon them, while saying that they did what they loved and it was from the bottom of their hearts.

Minister Doran-York would also like used this opportunity, to once again send a strong message to persons of Sint Maarten in The Netherlands, whether residing there, living temporarily for education purposes, for medical reasons or for whatever other reasons.

In the event that these persons are encountering issues beyond their control, kindly make contact with the Cabinet of the Minister Plenipotentiary also known as the "Sint Maarten House".

Bezuidenhoutseweg 93B

2594 AC Den Haag

Tel number 0031 702156067,

The staff members are ready and willing to assist with whatever is necessary once brought to their attention.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On March 6, 2017, the General Audit Chamber submitted its report to Parliament and the Minister of Finance, regarding the audit of the 2015 Financial Statements of the General Pension Fund (Algemeen Pensioenfonds Sint Maarten - APS).

The financial position of the APS has become more worrisome, according to the Audit Chamber. The drop in the coverage ratio from 97.6% in 2014 to 93.2% in 2015, is a key indicator. The coverage ratio is an important measure used by a pension fund to determine if the funds assets will be able to cover future pension obligations. The minimum standard required by the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten is 100%. Furthermore, APS did not meet the internal standard of its investment policy, which requires a long-term return of 5.5% on its entire investment portfolio. In 2015, the APS recorded a 0.39% return on its entire investment portfolio. The average return since 2011 is 4.29%.

Factors that contribute to the tenuous financial position of the APS include APSs invoicing of lower than legally required premiums (22% instead of 25%), and the long outstanding claims against both the government of Sint Maarten and the General Pension Fund of Curacao. The payment of ANG 19 million arising from the sale of the government building, and the payment of ANG 60 million based on the division of assets and liabilities between Sint Maarten and the Netherlands Antilles, was not fulfilled. As of the publication of their report, the Audit Chamber had not received confirmation of the resolution of these claims.

The Audit Chamber believes that the agreement reached between government, labor representatives of civil servants and the APS to reform the pension system may lead to sustainability of the Fund as compared to the existing arrangement. However, compared to the current pension system, the new system represents austerity, according to the Audit Chamber. The proposed changes of the pension system include an increase of the retirement age to 65 years, introduction of a pension based on the average-salary over a career instead of a final-salary arrangement, and the lowering of the minimum participation age to 18 years. In its report, the Audit Chamber expresses the hope that the APS will inform participants in a timely fashion about the reasons and consequences of the proposed changes.

There are several encouraging improvements at the Fund. APS presented the 2015 Financial Statements and the 2015 Budget within the legally required timeframe. In addition, APS is finalizing the amendment of its investment policy to align the policy with their new strategy. The APS reported that as of January 1, 2016, they have been invoicing based on the legally required premium of 25%.

The APS also increased the certainty regarding the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the basic data in the participants administration. The Audit Chamber cautions that despite the progress in improving the basic data, they cannot disregard the challenges relating to the payroll administration process of government. Government is the largest participating organization of the APS. Because of the inadequate management within the payroll administration process, there is a risk that the data provided by government to the APS is inaccurate and incomplete. Governments shortcomings should not be allowed to impact the reliability of the participation administration of the APS. Therefore, the Audit Chamber recommends that government acts to ensure that their payroll administration is put in order.

Additional recommendations provided to APS include drafting and implementing a well-defined and realistic plan to achieve a coverage ratio of at least 100%, and securing the outstanding claims.

The report is published in both English and Dutch and is available on the website of the General Audit Chamber (www.arsxm.org).

Click here to read report
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of VSA Emil Lee announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that his Ministry will be stepping up with controls to ensure that all businesses and or persons working on the Dutch side of the island are in compliance with the law. The Minister urged businesses to have all the necessary documentations such as their chamber registrations, employees files such as payslips on hand so they can provide them to the inspectors when they knock on their doors. During these controls, the Minister said he will be present to see how the controls are being conducted. He also said that since the controls were conducted at MAHO certain institutions that are supposed to participate in the controls are no longer participating.

Asked by SMN News for more clarity on the entities that will participate in the controls since the Minister is in charge of Labor and USZV, the Minister said during the Council of Ministers press briefing that he was not sure if USZV will participate even though they announced a few weeks ago that they have a debt that is in the vicinity of NAF 200M. Minister Lee said that if USZV cooperates with the planned controls it will more beneficial for all parties, he even said that the inspectorate (labor inspectors) do not have enough vehicles to do their jobs while USZV has vehicles that can be used.

Later Minister Lee said he consulted with the Director of USZV Glen Carty to see if they are going to participate in the controls that is scheduled to take place. Minister Lee said that Carty agreed for his inspectors (ATS) to participate in the controls and he even suggested to him that he too (Carty) should go along with the inspectors when they are going to conduct the controls.

However, the Minister of VSA still has to continue discussions with his colleague Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman to get immigration on board. The Minister did say that those discussions are ongoing.
By Press Trust of India: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Mar 8 (PTI) Nepalese police today formed a three-member committee to investigate the killing of four Madhesi protesters in police firing in Saptari district.

The Eastern Regional Police Office, Biratnagar, today formed the three-member probe committee headed by Senior Superintendent of Police Uttam Karki. SP Bhim Prasad Dhakal and SP Bidya Nanda Majhi are in the committee.

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Four young Madhesi activists were killed when police opened fire to disperse United Democratic Madhesi Front supporters who had encircled the venue of a public meeting of the main opposition party CPN-UML in Saptari district Monday.

The police clashed with the cadres of the Madhesi Front as they were trying to disrupt the Mechi-Mahakali campaign launched in the Terais Jhapa district on Saturday.

Following the incident, the government had transferred the Chief District Officer of Saptari and district chiefs of the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force on Tuesday.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, called a two-day general strike to protest the killing of youths in police firing in Saptarai district, bordering India.

In most of the 20 districts of southern Nepal, factories, industries and educational institutions remained shut due to the strike called by the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) yesterday. The UDMF has demanded that the victims be declared martyrs and compensation be given to their families. PTI SBP ZH

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Shift8 Networks Selects OneBill to Drive its Business

SAN ANTONIO, TX  (Marketwired)  03/07/17  Digerati Technologies, Inc. (Digerati or the Company) (OTCQB: DTGI), an established and award-winning provider of cloud communication services, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shift8 Networks, Inc. (Shift8), has selected and launched OneBill as its revenue management solution.

OneBill is the billing tool for the next generation that unravels the complexity of the revenue management challenge across industries, departments, processes, third-parties and integrations. With OneBill, solution providers can automate their Quote-to-Cash process and grow their subscription and usage-based revenue. OneBills platform also performs rating, billing, taxation, payment tracking, collections, and notifications that can be extended to the solution providers resellers and partners.

Arthur L. Smith, CEO of Digerati, stated, With OneBill, we now have the Quote- to-Cash order management and billing system required for the scalability of our business. We selected OneBill due its emphasis on supporting a channel sales business model, which is exactly what we needed for our organic sales strategy of enabling our Value-Added Resellers (VAR) to offer cloud and session-based communication services to the small-to-medium size business market.

Mr. Smith added, Our Shift8 business incorporates multiple suppliers with multiple products; we needed a billing solution with the flexibility to accommodate this necessity and OneBill delivered perfectly.

OneBill has built a truly convergent solution striving to bring together all the business platforms, making the billing process as smooth and seamless as possible. Our rigorous integration effort helps our customers to leverage features to simplify their operations, eliminate requirements of experts in all areas and expand the market using their channel partners more efficiently. We are constantly adding new features and benefits, and Shift8s participative onboarding has helped us implement the platform exactly as they wanted it, said JK Chelladurai, CEO of OneBill.

Digerati is a publicly-traded entity with a track record of launching successful subsidiary operations that includes a two-time Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and one-time Fast 50 award-winner for recognition as one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America. Through its subsidiary, Shift8, the Company is meeting the global need of businesses seeking simple, flexible, efficient, and cost effective communication solutions, including fully hosted IP/PBX, VoIP transport, SIP trunking, and customized VoIP services all delivered . Former subsidiaries include ATSI Communications, Inc., an international telecommunications operator serving emerging markets throughout Mexico and Latin America, as well as GlobalSCAPE, Inc., an Internet software company specializing in secure file transfer through its popular utility, CuteFTP. Former subsidiaries have also included businesses in the oilfield services sector operating in the Bakken Shale of Montana and North Dakota. For more information, visit .

OneBills Billing-as-a-Service platform supports and simplifies the complex billing and revenue management needs of Unified Communication Service Providers and their resellers. OneBill is an enterprise class scalable, flexible, and configurable platform that fully automates the lead-to-cash process and has several customers using the platform successfully to manage their billing including tax management, provisioning, CRM and reseller/partner management operations. OneBill enable solution providers and their reseller partners to bundle products and services from any carrier, any vendor, allowing them to create ONE-BILL. UCSPs can maximize their market and margin opportunities with the platform. A privately held company, OneBill Inc. is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and has its Research & Development center in Bangalore, India. For more information, please visit

The information in this news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements related to the future financial performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, successful execution of growth strategies, product development and acceptance, the impact of competitive services and pricing, general economic conditions, and other risks and uncertainties described in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

Jack Eversull

The Eversull Group

(972) 571-1624

(214) 469-2361 fax
NextTier Education Platform Launches International Expansion with Japanese School Partnership

CHICAGO, IL  (Marketwired)  03/07/17  today announced it has finalized a partnership to provide in Tokyo, Japan with its advanced web- and mobile-based platform that redefines how district personnel, school counselors, students, and their parents navigate the complicated college planning, search, and application process.

St. Marys is a non-profit private, all-boys international high school based in Tokyo. With 900 K-12 students, including 310 high school students, St. Marys boasts an almost 100 percent track record of graduates attending college with 61 percent going to universities in the United States.

The NextTier platform will prioritize real-time, active collaboration between students, educators, and parents to deliver critical information on every two- and four-year college in the U.S. The first platform of its kind, NextTier provides each student with a personalized, comprehensive college application plan, including a detailed list of every schools required tasks, step-by-step guidance, and deadlines for completing each task in the process. NextTiers database also includes information on more than 20,000 scholarships and grants, and helps students to successfully research and identify the right financial support opportunities.

The NextTier cloud platform enables St. Marys administrators to quickly view every students to-do list, supervise deadlines and status in the application process, and communicate directly with individual students and groups via mobile texts and alerts to keep them engaged, motivated, and on schedule.

Our partnership with St. Marys is the beginning of NextTiers planned global expansion, said Justin Shiffman, founder and CEO of NextTier. With our translation capabilities, our goal is to eliminate the potential barriers to higher education for every student and empower students and parents to have full control over the search and application process across international markets.

Students attending St. Marys schools are now able to access NextTier. They have been automatically connected with their school counselors, can instantly communicate with those team members, and begin building their college search and application work plans.

Founded in 2014, Chicago-based NextTier Education, Inc. is the first postsecondary readiness solution with user engagement as its top priority. NextTier helps students find the right-fit schools, navigate the process to plan and apply to schools, and identify ways to finance their investments. Additional information is available at or by calling 312.690.9996.

Kevin Martin

Scott Phillips + Associates, Inc.

312.943.9100 x23
Allocadia Leads with Women in Tech Initiatives on International Womens Day 2017 (#BeBoldForChange)

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA  (Marketwired)  03/08/17  Editors note: There is one photo accompanying this press release.

Allocadia, leaders in Marketing Performance Management software, announced today a series of initiatives to support women in technology in concert with International Womens Day, March 8th, 2017.

Allocadia Conference Fund for Women in Tech

The company has partnered with Simon Fraser University to create a fund for women in the School of Computing Science to attend technology conferences across North America. Allocadia will provide an annual grant for this program over the course of three years, covering the costs of both travel and admission to events including the Grace Hopper Conference, Vancouver Start Up Week, Canadian Celebration of Women in Computing, and more.

Improving gender diversity in computer science is a priority for our school, said Greg Mori, Director of the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University. As one of the top computer science departments in Canada, we are committed to supporting women in technology and providing a comprehensive learning environment. This fund allows more of our female students to attend conferences-a valuable opportunity for networking and professional development-to meet leading women in the field and discover where a career in technology can take them.

Industry-leading Diversity Statistics

Allocadia also shared a nearly equal ratio of female to male employees as of February 2017, revealing 46% females among its team of approximately 100 employees. This exceeds industry reports that hold the average percentage of female employees at technology organizations at 30%.(1)

To view chart, click on the following link:

Industry-wide, female CEOs receive only 2.7% of all venture funding, and only 13% of female founders reach a B stage of financing. Allocadias two female founders, CEO Kristine Steuart and CPO Katherine Berry, have raised a total of US$24 million (CAD$30 million) to-date, most recently closing a in December 2015.

Additional diversity statistics as of February 2017:

Building a more inclusive and diverse company has always been at the heart of our values at Allocadia, said Steuart. Together with my sister and co-founder Katherine, we believe its important that our entire leadership team advocate for women in technology. This support spans every department of the organization in both our process and principles. Were proud to exceed industry benchmarks for gender diversity among tech companies, hope to set an example for our peers to follow, and continue to encourage women to be bold in their career aspirations.

Inclusive Hiring Practices

In response to findings that men will apply for a job when they meet 60% of the qualifications, but women only apply if they meet 100%(6), Allocadia takes steps to ensure job descriptions are written to appeal to both audiences. For example, the company may indicate certain qualifications are important, but not required, and include the availability of job training to develop certain skills, in an attempt to garner a 50/50 ratio of male to female applicants.

Throughout our rapid expansion, weve always prioritized inclusive and thoughtful initiatives to become an employer of choice for women, said Brianna Teschke, Manager of People and Culture at Allocadia. In light of this years global International Womens Day theme, Be Bold For Change, we are proud to share our strategies for driving change within an industry known for its poor representation of women in technology and leadership positions.

As part of its dedication to an environment that accommodates women, the company offers specific programs for individuals returning from maternity leave, flexible schedules and remote work arrangements that seek to meet the needs of families with children.

Investment in Future Women Leaders

Last year, Allocadia provided an Emerging Leaders Development Program to its employees, offering coursework to help transition from an individual contributor to leadership role. Topics covered as part of this initiative included leadership principles, personal development, personal communication, performance, feedback, and motivating teams. 50% of those who participated in the program were female.

The company also hosts workshops aimed at teaching young women how to code, offered in partnership with organizations such as Ladies Learning Code, and Girls Who Code.

More information about initiatives (ACE) and are available on the companys website.

To view the photo accompanying this press release, click on the following link:

(1) TechCrunch

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Contacts:

Katie Martell

Allocadia

(978) 216-2588
Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies Event Heads to Denver, Expands to 2 Days

NEW YORK, NY  (Marketwired)  03/08/17  Light Readings () Event (Cable Next-Gen) is heading back to Denver, Colorado on March 21 & 22. Due to an overflow crowd last year and popular demand, this years event is expanding to two days at a larger facility, the , in Downtown Denver.

Now in its tenth year, Cable Next-Gen will lay out the technology roadmaps and business cases for the cable industry over the next few years. The event will take a comprehensive, big-picture look at cables efforts to develop, deploy and monetize new technologies, products, services, features and apps. Topics to be discussed at the event include DOCSIS 3.1, Distributed Access Architecture, virtualizing the cable network, Full Duplex DOCSIS, OTT video, wireless services, IP/ cloud video and 4K/UHD.

The events speaking lineup features many of the biggest names in the cable, video and online tech worlds, including:

Elad Nafshi, Senior Vice President, Next Generation Access Network. Comcast

Balan Nair, Chief Technology Officer, Liberty Global

Joes Inzerillo, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, MLBAM

Michael LaJoie, former CTO, Time Warner Cable

Robert Howald, Vice President, Network Architecture, Comcast

JR Walden, Senior Vice President, Technology & CTO, Mediacom Communications

Ben Watkins, Creator/Executive Producer of Amazon Series Hand of God, Amazon Prime Video

Dennis Stephens, Senior Vice President, Product Development & Strategic Programs; Shaw Communications

Jorge Salinger, Vice President, Access Architecture, Comcast

Jeff Finkelstein, Executive Director of Advanced Access Architectures, Cox Communications

John Dickinson, Vice President, Advanced Commercial Engineering, Charter Communications

Steve Harris, Senior Director of Advanced Network Technologies, SCTE/ISBE

Ian Olgeirson, Research Director, SNL Kagan

We have assembled top experts from across the spectrum to address the leading tech trends and issues affecting cable operators and other pay-TV providers today, said Light Reading Cable/Video Practice Leader Alan Breznick, who is chairing the conference. Our outstanding array of panels and keynotes will delve into everything from fiber builds to gigabit services to ultra HD TV to wireless applications to OTT video.

This years Cable Next-Gen Event will also feature two breakfast workshops. The first workshop, entitled What Still Stands in UHDs Way, will be hosted on Tuesday, March 21 at 7:30 AM by Verimatrix. The second workshop, Mentoring Matters, will be the third annual Women in Comms breakfast workshop on Wednesday, March 22 at 7:30 AM. This workshop is open to all women and men in the telecommunications, STEM and IT fields. To learn more about these workshops and how to register, .

Cable Next-Gen is sponsored by platinum sponsors ARRIS, Cisco and Exfo and gold sponsors ADTRAN, ADVA, Amdocs, ARISTA, Calix, Ciena, Corning, Evolution Digital, Hitron, Intraway, Juniper Networks, Nagra Kudelski, SanDisk, TiBit Communications, VeEX, and Viavi.

To view the full Cable-Next Gen 2017 agenda, click . To register to attend, click.

Follow Light Reading on , , and for all the latest news.

About Light Reading

Light Reading () combines its research-led online communities and targeted events portfolio to help those in the global communications industry make informed decisions. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for telecom analysis for more than 400,000 subscribers each month, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content and reputation. Light Reading produces targeted communications events and focused one-day and two-say conferences each year for cable, mobile and wireline executives across five continents.

Contact:

Amy Averbook

917-743-2693
Align Commerce Raises $24 Million Series B to Simplify Global Payments for Small Businesses; Rebrands as Veem

SAN FRANCISCO, CA  (Marketwired)  03/08/17  Align Commerce, the company that makes , today announced it has closed a $24 million Series B funding round and renamed the company to Veem. The investment, led by National Australia Bank (NAB) Ventures, includes GV (formerly Google Ventures) and SBI Investment Co., Ltd. and will help Veem expand into more countries, enable payments in additional currencies, and continue to transform the global payment process for SMBs. Melissa Widner, general partner, NAB Ventures, will also join Veems board. Existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Silicon Valley Bank also participated in the Series B round. Rebranding to Veem supports the companys commitment to modernizing the way small businesses send and receive payments.

Cross-border payments is a $25 trillion market. SMBs represent $6 trillion of that but pay $50 billion in fees due to an antiquated wire transfer system that is cumbersome to use and provides little visibility into the status of transfers. These complexities and uncertainties make the international payment experience difficult for busy small businesses. Veems platform provides SMBs with an end-to-end payment experience that is simple, trackable and integrated into the rest of the businesses processes. It allows even the smallest businesses to Veem payments between multiple geographies and in various currencies without worrying about where their money is.

At Veem, we understand even mom and pop businesses must embrace globalization to compete with incumbents, grow their businesses and innovate, said Marwan Forzley, CEO and founder, Veem. Unfortunately, the current international payments experience is fundamentally broken, stifling SMBs globalization efforts. Our platform creates an experience that is simple and frictionless, allowing businesses to easily Veem payments, data and invoices across the globe.

The global payments industry is currently a patchwork system that involves multiple financial institutions and currency exchanges. Businesses struggle with this system, due to its numerous fees; limited view of payment timing, related invoice or commitment on amount delivered to either sender or receiver; and, no ownership of delivery. Additionally, delivery forms can be complex and banks may require phone calls or in-person visits to send money. By intelligently routing payments between different rails, including the increasingly popular blockchain, Veems multi-rail technology connects the disparate parts of the international payment process. Veems platform brings the simplicity of consumer payments to small businesses by enabling them to send and receive payments using only an email address.

Many companies exist in a crowded international payments market today, but none have been able to distill the complexities of the space into an easy solution, said Melissa Widner, general partner, NAB Ventures. Veem goes beyond the domain of foreign exchange-focused organizations and remittance companies by approaching global payments from a non-traditional point of view. This unique perspective has allowed for Veems growth and rapid expansion into global markets, and we expect their team and technology to continue to challenge the global payments status quo.

Paying international suppliers/partners is complicated, particularly for small & midsize businesses, said Karim Faris, general partner, GV. Veem is in a great position to simplify global payments. The team has deep experience in this space and has taken a smart technical approach to the problem. Theyve successfully reduced the process required to reliably move money around the world to a few steps.

Veem, formerly Align Commerce, is a next-generation global payments provider that enables small businesses to quickly and securely pay and get paid from their business partners all over the world. Veem is disrupting the archaic international payments industry by making cross-border payments a simple process. Veem has rebuilt a global payment network using revolutionary multi-rail technology, creating a payments experience that is simple, frictionless, and inexpensive. The platform allows small businesses to truly enter the global market. Veem has its headquarters in San Francisco and is funded by investors, including National Australia Bank, GV, SBI Investment Co., Ltd., Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Silicon Valley Bank.

For more than 150 years NAB has been helping customers with their money. With 35,000 employees, serving around 10 million customers at more than 800 locations across Australia, New Zealand and around the world, NAB aims to make a difference by being a responsible, inclusive and socially innovative bank. As Australias largest business bank, NAB works with small, medium and large businesses to help them start, run and grow. NAB also funds some of Australias most important infrastructure projects including schools, hospitals and roads.

Sammy Totah

BOCA Communications for Veem
By Press Trust of India: From Shirsh B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Mar 8 (PTI) President Bidya Devi Bhandari today inaugurated a spiritual learning centre in Nepal and said it would play a vital role in promoting religious harmony and tourism in the country.

Shashwatdham, situated in Dumkauli of Nawalparasi in south Nepal was inaugurated in the presence of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and former King Gyanendra.

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Inaugurating the centre, Bhandari said, the pilgrimage site would play an important role in promoting compassion and goodwill among people.

"Unity in cultural and religious diversities is Nepals unique identity," she said.

A large number of people including religious leaders from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, political party leaders, saints, business entrepreneurs, journalists were present on the occasion.

Chaudhary Foundation, a major business group has completed the construction of Shaswatdham in 15 years.

The centre houses a Shiva temple, a library, religious museum, Yoga hall and Gurukul for students of Sanskrit language. PTI SBP AJR AKJ AJR

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By Press Trust of India: Washington, Mar 8 (PTI) A new frog species, which measures just about two centimetres and was discovered in the Peruvian Andes, has been named after the famous British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

While there are already a number of species named after including mammals, reptiles, invertebrates and plants, both extinct and extant, not until now has the host of the BBC Natural Historys Life series been honoured with an amphibian.

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The frog is formally described as Pristimantis attenboroughi, while commonly it is to be referred to as the Attenboroughs Rubber Frog.

Scientists from Illinois Wesleyan University and University of Michigan in the US, spent two years surveying montane forests in central Peru, in order to document the local amphibians and reptiles and evaluate their conservation statuses.

Their efforts have been rewarded with several new species of frogs and a new spectacled lizard.

Each of these discoveries, including the Attenboroughs Rubber Frog, prove how beneficial it is to take into account both morphological and the genetic data, while looking for species new to science.

The Attenboroughs rubber frog is known to inhabit several localities across the Pui Pui Protected Forest, a nature reserve located at elevations between 3,400 and 3,936 metres above sea level in central Peru.

The adult males reach size of 14.6-19.2 millimetres in length, while the females are larger measuring between 19.2 and 23.0 millimetres.

The ground colour ranges from pale to dark grey or reddish brown to brownish olive with dark grey scattered flecks.

Juveniles are paler (yellowish to reddish brown) with contrasting dark brown flecks and distinct stripes.

Due to the amphibian being known from fewer than ten localities, spread across less than 20,000 square metres, the species should be deemed either Vulnerable or Endangered, according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.

However, researchers suggest that the Attenboroughs Rubber frog should be listed as Near Threatened instead, since the Piu Piu forest is formally protected and still largely unknown, so it is likely that there are more additional populations of the new species.

On the other hand, factors such as fungal infections, climate change, pollution and man-made fires continue to be threats for many Andean amphibians even inside protected areas.

"We dedicate this species to Sir David Frederick Attenborough in honour for his educational documentaries on wildlife, especially on amphibians (eg Life in Cold Blood, Fabulous Frogs), and for raising awareness about the importance of wildlife conservation," researchers said.

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Among the numerous namesakes of Sir David Attenborough to date, there are a rare genus of beautiful flowering plants, a rare butterfly species, commonly known as the Attenboroughs black-eyed satyr, a flightless weevil species, as well as a number of extinct species.

The study was published in the journal ZooKeys. PTI MHN MHN

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Could 24 star Kiefer Sutherland be playing Glastonbury?

The signs are looking good. He has a confirmed gig at SWG3 in Glasgow on June 27, just two days after the Festival ends, and reputable events website eFestivals lists the man - known as action hero Jack Bauer to many - being "rumoured" for an unknown day.

Sutherland may be known for a 30 year career in film and TV and iconic roles in the likes of Stand By Me , The Lost Boys and A Few Good Men - but did you know he could sing too?

He began a small record label in 2002, Ironworks, which inspired him to reveal two songs he's written by 2015.

He played them to music partner Jude Cole and those two tunes became a record; his upcoming debut album, Down In a Hole.

The actor said: "It's the closest thing I've ever had to a journal or diary. All of these songs are pulled from my own personal experiences.

"There is something very satisfying about being able to look back on my own life, good times and bad, and express those sentiments in music.

"As much as I have enjoyed the writing and recording process, I am experiencing great joy now being able to play these songs to a live audience, which was something I hadn't counted on."

Let's hope his musical diary takes in the Pyramid stage in the summer which will give all those 24 fans out there some golden memories.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) Delhi College of Arts and Commerce has cancelled a programme of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy scheduled for tomorrow, days after it had postponed an event featuring Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav.

Members of the organising committee claimed that the programme has been cancelled as the "authorities did not find the atmosphere to be appropriate for conducting such an event".

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The college principal, however, maintained that he was "not kept in the loop about the invitation to Swamy" and no permission was sought for the event.

Swamy was slated to participate in an interactive session on Journalism on Trial?, being organised by the colleges journalism department as part of its annual fest Scoop.

The posters of the event had been put up across the campus and on social media since last week.

"We were told that we cant hold the event as the atmosphere is not appropriate for such an event on the campus. When we protested, we were told that we wont be allowed to use the auditorium," a member of the organising committee said on the condition of anonymity.

College principal Rajiv Chopra defended the decision saying, "I was not kept in the loop about the invitation to Swamy."

"The college authorities did not extend any invite to Swamy. The invitation was given by students and no permission was taken from me to hold such an event," he said, adding, "We have received communications from Delhi University to maintain peace and harmony in the college."

The cancellation comes against the backdrop of the recent violence in Ramjas College where the RSS-backed ABVP and the CPI(ML)-affiliated AISA clashed over the withdrawal of a seminar invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid.

The students also alleged that the release of a news journal Critique, which was to be unveiled by Swamy at tomorrows event, has also been scrapped.

"We have been told that we cant publish the journal as it has articles on the Ramjas incident and the content need to be vetted by the principal. We are now planning to publish the journal with an alternative name Yatharth," the editor of the student newspaper said.

The college had last week postponed an event where Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav was scheduled to address. PTI GJS SMN SC SMN

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When photography was invented in France in the 1820s, some artists predicted  even feared  that it would in time take the place of painting. That didnt happen, but photographers around the world consistently have recorded images that reveal...
Cant get to Canada from India?

Visitor visas for relatives or friends rejected by the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi?

Cant get a work permit to work in Canada?

No problem.

Just visit one of the unusual temples that have come up in India, that offer divine help in procuring a visa.

Millions of Indians regularly visit temples and religious sites to pray and seek divine help in fulfilling their wishes.

But in recent years, temples have come up, that offer a deitys help in getting a visa.

One of them is the is nicknamed the Visa Temple. Situated in Chilkur in Hyderabad, this temple is officially called Chilkur Balaji Temple and is located near Osman Sagar lake.

Sri Venkateswara Balaji deity is worshiped here however after a number of incidents of people praying to the deity for getting a visa stamp on their passport and their wishes coming true, this temple became famous as the Visa Temple.

The temple is in Chilkur and has over 75,000 to 100,000 devotees paying a visit every week, with a major rush on Fridays and Sundays. If you are planning to visit this temple, be prepared to stand in a long queue especially on these days.

Typically, worshippers perform a wish-making ceremony that includes making 11 laps around the inner temple. Sometimes they proffer their passports and make offerings of fresh coconuts.

If the wish comes true, they must return and make a further 108 laps.

Another such temple is the "Chamatkarik Shri Hanumanji Na Charan" in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

A devotee said he has observed numerous instances of vis application success due to the temple.

"Any devotee who comes to our lord's temple, with great honour and reverence, and makes a wishes to lord Hanuman to get a visa, it has been my observation that none of the wishes have failed," said the devotee, quoted by local media.

The Shaheed Baba Nihal Singh gurdwara, in Talhan village, Punjab is a 150-year old place of worship for Sikhs.

Every week, thousands of Sikhs head here to get an approval to go abroad. The popular belief is that paying a visit to the shrine can up your chances of securing a visa. The temple has an airplane placed at the top of it. Along with prayer devotees offer fascinating offerings like toy aeroplanes, probably two give their wishes two wings.

There are shops outside the gurdwara that sell such toys too.

The Khadia Hanuman Temple in Ahmedabad is home to Vayu Putra (son of wind) in times of crises, especially when things relate to air or more precisely sky.

The Khadia Hanuman is believed to be the visa-expediting Lord. This 400-year-old temple is packed on Saturdays when travel counselling sessions are conducted with hundreds of applicants.

"Every Saturday, of the 4000 devotees who throng the temple, more than fifty per cent are visa-seekers, who come praying for visas," says Gaurang Mehta, resident of Desai ni pol.

"The devotees come with offerings of visa documents and passports, which the Pujari lays at the feet of Visa Hanuman and makes the devotees recite a Chaupayee (a prayer note) of lord Hanuman," says Mehta.

"It is believed that if the ritual is performed in earnest, the devotee gets the visa within a month," says Bhushan Bhatt, a local corporator.

"Apart from Ahmedabad, devotees from Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, and smaller towns and villages across the state come in large numbers to this temple. It's a matter of belief. Devotees have firm faith that after visiting the temple, their visa will be granted," adds Bhatt.

Hanuman temple in Neb Sarai, New Delhi is also attracting numerous visa-applicants from all over as word spreads that the deity has special powers to expedite visas.

The temple is located a few blocks down IGNOU Road. The board outside does not give any indications about the deity's special "powers". However, one only needs to take a look at the temple register, which has entries from 2010 onwards, to realise that a number of entries have been made by people whose visa wishes were fulfilled after visiting the temple.
The recent changes made by Canada in its Temporary Foreign Workers Programme have made it difficult for Indian companies to send employees to their Canadian units on short-term visas, India has informed Canada.

Raising the issue with visiting Canadian officials, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said this impacts services trade. In response, the Canadian officials have said they will take necessary steps to ease the movement of professionals.

The issue was raised at a meeting between Canadian Minister of International Trade Francois-Philippe Champagne and Sitharaman in Delhi last week.

She discussed the importance of the ease of movement for intra-company transfers on short term visa for filling in certain crucial and specialised activities, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The Indian side cited certain examples and said that a few companies here which have made investments in Canada are finding it difficult to source key employees from India as intra-company transferees.

The Canadian minister assured that a number of steps have been taken to facilitate the ease of movement for professionals into the North American country, said the commerce ministry statement added.

Champagne said that under the Global Skill Strategy Programme, visa applications for high-skilled technicians, professors and researchers will be disposed of within two weeks time.

Similarly, for professionals visiting for less than a year, a fast-track process is being set up, the statement said, adding that this will be extended on a priority basis to companies which have invested in Canada.

Both the ministers also agreed to expedite the conclusion of bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

The two countries are negotiating CEPA, under which duties will be eliminated or significantly reduced on goods.
Powerball numbers for Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022

Here are the winning Powerball numbers and results for the lottery jackpot drawing on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.
By Press Trust of India: assault

New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) New Zealand does not condone race- based abuse in any form, its acting High Commissioner Suzannah Jessep today said, a day after an Indian national was allegedly assaulted and subjected to a racist tirade in that country.

She also asserted that it is important that the process of investigation by the local police be allowed to continue independently.

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"New Zealand does not condone race-based abuse in any form. The comments reported do not reflect the views of the vast majority of New Zealanders, who celebrate and embrace New Zealands diversity and multicultural character," she said in a statement.

Jessep also observed that New Zealand is home to a thriving Indian diaspora, representing 4 per cent of its population and whose members are represented in the government, the police force, civil society groups, business, education and elsewhere.

"Hindi is also the fourth most widely spoken language in New Zealand," the envoy said, noting for these particular cases, the media has reported that complaints have been made to the police, and it is important that this process be allowed to continue independently.

Noting that her country has a strong track record on human rights, she said New Zealand is ranked first globally for tolerance for immigrants, community safety, and religious tolerance in the 2016 Social Progress Index (SPI).

Nearly 90 per cent of migrants in New Zealand say they feel they belong to the country and a vast majority its citizens believe the culture, society and economy are improved by immigrants, she said.

According to a media report, an Indian national in New Zealand was assaulted, subjected to a racist tirade and told to go back to his own country during a road rage incident in Auckland.

Narindervir Singh said he was filming from inside his vehicle when the incident happened last week.

Another man, Bikramjit Singh, had allegedly suffered similar abuse last week as he left a Papatoetoe storage facility.

A man who claimed Bikramjit was speeding, yelled at him, saying, "Go back to your country - slow down! You know what the speed limit is here." PTI PYK SC

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When asked if she really hopes to win, Sharmila said, "Depends upon people's belief in me, without the love of people, I cannot win."

By Indrajit Kundu: Aspiring to be the chief minister of Manipur, rights activist Irom Sharmila on Wednesday made her electoral debut from the Thoubal constituency against three time CM Okram Ibobi SIngh in a keenly watched contest, during the final phase of the state assembly elections.

On International Women's Day, the timing of her entry into politics could not have been more apt. "I think this will bring me good luck as a woman stepping into electoral politics to involve myself to seek justice in society and make a difference," the anti-Armed Forces [Special Powers] Act (AFSPA) crusader told India Today as she toured around her constituency, considered a Congress bastion.

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In Thoubal, at Chief Minister Ibobi Singh's private residence, things looked calm and confident. His supporters, a large number of them women, had lined up at various Congress camp offices with traditional 'Ghot Chaphu' or pots with flowers placed before his posters, considered auspicious.

At 6:50 am when many had not even queued up at polling booths, Singh was ready to cast his vote for his son Surajkumar, also making his debut from the Khangabok seat. "I've already forgotten Sharmila. It is only the media which is raising her name", Singh said when asked about his new opponent adding that his best wishes are always with her. "This is a most welcome step. We are democratic citizens of this country and even she has the right to contest", he said.

On Wednesday, however, Ibobi Singh's calm demeanour was in stark contrast to his rival, a political greenhorn. When asked if she really hopes to win, Sharmila said, "Depends upon people's belief in me, without the love of people, I cannot win."

Supporters unhappy over political plunge

It is this acceptance from the Manipuri society at large, that eludes Sharmila now and no one knows it better than Sharmila herself. "There is a misunderstanding between me and my supporters. They didn't want me to enter politics because they see it like a business, they feel it is dirty. But first we need to be the change, we seek in the system," she tries explaining.

Flanked by a handful of supporters, as she entered a polling booth at Athokpam town, many women standing in queue did stare at her, some even clicked photos but most remained indifferent.

Sharmila's party, Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) is fighting on only three seats and thus her aim of toppling the Ibobi government can at best be termed as political idealism. "If we have a chance we will make post poll alliance. If we don't get the chance, we will sit in the opposition", she says, making it evident that the activist in her was still grappling with the unpredictability of real-politik.

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ALSO READ| Manipur Assembly election: Irom Sharmila's showdown with CM Ibobi Singh in phase 2

ALSO READ| Exclusive: Shunned by supporters, Irom Sharmila says India may understand me, Manipuris do not

ALSO WATCH| Manipur election: Irom Sharmila squares off against three-time Manipur CM Ibobi Singh

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) The government has voiced concern over the tardy progress in setting up of medical colleges in the country with only five of the proposed 58 colleges coming up in the last three years.

In a recent meeting, the Union Health Ministry has directed 19 states and a Union territory, where these medical colleges will come up, to expedite the work.

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The Centre had in 2014 announced its plans to set up 58 government medical colleges in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Bihar by December 2018.

"These 58 colleges are being set up in northern and northeastern states which have inadequate number of government medical colleges despite some of the states being densely populated.

"There are only 16 government medical colleges in a geographically large state like Uttar Pradesh while states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have only eight and six colleges, respectively," a health ministry official said.

Northeastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tripura have 2, 1, 1 and 2 government medical colleges, respectively.

"It is a matter of concern that only five of the planned 58 medical colleges have come up so far. Of these, two are in Chhattisgarh and one each in Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands," the official said.

The Centre has already released Rs 1,500 crore fund of the total allocation of Rs 7,500 crore.

"The ministry reviewed the progress of construction of the colleges in a meeting held last month. In around 10-12 cases, the ground work has not yet started while construction of around 30 medical institutes are in different phases," the official said.

According to the official, southern states have more government medical colleges than northern parts of India, with Tamil Nadu topping the list with 24 medical colleges, followed by Karnataka 18, Andhra Pradesh 12 and Kerala nine colleges. Maharashtra has 22 medical colleges. PTI PLB SMN

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By Press Trust of India: Hyderabad, Mar 7 (PTI) The Osmania University (OU) is gearing up to hold its centenary celebrations with focus on bringing reforms in various dimensions as well as good academic atmosphere and research culture.

President Pranab Mukherjee is expected to inaugurate the centenary celebration on April 26 at the Hyderabad-based varsity -- the seventh oldest in the country -- which today has over one crore alumni.

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Established in 1917, OU came into being through a firman (an official decree) issued by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad.

A variety of academic, research and cultural activities have been put together for the year-long centenary celebrations, Osmania Universitys Vice Chancellor Prof S Ramachandram said during an interaction with journalists today.

"We are thinking of bringing in reforms in various dimensions...in good governance, academic atmosphere, research culture, modernisation, industry-institute and institute-society interactions," he said.

During the three-day inaugural programme, an all India Vice-Chancellors conference (likely to be inaugurated by Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar) will be held.

Several cultural programmes and meets of alumni and retired teachers are also scheduled.

Both the Telangana and Central governments have responded positively to OUs proposals to strengthen the infrastructure, including construction of a centenary convention building, and to take up "flagship" programmes, the VC said.

"Soon, there will be good news," he said.

The university has also proposed to set up a centre for skill development, another centre on Telangana studies, international school of journalism, and a B R Ambedkar research centre during the centenary year, Prof Ramachandram said.

The varsity is also organising a centenary run on March 11 in which around 5,000 people are expected to take part, he said. PTI RS GK BAS

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The Opposition plans to demand that PM Modi offer a statement on the alleged presence of ISIS in India and will also seek a debate on the recent crimes targeting Indian-origin people in the US.

By Supriya Bhardwaj: Parliament's budget session is scheduled to resume from Thursday, a day after the Lucknow siege in which a suspected militant was killed and a couple days before the results for the 2017 Assembly elections are announced.

The remainder of the budget session promises to be a charged affair, with the Opposition charting out a strategy to corner the government from day 1 itself.

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The Congress-led Opposition plans to raise the issue of the ISIS's alleged presence in India and will demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh offer a statement on the matter in the lower house.

Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, said, "Till now the central government said ISIS isn't an issue. Now what we saw in UP, MP raises questions. It shows government's negligence in this matter. PM should make a statement."

Kharge's comments referred to Tuesday's 11-hour siege at a Lucknow home and the IED blast on the Ujjain Express in Madhya Pradesh. A suspected militant called Saifullah was killed in the Lucknow siege.

He, along with six other people arrested in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, are believed to be linked to the train blast. Authorities believe the module is self-radicalised and are yet to find evidence linking them directly to ISIS.

HATE CRIMES IN US ALSO ON AGENDA

Apart from the ISIS issue, the Congress also plans to raise the issue of the recent alleged hate crimes in the US.

Two Indian-origin men were recently killed and another one was wounded in separate incidents in the United States.

In two of the incidents, the attackers are reported to have shouted that the men should 'go back to their own country.' The Congress plans to seek a debate on the racial discrimination issue.

Other issues Opposition plans to raise:

Demonetisation's impact on GDP numbers

Increase in ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir

Freedom of Speech issue in various universities, political parties.

Ramjas Violence

Farmers distress and suicides

Controversial statements of BJP, RSS leaders and their MPs

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The practice is being followed by quacks and hospitals, including those funded by the ministry of AYUSH, in states like Delhi, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Legs and fat of peafowl are also fairly popular and advised under medicinal systems.

By Baishali Adak: A study by TRAFFIC, an arm of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), recently found that at least three systems of traditional medicine in India - Siddha, Ayurveda and Unani - prescribe peacock feather and other parts in various potions.

The practice is being followed by quacks and hospitals, including those funded by the ministry of AYUSH, in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi Gujarat and Rajasthan.

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The Indian blue peafowl (Pavo Cristatus) has considerably reduced in numbers over the years thanks to destruction of their habitats by farmers protecting their crops and poachers. The beautiful bird with brilliant iridescent coloured feathers was numbered at about 15 lakh in a study in 2007.

PEACOCK FEATHER ASH USED TO CURE MORNING SICKNESS

However, isolated studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that its population has come down to only a few lakh. While domestic trade in the naturally shed tail feathers collected outside protected areas is allowed, export of these is prohibited.

The study says, "Bhasma and churnam (peacock feather ash) were sold in many siddha drug stores in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi Gujarat and Rajasthan, and is used to cure hiccups, vomiting and morning sickness among other illnesses)."

"The Rebari community in Rajasthan use ash of peafowl feather mixed with honey to cure asthma, whereas ash of peafowl feathers mixed with coconut oil is used for headache. One bolus with cow milk daily early in the Mail Today on Monday reported about rampant killing of the bird. morning is given for five days to get male child."

PEAFOWL GHEE OPENLY SOLD BY DRUG MAKERS

Legs and fat of peafowl are also fairly popular and advised under medicinal systems, the report points out. "TRAFFIC India investigators were able to spot Narikuravar tribals selling peafowl oil/ghee at popular markets, bus stands, temples and tourist spots in different towns of Tamil Nadu," it read.

"A few siddha drug makers also sell peafowl ghee openly in their shops and even an original bill is issued by them. Some village physicians in Trichy, Madurai and Theni buy peafowl legs from the tribals and dry the legs."

"They then powder the dried legs and add it to hot sesame oil and subscribe it for joint pains and fractures. The carcasses are displayed to carry conviction with the buyers about the genuineness of the product," it further read.

ALSO READ | 5 peacocks found dead in Rajasthan, forest department suspects poaching

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The chief executive of Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, Paul Roberts, has announced his decision to step down from the post, more than a month after he was said to be unwell.

It is understood Mr Roberts, who has been in the post for over 5 years, is leaving to pursue other roles in the health industry.

He will be replaced by his deputy Alex Howells in the interim until a permanent appointment is made.

Professor Andrew Davies, chairman of ABMU Health Board, said: I wanted to let you know at the earliest opportunity that Paul Roberts, our chief executive, has decided to step down from his post in order to pursue other healthcare roles.

Paul has led the organisation for over five years and his leadership has helped us through many substantial challenges; the Board and I are immensely grateful to him and wish him well in the future.

With the full support of the Board, I have asked Alex Howells, our deputy chief executive and chief operating officer to become interim chief executive with immediate effect. Alex has immense experience and the respect of colleagues throughout the NHS in ABMU and Wales. There can be no doubt that this is a very challenging time for our organisation, as it is for the wider NHS, but the board and I have complete confidence in Alex.

It was stated at the end of January that Mr Roberts was unwell and he was being replaced by his deputy on a temporary basis. Health board bosses said at the time they did not know how long he would be unwell for.

Paul Roberts said today: It has been a huge privilege to lead ABMU over the last few years. There have been some tough issues to deal with but the quality and commitment of our 16,000 staff has helped us tackle them successfully and our shared values have been crucial.

I always said that I would give ABMU five years and I have now done so and it is time for me to move on to other, no doubt, challenging healthcare opportunities. I wish the ABMU team and the communities it serves well for the future.
By Press Trust of India: Berlin/ New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) Qatar Airways plans to set up an airline in India along with the Gulf nations sovereign wealth fund, its chief executive Akbar Al Baker said today.

This will be the first of its kind airline venture in India that would be fully-owned by overseas entities and the proposal comes nearly nine months after the Indian government allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the airlines segment.

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Qatar Airways, which is among the top three Gulf carriers, has been exploring investment opportunities in the fast- growing Indian aviation market.

"We are joining hands with the investment arm of State of Qatar to start a domestic airline in India with a 100 per cent investment," Al Baker said at a press meet in Berlin.

"We are doing this because Indian government has opened up the foreign direct investment in (setting up) an airline in India," he added.

While announcing the plan, Al Baker said it is yet to apply to the Indian government.

Last June, India allowed foreign investors -- barring overseas airlines -- to own up to 100 per cent stake in local carriers by liberalising FDI regulations.

Currently, foreign airlines are allowed to invest only up to 49 per cent in Indian carriers.

However, the revised norms provide room for overseas airlines to partner with a foreign non-airline player to set up a 100 per cent foreign-owned carrier in India.

While the FDI norms have been relaxed, the government is yet to amend the regulations with respect to Air Operator Permit (AOP).

At present, AOP is granted only to an airline where substantial ownership is with Indian entities.

On several occasions earlier, Qatar Airways -- which operates a significant number of flights from India to Qatars capital city Doha -- had explored the possibility of buying stake in Indian budget carrier IndiGo. PTI IAS RAM BAL

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Artist's illustration of an atom chip for use by NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL), which will use lasers to cool atoms to ultracold temperatures. CAL is scheduled to launch to the space station in August 2017.

The International Space Station (ISS) will soon host the coldest spot in the entire universe, if everything goes according to plan.

This August, NASA plans to launch to the ISS an experiment that will freeze atoms to less than 1 billionth of a degree above absolute zero  more than 100 million times colder than the far reaches of deep space, agency officials said. (Earlier NASA statements put the experiment temperature at one ten billionth of a degree.)

The instrument suite, which is about the size of an ice chest, is called the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL). It consists of lasers, a vacuum chamber and an electromagnetic "knife" that together will slow down gas particles until they are almost motionless. (Remember that temperature is just a measurement of how fast atoms and molecules are moving.) [Watch a video about the CAL]

If successful, CAL could help unlock some of the universe's deepest mysteries, project leaders said.

"Studying these hypercold atoms could reshape our understanding of matter and the fundamental nature of gravity," Robert Thompson, a CAL project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. "The experiments we'll do with the Cold Atom Lab will give us insight into gravity and dark energy  some of the most pervasive forces in the universe."

Attempts to create Bose-Einstein condensates on Earth have been only partially successful to date. Because everything on Earth is subject to the pull of gravity, atoms and molecules tend to move toward the ground. This means the effects can only be seen for fractions of a second. In space, where the ISS is in perpetual freefall, CAL could preserve these structures for 5 to 10 seconds, NASA officials said. (Future versions of CAL may be able to hold on for hundreds of seconds, if technology improves as expected, officials added.)

The researchers hope CAL observations will lead to the improvement of several technologies, such as quantum computers, atomic clocks for spacecraft navigation and sensors of various types  including some that could help detect dark energy. The current model of the universe suggests we can only see about 5 percent of what's out there. The remainder is split between dark matter (27 percent) and dark energy (68 percent).

"This means that even with all of our current technologies, we are still blind to 95 percent of the universe," JPL's Kamal Oudrhiri, CAL deputy project manager, said in the same statement. "Like a new lens in Galileo's first telescope, the ultra-sensitive cold atoms in the Cold Atom Lab have the potential to unlock many mysteries beyond the frontiers of known physics."

CAL, which was developed at JPL, is scheduled to fly to the ISS this August aboard SpaceX's robotic Dragon cargo capsule. Final testing is underway ahead of CAL's shipment to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA officials said.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
America's space agency is celebrating International Women's Day (March 8) and Women's History Month in multiple ways.

At the top of NASA's Twitter page today is a group photograph of 17 women who have served as astronauts for the agency, including four members of NASA's newest astronaut class, astronaut Peggy Whitson who is currently on the International Space Station (she appears on the screen behind the other women), and some former astronauts who have now serve other roles with the agency.

NASA also released a new virtual-reality tour starring several women who work in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) within the agency. The tour is part of a collaboration between NASA and Google to create free virtual field trips for teachers and educators. [Lego to Make 'Women of NASA' Minifigs, Including Sally Ride, Katherine Johnson]

The NASA Modern Figures virtual tour is available via the Google Expeditions mobile app, which requires a smartphone and a VR viewing apparatus, such as Google Cardboard. Unlike a regular video, the VR experience lets viewers look around at the various NASA locations.

Tracy Drain, deputy chief engineer for NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter, takes viewers on a tour of the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory via NASA's Modern Figures career expedition, available on the free Google Expeditions mobile app. (Image credit: NASA)

One of the stars of the tour is Tracy Drain, deputy chief engineer for NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter, who takes viewers on a tour of the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, according to a statement from the agency. The facility is home to the Deep Space Communications Network, the hub of communications with robots exploring various corners of the solar system. It is also where NASA staff assisted the Mars Curiosity Rover down to the surface of the Red Planet.

The rest of the tour "gives students a three-dimensional experience in a 100,000-square-foot aircraft hangar, simulated Martian landscape, space flight operations facility, and other fascinating locations where these women work as materials scientists, launch directors, software engineers, and in other STEM fields," according to the statement.

"Modern Figures" is a reference to a NASA project called "From Hidden Figures to Modern Figures," which is a dedicated section on NASA's website featuring biographies of the three women at the center of the Oscar-nominated movie "Hidden Figures." The movie was based on Margot Lee Shetterly's book, "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race" (William Morrow, 2016). The book and subsequent film told the stories of three African-American women who worked at NASA in the 1960s and contributed to NASA's early human spaceflight program. The Modern Figures web page features videos and information that highlight the diversity of people who work or have worked at NASA.

The new Modern Figures virtual tour is part of the Google Expeditions series. Additional Google Expeditions offer 3D virtual tours of the International Space Station and the surface of Mars.

In NASA's Modern Figures career expedition, Christina Diaz, an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, brings viewers to the Mars Yard at JPL where she develops instruments for Mars rovers such as NASA's Curiosity rover. The virtual tour is available on the free Google Expeditions mobile app. (Image credit: NASA)

"The Google Expeditions partnership supports NASA's mission to inspire and attract kids into STEM studies and careers by providing opportunities for students to virtually step out of the classroom and experience NASA careers, missions and locations in space without leaving their desks," the statement said.

The NASA home page also published this historical photo featuring six women scientists at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia, taken in 1959. (Langley was also the setting of the "Hidden Figures" book and movie.)

You can learn more about the women of NASA via the agency's Women@NASA website, which includes video interviews with over 60 women who work at the agency in various capacities.

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi launched party's Delhi unit's poll campaign for the upcoming prestigious MCD elections. The Amethi MP fired salvos on both Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

By Supriya Bhardwaj: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi launched party's Delhi unit's poll campaign for the upcoming prestigious MCD elections.

The Amethi MP fired salvos on both Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He even tried to boost the moral of cadre by calling them 'Babbar sher' ( Lion ).

IDEOLOGY MATTERS

The Gandhi scion said that the Congress workers , leaders , MLAs and MPs will tell the difference between their and AAP / BJP ideologies. "They know that everyone has some qualities and some wisdom ... And we make an effort to listen to all and run out governments unlike BJP and AAP," said Gandhi.

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REMEMBERS MA GANGA

Though the curtain falls on the highly charged up poll campaign in Varanasi, the Amethi MP did mention Ma Ganga and Varanasi in his speech at Ramlila Maidan.

"Polls are being held in Uttar Pradesh. In 2014, Prime Minister Modi had said to the people of Varanasi, that Ganga Ma has called him. Ma Ganga belongs to each one of us but you try to understand the arrogance of a man who stands up and says that Ma Ganga is only his. Aren't we all not sons and daughters of Ma Ganga?" said the Congress vice-president.

KEJRIWAL KNOWS HOW TO USE THE ANGER OF DELHIITES

Narrating an incident involving an AAP strategist, Rahul Gandhi said , "Someone from AAP came to meet me. I asked him that you work for Kejriwal, do you feel that Kejriwal has reduced corruption?? And will he be able to root out the corruption?? He said I know he will not be able to remove corruption. The AAP strategist informed me that Delhi Maine bahut gusa hai Kejriwal sirf uss gusse ka istimal karta hai ( Delhiities are really angry and Kejriwal just manipulate their anger). He added that in AAP only Kejriwal rules like a king and only his will / decisions works."

Rahul also said that both PM Modi and CM Kejriwal are wasting time of the people of Delhi and the entire country.

TICKET DISTRIBUTION IN CONGRESS

Rahul Gandhi while addressing party workers at the iconic Ramlila Maidan also said that he will not give tickets to parachute candidates. "We will give tickets only to our workers who fight for people of Delhi.. They will get the tickets and will elect their head," said Gandhi, adding, "You - the workers of Congress - are Babbar sher ( Lion ) , you don't need to be scared or worried."

WHY IS THE PRIME MINISTER SILENT ON RACIAL ATTACKS ON NON-RESIDENT INDIANS?

Rahul Gandhi said, "When people are dying in USA why Modiji hasn't spoken a word?? Because PM of India is scared."

Also Read: Congress eyes Delhi, Rahul Gandhi to launch campaign for municipal election

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi says Modi is an old man, we will form govt of young people

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi at Banda: PM Modi lost his smile after Congress, SP tie-up in UP

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Scarlett Johansson is also demanding primary custody of her daughter with Romain Dauriac, Rose Dorothy.

By Press Trust of India: Actress Scarlett Johansson has filed for divorce from her husband of two years, Romain Dauriac.

The 32-year-old star, who separated from Dauriac in January, is also headed for a custody battle, reported The New York Post.

"The Avengers" star has sued Dauriac in Manhattan Supreme Court saying that their marriage is "irretrievably broken".

The former couple have a daughter Rose Dorothy, 2, who was born shortly after they got hitched in 2014.

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Johansson is also asking a judge to give her primary custody of their only child.

On the other hand, Dauriac's attorney, Harold Mayerson, has said that his client "would like to move to France with his daughter and Ms Johansson does a lot of travelling."

Earlier, the parents had an informal co-parenting agreement where they each spent every other week with Rose post break-up.

This will be Johansson's second divorce after splitting from first husband actor Ryan Reynolds in 2010.

PHOTOS: If you don't see these 10 photos of Scarlett Johansson today, your day is wasted

ALSO WATCH: Scarlett Johansson's Lucy is wild and unnerving

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The two most important sub-commanders in Hama are Ali Shelly, a well-known criminal, and Talal Dakkak, who keeps a pet lion. It is said that Dakkak enjoys feeding his victims to animals. The two of them have people arbitrarily kidnapped, they steal, and they smuggle oil and gasoline, which they even sell to Islamic State (IS), against which Assad's army is officially fighting.

In summer 2016, for example, an army unit intercepted several tanker trucks filled with gasoline. The column was travelling on behalf of Dakkak and the fuel they contained was apparently meant for IS units. The soldiers didn't dare confiscate it for fear of Dakkak's revenge and the gasoline was turned over to the local air-force secret service -- which is closely linked with the Tiger Forces. It didn't take long before the tankers could continue their journey.

Happy to Help His Enemies

Assad, after all, needs the help of the militias on the front lines. And even if he didn't, he could hardly stand up to them due to their wealth and power. In early February, there were once again shortages in Aleppo and urgently needed medications were running out. Shelly's militia, which collects tolls on the only access road to Aleppo controlled by Assad, confiscated the medical supplies sent into the city in order to resell them later at a profit.

If there is money to be made, militia-leader Shelly is even happy to help his enemies: A May 5, 2015 document from the Syrian military secret service describes in detail how Shelly supplies rebel groups with weapons. And it is, perhaps, not accidental that the document was leaked, given that the military secret service is bitterly competing against the air force secret service and its Tiger Forces friends for power and money.

These are the men fighting Assad's war.

In a village in Assad-controlled territory, a doctor and his wife are sitting on their living-room sofa staring into the smartphone they are using to speak with DER SPIEGEL. The woman's voice trembles in fear as she speaks: "It was here in our village. Uniformed men forced their way into a woman's house. They tied her up, stole her money and tortured her until she revealed where her husband's money was hidden. When the men had the money, they disappeared again."

Her husband adds: "Two days ago, a merchant was kidnapped here." And several weeks ago, he says, friends of his were robbed on a highway. They were stopped at an improvised checkpoint and dragged out of their car before militia members climbed in and sped away.

Farmers wanting to pass such checkpoints must pay a levy on their harvest. If they don't, the entire harvest may be confiscated. In several villages, citizen defense leagues have formed, patrolling at night to scare off plundering militiamen. The doctor says that the division of labor between the two Tiger leaders is clear: Most of the kidnappings can be traced back to Talal Dalakk, he claims, while the smuggling is more likely to be the work of Ali Shelly.

Ending in Fiasco

At times, the army or the military intelligence service has tried to come down on the warlords. But such attempts have always ended in fiasco. In March 2016, Assad units arrested the leader of a powerful Christian militia from the north of the province following an exchange of gunfire. But his followers violently protested and the man was soon freed.

"Yes, we have problems," says Hussein Dayoub, head of the Assad's Baath Party in Hama. Sitting in his wood-paneled office beneath a portrait of the president, he admits that militia members have set up checkpoints and extorted tolls. He also says that smuggling and kidnapping is a problem, but adds that he doesn't know who is behind it.

In theory, Dayoub is a powerful man, head of the local chapter of the governing party. But even he is apparently afraid of falling into disfavor with the militias, the true rulers of Hama. In faraway Damascus , the country's minister of reconciliation also tells DER SPIEGEL that the regime is aware of the problem but does not have the power to put a stop to it.

The largest rivals of the Hama-based Tiger Forces in the battle for smuggling profits and power can be found in Latakia, the coastal city in the Alawite heartland. Rain is beating down as low clouds move in from the sea. The steel factory belonging to Mohamed Jaber is located among the fields south of the city. Where T-beams were once manufactured for building construction, rockets are now soldered together and armor is mounted on pick-ups. This is where the Desert Hawks have one of their bases and their weapons factory.

The gray hangar on site, made of cement and corrugated sheet metal, is maybe 200 meters long. Eight Soviet-made T-72 tanks are sitting in the mud to one side while military trucks, armored personnel carriers and heavy artillery surround the building.

Certificates of Gratitude

Young men are milling about in front of a former office building, some no older than 15. They are dressed in camouflage and their eyes are tired: It wasn't that long ago that they returned from the battle for Aleppo. They huddle in the rain, smoking cigarettes among truck parts and anti-aircraft guns. Inside, where invoices and order slips were once filed away in wooden cabinets, boxes crammed full of munitions are now stacked.

Following the surprisingly candid tour of his weapons factory, Desert Hawks leader Jaber leads the way to his apartment. He lives on the fourth floor of an upscale apartment building with a view of Latakia's harbor: The walls are paneled, the floor is marble and in the back is a gigantic flat-screen television playing propaganda videos for his militia. On a sideboard, framed certificates of gratitude from Russia are on display.

Jaber is a corpulent, conceited man. He spends an hour holding forth on the military successes achieved by his militia, periodically shouting at his staff to bring maps and tea.

Yes, he finally admits, his men have engaged in plundering, but only rarely. Black sheep, after all, can be found everywhere, he says. "We are a large group. Some are good, some are bad. But they are fighting for our country, that's the most important thing."

And he adds: "In Hama there are militias. They are kidnappers, robbers and murderers." The reference, of course, is to the Tiger Forces, his rivals.

During the March 2016 battle for the city of Palmyra, famous for its ancient ruins, the two militias exchanged gunfire. A high-ranking military delegation was quickly sent from Damascus to mediate. Since then, Assad's people have tried to assign the Tigers and the Hawks to different fighting fronts.

From Kleptocrat to Warlord

Mohamed Jaber and his brother initially became rich from smuggling. In the 1990s, they began by spiriting oil into the country from Iraq before investing their millions in the steel industry. When the Syrian civil war began in 2011 and international sanctions isolated the Assad regime, they were asked to use their smuggling contacts to bring in badly needed oil and gasoline.

To protect their convoys as they drove through the desert, the Jabers recruited hundreds of former soldiers -- and criminals. In August 2013, Assad signed a decree allowing private businesspeople to maintain their own security forces, thus paving the way for kleptocrats in his favor to become warlords.

Jaber, though, says he isn't interested in either power or money, claiming he already has enough of both. Rather, he only wants to help the great President Bashar Assad. When the war is over, he'll lay down his weapons he says, before adding a bit later: "We could control over 60 percent of the country, if we were allowed to."

The Russians have a pragmatic approach to the militias: Depending on the situation, the local warlords are given weapons, medals and selfies with Russian officers. But privately the Russian generals complain about the shocking state of the army and about the militias.

If the warlords become more powerful, Assad may soon become little more than a figurehead, surrounded by a coterie of robbers and smugglers. And the militias are also gaining political influence: In parliamentary elections last spring, candidates from the old ruling class didn't do as well as they had in the past. Instead, candidates affiliated with the warlords emerged victorious.

Elections in Syria, of course, don't reflect the will of the electorate. They only show who has the power to get his candidates elected. It is often said that, while Assad might be dreadful, he is the last remaining state authority in the country. But the strength of the militias shows that he lost even that authority long ago.
Speaking at the Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum, Mrs Batters said its vital that leaving the EU doesnt hinder the nations flagship industry.

The opportunity we have is a policy tailor-made for our country and our sector. The ripple effect of this policy will be felt right through the food supply chain ending with the public  the people eating the food we produce. But we can only achieve this through collaboration, be that at Government level, UK food industry level, along the supply chain and at farm level.

Farming is a long-term business. I, like many farmers, am making decisions now for beef products hitting the market in early 2020. Even with the best will and planning, Im making these decisions not knowing the trading environment I'll be operating in. If agricultural sectors work together, collaboratively with their supply chains to offer quality British Red Tractor food at an affordable price, this will put up a strong defence against cheap imported food.

We have seen our members faced with short notice price and specification changes and unreasonable contract terms as well as members suppling retail with ornamental products required to pay to stay, unreasonable customer complaint charges and a lack of commitment on volumes.
By Press Trust of India: Shimla, Mar 7 (PTI) Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and two of his cabinet ministers today slammed senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar for his reported remarks that the HP government was not empowered to declare Dharamsala as the second capital.

"Shanta Kumar should know that Himachal Pradesh is a full-fledged state and all the powers to decide where to locate the capital, offices and to have a second capital. The statement of veteran BJP leader is ridiculous," Singh said.

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Agriculture Minister Sujan Singh Pathania and Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma, both hailing from Kangra district also expressed surprise over the Kumars statement while raising objections over the declaration of Dharamsala as the states second capital.

In a joint press statement they said "It did not behove to a senior leader like Shanta Kumar to give such a politically motivated statements, not based on facts and the BJP leaders should clearly state that whether they were in favour or against making Dharamsala as second capital of the state."

They said had Kumar been the well wisher of Kangra, he should have appreciated the move in the interest of development of not only Kangra district but entire state

He was also presenting wrong figures regarding the allocation of funds for the development of Dharamshala as Smart City, they said.

A sum of Rs 2 crore had been given for making the proposal of Smart City and after submission of the proposal, the Union government selected Dharamshala under Smart City Mission and Rs 186 crore had been released as the Centres share for the current financial year whereas the state government had also released its 10 per cent share.

They said that it was Virbhadra Singh government which constructed Vidhan Sabha complex at Dharamshala and took a historic step to start winter session there.

"The Congress governments motive behind this decision was to ensure that the administration reaches at the door-steps of the people of lower Himachal so that they do not have to rush to Shimla for petty works," the ministers said.

They claimed that the people of 30 assembly constituencies of four districts, especially the remotest district of Chamba, would be benefited with this decision. PTI PCL SMJ

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NORWALK  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy urged the Federal Railroad Administration on Tuesday to repair rather than realign Connecticuts portion of the Northeast Corridor.

The federal agency has proposed rerouting high-speed rail lines through much of Fairfield County and elsewhere to provide faster service between Washington, D.C., and Boston. The plan calls for 29 miles of new rail lines between New Rochelle, N.Y., and Greens Farms, utilizing aerial structures in places and bypassing the existing rail lines. The governors statements come as preservationists begin weighing in the plan, and worry that it would be devastating to this area.

In a letter to the FRA, Malloy said Connecticut will support the federal agencys impending Record of Decision concerning NEC Future  a long-term, comprehensive investment plan for the 450-mile rail line between Boston and Washington, D.C.  provided the decision includes specific improvement, eliminates alternative alignments, has the support of all U.S Department of Transportation agencies, and spells out a simplified environment approval process for critical projects.

Connecticuts support of the Record of Decision is conditioned on the premise that it will: Focus principally on investments that will achieve a Good State of Repair to ensure continuation of existing services and handle the projected ridership demand for the next 10-15 years, Malloy wrote. Connecticut has been clear that investments in the State-of-Good Repair are the necessary foundation for any longer-term high speed rail investment, and will deliver the most cost-effective outcomes.

Malloy asked the federal agency to identify specific projects, such as replacing aging tunnels and bridges, and to table consideration of any new alignment of tracks along the Northeast Corridor.

His letter comes as the FRA prepares to release a Record of Decision, which will complete the first phase of review of NEC Future as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Preservationists alarmed

In December, the FRA released its Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which included a preferred design alternative. The design shows 79 miles of new track alignment in Connecticut.

A map provided in the FRA report at www.necfuture.com shows a new segment diverging from the existing rail line in Darien and appearing to follow Interstate 95 to Greens Farms. Trains would run through Fairfield County partly along aerial structures.

The release of the report opened a public comment period, which has brought no shortage of response from the historical preservation community.

From Greenwich to Mystic, these are tightly packed towns right on the shorelines with rail lines that go right through the middle of them, and within the center of towns theres so many historic properties right along the rail lines, said Tod Bryant, Norwalk Preservation Trust president. Look at how difficult it is replace the Walk Bridge, so take that and multiply that by New York to Boston.

The states upcoming replacement of the 120-year-old Walk Bridge, which carries trains over the Norwalk River, threatens to raze the IMAX Theater portion of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk and impact more than a dozen other properties.

The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and National Trust for Historic Preservation have called upon the FRA to dump the new track alignments, or at least study them further.

While some would have a minimal adverse effect on historic resources, the portion of the project along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island would be devastating to historic communities under the preferred alternative, wrote Elizabeth S. Meritt, deputy general counsel to the National Trust, in a March letter to the FRA.

We urge the Federal Railroad Administration to remove from its Tier 1 Record of Decision the portions of the project in Connecticut and Rhode Island that involve bypasses on new alignment and other draconian impacts on historic resources, Merritt wrote. Instead, the agency should conduct more detailed reviews to develop feasible and prudent alternatives that would avoid and minimize harm to these resources.

According to the CT Trust, no state along the entire Northeast Corridor is as significantly or extensively impacted by the NEC Future planning process as Connecticut.

The representative route of the Preferred Alternative identified in the Tier 1 F-EIS directly impacts numerous historic and environmentally sensitive communities, wrote CT Trust Executive Director Daniel Mackay and Director of Special Projects Gregory Stroud in a February letter to the FRA.

Concern in Greenwich

The Bush-Holley House in Cos Cob is but one of numerous historic properties in Greenwich, which could disappear if the FRA implements its preferred design alternative, according to Jo Conboy, Greenwich Preservation Trust chairwoman.

Our concern of the cultural impact to our community and Fairfield is the density of the plan and the impact to our historic cultural and environmental resources, Conboy said. We do recognize the importance of maintaining and modernizing the Northeast Corridor but at what cost? The trains will only save 30 to 45 minutes. Will this plan be outdated by the time it is built. We have to start thinking of new technology that will be more efficient that has no impact or very minimal impacts to our communities.

Conboy named the lower portion of the Greenwich Historic District, parts of Bruce and Cos Cob parks, and homes along Route 1 in historic Riverside and Old Greenwich as areas that would be impacted, based upon maps provided by the FRA. The maps, however, are not accurate and make it difficult to ascertain where the new rails would be placed, she added.

Why are we rushing to finalizing an unstudied project when it isn't among the initial decade-long list of projects included in the draft environmental impact statement? Conboy asked.
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Many Connecticut residents know the feeling of a back sprain: It starts with a cramp or stiffness or pain in the lower back and can last weeks, or even months. A recent data analysis shows that patients with back pains are a more common sight in doctors offices in Connecticut than in the rest of the country.

The healthcare startup Amino found that cuts and bruises are the most common ways Americans hurt themselves, but Connecticut residents suffer more frequently from sprained backs, concussions, sprained hips, and knee injuries than other Americans.

Sprained backs are about 1.6 times more common in Connecticut than in the rest of the country, Amino researcher Sohan Murthy said.

He looked at data from 1.3 million Connecticut patients and found that about a third of patients who went to the doctor for sprained backs in the last five years were treated by orthopedic surgeons. The rest saw a mix of primary care physicians and emergency room doctors. An undetermined number of people could have just skipped the doctors office.

Unfortunately, we can't figure out what proportion of patients sought treatment for these injuries, as we're only looking at patients who already went to the doctor, Murthy said. We can't see patients who got hurt but didn't go to the doctor.

Some states have an abnormally high number of odd injuries, Murthy found. You are more likely to be struck by an object in Indiana than anywhere else in the country, for example, while people from Texas get bad insect bites more frequently than Americans from any other state. Suffocation is the injury most unique to six Western states.

The team cant say for sure why some injuries happen more frequently in certain parts of the country than in others. But some doctors have noticed that Connecticut has the distinction of being a state of weekend warriors.

Spine surgeon Rudolph Taddonio, the interim chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at Stamford Hospital, said patients with sprained backs tend to be sedentary workers who overexert themselves at the end of the week.

In our state, in particular in Fairfield County, we have a lot of hospitals, businesses, insurance companies and big offices where people spend their time sitting. Then they exert themselves for one or two days on the weekend. They do so above and beyond the capacity of what their backs can handle and get a strain, Taddonio explained.

Poor sitting posture further deteriorates core muscles, making people more susceptible to injuries, he said. Taddonio recommends having an exercise program, even on weekdays.

It takes a little bit of time, he said. But thats the best way to prevent an injury to your back.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has proposed tough action to close a looming $1.7 billion state budget deficit, a key element of which is a proposal that local school districts begin sharing responsibility for funding teacher pensions. Its a reform that is not only necessary, but long overdue. But to understand why, its important to understand the unique structure of Connecticuts government.

Connecticut is one of a tiny handful of states, including Massachusetts and New Jersey, in which the state government shoulders 100 percent of the responsibility for funding public school teacher pensions. In most states, local school districts are required to fund teacher pensions, while a couple of states, including California, share the responsibility with local school districts. Maryland used to fund teacher pensions at the state level, but beginning in 2012, shifted responsibility to the local school districts. So Gov. Malloys proposal to require local school districts to begin paying a portion of teacher pensions would begin to bring Connecticut into line with the pension structures of most other states.

Why make the change now? One critical reason is that funding teacher pensions has become a considerable burden for the state government to shoulder alone. Until Gov. Malloy took office, no governor had fully funded the annual required contribution (ARC) for teacher pensions. Despite that failure, by 2000, buoyed by strong capital market performance during the Clinton years, Connecticuts teacher pension systems funding stood at a healthy 83 percent of liabilities. But failure of the Rowland-Rell administrations to fully provide for pensions combined with the disastrous performance of capital markets under the Bush administration to push the funded ratio below 50 percent. Since 2008, total unfunded liabilities have doubled to $13.2 billion, while the required annual contribution to the teachers pension fund has risen 21/2 times to $1.3 billion. The result is that the ARC now comprises 7 percent of the entire state budget.

Are teachers to blame for the rising cost of funding the pension system? No. In fact, according to the report by Boston Colleges Center for Retirement Research, Connecticut teachers contribute a higher proportion of their salaries to the normal cost of their pensions than the national average (6 percent vs. 5.6 percent), while the governments contribution to normal cost comes to just half the national average. The increase in the ARC is overwhelmingly the result of underfunding during the Rowland-Rell years and poor investment performance. Further, Connecticut is one of just 16 states whose teachers are not permitted to receive Social Security. Connecticut teachers are also subjected to unfavorable pension requirements, including 10-year vesting, substantially longer than the national average. The long vesting period means that nearly half of all Connecticut teachers never receive a pension. So teachers retirement benefits are not generous, and those benefits are not to blame for the ill-health of the pension fund.

Gov. Malloy has done his best to shore up the pension fund, fully funding the ARC every year during his tenure, while reducing the expected rate of return. But the looming $1.4 billion annual expense for 2018 needs to be shared with municipalities in order to tackle the state budget deficit caused by sluggish growth in tax receipts.

Gov. Malloys plan asks school districts to help out by paying 30 percent of the cost of funding their teachers pensions, amounting to just more than $400 million. But the plan is being rolled out in connection with reforms of the educational cost sharing plan, with more funding to be directed to lower-income communities struggling to fund their school systems. Taken together, 31 economically hard-pressed communities will receive greater overall funding from the state next year.

Were the states tax receipts growing faster during this recovery, perhaps Connecticut could maintain the old system of state-level funding for all teacher pensions. But with a $1.7 billion deficit looming, and a similar deficit the following year, asking municipalities, particularly the wealthiest towns, to shoulder some of the burden that is considered normal in virtually every other state is necessary.

Gov. Malloy is tackling the states budget deficit in a rational manner. Hes protecting and supporting school systems that need greater funding by reforming the educational cost sharing system, implementing long-overdue structural funding reforms for public school teachers retirement system, while safeguarding public school teachers retirements.

Sean Goldrick served two terms on the Board of Estimate and Taxation, the Greenwich finance board. He lives in Riverside.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde said, "Our party president Uddhav Thackeray made the demand immediately after the Prime Minister announced loan waiver in UP. If it can happen in UP, then, why not in Maharashtra?"

By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: The strained relations between the Shiv Sena and BJP were visible once again on Wednesday when the former joined the Opposition Congress and NCP's protests demanding loan waiver for farmers in the state. The lower House was adjourned for the day following noisy scenes over the issue.

Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, leader of Opposition in the legislative Assembly brought an adjournment notice over the plight of farmers in the state, saying that farmers had faced a harrowing time following consecutive droughts; there is no alternative other than granting them a loan waiver.

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"Farmers suicides are on the rise. More than 9000 farmers have ended their live in last two-and-half-year. Will not allow the House to function till the govt takes a concrete action on loan waiver. The govt should make this announcement in the budget next week,"said Vikhe Patil.

Assembly was then adjourned for 15 minutes by Speaker Haribhau Bagde, and then, for the second time till the end of the Question Hour.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar too attacked the state govt for failing to grant loan waiver to farmers. "If the govt is able to give loan waivers to industries, why not farmers?"questioned Pawar.

Replying to the attack, Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar said, "Our govt is not against loan waiver. Our govt will consider it at appropriate time. We want to bring changes in the farmers lives and then consider the loan waiver demand," Fundkar said.

Opposition members continued with slogans shouting and entered the Well. Shiv Sena members too joined the Opposition. Speaking to reporter outside the House, Shiv Sena leader and PWD Minister Eknath Shinde said, "Our party president Uddhav Thackeray made the demand immediately after the Prime Minister announced loan waiver in Uttar Pradesh. If it can happen in UP, then, why not in Maharashtra?"

Earlier in the day, members from the Congress and NCP protested outside the House demanding immediate loan waiver for farmers.

Also read:

UP manifesto creates another round of tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Budget session: Opposition disrupts governor's speech over loan waiver

WATCH THE VIDEO:

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N o one asks the right questions on Budget day.

An intelligent shadow chancellor responding to Philip Hammonds speech might ask why  if the economy is doing as well as the Chancellor says it is  the millennial generation is the first in 100 years that is earning less than its parents.

He might ask if the Treasurys forecasts say whether this is likely to change for the better or for the worse, and if so why?

He would then follow up by asking why it is that home ownership in Britain is falling for the first time in 50 years  not among the very rich or the very poor, who are buying or renting much as they always have  but among the vast swathe of people who are in the middle-income bands. It is this group, very much the backbone of the country, which now increasingly finds that home ownership is out of reach. That is surely an odd outcome in a supposedly successful country.

Third, if the Opposition is allowed a third question, he might ask the Chancellor to point out the flaws, if there are any, in an analysis published this month by the Rowntree Foundation. This said that median (or average) income of the population as a whole will not grow for the next two years.

The Chancellors claim that the economy grew more than expected last year, and that forecasts for this year have been revised upwards, answers the wrong question. Just because the economy is growing a bit does not mean everyone is better off. If the growth comes simply because more people are employed, it is quite feasible for the economy to get bigger while average living standards fall. That is what is happening, and what the Rowntree Foundation  using projections produced by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility  says will continue to happen. Much of the nation is getting poorer.

For many, the picture is bleak. Real incomes for the bulk of the population have barely grown since the financial crash nine years ago. This means that average income will be 18%, or 5000 per household, lower by 2020-21 than it was expected to be and would have been if life and economic growth had continued to progress as they did in the run-up to the crisis.

The coming pain will fall particularly hard on low-income households because they will also have to cope with the planned cuts and freezing of universal credit and housing benefits. If these are implemented as intended, the Rowntree Foundation paper forecasts that one person in seven will have a lower income in five years time than they have today. This does rather cast a shadow over Prime Minister Theresa Mays claim that she will create an economy which works for everyone. In fact, you have to go back generations to find an economy that has worked so badly for everyone. To put the analysis in context, such a sustained squeeze in income growth has not happened in the last 60 years, and arguably not since the Twenties.

So the real story of todays Budget is not how well the economy is doing when measured by whatever obscure metric the Chancellor has selected to suit his purpose. With the National Health Service struggling to cope and problems looming in social care, it is obvious that the economy is failing to generate sufficient tax revenues to meet the aspirations of its people. So the real question is what, if anything, does the Chancellor propose to do about it?

Hammond is not a stupid man; he knows as well as anyone how vulnerable and sclerotic the British economy has become since Mrs Thatchers day by being so reliant on cheap, unskilled labour to produce the goods and on shopaholic consumers maxing out on their credit cards to buy them. As a system, it works  but only as long as people are prepared to run faster and faster just to stand still.

Hence the growth of zero hours contracts on the one hand and surging personal indebtedness on the other. Both are signs that we are reaching the limits of what the current system can deliver. Genuine economic growth in income per head requires the existing workforce to become more productive, so that we increase the value of what we produce in every working hour, and then we can all have a share or it  in increased wages, taxes and profits. But if we dont have productivity growth  and we dont  the whole thing is an illusion.

This is because without productivity growth, there is no more money. Any demands for more spending simply mean that Peter will be robbed to pay Paul, or that the Chancellor will borrow more, which means in effect that Peter is your child or grandchild  a member of the future generations who will one day have to repay that debt.

Very little of this is apparent from the Budget speech, although it is all there in the background papers if you know where to look. But the point of the speech is to stop you looking  hence the diversionary effort to stir up a row about the funding of grammar schools or the Orwellian idea that by having to borrow less this year, the Chancellor has somehow created a fighting fund to deal with the financial fallout from Brexit.

You might think you couldnt make it up, but that is exactly what a Chancellor does.
C hancellor Philip Hammond surfed the wave of higher growth this year to cut 24 billion of the nations borrowing bill in Wednesdays Budget.

The sharp upgrades from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to the UKs economic performance for this year  reflecting surprise strength since the Brexit vote  echo more optimistic growth forecasts from the Bank of England last month.

The Treasurys fiscal watchdog now predicts growth of 2% this year, compared with only 1.4% in Novembers pre-Budget statement.

But in 2018 it forecasts a slower 1.6% advance than the 1.7% pencilled in four months ago, and a less rapid expansion of 1.7% in 2019, the year when the UK will make its historic exit from the European Union.

Budget 2017: Seven key points

The OBR predicts the economys overall size will be broadly the same at the end of its forecast period, Hammond said. But the resultant boost to the public finances from higher tax receipts this year means the UK deficit will come in at 51.7 billion in the present financial year  16.5 billion lower than the 68.2 billion it predicted in November.

However, after that improvements are much more slight, meaning that, cumulatively, public borrowing will be 24 billion lower over the six years to 2021-22.

Hammond also has 26 billion in headroom to hit his much looser fiscal target of cutting the structural deficit  the part impervious to the ups and downs of the economy  to below 2% of GDP in 2020-21.

He abandoned his predecessor George Osbornes ambitions of running an overall surplus by the end of the Parliament last autumn.

One economist described the latest set of OBR forecasts as a cop out amid huge looming uncertainty over Article 50 Brexit negotiations with the EU. He said: Theyve done the same cop out on the economic forecast as many others  we were right about a Brexit hit, but just give it a bit more time.

Although the Chancellor warned that the UKs debt pile was still too high and pledged to continue the work of living within our means, the improved short-term growth prospects mean the UKs debt pile will peak at 88.8% of GDP next year  compared with 90.2% four months ago.

Budget 2017: Gags and gaffes from Philip Hammond's first budget

The OBR also forecasts the national debt will fall to 79.8% in 2021-22, compared with its previous forecast of 81.6%.

Despite expected measures on items such as business rates relief, the fiscally neutral picture presented by Hammond meant the pound moved little during the speech, although sterling reduced losses to stand 0.3c lower at $1.2170 after the upgrades to growth forecasts.

But, more broadly, the pound is close to its lowest since mid- January as traders favour the US dollar ahead of a rate rise expected this month from the US Federal Reserve.

Theresa May puts down Jeremy Corbyn on International Women's Day

Alastair Archbold, foreign exchange manager at Foremost Currency Group, said: The Chancellors Budget has given the pound a lift because of an upward revision on growth forecasts. Usually we dont see the Budget have much effect on the currency markets. However, with politics now the driving force behind exchange-rate movements, this Budget has bucked the trend.

Hammond will present his second budget of the year in the autumn.
A s Theresa May reminded her Chancellor during his Budget speech, today is International Womens Day.

Unlike most such events  National Sandwich Day, Pork Pie Week  this is one actually worth staging. Particularly in the City, where women are still so woefully absent from the upper echelons.

For, while Philip Hammond was boasting in his Budget of record numbers of women now in the workplace, look closer at the kind of jobs theyre doing and his soundbites ring distinctly hollow.

Research from Grant Thornton today showed that the number of senior business roles held by women in the UK has actually fallen from 21% to 19% in the past year. And the percentage of firms with no women at all in senior posts has risen from 36% to 41%.

A blip, perhaps? Hardly. For all the lip service and initiatives from corporate grandees, GT found there are only 1% more women in senior roles now than in 2001. What a scandalous waste of brainpower.

In fairness, employers have tried to find remedies. Most City firms graduate intakes are creeping towards 50:50. The trouble is, women who want to progress are jumping off the ladder when they reach their thirties. Either they leave to start families or dont fancy becoming alpha workaholics like their male bosses.

Grant Thorntons chief executive Sacha Romanovitch  who clearly bucked that trend herself  argues we must rid corporate culture of the hero model of leadership. Make management collaborative and inclusive, she says. Get rid of the idea that the leader must be perfect, the job all-consuming.

That sounds great in theory, but in City boardrooms, its an impractical dream. Societies  be they companies or countries  unite around charismatic hero leaders who never switch off. They function best with a clear chain of individual command.

Rather than attempt to undo the DNA of human behaviour, we must find a way of creating more female heroes. There are dozens of blockages  from girls education to our dismal paternity leave rules. But, this being Budget day, lets focus on money.

One of the main reasons high-flying women struggle to get from 10,000 feet to the stratosphere is that they cant afford childcare to cover the business trips and long hours executive jobs require.

Instead of tinkering as he did today, Hammond should give large tax breaks for women needing nannies and nurseries to get back on the fast track after becoming mums. Austerity fans would call that squandering public resources. Theyre wrong. Whats being squandered is half the countrys most talented, productive brains. A waste our inefficient economy can ill afford.
I t was inevitable that, unless WANdisco blew forecasts out of the water, the AIM-listed companys stock-market party would come to an abrupt halt.

So it proved as shares in the big data firm fell 44.74p, or 8.4%, to 489.26p, having rocketed 170% this year.

The annual results, which were in line with guidance laid out in Januarys trading update, come five months after founder David Richards returned to the helm with the support of shareholders, having been ousted by the chairman, who departed shortly after.

Total bookings were up 72% to $15.5 million (12.8 million). The cash burn reduced in the final quarter to just $200,000 from $6.9 million the year before, which helped trim losses to $9.3 million from $29.9 million.

Stifel analyst George OConnor said the numbers showed WANdisco was a re-energised company.

The shift from direct selling to selling through partners including IBM and Amazon helped to cut costs, as did moving engineering jobs from expensive Silicon Valley software development centres to cheaper places in the UK such as Sheffield  where the business is headquartered  and Belfast. It cut its overall headcount by almost 20%.

Despite profit taking today, the shares have been on a hot streak and are still much higher than when Richards was reinstated. It prompts the question: does Richards feel he has justified his return? I was fired by the chairman and brought back by the shareholders. The share price would certainly indicate that it was the right decision  thats the proxy, he said.

The FTSE 100 appears to be back in one of its stagnant periods, Connor Campbell at Spreadex said, and the index slid 11.68 points to 7327.31.

BT, whose broadband is advertised by actor Ryan Reynolds, was among the few movers on the main index as Goldman Sachs took the troubled telecoms giant off its Buy list. The shares were down 4.15p at 328.35p.

Though action was relatively muted on the top flight, there were plenty of risers and fallers on the mid-cap index.

Just Eat jumped 18p to 560p after Barclays hailed yesterdays annual results and upgraded to Overweight, adding that a fiver is cheap for a takeaway.

Dignity dived 322p, or 12%, to 2442p as the funeral operator cut its medium-term profit growth target to 8% because of increasing competition. It also warned investors that significantly fewer people could die this year than in 2016.

Mid-cap oiler Cairn Energy, off 0.8p at 223.4p, unveiled two deals to fund oilfield developments off Ireland.

The beneficiaries were Providence Resources, a former AIM darling, which surged 1.5p, or 10%, to 16.75p and Europa Oil & Gas, which gained 0.9p, or 19%, to 5.65p.
By Press Trust of India: Chennai, Mar 8 (PTI) AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran today said DMK Working President M K Stalin was attacking his party to "conceal his inabilities" after he failed to "topple" the government.

In an apparent reference to expelled party leader and former chief minister O Panneerselvam, he said Stalin had joined hands with a "traitor" to "topple" AIADMK government but it could not fructify due to a "silent revolution" by the ruling party.

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"One OPS (O Panneerselvam) was thrown away and one EPS (Edappady K Palaniswami) was ushered in through a silent revolution and a political change brought in," he said.

"That is why this Working President (Stalin) is frustrated and to conceal his inabilities, he is criticising the AIADMK government," Dinakaran said in a statement.

Dinakaran, nephew of V K Sasikala who is serving a jail term in an disproportionate assets case, took exception to Stalins reported remarks that the AIADMK government was being run by convicts, in an apparent reference to the party General Secretary, and said, "Not all those convicted are culprits."

"The world knows not all those convicted are culprits and that all those who escaped (the law) are innocent," he said.

Hitting back at Stalin, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Dinakaran referred to criticism against DMK on various matters, including the 2G spectrum allocation case and the Cauvery dispute.

Sasikala is serving her jail term in Bengaluru central prison after being convicted in the Rs 66.6 crore disproportionate assets case. PTI SA VS DIP

--- ENDS ---
I nternational Womens Day has trained peoples minds on the question of progress. Where are we on womens rights? How far away is gender equality? Are we in the grip of a feminist revolution or a sexist backlash?

Its hard to shake the feeling that we are slipping backwards. Last year the World Economic Forum warned that economic equality is a shocking 170 years away. In the US  and worldwide  there are growing threats to womens reproductive freedoms, while in the UK, campaigners are concerned that Brexit could undo legal protections for part-time workers, the majority of whom are women. Looking back on my own life throws up more bleak examples. When the Equal Pay Act came into force in 1975, I assumed that pay inequality would be fixed in a matter of years. Beware the optimism of youth. Government figures show that at todays rate of progress, parity wont be reached until 2069.

Financial independence is another issue that remains stubbornly resistant to progress. In the late 1960s, my mother could not secure a mortgage without my fathers signature. My charity supports women in developing countries to establish businesses, and I am always struck by how many of them still encounter similar hurdles. Did you know that, for example, in 18 countries husbands can legally prevent their wives from working? Clearly, there are still battles to be fought. But does this mean that we are really turning back the clock on womens equality?

I dont have an answer to this, but  more importantly  I dont think this is the right question to ask.

Cherie Blair : 'The fight for womens equality is long and fractured' / Alex Lentati / Evening Standard

If theres one thing I know from four decades of campaigning on gender equality, its that progress is never linear. The fight for womens equality is long and fractured. Its a journey of victories and setbacks, ebbs and flows. It is not  and never will be  a smooth line.

Take last year for example. Many people viewed Hillary Clintons defeat as a crushing blow to the feminist cause. In many ways it was. But perspective is all. Widening the lens shows that 2016 was actually a historic year for electing women to public office. Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwans first female President; in the Marshall Islands, President Hilda Heine became the first female leader of any independent Pacific Island nation; and in Iran, last years elections saw women comprise six per cent of parliamentarians, a record not seen since before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Violence against women is another case in point. Russias recent move to decriminalise domestic violence alarmed many  quite rightly  with our own Prime Minister denouncing it as retrograde. But in recent years other countries have taken steps to protect women and girls from violence, with Nigeria, The Gambia and Egypt all legislating against female genital mutilation.

The instinct to measure progress is natural. It focuses the mind and spurs momentum. But the danger of asking, Where are we? is that we fix ourselves into a position that sees only success or failure. Taking a panoramic view shows that the road to equality is rocky, strewn with both milestones and potholes. Ground will be won and lost  over and over again.

The important thing is that we keep going. Because, if theres one thing that history shows with absolute certainty, its that women wont win anything without a fight.

Cherie Blair is the founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
I n comparison, the Bechdel test was subtle. That ready-reckoner of the depiction of women in film first appeared in a 1985 comic strip called Dykes to Watch Out For, by Alison Bechdel.

A black woman explains to a white woman that she only goes to a film if it satisfies three basic requirements. One, it has to have at least two women in it who  two  talk to each other about  three  something besides a man. Her companion says it seems to be a pretty strict rule. No kidding, says the black woman. Last movie I was able to see was Alien the two women in it talk to each other about the monster. Alien was released in 1979.

Bechdel says she originally meant this as a little lesbian joke in an alternative feminist newspaper. But her waggish invention was soon adopted as a genuine test to be applied in mainstream film criticism, although it could not really distinguish between films that were genuinely feminist or not, or films that were good or bad. Sceptics pointed out that movies that passed the Bechdel test included Showgirls, Kick-Ass 2, Burlesque and The Hottie and the Nottie.

So the F-rating has been devised by Bath Film Festival director Holly Tarquini, the F standing for feminist. Its admirably basic, modelled perhaps on the nihil obstat and imprimatur of the Catholic Church, guaranteeing that a work is free of doctrinal or moral error, even if it is not necessarily otherwise recommended.

On F-rated.org, it is explained thus: The F-rating is applied to all films which are directed by women and/or written by women and/or have significant women on screen. If a film has all three, it recieves [sic] a TRIPLE F-Rating, our gold standard. The rating allows audiences to vote with your seat and proactively choose to go and see F-rated films. Tarquini has also compared her F-rating to the Fairtrade stamp on groceries in giving audiences a way to vote with their feet.

Either way, the F-rating is going great guns. In January the Barbican Cinema became the 40th UK venue to implement F-rating across its programme. Now it has also been adopted by the dominant movie database, IMDb, which has tagged 21,800 of the most popular films with an F-rating for having been written or directed by women  Twilight thus rubbing shoulders with American Honey, Bridget Joness Baby with American Psycho (directed by Mary Harron, remember).

And last night, on the eve of International Womens Day, the British Film Institute organised a celebratory hackathon on the South Bank to take things even further, bringing like-minded enthusiasts together to use their laptops to help tag significant women on screen for IMDb too.

I almost wish Id been there. The absolute idiocy of approaching art by head-counting for representativeness can hardly ever have been quite so openly and earnestly embraced. Perhaps that is all that film, or any other cultural form, can ever aspire to be: a delegation from one group or another? If so, the imagination is hardly worth bothering with at all, is it?

You might as well stick to monitoring the naughty old world.

Fillon needs to take the hint

So Stephen Hawking thinks Jeremy Corbyn is a disaster and should step down for the sake of his party. We didnt need a genius to tell us that.

A more urgent disaster looms in France, where Republican presidential candidate Francois Fillon is also refusing to budge, despite the uproar over the claim that he diverted nearly 1 million of public money to his family for fictitious jobs. Once a cert for the job, he now looks a dead loss.

If he does hang on long enough to lose in the first round, the second is likely to be contested between Marine Le Pen of the National Front and Emmanuel Macron, whose En Marche! party, cleverly named after his own initials, is not yet a year old. This might, quite suddenly, give Le Pen a chance of actually winning on May 7. What to say to Fillon? Perhaps what Cromwell told the Rump Parliament. Go, get you out! Make haste! In the name of God, go!

One Elle of a film youve got to see

Shattered life: Isabelle Huppert stars as raped businesswoman Michele Leblanc in Elle

Finally my favourite film from the past year arrives in British cinemas this week. Seeing Elle again confirmed for me what a sublime performance Isabelle Huppert gives as the raped but not victimised heroine, Michele Leblanc.

It also revealed how contemptuous both Michele and the film are of every male who appears, including her vain and useless husband, her selfish and moronic lover, her total loser of a son, the exploitative gigolo who latches on to her mother, the sadistic pervert who attacks her and, worse yet, her father, the mass murderer. Great stuff!

Its fortunate, perhaps, for my viewing pleasure, that I have never felt any sense of solidarity with men just for being men.

Bravo to the professors war on junk food

My new hero is Wolfram Schultz, a German professor of neuroscience at the University of Cambridge who works on the brains reward system for shaping behaviour.

At the press conference at which he was announced as one of the winners of the 2017 Brain Prize, he spoke out against the colourful wrapping and attractive advertising of calorie-rich food products, saying: We should not advertise, propagate or encourage the unnecessary ingestion of calories. There should be some way of regulating the desire to get more calories. We dont need these calories.

No, we dont. A lot of what people consume now belongs to a food group that needs to be more helpfully labelled than just as snacks or treats. Caloric catastrophes, maybe.

Or industrial food products that almost nobody is the better for eating, ever. A bit wordy but entire supermarket aisles could correctly be so called.
T he Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has the reputation as spreadsheet Phil a sober man  but his Budget speech had some good jokes: he recalled that the last Chancellor to do away with the Spring Budget was Norman Lamont, who was sacked 10 weeks later. But alongside his jibes at the EU and the Opposition there were some sobering truths: about the two great underlying realities in particular, Brexit and the national debt, now at 1.7 trillion. All the measures he announced were in this context: the debt meant that his scope for increased spending was curtailed; Brexit, that his focus had to be on making the economy more competitive, workers more skilled and productive.

The overriding political imperative, however, was to soften the effect of swingeing increases in business rates. Mr Hammond ruled out, for now, scrapping the tax altogether and replacing it with a more rational alternative, but he did promise to address the most egregious anomaly: the way online retailers without a high-street presence are not properly taxed. For now, he simply makes the existing system less unfair  he has given local authorities a fund to soften rates increases and gives an extra break for pubs, who are hard hit. This is a welcome move, if not the radical reassessment we need.

But there was bad news for the self-employed, who face an increase in national insurance contributions  which seems at odds with the Tory manifesto  in order to reduce the tax gap between the self employed and those on PAYE. That was also the intention behind his decrease in the dividend allowance  to reduce the tax advantages enjoyed by people who set themselves up as limited liability companies in order to enjoy a tax advantage.

But the Budget is also in the context of the Prime Ministers stated intention to help the just-about-managing, or ordinary working families, so the Chancellor was emphatic that he would continue with the two most obviously progressive elements of the Governments fiscal programme since 2010, namely, an increase in the tax threshold for both the lowest paid, and in the higher-tax threshold. There is also an increase in the minimum wage, to 7.50, in April.

Budget 2017: Seven key points

The impetus of Brexit can be discerned in the Chancellors willingness to support research in STEM subjects. Specifically there will be support for PhD research and fellowships: that will help the Francis Crick Institute and similar London biotech institutions. That is welcome. So too is the introduction of T-levels, to diminish the gap between the value of academic and technical skills, and the provision of a maintenance allowance for students in technology. For companies thinking of investing in post-Brexit Britain one big problem is the dearth of necessary skills in the workforce; this will go some way to filling the gap in productivity. More contentiously, the Chancellor announced funding for more free schools, including selective ones.

This was a politically savvy Budget: the Chancellor also acknowledged the crisis in social care in an ageing population and is to provide 2billion over three years to address the problem. He acknowledged too the crisis in A&E by funding more doctors to diagnose patients.

For London an important part of the Budget was the concession of greater autonomy to City Hall in the way taxes are raised and spent in the capital. This fiscal and spending autonomy is exactly what we need if London is to be able to set its own priorities.

And for International Womens Day, the Chancellor could announce that there would be 5 million funding for the commemoration of the law allowing for the extention of the suffrage in 1918. For a Chancellor whose priorities are determined by the woman sitting behind him as he spoke, it was a move that was both apt and graceful.
T he world has gone Hamilton crazy; everyone knows the story of Alexander Hamilton, the orphan son of a Scotsman who wrote his way out. But theres another Hamilton with a story just as colourful, and this International Womens Day, its worth paying a visit to the Greenwich National Maritime Museums exhibition on the bright, brilliant Emma Hamilton.

She is, of course, no relation to Lin-Manuel Mirandas favourite Founding Father. If theres one thing shes already known for, its being the mistress of Admiral Nelson. He wrote some extraordinary love letters to her, including one where he confessed that his love was so strong that I never even touch pudding.

Reducing Emma Hamilton to that woman Nelson had a sex dream about (he admits as much in the same letter) is a devastatingly reductive version of a self-made woman who defied her class and gender via her native wit and intellect.

Her beginnings were humble: she was born into poverty in 1765, and went to London aged 12 to pursue a different life. She was drawn to the stage, but many believe that she is likely to have ended up working as a prostitute.

Around this time, she was to meet and be kept as the mistress of an infamous playboy with a crackingly posh name - Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh. Having done the things mistresses generally do together, she became pregnant with his child; he - surprise! - abandoned her.

Some extremely persuasive letter-writing on Emmas behalf led to Charles Greville bestowing his patronage upon her, but with the conditions that she had to change her name to Emma Hart (she was born Emy Lyon) and give up her child. Changing your identity and giving away your own baby? Its not like he was asking much.

Emma Hamilton by George Romney  National Maritime Museum, London

But Emma did become dedicated to Greville. He took her to be painted by the artist George Romney, and it was an early sign of her power that he ended up producing over 60 paintings of her. One room in the Maritime Museums exhibition showcases a number of them, and they are a sight to behold. Her face is strikingly open - a gift for a painter. She was to become on of the most painted women of her time.

Despite her obvious charm, her background didnt make her wife material for Greville. He sent her packing to Naples with her mum, with the idea that she would become the mistress for the recently widowed Sir William Hamilton. She remained a possession to be passed amongst men, and obviously no one checked whether she minded. It was only after weeks of receiving no letter from Greville that Emma realised she hadnt just been sent for a nice holiday.

Emma as Circe, 1782, by George Romney  The National Trust, Waddesdon Manor

And yet, she continued to be a woman who met every situation life threw at her and made the best of it. Installed as Hamiltons mistress - 35 years her senior - she learnt Italian and developed a series of performances called the Attitudes. They were a series of poses depicting famous women from history. Perhaps the sexualised nature of Emmas appearance ignores this overtly feminist act: a woman telling the stories of other women, with herself as the author.

The Attitudes saw Emma become famous across the world, with tourists in Naples flocking to see her performances. Her image covered everything from newspaper cartoons to porcelain - she was admired, but also subject to gossip and mocked for her physical appearance. It seems old habits die hard.

If her marriage to Hamilton (thus making her Lady Hamilton) five years later defied the conventions of her birth, then what to come next was even more surprising. Emma became a key political player due to her close friendship with Queen Maria Carolina, wife of King Ferdinand I of Naples. She was able to advise the royals on how to react to threats from the French Revolution (where Maria Carolinas sister, Marie Antoinette, had died). Her work saw her become the first women to be given the Order of Malta.

This was also the time that Emma became close to Nelson. The pair fell in love as equals - neither of them were born into wealth, and both had advanced by their talents. They adored each other, and lived together with Emmas husband until his death in 1803. Their love letters, now so famous, were a way of keeping their relationship alive; Nelsons time away meant they went for long periods without seeing each other.

They had a daughter together, but in a cruel reflection of her earlier life, Emma had to distance herself from her - named Horatia, she never accepted that Emma was her mother. Her adoration for her child remains apparent from the dedications that she wrote to her in books, a mother passing wisdom down to her child: A life well-spent makes old age pleasant and honourable.

One of the books Emma Hamilton dedicated to Horatia  National Maritime Museum, London

The end of the story is heartbreaking. Nelson never read Emmas final letter to him - he died in the Battle of Trafalgar before he received it. She wasnt allowed to go to his funeral, and the instructions he left for Emma and Horatia to be provided for were ignored. As she fell into debt, she was sent to prison, and at one point became so desperate she gave away the uniform that Nelson died in. In 1815, she died alone and in destitution.

Emma Hamilton was so much more than a mistress. She was born at a time where she depended on men; she outshone and outclassed them at every turn. I wish to show the world that a pretty woman is not always a fool, she said. She did.

Emma Hamilton: Seduction and Celebrity is at the National Maritime Museum until April 17; rmg.co.uk
E scaping the cold grasp of winter is always worth a cheer, as those who celebrate Holi well know.

The Hindu festival of colours  sometimes known as the festival of love  celebrates the coming of spring and the triumph of good over evil. Much of the festival is in honour of love, happiness, Hindu God Vishnu, and his eighth incarnation, Krishna. The festival is often remembered for paint-throwing and revellers showering each other with colour. It's a tradition which is both meant to reflect the coming of colour in Spring and reflect Krishnas playful pastimes.

Though the day itself this year is Monday March 13, there will be a handful of celebrations beforehand this weekend. Heres whats on and where.

Cinnamon Kitchen Paint Pods

Outside Vivek Singhs Cinnamon Kitchen in Devonshire, theres a specially constructed Paint Pod, where Londoners can book a thirty minute session to chuck neon colours at each other, with both the paint and protective white suits provided. Afterwards, settle in at the restaurant itself for a special five-course 'Holi Bites' menu.

Info: Until March 12, Cinnamon Kitchen, 9 Devonshire Square, EC2M 4YL, designmynight.com

Dishoom throw a party

The deservedly beloved London chain Dishoom are throwing not just one but two parties over in Bethnal Greens York Hall. The first, running midday till 3pm, is open to everyone and welcomes families, while the second, from 6pm until 10pm, is just for the grown-ups.

Both will features oodles of street food, plenty of drink, upbeat live music and paint galore. Theyre hoping everyone will just let go and have a little fun: sounds an absolute blast to us. Tickets are required. If you cant make it down, console yourself with one of the special Holi plates the group are putting on across the city.

Info: March 12, York Hall, 5 Old Ford Rd, Bethnal Green, E2 9PJ, dishoom.com

Chai Ki take to the water

Holi smokes, Batman. Canary Wharfs Chai Ki are briefly headed for a change of scenery this Sunday as they go to Hackney Wick for a cruise on the Alfred Le Roy. The boat will be firing colourful Holi cannons as it cruises back down the Limehouse Cut.

After an afternoon of Indian small plates, cocktails and CRATE beers, the boat moors by the restaurants Canary Wharf site, where everyone is invited in to their bar for a toddy. Tickets required.

Info: March 12, Alfred Le Roy, 7 Queens Yard, E9 5EN, designmynight.com
T hough its origins are a little hazy, International Womens Day is thought to turn 106 this year. Its upsetting to realise a century has passed without the original aim of gender equality still being realised, but its all the more reason to make a great hullabaloo this year.

Happily, London seems to be throwing its weight behind the cause, and theres support everywhere from theatres to restaurants, from small sweaty clubs to the great halls of the citys museums.

An incomplete but thorough list of whats on can be found here, and we've picked our highlights below.

Perhaps the biggest of everything thats on is the Southbanks Women of the World festival, running until March 12. Originally launched in 2011, the festival already has a substantial following and this year champions women everywhere with a line-up including Gillian Anderson, Jennifer Nadel, Sandi Toksvig, Angela Davis, Catherine Mayer and Harriet Harman. No surprise that hot topics this year include Trump and Brexit, but therell be discussions on everything from sexual assault to migration to prostitution. Visit their site for full details.

Another event to pen in the diary is the Million Women Rise rally, on March 11. Meeting outside Selfridges on Oxford Street, it will head down to Trafalgar Square, campaigning to end male violence against women and girls. This year marks the marchs 10th year.

DIY for IWD: The Tuts

Music

Concerts seem to be the medium of choice this year, with absolutely heaps happening around the capital. Have a riotous old time this weekend at the Four Quarters in Peckham, where on March 11 therell be Typical Girls, a night of DJs, live bands, comedy, belly dancing with a political bent (really) and spoken word too. Itll all be performed by women and non-binary artists. Nearby, in the CLF Art Cafe in the Bussey Building Jossy Mitsu, Diaspora, Natalie Sandi and DJ Baby Flame come together for None Of Your Business.

More feminist punk is on the agenda at Dance Like Ive Got Diamonds presents International Women's Day on March 8, where The Tuts, Peach Club and Dolls are all on the bill, alongside a talk from Girls Against. If you cant make that, or want even more riot grrrl vibes, head to The Fiddlers Elbow in Camden, where The Potentials, The Menstrual Cramps, Charmpit and The Baby Seals are all the bill, pumping out songs like My Labias Lopsided, but I Dont Mind. Dont go for subtly, but expect them all to be turning the amps up and bringing the house down.

International Women's Day: 100 years of female achievement in 70 seconds

Its not all thrashed guitars. Over at Tooting Tram and Social, again on March 8, the aptly titled Safe Gigs for Women on International Women's Day presents DJs Lipgloss Jill from Star Shaped Club and Strange Days, and a live music line-up including the melodic pop of Miri, folk-pop from Guise, acoustic wizardry from Misty Miller and something altogether different from MISHKIN, of Birdeatsbaby.

More folky goodness comes to St Johns Church Bethnal Green on March 10, as top collective Coven perform for IWD. BBC 6 endorsed O'Hooley & Tidow complete a line-up that includes BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Finalists Lady Maisery and the much-loved Grace Petrie.

The Royal College of Music are doing something entirely different with their March 8 concerts, as one might expect. Theyll be celebrating Women In Music, starting with a Piano Masterclass from Sofya Gulyak, at 10am, followed by the UK premiere of a lost Fanny Mendelssohn piano work, which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. In the evening, female musicians will play a variety of works by women composers.

Fatal protest: Natalie Press plays Emily Wilding Davison alongside Carey Mulligan in Suffragette / Focus Features

Film

Talkies Community Cinema will be hosting a screening of 2015 drama Suffragette on March 8 at the Fox in N13. The acclaimed period piece tells the story of foot-soldiers in the early days of feminism, and stars Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep.

At the Swiss Cottage Odeon, therell be a one-off screening of last years Embrace, an award-winning documentary about body image.

Stanleys film club on Norwood Hill is showing Queen of Katwe, which follows the story of a Ugandian girl rising to prominence as a star in the male-dominated world of chess. Oscar winning actress Lupita Nyong'o takes the lead.

For something more esoteric, head to the Calder Bookshop and Theatre in Southwark, where therell be a screening of 1926 Soviet drama Mother. It's followed by a talk from a Marxist scholar. Youve been warned.

On March 11, the Hackney Attic above the Picturehouse will screen Century: 10 Women x 10 Decades, a funny, sweet and often moving documentary which charts 10 different London women from 10 different decades, including Paralympic athlete Susie Rogers and race-relations pioneer Dame Jocelyn Barrow, as well as a young woman evicted from her home. Afterwards, therell be a panel discussion with the films makers.

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Talks

These are the events thatll really get to the heart of whats on. As mentioned above, the Southbanks Women of the World festival is hosting some of the best, most thought-provoking conversations: Gillian Anderson and Jennifer Nadel talking their new book, WE: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere on March 10 is not to be missed. The next day, African-American activist Angela Davis will sit down with Southbank Centres Artistic Director, Jude Kelly CBE, talking women, race and class in a world where Trump is President. Its guaranteed to be compelling.

The Standards very own Amira Hashish will be over in Seven Dials hosting In Conversation With on March 8, which champions successful women from the worlds of fashion, food, journalism and dance. Guest speakers include Googles Sarah Drinkwater, ES Magazine features director Alice-Azania Jarvis and Caroline Rush CBE, the chief executive of the British Fashion Council. You can watch a Facebook Live stream of the event here.

On March 10, head to the Frontline Club for The Power of an Image: The representation of women in conflict zones, where Hannah Starkey and Financial Times photo editor Emma Bowkett will discuss the impact of photography, and the way in contributes to or breaks down long-standing prejudices.

On the menu: the Balls & Company dinner will include, from left, Freddie Janssen, Margot Henderson, Emily Dobbs, Roz Bado, Tania Steytler and Bonny Porter / Hazel Brearley

But theres more...

Pictures say a thousand words, apparently, and the Tate Britain will be giving tours pointing out women in art through the day on Wednesday.

If youre more in the mood for theatre, head to the Ovalhouse where from March 8 10 Danyah Millers exploration of womanhood and family, Perfectly Imperfect Women, is being staged.

#SHECAN is a big one this year, an inspirational display of womens achievements and a celebration of peace. The March 8 event offers a line-up unrivaled for its eclecticism: youll see everything from beatboxer Kimmy Beatbox to girl band Trills to playwright Bethan McEvoy to dance group D4.

JuJu's Bar and Stage is serving up plenty of light-hearted relief on March 11, with a free burlesque class in honour of IWD, courtesy of Sapphira's Showgirls. Therell also be live poetry, but probably youll have the most fun joining in with their attempt to break the world record for the most Most Balloons Popped on a Burlesque Costume. Serious stuff.

There's more fun to be had at 100 Wardour St. They're hosting a one-off night of burlesque with a three-course meal, champagne and plenty of dancing, promising a memorable Wednesday night  be sure to book a table.

Over in Soho, founder of Balls & Company Bonny Porter is laying on a five-course, 50-a-head dinner prepared on March 8. The meal will use the best of Londons female culinary talent, with Porter being lent a hand from pickle maker Freddie Janssen; Margot Henderson, co-founder of Clerkenwells Rochelle Canteen; Emily Dobbs, founder of Sri Lankan pop-up Weligama; Gails bakery development chef Roz Bado; Tania Steytler, head chef at Snaps + Rye; Bubbledogs co-founder Sandia Chang and former Ottolenghi chef Olia Hercules.

If you're more just in the mood for a drink, head to Blanchette, either in Soho or Brick Lane, who are laying on special cocktails, with profits going to Women's Aid.

Finally, you've got until March 15 to swing by the newly launched 'Women's Space' in Carlos Place, a two-storey pop-up work and events space launched by the Mayfair Collective, in partnership with Mount Street retailers, which both champions and facilitates women of achievement. Among those speaking will be Jo Malone, June Sarpong, hotelier Lydia Forte and model Leomie Anderson.
F lorence Knight misses the insanity of the restaurant kitchen. Its not that her life tempo has slowed since quitting Polpetto in 2015: she now has two babies (Audrey, 17 months, and Walter, five months) to go with her two dogs (Guinevere the cockapoo and Edna the dachapoo) and both her own restaurant and a second cookery book are on the horizon. But the 30-year-old is itching to get back to the stoves.

People who love me say, Why dont you just keep writing and have a nice life? Why go back to those crazy hours? she tells me. They dont get that the kitchen is where Im happiest  hiding there, sparring off other cooks. I like hustle and bustle.

Knight, who is married to Polpo co-founder Richard Beatty, worked her last service as head chef at Polpos little sister restaurant while heavily pregnant. It was just my time to go. I wanted to do my own thing.

During the maternity hiatus she juggled parenting with her Sunday Times recipe column. Im really lucky  I have two beautiful babies. They go with me in slings to shoots and I cook with them non-stop. Im training Audrey too. My husband is like, No, dont make her the kitchen porter! but I am constantly thinking, You can do some washing up!

Combining the two has been tough but has its rewards. Youre trying to give enough of yourself to everybody, and keep everybody happy, but its wonderful watching the senses of a child develop  to coax that out of them. I give Audrey rosemary and she goes Waaaoooww.

My kitchen was far from calm. I used to get called The Hulk and staff said they knew when not to push me

Audrey, Knight adds, eats everything, even squid. Knight believes it helps that she never fed her daughter puree: We sit at a table to eat, and we set a good example so she eats. Knight will return to cooking for a slightly more discerning customer soon when she teams up with Mark Jarvis at his restaurant Anglo for a five-course Sunday service on April 9. How, I ask Jarvis, did he persuade Knight to sign up? Drugs and money, he deadpans, before hastily apologising to his mother for the joke.

Knight and Jarvis met nine years ago, having both worked for Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux QuatSaisons. Kitchens are a weird, small world, Knight explains. Jarvis opened Anglo last year in a culinary no mans land near Chancery Lane. The dishes are refined  think Sussex beef braised in buttermilk, cooked over a pine barbecue and served with Tokyo turnips baked in hay and samphire for saltiness. People always ask: Are you going for Michelin? says Jarvis. No, were just cooking, having fun.

His approach is working. Grace Dent, ES Magazines restaurant critic, visited on the first Saturday night and wrote: I decided I was in love within 15 minutes of perching my bottom. The effect was immediate.

It was dead when she came but after that it went crazy, Jarvis recalls. Our website jammed, our booking system jammed. Anglo was fully booked for the next three months.

Knight was among the early visitors. I didnt realise, originally, that it was Marks, she says. I was eating, thinking This is amazing and then he came out of the kitchen and I was like, Oh my gawd! We hadnt seen each other for years. We got chatting and decided to do something.

The pair agree that kitchen culture has changed radically since they started their careers. When I talk to my wife about some of the things that went on, she tells me, You were bullied every day at work, says Jarvis. But now its different  if youre screaming and shouting, youre stuffed.

Was Knights kitchen calm? No, I used to get called the Hulk. What does a Knight-Hulk moment look like? Full-on rage, seeing red. My staff would say I had different eyes  she goes goggly-eyed  and they would know not to push.

Nonetheless, she managed to keep the same team for two years  a big thing in this environment  and remains friends with them. I went to visit one of the chefs in Barcelona, dragging her back. Its like a family  we miss each other.

Knight isnt sure all the restaurant scene changes have been entirely positive. Restaurants are a lot more chef-led now. Kitchens used to be like bands who were forced together but now its chefs leading it. Theres a bit more of a rock n roll thing. I think you have to begin with discipline and earn your stripes.

Is there still sexism in the industry? There always will be a bit. Its constant. In the kitchen Im naughty because its funny to be the person who can push it off. Its actually not funny at all but you have to be a strong person  youre not going to get a wallflower there. She adds that you also have to pick your battles: You take on the fights that are important to you, and the other ones you let go.

Both say Blanc was a brilliant boss  He would pop into the kitchen and say La petite and we would chat, says Knight  and cite him as an inspiration. You never really leave Raymond, adds Jarvis. The other day, walking through Marylebone, I bumped into him and he spent 45 minutes guiding me on my next steps. Hes passionate about his people.

Knight has stayed close to her other mentor, Polpos Russell Norman, too. Hes still a good friend and we see each other a lot. Hes been a big part of my career. I always go to him for advice. Weve got very similar opinions.

Knight attributes her love of the kitchen to coming from a big family (she has four siblings). Growing up, they had chickens and picked wild garlic and blackberries but her mother was not a great cook.

Shes very slapdash. When it comes to cooking, she turns on the taps to wash the floor, gets on the telephone, then does something else. Every time, Im like: Please just concentrate on one thing! I cant watch. She doesnt make a roux, she just boils pasta and sticks flour and butter on it, and normally theres dog hair because the pans are on the floor. Shes good at humble soup  thats where she should leave it.

Style plate: Anglos cod, cucumber and oyster

Knights father  who died when she was a student  was more like her in the kitchen: He wanted everything controlled. At Christmas, the family still uses the same recipe for the turkey he used. He wrote the temperature outside, the temperature inside, and notes on how to improve the Christmas dinner. My sister has taken over that responsibility now.

Knight is currently scouring London for sites, hoping to open her own place by the years end. Ive had days when Ive looked at the rents and thought: Ill move to a farm in the middle of nowhere, she jokes, before reassuring me the restaurant will be in London. Itll be small, with a daily-changing, simple, ingredients-led menu.

Success has come young for Knight. Does she ever want a proper break? I dont think thats my personality. I will never think: Ive done enough! I will always want to achieve more, to achieve the impossible.

For tickets for Anglos Sunday lunch from 12.30pm-2.30pm on April 9, email events@anglorestaurant.com
I f breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it makes sense to break your fast with a dish that you enjoy. In Peckham, thats pizza  they dont waste time with cereal or porridge here, instead they get the day off to a good start with unapologetic dough-based action.

The Beautiful Pizza Boy restaurant has created brunch pizzas to fulfil the needs of the people (or should that be kneads?). One is sweet: the dough is covered in Nutella, with a topping of banana, mascarpone and hazelnuts  if any wags pipe up about authenticity, tell them Nutella on pizza is popular in Italy. The other is its take on a fry-up  Italian fennel sausage, pancetta and an egg on a tomato and mozzarella base, finished with honey.

The Beautiful Pizza Boys Taskin Muzaffer says: Pizza is a great brunch dish, especially at weekends. It can be about sharing, it can be about takeaway at home relaxing and it can be a great hangover cure. Our customers love the naughty but nice Nutella pizza. The lunch and dinner menu is also available at breakfast  if your hangover is really fierce try hitting it with a spicy nduja or four-cheese pizza.

If youre starting the day with pizza, you might as well do it properly and have a drink too. The Beautiful Pizza Boy has brunch cocktails such as Campari and orange juice, Bloody Santa Maria featuring Little Bird Gin, tomato juice, Amaro and spices, as well as Elena Spritz (Little Bird Gin, Amaro Montenegro and white peach topped with prosecco).

The best pizza in London 1 /18 The best pizza in London 50 Kalo di Ciro Salvo Don't be fooled by the red and black Dennis the Menace-style decor  this place does seriously good pizza. Ingredients are rich and authentic (the mozzarella is flown in from Campania) and the pizzas come with generous helpings of lip-smacking tomato sauce (that you be mopping up with leftover crust afterwards). Luciano Furia Sodo Pizza Cafe In case you were wondering about the name, Sodo stands for sourdough. And thats something they take pretty seriously here. All the pizza dough is fermented for 48 hours and then baked at over 450 so that its light and airy with plenty of that sourdough tang. With such great bases it makes sense to keep toppings simple, but special kudos must go to the brilliantly named Jon Bon Chovy topped with anchovies, olives, capers, chilli and fresh parsley. Pizza Pilgrims With restaurants in different corners of London, brothers James and Thom Eliot have come a long way since their days as street food traders. The Neapolitan-style pizzas here are soft and doughy with a plumped-up crust and a rich tomato base  try the nudja variety if youre feeling spicy. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele Flying in to Baker Street from Naples, this pizzeria  which incidentally was featured in Eat, Pray, Love  has been described as the best in the world, never mind London. The London branch is less scruffy (and a little more expensive) than the Naples original, and the pizzas are slightly different, too  the bases are thicker for a start. That said, the full-flavoured tomato base which is a signature is present and correct and theres no doubting this is among the finest pizza in the capital. Be prepared to queue. Santore A hefty proportion of the clientele always seems to be Italian at this old-school Clerkenwell local, and thats got to be a good sign. The signature order is pizza by the metre, made with varying toppings along the stretch  you might want to bring a couple of friends to help polish it off though. For something different try the i panuozzi, a pizza sandwich that has the same toppings but double the dough. Crate Brewery No two items could be more perfectly suited to each other than beer and pizza  and few places are as geared up for the pair of them as Crate is. As well as making its own beer on-site it serves crispy, thin-base pizzas that are worthy of much more than just soaking up your drinks. Try the Middle Eastern lamb variety, topped with spicy mince, alongside more traditional numbers. Franco Manca There's a staggering number of Franco Manca branches throughout the capital, from Soho to Southfields and Covent Garden to Chiswick. Despite its size, the slightly sour, salty chewy Neapolitan base which made such an impression at the original Brixton Market branch remains, as do the simple but well-sourced toppings. The original Brixton branch is still the best. Homeslice There are now six buzzy Homeslice sites across London serving up impressive 20-inch pizzas. Some off-the-wall toppings may put off purists, but clever combos and a blistering hot oven ensure the end results really do work  even a goat shoulder and savoy cabbage number. Devour them whole or by the slice. Pizza Union This casual pizzeria with sites in Spitalfields and Kings Cross is buzzy, fast and impressively cheap  plus the pizzas are the real deal. Theyre made in the Roman style, with bases that are thin and crispy rather than chewy, and come in an abundance of varieties. Good news for coeliacs  just ask for gluten free bases. Yard Sale Pizza Yard Sale Pizza started out how you might expect  in a yard. Founder Johnnie Tate began his dough spinning journey cooking pies in a pizza oven in his Hackney back garden, but now the brand boasts five sites across London and has collaborated with the likes of foodie rapper Loyle Carner and, err, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin. The proof of their success is in the pie  its Holy Pepperoni is topped with two types of pepperoni and nduja sausage, while more contemporary options include the TSB, topped with tenderstem broccoli, manchego and pine nuts. Voodoo Rays Crust-leavers, get yourself to Voodoo Rays. This Dalston-originating pizza joint serves its pizza by-the-slice from massive 22-inch New York-style pies  do the maths and that means less crust, more topping. And what toppings they are: fior di latte mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes are used across the board and varieties include both Italian classic and the likes of the very English Porkys, made with Cumberland sausage, Stilton, red onion and parsley. Zia Lucia Zia Lucia really knows its dough. The growing pizza group has four different doughs on its menu  a traditional, a wholemeal, a vegetable charcoal and one made with gluten-free flour. Toppings are Italian in essence, with a few tantalisingly unusual variations along the way: the Andrea Pirlo is topped with gorgonzola, apple, truffle and olive sauce, while the Green Vegana is spread with spicy broccoli cream and sundried tomatoes. Circolo Popolare The pizzas here are as luxurious as the restaurants famously flamboyant surroundings. Delicious metre-long 'zas arrive from the open kitchens twin rotary oven, placed on tables under floral ceilings and surrounded by walls stacked with 20,000 bottles. The crusts are chewy and light, the toppings are liberally applied and the sauces are perfect. ES Magazines critic Jimi Famurewa was full of praise for the doughy dishes, calling the peach-topped Orlando Blue pie a balanced blast of sunshine. The pizzas at Gloria, Circolos sister restaurant, are just as good too. Lateef Okunnu @lateef.photography Made of Dough At Made of Dough, its all about that crust  generously charred and tangy as heck, its arguably the star of the show. Heading into the centre, be sure that the Truffle is somewhere on your order  a white pizza, both mozzarella and parmesan are topped with white alba truffle oil and portobello mushrooms, with the option to add a mind-boggling portion of burratina on top. Starting life as a residency at Pop Brixton, the Made of Dough team now have a permanent spot in Peckham, as well as popular stalls in Market Hall Fulham and the West End location of crazy golf bar Swingers.

Dough is a versatile vessel. At Pizza Pilgrims new restaurant in Shoreditch staff will bake any chocolate you bring in a calzone. And the Italian breakfast trend shows no signs of relenting  Palatino in Clerkenwell offers carbonara from 8am.

Pizza Pilgrims new branch is BYOB, which inspired the chocolate idea. Its BYOC too. They say: When we decided to let people bring alcohol we thought about other stuff you can buy in a corner shop and the idea of bringing your own chocolate appealed.

Its a progression from the Nutella pizza ring that has been on the Pizza Pilgrims menu since the start.

Debate is raging over the best chocolate bar for calzonification. The founders are struggling to beat the Mars Bar but Snickers is proving popular.

There are more and more people dreaming up calzonification cocktails too (such as a Double-Decker with a Drifter). One legend brought in a Tunnocks Teacake.

The calzones are made for sharing, assuming you can agree on which chocolate bar to use.

400 Rabbits, which has branches in Nunhead and Crystal Palace, is also blurring the sweet/savoury lines. It has a rhubarb and goats cheese pizza - an acceptable alternative to a cheese course or dessert.

So banish any thoughts of shameful leftover takeaway, London has the infrastructure to give you a well-crafted slice of the action for every meal.
P laywright Steve Waters isn't afraid of tackling big topics - his 2015 play, Temple, addressed whether St Paul's Cathedral should have been more accommodating to Occupy protestors, and his latest, Limehouse, will explore what happens when the Labour Party falls apart. Here he talks about his plays, past, present and future.

What was the first play to make you want to write plays?

The first play that really excited me was Websters The Duchess of Malfi  the dazzle of it; the play that made me want to write was Kushners Angels in America: Millennium Approaches.

What was your background to becoming a playwright?

Slow! I was cajoled into writing a play when I was in my first term at Oxford; it came second in a competition (judges included Patrick Marber and Katie Mitchell); but then nothing until I was a teacher in an Oxfordshire comprehensive and I wrote a play for 40 12-year-olds.

Whats the hardest play youve ever written?

Ooh  all of them at the point of writing; it gets harder as you go on because youre so aware of what came before.

Which brought you the most joy?

Thats like choosing between your children... but certain productions  World Music, The Contingency Plan, Temple and of course Limehouse.

Playwright Steve Waters

Which playwrights have influenced you the most?

I suppose I cant say Shakespeare. Georg Buchner, Chekhov, Brecht... Caryl Churchill. Personally: David Edgar, Sarah Kane, Timberlake Wertenbaker.

What is your favourite line or scene from any play?

Everyones an abyss; you get dizzy if you look down. Woyzeck  Georg Buchner.

Whats been the biggest surprise to you since youve had your writing performed by actors?

How amazing actors are; how they can laser in to every question and mistake and false note on first contact with the play.

Whats been your biggest setback as a writer?

My second play After The Gods got a bit hammered; and I re-wrote it in a way that made it vulnerable. Took a while to recover from that.

And the hardest lesson youve had to learn?

The audience need to experience the play in step with each other.

What do you think is the best thing about theatre? And the worst?

Best: actors, audience, presence, immediacy, publicness. Worst: contingency, exclusivity, ephemerality.

Whats your best piece of advice for writers who are starting out?

Never do anything youre not excited about; always get the work seen; see everything and think about actors.

Are there any themes and stories you find yourself re-visiting with your plays?

A group of people try to change the world? The word is bigger than us?

Are you on Twitter? Do you find it a help or a hindrance as a writer?

Whats Twitter again? Its hard enough concentrating with email.

Why did you write Limehouse?

I wanted to think about why the Labour Party periodically collapses in on itself; usually when we most need it.

How do you spend opening night?

In fear and trembling  and with a glass or two to steady me.

Limehouse - in pictures 1 /13 Limehouse - in pictures Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain Limehouse - in pictures Jack Sain

Whats the best play youve seen in the last year?

The Flick (National Theatre), Faith Healer (Donmar), The Children (Royal Court), Boy (Almeida).

Whats your favourite place to watch theatre in London?

The Donmar of course; the Bush; the Globe because everyones there. Can I say The Tobacco Factory in Bristol?

What other art forms do you love when youre not in a theatre?

Film, of course  anything from Iran, Russia, Germany. TV  but more Mighty Boosh than Breaking Bad. Music  highlight of last year was Steve Reichs Music for 18 Musicians on the eve of the US election. Books  latest rave is All that Man Is by David Szalay, South Riding by Winifred Holtby... and poetry.

Limehouse is at the Donmar Warehouse until April 15; donmarwarehouse.com
M uslim women will be represented in a new, contemporary light thanks to Getty Images and MuslimGirl.com.

In order to take on misrepresentation of Muslim women in the mainstream media, the partnership will offer high quality images for commercial purposes with the hope to reclaim the narrative and allow for a more positive image of the young, modern Muslim woman. The images include shots of girls with and without hijabs, partaking in everyday activities both at home and in the workplace. In each photo, each woman's unique personality is the main focus, to normalise a modern view of Muslim women.

Keyword searches for "Muslim" have increased by 107 percent on GettyImages.com in the past year, said Director of Visual Trends at Getty Images Pam Grossman. Grossman added that for Getty, its more important than ever to ensure positive images at the top of their search results.

Getty Images has a deep belief in the power of visuals to incite change and shift attitudes, Grossman said. Positive imagery can have a tremendous impact by fighting stereotypes, celebrating diversity, and making communities feel empowered and represented in society."

Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl.com, said the partnership is important and will be influential on the way images of Muslim women are used in the media.

One of the ways I open up my talks is by asking the audience to search Muslim women images on their phone browsers, which is always met with their awe at the unsettling results, says Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl.com.

I dont want to be able to use that example anymore."

World Hijab Day 2017 - In pictures 1 /12 World Hijab Day 2017 - In pictures A child wears an American Flag head scarf at an event at City Hall for World Hijab Day in New York Spencer Platt/Getty Images New York City Police Officers Aml Elsokary (left) and Maritza Morales wear American Flag head scarfs at an event at City Hall for World Hijab Day Spencer Platt/Getty Images Sophia Herron wears an American Flag head scarf at an event at City Hall for World Hijab Day Spencer Platt/Getty Images Women wear American Flag head scarfs at an event at City Hall for World Hijab Day in New York Spencer Platt/Getty Images An Albanian Muslim woman poses (left) for a picture with other woman after inviting her to try on a headscarve (hijab) as a sign of support for women wearing hijabs during the World Hijab day in Tirana, Albania Armando Babani/EPA Sarah Rivali, 33, left, tries on a hijab with the help of Aicha Nahod, of Tunsia, on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque Russell Contreras/AP A Liberian female soldier of the Armed forces of Liberia (C) with fellow muslim women pose for photograph during the celebration of World Hijab Day at a local stadium in Monrovia, Liberia Ahmed Jallanzo/EPA Albanian Muslim woman makes a selfie picture wearing a headscarve (hijab) as a sign of support for women wearing hijabs during the World Hijab day in Tirana, Albania Armando Babani/EPA Women wear American Flag head scarfs at an event at City Hall for World Hijab Day in New York Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Follow Samantha J. Gross on Twitter: @samanthajgross
Tabrez Tambe, an Indian national, who allegedly joined the terror outfit ISIS in January last year may soon return back to India.

By Mustafa Shaikh: Tabrez Tambe, 28, who allegedly joined the terror outfit ISIS in January last year may soon return back to India after being traced to shelter camp in Libya by Indian agencies.

The breakthrough for agencies came when Dr Ramamurthy Kosanam who was in ISIS captivity for two years returned to Karnataka this February.

Dr Kosanam confirmed that Abu Noor from Mumbai, who was with him in the shelter camp, is Tabrez Tamber. He was shown a picture of Tambe after which he confirmed Tambe's identity. Indian agencies have sent a request a request to Libyan agencies to get back Tambe and are awaiting a response.

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An officer close to the development said, "Libyan agencies will first carry out their investigations on Tambe's role with the banned outfit and depending on his role and action in the crime they will decide whether to send him back or not."

Tambe had left the country with his friend Ali Al Shahri, a Saudi national. He met Ali while working in Saudi Arabia and Ali indoctrinated him and later visited India along with Tambe. It was also revealed that Ali sent some money to Tambe in November last year.

If Tambe returns to India it will be the second case where an Indian has returned to the country after joining the terror outfit.

In November 2014, Areeb Majeed had returned from West Asia and was booked for waging war against a friendly nation. Majeed will soon undergo trial in the case under investigation by National Investigation Authority.

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I n what could be a key contribution to the future of autonomous cars, Goodyear has chosen the Geneva motor show to display its newly-intelligent Eagle 360 Urban ball tyre.

This concept takes the 360-degree design that was previewed at last years Geneva show an important step further, by endowing the tyre with a brain and sensors to add to the cars data as it goes along.

The system can not only analyse road conditions, it can also use artificial intelligence to assist the car in making perceptive decisions about a chosen route or dynamic movements.

In case youre wondering how an omni-directional ball tyre can possibly be connected to the car, the answer is  its not. Well, not by any conventional physical means anyway. Magnetism is the key. The Urban tyres are held underneath the car by means of magnetic levitation, the same technology thats already been proven in high-speed rail applications.

The 360-degree rotate-ability this gives makes the car a lot more agile. Indeed, it can turn around on the spot, which sounds like a useful facility in city driving.

Using the information provided by the sensors, the tyres have the ability to reposition themselves in order to even out wear. The outer layer of the tyre uses has a unique morphing tread that can go soft or hard to help it adapt to different road conditions. It can even fix its own punctures. Remarkable really.

This is one of those things that you really need to see in action to understand. Luckily Goodyear has produced a video. Here it is...

Follow Evening Standard Motors on Twitter and Facebook.
A British backpacker who was allegedly held captive and repeatedly raped and beaten over four weeks has been released from hospital.

The 22-year-old woman, from Liverpool, is recovering with family and friends in Australia after receiving treatment for a host of injuries including facial fractures.

Queensland Police have charged a 22-year-old man with multiple counts of rape and assault.

It is now believed that alleged attacks took place between February 3 and Sunday when the woman was rescued in Mitchell, police said.

Police statement on outback rape case

She provoked alarm after she stumbled badly bruised and "almost zombie-like" into a remote petrol station in the Australian outback about 600km from Brisbane.

The car in which the woman and suspect were found by police / Sarah Dionysius/NRM

After tearfully nodding when asked if the abuse was suffered at the hands of her partner, the tourist left without paying and was pursued by the owner, according to reports.

Police were flagged down during the chase and officers pulled her over near Mitchell, finding her with injuries to her face and marks on her neck.

Queensland Police said officers found her alleged tormentor stowed in the boot beneath a pile of clothing.

"I made the decision to follow her because I thought that if I could get the registration number I'd be able to file a report to the police," shop owner Beverley Page told the Daily Mail.

The vehicle stopped by police / Sarah Dionysius/NRM

She told police she had been held captive by a man she had met at a party in Cairns and had been travelling around the state in the car since January 2.

It is thought the sabotage to her passport was a means of invalidating it and possibly preventing an escape.

Detective Inspector Paul Hart told a press conference on Tuesday: "We have potentially saved this young girl's life.

Given what's happened to her, the extent of what's happened over the period of time, anything might have transpired."

The man was found hiding under a pile of clothes, police said / Sarah Dionysius/NRM

The victim is believed to have been in the country since 2015.

"She was in a state of shock when she came in, almost zombie-like," Ms Page told the Daily Mail.

"Then she walked in, wearing a black summer dress and said she couldn't pay for the fuel. Tears were running down her face.

"But what struck me were her black eyes. She looked bad."

The 22-year-old suspect, from the Manunda suburb of Cairns, appeared in court on Monday charged with a string of offences, including four counts of rape, eight counts of assault and four counts of strangulation.
P olice are appealing for witnesses after a teenager was stabbed in the chest in front of horrified joggers in a south London park.

The 19-year-old man was seriously injured after he was knifed during a broad daylight attack in Burgess Park in Southwark.

Police and paramedics sped to the Camberwell park at around 11am last Thursday where they found the victim suffering a stab wound.

He was rushed to south London hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

DC Rebecca Whiteley from the Met Polices branch in Southwark, said: This attack happened in a busy park when people were around exercising and walking through this public space.

It is fortunate that the victim was not more seriously hurt. We would urge anyone who has any information that could assist us in our investigation to get in touch."

Officers are continuing to find out the circumstances of the stabbing and are appealing for any witnesses with information about the attack or the events leading up to it.

No arrests have been made and enquiries are continuing.

In June last year a 15-year-old boy was stabbed in the middle of a funfair at Burgess Park while the following month two other teenagers were knifed during an end-of-term water fight.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is asked to call police on 101 or via Twitter. Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A "jealous" jewellery designer stabbed her boyfriend-of-six years to death in a champagne-fuelled row over him cheating on her, the Old Bailey heard.

Mother-of-two Elizabeth Hart-Browne, 27, plunged a kitchen knife into the neck of 25-year-old partner Stephen Rayner at the home they shared in Acton after a string of row over him being unfaithful, it is said.

The couple had a "volatile" relationship involving regular arguments and fights, jurors heard.

Hart-Browne, who works as a jewellery designer in Shepherd's Bush, claims she stabbed Mr Rayner accidentally when he grabbed her by the throat, telling police "I didn't mean to do it" and later adding: "I have just killed the man I love".

However, prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC told the court Hart-Browne deliberately stabbed her partner, on September 17 last year, and then lied about the circumstances of the attack.

"The defendant says that she picked up a knife from the living room table to defend herself while she was being violently attacked and that during the struggle they stumbled and Stephen Rayner was accidentally injured", she said.

"The prosecution say that she is lying and that she deliberately armed herself with a knife from the kitchen and just as deliberately stabbed Stephen Rayner with it, intending at least to cause him serious harm if not to kill him."

She said after the stabbing Mr Rayner staggered outside and collapsed in a pool of blood while Hart-Browne cleaned the knife and room where she had stabbed him.

Ms Cottage said the couple had been in a "volatile" relationship for around six years which sometimes descended into "verbal and physical aggression on both sides - she didn't trust him in relation to his behaviour with women, where he went and who he was with."

"The rows appear to have been stimulated by allegations of infidelity against Stephen Rayner and jealousy and controlling behaviour by the defendant, about where he was and who he was with", she said.

"In the days leading up to the events of September 17, the defendant and Stephen Rayner had been arguing about his behaviour and her jealousy.

"Long messages were sent by the defendant, repeatedly accusing Stephen Rayner of lying, and short, sometimes very unpleasantly rude, exasperated and irritated texts in response from him."

The prosecutor said Hart-Browne returned home from a party in Hammersmith to their flat in Nightingale Road, Acton, at around 10.30pm, where Mr Rayner, a telesales worker, was already in bed.

Neighbours said there was loud shouting coming from the flat before one heard a woman shouting "He's dead, he's been stabbed", it is said.

Hart-Browne was seen holding Mr Rayner's neck as he lay on the ground bleeding, said Ms Cottage, and said the police officers who arrived: "I didn't mean to do it, I'm so sorry".

At the police station, Hart-Browne said: "I have just killed the man I love" and gave a detailed account in interview of the incident.

"She said she had been drinking wine and champagne. She wasn't sober but nor was she drunk", said Ms Cottage.

"Stephen asked her something which she did not remember. He had left the room and she was upset.

"She decided to have a cigarette outside as she did not smoke inside the flat. Before she had even got outside, Stephen had said something else to her and started hitting her."

Hart-Browne said in response she "dragged him by the arms into the living room where he had continued to punch her while he had her by the throat.

"She had seen a knife on the kitchen table and picked it up to wave at him, telling him to stop", continued the prosecutor.

"She pushed him and he fell to the television still having hold of her neck and her hair.

"She said her hand must have gone down and hit him with the knife, but not intentionally.

"She had seen the blood and he held his neck, saying: 'you are mad, you are' and walked out of the house."

Hart-Browne said she "panicked" when Mr Rayner collapsed on the ground outside their flat, returning inside to clean the knife and wipe away blood from the television area.

In her interview, Hart-Browne "spoke of violence in their relationship", the court heard. Tests later showed Hart-Browne was twice the legal drink drive limit.

Mr Cottage said there is "no evidence" to support Hart-Browne's story of a violent attack by Mr Rayner, telling the jury she is "lying" about the moments before the stabbing.

Hart-Browne, of Baker House in Nightingale Road, Acton, denies murder.

The trial continues.
A man has been arrested after an elderly pedestrian was killed in a suspected hit and run crash in west London.

The 81-year-old man was struck down on Hammersmith Road in Kensington at around 9.30pm on Saturday night.

He was rushed to a central London hospital where doctors fought to save his life but he died in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Police said the driver failed to stop at the scene of the crash, which happened at the junction with Edith Road.

On Wednesday police revealed they have arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene.

Officers also found the car involved in a crash, a BMW 5-series which was discovered abandoned on Stanwick Road just minutes away from the collision.

Detectives with the Met Police are continuing their appeal for information and witnesses and want to speak with anyone who saw the crash, the car leave the scene or the car being abandoned.

The arrested man has been bailed to a date in mid-March.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit's witness appeal line on 020 8543 5157 or via 101.
A major search is under way to find a junior doctor who has been missing for two weeks.

Dr Lauren Phillips, 26, who works in the A&E department at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, has not been seen since February 23.

Avon and Somerset Police said Dr Phillips, who is also a talented violinist with the Bristol Symphony Orchestra, failed to turn up for her shift on February 26.

Her car was located at the popular north Devon beach resort Woolacombe two days later.

Searches of the area have been carried out by Devon and Cornwall Police assisted by HM Coastguard, the RNLI and the National Police Air Service but no trace of her has been found.

Dr Phillips has not been seen for two weeks / Avon and Somerset Police

Dr Phillips, who lives in Bristol, is described as white, 5ft 5ins tall, of slim build with brown eyes.

She has long dark brown hair which is usually straightened but which is naturally curly.

It is thought she may be wearing a dark brown waxed cotton mid-length coat with cream wool-lined hood and a long cream woollen cardigan which has orange and blue detail.

She could also be wearing Converse trainers along with cream gloves with pink hearts on and a beige woollen hat which has a purple flower on the side.

Detective Inspector Mark Langdon, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "As Lauren's car was found in Woolacombe our focus has been on the north Devon area and so we're directing our appeal at any surfers or ramblers who may have passed through the area in the past fortnight.

The North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Southmead Hospital, urged anyone with information about Dr Phillips's disappearance to contact police.

"Lauren is a valued member of our team and we are supporting the police in their efforts to find her," a spokeswoman said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Avon and Somerset Police via 101 providing the call handler with the reference 5217045398.
T wo schoolboys were stabbed after up to 10 youths became embroiled in a fight outside Victoria station, police said.

Scotland Yard has issued a fresh appeal for witnesses to the brawl which left two 15-year-old boys in hospital with stab wounds.

Officers said they would be returning to the scene on Wednesday afternoon to reassure commuters and speak with potential witnesses.

Dozens of police, including firearms officers, swarmed Wilton Road, sealing off the street for five hours as an investigation was launched.

Emergency services outside Victoria Station in central London, where two youths were stabbed and taken to hospital / PA

Witnesses told the Standard they saw about a dozen youths, some in school uniform, involved in a chase outside the station before hearing the screams of a wounded victim from an alleyway between shops.

One of the teenagers was stabbed repeatedly in the leg and remained in hospital on Wednesday afternoon in a stable condition.

The second victim was stabbed in the arm and has been discharged from hospital.

There were reports that one of the children was attacked by a group of youths while his friend was injured when he came to his aid.

Bloody clothing at the scene outside Victoria Station in central London / PA

A Met Police spokesman said: At this early stage, it appears that there was an altercation involving around seven to ten young people in the area of Wilton Road.

The spokesman added: Additional officers will be in the Victoria area this afternoon, March 8, to provide reassurance and to speak with any members of the public who may wish to provide information.

Cleaners from the station are said to have stepped in to break up the fracas at 4.20pm on Tuesday.

Pictures showed a white shirt and school tie covered in blood strewn across the pavement near to the scene.

A City worker said: I saw the kid with the police. He was covered in blood and had a bandage on his arm and the police were holding it up to try to stop the bleeding.

One lady was telling us hed been stabbed after being chased off a bus.

Newspaper vendor Abdul Aziz, 22, saw passers-by run for cover inside the Apollo Theatre. He said: There were loads of schoolkids around shouting for help. There was a curtain up and blood everywhere on the floor. There was a massive rush to get into the station and it was absolute chaos by the Wicked theatre entrance.

A commuter called Rebecca said: Theyd put a screen up but you could see the bloodied clothes on the floor. There were lots of people milling around giving officers statements and there were bloodied clothes of a school uniform left there with a tie.

Detectives from Westminster CID are investigating.

Police are appealing for any witnesses, or anyone with information that may assist the investigation, to contact Westminster CID via 101 or @MetCC.or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via the www.crimestoppers-uk.org website.
T wo schoolboys were stabbed in a gang attack in front of shocked rush hour commuters at Victoria station.

Witnesses said they saw about a dozen youths, some in school uniform, were involved in a chase outside the station before hearing the screams of wounded victim from an alleyway between shops.

Dozens of police, including firearms officers, swarmed to Wilton Road, sealing off the street for five hours as an investigation was launched

Two 15-year-old boys were injured in the attack. One is thought to have been stabbed in the arm, the other in the leg. They were taken to hospital.

There were reports that one of the children was attacked by a gang while his friend was injured when he came to his aid. Pictures posted on social media showed what appeared to be a white shirt and school tie covered in blood lying on the pavement near the scene.

Bloody clothing at the scene outside Victoria Station in central London / PA

The Standard understands that cleaners from the station stepped in to break up the fracas at 4.20pm yesterday.

A City worker said: I saw the kid with the police. He was covered in blood and had a bandage on his arm and the police were holding it up to try to stop the bleeding.

One lady was telling us hed been stabbed after being chased off a bus. My train home was heavily delayed and absolutely packed full. No-one could get on.

Police vehicles parked outside Victoria station following a stabbing / @bigdaddytoes

A newspaper vendor saw passers-by run for cover inside the Apollo Theatre. He said: There were loads of schoolkids around shouting for help. There was a curtain up and blood everywhere on the floor. There was a massive rush to get into the station and it was absolute chaos by the Wicked theatre entrance.

A commuter called Rebecca said: Theyd put a screen up but you could see the bloodied clothes on the floor. There were lots of people milling around giving officers statements and there were bloodied clothes of a school uniform left there with a tie.

Emergency services outside Victoria Station in central London, where two men were stabbed and taken to hospital / PA

The stabbing has echoes of the murder of 15-year-old Sofyen Belamouadden who was hacked to death in a ticket hall in Victoria Station in front of horrified commuters in March 2010.

Eight young people were convicted for their involvement in the shocking killing after a series of linked trials involving 20 defendants.

A Met spokesman said: Two males have been taken to a central London hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life threatening or life changing.

There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.

The stabbing came shortly after London Bridge station was also put on lockdown after a security alert was sparked by a suspicious vehicle.

Police evacuated office blocks and shops as crowds took to the streets in confusion. There were lengthy delays to train and bus services.
T he chancellors national insurance reforms mean 800,000 self-employed Londoners will pay at least an extra 60p per week if they earn over 16,000 a year.

The plan has been widely criticised for going against the 2015 Tory manifesto which pledged no national insurance contribution rises.

Ilford North MP Wes Streeting, who sits on the Treasury Select Committee said the changes would hit 10,000 of his constituents and the budget would generally hit small businesses.

The Labour MP said: If youre earning 20,000 a year - not a lot in London to make ends meet  your national insurance bill will go up by 20 a month.

If youre on a high salary in a city like London you might be able to do without 20 a month. But Evening Standard readers know with the cost of living rising, housing costs, energy bills  that is a lot of money and the Tories are clobbering the wrong people.

(UK Parliament/Mark Duffy/PA ) / UK Parliament/Mark Duffy/PA

Dawn Butler, Labour MP for Brent Central, who has 14,700 self-employed people living in her constituency, said: Its a real worry for me. [Residents] will be thinking today Im going to have to pay more but I dont get sickness pay, I dont get holiday pay and yet I am going to have to pay more in contributions. I dont know what thats going to do my local economy in Brent.

A lot of people who are self-employed are black, Asian, minority ethnic people  they tend to start a lot of small businesses and this budget has hit them hard.

The Chancellor told MPs the "dramatically different" treatment of employees and self-employed people under national insurance conditions was "no longer justified by the difference in benefits entitlement" and cost the Treasury 5 billion this year alone.

He said: "That is not fair to the 85% of workers who are employees.

Defending the tax hike, which will bring in 145 million-a-year to the Treasury by 2021-22, a Government source said: "The tax system has to be sustainable. That's how we can put money into social care and the NHS."

Former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers said the national insurance contributions increase had been a difficult decision for the Chancellor.

However she welcomed Mr Hammonds decision to provide the hardest hit businesses with a 300m cushion as they adjust to the Governments business rate reforms.

The majority of pubs will also get a 1000 discount on their rates and those coming out of Small Business Rate Relief will not pay more than 50 per month.

Man with a plan: the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, preparing his Budget speech in his Treasury office yesterday / Getty Images

Ms Villiers said: I welcome the help the Chancellor announced on business rates because I had been concerned that the re-evaluation process which is underway could be difficult for small businesses and particularly independent retailers.

Conservative MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, and co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for London, said: Business rates is a step in the right direction. The Chancellor has listened. Myself and other London MPs did express real concerns on smaller retailers and businesses on the high street.

He also welcomed the Chancellors devolution deal for London, which will shift responsibility for the criminal justice system to Mayor Sadiq Khan.
A round 50 jumping frogs were found dumped in an underground Aldi car park in north London on Saturday night.

RSPCA inspectors were called in to rescue the bag of live frogs which were found by a shopper outside the supermarket in Kingsway, North Finchley.

Around 20 frogs were hopping around loose and 30 more were trapped in a tied-up plastic carrier bag.

Lauren Evans, one of the inspectors at the animal charity, called it perhaps the most random rescue she has ever been called out to.

When I arrived there were all these frogs jumping around the dark car park and I had to run around scooping them all up with my hands and a bag before placing them into a secure tank, she said.

Some were still in the plastic bag, which had clearly been tied up intentionally. They would not have been able to escape if there had not been the hole, but equally they would not have been able to breathe without it.

It was clearly a completely hazardous environment for them to have been left in - with cars driving around unable to see them and nowhere for them to escape to.

Two had sadly been run over and killed, but I got there just in time for the others.

I have no idea where these frogs might have come from or why someone would put them in a plastic bag and then leave them in a car park like this - but none of them would have survived if they had been left that way.

The RSPCA rescued the frogs at around 9pm before taking them to Putney Animal Hospital. The gang of frogs have since been released into the wild.

Inspectors are now appealing for anyone with any information to call 0300 123 8018.
DMK Working President MK Stalin has weighed in on the contrast between former Tamil Nadu CM Panneerselvam's questions about his predecessor Jayalalithaa's death, and Health Minister Vijayabaskar's response.

By Pramod Madhav: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Working President MK Stalin seems amused by the contrast between O Panneerselvam's questions about J Jayalalithaa's death and Health Minister C Vijayabaskar's answers, and has described it as an 'oxymoron.'

Meanwhile, Pannerselvam, who succeeded Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister until he was replaced by Edappadi Palaniswami last month, has planned to go on a day-long hunger strike seeking a judicial enquiry into the demise of the former All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo.

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Stalin's remark comes days after Vijayabaskar released the first official statement on the case on March 6, amid increasing speculation about Jayalalithaa's demise.

He accused Paneerselvam of becoming mentally sick as he was removed from power, and said if a judicial enquiry were conducted, the former CM would become the first one to one be questioned.

DMK NOT ALONE IN SEEKING JUDICIAL ENQUIRY: STALIN

Stalin said the DMK wasn't alone in seeking an investigation into Jayalalithaa's death, and that many other parties - and the public - had done so.

The DMK deputy chief also raised doubts about the collective reports released by the Tamil Nadu government.

"The initial statement from Apollo stated that Jayalalitha was admitted after she had mild fever and dehydration. But the hospital treatment summary claims that she was brought to the hospital in an unconscious state!", he claimed.

"Had she died only as a General Secretary of AIADMK, we would not raise such questions. But she died while she was the Chief Minister and so the people need to know what happened to her", he explained.

Going back to his earlier stand, Stalin said that with so much mud-slinging between the Panneerselvam and Palaniswami factions, it's necessary to conduct a judicial enquiry and find out who's telling the truth - 'Amma's' trusted lieutenant Pannerselvam, or Health Minister Vijayabaskar.

ALSO READ

Tamil Nadu: Health minister attacks OPS for raising doubts over Amma's death, calls him mentally sick

Jayalalithaa death row: Amma's medical reports made public, here's what they reveal

ALSO WATCH | AIIMS releases statement on Jayalalithaa's treatment. Here's what it says

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A n estranged couple has settled a bitter row over their 500,000 holiday home in a Titanic High Court battle in London.

Michael and Margie Hanley, who lived together in Wentworth in Surrey, both wanted to keep the house they owned in the remote Irish village of Cornarmona and spent a total of 800,000 on the court fight.

On Wednesday the London trial heard the couple had reached an agreement with Mrs Hanley becoming the owner of the Ireland holiday home in County Galway.

The couple will split cash and assets totalling between 10 million and 14 million.

Michael Hanley, 60, leaves the Family Division of the High Court in London. / PA

Millionaire Mr Hanley, 60, retired after a career with multinational General Electric. He said his 33-year marriage with wife Margie hit trouble after he discovered she was having an affair.

Mrs Hanley, 56, denied adultery. She had said Mr Hanley had previously said she could have the holiday house and had taken it to court to punish her.

There had been suggestions of the couple sharing the house at different times of the year, or one of the pair living in a different part of Cornarmona but Mrs Hanley said: "We are getting divorced. The village isn't big enough for both of us."

Mr Justice Holman in the Family Division of the High Court told them he was "very, very glad" that agreement had been reached.

"Obviously I regret it could not have been sooner and some of these massive costs saved," he said.

"It has been very painful for me to listen to what really is a very sad story because for so long you together achieved so much and I am sorry it has ended in the way it has.

"But in all events you are on the threshold of new lives and I wish all possible happiness in those new lives."

Reporting by Press Association.
A wonderful student from south-east London has been found dead on a beach in Sussex almost two months after he went missing.

Jer Le Leow disappeared on January 12 after failing to turn up to a lecture at Queen Mary University in Mile End.

The 23-year-old from Welling, in Bexley, bought a ticket from his local train station and travelled towards Eastbourne, police said.

His body was discovered on a beach at Holywell, East Sussex, on Friday.

In a statement posted online Mr Leows family said: We would also like to take this opportunity to remember and cherish all the happy memories we have had with Jer Le.

Jer Le was a loving son, a wonderful brother and an amazing cousin. He was a cheerful and jovial lad, he was also known for his passion with technology and kindness towards people.

Jer Le, we will always remember you and be grateful for the opportunity to share our lives with you. We wish you find peace and happiness wherever you are now.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: The death is being treated as non-suspicious.
S isterly support is in fashion. At a book launch last night, Samantha Cameron told The Londoner that she was lobbying Conde Nast managing director Nicholas Coleridge for her sister Emily Sheffield to be the next editor of Vogue magazine.

Since Alexandra Shulman handed in her notice, deputy Sheffield has been a front-runner. When The Londoner told Sam  who was wearing her own new fashion label Cefinn to the event  that we were pushing for her sister, Sam was pleased. Well done, she said. Ill be doing the same thing.

The Londoner went over to press Coleridge, but he wouldnt bite. We are still seeking, were looking, he said. Were down to about seven out of the 60 who applied.

The appointment of a new Vogue editor is one of Coleridges last big jobs before he steps aside as managing director in the summer, though he will continue as chairman. It will take two men to replace him: Wolfgang Blau and Albert Read.

Sam Cam and Coleridge were at the launch of new book Grief Works by psychotherapist Julia Samuel, which explores the healing powers of grief, at Notting Hills Tabernacle. Samuels publisher got in contact after hearing her speak to Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs  the author thanked them both profusely.

Coleridge has to deal with another newbie in his other job as chairman of the V&A. Former shadow minister Tristram Hunt started last month. How is he doing? Great, hes really good. Hes taken to it like a duck to water. Lets hope Hunts replacement as Stoke Centrals MP, Gareth Snell, feels the same.

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Its Budget Day, so Westminster was abuzz with anticipation last night on the eve of Chancellor Philip Hammonds announcement. But the Londoner overheard Dave Anderson, shadow Northern Ireland secretary, sending his best to John McDonnell in the lobby. Give em hell tomorra, John, he said with gusto. Its Jeremy tomorrow, the shadow chancellor answered cheerily. It is Corbyns job to respond to Hammonds statement. Good that Labours front bench know whats going on.

Brandreth and Palin are old pen pals

A bromance fit for the silver screen at the BFI archives in Berkhamsted yesterday. Esteemed broadcaster Gyles Brandreth was gently looking for one of his old programmes in the film library when his eye chanced on a handsome figure wandering through the neighbouring stacks. Who could it be? Only national treasure and Python Michael Palin, also spooling through time.

The pair go way back, and shared an emotional reunion, with Brandreth tweeting a photo. We first met in 1971, he wrote. We can tell you exactly where and when because we both keep diaries. And even publish them. Thats a good way to keep track of things.

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Quote of the day: If a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy

As spoken by the now Brexit Secretary David Davis back in 2012, and quoted back at him in the Lords yesterday during the debate on leaving the EU

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Fundraisers are not the place for spoilers

To the National Theatres Up Next fundraising gala last night, where Billie Piper posed with Lily James.

Dave Benett/Getty Images

The Londoner bumped into Sir Lenny Henry. Currently starring in ITV drama Broadchurch, the new series follows a rape case, and the comedians friends think they know whodunnit. Richard Curtis recently introduced me at a dinner party as Lenny Henry  the rapist, he balked. I was outraged. I told him its SIR Lenny Henry!

Actor Bertie Carvel, who failed to win a Bafta for Doctor Foster last year, told us one fan was so disappointed he left the ceremony empty-handed they took matters into their own hands. They made me a knitted Bafta, then posted it to me with the stand attached, he recalled.

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A huge evening at the British Museum for the opening of new show The American Dream. Writer and former museum deputy chairman Bonnie Greer showed MPs Jo Johnson and Chris Bryant around prints including those by Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns. Talk turned to Trump  explaining that the show had been planned since 2008, museum director Hartwig Fischer said his election tooks curators by surprise. This president is unprecedented, he said. Try saying that quickly.

Sometimes the critics need a word of Vice

Getty Images

To the Picturehouse Central in Piccadilly last night, where Viceland screened the premiere of its new series Woman. After a short film, Lily Cole, Labour MP Tulip Siddiq (pictured) and Nimco Ali, the FGM campaigner, took part in a Q&A and were asked how best to deal with critics.

Cole, currently in rehearsals for her West End debut in The Philanthropist at the Trafalgar Studios, said empathy was the answer, but Nimco had other ideas. My new thing is: no offence but... Im completely offensive to these arseholes, she said, to laughter. Im tired. My way of dealing with them is to just tell them to f*** off. We need you in Parliament, Nimco, Siddiq chuckled. Id love to tell a couple of people to f*** off, but I cant. But you could! Tweet me, Ali said. Ill tell them to f*** off for you.

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Tweet of the day: Going to make bolognese tonight and I am hoping to cause controversy and outrage with every mouthful.

Comedian Al Murray despairs at the controversy surrounding Mary Berrys white wine bolognese.

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The new Mayer of London

Twas the night before International Womens Day, and at the Southbank Centre, biographer and Womens Equality Party co-founder Catherine Mayer launched her new book, with a little help from TV host Sandi Toksvig. Wed tell you the tomes name but you can probably work it out.

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Observation of the day: the BBCs Nick Watt responded to Lord Heseltines dismissal last night. The man who brought down Britains first woman Prime Minister has just been sacked by Britains second.

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C hancellor Philip Hammond faced an immediate backlash over plans for a massive tax hike for millions of self-employed workers.

Business groups hit out at the planned rises to National Insurance which are expected to hit almost 2.5 million people, costing them about 240 a year.

Under the reforms, self-employed workers will see contributions increase by one per cent to 10 per cent from April next year and a further one per cent in 2019.

He told MPs the difference between NI contributions (NICs) of employed and self-employed workers could no longer be justified.

Budget 2017: Seven key points

But Labour accused the Chancellor of breaking a Conservative party manifesto pledge from 2015 in which the Tories promised not to raise NICs.

The Chancellor told MPs the difference between NI contributions (NICs) of employed and self-employed workers could no longer be justified / UK Parliament/Mark Duffy/PA

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said: The Tories put a promise not to raise National Insurance in their manifesto four times. Today they're breaking that promise."

The Conservatives 2015 manifesto included a commitment to "no increase in VAT, National Insurance contributions or income tax", a Labour spokesman said.

Sue Terpilowski OBE, London Policy Chair, Federation of Small Businesses, said: The National Insurance rise to 10 per cent next year and 11 per cent in 2019 should be seen for what it is  a 1 billion tax hike on those who set themselves up in business.

This undermines the Governments own mission for the UK to be the best place to start and grow a business, and it drives up the cost of doing business.

Future growth of the UKs 4.8 million-strong self-employed population is now at risk. Increasing this tax burden, effectively funded by a reduction in corporation tax over the same period, is the wrong way to go.

Fiona Twycross, Labours London Assembly spokeswoman for the economy, said self-employed workers in London should not be penalised as opposed to other parts of the country.

"Over half of Londoners are employed by small and medium-sized enterprises, whether it is a tech start-up, a corner shop, an artisan maker or a business consultancy, she said.

Employed staff on 32,000 a year pay 6,170 in NICs, jointly with their employer, compared with 2,300 for the self-employed.

The Chancellor said the lower payment for self-employed workers was not fair on the 85 per cent of workers who are directly employed.

Mr Hammond said higher paid self-employed workers will face increases of around 60p a week, raising an extra 145 million a year for the Exchequer by 2021-22.
J eremy Corbyn today lambasted the Budget as built on failure and unfairness leaving millions of people facing a squeeze on their living standards.

The Labour leader warned that the economy isnt working for the many as the country heads towards Brexit uncertainty and the prospect of more austerity years.

This is a Budget entirely out of touch with the reality of life for many millions of people in this country, Mr Corbyn told the Evening Standard.

Millions of workers know their next pay packet wont be enough to make ends meet. It is a Budget built on failure and unfairness.

Hammond: Corbyn accused the Chancellor of failing to tackle low pay and issues within the NHS / AFP/Getty Images

He argued that the income of the average household this year is still less in real terms than before the 2008 financial crash. An economy that isnt working for the many is the reality facing Britain today, he added.

Budget 2017: Seven key points

This government is cutting the services and the living standards of the many to fund tax cuts for the few.

Budget 2017: Gags and gaffes from Philip Hammond's first budget

He accused Chancellor Philip Hammond of failing to tackle low pay, the state of emergency in the NHS and social care and failing to deliver a fair economy that truly works for everyone.

Commons: Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks during Prime Minister's Questions / PA

He said that some people were prospering, including chief executives now paid 180 times more than the average worker, big corporations making higher profits, speculators who were being taxed less and Britains wealthiest families due to the cut in inheritance tax.

In contrast, Mr Corbyn stressed that low pay is holding back millions of people and the country, with more than one million working households having to claim benefit to pay their rent, and three million working families relying on tax credits.

This is a chancellor and a government who are not only not on the side of workers. Theyre not even on the side of taxpayers who pick up the bill for low pay and insecure work, he added.

Budget: Philip Hammond before giving his first Spring statement / Jeremy Selwyn

The Islington North MP, who has had to fend of fresh rumblings over his leadership following the loss of the Copeland by-election last month, claimed that 86 per cent of changes to tax and benefits since 2010 had fallen on women.

He also slammed the Trade Union Act for shackling unions and perpetuating low pay, fuelling higher bills for in-work benefits.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron argued that Mr Hammonds Budget showed that the Governments hard Brexit plans would do huge damage to public finances.

Theresa May puts down Jeremy Corbyn on International Women's Day

He said: These Tory Brexit plans are set to make things even worse, by hitting our economy and meaning even fewer resources are available for frontline services. The Government needs to face the facts - you cant have a strong NHS with a hard Brexit.
L ord Michael Heseltine has been sacked as a Government adviser after rebelling over Brexit.

The Tory grandee backed calls for a parliamentary vote to be written into the final Brexit deal.

He told the House of Lords that he deeply regretted the outcome of last years EU referendum and said: The fightback starts here.

However, the former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister was sacked from his five advisory roles on Tuesday evening after the Government suffered a second defeat on the Brexit bill in the Lords.

Lord Heseltine said: This is entirely the right of the Prime Minister and I'm sorry that the expertise which I have put at the Government's disposal over the last six years has now come to an end.

"However, in the last resort, I believe, as I said in the House of Lords, the future of this country is inextricably interwoven with our European friends.

"It's the duty of Parliament to assert its sovereignty in determining the legacy we leave to new generations of young people."

In Lord Heseltine's six years as a Government adviser, he worked on plans to restore deprived estates under former Prime Minister David Cameron.

He also worked with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Lord Heseltine was also a national infrastructure commissioner.
S acked Lord Heseltine has vowed to keep on fighting for Parliament to have the final say on Britain leaving the European Union.

The former deputy prime minister was fired from his post as a government adviser after he backed demands in the House of Lords last night for a meaningful vote on the final exit deal.

He said he had been forced to abandon dinner with his wife to receive his marching orders from chief whip Lord Taylor of Holbeach after warning that quitting the EU was the most momentous peacetime decision of our time.

Speaking to Sky News today, he added: I have walked through the lobbies with one Conservative prime minister after another arguing that Britains interests in Europe are inextricably linked. Im not going to change my mind now. The issue was very simply about the sovereignty of Parliament.

Downing Street warmly thanked the 83-year-old for his service, though former chief whip Mark Harper said it was inevitable the peer would lose his job when he decided not to support government policy. Lord Heseltine said he was sorry the Government would lose his expertise.

However, he told BBC radio: Lets be frank, Nigel Farage was saying before the result, when he thought he was going to lose, that there needed to be another referendum. So I know these Brexiters backwards.

Ive lived with them in government and in opposition for many years now and they never give up. So why is it all right for them to go on fighting whatever the opinion happened to be  why shouldnt people like me argue in the other camp?

He revealed he had never met Theresa May despite holding five separate advisory posts with the Government since the Coalition. He was also taken to task on social media for saying the Prime Minister had a man-sized job to do.
Sterling had fallen 0.41 per cent against the US dollar to $1.2150 after his Spring Budget statement concluded.

It was also down by 0.21 per cent against the Euro at 1.1523.

The pound remained at a seven-week low despite the Chancellor announcing upgraded forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility for economic growth and borrowing this year.

Mr Hammond announced the OBR had upgraded its growth forecast for this year to 2 per cent, up from 1.4 per cent at the time of the Autumn Statement in November.

Budget 2017: Seven key points

Jake Trask, a currency analyst with money transfer business OFX, said: "Chancellor Hammonds budget has done little to ease the pressure on the pound, despite the improvements in growth and borrowing forecasts.

Lee Hardman, an economist with MUFG in London, said "Theres been some optimism over the upward revision to growth this year, and the lower budget deficit forecasts over the period is obviously favourable for the fundamental picture.

"But overall the main message is yes, that the budget deficit is coming in below their previous forecasts, but theyre choosing to save the improvement in the budget deficit rather than to spend those funds, so for the economy thats fairly neutral."

The FTSE 100 edged just four points higher to 7,343 with the Budget statement having little impact on the stock market beyond a small boost for construction firms after the Chancellor pledged to spend more on infrastructure.

Mr Hammond slapped new taxes on better-off people and the self-employed today in a Budget that braced the nation for a Brexit battering.

He avoided a rise in income tax rates but instead hiked National Insurance contributions by millions of people who work for themselves.

Mr Hammond took action to store up a war chest for possible trouble after Britain leaves the European Union.

He also invested 2 billion more in social care over three years and 1 billion in schools and skills to prepare for a global future.

London was given new powers to upgrade its road, rail and Underground networks and boost its economy.
A chuckle from the Prime Minister caused a sensation among viewers watching PMQs ahead of the Chancellor's spring Budget.

Theresa May let out a chortle at a remark from Jeremy Corbyn, who was accusing her of being "unclear" over whether there had been a "sweetheart deal" with Surrey Council.

Her "pantomime" laugh was immediately picked up on by viewers and led to ridicule on social media.

Within seconds, the internet was filled with pictures and animations of the Prime Minister laughing.

One compared her to a broken robot. Another said she looked like a duck swallowing a chunk of bread.

And another said the video was "probably the creepiest thing you'll see all week."

Labour has accused the Government of backing a "sweetheart deal" in order to persuade Conservative-majority Surrey to scrap plans to raise council tax by 15 per cent to pay for adult social care.
T he BBC must show more ethnic minorities, women and older people in order to boost diversity, regulator Ofcom has said.

The media watchdog said the public often consider the way BBC programmes portray older generations, females and non-white people as neutral at best and sometimes negative.

Sharon White, head of regulator Ofcom, said: The BBC can and should become more relevant to certain parts of its audience.

"Too many older people, particularly women, feel they are negatively portrayed on TV, one in five viewers in Scotland and one in four in Northern Ireland feel the same way.

"This is a challenge for the whole industry, as broadcasters play a vital role in reflecting the values of our culture, and at the same time the BBC has a key responsibility to lead - it should strive to serve the needs of all corners of the UK's nations and their diversity.

"The BBC can also do more, I feel, to broaden its talent pool, helping to ensure that brilliant individuals, whatever their socioeconomic background, are able to forge a successful career in TV and radio."

Ofcom will take over as the broadcasters new regulator alongside a new BBC Board, outlined in a Government charter, next month.

The news comes the same day as BBC quiz programme University Challenge came under fire for a lack of diversity on teams.

Ms White added Ofcoms role was not to influence specific programming or scheduling but to ensure it upholds its reputation of being trusted and impartial.

"This has never mattered more, especially in the news, during this time of political upheaval in the west, where people are trying to work out what's going on amid a sea of voices and fake news," she said.

A BBC spokesperson said: "As Sharon White said, there are challenges facing the whole industry and while the BBC has already made significant progress in reflecting the full diversity of today's UK on and off air, we've set out plans to do even more."
UP top cop has said that Saifullah was self radicalised and they were yet to find any evidence suggesting his links to ISIS.

By India Today Web Desk: Moments after the 11-hour long gruelling operation that saw the extermination of a suspected ISIS terror youth, Uttar Pradesh Police today said that there was no evidence linking the deceased Mohammed Saifullah to the infamous global terror outfit ISIS.

UP top cop has said that Saifullah was self radicalised and they were yet to find any evidence suggesting his links to ISIS. "We have no such evidence yet of any ISIS link," Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Daljit Chaudhary told media persons.

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The police had earlier said that Saifullah and two others were arrested yesterday were allegedly affiliated to ISIS. The police found substantial literature in Urdu and English related to ISIS.

Earlier, sources have said that Saifullah and other suspects were linked to a home grown, self radicalised group inspired by ISIS owing allegiance to its elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

According to sources, the six suspects nabbed in UP and MP were active on social media and were in regular touch with ISIS handlers.

Lucknow siege: The self-radicalised network

HOW IT ALL HAPPENED:

On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh ATS carried out an extensive operation to capture Saifullah alive. However, the suspected terrorist was killed after a fierce gunbattle that ensued after ATS received a tip-off regarding the suspect's hideout. He was holed up at a house in Haji Ali colony in Thakurganj on the outskirts of Lucknow.

Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General of Police also said that they even made Saifullah speak to his brother in order to convince him to surrender.

Click here to Enlarge A timeline of Tuesday's developments

The police even resorted to the use of chilli bombs and stun grenades to flush out the suspects. The standoff began hours after a blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain Express that left about 10 people injured. Saifullah was earlier linked to the Bhopal train blast too. Following the blast, the Madhya Pradesh police arrested three persons from Hoshangabad district.

WATCH | Lucknow: Father of suspected ISIS terrorist refuses to accept 'anti-national' son's body

Also read:

Lucknow encounter: Father of suspected ISIS terrorist says won't accept body of an anti-national

From Ujjain to Lucknow: Blow-by-blow account of how ISIS' Khurasan terror module was busted

--- ENDS ---
S ecurity has been heightened at zoos and wildlife parks across the UK after poachers shot dead a white rhino at a French zoo.

Poachers broke into a zoo west of Paris and slaughtered the white rhino Vince before cutting off its horn on Monday night.

Police are now planning to visit every wildlife centre in Britain that houses rhinos following the attack.

The head of National Wildlife Crime Unit in Britain, Ch Insp Martin Sims, told the Guardian police officers were to visit zoos to discuss security and any reassurance or patrolling that needs doing.

He said both the safety of the animals and the workforce were at stake if firearms are being used, as was the case in Thoiry zoo where the rhino suffered three bullets to its head.

The Zoological Society of London said it will be bolstering security patrols at Whipsnade zoo in Bedfordshire where it has a herd of rhinos.

A spokesman said in the Guardian: These animals are kept in secure enclosures guarded by full-time security teams, who also conduct regular patrols across the zoo.

Vince the rhino was found dead in its enclosure

Our security teams at ZSL London zoo and ZSL Whipsnade zoo are aware of this tragic incident and will be increasing their on-site patrols.

The rhino horn which was taken in the French attack could make up to 35,000 when it is sold illegally.

Rhino horns are believed to be an aphrodisiac and are popular in China and Vietnam.
J oan Collins has called out Hollywood stars for being too political.

Collins said her fellow actors should not attempt to colour peoples opinions with their political views.

The 83-year-old actress discussed celebrities and their political leanings on The One Show where she was joined by her The Time of Their Lives co-star Pauline Collins.

Pauline said: I feel it is irresponsible of actors to give their opinions about politics because we dont know enough about them and we shouldnt be influencing people just because were on telly.

Making a point: Joan Collins on The One Show / BBC/ The One Show

Joan agreed, adding: I think thats perfectly true. That doesnt mean if were around the dining room table we dont talk about it vociferously.

We do have opinions but those should not colour other peoples opinions.

TODO: define component type brightcove

The same goes for big actors in Hollywood who, I think, have become much too political.

Stars from Lily Allen to Ewan McGregor and Meryl Streep have voiced their opinions on Brexit and Donald Trump.

Streep stoked controversy when she called out Mr Trump during her Golden Globes acceptance speech.

She received praise from celebrities including Mark Ronson and Ellen DeGeneres but the President hit back calling her the most over-rated actress in Hollywood.

Controversial columnist Katie Hopkins also criticised her and branded her a geriatric fool.

The Time of Their Lives is slated for UK cinema release on March 10.
J ohn Boyega has hit out at Samuel L. Jackson after he criticised the casting of black British actors as African Americans.

Boyega accused Jackson of starting a stupid a** conflict after he suggested Brit Daniel Kaluuya wouldnt be able to understand the difficulties experienced by African-Americans in Jordan Peeles new comedy horror Get Out.

Speaking about the film  which follows Kaluuyas character as he is introduced to his white girlfriends family for the first time  Jackson told Hot 100: Daniel grew up in a country where theyve been interracial dating for a hundred years.

What would a brother from America have made of that role?

Criticised: Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams as Chris and Rose in Get Out

Some things are universal but [not everything is].

Boyega hit out at Jackson on Twitter, posting: Black brits vs African American. A stupid a** conflict we don't have time for.

Hitting back: John Boyega's response to Samuel L Jackson / Twitter/ John Boyega

Peele recently opened up about his concerns with casting a British actor for an African American chacter.

John Boyega takes over as the train announcer on South Eastern Rail

I didnt want to go with a British actor because this movie was so much about representation of the African American experience, he told the Guardian. Early on, Daniel and I had a Skype session where we talked about this and I was made to understand how universal this issue is.

He continued: Once Id wrapped my head around how universal these themes were, it became easy for me to pick Daniel, because at the end of the day, he was the best person for the role. He did the audition and it was a slam dunk.

Boyega is currently filming Pacific Rim: Uprising.
A n unconvincing Ryan Gosling lookalike crashed a German awards ceremony to accept a gong for La La Land.

Gosling was expected to take to the stage at the Goldene Kamera Awards earlier this week  but a stranger walked out in his place.

On introducing the Hollywood A-lister, host Steven Gaetjen said: The directors couldnt be here today, but someone else agreed to take the award and we are very happy that he is here today, because he is the reason this movie is a success.

One of the hottest stars in Hollywood  Here is the one and only Ryan Gosling!

But instead of Gosling, Ludwig Lehner  who was put up to the joke by German comedians, Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf  walked onto the stage.

Speaking with a thick German accent he said: Good evening, I am Ryan Gosling. I dedicate this award to Joko and Klaas, thank you very much.

The real deal: Ryan Gosling was not in attendance / Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

There is a saying in Hamburg, which is, bye, bye!

Colin Farrell looked confused, as did Jane Fonda, while Nicole Kidman burst into laughter.

Gaetjen returned to the stage to explain that a "very interesting thing just happened".

According to the Daily Dot, Winterscheidt and Heufer-Umlauf set up a fake talent agency to contact the Goldene Kamera organisers. They reportedly promised that the Canadian actor would attend if he won an award.

The prank comes weeks after the Oscars blunder which saw La La Land crowned Best Film - only for Moonlight to be declared the real winner minutes later.

Academy Awards 2017 Oscars Winners - In pictures 1 /25 Academy Awards 2017 Oscars Winners - In pictures Emma Stone poses with her Oscar for Best Actress for her role in "La La Land" Lucas Jackson/Reuters Mahershala Ali, for Moonlight and Best Actress Emma Stone for La La Land, hold their Oscars Lucas Jackson/Reuters Best Supporting Actor winner Mahershala Ali (L-R), Best Supporting Actress winner Viola Davis, Best Actress winner Emma Stone and Best Actor winner Casey Affleck pose with their Oscars Lucas Jackson/Reuters Casey Affleck reacts as he accepts the Oscar for Best Actor Lucy Nicholson/Reuters Viola Davis poses with the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images irector Barry Jenkins holds the Oscar as Moonlight wins Best Picture Lucy Nicholson/Reuters Damien Chazelle poses in the press room with the award for best director for "La La Land" at the Oscars Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Barry Jenkins hugs Mahershala Ali with his award Lucas Jackson/Reuters Casey Affleck with the award for Actor in a Leading Role for Manchester by the Sea in the press room at the 89th Academy Awards Ian West/PA Mahershala Ali, winner of the award for Actor in a Supporting Role for 'Moonlight' Paul Buck/EPA Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan accepts the Best Original Screenplay award for 'Manchester by the Sea' from actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon onstage during the 89th Annual Academy Awards Christopher Polk/Getty Images Actor Hailee Steinfeld, co-directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore and producer Clark Spencer, winners of the Best Animated Feature Film award for 'Zootopia' and actor Gael Garcia Bernal pose in the press room during the 89th Annual Academy Awards Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Salma Hayek (left) and David Oyelowo (right) present Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy with the award for Best Live Action Short film for Sing the press room at the 89th Academy Awards Ian West/PA Katherine Johnson poses with Ezra Edelman (right) and Caroline Waterlow (left) with the award for Best Documentary Feature for O.J.: Made in America in the press room at the 89th Academy Awards Ian West/PA Actor David Oyelowo, producer Joanna Natasegara and director Orlando von Einsiedel, winners of Best Documentary Short Subject for 'The White Helmets' and actor Salma Hayek pose in the press room during the 89th Annual Academy Awards Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Sound mixers Peter Grace, Robert Mackenzie, Kevin O'Connell and Andy Wright, winners of the Best Sound Mixing award for 'Hacksaw Ridge' pose in the press room during the 89th Oscars Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images Makeup artists Giorgio Gregorini, Alessandro Bertolazzi and Christopher Nelson, winners of the Best Makeup and Hairstyling award for 'Suicide Squad' Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Former NASA scientist Firouz Naderi (L) and engineer/astronaut Anousheh Ansari pose with the Best Foreign Language Film award for 'The Salesman' on behalf of director Asghar Farhadi Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Costume Designer Colleen Atwood, winner of the Best Costume Design award for 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

La La Land is at cinemas now.
S carlett Johansson has reportedly filed for divorce from second husband Romain Dauriac following their recent break-up.

The A-list actress, who was previously married to Ryan Reynolds, is thought to started proceedings on Tuesday after the couple called it quits at the beginning of the year.

Dauriacs lawyer, Harold Mayerson, told the New York Posts Page Six that the journalist would like to move to France with his daughter and Ms. Johansson does a lot of traveling.

Johansson and Dauriac tied the knot in October 2014, just a few months after the birth of their daughter Rose Dorothy.

Scarlett Johansson - In pictures 1 /73 Scarlett Johansson - In pictures Scarlett Johansson walks the red carpet ahead of the "Marriage Story" screening during during the 76th Venice Film Festival Getty Images Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost Getty Images Scarlett Johansson stars in The Prestige (2006) Warner Bros Scarlett Johansson in the 2012 film Avengers Assemble Disney Marriage Story (2019) Netflix In an emotional scene from the 1998 movie 'The Horse Whisperer', Scarlett Johansson, is helped into the saddle by actor Robert Redford after being traumatized in a horseback riding accident AFP/Getty Images Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation (2003) Scarlett Johansson attends the 'Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century' Costume Institute benefit gala at the Metropolitan Museum in 2004 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson attends the Stuff Magazine/Armani Exchange 'Beachdance' party in 2003 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson arrives at the screening of the new Sofia Coppola film Lost In Translation at the 60th Venice Film Festival2003 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Match Point (2005) Ewan MacGregor and Scarlett Johansson in The Island (2005) Warner Bros Scarlett Johansson arrives at the opening ceremony and 'The Black Dahlia' premiere on the first day of the 63rd Venice Film Festival 2006 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson arrives to the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards 2006 Getty Images The Other Boleyn Girls starring Natalie Portman as Anne and Scarlett Johansson as Mary Boleyn (2008) Columbia Pictures Scarlett Johansson in a fashion campaign for Mango in 2009 Mango Scarlett Johansson in 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' (2008) also starring Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Rebecca Hall. Scarlett Johansson in 'Iron Man 2' (2010) Marvel The Avengers (2012) with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Captain America (Chris Evans) & Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) Marvel Scarlett Johansson is honoured with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson playing Janet Leigh recreates the famous shower scene from Psycho in Hitchcock (2012) Fox Searchlight Pictures Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock and Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh in Hitchcock (2012) Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin (2013) Scarlett Johansson poses for a photograph on the red carpet at the gala for the new movie " Under The Skin " during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on 9 September 2013 AP Scarlett Johansson arrives on the red carpet for the screening of her film Under The Skin in which she plays an alien AP Front Cover of the November 2013 issue of Esquire Magazine, featuring actress, model and singer Scarlett Johansson Esquire Magazine Scarlett Johansson visits 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon' at Rockefeller Center in 2013 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson arrives on the red carpet at the New York premiere of Don Jon in 2013 Splash News Scarlett Johansson in Lucy (2014) Europacorp Scarlett Johansson arrives on the red carpet for the UK premiere of Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson arrives on the red carpet for the UK premiere of Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014 EPA Scarlett Johansson signs autographs at the UK Film Premiere of Captain America: The Winter Soldier at Westfield London in 2014 Dave Benett Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) AP Scarlett Johansson arrives at the World Premiere of Captain America: The Winter Soldier" at the El Capitan Theatre, Los Angeles in 2014 Invision/AP John Travolta kisses Scarlett Johansson as they arrive for the 87th annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California in 2015. EPA Scarlett Johansson attends the premiere of Marvel's "Avengers: Age Of Ultron" at Dolby Theatre, Hollywood in 2015 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson attends The 2015 MTV Movie Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles Getty Images Scarlett Johansson attends the European premiere of "The Avengers: Age Of Ultron" at Westfield London in 2015 Dave Benett Madame Tussauds New York unveils first-ever wax figure of actress Scarlett Johansson in 2015 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson arrives at the premiere of Sing during the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on 11 September 2016 The Canadian Press via AP Scarlett Johansson attends the Rough Night premeire in 2017 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson attends The American Museum Of Natural History 2018 Gala Getty Images Scarlett Johansson, Female Movie Star of 2018, poses in the press room during the People's Choice Awards Getty Images Scarlett Johansson attends the 70th Emmy Awards 2018 Getty Images Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2018 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson attends the Met Gala 2018 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson attends the premiere of Disney and Marvel's 'Avengers: Infinity War' in 2018 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson arrives for the screening of the film "Marriage Story" during the 76th Venice Film Festival 2019 AFP via Getty Images Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Roman Griffin Davis in the film Jojo Rabbit Scarlett Johansson of Marvel Studios' 'Black Widow' at the San Diego Comic-Con International 2019 Getty Images Scarlett Johansson arrives to attend the 11th Annual Governors Awards gala 2019 hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood AFP via Getty Images Laura Dern, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson attend "Marriage Story" photocall during the 76th Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande WireImage Scarlett Johansson arrives at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards 2020 Invision/AP Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow (2020) Marvel Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

In an interview last week, Johansson said that he was convinced that monogamy wasnt natural, telling Playboy:

I think the idea of marriage is very romantic; its a beautiful idea, and the practice of it can be a very beautiful thing.

Scarlett Johansson on flirting

I dont think its natural to be a monogamous person. I might be skewered for that, but I think its work. Its a lot of work.

She added: Being married is different than not being married, and anybody who tells you that its the same is lying. It changes things. Its a beautiful responsibility, but its a responsibility.

Johansson has fuelled rumours of a split after being spotted out and about without her wedding ring in recent months.

Evening Standard Online had contacted Johanssons representative for comment.
G rime star Stormzy says major record labels do not know what to do with black artists.

The London rapper, 23, was nominated for best British breakthrough act at last months Brits, where he performed with Ed Sheeran.

He is topping the charts with his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, released on his own label, #Merky. In an interview with photographer Rankins Hunger magazine, he said: Ive never seen a major label know what to do with black artists.

Tickets for the Mobo winners 17-date UK tour sold out within days of going on sale. He said: Theres gonna be way more successful young black people coming through.

Stormzy performing at Westfield

So Im just here saying, Look you better get ready because theres hundreds of us, coming and we look like this and we dress like this and we talk like this and were here.

Stormzy, real name Michael Omari, grew up in south London and says he was often stopped by police.

Behind the scenes: Stormzy on shoot / Rankin/Hunger Magazine

When I was growing up in Thornton Heath, from about 13 all the way up to 18 I got searched every day, he said. [It stopped] when I stopped walking around on the streets. But now I have a nice car, so I get pulled over instead.

Last month he claimed police smashed through the front door of his west London home because they mistook him for a burglar. At the time he tweeted: Woke up to Feds destroying my front door coz apparently Im a burglar who burgles his own home.

Read the full interview with Stormzy in Hunger (Picture: Rankin Stylist: Stevie Westgarth) / Rankin

Stormzy insisted he is still gonna live where I live , adding: Im gonna have my hood up, wear all black and Im gonna be in a first-class lounge, or in this mad restaurant, or in this posh hotel and be like, Oh, you didnt think young black people could be here?

Recalling an encounter in a high-end watch shop, he added: Usually when you walk in these high-end places, theyll offer you a drink, take your coat, offer you a seat. We didnt get none of that.

I asked, he told me the price, and I did it like, Oh, you didnt think young black men are supposed to have this money, did you?

The full interview appears in issue 12 of Hunger magazine, out next Thursday. Visit hungertv.com.
G ood news, Tom Hardy fans  Taboo is officially getting a second series.

The BBC show  co-created, co-written by, and starring Hardy  is due to return for eight more episodes following the end of its first run.

The Victorian-era period drama series stars Hardy as James Keziah Delaney, a man presumed dead who returns from Africa to claim his inheritance after the death of his father.

Taboo was produced by Steven Knight, also behind Birmingham gangster drama Peaky Blinders, and has been a hit on FX in the States.

Taboo - the cast of BBC's period drama with Tom Hardy 1 /12 Taboo - the cast of BBC's period drama with Tom Hardy Taboo The BBC's dark thriller is unlike any period drama you've seen before FX Networks Tom Hardy as James Delaney FX Networks / Robert Viglasky Jonathan Pryce as Sir Stuart Strange FX Networks / Olly Robinson Oona Chaplin as Zilpha Geary FX Networks / Robert Viglasky Jessie Buckley as Lorna Bow FX Networks / Robert Viglasky David Hayman as Brace FX Networks / Olly Robinson Jefferson Hall as Thorne Geary FX Networks / Robert Viglasky Franka Potente as Helga Scott Free Prods Michael Kelly as Dr. Dumbarton FX Networks / Robert Viglasky

We are grateful and excited to continue our relationship with the BBC and FX in contributing towards British drama, Hardy said. Fantastic news.

Taboo- Trailer - BBC One

BBC Drama controller Piers Wenger said: Tom and Steve and the shows brilliant producers are promising something daring, different but equally unmissable and Im delighted that the BBC is partnering with FX once again to roll Taboo out to audiences across the world.

The show has been a ratings hit in the UK, with 8.53 million viewers tuning into the premiere on BBC One or catching it later on iPlayer.
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said the slain terror suspect, Saifullah, belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and is believed to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of MP on Tuesday.

By Ashish Pandey: In what is being considered the first ever full-scale Islamic State (ISIS) operation in India, a suspected terrorist was killed on the outskirts of Lucknow in the wee hours today following a 12-hour siege and anti-terror operation .

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) said the slain terror suspect, Saifullah, belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and is believed to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, in which at least 10 people were injured, three of them critically.

HERE IS HOW 4 STATES CAME TOGETHER TO BUST THE ISIS MODULE: The Kerala Police shared info on the Syrian handler talking to UP boys and their movement in MP with Telangana Police. The information was later shared with UP and MP Police. Telangana passed on the information to police in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh on the ISIS Khurasan module and their planned attack. Telangana cops were tracking the online chat originating from UP and MP with the Syrian handler before the blast took blast in Shajapur, MP. The location of boys was clear and their movement was notified to the concerned police departments. MP Police arrested Atif Muzaffar alias Al Qasim (Kanpur), Mohammad Danish alias Zafar (Kanpur), Sayed Mir Hussain alias Hamza (Aligarh) from Hoshanagabad, Piparia. Based on information received from them, the UP Police arrested Mohammad Faisal Khan and Mohammad Imran from Kanpur. They seized a laptop and mobile phones from them. It had ISIS-related videos and ISIS literature. One more suspect, Fakre Alam alas Rishu, was then arrested from Etawah. Telangana Police coordinated with Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu on a day-to-day basis and share information. Telangana Police has been keeping a record of the ISIS module since 2011. The Telangana team has reportedly de-radicalised 19 men since 2015. Telangana Police had caught 6 Hyderabad men from Kolkata in 2015. They were allegedly radicalised and wanted to move to Syria through Bangladesh. In 2016, with the help of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a massive country-wide raid was conducted in January and 18 men arrested from all over the country, most from Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Meerut. In June 2016, seven Hyderabad-based men were arrested and explosives seized from them. Yazdani brothers, both engineers, ran that group. During the ongoing Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the ISIS module wanted to target locations in the state, but due to enhanced security, they went to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. They wanted to trigger IED in the Ujjain train blast through a mobile phone, but that couldn't happen due to technical glitches. Police said they got training through internet.

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What is ISIS Khurasan module?

A big fraction of Tehreek-e-Taliban of Pakistan (TTP) has been named as the ISIS Khurasan group. They operate in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Apart from that, they also recruit in Bangladesh through the Khurasan Dhaka group. The cafe attack in Dhaka last year was done by the same group.

In December 2016, the NIA found details of 17 members of Khurasan module. They were arrested and are currently in the NIA Custody.

Four men from Hyderabad were arrested in January 2016. Three more from Thane have allegedly fled to Syria are a part of the Khurasan group.

Their handler in Syria reportedly communicates with them through TOR, a telegram messaging app. The app can't be tracked since messages are coded.

The 21 men missing from Kerala since early 2016 are also believed to be a part of the ISIS Khurasan group.

ALSO READ:

Lucknow siege: Home grown ISIS Khorasan module was planning big strike. All you need to know

Lucknow encounter ends, ISIS terror suspect killed: What we know so far

WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: structures: MP HC

Indore, Mar 8 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh High Court has observed that India is a secular country and there should be no discrimination in removing the religious structures of different religions.

The observation was made by Justice S C Sharma of the Indore bench yesterday while hearing a petition filed by Masjid Hanfi Anvarul Uloom Committee.

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The Committee had approached the High Court seeking its direction to the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) that a place of worship should not be removed from Kanadiya Road in the city where road widening work was underway.

"Our country is a secular country and there should be no discrimination in removing places of worship coming in the way (of development).

"Thus such places, to which ever community they belong, should be removed simultaneously in a months time," Justice Sharma said in his order.

The court also directed the police department to provide adequate security staff to the Indore civic body while removing such structures.

The Indore corporation has contended that widening of Kanadiya Road was the need of the hour as large number of accidents were taking place on this stretch which also witnessed heavy traffic congestion.

It informed the high court that the religious structures were coming in the way of road widening.

The counsel for the petitioner argued that religious place stood on the land belonging to Wakf and it cannot be removed for widening of the road. PTI HWP LAL MAS RMT ZMN JMF

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Britain's upper house of parliament has voted to give legislators more power to reject the final terms of 'Brexit.'

By Reuters: Britain's upper house of parliament voted on Tuesday to give lawmakers more power to reject the final terms of the country's exit from the European Union, ignoring pleas from Prime Minister Theresa May's government not to hamstring their negotiations.

The vote, which passed by 366 to 268, attaches an extra condition to the "European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill" -- legislation which will give May the power to trigger divorce talks. She plans to use that power later this month.

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The amended bill now demands that Britain's parliament has to approve any exit deal before it is debated by the European Parliament, or, if talks fail, that lawmakers must vote to approve a decision to walk away without a deal.

'UK GOVERNMENT WILL SEEK TO OVERTURN CHANGES'

Brexit minister David Davis said the government would seek to overturn the changes when the bill is presented for approval to the lower chamber, where May has a slim majority.

"It is clear that some in the Lords would seek to frustrate that process, and it is the government's intention to ensure that does not happen," he said in a statement.

The defeat, however, could present a major headache for May if members of her own party follow through on their threats to rebel by supporting the amendment.

"I will vote to keep in this amendment," Anna Soubry, a Conservative lawmaker in the lower chamber, told Sky News. She said parliament needed a proper say on the issue, warning of the dangers of a 'Hard Brexit' scenario where Britain left the EU without a deal.

A split within May's Conservative party would undermine her authority at a time when she is facing down demands for a second independence referendum from Scottish nationalists, managing fears that Brexit could destabilise Northern Ireland, and trying to persuade major EU powers they must cut her a good exit deal.

HARDER NEGOTIATIONS

The government has already promised parliament a vote on the final deal, but believes restricting May's ability to leave the negotiating table could encourage the EU to offer a bad deal in the hope that lawmakers would then reject it and potentially halt Brexit.

"This amendment simply makes the negotiations much harder from day one for the prime minister as it increases the incentive for the European Union to offer nothing but a bad deal," said George Bridges, the government's Brexit minister for the Lords, in his final plea before the vote.

May has insisted that she would be prepared to leave the EU without any deal if the terms on offer weren't good enough, stating in January that "No deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain."

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But, if the changes made on Tuesday become law, she would not be able to do that without parliamentary approval. Bridges said it was unclear what would happen if parliament rejected such a move.

Some of May's opponents in the lords have signalled they will not seek to prolong or thwart the legislative process, meaning they could back down and accept an unamended bill if their changes are overturned in the lower chamber.

ALSO READ | Brexit battle lines drawn as British PM Theresa May's plan suffers parliament hitch in first bill defeat

WATCH VIDEO | UK PM Theresa May encounters first parliamentary defeat over Brexit talks

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MITCHELL  Donovan Lee, an alt-country musician based out of Houston and Nashville, Tennessee, will be coming to RedZ Bar and Grill in Mitchell this weekend, playing back-to-back acoustic shows on Friday, March 10, and Saturday, March 11.

Its been about three months since Lee last played western Nebraska, and hes looking forward to returning.

Everybody thats been coming out, its always gotten better each time Ive been out there, Lee said. The people have always been nice, and their hospitality has been great.

Lees original work combines a mix of Texas red dirt country and southern rock, with hints of heavy metal styles from fellow Texan rockers Pantera.

Im a fan of music, and grew up listening to 80s rock, so youll hear a little bit of my influences in everything, Lee said.

Lee said hell be mostly playing his originals, which are more traditional country than the pop country music of nowadays, but that hell throw in a few covers here and there.

I always call it dysfunctional country, but Ill throw in everything from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Molly Hatchet to Sublime, Lee said. I like to see how the crowd is reacting to figure it out.

Lee tours constantly, and said the stop in Mitchell is part of the acoustic shows he normally does in the winter months, with the full band accompanying him for the summer festival circuit.

His most recent album, Darker Side of Me, is available on iTunes and Amazon music, and Lee said hell also have CDs for sale at the show. Theres no cover charge and the music goes from 8 p.m. to close.
By Press Trust of India: From Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Mar 8 (PTI) Nearly 20,000 stranded Afghans and about 2,000 Pakistanis crossed back to their countries yesterday when Pakistan opened the border with Afghanistan for two days which was closed last month after a string of militant attacks.

The crossings at Torkham in Khyber tribal region and Chaman in Balochistan province were opened to let those with valid documents to cross over.

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12,549 people crossed over to Afghanistan at Torkham while 470 entered Pakistan from the neighbouring country, The Express Tribune quoted officials as saying.

Another 6,848 Afghan citizens and 1,646 Pakistanis crossed back into their respective countries through the Friendship Gate at Chaman, a senior Federal Investigation Agency official said.

"Most of the people who had valid visas or those whose visa had expired in these past 18 days have been allowed to return to their respective countries," a Khyber Agency political administration official told reporters.

"But those without proper travel documents have not been allowed to cross over to either side (through Torkham)."

"We did not even entertain those Pakistani citizens who travelled to Afghanistan using only their identity cards," he said, adding that an alternative will be provided to them after authorities receive orders from the interior ministry.

However, those who crossed the border at Chaman were mainly Afghan and Pakistani traders travelling on special permits issued under an agreement signed between both countries border authorities some months back.

Under the deal, traders with business based in Chaman or Afghanistans Vesh Mandi town can obtain permits to cross the border after showing just their identity cards.

Some 6,728 Afghans and 1,631 Pakistanis crossed the border at Chaman yesterday using the permits, officials said. Only 120 Afghans and 15 Pakistanis who used the crossing had visas, they said.

The Pakistan government had decided to close the border last month amid a string of deadly militant attacks, that killed more than 125 people, which the military claimed were carried out by militants operating from safe-havens in Afghanistan.

The two countries have long accused each other of failing to combat extremists who operate along their porous frontier. PTI SH AMS AKJ AMS

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The Keystone XL pipeline won't be required to use American-made steel to earn construction approval from the Trump administration, the White House said Friday, despite President Donald Trump's repeated claims.

The president's executive order mandating the use of U.S. steel is "specific to new pipelines or those that are being repaired," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday.

"Since this one is already current, under construction, the steel is already literally sitting there, it would be hard to go back," she said.

That's welcome news to TransCanada Corp. as its moves forward with the $8 billion project. The pipeline would span 1,179 miles from Alberta through three states  Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska  before connecting to an existing network feeding crude to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. The line would carry as much as 830,000 barrels of oil a day, including some from North Dakota's Bakken shale.

In 2012, the company said it expected half the 821,000 tons of steel needed to construct the pipeline to be produced inside the United States. The remainder of the steel was expected to be imported from Canada, Italy and India.

But exempting Keystone XL from the president's requirement to use American steel would seem to fly in the face of Trump's public comments. Trump has repeatedly boasted that he forced pipeline companies to agree to use U.S. steel in their projects.

During a Feb. 23 meeting with manufacturing CEOs at the White House, Trump told U.S. Steel Corp Chief Executive Mario Longhi that "the pipe is coming from the U.S." for the Keystone project, as well as Energy Transfer Partners's Dakota Access pipeline.

"We put you heavy into the pipeline business because we approved, as you know, the Keystone pipeline and Dakota," Trump told Longhi. "But they have to buy  meaning, steel, so I'll say U.S. Steel  but steel made in this country and pipelines made in this country."

During a Feb. 16 press conference, the president said that in exchange for using "the powers of government to make that pipeline happen" the administration wants "them to use American steel."

"And they're willing to do that, but nobody ever asked before I came along," he said. "Even this order was drawn, and they didn't say that. And I'm reading the order, I'm saying, why aren't we using American steel? And they said, that's a good idea. We put it in."

He repeated the claim a day later during a tour of a Boeing Co. plant in South Carolina.

"You probably saw the Keystone pipeline I approved recently, and the Dakota," Trump said. "And I'm getting ready to sign the bill. I said, where is the pipe made? And they told me not here. I said, that's good  add a little sentence that you have to buy American steel. And you know what? That's the way it is. It's the way it's going to be."

Trump told a similar story later that weekend at a Feb. 18 rally in Melbourne, Florida.

Noting that he had had moved to "begin the construction" of the Keystone and Dakota projects, Trump said that as he was about to sign the order, he asked who would be manufacturing the pipe.

"Something this audience understands very well, right?" Trump said. "Simple question. The lawyers put this very complex document in front. I said, who makes the pipe? They said, sir, it can be made anywhere. I said, not anymore. So I put a little clause on the bottom: The pipe has to be made in the United States of America if we're going to have pipelines."

A White House official who would only discuss the pipeline issue on the condition of anonymity said the Commerce Department was working on a plan for the president's order requiring U.S. steel, so the administration couldn't implement it until that effort had completed. Moreover, the official said, because the Keystone XL pipeline is currently under construction, it does not count as a new, retrofitted, repaired, or expanded pipeline.

Asked about the issue, TransCanada issued a statement saying it continued "to be encouraged as our Presidential Permit application makes its way through the approval process."

"This project will support U.S. energy security, create thousands of well-paying U.S. jobs and provide substantial economic benefits," the company said.

Canada's U.S. ambassador, David MacNaughton, said Friday in an interview that negotiations on Keystone's route are going "extremely well" with federal authorities and "I don't see any big hurdles" from the Trump administration. He called the outlook for the project "very positive."
Allen Pete Wylie, 70, of Scottsbluff, passed away Sunday, March 5, 2017 at his home. His Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, March 10, 2017 at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Scottsbluff, with Father Vincent Parsons officiating. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery here with Military Graveside Rites rendered by the United States Air Force. Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 9, 2017 at the church beginning at 6:00 p.m. with a Rosary and Wake Service to follow at 7:00 p.m. The family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, memorials be given to St. Agnes School. Online condolences may be left at www.jolliffefuneralhome.com.

Allen Pete Wylie was born to G. Ivil Wylie and Mary Jane Bonar on May 16, 1946. His brother kindly nicknamed him Pete. Pete was the youngest of 5 children. Petes family left the farm and moved into Bayard the year he began school. He graduated from Gering High School in 1964. He proudly served in the United States Air Force from 1966 until 1970. Pete worked 5 years in Denver driving trucks for Central Electric and with his brother at the family filling station. This is where he met Jeanne Goossens on a blind date. They were married at St. Josephs in West St. Paul, Minnesota, on May 27, 1972. To this union were born two children Peter Charles and April Diane. Pete and family moved to Scottsbluff in 1975.

He worked as an optician with his brother at Wylie Optical until retirement in 2015. Pete known to many as Pop could light up any room. He was known for his generosity as he served many in our community, from his work in the church at St. Agnes, to his love of helping others with his eye glass business. Pete served many roles at the Knights of Columbus Council #2681. The council received many awards for the work he inspired.

He loved the camaraderie of the Sugar Valley Rally. He drove his 1933 Hupmobile for 25 years and in the last few years had handed the reins off to his nephew Gregg with Peter navigating. Pete was a pivotal part of Toys for Tots in the Panhandle bringing the program to serving many needy families.

Pete is survived by his wife of 44 years, his son, Peter and daughter in law (Becky Jo); 7 grandchildren; son in law, Josh Reisberg (Lisa) & many extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents, his loving daughter April Wylie (Riesberg); siblings Robert, William, Albert, and Shirley (John Vassos).

The family thanks Dr. Carrington at CAPWN for his many years of medical care, Dr. Bjorling and Prairie Haven Hospice for the wonderful care they gave Pete in his last few weeks.
Billie Virginia Hopkins passed away March 5, 2017 at Welcov Assisted Living in Scottsbluff, NE where she resided for just over a year. Memorial services will be at Gering Zion Church, 1100 O Street, Gering, NE at 11 a.m. on March 10, 2017. Private inurnment will be at West Lawn Cemetery prior to the service. Memorial donations can be made to Gering Zion Church or to Welcov. Tributes of sympathy can be made at www.dugankramer.com .

Billie was born December 19, 1919 to J. W. (Bill) Roberts and Della Larson Roberts in Bayard, NE. She attended grade school at Horseshoe Bend School in Banner County, NE and graduated from McGrew High School in 1937. She attended one year of college at Chadron State College and then taught K-8th grades at Court House Rock and Creighton Valley, each for one year. She married Dorwin Hopkins in Torrington, WY, Sept. 30, 1939. They worked on ranches in eastern Wyoming for three years before moving back to the McGrew area to farm. Before returning to teaching in 1963, Billie helped with farming, and worked at both Montgomery Ward and the Bayard Transcript. In 1964 they moved to Kimball, NE where Billie taught in District 4, then, after a move to Chappell, she taught third grade for 17 years. Billie returned to Chadron College where she received her B. S. in Elementary Education in 1969. In 1982, Billie and Dorwin retired and moved to Gering. Billie was very active in church, school, community, and volunteer activities wherever they lived. She volunteered for Meals on Wheels, and her team was awarded the Muriel Krueger Memorial Driver of the Year Award in 2002. Billie enjoyed traveling, genealogy, reading, and handwork. She loved spending time with family and friends and will be missed by so many who found love and hospitality in her home.
Dale Thomas Nerud, 66, of Scottsbluff, died Saturday, March 4, 2017 at the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado. His funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 9, 2017 at Grace Chapel in Scottsbluff with Pastor Bruce Peterson officiating. Interment will follow at Chimney Rock Cemetery south of Bayard. Friends may call on Wednesday from 5-7pm at Jolliffe Funeral Home in Scottsbluff. The family respectfully requests that in lieu of any flowers, memorials in Dales honor be made in care of Scotts Bluff County 4-H. Online condolences may be left at www.jolliffefuneralhome.com.

Dale was born on March 21, 1950 to Tom and Betty Nerud. He was raised on a ranch in Bayard, Nebraska. Dale has 3 younger siblings; Linda, Myla, and Frank.

Dale started his education in a time of riding horses to school at District 50, near Chimney Rock. He attended High School in Bayard, Nebraska where he made many friends during his years of high school rodeo. He later went on to Chadron State College. But his fond memories of life with his family on the ranch drew him back. Not only was he able to make a livelihood from ranching, but he gained many friendships along the way. Those friendships steered him in the direction of Ranch Realty where he worked side-by-side with his father. He later became a founding member of a successful Real Estate Firm.

Dale loved hunting. He enjoyed numerous hunting trips with his brother, son and his grandson. He made lasting memories in his latest trip to Africa, hunting plains game, with his brother, niece, and friend. Dale also loved the Rubber Check Race, the fast horses and the THRILL! Because of his willingness to help and mentor others, he became a well-known member of the community. Dale treasured spending time with his family and his grandchildren. He was an inspiration to many and will be greatly missed.

Dale is survived by his wife Becky Nerud; his son and daughter-in-law Joe and Mary Nerud; daughters Erin Lewis and Kate Preston; grandchildren Wyatt Nerud and Emily Nerud; sisters Linda (Mac) Norman and Myla (Kevin) Bornhoft and brother Frank (Lori) Nerud and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Betty Nerud, and nephew, Dylan Nerud.
Brother James Michael Dowd, of the Order of the Holy Cross and Monk in Residence for the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska for two years, will be visiting the Panhandle next week for a series of prayer workshops.

On Saturday, March 11, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., he will be at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Scottsbluff to lead a workshop on Centering Prayer and Walking the Labyrinth.

James ministry also focuses on discovering and building better ways to befriend the poor in our communities. From his base at Trinity Cathedral in Omaha, Brother James has been assisting in daily prayer life, and serving as Chaplain to the Downtown Episcopal Outreach community. He also regularly preaches at Trinity Cathedral, and makes himself available as a guest preacher to the larger diocese.

St. Francis Rev. Mark Selvey said, I am delighted to welcome Brother James to Scottsbluff, and look forward to a great morning of learning about and practicing two styles of contemplative prayer.

Bishop J. Scott Barker said, Brother James  hopes to bring monastic spirituality into the world and to share what he has learned in his monastic life with the people and clergy of the diocese, as we, in turn, teach him what we have learned of the spiritual life in our parishes and beyond.

For more information, contact Selvey at 308-632-4626 or frmarks@me.com.
Officials have determined that two devastating fires that broke out Tuesday, one that displaced a North Iredell family of five and the other at a Davie Avenue church in Statesville, were both accidental.
Furthermore he alleged Stalin of tearing his own shirt during the 'vote of confidence' assembly session and stated that not all those who are convict are guilty and not all those who are free can be termed innocent.

By Pramod Madhav: Irritated by DMK's working president alleging that the EPS government is a regime 'ruled by convicts', AIADMK's deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran has called DMK a camp filled with "scientific thieves".

In his first major political statement, Dhinakaran did not hold himself back from slamming DMK and MK Stalin. Alleging that DMK is a party capable of committing scandals in any area and reminding about earlier scandals DMK had faced TTV Dhinakaran claimed that DMK leader Karunanidhi had sought asylum from then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

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"You fell on her feet to protect yourself from Zachariah commission and as a compensation you gave away Tamil Nadu's traditional rights Katchatheevu Islands, Cauvery and Mullai Periyar," he alleged.

Furthermore he alleged Stalin of tearing his own shirt during the 'vote of confidence' assembly session and stated that not all those who are convict are guilty and not all those who are free can be termed innocent.

Dhinakaran brought another allegation that using OPS, Stalin tried to break the party but by bringing in EPS through a silent revolution, AIADMK has defeated Stalin's plans.

Also read| Stalin on Jayalalithaa's death: Panneerselvam's questions and Health Minister's answers are like an oxymoron

Also read| Why didn't you open your mouth when you were in power? Stalin questions OPS

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First Baptist Church of Statesville wishes to thank all of the people who have responded so kindly to the accidental fire we suffered in our Family Life Center Kitchen on Tuesday afternoon. In particular wed like to thank the Statesville Fire Department for its quick and professional response. Without their aid, we could have lost our entire facility. Because of their quick work, we only have to replace our kitchen and deep clean our fellowship hall.
GREENSBORO  The teen driver in a fatal single-vehicle rollover will be charged with a misdemeanor in the death of a classmate, an employee of the district attorneys office said today.

Diana Sanchez Varela, 15, was killed on Feb. 24 when the Chrsyler 300M she was riding in overturned about 12:15 p.m. Varela, who was a back-seat passenger, was partially ejected from the sedan through the sunroof and pinned under the car, said Master Trooper Chris Knox. She was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene of the crash, in the 3300 block of Wall Road near Osborne Road.

At least one other passenger wasnt wearing a seat belt and it is unclear about two other people in the car, Knox said. The 15-year-old driver was wearing her restraint. The driver's name has not been released because shes a juvenile.

Knox said the driver was traveling at about 80 mph in a 45 mph zone at the time of the crash.

It is unknown where the students were going when the wreck happened. Nora Murray, spokeswoman for Guilford County Schools said the school does not allow students to go off-campus for lunch. The wreck happened near Southern Guilford High, at 5700 Drake Road where the driver and passengers attended school.

The driver was taken to Moses Cone Hospital as a precaution, Knox said. Other surviving passengers are reported to have fled.

The driver of the car will be charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle in juvenile court, said Walt Jones, assistant district attorney in charge of the High Point office of the Guilford County Prosecutor. She has not yet been served with the juvenile petition, Jones said, but that is expected to happen this month.

According to state statute, the charge can only be elevated to a felony if the driver is impaired.

She is the only person to face charges in connection to the wreck.

The owner of the vehicle will not be charged, according to the Highway Patrol and Jones.

We were told not to pursue charges based on a lack of knowledge on the owners part that the teen had the vehicle, Knox said.

Jones said the car was left at the drivers house by someone unrelated to the family.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to raise money for hospital expenses and to bring Varela's body to Mexico, according to the website.
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The Minister of National Defence, Gabriel Les, welcomed on Wednesday, the Czech Ambassador to Romania, Vladimir Valky, whom he talked to about the cooperation of the two countries within NATO and the EU. According to a press release of the Defence Ministry (MApN), both sides confirmed their commitment to strengthening relations of cooperation in the current security context "by leveraging the existing potential, both in joint training, education and research, as well as through participation in missions under NATO, the EU and the UN command. At the same time, the Czech official has highlighted some opportunities for cooperation in the technical-military domain.

The officials have also emphasized the major role played by the two countries' armies in multinational programmes meant to develop military capabilities under the aegis of NATO and the EU, such as the Framework Nations Concept coordinated by Germany. The two dignitaries advocated the need for increased political-military dialogue between Romania and the Czech Republic, through meetings with the ministers of Defence, Secretaries of State and Chiefs of Staff, specifies MApN release.

Agerpres
By Press Trust of India: Mumbai, Mar 8 (PTI) Uganda Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda will sign letters of intent worth USD 100 million to boost bilateral trade with India.

PM Rugunda is in the city on a three-day visit.

"Uganda is looking forward to Indian investments and expertise in expanding its industry in areas of infrastructure, agro-processing, information technology and communication, services and education," the Ugandan premier told PTI here today.

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The Prime Minister and his delegation were received by the Governor of Maharashtra Ch Vidyasagar Rao yesterday at the Raj Bhavan.

Rugunda indicated that there are over 27,000 people of Indian origin who are contributing to the economy of Uganda, and the community accounts for over 68 per cent of direct tax collection.

"Uganda and India share a strong history, due to our colonial backgrounds. We have over 27,000 people from the Indian community that are contributing to our economy. We would now like to expand business ties and attract investments from India," he added.

The other areas which Uganda is looking for cooperation with India are in oil exploration, energy, tourism, education and healthcare.

Uganda has appointed Madhusudan Agrawal, the co-founder and vice-chairman of Ajanta Pharma, as the Honorary Consul General in Mumbai. He too was present for the event.

Ajanta Pharma has been operating in Uganda for the past two decades, Agrawal said.

Last month vice-president Hamid Ansari had visited the African nation, which will pave way for more business opportunities for the Indian community, he said. PTI DSK RMT

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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein has singled out terrorism and aggressive, heavily prejudiced rhetoric by populist politicians, a trend that has seen a spike since the recent past.

By Arindam De: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein has warned that the very idea and system of ensuring basic rights for humans are under severe stress and threat, while presenting the annual report on the state of human rights globally, before the UNHCR.

He singled out terrorism and aggressive, heavily prejudiced rhetoric by populist politicians, a trend that has seen a spike since the recent past. The UN Human Rights chief recounted developments across more than 40 countries in his extensive report. During his address, he noted that only Uzbekistan, Gambia, Greece and Tunisia have demonstrated some improvements in human rights and otherwise the situation is very bleak, worldwide.

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Human rights chief Mr. Hussein decried the violence in South Sudan, where a famine is expanding its grip. He held the warring parties responsible for serial human rights abuse and violence. He expressed concerns about the domestic situation in Burundi. He deplored the fact that democracy is all but over in Burundi.

"Grave human rights violations and abuses by security forces and the Imbonerakure militia continue to be reported, including increasing allegations of enforced disappearances, torture and mass arbitrary arrests," Zeid added.

Zeid condemned the terrorist attacks against civilians in Turkey. But he expressed deep concerns about coercive government measures under the state of emergency, which often targets critics, not terrorists.

"The fact that tens of thousands of people have been dismissed, arrested, detained or prosecuted following the attempted coup-including numerous democratically elected representatives, judges and journalists-raises serious alarm about due process guarantees being met," said Zeid.

The UN High Commissioner also found fault with some of the world's super powers. He criticized China for detaining lawyers and activists, deplored Russia's curbs on political dissent, freedom of expression and religion. Zeid expressed serious concerns about President Donald Trump's virtual campaign against entire ethnic groups like Muslims and Mexicans. He wound up by sounding a warning that mass expulsions and deportations of immigrants could be construed as a breach of international laws.

Also read:

President Trump signs revised travel ban order, leaves out Iraq from list

South Sudan allows soldiers to rape women as part of their salary

WATCH THE VIDEO:

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BOBO-DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso  Burkina Faso's cotton companies and growers have settled a dispute with Monsanto Co. over what they claimed were revenue losses caused by the introduction of genetically modified cotton.

The agreement, which includes the dividing up of royalties withheld by Monsanto's Burkina Faso partners, brings to an end a collaboration that had at one time promised to offer the company a foothold in Africa.

Burkina Faso is Africa's top cotton producer but among the world's poorest countries. It began the nationwide introduction of cotton containing Monsanto's Bollgard II trait in 2008 to fight against pests. But cotton companies and the national farmers union blamed Monsanto for a decline in quality that lowered the cotton crop's value on the global market. They demanded $76.5 million in compensation from Monsanto and withheld nearly $24 million in royalties.

As part of the agreement reached with Monsanto, the company agreed to accept only 25 percent of royalties, Wilfried Yameogo, managing director of SOFITEX, Burkina Faso's main cotton company, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Monsanto would not confirm the settlement amount and said the agreement terms were confidential.

The Creve Coeur-based seed giant has previously acknowledged changes in cotton fiber length, but said a fiber quality is influenced by both environmental conditions and genetic background.

Burkina Faso did not renew its contract with Monsanto last year and this season returned to its conventional cotton strain.

Monsanto has since exited its cotton business in Burkina Faso, citing difficulties securing a "reasonable return" on its investment, spokeswoman Christi Dixon said.

Agriculture Minister Jacob Ouedraogo told Reuters this week that the country was expected to produce around 660,000 tons of cotton in the 2016-2017 season, roughly on a par with the previous harvest.

Yameogo said quality controls indicated that the reintroduction conventional cotton had eliminated the quality issues.

Additional reporting by Nadoun Coulibaly and Karl Plume.
Retail executives are returning to Washington in their latest bid to fight the border-adjusted tax proposal, aiming to turn more Republican lawmakers against House Speaker Paul Ryan's plan.

Four industry executives were scheduled to meet with Republicans in the House and Senate on Wednesday, including Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas and Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado. Business leaders from Ikea Group, Dollar General Corp., Petco Animal Supplies Inc. and Michaels Cos. will discuss the tax proposal, which they argue will raise prices for consumers.

"Comprehensive tax reform benefits retailers and consumers alike, but including a harmful border-adjustable tax is no way to achieve it," said Christin Fernandez, a spokeswoman for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents the companies.

The border-adjusted tax has pitted industry giants against one another, with retailers on one side and exporters on the other. The proposed overhaul would punish companies that rely on low-cost overseas suppliers to stock their shelves, part of a bid to foster more domestic manufacturing. The issue has also divided lawmakers, with Ryan and House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady struggling to gain support for the concept from other Republicans.

Wednesday's meeting is part of an almost-daily conversation between the retail industry and members of Congress and the administration, Fernandez said. A group of retail CEOs that included Target Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. met with President Donald Trump last month to discuss tax reform and specifically the border-adjustment tax.

Some Republican lawmakers, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah, have said they're considering alternatives to the tax proposal.

The Americans for Affordable Products Coalition, a group opposed to the tax, has grown to include 200 companies and trade groups.

The Ryan-backed proposal would put a levy on U.S. businesses' domestic sales and imported goods, while exempting exports from their taxable income. The tax would be assessed at a 20 percent rate and would replace the current 35 percent corporate income tax.
NEW YORK  The House Republican health insurance plan suggests coverage after the Affordable Care Act will be less affordable, insurers and industry experts said on Tuesday, raising questions about whether Americans will enroll and insurance companies will enter the market.

The draft legislation rolls back some key tenets of former President Barack Obama's signature health care law, eliminating the requirement that most Americans obtain medical insurance and creating a system of new tax credits to coax them to purchase private insurance on the open market. It would also curtail the expansion of Medicaid, the provider of government-run health insurance for the poor.

The bill has the support of President Donald Trump, who has vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, signed into law by President Obama in 2010. But some Republican lawmakers whose support is needed for the final legislation  and Democrats  said they wanted details on how it would affect U.S. consumers.

Under the draft legislation, Obamacares income-based and location-based tax credits are replaced by credits with fixed amounts up to a maximum income level.

Because the bill has just been proposed and aims mostly to repeal the existing law rather than introduce new policies, it is unclear exactly how future changes could make the plan affordable and draw insurers into the market.

But some initial reaction, particularly from hospitals, was critical. The American Hospital Association said in a letter to Congress that it could not support the draft legislation in its current form.

The BlueCross BlueShield Association, which represents BCBS insurers across the country that cover the vast majority of the about 10 million people enrolled in 2017 Obamacare plans, said the insurers were glad to see the extension of many Obamacare aspects into 2019. But it emphasized the need for the replacement to be affordable.

"It is important that the tax credit for 2020 creates a marketplace that enables people to get the coverage they need at a price they can afford," BCBSA Senior Vice President Alissa Fox said in statement.

The Association for Community Affiliated Plans, which represents health plans serving Medicaid for the poor and other public health programs, said it was concerned the structure would raise costs for people currently in the marketplace.

Because insurance costs, health care costs and incomes vary so dramatically around the country, the new tax credit would affect some people more than others.

"I think there's a reasonable concern that people in high-cost states who are lower income will have a hard time finding affordable care," said Paul Howard, director of health policy at the conservative Manhattan Institute.

But the draft legislation also sets up a $100 billion fund over 10 years that states could use to structure subsidies for their members and offset some of that, he noted. Insurers have also asked to be able to offer plans with fewer benefits that could be sold at lower prices, Howard said.

Since the draft removes the mandate requiring people to have insurance, the impact on enrollment from that measure is not clear.

Standard & Poor's estimated that the draft plan would reduce individual enrollment, now at around 10 million, by 2 to 4 million people.

Steve Brozak, managing partner at WBB Securities, said he believed that under the Republican package, "people will be forgoing insurance."

He also said that, as it is currently designed, insurers will have difficulty attracting people who do not have an immediate need for healthcare, like younger, healthy people who are less expensive to insure.

Still, Brozak expects that this draft is only a first step and likely to change. It is expected to be voted on this month in the House before moving to the U.S. Senate.

Shares fall

The draft plan, along with Republicans' proposed restructuring of the Medicaid program for the poor and the loud opposition from some Republican lawmakers, created uncertainty that drove down shares of hospitals and insurers.

Republicans will need the buy-in from BlueCross BlueShield insurers like Anthem Inc., particularly after UnitedHealth Group Inc., Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. exited most of the states where they sold individual insurance plans under Obamacare.

Shares of hospital operators sold off, with Community Health Systems down more than 8 percent and Tenet Healthcare off 7 percent.

Reaction in health insurer stocks was more subdued. Molina Healthcare fell 1.3 percent and Cigna dropped 1 percent, while Humana gained more than 2 percent and Anthem was little changed. Clayton-based Centene fell 0.6 percent to $70.56.

The American Medical Association, which represents doctors, declined to comment on the draft legislation.

Support for government-run health insurance has risen over the past five years, according to the Reuters/Ipsos national tracking poll.

Between February and March, 47 percent of Americans said the government should have at least a major role in providing health insurance. That was up from 39 percent who answered the same way when the poll first asked the question in January 2012.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll is conducted online in English in all 50 states. The latest poll ran from Feb. 25 to March 6 and included responses from more than 2,700 American adults. It has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 2 percentage points.

Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, Rodrigo Campos and Charles Mikolajczak.
Microsoft will be the anchor tenant for the newest expansion of the Cortex tech hub, the software giant said Wednesday.

The company will move its offices from the CityPlace office complex in Creve Coeur to the Central West End technology district when Cortexs newest office and lab building opens in the summer of 2018.

Microsoft will occupy about 30,000 square feet of the new $55 million, 180,000-square-foot office and lab complex being developed by Wexford Science and Technology on the parking lot next to the @4240 lab and office building.

A total of 150 Microsoft employees will work at the new building at 4220 Duncan Avenue, including about 60 people who are currently based in its Creve Coeur office.

The new St. Louis office will serve as a regional headquarters for states such as Missouri, Kansas and Tennessee, Ervin Flores, the general manager of Microsofts Mid-America District, said at an event attended by city and state officials to announce the move. The company will also include a new Microsoft Technology Center, where customers can work with the companys employees to design custom information technology systems. Microsoft, based in the Seattle area, has about 40 such centers around the world.

To put one in St. Louis is a significant development, Flores said.

He said he expected Microsoft employees to benefit from interactions with startups and researchers in Cortex. Mayor Francis Slay, on hand for the announcement at Cortexs @4240 building, said the districts tech firms would in turn be able to test new products at Microsofts Technology Center.

Gov. Eric Greitens, who also came for the announcement, commended the real sense of community in Cortex. Companies recognize Missouri is moving in a new direction, he said.

Microsofts investment in the district is a remarkable vote of confidence and validation for Cortex, said Hank Webber, Cortex board chair and a vice chancellor at Washington University.

This is about more than 150 jobs, he said.

Doug Woodruff, a local Wexford official, said about half of the new building had been spoken for by other tenants. He declined to identify any additional companies.

Also included in the latest Cortex development phase is a 150-room Aloft hotel planned by Boston-based CV Properties on Forest Park Avenue just north of the new lab building. But Cortex decided to put on hold plans for a 1,000-car parking garage and 220 apartments.

The $100 million development phase is being supported with $9.5 million in tax increment financing from St. Louis. Otis Williams, head of the citys economic development arm, said Wexford wass seeking New Market Tax Credits from the city for the new office building, but the amount is not finalized yet. St. Louis last year received a $75 million allocation of the federal tax credits. Theyre used to leverage private financing for projects.

The state of Missouri has not offered any incentives to the project. Over the last decade, Cortex has turned an old industrial corridor sandwiched between the citys two research universities into a thriving tech hub. The concentration of biotech companies and computer developers is building on itself, and officials say 800 workers will join the existing 4,100 employees in the district once the latest expansion is complete.
WASHINGTON  When the bosses of some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies headed to Washington in January to meet President Donald Trump, it had all the makings of a potentially hostile meeting.

Just weeks before, Trump had sent drug stock prices plummeting after accusing the companies of "getting away with murder" by charging too much for medicines.

But the Trump who greeted chief executives of Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Merck, Eli Lilly, Celgene and Amgen on Jan. 31 was a surprisingly genial host who even gave them a personal tour of the Oval Office, according to several participants in the breakfast.

There is no question that it was better than it could have been or we thought it could be," said one industry insider familiar with the meeting.

Trump did not repeat his public attacks on the industry. Instead, he focused on "outdated" regulations that drive costs up for drugmakers, according to participants interviewed by Reuters. The CEOs left with Trump's word that he would streamline regulations and reform the high U.S. corporate tax rate.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has held at least nine meetings with groups of business leaders, including automakers, airlines, retailers and health insurers. In early morning or late-night tweets and in speeches, Trump has lambasted many of these companies for cost overruns, or high prices, or foreign manufacturing, often knocking down their share prices.

But Reuters interviews with nearly a dozen executives and lobbyists who have taken part in these meetings or have been briefed on them reveal a Trump who is very different from his uncompromising and demanding @realDonaldTrump Twitter handle.

When he meets the nation's top chief executives in person, he is a mix of charm and cajoling. This Trump is flexible and inquisitive, a schmoozer who remembers birthdays and often lavishes praise on their companies, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could freely discuss private meetings.

This private side of Trump sheds light on why many CEOs have expressed confidence that the Republican president is good for business, despite his share-denting public attacks. As recently as Tuesday, Trump tweeted he was working on a system to increase competition in the health industry and lower drug pricing, sending pharma shares lower.

In the White House meetings, Trump focuses much of his talk on cutting regulations, the sources said, underscoring one of his administration's key priorities  getting rid of rules imposed by his predecessor Barack Obama. He typically asks which regulations are holding businesses back from adding new jobs and promises to resolve the issues, executives say.

"He said one thing for the cameras and the door shuts and then it's like kumbaya," said one person who was briefed on a meeting between Trump and a group of CEOs.

"He likes to be seen as engaging and buddy buddy with other big important business leaders," said this person.

A former businessman, Trump runs his closed-door meetings with CEOs as if they were a corporate board meeting, attendees said. In contrast to his doctrinaire tweets, he likes to seek input from everyone at the table, and compared to former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, conversations are less scripted.

Trumps approach to these meetings is one of listening and not lecturing, said a senior White House official who has participated in industry meetings. Ive seen a president who is listening and asking questions to get to how he can create a thriving economy, the official said.

An Amgen spokeswoman said Trump made it clear that he wanted to work with the company on U.S. job creation and biotech innovation. Representatives of the other drugmakers declined to comment.

Showing off the drapes

Because so little is known about how Trump interacts privately with CEOs, trade groups and company officials have begun to swap tips on how to approach their meetings with him.

There is this undercurrent of information sharing about what to expect, what to do, said one trade group official who prepared CEOs for a recent meeting with Trump. He said he has gotten a flurry of calls from other industries next in line for a White House visit.

At the end of most meetings, Trump leads CEOs into the Oval Office, showing off paintings, sculptures and the furniture, as well as the rug and curtains he has picked out. He also points out a bust of Martin Luther King Jr., which he inherited from Obama. Then he takes a group photo behind the desk.

He becomes tour guide and brings them over to the Oval Office, the same official said. Hes very proud of the Oval Office.

The White House official said Trump recognized the awe of the Oval Office.

Chair for GM, birthday wish for Ford

Chief executives of Detroit's top three automakers  General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV  were pleasantly surprised when they went to the White House for a breakfast with Trump on Jan. 24.

Since his election, Trump has frequently attacked the car companies for building in Mexico and warned U.S. firms would no longer be able to move U.S. jobs abroad "without consequences."

When Trump entered the Roosevelt Room, he greeted GM CEO Mary Barra with a playful tap on the shoulder as he gently prodded her to add jobs in the United States and later pulled out her chair before the meeting started, a review of the video transcripts of the first part of the meeting shows.

He greeted Ford CEO Mark Fields with a "Happy Birthday. It's his birthday ladies and gentlemen." Trump said it was a "great honor" to see Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Trump did not specifically ask them to build plants in the United States  as he had tweeted he would before the meeting  but instead listened to their complaints about regulations and indicated a willingness to help them, people briefed on the meeting said.

Ford declined to comment and referred to Fields' comments to dealers in January that Trump had asked for a list of regulations that automakers wanted cut or kept.

GM CEO Mary Barra said in a speech last week that Trump really listened to the automakers, while Marchionne told reporters at the Geneva auto show on Tuesday that Trump was quite willing to make our lives easier in terms of compliance and taxes in order to encourage U.S. job creation.

Trump has been complimentary of his high-profile guests  and at times playful.

After Denise Morrison, chief executive of Campbell Soup, introduced himself in one of those meetings, Trump quickly responded: "Good soup."

At another, after Target Corp. CEO Brian Cornell spoke, Trump responded by pronouncing the name of the company as Tar-Jay, a common joke to make the retailer sound more fancy.

Additional reporting by Reuters' Emily Stephenson in Washington and Emily Flitter in New York.
A former St. Louisan will take charge of the University of California Davis this fall.

Gary S. May, now dean of the engineering school at the Georgia Institute of Technology, will become chancellor at UC-Davis for the 2017-18 year.

"I was born and raised in St. Louis, graduated from Lutheran North," May said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "And I worked during the summer at the old McDonnell-Douglas."

After earning a bachelor's degree at Georgia Tech, he got master's and doctorate degrees from the University of California Berkeley.

May said a number of relatives remain in STL, including his sister, Angela May, and his mother, Gloria May, "who taught in St. Louis Public Schools for more than 40 years."
Although some consumers say they dislike chardonnay, their objection is really aimed at a type of wine thats big, buttery and tastes strongly of oak. But this style is the choice of the winemaker. Its not the flavor of the chardonnay grape. Indeed, the characteristics of chardonnay wines can vary greatly depending on where these versatile grapes are grown and each winemakers intent. Below are examples of two delicious and classy California chardonnays that are very different in style.

Thomas George Estates 2015 Chardonnay, Sons & Daughters Ranch, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County

Bought  Costco, 4200 Rusty Road, in February for $14.99

Description  This unoaked, elegant chardonnay comes from family-owned Thomas George Estates, which specializes in small-lot wines that express the characteristics of the grape varietals. Fermented in stainless steel and large egg-shaped concrete vessels, this chardonnay is crisp and clean. It combines flavors of juicy green apples, stone fruit and refreshing citrus. A light- to medium-bodied white, it can be enjoyed as an aperitif wine or with shellfish and lighter entrees.

Charles Krug 2015 Chardonnay, Carneros, Napa Valley

Bought  Costco, 4200 Rusty Road, in February for $14.79

Description  This rich, medium- to full-bodied chardonnay is produced by Charles Krug, Napa Valleys oldest winery, established in 1861. Half of the wine was fermented in barrels, resulting in a mild oak influence. A soft, round wine, it combines lush tropical, stone fruit and citrus flavors along with notes of vanilla and butterscotch. Because this is a big, flavorful white, its best sipped with a meal rather than by itself. It would go well with roasted chicken and seafood prepared with cream sauce.
Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, recorded 63 per cent voting till 5 pm. The BJP is confident of sweeping all the eight Assembly seats in Varanasi, however, ground reports suggest the party is locked in a stiff fight on at least three seats.

Voters queuing up outside a polling booth in Mirzapur.

By India Today Web Desk: Over 50 per cent voting was recorded in the seventh and final phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh. Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, recorded 63 per cent voting. Voting on 40 seats across seven districts -- Ghazipur, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Bhadoi and Sonebhadra took place amid heightened security following the nearly 11-hour-long encounter in Lucknow in which a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed.

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While BJP hopes to sweep eastern Uttar Pradesh to obtain the magic figure of 202 in the 403-seat Assembly, other parties too resorted to aggressive electioneering ahead of the decisive final phase.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held back-to-back roadshows in Varanasi, so did Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav. BSP supremo Mayawati too spearheaded her party's campaign across the state holding nearly 200 rallies.

Here are the latest updates:

63 per cent voting recorded in Varanasi till 5pm.

Around 56 per cent turnout reported till 4pm.

Overall voter turnout till 1 pm in Uttar Pradesh has been recorded at 37.68 per cent.

By 1 pm, 37.37 per cent turnout registered in Bhadohi, 36.5 per cent in Chandauli, 35.57 per cent in Ghazipur, 37.43 per cent in Jaunpur, 38.04 per cent in Mirzapur, 37.8 per cent in Varanasi and 42.5 per cent in Sonbhadra.

Mirzapur: Farmers boycott voting at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly segment, alleging lack of irrigation facilities and development.

RSS's Indresh Kumar casts his vote at polling booth number 49 of Varanasi Cantt. pic.twitter.com/i8Aqu5FzIN ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

Over 26 per cent voting recorded till noon in the seventh and last phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh.

24 per cent voting in Sonbhadra, 23.84 per cent in Bhadohi till 11 am.

Mirzapur: Farmers boycott voting at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly segment alleging lack of irrigation facilities & development pic.twitter.com/jQvik9PX5t ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

A voter turnout of 22.84 per cent has been recorded till 11 am in 7th phase of polling.

#UttarPradeshpolls2017 Special arrangements for women at polling booth no 394 in Aurai (Bhadohi) #internationalwomensday pic.twitter.com/B6iASeivKI ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote at booth number 76 of Varanasi North. pic.twitter.com/KSQtloFFfn ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

An overall turnout of 10.43 per cent has been recorded till 9 am in phase 7 polling in Uttar Pradesh.

By 9 am, 10.87 per cent turnout recorded in Jaunpur, 15 per cent in Ghazipur, 11 per cent in Sonbhadra, 11.97 per cent in Varanasi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Somnath temple in Gujarat on last day of polling. He is accompanied by BJP president Amit Shah and veteran party leader Keshubhai Patel. PM Narendra Modi offers prayers at Somnath Temple in Gujarat pic.twitter.com/MVkZmFTtde ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

EVM glitch reported at booth number 233 in Varanasi south.

One EVM machine in Ajmat Garh school in Varanasi Cantt is not working.

BJP will get more seats, we will get more than a simple majority. I am not in the chief ministerial race. BJP has learnt from the mistakes made in Bihar, says party leader Manoj Sinha.

Voting begins at booth numbers 269 and 260 in Chandauli (Sakaldiha Assembly constituency) after one hour, technical glitch rectified.

People queue up at polling booth no. 68 in Varanasi North; BJP's Ravindra Jaiswal, BSP's Sujit Kumar Maurya contesting from the seat.

Voting stops at booth no. 260 in UP's Mirzapur due to an EVM glitch.

People cast their vote at polling booth 127 in Mohammadabad, Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sibakatullah contesting from the seat as BSP candidate pic.twitter.com/nZsQIXeGhf ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

Voters queue up at polling booths 176,177,178 in Mirzapur to cast their vote in the last phase of Uttar Pradesh elections.

As results are about to be declared another in 3 to 4 days, its pointless prediction now. Our karyakartas have worked very hard, says BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on last phase of polling.

Security has been tightened after the Lucknow siege in which suspected ISIS terrorist Saiful was killed.

Final phase polling begins for assembly elections in UP covering 40 constituencies.

WATCH VIDEO: UP elections: 40 seats across 7 districts go to polls in crucial last phase

--- ENDS ---
JaKeem Jones, 6, asks his grandmother if he can go see his mother whenever they pass the Washington University School of Medicine in the Central West End.

For the youngster, its easier to comprehend that she is there, or at any hospital they pass, working as a nurse than it is for him to understand that she has died.

JaKeems mother, Whitney Brown, 24, and a friend, Devon Fletcher, 28, were fatally shot in front of him in the city in August 2015. Police said at the time that someone in a pickup fired shots at a group of people, and Fletcher and Brown were hit.

Ever since, Erica Jones has been raising her grandson and hoping that sharing her story will somehow help stop the violence.

On Tuesday, Jones of Florissant, spoke with reporters during Washington Universitys annual conference, Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis.

The issue of gun deaths became personal for Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton when Chelsea Harris, 16, a St. Louis high school student his wife mentored for 10 years, was shot to death in 2014.

This years event focused on keeping children safe from firearms and the societal and economic impact on children of firearm deaths and injuries.

Dr. Martin Keller, a trauma surgeon at St. Louis Childrens Hospital, was among the speakers during the four-hour event.

During his 20-year medical career  eight years of which were spent at Cardinal Glennon Childrens Medical Center and 10 at St. Louis Childrens Hospital  Keller has operated on countless victims of gun violence.

Some would like to think that its just bad kids involved in bad circumstances, but a third of all of these victims are just kids being kids, finding a gun and playing with it, Keller said. This goes beyond just sewing up holes, there are a lot of diseases we take care of on the prevention side, and we need to do a better job at preventing gun violence.

Keller admits it can be frustrating for him at times to discuss a childs injuries with the parents or guardians whose gun caused the injuries he has to treat, so he has turned that frustration into research on prevention.

Keller said one way he believes doctors can help would be to ask, Is there a gun in your home? during annual checkups. Then, doctors can connect gun owners with resources on gun safety just like they connect families to resources to prevent diseases or other injuries based on the answers they give during checkups.

If I ask that question now, I could lose my license, Keller said.

He also believes safety training and technology could help curtail the amount of firearm deaths and injuries coming into his operating room.

From 2002-2015, St. Louis Childrens Hospital cared for 916 children injured or killed with firearms; 35 percent were younger than 15.

There ought to be a way to make guns safer without infringing on anyones rights, he said.

Prevention of gun-related injuries also has an economic impact, which Ted Miller of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, covered in his presentation.

He said firearm incidents cost society 1.75 times what deaths and injuries from alcohol-impaired driving cost. He added that drunk-driving incidents have decreased through education, enforcement, laws and other factors.

Childrens Hospital spent $76 million treating gunshot wounds during 2014 and 2015.

Jones remains haunted by her daughters death. At the time, Brown had just moved into a new apartment in Ferguson and bought a new car. She was going to nursing school while working at Walmart and Federal Express.

I still have her stethoscope, Jones said.

The night of Browns murder, Jones said her daughter had gone just after midnight to a friends home in the Walnut Park West neighborhood  a place she rarely ventured  to get money he offered her to buy school supplies for her son.

JaKeem was inside a car when the shots rang out.

He saw everything, Jones said, adding that she and her grandson receive therapy.

Jones said she hopes to one day go out into the streets and ask the typically young men who carry guns what she and other mothers grieving for their children can do to persuade them to disarm.

Right now, she said shes focused on making sure her grandson never becomes one of them. Hes already showing signs of loving math and science, like his mother did. Thats why Jones hopes someday he might visit a hospital. And wear his mothers stethoscope.

His mothers murder remains unsolved.

Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
ST. LOUIS  A former resident at St. Louis University Hospital wrote fraudulent prescriptions to obtain pain pills and other drugs for himself and others, a federal indictment claims.

That former resident, Kyle Betts, was indicted last week on three felony charges of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery.

Betts' lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, said Wednesday that Betts had just been informed about the indictment. Rosenblum said that Betts would be returning to St. Louis to appear in court, and would plead not guilty to the charges.

The indictment says that Betts, who lived in Lincoln County at the time, wrote and signed over seventy prescriptions for controlled substances using a local hospital's Drug Enforcement Administration registration numbers from July 2015 to January 2016.

It says Betts used the names of six relatives and romantic partners on the prescriptions, to avoid detection, but picked up the pills himself. In all, Betts' fraud yielded 1,366 dosage units, the indictment says.

A St. Louis University spokeswoman declined to comment.

According to April 2014 newsletter from the SLU medical school's Department of Neurology & Psychiatry, Betts completed medical school at the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Iowa Newsletter in May of 2014.

A LinkedIn profile says that he graduated from Truman State university in 2010 and is now an assistant professor at the Western University of Health Sciences in Lebanon, Oregon. A university spokesman said he was hired Feb. 1.
ST. LOUIS  A federal judge had not yet decided Wednesday whether to jail a St. Louis man accused of making at least eight bomb threats to Jewish organizations until his possible indictment and trial.

Juan M. Thompson, 31, was arrested last week after being accused of making the copycat threats as part of an effort to harass an ex-girlfriend.

Charging documents claim that in January and February, he emailed Jewish community centers, schools, a museum and other organizations, using either his ex-girlfriends name or his own. He would later publicly claim on social media that she was trying to falsely implicate him, the complaint says.

In Thompsons detention hearing Wednesday, his assistant federal public defender suggested house arrest and GPS monitoring for Thompson, saying that he would stay with his mother and stepfather and would also be monitored by them.

Lawyer Lucille Liggett said that the FBI had seized all the cellphones, computers and other electronics in the house and that Thompson would not flee and would not be a danger to the community. He has lost a job with a local housing foundation, she said, but was a highly employable Vassar College graduate who would look for another.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Marcus responded that Thompsons months-long campaign of harassment of his ex was very hateful and was designed to destroy her life. Thompson communicated with the womans relatives, friends and colleagues, and emailed pictures of her face with a target on it to the womans mother, he said.

Marcus said he doubted that Thompson could be prevented from getting back online and suggested Thompson was unstable.

Marcus cited the others that he said were victimized by the bomb threats, using as an example the children and seniors who had to evacuate the Jewish community centers that were targeted.

Earlier, he cited accusations that Thompson harassed Riverfront Times reporter Doyle Murphy, who documented Thompsons ethical breaches in his former reporting job.

Jewish community centers and schools received more than 100 bomb threats in January and February, the JCC Association of North America said. The association sent a letter on Wednesday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying that it was frustrated with the pace of the investigation and asked for all available resources to be devoted to it.

Thompson has not been accused of being responsible for the bulk of the threats.

Two other hearings  a preliminary hearing and a removal hearing  were postponed until March 15 to allow federal prosecutors in New York, where the criminal complaint was originally filed, to submit the case to a grand jury.
ST. LOUIS  The Soulard neighborhood will have 16 new security cameras by autumn.

Police and Soulard community leaders will demonstrate one of the cameras and provide more details about the program at 2 p.m. Thursday at police headquarters at 1915 Olive Street.

The Mardi Gras Foundation and other community or business groups raised nearly $200,000 to buy and install the cameras, police say. Officials expect all sixteen cameras will be online by autumn. Some of them will be able to recognize license plates.

The project was kicked off by a $23,000 Mardi Gras Foundation Community Improvement Grant, using proceeds from the Mayor's Ball in February.

Ward 7 Alderman Jack Coatar's office contributed an additional $110,000 for the cameras.

The Mardi Gras Foundation is a non-profit that raises money for community improvement projects in Soulard and downtown St. Louis. The group has awarded more than $500,000 in community improvement grants in the last 15 years.

The Soulard Restoration Group, Soulard Business Association and Soulard Special Business District also raised $90,000 for six security cameras in Soulard in 2016.
ROCK HILL  The Rock Hill Police Department on Tuesday night honored a 47-year-old police officer who is retiring after suffering serious injuries when he was hit by a car during a traffic stop last year.

The officer, Steven Sperber, was badly hurt in February 2016 when a motorist allegedly accelerated just as Sperber was about to question him.

The car suddenly took off, hit Steve head on, Police Chief Don Wickenhauser said. He went on up on the hood, went on the roof, over the top and landed about 43 feet from the initial point of impact.

A suspect was later charged with first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and armed criminal action.

The Rock Hill Police Department previously awarded Sperber the Chiefs Purple Heart, an honor rarely given.

Although Sperber has been recuperating for more than a year, unfortunately, Steve cannot come back to work, Wickenhauser said. Were hoping that that might change in the future.

He noted that Sperbers situation was very traumatic and tough and the officer has been doing his best to recover. But sometimes things dont work out as you wish, Wickenhauser said.

He said Sperber is a highly decorated officer who served in the Marines and spent time in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As an officer in the Maplewood Police Department, Sperber was awarded two medals of valor for heroic action in gun battles with suspects, Wickenhauser said. One of those battles was in 2008 with a Maplewood resident who ambushed and killed a young fireman responding to a call for a fire the suspect had set. The fireman, Ryan Hummert, was 22 years old and the son of a former Maplewood mayor. He had been on the job 10 months when he was killed.

Sperber had been on light duty over the last year, Wickenhauser said.

The chief presented him with a retirement badge and ID and a plaque signed by the other members of the department.

Sperber thanked Wickenhauser and called his decade with the Rock Hill Police Department amazing.
ST. LOUIS  City voters will decide April 4 whether to amend the citys charter to dissolve the recorder of deeds office to pay for body cameras for St. Louis police. Sharon Quigley Carpenter, the citys longtime recorder, filed a motion March 1 asking a judge to prevent the citys election board from putting the proposed amendment on the April 4 ballot. In September, the board certified more than 29,000 signatures  about 8,000 more than required  to get the proposed amendment on the ballot.

On Wednesday, Carpenters attorney, Daniel Emerson, acknowledged before St. Louis Circuit Judge Robert Dierker that Carpenters motion was premature, based on a recent Missouri Supreme Court ruling prohibiting pre-election challenges to ballot proposals. Emerson said Carpenter wasnt challenging the validity of petition signatures; rather, she was arguing that state law prohibits her office from being dissolved. If voters reject the initiative, Carpenters challenge becomes moot.

The proposal was hatched last year by state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, a Democrat, and activist Rex Sinquefield, a Republican. They have said they think merging Carpenters office with the assessors office would free up $1 million.
ST. LOUIS  Alderman Lyda Krewson held off city Treasurer Tishaura Jones and won a crowded Democratic mayoral primary fight Tuesday night, making her the front-runner to become the city's 46th mayor in next month's general election.

Republican Andrew Jones, a utility executive, won his partys primary, bringing in 62 percent of the vote.

Krewson, the citys 28th Ward alderman, watched as an early lead evaporated, with Jones gaining momentum. In the end, Krewson finished with 32 percent of the vote, according to complete but unofficial returns. Jones garnered 30 percent of the vote; only 888 votes separated the two. Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed and Alderman Antonio French were next with about 18 percent and 16 percent respectively, with three other Democratic candidates trailing.

A victory next month would make Krewson the first woman in the city's history to hold the office. Krewson, 64, is expected to easily beat a Green Party candidate, a Libertarian, an Independent and Jones, the Republican, in the April 4 general election in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.

The closeness of Tuesday's Democratic primary underscored the prevailing political math, which held that the four leading black candidates would split the vote and give Krewson a path to victory.

Krewsons margin wasnt nearly as large as some had predicted, but it was enough.

When you have seven candidates in the race, the vote is going to be split, Krewson said. Getting 32 percent was enough. I feel good.

Voter turnout Tuesday was just over 28 percent of registered voters, compared with 22 percent in the primary four years ago, when Slay beat Reed for the Democratic nomination.

Krewson's victory came against an unusually crowded field for an office few expected would be open this time last year.

Mayor Francis Slay surprised much of the city's political class in spring 2016 when he announced that he would not seek a fifth term.

Krewson was the first candidate to jump into the race following Slay's announcement. She built her campaign on a large-scale outreach effort as she crisscrossed much of the city making appearances through the fall, winter and spring. She also raised the most money, bringing in $1.25 million, more than double her nearest competitor.

Krewson talked up public safety as her top priority. An accountant by trade, Krewson said she would find money in the city's budget to hire 200 police officers and give existing officers a pay raise  costs she estimated would come in at $25 million annually. Krewson also sold herself as the candidate best positioned to usher in new economic development opportunities and to modernize the city's bureaucratic layers of government.

She claimed she was unafraid to take on big fights. In 2003, she pointed out, she took out a $75,000 home equity loan to help an unsuccessful fight against the state's concealed carry law. In 2011, she took the lead in the city's successful effort to pass a public smoking ban.

Last year, Krewson introduced a bill that would make it illegal to import, sell or possess an assault weapon inside the city. She backed off that bill, but is still pushing another measure that would require all guns left in unattended vehicles be stored in lock boxes permanently attached to the vehicle.

Krewson's victory comes in a race that wasn't particularly negative until the last few weeks when candidates began taking shots at each other in their ads and campaign fliers. Krewson declined to do so.

She said running a positive campaign was her strategy all along.

We hoped that when the race was over, we could join forces with the other candidates, she said.

Her opponents, however, criticized her for missing dozens of Board of Aldermen votes over the past year; for failing to sufficiently criticize the police union's controversial business agent Jeff Roorda; and for being a nice lady but out of touch with parts of the city.

Krewson was also derided for being too willing to hand out tax breaks to wealthy developers, specifically to those who wanted to develop the city's central corridor.

She has admitted that the city portion of the Delmar Loop and the Central West End have benefited greatly in her nearly 20 years representing the city's 28th Ward. It's something she's proud of.

As mayor, Krewson has said she would push for increased development in the city's most blighted neighborhoods.

After the results were in, Jones thanked her supporters, particularly women, at her watch party in The Grove.

"I don't want you to think this is the end," she said. "We turned this electorate on its head, and I want us to stay united and stay in contact, because we are the force that's going to keep the next administration accountable."

Jones says she plans to meet with Krewson to discuss policies that she and progressive supporters championed.

"There were a lot of good ideas that were put forth in this race. People wanted progress. I'd like to see that she's at least open to some of the platform ideas espoused by myself and other candidates," Jones said.

She said she believes the presence of other African-American candidates in the race hurt her chances at the mayoral seat. "It hurt all of us," Jones said. "We had several talks about coming together."

She added: "I'm going to be honest: The men decided to stay in this race because of their ego. And where are we now? We still have the status quo candidate that's going to be in that office for the next four years."

Jones, the Republican primary winner, stood out in the three-person GOP field in that he was the only candidate who actually ran a campaign. Opponent Jim Osher, a local businessman did not attend the roughly two dozen mayoral forums held over the past several months and Andy Karandzieff, co-owner of Crown Candy Kitchen said he only entered the race to drum up business for his restaurant.

Jones has branded himself as a free-market conservative, a constitutionalist and a mayor who will be tough on crime.

Ashley Lisenby and Kevin McDermott of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Voting was largely peaceful in both the states, however, security arrangements were beefed in wake of the Lucknow terror standoff and recent blasts in Manipur.

By India Today Web Desk: Polling for Uttar Pradesh and Manipur Assemblies ended today. While Uttar Pradesh recorded a 60 per cent voter turnout in the final phase, Manipur saw 83 per cent turnout.

Voting was largely peaceful in both the states, however, security arrangements were beefed in wake of the Lucknow terror standoff and recent blasts in Manipur.

Over 1.41 voters exercised their franchise in the seventh phase in Uttar Pradesh, while Manipur saw participation of about 8 lakh voters.

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UTTAR PRADESH POLLS

The average turnout in seven phases of polling that began on February 11 has been around 60-61 per cent compared to 59.48 per cent in 2012.

The poll percentage in the first phase was 64.22, in the second 65.16, third phase 61.16, fourth phase 60.37, fifth phase 57.37 and sixth phase 57.03.

Today's exercise passed off by and large peacefully and no untoward incident was reported from the three constituencies in the Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli. Poll percentage in these areas was Chakia 59, Duddhi 62 and Robertsganj 58.

In Jaunpur, BJP candidate from Jafarabad seat Harendra Pratap Singh and four others were arrested for allegedly taking voters to polling booths in two vehicles.

MANIPUR POLLS

Colourfully decked-up men and women came out in huge numbers to mark their democratic choice, as over 83 per cent votes were cast amidst tight security in the second and final phase of the Manipur Assembly polls on Wednesday.

The voter turnout was 86.5 in the first phase covering 38 constituencies on March 4. Polling was generally peaceful notwithstanding a few stray incidents in the 22 constituencies spread over six districts - Thoubal, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong, Kamjomg and Senapati, officials said.

All eyes are on Thoubal, where Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh is seeking re-election as a Congress candidate in a five-cornered contest that also features human rights activist and People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRAJA) nominee Irom Sharmila and Bharatiya Janata Party's Leitanthem Basanta Singh.

The counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur will be taken up on March 11, along with three other states Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Goa where Assembly polls were held.

Also read:

UP Assembly election phase 7: Over 50 per cent voting recorded, 63 per cent in Varanasi

Election Commission extends deadline for Uttar Pradesh exit polls

Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2017: High-decibel Phase 7 campaign ends; all eyes on March 8, 11 now

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WASHINGTON  The 2017 Defense Appropriations bill passed Wednesday by the House of Representatives includes approval of 14 new F/A-18 Super Hornet jets built by Boeing workers in St. Louis.

St. Louis-area members of Congress praised the action, but it has a long way to go to become reality. The Senate has yet to act on a 2017 defense appropriations bill.

The Navy said recently that about two-thirds of its current Super Hornets were in need of repair and not flyable, and it has put 14 new jets on its unfunded priorities list.

Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, called the additional jets critical to our national security while also protecting vital jobs in St. Louis and across Missouri.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, pointed out that the bill also increases military pay by 2.1 percent.
ST. LOUIS  A St. Louis election battle that pitted an incumbent alderman against the woman she succeeded highlighted 11 contested Board of Aldermen races in Tuesdays primary balloting.

Half of the citys 28 aldermanic seats were up for election, plus one special election.

In a citywide race, final but unofficial returns showed Comptroller Darlene Green easily outpolled her Democratic challenger, Alexandra Johnson, with 79 percent of the vote. Green will face Republican Jerome Bauer on April 4.

In Ward 15 near Tower Grove Park, outspoken activist Alderman Megan Ellyia Green easily defeated Jennifer Florida, who was the alderman from 2001 to 2014. Megan Green got two-thirds of the wards votes.

Green won a special election in 2014 to replace Florida on the board, and then a two-year term in 2015. She was active in post-Ferguson protests and had a well-publicized tilt with a fellow alderman over the Rams stadium issue.

In Ward 5 in north St. Louis, past disputes and legal battles over questionable absentee voting spurred a six-way race for alderman, but none of the five challengers could defeat the wards powerful Hubbard family.

Alderman Tammika Hubbard, daughter of the Democratic committeewoman and former committeeman, garnered 43.2 percent of the vote. The closest of the five hopefuls was Megan Betts, with 24.5 percent.

One incumbent alderman, Ken Ortmann, was unseated when challenger Dan Guenther picked up 64 percent of the vote.

Megan Green and Guenther both were backed by Mobilize Missouri, a group of young progressives, many of whom supported Bernie Sanders for president.

Other aldermanic results included:

Ward 1  Sharon Tyus, 60, held off a strong challenge from Marissa Brown, 44 percent to 40 percent. Azim Aziz got 15 percent.

Ward 3  Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr., stepping down after 36 years, will be succeeded by a son, Brandon Bosley, half brother to Freeman Bosley Jr., the citys first black mayor. Brandon Bosley garnered 29 percent of the vote, compared to 25.2 percent for Gloria Muhammad and 24.3 percent for ward committeeman Anthony Bell. Also running were Josephine Young, former 19th Ward Alderman Velma Bailey and John C. Price.

Ward 11  Longtime city statesman Tom Villa, 71, decided not to run again as alderman for the Carondelet area. He endorsed Sarah Wood Martin, and she easily won the seat with 65.5 percent of the vote. Martin is the wife of state Sen. Jake Hummel. Also running were Dee Brown and Eddie Tucker.

Martin will face Hannah Donelle Lachance of the Green Party in April.

Ward 16  Tom Oldenburg, 35, a community development executive for US Bank, is the new alderman in the ward near St. Louis Hills. He defeated former state Rep. Michelle Kratky, 56 percent to 44 percent. Oldenburg succeeds Donna Baringer, who won Kratkys old seat in the Missouri House of Representatives in November.

Oldenburg will face Republican Abigail Niebling.

Ward 17  Alderman Joe Roddy, the boards most senior member and chairman of the powerful Housing Committee, easily won an eighth term. He picked up 58 percent of the vote to beat Joe Diekemper, 42, a nurse at Cardinal Glennon Childrens Medical Center.

Ward 19  Veteran politician and incumbent Alderman Marlene Davis easily held off challenger Lindsay Pattan. Davis, a former St. Louis School Board president and the alderman since 2007, scooped up 70 percent of the votes.

Ward 21  With Antonio French running for mayor, his aldermanic seat was won by John Collins-Muhammad, with 44.7 percent of the vote. Also running were ward committeewoman Laura Keys and Marlene Buckley.

Ward 27  For the first time, a member of the Carter family will not hold a position of power in the ward. Keena Carter, daughter of the late state Sen. Paula Carter and relative of two former aldermen, lost to Pam Boyd, 48 percent to 38 percent. Also running was Ciera L. Simril.

Incumbent aldermen seeking party nomination without opposition were Democrats John Coatar, 7th Ward; Beth Murphy, 13th Ward; Joe Vaccaro, 23rd Ward; and Shane Cohn, 25th Ward. Green candidates Quinn Parks, 7th Ward, and Stephanie Dinges 13th Ward, are on the April ballot.

In the lone proposition on the ballot, 60 percent of city voters approved a measure that will crack down on the short-term lending industry, including payday lenders, check-cashing stores and car title lenders. The proposition will require lenders to pay a $5,000 annual fee to operate in St. Louis.
WASHINGTON  As Congress confronts bottom-line priorities, the St. Louis region is a good example of how the spending choices it will make this year have competing, long-term effects.

While members of the congressional delegation have lauded President Donald Trumps push to increase defense spending by $54 billion as good for weapons programs like the St. Louis-built Navy EA/18 Super Hornet jet, others caution that a defense boost should not come at the expense of increased funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health. That is also an important regional factor because of major medical research institutions in St. Louis and its surrounding suburbs.

Researchers told a Senate hearing Wednesday that federal research spending is helping them make leapfrogging gains in everything from cancer research to development of a more effective flu vaccine.

I dont see how (National Institutes of Health) funding would not be affected" if Trump's spending priorities win out and Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act, which had research funding attached, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees NIH funding.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., chairs that subcommittee, and he said after the hearing that he believes Trump does not have the votes necessary to stave off a filibuster in the Senate if his domestic cuts go too deeply.

I just dont see 60 senators voting to do that and so I think the president is going to have to work with us to find some other way to raise defense spending without cutting vital programs, Blunt said.

It doesnt mean we cant prioritize, Blunt said.

Congress, led by Blunt and Murray and others, has recently done that in medical research. In 2015 it boosted National Institutes of Health research funds by $2 billion, the first raise in a dozen years, and could raise it by another $2 billion this year if it passes spending bills left undone with a continuing resolution last fall. It was paid for by eliminating almost three dozen other government programs.

The increase in medical research spending has been held out as one of the few areas where Democrats and Republicans got together on critical priorities in the final years of the Obama administration.

Total spending for the medical research  at about $34 billion annually at NIH before the recent increases  could be boosted by another $4.4 billion a year if Blunt and Murray prevail, and through the additional $4.8 billion in spending over 10 years as prescribed by the 21st Century Cures Act signed into law late last year.

Dr. Timothy Eberlein, director of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, was one of four researchers testifying before Blunts committee about recent gains in medical research.

Washington University provided about 25 percent of the final code of the breakthrough Human Genome Project, Eberlein said. That scientific mapping of human genes has put medicine on the cusp of fundamentally changing how we think about treating cancer by using targeted therapies that avoid unnecessary expensive treatments, he said.

Eberlein said that by combining genomic mutational analysis of an individuals cancer, we are now doing clinical trials that treat many solid tumors such as breast, brain, melanoma, lung and head cancers using a vaccine tailored to eradicate the patients scientific tumor with minimal side effects and morbidity.

He said that as the research progresses, it may be possible to treat four out of five cancer patients with surgery and radiation therapy alone, foregoing expensive and often debilitating chemotherapy. That would greatly reduce health care costs, he said.

Testifying the first time before Congress, Eberlein said that we need sustained, stable federal support to get there.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., another member of the subcommittee, said he was worried that the pressure to cut domestic spending to fund Trumps defense boost could derail bipartisan accord that increased federal funding for medical research leads to substantial cuts in health-care costs down the road.

"If it comes at the expense of some funding like medical research, then we are not really serving the people we represent, Durbin said.

Blunt cited a study that predicted that the United States could eventually spend twice what it now spends on defense just to take care of Alzheimers patients.

Dr. Thomas Grabowski, Jr., director of the Integrated Brain Imaging Center at the University of Washington, said that if researchers can find ways to slow the onset and progression of Alzheimers by five years through early intervention and precision medicine" similar to what has been used to fight cancer, we would cut Alzheimers dementia in half, and with it, cut by half the cost of treating those with the disease.
Rubbishing the statement of opposition parties that PM Narendra Modi had to campaign extensively because the party is nervous in Varanasi, Saurav said the reason why PM did it is because Kashi is the political capital of Poorvanchal.

By Brijesh Pandey: In news for facing protest against his candidature from Varanasi local unit, BJP candidate Saurav Srivastav sounded confident of his victory when he came to cast his vote at Ajmat Garh primary school. Calling protest against him as handiwork of opposition, he said the cadre of BJP is very patient, disciplined and will never indulge in this kind of activity.

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"The opposition parties are trying to create propaganda that my candidature is being opposed. There is nothing like this," he said adding that in BJP the candidate doesn't fight but the symbol fights election and every worker is united to ensure victory of BJP.

Rebutting allegation of dynasty politics as his mother is a four-time MLA from Cantt only, Saurav said, "ever since I was a kid I have been working for the party relentlessly. If the party has given me this opportunity then they have given it to me based on my work rather than my family connection".

Rubbishing the statement of opposition parties that PM Narendra Modi had to campaign extensively because the party is nervous in Varanasi, Saurav said the reason why PM did it is because Kashi is the political capital of Poorvanchal.

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Six months after an attack on an army base in J-K's Uri sector, Indian authorities found that the two suspected "terror guides" are schoolboys from Muzaffarabad.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed will soon go home and perhaps even to school, which they apparently were so desperate to avoid that they crossed over to India from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Six months after an attack on an army base in J-K's Uri sector that left 19 personnel dead, Indian authorities have found that the two suspected "terror guides" are schoolboys from Muzaffarabad.

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is set to file its closure report on Wednesday even as two desperate families await the release of the youngsters. Relatives say Faisal and Ahsan "inadvertently strayed into the Indian side of Line of Control".

TO BE DEPORTED AFTER CLOSURE REPORT

The class 10 students of Shaheen Model School will miss their board exams in March as they cool their heels in a Jammu jail. But sources in the home ministry told Mail Today that this is temporary. After the closure report, the boys will be deported.

"We are four brothers and six sisters," Faisal's brother Ghulam Mustafa said. "Faisal is the youngest, only 15 years old- a simpleton whose hobby is to hang out in parks." Mustafa says the family cannot forget the day Faisal did not return home. They searched for him everywhere. The family finally lodged a missing report, only to discover from media accounts that the boys had strayed into Indian territory.

"Despite reports reaching that he would be handed over to the Pak's custody soon, mother is inconsolable," he said. "She will only get relief when she sees and hugs her son." Ahsan has two brothers and two sisters and is the youngest of the siblings.

ALSO READ | Uri attack: 2 teenager terror guides to return to Pakistan, NIA files closure report

Uri terror attack was planned for August 15, say top Army sources

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A train travelling from Jalandhar to Ajmer left late after Vijay Sampla, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, couldn't make it on time.

By Manjeet Sehgal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have promised to put an end to 'VIP culture', but his Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Vijay Sampla, delayed a train in Jalandhar City Railway Station on Sunday evening - because he was late.

Vijay Sampla , who also heads the Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was a passenger on the Ajmer Express (train number 19614).

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The train was scheduled to leave for Ajmer at 7:10 pm but left eight minutes late.

Sampla couldn't make it on time because he had some personal work.

One of the passengers tweeted Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu about the delay, sources said.

'MINISTER'S P.A. ASKED GUARD TO STOP THE TRAIN'

"The Minister's PA (Bharat Bhushan Verma) reached the break room and asked the guard to stop the train as the Minister was late for a few minutes ," Station Superintendent Rakesh Bahal, who conducted a probe, told India Today.

The Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur marked the probe to the Deputy Operations Manager - Sudhir Kumar Singh - who's also the administrative authority.

Sudhir Kumar confirmed the probe, and said the the interference of Sampla's PA had caused the delay.

"The guard had lowered the signal meanwhile the PA of the minister approached him. He called back the Station Superintendent to confirm whether there were any such orders from the Railway Authorities to stop the train. The officials clarified to him that there were no such orders," Sudhir Kumar told India Today.

"The communication between the guard and the Station Superintendent delayed the train for a few minutes. Meanwhile, the minister also reached and boarded the train. The probe is over and I have recommended administrative action against the guard," he added.

NO ACTION TAKEN AGAINST SAMPLA OR HIS P.A.

While the train guard was made a scapegoat by railway authorities, no action was taken against Sampla or his PA

Vijay Sampla wasn't available for comment, and phone calls made to him - or text messages - weren't attended.

ALSO READ | Over 87 per cent believe common people fall prey to VIP culture: Survey

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Maleeha Lodhi talks to delegates at Inter-Governmental Negotiations on reforming the Council.

Pakistan has reaffirmed its stand that instead of creating new permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council, it is best option to increase its non-permanent members.

Talking to delegates at Inter-Governmental Negotiations on reforming the Council, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi said increasing non-permanent seats of the body will make it more democratic.

She said regional representation, based on periodic elections and equitable geographic distribution can be enhanced in the category of elected seats.

As regards the call for expanding permanent membership to include the concept of "regional representation" she said a permanent member cannot claim representative status if it is not accountable to the region.

The Pakistani envoy also called for addressing the key issue of veto, as it has a serious bearing on effectiveness, transparency and accountability of the Council.

She said the veto can be counterbalanced in the Council by strengthening the voice of elected members.
The actor is a man of many talents.

By India Today Web Desk: Popular show Kuch Rang Pyaar Ke Aise Bhi's lead actor Shaheer Sheikh, popularly known by his screen name Dev Dixit, recently surprised his fans when he sang the title track of the show.

Yep, you read that right. This really happened.

Also read: Watch: Check out TV star Shaheer Sheikh's brand new car

Well, the singing was not perfect as his acting skills, after all that is not what the talented actor is known for, but the entire video was cute nevertheless.

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Shaheer, donning a red cap and a black t-shirt, sang his heart out. The good-looking actor recently uploaded the said video on his personal Instagram account with the caption, "#DEVDANSONAEPS01."

Have a look:

#DEVDANSONAEPS01 A post shared by Shaheer Sheikh (@shaheernsheikh) on Mar 7, 2017 at 1:57am PST

Isn't our Dev aka Shaheer super-cute?

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Gauri Amma is on call 24x7, earns Rs 400 from each cremation and has never refused to cremate a dead body, even when she took ill.

By Manogya Loiwal : Women empowerment reflects itself in various forms in India. In West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district, it can be seen in Gauri Amma, a woman who has been cremating bodies for more than three decades.

Gauri Deo, which is her original name, works at the Harish Chandra Burning Ghat in West Midnapore's Kharagpur area.

Now 65 years old, she entered the business when she was widowed at the age of just 30. Her husband, Kakaru Dao, passed away, leaving behind three daughters.

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TOOK OVER THE WORK TO RAISE KIDS

"(My family has been) in Kharagpur since many years, but after the death of my husband I took over the (crematorium) work. People here helped me and I learnt eventually," said Gauri Amma.

Decades ago, Gauri and her husband came to Kharagpur from Tamil Nadu in search of job. Kakaru ended up working in a crematorium.

No help came in from the government, nor did Gauri have any family in West Bengal that she could turn to (she buried her husband's body with her own hands). This left Gauri with no choice but to take up the crematorium work so that she take care of her family.

REGULAR PRACTICE FOR AMMA NOW

Alam Khan, the caretaker of the crematorium, said "Gauri's husband and my father used to work together. After the death of her husband she had to take over the work? When my father died then I had to take over the work."

When she began working at the ghat, Gauri Amma was quite perturbed with the work. She recounts how during her initial days she used to struggle to keep the logs of wood in place in the pyre during funeral.

But after 35 years at the crematorium, nothing fazes her anymore. "It has become regular practice for me," she says.

Rs 400 FOR EACH CREMATION

She is on call 24x7, earns Rs 400 from each cremation and has never refused to cremate a dead body, even when she took ill. On the back of her earnings, she took care of her three daughters and ultimately married them off.

Her entire life has gone taking care of her family and attending to the deceased and all the struggles have only seen her become stronger.

ALSO READ | Google celebrates Women's Day with stories of 13 great women

International Women's Day: 33 unsung sheroes to be awarded Nari Shakti Puraskaar

--- ENDS ---
By Shreya Goswami: There are a lot of myths that exist about feminism, and most of us are too stubborn to understand what it really is about--gender equality. Any true feminist would tell you that their life's philosophy has nothing to do with bra-burning or denouncing men as the lesser beings on earth.

What feminism really talks about is very simply that men and women are and deserve to be equal--in social, economic, and cultural fields. The idea that women are anything less than equal to men is what patriarchy and sexism are based on, and these ideas are as harmful for men as they have been for women.

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Many women (and men too) have taken to writing about gender equality. Here are some of them you should be familiar with, especially if you are rooting for gender equality as well.

Gloria Steinem

The feminist movement took a new turn in the 1960s and 1970s, with many leaders spearheading the world towards women's liberation. Gloria Steinem is the beacon of this movement, and her long career as a journalist and activist proves it. During the recent Women's March in Washington, Steinam took the stage to inspire millions across the world once again.

Gloria Steinem is the beacon of the neo-feminist movement. Picture courtesy: makers.com

But if you want to understand what she really stands for, you need to read Revolution From Within: A Book of Self-Esteem (published in 1992). The book addresses the fact that people, especially women, tend to lose their sense of self-worth during their adolescence. Lack of confidence is only one of the results of the vulnerability we have in this stage, and Steinem suggests we can overcome these through guided meditation and artistic expression.

"I think we each come out of the womb with some unique way of looking at the world and if we don't express it, we loose faith in ourselves," she says in this book. If that's not going to reaffirm your faith in gender equality, then what is?

Also read: How a college in Kolkata walked the streets in silence to celebrate International Women's Day

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

If you haven't heard of this path-breaking Nigerian novelist, here's what you need to know. With multiple degrees from Johns Hopkins University, Yale and Princeton, Adichie is an award-winning, critically acclaimed author. A hardcore feminist, she believes that we should all work towards removing all the stigma attached with being a feminist.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a critically acclaimed author. Picture courtesy: circumspecte.com

In her book, We Should All Be Feminists (published in 2012), she argues that feminism is all about inclusion and awareness about gender equality. She doesn't just point out the blatant ways women are discriminated against, but also the more subtle forms of sexism that social and cultural institutions take to. And this doesn't just apply to women, as she describes when she says that, "Masculinity is a hard, small cage, and we put boys inside this cage."

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It's high time we look beyond the word 'feminism', and actually address what it's all about. And reading Adichie can help, especially when she says that "My own definition of a feminist is a man or a woman who says, yes, there's a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better. All of us, women and men, must do better."

Caitlin Moran

This award-winning British journalist, author and broadcaster is also a member of the Women's Equality Party. This party is a collective effort by British women in politics to campaign for gender equality. If that isn't enough to make you read up about her, wait till we tell you all about her book, How to be a Woman (published in 2011) which sold millions of copies.

Caitlin Moran is a member of the British Women's Equality Party. Picture courtesy: Instagram

The book addresses all the issues the modern woman faces--from things as trifling as whether to get a Brazilian wax to wondering if all men secretly hate women. Moran's book is extremely witty, and full of hilarious scenes from the everyday lives of women. At the same time, her words tend to underline the struggle against patriarchy and its norms that we go through every day.

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Here's an example: "What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy and smug they might be. Are you a feminist? Hahaha. Of course you are." And when it comes to the final act that all women are told they must gear up to--having babies--here's what Moran has to say: "Batman doesn't want a baby in order to feel he's 'done everything'. He's just saved Gotham again! If this means that Batman must be a feminist role model above, say, Nicola Horlick, then so be it."

Also read: What happens when the 'male gaze' turns feminine?

Sheryl Sandberg

You might just know her as the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, but there's a lot more to Sheryl Sandberg. One of the most influential people in the world, Sandberg authored a book that went on to be a cultural phenomenon. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (published in 2013) was on the top of bestselling lists across the globe, and its title became a catchphrase for empowering women.

Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. Picture courtesy: GC4Women.org

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The reason? The book deals with what women feel at the workplace--and it doesn't matter where or what this workplace is. From multinational companies to parliaments, women have shown the willingness to lead, but both the systems and the everyday sexism they face have made this a distant dream. Defining the one thing that matters most at the workplace, she says that "Success for me is that if my son chooses to be a stay-at-home parent, he is cheered on for that decision. And if my daughter chooses to work outside the home and is successful, she is cheered on and supported."

The things that stop women from achieving as much as men in the office need to be eliminated--not just for gender equality, but also for maximised productivity.

Laura Bates

This British writer and activist is behind the Everyday Sexism Project. Now this movement seems to be self-explanatory, doesn't it? Bates came up with the idea for this project, and her book, Everyday Sexism (published in 2014) while working as a nanny and an actress. She saw that most of the kids she cared for were already worrying about things like body image, instead of enjoying a childhood.

Laura Bates is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project. Picture courtesy: alchetron.com

Based on the premise that everyone should be treated equally irrespective of their gender, Bates ahs time and again said that feminism is not about women against men, but "people against prejudice". Sexism, as the major tool patriarchy depends on, is part and parcel of the social fabric of the world--and that needs to be challenged for everybody's good.

"Sexism is often an invisible problem. This is partly because it's so frequently manifest in situations where the only witnesses present are victim and perpetrator," she says in the book. That is really the reason why we, as a society, have failed so far to nip it in the bud.

This talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie made a huge impact. Watch the full video, here:

--- ENDS ---
Independent monitoring and analysis of the kiwifruit industrys performance by New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc will significantly increase in the coming months, as the Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project recommendations are implemented.

NZKGI chairman Doug Brown says this is part of NZKGIs ongoing programme of monitoring industry stakeholders to ensure the best interests of kiwifruit growers are kept top of mind in industry decision making.

Of particular focus will be the implementation KISP recommendations, industry performance and assisting grower access to clear data.

Doug says last year New Zealand kiwifruit growers delivered a very solid mandate for the future ownership, control and structure of the industry through the Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project referendum.

Two thirds of New Zealand growers took part in the vote and of these, 91 per cent supported the 10 propositions and 98 per cent supported the industrys Single Point of Entry structure.

Growers could not have experienced the success we are having at the moment was it not for the Single Point of Entry structure that Zespri executes.

Kiwifruit growers have valued Zespris contribution to the industry since its inception and continue to support the SPE as illustrated in the KISP referendum which resulted in 98 per cent of growers voting to keep it.

The SPE not only ensures New Zealand kiwifruit are marketed as a premium product on the world stage, but it ultimately gives confidence for growers to invest in the industry.

From this perspective, I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate Zespri who are celebrating 20 years of their brand this year and are hosting their biannual conference, Momentum on Friday, says Doug.

The service that NZKGI provides to growers to advocate, protect and enhance the interests of kiwifruit growers and the success of our sector is dependent on the continuance of a transparent relationship with Zespri and other stakeholders in the kiwifruit industry, says Doug.

Indications are that 2017 will be another big kiwifruit harvest.

New Zealand kiwifruit will have the opportunity to feed new markets, to become an even more dominant fresh fruit on the world stage, he says.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) The SSB women personnel on the frontiers have got much-needed gender-friendly facilities with the border-guarding force providing them with private barrack cubicles and sanitary pad incinerators for the first time.

As part of the initiative to ensure better working conditions for the female staffers, the paramilitary force has also ordered procurement of suitable and body-fit size protectors, bullet-proof vests, helmets, shoes and raincoats for women troops on combat duties.

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The Sashastra Seema Bal, guarding the Indo-Nepal and the Indo-Bhutan borders on the countrys east, has also modified toilets in the border areas to ensure privacy for women, who often work odd hours due to the nature of their duties.

"We have created some separate living blocks for women troopers in the barracks at their place of posting in the border areas," Archana Ramasundaram, Director General, SSB, told PTI.

The paramilitary force has been working on the idea for about a year, said the DG, adding the gender-friendly infrastructure is now getting in place for the first time.

"At all the locations where women are posted or deployed, sanitary napkin dispensers and incinerators have been installed," she said.

This is for the first time a paramilitary force has created such separate facilities for its women personnel deployed in the far-flung frontier areas.

Ramasundaram, the first woman chief of a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) or paramilitary, added their focus is now to get separate toilets for women at these locations and it will be done in the future.

At the jawan barracks in border areas, a senior SSB officer said, separate entries have already been created for female personnel as they are co-deployed with their men colleagues.

"A washing machine has been provided in every unit accommodation of women personnel and pulley-based drying racks have been installed so that the women can easily dry their intimate and other clothings in the barrack area," the officer added.

The about 70,000-personnel strong force has also procured ladders to be fitted in heavy troop carrier vehicles and trucks so that women personnel can easily climb up and down easily as and when required.

As it was difficult to get sanitary pads in the area of deployment, the force has installed dispensers, replenished every few weeks, and incinerators as sweepers would desist from picking up the used ones, the officer added.

The force has also got the Union Home Ministrys sanctions to have special buses having in-built toilets for exclusive use by women personnel on duty, the officer said. PTI NES TIR

--- ENDS ---

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Sections of State Highway 25 in the Coromandel remain closed following the flooding caused by the heavy rain.

According to the information from the New Zealand Transport Agency, SH25 is closed in both directions south of Whangamata at Whiritoa, and between Hikuai to Tairua from the turnoff with SH25A.

But the Thames-Coromandel District Council says SH25 south of Thames is currently open.

Were keeping an eye on this one, but as high tide has just passed, it looks like it probably wont be closed.

The road from the SH25A turnoff to Whangamata is also open, along with SH25A/Kopu-Hikuai Road.

About 450mm of rain has fallen in the last 15 hours, which has caused widespread flooding in areas of the Coromandel and made some roads in some low-lying areas impassable.

Rain is still currently falling in some areas and more heavy rain is expected on Thursday afternoon.

Metservice forecasts a further 30-40mm may accumulate in the 19 hours from 5pm on Wednesday until midday on Thursday.

Another period of heavy rain is also expected from about midday on Thursday to Friday night, with another possible 150-180mm of rain, with peak intensities of 15-25mm per hour.

A Severe Weather Watch for gales for the Coromandel Peninsula and Waikato until Thursday morning has also been issued.

The next high tide in Thames occurs at 5:02am on Thursday and will be 3.7m. While in Whitianga, it occurs at 4:58am and will be 2.0m.

UPDATE BY AREA  6PM:

WHANGAMATA:

A Civil Defence Centre is on standby at Whangamata Hall for those who need assistance.

A 20m x 20m slip earlier this meant a couple had to be evacuated before it hit the house. The couple are now staying with friends.

A second house in Whangamata was also evacuated, while multiple businesses and houses have been flooded.

Twenty-seven students and two teachers from Otumoetai College on a surf camp in Whangamata are also being put up for the night as they are unable to leave due to the flooding.

The Whangamata wastewater treatment plant is restored.

THAMES:

Thames Coast Road is open but extreme caution is required due to surface flooding and debris.

ONEMANA:

Two houses have been damaged by a slip, but all occupants have been accounted for and relocated as the house is not safe to inhabit.

Water supply pipeline fixed and supply restored.

HIKUAI/PAUANUI:

The area is severely flooded and all access is closed.

Pauanui is using bores until the treatment plant is fully up and running again.

PAKU HILL:

One power line has been fixed so some water stations are back online, but some are still out.

PURIRI

Water supply has been switched back on and supply is building up.

COROMANDEL TOWN AND TE KOUMA:

No rubbish collection today  rescheduled for Saturday.

Rural Support Trust is asking farmers with information about what is happening in their area or if they are experiencing any issues to please call them on 0800 787 254.
Having extensive experience of being on the water from a young age, Richard Gray became an invaluable member of Superyachts.com after joining as Account Manager in 2013.

He quickly became a Senior member of staff after hosting numerous high-profile events on board yachts such as Martha Ann and Irimari in Monaco, as well as building long-lasting relationships across the superyacht industry.

I am immensely proud to see Richard embrace and expand his role in this industry and contribute toward a major player in the superyacht sales and charter community, adds David Namany, Co-founder & Director of Superyachts.com. Having worked with him directly, I know his potential as an industry influencer and could not be happier for his new position with IYC.

IYC, a globally respected yacht sales and charter brand, has appointed Richard Gray Sales & Charter Consultant as part of an ongoing and progressive strategy of growth.

I am very excited to be joining IYC and working within such a forward thinking company, says Richard. IYC has always been a company close to my heart and I am delighted to be welcomed into the family. I look forward to representing the company and contributing to its global success.

A valued member of the team, Richard Gray has overseen milestone expansion projects such as InDepth Magazine, exclusive events such as the Top 100 in London, large-scale operations such as the Monaco Yacht Show Breaking News Centre and countless online editorial projects to promote luxury yachting brands across the globe.

Richard Gray is a long-serving friend of the Superyachts.com team, myself, and to many people across the superyacht community, says Ben Roberts, Editor-in-Chief of Superyachts.com. His work helped the Superyachts.com brand and project portfolio grow exponentially. He will naturally be missed, but I could not think of a better team for him to join and greatly look forward to seeing where his new role takes him in the future.

The entire Superyachts.com team wishes Richard Gray all the best in his new challenge, and looks forward to working with him in the future under his new mantle.
While sanitary napkins costing Rs 20 have been made tax free, those priced above will attract a reduced tax of 5 per cent.

By Press Trust of India: In a Women's Day gift, the AAP government today announced reduction in tax on sanitary napkins from 12.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

Citing the government's concern for hygiene of women, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia made the announcement in the budget for 2017-18.

While sanitary napkins costing Rs 20 have been made tax free, those priced above will attract a reduced tax of 5 per cent.

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"Sanitary napkins up to Rs 20 will be tax free. In case of their cost being above Rs 20, the government proposes to reduce the tax rate from 12.5 per cent to just 5 per cent keeping in view the concern about hygiene of women," Sisodia said in Delhi Assembly.

The Delhi government runs "Kishori Yojana" for female students enrolled in government schools under which sanitary napkins are provided free of cost to over seven lakh girls studying in classes VI to XII.

The government had also roped in services of an NGO to impart lessons on menstruation to school girls and answer their queries and clear myths about the stigmas attached to the biological process.

Also read: Hurray, it is Women's Day! Come, let us celebrate the hypocrisy

Also read| Maneka Gandhi to Arvind Kejriwal: Start celebrating Men's Day

Also watch| International Women's Day: What happens when the 'male gaze' turns feminine?

--- ENDS ---
Bland County High School Seniors took to the aisles at Grants Supermarket last weekend to help raise funds to celebrate their final year of school during the stores annual March Gradness event.

Each year the regional food market chain helps area high schools raise funds for an event of their choice by allowing customers to add donations onto their purchase totals.

This year, BCHC seniors chose to put their money toward their senior picnic to be held the last week of the school year.

I think some of our best memories are made with our high school classmates, said senior sponsor Kara Wikle. This kind of gives them a fun enjoyable afternoon and later on this will give them something to reminisce about one final time before they walk across the stage and receive their diploma.

Wikle said last years fundraiser didnt bring in as much money as students had anticipated. This year, seniors decided to become more involved.

The seniors are really trying to get out there and get the word out and show their appreciation for Grants for providing it and the community that is supporting us through donations, WIkle said.

Seniors spent their Saturday dusting and organizing shelves and greeting customers at the Bland market.

I really enjoyed volunteering this past Saturday at Grants Supermarket in Bland. It was fun greeting the customers and I appreciate Grants helping us raise money for our Senior Picnic, said senior Breana Montgomery.

The students also joined seniors from other area high schools in shooting the markets March Gradness commercial to be broadcast on social media.

Wikle, who teaches social studies, history and journalism at BCHS, said seniors were pleased to learn more about how commercials are made.

It was such a great time filming the commercial for March Gradness, said Morgan Myers. Everyone at Grants was so accommodating and seeing how commercials are filmed was an excellent experience.

March 31 marks the end of the March Gradness fundraiser. Wikle said seniors hope to spend more time volunteering at the supermarket before the fundraisers close.

Proceeds will go toward purchasing food for the cookout-style picnic, as well as prizes and items for games.

Its a time to celebrate and have a good meal and some fun games and so the money people donate to Bland County High School will go toward that, Wikle said.

Donations to BCHS can be made at any Grants location. Wikle said customers need only advise the cashier which school theyd like to support at checkout.

Jasmine Dent Franks can be reached at 276-228-6611, ext. 20, or at jfranks@wythenews.com.
ABINGDON, Va.  In Mollie Rutledges class, you learn by doing.

Thats the idea behind a new initiative at E.B. Stanley Middle School that focuses on building life skills for students with special needs.

Field Trips to Work, is an opportunity for the middle-school students, ages 12 to 15, to go to work in the community while building skills they can use at future jobs and also in their everyday lives.

Were excited to show the community the abilities of our kids, not their disabilities, said Rutledge, a special education teacher at the Washington County school.

Rutledge, along with team teacher Jenny Mitchell, initiated the program by partnering with Jubilee House Retreat Center in Abingdon to offer their students a hands-on approach to learning outside the walls of her classroom.

At the retreat center, the students learn how to prepare foods, set tables, fold napkins and wash dishes.

But before they can participate, each student learns how to complete a job interview.

We try to make the interview very authentic. We ask the students to describe themselves, why they want the job, and why they should be hired, said the teacher.

The primary goal of exposing these students to functional and vocational opportunities is to teach them the skills they will need to obtain gainful, meaningful employment in the future, Rutledge said. These are skills that the students can use in the workforce, but also in their everyday lives. And, these opportunities give us a chance to teach the skills in a natural setting.

Bob and Karen Vaughan, directors of Jubilee House, graciously agreed to provide the learning environment at the retreat center, where the students can learn how to cater meals with the supervision of adults.

I feel good about it, said Bob Vaughan. These children may not get these opportunities at home.

Vaughan, who has a family member with a disability, said he is aware the students need encouragement and support to succeed.

Rutledge said shes already seeing a difference in the students.

I see them persevering through academic tasks and taking more responsibility to do things independently, she said. The students are very proud of the work they do at the Jubilee House. Once they learn skills, they want you to watch them do it. They want praise and affirmation.

The teacher hopes to partner with other businesses in the community throughout the school year.

We know our students skills are not limited to food service. Id like to give them opportunities to work with other occupations. We hope to build awareness within the community that individuals with disabilities are employable, she said.

Rutledge said the program showcases the unique strengths and abilities of each student.

Austin Alexander, an eighth-grader, said he is proud of his accomplishments since he started going to the retreat center.

I know how to make a salad now, said the student, who carefully arranged lettuce, tomatoes and avocadoes on a tray for an upcoming meal at the retreat center.

Twelve-year-old William Newton, a sixth-grade student, has discovered he likes to prepare food.

Id like to be a chef in a restaurant, he said.

Rutledge was inspired to develop the program after she learned about a similar initiative at Rivers Way, a non-profit in Bristol, Tennessee. She received encouragement and support from staff members at Rivers Way while she and Mitchell developed a program suitable for their school.

The teachers arranged for their students to travel to Rivers Way, where they saw the operation and were served a meal by those with disabilities.

I knew I wanted to do something similar with my students, and the administration and school board have been very supportive, she said.

Their special education students spend most days learning the same academic skills that are taught to typical students.

But we integrate basic functional and vocational skills into their curriculum, said Rutledge. After breakfast, we prompt the students to brush their teeth and comb their hair because its the most natural opportunity for that to happen. The same happens at lunchtime, when we encourage them to wash their hands.

A typical developing child watches and copies what their parents do without having to get instructions. It doesnt always work that way for students with disabilities. You have to teach them all the little steps that go into completing a task.

Rutledge is offering her students opportunities to learn skills that will be valuable down the road.

They will have something to look forward to in the future.

.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Security video of a pickup-truck sideswiping a parked car and driving on without stopping led to several tips that helped authorities find the driver.

Syracuse police said the crash occurred at 6:13 p.m. on Feb. 26 on Liberty Street on the city's West Side.

Don DeGroff shared video of the crash that his security cameras captured. He said the pickup sideswiped his daughter's car, causing at least $11,000 in damage.

In the video, a dark colored pickup drives noticeably slowly down the residential street. The pickup almost misses the turn for Liberty Street, nearly going onto the sidewalk. Then it swerves to the opposite side, nearly going up over the left curb.

The driver corrects it, but then begins drifting off to the right again.

The pickup passes between two cars, sideswiping one. Sparks can be seen coming from the scraping metal, and the smaller vehicle loses a mirror.

Then the pickup keeps going down the street in the wrong lane without stopping, nearly colliding head-on with another oncoming vehicle.

Police said that after video of the incident was shared with syracuse.com, they received several tips which helped in finding the driver, identified as Douglas Graham. Police said he was interviewed by officers with the Traffic Section.

Graham, 72, of Syracuse, was issued tickets for leaving the scene of a property damage accident and moving from a lane unsafely.

Kira Maddox contributed to this story.
Missing NIEKO LISI (1).JPG

Nieko Lisi was 18 when he was reported missing from his Jasper, Steuben County home on Oct. 3, 2011. Although troopers have followed his trail from New York to Michigan and Tennessee, Lisi remains missing.

(Provided)

The 2004 GMC Canyon pickup truck Nieko Lisi used to drive from New York to Michigan and Tennesee was found dismantled last summer in the Nashville area, troopers said.

JASPER, N.Y. -- Five years ago, Nieko A. Lisi told his family he was leaving town.

The Finger Lakes teenager did not tell them where he going.

Lisi was 18 when he took a truck that was not his in the fall of 2011 and left Steuben County, said the New York State Police. He drove to Michigan and dropped off a friend before making his way to Tennessee, troopers said.

And in Tennessee, he disappeared.

Investigators traced Lisi's trail from New York to Tennessee, where they recently found the stolen truck. But after five years, Lisi is still missing.

Troopers have asked the public for helping finding Lisi. Case details, along with photographs of Lisi and the stolen truck, were released.

Lisi left his Jasper home with a friend on Sept. 30, 2011, in a 2004 GMC Canyon pickup truck, troopers said. A day later, his family spoke to him for the last time.

Lisi drove to the Detroit area and dropped off his friend before traveling to Franklin, Tennessee, troopers said. He had lived with family in the Franklin area during his junior year of high school, Lisi's mother told The Tennessean.

He arrived at Flintock Drive in Franklin on Oct. 1, 2011, said the Franklin Police Department in July 2016. He has not been seen since.

Investigators have chased "hundreds" of leads over the past five years -- following Lisi's path from New York to Michigan and Tennessee, troopers said. During a trip to Tennesee last summer, troopers made an important discovery: the truck taken by Lisi.

Franklin detectives and New York State Police investigators found the missing pickup truck locked in the garage of a Tennesee home, Franklin police said. The truck had been stripped.

"The discovery only increases the concern of foul play in the disappearance of Nieko Lisi," Franklin police said last July.

The remaining pieces of the truck were examined by the Tennesee Bureau of Investigation, troopers said. Despite the discovery, the case remains unsolved.

When he disappeared, Lisi was about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed approximately 165 pounds, troopers said. The then-teenager had brown hair, brown eyes and a muscular build. Lisi had four Chinese symbols tattooed on the back of his upper right arm and an unfinished tattoo of an angel on his left side, troopers said.

Troopers asked anyone with information about Lisi's whereabouts or disappearance to call (585) 398-4128.
After speaking to a section of girls at the campus we found that they were not happy with hostel reporting timings which were different for boys and girls.

By Manjeet Sehgal: This year the International Women's Day celebrations were a breed apart from previous events at Panjab University's Chandigarh campus where girls were found struggling for #BekhaufAzadi (fearless freedom).

On top of their agenda was a gender bias in hostel reporting timings. The hostel girls openly voiced their concern against gender discrimination and said if boys were allowed to roam free why they were being denied the freedom.

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The university campus on Wednesday was dotted with posters like "Say No to different rules for men and women" , "Break the Hostel Rules" , "Aise Dastur Ko, Raten benur ko mai nahi manti (I do not accept this tradition which makes the nights colourless)" and "You Can Pamper and Protect Us but a Cage is Still a Cage".

All these likes had one thing in common i.e. a hashtag #BekhaufAzadi.

Some posters also tried to explain the real meaning of International Women's Day that it was neither about greeting cards, spa discounts, beauty products, motherhood and feminity but was about the history of struggle against injustice.

After speaking to a section of girls at the campus we found that they were not happy with hostel reporting timings which were different for boys and girls.

"I think so because a girl is asked to report back at hostel at 9 PM. There is no restriction on the boys who return to hostels at their will. There should be no gender discrimination in the hostel rules," says Yamini who is a final year law student.

However, for Himanshi, the 'restrictions on girls' are imbeded in the culture. The gender bias starts at the home when parents discriminate between a son and a daughter.

"I personally did not go through any restriction at home but the girls are restricted due to security reasons. Yes there is a gender bias and the boys should also be restricted," Himanshi said.

"There should not be any gender bias in terms of rules. If they are making rules for us there should be same rule for the boys," says Anup, a final year law student.

Irene, also a final year law student said the life at Panjab University Campus was far better than other universities like Punjabi University where the girls are asked to return to hostels at 7 PM. Harmandeep feels that if the university authorities cannot amend hostel rules they should at least allow the girls to roam within the campus.

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Saumya who hails from Haryana is also against the gender bias as boys continue to benefit from the bias.

"I am from Haryana. Though I do not stay in hostel but the restrictions are only slapped on girls. There are no restrictions on boys which speak a lot about the discrimination. The time has come to end the restrictions," Saumya said.

Also watch| International Women's Day: What happens when the 'male gaze' turns feminine?

--- ENDS ---
The CUSU Election Committee (EC) has released a statement stating that Daisy Eyre's CUSU presidential campaign has been suspended for 9 hours, starting at 11am today, following reports that a leaflet was circulated in Homerton which personally attacked another candidate.

Separately, Josh Jackson has been called in for a disciplinary meeting, after his campaign was deemed "unacceptably aggressive" by the EC.

Eyre's campaign was initially suspended for 12 hours after a complaint was lodged with the EC concerning a leaflet that had the words "Jack Drury is a lying Tory" written in red pen, in block capitals, on the back, along with the suggestion to vote "1. Daisy, 2. Re-Open, 3. Keir, 4. Jack".

In a Facebook post, the Elections Committee stated: "The EC emphasises that personal attacks of this nature are unacceptable and the Eyre campaign has had this reinforced with them. The EC wish to see this campaign fought cleanly and on policies, and will not allow such conduct."

However, having held a disciplinary meeting with the Eyre campaign, the EC has issued another statement announcing that the ban has been shortened due to "the Eyre campaign's complete condemnation of the activity and stated intention to take remedial action." Eyre will be able to resume campaigning after 8pm.

A student at Homerton confirmed that they had seen the presidential candidate campaigning in the college last night, getting ready to hand out leaflets in the bar; however there is no suggestion that Ms Eyre was aware of the fact that one of her flyers had been defaced.

Speaking to The Cambridge Student, Eyre said "We are absolutely shocked and disappointed by the incident which came to light this morning. Writing this inappropriate and disrespectful remark on one of my flyers is entirely at odds with my campaign. I do not know where the flyer came from and I hope it was not from anyone who supports me. We have no evidence of the source of this defaced flyer and I entirely condemn it.

"I have always endeavoured to run a positive campaign and have enjoyed interacting with both of my opponents and their supporters. I apologise profusely for any distress caused, receiving such a leaflet must have been deeply unpleasant. I have sent a personal apology to the individual affected.

"Because we have no evidence as to where or whom this leaflet came from, I have asked that this campaign ban be overturned. This disciplinary action will not undermine my campaign, because my supporters are a group of fantastic people in whom I have so much confidence.

"We are taking our appeal to the Junior Proctor, and hope to be fully vindicated in our belief that our campaign should not be implicated in this act."

In a statement, CUSU's Elections Committee said that it "has ruled that Josh Jackson's campaigning thus far has reached the point of being unacceptably aggressive, and therefore disrespectful. We have therefore called Josh Jackson in for a disciplinary meeting. This is a serious sanction, but stops short of a campaign ban. EC reminds campaigners that they are expected to treat everyone participating in the election with respect."

At hustings for the role of University Councillor last night, Jackon was accused of defamation and slander by incumbent Umang Khandelwal. He repeatedly accused her tenure of lacking transparency and accountability, and tension was palpable as she corrected his pronunciation of her name.

Jackson commented to The Cambridge Student: "At the beginning of this election CUSU said that we were allowed to attack other candidates. Throughout this election I have consistently drawn attention to the record of inaction and lack of accountability.

"Umang has been University Councillor for a year yet has not communicated with JCRs, students or the media about anything she has done. The University Council needs someone who isn't afraid to speak up when someone isn't doing their job."

He continued, "I haven't made any personal attacks but rather have used her own words from her original manifesto as well as drawing attention to a litany of unfulfilled promises. I have been repeatedly slandered by the media who are playing to racial stereotypes of the angry black man with a raised voice. Where other candidates are defended in the media I am attacked.

"However, naturally, I accepted the view of the elections committee and will follow the rules and their judgement."

This article was last updated on 08/03/17 at 18:25. Correction: Only one flyer is known to have been defaced  this article previously suggested that there were many leaflets, and this was inaccurate.
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In a move to stay competitive and at the cutting edge of technology, CNN has announced the launch of their new virtual reality news unit called CNNVR. In their words "a new immersive journalism unit and virtual reality platform within CNN Digital." Don't expect the service to replace your TV's nightly cable news anytime soon, for now it will just be focused on special content and individual events.

The CNN mobile app is now set to display 360-degree content, which they claim will make them the third largest VR mobile app behind Facebook and YouTube. In addition, PC users can also view specialized content online. Currently they have reports on The Running of the Bulls, attacks in Aleppo, a wild animal sanctuary in Colorado, with more to come.

CNN is also planning to livestream major events as well as producing a weekly VR program. They have been experimenting with VR for the past few years including coverage of the US inauguration and the Democratic presidential debate.

By creating a dedicated VR team, CNN is hoping to attract a more tech-savvy audience and transport them right into the middle of the action. The unit will have support for multiple VR headsets including Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift and Google Daydream.
Back in 2011 Microsoft Research's Fuse Labs launched a social network designed with students in mind. Dubbed So.cl (pronounced "social"), the site was initially made available to students at select universities, and then publicly launched in 2012. Well, the little-known experiment that was akin to content-sharing networks such as Tumblr or Pinterest failed to gain traction and is now closing down.

The service launched back when tech giants were still trying to compete directly with Facebook, except So.cl was actually built "on top of Facebook" --- users are asked to sign in using their Facebook account. Once in, users can post photos, text, videos, and create communities around educational goals.

The service is scheduled to close on March 15. "In supporting you, Socl's unique community of creators," the announcement reads, "we have learned invaluable lessons in what it takes to establish and maintain community as well as introduce novel new ways to make, share and collect digital stuff we love."

So there you go, this is your reminder that Microsoft had a social network, and it probably won't be missed.
The teaser for the fourth-generation rocket engine BE-4 is out. Images of the first full-scale BE-4 rocket engine assembled by private manufacturer Blue Origin have been tweeted by CEO Jeff Bezos. The main engine has been in the making for many years.

In the tweet, Bezos said the first engine has been assembled and two more full-fledged BE-4s are getting ready.

1st BE-4 engine fully assembled. 2nd and 3rd following close behind. #GradatimFerociter pic.twitter.com/duE4Tnzvkx  Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) March 6, 2017

Heres one more shot of BE-4 in its transport cradle. pic.twitter.com/T2HdZ3UtQZ  Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) March 6, 2017

The BE-4 engines are proposed to be used in Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket which will shuttle humans to the moon and back to Earth.

According to the company website, BE-4 will end America's dependence on the Russian RD-180 engine for satellite launches and it is unique in being fully funded by the private sector.

Highlights Of New Glenn

New Glenn has some similarities with Blue Origin's New Shepard. One is the reusable nature of the vehicle New Glenn, similar to the Falcon 9 vehicle of SpaceX.

The difference with New Shepard is that New Glenn can take heavy payloads and passengers into the orbit around Earth thanks to its high speed.

New Glenn as a heavy-lift orbital rocket is expected to be a leviathan among all rockets in two sizes  one at 270 feet, and the other at 313 feet.

New Glenn will also come in two versions: one with a single upper stage, the top part of the vehicle that cuts off from the rest of the rocket during launch and inducts the payload into orbit.

New Glenn's second stage will have just one BE-4 engine, and the version with two upper stages will have its second stage powered by a BE-4 while the third stage on top will be powered by a BE-3.

Catch the New Glenn in action in Blue Origin's intro video below!

Vulcan Rocket To Use BE-4

The use of BE-4 engine will not be confined to New Glenn rocket, as another user will be the United Launch Alliance for its Vulcan rocket coming up as a successor to the Atlas V rocket.

Faced with criticism for using Russian-made RD-180 engines for the launch of military satellites, ULA opted to build a new rocket that will use the fourth-generation engine.

The Congress has passed a bill banning the use of Russian rocket engines in the launch of U.S. military satellites after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

High Competition Ahead

The advent of New Glenn would heat up the market of commercial and military satellite launches where players like SpaceX, Europe's Arianespace and ULA are eyeing vast market shares.

The strategy of Bezos involves creating a bunch of reusable rockets for suborbital space trips and then moving to advanced phases like pushing a spacecraft into Earth's orbit as well as sending manned and robotic missions to the moon and other planets.

New Glenn is trying to join a new club of boosters including NASA's deep-space booster SLS and capsule, while Falcon Heavy of SpaceX will be another powerful contender as a super potent operational rocket.

NASA is planning the SLS maiden flight in 2018 and a manned Orion capsule as an integrated flight.

Blue Origin's next-generation rocket on the works  New Armstrong  will be cherishing the memory of the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. It is meant for deep space travel into the solar system.

While taking advantage of the public-private partnerships in manned exploration as mooted by President Donald Trump's administration, Bezos is targeting the creation of reusable technology to cut transportation costs in line with his vision of "millions of people living and working in space."

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
U.S. prosecutors have dismissed a case against a man accused of child pornography because the FBI refused to disclose its investigative practices.

The Feds discovered the Playpen child pornography site on the Tor network, which serves as a venue to anonymize web-browsing activity. While Tor conceals users' location and identity by routing all connections through a complex set of computers and encrypting all data, the Feds somehow managed to reveal the users' real identities on the Tor Playpen website.

The operation led to 200 prosecutions. However, prosecutors have now dropped all charges against a man accused of downloading explicit photos of minors from the popular Playpen website, since the government refused to disclose how it came to reveal those identities.

FBI Tor Hack / Playpen Methods Remain Classified

The FBI used "network investigative techniques" to reveal users' real identities despite Tor's efforts, but in court it refused to comply with a request for information regarding its techniques. Rather than divulging its methods, the FBI preferred to see all charges dropped.

The accused in question is Jay Michaud, a school worker who was accused back in July 2015 of sharing child pornography through Playpen. Michaud has claimed to be innocent all along and the public defenders representing him fought to force the FBI to share their technique for exposing hundreds of child porn collectors across the United States. Since the FBI refused to reveal its methods, a federal judge had to prevent prosecutors from using evidence against Michaud.

Beyond Reasonable Doubt Or No Conviction

To achieve a successful conviction, prosecutors have to prove the suspect is guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and it needs solid evidence to do so. At the same time, the accused also has the right to request all evidence for review, including how the government obtained said evidence, if it will be used toward a conviction.

In this case, the FBI managed to breach the anonymity Tor promises and the means used to collect the evidence from the dark web make up a sensitive matter. The technique is valuable to the FBI, so the government would rather compromise this case rather than release the source code it used.

"The government must now choose between disclosure of classified information and dismissal of its indictment," federal prosecutor Annette Hayes said in a court filing on Friday. "Dismissal without prejudice leaves open the possibility that the government could bring new charges should there come a time within the statute of limitations when and the government be in a position to provide the requested discovery."

The dismissal is troubling not only because it leaves potential pedophiles out and about, but also because it promotes a practice where the government seems to be above the law. The FBI actually ran Playpen for a while, albeit briefly, and it's worrisome to see it's willing to bend or even break the law to track down criminals it's not willing to prosecute. The dismissal brings good news not only for Michaud, but likely for a slew of other pending cases like this one, in which the FBI-obtained evidence would be similarly inadmissible without proving its origin.

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Jeff Bezos has unveiled the new rocket engine that will power his space company's giant spacecraft that could take people, satellites, and other payloads to the moon or even beyond the Earth's orbit.

BE-4 Rocket Engine

On Monday, March 6, the Amazon CEO whose spaceflight company Blue Origin competes with Elon Musk's SpaceX, tweeted a picture of the BE-4 rocket engine, which has been under development over the past four years.

The rocket engine, now complete, will power the New Glenn rocket, a giant spacecraft designed to transport astronauts and payloads to low-Earth orbit and beyond.

Blue Origin described the new rocket engine as the fastest way to end United States' dependence on RD-180 engine, which is designed and built in Russia.

"BE-4 is the only engine that can fly by 2019, meeting the congressionally mandated deadline to eliminate dependence on Russian-built engines," Blue Origin described its engine. "The alternative engine option is multiple years behind and could not be integrated into a launch vehicle until at least 2021, extending our dependence on Russian engines well beyond 2019."

Reusable Rockets

Seven BE-4s will be needed to serve as the main engines of the New Glenn. The New Glenn will be a reusable vehicle with majority of its parts capable of landing after launch. Just like SpaceX, Bezos's company has also been working on reusable rockets that are capable of landing after takeoff, a technological capability that can significantly lower the cost of space missions.

Blue Origin has already successfully tested this technology with the New Shephard spacecraft, a suborbital rocket developed as a commercial system for suborbital space tourism. The spacecraft, which is powered by the smaller BE-3 engine, is capable of performing vertical takeoff and landing.

Amazon-Like Shipping Services To The Moon

The new engine may also play a part in future missions to the moon. The BE-4 rocket engine could be crucial in Blue Origin's bid to provide Amazon-like shipping services to the moon. The company has already expressed its interest in providing commercial lunar missions.

As the current Trump administration reveals its interest in moon missions, Blue Origin has circulated a white paper that details its interest to develop a lunar spacecraft with a lander that can deliver supplies to the lunar surface.

The company urged NASA to back the Amazon-like shipment service for the moon that could deliver cargo, experiments, and habitats. The idea may not seem feasible at the moment, but a lunar shipment service could be crucial in the future.

Such service could prove valuable if astronauts are to be stationed at the Earth's natural satellite to conduct studies or experiments or a human settlement gets established on the lunar surface. People who would stay on the moon will likely need important supplies such as food and medicines shipped from Earth just as how astronauts who are currently working at the International Space Station rely on cargoes to get the things they need from home.

"Blue Moon is all about cost-effective delivery of mass to the surface of the Moon," Bezos said. "Any credible first lunar settlement will require that capability."

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
To inspire the next generation of innovators, leaders, creators, and highly intelligent spawns of the academe, Harvard University, one of the most renowned institutions in the world, is tapping a dropout to headline its commencement speech this year.

The Harvard Dropout Returns

This is, however, unlike any dropout Harvard has come to know. It's Mark Zuckerberg, who famously dropped out of the university and went on to create Facebook, the world's largest social media platform at present. These accounts were even made into a David Fincher film some years ago.

On Tuesday, March 7, Harvard confirmed Zuckerberg's commencement address gig to occur on May 25 as part of the Afternoon Program of the university's 366th commencement.

"Mark Zuckerberg's leadership has profoundly altered the nature of social engagement worldwide ... [F]ew individuals can rival Mark Zuckerberg in his drive to change our world through the innovative use of technology, as well as his commitment to advance science, enhance education, and expand opportunity through the pursuit of philanthropy," said Drew Faust, Harvard's president.

Asking Bill Gates For Advice

Most, if not all commencement speeches are toned-down, straightforward affairs, though it seems Harvard is opting for something with a little more zing. It has released a video showing Zuckerberg sharing a couch with Bill Gates, who needs no introduction, with the former asking the latter for some advice.

"They know we didn't actually graduate, right?" Zuckerberg tells Gates, who spoke at Harvard's commencement in 2007.

Sadly, Zuckerberg's acting skills hasn't significantly improved since his Saturday Night Live stint in which he parodied himself, alongside Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed Zuckerberg in The Social Network. But no matter, the important thing is everything has come full circle. A Harvard dropout will stand before those about to graduate.

Of course, to say Zuckerberg "is just a dropout" truncates his series of achievements, many of which have helped set the terms of technological, social, and media-related discourse. Facebook still stands as one of the biggest things in online media, unlike other platforms who have slowly lost steam, such as MySpace and the now-defunct Friendster.

Zuckerberg enrolled at Harvard in 2002, coming out Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, as noted by The Boston Globe. On his second year, Zuckerberg created thefacebook.com with a group of friends. It started as an exclusive online platform for Harvard students to interact, although it quickly grew into something more significant.

Zuckerberg on Tuesday wrote "Finally heading back to school" on his Facebook timeline. At 32, he is the sixth richest person in the world, with a $44.6 billion net worth, according to Forbes.

Zuckerberg isn't the only formidable tech figure speaking at a Boston-area college this year. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, is set to deliver the commencement address at MIT in June.

Zuckerberg joins other notable personalities who have also landed commencement gigs at Harvard. This list includes Steven Spielberg, Deval Patrick, Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Fareed Zakaria, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, J.K. Rowling, and more.

Do you think Harvard graduates will "like" Zuckerberg's commencement address?

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
WikiLeaks published what it claims to be thousands of documents and files that exposes the tools used by the Central Intelligence Agency to hack smartphones, computers, and even internet-connected TVs.

The first part of the series of files, which has been named Vault 7, consisted of 8,761 documents and files acquired from an isolated and highly secure network located in the agency's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Virginia.

WikiLeaks Uploads Vault 7

Vault 7 is described by WikiLeaks as "the largest ever publication of confidential documents" from the CIA, and reveals that a wide variety of consumer electronics is vulnerable to hacking attacks by the agency.

According to the documents, internet-connected devices and even anti-virus software themselves can be compromised by CIA hacking attacks. Hackers from the agency are capable of recording sounds, images, and text messages of users, even when apps with encryption are utilized.

Among the most noteworthy claims made by Vault 7 is that the CIA, through a partnership with agencies both local and foreign, have bypassed the encryption measures used by popular and communication apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram. Previously, these apps were thought to be secure ways to send messages to one another without having to worry about the communications being intercepted, whether by the government or otherwise.

The Hacking Tools Of The CIA

Many of the hacking tools have been presented at cybersecurity conferences, but what surprised experts is that the CIA had used so many of the theoretical vulnerabilities of modern technology into viable attack tools that target smartphones, computers on both Windows and Mac operating systems, internet routers, and smart TVs.

For example, a tool named the Weeping Angel was developed by the CIA to attack Smart TVs manufactured by Samsung. After the hack is implemented, the tool can place the target TV into a "fake-off" mode that would make the user believe that the TV is turned off. However, the TV remains in operation and functions as a bug, making it capable of recording the conversations within the room with the audio files then sent to a covert server of the CIA.

The CIA also apparently studied the possibility of breaching the control systems of vehicles, which WikiLeaks claims can be used to carry out assassinations that are almost undetectable. There is also said to be a specialized unit in the agency named the Mobile Development Branch that created malware to be able to steal data from iPhones due to their popularity among "social, political diplomatic and business elites," though popular Android-powered devices were also targeted.

Spying Concerns From The Public

The release of Vault 7 by WikiLeaks renewed the public's concerns on the security of the electronic devices that they use.

An intelligence source confirmed with The Wall Street Journal that some of the information presented in Vault 7 is authentic. The source added that the disclosure of the CIA's hacking tools will highly jeopardize the ongoing operations of the agency in gathering intelligence, with the revelations to be far more damaging compared to the leaks that former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden released in 2013 on the United States government's surveillance programs.

The general public, however, should not yet hit the panic button. There is no proof that the hacking tools have actually been used with the permission of the United States government and no evidence that the tools are capable of doing what they are claimed to do. In addition, the cost of these tools is too great for the government to use them on ordinary citizens.

WikiLeaks, however, claims that there are more data dumps coming to Vault 7, which should provide a better idea on the reality of the CIA's hacking capabilities.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A white rhino at a French zoo and one of Kenyas last great tusker elephants have been among the latest victims of poaching.

Poaching is pinpointed for the slaughter of about 20,000 elephants a year, where the early 20th century count of the species has dropped from 3 to 5 million to a dismal 415,000 today.

White Rhino Killed For Horn

In what is believed to be the first incident of its kind in Europe, a 4-year-old white rhino was shot dead by poachers at Thoiry Zoo in France in the morning of March 7. Zookeepers found Vince with one of his horns hacked off using a chainsaw, according to police report.

In what was thought to be the first time a rhino within a European zoo was targeted, Vince was shot three times in the head before the perpetrators sped away with its horn, which commands high prices on the underground market and could fetch up to $60,000 per kilo.

Vinces second horn was partially sawn and apparently left behind by the poachers, who forced their way into the zoo overnight. The zoos other white rhinos, 37-year-old Gracie and 5-year-old Bruno, escaped the killing, the zoo revealed.

The white rhino population had been successfully revived from a nearly extinct population in the late 1800s to about 20,000 members. Poaching, however, has become a growing threat recently, with rising demand from markets such as Vietnam where the horn is deemed aphrodisiac in nature.

France made the ivory and horn trade illegal in 2016.

Tusker Elephant Confirmed Dead From Poaching

Back in Jan. 4 during a routine flyover by a conservation group in southern Kenya, the body of 50-year-old African elephant Satao II was found dead. It was only announced Monday, March 6, and conservationists blamed a poisoned arrow in a poaching hotspot in the park.

The tusker  called as such because such elephantss tusks grow so long and serve as an attractive target for poachers  was discovered with his ivory intact.

The Tsavo conservation team apprehended two suspected poachers two weeks after the body was found. The suspects, allegedly found carrying a firearm and poisoned arrows and bows, were pinpointed not just for the death of Satao II but also for the killing of three other elephants.

[T]his poaching gang that possibly tried to poach Satao II has been broken forever, the group declared on its website, as reported by National Geographic.

The conservation park covers more than 16,000 square miles and forms nearly half of Kenyas conservation land. Monthly flyovers are conducted to gather information on the African elephants as well as the black rhinos, another endangered species.

Satao II died three years after the more gruesome killing of Satao, who was about age 50 when he was discovered with his face hacked off, his tusks taken to be brought to the ivory trade.

Poaching for ivory remains the biggest threat to the tuskers, already listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Banning Ivory Trade

In just a decade, the criminal act has decimated forest elephants in Minkebe National Park, slaughtering approximately 25,000 or 81 percent of the population in what is supposedly a key nature reserve.

The remote area in Gabon acts as a frontliner in the hard battle against poaching, but it has not been spared from threats coming in the country and in neighboring Cameroon. Foreign hunters, for instance, are believed to have emptied the northern and central sections of the 2,900-square-mile park.

Last year, China announced its planned ban of the domestic ivory trade by end of 2017. It followed U.S. pronouncements that it will ban the trade of largely all ivory goods to protect the African elephant.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Nubia To Launch A Smartphone Dedicated For Photographs | TechTree.com

Chinese smartphone maker Nubia seems to be all set to announce its new smartphone which is claimed to be designed specifically keeping photographers in mind.

The smartphone would be sporting a 23 MP rear camera and a 13 MP front facing camera, and what makes it special is its Sony IMX318 Exmor sensor that is capable of capturing a DSLR-like photograph.

The camera module would be coming with phase detection auto focus and contact focus, sapphire protective lens, 6 piece motor drive lens with f/2.0 and NeoVision 6.0, according to a recent post published on BGR.

However, while not every specification of the smartphone has been revealed yet, some more details pertaining to the camera module has been put out through a couple of reports. The smartphones camera is also expected to come with features like motion blur, Star Track, and Light Painting. Well, in-fact, the camera would most likely be featuring a manual mode as well, pretty much like a DSLR camera.

Apart from these camera specific details, the company has also announced that the smartphone will be sleek and would be coming with bezel-less design. However, the name of the smartphone has not yet been revealed.

TAGS: Nubia
Nokia May Launch A Flagship Phone This June | TechTree.com

Nokia reached many peoples hearts at the recently held Mobile World Congress in Barcelona by unveiling its new smartphones including Nokia 3 and Nokia 5, along with the re-launch of its popular feature phone from the yesteryears, the Nokia 3310. However, we couldnt find any flagship device by Nokia.

Now, rumours are popping around suggesting that the Finland based companys flagship smartphone would be released in June, in two size variants. Interestingly, the rumour mill also mentions about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor powering it up.

According to a new report published on Chinese website MyDrivers, the Nokia flagship smartphone will be launched in two different memory options, 4 GB RAM and 6 GB RAM. Information about the Snapdragon 835 processor powering it has been pointed out by PocketNow, mentions a post published on Gadgets360.

Also, rumours suggest that the smartphone would be featuring a unibody metal design and a 23 MP rear camera setup. However, the smartphone is expected to come in two screen sizes. Other rumours also mention that one of the two different varieties would be featuring a dual-camera setup.

Speaking about the price tags, the smaller-sized variant may be seen at around CNY 4,000 while the larger variant may be launched for CNY 4,500.

TAGS: Nokia
The president emphasized that people are voting for Nicaragua and by doing so they are also voting for peace. | Read More
Cinesite Studios has bought animation facility Nitrogen Studios Canada Inc, based in Vancouver in order to add high- end feature animation to the groups capacity in the city.

Nitrogen employs 70 creative and production staff and is known for animating episodes of childrens show Thomas and Friends, and more recently Seth Rogens Sausage Party.



This is the second acquisition for Cinesite Studios in Vancouver following the July 2015 merger with visual effects studio Image Engine.



Nitrogens animation studio is currently in production on the second series of Dreamworks Trollhunters. The studio is also co-producing Arkie, a CG-animated feature based on Nathan Jureviciuss character cult brand Scarygirl with Passion Pictures Australia, the producers behind the Oscar-winning The Lost Thing.



Antony Hunt, Group CEO of Cinesite Studios Group, said: As one of the largest independent studio brands producing visual effects and animation, this acquisition delivers to our group the same capacity in Vancouver that we already have in Montreal, both for VFX and feature animation. This allows our customers to invest their production dollars in the two best locations for film making in North America. The opportunity to work with the creative team and crew at Nitrogen allows us to expand our storytelling capabilities, with established creative talent who are ready for new challenges. The creative team are experienced and talented; they animated Thomas and Friends, one of the worlds leading preschool brands, and are now seeing great success with their recent work on Guillermo del Toros Trollhunters. We look forward to collaborating with them to serve our customers and of course on our own content.



Nicole Stinn, Principal at Nitrogen said, We have known the folks at Cinesite for a long time and have admired what they have achieved over the past few years. When the opportunity presented for us to make our home with them, we knew it was right for all our stakeholders, staff, customers, suppliers and collaborators. We are delighted to be joining the Cinesite family.



Todays announcement follows the recent news that Cinesite Studios is developing an untitled feature animation Harold Lloyd project in partnership with the Harold Lloyd Estate, in addition to the feature Riverdance, produced by Comic Animations and Irelands River Productions and Imaginary Friend, produced by Jeremy Renner and Don Handfields The Combine, with Straight Up Films and Comic Animations.

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Georgie-Pacific Port Hudson Operations participated in the recent Find Your Future Career Expo held in Clinton. At the companys booth for visiting students are, front from left, Matt Fry and Ross Fontenot; and back, Jane Olson, Ciara Gilchrist, Kelley Dare and Patty Prats.
Teachers at the Louisiana Key Academy in Baton Rouge use large pens to help dyslexic children develop their motor skills during a lesson in 2014.
The daughter of an 82-year-old Baton Rouge woman who died in 2014 from a blood infection caused by severely infected bedsores will stand trial Aug. 28 on a manslaughter charge.

Joleslie Looney, 55, and her daughter, 20-year-old Lauren Looney, were Bessie Looney's primary caregivers when the elderly woman was found dead inside their North Acadian West home. Bessie Looney was naked in a wheelchair, sitting in feces and covered with bedsores.

Lauren Looney, who was 17 when her grandmother died, also is charged with manslaughter. Her next court date is April 13.

Granddaughter of an elderly woman found dead in her wheelchair in 2014 can be tried on manslaughter charge The granddaughter of an 82-year-old Baton Rouge woman found dead in her wheelchair  naked, 

State District Judge Mike Erwin, who is presiding over the case, set Joleslie Looney's trial date on Monday.

+2 Judge: Baton Rouge woman competent to stand trial in mother's death A 55-year-old Baton Rouge woman is now competent to stand trial in the 2014 death of her eld

The judge ruled in January that Joleslie Looney was sane at the time of her mother's death on Sept. 29, 2014. He found her competent to stand trial last summer. Last May, Erwin determined Lauren Looney also was sane at the time of the alleged offense and is competent to be tried.

+2 Baton Rouge woman declared sane when elderly mother died amidst deplorable conditions A Baton Rouge woman accused of manslaughter in the 2014 death of her 82-year-old mother, who

Dr. William "Beau" Clark, the East Baton Rouge Parish coroner, classified Bessie Looney's death as a homicide. He also said malnutrition, dementia and heart disease were contributing factors in her death.

The Looneys told police they were aware of her condition but said it did not appear to be severe to them, an affidavit of probable cause states.

A manslaughter conviction carries up to 40 years in prison.
A plan to overhaul science standards in Louisiana's public schools won tentative state approval Tuesday over cries that the new guidelines will stifle any arguments about evolution.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 9-0 for the changes after nearly two hours of sometimes heated public testimony.

The new benchmarks will be phased in over several years, state Superintendent of Education John White told BESE.

The guidelines were recommended by a 39-member study group that spent six months, and more than 10,000 hours, reviewing what students should know.

Two decades later, new science standards on the way for Louisiana public schools Louisiana's public school science standards, which are the third oldest in the nation, are h

But most of the attention Tuesday focused on arguments that the revamped policies will make it nearly impossible to debate evolution in classrooms.

Backers noted the theory is well established and long accepted by scientists worldwide.

"These standards are based on empirical evidence," said Jody Sanchez, an 18-year educator and a member of the study group.

But Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, said the changes leave no room for challenges to the theory of evolution.

"The standards fall short," Mills said.

State Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma, raised similar concerns.

Wade Warren, a professor of biology at Louisiana College and the lone "no" vote on the study group, made the same point.

Warren said Darwin's theory is under increasing attack.

"Why can't ours students know about that?" he asked.

In a bid to answer critics, BESE approved an amendment to the standards that would include a 2008 state law meant to ensure wide ranging debates in classrooms on evolution, global warming and other topics.

That changes was offered by BESE member Kathy Edmonston, who lives in Gonzales.

The statute is called the Louisiana Science Education Act.

Edmonston said the addition should answer concerns of critics of the standards.

The vote to add it was 7-2.

White noted that, once the new standards win final approval, they will be subject to a 120-day public review, with more tweaks possible.

The standards define what students should know about science by the end of the grade.

They are supposed to represent skills needed for students to move to college or the workplace.

The changes are also meant to build on science skills students learned in earlier grades.

"The one thing we kept in front of us, from start to finish, was the students," said Cathi Cox-Boniol, an educator in Lincoln Parish and chairwoman of the panel that crafted the guidelines.

Cox-Boniol said the changes are designed, in part, to allow students time to dig deep into science topics rather than classes skimming a wide range of topics.

She has also said the new rules will allow teachers flexibility on how courses are taught, and noted local school districts have the final word on curriculum.

Kyle Duhon, a teacher at Jennings High School in southwest Louisiana and a member of the work group, told BESE the benchmarks leave no room for opinions.

Others said a sweeping update is needed since public school students in Louisiana have been rated 49th in science skills.

Sarah Bergeron, a third generation educator in the state, said the new benchmarks will link science with math, engineering and other subjects.

Jeanne Burns, another member of the study group, said the changes are so significant that officials will have to revamp how teachers are prepared for the classroom, which she called a good thing.

Approval Tuesday was technically done by a BESE committee.

However, 9 of 11 board members voted, which means final approval Wednesday is all but certain.

The board, which sets policies for more than 700,000 students, is set to meet at 9 a.m.

In addition, while the plan sparked disagreements during public testimony no such divisions showed up on BESE.

Louisiana's science standards have not been changed since 1997.

After nearly two decades, state science standards under review A state panel Wednesday began reviewing science standards used in public schools, which have

Only two states have older science guidelines, New Mexico and Wisconsin.
Louisiana's first new science standards in two decades won final approval Wednesday from the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The revisions, which sparked two hours of public testimony on Tuesday, cleared their final hurdle without discussion.

New science standards win tentative state approval, after arguments over evolution A plan to overhaul science standards in Louisiana's public schools won tentative state appro

The changes will take full effect for the 2018-19 public school year.

The upcoming school year will be used as a transition period, with field tests in the spring of 2018.

Students will face their first meaningful exams on what they know about the revamped benchmarks in the spring of 2019.

Officials said the rollout will make the changes easier for school districts.

The move to Common Core caused controversy, in part because local officials said they did not have enough time for the new standards in reading, writing and math.

Teacher training and the identification of curricula will begin later this year.

The science guidelines were recommended by a 39-member panel after six months of meetings.

Leaders said the revisions will allow students to study science topics in depth rather than classes covering a wide range of subjects with little examination.

On Tuesday critics said the standards are too rigid and will stifle debate on evolution.

But BESE voted to attach a 2008 state law onto the new benchmarks in a bid to quell criticism.

That law, called the Science Education Act, was promoted as a way to ensure wide-ranging classroom debates on evolution, global warming and other topics.

Louisiana has the third oldest standards in the nation, and they were last overhauled in 1997.

In another area, BESE gave final approval for a $3.7 billion, mostly standstill request to the Legislature on state aid for public schools.

Amid state budget mess, BESE backs another freeze in basic state aid for public schools More than 700,000 public school students would face another freeze in basic state aid under 

The proposal mirrors one by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

It would leave state spending per student unchanged, which has happened often since 2009.

However, the plan includes a $10 million hike for dual enrollment  high school students earning college and career credits  and $8 million for high-needs students.

The state also would spend more money for new students, as it always does.

State Superintendent of Education John White told BESE the proposal will be controversial and may return to the policymaking panel later this year because of state financial conditions.

The Legislature can only accept or reject the request but cannot change it.

The state faces a shortfall of $600 million or more starting July 1, which means even a standstill budget may spark resistance.

Public schools, unlike higher education, have avoided cuts in per pupil spending during the past eight years of state budget problems.

The session starts April 10.
Enrollment in Louisiana's expanded Medicaid program would be frozen under an "Obamacare" replacement plan unveiled by U.S. House Republicans this week, and it would eventually be up to the state to decide how the health care program for the poor will operate with limited funding beyond 2020.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, said that the House GOP's proposed Affordable Health Care Act "fails a critical test for Louisiana" because it eventually eliminates Medicaid expansion. He's now calling on Congress to reconsider the move as the debate over the proposal advances.

"Its important to remember that many of the faults with the (Obama-backed) Affordable Care Act exist today because the bill was rushed through Congress. We have to get this right," Edwards said Tuesday. "That means taking a deliberative approach to reforming the nations health care system."

"There is a real opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to come together on health care reform, and I hope we seize it," Edwards added.

The health care proposal that House Republicans unveiled this week is viewed as the Trump administration's preferred vehicle for repealing and replacing the similarly-named Affordable Care Act adopted under Barack Obama in 2010.

Some Republicans  including Trump himself, key people within his administration, U.S. Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, and other members of Congress  spent Tuesday touting what they described as a key step toward one of the president's signature campaign promises.

"I'm proud to support the replacement plan, released by the House of Representatives and encouraged by members of both parties," Trump said in a meeting with House Republican leaders, including Scalise, who sat to his immediate right. "I think really that we're going to have something that's going to be much more understood and much more popular than people can even imagine."

Trump campaigned heavily on repealing and replacing Obama's signature health care law, frequently referred to as "Obamacare." In Louisiana, Trump decisively defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in a 58-38 win to take the state's eight electoral votes.

Scalise said in their meeting that he views "rescuing" people from the existing health care law is "to most Americans, probably one of the most important promises that was made not only by (Trump), but by all of us in getting this majority  both in the House and Senate  and the White House."

"This bill finally starts the process of not only repealing Obamacare, but also replacing it with reforms that put patients back in charge of their health care decisions that lower costs for families," Scalise said.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Baton Rouge Republican who is a physician and has offered up his own alternative ideas for replacing Obama's Affordable Care Act over the years, said he is still reviewing the House Republican proposal and has offered no specific critique.

Louisiana's uninsured rate falls to 12.5 percent; leaders cite Medicaid expansion Louisiana is one of 10 states that have seen the steepest decreases in the rate of uninsured

"Our shared goals should be coverage for as many as possible, caring for those with pre-existing conditions, at a lower cost and without mandates," Cassidy said in a statement.

More than 405,000 people in Louisiana, mostly the working poor, have obtained health care coverage through the expansion of Medicaid. At the same time, state leaders have said that the infusion of additional federal dollars linked to the Affordable Care Act has saved the state nearly $200 million.

Edwards signed an executive order expanding Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act shortly after taking office in January 2016. The expansion took effect July 1. In the months since, enrollment has continued to climb past 400,000, with thousands of patients reportedly seeking care for chronic conditions and severe illnesses.

Under the expansion, which is an opt-in provision of the existing Affordable Care Act, adults who make less than 138 percent of federal poverty level  about $33,500 a year for a family of four or $16,200 for a single adult  can qualify for free health care coverage.

The federal government paid 100 percent of the costs for the state's newly-enrolled through the end of 2016, and the state gradually will take on up to 10 percent of the costs by 2020, if the existing law stands.

Louisiana's Medicaid expansion enrollment tops 400K people Louisiana's Medicaid expansion enrollment has topped 400,000, as the future of the federal h

The proposal unveiled by House Republicans this week would effectively halt the expansion enrollment in 2020. It would also convert Medicaid into a program funded by the federal government only up to defined per person limits. Currently the program pays a percentage of the actual costs with no cap.

"We cannot ignore the impact that ending Medicaid expansion will have on the health of our citizens and the state budget, and I am urging Congress to take this into consideration as this bill changes throughout the process," Edwards said.

Edwards, during a recent trip to Washington, D.C., met with federal Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to advocate for Medicaid expansion to remain a part of the plan backed by the Trump administration.

But Price, a doctor and former U.S. House member from Georgia, defended the decision to change the program, which has grown to serve as a larger safety net under the Affordable Care Act. He described Medicaid as "a system that doesn't work for patients."

"We believe one of the keys to providing appropriate care in the Medicaid population is allowing the states to have the flexibility to address that Medicaid population," he said.

Louisiana road to Medicaid expansion long, winding but finally here Against all odds, Louisiana has become the 31st state  perhaps more noteworthy, the first s

He said he also believes changes to the program will help drive down costs.

"We're wasting significant amounts of money  not that folks are getting too much care, we're wasting it because its inefficient and theres significant abuse in the system," Price said.

Republicans on Capitol Hill spent Tuesday buzzing about the long-awaited reveal of a Trump-backed Obamacare alternative.

Some, including former presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, vowed to block its passage. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus held a news conference to announce their opposition to the proposal and intention to push their own legislation.

Others went about defending the new plan, often noting that it's an initial step.

"You start at a starting point, people engage and get involved in the process," Price said during the White House press briefing. "We'll work through it."

He and Press Secretary Sean Spicer described the repeal and replacement effort as coming in three phases, beginning with the vetting of the House GOP proposal.

The second step will come through executive action, and the third phase will be a final piece of legislation to address remaining issues.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, in a separate briefing on Tuesday, said that he expects his chamber will take up the proposal "sometime in the next few weeks" after it clears the House.

Vice President Mike Pence also stressed the administration's support for the American Health Care Act serving as a vehicle for the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.

"We will start over with a new future for health care in America," he said.
Louisiana voters gave Donald Trump a thumping victory in our state in November's elections. Now, enough time has elapsed to count the ways that the new president has acted against the interest of Louisiana, in just a matter of weeks.

There's trade, or rather the blocking of it. And tariffs, or rather the promotion of them. Also, labor and immigration, tourism, agriculture are all areas where Trump's administration is in its early days signalling opposition, or at least unintended harm, to policies that would help Louisiana's economy.

Among Republican officials in Louisiana who have the most reasons to be concerned about the direction of the new GOP administration is Mike Strain, a veterinarian and head of the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

Strain has twice visited Cuba heading trade delegations, including one with Gov. John Bel Edwards. Strain eagerly promoted the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal with free nations around the Pacific Ocean rim. He has, in a national role as head of the states' agriculture secretaries, pushed for investment in basics that only government can provide, like the specialized firefighting teams which are needed to counter forest fires.

Trump is likely to counter these initiatives.

The most obvious challenge is domestic disinvestment. Trump proposes deep cuts in discretionary domestic spending in order to fund military expansion  the latter perhaps needed. But amid record federal debt, will the White House propose to pay for homely domestic tasks like fighting forest fires?

More problematic is trade. Before the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday, Strain tried to put the best face on the new administration's about-face from decades of U.S. trade policy.

Alluding to the fact that both presidential candidates opposed the TPP, Strain said it "would not have been ratified anyway." The politics were dicey, but candidate Barack Obama was opposed to trade and then changed his mind in office. Maybe Trump will be so influenced, though positive indicators are few.

But Strain then turned to a lengthy discussion of the economic potential of trade with Cuba. This is not a real reason for optimism; normalization of relations is something to which the new president is cool, at best.

Strain made an unassailable economic case for Louisiana agriculture's potential to provide food and fiber for the long-suffering Cuban people. New Orleans and other Louisiana ports are primed to benefit most from a new opening of Cuba trade, Strain said.

But besides the president's active hostility to trade, there are the endless disparaging comments about the criminal nature of immigrants who are here illegally, and high-profile bans on new visas that could deter visitors. That could hurt tourism from not only Latin America, but also Europe and the Far East. That's bad for Louisiana's vital visitor trade.

Given the president's positions and sometimes incoherent statements, here's the best Strain could do in terms of optimism: "He's a businessman."

"He can read a balance sheet" and trade is vital to agriculture and forestry, the economic mainstays of the rural areas which voted so heavily for the president, Strain said.

There is also mixed within Strain's positive case for trade agreements, particularly in Cuba, an implied warning: "Another country, such as China, becomes a predominant player in that region."

People say that the president is somehow in hock to Russia, but anti-trade politics play into China's hands. With the demise of the TPP, a favorite Trump whipping-boy, China has become more powerful in Asia and the world.

Having outlasted the old Soviet Union's influence in Cuba, is America now going to give up any chance of benefiting from a new opening of the island to the world? What an irony.

Email Lanny Keller at lkeller@theadvocate.com.
A man is escorted out of the room by Jefferson Parish Sheriff Deputies as he disagrees with U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy as he speaks to a crowd at a town hall meeting at the East Jefferson Parish Library in Metairie, La. Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. The man was not arrested and left peacefully after leaving the room.
A pair of former students has been arrested after an investigation following threatening messages left on the walls of East Jefferson High Sch
Authorities have jailed a 19-year-old New Orleans man in connection with a burglary in Metairie late Sunday that resulted in a woman being shot.
"To find that children were involved, people were involved, you know, multiple people, we're working to get the answers to all of that, but what we can say, it really rattles everybody," Harrison said. "That's why you see us all out here."
Now that a federal appeals court has cleared the way, Mayor Mitch Landrieus administration hopes to have three monuments to Confederate officials removed from public view by mid-May, according to bid documents released Tuesday.

But while there's now an ostensible timeline for the statues removal  a process that has been blocked by legal wrangling for more than a year  much about how the city intends to refashion the prominent public spaces they occupy remains unclear.

Also, simply hiring a contractor for the work could prove complicated. In the past, companies that showed interest in carrying out the removals reported receiving harassment and threats.

The bid documents released Tuesday give contractors until April 4 to bid on taking down the statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard and Confederate President Jefferson Davis and call for the job to be completed by May 19.

That timeline largely mirrors an earlier process that was first delayed and then scuttled as the court case seeking to block the statues' removal dragged on.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans removed that roadblock Monday, lifting a temporary order that had blocked the city from moving forward since last year.

The court's ruling said the Monumental Task Committee and other groups seeking to keep the monuments in place had little chance of succeeding in their case, which has yet to receive a full trial in a federal district court.

The City Council more than a year ago also authorized the removal of a marker honoring the White League, a white supremacist militia that led a violent rebellion against the biracial Reconstruction-era government of Louisiana. That monument is protected by a separate court order dating from a previous attempt to remove it, though the city is seeking to have that order lifted.

Unlike that marker, now at an obscure site near the river end of Iberville Street, the other monuments are all in highly visible locations: Lee Circle on St. Charles Avenue, Beauregard Circle at the main entrance to City Park and near the intersection of Canal Street and Jefferson Davis Parkway.

Whether the city will see success in its current bid process remains an open question. In the past, it ran into problems finding contractors, thanks to threats and harassment reported by companies simply expressing an interest in removing the statues.

Originally, the city picked H&O Investments of Baton Rouge to oversee the removal. But that firm backed out after its owner said he had received death threats. Shortly after withdrawing from the project, his Lamborghini was found torched in the companys parking lot.

That set off a public bid process that played out at the same time as the early stages of the court case. But almost immediately, firms identified as having looked at the bid documents on the citys website began getting threatening calls, forcing the city to hide that information. That list remains hidden in the current bid documents.

The city has said the statues' removal would be paid for with private money.

Much about what will happen after the statues are moved also remains unclear, including where they will ultimately end up, what will replace them and whether the streets or circles bearing the names of the honorees will be changed.

Asked about those issues Monday, Landrieu spokesman Tyronne Walker said by email, The administration is solely focused on removing the monuments now that the court has ruled in our favor. We will consider the other matters at a later date."

At the time the City Council voted in December 2015 to remove the statues, Landrieu said the city would try to find a permanent home for them in a museum or park where they can be put in a fuller context. Until then, they are likely to be put in storage.

In a statement following Mondays ruling, Landrieu said that once the monuments are removed, we will have the opportunity to join together and select new unifying symbols that truly reflect who we are today. However, the city has not provided any information on what that process would look like or who would be involved.

Landrieu also has floated the idea of creating a commission to review all monuments in the city, though no such group has been set up yet.

Some activists have called for removing the statue of Gen. and President Andrew Jackson from the city's most iconic public park, Jackson Square.
For two and a half years artist Michal Glikson became a nomad, travelling first around Canberra, and then Pakistan and India, documenting her travels on scrolls she carried everywhere with her.

Her detailed miniature paintings capture places and people from the nooks and crannies of cities as diverse as Canberra and Lahore, to the rugged terrain of Pakistan's North West Frontier, to the tents of families who took her into their homes.

Artist Michal Glikson's work spans the mediums of painting, film and audio. Credit:Karleen Minney

As a PhD candidate at the Australian National University School of Art, Glikson's journey has been documented in the Australindopak Archive, a body of work which not only includes the actual scrolls but an online interactive virtual tour that features 40 documentary field films and 70 field generated sound compositions.

She wanted to tell the stories of the displaced, the marginalised, the homeless, in all these places she visited. She would sit and paint in situ, in Garema Place, on the streets in Delhi, documenting what she saw and heard, in miniature, in sound bites, with film.
Orana Steiner School does not set out to dazzle in tests. In principal Kate Baird's words, it's incidental.

Students are taught to question everything, think and deeply reflect. They call teachers by their first name and do not wear uniforms. Learning is individualised and the bar set by teachers is high.

Joshusa Edye, year 10, Jonah Kerlin year 8, Jacqui Newnham, year 10 and Amelia Hayne, year 8. Credit:Karleen Minney

It makes sense to Ms Baird that the Weston school has been identified by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority as making improvements in students' NAPLAN scores as they progress from years seven to nine.

"The curriculum is developmentally appropriate," she said.
Two parents who have pulled their children out of a Canberra Catholic school believe the school failed in its duty of care, after a disgraced ex-priest was moved in next door without the principal being told of his background.

The archdiocese confirmed that the principal of Sts Peter and Paul Primary School in Garran, Margaret Pollard, had known about the living arrangements of Father Brian Hassett since May 2016.

Federal funding for private schools will grow by 4.1 per cent a year per student over the next decade. Credit:Erin Jonasson

But in a letter to parents emailed out on Wednesday afternoon, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Catholic Education director Ross Fox said Ms Pollard was not told about the accusations against the former priest.
There are trolleys of books in the school pick-up zone, the playground and the classroom.

Students at St Francis of Assisi Primary School are taught reading is fun and important and their NAPLAN results reflect that belief.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School students Rose Cochrane, Lucille Gregory, Jonathan Price and Max Read. Credit:Jay Cronan

The school was highlighted by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority as recording above average improvements in the reading test as students progressed between years 3 and 5.

Principal of the Calwell school, Kate Markcrow, paid tribute to the school community's focus on literacy.
It looks like last drinks for corporate Australia's most controversial pig hunter, Wal King.

Coca-Cola Amatil chose International Women's Day to announce that Wal will retire from the board after its AGM this May  along with chairman David Gonski and two other veteran directors, David Meiklejohn and Tony Froggatt.

CCL will then become a rare ASX beast, a major corporation with women in the CEO and chairman roles. Alison Watkins is the CEO, and Ilana Atlas will take over as chairman.

"Mr Gonski said that each of the outgoing directors had made valuable contributions over many years, and the company was very grateful to each of them," CCL said in a statement to the ASX.
Australians could shiver through cold winters under an east coast gas shortage, regulators have warned, while the government waits on a review that could spark a mining-tax style war with the gas industry ahead of the May federal budget.

The warning, by Australian Energy Markets Operator, comes as the gas industry faces a battle on two fronts, with a steep rise in gas prices to hit while the government review into its taxation is due to be handed down in April.

Mining the booming resource, which will not fully come on stream for decades, has pushed up gas demand by more than 200 per cent in two years, according to manufacturers.

Last year, Australian LNG production to surged by 48.7 per cent. It is scheduled to eclipse Qatar to become the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas by 2021.
Domestic gas supply is at risk of running low as the owners of Queensland's gas export projects find themselves with insufficient reserves to deliver on their contracts.

The squeeze could place further pressure on domestic gas prices at a time when rising demand is already pushing them sharply higher.

More gas is flowing north to feed Queensland's gas export projects Credit:Brendan Esposito

Already, gas is now flowing from the southern states into Queensland to feed the voracious appetite of its export projects, which is adding to the pressure being seen on domestic gas price.

Employers in Sydney warned last week they may have to halt production because of the spike in gas prices, which poses a threat to hundreds of manufacturing jobs in the months ahead.
Travis Kalanick, chief executive of Uber, is seeking a No. 2 executive to lend him a hand after a bumpy start to his year.

Kalanick issued a one-sentence statement on Tuesday saying, "We're actively looking for a Chief Operating Officer: a peer who can partner with me to write the next chapter in our journey."

An Uber spokesman declined to comment beyond the statement.

Kalanick's search for a chief operating officer follows several blows to Uber this year that have raised questions about the ride-hailing company's workplace culture and business tactics. Some of the concerns have extended to Kalanick's character, and Tuesday's announcement shows how he intends to restructure the executive suite to get more help, while continuing to lead the company.
The GWS Giants - Grocon proposal to spend up to $800 million on a Manuka Oval redevelopment that would have included 1000 flats, hi-rise hotel and hundreds of underground car parks will likely be the first casualty of the National Capital Authority's assertion of its right to determine what happens along Canberra's major boulevards. By flagging its intention to create overarching development controls in significant precincts that would trump the ACT Government's own, much amended and frequently ignored, Territory Plan, the NCA appears to be calling a halt to ad hoc planning decisions driven by one-off "unsolicited" offers and economic imperatives. Last year's Manuka plan, welcomed with open arms by the Barr Government as an opportunity to fund a $100 million stadium makeover, overturned many of the planning principles which had governed the precinct for decades. It was bitterly opposed by many locals and members of the wider Canberra community and was dumped by the ACT Government just two months out from last October's Territory election.

While Andrew Barr wrote to Inner Canberra Community Council chair, Gary Kent, last September to assure him there was no longer any risk of a unilateral makeover of Manuka precinct planning regulations to facilitate the Giants - Grocon plan, it was still on the table. "A re-elected Labor Government will use a community panel process to work through any planning changes in the Manuka precinct (as part of a new masterplan)," he wrote. "Government decision making should be informed by the full range of community views." Plans for the new ACT Government Manuka Masterplan, which may still have given a modified version of the "unsolicited" GWS-Grocon proposal the green light, are now on hold pending the finalisation of the NCA's development control plan for Canberra Avenue. As the NCA, not the ACT Government, has the final say about what happens along Canberra's main avenues, it would be foolhardy for Mr Barr's administration to press ahead until the authority's final views are known. If the draft development control plan released earlier this week is to be taken as a reliable guide then there appears to be no room for hi-rise hotels and apartment buildings in the immediate vicinity of the oval with NCA chief planner Andrew Smith saying the main difference would likely be a "modest increase in the height permitted in and around Manuka Oval... that will allow the ACT Government to put in a broadcast box".
A couple of weeks ago, over lunch, a senior LNP official gloated how former premier Campbell Newman was "back in his box".

No-one had heard from him for a few weeks, his incessant texting had stopped, and he'd "got on with his life".

"He's not going to cause us any problem in the election," he said, with the knowledge of someone who knows Newman well, and who has dealt with him hundreds of times.

How wrong he was. Newman's latest contribution to state politics highlights several factors that the LNP needs to address before it even bothers to take on Annastacia Palaszczuk and the ALP.
New laws that would allow the Veterans Affairs Department to reveal personal information about veterans in the "public interest" will be subjected to a fresh privacy probe after a backlash by ex-services groups.

Veterans Affairs Minister Dan Tehan has told Fairfax Media that he will ask the Australian Government Solicitor to hold an independent "privacy impact assessment" into the laws before they are finalised by the Parliament.

Cyber Security Minister Dan Tehan says agencies can't be 100 per cent protected. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The laws have prompted concern from veterans groups and a change.org petition that has attracted nearly 7000 signatures. The protesters say the laws would allow the department, in effect, to push back against public complaints by veterans that it regards as misleading and therefore detrimental to public confidence in its services.

"I am happy for the Australian government solicitor independently to do a privacy impact assessment," Mr Tehan said.
A man who was fatally stabbed just minutes after leaving a music festival was escorting a young woman who had been verbally abused outside a Central Coast pizza shop, a Sydney murder trial has heard.

Opening the Crown case on Wednesday, prosecutor Huw Baker told the NSW Supreme Court jury that Gregory Gibbins was killed after an altercation outside the Toukley shop on April 5, 2015.

Greg Gibbins died in hospital after being stabbed on the Central Coast.

Bradley James Brooks, 21, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Gibbins, 28, and to wounding his friend Adam Swindell with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The prosecutor said Mr Gibbins, Mr Swindell and another friend left the festival venue just before midnight when they were approached by Amber Pellizzon, who asked if they could walk her past the nearby pizzeria because a group of young men had been verbally abusing her.
A fraud investigation into former Australian of the Year finalist and women's rights campaigner Eman Sharobeem has widened, with the NSW Crime Commission obtaining a freeze on a $770,000 unit just days after the purchase settled.

According to property records, the Crime Commission has targeted a three-bedroom apartment with district views that Ms Sharobeem and her son Charlie bought just before Christmas in Courallie Avenue, Homebush West, next door to the Olympic Park precinct.

A caveat placed on the property shows that the Crime Commission obtained an order in the Supreme Court last month and says it is "entitled to register its interest pursuant to ... the Criminal Assets Recovery Act".

The property, next to Lidcombe train station, was settled on February 3 with a mortgage from Westpac but the Crime Commission swooped within days, seeking a freeze on a suite of assets less than two weeks later.
Police have discovered one of the largest importations of methamphetamine in Australian history hidden in a shipment of protein powder from the United States.

Seven men and one woman have been arrested over the 540-kilogram shipment following a sting operation in western Sydney on Monday night.

All aged in their 20s and early 30s, the men mostly know each other through partying and the gym, Fairfax Media understands.

On February 27, Australian Border Force officers examined a sea cargo consignment of 396 bottles labelled as protein powder.
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls has resisted calls for the LNP to relieve itself of more than $50,000 in tainted money it received from disgraced MP Scott Driscoll.

The LNP revealed it had "no intention" of returning the money it received as a result of Driscoll's activities.

Driscoll was elected as the state member for Redcliffe in the March 2012 LNP landslide and is on remand after pleading guilty to a string of fraud charges related to his involvement with a retail lobby group before and after his election.

The Brisbane District Court heard on Monday that Driscoll deposited a cheque, during the election campaign in November 2011, from the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association into an account held by Norsefire, a company owned by Driscoll's wife, Emma.
Akon Guode, the woman who has admitted killing three of her children and trying to kill a fourth by driving into a lake, has broken down in court while a prosecutor outlined how her youngest child died.

About 40 minutes into her plea hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Guode began crying and put her head over her crossed arms on the desk in the dock.

The court was adjourned for 35 minutes. A counsellor helped her regain her composure.

Guode, 37, earlier this year pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, one of infanticide and one of attempted murder after she drove her car into Lake Gladman, in Wyndham Vale, on the afternoon of April 8, 2015.
Embattled Victorian MP Don Nardella will be prevented from travelling on taxpayer-funded trip to Europe, amid growing calls for him to resign from parliament.

The state member for Melton was due to travel to overseas later this month to study community energy projects, with the parliament's economic committee.

Former deputy speaker Don Nardella Credit:Joe Armao, Fairfax Media.

Mr Nardella was to crisscross Europe, visiting London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Berlin and Copenhagen - with the trip costing more than $3800 in accommodation alone - Channel Seven reported.

But late on Wednesday afternoon the Andrews government announced that the former deputy speaker, who was forced to leave the Labor caucus for claiming more than $100,000 in allowances designed for country MPs, would be replaced on the trip.
Besieged former deputy speaker Don Nardella should leave parliament altogether if he will not repay more than $100,000 he claimed for living in a seaside residence, a Labor MP says.

Labor's Anthony Carbines called for Mr Nardella to quit after he was booted from the parliamentary Labor Party for his claiming of allowances.

Police Minister Lisa Neville also backed that call.

"I know he's having conversations with the Labor Party as well. I think he needs to consider his own position," she told reporters.
These schools are made up of three types of students: the big improvers, the coasters and the strugglers. Which one are you?

The latest NAPLAN results have been published on the federal government's My School website, with some Victorian schools celebrating significant improvements, while others lag behind.

Has Australia become a nation of coasters?

These students achieve above average improvements in literacy and numeracy. They are the black dot on the NAPLAN student report card that soars up the achievement scale as students move from year 3 to 5 and year 7 to 9.

Kade, Meg, Thang and Alana attend Melba Secondary College, one of the high gains schools. Credit:Jason South

Every school wants to be a big improver, but according to Melba Secondary College principal Terry Bennett, it doesn't happen overnight.

In 2012, a food technology teacher at the disadvantaged school estimated that 40 per cent of year 10 students could not read a simple recipe.

Since then, Mr Bennett has trained his staff using a new model which sees teachers in every subject focus on reading and vocabulary.
Sex shops, tobacconists and other shops selling synthetic ecstasy and cannabis will face big fines and up to two years in jail under tough new laws to be introduced to state parliament on Wednesday.

Growing concerns about the harmful effects of synthetic drugs - which have been linked to several deaths - have prompted the Andrews government to announce that any substance that has a psychoactive effect will be banned.

Police have been hamstrung by current laws which require authorities to categorise each specific compound or class of compound as an illegal drug. Manufacturers sidestep this approach by tweaking the chemical formula as more drugs are placed on the register.

Under the changes, which will bring Victoria into line with NSW and Western Australia, the effects of the drugs, rather than the specific chemical compound will be targeted.
Detectives have charged three people, including a homeless man, with drug and firearm offences after police were reportedly shot at in Dandenong North this week.

But investigators are still hunting for an alleged gunman, described as a "danger to the community".

Stud Road residents in Dandenong North were evacuated from their homes on Tuesday following a dramatic incident that began when police tried to stop a car at about 9am.

The driver did not stop, so police returned to a nearby property on Stud Road where the car had earlier been seen.
A woman accused of murdering her husband told police she was asleep beside him while her friend allegedly poured cyanide-laced orange juice down his throat, a court has heard.

Sofia Sam, 32, told police that she could not wake Sam Abraham the morning after he was poisoned on October 14, 2015, the Supreme Court heard on Wednesday.

Sofia Sam is accused of murdering her husband.. Credit:Joe Armao

Police have charged Ms Sam and her friend, referred to as AK, with working together to sedate and fatally poison Mr Abraham.

She cried as details of his alleged murder were read out in court during her unsuccessful application for bail.
Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney has described the hostility he felt from his estranged wife's family after her death and his concern they believed he was responsible.

Mr Rayney is suing the West Australian government for being named by Detective Senior Sergeant Jack Lee in September 2007 as the prime and only suspect in the murder of Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney one month earlier.

Corryn Rayney's (right) brother in law said in court Ms Rayney accused her husband Lloyd Rayney (left) of being 'a snake'.

A 600-page statement was tendered to the WA Supreme Court in which Mr Rayney explained his wife's sister Sharon Coutinho and her husband Rohan paid $6000 to Mr Rayney's legal team after he sought advice about allegedly defamatory comments they made about him.

Their comments came after Mr Rayney was acquitted of his wife's murder in 2012 and prosecutors lost an appeal in 2013.
Rendezvous Hotel Scarborough has been forced to defend its decision to host controversial wellness guru David 'Avocado' Wolfe in a three day seminar this weekend.

The hotel has faced backlash for agreeing to host the event due to criticism surrounding Mr Wolfe's anti-vaccination beliefs.

David Avocado Wolfe will hold a three day seminar this weekend. Credit:Tamara Dean

A TFE Hotels spokeswoman said the three-day seminar would go ahead despite the controversy.

"TFE Hotels supports the right to free speech of those hosting events at our hotels and we do not take a stance on the hosts' views or beliefs - unless they are breaking the law or putting guests or teams members at risk, in which case we would cancel the event," she said.



"Regardless, we have been assured by David Wolfe's management that the event is about nutrition and wellness, not about vaccinations."
A WA One Nation candidate has complained on social media that Queensland's state government has outlawed bikie patches but not "Muslims wearing burkas" and that "more Australians fear Islam than they do bikies".

Rod Caddies is standing as the far-right party's candidate for the Legislative Council's multi-member electoral region of Agricultural and is originally from the Queensland city of Townsville.

He made the comments on his personal Facebook in August 2016, saying "What a disgrace! I have no love for bikie gangs but I believe more Australians fear Islam than they do bikies yet they still allow the burka to be worn."

"All good to ban bikers wearing leather jackets but not Muslims wearing burkas."
Pauline Hanson has accused her right-hand man Colin Tincknell of having a "senior's moment" after he told Sky News that Ms Hanson thinks WA should receive a share of Queensland's tax revenue.

"At no time have I ever, ever said that it must come out of Queensland, so I think Colin Tincknell has had a senior's moment."
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, during final preparations for his official 2017 budget announcement. Credit:AP You might as well flip a coin. Right at the beginning of his speech, Hammond framed his Budget as "a strong and stable platform" for "our negotiations to exit the European Union". Baroness Neville-Rolfe, David Gauke MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond MP and Jane Ellison MP leave 11 Downing Street in London. Credit:Getty And that was his last, glancing reference to the biggest, wrenching, most fundamental change to the economy this century, coming in just two years' time.

The omission was an admission: that all they can do now is batten down the hatches: break a manifesto promise with a modest tax rise, throw a few crumbs to the screaming-with-need health services and social services, divvy up a few industry stimulus funds and wait On Wednesday afternoon, after the budget speech in parliament, foreign media reporters were treated to a brief briefing from Baroness Neville-Rolfe, commercial secretary to the Treasury. A former civil servant, she moved to the private sector for almost two decades, including time on the board of supermarket giant Tesco, before joining the House of Lords and moving into the ministry. She has a blue streak in her hair and a matter-of-fact style. And she had a go at delivering the government's 'ready for Brexit' budget spin.

"It is preparing us for a truly global Britain so we can compete internationally by laying the foundations for a stronger, a fairer, a better Britain outside the EU," she said So I asked her what in the Budget would have been different, had Britain not voted to leave the EU. "We have a new prime minister and a new chancellor, so that's one change," she said. "That in turn has led to a change of the budget. We have a slim budget now." Then there was a bit of vague talk about preparing for a global Britain, and a mention of future free trade talks with Australia "whilst not forgetting our relationship with the European Union". Again, what she didn't  couldn't  say, spoke volumes.

"We are trying to keep some flexibility because we don't exactly know what's going to happen," she said. "There are uncertainties but we're trying to move forward in a way that helps to improve the economy. "We are still in that wait and see period. A lot depends on where we end up in the Brexit negotiations." Asked if she was confident there would be no economic damage done by a 'hard Brexit', or if no trade deal with the EU was reached before the UK left the union, the baroness was frank. "I think the answer is 'we don't know'. What we can do is get the economy fighting fit so the fundamentals are strong we are keeping some leeway so if we do need to invest more in the economy we can do that." Loading
Washington: Two leading Senate Judiciary Committee senators are asking the FBI and the Department of Justice to hand over any warrant applications related to possible wiretaps of President Donald Trump and his team, after Trump accused his predecessor of illegally tracking his conversations.

Senators Lindsey Graham and Sheldon Whitehouse the top Republican and Democrat on the Judiciary Committee's Crime and Terrorism panel, wrote Wednesday to FBI Director James Comey and Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente asking for "copies of any warrant applications and court orders - redacted as necessary . . . related to wiretaps of President Trump, the Trump Campaign, or Trump Tower."

Boente was recently put in charge of such matters at the Justice Department, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from matters pertaining to the Trump campaign.

"We would take any abuse of wiretapping authorities for political purposes very seriously," Graham and Whitehouse wrote. "We would be equally alarmed to learn that a court found enough evidence of criminal activity or contact with a foreign power to legally authorise a wiretap of President Trump, the Trump Campaign, or Trump Tower."
Kabul: Gunmen disguised as doctors stormed a military hospital in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, leaving at least 30 people dead and scores injured after a bombing and a six-hour gun battle. The assault was claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.

A suicide bomber detonated explosives at the front gates, then gunmen opened fire on guards stationed inside the fortified medical compound. Several attackers were able to reach the second floor, where they fought police special forces much of the day. Military officials said the attack was quelled by about 4pm local time.

Security officials said the attackers were wearing white doctors' uniforms, and one witness said he saw a man dressed in a doctor's coat pull out a Kalashnikov assault rifle and open fire.

Patient Zia Zabuli, in hospital because of a leg wound, said he and three others hid in a room and barricaded themselves in when they saw one of the gunmen approaching.
"Doing big things is never easy," Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan conceded. Credit:Bloomberg "We're going to do something that's great, and I am proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives," Mr Trump said. "This will be a plan where you can choose your doctor, and this will be a plan where you can choose your plan. And you know what the plan is. This is the plan. It's a complicated process, but actually it's very simple, it's called good health care." Some White House officials insist that Mr Trump will be directly engaged in persuading lawmakers to back the bill. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has promised to bring the bill immediately to the Senate floor without a single hearing. Credit:AP But many of the factions that provided financial and political support to back Republicans who vowed to wipe out the Affordable Care Act are nowhere near satisfied with the option rolled out on Monday.

"This is not the Obamacare repeal bill we've been waiting for," said Republican Senator Mike Lee, who was joined by a constellation of conservative groups, including the Club for Growth, Heritage Action for America and Charles and David Koch's Americans for Prosperity. "It is a missed opportunity and a step in the wrong direction. We promised the American people we would drain the swamp and end business as usual in Washington. This bill does not do that." Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer Credit:AP The Republican bill would scrap the mandated coverage in the Affordable Care Act in favour of tax incentives to coax people to purchase health care. But the legislation maintains many of the act's mandates and basic benefits, including prohibiting insurers from denying policies for pre-existing conditions or capping benefits in a year or a lifetime. Some conservatives have labelled the House plan "Obamacare lite," saying it is nearly as intrusive in the insurance market as the law it would replace. In particular, they dislike the delay in getting rid of the law's Medicaid expansion. They also dislike the tax credits in the Republican plan, which can exceed the amount a consumer actually owes in federal income taxes, meaning that the IRS would be issuing checks to cover insurance premiums. The House plan also maintains many of the demands on insurers that the Affordable Care Act has, including a defined suite of "essential benefits" that all insurers must offer. Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan said that he would introduce a "clean repeal" bill and that Senator Rand Paul would offer a companion bill.

Republicans have been counting on Mr Trump to use his influence to persuade wavering members to support the plan. But despite his characterisation of the bill as "tremendous" on Tuesday, others in his administration seemed to concede that changes, perhaps major ones, were likely. Speaking to reporters after meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol, Mr Pence offered the White House's imprimatur, calling the bill the "framework for reform". He added that the administration was "certainly open to improvements," making clear that the wrangling had just begun. Tom Price, the secretary of health and human services, said twice at a briefing with reporters at the White House that the bill was "a work in progress". He also suggested that some provisions Mr Trump is seeking, like the ability to buy insurance across state lines and the lowering of drug prices, might be addressed through regulation. North Carolina Republican Congressman Mark Meadows said Mr Pence had portrayed the bill as a work in progress that would no doubt be amended, perhaps significantly. "The bill that was introduced last night is still open for negotiation and certainly for modification," Mr Meadows said. "And we took that as very encouraging news." Even with substantial changes, passage of the bill is in no way assured. House Republicans accomplished too little in shrinking the size of the government's role in the health sector to pull the most conservative members their way, yet they may not have done enough to allay the concerns of some Republican senators who are sceptical of elements like rolling back the Medicaid expansion and defunding Planned Parenthood.

In an interview with a radio station on Tuesday, Republican Senator Roy Blunt said, "What I don't like is it may not be a plan that gets a majority of votes and lets us move on, because I think we can't stay where we are with the plan we've got now." The response from insurers was largely muted on Tuesday. They have praised the initial steps taken by the administration to stabilise the individual market, and they said they were encouraged by the desire to provide a smooth transition in the next two years. But several questioned the adequacy of the tax credits. "It is important that the tax credit for 2020 creates a marketplace that enables people to get the coverage they need at a price they can afford," Alissa Fox, a senior vice president at the BlueCross BlueShield Association, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with Congress to create a stable and affordable private market." By proceeding so swiftly, and largely in secret, Republicans have opened themselves to the same criticisms that they levelled at Democrats in 2010. If the bill is passed by the full House as early as next week, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has promised to bring it immediately to the Senate floor without a single hearing. Loading
2017 World Car Award Top 3 Finalists In Each Category Plus Exclusive Side By Side By Side Comparisons

By Henny Hemmes

Senior European Editor

The Auto Channel

March 8, 2017. Yesterday, the top three finalists in all categories of the 2017 World Car Awards were announced at the Geneva International Motor Show.

The jury of 75 international automotive journalists from 23 countries selected the finalists based on their evaluation of each candidate as part of their professional work. By mid- February, they have sent their secret ballots to international accounting firm KPMG, who tabulated them.

With this release, the countdown for the finalists began. The winners will be announced during a breakfast / press conference organized by the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS), Bridgestone Corporation, Autoneum and Brembo on Thursday, April 13 2017, the second press day of the show in the Big Apple. New this year is the election for the World Urban Car.

The New York International Auto Show is proud to once again co-host the worlds number one automotive awards program, said Show chairman John LaSorsa. Each year, we look forward to recognizing and honoring the ?best of the best in the auto industry.

The top three finalists in six award categories are as follows: (Click on the category to see a detailed side by side by side specs, price, capacity, crash ratings, Horsepower, MPG and total model comparison)

Compare World Car of the Year Finalists:

Audi Q5

Jaguar F-PACE

Volkswagen Tiguan



Compare 2017 World Luxury Car Finalists:

BMW 5 Series

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Volvo S90/V90



Compare 2017 World Performance Car Finalists:

Audi R8 Spyder

McLaren 570s

Porsche Boxster Cayman



Compare 2017 World Green Car Finalists:

Chevrolet Bolt

Tesla Model X

Toyota Prius Prime



Compare 2017 World Urban Car Finalists

BMW i3 (94 Ah)

Citroen C3 (specs not available)

Suzuki Ignis (specs Not available)



Compare 2017 World Car Design of the Year Finalists:

Jaguar F-PACE

Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet

Toyota C-HR (No Specs for 2017)
if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/03/2017 (2070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winters return to Manitoba, which caused road closures throughout Westman on Monday, expanded its reach to the Southeast on Tuesday.

Highway 75, from Winnipeg to the U.S. border, has been closed. The Trans-Canada, which was already closed west of Winnipeg, was reported by the province to be closed from Highway 12 to the Ontario border, just before 7 p.m. Other roads throughout the region reported blowing snow and poor visibility.

More information on current road conditions can be found on the provinces website.

Update 6:45 p.m.  Updates Highway 75 closure information.

Update: 7:10 p.m.  Adds Trans-Canada closure information.
New Hampshires progress on LGBT rights has lagged behind some of its northeastern neighbors.

History might repeat itself in 2017 with New Hampshires HB 478, a bill with bipartisan sponsors that would ban discrimination based on gender identity but that is now poised to stall, the Concord Monitor reported, after an anti-transgender email campaign targeted legislators with hundreds of messages.

The number of people who have written stating that this bill essentially offers their children up to sexual predators is outrunning by five to one the number of emails stating that its time to end the daily beatings of transgendered people, Republican representative Jess Edwards, who initially backed the bill, wrote in a letter to the other members of the state House of Representatives.

The passionate are yelling past each other with worst-case scenarios. I dont think this is an environment in which the legislature should pick a side.

New Hampshire is surrounded on all sides by states that have already passed similar legislation protecting transgender residents: Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine.

HB 478 as the Monitor reported, is also supported by the very group that has the most experience dealing with actual sexual predators: the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, which reminded the state legislature in a statement that there are already strong state laws against predatory or invasive behavior in restrooms and elsewhere.

But HB 478s prospects have been thrown up in the air and the House speaker, as the Monitor reported, wants the bill tabled.

Over the past several days, the socially conservative New Hampshire organization Cornerstone has been directing supporters to sign a petition. That website also has a form letter to send to state representatives claiming that it puts the safety of women and children at risk by granting unquestioned access to what are currently private, safe spaces like bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms.

As The Daily Beast and other news outlets have repeatedly reported: this is a myth. The many states and municipalities with anti-discrimination laws covering transgender people have seen no uptick in sexual assault related to the protective legislation. But myths that are repeated loudlyand by enough peoplecan have consequences.

We know from the 18 states and over 200 cities that have had these lawsin some instances, for more than four decadesthat the facts that are so clearly in our favor can sometimes still be drowned out by fears that have no basis in fact, Kasey Suffredini, the director of Freedom For All Americans Transgender Freedom Project, told The Daily Beast. I think that is a case in point for why these non-discrimination protections are so badly needed.

Suffredini suspects that many of the emails opposing HB 478 are coming from out of state. He also said that lawmakers have told Freedom For All Americans that the supportive messages theyve received are very clearly from constituents and are largely personally written while the messages opposing the measure tend to be form letters, and its not always clear that theyre constituents. Democrats and Republican representatives told the New Hampshire Union Leader that theyre receiving out-of-state messages on both sides of the issue.

(Rep. Edwards also told the Union Leader that only about five or six of the 800 emails he has received are from actual constituents.)

Theoretically, the only people who should use the biologymattersnh.com form letter are New Hampshire residents because the bottom paragraph reads: I am a proud Granite Stater. But its unclear how these letters are delivered and whether out-of-state signatories are being filtered out.

Cornerstonewhich created the website, according to LifeSiteNewsdid not respond to The Daily Beasts requests for comment about the site.

In response to questions about the authenticity and reliability of the anti-HB 478 emails he referenced in his message to the House, Rep. Edwardswho originally numbered among the bills Republican supporters in a 15-2 committee votetold The Daily Beast, I believe my role is to be responsive to the public and that the best way to do that is to gather the facts and test everyones assumptions. Im comfortable in the belief that Ive done that in preparation for this weeks vote.

Edwards disputed the idea that there should be controversy around the bill, pointing to the state human rights commissions history of hearing a small handful of cases about transgender discrimination.

Its not nearly as scandal-worthy as it gets painted, he said.

The protections provided by HB 478, however, would be far more comprehensive and proactivea fact implicitly recognized by the bills more strident opponents, like Republican Representative J.R. Hoell, who claimed in a Sunday Monitor op-ed that the bill would eliminate the right to privacy for women and children in New Hampshires public bathrooms and other formerly private spaces.

(In his op-ed, Hoell cited the American College of Pediatricians to argue that transgenderism can be a form of child abuse. As The Daily Beast has reported, the American College of Pediatricians is a tiny organization, with a few hundred members at last count, that has been labeled an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The leading organization for U.S. pediatricians is the 64,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics, which supports transgender youth. A letter to the editor published on Tuesday pointed out Hoells shaky citations.)

If HB 478 fails due to fear and misinformation, it wouldnt be the first time that New Hampshire has trailed its immediate neighbors in a region that has historically been on the cutting edge of LGBT equality.

Back in 1998, sexual orientation was added to New Hampshires anti-discrimination lawbefore wide swaths of the country but still after Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island (PDF). The state legalized same-sex marriage in 2009but only after Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine did the same. (To be fair, Maine overturned same-sex marriage rights later in 2009.) And in 2016, New Hampshire almost banned conversion therapy for LGBT minors, only for the legislation to get lost in a May deadlock between the House and the Senate. That same month, Vermont became the fifth state in the country to ban conversion therapy. (The New Hampshire Senate is trying again to ban conversion therapy this year.)

Part of the current challenge, according to Suffredini, is the unusually large 400-seat size of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and the diffuse nature of the states rural population. So although he is heartened by vocal local supporters of HB 478including the New Hampshire Business and Industry AssociationSuffredini cannot predict what will happen during the HB 478 vote, expected to occur on March 8 or 9.

Who knows? On one hand, one of the bills co-sponsors is actually the Republican majority leadership of the Senate [Jeb Bradley], he told The Daily Beast. But the House in New Hampshire is just a very challenging body for people to organize in.

Many House representatives dont even know each other, he added.

If the bill fails, New Hampshire will remain a holdout in the region when it comes to transgender protections. In February 2017, the LGBT research organization Movement Advancement Project analyzed the strength of each states gender identity policies, color coding them green for high and medium equality, orange for low equality, and red for negative equality.

The only orange spot northeast of D.C.? New Hampshire.
After seven years of grandstanding and hand-wringing, this is the best Republicans could come up with?

The GOP answer to the Affordable Care Act was unveiled only yesterday, and its already about as big a hit as New Coke. Nobody seems to like it or even see it as an improvement over what we already have, save Paul Ryan and the underlings whose job it is to convince the public that they agree with Paul Ryan. Liberals hate it. Conservatives hate it. And low-income Americans will definitely hate it, once they realize whats in it.

As policy analysts wade their way through the 123-page bill in an attempt to glean its exact ins and outs, one thing is clear: this bill is not kind to women. In fact, portions of it read as though Republican lawmakers deliberately set out to make having female reproductive parts even more of an expensive headache than it already is. The AHCA contains several ways in which low-income women could be further encumbered with higher healthcare costs and fewer choices.

The GOPs plan guts the Medicaid expansion, defunds Planned Parenthood, and sunsets a federal rule that requires that qualified insurance plans cover things like mental health care, maternity care, and pediatric dental and vision care, among other things. That means that states could individually choose not to require insurance plans to cover maternity care, and that women who are planning on having a child would need to purchase special insurance riders, which would likely be prohibitively expensive. Further, the fate of the ACAs birth control mandatewhich allowed women to obtain contraception at no out-of-pocket cost, ostensibly because making it extremely easy for a woman to not get pregnant is more cost effective than dealing with a woman who is pregnant and does not want to beis also up in the air.

In short, if the House GOP plan were signed into law as-is, women could face financial repercussions for being poor, or for using birth control, or for not using birth control, or for giving birth, or for having children who need medical care. How many iPhones does an out-of-pocket Cesarean Section cost?

Stephanie Glover, senior policy analyst at the National Partnership for Women and Families, lays out the AHCAs one-two-three-four punch to womens health thusly: One by one this would be really bad for womens health. Packaged in a single bill is pretty alarming.

Glover believes that the bill, if enacted, would harm the financial health of families and make it more difficult for women to choose their own health care providers.

NARAL, unsurprisingly, isnt too keen on the proposal, either. A prepared statement from the pro-choice organization called the proposal a dangerous collection of greatest hits of failed Republican proposals.

Its also not clear who will be paying for health care for poor women and their families under this new plan, if not insurance or government assistance. Money does not simply materialize because Paul Ryan thinks freedom is the ability to buy things. Prior to the passage of the ACA, the poor and uninsured waited to seek health care until it was serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room. Then, because they had no way to pay the bill, theyd skip out on it. Which drove the price of other peoples health care up. One way or another, unless doctors are suddenly supposed to turn a blind eye to women who cant afford reproductive health care giving birth in the streets, somebody is going to pay for their health care.

The GOP bill is, at best, a less-good version of the flawed bill it was supposed to replace. Liberals, moderates, and conservative Senators alike are balking at the notion of passing it through as-is. But the architects behind the House bill clearly arent totally stupid; they must have had an inkling that some of the legislations wackier aspects would be cut.

Why, then, would House Republicans include so much language in their bill that specifically targeted the poor and/or female, unless it was to throw red meat to a base that wanted to see those groups punished? And what does that say about the moral character of their base?

For all of its flaws, at least the Affordable Care Act gave women relief from the nightmare of the unfettered insurance market, from politicians short-sighted attempts to charge men and women different prices for health care. As though having female body parts is a choice. As though men dont owe their lives and existence to the bodies of women.

Maybe its time for a second opinion.
In March 2014, the U.S. government sanctioned Dmitry Rogozina hardline deputy to Vladimir Putin, the head of Russias defense industry and longtime opponent of American powerin retaliation for the invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

Eighteen months later, the National Rifle Association, Donald Trumps most powerful outside ally during the 2016 election, sent a delegation to Moscow that met with him.

The meeting, which hasnt been previously reported in the American press, is one strand in a web of connections between the Russian government and Team Trump: Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn both denied speaking with the Russian ambassador, which turned out to be untrue; former campaign manager Paul Manafort supported pro-Russian interests in Ukraine; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson won an Order of Friendship from Putin; and then, of course, theres the hacking campaign that U.S. intelligence agencies say Russian launched to tilt the election in Trumps favor.

Meeting with Rogozin, a target of U.S. sanctions, is not itself illegalas long as the two sides did no business togetherexplained Boris Zilberman, an expert on Russian sanctions at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. But, he noted, it is frowned upon and raises questions those targeted for sanctions have been engaged in conduct which is in direct opposition to U.S. national security interests.

Which raises the question: Why was the NRA meeting with Putins deputy in the first place?

The NRA had previously objected to the parts of the U.S. sanctions regime that blocked Russian-made guns from import into the United States. But curiously, David Keene, the former NRA president and current board member who was on the Moscow trip, insisted the meeting with the high-ranking member of the Kremlin government had nothing whatsoever to do with geopolitics.

Rogozin is chairman of the Russian Shooting Federation and his Board hosted a tour of Federation HQ for us while we were there, Keene told The Daily Beast. It was non-political. There were at least 30 in attendance and our interaction consisted of thanking him and his Board for the tour.

Rogozin tweeted photos of the meetings, writing that they discussed a forthcoming rifle competition in Russia.

But Rogozin is no ordinary Russian official, and his title extends far beyond being merely the chairman of a shooting club. His portfolio as deputy prime minister of Russia includes the defense industry. One issue where Rogozin seems particularly interested is cyberwarfare, which he has heralded for its first strike capability. And hes well-known in Russia for being a radicaloften taking a harder line than Putin himself.

Rogozin was the leader of the ultra-right party called Rodina, or Motherland, and famously believes in the restoration of the Russian Empire, including what he calls Russian America (i.e., Alaska).

To wrestle control of the party, he turned its course from a party that was occasionally in opposition to Putin to a strictly pro-Putin party. In 2005 Rogozin and his party miscalculated Putins anti-immigrant mood and got kicked out of the parliament for a chauvinistic promotion video that said: Lets Clean the Garbage! featuring Central Asian workers eating a watermelon and spitting on the ground.

Still, Rogozin stayed loyal to Putin and soon was appointed Russian ambassador to NATO at the time of the Russia-Georgia Warhis main responsibility at the time was to prevent Ukraine and Georgia from joining NATO. Today his Motherland party is back in the parliament, trying to unite right-wing movements in Europe.

It is disconcerting that they would be meeting [with a Russian official] about anything given their vocal support of the president, said Rep. Mike Quigley, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russias attempts to influence the 2016 presidential elections. Due to the NRAs opposition to sanctions, it defies credulity that they wouldnt have discussed sanctions and their extraordinary support for Donald Trumps campaign.

Russia is not Americas friend. And its stunning to hear that while they were attacking our democracy, one of the largest organizations supporting Trump was cozying up with a sanctioned Russian in Moscow, said Rep. Eric Swalwell, who is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee panel that oversees the CIA.

Rogozins inclusion in U.S. sanctions, prior to his meeting with the NRA delegation, marks him as an American adversary. But if that designation raised red flags to Keene and his compatriotsincluding board member Pete Brownell, top NRA donor Joe Gregory, and Trump supporter Sheriff David A. Clarkethey didnt mention them, before or since.

The White House designated Rogozin for sanctions through an executive order in March 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea in Ukraine. Perhaps its only coincidence, then, that a few months later, the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action protested when the Treasury Department banned the importation of Kalashnikov firearms under authority granted to them from that same executive order.

These latest sanctions will no doubt engender the idea among some that the Treasury Department is using a geopolitical crisis as a convenient excuse to advance the presidents domestic anti-gun agenda, the NRA-ILA wrote at the time.

The National Rifle Associations support for Trump was unprecedentedand it seems to have paid off. The organization backed Trump in May 2016much earlier than they had endorsed other candidates in previous election cycles, and before he had even been officially named the Republican presidential nominee.

The NRA spent $30.3 million to elect Trumpmore than even the top Trump super PAC, which spent just $20.3 million, according to OpenSecrets.

This proved to be an important piece of the puzzle for the presidents eventual victory, giving him bona fides among Democrats from working class families.

They got behind him early. It tends to be a lot of movement conservatives, a lot of Republicans but the NRAs membership is also so powerful in union households, said Richard Feldman, a former NRA lobbyist who wrote a book, Ricochet, about his experiences. Union leaderships are very concerned about what the NRA has to say This year it was a very important. NRA was the first major group to get behind Trump.

Indeed, there is a solid case to be made that the NRAs endorsement and support was among the most important of any group this election cycle. The NRA lined up television advertising space early, when rates were lower, and had money to spend when the Access Hollywood scandal struck, reading with a fresh advertising spot to support Trump.

There are many claimants to the honor of having nudged Donald Trump over the top in the presidential election, wrote Fred Barnes, executive editor of the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, last week. But the folks with the best case are the National Rifle Association and the consultants who made their TV ads.

Soon after the election, the Trump administration rescinded an order, issued in the waning days of the Obama administration, that banned lead ammunition in various hunting and fishing areasthe NRA immediately applauded the action.

In retrospect, the second week of December 2015 is notable: In Moscows Metropol Hotel, now-disgraced Trump national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn dined with Putin at a dinner held by Russia Today, a state-sponsored propaganda outlet.

The NRA delegations 2015 trip to Russia took place the same week, lasting from Dec. 8-13, according to Clarkes public financial disclosure forms, (PDF), and included not only the people who met with Rogozin but a number of other NRA dignitaries, including donors Dr. Arnold Goldshlager and Hilary Goldschlager, as well as Jim Liberatore, the CEO of the Outdoor Channel.

Various members had various stated reasons for going. At least one was there for business reasons.

Mr. Liberatore traveled to Russia to discuss our new outdoor lifestyle service MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) and prospects for international distribution, said Liberatores spokesman, Thomas Caraccioli. Liberatore did not meet with Rogozin, he added.

The delegates who were contacted by The Daily Beast did not respond to questions regarding how they paid for their trip. But Clarke, as the sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, was required to fill out public disclosure forms outlining any private money he received for travel (PDF).

The trip was sponsored at least in part by the organization, The Right to Bear Arms, a firearms advocacy organization founded by Russian national Maria Butina, a former Siberian furniture store owner who now lives in Washington, D.C., and serves as a link between Russian political circles and the American capitals conservative elite.

A delegation of the worlds largest gun rights civic organizationthe National Rifle Association of the US (the NRA) visited Moscow on an official trip and met with supporters of the Right to Bear Arms movement, wrote Butina in Russian in December 2015, posting a photo of the delegation on her organizations Facebook page.

Clarke reported that Butinas organization paid $6,000 for his meals, hotel, transportation, and excursions during his time in Russia. Brownell, the CEO of a prominent firearms company and an NRA board member, paid for the remainder, including his airfare and visas.

It is unclear where Butinas firearms advocacy organization gets her moneyit is a puzzling group, considering that Russia does not have a large grassroots movement for gun rights like the United States does.

Butina does, however, have a close relationship with Alexander Torshin, the former deputy governor of Russias central bank who has been accused by Spanish authorities of laundering money for the Russian mob. Neither Butina and Torshin responded to requests for comment.

Both Torshin and Butina pride themselves on their close relationship with the National Rifle Assocation, bragging on social media about their life memberships in the organization and posting photos of themselves with Keene, a former president of the NRA.

Theyre not the only ones who posted photos showing links with the NRA: Rogozin posted photos of his meetings with the NRA in 2015. In one photo, the deputy prime minister is standing at what appears to be a shooting range with Gregory, Brownell, and Keene.

In another photo, Rogozin is at a conference table with Clarke and Brownell. Putin ally and former Russian senator Alexander Torshin is also seated with the group, along with a number of other unidentified individuals.

A White House spokesman declined to comment, as did the NRA.

Whatever the NRAs ultimate reason for sending a delegation to Moscow, the conservative movement in D.C. is starting to slowly shift their views on Russia and Putin.

In May 2014, Keene criticized President Obama for not doing enough to confront Putin.

The United States under President Obamas leadership is content to issue rhetorical denunciations, insult Mr. Putin by claiming he runs a second-rate country that doesnt understand the times in which we live, and deny he and his friends visas to visit the United States [emphasis added], Keene wrote in the Washington Times, where he is now an editor.

With Trump about to enter office, in January 2017, Keene was singing a different tune.

We seem prepared to believe any evil of Vladimir Putins Russia, which has with its second-rate military establishment and failing economy somehow morphed in the minds of many Americans into a greater threat than the old Soviet Union [emphasis added], he wrote.

Asked why the contradiction, Keene employed some Trumpian logic.

The two statements arent inconsistent, he told The Daily Beast.

with additional reporting by Anna Nemtsova, Michael Weiss, and Katie Zavadski.
President Donald Trump seems to be getting his first lesson in sausage making, and, if it keeps up at this pace, he may soon end up a vegan.

The tension between the different factions of the party is testing Republican leaders and a White House that has been dogged by poor messaging from the weekend they took power. Its also bringing out the worst side of the GOP, as in fighting erupted even before House leaders unveiled their new health care proposal.

Now White House and GOP leaders at the Capitol are scrambling to show a unified front when it comes to overhauling the nations health care system, because the latest Republican proposal has sparked an inter-party fight that threatens to derail the latest proposal before it even hits the House floor.

House conservatives have rejected the GOP bill to repair Obamacare because the party promised voters a full repeal while on the stump in the past few campaign cycles. More moderate Republicans from states that took Medicaid expansion fear the party is moving too swiftly to undo that provisionputting their constituents and possibly their jobsin jeopardy.

The new plan, released quietly by Speaker Paul Ryan Monday eveningofficially dubbed the American Health Care Actwould scrap the health insurance subsidies that are a staple of Obamacare and replace them with tax credits. Thats a part of the reason the far right pounced on the bill, even as Trump put his stamp of approval on it, telling reporters hes proud of it.

The conservative wing of the GOP has dubbed those credits a new entitlement program, which is a dirty insult in Republican circles. Those credits are a part of the reason that within 24 hours of the bills unveiling it had already been rejected by the Koch brothers group Americans for Prosperity, the libertarian leaning FreedomWorks, Heritage Action, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation, among other conservative groups promising to hold Republicans who vote for the package accountable. Even Breitbart News, whose former head, Steve Bannon, literally has a seat in the White House, derided the bill, dubbing it Obamacare 2.0.

The policy ideas included in the new health law seem to have been sucked into the vortex that is the conservative media machine where no previously held GOP belief, stance, or idea seems safe from the full onslaught of the loudest voices on the right.

The quick rejection of those tax credits, coupled with them being dubbed an entitlement program, came as a surprise to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) who crisscrossed the nation for nearly two years promising them to conservatives.

On the issue of tax credits, I can say to you that when we drafted my plan, when I ran for president on tax credits, conservatives groups helped us to draft it, including some that Ive now seen potentially opining against it, Rubio told The Daily Beast. So what changed?

Youll have to ask them what lead themmaybe the tax credits they had in mind were different than what was proposed, Rubio demurred.

Maybe the president can ask them, because the bill now has Trumps stamp of approval. Unlike Trumps now defunct steaks and vodka brands, thats supposed to mean some sort of quality control, but this is Congress and the president doesnt seem to have been given that memo.

While most in the GOP support that the bill does away with the health insurance mandate thats intended to prop up the rest of the health law and also unwinds a mix of taxes (like one that rolls back a tax on health insurance CEOs after they rake in their first $500,000 annually), other Republicans are upset the legislation slowly does away with Obamacares Medicaid expansion.

It doesnt seem anyones told the president that Republican governors are now in charge of 16 of the states that approved a Medicaid expansion, which means a lot of Republican senators and House members fear a backlash in the voting booth if they rip health care away from their constituents.

Were working through that, said Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), one four senators from Medicaid expansion states to sign a letter of concern about the proposal. But talking about, making sure we have the stability in the system that we have the flexibility to the states and the certainty that it can provide to the people of Colorado.

In 2015 all of those Republicans voted for the repeal bill that landed on President Obamas desk before being swiftly met with his veto pen, but the calculus seems to have changed for moderates in the party.

Where we are today with a Republican Congress and a Republican White House were not passing messaging bills herewe are shooting live rounds, Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) recently told The Daily Beast. Before we repeal we need to know what the replacement is going to look like, so I cannot support that drive to repeal and then hope things work outa hope so, maybe so replacement is no replacement at all.

But conservatives accuse party leaders of caving and they argue the GOP needs to swiftly send President Trump the same repeal bill they sent Obama just two years ago.

We are dividedwe have to admit we are divided on replacement, said Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) who introduced his own bill on Tuesday for a complete repeal of Obamacarewith no replacement. We are united on repeal, but we are not united on replacement. Whats the best way to get past this impasse? Lets vote on what we voted on before, a clean repeal. Lets separate out the replacement plans.

The House proposal would also cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood for a year, which in the past has been opposed by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME)both of whom dodged reporters on Tuesday with the dismissive nope and no comment, respectively.

So where does the party go from here?

It seems leaders cant get the bill out of the House, where no Democrats will support it, unless they tack to the right, which could then imperil its chances in the Senate.

Obamacare has been the rallying cry for the GOP for the last seven years and all the opposition from the partys rank and file is testing Speaker Ryan who is adamantly trying to convince conservatives that his bill represents a full repeal coupled with a replacement. But that isnt good enough for his right flank.

I believe, when you look through it, its Obamacare in a different form, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) told a throng of reporters outside the Capitol.

We put on President Obamas desk a bill that repealed Obamacare, got rid of every single tax, got rid of the mandates, Jordan continued. And now the first thing Republicans are bringing forward is a piece of legislation that were going to put on a Republican presidents desk that says we repeal it but keeps Medicaid expansion and actually expands it, that keeps some of the tax increasesthat is not what we promised the American people we were going to do.

While the president has said hes fully behind the new law, hes also signaled hes ready to play Lets Make a Deal by signaling to conservatives that hes willing to negotiate in the coming weeks.

As the legislative process goes forward, the president and I believe the American Health Care Act is the framework for reform, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. Were certainly hoping to improvements and recommendations in the legislative process, but this is the bill and the president supports the American Health Care Act and looks forward to working with leadership in the House and Senate to move this bill.

But the conservative wing of the party doesnt seem to want to spend the next few weeks debating every jot and tittle of the bill.

Thats where I dont want to go, is this infinite labyrinth of [regulations] and picking and that kind of thing. Thats whats wrong, said Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) who has come out opposed to Republican leaders plan. What we need is to get rid of the complexity.

When The Daily Beast pointed out to Brat that health care is 20 percent of the U.S. economy and is pretty freaking complex, even according to President Trump, the congressman called for the government to get out of health care altogether.

The history of the world is the history of failed central government planningthats the history of the world, Brat responded. The unique exception that made us the richest country on the earth is an experiment in free market economics.

In the coming weeks the nation will be witness to whether Trump is able to help thread a congressional needle between two warring factions: The tea party conservatives frothing at the mouth to unwind the entire health law and the moderate Republicans who were dubious of him on the campaign trail.

If he can unite those disparate wings of his fractured party he may prove to be the ultimate deal maker. If not, he may go down as a first term president who squandered his political capital on Twitter.
Its not often hackers play the part of the disappointed parent, however Cash Me Outside girl Danielle Bregoli was hacked on Twitter and Instagram on Tuesday by a group that claimed to be upset at her disrespectful behavior toward her mother.

Face Security Group, the hacking entity that claims to have taken over Bregolis Instagram page, changed her name (to a jumble of Cyrillic text, part of which now references The Washington Post and reads, in Russian, Democracy Dies in Darkness) and profile picture (to their own logo) and posted three videos to her accounts, threatening that they would begin unspecified leaks Wednesday evening.

The first video, which has already been viewed over a million times, said: This is the modern day celebrity. This country glorifies and makes famous a young girl for being disrespectful to her mother. She is no role model. She is no idol. She is no God. Pay close attention to what happens next.

A second video posted two hours later stated: Citizens of the world. Too long we have stood by idly and observed. It is time we take matters into our own hands. The time for change is now. The leaks begin Wednesday.

A third video, posted after another two-hour interval, showed a time clock counting down from 19 hours to zero.

Bregoli swiftly set up a duplicate internet page and appeared to shrug off the hackers, writing, My account got hacked. I will be taking my account back soon. Follow this one until then.

Bregoli, fans of daytime TV will recall, became famous when she appeared on Dr. Phil, for a segment called I Want to Give Up My Car-Stealing, Knife-Wielding, Twerking 13-Year-Old Daughter Who Tried to Frame Me for a Crime.

Bregoli told the TV doctor of her relationship with her mother, Barbara; Im pretty violent. Either Im breaking down her door or shes breaking down my door. I dont stop till I start seeing dents in the door. I steal cars. I steal her credit card. I aint gonna lie, theres no reason to lie.

It was pretty standard Dr. Phil fare until the 13-year-old uttered her immortal line, which, following common agreement across social-media platforms, is now officially spelled: Cash me outside, howbow dah?

Dr. Phil looked bemused, and her mom had to explain that the phrase means shell go outside and do what she has to do.

The clip became a viral sensation and Bregoliwho was accused of fighting with another passenger on an airplane last monthhas become a micro celebrity since then, with a line of merchandise in the pipeline and a guest appearance dancing on Kodak Blacks Everything 1K.

Bregolis estranged father is now apparently seeking to use Bregolis fame to raise money. Ira Peskowitz created a GoFundMe account Thursday with the stated aim of raising funds to get custody of his daughter. Im reaching out to the world, humbly, as a father that was estranged from my daughter, Danielle, as a result of parental alienation, he wrote on the fundraisers page.

He has so far been pledged $2,515 of a $250,000 'goal'.
Michael Ruiz made undocumented immigrants an offer they couldnt refuse: pay him or get deported.

Except Ruiz was not an immigration officer as he claimed, but a conman who scammed immigrants for $200,000 before he was sent to prison for more than six years in 2010. But weeks after Donald Trump was elected, Ruiz was allegedly back at it again, this time targeting immigrants in South Carolina. And business was better than ever: In just six weeks, Ruiz swindled $70,000 from immigrants, authorities allege.

When Ruiz was released from a New Jersey federal prison on probation on Sept. 23, 2016, he found himself in a country newly anxious over immigration. By mid-November, Ruiz was living in South Carolina and up to his old tricks, arrest warrants obtained by The Daily Beast claim. And this time, he made money at a record pace.

Beginning around November 23, two months after his release from prison, Ruiz allegedly began posing as a law enforcement officer. He located immigrants by word of mouth, South Carolinas Greenville Police Department claims. By January, he had allegedly found six local immigrants and offered drivers licenses and the chance to become citizens all for thousands of dollars. If they didnt pay him, cops say, theyd be kicked out of the country.

Over the course of two months, Ruiz extorted over $70,000 from the six immigrants, police allege. Among his earnings were exorbitant fees for Social Security numbers, which police say were fake or stolen.

The Social Security number given to one victim belonged to a deceased subject while the second victim received a fictitious number, police said in an arrest warrant, adding that Ruiz threaten[ed] deportation of their families if the victims didnt provide the money for the stolen identities.

Ruiz even impersonated lawmen in everyday life, according to police. In January, he stormed into a Greenville auto supply store complaining about a purchase. During an argument, Ruiz allegedly boasted that he was a deputy with a local sheriffs office and that he had recently arrested three of the customers watching the altercation. (A store employee confirmed to The Daily Beast that an irate customer had impersonated an officer in the store that month.)

When local police confronted him about posing as a deputy, Ruiz allegedly told them he was an officer with the New York City Police Department who worked in Times Square, even giving an NYPD officers badge number.

Fittingly, federal prosecutors called Ruiz a serial impersonator in 2010, after he pleaded guilty to posing as an officer and fleecing New Jersey and Florida immigrants for $200,000 by coercing them to buy fake documents. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The scam was ruinous for its victims, prosecutors said. Among his victims were undocumented immigrants, like an Ecuadorian man identified only as C.M. in court documents.

When Ruiz posed as an immigrations officer in 2006, he told C.M. he could help his family immigrate. C.M. handed over $5,000 for his wife, and asked Ruiz to help bring two other family members over. But Ruiz demanded more money, telling C.M. to pay $17,500 or none of his family would be allowed into the country. C.M. didnt have the cash. His family remained in Ecuador while he remained undocumented in New Jersey, $5,000 poorer than when he met Ruiz.

Other victims were legal permanent residents. One, called D.I. in court documents, was a legal resident from Ecuador when he met Ruiz in 2006. Ruiz identified himself as an INS [Immigration and Naturalization Services] sheriff, and told S.I. he could help him obtain legal status for his wife and three children. S.I. paid Ruiz $36,000 to expedite his familys immigration paperwork. Ruiz also threw two discount cars into the bargain, telling S.I. he would sell him two government-seized vans for $10,000. But $46,000 later, S.I. was left without the vehicles, and his family without the expensive immigration documents.

One desperate family believed Ruiz to be a legitimate officer, and turned to him when a family member needed real legal help.

A man identified as M.H.R. in court documents, was a legal permanent resident married to a U.S. citizen. M.H.R. owned a New Jersey construction company and had proper legal documentation, which he presented when Ruiz visited one of M.H.R.s construction sites while posing as an immigrations officer in 2007. Ruiz looked at M.H.R.s documents, then stepped away to take a phone call, court documents say. When he returned, Ruiz said he there was a deportation order for M.H.R. Ruiz demanded $5,000 in money orders, which he said would go toward new documents.

Ruiz even drove M.H.R.s wife to a post office, where she filled out a money order to INS. But the money never went to the feds. Ruiz wrote his own name over the INS label and cashed the orders himself.

M.H.R. was never deportedunbeknownst to him there had never been a deportation order in his nameso his family believed Ruiz had saved them. And when M.H.R.s sister, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, was detained by real immigrations officials later that year, they turned to Ruiz for help.

The woman, identified as S.R., was placed under a deportation order, with an ankle monitor tracking her movements until she was removed from the country. Desperate, M.H.R.s family reached out to Ruiz, who told them he could fix S.R.s legal status and remove her ankle monitor for $5,000. Once again, the family paid up. But this time, the deportation order was real. S.R. sent to Guatemala several days after Ruiz promised to save her.

Apparently immigrants were safer with Ruiz behind bars. Two months after completing his prison sentence for the 2010 scam, he was allegedly fleecing immigrants in South Carolina. By March, he was back under arrest.

A U.S. District Court in South Carolina has charged him with four counts counts of blackmail and four counts of fraudulently impersonating an officer to secure property, among several other felony counts. He is being held without bond.
So it seems clearnot just to me, but to most other journalists and health wonks Ive communicated with over the last two daysthat Paul Ryan has introduced a bill that he doesnt want to pass.

This seems crazy on its face. Destroying Obama has been the core aim of conservatism for the better part of a decade. The Tea Party movement sprang to life opposing it, during those ferocious town halls of 2009. Congress voted who knows how many times to repeal it. Repeal was the one pledge every single Republican candidate made, from Donald Trump on down to poor Jim Gilmore. And Im sure if you asked your average Limbaugh fan or InfoWars devotee whats the one thing the Republicans should do above all else?, the answer would surely be repeal Obamacare.

And yet, Ryan and the House Republicans have put forward a bill that everyone has attacked from all sides, and astonishingly, they did so without laying the very basic groundwork you lay before putting something like this out there. The tip-off to me came Tuesday around noon, when Heritage Action, the political arm of the Heritage Foundation, issued a tweet condemning the bill. If Ryan didnt even bother to grease this with Heritage, hes just not being serious.

But you will ask me: How could he want it to fail? Hell have millions of furious conservatives on his hands. Hell look weak to your average voter. And most of all hell look weak to Trump and Steve Bannon, who are not big fans to begin with and are presumed to want him out of the way (hes too liberal for Bannon, you see).

And I will say to you: I dont have a great answer to your question. The Occams Razor answer is that maybe Ryan has calculated, in light of Obamacares surprising robust poll numbers, that getting rid of it would be worse than keeping it, because getting rid of it would give the opposition a cause. It would create millions of angry voters whod march to the polls in 2018 to vote against the Republicans. Remember, the Democrats need only 24 or so seats to flip the Househardly an insurmountable number if the incumbent president has an approval rating in the low 40s, as Trump does now. If the Democrats take the House, Ryan is finished of course, and Trump is probably finished too. Not only will he pass no legislation, but the subpoenas will be flying off to everyone from Bannon to the White House janitors. The devils deal that Ryan and so many Republicans madewell let Trump be crazy Trump as long as he lets us dismember the welfare statewill be moot. Dead.

So maybe its in Ryans interest to introduce a bill that he knows will fail provided he can blame the right people. He knew his hard-right flank would hate this bill. So, the thinking may be, make some changes to accommodate them, knowing that those changes will make Senate passage a virtual impossibility, because Democratsyes, all of them, even Joe Manchinwill be united in opposition, and three or four Republicans may join them (Susan Collins, Dean Heller, Jeff Flake, Lisa Murkowski). This will enable Ryan to say hey, I tried, I moved to assuage concerns on the right, but the Democrats and the soft Republicans in the Senate, and the evil liberal special interests like the American Medical Association, killed it.

Thats legislative logic. Losing but being able to blame somebody else? There are worse places to be.

But still. Losing is losing. And losing something like this reverberates, maybe for a long time. Remember when the Clintons lost on health care in 1994? It took the Democrats 16 years to regroup on the issue. When will Republicans try again to repeal Obamacare? Probably not for a while.

And what future Congress is going to freeze the Medicaid expansion? This, by the way, was another tip-off to me that this bill was a totally unserious play. Why does it call for ending the Medicaid subsidies in 2020a presidential election year? Does Ryan really think that Congress is going to yank subsidies away from millions of people in a presidential election year?! When, he might be thinking, he could be seeking the presidency himself? (That is, Trump is a disaster, hes been impeached or indicted or something, and its Mike Pence versus all comers; not an insane scenario.)

If repeal fails now, the Medicaid expansion is probably here to stay, and it will probably expand to more states as Republican governors run up the white flag. If anything, governors will pressure Congress to keep the federal financial commitment as high as possible (it was 100 percent originally and is scheduled to fall to 90 percent by 2020).

And if repeal fails, whats that going to tell us about tax reform and Ryans beloved Medicare reform? I could maybe see something minor still happening on tax reform, because there are probably eight Senate Democrats (the number the Republicans need to break a filibuster) who support lowering the corporate tax rate and a couple other things, but there will likely be no huge tax cuts for the rich. And theres no way Ryan will move Medicare to the private market.

So he loses, and loses big, if repeal fails. But he risks losing even bigger if it passeshe risks losing his majority and his job. Barack Obama and the Democrats spent eight years feeling the wrath of citizens who were terrified that the Democrats were taking away their health care, and the Republicans did much to exploit that fear. Now its their turn to feel that same heat. Couldnt happen to a nicer bunch.
BOSTON  James Comey on Wednesday said encryption apps kept the FBI from accessing nearly half of the devices they were legally granted permission to search last year.

The FBI director didnt speak about President Donald Trump or the ongoing Russia intrigue around his team during his keynote address to the Boston Conference on Cyber Security at Boston College. (Youre stuck with me for another six and a half years, Comey joked to cut the tension.) Instead, Comey focused on cybersecurity threats and called encryption apps like Signal, Whatsapp, and Wickr the default for criminals like pedophiles and terrorists.

In the last three months of 2016, Comey said the FBI received 2,800 devices to search. Thanks to encryption, almost half of them were uncrackable.

Twelve hundred of those devices, 40 percent, we could not open by any technique, Comey said.

The FBI famously asked Apple to help crack an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists . Apple refused to help ( despite doing so before ) and the FBI accessed the phone using a third party.

Encryption apps rose in popularity after Edward Snowdens disclosure of the National Security Agencys mass collection of Americans communications data, known as metadata. Comey likened the spread of encryption to a room where the lights are going out.

There was always a corner of the room that was dark to us  nation states, criminals, he said. What has happened to us since 2013, since Snowden, more and more of that room has become dark.

Comey said metadata  the who, where, and when of communications but not their content  isnt very useful to law enforcement.

This is what I don't think people realize. Metadata is limited especially in criminal cases and proving beyond reasonable doubt with pedophiles and terrorists, Comey said, adding metadata isnt enough because metadata doesnt say much.

Comey said the Constitution and courts are sufficient to protect Americans privacy because law enforcement has to provide probable cause to a judge before a warrant can be authorized.

We want privacy and we want security. We should never have to compromise both, he said. The government cannot invade our privacy for any reason not reviewed in court: but it does mean that with reason, the court can invade privacy.

Aside from fighting crime, the FBI is responsible for counterintelligence such as finding and catching foreign spies. The task has received tons of attention given investigations into Russias election interference and ties to President Donald Trumps team. (Comey did not speak to Trumps spurious claim that the feds wiretapped him during the election.)

Comey called state actors the top cybersecurity threat to the U.S., led by Russia and followed by China and North Korea. National syndicates and terrorists are far behind, he added.

"What are they after is information, access, advantage, Comey said. Not just about getting data but corruption of data."

Saying the surface is too big, too ubiquitous to prevent every attack, Comey said protecting the U.S. will happen by first reducing vulnerabilities in the private sector  from the board level on down.
As we all learned during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, theres only one person Trevor Noah loves talking about more than Donald Trump. And that person is Dr. Ben Carson.

Now, the newly confirmed secretary of Housing and Urban Developmentor, as Noah said Trump calls him, the secretary of blacksis back in the news. This week he delivered his first address to his new department and drummed up some controversy by seeming to equate immigrants and slaves.

There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder, for less, Carson said in his remarks.

Thats one way to describe slavery, The Daily Show host responded Tuesday night. It makes them sound like they work at Wal-Mart. He added, Look, I love Ben Carson, but calling slaves immigrants is like saying, Its not kidnapping, that person just got a free vacation in a basement!

As part of his damage-control mission, Carson actually defended the basis of his statements and challenged people to look up the word immigrant in a dictionary. Noah obliged, presenting this definition: a person who comes to a country to take up a permanent residence. The host pointed out that, for one, slaves were considered property not people, and secondly they didnt come to America, they were taken here by force.

Eddie Murphy came to America, he added. Kunta Kinte was brought. Big difference, people! Its seductive to believe that African-Americans share in the American immigration story, Noah said, revealing, as was reported by a handful of conservative outlets earlier in the day, that President Obama said something similar just two years ago.

It wasnt always easy for new immigrants, Obama said at a naturalization ceremony for new citizens in 2015. Certainly it wasnt easy for those of African heritage who had not come here voluntarily, and yet in their own way were immigrants themselves.

But in the case of Obama, Noah said, You could tell when he said that part he was thinking, Damn, my speechwriter fucked up.

It doesnt matter who said it, the host continued. Slaves werent immigrants. Because an immigrant has choice. They choose the country theyre going to because they hope it will bring them a better life. To say otherwise, he added, helps justify blaming African-Americans for their hardships.

Noah ended his segment by presenting the uplifting trailer for 12 Years a New Guy in Town, from the visionary mind of Dr. Ben Carson.

Because sometimes you dont get to choose your own adventure. The adventure chooses you.
Donald Trumps latest lunacyhis claims that President Obama illegally tapped his phonesis shoving America toward a full-scale institutional and perhaps even constitutional crisis.

In the White House, the Bannon-Miller Axis of Weasels is ready to merrily watch the world burn for the sake of pleasing their masters mercurial moods and their own dark nationalist fantasies. For them, these outbursts arent bugs, but core features. They want the Trumpbartian war over all else, and, contrary to what official Washington tries to believe, the Axis wants Trump ragey and dangerous, which is why theyre feeding his paranoid talk (perhaps made vivid for him by his own eavesdropping instincts) about President Obama tapping him in Trump Tower.

In Congress, the breathing room Trumps not-totally-insane speech to Congress bought Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell has already been nearly eliminated by this President predictably and colorfully departing the rails just hours later.

For the intelligence community, it was one more chapter in the war Trump and Bannon have waged on them since the first days of the Administration. Bannons desire to purge the intelligence community and reshape it into a Muslim-and-Mexican Hunting Agency has already pushed career professionals in the IC to their breaking points. One said to me this weekend, Trump has a pair of twos, at best. The IC has a royal flush.

The remnants of the conservative right watch as the Trump Troll Party grunts tweet-derived talking points from an obvious madman, abandoning principle, reason, fact, and intellectual rigor. The irresistible, gravitational draw of his charismatic lunacy has pulled even smart conservatives into its field. I had a heated series of messages with a conservative writer this weekend who wouldnt even bring himself to acknowledge that this absurd moment was a creation of Trumps fevered imagination and fueled by a Trumpbart conspiracy fantasy. It perfectly illustrated the post-logic right; they will contort themselves beyond recognition to back up even the most ludicrous propositions if they can scream but Obama! and lock her up! and but the MSM!

Embracing Trumps wiretapping story requires belief in a a concatenating chain of ever-more ridiculous assertions to be true.

First, it requires a chain of command in the intelligence community and federal law enforcement that doesnt exist. There is no secret channel that magically makes wiretaps, surveillance, and massive national security investigations appear full-blown from the brow of the President. As General Mike Hayden noted, Thats not how the plumbing works. Electronic and surveillance coverage warrants are issued either under Title 3 (typical for criminal investigations) or under FISC, but the Trump-right must now believe that Barack Obama could instantly order the might of the entire intelligence community to target Donald Trump at a political whim.

Second, they have to believe the FISC court would approve a FISA warrant against Trump or his associates without specific probable cause that directly illustrated imminent risks to our national security. FISA warrants are issued in major terrorism and espionage cases based on information that typically comes up from the intelligence community, not down the chain in the form of a White House order, despite the fever-swamp rantings of the Trumpbart media. FISA targets those who are agents of a foreign power.

Third, they have to believe that the FBI, CIA, and NSA et al would illegally implement electronic surveillance of a U.S. citizen for purely political reasons in the heat of a Presidential contest. It would mean that dozens of senior and likely hundreds of less-senior intelligence and law enforcement personnel would have to agree to engage in an ongoing criminal conspiracy to commit continuous, multiple felonies.

Fourth, they must simultaneously believe Barack Obama is both the evil mastermind of the anti-Trump strategy in the 2016 election and a moron who engaged in a set of wildly illegal and ineffective actions with a massive paper trail. If Obama controlled the entire intelligence and law enforcement process, how did James Comeys finger-on-the-scale actions in the closing days damage Clinton so profoundly and ignore Trump so thoroughly?

Finally, you have to believe that despite being hellbent on destroying Trump even at the cost of breaking the law, he never whispered in the ear of the appropriate minion to have Trumps tax returns appear somewhere, WikiLeaks-style. Trumps obsessive lying about his tax returns, his utter stonewalling of their release, and the manic reaction to any mention of them tells us theres something there that hed kill a puppy to protect.

The first relevant FISA warrants were requested in June of 2016, when it looked like a certainty wed see Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office. Why issue them at all, given the risk of disclosure? Given the polling at the time...why bother? Even those warrants were rejected for being too broad. Given the polling at the time, why bother? Additionally, if the White House controlled this process so thoroughly, why were they rejected?

Conservative defenders of Trump are reduced to variations on, The crafty Kenyan Marxist Muslim mastermind can do anything! He could have suborned them! He could have used his mind control powers to make the FISC, the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and other agencies do his bidding! Even if you accept the absurd notion every person involved would willingly engage in felonies at the behest of an outgoing President, the idea of wiretapping Trump tower to simply trawl for dirt that was never guaranteed to produce a show-stopping result is ridiculous.

Trump is stress-testing Congress, hard. He expects their full-throated defense of this madness to shatter the sky with its volume. He expects his media allies to turn this into a Watergate-style scandal against Obama to distract from the beets-and-vodka reek covering his business dealings, his senior advisors, and the pro-Putin claque that surrounds him in his Kremlin outpost on the Potomac.

Its a race now to see if Congress, the press, and the American people outside of the Trump Reality Distortion Field will let him get away with it.
PARISThe crime is as shocking as it is sickening.

Early on Tuesday morning, poachers slipped into a wildlife park west of Paris and entered the rhino enclosure. There, they slaughtered a five-year-old white rhinoceros with three bullets to the head before lopping off his horn with what zoo officials believe was a chainsaw.

The crime marks the first time rhino poachers have targeted a zoo in Europe, and has left staff shaken at the Parc Zoologique de Thoiry, where the beloved rhino named Vince had lived since 2015 after arriving from The Netherlands.

"The zoo personnel are extremely shocked," Thierry Duguet, the zoo's director, told L'Express. "Vince was a popular fixture at our park."

In a statement on its Facebook page, the zoo said that the poachers broke into the enclosure by forcing open an outer gate and several doors. It added that the "odious act" was carried out despite security cameras and the presence of five staff members living on grounds, suggesting that the poaching was the work of professionals.

"Vince's second horn was only partially cut, either because the criminals were disturbed or because their equipment failed," the statement said.

Rhinoceros horns are valued in Asia for their supposed medicinal properties, particularly in Vietnam and China, where horns have a reputation as potent aphrodisiacs. A single horn typically fetches tens of thousands of dollars on the black market. Duguet told France Bleu that one kilo of rhinoceros horn was worth between 40,000 and 50,000 (roughly $42,000 to $53,000) on the Asian market, despite no evidence that the horns actually possess any medical benefits.

"Rhinoceros horns are made of keratinthe same substance our hair is composed of, and there are no medicinal or magical properties," he said.

Largely because of poachers, there are only about 20,000 white rhinos like Vince left on the planet.

Last August, France introduced a total ban on elephant ivory and rhinoceros horns, although the possession of ivory and horn is still permitted.

Police have launched an investigation to track down the poachers, but thus far little information has been uncovered. Indeed, even the type of gun used to kill Vince has yet to be identified. Two other rhinos in the enclosure with Vince were left unharmed, likely because the perpetrators had to act quickly.

"It's possible that the thieves didn't have the time to get the others," a source close to the investigation told Le Parisien.

The Parc Zoologique de Thoiry has alerted other European zoos about the poaching. However, what additional security measures, if any, the wildlife park plans to implement have not been revealed. Calls placed to the zoo by The Daily Beast on Wednesday were unanswered.

In the meantime, thousands of condolence messages have been left on the zoo's Facebook page condemning the brutal crime and calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

"How could someone commit such atrocities!" Camille Defleschelle wrote. I hope they will be found and judged severely for their act."She added: "Otherwise, let's put them in the lion enclosure and let the lions take care of them."
Organizers of the massively successful Womens March predicted months ago that on International Womens Day, the world would understand the contributions of women by noticing what happens when we are absent. The Womens Strike encouraged women to stay home from work and refuse to do the invisible and thankless labor normally expected of women.

On January 21st, the cities where women marched felt overtaken by the crowds, rivers of pink hats and sassy homemade signage. Despite the fact that just 24 days before, one of Americas most preeminent celebrity chauvinists had become President, the whole world felt feminist that day. Televisions aired impressive aerial shots of protesters that went on forever. Nobody got arrested. Donald Trump spent the next week forcing his Press Secretary Sean Spicer into round after round of public humiliation by making him to engage in a pissing contest about crowd size. It felt like a victory.

Today doesnt quite feel like that, nor should it. Women still held their kids hands as they walked their children to school. Female crossing guards directed traffic. The person trying to negotiate with a screeching toddler trying to escape his stroller outside of my local coffee shop was a woman. Female teachers wrangled classes of wriggling children at the 81st St Natural History Museum subway stop. A female caretaker helped an elderly man navigate the gap between the train and the yellow warning strip on the edge of the platform. In Chelsea, a woman balanced a cardboard tray of coffee as she pushed open the door to Starbucks with her hip. A woman caught the door and held it open for her. If I didnt watch cable news, it would feel like any other day. Most of the work women normally do was being done.

On a practical level, todays Womens Strike is more of a wake-up call than a work stoppage. If the only way to show the world that women matter was a cease in female labor, this country would face disaster that lasted for much longer than a single day.

Further, a womens strike fully realized could end up being a day when one class of women makes life much more difficult for another.

A friend who works in public health emergency preparedness and is currently dealing with an outbreak of meningitis on a college campus could not take a day off; if she did, shed risk allowing the spread of disease, ostensibly to some college students who would also be women. My mother, a school administrator in rural Wisconsin, could not take a day off; if she did, shed cause a headache for her mostly-female staff. Nor could my sister, a teacher, whose classroom full of children would likely be hoisted to the care of another female teacher. Nor could most of the women I know who work in media, who have been tapped specifically to write about this day and its significance and its impact, or to appear on television in professionally-applied makeup to opine about what it all means, and whether or not its a success. Nor could my friends who work as engineers and doctors, or women who work as airline pilots or in the law enforcement or intelligence communities. Then theres the issue of childcare; if mothers take days off, theyll rely on teachers to care for their children, if teachers take days off and schools are closed, day-care workers must accommodate the teachers. If the daycares close, parents (usually mothers) must figure out child care alternatives. Economic stratification means that a strike in one class puts stress on another.

The women whose labor is most valuable yet invisible are too important to not do the work that the world has taken for granted from them. Theyd have to sacrifice the welfare of people who know all too well the importance of women to make a point to the Donald Trumps of the world, people who would accuse women of being selfish in trying to make their importance known. In order for many women to strike, to refuse to live their expected feminine roles as caretakers for the weak and small, theyd have to trust that if they let go, men would fill in the gaps for them. Women who are stewards for important projects and endeavors would have to trust that a man would be right there to duplicate their expertise. Theyd have to trust that if they let go, a man would volunteer to help children cross Adam Clayton Powell Blvd, that a man would dress their child in her school uniform, a man would figure out a way to complete the work that needed to get done. That a man would perform the duties of nurses, or nursing assistants, or home health aides. Of OB-GYNs, of attorneys, of executives. Theyd bet the lives of those in their care and the success of their projects that men would step up.

Todays strike, when viewed as a thought experiment, serves as an important reminder that fighting for the rights of women means fighting for equality for all women, especially those so indispensable in the lives of others that they couldnt possibly take a day off without dire consequences. Because being a woman is not like being a nurse, or being a teacher, or being an automobile assembly line worker, because theres no contract, or boss, or paid days off or person to make demands to. A successful womens strike means society realizing en masse that the personhood and dignity of women of all races and classes is something those who have the luxury of voice must fight for.
For the second time in a matter of months, U.S. intelligence agencies have suffered a devastating breach of their hacking secrets.

But unlike the last breach in August, an American Central Intelligence Agency worker, not Russian hackers, is the most likely source of a new tranche of documents detailing the methods and tools used by the CIA to steal secrets from foreign governments and terror groupsthough some experts have seen signs that Russia is working overtime to take advantage of the disclosure.

Tuesdays document dump, titled Vault 7, Year Zero by WikiLeaks, details the capabilities and culture within the CIAs secretive Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virginia. The leak portrays a robust, if not unique, computer-intrusion capability inside the CIA, accented by a few James Bond novelties, like special snooping software intended to be carried into an adversarys lair on a thumb drive, where a CIA asset plugs it into a USB port. Another program, code-named Weeping Angel, turns a Samsung smart TV into a covert listening device.

The leak follows an incident last August when a mysterious group or individual called the Shadow Brokers began publishing hacking tools stockpiled by the NSAs elite Tailored Access Operations group, including dozens of backdoor programs and 10 exploits. Experts suspected the Shadow Brokers were a shot across the bow by Russias intelligence services.

But the CIA leak could be worse for U.S. intelligence, because it includes code from the agencys malware development frameworks. Using that code, security experts and counterintelligence agents could sniff out a variety of CIA malware. For the CIA this is huge loss, said Jake Williams, founder of Rendition Infosec. For incident responders like me, this is a treasure trove.

The hacking files are the second WikiLeaks disclosure from a tranche of CIA documents it calls Vault 7. The first, in February, showed that the CIA closely monitored the 2012 French election, an unsurprising revelation that nonetheless fueled charges of American hypocrisy.

Tuesdays data dump was similarly met with a rapid wave of social-media fury, most of it mischaracterizing the leaks content. Perhaps significantly, the most common meme purports to clear Vladimir Putin in the 2016 U.S. election hacking. It was the CIA that actually hacked the Democratic National Committee, the story goes, using the Kremlins malware to frame Russia for the breach. In one version of the meme, it was all done to justify spying on Trumpan apparent reference to the presidents recent assertion that the Obama administration wiretapped Trump Tower.

The basis of that false claim is a leaked CIA resource called Umbrage, a catalog of malicious code samples captured in the wild by the government or computer-security firms. The leak shows that CIA hackers are encouraged to reuse that public malware in their own hack attacks when possible, in part to make it harder to attribute the breach.

But as described in the leak, the Umbrage library is primarily a shortcut for CIA code jockeys who dont want to write, for example, a Windows keystroke-logging function from scratch, when there are plenty of keyloggers crawling around our crimeware-clogged Internet already. The leaked catalog isnt organized by country of origin, and the specific malware used by the Russian DNC hackers is nowhere on the list. Needless to say, the documents say nothing about framing another nations intelligence service. But by the end of the day Tuesday, the alt-right news site Breitbart was promoting the false claim.

Other memes claim falsely that the leaks show all Skype conversations are stored in the CIA cloud, that President Obama used CIA hackers to spy on President Trump, and cite the CIAs 2014 interest in hacking onboard automotive systems as a hint that the agency assassinated Rolling Stone reporter Michael Hastings, who died in a high-speed crash in 2013.

Robert M. Lee, founder of the cybersecurity firm Dragos, finds the rapidity, consistency, and overwhelming volume of the falsehoods suspicious, particularly the meme purporting to vindicate the Kremlin. He suspects that bots have been deployed to push the tall tale on Twitter. That narrative emerged far too quickly to have been organic, said Lee. There is certain narrative terminology and sound-bites that are consistent among multiple accounts. That usually speaks to some sort of automation or coordination.

A lot of the things that were highlighted are clearly intended to drive a wedge between the president and the intelligence community, said Lee, which is terrible for the country.

A similar dynamic was seen during WikiLeaks election leaks, when legitimate revelations about the Democratic Party were often accompanied by far juicier reports on social mediaoften in .gif formfalsely citing the stolen emails. U.S. intelligence later assessed that the Kremlin had legions of paid trolls circulating critical and outright false narratives on social media as part of the campaign to throw the election to Trump.

A key difference this time is that by all evidence the CIA disclosures are genuine leaks from inside the agency, not the result of a hack. Few say they think the agency was breached by Russia the way the DNC was, which means a CIA employee or contractor with a top-secret clearance is likely the source. The most recent file in the cache appears to date to February 2016, so its possible the leaker passed the documents to WikiLeaks before the group was known for laundering the ill-gotten gains of Vladimir Putins hackers.

That persons identity will be an obsession in intelligence circles, and his or her motives a subject of endless speculation outside. WikiLeaks normally doesnt comment on sources except to deny Russias involvement, but Julian Assange broke with that tradition this time to claim that the files had already leaked to former government hackers and contractors, one of whom then passed the tranche to WikiLeaks. The source wanted to spark a public debate on policy questions, Assange wrote, including whether the CIAs hacking capabilities exceed its mandated powers and the problem of public oversight of the agency.

The source wishes to initiate a public debate about the security, creation, use, proliferation, and democratic control of cyberweapons, Assange added.

Williams, a former U.S. government hacker himself, says WikiLeaks might well be telling the truth about the leakers motives. It could just be someone concerned about civil liberties, he said. But regardless of why they were leaked, the CIA documents put Trump in a tough spot. Hes openly praised WikiLeaks previously, said Lee. Now hes dealing with whats ultimately going to be an intelligence collection disaster.
Although the judgments provided a symbolic justice, there was no realistic expectations that Iran would pay what it owed. However, with Iran nuclear deal in play now, in the first case of its kind, default judgments against Iran have gone to a European court to be enforced. A judge in Luxembourg has quietly put a freeze on $1.6 billion in assets belonging to Irans central bank, for group of attack victims, including estates of people who were killed, who won their cases, according to people familiar with the case.

Instances in which domestic civil lawsuits against foreign entities over terrorist attacks have raised diplomatic and national security complications have increased, and the

litigation also has broader significance. The 2015 deal was simply that Iran curbed its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions so it could become part of the world economy. If Iranian-linked assets are vulnerable to seizure to pay off the default judgments handed down by American courts, that economic goal is undermined.

The Iran Project director at Harvard Kennedy Schools Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Payam Mohseni, said that if victims succeed in seizing the funds, it may be a step toward confrontation with hard-liners in Iran who were opposed to the deal and are looking for signs of betrayal. He also noted that few of the envisioned investments in Iran with Western financing have materialized. A ruling like this would make Iranian assets vulnerable in Europe which, for Iranians, would violate the spirit of the agreement if not the letter of it, he said.

The Luxembourg decision attracted little attention as the litigation is confidential, but is now circulating in Washington. On Thursday, lawyers for the victims sent a letter detailing the case to the prime minister of Luxembourg, asking for his governments assistance in opposing Irans effort to unfreeze its assets, and sent a copy of the letter to senior foreign policy officials in the White House.

Neither the White House, not the embassy of Luxembourg in Washington responded to a request for comment.

That the lawsuit did not stem from an attack by Shiite terrorists that specialists agree were sponsored by Iran, but instead, it was brought by victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks by Al Qaeda, the Sunni terrorist group, complicates matters.

A federal judge in New York, George B. Daniels, was persuaded by the victims in 2011 to find that Iran had aided the attacks by providing assistance to Al Qaeda. He ordered Iran to pay the victims $2 billion in compensatory damages and $5 billion in punitive damages in 2012.

As there was no way to collect that judgment stagnated for years. Then it was learned that Clearstream system in Luxembourg was holding $1.6 billion in Iranian central bank assets that had been blocked under sanctions, the letter said. So, last year, lawyers for the September 11 victims persuaded the Luxembourg judge to place a new freeze on those assets while they sued over whether they could execute the default judgment against those funds. Clearstream and the Iranian central bank, Markazi, are trying to get that freeze lifted.

The two lawyers who are leading the effort, Lee S. Wolosky and Michael J. Gottlieb, are former Obama administration officials. Mr. Gottlieb was a lawyer in the White House in Mr. Obamas first term, and Mr. Wolosky served under Secretary of State John F. Kerry, as the special envoy for Guantanamo closure.

The Iran nuclear deal does not include terrorism issues or resolve outstanding legal claims, so you can support that deal and also support the enforcement of lawful, final judgments entered by the federal courts wherever Iranian assets are found, Mr. Wolosky said. And that is exactly what we are aggressively pursuing.

Dennis Ross, Iran adviser to Mr. Obama in his first term, predicted that European leaders who support the Iran deal would try to resist such efforts. Iran will certainly try to get these assets unfrozen so they arent put at risk, but I dont see them walking away from the deal, even though this is a very novel, very creative use of the legal system to try to get these judgments enforced, he said.

In 2014, the Obama administration divided internally about urging the Supreme Court to intervene in a case against Arab Bank, Jordans largest financial institution, brought by victims of terrorist attacks in Israel who accused the bank of dealing with Hamas. The case was ultimately settled.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that Irans central bank turn over $2.1 billion in frozen assets held by Citibank to victims of the 1983 Marine Corps barracks bombing in Lebanon. The Obama administration backed the victims in that case, which Iran is challenging in the International Court of Justice.

American relations with Saudi Arabia came under strain last year, as well, when Congress, overriding President Obamas veto, enacted a bill that widened the terrorism exception to foreign sovereigns immunity from civil lawsuits, so that victims of the September 11 attacks would be allowed to sue the Saudi government too.
Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father whose impassioned speech at the Democratic National Convention in July called on Americans to reject a ban on Muslims entering the United States, claimed that his "travel privileges are being reviewed" by U.S. authorities, forcing him to cancel a scheduled speech in Toronto.

The announcement on Monday coincided with President Donald Trump's rewritten order to temporarily ban entry of citizens from six Muslim-majority nations to the United States. Khan has been a U.S. citizen for more than 30 years and was born in Pakistan, which is not one of the six nations.

Ramsay Talks, the organizer of the event Khan was to speak at, seemed to take Khan at his word on Monday and included a statement from him in a cancellation post on Facebook. "This turn of events is not just of deep concern to me but to all my fellow Americans who cherish our freedom to travel abroad," said Khan, according to the post. "I have not been given any reason as to why. I am grateful for your support and look forward to visiting Toronto in the near future."

The claim, which does not state which U.S. agency contacted him, immediately raised doubts about how it was possible that a U.S. citizen was being prevented from traveling abroad.

On Tuesday, Bob Ramsay, who runs Ramsay Talks, said he didn't know the specifics of Khan's predicament. "I don't know exactly who conducted the review, but in speaking with Mr. Khan, it was certainly U.S. authorities," Ramsay said. "That's all I know."

As questions about his motivations for making the claim swirl, Khan has refused to elaborate on his initial statement to The Washington Post and other publications. A more detailed request for clarification did not receive an immediate response Tuesday afternoon.

It is unclear whether Khan has previously traveled outside the United States since he was naturalized.

U.S. citizens don't need visas to enter Canada, or even the electronic travel authorizations required of all other foreign visitors there. As a general rule, the United States cannot prevent passport-holding citizens from traveling if they have not been charged with a crime. Public records indicate that Khan has no criminal history, either at the federal level, in Charlottesville, where he lives, or in Silver Spring, his previous place of residence. Furthermore, U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Politico that, as a rule, it does not contact travelers before their trips.

The Canadian foreign ministry also denied issuing any review of Khan's ability to travel there.

"We are unaware of any restrictions regarding this traveler," said Camielle Edwards, spokeswoman for Canada's Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen.

Khan's son Humayun was killed in 2004 while in Baqubah, Iraq. He was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for saving the lives of other soldiers. Since the convention in July, Khan has appeared widely on television and at public events in which he has spoken against the Trump administration and its immigration orders.
But since ICRP advice is applied to all kinds of radioactive discharges, these successes represented a great threat to huge state-sponsored nuclear enterprises - power stations, Trident missiles, nuclear submarines and depleted uranium (DU) weapons.

'Who will rid me of this turbulent Busby?'

So an operation to exclude the evidence was launched and, from 2013, it succeeded at every stage.

First, solicitors Hogan Lovells, appointed in mysterious circumstances to act for a new group of veterans whose appeals were still undecided, threw out my expert evidence a few days before the hearings began in January 2014. The appeals inevitably failed so pensions were refused.

Next I myself was thrown out as an expert witness. Here's how it was done. The veterans whose pensions had just been refused appealed to the Upper Tier asking for my evidence to be included. There were more hearings before Sir William Charles at which I was cross-examined at great length on the science.

This culminated in an Order dated 4th December 2014 which set aside the earlier decisions and ordered a complete rehearing of these appeals. The Order required the veterans' solicitors to send the SSD a Statement of Case setting out "the possibilities and/or certainties" and identifying the evidence they intended to rely on.

The SSD would, in turn, have to identify the evidence he intended to rely on. All this was to be done by no later than 30 April 2015. The sting was in the tail: "Dr Busby may not give expert evidence (whether in writing, orally or otherwise) at the remitted hearings."

This was because the SSD had argued that I was 'biased' because of my activism.

And now for our next trick ...

There was, however, no obstacle to my acting as a 'representative' (normally the job of a barrister).

In this new role I submitted the veterans' Statement of Case. It consisted of evidence from eminent scientists - Professors Vyvyan Howard, Inge Schmitz-Feuerhake, Malcolm Hooper and Shoji Sawada. And it showed in precise detail how the concept of 'absorbed dose', the basis of the ICRP risk model, was a phony construct of the nuclear industry and military, developed in the Cold War to support nuclear bombs.

Charles J's Order, as quoted above, required the SSD's lawyers to respond to the evidence. Throughout the various appeals the SSD has consistently relied on the ICRP risk model, according to which the veterans' doses were far too small to have caused their cancers. In this game we call it the Sellafield Defence.

To maintain the Sellafield Defence there was only one thing the SSD could do - and they did it. They refused to respond. When the SSD's expert reports finally appeared (months later than the 30th November deadline) they made no mention whatever of any of the arguments and supporting evidence we set out in our Statement of Case.

I made a written complaint. Barrister Roger ter Haar QC also complained (he was retained by the solicitors Hogan Lovells who still represent some of the veterans). Mr ter Haar wrote:

"The current stance of the SSD is to arrogantly disregard the orders of Charles J and Blake J. The SSD seemingly wants to conduct these appeals on his own terms, and not in accordance with the orders of the Tribunal, or in light of the judgment of Charles J. Those directions were directed specifically at the unusual test which the FTT (First Tier Tribunal) is required to apply ...

"The inherent risk in the SSD's approach (which is probably deliberate) is that if the FTT's focus is not on the individual stepping stones, it will fall into the error of the previous FTT ... "

Ministry 'experts' instructed to ignore the evidence

SSD barrister Adam Heppinstall QC replied: "As the experts were instructed to consider all the possibilities and certainties advanced in the Hogan Lovells and Battersby and Smith cases, it is submitted there is no need for the Secretary of State to respond line by line to each and every of those possibilities and certainties."

We therefore expected to be able to cross-examine on the issues. But it became obvious that the SSD experts had not been instructed to look at any of what we had submitted. For example, Mr. ter Haar cross-examined Dr. Richard Haylock:

"Now, it's no part of what I want to do to suggest that you were careless or anything of that sort. You were doing it on the basis of what you were instructed to do. But if I understood it right, you were not asked to carry out this exercise, which was in the case of each person that you were considering, to set out for the benefit of the Tribunal if there was an alternative body of scientific evidence with which you might disagree and which could lead to an opposite conclusion? That was not part of what you were asked to do?"

Dr. Haylock: "No."

Mr. ter Haar's cross-examination of Professor Geraldine Thomas revealed that she too had failed to consider the alternative evidence, or had not been instructed to. She said:

"I was asked to do a very specific job, which was to consider whether there was reasonable doubt raised on reliable evidence that exposure to ionising radiation at certain British nuclear tests was the cause of the appellants' claimed condition and I was asked very specifically to only do that and based on the dose, which was assessed by Rick Hallard, who is our expert on that."

The SSD had slipped up by telling the Tribunal in writing that their witnesses had been instructed to consider all the possibilities and certainties when they had not.

This is not a small point. Misdirection perverts the course of justice. So I have taken this issue to the Bar Standards Board as a formal complaint against Adam Heppinstall, the SSD's barrister. We will also consider complaining about the Government Legal Department solicitors who instructed Heppinstall - and perhaps the judge who allowed them to get away with it as well.

The transcripts show that the SSD stratagem was compounded by choosing experts who didn't have the expertise to respond to cross-examination on topics such as epidemiology, biochemistry, microdosimetry and meteorology which were all material to our argument.

Getting away with this required active assistance from the Judge.

The involvement of Judge Blake

Blake J was consistently hard on us in the hearing. He opened fire two days before the hearings began, ordering that we could not refer to any papers published in the peer-review literature if I had written them.

This extended even to papers on which I was named only as a co-author, which was a particular problem with Professor Schmitz-Feuerhake's review of genetic defects after Chernobyl which indicated a 1,000-fold error in the ICRP radiation risk model.

Note the ambush - if Blake had made this decision when the case began more than a year earlier we could have accommodated it and written our plea accordingly.

He also excluded all our meteorological evidence that the wind directions for the UK's big 3-megaton Grapple Y test (the UK's first H-bomb, set off on 28th April 1958) brought the fallout onto the Island - on the basis that we were not meteorologists.

The SSD witnesses avoided tricky questions or gave long irrelevant and rambling answers. They frequently retreated behind the excuse that a question was outside their expertise although they'd go beyond their expertise if they thought doing so would assist the SSD. This was particularly true of Professor Gerry Thomas, picking and choosing which epidemiological matters she would or would not discuss.

She made herself look foolish when she answered a question about a study of the genetic effects of Uranium by saying she would have preferred to see a control population which had been exposed only to "stable Uranium" - something that does not actually exist. All uranium isotopes are radioactive.

She maintained this at length while Blake obligingly made notes on it although the court room was buzzing with incredulity. Eventually the SSD barrister Heppinstall had to get her to admit that all forms of Uranium are radioactive. Of course, as a 'non-expert', my own knowledge on the topic would have been ruled inadmissible.

Throughout my cross-examinations Blake consistently interrupted when I was about to land a killer blow; on the other hand he permitted Heppinstall to savagely attack our experts suggesting, on no evidence, that they were activists and campaigners rather than the eminent scientists they are.

Quantitative stupidity and strange reasoning

A major problem is that Blake J combined general scientific ignorance with the arithmetical reasoning ability of a GCSE failure.

For example, he accepted that both the published studies of Australian and New Zealand test veterans found levels of leukemia and other cancers which the ICRP model does not predict. Yet at the same time he maintained that ICRP was accurate. This is one example of his failure to understand the concept of ratio (something that teachers find is the hardest thing to get across to 11-year olds).

In a similar lack of understanding of the ratio between study groups and controls, he dismissed Prof Shoji Sawada's evidence that the wide-spread Uranium Black Rain after the Hiroshima bomb caused radiation effects in people several kilometers away from the epicentre - symptoms such as hair loss, purpura and diarrhoea which are consistent with very large external doses but were reported from places so far away that there was only internal dose.

Blake failed to grasp that the Black Rain in fact falsifies the results of the Japanese A-Bomb studies on which ICRP depend. For the same reason he found it "impossible" that the New Zealand veterans had chromosome damage consistent with high doses of radiation because the Geiger counters hadn't recorded high levels.

The idea that internally absorbed Uranium binding to DNA (as it does) could cause genetic damage equivalent to high external doses seemed to be beyond his intellectual grasp. If nothing else, this case proves beyond all reasonable doubt that judges in scientific cases must be scientifically literate!

Where the wind blows



New evidence appearing in this case showed what really happened at Christmas Island.

Like the USA at the Bikini Tests (one of which killed a fisherman on the Lucky Dragon and made his crewmates ill) the MoD failed to allow for the fact that winds at different altitudes can blow in different directions.

The big 3 Megaton Grapple Y bomb exploded at a lower altitude than intended, which explains why eyewitness Derek Fiddaman (who was in court during the appeal) has always said huge amounts of seawater were sucked up into the stem. This water then rained out of the radioactive mushroom cloud bringing down the Uranium, Plutonium and other fallout.

The SSD maintained that the wind was slightly offshore and that this meant there was little or no fallout on Christmas Island. But this was only the low altitude wind. The upper wind was in the opposite direction, blowing the huge mushroom back over the island.

According to evidence from RAF navigator Joe Pasquini, the cloud had a diameter of 110km and covered the whole island. Pasquini should know, since he flew through it in a Canberra measuring dose rates. But Blake decided that Pasquini had an agenda, and he preferred evidence which SSD expert witness Ken Johnston had provided to earlier hearings.

Mr Johnston had used photographs to calculate a much smaller 70km diameter. Blake's reliance on this evidence was one of the situations where I was unable to cross-examine, since Johnston was by then dead.

The MoD's unfortunate error

But here is a Perry Mason 'killer point' on legal process. Months after the hearings Blake put a supplementary question to Rick Hallard, one of the SSD's experts, asking about the doses incurred by the crew of a Shackleton survey aircraft as they monitored radiation levels up to 100 miles west of Christmas Island some hours after the detonation.

Hallard's answer shot the SSD case in the foot when he explained that 90% of the dose would have come from pre-existing radioactivity on the plane's fuselage.

This tells us that the Shackleton had already been seriously contaminated before it took off. There are two possible explanations - either it was contaminated during an earlier flight to the east, or fallout had landed on it while it was on the ground waiting to take off for the afternoon flight.

The airfield was near Port London where the servicemen lived, 40 km from the detonation site. Parenthetically, this may explain why Blake preferred the late Mr. Johnstone's opinion that the cloud was only 70 km wide but either explanation creates significant doubt about the SSD assertion that there was no fallout.

We asked to address the new Shackleton evidence. Blake didn't allow it, in that he simply failed to reply to our letter requesting a cross-examination of the witness. That failure gives us additional grounds for appeal. After all, if Hallard had given this evidence from the witness box, I could have cross-examined him and shown that the pre-contaminated Shackleton provided clear evidence of nuclear fallout on the island.

A critical case

This case is a historic failure of justice in a situation where the genetic integrity of the human race is at stake, as well as the health damage caused by radiation at the test sites. I have been able only to give a superficial account of what was done by this Tribunal.

The Statements of Case, transcripts, pleadings, the appeals and the principal evidence reports are on the website of the Low Level Radiation Campaign. There's far more information there than I can possibly present in an article like this.

We opened the curtain of apparent democracy and justice, only to find a brick wall constructed from chicanery and power - a judicial approach similar to that in Belarus. We will nevertheless continue to pursue justice though the appeal system and the Law regulating agencies.

What Blake J's Tribunal did was a monstrous travesty, and we trust that Sir William Charles, in the Court of Appeal, will take the points of law and overturn this systematic avoidance of everything he himself ordered.

Chris Busby is an expert on the health effects of ionizing radiation. He qualified in Chemical Physics at the Universities of London and Kent, and worked on the molecular physical chemistry of living cells for the Wellcome Foundation. Professor Busby is the Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk based in Brussels and has edited many of its publications since its founding in 1998. He has held a number of honorary University positions, including Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Health of the University of Ulster. Busby currently lives in Riga, Latvia.

See also: chrisbusbyexposed.org, greenaudit.org and llrc.org.
The other day I was seated in front of the computer and happened to glance over at an excellent picture of my grandfather who owned The Marion (Va.) Democrat weekly newspaper before selling it to noted author Sherwood Anderson in the early 1930s.

He died two years before I was born, but thank goodness my father and uncle kept Joseph Gilmore Gil Stephensons legend alive for me. My only regret is the two men didnt tell me more stories relating to the weekly newspaper business as they knew it in the late 1920s and early 30s.

The photograph, I was told, was taken in front of The Print Shop, as my grandfather also used the equipment for print jobs, such as letter heads, envelopes and business cards for business places.

I cant believe my grandfather wore white shirts to work. He is shown wearing a printers apron usually given to employees by representatives of companies supplying news print.

He is holding a type stick printer used to place the individual brass letters that form the headline prior to having hot liquid lead go into a machine.

It is assumed Editor Gil not only handled the news but was a key player. His wife Sally was in charge of society, circulation, subscriptions and, I assume, news for pages inside the newspaper.

When I started to work there, every community in the county had a correspondent who wrote items given her by neighbors. There were very few, if any, photos in newspapers those days. The system for reproducing photos was complicated and cameras were few and far between.

I can see my grandfather scuffling up Main Street toward the large white courthouse with a statue on the front lawn and a jail in back. Like today, courthouses were the center of activity and where all records were recorded and stored.

When I went out collecting news stories, taking pictures, etc., I wore dress pants, a sport coat, white shirt with a tie. When I worked in the back shop on paper day, after all stories had been turned in, I took off the sport coat and put on my apron. Most of my shirts had stains of ink I couldnt remove.

Just guessing, I would say 90 percent of the news was sent in by community correspondents, with my grandfather filling the front page with the stories he wrote. One day I went looking for copies of old newspapers and did not find many. Years later I contacted the newspaper and was told that what copies had survived time were not on microfilm in the library.

From what they told me, I had a clear picture in my mind of how the newspaper was printed before a couple of major inventions changed printing a newspaper, via way of the hot type system.

When my uncle got me a job with The Smyth County News in the mid-1950s, many things about the profession had not changed. Jim Tindall, the editor, made sure I was taught how to do every job at the paper.

The linotype machine, which used hot metal to set the individual lines people read in each and every story, was a miracle to me. Uncle Joe used its keyboard as fast as a good secretary used a typewriter.

The newspaper had two machines and I wont even try to describe how the machine functioned. I can honestly say it was the only machine in the newspaper office that I did not learn to operate.

We still had to set headlines and display advertising by hand, picking up each letter of a headline and then locking it down in a stick or frame, then having hot metal squired into the letters to form a mold.

When I went to work for The Virginian-Leader in Pearisburg, Giles County, it was still a hot-type newspaper as was The Times-Register in Salem and The Carroll News in Hillsville.

Then newspapers started converting to off-set and the hot lead days were history. All the work was done with the photo process and modernized type-setting

for news stories and headlines. Scissors, paste and lay-out sheets were necessary tools.

When I returned to the News-Post in 1999 from 17 years of earning a living in the racing profession, the newspaper business had totally changed. Its all done by computers now, including putting photos into the paper taken with a high-tech camera or even a nice cell phone.

But folks who are not interested in newspaper history dont give a hoot. Today, many dont even pick up a newspaper anymore. However, many still do. A paper is great because that way you dont have to set a time to watch or listen to the news  and you can pick up a newspaper and read through it more than once!

I just wish I lived in the days of time machines, because I sure would go back to the early 1930s to the time my grandfather owned the newspaper and was preparing to sell it to Sherwood Anderson, and to see my grandfather working at a newspaper typewriter, as well.

NASCAR Still Shining

For the second straight week, I sat down in front of the TV screen and watched the new system of stock car racing installed to make racing action better this season.

And believe it or not, I watched it from start to finish. There werent as many bad wrecks like at the Daytona race. I bet the cost of the cars lost in Floridas big opener exceed a couple million bucks.

Although Kevin Harvick won the first two segments and lost the race when he pitted too fast just laps away from the finish, there was a different set of top finishers with Brad Keselowski taking the checkers with youngster Kyle Larson taking second, followed by Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne.

The race at Vegas this week should give loyal, die-hard race car fans a better feel for the new rules. For example, a driver can take a car to the garage area for repairs and return to the race, but not if its wrecked.

And who knows, those 1-10 points given to the top finishers of each of the two segments each race may end up deciding the new champion.

Stay tuned.
This delegation is against the interests of the Iranian people, and against human rights and democracy, says the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Representative Office in Berlin, who strongly condemns their presence in Germany.

Amnesty International describes the regime that this delegation represents as amongst the main violators of human rights. They say further, that according to official statistics, nearly 3,000 people have been executed during the tenure of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Between 2017 to today, 150 individuals have been sent to the gallows in Iran, and one man and one woman have been sentenced to death through stoning. In fact, on the very day the Iranian parliament delegation arrived in Germany, two prisoners were executed in the cities of Qazvin (northwest Iran) and Shahroud (east of Tehran), while 11 inmates were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions, according to the NCRI.

In the past 15 months, a dozen delegations representing federal and state governments, along with members of parliament, have travelled to Iran to sign contracts, but have failed to condemn the executions in Iran. Such practices have emboldened the regime to continue.

Members of the German government and Bundestag should condition any relations with the regime to the immediate halt of executions, or refrain from accepting or negotiating with this regimes representatives.
The art of barn decorating has taken off in Franklin County with over 75 residents poised to join its pending barn quilt trail.

This is actually an exciting project the more we get into it, said David Rotenizer, the countys director of tourism and film. This project is something that definitely captures the spirit and flavor that is truly Franklin County.

Recent workshops organized to teach interested parties how to make barn quilt squares were filled to capacity with people interested in the art of barn quilt trail design.

The degree of positive responses has been unexpected and encouraging, said Rotenizer, who was approached by Pat Jones, Libby Bondurant and Eloise Vass in 2015 with the idea of starting the initiative. It is a rapidly developing project with a great deal of interest and energy.

Carol Haynes with Virginia Cooperative Extension was also brought on board the project along with the trails committee members Sarah Capps, Madherleyn Torres, Doreen McElwee and Donna Bowers.

Through a tourism micro-grant award, the county was able to supply interested participants with all the materials needed to create a barn quilt square.

A series of seven workshops were held in which residents were given large 4-foot by 4-foot wood squares, paint, brushes and other materials used to design barn quilt squares.

The demand has exceeded the provided supply, and then some, Rotenizer said.

The finished products were unique pieces resembling quilts or quilt blocks that will be hung on barns, fences, houses or outbuildings.

Those participating in the workshops were not required to sign up to become a part of the trail.

Rotenizer said 40 people participated in the workshops and 75 are registered to become a part of the barn quilt trail once it is launched.

We have yet to weave the thread that will connect the dots representing our barn quilt trail, Rotenizer said. We are looking at quantity and quality, and striving to ensure all areas of the county are represented with barn quilts. If we are going to call it a Franklin County trail, then the county needs to be represented throughout its roughly 712 square-miles.

As applications come in, they are plotted on a map.

Once we stop accepting applications, well literally begin to start connecting the dots to create driving tours and trails, he said.

The countys tourism and GIS departments are working together to plot quilt locations on a map, as well as develop a story map for the county.

The story map is a new technology approach for showcasing driving trails, Rotenizer said.

In addition to driving trails, Rotenizer said the county is the first to add a water component to their project.

We are encouraging the display of barn quilts along the docks and dock houses  and perhaps houses  along the Franklin County side of Smith Mountain Lake, he said.

Special tours and packages would be developed to present the water trail, he added.

I agreed to support this project as long as it could function as a tourism product, he said. We needed to develop something that would be both unique to Franklin County, as well as possessing the capacity for drawing visitors to the community beyond 50 miles. Many people are interested in barn quilt trails and are willing to travel to visit. We have sought to build a trail that will encourage someone to visit our trail that might not have considered such. We want it to be something you dont want to miss. We wanted to be different. This initiative fits our agri-tourism, rural feel, and arts and crafts niche.

A few of the barn quilts will be placed on historic tobacco barns to help draw attention to the need for the historic preservation of the important, but disappearing, aspect of the communitys landscape, he added.

Many people may not be aware of the rapid decline and decay of tobacco barns, Rotenizer said.

A subcommittee of the barn quilt trail is working to incorporate the historic preservation perspective.

The county anticipates a future tobacco heritage driving trail with a possible program to help stabilize and preserve those resources. Rotenizer also expects to incorporate the use of drones for a possible aerial barn quilt trail dimension.

To learn more about the countys barn quilt trail initiative, and its conditions and requirements, visit www.BarnQuiltTrailFC.com.

Forms to register as part of the barn quilt trail can be found on the website, as well.

Registrants must pay a fee to become part of the trail and their barn quilt must be visible from the road or water way and attached to a structure.

For additional information and questions, call the county extension office at 483-5161 or email BarnQuiltTrail@gmail.com.
The town of Boones Mill is preparing an application for a $1.4 million community development block grant for housing renovations, a water line extension and road improvements for the Primrose neighborhood.

When we have these three activities together they call it a comprehensive community improvement project, and those are popular now as a more complete poverty solution, said Town Manager Matt Lawless.

A 2013 fire that destroyed a home in the neighborhood brought attention to safety issues. Fire trucks struggled to get over a one-lane bridge followed by a steep railroad crossing that provides entry to the neighborhood. There were also no fire hydrants in the area.

It was so close to town, so close to the highway, but we couldnt save this house, Lawless said.

Most of the neighborhood is outside of Boones Mills town limits, but Lawless said the residents feel like neighbors, so the town wants to help.

The town already has received $35,000 for planning work. The $1.4 million grant application to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, which is due this month, is to carry out that work. Lawless said about $750,000 would go toward housing rehab and the rest toward the water line and road improvements. The grant wont be able to cover the full cost of road improvements, so Lawless said additional grants will be needed to complete that work.

The planning team talked with residents of Primrose and Terrace roads, visited their homes and ascertained how many were low to moderate income residents, as the grant requires, Lawless said. Of the 27 homes in the neighborhood, 15 will receive housing rehab services.

Deficiencies in the homes vary. Some residents with disabilities need work done on their homes to make them accessible. One house lacks indoor plumbing. Two homes will undergo substantial reconstructions, estimated to cost more than $85,000 apiece.

Two vacant structures will also be demolished.

The Primrose neighborhood is located just beyond the former North American Housing Corp. complex, which Boones Mill purchased in 2011. The town has been working to redevelop the property and expects to complete renovation of a two-story industrial building this spring. Planning is also underway for a farmers market.

A preliminary engineering report outlines a plan for road improvements, which includes an intersection off Boones Mill Road that will lead up to and run through the town-owned property, ultimately connecting to Primrose Road. The work also will provide easier entry to the towns property, providing economic development benefits too, Lawless said.

It means residents can benefit from the towns redevelopment project, Lawless said, as they could walk or bike to the farmers market or even to a job in one of the new businesses.

The town enlisted rural housing specialist Kenneth Rodgers with the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project to help with the planning work. Hes performed inspections on the homes, figured out what repairs are needed and helped with the grant application.

Rodgers said the community development block grant program helps homeowners in rural areas to stay in their homes. Often, Rodgers said, people move from rural areas into urban ones because its difficult and costly to maintain a home.

Homeowners who receive services will pay back a portion of the money thats invested in their homes, Rodgers said.

A lien is placed on the home for a period of 10 years and, during that time, the homeowners will make a monthly payment that takes into consideration their ability to pay. That program income will go back into the county to help other low to moderate income homeowners in the future.

Getting the neighborhood on board is essential to the success of the project. Rodgers said the key to doing so is getting people to understand the program and not be afraid of it.

Hes come across some people who say it seems too good to be true, or are worried by the lien, so the planning team has had to work to dispel those fears.

Robert Turner, who lives on Primrose Road, volunteered to be whats known as a neighborhood sparkplug, serving as a liaison of sorts between the town and residents of the neighborhood. He bought his property about five years ago and has been working to fix it up. His home is not one of the 15 slated for rehab.

Turners biggest interest is safety. Hes concerned about the inability of emergency vehicles to reach homes in the neighborhood, visibility problems posed by the steep railroad crossing and the lack of fire hydrants.

Hes also excited by the promise of easier access to the town property.

Theyve got some really great plans for Boones Mill and it would make the town a lot more accessible for the neighborhood, Turner said.
When Michael Burnette drives through the sprawling 550-acre property thats the future home of Franklin Countys business park, he sees more than the rolling hills.

He can imagine an employee who gets to appreciate a view of Cahas Mountain from his office, who heads to the ball field for a pick-up game during lunch or a free concert on Friday evening after work.

And he does it all without ever leaving the business park.

The county has a clear vision for the modern, campus-style park it wants to create. It will be a place for both work and play, for business and the community.

This year the county will take several significant steps toward implementing its vision.

Much has been done since the board of supervisors voted to purchase the first property for the park in November 2015. The park has grown in size from 350 to 550 acres. A master plan for the park has been completed. The property was rezoned as a regional enterprise park. The county has submitted numerous grant applications. Its also in talks with prospective businesses.

The progress thus far has been largely intangible and behind the scenes, but thats likely to change in 2017, as Burnette said preparation of pad sites and business announcements are on the horizon.

The county hopes to put out a request for proposals later this month for utility, road and grading work in the northern region of the park. The plan is to start with two pad sites, approximately 10 acres and 25 acres. The county hopes to have this first phase of the project complete by the end of the year, Burnette said.

Businesses that choose to locate in the park will build their own facilities. But they wont really be able to do so until the county has completed some infrastructure work, Burnette said.

Some prospects already have been out to visit the park. Burnette said three have been on site and while the county lost out on one of the businesses, its still in talks with the two others who are looking pretty intently.

Were having ongoing discussions with prospects right now and hope that well have something announced here in the next few months, he said.

The economic development director said he wasnt able to share any information about the businesses yet.

Its important to secure prospects early, as the county needs to show businesses are interested in locating in the park before it can begin its work. A road that will be built in the first phase of the project will cross a small stream on the property, Burnette said, and because a body of water will be affected, the county needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which doesnt allow speculative work and requires a letter of intent.

The county is looking for three types of businesses, Burnette said: those that will invest a lot of money in the county, those that will create many jobs and finally those that bring jobs with higher-than-average wages.

The two businesses the county is in talks with now are not large, but they will offer jobs with wages significantly higher than the average for Franklin County.

Cline Brubaker, chairman of the county board of supervisors, said hes most looking forward to having that first contract signed, which he hopes will be soon. He expects securing the first business will jump-start the whole project, and get others thinking about locating in Franklin County.

That will be a really exciting thing to have happen, Brubaker said.

He said he believes the parks proximity to both Roanoke and Virginia Tech will help the county to recruit good employers.

Brubaker described the views at the park as amazing, and said he expects the companies the county is hoping to attract will appreciate that, along with the other community benefits the park will provide.

Its not an industrial park, Brubaker said  its something more upscale and modern, that will appeal to a certain type of business.

Nearby residents like Dave Werner are anxious over what kind of businesses the park will attract. Werner and others have voiced concerns about how the park will be developed, but Werner said after seeing the master plan, hes feeling more optimistic about the project.

While he didnt move to Franklin County to live beside a business park, Werner said, he does understand the need for economic development.

If youre going to do it, make it as much park-like as you can, he said. And from what Ive seen from the master plan, it looks pretty good.

The park will have recreation and event spaces, with walking trails, a produce auction and perhaps the countys agricultural fair, among other things.

Design work for the event and recreation spaces are under way. Burnette said he hopes the first draft for the events area will be complete by the end of March, and the recreation area by May. There are also plans for public safety services at the park.

The county plans to pay tribute to its agricultural heritage, restoring silos on the property, largely for aesthetic reasons.

The county hopes to use the wood from barns and some structures that will be taken down for new buildings at the park, like picnic shelters.

Were pushing the authenticity of Franklin County, Burnette said.

It also plans to renovate some of the propertys buildings, such as a house in the northern part that will serve as office space and a visitor center. Visitor centers are currently located at Smith Mountain Lake, in Rocky Mount and Ferrum, Burnette said, but none on U.S. 220, the main thoroughfare for tourists.

Despite the effort to provide community amenities, some neighbors have opposed the project.

Tim Poindexter, who owns a house on Pleasant Breeze Road, opted to put his property up for sale when he learned the business park was moving into the neighborhood. But he hasnt had much luck in selling it, even after reducing the price by $10,000.

I even offered that house to one of my daughters and she said no, Poindexter said.

Now, hes looking into rezoning his property to allow for commercial uses. With the development thats coming, Poindexter said, he thinks he might have more luck selling it that way.
A Hardy man whose 3-year-old son was killed in a shooting incident two years ago has been indicted on two additional felony charges.

Jeremiah Keith Neiderhiser, 33, was indicted on Tuesday with two counts of child endangerment, one for making the firearm available and another for failure to advise medical personnel and law enforcement of the firearm.

Neiderhiser already received two indictments last June for involuntary manslaughter and child abuse with serious injury.

On Aug. 23, 2015, rescue personnel responded to Neiderhisers residence on Heatherton Lane when Neiderhiser called 9-1-1 to report his son, Isaiah, was unresponsive, according to a report by The Franklin News-Post.

After several unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate the boy, he was pronounced dead. The following day, Neiderhiser was arrested after the medical examiner discovered his son died from a small caliber gunshot wound to the neck. A handgun was recovered from the scene of the incident.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Franklin County Circuit Court, Neiderhiser said he woke up that Sunday morning to find Isaiah playing with a gun.

The accused grabbed the gun from his sonand the gun discharged, Investigator S.C. Ingram wrote in the complaint.

It is against the law in Virginia to allow a child to access a loaded gun or even to let a child use a firearm, but those offenses are misdemeanors. In this case, the Commonwealths Attorney has sought the heavier felony charges of child endangerment.

Neiderhiser was granted bond on Sept. 9, 2015 and has been out of jail on bail.
Political beef between Republican gubernatorial contenders Ed Gillespie and Corey Stewart took center stage at a Tuesday candidates forum for the four Republicans vying for the nomination.

As the candidates tried to discuss economic development, immigration, transportation and voting rights at a forum put on by Franklin County and Smith Mountain Lake Republicans, Stewart and Gillespie sniped at each other, overshadowing the other two contenders  state Sen. Frank Wagner and Denver Riggleman  and substantive responses to the issues.

Starting with his opening statement, Stewart, a member of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, criticized Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, for his stance on removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville .

Last month, Stewart, who prides himself on being a political wild card similar to President Donald Trump, rallied at the Confederate statue after the Charlottesville City Council voted to remove the figure from Lee Park.

According to Mr. Gillespie, apparently, its just fine if Charlottesville takes it down, Stewart said. Hes not going to do a single thing as governor to stop that locality from taking down a real Virginia, a real American hero  Robert E. Lee.

In front of about 75 people at The Westlake country club, Gillespie fired back that while he opposes the councils decision to remove the statue, state government should be wary of overriding local government decisions.

Weve got to adhere to our conservative principles, Gillespie said. I think those city council members should be voted out of office for voting for that, but at the same time, to have the state come in and say were going to mandate through the cities and counties what they can do relative to their statues sets a very dangerous precedent for the future.

As debate continued, the two candidates sparred on immigration, sanctuary cities and Gillespie chided Stewart for being fired from the Trump campaign.

In October, the Trump campaign fired Stewart, a campaign co-chairman, after he protested in front of Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., while Republican support for their candidate wavered after the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape that featured Trump making lewd comments about women.

"When I call the Trump administration, I will get my calls returned because I was not fired for incompetence by the Trump folks," Gillespie said.

In response, Stewart said that while Gillespie was getting a head-start preparing for the governor's race, he was supporting Trump across the commonwealth for 10 months.

Stewart also criticized Gillespie and other "establishment Republicans" who condemned Trump in the aftermath of the scandal.

"As I stood up for President Trump against the RNC, and got fired for it. I stayed loyal," Stewart said. "I stayed loyal, and that's the difference. He [Gillespie] has no courage."

Gillespie, the front-runner in the Republican race for governor in terms of polling and campaign finance, was the only candidate to bring up Democratic gubernatorial candidates Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello. The Republican chided Northam for his deciding vote that briefly killed a bill to ban sanctuary cities in the commonwealth, and he stressed the importance of electing a Republican governor to stop vetoes on conservative legislation like the "Tebow" bill that would allow homeschool students to participate in school sports.

Tuesday's fiery debate was second in a string of six debates set up for the Republican gubernatorial candidates. The next event will be on March 25 in Fairfax County.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

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Reportedly, a total of 90 docks have been taken over by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who use them to circumvent sanctions and fund terrorist activities. The IRGC uses these docks for its unlawful activities, PMOI officials said in a statement. Based on the direct order of the current supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, no authority is allowed to oversee the activities of the IRGC at border areas, be it on the ground, sea or air, and it can import anything in any quantity without paying any customs fee.

The PMOI says that the Revolutionary Guard smuggles oil, gas, chemical products, cigarettes, narcotics, alcohol, mobile phones, pharmaceuticals, hygiene material and energy drugs and supplements, to fund its activities. The group estimates that importing and exporting these illicit goods nets the IRGC some $12 billion annually.

The IRGC controls the trade vessels that use these docks to transfer goods and other equipment, as well as arms, to other countries, without fear of international supervision. These docks play a key role in the regimes efforts to evade sanctions, said MEK officials. Investigations by PMOI sources within the regime concluded that unlawful exports of arms to proxy forces in the region are carried out through these docks.

Three organizations were identified by PMOI sources as shipping companies being used as fronts for smuggling weapons to other countries, in particular, Yemen. They include the Admiral Group, Hafez Daya Arya and Valfajr.

While Yemani docks are closed to Iranian ships, ports in nearby Oman, such as Soltan Qaboos Port in Muscat, Sohar Port in North Oman and Salalah Port in South Oman are used by the IRGCs shell companies, the PMOI alleges.

The group also charges that the IRGC is also operating along the Persian Gulf, in ports in the Hormozgan and Bushehr Provinces, as well as the Farsi and Faror Islands.

The new revelations of the PMOI investigation comes while the Trump administration considers designating the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group.

It also comes alongside the release of an extensive study on the Destructive role of the IRGC in the Middle East region by the European Iraqi Freedom Association [EIFA]. In their report, EIFA alleges that the IRGC is directly involved in the hidden occupation of Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon and meddling in the internal affairs of at least eight countries, including Egypt, Bahrein, Jordan and Lebanon.
The conference was titled, Women in Political Leadership, and it featured speeches on the fundamentalist and misogynous tyranny against women in Iran, as well as the Iranian womens resistance against the regime, and the pioneering role of the heroines of Ashraf, who lead the way.

Mrs. Rajavi made the following remarks to the conference. When shed concluded, the audience responded with cheers, flag waving, and a standing ovation.

My dear sisters!

My fellow countrywomen longing for freedom and equality in Iran,

Fellow courageous women who are resisting as political prisoners,freedom-loving women and men of the equality movement, I congratulate you all on International Womens Day!

I would also like to salute the thousands of brave women who have been tortured or executed by the clerical regime in the course of their struggle against the velayat-e faqih.

I am delighted that this year, we are observing the International Womens Day in the presence of a group from the 1,000 pioneering women of Ashraf, whose protection against the attacks of the clerical regime used to comprise part of our sisters efforts and struggle around the world in the previous years.

The PMOIs safe and secure relocation from Camp Liberty and out of Iraq, which was done collectively as an organization, was a heavy blow to the mullahs regime. As demonstrated in their fierce missile attacks, they wanted to destroy the pivotal force of the alternative to their regime. But they failed. That said, I would like to extend my earnest appreciations to the government and people of Albania for their great initiative. They thus presented Albania as an example of freedom and humanity in todays world.

I must also sincerely appreciate the honorable and inspiring women from around the world, a number of whom are present here today, who lent their invaluable support and assistance to the women of Ashraf.

Solidarity with the one thousand women of Ashraf in recent years, has been one of the most brilliant and effective womens projects and one of the most glorious solidarity movements in the world. I hail all these dear sisters who participated in this solidarity campaign. I would like to use this opportunity to thank Iranian supporters of Ashraf who played a key role in this endeavor. I expect that they continue and expand their efforts in support of the Iranian womens struggle for their freedom and equality.

Dear friends,

The people of the world know the Iranian regime for its export of terrorism, war and fundamentalism and for its efforts to make nuclear weapons. As a result, two major realities have gone less noticed:

First is the fact that the Iranian regime, in conjunction with its export of terrorism and fundamentalism to the region, is also the prime advocate of misogyny in those countries. Therefore, it should be considered as the most dangerous threat to womens achievements in todays world.

Second is the fact that these defiant women have had a significant role in the fight against Irans ruling fundamentalists. That women bear the brunt of repression in Iran, reveals the regimes defensive tactic against the existential threat it feels from women.

The imposition of the mandatory veil on women and flagrant discriminations against them in educational and vocational arenas are only efforts to enchain women; otherwise the mullahs would not be able to preserve their power and they will be toppled by these women and with the efforts of the general Iranian populace.

On the other side, women have proven their effective and growing role in the struggle against the mullahs religious tyranny, for example in the scenes of confrontation with the Revolutionary Guards, in their unprecedented resistance in the regimes torture chambers and dungeons, through their presence in the first ranks of anti-regime demonstrations, in organizing the teachers and workers protests and protests by other social strata, in organizing and leading an international social and political movement against the religious fascism ruling Iran, as well as in their active assumption of responsibilities in the organized movement of the Iranian Resistance.

The point I would like to make is that for decades, womens struggles and the International Womens Day have focused on the elimination of inequality and violence against women as their objective. Today, however, women have a mission beyond these goals, of saving humanity from fundamentalism and terrorism.

Please allow me to explain in this regard a special experience of the Iranian Resistance.

In the 1990s, we faced the issue of womens leadership on various levels which changed the organizational structure of our movement. Our women had stepped into a path that had no previous precedent or examples in the past. So, they decided to remove anything that bore any sign of inequality, anything that ignored women or obstructed their collective participation, and built new relations in their stead.

They overcame the monster of internalized disbelief as their main obstacle and began to cultivate a sense of self-confidence and believe their own abilities. They liberated themselves from the clutches of the mindset that viewed them as a mere commodity. Instead of passivity and evading responsibility, they chose to assume their responsibilities. They shunned fear of failure and weakness in the face of difficulties and created new relations based on camaraderie and sisterhood.

The 2000s, which saw the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, followed by the Iranian regimes interventions, witnessed a difficult situation for our movement. The regime, with the assistance of its puppet government in Iraq, laid siege to Camp Ashraf and initiated a ruthless campaign to destroy the PMOI. At the same time, the mullahs took advantage of Western governments policy of appeasement and launched a full-fledged offensive aimed at annihilating the movement.

Womens leadership faced yet another challenge in such excruciating circumstances.

The main question is how did they overcome the customs and traditions deeply entrenched through thousands of years, and how did they manage to carry on and move forward. The truth is that, this transformation since its inception in our movement, did not aim to simply switch the leadership roles of women and men.

Womens participation in various leadership and management levels is indeed a step forward but it is not sufficient to create a new culture unless it is accompanied by a fundamental revolution permeating the entire culture and relations between men and women. And so long as it does not establish equality and solidarity, its achievements would tend to be reversible.

And this is exactly where the message of our Resistance lies. The message is that womens leadership can become a lasting institution and tradition only when it is necessarily supported by men who have faith in, and are committed to, the ideal of equality, and who accept their rightful responsibilities in this regard.

Without the presence of men who cherish and rise up to realize the cause of equality, womens leadership could not become reality.

The experience of womens leadership in our movement became possible with the role that men played as pioneers of this new world.

Therefore, I address you, my dear brothers, and say:

The path you have paved over the past three decades is a cause of pride and honor, not only for myself and all of us, but for our nation and for a humanity that thirsts for freedom.

These liberated men formed new collective relations among themselves. They eagerly and passionately defended the cause of womens equality everywhere and endorsed their leadership. They created new values and ethics based on honesty, self-sacrifice, and giving priority to others.

They firmly rejected the outlook that sees women as mere commodities. Such relations thus led to the fostering of far greater solidarity among men themselves.

Therefore, womens equal participation in leadership is not a process that could be realized without mens emancipation. How could half of any community break the chains of subjugation and compulsion, while the other half remains in darkness?

The experience of our movement proved that womens leadership grants them the status of equal and responsible human beings. This, coupled with mens acceptance of womens leadership, creates a liberating mechanism that leads to equality and better relations. As a result, sisterhood, brotherly relations, and solidarity evolve to seize new heights.

This means that relations of both women and men become free from negative judgment and competition, as well as narrow-mindedness and prejudice.

In this case, everyone sees other individuals advances not as an obstacle but as a new opportunity for their own progress. Yes, in such an emancipated and free world, the advances of men and women do not contradict each other but are essential complements.

In fact, the men of this movement have a message of emancipation for the Iranian society as a whole. The message is a call to our sons, brothers and fathers in Iran to rise up in defense of freedom and equality if they want to realize the Iranian peoples freedom. Their emancipating message is brotherhood, a message that has gotten lost in todays world.

Therefore, womens leadership in the Iranian Resistance movement is the name and manifestation of a revolution that has created new relations based on genuine equality.

I must stress that such equality is not confined to legal and political equality or in equal opportunities. Rather, it requires the enhancement of human solidarity where women take ownership of their own fate and men who believe in the cause of equality develop a productive, creative and active character in themselves.

Such new or novel relations that are free of the numerous fetters and restrictions, produced enormous energy within a besieged movement, enabling it to uphold its celebrated steadfastness. As a result:

You, the PMOI, were able to sustain the bastion of freedom and equality for many years in the face of nine attacks and bloodbaths and two hostage-takings, during 677 days of sonic, psychological torture and despite eight years of an inhuman siege.

At the international level, too, you defeated the blacklisting at the mullahs behest  of the PMOI in Europe and the U.S. one after the other. You proved the legitimacy of this Resistance in over 20 courts.

Therefore, the important conclusion about the developments of these years is that the steadfastness of the bastions of freedom in Ashraf and Liberty was made possible by such women and men, as were the Resistances advancements in all the political, legal and international arenas. This is a shining experience about the amazing abilities present in the leadership of women and in relationships based on equality.

This novel phenomenon is represented in 1,000 pioneering women and a generation of men who seek freedom and equality.

Here Id like to congratulate Massoud Rajavi for training and educating such generations of women and men, who have spawned this enormous transformation in the history of the Iranian resistance movement and movements of peoples around the region.

So, it is right to say that the 21st Century belongs to women. We must remember, however, that womens leadership is genuine when it leads the way towards humane relationships and genuine equality between men and women, and towards engagement of a long line of men who believe in equality.

A regime based on inequality marginalizes women.

A regime that prevents the participation of a great portion of the populace in running their countrys affairs, ends up with absolute tyranny, totalitarianism, monopoly of power, secret decision-making, corruption and repression, with the countrys wealth and resources wasted.

Womens leadership is the solution to this dilemma, which has become universal in todays world. I must stress that where there is no democracy, you cannot achieve it without womens equal participation in leadership.

In 2011, the late Madam Danielle Mitterrand sent a message to the women and men of Ashraf and said, My dear friends in Ashraf, the future is made by the sacrifices you make, but this is not enough. Everyone must always remember the message of hope to humanity written in your blood and the example you have set for the oppressed.

Francoise Heritier, the prominent French anthropologist, also referred to the experience of women in Ashraf and Liberty and said, If this experience proves to be successful, it would set a model for humanity. This will be a message to women. An unnatural reaction has been imposed on every woman since childhood for her to say that she is never going to be able to do things because everything she does is under the dominance of men. Now, this new message tells women not to surrender to such impositions but that they must accept to courageously undertake an adventure.

Yes, the issue is to undertake the adventure with courage. And this is what the women of Ashraf have done.

And hail to the proud women of Ashraf who sacrificed their lives during this glorious steadfastness. Hail to Saba Haft Baradaran, Asieh Rakhshani, Nastaran Azimi, and Mahdieh Madadzadeh, to Zohreh Qaemi and Giti Givechian, to Kolsum Sarahati, Pouran Najafi and Nayyereh Rabii, among many others. Those who hoisted a flag carried before them by a long list of heroines and pioneers like Asharf Rajavi, Fatemeh Amini, Marzieh Oskouii, Azam Rouhi Ahangaran, Nosrat Ramezani, Azadeh Tabib, Tahereh Tolou, Mahin Rezaii, Nasrin Parsian, Batoul Rajaii, Farideh Vanaii and the countless brave women who were slain on the path of the Iranian peoples freedom and emancipation.

Dear friends,

For the free Iran of tomorrow, we place great emphasis on womens equality with men and believe it is imperative for the overthrow of the religious dictatorship and is the guarantee for democracy; equality in the eyes of the law and judiciary, equality in the family, equality in economic opportunities, and active and equal participation in political leadership.

We espouse womens freedom and freedom of choice, including her freedom to choose her attire and her career, and she must also enjoy the right to divorce.

Dear friends,

The ruling regime in Iran is the cause of retardation and decadence of Iranian society and all the countries in the region.

It is the main cause of coercion in religion, the source of sectarianism among Shiites and Sunnis, and the advocate of stoning and inhumane laws under the pretext of implementation of the laws of Islam.

Ask the nations of the Middle East, who is the main enemy of their life and subsistence?

Ask the people of Syria: which regime provides the primary assistance to Bashar Assad in killing half a million of their compatriots, many of whom are also rendered homeless?

Ask Syrian women: which evil force has taken away the homes of millions of Syrian women? Which regime created a bloodbath in Aleppo through its revolutionary guards and foreign militias and killed so many innocent children in cold blood?

We see the mullahs agents and emissaries even in the Balkans spreading fundamentalist ideas that pave the way for terrorism.

All of these catastrophes and calamities are promulgated by the religious dictatorship ruling Iran.

The women of Iran are burning today by the millions in the fire of repression, a plethora of crushing restrictions, poverty and deprivation. They and the displaced women of Syria and Iraq face a common enemy. Therefore, they have a common struggle and a common goal which is the overthrow of the Iranian regime.

Change in Iran  and today I say, change throughout the world is realized by women blazing the trail.

And finally, I would like to address you, the freedom-loving women and men of Iran.

Freedom can be achieved by making sacrifices and paying the necessary price.

It can be achieved by courageous rebellions against repression and humiliation.

It can be achieved by resisting with bravery and hope, and by a relentless struggle to establish one thousand Ashrafs, and one thousand bastions of rebellion and struggle.

Yes, we can and we must overthrow the velayat-e faqih religious dictatorship and we can and we must achieve freedom for Iran and establish a free republic based on equality.

This is the test and responsibility of each and every one of us. To achieve this and to create a new order, we must rise up.
Plan your week ahead in SE Iowa with these local events

Your guide to getting off the couch and out the door this week in Southeast Iowa.
One of the tests was successful, the missile destroyed a floating barge approximately 155 miles away, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the launch. The launch of the short-range ballistic missile, the Fateh-110, was the first testsof the missile in two years, an official said.

Its unclear whether or not this was the first successful test at sea, which raises concerns for the U.S. Navy, who operates warships in the area. On Saturday, one of them had an unsafe and unprofessional interaction with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps boats. The boats approached within 600 yard of the USNS Invincible and then stopped. The Invincible was accompanied by three ships from the British Royal Navy and all four ships were forced to change course, Reuters reported.

These provocations were obscured by the worldwide focus on North Koreas own ballistic missile tests. Between North Koreas saber-rattling and Irans willful defiance, we certainly dont lack for evidence of these rogue regimes intentions, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a Monday statement. This is why we need to develop a strong missile-defense system and to take a harder line toward these regimes. No amount of words, however clear or forceful, will prevent this kind of aggression; only firm action to defend America and our allies will stop them in their tracks.

Iran launched its two short-range ballistic missiles from an IRGC base in Bandar-e-Jask, in southeastern Iran, according to one official. The first one was fired on Saturday, but missed its target, landing in the vicinity.. A day later, Iran made another attempt and was successful, one official said.

One official said that the Fateh-110 Mod 3 has an active seeker, which helps the missile locate ships at sea. Its a concern based on the range and that one of the missiles worked, he said, but requested anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the launch.

These new missile launches come just a week after Iran successfully test-fired Russian surface-to-air missiles, which are part of the S-300 air defense system Russia sent to Iran.

According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran has conducted as many as 14 ballistic missile launches since the nuclear agreement was signed in July, 2015.

General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last month that Irans behavior hasnt changed, even after the White House put the Islamic Republic on notice following Irans successful intermediate-range ballistic missile test-launch in late January.
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President Donald Trumps recent speech before Congress helped boost his job approval ratings to a negative 41 - 52 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

That rating compares to the negative 38 - 55 percent numbers in a Feb. 22 survey by the independent poll.

The poll also found that another celebrity considering running for president recieved a higher favorability rating than Trump,

American voters give Oprah Winfrey a 52 - 23 percent favorability rating. Trump scored a 43-53 percent favorability rating among Americans.

Yet, while Oprah beats Trump on favorability 69 - 21 percent said she should not run for president in 2020.

The Trump camp can only hope the president's blip in approval is not a fleeting nod to his speech to Congress, Tim Malloy, assistant poll director said in a release announcing the results. He remains on his heels in so many character categories that this survey is only slightly more encouraging than the troubling Quinnipiac University survey of a few weeks ago."

Trump is doing more to unite the country, 39 percent of American voters say, while 56 percent say he is doing more to divide the nation, the poll found.

"Vigorously self-billed as a uniter, President Donald Trump is seen instead as a divider less than two months after his inauguration," Malloy said.

The poll was conducted between March 2 - 6, before Trump tweeted that former President Barack Obama had ordered the bugging of Trump tower.

Forty-nine percent said his speech last week 49 percent of voters say his speech to the U.S. Congress last week was better than expected.

The poll results showed wide party, gender and racial divisions in the approval rating:

Men approve by a narrow 49 - 45 percent while women disapprove 58 - 34 percent;

Republicans approve 91 - 5 percent.

Disapproval is 89 - 5 percent among Democrats and 52 - 41 percent among independent voters;

White voters approve by a narrow 49 - 45 percent, while non-white voters disapprove 68 - 23 percent.

While 49 percent of American voters say President Trump's address to Congress was better than expected, 39 percent say it was as expected and 3 percent say it was worse than expected.

Positive and negative opinions on Trump ...

Voters still have negative opinions of some of Trump's personal qualities, saying:

55 - 39 percent that he is not honest;

47 percent that he has good leadership skills and 50 percent that he does not;

52 - 46 percent that he does not care about average Americans;

61 - 34 percent that he is not level-headed;

67 - 30 percent that he is a strong person;

64 - 32 percent that he is intelligent;

58 - 38 percent that he does not share their values.

The media

American voters disagree 58 - 39 percent with Trump's claim that certain news organizations are "the enemy of the American people."

Disagreement is 86 - 10 percent among Democrats and 60 - 38 percent among independent voters. Republicans agree 81 - 17 percent.

Voters trust the media more than Trump 53 - 37 percent "to tell you the truth about important issues."

Voters disapprove 53 - 41 percent of the way the media has covered Trump, but disapprove 60 - 37 percent of the way Trump talks about the media.
NORWALK  A 14-year-old Brien McMahon High School student was arrested Tuesday at the school on allegations of making an illustration perceived as threatening, and including a list of students and staff that might be subject to the threat.

The unidentified juvenile was charged with 21 counts of breach of peace, apparently indicating 21 people were on the list.
NORWALK  A Norwalk man turned himself in to police on a warrant for reportedly causing more than $15,000 in damages by stripping an East Norwalk condo of appliances and fixtures last year.

Humayaun Chowdhury, 52, of Ambler Drive, was charged Tuesday with first-degree criminal damage to landlord property and third-degree larceny stemming from a September 2016 complaint from an East Norwalk condo owner.

The owner of the unit told police that he had recently purchased the condo on Van Zant Street and had allowed Chowdhury to live there free until he was able to find a permanent residence.

Chowdhury advised the landlord by telephone on Sept. 24 that he had moved out and left the unit door unlocked. When the condo owner went to check the following day, he was stunned to find a number of missing and damaged items.

Police say that the man reported the stove, toilet, bathroom sink, drain pipe, ceiling fans, faucet, cabinet, smoke detectors, outlet covers, light fixtures, cabinet drawers and mirror had been removed.

The condo owner also reported damage to the kitchen counter and carpet.

After a number of unsuccessful attempts by police to reach Chowdury, they finally made contact and he told police that he had moved out months prior to Sept. 25. He denied haven taken anything from the condo.

When police asked him where he was currently living, they say the line went dead. Subsequent calls by police went directly to voicemail.

A witness at the building told police that they observed Chowdhury move out on Sept. 20 and that he was loading a stove, toilet and sink into a moving truck.

Repair and replacement estimates provided to police by the condo owner totaled $5,808 in materials and $9,380 in labor.

A warrant for Chowdhurys arrest was signed on Feb. 14 after multiple unsuccessful attempts by police to reach him were made over a period of several months.

Chowdhury turned himself in at Norwalk police headquarters on Tuesday morning.

His bond was set at $10,000 and he was given a court date of March 20.

llake@hearstmediact.com
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NORWALK  After decades of ensuring its stu dents are making the grade , the Board of Education will be given a letter grade for its own performance.

This comes as members of ConnCAN, a statewide education advocacy group, gathered with city and school district officials Tuesday afternoon in City Hall to launch its watchdog program called Board Watch, in which community volunteers will attend Board of Education meetings to evaluate the boards effectiveness through the lenses of transparency, civility and accountability.

We are so excited to launch Board Watch today to empower local parents and citizen volunteers to be more engaged in discussions and decisions made by local school boards and to better inform the public about how their school board is performing, said Jennifer Alexander, ConnCANs CEO.

As a part of the program, at least two Board Watch volunteers will attend each school board meeting to observe board members behavior and decision-making. They will check to make sure the boards agenda was posted ahead of time, members are communicating effectively and in a productive manner, and they are working toward the goals set forth in the Strategic Operating Plan.

Volunteers will evaluate the board and give it a letter grade for its performance, which will be publicly posted online. Criticism and suggestions for improvement for individual board members will be sent to the board privately.

Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski attended the launch event and said he was happy to help ConnCAN make the program a reality in Norwalk.

This is a concept that has been successful in other parts of the nation. As with many things its new in Connecticut, and we are very pleased to be in the forefront of it, Adamowski said. I think that the volunteers will actually help our Board of Education elevate the achievements of our district by increasing engagement, transparency and accountability around the critical decisions we make for our schools.

Mike Lyons, school board chairman, acknowledged the program would see community members holding our (the boards) feet to the fire, but showed support for the program and its ability to increase accountability and communication.

Though the idea for such a program was floated within the school district for years, the Board Watch program started officially taking root in Norwalk in mid-2016, said Toni Williams, a community organizer for ConnCAN. The first meeting was held in July. Interested volunteers received training in November. Board Watch members then attended their first official board meeting in December.

Now that the program has gotten off the ground in Norwalk, ConnCAN officials said they hope to expand it to other school boards across the state.

Mayor Harry Rilling attended the event. He called the programs launch in Norwalk just another example of Norwalk taking the lead and making things happen.
Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale sounded a warning to members of the Grand Island Rotary Club on Tuesday: Without secure funding, the voting uniformity achieved since 2000 in the states 93 counties could come undone and revert to a grab bag of different voting systems.

Confusion in Florida in the 2000 presidential election caused results eventually to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Gale said.

After that, Congress passed legislation to provide states with $3.6 billion to standardize election procedures and technology. In Nebraska, Gale said, that money helped counties move away from older voting procedures, such as hand counting of ballots, to electronic vote-counting machines that sped up results and reduced human error.

But Gale is worried that federal funds will dry up, leaving the state to pay part or all of the cost to replace those machines as they become obsolete in the next several years. Delaying replacement could end up costing Nebraska as much as $30 million.

We are going through a major transition, he said. We have had the same equipment and same election system now for over 12 years, and that equipment is becoming more obsolescent and needs to be replaced.

Gale said the states choice of the best new election system may prove difficult because of the tight budget. If counties have to pick up a portion of the cost to replace their voting machines, he said, many budget-strapped counties could return to counting ballots by hand.

We could go back to a multiplicity of systems opposed to the single Nebraska system, he said.

Gale also addressed the issues of cybersecurity and whether there is voter fraud in Nebraska or nationally.

We have been very active over the last 10 years in terms of potential cybersecurity issues, he said. We have worked closely with our vendors and chief information office for the state. That issue  is becoming more and more of a challenge.

Gale is concerned about how the state can combat voter fraud and cyber crimes if counties go back to a multiplicity of voting systems.

We have had a very strong and highly respected system in Nebraska by having a uniform statewide voter registration system and election system technology, he said. But to go back to multiple systems I think would be a step backward.

When three counties have 50 percent of the states population, Gale said, it creates a great disparity for the large number of rural counties that dont have the same financial resources.

He estimated that, without the financial resources to improve voting technology, as many as 68 counties could go back to counting ballots by hand.

That kind of dual system would be potentially suspect under the U.S. Constitutions equal protection laws because ballots are being counted in different ways across the state, Gale said. The state Legislature and Appropriations Committee are going to have some serious issues to be faced over the next couple of years in that regard.

In terms of voter fraud, he said there have never been more than 12 suspect issues reported to his office in any given election cycle. Most of those incidents were not prosecuted because of a lack of criminal intent.

In many cases, county attorneys dont prosecute them. They find out that it was accidental or mistaken because of a lack of education, Gale said. We dont have numbers on that, but anecdotally we have been told by the counties that it is a very, very minimal number of a dozen or fewer cases.

For example, he cited one incident in which a womans mother had died before filling out the election ballot she received in the mail. The woman decided to fill it out for her dead mother and sign it. When the signature didnt match, she was caught. While she could have been charged with a felony, authorities decided not to prosecute her.

Gale said the standardization of how Nebraskans vote has also contributed to improved voter turnout in recent national elections.

He said there are 1.2 million registered voters in Nebraska. In the 2016 election, 860,000 people cast ballots, which was an increase of more than 50,000 people over the total who voted in the 2008 and 2004 elections.

When Nebraska implemented online voter registration in January 2016, there was a significant surge of new voters. Between July 2015 and November 2016, 90,000 people registered to vote in the state, contributing to the larger turnout, Gale said.

Gale also expressed concern about educating voters on local elections. He said voters are more apt to vote for president, Congress or governor. With races farther down the ballot  such as judges, education districts or natural resource districts  voter participation falls off drastically.

In a state that prides itself on local control, Gale said, the lack of voter participation could end up having those elected officials being selected by the governor instead of the voters.

Gale also told Rotarians that he supports legislation to promote the teaching of civics in high school. He feels history may be taking a back seat to schools emphasis on teaching math and science.
About a dozen people showed up for a public forum at the Hall County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, mostly to voice their opposition to the proposed post office relocation.

The U.S. Postal Service announced at a meeting last week at the Grand Island Public Library that it is considering relocating the post office from downtown to the distribution center on Old Potash Highway. Those attending that meeting were told that what they said would not be entered into the public record and that they had to write to the Postal Service to voice their concerns.

County Supervisors Pam Lancaster and Gary Quandt decided to provide the public with a forum to voice their opinions.

Mayor Jeremy Jensen spoke first at the forum to express his concerns on the proposed relocation. He thanked the county board for providing the forum.

Jensen said he was contacted by the Postal Service in mid- to late January about potentially having a public forum during a Grand Island City Council meeting.

After consideration, I didnt think that was the right time or place to have this type of forum because this is a meeting in and of itself, he said.

Jensen said he agreed to accommodate the Postal Service by having a forum at the Grand Island Public Library. Instead, he said, it became a public announcement, rather than a public meeting, after Postal Service officials refused to allow public comment to enter the record.

He said he was disappointed that the Postal Service did not provide the public with a proper forum to voice their opinions on the relocation. Since the city was willing to accommodate the Postal Service for a public meeting, he said, they should have at least stayed there and listened to the concerns of those in attendance.

Jensen said he wondered if the Postal Service had already made the decision to relocate the post office, but he hoped that was not the case.

The thing that Id like to know is whether this threshold of public input is going to get them to actually look at this, he said.

Jensen said he wrote a letter to the Postal Service on behalf of the city in opposition to the proposed post office relocation. The letter was printed on Page 4A of Tuesdays Independent.

Dave Taylor, president of the Grand Island Area Economic Development Corp., said the corporation also wrote a letter to the Postal Service opposing the proposed relocation.

City Administrator Marlan Ferguson said he, too, is opposed to the post office relocation. He said he plans to bring forward a resolution on the issue to the Grand Island City Council for its consideration.

Chris Rosacker, Railside Business Improvement District board member, said Railside is very much against the post office relocation. He wrote a letter objecting to the relocation and submitted it to the county board during the forum.

Rosacker has a letter template for those who do not have the time to write their own letter. The template is available at the Railside office at 224 W. Third St.

He said Railside is looking to work with the Postal Service on a compromise to keep postal services downtown.

If that building is something that is going to be a challenge to them, lets find a compromise and a solution, Rosacker said. People are walking (there) and using that building. A lot of them dont have any other choice.

He said moving the post offices customer services to the distribution center, where sidewalks arent available, would pose a real challenge for some people.

Mark Stelk, a Grand Island city councilman, said the post office relocation would be very devastating to the three businesses he and his wife own downtown.

Our business goes to the post office four or five times a day because we have deadlines to meet, need to pick up mail and mail certified mail, he said. It would be detrimental to us to get in our car or send an employee 10 minutes there and back to stand in line for another 10 minutes. Its not business friendly.

Stelk said that, like Rosacker and Railside, his business, General Collection, sent a letter to the Postal Service and has letter templates available for people. He added that the templates are available in Spanish.

Grand Island resident LeRoy Wood differed from the majority in attendance, voicing his support for the proposed post office move.

We have an opportunity right now, with leverage, to get Old Potash Highway done and get the state to help us, Wood said.

He said the city should negotiate with the Postal Service to set up a substation downtown, find out where to put it and discuss parking.

Its time now to take a look at our needs and start negotiating those, Wood said.

After the public forum, the county board voted 7-0 to forward a letter to the Postal Service stating its opposition to the proposed relocation.

In other action, the board:

 Heard a presentation from Matt Fisher, Northwest Public Schools superintendent, and Randy Stueven, a Northwest district resident, on rural subdivisions.

 Discussed the Hall County facilities master plan with Jerry Berggren of Berggren Architects in Lincoln.

 Voted 4-3 to approve a bid opening for the child support remodel at the Federal Building. Lancaster, Quandt and Supervisor Karen Bredthauer voted against the bid opening. Bids are due at 5 p.m. April 17.
The U.S. Postal Service and the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center are teaming up to host a special event in celebration of the Nebraska Statehood postage stamp and the spectacular migratory bird season, which is in full swing during March and April.

On Friday, March 10, a special cancellation stamp will be available at the Crane Trust to commemorate this occasion. The visitor center will have items that can be purchased for this purpose, such as the Crane Trust envelope with the Nebraska stamp affixed, postcards, etc. The public is also welcome to bring items on which they would like the cancellation.

The hours for this event are from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at the visitor center, located at 9325 S. Alda Road, at Exit 305 off of I-80.

In addition, the cancellation stamp will be available at the Grand Island Main Post Office for several weeks for those who wish to bring something in to the post office and obtain this special commemorative cancellation.

For more information, call the Crane Trust at (308) 382-1820.
Nebraska first lady Susanne Shore on Wednesday announced tour dates for the Nebraska 150 Celebrations largest project, "Truckin Through Nebraska: A Mobile Childrens Museum."

The museum will be in Grand Island on Aug. 25 through 27 for the Nebraska State Fair.

The Mobile Childrens Museum will officially launch at 5 p.m. Friday, April 7, at the Omaha Childrens Museum, which partnered with the Nebraska 150 Celebration on the project.

"We could not have accomplished this enormous undertaking without the support and guidance of the Omaha Childrens Museum," Shore said. "We are incredibly grateful for their partnership and the expertise they brought to the project. Its only appropriate that we kick off the tour in their backyard  the beginning of our 26-week, 42-community tour across Nebraska."

In addition to the State Fair in Grand Island, the museum will make stops in these Central Nebraska towns on these days:

 Albion, July 18 and 19.

 Broken Bow, Aug. 4 through 6.

 Burwell, July 27 through 29 for Nebraskas Big Rodeo.

 Central City, Sept. 18 and 19.

 Hastings, Aug. 12 and 13 for Kool-Aid Days.

 Ord, July 21 through 23.

 Ravenna, Aug. 8 and 9.

Hours of operation will vary by location.

"We want to extend our sincere thanks to all of the communities involved for agreeing to partner with us on this initiative," said Regan Anson, Nebraska 150 Celebration executive director. "A project of this magnitude requires a huge commitment on the part of the communities we will visit, including extensive volunteer support."

The Mobile Childrens Museum is contained in a 53-foot, state-of-the-art, custom air-ride, double-expandable trailer designed and outfitted for traveling museum exhibits. The unit is climate-controlled and Americans with Disabilities Act accessible. It has GPS tracking, Wi-Fi and its own generator.

Interior exhibits will include areas where kids will build shelters and test them in a wind chamber or earthquake simulator, design their own 10-acre homestead, test their knowledge of Nebraska, create their own movie, explore toys from the past and craft their own postcards.

Exhibits will also surround the exterior of the trailer and will include a timed "chore" challenge obstacle course, foam block invention area and toy creation station.

While exhibits in the Mobile Childrens Museum are intended for children ages 5 to 12, audiences of all ages are welcome. Admittance is free and open to the public.

The Mobile Childrens Museum is sponsored in part by Childrens Hospital; First National Bank; Peter Kiewit Foundation; BNSF; Associated General Contractors of America, Nebraska Chapter; AGC Nebraska Building Chapter; TransCanada; and Nebraska Educational Savings Trust.

Visit www.ne150.org/museum/ for additional details.
Was there a murder 100 years ago at Yardley's Continental Tavern?

Frank Lyons began excavating the basement of the Continental Tavern in Yardley. He found a gun, bloody corset and part of a woman's purse.
SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Performance Tested Bull sale was the lead-off event of the 2017 Illinois Beef Expo held Feb. 23 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. The sale averaged $3,400 on 54 lots.

"This sale continues to be one of the best sources for total performance genetics in the Midwest," says Travis Meteer, IPT sale manager. "During the past 49 years, the sale has sold 4,717 bulls valued at over 8.4 million dollars."

There were three breeds represented in the 2017 sale: Angus, Simmental, and Polled Hereford. Meteer says a senior Simmental bull was the top seller, selling for $6,500. The bull, DAF Cadillac Style C4, was sold by Diamond A Farms, from Altamont to Lukach Cattle, Grand Ridge.

The top-selling Angus bull was consigned by Kramer Farms, Keith and Brady Kramer. He was the high-indexing Angus bull in the sale. He sold for $5,500 to Chris Bruns, from Carthage. Other high sellers included Lot 43 consigned by Osborne Simmentals who sold for $5,300 to Eugene Stufflebeam of Lewistown.

Three Angus bulls tied for the second-high selling Angus bull at $4,700. Lot 14 and Lot 18 were consigned by Murphys Angus LLP and were selected by Charles Hunt, Oakford, and Lukach Cattle, Grand Ridge, respectively. Evans Angus consigned Lot 31, who also sold for $4,700 to Dusty Farms, Rushville.

Arlyn Rabideau consigned the two high-selling, and also high-indexing, Hereford bulls. Rabideaus lot 66 brought $3,000 and lot 63 brought $3,000 as well. Travis Hagen selected lot 66. Triple J Farms, Shumway, took home lot 63.

The University of Illinois Extension, U of I Department of Animal Sciences, and consigning breeders sponsored the sale. Also, Vita-Ferm, ABS, Merial, Zoetis 50K, Illinois Angus Association, and Illinois Simmental Association provided industry support, Meteer says.

Producers interested in viewing a breakdown of all the prices can visit the IPT Bull Sale website at www.IPTBullSale.com. Also included on this site are the individual bull prices from the 2017 sale and the numbers and averages from the previous 48 sales.

Seed-stock breeders interested in consigning to the 2018 IPT Bull Sale should contact Travis Meteer at 217-430-7030 or wmeteer2@illinois.edu to request a copy of the rules and regulation and nomination form. Nominations need to be made by Dec. 15 for the 2018 sale.
University of Missouri Extensions newly developed Certified Master Beekeeper Program is coming to Illinois. On Saturday, April 1, the program will be taught at the Senior Center, 325 E N Ninth St., in Forest Park in Shelbyville. Check in of participants begins at 7:30 a.m., with the class presentations from 8 a.m. to noon.

The beginning level, Introduction to Bees and Beekeeping, will focus on the principles of beekeeping. Those principles include the history of beekeeping, honeybee biology, plant and pollinator relationship, and essential equipment and requirements.

University of Illinois Extension is excited to collaborate with Missouri to bring the Master Beekeeper program to Shelby County. According to Dr. Moneen Jones from the University of Missouri, beekeepers from Illinois have been traveling to Missouri to attend this training, and have been hoping it would be offered in Illinois.

The Missouri Master Beekeeper certification program consists of six levels: Beginner Beekeeper, Apprentice Beekeeper, Journeyman Beekeeper, Junior Master Beekeeper, Master Trainer, and Master Beekeeper. By the end of this first course, individuals will be able to help experienced beekeepers in the management of hives.

Although the program is designed to lead people through a continual process of training and testing, anyone can attend the first three levels of the program to increase their knowledge of beekeeping. However, to move to the fourth level and beyond, participants must pass examinations for the prior classes. Other requirements for individuals wanting to move to the next level of training beyond Beginner include having one year of experience rearing bees before taking an exam to move up to the next level.

Experienced beekeepers can test up through the first two levels of the program if they have three or more years of experience. The Introduction to Bees and Beekeeping class is for any individual interested in learning beekeeping. There is no minimum age for the program, but children age 12 and younger may find examination questions difficult.

The course costs $61, which includes a beekeeping book. Classes are taught by experienced, local beekeepers. Preregistration for the class is required with registration closing on March 29 for this first class being offered in Shelbyville. In addition, there is a maximum enrollment of 30 participants, so the class will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

To learn more about the Missouri Master Beekeeper program, visit their website at http://extension.missouri.edu/masterbeekeeper/home.aspx If you are interested in enrolling for the level one class, Introduction to Bees and Beekeeping you can register online at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/ccdms/.

Have questions about the program? Call Dave Shiley at the University of Illinois Extension office in Arthur at 217-543-3755.
Lewis and Clark Community College will welcome approximately 60 colleges and universities, proprietary schools and armed forces during the upcoming Illinois Regional College Fair (IRCF).

This years event is being held from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, in the Commons.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Graduate School alumni Kyle Griffith and Frank Grasso are making their mark in the local healthcare industry, achieving pioneering success in dual roles as nurse anesthetists and businessmen.

Cape Girardeau native Griffith set the business plan in motion for Edwardsville-based G & G Anesthesia, LLC, while he was pursuing his masters of nursing/nurse anesthesia at SIUE. At that time, the G & G stood for him and his fiance, Erin. The classmates earned their advanced degrees in 2005 and got married the day after graduation.

A few years later, Grasso came through the SIUE School of Nursing (SON), earning a bachelors of nursing in 2006 and masters of nurse anesthesia in 2010. Fittingly, the Pinckneyville native had the same superior clinical skills and zest for business, not to mention a G last name, for Griffith to invite him to move the company under joint ownership in 2014.

We always like to say our partnership is like gas and fire, Griffith said. I had always wanted my own practice and the autonomy that comes with it. And I have always been business-minded. Frank shared that aspiration.

As Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), Griffith and Grassos company is breaking the mold of whats been the traditional approach to anesthesia care. G & G Anesthesias model is CRNA focused, with the company now employing three anesthesiologists and 15 full-time CRNAs. The entrepreneurs have secured contracts with HSHS St. Josephs Hospital in Highland, OSF St. Anthonys Health Center in Alton and Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City.

As an anesthesia provider you typically either work for a hospital, for a national company or for a physician group, Grasso explained. Now, theres an option to work for a CRNA-owned group, which is rare.

Our practice is built off of mutual respect, Griffith said. We have hired incredible physicians who serve as medical directors, but we allow our CRNAs to be completely independent and work on all types of cases, including obstetrics.

Costs are going up and reimbursements are going down across the healthcare industry, and you cant have inefficiencies, which is too often the case. Thats what sets us apart. Were able to have the strongest clinical staff around, bring in the best providers, but do it in a fiscally responsible manner.

We understand that the best approach is a team approach, where we rely on the expertise of our anesthesiologists, but they in turn, also respect the expertise of our CRNAs, Grasso continued. Its a re-education regarding the stigma of physicians versus CRNAs. Kyle and I break down that long held divide and strongly believe in the need for mutual respect. The two can handle the same situations, but doing so synergistically is the beautiful thing about our model.

Griffith and Grasso stress the productive powerful combination of exceptional clinical skills and exemplary interpersonal skills. The two are imperative attributes of their employees, the majority of whom are SIUE alumni.

SIUE for us is a constant pipeline of incredibly qualified employees, Griffith said. Its like a spring and the well is right here in town. We have great relationships with not only the students, but also the staff and administration.

The independence our instructors demonstrated intrigued me as a student, added Grasso. That, combined with the breadth of clinical sites the School provides students, are phenomenal contributors to the quality of students who have gone through SIUEs nurse anesthesia program.

We are extremely proud of all of our graduates, but that is putting it mildly when we think of Kyle and Frank, said Laura Bernaix, PhD, dean of the SIUE SON. They are the epitome of what we hope for in our students when they leave us to go into practice. To not only be skilled and knowledgeable nurse clinicians, but also become nurse leaders in the advancement of healthcare is our desired outcome. Clearly Kyle and Frank are achieving this goal.

G & G Anesthesias clinical sites serve as training opportunities for current students. The co-owners know firsthand how impactful such clinical opportunities are for students, and are constantly keeping tabs on those who may have the abilities to be a future asset to their company.

We strive for leaders in every aspect of anesthesia, Grasso said. We want the A team.

Relationships with alumni like this serve a key role in both the quality of our clinical education and the appeal of our program to the prospective student, said Andrew Griffin, PhD, CRNA, APN, assistant dean of graduate programs and director of the nurse anesthesia program in the SIUE SON. The achievements of Kyle and Frank are also successes for our University and program. I am excited about expanding on future opportunities with G & G.

SIUEs nurse anesthesia program is now a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Griffith and Grasso are in early discussions with the University to create a corporate agreement that would allow their employees the possibility of enrolling in the post-masters option for that program with support from G & G Anesthesia. If realized, it could be one of the first of its kind for any anesthesia group in the country.

The innovative companys explosive growth is just the start of what the SIUE alumni aspire to achieve. Plans are already in motion for their next business venture, which will expand their model into pain management.

The SIUE School of Nursings fully accredited programs are committed to creating excellence in nursing leadership through innovative teaching, evidence-based practice, quality research, patient advocacy and community service. Enrolling nearly 1,400 students in its baccalaureate, masters and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders in pursuit of shaping the nursing profession and impacting the health care environment. SIUEs undergraduate nursing programs on the Edwardsville campus and the regional campus in Carbondale help to solve the regions shortage of baccalaureate-prepared nurses and enhance the quality of nursing practice within all patient service venues. The Schools graduate programs prepare nurses for advanced roles in clinical practice, administration and education.

By preparing the next generation of leaders in a knowledge-based economy, SIUEs Graduate School fulfills the regions demand for highly trained professionals. Graduate school offerings include arts and sciences, business, education, engineering, nursing and interdisciplinary opportunities. SIUE professors provide students with a unique integration of theoretical education and hands-on research experiences. Students can obtain graduate certificates or pursue masters degrees, and be part of a supportive learning and rich intellectual environment that is tailored to the needs of adult learners. The Graduate School raises the visibility of research at SIUE, which ranks highest among its Illinois Board of Higher Education peers in total research and development expenditures according to the National Science Foundation. Doctoral programs are available in the Schools of Education (Ed.D.) and Nursing (DNP). The School of Engineering and the Department of Historical Studies feature cooperative doctoral programs (Ph.D.).
A team of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville undergraduate and graduate student-researchers are playing an integral role in preserving the 20th century history of Madison County, Ill.

Through their work with the collaborative project, Madison Historical, The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Ill., the students are using 21st century technology to publically feature and archive oral histories, historical items such as photographs, documents and letters, and articles on significant people, places, and events.

The innovative project is led by Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools Robert Daiber, EdD, who noted the absence of a formally recorded history of the county since 1912. Daiber called on the expertise of SIUE scholars and students from the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Historical Studies to bring his idea to fruition.

Madison Historical is being developed and managed by associate professors Jeffrey Manuel, PhD, and Jason Stacy, PhD, along with Stephen Hansen, PhD, faculty emeritus and former interim chancellor, and four student-researchers. SIUE alumnus Ben Ostermeier is contributing his expertise in historical studies and computer science as the technical developer for the project.

Graduate students involved are Nichol Allen, a native of Truckee, Calif., and Jessica Mills, of Webb, Iowa, both pursuing a masters in historical studies, along with doctoral candidate Lesley Thomson-Sasso, of Asbury Park, N.J. Junior Angela Little, of Belleville, is contributing to the project through the Universitys Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) program.

Many people think that history teaching and scholarship has not changed in many years, but this project shows how historians are embracing the web and its potential for democratizing history and preserving local history in new ways, said Manuel. It presents great opportunities for our students, because they get firsthand experience with the type of work done in museums and archives today. Historians have to be skilled in a wide variety of digital and multimedia techniques.

A special event will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 14 in the SIUE Morris University Center Conference Center to introduce the public to Madison Historical: The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Ill.

So far, the most rewarding aspect of this project has been the interaction with local organizations who are excited about this project, said Mills. There seems to be an overall excitement about the possibilities of a project like this. Meeting the men and women, who help protect Madison Countys history and educate others on its past, has been particularly enjoyable.

The students contributions, include:

Sharing information about the innovative project with local organizations and partner institutions

Researching appropriate materials to include within the projects emphases on government, industry, education, law and culture

Writing articles and learning to effectively analyze and digitize primary sources

Identifying subjects and conducting oral histories

This project was of great interest to me due to my hobby of genealogy and my pursuit of a bachelors in historical studies, said Little. Madison Historical is affording the valuable opportunity to work closely with graduate students and faculty to learn where to best research certain topics and build a network within the community.

I excitedly accepted the offer to participate in this amazing project, added Allen. It offers the communities within Madison County the opportunity to preserve their history by erasing city lines and uniting together to create a shared story rooted in the past that brings us to the present.

Madison Historical serves a number of innovative purposes, and according to Stacy, the SIUE graduate students are at the core of the project, acting as a conduit to partner institutions for the creation of this hub of historical references. The public is invited to not only consume the digital archives historical references, but also assist in producing them.

We hope to play a dual role in the community, first as a repository for county history and second as a place for community members to contribute their memories of Madison County, Stacy said. The students involved are gaining the opportunity to put the skills we teach them in class, into practice in a way that gives back to the Madison County community.

I find it incredibly rewarding to control the presentation of the websites content and consider how users will navigate Madison Historical, Ostermeier said. It is critical for citizens to be engaged in their local community, and a crucial component of that engagement is knowledge of that communitys history. This project gives the people of Madison County an authoritative resource on their communitys history and allows them to become both teachers and students of history. Its a great feeling to have a hand in seeing this project come to fruition.

This project provides the residents of Madison County the opportunity to explore its rich history by integrating the usage of digital humanities, Thomson-Sasso added. One unique aspect of Madison Historical is that it is promoting a community-based historical involvement that allows for the exploration of diverse research. It promotes a larger sense of community, and fosters civic pride in the countys rich contribution to Illinois history.

For a complete list of partner institutions and the network of sponsors who have supported Madison Historical, including the Madison County Regional Office of Education, Madison County Government, Phillips 66 and attorney John Simmons, visit Madison-Historical.siue.edu/.
Name: Robert L. Jackstadt

Office sought: Mayor of Glen Carbon

City of residence: Glen Carbon, Illinois

Education: In 1982, I graduated with honors from the University of Illinois College of Commerce and Business with a degree in Finance, Investment and Banking. In 1985, I received my Juris Doctor from the Saint Louis University School of Law.

Occupation: I am a founding shareholder and a member of the Management Committee of Tueth Keeney Cooper Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C., a 24-lawyer law firm with offices in Edwardsville and Clayton. I practice law in the areas of commercial, construction and education litigation.

Family Information: I have been married for over 34 years to Kathleen Kozyak Jackstadt. Kathi and I have three adult and married children plus three grandsons. Zhanell Jackstadt Enloe is married to Tyler Enloe and they have a son, Wesley. Bryson Jackstadt and his wife Aimee Nelson Jackstadt have two sons, Coen and Brady. Our youngest child, Quincy Jackstadt, married his wife Kaide Zoelzer Jackstadt last May.

Why are you seeking office?

I want to continue to offer Glen Carbon residents my extensive background and experience to keep Glen Carbon one of the best places to live, work and raise a family. I also want to continue to keep the momentum going in Glen Carbon.

What are your plans if elected to that office?

If elected, I will work towards the following:

To continue to represent ALL Glen Carbon residents.

To maintain the financial strength of the Village

To keep Glen Carbon one of the safest communities in the State

To prioritize and work on infrastructure projects, such as the Old Troy Road reconstruction

To make sure the Village makes smart business decisions that are fair to all of our Glen Carbon taxpayers

Why should voters cast a ballot in your favor?

Since I took office in May 2005, the following accomplishments have been achieved:

Glen Carbon was voted one of the Top 100 Places to live in the United States by CNN Money Magazine in 2009

Glen Carbon total debt has decreased by 65% from $20.9 million to $7.2 million

Retail Sales Tax revenue increased by 79% from $1.9 million to $3.4 million

Property values increased by 16% from a village-wide EAV of $283,095,713 to $328,722,793.

Glen Carbon Municipal Tax Rate has decreased by 6% since 2008

Glen Carbon was selected as of one of the top 12 safest communities to live in the entire state of Illinois according to Safewise.

Improved communication with residents by opening Village Board meetings and allowing residents and business owners to speak on any issue, by publishing the Village newsletter The Communicator quarterly, encouraging V-mail notices to residents, and by establishing the first Glen Carbon Residents Advisory Board.

issue, by publishing the Village newsletter The Communicator quarterly, encouraging V-mail notices to residents, and by establishing the first Glen Carbon Residents Advisory Board. Spearheaded the reinvention and restructure of the Glen Carbon Homecoming festival which resulted in a change to the existing three year deficit of $66,600 to a $98,800 profit in combined years 2006 through 2014.

Lead efforts to become one of the first communities to offer major savings to residents via the Municipal Electrical Aggregation program that resulted in $1.5 million dollars in savings to Ameren customers since July 2012

Improved relationships with Glen Carbon businesses by creating first Glen Carbon Business Advisory Board and implementing the Business of the Month recognition

Modernized and professionalized Village Government by creating and appointing first Village Administrator.

These are complex times for Glen Carbon which requires experienced leadership.

For example, a large developer has plans to develop 2 different parcels totaling over 120 acres in the next couple of years. Using my background and prior experience in dealing with large developers seeking business district incentives, I will lead the Village in negotiations to identify concerns and make sure all issues impacting our taxpayers are addressed.

Additionally, the Village will be moving forward with the $7 million Old Troy Road Reconstruction Project over the next two years. Historically, the state would help fund this project but that will not happen since the state of Illinois continues to operate without a budget. Glen Carbon needs an experienced leader to keep the Village financially sound, safe and moving forward over the next four years despite this major capital improvement project and others.

Endorsements you have received:

Former Village Trustees Dr. Loren Hughes, Bob Buehler, Margaret Moggio, Mary Ann Smith, David Smith, and others.

Describe your leadership experience.

Glen Carbon Mayor, May 1, 2005 to Present

Edwardsville School District 7 Board Member, April 2000 to November 2001

Glen Carbon Village Trustee, May 1, 1995- April 30, 1999

Chair, Glen Carbon Water Committee, May 1, 1995-April 30, 1999

Glen Carbon Planning and Zoning Commission Member, 1993-1995
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Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

As the world celebrates International Womens Day on March 8, three female foreign ministers from Indonesia, South Africa and Australia have been leading the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) summit comprising 21 countries meeting in Jakarta.

Indonesias Retno LP Marsudi, South Africas Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and Australias Julie Bishop hosted the IORA ministerial meeting, with womens empowerment being one of the areas of discussion despite the huge diversity of views among the members.

Indonesia itself reflects contradictions. While we pride ourselves on nearly equal school enrollment between boys and girls, wage inequality still persists between the sexes.
MATTOON -- Lincolnland Hospice nurse Michelle Homann-Kersey, RN, was honored with the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Sarah Bush Lincoln on Feb. 14.

According to a press release, Homann-Kersey was nominated by Lincolnland Manager Nancy Sehy for consistently going above and beyond to meet the needs of each person she cares for.

Michelle is committed to providing the best possible care for her patients and their families and she always does more than whats expected, Sehy wrote. She spends as much time as needed to meet each persons needs and then she goes further.

Sehy shared an example in which Homann-Kersey decided to forgo her departments Christmas party to return to the hospital to check on a patient. When she discovered the patient was encountering difficulty with medication, she tracked down the patients doctor and personally went to the pharmacy to find the necessary IV infusion tubing to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Michelle then stayed until she was assured the patient was responding well and was comfortable, Sehy said. This type of behavior -- dogged perseverance to ensure patient comfort, and commitment to co-workers by going above and beyond, is definitely what defines her as deserving of the DAISY Award.

Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center has joined more than 2,400 health care facilities by becoming a DAISY Award hospital partner. During the award presentation, Homann-Kersey received a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a hand-carved serpentine stone sculpture from Zimbabwe, titled, A Healers Touch.

The DAISY Award was established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, who died at 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and families.

Patients, visitors, nurses, physicians and other employees may nominate a deserving nurse for The DAISY Award and a nurse will be selected by SBLs DAISY committee every month to received this special honor. Nomination forms are located at www.sarahbush.org and at all SBL clinics and on patient floors.

The forms can be submitted to any Sarah Bush Lincoln staff member, or sent via email to daisy@sblhs.org or mail to Sarah Bush Lincoln, DAISY Nursing Award, 1000 Health Center Drive, Mattoon, IL 61938. For more information, contact SBL DAISY coordinator, Cynthia Edwards, RN, at 217-238-3422 or cedwards@sblhs.org.
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Linkedin Hendri Yulius (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

A crowd mostly wearing pink outfits assembled in front of the Sarinah Plaza on the morning of March 4. Young and old, men, women, transgenders and people with disability then walked together to the National Monument yelling, Women move forward! They cant be stopped! Women unite! They cant be defeated! Banners highlighting gender issues were raised up, rainbow color flags and decorations waving in the air, representing Indonesian LGBT communities.

In celebration of International Womens Day, Indonesias Women March was not only about women rights. One of the organizers, Kate Walton, asserted that the march aimed to address current politics that ignore the rights of marginalized groups, including LGBT, people with disability, and indigenous people.

As I talked to a transgender woman activist I began to notice the importance of exploring the relations between LGBT activisms and womens movements in Indonesia.

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Linkedin Hannah Al Rashid (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The year 2017 has kicked off a new era for women. Womens marches are taking place across the world from the United States, to Indonesia with men, and women marching for equality. This International Womens Day feels more important than ever.

It began with the protest that coincided with US President Donald Trumps first day in office, and has turned into a global movement engaging both men and women. Women are at the forefront of the revolution; unsurprisingly, considering women are disproportionately affected by so many inequalities in this world.

About 15,000 kilometers away from Washington, women in the tiny village of Gampong Cot Malem in Aceh are fighting for peace. Their village has endured decades of conflict, the 2004 tsunami and the rocky recovery period following the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding in 2005.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Linawati Sidarto (The Jakarta Post) Amsterdam  Wed, March 8, 2017 10:28 2070 a291276806121264c0bd211cde389999 4 Lifestyle conservatives,Muslim,feminism,feminist,local-movie,Nia-Dinata Free

Author and activist Intan Paramadithas striking appearance  a bright red dress matching her lipstick  might be the first thing noticed by the dozens of people who came to hear her speak about the state of feminism in Indonesia.

However, it did not take long before her words transported the audience at Perdu, a cultural venue in the heart of Amsterdam, far across the ocean to contemplate the challenges and triumphs of the feminist movement in the worlds largest Muslimmajority country.

In the past few years, the direction of womens activism in Indonesia has been largely shaped by emergency cases, such as rising conservatism and growing pressure on feminists and others such as the LGBT community, says Intan, who wears many hats: academic, fiction writer and activist.

These conservative groups have not only launched street protests against what they call deviant groups, but have also taken legal actions against them.

Intan, a lecturer in media and film studies at Sydneys Macquarie University, is in the Netherlands on a short fellowship provided by the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) to write about Indonesian cinema.

In her talk, titled Womens Resistance through Arts and the Media in Indonesia, she spoke about her countrys womens movement in the past two decades.

During Soehartos New Order period, Intan described the situation in Indonesia as state ibu-ism (state motherhood), a term coined by seasoned feminist and writer Julia Suryakusuma.

In state ibu-ism, women were discouraged from participating in politics, and their appearances in public were limited as mothers and supporters of their husbands, Intan explained.

The period following the end of Soehartos dictatorial rule in 1998, called the Reformasi (reform) era, opened trajectories previously closed in society, including in the area of gender and sexualism.

Read also: The many voices of Women's March Jakarta 2017

Starting in the late 1990s, a number of women broke through into previously male-dominated arts sectors like literature and cinema. Writers such as Ayu Utami, Fira Basuki and Djenar Maesa Ayu were known for their exploration of the themes related to sex, bodies and sexuality, she said.

In Indonesian cinema, Intan pointed out, women had been practically non-existent: between the 1920s and 1998, only four female directors were documented. However, since the advent of the Reformasi era, dozens of women directors and producers have begun to make mainstream, independent and documentary films.

Shanty Harmayn, who was the co-founder and director of JIFFEST [Jakarta International Film Festival], incorporated a womens section in the festival, said Intan, who holds a PhD in cinema studies from New York University.

She also praised director Nia Dinata, whose films touch on sensitive subjects such as polygamy and homosexuality. Her 2002 film Arisan (The Gathering) was regarded as the first Indonesian film that showed a realistic portrayal of gay characters. It generated a lot of public discussions about homosexuality, she says.

At the same time, however, religious conservatism has also surged in the Reformasi era.

Soehartos regime, Intan explains, carefully contained Islam, limiting it to the realm of personal piety. In the Reformasi era, the rise of Muslim political parties constantly promote the roles of Islam in public. The post-1998 landscape has also seen the rise of religious vigilante groups, most notably the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

Read also: Indonesian Women's March: When women and LGBT people unite

A stark example of the clash between the feminist and the religious camps was the formation of the Pornography Law, which was hotly debated for years prior to its ratification in 2008.

While organizations such as the FPI, who do not shy away from violence, are known as grassroots groups, they do influence law-making. Their voice is taken into account by policymakers, Intan points out.

In the past few years, the influence of the religious conservatives has continued to grow. Many women increasingly feel family and peer pressure to wear a hijab [headscarf ], she says.

Intan says she was particularly dismayed when a minister last year called on universities to bar LGBT students from entering, and not one single university countered the statement.

Arguably the most formidable challenger for secular feminists are religious conservative women. Intan points to groups such as the Family Love Alliance (AILA), which easily attracts the middle class with their message of family, religion and morality. AILA has been calling for a review of the laws on homosexuality and non-marital sex, and demand the criminalization of non-normative sexualities in the name of family values.

The feminists, on the other hand, have certainly not just stood on the sidelines in the past decade.

In the arts, books, plays and movies have continued to push the boundaries of gender and sexuality, like the transgender superhero movie Madame X. A younger generation of female artists have been using digital media to spread their message  such as on the Bersama (together) Project  through music, videos and blogs.

On the religious side of the feminist camp, organizations such as Rahima, an Islamic information and training center headed by Farha Ciciek, an advocate of womens rights in Islam.

Intan admits, however, that the conservative side has been better organized. They are politically astute, and savvy in using social media. The aim of the secular feminist movement, therefore, is to increase its voice in the mainstream, including in government. We cannot be the voice of opposition forever.

Another key step, Intan continues, is to increase dialogue between different womens groups, including the religious ones. Even though there are many Muslim women involved in the movement, dialogue with Islamic feminism  the Islamic movement which is anchored in Islamic texts and discourse  remain limited.

Willemijn Lamp, who organized the talk, points out the importance of a Western audience getting a multi-dimensional perspective on Indonesia.

The general view the Dutch have on Indonesia is fairly superficial: its either considered as a backpackers paradise, or we read in the newspapers about mass demonstrations of radical Islamists, says Lamp, who is co-founder of international annual literature festival Read My World.

Intan compels people to contemplate the complexities of Indonesia, and introduced us to important voices that are not so visible in the mainstream media instead of merely thinking in slogans and stereotypes.

She adds that many in the audience stayed on for further discussions after the talk, and they have become curious to know more about the groups of activists and artists that Intan had mentioned.

Among those in the audience were university students Ecesu Erol from Turkey and RuthMarie Henckes from Belgium, both of whom knew practically nothing about Indonesia.

Ecesu was fascinated to find so many similarities between her country and Indonesia. Both seem to struggle with secularism and Islam, she says. Ruth-Marie, who has traveled extensively in East Africa, noted how relatively open and tolerant Indonesia seems to be. In countries like Tanzania and Uganda, persecution of gays is much worse.
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Linkedin Tommaso Ebhardt and Matthew Miller (Bloomberg)  Wed, March 8, 2017

Ferrari NV unveiled the speediest production car in its history, underscoring its reputation for uncompromising performance even as the Italian manufacturer pushes the limit of how many autos it can sell without losing its allure.

The 812 Superfast debuted at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday with a 12-cylinder, 800-horsepower engine that accelerates to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in as little as 2.9 seconds, making it Ferraris most powerful production model ever. Priced at 292,000 euros ($308,000) in Italy, the new flagship is already sold out for 2017, Ferrari Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

We have to make sure the demand is there, and we always have to supply less than the demand, he said.

Read also: Peugeot 3008 named 'Car of the Year' at Geneva auto show

Having promised its shareholders a boost in sales and profit following its 2015 initial public offering, Ferrari faces the challenge of selling more cars without diluting its air of exclusivity. Marchionne, likely to reach his target of selling 9,000 cars annually by 2019, is pushing high-performers like the 812 Superfast to maintain earnings momentum, even as he widens the lineup.

Keeping supply capped by model is the key to protecting Ferraris reputation. "We need a much wider range of products than weve got today, in order to increase volumes beyond 9,000 vehicles, the CEO said.

Theres still a phenomenal amount of space to expand Ferraris range without massive investment in new technology and platforms, Marchionne has said in the past. Such low-risk expansion is critical for the boutique manufacturer as it seeks to compete without the backing of a bigger industry player.

Read also: Eyeing future after problematic past, VW showcases 'Sedric'

The 812 Superfast debuted at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday with a 12-cylinder, 800-horsepower engine that accelerates to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in as little as 2.9 seconds, making it Ferraris most powerful production model ever.(Bloomberg/Chris Ratcliffe)

Ferrari Family

In an effort to reach a wider audience, Ferrari unveiled a four-seater GTC4Lusso family car in Geneva last year and may consider a five-door version to draw buyers seeking more practicality and comfort, said Ian Fletcher, an analyst at IHS Automotive in London.

"There is for sure demand for that kind of hatchback, which could generate high margins using an existing platform, Fletcher said.

While Ferrari hasnt yet decided whether to add a five-door model, the companys expansion strategy is its most critical and Marchionne told reporters in Geneva he wants to reach beyond traditional sportscar customers. He reiterated that Ferrari will never make an SUV, despite growing demand for ultra-luxury all-terrain vehicles made by the likes of Bentley and Mercedes-Benz Maybach.

Read also: Porsche launches 2 new models in Jakarta

Still, Ferraris bread-and-butter models are its high-powered, hand-crafted supercars and special editions -- which these days are appearing with increasing frequency. The manufacturer sold out its $2.1 million special-edition LaFerrari Aperta last year even before its debut, and its rolling out 350 limited-run models of its five main lines to celebrate its 70th anniversary this year.

The 812 Superfast, which replaces the F12 Berlinetta, can exceed 340 kilometers per hour. Borrowing from the automakers Formula 1 designs, its aimed squarely at a core audience of race-car aficionados. The new model has flaps in the underbody that suck in air when the brakes get hot. With a high fastback tail and curving wheel arches, its meant to evoke the 1969 Daytona while adding modern aerodynamic lines.

Spun off from Italian-U.S. automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in 2015, Ferrari posted record profit last year and plans to increase earnings by at least 8 percent this year. The company previously limited production to 7,000 annually to protect its exotic allure and now expects to sell about 8,400 vehicles this year after 8,014 in 2016.

Ferrari is on its way to post over 1 billion euros in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year, Marchionne said. The company, which has a target to make at least 950 million euros in adjusted Ebitda, plans to reach its financial goals by selling an adequate number of cars with a sufficiently high margin.
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Linkedin Nedi Putra AW and Aman Rochman (The Jakarta Post) Malang  Wed, March 8, 2017 11:32 2070 a291276806121264c0bd211cde39111a 4 Environment volunteer,activist,waste,waste-management,health,HealthcareServices,BPJS,insurance,BPJS-Kesehatan Free

Since its establishment in 2010, the Waste Insurance Clinic initiated by doctor Gamal Albinsaid from non-profit organization Indonesia Medika in Malang, East Java, has provided primary health care services for nearby residents in return for nothing but recyclable trash.

The clinic only focuses on primary care, but Gamal strives to improve the service in order to help patients who need intensive treatment by cooperating with the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

The BPJS health care scheme guarantees secondary and tertiary health care services for people, he said while commemorating the National Waste-Free Day on Feb. 21 at the clinic in Bumiayu subdistrict, Kedungkandang.

The clinics health care program is a collaborative effort between BPJS Kesehatan, the Malang Environment Agency, students and residents.

BPJS Kesehatan was launched in 2015 to help low-income families afford health care. The government prepared a fund to cover premiums for poor people and invited others to take part in the health insurance program. Lowincome earners can apply for a policy that covers third-class hospital treatment for a premium set at Rp 25,500 (US$1.91) per month.

Read also: Photo exhibition raises awareness about children with HIV

Residents collect trash in the form of plastic bottles and used paper worth Rp 10,000 every month to be entitled to the clinics health care service. Gamal is looking for various sources of funds to cover the remaining Rp 15,500 to get the patients registered with the BPJS health insurance for third-class hospital services.

Corporate social responsibility funds from companies and academicians are the present option, said Gamal.

The doctor, who has received a UK government award for his achievement, is convinced of the considerable impact of this program, because those who have to undergo inpatient care or heart surgery, for instance, will be served through the BPJS arrangement.

Gamal also regards this cooperation scheme as a solution to stagnation in BPJS premium collection and as a way to ease the governments burden of subsidizing the coverage of poor people under the BPJS Kesehatan. It was estimated that the national health insurance suffer losses of about Rp 6 trillion last year.

This program entails community empowerment through waste management, which will affect peoples lifestyle and create a clean environment, Gamal said.

Read also: Young entrepreneurs drive social, ecological innovation

Dedication: A patient (right) gets her blood pressure checked.(JP/Aman Rochman)

Ponali, a resident of Bumiayu who suffered a stroke for four years, said he benefited from the health care provided at Gamals clinic.

I was bedridden, only lying on the bed, he said.

After two years of intensive treatment at the clinic, the 61-year-old could eventually walk again with the help of a walking cane.

Only 100 of the 230 patients at the clinic have been registered as BPJS participants in the pilot project.

The number will increase when the aid funds are adequate and public interest rises, Gamal said with confidence.

He also plans to launch a waste-for-health care program that will allow people to receive medical treatment in return for trash they bring along as a means of payment and a corporate-care program that invites companies to donate recyclable waste to cover treatment for the poor.

Meanwhile the Homedika Care program allows poor people to get health care services at home by paying with 3 kilograms of trash. Community members can also donate waste to help poor people obtain free health care services through a charity program.

Were developing a digital platform to connect medical personnel with the public through the Siapa Peduli [Whos Concerned] website, Gamal said. Those in need can contact Indonesia Medikas call center. The website also raises funds for poor patients.

The head of BPJSs primary health service unit in Malang, Muji Hariyanti, welcomes the waste insurance program.

The cooperation between BPJS Kesehatan and wastebased insurance is the first of its kind. This is very interesting, because the BPJS program can work well under this scheme, Muji said, adding that her office would also welcome other possible schemes.

Open daily from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. except on weekends and public holidays, the Waste Insurance Clinic welcomes new patients, who only need to submit recyclable trash in exchange for membership cards.

After explaining their complaints, having their blood pressure taken and their weight registered, patients are medically examined and given prescribed medicine. The health care workers are mostly young physicians, nurses, midwives and pharmacists who spare their time to serve the patients for free.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017 14:13 2069 a291276806121264c0bd211cde3a3301 1 Parents technology,#technology,children,#children,parents,#parents,parenting,#parenting,smartphone,#smartphone,health,#health Free

Think about reconsidering the laptop and phone your child sleeps next to because as compared to 10 years ago, three times as many children under 14 are being diagnosed with sleeping disorders, primarily due to technology keeping them awake.

Most common in households in which both parents work, this lack of sleep can have severe long-term effects on children, such as mental health issues, low levels of emotional control and becoming obese, according to past research.

According to the Childrens Sleep Charity, nearly 30 percent of children in the United Kingdom will suffer from sleep issues during their childhood.

Read also: Lego creates social networking app for children

Vicki Dawson told The Telegraph that, [Childrens Sleep Charity] has been inundated with requests for support from families of children across the country; we receive up to 200 e-mails every day. When families are sleep deprived it can lead them into crisis.

The blue light emitted by phones, tablets and laptops can reduce the natural production of melatonin, the hormone that helps to induce sleep. It is becoming more common for both children and adults to take melatonin supplements, according to the NHS. Experts recommend keeping devices out of the bedroom for this reason.

Technology is not the only perpetrator. Later bedtimes along with the regular consumption of drinks high in sugar and caffeine can also affect a childs ability to sleep. (sul/kes)
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Linkedin Jack Gillum and Raphael Satter (Associated Press) Washington  Wed, March 8, 2017

WikiLeaks published thousands of documents Tuesday described as secret files about CIA hacking tools the government employs to break into users' computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs from companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung.

The documents describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features intended to keep the private information of citizens and corporations safe from prying eyes. U.S. government employees, including President Donald Trump, use many of the same products and internet services purportedly compromised by the tools.

The documents describe CIA efforts  cooperating with friendly foreign governments and the U.S. National Security Agency  to subvert the world's most popular technology platforms, including Apple's iPhones and iPads, Google's Android phones and the Microsoft Windows operating system for desktop computers and laptops.

The documents also include discussions about compromising some internet-connected televisions to turn them into listening posts. One document discusses hacking vehicle systems, indicating the CIA's interest in hacking modern cars with sophisticated on-board computers.

WikiLeaks has a long track record of releasing top secret government documents, and experts who sifted through the material said it appeared legitimate.

The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said he was very concerned about the release and had asked the intelligence community for more information about it.

Former CIA Director Mike Hayden told MSNBC he had undertaken only a cursory review of the documents, but that if they were what they were purported to be, it would amount to a "very extensive file of the tactics, techniques, procedures, targets and other political rules" under which the CIA hacks targets. "If it is that, it would be very, very damaging," he said.

Jonathan Liu, a spokesman for the CIA, said: "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents." White House spokesman Sean Spicer also declined comment.

Missing from WikiLeaks' trove are the actual hacking tools themselves, some of which were developed by government hackers while others were purchased from outsiders. WikiLeaks said it planned to avoid distributing tools "until a consensus emerges" on the political nature of the CIA's program and how such software could be analyzed, disarmed and published.

Tuesday's disclosure left anxious consumers who use the products with little recourse, since repairing the software vulnerabilities in ways that might block the tools' effectiveness is the responsibility of leading technology companies. The revelations threatened to upend confidence in an Obama-era government program, the Vulnerability Equities Process, under which federal agencies warn technology companies about weaknesses in their software so they can be quickly fixed.

It was not immediately clear how WikiLeaks obtained the information, and details in the documents could not immediately be verified. WikiLeaks said the material came from "an isolated, high-security network" inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence but didn't say whether the files were removed by a rogue employee or whether the theft involved hacking a federal contractor working for the CIA or perhaps breaking into a staging server where such information might have been temporarily stored.

"The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive," WikiLeaks said in a statement.

Some technology firms on Tuesday said they were evaluating the information. Microsoft Corp. said it was looking into the report, while the maker of secure messaging app Signal said the purported CIA tools affected users' actual phones and not its software design or encryption protocols.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer speaks during the White House press briefing, Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in Washington.(AP/Evan Vucci)

Read also: WikiLeaks: Assange's internet link 'severed' by state actor

The manufacturer of the popular Telegram mobile messaging app said in a statement that manufacturers of cellphones and their operating systems, including Apple, Google and Samsung, were responsible for improving the security of their devices. It said the effort will require "many hours of work and many security updates" and assured its customers that "If the CIA is not on your back, you shouldn't start worrying yet."

The tools described in the documents carried bizarre names, including Time Stomper, Fight Club, Jukebox, Bartender, Wild Turkey, Margarita and "RickyBobby," a racecar-driving character in the comedy film, "Talladega Nights."

That RickyBobby tool, the documents said, was intended to plant and harvest files on computers running "newer versions of Microsoft Windows and Windows Server." It operated "as a lightweight implant for target computers" without raising warnings from antivirus or intrusion-detection software. It took advantage of files Microsoft built into Windows since at least 10 years ago.

The files include comments by CIA hackers boasting in slang language of their prowess: "You know we got the dankest Trojans and collection tools," one reads.

The documents show broad exchanges of tools and information among the CIA, NSA and other U.S. intelligence agencies, as well as intelligence services of close allies Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

WikiLeaks claimed the CIA used both its Langley, Virginia, headquarters and the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, as bases for its covert hackers. The AP found that one purported CIA hack that imitates the Domain Name System  the internet's phone book  traced to an internet domain hosted in Germany.

In an unusual move, WikiLeaks said it was withholding some secrets inside the documents. Among them, it said it had withheld details of tens of thousands of "CIA targets and attack machines throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States."

WikiLeaks also said its data included a "substantial library" of digital espionage techniques borrowed from other countries, including Russia.

If the authenticity of the documents is officially confirmed, it would represent yet another catastrophic breach for the U.S. intelligence community at the hands of WikiLeaks and its allies, which have repeatedly humbled Washington with the mass release of classified material, including from the State Department and the Pentagon.

Tuesday's documents purported to be from the CIA's "Embedded Development Branch" discuss techniques for injecting malicious code into computers protected by the personal security products of leading international anti-virus companies. They describe ways to trick anti-virus products from companies including Russia-based Kaspersky Lab, Romania-based BitDefender, Dutch-based AVG Technologies, F-Secure of Finland and Rising Antivirus, a Chinese company.

In the new trove, programmers also posted instructions for how to access user names and passwords in popular internet browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

Some documents were classified "secret" or "top secret" and not for distribution to foreign nationals. One file said those classifications would protect deployed hacks from being "attributed" to the U.S. government. The practice of attribution, or identifying who was behind an intrusion, has been difficult for investigators probing sophisticated hacks that likely came from powerful nation-states.

__________

Satter reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Stephen Braun, Vivian Salama, Frank Bajak, Tammy Webber and Michael Liedtke contributed to this report.
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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

A delegation from the Afghanistan government learned about Indonesias experience in combating corruption during a visit to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday.

We have learned how the KPK has worked so hard to combat corruption here. We want to take a closer look at how the commission works here, said Afghanistan Justice Minister Abdul Baseer Haidari.

Haidari was among 16 officials, including presidential adviser Sardar Mohammad Roshan, Deputy Attorney General Wahidullah Argon and Afghanistan Ambassador to Indonesia Roya Rahmani, who visited the antigraft agency.

Haidari said his side decided to learn about corruption eradication from Indonesia after it heard reports from the UN that praised anticorruption activity in Indonesia and considered them quite successful.

The minister further said he was impressed with how the KPK had worked to combat corruption in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

Established in 2002 as an ad hoc body, the KPK has prosecuted a number of high-ranking officials in the government. Among those prosecuted include two former Constitutional Court justices and a number of lawmakers, turning the institution into one of most respected in Indonesia.

When asked whether Afghanistan would form an independent body similar to the KPK, Bashari said, We have several antigraft institutions back home. We just want to learn about [antigraft efforts] in Indonesia.

Haidari said President Mohammad Asraf Ghani wanted Afghanistan to have a clean government. The president has vowed to deal with rampant corruption in Afghanistan.

KPK deputy chairman La Ode Muhammad Syarif said his side was ready to share its experiences with Afghanistan. (ebf)
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Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The cases against gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (FI) are piling as the national rights body has stated that the firm has violated the rights of indigenous people during its 50year operation in Papua.

According to an investigation carried out by the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) from 2015 to 2017, FI has never paid compensation for the land it has been using as its working areas in Mimika, Papua, to its original owners  the indigenous Amungme people.

The commission claimed to have gone deep into various ministries, including the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry and the Environment and Forestry Ministry, during the investigation and called the Mimika administration and FI for questioning.

We asked all of them whether or not there was proof of land transactions by Freeport Indonesia in the past. They werent able to present such evidence. Even the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry said it knew nothing about it, Komnas HAM commissioner Natalius Pigai said on Tuesday evening after handing over the investigation report to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan.

(Read also: Workers urge government to settle dispute with Freeport)

The commission concludes that there have been violations on the rights of indigenous people, whose lands have been unilaterally seized by the Indonesian government and FI. It argued that there should be compensation for the people, whether in the form of money or shares of the company.

The Mimika administration in Papua has demanded 10 to 20 of percent shares in FI to compensate for the use of the land for the past 50 years.

FI, a subsidiary of United States-based mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Inc., was granted its first contract of work (CoW) in 1967 to operate the Ertsberg mine in Papua by the regime of former president Soeharto as the country tried to attract investments.

At that time, the Ertsberg mine was known as the richest copper deposit ever found on the ground with an estimated 13 million tons of ore reserves above the ground and 14 million tons of underground ore within a depth of 100 meters.

In 1991, FIs contract was extended for 30 years following the companys plan to further develop the Grasberg mine, located only two kilometers away from Ertsberg and eventually known as the worlds biggest gold mine and second-largest copper mine.

Mimika regent Eltinus Omaleng claims in his book, entitled Papua Asks for Shares, that at least 212,000 hectares of land have been seized from the Amungme people for the companys operations.

He pointed to article 136 of the 2009 Mining Law, which requires mining license holders to settle all land disputes before starting their operations in related areas.

The have been no compensation for 50 years. We dont know whom it met, whether or not it has land certificate, Eltinus said at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry on Tuesday.

Eltinus said the Mimika or Papua administration was ready to make a certain agreement with FI to allow the latter to pay for the shares in installments over a period of five years. The administration, he added, was also ready to waive its dividend rights during the installment period.

Responding to this matter, Energy and Mineral Resources deputy minister Arcandra Tahar said the government would try to resolve the entire case of FI by involving the indigenous people. FIs latest CoW requires the firm to have sold 51 percent of its stake to Indonesian entities by 2011 or 45 percent if it has sold a minimum of 20 percent in the local stock market.

However, a string of regulations were issued along the way that eventually allowed FI to dodge the requirement until Ignasius reversed the course recently.

We will talk about the details of the divestment process later. However, it should still be based on the existing regulations stipulating that the companys shares would first be offered to the central government, Arcandra said.
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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8 2017

Against the backdrop of looming uncertainty in the global economy, the country is looking to the light at the end of the tunnel, as more reliance on its Asian peers may provide a respite.

The United States new inward-looking policies, marked by its withdrawal from the decades-long North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and newly agreed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), along with the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, has been seen by many as a shift from open and liberal trade trading regimes.

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On Saturday, May 6, the Mattoon Area Family YMCA will proudly present May Merriment 2017 within the YMCA. There really is no place like home and the new venue will remind all who attend of the reason May Merriment is a necessity for supporting the Ys cause. The Y is pleased to have Consolidated Communications, along with the YMCA board members, hosting this years event.

May Merriment is the annual fundraiser that allows the Mattoon YMCA to raise money to help fund the Membership for All program. As a non-profit organization, the Y strives to offer membership and programming to our entire community regardless of a family or individuals income level. To have the opportunity to participate in programs and within the Y, where we exercise not only the body but also the mind and spirit, is something every community member should have the ability to experience.

The Ys Membership for All Program not only helps to make membership affordable, it also allows youth to participate in programs such as youth sports, Girls on the Run and STRIDE. Membership for All is a way for all families to experience healthy living together through family fitness classes, open swim in the Y pool or by making time for family with a friendly game in the gym.

Chris Pilson, May Merriment Coordinator, states that Consolidated Communications, the Y staff, Y board and our volunteers are excited for the opportunity to host May Merriment in the Ys amazing facility. Pilson says EIU has been great to us over the past 27 years, but it is time to bring May Merriment home. With the help of our Y friends, we will be able to transform our gym into a venue that will be warm, inviting and fun.

Hosting the event at the Y brings some new changes to the evening. Planning has included adding valet parking for convenience to our guests. In the past EIU had catered May Merriment but this year attendees will enjoy food stations from many of our local restaurants. As always the evening will include great silent and live auctions for attendees to bid on.

Reservations for May Merriment are available by contacting Julie Easton at 217-234-9494 at $75 per person.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Foreign ministers of ASEAN member countries have condemned the latest North Korean missile launches, calling for peace and security in the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea fired the four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, for the second incident this year that has angered South Korea and Japan.

ASEAN foreign ministers have "grave concern" over the the launches they deemed were made in clear violation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

ASEAN strongly urges North Korea to comply with UN Security Councils resolutions in the interest of maintaining peace and security in the region, the ASEAN foreign ministers said in a statement on Wednesday.

ASEANs statement followed a similar condemnation by the UNs most powerful body, which deemed the North Korean move as "a grave violation" of its resolutions, deploring it as posing a risk to a regional arms race.

Although the council already has imposed six rounds of increasingly tougher sanctions on North Korea, Pyongyang remains defiant, arguing that the launches were in response to the annual United States-South Korea military exercises.

In the statement, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers also reaffirmed their full support for the denuclearization of the peninsula in a peaceful manner.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Publicly listed tour and travel company PT Bayu Buana is targeting to rake in Rp 1.8 trillion (US$ 134,83 million) in revenue this year, 61.1 percent of which or Rp 1.1 trillion is expected to come from air ticket transactions.

The fees from about 35,000 outbound travelers are likely to contribute Rp 350 billion to Rp 400 billion to this years total revenue, Bayu Buana president director Agustinus Pake Seko told reporters on Tuesday.

The remaining revenue is expected from services in domestic traveling, hotel reservations and other activities, he added.

To promote its services, the company is holding a travel fair at the Atrium of Puri Indah Mall in West Jakarta on March 10-12, he said.

(Read also: Bayu Buana to open new branches)

Meanwhile, Bayu Buana general manager and chairwoman of the travel fair Yunita Widjaja said the company expected to collect about Rp 18 billion in transaction value from the approximately 2,000 visitors expected to visit the fair.

At the event, the company will offer special discounts, tour promotion prices, travel vouchers and door-prizes in the form of air tickets, domestic and international hotel vouchers and a Toyota Calya, she said. (yon/bbn)
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Linkedin N. Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan  Wed, March 8, 2017

Bank Indonesia (BI) has eased requirements for money exchange services operating in border areas that have become the gates of transnational crimes.

Only at the gates, and only for individuals with small trades, said Muhammad Nur, the head of the central banks East Kalimantan office (BI East Kalimantan) on Wednesday.

(Read also: Bank Indonesia warns illegal money changers to apply for license)

Those who provide the exchange service are obliged to have an Indonesian ID, taxpayer identification number (NPWP) and a license from BI.

To apply for the license, the central bank, unlike for other areas, does not require them to have a company legal status (PT), an office or minimum assets of Rp 150 million.

But it is still suggested that they have transaction counters, said Nur.

Many individuals offer money exchange services at several border gates such as North Kalimantans Tunon Taka Port, between Indonesia and Malaysia; in Entikong, West Kalimantan; and a border post in Nanga Badau, West Kalimantan. They usually offer small amounts of exchange and also cell phone SIM cards, complete with phone credits and activation.

Earlier, BI East Kalimantan signed an agreement with the East Kalimantan Police to tighten security in border areas that are prone to drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorism. (wit)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) is taking a tougher approach against drug dealers as they are becoming more dangerous and are commonly armed with powerful firearms, agency chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso has said.

Recently in Medan, North Sumatra, the police shot down a suspect identified only by the initials RIZ when he reportedly resisted arrest. BNN officers also seized three 9 mm bullets that, according to Budi, belonged to service weapons used by the police or the military.

"As they are now using weapons, we will also counter them with weapons. If the drug dealers fight back [during arrest] we will not hesitate to take them down. If they are killed [because they retaliate], it's their own fault," Budi said on Tuesday.

(Read also: Rehabilitation should be first priority in handling drug users, says minister)

Drug-trafficking networks use of sophisticated weapons has been apparent in a string of arrests since late last year, Budi claimed. As an example he cited a raid in Tangerang, Banten, last November when the two suspects were killed after reportedly attempting to flee. The BNN later confiscated guns from them.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (center), Coordinating Political, Legal, and Human Rights Minister Wiranto (right) and BNN chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso (left) inspect confiscated narcotics at the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta, recently.(JP/Seto Wardhana)

"We have to take stern action because [drug traffickers] are the destroyers of the nation's future generations. Besides, we have also been equipped with new lethal weapons by the government," Budi said.

Following the government's declaration of war on drug abuse, BNN personnel have been equipped with powerful firearms and reportedly are now authorized to shoot suspects who resist arrest. (bbs)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8 2017

As the plan to adopt electronic voting (e-voting) in future elections gathers pace, criticism has mounted over whether the implementation of the expensive system will improve the accountability and credibility of elections, which have frequently been put into question in recent polls.

Some members of the House of Representatives have insisted on including the implementation of electronic systems in the election bill under deliberation.

Article 329 of the bill stipulates that voters shall cast votes with electronic tools to provide an easier voting process and guarantee the accuracy and efficacy of elections.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The Central Jakarta municipality has urged the Cempaka Putih administration to make a more concerted effort to reduce the risks of dengue after the district booked the most cases of dengue fever in Central Jakarta for the second consecutive time.



Central Jakarta Mayor Mangara Pardede said he demanded the district administration to vehemently seek and destroy mosquito nests in the area.



The number of dengue patients in Cempaka Putih is still high, proven by the earning of red placards consecutively, the mayor said as quoted by beritajakarta.com on Wednesday.



Red placards are attached to the districts that record the highest number of dengue cases.

(Read also: Dengue spread in Riaus Rokan Hulu prompts extraordinary measures)



Central Jakarta Health Agency head Yudith Endah Prihmaningtyas revealed there were 31 dengue cases in Cempaka Putih in January, adding that the agency had set up banners in eight subdistricts in the area to remind the residents about the dangers of the virus.



They will have do more to eradicate mosquitos nests in their area to reduce the number of dengue [cases], Yudith said. (fac)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar, Bali  Wed, March 8, 2017

Chinese nationals topped the list of foreign tourist arrivals in Bali in January, overtaking Australia, which has consistently contributed the most foreign tourists to the resort island in past years, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Bali office head Adi Nugroho said Wednesday.

In total, the 147,928 arrivals from China accounted for 32.10 percent of the total 460,824 foreign tourist arrivals in Bali in January. The figure was double the 76,919 arrivals from China in January last year.

"Almost all of them traveled using flights directly to the Ngurah Rai airport in Bali. Only 93 people arrived at sea port using cruise ships," Adi said in Denpasar as quoted by Antara.

After Australia, in second place with 91,515 arrivals or 19.86 percent of the total arrivals figure, was India with 17,520 arrivals (3.80 percent).

"It's the first time China has topped the list of source countries of foreign tourists to Bali, overtaking Australia, which had always been on top," said Adi.

(Read also: King Salman extends visit as govt to sell his Bali trail to tourists)

Tourism analyst Tjokorda Gde Agung said new direct flights had contributed to the surge of Chinese tourists.

A number of airlines, including flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, has opened new routes connecting Ngurah Rai and Chinese airports. The government's free-visa policy with China has also contributed to the rise, said Tjokorda.

A man observes airplanes at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, on Tuesday. The airport has just been awarded Worlds Third-Best Airport 2016 by the Canada-based Airport Council International (ACI).(Antara/Nyoman Budhiana)

Nationwide, China was also the source of the most foreign tourists arrivals in January-November, 2016, with 1.8 million arrivals or 13 percent of the total. (dis/bbs)
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Linkedin News Desk (Associated Press) Beijing  Wed, March 8, 2017

China on Wednesday proposed that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi likened escalating tensions between the North and Washington and Seoul to "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way."

"The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" Wang told reporters. "Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains.

Wang said China proposes that as a first step to defusing the looming crisis, the North might suspend its nuclear and missile activities if the US and South Korea halted their military exercises.

"This suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table," Wang said, describing the approach as trying to address all parties' concerns in a "synchronized and reciprocal" manner.

China has been stepping up pressure on North Korea, its once-close Communist ally, to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Last month, Beijing suspended all coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year.

China is North Korea's largest source of trade and aid, and the move deprives the North of an important source of foreign currency. Beijing wants the US in return to restart long-stalled negotiations with North Korea to ease regional tensions.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

City Council deputy speaker Triwisaksana said that the body might reject the additional Rp 16 trillion (US$1.2 billion) budget requested by PT MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) to alter the South-North line from Bundaran HI - Kampung Bandan route to Bundaran HI - Ancol Timur.

Triwisaksana said that Ancol Timur in North Jakarta was already served by commuter line operated by PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ), therefore the additional budget to develop MRT would be a waste of money, he said.

"There is already a commuter line serving the Jakarta and Ancol route. Why should we disburse Rp 16 trillion to build an MRT [for that route]," Triwisaksana said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

Furthermore, he added, the government had planned to develop light rail transit (LRT) from Soekarno-Hatta Airport to Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, that would partly overlap the Bundaran HI-Ancol Timur route, so the proposed MRT reroute would only overlap other mass transportation lines, he said.

The planned reroute was also unnecessary because that route was not favored by the city's commuters, Triwisaksana added. (Cal)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

A high-profile trial on alleged corruption in the procurement of electronic identity cards (e-KTP) in 2011 and 2012 will not be aired live on television.

Defendants in the case include Irman, the former director general for population and civil registration at the Home Ministry, and Sugiharto, the former managing director at the same directorate general.

The Jakarta Corruption Court, which will start the trial on Thursday, has announced that no live TV coverage of hearings would be allowed.

(Read also: House speaker denies involvement in e-KTP graft case)

According to Jakarta Corruption Court spokesperson Yohanes Priana, a hearing that has been declared open for public means that the court invites the public to the courtroom, but that does not necessarily mean that the media can broadcast it live.

Some of the content [presented during hearings] is substantial for the trial and owned by the concerned parties in the particular case, and that [information] is normally not for the public," Yohanes said on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Controversies arose when hearings of the murder trial of Jessica Kumala Wongso between July and October last year, which attracted massive public attention nationwide, were broadcasted live by TV stations up to several times a week.

Yohanes said print and online reporters would still be able to cover from inside the courtroom.

An official shows e-KTP cards in Menteng, Jakarta, in this file photo.(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)

The trial is much anticipated because the case involves large sums of money and implicates dozens of politicians. The project value was 5.9 trillion (US$442.31 million), but the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has indicated Rp 2.3 trillion in state losses. (dis/bbs)
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Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

An extraordinary shareholders meeting held on Wednesday by publicly listed trading company PT Evergreen Invesco ran with gaffes.

Evergreen, through its subsidiary PT Pacific Multi Investama, owns 99 percent shares in insurance holding Bumiputera 1912, which was established as a part of a restructuring scheme to rescue dying century-old mutual life insurer Asuransi Jiwa Bersama Bumiputera (AJBB).

Business tycoon Erick Thohir was said to have injected capital through one of the holding companies.

Less than a dozen people attended the meeting, which took place at the CIMB Niaga building in South Jakarta, despite the fact that 40.53 percent of Evergreens stocks are owned by the investing public.

A couple of shareholders arrived late and received no explanation from the organizer about the event.

The meetings agenda was to seek approval from the shareholders on the firms plans to change its capital structure, name and board of directors and commissioners and to hold a rights issue, according to the companys announcement published on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) website.

No official from the firm was available to provide comments to the media waiting outside the meeting room. Notary Humberg Lie, who attended the meeting, said it was quorum but refused to go into details of the discussed agenda.

Evergreen, the asset value of which reached Rp 30.59 trillion (US$2.3 billion) as of October last year, plans to issue 50 billion new shares to develop its subsidiary, according to its prospectus. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Several areas in Jakarta have faced flooding after heavy rain on Tuesday evening caused the Ciliwung River to burst its banks in some areas.

Seven districts and eight subdistricts in South Jakarta and East Jakarta have been affected by floods, with the water level between 10 to 100 centimeters high, the Jakarta Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) stated on Wednesday.

The highest level of the floods were in several areas in Cawang and Cililitan, East Jakarta, with 100-cm-high waters.

The flooding was caused by the overflow of several sections of the Ciliwung River, according to the BPBDs Twitter account.

Floodwater once again inundated Bukit Duri in South Jakarta, despite the administrations efforts to normalize the river.

According to the BPBD, four sluice gates around Jakarta  Karet, Krukut Hulu, Angke Hulu and Pasar Ikan  have been activated due to the rising water level.

Meanwhile, water at the Katulampa floodgate in Bogor, West Java, is still at a safe level, says the BPBD.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has forecast light rain in Greater Jakarta starting from midday on Wednesday. (dea)
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8 2017

Members of minority faiths in the country have more reason to fear prosecution for practicing their beliefs following a decision by the East Jakarta District Court to imprison three leaders of the now-defunct Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) for blasphemy and promoting what the court deemed a deviant sect.

The panel of judges found Gafatars spiritual leader Ahmad Mussadeq aka Abdus Salam, the organizations head Andri Cahya and his deputy Mahful Muis Tumanurung guilty of ordering members of the group to abandon rituals of the Muslim faith, such as regular praying, fasting and the haj, which the judges deemed an insult to mainstream Islamic teachings adopted by the majority of Muslims in the country.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo has denied accusations about his alleged involvement in a graft case related to electronic identity card (e-KTP) procurement for the fiscal year of 2011-2012.

He refuted claims that he received bribes when serving as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives Commission II, which oversees regional affairs. It was during this time that other related instances of bribery allegedly occurred.

I have explained [to the Corruption Eradication Commission] that its not true [that I received bribes]. Im ready if they want to confront me about the matter, said the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Tuesday.

(Read also: House speaker denies involvement in e-KTP graft case)

Corruption involving large sums of money allegedly occurred during e-KTP procurement in the 2011-2012 fiscal year, TribunSolo.com earlier reported.

The 5.9 trillion (US$ 442.31 million) project reportedly caused Rp 2.3 trillion in state losses.

Apart from Ganjar, House Speaker and Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto, was also reportedly involved in the case.

The KPK has named two suspects in the case: the Home Ministrys former director general for population and civil registration Irman and Sugiharto, a former managing director of population administrative information at the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration.

During its investigation, the antigraft body summoned 23 House members for questioning but only 15 of them fulfilled the summons. Four of them are former Commission II leaders, including Ganjar. The three others are Chairuman Harahap of the Golkar Party, Teguh Juwarno of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Taufiq Effendi of the Democratic Party, who also once served as administrative and bureaucratic reform minister. (dis/ebf)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8 2017

The Central Jakarta municipality will organize a job fair from March 9-10, an official has said.

The manpower and transmigration subagency head Didik, said the fair would be held at the ITC Cempaka Mas shopping center on Jl. Letjen Suprapto.

This fair is the first of its kind this year. It will be open to the general public free of charge, he said as quoted on the municipalitys official website.

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Linkedin News Desk (Associated Press) Cambridge  Wed, March 8, 2017

Mark Zuckerberg is headed back to Harvard, but this time he'll be giving the commencement speech.

The Ivy League school announced Tuesday that the Facebook CEO and Harvard dropout was chosen to address students at a May 25 graduation ceremony on the Cambridge campus.

Harvard President Drew Faust says Zuckerberg "has profoundly altered the nature of social engagement worldwide," adding that she's glad to welcome him back.

Zuckerberg went to Harvard as an undergraduate in 2002 but left after his sophomore year to pursue his company, which later became Facebook.

He had planned to return to Harvard later but changed his mind after Facebook became a quick success. The social media giant now counts nearly 2 billion users around the world.

Director Steven Spielberg gave Harvard's commencement speech last year. (dan)
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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Inflows into Indonesia pushing foreign reserves higher are expected to help Indonesia fend off risks stemming from global economic uncertainty.

Bank Indonesia (BI) reported on Tuesday that the amount of foreign reserves reached US$119.9 billion in February, equal to eight-and-a-half months of imports and the governments foreign debt payments.

The February figure was higher than the $116.9 billion seen in January.

The increase in foreign reserves was mainly driven by inflows of foreign currencies, particularly tax revenues and export proceeds from oil and gas, withdrawal of the governments foreign loans and the proceeds of BIs foreign exchange securities (SBBI) auctions.

The central bank claims the foreign reserves have reached a very safe level, attributing the figure to its improved currency management compared to two years ago.

Our volatility is highly controlled if we compare it to our peers, BI deputy director for economic and monetary policy Riza Tyas said.

BIs calculations also show that the market has priced in the fear of outflows that could be triggered by the upcoming United States Federal Reserves (Fed) rate hike this month.

Economists say BI has improved its ability to control currency volatility and has become more prudent in its management of foreign reserves, which has resulted in a more stable rupiah of late at about Rp 13,300 per US dollar.

The current foreign reserves level is quite strong compared to the levels in other emerging market countries, thanks to the repatriated funds under the governments flagship tax amnesty, inflows of domestic portfolio investments and improved global commodity prices, said Bank Central Asia (BCA) chief economist David Sumual.

At present, foreign reserves are far higher than during the taper tantrum period two years ago when global markets turned chaotic following the Feds decision to reduce its bond purchases.

Back then, Indonesia had less than $90 billion in foreign reserves, below the psychological level of $100 billion.

Now, foreign reserves have returned gradually to the levels seen in 2013 when commodity prices were booming, he said, adding that the trend of rising inflows had begun at the end of last year.

(Read also: Indonesia maintains upward trend in forex reserves)

The higher foreign reserves can create a buffer during temporary shocks in the foreign exchange (FX) market, which could be caused by possible capital outflows when the Fed goes ahead with its rate hike plan.

BI already has a lot of extra ammunition to manage volatility, including agreements with South Korea, China and Japan.

Bank Mandiri chief economist Anton Gunawan said the central bank would certainly conduct interventions in both FX and sovereign bond secondary markets when currency volatility became tougher.

The government will most likely order state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to buy back their stocks as well.

Meanwhile, the central bank hopes that the downside effects of currency volatility on the economy can be reduced through the implementation of a foreign debt regulation that came into effect on Jan. 1.

The regulation requires nonbank companies to hedge their FX exposure by 25 percent at domestic banks, have a minimum of 70 percent in their liquidity ratio  a measurement of their FX assets and liabilities  and obtain a BB minus rating from either domestic or international ratings agencies before they can look for offshore borrowings.

Private companies foreign debt mismanagement was one of the triggers of the monetary crises in 1997 and 1998, BI executive director for monetary and economic policy Dody Budi Waluyo said.

According to data from BI, 94.7 percent of 2,700 non-bank companies with foreign debts already comply with the hedging and liquidity ratio requirements.

Meanwhile, only 132 of the 538 companies that are required to undergo a ratings assessment have fulfilled this requirement.

Now, foreign reserves have returned gradually to the levels seen in 2013 when commodity prices were booming.
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

HRWG deplores Indonesian justice system over Gafatar blasphemy case

Marguerite Afra Sapiie

Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) has deplored the court's verdict that sentenced three leaders of the Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) to years in prison for blasphemy, saying that the case has once again reflected the flaws in Indonesia's justice system.

HRWG executive director Muhammad Hafiz said the ruling was unjust as the panel of judges did not take the testimonies delivered by the suspects' lawyers, witnesses and experts into account before delivering the verdict.

"This trend keeps repeating in many cases that implicate religious freedom and minority rights [...] blasphemy itself is a vague term that does not fulfill legal principles in the criminal justice system," Hafiz said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We urge the Judicial Commission and the Supreme Court's supervisory body to address this issue to end injustice by evaluating and imposing sanctions for the panel of judges who were unfair in the rulings," he added.

Hafiz asserted that bringing the case of the Gafatar leaders through the criminal justice system contradicted the government's earlier decision to issue a joint decree to prevent ex-Gafatar members from spreading the movement's doctrine.

(Read also: Gafatar leaders sentenced to years in prison for blasphemy)

Hafiz said the government should have been consistent with its approach, adding that they should not intervene with people's freedom of thought and belief since the 1945 Constitution protects those freedoms.

The East Jakarta District Court has previously sentenced former Gafatar chief Mahful Muis Tumanurung and spiritual leader Ahmad Musadeq aka Abdussalam to five years in prison and spokesperson Andry Cahya to three years in prison under the controversial blasphemy law. (dan)
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Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Japan's deputy foreign affairs minister, Nobuo Kishi, has said Japan and Indonesia could benefit from strengthening ties, as the two countries share many similarities.

Japan and Indonesia are archipelagic states that are connected through the sea. Hence, we have big potential to strengthen collaboration in the future, Kishi said on Tuesday after meeting with Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan in Jakarta.

Japan is currently the second-largest foreign investor in Indonesia, with investment reaching US$5.4 billion in 2016, far above the $2.87 billion recorded in the previous year.

The Indonesian government has intended to persuade Japan to give further support for various strategic projects, such as Jakartas MRT system, the Patimban deep-sea port in West Java, the semi high-speed railway connecting Jakarta and Surabaya in East Java and the development of the gas-rich Masela block in the Arafura Sea.

Among several topics discussed with the minister [Luhut], there were ones related to Patimban Port and the semi high-speed railway. The discussion was quite constructive, Kishi said.

(Read also: Jokowi wants MRT during Asian Games)

Total investment value for the Patimban project and semi high-speed railway are estimated at around Rp 40 trillion ($3 billion) and Rp 102 trillion, respectively. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The government will merge PT Alumunium Development Corporation (Aldevco) into state-owned aluminum producer PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) as part of the preparation for the latter to be a leader of the holding company in the mining sector.

Finance Ministry director general of state wealth Sonny Loho said the government would own Aledvco after winning the legal battle. "At least by now Aldvecos status has changed into a state asset," he said on Tuesday as quoted by tempo.co.

Finance Ministry state wealth management and information system director Indra Surya said the ministry had conducted initial discussions with Inalum.

(Read also: Inalum, Antam to get priority in Freeport share divestment)

The scheme was chosen as Aldevco subsidiary, PT Asahan Alumunium Alloys (AAA), which is a raw aluminum processing plant, is already jointly owned by Inalum.

Indra added that changing Aldevcos status would take a while as the Finance Ministry had to insert state capital and obtain parliamentary permission.

Aldevco president director Aldevco Middyningsih stated that Aldevcos assets currently stood at Rp 137.8 billion. "We are happy to give the rights on our stock to the government and to cooperate," he said.

Inalum finance director Oggy Ahmad Kosasih refused to comment further on the merger. It is still under discussion," he said.

Discussions on the establishment of state enterprise holding in the mining sector have increased significantly recently. Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has said that Inalum would lead the consortium for the divestment of 51 percent of shares from mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Wed, March 8, 2017

International relations expert Yanyan M Yani said Tuesday that Indonesia needed to strengthen its cross-sector international cooperation as part of the effort to fight terrorism.

Terrorism at the global level is not only based on religion, but also economic, political and socio-cultural reasons, Yanyan, who is also a professor at the Bandung-based Padjadjaran University, said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara.

Yayan added that development of global and regional economies in the next three years would be centralized on partnerships initiated by China and the US, which should also be anticipated.

Terrorists will use any method to carry out their agenda, Yanyan said.

(Read also: Govt seeks to deradicalize 33 alleged IS supporters who failed to reach Syria)

He added that Indonesia is now ranked 33rd in the global terrorism index while the United States is in 35th position, followed by France in 36th.

In Asia, Yayan said that Indonesia is in ninth position and reaching fourth position in South East Asia. Yayan, who is also an expert member of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), added that Indonesia is still not considered a safe country in terms of terrorist threats.

He said that the BNPTs move to involve citizens in fighting terrorism by forming the Counterterrorism Coordination Forum (FKPT) was the right decision. (rdi/bbs)
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

President Joko Jokowi Widodo urged South Africa to reduce trade barriers for Indonesian exports to the country, in a bilateral meeting with visiting South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday.

Zuma's visit is the first by a South African president in the last 12 years.

"We have agreed to soon discuss lowering tariff and non-tariff trade barriers for top-quality products and commodities," Jokowi said during a joint press conference with Zuma after the meeting, adding that he hoped that South Africa could help Indonesia to open new cooperation with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).

Between January and October last year, two-way trade amounted to US$860 million in favor of Indonesia, a far cry from the 2012 figure of $2.35 billion.

Indonesia mostly exports motor vehicles, rubber, footwear, tires and paper, while South Africas major exports include chemicals, wood pulp, ferrous waste, iron ore, aluminum, fruit and mechanical appliances.

Jokowi promised to send related ministers and business people to South Africa to follow up on the results of Wednesdays meeting.

Zuma, who underlined that Indonesia and South Africa had a strong foundation of bilateral friendship because Indonesia had played a key role in supporting the South Africans struggle for freedom in the past, said the two countries had agreed to take our relationship to the next level. (ipa)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The Judicial Commission (KY) has called on all Indonesians to submit their suggestions for candidates for the Supreme Courts vacant justice posts.

Citing a letter from the court's deputy chief justice for non-judicial affairs, dated Feb. 8, the commission's spokesperson Farid Wajdi said the court needed six justices to fill the vacant spots in its five judiciary chambers.

These comprise one justice for the criminal court, two justices for the civil case court, one justice for the religious court, one justice for the military court and one justice with expertise on taxation laws for the state administrative court.

Based on the results of the commissions plenary meeting on Feb. 27, the Judicial Commission will provide an opportunity for the Supreme Court, the government and all of society to propose candidates they deem fit with requirements to attend the selection of court justices in 2017, said Farid as quoted by kompas.com on Wednesday.

He said the proposal submission process would be open for 15 days from March 8 to March 29. Candidate requirements had been posted on the commissions official website komisiyudisial.go.id, he went on.

Farid said the proposals could be either handed over directly to the Supreme Court justice selection committee at the commission or sent by mail to the commissions office on Jl. Kramat Raya No.57, Central Jakarta, by 4 p.m. on March 29 at the latest.

In searching for the six justices, the commission highlights the importance of capacity and integrity of the candidates. These two aspects are important because the justice profession is a noble one and plays an important role in creating a clean and great judiciary, said Farid. (dis/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

PT Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI), a subsidiary of state-owned lender Bank Mandiri, and its partners Lynx Asia Partners, Beenext and Midplaza Holding will invest up to US$5 million in financial technology (fintech) lending startup Amartha.

MCIs president director Eddi Danusaputro said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the company led the funding for business development of Amartha, which provides loans to unbanked people in rural areas under a peer-to-peer lending method.

We see a mutual synergy between Mandiri and Amartha to increase financial inclusion in this country, he said during a press conference which was held in Santa Market, Jakarta.

(Read also:Do fintech companies threaten multi-finance firms?)

The amount of the money to be invested in Amartha would range between $2 million and $5 million, Wddi added.

Amartha founder and CEO Andi Taufan Garuda Putra said the company would use the fund to expand to its loans to rural areas this year.

We will increase the number of agents in most parts of Java and upgrade our applications to make it easier and practical for the investors in monitoring their investment, he said, adding that the company provides loans of between to Rp 2 million ($149) to Rp 10 million to its rural clients.

Amartha, which began its operation last year, has registered 28,000 borrowers, who mostly comprise of owners of micro companies in West Java and Banten. The company so far has provided loans worth Rp 68 billion through 150 field agents.

The number of the borrowers on Java Island is expected to increase to 100,000 borrowers this year. (ecn/bbn)
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Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Former Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli has warned the Mimika administration in Papua to be cautious following its aspirations to get shares in gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia, especially considering the previous case of the Cepu block in Bojonegoro, East Java.

Mimika administration in Papua has demanded 10 to 20 percent of shares in Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of the United States-based mining giant Freeport McMoRan, in return for the companys land compensation for operating in the region for the past half-century.

I support the Mimika administrations plan as the company has never paid compensation for the land used, Rizal said recently in Jakarta.

(Read also: Workers urge government to settle dispute with Freeport)

However, he said the administration should not repeat the mistake made by Bojonegoro administration in the case of the Cepu block, which is operated by US oil and gas company ExxonMobil Indonesia.

The Bojonegoro administration has 4.46 percent of participating interest in Cepu block through subsidiary PT Asri Dharma Sejahtera (ADS), which it has made a revenue-sharing agreement with PT Surya Energi Raya (SER) owned by ruling NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh. Under the agreement, SER has a portion of 75 percent, while only 25 percent is taken by ADS.

Because the Bojonegoro administration had no money to buy the shares in Cepu block, it made an agreement with a company. As a result, people in Bojonegoro get nothing out of it, Rizal said. Dont let the same thing happen in the case of Freeport Indonesia. (bbn)
The dead body of Yayat Cahdiyat, the suspect in a recent terror attack in Bandung, West Java, remains at Kramat Jati Police Hospital in East Jakarta as no relative has claimed the body, National Police spokesperson Sr. Com. Martinus Sitompul said on Wednesday.

The autopsy of Yayat, who allegedly left a cooking pot containing explosives at a public park in Bandung which then exploded on Feb. 27, has been completed and the post mortem data is ready to be handed over to Yayat's family, Martinus said.

"In accordance with our procedures, we will keep looking for his relatives. If within a certain period of time no one turns up, we will bury him," he told reporters.

The police's Densus 88 antiterror squad has searched and tried to contact Yayat's relatives so that his dead body can be handed over as soon as possible, he said.

(Read also: Deradicalization efforts failing: Police)

Yayat, also known as Abu Salam, was a former convict who had been sentenced to three years in prison for robbing a gas station in Cikampek, West Java, to fund a paramilitary training camp in Aceh in 2010. He was arrested and convicted in 2012.

After he allegedly set off his "cooking pot" bomb, Yayat ran into a subdistrict office and attempted to burn it down. The police shot him and he died en route to the hospital. (bbs)
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Linkedin Prima Wirayani and Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8 2017

Despite the fact that the Financial Services Authority (OJK) collects more revenue from the financial industry instead of the state budget to fund its operations, industry players must lower their expectations to see more of their representatives chairing the regulator.

The selection committee of nine people, sanctioned by President Joko Jokowi Widodo and chaired by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, announced that 30 candidates would proceed to the last selection phase, a face-to-face interview, after five participants failed in the third phase  the medical checkup and managerial assessment.

Two thirds of the OJK commissioner candidates are bureaucrats: eight are from the OJK, five from Bank Indonesia (BI), four from various ministries and two from regulatory bodies. Only seven names are drawn from the financial industry, along with four from academia.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Following Saudi Arabia, as many as 33 business people from Oman are visiting Indonesia to explore investment opportunities in Southeast Asias biggest economy.

The business delegation represented various sectors, such as construction, international trading, property, manufacturing, mining, logistics, tourism, information technology and banking, Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chief Thomas Lembong said Wednesday.

The visit by the Oman delegation shows that investment interests from Middle East countries will begin to emerge. We will cooperate with related parties, such as Kadin [Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry] and the Foreign Ministry, to respond to their interests, Lembong said in a statement.

(Read also: Oman set to develop new oil refinery complex in Riau)

He further said that to attract investments from Oman, Indonesia needed to apply a regional approach, namely to treat the small-sized Middle East country as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

A similar approach has been implemented in European countries grouped under the European Union.

The Oman delegation met about 50 business people, who are members of Kadin, during the Indonesia-Oman Business Forum organized by BKPM.

Between 2010 and 2016, Oman firms poured US$211,000 in investment into Indonesia. This investment was channeled into two major sectors, namely agriculture and energy. (lnd)
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Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

A committee for the protection of people with disabilities, in cooperation with the Yogyakarta Police, is composing a set of guidelines for the handling of legal cases that involve people with disabilities.

The National Police do not yet have a fixed standard operating procedure (SOP) in carrying out pre-investigation and investigation into cases that require special handling due to the involvement of people with disabilities.

The police have so far referred to the Criminal Code (KUHP) in these instances, but there are concerns that this approach might deny people with disabilities their rights to access legal services and protection.

We, together with personnel from the Yogyakarta Police, are developing an SOP on the polices friendly services for disabled persons who are facing legal problems, said Setia Adi Purwanta, coordinator of the Yogyakarta Committee for the Protection and Recovery of the Rights of People with Disabilities, on Tuesday.

He said various obstacles had hampered people with disabilities access to optimal legal services and protection. Transportation, for instance, has burdened people with disabilities who are poor, especially if they have to make multiple trips to police stations. Communication difficulties, especially with people who suffer from intellectual disabilities, could also pose a challenge.

During the 2014-2017 period, we recorded 113 legal cases that involved the disabled. Of the total, only eight cases could be taken to court, said Setia.

Himawan Sutanto, a disability rights activist from the People with Disabilities Advocacy and Integration Group (SIGAB) in Yogyakarta, said only 10 out of 26 legal cases involving people with disabilities it handled in the 2014-2017 period could go to court.

Setia expressed hopes that the SOP could become the basis for the National Police chief in making a decree that would prioritize rights protection for people with disabilities. (ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The National Polices crime investigation department will probe alleged cartel in the distribution of red bird-eye chilies, which has been blamed for the price increase of the commodity.

The commodity price hit a record at Rp 200,000 (US$15) in West Javas town of Cianjur on Tuesday, although prices from farmers range from Rp 50,000 to Rp 70,000.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul stressed that three wholesalers had been arrested, while another six wholesalers would be the next targets as they were accused of being responsible for skyrocketing the chili prices from December 2016 to February.

We know of nine wholesalers. On Thursday, there will be another individual, who had the capacity to control prices, said Martinus as reported by tribunnews.com on Thursday, adding that all the wholesalers came from Central Java.

(Read also: Nine wholesalers control chili distribution in Java, says official)

All nine wholesalers would be questioned by National Police investigators, he said.

Martinus also said the police expanded their investigation to search for the involvement of other people beyond the wholesalers.

The investigators want to probe whether or not they made agreements on the prices [of chilies], the police officer said.

The suspects have been accused of violating Law No. 5/1999 on monopoly bans and business competition and Law No. 7/2014 on trade. (bbn)
Wednesday, March 08, 2017 The Santa Fe Disconnect: While State Fades Gov. Frolicks On Ski Slopes And Falls; Legislature Amuses Itself With Chile Burgers And Dancing Let's dance! The isolation and disconnect of New Mexico's political class from the everyday world of the citizens they represent scaled new heights as the 60 day session neared its climax next week.



There was Gov. Martinez, not even at the session but instead frolicking in the snows of Utah with fellow GOP governors, injuring her knee on a ski slope. Then there was the House and Senate chuckling away as they "debated" proposals to proclaim an



Even as this nonsense played out chatter continued about cutting the public schools budgets even more, oil prices remained flat providing no relief from the ongoing budget crisis and the state set



Gov. Martinez emerged from her ski trip



And so it goes at the fabled Roundhouse. The new realities of this century are meeting the old ways of governing and colliding. The state has long ceased being a harmonious backwater where things were never great but not all that bad and where green chile, bizcochitos and blue skies were more than enough to see the citizenry over the rough patches. But the legislature, despite a number of hardworking guys and gals, doesn't get it and that applies doubly to the leadership and the Governor. And that's why educated citizens are fleeing rather than fighting.



The mainly comfortable class that populates the 112 seats at the Roundhouse may be in need of a shake-up. We've never been a fan of having a full-time paid legislature but it may be the only way of bringing to the capitol more folks who have a grip on the immense challenges facing us and the real state of the state.



OPERATION RESCUE



The Democrats can still rescue this session and justify their retaking of the House majority and adding more Dem seats to the Senate last November. They could finally pass the constitutional amendment asking voters to tap the $15 billion Land Grant Permanent School Fund for very early childhood programs. They could finally pass



There's not much Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico can do at this point but wait and maybe have one of those official green chile cheeseburgers and tap out the steps to "La Marcha de los Novios," apparently the soon-to-be official state dance. They certainly deserve a break from watching the Roundhouse follies.



MORE DISCONNECT







GOP Congressman Steve Pearce tried a similar approach when he refused to have a public town hall and instead had a telephone town hall." After heat was applied he relented and faced the public--and the music over Trump--at a Ruidoso town hall.



Longtime APS critic Ched MacQuigg relished this one falling into his lap and wrote on social media:



. . .The senior-most APS leadership refuses to just sit down and just answer legitimate questions candidly, forthrightly and honestly; Once again they sidestep open and honest two way communication between the leadership of the APS and the community members they serve. There is not one of them willing to be held accountable to the same standards of conduct and accountability they establish and enforce upon students. There is an ethics, standards and accountability crisis in the leadership of the APS.



We don't know about an accountability crisis, but surely the administrators could stand in the kitchen for an hour or two and take some heat.



THE BOTTOM LINES



We blogged Tuesday that Medicaid recipients in the state total "over 900,000." The AP says it's "nearly 900,000." Of course, the way Medicaid is growing we could be over 900,000 by the time you read this.



This is the home of New Mexico politics.







Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.



( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2017 The isolation and disconnect of New Mexico's political class from the everyday world of the citizens they represent scaled new heights as the 60 day session neared its climax next week.There was Gov. Martinez, not even at the session but instead frolicking in the snows of Utah with fellow GOP governors, injuring her knee on a ski slope. Then there was the House and Senate chuckling away as they "debated" proposals to proclaim an official state dance , to make the green chile cheeseburger the state's "official burger" and to beat Colorado in having the first chile license plates. And to add to this dysfunction, the cabinet secretaries for education didn't show up at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee to talk about the budget crisis.Even as this nonsense played out chatter continued about cutting the public schools budgets even more, oil prices remained flat providing no relief from the ongoing budget crisis and the state set a new record for the low percentage of its workforce actually in the workforce.Gov. Martinez emerged from her ski trip to threaten a special legislative session to craft a budget because of the frittering away of time by the "meaningless"' measures that the legislature was entertaining. But to show you how screwed up things are in Santa Fe, that threat from Martinez came before the news came out about her own AWOL behavior in Utah. The high ground she sought immediately collapsed into a sinkhole.And so it goes at the fabled Roundhouse. The new realities of this century are meeting the old ways of governing and colliding. The state has long ceased being a harmonious backwater where things were never great but not all that bad and where green chile, bizcochitos and blue skies were more than enough to see the citizenry over the rough patches. But the legislature, despite a number of hardworking guys and gals, doesn't get it and that applies doubly to the leadership and the Governor. And that's why educated citizens are fleeing rather than fighting.The mainly comfortable class that populates the 112 seats at the Roundhouse may be in need of a shake-up. We've never been a fan of having a full-time paid legislature but it may be the only way of bringing to the capitol more folks who have a grip on the immense challenges facing us and the real state of the state.The Democrats can still rescue this session and justify their retaking of the House majority and adding more Dem seats to the Senate last November. They could finally pass the constitutional amendment asking voters to tap the $15 billion Land Grant Permanent School Fund for very early childhood programs. They could finally pass a sensible cap on payday loans--and not the still outrageous 175 percent cap that is being labeled a "compromise." They could have Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith quiet his threats about more cuts to the public schools and have him draw a line in the sand and say he will not stand for more cuts.There's not much Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico can do at this point but wait and maybe have one of those official green chile cheeseburgers and tap out the steps to "La Marcha de los Novios," apparently the soon-to-be official state dance. They certainly deserve a break from watching the Roundhouse follies.It's not only Santa Fe, politics at many levels is disconnecting from the public. The top administrators of the ABQ Public Schools will host a call in show tonight at 6 p.m. on KANW- FM 89.1 to discuss the budget crisis and its impact on APS. But "screeners will field phone calls and write down the questions." That's a new twist. Why not just use a seven second delay to avoid any obscenities and face the music--and the public--over the crisis?GOP Congressman Steve Pearce tried a similar approach when he refused to have a public town hall and instead had a telephone town hall." After heat was applied he relented and faced the public--and the music over Trump--at a Ruidoso town hall.Longtime APS critic Ched MacQuigg relished this one falling into his lap and wrote on social media:We don't know about an accountability crisis, but surely the administrators could stand in the kitchen for an hour or two and take some heat.We blogged Tuesday that Medicaid recipients in the state total "over 900,000." The AP says it's "nearly 900,000." Of course, the way Medicaid is growing we could be over 900,000 by the time you read this.This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Residents living near Ciliwung River in East Jakarta have taken refuge at a cemetery after their houses were inundated by water from the overflowing river. The incident forced them to abandon their homes in the middle of the night.

The inhabitants of Kampung Arus in the subdistrict of Kramat Jati were ready to leave when the floods hit their settlement at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

The residents have prepared for the floods since Tuesday night, after they received an early warning on the increased water level at the Katulampa floodgate [in Bogor, West Java], due to heavy rain, said local community unit (RW) head, Juanda, as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

The residents evacuated themselves to a nearby public cemetery when the water level increased to more than 1 meter.

Seven districts and eight subdistricts in South Jakarta and East Jakarta have been affected by floods, with water levels between 10 centimeters and 1 meter, the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) stated on Wednesday. (wnd)
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8 2017

With eyes focused on strengthening regional cooperation at the Indian Ocean Rim Associations (IORA) landmark inaugural summit, chair and host Indonesia did not neglect bilateral relations as it sought to boost ties through meetings with nine countries on the sidelines of the event.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with several leaders of the 21-member organization during the IORA Leaders Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center on Tuesday. The event, which was attended by 16 leaders, provided the opportunity for a tete-a-tete between participating leaders.

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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8 2017

Indonesia usually perceives international conferences as a chance to lure foreign direct investment (FDI). However, it is different for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), with the government eyeing to pour investment, especially into the less-developed member countries.

During a bilateral meeting session at the IORA Leaders Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the Indonesian delegation had many opportunities to speak with Singapore, India, Tanzania and Somalia, which asked Indonesia to make FDI there.

We principally held a meeting with those countries to increase bilateral relationship and the possibilities of investment. They asked us to come to them [for investment], Kalla said after the meeting.

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Bali has so much to offer that one visit is never enough. Hence the saying, once you are in Bali, you will always want to come back.

However, for King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, going through all the diplomatic protocols to make another visit to the magical resort island could be a big hassle.

Hence, the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta announced on Tuesday that the Saudi Arabian monarch would extend his stay by three days on the Island of the Gods.

We hereby announce that King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud wants to extend his vacation in Bali to March 12, the embassy said in a statement. King Salman arrived in Bali for a vacation last Saturday and initially planned to leave on Thursday.

(Read also: King Salman, tourists all enjoy Bali beach)

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said the 81-year-old ruler spent Tuesday visiting tourist spots, including Uluwatu and Nusa Penida, both of which are famous for their beautiful beaches perched alongside beautiful rocky steeps.

Arief also said the king visited Tampak Siring in Gianyar regency, which is well known for its temples and archeological remains.

Arief further said King Salmans footsteps in Balis tourist spots would be recorded and the trail would be branded The King Salman Road to attract tourists, especially those from the Middle East.

"Pasih Uug" beach (the broken beach) in Nusa Penida island, Bali.(Shutterstock/File)

Residents pray in front of three sacred lion effigies during the Ngedeblag ritual in Kemenuh village, Gianyar, Bali.(JP/Zul Trio Anggono)

Later in 2017, we will introduce tour packages, such as the King Salman Road one-day trip in Bali. Visitors can trace King Salmans vacation [in Bali], Arief said in Jakarta.

He added that the kings decision to extend his stay meant he was content with his vacation on the resort island. We express gratitude to King Salman for extending his vacation in Bali, he said
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

As the world marks International Women's Day on Wednesday, six women from different countries in Southeast Asia received recognition from advocacy group Amnesty International for their "heroism" in standing up for human rights despite the criminalization and violence they have faced.

The group recognizes the six women, who have long fought against injustice in each respective country, as figures that "inspire many in the region and whose contributions to society should be commended; not condemned".

Among the six are Thailand's human rights lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri, Myanmar's Wai Wai Nu, a 29-year old Rohingya minority who advocates religious freedom, and Malaysian activist Maria Chin Abdullah.

Cambodian land rights activist Tep Vanny, Vietnam's labor rights activist Tran Thi Nga and the Philippines senator Leila de Lima, who is a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Dutertes drug war, are also on the list.

"In Southeast Asia, there are few governments that can be proud of their human rights records, but there are countless women across the region who have braved great danger to take a stand against injustice," Champa Patel, the group's director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement.

The profiles of these six women are varied. For example, Thai's Sirikan has been charged with sedition for assisting pro-democracy student activists.

In the case of Wai Wai, she spent her youth life behind bars under Myanmar's former military rules because her father Kyaw Min was a political prisoner. Following her release in 2012, Wai Wai established two rights groups.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The second round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election, which is scheduled for April 19 and will include two candidates, Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama and Anies Baswedan, has garnered a large amount of discussion by Indonesias internet users, a survey reveals.

Australian media monitoring company Isentia recorded 733,450 posts on social media from Feb. 10 to Feb. 26 that mentioned Ahok or Anies.

Jakarta Isentia country general manager Luciana Budiman said internet users talked about Ahok more intensely than Anies. Discussions about Ahok amounted to 501,970 posts while Anies got 231,480 posts. Twitter contributed 89.99 percent of total discussion on social media.

The hike in discussions about Ahok occurred on certain days, for example on Feb. 16 and Feb. 21. The increase in discussions were triggered by news about quick count results of the regional head elections held on Feb. 15, she said in a press statement on Wednesday.

As many as 30,743 national and local news outlets were monitored. It says online media provided the most conventional news coverage for both candidates, of which Anies comprised 28 percent of the discussion to Ahok's 72 percent.

In general, the contribution of conventional media related to both candidates only reached 4.02 percent while discussions about them on social media reached 95.98 percent, Luciana said. (ebf)
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Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8 2017

Acting Jakarta governor Sonny Sumarsono took up the reins again at City Hall, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday at 7:15 a.m. It was his first day back after Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama went on leave to campaign for the Jakarta gubernatorial election runoff.

Sumarsono, who is the Home Ministrys regional autonomy director, will take over Ahoks job during the campaign season until April 15, four days before voting day.

On his first day back, Sumarsono made time to greet staff members at City Hall. He first stopped at an election post there, met the officials on duty and told them to help settle problems related to the final voter list (DPT) ahead of the April 19 runoff.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The Tangerang District Court in Banten is set to hold the first hearing of the lawsuit filed by petitioner Sumber Alfaria Trijaya (Alfamart) against resident Mustolih Siradj and the Central Information Commission (KIP) on Wednesday.

The move has been seen as a retaliation against the commission's ruling in December, which instructed the publicly listed minimarket chain to disclose data related to donations collected by its convenience stores from the small change consumers do not want to take.

"Today's session is scheduled for 9 a.m.," said Mustolih as quoted by kompas.com.

He said he was surprised by the lawsuit because he was only questioning Alfamart's transparency in managing donation funds.

In the suit, the KIP was listed as the first defendant with Mustolih as the second defendant.

(Read also: Aprindo vouches for validity of minimarket donations)



On March 3, Alfamart Corporate Communication General Manager Alfamart Nur Rachman explained that Mustolih's demand was irrelevant to transparency issues.

"He also asked for [Alfamart's] statute, SOP [Standard Operational Procedures] and the MoU with the Foundations who

receive the donations. He asked for a total of 11 documents," said Nur.

Nur claimed that the company was only obliged to publish the report on the donations through the mass media. (dis/bbs)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

The Jakarta administration has ordered three developers to build seven new towers of low-cost apartments in West Jakarta.

Jakarta Housing Agency head Arifin said on Tuesday that the three developers, Sampoerna Land, Mulia Karya Gumilang and Keppel Land, had breached the floor area ratio (KLB) during the construction of their projects, therefore they were obliged to build the apartments located on Jl. Daan Mogot.

The construction [of Daan Mogot low-cost apartments] is ongoing. They have started with the soil compaction process, while the building permits are still being processed, Arifin said as quoted by wartakotalive.com.

(Read also: Low-cost apartments in East Jakarta hope to lure tourists)

The new towers would be located near the Pesakih low-cost apartments across the Jakarta Grand Mosque.

The administration also plans to build a reservoir near the new towers. (wnd)
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Linkedin Stephen Braun (Associated Press) Washington  Wed, March 8, 2017

WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents that the anti-secrecy organization said were classified files revealing scores of secrets about CIA hacking tools used to break into targeted computers, cellphones and even smart TVs.

The CIA and the Trump administration declined to comment on the authenticity of the files Tuesday, but prior WikiLeaks releases divulged government secrets maintained by the State Department, Pentagon and other agencies that have since been acknowledged as genuine. In another nod to their authenticity, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said he was very concerned about the release and has sought more information about it.

The hacking tools appeared to exploit vulnerabilities in popular operating systems for desktop and laptop computers developed by Microsoft. They also targeted devices that included Apple's iPhones and iPads, Google's Android cellphones, Cisco routers and Samsung Smart TVs.

Some of the technology firms said they were evaluating the newly released documents.

Some questions and answers about the latest WikiLeaks dump and its fallout:

___

WHERE DO THESE DOCUMENTS COME FROM?

WikiLeaks said the material came from "an isolated, high-security network" inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, the spy agency's internal arm that conducts cyber offense and defense. It said the documents were "circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive." It did not make it clear who was behind the leak, leaving several possibilities: espionage, a rogue employee, a theft involving a federal contractor or a break-in of a staging server where such information may have been temporarily stored.

HOW MANY FILES WERE LEAKED? WHAT PERIOD DO THEY COVER?

WikiLeaks said 7,818 web pages and 943 attachments were published, but were just the first part of more material to come. WikiLeaks said it has an entire archive of data consisting of several million lines of computer code. The documents appear to date between 2013 and 2016. WikiLeaks described them as "the largest-ever publication of confidential documents on the agency."

ARE THESE LEGITIMATE CIA DOCUMENTS?

A spokesman for the CIA said the agency would not comment "on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents." Trump administration spokesman Sean Spicer declined comment as well. But WikiLeaks has a long track record of assembling and releasing secret files from the U.S. and other governments. Security experts who reviewed the material said the documents appeared to be authentic. Jake Williams, a security expert with Georgia-based Rendition Infosec, who has dealt previously with government hackers, said that frequent references in the files to operation security gave them the stamp of legitimacy. "It rings true to me," Williams said.

WHAT DO THESE DOCUMENTS CONTAIN?

The files describe CIA plans and descriptions of malware and other tools that could be used to hack into some of the world's most popular technology platforms. The documents showed that the developers aimed to be able to inject these tools into targeted computers without the owners' awareness.

The files do not describe who the prospective targets might be, but the documents show broad exchanges of tools and information between the CIA and National Security Agency and other federal intelligence agencies, as well as intelligence services of close allies Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The purported CIA documents range from complicated computer coding to organizational plans to sarcastic comments about the tools' effectiveness. Some of the tools were named after alcohol references, including Bartender, Wild Turkey and Margarita. Others referenced recent popular movies, including "Fight Club" and "Talladega Nights." One hacking tool, code-named "RickyBobby," after the character who is a race car driver in "Talladega Nights," was purportedly used to upload and download information "without detection as malicious software."

The documents also include discussions about compromising some internet-connected televisions to turn them into listening posts. One document discusses hacking vehicle systems, appearing to indicate the CIA's interest in hacking recent-model cars with sophisticated on-board computer systems.

HOW ARE TECHNOLOGY FIRMS RESPONDING TO THESE REVELATIONS?

Microsoft said it was looking into the reports that its operating systems were potentially vulnerable to many of the malware and other hacking tools described in the purported CIA documents. The maker of the secure messaging app Signal said the purported tools described in the leaked documents appeared to affect users' actual phones, but not its software designs or encryption protocols. The manufacturer of the popular Telegram mobile messaging app said in a statement that manufacturers of cellphones and their operating systems, including Apple, Google and Samsung, were responsible for improving the security of their devices. It said the effort will require "many hours of work and many security updates" and assured its customers that "If the CIA is not on your back, you shouldn't start worrying yet." (dan)
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Linkedin Damar Harsanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017

Yogyakarta will host the seventh edition of Catholic youth gathering Asian Youth Day from July 30 to Aug. 9.

Over 3,000 participants from 29 countries will attend the gathering, titled Joyful Asian Youth: Living the Gospel in Multicultural Asia.

Indonesia Bishops Conference chair Mgr. Ignatius Suharyo said Asian Youth Day had been held since 1999 to encourage young people to promote solidarity and build a deeper awareness of their responsibilities and contributions to society.

Hopefully, all participants will be able to strengthen their understanding of the importance of harmony amid differences, Suharyo said in a statement on Tuesday.

The event will be held in stages, including allowing participants to live in churches across Indonesia for several days and later gather to share their experiences.

As part of the pre-event campaign, the organizer will hold a run/walk sporting event on May 7 in Jakarta, which is expected to involve 5,000 participants.

Information and updates regarding the event can be accessed on asianyouthday.org. (dmr)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, March 9 2017

Foreign ministers of ASEAN member countries have condemned the latest North Korean missile launches, calling for peace and security in the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea fired the four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japans northwest coast on Monday, in the second incident this year that has angered South Korea and Japan.

ASEAN foreign ministers have grave concern over the launches they deem were made in clear violation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, March 9 2017

Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama ought to be running on all cylinders to catch up to his rival Anies Baswedan after losing his first day of the runoff campaign period tangled up at court in his blasphemy trial.

Instead, the embattled governor decided to skip all his Wednesday campaign stops to tag along with his godmother Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Ahok, along with his running mate Djarot Syaiful Hidayat, arrived at the residence of the former president and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle chairwoman in Menteng, Central Jakarta, where they hosted South African President Jacob Zuma. After the meeting, Ahok was seen leaving the house along with Megawati in the same car.

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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, March 9 2017

Business players are calling for the integration of existing and future oil refineries with the petrochemical industry to meet rising domestic demand for raw materials from plastics and textile industries.

Deputy chairman of the Indonesian Olefin, Aromatics and Plastics Industry Association (INAPlas), Suhat Miyarso, said Indonesia currently imported half of all its ethylene demand, which currently averages around 1.6 million tons each year. At present, local production annually stands around 800,000 tons.

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Linkedin Gilang Kembara (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, March 9 2017

Within the space of a month, two separate incidents perpetrated by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, or North Korea, have alerted many nations within the Asia-Pacific region.

The assassination of Kim Jong-nam, a half-brother of North Koreas supreme leader, allegedly by Vietnamese and Indonesian nationals at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, caused confusion and disbelief.

All throughout February, the Indonesian media was filled with the news about how Siti Aisyah, the alleged Indonesian assailant, was duped into assassinating Kim.

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Linkedin Bill Dalton (The Jakarta Post) Tabanan, Bali  Thu, March 9 2017

Simple, smart technologies can change peoples lives.

In 1972, when Rus Alit returned to his village deep in the countryside of west Bali, he saw elderly people struggling to walk down a ravine for their daily water needs. That was the moment he decided to help and begin looking for alternatives.



Born in Sangketan village in Tabanan district as the 11th child in a poor farming family, after graduating from high school he had the good fortune to study in New Zealand for three years. To make ends meet, he worked as a laboratory assistant and drove a forklift at a milk factory. The overseas experience profoundly changed his life.



Three years later, Rus returned to Bali and soon became directly involved in changing the villagers way of life. In 1975, he built a biogas system that enabled people to cook with gas. The first time he struck a match and lit a flame, he was hooked, and so he doubled his efforts of looking into alternative technologies.



From his neighbors, he learned about and simplified age-old farming methods and put them into practice. He even introduced foreign technologies, such as water wheels that generate electricity.



The most important thing about traditional technology is that it must be simple, affordable and sustainable. Sophisticated technology controls people, but appropriate technology is controlled and used by the people, he said.



To him, it is a cruel paradox that in Bali inhabitants suffer water shortages even during the wet season when rain falls in torrents but runs off into the sea. One day, a visitor showed him a book on appropriate technology that contained information about a hydraulic ram pump that powers water to a point higher than where the water originally started.



A spring near the village  too inaccessible to be used  provided clean water at an amazing rate of 38 drums every 24 hours  more than enough to serve his small mountainous community. In 1978, he tested a prototype of a ram pump that he installed in the village of Sarinbuana.

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Linkedin Jessicha Valentina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, March 8, 2017 10:02 2070 a291276806121264c0bd211cde387a4c 1 News Australia,Garuda,Garuda-Indonesia,flights,#flights,Indonesia-Australia,Airlines,#airlines Free

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia announced on Tuesday plans to increase seasonal flight frequencies from Indonesia to Australia.

From May until October, the airline will add one additional flight to its Jakarta-Australia and Bali-Australia routes, along which it currently operates four and six flights per week, respectively. Among the routes are Jakarta-Sydney, Denpasar-Sydney, Jakarta-Melbourne, Denpasar-Melbourne, Jakarta-Perth and Denpasar-Perth. The additional flight schedule will be dependent on market demand during the holiday season period, hence the numbers will be different in each period.

(Read also: Australian children offer suggestions to Jokowi for his time down under)

Garuda Indonesia CEO M. Arif Wibowo said in a press release that the additional flight frequencies were in line with demand for the Australian market, adding that the move aimed to accommodate increased traffic between the two countries. He also mentioned that last year Indonesia-Australia routes had experienced a passenger growth rate of 17 percent compared to a similar period in 2015.

The enhancement of our services to Australia will offer our customers a wider choice of flight schedules and ultimately greater travel convenience to Australia, said Arif in a press release on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Hon Steven Ciobo MP, said, Indonesia is one of Australias fastest-growing markets for international visitors, as well as Australias 12th largest market for international visitor arrivals. Indonesia has the potential to be worth over US$1 billion in overnight visitation by 2020 and we hope that todays announcement by Garuda Indonesia will help us achieve that." (kes)
As I wrote this, from the corner of my eye, I could see CNN providing coverage of a gargantuan hurricane, racing resolutely towards the Eastern coastal arc of the U.S., extending from Florida all the way up to the Carolinas. The footage showed fierce winds roiling the waters of the Atlantic; wave after wave, crashing against the shore, slopping out over the edge of the sea wall. It could have been an event such as this that prompted J.G. Ballard to write The Drowned World  a forerunner of a genre, dubbed in the 21st century as climate fiction  in which he paints a nightmare landscape, where the seas have swelled and swallowed up the land.

Marine biologist Robert Kerans is a member of a United Nations military team, mapping the drowned harbors for future reoccupation. As they make their way in a catamaran, they enter a wide circle of dark green water through whose layers they can see the outlines of buildings looming like giant ghosts. A straight gray promenade stretched away between the buildings, the remains of some former thoroughfare; the rusting humped shells of cars still standing by the curb. Thats a lagoon. Beneath it is a spectral metropolis: London. The British capital had sunk sometime in the closing years of the second millennium.

All over the world, mean temperatures rose till the polar ice caps melted and the glaciers turned into torrential rivers and the contours of the continents were altered. At around 350 degrees Fahrenheit, the equator had become a veritable oven. Europe became a system of giant lagoons. The American Midwest had become an enormous gulf opening into the Hudson Bay. Only the polar regions offered a feeble refuge from the encroaching searing heat.

As the mercury soared and the air boiled, the fauna and flora rapidly reverted to what they were during the Triassic, a geological period that ended 200 million years ago. The wheat fields of the temperate climes had been overrun by dense groves of towering calamites, ferns, horsetails, clubmosses, transforming them into Amazon-like rainforests on steroids. Darwinism dictated that creatures better adapted to a life in jungles, swamps, and lakes flourished; those not, perished. Iguanas perched in the windows of the office blocks and department stores.

Today, theres a growing worry that rising oceans will overcome low-lying areas around the world. Its now known  at least, to some  that the agent of the recent climate change is industrial and post-industrial humankind. Over time, the relentless release of greenhouse gases (those that trap heat) has taken its toll on the planet. Three years ago, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had reached an average daily level above 400 parts per million, last known to have existed during an epoch called the Pliocene. The New York Times reported that experts feared that more emissions could trigger a return to primitive climate conditions.

Writing in 1962, in envisioning that the global climate would be thrown off-kilter, of course, Ballard is prescient, but his foresight likely came out of his rumination on the fate of the planet, not environmental study. In this particular novel, he attributes the alarming shift in Earths ecosystem to a series of violent and prolonged solar storms, triggered by a sudden instability of the Sun. Humans have no role in the apocalypse in Ballards story.

His thoughts, in this regard, have shades of H.G. Wells. In The Time Machine (1895), as the temporal tourist travels forward in time, he remarks how much hotter it was in the future than it is in his own age. He cant understand why that should be so, but he reasons: It may be that the Sun was hotter or the Earth nearer the Sun. Planets must ultimately fall back one by one into the parent body. As these catastrophes occur, the Sun will blaze with renewed energy; and it may be that some inner planet had suffered this fate. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that the Sun was very much hotter than we know it. As he journeys, he watches the sun grow bigger and bigger till it fills the sky. It halted motionless upon the horizon, a vast dome, glowing with a dull heat. Sometime, in the very distant future, it comes to obscure a good slice of the heavens.

The narrative of The Drowned World, likewise, is laden with the fiery power of the sun and its engorgement. Its no longer a sphere, but a wide, expanding ellipse that fanned out across the eastern horizon like a colossal fireball. It filled the sky, turning it into an enormous blowtorch. It even takes the form of an organic entity, pulsing, its volcanic pounding beckoning men to sail south as if it were a beautiful siren.

In most works with the science-fiction postmark, typically, victims flee from a cataclysm. Not in The Drowned World. One fine day, when a swashbuckling buccaneer and his crew pull off a feat of derring-do by resurrecting the lost metropolis and London emerges like an immense intact Atlantis. But the reaction of the last human survivors to it is not one of joy and relief, but total repugnance. They regard it as a hellish, drained and festering sewer and do nothing to reclaim it. Instead, they choose to stay in their surreal, silent, waterlogged reality. Their willful surrender to it stems from their staunch belief that its an act of god, in the face of which resistance is futile, even unwarranted.

Nathaniel Richs Odds Against Tomorrow is a tale in the same tradition. Published more than 50 years later, it proves what a difference half a century can make. A much-touted eco-fiction, it, like The Drowned World, is about a meteorological anomaly, but one thats far more plausible. It takes place, where else, but New York?

A powerful hurricane makes landfall in the New York City. In its wake, all five boroughs of New York are battered, Manhattan being the hardest hit. The East River and the Hudson, which flank the slender island surge and converge in its middle, flooding it entirely. The United Nations Secretariat, a building built on bedrock called the Manhattan schist dips below sea level, turning into a sunken ship in the East River. The two-tiered concourse of the Grand Central turns into a lake  or a sea, since it was impossible to perceive its boundaries.

Rich marries calamity with capital. Mitchell Zukor, a young math whizz, is an economic Cassandra, of sorts. His job at a futurist concern housed in the Empire State Building is to forecast a myriad hazards  everything from asteroid strike to biological warfare to solar storm to pestilence to cyberwarfare  so that businesses can inoculate themselves against them, should they come to pass. When the storm strikes, though, no one is prepared. But Zukor is better equipped to navigate it only because of a luxe purchase: a canoe.

As in the The Drowned World, in this book too, the land becomes very, very hot before the deluge. The whole Northeast was blanched; wilting. There had been no rainfall, leading to a prolonged drought reminiscent of the Dust Bowl. The air was heavy with thick, black dust, forcing people to wear masks, now sold by bodegas.

Unlike both Ballard and Wells, Rich holds man squarely responsible for this ecological mishap, blaming it on his insensate greed to build on grounds reserved for fauna and flora. In the aftermath, the state government decides to let the soggy, peripheral wastelands in Brooklyn return to swampland as it once was before the colonizers arrived.

Ballard gives fatalistic shrug at a bleak future, asking man to become one with nature. Rich, on the other hand, calls for a distinct separation of spheres, urging us to co-exist with it as equal partners.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Next month, France will go to the polls in the first round of its presidential election - with a second round on 7th May, should no candidate win a majority. Heres everything you need to know.

Background

Following extremely low approval ratings, reaching just 4% last November, Francois Hollande became the first incumbent president of the Fifth Republic to announce he would not seek re-election.

The latter are usually a two-horse race between Frances two major political parties: the centre-right Les Republicains (The Republicans, formerly UMP), and the centre-left Parti Socialiste (Socialist Party, PS). However, Hollandes unpopularity, political scandals, and the recent Brexit and Trump victory have given rise to uncertainty regarding the result and given way to previously less prevalent and new political parties.

Who are the candidates?

To be eligible for the first round, aspiring candidates must secure 500 signatures from election officials from around the country  called parrainages. Candidates have from 25th February until 17th March to secure the signatures, with the final list of candidates posted on 21st March. Here are the five most prominent candidates:

Marine Le Pen - Front-National (FN)

Succeeding her father Jean-Marie Le Pen as leader of the far-right, populist and nationalist FN in 2011, Marine Le Pen has been undertaking an un-demonisation of the party. Indeed, under her fathers leadership - largely seen as an anti-Semite and racist - the party developed a toxic and extremist image. Marines plan seems to be working: the latest opinion polls place her in the lead with 27%. In the 2012 elections, she finished third in the first round, with 17.90% of votes.

Could she win? Le Pen was one of the first to congratulate Trump and the free American people on his win. Brexit and the US elections have left many fearing - or hoping for - an FN win. However, the partys somewhat negative reputation still hovers, and many remain doubtful Le Pen could win the second round of the elections.

Francois Fillon - Les Republicains (LR)

An open admirer of Margaret Thatchers reforms, Fillon - who served as Prime Minister under Nicolas Sarkozys presidency - aims to higher the countrys economy by reducing its public sector and cutting 500,000 civil-service jobs. He started his campaign with a Mr Clean image, but this changed in January when a scandal emerged: his Welsh wife Penelope received a salary amounting to 600,000 in the span of eight years, for a fictitious job as her husbands parliamentary assistant.

Could he win? Previously seen as a frontrunner, Penelopegate plunged Fillons campaign into chaos, with many calling for his resignation. He currently holds the third position in the opinion polls, with 20%.

Emmanuel Macron - En Marche! (Forward!)

After becoming Hollandes Minister of Economy in 2014, ex-investment banker Macron surprised France (and angered Hollande) by resigning from the government and starting his own centrist political movement. Macron is seen as pro-European and as a breath of fresh air in French Politics. He calls for a democratic Revolution in France, looking to appeal to those disillusioned with the countrys politics. He is also well known for having married his high school teacher, more than 20 years his senior.

Could he win? Macron is currently second in opinion polls. Fillons scandal - in addition to other centrist politician Francois Bayrou endorsing him instead of running against him - have increased his chances of making it to the second round. However, his young age (he's 39 years old), as well as his relative lack of political experience might prove to be his Achilles heel. In fact, he has been criticised for seeming to lack a concrete plan for his presidency.

Benoit Hamon - Partie Socialiste (PS)

Hamons win in the PS Primary (which elected the partys presidential candidate) came as a surprise, with many expecting PM Manuel Valls to take the lead. A Bernie Sanders admirer, and deemed "the French Jeremy Corbyn", his aims include introducing a monthly basic income for all and large investments in renewable energy. He also supports the legalisation of cannabis and euthanasia.

Could he win? Currently fourth in opinion polls, Hamon has proven a popular candidate. However, Hollandes staining of the PS, as well as his very liberal policies in a Brexit and Trump era makes it hard to see him pass the first round - although his surprise win in is partys primary show that he is capable of overturning the odds.

Jean-Luc Melenchon - La France Insoumise (Unsubmissive France)

Previously a member of the PS, Melenchon - positioned as the peoples candidate - started his own left-wing political movement last year. Backed by the Communist Party, he finished fourth in Frances 2012 Presidential election (behind Hollande, Sarkozy and Le Pen).

Could he win? Despite a dynamic campaign - which included a Hologram meeting Despite a dynamic campaign - which included a- Melenchon remains an unlikely winner of the Presidential elections, with most voters favouring more centred candidates.

Conclusion

The current opinion has Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron heading to the second round, with Macron winning in a comfortable victory by raking Hamons, Melenchons, and a part of Fillons supporters. However, if the past year has taught us anything, its that politics can be unpredictable and that we wont be sure until the results are in.
Maltas iconic Azure Window has collapsed after strong gale force winds and storms hit the island of Gozo.

The rock formation, a natural limestone arch, was created after two sea caves collapsed and was a popular site among locals and tourists, attracting thousands every year.

Maltas prime minister Joseph Muscat tweeted about the incident, calling it heartbreaking.

The site from where one could admire it-Tieqa tad-Dwejra. Heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/S4XV6MyKRu  Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) March 8, 2017

Reports commissioned over the years indicated that this landmark would be hard hit by unavoidable natural corrosion. That sad day arrived.  Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) March 8, 2017

After the Azure Window crumbled, locals headed towards the area to see the devastation for themselves, the Times of Malta reported. However, police posted a warning on Facebook, advising people to stay away from the site.

Roger Chessell was at the scene when the rocks collapsed at about 9.40am, and told the Times of Malta: There was a big raging sea beneath the window.

Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea with a loud whoomph, throwing up a huge spray. By the time the spray had faded, the stack had gone too.

(RudolfT/Thinkstock)

Geologists had expressed concern over the formations longevity, concluding while erosion was inevitable, the structure was not in imminent danger of collapsing, in a study published just four years ago.

However, the government did implement a ban on walking across the rocks, making it a fineable offence.

The Azure Window was used as a filming location for several movies and TV series, with The Odyssey, Clash Of The Titans and Game Of Thrones all using it as a beautiful backdrop.
Prime Ministers Questions fell on International Womens Day, so it was inevitable that Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn would exchange humblebrags on which party had done more for women.

Corbyn, wearing a purple tie symbolic of the suffragettes, got off to a strong start by boasting that Labour has more women MPs than all the other parties combined.

Let's celebrate women's political achievements.@UKLabour has more women MPs than all other parties combined#IWD2017 #PMQs  Gill Furniss MP (@GillFurnissMP) March 8, 2017

Jeremy Corbyn says he's proud Labour has more women MPs than all other parties combined & Shadow Cabinet w/ more than half women #pmqs #IWD  Sophy Ridge (@SophyRidgeSky) March 8, 2017

But May hit back with a reference to the recent Copeland election, pointing out that a Labour male MP was replaced by a female Conservative MP.

People also thought it was a bit of a misjudged argument for Labour to make.

Corbyn pointing out how many women are in Labour is laughable when addressing the SECOND FEMALE TORY PRIME MINISTER! #PMQs  Knighted Sir Beckham (@Knight_Beckham) March 8, 2017

Labour might have more women MPs but they are still failing to be an opposition, gender irrespective #pmqs  Kelly-Marie Blundell (@KellyMarieLD) March 8, 2017

And they werent so keen on the oppositions front bench seating plan.

Watch #pmqs a lot, and Ive never seen some of the women on the opposition front bench. Will they be there next week?  Chris (@allriffnoraff) March 8, 2017
The duo spoke to the hosts of the party where the crime occurred, the husband of the victim (or 'client' as we should say), the taxi driver who took her to the party, and her colleagues at the farm shop.

All of the suspects seemed innocent enough until the interviews were wound up, or in other words, when an impending ad-break demanded a brief spike in tension, when they began to act suspiciously: declining to give DNA samples, sipping tea in a threatening manner, or gazing creepily out of a window at the disgruntled cops as they move on to interview their next, equally evasive local. Judging by the sheer number of potential suspects, this story is going to be a complicated one, so it might have been wise to completely move away from the Latimers, the family whose loss dominated the last two series. But this is a small community after all, where, as the police are still learning, everything is connected and nothing is ever forgotten.On the connecting front, Beth Latimer (Jodie Whittaker) has tried to help move the troubled police investigation forward by meeting the 'client' Trish (Julia Hesmondhalgh). They discuss the confidential and unsettling details of rape counselling in a public cafe, which seems ludicrous  you would think they would want to take more care in a town where news spreads like fire through an Australian forest. Struggling to forget, meanwhile, is Beth's estranged husband Mark, who complains that the many gimmicky attempts to come to terms with his son's death have 'barely scratched the surface' of his grief. Worryingly, he seems increasingly enraged at the fact that his son's killer is 'still out there' enjoying freedom, while he and the rest of the community are imprisoned by seemingly inconsolable misery. Quite what his demons will drive him to do will be interesting to watch as the series goes forward. There are, however, some people who wouldn't mind if the bad news continued to wash up on the shore, as this episode's interesting subplot suggested. It explored the two dying small-town trades of religion and local news, which, it has to be said, both prosper when there is trouble about. Arthur Darvill's Hipster vicar resents the townsfolk who only visit the church when they are down, while Carolyn Pickles' newspaper editor weeps as her beloved Broadchurch Echo faces imminent closure. With its small-town tragedies and slightly hilarious roll-call of suspicious characters, this second episode seems to have returned to the classic Broadchurch style of implausible realism. As ever, the acting is what we tune in for, be it Lenny Henry's creepy shopkeeper, the complete opposite of his usual self, or Julie Hesmondhalghs increasingly strange rape victim (sorry, 'client'). But it is David Tennant himself who steals the show as the wonderfully obnoxious Scottish copper, striding about like it is his last day alive in what must be the unhappiest town in England.
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Lincoln could be close to getting additional air service, but the community might need to pony up to seal the deal.

That was the message from Lincoln Airport officials who spoke to local business people at Wednesday's monthly Face the Chamber luncheon at the Country Club of Lincoln.

Nick Cusick, CEO of IMSCORP and a member of the Lincoln Airport Authority, said Lincoln currently is on the "short list" of one airline for potential new air service along with six other cities.

However, Lincoln is the only one of those cities that doesn't have a local fund set up to provide airlines with incentive money to start new service.

"We will not get more service, in all probability, if we do not have a fund," Cusick said.

He said airport officials are in the process of talking to local government and business officials about the prospects for such a fund and suggested that a minimum of $1.25 million is needed.

Federal Aviation Administration rules prevent airports from using their own funds to provide revenue guarantees for airlines that start new service. Airports can offer some limited incentives, such as waving landing fees and paying for marketing costs, for up to two years.

The Lincoln Airport did get an FAA grant to help secure new service to Atlanta two and a half years ago, but such grants are very competitive and hard to get.

Airport Executive Director David Haring was a bit more optimistic about the prospects for new service, saying all the conversations he's had with airlines have been "very positive," and they've gotten more positive in recent months.

Haring said he feels "very optimistic" that Lincoln could get more air service within the next year and said there is an equal chance it could be a new city served by one of the airport's two existing carriers, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, or new service from a third airline.

Haring did not mention any potential new airlines by name, but Daryl Irby of Forecast Inc. mentioned American Airlines as a prime candidate during a presentation he made.

Irby's firm, which the airport hired last fall, has advised that it should target flights to Dallas, and that just happens to be where American operates a hub.

He said Texas is the top target for Lincoln for new service, and Dallas is a more attractive option than Houston, where United operates a hub.

Irby said Lincoln has some advantages that make it attractive for airlines. Though passengers might not like the fact that Lincoln's airfares are about 30 percent higher than the national average, that's a plus for airlines. It's also an advantage, he said, that the airport is growing, with passenger numbers up more than 20 percent since 2012.
A bill that would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes scraped by in first-round voting, 25-22, but it's not out of the woods.

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan successfully amended the bill to take away mandatory minimums for drug offenses. All other Class IC and ID crimes -- such as use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, assault on a police officer or health care professional, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person -- would continue to have mandatory minimum sentences.

Attorney General Doug Peterson's office continued to oppose the bill, and there are two more rounds of consideration, with prosecutors likely to keep up the pressure on senators to deny the bill (LB447), introduced by Sen. Ernie Chambers.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said removing mandatory minimums, even for drug offenses, would soften the state's protections for public safety.

"I urge the Legislature to reconsider its decision to advance LB447, and to maintain these protections supported by our law enforcement community," he said.

If the bill would pass, and Ricketts would choose to veto it, it would take 30 votes to override his rejection of it.

Some senators supported the bill because of the money it could save. And with fewer years for some offenders, it could ease crowding in the prisons.

As of 2013, Nebraska's correctional expenditures were nearly $193 million, and on an upward trajectory from the years immediately preceding, Linehan said, quoting a 2014 study by the Platte Institute.

"If we don't get a handle on this we're talking about spending probably another $100 million more to build yet another prison to put more people in," she said.

Of the more than 5,000 inmates in Nebraska prisons, about 12.5 percent have mandatory minimum sentences, said Omaha Sen. Burke Harr.

The bill would turn sentencing over to the judges who know the specifics of the crime, and the mitigating and aggravating factors, he said. There's nothing to prevent the judge from going beyond the mandatory minimum when sentencing an offender.

Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte supported the bill as amended, and its intent to lower the prison population.

"I think it's a good compromise and, hey, I don't have to build another prison if I can get two dozen here, three dozen here, and hopefully they turn their lives around and get on with their lives," he said.

Lincoln Sen. Mike Hilgers opposed the amendment, as well as the bill. While everyone would agree with the general principles that the state probably is putting too many people in prison, ruining lives and raising the costs to Nebraskans, they aren't voting on that general principle.

Drug offenses for those Class IC and ID offenses include manufacturing and dealing such drugs as crack cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, not mere possession.

"We ought to talk about the impact of folks who manufacture heroin in our communities," he said. "These are serious crimes."
Two-thirds of Nebraskas senators have signed a letter encouraging the state's Public Service Commission to approve the proposed route for the Keystone XL pipeline, citing the impact it will have on job growth and property taxes.

As members of the Nebraska Legislature, we are well-versed in the issues and history surrounding the Keystone XL Pipeline project and wholeheartedly support the project moving forward, says the letter, which is signed by 33 of the state's 49 senators.

Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada needs the Public Service Commission, an independent five-member elected board, to approve its 275-mile route through Nebraska before it can begin construction here or move forward with eminent domain to force easements from landowners who refuse to give them voluntarily. It would pass through nine Nebraska counties.

The underground crude-oil pipeline, which has a price tag of $8 billion, would span a total of 1,179 miles from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City on Nebraskas southern border, where it would hook into an existing pipeline network connected to Gulf Coast refineries.

Construction of the Keystone XL, which would take about two years, would support 42,000 temporary jobs, of which about 3,900 would be in construction with the rest in indirect support roles like food service, according to the U.S. State Departments environmental review of the project.

The senators' letter points to a 2013 Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality report that estimated TransCanada's project would give a $418 million economic boost to the state, supporting 4,560 new or existing jobs during the construction period.

The State Department estimated the pipeline would create about 35 permanent jobs in the United States.

The economic benefits to Nebraska would include the collection of $16.5 million in sales or use tax, as well as between $11 million and $13 million in property taxes the first year of operation. The amount of property taxes will decrease annually because Nebraska has a personal property tax depreciation allowance.

Additional jobs will increase the tax base and the property tax revenue generated from the project will ease the property tax burden for Nebraskans living in those counties along the route, Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion said in a prepared statement.

Keystone XL opponents argue foreign companies shouldnt be allowed to use eminent domain for private gain, and that the risk of a leak polluting land and local water sources outweighs economic gains.

"Keystone XL is a foreign-owned pipeline, using foreign, non-union steel, transporting foreign oil, headed to the foreign export market," said Jane Kleeb, president of Bold Alliance, a group that made a name for itself fighting against the Keystone XL. "We stand with the United Steelworkers union demanding U.S. steel, landowners defending their property rights from eminent domain, and our Native allies as we all take action to protect our water."

The letter from the senators says the Keystone XL will be one of the safest pipelines ever built.

Public Service Commission spokeswoman Deb Collins said all comments regarding the pipeline siting application are welcome, whether in support or opposition, and the senators' letter will be treated just like any other correspondence.

The Commission is committed to building a comprehensive record of evidence, information, and comment relating to the application in accordance with the Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act, Collins said in an email.

The Commission also has the ability to hold meetings along the proposed route to gather comment from the public, although it has not announced how many meetings will be held or where they will be.

President Donald Trump in January revived the Keystone XL project by inviting TransCanada to reapply for a permit allowing construction across the border between the U.S. and Canada. Former President Barack Obama denied the permit in 2015 saying to do otherwise would be antithetical to the U.S. taking a leadership role in efforts to decrease global warming.

The Nebraska senators letter notes that before Obamas rejection, the Keystone XL underwent extensive reviews by both the State Department and state Department of Environmental Quality, processes that included extensive public input.
The first national domestic-violence hotline serving just tribal communities began taking calls last week.

The safe and confidential resource is available for Native American survivors of domestic violence and dating violence, who make up more than 84 percent of the entire U.S. Native population, according to a news release from the StrongHearts Native Helpline.

Native survivors in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma  the helplines initial service areas  will be able to connect at no cost, one-on-one, with knowledgeable StrongHearts advocates who will provide support, assist with safety planning and connect them with resources based on their specific tribal affiliation, community location and culture, the release said.

Callers in other states can still call StrongHearts while the hotline continues to grow. All services available through the helpline are available by dialing 1-844-7NATIVE (1-844-762-8483) Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Callers after hours will have the option to connect with the National Domestic Violence Hotline or to call back the next business day.

The reality is that so many of our American Indian and Alaska Native people experience domestic violence and dating violence every day, Lucy Rain Simpson, executive director of NIWRC and a citizen of the Navajo Nation, said in the release. It has never been more evident that our Native people need a Native helpline to support efforts to restore power and safety in our tribal communities. The StrongHearts Native Helpline is ready to answer that call.

Advocates at the StrongHearts Native Helpline are trained to navigate each callers abuse situation, with a strong understanding of Native cultures, as well as issues of tribal sovereignty and law, in a safe and accepting environment, free of assumption and judgment, the release said.
Buyers of Centara Residence condo file lawsuit

PATTAYA: Miss Thailand 2000 Panadda Boom Wongphudee is leading a group of 157 people so upset over five years of construction delays that they filed a complaint with the DSI against the Centara Grand Residence Pattaya.

constructioncrimelandpolice

By Bangkok Post

Wednesday 8 March 2017, 08:59AM

Panadda Boom Wongphudee, a former Miss Thailand who is now an actress, model and businesswoman, says she and 156 others bought units at Centara Grand Resident Pattaya in 2012, but the project is still unfinished and possibly abandoned. Main photo: Instagram/boompannada

The suit says that the 157 had bought and paid for units in the project, but it was still unfinished, with work apparently halted.

Ms Pannadas actions forced Central Plaza Hotel Plc, owners of the Centara brand, to back away from the project, claiming the company has a licensing agreement but no involvement in the unfinished construction project.

The Australian educated Boom, who has been an actress and businesswomen since her year as Miss Thailand, filed the complaint yesterday (Mar 7) with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) against the developer of the mixed-use Centara Grand Residence Pattaya project after the company called a halt to construction at what many in Pattaya call an eyesore.

The suit names Tulip Group (Bazis Development Co). The firm has been advertising an iconic Centara Grand Residence at Jomtien, and selling units since at least 2012.

Ms Pannada said she was convinced to buy a condo unit for B20 million because of this architects drawing. Tulip Group is a Pattaya-based firm with Israeli roots. The CEO and founder is Kobi Elbaz.

It introduced Centara Grand Residence in September, 2012, as a condominium project on 10 rai in Pattayas Na Jomtien area. Mr Elbaz said that when completed in 2014, it would comprise 283 condominium units worth B6.4 billion and 200 hotel rooms operated by the Central Plaza Hotel Groups Centara chain. It still has not been finished.

Mr Elbaz claimed after a project pre-launch in December, 2011, that the group sold 55 units worth B550mn. Some 80% went to Thai buyers, followed by Russians and Americans.

Central Plaza Hotel Plc, which manages the Centara hotel brand, said immediately after the suit was filed that the company has only a licensing agreement with the Tulip Group to use the Centara Grand brand for the project and had been contracted to manage the hotel after it was completed.

The group denied any involvement in building or selling units in the Jomtien project.

The company is not the owner of the project and is not involved with the sales management side, it said.

The company says a clear disclaimer appears in all promotional materials for the condo part of the project which says Centara Grand Residence, Pattaya is being developed and sold by the developer, Tulip Group (Bazis Development Co) and not by Central Plaza Hotel Plc or its affiliates.

Centara has not confirmed the accuracy of any of the statement of representations made herein, and Centara is not part of, or an agent for the developer and has not acted as a broker in connection with the sale of Centara Grand Residence Pattaya. Neither Central Plaza Hotel Plc nor its affiliates, employees or representatives make any warranties or representations in respect of the project, the disclaimer says.

The company said it regretted the situation and sympathised with buyers.

News that the project is in trouble emerged only recently, observers said. The developer could not be reached for comment.

The group of buyers said they bought units off-plan at prices ranging from B2mn to B35mn per unit. They estimated the damages they had suffered at B500mn.

Boom said she booked a B35mn unit in 2012, convinced by the ads and condo plans.

The owner offered her a price cut to B20mn for her unit in exchange for her acting as the projects presenter. She accepted the offer and signed a contract.

Months later, she said the owner chatted with her online, made advances to her and asked her to go out with him at night. I thought it was suspicious so I cancelled the presenter deal and asked for a return of the deposit of B2.5mn, she said.

But the project owner returned only B1.8mn, saying some of the money had been invested in a business in Singapore, Ms Panadda said.

Read original story here.
Ex-MP of Pheu Thai faces murder charges

UTHAI THANI: Police are gathering evidence to seek court approval for arrest warrants for a former Pheu Thai MP and a local official who are implicated in two separate murder cases in the central province of Utahi Thani.

crimecorruptiondeathmurdermilitarypolicepoliticsviolence

By Bangkok Post

Wednesday 8 March 2017, 09:15AM

Another team of CSD police also raided a house that belongs to a local politician in Lan San district and confiscated more than 50 guns. Photo: via Bangkok Post

Deputy National Police Chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said the orders for the warrants were made after three men arrested during a raid yesterday (Mar 7) implicated the pair.

A police source said an arrest warrant is being sought for ex-MP Suparp Towsajja in connection with a deadly gun attack that killed three people at a local funeral in February.

The other warrant is being sought for Yaowaporn Rattanamaneepan, a kamnan at tambon Lan Sak.

The move comes after about 200 officers from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), a special operations unit, and soldiers from the Uthai Thani peacekeeping force launched a crackdown yesterday on gunmen-for-hire and people wielding dark influence, in Uthai Thani.

A total of 22 locations in Lan Sak district were targeted during the raid, which was carried out under Section 44 of the interim constitution following a string of crimes in the province.

The operation was supervised by Lt Gen Thitirat Nonghanpithak, Commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau; Maj Gen Suthin Sapphuang, Commander of the CSD; Maj Gen Bancha Panpradap, the Uthai Thani Police Chief, and Col Prasan Saengsirirak, Commander of the Provincial Peacekeeping Force.

Authoritities arrested three suspects at a house in Lan Sak district: Boonying Chanthorn, 60, Thanet Wongnet, 22, and Manas Wangcheen, 40.

An M-16 rifle and a number of bullets were also seized from them.

All were wanted under arrest warrants in connection with a gun attack at a funeral in Lan Sak district in the early hours of Feb 3.

Three people  Chamnien Mahuakhao, Lamduan Pantha and Boonthin Kulthani  were killed, and Dusit Srisuwan, 43, seriously injured during the attack.

According to investigators, an assistant kamnan who was also present at the funeral was in fact the target of the attack, though he narrowly escaped.

Police said the three arrested men admitted to the crime and implicated Mr Suparp in the attack.

The motive for the murder has not been determined, though police says it was was most likely political or financial. They have stepped up their probe.

Among the 22 locations targeted during yesterdays raids was a maize plantation owned by former Pheu Thai MP Suparp, 67, in Lan Sak district.

The premises cover about five rai, and accommodates three houses.

The search turned up two shotguns, three pistols and a large number of bullets. They were seized for examination.

Another target searched was a buffalo farm in Lan Sak district which belongs to Narongsak Towsajja, 60, Chief of the Namrop Provincial Administrative Organisation.

A rifle, and four guns of different types and a quantity of assorted ammunition were seized for examination.

Another team of CSD police also raided a house that belongs to a local politician in Lan San district and confiscated more than 50 guns.

Read original story here.
Phukets Emerald Group rebuffs allegations of illegality

PHUKET: The Emerald Development Group, which last week stood accused by a slew of complaints alleging failure to deliver condos as well as breaches of property laws and building codes, yesterday (Mar 7) responded to the claims with a no-nonsense rebuttal.

constructionpropertylandpatong

By The Phuket News

Monday 8 May 2017, 04:00PM

The press conference included a tour of the site to support the defence against the allegations. Photo: Emerald Group

Media massed at the Emerald Development Group sales office to report the defence against the allegations. Photo: Emerald Group

Sawit Ketroj (centre) and senior management hold up land deeds and other documents supporting their defence against the allegations. Photo: Emerald Group

Media massed at the Emerald Development Group sales office to report the defence against the allegations. Photo: Emerald Group

Sawit Ketroj (centre) and senior management hold up land deeds and other documents supporting their defence against the allegations. Photo: Emerald Group

Sawit Ketroj, President of Emerald Development Group, led the press conference, held at the companys main sales office in Kathu.

The Emerald Development Group has seven condominium and residence projects throughout Phuket and Krabi since 2013 and we strictly operate within the legislation in vigour as far according to the Environmental Act, Town Planning Act and building regulations, and strive to abide by the laws of Thailand.

We have been falsely accused that three of our projects are not within the law and we must clarify the following, he said.

Regarding the Emerald Nirvana Kalim, Mr Sawit noted, The title deeds (certification of ownership) regarding the land have been lawfully purchased from the vendor with a strict inspection and examination being carried out by the land officers in order to submit the NorSor 3 Kor for us to be able to divide the land and develop it as Hotel, Condos and Villas.

The land plot has been scrutinised by the Phuket provincial land office and its origins are clearly defined throughout the registry dating back at least two generations.

In July 2015, we submitted the building permit for the primary work of setting up necessary retaining walls. Furthermore, construction has already started on the foundation of eight villas of which we have the construction permit.

We understand and have respected the height restriction as well as boundaries and will create a green zone where needed.

The accusation also states that we exceeded the allowed excavations but a site inspection will corroborate that all has being done according to the architectural designs and in keeping of the natural contour of the land.

These accusations are pure propaganda and have no foundations; we issue progress reports on a monthly basis to inform our clients on the construction schedule, he said.

Regarding the Emerald Terrace condominium project on Phra Baramee Rd in Patong, Mr Sawit explained, We are progressing with the title deeds of all sold units and are registering them with the land office in order to transfer ownership to the buyers.

We have had no complaints so far nor any legal claims. Government officials have inspected the property in order for it to be issued with a condominium title deed. We did not modify any of the architecture nor add more condominiums on its rooftop as was wrongly mentioned, he added.

Regarding the Emerald Central condo project, located near Soi Thida, off Wichit Songkram Rd in Kathu, Mr Sawit noted the project was being built within the construction limits allowed by law.

The area where the building is situated can go up to 23 metres in height and we have only built up to seven floors, which corresponds to 21m in height. No designs were altered or changed after the relevant authorities had approved them, he explained.

We will not succumb to corrupt measures and have gathered all relevant documents to prove there is no wrong-doing on our part.

We are a new company in Phuket and all of our projects are built according to legislation. We strive to run a clean company and are transparent with our clients and investors.

It is very unfortunate that false accusations are being made without basis in order to tarnish our reputation and we look forward to the opportunity of clearing our Groups reputation, Mr Sawit added.

The press conference yesterday was called after a local news outlet last week reported that the Emerald Group was under investigation after a group of 20 people, not defined as investors or buyers, who called themselves the Rak Chue Siang Phuket (Love Phuket Reputation group), filed a complaint at the Damrongdhama Centre (provincial Ombudsmans Office) at Provincial Hall.

The group called for Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan to investigate the claims. However, whether an investigation has been launched has not been confirmed.
Phuket firefighters head north for advanced training

PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality firefighters this week completed a two-day intensive training workshop at a privately owned training centre in Chachoengsao to up their skills in responding to emergencies.



By Yutthawat Lekmak

Wednesday 8 March 2017, 05:19PM

Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana reminds the firefighters how important their training is. Photo: PR Dept

The firefighters completed the course, dubbed Advanced Techniques in Firefighting and Rescue Training, at the Anti-Fire Training Center Co Ltd facility south of Bangkok on Monday and Tuesday (Mar 6-7).

The excursion was conducted as part of the Phuket City Municipality Officers Development Training regimen.

Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana joined the emergency responders, accompanied by Phuket City Deputy Mayor Kawee Tansukatanon and Phuket City Municipality Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Chutima Sanithpram.

I made it clear to them that the training is important because when there is a fire, they must know how to deal with it. They must know what action needs to be taken quickly and how to work together as a team, Mayor Somjai told The Phuket News.
Ride 4 Kids coming home party this Saturday

This Saturday, March 11, will see the intrepid cyclists of Ride 4 Kids Phuket return from their epic charity ride all the way from Hua Hin to Phuket.



By The Phuket News

Wednesday 8 March 2017, 10:00AM

The 6-day, 845km ride was been organised by local charity group Ride 4 Kids with the aim of raising money to support three of the island's child-focussed charity organisations.

The 6-day, 845km ride was been organised by local charity group Ride 4 Kids with the aim of raising money to support three of the island's child-focussed charity organisations.

The 6-day, 845km ride was been organised by local charity group Ride 4 Kids with the aim of raising money to support three of the island's child-focussed charity organisations  The Good Shepherd, Phuket Has Been Good To Us and Outriggers Share4Change.

To celebrate the end of the ride, a coming home party will be held at title sponsor Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort on Saturday, March 11. It will be a chance to come and meet the team and support the three charities, tickets are available through the Facebook page Ride 4 Kids.

The Party will be kicking off with sunset drinks at 6pm with free flow selected beverages and soft drinks as well as delicious Metzos tapas and grill all for B2500 per person. Silent Auction prizes up for grabs all in support of a good local cause.

Three Phuket schools  Kajonkiet International School (KIS), British International School Phuket (BISP) and Gecko Nursery School also supported the cyclists on the daunting 845km charity ride from Hua Hin to Phuket.

For more information on Ride 4 Kids or to make a donation please visit the website: www.ride4kids.co

The Phuket News and Live 89.5 are proud sponsors of this event.
A jury will decide how much relief to award an amputee after an appeals court ruled three Lincoln police officers violated his rights by forcing him from his van at gunpoint.

Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf ruled last week the officers are individually liable for stopping Leroy Duffie without reasonable suspicion he committed a crime in 2011.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August ruled Officers Nathan Kaiser, Tobias Hite and Shane Jensen violated his Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 3, 2011, Lincoln police ordered Duffie out of his 1998 Chevrolet Astro van at gunpoint on 27th Street.

The officers were looking for a man who had brandished a handgun in a "'90s style Astro van" parked outside a convenience store earlier that night.

Duffie fell to the ground as one of his prosthetic legs detached as he exited the van, he said. He knocked his teeth out and tore one of his rotator cuffs.

Officers handcuffed Duffie as he lay on the ground and searched his car, finding only a paintball gun Duffie said he planned to donate to a local charity.

After several minutes, the officers seized the paintball gun and released Duffie.

Duffie sued the city and the officers in 2012.

The appellate judges ruled Kopf erred in initially dismissing the case on the grounds the officers were shielded from liability because their mistakes were made in good faith.

The appellate judges said qualified immunity doesn't protect police when their actions violate someone's established constitutional rights.

After that ruling, city attorneys argued against a request by Duffie to accept the appellate ruling his rights had been violated.

The attorneys argued they still had evidence to dispute that, including the observations of the officers prior to the stop and the potential criminal violations they were investigating, according to court documents.

But Kopf in his ruling said that new evidence wouldn't be substantially different than what the court has already considered.

A trial date to determine damages hasn't been set.

Hite and Jensen remain with the department, while Kaiser works as an investigator with the Lancaster County Public Defender's Office.
A Florida man has been sentenced to probation and 90 days jail time after a Nebraska state trooper found 198 pounds of marijuana in his truck during an Interstate 80 stop.

Jonathan C. Snyder, of Jacksonville, must serve two years on probation, pay a $1,000 fine and serve 30 days in jail immediately, Seward County District Judge James Stecker ruled Monday.

In January, Snyder pleaded no contest to reduced drug possession chrages in connection with the stop last July.

Around 3:30 p.m. July 16, the trooper stopped an eastbound 2003 Ford F350 utility truck for speeding, failure to signal and following too close, a Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman said.

The trooper was given consent to search the truck and found the marijuana in 77 individual packages contained within the truck's two side compartments, the spokeswoman said.

Snyder, the truck's lone occupant, was taken to the Seward County jail on suspicion of possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver.

Snyder remained at the jail Tuesday night. He received credit for 13 days already served in jail.

He must serve two other 30 day sentences in February 2018 and February 2019.
What county auditors want voters to know ahead of the midterm election

elections
Maggie Mae Squires, a Lincoln business owner who believes in solid long-term planning, has announced she is running for the Lincoln City Council.

Squires, 35, is a candidate for one of the three at-large council seats, representing the entire community, not a specific geographic district.

Squires owns and operates Maggie Maes Namaste and teaches yoga to patients in Madonnas traumatic brain injury unit, Tabitha Memory Care; St. Monicas; and residents of Van Dorn Villa, as well as teaching weekly classes.

Squires praised Lincolns progress during the past few years, with low unemployment and many new businesses, but said these changes come with an ongoing financial impact for citizens who are struggling.

The quality of life for working families has stagnated in Lincoln, with rising real estate prices, rental costs and taxes, she said in a news release announcing her candidacy.

The cost of food and medicine has skyrocketed, leaving many -- myself included -- to choose between paying bills and buying the food or medicine we need, she said.

Lincoln leaders need to look 20 to 30 years into the future, with collaborative efforts of multiple organizations -- like those modeled by Nebraska Innovation Campus, she said in the news release.

Partnerships with nonprofit organizations can sustain vibrant, diverse neighborhoods that house our newest citizens -- refugees and immigrants. Programs that assist incoming children and families deserve support so they can participate in and contribute to our economy, she wrote.

Squires also praised solar and wind development that promise well-paying jobs, energy savings for businesses and individuals and sustained overall growth." She suggested that "Pinnacle Bank Arena should be covered in solar panels as well as all new developments, city buildings and schools.

Jobs related to sustainable energy must become a permanent part of our economy and a permanent solution to the damaging (and vanishing) use of fossil fuels, she said in her news release.

Squires also supports legalization and taxation of cannabis and access to marijuana for medical use.

As a progressive candidate, I am not afraid to address problems directly nor to discuss them with people who do not share the same views, she said.

Squires worked as an aide for former state Sen. Bill Avery. She trained at Integral Yoga in New York and has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a master's in management from Doane, according to her news release.

Squires, a Democrat, ran unsuccessfully for the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District board in 2014. She is one of eight candidates for the three at-large council seats. Six candidates will advance from the April 4 primary. The general election is May 2.

The other candidates are Roy Christensen and Leirion Gaylor Baird, both incumbents, and Brayden McLaughlin, Tom Nesbitt, Lou Braatz III, Bennie Shobe and Deb Andrews.
Beth Rawlings left the Port-au-Prince airport and piled into a small, cramped bus that would carry her and 17 other Lincoln doctors, dentists and support staff to a mission compound perched in the mountainous center of Haiti.

The weeklong mission trip has become an annual tradition that grew out of a 2007 peanut butter collection drive taken up by St. Josephs Catholic Church in Lincoln. But it was Rawlings first time on the trip and first time in Haiti, ranked by the World Bank as the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest in the world.

Rawlings, who works as CHI St. Elizabeths chief medical officer, sat in the bus surrounded by her comrades, plus 900 pounds of food, medication and supplies, and she gawked out the window as they passed through the chaotic capital.

Nobody even drives on one side of the street. You just drive to avoid holes or people or animals in the street. Its just this constant game of chicken, and the bigger car wins, Rawlings said.

Cars and motorcycles shared the road with ox carts and livestock. Homes and businesses were built on the edge of the roadway and piles of burning trash spewed smoke into the air, mixing with the smell of dung and humanity.

The crowded conditions are kind of overwhelming, she said.

While the bus only had about 70 miles to travel, it took more than three hours to get to the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Haiti Kobonal Mission near Hinche, a city of about 50,000 people without running water or electric infrastructure.

The group -- 10 dentists, two doctors, two nurses, one dental assistant and three other volunteers -- spent the next seven days providing medical care to more than 1,000 people and dental care to 1,800. Done on a budget of $25,000, those services would have cost more than $533,000 back in Nebraska.

Don Killeen, facilities and properties director for the Lincoln Public Building Commission, got the idea for the mission trip while helping to deliver food to Haiti collected by St. Joseph parishioners and other congregations in 2007.

Two of his sons are dentists. After Killeen returned home, he called them to pitch the idea and began organizing the first trip. After numerous calls from his father about what dentists would actually need to treat people, Marty Killeen, who works at Wilderness Station Pediatric Dentistry, decided to take over and has been organizing recent trips.

The first few years, only dentists made the trip. They flew from Port-au-Prince to Hinche. The pilots of the small single-engine planes would have to fly by the dirt runway a couple times to scare off livestock before they could land.

They used picnic tables as dental chairs and encouraged people to eat less sugar, a tough sell considering sugarcane is one of the most abundant foods in the area.

Its hard to tell a little guy who doesnt have enough food already not to east sugarcane because its rotting his teeth, Marty Killeen said.

The first year, the dentists worried people wouldnt want to see them.

A lot of these people had never seen dentists before, Marty Killeen said.

The program proved wildly popular. While the area might not have running water, it has plenty of cellphones and solar chargers to help quickly spread the word.

People walked miles and waited hours in the mission courtyard to be seen.

The reality is, most of these people are in pain, Don Killeen said.

Over the years, the group has improved its supplies and workspace through purchases on eBay, donations and dental chairs procured when a Wahoo dentist remodeled. St. Josephs continues to sponsor the trip.

The dentists' most common procedure in Haiti is pulling infected teeth, although they have also helped with other services including cleanings, fillings and making dentures.

There is nothing we shy away from if someone comes in and says theyre in pain, Marty Killeen said.

Patients are more varied on the medical side.

Theyve seen malaria, dengue fever, syphilis, skin rashes, stomach aches, yeast infections, festering wounds, maggots feeding on flesh and new mothers with round-cheeked babies.

The maggots, while gross, were actually good for the wound, cleaning it of dead tissue, said Teresa Raun, who works as a nurse at St. Elizabeth and has gone on three of the Haiti trips.

While there were many memorable stories, Raun said, one 8-year-old boy named Sonson stands out.

Sonsons mother had dumped boiling water on him as a baby. It wasnt clear why she harmed her baby, perhaps mental illness was an issue. Another woman took the boy in and adopted him.

But without proper medical care, he suffered serious issues, and his skin was badly infected.

Raun and Bryan Health Dr. Suzanne Vandenhul took the boy outside, washed his body, slathered him in ointment and gave him antibiotics.

His head was so swollen, we couldnt get his shirt back on, Raun said. And he didnt cry, didnt whimper.

The boy was happy, like so many others seeking care, joyful and grateful in spite of his hardships.

It's a stark contrast, she said, to the United States, where comforts like running water are at our fingertips, yet many people are unhappy with their lives.

A week in Haiti, she said, makes you appreciate what you have, your friends, your family.

The group returned to Lincoln on Feb. 24 wearing flip-flops, having left their shoes behind for people who needed them a little more.
In Letters to the Editor in this newspaper Saturday, Brandy Judkins, Lincoln, noted that The New York Times, CNN, The Hill and other publications have been excluded from the White House briefing room.

Judkins urged all elected officials to take a stand for that most American of all values: freedom of the press, and reminded readers of Thomas Jeffersons statement: The only security of all is in a free press.

As dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I could not agree more.

That is why the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, with the College of Arts and Sciences as co-sponsors, is hosting a conference on the presidency and the role of the press in the democracy from 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. this Friday, March 10, in the auditorium at Andersen Hall. All are welcome to attend.

Although the press is the only industry in this country given constitutional protection by the First Amendment, the press has not been immune from attack  even before the most recent spate of attacks from President Trump.

In the 1970s, coverage of Watergate led to injunctions against The Washington Post and The New York Times. However, it was great investigative reporting that ultimately led to congressional hearings and the resignation, in 1974, of President Richard Nixon.

And although other countries do not have constitutional protection of the press, they rely on a free press to keep democracy safe.

For example, in Britain in 1995, a bold attack was made on press freedoms when Jonathan Aitken, then Minister for Defense Procurement and a member of the Queens Privy Council, brought a libel suit against The Guardian and Granada Television.

Aitken, who had been dealing in arms with and providing escorts to Saudi businessmen on their visits to England, had been the subject of stories in the Guardian and in the documentary, Jonathan of Arabia, aired in the World in Action series on Granada TV.

In wonderfully high-flown rhetoric, Aitken threatened: If it falls to me to start a fight to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in our country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play, so be it. I am ready for the fight  the fight against falsehood and those who peddle it.

He fought  and lost.

Evidence provided at the last minute in the trial led to his being found guilty of perjury and sentenced to prison.

The Guardian and Granada  and the British press in general  were exonerated.

In Ireland, the Kerry Babies case and the subsequent Kerry Babies Tribunal both fascinated  and appalled  the nation in 1984. The story began when the body of an infant with multiple stab wounds was washed on to a beach in County Kerry. Police conducted an investigation to determine who the baby was. Every woman who had given birth in the county was questioned.

Joanne Hayes, an unmarried mother, was found to have given birth but had no baby to show for it. Police claimed she was the mother of the washed-up baby. Hayes told police that her baby had died, and she buried it in the familys farmyard. An excavation led to the body of the infant. The mother of the washed-up baby has never been identified.

A tribunal followed into police misconduct, but instead the inquiry became a witch-hunt of Joanne Hayes. Church and State colluded to put on trial Hayes who was charged with no crime. Writers, columnists and the daily reports of the media brought to the attention of the nation what effectively was happening in the tribunal  the collusion of Church and State to vilify a young woman, and, by extension, women in general, and to let the police off the hook.

The case blew the lid off a culture of secrecy and opened the door to reporting on the numerous Government and Church scandals that followed.

Today, the story of 700-plus dead children  infants to 3-year-olds  found in a mass grave at the back of a home for unmarried mothers in Tuam is unfolding. The religious order that ran the home from 1925-1961 has not yet offered any explanation or apology.

As stories such as these are reported, the press is shining a light on matters that many people in positions of power want kept in darkness.

A free press is needed in democratic countries everywhere; an unfettered press is our security.
Alia Bhatt says feminism calls for gender equality but people misunderstand the essence of it and end up associating it with male bashing.

The actress says feminism does not demand "special" treatment for women.

"Being a feminist is not only limited to girls. Even a man can be a feminist. It is about equality and everyone believes

in equality. People usually misunderstand the essence o feminism. It is not about male bashing.

"I am not saying women are greater than men. I don't believe it is the right way to put it. I just feel there should be similar treatment (for both)," Alia told.

The 23-year-old star says she may not be a part of any women rights campaign, but it does not mean that she is not

a feminist.

Alia believes enough has been said about women empowerment and people should realise that "equality" is a woman's birth right.

"If you are not campaigning for women rights you are not a feminist, that is also a big confusion. Even if I don't

campaign, I am a feminist. As the youth of today, I don't want more conversation on women empowerment because I feel that it is all talk and I don't understand this talk. Equality is our birth right."

The actress says she could identify with her character of 'Vaidehi' in her upcoming film Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

"I am closer to Vadehi. She is a feminist and very ambitious. I love that about her and I really connected with

that. She is very sensitive but at the same time she is more mature."

Directed by Shashank Khaitan and also starring Varun Dhawan in the male lead, Badrinath Ki Dulhania will release

this March 10.
Actor Rishi Kapoor, who has always grabbed headlines for his nasty tweets, is in the news again for putting a warning as his bio on Twitter.

"Don't you dare try Trollers and Abusers! You will be abused and BLOCKED-your loss if you following me. Don't like me, unfollow me. Signed-Terrorist of the family," the actor's Twitter bio read.

The Kapoor and Sons actor later posted a tweet to explain what he meant in the bio.

"Released new Warning Bio for future Trolls, Abusers and Idiots! Refer profile. Please ignore sensible friends. Let's live in a fun World," the actor tweeted.

Known for his short temper, Rishi Kapoor has often got into a lot of scuffles with his Twitter followers. He even followed back some of the them just to abuse them via Direct Message.

Actor Rishi Kapoor was last seen in Kapoor and Sons and also bagged the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Kapoor and Sons.
Terming the no-detention policy under the Right to Education (RTE) Act "unscientific", the Haryana government on Thursday said that it intends to reintroduce board examinations for Class V and VIII in the next academic session beginning April.

Replying to a question during the on-going budget session of the Assembly, Education Minister Ram Vilas Sharma said that following the review of the no-detention policy, in-principal decision has already been taken to re-introduce examinations for students up to Class VIII.

"This (no-detention policy) unscientific law made children mentally free from the free of studies. But it didn't work in Haryana. So we have introduced monthly evaluation for the students," the minister said.

"The Union government is expected to soon amend the RTE Act to change the on-detention policy. After this, we will formally introduce the board examination for Class V and VIII," he added. When the opposition members asked the minister to clarify if the government will reintroduce the examination system in the 2017-18 academic session, Sharma said, "Yes, it will be done in the coming session."
A National Convention of Student Volunteers under Digital Financial Literacy Campaign by Ministry of Human Resource Development began here on Wednesday.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar called upon the student volunteers for the widespread dissemination of the ideas of the Prime Minister on digital economy so that the resources of the nation could be utilised in a transparent manner.

The minister congratulated the volunteers for their efforts and said going digital is the need of the hour as in comparison to developed countries where 4 per cent component of the GDP is in currency, India has 12 per cent component of currency in its GDP and hence needs to change to digital mode. He said going digital will help boost economic stability with definite availability of funds for the welfare of masses at large, especially the poor and needy population.

It will also result in net tax collection and resources. Today there are 77 crore debit cards available for digital transactions, he said, adding that awareness should be generated across the country.

Javadekar said so far nearly 4.3 lakh volunteers have been registered who have started educating masses across the country and have covered 20 lakh households. The minister asked the volunteers to work during the post examination holidays for publicity of the scheme. He said the Prime Minister has set a target of 2500 crore digital transaction in 2017 and this is 100 per cent achievable.
For most of history Anonymous was a woman.  Virginia Woolf.

From being suppressed and prohibited from keeping and expressing opinion, to being a piece of possession for men, women have faced suppression in all forms since ages. Although the society continued to be patriarchal in nature, strong women stood up and faced the world. They made efforts in the direction of empowering other women and strongly owning their own opinions.

Some secretly penned their thoughts, some threaded them into short stories, some in the form of novels and some narrated poems. From using pseudonyms to coming out proudly, female authors from all around the world proved that they can have an opinion about anything and everything and have the courage to take a stand.

There are women writers, who have reshaped the way people perceive women. On the occasion of International Womens Day, lets celebrate these five influential women authors of all time and why should we continue to be inspired by them.

Sylvia Plath

Born in Boston in the year 1932, Sylvia had strong and unapologetic thoughts that she expressed through her writings. Go out and do something. It isnt your room thats a prison, its yourself.

Maya Angelou

Known for her bold statements and opinions, Maya born as Marguerite Annie Johnson in1928 was an American poet, writer and civil rights activist. History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage need not be lived again.

Virginia Woolf

Adeline Virginia Woolf, born in 1882, was an English writer and one of the foremost modernists of the 20th century.

Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, and no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary, born in 1759 was an English writer, philosopher, and advocate of womens rights.

I do not wish women to have power over men but over themselves.

Taslima Nasreen

An award-winning writer, physician, secular humanist and human rights activist is known for her powerful writings on women oppression and unflinching criticism of religion, despite forced exile and multiple fatwas calling for her death.

Religion is against womens rights and womens freedom. In all societies women are oppressed by all religions.

Get inspired, let the spirit be lifted up, for a courageous, strong and unapologetic woman nothing is impossible. The mankind owes its existence to women after all.
Delhi-run giant power company NTPC on Wednesday announced commissioning of 45 MW solar capacity at Bhadla in Rajasthan taking the total installed capacity of the project to 160 MW.

"The 45 MW of Bhadla solar power project of NTPC in Rajasthan has been commissioned today. With this, the installed capacity of Bhadla solar power project has become 160 MW and that of NTPC's solar power projects has become 520 MW," a senior official said.

Last month, NTPC had commissioned 115 MW capacity out of the 260 MW Bhadla solar power project. NTPC has planned capacity addition of about 1,000 MW through renewable resources by 2017.

The official further said that with commissioning of this additional solar capacity of 45 MW at Bhadla, the total installed capacity of NTPC Group has reached to 48,188 MW,

NTPC has 10 solar PV projects. In Dadri it is of 5 MW, The Andaman & Nicobar project is of 5 MW, Ramagundam (10 MW), Talcher Kaniha (10 MW), Faridabad (5 MW), Unchahar (10 MW), Rajgarh (50 MW), Singrauli (15 MW), Anantapuram (250 MW) and Bhadla (160 MW).

NTPC intends to become a 130-GW company up to 2032 with a with diversified fuel mix and a 600 billion units company in terms of generation. The company wants share of renewable energy (including hydro) to be 28 per cent.

Last year in January, solar power tariff had dropped to a new low with Finland-based energy firm Fortum Finnsurya Energy quoting Rs.4.34 a unit to bag the mandate to set up a 70 MW solar plant under NTPC's Bhadla solar park tender.

Last month, lower capital expenditure and cheaper credit had pulled down solar tariff to a new low of Rs.2.97 per unit in an auction conducted for 750 MW capacity in Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh.

In November 2015, the tariff had touched Rs.4.63 per unit following aggressive bidding by US-based SunEdison, the world's biggest developer of renewable energy power plants.

NTPC has total installed capacity of 48,188 MW from its 19 coal based, 7 gas-based, 10 solar PV, one hydro and 9 subsidiaries/Joint Venture power stations.
Its about time.

Those of us who have advocated for the repeal and replacement of Obamacare have been frustrated by the lack of a specific Republican strategy to actually achieve this. We could define our own individual wish lists, but thats not the same as saying our party has its act together with an actual plan.

Well, theres a plan now, but it will usher in a wave of new arguments.

The repeal is of the individual mandate, which was always the most noxious element of the so-called Affordable Care Act, which proved to have quite the opposite effect for millions of Americans.

That mandate was always a grotesque government overreach. The notion of requiring citizens to make a purchase is an affront to basic liberty. The ill wisdom of intentionally living uninsured does not change that fact.

But Obamacare needed premiums from every paying human being it could compel in order to fill the coffers with subsidies for others. Republicans apparently went to great pains to preserve the two elements of the law adored by large majorities: coverage for pre-existing conditions, which is understandable, and the capacity to keep our idle offspring on our policies until they are 26, which is ridiculous.

Refundable tax credits will free up money to buy better coverage in a freer marketplace, but TV screens will soon fill with people who will lament that the coverage they had yesterday may not exist in the same form tomorrow.

Thats exactly the point. Obamacare was always, from the starting blocks, unsustainable.

There was never going to be enough money from other people to pay the freight for tens of millions seeking subsidies. There is a cynical chorus that says this was the plan all along, that it would have enabled the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic party to say, Hey, we tried, and pivot to straight-up single-payer government health care.

There were obviously people who benefited from Obamacare, and they made their way dutifully to various town halls. But their stories do not outweigh the countless families burdened by skyrocketing premiums and deductibles. This is simple math. Free stuff paid for by other people is a road to economic ruin.

With the big reveal of a repeal plan, get ready for obsessions over Congressional Budget Office scoring, as if the CBO knows what the market effects will be when insurance companies can compete across state lines, and when doctor-patient relationships are freed from the ACAs various government shackles. (Hint: it will be a joy to behold.)

At least the repeal also seeks to end the scam of federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which has every right to exist, but no right to tax dollars.

Competing factions will throw sharp elbows on Medicaid restructuring, tensions will brew over whether the new measure is bold enough, and some voices may even have the courage to speak a harsh truth: that the promise of funding pre-existing conditions will make even the noblest GOP retool almost as unsustainable as Obamacare was.

Real reform means getting governments hands off of our health care, even in the ways that many Americans have grown fond of. The good news is that statewide high-risk pools and state-by-state competition can provide hope and help in addressing any conditions, pre-existing or not.

But the journey to that clarity will not be smooth. With Barack Obama as president, countless repeal measures were dead on arrival.

Now that the path is cleared for a bill to actually see a presidential signature, the process of crafting that bill will be decidedly messy.
The reticent and soft-spoken 'bahu' of the first family of the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP, Dimple Yadav, has finally found her groove, emerging as a major crowd puller in election rallies all over the state.

From the fumbling leader who repeatedly corrected herself while going through her written text in Parliament on Kaushal Vikas mission some months ago to proper utilisation of manpower, the 39-year-old Kannauj MP has come a long way.

The new Dimple  the star campaigner  has learnt how to keep the audience especially the youth involved and impress them.

Aptly donning the role of the 'bahu' and 'bhabhi', she has gone about endearingly reprimanding the young enthusiasts with warnings that she will complain about them to their 'bhaiya' (Akhilesh Yadav) and at the same time taking care of the elders among the electorate seeking 'muhdekhaiye' (gift) for her in terms of votes.

When party workers went berserk in Allahabad, she said, "I will tell bhaiya (Akhilesh) that you did not let me speak."

I will complainbhaiya is coming here tomorrow."
Four Maoists were killed in a fierce gun-battle with the security forces in Bihar on Wednesday. Of the four killed, two are said to be zonal commanders, giving sleepless nights to the cops for long. The encounter took place in Gurpa forests in Gaya, one of the many districts notorious for Naxal activities.

Acting on a tip-off that a group of Maoists had gathered in the forest and are planning for major operation, a team of security forces from the elite COBRA battalion was rushed to the spot last night.

On getting them surrounded by the forces, the rebels opened fire on them, leading to fierce gun-battle between them in the dead of night. Eventually, they backtracked unable to give proper challenge to the COBRA battalion, a specialized unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of India proficient in guerilla tactics and jungle warfare.

A subsequent search operation in the areas by the forest today found four bodies of the Maoists in the forests with their arms lying close to them. Police believe more rebels may have been killed in the encounter on the basis of trail of bloods.

When we launched the operation in the forest, the hiding rebels started firing on us, leading to fierce encounter. In the end, we recovered four bodies from the spot, a senior COBRA official Devesh Mishra told newsmen today.

Two of the four rebels killed in the encounter have been identified so far. They include Anil alias Deepak and Rajesh Ravidas. Anil was working as zonal commander of the Magadh Range whereas Ravidas was the sub-zonal commander, police claim.

This is the first major achievement of the police since they lost 10 colleagues in a deadly Maoist attacks in Aurangabad district in July last. The cops got killed after being booby-trapped by the Maoists who invited them telling about the presence of large number of rebels in the forest.

Finally when the unsuspecting cops entered the areas, the rebels began triggering the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid underneath, leaving at least 10 of them dead on the spot. Cops had no time to retaliate. As per reports, around 17 IEDs were triggered by the rebels.
The Himachal Pradesh government would soon launch Women Helpline number 181 for ensuring safety of women, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said on Wednesday.

Addressing a function on International Womens Day, Singh said that violence against women is an affront to the foundations of human rights, human decency and human dignity and the government is committed to put an end to it.

The CM said that 20 per cent posts of women constables and sub-inspectors had been mandated in the police force and at present, there are five women Police stations besides four anti-trafficking units comprising of women police force at Shimla, Mandi, Sirmaur and Kangra.

Women are the pillars of the society and they need the skills and confidence to influence the decisions that directly affect their lives through direct participation in government and the security sector, he said, adding even the State Women Commission and Nari Seva Sadan are working efficiently for ensuring security and justice to the women folk.

The CM said that Muskaan, an initiative of the government was started to improve the sex ratio and no doubt, the scheme had created wonders.

The government is strictly implementing the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Act, (PNDT), Act and anyone found involved in pre-diagnosing practice, would be severely dealt with as per provision of the act.

As of today, women were equal to their male counterparts in all spheres and to further strengthen them, the government had implemented various schemes including Mukhya Mantri Kanyadaan Yojna in which the amount had been enhanced to Rs.40,000 for the marriage of a poor girl child.

"Besides this, Mother Teresa Asahaya Matri Sambal Yojna, Mata Shabri Mahila Shasaktikaran schemes are also being implemented to financially assist the poor women, he added.
Tamil Nadu's former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his followers began a one-day fast on Wednesday demanding a CBI probe into the death of Jayalalithaa.

The hunger strike that began at 9am is being carried out in all the district headquarters across the state.

The All India Anaa Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MPs and legislators belonging to the Panneerselvam group have also joined the protest and have extended their support.

The people from Panneerselvams faction have raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding Jayalalithaas death. As a caretaker, Panneerselvam had announced a judicial inquiry into the death of Jayalalithaa.

Earlier on March 6, the Tamil Nadu government released Jayalalithaas health report. The Palaniswami government released a 19-page health report card. The reports claimed that the AIIMS doctors have examined Jayalalitha five times.

There were several suspicions over the death of one of the most loved leaders of the state. Her silent treatment and lack of updates about her health had already raised a lot of eyebrows.

Jayalalithaa passed away on December 5 last year after suffering a cardiac arrest. Prior to her death, she was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai for around 75 days.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that her government had to take loan to repay huge debts taken by the previous Left Front government.

Banerjee made the statement in the state Assembly in reply to a comment by CPIM member Tanmay Bhattacharya that TMC government had taken loan to the tune of Rs 1.33 lakh crore.

When the CPIM member said that the TMC government should consider increasing old age pension and allowances for widows before considering any hike in the allowances of MLAs, Banerjee said she was stunned to hear this.

The chief minister said that allowances for the MLAs are the lowest in the state and it was his party members who had asked for increase. Now he was making so much noise, she said.

She informed the house that her government has to pay Rs 40,000 crore this year to repay the debt taken by the previous LF government.

Earlier, Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said that 49,687 widows and 44,244 people with physical disabilities were being given allownaces while 83,738 people were getting old age pensions.
The European Union can trace its origin to the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris and signed by six states. Then in 1957 the Treaty of Rome creating the European Economic Community (EEC) was signed. In 1973, United Kingdom became a member of the EEC. The act of accession was based on Royal prerogative and did not require Parliamentary approval. The EEC law became a part of the domestic law of UK in accordance with the European Communities Act, 1972 (ECA) which was passed by Parliament few months before the joining.

ECA 1972 gave effect to binding obligations and rights arising under the treaties. Section 2(1) of the Act provides "all such rights, powers, liabilities, obligations and restrictions from time to time created or arising by or under the Treaties, and all such remedies and procedures from time to time provided for by or under the Treaties, as in accordance with the Treaties are without further enactment to be given legal effect or used in the UK shall be recognised and available in law, and be enforced, allowed and followed accordingly." Then the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union (EU) in 1993. The Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) along with their attached protocols and declarations are principal foundations of the EU.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the Apex Court in matters of European Union Law and it interprets EU law and ensures its equal applicability across all EU members. It was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1952 and the Amsterdam Treaty substantially increased its power. The conflict between EU law and domestic law has always been a contentious issue.

Long back in 1964, the ECJ in Costa v ENEL [1964]ECR585 held that an individual could challenge a national law on the basis of its alleged incompatibility with European Community (EC) law. It declared that law stemming from the treaty, an independent source of law, could not, because of its special and original nature, be overridden by domestic legal provisions without being deprived of its character as community law and without the legal basis of the community itself being called into question.

Again in Simmenthal [1978]ECR629 the Court held that provisions of national law which are incompatible with the European Union law will have to be set aside.

Factortame cases were very influential in the sense that for the first time the importance of EU law in UK domestic courts was bought to the forefront. The genesis of the dispute was the Merchant Shipping Act, 1988 (MSA) which mandated UK fishing vessels to be 75 per cent UK owned. A company of Spanish fisherman claimed that such a claim breached EU law and hence was invalid. Both the Divisional Court and the House of Lords (HL) held that English law did not contain any rule allowing a preliminary injunction against an act of Parliament even though it contradicted EU law.

Refusing the grant of interim relief, HL referred the question to the ECJ [R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex p. Factortame Ltd (No. 1) [1989] UKHL 1]. The ECJ in Factortame Ltd (No.2) [1990] 2 Lloyd's Rep 351 held that a national court had a duty to grant interim relief to safeguard alleged Community rights of individuals until the decision of the ECJ on the interpretation of Community law is available.

In light of the ECJ ruling, HL in R v Secretary of State for Transport, ex p. Factortame (Interim Relief Order) [1990] UKHL 7 granted an interim injunction. It also observed that in passing ECA, 1972 any rule of national law could be overridden if found to be in conflict with any directly enforceable rule of community law. The ECJ then in Queen v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd and others. [1991] 2 Lloyd's Rep 648 ruled that nationality requirements in the MSA were discriminatory and contrary to various articles of community law as it was a restriction on the freedom of establishment.

Back in the UK the Court for a third time referred the matter back to the ECJ for deciding the conditions under which a Member State may incur liability for damage caused to individuals by breaches of Community law attributable to that State. This case was joined with Brasserie du Pecheur SA v Bundesrepublik Deutschland before the ECJ.

Nine Justices of the ECJ in [1996] QB 404 en banc affirmed the right of reparation (approving the earlier judgment of Francovich v Italian Republic [1991] E.C.R. I-5357). It held that this right existed irrespective of whether the provision of Community law in question had direct effect. Also the principle applied to any case where a State breached Community law, irrespective of which organ of the State was responsible for the breach. Back to the Divisional Court, the Court held that the UK Government did commit a serious breach of community law in passing the provision of MSA and thus Factortame was to be compensated [1997] Eu.L.R. 475. The Court of Appeal [(1998) Eu.L.R.456] as well as the House of Lords [[1999] 4 All ER 906] upheld the order in favour of Factortame and thus these cases solidly founded the supremacy of EU laws over UK Laws.

On the Brexit issue, the UK Parliament passed the European Union Referendum Act in December 2015. A majority voted for leaving the EU. Referendum on EU membership is not legally binding but merely advisory. Thereafter question arose about the mode by which UK could leave the Union. The question before the courts concerned the steps which were required as a matter of UK domestic law before the process of leaving the EU could be initiated.

Regarding the exit of any Member from the EU, the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 provided a route. Article 50 of the TEU provides that any member state may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements. This provision displaced rules under public international law allowing a state party to denounce or withdraw from a treaty. Also Article 50(2) dictates that the member state must notify the European Council of its intention to leave. This notice cannot be given in qualified or conditional terms and once given it cannot be withdrawn. It is no doubt a sovereign function of the state to leave the EU. Also how the State reaches the decision is left to the national constitutional law.

The European Union law is not concerned with it. More specifically the question was whether a formal notice of withdrawal could lawfully be given by the UK government without prior legislation passed in the both houses of Parliament and assented by the queen. Whether the executive can bring about changes in domestic law by exercising the powers at the international level was the main issue before the law courts.

The Divisional Court of England and Wales in 768 (Admin) ruled against the Secretary of State. The appeal was decided by the House of Lords in R (on the application of Miller and anr.) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5.

The House of Lords observed that UK does not have a written constitution. But its constitutional arrangements are a combination of statutes, events, conventions and judicial decisions. Initially sovereignty primarily vested in the crown. The Bill of Rights (1688), Act of Settlement (1701), and the Act of Union (1706) were some landmark statutes which along with certain events which curtailed the Royal prerogatives and most of the powers became vested in the three principal organs of the state, legislature (two Houses of Parliament), executive and judiciary. Parliamentary democracy and the rule of law gradually developed and Parliamentary sovereignty became a fundamental principle of the UK constitution.

As early as in the Case of Proclamations (1610) 12 Co Rep 74, Sir Edward Coke CJ said that the King by his proclamation or other ways cannot change any part of the common law, or statute law, or the customs of the realm. Even the Crown's administrative powers are now exercised by the executive, i.e. by ministers who are answerable to the UK Parliament. Even delegated legislation if not authorised by statute will be invalid even if they have been approved by resolutions of both Houses under the provisions of the relevant enabling Act [R(The Public Law Project) v Lord Chancellor [2016] AC 1531].

As held in Burmah Oil Co (Burma Trading) Ltd v Lord Advocate [1965] AC 75 Royal prerogative is only available for a case not covered by statute. This prerogative is now mostly restricted to declaring war and peace, diplomatic relations and making treaties. Any prerogative power may be curtailed by statute either expressly or by necessary implication (R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Ex p Fire Brigades Union [1995] 2 AC 513 and AG v De Keysers Royal Hotel Ltd [1920] AC 508). Royal prerogative does not enable ministers to change statute law or common law [R(Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2) [2009] AC 453]. Also the power cannot be used to prevent the operation of a statute [Laker Airways Ltd v Department of Trade [1977] QB 643].

The power to terminate or withdraw from treaties is a part of the treaty-making prerogative [JH Rayner (Mincing Lane) Ltd v Department of Trade and Industry [1990] 2 AC 418]. Such power is not reviewable even by the courts [Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374]. But the House of Lords in the present case observed that the decision to withdraw from the EU is not merely a decision relating to foreign affairs.

UK follows a dualist approach which means that international law and domestic law operate in independent spheres. Treaties between sovereign states have effect in international law and are not governed by domestic law [Secretary of State in Council of India v Kamachee Boye Sahaba (1859) 13 Moo PCC 22]. Also treaties are not part of UK law and hence give rise to no legal rights or obligations in domestic law. Thus treaties are not self-executing and not part of English law unless and until they have been incorporated by statute.

The 1972 Act authorised a dynamic process by which, without further primary legislation, EU law not only became a source of UK law, but actually took precedence over all domestic sources of UK law, including statutes. Thus EU law in EU Treaties and EU legislation passed into UK law. It is the EU institutions which are the relevant source of EU law.

Dismissing the appeal, the House of Lords taking note of the observations in earlier cases like Blackburn v Attorney General [1971] 1 WLR 1037, Macarthys Ltd v Smith [1981] ICR 785, Pham v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] 1 WLR 1591, R (Shindler) v Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster [2016] 3 WLR 1196 thus held that as the EU Treaties not only concerned the international relations of UK, they were a source of domestic law and a source of domestic legal rights, the Royal prerogative to make and unmake treaties which operated wholly on the international plane could not be exercised in relation to the EU Treaties, at least in the absence of domestic sanction in appropriate statutory form. Thus prior parliamentary sanction is must before the Government can trigger Article 50.

The writers are Mumbai-based advocates and legal consultants.
It was with a sense of disbelief that Delhi'ites learnt in November last year that Pragati Maidan would be shut down for four years for renovation. This meant, for the coming four years, no more trade fairs, book fair or any of the numerous exhibitions held there; no more film shows or restaurants to dine in; and no more ambling along its quaint inner roads. The verdant ambience that one had grown to enjoy would be shut till 2020. Demolition has begun and a few state pavilions have been razed and several trees chopped.

Located in the heart of the city, hemmed in by the Zoological Park and the stately Purana Quila on one side and the National Science Centre on another, a Supreme Court extension complex is being built on what was once the popular Appu Ghar on the Pragati Maidan's northern edge. While visitors throng the fair grounds, spread over 150 acres, round the year, 14-27 November, when the annual India International Trade Fair is held, sees a massive crowd descending on the place year after year. Walking down the zig-zag, fenced path leading up to the fair's ticket counters, family groups and friends would anticipate a few hours of gala time. While the fair was meant to promote business, for common people it was more like a family picnic or get together for friends. Thus, more than anything, the place came to have an emotional attachment for the citizens.

As news of Pragati Maidan's demolition made its rounds, the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) quickly rubbished the news but agreed that renovation work ~ they call it redevelopment ~ was being planned. As per the reports a huge, high-end Convention Centre will be built, after demolishing all the existing buildings including the Hall of Nations, Nehru Memorial Pavilion and the state Pavilions.

News of demolition of the Hall of Nations, two pyramidal pillar-less structures built by architect Raj Rewal and engineer Mahendra Raj that have been the landmarks of the fairground for over 40 years, created an uproar among architecture fraternity as well as heritage conservationists. For them both structures hold a monumental status. Court cases and protests followed. But the moot question remains: In the name of development is it right to demolish buildings of architectural significance? While changes are imminent in an evolving city, is glass and steel the way to go?

Looking back

What is now called Pargati Maidan was once known as Exhibition Ground. Starting from 1953, the place has organised several fairs. The Indian Railway celebrated its hundredth year here. Interestingly, the ground where the annual trade fair is held with much pomp and show, was once the battle control room of American and UK during World War-II.

In 1957, when the International Graphic Art and Printing Machinery exhibition was held here, it had temporary settings in pandals. But the most popular exhibition held here was in 1959, when theWorld Agriculture Fair was organised in this ground along with Indian Industrial Fair. It was a large scale exhibition and was unveiled by the then US President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The three-month-long fair, witnessed the participation of countries like China, Japan and the erstwhile USSR. India exhibited musical fountains, USSR stall displayed photographs of the Moon taken from space and the US its industry.

Following the India-China war in 1962, fairs were put off for the next 10 years. After the lull, in 1972, the exhibition ground was given a modern look. All the structures one sees today, including the permanent state pavilions, were built then. The Hall of Nations and Nehru Pavilion also came into being.

By the year 1977, a team was formed under the Trade Fair Authority of India, who were responsible for every fair. Since then several fairs were held here, including Agro Expo in 1979.

In 1982, the fair was planned from 1-14 November, but was postponed a day before due to death of the then President of USSR Leonid Brezhnev. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the fair, which then became an annual affair. Subsequent fairs were inaugurated by Presidents and Prime Ministers in power. Queen Elizabeth has also visited the fair grounds twice.

"On 1 January, 1992, it was taken over by a new organisation, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), followed by a momentum in its growth," said Sanjay Vashist, PRO of ITPO. "Since then there was no dearth of fairs ~ for watches, toys, technology and jobs. Footfall started increasing very fast. For instance, in 1994, around 60,000 people from India and abroad visited the fair."

Cycle of events

It was in November 2015 when the proposal to demolish the exhibition halls was first made by ITPO, under the Union Commerce Ministry. A convention centre was planned, which will include a hotel, parking lot and many other features. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha, "As per preliminary details of Phase-I, it is proposed to develop 100,000 sq m of exhibition space and a 7,000-seater Convention Centre along with support facilities and parking space for 4,800 passenger cars. Other details, such as funding and schedule of completion, are yet to be firmed up."

Once it was confirmed that Pragati Maidan will be revamped, many prominent heritage conservation groups and architects have voiced against the move. Citing cultural heritage, these groups, including INTACH, have jumped into the fray. In January, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the revamp. At the same time Delhi High Court rejected two petitions against the planned demolition. According to a report, the ITPO also urged the court "not to interfere with the proposed demolition, saying that the Rs 2,500-crore project would be a good development for the city" and that the proposal had been approved "at the highest levels, including the Prime Minister's Office". Meanwhile, INTACH has also filed a plea against the demolition, which is to be heard on 24 March.

Why this uproar?

Building the Hall of Nations and the Nehru Pavilion marked the 25th year of Independence. It also showcased modern architecture to the world. Designed by architect Raj Rewal and engineered by Mahendra Raj, it took almost three years to build the pyramid type structure. Rewal drew inspiration for the Hall of Nations structure from Humayun's tomb, while the Nehru Pavilion was built low-scaled and humble in character, like the ancient Stupas. "The buildings were marked as images of progress and modernity in India. Their models or drawings were the talk of town, not only in India but around the world. The building structure is on display in permanent collections of various museums and galleries, including the Pompidou Museum in Paris, New York's Museum of Modern Art, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi," informed Raj Rewal's office.

The building is not only of architecture magnificence but also has an effective system of environmental control, thanks to its 3-dimensional structure, with solid triangular panels at regular intervals providing sunscreens. Once it was declared that Pragati Maidan will be renovated and the two iconic structures demolished, there was much hue and cry among the architecture fraternity. Raj Rewal argued that these two buildings were examples of architectural brilliance. At the same time, they were projected as icons of modern India,and so shouldn't be demolished. INTACH also pleaded and filed the case to stop demolishing these two buildings as they consumed less than three per cent space. "We don't have any problem with development, but in the name of development don't throw out your heritage," A G Krishna Menon from INTACH said.

Many architects have noted that there is sufficient space within Pragati Maidan and around the threatened buildings. Therefore, efforts should be made to upgrade these spaces with modern facilities and amenities.

To save this building architecture associations from all over the world, have started a campaign or requested Indian government not to demolished it. For instance, Arun Rewal started a petition on Change.org to appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save the three iconic buildings from demolition. The Indian Institute of Architects, the Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou in Paris and New York's Museum of Modern Art have written to Nirmala Sitharaman, asking that the architectural sites be preserved.

"It is not that we have made a plea to declare this building as heritage when plans to demolish were announced, but much much before. Four years ago, we gave government a list of 62 buildings in Delhi to be declared as heritage buildings. They (government) said it was a good idea but they have been dillydallying it. Now they are ready to demolish," said Menon.

Recently, the court rejected one of the pleas, citing the buildings did not come under "heritage" because they were just 40 years old. As per the Archeology Survey of India (ASI) criteria, a building has to be at least 100 years old to get a tag of heritage building.

"In countries like the Netherlands, France and Germany, the criteria is not age but prominence. After Independence there was a strong movement among Indian architects to give an Indian identity. Other than this building we are fighting for the National Science Centre building, India International Centre and many others," said Menon.

However, ITPO is not ready to buy their arguments and have gone ahead with their demolition work. "Firstly, archaeology aspects were not proved as per the law. There is no proof, therefore the verdict was in our favour," said an ITPO official. "Their other argument to leave alone these two buildings is also not viable because this is going to become a world class integrated exhibition-cum- convention centre. All the facilities and other activities, which are very conducive for trade promotion and promotion of the MICE industry will be incorporated there. Therefore, there is no talk of partial development and it is not possible."

On ground

Spread over 123.51 acres, the fair ground houses 65,054 sq m of covered exhibition space in 17 Halls besides 11,623 sq m of open display area. The Maidan has an auditorium, latest exhibition complex, a man-made lake, cafeteria, Hall of Nations, two more Hall ~ Hamsadhwani, Shringar ~ and Lal Chowk. But all these will soon be a thing of the past. Renovation work has already started and Hall No 1 has already been demolished.

As per the proposed plan, there are many exciting things in the kitty. The renovation plan will be worked out phase-wise. The first phase will end within 36 months (May 2019) and with the completion of this phase, the ground will be capable of hosting global conferences and exhibitions. According to the proposed plan, there will be underground parking, exhibition halls, new roads and a Convention Hall five times bigger in capacity than Vigyan Bhawan. Plans to redevelop include not just the exhibition grounds but the surrounding roads too, as renovation would increase the traffic too. One road from the Ring Road and another from Mathura Road will be constructed, which will lead motorists directly to an underground parking lot. There will be another route from Mathura Road that will also lead to the parking lot, which will accommodate 4,800 cars. While the plans sound good on paper, Delhi'ites will wait with bated breath to see what happens to their favourite haunt.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reiterated the Union governments resolve to ensure security, economic empowerment, self-reliance and social equality for women in the country.

In separate comments on the occasion of International Womens Day, Mukherjee and Modi highlighted the various initiatives being taken by the Union government to improve the socio-economic conditions of women.

At a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan to present the Nari Shakti Puruskar for 2016, Mukherjee referred to incidents of violence against women and pointed out how the government is trying to mitigate the situation.

"The government is concerned at the rising rate of violent crimes against women. It is inexcusable that women in India do not feel as secure and safe as they should. Gender biases have no place in modern India where inclusive development is a key objective.

A greater emphasis on early sensitisation of children and youth in schools and institutions of higher learning would help inculcate due respect for the female gender. This should be taken up through appropriate measures in our rural and urban populations and through well-conceived and coherent Government programmes, President Mukherjee said.

Stressing on the need for creation of an enabling environment for gthe irl child and women to help them fulfill their aspirations, Mukherjee mentioned the Prime Ministers Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign in response to the falling child sex ratio in many parts of the country.

A statement released by the Prime Ministers Office here said Modi saluted the spirit of Nari Shakti on International Women's Day.

Saluting the indomitable spirit, determination & dedication of Nari Shakti on International Women's DayGoIs various initiatives seek to facilitate economic empowerment, self-reliance & social equality as far as Nari Shakti is concerned.

Looking forward to addressing a conclave of women Sarpanchs & honouring trailblazers who have worked towards a Swachh Bharat, the PMO release, quoting Modi said.
In yet another communal attack, a young Muslim girl in Bangalore was brutally trolled in various social media platforms for singing Hindi devotional song at a Kannada music reality show.

The girl, Suhana Sayed from Shimoga district, presented a sensational number which received much appreciation from the viewers and got a standing ovation at the event. Despite all these, she was attacked by scores of people belonging to the Muslim community.

While the judges at the event urged Suhana to be a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity, many slammed her of "disgracing" her community.

Suhana you have tarnished the Muslim Community by singing in front of men. Do not feel that you have achieved a great feat; people who learn to recite Quran in 6 months have achieved more. Your parents have encouraged you to show your beauty to other men, they will not go to heaven because of you. Please give up the pardah that you are wearing as you don't respect it, read a post on a Facebook page called Mangalore Muslims.

Suhana, however, was praised for her performance and got a standing ovation from the audiences.

Your voice is really good; you have done a great job. By singing a Hindu devotional song you have become the symbol of unity and music is a medium where people can unite, said one judge Arjun Janya, a Kannada music director.

Meanwhile, a multitude of netizens has come out in strong support of her.
Even as India and other aspirants for permanent seats on the UN Security Council offered to forego veto powers to get the reforms process moving, Pakistan joined hands with Italy to oppose their candidature at the two-day Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) being undertaken by the General Assembly.

Speaking on behalf of the G-4 which comprises India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, Indias Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin on Tuesday said the issue of veto was important but it should not be allowed to have a veto over the process of Council reform itself.

He said the G-4 countries were of the view that while new permanent members would in principle have veto powers that the current five have, they would not exercise the veto until a decision on the matter had been taken during the review.

Akbaruddin said India and other G-4 countries believed that there was an imbalance of influence between permanent and non-permanent members in the Security Council and expanding it in the non-permanent category would not solve the problem. It would actually widen the differences between permanent and non-permanent members even more, tilting the scales in favour of a dispensation that was valid in a special situation in 1945 when the UN system came into being but no longer now.

A balanced enlargement in both categories is necessarily the only way to ensure an equilibrium that reflects the current situation, he added.

Speaking later during the day, the Pakistani envoy reaffirmed her countrys stand for an increase in the number of non-permanent members as the best method to make the 15-member body more representative and democratic.

We believe that the best, and the only way, to accommodate legitimate regional and political aspirations, is to enlarge the Security Council in the non-permanent category, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said.

The Security Council is currently composed of five permanent members ~ Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States ~ and 10 non-permanent members that are elected in groups of five to two-year terms.

Lodhi argued that any expansion of the unelected, or permanent, category of seats would not make the Security Council more democratic and representative.
Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon apparently wants state employees to do homework for people who want to demonize the refugees that church groups and other good-hearted Nebraskans are trying to help.

In the name of transparency, Brewer has introduced a bill that would require the state to collect information and compile it into a report.

But Brewer wants to collect only negative information -- nothing positive about the contributions that refugees make to Nebraska, and nothing about the horrors they are fleeing. And he wants to make that cherry-picked negative information easily accessible on a state website.

If senators think that state resources ought to be used for that purpose, they ought to at least require the legislation to undergo major revision so that it presents information in an even-handed fashion.

Brewers bill (LB505) would require resettlement agencies to report the number, age, gender, family status and nation of origin for all refugees settled in Nebraska.

Apparently Brewer didnt do his own homework, because much of that information is already available.

Last year, for example, 1,782 refugees found a safe haven after fleeing bullets, bombs, torture, rape and, in many cases, the black-masked beheaders of the Islamic State. Lincoln welcomed 591 of those refugees. Of that total about 440 came from Iraq. Many of them are Yazidis who had been targeted for extermination by IS.

Brewer also wants the state to collect and report details on any state and federal benefits refugees receive.

If Brewer were really interested in transparency, he ought to also ask for information on how much in taxes refugees pay, and other positive contributions they make to Nebraska.

As written the bill goes out of its way to characterize refugees in a frightening way, with no positive references. Paragraph after paragraph of the bill uses language referring to purported infiltration of the refugee population to establish terror cells.

No mention is made of the months of extensive vetting that refugees must undergo before they are allowed to enter the United States.

Lincoln and other parts of Nebraska have been helping refugees for years, with Lutheran Family Services and Catholic Social Services playing a prominent role. Lincoln is home to second and third generations of Vietnamese who came here in the 1970s and 80s. In 2013 Lincoln was designated as one of the top 10 most welcoming cities in America by the nonprofit Welcoming America organization.

As written Brewers bill is a nasty piece of work that is an insult to the generosity and kindness shown to refugees by thousands of Nebraskans. The Legislature should either kill the bill or insist that it be thoroughly rewritten to present information on refugees to be collected and presented in a fair and accurate way.
The investigation into the encounter in Lucknow, where a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed, is likely to be handed over to the NIA, a senior Home Ministry official said on Wednesday.

In all likelihood, the Lucknow case will be given to the National Investigation Agency for probe, the official said.

The move came after the Home Ministry officials got the hint that there maybe a much larger conspiracy and more people in multiple locations might have links with Saifullah, who was killed in the encounter.

The suspected ISIS terrorist was killed in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow early today after a 12-hour long operation.

Saifullah is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, police said.

An NIA team has reached Bhopal to look into the suspected terror attack.
After nearly 12 hours of anti-terror operation, a suspected terrorist believed to be influenced by Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) and having possible links to the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast was killed early Wednesday in Lucknow.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

"The operation stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place," he added.

Inspector General (IG) of Anti-Terrorism Squad Aseem Arun revealed the terrorist identified as Saifullah was an active member of ISIS.

"The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation," Arun said.

"Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out," he added.

"One pistol, revolver, knife and ammunition have been recovered," he said

Saifullah, was linked to the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday that injured ten passengers.
Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday pitched for political unity to combat terrorism in the backdrop of the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast in Madhya Pradesh.

"In these times we have to stay united and fight such forces, irrespective of who is at the centre of power," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

The Urban Development Minister was responding to questions on the encounter by Uttar Pradesh Police in Lucknow on Tuesday to nab the suspects linked with the train blast.

Ten people were injured, three of them seriously, in an IED blast on a passenger train near Jabdi station in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, in what is suspected to be a terror attack.

The National Investigation Agency has initiated its probe into the incident.

Naidu said nobody should encourage cross-border terrorism and separatist forces.

In an apparent reference to Pakistan, he said, "Such tricks are being used by our neighbours and also other terrorist organisations across the globe to disturb a country's stability and peace."
The perpetrators of Bhopal-Ujjain train bomb explosion were influenced by ISIS ideology and the incident was a "trial blast" as the terrorists planned to carry out more attacks, Madhya Pradesh Government said on Wednesday.

Speaking in Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said said that those who orchestrated the blast arrived from Lucknow and planted the bomb in the passenger train as part of a "pre-planned conspiracy".

At least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously, in the IED blast in the train near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

"The terrorists were influenced by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror ideology and carried out the blast. It was a pre-planned conspiracy," Chouhan said in the Assembly during the ongoing budget session.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion in the passenger train was a "trial blast".

"Yesterday's explosion carried out through IED was a trial blast. The police, however, smashed this terror network within five hours after the blast in train," Singh told mediapersons in the state Assembly premises on Wednesday.

The terrorists had plans to orchestrate the blasts at some other places also, he claimed.

Earlier, speaking to mediapersons at Barwah town in Khargone district late last night, Chouhan said, "Police detained three terrorists who planted bomb in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train. It was revealed during initial interrogation from the arrested terrorists that they were connected to ISIS."

"The blast site smelt of deadly explosives. I would like to congratulate the ATS and police who immediately acted.

Madhya Pradesh is a peaceful state and nobody would be allowed to create disturbance here," he said.

These terrorists had arrived here from Lucknow and planted the bomb in Bhopal-Ujjain train, he said.

Chouhan said today in the state Assembly that MP police and central agencies had unmasked the people behind the train blast in just five hours.

"The three suspects detained for the blast in the state are being grilled thoroughly so as to reach to more of their accomplices," he said.

Referring to the jail break by SIMI activists and the subsequent encounter in which eight men of the banned outfit were killed last year, the CM said, "Attempts have been made to disturb peace but it has been nipped in the bud by the alert state police. An act of terror won't be allowed to thrive in the state."

In an official statement released late last night, the UP police had said that three persons were arrested by Madhya Pradesh police in Piparia town in Hoshangabad.

Two of the arrested persons are from Kanpur, while one is from Aligarh.
The seventh and final phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh began at 7am on Wednesday and the polling witnessed a turnout of women voters in large numbers.

Polling has already started in 40 constituencies including PM Narendra Modis Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi. A total of 535 candidates, including 51 women, are in the fray for these assembly seats spread across seven districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh, known as Poorvanchal.

The elections are being held in seven phases in Uttar Pradesh and so far six phases have been concluded peacefully. The results will be declared on March 11 along with that of Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab.

Over 22.84 percent voting recorded till 11am for 40 seats in 7 districts and over 26 per cent votes have been polled till 12 noon.

People at booth 99 in Mirzapur boycotted voting complaining there was no development in their area.

As voting got underway in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged voters to come out and vote in large numbers.

Last week witnessed a series of rallies and campaigning by leaders from all parties, especially in Varanasi. Prime Minister Modi spent three days in his constituency taking out two road shows and addressing two major rallies.

Over 1.41 crore voters are exercising their franchise in the last phase of the assembly elections that include 76.87 lakh men and 64.99 lakh women.
The word, shocking, would be a gross understatement in any response to Hungary's decidedly heartless decision on migrants. The countrys Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, is entitled to his subjective reflection; but to officially describe the migrants issue as a Trojan horse for terrorism is to proceed from conclusion to premise and with calculated malevolence. There can be no quarrel with his expressed objective to save Europe, but the praxis that is set to be adopted within a week is decidedly inhuman, to say the least. The asylum-seekers will be kept in converted shipping containers while they wait for their cases to be heard via video-link. In a faint echo of Donald Trump's aversion towards a particular community, Orban considers the migrants, many of whom are Muslims, as a threat to European Christian identity and culture. The manner of confinement is breathtaking and human rights groups have been remarkably prompt in condemning Tuesday's vote by the Hungarian parliament. Even civil rights groups within Hungary and some socialist MPs have fiercely opposed the measure, but to no effect. The legislation has nonetheless been passed overwhelmingly by 138 votes to six. Support was lent by Orbans Fidesz party and the far-right Jobbik. However much the likes of Angela Merkel might try to accommodate the migrants, it is the fractured eastern democracies that now pose a forbidding challenge to any essay towards humanitarian intervention. Hungary's withers remain unwrung despite Amnesty Internationals stout debunking of the legislation ~ The proposals would breach EU law and the refugee convention. Dumping all refugees and migrants into containers isnt a refugee policy, its avoiding one, the group said in a statement, denouncing the Hungarian moves as a flagrant violation of international law.

The governments of the liberal western democracies must react to such violation that masquerades as policy on refugees. The risk of being rendered breathless is dangerously real, and far greater weightage ought to be accorded to human life, and this must of necessity precede the pressure on economy, which ought legitimately to be addressed by a latter-day Concert of Europe. At this juncture, the least that can be expected of the European Union is to take action against what by any reckoning are Hungarys illegal and deeply inhumane measures. The legislation violates the countrys obligations under international and EU laws. The UNs refugee agency has warned that it will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered. It would be dangerous for Hungary to be impervious to the rising tide of world opinion. The law will also require asylum-seekers to have their fingerprints and photographs taken, or be thrown out of the country for non-cooperation. Hungary has crafted an inhuman agenda.
Delhi University teacher G.N. Saibaba has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his links with Maoists. With due respect to the court, I beg to differ with the punishment. Maoists are ultra-left and most people in India do not like their philosophy. Some who follow them can be criticised, but cannot be imprisoned for their views and that too for life.

It appears that the courts are also getting influenced by the party in power. The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) believes in Hindu rashtra. Conceded that it is not doing anything in the form of a bill or any order to impose Hindutva, but the very fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi supports the cause does carry weight.

The Maoists should be fought on ideological grounds. The BJP should present its case that Hindu philosophy would bring more prosperity than that of the leftists which promises an egalitarian society. In fact, the left itself has to sell what it believes in and how the people, by adhering to their thesis, would benefit.

India is not alone in facing the challenge. All over the world, especially after the election of Donald Trump in America, people feel insecure in pursuing their right to espouse views. As his rival Hillary Clinton said, they would adhere to what the constitution of America says on individual rights. The US President should know that the popular movement against the Soviet system which brooked no other voice was brought down by the people themselves.

Even Soviet leader Stalin had to go because the peoples voice became louder and louder. Although he had suppressed every bit of dissent, not just that of a particular community but also of others, the popular sentiment was that expression of views should be free and without fear. Germany also proved this point. It had the best of constitutions which guaranteed free speech in every way, but a person like Adolf Hitler used the same constitution to found the worst of regimes. It took a full-fledged war to oust him and his philosophy.

Even now Germany takes different stringent steps to see that the ghost of Nazism does not surface. The Nazi swastika has been found scribbled on the walls of Berlin. It seems that some Germans are still dreaming about ruling all of Europe. Economically, the country does dominate but politically it has not yet learnt to take its turn.

It is surprising that Maoism has very little following although it is the same kind of philosophy which does not entertain another point of view. Nationalism in Germany is so deep that it does not allow any other thinking which may be embracing other parts of Europe. The country has allowed some immigrants who have become a great burden. Berlin is now vigilant. It is not now possible to migrate to Germany even on humanitarian grounds.

New Delhi is unnecessarily worried. The idea of India counts so much with the people that there is no room for any other thought to germinate. It is probably this Indian-ness which binds people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The Maoists cannot penetrate.

Democracy is more than a faith with the people. It was seen how the popular leader, Mrs Indira Gandhi, was swept off her feet soon after lifting of the emergency in 1977. She too was defeated at the polls. The voters did not like authoritarian rule and revolted against it when they got the opportunity.

The ruling BJP, which was then Jan Sangh, also suffered and its followers were put behind bars. Even the then Delhi Mayor Hansraj Gupta was not spared. Members of the Jan Sangh and Gandhites shared the same cell. The Janata Party was born in jail itself. The credit, however, goes to Raj Narain, a socialist, who challenged Mrs Gandhi for her poll malpractices. The Allahabad High Court debarred her from occupying any elected post for six years. She, however, imposed the emergency but that is a different story.

The DU teacher and four others who were sentenced for life did not commit any heinous crime to deserve such punishment for having mere links with the Maoists. Even otherwise, I believe that the Maoists should have a say and express their viewpoint as citizens of this country. It should be left to people to choose or reject any philosophy but the criterion should be that they would not incite violence.

The experience has been that once you make leeway in one case the demand would be that the same attitude should be exhibited in other cases. The precedent will be quoted and the court would have to decide whether the case was similar or any different. Fortunately, the victims would most likely appeal in higher courts and it all will depend on what the verdict of the higher judiciary is going to be.

Ultimately, it would come to what Maoism means. In a country where the Constitution guarantees free speech and expression, the views of a particular philosophy cannot be banned. But there should no exhortation to violence. The manner in which the killings have taken place in Bastar indicates that the Maoists have no respect for life and would use any method to ensure that their idea is not opposed.

The court should not be influenced by what the Maoists preach because I find that verdicts are becoming dependent on the philosophy that the ruling party espouses. It is healthy to see that appointment of judges is now by the collegium of senior Supreme Court judges. Yet my experience says that the chief justice comes to be influenced by those in power. This was not the case till recently. The judges were appointed by the government and they delivered some of the best of verdicts. It is no use talking about the past. Instead, let us take necessary steps to create an atmosphere where independence returns to the courts.

The writer is a noted journalist, columnist and commentator
Pragmatic and realistic had been the Chief Justice of India when he asserted that the Supreme Court had no magical medicine to cure all ailments ~ essentially an effort to curb frivolous Public Interest Litigation. No less realistic is the public perception of the higher judiciary in general, and the apex court in particular, being the proverbial court of last resort. For many of the issues sought to be redressed via the PIL route ought to have been resolved by other instruments of the Republic, and the courts being as clogged as they are only reflects the failure of the legislature and the executive to deliver their mandated duty in a democratic welfare state. Their Lordships are now required to fill increasing breaches in the governance apparatus: a telling case in point being a bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar having recently made some scathing observations on the failure to address core issues of farm distress. Every legislature has its share of kisans, and while they do wield a certain political clout they have failed to coerce the executive into positive action to avert the distress situations that are causing farmers to take their own lives.

While orders are awaited, the observations of the court are hard-hitting. In their own version of the time-tested maxim that prevention is better than cure, the bench was constrained to observe that the government was going along in a wrong direction. Asking for a policy roadmap, the court declared this issue is of extreme importance. Tentatively we feel that you are going in a wrong direction. Farmers take loans from banks, and when they are unable to repay, they commit suicide. The remedy to the problem is not to pay money to farmers after the suicide, but you should have schemes to prevent this. Their Lordships noted that farmers suicides have been happening for so many decades, and it is surprising that no action has been taken to address the causes behind suicides. The bench, which also comprised Justices DY Chandrachud and SK Kaul, noted that farmers were always at the receiving end: a bumper crop caused prices to crash, they suffered in times of drought or flood, if the matter is moved on a right track a lot can be achieved. The court declined to comment on the specifics of the several schemes listed by the Additional Solicitors General, but Counsel for the petitioners contended that the schemes were seldom implemented efficiently. There may have been nothing particularly new in the deliberations ~ except the forum. It should have been the legislature not the courtroom in which farmers problems ought to have been resolved. Conditions are thus fertilised for judicial overreach.
It is a strange anomaly. Whenever India or Pakistan, or both, go into the cobra pose, hissing invectives and threatening to decimate each other, including with nuclear weapons, the world cries foul.

When Nawaz Sharif visits Delhi or when Narendra Modi drops in uninvited at a Lahore wedding, Indian and Pakistani peaceniks applaud together with the worried world. Yet, when Donald Trump wants to improve his countrys troubled relations with Vladimir Putin he is pilloried for even making the suggestion.

Granted he is not gender sensitive, that he has wronged and abused women and his mindset is possibly racist, driven by acute Islamophobia. I would liken Russia in this equation to the baby in Trumps dirty bathtub. The deep state that contrived lies to invade Iraq or exulted in the wrecking of Libya, in cahoots with the media, seems to be facing an existential crisis with Trumps presidency over his plans to touch base with Putin.

One day Trump excelled himself in his collaring of the deep state, which includes all major parties and the media. He said something to the effect that his countrys image was not exactly squeaky clean when it came to shedding blood around the world. That was his response to a Fox TV question about Putins alleged bloodlust as seen in the military operations in Aleppo.

Trumps blunt criticism of his countrys savage moments has been at par with Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the priest who baptised Barack Obamas children. When in a fit of rage over an Israeli assault on Palestinian camps he yelled goddamn America Obama cut off ties with the African American priest.

Then suddenly it began to rain scams on Trump. So and so met the Russian ambassador. So and so made eye contact with him. Trumps attorney general is said to have a racist background. That was forgiven or grudgingly gulped down. Instead his alleged dalliances with Russian diplomats and/or businessmen were picked up for censure.

A wider conspiracy was unleashed to torpedo the new presidents still unwavering plans to improve relations with Putin. BBC dug out dirt on the Russians, which they are good at. Russia was a British quarry, which became Americas bete noire.

Cut to the day when Prime Minister Theresa May sauntered into Washington and Ankara recently and the media said she was fixing business deals. They omitted the fact that both her destinations involved allies who seemed to have lost interest in the old British fear-mongering called Russophobia. Trumps fascination with Putin was by now legendary and Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan too had shown signs of becoming disenchanted with the British-assigned role of playing an anti-Moscow Sancho Panza.

If we think freely and without the Cold War blinkers, May couldnt have signed a groundbreaking with anybody bilaterally until the fate of Brexit was decided, which could be some years away. Trump looks destined not to last that long.

For Erdogan to become a member of the Russian-Iranian backed peace talks on Syria was a huge somersault by a country that was regarded as a lynchpin to Natos Middle East policy. Turkey is no longer insisting on the Syrian presidents head as condition to discuss a future setup in Damascus. Erdogans unease with the Americans became more pronounced with the botched coup attempt, which he blamed on Turkish dissidents seated in the US.

It is nearly impossible to believe that May did not discuss her worry about Russia and Putin with Trump and Erdogan. Russia has been a British bugbear for centuries even if Napoleon preceded it and other Europeans in turning an obsession with Russia into an exhausting and costly military expedition.

Russophobia as we know it is a British innovation. It was left to Winston Churchill to give the Cold War a newer variant of an old pursuit. The new seeds were planted in Churchills Iron Curtain speech. Then James Bond took over while Alfred Hitchcock also embraced the diabolical imagery of the Russians. Until then, Hollywood had been in hot pursuit of Germans as Americas horns and canines ogres.

Much earlier, before Western democracies were swamped with the Churchillian exhortations against Russia, British governors-general and viceroys in India took it upon themselves to deepen and sustain the fear mongering. Delhis imposing colonial monument  India Gate  is a testimony to this perpetually induced fear with the rulers of Moscow. All sides of the landmark sandstone monument are lined with thousands of names of Sikh and Muslim soldiers who were sacrificed in the suicidal Afghan wars. May must have seen how Britains self-defeating obsession with Russia had dissipated into the brick-batting in Washington D.C. between the Democrats and the Republicans.

Going by usually trustworthy accounts Donald Trump is an unpredictable person, which makes him a dangerous leader of an already error-prone military power. Nevertheless, Noam Chomsky must have shocked the Democrats by suggesting that in his view John Kennedy was the most dangerous of presidents.

Trump is lampooned daily, which is as it should be, as an unqualified gatecrasher in the White House. The suggestion, however, implies that the world was somehow better off under George W. Bush and, more worryingly, under his Dr Strangelove-like colleagues  Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. Is Trump really worse than the marauders of Iraq and Libya?

Shorn of any media support in the heart of the land of free speech, Vladimir Putin wrote a piece for the American audiences in The New York Times of 11 September 2013.

Relations between us have passed through different stages.

We stood against each other during the Cold War. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. Trump believes the two countries should jointly fight a new menace, the militant Islamic State group. His detractors within the deep state somehow seem not to like the idea.

Dawn/ANN.
Evidence of planetary debris surrounding a double sun in a Star Wars-like system has been found by a team of researchers from the UK.

The study, published recently in the journal Nature Astronomy, has found the remains of shattered asteroids orbiting a double sun consisting of a white dwarf star and a brown dwarf star roughly 1,000 light years away in a system called SDSS 1557. The debris appears to be rocky suggesting that terrestrial planets, such as Tatooine, the home planet of Luke Skywalker in the film series Star Wars, might exist in the system.

To date, all exoplanets discovered in orbit around double stars are gas giants, similar to Jupiter, and are thought to form in the icy regions of their systems. In contrast to the carbon-rich icy material found in other double star systems, the planetary material identified in the SDSS 1557 system has a high metal content, including silicon and magnesium. These elements were identified as the debris flowed from its orbit onto the surface of the star, polluting it temporarily with at least 1.1 trillion tons of matter,equating it to an asteroid at least four km in size.

The discovery came as a complete surprise, as the team assumed the dusty white dwarf was a single star but co-author Steven Parsons from the University of Sheffield, who is an expert in double star (or binary) systems, noticed the tell-tale signs. We know of thousands of binaries similar to SDSS 1557 but this is the first time weve seen asteroid debris and pollution.

The brown dwarf was effectively hidden by the dust until we looked with the right instrument but when we observed SDSS 1557 in detail, we recognised the brown dwarf s subtle gravitational pull on the white dwarf. Lead author of the study,Jay Farihi from University College Londons department of physics and astronomy, said, Building rocky planets around two suns is a challenge because the gravity of both stars can push and pull tremendously,preventing bits of rock and dust from sticking together and growing into full-fledged planets.

With the discovery of asteroid debris in the SDSS 1557 system, we see clear signatures of rocky planet assembly via large asteroids that formed, helping us understand how rocky exoplanets are made in double star systems. In the solar system, the asteroid belt contains the leftover building blocks for the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, so planetary scientists study the asteroids to gain a better understanding of how rocky and potentially habitable, planets are formed.

The same approach was used by the team to study the SDSS 1557 system as any planets within it cannot yet be detected directly but the debris is spread in a large belt around the double stars, which is a much larger target for analysis. The team studied the binary system and the chemical composition of the debris by measuring the absorption of different wavelengths of light or spectra, using the Gemini Observatory South telescope and the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope, both located in Chile.

Co-author Professor Boris Gansicke from the University of Warwick analysed these data and found they all told a consistent and compelling story. Any metals we see in the white dwarf will disappear within a few weeks, and sink down into the interior, unless the debris is continuously flowing onto the star. Well be looking at SDSS 1557 next with Hubble, to conclusively show the dust is made of rock rather than ice.
Congressman Jeff Fortenberrys recent email update was on The Deep State." A few days later, Ed Rogers, a highly paid, big-gun Washington lobbyist wrote about the same topic in the Journal Star (" The deep state is real. The alt right is fake. " Feb. 24). I doubt this was a coincidence. Apparently, our Congressman now seems to coordinate his reports with a Washington lobbyist.

Congressman Fortenberry, instead of sending us some paid political announcement, do your job for the people of Nebraska. We are not paying you to work for Wall Street and the big oil and gas companies and pharmaceutical companies and their overpaid lobbyists. Close the offshore accounts and tax loopholes for the multimillionaires and billionaires, who already own more than half of the country. Use the money to pay down the national debt, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, make health care affordable, help with college tuition and student loans or create good paying jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure.
Lawmakers from India and Pakistan agreed that technology can play an important role in fighting corruption and improving governance in the two countries.

They came together for a discussion on lessons on technology for better governance in Dubai on Tuesday.

"Participants underscored that technology has immense potential to improve governance in Pakistan and India. They recognised that while tremendous strides have been made across Pakistan and India in using technology for improved governance, there exists a lot of room for sharing of good practices between the two countries," according to a statement released after the dialogue.

They said governments while trying to improve the quality of life of their citizens must also maintain the security of data and privacy of citizens.

"The governments must actively encourage individuals, businesses and NGOs to come up with initiatives and interfaces that improve administration and service delivery," it said.

Lawmakers from Pakistan's Sindh and Punjab provinces joined Indian counterparts from Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat during the dialogue. Former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and another MP Dushyant Chautala were among the prominent faces in the Indian delegation.


A senior official in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday accused the United States of provoking tensions after two separate incidents in the Gulf last week.

"A US Navy ship crossing the Strait of Hormuz changed its international route and approached to within 550 metres of Revolutionary Guards' boats in an unprofessional way," Mehdi Hashemi told the Guard's website Sepahnews.

He said actions by the United States and the United Kingdom in recent days showed they have "harmful, illegitimate and provocative objectives".

"Not only do they not want stability and security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, but they seek to create tensions and a crisis," he said.

The Pentagon on Monday blasted the "unprofessional" behaviour of the Iranian navy.

It said an Iranian frigate last Thursday came within 150 yards (metres) of the civilian-crewed USNS Invincible.

Then on Saturday, a number of small assault craft came within 350 yards of the Invincible and other ships.

In both cases, the US ship had to change course to avoid a collision, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

Davis accused Iranian forces of "a combination of unsafe or unprofessional behaviour" and warned that such incidents could cause a miscalculation or an accidental provocation.

He said Iranian actions in the crowded waters of the Gulf had been improving of late.

The Pentagon has previously voiced concern over a string of high-profile incidents in waters off Iran.

It has accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of conducting risky manoeuvres around US vessels, including some where the Americans have had to fire warning shots.

The USNS Invincible is equipped with powerful radar equipment to track ballistic missile trajectories.

The prefix "USNS" means the ship belongs to the US Navy but is unarmed or only lightly armed
The agitating Madhesi group on Wednesday erved an ultimatum to Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda, threatening to withdraw support to his government if their demands are not addressed in a week.

The United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) on Tuesday submitted a five-point memorandum to Prachanda during a meeting at the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar.

In the memorandum, Madhesi (UDMF) leaders have demanded withdrawal of local elections' programme, discussion on the Constitution amendment bill in the Parliament and probe of police firing in Saptari.

They also demanded action against persons found guilty in the firing incident.

The Madhesi leaders also asked government to declare those killed in the incident as "martyrs" and demanded due compensation for their kins.

The Front has warned to withdraw support to the government if its demands are not addressed in a week, according to a statement issued by the Front after the meeting.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Saptari police firing has climbed to four after another Madhesi Front cadre succumbed to his injuries.

Three persons were killed on Monday after police opened fire at protesters who tried to disrupt CPN-UML's programme in the district. Several others were injured in the firing.

The CPN-UML has claimed that the Madhesi Front had made a failed attempt at "assassinating the party leadership by encircling" them when they were leaving the programme venue on Monday after the public meeting.

The agitating cadres vandalised 50 vehicles and a few houses of the local leaders of the UML, the party said in a statement.

The two-day general strike called by the Madhesi Front paralysed life in 20 districts of southern Nepal for the second consecutive day. Most of the shops, educational institutions and factories remained closed during the strike.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, had launched a six-month-long agitation against the implementation of the Constitution without amending its provisions that would address the demands for more representation and re-demarcation of state boundaries.
Sri Lanka and India on Wednesday agreed to release the fishermen held in each other's custody after a high-level discussion between the two sides here following the killing of an Indian fisherman, a top government source said.

Lanka would release 85 Indian fishermen, the source said, adding that India would free at least 19 Lankan fishermen.

"This move is being made to defuse the current tensions," the source added.

It was a reference to the current controversy where the Sri Lankan Navy has been accused of opening fire on Indian fishermen and killing one of them.

The Lankan navy, however, denied the allegation, saying it does not open fire at poaching fishermen and only arrests them.

Sri Lanka has said it ordered an investigation into the incident and wanted to ensure that such incidents would not hamper the good relations between the two countries.

Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said he had spoken with Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu on the situation.
Five mosques in the US have received intimidating messages, including a bomb threat and one saying "death is waiting for you and your kind", prompting calls for increasing security at Muslim facilities.

A mosque in Lexington, Kentucky, stepped up security following a bomb threat it received this weekend.

The bomb threat against Lexington's Masjid Bilal was received through the mail on Saturday from Sheffield, England, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a Facebook post.

The letter contained a green index card wrapped in a blank sheet of paper with the words, "An explosive device will be placed at your mosque very soon!" written on it.

The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on leaders of local mosques to improve their security measures after four mosques were threatened.

One mosque received a message threatening "death for you and your kind" from a self-declared "Muslim slayer", Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell was quoted as saying by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Three other mosques received identical emails threatening widespread attacks against American Muslims on March 15, Mitchell said.

The Greenview Madani Center, a mosque in Lawrenceville, recently received a mailed handwritten letter from a 'Muslim slayer' with the message, "Death is waiting for you and your kind," along with a crudely drawn picture of a decapitated person. The mosque alerted local law enforcement about the letter.

Masjid Omar bin Abdul Aziz in Norcross, Al-Farooq Masjid and another Atlanta-area mosque received a threatening email on February 18.

The emails, with the subject line "your one warning," stated in part, "Muslims, Mexicans, blacks will (be) hunted nationwide until (they) are dead and gone plan to run or die, this is a kindness that we give you all warning, take it and go."

"While the perpetrators are being sought, mosque leaders should do all they can to protect their houses of worship by working with local law enforcement authorities, installing security cameras and employing security officers during the daily prayers," Mitchell said.

Also recently, two mosques in the US state of Maryland received threatening letters calling for the 'slaughter of Muslims'. Two Islamic centres in Silver Spring, Maryland, received the violent threats by mail.

The mosque incidents come amid a wave of bomb threats to Jewish community centres in New York, Michigan, New Jersey and other states.
Representatives of the Latino and Muslim communities gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday to challenge Nebraskans and their elected representatives to speak out in defense of immigrants and refugees threatened by the policies of President Donald Trump.

Trump's immigration enforcement and refugee policies and targeted travel ban are "Draconian and punitive in nature and will do irreparable and unnecessary harm to innocent children and families who have made the United States their home," while also denying refugees a safe harbor, the group said in a written statement.

"We are here today to challenge the legality and inhumanity of President Trump's policies," their statement declared.

Lincoln City Councilman Carl Eskridge joined the gathering to lend his support.

"Why on earth would we close our borders and limit people who will come to do great things?" Eskridge asked.

"All of us come from different places except Native Americans," he said.

Lincoln was built by people who came from elsewhere, Eskridge said, "and we are still building this city today."

Ben Salazar of Omaha moderated the event, urging Nebraskans to see immigrants and refugees as "real human beings" who want to be good Americans, not "the nameless, faceless people who used to be called wetbacks."

"I am a good American," he said. "And we welcome the refugees and immigrants. We will stand by them."

"Families are being torn apart and children are being traumatized," Marta Nieves, chair of the Latino caucus of Nebraska's Democratic Party, said.

Imagine the terror of "the young person who comes home from school and finds his or her parents gone," she said. "You may be sent away from the country you know, the country you love."

The president's policies "make a mockery of who we are as a nation," Nieves said.

Imam Muhammad Sackor of Omaha said the Muslim community joins in the call for support and understanding.

"We are all human beings," he said.

Sackor said he has received "more than 200 letters saying we stand with you (and) call us if you need us."


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Nebraska First Lady Susanne Shore has announced the start of the Nebraska 150 Celebrations largest project, Truckin Through Nebraska: A Mobile Childrens Museum.

The museum provides a hands-on learning experience for children who may not have easy access to a childrens museum, Shore said.

Through play, interactivity and the latest technology, Nebraskas children will explore their heritage and envision their futures, she said in a news release. We hope the experience will help power the imagination and create an excitement about learning.

The Mobile Childrens Museum will officially launch at 5 p.m. April 7 at the Omaha Childrens Museum. It will then embark on a 26-week, 42-community tour across Nebraska.

For information on tour dates, go to http://ne150.org/museum.
Kansas City Disc Dogs delighted audiences by leaping high to catch flying discs. Dogs trained by Domesti-PUPS demonstrated services that help disabled people, like opening a refrigerator door to retrieve a water bottle, carrying it to a person and returning to shut the door.

Dogs trained by the Greater Lincoln Obedience Club demonstrated agility, tracking a scent, and barn hunting for rodents (locating rats safely enclosed in aerated tubes) hidden in a straw/hay bale maze.

Rescue Roundups, hosted by Nebraska No-Kill Canine Rescue, showcased dogs available to adopt.

More than 3,100 people and 1,200 dogs attended the 10th annual I Love My Dog Expo Feb. 25-26 at the Lancaster Event Center. The event raised over $48,000, which will be used primarily for scholarship funds to help people with disabilities obtain a service dog through Domesti-PUPS.

While this event primarily benefits Domesti-PUPS, it is truly more far-reaching than that, said Michelle Ashley, CEO of Domesti-PUPS. It benefits average pet owners by providing pet-related items not typically found in traditional big-box stores, and also provides information on what services are available to them and their pets.

For the animal rescue services, it provides public awareness for their organizations and the pets they have available in need of homes, and also identifies persons interested in helping animals through fostering and volunteering, Ashley added. The dog community is small but giving, which is truly evident by those who participate in this annual event.

Plenty of shopping and giveaways could be found at 72 vendor booths staffed by pet-related nonprofits, retailers, veterinarians, boarding and grooming facilities, and animal rescue groups.
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Maintaining the tempo for the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) against the backdrop of the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, sources in the Finance Ministry on Wednesday said the bill will be presented before the Cabinet on March 22.

The government, which is leaving no stone unturned to lose its sight on the biggest tax reform, has said the Central GST Law, Integrated GST Law, State GST Law and Union Territory GST and Compensation Law will be put together for the Cabinets approval on March 22.

However, the finance ministry added that it will table the CGST, IGST and Compensation Law before the Parliament on March 27.

The Finance Minister sources have also cleared the air on SGST and UTGST, which will be cleared in the GST Council meet scheduled on March 16.

Also, it is likely that a few more cesses including infra cess, oil industry development cess, and Swachh Bharat cess, amongst others, will be added in the kitty to boost resources to compensate states.

Earlier, the GST Council chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley approved the draft CGST Bill and the draft IGST Bill as vetted by the Union Law Ministry. It cleared the deck for the Centre to take these two Bills to the Parliament for their passage in the ongoing Budget session.
Two of the most celebrated actors of their generation, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, will star together for the first time in new Steven Spielberg political drama The Post, according to Hollywood trade magazine Variety.

The film will focus on the Washington Post's publication of the 1971 Pentagon Papers, which made headlines around the world when the newspaper's editor and publisher challenged the US federal government over their right to publish them.

Twice Oscar winner Hanks will play the editor, Ben Bradlee, while triple Oscar winner Streep will take on the role of the publisher, Kay Graham, according to Variety.

No dates for filming were revealed in the report, with award-laden director Spielberg currently in post-production on sci-fi action movie, Ready Player One, which is due to hit theaters in March 2018.

Streep was branded an "overrated actress" by US President Donald Trump after she criticised him for belittling a disabled journalist at the Golden Globes in January.
The Rs.750 crore Coca-Cola plant in Hoshangabad, on the banks of river Narmada, has hit a roadblock after the local panchayat passed a resolution to not allow the water-guzzling plant.

Muhasa village panchayat and Vichar Madhya Pradesha group of social and political activistshave come together to oppose the plant, which, according to them, would destroy the environment and pollute water bodies.

The international beverage giant was allotted 110 acres of land last year in Muhasa industrial area of Hoshangabad, some 72km from Bhopal. The company plans to set up one of the biggest and state-of-the-art plants in India in the area.

The members of village panchayat, at a meeting held last month, unanimously decided not to allow the multinational company to construct the plant in their village.

Vikrant Rai, an activist, said Out of 18 lakh litres of water, the factory will consume over 70 per cent and will release it as polluted water.

Akshay Hunka of Vichar Madhya Pradesh said, We have examples of Pithampur and other industrial areas in MP where people were cheated by these multinationals in the name of employment, but in reality they got pollution. If Coca-Cola and government do not withdraw from the project, the people of the region will take out a padyatra against the multinational company and force them to close their other existing plans in the state.

The people have organised several meetings against the plant and presented a memorandum, signed by thousands of residents, to the government.

People staging a protest against the proposed Co-Ca Cola plant in Madhya Pradesh

The proposed plant would be a food processing and a bottling facility which would house multiple bottling lines to produce Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Thums Up, Limca, Minute Maid, Maaza and Kinley, said Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages officials on January 11 while laying the foundation stone of the plant along with states Industry Minister Rajendra Shukla. Coca-Cola had signed a MoU with MP government during the Global Investor Summit in 2014.

The plant would come up at the controversial Babai government agricultural farm which has been converted into industrial development area. The farm was once sold by Digvijay Singh led Congress government to Reliance Industries for Rs. 42 crore. However, the transfer of land was stalled after stiff opposition from the BJP.

According to official sources, the government is also setting up a 5 MGD (million gallon per day) water treatment plant (WTP) for uninterrupted water supply to the proposed plant. A special intake well has been made inside river Narmada from where the water would be lifted to the WTP at the industrial estate.
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister O. Panneerselvam and his followers began their one day fast on Wednesday, demanding a judicial inquiry into the death of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa.

The hunger protest is being held at all the district headquarters in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.

The protest began at 9 am and would conclude at 5 pm.

AIADMK Members of Parliament and legislators belonging to Panneerselvam group are also participating in the protest.

Jayalalithaa died on December 5 last year after being in the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai for around 75 days.

Members of Panneerselvam group have raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding Jayalalithaa's death.

As a caretaker, Panneerselvam had announced judicial inquiry into the death of Jayalalithaa.

The Tamil Nadu government on March 6 made public the discharge summary of Jayalalithaa and said that she got the best medical treatment.
Even as the Indian government expressed deep concern over the killing of an Indian fisherman allegedly by the Sri Lanka Navy, the island nation denied that any such incident took place.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, who met Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) leaders' summit in Jakarta, took up the issue with him. However, Sirisena told Ansari that he had spoken to the commander of the Sri Lankan Navy, who denied any role of the force in the killing.

The Sri Lankan president has ordered a full and complete enquiry into the incident. The Sri Lankan Navy also has promised a full and thorough investigation. New Delhi had earlier taken up the matter with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Sources said that the vice president had candidly conveyed to Srisena that something must be done by Sri Lanka about the recurring problem related to the Tamil fishermen as part of confidence-building measures.

A 22-year-old Indian fisherman was shot dead on Monday as he was fishing in a mechanised boat off Katchatheevu islet.

Apart from this incident, as many as 76 Indian fishermen are in captivity of Sri Lanka. The incidents related to the Tamil fishermen have been leading to rise in passions in Tamil Nadu off and on.

Meanwhile, DMK working president M.K. Stalin wrote to the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, saying the killing of an Indian fisherman had violated agreements arrived at the tripartite talks and had led to the feeling of "displeasure" against the Centre.

Batting for steps to retrieve Katchatheevu islet, ceded to the island nation by India in the 1970s, he said it was the only solution for the problems of fishermen.

(With inputs from PTI)
Two suspected Islamic State sympathisers arrested from Kanpur and neighbouring Unnao were taken to Lucknow on Wednesday by a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad for further questioning.

According to police, these youths got hooked to the Islamic State bosses with the help of social media. ADG (law and order) Daljeet Chaudhary said, Mohammed Imran and Faizal Khan who were arrested on Tuesday evening, had been active on various social platforms.

The cops have recovered two lap tops and literature associated with the IS from the nabbed suspects.

Investigation by the ATS, Special Task Force and local cops have revealed that these IS modules were planning a major terror attacks in Lucknow and nearby districts after March 27.

Chaudhary said the police had received the information that terrorist were hiding at some places in the state. The operation was jointly done by the ATS and the STF.

Another suspect Azhar in Kanpur eluded cops before they could nab him.

Investigators are examining the laptops and other materials seized from the suspects. The ADG said, based on the evidence available, the suspects' link with terrorists outfits operating in Syria and Iraq could not be ruled out.

The state government has informed the NIA and home ministry about the development. Earlier in the day, a suspected IS man, Mohammed Saifullah, was killed in Lucknow after 12-hours long encounter with the security forces.

Uttar Pradesh, where the assembly polls are under way, has been put on high alert after the latest development.
Brisk voting is reported on Wednesday in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the first two hours in the final phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh.

A large number of women and senior citizens queued up outside the polling stations to cast their votes.

Aware that it was International Women's Day on the day of polling, most women told the waiting media outside the polling booths that they were voting to ensure safety and security for women and girls.

Professors and members from the teaching fraternity turned up in large numbers to cast their votes in the early hours in the Benaras Hindu University (BHU).

Ajay Rai, the Congress candidate from Pindra, cast his vote along with his wife. He first performed puja at a temple before heading for the polling station. Rai had unsuccessfully challenged Narendra Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Varanasi has eight seats and there is a close contest on all the seats.

In the outgoing state assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party has three seats, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party have two each and the Congress has one.

Modi camped for three days in the temple town to canvass support for the BJP candidates.

BJP insiders feel the going is tough for them, specially due to some internal rebellion in the party.

Other than a strong intellectual base in the city, the constituencies in Varanasi are also deeply divided on caste lines.

Varanasi has around 3.25 lakh Vaishya voters, 2.50 lakh Brahmin voters, 1.25 lakh Bhumihars, one lakh Rajputs, two lakh from the powerful Patel community, three lakh Muslims, 1.50 lakh Yadav's and 80,000 Dalits.

Based on a strong Muslim-Yadav voter base, the Congress-SP alliance is claiming that it will sweep the polls in the VVIP constituency, while the BJP is banking on the large population of Brahmins, Patels and Rajputs.

The party's traditional voters, many fear, could have been dented by the demonetisation. The saffron camp, however, is banking on the Modi charisma heavily.
BURLINGTON  Ottawa, Ill., is nearly 100 miles away from Burlington, but through a family connection the tornado-ravaged city in the Land of Lincoln is getting some help from the Chocolate City.

Two people died in Ottawa after a tree fell on them as an EF3-scale tornado tore through the town on Feb. 28, affecting some 300 homes and several businesses. In an effort to help, Burlington city officials are organizing an effort to provide the Ottawa area with needed supplies.

"Burlington has a family, the John Maltby Family, who have lived here for many years. Their daughter, Ruth Dawidziak, serves on our Common Council as 2nd District Alderman. Their son, Sean, and his family live in Ottawa, Illinois," Burlington Mayor Jeannie Hefty wrote in explaining the motivation for the effort.

During the City Council's Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, Hefty announced the program, surprising Dawidziak.

"This was the best-kept secret. I'm humbled," Dawidziak said. "I think it's wonderful that our community can help their community. Ottawa is a lot like Burlington. Really good people."

Sean Maltby works for Pilkington Glass, an automotive glass plant in Ottawa, nearly destroyed by the storm. Dawidziak traveled there last week with supplies and donations including water, tarps, snack bars and masks.

"They'll be digging out for a while," Dawidziak said.

Local collection

Hefty said she's been in contact with officials in Ottawa and the Salvation Army to determine what supplies are needed for their residents. Right now the Salvation Army does not need food, clothing or general household goods.

Donations of flashlights, breathing masks, duct tape, assorted batteries, garbage bags and tools such as rakes and shovels are requested to be dropped off at the Burlington Department of Public Works, 2200 S. Pine St., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11. Monetary donations are also needed and can be made through the Salvation Army.

Local businesses Applied Material Solutions and Rojo's Popcorn have offered to help with the effort. Nestle has offered to supply a semi-truck and driver to deliver the donations.

"This is a group effort by the council, staff and the community to assist this town and neighboring areas after such a devastating loss to homes and businesses. I urge the community to come together and help fill this semi," Hefty said.

Dawidziak is confident Burlington will come together for the effort.

"I would hope if something like that happened here other towns would help us," Dawidziak said.

Past efforts

Hefty said in the 1990s, Burlington had a similar community drive that took donations to Burlington, Iowa, after severe flooding there and also in the aftermath of a tornado in Wautoma, Wis.

"The community came together and filled two semi-trucks for each relief outreach. I would like to do the same for the victims of Ottawa," Hefty said.
RACINE COUNTY  Racine Unified School District has dismissed students early at Case High School and Mitchell Middle School due to power outages at those buildings.

Students at Case, 7345 Washington Ave., were dismissed around 12:45 p.m., and students at Mitchell, 2701 Drexel Ave., around 1 p.m., district spokeswoman Stacy Tapp said.

Walkers and drivers were released first, but students who take the bus were held until buses arrived, she said.

Although both schools have back-up generators, Tapp said they do not provide enough light to all parts of the buildings.

The REAL School, 5915 Erie St, also lost power, she said, but the lighting provided by the generator, coupled with the sunlight provided by windows in the building, was enough to keep students there through the end of the normal school day.
Later in the night of the incident, the detective investigating the case reported receiving a voicemail from a woman who said she went to bed and felt a lump in her pillow; she discovered the bullet while checking out the lump.
[COMMUNICATED CONTENT]

For the past few years, battei midrash that were once empty on Purim night have been filled to capacity, as thousands of men in Eretz Yisrael streamed in to join a special Purim Kollel, for at least an hour of Torah learning, in an intense, Shavuos-night atmosphere. The tefillas rabbim that follows has been compared to Neilah on Motzaei Yom Kippur.

Recently, a young talmid chacham from Yerushalayim, who is now in New York fighting for his life, requested of a visiting friend, Lets bring this idea to America; give battei midrash here a taste of the experience! And so this year we are taking this important initiative all over the world!

Maran Harav Chaim Kanievsky, Maran Harav Aron Leib Steinman and Harav Matisyahu Salomon, among many others, have given this project their enthusiastic endorsement. The Purim Kollel is quickly turning into a movement, as ever more shuls are signing up  in Eretz Yisrael, Europe, South Africa, the USA and Canada.

In addition, the Har Nof Kollel is organizing a Purim Partners program: Everyone who registers for the Purim Kollel in chutz laAretz is invited to submit his (or another persons) name and specific needs for tefillah in the powerful tefillas rabbim that will be held in Yerushalayim on Sunday night, Shushan Purim.

Together we will make this a truly elevated Purim! To sign up  and, if you choose, to partner with an avreich in Eretz Yisrael by having your matanos laevyonim be given to him on Purim  call 718-210- 9737 or email [email protected]
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was questioned by police for a fourth time on Monday night, beginning at 5:00PM. Police probed the case involving the Prime Minister allegedly accepting expensive gifts including cigars and champagne. Police are also probing allegations of deals made with associates to the mutual benefit of all involved.

Police Chief Roni Alsheich announced on Monday that the investigation is nearing its end.

There was a break during the hours of questioning when US President Trump phoned to speak to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister took the opportunity to again thank the President for his warm hospitality during his recent visit to Washington and expressed his appreciation for the Presidents strong statement against anti-Semitism during the Presidents speech before Congress last week. The two leaders spoke at length about the dangers posed by the nuclear deal with Iran and by Irans malevolent behavior in the region and about the need to work together to counter those dangers.

Police continued questioning Mr. Netanyahu following the call with President Trump, police continued questioning the Prime Minister following the phone call.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
MK Yehuda Glick arrived at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv to fulfil a childhood dream, to become a medical clown. In the following Israel News report we see MK Glick in action in his new role, including giving candy to a young Gazan patient. He explains when he was unemployed in 2005 he thought of going for the medical clown career.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
PA (Palestinian Authority) leader Abbas is calling for ending security cooperation with Israel.

Since the election of US President Donald Trump, who announced he is not committed to the two-state solution like his predecessors, it has been a long uphill road for the PA. Abbas is seeking ways to get back in the spotlight, including this recent call to end security cooperation with Israel.

Requiring a reason to justify such a move, he blames it on the recent fatal shooting of a 31-year-old terrorist by IDF soldiers on Monday, 8 Adar, during a shootout. The terrorist appeared on the wanted list for conspiring to perpetrate attacks. When soldiers came to arrest him and he opened fire. He was killed by their return fire.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Animal rights activists are turning to Knesset to act after learning the conditions for the 200,000 pigs slaughtered in Israel annually RL.

The activists explain that while there are regulations, there is no mechanism in place to enforce them, now calling on lawmakers to legislate tougher laws.

The large influx of immigrants from the FSU has resulted in a large increase in pork products, especially amid the realization that over an estimated 1 million of them are non-Jews. The industry is booming and RL growing and animal rights activists have set their sights on pig slaughter and unacceptable practices that are commonplace today.







(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Seeking to change is harsh reputation somewhat, Israel Electric Company on Tuesday 9 Adar began distributing mishloach manos.

Persons coming to an IEC facility for consumer service were surprised to actually receive something, a modest mishloach manos ahead of Purim.

Israel Electric Company officials explain the mishloach manos will be distributed on Tuesday and Wednesday.





(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Europes top court has ruled that European Union member states arent obliged to grant humanitarian visas to people who want to enter their territory to apply for asylum.

The decision announced Tuesday came after a Belgian court in October ordered the government to give humanitarian visas to a family in war-torn Syria.

The European Court of Justice ruled that allowing people to choose where to get international protection would undermine the EU system establishing which country should handle asylum applications.

It said that EU law only lays out the procedures and conditions for issuing visas to transit through or stay on the territory of a member state for up to 90 days.

But the Luxembourg-based court said member state courts remain free to rule on visas under national law.

Friends in Belgium had offered to lodge and feed the family, who lived in the besieged city of Aleppo and believed still to be in Syria.

The government fears that granting visas would open the floodgates to more applications and believes that it should be responsible for such decisions and not the courts.

Belgiums immigration minister, Theo Francken, has refused to pay a fine of 4,000 euros ($4,438) per day for defying an appeal tribunal.

Francken welcomed Tuesdays ruling, even though it changes nothing in Belgium.

They wanted to open Europes migratory door, for asylum, via the consulates and embassies of the member states of the European Union throughout the world, he said. There is the possibility to request a humanitarian visa but its the government that can decide to give it or not give it. We cannot be obliged to give one.

A lawyer representing the Syrian family, Tristan Wibault, said the ruling was not helpful as it only says that European law does not apply.

Its very disappointing. The court chose a formalistic argument to avoid the issues in reality. The deeper questions are not analyzed, he said.

(AP)
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Nearly 1,500 participants were blown away at the Kalahari Poconos Resort by the largest Project Inspire Convention in history. Hundreds of frum families gathered together for a Shabbos of a lifetime  because this is more than just an inspirational retreat, its plugging into a worldwide movement.

Project Inspire, a program of Aish HaTorah, is a grassroots organization whose mission is to awaken and empower the Torah observant community to reach out to their fellow Jews. It has successfully created a movement of people dedicated to spreading the beauty of Yiddishkeit. Every convention, stories pour in as ordinary people share their experiences on how theyre changing their communities and affecting those around them.

The Shabbaton was complete with an all-star lineup of gedolei Torah, including HaRav Shalom Kamenetsky, HaRav Hillel David, and HaRav Shmuel Baron, as well as world renowned speakers  including Rabbi Shlomo Farhi, Rabbi Dovid Kaplan, Rav Gav Friedman, and Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi. Powerful and motivational speeches were also given by Dr. Stuart Hytman, the Founding Partner and Chairman of the Board of Project Inspire as well as Mr. Isaac Gross, the Convention Chairman, and Rabbi Steve Burg, the CEO of Aish HaTorah.

Attending the Project Inspire Convention is an unbelievable, unreal experience says Yanky from Boro Park, a Convention attendee. From the moment you walk in, the food the spread, the people that you meet, the atmosphere, the ruchniyus, the gashmiyus, and the program that they put together  its unreal. Its absolutely out of this world. The speeches here blew me away and changed me around completely.

I met so many people over Shabbos who grew in their own inspiration, said Rabbi Chaim Sampson, Founding Director of Project Inspire. We hope that the inspiration will continue to spread, as people will reach out to their brothers and sisters, who are yearning and waiting for a smile, a kind word, a friendly hello. All you need to do is notice the hidden Yidden around us.




The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nations largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, applauds Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) for spearheading a letter co-authored by Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fl.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fl.)  and signed by all 100 senators  urging leaders of the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and the FBI to respond swiftly and strongly to the alarming rash of security threats aimed at the Jewish community since the start of 2017.

The Peters-Portman-Nelson-Rubio letter calls for the federal agencies to increase their communication with Jewish communities and requests information on the various departments plans to address these threats. It also calls on the agencies to find the individuals or organizations involved in the threats, bring them to justice, and deter such threats in the future.

Since January, there have been 119 bomb threats against 92 locations including schools, Jewish community centers and offices of the Anti-Defamation League. Today marked the sixth wave of threats, with reports of bomb threats emailed to several JCCs in New York, Oregon, Maryland and Wisconsin.

Said Nathan Diament, executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union:

We applaud Sens. Peters, Portman, Nelson and Rubio  and all members of the U.S. Senate  for showing their support for our community and their call to put an end to these hateful threats and attacks. In the words of the senators themselves, these threats are utterly unacceptable and un-American, and must be stopped at once.
The Anti-Defamation League and several Jewish community centers across the country got a new round of bomb threats Tuesday, prompting a school in Chicago to evacuate and adding to the scores they have been plagued with since January.

The JCC Association of North America said several Jewish community centers received email or phone threats overnight and early Tuesday but didnt specify how many.

Two suburban Jewish community centers in upstate New York were shut down when someone phoned in bomb threats, authorities said. The Jewish Community Center in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay was closed for almost two hours.

In Providence, Rhode Island, police said an administrator at the Jewish Community Day School, attached to a synagogue, received a threat Tuesday morning alleging there was a shooter with an assault rifle on the roof of the building. Police and a K-9 team swept the building; no one was found.

Chicago Jewish Day School on the citys north side was evacuated for a few hours while police investigated.

In New York, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said there were five threats made, including to the Anti-Defamation League, which also received threats to offices in Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C. and in Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, Maryland and Toronto.

This is a moment in time, in history, where forces of hate have been unleashed, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a Jewish Community Center on Staten Island that had received threats. It is exceedingly unsettling.

Federal officials have been investigating more than 120 threats against Jewish organizations in three dozen states since Jan. 9 and a rash of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries.

On Friday, Missouri resident Juan Thompson was arrested on a cyberstalking charge and accused of making at least eight of the threats nationwide, including one to the ADL. Authorities said Thompson was trying to harass and frame his ex-girlfriend by pinning the threats on her.

A criminal complaint said Thompson started making threats Jan. 28. He claimed on Twitter the ex-girlfriend was behind the calls. Thompson is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday in St. Louis for a hearing to determine if he should remain detained pending trial.

Authorities are looking for other suspects in the threats.

(AP)
RACINE  Gen. John Joseph Black Jack Pershing was in Racine on Monday night, 100 years after leading American troops into battle in the war that was to end all wars.

Pershings appearance at Memorial Hall, 72 Seventh St., came via a portrayal from re-enactor Ed OBrien, himself an Army veteran. OBrien is a retired school administrator and former U.S. history teacher.

OBrien made a presentation about Pershing and World War I as part of a program put on by Preservation Racine for its membership and the general public. The organization chose Memorial Hal for the talk, because it was built in 1924 to honor those lost in World War I. April 6 will mark the 100th Anniversary of the United States entering the war.

Pershing Park and Pershing Drive in Racine honor the West Point graduate, who also served in the Indian wars, the Spanish American War, the Philippines insurrection, the raid on Mexico to hunt Pancho Villa, and taught at West Point during his military career.

Pershing was commander of American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I and was responsible for more than 2 million men. Pershing is the only American to be promoted in his own lifetime to General of the Armies, the highest possible rank in the Army.

OBrien shared dozens of facts about Pershings life with the audience, including his reputation as a strict disciplinarian among West Point cadets, the time he spent working as a teacher in a one-room school house in his native Missouri, and the Pulitzer Prize for History that he won in 1932 for his memoirs My Experiences in the World War. Pershing died in 1948 at the age of 87. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
A jovial Donald Trump greeted the first wave of tourists to the White House since his inauguration Tuesday.

Hillary Clinton was there, too  at least in spirit.

Trump emerged from behind a French screen to a throng of cheering tourists  many of them fifth graders from Birmingham, Alabama  who had packed into the East Wing of the White House for a chance to catch a glimpse of the 45th president.

Oh my god! they shouted as the president stretched his arms open to announce his arrival.

Throughout Trumps short appearance, it was hard not to notice the giant portrait of the former first lady  and Trumps opponent in the hotly-contested election  hanging alongside him.

The White House has been closed for tours since inauguration day as the new administration sorted out staffing and other logistics needed to usher in visitors to the 217-year-old house.

Among the first group of tourists were a group of fifth graders from the Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Ala. Trump randomly pulled one young boy from the crowd  10-year old Jack Cornish from Birmingham  hugging him and patting him on the shoulders before sending him back to the crowd of envious schoolmates.

One of them shouted, Youre famous, Jack!

President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary opened the White House to tours the day after they moved in January 1993. The Clintons welcomed some 1,000 winners of a lottery drawing along with then-Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper.

George Washingtons portrait graced the event that day.

Under the Obama administration, the director of the White House Visitors Office welcomed some 3 million tourists.

(AP)
President Donald Trump and his top health official praised the new House Republican health care legislation Tuesday, even as surging conservative opposition complicated party leaders drive to sell the proposal to rank-and-file lawmakers and the public.

Trumps morning tweet lauding our wonderful new Healthcare Bill kicked off the day. Shortly afterward, Health Secretary Tom Price wrote to the chairmen of the two House committees that wrote the measures, saying they align with the presidents goal of rescuing Americans from the failures of the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obamas prized 2010 law.

Yet by lunchtime, conservative lawmakers and others were blasting the bill, underscoring the challenge Republicans face in pushing one of their top priorities to passage.

The legislation would primarily affect some 20 million people who purchase their own private health plans directly from an insurer and the more than 70 million covered by Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people.

In the first official though partial measurement to emerge of the bills financial impact, Congress nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimated it would cut more than 20 taxes imposed by Obamas law at a cost of nearly $600 billion over a decade. The bulk of the savings would go to the wealthy.

The estimate did not include the cost of tax credits the measure proposes to help people buy coverage.

Republicans say theyve not yet received an estimate of the bills overall cost or the number of people it would cover from the Congressional Budget Office.

What Obamacare did was make insurance affordable but care impossible to actually afford, White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said on NBCs Today Show. The deductibles were simply too high. So people could say they have coverage but they couldnt actually get the medical care they needed when they get sick.

Obamacare plans did typically come with high deductibles, but the law also provided cost-sharing subsidies to people with modest incomes. Those subsidies will be eliminated under the Republican plan, and its unclear how high the deductibles would be under the new approach.

House committees planned to begin voting on the legislation Wednesday, launching what could be the years defining battle in Congress and capping seven years of GOP vows to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Before prevailing, leaders will have to heal internal divisions.

In his letter, Price commended GOP plans to provide millions of Americans with a refundable tax credit  meaning even people without tax liability would receive the assistance. Congressional conservatives have opposed a refundable credit, saying it would create a new entitlement program the government cannot afford.

It is a missed opportunity and a step in the wrong direction, said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, one of three conservative senators whove criticized GOP leaders for not aggressively repealing Obamas law. He said it was unknown if the bill would make health care more affordable.

Conservative groups like Heritage Action for America and the Club for Growth also piled on. Club for Growth President David McIntosh called the measure a warmed-over substitute for government-run health care.

As Republicans we have a choice, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, an author of the measure, told reporters. We can act now or we can keep fiddling around and squander this opportunity to repeal Obamacare.'

The Republican legislation would limit future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, about 1 in 5 Americans. And it would loosen rules that Obamas law imposed for health plans directly purchased by individuals, while also scaling back insurance subsidies.

Republicans say their solutions would make Medicaid more cost-efficient without punishing the poor and disabled, while spurring private insurers to offer attractive products for the estimated 20 million consumers in the market for individual policies.

Democrats say the bill would make many people uninsured, shifting costs to states and hospital systems that act as providers of last resort. Individual policy holders might be able to find low-premium plans, only to be exposed to higher deductibles and copayments.

The plan would repeal the unpopular fines on people who dont carry health insurance. It would replace income-based subsidies the law provides to help millions of Americans pay premiums with age-based tax credits that may be skimpier for people with low incomes. Those payments would phase out for higher-earning people.

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia opted to expand Medicaid coverage under the Obama-era law to an estimated 11 million people. Around half those states have GOP governors, who are largely reluctant to see that spending curtailed.

In another feature that could alienate moderate Republicans, the measure would block for one year federal payments to Planned Parenthood, the womens health organization long opposed by many in the party because it provides abortions.

In a last-minute change to satisfy conservative lawmakers, business and unions, Republicans dropped a plan pushed by Ryan to impose a first-ever tax on the most generous employer-provided health plans. Instead, a similar tax imposed by Obamas law on expensive plans set to take effect in 2020 would now begin in 2025.

Popular consumer protections in the Obama law would be retained, such as insurance safeguards for people with pre-existing medical problems, and parents ability to keep young adult children on their insurance until age 26.

To prod healthier people to buy policies, insurers would boost premiums by 30 percent for consumers who let insurance lapse.

(AP)
WikiLeaks on Tuesday published thousands of documents purportedly taken from the Central Intelligence Agencys Center for Cyber Intelligence, a dramatic release that appears to expose intimate details of Americas cyberespionage toolkit.

It was not immediately clear how WikiLeaks obtained the information, which included more than 8,700 documents and files. The CIA tools, if authentic, could undermine the confidence that consumers have in the safety and security of their computers, mobile devices and even smart TVs.

WikiLeaks said the material came from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIAs Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virginia. It didnt say how the files were removed, such as possibly by a rogue employee, by hacking a federal contractor working for the CIA or breaking into a staging server where such hacking tools might be temporarily stored.

The more than 8,000 documents cover a host of technical topics, including what appears to be a discussion about how to compromise smart televisions and turn them into improvised surveillance devices. WikiLeaks said the data also include details on the agencys efforts to subvert American software products and smartphones, including Apples iPhone, Googles Android and Microsoft Windows.

The information dump could not immediately be authenticated by The Associated Press, and the CIA declined comment, but WikiLeaks has a long track record of releasing top secret government documents. Experts whove started to sift through the material said that it appeared legitimate and that the release was almost certain to shake the CIA.

Jonathan Liu, a spokesman for the CIA, said: We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents.

WikiLeaks said the archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.

If the authenticity of the documents is officially confirmed, it would represent yet another catastrophic breach for the U.S. intelligence community at the hands of WikiLeaks and its allies, which have repeatedly humbled Washington with the mass release of classified material, including hundreds of thousands of documents from the State Department and the Pentagon.

WikiLeaks, which has been dropping cryptic hints about the release for a month, said in a lengthy statement that the CIA had recently lost control of a massive arsenal of CIA hacking tools as well as associated documentation.

Theres no question that theres a fire drill going on right now, said Jake Williams, a security expert with Augusta, Georgia-based Rendition Infosec. It wouldnt surprise me that there are people changing careers  and ending careers  as we speak.

One of the purported CIA malware programs is described in the WikiLeaks documents as a simple DLL hijacking attempt that had been tested against Microsoft Windows XP, Vista and 7 operating systems. The technique, which the document called a Windows FAX DLL injection, introduces computer code that allows an attacker to gain access to a computer process memory and permissions while at the same time masking the attack.

Williams, who has experience dealing with government hackers, said the voluminous files extensive references to operation security meant they were almost certainly government-backed. I cant fathom anyone fabricated that amount of operational security concern, he said. It rings true to me.

The only people who are having that conversation are people who are engaging in nation-state-level hacking, he said.

WikiLeaks said its data also included a substantial library of digital espionage techniques borrowed from other countries, including Russia.

Bob Ayers, a retired U.S. intelligence official currently working as a security analyst, noted that WikiLeaks has promised to release more CIA documents.

The damage right now is relatively high level, he said. The potential for really detailed damage will come in the following releases.

(AP)
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

Attn Readers: Rabbi Hoffmans newest Volume of Not Your Usual Halacha (#8) is now available on amazon.com.

Earlier today, WikiLeaks released thousands of CIA documents related to the agencys cyber-espionage tools and programs.

There is no question that this is a political bombshell, somewhat akin to the release of Hillary Clintons secret information.

The CIA documents include instruction manuals, support documents, notes and conversations about, among other things, efforts to exploit vulnerabilities in smartphones and turn smart TVs into microphones in peoples homes and offices.

WikiLeaks calls this release Year Zero, sand states that this is the first of a series of CIA-related leaks it is calling Vault 7.

So the CIA is now privy to all Android messages, WhatsApp conversations and documents and any conversatios anyone might have in front of any Samsung device. And it is not just the CIA.it is a whole slew of former government contractors.

WikiLeaks further writes that the CIA has lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal, and that former government hackers now have several hundred million lines of code giving them the entire hacking capacity of the CIA.

Supposedly, a former government contractor gave a portion of that code to WikiLeaks, according to the organization.

The question is: If theoretically, the CIA were to be following halacha  would this be permitted?

The Talmud and the Poskim in Shulchan Aruch discuss a concept called Hezek Riya  damage caused by seeing. Yet neither the Talmud nor the Shulchan Aruch discuss a concept of damage of listening or eavesdropping. This may, at first glance, indicate to us that there is no inherent prohibition involved. Yet, we do find a debate about the issue in the writings of the Rishonim and acharonim.

THE TWO VIEWS IN THE MEFORSHIM

The Meiri (Beis HaBechira BB 2a) explains the issues of building a wall as resolving the concwpt of damage done by seeing into anothers property. He states that there is no further issue of damage of eavesdropping by virtue of the thinness of the wall since people are generally careful in such matters and do not speak where it can be overheard.

Rav Eliyahu Mizrachi (1450-1526) in his responsum (#8) rules that there is no halachic issue of eavesdropping damage  since there is no mention of it in the Talmud.

According to the Meiri, when there is no reason for the person to think to be careful, such as with electronic eavesdropping, or by leaving his or her email open on the company computer  there would be a prohibition of eavesdropping. Until now, no one thought that their conversation could be bugged  thus it would be forbidden.

Of course, if there would be an issue of Pikuach Nefesh involved  then it would be permitted. In other words if there is a terrorist planning something  there is no question that it would be permitted. However, to listen indiscriminately to everyones conversation would not be permitted.

REBBEINU GERSHOM

There is also the issue of the Cherem Rabbeinu Gershom (960-1040) not to read a letter of another person without him knowing. The Sefer Teshuvas Maharam (#1022) and the Beer HaGolah (YD 334) cite the ban placed upon anyone who reads the letter of another person without that persons knowledge. It also states that if the recipient threw it out in the garbage, then one would be permitted to read it.

A pertinent question about this issue is as follows:

Does the Cherem Rabbeinu Gershom include eavesdropping on a conversation of others? Believe it or not there is a deep debate about this very issue among contemporary Poskim.

But even according to the view that it is not included in the ban, the underlying reasons of the ban still apply.

Rav Chaim Palagi in his Chokakei Lev explains the reasons for Rabbeinu Gershoms reason for the ban. One of his reasons is that it is a negation of vahavta lrayacha kamocha  the Mitzvah of loving ones neighbor as oneself.

There is also the possible reason advanced by the Toras Chaim (347) that it is considered borrowing without permission (shoel shelo midaas). However, not everyone agrees with this concept because the issue under discussion lacks physical form  it is information. That being the case, some would argue that it is not technical borrowing.

If we rule that the reason behind the ban is that it is an abnegation of the Torah Mitzvah of vahavta lrayacha kamocha, the underlying reasons for Rabbeinu Gershoms ban still apply, so granted that he is not in violation of the Cherem  he is still in violation of the negation fo a Torah Mitzvah.

The Peleh Yoetz as well as Rav Palagi both explain that since one who reveals the secret obtained in a letter is in violation of a Lo Saaseh to reveal the secrets of others  Lo Seilech Rachil BAmecha  do not walk as a talebearer among your nation there would be little difference as to how exactly he had obtained the information.

POSTCARDS, FAXES MEDICAL AND SCHOOL RECORDS

As an interesting side thought, the Shaivet HaKahasi (Vol. III #282) rules that the ban does apply to both postcards as well as faxes.

What else might be included in this prohibition? It seems that any information that a person would prefer to keep to himself or herself would also be included. Report card grades, regent marks, health and legal records, and even credit reports.

What about forwarding someone email that was received and marked personal and confidential? Also, often there is a previous email that was attached in a chain or bundle to an item that you are forwarding now. May one read the bundle?

Many Poskim are of the opinion that an email is, in fact, included in Rabbeinu Gershoms ban.

CONCLUSION

It is interesting to note that now that Wikileaks has released this information, people should be aware of it and it might no longer be a problem  since people now are aware that they have to be more careful.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

As Trump Administration officials, Cabinet Secretaries and Congress acclimate to the levers of power in Washington, members of Agudath Israel of Americas Board of Trustees, Executive Staff, Regional Directors and key activists from across the country arrived in the nations capitol on Tuesday evening, March 7th, to take part in the organizations annual Leadership Mission to Washington.

With the political landscape dramatically altered this past November, the over-arching agenda according to Chairman of the Board Mr. Shlomo Werdiger is for Agudah leaders to build new bridges and further relationships with key government officials and influential decision makers in Congress.

Numerous issues including the alarming rise in anti-Semitic incidents, religious liberties, school choice possibilities and Israels safety and security are front and center on the Jewish communal list of concerns.

Agudath Israels Executive Vice President Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel says that missions of this scope give Agudah advocates a platform to advance issues that are of great importance to its constituencies and provide lawmakers and decision makers a firsthand report and view from the front lines of Jewish communal life.

Chaskel Bennett, Agudah Trustee, concurred. New policy and legislation is being negotiated now, so we are here to share our perspective and make sure those decisions take into account the unique needs of the Orthodox community.

Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudath Israels Vice President for Federal Affairs and Washington Director and Counsel, agreed that the mission comes at a crucial moment for the broader American Jewish community currently experiencing a dangerous rise in threats against Jewish targets. He pointed out that that very same day, here in Washington, all 100 US Senators signed a letter urging the Trump administration to step up security at Jewish community centers, day schools and synagogues which was co-authored by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL).

The Mission kicked off Tuesday evening with a dinner in the historic LBJ Room situated off the floor of the Senate in the Capitol.

Leaders and activists were joined by House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who was warmly introduced by well known community leader and Agudah Trustee Howard Tzvi Freedman. Additionally Jason Dov Greenblatt, assistant to the President, Special Representative for International Negotiations joined the delagates for dinner and was warmly received.

Highlighting the evening was featured guest Senator Rubio, powerfully introduced by Mr. Bennett. Senator Rubio in his trademark style touched on nearly every issue of importance to the Agudath Israel constituency including the rise of anti-semitism and the BDS movement, School Choice, and Israels security. He was interrupted several times with thunderous applause.

The evening concluded with reports from the front lines by several Agudah regional directors led by Rabbi AD Motzen, Agudahs national director of state relations.

The Agudah Washington mission continues this morning with a historic meeting at the U.S. Department of Education with newly confirmed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. This will be followed by a late morning meeting at the White House with White House policy advisors, the first such meeting with a Jewish advocacy group.

The Mission will culminate with a highly anticipated luncheon with influential U.S. senators on the hill.

A full report on the days activities will follow.

Photo Credits: Shmuel and Dov Lenchevsky

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The IDF Prosecutor is seeking a harsher sentence for Sgt. Elor Azariya, who was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 18-months imprisonment. In response, the defense attorney stated that generally, the prosecution files an appeal if it feels the jail term is too lenient and not to counter an appeal filed by the defense.

Azariya was charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing a wounded Arab terrorist in Hebron last Purim. It was determined that his actions were not justified as he claimed he feared the wounded terrorist may have been strapped with a bomb.

After the defense filed an appeal on the soldiers behalf, the prosecution filed a counter appeal. The prosecutor is seeking three-to-five years instead of the 18 months, insisting the young soldiers sentence was unjustifiably lenient.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Israels Ministry of Health announced it is working to significantly lowering the price of gluten free food items in line with recommendation of a government committee that probed the matter. The committee included representatives of the ministry as well as the Ministry of the Economy and Bituach Leumi.

The committee studied why gluten free products are so expensive and then approved steps towards lowering prices. The government plans to infuse up to NIS 9 million into factories producing gluten free items towards encouraging more items at a lower cost. There will also be a relaxing of import restrictions for gluten free items as well as a similar incentive to local industry willing to produce similar non-gluten items towards improved public health.

Health Minister Yaakov Litzman praised the move towards providing more and less expensive items for the many who are compelled to use gluten free items, a move that he believes will improve overall health.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Israels hotelier union is probing the possibility of using a private hashgacha instead of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel as required by law, turning to Tzohar Rabbonim to provide kashrus certification, Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) reported on Thursday, 4 Adar. The Chief Rabbinate is quick to respond, stating such a move would be against the law.

The report explains that Tzohar Rabbonim is weighing the establishment of a new kashrus organization and the hoteliers appear to be thinking about making the move at a time the Chief Rabbinate faces numerous High Court of Justice appeals claiming the time has come to get away from the state-run kashrus headed by the Chief Rabbinate.

In the letter sent by union CEO Noaz Bar Nir, he points out We are trying to reduce the costs of kashrus. Kashrus from Tzohar would be equal or superior to the Chief Rabbinate qualitatively speaking, pertaining to the basic regular non-mehadrin supervision. The union has been in contact Tzohar over the years towards establishing a private alternative which would be qualitatively acceptable towards replacing the Chief Rabbinates regular non-mehadrin certification but less costly.

The Chief Rabbinate is weighing possibly filing a complaint with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit since by making good on their threat, the union would be breaking the law. If the hotels really break away from the state-run kashrus, it would also deliver a major blow to the Chief Rabbinates image as well as a financial loss to the tune of NIS millions.

In its response, Zohar explains it is not planning to open an alternative kashrus framework for as long as doing saw is a violation of the law. The organization is however given the idea thought under todays current reality.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
In response to reports Israeli hoteliers are working with Tzohar Rabbonim to provide kashrus supervision in the nations hotels instead of local rabbinates, Ramat Gan Chief Rabbi Yaakov Ariel Shlita insists one cannot be part of such a move if one respects the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Rabbi Ariel questions how rabbonim affiliated with Tzohar can speak out against the Chief Rabbinate and call for privatizing kashrus. He decries how these calls are coming from persons who wear kippot and carry the title rav.

He rejects the words of other rabbonim [not affiliated with Tzohar] who have spoken out against the Chief Rabbinates monopoly on kashrus, explaining monopoly is a strong commercial word, one that has no connection to halacha. He explains the Chief Rabbinate is the body responsible for the nations kashrus, the overseer, for hotels and other institutions as well.

Rav Ariel rejects the Tzohar idea of making the Chief Rabbinate the regulator over kashrus that it undertakes, stating the cost of setting up a new system would be prohibitive and there is no reason whatsoever to dismantle the system that is in place as opposed of making order of todays system and a more standardized system from city to city.

The rabbi adds that from the hotels perspective, they are simply looking to cut expenses and they are taking advantage of the current situation.

Rav Ariel is not hiding his head in the sand, rather he is well-aware of the problems. He points out that when it comes to bringing the matter to Knesset, to give the Chief Rabbinate the authority and means to enforce the kashrus as it should, then things stop and this is a critical component of the problem.

He concludes There is a tzibur that views itself as being religious and it is working to destroy kashrus, which is the basis for normative life for Am Yisrael living together in Israel. The correct way is to strengthen the Chief Rabbinate. A religious person, especially one calling himself rav, cannot be part of an effort to destroy the Chief Rabbinate, which is the best available as well as most qualified. Yes, there is a need for improvement, to become more efficient, to improve, but this requires empowering the Chief Rabbinate with the required tools.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Rosh Yeshivat Har HaMor HaRav Tzvi Tau Shlita has come out harshly against ongoing IDF efforts to integrate females into more units, including combat units. Rabbi Yigal Levinstein of Bnei David Mechina in Yishuv Eli spoke out once again this week against females serving in the IDF, especially religious girls.

In a shiur given by Rav Tau in his home last Sunday, recorded by talmidim, the rav says one cannot remain silent in light of such orders and one must protest and make his protest known.

Rav Tau adds This is insanity and the loss of Tzelem Elokim, a loss of shame like animals and wild beasts. This is an existential issue and not [just] a religious problem of our group. It is madness that attacks men but a part of the Geula process

Rav Tau explains we cannot act like animals and orders compelling men and women to serve together are immoral and mustnt be followed, whatever the cost may be. Do what you wish to me  choke me, shoot me and place me in isolation. I will preserve my Tzelem Elokim he adds.

Hashem Yishmor. I hope those who carry out these orders do not attend my shiurim. What does one live for is they take ones humanity from one? Am Yisrael must be one united being. This is more important than security. How long will you disable the body and soul of the daughters of Israel the rav concluded.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
MADISON  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, right, applauds Tuesday as the state Assembly honors Frank Lamping. Lamping, a Union Grove native and recent Packers Fan Hall of Fame inductee, received the Wisconsin Hometown Hero Award, the state Assemblys highest citizen recognition.

Lamping, who is battling prostate cancer, was elected to the Hall of Fame after a huge community-wide get-out-the-vote push. Lamping was joined by 14 of his friends and family members in the Assembly for the ceremony.
CALEDONIA  It started with a chest pain that intensified with activity and lessened when he slowed down. Like many others, 86-year-old Caledonia resident Al Unger didnt think it was a reason for alarm.

I found out if I slowed down, it would go away; so I decided to see my family doctor, as I regularly do, Unger said. But when I told him about that pain, they said Thats not good. We better get a hold of a cardiologist. 

After visiting his doctor in August of last year, the Korean War veteran, who has three sons and four grandchildren, was diagnosed with aortic stenosis, a condition in which one of the heart valves deteriorate. Unger was told he would need a new heart valve, typically a surgery requiring open heart surgery  certainly a risky procedure for someone in his late 80s.

Normally, everybodys valve is a quarter-size open, Unger said. Mine was the size of pencil opening.

A dire condition

Ungers condition was indeed dire. Few patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis will live beyond two years, said Dr. Daniel OHair, one of the surgeons who completed Ungers surgery. Its a condition that has a higher mortality rate than most cancers, including lung cancer.

After a series of tests, Unger had his new aortic valve put in at Aurora St. Lukes Medical Center in Milwaukee by OHair and Dr. Tanvir Bajwa  a surgery the duo has reportedly performed more than any other tandem in the nation.

The team used a transcatheter aortic valve replacement, in which a new valve is inserted through a catheter through the groin. The surgery helps patients heal faster and enables shorter hospitalization stays, OHair stated. An open-heart surgery can hospitalize a patient for weeks, but with TAVR replacements, hospital stays are usually only a few short days.

In Ungers case, his surgery was on Sept. 22, and he was released on Sept. 26.

In the past, patients required open-heart surgery, and in some cases aggressive blood thinner therapy, said OHair. For older people, open-heart surgery and blood thinners add additional risk. The TAVR procedure allows the valve to be replaced without opening the chest and avoids a lifetime of blood thinner therapy, which is a safer option for older adults. The valve leaflets are made from biologic tissue, commonly from a pig or cow.

After his surgery, Unger underwent cardiac rehab and recently graduated from the program with perfect attendance.

I feel great, said Unger. Way better. I just graduated from my cardiac rehab at Ascension (All Saints Hospital in Racine). The aortic valve, I thought that (surgery) was a piece of cake. It took them a little over an hour. I didnt have any pain (after surgery). I felt good.

Staying active

Although his cardiac rehab is over, Unger plans to remain active. He recently took a trip on Nov. 6 to Washington, D.C., on the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. It was awesome, Unger said. I didnt even need a wheelchair.

And OHair said that many patients, like Unger, are seeing similar results. None of the patients who we have treated have experienced any significant deterioration of their valve, and weve been at it for six years, OHair said.

Unger continues to enjoy retirement after working 33 years at Wisconsin Electric. From retirement 25 years ago, I have not stopped. He will turn 87 March 31, and he plans to continue enjoying his family and life.

I am just so grateful. It took me 86 years to wear the old one out, so I probably got 86 more years on the new one, but I said to my family, Im gonna give you a break, Ill only shoot for 100 years old, Unger said.
'I'm staying': Deutsche Bank's Yorkshire-born boss John Cryan

Deutsche Bank's Yorkshire-born boss John Cryan, who insists he's 'not going anywhere' as the troubled bank's shares continue to slide, has appointed his chief financial officer, Marcus Schenck, as his deputy.

Schenck is an ex-Goldman Sachs partner with a PhD in Economics. Aged 50, he's six years younger than Cryan, considerably slimmer and maintains a marginally better head of hair.

Not unhelpfully, he's also German. Cryan must be mightily assured of his own position is all I can say.

For the first time in memory, John Lewis will not be inviting the press to tomorrow's unveiling of staff bonuses.

Perhaps because they're expected to be the lowest issued in 60 years. But they will be putting up fragrant new boss Paula Nickolds, 43, for interview for the first time, which should provide a neat distraction.

Goldman Sachs is enjoying a bonanza week. The bank is advising on Aberdeen Asset Management's 11billion merger with Standard Life.

It will also have a role in Deutsche Bank's plans to raise 6.9million from investors as well as the possible sale of challenger bank Shawbrook.

Goldman's potential fees from all three deals is estimated somewhere short of 270million. And it's not even Thursday!

New deputy governor of the Bank of England Charlotte Hogg's sloppy failure to declare her brother's job with Barclays does not amount to a 'hanging offence' says the BoE's deputy chairman of the court, Bradley Fried.

An unfortunate choice of words. Dainty Charlotte's grandfather, former Conservative Lord Chancellor Quintin Hogg, was rather pro the hangman, if memory serves.

A Rolls-Royce Ghost, created for a private collector, is on display at this week's Geneva motor show which has been covered with real diamonds.

A thousand 'ethically-sourced' stones were crushed into a paint, applied to the car by Rolls-Royce's master craftsmen, and finished with a squirrel-haired paintbrush. Who would commission such a monument to high taste?

I note Rolls-Royce aficionado Lord Sugar has been even more bumptious than usual recently
My husband and I went on a Thomson Cruise & Stay holiday to the Panama Canal, Costa Rica and Colombia via Jamaica.

We checked in two suitcases at Gatwick airport, but when we boarded the cruise liner in Jamaica, only one was waiting for us.

The missing case contained all my husband's clothes, shoes, his wash bag, phone, Kindle charger, camera batteries, sun lotion and insect repellent.

We were given 100 to replace all of these items.

Kicking up a stink: A cruising couple were left high and dry after only one of their bags arrived in the Caribbean

My husband spent seven days in tropical sunshine in virtually the same clothes he'd travelled in.

We'd booked three long excursions and couldn't get the clothes cleaned between trips. We also couldn't dress for formal evenings, which we'd been looking forward to.

Thomson later sent another 100 as an apology, but said that bag handling was not its responsibility.

The holiday cost us 3,830 and was a once-in-a-lifetime affair.

Mrs V. A. D., Kent.

I had a lot of difficulty getting a sensible answer out of Thomson.

First, the firm sent a statement saying: 'We're sorry to hear about your readers' experience.

'We've tried to make contact a number of times without success so would encourage them to get in touch at their earliest convenience.'

You said you'd heard nothing from Thomson and no messages were left on your answerphone.

I told Thomson I'd had no trouble getting in contact with you and, miraculously, the firm then managed to make contact.

It has offered 200 compensation  which you have accepted. The branch in Bluewater, Kent, is helping with your baggage claim.

Travel insurance can vary considerably. Some kicks in only if the bag is still lost after 21 days, but others are more generous.

If your baggage is lost once it has been checked in, then the airline is responsible. You booked the holiday with Thomson and flew on the Thomson Dreamliner, so for it to blame baggage handlers is unacceptable.

If your luggage doesn't arrive, complain immediately to the airline. Some will give you an allowance while others will expect you to buy replacement items and provide receipts.

Claims must be made within 21 days of receiving your luggage. For mishandled baggage, the maximum liability is 1,131 (about 1,000) per passenger.

Mrs H and I split our clothing between two cases for our recent holiday, so at least we'd have some clean underwear and basic clothing if the airline lost a bag  I suggest readers do the same.

YOU HAVE YOUR SAY Every week Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some from last week's report about how councils are raking in hundreds of millions of pounds a year through unfair parking fines... I was fined for parking in a disabled bay even though I have a Blue Badge. By mistake I left this on the passenger seat instead of the dashboard, but surely any traffic warden with a brain would have let me off? T. M., Birmingham. I hope more people get caught out by parking fines. My biggest bugbear is people not parking correctly. I look forward to the day when spaces are patrolled electronically, so it will become impossible to park illegally. B. F., London. If traffic wardens were penalised every time someone appealed successfully, it might concentrate their minds. At the moment everything is stacked in the council's favour. A. A., Reading, Berks. Councils should encourage people to visit High Streets, not fine them for parking there, or we won't have any left. F. N., Manchester. I always hear people moaning about this, but it wouldn't be a problem if drivers made sure they weren't parked illegally. I don't know why sticking to the rules is so hard for some. D. D., London. Councils are supposed to work for the local community, yet the waste and corruption in some local authorities is shocking. Someone needs to do a serious investigation into it. B. C., London. I'm all for fining people who break the rules, such as parking on double yellow lines, but giving traffic wardens ticket targets should be illegal. Motorists must be treated fairly, especially when it's obvious it's not their fault. K. N., London.

I have a savings account with Sainsbury's Bank and asked for 1,000 from it to be transferred to my NatWest current account.

I sent two documents to prove my identity by return of post.

Sainsbury's is disputing whether one of the documents, an HMRC coding notice, is valid.

I asked to speak with the head of customer services, but have been refused access.

D. S., Liverpool.

There is a fine line between security and silliness when it comes to protecting customers' money  but I think Sainsbury's Bank kept to the right side of it.

Most banks ask you to set up a way to pay money out of your account and need to be sure it is you  and not an identity thief  making the request.

Some banks fail to apply common sense here, especially when dealing with pensioners, who may not have a passport or driving licence.

Sainsbury's Bank accepts a winter fuel allowance notice, but you had shredded yours. Your tax coding notice was too old  banks generally want a document issued within the past three months.

The bank said it would pay for you to get a certified copy of your driving licence. I am pleased to hear that you now have your money and all is well.

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT Can you explain how I pay interest on an equity release loan if I borrow 60,000 against the value of my house? R. C., via email. With most equity release plans you don't pay anything until you sell your home. Instead, the interest is added on at a set rate each month. If you allow it to roll up like this, your loan will typically double in 11 to 12 years. Some providers let you pay interest monthly to stop this happening. *** British Gas says it has not received the cheque I sent for my boiler insurance. But my bank says it's been cashed. B. S., London. British Gas has apologised for the mistake. An administration error meant the payment failed to show up on your file even though it had been received. This has been fixed and you have been given 50 as an apology for the inconvenience. *** If you paid a deposit for a holiday on a credit card and later paid the remaining balance on a debit card, would you be covered under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if something went wrong? L. H., London. Yes. You are covered even if you pay only part of a purchase on your credit card. In theory, this could be just a penny. The only condition is the total cost of the purchase must be between 100 and 30,000. *** If I leave a will stating that when I die, I want everything I have to go to my children, will they still need to apply for a grant of probate? S. B., via email. That is likely to depend on the size of the estate. Probate is a legal document that gives the executor of the will the authority to share out an estate in line with the instructions laid out. So, just leaving a will does not rule out the need for it. Most major banks and building societies will release between 25,000 and 50,000 without probate. But if there is property, probate will almost certainly be needed.

I recently took out motorcycle insurance with Hastings Direct and was sent the documents and a certificate.

A few weeks later, I was pulled over by the police, who could not find any evidence of my insurance. I was charged and my bike was impounded.

I rang Hastings and found the number plate it had on file showed a 'U' instead of a 'V'. The error was amended and the police dropped the charges. I paid 150 to recover my bike.

Hastings first said it would pay half of the fee. Now it won't and says I should have checked the documents more carefully.

M. A., Oxon.

Hastings Direct has investigated your complaint and found you put in the wrong details on the comparison site you used, which were sent through to Hastings.

It says that on the comparison site, vehicle details are not automatically filled in when the number plate is entered, so you must have done it manually.

I think you probably misread the number rather than mistyped it, as 'U' and 'V' are not near each other on a keyboard.

Clearly, as this was your error, Hastings will not be accepting responsibility. However, it does admit there was a delay in its communications with you.

It has apologised and offered 75 to compensate, which covers half the impounding fee.

Your letter is a lesson to us all to be absolutely certain that we input details correctly and then check our documents carefully.
Time-poor office workers are ordering breakfast to their desks  making early morning eating the fastest-growing takeaway category.

Just Eat said more companies were ordering breakfast for their staff, saving time eating at home.

It has driven a shift in ordering patterns at the food delivery firm, with breakfast and desserts the most popular  replacing Greek food.

Chief executive David Buttress is stepping down into a non-executive role because of 'urgent family matters'.

He said: 'Busy professionals work a lot of hours so people are now ordering their breakfast to the office.

'It's a new trend.'

The growth in office ordering follows a similar scheme by rival Deliveroo, which saw it launch a service last year where diners can order lunch to their desks.

The UK food delivery market ballooned to more than 6billion for the first time in 2016.

Just Eat increased its slice of the market and reported sales of 376million in 2016, up 52 per cent on last year, while profits jumped 164 per cent to 91.3million.
Outsourcing firm Mitie tumbled after Jefferies downgraded the stock to 'underperform'.

The broker slashed its target price for the shares to 175p from 195p amid fears around an accounting review.

The current method of accounting may have flattered profits by up to 30million a year for the past three years, it said. It's a blow to new chief executive Phil Bentley, who took the helm at Mitie in December.

Jefferies said that while Bentley was taking many necessary steps to rehabilitate the business the reward was not worth the risk for investors.

Accounting woes: Outsourcing firm Mitie tumbled after Jefferies downgraded the stock to 'underperform'

It has been a challenging time for Mitie, which has made three profit warnings to shareholders since September when its shares fell more than 25 per cent overnight.

The downgrade will, however, likely be welcomed by the 14 firms with short positions in the stock.

Artemis Investment Management has held its 0.6 per cent short position since December 20  shares are down around 8 per cent since then.

Six of the shorts were put in place only last week as the firm offloaded its loss-making healthcare division for just 2. Mitie shares slipped 5.6 per cent, or 11.8p, to 198.3p.

The FTSE 100 finished down 0.15 per cent, or 11.13 points, at 7338.99.

Near the top of the pile on the day was testing and certification services firm Intertek.

Shareholders were feeling positive on the stock after they saw their total dividend increase 19.3 per cent to 62.4p a share and Goldman Sachs upped its target price by 120p to 4470p. Shares surged 4.7 per cent, or 171p, to 3765p.

STOCK WATCH - BLUR GROUP Blur Group saw its share price more than double as it revealed a potential deal with a global electronics group. Blur provides software which helps businesses source goods and services. It said it was in the final stages of negotiations with a global group for a programme which would be used across three regions. If successful it could lead to a multi-year, multi-million dollar roll out of Blurs software. Excitement around the deal saw shares rocket 118.2 per cent, or 8.1p, to 15p.

Standard Life was among the greatest fallers as excitement about its tie-up with Aberdeen wore off. Shares stumbled 3.8 per cent, or 15.1p, to 384.9p.

Grafton Group leapt after reassuring investors that it was still growing despite Brexit. It also hiked its dividend 10 per cent.

The building products firm reported record revenue of 2.5billion, up 13 per cent from a year ago, and said it was seeing strong growth in Ireland.

The purchase of Isero in the Netherlands added 9.1million to operating profit, and the firm said more Dutch acquisitions were very likely in the short term.

Grafton also expects to open at least another ten Selco branches in the UK this year.

Numis said that the challenges in the building merchants sector shouldn't be underestimated, but kept a 'buy' rating on the stock  it expects pre-tax profit to climb 7 per cent this year. Shares advanced 8.2 per cent, or 50p, to 657p.

With 21 per cent of its business in the US, brick maker Ibstock could be well placed to benefit from the expected infrastructure spending boom.

The firm reported revenue growth of 5 per cent in 2016 to 435million and saw pre-tax profit climb to 110.9million from 86.3million.

Uncertainty around housebuilding and the EU referendum saw slower demand for bricks in the UK in the first half of the year but Ibstock said this recovered in the second half.

US sales were boosted by a weaker pound and the firm said the outlook for the region was positive as the new home market continued to recover. Shares gained 3.6 per cent, or 7.4p, to 210.5p.

Stock broker Peel Hunt said that while Ibstock's results were better than expected, it prefers rival Forterra (up 6.5 per cent, or 12.75p, to 208.75p).

Lakehouse leapt as it revealed a 39million contract win.

The support services firm will help Scottish Power install some 400,000 energy meters across the West Midlands over four years.

Lakehouse also revealed plans to move from the main market to AIM. Shares soared 11.25 per cent, or 4.5p, to 44.5p.
London shares rose after Philip Hammond unveiled revised growth figures for the UK economy in his first budget as Chancellor.

Growth is expected to rise next year from the 1.4 per cent previously suggested to 2 per cent this year.

But GDP has been downgraded after that to 1.6 per cent, 1.7 per cent, 1.9 per cent in subsequent years, then 2 per cent in 2021-22.

The mixed economic predictions sent the pound down 0.4 per cent to a seven week low against the dollar at $1.2155.

Neil Wilson at ETX Capital explained: 'The pound was unmoved, holding at seven-week lows as there was nothing in the speech to really to drive demand for sterling.

'The pound remains hamstrung by ongoing uncertainty over Brexit following the bloody nose delivered by the Lords. Until we get more certainty the pressure will remain on the pound.

'A big downgrade to UK growth in 2018 and 2019 from November is striking and a sign of the big hit from Brexit now being baked into the forecasts. That certainly didnt help sterling find a bid and offset any bullishness from better numbers this year.'

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The goal of any prison sentence or correctional sentencing should be rehabilitation.

There are adults who have been found to be incapable of rehabilitation, but with juvenile offenders, finding measures to put them on the right path should always be the overriding goal.

We were pleased to read that Racine County Circuit Court judges are considering changes to how intake workers determine which youths should be detained while they wait to see a judge.

The changes would mean moving from the countys current policy, which mandates detention for youths charged with certain crimes, to a scoring tool that would allow some defendants referred to the county Juvenile Detention Center to go home with a parent or guardian before appearing in court.

The trend in juvenile justice is to ensure that the right kids go to detention for the right reasons, explained Kerry Milkie, manager of the youth and family division of the countys Human Services Department.

Under Racine Countys current intake policy, which was established in 1996, juveniles charged with certain crimes must be detained at the countys Racine County Detention Center, 1717 Taylor Ave., while their cases are processed. Those crimes range from homicide and first-degree sexual assault to bomb scares and possession with intent to deliver any controlled substance.

Using the proposed assessment tool, intake workers would develop a score for young defendants that would be used to determine whether they should be detained before seeing a judge.

Intake workers would take into account the magnitude of the crime with which the youth is charged as well as other factors, such as the number of pending or prior delinquency referrals the youth has had, and/or prior escapes or failures to appear for court.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice, along with juvenile court intake workers in Racine, Manitowoc, Rock, Waukesha, La Crosse and Milwaukee counties, have been studying the tool over the past few years. Rock, Waukesha and Milwaukee counties have formally adopted it.

In 2016, the assessment tool and Racine Countys current policy matched up 97 percent of the time, meaning that in all but 15 cases the assessment tool recommended the same kids be detained as the current policy, Milkie said.

We think the scoring system in place in other Wisconsin counties should be formally adopted here.

Implicit in the move toward the scoring system is the idea that some juvenile defendants would benefit from not being detained. That the lecture or punishment from Mom, Dad or guardian would be more beneficial to some juveniles than a night in detention. If that means sending some young offenders home with parent or guardian until he or she sees a judge, so be it.

The seriousness or severity of some juveniles offenses would, of course, disqualify them from being sent home.

But for those who would qualify under the scoring system for going home, we must remember what is in our communitys, our societys, best interest: Nipping bad behavior in the bud, and using all means and methods available to turn a juvenile offender toward a future in which he or she has no further contact with the justice system as a defendant. Where he or she is contributing to the communitys economy instead of costing the community tax dollars through incarceration.

We should always try to steer juveniles, at any stage in the correctional process, toward eventually contributing positively to society.
Deal: SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son is keen to attract international investment

Saudi investors are taking a 25 per cent stake in British chip designer ARM just six months after it was bought by Japanese firm Softbank.

It is understood Softbank, which bought ARM for 24billion in the summer, is placing a 6.6billion stake in the firm into its 82.2billion investment fund.

Billionaire Softbank boss Masayoshi Son is keen to attract international investment into his so-called Vision Fund, and this deal is seen as key to this.

Son wants to secure billions of pounds from Abu Dhabi-backed investment group Mubadala, in a bid to raise investment for innovation such as artificial technology and internet-linked household gadgets.

But if the deal, as reported in the Financial Times, is true it will give the Saudis increased influence over one of Britain's brightest technology firms.

ARM designs microchips for vehicles, Apple iPhones, Galaxy smartphones and Amazon Kindle e-readers.

It is also ploughing greater investment into the driverless car industry and is planning projects in robotics and automotives.

It was widely considered to be the jewel in Britain's technology crown, and seen as key to Britain's domination of connected devices.

While its sale to the Japanese was backed by the UK Government, it was widely criticised for letting yet another UK-owned company fall into foreign hands.

The Government is believed to have been made aware of yesterday's stake sale, although is not thought to have raised concerns.

It is thought the transfer of the stake into the Vision Fund was to appease investors, who want ARM to form part of its investments.

Softbank is putting about 20billion into the fund, with others expected to invest including Apple, Qualcomm, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn.

ARM and Softbank declined to comment on the reported sale.

It is understood Mubadala is in talks with Softbank, and expects to make an announcement next week.

Mubadala, which did not respond to requests to comment from the Daily Mail, told the Financial Times: 'We're having ongoing, fruitful discussions over our participation in the fund.

'ARM is certainly a strong technology company with great, continued potential. The Abu Dhabi group has been focused on growing its technology investments over the past decade, including in the semiconductor sector.'

Mubadala will invest as much as 12.3billion in the fund and should reach a formal agreement by the end of this month, according to reports. That would make it the second-biggest outside contributor after Saudi Arabia's 37billion.

The deal will spark further questions about the loss of ARM to foreign owners, and coming so soon after Softbank's purchase could raise concerns over its commitment to the UK.

When it bought the Cambridge-based firm, Softbank pledged to embark on a major recruitment drive while keeping its headquarters in the UK.

But questions have been asked over the legality of that commitment  the promises are untested and there is no precedent for enforcing them.

News of the Softbank takeover came just after Britain voted to leave the EU, and Downing Street called it a vote of confidence in Britain.

But at the time, ARM founder Hermann Hauser said he was 'disappointed' the company would no longer be British-owned.

'I still regret the fact we have lost our last independent high-tech company with a global reach,' he said. 'There was no reason for change. It had 1billion of cash and had got it right for the last 30 years.'

It will also throw Son's investments into scrutiny.

In December Son pledged a $50billion (41.1billion) investment in the US, which he said would create 50,000 jobs  a move US president Donald Trump said was a direct result of his election win.
Sky deal: Rupert Murdoch 21st Century Fox said it 'welcomed' a government review

SKY REVIEW Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox said it 'welcomed' a Government review into its 11.7billion deal to buy the 39 per cent of Sky it does not already own.

It said: 'We are confident this transaction would not result in there being insufficient plurality in the UK.'

CAIRN CONFIDENT Cairn Energy says it is 'well-positioned' to make more money for shareholders.

It is set to see the first oil from its Catcher and Kraken developments in the North Sea this year.

Cairn also has developments in Western Sahara, Ireland and Senegal, from where first oil is expected between 2021 and 2023.

CONTRACT WIN Engineering giant Amec Foster Wheeler has won a 43.4million contract from Italian oil company Eni.

It will build a steam-reforming plant for hydrogen production at Eni's refinery in Gela, Italy.

GOLD PROMISE East Africa- focused gold producer Shanta Gold has reported 'encouraging' results from exploring the New Luika gold mine in Tanzania.

Drilling has found significant estimates of gold, with the first due to be extracted in the second quarter.

CMC DEAL Shares in broker CMC Markets jumped yesterday after it unveiled a deal with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. It could lead to a 24.9million revenue boost.

REVENUE RISE Fuel cell technology developer Ceres Power said revenue of 1.5million during the past six months was triple the same period a year ago.

It has also had its first major US deal and signed development agreements including with Honda and Nissan.

WELLS SALE AIM-listed Northern Petroleum has agreed to buy more wells and facilities in Alberta, Canada and hopes to produce oil from them this year.

It is buying 75 per cent of the assets, with its joint venture partner High Power Petroleum buying the remaining 25 per cent.

SLIMMER STAIRS Plane-maker Airbus is considering doing away with the grand staircase on its Airbus A380s in order to revive sales.

It said the change would add 40-50 seats on the double-deck airliner.

VODKA SHAKE-UP Vodka producer Stock Spirits, now run by new chief Mirek Stachowicz, has cut the number of products and replaced its Polish senior managers.

Prices are now in line with rivals in Poland, which it said would affect margins. Sales fell 0.7 per cent from 228.3million to 226.8million in 2016, while profit rose 24.5 per cent to 34million.

MEAL DEAL Frankie & Benny's owner Restaurant Group is cutting jobs and overhauling its menu in a bid to win back families.

The group, which operates 488 restaurants, has been hurt by competition in the casual dining market from rivals such as Nando's.

JOB LOSS Barclays is shutting a mortgage centre with the loss of 60 jobs. The centre in Llanishen, Cardiff, will close in the next 12 months.
Philip Hammond is thought to have extra cash for the Budget.

With the economy motoring along, there could be small boosts for elderly care and shopkeepers facing huge tax rises.

But the Chancellor has said there will be no big giveaways. He is expected to save major tax changes until Brexit negotiations have been triggered later this year.

Here, we look at what could be in store for you today.

NATIONAL INSURANCE

There have been hints that Mr Hammond will hike National Insurance (NI) charges for people who work for themselves.

Britain's self-employed workers pay 9 per cent of their income in NI, but company employees pay 12 per cent and employers pay a further 13.8 per cent.

This made sense when the self-employed had less state pension, but that changed last year with a new 155 payout.

SMALL SHOPS

Thousands of shopkeepers, pub landlords and restaurant owners are hoping the Government keeps a promise to ease the burden of looming tax hikes.

Money Mail's Save our Shops campaign revealed half a million traders face business rate increases of up to 3,000 per cent from April, which could force many pubs, shops and nurseries to close.

Now, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said help will be announced in the Budget.

Balancing act: Chancellor Philip Hammond said there will be no big giveaways. He is expected to save major tax changes until Brexit negotiations have been triggered later this year

ELDERLY CARE

Councils are struggling to fund care home places. Mr Hammond could give them 1.3 billion to tackle this crisis and announce a longer-term care funding review.

A 'care Isa'  a tax boost if you put aside money for care  and tax-free pension withdrawals to pay nursing bills may be proposed.

The Government may push forward with a 72,000 cap on care bills and consider a 'death tax' to take care fees from former residents' estates.

SMALL PRINT

Companies will be banned from using baffling small print to tie customers into rip-off deals.

Councils could get 1.3bn to tackle the care home crisis

Money Mail campaigned against endless pages of catches on phone contracts or gym memberships.

Mr Hammond is expected to limit small-print length and rule against subscription traps, where money is taken from your account automatically after a free trial ends.

The competition watchdog may receive new powers too.

PENSIONS

Before last year's Budget, Money Mail campaigned to stop a pensions tax raid.

But will Mr Hammond try the same trick?

Savers can put up to 40,000 a year in a pension and pay no income tax until they withdraw it.

At 55, they can take 25 per cent tax-free. This costs the Treasury 38 billion a year in lost revenues.

Mr Hammond could cut the annual limit to 35,000, or reduce the lifetime limit from 1 million to 750,000.

BUY-TO-LET

Landlords have been scrambling to beat a tax blow by setting up companies. Buy-to-let investors get tax relief up to 45 per cent on their mortgage interest bills.

This will fall to 20 per cent over the next four years, unless the property is in a registered company.

But the National Landlords Association fears the Chancellor will stop people doing this and restrict tax relief for all landlords.

Buy-to-let investors get tax relief up to 45 per cent on their mortgage interest bills. This will fall to 20 per cent over the next four years, unless the property is in a registered company

INSURANCE TAX

Drivers and household insurance bills increase in June, when premium taxes are hiked.

The tax has risen from 6 per cent in 2015 to 10 per cent today, and will now hit 12 per cent.

Motorists face an extra 300 a year hit from a payout rate for serious injury in car accidents.

Motoring campaigners want fuel duty cut, or frozen, for longer

The Government had to review this change, and is under pressure to review premium taxes.

Insurers suggest taxes be waived for under-21s, who face the biggest hikes.

FUEL DUTY

Motoring campaigners want fuel duty cut, or frozen, for longer.

Drivers currently pay a 57.95p per litre levy on petrol and diesel, frozen until next year.

It's been frozen since 2011, so it's ripe for an increase.

But the Chancellor could cut the tax as a small giveaway to compensate for insurance premium rises in June.

money.mail@dailymail.co.uk
A central aspect of Chancellor Philip Hammond's Budget address was the forecasts for the United Kingdom's economic growth over the next four years, and the numbers he revealed were very much a mixed bag.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has upgraded its forecast for GDP growth in 2017 from 1.4 per cent to 2 per cent as the UK economy continues to defy doom-mongers in the face of the looming Brexit process.

It was not all good news however, with the OBR downgrading its forecast for 2018 from 1.7 per cent to 1.6 per cent, lowering the 2019 figure from 2.1 per cent to 1.7 per cent, then forecasting an unspectacular but still solid 1.9 per cent in 2020 and 2 per cent in 2021.

Economist and chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility Robert Chote in jovial mood

Government borrowing is forecast to move in the right direction however, to 58.3 billion in 2017/18, 40.8 billion in 2018/19, then 21.4 billion, 20.6 billion in following years, reaching 16.8 billion in 2021/22, all lower than forecast last November.

Economists sounded relatively positive on the overall picture, with no signs of alarm bells being rung.

Global economist at Fidelity International Anna Stupnytska saw the tweaking of the forecasts and public spending plans as 'prudent'.

'As widely expected, Philip Hammond adopted a cautious approach to the public finances in his first - and last - Spring Budget,' she said. 'This seems prudent in light of the risks to the UK fiscal outlook. Putting Brexit aside, there are reasons to believe that the public finances are flattering to deceive.'

'Global growth has surprised to the upside over the past year, but looks likely to moderate over the coming months,' Stupnytska added. 'This less friendly backdrop is likely to weigh on the UK economy and tax receipts.'

'Higher borrowing costs could also blow the public finances off course, with a larger debt pile making the UK much more sensitive to rising yields.'

Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed today that the UK economy is forecast to grow faster this year than previously expected

'The Chancellor delivered a safety first Budget with some well-targeted giveaways on social care, vocational training and business rates relief that were broadly offset by tax rises for the self-employed and other measures,' added PwC chief economist John Hawksworth.

'The Chancellor's caution is understandable given that, despite better than expected short term numbers, the OBR made little change to its medium-term projections for either economic growth or public borrowing.'

'The timing of the adverse economic and fiscal impact of Brexit has been pushed back a bit, but the eventual impact in 2021 remains more or less the same as in the Autumn Statement in November,' Hawksworth continued.

If the OBR's forecasts for faster than expected growth this year are correct, it should help keep the queues down at Jobcentres like this

'Facing many economic and political uncertainties around Brexit and other geopolitical events, it was prudent for the Chancellor to protect the 26 billion headroom he left himself in meeting the new fiscal target he set out in the Autumn Statement.'

Ian Kernohan of Royal London Asset Management, was another among the ranks of economists who seemed to cautiously welcome the Chancellor's measured approach.

'There is little sense here that the OBR believes that Brexit will be a significant headwind to growth, despite the Prime Minister's stated aim of leaving both the Single Market and Customs Union, however its GDP forecasts over the next five years look modest enough to offer some room for upside surprise,' he said.

'The OBR has deemed any improvement in the public finances as down to one off factors, so there was little room for any major change in the fiscal stance at this point,' Kernohan continued.

'That said the Chancellor still has some room for extra borrowing, thanks to the new fiscal rules introduced last year. He has taken the decision to save this modest honey pot, in case the Brexit process causes a much larger than expected hit to economic growth.'
MAKHOSINI  A high demand for embalming chemical, which is one of the ingredients allegedly used by drug peddlers in manufacturing highly addictive drugs, is suspected to be behind the seizure of the substance on Monday.



The powder, which is alleged to fetch about E400 000 per kilogrammes on the black market, was confiscated from three men who were crossing into the kingdom, from South Africa.



The bust occurred along the borderline at Makhosini area shortly before 6pm.

Soldiers manning the borderline were alerted to three suspicious men who were trying to cross over into the country and acted swiftly to capture them.



The men were interviewed and later taken to the police.

Confirming the apprehension of the trio, Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) Public Relations Officer (PRO) Lieutenant Colonel Madoda Mkhatshwa, identified the suspects as a South African national, who was in the company of two locals.



He said they were caught by members of the USDF on Monday evening while trying to gain entry into the country through illegal means.

The time was around 5:45pm when our members tried to control the three. They were questioned and later handed over to the police who are continuing with their investigation, said Mkhatshwa.



He said the army personnel found the men with about 1kg of the substance which was suspected to be embalming chemical.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba said the suspects were kept in police custody, pending further investigations.
LOBAMBA  Once again Members of Parliament (MPs) have been left with an egg on their faces.



This is after they unanimously agreed to allow the Finance Minister, Martin Dlamini, to reintroduce the Appropriation Bill No.1 of 2017 (Budget), which they had rejected just last week Wednesday.



Needless to say, Cabinet had the last laugh because as early as this morning, the different Portfolio Committees will start debating the various budgets under ministries.



So defeated were the MPs that they even unprecedentedly voted against debating the Budget Speech and instead agreed to just continue with the committee sittings that commence this morning.

It was clear that the MPs fate had long been sealed as immediately after their caucus, the schedule for the portfolio committees was distributed, which proved that it had been prepared prior to the decision being made.



Many of the MPs left the House in a solemn mood, and in small groups discussed and wondered why Parliament was even in place if none of their views would be considered yet they had been elected by the people.



Cabinet ministers on the other hand were in high spirits and walked over to shake hands with the MPs whom they felt had supported them.

The PM Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, also confidently strolled out once the voting had been done and it was his Deputy Paul Dlamini who ended yesterdays sitting.



When the House resumed its sitting at 2:30pm yesterday, the Speaker, Themba Msibi, highlighted that the days Order Paper had the tabling of the ministries annual performance reports, and at the end of the days business was the Appropriation Bill, 2017, which had to be reintroduced in the House.


MBABANE  A woman was beheaded and skinned in a suspected ritual killing.



The womans mutilated body was found in a decomposed state in a forest at Mdzangwini. The woman is estimated to be in her 30s.

A foul smell in the forest led to the discovery of the womans body which is suspected to have been mutilated for ritual purposes.

The unknown womans head had the skin removed from close to the neck to the top as there was no scalp or hair but only the skull. A headscarf had been tied around her neck to the bottom part of a tree trunk and her body was a few steps away from her head.



Skin was also removed from both her thighs down to her legs but on her feet she was still wearing her red Carvela shoes.

Next to the body was her bra which had been taken off and she was wearing two jerseys, a green one and a multi-coloured one, which was also hanging from around her neck. An earring, which is suspected to belong to her was found less than a metre away from the body and suspicions are that this is where she had been trying to fight and flee from the person or people who ended up killing her.



At the scene was a grey skirt which she had been wearing. There was no cellphone or handbag found with any documents to identify her.

It is suspected that the woman who looked light in complexion from her remains, was raped before she was killed.



Fana Thwala, the man who made the discovery, said he felt a strong odour which he thought was that of a decomposing dog. Out of curiosity, he got closer to where the smell was coming from and he saw the woman and ran back home to inform the elders.

We had cut down the trees in this forest with the other community members two days ago, but we did not come close as we cut down trees a few metres away. This is very disturbing because we do not know who did this and if the person is from around here. There was never at any point any sound of screams we heard coming from this forest, Thwala said.
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By Mark Hallum

Community Board 11 approved a motion at the Monday meeting for a street co-naming in honor of the late Frank Skala, a Bayside teacher and community activist who died in 2015.

City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) will present the bill to the City Council for the co-naming to be approved by the proper committee.

Frank Skala was a fiercely dedicated community activist and civic leader. His enormous and lasting impact on the community is clearly evidenced by Community Board 11s unanimous vote to have 40th Avenue and Bell Boulevard co-named in his honor, Vallone said. I look forward to submitting a bill to make this co-naming a reality.

Skala, who grew up in Bayside and attended its schools, taught American History and Geography for 33 years at the now closed Campbell Junior High School 218 and Adrien Block Intermediate School 25 before retiring in 1992.

But Skalas tireless work with the community advocating for projects and organizations that preserve the quality of life of residents in the neighborhood is what he is known for outside his professional life. He founded the East Bayside Homeowners Association in 1974 to preserve the suburban nature of Bayside and later established the New Bayside High Alumni Association in 1991 which raised money and awarded scholarships for students.

A spokesman for Vallone said it is still early in the process, but if the bill passes the vetting process, the estimated date for the co-naming will be in mid- to late-summer.
Beaver County preparing for robust Election Day turnout

As the Nov. 8 midterm election approaches, nearly 114,000 people are registered to vote in Beaver County.
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Philly chef to take over Middleburgh eatery

Tyler DeGroff, who oversaw the recent renovation of Philly Brewery Lounge Coal Oven in Latham and revamping of its menu after the installation of a coal-fired oven, is leaving to assume ownership of the Green Iguana Bistro in Middleburgh, about 45 miles west of Albany in Schoharie County. He finishes at Philly this weekend.

DeGroff said he and his wife, Mindy, who met when they worked at New World Bistro Bar in Albany, are buying the 2-year-old Green Iguana. It is their first venture as proprietors.

DeGroff's sous chef at Philly, Ryck Procter, who like DeGroff has family in the Middleburgh area, will be joining him in the kitchen.

DeGroff expects to finalize the sale of the bistro next week. It may be closed for a day or two during the transition but otherwise will continue operation, he said. He plans an immediate change to the brunch menu and will adapt existing lunch and dinner menus to suit his fresh-local-seasonal approach.

He said he plans to source most of his produce from Barber's Farm in Middleburgh and the Carrot Barn in Schoharie.

Projected days and hours to start will be lunch and dinner Wednesday through Saturday, brunch and dinner Sunday.

The Green Iguana Bistro is located 104 Wells Ave., just off Main Street in downtown Middleburgh.

Chocolate fundraiser returns for 29th year

The Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern New York will celebrate its 29th annual Confections in Chocolate fundraising gala from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday atGlen Sanders Mansion in Scotia. This year's theme is "A Gallery of Hope."

A highlight of the evening is the array of chocolate desserts donated by local executive chefs and pastry chefs. The chefs will compete for the title of Best Themed Dessert, which the foundation will award following the event. Last year's champion was Mazzone Hospitality.

The black-tie-optional gala attracts more than 300 people annually and affords chefs an opportunity to showcase their talents.

Dessert donors include Farmer Boy Diner, Edible Arrangements, O'Malley's Oven, Blue Ribbon Diner, the Raindancer, Albany Marriott, Hannaford of Guilderland, Mazzone Hospitality, ShopRite of Niskayuna, Saratoga National and Bella Napoli Bakery.

Tickets to the event, at $160 per person, are available by calling 456-7501.

Glen Sanders Mansion is located at 1 Glen Ave.

Josh Coletto starting Sunday supper series

Josh Coletto, who ran the late, lamented Rock 'n' Roll Brunch at the Low Beat in Albany for two years, is returning with a different pop-up: Repas en familles Vol. 1, scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday, April 9, at Peck's Arcade in Troy.

From the description: "Bountiful platters of food'' and ''wine is included and will be aplenty!"

The series is a collaboration of Coletto and his Chefs Consortium colleague Michael Lapi

The price is $130.37 inclusive of food, wine, tax, service fee and online ticketing charge. Reserve and see the menu at www.familymealvol1.brownpapertickets.com.

Compiled by Steve Barnes. Items to be considered for publication must be submitted to sbarnes@timesunion.com.
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A St. Patrick's Day that falls on Friday means a double-dose of begorrah for those wanting to celebrate the wearing o' the green. Here's a look at the Irish events coming at you over the next 10 days.

THURSDAY, MARCH 9

History and Creation of the Irish Fighting Stick. Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany. 6:30 p.m. Join the museum, and Liam O Caidhla from Shillelagh, County Wicklow, Ireland, for an interesting look into one of Ireland's most interesting, but often misunderstood, icons, the shillelagh.

Teada, Old Songs, 37 S. Main St., Voorheesville. 7:30 p.m. $25. http://www.oldsongs.org. One of Irish traditional music's leading exponents.

FRIDAY, MARCH 10

Irish Comedy Tour, Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady. 7:30 p.m. http://www.proctors.org. The Irish Comedy Tour takes the party atmosphere of a Dublin pub and combines it with a boisterous, belly-laugh band of hooligans.

SATURDAY, MARCH 11

Albany's 67th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, 2 p.m. http://www.albanystpatricksdayparade.com. The annual event is hosted by the United Irish Societies of the Capital District. The parade steps off from Quail Street and Central Avenue and travels east on Washington Avenue and onto State Streets and North Pearl Street.

"Seanachie Eves  Warm Words on a Cold Evening," Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany. 7 p.m. Marni Gillard is a well-known regional storyteller who once taught at Niskayuna, but now freelances as a teacher-artist education consultant. The book "Storyteller, Storyteacher" traces her journey into storytelling and the transformation it brought to her classroom and her life.

St. Patrick's Day Parade Family Festival, Academy Park, Albany. Noon-5 p.m. http://www.albanystpatricksdayparade.com. The Irish American Heritage Museum and the city of Albany host this family-friendly, alcohol-free event that will showcase the culture and heritage of Ireland. The event will include music by the Brothers Flynn, Padraig Timoney and the Piper's Dojo, as well as storytelling by Bill Combes, Irish step-dancing by Bethlehem Traditional Irish Dance, face-painting, food and arts and crafts.

TUESDAY, MARCH 14

The High Kings, The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany. 7:30 p.m. $34. http://www.theegg.org. Ireland's folk band of the year performs traditional and original Celtic music, showcasing skills as multi-instrumentalists and vocalists, in support of their latest recording "Grace & Glory".

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15

Annual Irish Ceili Dance, Cambridge Central School Auditorium, 24 S. Park St., Cambridge. 7 p.m. Free https://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/hubbardhall/event.jsp?event=8550& A "ceili" is like an Irish square dance, where dances are taught and anyone can participate or watch. Presented by the Hubbard Hall Irish Dance. There will be a bake sale to support the dance costume fund.

THURSDAY, MAY 16

Hair of the Dog, Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady. 7:30 p.m. $30. http://www.proctors.org. Raise a pint with the Capital Region Irish band in a pre-Saint Paddy's Day celebration.

FRIDAY, MARCH 17

Hair of the Dog, Normanside Country Club, 150 Salisbury Road, Delmar. 7:30 p.m. $20-$25. 439-4505, Ext. 10. The area's popular traditional Irish band performs, and corned beef and cabbage is served.

Kyle Carey, A Place for Folk, 1221 Wendell Ave., Schenectady, 7 p.m. $10-$20. http://aplaceforfolk.org. Songs of the American folk anthology, the traditional music of Cape Breton, Ireland and Scotland, and the Appalachian poetry of Louise McNeill. Stories Told opens the show. A fluent Scottish Gaelic speaker, Kyle has released two albums, both critically acclaimed,

St. Patrick's Day Dinner, First United Methodist Church, 68 Maple Ave. Voorheesville. 4:30 p.m. $8-$13. 765-2895. Traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. Eat-in or takeout.

SATURDAY, MARCH 18

Collar City Kilt Fest, downtown Troy. 10 a.m. http://kiltrace.com. Early day family fun events and 5k give way to a City Wide Crawl as the sun starts to set.

Lunasa, Troy Music Hall, 30 Second St., Troy. 8 p.m. http://www.troymusichallo.org. Internationally known traditional Irish instrumental band.
Troy

Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove has asked the state district attorneys association to join him in challenging the constitutionality of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order giving the state attorney general the authority to intervene in cases involving fatal encounters between police and unarmed civilians.

Cuomo signed the order in July 2015 in the wake of a series of controversial and fatal encounters between police and unarmed civilians in New York and across the nation. The order gave Attorney General Eric Schneiderman the power to conduct independent investigations in fatal police encounters when, "in his opinion, there is a significant question as to whether the civilian was armed and dangerous at the time of his death."

A copy of Abelove's proposed court petition  which would be the first court challenge of Cuomo's order  was distributed to district attorneys around the state last week. Abelove asked for their support and also that they keep his request and the draft court documents confidential, according to two people familiar with the matter.

John W. Bailey, an attorney for Abelove, declined comment on the draft petition.

Abelove's proposed court action comes as his handling of a fatal police shooting in Troy is under investigation by Schneiderman. The attorney general is also probing the circumstances of the deadly encounter between a Troy police officer and a DWI suspect. Both investigations by Schneiderman were authorized by orders issued by Cuomo.

"These orders from the governor  especially that which targets me personally  cannot go unanswered," Abelove wrote in an email to the district attorneys association. "It is my belief that these orders are not lawful, and must be challenged in court."

Thomas P. Zugibe, president of the district attorneys association, did not respond to a request for comment.

Schneiderman obtained a court order last year that gave him access to Abelove's files on the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Edson Thevenin. The attorney general intervened after he criticized Abelove for doing an "end run" around the governor's executive order by quickly putting the case in front a grand jury, which cleared the officer who fired the shots, as Schneiderman's office said it was reviewing the case.

Schneiderman's investigation included enlisting forensic experts to analyze the angle of the shots fired by the officer and using that information to determine if the incident unfolded as police officials described  with the officer firing eight shots through the windshield of Thevenin's sedan after the car allegedly pinned the officer's legs against his police cruiser. People familiar with the investigation but not authorized to comment publicly said the attorney general's investigation has raised questions about whether that narrative is correct.

The Times Union reported last year that the officer, Sgt. Randall French, was given immunity when he testified to the panel that cleared him within a week of the shooting, and while the investigation was ongoing. The newspaper reported the grand jury did not hear testimony from two civilian witnesses whose accounts may have contradicted the police's version.

The shooting took place about 3:15 a.m. April 17, 2015, on Hoosick Street near the Collar City Bridge after a car driven by Thevenin was boxed in by two police cruisers following a brief chase that police said began when he fled a traffic stop. The draft petition prepared by Abelove includes additional details about what preceded the shooting, including allegations that Thevenin ran away as he was being given a field sobriety test by French, who pepper sprayed Thevenin and ran after him.

"Sgt. French attempted to pull Thevenin's keys from his ignition and was dragged a short distance along the side of Thevenin's car," the petition states.

Abelove said two police cruisers chased Thevenin and boxed in his vehicle. French's legs were allegedly pinned between his cruiser and Thevenin's car. The officer opened fire at that point, Abelove said. Police officials said they considered Thevenin armed because he was using his vehicle as a weapon.

Under state law, Schneiderman needed authority from the governor to investigate a sitting district attorney. In that investigation, Abelove, who is in his first term, faces potential consequences ranging from removal from office to criminal prosecution if Schneiderman's office uncovers wrongdoing.

At the time Abelove presented the case to a grand jury, the attorney general's office said it would review whether to investigate the shooting. Abelove contends an assistant attorney general, Paul Clyne, who is a former Albany County district attorney, told Abelove on the day of the shooting that the state office would likely not intervene in the case. Schneiderman's office disputes that account.

blyons@timesunion.com  518-454-5547  @brendan_lyonstu
ROTTERDAM -- A retired BOCES social worker accused of inappropriately touching a 13-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday, town police said,

Charles W. Rhynhart, 63, of Albany is charged with one count of misdemeanor forcible touching.

Rhynhart allegedly inappropriately touched the teen three to four years ago inside his Mohonasen Central School District office, Rotterdam police spokesman Lt. Michael Brown said. Rhynhart is now retired, he said.

Detectives received the initial sexual misconduct report in December 2016 and arrested Rhynhart Tuesday after an investigation, the lieutenant said.

Brown said there are no further allegations at this time. Anyone with additional information can call detectives at 518-355-7397.
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Elsa Martinez came to the United States as a young woman with one dream: to live in a house.

"I didn't dream about a mansion. I dreamed about a house made of clay tiles and cement," Martinez said in Spanish. "I dreamed of making a home for my parents to live in and seeing my family do better."

Choking back tears, the 48-year-old mother of five smiled and said, "I achieved that. Thank God, I achieved that."

After spending her childhood running from El Salvador's civil war and her adulthood fighting deportation from the United States, Martinez won a small victory Wednesday afternoon: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told her she would not be detained at this time.

She emerged from the Department of Homeland Security building in Latham to applause from about 30 protesters and hugs from her family members, who live in Hudson.

"My life is here in the U.S.A. and I've been here for 27 years," Martinez told the crowd in English. "I live with my family here."

Martinez came to the United States from El Salvador in the late 1980s without proper documentation and has been fighting her deportation since 1990, her 26-year-old daughter Gloria Martinez said. Her mother now has a work permit and is filing for temporary protective status, she said.

Calling her home country "terrible," Martinez said in English, "I come here for my dream."

When the civil war began in 1980, Martinez said she, her parents and eight siblings lived in poverty without a home.

"My father had served in the military and was persecuted," Martinez said in Spanish.

The conflict, which spanned 12 years, pitted the Salvadoran military government, which was allied with the United States, against leftist rebels. About 75,000 civilians died.

To stay safe, Martinez said her family hid in the countryside, slept outdoors and constantly moved place to place.

"Once we ate tortillas with salt because we had so little to eat," she said.

Now, in Hudson, Martinez owns a cleaning business and thrives as the single mom of five kids, all of them U.S. citizens who range from 17 years old to 26.

"What could they possibly gain from deporting her?" her 25-year-old son Nicholas Gonzalez said, describing his mom as a "church-going woman."

Residents, religious leaders, labor advocates and elected officials rallied outside the Troy-Schenectady Road federal facility while Martinez met inside with immigration officers Wednesday. Protesters chanted and held signs that read, "No human being is illegal," "Keep Elsa and her family together" and "Proudly standing with immigrants."

At her last appointment, an immigration officer took her passport and told Martinez, "See, now I have your passport and can deport you at any time," her daughter Gloria said. On Wednesday, she and her mother met with a supervisor, who explained that Martinez would not be deported and retaining her passport was standard procedure.

"They need to make sure they maintain a certain amount of control over the person, and by having their passport they basically know they are not going to be leaving," said Nicholas Tishler, the attorney who represented Martinez on Wednesday. The ICE supervisor met with Martinez to "reassure her," he said.

"This was a regular reporting appointment for Elsa. She's under an order of supervision and one of the requirements of that order is that she make regular reports to this particular office," the attorney said. "What they're trying to determine is that the person's address is current and the information that they've provided is correct. It's a status report."

Martinez's 17-year-old daughter Mariana Ramirez paced outside the Homeland Security building while her older sister Gloria accompanied their mother inside.

"I'm nervous and a little anxious," the teen said, propping her 1-year-old son DeAndre on her hip. "I'm still in school, so I depend on her." Mariana is expecting a second baby boy next month, and her mother supports her financially.

Martinez is the third member of her family recently embraced by the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement and Albany New Sanctuary Movement.

Her brother Ramiro Martinez-Chacon was detained by immigration officers outside his Hudson home on Feb. 7 and is being held at the Rensselaer County jail on behalf of ICE.

An agency spokesman said Martinez-Chacon is facing criminal prosecution for re-entry after deportation, a federal felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, Ramiro was removed from the U.S. in December 2000 at Miami, Fla., and returned to the U.S. without permission. Relatives said Ramiro first arrived in the U.S. in the 1990s.

Gonzalez said his 12- and 6-year-old cousins are devastated by their father's detainment.

"They looked up to their dad," Gonzalez said. "He has his problems, but I know my uncle to be a good man."

Martinez-Chacon was one of about 600 undocumented immigrants detained across the country in early February during raids conducted by ICE. Several immigrants were detained in the Hudson Valley, federal officials confirmed.

Martinez-Chacon's wife, Maria de Jesus Canterero Mercado, met with federal agents about her own immigration status on March 2, as about 25 people from local sanctuary groups rallied outside the Latham government building.

De Jesus was deported to El Salvador in 2002 and she unlawfully returned, ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls said. De Jesus meets with immigration officials monthly to verify her whereabouts and activity. Supervisors told de Jesus on March 2 she would not be detained or deported at this time because she has two young sons who are U.S. citizens.

On Wednesday, Nicholas Gonzalez waited outside the Homeland Security building for Martinez to emerge and watched community members rally for his mom.

"We've never had this kind of support before," he said. "I've seen my mother struggle and this is probably the best thing I've seen from this experience."

emasters@timesunion.com  518-454-5467  @emilysmasters
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George Bell has gotten countless phone calls over the last decade about the disappearance of 12-year-old Jaliek Rainwalker but, until last week, no caller had reported the discovery of a young boy's remains.

When a hiker spotted a skull, partially buried in state wetlands along the Hudson River in Greene County, on Feb. 26, State Police investigators immediately called Bell, the Greenwich-Cambridge police chief, with the news. On Monday, state conservation officials said an examination revealed the skull likely came from a boy between the ages of 10 and 13.

"I have mixed emotions. If you look outside the box, it all fits," Bell said Tuesday. "But I don't want to draw false conclusions or give false hope."

Bell said investigators told him the remains washed up five to 10 years ago into the Vosburgh Swamp in Coxsackie.

Rainwalker vanished from his adoptive parents' Washington County home in November 2007. Police believe foul play was involved and have scrutinized his adoptive father but no one was ever charged in his disappearance.

Bell, who leads the 10-year-old homicide investigation, said Tuesday that there is no evidence so far that indicates the skull is Rainwalker's.

"We don't know a lot," Bell said, adding he was surprised by the Department of Environmental Conservation's disclosure of the age range of the skull. "I don't have that information."

A forensic anthropologist examined a photograph of the skull before making the age and gender determination, the DEC said Monday. Additional definitive testing will provide a more precise estimation on when the person died.

The development was published in the weekly Forest Ranger Actions report on the agency's website. State Police Lt. Brian Webster said the DEC didn't coordinate the announcement with troopers.

The State Police are sifting the evidence and have not "officially" determined the age, gender or identity of the person whose remains were found last week, Webster said.

Next, forensic examiners will grind the bone and extract whatever marrow is left, Bell said. DNA results could take two weeks, the chief said.

Bell said he hopes the evidence matches Rainwalker's DNA and finally provides closure but he admitted it would be a long shot.

"We're not holding out hope in terms of DNA at this point," Bell said. He also noted the skull could belong to any of a number of missing people.

"There are so many possibilities," he said.

Bell elevated the Rainwalker investigation from a missing person search to a homicide case in 2012. The chief has long complained that the boy's adoptive father, Stephen Kerr, won't cooperate with investigators.

Rainwalker was last seen on Nov. 1, 2007, before spending the night with Kerr at a relative's unoccupied home in Greenwich. Kerr said that when he woke up, Jaliek was gone.

In 2012, State Police cadaver dogs searched a Troy property, while divers probed the Hudson River between Troy and Watervliet. Both teams found nothing, although investigators have theorized Rainwalker's body was dropped in the Hudson.

On Feb. 27, one day after a hiker found the unidentified skull in Coxsackie, State Police, Greene County sheriff's deputies and DEC personnel searched the Wildlife Management Area off Four Mile Point Road for clues.

The skull was partially buried in a wooded area, not fully intact, and had signs of extreme exposure to the elements, the DEC said. Various items, including clothing, had accumulated in the tidal area around the skull and will be tested, the state agency said.

At the time, sheriff's Lt. Adam Brainard said the remains of people who jumped off Albany and Troy bridges into the Hudson have washed up on shore in this Greene County wetland area before. Police have not yet determined if this is the case in the latest discovery, Brainard said.

In the weeks and months after Rainwalker's disappearance, Bell said he would rush to Troy whenever police pulled a body from the river, only to find it was an adult suicide. At the same time, dozens of concerned citizens mistakenly reported finding bones  which turned out to be animal remains  in Washington County.

"I have a box full of deer bones and cattle bones," Bell said.

The wetland path where the unidentified young person's skull was found, part of the state Department of Environmental Conservation network of protected areas, is at the end of Four Mile Point Road and runs along the Hudson River.

Vosburgh Swamp is about 35 miles south of Troy.

Anyone with information is asked to call the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations in Catskill at 622-8600.
A 29-year-old Troy man accused of breaking into a vending machine in a Walmart employee lounge in Brunswick is among the fugitives the State Police said they were searching for on Wednesday.

Samuel T. Moore, whose last know address is Troy, is wanted by State Police in Brunswick on an arrest warrant from the Town of Brunswick Court for two counts of criminal mischief and petit larceny. In September 2015, while an employee of Walmart and while on work breaks, Moore broke into vending machines in the employee lounge, stealing $920 and causing over $500 in damage to the machines, police said.

 Herman Stimphile Jr. is wanted by State Police in Albany on an arrest warrant for criminal possession of a controlled substance, driving while intoxicated and unlawful possession of marijuana. On Oct. 24, State Police stopped Stimphile on the Thruway for a traffic violation. Troopers' investigation determined Stimphile was intoxicated and had crack-cocaine and marijuana.

 Jorge Rivera, whose last known address was in the Bronx, is wanted by State Police in Brewster and the Town of Patterson Court, Putnam County, following his January 2016 arrest on charges of strangulation and endangering the welfare of a child. Police said Rivera was arrested following a domestic dispute in which he choked a female victim in front of two young children. A warrant was issued ordering Rivera's arrest when he failed to appear for court proceedings.

 Brooke M. McCarvel is wanted by State Police in Liberty on two bench warrants from two separate arrests for criminal possession of a controlled substance, driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation. In February 2016, McCarvel was arrested following a search warrant of her Sullivan County residence during which she was found with heroin. In August, she was arrested for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and with a blood alcohol content of .11%. McCarvel failed to return to court to answer the charges. Both warrants were issued from the Town of Fallsburg Court.

 Ruth A. Saylor is wanted by State Police in Ithaca on a bench warrant for grand larceny. The original arrest occurred in June of 2012. On Dec. 14, 2012, after missing court dates, the Town of Lansing Court, Tompkins County, issued a bench warrant directing her arrest. Saylor has a tattoo of a large flower on her right shoulder.

 Robert E. Conklin is wanted by State Police in Herkimer on a bench warrant issued Oct. 12, 2016, from Herkimer Town Court for criminal mischief, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. Conklin is wanted for failure to pay a fine after pleading guilty to the charges in 2011.

 Keegan Olton is wanted by State Police in Rochester on a City of Rochester Court Bench warrant for driving while intoxicated, aggravated operation of a motor vehicle and other traffic violations. In August, Olton was arrested on I-490 westbound in Rochester for DWI and for driving on a suspended license.

 Gilber Reyes, whose last known address is in Freeport, Nassau County, is wanted by State Police in Lake Success and Nassau County First District Court for driving while intoxicated, unlicensed operation and traffic violations. In 2008, Reyes was stopped for traffic violations on the Cross Island Parkway and was later arrested for DWI. He was operating a white Ford at the time of his arrest.

 Tiffany M. Julianna is wanted by State Police in Niagara and the Town of Lockport Court in Niagara County for an active bench warrant from Jan. 23, 2014, for aggravated unlicensed operator and vehicle and traffic law violations. Juliana was pulled over for not wearing a seat belt on Sept. 20, 2013. Juliana has not appeared for court.
Afghanistan: IS gunmen dressed as medics kill 30 at Kabul military hospital

More than 30 people have been killed after attackers dressed as doctors stormed the largest military hospital in Kabul, Afghan officials say.
Irish Water's plan to pump water from parteen Basin through Tipperary farmland has been described as badly thought out by a national farm organisation.

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Association has now called for the project, which is estimated to cost 1.2bn, to be scrapped.

If it goes ahead, it will mean a 170km long pipe being laid through agricultural land from County Limerick to the outskirts of Dublin, with a pumping station being built at Birdhill that brings a promise of 15 jobs. From there the water will be pumped to Cloughjordan and a natural gravity fall will then take it to the new reservoir in Peamount, Dublin.

The ICSA call echoes that of many local groups who are against the plan, including the River Shannon Protection Alliance, Fight the Pipe Campaign and local councillors.

ICSA president Patrick Kent questioned the need for the pipeline given that it is now clear there is no willingness to pay for water in Dublin.

It is apparent those living in Dublin will not have to pay for water, and at a cost of potentially up to 1.1 billion, the pipeline simply cannot be justified, he said.

Mr Kent, who attended a meeting on the issue called by ICSA in Ballycommon last month, said: This has come into sharp focus again with the events in Leinster House where the willingness to charge people for water remains highly contentious.

He said that ICSA is also questioning why we want to invest so much in sending water to Dublin when a key priority must be to prioritise regional development to counteract Dublin becoming too dominant and unsustainable in many ways, including housing availability and price.

If we are talking about investing taxpayers money, we need to prioritise investing in the regions. If we dont have money for the Limerick-Cork motorway, how can we waste money on a water pipeline? he asked. Mr Kent said it was obvious from their series of public meetings that there was strong oppostion to the pipe from farmers worried about having their livelihoods interrupted.

The whole scheme was was badly thought out and there are too many unanswered questions and farmers have many concerns about long-term devaluation of their farms and damage to productivity and the environment, he said.
A Tipperary engineering student has won the top honours at an international engineering and commerce competition in Montreal.

Darren Feehily from Clonmel and his three University of Limerick (UL) team members became the first team outside of Canada to claim the top award at the International Engineering and Commerce Case Competition (ECCC) in Montreal.

Darren and his team were flying the flag for Europe, with the other 11 teams hailing from North America and the Middle East. As well as winning the overall title, the UL team won Best Engineering Solution and Best Sustainable Solution honours.

The team  Darren, David Monaghan (Co Clare), Patrick Lu (Co Limerick), Eoin Hann (Co Limerick) had to create innovative solutions in three different tasks. These included creating a Data Centre Design and Strategy, designing a solution for a tunnel based on Hyperloop technology and developing a strategy for the autonomous vehicle market.

Hosted by the renowned Universite Concordia, the inter-disciplinary competition is the only test of its type in the world and is rated as one of the top case challenges in North America. The aim of the competition is to find solutions to real-world challenges that modern industries face. Each team comprised students from engineering and business disciplines.

The UL team was selected to represent Ireland following their win in the ESB Inter Colleges Challenge last November. This annual competition comprises teams from all universities in Ireland. During that task, the team researched and designed a complex engineering and financial energy challenge in just seven hours

Commenting on the teams success, Pat ODoherty, Chief Executive of ESB, said: We heartily congratulate the University of Limerick team and their mentors on this wonderful win. To create such innovative and real-life solutions in such a highly competitive environment and against world class competition is testament to the dedication and capability of this team, their mentors and lecturers in UL. We look forward to supporting and developing the team further when they start their placements with ESB in the summer.

The ESB-Inter College Challenge 2017 takes place in November with the ECCC Competition taking place in March 2018.
[March 08, 2017] A.M. Best Revises Issuer Credit Rating Outlook to Positive for RBC Life Insurance Company

A.M. Best has revised the outlook to positive from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of "a" of RBC Life Insurance Company (RBC Life) (Mississauga, Ontario). The outlook of the FSR remains stable. The positive outlook on the Long-Term ICR reflects the company's strong risk-adjusted capitalization, improved earnings in core business lines and the strong brand name recognition of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) [TSX and NYSE: RY] in the Canadian market. RBC Life operates as the Canadian life insurance operation of its parent, RBC, under RBC Insurance, a division of RBC. RBC Life maintains a favorable market position in Canada in the individual living benefits and group long-term disability insurance markets. RBC Life also has maintained a focus on growing its individual and group life segments through increasing its range of insurance product solutions and deepening client relationships. RBC Life has experienced increased sales of targeted insurance products through continued expansion of wealth product offerings and the pension risk transfer business. A.M. Best believes RBC will continue to support RBC Life's growth initiatives, if needed, asit has demonstrated in the past.



Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are the challenges RBC Life faces while positioning itself to increase market share in Canada's competitive individual life and group accident and sickness markets, as well as the challenges due to the continued low interest rate environment. A.M. Best also notes that RBC Life maintains a modest position in the wealth management market through its general account annuities, group annuities and segregated funds. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings.

A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright  2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006312/en/

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[March 08, 2017] BDO USA, LLP Announces Expansion of Its Wealth Advisory Practice Through Addition of LBA Wealth Management, LLC in Jacksonville

BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation's leading accounting and consulting firms, today announced an expansion of its Wealth Advisory Practice through the addition of LBA Wealth Management, LLC in Jacksonville, Florida. The practice, a fee-only investment advisory firm encompassing seven professionals with $350 million in assets under management, was recently ranked among the top CPA firms by assets under management by Accounting Today. This announcement follows on the heels of The LBA Group, the Jacksonville-based accounting firm, joining BDO USA last November. The two entities will continue to cohabitate in BDO's Jacksonville offices at 501 Riverside Avenue. David Albaneze, managing partner of LBA Wealth Management, will be joining BDO as managing director for BDO Wealth Advisory's Southeast region. The combination of BDO and LBA Wealth Management is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed on April 1, 2017. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005673/en/ Steve Parish, National Leader of BDO USA Wealth Advisory Services (Photo: Business Wire) "I want to welcome Dave Albaneze and his staff to BDO. LBA's experience working with high-net worth clients in Jacksonville, Gainesville and throughout North Florida, combined with our previous expansion in South Florida last year, greatly increases our wealth management resources in the state of Florida," said Steve Parish, National Leader of Walth Advisory Services at BDO USA. "Florida will serve as a stronghold for the continued expansion of our Wealth Advisory practice throughout the Southeast."



"When the LBA Group informed us of their intention to join BDO USA last fall, it was always our intention to reach a similar agreement with BDO's Wealth Advisory practice. We share numerous clients with the accounting practice and there are obvious advantages to being able to provide complementary services under one roof," said David Albaneze. "As part of a national firm, our clients will have access to a wider range of services and our people will have access to many more opportunities to pursue career growth." BDO Facts:

BDO USA has more than 400 staff serving Florida businesses from offices in Coral Gables, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach and Winter Haven.

Over the past four years, BDO has expanded rapidly, entering 25 new cities and adding critical mass in 12 existing markets.

BDO represents companies ranging from closely-held private businesses to leading non-profits to Fortune 500 multinationals.

BDO USA has industry practices specialized in serving businesses in the construction, energy, financial institutions, asset management, government contracting, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, nonprofit, private equity, real estate, restaurant, retail and technology sectors.

For four consecutive years (2013-2016), BDO USA has gained more SEC (News - Alert) audit clients than any other accounting firm (source - Audit Analytics).

BDO has been named a Best Company by Working Mother Magazine for six consecutive years and been recognized with the When Work Works Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility for seven consecutive years.

for six consecutive years and been recognized with the for seven consecutive years. BDO has more than 60 offices and more than 400 independent alliance firm locations around the country.

BDO USA has been serving clients for more than 100 years since its founding in 1910 (as Seidman & Seidman).

As an independent member of BDO International Limited, the firm can leverage the resources of more than 1,400-member firm offices in over 150 countries around the world. About BDO USA BDO is the brand name for BDO USA, LLP, a U.S. professional services firm providing assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services to a wide range of publicly traded and privately held companies. For more than 100 years, BDO has provided quality service through the active involvement of experienced and committed professionals. The firm serves clients through more than 60 offices and more than 400 independent alliance firm locations nationwide. As an independent Member Firm of BDO International Limited, BDO serves multi-national clients through a global network of more than 1,400 offices in over 150 countries. BDO USA, LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, is the U.S. member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. For more information, please visit: www.bdo.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005673/en/

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[March 08, 2017] Colorado awards contract to CGI for modernization of state payroll system

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www.cgi.com/newsroom Multi-year project will replace legacy systems serving 30,000 employees FAIRFAX, VA, March 8, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) today announced its selection by the State of Colorado for a multi-year contract to modernize outdated, legacy payroll systems that serve more than 30,000 public employees across 21 state agencies and departments. The contract, with optional years, is valued at US$66.2 million over 20 years. As part of an ongoing process to overhaul Colorado's enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, CGI will provide IT services and solutions to replace various manual payroll processes with a unified human resource information system (HRIS) that is efficient, reliable and cost-effective. "We are excited to work with CGI," said Kim Burgess, Chief Human Resources Officer for the State of Colorado. "We look forward to ongoing collaboration that results in a system that better serves Colorado agencies and their employees, and advances our mission to act as effective stewards of the state's public resources." In 2014, CGI successfully launched a new financial management system for Colorado utilizing the unique built-for-government capabilities of its CGI Advantage ERP solution. The Colorado Operations Resource Engine (CORE) replaced an outdated, legacy 22-year old accounting system. The new accounting system integrates budget and purchasing functions, allowing the state to replace multiple aging and redundant systems with a single source of reliable and transparent fiscal data for most financial operations. Under the direction of the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration and the Governor's Office of Information Technology, CGI will now embark on the project of modernizing a payroll system comprised of multiple, aging legacy systems which are difficult to improve, challenging to support and integrate, and written in outdated programming languages. "The new payroll system will contribute to the state's ability to operate more efficiently and with greater transparency and accountability," said John Manta, Vice-President, CGI. This award is a tremendous opportunity for CGI to build on our technology accomplishments in the State of Colorado and continue a long-standing partnership in the service of improving vital state systems."



To the task of upgrading Colorado's payroll system, CGI brings more than 40 years of ERP software and service delivery for federal, state and local governments. CGI has implemented more than 400 government ERP systems, including those in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado and West Virginia. Recently, six of the last seven states to pursue ERP modernizations chose CGI as their technology partner, and two of the nation's most populous local jurisdictions -- New York City and Los Angeles County  also utilize ERP systems powered by CGI. "We are proud to add Colorado's payroll operations to the growing number of state and local governments that understand our built-for-government ERP means less risk and more secure operations. CGI Advantage's on-premise as well as cloud-based solutions protects sensitive data and critical government functions," added Daniel Keene, Senior Vice-President of CGI's Advantage program.

About CGI Founded in 1976, CGI is one of the largest IT and business process services providers in the world. Operating in hundreds of locations across the globe, CGI helps clients become customer-centric digital organizations. We deliver high-quality business and IT consulting, systems integration and transformational outsourcing services, complemented by more than 150 IP-based solutions, to support clients in transforming into digital enterprises end to end. CGI works with clients around the world through a unique client proximity and best-fit global delivery model to accelerate their digital transformation, ensure on-time, within budget delivery, and drive competitive advantage in today's increasingly digital world. With annual revenue in excess of C$10 billion and an order backlog exceeding C$20 billion, CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Website: www.cgi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. These statements and this information represent CGI's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, of which many are beyond the control of the Company. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. These factors include but are not restricted to: the timing and size of new contracts; acquisitions and other corporate developments; the ability to attract and retain qualified members; market competition in the rapidly evolving IT industry; general economic and business conditions; foreign exchange and other risks identified in the press release, in CGI's annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"), in CGI's Annual Report, in CGI's Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (filed on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), and in the Company's Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities authorities (filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com), as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. The words "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "foresee," "plan," and similar expressions and variations thereof, identify certain of such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. In particular, statements relating to future performance are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or on this forward-looking information. SOURCE CGI Group Inc.

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[March 08, 2017] DigitalTrends.com to Host TechPop Event for TechfestNW

PORTLAND, Ore., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Trends, the leading independent technology publisher, is set to deliver its first TechPop event of 2017 in association with TechfestNW on March 23. TechPOP is powered by Digital Trends as your exclusive opportunity to experience the newest and coolest tech from VR to drones to 3D printers and much more. Digital Trends strives to provide attendees with a hands-on approach to tech for the way you live, but also, it's a great party. The main attraction will center around VR. Anyone more interested in escaping reality can step inside our HTC's Vive experience and try out the hottest VR hardware on the market. "We're thrilled to be partnering with TechfestNW for our first hometown event of the year," said Ian Bell, CEO and Publisher of Digital Trends "They deliver a great conference, and we'll deliver their attendees some great tech in return."



TechFestNW (March 23-24, Portland Art Museum) explores the best of tech trends- from Artificial Intelligence to cannatech- in an up-close and personal way. Focusing on Virtual Reality, artificial intelligence & robotics, lifestyle tech, and digital storytelling, there's truly something for everyone with an eye and ear for the tech universe. "TechPop has been a great way for us to reach out to the community and showcase all the awesome tech we get to play with daily," added Pete Jacobs, Vice President of Integrated Marketing for Digital Trends.

Digital Trends launched its pop-up event series, TechPop, in its hometown of Portland, Oregon in early 2016. Digital Trends latest event, dubbed the Drone Show, filled an entire outdoor rooftop with all things tech, including specific focuses on drones and virtual reality. By mid-2017, Digital Trends aims to have a TechPop event happening every month in a different major city, opening Digital Trends gear box and putting cutting-edge tech into the hands of its readers. TechPop will be held Thursday, March 23 at The Evergreen in Portland, Oregon. Entry will only be available to TechfestNW badge holders. Music, light snacks, beer & wine, and of course cool tech will be served. For more information visit http://techfestnw.com/ About Digital Trends Digital Trends is a leading consumer technology publisher helping people navigate an increasingly digital world. With easy-to-understand product reviews, entertaining news and videos, Digital Trends serves more than 30 million unique visitors each month. Digital Trends reaches 90 million tech influencers through their own media network, and its syndicate partners include Yahoo!, FOX News and more than 200 broadcast news stations. Digital Trends is headquartered in Portland, OR with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Chicago. For more information, visit www.digitaltrends.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digitaltrendscom-to-host-techpop-event-for-techfestnw-300420558.html SOURCE Digital Trends

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[March 08, 2017] Inspiring Students to Solve Tomorrow's Problems, Today: Samsung Canada launches 2017 Solve for Tomorrow Challenge

National education challenge invites Canadian students to apply Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning to solve issues in our communities and compete for Samsung school technology grants MISSISSAUGA, ON, March 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Following a successful 2016 campaign that saw over 650 Canadian schools participate, Samsung Electronics Canada Inc. today announced the official launch of the 2017 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Challenge. The national educational initiative aims to inspire Canadian students to reach their full potential and get closer to STEM subjects by applying STEM to help solve community issues. Samsung will award 150 Finalist schools with technology grants, with four of these 150 schools having a chance to be awarded one of four grand prize technology grants, valued at $20,000 each. "In a year where we celebrate Canada's 150th, we are committed to helping the bright minds of the next 150 reach their full potential through STEM education, benefiting the Canadian communities they call home," said Mark Childs, Chief Brand Officer, Samsung Electronics Canada. Teachers of classrooms from Grades 6 to 12 can now enter the contest on behalf of their class at solvefortomorrow.ca by April 13th, 2017. All eligible entries will be judged based on the criteria outlined in the Official Rules, and a minimum of 37 entries from each of the four regions below (for a total of 150) will be deemed Regional Finalists. The four (4) regions are: Western Canada : British Columbia , Alberta and Yukon Central Canada : Saskatchewan , Manitoba , Northwest Territories and Nunavut

: , , and Eastern Canada : Ontario and Quebec

: and Atlantic Canada : New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island , Newfoundland and Labrador



The 150 Regional Finalists will each receive Samsung Solve for Tomorrow technology grant kits including a Samsung GearVR and Gear360 innovation to help produce a short video submission of their project. A panel of judges will select four Regional Winners from these final 150 submissions, who will each receive $20,000 in Samsung technology for their school and be part of an exclusive Canada 150-themed celebration in Summer 2017. Solve for Tomorrow is supported by The Learning Partnership, a national charitable organization dedicated to advancing public education in Canada, and Let's Talk Science, a charitable youth development organization which creates and delivers free STEM learning programs and services that support educators and strengthen student learning outcomes.

"Let's Talk Science is proud to partner on the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Challenge. We believe that the Challenge provides a meaningful learning opportunity, unleashing students' potential to develop and use STEM-based skills to improve their community," said Dr. Bonnie Schmidt, President of Let's Talk Science. "It showcases the relevance of STEM in our world and the fundamental importance of STEM-based skills for our future." "The Learning Partnership is delighted once again to partner with Samsung's Solve for Tomorrow Challenge to develop and nurture STEM learning among Canadian students," says Michelle Beveridge, Interim President and CEO of The Learning Partnership. "Schools need technology and innovation support. The workforce is becoming increasingly global and technology-focused, and STEM skills are needed to ensure students are empowered to compete in our global economy." Stay tuned for specific details and updates via solvefortomorrow.ca, and follow @SamsungCanada and #SamsungSolve on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. About Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc.

Samsung Electronics Canada inspires Canadians to reach their full potential through a transformative ecosystem of products and services that deliver innovation and distinct design to every aspect of their connected lives. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, virtual reality and wearable devices, tablets and digital appliances. In 2016, Samsung was ranked in the top 10 most reputable brands in Canada, based on a study by Leger. Dedicated to helping make a difference in the lives of Canadians, Samsung's award-winning Hope for Children corporate giving initiatives supports public education, sustainability and health-related issues in communities across the country. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com SOURCE Samsung Electronics Canada

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[March 08, 2017] Motorola Solutions and ComEd join forces to 'Be Bold for Change,' diversity in the workplace

This week, Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI (News - Alert)) is hosting a series of events to celebrate International Women's Day (IWD), observed today globally. As part of the company's continued commitment to diversity of people and ideas, a discussion about inclusion, culture and leadership was held March 7 featuring the leaders of two Chicago-based technology companies: Motorola Solutions Chairman and CEO Greg Brown (News - Alert) and ComEd President and CEO Anne Pramaggiore. "As a technology company growing our offerings in software and services, we know the importance of diversity - of both people and ideas - in creating new solutions and accelerating innovation," said Brown. "Motorola (News - Alert) Solutions is committed to fostering an environment and culture that thrives on the diversity of our people and their ideas." A cornerstone of Brown's conversation with Pramaggiore, which was attended by Motorola Solutions employees in-person and virtually, was the importance of education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for young women and other underrepresented groups. Both Motorola Solutions and ComEd invest in STEM education to inspire the next generation of technology workers as part of their respective philanthropic and corporate responsibility programs. "With technology and innovation at the core of our business, it is important to encourage a diverse, future workforce that will help us solve the creative and technical challenges of tomorrow," said Pramaggiore. "We are committed to creating opportunities to offer hands-on experiences to interest and educate young women in the STEM subjects." Over the past 10 years, the Motorola Solutions Foundation has provided more than $45 million in education grants through its "Innovation Generation" program, which supprts STEM education-focused initiatives such as Girls Who Code. Since 2014, ComEd's nationally recognized, award-winning Icebox Derby has paired young women with ComEd engineers to build solar-powered cars out of old refrigerators in an educational and fun competition.



In addition to Brown's conversation with Pramaggiore, Motorola Solutions' global Women's Business Council will offer International Women's Day activities throughout the week at locations in the U.S., U.K., Israel, Poland, Australia and Malaysia, where about 40 percent of engineers are women. Events include panel discussions, fundraising events and networking opportunities around this year's theme for International Women's Day: #BeBoldForChange. Learn more about the Motorola Solutions Foundation's support for STEM education at https://www.motorolasolutions.com/en_us/about/company-overview/corporate-responsibility/community.html.

About Motorola Solutions Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) creates innovative, mission-critical communication solutions and services that help public safety and commercial customers build safer cities and thriving communities. For ongoing news, visit http://newsroom.motorolasolutions.com or subscribe to a news feed. About ComEd Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 10 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com. MOTOROLA, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2017 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005861/en/

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[March 08, 2017] New Swift Boats at War in Vietnam Exhibit Opens at Maritime Museum of San Diego April 29

Maritime Museum of San Diego, home to one of the world's finest collections of historic vessels, announces the opening of the new Swift Boats at War in Vietnam exhibit and book release in the steam ferry Berkeley Compass (News - Alert) Gallery Saturday, April 29. The book edited by Guy Gugliotta, John Yeoman and Neva Sullaway is a compilation of 38 firsthand accounts of men who served on Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), also known as Swift (News - Alert) Boats. The exhibit expands the narrative with official and candid photographs. It also includes paintings by combat artist John Steele, on loan from the Navy Art Collection in Washington, D.C. Dr. Ray Ashley, President/CEO of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, said "We are honored to offer visitors this new educational immersive journey commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War." The exhibit, open through Veteran's Day, is included with general admission to the Maritime Museum of San Diego. On weekends, for an additional $10, visitors can board the Museum's PCF 816 and feel the power of its twin 12-cylinder Detroit engines on a high-speed 75-minute Naval History Bay Cruise. The authors of Swift Boats at War in Vietnam are donating all proceeds frm book sales to support PCF 816. For more information visit sdmaritime.org or call 619-234-9153 ext. 101.



About Swift Boats and PCF 816 Swift Boats acted as an inner barrier of the naval blockade of South Vietnam to prevent the infiltration of weapons, ammunition, and war materiel from North Vietnam via sampans, junks, and trawlers. In July 1968, U.S. Swift Boats shifted to patrolling rivers, canals, and the Mekong Delta's 3,000-mile labyrinth of waterways. Not since the Civil War had the U.S. Navy combat vessels fought in such close quarters with naval blockades, upriver and in narrow canals. From 1965 through 1970, about 3,600 men served on and supported Swift Boat operations in Vietnam. Four hundred were wounded; 50 died.

In 2012, PCF 816 made the long journey from Malta to the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Volunteers including Vietnam veterans helped restore the vintage vessel, which now thunders across San Diego Bay on weekends. Guests on PCF 816 hear the story of the U.S. Navy in San Diego and Naval Base Coronado, the training station for Swift Boat sailors, where PCF 816 and the Swift Boat stories began. About the Maritime Museum of San Diego The Maritime Museum of San Diego enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence in restoring, maintaining and operating historic vessels. The museum has one of the world's finest collections of historic ships, including the world's oldest active ship the Star of India. The museum is located at Star of India Wharf, on the embarcadero in downtown San Diego at 1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA (News - Alert) 92101. The telephone number for general inquiries is 619-234-9153 ext. 101. Additional information can be found at www.sdmaritime.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005301/en/

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[March 08, 2017] Vertiflex, Inc. Completes $40 Million Financing Round

Vertiflex, Inc., a leading innovator of advanced, minimally invasive interventions for spinal stenosis, today announced completion of a $40M financing round. New investors, Endeavour Vision and H.I.G. BioHealth Partners led the financing alongside existing investors, New Enterprise Associates; Thomas, McNerney & Partners; and Alta Partners. Proceeds from the financing will primarily be used to fund U.S. commercial expansion of the company's Superion Indirect Decompression System, a minimally invasive spinal implant designed to treat moderate lumbar spinal stenosis, a painful and often debilitating condition that affects an estimated 500,000 new patients every year in the United States. "Vertiflex has seen tremendous early success in the commercialization of the Superion System," said Earl Fender, President and CEO of Vertiflex. "With favorable long-term clinical outcomes, a new Category I AMA CPT code and broad reimbursement in place, adoption of Superion has continued at a rapid and steady pace, driven by significant interest from both patients and treating physicians." Once implanted, Superion is intended to reduce pressure on the affected nerves and allow patients to return to a more active lifestyle. Following completion of a successful 391 patient randomized controlled trial, the Superion System received Premarket Approval (PMA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and starting January 2017 the system is described by a new American Medical Association (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Category I code. "I'm also excited to see continued momentum with our current investors who have steadfastly supported the company to date, and look forward to working closely with our new investors to realize the potential for the Superion System, as we further invest in the commercial expansion of an important treatment option for physicians and patients," Fender added. To accommodate its accelerating growth, Vertiflex recently relocated its corporate headquarters from San Clemente, CA (News - Alert), to a larger facility in Carlsbad, CA. The new location includes expanded distribution capability, anda state-of-the-art physician education center, as part of the company's commitment to supporting physicians by providing didactic as well as hands-on cadaver training with Superion.



Nick Shamie, M.D., Chief of Orthopedic Spine Surgery and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Neurosurgery at UCLA School of Medicine, stated, "The Superion System offers patients a minimally invasive solution to treat leg pain associated with spinal stenosis. The implant, placed through a small tube the size of a dime, does not deconstruct any of the anatomical elements and provides immediate relief. I incorporated this treatment into my practice after seeing the clinical data from the FDA IDE clinical trial. The safety, efficacy, and five-year durability that the data presented made it a procedure I can stand behind." About Vertiflex, Inc.

Vertiflex is a privately held medical device company dedicated to the advancement of minimally invasive solutions for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis, which is the leading cause of spinal surgery in the elderly. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, Vertiflex has developed proprietary, minimally invasive technologies for performing both indirect and direct decompressions of the lumbar spine. These procedures fill the gap in the stenosis treatment continuum between conservative care and traditional spine surgery. To date, Vertiflex has compiled the largest, most rigorous body of device clinical evidence related to lumbar spinal stenosis. For more information, visit www.vertiflexspine.com. About New Enterprise Associates As one of the world's largest and most active venture capital firms, NEA has developed deep domain expertise and insight into multiple industries. The NEA team channels that knowledge into every technology and healthcare investment they make - at any stage, in any location, around the globe. Visit www.nea.com. About Endeavour Vision SA Endeavour Vision is a growth investor in exceptional private medtech companies, and an ideal partner for medtech entrepreneurs. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a presence in the United States, the Endeavour Vision team comprises experienced investors, seasoned entrepreneurs, and medtech specialists, all committed to helping entrepreneurs grow and develop thriving businesses. Endeavour's latest $275 million fund is fully dedicated to investing in European and U.S. medtech companies that seek worldwide growth and aim to improve the quality and cost of care for patients across the globe. About H.I.G. BioHealth Partners H.I.G. BioHealth Partners is the dedicated life-science investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital. H.I.G. BioHealth Partners invests in a broad range of healthcare opportunities across sectors and stages, principally in companies developing therapeutic drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics for significant unmet medical needs. With approximately $400 million in committed capital, H.I.G. BioHealth Partners invests $5 million to $40 million per company over the life of an investment. Visit www.higbio.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005249/en/

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Banda throws life out of gear in Siraha

Normal life in Siraha district has been affected on the second day of the two-day banda called by Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha on Wednesday.
Netformx to Deliver Improved Enterprise Sales Processes to Optus Business

Netformx, the leader in sales enablement platforms for IT solution providers, announced today that Optus (News - Alert) Business is enhancing its use of Netformx DesignXpert to improve turnaround and creation of multivendor proposals. DesignXpert is part of the Netformx Digital Ecosystem-as-a-Service (ESaaS) that enables IT solution providers to design, analyze, and sell IT offerings from pre- to post-sales while unlocking key customer and business insights.

Netformx will work with Optus Business as part of a broader transformational strategy and support improvements in the integrity, and cycle-times of complex solution design and proposal generation. The first phase of the Netformx Program is currently being implemented.

Existing design, costing, and pricing tools are being replaced with Netformx DesignXpert, a single integrated tool that automates the collaborative, end-to-end design process to produce consistent proposals and validated designs and solutions.

Netformx DesignXpert automates the collaborative, end-to-end design process. It's a tool that is integrated to Optus Business' strategic technology partners to simplify proposal development further.

"Netformx DesignXpert is as another tool improving employee and customer experience as we enable the Workplace of the Future and keep pace with our customers' digital transformations," said Stuart MacIntyre, Director of Optus Business Technology.

"We are very excited to continue to partner with Optus Business as they accelerate their transformation journey," said Ittai Bareket (News - Alert), CEO at Netformx. "With DesignXpert, Optus Business can pull rich multivendor product as well as Optus Business best practice and service information from a single source-the Netformx KnowledgeBaseTM-rather than accessing multiple vendor-specific systems and manual methods."

The Netformx Digital ESaaS improves customer experience by enabling Design, Sales, and Sales Operations teams to collaborate efficiently. It integrates Netformx applications as well as third-party solutions, automates and orchestrates Sales workflows end-to-end, provides business analytics, and enables centralized cloud-based storage and sharing of projects and data.

Key Facts

Netformx DesignXpert enables solution providers to increase their customers experience by reducing time-to-quote 80% and reducing implementation error rates by 99%.

The Netformx Digital Ecosystem-as-a-Service (ESaaS) enables solution providers to win more deals and successfully implement technology solutions.

Netformx DesignXpert enables solution providers-with a single powerful tool-to create accurate multivendor proposals and validated designs and solutions that result in happier customers.

Netformx Discovery creates a baseline and audit of a customer's actual network and provides insights on technology upgrade, replacement, and enhancement opportunities.

Using Netformx award-winning solutions, over 2,000 customers in more than 120 countries design and sell winning multivendor solutions with reduced errors.

Resources







Netformx is the leader in sales enablement and profit acceleration platforms for solution providers. Netformx delivers a Digital Ecosystem-as-a-Service (ESaaS), which enables IT solution providers to design, analyze, and sell winning and implementable multivendor solutions, while operating their businesses profitably. Netformx accelerates solution provider profits by providing powerful business intelligence, actionable insights, collaboration, and automation that connect people, information, and processes. The result is increased competitiveness and productivity across the sales lifecycle.

Netformx has over 2,000 service provider, systems integrator, and technology vendor customers in more than 120 countries including ALE, AT&T, Bell Canada, British Telecom, CDW, Cisco, Dimension Data, Insight, Juniper, Orange Business Services (News - Alert), Sprint, Telstra, and now expanding with Optus. Our comprehensive KnowledgeBase contains client and vendor products, services, and program compliance data from vendors such as Cisco (News - Alert), ALE, Brocade, EMC, Juniper, Avaya, APC, Belden, Jabra, and Riverbed. The comprehensive, up-to-date data enable our customers to quickly create accurate designs and proposals and to maximize profitability.

More information can be found at www.Netformx.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170307006490/en/
[March 07, 2017] Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Issues Statement on House Health Reform Bills

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation issued the following statement in response to the bills released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means. "The bills released by the two House committees this week fail to adequately protect people living with cystic fibrosis and place the lives of millions of Americans living with serious and chronic diseases at risk. "The CF community has come so far in the fight against this deadly disease, and it's crucial that this progress is not jeopardized by inadequate, unaffordable health care coverage. At a time when advances in CF care are more promising than ever, these measures could restrict our community's access to existing therapies as well as new treatments as they become available. "In particular, we are concerned that: The legislation would effectively eliminate Medicaid expansion and alter its financing structure in a way that would put coverage of new and innovative treatments at risk. Medicaid provides a critical source of health care coverage for half of children and a third of adults with CF. We mst preserve this safety net by retaining expanded eligibility and ensuring adequate funding for Medicaid.

Medicaid provides a critical source of health care coverage for half of children and a third of adults with CF. We mst preserve this safety net by retaining expanded eligibility and ensuring adequate funding for Medicaid. The bills do not support an individual market that works well for people with intensive health care needs, including people with CF. By providing states with funds that could be used for a wide range of activities-including high risk pools, reinsurance, provider payments and programs to promote access to preventive services-these bills offer no assurance that, regardless of where they live, people with CF will be able to purchase an adequate, affordable plan in the individual insurance market.

By providing states with funds that could be used for a wide range of activities-including high risk pools, reinsurance, provider payments and programs to promote access to preventive services-these bills offer no assurance that, regardless of where they live, people with CF will be able to purchase an adequate, affordable plan in the individual insurance market. The legislation inadequately supports young people with high health care needs by basing financial assistance primarily on age rather than income. This could leave younger individuals with CF without enough support to purchase a plan that covers the breadth of their specialty care. This is particularly important for our community, as 75 percent of people with CF are under the age of 30.



policy principles."

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170307006525/en/

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[March 07, 2017]

Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo Returns to Seoul, South Korea for Its 4th Annual Event

NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rising Media, Inc., 3DR Holdings, and the Korea International Exhibition Centre (KINTEX) announced that Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo will be held from June 28-30, 2017 at KINTEX in South Korea. The theme for this year's event is "The New Era of Digital Manufacturing". Inside 3D Printing is the largest 3D printing event series worldwide, having hosted 38 events globally since its launch in 2013. Over 9,000 attendees are expected at this year's event in Seoul.

Inside 3D Printing Seoul is a three-day event that encompasses an international conference and an exhibition. The conference runs for 2 full days with 2 tracks and features over 35 expert speakers from the additive manufacturing industry. The topics will focus on manufacturing, metal, business, and aerospace/automotive. This year's speaker line-up includes Terry Wohlers, President of Wohlers Associates, Inc. and Stefan Ritt, VP-Head of global marketing and communications, SLM Solutions.

This year's exhibitio is expected to have over 70 exhibitors. In 2016, it attracted over 60 exhibitors including global corporations such as Stratasys (MakerBot), 3D Systems, EOS, SLM Solutions, as well as many major Korean additive manufacturing players. The connections made at Inside 3D Printing Seoul 2016 resulted in over 180 contracts signed worth US$100 million within 6 months after the show.







Inside 3D Printing Seoul will also include multiple networking events. On June 28, there will be a VIP Dinner with 300+ industry professionals in attendance, including exhibitors, speakers, entrepreneurs, press, governmental officials and overseas/local buyers. On June 29, a Cocktail Party will be held for exhibitors and buyers to meet and explore business opportunities.

For more information on exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities or conference registration, please contact the Inside 3D Printing Secretariat ([email protected]) or visit www.inside3dprinting.com/seoul.

About Rising Media

Rising Media is a global events and media producer excelling in Internet and technology-related events and content. Events include Inside 3D Printing, RoboUniverse, Virtual Reality Summit, Data Driven Business, Building Business Capability, Predictive Analytics World, Text Analytics World, eMetrics Summit, Conversion Conference, AllFacebook Marketing Conference, Search Marketing Expo, Affiliate Management Days, Influencer Marketing Days, Future of Immersive Leisure, Global Online Classifieds Summit, and Web Effectiveness Conference in the USA, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, India, China, Korea, Singapore, Australia, Brazil.

For more information, please visit http://www.risingmedia.com.

Media Contact:

Christoph Rowen

+852-9190-4412

[email protected]
[March 07, 2017] AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, AHF to Protest Ryan White PART B Funding ELIMINATION

The AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland (ATGC) will hold a peaceful demonstration outside the Quest Conference Center on Wednesday, March 8th at 10:00 a.m. to protest the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) moving to completely eliminate ATGC's crucial Ryan White Part B federal funding in its FY 2017-18 budget allocations. Awarded to states by the Health Resources and Services Administration as federal grants to be subsequently administered by state health officials, the loss of Ryan White Part B funds will have a direct impact on nine full-time case management positions and 350 clients currently served by the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170307006549/en/ Advocates will also attend the Ohio HIV Community Planning Group meeting scheduled for 10:00 AM inside the building to provide public comment against the Department of Health's discontinuation of the funding.







WHAT: PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION to protest Ryan White Part B funding elimination for AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland WHEN: Wednesday, March 8th 2017 10:00 AM **In addition to staging a protest outside Quest Conference Center, advocates and AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland clients will also attend the Ohio HIV Community Planning Group meeting scheduled for 10:00 AM inside the building to speak out against ODH's discontinuation of the funding. WHERE: Quest Conference Center 8405 Pulsar Place Columbus, OH 43240

In a March 6th letter to ODH Director Richard Hodges that condemns the funding elimination and calls for the immediate full instatement of the Ryan White Part B federal funds, Interim Executive Director of ATGC LaRaun Clayton and AHF's National Director of Advocacy Campaigns Tracy Jones write: For nearly 35 years, the ATGC has served the Greater Cleveland Metro area with excellence in community and public health service. Throughout more than three decades, despite fluctuating government support for people at-risk for and living with HIV/AIDS, ATGC's tireless advocacy and service dedication has resulted in the health and well being of thousands of our area's most vulnerable residents: the sick, uninsured, marginalized, and often most indigent among us. Despite being an effective grantee of Ryan White Part B funding since the funding's inception and as one of the only accessible "one-stop shop" area AIDS service providers' prioritizing people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), ATGC has just received verbal notice that it will not continue to receive Ryan White Part B funding within 30 days. This is unacceptable. Full text of the letter is below: Dear Director Hodges: We, the undersigned, are calling for the full restoration of Ryan White Part B funding for fiscal year 2017-2018 for the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland (ATGC). For nearly 35 years, the ATGC has served the Greater Cleveland Metro area with excellence in community and public health service. Throughout more than three decades, despite fluctuating government support for people at-risk for and living with HIV/AIDS, ATGC's tireless advocacy and service dedication has resulted in the health and well being of thousands of our area's most vulnerable residents: the sick, uninsured, marginalized, and often most indigent among us. Despite being an effective grantee of Ryan White Part B funding since the funding's inception and as one of the only accessible "one-stop shop" area AIDS service providers' prioritizing people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), ATGC has just received verbal notice that it will not continue to receive Ryan White Part B funding within 30 days. This is unacceptable. Without any written justification in response to a strong, competitive application and a fine record yielding viral suppression rates among clients higher than the national average (outcomes that protect not just those positive, but the greater HIV negative community), the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) appears to have little to no substantive reason for this decision. This omission of meaningful evidentiary cause and at least three failed prior attempts by ODH to defund ATGC on limited grounds leaves ATGC to speculate that this overreaching decision is a form of political backlash for the agency's years of aggressive state-level advocacy in partnership with and on behalf of PLWHA against various state health department decisions. Given ATGC's long service record and the impact this decision has on some 350 clients, this baseless decision is unsupportable and a full restoration of ATGC's Ryan White Part B funding is the only fair and just response. Beyond the loss of nine (9) full-time case management positions bringing an average of 10-15 years experience to their caseload, including five case managers who conduct client home visits across five counties, this decision could also have a deleterious effect on the health and welfare of 350 medical case management clients. ATGC case management clients need the stability and constancy of the uninterrupted case management relationships they've developed over the years with ATGC's team. These relationships are hard-won and require the skill, commitment, experience, and compassion found with the case managers the clients have worked with in some instances for more than a decade. ATGC directly supports 195 of those 350 clients in accessing life sustaining treatment and navigating medical insurance eligibility and enrollment through the Ohio HIV/AIDS Drug Assistance Program (OHDAP) and/or the Ryan White Part B services. All of these clients' retention and health outcomes strongly benefit from ATGC offering a stable, gapless continuity of service from testing to case management to rapid insurance to medical home to even pharmacy service provision. The fluidity and client convenience that comes from having an integrated system of continued care and support all in one trusted site is how the agency keeps high-risk clients under cross-departmental observation and from falling through the gaps. Clients are even able to find on-site needed housing and nutritional support services. With this ODH decision, clients lose those trusted relationships with little warning, lose integrated oversight of their disease progression, and may even lose their ability to obtain this holistic and seamless continuity of care in one location, threatening their long-term prognosis and, more broadly, the community at-large. This does not have to be. In any given year, the ATGC has provided a broad range of supports and health services to between 800 to 1,200 annually with consistently high marks in client satisfaction and strong client retention. The agency's staff is one of the most educated and experienced in the HIV/AIDS field. Whenever administrative or grantee issues have arisen in the past with ODH, as they do with all grantees, ATGC have been able to successfully work through them to the documented satisfaction of all parties involved. The FY 2017-18 application is a strong one and scored well enough to be recommended for funding by ODH's financial arm. There is no substantive justification for the ODH program staff to defy that recommendation. The lack of courtesy in failing to provide even a written notification with detailed justification of this funding disallowance is alarming following so many years of continuous service and with the health and well being of so many lives at stake. Given these facts and impacts, nothing less than ODH's full restoration of ATGC's funding under Ryan White Part B is an acceptable response. We ask you to ensure that so many vulnerable lives dependent on these quality services and proven supports continue to receive the ATGC stellar continuum of care services they've rightly become accustomed to. Thank you. The Cleveland City Council and Cuyahoga County Council are also cosigners of the letter and the City of Cleveland is drafting a resolution in support of the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland. About AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland (ATGC) Founded in 1983, the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland serves over 1,200 clients and their families in six counties in Northeast Ohio by providing vital social services to include case management, nutrition, transportation and HIV/AIDS/STDs education/ prevention, research and advocacy. About AHF AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the USA. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 700,000 individuals in 36 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Additional information is available at www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook (News - Alert): www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) & Instagram: @AIDSHealthcare View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170307006549/en/

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[March 07, 2017] Columbia Pacific Expands into India Senior Housing Market

Columbia Pacific Management, a Seattle-based international healthcare provider, and an affiliated company (a joint venture collectively referred to as "Columbia Pacific") are entering the India senior housing market with the acquisition of a major senior housing operator, and plan to embark on a significant expansion of their India senior housing portfolio over the next five years. Columbia Pacific has purchased Serene (News - Alert) Senior Care, which currently operates 735 residential units in four senior housing communities in South India and plans to have 1,700 units under management by fall 2017. Columbia Pacific Management is already one of the largest and fastest-growing healthcare providers in Asia. Under the Serene brand, Columbia Pacific Management will operate and provide services to India senior care communities in which residents purchase their own retirement villas, apartments or houses. Columbia Pacific has aggressive expansion plans in India, which is projected in the next decade to be the world's most populous country, with a fast-growing senior population and an emergent middle class. Already the country has an elderly population of 100 million, more than the population of the United Kingdom and Canada combined. Within five years, Columbia Pacific plans to more than quintuple the number of the units Serene Senior Care has under management, to 5,000 units. Columbia Pacific will undergo its expansion by building new senior housing communities, with the first two planned in Bangalore. "Columbia Pacific Management has been operating hospitals in India for more than a decade, and we are one of the most experienced operators of senior housing both in the U.S. and China," said Matthew Powell, Development Director for Columbia Pacific Management. "We're thrilled to meet the tremendous demand and care for India's senior population with communities designed for the growing middle class." Columbia Pacific Management's hospital companies operate 28 hospitals and three clinics across India, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kenya under the brands Columbia Asia, Columbia China and Columbia Africa. Columbia Asia, which operates hospitals in India, Malaysia and Indonesia, opened its first hospital in India in 2005 and now has 11 modern, efficient multispecialty hospitals around India. Columbia Asia is the only healthcare provider in Asia to operate hospitals in so many countries under a single brand, and one of the few large, multinational providers in Asia to build the vast majority of its hospitals itself. The acquisition of Serene Senior Care is a joint investment of Columbia Pacific Management and an opportunistic strategy fund managed by Columbia Pacific Advisors, an affiliated Seattle-based alternative investment firm. One of the founders of both Columbia Pacific Management and Columbia Pacific Advisors, Dan Baty, is a pioneer in the senior living industry in the U.S. and Europe. In 2011, Columbia Pacific Management receved government approval to open the first foreign-owned, for-profit senior care facility in China. The company now owns and operates three senior care facilities there - two in Shanghai and one in Beijing - with a pipeline of additional communities under development.



The principals and employees of Columbia Pacific Advisors, meanwhile, have more than 80 years of investment, development and operational experience in the senior housing sector, and have executed on more than $10 billion in related transactions in the last 25 years. Columbia Pacific Advisors has built an acquisition and development pipeline that consists of over 3,300 senior housing units, over 1,200 multi-family units and more than 1.2 million square feet of commercial space around the U.S. "Columbia Pacific Management, directly and through its affiliated companies, already has such a tremendous history of caring for seniors around the world," said P. Viswanathan, Managing Director of Serene Senior Care. "We are well positioned to provide India's senior population with communities built to the highest international standards and with decades of experience."

To learn more about Serene Senior Care, go to SereneRetirement.com. For more about Columbia Pacific Management, go to ColumbiaPacificManagement.com. For more about Columbia Pacific Advisors, go to ColumbiaPacific.com. About Columbia Pacific Management Columbia Pacific Management (CPM), based in Seattle, oversees an international healthcare business that develops and operates hospitals, clinics and senior housing in Asia. With locations in China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia and Vietnam, CPM's operating companies provide healthcare and senior care services in markets making up more than half the world's population. All of these countries have rapidly aging populations, rising middle- and upper-middle-class populations, an under-supply of quality healthcare and senior care facilities, and increasing rates of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiac diseases - creating an unprecedented demand for world-class healthcare services and senior housing. The company's affiliates include Columbia Asia, operating hospitals in India and Southeast Asia; Columbia Africa, which operates a clinic in Nairobi, Kenya; Columbia China, which is building a network of hospitals and clinics in China; Cascade Healthcare, a subsidiary of Columbia China that operates senior care facilities; and Remote Medical International, which provides medical services and supplies to challenging locations around the globe. About Columbia Pacific Advisors, LLC Columbia Pacific Advisors, LLC manages $1.2 billion* across a variety of investment strategies including private real estate, real estate lending, growth capital, private equity and distressed debt. The firm utilizes deep fundamental research and seeks to generate compelling, consistent risk-adjusted returns. Columbia Pacific Advisors, LLC was founded in 2006 by Alex Washburn, Stan Baty and Dan Baty. The headquarters is located in Seattle. For more information, please visit www.columbiapacific.com. *Regulatory assets under management as of 09/30/16. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170307006520/en/

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[March 08, 2017] SelectMDx Chosen by Michigan Medicine as Pre-biopsy Diagnostic Tool in Groundbreaking US Prostate Cancer Risk Clinic

NEWS RELEASE / REGULATED INFORMATION / INSIDE INFORMATION IRVINE, CA, and HERSTAL, BELGIUM - March 8, 2017 - MDxHealth SA (Euronext: MDXH.BR) today announced that SelectMDx(TM) for Prostate Cancer, a non-invasive urine-based test that guides patient selection for prostate biopsy, will be used for the newly launched prostate cancer risk clinic at the University of Michigan. The Michigan Medicine prostate cancer risk clinic will monitor men who have been previously diagnosed with genetic mutations, particularly BRCA1 and BRCA2, that indicate a genetic predisposition to aggressive prostate cancer. These high-risk patients will be tested with SelectMDx for Prostate Cancer to ascertain the likelihood that clinically significant prostate cancer (Gleason Score greater than or equal to 7) would be detected upon prostate biopsy, helping with patient management decisions. "Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States," said Todd Morgan, M.D., Assistant Professor of Urology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the urological surgeon leading the risk clinic at Michigan Medicine. "Now, more than ever, we have an understanding of which men have cancer that needs to be treated and which men have cancer that can be closely watched. These men who have inherited mutations are much more likely to have aggressive prostate cancer. We know that treatment of aggressive prostate cancer works-it prevents death and suffering and that's what this initiative is really about." Although there remains some controversy about which men should undergo routine screening for prostate cancer, based on concerns about the accuracy of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, recent studies have indicated that men who have BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are at high risk for aggressive prostate cancer and would benefit from closer monitoring.1,2 The SelectMDx test can improve upon the traditional clinical data to identify men, in this high-risk BRCA-mutation pool, who may harbour prostate cancer. By targeting biomarkers associated with aggressive prostate cancer, SelectMDx can help distinguish the men with a high likelihood of prostate cancer upon biopsy, and the probability for high-grade disease, from the men at very low risk for aggressive disease with a 98% negative predictive value (NPV). "The Michigan Medicine prostate cancer risk clinic is the first of its kind and we hope to see a global expansion of such clinics for genetically high-risk men. Early diagnosis remains critical for men harboring aggressive disease, when there is an opportunity for curative treatment," said Dr. Jan Groen, CEO of MDxHealth. "Michigan Medicine's choice of SelectMDx for its prostate cancer risk clinic speaks volumes about the clinical value our test brings to the diagnostic process." About Michigan Medicine





www.michiganmedicine.org About SelectMDx for Prostate Cancer

Over 2 million prostate biopsies are performed each year with less than a third finding cancer. Most of these men could have avoided a painful and invasive prostate biopsy procedure, with its associated side effects and costs. SelectMDx for Prostate Cancer is a proprietary urine-based, molecular diagnostic test that offers a non-invasive "liquid biopsy" method to identify patients at low risk for prostate cancer, helping to both reduce unnecessary prostate biopsy procedures with their concomitant complications and expense and to identify those men at increased risk of harbouring high-grade disease who may benefit most from earlier detection.

About MDxHealth MDxHealth is a multinational healthcare company that provides actionable molecular diagnostic information to personalize the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The company's tests are based on proprietary genetic, epigenetic (methylation) and other molecular technologies and assist physicians with the diagnosis of urologic cancers, prognosis of recurrence risk, and prediction of response to a specific therapy. The Company's European headquarters are in Herstal, Belgium, with laboratory operations in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and US headquarters and laboratory operations based in Irvine, California. For more information, visit mdxhealth.com and follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/mdxhealth. For more information: Shalon Roth, EVP Corporate Communications

MDxHealth

UK: +44 (0)7393 906278

[email protected] References: Bancroft E, et al. (2014) Targeted Prostate Cancer Screening in BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutation Carriers: Results from the Initial Screening Round of the IMPACT Study. Eur Urol 66: 489-499. Pritchard C, et al. (2016) Inherited DNA-Repair Gene Mutations in Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer. N Engl J Med 375:443-453. This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates with respect to the anticipated future performance of MDxHealth and the market in which it operates. Such statements and estimates are based on assumptions and assessments of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which were deemed reasonable but may not prove to be correct. Actual events are difficult to predict, may depend upon factors that are beyond the company's control, and may turn out to be materially different. MDxHealth expressly disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements in this release to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based unless required by law or regulation. This press release does not constitute an offer or invitation for the sale or purchase of securities or assets of MDxHealth in any jurisdiction. No securities of MDxHealth may be offered or sold within the United States without registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or in compliance with an exemption therefrom, and in accordance with any applicable U.S. securities laws. NOTE: The MDxHealth logo, MDxHealth, ConfirmMDx, SelectMDx, AssureMDx and PredictMDx are trademarks or registered trademarks of MDxHealth SA. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Attachments: //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/795783d3-19db-4041-9588-b2ce8212314f

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[March 08, 2017] Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) Program to be Launched in Korea

JERUSALEM, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the technology-transfer company of the Hebrew University, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Lolo Educational Services Co. (LES), Korea for the entrance of it its wholly-owned Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program into Korea. HIPPY is an early learning program which has seen extraordinary results in helping parents take the role of their child's first teacher. HIPPY, which partners with parents to prepare their children for success in school, is a thriving international program closing the achievement gap at 440 program sites, reaching 20,000 families, in 10 countries including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel, Liberia, New Zealand, and the US. HIPPY-inspired programs operate in Denmark, Finland, Holland, Sweden and Turkey. What makes the HIPPY early-learning program so unique is that the focus is on empowering parents. Paraprofessional home visitors from the community, who are well-versed in the curriculum materials, work directly with parents of 3, 4 and 5-year-olds, who are then asked to engage with their children using the educational activities they have just learned. HIPPY relates sensitively to the communities it serves, providing materials in the language preferred by the parents and community and encourages the production and use in each country program of native language and/or bilingual story-books and materials. In Korea, the program will be called Limud, which means learning in Hebrew. The HIPPY model described above was expanded and transformed to an advanced academic program targeting parents interested in being involved in their children's education.

The basic idea of working with the parents in order to prepare their children for preschool still remains, but here professional teachers will train the parents, and the goal is to bring the children to a higher level, so that they can excel in school. In Korea, the curriculum will also be adapted to culturally fit the country. The program will begin with a pilot for 6 months, and localization and modification work will be done durin this period. One hundred parents are expected to participate in the pilot at 3 sites in Seoul. Following the pilot stage, the official launch of the program is planned for late summer of this year.



Dr. Miriam Westheimer, Director, HIPPY International, said, "HIPPY has been steadily growing worldwide over the last 10 years. South Korea and China are the first programs in Asia where we will be adapting the core program model for a very different and more highly educated consumer. It is coincidental that the two new countries will start at the same time and we will use this exciting opportunity to enrich the HIPPY International network." DJ Dongjun Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Lolo Educational Services Co., Korea, commented, "We were very impressed by the proven added value that HIPPY offers in preparing children for school and studies. I hope HIPPY can help Korean parents to better understand the benefits and importance of their involvement in their children's education and that our partnership will bring a new wave of parent involvement to the Korean education market."

Yaacov Michlin, President and CEO of Yissum, added, "We are very pleased with our first licensing agreement in China based on innovation of research performed at the Hebrew University. This is an excellent example of a successful technology transfer deal from academia to the commercial and educational arenas. As the organization in charge of protecting the intellectual property and commercializing the inventions originating from the University, we have in our arsenal many promising and breakthrough technologies in a wide range of fields including biotechnology, agriculture, new materials and nanotechnology, computer science and cybersecurity and many more. We hope that the agreements announced today mark the beginning of a long and fruitful business partnership with companies and organizations in East Asia." About HIPPY Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters - known as HIPPY - partners with parents to prepare their children for success in school, particularly those who might not have educational advantages. HIPPY is an evidenced-based family support model that works directly with parents in their homes to give them books, activities and skills needed for them to take responsibility for preparing their children for school. Peer parent educators deliver 30 weeks of high quality school readiness curriculum activities and books directly to parents each year, who then work each day with their own three, four and five year old children. The program originated in 1969, and was developed by Dr. Avima D. Lombard, a researcher at the NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who started an early education program in Israel that aimed to teach parents with limited formal education to be their children's first teachers. The premise behind HIPPY was that early education is critical to a child's learning and helps prepare very young children from low-income families to better succeed in school. For further information, please visit http://hippy-international.org/ About Yissum Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ltd. was founded in 1964 to protect and commercialize the Hebrew University's intellectual property. Products based on Hebrew University technologies that have been commercialized by Yissum currently generate $2 Billion in annual sales. Ranked among the top technology transfer companies in the world, Yissum has registered over 9,325 patents covering 2,600 inventions; has licensed out 880 technologies and has spun out 110 companies including Mobileye, Briefcam, Orcam, Avraham Pharmaceuticals, Betalin Therapeutics, CollPlant and Qlight Nanotech. Yissum's business partners span the globe and include companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Roche, Merck, Teva, Syngenta, Monsanto and many more. For further information please visit http://www.yissum.co.il. About Lolo Educational Services Co. (LES) Located in Seoul, Korea, LES is an educational contents provider. The company develops and provides parenting resources via social networking system and educational programs for academies and groups. Media Contact:

Tsipi Haitovsky

Global Media Liaison, Yissum Ltd.

Tel: +972-52-598-9892

E-mail: [email protected]





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[March 08, 2017] Field Agent Broadening International Research Capabilities

Field Agent UK Brings Mobile Research to Global Brands FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Field Agent, the world's first global provider of mobile audits and research, is building on its best-in-class mobile research capabilities in the United Kingdom. Field Agent's first international market, the UK team, expanding on its existing mobile audit capabilities, will now offer the same proven mobile research methods as its U.S. counterpart. Named "2016 Mobile Research Agency of the Year" (US) by MRMW, Field Agent crowdsources over one million smartphones worldwide to capture in-store information and consumer insights.

Taking over the duties of managing director of the UK business, Robin Shuker plans to build on his past experiences with Field Agent Global to achieve one goal: Deliver insights that will have a direct business impact for major brands. "I'm really excited about the new levels of insight that can be delivered in today's connected mobile world," said Shuker. "Every multinational brand wants to gain a deep understnding of its customers, and Field Agent delivers that in a fast and cost effective manner. As industry pioneers, we are able to utilize our expertise, and integrate research with our retail auditing capabilities."



Even as brands continue to expand globally, Field Agent has taken steps to ensure its international clients have consistent, unbroken access to fast, affordable audit and research solutions around the world. Soon to celebrate its seventh birthday, Henry Ho, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Field Agent, says the company is increasingly serving a global clientele with global needs.

"Multi-national brands need multi-national research partners," Ho said. "And we intend to become the go-to source for global-mobile data and insights." The firm now has operations in seven countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Romania, and South Africa. For more information, visit fieldagent.co.uk. Robin Shuker can be contacted here. About Field Agent: Awarded 2016 "Mobile Research Agency of the Year" by MRMW, Field Agent leverages its global network of nearly one million app users to connect businesses with fast, reliable information. Visit the Field Agent blog, named by Feedspot as one of the top 10 market research blogs on the planet, for more information on location-based mobile research and audits. Follow Field Agent on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to stay up-to-date with current projects and research materials. Cory Nelson

Field Agent

(479) 755-4499

[email protected] Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475944/Field_Agent___Logo.jpg

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[March 08, 2017]

IDENTV AI Video Indexing Tops 50 Trillion Image Comparisons per Hour

SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leveraging machine learning, computer vision, and advanced content recognition technologies, IDENTV announced today that it reached a new performance benchmark in its A.I.-driven exploitation capabilities of vast amounts of video.

Whether from live TV streams or video archives, IDENTV's pioneering Intelligent Video-fingerprinting Platform (IVP) processes visual content at ultra-fast speeds enabling highly scalable and accurate recognition of objects, faces, brands, logos, text, and other elements in an integrated self-managed environment.

The IVP was launched last year as global video volume enters the Zettabyte Era, (1 Zettabyte is equal to 1 trillion gigabytes).

"It has become practically impossible to index, search or analyze massive video in a consistently intelligent, comprehensive, or scalable way, until now," explained Mohammad Shihdah, founder and CEO of IDENTV. "This problem is shared across a broad range of industries, whether you're in the national security space or whether you sit on top of large video repositories and streams such as Snap, Facebook or Google."







Surpassing 50 trillion image comparisons per hour means that the human-machine relationship in indexing, curating and analyzing millions of hours of video is altered significantly.

There are extremely large amounts of visual data in the world, both online and offline, including user-generated content, live and streaming channels, surveillance, drones, street cameras, and many other types of sensors.

The IVP, already deployed in support of the military and intelligence communities, can displace inefficient, expensive legacy systems and accelerate the use of video metadata for both commercial and national security applications.

IDENTV was recently selected as one of the Top 5 Artificial Intelligence companies in the DC area.

About

IDENTV leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to transform the way the world searches and exploits massive video. With offices in San Francisco and Virginia, a global team of talented scientists and engineers, and clients in the Television, Media, and National Security domains, IDENTV is already recognized as an emerging market leader.

Find out more

IDENTV website

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/identv-ai-video-indexing-tops-50-trillion-image-comparisons-per-hour-300419998.html

SOURCE IDENTV
[March 08, 2017] Clinical Genomics Announces Participation in Fortified Provider Network and MultiPlan

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clinical Genomics, a private company developing evidence-based diagnostic tools for colorectal cancer, today announced it has signed agreements to participate in Fortified Provider Network and MultiPlans preferred provider organization (PPO) plans.

Under the new agreements, Colvera will be available to patients in both networks. Together, these networks cover approximately 70 million individuals. Launched in 2016, Colvera is a clinically validated blood test designed to detect colorectal cancer (CRC) recurrence. Colvera detects circulating tumor DNA, small fragments of genetic material that leak from a tumor into the blood stream, by testing for methylation in two genes that have been associated with CRC, BCAT1 & IKZF1. Through the agreements with Fortified Provider Network and MultiPlan, many patients who have previously undergone treatment for colorectal cancer will have access to Colvera for recurrence monitoring, said Lawrence LaPointe, Ph.D., President and CEO of Clinical Genomics. Having these established partners in place is critical as we continue to focus on expanding the availability of Colvera nationally. We look forward to productive relationships with both provider groups. About Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for more than 600,000 deaths each year. When diagnosed early, before cancer has spread, the relative five-year survival rate for CRC is 90 percent, but approximately four out of 10 CRC cases are detected early. Among individuals undergoing surgical treatment fr CRC, recurrence occurs in 30 to 50 percent of all cases, the majority of which present in the first two to three years following initial diagnosis and treatment.



About Clinical Genomics

Clinical Genomics is a privately held biotechnology company developing and marketing innovative products for colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis. With a broad intellectual property portfolio consisting of more than 95 patents, Clinical Genomics offers colorectal cancer screening and monitoring solutions. In 2016, Clinical Genomics launched Colvera, a sensitive and specific blood-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) test for colorectal cancer recurrence monitoring that detects methylated DNA from two genes, BCAT1 and IKZF1. Via its wholly-owned subsidiary Enterix Inc., the company offers the user-friendly, patient-preferred colorectal cancer screening InSure FIT assay, an FDA-cleared fecal immunochemical test that detects blood in the stool. Clinical Genomics has offices and CLIA-registered laboratories in Bridgewater as well as FDA-registered and TGA-licensed IVD manufacturing in Edison, New Jersey and Sydney, Australia and a NATA-accredited laboratory in North Ryde, NSW Australia.

For more information, please visit www.colveratest.com and www.clinicalgenomics.com. About Fortified Provider Network

FPN was founded in 1997 in Scottsdale, Arizona for the purpose of creating an all direct-contracted network of preferred providers for our group health clients. Given our superior results in the group health arena, FPN expanded over the years to offer workers compensation and auto liability networks. FPN offers the utilization of its network to its payer clients and members who, in turn, are able to capitalize on the discounted fee schedules FPN has negotiated with its healthcare providers. Currently, FPN contracts with physicians, hospitals, ancillary facilities, mid-level providers and other specialty healthcare providers who have the option of participating in one or more of our products (group health, workers compensation or auto liability). To learn more, visit www.fortifiedprovider.com. About MultiPlan

MultiPlan, Inc. is the industrys most comprehensive provider of healthcare cost management solutions. The company provides a single gateway to a host of network- and analytics-based solutions for managing the financial risks associated with healthcare claims as well as products that fight waste, abuse and fraud before payments are made. Clients include insurers, health plans, third party administrators, self-funded employers, HMOs and other entities that pay medical bills in the commercial healthcare, government, workers compensation and auto medical markets. MultiPlan is owned by Hellman & Friedman. Media Contact: Danielle Lewis, Lazar Partners (212) 843-0211 or (917) 907-4239 [email protected]

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Bird flu found in birds in Itahari children park

A strain of bird flu has been detected in birds at a children park in Taltalaiya of Sunsari district.
[March 08, 2017] Lever Names Mike Bailen Vice President, People

Recruiting Veteran Will Lead Levers Overall Talent and Employee Experience Teams and Strategy

SAN FRANCISCO, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lever, the recruiting software for more than 1,200 fast-growing companies around the world, has named Mike Bailen its first Vice President, People. A recruiting industry veteran, Bailen will oversee Levers recruiting and employee experience teams with a focus on finding, attracting, developing, and retaining talent. Bailen first met Lever while leading recruiting efforts for Eventbrite, where he drove the selection and implementation of Lever as the companys primary recruiting platform. During his tenure at Eventbrite, Bailen overhauled the companys recruitment practices across recruitment marketing, employer branding, candidate experience, and hiring manager and interviewer training. Bailen previously held multiple recruiting and HR roles at Zappos, where he led the companys innovative decision to remove all job postings in favor of building a talent community among their passionate user base. Mike has an incredible track record as an innovator in the talent space, having worked for Zappos and Eventbrite, companies knon for their creative approaches and unyielding commitment to hiring the best people, said Sarah Nahm, CEO of Lever. Whats more, Mike shares Levers dedication to caring for and nurturing employees. I am confident the combination of Mikes experience and worldview will be instrumental in guiding Lever through our next phase of growth.



In 2015, Bailen was named to LinkedIns Next Wave list, which recognizes the top professionals under 35 across different industries. Bailen often speaks on HR and recruiting topics, and has presented at multiple industry conferences including LinkedIn Talent Connect, the Australasian Talent Conference, and Levers own Talent Innovation Summit. Throughout my career Ive seen that culture is critical, not only to finding and retaining talent, but also to a companys overall success, said Bailen. Levers culture, which encourages feedback, champions cross-functional empathy, inspires collaboration and values the contribution of each and every employee, attracts the best and the brightest. Having also seen firsthand the role that Lever plays in powering a proactive talent strategy for their customers, I am honored to be a part of this team.

Named to RecruitingDailys list of the top 10 HR Technology and Recruiting Tools in both 2015 and 2016, Levers suite of talent acquisition products helps companies of all sizes prepare for the future of employment. With an overall gender ratio of 50:50, Lever is also fiercely committed to providing its team with a culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion. About Lever

Built from the conviction that recruiting is the responsibility of everyone at the company, Levers applicant tracking and sourcing technology draws the entire team together to source, engage, interview, and hire top talent through effortless collaboration. Lever was founded in 2012 in San Francisco. The company has raised more than $32 million in funding from Scale Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, Y Combinator, Redpoint Ventures, and Correlation Ventures among others. Lever supports the hiring needs of over 1,200 companies around the globe including the teams at Netflix, Eventbrite, Lyft, and Quora. For more information, visit https://www.lever.co. MEDIA CONTACT: Ashley Cohen Traeger Communications [email protected] 303-522-0783

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[March 08, 2017] comScore Reports January 2017 U.S. Smartphone Subscriber Market Share

RESTON, Va., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore, Inc. today released data from comScore MobiLens, reporting market share trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for January 2017.







Top Smartphone OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending January 2017 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens Top Smartphone OEMs Share (%) of

Smartphone

Subscribers Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% Apple 44.6% Samsung 28.0% LG 10.3% Motorola 4.3% HTC 2.3%

Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending January 2017 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens Top Smartphone Platforms Share (%) of

Smartphone

Subscribers Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% Android 53.2% Apple 44.6% Microsoft 1.6% BlackBerry 0.6% For more market rankings from comScore, visit our Rankings page here. About comScore

comScore is a leading cross-platform measurement company that precisely measures audiences, brands and consumer behavior everywhere. comScore completed its merger with Rentrak Corporation in January 2016, to create the new model for a dynamic, cross-platform world. Built on precision and innovation, our unmatched data footprint combines proprietary digital, TV and movie intelligence with vast demographic details to quantify consumers' multiscreen behavior at massive scale. This approach helps media companies monetize their complete audiences and allows marketers to reach these audiences more effectively. With more than 3,200 clients and global footprint in more than 75 countries, comScore is delivering the future of measurement. Shares of comScore stock are currently traded on the OTC Market (OTC:SCOR). For more information on comScore, please visit comscore.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-reports-january-2017-us-smartphone-subscriber-market-share-300420345.html SOURCE comScore

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[March 08, 2017] ATTENTION GENERAL CABLE CORPORATION 401(K) PLAN HOLDERS: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP is Investigating Losses Suffered by Participants in the General Cable Corporation Defined Contribution Plan

Levi & Korsinsky LLP is investigating relating to the 401(k) defined contribution plan of General Cable Corporation (NYSE: BGC). In particular, the investigation concerns whether the fiduciaries of the plan violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by offering General Cable stock as an investment option under the plan when it was not prudent to do so and by failing to disclose the Company's true financial and operating condition to participants and beneficiaries of the plan. If you held General Cable stock in an individual account under a Company 401(k) plan as an employee or former employee between 2012 and 2016, contact Joseph E. Levi, sq. either via email at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972, or visit http://zlk.9nl.com/bgc.



Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. The firm's attorneys have extensive expertise and experience representing investors in securities litigation involving financial fraud, and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005981/en/

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[March 08, 2017] Fifth Annual Women's Leadership Conference of SO (Southern Oregon) to Feature National Keynote Speaker Mona Patel

A dynamic and engaging entrepreneur with 17 years of experience assisting the world's top brands in re-imaging their creative ideation process to optimize customer experience, Mona Patel is this year's keynote speaker at the Fifth Annual Women's Leadership Conference of SO (Southern Oregon). Mona is the Founder and CEO of Motivate Design, a user experience (UX), research design, and staffing agency that specializes in helping major corporations establish a company vision, ensuring that resources are effectively allocated to execute it. Mona is also the best-selling author of Reframe: Shift the Way You Work, Innovate, and Think. Speakers for the event also include local experts, such as Marjorie Trueblood-Gamble, Gwenne Wilcox, Brenda Johnson, and Dr. Tim Becker, among many others. Closing remarks will include comments from Kris Allison, Central Point Chief of Police. Breakout sessions are developed around this year's theme-Lead With Purpose: Realize Your Passion and Potential-and are headed by regional leaders whose goals are to fosterleadership in business, government, and non-profit organizations that more fully reflect our region. Young professionals, mid-life women balancing family with work, and top-rung professionals can all benefit.



"I never dreamed I was President of the Board material! The connections and inspiration I've gained through the WLC have given me the confidence to step up in service in a big way. How's that for passion and purpose?" said Stacey Derrig, President and 2017 Conference Chair. "I'm grateful for the challenge and excited to see how this year's conference impacts attendees moving forward." Registration for the 2017 Women's Leadership Conference of SO opens today, Wednesday, March 8, on International Women's Day. The conference will be held on Friday, May 12, from 7:45 AM-5 PM at the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites, 2525 Ashland Street, Ashland, OR 97520.

To register for the 2017 Women's Leadership Conference of SO, go to www.WomensLeadershipConference.net, or call 541 552 8150 during office hours. Registration includes morning coffee, lunch, and a closing reception. About the Women's Leadership Conference of SO Since the Women's Leadership Conference of SO was first held in February of 2013, more than 1200 people have attended. The conference was created from a desire among regional women in leadership roles to encourage other women to step into leadership positions at work and in the community. The conference brings together women in all stages of their careers. The Women's Leadership Conference of SO is presented by Southern Oregon University with the sponsorship of more than 20 regional businesses and organizations, including platinum sponsor Lithia Motors and gold sponsors Pacific Retirement Services (PRS) and Harry & David. Attendees can view event announcements, photos and more on Instagram and Twitter (News - Alert) at @WLCofSO. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006026/en/

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[March 08, 2017] Schulte Roth & Zabel Presents Its Annual London Investment Management Hot Topics Seminar

Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ) is hosting its annual London Investment Management Hot Topics seminar today in London. Lawyers from the firm's market-leading practice will examine the current state of the industry and address fund, tax and regulatory issues. The event is by invitation only. Josh Dambacher and Christopher Hilditch, co-heads of SRZ's London office, will provide welcoming remarks, including a market overview and moderate a panel offering "A Market Perspective." The event also features SRZ lawyers Brian T. Daly, Nick Fagge, Anna Maleva-Otto, Jim McNally, Cathy A. Weist and Lee Smith. The speakers represent a broad range of practice areas, including hedge funds, investment management, private equity, regulatory & compliance, shareholder activism and tax. SRZ will also welcome guest speakers, Brett Carron, co-chief operating officer and general counsel for Arrowgrass Capital Partners LLP, Ben Ellenbogen, general counsel for City Financial Investment Company Limited and Jon May, general counsel and head of compliance for Marshall Wace. Additional seminar topics include: "Taxing Carried Interest - The New Regime;" "Regulatory Outlook;" "Form ADV;" "MAR - Nine Months On;" and "Challenges Terminating Old Funds and Launching New Ones." "We are pleased to present this strong programme, which we hope will ignite important discussions on issues impacting the investment management industry," commented Mr. Dambacher. "The recent political developments in the United Kingdom and worldwide are presenting new challenges and opportunities for private funds. At today's seminar, we will discuss the outlook for the year ahead and beyond," said Mr. Hilditch. p> "We are excited to host our annual London Investment Management Hot Topics seminar. Today's speakers will provide an overview of expected areas of change and key considerations for managers," commented Alan S. Waldenberg, chair of SRZ's Executive Committee.



An innovator in the investment management industry, SRZ was named "The Leading Global Law Firm" at The Hedge Fund Journal Awards 2017. SRZ is also the only firm with first-tier rankings for its hedge fund practice across all of the major ranking publications, including Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, Chambers USA, Chambers Global, The Legal 500 United Kingdom and The Legal 500 United States. In addition, SRZ provides clients with key resources on timely topics. The firm recently sponsored AIMA's MiFID2 - A Guide for Investment Managers and partnered with Activist Insight to publish The Activist Investing Annual Review 2017.

About Schulte Roth & Zabel Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (www.srz.com) is a full-service law firm with offices in London, New York and Washington, D.C. As one of the leading law firms serving the financial services industry, the firm regularly advises clients on corporate and transactional matters and provides counsel on regulatory, compliance, enforcement and investigative issues. The firm's practices include: bank regulatory; bankruptcy & creditors' rights litigation; broker-dealer regulatory & enforcement; business reorganization; complex commercial litigation; cybersecurity; distressed debt & claims trading; distressed investing; education law; employment & employee benefits; energy; environmental; finance; financial institutions; hedge funds; individual client services; insurance; intellectual property, sourcing & technology; investment management; litigation; mergers & acquisitions; PIPEs; private equity; real estate; real estate capital markets & REITs; real estate litigation; regulated funds; regulatory & compliance; securities & capital markets; securities enforcement; securities litigation; securitization; shareholder activism; structured finance & derivatives; tax; and white collar defense & government investigations. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006115/en/

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[March 08, 2017] Mintz Levin Continues to Bolster Life Sciences Capabilities with Addition of Adam Lenain

Continuing to expand its renowned life sciences platform, nationally and on the West Coast, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C. announced the addition of Adam Lenain as a Member in the firm's Corporate Practice, based in San Diego. Adam, who regularly represents public and private life sciences companies, is the former general counsel of AMSI, Inc., a privately held, San Diego-based, biotechnology company and most recently was a partner with K&L Gates. "Life sciences companies nationwide require counselors with the breadth and depth of expertise to navigate an array of challenges, from long product development pipelines and increased regulatory hurdles to pricing pressure and access to capital," said Bob Bodian, Managing Member of Mintz Levin (News - Alert). "Adam is a highly regarded counselor who fits perfectly in our nationally-recognized life sciences practice. He also joins us at a time when Mintz Levin, coming off its best fiscal year in history, is on pace to have another record breaking year."



Mr. Lenain represents and counsels clients in various stages of development throughout the corporate life cycle, from start up to exit. He handles equity and debt financings, commercial transactions, licensing and collaborations, and general corporate matters, and advises on corporate governance and regulatory compliance, including the SEC (News - Alert) and Sarbanes-Oxley. Additionally, he represents buyers and sellers in connection with acquisitions, including structuring and negotiating mergers, asset acquisitions and sales of stock for both private and public companies. "Adam is a great addition to the deep bench of life sciences practitioners and across the firm," said Daniel T. Pascucci, Managing Member of Mintz Levin's San Diego office. "He is well-known and highly regarded by his peers and among the region's top life sciences companies. We are delighted to welcome him to the firm and to the San Diego office."

For more information about Mintz Levin, please visit www.mintz.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006219/en/

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[March 08, 2017] Securus Wins Gold Stevie Award in 11th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service

DALLAS, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Securus Technologies, a leading provider of civil and criminal justice technology solutions for public safety, investigation, corrections and monitoring, announced today that it has won a Gold Stevie Award in the Best Customer Service Training Department category in the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world's top honors for customer service, contact center, business development and sales professionals. The Stevie Awards organizes several of the world's leading business awards programs including the prestigious American Business Awards SM and International Business Awards SM. The awards were presented during a banquet on Friday, February 24 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. More than 650 executives from around the world attended. More than 2,300 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year's competition, an increase of 10% over 2016. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 77 professionals worldwide, acting as independent judges. Entries were considered in 61 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Consulting Practice of the Year; more than 53 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Business Development Achievement of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers. More than 75 members of several judging committees determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging in February. "It's great to be recognized by independent experts for the great strides we've made in customer service," stated Danny de Hoyos, Senior Vice President of Operations at Securus Technologies. "The training team recognized empahy for the customer's situation and solving issues on the first call were the keys to improving the customer's experience. With this in mind, they focused on developing materials and methods that would help our agents empathize with their customers, focus on their needs, and help them through this stressful time. I'm glad to say that it has worked and that we're seeing the best customer satisfaction, Net Promoter, and first call resolution scores in our history," de Hoyos said.



Judges' comments included: "The role of this company is very important in our society, it's a good thing that they will always provide good service with the people who need it."

"Compelling improvement story in what has to be a tough environment."

"Strong recognition of the problem and commitment of the training team to help associates improve results. Strong improvement in customer survey results." "The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service continues to be among the most competitive and fastest-growing of our awards programs," said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of the Stevie Awards. "The growth of the program illustrates the importance of the functions highlighted  sales, business development and customer service  to successful enterprises of all types, and how integral recognition in these domains are to building and maintaining corporate reputations."

A link to the acceptance speech for the award can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q4X_VuyobE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vspufh77Iw4 Details about the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and the list of Finalists in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Sales. ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serving more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,200,000 inmates across North America, Securus Technologies is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, inmate self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. Securus Technologies focuses on connecting what matters. To learn more about our full suite of civil and criminal justice technology solutions, please visit SecurusTechnologies.com. ABOUT THE STEVIE AWARDS Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com. Sponsors and supporters of the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Sales Partnerships, Inc. and ValueSelling Associates, Inc. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/securus-wins-gold-stevie-award-in-11th-annual-stevie-awards-for-sales--customer-service-300420628.html SOURCE Securus Technologies, Inc.

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[March 08, 2017] Bovie Medical Corporation to Present at 29th Annual Roth Conference

Bovie Medical Corporation ("Bovie" or the "Company") (NYSE:BVX), a maker of medical devices and supplies and the developer of J-Plasma, a patented new surgical product, announced today that Robert L. Gershon, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, will present at the 29th Annual Roth Capital Conference in Dana Point, California on Tuesday, March 14, at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time. To access the webcast, please go to http://wsw.com/webcast/roth31/bvx. A replay of the webcast and presentation will be posted following the event via Bovie Medical's website. The conference will be held March 12-15, 2017 at The Ritz Carlton and is by invitaion only. Bovie Medical's management team will be available for one-on-one meetings. Investors interested in arranging a meeting should contact their ROTH representative.



About Bovie Medical Corporation Bovie Medical Corporation is a leading maker of medical devices and supplies as well as the developer of J-Plasma, a patented new plasma-based surgical product for cutting and coagulation. J-Plasma utilizes a helium ionization process to produce a stable, focused beam of ionized gas that provides surgeons with greater precision, minimal invasiveness and an absence of conductive currents through the patient during surgery. Bovie Medical Corporation is also a leader in the manufacture of a range of electrosurgical products and technologies, marketed through both private labels and the Company's own well-respected brands (Bovie, Aaron, IDS and ICON) to distributors worldwide. The Company also leverages its expertise through original equipment manufacturing (OEM) agreements with other medical device manufacturers. For further information about the Company's current and new products, please refer to the Investor Relations section of Bovie Medical Corporation's website www.boviemed.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006290/en/

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[March 08, 2017] Cybersecurity Industry Leader Brad Maiorino Joins Booz Allen Hamilton to Help Scale U.S. Commercial Business

Booz Allen Hamilton (News - Alert) (NYSE:BAH) announced today that cyber industry leader Brad Maiorino joins the firm as an executive vice president in its commercial business effective March 13. Maiorino will be responsible for helping Booz Allen clients deploy cyber security and risk management solutions to combat the dynamic threat environment facing all companies today. Maiorino joins Booz Allen from Target (News - Alert) where he served as Chief Information Security Officer, leading the post-breach response and information security and risk strategy. Maiorino brings more than 20 years of experience with a diverse background in software engineering, infrastructure, and technology risk and compliance. In a career spanning multiple global enterprises, Brad has transformed information security and risk organizations and has cultivated cultures of security. Brad is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center (R-CISC) where he works alongside his peers to strengthen the industry's collective defense against today's threats. "Providing the very best cyber security talent and capabilities to our commercial clients has been a cornerstone of our growth strategy for several years. We are thrilled that Brad will bring his extensive experience and leadership to our team," said Horacio Rozanski, Presidet and Chief Executive Officer of Booz Allen. "Cyber security is a front-of-mind priority for all businesses. With advanced skills developed over decades of work for government agencies, Booz Allen helps commercial clients build the strongest defenses by fusing engineering capabilities with deep knowledge of the ecosystem within which businesses operate."



Prior to joining Target, Maiorino was the Chief Information Security Officer for General Motors (News - Alert). There he led the transformation of the company's global information security and IT risk organization including building out a global team and establishing GM's Vehicle Cyber Security Steering Committee. Before serving General Motors, he was the Chief Information Security Officer at General Electric. There he oversaw GE's global information security program across all lines of business and led the design and build of the GE Cyber Security Fusion Center, a state-of-the-art security operations center. "The threat landscape continues to evolve with more frequent and sophisticated attacks, and this isn't something one organization can combat alone. We need to leverage the rapid pace of technology innovation and industry leading expertise to keep up in today's environment," said Maiorino. "With a unique set of skills developed through serving government agencies, Booz Allen is uniquely positioned to solve today's toughest cyber security challenges. I look forward to building on the existing expertise to support the needs of our commercial clients."

As executive vice president at Booz Allen, Maiorino will report to Bill Phelps, executive vice president and leader of the U.S. commercial business. Under the leadership of Phelps, Booz Allen's U.S. commercial business is delivering highly consequential cyber services for Fortune 50 clients across multiple industries. Booz Allen's commercial team specializes in delivering integrated consulting and technology solutions to support cyber defense at the "ecosystem" level; fusing cyber threat intelligence with security operations and response to accelerate the move from standard SOCs to Fusion Centers; and developing leading, secure programs for data in the cloud. About Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) has been at the forefront of strategy and technology for more than 100 years. Today, the firm provides management and technology consulting and engineering services to leading Fortune 500 corporations, governments, and not-for-profits across the globe. Booz Allen partners with public and private sector clients to solve their most difficult challenges through a combination of consulting, analytics, mission operations, technology, systems delivery, cybersecurity, engineering, and innovation expertise. With international headquarters in McLean, Virginia, the firm employs more than 23,000 people globally, and had revenue of $5.41 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2016. To learn more, visit www.boozallen.com. BAHPR-CO View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006395/en/

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A look back on all of our reporting of the Delphi murders since 2017
Commodities exchange bill reaches parliament

The country is likely to get its first Commodities Exchange Act soon, as the bill has reached the Legislature-Parliament after the Cabinets approval.
Congress lawmakers demand judicial probe

Nepali Congress lawmakers representing the Tarai/Madhes have called on the government to form a judicial committee to probe the Saptari incidents in which three protesters were killed in police firing during a mass meeting of the opposition CPN-UML.
Construction work begins on 75MW hydro project

Construction has begun on a 75 MW hydropower plant at Kalleri in Dhading district.
Community radio music directors often have an encyclopedic knowledge of local music and an insatiable thirst to keep their ears ahead of the curve. So in this Tone Deaf series, the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap) invites music directors to highlight new Aussie tunes that you might have missed.

In this special International Womens Day edition, Zara Kravchenko from SYN in Melbourne contributes with a selection of tracks currently making their way to community radio through Amraps music distribution service AirIt. Zaras special International Womens Day edition features a mix of talented female front women, bands and solo acts.

Check them out below and if youre a musician you can apply here to have your music distributed for free to community radio on Amraps AirIt.

Wet Lips  Cant Take It Anymore

Grace Ks primitive vocals and gritty chords make comparisons to Bikini Kill and other riot grrrls inevitable. Wet Lips start with an infectious intro but its the lyrics that really make this song a stand out. Cant Take It Anymore is calling out the injustices the women have to endure as a female lineup. Their frustrations are validated when all it takes for a hetero male band to make it in the punk scene is to drink some Melbourne Bitter and wear a band tee.

Wet Lips arent just delivering punchy lyrics; theyre also writing great punk songs. A dense texture is created through dirty rhythm guitar, anarchic drumming and a defiant two-note guitar solo. Here the women go far beyond their fight to legitimize females in rock.

Palais ft. Your Girl Pho  Instant Crush

Instant Crush shows off glistening synths and some smooth vocals from Your Girl Pho, who sings a picture of innocence and untainted pureness. The infectious chorus pokes us with enchanting synths inducing what can only be likened to an overpowering sugar high. Palais expertly procures a solid array of instrumentation which mimics the sweet naivety of the early days of a relationship.

Sugar Fed Leopards  Shut Up

Sugar Fed Leopards is a prowling six piece whose gratifying grooves compel me to grab a pair of flares. Sugar Breaths alluring lead, combine with the backing vocals radiate 70s disco funk vibes, while a sexy sax solo cements the groove. The enthused energy of the Leopards will definitely leave you purring for more.

Saatsuma  Isolate

Isolate features a contrasting mix of dreamy, dazed instrumentation paired with the acknowledgement of ones self-destructive actions. Here, a story of isolation is felt through juxtaposition of soft, sweet vocals and poignant, firm beats. The contrast in texture exacerbates the feeling of isolation and the disparity between witnessing and living life.

The tracks quirky samples and shimmering synths are only a sneak peek of whats in store when Saatsuma release their debut album later this month.

Amyl and the Sniffers  Im Not A Loser

Frontwoman, Amy Taylors nasal vocals are something of an unconventional beauty. Her antagonistic persona and barebone snarls prove that frontwomen of punk are a force to be reckoned with. The call and response vocals provide an element of storytelling- akin to Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

This soul-baring punk is enforced by heavy yet precise instrumentation. The Sniffers talents have already been recognised, having played with international acts such as Cherie Currie from The Runaways. Reminiscent of proto-punk, the tongue and cheek lyrics re-affirm that punk is as much of an attitude as it is a genre.

Huntly  Templehof

Templehof effectively captures both the vulnerable and euphoric sides of a relationship. The track kicks off with a smooth, dreamy RnB jam. Then, Huntly execute a very satisfying tempo change; propelling the track in a new direction with a drum and bass break. Huntly is a refreshing addition to the local electronic scene. The band differentiates themselves through sincere production skills and raw vocals instilling feelings of human fragility in their work.

Boat Show  Cis White Boy

Boat Show is a band on the rise. Having played sold out shows in WA its time for the rest of the country to take notice. Cis White Boy is the latest single off their upcoming debut LP. Its whammy of fuzzy guitar and drums create a sludgy grunge texture. Boat Show touch on themes of male privilege but do it with wry humour.

Beloved Elk  Distractions

A touching sorrow can be felt through Wrights strained earnest vocals. The tense tone is heightened with samples that act to replicate the overwhelming pressures from society. Layers of reverb drenched guitar lines evoke emotional tones that contribute to Distractions raw, authentic sound. The stable drumming moves the track forward akin to ones inner voice urging perseverance.
While it might be easy to look at the huge amount of exposure given to the likes of Adele, Beyonce and Taylor Swift as they reign over the world of popular music and think that sexism and gender bias in the music industry is ancient history, we dont have to look back very far at all to find the sort of examples of marginalisation the industry still dishes up on a regular basis.

As triple js Hack program pointed out recently, while the gender gap is certainly closing, women still arent at the same level of representation as their male counterparts, either in artistic endeavours or behind the scenes  and APRA/AMCOS figures do little to paint a healthier picture of what is still very much a male-dominated industry.

In honour of International Womens Day, weve decided to take a look back at some of the more memorable industry horror stories of recent times, with the hopes that we can leave these sorts of incidents and attitudes behind in the years to come.

Bjork reminds us that there are female beatmakers, too

Bjork is undoubtedly one of the most influential and innovative female performers of the last few decades. Bjorks early work saw her experiment with a wide variety of styles and genres, with her predominant music style being rooted in an alternative jazz-pop sound. Bjorks fourth album, Vespertine, saw the Icelandic musician holed up for about three years as she slaved over the sounds on the album, taking all the necessary time to perfect the beats on the record.

As Bjork stated in an interview with Pitchfork, fittingly titled The Invisible Woman, despite having briefly collaborated with music duo Matmos on the album, her own contributions to the album were almost completely marginalised due to her gender. For example, I did 80% of the beats on Vespertine and it took me three years to work on that album, because it was all microbeatsit was like doing a huge embroidery piece she said.

Matmos came in the last two weeks and added percussion on top of the songs, but they didnt do any of the main parts, and they are credited everywhere as having done the whole album. [Matmos] Drew [Daniel] is a close friend of mine, and in every single interview he did, he corrected it. And they dont even listen to him. It really is strange.

Alex Lahey informs us that women dont need to be compared to other women

One of the biggest Aussie success stories of 2016 was Alex Lahey, and rightly so. The young Melbourne muso received rave reviews worldwide, even from sources as prestigious as Pitchfork. However, it was the comparisons to other musicians that made Lahey angry. Following on from her 2016 BIGSOUND appearance, Lahey remarked that comparisons made between her and Courtney Barnett are incredibly sexist.

Im just not convinced that those comparisons would be happening if I was a guy. Its just silly and easy, Lahey said in an interview with AAP. I think its easy to lump girls in with each other and its just stupid. Lahey continued; Im a huge fan of Courtney I think shes one of the best songwriters in the world and her values and what she stands for are beautiful and brilliant, so Im humbled to be compared to that. But I dont think that its accurate, especially from a musical perspective, we play very different types of music.

Megan Washington asks Kyle Sandilands to please retire following a sexist Lorde interview

You might be one of the lucky ones who managed to forget this awkward interview that Lorde was subjected to a few years back, but sadly, its something still way too common on radio today. Back in March of 2014, Lorde was being interviewed by Kyle Sandilands & Jackie O on The Kyle & Jackie O Show before Kyle Sandilands launched into some awkward questions.

Are you bringing your new bestie, Taylor Swift? I see you guys pictures everywhere. Are you guys like, uh, are you together now? asked Sandilands, who, after presumably sensing Lordes shocked reaction, clarified his statement with not together as in lesbians: Im not talking about Ellen together. Lordes response of what do you mean is there something wrong with lesbians? was met with a cringeworthy Oh my god no, I would love that, from Sandilands.

Megan Washington managed to steal the show though, posting on her Facebook account later an impassioned plea to Sandilands which read Kyle Sandilands: You are embarrassing. Please retire. You have enough money. Please go away. The post has managed to attract well over four thousand likes since being posted almost three years ago.

Iggy Azalea shows just how quickly topics of sexual assault can be ignored

Back in 2014, Iggy Azalea was addressing the issue of how she was frequently sexually assaulted by fans at her own gigs. During a radio interview with the hosts of New York radio station Hot 97, Azalea stated how the nature of her lyrics doesnt invite fans to sexually assault her. They think Im real slutty, like Oh, she got a song called Pu$$y, I know what she wants, she says. She wants these two fingers. Why would I want a stranger to ever finger me? Buying my album for $12 doesnt mean you get to finger me when I come to your city.

The hosts however, decided to almost completely ignore the issues of sexual assault mentioned by Azalea, instead deciding to use it as a segue into Azaleas bedroom behaviour, and the puffiness of her butt. Feel free to give the interview a listen below, and in case you were already sickened by the Sandilands interview above, get ready for round two with this horrible discourse.

Meredith Graves tackles the double standard of female authenticity

Meredith Graves of Perfect Pussy delivered a spoken word piece in 2014 that focused on the double standards that women face in the music industry. Graves spoke about how women frequently have their authenticity questioned when it comes to being a music fan, with even the smallest comment serving as a green light for a barrage of questions that test the claims made.

Women are called upon every day to prove our right to participate in music on the basis of our authenticity  or perceived lack thereof, Graves said. Our credentials are constantly being checked  you say you like a band youve only heard a couple of times? Prepare to answer which guitarist played on a specific record and what year he left the band. But dont admit you havent heard them, either, because theyll accuse you of only saying you like that genre to look cool.

And even if you pass all their tests, youre probably just a gimmick, there so the guys in your band seem progressive, or because youre cute, or they couldnt find anybody else. Worst of all, they might compliment you, and tell you that youre good  for a girl. Regardless, youre never considered real, youll never meet their idea of what a real musician or real music fan should be, because the standard is male.

An LA publication wins the award for creepiest article written about a musician

In June of last year, the LA Weekly published an article titled Sky Ferreiras Sex Appeal Is What Pop Music Needs Right Now, and if you think thats as bad as it gets, you are as ill-advised as the LA Weekly was when the decided to publish it. The article went on to describe Ferreira in terms which are, shall we say, less than appropriate.

To see how Ferreira fits into this elite group, simply look over her Instagram, the author writes. There isnt a single photo of her that isnt flawlessly, almost offensively cool. Even in the candid photo of her nude in the shower, soaking wet, she looks natural, like shes shooting a home video, rather than being photographed by a creeper, he continues. She looks like a more cherubic Sharon Stone, icy but also sweet, like a freshly licked lollipop. Thankfully, Ferreira decided to take a stand against this disgusting commentary and publicly spoke out against the sexist articles written about her.

Haim remind people theyre more than just a girl band

Los Angeles rock group Haim are undoubtedly one of the coolest bands in recent years. The group, which consists of sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim, as well as drummer Dash Hutton, made fans all over the world with the release of their debut record Days Are Gone, but amazingly, the group were still subjected to offensive generalisations everywhere.

While being asked about the groups sole male member, Dash Hutton, the other members of Haim rejected the idea of being called a girl band. Growing up, there were a lot of girl artists like the Spice Girls, Aaliyah and Destinys Child, said Alana Haim in a conversation with The Telegraph. But none of them really played instruments and I would always look up to Stevie Nicks and Blondie  they are dope female musicians. So I just see us as a band. When people call us a girl band, I take it as an insult  being a girl in a band shouldnt be a thing. It seems so medieval.

Playboy receive a smackdown from Neko Case after sexist article

American musician Neko Case has received high praise from numerous music publications in her time for the brilliant music that she makes, however, it was a 2014 incident with Playboy that saw Case get incredibly angry. The publication had recently published an article on Case, which involved piecing together numerous quotes the musician had made previously, and when it was shared on social media, was paired with a caption stating that Case was breaking the mold of what women in the music industry should be.

Case understandably took issue with this, especially due to the fact the article focused on superficial factors such as her age and looks, and fired back with a series of tweets that included statements such as Am I? IM NOT A FUCKING WOMAN IN MUSIC, IM A FUCKING MUSICIAN IN MUSIC!. Even after being told by numerous fans that the article in question was relatively positive, Case still responded as angrily as one might expect her to

And no, I didn't read it. Wouldn't be able to get past "Woman in.." if I had no idea who I was, which is the point; women NOT a niche market  Neko Case (@NekoCase) May 22, 2014

To be fair, it's not just @PlayboyDotCom who do the "Women in", everyone still does it, WOMEN do it. I can't hang.  Neko Case (@NekoCase) May 22, 2014

PJ Harveys fans speak out over misogynistic review

PJ Harvey is well known for being an outspoken musician, and her feminist leanings are no secret, so writing something that could be deemed as misogynistic towards her is obviously a pretty big mistake, right? Well, not according to a review published on the ABC in regards to a 2012 performance of PJ Harvey.

Regarding Harveys Perth gig, a review was published on the ABC Radio Perth site. Written by a clearly insecure reviewer who had to go so far as to remind his reader repeatedly that he is, in fact, a male, the review is doomed from the beginning. I was introduced to PJ Harvey by my partner. And after just two minutes of being at the concert hall, a guy and his wife pick up on our West Country English dulcet tones, it begins. We talk about her music, and although the other bloke and I are not massive fans, we have great respect for her and her song writing. After seeing PJ Harvey perform at festivals, I know this woman can hold her own with the boys.

Sadly, it doesnt stop there, it keeps on going. The comments that people shared in regards to the review were quick to pick up on the underlying theme of the review. We talk about her music, and how although we AS MEN are not massive fans Of course, because that would be ridiculous wrote one reviewer, while another tried to bring humour into the debacle by joking that someone told me that women are allowed to vote now. As a man Im not totally into it but I guess I can respect it.

Jen Cloher & Adalita show us how sexist guitar shopping can be

You might remember last year when Laura Imbruglias web-based sketch show, Amateur Hour, decided to turn the tables on the sexism that women face in music stores. Enlisting the talents of famous Aussie musos such as Jen Cloher and Adalita, Amateur Hour created a sadly hilarious four minute sketch that managed to hold a mirror up to the annoyance and rampant sexism faced by many aspiring female musos.
Seventh Street Media is proud to announce the launch of The Industry Observer: Australias new destination for music industry news, in-depth analysis, discussion, charts, and more.

The service will be entirely free, without any paywalls or premium subscriptions, making it both the perfect entry point for students and self-starters wishing to break into the music industry, and a handy daily resource for insiders wishing to keep up with the ever-changing landscape.

This delineation was vital in establishing The Industry Observer, as it gives us the freedom to report news accurately, evenly, and independently, without fear of content being dictated or manipulated by a paid subscriber base.

In addition, the decade-old J Play system  by far the most relied upon and visited B2B resource for the Australian music industry  has been rebooted, and will be part of the Industry Observer, adding an already-valuable resource to our arsenal.

With a launch staff that includes ex-The Music Network editors Poppy Reid and Nathan Jolly, Billboards Lars Brandle, The Brag editor Chris Martin, and Tone Deaf editor Brandon John, The Industry Observer already has a rich history in B2B and music publications.

CEO of Seventh Street Media, Luke Girgis said of the new publication: Over the past few months we have been consulting with major and indie record companies, publishers, and promoters to build the publication they want to read. We are very fortunate in that The Industry Observer will launch in conjunction with the iconic J Play resource, so it will immediately have an audience of 30,000 + music industry readers who actively work in, and invest in music.

Seventh Street Media recently acquired Tone Deaf and The Brag, as well as launching pop culture hub Dont Bore Us.
Scalping. We know youre sick of it, we are too. The artists hate it, and the whole industry recognises its an issue, but there still doesnt seem to be any sort of solution to it, even as the problem gets increasingly worse.

And the source of many of the problems? The supposedly legitimate ticket resale sites that make it that much easier for punters to get gouged at ridiculously inflated prices, such as Ticketmaster Resale and the Swiss-owned Viagogo.

Thankfully, a big push is being made against these two sites today, triple j reports, with the news that both are the subject of a fresh complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) by consumer advocacy group CHOICE, who accuse the platforms of deceptive conduct.

The websites allow fans to re-sell tickets in the event that theyre unable to attend a show, but with no cap on the asking price, scalpers are free, and even encouraged, to buy tickets in bulk and re-sell them immediately at ridiculously inflated prices.

The ideal outcome from here is that these ticket resellers clean up their act, CHOICE spokesman Tom Godrey told triple j. We dont want to see consumers paying hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars for tickets.

While the consumer group have had the issue on their radar for a while now, they insist that the ACCC must be allowed the time to look into the issue, and any possible solutions.

Now that this has been raised with the ACCC its important they have time to do a thorough and detailed investigation, I think the tide of complaints were getting and the number of people who are clearly frustrated by these ticket resale sites will add to the pressure on the regulator to act swiftly.

The issue has been back under the spotlight of late (although it has never really left), with Midnight Oil putting extensive measures in place in an attempt to prevent their hugely-anticipated tour, their first in 15 years, from being impacted by scalping.

The band limited the number of tickets that could be purchased in a single transaction, and passed on digital tickets in favour of physical ones, which will only be sent out in August, limiting their potential to be resold. They also announced new shows in Melbourne and Sydney soon after the first sold out, and announced that stores of tickets for other shows were being held back, to be sold at a later date.

Still, tickets resurfaced online at inflated prices almost immediately, and frontman Peter Garrett took to Twitter to applaud the new action.

The tours presenters, Frontier Touring, also announced that they are are planning their own submission to the ACCC, citing the misleading sales tactics and language at work. They too took to social media, but this time to collect the personal accounts of gig-goers who feel theyve been wronged by the ticketing outlets.

As part of our on-going fight against scalpers, they wrote, Frontier Touring are currently in the process of collating stories of those who have purchased through ticket resale sites and had an unsatisfactory experience.

Such experiences may include being misled about what you were purchasing, believing you were on an official ticketing website due to advertised search listings on search engines, or instances where you have purchased tickets only to arrive at the concert to find your tickets were fake or had been sold to multiple people.

The main claims being leveled against the resale facilities by CHOICE follow a similar theme, arguing that these resale sites present themselves as being official outlets offering a level of consumer protection that buyers wouldnt receive when purchasing tickets from other unofficial sources, but CHOICE argue that this is categorically not the case. Further accusations of unscrupulous additional charges have been leveled against Viagogo specifically, with over $50 being tacked on to one ticket earlier this year.

Another concern is that, in Queensland especially, purchasers can even find themselves unintentionally breaking the law, with fines of up to $600 in place for paying more than the extra 10% that local laws allow  although the ticketing sites take care to cover themselves in the fine print for these sorts of breaches.

Worst case scenario, is having paid all that money, you can be left outside the ground, facing a fine, Godrey explains  a nightmare situation for a dedicated gig-goer, but merely the extreme end of a system that clearly isnt doing enough to protect its consumers.

CHOICE want to ensure that the companies have to take steps to fix the problem, and promises that, if theyre found in breach of the law, they see significant penalties.

Ticketmaster Resale defended its practices in a statement to the ABC, claiming it was 100 per cent committed to transparency and is continually reviewing its practices and platforms to ensure it is fully compliant with applicable regulations.

We see ourselves as the leading example of good practice in the ticketing market and will continue to work to provide customers with fair and transparent pricing structures, it said, adding that in instances of inappropriate action being highlighted to them, they take appropriate action to ensure the sellers address those issues.

That action clearly hasnt been enough to prevent ridiculously inflated ticket prices and dodgy dealings so far, so its now in the hands of the ACCC as we eagerly await their findings.
Dhaulagiri zone totally bans import of poultry products

Import of poultry products into the entire Dhaulagiri Zone has been banned, following the detection of bird flu in the neighbouring district Kaski.
Kansas City Star offers up fake news story... "Rival streetcar petitions headed for August ballot."

The latest update from Kansas City's most prolific transit activist argues with their recent comparison . . .Kansas City's paper of record continues amassing a poor record in terms of inaccurate and biased reporting over the transit controversy in Kansas City.Today's Star article by Lynn Horsley titled, "Rival Kansas City streetcar petitions headed for August ballot" is completely false, misleading, agenda-driven, and thus, "fake news."Horsley says, "Two contradictory streetcar petition initiatives are headed for Kansas City's Aug. 8 ballot." That is a false narrative.One of the petition initiatives was authored by me and calls FOR A CITYWIDE VOTE to transform the city's 2.2 mile downtown streetcar system (slow moving streetcars that stop every 2-blocks and operate in traffic) into a citywide rail system where the streetcars operate at much faster speeds, stop less frequently and operate in dedicated "transit greenways" separated from traffic. The service area of this junior light rail system would also be expanded by an auxiliary electric bus system and new citywide bike way network.The other petition initiative calls for prohibiting any fixed-rail expansion (like my plan) WITHOUT A CITYWIDE VOTE. (1) So if my rail expansion petition plan calls for a "citywide vote", where is the "rivalry"?(2) If my rail expansion petition plan calls for "citywide vote", how are the two plans "contradictory"?To add more to this confusing, manipulative and fake news story by the Star (now a paper with an agenda) is the picture at the top of the article referring to another streetcar effort to expand the city's current downtown streetcar system (and how it operates) to the Plaza / UMKC via a restricted or WITHOUT A CITYWIDE VOTE.The fact is, contrary to what the Star and Lynn Horsley are reporting, the two petition initiatives on the August ballot are fully compatible with each other. What the Star does not want to report (again fake news) is that both these petition initiatives are "rivals" of, and "contradictory" to, (and were circulated because of), the Regional Transit Alliance's (RTA) plan to expand the city's archaic streetcar system to the Plaza via a NON-CITYWIDE VOTE!!!It is no secret the Star has previously backed the city's current streetcar system and the RTA's scheme to expand it via a restricted election.So what say the Star's new editorial board and publisher about their paper's fake (agenda driven) news story designed to call attention away from wherein lies the real conflict?Clay Chastain...leader of the petition initiative to transform the city's downtown streetcar system into a far more effective attractive and citywide rail system via a citywide vote!##############
"It was cynical and manipulative for anyone in leadership to "support" the $15 minimum wage, all the while knowing it wouldn't happen in real life."

"A lot of people believe it's time to raise the minimum wage, and I'm one of them. The only problem I've got is, passing this ordinance in a hasty manner might be good theater, might be interesting politics. It's not what I would consider to be great leadership, and it's not effective."





"James pointed to the Missouri General Assembly which is already working to stop any local minimum wage ordinances. The bill, which should move smoothly through the Republican-controlled chambers, would likely be signed my Gov. Eric Greitens. That's why James says an ordinance in Kansas City would be ineffective.





"Instead, the mayor supports a petition initiative."

The problem here is that the Mayor STILL voices his support for a controversial and costly effort that many small biz owners and Conservatives decry. But he won't take any real world action to back up his statements. It's the worst of both worlds for the Mayor and a rare public display of TOTAL POLITICAL COWARDICE on a divisive local topic.

While Kansas City Mayor Sly James attempts to equivocate and explain his convoluted support and objection to another minimum wage increase, the backstabbing political move should be familiar to those who have followed his career and continued treachery against every interest but his own.There are quite a few theories regarding Mayor Sly's recenton the minimum wage increase vote coming up this Thursday but none of them consider the big picture given thatWhat's important to understand is thatand has leads local news in understanding the double talk of this politico.A great line from recent comments:Meanwhile, the Mayor continues to dance and two-step around the issue . . .Money line . . .########Accordingly . . .The problem that local advocates of the upcoming KCMO Fair Wage vote confront is that they don't know how the Mayor will vote . . . Given that support for a Missouri fair wage petition and a vote approving a KCMO minimum wage increase aren't mutually exclusive.As always, we'd like to help . . .Mayor Sly typically finds an excuse to temporarily step out on the most controversial local votes whilst claiming some kind of emergency or previous commitment. He usually doesn't like to vote YES OR NO against these kind of things and will instead play hide & seek with voters, the media and the public as few "journalists" hold him accountable for his often confused legislative actions.Developing . . .
HAS "GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY!!!" BECOME THE NEW RALLYING CRY OF VIOLENT PREZ TRUMP SUPPORTERS?!?!

CUT THE NUMBERS OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO THE U.S. AS WELL









The reality is that alleged hate crimes wherein gunmen target brown people and yell at them to "Get Out Of My County!!!" exemplifies the expression of anti-immigrant sentiment that has been ascribed to Prez Trump supporters.

















Once again Kansas City is at the forefront of American political discourse as immigration reform promised by Prez Trump takes the blame for the hateful rhetoric which has accompanied recent violent attacks against immigrants by gunmen.And so we ask our. . .Immigration reform is a divisive and complex topic. Even MissouriAnd to be clear . . . The Prez Trump Administration immigration crackdown isn't just focused on illegal aliens but threatens toProof:And while a spirited debate about immigration policy and the overall impact of business is important . . .Here's a few examples of the perception that has now become reality . . .It doesn't matter if it's fair . . . For millions of Americans and even more people across the globe, these alleged hate crimes define the underlying motivation of the current Prez Trump immigration crackdown and there's very little argument or acknowledgement of this problem by more tolerant and reasonable advocates of Prez Trump who haveto challenge popular conceptions.You decide . . .
Greece's National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) will collaborate with the organisers of the German art exhibition 'documenta 14'

Greece's National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) will collaborate with the organisers of the German art exhibition 'documenta 14', which this year will be hosted jointly by Athens and the German city of Kassel, its traditional base. The news was officially announced by the exhibition organisers in Kassel on Tuesday and passed on by the Athens municipality press office.

The museum will house a significant proportion of the international art exhibition in Athens, while a sizeable portion of the EMST collection will then be put on show in Kassel, adding an unique dimension to the long-awaited art event.

This is the first time that the 60-year-old documenta exhibition will be held in a second city, in addition to Kassel, following an agreement signed by Athens Mayor George Kaminis and Kassel Mayor Bertram Hilgen.

Preparations for the Athens opening of documenta 14 are now in the final stages, with a series of events planned for the launch between April 6-8. These include a horseback procession through the centre of Athens and a 100-day horseback journey covering 1,850 miles, from Athens to Kassel, passing through the western Balkan countries such as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Serbia and Slovenia.

More than 5,000 foreign journalists, artists, critics and official delegation members are expected to attend the official press conference and other launch events.

The exhibition in Athens will then run until July 16 and that in Kassel from June 10 until September 17, featuring actions from all over the world to highlight a dialectic relationship that is attempted for the first time in the documenta exhibition's 60-year history.

Documenta is one of the world's largest international modern art exhibitions, which has been held in the German city of Kassel every five years since 1955.

Read more here.

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The Greek banking sectors return to core profitability and its efforts to reduce the remaining non-performing loans within the next three years were discussed in a meeting between the leadership of the Hellenic Bank Association (HBA) and the head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Klaus Regling in Luxembourg on Tuesday.

The HBA presented the latest data on the sector which show improvement during 2016 and the challenges still facing lenders regarding liquidity and the effective management of NPLs. The association noted that achieving this goal will depend on reducing uncertainties and improving the economic environment.

The delegation of Greek bankers also confirmed the lenders intention to cooperate with all the relevant authorities and regulators, including the ESM, to deal with the important challenges of the sector. They also vowed to contribute to the recovery of the Greek economy by supporting growth.

The delegation included HBA president Nikolaos Karamouzis and Vice-president Vasilios Rapanos.

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
An international seminar on The Future of Europe is to take place at Greeces foreign ministry, in the Yiannis Kranidiotis amphitheatre, at 10:00 on Monday morning

An international seminar on The Future of Europe is to take place at Greeces foreign ministry, in the Yiannis Kranidiotis amphitheatre, at 10:00 on Monday morning. The seminar is organised by the foreign ministry and held under the aegis of President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

The opening remarks will be made by Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs George Katrougalos, while participants will include distinguished academics from Greece and abroad.

The seminar will have segments on three themes relating to the new challenges facing Europe after the British referendum, European values and economic governance and democracy and European state. It will focus on current European issues with emphasis on the need to enhance the EUs democratic legitimacy, especially in economic governance, and to propose appropriate mechanisms for enhancing the EUs social aspects.

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
Prokopis Pavlopoulos visited the tiny island of Pserimos for a celebration of the islands 70th anniversary since the Integration of the Dodecanese island group into the Greek state

President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Tuesday visited the tiny island of Pserimos for a celebration of the islands 70th anniversary since the Integration of the Dodecanese island group into the Greek state.

The symbol of Greek-Turkish friendship is the correct implementation of international law, as befits democratic and peaceful peoples, Pavlopoulos said in a statement from out of the islands military outposts.

He also repeated his double message to neighbouring Turkey, saying it was one of sincere friendship, good neighbourly relations and cooperation in difficult times. We urge it, through Greece, to follow its European path, as befits its people and its democracy, he said.

At the same time, he added, we send a message that we are here to defend ourselves, respecting and implementing international law and European law as a whole. Especially the Lausanne Treaty, the sovereignty, the borders and, of course, the territorial integrity of Greece, which are also, since Greece is a member state of the EU, the borders, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the EU, he stressed.

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
Dubai will play host to a brand new show dedicated to the Middle Easts burgeoning solar industry: The Big 5 Solar, which will be held in November along with the largest construction event in the region, The Big 5, said the organisers.



The event is a showcase of the latest solar technologies from leading photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing countries like Germany, Italy, China, India and Turkey as well as from the GCC region, stated dmg events Middle East, Asia and Africa, the organiser of The Big 5 show.



To be held from November 26 to 29 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the exhibition will open its doors to thousands of decision makers, buyers and manufacturers, showcasing the very latest solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies.



With 2016 turning to be a record-breaking year for the solar industry in the region, the future looks even brighter, according to the Middle East Solar Industry Associations latest report.



With solar PV without storage becoming one of the cheapest sources of electricity, power demand on the rise, and the recognised need to develop environmentally sustainable solutions, solar penetration in the Middle East is accelerating, it stated.



In the UAE, rooftop solar output is growing more than 1,100 per cent over a one-year period, from 6 MW in 2016 to 70 MW by the end of 2017, stated the report.



With 135 operational solar (PV and CSP) installations, 1,000 under execution, and 1,200 under tender, the UAE is one of the most promising markets for solar energy, it added.



"The UAE Energy Plan 2050 aims at increasing clean energy use by 50 per cent, cutting down carbon dioxide emissions by 70 per cent before the middle of this century. Theres an unequivocal need for advanced solar technologies in the region," remarked Josine Heijmans, the Big 5 Solar event director.



Co-located with The Big 5, the largest construction event in the region attracting 78,869 participants from more than 120 countries last year, The Big 5 Solar 2017 is set to become an unmissable and truly global platform for solar industry professionals to network, learn and do business in the Middle East, she stated.



On the new venture, Heijmans said: "About 20 per cent of the visitors at The Big 5 2016 had expressed an interest in solar technologies. Its with this growing demand in mind that dmg events Middle East, Asia and Africa is launching its first ever The Big 5 Solar in November, co-located with The Big 5."



Alongside the exhibition, international experts will share cutting-edge insights and industry best practices at a series of free-to-attend CPD (continuing professional development)-certified workshops.



Moreover, a one-day Global Solar Leaders Summit will contribute to the development of the solar industry, ensuring full support to achieving the UAEs 2050 energy goals, stated Heijmans.



Previous solar events organised by dmg events (Middle East, Asia and Africa) had attracted more than 4,000 key buyers from over 65 countries, she added.-TradeArabia News Service
Qatar's public works authority Ashghal is set to allocate 10,400 land plots over the next three years for infrastructure projects, with a prime focus on residential units across the country.



Ashghal said it will be working in co-ordination with Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) on these projects.



The move comes as part of the governments initiative to provide land allocated to citizens sub-divisions, said senior Ashghal officials at a joint press conference with Kahramaa at the project site of the Roads and Infrastructure for Citizens Sub-divisions in Al Mashaf West.



It was attended by Dr Saad bin Ahmed Al Muhannadi, the president of Ashghal and Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, the president of Kahramaa, during which a plan was presented about the delivery of infrastructure projects for citizens sub-divisions over a period of five years.



Addressing the gathering, Saoud Al Tamimi, the director of Roads Projects Department in Ashghal, outlined the work plan of infrastructure projects in citizens sub-divisions, and the infrastructure delivery schedule in citizens sub-divisions over the next five years.



"Facilities and infrastructure will be provided to sub-divisions that will be distributed to citizens, through opening for tender Infrastructure projects for 10,400 land plot over the next three years, to be completed in five years," he noted.



This year, infrastructure of Al Wukair North and Al Mashaf West areas will be completed, which will serve 1,829 land plots. In 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, infrastructure facilities will be completed to serve 1,303, 2,511, 2,487 and 2,270 land plots respectively, stated Al Tamimi.



The press conference was followed by a site visit to the Roads and Infrastructure for Citizens Sub-Divisions in Al Mashaf West project, for review of the completed and current works on the ground.



Ashghal is expected to deliver this project in 2017, in addition to delivering the Roads and Infrastructure for Citizens Sub-Divisions in Al Wukair North project, which together include 1,829 land plots, he added.



On the Al Mashaf West (Package 3), Ashghal said the project is aimed at converting Al Mashaf West area into a sustainable residential area that can accommodate the future population growth. This package includes 1,186 land plots.



The project involves construction of a local roads network with a total length of 70 km, which includes 92 main and local streets in addition to the construction of 13 signallised intersections of which three are major interchanges, and the provision of street lighting.



The project also includes the construction of drainage networks, and electricity, water, and communications networks.



On its Al Wukair North development, Ashghal said it involves development of 643 land plots, mainly for construction of 23 km of road besides eight signal-controlled intersections, in addition to provision for street lighting.

The project also includes the construction of a drainage network, and electricity, water, and communications networks, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain Airport Services (BAS) has announced that it has signed a technical handling agreement with Saudi Arabian Airlines for the Bahrain International Airport.



The agreement displays their confidence in our expertise and experience over the years and our commitment to provide the highest level of safety checks, said Engineer Osama Helmi, manager, line maintenance.



"We would be covering all aspects of the technical handling with the strict governance of the Maintenance Organisation Exposition which is a formal document describing how an approved maintenance organisation or MRO is structured to achieve delivery of its activity. This will ensure the timeliness of our processes and increase efficiency as we support our partners, he said.



BAS is delighted to partner with international airlines for technical handling and we remain dedicated towards strengthening the quality of our processes and procedures to ensure the most efficient on-time-performance, said Jalal Mohammed Jalal, chairman of BAS.



The line maintenance team provides state-of-the-art technical handling support to most of the international airlines at the Bahrain International Airport. Technical handling addresses the technical service requirements of an airline between the time it arrives at a terminal gate and the time it departs onward to its next flight route.



Technical handling operations include various crucial checks that need to be carried out by a team of professional engineers and mechanics at BAS such as transit, arrival, departure and other line management functional checks. Troubleshooting procedures are conducted, if necessary, to ensure the highest level of safety certification is done post-service to confirm that a flight is ready for take-off.



Meanwhile, BAS has achieved the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 accreditation, which specifies the requirements of establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system (ISMS) within the organization. It also certifies specific requirements to be met for the assessment and treatment of information security risks tailored to the needs of the organisation (BAS).



BAS is an ISAGO (Iata Safety Audit for Ground Operations) accredited ground service provider. ISAGO has been built upon a 'backbone' of audit standards applicable to all ground handling companies worldwide, coupled with a uniform set of standards relevant for the specific activities of any ground handler. - TradeArabia News Service


EC fears about polls

A day after three protesters were killed in police firing in Saptari, the Election Commission is worried that the deteriorating security situation in the Tarai could affect the scheduled local level polls.
Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, today appointed Monzer Tohme as regional vice president, sales, Middle East and Africa (MEA).



Taking leadership of a business that has seen strong growth over the last year, Tohme will focus on building the sales team, growing the channel community and expanding the companys footprint in the region.



Commenting on the appointment, Sabby Gill, executive vice president, for Epicor International, said: As a high growth market, the Middle East and Africa region is strategic for us. In the last year alone, we rolled out our cloud-first strategy for the region and launched a brand new, innovative partner programtwo initiatives that have allowed us to provide our regional customers with the best-in-class enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions that serve as a platform to support and accelerate their business growth.



Gill continued: As we look to build on our success in the region, having the right individual to lead the organisation is critical to our international growth strategy. An industry veteran with over 25 years of sales experience in the ERP market, Monzer has the market knowledge, contacts, and most importantly, the leadership skills that will allow us to build a strong Epicor team and partner community in the region.



With an initial focus on the UAE, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, Tohme will look to grow the Epicor business within its existing customer base through upgrades to the latest software versions. At the same time, he will drive customer acquisition, specifically in the hospitality and manufacturing service sectors. - TradeArabia News Service






Bahrain is regarded as one of the great locations for women who want to work abroad with the kingdom being listed among the top five nations globally in an annual survey.



Luxembourg, Taiwan, and Germany top the chart, and they all do particularly well for womens job security. More surprisingly, Hungary and Bahrain follow just behind in the top five, performing extremely well for job satisfaction and career opportunities for women, as opposed to the more negative perception of men working in these countries, says the Expat Insider Survey.



Bahrain, which is only Middle Eastern country among the top 10 on the list, does very well when it comes to the job and career and work-life balance and the kingdom's friendly atmosphere seems to help women working abroad to settle in, says the survey.



Based on the insights of more than 6,000 women given in the annual Expat Insider survey, InterNations, the worlds largest network for people who live and work abroad, compiled a so-far unpublished ranking of the top countries for women working abroad, which varies quite a bit from male expats picks.



Almost half of the women who currently live abroad (46 percent) mentioned their job or business as a reason for expatriating. This share is still lower than among their male counterparts, of which seven out of ten (71 percent) say the same.



Nonetheless, it is the factor most often given by expat women, followed by 33 percent who moved for their partner and 26 percent who were looking for an adventure.



Top 10 Countries for Women Working Abroad

1. Luxembourg: Luxembourg tops the Working Abroad Index not only for women, but for all survey respondents. For female expats, it does best in the job security subcategory, coming in first with 86 percent of women saying that they feel positive about this factor. The high ranking in job security is partly due to the 93 percent of female expats that feel positive about the state of Luxembourgs economy. The country also ranks first among women when it comes to the safety and security subcategory: 96 percent rate the peacefulness positively, and not one expat women says that they feel negatively about the countrys political stability.



2. Taiwan: Taiwan takes second place overall for women working abroad, coming in first place for the job and career subcategory. In fact, six in 10 female expats (62 percent) say that they feel positive about their career prospects in Taiwan, as opposed to slightly more than half of the women around the world agreeing to this (53 percent). A vast majority (86 percent) are also satisfied with their current position in comparison to a global average of 62 percent.



3. Germany: Germany places third for the Job Security subcategory with 90 percent of female expats saying that they are positive about the state of the economy. Nearly half of female expats in Germany (46 percent in comparison to 36 percent globally) are employees or managers and the 11 percent of women in Germany currently searching for work are facing good career prospects, as 65 percentage of female respondents in Germany are overall satisfied with them in comparison to 53 percent worldwide. Germany also performs well among expat women for safety and political stability: 89 percent for example feel positive about their personal safety compared to a global average of 77 percent.



4. Hungary: Hungary proves that money does not mean everything: despite 43 percent of women in Hungary earning less than they would back home (compared to 31percent of women globally), the country does exceptionally well when it comes to the job and career and work-life balance subcategories, ranking second in both. An impressive 40 percent  as opposed to a global average of only 17 percent  are even completely satisfied with their work-life balance. Hungary also shows some of the biggest differences between expat men and women overall: expat women rank Hungary as the worlds 7th best country to live in, whereas expat men feel very differently, ranking it at 36th out of 62 countries.



5. Bahrain: Bahrain's friendly atmosphere seems to help women working abroad to settle in and the country makes it to sixth place in the Ease of Settling In Index. Over a quarter of female expats (27 percent) agree completely that making local friends is easy, a number far higher than the 11 percent global average. Bahrain also does very well when it comes to the job and career and work-life balance subcategories, coming in at third place and sixth place respectively: nearly three-quarters of female expats (73 percent) are overall satisfied with their jobs in Bahrain compared to a global average of 62 percent.



6. Australia: Australia is a great destination for women working abroad who want to enjoy their free time to the fullest. Female expats in Australia have plenty to do in their spare time: 93 percent of respondents feel positive about the available leisure activities. Compared to a global average of just 17 percent of women saying they are completely satisfied with their work-life balance, three in ten expat women in Australia feel this way. The great weather down under is another plus to moving to Australia, with 85 percent of female expats saying that the climate and weather is good compared to a 61 percent global average.



7. Ecuador: Despite three in 10 women (29 percent) saying they earn significantly less than at home, well above the worldwide average of just 14 percent, Ecuador still makes a great destination for working abroad, coming first in the work-life balance subcategory: an impressive 84 percent of female expats in Ecuador indeed say they feel satisfied with their work-life balance compared to the global average of 60 percent. However, Ecuador does not do so well for the state of its economy with 43 percent of women feeling negatively about it, compared to a global average of just 24 percent.



8. New Zealand: Expat women find it easy to settle in and feel welcome in New Zealand. For instance, over four in five (83 percent) say that they feel that it is easy to get used to the local culture. Over three in five (61 percent) even say that they would possibly stay forever in New Zealand, an impressive 30 percentage points more than women around the world. Perhaps the work-life balance contributes to women wanting to stay  as 77 percent of them are overall satisfied with this aspect of their life.



9. Norway: Expat women in Norway can expect to be earning more than they would at home with 74 percent of respondents saying this is the case compared to only half of respondents worldwide. Although nearly eight in ten expat women worldwide consider themselves happy with their life (78 percent), this unfortunately is not the case in Norway: despite the positive working abroad results, only 66 percent of female expats feel overall happy with their life.



10. Denmark: Of all three subcategories of the Working Abroad Index, Denmark performs best in the Work-Life Balance subcategory coming in at fourth for women. Across all survey respondents, men included, Denmark even has the shortest full-time work week out of all the countries surveyed, with an average of 39 hours per week. Just like Norway, Denmark does not do as well in the job and career subcategory, placing 34th out of 57 countries for women. When it comes to the Job Security subcategory, Denmark comes 15th, six places below Norway, which still makes the top 10 ranking on ninth position.



Worst Countries to Work Abroad for Women

While some of the best countries for women working abroad are in Europe, so are the worst. For example, Greece even comes in last place for working abroad for both expat men and women. The state of the economy may have something to do with this: nine in ten female expats in Greece rate this factor negatively, compared to one quarter globally (24 percent). Meanwhile, career prospects even seem to be worrisome for expat women in several Southern European countries: 63 percent of women in Greece rate this negatively, followed by 54 percent in Cyprus, and 52 percent in Italy.



The economies of South American countries Argentina and Brazil also seem to be troubling for women working there, with 76 percent and 87 percent respectively rating them negatively. Brazil, however, seems to be a popular spot for being sent abroad by an employer: 18 percent of female expats there say this was their primary reason for relocating, notably higher than the 10 percent global average. Job security in Brazil is something that female expats are not overly satisfied with, though: 36 percent rate it negatively, 14 percentage points higher than the global average.



While foreign women employees seem to be in high demand when it comes to working in the Gulf Countries  14 percent in Saudi Arabia say they were recruited by a local company and 12 percent in Qatar say the same, four times the global average of 3 percent  they seem to struggle with work-life balance: only 40 percent rank this factor positively in Saudi Arabia and 44 percent in Qatar, compared to the global average of 60 percent. Female expats in Saudi Arabia and Qatar have an average work week of 42.6 and 44.8 hours, respectively, which is notably higher than the global average of 39.0 hours. Therefore, it comes to no surprise that 34 percent of women working in Qatar say that they are unsatisfied with their working hours, nearly double the global average of 19 percent. While Saudi Arabia does better in this regard, it is still above the global average at 23 percent.



For its annual Expat Insider survey, InterNations asked about 14,300 expatriates representing 174 nationalities and living in 191 countries or territories to rate and provide information on various aspects of expat life, as well as their gender, age, and nationality. - TradeArabia News Service


Ras Al Khaimah master developer, Al Marjan Island, is participating in the 20th edition of International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF 2017), which is being held in Berlin, Germany until March 8.



IHIF 2017 is the most diverse platform in the hotel industry, with over 2,000 participants from more than 70 countries. IHIFs strategic line-up of activities include interviews with leading hoteliers, forecasts from top economists, panel discussions on the latest developments, trends and best practices in the hotel and investment industry all over the world.



Al Marjan Island aims to enhance the emirates position as an international destination for investors. Through its participation at the forum, the master developer targets to review and incorporate the best-in-class strategies governing the real estate industry, which will enhance the development of the island. Taking this as an opportunity, Al Marjan Island also works to reinforce communications with international investors who are looking for secure investment in unique waterfront destinations.



While the growth of world-class facilities has boosted the tourism and hospitality industry in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Marjan Island has also played a vital role in promoting the emirate as a top investment destination from all over the world. Surrounded with peace and tranquillity, the beautiful Al Marjan Island is equipped with luxurious resorts, entertaining facilities and exquisite beaches. In 2016, the island showcased a remarkable growth in investments and to continue the positive momentum in 2017 and the coming years, Al Marjan Island aims to enhance its facilities and services. - TradeArabia News Service


To scrap high baggage charges, Oman Air has partnered with DHL Express, a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL.



The arrangement will allow guests flying Oman Air to use DHL Express to deliver their baggage to their final destination at extremely affordable rates in line with the new rates introduced by Oman Air in January of this year. The agreement signifies DHL and Oman Airs commitment to strengthen cooperation and deliver better service and value to Oman Airs customers within Oman.



The partnership will enable guests, with confirmed Oman Air tickets to send baggage to any address within Oman Airs network through drop off at any DHL service point in Oman, including Seeb, Al Khuwair, Sohar, Muscat, Qurum and Salalah. Guests will then be able to track their packages on the move via phone, sms, email or online through DHL.com.om



Aboudy Nasser, senior vice president, Network Planning & Revenue Management for Oman Air, said: Our decision to partner with DHL is part of journey to becoming the best. As with our move to scrap high baggage charges, we want deliver more value for our customers and make their life as easy as possible while travelling. Passengers flying with us can arrive in the hotel with their baggage waiting for them relieving them of the hassle of having to carry to and from the airport.



Ali Thabet, country manager for DHL Express in Oman, said: We are pleased to be working closely with Oman Air. This new and strategic partnership with Oman Air reflects the common vision and brand promise of both companies in making sure that customers are offered great service quality that exceed their expectations. It is also a reflection of the strong ties that we have with Oman Air.



This new partnership with DHL definitely delivers an added benefit for anyone flying with Oman Air. Using our unparalleled global network that extends to more than 220 countries across the world, DHL Express is able to provide Oman Air passengers with a unique and value for money service of securely shipping their luggage to any country they are flying to and delivering it to its final destination on time, offering them peace of mind and a hassle-free flight. Our support will aid Oman Airs mission to exceed customer expectations with a safe, reliable and seamless flying experience.



Oman Air guests will receive special DHL rates on production of a valid Oman Air ticket with specific rates for Inter GCC travel, Middle East, Africa and Indian Subcontinent and separate rates for travel to Europe and Asia Pacific.



DHL standard terms and conditions will apply for each shipment and DHL will be responsible for all processing of Oman Air guests requirements.



For further information or details on the rates please contact DHL or Oman Air or visit DHL.com.om or omanair.com. - TradeArabia News Service


Flydubai today celebrated International Womens Day with an all-female crew operating flights FZ001/FZ002 between Dubai and Doha.



Captain Isabel Gonzalez from Spain and First Officer Vaidehi Chavhan from India were joined by cabin crew from Korea, Moldova, Morocco, Tunisia and Zimbabwe in welcoming flydubais passengers on board this special flight celebrating women in aviation.



A group of flydubais female employees from across different departments welcomed the flight crew upon their return to the companys headquarters in Dubai: leading women from the airlines Commercial, Commercial Systems, Engineering, Flight Operations, Human Resources, Inflight Services, Legal, Maintenance, Materials, Network Control, Network Planning, Revenue Management were represented.



We celebrate women empowerment every day at flydubai and I am proud of all of our more than 1,400 female professionals who contribute to the growth and success of the airline. International Womens Day is a great occasion to thank the female workforce in the airline for their hard work and dedication, said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO at flydubai.

More than a third of the 3,770 employees at flydubai are female with more than 1,000 female cabin crew members and more than 30 female Captains and First Officers. - TradeArabia News Service
A far-right political party in Germany was accused of spreading news about a fake Germany travel ban against Sweden. The German Foreign Ministry dismissed the claims in social media stating that the government -- despite raising terrorism alert levels against Sweden -- did not issue a travel ban against the country.

According to The Local Germany, a German Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden said that it was the "first time" the German Foreign Ministry had to "correct erroneous claims about Sweden" specifically the fake Germany travel ban. The Embassy Spokesperson said the Embassy is responsible for reporting Swedish terrorist threat assessments to the German Foreign Ministry. The spokesperson said the information must have led to false interpretation by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) far-right political party.

According to DW.com, the German Foreign Ministry suggested that the announcement be read as: "The Federal Foreign Office pointed out a year ago that the Swedish government had lowered its level of terrorism," and apologized "if that sounds less interesting." AfD posted in its Twitter and Facebook page that there was "a serious travel warning [applied and effective] since 1 March," and that it was "strange we didn't hear about it in the media."

The controversial far-right group early in 2015 contested the German government for opening its doors for refugees and criticized the European Union's rules on human rights. Its ideas for socialism had a controversial statement from its leader Bjorn Hocke regarding Germany's "reverence to Holocaust victims" had seen support immensely shed off from the political party.

According to critics of the group, AfD is the new home of German "neo Nazis" as they proliferate neo-Nazi ideas and appeal greatly to right wing extremists. DW writes that the AfD heavily benefited from the rise of the populist international trend which pushed the US and Britain to radical decisions from voting Donald Trump and Brexit, respectively.

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In celebration of International Women's Day, all women will get to enjoy free entrance to Italy's museums and cultural destinations. There are over 100 museums around the country that will hold talks and showcase women's art throughout history.

A couple of heritage sites in Italy will concentrate on women authors and artists, or regions dedicated to women, and appreciating the representation of women in art through crafts and paintings. The Local has stated the Ministry of Cultural Heritage as saying that they want to celebrate the feminine world with a series of events.

The Museo Nazionale Romano: Terme di Diocleziano in Rome will hold a tour and discuss the women during Roman Times while the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice will study the representation of women in the city's art, Lonely Planet reports.

Moreover, the statue of Venus in a Bikini will be displayed in its founding location at the House of Venus in Bikini at Pompeii for the said day only. The Ministry's Instagram, @museitaliani, will feature 30 images, paintings and sculptures of women, handpicked by the country's top art historians.

The ministry will be portraying women of different backgrounds like "saints and prostitutes, goddesses and commoners, intellectuals and artists, actresses and martyrs, writers and poets, mothers, Madonnas, and revolutionaries," according to their press release.

Italy would like to invite locals and visitors alike to join in their digital treasure hunt, finding paintings and artworks of the featured women in museums, taking their pictures and uploading their photos with the hashtag #8marzoalmuseo.

Catch different artworks in the country like the statue of Ophelia, the bust of Madame de Stael, portrait of Laura Dianti, a self- portrait of Rosalba Carriera, and the 1929 painting of Princess Maria Jose Piedmont. People can search which museum is a lot closer in their region here.

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Due to numerous violent attacks made by passengers on a Russian airline's employees, plans are now being made for staff members to learn martial arts. The move made by the airline aims to handle situations when aggressive passengers become out of control.

Daily Mail reported that Pobeda Airlines, a low-cost carrier, announced of hiring an expert that would teach their team members sambo and judo. The decision was made following an incident on Feb. 10 where a passenger attacked a manager at the Vnukovo airport.

According to airline representatives, the passenger arrived late for his flight and was refused by the manager to board the plane. When the client asked for a refund and was denied, he spat on the airline staff's face and also threw punches at him.

The aggressor ran out of the office but was eventually arrested by the authorities. The airline manager suffered injuries and received medical treatment.

According to Russia Beyond The Headlines, Pobeda airlines initially thought about getting the services of a security company to address the problem but later on realized that it would cause the prices to go higher. The original plan did not push through because it would increase plane fares by two per cent.

Airline general director Andrey Kalmykov said: "We found a cheaper way to do it, and we're going to teach our staff the martial arts of sambo and judo, and therefore, we don't need to raise ticket prices." Vasily Shestakov of the International Sambo Federation has proposed that he would train the employees sambo since it's a more suitable type of martial arts given the small area of the cabins.

Judo is a type of martial arts that do not use any weapons. It's a combat sport that where a person uses holds and leverage to take down the opponent. Meanwhile, Sambo which is a shorter term for samooborona bez oruzhiya, a combat sport doesn't also use weapons and rather uses techniques like martial arts are striking, joint locking, choking, and ground fighting.

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A town, Sri Racha, near the Gulf of Thailand, has a pond where people, locals and tourists toss coins for a turtle that was believed to be holy and brought them luck. Clearly a terrible idea--as Om Sin, the sea turtle, has suffered from eating almost 1,000 coins.

Last Monday, the turtle had undergone a seven-hour surgery after suffering severe stomach pains. Veterinarians removed about 11 pounds of coins all in all. Chulalongkorn University's faculty of veterinary science, Pasakorn Brikshavana, told the Bangkok Post: "It is hard to imagine how it swallowed such a large number of coins. I've never seen such a case before."

The turtle was named as such by the doctors who saved her after noticing the the shell was bulging and infected--Om Sin in Thai means "piggy bank." The university will care for the turtle in a week on which after, Om Sin will be rehabilitated at the Sea Turtle Conservation Centre of the Royal Thai Navy in Sattahip, Chonburi.

Together with Om Sin, about a dozen other turtles were rescued from Sri Racha as well and were brought to turtle rescuer, Nantarika Chansue, who has been saving turtles for 15 years now. The Washington Post stated Chansue as saying that she had never seen a case like Om Sin's - 1,000 coins thrown by locals and tourists.

"I am not sure how to handle this, considering cost and survival chance [sic]," she stated on her Facebook page. About 15,000 baht was raised for the doctors to perform surgeon on the turtle.

In Thailand, the locals toss coins on a "released animal' from the wild." Tourists also do the same, leading to more danger.

Meanwhile, other locals and tourists around globe poach and purchase turtle shells as souvenirs. Animal welfare groups are calling on tourists to stop buying turtle products as it encourages poachers to kill more of the animals.

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Food storage facilities planned in 4 districts

If things go according to plan, food storage facilities will soon be built in four remote districts of the country, where lower crop production generally triggers food scarcity, especially during the monsoon.
GABV calls on banks to put people before profit

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Acacia Africa has taken a fresh approach to marketing this year with the adventure travel specialist producing its first ever catalogue



(TRAVPR.COM) UK - March 8th, 2017 - Acacia Africa has taken a fresh approach to marketing this year with the adventure travel specialist producing its first ever catalogue. A condensed version of the traditional brochure, the 2017 catalogues 32 pages cover the complete collection including Camping and Accommodated Overland tours, Small Group Safaris, Short Safaris & Treks, and City Breaks & Short Stays. With its eye firmly on Generations Y and Z, social media cues feature prominently and the catalogue uses bold imagery, brief tour snapshots and inspiring travel quotes throughout.

Arno Delport, Acacias Sales & Marketing Manager comments, We have recently made some exciting changes. After last years successful launch of the Accommodated Overland program, we are now offering six new tours for 2017. In addition, we have recently added a series of new You Tube to our social media profile showcasing the Acacia Africa experience, and a the Life Needs Adventure, clip went live on 08 March."

According to the tour operator catalogues or brochures are still relevant for prospective clients especially those looking at a wider range of adventure tours and itineraries of a longer duration. Good news for its partners: Acacias trade bookings for 2016 were up on the previous year and the operator is already seeing encouraging signs of growth for 2017.

Arno Delport comments, Booking with agents is popular. Agent friendly millennials are likely to spend more than those who travel independently, and - according to a recent Skift report - they prefer the expertise and support given by the travel agent rather than the hassle of do-it-yourself travel. From this perspective, overland travel in Africa continues to show promise, especially in areas where the local infrastructure is less well developed and is less suited to independent travel. The reliability offered on an overland tour, and the fact that we are ABTA bonded, is also crucial for prospective clients (and their parents who in many cases are contributing) in their decision about how to experience Africa.

Acacia Africas 2017 catalogue includes six new accommodated overland options for the 18-39 market including the four day Kruger Safari, seven day Kruger, Swaziland & Beach, 12 day Coast, Lesotho and Cape Town, 19 day Kruger to Cape Town, 40 day Southern Africa Adventurer and 46 day Southern Africa Explorer. Prices start from 395pp (land only, no single supplement).



Acacia has also introduced a new 12 day open age small group safari, the 12 day Delta & Chobe Waterways accommodated tour. The tour includes game-walks in the Polokwane Game Reserve. From 1,200pp (land only, no single supplement) + Safari Pass from 950pp including transport, accommodation (twin share en suite 10 nights, twin share pre-erected tent with en-suite one night), most meals and services of a tour leader/guide. Starts Johannesburg - ends Johannesburg.

The NEW 12 day Coast, Lesotho and Cape Town accommodated overland tour includes a visit to Lesotho (optional pony trekking) and to the Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa's third largest park. From 715pp (land only, no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from 70pp including transport, twin share accommodation, most meals and services of a tour leader/guide. Starts Durban - ends Cape Town.

NEW seven day Kruger, Swaziland & Beach accommodated overland tour includes Big Five game drives in the Kruger and optional mountain bike riding in Swazilands Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. From 485pp (land only, no single supplement) including transport, twin share accommodation, most meals and services of a tour leader/guide. Starts Johannesburg - ends Durban.

-ends-

All the above tours operate year round and prices exclude return flight. Acacia Africa (020 7706 4700) SATSA membership No. 1931, ATTA membership no. 20151, ATOL No. 6499 and ABTA No. W4093 PROTECTED.

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Three years ago, I ditched shampoo for baking soda and apple cider vinegar. It started as a challenge from my editor at the time, and was supposed to last only a month. Much to my shock, I loved the results and stuck with it. My previously unmanageable hair became less frizzy, less greasy, and much easier to manage.

The funny thing, though, is that the more I simplify my beauty routine, the less patience I have with it. Now I want to take my hair care to an even more extreme level of simplification, to the point where I do almost nothing to maintain it. And so, Ive embarked on a journey toward water-only washing, which is exactly what it sounds like  washing with nothing but water!

Benefits of the Water-Only Method

southerlycourse / Getty Images

Theres actually nothing strange about washing with water only. The act of stripping our hair of its natural oils every few days, a.k.a. shampooing, often with harsh chemicals, is far more bizarre, but this has become normal practice over the past century. Our hair is not meant to be washed with shampoo because its oils are good for it, as counterintuitive as that may sound.

Ariana Schwarz, who has washed her hair with only water for the past two years, explains on her website, Paris To Go:

Think about the way nature works. Everything from the surface of a leaf to feathers, guillemot eggs, butterfly wings, the scales of a fish, and the skin of a whale is self-cleaning. Other structures utilize various organisms to remove contaminants or allow droplet flow in a non-exploitative, non-toxic, non-polluting way. Take mycoremediation, for instance, or hydrocarbon-chewing microbes.

When hair is not subjected to shampoo, it is given the chance to stabilize, to bring oil production under control, and to establish a self-sustaining routine that will not  cannot  destroy your hair in any way because its entirely natural.

Becca at Just Primal Things, another lifestyle blogger whos an avid water-only hair washer, writes:

The best part about this method compared to other no poo or shampoo-free methods is that absolutely nothing about this method can cause damage, dry out your hair, or create lasting buildup. Nothing is messing with the pH of your scalp, so it can stay balanced, healthy, and calm. In my opinion, when you achieve a successful, water-only routine, your hair has reached its final form.

How Washing Without Shampoo Works

triocean / Getty Images

In a nutshell, you use warm water in the shower or tub, massaging the scalp with your fingertips to release dirt and excess oil. The warmer the water, the more oil it will wash out. Its important, however, to end with cold in order to close the hair cuticle and reduce frizz.

But there is more to the method than just that, as Ive discovered while researching. During the transition period, which seems to average about a month, its important to massage the scalp frequently with fingertips (not nails), in order to loosen any dirt and to distribute the oil along the hair shaft.

Becca (quoted above) recommends a three-part process that includes scritching (the afore-mentioned scalp massage, to be done on dry hair, as if you were shampooing), preening (pulling the oil down by placing two fingers on either side of a small section of hair, as if using your fingers as a straightener), and brushing, preferably with a clean boar-bristle brush, every day between washes.

My Experience With Water-Only Washing

Katherine Martinko / Treehugger

As I write this, its been only 11 days since my last shampoo and so far, its surprisingly good! Keep in mind that I already didnt use shampoo and only washed every 5-6 days, which means my hair isnt that oily to begin with; but usually by now it would be pretty gross and itchy, especially considering that I do sweaty CrossFit workouts three times a week.

It feels weird to be constantly massaging my scalp since Ive always tried not to touch my hair, in order not to make it oily; but it does seem to help, and looks less greasy after Ive had my hands in it for a few minutes.

The two water washes Ive done so far did a great job at resetting the natural curl structure of my hair, which usually gets ruined by shampoo (even baking soda and ACV, to some extent). Because theres oil in it, the curls look shinier and more defined.

Im really excited about this water-only adventure, and I suspect that it will be the next big trend in green beauty, just as baking soda was several years ago. Since this is my unofficial Lenten beauty challenge, Ill report back at the 40 day mark to let you all know how its going.
Govt recalls Saptari CDO, security chiefs

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India fat-shamed policeman thanks 'mean tweet' for free surgery

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Morcha cadres clash with businessmen in Birgunj

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New York/Hong Kong, March 8

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp has agreed to plead guilty and pay nearly $900 million in a US sanctions case, drawing a line under a damaging scandal that had threatened its cut off its supply chain.

While the fine was larger than expected, ZTE, also a major smartphone maker, reported robust underlying earnings for 2016 and was upbeat in estimates for the first quarter. That and the resolution of the case helped its Hong Kong-listed shares surge 6 percent.

A five-year investigation found ZTE conspired to evade US embargoes by buying US components, incorporating them into ZTE equipment and illegally shipping them to Iran.

In addition, it was charged in connection with 283 shipments of telecommunications equipment to North Korea.

ZTE Corporation not only violated export controls that keep sensitive American technology out of the hands of hostile regimes like Irans, they lied ... about their illegal acts, US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.

ZTE relies on US suppliers for 25 per cent to 30 per cent of its components, many of which are key to its goods. It purchases about $2.6 billion worth of components a year from US firms, according to a company spokesman. Qualcomm, Microsoft and Intel are among its suppliers.

ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company, ZTE Chief Executive Zhao Xianming said in a statement.

The company agreed to a seven-year suspended denial of export privileges, which could be activated if there are further violations, as well as three years of probation, a compliance and ethics programme, and a corporate monitor.

It also agreed to an additional penalty of $300 million that will be suspended during the seven-year term on the condition the company complies with requirements in the agreement.

When asked about the ZTE case, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said relevant departments of the government would continue to pay attention as to whether Chinese firms were receiving fair treatment.

The Chinese government consistently opposes foreign governments putting unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies.

At the same time, we have always asked our companies to operate legally abroad, he told a news conference without elaborating.

Tim OToole, a Washington D.C.-based lawyer with Miller & Chevalier specialising in sanction cases, said US court documents suggest ZTEs attempts to obstruct the investigation were the main reason for a penalty significantly higher than in similar cases.

What seems really important to US regulators is whether a company or individual after the investigation starts is seen to continue to evade the sanctions and also obstruct the investigation, he said.

The investigation, spearheaded by the US Department of Commerce, followed reports by Reuters in 2012 that ZTE had signed contracts to ship millions of dollars worth of hardware and software from some of the best-known US technology companies to Irans largest telecoms carrier.

Last year, the Commerce Department released internal documents showing senior ZTE executives instructing the company to carry out a project for dodging export controls in Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Cuba.

ZTE has replaced executives allegedly involved, including naming a new president.

The company said on Wednesday it slid to a preliminary net loss of 2.36 billion yuan ($342 million) in 2016, its first loss in four years, due to the settlement.

But without the fine, it would have logged 3.8 billion yuan in profit, 18 percent higher than a year earlier. That was better than expected, as was a preliminary estimate for the first-quarter net profit rising between 21 and 31 percent, said Cindy Lam, an analyst with UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong.

The settlement includes a $661 million penalty to Commerce; $430 million in combined criminal fines and forfeiture; and $101 million paid to the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The action marks OFACs largest-ever settlement with a non-financial entity.

The Commerce Department will recommend ZTE be removed from a list of entities that U.S. firms cannot supply without a license if it lives up to its deal and a court approves its agreement with the Justice Department.

First placed on the list in March 2016, it has continued to do business with U.S. suppliers under a temporary general license that has been extended several times, with the latest reprieve expiring March 29.

The companys guilty pleas, which must be approved by a judge, will take place in US District Court in Texas.  Reuters
New Delhi: To celebrate International Womens Day, low-cost airline IndiGo on Wednesday operated flights on various sectors with all-women cockpit and cabin crew. Celebrating the spirit of womanhood, the airline flew an all-women cockpit and cabin crew flight on various sectors, including Delhi-Bhubaneswar, Delhi- Nagpur-Pune- Abad, Mumbai-Chennai, Bluru-Kolkata and Kolkata-Chennai-Bluru-Pune- Benguluru, it said. TNS
Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 7

In a classic case of poor police investigation with seven policemen, who were witnesses, giving contradictory statements, an accused in a drug case was today acquitted by a local court.

According to the police, they saw a man walking with a packet in his hand at a naka on the rear side of Neelam Cinema in Sector 17.

On suspicion, he was checked and 10 gm of heroin was found in the packet. The police arrested Ranjit Singh, a resident of Sector 38, and booked him in March 2015.

There was material contradiction and the mandatory procedure in the case was not followed by the police, said Gagan Agarwal, defence counsel.

One of the policemen said they went back to the police station on a bike after arresting him. While another said they went on foot. The third witness told the court they went in an Eco Sport vehicle. Besides, the contraband was submitted to the CFSL after the prescribed limit of 72 hours. Interestingly, Constable Sharandeep Singh said they had gone to the Sector 17 police station at 10 pm. Constable Sanjay, however, said they deposited the contraband in the malkhana at 9.58 pm.

Head Constable Yashpal, the draughtsman, said he visited the spot on April 9, 2015, whereas the report submitted in the court was of April 8, 2015.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 8

Over a month after the UT, Chandigarh, was asked to take remedial measures to eradicate the menace of stray dogs at Sukhna Lake, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was today told that the law prevented their relocation.

The Bench was told that the law clearly provided for releasing dogs taken for sterilisation back in the area from where they were caught. On the issue of providing subdued lights at the lake, the Bench was told that approximately a 1,200-metre area had already been covered, and the process for illuminating the remaining area was on.

The Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Ramendra Jain took note of the developments.

The issue regarding preventing the lake from going to the dogs was discussed on the previous date of hearing as well. The High Court, on a previous date of hearing, had asked the counsel for the UT, Chandigarh, to take remedial measures to eradicate the menace of stray dogs. The Administration was also asked to consider the feasibility of providing subdued lights at the lake to prevent inconvenience to the strollers on the lake during dark.

The rain-fed lake at the foothills of the Himalayas was created way back in 1958 by damming the Sukhna choe, a seasonal stream coming down from the Shivalik Hills. The Bench had asked senior standing counsel for the UT Suvir Sehgal to ask the authorities concerned to make sincere efforts, so that at least 2-foot water level was increased in the lake

The Bench had also received from senior advocate Manmohan Lal Sarin and amicus curiae or the friend of the court Tanu Bedi a comprehensive report on the basis of suggestions received from the people on saving the lake.

The High Court has already asked the Administration to set up an independent authority for the preservation of Sukhna Lake. The High Court, in its order dated March 14, 2011, had issued directions for restoring the lake to its former glory. The Division Bench of the High Court in May, 2012, had directed the states of Punjab, Haryana, and UT Administration, to not stop construction activity in the catchment area but also to demolish without notice any construction carried out against the courts mandate.
Morcha tried to encircle us: UML

The CPN-UML has claimed that the Madhesi Morcha had made a failed attempt at assassinating the party leadership by encircling us when they were leaving the programme venue in Saptari on Monday.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 7

Less than three months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to release Rs 30.5 crore expeditiously to Panjab University, a Division Bench today virtually admonished it. The rap came after the Bench was told that the pending grant was yet to be handed over.

The Bench of Justice SS Saron and Justice Darshan Singh asked the UGC to shut down the university in case it was not inclined to increase the annual grant. The Bench also asked the university to pay the salaries to the teachers with whatever little amount it had at its disposal.

The developments took place after the university, through senior advocate Girish Agnihotri and Bhuwan Vats, moved the High Court again for directing the UGC to release the amount in accordance with the directions issued by the Bench in its January 19 order.

It was added that the funding had remained static since 2014-15 even though operational and other costs had registered an increase. The Bench was also told on behalf of the teachers association that the examinations were round the corner. No less than 2.5 lakh students would be affected in case of failure to receive funds.

The Bench was told by the UGC counsel that it had moved the Supreme Court. The SLP filed against the order was listed for hearing before the apex court on March 10. The plea will now come up for hearing before the High Court along with the main case on March 15.

The High Court, on the previous date of hearing, had not only directed the UGC to release Rs 30.5 crore, preferably within four weeks, but had also rapped the respondents for not doing their bit.

Taking a serious view of the fact that 15 per cent over the previous years budget was being paid to universities other than the PU, the Bench had asserted: Shall we tell them (the PU) to shut the door on March 31, and ask the teachers and students to vacate. Why not finish it off? The university is older than the UGC. You can go and say you have been successful in closing a 100-year-old university in a modern city like Chandigarh. We will get the teachers adjusted in other universities such as Punjabi University, Kurukshetra University

The case has its genesis in a suo motu notice taken by the High Court last year. Justice Mahesh Grover of the High Court had asserted that Panjab Universitys stakeholders were constantly obstructing its efforts to be declared a central university. Justice Grover

Continued on P4
G Parthasarathy

SWALLOWING considerations of national pride, after inheriting a bankrupt economy with collapsing exchange reserves forcing India to mortgage its gold in 1991, PM Narasimha Rao undertook a policy of economic liberalisation. These measures not only radically changed the contours of domestic economic policies, but also led to closer economic integration with our economically vibrant eastern neighbourhood. Quite logically, this new dimension in our foreign policy was labelled as Look East. In our western neighbourhood, we continued with business as usual. The only significant change was our long overdue establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel.

India is now, a quarter-century later, seizing the opportunities provided by the geopolitical changes that have followed the worldwide discoveries of shale oil and gas. Till barely five years ago, the OPEC cartel of oil producing countries, virtually held us all hostage to their whims and fancy because of their ability to raise oil prices at will. The discovery of huge resources of shale oil and gas, particularly in North and South America, Australia and even in parts of West Asia, has sent global oil prices crashing. It has also given new leverage to large consumers like Japan, China and India to get the oil-producing countries in our immediate western neighbourhood, to deal on more mutually beneficial terms, with large neighbouring oil and gas consuming countries.

We have risen to the occasion to actively engage oil-rich neighbours to our west, where over six million Indians reside and remit back over $50 billion annually. We can also be proud that we have dexterously manoeuvered to avoid being drawn into the sectarian Shia-Sunni, Arab-Persian and other rivalries in the region. PM Narendra Modi has skillfully established an Indian strategic profile with key players in the region by his visits to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, while seeking to forge an energy and a connectivity partnership with Iran, based on shared interests in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Following the American-led military interventions in Iraq and Libya and the suffering inflicted on the hapless people of Syria by meddling from external powers like the US and Russia and regional powers like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran, millions of Syrians have fled from their homes. This is a region where national borders drawn at the end of World War I are susceptible to being redrawn. India has avoided getting drawn into these rivalries, from which there will be no real winners, while people suffer misery in countries like Yemen. The Trump administrations first military operation in Yemen, undertaken a few days after he assumed office, was a fiasco. Pakistan has undermined relations with its traditional friends like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, by making promises of military assistance and then backing off in Yemen. China has, however, played its cards skillfully by keeping out of sectarian and civilisational rivalries, while securing substantial investment opportunities.

This year began with India hosting the ruler of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. PM Modi had earlier visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar. The FDI from the UAE, which is Indias 10th biggest foreign investor, has been increasing. Collectively, the Gulf countries constitute our largest trading partner, accounting for 15 per cent of our global trade. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are individually our third and fourth largest global trading partners. Yet another country, with which we need to cultivate closer ties, is Iraq, whose oil exports to India are rapidly expanding, like exports of Iran after the end of UN sanctions. Iraq, with its immense oil production potential can also become a good investment partner, in the energy sector. We need to look at possibilities of linking oil purchases to investment in Iraq. Naval cooperation is also increasing with the Gulf countries, where proximity gives us some advantages over China. Following the visit of Sheikh Khalifa, the Naval Chief, Admiral Lanba, has scheduled visits to the UAE and Oman

We cannot, however, be sanguine about these developments as we are still perceived as a country which takes an interminably long time in finalising investment decisions. Iran has always been a difficult partner, when it comes to issues of investment. While we now use the western Iranian Port of Bandar Abbas for the transit of our goods to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia, we appear to be facing delays in finalising the terms of participation in the construction of the Chabahar Port. This project, given Pakistans disinclination to give us transit facilities and its propensity to squeeze Afghanistan by delaying transit of its goods, is crucial for both Afghanistan and India. It needs careful follow-up and monitoring at the ministerial level to remove bottlenecks.

The tie-up with Arab monarchies will be reinforced during the proposed visit of the King of Jordan to India. Given our wise decision to delink our relations with Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan could serve as a good connecting point for visits of Indians, to meet leaders of the Palestinian Authority. Moreover, the monarchy in Jordan has continuously maintained a personal rapport with Indian leaders. We also have a moral obligation to stand by our principled position of supporting a two-State solution to the Israel-Palestinian issue, which while guaranteeing Israels security, also leads to the establishment of a viable Palestinian State.

India has come a long way from the days in the 1970s, when Saudi Arabia threatened to cut off oil supplies if we did not close down the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai. Not surprisingly, then PM Indira Gandhi flatly rejected the Saudi demand, despite our foreign exchange reserves being precariously low. It is heartening that Mr Modi is undertaking a standalone visit to Israel in coming months. It was shocking how our defence and other ties with Israel were undermined in the recent past by some of our senior ministers seeking to keep a distance from meeting their Israeli counterparts because of narrow, partisan, domestic political considerations. Israel has been a reliable friend of India and has stood by us in times of conflicts, including Kargil. There is no need for us to be apologetic about our relations with the Jewish State, especially at a time, when many of our Arab partners are finding Israel a useful ally, amidst the sectarian and civilisational rivalries and tensions prevalent in the Islamic world.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 8

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he urged him to unfollow those who threaten and abuse women online.

Earlier during the day at a programme organised by the Delhi Commission for Women to honour individuals for service to the cause of women, Kejriwal had attacked the RSS and ABVP, its students wing, left and right referring to various instances of campus violence, including the Ramjas.

Happy women's day to all. On this day, I urge Honble PM to unfollow all those who abuse n threaten women n take strong action against them, Kejriwal tweeted.

Last month, Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur was threatened with rape after she posted a message on social media following the Ramjas College ruckus.
New York, March 8

A 42-year-old Indian in the US has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for plotting terror attacks in India by providing material support and resources to the Khalistan movement.

Balwinder Singh was a member of two terrorist groups and provided material support to intimidate the Indian government and harm persons who were not supporting the terrorism groups cause, said US Attorney Daniel Bogden for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C Rouse for the FBIs Las Vegas Division.

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Singh was sentenced yesterday by US District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno, Bogden said.

This case is an example of multi-law enforcement agencies working collaboratively together to protect the US and our foreign allies from a terrorist act, Bogden added.

Also read: Indian in United States pleads guilty to planning terror attacks

Singh, who also went by the alias Jhaji and Baljit Singh, is a citizen of India and a permanent US resident. He had pleaded guilty in November last year.

According to court documents, between September and December 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India as part of the Khalistan movement.

He agreed to provide material support by helping facilitate a co-conspirators travel to and within South Asia, to provide necessary funding and to provide materials necessary to carry out the attack, the court documents said.

On occasions, Singh travelled from Reno to California to meet a co-conspirator in person.

In October 2013, Singh and his co-conspirators agreed that one of them would travel to India and carry out a terror attack  likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian government official. The final target was to be determined after the co-conspirator arrived in South Asia.

In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles and a laptop computer and provided these items to a co-conspirator who was going to carry out the planned terror attack, the documents said.

The co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok in December 2013 to carry out the terror attack but US law enforcement prevented the co-conspirator from boarding that flight, thwarting the attack, it said. After these events, Singh and his co-conspirators continued to discuss and plan the terror attack in India until Singhs arrest in December 2013, the documents said.  PTI
The astonishing level of coordination and alacrity in solving the Madhya Pradesh train blast case seemed improbably professional. But within hours of the blast, the UP Police tracked down all the alleged perpetrators and managed to gun one down in a live shootout in Lucknow. Skeptics drew attention to the coincidence of an all-day live encounter on the eve of the crucial last phase of voting in UP. But we owe it to ourselves not to rush to form conclusive judgements from all-too-inconclusive evidence. Our own record of dealing with past terror cases does make a case for caution and circumspection.

The courts observations while acquitting the 2005 Delhi serial blast accused punched holes in all the grand claims made by the Delhi Police then, very similar to the UP Polices assertions now. Or take the 1998 serial blasts that took place in Delhi, UP and Haryana. The police officials who had laid out the blueprint of a trans-national conspiracy at that time were left unscathed by the collapsing of the case in all the 19 cases. The only loser was the youngster who spent most of his dozen years in solitary confinement. Despite the all-too-neat tying up of loose ends in Lucknow, security managers suggest a formless apparition as the master controller.

The need to exercise greater vigilance of the Internet has never been more acute if the polices version that the motivators are Syria-based is taken at face value. This may be because the Central Government's aversion to accommodating Muslims in political arrangements is stark. There are bound to be counter-effects in the community, especially among the restive younger elements, being painted as the other. Skeptics may say the ISIS bogey provides the common ground for reopening talks with Pakistan which claims to be under attack from the same source. It could also put India on the right side of US President Donald Trump currently obsessed with rooting out the ISIS. But given the Indian investigators consistent inability to get to the root of the conspiracy, we should take care that we do not end up chasing shadows and incarcerating innocents.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 8

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today described the Budget presented by Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu on Monday as hollow and directionless and demanded a White Paper on the financial health of the state while saying that its borrowing has doubled during the BJP regime.

The debt of Rs 70,931crore my government left in 2014 pertained to 48 years (1966 to 2014). But the BJP government has doubled it in less than three years, Bhupinder Singh Hooda alleged.

The former CM said the present government had issued a White Paper in March 2015 in which it was highlighted that there had been a growing reliance on public debt. But now, its own record showed that its dependence on debts was even higher, he added.

Hooda maintained that as per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of the state, the debt-gross state domestic product (GSDP) ratio was to be brought down to 20.45 per cent and 20.92 per cent during 2017-18 and 2018-19, respectively. The debt ratio, which was 15-16 per cent of the GSDP till 2014-15, has reached nearly 23 per cent. In this way, it may not be possible to bring down the debt-GSDP ratio to the desired level, he added.

Likewise, the revenue deficit was required to be eliminated by 2017-18 as per the FRBM Act but it had swollen from Rs 3,875 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 11,125 crore in 2017-18.

He also showed concern over growing fiscal deficit and said the condition would worsen after payment of arrears to the pensioners following implementation of the 7th pay commission recommendations.

Hooda described the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) as Kisan Loot Yojna and alleged that farmers were being fleeced during purchase of sugarcane, poplar and other crops.

He alleged that the government had released over 17,000 acres of land, which was at various stages of acquisition, to avoid paying four times the value to the owners.

Hooda also flayed the state government for allegedly being non-serious about Jats sitting on dharna for over a month and warned it not to test the protesters patience.

Alleging that the BJP government lacked credibility, Hooda said the government backed out after announcing a health university at Kitail village in Karnal and now, it was being named after Deendayal Upadhyaya. In support of his allegation, Hooda showed a copy of the Economic Survey that mentioned the plan to open Kalpana Chawla Health University at Kutail.

Commenting on talks of dissidence among BJP legislators, the former Chief Minister said when all sections of the society were unhappy with the present government, MLAs were also part of it.

Meanwhile, Hooda downplayed factionalism in the Congress and said Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were leaders of the party while other office-bearers keep changing.
Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 8

Women and Child Development Minister Kavita Jain broke into tears in the Assembly today following certain personal remarks by former Congress minister Geeta Bhukkal. Later, the House passed a resolution condemning the Congress MLAs act.

The proceedings of the House ended on a sore note on the International Womens Day when a verbal duel between Jain and Bhukkal culminated in the minister breaking down in the House.

Participating in the discussion on Budget estimates, Bhukkal took strong objection to the BJP government not holding any state-level programme today to mark the International Womens Day.

Jain had already clarified in the House that a state-level programme to honour prominent women would be held in Sonepat on March 15 as the Assembly was in session.

I condemn the decision of the state government not to celebrate International Womens Day. The minister is giving a wrong statement in the House. She does not look into her files, it is her husband who does that, alleged Bhukkal.

Rajiv Jain, the ministers husband, is the BJPs state media in charge. Bhukkal was Education Minister during Bhupinder Singh Hooda government.

Bhukkals remarks infuriated Jain, who joined by other members of the BJP, including women MLAs, attacked the Congress member, saying by uttering such words she has proved that a woman is a womans biggest enemy.

She is insulting a woman. By such remarks, she has proven that a woman is a womans biggest enemy. She must tender an apology or be moved out of the House, Jain said.

Even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Bilas Sharma tried to prevail upon Bhukkal to apologise, BJP members, including Jain, urged Deputy Speaker Santosh Yadav to send the Congress MLA out of the House if she failed to tender an apology.

Din prevailed in the House with BJP members raising Bharat Mata ki jai slogans. Bhukkal, who was not allowed to give a clarification, refused to tender an apology.

Even the Deputy Speaker said, Bhukkals remark was not in good taste. She is insulting a woman, Jain later said before breaking into tears even as BJPs Kalka MLA Latika Sharma and other women legislators tried to console her.

Later, talking to reporters, Bhukkal said, The BJP government does not want women MLAs in the opposition to raise their point on International Womens Day.

About personal comments against the minister, Bhukkal said, She also said a woman is a womans biggest enemy. It was not my intention to make her cry, she could have put her point of view on what I said and not cried.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 8

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said today that the government would soon launch a women helpline number for their safety.

Addressing a state-level function to celebrate International Women Day organised by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment here, he said violence against women was an affront to the foundations of human rights, human decency and human dignity and the state government was committed to putting an end to it.

He said 20 per cent posts of woman constable and sub-inspector had been mandated in the police force and there were five women police stations, besides four anti-trafficking units comprising women police force at Shimla, Mandi, Sirmaur and Kangra.

The State Women Commission and Nari Seva Sadan are working efficiently for ensuring security and justice to the womenfolk, he added.

The Chief Minister said Muskaan and Beti-Bachao, Beti-Padhao schemes were being implemented to keep a check on female foeticide. Pre-Natal Diagnostic Act (PNDT), Act was checking pre-diagnosing practice, he said.

He said under the Mukhya Mantri Kanyadaan Yojana, financial assistance had been enhanced to Rs 40,000 for the marriage of poor girls.

Under the widow remarriage scheme, an incentive of Rs 50,000 was being given. Besides, the Mother Teresa Asahaya Matri Sambal Yojana and the Mata Shabri Mahila Sashaktikaran schemes were also being implemented to financially assist poor women.

He said 50 per cent reservation was being given to women in Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies besides many other innovative schemes had been introduced for the benefit and empowerment of women.

Accompanied by IPH Minister Vidya Stokes, he also launched a book titled Himachal Ki Muskan and another on achievements of the department and honoured the women who have excelled in various fields.

An animation film, Muskan, an initiative of Mansi Sahai Thakur when she was the DC, Bilaspur, who is now director, Social Justice and Empowerment, was also screened on the occasion.
Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, March 8

Nearly three decades ago when Dilafrose Qazi was a 26-year-old, she was told by militants to shut down her polytechnic college but she kept going. Today, she successfully runs one of the largest private engineering colleges in J&K.

Born in 1962, Qazi completed Masters in Education and got a degree in law from the University of Kashmir. In order to do something meaningful for society, she started the Srinagar School of Management in 1988 to teach girls cutting, cooking, stitching and shorthand.

It was a humble start but the same year militancy picked up in Kashmir and I started receiving threats and the polytechnic was locked. A militant commander issued life threats, warning me against reopening the college. Ignoring the threats, I gathered the courage to reopen the centre, says Qazi.

By and by, Qazi added courses to her college and offered a three-year diploma in civil engineering. Her venture started growing but, she says, she continued to receive threats from militants. Today, the gritty woman runs the SSM College of Engineering and Technology, which has 4,000 engineering and management students on its rolls.

It is a continuous struggle for me as a woman but I never gave up. It gives me satisfaction that I am doing something for society. All students cant afford to go to other states for engineering, my college is for them, says Qazi, who many a time had a close shave with death due to militants.

Even after 26 years, the challenges continue it has never been smooth.

In 1996-97, as the number of students started growing in her rented place in Srinagar, she procured a small piece of land in Baramulla districts Devar Parihaspora, a village 20 km from Srinagar. The college now has a branch at Gudhrana in Palwal district of Haryana.

I have fought politicians, militants and society to keep my college going. Once some goons even set my college on fire, but I never gave up, says Qazi, who is planning to upgrade her college to a university.
NAC boards nod to 757 sale

The board of directors of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) on Monday gave the go-ahead to sell one of its two vintage Boeing 757s. The national flag carrier has set a minimum sale price of $1.7 million for its 30-year-old Karnali bearing registration number 9N-ACA.
Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, March 8

Attempting to bridge the divide and remove a sense of mistrust, the police have initiated a major outreach programme in the Kashmir valley which aims to establish communication with community representatives and encourage them to help police personnel root out crime and identify criminals.

The outreach programme  named Police Community Partnership Group (PCPG)  is the brainchild of states police chief SP Vaid, who has been an advocate of professional policing and honing soft skills among policemen while dealing with the public.

The PCPG initiative began this week as senior police officials held meetings with public representatives in several districts of the Kashmir valley. The first of the series of meetings were held yesterday in north Kashmirs Baramulla and Kupwara districts and in south Kashmirs Awantipora police district.

For Vaid, the Director General of Police, the idea of organising partnership groups was the result of a realisation that in spite of so much good work, people do not talk very highly of the police.

This is an attempt to bring people closer to the police, to remove the gulf between people and the police, Vaid said, acknowledging that the divide had further deepened during the long unrest last year.

The unrest, which had continued for several months, had pitched hundreds of protesters on a daily basis against the police and paramilitary forces. The unrest had strained the ties between large sections of the civilian population and the police when protesters were killed and injured as the security forces attempted to quell demonstrations.

Vaid, the 1986-batch IPS officer who took over as the states police chief this year, has focused on strengthening professional policing and providing better service to the public.

As part of the PCPG, Vaid has asked the police officers to identify and form groups of peoples representatives. My advice has been that every police station should form a group so that the community and the police jointly fight crime, identify the criminals, and facilitate the works of society, Vaid said.

The civilian representatives will inform the police officials about problems in the locality and then provide feedback about the subsequent action taken against the complaints, he said. Those issues which are not related to the police, the officials will record them and inform the authorities concerned, he said.

Vaid said the response had been good so far and people had reacted positively to the initiative.
TNS & Agencies

Guwahati/Imphal, March 8

Manipur today recorded a high voter turnout of 86 per cent in the second and final phase of the Assembly polls.

Polling was generally peaceful notwithstanding a few stray incidents in the 22 constituencies spread over districts  Thoubal, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong, Kamjomg and Senapati, officials said. The polling percentage was over 86, said state chief electoral Officer VK Dewangan. The voter turnout was 86.5 per cent in the first phase covering 38 constituencies on March 4.

Two tribal militants entered the Mantri Pantha polling station in Chandel district and damaged EVMs. They were overpowered by women voters and handed over to the authorities. The K Thel polling station in the same district was vandalised by some miscreants. There were clashes between the Communist Party of India and the Congress workers in Wangjing Tentha in Thoubal district. A total of 98 candidates were in the fray.

Official injured in blast dies

A polling official, wounded in a bomb blast near the India-Myarnmar border in Manipur's Kamjong district, died on Wednesday. K Raikalung, a teacher, was injured in Tuesday's explosion near Ashang Khullen village. The government has given an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the bereaved family.
Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, March 8

Lone terror suspect Mohammad Saifullah, holed up in Lucknows densely populated Thakurganj since last evening, was eliminated today after a 12-hour operation by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad and the state police. Described as a self-radicalised terrorist, he had no proven links to any international terrorist group.

Speaking to the media, ADG (Law and Order) Daljeet Chaudhury said five terror suspects had been arrested so far for the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast. The three picked by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Pipriya were Danish Akhtar and Atif Muzaffar from Kanpur and Sayed Meer Hussain from Aligarh. The two suspects arrested in Uttar Pradesh were Faisal Khan from Kanpur and Fakhrey Alam from Etawah. They had been booked by the ATS under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Edit: ISIS is the new spectre

Chaudhury said acting on a tipoff, the ATS and the UP Police yesterday reached a Haji Colony house where Saifullah and three of his friends resided.

The suspect and his accomplices were self-proclaimed members of the Khurasan module of IS. There is no evidence that they were receiving foreign funds, said Chaudhury.

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The ADG claimed they repeatedly asked Saifullah to surrender and used tear gas shells to force him out of his hiding. They also made his relatives speak to him. But he refused to surrender, saying he would rather be a martyr.

To catch him alive, the ATS drilled a hole in the roof of his rented room and dropped a chilli bomb. The suspect fired in retaliation, said Chaudhury. Finally, at around 3 am this morning, the ATS team broke open the door and shot him in an encounter.

Inside the room, the police reportedly found eight pistols, four knives, 630 live cartridges of .32 bore, 71 empty cartridges, 45 gm gold, three cellphones, cheque books, ATM cards, PAN cards, four SIM cards, two wireless sets, pellets, two bottles of gunpowder and a banner. A motorcycle parked inside the house was impounded. Three passports issued in Lucknow were found too.

A time table in English pasted on a wall described the suspects daily chores, from morning prayers and recitation of Quran to study hours.

Chaudhury said till now there was no evidence to support that the killed or arrested youths were planning or had any intention to target anyone. The group was active on the Internet and was visiting radical websites. They were getting indoctrinated, he said.

To a query as to why they were residing in Lucknow when they belonged to Kanpur and why had they targeted a passenger train in Madhya Pradesh, Chaudhury said Lucknow was their hideout. Speaking to mediapersons in Kanpur, Saifullahs father Sartaj Ahmad Khan and brother Khalid said they had not been in touch with him for the past more than two months.
Yash Goyal



Jaipur, March 8

A Special NIA court on Wednesday acquitted two prominent Hindu religious leaders  Navkumar Sarkar, popularly known as Aseemanand, and Bharatmohan Lal, alias Bharat Bhai  and five other people but convicted three, nine years after a blast at Ajmer Dargah Sharif killed three and injured 15.

The court held three people guilty  Sunil Joshi, Bhavesh Arvind, and Devendra Gupta  for damaging a place of worship to insult a religion (Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code) and criminal conspiracy, as well as some sections under the Explosive Substance Act, 1908, and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 for the blast in 2007.

Besides the two Hindu leaders, the others acquitted were Harshad alias Munna, Lokesh Sharma, Chandra Shekhar, Mafat alias Mehul and Mukesh, Public Prosecutor Ashwani K Sharma told reporters outside a court here.

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All nine suspects were present in the court amid high security.

The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on March 16.

A former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak, Joshi was killed on December 29, 2007. Aseemanand and Joshi were also accused of being involved in the Malegaon and Samjhauta blast cases.

A powerful explosion at Ajmers Dargah Sharif occurred in the month of Ramadan  the holiest month for Muslims  in what investigators said was an attempt to foment communal tension and riots.

Investigators also found an abandoned bag with unexploded bombs and two SIM cards on the scene of the explosion.

Rajasthan's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) first formally charged three people on October 20, 2010. The National Investigation Agency submitted its first supplementary chargesheet naming two people on April 28, 2011; second on July 18, 2011, with eight names; and third on October 29, 2013, with two.

In their chargesheets, the agencies accused some Hindu fundamentalists with links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh of engineering the blast at the dargah, as well as one at Hyderabads Mecca Masjid, to avenge attacks on Amarnath Yatra in 2002 and Raghunath Temple in Jammu by Muslim terrorist organisations.
New Delhi, March 8

The Delhi Government allocated almost a quarter of this years annual outlay of Rs 48,000 crore to education.

The state government allocated Rs 11,000 crore for education  24 per cent of the total budget. Last year's allocation was Rs 10,690 crore.

In its annual budget presented on Wednesday, the government abolished plan and non-plan expenditure heads and presented it in terms of revenue and capital classification, in line with the Centre's decision.

The budget focused on transport, health, water and education infrastructure, with no additional tax levies.

In a first, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who holds finance portfolio, tabled an "outcome budget", which he said would act like a "contract" between the government and the people.

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Sisodia claimed that the central governments measure to scrap high-value banknotes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 had contracted the city's estimated GSDP for the current fiscal (at constant prices), although it would still be higher than growth projected at the national level.

At current prices, the national capital's economic growth has been pegged at 12.76 per cent.

"When we allocate money for skywalk, merely constructing it would not be counted as success. Its success would depend on how many people actually use it. That in a nutshell explains the objective of the outcome component," he said.

With an eye on municipal polls, the state government earmarked a record Rs 7,571 crore for the civic bodies  about 15 per cent of the total allocation.

Healthcare  a priority for the Aam Aadmi Party government  has been allotted Rs 5,736 crore.

The government has earmarked Rs 1,256 crore for infrastructure  Rs 1,156 crore for Delhi Metro and Rs 100 crore more for bus terminals and depots.

Sisodia also claimed that Delhi's contribution to India's GDP has increased from 3.94 per cent in 2011-12 to 4.08 per cent in 2016-17.

VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel will be brought down from 25 per cent to 1 per cent for flights to remote areas  such as North Eastern states  to compliment Centre's regional connectivity scheme.

Sisodia said the government would continue its subsidy schemes for battery-operated vehicles as part of efforts to promote eco-friendly public transport system.

The Budget allots Rs 2,100 crore for the water sector and cleaning Yamuna and Rs 3,100 crore for Urban Development.

Delhi Commission for Womens budget has been raised three times to Rs 120 crore, Sisodia said.

The Budget allots Rs 2,194 crore to the power sector, with special focus on developing solar energy and waste-to-energy plants, and Rs 57 crore for its environment department, which spearheads the anti-pollution initiative in the city.  PTI
Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 7

Taking on Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on the floor of the state Assembly, BJP legislator Umesh Agarwal today demanded an investigation into the grant of eight licences under the affordable housing scheme in Gurugram, even as Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu conceded it was a serious issue.

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Agarwal is one of the ruling party MLAs from south Haryana who have expressed displeasure over the governments functioning.

Speaking during Question Hour, the MLA sought to know if a limit of 300 acres had been fixed in the master plan for affordable housing and if it was being raised to 500 acres. Capt Abhimanyu, replying on behalf of the Chief Minister, who was not in the House but returned soon after, said the area limit had been fixed in the Affordable Housing Policy: 2013. Whether or not the limit should be extended was being examined.

Asking a supplementary, Agarwal sought to know if any irregularities had been committed in the grant of licences. Denying it, the minister said a number of applications had been received for the attractive scheme.

Dissatisfied, Agarwal then came out openly against the CM. Under this policy, some licences were issued by the earlier Congress government. A few applicants had the drafts ready even before the policy was out. Our government issued eight licences and I brought this to the notice of the CM, who said the matter needed to be investigated, he said.

Agarwal alleged that files for granting licences were kept pending for two years. Objections were raised at the level of the Chief Town Planner and the files cleared by the Director. Why were these kept pending in the CMs office? Also, what transpired in these two years, paving the way for the clearance of these files? he asked.

Wrapping up his reply, the Minister said if the drafts were ready even before the scheme was out, it is a serious matter. We have to peruse the file for specific information on the grant of licences.
Chandigarh, March 8

Haryana minister Kavita Jain broke into tears in the state Assembly here on Wednesday, following a verbal duel with Congress leader Geeta Bhukkal during which the opposition member made some personal remarks against her, prompting the House to pass a motion to condemn them.

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On the occasion of International Women's Day, when women members cutting across party lines were being encouraged to put across their views, a verbal duel between the two women MLAs from the ruling BJP and the Congress took an unexpected turn after which state Women and Child Development Minister Jain broke into tears.

It all started when Bhukkal, participating in the general discussion on the budget estimates for 2017-18, said it was regrettable that the BJP government in Haryana was not holding any state-level programme today to celebrate International Women's Day.

Despite Jain informing the House earlier that a state-level programme will be held at Sonepat on March 15 to honour women from different fields and today's function had to be postponed in view of the Assembly session, Bhukkal said by doing so, the significance of the day was lost.

"I condemn the decision of the state government not to celebrate International Women's Day today. The minister (Jain) is giving a wrong statement in the House. She does not look into her files, it is her husband (BJP leader) Rajiv Jain who does that," Bhukkal, who was a minister in the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in the state, said.

Bhukkal's comments infuriated Jain. Joined by other BJP members, including women legislators, she asked the Congress member to apologise and requested Deputy Speaker Santosh Yadav, who was in the Chair, to move her out of the House if she did not tender an apology.

As a heated exchange ensued between BJP and Congress members, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Bilas Sharma tried to intervene. Reminding Bhukkal that she was a senior member of the House, he said she should apologise for the remarks made against Jain.

Sharma said he had proposed today that women members be given an opportunity to speak for as long as they want, but was saddened by the behaviour of the opposition member.

Bhukkal said she would give a clarification, but remained adamant that she will not apologise.

Meanwhile, the BJP members started raising 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans and alleged that Bhukkal's comments were an "insult to womanhood".

Jain, who did not resume her seat, pointing towards Bhukkal said, "She has proved that a woman is a woman's biggest enemy."

Deputy Speaker Yadav, also a woman and who was in the Chair for most part of the day, said to say Jain's husband handled her work was not correct and Bhukkal's comments were not in good taste.

"She is insulting a woman," Jain later said and broke into tears, prompting Kalka MLA Latika Sharma and other woman BJP legislators to rush towards her to console her.

Seeing Jain cry, Ram Bilas Sharma moved the motion to condemn Bhukkal's remarks, which was passed by the House.

Soon afterwards, the Deputy Speaker adjourned the House till tomorrow.

Later, talking to reporters, Bhukkal said, "The BJP government does not want that on International Women's Day, women MLAs from the opposition raise their points.

"I only said that during the Congress' time, International Women's Day was celebrated on March 8 and the current government has decided to postpone it. Even if it falls on a day when the Assembly is in session, it does not mean you do not observe the day."

Asked why did she make the personal comment, the Congress legislator said, "Kavita Jain is a senior minister.

She too said a woman is a woman's enemy. Does it behove of her to say that? It was not my intention that she should cry. She could have put across her point of view on my comment and should not have cried."  PTI
Lucknow/Imphal, March 8

The two-month long assembly elections in five states, marked by frequent name-calling, ended on Wednesday, with all eyes on the March 11 results that will be seen as a virtual referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity after his demonetisation decision.

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The most interest is in the results of Uttar Pradesh where Modi and his BJP party colleagues pulled out all stops during the campaigning for voting that was spread across seven phases.

Over 60 per cent turnout was recorded in the last phase in UP today, taking the voting percentage to nearly 61 in the staggered elections for 403-member Assembly.

Manipur witnessed a turnout of about 86 per cent in the second phase today with an overall voting percentage of 85 for 60-member House.

Elections were also held in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa.

Exit polls will be released tomorrow.

The election is being billed as a litmus test for Modi as the BJP largely banked on his popularity in its bid for power, especially in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh where it has been out of government for 15 years.

It is also the first major election after the demonetisation decision on November 8 last year.

The political discourse during campaigning in Uttar Pradesh was dominated by name-calling with offensive acronyms being freely used to attack political opponents.

In his rallies, Modi ridiculed the opposition alliance of SP and Congress, saying they together stood for 'SCAM.' and dubbed Mayawati's BSP as 'Behenji Sampatti Party,' a reference to allegations that Mayawati who is popularly known as "behenji" has accumulated a large amount of wealth.

Not to be outdone, UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav came out with his own take on SCAM, saying it stood for 'Save Country from Amit (Shah) and Modi'. His remark asking megastar Amitabh Bachchan not to endorse donkeys of Gujarat also left the BJP fuming.

There were also allegations that the BJP was trying to polarise the electorate after Modi's 'kabristan and shamshan ghat' remarks.

The last leg of the polls saw Modi camping in his Lok Sabha seat Varanasi for three days and holding roadshows which were followed by a similar show of strength by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi with his ally, Samajwadi Party chief Yadav.

The two leaders promised to make a government of youth, released a common minimum programme and campaigned together.

Their alliance came under severe attack from the BJP, which called it an act of desperation.

Modi raised the issues of corruption, demonetisation, surgical strikes and 'One Rank, One Pension' to attack his opponents besides listing the achievements of his nearly three-year rule. He addressed over two dozen rallies in the campaign across the states, giving his all in the high-stake elections.

The Congress and other opposition parties hit out at the PM, saying his actions do not behove his position and raised questions on the performace of his government.

Battleground Punjab

In Punjab, 73 per cent polling was witnessed on February 4 while Goa had a record-breaking 83 per cent voter turnout.

Traditional rivals, the BJP and the Congress, are locked in a keen electoral battle in the two states where Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has made its maiden foray in the assembly elections, seeking to play a killjoy for the two major contenders for power.

It is the first outing for Aam Aadmi Party in assembly elections outside Delhi where it rules with an overwhelming majority in the state assembly and it is being keenly watched if it succeeds in its claim of upsetting the applecart of the two major national parties.

In Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance is battling anti-incumbency while Amarinder Singh is leading Congress' bid to return to power after ten years in the 117-member state assembly.

In Goa, an alliance of MGP, Shiv Sena and GSM is also competing for the 40-member House. The ruling BJP, which had a pre-poll alliance in 2012, went alone this time after the MGP snapped the partnership and forged a front with Goa Suraksha Manch floated by RSS rebel Subhas Velingkar and Shiv Sena.

Over 68 per cent votes were cast in Uttarakhand on February 15, two per cent more than the last assembly polls, in 69 out of the state's 70 seats.

Following the demise of two candidates in the Alapur (UP) and the Karnaprayag (Uttarakhand) constituencies, the Commission had postponed elections there and fixed March 9 as the new date.

Congress and BJP, which have been traditionally the main contenders in the hill state, are locked in a straight contests in most of the seats but presence of about a dozen rebel candidates in the fray as independents may upset the calculations of the official nominees of their respective parties.

Twelve former Congress MLAs, who are contesting this time as BJP candidates, have made these elections interesting.  PTI
Lucknow, March 8

A suspected ISIS terrorist was killed in a house on the outskirts of the city after a 12-hour-long operation to capture him alive.

The terror suspect Saifullah was killed in an exchange of fire with the police. He is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train on Tuesday, the police said.

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The anti-terror operation was being monitored by senior officials. After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

Talking to the media in the evening, the ADG said eight pistols, more than 600 cartridges, bomb making equipment, pellets, timers, wires, etc., recovered were recovered from the house where the terrorist was holed up.

He said at one point of time it appeared that more than one person was holed up inside the house.

The operation stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place, Chaudhary said.

IG ATS Aseem Arun said, Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilli bombs, but, he did not come out. The ATS commandoes then stormed the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist), Arun said.

The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandoes, which was then appropriately retaliated. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead.

The slain terrorist belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation. The IG ATS said commandoes also saw a wire wrapped around the stomach of the terrorist.

We suspect that it could possibly be an explosive.

Hence, the Bomb Disposal Squad has been called to clear the room first. After this the investigations would commence, he said.

On reports of two terrorists being holed up in the house, the IG ATS, said, Since we were using tube cameras to ascertain the details (of the suspected terrorists), the image was not very clear, and it appeared that there may be two terrorists holed up in the house. But, when the search and clear operations were carried out, only one body was found. One pistol, revolver, knife and ammunition have been recovered, he said.  PTI
Ncell gets clean chit on capital gains tax fiasco

The Cabinet meeting on Wednesday gave clean chit to Ncell, a privately owned telecom service provider, on the capital gains tax fiasco.
Lucknow/ New Delhi, March 8

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday said the youth killed in an anti-terror operation here on Wednesday morning and his five arrested associates were "self-radicalised" and were trying to build an Islamic State Khorasan module in the city.

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The police statement came hours after its Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) killed Saifullah, a resident of Manohar Nagar in Kanpur, here in an 11-hour-long gunfight in Thakurganj's Haji colony.

Meanwhile, refusing to take the body his slain son, Saifullahs father Sartaj said, A traitor cannot be my son, straight and simple.

We are Indian citizens. I was born here, my ancestors were born here, Sartaj told reporters.

Meanwhile, addressing the media, Additional Director General (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said, "Saifullah and his five associates are self-radicalised. They did not get financial support from outside (foreign country). They generated it from their own property. They were trying to build an IS Khorasan module here and planning for terror attacks at several places."

Chaudhary said they tried to trigger low-intensity blasts but failed and the Uttar Pradesh ATS killed Saifullah and busted the module before they managed to succeed in their motive.

The officer said they got inputs from several agencies about the likely presence of terror suspects in Lucknow, Kanpur and Etawah after an explosion took place on a train in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday in which 10 people were injured.

The gun battle broke out around 4 pm on Tuesday in Lucknow and continued for over 11 hours, concluding early on Wednesday with the killing of Saifullah.

Two of the terror suspects, Mohammad Faisal Khan and Fakhre Alam, were arrested from their native places in Kanpur and Etawah.

Faisal's elder brother Mohammad Imran was also arrested from Unnao in the operation, said the officer, adding they are currently being interrogated by the ATS.

"Two others detained by the ATS in Kanpur were set free by a mob but we know their residential information and hope to catch them soon," the officer said.

He said that Atish Muzaffar, Danish Akhtar and Sayed Mir Hussain were arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police. Muzaffar is the mastermind of the module, he added.

The police official's statement that the men were not linked to the Islamic State comes as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said in Bhopal that those behind the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train bomb blast had suspected Islamic State (IS) links.

Chouhan also revealed that the explosion was caused by a pipe bomb, whose pictures were sent to Syria through their mobile phones. A timer was also used in the bomb.

Saifullahs father Sartaj said he had heard this morning about the death of his son in the encounter.

He said Saifullah had left home about two-and-a-half-months back after he beat him up for not finding work and not listening to him.

On Monday, I got a call from Saifullah, who told me that he had got a visa to visit Saudi (Arabia) and he was preparing to go there. I told him go ahead," the father said.

Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said Saifullah's family was contacted but they refused to take the body.

He added that the police may again make an attempt to convince the family about it.

Meanwhile, the father of two other men, who have been arrested on terror-related charges, has claimed that they were innocent and has sought a fair probe.

He always kept to himself

Saifullah's neighbour Mehboob Ali said the slain suspected terrorist always kept to himself.

"The door was always kept closed, and he never spoke to anyone," said Ali whose pregnant wife and three children were evacuated from the building by the police during the encounter.

"We never really spoke to him. I used to go for work at 5 in the morning and would return home late at night. We never interacted," he said in Lucknow.

Ali said he was at work when the encounter took place and rushed home when he got to know about it.

NIA likely to probe encounter

The investigation into the Lucknow encounter is likely to be handed over to the NIA, a senior Home Ministry official said.

The move came after the Home Ministry officials got the hint that there maybe a much larger conspiracy and more people in multiple locations might have links with Saifullah, who was killed in the encounter.

An NIA team has reached Bhopal to look into the suspected terror attack.  PTI/IANS

Read:
New Delhi, March 8

A team of federal probe agency NIA on Wednesday reached Bhopal to look into the train blast case in Madhya Pradesh, suspected to be a terror attack.

The officials of National Investigation Agency (NIA) may visit the site of the blast near Jabri railway station under Shajapur district, 60 km from Bhopal, official sources said.

They said the NIA officials would interact with Madhya Pradesh police personnel and verify leads available with them to ascertain whether the explosion was a terror attack.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh on Tuesday had said that the initial investigation suggested the blast was a terror attack and investigation was underway to unravel the conspiracy behind the incident.

At least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously, in the blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train.

Madhya Pradesh Inspector General (Intelligence) Makrand Deoskar had said the blast was carried out by planting an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). PTI
Tribune News Service

Lucknow, March 8

Finally, its curtains on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Over 60 per cent of the 1.41 crore voters today exercised franchise in the final phase of polling in 40 constituencies spread across seven districts, including Varanasi, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Bhadohi and Sonebhadra (the last three are Naxal-hit). The voting percentage in these constituencies in 2012 was 57.92 per cent.

The highest voter turnout was in Chandauli (61.13 per cent) and the lowest in Bhadohi (58.30 per cent). Varanasi saw a turnout of 60.95 per cent. The polling was largely incident-free except for minor clashes between SP and BJP supporters in Chandauli district. In Mirzapur, some villagers boycotted polling in protest against lack of development.

In Jaunpur, BJP candidate from Jafarabad Harendra Pratap Singh and four others were arrested for allegedly taking voters to polling booths in vehicles. Singh denied the charge. In 2012, of the 40 Assembly seats that went to the polls today, the Samajwadi Party had won 23, the BSP five, the BJP four and the Congress three.

Campaigning in the final phase was high-powered with the BJP making a victory in Varanasi a prestige issue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi camped in his parliamentary constituency for three days along with 18 Union Ministers, 73 MPs and BJP president Amit Shah. The PM held two roadshows. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also held a roadshow to muster support.

The BJP is banking on its allies, the Apna Dal (Anupriya) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP). Both have their areas of influence. It will be a challenge for the Samajwadi Party to retain its 2012 tally of 23 seats. The BSP president, Mayawati, is confident of increasing her party tally in this phase.

Prominent candidates in fray during the last phase were former UP ministers Om Prakash Singh, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, and Seema Singh, wife of jailed mafia don Munna Bajrangi.

The poll percentage in the first phase was 64.22, the second 65.16, third 61.16, fourth 60.37, fifth 57.37 and sixth 57.03.
Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 8

Ahead of the remaining Budget Session commencing tomorrow, the Opposition camp is maintaining studied silence on its strategy, awaiting the March 11 results of the crucial election cycle that concluded on Wednesday.

CPI leader and Rajya Sabha member D Raja today said a joint Opposition meeting to draft a plan for the session was likely only next week.

Congress leaders, meanwhile, are in a wait and watch mode with much at stake for the party that has not won a single state election on its own (it won Bihar in alliance) since the electoral decline starting the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

March 11 results will decide which way the Opposition plan will go considering the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Left Front had bitterly attacked PM Narendra Modi for his demonetisation move. If March 11 results are favourable to the ruling BJP, it will hail demonetisation as successful. Conversely, the Opposition camp will gather steam.

The Congress is awaiting the Saturday verdict with bated breath considering it had announced the boycott of PM Modi in the first half of the Budget Session that lasted from January 31 to February 9. The Congress had demanded PMs apology to end the boycott but the apology was not granted.

It is not clear if the Congress boycott of the PM will continue in the session starting tomorrow until April 12. Much will rest on the March 11 tide and on who it favours.

Meanwhile, in the wake of demise of former Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray, it remains to be seen whether the Lok Sabha will function tomorrow or not. LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan would take the call after looking at precedents, sources said.
Lucknow, March 8

A 60 per cent turnout was reported till 5 pm across 40 seats in the final phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on Wednesday with long queues seen outside polling stations.

Polling was also held on 22 seats in Manipur amid tight security.

In UP, all eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi and in Manipur the focus is on Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh's Assembly seat Thoubal where he faces challenge by rights activist Irom Sharmila.

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Prominent candidates who are in fray include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari brother of Mukhtar Ansari and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

A total of 1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres to decide fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus.

Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling is going on in this phase.

Tight security has been put in place in these seven districts.

Polling was held between 7 am and 5 pm in all constituencies, except the Naxal-hit Duddhi, Robertsganj and Chakia seats, where polling ended at 4 pm.

Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

The BJP is contesting 32 seats and its allies  the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party  are contesting on 4 seats each.

The BSP has fielded its nominees for all seats. While the SP is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in race for the remaining seats.

In the 2012 state Assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.

In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Cong (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) are in the fray.

While the maximum number of 24 candidates are from Varanasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates are contesting from Kerakat (SC).

The turnout on these seats in 2012 was 57.92 per cent in 2012 Assembly polls. PTI
Yash Goyal

Jaipur, March 8

The Rajasthan Government has filed an appeal in the District and Sessions Court, Jodhpur, against actor Salman Khans acquittal in the Arms Act case related to the alleged poaching of chinkara in 1998.

The plea filed on Tuesday has been admitted and notices issued to Khan, public prosecutor Pokar Ram Bishnoi said on Wednesday.

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District and Sessions Judge Bhagwan Das Agarwal issued notice to the actor seeking his reply by April 21.

The government has challegned Khans acquittal in the case involving alleged possession of an unlicensed weapon by him for poaching chinkara in Jodhpur district in 1998.

The Jodhpur Chief Judicial Magistrate had acquitted Salman in the case on January 18 citing technical grounds saying he had been prosecuted under wrong sections.

Bishnoi, in the government plea, has argued before the sessions judge that the case had been proved against Khan, which was also admitted by the court and that on the basis of the examination of the evidences and witnesses, the prosecution had proved the case.
New Delhi, March 8

Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to make a statement in Parliament on Wednesday on the killing of a suspected ISIS terrorist in Lucknow and blast in a train at Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh.

The Home Minister is expected to make a detailed statement in Parliament on the two incidents in Lucknow and in Shajapur, official sources said.

The second half of the Budget session will begin on Wednesday.

A suspected Islamic State insurgent was killed in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow early on Wednesday after a 12-hour long operation.

The terror suspect Saifullah is suspected to be linked with the blast in the train in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, police said.

Ten people were injured  three of them seriously  in the IED blast in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Shajapur. PTI
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 8

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the central government to release funds for fencing of India-Bangladesh border to check infiltration.

A Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the task should be completed soon, after it was informed that the Expenditure and Finance Committee would meet on March 10 to decide the issue.

The top court has been issuing directions to the Centre to complete the fencing work along the India-Bangladesh border to stop influx of Bangladeshi nationals. The court has been telling the government to streamline the process to send illegal immigrants back.

The Bench also fixed April 30 as deadline for the Prateek Hajela committee to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to identify original residents of Assam.

Prateek Hajela informed the Bench that it would take time as the task was tedious. He said the committee had received more than three crore applications from for inclusion in the NRC. However, a recent Gauhati High Court judgment rendered around 48 lakh applicants invalid, he said.

He said the high court declared invalid certificates issued by the Gaon Panchayat secretary to enable them to claim citizenship.

The Bench asked the Centre and state to examine the high courts order and get back to it on April 19. However, it emphasised that the NRC cannot wait and the updated list should be released minus the 48 lakh applicants.

The top court told the Assam government counsel that all necessary co-operation must be given to the committee for updating the NRC. Whatever manpower and money it requires, you must give it, the Bench told the advocate.

The Bench said Madhukar Gupta committee would oversee and supervise the progress made in the works related to securing and fencing the international border.

On behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor General PS Patwalia said some tenders had been finalized and successful bidders were to undertake the exercise of border fencing. In some cases the process of re-tendering has been initiated and the Assam government had provided land.
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 7

The Supreme Court today asked senior Samajwadi Party leader and Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Minister Azam Khan to appear before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court tomorrow at 2 pm in a contempt case.

You cant hoodwink the court....You have no reason not to appear before the High Court at all, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar said. It asked Khan to appear before the court at 2 pm.

Khan, who allegedly committed contempt of court in his capacity as chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, was free to give explanation to the High Court, which would pass appropriate order after hearing him out, the Bench said.

Khan had moved the top court after the Allahabad High Court issued a bailable warrant against him after he failed to appear before it in a contempt case initiated against him for non-compliance with an order.

During the hearing, senior counsel V Giri explained Khans stand and tendered unqualified apology. But the top court said, In our considered opinion, the explanation sought to be tendered before us, ought to have been given to the High Court. The High Court had ordered issuance of a warrant against Khan in connection with a service petition of an employee of the Jal Nigam, who won a case from the state administrative tribunal and the Nigam had challenged it before the HC in 2013.
Kanpur, March 8

The father of suspected Islamic State operative Saifullah, who was killed in an anti-terror operation in Lucknow early this morning, refused to take the body of a traitor.

Saifullahs father Sartaj said his son had left home around two-and-a-half months ago after being reprimanded for not doing any work. He said he had hit his son a day before he left home. Saifullah had contacted his family last Monday and told them he was going to Saudi Arabia in search of a job.

What he has done is not in national interest. We will not take the body of such a traitor. A traitor cannot be my son. We are Indians, we were born in India, our forefathers were born in India. One who works against my country is not my son, Sartaj said.

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His elder brother Khalid said Saifullah had told the family he was going to Mumbai to get a visa for Saudi Arabia, where he wanted to work in the leather industry. He had taken his Aadhaar card, passport and other papers before leaving, the elder brother said, adding he did not answer calls thereafter and his mobile phone was usually switched off. He had studied accounts and was a religious youth who offered namaaz five times a day.
Police killings spark protests

The Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) enforced a general strike in Tarai districts on Tuesday, a day after three protesters were killed in police firing in Maleth of Saptari.
Our Correspondent

Abohar, March 7

As many as 80 houses and shops which had allegedly been constructed by encroaching upon land for village ponds were demolished in a major drive in Khuyiansarwer village today.

Naib Tehsildar Jatinderpal Singh, BDPO Dharam Pal Sharma, panchayat officer Darshan Singh and Khuyiansarwer SHO Gurveer Singh supervised the operation during which JCB machines were used. Although a heavy posse of police was deployed, there was little resistance to the drive.

Official sources said 170 families had raised illegal structures over the dry ponds resulting in flooding of adjoining areas during monsoons. The area earmarked for ponds was 68 kanal as per panchayat record but hardly 10 per cent of the same was free of encroachments.

The authorities were to submit a compliance report on this count to the High Court by April 25 but the drive had been postponed due to elections.

Notably, the HC had in February 2014 directed the state government to submit the report against encroachers of government/ panchayat land as ordered by the Supreme Court in 2011.

The SC had directed all states and UTs to evict illegal/unauthorised occupants of gram sabha/gram panchayat/ shamlat land and restore the land to the panchayats for the common use of villagers.

Regularisation should only be permitted in exceptional cases where lease has been granted under some government notification to landless labourers or SC/STs or where there is already a school, dispensary or public utility on the land, the court observed. Information reveals that 125 acres of pond land in Abohar sub division had been encroached, mostly by political activists during the past decade.
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 7

The multi-crore job recruitment scam that rocked the state last year has also been found operating in Haryana, Telangana and Delhi, even as a prime accused, Kuresh Kumar Dwivedi, was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) today.

Comprising members from UP and Bihar, the gang had been procuring examination papers from Delhi-based printing presses where all state governments (or the agency hired to conduct recruitment for these states) were getting the papers printed.

While Guruji Mithilesh Yadav, Shiv Bahadur (both absconding) and Kamlesh Kumar (now deceased) were procuring the papers illegally, Dwivedi examined the documents of the candidates and made them cram the answers before they appeared in the exams.

Sources said he would call the candidates to Delhi, cross-check their documents to make sure that no investigating agency had sent them up to blow the lid off the scam, and upon verification make the candidates cram the answer keys.

Surjit Singh, VB AIG, told The Tribune that Dwivedi was a politician from Arwal district in Bihar. We are investigating his role in the leak of the PMT paper in Telangana. The candidates were taken in groups to Kolkata, Bengaluru and Shirdi, where PMT question papers were shown to them and the answer keys were given for cramming, he said.

The investigators believe that he had helped around 25 candidates to cram the leaked question paper in the recruitment of SDOs for the Irrigation Department. He had also brought together 17 prospective candidates for 100 posts of Sub-divisional Engineer (SDE) in the department. He allegedly took original documents of the candidates after they had paid Rs25 lakh on their selection. He gave the answer keys to the candidates at his brother, Jai Dwivedis, house.

The exam was conducted by Thapar University, Patiala, on October 16, 2016. The other conduits in the list are on the run and will be arrested soon, Singh said.

So far, 70 persons, including 60 candidates and some conduits from Bihar, Haryana and UP, have been arrested by the VB. Two politicians of Punjab are also in the VB net for their involvement in the leak of papers and organising special classes for the beneficiaries, the AIG added.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 7

The multi-crore paddy milling scam appears to be heading for a CBI probe. Less than a month after the Punjab Government was castigated for a shoddy probe into the Rs10.52-crore scam, Justice Deepak Sibal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has impleaded the premier investigating agency as a party before putting it on notice.

CBI standing counsel Sumit Goel, too, not only accepted a notice on behalf of the newly impleaded respondent but also prayed for time to assist the court in the matter.

As the case came up for resumed hearing, Justice Sibal said: I deem it proper to implead the CBI, Chandigarh branch, as a respondent to the petition. The Registry is directed to make necessary correction in the memo of parties.

The direction came after Justice Sibal observed that thousands of quintals could not have been misappropriated by a single accused. He was earlier told that only one person was arraigned as an accused in the case.

The developments took place on a petition filed by Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation Limited for cancellation of bail granted to Manoj Jain. Justice Sibal, on the previous date of hearing, had said that the prosecution case, borne out from record and arguments by counsel for the parties, was that about 89,006 quintals of paddy were supplied by the petitioner-corporation to the respondent for milling in pursuance of an agreement dated October 24, 2012. However, only about 36,908 quintals were milled. The rest was misappropriated. The assessed loss to the corporation was over Rs10.52 crore.

Justice Sibal had added that only the respondent, Manoj Jain, was arraigned as an accused in the investigation report or challan under Section 173 of the CrPC, filed before the trial court after an investigation by the vigilance wing.
Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, March 8

Dhakoa village in the district has banned two families from entering the village after they married their sons with girls from the same village.

The decision, taken last week by Dhakoa village panchayat but kept under wraps for fear of attracting social stigma, has triggered a controversy. The copy of the resolution is with The Tribune.

The resolution, called a panchayatnama in local parlance, stated that the families of Balwinder Singh and Dilbagh Singh would not be allowed to enter the village.

Both Balwinder and Dilbagh married off their sons to girls of the same village. The families, fearing repercussions, are not staying in the village.

Dakhoa village falls in the Sri Hargobindpur Assembly segment and forms a part of Gurdaspur district. It falls in the jurisdiction of Ghuman police station of Batala police district.

The resolution also stated that the panchayat would take action against Dhakoa boys, who would enter into a relationship with girls of the same village. He will immediately be handed over to the police and banned from staying in the village, the resolution read.

Gurdaspur DC Pardeep Aggarwal said he had ordered an inquiry into the matter. I am unaware of the facts of the case. In any case, I will comment after conducting a probe. Panchayats are required to act within the ambit of the Panchayati Raj Act. If the Dhakoa panchayats decision violates the Act, it will be deemed illegal, he said.

Batala SSP Deepak Hilori said he would comment after going through the resolution.
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, March 7

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) VK Singh today said no one except for observers would be allowed to carry mobile phone inside vote-counting halls in the state on March 11.

The CEO was here today to review the preparations for counting of votes and held a meeting with the representatives of various political parties.

In an interaction with mediapersons at Malout, he said, Neither any representative of political party nor any independent candidate or any other person will be allowed to carry mobile phone to the counting hall. Only observers will be permitted to do so, said VK Singh.

He said all arrangements for the counting of votes had been made and representatives of all political parties were satisfied with it.

Additional Director General of Police VK Bhanwra was accompanying the CEO.

Sangrur: CEO VK Singh along with ADGP VK Bhanwra on Tuesday inspected the counting centre in Bardwal college of Dhuri. The CEO took a round of all halls for around two hours.

We briefed the CEO about our arrangements. He inspected all seven halls of all seven constituencies and oversaw our other arrangements for counting. He was satisfied with our preparations, said Dr Abhinav Trikha, Sangrur Deputy Commissioner.

Moga: The district election authorities of Moga have started making arrangements for the counting of votes on March 11 for the four Assembly constituencies of Moga district at different halls in the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) here. The District Magistrate-cum-District Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar Thind visited the four counting centres and also held a meeting with the returning officers of these constituencies. SSP Gurpreet Singh Toor was also present in the meeting.
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 7

The United Kingdom is soon likely to extradite an Indian national from Punjab, who is accused of kidnapping his brothers daughter and fraud.

The accused, Rajesh Kapoor, from Dasuya in Hoshiarpur district was on the list of 16 fugitives that India handed over to the UK when the India-British dialogue on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance was held here on February 20 and 21.

Sources said Kapoors extradition would be the second success story in this regard; his extradition is already in process. Last year, Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel was extradited to India to stand trial for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Kapoor, a decade ago, had kidnapped his brothers daughter with the help of his sister. The Interpol has also issued Red Corner notices against the brother-sister duo.

The development follows from the February 20 meeting between officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and their British counterparts over the possible extradition of people wanted in India on several charges. The most highlighted extradition request by India and one that is still pending with the UK is that of flamboyant businessman Vijay Mallya. It has been learnt that Mallyas extradition was discussed in the meeting too.

Christian Michel, an accused in the VVIP chopper scam, is another person on the list.

The matter of extradition also came up for discussion during the visit of British Prime Minister Theresa May to India last year. During the bilateral talks between May and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India handed over the list of its wanted people to the UK.

Britain also handed over to India a list of 17 persons, whose custody it sought under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty or against whom Letters Rogatory had been issued.

The prevalent feeling is that UK laws allow rich people to stay on even when they are wanted in other countries on serious charges. Kapoors extradition to India will provide greater impetus to the India-UK collaboration in this regard and give India hope to push further on other similar cases.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 8

Chief Minister Harish Rawat said women had contributed a lot for the development of the state. They had also played a pivotal role during the statehood agitation.

Rawat was speaking at a function organised by NGO Jagriti Foundation to commemorate International Womens Day here today.

The Chief Minister said women had proved their mettle in every field. Be it sports, science, technology or engineering, women had outnumbered men in every field. He felicitated differently abled Pushpa Rawat on the occasion, who performs her daily work, types on the computer, knits etc with her legs. Pushpa is a source of inspiration for other women, Rawat added.

Anand Bahuguna, Rajeev Jain, Sudheer Jolly, Abhinanda and Kunal Gupta also attended the function.
New Delhi, March 7

China will soon take a call on Indias demand to designate JeM chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist by the UN as it is investigating his terror activities, a senior functionary of Communist Party of China said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a security conference here, Ma Xiangwu said China was considering Indias proposal on Azhar as well as various other aspects of the matter like whether supporting the move may land it in a bigger problem.

We are considering it... We will take a decision on it soon, he said, asserting that all forms of terror must be eliminated.

Last month, India had hit out at China for demanding solid evidence for getting Azhar banned by the UN, saying the extent of his actions were well-documented and the burden of proof was not on it.

China had put a technical hold twice last year when India moved an application to ban Azhar after the Pathankot terrorist attack. Beijing again repeated its action this year when the US moved the application at the UN.

He said while examining Indias proposal, China was investigating Azhars activities.

Ma said there are differing explanations of terrorism worldwide based on the perceptions of individual nation states.

There are two classifications of terrorism in the world. global terrorism and regional terrorism, he said, adding China was also facing the challenge of combating terror.

He said the current state of the anti-terror action in China is complex and difficult to understand and that the situation in China is severe, but well controlled.

Nevertheless countering terrorism remains a long drawn process, he said.

According to Ma, China is economically and militarily powerful and, therefore, can tackle terrorism using both means.

Addressing the conference organised by leading think-tank Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, former Commander of Sri Lankan Army Daya Ratnayake said innovation and adaptive techniques can be used to counter terrorism effectively.

The defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka serves as an example of how counter insurgency and counter terrorism can be successful, he said.  PTI
Seoul, March 8

North Koreas latest weapons test showed it can accurately fire multiple medium-range ballistic missiles, an attack strategy that experts said could test the advanced US THAAD anti-missile system which began to arrive in South Korea on Tuesday.

Advances in North Koreas banned missile programme have also caused concern in Tokyo, where sources with knowledge of the governments thinking said a swarm-like attack using multiple missiles could overwhelm Japans already stretched defences.

Images released by North Korean state media showed leader Kim Jong Un presiding over Mondays simultaneous launch of four ballistic missiles, which landed in seas off Japans northwest.

In response, the United States started the early deployment of its advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea on Tuesday, despite angry opposition from China.

THAADs job is to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile in its final phase of flight, either inside or just outside the earths atmosphere.

But with its specifications secret and having never been used in wartime, THAADs ability to deal with a barrage of missiles at the same time is uncertain.

The use of multiple shots, timed ever-more-closely together, appears destined to rehearse saturating a defensive system by presenting it with an overwhelmingly complex radar picture, Joshua Pollack, editor of the U.S.-based Nonproliferation Review, said of Mondays launch.

South Korean military and intelligence officials said the four North Korean missiles appeared to be an upgraded version of the Scud type - the ER or Extended Range Scud.

An advantage of the ER Scud over the Rodong is that the ER Scud is much cheaper, said Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

So North Korea can presumably build more ER Scuds to overwhelm THAAD, Lewis said.

Strike capability

Most experts believe North Korea would likely need to fire off more than four ballistic missiles at one time to inundate a THAAD battery - perhaps 10, according to Michael Elleman, a US-based rocket expert with the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

I would be disappointed to learn that four attacking missiles would overwhelm THAAD, he said.

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin declined to comment.

The specific number of threats (THAAD) can engage at once is classified, but we have successfully demonstrated the ability to engage multiple targets, Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross said.

A greater concern than multiple Scud-type missiles would be if North Korea proved the ability to fire simultaneous salvos of other types of missiles that could carry heavier payload, said one US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

North Korea theoretically had enough launchers to send at least 36 ballistic missiles of various types at the same time, said Joseph S. Bermudez, a strategic advisor at Allsource Analysis Inc and contributor to the 38 North Korea monitoring project.

To counter that risk, South Korea, Japan and the United States have installed layers of different missile defences that can work together to reduce the threat.

If all three nations and their assets are integrated  and they can be integrated, there are systems for doing that  then the system has a synergy that is quite remarkable, Bermudez said.

In addition to the new THAAD system, South Korea also operates a Patriot PAC-3 missile defence system while Japan is upgrading its PAC-3 defences and mulling a shore-based version of the Aegis missile-defence system used on Japanese ships.

North Koreas actions have also prompted discussions in Tokyo about THAAD, which, because it is already in operation with the US Army, may be an easier-to-deploy alternative to the Aegis system.

Regional tensions

A deployed THAAD battery comprises four parts: The truck-mounted launcher; eight anti-missile interceptors which can destroy an incoming missile; a radar system, and a fire control system which connects the battery to US military commanders.

The number of interceptors is limited, and the number that one THAAD system could handle at once is limited, too, said Markus Schiller, a rocketry expert based in Germany.

THAAD has fared well in tests, but has not been used in real combat, under real conditions, Schiller added.

It is THAADs sophisticated radar, which according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is the largest air-transportable x-band radar in the world, that has spurred tensions with China.

Once fully deployed in South Korea, a THAAD battery could theoretically use its radar to see and monitor activity beyond North Korea, deep into Chinese territory.

Russia also worries the deployment could compromise its security, and said it would lead to a stalemate on the Korean peninsula. Separately, Moscow has criticised a ballistic missile defence shield which the United States has activated in Europe as a step to a new arms race.

US Pacific Command said in a statement accompanying the announcement to start deploying THAAD in South Korea that the system is strictly defensive and poses no threat to other countries in the region.

The US military released grainy neon-green night vision video which showed a military transport plane delivering two THAAD trucks to Osan Air Force Base in South Korea.

So far, only the first elements have arrived, with the rest due to arrive by April, Yonhap news reported.

The planned location for South Koreas two THAAD launchers in the rural county of Seongju means Seoul is outside of their protective range.

But with so much conventional North Korean artillery pointed at the South Korean capital, just 40 km (25 miles) from the North Korea border, Pyongyang could carry out its threat to turn Seoul into a sea of fire by using only its Soviet-era guns.  Reuters
Kuala Lumpur, March 8

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak struck a softer tone with North Korea on Wednesday, a day after accusing it of treating Malaysians as hostages amid a diplomatic meltdown over the murder of the estranged half-brother of the Norths leader.

Malaysian police have identified eight North Koreans wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of Kim Jong Nam in Kuala Lumpur International on February 13, and have said up to three of them are hiding at the North Korean embassy.

The police say assassins used VX nerve agent, a super-toxic chemical listed by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction. And, in a bid to stop the investigation targeting its citizens, North Korea retaliated on Tuesday by announcing a ban on Malaysians leaving the country.

Najib initially denounced that move as an abhorrent act while ordering a reciprocal ban on North Koreans leaving Malaysia.

Faced with the priority of securing the release of the 11 Malaysians stuck in North Korea, Najib sounded more conciliatory in Parliament on Wednesday, saying there were no plans to cut diplomatic ties.

We are a country thats friendly to them, Najib said, after reassuring MPs that there was no threat to the safety of the three embassy staff, six family members, and two other Malaysians in North Korea.

We didnt pick a quarrel with them but when a crime has been committed, especially when chemical weapons have been used in Malaysia, we are duty bound to protect the interest of Malaysians, Najib said.

The United Nations has called for calm and urged the two countries to settle their differences through established diplomatic practice.

Najib declined to elaborate on what action he would take to bring back his citizens: If theres any negotiations, we cant do it through the media.

Losing a friend

North Korea is in grave danger of losing one of the few friends it has outside of China due to the diplomatic fallout from the case.

On Monday, Malaysia expelled North Koreas ambassador for questioning the impartiality of the murder investigation and ended visa free travel for North Koreans.

North Korea says the dead man is not Kim Jong Nam, and has suggested the victim died from a heart attack.

The only people charged for the murder so far are a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman, accused of smearing the victims face with VX.

But the police are pressing to question up to three men believed to be hiding in the North Korean embassy. Police have said that four other North Koreans fled Malaysia hours after the airport murder.

The only one to have been detained was released and deported on Friday due to insufficient evidence.

U.S. officials and South Korean intelligence suspect North Korean agents were behind the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, who had been living in Macau under Chinas protection. He had spoken out publicly against his familys dynastic rule of North Korea.

Last week, Malaysia said it would investigate North Korea front companies after a Reuters report showed that Pyongyangs spy agency was running an arms network in the country.  Reuters
Probe committee formed to investigate Saptari incident

The Eastern Regional Police Office, Biratnagar, on Wednesday formed a three-member probe committee to investigate the Saptari incident.
Washington, March 8

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit South Korea, Japan and China, the State Department announced, just a day after North Korea launched ballistic missiles close to ally Japan.

On his first visit to the region as top US diplomat, March 15-19, Tillerson will speak with authorities after the tests, which were followed by Washingtons deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea.

In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from the DPRK, and reaffirm the Administrations commitment to further broaden and enhance US economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region, spokesman Mark Toner said.

Tillerson arrives in Tokyo on March 15; heads to Seoul on March 17, and on to Beijing on March 18.

The US Pacific Command said Monday that the Americans had begun deploying the THAAD system to South Korea, which is designed to defend the US ally from a North Korean attack.

China responded that it was firmly opposed to the deployment and vowed to resolutely take necessary measures to defend its security interests.

China, a permanent council member and Pyongyangs main ally, has argued that deployment of the THAAD would further destabilise the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Meanwhile, China today called on North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military wargames, to avoid what it called a head-on collision.  AFP
Martin Daum Photo: Daimler Trucks North America

Martin Daum is the type of fellow who gets things done. Case in point: Last year, in his role as president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America, Daum got The Rolling Stones to play at the American Trucking Associations' convention in Las Vegas to help Freightliner celebrate the launch of its new Cascadia.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to negotiate with Mick Jagger or to get The Rolling Stones to do anything?

Last week, Daimler Trucks North America potentially caught a huge break when the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG  essentially the strategic/leadership committee that guides Daimlers worldwide operations  named Daum to its Board of Management with responsibility for the companys global truck and bus operations. He is succeeding Wolfgang Bernhard, who left for personal reasons, Daimler said, after overseeing some of the most stunning technological advances the trucking industry has witnessed in decades.

I have to think my friends at Daimler Trucks North America were turning backflips when the announcement was made. Martin Daum oversaw Freightliner attain the dominant position in Class 8 marketshare during his tenure and is intimately familiar with the wants and needs of this market. The news that he will now head up Daimlers global truck and bus business cannot be construed as anything but positive for the Freightliner and Western Star brands.

North America  and the United States in particular  remains the preeminent truck market in the world. Daimler has hardly ignored this part of the world, as its recent technological and marketshare successes confirm.

But now, with the global head of the companys truck and bus operations taking over fresh from the States, it seems logical to assume that Daums intimate knowledge of this market, the concerns of both fleets and owner-operators, as well as the potential for Daimlers technological, ergonomic and design capabilities to address those concerns, will be given an increased focus and decisions will be made with a greater depth of understanding concerning the significance and import of those actions.

I think its a signal that the white-hot technology race underway among both OEMs and top-tier suppliers is about to get even more intense.

In other words, Martin Daum will have the full suite of Daimlers global engineering expertise at his command. And instead of being in a position where he has to make a case for certain design elements or engineering and technological advancements and features, he will now be able to direct those assets anywhere on the planet he thinks they will do Daimler  and Daimlers customers  the most good. And it is difficult to imagine a scenario where North America  and the U.S. in particular  doesnt fare well in that new management structure.

What will that mean for the trucking industry in North America as a whole?

I dont think that well see robot trucks roaming the highways next year. But I do think its a signal that the white-hot technology race underway among both OEMs and top-tier suppliers is about to get even more intense. That could mean an accelerated timetable for a host of emerging technologies, from platooning to autonomous vehicles to integrated aerodynamics to advanced vehicle telematics systems.

Thats pure speculation on my part. However, I can make one prediction with a high degree of certainty: No matter what course of action Daum and his successor ultimately pursue, it will not be to launch technology simply for technologys sake. Every initiative undertaken during Daums tenure in North America kept Daimlers customers  fleets and owner-operators  squarely in mind. And there is no reason to think that approach will change anytime soon.
Because of the overwhelming interest, Alkane has decided to include the option of a clean diesel fuel engine in its Dominator Class 7-8 series trucks. (Photo: Alkane Truck Company)

Alkane Truck Company, a South Carolina-based assembler of alternative-fuel vehicles, is exploring a supply agreement with diesel engine manufacturer Cummins Inc., to offer clean diesel engine options for Alkanes line of heavy-duty trucks and off-road vehicles.

Pending successful engineering tests and modifications, Alkane has identified three Cummins engines to offer its customers the V5.0 engine for the Alkane Dominator, the B6.7 diesel engine for the Class 7, and, once it becomes available in 2018, the X12 engine for the Alkane Class 8 heavy-duty trucks. This supply agreement would accelerate the company's operations and vision of introducing clean diesel engines to join the broad range of alternative fuel vehicles for the trucking and off-road vehicle industries in America.

This supply agreement would accelerate the company's operations and vision of introducing clean diesel engines to join the broad range of alternative fuel vehicles for the trucking and off-road vehicle industries in America.

Because of the overwhelming interest of so many of our 103 dealership locations across North America, weve decided to include the option of a clean diesel fuel engine in our Dominator, our Class 7 and our Class 8 series trucks, says Robert Smith, CEO of Alkane Truck Company. "Alkane and Cummins engineering teams have met in the last several weeks to develop production plans for the addition of the clean diesel fuel engines to the Alkane line of vehicles. Were thrilled that we may be able to offer these engines to our Alkane customers in the near future.

The first of the three Cummins engine options Alkane hopes to offer customers is the V5.0, which has been engineered to combine advanced materials, the latest High Pressure Common Rail (HPCR) fuel system, Cummins VGT Turbocharger and Cummins emission control technology to produce an extraordinarily clean, quiet, and fuel efficient V-8 diesel engine.

With fuel economy as a primary concern, switching from a gasoline V-8 to the Cummins V5.0 V-8 diesel reduces the cost of operation significantly; diesel fuel economy is typically better than a V-8 gasoline engine of comparable performance. Ideally suited for pickup and delivery vehicles and light- and medium-duty trucks, the V5.0 is also perfect for Alkanes Dominator--the alternative-fuel off-road answer to the Hummer and new Land Rover Defender.

Alkane is equally excited at the possibility of offering the B6.7 for its Class 7 trucks and the X12 for its Class 8 trucks. This new, more efficient 6.7L engine demonstrates up to 7% better fuel economy over the EPA 2013 B6.7 and the highest gains in key duty cycles running at lower speeds; in inner-city operations, the B6.7 had accumulated over 1.5 million test miles in multiple real-world applications prior to its 2017 launch. According to Cummins, the 2017 B6.7 will be fully capable for the introduction of stop-start technology that will yield further improvements in fuel economy in stop-and-go duty cycles.

The Cummins X12, meanwhile, aims to redefine the medium-bore engine category (10L-13L) by setting a new standard for productivity in regional-haul, vocational, and intermodal truck applications. At least 150 pounds lighter than the next closest competitive engine and up to 600-pounds lighter than other medium-bore engines, the 12-liter will still deliver Alkane trucks a powerful performance from 350 hp to 475 hp and 1250 to 1700 lb.-ft. of peak torque. At just 2,050 pounds, it has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any heavy-duty engine from 10 liters to 16 liters in size, a combination of power and efficiency Alkane Truck Company hopes to be able to offer its customers in 2018 and beyond.
Put off polls: Gathabandhan

The Sanghiya Gathabandhan, an alliance of Madhesi and Janajati parties, on Tuesday decided to serve a seven-day ultimatum to the government to postpone local level elections called for May 14.
Saptari death toll reaches 4; strike affects common life

The death toll in Saptari police firing has reached four after another Madhesi Morcha cadre succumbed to bullet injuries in Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences.
Saptari incident concerns UN, US

The United Nations and the United States have expressed their concerns about Mondays incident in Rajbiraj in which three protesters were killed in police firing and the subsequent escalation of tensions in the run-up to the local elections.
Prime Media boss Ian Audsley has warned that regional news bulletins in Western Australia could be axed without imminent media reform.

Writing for Fairfax Media he described existing broadcasting rules as a slowly tightening noose around the neck of your local TV stations while streaming services like Netflix go unregulated.

Prime-owned GWN celebrates its 50th birthday this month. Yet while Prime, WIN Corporation and Southern Cross Austereo have pushed for the scrapping of ownership regulations, Labor and the Greens are opposed to the Governments bill in its current form.

As regional TV markets decay at an increasing pace, the day will dawn when independent TV stations under financial pressure are forced to reduce their commitment to local programming, Audsley wrote.

We are on the cusp of public policy failure.

The outcome of Parliaments constipation will be market failure on a number of levels, but particularly for local content, he writes.

It is simply a matter of time before GWN will have to review its commitment to local news.

Employing more than 40 people, GWN has offices in Bunbury, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Geraldton and Perth, as well as staff in Broome.

Last month Nine and Southern Cross began rolling out the first of 15 regional bulletins, produced from metropolitan studios, utilising regional crews.
House Rules is shaking up its judging team for 2017, with two new judges set to feature.

Changing Rooms UK presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and NSW architect Drew Heath join returning judges Wendy Moore and Carolyn Burns-McCrave plus host Johanna Griggs.

Joe Snell, who judged on previous seasons, is not returning.

Drew Heath (pictured above) added, House Rules is an exciting opportunity for me to do something completely different. I see the house as the most important place for our well-being so it will be interesting and difficult to judge others as it makes you think about your own principles. I look forward to being inspired by the teams who come from all walks of life.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (pictured below) said, Im incredibly passionate about encouraging Australians to discover the potential within their own home. I do have a reputation for being quite tough and thats putting it mildly, but when people are just creating show rooms for the hell of it theyre not creating their dream home. I feel we all have the ability to unveil the hidden magic in which we reside.

Seven is yet to confirm an airdate.

Nobody understands furnishings, fabrics and fashion more than our flamboyant judge Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Born with an innate instinct for colours, trends, textures and design, his ability to unleash endless possibilities in any home is second to none.

Laurence, not subtle in his taste, or opinions features for the first time on Australian free to air TV excited to pass on his highly sought-after expertise whilst unearthing contestants talents for working with colour, light and texture.

Drew Heath started his architecture business in 1996, specialising in organic handmade and handcrafted building designs. Drew has won numerous awards for his buildings which have an aura of calm and raw understated elegance. His buildings are influenced by his love of nature, creating a sense of well-being and calm. House Rules is his first foray into television with the exception of a few appearances connected to his work.

House Rules was a ratings smash in 2016, averaging more than 1.57 million combined viewers across Australia. More than two million people tuned in to see Queensland twins Luke and Cody win and realise their dream home.
A second series of award-winning drama The Night Manager is in development for the BBC.

Director Susanne Bier said a script was slowly being developed for afollow-up.

We all very much want to do a season two, but the thing we absolutely do not want is to do something that does not live up to the level of season one, she said.

That would be a really bad idea.

The series was based on John le Carres 1993 novel  but the book does not have a sequel.

Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman starred in the UK thriller, which won Golden Globes and an Emmy Award.

Hiddleston has said he would consider making a second series.

It screened in Australia on BBC First and will get a Free to Air screening on SBS from March 22nd.

Source: BBC
Shashwatdham inaugurated

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said that religions and cultures convey moral message to maintain national unity.
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
The Texas Food & Wine Experience is a class offered by the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

A dozen University of Houston students will spend their Spring Break on a unique road trip learning the operational aspects of what it takes to run a successful winery and steakhouse in the Lone Star State. Its part of the Texas Food & Wine Experience, a class offered by the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

For Spring Break, the class will embark on a road trip from March 11-15 that will take them to top producing wineries in the Texas High Plains and the Hill Country. Stops include Brennan Vineyards in Comanche; High Plains Winegrowers in Meadow; Becker Vineyards in Fredericksburg; McPherson Cellars and Lllano Estacado Winery in Lubbock; and Texas Custom Wine Works and Reddy Vineyard in Brownfield. The students will also stop at Perini Ranch in Buffalo Gap to learn more about the business of running an award-winning steakhouse.

This experience will give students a deeper understanding of the Texas wine business, including production and marketing, said Assistant Professor Chris Taylor, director of the Hilton College Beverage Management program and the Fred Parks Wine Cellar. They will also learn about local tourism, lodging and restaurants, and of the amazing career opportunities in the billion-dollar Texas wine industry.

Made possible by grants from the Fred and Mabel R. Parks Foundation and the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, as well as support from Republic National Distributing Company, the Texas Food & Wine Experience started with a visit to Pappas Steakhouse in Houston. After meeting with the restaurants master sommelier, students learned about Texas wines and pairings, as well as the role of wine in the restaurant industry.

After the class, students are required to submit a journal and papers that illustrate their understanding of how food and wine contribute to the states successful hospitality industry. They will also launch a social media campaign that will highlight their time and the wines offered in each locale.
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Former refugee, Rez Gardi is the first female Kurdish lawyer in New Zealand and Young New Zealander of the Year 2017.

Rez believes International Womens Day is an important time to celebrate the accomplishments of women and support one another to achieve their goals.

Happy International Womens Day to all of the women around the globe. This is a day to empower, support and encourage each other.

Rez was born in a refugee camp in Pakistan after her family fled their home in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. They were forced to flee because of the persecution of the Kurdish ethnic minority.

All vestige of Kurdish existence was essentially banned so my family was forced to flee across the border into Pakistan where UNHCR presence provided a beacon of hope, she says.

Rez was resettled to New Zealand as a refugee at the age of six.

When I came to New Zealand, English was my fourth language and fourth alphabet, Rez explains.

Rez was the first in her family to graduate high school and attend university. She hopes to inspire others to follow in her footsteps.

By being the first Kurdish female lawyer in New Zealand, I hope that I can encourage all young refugees, other young Kurdish people, other young women, and help pave the way for them, she says.

Rez is now working to increase education opportunities for refugee youth through a mentoring and support program.

I feel that there is a huge underrepresentation of refugee youth, and especially refugee young women, in higher education, Rez says.

This was one of the many challenges that Rez discussed in Geneva last year when she participated in the Global Refugee Youth Consultations with young refugees from around the world.

We were involved in a consultation process where we were given the opportunity to discuss the challenges that we faced  and to come up with solutions, she says.

In New Zealand, Rez also works closely with the Auckland Womens Lawyer Association to encourage more women from ethnic minorities and refugee backgrounds to work in the legal profession.

She is also working on Super Diverse Women, a new online networking platform to empower New Zealand women.

Rez hopes that her story can inspire other young women from refugee backgrounds to follow their dreams despite the barriers they face in accessing higher education.

My message to young refugee women is to know that they have the potential to do whatever it is they want to do. Wherever they may feel held back, there lays an opportunity to break barriers and exceed expectations.
Something to declare

Rabi Thapa, the editor of the literary magazine La.Lit, has written popular books like Nothing to Declare and the recently-published Thamel:
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It is eight oclock in the morning. As punctual as ever, Jamila Ali Hassan, 30, opens the creaking door of the Dairy Retail Cooperative in the Melkadida refugee camp, ready to receive the farmers who beat a path to the door.

We want self-reliance for ourselves and we want to be able to support our children, says Jamila, proudly. Now we have a proper business where we sell high quality milk.

The tin-roofed start-up at the camp, 70 kilometres from the border with Somalia in southern Ethiopia, buys up goat, cow and camel milk from local herders.

Supported by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners, the project provides both a service to the camp and local community and a living for the 20 Somali women who work there, testing, pasteurizing and storing the milk in solar-powered refrigerators for resale.

We want self-reliance for ourselves and we want to be able to support our children.

Now we have the cooperative and the partners on our side, we have a proper business, Jamila says.

It is not the first time Jamila has sold milk. Back in Somalia, before conflict forced the couple and their eight children to flee for Ethiopia in 2010, she and her husband had worked as farmers and pastoralists.

In Somalia, women are the ones who care for the cattle. All my life I have been selling milk, transporting it from our farm all the way to the border. I am happy I found a livelihood here that I am used to, she says.

After just a few visits from farmers, Jamila and the other 19 women have enough milk to sell. In a good day, they can earn up to 540 Ethiopian Birr  equivalent to US$26  part of which they plough back into the business.

A farmer milks her cow. She sells the milk to the Dairy Retail Cooperative run by Somali women at the Melkadida refugee camp.  UNHCR/Diana Diaz

A farmer measures out milk before selling it to the cooperative at the Melkadida refugee camp. Since 2015, UNHCR and partners have been supporting the women refugees who run the dairy co-op.  UNHCR/Diana Diaz

Co-op member Jamila, surrounded by her co-workers, shows off a floating milk thermometer at the Dairy Retail Cooperative at the Melkadida Camp. Together they generate enough income to sustain the business and support their families. "We are used to selling milk. In our culture it is the women who sell milk and we are glad we are able to do the same here."  UNHCR/Diana Diaz

Jamila and her colleagues test milk before accepting it. "We have been given modern equipment to test the milk. If it has a drop of water we would know, and we will only accept pure milk; we only sell the best quality."  UNHCR/Diana Diaz

Somali refugee women stand outside the dairy cooperative after a long day. "We are 20 women who have created a cooperative to sell milk and become self-reliant. We sell milk to refugees and the host community, and generate income to sustain our families."  UNHCR/Diana Diaz

We save some of the money, use some of it to buy goods, and then collect the rest in a pot, as part of our tradition, which is then assigned to each one of us by turns, says Nuria Hassen, another member of the cooperative. This is our way of supporting each other, she adds.

The group pasteurizes the milk by slowly heating it  a process which kills potentially harmful microbes, while conserving its nutritional qualities. We are known for our quality milk and we would like to keep it that way for our business to prosper, says Nuria, holding up a thermometer that is part of the dairys milk processing kit.

The women have quickly taken ownership of the initiative and, together, they form a powerful unit. It is in our culture that the women stick together, says Jamila. All women in the world should come together so they can thrive as one. A woman who does not work cannot even have a cup of tea.

Ethiopia has been a generous host to Somali refugees since they began arriving in the early 1990s, following the fall of Siad Barre's regime in Somalia. UNHCR and partners including the IKEA Foundation have supported the enterprise since 2015, providing training and equipment for the dairy, which is seen as a benefit to the whole local community.

The refugee women do not only become empowered and earn income, they also contribute to the refugee and Ethiopian community.

Through this business, the refugee women do not only become empowered and earn income, they also contribute to the refugee and Ethiopian community by introducing a quality and safe product into the market, explains Aurthur Mutambikwa, a UNHCR livelihoods officer in Melkadida.

As five oclock comes around, the women have sold their stock and they head home to their families. Any leftover milk is stored in the solar-powered refrigerator to sell the next day.

The theme of International Womens Day  which is today  is forging a better, more equitable working world, in which women's right to decent work becomes a reality. For these Somali women, the cooperative has brought some cherished dreams within reach.

I want all of us to be self-reliant and our business to expand so we can support our children, says Jamila. I was forced to leave everything behind when the conflict reached my home town back in 2010 in Somalia. Here, I have found peace and a new beginning  here is where I want to stay. With all these opportunities, we are on the right path.

You can read more about how UNHCR works to support women here.
South Korea court says to rule on President Park's impeachment on Friday

South Korea's Constitutional Court will rule on President Park Geun-hye's impeachment on Friday at 11 a.m. (0200 GMT), a court spokesman said on Wednesday.
Many students have dreamt of pursuing a career in arts and design, however, some of them lack the confidence in taking their talent to the next level. In fact, many of them wish to take major in college focusing on these fields but question their capability to do it. And that is what the Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan is here for.

According to SI News, people who find career in the fields of art and design report to have found a high level of satisfaction in their jobs, and Stamps want to help these students overcome their self-doubt and gain the confidence they need to push for their dreams. The school believes that this can be made possible by means of focused skill-based instruction and mentored practice.

Michael Neville, Coordinator of Pre-College programs at Stamps said that the pre-college programs they run are an excellent preparatory program for high school students who are interested in pursuing college degrees in art and design. He explained that what they do allow students to devote more time in the studio.

The Stamps School is known when it comes to encouraging students to think in new ways and give them the preparation they need by equipping them with the necessary skills for long-term success. According to the school's official website, they are classes they offer focus on drawing for artists and designers, sculpture/3D design and more.

Neville also explained that they aim to help students be prepared for the specific requirements that the Stamps Undergraduate Programs expect from the applicants. They will also get to know the admissions counselors and will be helpful when it comes to giving the students a leg-up.
An increasing number of colleges and universities have been recognizing the problem of student hunger on their campus and are looking for ways to provide more than a quick fix for the issue. A Utah university is one that has been serving low income college students.

The Southern Utah University has this HOPE Pantry - which stands for Helping Our People Eat - that has been running and been addressing the student problem on hunger for years, according to Good4Utah.com. In fact, they have been serving people since 2002, and has not changed its no questions policy. It is one of the very first student-serving food pantries in the US, and this is the reason why many other colleges and universities have looked into SUU's food pantry as a model for their own.

Many students have expressed how thankful they were for the HOPE pantry, considering that they have a very tight budget in college, that at times, they can no longer even afford to go to the grocery store. Around 400 students every month receive help from SUU's pantry.

The success of HOPE pantry inspired many other schools to open their own. Just recently West Chester University opened their own school pantry this school year, as well as Rutgers-New Brunswick and Cabrini University, according to Philly.com. Montclair State University also opened one last April and Rowan University will be opening one too, next month. Meanwhile, Temple University and the College of New Jersey are exploring options and ideas about having their own.

Tori Nuccio, the assistant director of financial aid at West Chester said that there are always students who are in need. And the number of these students has increased after the recession together with the unstoppable increase in the college costs. It is just right that students somehow get the help they need from their own campus.
A student who is a US citizen was denied of college financial assistance just because of her mother's immigration status. Natalia Villalobos, who is born and raised in Washington D.C. was forced to postpone her college education for two years, after being denied twice by the DC Tuition Assistance Grant Program or DCTAG.

Villalobos graduated from Emerson Preparatory School in 2015, and dreamt of having her own day care so she wanted to enroll in college and study business and child development, The Washington Post reported. She was supposed to enroll in Montgomery College but she was rejected because her mother is not a US citizen nor a permanent legal resident.

Villalobos expressed how shocked she was because she is a US citizen and should not be treated differently, according to Telesur. DCTAG guidelines state that the parents of the applicant must be US citizens or permanent residents, and the case of Villalobos was tagged "illegal" and "unconstitutional" by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

MALDEF is currently suing the District of Columbia on behalf of Villalobos who simply wants to be a daycare owner. They filed a lawsuit in the District last week, alleging the DCTAG program for being unfair and discriminatory with US citizens with immigrant parents.

The young teen also told NBC News that it is not fair to be discriminated as a citizen of this country over her mother's status.

Villalobos' mother left El Salvador a couple of years ago, and she was granted a Temporary Protected Status, which is usually being given to people who are unable to go back to their countries because of various reasons including environmental disasters and armed conflicts. She does not have any way to earn US citizenship or become a permanent resident of the United States.
Microsoft Azure is getting another big update for this week, adding new tools such as PowerBI and HDInsight. Microsoft has also announced new features to help public sectors get set up on Azure Cloud platform. The company made the huge announcement this week.

Microsoft Announces New Cloud Capabilities

According to GeekWire, which got the full details of the story, the Redmond-based software company is currently beefing up its cloud capabilities for U.S. state and federal agencies, which include adding PowerBI and HDInsight data tools for its Azure Government Cloud. Additionally, the company is also making new Microsoft Cognitive Services, such as facial and voice recognition, available for Azure customers in the government sectors.

As a result of these new cloud development, Federal, state and government agencies that have been using the Azure Government Cloud will now be able to tap into two new data analytics services. Microsoft made the huge announcement at its Microsoft Tech Summit, and its marks the company's strong commitment to providing the latest in cloud innovation not only to private sectors or companies but also to government customers.

According to Microsoft, the Power BI Pro on Azure Government cloud will provide powerful business analytics service that uses dashboards to aggregate a broad range of live data and also helps customers stay connected to their data. This Azure data tool offers a visual analytics tool complete with intuitive report authoring, canvas, and interactive visualizations.

Another big addition is the HDInsight on Azure Government Cloud. HDInsight is a fully managed cloud Hadoop offering that enables streaming and processing of large data sets in real time using Spark for HDInsight, Kafka, and Storm. With HDInsight on Azure Government Cloud, data scientists will now be able to build intelligent applications that leverage big data to deliver personalized experiences

And last, Microsoft also introduced a new Cognitive Services for the Azure Government Cloud. This will include a series of machine-based language, vision, search and knowledge of API (application programming interfaces) that help developers build apps much faster and better.

To learn more information about these three new cloud-based data tools, Interested parties can head over to HDInsight for Azure Government website. They can also head to Power BI Pro for Azure Government website.

Microsoft To Help Public Sectors Get Up And Running In The Azure Cloud Platform

In other cloud-related news, Microsoft has just announced Blueprint to help public sector organizations get up and running on Azure Cloud platform. As mentioned earlier by The Inquirer, the newly launched Azure Blueprint will help public sectors to quickly implement the 14 cloud security principles published by the UK's newly-opened National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The 14 cloud security principles that include some best practices around operational security and asset protection and more.

In addition to the Azure Blueprint, the company has also released a UK Official compliance architecture ARM (Azure Resource Manager) template to the popular web-based version control repository and hosting service GitHub. Microsoft Azure also introduced Azure's Service Bus Premium Messaging, a cloud-based high-performance communication tool that addresses common customer requests around scale, performance, and availability for critical applications.
A study by researchers from the University of Twente (UT) and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), both based in the Netherlands, found that some traditional electronic energy meters give false readings that are much higher than actual energy consumption. This causes a problem since this type of meter has been installed in about 750,000 Dutch households.

It was revealed that these traditional meters can give false readings that are up to 582 percent higher than the actual consumption of a household. The study has been published in the journal "IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Magazine."

There have been a lot of speculations on the inaccuracy of the readings provided by these traditional electronic energy meters. This led Professor Frank Leferink of the UT investigate this issue, TechXplore reported.

Leferink, along with Cees Keyer and Anton Melentjev from AUAS, examined nine different electronic energy meters in the study. These meters were manufactured between the years 2004 and 2014.

The researchers connected the meters using an electric switchboard to various appliances like light bulbs, heaters, LED bulbs and dimmers. They then compared the actual consumption rate of the system to the readings provided by the electronic energy meters.

It was found that five out of nine meters gave much higher readings than the actual amount of power used. The rate went as high as 582 percent. On the other hand, two of the meters gave readings that were 30 percent lower than the actual amount of power consumed.

The biggest inaccuracies were seen when the researchers combined dimmers with energy saving light bulbs and LED bulbs. Keyer said that they avoided using exceptional conditions.

It was noted that the Dutch government wants smart meters to replace traditional energy meters in every household by 2020. Consumers can also have their energy meter tested by an accredited inspection company.

Smart meters allow users to monitor electricity usage in real time, Phys.org noted. It also provides data to help identify usage habits and issues.
Undocumented students continue to fear for their safety amidst the turmoil that President Trump's previous immigration ban has caused. This time, they are worried for their parents and the threat of deportation that looms above them.

The concerns about the safety of undocumented students under the Trump administration heightened when DREAMer Daniel Ramirez, who was supposed to be protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program of the Obama administration, was arrested last month. He was threatened with deportation and detained by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Feb. 10.

Undocumented students also expressed their worry about not being able to finish their studies before they are deported. However, Virginia's Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe said that he was assured by President Trump himself that the current administration will not end the DACA program.

Now, undocumented students are worried for their parents who could be deported. Speaking to KTAR News, Ezequiel Santos, a young immigrant who is protected by the DACA program, said that he feels uneasy knowing that there are still a lot of undocumented immigrants who are at risk of deportation including his parents.

Santos arrived in the U.S. when he was 2 years old. Under the DACA program, he was able to work and attend a local community college.

Arizona State University student Vasthy Lamadrid also expressed her concern about the threat of deportation for her parents. As mentioned earlier, President Trump will not be rescinding the DACA program but he has made it clear that he will ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants.

The New York Times reported that President Trump has signed the new executive order that blocks citizens from six countries from entering the U.S. He has continued to impose a 90-day ban on travelers but has removed Iraq from the banned list of countries.

Previously, the banned countries were Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. This led to universities urging international students to forego travel temporarily.
Tragic deaths

The killing of at least three people in Saptari by the police on Monday will likely have significant implications for the political process in the days ahead, not least the scheduled election.
Imagine going into war abroad coming under a hail of enemy fire to fight against fascism in Europe and returning home to battle for your own democratic freedoms. This was the reality for Col. Charles McGee and other minorities during World War II. In 1942 McGee joined the Army and signed up for a pilot slot in an experimental program located at Tuskegee Army Airfield, which allowed African-Americans to train to become airmen for the first time in U.S. history.

February 3, 2017 - Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Charles McGee stands in the Pacific Aviation Museum, Ford Island, Hawaii. McGee, a Tuskegee Airman, who served as a pilot during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War, gave a presentation at the Pacific Aviation Museum geared towards youth entitled, In His Own Words. (Department of Defense photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Aiyana S. Paschal) Well, at the time I hadnt thought about it like oh well go down Tuskegee and set the world on fire. It was just a matter of being able to participate and certainly, for me, it was a joy to be on the flying side of things, said McGee. I enjoyed doing that and thats what Id like to pass on. I think its every citizens right and certainly a responsibility to serve the country in one way or another, and I think going forward that helps preserve the freedoms we so much enjoy. Prior to World War II minorities were only allowed to perform service type jobs. McGee recalls a 1925 Army War College Report titled The Use of Negro Manpower in War, which made assumptions about African Americans capacity to serve in the military. The Negro is by nature subservient and believes himself to be inferior to the white man. He is most susceptible to the influence of crowd psychology, said McGee. He cannot control himself in the face of danger to the extent the white man can. He has not the initiative and resourcefulness of the white man. He is mentally inferior to the white man, McGee said. This report said because of physical qualification and of course that meant service you know dig ditches, cook food, drive trucks, but doing anything technical impossible. McGee Graduated flight school on June 30, 1943, and was assigned to an all-black squadron called 332nd Fighter Group in Naples, Italy. Although the men and women of the squadron landed their shot at serving as airmen, they were still segregated from their white counterparts and as McGee described treated like second-class citizens. Well, the challenge pretty much at the time was being accepted based on our ability and so on rather than the fact that there were those who felt we didnt have the brain power or the fortitude to participate in a successful way, said McGee However, McGee and his unit quickly gained notoriety through their successful long-range bomber escort missions. Their flawless execution of their mission earned them the respect from the white bomber crews and made them a formidable adversary to the German Luftwaffe pilots. By the end of 1944, McGee had 137 combat missions under his belt. Fortunately once given the opportunity we were able to disprove that because its all about first, having an education and developing a talent and found out we could perform successfully, said McGee. Charles McGee and the 332nds commitment to service did not go unnoticed by the nation. In 1947 the Army Air Corps started abandoning its policies that promoted segregation. One year later President Harry Truman signed an executive order to abolish racial discrimination in the United States Armed Forces. Well, I didnt realize that was happening when I got the opportunity to serve but realized what it meant because the experience gave the air force the background to make a decision that affected all of our services and affected the country, said McGee. I was just glad to serve and doubly glad that it turned out to be that important even though that wasnt a goal for my reason of serving at the time. McGee is committed to passing down the first-hand experience of history to future generations so that they may never forget the lessons learned. I enjoy talking to students and enjoy getting their questions and answers because I realize the value of the lessons that sustained us if you will through those periods that we dont want to be repeated in many ways are still important for their growing up and taking part in the future of our country, said McGee. So its always a pleasure to talk to students and hopefully get them to realize that they are the future of their country and so their attitudes are all very important. As a result of Charles McGee and other trailblazers like him, more than one million African-Americans served in World War II. He has a total of 409 aerial combat missions flown, which is the highest Air Force record. Today, the United States Armed Forces continues to strive for diversity by opening opportunities for more citizens to serve. By U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jerome Johnson

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During freshmen orientation in the fall, Michael Joyce 20met a lot of new friends but found it a pain to track down each persons manysocial media handles. So Joyce, along with Andrew Bernstein 20, created amobile application they call Bubble.

Launching at UTs Party in the Park on April 7, the Bubbleapp is a tool that allows users to connect to their friends social mediaaccounts seamlessly. In addition, users can create groups, called bubbles, andwhen those groups of people go out to a restaurant together, they can receiveup to 25 percent off their meal at places like Tampa Pizza Company and DailyEats.




UW College of Business Receives Accreditation

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International granted maintenance of accreditation to the UW College of Business for the next four years. AACSB accreditation is an important piece to consider when students apply to business schools. (UW Photo)

Abby Dommer says her University of Wyoming accounting classes were challenging, but she adds that the programs curriculum prepares students to succeed in the workplace.

Dommer, from Gillette, received her B.S. in accounting last May and is on track for her masters degree and CPA certification in 2018.

I chose to attend the University of Wyoming because I liked that UW was both affordable and recognized for its quality faculty and staff. I like that the programs within the College of Business are flexible and challenging, Dommer says. It was nice to be accepted into the college as a freshman, so I was able to explore my major options and still graduate within four years. The class sizes are small, so Ive really gotten to know my professors and appreciate their help in achieving my career goals.

Quality undergraduate and graduate programs lure students to the UW campus. And those are just two of the characteristics recently noted by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International in granting maintenance of accreditation to the UW College of Business for the next four years. The latest review occurred this past year.

For students exploring business school options, AACSB accreditation is an important piece to consider, says Professor Penne Ainsworth, UW Department of Accounting chair. Many employers look at which schools have this accreditation to ensure that the graduates they hire have earned a high-quality and up-to-date business education.

Dommer agrees.

My UW education will benefit me during my first job, because I know I will have the skills necessary to be an active problem-solver and critical thinker, Dommer says. I also feel confident in my ability to interact with my employer and colleagues in a professional and appropriate manner.

Of the more than 11,000 business schools worldwide, fewer than 5 percent receive accreditation from the AACSB. After a two-year continuous improvement review process conducted by a team of business school deans from around the nation, the UW College of Business was reaccredited by the AACSB, says Sanjay Putrevu, College of Business dean. AACSB-accredited business schools have the worlds highest-quality programs, teachers, research and students.

The AACSB accreditation continuous improvement review committee and its board of directors confirmed extension of accreditation in February, and commended the College of Business for its programs, faculty scholarship and excellent efforts to gather data on assurance of learning in a very short period of time, Putrevu says.

Owen Phillips, College of Business economics professor and director of assessment and faculty development, Ainsworth and Lindsay Kiefer, senior office assistant who coordinated the data collection, spearheaded the effort on behalf of the college.

Our faculty and staff continue to work tirelessly in developing assurance of learning measures that not only meet, but exceed the requirements of AACSB and, more importantly, ensure that our students receive the best possible training both within and outside the classroom, Putrevu says. We consider this one of our biggest points of pride. We have always known that UW College of Business students get a great education, but this accreditation provides a key external validation of the exceptional quality of our programs.

Kiefer adds that she works with the colleges professors to collect data about student outcomes throughout each semester.

We design rubrics that ensure that the learning outcomes for every class are exceeded, and the data proves that, she says.

Putrevu has been asked by the AACSB accreditation committee to help evaluate other business schools based on his extensive experience with the accreditation process.

For more information, call the College of Business Deans office at (307) 766-4194.
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MCC Hospitality Groups d.vino Italian Food & Wine Bar at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, along with sister restaurant Market City Caffe in Burbank, welcomes spring with the return of its eighth annual Artichoke Festival from March 14 through April 14 (Pictured: Artichoke and bacon arancini  Photo credit: Jerry Bacon).

MCC Hospitality Group has partnered with Ocean Mist Farms in Castroville, Calif. to bring guests eight unique interpretations of the hearty and healthy vegetable.

Known as one of the oldest foods, the artichoke dates back to Greek mythology and is packed with antioxidants making it a nourishing, yet tasty ingredient.

Executive Chef Martin Garcia has created menu options including:

Artichoke and spinach fondue with shallot-garlic cream, grana padano cheese, mozzarella cheese, baby spinach, white truffle oil, and toasted baguettes ($10)

Artichoke and bacon arancinis with applewood smoked bacon and mascarpone cheese, served with lemon artichoke aioli and crispy artichoke ($11)

Artichoke salad with marinated artichoke hearts, tuscan kale, heirloom baby tomatoes, red wine vinaigrette, carrots, toasted hazelnut, and a balsamic reduction ($12)

Artichoke pizza with mozzarella cheese, artichoke sauce, baby artichoke hearts, caramelized onions, and tomatoes ($13)

Grilled artichoke with shallots, parsley, basil and fresh garlic, and pomodoro sauce ($14)

Artichoke ravioli with ricotta, parmesan cheese, brown butter and sage sauce, drizzled age balsamic, and shaved artichoke heart ($14)

Artichoke farfalle pasta with braised artichoke hearts, shrimp sundried tomatoes, and trebbiano wine sauce ($19)

Artichoke and pan seared striped bass, served with sauteed spinach and finished with artichoke lemon white wine butter sauce ($23)


NASCAR fans can see their favorite drivers haulers make their way up the Las Vegas Strip beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, March 9, as the city and Las Vegas Motor Speedway kick off the 2017 NASCAR Weekend. The parade is a favorite among racing fans and will begin at the Las Vegas welcome sign on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Approximately 40 brightly colored 18-wheeled haulers will receive a police escort as they parade up the Strip before making their way to Interstate 15 via Sahara Boulevard to head north to LVMS. The event returns to Las Vegas after a one-year hiatus.

The haulers will proceed to Speedway Boulevard and make their way through the LVMS tunnel under turns 1 and 2 to their garage stalls outside the Neon Garage. A much-anticipated convoy, the hauler parade is a great way for NASCAR fans to get excited about the action-packed weekend that awaits them March 10-12.

The hauler parade is one of the unique events of our NASCAR Weekend, and were thrilled to be able to bring it back to Las Vegas for our fans, LVMS President Chris Powell said. Its quite a spectacle to see all of the haulers together, driving up one of the most famous streets in the world, and the parade serves notice to everyone in Las Vegas that NASCAR is in town. Were looking forward to a great 2017 NASCAR Weekend, and this is the perfect way to get it all started.

LVMS 2017 NASCAR Weekend begins with Stratosphere Pole Day on Friday, March 10, continues with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Boyd Gaming 300 on Saturday, March 11, and finishes with the 20th Kobalt 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, March 12. All children 12 and under get in free on Friday and Saturday with a ticketed adult and can attend the Kobalt 400 alongside a ticketed adult for just $10 on Sunday.
Foreign investment to rise in retail sector

According to a recent Economist Intelligence Unit study, foreign investors are showing a growing interest in the countrys retail sector. The sector grew 13 percent from 2012 to 2016 driven by a growing middle class, young demographic, and an increase in consumer spending. Clothing brands, supermarket chains, shopping center developers, and convenience store chains are already investing heavily in the sector. The retail market is expected to reach US$179 billion (VND 3,580 trillion) by 2020, according to the Industry and Trade Ministry.

Consumer spending at modern chains compared to traditional retail shops is expected to rise from the current 25 percent to 40 percent by 2020. Foreign convenience stores already hold a 70 percent market share in the country. Industry experts have cautioned the government that the growing presence of foreign retail chains can affect local production and domestic retailers. However, few experts have suggested that foreign retail chains will increase competition and efficiency of the domestic retailers, suppliers, and manufacturers. Foreign retailers will have to maintain competitive prices to retain customers and will not only provide foreign-made goods but also local goods if suppliers can provide the quality at competitive prices.

RELATED: Pre-Investment Advisory Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Online shoppers prefer overseas websites

According to a recent Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) report, Vietnamese online shoppers prefer overseas websites more than local sites. Shoppers believe that websites such as eBay and Amazon offer better product diversity, service quality, return policies, and quality products than local players. Unlike international companies, most Vietnamese e-commerce websites do not offer basic services such as free delivery or free return. The report also suggests local firms to invest more in activities such as consumer-focused market research.

The Vietnam E-Commerce and Information Technology Agency predicts 30 percent of the population to shop online by 2020. The agency functioning under the Ministry of Industry and Trade also forecasts revenue share of online retail in the retail sector to rise from 2.8 percent in 2015 to 5 percent by 2020. In 2015, Vietnams e-commerce market grew by 37 percent to US$4 billion (VND 90.93 trillion), almost 2.5 times that of Japan. In the next few years, local players will need to make changes to stay competitive in the countrys online market, predicted to be one the fastest growing e-commerce market in the world.

Vinalines to develop logistics center in Hanoi

The Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines), a state-owned enterprise, is planning to develop a logistics center in Hanoi in accordance with the governments 2020 development strategy. The center planned to be built at the Phu Dong Port in Gia Lam district will connect major seaports such as Haiphong, Dinh Vu and Lach Huyen through the Dinh Vu inland waterway system. Once built, the center will handle the norths transportation demand and help in reducing logistics costs and pollution.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is developing the logistic industry to cater to the regional and global markets and meet the growing domestic demand. By increasing the capacity and developing ports and waterways, the government expects the logistics industry to contribute 5 percent to the GDP and achieve a growth rate of 15 to 20 percent by 2020.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email vietnam@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. 

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country.



Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts.
By: Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Maxfield Brown

Following a general trend of convergence with Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) guidelines within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnam has introduced groundbreaking transfer pricing rules with significant implications for companies conducting related party transactions. Announced February 24, changes outlined under Decree No.20/2017/ND-CP are set to become effective May 1, replacing previously standing guidance stipulated in Circular No. 66/2010/TT-BTC.

Broadly speaking, transfer pricing (TP) rules focus on the monitoring and regulation of transactions between entities deemed to be related to one another, through the ownership of one company by the other. Often, TP regulations are used to prevent companies from utilizing inflated or deflated transaction costs as means of minimizing tax exposure.

For foreign companies choosing to incorporate subsidiaries in Vietnam, the many benefits that these corporate profiles afford often come with the added cost of exposure to TP regulation and compliance. However, with a firm understanding of regulations, it will be possible to understand the law and to ensure compliance effectively.

Given the rapidly changing nature of transfer pricing regulation in Vietnam, it is of utmost importance that investors employ stringent monitoring of Vietnamese legislation and direct questions to the Ministry of Finance or professional service firms operating within the country.

RELATED: Transfer Pricing Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Related party transactions defined

Pursuant to Article 5.1(a) and (b) of the soon to be implemented transfer pricing decree, company transactions will subject to TP compliance if they are conducted with parties that the company in question participates in the control of, or is controlled by.

Article 5.2 of the decree stipulates that any of the following is to constitute a form of control and thus may be used as a means of tagging transactions between entities for TP reporting and compliance:

Ownership of at least 25 percent of a companys charter capital by the other company*

Both companies own at least 25 percent of the charter capital in a third company

Both companies have at least 50 percent

Ownership of the largest block of charter capital and, directly or indirectly, at least 10 percent of the total shares of the enterprise

Companies controlled by the same parent company

Operations controlled by the same family or extended family

*Note: the ownership threshold has been increased under Decree 20 from its previous rate of 25 percent.

TP compliance: understanding requisite documentation

When transactions of a company have been conducted with parties that meet any of the requirements outlined above, the company will be required to undergo a heightened degree of scrutiny, prescribed under Decree 20, to ascertain if their transactions are in fact being conducted in a manner consistent with prevailing market pricing. While Vietnam has lagged in TP monitoring and enforcement in the past, the increasing emphasis on transfer pricing issues, evidenced by prioritization and rapid passage of Decree 20 in 2017, makes the likelihood of enforcement a significant possibility in the near future.

Pursuant to article 10.3 of decree 20, companies will be required to submit information related to all related entities operating within the country as part of annual compliance. In addition to this, and in accordance with BEPS guidelines recommended by the OECD under Action 13: Guidance on Implementation of Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country Reporting, Vietnam has implemented a three-tired system of reporting for those conducting transactions with related entities. Outlined in the appendices of Decree 20, all of which are to be further defined by the Ministry of Finance, companies will be required to maintain information in the following areas:

A national profile containing material transactions of the local taxpayer (Appendix 2)

A profile of the global corporation containing standardized information for all members of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) (Appendix 3)

A country-by-country report containing information relating to the global assets and transactions of the MNE (Appendix 4)

Filing deadlines: All documentation should be completed and submitted before submission of a companys annual tax return.

Note: Decree 20 diverges from previous TP regulation employed in Vietnam in the depth of information that is required as part of the compliance process. For example, companies complying with TP reporting requirements stipulated in Appendix 1 will find that requirements to segment profits and losses by related party transactions to be a significant departure from previous guidance.

TP compliance: qualifying for exemptions

While the majority of companies will be required to comply with TP reporting requirements in the event that their transactions are with entities deemed to be related, any of the following circumstances outlined under Article 11 will allow companies to claim exemption from providing information required in appendix 1:

When total revenue in a tax period is below VND 50 billion and related party transactions are below VND 30 billion.

When the company in question has signed an agreement predetermining the method of determining related party transaction values

When total revenue is below VND 200 billion and the company and achieves industry specific profit margin targets assigned as follows: distribution (5 percent), production (10 percent), processing (15 percent).

Methods for calculating fair market transaction value

One of the most contentious issues between TP regulators and companies alike relates to the calculation of a transactions prevailing market value. While methods of calculation can differ and may require added company compliance, sourcing of information for these calculations is often the area where companies and governments can find themselves at true odds. For companies, the lack of transparent access to government sourcing of transaction data can present a degree of uncertainty that is difficult to mitigate. Furthermore, without a clear picture of government sourcing, it can become difficult accurately respond to government inquiries effectively. To this end, Decree 20 provides the following guidance on the sourcing of information related to TP issues.

Permitted sourcing for companys fair market pricing

Outlined in Article 9.1, Decree 20 sets out the following list of sourcing options that companies may use to determine the prevailing value of their transactions:

Commercial databases organized by business information providers

Information that is publically available on the stock market

Information that is publically available on commodities exchanges

Information that is publically available through government databases

Permitted sourcing utilized by officials in TP investigations

Pursuant to Article 9.2 of Decree 20, government bodies are permitted to utilize the following pricing databases when evaluating a companys adherence to fair market pricing:

All sources available to companies (listed above)

Data provided by partner tax agencies

Database of the Vietnams Tax Agency

Unfortunately, Vietnams ability to utilize proprietary data to review transactions makes it difficult to assess the risk of being flagged or to determine the best way to manage an ensuing TP investigation. While there have been rumors that the Vietnamese government may soon engage a commercial database to evaluate fair market pricing and relations between entities, this remains to be seen. At present, the best way to manage TP risk in Vietnam is closely monitor ongoing developments within the Ministry of Finance and to ensure that all transactions are recorded in a manner consistent with prevailing reporting requirements.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email vietnam@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. 

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country.



Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts.
Boeing's mid-range 737 MAX 10X plane would rival the Airbus A321neo. (AFP/Jason Redmond)

The new plane, known as the 737 MAX 10X, would offer more range to Boeing's current fleet of single-aisle jets, rivalling the Airbus A321neo, which will carry up to 240 passengers.

Such planes are popular with budget airlines that comprise a key market for both aircraft manufacturers. They are built for cross-country routes, such as New York to Los Angeles.

"Boeing is actively engaged in discussions with customers about the 737 MAX 10X," Boeing's Randy Tinseth said in a company blog post. "In fact, weve already extended business offers to some of those customers."

The new Boeing plane is expected to enter service in 2020, said Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing's commercial division.

That would make it one year after the Airbus plane, which has racked up numerous orders since it was unveiled in late 2014.

Tinseth, who described the development plan at an industry event in California, called the build out a "relatively minor development" programme.
Lucien Blanchard, general manager of Hanoi French Hospital

Before working as general manager of Hanoi French Hospital (HFH), you worked as a hotel manager. What aroused your interest in HFH? What are the differences between the concepts of hospital management and hotel management?

I spent over 30 years in the hotel industry and 17 years in Asia. I arrived in Vietnam in 1997 and started running a newly-built hotel in Hanoi as its general manager. At that time HFH and my hotel had a corporate contract to provide accommodation to French doctors who came to work for the hospital. One of the first customers was the future owner of HFH.

In 2002, I was proposed by this gentleman to join HFH as general manager. One of the first strategies I decided to apply to HFH was the employment of the hotel-hospital integration concept.

The differences between customers differentiate the corporate business management. Customers coming to hotels (the guests) go on their own volition, while those going to hospitals (majorly patients) must do so due to health conditions or accidents.

However, in terms of management concept, there is a common objective for the hotel and hospital industries. That is, both need to set out a vision and values to satisfy and delight customers.

Vietnam is home to many prestigious hospitals. Which factors elevated HFH over competitors, to be recognised as one of the leading integrated healthcare providers in the North.

Thanks to the Boutique hotel-hospital integration concept, our hospital has been set up in the hotel style to bring a cosy atmosphere to our customers/patients.

In addition, several of our associates have experience in working with hotels in positions like Customer Services Manager, Hotel Services Manager, and Financial Controller (capitals needed?). They help the hospital to provide services similar to ones in the hotel industry: central reservation, housekeeping services, and food delivery.

We have been working closely with the Vietnam National Institute for Productivity and one of the cooperation programmes between us was piloting the Lean 6 Sigma (LSS), which has brought about excellent results: it reduced waiting times, shortened/simplified procedures, and eliminated most waste. As a result, we were granted the EXCELLENCE AWARD for the most Improved Local Hospital by the ASIAN Hospital Management Awards.

Lean 6 Sigma is currently the most advanced quality management and improvement method in the world. Therefore, we plan to keep it in our core business activities. Besides, we are also applying several other tools, like the Pareto principle, Ishikawa diagram, etc.

Amid the growing competitiveness, do you have any plans for implementing a new hospital management concept? What investment plans does HFH have to strengthen its position in Vietnam?

We are implementing our project to renovate and expand HFH. Our new hospital will triple in scale, with 170 beds and 20 daycare beds, when the new facility starts operation in early 2019.

We are going to make large investments to purchase state-of-the-art equipment and we strongly believe that our hospital will become one of the most high-tech and elegant healthcare facilities in Vietnam.

In addition, we are now establishing a bank of talent, setting up a programme for employee development.

Besides, we have been observing the development of the healthcare sector in several countries in the region, such as Singapore and Thailand. Their benchmarks are what we are striving for to further promote our brand name. In my opinion, competition is always healthy. Where competition exists, the quality will be improved. Therefore, to strengthen our position and meet customers demands, there is no other way but to continuously improve our service quality.

Having been working in Vietnam for so long, what is your most unforgettable memory at HFH?

The pandemonium of the SARS outbreak, without a doubt. I started working in HFH in September 2002 and the SARS came just five months after my arrival. It was a difficult period for me, for the management, and for all associates. At the time, hardly any customers came to the hospital for examination, they were even scared of passing by the building. The hospital was completely isolated. We then had to decide to close down for six months. I was really impressed by the efforts of every individual working for HFH, by the collective solidarity shown by our colleagues. All associates stood together to fight against SARS and we were able to reopen HFH within six months, in August 2003. That was a defining event for the development of the hospital, I suppose.
Theresa May had hoped the Brexit bill would pass through Britain's parliament. (AFP/Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS)

Peers voted by 366 to 268 to amend the bill empowering May to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, the formal notification of Brexit which she has promised to issue by the end of March.

She remains confident she will meet that deadline, but the defeat is a setback - as well as a taster of the trouble she could face from lawmakers as she embarks on complex EU negotiations.

The amendment would give parliament the power to reject the final Brexit deal agreed with the EU - a move critics said was akin to a "veto" which would damage the government's negotiating hand.

Lawmakers would still be constrained by the strict Article 50 timetable, which means Britain will leave the EU after two years whether it has a deal or not.

The defeat comes after the Lords voted last week to include in the bill guarantees for more than three million European citizens living in Britain after Brexit.

Brexit minister David Davis said the result was disappointing", and accused some in the Lords of seeking to "frustrate" the process of leaving the EU.

"It is the government's intention to ensure that does not happen. We will now aim to overturn these amendments in the House of Commons," he said.

The bill is expected to return on Mar 13 to the elected lower chamber, where May's Conservatives have a slim majority.

With an eye on future parliamentary battles ahead, some Conservatives are urging a snap election to bolster May's support among MPs.

"The government could face many close votes, concessions or defeats as it tries to implement Brexit," former leader William Hague wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

However, changing the law to bring the election forward from 2020 would not be easy, and for now Downing Street is publicly ruling it out.

INCENTIVE FOR A BAD DEAL

May had urged the Lords not to amend the two-clause bill, saying it was designed only to implement the June referendum vote for Brexit.

She had agreed to let parliament vote on the final terms of the divorce, including any new trade deal to compensate for Britain leaving Europe's single market.

But this vote would only occur if May accepted the agreement on offer, and she has warned she would rather walk away with nothing than accept a bad deal.

Opponents fear this scenario would cause chaos, as all trade deals and contracts between Britain and its 27 former EU partners would become void overnight.

The amendment says only parliament can make that call.

Former Conservative minister Michael Heseltine was among 13 Tory rebels who backed the motion, put by the opposition Labour party. He warned the future was highly uncertain and lawmakers could not give the government a blank cheque.

"I must make clear that in accepting the mandate to negotiate our withdrawal from the European Union, I do not accept that the mandate runs for all time and in all circumstances," he said.

But another Tory grandee, Nigel Lawson, said the amendment would allow parliament to "prevent Brexit altogether by refusing to allow the UK to leave the EU without agreement".

FRESH REFERENDUM REJECTED

Last week's amendment on EU nationals dashed May's hopes of securing approval for the bill this week, ahead of an EU summit starting on Thursday.

While she should be able to overturn it in the Commons, reports suggest she could face a rebellion of up to 20 of her Tory MPs on the amendment on a final vote.

Among them is former minister Anna Soubry, who warned: "If we are faced with a potentially catastrophic 'falling off a cliff', the least we can do is provide a parliamentary safety net."

The government had one success on Tuesday, when an amendment on holding another referendum on the final Brexit deal was defeated by 336 votes to 131.

The pro-European Liberal Democrats responded by putting forward a motion to kill the bill entirely, but it was defeated and the legislation moved to the Commons late Tuesday without further change.
The Affordable Care Act - popularly known as Obamacare - has allowed millions of uninsured people to get health insurance. (AFP/Joe Raedle)

Several far-right lawmakers said the Republican plan abandons conservative fiscal principles by maintaining government subsidies of the Affordable Care Act, but under the guise of "refundable tax credits" for people to purchase their own health insurance.

"This is Obamacare Lite, it will not pass. Conservatives are not going to take it," fumed Senator Rand Paul on Fox News.

Other Republicans described the bill - the result of seven years of effort - as a missed opportunity, even a step in the wrong direction.

"We don't know how many people would use this new tax credit, we don't know how much it will cost, and we don't know if this bill will make health care more affordable for Americans," Senator Mike Lee said in a statement.

Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

But if enough Republicans defect, particularly in the Senate, where they hold a narrow 52-48 majority, the highly anticipated repeal-and-replace plan could collapse.

Pressure from outside Congress swelled quickly on Tuesday, with several conservative think tanks and lobbying groups opposing the plan.

The pro-free-market Club for Growth labelled the plan "Ryancare," after House Speaker Paul Ryan, and said it was a "warmed-over substitute for government-run healthcare."

With temperatures rising in Congress, Trump hosted more than 20 House Republicans at the White House, where he said he is "proud to support the replacement plan."

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence was dispatched to the US Capitol to huddle with Senate Republicans in a show of support for the legislation that was crafted by House Republican leadership.

Pence said afterwards that the bill remained "open to improvement" through the legislative process.

That debate is proceeding apace "and will continue to be vigorous," said Senator Ted Cruz, who told reporters he had "a number of concerns" with the House legislation.

The bill has come in for criticism from more moderate factions too, including four Republican senators whose states expanded the low-income Medicaid programme through Obamacare.

Those states' Republican governors are concerned that the planned phaseout of the expansion under the new bill would leave thousands of their residents without coverage.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told reporters at the White House that "it's the beginning of the process," and that extensive negotiations were ahead.

The legislation gets its first official review in Congress on Wednesday, when two House committees debate and possibly amend the bill.

The goal, top Republicans said, is a swift debate and adoption of the Obamacare substitute prior to the upcoming Easter break that begins Apr 8.
Russia hits back at claims of "sponsoring terrorism" in war-torn eastern Ukraine, dismissing Kiev's accusations it is breaking treaties by supporting pro-Moscow rebels as "neither factual nor legal". (Photo: AFP/Bas Czerwinski)

"The Russian Federation complies fully with its obligations under (the) treaties that are now relied upon by Ukraine," to bring a case before the UN's top International Court of Justice, Moscow's representative said.

"We see neither a legal nor factual basis" for the measures asked for by Ukraine, Roman Kolodkin, legal director at Russia's foreign ministry, told the court in The Hague.

Ukraine on Monday urged the ICJ to order emergency measures to bring stability to its eastern regions. It said its claim against Moscow was based on the international convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism and the convention of elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.

But Kolodkin said these were issues "clearly beyond the court's jurisdiction."

Nearly three years of conflict have claimed about 10,000 lives in eastern Ukraine - and led to Russia's seizure of Ukraine's southern peninsula of Crimea in 2014 - pushing ties between Moscow and the West to their lowest point since the Cold War.

Ukraine lodged its case at the ICJ in mid-January, saying it had protested for several years against Moscow's alleged financing of pro-Russian separatist rebels battling Ukrainian government forces.

Kiev has asked the court - which rules in disputes between countries - to order Moscow to stop funnelling money, arms and people into eastern Ukraine.

'MISLEADING THE COURT'

But Ilya Rogachev, another Russian representative, told the 16 judges hearing the case that Kiev "is misleading the court."

Ukraine "is involved in an armed conflict being waged by its authorities and its armed forces including irregular battalions against the people of the eastern Ukraine," Rogachev said. "Stigmatising those as terrorists and sponsors of terrorism could have serious consequences" in future peace talks, he warned.

"Ukraine's own evidence, which shows that it is at least equally engaged in indiscriminate shelling, places a very important question mark next to the characterisation that Ukraine alone places on these acts as acts of terrorism," added one of Russia's lawyers, Samuel Wordsworth.

Ukraine also accuses Moscow of discriminating against non-Russian minorities in Crimea. But Russia's representatives said they "disagreed" with Kiev's claims, including that Crimea was part of Ukraine.

"The people of Crimea were not consulted" when the peninsula was handed to Ukraine in 1954, at a time when both Moscow and Kiev were part of the Soviet Union, while "the majority of its people wants to be part of the Russian Federation," Rogachev said.

FRUITLESS TALKS

Ukraine now wants the Kremlin to pay compensation to civilians caught up in the conflict, including the victims of Malaysia Airways flight MH17, shot down in 2014 over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board.

Russia's representatives said the country was cooperating in an ongoing investigation into the fate of MH17.

But it "expressed disagreement" with the findings of the Dutch Safety Board and a joint international investigation team, which said the plane was struck by a Russian-made BUK missile fired from rebel-held territory.

A small group of victims' relatives gathered outside the scenic Peace Palace in The Hague where the ICJ is housed, waving placards saying "Justice for MH17."

"There is still no justice and not one country is taking responsibility for what happened," said Thomas Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son Quinn in the disaster. "We have been waiting for almost three years now," he told AFP.

Rare talks between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the last month proved "fruitless", the Ukrainian presidency has said.

The hearings come after a surge in the violence which killed 35 people in early February, centred around the government-held town of Avdiivka near the rebel bastion of Donetsk.

The ICJ was set up in 1945. While UN member nations are bound to abide by the tribunal's decisions, the court's ruling is unlikely to have much concrete effect on the ground, experts said.
The Bangkok Post quoted a statement from SCG as saying that the enterprise value (EV) of this transaction was $440 million, including a net debt and additional investment to improve the efficiency of the acquired assets.

VCM has a capacity of 3.1 million tonnes a year. According to SCG, the plant has the potential to be more efficient. After the transaction, the total cement production capacity of SCG in the ASEAN, would be 33.5 million tonnes a year, with its Thai capacity at 23 million tonnes a year.

VCM was established in 2008 by international conglomerate Kusto. It produces cement bearing the brand STARCEMT, STARMAX, and STARPRO, and exports clinkers to Bangladesh, Malaysia, and the Philippines. As of July 2016, it was employing over 300 workers.

Earlier, on February 28, SCGs compatriot Siam City Cement finished the purchase of LafargeHolcims 65 per cent stake in cement producer LafargeHolcim Vietnam, becoming the new strategic foreign shareholder in the company, while state-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) holds the other 35 per cent.
Kong is King in Kong: Skull Island, which was filmed in some of the most remote parts of Vietnam (Photo: Warner Bros)

LOS ANGELES: What is King Kong doing in Vietnam? Everything it seems, according to Kong: Skull Island, the newly minted addition to the recently rebooted and hugely popular monster movie franchise.

A massive pop culture icon since his first cinematic appearance back in 1933, King Kong has inspired countless sequels, remakes, spin-offs, books, video games and even theme park attractions.

However, not until now has there been a Kong film set almost entirely on his mythical home of Skull Island (Peter Jacksons 2005 King Kong only took audiences briefly to the island before transporting him to New York City).

In this film, audiences are plunged into the waning days of the Vietnam War and sent on a discovery expedition - alongside a cast of Hollywood A-listers such as Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman, Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson - to a mysterious island inhabited by the titular Kong.

To fully immerse audiences in Skull Island and bring Kongs homeland to cinematic life, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts told Channel NewsAsia that it was incredibly important to try to shoot as much of the movie in real locations.



Tom Hiddleston (centre) and Brie Larson (second from left) star in Kong: Skull Island which

was shot on location in Vietnam, Australia and Hawaii. (Photo: Warner Bros)

To capture the films primordial landscapes, Vogt-Roberts and his cast and crew filmed in places such as Hawaii, Australia and Vietnam over a period of approximately six months. Visually it has paid off, setting Kong: Skull Island apart from its predecessors and the rest of the Kong oeuvre.

For the director, filming in Vietnam stood out.

I scoured the world. I very specifically didnt want (the film) to look like Jurassic Park ... I wanted it to look fresh, he explained. I think audiences go to cinemas to see new things. So I went to a lot of places in Asia. People have shot in Thailand before and it seemed like an easy fit but I was like, No! so we kept going around. And then I landed in Vietnam, looked at these landscapes and just fell in love.

VIETNAM IS "GORGEOUS AND OTHERWORLDLY"

According to Vogt-Roberts, Vietnam provided the perfect aesthetic for the film.

The look of Vietnam is gorgeous and otherworldly at the same time, he said. Theres such a raw, powerful and unspoiled beauty that general audiences hadn't experienced on screen before. Theres a ruggedness and a beauty to a place like Vietnam.

Even though it has been chosen as a Hollywood film location before, this was the first time Vietnam has hosted a film production of this size, scale and magnitude. The entire cast and 120 crew members of Kong: Skull Island were all on site in February last year, shooting in Quang Binh's colossal caves and the tranquil town of Phong Nha, as well as the world-renowned Ha Long Bay and the northern province of Ninh Binh.

Known for their untouched spectacular scenery and wondrous natural structures, these are some of the most remote and beautiful parts of Vietnam that have not been seen much in a Hollywood film.

Thats the reason why we shot there, because youre trying to find something that is completely untouched and looks unlike anything youve seen before. And Vietnam is the answer to that, said actress Brie Larson.

You can see it in the film. People will have to go visit it. I cannot say enough nice things about Vietnam. It was my first trip there and it will certainly not be my last. Hanoi was absolutely incredible  and Ninh Binh was also beautiful. I tell everyone who wants to go there that (Hanoi) is such a great place to start because theres so much to do and so much to see.

Larson, who had to fly directly from Vietnam to the Academy Awards to receive her Best Actress Oscar and then back to resume filming of Kong the morning after, told Channel NewsAsia that the experience was all about the little things.

They built our trailers from the ground up! They took what I think were old school buses, gutted them completely and put in plumbing and couches. It was amazing! she recalled. The craftsmanship on those things was amazing. It was just little things. I think they even built roads for our trucks to get to these location because we were so remote.

Veteran actor John Goodman told Channel NewsAsia that it was a pleasure to run around the streets of Hanoi trying to get lost and finding his way back.

They said we were the first western film to film there, and they were very accommodating to us, he said. And they wanted us to feel welcomed and they most certainly did that.

In and out of the countryside, you see some rice farmers, some buffalos, things that I never thought Id see. Water, caves, it was just beautiful.

"I'VE NEVER SEEN LANDSCAPES LIKE THAT BEFORE"

All that said, filming in Vietnam was not without its own challenges.

Because of its remoteness, actor Samuel L Jackson shared that travelling from where they were living to the actual location took up to two hours on some days.

Some days, we had to get in canoes with little ladies who rode us through the mountains and caves, he said with a smile. But that was kind of fun!

For Tom Hiddleston, it was filming one particularly tough swamp sequence.

Theres a swamp that we ran through every day for 10 days which was incredibly cold! And for continuity, we had to get the same amount of 'wet' for every one of the 10 days, he recalled.

But overall, the Brit actor found working in Vietnam nothing short of amazing and a privilege. And that is because the people were so welcoming and warm, he said.

The topography of where we were  Ive never seen landscapes like that before, he continued. Its our job as actors to imagine were living in this desert island and undiscovered wilderness untouched by man. And the fact that were in these swamps, out of which arises these towers of rock, makes at least that part of the imagination easier.

Now all you have to do is put the 100-foot gorilla in there, he continued with a laugh.

Vogt-Roberts is hopeful that the film will encourage more people to visit Vietnam, although he said he is mindful of both the advantages and pitfalls.

Hopefully tourism grows properly. You can look at what happened in Thailand after The Beach (starring Leonardo DiCaprio); theres definitely a way that it could go wrong, he shared.

But its such a beautiful part of the world. I find that people on that side of the world have that general graciousness that we lack here (in the US). And so I sincerely believe that our film will have a positive impact on tourism, filming, and a general understanding of how stunning and beautiful the country is.



A photo of the Kong: Skull Island film set in Quang Binh, Vietnam

(Photo: @voteroberts/Instagram)

Which is why, for all the challenges that filming in Vietnam presented, Vogt-Roberts wanted both his actors and the audience to feel the tactile nature of the environment.

He hopes that people will walk out of Kong: Skull Island wanting to discover Vietnam for themselves. I hope that people will look at this movie the same way they looked at Lord Of The Rings, Middle Earth and New Zealand and ask Where did they shoot that? he said.

I hope they go and explore Vietnam, fall in love with the landscapes, the people, the culture and the food. I hope they explore the rest of Asia as well, because I dont think a lot of people think to go to these places as much. I want them to fall in love the way that I did.
Charles Taney III, center, a descendant of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, offers an apology to Lynne Jackson, right, great-great- granddaughter of Dred Scott. On left, is Charles Taneys daughter Kate Taney-Billingsley.
Thailands seafood industry has supplied the global market with about $7 billion dollars annually. Half of that is shrimp products destined for supermarkets in the US, Europe, and Japan.

The shrimp industry needs lots of manpower and has absorbed it from neighboring countries, including Cambodia, because Thai workers do not want to do the arduous work, according to a 2013 report by the Environmental Justice Foundation.

Investigations by the Associated Press and the Guardian, as well as annual reports by the US State Department, have revealed the human rights abuses in the Thai shrimp industry.

A few years before the reports were published, Phan Sophea, who had just graduated from a high school in Battambang province, thought that working in Thailand was an opportunity to lift his family out of poverty.

Sophea left home for the first time in 2010 with several other migrant workers to work for Phatthana Seafood in Thailands southern Songkhla province.

I decided to go because I could not find another job, Sophea told VOA Khmer by phone. I hoped working in Thailand would earn me enough money to help my family and at the time, my mother was also sick. Therefore, I quit school to go to Thailand.

Arriving with Sophea were Sem Kosal and his wife, Sopeah Bun. All were from Battambang province. They were recruited by CDM, a recruitment agency, with promises of a $300 monthly salary.

They told us that we would be paid from $220 up to $300, but when we got there it was not like what they said, said Kosal. They also promised us that our lodging would be equipped with mattresses, beds, and electricity, and it would be free. But they charged us for a place to sleep that was not even decent. It was simply on the concrete floor similar to a pigsty.

When it rained, the roof leaked, recalled Sophea. When we slept, insects came out everywhere. One day I woke up to see a millipede sleeping on my eyelid. I was terrified. I never had such a bad experience before.

They had to work hard and sometimes were forced to work overtime against their will.

They returned home in 2012 with deteriorating health and high debts on a loan they took out to prepare travel documents before their departure for Thailand.

Seven victims including Sophea, Kosal, and Bun, filed a complaint to a US federal court in California in June against Phatthana Seafood and S.S. Frozen, which supplied shrimp products to U.S. distributors Wales & Co. Universe Ltd. and Rubicon Resources LLC.

The civil lawsuit accuses the US and Thai firms of knowingly profiting from the villagers working conditions and violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a US law aimed at preventing human trafficking.

The defense has argued that the case has already been amicably resolved.

All disputes over pay, working conditions, accommodations, and other labor-related matters that arose during the time period that the plaintiffs worked in a facility of defendant Phatthana Seafood Co., Ltd. were completely resolved in 2012 with the cooperation and oversight of the Thai and Cambodian governments, the companies lawyers wrote in a statement in December.

The statement added that any injury or damage alleged in the complaint was not caused by their clients.

Sorphea tells a different story. He recalls seeing representatives from Cambodian embassy coming to the protests, but there was no resolution.

They tried to talk us into working there and ending the protest, said Sophea. But there was no solution. We still got paid 197 baht a day [about $5.50]. At the end of the month we had nothing left.

An opposition lawmaker, Mu Sochua, deputy president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, said that Cambodian officials ability to provide support is still limited, especially when it comes to an international conflict.

The problem we face is the lack of legal services to help our workers, she said. Sometimes its merely a language issue to look for a lawyer and the competency of staff at our embassy is very limited to challenge Thai or international laws.

Sochua supports the Cambodian workers in resorting to international mechanisms.

I believe that this is wonderful and must be encouraged, she said. Frankly, the government should try their utmost to pay for the legal fees to at least set an example for our laborers who dare file a complaint when they fall victims of such an exploitation.

Phatthana Seafood and S.S. Frozen admitted that six of the defendants were employed during the period, according to documents posted on the court website.

Wales & Co. Universe Ltd. and Rubicon Resources LLC., denied any knowledge or involvement in the case.

It doesnt matter if the defendants do not recognize me, I will still provide my answer accordingly, said Sok Sang, the defendant whom the companies deny was their employee. They forced us to work hard and didnt pay us as the labor agreement says.

Sang said he has fallen deeper into debt since returning from Thailand.

I cannot earn much for a living since I went to Thailand last time, he said. Im in debt for $4,000 or $5,000 dollars now.
Workers demanding better conditions and benefits have destroyed the production line of a Chinese-owned factory making clothes for Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz, in one of the most violent labor disputes in Myanmar in years.

The month-old dispute, which also saw managers attacked, highlights the need for Aung San Suu Kyi's government to enact social and labor reforms, analysts say, while at the same time reassuring investors looking to tap the opening of one of the world's fastest growing economies after decades of isolation.

Production at Hangzhou Hundred-Tex Garment (Myanmar) Company, which was one of H&M's 40 suppliers in Myanmar, has been halted since Feb. 9, workers and managers in the Chinese company said.

"H&M group is deeply concerned about the recent conflict and our business relationship with this factory is on hold at the moment," the Swedish-based company said in a statement. It declined to elaborate on the impact on its global supply chain.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and are in close dialogue with concerned parties. We strongly distance ourselves from all kind of violence."

Labor activists say the protest in the commercial hub Yangon - in which equipment, buildings and vehicles were damaged - shows the lack of protection for workers in the labor-intensive textile industry.

The dispute started with a strike in late January following the sacking of a local labor union leader, according to workers and managers. Workers demanded a better performance review system and healthcare coverage.

It turned violent on Feb. 9, prompting the factory's closure. Video footage seen by Reuters shows dozens of female workers surrounding and beating a Chinese manager who was struggling to escape. One company manager and a local labor department official confirmed the authenticity of the footage.

In late February hundreds of workers stormed the factory and damaged facilities including textile machinery, computers and surveillance cameras.

"The tension between workers and management was getting bigger day-by-day," said the company's former union leader That Paing Oo, who was fired in January for taking leave without approval.

He had led a labor protest late last year that successfully pushed Hangzhou Hundred-Tex Garment to compensate employees who did not receive overtime pay, several workers said. The company confirmed that it had paid a delayed overtime payment of 70 million kyat ($51,736) to almost all of its 570 workers based on a settlement reached with the workers in December.

The Chinese embassy in Myanmar described the incident as an "attack" and has filed a "serious request" to Myanmar government to hold those involved accountable.

No one was arrested in the late February violence, police said. Workers' representatives are still negotiating with management over conditions once the factory is able to re-open.

The Chinese company makes garments such as skirts and shirts exclusively for H&M, its assistant manager San Htwe told Reuters. He said the damage would cost around $75,000, and the company was planning to demand compensation from Myanmar's Labour Department.

The conflict is troublesome for H&M, which is widely seen as being at the forefront among large apparel companies in promoting workers' rights and fair wages.

H&M has called on governments in sourcing countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh to ensure fair pay for workers. It has said it cannot unilaterally require individual suppliers raise wages as it generally shares them with other brands, although according to the owner that is not the case with the factory in this dispute.

H&M, which sources the bulk of its clothes in Asian low-cost countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar, generally ranks high in sustainability indexes such as the Corporate Knights magazine's Global 100 index, where in 2016 it ranked 20th, lagging only Adidas in its sector.

Catching up

Myanmar's fast-growing textile industry, which employs more than 300,000 workers, has become attractive to global apparel brands such as H&M and U.S. retailer Gap Inc following the easing of economic sanctions by the United States and the European Union.

A minimum monthly wage of around $63, based on a six-day work week, gives Myanmar a competitive advantage over neighboring garment producing hubs such as Vietnam and Cambodia, where the monthly minimum wage ranges from $90 to $145, according to the International Labor Organization.

But labor activists and industry analysts say Suu Kyi's government, in office for almost a year, has to do more to ensure safety for workers as well as investment stability for employers in a country where strikes and protests are not uncommon.

"Industrial relations are still only a few years old in the Myanmar garment industry, and effective cooperative structures are still being developed," said Jacob Clere, who works on a European Union-funded project to improve Myanmar's garment industry.

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, which was involved in mediation between workers and employers of Hangzhou Hundred-Tex Garment, said it was looking to amend laws to improve the legal framework for disputes.

Maung Maung Lay, vice president of Myanmar's Chamber of Commerce, said investors needed to be patient.

"Being a latecomer, there's a leap forward for Myanmar to catch up in terms of international labor laws," he said. "Rome wasn't built in a day."

($1 = 1,353.00 kyat)
The number of qualified female candidates able to run in the forthcoming commune elections in June remains low, politicians from both sides of the aisle have said.

Sok Eysan, a ruling Cambodian Peoples Party spokesman, said in the last local election one in five ruling party candidates were women, adding that the party is taking steps to increase female political participation.

We try to [have] as many women as possible, but we need to ensure their qualifications too, he said.

Mu Sochua, the deputy president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, said the party had doubled the number of women candidates it could field compared with the 2012 elections.

She said that, unlike their male counterparts, Cambodian women still find themselves bound to the home and family life.

Our women candidates are supposed to clearly understand the situation of the local area, have good communication and be a knowledgeable person, she said.

Women in leading positions could better help women who are the victims of domestic violence and solve the problems that women are facing.

Sam Inn, a representative of the newly established Grassroots Democracy Party, said a quarter of the partys 400 candidates would be women.

We could only have 25 percent female candidates. We couldnt make it up to 50% yet as the number of outstanding women candidates is still limited.

Seng Reasey, a womens rights worker at local NGO Silaka, said that despite women making up roughly half the population, they remain under-represented in decision-making processes.

Only 17 percent of women are represented at the sub-national level and 20 percent at national level, she said.

She dismissed claims that women are not qualified for the jobs.

Have they ever seen the responsibility women have? Have they ever given enough opportunities to women? Have they ever created a situation for women to take the lead?
The European Union is warning it could start taking action against member states if they continue to refuse to participate in the blocs refugee relocation plan. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, only two countries, Finland and Malta, have met their obligations under the program while tens of thousands of refugees remain stranded in southern European states.
Rights activists and groups are welcoming a Thai government decision to drop legal cases against three rights activists who authored a report last year accusing Thai security forces of abuse and torture in restive southern Thai provinces.



In early 2016, rights lawyers Somchai Homlaor, Pornpen Khongkachonkie, and Anchana Heemmina, published a report citing 54 cases of alleged torture and mistreatment of prisoners in military custody.



Three majority Muslim Malay provinces have been the center of a 12-year insurgency that has claimed more than 6,000 lives with little progress in efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement.



Following the report's public release, Thai Internal Security Operations Command officials filed a criminal complaint against the activists, accusing them of defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.They faced prison sentences of up to five years and fines of $2,800.



The decision to drop the charges Tuesday followed negotiations and agreement by the activists to present future evidence to the ISOC before releasing any report.



Angkhana Neelapaichit, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, said once any allegations are raised, the ISOC should take steps to investigate.



"For myself, the National Human Rights Commission [and] my mandate covering human rights defenders [I] seriously don't agree the government should try to threaten the human rights defenders," Angkhana told VOA.



"If ISOC [does] not agree with the report they can investigate themselves and say to the public, but for the human rights defenders the government has to respect the work of the human rights defenders," she said.



The New York-based Human Rights Watch said Wednesday the decision "should be the first step toward ending government intimidation, censorship, and retaliation against human rights defenders in Thailand".



Brad Adams, HRW Asia director, said the decision would be "quickly forgotten if the military continues to interfere with rights monitoring in Thailand's southern border provinces".



Defamation laws used against activists



Amnesty International's deputy director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Josef Benedict, also welcomed the decision.



But Benedict said the case was emblematic of how criminal defamation provisions and other repressive laws have been used to target activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and other members of Thailand's civil society "as part of a systematic crackdown on government critics".



Thai rights lawyer, Sirikan Charoensiri, who is defending anti-government protesters, has faced harassment by authorities.Sirikan is facing a possible 15-year prison sentence on charges of treason and violating a ban on "political assembly" of five or more persons.



U.N. Human Rights Office representative Laurent Meillan added his support, saying the government should be encouraged "to take additional steps to strengthen measures to protect activists carrying out human rights reporting and monitoring".



Thai government sources told VOA the decision by the military to drop the charges was based on an agreement of Internal Security Operations staff to consult with the rights activists over alleged breaches of rights in the southern border provinces.



Somchai Homalor, who was unavailable for comment for VOA, told local media he had agreed to submit future reports to "verify the facts before releasing details to the public and to work more closely with the security officials".



An ISOC spokesman, Shinawat Maendech, said the agreement was "not an attempt to censor such reports, but only put in place a mechanism to probe such cases so the wrongdoers can be brought to justice and the victims are compensated".



Signs of progress



In a further sign of progress, the Thai Government last year announced it was supporting a legislative bill targeting cases of torture and enforced disappearances.According to the United Nations, since 1980 it has recorded 82 cases of enforced disappearance in Thailand.



This week the U.S. State Department, in its annual assessment of global rights, raised its concerns over alleged abuses by government security forces in southern Thailand.Other issues included arbitrary arrests and detention, poor prison conditions, and insufficient protection for vulnerable populations.



In a separate report, U.S. based rights monitor, Fortify Rights, called on the Thai government to make "concrete and genuine commitments" addressing rights violations before an upcoming U.N. Human Rights Committee review of Thailand's compliance to U.N. rights obligations.



The U.N. Human Rights Committee will assess Thailand's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights next week in Geneva.
Time is running out for millions of people in Somalia who are on the brink of famine, warns the United Nations. The world body is urging the international community to rapidly respond to its $825-million appeal to stave off a catastrophe in that drought-stricken and conflict-ridden country.

Six-point-two million people in Somalia  half the population  are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the U.N. To highlight the crisis, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who had been visiting Kenya, made an impromptu change of plans and traveled to Somalia. There he met with President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo, and visited a local hospital where malnourished people are receiving treatment.

The U.N. director of information in Geneva, Alessandra Vellucci, says Guterres considers it vital that he, personally, address this life-altering crisis.

He decided to go on an emergency visit to Mogadishu, to Somalia in order to focus on famine and cholera. He [Guterres] said in a tweet this morning, people are dying. The world must act now to stop this, said Vellucci.

U.N. emergency relief coordinator Stephen OBrien arrived Monday.

The United Nations reports nearly 3 million people are going hungry and need urgent life-saving relief. It warns that almost 1 million children under the age of 5 will be acutely malnourished this year, including 185,000 who are at risk of dying if they do not receive immediate medical treatment.

Over a recent two-day period, Somali officials report 110 people, many of them women and children, died from water-borne diseases as a result of the ongoing drought.

Jens Laerke, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says there are worrying similarities in some parts of Somalia to the 2011 famine, which killed 260,000 people.

He tells VOA it is hard to predict when this growing catastrophe could turn into a full-blown famine.

It is a creeping disaster. It creeps up on you," he said. "Day by day it gets a little bit worse. So, how much time do we have? Well, if we stopped operations right now today, people would start dying tomorrow. That is one way of looking at it. So, how much time do we have? Very little time.

Laerke says the Somalia appeal has received $100 million in contributions and more in pledges. While that is good, he says it is not good enough as more support is urgently needed.
The EU voted in favor of a plan to relocate refugees stranded in Italy and Greece across the bloc in 2015; but latest figures show European countries have accepted just 8 percent of the 160,000 refugees they promised to resettle.

EU Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos said Tuesday Brussels will accept no more excuses.

Our union is based on two principles: solidarity and responsibility," he said. "These words are not solely moral values, they are legal, binding principles enshrined in the treaties.

Hungary is among the countries that have refused to take any resettled refugees. It has begun reinforcing its border with Serbia  adding remote monitoring and electrifying sections of the fence  as part of a crackdown on migration. Human rights groups accuse Hungary of criminalizing legitimate refugees and physically abusing migrants, a charge the government denies.

The EU could take Hungary to the European Court of Justice to attempt to force compliance, but Brussels has other options, says Camino Mortera-Martinez of the Center for European Reform, who spoke to VOA via Skype from Brussels.

So instead of going after a country that is not complying with EU law, you can try to use some other tools to force them into complying  for example, by withdrawing some of the budgets, she said.

But that could backfire at a time when opposition to the EU is high.

To me, the critical consequence of forcing countries at the moment to take refugees is a very clear surge in anti-EU sentiment, said Mortera-Martinez.

Faced with that dilemma, Europe is desperate to halt the flow of migrants.

Germany is among the European states speeding up the deportation of failed asylum seekers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is taking a tougher line ahead of elections scheduled for September, says analyst Professor Werner Patzelt of Dresden University.

Because migration, even before the euro issue, is the most important problem we have in Europe right now  an obstacle to further integration, and a danger for the internal security situation in Europe, he said.

The EU estimates that between 700,000 and 1 million migrants are waiting in Libya. Calmer seas in recent days led to a surge in numbers trying to cross the Mediterranean  with nearly 1,000 rescued by the Italian coast guard last Thursday alone.
Chinas foreign minister has warned that the United States and North Korea are on a collision course, citing rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Hes also urged both sides to take steps to de-escalate the situation.

But as Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke out about what he described as a looming crisis, analysts said his remarks more than anything highlight Beijings waning influence over Pyongyang and events on the peninsula.



Dual suspension



Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of annual high-level political meetings, Wang Yi criticized Pyongyang for ignoring international sanctions and opposition to its nuclear and missile programs. He also argued that large scale military exercises by the United States in South Korea were also raising tensions.



The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming towards each other, with neither willing to give way, Wang Yi said, adding: The question is: are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?



Wang called on North Korea to first end its nuclear and missile tests and for the United States to halt its military exercises in South Korea.





This suspension for suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table, Wang said.



At the same time, however, Wang tried to distance Beijing from the ongoing dispute, arguing that the nuclear issue on the peninsula was mainly between North Korea and the United States.



Lips and teeth



Wang said this even as he noted that Chinas role was indispensable as ties between the two countries were as close as lips and teeth.



Analysts said such calls to return to the negotiating table ring hollow, given that North Korea has shown time and time again its unwillingness to do so.



On Monday, North Korea fired four missiles into the sea off Japans northwest coast, the latest in a series of ballistic missile and nuclear tests in recent months in defiance of United Nations resolutions. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the threat from North Korea had entered a new phase.



Although Beijing describes relations with the North as being close as lips and teeth, the harsh reality is that Pyongyang has now acquired very sharp teeth (nuclear-armed missiles over the last two decades) and Beijing's lips are bleeding, said Mohan Malik, a professor at the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.



In an emailed response to VOA, Malik said that given the recent killing of Kim Jong Uns half-brother  who was under Beijings protection  the political relationship between Pyongyang and Beijing is at a very low point.



Kim Jong Un is the first North Korean leader who has not undertaken a single pilgrimage to the Middle Kingdom to pay tribute, Malik said, adding that Chinas longstanding priorities on the Korean peninsula remained the same: no instability, no war, and no nukes  in that order.



THAAD upoar



And its not just North Korea that China has lost control over. Its influence over South Korea is waning as well, given the controversial deployment of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system.





Wang Yi echoed Chinas strong opposition to the system on Wednesday at the press briefing calling on Seoul to halt the systems deployment and arguing that the move was not the way neighbors behave. China argues that the anti-missile defense system is a threat to its security.



But, despite calls for China to deliver punishing economic sanctions to South Korea over its decision to deploy the system, there is little Beijing can do to reverse the decision, said Ding Xueliang, a professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.



Beijing used to be regarded by South Korea as the only foreign country that could exercise some influence on Pyongyang, but after so many years after so many efforts have been put into this process (six-party talks), North Korea has still been doing what it wants to do, Ding said.



South Korea has been terribly, terribly frustrated for so many years. Then, (Seoul) concluded that even if the PRC is so strongly, so angrily against the THAAD system, they have to do it.



Increasingly isolated



As one of isolated North Koreas few supporters, the international community has long looked to Beijing to help resolve ongoing tensions on the peninsula. But, China has consistently rejected suggestions from countries such as the United States and others that it could be doing more.



North Koreas erratic behavior in recent months, has made it increasingly difficult for any country to talk with Pyongyang, analysts said.



But that doesnt mean that change is unlikely.



Mohan Malik, of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, believes change is inevitable, sooner or later.



I suspect that more than any other capital, Beijing has its ears close to the ground in Pyongyang and the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) is far more ready than others to install a Beijing-friendly regime in the event of a regime meltdown and to wage and win the next Korean war to establish its supremacy on the peninsula, Malik said.



Given Trumps unpredictability and view of himself as a dealmaker, the situation may not be as dire as Beijing is predicting, said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.



At the moment, we might perceive the situation between North Korea and the United States to be very tense, but you would never know how Trump might actually react to the situation. He might actually decide to reach out to North Korea, Oh said. There is actually unpredictability from both sides and it is not necessarily a train wreck, in the making.

Saibal Dasgupta contributed to this report
More than a quarter-century after Georgia gained its independence from the Soviet Union, civil-society advocates there are still fighting for the kind of press freedoms enjoyed by residents of the EU and NATO nations.

On Tuesday, they claimed a small victory when Europe's top human-rights court indefinitely extended its suspension of an effort by authorities in Tbilisi to place Rustavi2, Georgia's largest independent television station, under control of the station's former co-owner, businessman Kibar Khalvashi, who is seen as a close ally of the government.

The European Court of Human Rights first stepped into the case last week, blocking a ruling by Georgia's Supreme Court that would have given Khalvashi control of Rustavi2, which is Georgias most-watched channel and also happens to be the only strong media voice in the country that is critical of the government.

'Europe saved Georgia!'

Rustavi2's director-general, Nika Gvaramia, praised the European court ruling. "Europe saved us today," he said in a televised statement. "Europe saved Georgia today!"

If Khalvashi were to regain control of the station, his opponents fear he would silence its independent voice.

The ownership dispute started shortly after parliamentary elections in 2012, which former President Mikhail Saakashvilis United National Movement lost to the Georgian Dream coalition, led by Bidzina Ivanishvil, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. Khalvashi is a strong supporter of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Amid an intense Russian propaganda campaign of fake news and disinformation, Georgias current government contends it has no political motives, and is merely trying to resolve infighting between Rustavi2's current and former owners.

Media turmoil 'looks bad'

Either way, Georgias media turmoil looks bad, Edward Lucas, senior editor of The Economist, told VOA via email from London.

The legal position may be complicated, but the government should be doing everything to make sure that the broadcast media are pluralistic," said Lucas, who recently spoke on Georgian media issues while visiting in Tblisi. Otherwise, he added, the government looks as if it is "engaged in a power-grab of Georgia's media.

Tamar Abazadze of Georgias Young Lawyers Association told VOA that Georgia, as a member of the Council of Europe, is obliged to implement decisions by the European Court of Human Rights, under Article 46 of European Convention on Human Rights.

Other media cutbacks

Meanwhile, new management at Georgian Public Broadcaster has announced it plans to suspend more than 100 television and radio shows by July, fueling concerns the broadcaster will be largely silenced ahead of next year's presidential elections.

Those cutbacks follow Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili's proposal on Monday to create a Media Ombudsmans Office that would serve "our interests, the interests of the Government, [and] protect our own greatest achievement, freedom of speech and expression and media pluralism."

The initiative, however, has been largely panned by civil society activists, who call it nothing more than a ploy to turn media outlets into government mouthpieces.

Nino Danelia, professor of mass communications at Ilia State University, suggests an office of media ombudsman is an effort by the government to influence international observers who have voiced concerns about the state of Georgian media.

The main problem Georgian media is facing today is the government itself," she told VOA. "No state appointed ombudsman can prevent problems the government is creating itself.

Warning from Freedom House

In 2015, U.S.-based media watchdog Freedom House called on Georgia to end its interference with the media.

For a country like Georgia that has struggled very hard and got where it is now in its democratic evolution, this is a serious setback," Robert Herman, the group's vice president, told VOA. "The research Freedom House and others have done show that when there are infringements upon the media sector, they often end up as precursors of a deeper and broader backslide, as well as erosion of democratic norms and practices.

Television is the main source of information for 77 percent of Georgia's 4 million citizens, according to National Democratic Institutes public attitudes research. Only 14 percent of Georgians depend on the internet for news, the group said.
A new statue of a resolute young girl now faces Wall Street's famous Charging Bull, erected by a major asset managing firm for International Women's Day to make a point: There's a dearth of women on the boards of the largest U.S. corporations.

State Street Global Advisors, the Boston-based investment giant, had the statue created to push companies to increase the number of women directors.

Artist Kristen Visbal's "Fearless Girl" drew both tourists who came to pose for pictures with the bull and workers arriving at their jobs in the Wall Street area Wednesday.

The girl, sculpted in bronze, appears to be staring down the bronze bull, her hands firmly planted on her waist. Her head is held high, with a ponytail that looks like it's swinging.

"Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference," reads a plaque at her feet.

"As a steward of nearly $2.5 trillion of assets, we want to engage with boards and management around issues that we think will drive core results," said Lori Heinel, State Street's deputy global chief investment officer. "And what you find repeatedly is having more diverse boards and more diverse senior management will actually drive better results for companies."



Twenty-five percent of the Russell 3000  an index of the nation's largest companies  have no women on their boards, according to State Street, which manages many of their assets. Nearly 60 percent have fewer than 15 percent of female directors.

Heinel said State Street will contact those companies, urging them to change the composition of their leadership. She said the financial giant also is working with companies in Great Britain and Australia to urge them to pursue diversity in board membership.

One man working in corporate America needed no convincing.

Chandrasekar Sundaram says a woman is the CEO of the company he works for in Texas, Hewlett-Packard, and he says there are quite a few women in top executive positions there.

"But when it gets to 50 percent, that's when I think it'll be right," said Sundaram, a Dallas resident and native of India who was visiting New York with his family  with the Charging Bull as one of their stops.

The mammoth bronze was a "guerrilla art" act, dropped in the middle of the night in Bowling Green Park in 1989, without permission, by an artist who created it as a symbol of Americans' survival energy in the face of the 1987 stock market crash. The city gave its permission for the bull to remain.

This week, McCann New York, a top advertising agency, dropped off the statue of the girl  with a city permit for at least a week. Negotiations are underway for the piece to remain there longer.

Why choose the Charging Bull as the site to place the girl?

"Well, we really wanted the bull to have a partner, and a partner that we thought was worthy of him," Heinel said. "And so we got a very determined young woman who is fearless and is willing to drive the change that we believe we need."

Sundaram's 8-year-old daughter, Sankaribriya, got the message.

She wanted to pose with the sculpted girl "because I just wanted to look at her and wanted to feel like her."
In the eight years since President George W. Bush boarded the Marine Corps helicopter waiting to take him and his wife, Laura, away from the U.S. Capitol after President Barack Obama's inauguration, he's rarely looked back. And for the most part, he's avoided the media spotlight.

Bush says that's by "design."

"I don't want to undermine our presidents," he told VOA in a recent interview at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

"I didn't want to undermine President Obama and I don't want to undermine President Trump," he explained.

Veteran, Olympian Honored as 'Portrait of Courage' by former President George W. Bush

That doesn't stop supporters and friends from encouraging him to weigh in on issues dominating national headlines.

"What's interesting is when President Obama was president, people from Texas in the heartland would call me and say, You've got to speak out.' Now when President Trump's the president, people from the coast call me and say, You've got to speak out.'"

And occasionally he does, such as during his appearance on NBC's "Today" show when he commented on Trump's characterization of some media organizations as an "enemy of the American people."

"I spoke about the free press and people said, You are criticizing President Trump.' That's not the case at all," he explained to VOA. "I am a believer in the Constitution, which talks about freedom of religion, freedom of the press and I'm a defender of that.I fully understood that power can be addictive and power can be corrosive and so an independent voice holds people like me in check and so I think it's very important."

Bush admits struggling with the way he was sometimes portrayed in the media during his own presidency. "I mean sure there's a caricature that has developed. People didn't think I could read and I've written two books that are best sellers, now a third," he said.

His latest book, Portraits of Courage: A Commander-in-Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors, features 98 paintings he created in tribute to wounded veterans he encounters while working to draw attention to challenges servicemen and women face transitioning to civilian life.

"I'm sure there's going to be some art critics that say this guy's not a very good painter, that's fine," he said. "My objective is not to say I'm a good painter. My objective is to draw attention to the vets and to the extent that somebody criticizes the art, at least they're paying attention to the veterans."

WATCH: Former President Bush Honors Veterans With 'Portraits of Courage'

Regardless of how the media characterized him, Bush says, he doesn't have regrets. "I had a set of beliefs that I was willing to defend.One thing I never did was chase popularity because it's fleeting. I think a leader must defend a set of values and I did so, and lived by it. And my actions reflected the circumstances of the times, plus the belief system that I told people I have," he said.

War on terror

The "circumstances of the time" included the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, which transformed Bush's nascent presidency into a wartime administration.

"I can vividly remember what the country was like after 9/11," he told VOA."People were, you know, very supportive of U.S. action to protect us. People understood that threats overseas be taken seriously."

But he says American resolve to defeat terrorism is increasingly under pressure.

"I think that time has dulled our senses," he said. "It's gonna be a long struggle and therefore it's incumbent upon  people, you know, leaders, to remind people the long struggle and understand there's political consequences at times when you take the lead.

"Both my successors have said ISIS must be defeated and they understand the threat to the homeland, that's good. Then the question's got to be asked, Do we have the policies in place to defeat them?' "

Bush points to his 2007 decision to increase U.S. troop strength in Iraq  called "The Surge"  as a successful tactic to address escalating violence and instability.

"U.S. troops along with local Iraqis defeated what was then called al-Qaida. Remember they had 10,000-strong, Zarqawi looked invincible, and in we go and in 2009 the country had free elections again. It was - relatively speaking - violence-free, and then we decided to leave and all of a sudden this  I call them thugs - regrouped and now we're dealing with them again."

While relishing his successes in office, the former president was also frank about the shortcomings, most notably his speech aboard the USS. Abraham Lincoln in the early months of the war in Iraq.From the deck of the aircraft carrier  in front of a large banner that read "Mission Accomplished,"  he announced that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

"It was a mistake to put the sign up there," he says. "If you read the speech however, I made it clear that major combat operations were over but the struggle goes on because I understood it was an ideological struggle Now it's going to take a long time to lay the foundations for peace."

That peace is still elusive to his successors, though Bush offers no direct criticism. "I don't think it serves the presidency well, nor the country well, to have me second-guessing," he said;

He also says they haven't sought his advice.

"Neither of my successors asked and that's fine. Doesn't hurt my feelings at all, I'm just a sensitive artist now, painting," Bush said.

Optimism about the future

Despite the sometimes contentious differences over political and cultural issues in the U.S. today, the former president doesn't believe the divide is as wide or as troubling as it was in the 1960s.

"When I got out of college the divisions in this country were, in my opinion, much worse than they are today," he said, reflecting on the turbulent time when opposition to the war in Vietnam and demands for civil rights sparked violence in the streets.

"This country gets divided at times but somehow has had the remarkable ability to work its way out of the divisions. And so I'm very optimistic about the future of the country."

He's also optimistic about the health of his parents. His father, former president George H.W. Bush and mother, Barbara, were both hospitalized in January for respiratory issues.Their illnesses kept them from attending President Trump's inauguration on January 20..

Both made full recoveries, and took the field as honored guests at the NFL's Super Bowl on February 3.

"When they came out to flip the coin at the Super Bowl, it was an incredibly uplifting moment," Bush told VOA."Dad's had some pretty tough health issues and yet his resiliency and the strength  overwhelms any disease he's had. Mom's doing great too."

While the Bushes are the second father-son team to serve in the White House (the first was John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams) there is another historic milestone that George W. Bush points to with pride.

"I'm the only president with both parents alive after the presidency, which is a great blessing," he says.

His mother turns 92 on June 8, and his father's 93rd birthday is four days later.

Bush celebrates his own birthday July 6, and as he turns 71, he plans to spend much of the year the same way as the past several  focusing on U.S. military veterans.

"Keep the country's attention on helping our veterans and also reminding veterans that if you want help, you gotta seek help."
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Wednesday that his country and Turkey want to see their relations improve.

He spoke to reporters in Berlin where he hosted a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after a week of disputes.

"The memories we have of our good relations with Turkey are so important right now because our current relations are very tense. This is not normal," Gabriel said.

Turkish officials have been angered by German authorities who banned local rallies where Turkish ministers were due to speak to supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Saturday, Erdogan said during a rally in Istanbul that such moves were no different than the practices of Nazi Germany.

And last week, Turkey arrested a reporter for the German newspaper Die Welt.

Gabriel said he made clear to Cavusoglu that making comparisons to Nazi Germany is a line that must not be crossed. He otherwise described Wednesday's meeting as friendly and open, but also controversial and hard.
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley says the United States must see "some sort of positive action" from North Korea before any discussions to lower tensions on the Korean peninsula can begin.

After an emergency closed-door briefing among members of the U.N. Security Council, Haley said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is not "a rational person" and the council is not "ruling anything out" in its reevaluation of North Korea.

The council held a special closed-door briefing on North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, which prompted calls earlier from China for North Korea, South Korea and the United States to take steps to avoid a "head-on collision."

WATCH: Haley on Kim Jong Un

Before Wednesday's meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed North Korea suspend its nuclear and missile activities, and in exchange the United States and South Korea halt their joint military drills.

Each action has drawn condemnation from the other side, with Wang describing them as "accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way."

Tuesday, the Security Council strongly condemned the North Korean tests and gave its own warning for the potential of a regional arms race.

The council statement further expressed regret the government is "diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles while Democratic People's Republic of Korea citizens have great unmet needs."

Ballistic missile tests



North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, which coincided with the start of joint U.S. and South Korean annual defense exercises in South Korean territory.

The launches prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to reaffirm what the White House called the "ironclad commitment" of the United States to stand with Japan and South Korea in the face of Pyongyang's repeated violations of U.N. resolutions.

North Korea conducted two unauthorized nuclear test explosions last year and nearly two dozen rocket launches in a continuing push to expand its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared in a speech on New Year's Day that his country's program to build inter-continental ballistic missiles had "reached its final stage."

His country has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006, along with an arms embargo aimed at slowing the development of its banned nuclear and missile programs.

Since then, the United States and a vast majority of world governments have repeatedly demanded the North denuclearize the Korean peninsula. But Western leaders have yet to devise a plan that would either compel the North to cooperate or create incentives for it to do so.

Talks stalled



China-sponsored talks between North Korea and a six-nation panel have been stalled since 2009, when the communist North pulled out of the negotiations. The North had carried out its first underground nuclear test explosion three years before the talks broke down.

The United States has since said the six-party talks could not resume until Kim's regime in Pyongyang would recommit itself to halting all nuclear tests and scrapping its nuclear development program. That policy was agreed to during the administration of former President Barack Obama, and President Trump's government has reaffirmed it.
You may not particularly recall Nov. 16, but Broadway actor Michael Luwoye will never forget it.

It was a Wednesday and he certainly earned his salary that day. Luwoye played the title role in the mega-hit musical "Hamilton" at the matinee and then suited up a few hours later to play Aaron Burr that evening.

"I knew that this would happen, at some point. I was prepped and a little excited to do that. So it was one of those moments of just, 'Let's just go!'" he said. "It was much more exhilarating than I'd imagined it would be."

Luwoye is the first person to play both pivotal roles on the same day, and audiences across the country will soon be getting a chance to see why he was entrusted with the responsibilities.

The 26-year-old Alabama native stars as Alexander Hamilton in the "Hamilton" national tour, which kicks off this month with a 21-week stand in San Francisco, followed by a 21-week engagement in Los Angeles.

"It's incredible how much people love this show and they haven't seen it. So it warms my heart to know that more people will be able to see it with this tour," Luwoye said.

Luwoye is the fifth actor to play Hamilton and promises a strong take on Lin-Manuel Miranda's striving Founding Father. "My Hamilton is pretty gritty. I feel like that fire that Hamilton has, I feel like I capture that very well," he said.

Thomas Kail, the Tony Award-winning director of "Hamilton," said he watched and listened to Luwoye audition for Hamilton with a memorable take on the striving song "My Shot."

"It was one of those moments when you sit up straight in your chair and you know that you are witnessing something," said Kail. "We throw a lot of material at people when we're auditioning and there are certain people who rise to meet that. And he just rose to meet it."

Miranda's multiple award-winning take on the nation's first U.S. treasury secretary has a varied score, ranging from pop ballads to rap battles to sexy R&B. It has been cheered for reclaiming the nation's founding story with a multicultural cast.

Luwoye, born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, went to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and decided to make performing a career as a junior in college. His credits include playing a Ugandan dreamer in off-Broadway's "Invisible Thread" and Peter Tosh in a bio-musical of Bob Marley in Maryland.

When "Hamilton" was first being created downtown, he initially auditioned for the dual roles of Hercules Mulligan/James Madison. He didn't get it - the roles went to Okieriete Onaodowan - but Luwoye kept auditioning, learning new characters and eventually impressing with his Hamilton and Burr.

Luwoye got the call that he'd won the part of the Hamilton alternate on Broadway when he was working as a caterer. "I was in the middle of putting on my tuxedo," he said. "Once I hung up the phone, I was like, 'I have a lot of words to learn.'"

Then came that pivotal winter day when on the same day he played both the chatty, workaholic Hamilton and his political nemesis, the sly and careful Burr, which he considers a harder part. Luwoye said doing both made the show more clear.

"Hamilton and Burr onstage mirror each other," he said. "Hamilton gets to express a lot more and is very, very fast - that fire is lit under him and he just goes. Burr has the same drive but has to do it a lot slower. The story is not about him. He's telling the story and so his moments are not the priority in the storytelling."

Luwoye has packed up his Brooklyn apartment and flown to San Francisco where company members include Joshua Henry as Burr and Rory O'Malley as King George III. "I don't really have words for this, to be very honest," he said.

One thing is certain: His catering days are done.

"I think so," he said with a smile. "I think so."
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad al Hussein warns the entire human rights system is under attack, stoked by fears of terrorism, and xenophobic rhetoric by populist politicians. The High Commissioner presented his annual report on the state of human rights around the world to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Human Rights chief, Zeid Raad al Hussein highlighted recent developments in more than 40 countries. Among this group, he notes only four countriesGambia, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, and Greecehave made some improvements in human rights. Otherwise, his appraisal of the human rights situation globally is uniformly bleak.

South Sudan, Burundi



For example, he deplores the violence and destruction in South Sudan, where famine is spreading. He accuses the warring parties of repeatedly engaging in alleged war crimes, including killings, rape and sexual violence, disappearances and pillage.

He says he is very concerned about the situation in Burundi where the democratic space now has been virtually extinguished.

Grave human rights violations and abuses by security forces and the Imbonerakure militia continue to be reported, including increasing allegations of enforced disappearances, torture and mass arbitrary arrests, said Zeid.

Turkey



Turning to the Middle East, he condemns the bombs and other shocking terrorist attacks against civilians in Turkey, but expresses concern about government measures under the state of emergency, which appear to target criticism, not terrorism.

The fact that tens of thousands of people have been dismissed, arrested, detained or prosecuted following the attempted coupincluding numerous democratically elected representatives, judges and journalistsraises serious alarm about due process guarantees being met, said Zeid.

Iran

Another Middle East nation facing criticism in Zeid's report is Iran. He deplores the practice of child marriage in the country as "pervasive" and "harmful". Under Iranian law, girls can be married from age 13 with parental consent, while even younger girls can be married with permission from a judge.

Elahe Hicks, director of the U.S.-based Partners for Rights group, tells VOA Persian it is common for poor couples in rural areas of Iran to marry off their pre-teenage daughters to much older men in their 70s and 80s. "The main reason for these child marriages is that impoverished parents can no longer afford to care for their children," she says. "The married girls in some cases become pregnant, and they perform all the house work that wives traditionally do for their husbands." Hicks adds that some married girls are widowed by the time they become teens because their husbands have died of old age.

In the report, Zeid also censures Iran for executing 116 people in the first two months of this year and 530 people in all of 2016. He says most executions are carried out for drug-related offenses that he believes do not meet the threshold of "most serious crimes" for which the death penalty is permissible under certain conditions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Hicks, who previously worked as an Iran researcher for another U.S-based group, Human Rights Watch, says the Iranian policy of executing drug offenders is not stopping the country's illicit drug industry. "If you read Iranian news sites, you see officials talking about a widespread use of drugs like crystal meth in high schools," she says. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says 2.26% of Iran's adults are opiate dependent according to national data, placing it among the countries with the highest prevalence of opiate use worldwide. But, UNODC credits Iran for responding to the challenge of drug trafficking by building "one of the strongest counter-narcotics enforcement capabilities in the region over the years."

Super powers



The High Commissioner also finds fault with several of the worlds super powers. He criticizes China for detaining lawyers and activists who fight for the rights of others. He deplores Russias curbs on political dissent, freedom of expression and religion.

In the United States, he expresses concern about President Trumps vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims. He warns the collective expulsions and deportations of immigrants could be in breach of international law, if undertaken without due process guarantees.
Hungarys parliament has passed a law allowing the detention of all asylum seekers in border camps and the summary return of any illegal migrants back to the country from which they entered. The United Nations refugee agency, along with several human rights groups, say the policy breaks international and European Union laws,

The new policy will be enforced by special personnel. A graduation ceremony was held Tuesday for 3,000 new recruits, which the government calls border hunters. Armed with pistols and pepper spray, they will patrol Hungarys frontiers alongside the police and army.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban attended the ceremony, where he said Hungary was "under siege."

Orban said, Migration is the Trojan wooden horse of terrorism. The people that come to us don't want to live according to our culture and customs, but according to their own - at European standards of living.

Conflating migration with terrorism is simply wrong, says Amnesty Internationals Todor Gardos.

This is exactly what many refugees and asylum seekers are fleeing from - is violence and insecurity.

Under the legislation, Hungary will detain all asylum seekers in what it terms "shelters," pending the outcome of their applications. The U.N. says that means all refugees, including children, will be held in containers surrounded by razor wire fences.

Shifting the burden

In addition, police will be allowed to detain migrants anywhere in the country who have crossed illegally, and summarily send them back across the border. Previously, this only applied to migrants detained close to the frontier.

Gardos says its a flagrant abuse of EU and international law.

The measure that the Hungarian authorities have chosen is to avoid properly assessing each application, each irregular migrant or asylum seeker arriving to Hungary. What they are doing instead is just putting the burden of this on other countries. So what we see is that the Hungarian governments deliberate dismantling of its asylum system results in thousands of people being stuck in Serbia, Gardos said.

Hundreds of stranded migrants in Serbia live in abandoned buildings or even forest camps. Many say they have suffered violence at the hands of Hungarian police, a charge authorities deny.

Its time for Brussels to take action, says Christopher Stokes, director of the aid group Doctors Without Borders.

"We want that the European leaders put this issue of abuse that is happening inside of European borders by the Hungarian border police high up on the agenda."

Hungary says it is simply securing the external border of the European Union.

The government claims to have the support of the Hungarian people - and says there is "a change of mood in Europe" over migration following the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.
Ildar Dadin, a 34-year-old critic of Kremlin policy from the Moscow region, gained fame not only in Russia but also far beyond its borders in December of 2015 when he became the first Russian to be criminally convicted for peaceful protest.

Earlier, in 2014, the State Duma, the lower house of Russias parliament, adopted amendments to the country's criminal code introducing criminal penalties for "repeated violation of the procedure for holding rallies." In the opinion of many lawyers and human rights defenders, that decision by the parliamentarians directly violated the Russian constitution, which enshrines the right of citizens to peaceful street protests.

During the period 2011-2015, Dadin was subjected to detention and administrative punishments for participation in protests, and these cases later formed the basis of the criminal case against the activist. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment in December 2015.

In the fall of 2016, Dadin said through his wife that he was tortured and beaten in the prison where he was serving his sentence, located in the northwestern Russian region of Karelia. That provoked a strong reaction in Russia and abroad. His case attracted great public attention and the activist was transferred to a prison colony in eastern Russia.

In early February, the Russian Constitutional Court ordered that the country's Supreme Court should review Dadin's case, but upheld the provision mandating the prosecution of repeated violations of the procedure for holding rallies. Later in the month, the Supreme Court overturned Dadin's conviction and ordered his release from prison.

Dadin was released on February 26, having served a year and two months in prison.

In an interview with VOAs Russian service, Ildar Dadin discussed torture in Russian prisons, street protests, human rights protection and the need for penalties for human rights violations.

Question: How you have changed, having been jailed for exercising your rights?

Answer: The certainty of my belief in what I was doing has only strengthened. This is as it should be. Plus, there is the knowledge that a very terrible evil is taking place in our prisons and colonies that I previously did not know about. This further gave me confidence that I was doing the right thing, because this shouldn't happen.

Q:How would you describe the work that you are now doing?

A: I am fighting for goodness and justice. In particular, for laws and human rights here to be not only on paper but also implemented in reality. Because the law says that torture is prohibited, but in practice it is widely practiced in jails and prisons. On paper, we have it written that citizens have inalienable constitutional rights, but in fact it turns out that officials who view themselves as rulers and us as slaves trample on all our constitutional rights. They repress people who advocate that the government uphold constitutional rights.

Q: What was the main thing that struck you in prison? What was the most depressing thing?

A: The saddest thing for me is that these sadists who beat and torture people have devised a great many ways, a whole range of humiliations, to crush human dignity, to break a person. And also, the fact that these people are trying pass off these actions as being legal. They pass off as law pure mafia methods of pressuring a person, of breaking them by any means, outright banditry and evil.  These people are evil posing as good, and therefore are super evil. I am sure that this is primarily being done to subordinate people, to turn prisoners into slaves, and to rob those slaves.

Q: How can the use of torture in the Russian prison system be changed?

A: For starters, I think you need to achieve the principle of the inevitability of punishment, inevitability of accountability. For example, I now want to do everything possible so that people from the colony where I served time, who hold official posts and have used their official powers to commit crimes, are jailed, not only because they tortured me (while I was there, I heard them torturing, beating and mocking people), but because the principle of the inevitability of accountability should be applied to other criminals, to other heads of colonies in other regions of Russia In my opinion, as long as criminals who hide behind their uniforms and commit crimes are not jailed, it will be a direct example that they can continue to do this. My wife sent a letter from one of those incarcerated in IK-7 (the colony where Dadin served time). In January, the authorities there approached this convict and threatened: "As soon as everything calms down we will cut your legs off.

Q: How do you assess the prospect of street protests in Russia? How successful can they be?

A: I do not know the exact answer to that question. Logic and experience suggest to me that nothing can happen generally without street protests, because there absolutely has to be pressure from below, from ordinary citizens. As smart and good as the human rights defenders may be, under the constitution, the power is with the people. It is precisely the demands of the people that need to be seen -- their statements that they are confirming the human rights defenders are telling the truth, that they agree with the demands of the human rights defenders. I think this is essential. Human rights defenders must be supported by the citizens on the streets. I now plan to engage in more human rights advocacy  to write complaints to government agencies that should uphold the rule of law, must prosecute criminals. But it seems to me that we should never move away from street activity. Ordinary citizens always have to validate these demands by human rights defenders.

Q: Do you think that the system decided to punish you as example to others?

A: I am 100 percent sure of this. Because they did not need to punish me personally, but above all wanted to show my example to others, so that they do not dare to participate in street protests. When I was still under house arrest, some of the boldest of my fellow human rights defenders came to me and told about how they had to set out for protests with an eye on this article (of the Russian Criminal code introducing criminal responsibility for "repeated violations of the procedure for holding rallies) and count how many of them had been detained before. And in the course of the proceedings in the so-called Constitutional Court, in an explanatory note to the law that introduced this article of the Criminal Code, it was written that we need a repressive measure, because it is a "stop measure" to stop the protests, because people still continue to come out. The word "repression", "repressive" is definitely there; they they do not even conceal it.
Iraqi soldiers on Wednesday recaptured a prison outside Mosul that had been controlled by Islamic State jihadists and reportedly used for hundreds of executions, the Iraqi military said.



The securing of the jail came as part of a mission to retake west Mosul that began last month. The eastern side of the city was liberated prior to the start of the mission on the west side.



Human Rights Watch says the Badush prison was used by IS militants to execute as many as 600 people and house abducted Yazidi women.



News of the prisons recapture comes a day after Iraqs military seized control of the main government buildings in Mosul back from IS militants.



Bridges connecting the two sides of the city have been badly damaged or destroyed, but the Iraqi military says it now controls the western side of two of the bridges, raising the prospect they could be used to more easily move troops and supplies.



The Iraqi military also announced Wednesday that it took back control of a road leading west out of Mosul, effectively isolating western Mosul from the flashpoint town of Tal Afar.



Meanwhile, the IS group has claimed responsibility for several car bomb attacks in Iraqs capital, Baghdad, over the past few weeks, after losing control of eastern Mosul, and as it continues to lose ground on the western side.



The militant group swept into Mosul in mid-2014 as it took control of large areas in northern and western Iraq, as well as eastern Syria. Recent advances by the Iraqi army have served as a severe blow to the extremists, who at one point controlled about a third of Iraqs territory.
Islamic State reportedly has moved some of its high-ranking commanders and their families from its de facto capital of Raqqa to the nearby Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, activists and local groups said.

The move came as U.S.-backed forces continue their push toward Raqqa, where IS fighters have been in control since 2014.

Although the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) this week succeeded in cutting off the main highway that links Raqqa to Deir Ezzor, local activists say that IS uses alternative routes that haven't yet been targeted by U.S.-led airstrikes and SDF fighters.

It is unclear how many IS commanders have moved to Deir Ezzor, but activist spokesman Hussam Eesa said that in recent days dozens of IS convoys have been observed heading toward the eastern city.

"There is at least one more route that [IS] uses to transport supplies and fighters between Raqqa and Deir Ezzor via the desert," said Eesa, of Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, an activist group that reports on IS activities in Raqqa and elsewhere.

Rami Abudlrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also confirmed to VOA that IS has transported some of its effective leaders and their families to the oil-rich Deir Ezzor.

Realizing the battle in the city of Raqqa is imminent, IS has begun looking for other options in hopes of keeping its caliphate alive, analysts said.

"Deir Ezzor is IS's next capital when Mosul and Raqqa are taken from it," said Nicholas A. Heras, a Middle East researcher at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank.

While Syrian government troops control parts of Deir Ezzor city, much of the countryside is under IS rule. Strategic towns, such as Mayadeen and al-Boukamal, near the Iraqi border, have been IS strongholds since the inception of the terror group in 2014.

"IS has been preparing Deir Ezzor to become its secret capital even before the battle to retake Mosul began in October 2016," said Mustafa Abdi, a media adviser with the Kurdish SDF. "This province represents an extension of IS's remaining reign in Iraq."

He told VOA that "when the Mosul offensive intensified, IS brought many leaders to both Raqqa and Deir Ezzor and so now some of those deployed to Raqqa have been moved to Deir Ezzor."

Deir Ezzor also has been home to IS's factories that make improvised explosive devices, activists said.

"When IS's factories in Iraq came under attack, they put more emphasis on their factories in Deir Ezzor," Abdi said.

IS commanders who recently have settled in Deir Ezzor, Abdi said, likely will direct operations against opposing forces in Raqqa and elsewhere, relying more on the explosive devices made in Deir Ezzor.

Meanwhile, airstrikes targeting IS's vital positions in Raqqa have intensified recently. Local reports said the number of civilian casualties also has increased.

At least seven civilians were killed and 17 others were wounded in an airstrike Wednesday that likely was carried out by the U.S.-led coalition, according to Smart News, a pro-Syrian opposition website.

Activists attributed that to a recent dress code imposed by IS on locals to confuse the coalition warplanes.

IS has "forced male residents of Raqqa to wear the Afghan clothes, an Islamic attire adopted by IS fighters," activist Eesa said.
The Israeli parliament has passed a bill that bars entry to the country for foreigners involved in an anti-Israel boycott.

The new law aims to exclude activists and backers of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, or BDS, which supporters say is a nonviolent way to promote the Palestinian struggle for independence. The group has urged businesses, artists and universities to sever ties with Israel and includes thousands of volunteers around the world.

BDS activists and supporters will be denied entry visas and residence permits, but the new legislation does not apply to Israeli citizens or foreigners who already have permanent residency in the country.

Israel sees the boycott as a strategic threat and brands it as anti-Semitism. Activists deny the charge, saying they only want to see Israel end its occupation of Palestinian lands.

Defending the law, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Tuesday, "Every country has the right to determine who enters its borders."

Excluding anti-Israel activists, he added, is "another step in our struggle against those who seek to delegitimize Israel while hiding behind the language of human rights."

Critics, however, have assailed the law as an infringement of free speech rights.

Omar Barghouti, a founder of the boycott movement, said Israel's reaction is self-defeating - "an Israeli regime own goal par excellence," as he put it.



"It is not a requirement or a necessity for human-rights defenders and groups supporting BDS to enter the country to do their work effectively,'' Barghouti said. "If anything, banning them from entry will further motivate them to increase their work."

Americans for Peace Now, the U.S. branch of Israel's anti-settlement Peace Now group, called the law a "severe blow to Israeli democracy.''



The group said its opposition to settlements is rooted in its support for Israel. It believes that Israel's continued occupation of land containing millions of Palestinians threatens the country's Jewish and democratic character.
Staying up late into the night, Lilia Lobato Martinez watched endless YouTube videos to teach herself the computer code she used to help build her prize-winning Ool app for volunteers in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In her country, she is usually the only woman in tech competitions, which often hand out men's T-shirts to the winners.

Now the 18-year-old electrical engineering student is using the $10,000 she won for her app in last year's international girls-only Technovation competition to further develop Ool, which has so far linked over 1,000 volunteers with 20 non-profit groups in Mexico's second-biggest city.

A lot of people were constantly complaining everything's wrong, but I found that no one was going out to the street to volunteer, said Lobato. So I decided to develop an app that's a compendium of all the non-profit organizations, so we can learn what Mexico is building.

A male-dominated field

With plans to eventually set up a center to teach children to code, she said many of her female friends shied away from IT development because it was male-dominated. Only four out of 40 students on her degree course are women, she pointed out.

Across Latin America, the participation of girls and women in technology and science has lagged far behind men, experts say.

And while awareness of the need to correct the imbalance is growing, social and economic pressures mean many are still pushed into other areas or expected to start work straight after school rather than going into higher education.

Boys think it's easy for them and they expect to be smart in technology ... it's not expected for girls, and that's reinforced by the education system quite often, said Gloria Bonder, Buenos Aires-based UNESCO chair on women, science and technology in Latin America.

The portrayal of women in the media, and a lack of role models also contribute to making it a system-wide problem, added Bonder, who is working on a Central American pilot project to incorporate gender equality into science and technology education.

While 44 percent of all science research positions  including social sciences  in the region are held by women, they are under-represented in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), according to UNESCO.

For example, in Peru and Colombia, around a third of natural science researchers are women, but they account for just a quarter of engineering and technology researchers.

Now a number of projects are striving to improve access for girls and give them the skills and confidence to compete in those jobs.

Developers boot camp

One of these is the Laboratoria coding academy in Lima, which spots talent where no one else is looking, said its chief executive, Mariana Costa Checa.

More than 1,000 women applied for 70 places at its intensive boot camp where candidates from low-income backgrounds train as front-end web developers.

The application process involves a series of rigorous tests, alongside interviews with candidates' families to reduce the drop-out rate for the course, which also runs in Santiago, Mexico City and the Peruvian city of Arequipa, and helps participants land jobs with companies such as IBM.

Along with computer programs like JavaScript, it teaches workplace skills that are crucial for women who have little experience of formal-sector employment, said Costa.

She expects some Laboratoria graduates will go on to develop technical solutions for problems in their communities.

The first thing we look for is a job, because it gives them economic stability, and for our average student, it triples their income, said Costa.

It also gives them a new perspective in life, she added. It starts changing the way they look at the world  and I think there's enormous value in then bringing that change to their own communities.

Many girls are on their own

With many girls from poor families under pressure to start earning as soon as they finish school, Rebeca Vargas, president of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, said most of those who signed up for the international STEM mentoring program she helped set up in Mexico's Puebla state did so without telling their parents.

Nearly all are now studying STEM subjects at college or university.

Some of the girls we worked with last year had to sell bread and food on the street to be able to earn money to eat, said Vargas, whose foundation developed the program with Mexico's public education secretariat and the New York Academy of Sciences.

Girls take a different route

Families often expect girls to pay their way at home but not to seek senior positions at corporations or well-paid jobs.

They're supposed to work but they're not supposed to be educated, Vargas said.

Wendy Arellano Martinez, who won a scholarship to study biotechnology engineering at the prestigious Monterrey Technology Institute after the mentoring program, is now part of a team developing a project to make spectacle frames from recycled plastic bottles for older people on low incomes.

We're going to be looking for funds from organizations or foundations to help us distribute our products to people who need them but don't have the resources, said the 18-year-old student from Puebla. I want to give the same support that I received.
Alan B. Morrison is a senior faculty member at The George Washington University School of Law in Washington, where he is associate dean for public-interest and public-service law. During a wide-ranging interview Tuesday with Voice of America, he spoke about the current political debate in the United States swirling around pending investigations of official wrongdoing.

Morrison discussed how and under what principles the U.S. government conducts high-level investigations of official misconduct, citing examples from recent political history and relating how this all is relevant to the current turbulent political climate in Washington. Looking back as far as the Watergate scandal of about 45 years ago, and at incidents as recent as the claim by President Donald Trump that his predecessor, Barack Obama, ordered "wiretapping" of Trump's campaign organization, Morrison has a cautious view.

Basically confident that the American political system is resilient enough to withstand extraordinary pressure, Morrison says in the current circumstances, Americans  from members of Congress to the public  "should start slowly ... and find out what the facts are." He adds: "I don't think we're at a crisis yet. ... We should see what happens and we'll proceed from there."

Here's a transcript of VOA's interview with Alan Morrison:

Question: Historically, how important has it been for the American people to have confidence in the fact that high-level government officials are not above the law, and that they may be subject to investigation if there is evidence of misconduct?

Answer: We were very fortunate for the first 225 years [of U.S. history] not to have that problem. Then Richard Nixon became the president and we had Watergate. And since that time, I think, people have been very concerned about these ethical issues involving the president and the people who work for him. And so it is a big concern now to everybody, and I think people in the administration want to be sure that everybody views them as being above board.

Q: Why is a special counsel or independent Investigator often called in to take charge of such cases?

A: We should separate the sensitive investigation following [the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001], where there was no allegation of criminal violations [by national leaders], from those involving Watergate, Iran-Contra and perhaps even today. So in the [September 11 case], the idea was to get to the bottom of what happened and why; nobody was going to be accused of doing anything that could send them to jail. And in that situation, the powers-that-be appointed independent people, former government officials, members of Congress, and they had a staff, they conducted an investigation.

That's not quite what we think is going to happen here, because there are allegations that there may have been criminal violations including perjury  people not telling truth. And so something else is being at least looked at at this time. The problem here is that under our system, the federal government has ... The attorney general is appointed by the president of the United States and could be fired by the president at will, meaning for no reason at all  or for a bad reason, even.

And so the concern is that if the attorney general is investigating the president or his associates, he may hold back and not go after the president or others because of loyalty, or for fear of losing his job. So in a number of situations there have been special prosecutors appointed. This was started when Richard Nixon appointed Archibald Cox, and then fired him, and then appointed Leon Jaworski [whose work] ultimately led to the conviction of a number of people in the Nixon White House. President Nixon resigned, and everybody agreed that that was the situation in which a special prosecutor was needed.

Congress had passed the law to regularize the process of appointing independent counsels, as they were called, but that led to some other problems. Too many counsels were appointed, they stayed too long, they investigated too harshly, and so Congress decided to not extend that law after it expired in the mid-1990s. And the result is that now, if there's going to be an independent counsel appointed, it has to be done by the attorney general. That happened recently with the George W. Bush administration, when there were questions about whether there were some leaks of classified information from the White House. The deputy attorney general appointed a former U.S. attorney from Chicago as the special counsel, the investigations went forward and one of [then-Vice President Dock Cheney's] key advisers, Scooter Libby, was indicted. [Libby] ultimately was convicted and then given a commutation of his sentence.

So we have a long history, at least long from the last 45 years, of requiring independent counsels to satisfy everybody that nothing has happened untowardly. There's an interesting sidelight to this: Edwin Meese was a close adviser to President Ronald Reagan. He was nominated to be the attorney general of the United States, but there was some question raised about some of his activities, and so an independent counsel was appointed and cleared Mr. Meese. Without that kind of independent clearance, the Senate would almost never have confirmed Mr. Meese, so it sometimes works to the advantage of the people being investigated if they really do need a clean bill of health.

Q: But an attorney general is the only one who can appoint a special investigator. What happens when members of Congress call for an independent investigation of the attorney general?

A: Well, the attorney general [Jeff Sessions] has now recused himself  that's a legal word for saying he's not going to participate anymore in any of the investigations. That doesn't quite solve the problem, because he's the subject of an investigation, and if his deputy is being asked to investigate him, at least some people would think maybe that isn't the right way to do things.

Under our current laws, there is no way other than the attorney general or his deputy choosing to appoint a special counsel or an independent counsel  whatever you want to call them. Congress could, in theory, pass a law that would reinstitute our independent counsel law. That seems extremely unlikely now because the president would have to sign it. And if the president is prepared to sign that law, he would be prepared to direct his deputy attorney general to set up an independent counsel [to investigate the attorney general]. So I think right now, we won't have that happening. Nothing, of course, would prevent Congress itself from investigating all of these officials. Congress has plenty of power to investigate, not the least of which [is the power to] impeach not just the president of the United States, but the attorney general, if it so chose. That seems to me to be extremely unlikely, because the House [of Representatives] and the Senate are both controlled by Republicans. And at least as of now, there's not enough evidence to even begin to consider impeachment by those bodies.

Q: Why, for American citizens, is it so important to have confidence that no one is above the law?

A: Well, there are two reasons. One is that the attorney general and the people who work for him enforce the laws of the United States  including the criminal laws, including the laws about perjury. If the attorney general committed perjury  and I don't suggest that he did  or others in the White House committed perjury, although they were probably not under oath ... but they could have made false statements to the FBI, which is also a crime, or if they engaged in illegal activities of some other kind, we are in effect asking the people who enforce the law to be sure that they comply with the law. And the American people deserve the [assurance that] those laws ... have they been satisfied? Are there people violating the law?

And the second reason is that we all have to obey the laws, and no one is above the law in the United States. As Chief Justice John Marshall said many years ago in [the Supreme Court ruling known as] Marbury vs Madison, "We are a country of laws, not of men"  and now we would add, of women. And therefore we're all obligated to pay attention to the laws, and the laws ultimately govern each of us, and that's what the Constitution says.

Q: So in the case of the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia, it seems there are many views to pursue that matter. What is your view?

A: Well, I don't know enough facts to know what happens [or] what should happen. I think what's sensible is, we should start slowly and we should start with our normal processes and allow the FBI and the intelligence agencies to get together and find out what the facts are. And at that point when we have a better idea what the facts are, then we can make a judgment. After all, we're not limited to saying, "We have to appoint a special prosecutor now!" We can see what develops. That's, in fact, what happened in Watergate [45 years ago]. There were investigations by the Senate looking into the president's activities, and those ultimately led to the appointment of an independent counsel.

Q: There is a strong perception that it's hard to separate politics from these inquiries. What would you say about the level of public skepticism in these sorts of cases?

A: Well, I think during the Watergate era, there was a similar level [of public skepticism]. In fact, it got to be much higher because it was much more clear at various points when they got along the way, that the president and his closest advisers were directly involved in criminal activity. We haven't gotten to that point yet, [but] I think there's a concern about it. Attorney General Sessions has admitted that he made statements that were less than complete  I'll put it that way  and that's troubling. And I think people are genuinely concerned about what's going to happen. But I don't think we're at a crisis yet. And I think we should see what happens and we'll proceed from there.

Q: In the case of past scandals, such as Watergate, the American public seems to have been satisfied that justice was done. Why were past investigations seen as successful?

A: Because ... the lead investigators were taken out of the political process, the president and attorney general no longer had the authority to fire the person who was in charge of the investigation. And that Independence was essential for public confidence in what happened afterward.

Q: Turning to the Supreme Court, how does President Trump's nomination of federal judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy on the high court look at the moment?

A: There are two questions there: Whether he can ... get any Democratic votes [for confirmation by the Senate, which would at present require 60 votes  more than there are Republicans in the chamber]. I have no idea the answer to that question. Second is, although the Senate rules currently allow the Democrats to filibuster [to prolong debate indefinitely], the question whether they would choose to do that. And, if so, how long they do it is a matter for the Democrats to decide, and I have no insight into that whatsoever. People could sensibly say, "We're not going to filibuster this nominee because, at least so far, there's nothing other than the fact that he was appointed by Donald Trump as opposed to being appointed by Hillary Clinton [the Democratic presidential candidate who was defeated by Trump in the election] that we find objectionable in him. And that no other Republican nominee is likely to be any less or more objectionable  perhaps more. And so the Democrats may choose not to filibuster. Or they may engage in a limited filibuster of a day or two, and then go on and let him get voted on. So it's impossible to say what's going to happen, but I feel confident that unless something happens, he's likely to be confirmed.

Q: And if Gorsuch is confirmed, the next Supreme Court vacancy could spark a more intense confirmation fight if it involves choosing a successor to one of the court's more liberal justices. What might future confirmation fights look like?

A: Well, we have no idea whether or when there will be a vacancy, or who will be the next justice retiring, so it's very hard to say. If it happens while the Republicans continue to be in control of the Senate, Democrats won't have a lot of leverage; if it happens at a time when Republicans have lost control of the Senate, we have a quite different battle. It's just too hard to figure out what's happening now.

Q: If Gorsuch is confirmed, what do you see as his impact on the court?

A: Impossible to say. He will not be another Justice [Antonin] Scalia [whose sudden death in January 2016 created the current vacancy]. But no one will be another Justice Scalia, on either side of the aisle [from either major party].

Q: Back to President Trump's allegation that former President Barack Obama had the Trump campaign "wiretapped"; what legal issues may arise from this?

A: You're talking about the wiretap? Well, the first question is not a legal question; it's a factual question. Is there any basis for it? And so far there has been no evidentiary basis other than suspicion. And suspicion is not enough to start an investigation. The other problem, of course, is that when an accusation is made that you did something, it's very hard, as the lawyers say, to prove a negative. How do you show that something didn't happen? And so here, all the intelligence community and the FBI can do is to put somebody up and say it didn't happen. And somebody will come back and say to them, well how do we know unless we see all of your files  which is not going to happen. So it's going to be hard to prove a negative [for those who disagree with President Trump's assertion to refute his claim conclusively]. But I think the thrust of the response is going to be, well, do you have some specific facts in mind that even suggests the possibility of [wiretapping]? And I think so far the answer is no.

Now as far as the Trump travel ban is concerned, I'm very reluctant to comment on his executive orders. Because what the [White House] press release says and what the executive order says, and then what it actually turns out to do are often very different things. And so I wouldn't want to comment on that. But if [this week's revised executive order on immigration] is anything like the first one [which was rejected by U.S. courts], he'll certainly get sued about it, and we'll just have to see what happens.

Would one say this president enjoys lawsuits? I don't know that he enjoys them. He engages in them. He gets sued an awful lot; there were hundreds of lawsuits against him as a commercial real-estate developer [Trump's profession prior to politics]. I have no way of knowing whether that's an unusual amount, but it certainly seems to be more [litigation] than most commercial real-estate developers have.

Q: He also countersues when someone begins legal action against him ...

A: Well, he's now got his wife suing [a British newspaper, on the grounds that defamatory comments about her negatively affected her ability to launch a successful business career]. It is hard to believe that case is going to go forward. Is she really going to want to get up and testify how she was planning on taking advantage of the Trump presidency to promote her products for her personal gain? I would be very surprised to see her actually appear under oath, which you would have to do to say that. But we'll see.

Q: Could Obama take legal action against Trump as a result of the president's tweets and accusations last week?

A: I suppose in theory President Obama could sue  former President Obama could sue current President Trump for defamation. That would probably  almost certainly  not be done by President Obama; it's just not the way he operates. ... I think that kind of allegation is best responded to, not in the courts, but in the court of public opinion.
Lawyers say the mayor of Senegal's capital is charged with embezzling public funds.



Dakar Mayor Khalifa Sall was detained Tuesday by the senior investigating judge of the Dakar High Court.



Lawyer Cledor Cire Ly says the mayor is indicted for embezzlement, fraud involving public funds, criminal association and money laundering. Sall's lawyers call his arrest an attempt to prevent him from running in July's legislative elections.



Sall has been mayor since 2009. He denies the allegations. His lawyer says missing public funds went to people in need.



The arrests follow a state audit revealing transfers through the office of about $46,000 per month.



Also arrested were his secretary, the director of finance and administration and the director of finance and accounting.



The mayor is no relation to President Macky Sall.
Frustrated that North Korea has been undeterred by international sanctions, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is conducting a policy review to look for more effective ways to counter Pyongyang's missile and nuclear threats.



Adding new urgency to this longstanding security threat is North Koreas accelerated efforts to develop the capability to strike the U.S. mainland with a nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM.)



In January President Trump tweeted it will not happen, in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns statement indicating that his country would soon test an ICBM.



U.S. administration officials say that all options are on the table to deal with the increasing North Korean threat, including military action and deploying nuclear weapons in South Korea and Japan.



Regional security analysts Grant Newsham with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo, and Bong Young-shik with the Yonsei University Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul talked to VOA about the risks and the benefits of some measures being considered.





High risk: Military strike



Preemptive U.S. military air or missile strikes to take out North Korean nuclear and missile sites are unlikely to end the nuclear threat, and there is a high risk of deadly counterattacks that could draw China and the entire region into war, say these analysts.



Really if a military strike or approach is considered, the U.S. had better be ready to go all in and be ready to finish it, said Newsham.



North Korea has hundreds of mobile missile launchers, many of which are kept in underground bunkers that would be hard to detect and target.



Even if U.S. strikes could destroy all of the countrys nuclear and long-range missile facilities, North Korea could still attack Seoul and other regions near the inter-Korean border with artillery and chemical weapons that could kill millions in South Korea.



By taking unilateral military action against North Korea, the United States would be putting its own security needs ahead of its allies in Asia and would likely trigger a regional political backlash.



They will put almost all South Korean citizens against the United States because it is totally against the very purpose of the security partnership between the United States and South Korea, said Bong.



Even limited military actions, these analysts say, could too easily draw the United States into another military quagmire that could cause massive devastation and economic ruin.



No benefit: Nuclear allies



Either deploying American nuclear weapons in South Korea and Japan or allowing them to acquire their own may bolster U.S. support for its allies in Asia, but these analysts say they will not likely restrain North Korea.



The United States withdrew tactical nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991. Subsequently the two Koreas signed an agreement to keep the peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

North Korea later walked away from the agreement, citing the threat of a U.S. invasion.



Analysts say reintroducing nuclear weapons in the South, and deploying them in Japan for the first time, would likely legitimize the Norths nuclear arsenal and justify its efforts to develop long-range ballistic missile deterrence. It would also weaken the international commitment to maintain sanctions against Pyongyang and could spark a global nuclear buildup.





Difficult: Effective sanctions



Imposing real economic pain remains the best of the bad options to restrain North Korea from continuing to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.



You have to put North Korea in a situation where the leadership has to decide between the continuous pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles, and its survival.And I dont think North Korea is very close to being forced to make such a big decision, said Bong.



The international sanctions imposed on North Korea have not had a restraining influence so far, in part because of lax enforcement.



They have allowed the regime to get the money they need to survive and that has always been the regimes key vulnerability, the need for money, said Newsham.



The Norths key economic trading partner China is reluctant to strictly implement crippling measures that might destabilize the region or lead to the collapse of its ally.



North Korea has also been able to get around the imposed international restrictions by using companies in friendly countries like China to act as illicit fronts.



Last month the United Nations accused North Korea of flouting sanctions through trade in prohibited goods, with evasion techniques that are increasing in scale, scope and sophistication."



To more effectively crack down on North Koreas illicit financial dealings, the United States would likely have to target more Chinese companies that do business with North Korea



On Wednesday a Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp. agreed to plead guilty and pay nearly $900 million in a U.S. sanctions case, for dodging export controls in Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Cuba.



However China strongly opposes foreign governments putting unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and there are concerns that Beijing will retaliate against any increased U.S. pressure or legal actions.
International Womens Day is a time to reflect on the progress and immense challenges still facing women across the globe. To recognize this day, Voice of America hosted a discussion in which women from two of the countries impacted by extremism, Nigeria and Somalia, shared their stories.

Nigeria is fighting the brutal insurgency of Boko Haram and next month marks the third anniversary of the kidnapping of the 276 Chibok school girls, most of whom are still held by their abductors.

One of those girls is Sarah Samuel. Her mother, Rebecca, has not seen her for 1,059 days and cried when she attempted to talk Monday via satellite link from Abuja.

Cant we all come together as the world and wipe away her tears? asked Aisha Yesufu, a member of the Bring Back our Girls movement, who spoke for Samuel.

We should not allow terrorists to define humanity for us. We will be humane to each other. We will stand up for each other. We will speak for each other. We must show that Chibok girls are brought back home. We can not celebrate on International Womens Day [while] our daughters are in captivity and we seem to have turned our backs on them.

Last October, 21 of the girls were released by Boko Haram, prompting hope the crisis would come to an end.

But progress has been slow since then. According to a report this month by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a mediator continues to negotiate with the group to secure the release of the estimated 195 girls who are still held.

Yesufu said the girls continued captivity is a stain on International Womens Day.

We say to the girl child to dare to dream, she should aspire ... But you know what the girl child seems to know? Look at us now, I feel like as if its all a lie, Yesufu said. Because for 1,059 days our sisters have been in captivity, just for daring to be educated.

In East Africa, Somalia is trying to emerge from two decades of civil war and is facing the threat from the terror group al-Shabab at the same time the region is being hit by a historic drought. Last week 110 people died in 48 hours as famine decimates much of the north.

People are dying [from drought-related] problems and this is a national issue and everybody is involved in how to solve these problems and to feed our people, said Batulo Sheikh Ahmed Gaballe, chairwoman of the Somali National Women Organization, speaking from Mogadishu.

The dire situation drives young people to flee in search of a better life in Europe. Some fall into the hands of kidnappers who demand ransom from families.

Mumina Sheikh Mohamed, the mother of a 22-year-old woman held captive in Libya, said traffickers are demanding $7,000 for her daughters release.



Many women in Somalia [have] problems because children or the youth dont have a job, dont have good role model, they try to find out where they think they can build their futures, Ahmed said, speaking for Mohamed.

A 2016 report from the International Organization for Migration estimated there were 264,000 migrants in Libya seeking passage to Europe.

In the face of all of this pain, women from both countries are persevering, supporting their families and pushing for equal rights.

And despite their geographic and cultural differences, the women from Nigeria and Somalia drew strength from one another. What we would say to Somali women is lets not ever give up. Lets educate our children irrespective of gender. Education, education, education. Education is the easiest way to break the shackles of poverty, said Yesufu.

We must ensure that boys and girls get to school. When they get to school they get to be enlightened, they have the mind of their own. Nobody will come and tell them to come and join certain groups ... and we must never give up. We must keep fighting.

Founded in 1909, International Womens Day is now celebrated worldwide. Issues of importance on the African continent range from ending harmful practices like female genital mutilation and underage marriage to increasing female representation in politics and business. In commemorating the day, the United Nations is calling for gender equality in the workplace by 2030.

WATCH: VOA Africa report on International Women's Day
The United States said Wednesday that it was "concerned" by Kosovo's plans to convert its security force into a regular army without a constitutional amendment  a move sure to infuriate Serbia.

"We support the gradual transparent transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into a multiethnic force in line with NATO standards," a statement from the embassy in Pristina said.

"However, this transformation should be done in accordance with the Kosovo constitution and through an inclusive and representative political process that reflects Kosovo's multiethnic democracy," it said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called such unilateral steps "unhelpful."

But Kosovo President Hashim Thaci called the move "unstoppable."

"Will the citizens of Kosovo wait an eternity for this transformation?" he asked Wednesday. "I don't believe they will. So, we want to be a part of NATO? We cannot be a part of NATO without an army."

Thaci pointed out that Kosovo is making its own decisions, the way everyone who recognizes it has said it should.

The president introduced a bill earlier this week that would bypass amending the constitution by extending the powers of the current members of the Kosovo Security Force. Serbian minority members of parliament would certainly have vetoed changes to the constitution allowing the country to have an army.

Kosovo and its ethnic Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The Serbs refuse to recognize an independent Kosovo, and relations between minority Serbs and ethnic Albanians are tense.
Almost 400 people have fled their homes in Colombia's northwestern Choco region in fear for their lives, after a criminal gang entered the area, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

Some 200 members of the Autodefensas Gaitanistas, classified by the military as a criminal gang which includes former right-wing paramilitaries, arrived in Pena Azul over the weekend, the human rights group said in a statement.

"According to witnesses, the paramilitaries entered the locality looking for members of the ELN guerrilla group, which obliged 399 people (128 families) who feared for their lives to flee," Amnesty said. "Eight families are still unaccounted for."

The rights group said the incident is evidence that Colombia's armed conflict is far from over, despite a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, rebel group and peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, guerrillas.

Paramilitary groups in the country officially demobilized more than a decade ago, but many former members joined crime gangs and have continued to participate in violence and drug trafficking.

The country's armed conflict has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions since 1964.
Nigerians and travelers to and from the country are getting ready for major problems as the country's main airport shuts down Tuesday.

Authorities expect Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja to be closed for at least six weeks to fix a runway pockmarked with cracks and holes.

Officials say the work cannot be done unless the entire facility is closed.

Travelers flying into or out of the country will have to use the much smaller domestic airport in Kaduna - a three-hour drive from the capital along a highway infamous for bandits and kidnappers.

The government has promised to station police and soldiers along the road, but several international airlines have already said they will not fly into Kaduna.

It is not just travelers who are facing a major inconvenience. Hundreds of airport workers, such as baggage handlers and cab drivers, and small businesspeople who sell food and other services to passengers are facing more than a month without any income.

Travelers in Nigeria have long complained about the poor services, endless lines and shabby conditions at the Abuja airport.
Lagos has long been known as Nigerias pop culture hub. Its the home of Nigeria's film industry, Nollywood, as well as many of the countrys top musicians and artists.

But a group of rappers and fashion designers is creating a scene of their own in Kaduna, in northern Nigeria, some 600 kilometers from Lagos. Kaduna's is the new center of Nigerias growing hip-hop culture.



DJ Jakes Tudu is cranking out jams on his weekly radio show, playing the latest tunes from local rap artists.



Hip-hop music has taken over Nigerias pop music scene. Rappers like Morell, DJ AB, Kheengz, and Classiq are part of a new generation of rappers. They hail from Kaduna and theyre trying to put their city on the music map.



On the surface, Kaduna is a quiet conservative city. But theres another side of it. Here, music artists like Kevin Words are becoming local celebrities. DJ Jakes is a huge fan of Words.

WATCH: Inside Northern Nigerias Emerging Hip Hop Scene



"Stepping into the Kaduna music industry you have to listen to the likes of Kevin Words because a lot of people out there have this stereotype or this mindset that Kaduna artists or the Kaduna industry is full of mediocres, but when you hear people like Kevin Words, trust me, you want to sit up," DJ Jakes says.

Ibrahim Ilyia, 28, is another rapper from the streets of Kaduna. He goes by the stage name IBI. One of his most recent hit songs, Alhamdulillah, fuses the local Hausa slang with American hip-hop style.



"When I was young I used to listen to rap a lot and I fell in love with rap music and right now I do rap music because I love it," Ilyia says.

Most rappers in Nigeria, Ilyia says, end up going to Lagos to make it but Lagos, in his opinion, is passe.



"Im not actually against people going to Lagos, but if Kaduna people can just build themselves alone, reach a certain level, I mean Lagos is nothing. Well counter them."

So, he works hard, putting pen to paper to write rhymes and trying out new lyrics with sample beats. Hes good at free-styling, too.



The music is just one part of hip-hop culture. Fashion is also important. Kaduna is fertile ground for young ambitious designers.

Hussena Raji is the CEO of Mummys Fashun. Her clothes are an edgy blend of urban and African.

I decided to blend hip-hop because thats whats selling in the market. Almost everybody wants to wear and feel like it. So we try as much as possible to make everything look it, says Raji.

Patrick Yamai, 24, is another designer combining different looks with his fashion label YKP Clothing.



'I just felt there was a space in the fashion line that had been neglected. Its either fully African or its fully English, or fully corporate, but I had this dream of fusing the two. Something you can wear to the club and still wear to the office. So I tried to fuse African and urban together to see if it can go and the reception has been wonderful. Were doing clothes that are African but you can wear it with a sneaker and still look cool, thats what were trying to do," he said.



Yamai is an accounting graduate while DJ Jakes studied architecture in school. But they each found their calling in this local scene.
Going from Nogales, Arizona, in the United States to Nogales, Sonora, in Mexico, you put your bags on a security belt and pass through a full-length turn style within the rusty, metal barrier that separates the two Nogales. No ID is required by Mexican authorities.

It is an easy trip and speaks to the relaxed, vibrant culture shared by the two cities, on either side of the border. They have been separated by a fence, one of the first on the border, for almost 100 years. It split the street that divided them, but not the spirit that unites them.

Now both sides fear their relationship may be in jeopardy if U.S. immigration policy changes to the point that deportations of undocumented immigrants increase dramatically. Many Mexican nationals who are deported from the United States are dropped off in Nogales, Mexico.

Mayor Temo Galindo says that his city receives from 50 to 70 deportees a day, but it would not be unprecedented for those numbers to increase tenfold. "The figure can increase to between 500 and 700 daily, which has happened before, he says.

These are not people from Nogales, local reporter Felipe Ortiz Alor clarifies.These are people from other states of the country. He adds that many of them were deported because they were guilty of committing serious crimes in the United States. So right away, there is a security problem.

But it is quickly followed by a humanitarian one. How to feed all these people, how to give them jobs and accommodate them, because not everyone is a criminal, Alor says.They need to survive here.

Not the only Nogales to suffer

Nogales, Mexico, which had a population of almost 213,000 in 2010, is a manufacturing center for foreign businesses, including those from the U.S., and also, a transit point for agricultural goods shipped to the U.S.

But the business that might be most vulnerable to an influx of deportees is tourism. Nogales is a key entry point for U.S. tourists, who come to eat, drink and shop.

At midday, the streets are packed, and the sound of musica nortena (northern music) fills the air along with the smells of taco and elote (corn on the cob) carts.

Mayor Galindo, who along with his communications team is wearing a matching navy blue vest, stops for a shoe shine, as he talks to VOA about what is at stake.He says the positions of the U.S. president put at risk the intensity of commercial exchange that we have.

And he warns that Nogales, Mexico is not the only Nogales that will be hurt, They say that for every dollar that an American spends here in Nogales, Sonora, a Mexican from here in Nogales will spend up to five dollars in Nogales, Arizona.

When the dust settles

Nogales, U.S., Mayor John Doyle says the two cities have a relationship built on mutual respect and their joint economic interests.But he says fear is currently hanging over both communities, especially the Mexican one.

People that have legal documents to cross over and shop and do what they're going to do.They're a little concerned, are we going to be intimidated?Are we going to be mistreated?Are our documents going to be taken away from us for no reason at all?

About a tenth the size of its Mexican neighbor, Nogales, U.S. is only a smaller, quieter version. Its hilly downtown streets are festooned with bilingual signs for pawn shops and money exchanges.

Because of its location, the city channels billions of dollars in agricultural produce and manufactured goods from Mexico to the rest of the United States.Another - and in some sense competing - economic engine is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that employs thousands in its Border Patrol, and Customs and Border Protection agencies.

Doyle concedes the city went through a rough patch after the 9/11 terrorist attacks because of Border Patrols relationship with the immigrant community.

Now this is another step that we will probably come out of when the dust settles, he says.And hopefully that fear will be gone.

WATCH: Bound by Mutual Interests, US-Mexico Border Towns Hope to Maintain Ties
Pakistan's ethnic Pashtuns say they are being rousted in midnight raids, detained and subjected to other harassment in the country's crackdown on extremists following a series of terrorist attacks.

They see it as a case of guilt by association because the Taliban and other like-minded groups are predominantly Pashtun. Pashtuns have protested to the government and launched a scathing campaign on social media.

"If someone has done something wrong, authorities should act against them, but targeting someone only because he is Afghan, it isn't fair," said Toqueer Ahmed Kiyano, a Pashtun who owns a guesthouse in Pakistan.

The suicide bombing attacks, which killed more than 150 people in a matter of days last month, have been claimed by Islamic State and its allies. They have led to a major crackdown by security forces and worsened already strained relations with neighboring Afghanistan, where Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group.

The border was closed for more than two weeks  it reopened Tuesday, but just to allow pedestrians to cross for two days  in what was widely seen as a punitive action by Pakistan.

Alleged terrorism acts

Pakistan said its crackdown had killed more than 100 alleged terrorists and had resulted in hundreds of arrests. But Pashtuns said many people were being held without cause.

"The Pakistani constitution gives us basic rights," Pashtun lawyer Abdul Wazier said. "We can go anywhere in Pakistan and do business. We are against all kinds of discrimination. Due respect should be given to us."

Pakistan denies it is targeting Pashtuns. Rana Sana Uallah, the law minister of Punjab province, told Voice of America that the government was being very vigilant and was monitoring complaints about profiling. He said the latest operation wasn't aimed against any particular ethnic group or nationality.

Pashtuns aren't convinced. Over the years, senior Pakistani officials have been repeating a line that the country does not link any ethnicity or religion to acts of terrorism. But following the recent spate of attacks, Pashtuns living or working outside their ancestral land said they had been looked at with suspicion of being militants or militant sympathizers.

Police have denied issuing a public notice that circulated on social media saying citizens should report any vendors of apparent Afghan or "Pathan" origin selling tea, toys or dried fruits. Pathan is a common name given to ethnic Pashtuns in Punjab.

"Out of their impure intentions, they can carry out terrorist activities anywhere in the country," the note said.

Crackdown

Noor Khan of Bajaur, a tribal region on the border with Afghanistan, is one of the owners of a factory that makes cement blocks in Rawalpindi, just outside Islamabad. He was on a visit home when the crackdown against ethnic Pashtuns began in Punjab province.

Khan told VOA's Deewa service that his brother, with whom he owns the factory, called and advised him to stay in Bajaur until the situation eased.

"The police come every night. They carry out raids. They are extremely insulting," he quoted his brother as saying. "They check [identification] cards, and if anyone is from Bajaur, they are booked."

"I am now sitting here [in Bajaur] as a jobless man," Khan said. "I have nothing else do to. I am under siege in my own country."

Mohammad Naqib, also from Bajaur, told VOA he owns a cloth shop in Rawalpindi and that police had been harassing him and other ethnic Pashtuns living and working in the city.

"We are having a hard time because of the police," Naqib said. "They come at night, at 1 a.m. We are asleep. They check our identity cards, they check our clothes and bags, and then make us stand outside in the cold."

Ismail Khan, a cloth merchant in Inayat Kalay, a market town in Bajaur, said he had run out of merchandise but was hesitant to go to Faisalabad, an industrial city in Punjab and a hub of textile mills.

"They ask for our IDs and tell us, 'You are Pashtuns.' They insult us," he told VOA's Deewa service.

Traveled for talks

The issue has become so serious that the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a Pashtun-majority area bordering Afghanistan, traveled Tuesday to Punjab to talk with senior government officials and Pashtun representatives about reports of mistreatment.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, the province's top elected official, said in an interview with VOA's Deewa service last week that Pashtuns should not be singled out for profiling in the name of enhancing security.

There has even been a suggestion that Pashtuns should break away from Pakistan and form their own country, as Bangladesh did in 1971.

"We think ethnic and religious infighting leads to destruction of the country," Senator Shahi Syed, a senior leader of the Awami National Party, told VOA's Urdu television during a visit to Washington. "We condemned similar behavior back in 2013 in a joint session [of parliament] because Pashtuns were discriminated [against] and profiled. Punjab police need to behave professionally.

"Racial profiling of Pashtuns is reminding us of Pakistan's separation from its eastern arm in 1971. They are pushing Pashtuns to the wall," Syed said.
The killing of a German tourist in the Philippines is adding urgency to talks between the government of crime-fighting President Rodrigo Duterte and armed Muslim rebel groups with different agendas.



Duterte is trying to talk to the Muslim autonomy-seeking group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as well as a separate organization, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), to figure out how they might manage land near the Sulu Sea where Muslims have lived for centuries.

He proposes a federalist government system that could give Muslims a higher degree of power over lands in the archipelagos southwest.

Beheadings



The killing of 70-year-old German tourist Jurgen Kantner last month at the hands of Abu Sayyaf, a small Muslim group that many Filipinos compare to bandits, raises the urgency for Duterte to draw up a peace and power-sharing plan.



MILF is no problem. Theyve already committed to the roadmap as agreed upon, said Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Philippine advocacy group Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. The problem of course are these other groups, particularly those such as Abu Sayyaf, that are already classified as violent, extremist groups."

Abu Sayyaf also beheaded two Canadian tourists last year and it regularly kidnaps tourists for ransom. Duterte apologized to Germany for his governments failure to rescue Kantner, and his peace process adviser called for a stop to this killing of the innocent and the helpless.



The pressure is on the government, having failed to protect the German tourist, so that would add I think pressure on the Duterte government entering the peace talks, said Antonio Montalvan, a newspaper columnist in Cagayan de Oro, a port city near the Muslim region. It would seem to erode, for example, his credibility in dealing with these terrorist groups.



Duterte has doubled up efforts to reach peace and power-sharing deals, but his effort faces skepticism from the public, possible dissent in the Philippine congress and complexities within the Muslim rebel groups themselves.



Armed rebels on the southern island Mindanao and the Sulu Sea to its west have stirred up trouble since the 1960s, leaving an estimated 120,000 people dead. The Muslim rebel groups grew out of resentment toward the Catholic Philippine majority and its control over land.



Seventeen years of talks led to a peace deal in 2014 between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. But Philippine congress members declined to approve an autonomy-sharing deal called the Bangsamoro Basic Law, named after the region of Mindanao that the MILF would help run.



Enthusiasm in congress dropped particularly after a gun battle two years ago with the MILF left 44 special forces troops dead.



The peace process also left out the Muslim National Islamic Front, whose leader Nur Misuari is suspected of staging an attack on the Mindanao hub city Zamboanga, killing 140, in 2013. Both fronts support armed units that, like Abu Sayyaf, have used violence against civilians.

Duterte campaigned on peace deal



Hopes for a new peace effort surged when Duterte took office in June. The Mindanao native had made peace with a communist rebel group in Davao City while mayor there for 22 years. As president he vowed to pursue peace with the Muslim rebels.



Duterte called for starting talks early this year with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on drafting a new Bangsamoro Basic Law. The two sides have assigned details of the new law to a 21-member commission.



Duterte is expected to fuse any new agreement with his pursuit of federalism, which would give more rights to local governments throughout the developing Southeast Asian country of 102 million people and more than 7,100 islands.



Its still unclear how federalism would work in a Muslim region, said Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, University of the Philippines political science professor and a peace negotiator under the past president.



Will it be a symmetrical type of federal arrangement, meaning all states will be the same, or will it take into account the peculiarities of very special places like Bangsamoro? Colonel-Ferrer asked. Its not the case of having an autonomous region in one part of the country. Its about how to structure the political system and how to share power at the national level.



The president, known as a tough crime fighter, also met with Misuari, announced peace talks and sought the Moro National Liberation Fronts help in rescuing Abu Sayyaf captives, Misuaris group says on its website. The group offered that help, the website says.



Duterte signaled in November he might seek talks with Abu Sayyaf as well despite earlier pledges to wipe out the loose-knit 400-strong group militarily. Battles with Abu Sayyaf early in his term killed dozens.



Dutertes new efforts are still likely to meet headwinds in the Philippine congress, as citizens in much of the country dispute giving land rights to the Muslim groups, analysts say.



Some of those opponents are in Mindanao, a largely impoverished island of 21 million people who resent the Muslim groups' violent rebellions. They may fear that an autonomy deal would threaten the rights of Christians in Mindanao, Montalvan said.



Mindanaos multiple Muslim rebel groups and the volatility of those in talks with the government could also shatter any new deals, analysts warn. The Moro National Islamic Front says past Philippine presidents have hurt the process through deceptive negotiations. Duterte asked the group in January to avoid harboring terrorists.



The MNLF leadership has expressed high expectations on the Duterte government to prove its worth as a consistent partner, the official MNLF website says.
Baldness is inevitable in many aging men, but it may be of particular concern to men who are short.

A new study has found that males of short stature are at increased risk of losing their hair prematurely, in addition to a number of other health conditions.

The study analyzed the genomes of more than 20,000 men, about half of whom had gone bald well before they turned 50. The other half of participants had no hair loss and were used for comparison.

The study included men from the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece and Australia. The researchers identified 63 alterations in the human genome that increase the risk of premature baldness. And in many instances, the DNA regions overlapped with genes for short stature.

The investigators at the University of Bonn in Germany also found overlaps in bald men for a number of other physical characteristics and illnesses.

These included genes not only coding for shortness but also for traits predisposing the men to early puberty and an increased risk of prostate cancer. There's also evidence that Parkinson's disease is more common in men who start going bald at a younger age.

Geneticist Stefanie Heilmann-Heimbach, a lead author of the study, noted that researchers were hunting for baldness genes in particular when they made the other findings.

Until now, she said, associations between baldness and early age of puberty and prostate cancer had been noted only in population studies, "so with this study, this was really the first time that so many traits popped up."

The work was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Heart disease link

The researchers also discovered genes that may put shorter males at a higher risk for heart disease, but they said that association was less clear than the one for early puberty. Researchers found the genes for heart disease in the same region of the genome with genes that may play a role in a reduced risk.

But back to the hair. It's been noted that genetics are not destiny, and Heilmann-Heimbach said young men who are short should not worry that they are necessarily going to lose their locks at an early age.

"All the other family members  if they kept their hair and are also somehow the same body height, then I wouldn't be too afraid to lose my hair," she said.

Investigators said their gene study finding an association between baldness, short stature and other health conditions was only a first step. They said they were eager to discover the underlying biological mechanisms that increase the risk of short men losing their hair at an early age. Understanding that may help provide more clues as to why shorter males are also at increased risk for other diseases and conditions.
The White House continued Tuesday to defend President Donald Trump's recent Twitter outburst that accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower while Trump was a presidential candidate last year.

Reporters pressed spokesman Sean Spicer for evidence to back up the president's claim during an on-camera briefing, but Spicer said that would have to be part of the congressional probes into Russia's efforts to meddle in last year's presidential election.

"I think the smartest and most deliberative way to address the situation is to ask the House and Senate intelligence committees, who are already in the process of looking into this, to look into this and other leaks of classified information," Spicer said amid several demands for proof from reporters.

Plenty of denials

Obama has denied Trump's allegation, and so has former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

"There was no wiretap against Trump Tower during the campaign conducted by any part of the national intelligence community," Clapper told ABC News.

The continuing swirl of questions about Russia and whether any Trump campaign officials had contacts with Russian officials continues to be a major political distraction for the White House, Republican strategist John Feehery said. "It is a distraction from the legislative work that the president has to do. It is a distraction from trying to get his team in place," he said.

Feehery added that Trump's penchant for issuing his thoughts on Twitter was also an issue of concern for congressional Republicans as they move ahead to try to implement his agenda.

"It's not clear to me whether this is part of a concerted strategy or this is just who he is. It's also not clear if he is going to settle down or if this is the new normal that we all have to acclimate ourselves with," Feehery said.

Trump and some Republicans have demanded an investigation into his claims involving Obama and the alleged wiretapping, but there are plenty of questions about that, George Washington University Law School legal analyst Alan Morrison said.

"The first question is not a legal question, it's a factual question. Is there any basis for it? And so far there has been no evidentiary basis other than suspicion, and suspicion is not enough to start an investigation," Morrison said.

WATCH: Feinstein: 'Special Prosecutor Should Lead' Russia Investigation

Investigation debate

Congressional intelligence committees and the FBI have begun probing possible links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. But Democrats, including Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, favor a broader, independent investigation.

"It's vitally important that the American people have trust in this investigation and that there is not even the appearance of a conflict of interest or political influence," Feinstein said.

It's too early for that, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa said. "There are times when special counsels are appropriate, but it is far too soon to tell at this time," he said.

Both senators spoke at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on the nomination of Rod Rosenstein to be the next deputy attorney general.

If confirmed, Rosenstein could play a key role in the government's probe into Russian meddling, since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from cases involving the issue last week.

WATCH: Rosenstein Would 'Hire A Special Prosecutor' For Russia Investigation

Democrats at the hearing pressed Rosenstein about whether he was committed to pursuing an inquiry free from politics and conflict of interest. He tried to reassure the committee, saying, "And whether it is a law or a statute or some other mechanism, I would ensure that every investigation is conducted independently."

Russia skeptics

But it's not just Democrats keeping a close eye on the Russia controversy.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham vowed to be aggressive when he was asked about the issue during a recent town hall meeting in his home state.

"I'm not only going to push for a Russia investigation, I'm going to punish Russia for trying to interfere in our elections," Graham said.

Someone who knows the Russians well is former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, who served under Obama.

"I am so passionate about the need for a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate that, because that is the only way that we are going to turn leakers into witnesses. And if we don't do that, I don't think we'll ever know that story," McFaul said at George Washington University last week.

Health plan, tax reform

Much of Tuesday's White House briefing was dominated by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price's rollout of details on the plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, something many congressional Republicans would prefer to focus on as well.

Health care legislation and tax reform should keep Republicans busy for the next several weeks, if not months.

And as much as possible, strategist Feehery predicted, lawmakers will do all they can not to be distracted by the president's comments on Twitter.

"It does make Republicans a bit nervous, but it shouldn't come as any surprise. I mean, he did precisely this during the campaign," he added.
For decades, the Soviet Union celebrated the October Revolution, which brought the communist Bolsheviks to power in Russia.

Nowadays, there's much less celebration.

The October Revolution, which took place in November 1917 under the modern Gregorian calendar, led to the rise of the Soviet Union and created the world's first communist government. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, most Russians now see it as the "October Coup," and have mixed feelings about the empire the Bolsheviks built.



Soviet propaganda made the storming of the Tsars Winter Palace an iconic legend of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. None was more classic than the 1928 Soviet silent film by Sergei Eisenstein, October: Ten Days That Shook the World.

We see in it crowds of people running from the Palace Square, climbing the gates, then running up this staircase and storming the Winter Palace, says Hermitage Museum curator Elena Salomakha. In reality there was nothing of the kind.

Little resistance

That's because the Bolsheviks faced little resistance - much of the vast palace was being used as a hospital for wounded troops. The weak leaders of the provisional government, in power only months after the monarchy was deposed, were found and arrested.

The iconic main building of the Hermitage was the Russian tsars' Winter Palace from early 18th century until the 1917 revolution - a monumental, 1,500-room symbol of the strength of the Russian monarchy, now one of the largest and most venerable art museums in the world.

Salomakha, who is a member of the Hermitage's department of manuscripts and documents, gives a sober account of history that is less grandiose than Eisenstein's: In fact, from the very beginning, the Bolsheviks themselves called it a coup. At the very beginning they were called the February Revolution and the October Coup. And we are now returning to the same terms.

The Bolsheviks later executed the royal family, the Romanovs, and compared their actions to those of the leaders of the French Revolution, more than a century earlier.

Revolutionaries hungry for power

But 100 years after the uprising in St. Petersburg, many Russians see the Bolsheviks less as revolutionaries than as a power-hungry group biding their time until their moment arrived.

They were all authoritarian. Their opponents' opinions or even their allies and coworkers' opinions meant nothing to them, says Nikolay Tretyakov, director of the Smolny Historical and Memorial Museum. They chose a certain doctrine and followed it. They wanted to seize power. Nothing else interested them.

Critics acknowledge the Bolsheviks communist system leveled the field for a nation of peasants and removed a titled class of landowners.



Neither can we turn down everything that was accomplished by the Soviet government during the 20th century," says the Russian State Museum of Political Historys Sergey Spiridonov. "The achievements were quite considerable. Besides some tragic pages, there were achievements in science, culture, art, as well as in the field of international policy.

Many see 1917 as a tragedy

Yet modern Russia sees the bloodshed that accompanied the 1917 events - whether they were a revolution or a coup - as a tragedy, and debates how much of it was necessary.

The uprising in 1917 led to a bloody three-year civil war, chiefly between the Reds - the Bolshevik forces - and the Whites, who were monarchists and capitalists. Once the war was over, the victorious communists went on to shut down all opposition and enforce policies that led to mass starvation in Ukraine and other parts of the Soviet Union, as well as to execute or jail thousands of people suspected of disloyalty.

All cultural achievements of the 1920s were thanks to the February revolution, as it opened something that had been suppressed, Salomakha said. As for the October revolution, now it is regarded as a negative phenomenon, because we all know what it resulted in - the repressions and the like, the state that repressed its own people in every possible way.

Soviet propaganda no longer dictates how Russians must view the Bolsheviks and the coup they launched 100 years ago, but few doubt the impact their actions had in giving birth to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Minor floods caused by rising sea levels may end up costing U.S. coastal communities as much money and resources as major hurricane disasters, U.S. scientists said.

As climate change causes sea levels to rise, such "nuisance flooding" is expected to become more frequent and costly for cities like Washington, San Francisco, Boston and Miami, researchers said.

Over the last 20 years, Washington has endured more than 94 hours a year of nuisance flooding. By 2050, the capital could see as many as 700 hours of flooding a year, the scientists estimated in a study published in the American Geophysical Union journal Earth's Future.

"Since these events are not extreme, they don't get a lot of attention," said Amir AghaKouchak, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California-Irvine and co-author of the study.

Inconvenience to public

The National Ocean Service defines nuisance flooding as "flooding that leads to public inconveniences such as road closures" but rarely causes death or injury. Such floods can overwhelm storm drains, slowly degenerate infrastructure and strain city resources.

Roads and sidewalks were not built to be under saltwater for hours on end, and cities usually have to close roads and send in trucks to clean them up, the scientists said.

"They definitely can't withstand this," said lead author Hamed Moftakhari, also of UC-Irvine. And the damage leads to "long, drawn-out costs," he added.

In Boston specifically, "king tides" overwhelm walkways and roads several times a year. The East Coast city is predicted to see up to 100 hours of such nuisance flooding a year by 2030, the UC-Irvine scientists said.

Residents have already noticed the semifrequent inconvenience, according to Mia Goldwasser, Boston's climate preparedness program manager.

"There are always people sending pictures to the city, saying, 'Look at all the flooding happening with very little rain,' " she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview this week. The city has already noted several waterfront hot spots where "it's going to be worse [in the future] if there's already flooding."

More awareness

The flooding has raised awareness among the general public to the everyday realities of climate change, Goldwasser added: "It's an inconvenience to people when they're walking and driving and biking, moving around their neighborhood."

The scientists are using the data as a "call to action" for coastal cities to examine the issue and decide on the best ways to respond to rising sea levels.

"We believe that if you have information on the type of hazard, the potential cost, then you can plan," said AghaKouchak.

Boston has begun to come up with ideas to mitigate the effects of rising seas on infrastructure, which include floodproofing properties and potentially building a massive seawall.

Some roads and buildings may become corroded by nuisance floods, while others could end up completely under water, Goldwasser said.

"There's still a lot that we don't know, that we're trying to figure out," she said. "What are the most effective solutions? ... How do we actually implement them?"

As for the total cost of the floods over the next few decades, Goldwasser said that's still to be determined, though it's expected to be "pretty significant."
1. Yes. Taxpayers are funding its operation; they should have a voice in the naming process.

2. Yes. The city should operate with a spirit of inclusivity. Residents will be responsive.

3. No. Public input can be problematic; rejection of suggestions can be divisive for residents.

4. No. Residents elect council members to make decisions on their behalf. No input is needed.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say whether public input would be more of a benefit or a hindrance.

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All 100 U.S. senators have signed a letter to the nation's top three law enforcement officials asking for more federal help for Jewish centers and schools dealing with numerous bomb threats.

"These cowardly acts aim to create an atmosphere of fear and disrupt the important programs and services offered by JCCs [Jewish community centers] to everyone in the communities they serve," the letter said.

The letter was sent to the heads of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security and to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The senators wrote that these law enforcement agencies can provide "crucial assistance" to JCCs and synagogues in providing security, deterring threats, and investigating and prosecuting those who make such threats.

The senators also condemned vandalism at Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia and St. Louis, calling it "completely unacceptable and un-American."

While House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday that the Trump administration would continue to condemn the bomb threats and other anti-Semitic acts and would look at ways to stop them.

Jewish community centers and schools, along with Anti-Defamation League offices in nine states and Ontario, Canada, reported email or telephone bomb threats Tuesday.

Federal agents arrested a former journalist in St. Louis last week in connection with a number of threats.
The youngest son of U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate in her 2016 presidential bid, was one of six people arrested during a counter protest at a rally in support of President Donald Trump in Minnesota.



The protesters clashed with hundreds of Trump supporters gathered at the State Capitol rotunda in St. Paul last Saturday, a scene that played out during rallies in other cities around the country.



The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Linwood Kaine, from Minneapolis, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree riot. Kaine was released from the Ramsey County Jail Tuesday.



Tim Kaine, a St. Paul native and U.S. senator for Virginia, expressed support for his three children in a statement, saying they all understand the responsibility of expressing their political views peacefully.
Top legal scholars say the fight for South Africa to stay in the International Criminal Court is just beginning, a day after the government officially revoked its notice of intent to withdraw from the war crimes court.



That decision came after a South African court ruled last month that that notice, given by South Africa's Cabinet, was unconstitutional, and the matter needs to go through parliament. At the time, legal activists praised the ruling because they said it showed South Africa's commitment to following proper procedures.



But retired Constitutional Court justice Zak Yacoob says this is a hollow victory.

"That's not a victory for us, ultimately," he said Wednesday, during a news conference at which a top group of international jurists, including six retired members of South Africa's Constitutional Court, presented a submission to South Africa's parliament to remain in the International Criminal Court.





"Ultimately it doesn't matter in real, substantial terms whether we leave the process by not having followed the proper process or whether we leave having followed the proper process," he said. "I suppose the first is marginally worse, but in the end, our view is that whether we follow the process or not, leaving will have catastrophic international consequences."



The ruling African National Congress, however, holds a strong majority and is firmly in favor of leaving.



Al-Bashir disagreement



South Africa announced its intent to leave the court in 2015, after a disagreement with the court over the government's refusal to act on an ICC arrest warrant for Sudan President Omar al-Bashir during an African Union summit he attended in Johannesburg.





African nations have frequently accused the court of targeting Africans. The court disputes this charge and notes it is investigating situations in a number of countries, but has yet to try a case from a non-African nation.



The African Union voted last month to support any member who wanted to withdraw from the war crimes court. Only Burundi and South Africa have announced they will do so, after Gambia's new president reversed the previous president's decision to withdraw.



Arnold Tsunga, director of the Africa Regional Program of the International Commission of Jurists, says the court isn't perfect. Many critics say it is inefficient. Others say the court's reliance on the U.N. Security Council, which is allowed to refer cases to the court, is problematic since three of the five permanent members of the council do not belong to the international court themselves.





But Tsunga says that as a leading democracy with a respected legal system, South Africa can play a better role reforming it from within.



Calls for reform

"Coming out of the ICC, rather than reforming it and making it more efficient and fit for purpose in terms of tackling impunity, is not the way to go," he said. "And I think it's not desirable, on the African continent, to have South Africa leading only a country like Burundi in the pursuit of impunity. ...I find that to be most unfortunate, because there's absolutely no way, no way at all, that the Burundian government and the danger that it presents to its citizens can be a country that can be in the same league as South Africa."



Yacoob says he will not give up, whatever parliament decides. The brief submitted by top jurists warns that if South Africa pulls out of the court, it will have no other legitimate venue to try serious international crimes.



"If parliament takes a decision to leave now, that for us, I think, is not the end of the matter," he said."Because then begins the campaign to persuade the country to join again.So ultimately, this is not a campaign which has an end.It doesn't end at the point when parliament makes its decision, even if it decides against us.We will continue with this campaign until there is victory."



He may have a long fight ahead of him. Parliament is scheduled to discuss the matter and South African authorities have been summoned to the Hague-based court on April 7 to explain their failure to arrest Bashir.



Those proceedings may lift the curtain on the backstage machinations of the dramatic 48 hours that Bashir spent in South Africa, and how he managed to elude publicity and leave safely, despite a court order prohibiting his departure.



"I imagine the hearing will be quite interesting," said Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, executive director of the Southern Africa Litigation Center.
South Korea's highest court has announced it will rule Friday on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

The Constitutional Court said Wednesday the ruling will be televised live.

South Korean lawmakers voted in December to remove Park from office over a corruption scandal.However, under the South Korean system the Constitutional Court must confirm the decision before it can take effect.

The main allegation is that she colluded with her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil to extort South Korean conglomerates to donate $70 million to two dubious foundations in exchange for favorable treatment.

There were also other charges related to Parks allegedly negligent handing of the 2014 Sewol Ferry disaster that killed over 300 people, and to Choi purportedly using presidential connections to gain her daughter admission into a prestigious university.

Park has said she is not guilty, never benefited from her office and was unaware of any illegal activities allegedly done by friends or subordinates.

If the court rules against her, she would be the first democratically elected South Korean leader to be ousted from office.That would also trigger an election for a new president within 60 days.
The U.S. State Department held its first, much-anticipated briefing Tuesday since President Donald Trump's inauguration in January, and faced a lot of reporters' pent-up questions about the forging of American foreign policy in the new administration.

Journalists and other long-time observers of the State Department have been asking when daily news briefings would resume, why they have heard so little from new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and why so many senior positions including Tillerson's deputy  have not been filled in the department.

Acting Spokesman Mark Toner rejected suggestions that the State Department has been marginalized in the new Trump administration:

"Secretary Tillerson is very engaged with the White House, very engaged with the president  speaks to him frequently, was over there just yesterday, I believe, for a meeting. And I can assure everyone that the secretary's voice, the State Department's voice, is heard loud and clear in policy discussions at the National Security Council level."

WATCH: Toner Talks about Tillerson, Budget Challenges

Toner is a career State Department officer. His replacement, Tillerson's own new spokesperson, has not been announced. Toner rejected criticism that the new secretary has been keeping a low profile, minimizing contact with reporters and ignoring their questions. Rights groups criticized Tillerson for not presenting the State Department's annual human-rights report last week  instead having it announced through a telephone conference call.

Toner pointed to the former ExxonMobil CEO's trips last month to Bonn, Germany, where he met with his Russian counterpart, and to U.S. neighbor Mexico. The spokesman said Tillerson is cultivating the relationships he needs to represent the U.S. successfully.

Drastic budget cuts feared

Even more worrisome to some analysts are documents circulating that indicate Trump's proposed budget would cut State Department spending and U.S. foreign aid by up to 37 percent, while at the same time dramatically boosting military spending. The official budget has not been released, but is expected this month.

Asked about budget cuts, Toner said nothing is final yet, but that Tillerson is consulting with senior staff members about the department's priorities.

"I think there is also a period, within any transition, of reassessment," Toner said. "It's one of the reasons he's meeting with and talking to senior staff. He's talking to various leadership at different levels, to try to get their feedback on what their priorities are, and how we can reconfigure and look at resources."

Some former State Department officials and analysts have expressed concern about the impact steep budget cuts would have on foreign service officers in consulates and embassies around the world. Tom Malinowski, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor during the Obama administration, told VOA the proposed cuts, if implemented, would be devastating.

"The budget, at least on paper, would slash State Department programs by historic amounts, especially when you consider that there are certain programs that Trump would see as untouchable, such as aid to Israel and Egypt," he said. "That would require virtually everything else [be cut] by unheard-of amounts."

Malinowski said such drastic cuts would not pass in Congress.

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat, agreed that such cuts would and should not pass, saying a strong U.S. diplomatic presence is more essential today than ever.

"We need to do more in Africa in promoting democracy. We need to do more in the Middle East in promoting good governance and inclusive government, so we don't have to have as many wars," Cardin said. "We need to do things in our own hemisphere. ... There's a lot of work for America to do."

For now, Tillerson has more immediate concerns than budget cuts. He is traveling to China, South Korea and Japan next week, at a time of heightened concerns about North Korea's missile program.
Turkey is pushing the idea once again of establishing safe zones in northern Syria and wants the issue on the agenda at the next round of U.N.-led peace talks in Geneva, which are scheduled for later this month.

According to Turkish officials, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will advocate for the establishment of the zones in his talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during a visit to Moscow this week.

Ankara long lobbied for a safe zone in northern Syria but was repeatedly rebuffed by the Obama administration, notably in 2013 and 2015, amid concerns in Washington that protecting it would entail putting a significant American force on the ground, drawing the U.S. deeper into the conflict in Syria.

Trump support

Turkish officials say they are more hopeful now than on their previous efforts to get Western backing for the zones because of U.S. President Donald Trumps apparent support for the idea. As a candidate, Trump proposed to take a big swatch of land for the right price and build a big beautiful safe zone that will make Syrian refugees happier.

On January 25, he said the U.S. will absolutely do safe zones in Syria for people displaced by the six-year conflict.

The U.S. president has not mapped where zones would be located. He has asked the Pentagon and State Department to draft plans, although he has omitted that instruction from recent executive orders.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry applauded Trumps January call for setting up the havens, saying, Setting up safe zones is something Turkey has advocated from the start. Ankara, however, is wary of any U.S.-supported zone being proposed for territory controlled by Syrian Kurds.

For Assad, not a realistic idea at all

Moscow and Damascus have not been enthusiastic about the idea of safe zones. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Yahoo News in a recent interview, Safe zones for the Syrians could only happen when you have stability and security, where you don't have terrorists, where you don't have flow and support of those terrorists by the neighboring countries or by Western countries ...It's much more viable, much more practical and less costly to have stability than to create safe zones. It's not a realistic idea at all.

Turkish officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to VOA, say that the circumstances have changed dramatically on the ground since their past big lobbying efforts to secure backing for the establishment of safe zones.

With Russias military intervention in the Syrian war, Assad apparently secure, U.S. special forces on the ground in the Kurdish-controlled northeast of Syria and fragile and tentative cooperation under way in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, the time has come for safe zones to be taken seriously, Turkish officials say.

Stemming flow of refugees

In the past, Turkeys push for the havens was seen as being tied to its eagerness for Assads ouster - the zones would have served as protected bases for Syrian rebels, both Damascus and Washington feared. Now, the Turks are marketing the safe zones not as part of a broader effort to topple Assad, a policy aim they have largely abandoned, but as a way to stem the flow of refugees to the West.

According to Turkish and Western officials, the safe zones proposal was floated at this weeks unusual three-way meeting in southern Turkey among the top commanders of the U.S., Turkish and Russian armed forces. The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, had already been lobbied by the Turks on the issue last month during meetings with Turkish military officials.

Under the Turkish plan, a formal buffer zone would be established between Afrin, northwest of Aleppo, Syria, and Ayn al-Arab, northeast of Aleppo. A large part of the proposed Turkish zone already corresponds with a swath of land in northern Syria cleared by the Turks and Syrian rebels they back in Operation Euphrates, a military intervention launched last August and aimed at pushing back Kurdish militias and jihadists as much as possible from the Turkish border. Turkey also proposes providing hospitals, large kitchens, and other amenities for the zone.

Preventing Kurdish mini-state

Turkeys advocacy of a large safe zone in northern Syria isn't as innocent as presented, say Syrian Kurds. They see the proposal as mainly aimed at them and largely an effort by the Turks to prevent Kurdish-controlled territory from becoming a safe zone, one that could be turned into a Kurdish mini-state.

And the Kurds and other critics say Ankaras safe zone proposal is a Turkish bid to carve out its own de facto mini-state in northern Syria, one in effect endorsed by Washington and Moscow, whose protection would be guaranteed by U.S. military power.

Turkey is currently shaping a de facto safe zone between Afrin and Jarablus along its border with Syria, part of a demographic battle with the People's Protection Units [YPG] that represents Syrian Kurdish forces, argues Joe Macaron, a policy analyst at the Arab Center, a non-profit research organization in Washington.

Speaking at a conference last week at the Global Policy Initiative, a Washington-based research institution, Walid Phares, an analyst who advised the Trump presidential campaign, said there are many important challenges to the proposal for safe zones.

One is where to establish them, two is who will manage them, three is who will fund these zones, and last but not least, is there a regional and international consensus over this initiative, he said.

Platforms for regime change?

Other key questions, according to analysts at the conference, are: how long the safe zones would be in effect and would they in the end result in Syria being broken up along ethnic lines?

Of all the powers involved in discussions about safe zones in Syria, Russias position will be crucial, said Ilan Berman of the American Foreign Policy Council, a research group in Washington. The Kremlin sees the proposal of safe zones as a starting point for negotiations with the U.S."

The Russian government wants guarantees the zones will bring stability and also that they will not be used as platforms for regime change," Berman added.
A key monitoring group says Syrian troops backed by Russian air power have regained control of a key pumping station near the Turkish border from Islamic State extremists.

The facility at al-Khafsa, which supplies Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, with most of its fresh water, was shuttered by IS fighters nearly eight weeks ago, forcing the city's 1.5 million residents to rely on local wells and private vendors for critical supplies.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the capture of the pumping station on the western bank of the Euphrates River came early Tuesday, when Islamic State fighters withdrew to the northeast.

The move is the latest gain in a rapid government offensive against IS that monitors say has resulted in the capture of nearly 20 villages and forced more than 40,000 civilians to flee to the northeast toward Manbij in recent weeks.

Manbij and the surrounding area are held by a U.S.-backed Kurdish alliance known as Syrian Democratic Forces.

Trilateral talks in Turkey

In a related development, top Turkish, Russian and U.S. military officials met Tuesday in coastal southwest Turkey to coordinate logistics and maintain order among three rival anti-jihadist armies converging on Manbij in preparation for an eventual attack on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim described the talks at Antalya, which are set to continue Wednesday, as aimed at avoiding "the risk of unwanted clashes" and preventing "parties from interfering with each other's operations."

Anti-jihadist forces include largely Sunni Turkish troops, the Shi'ite dominated Syrian army and its Russian allies, and the U.S.-backed Kurdish alliance, the SDF.

Strategists have warned that longstanding antipathy between two of the anti-jihadist forces  Turkey and Kurdish militia of the SDF  could boil over into conflict once the two armies meet Syrian forces near Manbij.

Addressing the possibility of intra-alliance conflict Monday, the Pentagon announced the deployment of U.S. forces in and near Manbij to "deter" members of the loosely knit alliance from attacking each other.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said, "We want to ... show that we are there to deter all parties from fighting anybody other than ISIS," an acronym for Islamic State.

A local official in Manbij told VOA that U.S. troops were attempting to broker talks between Kurdish and Turkish forces. However, Pentagon officials said Monday they were not aware of any talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing funding cuts for the country's Coast Guard, its natural disaster emergency agency, and airport security arm so he will have money to start building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and crack down on illegal immigration.

Trump vowed during his run to the White House to build the 3,200-kilometer wall to thwart illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central American.

But now, Trump is faced with finding money to fund the massive project. He has estimated the wall would cost $12 billion, although the Homeland Security Agency says the cost could be as much as $21.6 billion.

Figures released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials show a 40 percent drop in illegal border crossings from January to February at the countrys southern border as measured by apprehensions. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement that since Trump took office January 20 there has been a dramatic drop in the numbers of those trying to cross illegally into the United States.

Although Trump has yet to present a government budget proposal to Congress, a draft of his spending priorities related to the wall is circulating among Washington officials for their comments, with vocal opposition expected from the agencies targeted for funding cuts.

The president is planning to present a complete budget plan in the coming weeks.

Under the draft, Trump would cut 14 percent of the $9.1 billion in funding for the country's Coast Guard, whose personnel guard ports and coastlines, intercept drug couriers and capture illegal migrants trying to enter the country by sea.

The draft budget would trim 11 percent, $500 million, from the Transportation Security Agency, whose agents guard security checkpoints at the country's 5,000 public airports.

In addition, the budget proposal calls for slashing 11 percent, $370 million, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including money for countering violent extremism. FEMA is best known in the U.S. for its rescue efforts after tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

The draft spending plan said the White House is prioritizing Homeland Security law enforcement operations, "critical investments in front-line border security" and "robust cybersecurity defenses." It said the budget "aggressively implements the presidents commitment to construct a physical wall along the southern border.

With the proposed cuts and other funding, the draft suggests that $2.9 billion would be available to start funding construction of the wall, with another $1.9 billion for immigration detention beds and $285 million to hire 500 more Border Patrol agents and 1,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The Trump administration is moving to roll back federal fuel-economy requirements that would have forced automakers to increase significantly the efficiency of new cars and trucks, a key part of former President Barack Obama's strategy to combat global warming.

The Environmental Protection Agency is close to an announcement reversing a decision made in the waning days of the Obama administration to lock in strict gas mileage requirements for cars and light trucks through 2025.

Automakers asked EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to discard a January 13 decision that requires the fleet of new cars to average a real-world figure of 36 miles per gallon.

Obama rules cost jobs?

The automakers said the Obama rules could add thousands of dollars to the price of new cars and cost more than a million jobs.

Lawmakers, industry groups and environmentalists say the administration has signaled it plans to take this step. An announcement could come as early as this week, although changes in the standards could take years to fully implement.

A decision to review the Obama rule sets up a potential legal battle with California and other states that have adopted tough tailpipe standards for drivers. California has received a waiver allowing the state to enforce its standards, which have also been adopted by 12 other states, including New York and Massachusetts.

The White House and the EPA declined to comment.

Attacking the California waiver is a recipe for chaos, said Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who has pushed for higher fuel standards. California and other states that have adopted its standard will almost certainly file a legal challenge if pushed by the EPA, Markey and other lawmakers said.

The auto companies don't want 50 state standards, he said.

California has set the bar high

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., called her state a model for the country'' on environmental standards and said she strongly opposes any attempt to roll back the progress we've made. That's counterproductive and could absolutely be harmful to the health and well-being of the residents of our state and the people of our nation.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents a dozen major car manufacturers, including General Motors, Ford and Toyota, declined to comment.

But in a February 21 letter to Pruitt, the group said the EPA's January 13 decision on fuel economy may be the single most important decision that EPA has made in recent history. The alliance urged Pruitt to reconsider the plan, which it said could depress an industry that can ill-afford spiraling regulatory costs.

The automakers estimated they would have to spend a staggering'' $200 billion between 2012 and 2025 to comply with the tailpipe emissions rule  far more than industry would spend under the Clean Power Plan, Obama's signature effort to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. Trump is also expected to roll back the power-plant rule in coming days.

EPA plan would hurt economy, environment, families

Markey and other Democratic senators criticized the EPA emissions review before it has even been issued.

President Trump is waging a war on the environment, and he wants EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to make our strong fuel economy emissions standards his latest victim, Markey said at a news conference Tuesday.

Trump and Pruitt want to pump the brakes on fuel efficiency standards, throw us into reverse and recklessly roll back down the road we just came from, said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. It's bad for our economy, it's bad for the environment and it's bad for middle-class families.

The fuel-economy regulations for model years 2017-2025 were imposed in 2012 as one of Obama's major initiatives to reduce global warming.

Seven days before Obama left office, the EPA decided to keep the requirements for model years 2022 to 2025 after completing a legally required review. The standards are flexible and automakers can meet them with existing technology, the agency said, adding that its review was thorough.

But the industry contends the decision was rushed to beat the change in administrations, noting that the original timeline called for a review by early 2018. Trump, a billionaire businessman who has vowed to roll back a host of regulations, is considered to be more favorable to the industry than Obama.

Trucks, SUVs drive auto sales

The trade groups said the January rule did not account for cheaper gasoline that has helped fuel consumers' love for gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs over more efficient cars. When the standards were conceived in 2012, gas was $3.60 per gallon, compared with around $2.30 currently. In 2012, more than half the new vehicles sold in the U.S. were cars. Now, six of every 10 are trucks or SUVs, making the average fuel-economy figure more difficult to achieve.

The industry contends the Obama standards will drive up new car prices, while the EPA under Obama said gasoline cost savings will offset nominally higher vehicle prices.

As a practical matter, experts on both sides say it could take years for the Trump administration to change the standards, if it decides to. The EPA would have to produce data showing the change was justified and overcome an almost certain legal challenge from states and environmental groups.
U.S. President Donald Trump and two Democratic congressmen who have been calling for the federal government to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans met at the White House Wednesday, and both sides indicated they may be able to cooperate on the pricing issue.

Apart from the ongoing national debate about health insurance  in particular, the push by the Republican majority to roll back former President Barack Obamas signature Affordable Care Act  high prescription drug prices have been a long-term concern for many U.S. political leaders.

Congressman Elijah Cummings has been urging the federal government to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers, based on studies that show Americans face substantially higher costs than consumers in Canada, for example, as well as in many other countries.

Trump has promised, both during his campaign for the presidency and since his election, to support efforts to stem the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs, as Cummings put it, so the Maryland lawmaker welcomed a chance to discuss the issue in person Wednesday at the Oval Office, accompanied by fellow Democratic Congressman Peter Welch of Vermont.

President Trump expressed his desire to work with Congressman Cummings in a bipartisan fashion to ensure prescription drug prices are more affordable for all Americans, especially those who need life-saving ... medications, White House officials said in a statement late Wednesday.

Reforming the [U.S.] Food and Drug Administration and reducing the regulatory burdens on drug manufacturers so as to enhance competition will help accomplish those goals, the statement added.

For his part, Cummings said the president received his suggestions enthusiastically and made clear to his visitors that he wants to do something about excessively high drug prices.

Wednesdays meeting at the White House was seen as a rare opportunity for the president and his congressional adversaries to discuss an issue of mutual concern.

Trump tweeted Tuesday that he is developing a new system to cut drug prices and promote competition in the pharmaceutical industry.

Those informal remarks sent stock prices tumbling for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, whose complex engineering techniques are seen by many as both a source of innovation in the drug industry as well as a major factor in rising costs.

The president accused drugmakers in January of getting away with murder on drug prices. He later met at the White House with the heads of some of the worlds largest drug manufacturers  a meeting that at first was expected to be contentious, but went off cordially. Trump told the drug executives he plans to shorten the lengthy process of gaining the regulatory approval necessary to bring experimental drugs into full production  which in itself also could lower prices.
Donald Tusk is closing in on a second term as the European Union's Council President despite fierce opposition from his native Poland, whose most influential politician is a bitter rival of the former prime minister.

Tusk's term in one of the EU's most prestigious jobs  as the chairman of summits of the bloc's 28 leaders  ends May 31. An EU summit is due to elect the president for the next term Thursday.



Poland's nationalist government, which has often been at odds with Brussels and EU partners, has proposed little-known Polish EU lawmaker Jacek Saryusz-Wolski to replace Tusk. But by Wednesday, diplomats from several member nations said it was clear that Warsaw has little or no support while Tusk has strong backing.



Poland's government argues that Tusk supports the domestic opposition in Poland and has failed to protect the country's interests in the EU.



Malta, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, will be looking right up to the beginning of Thursday's summit for a way to preserve the consensus and have everyone back one candidate, but several other diplomats said the most likely option would be Tusk being approved by an overwhelming majority.



The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity since the issue was still in the process of being resolved.



Most EU nations want a short approval of Tusk since the EU is already facing so many issues that a drawn-out succession process would further damage the bloc.



The heart of the problem, though, appears to be long-standing rivalry and animosity between Tusk and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland's governing Law and Justice party. Kaczynski accuses Tusk of contributing, through lax security, to the death of his twin, President Lech Kaczynski, in a plane crash in 2010.



Kaczynski told Poland's TVP Info television on Tuesday that Tusk is "totally unacceptable'' for Poland, accusing him of "breaking the basic EU rules, the rules of neutrality toward internal matters of member nations."



Asked what will happen if Tusk is re-elected, Kaczynski said "it will be a completely different Union, because nothing like this has happened before."



There is precedent, however. In 2014, EU leaders nominated Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the bloc's executive Commission against the votes of Britain and Hungary.



The intervention by Poland may even have galvanized support for Tusk at a time when the other top positions in the EU  the presidency of the Commission and the European Parliament  are also in the hands of his center-right European People's Party.



France's socialist president, Francois Hollande, said earlier this week that he had no reason to back off supporting Tusk "even if, with a view to political balance, it would be the turn of a socialist  I try to have a vision that is more European than partisan or national."



"I will not participate in this eviction," he told French daily Le Monde and other European newspapers in an interview published Monday.






Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin says U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has assured him that Washington will continue to support Kyiv in its standoff with Russia.

Klimkin spoke to reporters after meeting at the State Department Tuesday with Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO who now serves as President Donald Trump's top diplomat.

Their meeting came amid ongoing concerns in Ukraine, and among its supporters in the West, that Trump could soften the U.S. line on Russia, given his stated desire to repair relations with Moscow.

Trump's new administration, however, has so far publicly supported the continuation of sanctions imposed on Russia following its 2014 seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and its support for separatists in the country's east.

Ukraine a 'key partner' of U.S.

"[Tillerson] assured me that the United States would consistently continue to support Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression, that Ukraine is a key partner of the U.S. in the region, that the U.S. would also consistently support Ukraine on its path of reforms," Klimkin said, adding that their talks included "a wide range of questions" about U.S.-Ukrainian cooperation.

"We also discussed ... what we can do to change the situation when Russia does not fulfill the Minsk Agreements," Klimkin told VOA. "We have discussed a couple of options. We will continue discussing that, but today I want to stress specifically that the U.S. wants to stay engaged in this process. Some additional details will be known soon."

No sign of sanctions easing

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Tillerson told Klimkin the U.S. sanctions against Russia would remain in place until "aggression is ceased," until the Minsk peace deal to end fighting between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists is implemented, and until Moscow returns to Kyiv control of Crimea and separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner confirmed the main points of Ukraine's summary of the diplomats' discussions.

"Secretary Tillerson reiterated the strong U.S. commitment to Ukraine and our commitment to ensuring that all sides fulfill their Minsk commitments," Toner told reporters at a briefing. "And that includes Russia."

The spokesman added that the Klimkin-Tillerson discussions included "domestic issues within Ukraine" as well as the United States' "continued concern" about compliance with the Minsk peace deal.

Russia denies support for rebels

Russia rejects accusations by Kyiv, NATO, the EU and the United States that it is backing the separatists with weapons and personnel, despite substantial evidence of such support.

More than 9,750 people have been killed in the war in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. More than 40 died during the first two months of this year, when hostilities in the conflict suddenly surged.

Trump suggested during last year's U.S. election campaign that he would consider lifting sanctions imposed on Russia by his predecessor, Barack Obama. Since Trump's inauguration, however, Tillerson and other senior U.S. officials have publicly voiced a tough stance, saying that Russia must return Crimea to Ukraine and de-escalate violence in eastern Ukraine.

Early Tuesday, Trump took to Twitter to criticize Obama for supposedly failing to resist a strong Russian leadership when Moscow's role in the Ukrainian conflict began.

"For eight years Russia 'ran over' President Obama, got stronger and stronger, picked off Crimea and added missiles. Weak!" Trump tweeted, directing his note specifically at a Fox News program he is said to be fond of watching.

Senate hearing later

Several hours after his meeting with Tillerson, Klimkin told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that the secretary of state gave him a strong signal that Ukraine would not become a bargaining chip in any push for rapprochement between Moscow and Washington.

It was a "very strong message of support for Ukraine, and that any kind of tradeoffs are not possible," the Ukrainian visitor told senators, adding that his president, Petro Poroshenko, has received similar assurances in conversations with Trump.

Before his testimony, Klimkin told VOA that Ukraine's position is that "Russia should not be trusted, and that Russia has violated all fundamental principles of international law and political commitment."
The United Nations Security Council is holding a closed-door briefing Wednesday on North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, as China calls for North Korea, South Korea and the United States to take steps to avoid a "head-on collision."

Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed North Korea suspend its nuclear and missile activities, and in exchange the United States and South Korea halt their joint military drills.

Each action has drawn condemnation from the other side, with Wang describing them as "accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way."

UN condemns test

The Security Council strongly condemned the North Korean tests on Tuesday and gave its own warning for the potential of a regional arms race.

The council statement further expressed regret that the government is "diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles while Democratic People's Republic of Korea citizens have great unmet needs."

North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, which coincided with the start of joint U.S. and South Korean annual defense exercises in South Korean territory.

The launches prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to reaffirm what the White House called the "ironclad commitment" of the United States to stand with Japan and South Korea in the face of Pyongyang's repeated violations of U.N. resolutions.

North Korea conducted two unauthorized nuclear test explosions last year and nearly two dozen rocket launches in a continuing push to expand its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared in a speech on New Year's Day that his country's program to build inter-continental ballistic missiles had "reached its final stage."

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006, along with an arms embargo aimed at slowing the development of its banned nuclear and missile programs.

Since then, the United States and a vast majority of world governments have repeatedly demanded that the North denuclearize the Korean peninsula. However, Western leaders have yet to devise a plan that would either compel the North to cooperate or create incentives for it to do so.

China-sponsored talks between North Korea and a six-nation panel have been stalled since 2009, when the communist North pulled out of the negotiations. The North had carried out its first underground nuclear test explosion three years before the talks broke down.

The United States has since said the six-party talks could not resume until Kim's regime in Pyongyang would recommit itself to halting all nuclear tests and scrapping its nuclear development program. That policy was agreed to during the administration of former President Barack Obama, and President Trump's government has reaffirmed it.
The world needs an international treaty to protect people's privacy from unfettered cybersurveillance, which is being pushed by populist politicians preying on fear of terrorism, according to a U.N. report debated on Wednesday.

The report, submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council by the U.N. independent expert on privacy, Joe Cannataci, said traditional privacy safeguards such as rules on phone tapping were outdated in the digital age.

"It's time to start reclaiming cyberspace from the menace of over-surveillance," Cannataci told the Council.

With governments worldwide demanding data from firms such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter, it did not make sense to rely entirely on U.S. legal safeguards, and creating an "international warrant" for data access or surveillance would unify global standards, he said.

"What the world needs is not more state-sponsored shenanigans on the Internet but rational, civilized agreement about appropriate state behavior in cyberspace," the report said. "This is not utopia. This is cold, stark reality."

Cannataci was appointed as the first "Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy" in 2015, following the uproar caused by revelations by Edward Snowden, a former U.S. security contractor who once worked at the U.S. mission in Geneva.

His report was submitted last week, before the latest publication by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks of what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions of hacking techniques of smartphones and other gadgets.

The United States did not react to Cannataci's report, but many countries welcomed it and agreed that online privacy standards should be as strong as offline standards.

China's diplomat at the Council said rapid technological advances and the "drastic increase worldwide in the violation of privacy" made it urgent to enhance protection, while Russia's representative said Cannataci's report was "extremely topical".

Venezuela, Iran and Cuba all welcomed Cannataci's work and criticized international surveillance.

A draft legal text was being debated by activists and "some of the larger international corporations" and was expected to be published within a year, Cannataci said.

In his report, he criticized populist laws that intruded on privacy in the name of fighting terrorism.

He said such sweeping but unproven powers were based on fear alone, and compared them to U.S. President Donald Trump's order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

"The level of the fear prevents the electorate from objectively assessing the effectiveness of the privacy-intrusive measures proposed," he wrote.

"Trying to appear tough on security by legitimizing largely useless, hugely expensive and totally disproportionate measures which are intrusive on so many peoples privacy  and other rights - is patently not the way governments should go."
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that East Africans are facing starvation and that the situation might worsen if nothing is done to avert the crisis.

The United Nations estimates more than 17 million people are facing hunger in nine countries. Somalia is facing its second famine in less than six years, South Sudan has declared some parts of the country in famine, and Kenya's government declared the drought there a national disaster. More than 5.5 million people are going to bed hungry in Ethiopia alone.

Guterres, ending a visit to Kenya on Wednesday, discussed the South Sudan political and humanitarian crisis with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

"We had the opportunity to discuss, to find, identify [a] point of view on how to create conditions for South Sudan to have an inclusive dialogue leading to a true peaceful settlement of the problem South Sudan faces, and at the same time with the humanitarian access to be granted to all parts of the territory," Guterres said.

The U.N. leader said violence, looting and blocking aid from reaching those in need had worsened the situation in South Sudan and had put more than 1 million people at risk.

Guterres said a major effort would be required to end the crisis and the suffering of the South Sudanese people.

Hope for progress

"We are not yet there," he said. "We still have many incidents taking place, much fighting taking place, many problems taking place. But the risk of genocide has considerably diminished, and I'm hopeful that with this unity of work with African leadership, IGAD [the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an African trade bloc], African Union and the U.N., we will be able to move in the right direction, being aware of the enormous challenge that exists."

Of 17 million people in urgent need of humanitarian aid, a third live in Somalia, half that country's population. Lack of rain and constant conflict has worsened the situation there.

Guterres visited Somalia on Tuesday, where he said the situation was complicated. He said the combination of hunger, fatal diseases, drought, and the continuing struggle to defeat al-Shabab terrorists and to create conditions under which peace could be established "has had a devastating impact on the economy and in the lives of Somalis." People are suffering enormously, he said, and there is "a clear need of support from the international community."

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR is seeking at least $800 million to avert the crisis in Somalia.
A senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday that China's objections to deployment of a controversial U.S. missile defense system in South Korea were "unwarranted," and he urged China to redirect its response to "a better use."

The United States has deployed the first elements of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea, following North Korea's launch of at least four ballistic missiles Monday.

Beijing strongly opposed deployment of the advanced U.S. weapons system as an unnecessary and provocative military escalation, and it said the powerful radar the system uses to track incoming missiles also posed a potential threat to China. State media called for a boycott of South Korean goods and sanctions after the Korean conglomerate Lotte Group approved a land swap that paved the way for the THAAD deployment.

"We think China's objections, if in fact they are based on China's security concerns, are unwarranted," Daniel Russel, outgoing assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, told a small group of reporters Tuesday evening.

"We would hope that China would devote the energy and the leverage that it is putting into economic pressures against the Republic of Korea to a better use. And we believe that the best use is to persuade North Korea that it is proceeding down a dead end," said Russel, a career foreign service professional who soon will become a diplomat in residence with the Asia Society.

Tillerson to China next week

Russel's roundtable discussion came before Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile threat will be high on his agenda during his first Asia trip as the top American diplomat.

Tillerson, who will visit Tokyo and Seoul as well as Beijing, is looking at different approaches to address the immediate threat from North Korea, but a direct diplomatic engagement with Pyongyang is off the table.

"We do need to look at other alternatives, and that's part of what this trip is about  that we're going to talk to our allies and partners in the region to try to generate a new approach to North Korea," acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Tuesday.

"Given North Korea's recent behavior," Toner told VOA, "we're not at the point where we're looking at direct engagement with them. We're not rewarding that behavior in any way, shape or form."

Toner said the administration "is also intent in pursuing a constructive relationship with China." He said Washington was "determined" to ensure that China abides by international rules and respects fair trade as well as human rights.

Tuesday's news briefing was the first at the State Department since January 19, the day before President Donald Trump's inauguration.
Uzbekistan's detention of a human rights activist and the extension of another activist's prison term drew criticism from the United States on Tuesday, although it welcomed the release of other dissidents and urged more tolerance.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has overseen the release of several dissidents sentenced to lengthy prison terms under the late Islam Karimov, who was the Central Asian country's leader for 27 years.

Among them were journalists Muhammad Bekjanov, who had spent 18 years behind bars, and Jamshid Karimov, Islam Karimov's nephew, who had been one of his fiercest critics.

"These positive steps seem to foreshadow future releases and a more tolerant approach to civil society in general," the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan said in a statement. "So, we were disappointed to learn of setbacks with other activists, such as the recent detention of Elena Urlaeva and the decision to uphold Azam Farmonov's sentence extension."

Arrested, beaten

Urlaeva, a campaigner against forced labor in Uzbekistan's cotton fields, was arrested ahead of an international meeting where she was scheduled to give evidence on human rights violations, a human rights group said last week.

In a video recording published online, Urlaeva said she had been arrested, beaten by police and taken to a psychiatric clinic in Tashkent, the capital of the former Soviet republic.

Farmonov, another activist, has been in prison since 2006 on extortion charges and was sentenced in 2015 to five more years for violating prison rules, a ruling his lawyers have been trying to get overturned.

"We urge the government to reinforce its more positive trajectory on questions of the human dimension so that future actions align more closely with the country's own laws and international standards," the U.S. Embassy said.

The Uzbek government has not commented on Urlaeva's detention or the dismissal of Farmonov's appeal.
The United States has publicly accused Russia for the first time of deploying a cruise missile in violation of a 30-year-old arms control agreement.



Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman General Paul Selva confirmed on Capitol Hill the deployment of the land-based missile violates the "spirit and intent" of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty.



Selva's remarks Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee were the U.S. military's first public confirmation of reports last month that Russia had secretly positioned them.



NATO

Selva testified the deployment poses "risk to most of our facilities in Europe." He added the move is an attempt by Russia to threaten the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.



Former President Barack Obama's administration said the SSC-8 cruise missile had been tested in 2014, violating the treaty that bans U.S. and Russian intermediate-range missiles on land.



The violation was first raised with Russian officials in 2013 by deputy secretary- general of NATO Rose Gottemoeller, who was then the State Department's highest-ranking arms control official during the Obama administration.



After several years of frustration, the United States convened a meeting of a special panel created under the treaty to deal with arms compliance matters last November in Geneva. It was the first meeting in 13 years of the panel, which is comprised of the United States, Russia and the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.



Russia denied it had violated the treaty and, in turn, accused the United States of violations.
Amid reports that the White House is reviewing its policy toward North Korea, the former head of the U.S. Pacific Command says it's crucial to consider a full range of options  including the use of military force, if necessary  to deter the growing nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

In an interview with VOA Tuesday, Admiral Samuel Locklear, who led the U.S. Pacific Command from 2012 to 2015, said "dealing across the spectrum of options of how to deal with North Korea is becoming more urgent," given the communist state's apparent eagerness to demonstrate its nuclear capability.

"Certainly there are many elements of national and coalition power that range from diplomatic to economic," Locklear said, "but at the base of all of those would be military power that the U.S. and its allies must continue to consider, particularly when there remains a significant threat such as from what we see in North Korea."

Exploring options

Locklear's assessment came a day after North Korea launched at least four ballistic missiles, once again escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Asked whether the U.S. should draw a red line marking a limit for the North's nuclear ambitions, Locklear said Washington needs to ensure it does not wind up in a position of having to deal with Pyongyang as a de facto nuclear state.

North Korean state media said Monday's launches were part of military drills, practice attacks on U.S. military bases in Japan. Three of the four missiles traveled about 1,000 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan off the Oga Peninsula, waters that Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone.

The missile launches also coincided with U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises  an annual event that Pyongyang contends is a rehearsal for invasion.

Advancing missile program

Experts suggested two possible reasons for the North's test launches: advancing its missile program and sending a political message to neighboring countries.

"They have an accelerated [missile] program in mind, and they are moving ahead to try to implement the program," Robert Einhorn, a special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control in the Obama administration, told VOA.

John Park, a northeast Asia specialist at the Harvard Kennedy School, also stressed the technical component of the test, saying North Korea is continuing its ballistic missile tests to eventually be able to "put together what would be its first ICBM with nuclear capabilities."

Jim Walsh, a senior research associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Security Studies Program, sees the North Korean move as a protest against the joint exercises by American and South Korean troops.

Protest against joint exercise

"We often see activity during these South Korean-U.S. military force exercises that happen in the region," said Walsh. "This is a common parallel."

Pyongyang has turned up its nuclear rhetoric recently, claiming it is in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could strike the U.S. mainland.

Locklear, who is now the president of SJL Global Insights LLC, a global consulting firm on defense and security, believes it is unlikely that Pyongyang has ICBM capability. "It remains a very high, technical challenge for them" to have an operational model of an intercontinental weapon, the admiral said.

Nonetheless, he suggested the U.S. should assume Pyongyang already has that capability and make plans accordingly.

U.S. forces began deploying the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, in South Korea. The first elements of the defensive shield arrived Tuesday, and the system could be operational as early as April, according to the South Korean military.

New defense system

The deployment drew strong protests from Beijing, which contends the U.S. system's advanced radar could penetrate into Chinese territory. Critics also question whether the THAAD system is capable of defending against North Korean missiles, particularly when multiple launches take place just seconds apart  a technique the North has been practicing.

Locklear, however, said THAAD  combined with existing South Korea's missile defense capabilities  would significantly enhance Seoul's ability to counter a North Korean missile attack.

"The THAAD system is one of the most sophisticated we have," the retired admiral said. "It's unlikely that the sophistication of the North Korean systems can deal with the defensive capabilities of the THAAD system as they currently exist."
U.S. lawmakers are moving quickly to learn more about Russian meddling in last year's presidential election and to try to determine whether there is any substance to President Donald Trump's so-far unfounded claim that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his Trump Tower headquarters in the weeks before the voting.

Senators and congressmen on intelligence panels have been visiting the Central Intelligence Agency outside Washington in recent days to look at raw intelligence reports about Russian cybersecurity attacks aimed at helping Trump defeat his Democratic challenger, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The lawmakers say they have been looking at binders of classified information the CIA collected, with more visits planned to the highly secure facility. Both the Senate and House intelligence committees plan public hearings in the coming weeks.

The U.S. intelligence community already has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the hacking into the computer of Clinton's campaign chief, John Podesta, with the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks subsequently releasing thousands of his emails in the weeks before the November election. Many of the emails showed embarrassing, behind-the-scenes efforts by Democratic operatives to help Clinton win the party's presidential nomination.

Meanwhile, the Republican majority on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday asked James Comey, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the country's top law enforcement agency, to brief them on the Russian interference in the election.

In addition, the lawmakers said they want information on the "very serious allegations" involving Trump's claim last weekend that Obama ordered a wiretap on him.

A spokesman for Obama has said the wiretapping allegation is "simply false," and Trump has not offered any evidence to support his contention. Comey has asked the Justice Department to disavow Trump's allegation, but the agency so far has said nothing.

Under U.S. law, presidents cannot single-handedly order a wiretapping, but must obtain a court order, giving judges evidence to justify the electronic surveillance. James Clapper, Obama's director of national intelligence, also has said the the wiretapping did not occur.

Senators Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat, said they have asked the Justice Department and the FBI for any wiretapping evidence they might have in connection with Trump's claim.
A freakishly balmy February broke more than 11,700 local daily records for warmth in the United States, but it didn't quite beat 1954 for the warmest February on record, climate scientists said.



The average temperature last month was 41.2 degrees - 7.3 degrees warmer than normal but three-tenths a degree behind the record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported Wednesday.



It was unseasonably toasty for most of the country east of the Rockies, but a cool Pacific Northwest kept the national record from falling, said NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch.



Chicago had no snow. Oklahoma hit 99 degrees. Texas and Louisiana had their hottest February. NOAA said local weather stations broke or tied warm temperature records 11,743 times but set cold records only 418 times.



An international science team's computer analysis of causes of extreme weather calculated that man-made global warming tripled the likelihood for the nation's unusually warm February. The mostly private team of researchers, called World Weather Attribution, uses accepted scientific techniques to figure if climate change plays a role in extreme events based on computer simulations of real world conditions and those without heat-trapping gases.



I don't recall ever seeing a February like this, said Princeton University climate scientist Gabe Vecchi, who was part of the quick attribution study that was not peer reviewed. We expect this to happen with more and more frequency over time.



The new climate normal

Several outside scientists praised the quick study, including Pennsylvania State University meteorology professor David Titley, who was on a National Academy of Sciences panel that certified the accuracy of climate change attribution science.



This is the new climate normal that we all need to come to grips with, Titley said. And it's stunning how quickly our climate has changed.



Natural random weather variations and climate change combined to make it a weird February, meteorologists said.



Overall, NOAA said it was the sixth warmest U.S. winter on record, about 3.7 degrees warmer than the 20th century average.



You definitely do feel that this is going to be something that you get to enjoy now and you pay for after the fact, said Vecchi, who was biking in short-sleeves in New Jersey last month.



Oklahoma University meteorology professor Jason Furtado said he worries that the lack of deep Arctic cold plunges in February means the Gulf of Mexico never cooled down. And when severe weather season in the spring starts, the moisture coming north from warmer Gulf waters will goose outbreaks and increase the probability of nasty spring storms and tornadoes. Massachusetts already had an unprecedented February tornado.



A March frost could kill early blooming trees and flowers and the lack of a proper winter could lead to more mosquitoes and ticks this year, Vecchi said.



What is lurking behind the corner while we're outside throwing a Frisbee might be looking to make our lives less pleasant, he said.
The latest alleged bombshell meant to send shockwaves through the U.S. intelligence community is stoking renewed fears about the ability to secure classified information. But former intelligence officials say, at least for now, it is unlikely the apparent leak will do significant damage to U.S. cyber capabilities.

The online whistleblower organization WikiLeaks Tuesday published thousands of pages of what it described as "the entire hacking capacity" of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

VOA was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the 8,771 documents published on the WikiLeaks website, but cybersecurity experts and former intelligence officials said many of the documents appeared to be real.

In a statement, WikiLeaks said the CIA "lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal." The group added the spy agency's cybertools had been disseminated among some former U.S. government hackers and that one then shared them with WikiLeaks.

A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told VOA that a CIA contractor is suspected of being the source of the leak.

Scramble to find leak

Another recently retired U.S. intelligence official told VOA that the CIA is scrambling to find out who leaked the trove and how.

"Langley is in full damage assessment mode," he said.

U.S. lawmakers are, likewise, alarmed.

"This is early on into the investigation but these appear to be very, very serious," House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican, told reporters late Tuesday. "We are extremely concerned and we are following it closely."

Some of the WikiLeaks documents describe how the CIA sought to exploit so-called "zero-days"  undetected flaws in the software that runs smartphones such as Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. Electronic devices that run Microsoft's Windows were also targeted.

According to the documents, CIA hackers discovered some of the vulnerabilities on their own. Others were sold to the CIA by third parties.

There allegedly was also collaboration with other intelligence agencies.

In one program, dubbed "Weeping Angel," the U.S. and Britain's MI-5 security service agency worked to secretly turn on so-called smart televisions made by Samsung in order to turn them into listening devices.

Like their U.S. counterparts, British officials refused to confirm or deny the charges.

"It is longstanding policy that we do not comment on intelligence matters," a British government spokesperson said.

"I think this is pretty legitimate," said Alex McGeorge, the head of Threat Intelligence at Immunity Inc., a security firm that works with major companies, financial institutions and government agencies.

"There are some techniques that are very specific," he said. "This is years of development and trade craft and work."

Difficult to fabricate

McGeorge said there appears to be a consistency throughout the documents that would be difficult to fabricate and that clearly show the efforts of an intelligence agency with an international focus.

But he questioned how much CIA efforts would be damaged by the disclosures.

"There are some techniques that are very specific  but it's not earth-shattering," McGeorge said. "This is certainly not all of CIA's advanced cyber capability."

Still, former intelligence officials worry that even if the documents prove to be real, it is the political fallout that will cause the most harm.

One cause for concern is the claim by WikiLeaks that the CIA possesses a library of hacking malware employed by other states that it can use to run so-called false flag operations. In essence, the U.S. would be able to carry out cyberespionage or cyberattacks but leave a trail of evidence that point to U.S. adversaries, such as Russia.

U.S. allies and their relationships with Washington could also be impacted.

In addition to cyber operations located at the CIA's headquarters in Virginia, the files released by WikiLeaks reveal the agency has been using the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, as a covert base.

WikiLeaks claims the consulate, one of the largest American consulates in the world, housed CIA hackers working deep undercover who helped develop malicious software for attacks and eavesdropping on targets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In one document, the CIA instructed employees: "Do not leave anything electronic or sensitive unattended in your room. (Paranoid, yes, but better safe than sorry.)" It advised them also to enjoy Lufthansa's free alcohol "in moderation."

The consulate, located in the northern part of the city and surrounded by high, reinforced perimeter walls, was the focus of German investigations into U.S. intelligence activities following the 2013 revelation, which also came from WikiLeaks, that the U.S. National Security Agency had tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, which prompted sharp and highly public disputes between Washington and Berlin.

WikiLeaks

The WikiLeaks release of the trove of alleged CIA hacking files also comes at an especially sensitive point, with the U.S. intelligence community involved in a confrontation with the administration of President Donald Trump over claimed Russian hacking aimed at influencing last year's U.S. election.

During his campaign, Trump, at times, defended WikiLeaks. And since taking office, Trump has derided such concerns as "fake news."

Still, a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence earlier this year concluded with "high confidence" that Russian military intelligence "relayed material it acquired from the DNC and senior Democratic officials to WikiLeaks."

Some former officials see the potential for Moscow's fingerprints to be on this latest WikiLeaks document dump as well, noting Russia is on the short list of countries capable of foiling the CIA's cyber efforts.

"It is in Russia's interest to see the CIA discredited," said Jonathan Shaw, who until 2012 was responsible for developing Britain's policy on cybersecurity. He added: "It is in the interests of Donald Trump, too."

Yet former officials caution there is still more reason to worry.

While WikiLeaks did not publish the codes for the cyberweapons themselves, it warned it might do so at a later date. And there is a good chance others may already have them.

"This is like finding a whole cache of weapons on the battlefield and taking it in," said Jeff Bardin, who worked in intelligence with the U.S. Air Force.

"It really comes down to the fact that our adversaries know what we're doing, what we're using," said Bardin, now CIO of the cybersecurity firm Treadstone 71. "It's pretty disappointing that we would allow this to get out."

2013 disclosures

That disappointment has been magnified following efforts to tighten security after the 2013 disclosures about U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who promptly fled to Russia.

Another NSA contractor, Harold Martin, was indicted earlier this year on charges related to what officials described as possibly the largest heist of classified government information in history.

Yet Terry Roberts, a former deputy director of U.S. Naval Intelligence, said the biggest risk is not so much the exposure of the cyberweapons themselves, but the extent to which the WikiLeaks document dumps might reveal how U.S. intelligence thinks.

"This is an environment that is never static," Roberts said. "You're always creating a tool that's going to be overcome by another tool that's going to be overcome by another tool.

"The expertise and the environment of how you develop these tools and deploy them at speed and with effectiveness is truly the secret sauce," she said.
WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents that the anti-secrecy organization said were classified files revealing scores of secrets about CIA hacking tools used to break into targeted computers, cellphones and even smart TVs.

The CIA and the Trump administration have declined to comment on the authenticity of the files. Prior WikiLeaks releases, which divulged government secrets maintained by the State Department, Pentagon and other agencies, have since been acknowledged as genuine.

In another nod to their authenticity, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said he was very concerned about the release and has sought more information about it.

The hacking tools appeared to exploit vulnerabilities in popular operating systems for desktop and laptop computers developed by Microsoft. They also targeted devices that included Apple's iPhones and iPads, Google's Android cellphones, Cisco routers and Samsung Smart TVs.

Some of the technology companies said they were evaluating the newly released documents.

Some questions and answers about the latest WikiLeaks disclosure and its fallout:

Where do these documents come from?

WikiLeaks said the material came from "an isolated, high-security network" inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, which conducts cyberoffense and defense. It said the documents were "circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive." It did not make it clear who was behind the leak, and that's left several possibilities: espionage, a rogue employee, a theft involving a federal contractor or a break-in of a staging server where such information may have been temporarily stored.

How many files were leaked? What period do they cover?

WikiLeaks said 7,818 web pages and 943 attachments were published, just the first part of more material to come. WikiLeaks said it has an entire archive of data consisting of several million lines of computer code. The documents appear to date between 2013 and 2016. WikiLeaks described them as "the largest-ever publication of confidential documents on the agency."

Are these legitimate CIA documents?

A CIA spokesman said the agency would not comment "on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents." Trump administration spokesman Sean Spicer declined comment as well. But WikiLeaks has a long track record of assembling and releasing secret files from the U.S. and other governments. Security experts who reviewed the material said the documents appeared to be authentic. Jake Williams, a security expert with Georgia-based Rendition Infosec, who has dealt previously with government hackers, said that frequent references in the files to operation security gave them the stamp of legitimacy. "It rings true to me," Williams said.

What do these documents contain?

The files describe CIA plans and descriptions of malware and other tools that could be used to hack into some of the world's most popular technology platforms. The documents showed that the developers aimed to be able to inject these tools into targeted computers without the owners' awareness.

The files do not describe the prospective targets, but the documents show broad exchanges of tools and information between the CIA and National Security Agency and other federal intelligence agencies, as well as intelligence services of close allies Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The purported CIA documents range from complicated computer coding to organizational plans to sarcastic comments about the tools' effectiveness. Some tools were named after alcohol references, including Bartender, Wild Turkey and Margarita. Others referenced recent popular movies, including "Fight Club" and "Talladega Nights." One hacking tool, code-named "RickyBobby," after the character who is a race car driver in "Talladega Nights," was purportedly used to upload and download information "without detection as malicious software."

The documents include discussions about compromising some internet-connected televisions to turn them into listening posts. One document discusses hacking vehicle systems, appearing to indicate the CIA's interest in hacking recent-model cars with sophisticated on-board computer systems.

How are technology companies responding to these revelations?

Microsoft said it was looking into the reports that its operating systems were potentially vulnerable to many of the malware and other hacking tools described in the purported CIA documents. Apple said its initial analysis showed that many issues exposed in the leaks were already patched in the company's latest operating system. Apple added: "We will continue to work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities."

The maker of the secure messaging app Signal said the purported tools described in the leaked documents appeared to affect users' actual phones, but not its software designs or encryption protocols. The manufacturer of the popular Telegram mobile messaging app said in a statement that manufacturers of cellphones and their operating systems, including Apple, Google and Samsung, were responsible for improving the security of their devices. It said the effort will require "many hours of work and many security updates" and assured its customers that "if the CIA is not on your back, you shouldn't start worrying yet."
A former British spy who compiled an explosive and unproven dossier on President Donald Trump's purported activities in Russia has returned to work.

Christopher Steele said Tuesday he is "really pleased" to be back in his London office after a prolonged period out of public view. He went into hiding in January after his name was published in connection with the dossier.

The 52-year-old runs London-based Orbis Business Intelligence, a private security firm. He made a statement outside the firm's central London office.

"I'm now going to be focusing my efforts on supporting the broader interests of our company here," he said without addressing the Trump dossier.

He thanked the public for its support and said he won't be making any further comments.

Trump has described the lurid reports in the dossier as "phony allegations" concocted by his political opponents.

The dossier was reportedly produced as opposition research for the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

It contains unproven allegations of coordination between Trump's advisers and Russians on hacking the emails of prominent Democrats and claims about sexual activities.

The 35-page dossier was circulated in political and media circles in the United States but was not published for some time because the information could not be verified.

The entire contents became public in January when it was published by BuzzFeed.

The Associated Press has not authenticated the claims.
U.S. President Donald Trump says a new Republican plan to overhaul the country's national health care system is "wonderful," but its fate in Congress is uncertain.

Trump, in Twitter comments Tuesday, claimed the current law, championed by former President Barack Obama, "is a complete and total disaster" and "is imploding fast!"

The new president said he is working on a system to promote competition among drug manufacturers to cut the price of expensive medicines and allow health care insurance to be sold across state lines in hopes of lowering the cost of insurance premiums.

"Pricing for the American people will come way down!" Trump vowed on drug prices.

Republicans have long sought to repeal the U.S. health law, the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare; however, the new proposal advanced by Republican congressional leaders drew immediate attacks from conservative Republicans in both the House of Representatives and Senate, along with derisive comments from Democratic lawmakers who want to keep Obamacare.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price defended the proposal at a White House news conference, saying, "We want health care where patients and doctors are making the decisions, not the government." He said current government health care regulations that "harm patients or raise costs" will be eliminated.

Price said that under Obamacare, many people have bought insurance policies, but then not been able to afford medical care because of the high cost of insurance deductible payments for each procedure they need.

'Obamacare Lite'

Republican critics of their own leaders' proposal mocked it as "Obamacare Lite," saying it is too much like the law they promised voters they would repeal.

"I don't see any significant change here," said Congressman Jim Jordan, one of the conservative Republican critics of the proposal. "This is Obamacare by a different form."

Republican critics especially voiced opposition to the proposal to give tax credits to low-income Americans to help them buy insurance, calling it a new government "entitlement program" that could prove costly in the years to come.

"This is a Republican welfare entitlement," one conservative congressional group said. "Writing checks to individuals to purchase insurance is, in principle, Obamacare. It does allow more choices for individuals, and is more patient-centered, but is fundamentally grounded on the idea that the federal government should fund insurance purchases."

Surcharge, but no requirement to buy

The new proposal would rescind Obamacare's chief component, a requirement that all Americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty if they do not  a provision Republicans say has been an unwarranted overreach by the national government into peoples' personal lives.

The new proposal, however, would have a similar penalty  a 30 percent surcharge against those who let their insurance coverage lapse and then decide to buy a new policy. Both the surcharge and Obama penalty are aimed at encouraging people to buy insurance before they become sick and need health care.

The Republican proposal also would retain two of Obamacare's most popular provisions: allowing young people to stay on their parents' insurance policies until they are 26, and blocking insurance companies from refusing to insure Americans with pre-existing medical conditions that are costly to treat.

Obamacare has added insurance coverage for 20 million previously uninsured people, but critics such as Trump say the cost of insurance for the individuals who buy policies under Obama's law has risen so fast that it is no longer affordable for many people.

In the United States, about half of the workforce obtains insurance through employers. A third of the country  senior citizens and poorer people  gets coverage through government programs, with the remainder buying policies on their own or through Obamacare, or being uninsured.

Democrats say the Republican plan would leave more Americans without health insurance.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Trump, in criticizing Obamacare, "doesn't even have the faintest idea of what he's talking about."

She added, "Republicans have decided that affordable health care should be the privilege of the wealthy, not the right of every family in America."

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer tweeted, "Trumpcare doesn't replace the Affordable Care Act  it forces millions of Americans to pay more for less care."

Schumer said the new plan will "force Americans to pay more so insurance companies can pad their bottom line."
U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to knock down reports that his White House is engulfed in turmoil.

"Don't let the FAKE NEWS tell you that there is big infighting in the Trump Admin.," Trump wrote in a comment on his Twitter account Tuesday. "We are getting along great, and getting major things done!"



Trump offered his commentary after several days of accounts in major U.S. news outlets that he was angry at his staff for their handling of controversies that have erupted around him.

It was Trump's latest broadside against mainstream U.S. publications and television networks, which have published or aired numerous stories depicting behind-the-scenes accounts of Trump's White House, often based on anonymous accounts or leaked documents.

Trump has assailed the stories, repeatedly calling them the product of "fake news" and what he claims are fictitious, unnamed sources.

Much of the conflict has centered on Trump's own actions or those of his aides, who then have been left to defend Trump's unsubstantiated claim that former President Barack Obama wiretapped his Trump Tower headquarters in New York last year and contacts his aides have had with Russians in the run-up to the November election and since then.







Caught on camera



Through a window, a CNN television camera captured pictures, but no sound, of a heated exchange last Friday in the White House Oval Office between Trump and aides.

The accounts of White House turmoil have reported Trump was particularly incensed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions removed himself from oversight of the Justice Department's probe into the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion Russia meddled into last year's U.S. presidential election in an effort to help Trump win.

Trump had said he did not think Sessions needed to recuse himself, but the attorney general did just that, leaving Trump angered at his aides for their handling of the controversy.

Sessions, a vocal Trump supporter last year, had been asked at his Senate confirmation hearing in January whether he had had any contacts with Russians during the campaign and he said he had not. But it came to light, after Sessions had taken office as the country's top law enforcement official, that he had met twice last year with Moscow's ambassador to Washington.

Since then, Sessions says that he had met with Sergey Kislyak in his capacity as member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, not as part of Trump's presidential campaign.







Unproven wiretapping allegation



Trump sparked more controversy with his claim that his predecessor, Obama, had wiretapped him in the weeks before the election.

The publisher of the Newsmax Media website, Christopher Ruddy, a friend of Trump's, wrote Sunday the president told him, "This will be investigated. It will all come out. I will be proven right."

Ruddy said he has never seen Trump as angry as he was over the handling of the Sessions matter and then complaints from both opposition Democrats and Republican colleagues of Trump that his wiretap claim was unfounded.

Trump has denied any links to Russia, but several of his aides have met with Kislyak.

Trump ousted his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, after just 24 days on the job after he lied to Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials about the nature of his conversations with Kislyak.
Floods in Zimbabwe have killed 246 people and left nearly 2,000 homeless since December, according to the government.

The southern African country has appealed to international donors for $100 million to help those affected by the floods, which have washed away some bridges and roads and cut off some communities from surrounding areas.



Saviour Kasukuwere, Zimbabwes minister of local government, announced the death toll Thursday. He says 128 people were injured in the floods, which were caused by heavy rains.



President Robert Mugabe, currently in Singapore for a medical checkup, declared the floods a national disaster this week.



The floods have mainly affected southern Zimbabwe, where the air force has transported some marooned villagers to safety. Dams have also overflowed, raising concerns about communities living downstream.



Five bridges on major highways have been swept away nationwide, Transport Minister Joram Gumbo said.



Our roads have deteriorated to the extent that some sections of the national road network have become impassable, Zimbabwes Daily News newspaper quoted Gumbo as saying.



Zimbabwes cash-strapped government is struggling to meet routine commitments such as the payment of state workers salaries.



Also, thousands of nurses in state hospitals in Zimbabwe went on strike this week over a lack of bonus payments, straining an already dire situation at the poorly resourced hospitals. State hospital doctors have been on strike since February 15, forcing the government to send in army and police doctors to care for patients.
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International Womens Day - Minister Announces Working Group To Look At Gender Pay Gap In Gibraltar

Today is International Womens Day. Be Bold for Change is the years campaign theme. Over 100 years since it was first established in 1911, why is there still a need for this?

"It is simply because it is important to continue to acknowledge and recognise women who have achieved equal participation in global development and to continue to strive to attain equality in areas where it has no yet been achieved." says Samantha Sacramento in a statement released today.

"It is my responsibility as the first Minister for Equality to consider issues that may lead to gender inequality, today how inequalities against women may arise.

In Gibraltar we are privileged in that women have equal access to education, healthcare and employment. For many women, balancing a career and family life is not easy however well organised and well-intended. In general, women sometimes tend to fret on whether they have taken too much time off work after having children and whether this absence may have been for too long thereby affecting their employment and promotion prospects. This can in turn lead to the question as to whether women can earn the same and progress in the same way as their male counterparts.

As Minister for Equality I am aware of these concerns and my Ministry and I are working to identifying ways in which we may encourage progress towards true gender equality in this area. I am therefore happy to announce that I will be forming a working group to look at whether there is a gender pay gap issue.

I am a believer in that it is through educational programmes that younger members of our community can be encouraged to know that they too can make a positive difference in gender equality. Year 12 pupils at Westside School have once again this year as part of their Liberal Studies been working on a project on gender equality.

As Minister for Equality I fully support all educational programmes which act as a catalyst for personal and social development and so, this year I shall once again be presenting the

awards to the video and poster project winners.



It goes without saying that, as Minister for Equality, together with my staff from the Ministry of Equality, we will lead on and encourage progress towards true gender equality in Gibraltar. We will continue to strive in working in partnerships with women and men in both the public and private sector to roll out policies and programmes to achieve this and; I want to conclude my International Womens Day wishes by re-affirming that we simply cannot afford to wait for things to happen. We need to make them happen and it needs to be a collective approach by both women, men, young and old. As women we must feel empowered and be bold to make that difference and effect change."
GFSC Welcomes New Board Member

The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) has today announced that the Minister with responsibility for Financial Services, in this instance on the advice of the Chief Minister, has appointed Peter Isola as the new board member to fill the position left vacant at the end of Joseph (Melo) Triays term at the beginning of March.

Peter Isola is the Senior Partner of ISOLAS which is a major law firm in Gibraltar. Mr Isola has worked in the financial services sector all of his professional life and is widely recognised as a leader in this field; with particular emphasis in trust and corporate services and insurance. Mr Isola was the founder Chairman of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, a former President of the Chamber of Commerce and advises HM Government of Gibraltar on a number of committees including a Brexit working group. He is also a Director of a number of gaming and financial Services firms including the Gibraltar International Bank.

Dr Jonathan Spencer, GFSC Chairman, commented: I am delighted to welcome Peter Isola to the Commission, and look forward to his wise counsel on the challenges we face over the next few years. He will bring to the Commission wide knowledge of business and the law in Gibraltar, and his experience as a well-respected senior partner of one of Gibraltar's leading law firms.

Peter Isola commented: I am delighted to be joining the Board of the Financial Services Commission and look forward to fulfilling my role in the best interests of Gibraltar.

Mr Isola will act in his new role in the next GFSC Board meeting this month.
Photo: Tommaso Boddi/WireImage

Bad Boys bad boys Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are in need of a new driver for their action-comedy buddy-cop franchise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bad Boys 3, a.k.a. Bad Boys for Life, director and scriptwriter Joe Carnahan has left the project. While the official reason for the departure was scheduling conflicts, the rumor around Hollywood is he left due to creative differences. Given the attachment of the OG stars and the success of the first two movies, the producers are reportedly already shopping for a new director. Both the original Bad Boys in 1995 and the 2003 sequel were directed by Michael Bay, who is probably too busy directing alien robot-cars in the next Transformers to jump back into a franchise about Earth-bound Miami detectives.
Not weird at all. Photo: Getty Images

The artist who brought us a decrepit amusement park for the whole family to turn their brains to mush in is back with his latest dystopian escape. Banksy has followed up Dismaland with a new large-scale interactive form of protest art situated in the West Bank in Bethlehem. Its a fully functioning hotel called Walled Off that conveniently overlooks the Israeli West Bank barrier  the wall separating Palestinian territories from Israel that Donald Trump so often commends  and features rooms fit for a corrupt head of state with some even using surplus items from an Israeli military barracks. It also features an art gallery curated by Dr. Housni Alkhateeb Shehada and a museum with an animated history of the region, military pornography, and original beach sculpture from Gaza curated by Essex University. The hotels selling point: Its got the worst view of any hotel in the world. Of course, thats not even the most interesting part.

Like Banksys last project, this will also feature performances from artists, albeit not technically as up close. Every night in the piano bar, musicians ranging from Trent Reznor, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Hans Zimmer will somehow perform prerecorded original scores for the hotel from a remote-controlled baby grand piano. Massive Attacks 3D will kick it off when the hotel opens on March 11. Its a strange concept to grasp, so allow the visual aid of Elton John playing from afar while the pianos keys move spookily in sync blow your mind. And rest assured this place is definitely haunted.


Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Dakota Johnsons next starring role in a book-to-movie adaptation is far less sexy and way more brutal (and scary, and true) than 50 Shades of Grey. Deadline reports that Johnson will star in Unfit, an adaptation of the nonfiction book Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck.

Johnson will play Carrie Buck, a young woman who was sterilized against her will in Virginia in the 1920s. The procedure was done while Buck was institutionalized in the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded. Though Buck was by every account an average school student, she was committed by her foster family under the charges of immorality and prostitution after she was raped by their nephew and bore a child out of wedlock. Buck took the cast to the U.S. Supreme Court, where they ruled in Buck v. Bell eight-to-one in favor of the Virginia Sterilization Bill that allowed the state to continue to sterilize women unfit for motherhood.

Like many, I was not privy to this shocking and fascinating moment in American history, Dakota said about the project. I quickly became obsessed with the prospect of shedding light on the massive misstep in American justice. She added that the movie seemed particularly timely, saying, Certain aspects are unnervingly congruent with the relationship between the government and women today.
It seems a bit silly for Fresh Off the Boat to dedicate an entire episode to Jessica Huangs competitive spirit and her staunch refusal to lose, if only because its such an innate part of her personality that Id assumed everyone had already dealt with it in their own way. But Gabby Goose uses Jessicas tendency toward being a sore loser as a nice peg to explore the larger issue of communication and secret-keeping. Who knew a simple game of Charades would reveal so much?

Its game night at the Huang household, which means a rousing game of Scrabble with Marvin and Honey. Jessica is very good at Scrabble. However, Charades is less than awesome because Louis is objectively terrible at Charades. Marvin somehow gets Honey to guess Tess of the DUrbervilles by tugging his shirt and miming a tea party, but Louis, when presented with Babe, the movie about that pig, makes a lot of motions that dont relate to a pig in the slightest. They lose. Jessica excuses herself to the restroom and comes back brushing her teeth in her pajamas. Thats the end of that.

Jessicas lively competitive spirit is the topic of conversation between Honey and Louis, who run into each other the next day. Isnt it fun? Her competitive spirit? Isnt it cool hanging out with a woman who is the sorest of losers? The answer, as youre surely aware, is no. Its not fun. Its occasionally miserable. But Louis has never said anything to Jessica about it because thats just not how he was raised. Talking about sensitive subjects  money, sex, feelings, emotions  it just never happened. But he really needs to talk to his wife because she is piece of work. Honey demonstrates her patented technique  compliment what you want to criticize and then flip that compliment to a critique  on Marvin, who falls for it hook, line, and sinker. Easy as pie.

Armed with this knowledge, Louis tries to tell Jessica that the way she handles losing is detrimental to friendships and game night. She concedes and says that she could try to care about it a little more, a statement I dont believe for a minute, but all the progress Louis might have made is whisked away when he mentions Honey.

He made their private life public. He shared details about their life  complaints about his wife, who is admittedly a terror  with Honey. Honey will surely tell Marvin. Marvin will tell everybody. Jessica, Louis, and by extension their family will all lose face. Jessica decides to go on the offensive, though she doesnt clarify what that means. Louis assumes the worst: If Jessicas mad that her husband aired their dirty laundry, then she will certainly air his in response. Convinced that Jessica is running through their neighborhood telling people that he wears lifts in his shoes, Louis strikes some sort of panicked counter-offensive, running first to Marvins office and then smack dab into his wife, whos power-walking with the gals. Secrets are spilled. And Louis will have to pay.

Jessicas offensive strategy is actually a charm offensive. Upon hearing that Louis was talking about personal stuff, she did the best thing she could do to counteract the bad: By showing her charm to the neighbors, she actually saves face. The way they resolve this, of course, is game night, with the other couples in the neighborhood. Despite the fact that Louis is still really, really bad at Charades (he takes it way too literally, thats his problem), he and his wife dont fight. Everyone else does.

What of the children? Eddie is in deep mourning after learning the news of the Notorious B.I.Gs untimely passing. He tries to fly to Bed-Stuy to attend the funeral, but Jessica nips that plan in the bud. None of his usual favorites (Pop Tarts, Sprite) are working. Even Evans teal French-cut shorts, usually a surefire way to cheer Eddie up, have no effect. Nothing will take him out of this funk, which is in part related to Biggies death, but also to death and what it means to make a life. B.I.G. was 24 when he died and Eddies 13. He couldve already lived half his life without even knowing it! His existential dread revealed in a hastily cobbled-together group-therapy session with Eddie and his friends in the driveway. Nothing much comes of this, though it serves as a nice way to remind myself of the names of Eddies friends.

Am I ready to die? Eddie muses. Are you guys ready to die? While its clear that everyone could and should address these questions in actual therapy, Eddies depression remains. Emery and Evan to the rescue! They paint a mural of Biggie on the wall of Eddies bedroom, complete with double-wide yacht, featuring Eddie and his brothers hanging out with Big Poppa. Good brothers. Good kids. Thats what familys for.
Jordan Peeles Get Out shouldve been more unique to the black American experience, says Samuel L. Jackson. The Kong: Skull Island star told Hot 97 that the social horror thriller ought to have starred an African-American actor in the lead role, not just a black one. There are a lot of black British actors in these movies, Jackson told the New York radio station. I tend to wonder what Get Out would have been with an American brother who really feels that. Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya, who is British, might not be able to fully sympathize with how black Americans handle white American racism, according to Jackson: Daniel grew up in a country where theyve been interracial dating for a hundred years. What would a brother from America have made of that role? Some things are universal, but [not everything]. Casting British actors is cheaper, Jackson said, and there is a perception in the industry that theyre always more classically trained. Star Wars star John Boyega, who is from London, dismissed Jacksons criticism:



Black brits vs African American. A stupid ass conflict we don't have time for.  John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) March 8, 2017

For what its worth, Kaluuya himself addressed a critique similar to Jacksons in his chat with Vulture:



Obviously, you and Jordan are both black men, but you grew up on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Did you find that what he was expressing in this narrative was something that you strongly identified with in your experience?

One-hundred percent. I know what it means to be stopped by police. Ive been stopped by police a lot. And the party scene, when everyone was highlighting how black Chris was and saying black things and being nice. You kind of cant say anything, because you know the intention is to make people feel welcome. However, the impact is making people feel isolated and different, because you just want to feel included, like you belong. Thats what the conflict is, and thats what it captured. Only a black guy could write this, only someone that lives this. Ive been to so many parties in England and in America thats exactly like that, where youre kind of like seen as Other. When youre just living your life, and you have to adopt the Other in order to understand and navigate the society. Thats what I find really cool about it.

Peele made a similar point to the Guardian: A British actor wouldnt have been his first choice, but Kaluuya made a convincing case.

Update March 9: Jackson told the Associated Press that his critique wasnt exclusive to Get Out, but a wider indictment of a system that hires Black British actors for African-American roles, but never vice-versa. It was not a slam against them, but it was just a comment about how Hollywood works in an interesting sort of way sometimes, Jackson said at the premiere of Kong: Skull Island Wednesday. [African-American actors are] not afforded that same luxury, but thats fine, we have plenty of opportunities to work. I enjoy [black British actors] work.
Heeeeeey Barb. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Entertainment W

No need to worry about Demogorgons over at the Peacock  right? Shannon Purser, who won over the hearts of Netflix subscribers during her brief stint on last summers smash success Stranger Things, has landed a recurring role in the new NBC drama series Drama High. Per Deadline, the hour-long series revolves around the true story of a working-class high schools drama department and the incredible students who come alive under a passionate teacher and family man whose dedication to the program galvanizes the entire town. Pursers role, which was created with her specifically in mind, has her portraying a hard-working student at the school who wants to make the cast of Spring Awakening despite not fitting the exact mold of what everyone has in mind. Knowing her, shell definitely get some justice.


The Arc of McLennan County will have its annual Boots on the Brazos fundraiser from 7 to 11 p.m. April 1 in the Brazos Room of the Waco Convention Center, 100 Washington Ave.

The event will include a barbecue dinner catered by Eddie Rays Smokehouse; an open bar with beer, wine and sodas; dancing; and live music from Billy Roy and the Heart of the Night.

Tickets cost $90. Tables can be sponsored for $650, which includes eight tickets.

The Arc provides services to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including those on the autism spectrum.

To make reservations, call 756-7491 or visit www.WacoArc.org.

NE Riverside meeting

The North East Riverside Neighborhood Association will host presentations by the City of Waco Engineering and Planning Department and the Heart of Texas Veterans One Stop at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the East Waco Library, 901 Elm Ave.

The program is open to the public.

Kids theater camp

Kids Kompany Summer Theater is conducting early bird registration for its annual Kids Kompany Summer Theater Camp, for ages 7 to 12.

Sessions will be from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 12-16 and June 19-23 at Greater Waco Advanced Health Care Academy, previously Viking Hills Elementary, 7200 Viking Drive.

Participants will design and paint scenery, make props and practice acting skills for a public production to be presented on the Friday of each session.

Cost is $145 per session, plus a $15 nonrefundable registration fee.

To register, call 715-6048 or visit www.kidskomp.com.

Parkinsons support

The Heart of Texas Parkinsons Support Group will host a discussion about Reverse Mortgages: Advantages vs. Disadvantages at 3 p.m. Thursday at Community Fellowship Church, 1200 N. Valley Mills Drive.

The free program is open to the public.

For more information, call 776-8778.

China Spring ISD food

The China Spring Independent School District Education Foundations 2017 Pride of China Spring Banquet will be at 6 p.m. March 16 in the cafeteria at China Spring High School, 7301 N. River Crossing.

The top 10 percent of the graduating seniors of the class of 2017 and the educators who have made a difference in their lives will be honored at the banquet.

Dr. Bradley D. Gilliam, class of 2001, also will be honored as the 2017 Distinguished Alumni.

Individual tickets cost $15, and tables for eight can be reserved for $150.

For more information, email csisdef@hotmail.com or call 836-1115.

Submit items for Briefly in printed or typed form to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco 76702-2588; fax to 757-0302; or email to goingson@wacotrib.com at least one week before an event.
Waco City Council members agreed Tuesday to explore other possible sites for a new landfill, even as study continues on the proposed site off Highway 84 that has met opposition from nearby residents.

We dont have the luxury of time to stop the legal and engineering work on that site, but we will analyze others, Mayor Kyle Deaver said in a work session, noting that the existing landfill is less than a decade from filling up.

The council is set to approve a revised landfill study at its March 21 meeting, giving its consultant until June to provide a preliminary analysis of alternative sites.

Hundreds of residents in the area of Highway 84 and Speegleville Road have attended meetings and signed petitions to voice their displeasure with the proposed 270-acre landfill on Old Lorena Road, which would be adjacent to the current Waco Regional Landfill. The city hired SCS Engineers in August for $891,000 to do the permitting and design work on the site.

Councilman Jim Holmes, who represents the growing residential area, came out against that site last month. Holmes argued Tuesday that the existing landfill was sited appropriately when it started in 1992, but it is now too close to a heavily developed area.

This is not a NIMBY, not-in-my-backyard, argument for me, he said. I dont think a landfill should be in anyones backyard.

Holmes also echoed concerns by neighbors about water and air quality and traffic.

Councilwoman Alice Rodriguez recalled voting for the current landfill site in 1992, when she was a rookie, but she agreed that development patterns have changed since then.

I think we should look at the other options and come back with the data and go from there, Rodriguez said.

The city got the permit in 1992 to expand Woodways old 40-acre landfill to 238 acres. To get the permit, the city settled with neighboring landowners who had sued over water quality concerns, agreeing not to expand the landfill beyond its new borders.

City officials met with the original plaintiff, Wanda Glaze, along with other neighbors in 2005, trying to win support for an expanded landfill that would come with new parkland. Glaze refused, and the city set about buying land for a separate new landfill that would operate with a new permit.

Glaze and other neighbors have sued, arguing that city is effectively trying to expand the landfill. Other homeowners in the Highway 84 corridor have taken up that line of argument and said the city is at best using a technicality to violate the spirit of the agreement.

City Attorney Jennifer Richie and Deputy City Manager Wiley Stem III continued to stand by the distinction Tuesday, saying an expansion would have been preferable because it would not involve shutting down the operating landfill.

Stem said the alternatives to the Old Lorena Road site are limited, though the consulting engineers may find some possibilities he hasnt considered.

Stem said the Old Lorena Road site not only has proximity and access to a major state highway but also has ideal geology for a landfill. He said the site sits atop hundreds of feet of shale, which is effectively impermeable. Other sites may be unsuitable because their groundwater is close to the surface or because theyre in a floodplain.

Nathan Embry, president of the West Highway 84 Neighborhood Association, attended the work session discussion Tuesday and left encouraged.

Im just glad that everyone is receptive to consider other sites, Embry said.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday affirmed the April 2014 capital murder conviction and death sentence of Carnell Petetan Jr.

A 19th State District Court jury convicted Petetan, 41, in the September 2012 shooting death of his estranged wife, Kimberly Farr Petetan, a few months after he was released from a 20-year prison sentence.

Eight judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals voted to reject Petetans 30 points of appeal, while Judge Elsa Alcala dissented, saying she preferred not to rule on Petetans case while the Texas standard for determining whether someone is intellectually disabled is in legal flux.

The McLennan County jury found that Petetan constitutes a continuing threat to society and rejected his claim that he is exempt from execution because of mental impairment.

Waco attorneys Russ Hunt and Michelle Tuegel, who represented Petetan at trial, said they are disappointed in the courts ruling.

It was our position during the trial, and we still believe, that Carnell Petetan is a person with a serious intellectual disability, which under current United States Supreme Court case law should make him ineligible for the death penalty, the attorneys said in a statement.

We wish the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had waited to rule until the United States Supreme Court decides another case questioning the constitutionality of how Texas determines intellectual disability in death penalty cases. We are hopeful that the law in Texas will change in this area, which would force Texas to stop sending intellectually disabled people to death row.

Petetan, a Port Arthur native, denied that he broke into his estranged wifes Lake Shore Drive apartment and shot her in front of her daughter and two men who rode from South Texas with him earlier that day. He also kidnapped the girl after shooting her mother.

Both of those men and the girl testified that they saw Carnell Petetan shoot his wife, Kimberly Petetan.

Kimberly Petetan started writing Carnell Petetan in prison in 2009 after a chance meeting with his brother. A recovering drug addict who was studying to be a drug abuse counselor, Kimberly Petetan shared her story with Carnell Petetans brother, and he suggested that Carnell Petetan, then serving prison time for three violent assaults, could benefit from her kindness.

Carnell Petetan was in prison at the time for shooting two men and attacking another man with a chair in separate incidents when he was 16.

He essentially has been locked up since he was 13, being placed on juvenile probation for attacking a teacher before being sent to a state juvenile facility in Brownwood.

At his trial, prosecutors established that Carnell Petetan sexually assaulted three other inmates while in prison, assaulted guards and was a member of the 357 Graveyard Crips prison gang.
A Mart woman was arrested Tuesday after police say she accepted money from a man in exchange for time with a young boy in her care, whom the man sexually assaulted.

Mart police arrested Kristen Eileen Brown, 31, on Tuesday on a first-degree felony charge of compelling prostitution after she attended a Child Protective Services hearing at the McLennan County Courthouse, Mart Police Chief Paul Cardenas said. Authorities searched her home Monday, Cardenas said.

The boy first reported abuse to a Bell County Child Advocacy Center official, according to an arrest affidavit. Child Protective Services officials notified local police of the report, Mart police Sgt. Chris Mayfield said.

The boy reported that the man had assaulted him in Wisconsin when he was between 9 and 10 years old and again while they were in Mart, according to the affidavit. He told investigators that, while in Wisconsin, Brown had accepted $150 from the man for two hours with the boy, when he was assaulted.

Mayfield said the investigation remains ongoing.

Brown remained in McLennan County Jail on Tuesday night. Bond information was not available.

Mayfield said a warrant has been issued for the male suspect in the case, but police think he has fled the area. He was not in custody Tuesday.
Smaller cities in the area are joining the county and the city of Waco in speaking up against a state proposal Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing that would limit municipalities ability to set property tax rates without direct voter input.

County and Waco leaders have formally opposed the legislation. Now, Lacy Lakeview leaders are set to consider a resolution against the bill, and Hewitt leaders are planning a trip to Austin to speak out.

Local leaders have said the attempt to control the tax rate is misguided because municipalities only receive a small percentage of property taxes, and the bill removes local control. Most of a residents property taxes go to the local school district.

Residents can petition for a tax-rate referendum if a city or county raises its tax rate by 8 percent or more. Senate Bill 2 would reduce the threshold to 4 percent and eliminate the need for a petition. It also includes several other measures meant to reform the property tax system.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, a former tax assessor in Harris County, filed the bill, and it is scheduled for a committee hearing March 14.

Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, added to the proposals momentum Friday, filing a similar measure in the House, titled the Property Taxpayer Empowerment Act.

Hewitt Mayor Ed Passalugo went to Austin two years ago to oppose a failed proposal to change the threshold for a referendum from an 8 percent increase to 6 percent. Passalugo said he and City Manager Adam Miles likely will return to speak against SB2.

The state doesnt want the federal government telling it what to do, and now the state is trying to tell the city, Youre not smart enough,  Passalugo said.

Miles said referendums are important, but theyre not the only way for residents to have input. They can get someone elected to office or attend some of the many budget workshops and public hearings that happen every year.

When you elect your city council members in whatever city you are in, you expect them to manage the tax rate and finances, Miles said. (The bill) sends a message of, Hey, the state doesnt think the city council you elected can make decisions right on your behalf. 

The bill affects public safety funding significantly, because its the largest portion of most cities budgets, Miles said.

People that tell you differently are misleading you. They make it out to be the big bad cities are taking your money. The cities fund the vast majority of police work and fire services in the state.  Do I think theres room for improvement? Yeah, at all levels of government. When youre looking at cities and counties, look at the piece of pie we get versus schools or the state. he said. Our city budget, Hewitt, compared to just one highway project, were pennies compared to what the state spends.

The bill would have prevented Hewitts move in 2008 from a volunteer fire department to a full-time department, Miles said.

The bill also includes a long list of other changes to appraisal and tax laws aimed at easing the property tax burden. It would establish an advisory board in the state Comptrollers Office to oversee local tax offices and appraisal offices; require appraisal board members to be elected officials in the county; increase the minimum value from $500 to $2,500 for taxable personal property used to generate income; and make changes to procedures for challenging and reviewing appraised property values.

The Texas Municipal League has denounced the proposal as a direct assault on public safety, economic development and transportation that will produce no noticeable tax reduction for homeowners.

Shanna Igo, Texas Municipal Leagues deputy executive director of legislative services, told Waco City Council on Tuesday that the level of anti-city hostility in this years legislative session is unprecedented in her experience. There are at least 24 bills that would result in state pre-emption of traditionally local powers, including issues such as plastic bags, short-term rental ordinances, regulations of Uber and zoning.

Local control means nothing, Igo said. They say cities take away liberty because we regulate. Its a different type of political atmosphere now.  Theres so many areas where they want to micromanage cities, where they want you to fund the state but cap your budget.

Waco council member John Kinnaird said the Legislature is telling cities what they can do but not providing needed financial support.

Lacy Lakeview staff is drafting a resolution opposing the bill for the councils consideration after the Texas Municipal League distributed information about the proposal.

This is the only bill so far the city is considering formally weighing in on, City Manager Keith Bond said.

Most of the citys budget goes to salaries and public safety, he said.

If there was a need to, 4 percent is not a lot, Bond said. If they would fix the school finance system, I think wed see the tax rate level out or even drop.

The Center for Public Policy Priorities also has announced opposition to the the bill, stating it would override the values and desires of local voters and limit ability to provide services.

This proposed interference by the state in local control over taxes and spending would violate the basic democratic principle described by Thomas Jefferson: That government is best which is closest to the people. 

Mart Mayor Pro Tem Henry Witt III said elected officials work to avoid tax increases that trigger a potential referendum. That rate increase, now 8 percent, is known as the rollback rate.

Every once in a while, depending on the financial situation youre dealt, there are times you have to go to the rollback rate. I know McLennan County has done it. City did it when we first came into office just because we were in a rough financial situation and we needed that extra tax base to help us get out of that situation, he said.

Witt said the bill could prompt more elections, which might not be an issue for a larger municipality, but a $2,500 to $5,000 regular election adds up for a city the size of Mart.
While McLennan Community College is yet another institution of higher learning where the idea of campus-carry remains controversial, no one can deny the schools collective spirit in trying to live up to the letter of this state law while ensuring that safety and education remain mutual priorities. By all accounts, MCC President Johnette McKown has overseen a process that has been inclusive and thoughtful in how to implement this initiative, which takes effect Aug. 1.

MCCs campus-carry policy, approved by its board of trustees last week, offers few surprises regarding the exceptions carved out where even concealed weapons are legally prohibited: for instance, the Community Service Center, including its Child Development Center and playground; the health clinic; and premises where any college event offering alcohol is served, neatly complying with stern Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission regulations.

Reminders: First, the state law does not provide for open-carry on campuses. Even though campus-carry and open-carry legislation passed during the same legislative session in 2015, the law forbids the open carrying of weapons on college campuses. Second, concealed handgun license-holders must be 21 or above and have passed a training course, a shooting test and extensive background checks. This should reassure those worried about folks carrying among us.
WAHOO  Brandon J. Kopf, the primary focus of the Saunders County Sheriffs Offices man hunt last week, is now in custody.

Kopf was one of three that law enforcement was looking for after an abandoned car was spotted Feb. 28 on Highway 77, just west of Wahoo that morning.

He was arrested the morning of March 6 near Verdon, said Saunders County Chief Deputy Steve Malina.

Kopfs presence in Wahoo on Feb. 28 stirred up a flurry of misinformation and questions, Malina said.

At about 6 a.m. Feb. 28, deputies saw the vehicle and then three individuals were seen walking on First Street by Falke Motors, said Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz.

Law enforcement was looking for someone associated with the abandoned vehicle, Stukenholtz said. However, no names were being released last week, just that a warrant was possibly connected to one of the individuals.

Malina said the situation escalated as the day went on, with their office receiving calls about whether schools should be locked down or locked out.

Malina said they do not tell the schools to do that and did not on Feb. 28. Schools make that decision, he added.

Wahoo Public Schools Superintendent Brandon Lavaley reported the afternoon of Feb. 28 school officials had contacted the Sheriffs department, but did not lock down or lock out due to the search.

Staff at Bishop Neumann High School would not confirm or deny the afternoon of Feb. 28 that their school was on lock down or lock out.

Malina said he received calls from as far away as Raymond and David City inquiring about the situation.

It got blown out of proportion, Malina said.

Law enforcement believed Kopf left Wahoo soon after abandoning the vehicle and was next seen near Beatrice on Friday, Malina said.

In Beatrice, Kopf fled on foot after he wrecked a vehicle after driving into a building during a pursuit with Gage County Sheriffs deputies was terminated last week, Malina said.

The wrecked vehicle was registered with a Saunders County license plate.

Kopf had warrants in Lancaster and Gage counties, Malina said.

Kopf was captured by U.S. Marshals Tuesday morning. Malina said the two females with him while in Wahoo did not have outstanding warrants.
EAGLE - School District 145 Foundation for Education was awarded $490 by the Nebraska Arts Council (NAC). The grant allowed 90 grade fourth and fifth grade students from Eagle Elementary School to attend a live performance of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs Feb. 3 at the Rose Theater in Omaha.

Nebraska Arts Council Executive Director Suzanne Wise commented, The Rose Theater contributes a great deal to advancement of the arts in Omaha and surrounding communities. We commend the advocacy work being done by the School District 145 Foundation for Education on behalf of students because the arts are important to the education and quality of life for all Nebraskans.

The performance was met with rave reviews from chaperones and students alike, and students were in awe of the setting. Students also participated in a post show acting workshop with theater professionals.
Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer has been pulled up on his company's stance on public reporting of bad bank behaviour and its practices in selling superannuation products as he fronted the parliamentary committee reviewing the big four banks.

Speaking to MPs conducting the review, Mr Hartzer on Wednesday also revealed that Westpac's wealth arm BT has introduced a "new layer" to assess life insurance claims.

BT in October outed itself as the insurer found to be rejecting 30 per cent of all total permanent disability claims by its customers after a review by the corporate regulator.

Public reporting of serious breaches of the Corporations Act is a key recommendation from the parliamentary inquiry into the banking sector.
The Australian Taxation Office says the "robo-debt" debacle is not its fault and it is unhappy being publicly linked with Centrelink's controversial debt-recovery program.

Senior ATO officials told a Senate committee investigating robodebt on Wednesday that the ATO simply handed its data on taxpayers over to Centrelink's parent department, Human Services, which then used an automated system to raise debts.

It also emerged in Wednesday's hearings that Centrelink had been paid just $24 million of the $300 million it says it is owed under the program with some debtors paying back as little as $5 per week.

But Department of Human Services Secretary Kathryn Campbell said there were no plans to heed the widespread calls for the program to be scrapped and that it would continue with "refinements".
Looks like Scarlett Johansson and Romain Dauriac's split is for real.

The actress filed divorce documents on Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court, according to Page Six. The 32-year-old is seeking primary custody of their daughter, Rose Dauriac, who turned two in September.

The Avengers star was the one who pulled the plug on the marriage, a Johansson-adjacent source told Us Weekly in January, when the split went public. The two have been separated since last summer, with Page Six reporting now that they've had an informal week-on/week-off custody arrangement since then.

Moving forward, given Johansson's primary custody request, Dauriac's lawyer told Page Six that he expected an "interesting process" as his client fought for shared custody.
I'm wearing red today, while spending zero money, to show solidarity with the A Day Without A Woman strike. There are those who dismiss the campaign as "kind of annoying". To them I say, "Sorry, I can't hear you - I'm on strike."

I understand the charge that only privileged women can afford to down tools for political reasons. But since I'm one of those, I'm happy to use my power to make the point that the gender pay gap persists, casual sexism clings on and the domestic violence crisis has not been solved. And that's just in Australia. Globally women's rights are increasingly under attack. That's why I think the campaign is an inspired one  it's also relevant to sustainable style.

Susan Carland on her recent recce to Phnom Phen, with Cambodian womens rights activist Mu Sochua

More than 80 per cent of garment workers are women. What would happen if they all refused to sew our clothes until each and every one of them was granted fair working conditions? The fashion industry would grind to a halt, that's what.

Whatever colour shirt you're wearing today, spare a thought for the person who made it. There's a good chance she was a woman having a crap time.
The findings come as one in 11 parents say they still believe vaccination is connected to autism and 30 per cent are unsure about this, despite extensive medical research showing no causal link.

Parents have told a national survey their unvaccinated children had been denied treatment because their shots were not up to date.

Australian health providers have been accused of refusing to give medical care to one in six unvaccinated children.

"I'd be very disappointed if that is the case," said Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon, in response to claims doctors could be among those refusing treatment. The nurses' union has also rejected that nurses would deny treatment.

If education and counselling for families who do not understand the benefit of immunisations fails, their children will be excluded. Credit:Getty Images

"No matter what reservations an individual doctor might have, it's not ethical to deny care to an unvaccinated child," Dr Gannon said, stressing that refusing care to anyone, but particularly children, who don't get to choose their vaccination status, was unethical.

"Having said that, I understand individual doctors perhaps changing their practice based on the threat to their other patients. For example, if you have a child with measles, the last thing you want is them in your waiting room potentially infecting other children."

The findings are from the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital Child Health Poll, which quizzed nearly 2000 parents of 3500 children in January, most of whom  95 per cent  had fully immunised their children.
After leaving Cairns some time last week, they travelled through the state with stops at towns including Bowen and Gordonsvale, with the woman doing the bulk of the driving against her will and the man occasionally hiding in an alcove in the Mitsubishi Pajero to avoid detection. Police allege the British backpacker and her alleged rapist took this rough route through Queensland. The alleged abuse continued during their journey, and Detective Inspector Paul Hart said it would have been nearly impossible for the woman to escape. "We don't want to speculate, but it is fair to say that she is a tourist, a lot of the areas where she would have been would have been unknown to her, and she wouldn't have known anyone there, so it would have been difficult for her to make an escape," he said. "From the information we've been provided she had very limited opportunity to try and do that anyway."

However, a petrol stop at the Mitchell Caltex alerted locals to her dire situation. The service station owner, Beverley Page told Seven News she alerted police after the visibly shaken woman drove off without paying for petrol. "She was distressed, she was crying and she was shaking and she had two black eyes and she had marks on the side of her neck," Ms Page said. Police pulled the four-wheel-drive over, and noticed immediately that something was wrong. "It appears she was terrified and not able to hide that," police said.

'Great courage' to speak to police Police said the young woman showed 'great courage' in detailing her abuse. Credit:Facebook The woman had facial fractures, cuts and bruising and was taken to the police station, where arresting officer Acting Sergeant David Harper said she told police about her alleged attacker. "The allegations (are) that he's made threats to her in relation to alerting any person or police." Inspector Hart said the young woman, originally from Liverpool, showed "great courage" to provide the detail she had about her ordeal.

"What she's experienced is no doubt horrific and terrifying, and we commend her for taking the opportunity to speak to our police out at Mitchell," he said. "I'm sure as we can all appreciate the charges speak for themselves in terms of what she's had to endure." The woman was taken to Roma Hospital, where she was treated and then released. It's understood she will be transported to a Brisbane Hospital on Wednesday morning for additional treatment. What happens next The man has been remanded in the Toowoomba watchhouse, and he is due to face court again next week.

As for the investigation, inspector Hart said it is in its infancy as it will take the combined effort of a number of police stations to build their case. "(The man allegedly) committed a number of offences against her as they travelled around the state," he said. One of the charges the man is facing relates to the alleged damage of the woman's passport, which means she cannot return home for now. Police would also not say whether her family would fly over from the UK to support her here. "At this point in time they are just waiting to see how our investigation transpires," Inspector Hart said. Loading
The latest revelations about the US government's powerful hacking tools potentially takes surveillance right into the homes and hip pockets of billions of users worldwide, showing how a remarkable variety of everyday devices can be turned to spy on their owners.

Televisions, smartphones and internet-connected vehicles are all vulnerable to CIA hacking, according to the WikiLeaks documents released overnight. The capabilities described include recording the sounds, images and the private text messages of users, even when they use encrypted apps to communicate. Vehicles, meanwhile, are vulnerable to a remote hacker gaining control, allowing "nearly undetectable assassinations".

In the case of a tool called "Weeping Angel" for attacking Samsung Smart TVs, WikiLeaks wrote, "After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a 'Fake-Off' mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on, In 'Fake-Off' mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the internet to a covert CIA server."

The documents, which could not immediately be independently confirmed, list supposed tools for cracking into such widely popular devices as Apple's iPhone or the Android smartphones whose operating system is made by Google, but there are marked differences from the 2013 revelations by the National Security Agency's former contractor Edward Snowden.
Hang drum group Hang Massive will perform in Australia for the first time as part of their global tour in 2017.

The hang was invented in Switzerland in 2000 and is a new-age percussion instrument that is played with the hands and fingers.

Hang Massive founders Danny Cudd and Markus Offbeat met in India in 2010 - by 2011 the pair released their music video, Once Again, which has gone on to be viewed by millions.

"I thought that if we made a good video, synched it up with good audio that it was a possibility to share this new instrument with many people around the world," Mr Cudd said.
In this in-depth election investigation, WAtoday.com.au looks at the 10 seats that could decide the March 11 election. Glenys Godfrey (Liberals) and Cassie Rowe (Labor) face off in Belmont. The once working class seat was held by former WA Labor leader and one-time Treasurer Eric Ripper from 1989 until his retirement in 2013. His replacement Cassie Rowe only lost the seat by a handful of votes after a dramatic 13 per cent swing towards Liberal candidate Glenys Godfrey.

After electoral distributions in 2015, the Liberals only hold the seat notionally by one per cent, making it one of the most marginal seats in WA. Labor will see the seat as their stomping ground and will be throwing everything at Belmont to win it back. Candidates:

Greens: Bhuwan Khadka

Labor: Cassie Rowe

Liberals: Glenys Godfrey

One Nation: Julie Mitchell



Labor's Stephen Price faces off with Liberal Nathan Morton. Forrestfield is shaping up as a critical battle ground for both parties. The seat if held notionally by the Liberals with one of the smallest margins, just 2.1 per cent. Liberal Nathan Morton won the seat at the 2013 election by less than 1300 votes, so the electorate in the battler belt in Perth's South East is going to the one to watch. Labor has put up one of its many union acolytes with Australian Workers Union official Steve Price to contest the seat. For Mr Price it's all about crime in the area and he has promised to keep the Forrestfield Police Station open until 7pm.

For Mr Morton it's all about creating jobs in his electorate. With unemployment high in the area, expect One Nation candidate Jenny Bennett to pick up votes from disgruntled voters. Candidates:

Greens: Eugene Marshall

Labor: Stephen Price

Liberals: Nathan Morton

One Nation: Jenny Bennett The seat of Perth will be decided between John Carey (Labor) and Eleni Evangel (Liberals). Perth was another shock defeat for Labor at the 2013 election. Liberal party candidate and former City of Perth councillor Eleni Evangel won the seat after getting a 10 per cent swing towards her party.

Labor has brought in high-profile candidate and former Vincent mayor John Carey to win the seat back. Both the Liberals and Labor have accused each other of dirty tactics and smear campaigns in the lead up to the election. With the Liberals holding the seat with a 2.8 per cent margin, Labor will be banking on winning the seat if it has any hope of forming government. Candidate:

Green: Hannah Milligan

Labor: John Carey

Liberals: Eleni Evangel In Morley Amber-Jade Sanderson faces off with Ian Britza from the Liberals.

Labor threw everything at the seat of Morley at the 2013 election putting up star recruit and former TV journalist Reece Whitby. It was an abject failure and Ian Britza won the seat comfortably. This time around former United Voice organiser Amber-Jade Sanderson is switching from the upper house to the lower house in a bid to win Morley. It's all about rail in the inner-northern suburb seat. Labor has promised a rail line to Morley as part of its $2.5 billion Metronet project. The Liberals have also promised it will build an underground rail link from Perth to Morley. Candidates:

Greens: Anne-Marie Ricciardi

Labor: Amber-Jade Sanderson

Liberals: Ian Britza 

In Bunbury Don Punch from the Labor Party challenges Liberal Tim Morison. Bunbury was the state's bellwether seat between 1983 and 2005, with the party winning the seat also winning the election. Popular Liberal John Castrilli held the seat from 2005, but is retiring ahead of this years' election, leaving the seat up for contest. A swing of 12.2 per cent is needed for Labor to gain the seat. The area has the highest rates of methamphetamine use in the country.

Labor has announced a funding plan for Bunbury, focusing on transport, tourism, mental health and infrastructure. Candidates:

Greens: Michael Baldock

Labor: Don Punch

Liberal: Ian Morison

Nationals: James Hayward

One Nation: Sam Brown  In Balcatta Labor's David Michael squares off with Chris Hatton from the Liberal party.

Balcatta's most famous member was former disgraced WA Labor Premier Brian Burke in one of the seats many incarnations. The seat was abolished in 1996 then returned as an electorate in the 2005 election. The electorate had been a Labor stronghold until the Liberals got a 10 per cent swing towards the party which saw Chris Hatton elected in 2013. Labor is throwing everything at the working class seat, promising a $50 million upgrade to Balcatta Senior High School as both parties try to woo voters with a school on every corner. Candidates:

Greens: Nicole Harvey

Labor: David Michael

Liberal: Chris Hatton

In Bicton Labor's Sue O'Malley faces off with the Liberal's Matt Taylor. The newly-formed seat of Bicton will be one of the fascinating seats to watch in the March election. There is a lot of anger towards the Barnett government in the electorate with the controversial Perth Freight Link set to barrel through it. And the Liberal party could lose more votes with anti-PFL campaigner and Rethink the Link member Steve Kepert running an an independent.

The state opposition would be confident it could pick up the new seat of Bicton which the Liberals notionally hold by a margin of 10 per cent. Candidates:

Greens: Louise Dickmann

Liberal: Matt Taylor

Labor: Lisa O'Malley  

Mount Lawley will be decided between Michael Sutherland (Liberals) and Simon Millman (Labor). Mount Lawley is the seventh most marginal seat which the Liberals hold by a margin of 8.9 per cent. The seat has been held high-profile Liberal Michael Sutherland since 2008. Despite the Liberals seemingly having a stranglehold on the seat, polling has shown a swing away from the government in the inner-city seat. Labor has thrown up lawyer Simon Millman who will appeal to the latte sect in the affluent seat. Here have been dramatic swings in recent federal and state election in seats on the fringes on Perth, so don't be surprised if Mount Lawley goes down to the wire.

Candidates:

Greens: Matt Roberts

Labor: Simon Millman

Liberal: Michael Sutherland Nationals leader Brendan Grylls (middle) has lost his seat in the Pilbara against Kevin Michel (right). All eyes will be on the Pilbara seat with many political pundits predicting the North West seat could be picked up by One Nation. But One Nation's chances have not been helped by their candidate David Archibald who wrote an article saying taxpayers should not support single mums who are "too lazy" to attract and hold a mate.

Nationals' leader Brendon Grylls won the seat in 2013 with a margin of 11.5 per cent. He has proposed a $5 per tonne mining tax on the iron ore giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. There has been a fierce campaign by the mining industry against the tax. The Minerals Council commissioned Deloitte Access Economics to produce a report that found it would cut 2900 jobs in the Pilbara region and another 3400 from the rest of the state. Candidates:

Greens: Brent McKenna

Labor: Kevin Michel

Liberal: Mark Alchin

Nationals: Brendon Grylls

One Nation: David Archer

Independent Rob Johnson, Labor's Teresa Ritchie and Liberal Peter Katsambanis fight it out over the seat of Hillarys.

The former Police Minister continues to be a thorn in the side of the Liberals, continually attacking the party at every opportunity. Liberal candidate Peter Katsambanis hasn't held back, slamming Mr Johnson as a "tired independent", to which Johnson hit back with a claim Mr Katsambanis' selection had caused a lot of unrest in the community. Both are coming out firing before the election; and Labor will hope to do a "Bradbury" and pinch the seat when nobody is watching. Candidates:
FAQs Are Roe 8 and the Perth Freight Link the same thing? Is it a bird, is it a plane? Where did this project come from? Why do we need a solution at all? What exactly does Labor promise instead?

What role does this potential second harbour play? How much would it cost Labor to break Roe 8 contracts? Will the federal government let Labor just spend the billion on something else? What does the RAC think? What does Infrastructure Australia think?

What did the 2016 Senate inquiry conclude? What did the 2017 Senate inquiry conclude? How many jobs does each plan promise? Has this kind of standoff pre-election happened before? What do councils think?

Answers Are Roe 8 and the Perth Freight Link the same thing? Roe 8 is stage 1 of the Perth Freight Link. It's what the Liberal state government is clearing land for right now: The extension of Roe Highway by 5.2 kilometres from its current end at Kwinana Freeway, through Beeliar Wetlands to Stock Road in Coolbellup. Roe 9 is stage 2, a three-kilometre tunnel from the Stock/Winterfold roads intersection in Hilton through to High Street, East Fremantle. It would run beneath homes in Hilton and White Gum Valley and connect to Stirling Highway.

The federal government has not received the business case for Roe 9. Together Roe 8 and 9 are projected to cost $1.9 billion - $1.2 billion federal funding and $700 million state funding. Stage 3, Roe 10, or how the traffic will get from Stirling Highway, across the river and through Fremantle to the Port, is unplanned and uncosted. This plan is supported by the transport industry and the City of Melville. The Perth Freight Link plan.

Is it a bird, is it a plane? Where did this project come from? Sustainability expert and Curtin University professor Peter Newman is a former board member of Infrastructure Australia, which assesses state submissions for federal infrastructure funding. He says WA is notorious for not proposing projects. "The response was, we prefer the cocktail party approach, where if politicians come to town we lobby them and get some money," he told the crowd at a recent transport forum in Perth. "The Perth Freight Link just dropped out of the sky; it was not from Infrastructure Australia or any planning, it was just a gift from Tony Abbott. When you do that kind of planning you can expect major problems."

Why do we need a solution at all? In a nutshell, Fremantle Port is in a tricky area that's hard to reach and is already very built up. WA is growing fast. The economy is growing, the population is growing, road transport is increasing, more trade is going through Fremantle Port Inner Harbour and the existing road network is constraining productivity. Everyone agrees these issues are pressing. But Labor's solutions are markedly different.

Roads in the southern suburbs are under pressure. Credit:Paul Rovere What exactly does Labor promise instead? Labor has vowed to scrap the PFL, end the existing contract Main Roads has signed to build Roe 8 and reallocate all remaining funding (about $1.7 billion) to its own congestion-related projects, three immediate and one longer-term. Immediately: 1) Construct Armadale Road dual carriageway between Anstey Road and Tapper Road ($145 million from forward estimates.) Includes create public transport corridor.

2) Build the $166 million Armadale Road Bridge, linking North Lake Road and Armadale Road over Kwinana Freeway. 3) Invest $95million to build two new overpasses on Wanneroo Road, one at the intersection of Ocean Reef Road and the other at the Joondalup Drive intersection. Longer term, it has committed $20 million and a taskforce for planning its longer term Freight and Trade policy including planning for the construction of a harbour at Kwinana. It says heavy freight traffic through Fremantle and surrounding suburbs will be reduced as Fremantle Port reaches capacity and freight is transitioned to the new Outer Harbour. It has promised to maintain Fremantle Port as an operational port in public ownership.

Supporting this plan, as well as most of the concerned councils, are the RAC, Conservation Council of WA and other conservation groups. Mark McGowan has a different vision. What role does this potential second harbour play? Governments of both stripes have for many years acknowledged need for an outer harbour at Kwinana to take the brunt of freight in the longer term future as there is consensus Fremantle Port will reach capacity over the next decade. The most recent Regional Development Australia report; Perth and Peel Economic Development Strategy and Infrastructure Priority Plan identified an Outer Harbour in Cockburn Sound as a "game-changing initiative" and has warned that without its development, WA will be "held back".

The City of Kwinana's proposal for an outer harbour showed a second port could be made operational within a decade for around the same amount of investment currently committed to the Freight Link. Labor talks more about its commitment to the harbour here. The government has not signalled any immediate plans to progress with an outer harbour and has progressed a Bill to privatise Fremantle Port, a plan not supported by its National Party coalition partner. Fremantle port is set to be sold if the Liberal government stays in power. How much would it cost Labor to break Roe 8 contracts?

WA Labor says it sought independent legal advice from former WA Solicitor General Grant Donaldson before deciding to break the Roe 8 contract. This advice indicated the move would only have a "modest cost". Transport Minister Bill Marmion has estimated it could cost $20-$40 million, but Labor countered that Mr Marmion was betting on a particular clause being included in the contract, which their lawyer advised was not. Labor says its final costings will include an allocation for contract renegotiation. Will the Federal Government let Labor just spend the billion on something else?

A spokesman for federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said the $1.2 billion committed by the Federal Government was "specific to the project" and could not " simply be re-allocated". But the federal government recently released the $1.5 billion in funding to the new government that canned the East West Link in Victoria, allowing it to be spent on other projects - a parallel situation. "We would expect the same treatment as Victoria received and I would not take any notice of the blusterings of ministers, federal ministers, before the state election," leader Mark McGowan has told media. Minister Fletcher. Credit:louise kennerley What does the RAC think?

Perth Freight Link was not on the RAC's top five priority list and it had consistently called for the full business case to be released, Corporate Affairs manager Will Golsby said. "In 2014 when it arrived in the Federal Budget there was a lack of information," he said. "We were not aware it would be announced in the Federal budget, we asked for the information then. "The project has also changed. It started as Northlink, the scope changed with a change of minister, then it was Roe 8, now there is discussion around Roe 9. There is a lack of information across the board to make an informed decision ... confusion around the project, the staging, where it starts and stops, getting to the port, and issues around the port. There are all these different timelines around the ports. What we want to see is all the stats, all the facts, so people can make an informed decision. "The community needs some certainty.

"Perth is 150 kilometres by 50 kilometres. One road in, one road out. The forward planning needs to be done. 2031 might sound a long way away  but it is crunch time for infrastructure in this state." It's crunch time for infrastructure in a sprawling capital city, the RAC says. Credit:Andrew Meares What does Infrastructure Australia think? The independent statutory body, mandated to prioritise and progress nationally significant infrastructure, noted when it prepared its assessment in 2015 that while the Link option was shortlisted, then selected, from a range of lower cost options, a benefit-cost ratio was completed for the preferred option only ... not completed from additional options to determine if the preferred option provided the greatest net benefits". It noted there were other options, including the expansion of the outer harbour at Cockburn Sound, and lower cost options including a $100 million Leach Highway/High Street upgrade.

"Further, the assessment of options has had limited reliance on objective quantitative evidence," it said. It found "significant weaknesses" in the government's assessment of the benefit-cost ratio as 2.5 to 1. This allocated 80 per cent of the weight to benefits and only 20 per cent to costs, meaning it would likely bias assessment "in favour of higher cost options". It also noted "significant risks" around estimated costs and benefits, and that transport modelling underpinning economic appraisal of the project did not factor in the "inducement of additional traffic as a result of lower costs of travel." The best Infrastructure Australia could conclude was that the benefit-cost ratio would be "better than 1:1."

Government documentation shows that the benefits calculated mainly consist of cost and time savings for freight operators. How many jobs does each plan promise? The government claims Roe 8 will create about 500 direct jobs and Roe 9 will create 1900 direct jobs. WA Labor claims its three immediate roads projects will create more than 1440 jobs. The City of Kwinana claims construction of an outer harbour will create 37,383 direct jobs.

WA is hungry for jobs and there are plenty promised. Credit:James Davies Has this kind of standoff pre-election happened before? Yes  the East West Link in Victoria caused similar confusion in the community and the Napthine government signed a contract immediately before the 2014 state election, knowing the opposition  now government  opposed the project. The project was then abandoned after the election and the federal government, as discussed above, released the funding for other projects. Victorian acting Auditor General Peter Frost later found the business case did not provide a sound basis for the government's decision to commit to the investment and that key decisions during the project planning, development and procurement phases were driven by an overriding sense of urgency to sign the contract before the November 2014 state election.

"This highlights a risk to the integrity of public administration that needs to be addressed," Dr Frost wrote. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews scrapped the East West Link, which attracted controversy and protests. Credit:Pat Scala What did the 2016 Senate inquiry conclude? An inquiry was done in 2016 by a Senate committee consisting of three Labor senators, one Liberal, one National and one Green found the project was flawed and "poorly and hurriedly conceived". The inquiry said the project was likely to exceed the $1.9 billion projected cost and this was proved by the additional Commonwealth funding of $260.8 million to tunnel certain parts of the project.

The inquiry voiced a concern that the project did not incorporate a strategy to improve traffic flows through Fremantle to the port itself and predicted a bottleneck at Stirling Bridge. "Upgrades to bridges into Fremantle alone could add as much as $500 million," it said. "No solution has been proposed as to how the City of Fremantle - which already faces significant traffic flow problems - would handle increased volumes of freight transport through its urban and residential streets." There was also great uncertainty about the proposed toll system and associated costs and revenue. It said all these potential cost increases could vary the economic benefit the Business Case executive summary indicated.

The Stirling Bridge is one of Fremantle's key traffic links. Credit:Google What did the 2017 Senate inquiry conclude? A snap Senate inquiry was called in February after a large volume of complaints, containing time-stamped photographic documentation of fauna being killed and overlooked by contractors, fell on deaf ears at state and federal agencies. It found that clearing at the Roe 8 project site was proceeding in defiance of environmental law and called for a halt in proceedings, which has not eventuated. It recommended that the Australian National Audit Office investigate the Perth Freight Link and whether it represents value for $1.2 billion federal funding, as the WestConnex and East West Link projects were audited.

Liberal members broke ranks to submit a dissenting minority report, seen in the same document. What do councils think? The South West Group of Councils includes Cockburn, Melville, Fremantle, East Fremantle, Kwinana and Rockingham. The City of Melville is the only one to support the link. The others staunchly oppose the Link, with the exception of Rockingham which has stayed out of things altogether.
Guatemala City: A fire that killed 19 girls at a home for abused teens in Guatemala on Wednesday started when some residents set mattresses ablaze, police said, after an overnight riot and attempt to escape from the overcrowded government-run centre.

A crowd of relatives, some wailing with grief, gathered outside the Virgen de Asuncion home for children up to 18 years old, in semi-rural suburb San Jose Pinula, about 25 kilometres southwest of the capital Guatemala City.

Nery Ramos, the head of Guatemala's national police, said at the scene that 19 people, all girls, were confirmed dead. Local hospitals reported at least 40 others being treated for burns.

"This is a painful situation," Ramos said, adding that the fire started when a group of young people set light to sleeping mats. He said a group of residents were isolated by authorities at the centre after an escape attempt on Tuesday night, and that police were investigating if the two events were connected.
Marines from an amphibious task force have left their ships in the Middle East and deployed to Syria, establishing an outpost from which they can fire artillery guns in support of the fight to take back the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State, defence officials said.

The deployment marks another escalation in the US war in Syria, and puts conventional US troops in the battle there. Several hundred Special Operations troops have advised local forces there for months, but the Pentagon has shied away from using conventional forces in Syria.

The force is part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which left San Diego on Navy ships in October. The Marines on the ground include part of an artillery battery that can fire powerful 155-millimetre shells from M777 Howitzers, two officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the deployment.

The expeditionary unit's ground force, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, will man the guns and deliver fire support for US-backed local forces who are preparing an assault on the city. Additional infantrymen from the unit are likely to provide security.
Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have stoked the fires of hatred and distrust. Credit:AP Describing their contents as "malware, viruses, Trojans and weaponised 'zero day' exploits", WikiLeaks said the files developed by a CIA unit known as the Engineering Development Group, were designed to harness vulnerabilities in Apple's iPhone, Google's Android software and Samsung TV sets. WikiLeaks said the exploits were capable of bypassing popular encryption-enabled applications like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram. "At first glance [the files are] probably legitimate or contains a lot of legitimate stuff, which means somebody managed to extract a lot of data from a classified CIA system and is willing to let the world know that," Nicholas Weaver, a computer security researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, told The Washington Post. Trump has been infuriated by a torrent of leaks from across government, but especially from within the intelligence agencies on investigations into links between himself and his election campaign team with Russia. In July 2016 WikiLeaks became a controversial player in the US presidential election when it released 20,000 embarrassing emails that had been hacked from Democratic Party computers, creating uproar on the campaign trail.

Speaking at the time from Ecuador's embassy in London, where he has taken refuge for years, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange denied early suspicion that the Russian government or its agents were responsible for the DNC (Democratic National Committee) hacking  but the combined US intelligence agencies concluded that the hacking was part of a multi-pronged Kremlin plot to help Trump win the election and to discredit US democracy. Trump celebrated the leaks, declaring "I love WikiLeaks" as he read from a sheaf of the Democratic emails at a rally in the last weeks of the campaign. For months he refused to accept that Russia was involved  even as he jokingly urged Moscow to mount a search for thousands of Hillary Clinton emails that had been processed through her controversial private email server when she was US secretary of state. On the campaign trail and in office Trump has been repeatedly wrong-footed by leaks on his Russian connections and those of his associates. He was forced to sack campaign manager Paul Manafort after allegations that he had received millions of dollars from pro-Moscow politicians in Ukraine. In February he sacked his national security adviser Michael Flynn after he was revealed to have lied about his dealings with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. And last week Attorney-General Jeff Sessions was forced to recuse himself from any Justice Department deliberations on intelligence agency and congressional investigations of the Russian links because Sessions had failed to disclose that he too had met the ambassador.

During a candidates' debate in October, just days after the intelligence agencies' declaration that the Democratic hack was the work of Moscow, Trump pushed back: "They like to say the Russians did it. They think they're trying to tarnish me with Russia. I know nothing about Russia." As the scope of a multi-agency investigation into aspects of Trump's Russia connections became known, president-elect Trump became sharply critical of the agencies  mocking their failures in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and dismissing the need for himself to have a daily intelligence briefing on the grounds that he was "a smart person". The leaks have continued, including indications that the FBI is increasingly confident about the veracity of aspects of a dossier, compiled by a former British intelligence agent, which alleges that Russia had been "assisting Trump for at least five years" and that the Kremlin had recorded a so-called sex tape during Trump's 2013 visit to Moscow which it would use to compromise him as president of the US. Within days of Trump's inauguration there were reports that the agencies were withholding sensitive information because Trump was not to be trusted and might disclose it to Moscow  and in what read as a Trump threat to all the agencies, The New York Times reported that he had enlisted a billionaire buddy with no intelligence experience to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the agencies. Trump's war with the agencies became more fraught on the weekend when senior former and current officials rejected his tweeted claim that former president Barack Obama had ordered wiretaps on Trump Tower during the election campaign  which apparently was based on reports from Trump-loyal conservative media outlets.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) is pleased to join the international community in celebrating International Womens Day 2017 with the theme Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030, while specifically focusing on Women in Customs, a transversal theme for 2017.

While a Day dedicated to womens achievements has existed since 1909, the United Nations (UN) began celebrating International Women's Day on 8 March 1975  an occasion to reflect on the importance of gender equality, listed among the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the 2030 Agenda as contributing to enhancing sustainable economic growth and benefiting societies as a whole.

WCO Deputy Secretary General, Sergio Mujica opened the ceremony at WCO Headquarters by underlining that gender equality was not a goal but rather a precondition for meeting the challenges of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. After describing the current situation in Customs in terms of gender equality, he listed WCO initiatives already taken towards gender equality and encouraged the Customs community to use some existing tools at policy and organizational levels to further ensure workplace gender equality within Customs administrations.

In her keynote address to the assembled guests, H.E Grace M. Mutale Kabwe, Ambassador of the Republic of Zambia to Belgium, explained how, in her opinion, Zambias ratification of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement could have a positive impact on opportunities for women by granting small and medium sized-enterprises (SMEs) easier access to international trade through simplified Customs procedures. She added that she strongly believed that modernized Customs procedures would allow more women to enter the formal labour market and therefore work towards gender equality.

Ms. Sigfriur Gunnlaugsdottir from Iceland Customs, in her capacity as Chairperson of the WCO Integrity Sub-Committee, also shared her experience and views as a woman in a leadership position in Customs on how gender equality was being addressed in her Administration and why this topic should be given the attention it deserves. She also elaborated on Icelands experience of equality and pointed out the benefits of having a diverse workforce in business and Customs and that even though improvements were slow in coming around the world, a change in mindset and attitude was possible with greater commitment by all stakeholders.

With the hosting of its Women in Customs, Trade and Leadership Conference in July 2013, the WCO embraced gender equality as an important topic and developed a Customs-specific diagnostic tool known as the WCO Gender Equality Organizational Assessment Tool (GEOAT).

This tool is now available to WCO Member Customs administrations to assess their policies, practices and activities relating to gender issues, ensuring that gender is mainstreamed in the design and implementation of WCO capacity building programmes that support Customs reform and modernization initiatives.

The concept of gender mainstreaming, considered one of the key pillars of the WCO gender equality approach, is on the agenda of the WCO Capacity Building Committee, and the WCO Leadership and Management Development (LMD) Programme also contains a full module on gender equity to ensure that gender diversity and stereotypes are addressed.

In addition, the WCO launched a survey targeting gender and diversity in October 2016, in an effort to collect data from Customs administrations which would enable a global picture to be formed on where the Customs community stands on these issues, providing a basis for discussions during the next meeting of the WCO Capacity Building Committee.

The WCO reiterates its commitment to remain proactive in finding ways to raise awareness on the importance of achieving gender parity within the global Customs community, thereby contributing to its Members efforts towards ensuring sustainable development.
by Richard Coulson

I have just finished last years fascinating book, Power at Ground Zero by Lynette B. Sagalyn, about the rebuilding in downtown Manhattan after the horrendous 9/11 terrorist attack that killed nearly 3,000 people and destroyed the two 110-story World Trade Center buildings, whose collapse blighted an entire city neighborhood. Although we have never suffered a similar catastrophe, we nevertheless live with our own urban Ground Zero, the zombie zone of derelict structures, vacant store-fronts, and empty lots that dominate eastern Bay Street, turning what should be a vibrant mixed-use district into a wasteland shunned equally by tourists and nativesand incidentally losing millions of potential tax revenues.

The origin of this wasteland was not an abrupt act of willful violence but a planned Government policy. The decision to remove commercial shipping from downtown Nassau was a rational move to improve traffic and raise property values by shifting away from docks and warehouses to higher value usesin short, to create an entirely new environment.

The problem was, and remains, that only the first half of the policy was ever carried out. Shipping was moved to Arawak Cay by the decisions of Prime Minister Ingraham, where our container port was built and successfully operates as a public-private partnership. But the new PLP administration then took no interest in the second half: replacing the huge gaps, both physical and economic, left by the departed shipping industry. Prime Minister Christies many words of enthusiasm for change have, as often, been followed by no action.

In New York, within a few days of the traumatic shock of September 11, 2001, the public and private sectors were already committed to rebuilding. Newly elected Mayor Bloomberg soon detailed the abrupt economic impact on New York and decreed essential budget cuts and lay-offs of City employeescan one imagine Mr. Christie ever taking such decisive action?

In the following years, Ms. Sagalyns book describes how the city and state governments came together with the bi-state NY-NJ Port Authority to obtain federal Liberty Bond financing from Washington, and secure commitments from a stubborn private real-estate investor, to rebuild not only office buildings but a transportation hub and a memorial for the dead. As she tells in 900-page detail, the process was long and painful , with many bitter personal and political conflicts to negotiate between the players, until today much of the work is completed, with millions cost over-runs justified by the final result.

The underlying message of her book is that the public sector had to become intimately engaged and take the leadership. Even with our infinitely smaller problem, nothing like this has happened in our capital city. One cannot point to a single Government initiative to improve downtown from Rawson Square east to Armstrong Street. Several years ago the Chinese owners of the British Colonial Hotel spoke of their proposal to re-develop the area: dead silence from Government since then. The private owners of prime waterfront property just east of Prince George Dock provided a detailed plan to restore fire-ravaged vacant lots with their own financial resources: no response from Government, presumably because the developers were not PLP cronies. Our Government does not even have the commercial savvy to develop its own assets: the out-dated publications building, with dock and parking lot, occupies space that could accommodate a variety of profitable ventures. Worst: Government has actually taken a step to block development. It permitted the key 3.9-acre Union Wharf property to be sold to a Barbados company with no requirements of use. As long as this parcel is allowed to sit vacant behind locked gates, it will stymie any improvement of the adjacent area. The owner company has as its Bahamian director one Eric Gibson, known to be Peter Nygards property manager and brother of Minister of Labour Shane Gibson; perhaps this ownership structure discourages any rational sales, joint-venture or leasing programs.

Surveying this scene, Minister of Tourism Wilchcombe can only utter his constant laments that our touristic offerings need change and revival, reinforced by cruise ship owners frequent complaints about downtowns uninspiring attractions. Unfortunately, little is likely to change during the remaining two months (at least) of Mr. Christies Government of Inertia.

March 6, 2017

Mr. Coulson has had a long career in law, investment banking and private banking in New York, London, and Nassau, and now serves as director of several financial concerns and as a corporate financial consultant. He has recently released his autobiography, A Corkscrew Life: Adventures of a Travelling Financier.

The views expressed are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the WeblogBahamas (which has no corporate view).
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to considerable cloudiness and fog after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 68F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to considerable cloudiness and fog after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 68F. Winds light and variable.
Astros take World Series title over Phillies in six games
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Mar. 07, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 07, 2017 | 09:34 PM | PADUCAH, KY

Police are seeking the publics help in identifying a man suspected of thefts at two locations in Paducah last week.



The Paducah Police Department says an employee of Baptist Health Paducah reported her purse stolen on March 1. Surveillance video reportedly showed a man enter the area where the purse was kept, and later showed him dropping the purse outside the main entrance of the hospital.



On Sunday, the owner of a business near Kentucky Oaks Mall reported two bank deposits were stolen, along with $40 from his wifes purse. Officers reviewed surveillance video, and say they think the same man that took the purse at the hospital entered the office area of the business on Feb. 27 and took the deposits and the money from the purse.



The suspect is described as a black male, about 25 years old, 5'8" tall and 185 pounds, with possibly a small amount of facial hair. He has 12-inch dreadlocks, some of which are red or orange. He has a thick build and wears a large ring on his pinky finger, two silver necklaces and a watch with a large gold face. He was wearing a camouflage jacket and dirty jeans.



Anyone with information about the mans identity is asked to call the Paducah Police Department at 270/444-8550 or Crime Stoppers at 270-443-TELL.
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Two Kansas teens earned statewide honors and college scholarships because of their hard work Tuesday.

The Boys and Girls Club of Topeka held its annual Kansas Youth of the Year awards.

Christopher Burrell of Wichita was selected by a panel of judges as the Youth of the Year.

Celeste Marchbanks of Fort Leavenworth was named Kansas Military Youth of the Year.

The two students prepared speeches for the judges as to why they should be selected.

Marchbanks says it's a privilege to be Military Youth of the Year, especially by an organization that's such an important part of her life.

"I got involved with the club because I needed a place to express myself, I needed a place that was safe for me," Marchbanks said. "To me, it's just a place where I can go to relax when I'm angry and it's just a place where I can be myself and hang out and just have fun."

The Kansas Youth of the Year and Military winner each received a $5,000 scholarship.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/03/2017 (2069 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of migrants, including a 16-month-old child, cheated tragedy early Wednesday when they were discovered north of Emerson in treacherous blizzard conditions.

A group of 17 border jumpers were located about 7 a.m. in an abandoned garage owned by Emerson resident Wayne Arseny.

Thats where they were holed up until sunrise and someone found them, said Arseny. The garage doesnt have a door and the migrants huddled inside to keep warm, he said.

JOHN WOODS / CANADIAN PRESS FILES Since Jan. 1, more than 200 people seeking asylum have crossed the Canada-U.S. border illegally near Emerson.

Arseny lives in town and did not actually see the migrants, but was told they were there. He checked out the footprints all around his garage later that morning.

The migrants had obviously overshot the town. They want to make sure theyre in Canada, said Arseny. Its hard to tell if youre in Canada or not, and they obviously walked another mile in futility and then took refuge.

The same thing has happened with other border jumpers.

I dont think anyone, when theyre coming over, is given GPS co-ordinates or a definitive map. I think theyre dropped off a mile from the border and try to cross where they are least likely to be seen, Arseny said.

RCMP issued a warning to migrants crossing the border.

With the severe weather we have been having, those who are illegally crossing the border are taking huge risks walking for long periods of time in open areas with high winds, deep snow and cold temperatures, said Sgt. Cory Meyers, head of the Manitoba RCMP Integrated Border Enforcement Team.

Their well-being is jeopardized, and we dont want to see anybody hurt. The RCMP strongly discourages those attempting to cross the border from making the trek. The risks are too high in this harsh weather.

Emerson-Franklin Fire Chief Jeff French said RCMP called the fire department about 7 a.m. to help transport the group to the Canadian Border Security Agency.

French said one of the group, a woman, was sent to hospital with a minor injury, possibly a broken arm. The infant was the only child among them.

French said the garage provided a little bit of protection but not much. They were cold. There may be some minor frostbite on a couple of them, but for the most part they were in pretty good shape.

There had been no border jumpers for four days, and Emerson Reeve Greg Janzen expected it to stay quiet given the storm outside.

I dont know if people dont watch the weather, or how the people dropping them off got that close, Janzen said. I dont even know how they could drive.

They had to walk against 80 km/h winds I dont know if you can dress warm enough for that.

Two other migrants were picked up Tuesday night just over the border in the bitterly cold conditions.

Emerson was already busy putting up stranded motorists during the storm. When the hotel filled up, the town opened its recreation centre.

Its starting to get a little extreme to have everything all at once, Janzen said. The patience is wearing a little thin.

Since Jan. 1, more than 200 people seeking asylum have crossed the border illegally near Emerson.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 08/03/2017 (2069 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Are metal detectors and guards with pepper spray coming soon to the Manitoba legislature?

Those are the kind of details that will be worked out between Justice Minister Heather Stefanson and Speaker Myrna Driedger once legislation passes to beef up security in the building, grounds, and Government House by declaring security staff to be peace officers, Stefanson said Wednesday.

We respect open and transparent government  its the peoples building, Stefanson told reporters Wednesday after introducing four bills. Its also a workplace.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Security guards at the legislature can already check identification and bags, but can't seize any kind of prohibited material, but can only call the police if they encounter problems.

She said there wasnt any particular incident that prompted her to act and security guards now can check identification and bags, but cant seize any kind of prohibited material, and can only call the police if they encounter problems.

These security officers will have the ability to do screening and confiscation. Right now, they would have to call the police, Stefanson said.

Stefanson said the legislature would still be wide open to the public, pointing out that visitors have the same right to feel safe. Nor would the proposed legislation limit the right of people to protest peacefully on the grounds and on the steps of the legislature.

People will have every right to come. We respect their freedom of speech, she said.

A second bill would give sheriffs officers more power to protect courthouses, Stefanson said.

They would be able to evict people they believed to be a threat or about to disrupt proceedings, and what constitutes a prohibited weapon or item will be more clearly defined.

Another bill will protect crown attorneys from frivolous or inappropriate lawsuits while carrying out their duties. Only the attorney general could be named in a civil suit launched by people who have been prosecuted.

The final bill amends the Fatality Inquiries Act to reduce the number of inquests in the deaths of people in correctional centres, psychiatric facility, or a vulnerable person in a developmental centre, if their death was from natural causes, not preventable, and unrelated to the facilitys supervision or care provided.

Some of these things dont necessarily have to go to an inquest, Stefanson said in an interview.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/03/2017 (2070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A rape accusation was a womans revenge for a drug deal gone bad, a former teacher is arguing at his Court of Queens Bench jury trial.

Kirt Michael Cameron, a man in his 40s, has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and robbery in an alleged September 2013 attack on a woman who was struggling with drug addiction.

The Crown is trying to prove he attacked the woman after agreeing to sell her drugs on Main Street.

John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press Files

This case is about a man we say took advantage of a vulnerable woman, Crown attorney Shane Smith said in his opening remarks to the jury when the trial began Monday. She tried to stop it, but she couldnt physically prevent it from happening and her screams had no effect.

The trial was adjourned Monday shortly after it began, so the Crown could track down an important witness. That witness took the stand Tuesday to testify Cameron had raped her after she had agreed to buy crack cocaine from him.

What happened to me was wrong, said the 32-year-old complainant, who told court she still struggles with alcohol addiction but no longer uses illegal drugs. I didnt agree to have sex with this guy. I agreed to smoke drugs with him.

The complainant, who cant be identified under a publication ban, admitted she lied to police about the existence of a knife held against her during the attack.

I lied about the knife, she said Tuesday, saying she initially didnt want to admit she had spoken to the man on Sept. 16, 2013, near the Salvation Army along Main Street, then had agreed to go to a secluded area with him so they could smoke crack together.

She agreed to smoke it with him to ensure he was selling her quality drugs, she testified. But before that could happen, she said, the man forced her to the ground and raped her, then took off with the cash she had planned to use to buy the crack.

Defence lawyer Phillip Cramer  and later Zilla Jones, who stepped in to continue cross-examination of the complainant in what Justice Chris Martin described to the jury as frankly a bit of a rare occasion  characterized the alleged assault as the womans attempt at revenge.

Youve made up this fabric of lies to get revenge on Mr. Cameron for a drug deal that went bad, Cramer suggested to the complainant, pointing out inconsistencies in her previous testimony and police statements.

The woman admitted she also had lied about having her hair pulled, but continued to maintain that she had been raped.

Jones suggested the complainant agreed to have sex with the accused in exchange for the drugs, a suggestion the woman repeatedly denied.

Im not a prostitute, she said.

The jury is set to hear from three police witnesses as the trial continues this week.

katie.may@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @thatkatiemay
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This article was published 08/03/2017 (2069 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Canadas treaties with indigenous people prevent the total assimilation of First Nations, Sen. Murray Sinclair told Manitoba chiefs and First Nations representatives Wednesday.

Sinclair, who also chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and was appointed to the Senate last year, spoke to about two dozen people in Ottawa for a Treaty Land Entitlement Committee of Manitoba lobbying effort.

He said he understands why decades of failure by successive Canadian governments to live up to treaty obligations have led indigenous people to wonder if treaties have any validity anymore, but they cant give up.

ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Sen. Murray Sinclair: 'That treaty relationship was worth creating and it's worth preserving because it is what holds up our relationship.'

That treaty relationship was worth creating and its worth preserving because it is what holds up our relationship, he said. It is what stands between us and assimilation. It is what makes us unique in the eyes of the law.

First Nations in Manitoba are signatories to seven different treaties, signed between 1871 and 1906. They set out what lands were to be surrendered by First Nations for the use of the government and vice versa. More than a century later, the government has yet to live up to all of its obligations under the treaties.

Ultimately the intention was to eliminate Indians and their rights so they didnt feel a serious obligation to fulfil the terms of the treaties so treaties were broken almost immediately, he said.

Living up to the treaty obligations will prevent assimilation, he said.

After the courts began siding with First Nations on the need of Canada to live up to its treaty obligations, the federal government began to act. In 1997, the Manitoba Framework Agreement was signed to establish the process for transferring 1.4 million acres of land. Two decades later, only about one-third of that land has been transferred. In the last five years, less than 5,000 acres has been approved, with not a single acre in 2015.

The chiefs were in Ottawa this week in part to push for the government to act. Treaty Land Entitlement Committee executive director Chris Henderson told the Free Press during the election, Liberal party president Anna Gainey pledged a Liberal government would complete the transfer of land owing within the next decade.

Henderson said t here is disappointment at how the government is proceeding. The government continues to insist the Manitoba Metis Federation must be consulted before any land is transferred. That consultation process is what has slowed the transfer of land in the last five years, said Henderson.

Henderson noted the TLEC is now forcing the government into binding arbitration under the framework agreements dispute resolution process because consulting with the MMF was a unilateral decision by Ottawa and the First Nations do not agree.

The MMF said recent Supreme Court rulings prove the Metis also have rights in this fight.

The committee was told by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada in January that 44,000 acres would be signed over by the minister by the end of March.

A spokesman for Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said Wednesday as soon as the provincial government signs its orders in council for the lands, the minister can make the final designation. It may not happen by the end of March but should happen sometime in April.

Henderson expressed frustration that the government will miss yet another deadline on this, even if only by days or weeks.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 07/03/2017 (2070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  The potential for a major flood on the Red River is one of the scenarios the federal government is examining as it tries to respond to the ongoing parade of asylum-seekers crossing the border near Emerson.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP and immigration officials are engaged in scenario planning as they try to prepare for any eventuality, including the possibility that mild spring weather will lead to a sudden explosion in the number of people crossing the border to seek refugee status in Canada, and also what impact, if any, a major flood on the Red River will have on safety and numbers of migrants attempting the journey.

Theres a whole range of factors that one wants to take into account, Goodale said.

SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday.

Flood forecasters in Manitoba are predicting an 80 per cent chance of major flooding in the Red River basin near the Canada-U.S. border. Depending on conditions, the situation could be as bad as in 2011, when Highway 75 was closed near Morris for a month because of the water.

A closing highway would keep refugee-assistance groups in Winnipeg from getting to Emerson to bring claimants back to the city to await a hearing with the Immigration and Refugee Board. Flooding could also make the journey to Canada more dangerous, potentially shifting the border-crossing point.

Since Jan. 1, close to 200 people  mainly nationals from Somalia and Djibouti  have crossed the border illegally near Emerson and made claims for asylum, and the number is 600 since last April. Thats up from 340 in 2015-16, 136 in 2014-15 and 68 in 2013-14.

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson and Canadian Border Services Agency president John Ossowski spent nearly an hour briefing cabinet Tuesday morning on what they are doing in response to the crossings, which are also on the rise in Quebec and British Columbia. Goodale said both agencies have increased their presence in Emerson, and if they ask for more resources the government will respond.

Ottawa is also desperately working to analyze information about the migrants who have already made their way over the border, trying to figure out what is behind it.

Were examining all of that, the physical circumstances, the forces or factors that might pull that migration and others that might push it, he said. I mean, all of that is being very carefully analyzed. We want to do our homework properly and not just idly speculate about what-ifs.

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said Tuesday the increase in asylum claimants began prior to last Novembers election of U.S. President Donald Trump, so while his policies may be fuelling some of the migrant traffic, it doesnt explain the rest of it.

I understand what people have to go through to seek safety and security, said Hussen, who was a refugee from Somalia when he arrived in Canada in 1993 as a 16-year-old. But the government encourages people not to cross the border illegally, he said.

It is illegal to cross the border without stopping at a border-crossing office. If an asylum claim is made after doing so, any charges that might be laid are put on hold, pending the outcome of the claim. If the claim is rejected, charges could then be filed, but in most cases, the migrants are deported, ending the matter.

Border-crossers stopped by the RCMP are arrested. If they make asylum claims they are placed in the custody of the border agency and processed through national and international databases to confirm identity and assess security risk. If they are not considered a risk, they are released and a refugee board hearing is scheduled.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/03/2017 (2069 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This winter, a 53-year-old woman died overnight in -32 C temperatures, frozen to death on the streets of downtown Winnipeg. This tragic and preventable loss serves as a reminder of how Winnipeg is failing to support people who need it most and that the homelessness crisis affects women. A new study released today renews calls for action to deal with this tremendously unjust situation.

In 2016, community-based organizations asked the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba office to co-ordinate a study on womens experiences of homelessness. It noted the province was celebrating 100 years since some women received the right to vote; however, many women continue to experience marginalization, particularly when it comes to housing and homelessness. The results of this study, Finding Her Home, renew the call for more public investment and co-ordination between government and community to end homelessness.

A gender-based analysis, when applied to program and policy development, considers the intersections of gender, race, class, sexual identity and other factors. This is important since a gender-blind approach  looking at men and womens experiences together  tends to overlook the unique experiences and needs of women. There are many documented cases of such gender-blind approaches not working for women  from health conditions to drugs tested only on men  that leave women behind. Homelessness is no different.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Mappy Troller, 29, seen in 2016. Many women avoid accessing formal services that deal with homelessness.

Womens homelessness in Winnipeg is not well understood, in part because women experiencing homelessness are more likely to be hidden via overcrowded stays with acquaintances, friends or family, rather than stays in emergency shelters. We spoke to 30 women whod experienced homelessness and many said they do not access the existing shelter system due to safety concerns. Indeed there are few safe places for women experiencing homelessness to sleep at night.

Womens roles as caregivers and mothers, intersecting with race and poverty, leads many women to avoid accessing formal services. Colonization led to intergenerational traumas among indigenous families that continue to this day. Women with addictions struggle to get help and fear their children being removed from their care. Substandard housing options for low-income women contribute to cycles of housing insecurity.

The root causes that make women vulnerable lie in a lack of economic options, intergenerational trauma, a need for social supports and healing. Women continue to experience gender-based violence and report discrimination in the housing sector, which is a particular concern for trans women and women of colour.

The legacy of colonization manifests itself as an overrepresentation of indigenous women experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg. Indigenous women make up 84 per cent of women who are homeless, according to the 2015 Street Count. The vulnerabilities that have led to the loss of so many mothers, sisters and daughters and the inquiry into murdered and missing indigenous women and girls are connected to the reality of homelessness.

Womens involvement with governmental systems can be a pathway to homelessness when they fall through the cracks that result from unco-ordinated systems. Women receiving Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) are vulnerable to homelessness if their children are apprehended by CFS, as this can lead to a reduction in their housing allowance, making them unable to pay rent. As one of the participants in our study stated, the day I lost my kids, thats the day I was homeless and I was homeless for a couple years. Once women lose their housing, it becomes significantly more difficult to reunify with their children.

Research found that existing services are often siloed and not tailored to womens needs. Resources and services that can prevent homelessness for women need to work in harmony; this includes EIA, CFS and Corrections.

Housing First, as it has been implemented in Winnipeg, is a narrow approach geared to a portion of those who experience homelessness and does not stream equal numbers of women into its programs. Community-based organizations are advocating for a continuum of supports and housing options, using a harm-reduction approach, for women and their families. The solutions are within reach; what is required is sustained and focused action to remedy these challenges.

When it comes to finding the solutions to womens homelessness, there is a need for more government investment in rent-geared-income social housing with built-in social supports. Women experience racism and discrimination in the housing sector and this should not be tolerated  tenants need support to be able to advocate for their rights.

Women are particularly vulnerable to violence and need safe places to go. The community agencies that provide women with critical basic needs and relational support need consistent, long-term funding. Women who have experienced homelessness emphasize the need to create a women-only, 24-hour safe space that can provide resource support and interim housing. A women-centred strategy to work alongside the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness that is housed at End Homelessness Winnipeg is required in order to address the gendered cycles of housing insecurity and homelessness.

More than a century after some women got the vote in Manitoba, we still need to work intensively and persistently to end vulnerabilities for women in our city.

Jenna Drabble is the author of Finding Her Home: a Gender-Based Analysis of the Homelessness Crisis in Winnipeg, which is available at policyalternatives.ca.
Makenna Gabel and Karen Scharlau won the Southeast Minnesota and Western Regional Wisconsin Science and Engineering Fair grand prize March 2 for their psychology project, which studied the effects of texting and calling on a teenage drivers reaction rates and awareness. The grand prize awards the students a trip to the Intel International Science Fair and an opportunity to compete against 2000 students from around the world in the worlds largest science fair, to be held in Los Angeles in May.
Advocates, local officials and interested community members convened at the Winona County History Center on Tuesday to support area programs for victims of domestic violence and to insist that elected officials devote more resources to fixing the problem.

The It Happens Here event was one of 25 such gatherings around the state on Tuesday  a coordinated effort to highlight the pervasiveness of domestic violence and to remind people of the 65,000 Minnesotans who fall victim to such violence each year.

Claire Exley, victim services coordinator at the Winona County Attorneys Office, read the names of 21 of those victims  those who lost their lives in domestic conflicts in 2016.

One of those women, according to Winona County criminal charges, was Tasha Lynn Hanson. Her longtime partner, Kyle Allers, has been accused of killing her in May 2016 and hiding her body in a wooded area outside Lewiston. That case is ongoing, with Allers in custody in the Winona County jail.

Tragically, domestic violence does happen in our community, said Diana Miller, executive director of the Womens Resource Center of Winona. The solutions to domestic violence must also happen in our community.

Miller emphasized the need for domestic violence programs to receive additional funding from the state Legislature, particularly so they can bolster their prevention and intervention work.

In Winona, she said, transportation is a common problem. The city doesnt have a service dedicated to the safe transport of victims to regional shelters, so these runs are made by any advocates or qualified workers who happen to be available.

Kevin OLaughlin, an assistant attorney for Winona County, said local domestic violence cases occur seemingly irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status.

It touches us all, he said.

In Winona County, domestic violence hotlines receive an average of 30 calls for help each day. The Womens Resource Center alone helped roughly 1,000 individuals and families in 2016.

Miller said that, for many years, those advocating to end domestic violence would visit the Minnesota State Capitol in the spring.

The benefit of having many small gatherings across the state, she said, is that local people become engaged.

Exley passed out postcards on which attendees could write to state legislators, explaining why they support additional funding for domestic violence programs.

And Miller had a chance to share her concerns with the three dozen people who filled the second-story classroom Tuesday  a diverse mix of people who work in the arts, business, law enforcement and other fields.

Minnesota has been a leader on this since the beginning of the battered womens movement, she said. I appreciate that people locally are so supportive of our work, people from different professions. We all want to create a violence-free Minnesota.

I appreciate that people locally are so supportive of our work, people from different professions. We all want to create a violence-free Minnesota. Diana Miller, Womens Resource Center director
As Winona becomes known increasingly as a cultural center for the performing arts with the Great River Shakespeare Festival, Minnesota Beethoven Festival, Mid West Music Fest, and Boats and Bluegrass, it is important to remember that Winona was leading the way in the early 20th century as well.

The Winona Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1908 by the eminent composer Carl Ruggles. Ruggles was associated with the group of modernist American composers known as The American Five, with included Charles Ives and Henry Cowell. The orchestra has also championed contemporary composers by presenting premieres of compositions by James Hoch and Dan Maske.

The orchestras multi-part mission is: to enrich the Winona area with live performances of high quality symphonic music; to provide performing opportunities for talented area musicians; and to promote an appreciation of live classical music among the young people of our area.

In support of the third part, the the orchestra recently presented its second annual childrens concert. More than one thousand third- and fourth-grade students attended two performances of Roald Dahls retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs set to music by Paul Patterson. Designed to engage students through music and storytelling, the childrens concert featured narration by Jim Vrchota. The students were introduced to the instruments which each represented different characters. The ensemble included flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon and piano. This free concert was made possible by the orchestras donors and a SEMAC grant.

The Winona Symphony Orchestra will close its 2016-17 season with a spring concert on Saturday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. Music director Donald Lovejoy will present a pre-concert talk starting at 7 p.m. The venue for the concert is the Harriet Johnson Auditorium, Somsen Hall, on the Winona State University campus. Tickets are available at Hardts Music, online at winonasymphony.org, or at the door prior to the concert. Ticket prices are $15 for adults and $6 for students. K-12 students are invited to attend the concert for free with either a paid adult or a high-school ID.

The program for the concert will feature three of Johann Sebastian Bachs Brandenburg Concertos. Considered by many to be the best orchestral works of the Baroque era, the pieces will feature violin, harpsichord and flute soloists.

The orchestra will also present the program for the River Arts Alliances March Schmooze. This bi-monthly free event is open to the public and offers the opportunity for local artists and arts supporters to gather, chat and learn about a local arts organization or artist. This month, the Schmooze will be held at Nate and Allys, 109 E. Third. St., on Tuesday, March 14, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided, and Nate and Allys frozen treats will be discounted for attendees.
Life for Twin Cities telemarketers just got a wee bit tougher.

Ysee, I no longer have motive for answering their calls.

For most of my life, a ringing telephone elicited a Pavlovian response  pick up, speak, listen  a response capitalized upon by all manner of licit, semi-licit, illicit and just plain annoying enterprises. No longer.

Now, thanks to caller ID, a true blessing of the age, a glance at the phone and I can generally discern if the caller is one I want to speak with or discretely silence and forever ignore.

But for the last few weeks Ive been pretty darn diligent about answering all manner of telephone calls  particularly those whose origination appeared as a Twin Cities area code.

Anticipating the arrival of a granddaughter will do that to a guy. No matter how curmudgeonly he imagines himself. The bad news for the metro-based cruise ship, time share and credit card promoters is that Alexandra Elizabeth arrived on Sunday. Dont even bother to leave a message.

The good news for me  and her mom and dad and uncles and aunts and cousins and grandma and grandpa and great grands and a whole bunch of other folks shes totally unaware of  is that she arrived on Sunday intact and in good health.

And yes ... she is the cutest, smartest and most promising baby yet to be born. Dont even think to argue with me on that one.

The best excuse ever for playing hooky on a Monday to do a little shopping and make a quick visit to a little girl in the big city.

I suppose Emily Post would have had me take the price stickers off the gift bag with the pink elephants and the lullaby-crooning fuzzy lamb tucked inside, but such breaches of gift-giving etiquette may be excused for a giddy first-time grandpa making his first venture into the baby-needs aisle in better than three decades.

Still, I was able to critique her dads diaper-changing technique (not bad ... and hell have ample opportunity to perfect it) and personally credit her mom with a job well done.

Alexandra slept, fussed and filled her pants  exquisitely indifferent to everything.

As usual, I cleverly managed to time my departure to coincide with the height of evening rush hour  which gave me ample time to survey the urban landscape in the wake of a diesel-spewing Koch tanker truck, airliners overhead, land yachts and Toyotas on either side, and severe thunderstorm warnings on the radio.

I drove home in a deluge. Pounding rain. Driving wind. Hail and water obscuring the roadway like a summer monsoon.

But this was March. The first week of March. Blizzard  not flash flood  season.

But there to the left of me was Lake Pepin. Open water shore to shore where there ought to be two feet of solid ice.

Well to the north, in Princeton, a tornado touched down. The earliest ever recorded in Minnesota.

A dramatic coda to the warmest February on record.

At the end of another record warm winter.

At the end of another record warm year.

Not just here, but across the earth.

This is the earth Alexandra inherits.

For now shes safe with her mom and dad. Indifferent to everything.

As a newborn baby, thats her right.

But here we are, caught in a summer thunderstorm in what should be the middle of winter. Blindly following a Koch truck down a crowded freeway bound for ... who knows?

For all intents and purposes indifferent to everything.

Alexandra isnt a week old.

Whats our excuse?
Larry Paske

Larry Edward Paske, 67, of Orofino, Idaho, with his wife at his side, passed away Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, at his home in Orofino, after battling brain cancer.

Larry was born in Baraboo on Dec. 12, 1949. He spent his younger years working on the family farm, playing tuba in the high school marching band, and starting his lifelong love of woodworking. After high school he joined the United States Air Force. There, he made his career, retiring in 2002 at the rank of CMSgt. During his career he was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana, then switched to Air National Guard and was with the 120th at Gore Hill, Great Falls, Montana.

He then moved to the Washington Air National Guard at Boeing Field and Camp Murray. His final duty station was at Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., before retiring to the Orofino area.

In retirement, Larry still continued to serve. He volunteered with the National Wild Turkey Federation, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and as treasurer for his local volunteer fire department. He loved anything outdoors, especially fishing. We think he had gills. On occasion, you might even find one of his sons or grandkids behind the boat, but it was probably a trick, they were just bait for bigger fish. Seriously, though, wherever he was, you always found him with his best friend and wife, Julie. No matter what they were doing, they loved being together.

Larry is survived by his loving wife, Julie Chenoweth; his four children, Scott (Caren) Paske, Mark Paske, Traci (Jeff) Taylor, and Tod (Lisa) Paske; five grandchildren; four siblings, Al (Jan) Paske, Sharon (Gardner) Orsted, Fay (Jim) Neumaier, and Margie (John) Wilson; and many nieces, nephews, and extended family members.

He was preceded in death by his son, Adam Paske; and his parents, Leo and Lorna Weiglow.

In lieu of flowers, donations for Orofino VFW Post 3296 are being taken by LCCU under the name of Larry E. Paske Donations. LCCU can be reached at 208-476-5112.

Per Larrys request, there will be no services.

Our family would like to thank all of Larrys wonderful friends that have helped him, and us, through all of this. Thank you very much.
Its no bald lie that hair loss can be depressing. The challenge, as our friends in Japan have demonstrated, is to take pride and let your ever-expanding dome shine.

This writer started losing the fringes of his lettuce more than a decade ago, and at first was able to hide the few vacancies with long, curly locks. But within a few years my hairline made so vigorous a charge north that I was forced to surrender. Now I wear it short, as if to pretend that I, and not genetics, have dictated that I shall display as little hair as possible.

Hair loss delivers one kick to the khakis after another. People stop guessing that youre younger than you actually are. You have to keep hats handy to avoid scalp sunburns. And everyone thinks its OK to tell jokes at your expense, even though you arent allowed to comment on any physical imperfections  nose hair, lip warts, superfluous third nipples  they may display.

My fellow follicle-challenged friends in Japan would advise me to laugh along with all the bald jokes. Let everyone see you have a sense of humor, just like you let everyone see the freckles on your skull.

I now take you, courtesy of the Reuters news service, to Tsuruta City, where last month more than 30 bald men gathered at a hot spring spa. Theyre members of the citys Bald Men Club, the polar opposite of the Hair Club for Men.

These slick-scalped sorts took turns competing in a unique game of tug-of-war. It involved sticking a suction cup, which was attached to a single red rope, to their heads. Each side then attempted to pull the cup off the opponents head. It was living proof that hair loss sucks.

But participants didnt feel that way. My head still hurts, Toshiyuki Ogasawara, 43, said with a smile. I think I need to ice it.

As a fellow 43-year-old, I should embrace Ogasawaras attitude. Rather than dread the day I go from balding to bald, I should look forward to an opportunity to stick a giant suction cup on my head. People who know me wont think a thing of it.

Members of the Bald Men Club take pride in their smooth appearance. Masatomo Sasaki, 64, a first-time participant at the tournament, said he used to feel insecure about his baldness but now feels differently. I feel proud. Or maybe I should say, I feel good about being a bald man, Sasaki said, adding that he started losing his hair when he was 40. And that is thanks to this bald mens club.

The club, which has attracted roughly 65 members from all over the country since its founding in 1989, encourages people to view baldness in a positive manner, to have fun, and to brighten the world with our shiny heads, according to its website.

Teijiro Sugo, 70, the clubs chairman, hopes the gathering will turn into something much larger. I want all the bald men all over the world to gather here so we can organize a bald mens Olympic tournament, Sugo said.

Thats the spirit. I shouldnt see myself as a future bald man, but rather as a future Olympian. I should slather sunscreen all over my scalp and let the world watch it shine.

My futures so bright, passersby will have to wear shades.
Sauk Countys administrative coordinator needs a promotion. I am not talking specifically about current coordinator Alene Clecszek Bolin; I am talking about the position. A review of county governance should point us to the future and a county administrator would help clarify the role while avoiding past pitfalls.

Sauk County Board of Supervisors Chairman Marty Krueger has come under intense fire in recent months due to the fact Clecsek Bolin became the fourth coordinator over an 18-month period, as reported in the Baraboo News Republic. In all fairness, the first one retired, so what happened to the next three?

The last one, Renae Fry, was hired by North Branch City in Minnesota and cited that she resigned because of a disagreement with Krueger. This wasnt news as much as it should have been expected. Her sudden resignation screamed that there was a dispute.

I am not going to take this opportunity to scrutinize Krueger because there are a number of circumstances of which most of us are not aware. We were not present to know the exact situation. However, I can say I have worked with Krueger on other matters and know that he is a tireless soldier for the county. This kind of dedication has its ups and its downs.

In the matter of Krueger vs. Fry, one might expect that Krueger has taken upon himself several of the coordinators responsibilities due to the fact there has been a lot of turnover. Its likely that Krueger took on too much responsibility, not necessarily in a grasp for power, but particularly because this is happening on his watch. The man worked too hard to simply let things slide.

On the other hand, its easy to see why someone might accuse Krueger of grasping power. When you look at it from the outside, it doesnt look good. When youre someone like Fry, who we can assume was trying to do her job, it looks worse. When youre someone like Krueger, hes been doing the same job in absentia of a permanent coordinator.

The real problem may be in the statute itself. Wisconsin statute 59.19 states, The administrative coordinator shall be responsible for coordinating all administrative and management functions of the county government not otherwise vested by law in boards or commissions, or in other elected officers. That is the entire job description.

A county administrator, on the other hand, has a ton of responsibility in comparison. It is a role that has more responsibility than the county board chairs legal description and is far more defined than the role of county coordinator. Unlike Dane Countys County Executive role, this is an employee who is also accountable to the county board.

A county administrator by law is the chief administrative officer of the county. They are responsible for overseeing that every county ordinance and state or federal law is observed within the county. An administrator also is responsible for all administrative and management functions of the county This position would appoint and supervise the heads of all departments in Sauk County with the exception of the elected positions like county clerk.

Ultimately, a county administrator can be fired. Right now, we have a carousel of coordinators strictly based on the ambiguity of their position. The administrators role is quite clear and while it seems there are supervisors dissatisfied with Krueger, there is little they can do to remove him because he has not overstepped his authority.

A county administrator takes on many of the roles Krueger is currently performing due to language specified in Wis. Stat. 59.58. It routinely states that the administrator handles all functions not specifically reserved to the county chair or the board. Those responsibilities may not be listed under the county chairs position by statute, but when you read this statute, it becomes quite clear that the chairs role is defined by the duties not being performed by someone serving in that capacity. A county coordinators role is obscure at best.

Krueger may be a businessman from Reedsburg, but he is also a person with the flexibility to work full-time as chair of the board of supervisors. Many talented individuals who come behind him may not be afforded that luxury.

Krueger wont be around forever and the opportunity exists to move Sauk County forward and to shape the future of our county government all while establishing his legacy. The county coordinators position is too ambiguous to carry on that task.

The county board should review the leadership structure and give serious consideration to creating a county administrator.
Intoxicated person  Saturday at 5:39 p.m., a Beaver Dam Public Transit van driver told police that a vehicle hit the cab near the South Center Street and Curie Street intersection. The driver of the other vehicle was cited with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Retail theft  Saturday at 6 p.m., an employee at Wal-Mart Supercenter, 120 Frances Lane, told police that a woman and children stole items. They later returned and made arrangements to pay for the items.

Suspicious  Saturday at 6:38 p.m., a 35-year-old woman reported lights on in the apartment she is moving out of in the 1100 block of North Spring Street. She said no one should be there.

Hit and run  Saturday at 10:33 p.m., a 41-year-old man reported that someone backed into his company truck.

Drugs  Sunday at 12:52 a.m., someone in the 300 block of Seippel Boulevard reported possible drug activity. An officer met with a 40-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman. The man was later transported to jail.

Disorderly conduct  Sunday at 9:04 a.m., a 26-year-old woman reported that two women attempted to get into her medical van in the 100 block of Lakecrest Drive. A 22-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman were told to cease contact.

Break-in  Sunday at 5:08 p.m., a man reported the theft of items from his residence in the 200 block of Parallel Street.

Theft  Sunday at 5:22 p.m., a woman reported the theft of a students laptop computer at Wayland Academy, 101 N. University Ave.

Theft  Sunday at 5:28 p.m., a man reported the theft of items from his residence in the 200 block of West Mill Street.

Accident  Sunday at 10:59 p.m., there was a two-vehicle accident that involved two men near the Family Center, 609 Gould St.

Intoxicated person  Monday at 12:27 a.m., someone in the 900 block of North Spring Street told police that a man was intoxicated and throwing things around the house. The man was arrested for domestic disorderly conduct and was transported to jail.

Animal  Monday at 7:56 a.m., a man reported a fight between his dog and another dog in the 600 block of Gould Street. The man said the other dog nipped him.

Accident  Monday at 9:16 a.m., one vehicle was involved in an accident near the North Center Street and Lawndale Drive intersection.

Animal  Monday at 9:36 a.m., a dog in the 200 block of Norris Street bit a woman.

Disorderly conduct  Monday at 10:36 a.m., someone reported an incident between a man and a woman in the 100 block of Lakecrest Drive.

Accident  Monday at 6:06 p.m., a 92-year-old man and a 29-year-old man were involved in a vehicle accident near Wendys, 102 Frances Lane.

Disorderly conduct  Monday at 6:51 p.m., a 33-year-old woman told police that a woman is attempting to break into the fire damaged apartment building in the 100 block of Lakecrest Drive.

Accident  Monday at 7:13 p.m., a 47-year-old woman hit a concrete barrier with her vehicle near Wal-Mart Supercenter, 120 Frances Lane.

Traffic  Monday at 11:11 p.m., a traffic stop near the Fourth Street and North Spring Street intersection resulted in a 26-year-old man being arrested and cited with bail jumping, operating a vehicle after revocation and driving against traffic on a one-way street.

Traffic  Monday at 11:37 p.m., a 22-year-old man was cited with driving without a license and operating a vehicle after suspension near the North Spring Street and Wayland Street intersection.

Intoxicated person  Tuesday at 12:49 a.m., police received multiple calls from in the 800 block of South Lincoln Avenue. A man was extremely intoxicated and was transported to Beaver Dam Community Hospital, 707 S. University Ave., and then to a detoxification facility.

Animal  Tuesday at 11:35 a.m., someone in the 300 block of Grove Street reported that a person was hitting a dog. The dog owner was later talked to by an officer.

Accident  Tuesday at 11:40 a.m., someone reported that a vehicle backed into a parked car near Tower Lanes, 1660 N. Spring St.

Accident  Tuesday at 3:42 p.m., a squad car and a vehicle were involved in a vehicle accident near the Washington Street and Spring Street intersection.

Sex  Tuesday at 4:31 p.m., someone at Beaver Dam Community Hospital, 707 S. University Ave., reported a sexual assault.

Disorderly conduct  Tuesday at 9:44 p.m., a 20-year-old man reported that a truck is stuck in the 100 block of Knaup Drive. The man was cited with operating a vehicle while suspended.
A Madison photographer is challenging a city ordinance and state law that her lawyers say could compel creative professionals to promote messages that violate their religious beliefs.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based conservative Christian organization, filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of Amy Lawson, owner of Amy Lynn Photography Studio.

The city attorneys office said late Tuesday afternoon it had not seen the lawsuit and would not comment on it.

At stake, according to the alliance, is the freedom of creative professionals to create and publicize messages they choose without being punished and whether the government can compel creative professionals to promote political messages that violate their core beliefs.

According to the lawsuit, Lawson is an evangelical Christian who seeks to honor God in everything she does. Noting her faith, Lawson posted on her business website in January 2016 that she would not photograph same-sex marriages and kept the message on her site for about three months.

Last spring, Lawson had a meeting with a client in Madison who had a signed a wedding contract with her, the lawsuit says. The two discussed Lawsons position on same-sex marriage and the client said she disagreed with Lawsons religious views and sought to cancel her contract with Lawson.

Lawson agreed to cancel the contract and refund the customer her deposit and even sent the would-be client a wedding gift, the lawsuit said.

Shortly after that job was canceled, Lawson removed the message regarding her views on same-sex marriage from her business website, concerned about media reports at the time of other Christian business owners being sued for declining to promote same-sex marriage.

Lawson is asking that a judge bar enforcement of the city ordinance and state law and declare that they violate the Wisconsin Constitutions Free Speech Clause. She also seeks reimbursement for legal fees and attorney expenses but seeks no other compensation, according to the lawsuit.

Because of the Madison ordinance and the state law, covering equal protection, Lawson believes her faith makes it difficult for her to conduct business, which she feels is unfair. Lawson has stopped taking wedding business out of concern her position on same-sex marriage may be breaking the law.

The alliance contends that the city ordinance and state law shouldnt affect Lawsons business because she should be able to choose or decline jobs as she sees fit. However, interpretations of the law suggest Lawson is compelled to promote things she opposes even if they are against her religious beliefs.
How South Africas mining industry can change its ways

Mining industry is increasingly cited as a key sector that must yield radical economic transformation and help heal SA's deeply divided and unequal society.

President Jacob Zuma set out what he meant by radical economic transformation in his 2017 state of the nation address, describing it as:

a fundamental change in the structure, systems, institutions and patterns of ownership, management and control of the economy in favour of all South Africans, especially the poor, the majority of whom are African and female

The countrys finance minister Pravin Gordhan also touched on the subject in his recent budget speech.

So what can the mining industry bring to the party? The Alternative Mining Indaba recently provided some answers to this question. Its a dialogue that runs parallel to the annual private sector convened Mining Indaba in Cape Town. The 350 organisations attending the civil society indaba reached some critical conclusions.

The unanimous view was that the trajectory of South Africas mining industry is unsustainable and that a radical shift is needed if the country is going to maximise the benefits of resource extraction  for communities and for the country.

The way in which mining is carried out has caused immeasurable socio-economic and environmental destruction. But this neednt be so. Two critical interventions could make a dramatic difference: meaningful community participation and private sector accountability.

If South Africa acted to put these in place it would be in line with the principle of free, prior and informed consent as widely recognised in various international experiences and adopted by a number of Latin American countries.

Opportune moment

The time is opportune to reconsider the direction of the countrys mining industry. The Mining Charter is currently under review. This is the regulatory framework designed to guide the sectors transformation. The aim of the review is to make the industry representative of the countrys demographics and follow sustainable practices.

The Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill is also under review. Theres also been progress in getting a state owned mining company off the ground.

Debates about the benefits and harmful consequences of mining are common across the world. At the heart of the contestation are concerns about the irreversible damage that mining causes to the environment as well as the destabilisation it causes to host communities.

Mining continues to be associated with harm all over the world. Over the past 60 years, 40% of civil wars can be associated with natural resources. The reason for this includes lack of equitable sharing of benefits and costs of extraction, lack of engagement with communities, and the diversion of revenue to financing conflicts.

South Africas mining industry is no exception. For more than a century it has produced obscene profits for the few  mainly investors and captains of industry  while leaving a trail of socio-economic and environmental disasters across the country.

One report that captures the cost of gold found that:

contaminated dust and soil from omnipresent hills of mine waste have interfered with the enjoyment of the rights to health, a healthy environment, and housing.

The report identified more than 200 waste dumps in the Johannesburg area, which contain concentrations of heavy metals and radioactive uranium. These have led to complaints of asthma and other breathing difficulties.

The future must be inclusive

One important way of promoting the sustainability of mining is through community engagement. More often than not this is ignored. For example, the President in his recent comments only emphasised the importance of discussions between government and business on the new mining charter. This is symptomatic of the countrys failure to give marginalised communities a meaningful voice.

A report by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies highlights this. It notes that there is no:

legislative clarity regarding the role of communities in the implementation, compliance monitoring and amendment of social and labour plans. Communities have no role in the decommissioning, downscaling and closure of mines.

This gap can only be closed if trust and partnership become the hallmark of relations between government, communities and business. But to be meaningful community engagement must involve:

the building of sustained relationship between communities, the state and extractive companies

the cultivation of a long-term relationship that develops mutual trust and respect

adequate representation on the part of communities

informed participation in the decision-making process

easy access to timely, relevant and complete information, and

communities must have access to a mechanism that adopts rule of law principles when they have grievances.

Holding miners accountable

Another important piece of the puzzle is transparency. Mining companies must be required to provide proper financial disclosure. Just as important is that they must be required to comprehensively list the beneficiaries of mining project - whats known as beneficial ownership transparency. Many investors who make money from harmful mining by hiding behind complicated financial and legal structures. It then becomes impossible to hold them accountable.

Also the lack of knowledge about the ultimate beneficiaries of a global corporation means tax avoidance and illicit financial flows can thrive. This deprives countries of revenue to fund social welfare programmes.

Knowing who the beneficiaries are should also highlight skewed ownership patterns. This would be the first step to de-racialising the extractive industry to favour historically disadvantaged South Africans as intended by government.

It would also help detect corruption or inappropriate levels of political involvement.

Some progress has been made, on paper at least. The government has committed to implementing a plan based on a set of principles drawn up by the G-20. On top of this, amendments to the Financial Centre Intelligence Acts are being processed. The aim is to beef up the capability and responsibility of financial institutions to properly identify their clients and alert relevant authorities.

Its important that Parliament passes this Bill quickly and the government honours its commitment to greater transparency. This should also include the development of a beneficial ownership register.

For South Africa to derive the intended socio-economic benefits from the mining industry the government needs to take deliberate and proactive steps. Only then will communities and civil society organisations become an integral part of the oversight and monitoring of the industrys commitments.

Fola Adeleke, Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Doctor Olufemi Babatunde Omole appointed Academic Head of Family Medicine

Doctor Olufemi Babatunde Omole was appointed Academic Head for the Division of Family Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine.

Doctor Olufemi Babatunde Omole has been appointed Academic Head for the Division of Family Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine (effective from 01 January 2017).

Dr Omole was Head of Clinical Unit (Family medicine) in the Sedibeng District Specialist Team and joint academic appointment with Wits since 2006. He has more than 22 years of experience in public service, 18 of which have involved academic teaching. His knowledge of health systems in peri-urban settings and extensive experience of the peripheral teaching sites will be invaluable as the Faculty extends the teaching platforms and grows the speciality of Family Medicine.

He will be responsible for the academic programmes in Family medicine  both undergraduate and postgraduate, including BHSc, the GEMP 1 to 4 and MMed / Registrar programmes, across the 7 districts in Gauteng and North West provinces.

I am excited to play a leadership role in the Faculty in terms of the evolution of Family Medicine as a new speciality in South Africa. My experience is firmly embedded in the history of this speciality and I hope to use my academic knowledge, specifically in terms of the training, to shape what Family Medicine becomes.

As an active member of the South African Academy of Family Practice and the College of Family Physicians (SA), Dr Omole is keen to play an advocacy role more broadly. The kind of family practitioners we will be producing is so important. They must be clinically astute and very skilled to handle the clinical interface, right from the home of the patient through the community, to the primary healthcare system. It is our role to help our students become generalist specialist as they switch between patients and adapt to the community settings.

Dr Omoles career in Family Medicine and public service serves as an example to any aspiring Family Medicine student. He graduated MBBS in 1989 from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos and completed a postgraduate Diploma in Anaesthesia degree from the same university in 1994. In 1996, he enrolled in the postgraduate training in Family Medicine at the Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA) and qualified by examination, the Membership of the College of Family Physicians of South Africa [MCFP(SA)] in May 1998 and Masters of Medicine in Family medicine[MMed] from MEDUNSA in 2002.

Dr Omole began his career in South Africa as a Senior Medical Officer in January 1995 at Letaba Hospital. In 1998, he became a Principal Medical Officer in the same hospital, in a joint appointment with MEDUNSA as a Part-Time lecturer. Here he was involved with full-time undergraduate teaching in Family Medicine and primary care at Shiluvana unit of the Department of Family Medicine at MEDUNSA. In April 2003, he was appointed Senior Specialist Family Physician and Senior Lecturer at Polokwane Hospital and MEDUNSA and progressed quickly to become Principal Specialist / District Family Physician in Mopani District of Limpopo Province in November 2003. In October 2006, he transferred to Gauteng province as the District Family Physician and Principal Specialist in Sedibeng District. In this role, he took over the clinical and academic leadership in the district, establishing the Sedibeng District training complex in Family medicine. This complex caters for the fully accredited GEMP4, BCMP, Internship and MMED training programmes.

In terms of research, Dr Omole intends to see an increase in translational and implementation research within the community context, as it is encouraged and supported by the Faculty. His own research interest has spanned the areas of tobacco use and health, quality of clinical care of chronic diseases of lifestyle in primary healthcare, the health system, psychosocial aspects of medicine and anaesthesia in general practice. He has authored or co-authored 23 scientific articles in South African and international journals and conducts editorial reviews for a number of journals including the South African Family Practice Journal and the African Journal of Primary Care and Family medicine. Translation and context-based research doesnt just happen at the central academic facilities, it is needed in the peri-urban extended training platforms too, concludes Dr Omole.
Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its advice centers, RBC insurance stores, and mobile advisors; digital, mobile, and social platforms; independent brokers; and travel partners. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset servicing, custody, payments, and treasury services to financial and other investors; and fund and investment administration, shareholder, private capital, performance measurement and compliance monitoring, distribution, transaction banking, cash and liquidity management, foreign exchange, and global securities finance services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, advisory services, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, private equity firms, and governments. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
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Rosatom chief outlines commercial vision

08 March 2017

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Russia's Rosatom aims to become one of the three most successful global technology companies by the beginning of the 2040s, transformed from the state-backed nuclear power corporation it is today, according to its new director-general. "I know some will be sceptical about this, as if it's a fantasy, but I believe it's possible," Alexey Likhachov said in an interview for the company's weekly newspaper Strana Rosatom.

Alexey Likhachov (Image: Rosatom)

The former deputy minister of economic development and trade, Likhachov took over the helm of Rosatom in October last year, when Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Sergey Kirienko as first deputy head of the Presidential Administration. Kirienko had been in charge of Rosatom since December 2007, after leading the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency for two years.

Likhachov said the Russian nuclear industry had enjoyed a "revival" over the past 10 years, for which Kirienko deserved credit. "When he was appointed head of the Federal Agency for Atomic Energy, there was no a priori readiness from the state to invest significant funds in the development of the nuclear industry, and sceptical attitudes towards the possibility of a revival were quite common. Kirienko formed a team that in a short time developed and presented to the President a plan for the development of the nuclear industry, and was able to enlist his support."

Putin's "active and deep participation" in the implementation of this plan was a "decisive factor", Likhachov said. "The federal program for the construction of nuclear power plants in the country with ambitious deadlines was adopted and funding flowed to the industry and the separate enterprises were merged into a corporation." The nuclear sector was thus able to "breathe" again.

"The industry, which 10 to 15 years ago was still in a semi-disassembled state, turned into a state corporation and became one of the leaders of the Russian economy and the international market," he said. It is important, he added, that Kirienko is chairman of Rosatom's supervisory board.

Strategic objectives

But the state's ability to support the nuclear industry is not unlimited, especially in the current economic climate, Likhachov said, and by 2020, state support for the construction of nuclear power plants will "be completed".

"In this situation, commercial projects will be the driver of the corporation's progress and of its research, innovation and technological renewal. In other words, we must learn how to earn money independently. At the same time, if we want to be a truly global company, we must learn how to earn money in the world market. Moreover, the domestic market alone won't be enough to ensure development, or even to maintain the current size of the corporation," he said.

In 2014, Rosatom set three long-term strategic goals out to 2030: to increase its share in international markets; to reduce the cost and schedule of production; and to create new products for the Russian and international markets. These goals determine the priorities when choosing management solutions for the development of Rosatom, Likhachov said.

"I'm aware that these strategic goals are often perceived simply as slogans that do not directly affect the daily lives of people. To overcome this misunderstanding, we need to do two things. First, turn strategic declarations into medium-term and totally concrete plans of action that are understandable to each and every employee. And secondly, to realise the seriousness of the challenge that is thrown at us: either we achieve the goals set out in the strategy, or we lose and return to that uncertain state in which the Russian nuclear industry found itself 15 to 20 years ago," he said.

"We praise ourselves a lot and deservedly so. Within 10 years we've gone from a consortium of disparate enterprises - very often disadvantaged, deeply unprofitable, losing staff and skills - to a vertically integrated corporation with a single strategy, a common logic for development as well as solid production and financial indicators. We are much stronger than before. But, honestly, we understand that the decisive reason for this success was a large-scale program of state support, or, if we give it its proper name, a program for the revival of the nuclear industry. This does not detract from the merits of each employee, because that assistance still needed to be made use of, to be turned into success, and Rosatom coped with this task 100%.

"But, looking back and acknowledging the success of the stage that is now behind us, we must recognise that we are only at the very start of the journey. Making success irreversible and justifying the state's investment in the nuclear industry will take a lot of work."

The Rosatom chief warned that competition in the market for construction of nuclear power plants abroad will get tighter. "New, rapidly developing and potentially powerful players with large financial resources and the considerable support of projects at the inter-governmental level are emerging. It is expected that South Korea will achieve a reference for its [latest technology] as soon as this year, while China will follow one year after that. Toughening global competition is a huge challenge for Rosatom," he said.

To respond to this - "continue to receive orders and transform these into profits" - Rosatom needs to move towards achieving its second strategic goal - increasing the efficiency of its production processes.

Global leadership

On the world stage, the "leaders and outsiders are rapidly changing places", he said. "In the global market, there is no place for triumphalism, and this is clearly demonstrated by the history of our closest competitors. France's Areva was the undisputed world leader just 15 years ago, but today 75% of its nuclear power plant construction business is absorbed by EDF, and the state is forced to pull the reactor designers out of a financial hole with billions in cash injections. It is hard to imagine what French nuclear scientists can do to restore their reputation," Likhachov said. "In the world market, no one is guaranteed a place under the sun forever. Including us."

Rosatom is often compared with a large ship, he said, and this is now in the open ocean where a storm is raging. "As Eastern wisdom says, when the wind blows, it's necessary to build not windshields but windmills. In our case - wind turbines. Today we must answer the question, what technologies will become the basis of our competitiveness in 20-30 years. The nuclear industry has long cycles of development and implementation of innovations. If we want to preserve and increase what has been accumulated, then we need to start building for the future today, ideally even before today."

Likhachov referred to Rosatom's 'Proryv', or Breakthrough, project to enable a closed nuclear fuel cycle. The ultimate aim of this is to eliminate production of radioactive waste from nuclear power generation. "We took a punt on the Breakthrough project, on fast reactor technologies, and today we are leading in this field. It's necessary to make this leadership absolute and to deprive our competitors of their hopes of overcoming the gap in the technological race," he said.

"Is this enough to form the future image of Rosatom for 2040-2050? Obviously not. We need several equally ambitious projects, based on the best competencies of the industry. The search for these is the main challenge for the corporation's management," he added.

"A lot has been said about the fourth industrial revolution. Additive technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, flexible control systems. We are obliged to participate in this trend and we are participating." For example, he said, VNIIEF (the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Experimental Physics) is successfully developing supercomputer technologies; the Alabuga Fibre facility Rosatom established in 2015 has "created from scratch" the production of carbon fibre; and mobile laser technological systems have been created at the Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Fusion Research (TRINITI).

"A lot has been done and it's worked out really well, but the speed and scale of change among our global competitors is incomparably higher. For example, GE and Siemens have set a course for digitalisation of their business and are now experiencing the largest transformation in their history," he said. "GE develops the printing of jet engine parts on 3D printers, uses artificial intelligence technologies in the production of aircraft engines, while optimising technical indicators and the location of wind parks. By 2021, GE plans to enter the top 10 of the world's software developers with revenues of more than $15 billion."

Appetite for change

Rosatom needs to change in order to keep pace, he said. "We have everything we need for this: the highest qualified personnel, the production facilities and the technology. The only things missing are the speed and ability to adapt quickly to change."

The corporation has "plenty of examples of success" in increasing its efficiency. Since 2011, Rosatom has managed to reduce the cost of electricity production at Russian nuclear power plants by 36%. "This is a good result, but let's look at the competitors to nuclear energy. In terms of the present value of electricity, mature alternative technologies are already on a par with gas generation. In 2015, world investments in renewable energy were about 13 times higher than in nuclear energy," he said.

An equally important aspect of competitiveness is construction time, he said, since being just one month behind schedule leads to a 1% increase in the cost of an investment. "During the development of the nuclear industry in the Soviet era, it was possible to achieve indicators with which our competitors are now only catching up," he said. Unit 5 of the Zaporozhe nuclear power plant in Ukraine was built in 48 months, he noted, and "this is best practice today". In China, there are examples of record construction times, he added. Unit 1 of the Qinshan III nuclear power plant project in Zhejiang province was built in 51 months, and unit 3 of the Ling Ao II project in Guangdong province was completed in 53 months, he said. South Korea is committed to completing units 3 and 4 of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates in 43-48 months, he added.

Rosatom needs to work on the development of serial production for its nuclear power plant projects. "We need to learn how to build quietly, confidently, quickly and technologically, in a conveyor way. Working in the mode of heroism, of emergency, of overcoming permanent crises during construction, has to become a thing of the past," he said.

Efficiency

Likhachov referred to a story he had heard from Russian power engineering company Atomenergomash, which is "extremely indicative" of efficiency challenges. "About half of the customers there are from the nuclear industry and half are from the gas industry, from energy, from defence enterprises, etc. Within the framework of a single project, they measured the work hours of employees who deal with counterparties and discovered an amazing fact. It turns out that these specialists spend only 10% of their time working with external contractors. For the same work with intra-industry counterparties it's 90%! It should be the other way around, but in energy, the working time of well-paid specialists is spent on understanding each other.

"Disputes they have between themselves sometimes last for years. Two of our organisations spent one-and-a-half years trying to agree the price of design work for one foreign project. One-and-a-half years! Did they, during this time, earn a single kopeck for Rosatom? No, they didn't. But the work was on a gigantic scale and everyone involved was incredibly tired. How does this happen? Because often organisations that are part of Rosatom are fighting for their own profits and dont care about the corporation's consolidated results."

Rosatom's subsidiaries need to lose their "small-town thinking" and focus on the revenue and profit of the corporation as a whole, he said. Moreover, having a "narrow specialism" in traditional products makes the corporation "strategically unstable and critically exposed to changes in market conditions and global political risks".

He said: "Ten years ago, everyone was talking about a nuclear renaissance and looked with optimism at the prospects for the development of nuclear energy and related markets, primarily in the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear engineering. After Fukushima, that optimism declined and now we understand that in the coming decades, on a global scale, nuclear power indicators will remain about where they are today. We are successfully fighting to expand our share in the global market, but the market itself is not growing. This is a serious strategic constraint, but even if there was no such restriction, building a strategy based on a single market is like standing on one leg."

Rosatom needs to create new products and businesses for the Russian and international markets, he said. "But it's obvious that in choosing new directions, we can't deal with everything in a row. There are three criteria. First, we must have the appropriate competencies. Secondly, we must be able to work in the markets for which we produce new products and understand how these markets are arranged. The third criterion, the most important one, is potential profitability. We do not need projects with zero or low profitability. This makes no economic sense. We need profit."

Work on new products requires a "change in psychology", he said, to "persistence and a desire to make money". And individual responsibility is essential, he added. "Responsibility can't be spread out; every project must have a surname, a first name and a patronymic."

Rosatom has achieved some success, he said, in increasing the share of revenue from its new businesses - by 30% at the end of last year.

Change in mentality

"The ability to change in response to new challenges in the world is probably the most important quality of a viable organisation and a critical condition for its long-term success. The domestic nuclear industry from its earliest days possessed this quality - strategic flexibility, repeatedly demonstrating a readiness to change and adopting organisational and technological innovations.

"Ten years ago, the organisational structure of the corporation and the management system were created for a specific task - gathering the industry together and overcoming the anarchy and disunity of the 1990s. The task was completed and today we are a global company. But the world has changed, the tasks have changed and we have changed. And what helped us to grow in the beginning, is now starting to hold us back and prevent us from developing. So, we again need to change."

The "imminent" changes, he said, will be to the corporation's management system, which should be "ahead of the curve by taking into account tomorrow's demands and securing our entry into the future".

"We must move from a policy of harmonising the interests of many players with the integrated management of the main products. Already now we see that simplicity and clarity of the management system, where this has been achieved, make it possible to reduce bureaucracy and destroy intra-departmental barriers that are a legacy of the time when the industry was fragmented.

"Optimisation of the management system should become the main theme of 2017," he said, and this "requires the full mobilisation" of the potential of the corporation's personnel.

"I know that a number of leaders have a model in their heads where the upper levels of management are the bearers of the correct strategy of transformation, and the workers simply have to follow directions and change according to the overhead templates. This is a mistake. The correct strategy and correct tactics for its implementation can only be the result of teamwork."

The corporation's work collectives are the director-general's "main partners" in improving the management system, he said. Transformation and innovation should not become a "dead bureaucratic thing".

"Some enterprises carry out an overhaul and the walls of the director-general's corridor are pasted with fresh posters. It's not clear who we are deceiving here; people are well aware of those kind of tricks."

The Russian nuclear industry needs to have an "honest and responsible" conversation in order to adapt to changes and work towards increasing efficiency, he said.

"Participation in the development of the corporation and making a real contribution to its success should be rewarded with career growth and good pay. Much has already been done in this direction, but the work should continue. If we want to be among the global technological leaders, then both the working conditions and the level of compensation should not be worse. But we can achieve this only when the productivity of labour at our enterprises is the same and even better than at our competitors.

"I'm convinced that most of the corporation's employees are ready for real and involved participation in the changes. We have great human capital. We have retained and are developing a well thought out system of training. And we managed to stop the brain drain from our industry. But we are unlikely to achieve a breakthrough without excitement, without the audacity and keenness of thinking that the founders of the nuclear industry showed and during altogether different times, I should say. We need their example, their passion, today more than ever before."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Japanese fuel plant meets revised safety standards

08 March 2017

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Global Nuclear Fuel-Japan's (GNF-J's) fuel fabrication plant in Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture meets new regulatory standards, the country's nuclear regulator has concluded. It becomes the first fuel cycle facility to be confirmed to meet the revised safety standards, introduced in December 2013.

Japan's Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) today approved a draft review report confirming that GNF-J's facility is compatible with the new standards.

Following the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, new safety standards for power plants were introduced by the NRA in July 2013.

In December of that year, new standards came into force that apply to the country's fuel fabrication plants and its reprocessing facilities. Used fuel and radioactive waste storage and disposal facilities are also subject to the revised rules, as are research reactors (except the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor) and nuclear fuel research centres.

GNF-J applied to the regulator in April 2014 for an assessment to confirm the Yokosuka plant meets the revised safety standards.

The requirements vary from facility to facility, but generally include reinforcement measures against natural threats such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and in some cases tornadoes, volcanoes and forest fires.

The standards require that fuel fabrication plants are able to contain radioactive material in the event of an accident, and have measures in place to prevent accidental criticality events. Reprocessing plants need to demonstrate these as well as countermeasures specifically for terrorist attacks, hydrogen explosions, fires resulting from solvent leaks and vaporisation of liquid waste.

The NRA has allowed Japan's fuel cycle facilities to continue operating, but have until the end of 2018 to undergo inspections to ensure they meet the revised safety standards.

GNF-J is part of the GE-led Global Nuclear Fuel joint venture with Hitachi and Toshiba, which designs and manufactures fuel for boiling water reactors (BWRs).

According to the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, "Currently there are no BWRs in operation [in Japan], and only small amounts of fuel are being produced in order to maintain the technology."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Areva completes Cadarache MOX decommissioning

08 March 2017

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Areva has completed the clean-up and dismantling of facilities at the former mixed-oxide fuel fabrication plant at Cadarache, in southern France. The company described the project as "one of the largest dismantling projects in the world".

The ATPu building at Cadarache (Image: Larrayadieu Eric / Areva)

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) began construction of the Plutonium Technology Workshops (ATPu) at Cadarache in 1959 and production of plutonium fuel for fast neutron reactors started in 1962. Operation of the Chemical Purification Laboratory (LPC) followed in 1966. In 1978, Cadarache began producing plutonium fuel for the Phenix and Super-Phenix fast breeder reactors. The manufacture of MOX (mixed uranium and plutonium oxide) fuel for light water reactors started at the site in 1989. MOX production at Cadarache was taken over by Areva in 1991, but in 2000 the company decided to consolidate MOX production at its Melox plant at the Marcoule site.

The Cadarache plant - which had the capacity to produce 42 tonnes of MOX fuel annually - manufactured its last MOX fuel rods in July 2003. The ATPu was closed in June 2008. Over the 40 years the MOX plant operated, it recycled more than 50 tonnes of plutonium.

Operations to clean-up and dismantle the MOX plant began in 2009 and primarily concerned the ATPu and LPC. Since then, more than 460 glove boxes, 30 tanks and 4 kilometres of pipework have been dismantled, cut and packaged for disposal.

Areva announced yesterday that around 60 emptied process areas have now been handed back to the CEA, the operator of the Cadarache site.

Alain Vandercruyssen, senior executive vice president of Areva's dismantling and services business unit, said: "Areva has demonstrated its capacity to carry out complex clean-up and dismantling operations. The innovations and the methods for working in highly radioactive zones that we've developed in Cadarache are all assets that Areva can now build into its offer for its customers in France and abroad."

The CEA's Cadarache site is home to around 20 nuclear installations as well as the site of the international Iter fusion demonstration project.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Container shipping is one of the most important and necessary means of transporting cargo through sea routes. The shipping industry is not monopolized thus there exists no friction or tension in the international cargo shipping community. Since the businesses of transporting goods across the globe continue to expand at a rapid rate due to an increasing demand for products, shipping companies also increase the number of ships that traverse the globe. The size of a shipping company is determined by the capacity of world container ship fleets based on twenty-foot equivalent units or (TEUs) which is the number of twenty-foot shipping containers a company can carry at a given time. The number of ships a company has is also a factor in determining its size.

1. A.P. Moller-Maersk Group

Maersk is a Danish shipping company whose headquarters are based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company was founded in 1904 and is not only the largest operating unit but also the largest overseas freight and cargo carrier in the world. Since 1996, the company has been the world's biggest container ship operator and supply vessel. Maersk Group has numerous offices in more than 135 countries worldwide with an estimated 89,000 employees. The company has 620 ships with a Twenty- foot equivalent unit (TEU) of 3,250,668.

2. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)

MSC is the largest privately owned shipping company and the second largest shipping line in container vessel capacity in the world. The company was founded in Naples, Italy in 1970 and its headquarters are based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Mediterranean Shipping Company has about 480 offices in 150 countries worldwide with an estimated 24,000 employees. The shipping line sails on over 200 trade routes around the globe, calls at a total of 315 different seaports and has about 490 ships with a TEU of 2,936,553.

3. CMA CGM

CMA CGM is a French shipping company founded in1978 by Jacques Saade. CMA CGM is the world's third largest shipping company whose headquarters are based in Marseille, France and Norfolk, Virginia. The company has a fleet of 447 vessels which use 170 shipping routes and call at 400 different seaports in over 150 countries. CMA CMG has more than 600 offices with an estimated 20,000 employees and a TEU of 2,165,570.

4. China COSCO Shipping

Following the merger between COSCO Group and China Shipping Group in January 2016, the company has become the fourth largest shipping company in the world, and among the only four companies that have a TEU of above 1 million. It is also the largest shipping company outside Europe. Before the merger, COSCO Group was founded in 1961 whereas China Shipping Group was founded in 1997. China COSCO Shipping is a state-owned enterprise whose headquarters are based in Beijing, China. At present COSCO owns five of the top ten container ships with a total of 294 ships with a TEU of 1,639,692.

5. Evergreen Marine

Evergreen Marine is a shipping company in Taiwan whose headquarters are based in the district of Luzhu in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Evergreen is the fifth-largest container shipping company in the world. The company which was founded in 1968 currently operates 187 ships, calls on 240 seaports worldwide in about 80 different countries. Evergreen has a TEU of 989,592 and was ranked the fourth-largest company of its type before China Shipping and COSCO Group merged in 2016.
Many ships have been built over the ages including oil tankers, passenger ships, container ships, and other luxury ships (like the Titanic). Among them were the longest ships which included the Seawise Giant, Batillus, Esso Atlantic Esso Pacific, Barzan, Pioneering Spirit and Queen Mary among others. These ships have a great history and have helped in making strides within the shipping industry. The long ships encountered challenges such as taking too long to halt when at high speed and also great financing was needed for their maintenance. Nevertheless, they helped in driving the economies of their time.

1. The Seawise Giant

The Seawise Giant ship was an oil tanker which was 1504.1 feet long and 226 feet wide in size. It was twice the length of the famous Titanic ship and had a cargo capacity of just about 564,763 tons. The Seawise Giant ship traveled between the Middle East and the United States. It met its fate in the Iran-Iraq War in 1988 where it was bombed causing the largest ship ever built to sink to the bottom of the sea. At the end of the war, however, the shipwreck was bought by a Norwegian firm who repaired it and renamed it Happy Giant.' By the time the Seawise Giant was broken up into pieces, it had acquired three other names: Jahre Vikings,' Knock Nevis and Mont.' It had also become inconvenient to keep it as it became difficult to sail and there were many changes in the oil market.

2. Batillus Class (4 ships)

The Batillus Ship was manufactured at a time when the world needed a transport medium for oil rather than depend on fixing pipes from one point to another. It was an oil tanker, which was 1359.0 feet long and had a tonnage of 553,662 deadweights. It had a speed of 16.7 knots and had 40 tanks built within it. The Batillus transported oil between the Persian Gulf and Northern Europe making a total of 30 voyages each year. However, between 1977 and 1980, the courses reduced to about 4 per year due to a depression in the oil market. Batillus made its last run in 1983 after which she was sold for less than US$ 8 million and scrapped in Taiwan in 1985.

3. Esso Atlantic And Esso Pacific

The Esso Atlantic and Esso Pacific were oil tankers just like the Batillus and the Seawise Giant ships. It was 1333.9 feet long and weighed about 508,628 deadweight tons when loaded to full capacity. They were owned by Esso International Shipping Company in the Bahamas and were later broken up in the year 2002.

4. Barzan

The Barzan is a container ship with a length of 1312 feet. It was built by Hyundai Samho, completed in 2015 and is currently in service. The Barzan has a weight of 199,714 tons which is only third of the weight of the Batillus and Seawise Giant ships. It is famous for its environmental friendliness as it has very low carbon emissions. Barzan cruises between Asia and Europe, mostly around North, Central and South China.

5. Pioneering Spirit

The Pioneering Spirit is a crane vessel which was built in-house by DSME shipyard in Korea. It is 1253 feet long and has two other barges built on it called the Iron Lady and the Bumblebee. The ship engages in offshore operations which involve complementing lift systems, removing topsides and straddling platforms. This ship is an inspiration of Pieter Schelte Heerema who was a pioneer of heavy lifting.
The museums of the Netherlands give attention to both local and international arts and culture. Many of these museums experience a large volume of visitors, the majority of which are located in Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands.

Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum is the largest art museum in the country, and was founded in 1800 in The Hague. It was later transferred to Amsterdam in 1808. The current building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and was officially launched in 1835. The Rijksmuseum building was renovated both in 2013 and 2014, with renovation costs estimated at 345 million. In 2016, Rijksmuseum had the highest number of visits with 2.2 million people. The record of the highest visits was in 2014 with a total of 2,474,352 visitors. The visits in 2015 were 2,345,666 visitors.

The museum is well known for arts, crafts, and history. The pieces on display represent a period of history from 1200 to 2000. The number of objects on display is estimated to be 8,000. Out of the 8,000 objects, more than 2,000 are Dutch paintings from famous painters who existed during the Dutch Golden Age. The Asian pavilion contains a collection of Asian arts. The Rijksmuseum has developed a special website containing 125,000 high resolution images of objects in the display. The web platform will be expanded each year until all the one million objects in the museum are uploaded. Apart from the objects on display in the main museum, there is an attached research library. This library is the biggest history research library in the Netherlands.

Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum was officially opened in 1973 and it is located in southern Amsterdam. The museum building was initially designed by Gerrit Rietveld and Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. The museum was commissioned by the government for the display of the art works of Vincent Van Gogh. The arts on display include 700 letters, 200 paintings and 400 drawings. These pieces of arts are organized according to phases of Van Goghs life. The museum also contains arts from other contemporaries and prominent sculptures. The number of visitors to the museum in 2016 was 2.1 million putting Van Gogh museum as the second most visited museum in Netherlands. 2015 saw total visits of 1.9 million people, ranking as the 31st most visited museum in the world. The museum offer tours, lectures, and workshops to the visitors.

Anne Frank House

Anne Frank House is a biographical museum located in central Amsterdam and is dedicated to the Jewish diarist, Anne Frank. The museum was constructed for the display of the artistic works of Anne Frank. It was officially launched in 1960. The construction of the museum was lobbied by Anne Frank Foundation. The foundation bought the canal house where Anne Frank and four others hid during the Second World War. They remained hidden in the Canal house for two years and one month until they were betrayed and arrested by Nazi authorities, and deported to the concentration camps. Only Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank, survived. The arts on display include the Diary of Anne Frank and Academy Award of Shelley Winters. In 2016, the Anne Frank House had 1.3 million visits making it the third most visited museum in Netherlands.
What Is The South Pole?

The South Pole is located on the continent of Antarctica at the opposite end of the world from the North Pole. It is generally accepted as the place where the Earth rotates on its axis, although this is not the exact location. The South Pole sits at an altitude of 9,301 feet above sea level and is surrounded by a flat, frozen plateau. Interestingly, around 9,000 feet of its elevation consists of an ice cap, which means the land is actually much closer to sea level. The Bay of Whales can be reached 800 miles away and is the closest coastline to the South Pole.

The Heroic Age Of Antarctic Exploration

Interest in exploring the South Pole began to gain ground in the middle of the 19th century, when European explorers sought to understand more of the Antarctic region. The time spent focusing on this area of the world is often referred to as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, which came to an end around the time of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition between 1914 and 1917. The goal of the majority of these expeditions was to explore inland Antarctica, however, they succeeded only in mapping the continents coastline.

Beginning The Journey To The South Pole

The desire to reach the South Pole had its peak in 1911 when two men, Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott, tried to beat one another to the destination. Amundsen earned the honor on December 14, 1911, when he and his team (made up of Sverre Hassel, Oscar Wisting, and Helmer Hanssen) planted the Flag of Norway on the site.

The group began the trek on October 19th, taking off with 52 dogs and 4 sledges filled with equipment. Faced with poor weather conditions, the expedition team managed to progress an average of 17 miles each day. In order to track their path, the team members built snow blocks, which they stacked at every 3 miles. After around a month of treacherous hiking, the expedition ran into the Transantarctic mountains and had to determine a safe crossing route. Amundsen chose a 34-mile long glacier as a clear path and later named it the Axel Heiberg Glacier in honor of one of the expeditions financiers. It took the team 3 days to reach the summit of the glacier, marking the beginning of the final leg of the journey.

The Final Stage Before Reaching The South Pole

By the time they reached the 10,600-foot elevation, 7 of the dogs had died and only 18 of those remaining would continue on with the rest of the trip. The sledge drivers were forced to kill 27 of the dogs for food to give both the dogs and the humans. The team members then prepared 3 sledges for a possible trek of 60 additional days and left the fourth sledge behind with the 27 dog carcasses. They set out again on November 25 in foggy conditions. The landscape before them was pure ice filled with cracks and crevices.

By December 8, the team had reached the point previously reached by Shackleton, the furthest south in the history of Antarctic exploration. On December 14, Amundsen led the team to the South Pole, planting the Norwegian flag and naming the area King Haakon VIIs Plateau. The exploration team stayed an additional 3 days to record the exact location of the pole. Before leaving, the group set up a tent. Inside, they left some supplies for their rival, Robert Falcon Scott, and a letter for Scott to deliver to King Haakon.

A Second South Pole Expedition

Because Amundsen had kept his expedition a secret from the public, Robert Falcon Scott and his Terra Nova Expedition set out for the South Pole just a few weeks later. The plan was that a party of 16 men would make the journey with a team of dogs and ponies for the first stage of the trip. Upon reaching the Beardmore Glacier, 4 men would be sent back to the base with the dogs and the ponies would be killed for food. The remaining 12 team members would be split into 3 groups to climb the glacier and advance across the plateau. The dog teams were to stock up on supplies and return to meet the group coming back from the pole.

The expedition, however, took longer than expected and the dogs were not immediately sent back to camp. On December 4, a blizzard forced the team to camp for 5 days before reaching the Beardmore Glacier. When the blizzard passed, the expedition finally made it to the polar plateau on December 20 and then conditions changed for the better, allowing them to make up lost time. On January 17, 1912, the Terra Nova Expedition reached the South Pole. The next day, the team discovered the tent, supplies, and letter left by Amundsen.

Tragedy Strikes

The team left the South Pole to return to base and for three weeks, conditions allowed the expedition to advance without major problems. After this initial run, however, some of the team members began suffering poor health. Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans were fighting frostbite (Evans was also experiencing several other ailments). The men were losing moral and becoming weaker. After descending the glacier and almost reaching the bottom, Evans collapsed and died on February 17.

The team, in dire need of supplies, arrived 3 days early to the meeting place where the dog teams were supposed to bring additional supplies. Unfortunately, the dogs didnt arrive, the temperature dropped severely, and the fuel began to run out. The low temperatures caused ice crystals on the sled runners that made it difficult to progress. This, combined with the frostbite on Oates foot, forced the team to cut their daily journeys down to 5 miles. On March 16, Oates (also suffering frostbite on his hands) willingly left the tent, never to return. The team was able to advance further without Oates, however, on March 20, they were hit by another blizzard, just 11 miles from One Ton Depot. Scott made a final diary entry on March 29, which is assumed to be the day the final team members died. Their bodies were recovered on November 12, 1912.
What Is A Ramsar Wetland?

A Ramsar wetland is a wetland placed under protection due to its international and ecological significance. The policies governing the protection of the wetlands were discussed during the Ramsar Convention held on February 2, 1971 in Iran under the auspices of UNESCO. The definition of a wetland under Ramsar is an area with marsh or water, whether artificial or naturally occurring, where the water is either flowing or stagnant, either salty or fresh and can also include marine areas where the depth of water during low tide reaches a minimum of six meters. The wetlands include surrounding areas of the shores, riverbanks, and entire watercourses. The classifications of wetlands fall into three main classes, which include marine wetlands, artificial wetlands, and inland wetlands. These groups can be classified further according to the type of water such as the fresh, alkaline, saline, and brackish water.

What Is the Ramsar Convention?

The Ramsar Convention is an international agreement for the protection and conservation of wetlands. The convention was held on February 2nd, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar from which the Convention gets its name. The convention had 169 countries with 7 of them ratifying the policies discussed. The Ramsar Convention was created after the involved parties came to the realization that the significance of many wetlands around the globe were under serious threat of either pollution or disappearance. The contracting parties meet after every three years to discuss ways of implementing their objectives, and the meeting is known as the Conference of Contracting Parties. The most recent meeting was held in 2015 in the city of Punta del Este, Uruguay. The Conference of Contracting Parties also has several international partners who assist in the implementation of the Conventions goals including, The BirdLife International, The International Water Management Institute, The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the WWF, and the Wetlands International.

What Is The Ramsar List?

All Ramsar sites are recorded on the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance and Wetlands International, which is a non-profit organization, provides access to the Ramsar database through the Ramsar Sites Information Service. The Ramsar convention defines the list of wetlands of international importance as areas that has been set aside for conservation, sustainable use of wetlands because of their fundamental ecological functions, and because of their economic, scientific, cultural and recreational value. The Ramsar convention also ascertains that wetlands should be selected for the list due to their international significance regarding botany, limnology, hydrology, ecology, or zoology,

What Is The Criteria for Selecting Wetland Sites?

The Convention considers several factors it has established to determine if a wetland qualifies as a Ramsar Wetland. The first of the criteria is that the wetland has to be unique or rare. The other consideration is that the wetlands has to be a habitat for endangered wildlife or should support biodiversity crucial to the ecosystem of the surrounding area. Another consideration is that the wetland supports needs to support a minimum of 20,000 individuals of water birds. A wetland supporting a minimum of 1% of the total number of a particular species can also be classified as a Ramsar Wetland. A wetland crucial for the spawning a particular species of fish can also be deemed as a Ramsar Wetland.

The Ramsar Sites Of The World

By 2016 there are 2,231 wetlands all over the world listed as Ramsar Sites with the United Kingdom having 170 sites. These sites are protecting 2134,936,005 hectares and 169 national governments participating. The Tumba-Ngiri Maindombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest wetland under the Ramsar List with an area covering 25,365 square miles.
Paraguay is a presidential representative republic which gained independence from Spain on May 14, 1811 and has had six constitutions since. The current constitution was enacted in June 1992 and was amended in 2011 and 2014. The 1992 constitution replaced the 1967 authoritarian constitution which had 11 chapters and 231 articles. The President exercises the executive power whereas the legislative power is bestowed in the two National Congress chambers. Judicial power is bestowed on a nine members Supreme Court of Justices, the Courts of Civil Law, and Tribunals.

The Executive Branch Of The Government Of Paraguay

The President of Paraguay is the head of the government as well as the head of the state. The president is elected by a popular vote and serves a single term of five years. The last election was conducted on April, 2013 and the next election will be in April 2018. The president is also responsible for appointing the council of ministers or the cabinet. In 2008, Fernando Lugo, a Roman Catholic bishop, won the presidential elections, and his victory saw Colorado Partys first loss in a span on 61 years. Later, Lugo was impeached and roved from office by the Congress in 2012. The office of the President of Paraguay is at the Palacio de Los Lopez which is located in the capital of Asuncion. Mburuvicha Roga, the presidential residence, is also located in Asuncion. Once the President of Paraguay has served a term to completion, the Constitution grants them the position of Senator for life where they are allowed to speak but not vote.

The Legislative Branch Of The Government Of Paraguay

Paraguay has a bicameral National Congress made up of the Chamber of Deputies which consists of 80 members elected through proportional representation to serve a five-year term. The Chamber of Senators comprises of 45 members and is also elected through proportional representation.

The Judicial Branch Of The Government Of Paraguay

The Supreme Court of Paraguay is the highest court in the country. The President together with the senate selects the nine members of the Supreme Court through a recommendation process from a Magistrates Council. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. There are also lower courts which include the military courts, Appellate courts, the courts of the first instance, minor courts, and the justices of the peace. Paraguayan government was radically changed by the Constitution of 1992 reinforcing a division of power which existed mostly in writing in the previous Constitutions.

Local Government Of Paraguay

Paraguay has 19 departments, and 14 are in the east of Rio Paraguay while the rest are in Chaco region. The departments are headed by the government delegates who are appointed by the president and answerable to the minister of Interior. The capital city of Asuncion is found in the central department. Central government exercises total control over the local administration, and the duties of the delegates are primarily concerned with public order and internal security. The departments are further divided into municipalities.
Turkey is a secular parliamentary representative democratic republic where the Prime Minister is the head of government and President is the head of state. The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The new republic witnessed a series of military coups and political instability over the years. The constitution observed in the country was adopted on November 7, 1982, after a referendum.

The President Of Turkey

Turkeys head of state was formerly elected by the parliament, but an amendment was adopted in 2007, and the responsibility now rests with the citizens. The president is required to be over 40 years of age and be a holder of a bachelors degree. The President is mandated to oversee the implementation of the constitution, and represents the countrys unity. The president represents the state internationally and ratifies international treaties. The President promulgates laws, sends bills back to parliament for reconsideration or submits them to referendum, and calls for new parliamentary elections. The president also appoints and receives the resignation of the Prime Minister, and appoints or dismisses ministers with the advice from the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Of Turkey

Turkeys Prime Minister serves as the head of government. He/she is appointed by the President, and in practice is head of the party with the most deputies in parliament. The Prime Minister is mandated to form the government, and he/she appoints ministers. The Prime Minister oversees the implementation of government policy. He/she heads the Council of Ministers who oversees various sectors such as agriculture, environment, labor, and tourism. Each minister is responsible for their individual jurisdiction and accountable to the Prime Minister who can submit a proposal for a particular minister to be dismissed by the President.

The Legislature Of Turkey

General elections are held after five years to elect deputies to the Grand National Assembly. A total of 550 deputies represent 85 electoral districts and 81 provinces. The Assemblys principal task is to enact, amend, and repeal laws. It keeps the Council of Ministers in check. The Assembly holds debates on matters concerning the budget, currency, declarations of war, and ratification of international treaties. It also decides on whether to grant pardon and amnesty. The Assembly has the power to amend the constitution and to approve plans for development as well as electing members of the Constitutional Court. It can also impeach the President on the grounds of treason.

The Administrative Areas Of Turkey

The country is divided into 81 provinces for administrative purposes. Among the criteria used to create provinces are public service requirements and geography. The provinces are further subdivided into 923 districts which further disintegrate into towns and villages. Local administrative institutions are mandated to deliver public services to the citizens.

The Judiciary Of Turkey

The Judicial power in the country is vested upon a network of independent courts and supreme judiciary institutions. Examples of supreme courts are the Constitutional Court, Court of Jurisdictional Conflicts, Supreme Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Military Court of Appeal. Criminal and civil courts serve the countrys citizens. Judges do not employ a jury to determine cases but rely on their convictions and the law.
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According to STR, the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index increased 0.7% in February 2017, closing the month at 3,750. Through the first two months of 2017, the index was up 1.3%."Hotel stocks underperformed the broader indices in February as industry trends remained sluggish and investors digested 2017 guidance updates that were generally a bit below expectations, especially from the hotel REITs," said Michael Bellisario, senior hotel research analyst and vice president at Baird. "Management teams remain hopeful that fundamentals will improve in the back half of the year, but green shoots have yet to emerge, and full-year guidance ranges reflect a continuation of moderate year-to-date growth trends, which caused stocks to be relative underperformers in February.""Early-year industry performance seems to be falling in line with our expectation for slight occupancy declines and muted RevPAR growth," said Amanda Hite, STR's president and CEO. "Mixed signals from the new administration--tax relief on one hand, a travel ban on the other--is likely not helping investor sentiment, but thus far, there hasn't been a noticeable impact on data. We'll continue to monitor demand numbers, specifically in the coastal markets, to see if any trends emerge."The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index for February lagged behind the performance of the S&P 500 (+3.7%) and the MSCI REIT (RMZ) (+3.2%).The Hotel Brand sub-index increased 1.7% to 5,111 from January to February, while the Hotel REIT sub-index fell 1.0% to 1,580 during the month.
Janet Quinones

By: William Martin WorldWideWeirdNews.com

A woman lost custody of her daughter after police officers found a marijuana cigarette in the crib of the child, according to police in Pennsylvania.

Halifax police said that they have arrested 29-year-old Janet Quinones, after being accused of endangering her 1-year-old daughter by exposing her to violent criminals and drugs.

Quinones has been charged with endangering the welfare of children, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, false reports, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, use and possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana.

After abducting her child from foster care, Quinones was charged with concealment of whereabouts of a child and interference with custody of children.

She was booked into the Dauphin County Prison, and her bail has been set at $25,000.

According to the criminal complaint, Quinones called police to say that her former boyfriend, Julian Rodriguez, fired shots at her house.

Rodriguez told police that he fired shots at the home as an act of self defense after Luis Jimenez and a man identified only as Eley, came out of the home and began firing shots at him.

Rodriguezas car had several bullet holes. Officers went into the home, where they found marijuana, scales, cash, drug paraphernalia, guns, and ammunition.

Police also found a marijuana cigarette in the crib of Quinonesa 1-year-old daughter. Dauphin County Children and Youth Services took custody of the 1-year-old girl and a 14-year-old child.

After Quinones got out of jail, she abducted her 1-year-old daughter who was placed with a family in Camden, New Jersey, and fled.
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
Oliver Mauricio Funes Machada

By: Emily Lewis WorldWideWeirdNews.com

(Scroll down for video) A teenager brutally murdered his mother in front of her children and walked out of the home with the murder weapon and the victimas head, according to police in North Carolina.

Franklin County police said that they have arrested 18-year-old Oliver Mauricio Funes Machada, after being accused of cutting off his motheras head in her home.

Machada, who is illegally in the country, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder. He was booked into the Central Prison, where he is being held without bail.

According to the criminal complaint, Machada called 911 on himself around 12:45 p.m. on Monday, to report that he just killed his mother, 35-year-old Yesenia Funez Beatriz Machado.

Police officers who arrived at the scene, surrounded the house, and ordered the suspect to come out. The suspect then walked out of the house, holding the murder weapon in one hand and his mothers head in the other.

Police took him into custody without incident. Officers rushed inside the house, where they found two girls. The girls were not harmed.

A fourth child was at school when the incident occurred. The motheras body was also found in the home.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) 2017 Public Hospital report card, issued last month, reveals dangerously lengthening waiting and treatment times in public hospital emergency departments, as well as for supposed elective surgery, which often involves painful and debilitating illnesses and injuries.

The report by the doctors organisation points to a worsening of waiting times over the past decade, as a result of the last Labor governments cuts and restructuring, which have deepened since 2013 under the current Liberal-National Coalition government.

Based on Australian Institute of Health and Welfare statistics, the AMA report shows that during 2016, only 67 percent of emergency department patients classified as Category 3 or urgent were seen within the recommended 30 minutes, a decline since the previous year. Only 73 percent of all emergency department visits were completed in four hours or less, a percentage that has not improved over the past three years, and is well below the official target of 90 percent.

Waiting times for elective surgery have increased during the past 10 years, with the national median waiting time (the time within which 50 percent of all patients were admitted) increasing to 37 days. This is the longest waiting time reported since 200102, when the figure was 27 days.

Many of these patients are suffering potentially life-threatening conditions, including those who require coronary artery bypass operations, or are waiting in agony for procedures such as hernia operations, and knee or hip replacements.

Primary responsibility for this decline can be sheeted home to funding cuts initiated by the previous Labor government, from 2007 to 2013. The report notes that the Commonwealth Governments total health expenditure continues to reduce as a percentage of the total Commonwealth Budget. In the 2014-15 Commonwealth Budget, health was 16.13 percent of the total, down from 18.09 percent in 2006-07. It reduced to 15.97 percent in the 2015-16 Budget, and reduced further to 15.85 percent of the total Commonwealth Budget in 2016-17.

AMA president Dr Michael Gannon said Australias public hospitals in every state and territory were in a constant state of emergency. He commented: Our overstretched and over-stressed public hospitals are suffering because of inadequate and uncertain Commonwealth funding, which is choking public hospitals and their capacity to provide essential services.

Under its 2011 National Health Reform Agreement, the Gillard Labor government instituted a health care reform agenda that removed block funding for hospitals and imposed casemix funding, based on each activity performed and according to nationally-set efficiency prices. This system is designed to continually drive down the funding allocated for each medical procedure.

In its 2014-15 budget, the Coalition government initially abandoned these arrangements to base funding instead on a Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment and population growth. The difference in the two formulae amounted to a $57 billion funding cut over a decade.

Then, in April 2016, the Coalition government and the states and territories, which have frontline responsibility for public hospitals, agreed at a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting to revert to the casemix system, but at lower rates of payment.

The AMA report notes: At least until June 2020, Commonwealth funding will continue on an activity based funding approach, although at a lower rate than would have operated under the National Health Reform Agreement, and with a cap on growth.

Announced in the lead-up to last Julys federal election, this cost-cutting was camouflaged by claims of a $2.9 billion boost to funding. The AMA states: The additional Commonwealth funding announced at COAG in April 2016 of $2.9 billion over three years is welcome, but inadequate.

Data published by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) shows that funding under the original National Health Reform Agreement would have delivered $7.9 billion in additional public hospital funding to June 2020 compared to funding by CPI indexation and population growth (as announced in the 2014-15 Budget).

In other words, the restoration of $2.9 billion locked in $54 billion in cuts from a total that was insufficient in the first place. In line with demands from the corporate elite, the Labor Party dropped its previous promises to restore these cuts during the campaign for last Julys election. At the same time, there was bipartisan agreement on a massive increase in military spending, pouring an extra $195 billion into the acquisition of new war ships, planes and weapons systems over the next decade.

The years of cost-cutting under successive governments has adversely impacted on patient care, precisely when there is a growing demand for hospital services, driven by an increasing and ageing population, higher rates of chronic and complex disease and greater public awareness of health problems.

There is an especially high demand for the treatment of young people in emergency departments. For example, in Victoria over the past five years, children aged four or under accounted for the greatest number of emergency department presentations, followed by 2024 year-olds.

The ongoing government freeze on Medicare rebates paid to general practitioners is forcing increasing numbers of the latter to eliminate bulk-billing, effectively ending the ability of patients to receive medical advice and treatment without paying upfront fees. This, plus sweeping cuts to pathology and diagnostic test rebates, is forcing more patients to seek emergency treatment in public hospitals.

The AMA report also details the hidden waiting lists. Elective surgery waiting list data hide the actual times that patients are waiting to be treated in the public hospital system. The time from when patients are referred by their general practitioner to when they finally see a specialist for assessment is not counted.

It is only after patients have seen a specialist that they are added to the official waiting lists. Some people wait longer for assessment by a specialist than they do for surgery.

As well as meeting the demands of the financial elite for ever-deeper social spending cuts, the hospital and Medicare cutbacks are intended to coerce more people into paying for their own care, via private health insurance, driving up the profits of private hospital and health care companies.

This health crisis facing millions of ordinary working people will intensify as the further cuts are implemented. Facing rising fees and longer waiting times, working class, poor and vulnerable patients will inevitably delay or avoid treatment and testing, preventing timely diagnoses and giving rise to more serious diseases, complications and, ultimately, unnecessary deaths.
Conservative Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan have appointed Cressida Dick as the next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Policethe organisation responsible for law enforcement in the UKs capital and for counter-terrorism operations across the country.

Dick replaces Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who retired after five-and-a-half years in the post.

The appointment of Dick to the most senior position in the UKs leading police force has been hailed by the media and top politicians as a breakthrough for modern British policing. Khan declared Dicks appointment as a historic day for London, adding, She has already had a long and distinguished career, and her experience and ability has shone throughout this process.

Much has been made of Dicks status as the first woman to head the Metropolitan Police. In an editorial, the Guardian praised in glowing terms the landmark represented by having a (highly competent) woman at the helm of an organisation which remains, with its notorious canteen culture, still a boys club in so many ways.

In an op-ed piece in the newspaper, Martin Kettle proclaimed Dicks nomination an advance for equality and the most dramatic evidence so far of a transformational change in the sociology and direction of British policing. Applauding the fact that alongside Dick, the head of the National Police Chiefs Council, the head of the National Crime Agency, the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister are all women the article would have the reader believe that propelling more women into senior police and government positions is all that is needed to transform the state into a socially progressive force.

The Guardians articles are a reactionary attempt to present the election of a woman to the top job as a further advance in the Mets generally progressive trajectory over the last decades. They use identity politics to recast the Metropolitan police in progressive and civilising colours in order to conceal the increasing use of repressive measures and escalating militarisation of the police force.

The appointment of Dick could not be further from being progressive. This is the police officer who has the blood of an innocent manJean Charles de Menezeson her hands, a fact that was treated as an inconvenient, but unimportant, side detail in the Guardians effusive commentary.

Jean Charles de Menezes, a young Brazilian electrician, was shot dead on July 22, 2005 at Stockwell Underground Station in London, two weeks after the July 7 bombings in London that killed 56 people. Dick was the Gold Commander in charge of the shoot-to-kill operation that saw the unsuspecting de Menezes trailed from his flat by anti-terror officers, pinned down in a London underground train and, without warning, shot seven times in the head at point-blank range.

Immediately after de Menezes was murdered, a campaign of police lies and cover-ups began, claiming that his cold-blooded execution was an unfortunate accident under an otherwise lawful and necessary policy. Police cooked up a story about de Menezes wearing a heavy overcoat, which might have concealed explosives, and behaving suspiciously by jumping over the ticket barrier and running onto the train to evade police.

Witnesses at the inquest completely rejected the police account, asserting that de Menezes was lightly attired and walked casually onto the train. They insisted that he received no warning and that firearms officers did not identify themselves. It was also revealed that the firearms officers involved had conferred before writing their statements, that vital CCTV evidence had gone missing, and that the surveillance log had been altered because it contradicted police claims that de Menezes posed a threat.

No police officer was ever found culpable in de Menezes death. In fact, the inquest went out of its way to exculpate Dick: in a highly unusual move, the judge, Mr Justice Henriques, indicated to the jury that it could insert a caveat into its verdict absolving Dick of personal responsibility for the events. At the inquest, Dick cynically stated: If you ask me whether I think anybody did anything wrong or unreasonable on the operation, I dont think they did.

The cousin of the slain de Menezes, Patricia Armani da Silva, strongly condemned Dicks appointment, stating, We have serious concerns At the helm of the police on that fateful day when Jean was killed was Cressida Dick. The message of todays appointment is that police officers can act with impunity.

As a family we have always felt that those at the highest level, the commissioner and those in operational command, should be held responsible for the mistakes and for the misinformation and lies that were told by the police, she added.

These concerns were brushed aside by the media. The Telegraph dedicated a single, entirely uncritical sentence to the new commissioners involvement in the murder of an innocent man. Guardian columnist Mary Dejevsky, even more repulsively, went as far as to declare that her role in the state killing may even be a bonus!

If, as is likely, she stated, those grainy pictures of what happened at Stockwell tube still haunt her then it is possible that she will be a better leader in general, and a better commissioner of the Met than someone else with no blemish on their career She will always have before her a salutary reminder of what can go wrong That knowledge, that awareness, must surely be a plus.

Dejevsky continued: Individuals make mistakes for many reasons. But to treat a mistake as an automatic disqualification for advancementeven as heinous a mistake as presiding over a botched operation that resulted in the killing of an innocent mancould be depriving organisations, and the country, of leaders who have been tested and will not make the same mistake again.

Rather than automatically barring her from promotion, Dicks bloody history is, on the contrary, seen as providing her with the perfect credentials to occupy high-ranking positions in the police. Prior to her latest appointment, which pays more than 270,000 a year, Dick had already held many senior police roles.

Shortly after the de Menezes killing, rather than being dismissed, never mind being prosecuted for his murder, Dick was elevated to the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations. Her appointment was welcomed by Ken Livingstone, the then-Labour Mayor of London, and his director of Equalities and Policing Lee Jasper, who made a name for himself in the 1990s in the campaigns against the deaths of black people in police custody.

In June 2009 she was again promoted, this time to Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Specialist Crime Directorate, and then to Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations in 2011, where she was in charge of counter-terror operations.

It was in this capacity that Dick was responsible for overseeing security at the 2012 London Olympic Games. This operation saw the massive militarisation of the capital, with the deployment of 12,000 police officers, 20,000 privately hired security guards and more than 6,000 soldiers. The main Olympic site was surrounded by 17 kilometres of electrified fencing, with up to 900 cameras 50 metres apart, and patrols by attack and search dog teams.

Dick also spent two years in the Foreign Office as director-general, after the former Met commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, asked her to leave her police counter-terror role. Although the details of this role have not been made public, Dick was thought to be functioning as a high-level state operative dealing with counter-terrorism.

The selection of Dick as the next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police comes in the wake of the Conservative governments plans to increase the number of armed police officers on the UKs streets by 1,500 before April 2018. Her appointment sends a clear message that the police can and will use repression with complete impunity.
A recent poverty report found that one-third of working families in San Diego, California, more than 1 million individuals, live with incomes too low to cover their basic needs. These stark figures are reflected in the citys skyrocketing homeless population, which has risen nationally from the twelfth largest in 2007 to third in 2016, according to US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A report published in January by the Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI), Making Ends Meet, highlights the constant and worrying reality for working class San Diegans that employment does not guarantee enough income to make ends meet.

The report found that the average hourly wage needed to meet basic needs for a family with two working adults and two young children is $20.98 per adult working 40 hours a week; for a single parent with two children, $31.32 and one child, $22.45. This is the minimum required only to access the most basic needs, such as housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, and taxes. Other vital expenses such as cell phone and internet bills, emergency car repairs, a visit to the doctor, medication, or a family outing, are not accounted for and would require a significant increase of these figures.

Full time jobs that pay such a wage are not to be found for the vast majority of working class San Diegans.

Additionally these figures are adjusted for full time employment and do not account for the chronic underemployment faced by millions. The Government Accountability Office reported statistic which reveal that 95 percent of all new jobs created in the US under Obama have been part-time and temporary.

The number of working poor thrown into homelessness are growing despite being employed or even having a college degree. The National Coalition on the Homeless reports that nationwide nearly 44 percent of the homeless are employed and the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center, reported that in Los Angeles, nearly 48 percent were high school graduates and 32 percent of the homeless had a bachelors degree or higher. Similar statistics were not available to San Diego, but there is every reason to believe these numbers are reflected throughout Californias major cities.

WSWS reporters recently spoke with homeless residents in the East Village neighborhood in Downtown San Diego, fifteen miles from the US-Mexico Border on the difficulties of getting by in one of the nations most expensive cities.

Clarence said that while he was at a shelter initially, Ive been staying outside, so I can save enough to get my own place. He explained that the St. Vincent de Paul offers some emergency relief but a rent is charged for transitional housing and he would rather save for his own independent housing.

Randal explained that in his youth he had been a construction worker and lost his leg on the job when he was 17. The first time I ever became homeless was in Dayton, Ohio at a St. Vincents shelter. Each ones run differently and theyre all allowed to do that. Ive tried to get help so many times. I suffer from depression, attention deficit disorder, all of these things inhibited me a lot. I never even got to talk to any employers about that, it would have been nice if I could. Theyd always let me go, and say well youre not catching on or something like that.

They dont have to tell you why they let you go. You could have been the best worker, but theyll say, Well, were done with you and we dont have to tell you why. I don't think its fair for peoples rights.

Alex, originally from Seattle, was a truck driver for over 15 years and expressed that she lost her job due to budget cuts. She has been sleeping outside due to the lack of available beds in any of the nearby shelters. Her boyfriend of 8 years was recently deported to Jalisco, Mexico, even though hes resided in the US for 21 years. They sent him to a place where he knows no one, its dangerous, and they dropped him there with nothing.

Commenting on the rising cost of living on both sides of the border Alex mentioned the recent protests in Mexico against the Gasolinazo, the end to federal subsidies of gasoline prices by the Pena Nieto administration. Its a good thing people are fighting back, theres so much desperation there, she said. People cant afford to live. The same thing the people are facing in Mexico, were facing here. People arent going to put up with it.
The New York University Student Activities Board (SAB) rejected the application of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) for official club status for the second straight semester. The denial came even though the IYSSE met or exceeded all requirements for recognition of new clubs, including obtaining the signatures of hundreds of students.

The president of the IYSSE and 22 other individualspresumably the leaders of other applicant clubsreceived a one-sentence email message from the SAB late Monday night notifying them that their applications were denied. The SAB provided no information explaining the grounds for rejection. They also did not specify which, if any, clubs were approved. Prospective student groups whose applications were denied have until March 18th to appeal the decision.

The announcement that the IYSSE had been denied club status came after several delays by the SAB pushing back its decision.

The IYSSE opposes the antidemocratic club approval process at NYU, in which the SAB and the administration determine which clubs receive university sanction and which do not. The number of approvals is limited to a small fraction of applicants, typically around ten percent, on the spurious grounds that NYU lacks the financial resources to charter more student clubs.

The subjective evaluation process allows for political discrimination against socialists and other political tendencies that do not align with the dominant, Democratic Party-oriented outlook of campus administrators and the SAB, a section of the Student Senate.

Given the level of support from students and faculty at NYU that the IYSSE has received in recent months, it is clear that the SAB has no objective criteria for denying our application, said Isaac, an NYU student and IYSSE member. The entirely subjective and arbitrary character of the club approval process prevents students from joining and forming student groups that reflect their views and interests, constituting a substantial abridgement of their democratic rights.

In rejecting the IYSSEs application last semester, the SAB falsely claimed that the IYSSE was too similar to other clubs, in particular the International Socialist Organization (ISO) at NYU. In answering these charges, the IYSSE stressed that the SAB has no right to determine whether political organizations are too similar. This semesters application noted the divergent history of the two tendencies for more than 75 years. The ISO endorsed the IYSSEs application for club status following the publication of an open letter to the group.

In their decision to reject once again the IYSSEs application, the SAB disregarded the growing support for a socialist student movement on campus. Over the course of this school year, the IYSSE gathered over 420 signatures from students calling for the establishment of the club, more than double the required 200. In addition, 200 more students signed petitions calling on the SAB to reverse its fall semester denial of club recognition.

Last month, dozens of students attended a public meeting and a rally called by the IYSSE to present a socialist perspective to fight the Trump administration.

Over the past two weeks, several faculty members submitted letters to the SAB demanding changes to the club approval process and the recognition of the IYSSE as an officially sanctioned club. Professors expressed shock at the gross unfairness of the process and urged the SAB to reverse course.

In an interview with the IYSSE, NYU political science professor Bertell Ollman rejected the rationalization of the university for denying students the right to form clubs. All the talk about lack of resources, whether money or rooms, is ridiculous. When we are talking about student clubs, this has no basis at all.

The IYSSE plans to continue its fight against the antidemocratic actions of the university and the SAB, Isaac said. Given the unparalleled speed with which the Trump administration is violating core democratic rights, destroying social programs and making preparations for military conflict, there has never been a more pressing need for an IYSSE club at NYU.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) last week signed an agreement to prevent strikes and other industrial action at the $34 billion Ichthys Liquefied Natural Gas project in northern Australia until 2030, in exchange for a commitment by the Japanese energy multinational Inpex to preference Australian workers for jobs at the site.

The pledge highlights the relationship between the reactionary nationalism of the unions, directed against overseas workers, and their role as an industrial police force of the employers.

The MUA and other unions denounce foreign workers in a bid to divide the working class and prevent any unified struggle against the onslaught on jobs, wages and conditions. At the same time, the unions nationalist rhetoric serves to divert attention from its own role in enforcing the dictates of the major companies and suppressing industrial and political action by the workers it falsely claims to represent.

The Australian Financial Review hailed the MUAs agreement as a landmark deal that is unprecedented in length and is seen as ensuring stability during the projects development and production stage. The union had guaranteed continuity of supplyin effect reassuring the projects corporate shareholders it will prevent any disruption from workers to the gas flows upon which their profits depend.

The deal includes an enhanced disputes resolution procedure to be overseen by Danny Cloghan, a retired commissioner from the Fair Work Commission, the pro-business industrial tribunal established by the last Labor government with the support of the unions.

Inpex group industrial relations manager Roland Houareau, said the company would use the arrangement as an industrial relations platform for stakeholders, investors and boards in the future, i.e., a precedent to be used against workers at other sites. Labor Party opposition spokesman Brendan OConnor also praised the agreement.

Western Australian MUA state secretary Christy Cain crudely summed up the unions position, declaring: Well work things through without taking strike action willy-nilly and work with the company to get this project done on time. In other words, the MUA will impose productivity speed-ups, attacks on conditions and the destruction of jobs to ensure that the employers schedule is met.

The Ichthys development will become the longest gas export pipeline in the Southern Hemisphere, spanning 890 kilometres. It will source gas from the Browse Basin off the north coast of Western Australia, which will be transported to a processing plant near Darwin in the Northern Territory.

The MUA agreement covers drilling rigs, seismic vessels, supply vessels and accommodation vessels and will also apply to members of the Australian Maritime Officers Union and the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers.

Since its announcement, the project has faced a series of delays and cost blowouts. Contractors at the Darwin site, UGL and JKC were locked in a series of disputes over the past three years.

In late 2015, 400 workers were sacked at the site. Last October, up to 480 more were laid-off, including boilermakers, electricians, tradespeople and staff. In January, another 300 jobs were destroyed. In each instance, the unions involved, including the Construction Forestry Energy and Mining Union and the Electrical Trades Union, did everything they could to prevent the sackings from causing any disruptions to the project.

Last month, UGL, now owned by Spains CIMIC Group and an American contractor CH2M Hill, pulled out of the project. Media reports have indicated that the Inpex deadline for production to start in September is now on an extremely tight timeline, indicating that workers will be placed under intense pressure by the company and the union.

Commenting on the agreement, MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin pointed to the decades-long collaboration between the waterside union and the major employers.

Sounding like a company spokesman, Crumlin declared that such deals were critical to investment certainty and security of supply. He bragged: Since the MUA and the other maritime unions signed a similar agreement covering the North West Shelf in the 1980s, not a single day has been lost to industrial action. Crumlin was referring to agreements covering gas tankers and production in the massive oil and gas development area in north-western Australia.

Since the early 1980s, the MUA and its predecessors have overseen the decimation of maritime and seafaring jobs. During the Hawke Labor governments Water Industry Reform from 198791, the union enforced the destruction of 4,500 jobs. In 1998, it isolated and betrayed waterside workers who had been locked out and victimised by Patrick Stevedores, paving the way for the elimination of 1,400 jobs (see: What was the victory on the Australian waterfront?).

More recently, the MUA has sold out industrial action by maritime workers in defence of jobs and conditions, including during the 2015 Hutchison dispute, when the company sacked its 97-strong workforce in Sydney and Brisbane. The union shut down strike action and organised a deal with the company that cut 65 jobs and a host of working conditions (see: Australian maritime union betrays Hutchison workers).

These sellouts have gone hand in hand with nationalist rhetoric targeting foreign workers. The MUA, alongside Labor, the Greens and far-right nationalists such as Senator Jacqui Lambie, has campaigned for protectionist measures and the abolition of visa arrangements for overseas workers. All of them are seeking to divert mounting anger over the destruction of jobs and the worsening social crisis afflicting the working class in a nationalist and xenophobic direction.

Crumlins remarks on the Ichthys agreement followed the same line. This announcement, he declared, provides great relief to our members and other Australian workers, many of whom are currently unemployed and rightly expect to have first crack at jobs in their own country. He did not mention that widespread unemployment among seafarers and maritime workers is a direct product of the job-cutting enforced by the union.

In language indistinguishable from Senator Pauline Hansons anti-immigrant One Nation and other far-right parties, Crumlin stated: These natural resources belong to the Australian people and are our sovereign wealth now and going forward. Like every nationalist demagogue, Crumlin was covering over the class divide between the Australian corporate and financial elite, and millions of working people.

Crumlins remarks and the unions no-strike pledge are a damning indictment of pseudo-left organisations, such as Socialist Alternative and Socialist Alliance, which routinely hail the MUA as a militant and left union. In reality, the MUA, like its counterparts in Australia and internationally, functions as a company union and a peddler of nationalist poison.

The unions reactionary attempts to divide workers along national lines are in direct opposition to the inherently international nature of the seafaring and maritime industry.

The alternative to the nationalism and corporatism of the unions is the fight for the unification of seafarers, maritime workers and other sections of the working class around the world in a common struggle against the drive by the corporate elite to slash jobs, wages and conditions. This fight must be directed against the capitalist system itself, which is the cause of the mounting unemployment and social hardships facing workers everywhere.

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The bitter internecine struggle within the US state apparatus and ruling political establishment, featuring unsubstantiated Democratic claims of Russian hacking in support of Trump, on the one hand, and Trumps own charge that his campaign was bugged by Obama, on the other, was overshadowed Tuesday by a massive release of CIA documents by WikiLeaks.

The 8,761 documents contained in what WikiLeaks has described as the largest intelligence publication in history have begun to lay bare a vast system of surveillance, hacking and cyberwarfare directed against the people of the United States and the entire planet.

The anti-secrecy organization called the first document trove Year Zero and said that further CIA data dumps are still to come under a larger project dubbed Vault 7.

The files were taken from the CIAs Center for Cyber Intelligence, a huge and little-known command that includes some 5,000 hackers, both CIA agents and private contractors. Much as in the case of Edward Snowdens leaking of secret documents exposing the global spying operation of the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, the CIA documents have apparently come from a former agency hacker or contractor concerned about the scope and purpose of the agencys cyberwar operations.

The programs described in the documents indicate that the CIA, according to WikiLeaks, has developed more than a thousand hacking systems, trojans, viruses and other weaponized malware allowing it to seize control of devices, including Apple iPhones, Googles Android operating system (used by 85 percent of smart phones) and devices running Microsoft Windows. By hacking these devices, the CIA is also able to intercept information before it is encrypted on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman.

The agency has apparently stockpiled so-called weaponized zero-day threats that can be used to exploit unidentified vulnerabilities in a wide range of devices before their manufacturer is able to detect the flaw and correct it. Under the Obama administration, the White House had supposedly established a Vulnerabilities Equities Process, under which the intelligence agencies would inform manufacturers of most software vulnerabilities while keeping some to itself for exploitation. In part, this was designed to prevent US companies from losing market share overseas. The vast character of the CIA arsenal establishes that this program was a sham from the outset.

One of the programs developed by the CIA, codenamed Weeping Angel, turns Samsung smart televisions into the kind of technology envisioned by George Orwell in 1984, in which thought police monitored telescreens that served as both televisions, broadcasting the speeches of Big Brother, and security cameras, monitoring every word and action of the viewer. This surveillance technique places targeted TVs in a fake off mode, transmitting conversations in a room over the Internet to a covert CIA server.

WikiLeaks reported that a large amount of information had been redacted from the leaked documents, including computer codes for actual cyberweapons as well as the identities of tens of thousands of CIA targets and attack machines throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States.

That targets exist in the US indicates that the agency is engaged in wholesale domestic spying in violation of its charter.

The documents also establish that the CIA has developed these programs in collaboration with MI5, the British intelligence agency, and that it operates a covert cyberwarfare center out of the US Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany.

One chilling revelation provided by the documents, according to WikiLeaks, is that, As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. WikiLeaks notes that The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations.

While WikiLeaks does not specifically mention it, this was the scenario suggested by many in the 2013 fatal single-car accident in Los Angeles that claimed the life of journalist Michael Hastings. At the time of his death, Hastings, who had previously written an article that led to the removal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the top US commander in Afghanistan, was working on a profile of Obamas CIA Director John Brennan. Before the accident, Hastings had informed colleagues that he was under government surveillance and had asked a neighbor to lend him her car, saying he feared his own vehicle had been tampered with.

One other politically significant element of the revelations contained in the WikiLeaks documents concerns a CIA program known as Umbrage, which consists of a sizable library of malware and cyberattack techniques developed in other countries, including Russia. The agency is able to exploit these stolen tools to mask its own attacks and misdirect attribution to their originators. The existence of such a program underscores the lack of any foundation for the hysterical campaign alleging Russias responsibility for the hacking and leaking of Democratic Party emails.

While the Democrats continue to center their fire against Trump on the question of alleged ties to Russiarather than the reactionary policies his administration has unleashed against immigrants and the working class as a wholethe WikiLeaks revelations about the CIA are being dismissed by sections of the media as another Moscow plot.

Along similar lines, the New York Times Monday published a lengthy article mocking alleged signs of a White House preoccupation with a deep state working to thwart the Trump presidency following Trumps charge that he had been bugged during the presidential campaign.

Such a term might be appropriate for countries like Egypt, Turkey or Pakistan, the Times argued, but could not be applied to the US because it suggests an undemocratic nation where legal and moral norms are ignored.

The reality is that the deep state in the US is more massive and powerful than anywhere in the world and is the patron of similar military-intelligence complexes in countries like Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan. As for legal and moral norms, the latest revelations about the CIA, an organization long ago dubbed Murder, Inc., offer a glimpse of the real methods of the American state.

That the Times attempts to dismiss concerns about the activities and influence of the military-intelligence apparatus only establishes its own role as a propaganda organ and ideological instrument of this deep state, with the most intimate ties to the CIA, the Pentagon and other agencies.

The documents released by WikiLeaks cover the period of 2013 to 2016, the last years of the Obama administration, which presided over the continuation and spread of the wars begun under Bush, a sweeping expansion of the power the US intelligence apparatus and a corresponding assault on democratic rights. This included the organization of an international drone assassination program under which the White House claimed the authority to order the extrajudicial murder of American citizens.

This vast apparatus of war, repression and mass surveillance has now been handed over to the administration of Donald Trump, a government of billionaires, generals and outright fascists that is determined to escalate war abroad and carry out unprecedented attacks on the working class at home.

While the Democratic Party is calling for a special prosecutor over alleged Russian meddling in the US electiona demand aimed at sustaining the US war drive against Russia and diverting the mass opposition to Trump into reactionary channelsand Trump is calling for a probe of the alleged bugging of his communications, neither side has called for investigation of the CIA spying operation. Both Democrats and Republicans are agreed that such police-state measures are required to defend the crisis-ridden capitalist system against the threat of a social revolution by the working class.
Nine hundred bus drivers, paraprofessionals and food service workers for the Rockford Public Schools (RPS) are set to strike on March 15 if a new contract is not reached before then between RPS and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31. Rockford, about 90 miles northwest of Chicago, has the third largest school district in the state with 28,500 students.

In January, the RPS school board unilaterally imposed a new contract, which included a sharp spike in health insurance costs and paltry wage increases. Under the contract bus drivers start at $14.00 an hour, food service workers start at $9.91 an hour, and paraprofessionals start at $10.63 an hour.

While RPS workers are determined to fight against the attacks on their livelihoodshaving overwhelmingly voted to strikeAFSCME officials are limiting the action to a three-day strike to blow off steam and curtail a growing combativeness to wage a struggle. In the meantime, union officials are doing everything to get some deal to sell workers to prevent a strike altogether.

Speaking to the World Socialist Web Site, a Rockford Public School bus driver with five years of service said, Basically the wage increase we were given isnt enough to offset the higher costs for insurance. Bus drivers carry a great deal of responsibility for minimum pay. We haul precious cargo, children! Men and women get paid more to haul garbage then what we receive to haul children. There is something wrong!

Its not a job that meets the needs of someone trying to raise a family. I have a second job. Theres no way I could live off what bus drivers make. Its exhausting. I need a job with insurance but the pay is so low I have no other choice but to work another job.

She further added a majority of the bus drivers favor an indefinite strike. While a three-day strike would reduce financial hardship on drivers, she said, if an agreement is not reached before, during or soon thereafter the strike, the next course of action will be an open-ended strike.

While trying to put out a fire in Rockford, AFSCME officials are also trying to prevent the first statewide strike by Illinois public employees. The states Republican governor, multi-millionaire Bruce Rauner, has unilaterally imposed a concessions-laden contract on 38,000 state employees who voted 81 percent to strike. The governor threatened to call out the National Guard in the event of a walkout, openly comparing himself to President Reagan who fired 11,000 striking air traffic controllers in 1981.

In addition, thousands of Caterpillar workers, largely concentrated in Illinois, have approved a strike action though the United Auto Workers has forced them to stay on the job past the expiration of their contract. The conditions are growing for a possible Wisconsin moment, i.e., when tens of thousands of workers descended upon Madison, Wisconsin in 2011 to protest Governor Scott Walkers anti-worker measures before the unions and the Democrats strangled that movement.

AFSCME, the Illinois Education Association and the other unions, which are aligned with the Democratic Party, reject any struggle to unite the working class against the relentless austerity measures imposed by both big business parties. The only concern of the union executives is that they have a seat at the table to protect their own financial and institutional interests.

The proposed three-day strike is aimed at releasing pent up anger and deluding workers into believing the union is really fighting for them. Whether AFSCME reaches a deal before a walkout or one quickly afterwards, however, it will serve the interests of the corporations and their political servants, not the needs of public employees.

Workers want to fight. In opposition to the efforts by AFSCME and other unions to isolate and suffocate the struggle, RPS workers must take the conduct of the fight into their own hands. They should elect independent committees, controlled democratically by rank-and-file workers, to reach out to Illinois state workers, Caterpillar workers, Rockford teachers, parents and students to wage a common fight to defend the living standards and social rights of all workers.

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The US has begun the installation of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea, provoking an angry reaction from China, which warned that it could trigger a nuclear arms race in the region. The provocative move will heighten the already tense situation on the Korean Peninsula as the US and South Korea engage in huge annual war games.

Two trucks, each mounted with a THAAD launch pad, were landed aboard a C-17 cargo plane at the US militarys Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, on Monday night. According to South Korean military officials, more equipment and personnel will arrive in the coming weeks. The THAAD battery installation is likely to be completed as early as May or June.

US officials exploited North Koreas test launch of four ballistic missiles on Monday morning as the pretext for commencing the THAAD installation. However, the final go-ahead for the THAAD deployment, which was agreed by South Korea last July, occurred last week when the South Korean government acquired the planned site in a land swap deal with the conglomerate Lotte.

Washington also insists that the THAAD placement is purely defensive and needed to counter North Koreas nuclear arsenal. In reality, the THAAD system is offensive in character. It is an important component of an expanding US anti-ballistic missile system in Asia that is primarily aimed at preparing for nuclear war against China, not North Korea.

US imperialism, which has an estimated 4,000 nuclear warheads, has never ruled out a first nuclear strike and is spending $1 trillion to upgrade its nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Its anti-ballistic missile systems are designed to neutralise the ability of any enemy to retaliate in the event of a US nuclear attack. The Federation of American Scientists estimated that China had about 260 nuclear warheads as of 2015.

The THAAD system is designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles at high altitude. It consists of a powerful X-band radar system to track missiles at long range, linked to truck-mounted interceptors designed to destroy a hostile missile in flight. In the event of war with China, the THAAD system would not only protect key US military bases in South Korea and Japan. Its X-band radar could detect and track missile launches deep inside the Chinese mainland.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang yesterday reiterated Beijings opposition to the THAAD deployment. Geng warned that China would take necessary measures to defend our security interests and the consequences will be shouldered by the United States and South Korea.

Russia also condemned the THAAD installation. Victor Ozerov, who chairs Russias Federal Defense and Security Committee, branded the deployment as another provocation against Russia aimed, if not at encircling Russia, then at least to besiege it from the west and the east.

The Chinese government has already taken retaliatory moves against South Korea, closing more than 20 stores owned by Lotte in China on the pretext of safety violations, and has advised travel agents not to sell South Korean packages to Chinese tourists. The state-owned media has suggested a wider boycott of South Korean goods and even the severing of diplomatic relations with Seoul.

A commentary in the official Xinhua news agency warned that the THAAD deployment will bring an arms race in the region. Hinting that China would enlarge its nuclear arsenal to counter the US anti-ballistic missile systems, it declared: More missile shields on one side inevitably bring more nuclear missiles of the opposing side that can break through the missile shield.

The suggestion that China could expand its nuclear arsenal only underscores the reactionary character of the Chinese regimes response to the escalating economic and military threats by the Trump administration. The Chinese Communist Party represents the interests of an ultra-rich oligarchy, not Chinese workers and the poor. Its military build-up and whipping up of Chinese nationalism heightens the danger of war and divides the working class.

A nuclear arms race between China and the United States would be profoundly destabilising in Asia and the world. An expansion of the Chinese nuclear arsenal could prompt South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear weapons, and encourage India to enlarge its nuclear arsenal, exacerbating tensions throughout South Asia, particularly with Pakistan.

The Trump administration has targeted China, warning of trade war measures, threatening military action against Chinese-controlled islets in the South China Sea and suggesting it could tear up the One China policy that forms the bedrock of US-China relations.

Trump has repeatedly accused China of not imposing crippling sanctions on its ally North Korea to force it to abandon its nuclear weapons and missiles. The White House is currently engaged in a review of US strategy toward North Korea, details of which have been leaked to the media, including proposals for pre-emptive military strikes on North Korea and regime-change operations.

North Korea provides a convenient pretext for the US military build-up in North East Asia against China. The New York Times reported that one option under consideration is the return of tactical nuclear weapons to South Koreaadjacent not only to North Korea, but also China.

Trump has already outlined a huge expansion of the US military and has tweeted that the US has to greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capacity. Moreover, the US strategy is shifting from the use of nuclear weapons as a last resort to the active consideration of a limited nuclear war.

North Korea is rapidly emerging as a dangerous global flashpoint. A small incident, either accidental or calculated, has the potential to trigger a catastrophic conflict on the Korean Peninsula that would draw in nuclear-armed powers such as China and Russia.

The only social force capable of halting the drive to world war is the international working class, through building a unified anti-war movement based on socialist principles to put an end to capitalism and its outmoded nation-state system, which is the source of war.
Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera plans to present a resolution to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) requesting two years to prepare a mechanism to investigate war crimes and human rights violations during the military offensives against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Samaraweera called on the US, the UK and Montenegro to support a joint motion to a UNHRC meeting at the end of this month. The Asian Mirror reported that the UK has already agreed to back the resolution.

This is another attempt by Colombo to suppress any investigation into serious allegations of abuses involving Sri Lankan security forces during the countrys 26-year communal war. According to UN estimates, more than 40,000 civilians were killed by the military during the final months of the conflict in 2009.

In October 2015, the US and Sri Lankan governments presented a resolution to the UNHRC calling for a Sri Lankan judicial mechanism, including the Special Counsels Office, of Commonwealth and foreign judges and other officials.

The US-initiated motion reflected Washingtons public support for the newly-elected president Maithripala Sirisena and a shift away from a resolution it presented in March 2014. That motion, which called for an international investigation into war crimes, was directed against former president Mahinda Rajapakse and aimed at pressuring his government to politically distance itself from Beijing.

After Sirisena was elected president in 2015, following a US-orchestrated regime-change operation, he and the new prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, shifted foreign policy in line with the Obama administrations pivot to Asia against China.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government, which is facing an economic and political crisis, wants to delay even establishing any judicial mechanism to investigate the war crime allegations.

Addressing a UNHRC session on February 28, Samaraweera cynically declared that the governments resolve to bring justice to the victims of human rights violation remained firm. Colombo, he added, was proceeding to set our country on a transformative trajectory in terms of human rights, good governance, rule of law, justice, reconciliation and economic development.

Samaraweera said the government, however, confronted the forces of extremism and regression on both sides of the divide [which] are creating road blocks for narrow, short-term political gain.

While Samaraweera did not name the forces of extremism and regression, former president Rajapakse, backed by various Sinhala chauvinist formations, is accusing the government of betraying war heroes [the soldiers who fought in the war], giving federalism to separatists and encouraging a revival of LTTE separatists.

Rajapakse, who hopes to return to power, is attempting to build a right-wing chauvinist movement by exploiting growing popular opposition to the governments attack on living conditions and diverting it along communalist lines.

The governments IMF-dictated austerity policies have sparked intensifying unrest among workers, students and the poor throughout Sri Lanka. In response, government politicians, led by Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, are also stepping up their communalist propaganda. They have assured the military that Colombo opposes any war crimes inquiry and is committed to defending its war heroes.

Sirisena told an executive committee meeting of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) last week he had the backbone to reject any foreign judicial investigation. Two weeks ago the UN Human Rights High Commissioner in his report on Sri Lanka called for a probe by foreign judges. Within 24 hours, I rejected it saying I am not ready to bring foreign judges here, he said.

Sirisena also told a meeting in Jaffna he would block any charges against the military. I have clearly said that I am not prepared to serve charge sheets on our soldiers or to have foreign judges to try our security forces, he said. It is my duty to protect soldiers.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told a Colombo law conference that the UNHRC demand was not a practical proposal to set up a hybrid court. This demand came at a time when there was no international confidence in the local judiciary.

Samaraweeras posturing at the UNHRC about the governments resolve to address disastrous conditions facing Tamils in the north and east is bogus. The military occupation in those areas continues, hundreds of political prisoners remain in jails, no action has been taken over 65,000 reported disappearances and only a small proportion of the land seized by military during the war has been returned to its owners.

At the UNHRC, Samaraweera presented proposals that the government claimed would promote reconciliation and accountability. They included legislation for a convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; formulation of a policy and legal framework for the governments proposed Counter Terrorism Act; establishment of a Permanent Office on Missing Persons; and the drafting of a new constitution.

In reality, the new counter-terrorism act will suppress basic democratic rights. Sirisena and Wickremesinghe have also assured their supporters that any new constitution will maintain the current communal discrimination, giving priority to Buddhism and the Sinhala language.

Last Friday, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner report, while voicing satisfaction for some improvements, criticised Sri Lankas slow progress in addressing war crimes. The UNs criticisms are an attempt to pacify growing discontent over Colombos ongoing suppression of any inquiry into war crimes and the increasingly desperate plight of war victims.

Despite the continuing suppression of democratic rights, the major imperialist powers are still promoting the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration. US deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations affairs Erin M. Barclay told the UNHRC meeting: When the council works as it should, its successes are victories for human rights. For example, HRC action catalysed progress for reform and provided technical assistance to improve accountability for past violations in Sri Lanka.

Like Obamas White House, the new Trump administration has no interest in human rights in Sri Lanka or any other country. Trump is further ramping up the geo-strategic agenda already established by Washington in South Asia as part of its preparations for war against China.

The Tamil capitalist elite, which continues to support the pro-US Colombo government, has expressed its support for the appeal to the UNHRC. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran told a February 27 press conference his organisation had told the UNHRC and its member countries that Sri Lanka has to be given further time.

The governments cynical manoeuvring over war crimes and human rights violations, is a clear warning that it is preparing to unleash more brutal attacks against the democratic rights of the working class and poorTamil, Sinhala and Muslims alikein an attempt to suppress opposition to its social austerity measures.
Trump administration officials continued Tuesday to refuse to provide any evidence in support of the extraordinary claims made by the US president in a series of tweets early Saturday morning, in which he said President Obama had ordered illegal wiretapping of Trump offices during the presidential election campaign.

The issue has dominated the American media since then, and White House press secretary Sean Spicer was repeatedly questioned on the subject at a press briefing Tuesday afternoon. Reporters asked whether Trump would withdraw his claim, whether Trump had any independent information to support the charge, and why he had asked Congress to investigate the issue when he could, as commander-in-chief, simply instruct US intelligence agencies to state whether such wiretapping had taken place.

Spicer could give no convincing or coherent answers to any of these questions. He did state that Trump has not been in contact with FBI Director James Comey on the question of the alleged wiretapping.

The FBI would be the US government agency charged with carrying out such an action against Trumps offices in New York City, where the local FBI office was well known to be a stronghold of pro-Trump agents. It was the New York agents who reportedly pressured Comey into issuing his letter to Congress, only 10 days before the election, announcing the resumption of the probe into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server, an action calculated to give a boost to the Trump campaign in the final days before the vote.

The fact that the president of the United States is charging his predecessor with ordering the wiretapping of his campaigns phone communications is an indication of the intense and explosive character of the conflict that is raging within the American state. What is systematically concealed from the American people, however, are the real issues driving this conflict, which center on questions of foreign and military policy.

On the one side are the dominant forces within the intelligence apparatus, aligned with the Democratic Party and most major media outlets, which continue to prosecute a months-long campaign against Trumps perceived softness toward Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, based on unsubstantiated allegations of Russian hacking and interference in the US election. This faction is determined to prevent any turn away from an aggressive policy of confrontation with Moscow, including the possibility of war with the worlds second largest nuclear power.

Trump and his supporters within the ruling elite have indicated a desire to improve relations with Russia, at least for the present, in order to focus US pressure, including military preparations, against Iran and China.

The Democrats, for their part, have concentrated their fire not on Trumps brutal assault on immigrants and authoritarian promotion of law-and-order, or on his frontal attack on social programs and lifting of business regulations, but rather on his attacks on the CIA and his supposed affinity for Putin. Their response to Trumps unsubstantiated accusations against Obama is to treat as absurd any suggestion that the US intelligence agencies would spy on an American citizenas though the revelations by Edward Snowden and others of pervasive and illegal domestic surveillance never happened.

The same questions about Trumps wiretapping claims were raised at a confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee for Trumps nominees for deputy attorney general and associate attorney general, the second- and third-ranking officials in the Department of Justice.

Because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from any investigation related to the presidential campaign, where he played a prominent role as a Trump surrogate and adviser, the nominee for deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, a longtime federal prosecutor under both Republican and Democratic presidents, would be in charge of the ongoing federal probe into charges of Russian interference in the US election.

Senate Democrats sought to extract a commitment from Rosenstein that he would appoint a special prosecutor from outside the Trump Justice Department to handle the inquiry, but Rosenstein declined, saying he did not know anything about the investigation and would not until he took office.

The hearing saw a series of vituperative clashes between Republican and Democratic senators over the allegations of Russian interference in the election and collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, while Rosenstein, whose nomination was the supposed subject of the meeting, looked on.

The Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer of New York, sent a formal request Monday to Michael Horowitz, the inspector general of the Department of Justice, for an immediate investigation into any political interference into Russia-related probes by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Has the investigation into Russia been compromised by political interference? Schumer asked. Have there been any attempts by any White House official to interfere with the investigation? Did Attorney General Sessions, who is now recused from this investigation, or his close associates personally manage the work of career officials at DOJ or the FBI in the course of the investigation thus far?

Schumer also called on Horowitz to look into any Justice Department role in the firing of former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and whether Sessions and Trump had discussed the inquiries into alleged Russian interference in the election.

Congressional Republican leaders have agreed to refer Trumps charges of wiretapping by Obama to the same intelligence committee investigations that are considering the Russian role. But they were publicly non-committal or even openly skeptical of Trumps tweets.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes of California, said his committee had seen nothing to validate the claim of wiretapping made by Trump. He was speaking at a press conference to announce that his committee would hold the first public hearing on the claims of Russian interference in the US elections on March 20.

His Senate counterpart, Richard Burr of North Carolina, echoed the statement by Nunes that no evidence of wiretapping has been made available to Congress.

Senator John McCain of Arizona was more categorical, saying that if there was no basis for Trumps charges, there was no reason for an investigation.
On Wednesday, March 8, several organizations are planning an international day of action to mark International Womens Day. The groups are calling for women in various countries to take off work, participate in demonstrations, and otherwise protest violence against women and other social ills.

Many who will participate in these and other protests are seeking an avenue to oppose the Trump administration and its reactionary policies. All the more critical is the need to make an analysis of the program, perspective and history of the groups that are organizing the protests.

The most heavily promoted actions are in the United States, involving two umbrella organizations: Womens March, which organized some of the demonstrations on January 21 following Trumps inauguration, and International Womens Strike USA.

Womens March is sponsored by Democratic Party-aligned groups such as Emilys List (a political action committee) and NARAL Pro-Choice America (a nonprofit), both of which endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Major union sponsors that supported Clinton include the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). MoveOn.org, which has raised millions of dollars for Democratic Party candidates, is also a major sponsor.

International Womens Strike USA is sponsored by a broader array of organizations that also support the Democratic Party. The International Socialist Organization (ISO) is playing a dominant role, along with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), International Action Center, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Solidarity, Socialist Action, the Socialist Party USA and similar organizations. MoveOn.org is the one joint member of both coalitions.

The common political orientation of both groups is underscored by the fact that they are jointly coordinating and cosponsoring each others actions.

The role of International Womens Strike is particularly significant in that it consists of organizations that use left and even socialist phraseology to tap into a desire among broad sections of the population for a radical social change. However, this verbiage is used to block the development of a socialist movement of the working class opposed to the Trump administration and the economic and political system that produced it.

The program of the group is outlined in an article that appeared in the Guardian on February 6: Women of America: Were going on strike. Join us so Trump will see our power.

The authors argue that the demonstrations following Trumps inauguration mark the beginning of a new wave of militant feminist struggle. They call for a feminism of the 99 percent, a new, more expansive feminist movement, an anti-racist, anti-imperialist, anti-heterosexist and anti-neoliberal feminism,

The call for a feminism of the 99 percent is aimed at covering up the basic class questions posed in the fight against the Trump administration. It frames opposition to Trump in terms of gender, as opposition to patriarchy and misogyny, claiming that the basic issue is the oppression of women by men and not the exploitation of workers, male and female, by the corporate and financial elite.

Trump does not represent men, and the policies he is implementingthe assault on immigrant workers; the attack on health care, public education, the environment and jobs; the destruction of democratic rights; a massive military buildup up in preparation for world warpose life-and-death issues for the entire working class.

The language about a feminism of the 99 percent, moreover, like the call for a party of the 99 percent, is deliberately and carefully chosen. It is aimed at obscuring the deep social divide that exists between the bottom 90 percent of the population and the top 10 percent or 5 percent, which includes more privileged sections of the upper middle class.

According to data published last year by University of California Berkeley economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, the threshold for entry into the top 10 percent is an individual pretax income of $122,691. For the top 5 percent, it is $184,329.

Over the past four decades, the upper middle class has seen its income and wealth share rise significantly along with the soaring stock market, while the share going to the bottom 90 percent has fallen. Clearly, the concerns of women (or men) in the more privileged social stratum are very different from those of the working class, which faces poverty, unemployment and mass indebtedness.

The groups that comprise Womens Strike USA use identity politics to fight for a more favorable share of the income within the top 10 percent, for greater access to positions in universities and in corporate boardrooms and government. This is entirely compatible with the pro-capitalist and pro-imperialist politics of the Democratic Party.

Here what is not said is just as significant as what is said. Nowhere in the statement or on the organizations web site is there any reference to the Democratic Party, the Clinton campaign, the Obama administration or the conflicts within the ruling class that have developed in the aftermath of the election of Trump.

This is not an accident. While they use somewhat different language, the groups in International Womens Strike USA are just as committed to the defense of the Democratic Party as those in Womens March.

The Democratic Party bears the major responsibility for the rise of Trump. For the eight years following the 2008 economic crisis, the single-minded focus of the Obama administration was to save the banks and preserve and expand the wealth of the financial elite. During the election, the Clinton campaign rejected any appeal to social anger, with the Democrats proclaiming that life had never been better in the United States.

Many of the groups that make up International Womens Strike USA supported the Democratic Party campaign of Bernie Sanders. Sanders political role was to channel opposition to the billionaire class behind Clinton, the candidate of Wall Street. As a result, Trump was able to monopolize hostility to the political establishment and the status quo.

Since the election, the Democratic Party has alternated between political accommodation with Trump (Obama proclaimed after the election that the campaign was an intramural scrimmage between two teams on the same side) and denunciations of the Trump administration focused on accusations that it is not sufficiently committed to aggression against Russia. This conflict within the ruling class has nothing to do with the genuine and deeply felt anger of masses of workers and young people over the cabinet of billionaires, generals, corporate executives and outright fascists that Trump is assembling.

Real opposition to the Trump administration must be based on an entirely different program. The fight to defend the social rights of the working classthe right to a job, to health care, to a pension, to an educationis inseparable from a fight against social inequality, war and the capitalist system. The particular issues facing working-class womenincluding the right to an abortion and opposition to all forms of discriminationcan be addressed only through the mobilization of the entire working class.

The Socialist Equality Party advances a socialist program for the working class in the United States and internationally. The vast wealth created by workers must be taken out of the hands of the rich through the expropriation of the gigantic banks and corporations. Opposition to nationalism and chauvinism must be based on the fight to unify the working class of all countries on the basis of its common class interests.

The fight for this program raises at every point the necessity for the independent political organization of the working classin opposition to the Democratic Party and all those organizations that serve to maintain the domination of the capitalist two-party system.
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say they've shut down a 25-mile stretch of Interstate 75 in southwest Florida as firefighters continue to battle a 6,000-acre brush fire in the Picayune Strand State Forest.

The Naples Daily News (https://goo.gl/g6NLYg ) reports that the Florida Highway Patrol closed the western end of Alligator Alley on Tuesday afternoon.

Workers from the Florida Forest Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and firefighters from Collier, Sarasota, Lee and Charlotte counties worked through the night Monday and into Tuesday battling a brush fire that started Sunday and spread throughout eastern Collier County.

Collier County Emergency Services Director Dan Summers says weather and wind conditions have helped spread the fire, which is 30 percent contained.

Residents of several nearby communities have been evacuated.

___

Information from: Naples (Fla.) Daily News, http://www.naplesnews.com

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Leon County Sheriff's Office and Florida State University are joining forces to do a "Dogs and Drone" search for a teen that's been missing since 2014.

Though Ivan Aguilar has been missing for nearly three years with no new leads, deputies say that they are holding firm to continuing their search for Ivan Aguilar.

On Thursday they will conduct the "Dogs and Drone" search for the teen, starting at 1001 Burntleaf Lane off Blountstown Highway. They say that the search will start at 10 a.m.

Detectives will also be on site to assist in the search.

Aguilar has been missing since May 2014.

Ivan is the oldest of 4 children. On the day he went missing, authorities say he had been grounded by his parents.

Ivan is 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.

If you have any information about where he might be, you urged to call the Leon County Sheriff's Office at 850-606-3300. Calls may be made anonymously.
COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - First Responders are continuing to battle a 6,500 acre blaze in Naples that started on Sunday.

The Florida Forest Service says that the large wildfire in the Picayune Strand State Forest is on 30 percent contained.

Though the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, firefighters are working to keep the wildfire south of I-75 and east of C.R. 951.

Officials say that a shelter has been established at the Golden Gate Community Center at 4701 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples, FL.

They say that I-75 is closed from mile marker 80 to mile marker 105 on both sides. They are also telling travelers to expect intermittent road closures on County Road 951 (Collier Boulevard) between Golden Gate and Rattlesnake Hammock throughout the day.

While evacuations were lifted for the Forest Glen community and the Aventine at Naples Apartments, there are mandatory evacuations ordered for the following areas: the Club Naples RV Park, Panther Walk RV Park and Horse Stables in the Picayune Strand State Forest including Triple V and M & H Stables.

If asked to evacuate your home, be sure to bring your important family documents (birth certificates, wills, insurance policies), valuables and your family disaster supply kit. Do not forget any medications or special items such as a first aid kit.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - President Donald Trump revised his initial travel ban Monday, removing Iraq from the list of countries where citizens cannot travel to the U.S. and making sure that those with green cards and visas will be allowed to enter the U.S.

But many democrats still saying the changes aren't enough, including those who represent North Florida.

Representative Gwen Graham posted on Facebook Monday saying quote: "Everyone who cares about america's safety should oppose the latest trump attempt at a travel ban. And everyone who cares about America's safety should call on Donald Trump to finally start listening to intelligence and military experts like the ones who briefed me when I served on the House Armed Services Committee.

"Ill-advised bans won't make America safer or more secure, but a better-informed president sure would," Graham continued.

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum also voiced his concerns on social media.

He tweeted yesterday, "As trump continues to target refugees with his Muslim ban, I believe we can build a state that loudly, and proudly accepts all immigrants."
MITCHELL COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - The Georgia State Patrol and the Department of Natural Resources are working together to find Ronnie Aaron Parrish, a man wanted in Mitchell, Grady, and Decatur counties.

WALB reports that Parrish is a man who has been in trouble with the law before.

Warrants for his arrest stem from burglary, entering auto, and theft by receiving stolen property charges. He has also made threats against law enforcement in his attempt to avoid officers.

The station reports that crews are searching for him in the Mitchell, Grady, and Decatur County areas.

They have been searching for him since last week. GSP's aviation unit is also involved in search.

Parrish is 5' 11", and 170 pounds, and should be considered armed and dangerous.

If you make contact with Parrish, do not approach him. Instead, call GSP Dispatch at 229-931-7000 or call 911.
SUWANNEE COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Suwannee County Sheriffs Office is still searching for information regarding the disappearance of Kamrie Cherai Mitchell a.k.a. Reci who was last seen August 25, 2012 at her residence in southeast Suwannee County.

On September 5, 2012 Kamries white 1992 Pontiac Grand Am was found partially submerged on 184th Street east of CR 137 in the flood waters left after tropical storm Debbie.

Kamries purse and cellular phone were found inside of the car.

Since Kamries disappearance investigators from various law enforcement agencies including, the Suwannee County Sheriffs Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Columbia County Sheriffs Office, and the Alachua County Sheriffs Office have followed up on hundreds of tips and leads, but none have proven to be successful in determining the circumstances surrounding Kamries disappearance.
YAKIMA, Wash. -- If you want beer or wine with your popcorn at the movie theater, youll have to head to the Orion Cinema in downtown Yakima.
YAKIMA, Wash. -- For Valentines Day this year, the Yakima Herald-Republic published a story about two Selah men reflecting on their relationship and the evolution of marriage laws in recent years.

Valentine's Day just another day for Selah couple, yet it isn't Valentines Day this year is no big deal for Kim Brewer and Rick Main; theyll put a little 

Eight days later, the newspaper published a brief Letter to the Editor from prominent local doctor and former Seahawks running back Dan Doornink, who wrote, Front-page story on Valentines Day. ... You have got to be kidding me!

Not appropriate To the editor  Front-page story about a same-sex couple on Valentines Day. ...You have got

Doornink said his point in writing the letter was the historical significance of Valentines Day.

The historical significance is that St. Valentine was told by the boss, Claudius, whoever it was then, that you shouldnt marry people because the young men dont fight as well when theyre married, So I ban you from marrying people. But he did it anyway, underground, and he was beheaded for it, Doornink said. He was beheaded because he was marrying men and women and he thought marriage was important. So Valentines Day has become a memory of romantic love, historically, between men and women. So it was a provocative move by the paper to have that article on the front page on Valentines Day.

But as Doornink not only practices at Virginia Mason Memorial hospitals Cornerstone Medicine, but also sits on the Board of Trustees of the charitable Memorial Foundation, his public comment worried many who saw his words as a potential deterrent for anyone in the LGBTQ community who might seek care from him or the health system where he works.

So far, 10 letters in support of the couple have been published, including seven that called out Doorninks comments by name. One in support of his comments has also been submitted.

His words suggest he might not provide a space where LGBTQ people can safely self-disclose their sexual orientation, wrote Wyatt Kanyer, who works with LGBTQ youth in Yakima. If that article bothered him that much, one might wonder how he treats not appropriate patients behind exam room doors.

The married couple featured in the Valentines Day article, Kim Brewer and Rick Main, had meetings earlier this week with Memorial Foundation executive director Erin Black and with Memorial CEO Russ Myers to discuss the letter and its implications.

I do appreciate their seeing the importance of facing the issue, and hopefully bringing some resolution to it, Brewer said. We dont want anything negative toward Dan Doornink. ... We just have some concerns about the message his comments conveyed.

For his part, Doornink said Tuesday that he never said he wouldnt treat gay people in his practice.

I dont discriminate, he said. I have lots of patients with all kinds of different worldviews and political views, and theres some people I agree with, and some people I dont agree with, and it doesnt, to me, matter at all. Its my purpose to serve patients.

He has no hard feelings about anybody, he said, and any other day but Valentines Day to publish the story would have been OK. His letter was meant to address the newspaper, not Brewer and Main, he said.

I didnt read the whole article and I dont know any of the facts or anything, he said. All I know is the headline and what the article was pushing.

He said he has only received positive feedback on his letter, from patients and people stopping him in the grocery store, some 200 comments.

The Foundation boards executive committee, of which Doornink is not a member, met last week to talk through the communitys concerns, as about 20 people have called and written the Foundation about the letter, Black said.

For me, its most important as a representative of Memorial Foundation to make sure and make certain that the community is aware that we have a legacy of providing services to all people, and we will continue that legacy, she said. That mission has not changed and will not change.

The Foundation raises money to help patients afford services such as hospice care, cancer care, childrens health, and the Healthy Yakima public health initiative.

When those services are provided, were not asking people those questions (about sexual orientation)  we just serve all people regardless, Black said.

On Monday, Myers and Black sent a joint email to all Memorial staff to address the community conversation surrounding Doorninks letter.

While there are always multiple viewpoints to every story, we want to reassure you that these comments do not reflect the views and beliefs of Virginia Mason Memorial or The Memorial Foundation, they wrote. Caring for every person who comes through our doors is a vital part of the work of healthcare, and as CEOs, our jobs are to ensure that all caregivers and employees provide care and services without judgment or discrimination and without regard to sexual orientation, race, wealth, status or nationality.

Memorial does not have a policy against employees publicly expressing their opinions, Myers said, though it does have guidelines, which he reviewed with Doornink after the letter came out.

All new staff members in the Memorial system take health care equity training, where they learn to be aware of any built-in biases and are reminded to serve everyone equitably, Myers said.

The hospitals current Patient Rights form says the hospital doesnt discriminate based on sex, but doesnt specify that it wont discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, though one or both of those is generally covered by the term sex.

I think were into a learning world here, Myers said. I think it does cause us to reflect and want to make sure that our policies are covering everyone.

State law (RCW 49.60.030) prohibits discrimination in any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage or amusement, which includes medical offices.

But in many cases, fear of discrimination can carry more weight in peoples minds than current laws or policy, says Tari Hanneman, director of the Health Equality Project with the national Human Rights Campaign.

(The letter) definitely sends a signal that is not welcoming, she said by phone Tuesday. The problem is, when people have had these experiences or have fears of having these experiences ... a lot of times, (that) means theyre going to delay seeking treatment. Or if they do seek treatment, they wont be honest with their provider, wont come out to their provider, which means the providers not asking them the right questions.

It doesnt promote a relationship built on trust, which is something you ideally want in health care, she continued. And that just fuels a lot of health care disparities, in terms of people getting access to care.

Brewer emphasized that he and Main have never had a negative experience regarding their relationship with either hospital system in town. Their family doctor also is at Cornerstone.

They still hope to speak with Doornink directly about his intent with the letter, and to see if hes aware that his words can have a negative effect on, especially youth, but (also) people who are vulnerable and not at a good point where they can feel safe, and go to a hospital where they can be treated.

It was a pretty minor effect to our lives personally, Brewer said, but our concern is what it would do to someone else whos not in a secure place like we are.
Starting Sunday, a stricter law on using cellphones while driving takes effect, and with it some pretty hefty fines for violations.
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A vest designed to shield astronauts from deadly solar particles in deep space is set for trials on a lunar mission ready for deployment on any manned mission to Mars, its Israeli developers said.

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The AstroRad Radiation Shield has been devised by Tel Aviv-based StemRad, which has already produced and marketed a belt to protect rescue workers from harmful gamma ray radiation emitted in nuclear disasters, such as Chernobyl and Fukushima.

A woman wearing a prototype of Stemrad's new protective vest, Astrorad, sits inside Russian spacecraft, Excalibur-Almaz Space Capsule, during a demonstration for Reuters, at Madatech, National Museum of Science Technology and Space in Haifa (Photo: Reuters)

The vest will protect vital human tissue, particularly stem cells, which could be devastated by solar radiation in deep space or on Mars, whose sparse atmosphere offers no protection, StemRad's CEO Oren Milstein said.US space agency NASA has said it hopes to send astronauts to Mars in the mid-2030s.

The vest is made of layers that look like a contoured map and will be tailor-made for each astronaut. Non-metallic protective materials will be positioned on each shield to cover the organs of each astronaut.

Women wearing prototypes of Stemrad's new protective vest, Astrorad, stand near Russian spacecraft, Excalibur-Almaz Space Capsule (Photo: Reuters)

"This product will enable human deep space exploration. Our breakthrough has come in creating the architecture of the multi-layered shield to accurately cover the most important organs," Milstein said.

StemRad say it has proven the concept in the laboratory and in simulations, but testing will also take place on the Orion spacecraft, a joint project of Lockheed Martin, NASA and the European Space Agency.

ideon Waterman, Chief Technology Officer at Stemrad, touches a prototype of the company's new protective vest, Astrorad (Photo: Reuters)

Orion is set to orbit the moon unmanned during the debut flight of NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket, scheduled for late 2018 but it is also assessing the feasibility of flying two astronauts on that mission.

During the lunar flyby mission, the vest will be strapped to a "phantom" torso dummy, a device used to monitor radiation absorption. Another phantom will fly unprotected and the two will be analyzed after they return to Earth.

A sculpture of a man wearing Stemrad's new protective vest, Astrorad, is seen at an exhibit at Madatech. (Photo: Reuters)

NASA had no immediate comment on how the test could be affected if the agency decided to put astronauts on Orion.

Stemrad's chief technologist, Gideon Waterman, said the vest needed to combine density with flexibility to protect astronauts while enabling them to move about as freely as possible.

Mock-ups have been made, and the first protective vest is expected to be produced by the end of the year, Milstein said.

woman wearing a prototype of Stemrad's new protective vest, Astrorad, sits inside Russian spacecraft, Excalibur-Almaz Space Capsule (Photo: Reuters)

"Based on our simulations, we're sure it works but to be 100 percent sure, we're sending it up on EM-1," he said, referring to NASA's Exploration Mission-1, the first flight of the combined Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule.

The Orion will have its own small shelter for solar storms or flares that have dangerous bursts of radiation, and the vest, Milstein said, will offer the same degree of protection so astronauts can keep safe in other parts of the spacecraft.

Astronauts in Earth's orbit, such as those on the International Space Station, do not face the same risk because they are protected by the planet's magnetic field which acts as a shield, he added.
After the series of moves and statements made by new US President Donald Trump, its slightly difficult to find any indications of a shift from an election campaign to the most important position in the world. Last week, there was his address to the Congress, which instilled a small glimmer of hope, because it did not include any cursing and revilementand in the Trump era, thats something too.

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From the Israeli and Zionist angle, the greatest concern has to do of course with the blank check he gave Israelor the Israeli Right, to be more exactto destroy the Jewish state in favor of the catastrophe of one big state.

This feeling led to a state of euphoria among parts of the Right, and some of its speakers broke into a series of fervent statements. One wants to annex Area C, the other wants Maale Adumim, the third one is already destroying the Palestinian Authority, and the meticulous ones are rapidly moving towards the magical one state solution.

Likud MK Miki Zohar. Fulfilling the vision of Israels enemies (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

The highlight was when Knesset Member Miki Zohar of the Likud party stated this week that Israel would both annex the territories and deprive the Palestinians of the right to vote. In English, thats called apartheid.

Israels haters dont need much more than that to confirm their claims against Israel. Why an MK from the ruling party just made it clear himself. The timing is important too, because Apartheid Week is being held these days on many campuses in the Westand there is no greater gift to the initiators of the anti-Israel campaign than such a statement. Fury as Israeli MP openly calls for apartheid was the headline of British daily Morning Star, in addition to other media outlets which emphasized the information that will enter the archives of convictions of Israels crimes. And we have Zohar to thank for his contribution.

The feeling was that these kinds of statementsin favor of annexation and against the two-state solutionwere encouraged following the statement made by Trump, who did not rule out the establishment of one state if thats what the parties want. There is no doubt that thats what the Palestinians want. After all, they have always rejected an independent state. And there is no doubt that thats what the supporters of Israels de-legitimization want. And their greatest accomplices, the fulfillers of this vision, are the different Miki Zohars.

Nevertheless, we can sound the all-clear signal. Because the statement made by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday makes it clear that the American administration, even the Trump administration, is against the celebration in the Right. The administration, Lieberman clarified, is against an annexation and an expansion of the settlement enterprise outside the blocs.

Lieberman did not say that as an instantaneous whim. He knew what he was saying and why, and he wasnt speaking on his own behalf alone. He was speaking on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus behalf as well, and the statement was likely coordinated between them. Netanyahu does not always favor the national interest over the political interest, but it happens sometimes, even if through a messenger. And its a good thing when that happens.

There is something unfortunate in the fact that Israel needs the American administration in order to protect itself from the fulfillers of the nightmarish one state vision, and there is no comfort in the fact that the Right is fulfilling the vision of Israels enemies. The common lie is that thats what the people chose. Thats not true. There is no majority among the public or in the Knesset in favor of marching towards one state. That is neither the vision of the Kulanu party nor of the ultra-Orthodox parties, and its not Liebermans vision either.

And one more thing. The two-state solution is not on the agenda due to the Palestinian rejectionism. But its even more clear that the fact that the Palestinians are rejecting the two-state-for-two-people formula should not lead to the conclusion that we have to do what they wantin other words, one state. The American administration, it seems, is beginning to understand that. We can calm down.
The surprising retirement of Supreme Court Justice Yoram Danziger, five years before the designated end of his term, is expected to pave the way for increasing the number of Supreme Court justices to 17.

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Danziger, who has been on the Supreme Court for nearly a decade, is retiring for "personal reasons," but legal sources claim that he is also retiring because of the heavy caseload on the Supreme Court, like Justice Zvi Zilbertal before him.

So far, the court's presidents have refused to increase the number of justices from 15 to 17 or 19. Their reasoning has been the fear that more justices would lead to politicians' trampling on the selection process for political agendas.

Justice Danziger (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Many justices say behind closed doors that it is difficult for a mere 15 of them to deal with the 10,000 cases on which they must pronounce judgment each year, even though panels in individual cases can be composed by as few as three justices. Previous attempts by MKs to increase the size of the court were rejected by Supreme Court presidents, and the ministers of justice supported them to prevent clashes with the court.

The current minister, Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) has said the current situation is untenable. She is the ex officio chairman of the Judicial Selection Committee, which holds the power to modify the number of justices without requiring any legislation.

The Israeli Bar Association released a statement in which it said that Danziger and Zilbertal's resignations, "alongside the heavy burden on the Supreme Court, necessitates consideration to find solutions to ease" the caseload, which it claims is "significantly higher relatively to many countries."
Yigal Levinstein is in hot water again for making disparaging remarks about women in combat positions in the IDF.

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Levinstein made his remarks while speaking at the Bnei David pre-army preparatory yeshiva in Eli.

Rabbi Yigal Levinstein

In addressing female combat soldiers in the IDF, Levinstein wondered aloud, "Who would agree to marry them?" and cast aspersions on their femininity.

Levinstein focused his comments on the issue of drafting young women who have completed their religious education, which has worried many conservative rabbis.

"Our women are holy and modest," said Levinstein to the students. "Does that mean they can't work? Let her work in whatever she wants. But what is her mission? In the Talmud: to build the next generation. It is imposed upon them. Only our holy women know how to do this. What is she going to be? A platoon commander? Its a question of madness and it belongs in an insane asylum."

Levinstein continued, saying, "Forget the secular girl, this is a religious girl who is being drafted. They go in Jewish and are come out not Jewish. Their entire value system changes, their priorities, the home, careers, it makes everyone crazy. We cannot agree to this."

Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman discussed Levinstein's comments Tuesday, saying, "Since the founding of the state, women have served in the IDF and made a tremendous contribution to the security of Israel. Rabbi Levinstein's tirade is not only an insult to Israeli women, but also to the IDF and its heritage and to the basic values of the State of Israel. When I return from the United States, I will reconsider the position of Rabbi Levinstein in preparing our young men for IDF service."
The disruption in Tel Aviv trains is set to end on Thursday morning at 5am, three days ahead of schedule.

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The move, welcomed in a metropolis that has been choked with congestion, was announced by Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz on Wednesday morning.

The decision was taken following a situational assessment carried out by Israel Railways after it became clear that the excavation work for the Tel Aviv Light Rail beneath the Tel Aviv HaShalom Station would be completed in time.

Stopped traffic in Tel Aviv Tuesday (Photo: Oren Reiss)

Residents of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, Gush Dan, have experienced severe traffic jams in the two days that the rail service has been interrupted.

Magen David Adom reinforced its emergency services provided on scooters and electric bicycles Wednesday morning in Tel Aviv in preparation for delayed travel times in case of emergency. Their two-wheeled service is able to more rapidly weave in and out between stopped vehicles.

A spokesman for the Dan transportation company, which operates buses in Gush Dan, told Ynet that some of the congestion experienced thus far was not directly correlated with the shutdown of the train station. He explained that the lanes "are narrow, and it's enough that a private car, an ambulance or a motorcycle to get stuck, and all Tel Aviv comes to a standstill within minutes."
Dripping wet and exasperated in the pouring rain, the soldier turned to the man with the plastic knife that unsuccessfully tried to stab her and offered changing sides.

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The soldiersserving in the "Haraam" artillery battalion, the Israel Defense Forces' longest-running mixed-gender combat battalionwere facing off as part of a training session in Krav Maga, an Israeli military martial art.

Women in the IDF (: )

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Krav Maga training (Photo: Reuters)

A woman, physical education officer Lotem Stapleton, oversaw the drill at an army base in the Israeli Golan Heights.

She led the pack of 13 soldiers as they ran to warm up, and then joined the chorus of encouragement as the soldiers confronted a stream of "enemy combatants" in the training circuit.

As the world marks International Women's Day, whose theme this year focuses on "women in the changing world of work", the IDF says it is ahead of the curve in providing combat roles for female soldiers.

Photo: Reuters

Eighty-five percent of positions in the IDF are open to women, and the soldiers of the "Haraam" battalionwhich began accepting women in 2000offer a window into the evolving gender politics of a military that prides itself as socially progressive.

The army's equal opportunities for women, said Lieutenant-Colonel Oshrat Bachar, an adviser to the office of the chief of staff on gender issues, is not only an issue of good will, but also of the military's real needs.

"Of course it's also equal opportunities but first of all, it's the mission and it comes in order that the army will be much more effective," she told Reuters in her office in Tel Aviv.

Photo: Reuters

"We can see it in ranks that women are achieving higher positions, we can see it in opening more combat units for women and I think that as the years pass, we will see much more equal opportunities for women," she said.

According to Bachar, seven percent of the women serving in the IDFare combatants and seven percent of all combat soldiers are women.

Lotem Stapleton, a Physical Education Officer for combat soldiers, told Reuters that she feels that the army is heading towards a better future in terms of women's equal opportunities.

"We are also talking about opening more and more positions. The army is going towards something very good, in my opinion," she said during a Krav Maga training session.

Photo: Reuters

Matan Paull, a commanding officer in the battalion, said female combatants are generally more creative and mentally flexible than their male counterparts.

"It is not unusual for any of us to receive instructions from a woman or an officer and nobody feels that it is not as good as a man," he said.

Mai Ofir, another female member of the unit, said that male soldiers have sometimes "felt we were taking the reins," but that after serving three years together, they learn to appreciate their female comrades.

Photo: Reuters

"They learn our uniqueness and learn that we are as good as they are, if not better," she said.
SULEIMANIYA -- Iraq will continue hitting Islamic State targets in Syria, as well as in neighboring countries if they give their approval, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday.

"I respect the sovereignty of states, and I have secured the approval of Syria to strike positions (on its territory)," he told a conference in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya.

"I will not hesitate to strike the positions of the terrorists in the neighboring countries, we will keep on fighting them," Abadi said.
DUBAI -- Saudi security forces killed a suspected Islamic State militant when he pulled a gun on a patrol in the capital Riyadh, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

The patrol was trying to check a complaint on Tuesday evening that a resident of a flat in the capital's al-Rayyan district had joined Islamic State.

"When security men tried to arrest him, he initiated resistance and pulled a gun and it became necessary to deal with him and neutralise him, which led to his death," the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
An operation to bring down a weapon parts and combat accessories smuggling network was finished Tuesday night as the IDF, Shin Bet, Israel Police and customs stormed the last operating shop in Nablus, seizing illegally smuggled equipment and arresting the shop owner.

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The smuggling network ran by ordering the equipment online from undisclosed countries to the Ashdod port by ship, and from there, sending it by mail or some other legitimate delivery system to a recipient in either Balata or Casbah refugee camps in Nablus.

Smuggling crackdown operation (Credit: IDF) (:  ")

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The operation, which began in the summer of 2016, started after a routine check by customs of an innocent-looking package revealed it to hold weapon parts.

The packages found to be holding the smuggled equipment were usually labeled as plastic parts or cloth manufacturing, and so IDF believes that hundreds of shipments managed to successfully reach their destination before the system was revealed.

Photo: IDF

Photo: IDF

Photo: IDF

Photo: IDF

The shop owner was the ninth person to be arrested since the raids by security forces started in December as part of this months-long operation. During Tuesdays raid a wedding dress shop was also revealed to be run by the main suspects and served as part of the smuggling network.

All in all, as part of the operation security forces seized three M16s, hundreds of bullets, 25 scopes, several laser scopes for sniper rifles, one M4, about 200 small weapon parts, dozens of tactical combat vests and more.

These join the 500 weapons that IDF seized last year, the 170 weapons seized in the Gaza Strip alone in 2015, and, by careful estimations, more than 500 weapons which will be seized this year. In addition, IDF stated to have uncovered over 50 weapon manufacturing factories as part of their fight against illegal combat equipment.
Hollywood star Richard Gere is in Israel promoting his new movie Norman , by Israeli director Joseph Cedar. However, the question of how he will be received by the Israeli public is a matter of uncertainty.

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"In my past visits to Israel, I always heard all the viewpoints. Now it has become almost impossible. I know many people will not like what I have to say, but these are things that need to be said," said Gere.

Richard Gere in Israel (Photo: Avi Moalem)

"The occupation must end. The occupation is ruining everyone on both sides. A bi-national state won't solve anything, and it will only turn Israel into an apartheid state. There needs to be two states for two peoples, with Jerusalem as the capital of both nations.

In his comments, Gere also referred to the issue of settlements, saying, "Why do you need all these provocations? How is it that the settlers are running the government? And how could it be that Israel, of all nations, controls another nation? Many Israelis that I know say the state has lost its way and I think that every Israeli knows that."

During his visit to Israel, Gere is also planning on meeting members of Breaking the Silence. He knows that this will be poorly received, but he remains undeterred. "I recently spoke to someone from the organization who served in the army, a wonderful young woman with a big heart, and they're labeling her an enemy of the state. It breaks your heart."

Gere and Israeli actor Lior Ashkenazi in Norman

In Norman, Gere plays the role of Norman Oppenheimer, a Jewish bigwig who suffers humiliation after humiliation. After coming across Micah Eshel, a charismatic Israeli politician who feels his career is going nowhere, both of their lives change forever after Norman buys him a pair of shoes worth thousands of dollars. The kicker? Eshel becomes the prime minister.

"I had a lot of conversations with Joseph (the director) about politics," said Gere. "As I see it, getting a pair of shoes from someone as gift is not a big deal, but I am still confused as to how people accept everything an Israeli leader does, except when someone gives him a pair of shoes. This dissonance is hard for me to understand."

According to rumors, some parts of the movie were inspired by the relationship between former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Moshe Talansky, a relative of the film's director.

Gere admitted that he is aware that the character of Norman is very reminiscent of the shylock excuse for anti-Semitism. "I think it was more important for Joseph. What I discovered while working with Joseph and Oren is that Israeli Jews and New York Jews are two very different types of Jews. A Jew from New York has no fear. The constant fear in Israel that you're going to be destroyed does not exist in New York. On the other hand, American Jews have a tendency to defend Israeli leaders no matter what they do, because he's 'our Jew.'"

In regards to reports of increased anti-Semitism in the United States, Gere said, "I don't know if there is an increase or if it is just out in the open more. That is Trump's fault. The moment he decided to run for president, he opened Pandora's Box and gave people permission to let all their hate out. 'If the president can say anything, then so can I.' It's a wonder anti-Semites feel better now."
The Government Press Office (GPO) is in hot water for releasing a series of pictures of models in honor of International Women's Day, as opposed to pictures of female leaders, scientists, or military officers. The GPO has stressed, "There will be more photos."

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The photographs were sent by email to government offices and agencies working with the GPO under the title "With the ponytail and the pinafore, why dont we see them anymore?"

Pnina Rosenblum during her modeling career (Photo: Moshe Milner/GPO)

Nobel Laureate Prof. Ada Yonath...apparently not a more suitable candidate for the GPO (Photo: Yaron Berner)

The emails came attached with hundreds of photos of models and beauty queens that GPO photographers had documented years ago.

Among those featured in the photographs is Pnina Rosenblum, who became a successful businesswoman and MK from Likud.

Photo: GPO

Photo: GPO

Photo: GPO

Photo: GPO

"In honor of International Women's Daya little taste of the national collection of photographs that is close to the heart of every woman," read the email. This particular sentence has raised ire among women in Israel and on social media, with many labeling the email and sentences as insulting.

MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) wryly noted, "Surprisingly, the body which has captured a long line of important and significant moments in Israeli history thinks that what will interest and excite women is not equal wages or prevention of sexual harassment, but fashion."

Photo: GPO

Photo: GPO

Photo: GPO

Photo: GPO

GPO Director Nitzan Chen, responded to the comments, saying, "We raise the banner of gender equality in society. The realm of Israeli fashion was and still is a leader and trailblazer, from the establishment of the state until now, and a source of inspiration and national pride. This is the first article in a series about Israeli women making breakthroughs in different areas. Today it is fashion, tomorrow another area."
The Knesset approved the preliminary reading of two versions of the controversial bill to limit decibel levels for religious institutions, known as the Muezzin Bill, on Wednesday by a vote of 55-48.

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Ahmad Tibi tears up the bill from the podium (Credit: Knesset Channel)

In a raucous session in the Knesset plenum that descended repeatedly into a shouting match between Arab MKs and right-wing supporters of the measure, Joint List Leader Ayman Odeh was removed from the deliberations after demonstratively ripping up a copy of the bill."The muezzin Bill is nothing more than persecution of the Arab community, of Arab presence in the public sphere and against the Arabic language," Odeh said after being removed.

Odeh cited the Talmudic warning to rabbis not to issue rulings that the public will not be able to observe and said the Arab community would not observe the law if it becomes law.

Ayman Odeh tears up the bill from the floor (Credit: Knesset Channel)

"The muezzin was part of this public sphere long before the racists got here and will remain here long after they are gone. It is part of the audible tapestry of our one-and-only homeland, and it will stay that way."

The vote results (Credit: Knesset Channel)

The laxer version of the bill forbids houses of worship from calls to prayer during the evening and from using loudspeakers above an acceptable noise level during the day for that purpose. The harsher version, proposed by Yisrael Beytenu MKs Oded Forer and Robert Ilatov, completely forbids loudspeakers if its noise is considered strong and unreasonable.

One of the sponsors of the laxer version, Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi), said in his explanation of the bill, "I speak in the name of many Arab citizens who contacted me after the bill (was proposed)." Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint List) yelled angrily at the Jewish parliamentarian in response, "Liar! You're lying!"

Ahmad Tibi (Joint List) defended the muezzin's call to the plenary session, saying, "It's an important Islamic religious ceremony, and we have never here interfered in any religious ceremony that affects you in Judaism. Your actions are a racist attack. You are interfering with the delicate soul of Muslims and harming the faith of Islam." When he had completed speaking, Tibi too ripped up a copy of the bill and trod upon it.

While the bill ostensibly applies to all religions, in practice, only Muslims perform calls to prayer during the nighttime. In Orthodox Jewish towns and neighborhoods, sirens announcing the beginning of a festival or Shabbat are sounded shortly before sunset.

Moran Azulay, Andrew Friedman/TPS and Hassan Shaalan contributed to this report.
Authorities in Iran have temporarily blocked people from using the navigation app Waze because it was developed in Israel.

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In a report publicized by the Iranian news agency FARS, it was stated that a final permanent decision regarding the use of the program will be made soon. As of now, the app is unavailable for download, and the actual use of the program is being blocked by the government.

According to reports in Iran, the app was blocked for use this week by the Iranian Committee for Determining Offensive Content. Sources say that a use of an app with an Israeli background raised concerns.

(Photo: Ehud Kenan)

Waze was bought by Google back in 2013 in what was defined as the most expensive application acquisition in history. The deal was valued at $1.1 billion. It is stated by its CEO and senior Google executive Noam Bardin that the app is widely used among Iranian drivers.

Whilst Iranians have access to the internet, the country operates on a highly censored Halal Intranet, with many external websites including social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter inaccessible.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard began tracing Internet activity in the aftermath of the 2009 Green Revolution, and in 2011 police forces formed the Iranian Cyber Police, or FATA, solely to counter Internet crimes.

The committee overseeing criminal Internet activity includes from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani`s cabinet. Ironically, Rouhani, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and many other regime officials have become active on Twitter and Facebook and communicate globally through these platforms.
WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization), one of Israel's largest and oldest women's organizations, commissioned an International Women's Day poll to examine Israeli society's attitudes towards women.

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Not surprisingly, the results showed major differences in the way different groups regard women and their place and role in society.

Just over half the population (54%) believes women face discrimination in Israel. Among four groups, only a minority answered that there is gender discrimination in Israel. These are men, people who identify themselves as religious, people who have only a high-school education, and those with less than a high-school education.

Ultra-Orthodox students (File photo: Yoav Friedman)

The two main issues the poll addressed were family life, especially relating to divorce and motherhood, and women's roles in the IDF. This is not surprising, given that they are the two most controversial gender rights and role subjects in Israel.

Regarding the role of parents in raising children, 85% said that both should be equally involved. Respondents who said there is gender discrimination in Israel were more likely to support parents being involved equally in raising their kids.

Divorce law in general, and this law in particular, has been generating growing controversy. Since Israel has no civil marriage, marriage and divorce are subject to religious courts, which rule according to Jewish and Islamic, not civil law.

Female IDF soldiers (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

This puts women at a disadvantage, since religious law is inherently not gender neutral. The most conspicuous issue is agunot (chained women), the term used to describe a woman who is separated from her husband, but cannot get a divorce.

Under Jewish law, a divorce can only take place once a husband grants his wife a bill of divorce (get). If he refuses, there is no legal remedy, since rabbinical courts will not issue a get without the husband's explicit consent. This means that a man can use this as leverage to coerce financial concessions from the woman.

Custody, however, is handled by family courts according to civil law. Israel is one of the few countries still to have a law that does not recognize joint custody. Under Israeli law a child under 6 automatically goes to the mother, who has full custody.

Only in very rare cases, when the mother has been declared unfit, will the courts give custody to the father. Men who want joint custody have to wage prolonged and prohibitively expensive legal battles to get some level of custodial rights, since under the current law, joint custody is a privilege, not a right.

Seventy percent of the respondents said they were in favor of changing Israel's custody laws so both parents have the right to equally involved in raising children after a marriage's dissolution.

Female IDF soldiers (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

Regarding the role of women in the IDF, another contentious issue in Israeli society, 58% of the respondents said that they supported women serving in combat roles if they want to. 23% were opposed, and the rest had no opinion one way or another.

One of the main reasons cited by those who oppose women serving in combat units is that their presence prevents more Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) from serving in the army, especially combat units, since they refuse to serve in combat units with women, claiming it is inherently incompatible with their lifestyle.

Sixty percent of the respondents said that they opposed the demands that IDF institute gender-segregated units to accommodate the Haredim.

The IDF has been gender-integrated since its inception in 1948, reflecting a tradition and legacy going back to the pre-state undergrounds and militias such as the Hagana, the Palmach and the Irgun, which all operated and fought in gender-integrated units .

After the end of the War of Independence (1949), women were gradually removed from combat roles. Only in the 80s, when the women's liberation movement began to seriously impact Israeli society, did things begin to change, and women who wanted to serve in combat roles were able to do so. Today women serve in a broad range of combat units, including as pilots and submarine crews, both considered elite units.

Article reprinted with permission from

TPS
Its a quiet morning on a hillside in the ancient village of Ein Kerem, perfect for enjoying a breakfast of home-made goats milk cheese and freshly baked bread. This is the home of Efrat Giat, a shepherdess turned tour guide who lives in the house where her husband was born, tending to goats and their five children, not necessarily in that order.

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Giat tells the story of her husbands parents, who moved to the Yemenite Valley and Ein Kerem in 1949 during Israels war of Independence. Her in-laws lived in a small house with no electricity or running water. Since then the house has expanded. The family raised goats and chickens and Giat wants to keep the tradition alive, even if its not for monetary gain.

Its not a business, its just for us, Giat said while cradling a two-week old baby goat in her arms. While raising goats is not for money, Giats tourism business is, and its booming. The Ministry of Tourism approached her five years ago to join a project titled the Women and Tales in Jerusalem.

Efrat Giat holding a baby goat in the backyard of her home in Ein Kerem (Photo: Madison Dudley/The Media Line

The project started out with 28 women. Today, there are close to 60 women participating, in Jewish Orthodox neighborhoods and Arab neighborhoods around Jerusalem. The goal is to help women start a small tourism business in their homes while offering tourists a unique Jerusalem experience by showcasing their day-to-day life and culture.

Each womans home offers a different experience; from learning how to make traditional Kurdish food with Dalia Harfoof, to singing Jewish lullabies in the oldest house in Ein Kerem with Shoshana Karbasi, to making traditional baskets and weavings with Hadar Klideman.

Sitting on wooden benches in a Byzantine-era home, Klideman passes around some hand-made crafts produced in her shop, everything from naturally dyed wool clothing for babies to traditional French embroidery.

Here we try to combine the old world with the new world we are in, Klideman said.

She comes from a family of artists and married an artist. It was only logical for her to continue on the path of creation and open her own shop so women can be together and make things together.

We need to collect knowledge from the world, Klideman told The Media Line, It will take time.

Many participants in the program, like Klideman, have centered their experiences around women.

The projects in these neighborhoods offer tourists a chance to see a part of Jerusalem that is harder to access.

A year and a half ago, Naomi Miller began to open her home to tour groups in a joint effort with the Jerusalem Heritage Experience. Miller did not want to run a business by herself, so she teamed up with other women in her neighborhood through the local community center in the Bukharan quarter of Jerusalem.

At 46, Miller has 12 children and 13 grandchildren, with three more on the way. She still makes time to host a group at least once a month. For $32 per person, Miller will cook a three-course meal, complete with traditional Jewish dishes and dessert.

People want to come to a community and meet with local people, said Orly Ben Aharon, the Advisor to Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat on the Advancement of Women. This project is very unique.

Aharon said that Barkat wants to increase the number of tourists to the city, and Aharon, along with the Senior Director of Policy and Planning Strategy for the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Mina Ganem, saw an opportunity to exhibit the best Jerusalem has to offer through the diversity of its women.

The Jerusalem Municipality and Ministry of Tourism said they would pitch in by supplying workshops to help get these small businesses started, advertise the tours on their website and help organize meetings between the women two to three times a year.

It was a win-win-win situation, Ganem said. When the project was first announced organizers expected about 20 women to show up to the informational meeting. But 200 women came and the initial meeting was extended to two days.

Aharon said it wasnt hard to get women interested in the program because they understand that they can earn money.

Most of the women have never worked before or are retired, Aharon said, But they still want to work.

Depending on how much a woman in the program works, she could make between $1,000 to over $2,000 a month, about the minimum wage for a full-time job in Israel.

One of the main points of the project is to empower women around Jerusalem. Mayoral advisor Aharon said there is no competition or animosity between those who participate in the project. They are doing it together, it creates a stronger community, she told The Media Line.

Samira Aliyan, an Arab Muslim woman living in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa, is one of nine Arab women who are participating.

Aliyan and her husband moved to Beit Safafa when she was 17. Their home, now several stories high, was originally just one room with an external commode and kitchen and no running water or electricity. The house grew in size to accommodate their growing family, and Aliyans style grew with it, turning a single stone room into an ornate home. It is decorated with leather couches, Arab art and extravagant vases and table settings; perfect for wining and dining a visiting group of travelers.

As guests eat home-made baklava and sip freshly brewed coffee from tiny serving mugs, Aliyan talks of falling in love with her husband and moving to Jerusalem. Unlike many women who start the program, Aliyan didnt attend a course in hospitality. Her husband worked as a head waiter in hotels around Jerusalem and helped Aliyan learn everything she needed to know.
Women serving in the IDF's Air Defense Command are expected to rise in ranks at a rapid pace, as their enlistment numbers to combat units are steadily increasing.

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Speaking in a conversation with Ynet, Commander of Aerial Defense Brigadier General Zvika Haimovich said that "today, one third of the combatants in the Air Defense Command are women, and there is no reason that it won't increase in the future."

As of today, 15 female officers serving in the Air Defense Command hold core positions in the force. According to Brig. Gen. Haimovich's estimation, at least one of them could be promoted to Battalion Deputy Commander within the next two years, and then to Battalion Commander.

Female Air Defense Command soldier (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Aerial Defense Commander Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovich (R) (Photo: Avi Moalem)

The conversation with Brig. Gen. Haimovich was held before Rabbi Levinstein's disparaging remarks on women in the IDF.

However, news of Levinsteins remarks did not stop dozens of women enlisting at the IDF's induction center on Wednesday to be recruited for Air Defense Command units such as Iron Dome and Davids Sling (formerly known as Magic Wand), which became operational just a few weeks ago.

The units, designed to defend both army and civilian populations from rockets and artillery attacks, gained even more importance in recent weeks, as incidents of rockets fired from Gaza saw a worrying increase.





Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

About a month ago, Iron Dome was activated after two years of relative quiet since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

In February, a combatant and a young second lieutenant, who were on duty during a usual quiet evening shift, identified at 22:55 a barrage of four Grad missiles launched 40 kilometers away in the Sinai Peninsula.

The two made the decision to fire interceptor rockets towards three of the missiles, before they could crash on hotels and residential houses in Eilat.

"Only the fourth missile fell in an open, uninhabited field, so if it wasnt for those two soldiers, you would see about 40 thousand tourist and residents fleeing the city the next day," Haimovich said.
Britain's foreign minister said on Wednesday that his country remains "absolutely" committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that obstacles to a deal, including accelerated Israeli settlement building, must be removed.

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Boris Johnson said he believes it's still possible to set up a state of Palestine alongside Israel and that the leadership change in Washington might offer an opportunity.

Boris Johnson with President Rivlin

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"There is a willingness to look at things with fresh eyes," Johnson said after meeting with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki in the city of Ramallah, the base of the Palestinian Authority.

Standing next to Malki on a podium, near a "State of Palestine" seal, Johnson said that "the policy of our government in the UK is absolutely unchanged, we remain committed to a two-state solution, to that vision for the resolution of this conflict."

"I really think it is possible," Johnson said. "We must not abandon that prospect."

Johnson cited challenges to achieving peace, including what he described as "the accelerated pace of settlement building, the accelerated pace of demolitions."

"Those are also the barriers in the path of a two-state solution, and we have to work to remove those barriers," he said.

Speaking to Ynet, Johnson expressed his countrys concern over the Regulation Law. However, he also said that he had received a promise from legal officials in Israel that the law will not be implemented.

The laws very existence, he said, was cause for concern. We are extremely concerned about the expansion of settlement building.

Boris Johnson (Photo: EPA)

Johnson also emphasized that Britain would not be re-airing President Donald Trumps recent signals in a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu that he was interested in exploring the possibility of one state or two states, depending on what the sides could agree on.

He implored Israel to remain committed to achieving two states, warning that anything else would result consequences that would be detrimental for both sides.

Nevertheless, Johnson stressed that "Israel has, first and foremost, an absolute right to live in security and the people of Israel deserve to be safe from terrorism. Thats our absolute priority and we work with you, as you know, in all kinds of ways to ensure the stability of the entire region"

Johnson met with Netanyahu later on Wednesday, after holding talks with Abbas.

He insisted his government is one of the "firm, strong supporters, rock-like supporters of Israel."

"I should remind you that the policy of our government is for a two-state solution ... Israel has first and foremost and absolute right to live in security and the people of Israel deserve to be safe from terrorism and that's our absolute priority," Johnson said. "We must also try to remove obstacles to peace and progress such as the settlements."

Netanyahu reiterated his position on the conflict.

"I had a wonderful meeting in London, a good meeting with Prime Minister May and with you. I look forward to coming to London for the hundredth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, and also to celebrate the great partnership between us," Netanyahu began.

"We are enhancing our cooperation in economics, in technology, in security, in cooperation in the field of cyber, in many, many other areas. And we also seek a world thats secure and peaceful, and I look forward to discussing both of these things with you."

The prime minister went on to say that "the reason we haven't had peace here for a hundred years is not the settlements but the persistent refusal to recognize a nation state for the Jewish people in any boundary. I think if you want to solve the problem you go to the core of the problem."

In an unusual move, Johnson also toured parts of the West Bank with Israel's anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now.

"We briefed him about the situation and the importance of keeping two-state solution alive," Hagit Ofran of Peace Now said.

In November 2015, while mayor of London, Johnson had led a trade mission to the region, but the West Bank segment unraveled after he criticized a Palestinian-led movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Two of his meetings, with Palestinian youth and female business leaders, were called off at the time in protest over what was perceived as a pro-Israel stance.
Following the wave of anti-Semitic incidents in the US over the past few months, the Israeli government is mulling over possibilities on how to assist the Jewish communities.

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The US Jewish community leaders are very concerned about the rise in anti-Semitism and disappointed that Israel has failed to express enough understanding, sympathy and support of their situation, said Michael Oren, a Deputy Minister in the prime ministers office.

"Jews in the US are now between a rock and a hard place, between left-wing anti-Semitism and right-wing anti-Semitism," he said.

Brooklyn Jewish cemetery (Photo: AFP)

According to Oren, during President Barack Obamas term, there was anti-Semitism in the US but mainly from the Left and from BDS, who are gradually making their presence increasingly conspicuous on university campuses.

Now, the new pattern of anti-Semitism is coming from the right, which includes desecration of cemeteries, threatening calls to Jewish centers, drawing of swastikas and other affronts to Jews.

"Israel needs to find ways to help," Oren urged. To date, we have dedicated resources to combat BDS but now we have to help the Jewish communities in dealing with anti-Semitic attacks from the right. Overall, I am very pleased with what President Donald Trump has done in response to the wave of anti-Semitism, and his efforts to thwart it. The directive issued by the government to fight anti-Semitism is unequivocal."

Michael Oren

Oren is mainly referring to the efforts undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to deal with the wave of anti-Semitism. Last Friday, for example, the head of the FBI James Comey met with Jewish community leaders, who expressed their concern over the inreased manifestations of anti-Jewish sentiment.

Comey promised, in the unprecedented meeting, that the organization will do everything in its power and devote its full resources to combat the phenomenon.

Oren revealed that the Israeli government is also examining ways to help the Jewish community in the United States deal with the rising tide following a direct appeal from the community.

"In the past few days, I spoke with community leaders, and they have expressed their desire to strengthen cooperation with Israel with regard to securing community institutions and defending them against cyber attacks.

Rochester Jewish cemetery

"The State of Israel has extensive experience and possesses extensive skills in these areas, and it is only right to make them available to the Jewish communities around the world that are in need of them, said Oren referring to the numerous bomb threats aimed at Jewish community centers in the last few months.

So far, over 120 such threats were received with one common denominator: with the exception of one person arrested, US authorities are finding it difficult to locate those responsible since they are apparently using advanced technology preventing their identification. Therefore, cyber capabilities are required.

According to Oren, Israel is examining several courses of action, including holding a high-level meeting between Israeli security experts and those responsible for the security of Jewish communities in the United States.

The delegation's visit will be coordinated with US authorities, including the FBI and Homeland Security. The Israeli government is also considering sending a delegation of former senior Israeli defense officials to confer with US Jewish community officials, or holding work meetings in Israel between security officials from Jewish communities in the United States who deal with acts of anti-Semitism, and Israeli experts.

Moreover, options include sending a delegation of veteran elite IDF soldiers to help with the use of new technologies and cyber attacks against Jewish targets and strengthening the physical security of Jewish facilities and institutions. In order to receive the necessary approvals, the delegation will work alongside the US State Department.

"If we decide to send delegations to the US, it will of course be in full coordination with the government," said Oren. "We are considering several options. The Jewish leaders certainly wanted the Israeli government to help them, especially in the field of cyber security."
Arnon Milchan, the billionaire who was questioned for the second time in a week this week in connection with a case alleging he provided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu illicit gifts worth thousands of Shekels, reportedly made significant changes to his first testimony, according to Israeli media reports on Wednesday evening.

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According to Channel 2, the tycoon, who is suspected of having provided the Netanyahu family with, inter alia, champagne, cigars and jewelry, withdrew significant parts of his testimony.

Arnon Milchan and PM Netanyahu (Photo: EPA, Reuters)

When he was in Israel for Shimon Peres' funeral, Milchan testified for the first time that he gave the Netanyahu's cigars and champagne for years. In recent weeks however, police have sought to further depose Milchan in the US and Australian businessman James Packer

Packer is also suspected of giving illicit benefits to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family.

He (Milchan) softened his previous stance, particularly on two points: Overall, the total that he gave to the Netanyahu family and his and the awareness of (Benjamin) Netanyahu himself of what he gave.

According to the report, in the Justice Ministry a change like this is described as a puncture, a fault, meaning that the testimony provided by James Packer will prove to be of paramount importance in establishing the facts.

It is for this reason, the report claimed, that investigators determined that questioning Packer was a key component in the case.

Channel 10 also claimed that Milchan had dropped a gear in his testimony. However, shortly after the report was broadcast, Milchans spokesman issued a statement denying any such withdrawal.

Following the reports, we would like to clarify that we are unaware of who the associates of Mr. Milchan are that are being quoted, and we are unaware of any significant change in the testimony of Mr, Milchan.
The F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft takes center stage during Pacific Air Forces inaugural F-35 Symposium next week. The two-day conference marks the largest gathering of F-35 experts to include senior officers and warfighters from Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea as well as the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force.

Japan, Australia and Republic of Korea are among the 11 international countries in the F-35 program and represent the future of fifth-generation aviation in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. International attendees will participate in a series of open discussions and briefings with the objective of enhancing F-35 operations in the Pacific, sharing fifth generation lessons learned, and building a foundation for future F-35 bilateral and multilateral engagements. Topics will include bed down, integration, logistics, sustainment and combat operations.

This symposium marks an exciting new chapter in Pacific combat capability. Together, our joint and international partners have introduced the most capable combat aircraft in the world to the Pacific, said Brig. Gen. Craig Wills, PACAFs Strategy, Plans and Programs director.

The F-35 is a next-generation multi-role fighter that combines advanced stealth with speed, agility and the capability to rapidly fuse information regionally across multiple domains. The Lightning II is the backbone for future combat operations. This symposium provides an ideal venue to enhance interoperability and cooperation amongst the F-35 community.

U.S. F-35s have reached Initial Operational Capability with Marines and Airmen both flying operational and combat ready aircraft. In addition to the F-35As with the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, ten F-35Bs from the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz., are deployed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, with six more scheduled to arrive later this year.

Japan started its pilot training program in late 2016, the Republic of Korea is scheduled to receive its first aircraft in 2018 and Australia has been training pilots in two Royal Australian Air Force F-35s in Arizona since late 2014.

Together with our Pacific allies and partners were sending a clear message to our neighbors and friends in the region. We will continue to invest in the combat capability required to assure our ability to defend freedom and uphold the rules-based international order, Wills said.

The Australian F-35 made its first appearance in Australia at the 2017 Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition at Avalon Airport, Victoria, Australia. While travelling to Victoria, the aircraft stopped at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, symbolically emphasizing the importance of the global partnerships and opportunities the F-35 will offer in the coming decades.
As a state senator, I am often faced with interesting and complex issues that I hadnt spent much time thinking about prior to being asked to look at these policy issues while serving in office.

One of those issues we have heard a lot about in recent years is the issue of medical marijuana. As the country grapples with the legalization of this substance that has been around for years, in Nebraska we are looking at two pieces of legislation that deal with the topic. These two bills are Senator Wisharts LB 622, which would allow the legalization of medical marijuana in Nebraska, and Senator Ebkes LB 167, which reschedules cannabidiol in a drug product approved by the FDA into Schedule V of the Nebraska Controlled Substances Act.

Under Senator Ebkes legislation, upon FDA approval, rescheduling by the DEA will take place and take care of federal law, but Epidiolex (a drug currently in Phase 3 of FDA testing)

would be rescheduled in each state, including Nebraska. This bill allows the legislature to proactively reschedule cannbidiol in an FDA approved product, ensuring Epidiolex will be available to patients in Nebraska as soon as federal approval and rescheduling is complete. I was glad to see Ebke introduce this legislation, as I believe its a way for people to access the drug, getting the help they need while going through proper and regulated channels. I believe it is an appropriate way for Nebraska to handle this issue through a common sense approach.

While LB 622 was brought with similar intentions of allowing Nebraska citizens who need this drug for appropriate treatment an avenue to access it, I feel the legislation is too broad. Additionally, I have concerns about the creation of the new program to administer the drug, which I fear could cost additional money that the state does not have at this time. I very much empathize with citizens who suffer from medical conditions that respond positively to cannabidiol, but believe we need to make sure we are putting the proper regulations in place when they access this substance. I believe LB 167 works within the current framework while allowing those suffering from certain medical conditions that ability to access the substance they need. I am hopeful the process will move forward quickly so those who need this substance have the ability to access it legally in Nebraska in the near future.

Another piece of legislation I support is LB 645 introduced by Senator Pansing-Brooks, which would add a definition of dyslexia to Nebraska statute, designating it as a specific learning disability. While this law may seem simple in nature, I believe it is important, as once dyslexia is identified as a specific learning disability, children with this disability will able to access the resources available through school based learning disability programs in Nebraska.

Finally, one of the more interesting pieces of legislation I learned about this year, and one I will be supporting, is LB 506, brought by Senator Albrecht. Under this legislation, a physician who diagnoses an unborn child as having a lethal fetal anomaly would provide the family with information provided by the Department of Health and Human Services pertaining to perinatal hospice care, including access to a list of perinatal hospice programs available in Nebraska and nationally. It is my hope that these resources would provide an avenue for families facing this challenging process to gain support from professionals as they go through their experience. Over the years I have known many families who have faced sad news about their children prior to them being brought into the world. Whether grieving a childs death while the child is in the womb or in the world, these resources should be made available to families and I am very supportive of this occurring.

As always, if we can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My door is open and I have made it a goal to be accessible to the constituents of our district. Please stop by any time. My e-mail address is mkolterman@leg.ne.gov, and the office phone number is 402-471-2756. David and Katie are always available to assist you with your needs. If I am not immediately available, please do not hesitate to work with them to address any issues that you may need assistance. Please continue to follow me on Facebook at Kolterman for Legislature and on Twitter at @KoltermanforLegislature.
A common thread that unites all Nebraskans is the desire to make sure all children in the state are equipped to succeed academically and prepared to pursue their dreams.

Lawmakers in the Nebraska legislature are considering two proven tools that can help students, parents and teachers achieve that path to success: A-F school grading and an emphasis on early literacy.

Based on how students are learning and progressing, an A-F grade for each school is a powerful instrument for increasing academic achievement. Just as parents and students understand the A-F grading system on a report card, this clear measurement provides a quick snapshot of a schools success in educating children.

When parents are empowered with this information, they are better equipped to ask the right questions of educators and administrators. When lawmakers have this information, they can evaluate how well funding is being used at the school and district level. In turn, those discussions can lead to data-based investments of resources that target student achievement. For example, school grades can help determine if new programs and supports in struggling schools are having an impact by helping students learn more.

Across the country, 17 states have adopted A-F school grading. In Arizona, Florida, Utah, Mississippi, New Mexico, Louisiana, Indiana and Oklahoma, states where A-F school grading has been in place long enough to track long-term results, students have made larger gains in reading and math than the national average.

Just as accurate grades can help schools, reading assessments and targeted instruction of all young students can literally change lives.

For many years around the country, children were passed from grade to grade before they were prepared for the next level. Many were ultimately doomed to failure because they lacked the basic skills needed to succeed in the classroom and in life.

Studies have made it clear: Being able to read by the end of third grade can make an incredible difference. Not being able to read by the end of third grade has lasting negative effects on both students and society. Nearly 90 percent of students who fail to earn a high school diploma were struggling readers in third grade. And high school dropouts make up 90 percent of Americans on welfare and 75 percent of citizens receiving food stamps.

Improvements in third grade reading can be met through strategies such as improved teacher training and certification, kindergarten literacy screening, reading intervention in grades K-3, and, as a last resort, retention with more intensive intervention.

In Florida - one of the first states to establish laws and guidelines to ensure all students can read on grade level by the end of third grade - students have improved at a rate double the national average for reading. Twelve other states have followed Floridas lead, adopting variations of comprehensive K-3 reading policy.

With these two policies in place, Nebraska families and students will gain the framework and accountability to increase student success. For more information on these and other education policies, go to www.excelined.org.

J. Alex Kelly serves as the Vice President of Advocacy for the Foundation for Excellence in Education.
The University of Wyoming lists 46 students from Nebraska on the 2016 fall semester academic Deans and Deans Freshman Honor Rolls.

The honor rolls consist of regularly enrolled undergraduates above freshman standing who earned a 3.4 or better grade-point average, and freshmen who have earned a 3.25 or better grade-point average.

To be eligible, students must have been enrolled for a minimum of 12 credit hours taken for letter grades.

York area students honored include: Wyatt Steven Schiermeyer of Geneva; Rachel F. Wieseman of Osceola; Kylie Lamoree of Stromsburg and Brody Gene Garner of York.
The woman was eating lunch at the Costco at around 12:30 p.m. Thursday when she finished her meal and left the store  leaving her wallet behind, she told police.
A 10,000 hour love affair

Love has a funny way of creeping up on a person. Just ask Lt. Col. Steven R. Smith, 93rd Bomb Squadron flight instructor. Yesterday, Smith exceeded the 10,000 hour mark in the B-52 Stratofortress, a jet he now loves.



Smiths deep affection for the bomber has led him to a long and successful career in the Air Force. But three decades ago, upon receiving his assignment to the jet, his first reactions were disappointment and anger.



I was in the top 10 percent of my class in navigator school and the B-52 was not even on my wish list, so I was really upset, said Smith. I remember my advisor trying to tell me I was going to love it, but I didnt believe him.



He is a believer now. The milestone gives him more hours in the aircraft than any pilot currently serving in the Air Force, according to officials at Boeing. For Smith, however, 10,000 flight hours is just another number.



It does not mean Im smarter or better than anyone else here, there are lots of people in this unit smarter than I am, he said. It just means I love the B-52. It has been the center point of my whole career.





Smith never planned on having so many flight hours in the B-52. When he arrived at his first duty station, rumors circulating throughout the bomber community sounded like his time in the aircraft would be short.



There was talk about a new bomber coming into the inventory soon, so I thought I would just stick it out until they replaced it, he said.



The change never happened, but a change in perspective certainly did. In spite of his initial dislike of it, Smith found himself growing fonder of the B-52 with each passing year.



I was on active duty for seven years so I flew quite a bit and it was something I just found myself enjoying, he said.



After separating from active duty, Smith joined the Air Force Reserve and was assigned to the 93rd BS. At that time, the squadron had a combat mission and a high operations tempo. Smiths fondness for the jet propelled him to attend every mission briefing he could.



I figured each time I went to a briefing, there would be a 25 percent chance Id get on the jet, he said. Turns out, I got on almost every time.



With each flight hour, Smiths love of the B-52 grew and he gained a reputation for excellence and ability.



He is the B-52 warrior of warriors, said Col. James Morriss, III, 307th Bomb Wing vice commander. When he is part of the flight crew, you know there is nothing to worry about on that mission.



After the 93rd BS was designated as a flight training unit, Smith was tapped to be an instructor. Soon, all his experience began to have an impact on the larger Air Force community.



His training and mentorship are directly responsible for preparing two generations of B-52 pilots, said Morriss. People all around the world owe their capabilities to him.



Col. Rob Burgess, 307th Operations Group commander, agreed with Morriss assessment.



His experience and credibility are priceless for the students, he said. At 2000 hours, a pilot really has their respect, but at 10,000 hours you are a B-52 legend.



Smith said he never intended to be an instructor, but is grateful for the duty.



It has been extremely rewarding, watching the students learn the jet and it has been a great privilege to see them perform so well in combat, he said.



Smiths contributions extend beyond the schoolhouse. He has flown in multiple combat missions, including some while still serving as an instructor. Hes also helped to develop the targeting pod which allows for greater target accuracy.



All of Smiths efforts have been to improve things for others, said Burgess.



He is a real team player, he said. It was never about him, always about the students, the jet and the Air Force.



As for the future, Smith said it is getting more difficult to keep up his current pace, but he still wants to try.



Ive got another two years to go and Ill probably ask for an extension, he said. Id like to fly another 1,000 hours.




More than 250 military medics from 12 units across the country converged at the 920th Rescue Wing for a joint medical exercise Feb. 27 through March 5 to hone their capabilities for real-world wartime emergencies.

The 920th Aeromedical Staging Squadron hosted the 5th Annual MEDBEACH, a joint service exercise, to prepare military medical personnel for deployments by offering realistic hands-on scenarios that could be encountered during combat. The exercise also provided 920th Rescue Wing reservists an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with their active duty Air Force, Air and Army National Guard and civilian counterparts.

This exercise reinforces the total-force concept between services and within our own unit, said Maj. Stephen Grant, 920th RQW ASTS training coordinator and Jacksonville, Florida, native. We try to mimic the most realistic situations possible during the exercise so our troops can walk into a deployment confident in their own skills, and the skills of those deployed with them.

MEDBEACH 2017 is designed not only to provide realistic training, but to do it on a budget that saves taxpayers up to $2 million by having military train military. Cost-saving comes naturally to this exercise because one weekend of intense training fulfills several annual training requirements which normally require Airmen to travel to different locations at different times throughout the year. This years participants will receive up to 60 hours of combat readiness medical evacuation credit and full-scale exercise credit.Medics from the 45th Space Wing also participated in the simulated war-time training.We dont have medical deployments here; we run a clinic, said Col. Julie Stola, 45th Medical Group commander. From the active duty perspective, the reservists do their jobs all the time. This is why we rely on the total-force adage.Grant echoed the importance of the total force concept of the different components working together.The working relationship among the 45th SW and 920th RQW is imperative, so its a no-brainer that we should also train together, said Grant.The work-together, train-together sentiment was the thread that wound its way through the entire exercise.An Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and an Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter transported battlefield-injured service members.Utilized in this year's exercise, was a state-of-the-art machine called the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation machine, more commonly referred to as ECMO, and with it came a specialized team from the San Antonio Military Medical Center in Texas.This machine is amazing, said Grant. It takes a patient that would otherwise die from significant trauma to the lungs due to a blast, infections, etc., and allows the lungs to rest by circulating blood through an artificial lung and back into the bloodstream.Its a cradle-to-grave technology because the machine can save a life at any age, said Grant.The MEDBEACH coordinator noted that the exercises hands-on nature is what makes it so valuable.These exercises require out-of-box thinking and the ability to work under pressure, said Grant, just as they would face downrange.The steps taken during wartime injuries are clear, but not always concise. From the time of injury, its a rush to get that patient off the battlefield and to the care they desperately need.The minute a service member is injured, first-aid is administered on site, while a call for help is dispatched to the nearest rescue facility. Then, a recovery unit is sent to pick up the patient  usually a rescue helicopter  and take them to the closest combat hospital where they are handed to medics to determine their needs. Depending on that outcome, they are treated and either sent back to the United States for continuing care, or back to duty.Combat survival rate is more than 90 percent due to an efficient patient movement system, Grant said. But due to fiscal constraints and limited manpower, it can be a challenge to keep medical Airmen trained on the latest and greatest.We have a lot of corporate knowledge here, and a lot of Airmen who have never deployed, said Lt. Col. Corey Anderson, 920th ASTS commander. These are the most realistic scenarios most of them will see before an actual deployment.Im impressed at how well we make realistic training for our members here, Anderson continued. Its exciting to be able to provide these realistic training opportunities to our Airmen.
Of particular concern to landlords are the proposed changes that benefit tenants to the detriment of property-owning landlords.

Leases of up to five years or longer

Announced on 2 March by the Andrews Labor government, a new long-term standard tenancy agreement will be developed for leases. The Government will  amend the Residential Tenancies Act to ensure it covers leases for longer than 5 years, said the official statement on Premier Andrews website.

The Andrews Labor government said the changes would mean greater security for both tenants and landlords, ensuring greater stability for renting families and a more reliable source of income for property owners.

Raising a family is stressful enough without worrying about whether you need to move every 12 months. Long-term leases will end that uncertainty, said Andrews. There are 884,000 Victorians who rent, or own a rental property. This change will give renters the chance to put down roots.

Some landlords do not welcome the amendment, as they may have other plans for their properties that do not involve long-term tenants.

Evictions need to go through VCAT

Another proposed change could see landlords unable to remove tenants from the property without first submitting their concerns to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Under the current law, if tenants do not pay the rent, landlords can issue a notice to vacate. If the new amendments are enforced, landlords would first have to apply to the VCAT for a Termination Order, which would cost them both time and money.

Reforms should protect all parties

While organisations like Viclandlords.org say they are fully supportive of changes that ensure tenants get a fair deal and are protected against dodgy landlords, protections that safeguard landlords also need to be enforced as over 75% of them are just ordinary Aussies who purchase a minimum of one property to provide additional income for their retirement.

Related stories:

How To Get Rid Of Bad Tenants

How To Deal With Emergency Repairs
Dobra, k. Szczecina 900 m2

40 miejsc parkingowych



Atut: Dodatkowe dochody z paczkomatow InPostu, a juz niedugo i z myjni samoobsugowej.



Tradycyjny zakup nieruchomosci, mozliwosc wykupienia uzytkowania wieczystego.
Imphal: A polling official, wounded in a bomb blast near the India-Myarnmar border in Manipur's Kamjong district, died on Wednesday.

K. Raikalung, a teacher, was injured in Tuesday's bomb explosion near Ashang Khullen village. The government has given an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the bereaved family.

A 31 Assam Rifles' trooper was wounded when a bomb was hurled by miscreants on Tuesday evening in Aishi village of the same district.

The injured trooper was part of a road-opening party. He is now admitted at the Army Hospital in Leimakhong here.

No underground outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The police said security personnel retaliated after both the incidents, but the unidentified militants escaped in the high mountains.

Highly-placed sources said the objective of the blasts was to kill security personnel and snatch their weapons.
New Delhi: Manipur today witnessed a record turnout of 86 per cent in the second and last phase of polling in 22 Assembly constituencies, the highest since 2009 general elections.

The polling went off peacefully "barring a couple of stray incidents", Election Commission Director General Sudeep Jain told reporters here.

Jain said the polling percentage could go up as the figures were available for 75 per cent of the total 1,151 polling stations covering 10 districts of the northeastern state.

The number of people who turned up to vote in the remaining 25 per cent polling stations will be known later as these are located in far-flung areas where no means of communication is available, he added.

The official said that the first phase polling, held on March 4 in 38 seats, recorded 86 per cent turnout.

"The percentage of males who voted today was 84 per cent. Female voter turnout was 89 per cent. There was no boycott of polling reported," Jain said.

The state had recorded overall 79.80 per cent turnout in 2012.

The official said that 16 electronic voting machines and 5 voter verifiable paper audit trail systems had to be replaced during the second phase polling, for which 5,800 polling personnel and 8,600 security men were deployed.

The counting of votes in Manipur will be taken up on March 11, along with four other states -- Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly polls were held.

The election authorities seized Rs 35.40 lakh cash, liquor worth Rs 22.85 lakh and 252 kg of drugs worth Rs 2.46 crore from people trying to influence voters during the last phase.

In the previous phase, Rs 1.93 crore in cash, liquor worth Rs 77.38 lakh and 109 kg of drugs worth Rs 76.02 lakh were seized.

Jain said the 53.6 percent of licensed guns were deposited with the authorities as part of preventive action.

Meanwhile, he said that Rs 20 lakh ex-gratia have been granted to the kin of a booth-level officer who died in a bomb explosion while on poll duty yesterday in Aishi village of Ukhrul district.
Theres a new accelerator in town and agribusiness giants John Deere and DuPont Pioneer have invested in it. The Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Cultivation Corridor have launched the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator to promote agriculture innovation in the state.

The initiative comes shortly after Deere & Co opened a technology office at Iowa State Universitys Research Park to leverage the work of students and its research.

Also investing in the program are Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company, Kent Corporation, Sukup Manufacturing, and Peoples Company. Each investor has committed $100k each for the first year.

With a total of $134 billion invested in ag infrastructure, Iowa companies and research institutions have the ability to push the limits of modern farming by developing and deploying a new generation of cutting-edge agtech products and services, said Tej Dhawan, interim director for the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator.

The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator has multiple goals, including to focus on bringing the strongest ag startups to central Iowa; to create meaningful and positive contributions to Iowas agtech startup environment; encourage students of all ages to consider investing in agtech as a future career, business and economic pathway to success; and to offer a meaningful pipeline of sales, marketing, acquisition, innovation and support through the ecosystem  from startups to Fortune 100.

Just like our partnership and participation in a Midwest-wide angel investor syndicate, we plan to leverage the diverse skills and portfolios across accelerators to advance the startups, he said. Ultimately, the accelerator is in business to accelerate startups and feed innovation.

Mentorship is a big part of the program and the seven ag investors will not only serve as investors in the 100-day program but as mentors to the startups. We are excited to work with talented individuals of varying backgrounds and approaches to foster new ideas and technologies that will benefit growers, and we will be in a preferred position to potentially invest further in the developments of the selected entrepreneurs, Judd OConnor, vice president of DuPont Pioneer told AgFunderNews.

There will be other mentor groups too including the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the Iowa Soybean Association, and the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

Mentorship is widely known to be the greatest catalyst for startups to grow, accelerate and succeed, and we intend to keep developing the mentor pool to be diverse, broad, connected and continuous, said Dhawan.

The genesis of the accelerator came from continued discussions with startups seeking mentoring, financing, growth catalysts and industry partners and the accelerator will aim to address these needs first and foremost, according to Dhawan. Dhawan is a local entrepreneur and also ran the Global Insurance Accelerator on an interim basis.

The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator is designed to build upon one of the states key industries of agriculture and the entrepreneurial activity that can advance technology in the industry, he said. We continually encounter innovations in agtech, and this is an evolutionary step toward fostering such entrepreneurship and continuing to establish Central Iowa as one of the top regions in the nation for startups.

That philosophy was very appealing to DuPont Pioneer, which has been exploring new ways to invest in ag innovation.

DuPont Pioneer strives to be on the cutting edge of farmer needs, anticipating challenges with innovative, sustainable solutions, said OConnor. More recently weve also been executing new investment and technology agreements that consider new creative business models. The investment in the AgriTech Accelerator fits well in our strategy.

Each investor holds an equal seat at the table with a $100k per year investment, which will be utilized to fund the startups and operate the accelerator.

The accelerator aims to bring on six startup teams to the 2017 cohort. Each will receive $40k in seed funding in return for a 6% equity stake.

The first cohort will begin on July 10 and conclude on October 20, graduating at the 2017 World Food Prize in Downtown Des Moines. Each team that completes the requirements of the program will have an opportunity to pitch at this event.

As this is a mentorship-driven program focused on growth within each of the cohort companies, the concept of winning and losing is not an intent of the program, said Dhawan.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. Davit Pakhchanyan, chairman of the Armenian defense ministrys state military-industrial committee, and Russias deputy director of the federal service of military-technical cooperation Vladimir Drozhov  Co-Chairs of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission of military-technical cooperation, held a meeting on March 6 in Armenias Defense Ministry.

Issues related to the work of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation were discussed at the meeting.

The sides also discussed ongoing issues and prospects of the bilateral military-technical cooperation, agreements in the defense field, and were pleased to note the process of implementation.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan concluded the first day of his official visit to France with the meeting with the representatives of the Armenian communities of Europe, the Presidents Office told ARMENPRESS.

The President of Armenia made a welcoming statement in which he referred to the accomplishments made by the Republic of Armenia in 25 years after regaining independence, existing problems and challenges, a daily work aimed at Armenias and Artsakhs security, the NK peace process, ongoing programs to assist Syrian Armenians, main directions of the current phase of the Armenia-Spyurk cooperation and urged to unite even more and channel efforts towards the implementation of the Pan-Armenian issues, including the creation of a freer, more fair, more secure and more advanced Armenia.

Today, the Armenia-Spyurk relations need to concentrate on the ideas and principles which unite the nation, endowing the cooperation with a new quality and substance. Our goal is clear: to build an efficient and prosperous Armenia. Only efficient and prosperous Armenia will be able to defend herself and to safeguard her brothers and sisters in Spyurk. We do not underestimate the huge works carried out until today and various programs called to life. Moreover, we address our sincere words of gratitude to our brothers and sisters who made them possible. We invite our compatriots to become immediate participants to the development of the policies for the advancement in different areas and works aimed at calling them to life.



We propose to discuss new mechanisms of cooperation. Not a single serious initiative will remain unattended. Transparent work, elimination of artificial hurdles is a matter of principle; responsibility should be shared by all parties involved.

Dear Friends,

We must try to utilize efficiently the expert potential of the Spyurk, including the capabilities of the young and professional circles, their skills, and innovative talent. Regardless of where they live, Armenians have always stood out for their diligence and talent. Our nation gave world-famous scientists, artists, physicians, inventors, and entrepreneurs. This is our greatest achievement  our immense human capital.

You, our compatriots in Spyurk, made the Armenians recognizable all over the world. The time has come to make Armenia recognizable all over the world. It is necessary to work towards making Armenia a more reputable and respected country and state.

Others may have oil, gas, and exit to the sea; you, dear compatriots, are our sea our exit to the external world. If used properly, this huge potential will allow to achieve desirable results. Empower our common Fatherland. The Spyurk is dependable and the most efficient bridge for Armenias integration into the world economy.



Historic injustice made the world home to many Armenians but Armenia has been and remains the hearth and native sanctuary for the Armenians of Spyurk. The Syrian tragedy and the situation with the Syrian Armenians in particular, is our common pain. But today, unlike the catastrophe which befell one hundred years ago, we have solace in what is called the Armenian state.



Let me assure you that the Fatherland is doing its best in assisting the Armenians of Syria. For us, they are not refugees but compatriots who have come back home. We make every effort so that they settle in Armenia and adjust to the existing conditions. Many of them have already given a new tint to our society and even to the business environment. Yes, it is difficult, and many of them are still waiting because the political uncertainty is still great.



From now on, we all need to become a fist and direct our efforts towards creating a new Armenia. It must be a freer, more fair, more secure and more advanced country.

Dear Colleagues,



Armenian entrepreneurs have made a considerable contribution and have a substantial weight in many branches of the global economy. At the same time, cooperation of the businessmen from Spyurk in Armenia and abroad remains insufficient. One of the key directions of the current phase of the Armenia-Spyurk cooperation is the expansion of Diaspora businessmens presence in the Republic of Armenia.



Utilizing their connections, the Diaspora entrepreneurs can promote the implementation of the foreign investment projects in Armenia. Equally important is the use of modern skills in the creation of business culture. It can be done primarily by the Armenian businessmen working in the developed European environment; they can bring with them the most advanced culture of doing business.



From now on investments from Spyurk should be targeted and oriented, aimed at Armenias industrial development and boosting other areas of the Armenian economy. Development in Armenia of the infrastructure for the knowledge-based economy is one of the critical prerequisites for the advanced economy. With this regard, the Spyurk should be the most important source of skills and knowledge which will allow to make Armenia the best place for investments and doing business in the region.



We, dear friends, have always viewed civil society as a partner and not as an adversary. We attach importance to the process of shaping the all-Armenian civil society. With the existing telecommunication technologies it has become the inescapable reality. If we want to have a freer, more fair and more democratic Armenia, than instead of demanding from each other, we need to talk to each other, and not only talk but cooperate.



Reforms going on in Armenia should be irreversible. Towards that end, we need to totally reconstruct our area of education. Important in this endeavor is also the engagement of the intellectual capabilities of the Spyurk, introduction of new knowledge and skills in the area of education ranging from consulting to teaching.

Through the joint efforts, Armenia and Diaspora can gradually implement our structural goals, refraining at the same time from disappointment and disenchantment. It is necessary to find new solutions, to unite, to become one fist, complementing and helping each other to move forward in these challenging times.



Dear Friends,



I am confident you are well-aware that soon Armenia will enter a new era, switching to the parliamentary system of state governance, which implies a new political culture, large-scale structural reforms. The decision to implement constitutional changes was necessitated by the desire and command to see our country tomorrow as a more democratic, security and prosperous country.



There can be no doubt that these reforms also imply a renewed agenda for the relations with the Spyurk. That agenda can be summarized as follows: Mutual trust, unity, and responsibility.



It is amazing how the Armenia nation was able to unite in dramatic situations. Why cant we do it in peaceful times, and what impedes us to move our country forward, to make it prosperous and powerful? I dont see any insurmountable difficulties to achieve that.



I am confident that today we have all prerequisites and preconditions to give a new impetus to our cooperation. This is our vision, this is our understanding, this is the unbreakable guarantee of our future success.



Dear Friends,



In conclusion, I once again thank you all for being here. I am confident that we are able to defeat all current challenges, our own skepticism and through the joint efforts to fight for our bright future.



Supporting each other, we can take up the task of state building and make our bright youth the immediate participant of that undertaking. We must be more courageous and goal-oriented, full of mutual respect. We have to care for our reconquered Fatherland. We have to become more powerful, to empower our cherished paradise, our Fatherland Armenia.



So, lets act together.



Thank you, said the President of Armenia.



In the framework of his official visit to France, President Sargsyan in the evening met also with the Executive Director of a leading French company Veolia. Veolia Jur - the Company headed by Antoine Frerot, in 2016 won the open international tender and assumed the works of water supply and sewage in 45 municipal communities of Armenia, including Yerevan, as well as in over 360 rural communities.



The parties spoke about the works carried out by the Company in the water industry in the framework of the obligations assumed by the contract, as well as about the offered services and development programs.
PARIS, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. Former economy minister of Romania Varujan Vosganian suggests creating an international network of chambers of commerce through the Armenian Diaspora, Vosganian told reporters before the meeting of President Sargsyan with representatives of Europes Armenian communities, ARMENPRESS correspondent reports from Paris.

If we are able to form a network of trade chambers, we can bring Armenia out of its borders, he said.

According to him, it is necessary to achieve a level where Armenians view Armenia not as a donation direction, but rather a location for business opportunities.

This kind of activity is more permanent, since all parties benefit. The time when Armenia was taking the first steps in democracy has passed. Not, the laws are stable, and the legislation creates opportunities for foreign investments, Vosganian said.

At the same time Vosganian says the Diaspora has to change its views also.

Till now, for a long time we were thinking that we didnt belong in the countries which hosted us, however we must also enter domestic politics. For instance, the Union of Armenians of Romania, which isnt a big organization at all, has three members of parliament, hence we arent lobbyists in Romania, we are rather a part of the parliament and we have a dialogue with the government, he said.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of Womens Day, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan addressed a congratulatory letter, the Presidents Office told ARMENPRESS.

The Presidents letter address says

Dear Ladies,



I congratulate you on the occasion of Womens Day.



Nowadays, March 8 has truly acquired the status of a holiday. It presents yet another beautiful occasion to express our love and admiration, our gratitude and devotion to the women and girls around us.



We encourage in every way a greater participation of women in the social life of our country. We believe that the women of Armenia posses the yet undisclosed huge potential which ought to be called to life in various areas. Currently, it is obvious that along with the traditional areas, such as education and health care, the women have begun to play a serious role also in entrepreneurship, journalism, governance, high technologies, judicial and other areas, including the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. I have no doubt that you will continue to expand current success and will deservedly occupy a greater place in the political life as well.



Dear Ladies,



Along with all this, you remain the pillar of the traditial family, which serves the base our nation, stand as a rock behind your husbands, as guardian angels for your children, as tender sisters to your brothers and brides to the soldiers who defend your honor on the borders.



I once again congratulate you on the occasion of this bright spring holiday. With special appreciation, I congratulate the mothers of soldiers who are serving in the Army now.



I wish you happiness and all the best.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. On March 7 and overnight March 8 Azerbaijani forces made over 40 ceasefire violations in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact, firing over 500 shots at Artsakh positions from various caliber weapons, including large caliber sniper rifles.

The defense ministry of the Republic of Artsakh told ARMENPRESS the Defense Army takes countermeasures only in case of strict necessity.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenia had serious achievements during 25 years of independence. Today we have a stably developing Armenia, which effectively withstands the often unpredictable changes of global economy, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said on March 8 during a meeting with members of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF).

The recent developments in the region, which were accompanied by worsening economic indicators and drastic depreciation of national currencies, proved the vitality of Armenias tax-budgetary and financial-credit policy. It is always praised by our international colleagues, and due to this a stable and predictable macro-environment is ensured in the country, the President said.

According to the President, an evidence of the countrys successful economic policy is also prestigious international rankings, where Armenia annually records progress.

According to the World Banks Doing Business report, in terms of simplicity of doing business Armenia is ranked 38th globally, and 33rd by Heritage Foundations economic freedom indicator  providing a progress of 21 points this year. It is understandable that cases happen when the unfavorable stances of countries in various rankings to an extent dont have a decisive role for investments. Namely, in case of the energy resource rich neighboring country  Azerbaijan, the expectations for getting super profits seemingly wanes the assessments reflecting the real situation of the countrys economy, he said.

The President added only macroeconomic stability isnt enough for a stable economic growth. In terms of raising the countrys competitiveness, the continuous improvement of the business and investment environment in the country is a priority, development of human capital and improvement of corresponding institutions. We were guided by this vision also, when we initiated the constitutional reforms in Armenia, which were adopted in December of 2015. We made key changes in our state administration system with the new Constitution  transitioning from semi-presidential to full parliamentary system. In our deep conviction, this changes will also have positive impact in terms of boosting the economic life of country. With the new Constitution, free economic competition, improvement of business environment and provisions aimed at contributing to entrepreneurship are especially emphasized. Not having access to sea and energy resources, being under blockade by two neighboring countries, we never gave up before difficulties. On the contrary, they became the creative mind of our people and the moving force of developing inventiveness, he said.

Today, Armenia has become a country offering high technology solutions and innovations due to high quality workforce and human capital. Sargsyan mentioned that the efforts for developing IT give the expected results. This sector records an average of 20-25% growth in recent years, and comprises 4% share in GDP.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. The existing potential in the Armenian-French bilateral economic relations shouldnt solely serve for strengthening commercial ties, President Sargsyan said during a meeting with members of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF).

We want the French capital to expand in Armenia, and we are ready to provide favorable investment opportunities for French businesses. From this point of view I would like to especially underscore the consistent work aimed at promoting and raising protection of foreign investments in Armenia. Thus, within the framework of the ongoing reforms it is planned to legislatively affirm national and more favored modes, clarify guarantees for foreign investors, give businessmen the opportunity to benefit from active and future privileges in Armenia, and more improved mechanisms of solving investment disputes, Sargsyan said.

He added that legal grounds are being formed for the expansion of state-private sector cooperation opportunities. With the purpose of assisting businessmen and development of the business environment  corresponding procedures are being continuously reduced and facilitated, including in the tax and customs spheres.

Serious steps are taken for developing policy aimed at exports.

Our designed strategy emphasizes increase of exports, since it can be the moving force of further stable economic growth. In the recent years, we took serious steps in the direction of expanding the limited domestic market of Armenia. Its two years since Armenia is a member of the Eurasian economic union. The Eurasian integration project expanded the economic borders of all member states to almost the 1/7th of the entire worlds land surface. It has created a capacious, over 170 million-big market  without customs borders, the President said.

President Sargsyan reminded that few days earlier, he and President of the European Council Mr. Tusk announced the completion of talks over a new framework agreement with the European Union.

The presence of an economic component in the new legal documents creates new possibilities for not only Armenian, but also European businessmen. Moreover, in case of the correct and full use of the possibilities of the agreement, the EU and EEU economic potential can be mutually served for each others benefits.

Serzh Sargsyan stressed that the traditional friendly relations of Armenia with Iran and the economic ties create good prerequisites for European businessmen, in order to enter the 80-million big consumer market of Iran through Armenia. He mentioned that the shortest and most secure transit path connecting the Persian Gulf to the ports of Black Sea passes through Armenia.

We invite the French enterprises to invest in Armenia. I reassure you, we are ready to display individual approach to each investment, of course taking into account the needs of the investor.

Our minister of economic development and investments will present the possible fields and directions of cooperation more comprehensively, he will also suggest specific programs, Sargsyan said.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. A resolution regarding the Armenian Genocide was adopted at the 25th Congress of the Socialist International worldwide organization.

The Congress was held March 2-4 in Cartagena, Colombia, Nouvelles d'armenie reported.

The resolution says after the last Socialist International Congress, the world marked the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide and witnessed a number of new countries, heads of states and international organizations officially recognising the Armenian Genocide.

The 2014 December SI Council Meeting in Geneva, recognising the continued worldwide progress on this human rights and genocide prevention issue, appropriately placed the Armenian Genocide on the agenda of its first Council in 2015.

The July 2015 Council Meeting in New York endorsed an agreement reached earlier by the SI Vice Presidents from Armenia and Turkey, for the Socialist International to organise a special hearing or round-table discussion around the theme: "How Turkish recognition of the Armenian Genocide can contribute to a genuine reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia?

The SI XXV Congress reaffirms its readiness to work with Armenian and Turkish member parties to facilitate a hearing or round-table discussion regarding the benefits of Turkey's recognition of the Armenian Genocide for reconciliation between Armenians and Turks.

The Socialist International is the worldwide organisation of social democratic, socialist and labour parties. It currently brings together 153 political parties and organisations from all continents.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting today with Claude Bartolone, President of the National Assembly (Parliament) of France, the Presidents Office told ARMENPRESS.

President Sargsyan mentioned that his state visit to France is taking place in the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and France and said it is a good opportunity to summarize the numerous successes and discuss further actions with the top leadership of France.

The sides highlighted the role of parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening interstate relations, expanding the agenda of cooperation and deepening the friendship between the Armenian and French peoples, and were pleased to speak about the activity of the France-Armenia inter-parliamentary friendship group.

Serzh Sargsyan and Claude Bartolone underscored the close cooperation of the two countries parliamentarians also in parliamentary assemblies of international structures.

Serzh Sargsyan highly appreciated the stance of Frances Parliament and personally Claude Bartolone regarding the international recognition, condemnation and criminalization of the Armenian Genocide.

President Sargsyan highly appreciated also the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, including France  as a MG Co-Chairing country, in the direction of the peaceful settlement of the conflict and ensuring security and stability in the South Caucasus region, underscoring the visits of French parliamentarians to Artsakh enable the international community to have a complete picture and correctly understand the entire essence of the fair struggle of the people of Artsakh for freedom, protection of human rights and self determination, which is the undeniable right of any peoples.

In this context, the sides highlighted the activity of Friendship circle with Artsakh, which, according to the Presidents conviction, contributes invaluably to the just settlement of the Artsakh issue.

The parties also touched upong the Armenia-EU relations and prospects of development.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. The US California Senates law commission created a special committee on exchange of trade, arts and culture of Armenia, Artsakh.

Gandzasar reported the new committee was established at the suggestion of senator Anthony Portantino, for deepening state commercial, cultural and educational ties with Armenia and Artsakh.

Executive Director of the ANCA Elen Asatryan welcomes the establishment of this unique committee, stressing this is the first time a committee of such level concerning Artsakh is being formed. She also thanked senator Portantino, who was able to realize such an initiative three month after taking office.

The Senator said he is proud he could successfully finish the initiative.

We have lots to give each other, and I am sure Armenia and Artsakh will be wonderful partners for California, he said.

Portantino visited Armenia and Artsakh in June of 2016 with Zareh Sinanyan, member of the Glendale City Hall Council, where he met with Armenian businessmen, heads of innovation centers, mass media and government officials

Other members of the committee include Kevin De Leon, Tony Mendoza, Scott Wilk and Josh Newman.
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. Prior to departing to France on a state visit, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan gave an interview to AFP  France Press.

ARMENPRESS presents the most interesting parts of the interview.

Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan has urged international powers to step up pressure on Azerbaijan to avoid all-out war over in Nagorno Karabakh, accusing his nation's arch-foe of military "blackmail", AFP reported.

In my opinion, the danger of a new war is constant and will persist until Azerbaijan is persuaded that there is no military solution to the conflict, Sargsyan said.

Fears that the decades-long Nagorno Karabakh conflict could escalate have risen since sporadic firing across the frontline surged last April into the worst violence since a 1994 truce.

A ceasefire brokered by Moscow stilled several days of bloodshed but long-standing mediators from Russia, the United States and France have since struggled to restart a stalled peace process, France Press writes.

According to AFP, Sargsyan -- who will meet French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Wednesday -- said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is failing any progress by threatening to start a war.

But I say this is blackmail, not compromise. He says no, it is compromise. Their compromise is that if we accept all their demands, then they wont restart military operations against Nagorno Karabakh, the President said.

Sargsyan urged Paris, Moscow, and Washington to "show, or at least list the consequences to one of the sides which will initiate military operations, and this can have a sobering effect, AFP reports.

AFP says the energy-rich Azerbaijan, has repeatedly threatened to capture that region by force but Armenia has vowed to crush any military offensive.

The war ended in a fragile 1994 truce but the two sides never signed a peace deal and Sargsyan warned that fears of a new war are growing, AFP reported.

"Public opinion in Armenia is that the resumption of military operations is a matter of time -- maybe weeks or months. Although both the commander-in-chief and the defense minister must be prepared that a war could start tomorrow," Sargsyan said.

I dont share the opinion that military operations can begin soon. Although, when dealing with an unpredictable neighbor, everything is possible, Sargsyan said.

According to AFP, any new war in Artsakh can lead to animosity between Russia and Turkey  the regional titans, in the Caucasian region, which has historically been an arena of their geopolitical rivalry

The President of Armenia also spoke about the Armenian-Turkish relations, mentioning that Ankara is supporting their ally Azerbaijan in the NK conflict.

There are no diplomatic ties between Yerevan and Ankara, because in 1993, Turkey sealed its border with Armenia out of support for Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan.

Turkey has also been angered that Yerevan is insisting that the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire must be recognized as genocide, AFP said.

I think at this point the Armenian-Turkish relations are in an impasse, Sargsyan said. It was revealed that they link the Armenian-Turkish relations with the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and they dont hide it anymore. And it has gone so far that all announcements of the Turks are already real announcements, unilateral announcements in support of Azerbaijan.

Sargsyan also commented on Russia supplying weapons worth billions of dollars to Azerbaijan, saying: As you know, it is painful for us also for an understandable reason, because Russia is our strategic ally.

Moscow is selling weapons to both of the former Soviet nations, although it has a military alliance with Armenia.
PARIS, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. A number of French companies are interested in investing in a series of spheres of key importance for Armenia, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan told the reporters in France summing up the results of the meeting with heads of French companies at Movement of French Enterprises organization.

The Mayor noted that preliminary agreements have been reached for cooperation in a number of spheres such as transports, health, infrastructure development and street lighting. In the recent years Yerevan ha presented over 50 investment packages. We introduce them to the business community and make opportunities for investing in Yerevan, Taron Margaryan said. He also presented the results of the meeting with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. As a member of the delegation on an official visit to France led by President Serzh Sargsyan I met with my colleague, Paris Mayor. Paris and Yerevan are sister cities and the cooperation between them develops. I am convinced we will start the implementation of the projects we plan to bring into life both in Yerevan and Paris in the near future, Margaryan said.

The Mayor of Yerevan also highlighted the cooperation with Paris in the sidelines of the Association of Francophone Mayors. Paris Mayor is also the Chairman of the Association of Francophone Mayors to which Yerevan is a member, Taron Margaryan said, adding that the Armenian side is highly interested in the development of the IOF.
PARIS, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. In the sidelines of the official visit to France, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan met with his French counterpart Francois Hollande. The sides discussed issues of bilateral relations and Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

Correspondent of Armenpress reports from France that during the joint statement Francois Hollande noted that France, as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair state, is involved in Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process.

France, together with the USA and Russia, is an OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair state and we wish to work for finding a solution. We have recorded a number of incidents in the recent weeks and months. By installing mechanisms investigating the incidents we can prevent the incidents and punish the acts that are against peace, the French President underlined. He stressed that France strives for a political settlement.
PARIS, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Genocide recognition by France shows that the international community can never accept the extermination of any nation, correspondent of Armenpress reports French President Francois Hollande said following the meeting with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan.

We have always viewed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a step towards peace  peace inside us and peace between countries. We have always viewed the issue of the Armenian Genocide in a more global context which means that we pay attention to all the crimes against humanity and nwar crimes, the French President underlined.

In this context the French President recalled his visit to Yerevan in 2015 to participate in events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide which was very exciting for him. I wanted to reaffirm by my presence that France will continue advocating the Armenian genocide recognition, Hollande said.
PARIS, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. The official visit of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to France is rather symbolic since it takes place in the year marking the 25th anniversary of establishing Armenian-French diplomatic relations and on the International Women's Day. The correspondent of Armenpress reports from Paris that in a meeting with reporters following the meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Francois Hollande noted that the fact March 8 is officially celebrated in Armenia as a holiday shows that Armenia attaches importance to the protection of womens rights. This visit is also an opportunity to remind about the strength of Armenian-French relations. Our co-citizens with Armenian origin also foster our friendship, the French President said. According to Francois Hollande, relations of a new quality have been established between Armenia and France since Armenia gained independence. We also established economic relations. Many French businessmen started to invest in Armenia, namely in tourism, telecommunications, services and so on, the French President said. In the context of further developing economic relations Francois Hollande pointed out todays visit of President Sargsyan to Mouvement des entreprises de France (MEDEF) which pursued a goal of establishing relations for future investments. Armenia also has important relations with Russia and Iran. Armenia and Russia are members of the Eurasian Economic Union. Therefore, they have close economic cooperation. In the same way Armenia is linked with Europe and plans to sign the framework agreement, the President of France stressed.

The two Presidents also touched upon cooperation in culture and higher education. A French University operates in Armenia which will obtain broader opportunities by establishing relations with other educational institutions in France enjoying great popularity, Francois Hollande said.

Armenia plans to host Francophonie summit in 2018. This is a great responsibility that Armenia will carry out, Hollande noted.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan thanked the French President for the cordial reception. This is the best moment to sum up our achievements and discuss our future activities, the Armenian president said, noting that nearly 25 mutual visits of top level took place between the two states during the past 25 years. This is the evidence of that Armenian-French relations are always in the center of attention, President Sargsyan stated. Serzh Sargsyan was very pleased to note that the positions of the two sides on the issues discussed during the talks are rather similar. This refers to both our bilateral relations and the developments in our region, President Sargsyan stressed.
PARIS, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. The historical-cultural relations and the centuries-old links between France and Armenia, as well as the absence of political problems serve as firm grounds for expanding bilateral relations in an atmosphere of mutual respect and confidence, correspondent of Armenpress reports from Paris President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan announced following the meeting with French President Francois Hollande.

The two Presidents were satisfied to record the existing achievements  stable political dialogue, very firm inter-parliamentary relations, very active economic, scientific and educational relations, deepening of decentralized cooperation, mutually beneficial cooperation on international platforms, projects implemented by France in Armenia, support to each other in key international issues, as well as comprehensive legal framework.

According to the President of Armenia, another step was made today for deepening the relations. The sides signed documents of touristic and inter-university cooperation. No doubt, the high level political dialogue is also a firm ground for economic cooperation. As long as economic relations lag behind political relations, we take consistent measures in that direction. In the morning I was trying to persuade French enterprisers at MEDEF that there are favorable investment conditions in Armenia. I also tried to persuade based on the reality that today Armenia being a Eurasian Economic Union member state can serve as a platform for them, the Armenian president stressed.

Serzh Sargsyan also mentioned that the second vital message to French businessmen is that Armenia enjoys good relations with Iran. By preserving good relations with Iran during the period of sanctions imposed on it and being familiar with the Iranian market and Iranian people Armenia can here also be useful by serving as a good platform for leading French and European companies, President Sargsyan said, adding that Armenia will also benefit from French business flourishing in Iran.
Suez chief Jean-Louis Chaussade, seen in 2015, said the link-up would crease "an unparalleled industrial water platform"

French utility Suez said Wednesday it had teamed up with a Canadian investment fund to buy General Electric unit GE Water, building an "unparalleled" new business at a time of worsening global water scarcity.

Suez and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) are putting 3.2 billion euros ($3.4 billion) on the table to pick up GE Water with a view to merging it with Suez's own industrial water business, the buyers said in a joint statement.

Suez is footing 70 percent of the bill and CDPQ the rest, they said.

"Long-term demand for water treatment equipment, chemicals and services are expected to remain strong both as a consequence of growing water scarcity and the impact of global warming on the water cycle," the statement said.

"Furthermore, there are increasing global concerns related to industrial wastewater and its impact on the environment which make advanced treatment of water an absolute necessity," it said.

Suez chief Jean-Louis Chaussade said the link-up would crease "an unparalleled industrial water platform".

Suez supplies drinking water to 92 million people worldwide and waste water treatment services to 65 million more but has been short on customers from industry.

GE said at the end of last year that it was looking to spin off its water business, which employs 7,500 people, as part of its pending merger with oil giant Baker Hughes.
MINNEAPOLISAfter years of litigation, the saga of the Prenda Law Group's practice of extorting porn fans with threats of prosecution for downloading supposedly copyrighted material unless they paid an average of $3,000 to make the "case" go away is finally coming to an end with the guilty plea of Prenda principal John L. Steele.

"According to Steeles admissions in the plea, between 2011 and 2014, Steele and co-defendant Paul Hansmeier, both practicing lawyers, executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $6 million by threatening copyright lawsuits against individuals who supposedly downloaded pornographic movies from file-sharing websites," a U.S. Department of Justice press release stated. "Steele admitted that he and Hansmeier created a series of sham entities to obtain copyrights to pornographic moviessome of which they filmed themselvesand then uploaded those movies to file-sharing websites like The Pirate Bay in order to lure people to download the movies. Steele and Hansmeier then filed bogus copyright infringement lawsuits that concealed their role in distributing the movies, as well as their personal stake in the outcome of the litigation. After fraudulently inducing courts into giving him and co-defendants the power to subpoena Internet service providers and thereby identify the subscriber who controlled the IP address used to download the movie, Steele and Hansmeier used extortionate tactics such as letters and phone calls to threaten victims with enormous financial penalties and public embarrassment unless they agreed to pay a $3,000 settlement fee."

Of course, that statement barely scratches the surface of the machinations Steele and other Prenda partners engaged in to promote their extortion scheme, which included finding compliant judges in jurisdictions like Texas and elsewhere to rubber-stamp the thousands of indictments the firm filed against the so-called "infringers," and it wasn't until they attempted to pull the same stunts in California that the scheme began to unravel.

In December of 2012, even as dozens of cases brought in Illinois had been dismissed by courts in that jurisdiction, Prenda attorneys attempted to file an infringement case against Bay Area downloader Joe Navasca, then known in the lawsuit as "John Doe"and sure enough, that case was thrown out as wellbut not before his attorney Morgan Pietz filed a "Notice of Related Case," which turned out to be a bombshell for Prenda. In the notice, Pietz essentially laid out the Prenda group's entire scheme of filing false infringement cases49 in California alonethen telling defendants that if they paid a few thousand bucks, the cases would be dismissed. Among Pietz's allegations, as summarized by attorney Ken White of Popehat.com, were that "(1) Prenda Law or its attorneys might themselves have undisclosed ownership interests in the entities like Ingenuity 13 LLC they purport to represent; (2) Prenda Law and its principal John Steele may have stolen the identity of a property caretaker named Alan Cooper to use as a figurehead officer of plaintiff entities," and indeed, Cooper later brought his own suit for identity theft. As that litigation proceeded, Pietz was granted "special discovery" to gain information about who Cooper actually was and about several other aspects of Prenda's legal strategy.

The case caught the attention of L.A.-based U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II, who on December 20, 2012, ordered the entity known as "Ingenuity 13 LLC," which turned out to be another Prenda front, to provide him with information regarding "what steps it had taken already to identify defendants, and its basis for accusing those particular defendants of copyright violations." Legal sparring between the judge and various Prenda associates proceeded over several monthsincluding an attempt to disqualify the judge and the dismissal of the John Doe caseuntil finally, Judge Wright ordered Steele, Hansmeier and another associate, Paul Duffy (now deceased) to appear in his courtroom to respond regarding why sanctions should not be levied against the firm. The sparring continued through at least one hearing, and finally, at a hearing on April 2, 2013, the Prenda attorneys took the unprecedented action of claiming their Fifth Amendment rights rather than respond to Judge Wright's questions. Finally, after yet more legal filings, Judge Wright slapped the Prenda attorneys with fines of more than $80,000 for their conduct, and at another hearing added even greater fines.

Fast-forward to September of 2013, when United States Magistrate Judge Franklin L. Noel reopened several closed Prenda cases in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, and in an Order dated November 6, 2013, Judge Noel concluded that Prenda had indeed committed a fraud upon the court in bringing unsustainable infringement cases and ordered that Prenda repay any monies they had collected from the defendants in those cases, and to pay those defendants' legal feesand then he sent his Order over to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Minnesota as well as the Attorney General of Minnesota for further investigation.

Fast-forward once again to May of 2016, when White wrote that his sources had revealed that Prendathat is, Steele, Hansmeier and associatesas well as various "front" entities that the attorneys had created to hide their involvement in various matters, were under active FBI investigation. It was that investigation that led to Steele and Hansmeier being arrested on December 16, 2016 following their indictment by a federal grand jury in Minnesota for "a raft of federal crimes: conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to suborn perjury in federal court." It was the first four of those charges listed to which Steele pled guilty on Monday, March 6. All in all, more than $6 million worth of bogus settlements had been collected under the Prenda umbrella of companies.

"He admitted to the judge the mistakes that he made in the past and is currently doing all he can to assist the government," Steele's attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, wrote in an email. "He is eager to move past this challenging chapter of his life so he can devote his full energy towards supporting his young daughter, who he loves dearly."

At this point, however, Hansmeier is maintaining his innocence, but how long that lasts is anyone's guess, since as part of the plea agreement, Steele will be required to testify at Hansmeier's trialif there is one.

But at least, finally, some justice has been served on that legal abomination known as Prenda Law.
MELBOURNE, AustraliaAustralian adult product wholesale distributor Calvista is now carrying and shipping the full range of tokidoki X Lovehoney pleasure products.

We are delighted that Calvista has taken the tokidoki range. The products are some of the most stand-out that are on the market today, said Jade Bawa, Lovehoneys trade sales executive for Australia and New Zealand. We look forward to working closely with Calvista on POS ranges and bespoke marketing campaigns to assist them in making the most of this opportunity.

tokidoki X Lovehoney is a fun, colourful collaboration between the British sex toy retailer and the cult fashion-forward brand established in Rome. The range features bullets, vibrators and male strokers emblazoned with kawaii style characters, that has proven especially popular with 18-25 year olds.

We cant wait to see the response to this beautiful and soon-to-be iconic collection, said Roger Sheldon-Collins, general manager for Calvista. The tokidoki brand has a huge global presence, and we are confident this will translate to strong sales for our customers.

Calvista is an adult product wholesale distributor servicing the adult retail industry for more than 25 years in Australia and New Zealand and is the founder of AdultEx, the Southern Hemisphere's largest adult B2B trade show.

For maximum impact, Calvista recommends retailers also consider the tokidoki X Lovehoney POS range to display the products to their full potential.

Visit www.lovehoneytrade.com for more info or email [email protected] or [email protected].
In a study published in September, Credit Suisse analysts found that investors focusing on companies where gender diversity was an important strategy were rewarded with higher returns.

Businesswoman standing alone in conference room. Source: Getty Images.

After reviewing 3,400 large companies around the world across all industries, the analysts found excess returns of 3.5% per year since 2005 in companies with women on the board compared to companies where the boardroom is entirely male.

This confirms the firms 2014 study, which found that gender diversity in senior roles was linked to excess stock market returns along with higher corporate profits.

Female representation is increasing

There has been a 16% increase in female representation on boards since the survey was last conducted in 2014. This marks progress toward more diversity, but notably its off of a low base.

The starting point is a low one and the pattern of improvement uneven, Credit Suisses Julia Dawson wrote. Substantial female representation is still a mark of differentiation rather than the norm.

Women currently occupy just 14.7% of board seats, marking a 54% increase since 2010. However, the report added that the positive trend does not carry over to the participation of women in senior management.

Whereas the female overboarding seen in the US and European boardrooms enabled rapid achievement of diversity targets, it also tends to reduce the pool of women available for senior management roles, the report said. This is particularly important as female CEOsin our sample, these represent a mere 3.9%often promote women and help shape the much needed talent pipeline.

In the study, there were 61 companies where women accounted for at least 50% of senior management. The 50% club is clustered in consumer discretionary (the majority which is apparel and and luxury goods) and financials (the majority of which are real estate companies), as seen below.

Those with a higher percentage of women have performed better over time, according to the study.

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Better returns for less risk

Lower leverage, higher payouts and higher return on capital employed lend support to the idea that diversity implies better returns for lower risk, according to the report.

Continued recognition of these financial benefitsin addition to social oneshas encouraged improvement in board rooms, particularly in Europe, which has seen an 80% increase in female boardroom positions in the last six years, helped by new quotas.

The 24.4% representation of women in European boardroom today is of course a significant positive, a long overdue recognition of the benefits that diversity in its many guises brings to the decision-making process and stewardship of companies, according to the report.

Credit Suisse researchers say this is an encouraging data point that they see the US following in years to come.

Given that women have been appointed with relative ease in Europe, it must give us confidence that further progress will be made globally, they wrote in the report.

This post was originally featured on September 22, 2016.

SEE ALSO:
By Sabine Siebold

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's defense ministry on Tuesday told lawmakers it would not complete a contract with European weapons maker MBDA for a multi-billion euro missile defense system during the current legislative period as planned, ministry sources said.

Ministry officials remain committed to concluding a contract with MBDA for the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) to replace the Patriot air and missile defense system but said there was still work to do on the MBDA proposal, as well as on how the overall project would be managed, the sources said.

Regardless of the MEADS outcome, the ministry plans to spend several hundred million euros to modernize the software and hardware of the German military's existing Patriot system, which was built by Raytheon Co <RTN.N>, the sources said.

Coming at a time when NATO is beefing up its presence in eastern Europe due to fears of about a greater military threat from Russia, MEADS extends the coverage of protection and offers enhanced air and missile defense from a range of threats.

The delay in the MEADS project marks another setback for Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who has sought to reform Germany's troubled weapons procurement process since taking office in late 2013. A second multi-billion euro program to build a new multi-role ship has also been delayed.

Germany selected MEADS in 2015 to replace its Patriot system but it has taken far longer than expected to move forward.

Von der Leyen told Reuters in September she hoped to submit a MEADS contract to parliament for approval in the spring, which already marked a delay from the previous expectation for a contract by the end of 2016.

Then in October, sources said the proposal had come in billions of euros higher than the previous estimate of 4 billion euros ($4.2 billion) and lacked some critical details.

Ministry sources said, however, that they still expected the MEADS system to be ready for use by 2025, as planned.

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"We don't want to buy a pig in a poke," one of the sources said. "We want to be sure that we have a strong general contractor on the other side that can manage the projects in the long run and achieve the goal."

MEADS was developed by MBDA, which is owned by Airbus Group <AIR.PA>, Britain's BAE Systems Plc <BAES.L> and Italy's Leonardo Finmeccanica SpA <LDOF.MI>, in a joint venture with U.S. arms maker Lockheed Martin Corp. <LMT.N>.

Work on the missile defense program was initially funded by Germany, Italy and the United States but Washington dropped out of the program several years ago.

The sources said working with MBDA had been disappointing so far, raising questions about the missile maker's ability to manage such a large project on its own and suggesting that it would be asked to give Lockheed a larger role - and more responsibility - to lower the project's risk.

Experts say the project could slip into spring 2018 given it is unlikely a contract will be approved before parliament's summer recess and it will then probably take months before a new government is constituted after federal elections on Sept. 24.

The delay also means the ministry must reprogram 100 million euros in funding already in the 2017 budget.

(Writing by Andrea Shalal; editing by Madeline Chambers and David Clarke)
From sleepless nights in a suffocatingly hot hotel room to dinners eaten by the faint glow of a cellphone, a Nova Scotia woman says her week spent at a Dominican Republic resort was "the worst vacation of my life."

Michelle Murray of Kemptville and her husband, Joe Murray, arrived at the Playa Dorada resort in Puerto Plata on the evening of Feb. 21 along with another couple for the all-inclusive trip, booked through Sunwing Airlines.

A total of about 25 Nova Scotia vacationers were on the trip, but they soon were clamouring to get back home.

Michelle Murray said trouble started a day after they arrived at the resort, around 10 a.m., when the power went out and the water ran cold.

'I never had hot water, not once'

"There was no hot water the entire time," Michelle Murray said. "I never had hot water, not once."

Murray said the power would occasionally come back on, but only for about 20 minutes before it went dark again.

"There was no light," she said, adding it was pitch black at nighttime.

Murray's husband uses an oxygen mask for sleep apnea, but without power, the machine wouldn't work, meaning he got little sleep.

Murray said she, too, was unable to rest in the hot, sticky, stuffy room without air conditioning.

"It was like sleeping in a tent all day with the sun shining on this tent. It felt like there was no air," she said.

Sunwing says it's negotiating compensation

Sunwing spokesperson Rachel Goldrick told CBC News in an email that the company first became aware of the power outage on the evening of Feb. 25.

She said intermittent power interruptions are not uncommon in the Caribbean. Goldrick said the issue was immediately brought to the attention of hotel management staff, "who advised that they were rectifying the problem."

She acknowledged there were additional intermittent disruptions to the power and water supply that impacted some room blocks in the following days. However, she said all rooms in the area were sold out, so there was no place to relocate vacationers.

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"We are extremely apologetic for how this has affected our customers' vacation experience and have been negotiating compensation for the impacted customers directly with the hotel," Goldrick said, adding local management is reviewing the situation to ensure the resort is meeting proper standards.

Guests repeatedly told power would be restored

Michelle Murray said staff at the resort were unhelpful and repeatedly promised the problem would be fixed "in an hour."

Meanwhile, "gut-wrenching" temperatures hovered around 28 C and 38 C, she said.

"I cried. I just wanted to come home but once you're there, you're stuck. I had nowhere to go."

Murray is a seasoned traveller who had been on six previous trips south.

"I've gone to two-star hotels. This was a three-star. The two-stars were like the Hilton compared to this one," she said.

'So happy to be home'

She said there were approximately 25 people on the trip from Nova Scotia.

"We were clapping when we arrived in Halifax. We were so happy to be home."

The Canadian Transportation Agency said in an email that tour operators and flight resellers fall under the oversight of provincial government departments that deal with consumer matters.

CBC News tried repeatedly to call the resort, but the phone never rang, instead going directly to a busy signal.
TDBank2-KM

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD) continues to be one of the most shorted stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

According to the latest TSX short report, which is effective February 28, there are more than 85.5 million TD shares currently sold short, meaning investors have collectively bet against $6 billion worth of TD shares.

TD has a market cap of $131.7 billion as I write this. It is Canada?s largest bank by assets, recently surpassing Royal Bank of Canada. It is Canada?s biggest mortgage lender and owns more than 1,300 branches in the United States. This diversification throughout North America is one of the biggest reasons why investors are bullish on the stock.

Then why are so many investors short TD? Let?s take a closer look.

Why short?

Many hedge funds will use large and liquid stocks to short the market as a form of hedging. This minimizes the impact to investors if the market goes down.

TD is the perfect stock to use as a hedging tool. It?s incredibly liquid with more than three million shares trading hands on an average day in Canada alone. Since it has a large presence in both Canada and the United States, hedge funds on both sides of the border can use it to bet against their respective banking sectors.

Then there?s the Canadian housing bubble. Although TD is a diversified lender with operations across Canada, it will certainly be impacted if the average house price crashes in Toronto or Vancouver. It?s hard to avoid two of Canada?s largest metros.

Besides, it?s called Toronto-Dominion Bank. It clearly has some exposure to Toronto.

There?s also been some more recent controversy surrounding TD. A recent CBC story outlined some of the aggressive sales tactics forced upon front-line employees, which includes pushing clients to sign up for overdraft protection or to upgrade to bank accounts with large monthly fees.

Why shorting TD is a terrible idea

There?s one simple reason why shorting any of the Canadian banks is a bad idea.

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They?ve been some of the best performers in the entire market for more than a century now.

According to a recent RBC report, Canada?s banks are the only major North American sector to outperform Berkshire Hathaway over the last 25 years. It?s not easy to beat Warren Buffett, but Canada?s banks have accomplished that.

Think about all the advantages a Canadian bank has. Five companies control more than 80% of the market. They all offer similar products at close to the same price. It?s a pain to change banks, meaning customers are incredibly sticky. And banks are masters at charging fees for everything.

Oh, and these banks regularly loan money out knowing 100% of it is guaranteed by mortgage default insurance, which is paid for by the customer.

What a great business.

Even the recent controversy about TD?s sales practices is much ado about nothing. Every bank does similar things. Even my friendly credit union tries to upsell me to various products, like wealth management or a better bank account.

The bottom line

No business is perfect. I?m the first to admit that.

TD does have some weaknesses. It will be impacted when Toronto?s real estate bubble pops, although it should easily be contained. New mortgage lending will slow, which will impact overall growth.

Ultimately, however, TD is still an incredibly strong company with a number of very real competitive advantages. If you?re looking to short, look somewhere else. It?s just too dangerous to short TD.

Worried about what the market will do in 2017? Here's how our "pros" are investing our company's own money...

First Brexit... then Trump. Yet, despite all the looming concerns on the horizon, the market continues to push higher and higher. Now many investors are asking us how they should invest in this market -- or if they should even be investing at all.

Which is why Jim Gilles (who serves as the lead advisor of our invitation-only, real-money-portfolio service, Motley Fool Pro Canada) has put together a free special report detailing six strategies he's using to manage $250,000 of our company's own money during these highly uncertain times.

For a limited time you can download this "Pro 2017 Survival Guide" free of charge by simply clicking here.

More reading

Fool contributor Nelson Smith owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway (B shares).

Worried about what the market will do in 2017? Here's how our "pros" are investing our company's own money...

First Brexit... then Trump. Yet, despite all the looming concerns on the horizon, the market continues to push higher and higher. Now many investors are asking us how they should invest in this market -- or if they should even be investing at all.

Which is why Jim Gilles (who serves as the lead advisor of our invitation-only, real-money-portfolio service, Motley Fool Pro Canada) has put together a free special report detailing six strategies he's using to manage $250,000 of our company's own money during these highly uncertain times.

For a limited time you can download this "Pro 2017 Survival Guide" free of charge by simply clicking here.

Fool contributor Nelson Smith owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway (B shares).
China Oceanwide has agreed to buy Genworth. It is unlikely the deal will go through. Source: Reuters

Last October, troubled insurance company Genworth (GNW) announced that it would be acquired by China Oceanwide, a private Chinese company that had thus far limited its US investment to real estate. Limited, however, may be the wrong word.

The company and its majority shareholder, Lu Zhiqiang, have already invested in a large project in Los Angeles that will have a new luxury Park Hyatt, a skyscraper in San Francisco, and an unusually large collection of mansionsas well as a $41 million ranch in Sonoma County, according to the Wall Street Journal. Though relatively unknown in the US, Zhiqiang, a former Communist Party secretary, is among the top 10 richest people in China.

For Genworth, the timing of the sale to China Oceanwide couldnt have been better, and this week shareholders voted to approve the acquisition.

But a source with extensive experience in Chinese business, who has reviewed the deal, says the transaction reflects Americans lack of understanding of Chinese business and changing US-Sino relations. The source tells Yahoo Finance the deal is unlikely to happen.

Why Genworth is selling

Originally the Life Insurance Company of Virginia, Genworth went through a series of acquisitions, first by what is now Aon (AON) and then by General Electrics GE Capital in 1995. In 2003, some of the GE insurance properties were renamed Genworth, and the following year GE spun them off in a $2.83 billion IPO. The company sold its remaining stake in Genworth in 2006 for $2.8 billion.

A decade after the largest IPO of 2004, things have not been smooth for Genworth. With its clients living longer and requiring more payouts from policies than expected, Genworth needed money it didnt have to cover debt maturing in 2018. As a result, credit ratings for numerous Genworth businesses, which had already been beset by a series of downgrades, plummeted even more in February 2016, and then again last October.

Genworths experience in the very complex world of insurance didnt prove enough. China Oceanwide does not have insurance experience. Source: Reuters

In February of 2016, S&P downgraded Genworth from BB- to B, skipping B+. AM Best, which specializes in insurance company credit ratings, downgraded Genworth from bb+, the lowest investment grade rating to bb-, which the firm categorizes as non-investment grade, after the sale announcement in October.

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Selling portions of its business raised some capital to cover debt, but the company explored more options, and engaged in talks with several companies over the sale of its life and annuity and long-term care businesses. Though one company walked away without explanation after performing due diligence, talks with another company yielded progress. Genworth moved towards completing negotiations to sell its life and annuity businesses, a move that would give Genworth more cash to pay its debts maturing in 2018.

Miscalculating how long its elderly would live has been a source of pain for Genworths finances. Source: PA Money News

But Genworth sidelined that deal when concurrent talks with China Oceanwide culminated in an agreement. The Chinese company offered to buy the whole business for $2.7 billion, and provide $1.125 billion more in capital to keep Genworths maturing debt from defaulting and boost its life insurance business.

The deal hasnt been without major hiccups. At the end of September, meetings between China Oceanwide and Genworth top brass deteriorated when Genworths chairman of the board urged China Oceanwide representatives to up its proposed price. In response China Oceanwide said no and was considering dropping the deal and re-evaluating later. According to our source who has reviewed the deal, both sides have been trying to play each other.

High likelihood of China killing this deal

The deals likelihood of actually happening may be far less than the market anticipateswhich may not be that high considering shares have fallen 20% following the acquisition announcement. The problem? Americans poor understanding of Chinese business practices.

According to our source familiar with China policies who has reviewed the deal, getting the money out of China may prove to be impossible for China Oceanwide, thanks to Chinas new policies regarding outflows of cash. Its unlikely China Oceanwide has already expatriated the requisite cash to complete the transaction should that outflow be denied, through SEC filings show a reverse termination fee of $210 million is currently safe in a Citibank escrow account, payable to Genworth should Chinas State Administration of Foreign Exchange kill the deal.

Lu Zhiqiang, the CEO of China Oceanwide, talks at a press conference in Beijing. Source: Reuters

Announced in November, Chinas policy requires that deals involving more than $1 billion leaving the country are subject to Chinese regulatory approval if the deal is unrelated to the investors business. So far, China has been hesitant to provide this approval, and over $75 billion in deals have been cancelled, something thats hit Hollywood hard, ruining potential acquisitions of Dick Clark productions and MGM by Chinese companies.

Already, at least four deals have been shot down by this $1 billion policy, and many companies have worked hard to stay under that threshold, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

With so many individuals and companies wishing to move money out of the country, Chinaand the UShas been strongly scrutinizing why Chinese companies are buying assets. Without any insurance experience or related business, the question of why China Oceanwide wants to buy the struggling Genworth looms large. If there is no better answer than simply to get money out of China, the deal could die.

Another set of hurdles in the U.S.

For U.S. regulators, another possible issue is where the money comes from, a question that scuttled a $14 billion purchase of Starwood Hotels (HOT) by Chinese insurance company Anbang when people began asking for details on its byzantine and opaque ownership structure, where the money came from, and the identities of the owners. Additionally, Anbangs attempts to buy life insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life have been delayed numerous times, as US regulators ask questions about who owns Anbang, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, the Journal noted the China Oceanwide was far more accommodating with appeasing regulators.

Both Anbang and China Oceanwide are major investors in Minsheng Bank, but only Anbang has experience in the insurance industry, a notoriously complex and difficult business as Genworths plight illustrates.

This complex nature of insurance also means that many, many regulators will be involved, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFRIUS), which has the power to stop a deal if it has the potential to affect national security. More specifically, the Committee sends the deal to the president to be reviewed.

President and China critic Donald Trump and his treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin could nix the deal if they deem it has national security consequences. Source: Reuters

For any deal involving China, this is bad news, as the current president is Donald Trump, who has expressed a distaste for China, accusing the country of manipulating its currency multiple times during the election. Since the deal was brokered and announced when Hillary Clinton was expected to win, the new landscape could be another problem for the deal.

Trump isnt alone in anti-Chinese investment feelings. A bipartisan effort in Congress led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has emerged to make CFIUS more powerful and scrutinize Chinese investments in the US, which have tripled in the past year to $46 billion.

On the state level, regulators will likely scrutinize the deal due to China Oceanwides lack of experience in the insurance business. In 2015, during the talks with another unnamed non-insurance company, Genworth expressed concern about how that inexperience would appear to regulators.

For its part, the Genworth board has noted that conversations with Delaware regulators in October have shown it could be amenable to the deal, SEC filings show. According to SEC filings, China Oceanwides strategy is keeping Genworths management team together, simply owning it wholly, intact, and retaining its expertise. In an email to Yahoo Finance, a Genworth spokesperson declined to discuss sale specifics as a matter of policy, but noted the company has filed all its applications with regulators (each state Genworth does business in must sign off, as well as federal regulators). Both companies have been engaged in discussions with regulators, the spokesperson said.

Keeping the pilots who know how to fly in the pilots seat is a smart move, and many analysts estimate the odds tipping towards the deal closing. In January, BTIG analyst Mike Palmer wrote that the likelihood of the deal going through regulators was 60%, thanks apparently to the considerable capital China Oceanwide agreed to put up. But perhaps it should be put another way. At the very best, this deal is a coin flip. At worse, there wont even be a coin to flip.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Got a tip? Send it to tips@yahoo-inc.com.

Read more:
Nintendos new Switch is the single most important product launch in the companys history. So it should come as some relief that the console outsold the wildly successful Wii in its first two days on the market in North, Central and South America. Those are the best two-day sales numbers in Nintendo (NTDOY) history.



Whats more, the Switchs big launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, broke the record for best-selling standalone game in the same period, beating out the groundbreaking Super Mario 64.

Nintendos stock price has certainly seen a slight uptick since the Switch went on sale March 3  the stock closed at $27.65 on Tuesday compared to $26.04 on launch day  but the company shouldnt celebrate quite yet. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a fantastic game, which is surely driving sales, but its luster will wear off after a few months and gamers will begin clamoring for new titles.



The news of the Switchs early success comes from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, who relayed the consoles performance to The New York Times Nick Wingfield.





The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the only exceptional launch game for the Switch. But its incredibly exceptional.

As Wingfield points out, the Switchs performance compared to the Wii in its first two days is notable, because the Wii launched during the busy holiday shopping season, while the Switch hit the market in March. Whats more, the Switch doesnt exactly have a robust game library yet  there were just 10 titles available at launch.



The Switchs early numbers out of Japan, though, were shy of the Wiis. According to Bloombergs Yuji Nakamura, citing data from Famitsu, Nintendo sold 313,700 Switch systems compared to 371,900 Wii consoles.



So far, Nintendos big AAA games Splatoon 2 and Super Mario Odyssey are scheduled for release this summer and fall, respectively. In between Nintendo is banking on gamers interest in rehashed versions of previously released titles, indie games and re-releases of classic NES and Super NES games to keep interest in the Switch riding high.



That seems like a tall order when you look at the kinds of titles headed to Sonys (SNE) PlayStation 4 and Microsofts (MSFT) Xbox One in the same time period. Whats more, its still unclear if developers will release major titles like Call of Duty on the Switch alongside their PS4 and Xbox One versions.



For now, Nintendo can be proud that the Switchs launch has been a success. Now, though, comes the hard part.



Story continues

More from Dan:

Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
Invest 16-9

It caught many investors by surprise when the market soared after Donald Trump won the presidential election. Many pundits saw the S&P 500 correcting by 10% if Trump won the election, and many investors were preparing for the worst going into election night. Fast-forward to today, and the markets are up about 10% in a few months.

If you?d followed Warren Buffett?s time-tested piece of contrarian advice to ?be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful,? then you would have profited greatly from Trump?s election win.

Investing in the stock market is a long-term game, and nobody knows where the market is going in the short term. If you panicked and sold your stocks, then you would have missed out on the incredible Trump rally. If you stay the course and take a look at the big picture, then there?s no doubt that you?ll do very well in the long run as you unlock the true power of compounding.

Prem Watsa, also known as the ?Warren Buffett of Canada,? needs no introduction to most investors. He?s the CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (TSX:FFH), and he?s one of the best-known bearish investors out there. He was fully hedged against an economic downturn and had many short positions initiated because he believed there would be a correction in the near future, potentially triggered by a Trump victory.

Watsa was caught with his pants down when the markets soared into the atmosphere as investors became confident with the Trump Administration?s plans to ?Make America great again.? President Trump is prepared to reduce corporate tax rates and reduce a number of regulations, so there?s no question that American businesses will thrive. This was enough to turn long-time bear Prem Watsa into a bull, which caught many by surprise.

Watsa recently removed all defensive equity index hedges because Fairfax suffered massive losses in 2016, which were likely to continue in 2017 and beyond. Because of this move, I believe Fairfax has limited downside from current levels and there exists a considerable margin of safety.

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Fairfax stock has gone virtually nowhere for the last two years, and it might be a good time to load up on shares as we head into the late stages of a bull market. Sure, the bull still has legs, but this will inevitably change a few years down the road.

There?s no need to get overexcited in this high-flying market, and it can?t hurt to have an insurance policy for your portfolio in case the markets start sliding. Defensive names will eventually become popular with investors again, and when this time comes, Fairfax will be a huge winner.

The stock currently trades at a 1.2 price-to-book multiple and a 1.1 price-to-sales multiple, both of which are in line with the company?s five-year historical average multiples of 1.2 and 1.2, respectively. The stock is definitely one of the few cheap names in an overheated market, so if you?re a conservative investor, then it might be time to pick up shares of Fairfax on the recent dip. Collect the 2.1% dividend yield while you wait for shares to rebound over the next few years.

Worried about what the market will do in 2017? Here's how our "pros" are investing our company's own money...

First Brexit... then Trump. Yet, despite all the looming concerns on the horizon, the market continues to push higher and higher. Now many investors are asking us how they should invest in this market -- or if they should even be investing at all.

Which is why Jim Gilles (who serves as the lead advisor of our invitation-only, real-money-portfolio service, Motley Fool Pro Canada) has put together a free special report detailing six strategies he's using to manage $250,000 of our company's own money during these highly uncertain times.

For a limited time you can download this "Pro 2017 Survival Guide" free of charge by simply clicking here.

More reading

Fool contributor Joey Frenette has no position in any stocks mentioned. Fairfax Financial is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.



Worried about what the market will do in 2017? Here's how our "pros" are investing our company's own money...

First Brexit... then Trump. Yet, despite all the looming concerns on the horizon, the market continues to push higher and higher. Now many investors are asking us how they should invest in this market -- or if they should even be investing at all.

Which is why Jim Gilles (who serves as the lead advisor of our invitation-only, real-money-portfolio service, Motley Fool Pro Canada) has put together a free special report detailing six strategies he's using to manage $250,000 of our company's own money during these highly uncertain times.

For a limited time you can download this "Pro 2017 Survival Guide" free of charge by simply clicking here.

Fool contributor Joey Frenette has no position in any stocks mentioned. Fairfax Financial is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.


By Geert De Clercq

PARIS (Reuters) - French waste and water group Suez has boosted its industrial water treatment business with the 3.2 billion euros ($3.4 billion) acquisition of GE Water from General Electric (NYSE:GE - News).

The deal will give Suez access to most major industries globally, including food and beverage, oil and gas, power, mining, pharmaceuticals, and micro-electronics and will make it a supplier to blue-chip companies such as Exxon-Mobil, Total, Shell, BASF, Nestle, Cargill, Intel, Samsung and Pfizer.

Chief Executive Jean-Louis Chaussade told reporters on Wednesday the industrial water market was more important than Suez's traditional municipal water market, because industry accounts for 15-20 percent of global water consumption compared with just 5-8 percent for human consumption in cities.

In an all-cash deal, Suez (:SEVI.PA) and Canadian fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) will acquire 100 percent of GE Water's equity and debt through a 70/30 joint venture, to which Suez will contribute its existing industrial water activities. The new business will operate under the Suez brand.

The business will have revenue of about 2 billion euros, compared with Suez's 2016 revenue of 15.3 billion euros, and will employ 10,000 people, of which 7,500 will come from GE.

The industrial water market is worth about 95 billion euros globally and grows about 5 percent per year, Chaussade said.

Chaussade said there had been several rounds of bidding for GE Water, but believed that in the third and final round it was up against U.S. fund Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

Suez has secured bridge financing for the deal, and may refinance it with a 750 million euro capital increase.

Its main shareholders, Engie (:ENGIE.PA), CriteriaCaixa and Caltagirone Group, have confirmed their intention to participate in the capital increase for their pro-rata share, Suez said.

Lead shareholder Engie said the cost of subscribing to the full extent of its 32.6 percent stake would be 240 million euros.

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Suez finance chief Christophe Cross said that once the deal was finalised, probably early in the third quarter, Suez would prepare a capital increase.

Suez will also issue a 1.1 billion euro long-term senior bond and 600 million worth of hybrid bonds. CDPQ will contribute 700 million euros of equity to the venture.

Chaussade said Suez expected 200 million euros of revenue synergies per year in the group's water business, but had not included possible synergies between water and waste.

"Cross-selling between our water and waste units will be reinforced, as clients increasingly want environment services that include water and waste treatment," he said.

In the past 12 months, Suez shares have fallen about 13 percent, making them the second-worst performer in the Stoxx European Utilities index (.SX6P) after bigger peer Veolia (Paris:VIE.PA - News), whose shares are down about 22 percent.

Both firms are trying to diversify into industrial water as their traditional European water business stagnates.

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Adrian Croft and Mark Potter)
Shares of Caterpillar (CAT) are falling after a report commissioned by the US government accused the heavy machinery company of tax and accounting fraud.

According to the New York Times, the report focused on the companys offshore tax arrangement and its failure to pay federal taxes on billions of dollars brought back to the US. The allegation comes after three of its Central Illinois facilities were raided by federal law enforcement last week. The company has said that it has not viewed the government report and it has not been made public.

The stock was down about 1.4% in intraday trading as of noon ET, falling further from its 2014 highs. Caterpillar is one of the 30 components of the Dow.

Caterpillar did not comply with either US tax law or US financial reporting rules, Leslie A. Robinson, author of the report and professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, wrote to the New York Times.

The accusations come after President Donald Trump touted the company at a meeting of manufacturing executives at the White House last month for producing great bulldozers.

For the latest on Caterpillar, check out the Final Round, live at 4 p.m. EST, right here on Yahoo Finance.
Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller speaks during Volkswagen event ahead of the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

By Andreas Cremer and Agnieszka Flak

GENEVA (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler (:FCHA.MI) boss Sergio Marchionne's attempts to find a partner were frustrated for a second time in as many days on Wednesday, as Volkswagen (VW) joined General Motors (GM) in dismissing any interest in talks with their smaller rival.

Marchionne said on Tuesday that European market leader VW (VOWG_p.DE) would be hardest hit by PSA Group's (Paris:UG.PA - News) purchase of Opel, which will create a stronger European No. 2, and the pressure could prompt VW to sit down with FCA.

But VW chief Matthias Mueller was quick to rebuff the overtures, saying his company had enough on its plate already as it battles to recover from a diesel emissions scandal.

"We are not ready for talks about anything ... we have other problems," he told Reuters on the fringes of the Geneva auto show on Wednesday. "I haven't seen Marchionne for months."

Marchionne has long advocated car industry mergers to share the costs of making cleaner and more technologically advanced vehicles and on Tuesday stressed deals were as vital as ever.

"You need to achieve scale or we will end up delivering an incredibly poor return and margins on this business. We need to fix this," he said, referring to the wider auto industry.

The PSA-Opel deal leaves FCA in an increasingly difficult position in Europe. The indebted group has a European market share of only about 7 percent, its operating margin of 2.5 percent lags most rivals, as does its spending on cleaner and more autonomous cars.

Mueller's rejection follows a similar snub from GM (NYSE:GM - News), after Marchionne said the U.S. company remained his favorite merger candidate despite its decision to exit Europe by selling Opel and having rebuffed FCA's approaches several times already.

"We weren't interested before and we're even less interested now," GM President Dan Ammann told reporters in Geneva.

A combination of VW and FCA could in theory create a European market leader with a share of around 30 percent, give VW a strong foothold in North America through FCA's Chrysler operations and fix FCA's lack of scale in Asia. But the combination could also mean thousands of job losses that unions and politicians from Italy to Germany would strongly oppose.

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Mueller also stressed scale was not a priority for VW.

"In my opinion, size does not matter," he said. "I have always said volume is not our sole goal. We want to be a successful manufacturer in every way."

DIESELGATE WOES

Marchionne is courting VW at the worst possible time.

The German company is at the start of a multi-billion-euro transformation to embrace electric cars and automated driving as it struggles to overcome its emissions scandal.

While grappling with billions of costs for fines, buy-backs and other charges in the United States, VW is also facing a mounting challenges from consumer groups seeking compensation.

The group is battling with its powerful labor unions too about cost cuts to fund its new strategy.

Since being rejected by GM, Marchionne has focused on eliminating debt and shifting production towards higher-margin vehicles, including SUVs, to become a more attractive merger partner in future. But his options appear to be dwindling.

"In western countries we believe that Volkswagen remains the main candidate for M&A, but after dieselgate, which likely stopped everything for a while, the top candidates for an FCA deal moved to the East (Koreans or Chinese), with all the risks on timing and political consequences that they would bring," said Angelo Meda, head of equities at Banor SIM.

Some analysts also question why anyone would buy FCA now when the price could be set to fall, given the North American market - where it makes most of its profits - may be peaking.

(Additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach in Geneva and Danilo Masoni in Milan; Editing by Mark Potter)
As part of Yahoos global coverage of International Womens Day 2017, Yahoo Canada profiled women from various backgrounds and professions and asked them Whats next? What happens after Womens Day  what would women like to see happen next in their personal lives, in their respective careers, and as a whole for females across the nation? Check out more of our International Womens Day coverage here.

The cast and crew of The Big Bang Theory accepts the award for Favorite Network TV Comedy at the Peoples Choice Awards 2017 in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. (REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)

Only 42 per cent of men are aware that men and women receive different pay for doing the same job, according to a 2016 survey by U.K.-based Totaljobs.

This article is for the other 58 per cent.

While salaries are a touchy subject in all workplaces, the World Economic Forum says the gender pay gap is actually going backwards in North America instead of moving towards parity.

Interestingly, the Totaljobs survey found that women employees typically expect to be paid 6,562 (roughly $10,750) less than men across average salaries based on research results from 4,700 employees and 145 employers.

Men are also twice as likely as women to feel comfortable asking for a pay rise, according to the same survey.

In Canada

, things arent looking good for pay equality. Women earned 74.4 per cent of what men earned in 2009. It fell to 73.6 per cent in 2010, and then to 72 per cent in 2011. Thats roughly where we are today.

What can women do? Well, the solidarity approach does seem to work, at least in Hollywood. Last week, five of the original cast of CBS primetime sitcom The Big Bang Theory agreed to each take a cut of US$100,000 per episode to bolster the salaries of two actresses who are now series regulars. Of course, it was probably an easier decision given that the original cast earns $1 million an episode. And if this sounds familiar, its because the cast of wildly popular 1990s sitcom Friends did something similar. But they, too, made $1 million an episode  back in 2002.

Are non-television-star men prepared to help level the playing field? Yes, some are. Roughly 25 per cent of participants in an NBC News State of Kindness poll said they would voluntarily take a pay cut if it meant saving a co-workers job. But almost 20 per cent said they would not volunteer have their salary cut to save the job of a colleague.

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Overall, men were much more likely than women to say they would accept lower pay by 32% to 21%. But it depends on a few factors, such as the particular circumstances. Of the women surveyed, 60% based their answers on context, versus just over 50% of men.

Family also matters. CNBCs results showed that 30 per cent of parents would take a pay decrease to help a colleague versus only 20 per cent of participants without children.

Have your say: As a man, would you take a pay cut to help close the wage gap?
Today is International Womens Day, a worldwide event that celebrates womens achievements, while calling for gender equality. To mark the occasion, here are 10 of the many Canadian women who have helped change their country for the better.

Who are your Canadian heroines? Let us know in our comments section below.

Emily Carr

Emily Carr has been called the most important B.C. artist of her generation by the Vancouver Art Gallery. Known for paintings that express a spiritual connection to the B.C. landscape and document First Nations settlements, Carr remains influential to many of todays Canadian artists. She also excelled at writing. Her memoir Klee Wyck earned the Governor Generals Award for English-language non-fiction in 1941. A university for art and design located on Granville Island in Vancouver is named after Carr.

Viola Desmond

Before the modern civil rights movement in the United States, Viola Desmond took a stand for racial equality in a rural Nova Scotia movie theatre. In 1946, the black businesswoman refused to leave a whites-only area of the theatre. As a result, she was jailed and charged with breaking the law. While officials denied that Desmonds race was the root of the issue, her case galvanized Nova Scotias black population to fight for change. In 1954, segregation was legally ended in Nova Scotia. In 2016, it was announced that Desmond would become the first woman, other than the Queen, to be featured on Canadian currency.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary

Born in Delaware, Mary Shadd Cary moved to Windsor in Canada West (now Ontario) to teach in 1851, ultimately becoming an advocate for universal education, black emancipation, and womens rights. She later became the first black woman in North America to publish a newspaper, although at first she had to have a man stand in for her as the apparent publisher.

Mary Two-Axe Earley

Mary Two-Axe Earley challenged law discriminating against First Nations women. Born on the Kahnawake Mohawk territory, close to Montreal, she moved to Brooklyn as an adult and married a non-Aboriginal man. Consequently, she lost her official status due to a clause in the Indian Act. But in 1967, she took her case of gender discrimination to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. She won and got her status back.

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Nellie McClung

Nellie McClung is best remembered for her role in helping get women the vote. In 1914, she staged a mock satirical parliament in which she and other members of the Political Equality League discussed whether or not men should have the vote. The play aided in changing public opinion, and in 1916, Manitoba became the first province to grant women the right to vote.

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian award-winning writer best known for her poetry, short stories and novels. Atwood is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and has been presented with the Order of Ontario. She has also been awarded countless honorary degrees, both nationally and internationally.

Dr. Roberta Bondar

Dr. Roberta Bondar is best known as Canadas first female astronaut in space after a 1992 mission. In a recent interview with The Canadian Press, Gilles Leclerc, director general of space exploration at the Canadian Space Agency, said Bondar did Canada proud. That flight took place 25 years ago. A lot has happened since. She was really a pioneer. But Dr. Bondars accomplishments go far beyond her time in space. She holds neuroscience and medical degrees, which she says have allowed her to save countless lives. Space was eight days of my life. Im still evolving, she proclaimed.

Alice Munro

Alice Munro is revered worldwide as a master of the short story, with 14 acclaimed collections. In 2013 she became the first Canadian to win the Nobel Prize for literature. In addition to winning countless awards for her work, in 2005, Munro was listed as one of Time magazines 100 most influential people.

Agnes Macphail

Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected to the House of Commons in 1921. She also founded the Elizabeth Fry Society, a Canadian association that works with and for women and girls in the justice system, particularly those who are, or may be, criminalized. In 1951, just a few years before her death, Macphail was elected to Ontarios Legislative Assembly, where she initiated the provinces first equal-pay legislation.

Jennie Trout

Jennie Trout helped lead the way for Canadian women in medicine. Trout and fellow student Emily Stowe were allowed to attend lectures at the Toronto School of Medicine, only on the condition that they make no fuss, whatever happened. But the male students jeered at the women, ultimately leading to Trout moving to the U.S. for her medical education. She returned to Canada in 1875 with a medical degree from the Womens Medical College of Pennsylvania. After passing the Ontario registration exam, she became the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada. In addition to working as a physician, Trout also worked tirelessly to help open a medical college for women in Canada and ensure women could sit on the colleges board of governors.
By Sofia Menchu SAN JOSE PINULA, Guatemala (Reuters) - A fire tore through a home for abused teenagers and children in Guatemala, killing at least 19 girls on Wednesday after some residents set mattresses ablaze following an overnight attempt to escape from the overcrowded center, police said. A crowd of relatives, some wailing with grief, gathered outside the government-run Virgen de Asuncion home for youth up to 18 years of age, in San Jose Pinula, 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of the capital Guatemala City. Nery Ramos, head of Guatemala's national police, said at the scene that 19 people, all girls, were confirmed dead. Local hospitals reported at least 40 others being treated for burns. The blaze started when a group of young people who had been isolated by authorities after a riot and an escape attempt at the center on Tuesday night set fire to mattresses, Ramos said. Authorities were investigating whether those who started the blaze were the same ones who tried to escape, he added. "What happened is extremely serious, and even more so for the fact that it could have been avoided," Anabella Morfin, Guatemala's solicitor general told a news conference. "This should never have happened." Burnt bodies partially covered in blankets were strewn across the floor of a blackened room in the home, pictures posted to Twitter by the firefighters showed. President Jimmy Morales declared three days of national mourning, and the government criticized conditions at the home. Mayra Veliz, secretary general of the attorney general's office, pledged a transparent investigation into the cause of the blaze. She said that a group of disabled girls had been bussed to another shelter as detectives scoured the site. Plagued by Latin America's worst rates of child malnutrition and street gangs like the Mara Salvatrucha which often prey on minors, Guatemala can be a traumatic place to grow up. Conditions in the Central American nation's public institutions are often dismal with widespread overcrowding. DISTRAUGHT RELATIVES On Tuesday night, riot police went in to quell unrest over the home's conditions. Dozens of residents escaped, but 54 were recaptured and isolated, police chief Ramos said. The Virgen de Asuncion home has long suffered from overcrowding, with Guatemalan media reporting that more than 500 people were crammed into the center designed to house 400. Distraught relatives said abuse was common at the center, which is run by the Ministry for Social Welfare, and presidential spokesman Heinz Heimann condemned what he described as the shelter's open living arrangements. "It shouldn't be possible that girls who simply were suffering, that didn't have any problems with the law, are mixed with young people who have committed crimes," Heimann said. "This can't be allowed to continue." Parents were at a loss to comprehend the tragedy. Domestic worker Alicia Lopez, 50, had been outside the home for hours trying to find out what happened to her autistic 12-year-old son who came to the center with a drug addiction. She said he had been raped there last week. "I still don't have information... I want justice for him," Lopez said at the home, which takes in abandoned children as well as victims of abuse and trafficking. Andrea Palomo told reporters in tears that she had brought her 15-year-old son to the home to discipline him. But he told her he was mistreated and complained that gang members there tattooed the children, she said. Guatemala's ombudsman for human rights decides whether children are placed in the home and some parents praised it. Cristina Puac, 59, said her adopted teenage daughter Gladys was placed there for being rebellious and aggressive, and stealing things. "When I came to see her, everything seemed fine," she said. "She never complained about anything." (Additional reporting by Enrique Pretel, writing by Christine Murray; editing by G Crosse, Frank Jack Daniel and Richard Chang)
Machine Learning

Google Cloud Acquires Kaggle, Releases New Machine Learning Products

Google Cloud has acquired Kaggle, home to the worlds largest community of data scientists and machine learning enthusiasts. More than 800,000 data experts use Kaggle to explore, analyze and understand the latest updates in machine learning and data analytics.

Google Cloud is also releasing new machine learning products, including a Video Intelligence application program interface (API) that automatically recognizes objects in videos and makes them searchable and discoverable. Users can type in words such as dog, flower or human, or verbs such as run, swim or fly, and search within every shot or frame of every video file in their catalogs.

The API quickly annotates videos stored in Google Cloud Storage with video, shot and frame-level context. Here are some main features:

Label detection, identifying objects such as everyday items, places and things (i.e. elephants);

Temporal annotations: One can search for relevant entities across ones entire video catalog and automatically aggregate ones search by video and each frame location; and

Shot change detection: Detect scene changes within the video.

Some applications of this new technology include media archiving, allowing publishing platforms to recommend digital content to consumers, and video content discovery.

Google also revealed new capabilities for Vision API, as well as an Advanced Solutions Lab (ASL) training facility.

Vision API has added new capabilities that support new enterprise use cases for image search:

Expansion of video APIs metadata to recognize millions of entities from Googles Knowledge Graph. Google is now using the same metadata that powers Google image search. This also enables the API to detect and group similar images.

Enhanced optical character recognition that can extract text from images of text-heavy documents such as books or legal contracts.

The ASL is a new Google facility in Mountain View, CA, that is designed for customers to directly collaborate with Googles machine learning experts. Customers will be able to explore how machine learning can solve their specific use cases, while getting trained on the principles of machine learning and how to use Cloud Machine Learning Engine, which is Googles fully managed service for building and training machine learning models at scale. The training is based on Googles own internal education and training for machine learning.

Cloud Machine Learning Engine (CMLE, formerly known as Cloud Machine Learning Platform) is now generally available for all businesses. CMLE can create a rich environment across TensorFlow and cloud computing tools such as Google Cloud Dataflow, BigQuery, Cloud Storage and Cloud Datalab.

CMLE has been deployed by companies such as Airbus and Ocado.

Google announced these new products and developments at its Google Cloud Next conference, taking place today through March 10 in San Francisco.

For more information on Googles new products and developments, visit Google Clouds Big Data and Machine Learning Blog.
TUESDAY, March 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- A tax designed to reduce mid-city traffic in Stockholm, Sweden, was tied to a reduction in asthma attacks in children, a new study suggests.

"The key takeaways of this paper are that health gains can be realized through efforts to lower air pollution, and that we need to be patient in waiting for the complete picture to emerge," said study author Emilia Simeonova, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

After Stockholm introduced the "congestion tax" as an experiment in 2006 to discourage people from driving in the center of the city, traffic flow got better and air pollution levels fell by 5 to 10 percent. The tax was made into law in 2007.

The tax costs drivers the U.S. equivalent of $2.60 when they drive in certain areas of the city at congested times of the workday. The tax is collected through scanners that gather license plate information.

In addition to the drop in air pollution levels, there was an unexpected drop in childhood asthma rates for kids up to 6 years old. Asthma attacks declined nearly 50 percent among local children after the introduction of the tax, according to the study findings.

However, the study couldn't prove a direct cause-and-effect link.

The researchers reported the decrease in asthma attacks occurred gradually, over several years.

Asthma attacks fell more than 12 percent in the first seven months after the congestion tax was introduced. Over the next few years, asthma declined 47 percent, the study found.

That suggests the full benefits of reduced air pollution might not occur immediately, according to Simeonova.

"These findings show that traffic congestion fees in large cities can have significantly positive effects on health in the short term but even larger effects in the longer term," Simeonova said a Hopkins news release.

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association, in Chicago. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until they've been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on asthma.
Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, one of the most famous college dropouts in the world, is finally getting his degree from Harvard.

No, the 32-year-old billionaire Facebook CEO isnt going back to class. Instead, he will be delivering the commencement address to the class of 2017, and that means he'll also be receiving an honorary degree.

Harvard President Drew Faust explained in a statement to the Harvard Gazette that the decision to bring in Zuckerberg to speak at the 366th commencement was a no-brainer.

Few inventions in modern times can rival Facebook in its far-reaching impact on how people around the globe interact with one another, she explained. And few individuals can rival Mark Zuckerberg in his drive to change our world through the innovative use of technology, as well as his commitment to advance science, enhance education, and expand opportunity through the pursuit of philanthropy.

The announcement comes 10 years after Harvard had its first tech billionaire dropout, Bill Gates, speak at commencement. The university released a short video featuring the pair in which Zuckerberg asks Gates for advice on what to say in his address.

Zuckerberg famously left Harvard as a sophomore in 2004 to move to Palo Alto, CA and pursue his then-fledgling social network. Over the past 13 years, it has grown into one of the most valuable, powerful, and influential companies in the world.

Zuckerberg will speak to Harvard graduates on May 25.

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Imprisoned spiritual thinker Mohammad Ali Taheri has again been tried for the charge of "corruption on earth" despite being cleared of the same charge in 2015, his sister Azardokht Taheri told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).





If convicted, the founder of the banned Erfan-e Halgheh spiritual group could be issued the death penalty.





"We are very worried. The authorities have no respect for their own rulings. My brother was acquitted of 'corruption on earth,' but according to his lawyer (Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaee), that charge was brought up again in court on February 27 (2017) even though the trial was supposed to be for the charge of 'engaging in medical practices,'" Azardokht Taheri told CHRI on March 2, 2017.





The day after his trial, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) station aired a propaganda video featuring alleged former students of Taheri calling for his execution for his alleged promotion of "anti-Islamic" views.





"This program was shown to deceive the public," said Azardokht Taheri. "Mr. Taheri has many students and they have always said that they got good results from his courses. Why weren't they interviewed?"





"Nowhere (in the video) does Mr. Taheri say he has done anything wrong," she added. "They aired only bits and pieces of his statements. We're worried that it was aired for sinister reasons."





In the heavily edited interviews, Taheri's "students" claim he taught anti-Islamic ideas and encouraged them to distance themselves from God and Islam. One woman said her daughter stopped praying after attending his classes.





The video also included clips from Taheri's lectures, all of which included no statements against Islam.





Some scenes also appeared to be taken from his taped interrogation sessions, in which he refuses to express regret for his personal beliefs.





Mohammad Ali Taheri, 60, was due to be freed in May 2016 after the completion of his 5-year prison sentence for "insulting the sacred" and "immoral contact with women."





In February 2015, he was again interrogated about alleged heresy in his books and sentenced to death for spreading "corruption on earth," but the Supreme Court rejected the verdict in December and opened his case for reconsideration.





His latest trial was held at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided by Judge Mashallah Ahmadzadeh.





Iran's security establishment has come down hard on Taheri and supporters of the Erfan-e Halgheh spiritual group, viewing it and any other alternative belief system, especially those seeking converts, as a threat to the prevailing Shia order.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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Source: iranhumanrights.org, March 8, 2017
Rolando Ruiz

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the appeals from attorneys trying to keep a paid hit man from execution in Texas for gunning down a San Antonio woman in a life insurance scheme nearly a quarter-century ago.



Rolando Ruiz was convicted of accepting $2,000 to fatally shoot Theresa Rodriguez, 29, outside her home in 1992 as she was getting out of a car with her husband and brother-in-law, who both orchestrated her murder.



The ruling came down just after 10 p.m. and he was pronounced dead at 11:06 p.m.



The execution was delayed nearly 5 hours before the U.S. Supreme Court rejected last-day appeals from Ruiz's attorneys.



Ruiz approached a car pulling up to Rodriguez's home the night of July 14, 1992, under the guise of seeking directions.



Her husband of nearly seven years, Michael, was in the car along with Michael's brother, Mark. Ruiz, who already had pocketed $1,000 and had failed in two earlier killing attempts, asked Mark Rodriguez if he wanted him to "do it," and Rodriguez gave him the go-ahead. As Theresa Rodriguez was getting out of the car, Ruiz put a .357 Magnum revolver to her head and fired.



3 days later, Ruiz collected another $1,000 for the completed job.



Evidence showed Michael Rodriguez stood to collect at least a quarter-million dollars in insurance benefits from his wife's death and that he'd recently applied for another $150,000 in life insurance for her.



Ruiz had met Mark Rodriguez at the home of a mutual friend, was arrested nine days after the shooting and implicated the brothers.



The police investigation was aided by a telephone tip after Theresa Rodriguez's employer, the San Antonio-based financial services giant USAA, offered a $50,000 reward for information about her slaying.



Ruiz becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 541st overall since the state resumed capital punishment on december 7, 1982. Ruiz becomes the 23rd condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas since greg Abbott became governor.



Ruiz becomes the 5th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1447th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.



Source: KSAT news, Rick Halperin, March 7, 2017





Texas Hit Man Executed for 1992 Murder

Its been almost 25 years since Rolando Ruiz shot and killed a San Antonio woman in her garage. He was a 20-year-old hitman, paid $2,000 by the woman's husband and brother-in-law, who were out to collect her life insurance money.





Ruiz killed 29-year-old Theresa Rodriguez in July 1992; he was convicted and sentenced to death almost three years later. Rodriguezs husband and brother-in-law, Michael and Mark Rodriguez, both received life sentences.





Michael, the husband, escaped from prison in 2000, one of the notorious Texas 7. He was sentenced to death and executed in 2008 for a murder the prisoners committed while on the run. Mark, the brother-in-law, was released on parole in 2011 and was recently charged with felony theft in an alleged roofing scam.





Ruiz lived in solitary confinement on death row, awaiting an execution that has come down to the wire four times.





Hes actually had three different execution dates before this one, two of which were stayed at the eleventh hour, said Burke Butler, one of Ruizs appellate attorneys with the Texas Defender Service. That obviously is something that causes immense psychological pain and stress.





Ruiz had multiple petitions pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, most claiming his prolonged confinement on death row  about 22 years, or half of his life  qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment.





The court has been divided on that matter; Justice Stephen Breyer, the high courts leading death penalty opponent, said in a 1999 opinion that it is cruel and unusual to leave inmates on death row for decades. Others, like Justice Clarence Thomas, have argued it is the defendant who creates the long confinement by filing and refiling appeals.





Ruizs first execution was scheduled for July 2007, 12 years after he was sentenced to death.





He had been trying unsuccessfully to bring his claims of ineffective counsel to court. He argued his trial lawyer didnt present enough mitigating evidence in court, like an abusive childhood and substance abuse, and that his state appellate lawyer failed to bring up his ineffective trial lawyer in appeals. Although a federal court agreed with Ruizs argument and went so far as to call his appellate lawyers representation appallingly inept, procedural rules kept that court from reviewing his case.





But after a new, last-minute filing, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted Ruiz a stay and agreed to review the case. Ruiz was sitting in a holding cell waiting to be walked into the execution chamber. Instead he was led out of the prison and back to death row.





Ultimately, the lower federal court ruled that Ruizs claims of ineffective counsel were not worthy of a new sentencing trial, and a new execution date was set for July. It was rescheduled to Aug. 31. But five days before that execution, he got another stay, this time from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.





Ruiz had filed another appeal a couple of weeks earlier, and the court postponed his execution while it reviewed the case. In November, its judges issued a harsh ruling denying Ruizs claims  both of ineffective counsel and of cruel and unusual punishment.





Rolando Ruiz does not contest his guilt. He just doesnt want to be executed. Neither did Theresa Rodriguez, Judge Bert Richardson wrote in the courts opinion.





At the Bexar County District Attorneys Office, appellate division chief Rico Valdez said Ruiz deserves the death penalty because of his violent nature.





In Ruizs case, its just his background. He just had a history of being a violent person, Valdez said.





Ruiz was a gang member and has had multiple violent encounters in prison with inmates and officers, Valdez said. According to prison records, Ruiz was convicted of aggravated assault on a Bexar County corrections officer while he was awaiting his original death penalty trial.

Hit man in San Antonio murder-for-hire slaying set to die

Texas' Death House, The Walls Unit, Huntsville, Texas

Rolando Ruiz is scheduled to die for the murder-for-hire slaying he carried out more than 24 years ago





Rolando Ruiz walked up to a car as it pulled into the driveway of a San Antonio home and said he needed directions.





Then he asked Mark Rodriguez, 1 of the 2 men inside the vehicle, "Do I do it?" Rodriguez replied: "Yes."





Theresa Rodriguez, Mark's sister-in-law, was getting out the passenger side of the car, looked up at Ruiz as he walked toward her and smiled at him, according to court documents. Ruiz put a .357 Magnum revolver to her head and fired.





On Tuesday, Ruiz, 44, was set for lethal injection for the murder-for-hire slaying he carried out more than 24 years ago. Evidence showed he received $2,000 from Mark Rodriguez, whose brother, Michael, stood to collect at least a quarter-million dollars in insurance benefits from his 29-year-old wife's death. Evidence also showed Michael Rodriguez, who also was in the car the night of July 14, 1992, recently had applied for another $150,000 in life insurance for his wife.





Ruiz's execution would be the 3rd this year in Texas and the 5th nationally.





His lawyers argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that lower courts improperly rejected an earlier appeal. They also contended Ruiz's execution would be unconstitutionally cruel because he's suffered a "uniquely devastating psychological toll" after nearly a quarter-century on death row, multiple execution dates and 2 reprieves.





"It is entirely attributable to the state's failure to provide competent lawyers," attorney Lee Kovarsky told the high court in a filing. He also argued the deterrent value of the punishment was "undercut" by the lengthy time between imposing the sentence and carrying it out.





State attorneys contended Ruiz's arguments were meant to distract the courts from the weakness of his claims and said Ruiz had taken advantage of legal mechanisms to ensure his conviction and sentence were proper and previous judicial reviews found no constitutional error. While some individual Supreme Court justices have raised questions about long death row confinement, the courts consistently have ruled it was not unconstitutionally cruel, Assistant Texas Attorney General Edward Marshall told the justices. Ruiz's arguments about earlier deficient legal help "have been inspected, scrutinized, studied, probed, analyzed, reviewed and evaluated" at all levels of the federal courts, he said.





Ruiz had met Mark Rodriguez at the home of a mutual friend, was arrested nine days after the shooting and implicated the brothers in the contract killing scheme. Police focused on him after receiving a telephone tip after Theresa Rodriguez's employer, the insurance firm USAA, offered a $50,000 reward for information about her slaying.





Court records show Ruiz after the shooting drove off in a car waiting for him on the street. Evidence showed Mark Rodriguez already had paid him $1,000, then gave him another $1,000 3 days after the killing. Ruiz had made 2 earlier unsuccessful attempts to kill Theresa Rodriguez.





The Rodriguez brothers eventually accepted life prison terms in plea deals. Mark Rodriguez was paroled in 2011.





Michael Rodriguez later joined Ruiz on death row as one of the notorious Texas 7, a group of 7 inmates who escaped from a South Texas prison in 2000, remained fugitives for weeks and killed a Dallas-area police officer. He was executed in 2008. He blamed his infatuation with a younger woman for the contract murder plot.





Joe Ramon, who accompanied Ruiz the night of the shooting, and Robert Silva, identified as the intermediary who put the Rodriguez brothers in touch with Ruiz, also received life prison sentences.





Texas killer Ruiz apologizes for '92 contract murder before execution

Texas' death chamber

"Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am," the condemned prisoner said in his final statement.





After the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his last appeal, condemned contract killer Rolando Ruiz, Jr., was executed Tuesday night by the state of Texas -- its 3rd lethal injection in the past 2 months.





Prison officials at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville administered the lethal drugs at around 10:30 p.m., not long after the Supreme Court's decision. He was pronounced dead 29 minutes later.





Ruiz previously received 2 stays of execution from federal and state appeals courts. Monday, a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit denied another request for a stay and the United States' highest court followed suit late Tuesday.





Ruiz, 44, was tried and convicted of the 1992 contract killing of Theresa Rodriguez, which was orchestrated by her husband, Michael, and his brother, Mark, in order to collect on her $400,000 life insurance policy.





Ruiz showed remorse for the 29-year-old woman's death in his final statement Tuesday night.





"I would like to say to the Sanchez family how sorry I am. Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am and the hurt that I have caused you and your family," he told the woman's relatives just moments before his execution began. "To my family, thank you for all your love and support. I am at peace. Jesus Christ is Lord. I love you all."





2 of Theresa Rodriguez's sisters and 2 brothers in-law witnessed the execution, as did an acquaintance and half-brother of Ruiz's.





"There's never closure," the victim's father, Eddie Sanchez, said Monday. "It's not going to bring my daughter back."





Detectives found during their criminal investigation that Ruiz was paid $2,000 to kill Rodriguez when she returned home from an outing with her husband and brother in-law, who were in on the plot, on July 14, 1992. She was shot once in the face by Ruiz, who ambushed her while she sat in a car in the driveway of her San Antonio home.





The Rodriguez brothers pleaded guilty in the case and received life in prison. Ruiz, who was 20 at the time of the crime, was given a death sentence after a jury found him guilty of capital murder in May 1995.





Michael Rodriguez was later a member of the Texas Seven, a group of prisoners who escaped from a prison in east central Texas in 2000. He was executed 8 years later for killing a police officer during the escape.





The issue weighed by the Supreme Court Tuesday night was whether Ruiz had been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by spending 17 years in solitary confinement. Ruiz's attorneys argued in their petition that he had been, which would constitute a violation of the Eighth Amendment. The high court disagreed.





Ruiz's execution follows the lethal injections of 2 other convicted killers in Texas this year -- Christopher Chubasco Wilkins and Terry Darnell Edwards on Jan. 11 and Jan. 26, respectively. It is the 5th death sentence carried out in the United States this year.





Historically, Texas is the most active state when it comes to executing inmates. Nearly 550 Texas prisoners have been put to death since a nationwide moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in 1976. By contrast, California, which holds a death row population nearly 3 times the size of Texas, has executed 13 people. Florida, which incarcerates the nation's 2nd-largest group of condemned inmates (396), has executed less than 100 in that same time span. In 2016, though, Georgia carried out the most executions (9) in the country, followed by Texas (7).





Earlier this year, Texas filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for preventing the state from importing drugs that are used in lethal injections. Several other states are also having difficulty obtaining the drugs traditionally used in a 3-step process. Last week, Arkansas scheduled the executions of 8 prisoners on 4 days in April, purportedly because its supply of 1 drug will expire in May.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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Sources: The Texas Tribune, March 7, 2017Source: Associated Press, March 7, 2017Source: UPI, March 8, 2017
Bert Habets is to become the new co-CEO of RTL Group, replacing Anke Schaferkordt, who has decided to step down from the role and focus on the companys largest business operation RTL Deutschland.

Schaferkordt has led the group since September 2005 and during this time, the company systematically expanded its portfolio of linear TV channels and digital services. Shell continue to serve as a member of the exec board of RTLs majority shareholder Bertelsmann.

Habets, who is currently CEO of RTL Nederland, will steer the ship alongside co-CEO Guillaume de Posch and CFO Elmar Heggen. Hes expected to join the RTL Group Board of Directors as an executive director from April 19 and will remain the Dutch boss for the time being. The company is expected to announce a new CEO for RTL Nederland before the end of the year.

The pan-European broadcaster has interests in 60 television channels, 31 radio stations, a raft of production outfits, including FremantleMedia and boasts a rapidly growing video business. Its portfolio includes RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France, the RTL channels in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Croatia, Hungary and Antena 3 in Spain.

I would like to thank the whole management team at RTL Group and above all Guillaume de Posch and Elmar Heggen, for the close and trustful collaboration over the past five years, said Schaferkordt. From our comprehensive strategic review in 2012 to the IPO of RTL Group in Frankfurt/Main in 2013, our push into online video and advertising technology, leading and re-positioning RTL Group has been a fantastic experience for me. Now is the right time for me to focus fully on further advancing our German TV and digital operations and contributing to the strategic development of Bertelsmann.

RTL Chairman Thomas Rabe said: On behalf of the whole Board, I would like to thank Anke Schaferkordt for her outstanding entrepreneurial performance at the head of RTL Group. Together with her colleagues on the Executive Committee, she has succeeded in making RTL Group more digital, more international and faster growing. At the same time, she and her management team in Germany have continued the success story of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland. While I regret her decision, I fully respect her reasons and Im very happy that she will continue to lead and advance our largest business unit  and that she will contribute to her unique experience and expertise to the digital transformation of our group.

Story continues

He added: Since Bert Habets joined our group in 1999, he has proven his outstanding leadership and creative skills. He transformed RTL Nederland from a traditional broadcaster into a media company which entertains its audience across all digital platforms. Bert Habets embodies RTL Groups total video strategy.

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By Maria Sheahan and Ece Toksabay BERLIN/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign minister accused Germany on Wednesday of hostility toward his country and Islam, and Berlin complained of increased Turkish espionage on German soil as acrimony between the two NATO allies showed no sign of abating. Ankara is furious over the cancellation of several rallies by Turkish ministers in Germany, while Berlin has demanded the immediate release of a Turkish-German journalist detained on terrorism charges. Turkish ministers want to rally support among Germany's large ethnic Turkish community for President Tayyip Erdogan's bid to increase his powers in a referendum on April 16. Germany has said they can do so, provided they respect local laws, but has canceled several rallies, citing security concerns. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was allowed to speak at a rally in Hamburg on Tuesday evening, but he remained very critical of Berlin's stance after talks in Berlin on Wednesday with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel. "In Germany we see many politicians and the press ... are very harsh and very anti-Turkey and we even see Islamophobic sentiment," Cavusoglu said during a visit to the ITB travel fair, where he also pressed Turkey's continued appeal as a tourist destination. Cavusoglu said Turkey wanted to remain friends with Germany but that it was for Berlin to decide and to act accordingly. He said Gabriel would soon visit Turkey and added that Germany had agreed to all necessary security measures if Erdogan visited Germany ahead of the referendum. German foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said no official request for an Erdogan visit had been received. NAZI COMPARISON Speaking at a separate event after his meeting with Cavusoglu, Gabriel tried to strike a conciliatory note, mindful that Germany needs Turkey's active cooperation in helping to slow the flow of migrants and refugees to Europe. "Whatever differences and arguments we have, there is no alternative to talks because (only) then is there a possibility of returning, step-by step, to normalized and friendly relations between Germany and Turkey," said Gabriel. But he also made clear that campaigning in Germany came with certain conditions, including respect for the "ground rules", and said comparisons with Nazi Germany overstepped the mark. Gabriel was referring to comments by Erdogan on Sunday in which he described the cancellation of some political rallies in Germany as "fascist actions" reminiscent of the Nazi era. Bilateral relations have soured significantly since last July's failed coup in Turkey, with Germany and other European countries criticizing the scale of Erdogan's crackdown on suspected supporters of the coup. Berlin continued to press Ankara for consular access to Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel, whose arrest in Turkey has further strained ties in recent weeks, and for a fair judicial process, the foreign ministry said. The editor-in-chief of newspaper Die Welt, Yucel's employer, wrote an open full-page letter to Erdogan on Wednesday saying the current state of bilateral relations did not reflect what the two nations had in common. "You can change that. You of all people. Releasing Deniz Yucel would send a signal," Ulf Porschardt wrote in the letter, printed in both German and Turkish in the newspaper. Also on Wednesday, the German domestic intelligence agency BfV expressed concern about increased Turkish espionage in Germany and said internal Turkish divisions over Erdogan's referendum were playing out among ethnic Turks based in Germany. BfV chief Hans-Georg Maassen warned of "proxy fights" between supporters of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and right-wing Turkish nationalists on German streets. (Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Michelle Martin, and Reuters TV and Ankara and Istanbul bureaus; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Norwegian English

Norway's new powerhouse for artificial intelligence (AI) opens in Trondheim today. The new centre, Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab, will strengthen national competitiveness and add valuable, future-proof competencies to the Norwegian society.

"Artificial intelligence is perhaps the single most important technology of our century. In the future, AI will drive your car, revolutionize cancer treatment and make public services more efficient. With this opening we want to accelerate the education, research and competency building which will be crucial for Norway's ability to compete in the digital future," says Sigve Brekke, President & CEO of Telenor Group.

The new centre is financed by Telenor with NOK 50 million and the company's researchers will participate in joint projects at the lab. NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) contributes with academic resources, infrastructure and technical assistance while the research organization SINTEF will contribute with bringing the knowledge into practical use. Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab will be an inclusive and sharing centre where members of academia, businesses, startup communities, organisations and authorities can contribute to and benefit from the development of new knowledge. The lab will be based on established principles for research ethics, to which contributors must adhere.

"Artificial intelligence is an area where Norway can take a position internationally while simultaneously developing services to the benefit of Norwegian society. The most important aspect of the Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab is that we're now creating the foundation of knowledge for something we don't yet know what is. I believe that we will help create a society where technology makes our personal and professional lives simpler, smarter and better," says Gunnar Bovim, Rector at NTNU.

The objective is that companies and organizations will contribute with both real-life problems to be addressed as well as datasets for the scientists to work on together with the involved parties. Telenor will make available large and anonymized datasets from its mobile- and IoT networks.

"Artificial intelligence represents a fundamental technological shift that opens up for new opportunities, increased competitiveness for Norwegian industry, and greater efficiency in the public sector. SINTEF is betting heavily on AI and believe it is vital that leading expertise in this area is developed in Norway. In close collaboration with NTNU and Telenor, SINTEF will contribute to the development of technology based on AI that will increase value creation in Norway," says

Alexandra Bech Gjrv, CEO of SINTEF.

Opening today:

The Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab opens today in Trondheim. Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Monica Mland, Norwegian Minister of Culture Linda Hofstad Helleland, Sigve Brekke (Telenor), Gunnar Bovim (NTNU), and Alexandra Bech Gjrv (SINTEF) will attend the opening ceremony. This will be followed by a seminar about artificial intelligence open to students and the public.

Facts:

The Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab is located at Norway's premier technological university, NTNU, in close proximity to SINTEF in Trondheim. It will have 50 work stations spread over 120 sqm and be open to all students and faculty at NTNU. The lab will be managed by one professor, and master- and PhD students and scientists will conduct experiments in the lab and carry out research with external academic and industry partners.

The Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab will conduct research on theory and methods within machine learning (multiple technologies and applications that can understand, act and learn from big datasets) as well as pursue applied research at an international level. The ambition is also that the lab will stimulate the creation of new products, services, businesses and workplaces.

About Telenor's investment:

NOK 40 million will fund professorships, post-doctoral positions and master/PhD scholarships as well as hardware and software for the lab. An additional NOK 10 million will be dedicated to building an IoT innovation network which will provide an importance source of data for the lab's research work.

More information about the Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab: https://www.ntnu.edu/ailab

Click here for pictures of the new lab and logo.

Media contacts:

Hanne Knudsen, Telenor Group (hanne.knudsen@telenor.com, +4790804015)

Stein Mortensholm, NTNU (stein.mortensholm@ntnu.no, +4799009600)

Morten Dalsmo, SINTEF (morten.dalsmo@sintef.no, +47 952 91 417
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Mannedorf, Switzerland, March 8, 2017 - The Tecan Group (SIX Swiss Exchange: TECN) will hold an Analyst and Media Conference to discuss the full-year 2016 financial results on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 09:00 am CET in Zurich. The press release with the 2016 full-year financial results and a preprint of the Financial Report 2016 will be published on March 15, 2017 at 6:30 am CET.

The conference will be audio-webcast with synchronized presentation slides. A link to the webcast will be made available in the "Investor Relations" section of Tecan's website www.tecan.com immediately prior to the event.

Interested parties can also listen to the conference by phone.

The dial-in numbers for the call are as follows:

Participants from Europe: +41 58 310 50 00 or +44 203 059 58 62 (UK)

Participants from the U.S.: +1 631 570 5613

Participants should if possible dial in 15 minutes before the start of the event.

A replay of the webcast will be available after the presentation on the website www.tecan.com for a period of 90 days. An iPad app for Financial Reports of the Tecan Group is also available from the App Store.

About Tecan

Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading global provider of laboratory instruments and solutions in biopharmaceuticals, forensics and clinical diagnostics. The company specializes in the development, production and distribution of automated workflow solutions for laboratories in the life sciences sector. Its clients include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments, and forensic and diagnostic laboratories. As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Tecan is also a leader in developing and manufacturing OEM instruments and components that are then distributed by partner companies. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in both Europe and North America and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2015, Tecan generated sales of CHF 440 million (USD 459 million; EUR 411 million). Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (TECN; ISIN CH0012100191).

For further information:

Tecan Group

Martin Braendle

Vice President, Communications & Investor Relations

Tel. +41 (0) 44 922 84 30

Fax +41 (0) 44 922 88 89

investor@tecan.com

www.tecan.com
Press Release

Nokia 4.5G Pro technology enables Ooredoo Qatar to satisfy customer demand with peak speeds of up to 800 Mbps

With planned acquisition of additional spectrum, Ooredoo will be able to offer Gigabit data speeds later this year

08 March, 2017

Doha, Qatar - Nokia and Ooredoo Qatar have deployed Nokia 4.5G Pro technology to increase mobile data speeds to up to 800 Mbps for Ooredoo's customers in some of the busiest areas of Qatar's capital city.

With this deployment, Ooredoo Qatar becomes the first operator in the Ooredoo Group, and one of the first operators in the world, to launch 4.5G Pro services with Nokia.

The deployment of Nokia 4.5G Pro technology will enable Ooredoo to satisfy growing data demands in cultural, business and tourist hubs of Doha, including the Doha Corniche, Katara and West Bay areas as well as The Pearl-Qatar, an artificial island with a unique and innovative urban development in Doha.

The technology is powered by the Nokia AirScale radio platform and the deployment leverages two component carrier aggregation with 4x4 MIMO antenna technology and 256 QAM to deliver the peak 800 Mbps speeds. Ooredoo plans to acquire new spectrum and incorporate additional carrier aggregation to enable Gigabit data speeds for customers using devices that will be made available later this year. Ooredoo has continued to upgrade its nationwide Ooredoo Supernet in recent months, boosting speeds, improving latency and enhancing the customer experience.

In a demonstration of 4.9G technology at Mobile World Congress 2017, Nokia showed Ooredoo how data speeds could be increased to 3Gbps in the future. Nokia 4.9G technology will be commercially available toward the end of 2017 and will allow leading operators like Ooredoo Qatar to evolve their networks on the path to 5G, meeting demands in the most densely populated megacities.

Waleed Al-Sayed, Chief Executive Officer of Ooredoo Qatar, said: "We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible data experience by deploying the latest and best technology on the Ooredoo Supernet. Data traffic continues to grow across our network and working with Nokia we can leverage the higher speeds enabled by 4.5G Pro now - and further boost speeds in the future with 4.9G when it becomes commercially available - to satisfy these demands."

Bernard Najm, head of the Middle East Market Unit at Nokia, said: "We are delighted to continue our long history of collaborating with Ooredoo on this deployment. We are showing how our customers can use our technology to deliver performance boosts in the most demanding areas as they evolve their networks on the path to 5G."

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About Nokia

Nokia is a global leader innovating the technologies at the heart of our connected world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing.

From the enabling infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, to emerging applications in virtual reality and digital health, we are shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. www.nokia.com

Media Enquiries:

Kannan K

Nokia Media Relations

Phone: +971 529 823 406

E-mail: kannan.k@nokia.com

Communications

Phone: +358 (0) 10 448 4900

E-mail: press.services@nokia.com
MIAMI and SUNRISE, Fla., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI.A) (NYSE:HEI) today announced that its Flight Support Group has signed an agreement to acquire 80.1% of the operating units of Air Cost Control (A2C). A2Cs founders, Laurent and Laure Parelle will continue to own 19.9% of A2C. The purchase price and financial details were not disclosed.



HEICO stated that it expects the acquisition to be accretive to its earnings within the first year following the acquisition.

Founded by the Parelles in 2000, A2C is a leading aviation electrical interconnect product distributor of items such as connectors, wire, cable, protection and fastening systems. It also distributes a wide range of electromechanical parts. A2Cs customers include aircraft manufacturers and their sub-tier suppliers, as well as airlines and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organizations worldwide.

The acquisition, which is expected to be completed within 30-45 days, is subject to a foreign governmental approval and standard closing conditions.

A2C maintains extensive inventory and customer support centers in Hamburg, Germany, Sunrise, Florida and near Toulouse, France, as well as satellite offices in Paris, Beijing, Madrid, and Singapore, and employs approximately 130 team members. A2Cs entire management team will remain with the company in their existing roles and HEICO stated that it does not expect any employee turnover to result from the acquisition.

Laurans A. Mendelson, HEICOs Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Eric A. Mendelson, HEICOs Co-President, jointly commented, The Parelles have established an international presence with attention to customer service and impressive execution. We are especially pleased that they have chosen to join HEICO and are pleased to add A2C as a sister company to Seal Dynamics in HEICO Flight Supports distribution activities. We welcome the Parelles and the entire A2C team.

Laurent Parelle, President and CEO, and Laure Parelle, Executive VP and COO of A2C, jointly remarked, We are excited to have our team join the HEICO family. We believe that HEICO will support our growth while we retain the unique culture and customer relationships that we have built. Together we will continue our high standards of customer service that have driven our growth since founding A2C seventeen years ago.

HEICO Corporation is engaged primarily in the design, production, servicing and distribution of products and services to certain niche segments of the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries through its Hollywood, Florida-based Flight Support Group and its Miami, Florida-based Electronic Technologies Group. HEICOs customers include a majority of the worlds airlines and overhaul shops, as well as numerous defense and space contractors and military agencies worldwide, in addition to medical, telecommunications and electronics equipment manufacturers. For more information about HEICO, please visit our website at http://www.heico.com.

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties and contingencies. HEICO's actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by those forward-looking statements as a result of factors including: lower demand for commercial air travel or airline fleet changes or airline purchasing decisions, which could cause lower demand for our goods and services; product specification costs and requirements, which could cause an increase to our costs to complete contracts; governmental and regulatory demands, export policies and restrictions, reductions in defense, space or homeland security spending by U.S. and/or foreign customers or competition from existing and new competitors, which could reduce our sales; our ability to introduce new products and services at profitable pricing levels, which could reduce our sales or sales growth; product development or manufacturing difficulties, which could increase our product development costs and delay sales; our ability to make acquisitions and achieve operating synergies from acquired businesses; customer credit risk; interest, foreign currency exchange and income tax rates; economic conditions within and outside of the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications and electronics industries, which could negatively impact our costs and revenues; and defense budget cuts, which could reduce our defense-related revenue. Parties receiving this material are encouraged to review all of HEICO's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to filings on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
BOISE, Idaho, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. Geothermal Inc. (NYSE MKT:HTM), a leading and profitable renewable energy company focused on the development, production, and sale of electricity from geothermal energy, today announced that Douglas Glaspey, President and Chief Operating Officer, is scheduled to present at the 29th Annual ROTH Conference in Dana Point, CA. on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. PT.



The 29th Annual ROTH Conference is scheduled to take place at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel from March 12-15, 2017. The ROTH conference is one of the largest of its kind in the U.S. Following the success of previous years events, the ROTH Conference, with close to 500 participating companies and over 4,000 attendees, will feature presentations from public and private companies in a variety of sectors.

About U.S. Geothermal Inc.:

U.S. Geothermal Inc. is a leading and profitable renewable energy company focused on the development, production and sale of electricity from geothermal energy. The Company is currently operating geothermal power projects at Neal Hot Springs, Oregon, San Emidio, Nevada and Raft River, Idaho for a total power generation of approximately 45 MWs. The Company is also developing an additional estimated 115 MWs of projects at: the Geysers, California; a second phase project at San Emidio, Nevada; at Crescent Valley, Nevada; and the El Ceibillo project located near Guatemala City, Guatemala. U.S. Geothermals growth goal is to reach over 200 MWs of generation by 2021 through a combination of internal development and strategic acquisitions.

Please visit our Website at: http://www.usgeothermal.com

About ROTH Capital Partners

ROTH Capital Partners, LLC (ROTH), is a relationship-driven investment bank focused on serving emerging growth companies and their investors. As a full-service investment bank, ROTH provides capital raising, M&A advisory, analytical research, trading, market-making services and corporate access. Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, ROTH is privately-held and employee owned, and maintains offices throughout the U.S. For more information on ROTH, please visit www.roth.com.

The information provided in this news release may contain forward-looking statements within the definition of the Safe Harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned to review the risk factors identified by the company in its filings with US and Canadian securities agencies. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating to the future operating or financial performance of U.S. Geothermal, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding perceived merit of properties; interpretation of the results of well tests; project development; resource megawatt capacity; capital expenditures; timelines; strategic plans; or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from U.S. Geothermal's expectations include the uncertainties involving the availability of financing in the debt and capital markets; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of results of well tests; the need for cooperation of government agencies in the development and operation of properties; the need to obtain permits and governmental approvals; risks of construction; unexpected cost increases, which could include significant increases in estimated capital and operating costs; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in U.S. Geothermal's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities and in other U.S. Geothermal reports and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. Forward-looking statements are based on managements expectations, beliefs and opinions on the date the statements are made. U.S. Geothermal Inc. assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if managements expectations, beliefs, or opinions, or other factors, should change.

The NYSE MKT does not accept responsibility for the adequacy of this release.
NORCROSS, Ga., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vega Biofuels, Inc. (OTCPink:VGPR) announced today that it has received the first Purchase Order from the Five Year Agreement previously announced to provide the Companys Biochar product to legal cannabis growers in Alaska. The state of Alaska is the most recent state to legalize both medical and recreational cannabis use.



Vega Biofuels recently announced that it had signed a Five Year Agreement to provide the Companys Biochar to AK Provisions, Inc., located in Anchorage. Biochar is a highly absorbent specially designed charcoal-type product primarily used as a soil enhancement for the agricultural industry to significantly increase crop yields. Biochar offers a powerfully simple solution to some of todays most urgent environmental concerns. The production of Biochar for carbon sequestration in the soil is a carbon-negative process. Biochar is made from timber waste using torrefaction technology and the Companys patent pending manufacturing machine. When put back into the soil, Biochar can stabilize the carbon in the soil for hundreds of years. The introduction of Biochar into soil is not like applying fertilizer; it is the beginning of a process. Most of the benefit is achieved through microbes and fungi. They colonize its massive surface area and integrate into the char and the surrounding soil, dramatically increasing the soils ability to nurture plant growth and provide increased crop yield.

This first order will be used by AK Provisions, Inc. at its own facility currently under construction in Anchorage. AK Provisions plans to use Vegas Biochar in its own grow facilities, as well as market the product to other growers throughout the state of Alaska through a reseller agreement with Vega Biofuels.

We are happy to provide our product to the booming cannabis business in Alaska, stated Michael K. Molen, Chairman/CEO of Vega Biofuels, Inc. When mixed with normal soil, our Biochar product provides the perfect environment for any agricultural crop, not just cannabis. We plan to expand the reseller model to other states where weve had interest from growers. You cant argue with the results. Biochar holds valuable nutrients in the soil instead of washing them away when watering, and then releases the nutrients as the plant grows, thus increasing the plants yield. We have side-by-side test pictures that weve taken of various crops grown with Biochar and will post these on our website in the next few days.

Biochar can improve water quality, reduce soil emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce nutrient leaching, reduce soil acidity, and reduce irrigation and fertilizer requirements. Biochar was also found under certain circumstances to induce plant systemic responses to foliar fungal diseases and to improve plant responses to diseases caused by soil-borne pathogens. The various impacts of Biochar can be dependent on the properties of the Biochar, as well as the amount applied. Biochar impact may depend on regional conditions including soil type, soil condition (depleted or healthy), temperature, and humidity. Modest additions of Biochar to soil reduces nitrous oxide N 2 O emissions by up to 80% and eliminates methane emissions, which are both more potent greenhouse gases than CO 2 .

About Vega Biofuels, Inc. (OTCPink:VGPR):

Vega Biofuels, Inc. is a cutting-edge energy company that manufactures and markets a renewable energy product called Bio-Coal and a soil enhancement called Biochar, both made from timber waste using unique technology called torrefaction. Torrefaction is the treatment of biomass at high temperatures under low oxygen conditions. For more information, please visit our website at vegabiofuels.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainty and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release.
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GMATPrep practice test results:

630

690

720

740

Actual test results:

680

Thoughts:

liberal arts background

studied 70-80 hours over the course of 3 months

quantitative section timing. I set a goal for myself to be at question 30 by the time there were 30 minutes remaining in the section. This was the strategy that produced my Q48 and Q49 scores in the practice.

resetting the computer-adaptive difficulty

The breaks weren't the worst thing in the world, but the stress of the rush was almost not worth it.

next test is planned for early March.

Hi peeps, I just took my first GMAT attempt this week and now I'm here to debrief and reflect.(Q35, V41) -- Oct 20 2016(Q43, V41) -- Jan 20 2017(Q48, V41) -- Jan 21 2017(Q49, V42) -- Jan 22 2017(Q39, V44) -- Jan 25 2017TBD -- March 7 2017I come from a, so I know that my quant is my weakness. I'm not particularly bad at math--I passed AP Calc AB by 11th grade. I just don't have a sense of natural confidence/ deeper understanding in the math.. I was testing consistently near 750/ Q50 by the end of my study period, so I went into the exam feeling really happy and confident. Actual exam day was a bit of a let-down because I came out with 680/ Q39. My verbal was V44, 98th percentile, but I was sad because I know the quant, 39th percentile, is not very impressive for a math-based finance program.Maybe the most interesting strategy I developed was my approach to theTo reach question 30 by the time 30 minutes were left, I had to be willing to give up and guess on some of the harder questions. This strategy, with my skill set, meant in practice that I wasto easy at 1/3 of the way through the section and then again at about 2/3 of the way through the section. It felt a bit like gaming the system, after the first time, but when I did it again a second time, and reproduced the results, it seemed like maybe an intelligent response to the computer-adaptive nature of the test. I wasn't able to hold to the strategy during my actual exam, and I think this produced a computer-adaptive difficulty that lowered my score a bit. I knew at the end of my actual quant section that I hadn't followed my practice strategy, so I was hurt though not excessively surprised that my math score was subpar.As far as timing on the verbal section, I feel very naturally confident, and I have consistently been able to score at least 93rd percentile in the practices, with about 40 minutes extra to spare. To improve, I worked on spending more time on each question and checking my work so that I actually drag the verbal section to the full duration of the time allotted. I'm pretty much able to reason my way to the right answer. There's a few cases where my understanding of grammar and implicit meaning is different from the GMAT testmakers' (about 5 questions wrong in the entire section), but I'm actually comfortable with that. I read a lot of modernist/ postmodern literature, like James Joyce, Haruki Murakami, and Thomas Pynchon. Joyce in particular has been a big influence on me, and he deals a lot with syntactical experimentation and deliberately breaking the rules of English. This sounds increibly obnoxious to say, but I'd rather keep my postmodern understanding of English and be slightly wrong on the GMAT, rather than be perfect on the GMAT but interpret English like a robot.I didn't have any test day jitters, for the most part, but there were a few things about the test center experience that made me slightly uncomfortable. The time it took to scan my palm, take off my glasses, show my ID, pat down my pockets, etc etc, both at the beginning and the end of each break, meant that I really only had more like 4 minutes to chill during my break, rather than 8. I couldn't wear my watch, so I spent most of the break time nervously rushing through my snack so I could hurry back from my locker.Not sure what I can do about that for next time, except get used to it.MyI've bought two --Foundations of Math and --and I hope to spend the month practicing my math skills even more. I also plan to buy Exam Pack 2 and take those two practice exams. I think as my math skills get better, I still want to aim for that same quant math stategy: hit question 30 by the time 30 minutes are left. But maybe it can become less a matter of having to guess on some hard questions and more a matter of solving each problem in close to 90 seconds.Schools I'm considering are Georgetown MSF (first choice), as well as the finance programs at Vanderbilt, University of Utah, Hopkins, U.Va. and MIT/Princeton (reach, unlikely).I mostly want to be able to stay in Utah, which is why Georgetown and Hopkins' online programs, and the University of Utah, appeal to me. If I bump up my GMAT, I think I would be competitive at Vandy and U.Va for fall 2018 matriculation. I don't have a strong enough math or computer science transcript at present for MIT or Princeton, so I would need to take some classes at the University of Utah this fall if I really really wanted to try for MIT or Princeton, matriculating fall 2018. My dad went to MIT, so it would be an interesting application with the son of alumnus tie-in in my essay/ profile, but honestly, I think I will get into Georgtown this spring, and that will be enough for me.I work at a bank. Went to BYU, which West Coast Americans seem to consider a difficult school but which is honestly probably a little laid back compared to East Coast standards. Majored in art history and minored in nonprofit business management, so I do actually have some direct class experience in financial statement analysis. Balance sheet, statement of cash flows, profit and loss shet. My GPA is 3.2--mostly straight A's with some lower grades sprinkled in as I dealt with depression. I was pretty bummed about my Q39 score, and I spent a good 24 hours moping, but I'm grateful for this space as place to reflect and learn from others who are wiser than me. Excited to try again next month. Will update you guys afterward! Good luck to all.Book and materials used:, GMAT Official Quantiative Review, and GMAT Official Verbal Review 2017GMATPrep + Exam Pack 1Chineseburned's AWA guide on this forumManhaattanPrep book (barely started the book)GMAT Avengers study group on Facebook
Columbia Business School



Admitted Students Thread.

Columbia Business School Pre-MBA World Tour

Columbia Connect I

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This thread is EXCLUSIVELY for you to discuss any post-admit aspects !

Roll Call

NOTE : The above list updates automatically as and when applicants update their application Status. If your name does not appear in the list, please check and update your application status or post in this thread.

Congratulations to everyone!The CBS World Tour is an optional, self-funded trip that is organized each year by volunteers from the upcoming Columbia Business School class._________________
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The Thoiry Zoo said police are investigating the killing of the 4-year-old animal. The poachers remain at large, Joinfo.com reports with reference to NPR.

It is extremely shocking what just happened, zoo director Thierry Duguet told Frances 20 Minutes newspaper. An act of such violence, never before seen in Europe.

Duguet told The Associated Press that Vince was shot three times in the head. The poachers likely used a chainsaw to cut off one of the horns, according to a statement from the zoo, which is nearly 40 miles west of Paris. It added that his second horn was only partially cut, which suggests that the criminals were disturbed or that their equipment proved defective.



A police spokesman said its possible the thieves didnt have time to take the others.

The zoo confirmed that its two other white rhinos  37-year-old Gracie and 5-year-old Bruno  escaped the massacre and are safe and sound.

Vince was found this morning by his caretaker, who, being very attached to the animals she cares for, is deeply affected, the zoo wrote. This odious act was perpetrated despite the presence of five members of the zoo staff living on site and surveillance cameras.

Despite bans by international convention and French law, the illegal sale of rhino horns persists because of demand for use in traditional Asian medicine. A kilogram of rhino horn sold on the black market for nearly $54,000 in 2015, according to the zoo.

Southern white rhinos like Vince were nearly extinct in the late 19th century, according to the WWF. Protection efforts were largely successful, with some 20,000 animals in protected areas and private game reserves  in fact, theyre the only rhinos that are not endangered.

But theres been a major uptick in poaching. Hundreds of white rhinos have been killed annually in recent years, the WWF says. They are particularly vulnerable to hunting, because they are relatively unaggressive.

Vince was born at a zoo in the Netherlands, and had been living at Thoiry Zoo since 2015. In the aftermath of the attack, Thoiry is warning other European zoos.

Animal parks throughout Europe have been put on alert to look out  to get into these places they have to climb 3.5 metre fences, go through padlocked doors, said Paul de La Panouse, the former director of the zoos African enclosure.

He added: Its not easy to kill a rhino weighing several tonnes just like that. Its a job for professionals.

Photo: White rhinoceros Gracie (left) and Bruno  seen in their enclosure at Thoiry Zoo in France on Tuesday  are safe.
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 ...
Yesterday WikiLeaks released the first part of its Vault 7 archive with thousands of pages and files that allegedly reveal some of the tools the US Central Intelligence Agency uses to hack phones, computers, and even TVs. Security experts, privacy advocates, and some of the companies whose products are affected are starting to weigh in.

So how worried should you be that the CIA can hack your stuff? Im going to go with moderately.

Look, you probably already knew that the CIA, NSA, and other spy agencies had tools for hacking into computers and phones of suspected terrorists.

My bigger concern is what these documents tell us about the security and privacy of those who either arent targets of investigations at all, or who may be under investigation for erroneous reasons.

The CIA is stockpiling security vulnerabilities and sometimes even paying for them. Since the agency is not disclosing these security flaws to companies like Google, Apple, Samsung, or Microsoft, it means that users are not only subject to CIA hacking, but hacking from anyone else who is aware of those vulnerabilities.

So in the interest of national security, the CIA (and probably other government agencies) are ensuring that your devices are less secure than they could be.

So what does that mean?

Using Android?

Many of the CIA hacking tools discussed in the leak involves smartphones, and many of those are focused on Android, which makes sense. Its the worlds most used smartphone operating system, and phones are tiny GPS tracking devices that we carry everywhere we go. Theyre also listening devices that keep a record of our communications, web browsing, and more.

The good news for Android users worried about privacy is that many of the vulnerabilities mentioned seem to address older versions of Android. The less good is that this doesnt necessarily mean the CIA cant hack newer versions of the operating system: Vault 7 might just contain out-of-date information and lack details about newer tools the CIA is using.

Update: Google says many of the exploits revealed by Vault 7 have already been fixed.

Verdict: If youve got a phone running newer version of Android, its probably safer from some forms of attack than one stuck on Android 4.0. But its not really clear at this point how much safer.

Have an iPhone?

Most of the things I said above apply to iOS. But Apple has taken the step of releasing a statement saying that the companys initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked were already patched in the latest iOS.

Again, while that means that some of the information in Vault 7 is out of date, we dont know what we dont know about newer tools used by the CIA yet.

Since the Vault 7 documents also lack actual code, it could be difficult for companies like Apple and Google to use the leaked data to try to identify and patch security vulnerabilities, although both companies will undoubtedly be doing their best to do so.

Verdict: See above but since Apple has a much better mechanism for pushing software updates to users than Google, the vast majority of iPhone and iPad users are running the latest version.

Using WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, or other secure communication apps?

While some initial headlines made it sound like the CIA has cracked the encryption used by these apps, thats not exactly true. The encryption still works to keep your messages private.

But if your phone is hacked, then the CIA can bypass the encryption in order to monitor your communications.

The distinction might sound academic: the apps are safe, but only if youre phone isnt already compromised. But this means that efforts to tighten security need to focus on the operating systems, not the apps or Signal communication protocol.

Verdict: If you want to use a private messaging app, go ahead and keep using one featuring the Signal protocol. It might not protect you if you (or the person youre communicating with) has a compromised device. But its safer than not using encrypted communications.

Have a Samsung Smart TV?

Some models are subject to the Weeping Angel exploit, which allows the CIA to turn on the mic on a TV and use it as a listening device, even when the TV display is turned off.

Sounds scary, and it kind of is.

But its also limited in scope. If you dont have a TV with a mic (for voice commands), then youre probably not affected. And more importantly, this isnt a remote exploit, which means it cant be delivered over the internet.

Someone actually needs physical access to your TV to install the software.

Verdict: Personally Im a fan of buying a dumb TV and connecting it to the third-party smart TV box of your choice anyway. But if youre paranoid, you can just focus on buying a TV with no mic or unplug your TV when youre not using it.

What about Windows, Mac, and Linux computers?

Theres much less talk of the CIAs techniques for hacking desktop operating systems, but there are a few mentions of vulnerabilities that can bypass antivirus software on Windows or attack the BIOS on Macs.

The good news is that there may be just enough information to allow antivirus software companies to start detecting (at least some) CIA intrusion.

Verdict:\_()_/ I mean, you could do the usual things and keep your antivirus software up do date, practice safe browsing, and maybe put tape or another shield over your camera when its not in use. But we dont actually know very much about these particular vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

It looks like WikiLeaks may have overhyped the contents of the Vault 7 release, but the biggest revelation might not be about the specific hacking tools at the spy agencys disposal (or the level of classification on the leaked documents).

It might be that the agency is more interested in stockpiling vulnerabilities for its own use than in disclosing them so that they can be patched. And as the EFF notes, that puts citizens at risk rather than protecting them.

Of course, its not particularly surprising to know that this has been going on. But itll be interesting to see if theres any call to change course now that the information is public or if the government will instead focus on hunting down the leakers rather than dealing with the contents of the leaks.
(HealthDay)Exposure to secondhand smoke in the first few weeks of life could increase the risk that children will develop food allergies, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from March 3 to 6 in Atlanta.

Anna Bergstrom, Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues followed the health of 3,764 Swedish children between 1994 and 1996. The children were followed until they were 16. The researchers periodically surveyed the parents about whether or not their children showed any signs of food allergies. Children also were tested to see if they reacted to certain types of allergens found in food.

The researchers found that children whose parents smoked when the children were 2 months old were more likely to develop signs of food allergies, especially to eggs and peanuts. However, the test findings didn't definitively confirm that food allergies existed.

"Early-life exposure to secondhand smoke is a well-established risk factor for asthma and, in some studies, for allergic sensitization and eczema in children," Bergstrom said in a news release from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. "Our research suggests that it does have an impact on the odds of children developing immunoglobulin E-associated symptoms to certain foods."

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
(HealthDay)Obese girls may face a significantly higher risk for developing allergies, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from March 3 to 6 in Atlanta.

The investigation focused on 113 children (45 percent girls, 55 percent boys), about a quarter of whom were obese (23 percent). All were deemed to be relatively healthy. Medical histories were taken to assess for a range of allergic conditions, including asthma, food allergies, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis. The children were then given allergy scores, with those struggling with more allergic conditions getting higher scores.

The researchers found that obese girls had allergy scores higher than normal-weight girls: 4.00 versus 2.62. In contrast, obese boys were found to have slightly lower allergy scores than normal-weight boys: 3.00 versus 3.42.

"These results were highly significant, even after adjusting for the effects of age and race," study coauthor Sairaman Nagarajan, M.D., M.P.H., a resident physician in the department of pediatrics at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York City, told HealthDay. "We hypothesize that there are hormonal differences causing girls to have higher atopy."

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Rockshelter at Bathurst Head (Thartali) in eastern Cape York Peninsula, occupied by the expedition during field work. Pictured: Norman Tindale and local Aboriginal group. Credit: Herbert Hale. February 1927.

DNA in hair samples collected from Aboriginal people across Australia in the early to mid-1900s has revealed that populations have been continuously present in the same regions for up to 50,000 years - soon after the peopling of Australia.

Published today in the journal Nature, the findings reinforce Aboriginal communities' strong connection to country and represent the first detailed genetic map of Aboriginal Australia prior to the arrival of Europeans.

These are the first results from the Aboriginal Heritage Project, led by the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) in partnership with the South Australian Museum.

Researchers analysed mitochondrial DNA from 111 hair samples that were collected during a series of remarkable anthropological expeditions across Australia from 1928 to the 1970s and are part of the South Australian Museum's unparalleled collection of hair samples.

Mitochondrial DNA allows tracing of maternal ancestry, and the results show that modern Aboriginal Australians are the descendants of a single founding population that arrived in Australia 50,000 years ago, while Australia was still connected to New Guinea. Populations then spread rapidly - within 1500-2000 years - around the east and west coasts of Australia, meeting somewhere in South Australia.

"Amazingly, it seems that from around this time the basic population patterns have persisted for the next 50,000 years -showing that communities have remained in discrete geographical regions," says project leader Professor Alan Cooper, Director of ACAD, University of Adelaide.

"This is unlike people anywhere else in the world and provides compelling support for the remarkable Aboriginal cultural connection to country. We're hoping this project leads to a rewriting of Australia's history texts to include detailed Aboriginal history and what it means to have been on their land for 50,000 years - that's around 10 times as long as all of the European history we're commonly taught."

A central pillar of the Aboriginal Heritage Project is that Aboriginal families and communities have been closely involved with the project from its inception and that analyses are only conducted with their consent. Importantly, results are first discussed with the families to get Aboriginal perspectives before scientific publication. The research model was developed under the guidance of Aboriginal elders, the Genographic Project, and professional ethicists.

Map of field stations visited from 1921 to 1965Map showing the locations where the series of Board for Anthropological Research expeditions visited. Credit: South Australian Museum Archives Norman Tindale Collection

This is the first phase of a decade-long project that will allow people with Aboriginal heritage to trace their regional ancestry and reconstruct family genealogical history, and will also assist with the repatriation of Aboriginal artefacts.

"Aboriginal people have always known that we have been on our land since the start of our time," says Kaurna Elder Mr Lewis O'Brien, who is one of the original hair donors and has been on the advisory group for the study. "But it is important to have science show that to the rest of the world. This is an exciting project and we hope it will help assist those of our people from the Stolen Generation and others to reunite with their families."

"Reconstructing the genetic history of Aboriginal Australia is very complicated due to past government policies of enforced population relocation and child removal that have erased much of the physical connection between groups and geography in Australia today," says Dr Wolfgang Haak, formerly at ACAD and now at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany.

The South Australian Museum's collection of hair samples, complete with rich cultural, linguistic, genealogical and geographical data, comes from the expeditions run by the Board of Anthropological Research from the University of Adelaide.

"This Aboriginal Heritage Project is able to exist because of the extensive records collected by Norman Tindale and Joseph Birdsell and others on those expeditions, which are held in trust for all at the South Australian Museum. They include detailed information about the birthplaces, family history and family trees, film, audio and written records - allowing a wide range of approaches to be used by this project to reconstruct history," says Brian Oldman, Director of the South Australian Museum.

"The South Australian Museum's Aboriginal Family History Unit has also been instrumental to the project and has worked closely with the University team to consult with Aboriginal families and communities to obtain permission for tests to be performed," he says.

Professor Cooper says: "We are very grateful for the enthusiasm and overwhelming support for this project we have received from Aboriginal families, and the Cherbourg, Koonibba, and Point Pearce communities in particular."

The research will be extended to investigate paternal lineages and information from the nuclear genome. Team member Dr Ray Tobler, postdoctoral researcher in ACAD with Aboriginal heritage on his father's side, has an Australian Research Council (ARC) Indigenous Discovery Fellowship to extend the AHP research, to examine how the longevity of Aboriginal populations in different habitats across Australia has shaped the remarkable physical diversity found across modern Aboriginal Australians.

More information: Ray Tobler et al, Aboriginal mitogenomes reveal 50,000 years of regionalism in Australia, Nature (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nature21416 Journal information: Nature
(HealthDay)Alzheimer's disease claims nearly twice as many American lives annually as it did just 15 years ago, a new report shows.

"And that's frankly alarming," said Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer's Association, which produced the report.

"Now, a lot of people will think it's because we're living longer," he added. "And there is some truth to that. But there's also an assumption that we should just expect to get Alzheimer's disease as we get older. And that's not true.

"Most people do not get Alzheimer's, even if they live into their 80s or 90s. It's not normal. It's not something that we should accept. We've definitely got to do something about it," Fargo said.

The report also found that more than 5 million American seniors aged 65 and older now live with the memory-robbing disease.

That represents approximately 10 percent of all the nation's seniors, and that number is projected to jump to nearly 14 million by 2050. In fact, nearly half a million seniors are expected to develop the disease in 2017 alone.

Another 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 also struggle with the disease, the report found.

And those statistics come with a hefty price tag: It costs $259 billion a year for Alzheimer's care. That amount is expected to reach $$1.1 trillion by 2050, the report estimated.

Dr. Anton Porsteinsson is director of the Alzheimer's Disease Care, Research and Education Program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y. He said the rising numbers likely reflect a number of different factors in play.

"Partly, it is due to increasing numbers of older individuals, partly due to success in treating other leading causes of death, and partly due to increasing awareness that AD [Alzheimer's] is a lethal disease," Porsteinsson said.

Among the report's additional findings: Alzheimer's is now the fifth leading cause of death among seniors; the sixth leading cause of fatalities among all Americans; and the only disease among the nation's top 10 biggest killers for which there is no prevention, no way to slow progression and no cure.

"And the costs are now completely out of control," added Fargo, with the total annual cost for Alzheimer's and dementia care in excess of a quarter trillion dollars.

Another highlighted concern: the "especially burdensome" ordeal Alzheimer's caregivers experience while attending to the needs of loved ones as the patient suffers across-the-board mental and physical decline.

In 2016, more than 15 million Alzheimer's caregivers provided just over 18 billion hours of unpaid care, valued at $230 billion.

And those caregivers suffer their own health consequences: More than a third (35 percent) report their health has worsened since assuming caregiver duties, compared with 19 percent of caregivers for older people without dementia. Depression and anxiety also plague dementia caregivers more often, the report found.

Still, the report was not entirely bleak, spotlighting growing efforts to identify telltale signs of developing disease.

The goal is to hone in on neurological signsincluding changes in brain size, shifts in spinal fluid content, and/or the growth of nerve plaques in the brainthat could allow rapid detection of pre-symptomatic Alzheimer's.

"It's a window into the future," Fargo said. "If you ask where Alzheimer's disease research is headed, that's where it's headed."

"We believe that in the coming years we'll have tests that you can do in the doctor's office that will let you know your risk for Alzheimer's," he noted. And that, he suggested, "could open the door for prevention."

Fargo noted that, even in the absence of effective treatments or a cure, early diagnosis would be a boon for research and would give patients a head start on planning for their future.

Yet, Porsteinsson suggested that the future of these telltale signs, known as biomarkers, remains unclear.

"Biomarkers are particularly important when it comes to research and development of future potential treatments," he said.

On the other hand, he stressed that "the utility of biomarkers in current care is intensely debated.

"The biomarkers are expensive," Porsteinsson noted. "And it is a question how much a positive or negative finding will change approach to care.

"Having said that," he added, "it often matters greatly to patients and their families to know exactly what they have and what to expect."

More information: Keith Fargo, Ph.D., director, scientific programs and outreach, Alzheimer's Association, New York City; Anton Porsteinsson, M.D., professor, psychiatry, and director, Alzheimer's Disease Care, Research and Education Program, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, N.Y.; March 7, 2017, 2017 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures Keith Fargo, Ph.D., director, scientific programs and outreach, Alzheimer's Association, New York City; Anton Porsteinsson, M.D., professor, psychiatry, and director, Alzheimer's Disease Care, Research and Education Program, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, N.Y.; March 7, 2017, Visit the Alzheimer's Association for more on Alzheimer's.

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
When David Gisselsson Nord, a cancer researcher at Lund University in Sweden, read a history book last summer, he was struck by the similarities between how cancer and insurgencies evolve over time. Could military strategy be used as inspiration for cancer treatment? He teamed up with Robert Egnell at the Swedish Defence University to find an entirely novel approach to his field.

"There are actually a great number of similarities between the US Army's field manual on how to counter insurgencies, or COIN doctrine, and cutting edge thinking in cancer treatment," says David Gisselsson Nord, a pathologist and cancer researcher at Lund University in Sweden.

A core principle is that you don't succeed simply by defeating the enemy; you also have to win the trust and loyalty of the local population - by addressing the root causes of the insurgency.

"A British field marshal, Sir Robert Templer, expressed it this way: 'The answer lies not in pouring more troops into the jungle, but rests in the hearts and minds of the people'," explains Robert Egnell, a strategist at the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm.

Both cancer and insurgencies are complex systems of many different cells, or groups, interacting. Initially, they may both seem easy to defeat: the bulk of a tumour, a so-called major clone, is successfully treated with a high dose of chemotherapy and shrinks dramatically, or even goes away. Similary, using armed force against a guerilla can quell a major rebellion at first.

The problem? There are still small genetic variants of cancer cells  or subclones - that remain throughout chemotherapy. They become resistant to treatment, and when they are no longer suppressed by the major clone, the tumour can either regrow locally or metastatise in a different part of the body. In the same way, underground paramilitary movements that aren't easy to detect can surface in the power vacuum following an intervention. They can be unpredictable, and may appear in the same province as before, or pop up in other areas.

The resurgence can only happen if it is supported by the civil society of the country. Therefore, transforming society so there is no popular support for underground movements (such as finances, food and vehicles) is what ensures long term stability. When it comes to cancer, David Gisselsson Nord wonders:

Credit: Lund University

"Could we target the microenvironment of a patient so it doesn't support cancer? How do we harness the patient's own resources? There has been some success with immunotherapy, that is, using the body's own immune system to fight cancer. I believe there is more that could be done. Currently, we simply know too little about the host cells that allow certain cancer cells to survive and cause relapses," says David Gisselsson and Robert Egnell.

A summarising tactical brief from the COIN doctrine is: shape, clear, hold, build. Shape the environment to hinder insurgencies (shape), implement a military intervention (clear), then temporarily take over responsibility for the nation (hold), only to finally rebuild the country in a sustainable manner (build).

Analogous to COIN doctrine, in certain cases the focus could be on keeping the cancer in check (hold), thereby dealing with a more stable disease which responds to treatment.

" One way of achieving this, in theory, is to treat the tumour in such a way as to maintain the biodiversity of the main tumour, so that new types of cancer cells which are untreatable do not take over. Such strategies have rarely been investigated," David Gisselsson Nord explains.

In addition, increasing numbers of studies show that physicians need to repeat biopsies and double-check biomarkers to enable continuous modification of treatment and prevent the cancer from becoming resistant. It is increasingly clear that, in most forms of cancer, the tumour's genetic code changes over time. In order to keep up with the unpredictable growth of the insurrection of cancer, the warfare must be intelligence-led and flexible.

Fighting a guerrilla exclusively with military means, or conducting civil activities which are not specifically adapted to the surrounding political and social context, is doomed to fail according to Robert Egnell.

"Physicians need to become better at the clinical "intelligence work so that medication can be adapted to changes in the tumour's properties, because a tactic that works for one patient today does not necessarily work a few months away for the same patient," concludes David Gisselsson Nord.

More information: David Gisselsson et al. Cancer  An Insurgency of Clones, Trends in Cancer (2017). David Gisselsson et al. Cancer  An Insurgency of Clones,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2016.11.010
Rules governing the conduct of clinical trials are failing to produce the intended benefits for patients and should be rewritten through a transparent process that involves academic clinical trialists and patient advocates as well as regulators and industry representatives, according to recommendations published today in European Heart Journal.

The call comes from the Cardiovascular Round Table (CRT), an independent forum of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), which convened regulators, drug companies, academic clinical trialists and patients to discuss the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines.

"Well conducted randomised clinical trials are the bedrock of safe and effective, evidence-based treatment of cardiovascular disease. However, the cost and complexity of clinical trials has risen out of all proportion," said lead author Professor Martin Landray, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Clinical Trial Service Unit, University of Oxford, UK. "It means that many potential new treatments are abandoned before their efficacy has been thoroughly assessed. Furthermore, some ineffective or harmful treatments may continue to be used widely because of a lack of robust clinical trial data."3

The paper argues that GCP requirements for randomised clinical trials should be based on the overarching principle of minimising issues that may materially impact the well-being of trial participants or the reliability of the results.

Professor Landray said: "The emphasis on reliable results is not just for academic reasons. It's the results that impact on the care of future patients. If a treatment really works but your trial fails to prove it then you've missed an opportunity. If a treatment is not safe and you miss that because your trial is too small or is badly conducted then that's also bad for patients."

"The rules should be based on the principles, not on the operational details which will, and should change over time," said Professor Barbara Casadei, ESC President-Elect and co-chair of the CRT. "We have no idea what technology and healthcare systems will look like in ten years. What we do know is that protecting patients and obtaining reliable results will remain a priority."

"Even today, innovative approaches to trial design, such as randomisation within the context of a large cardiovascular registry, are often thwarted by concerns about how to adhere to current GCP requirements that were written before the advent of smartphones or the widespread use of electronic healthcare records," said Professor Landray.

The current rules are determined by the ICH (www.ich.org) which includes a select group of regulators, for instance, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and pharmaceutical companies. It does not involve patients, scientific organisations, or academic clinical trialists. The CRT asserts that these groups have a major role to play in improving clinical trial guidelines. Indeed, previous experience, particularly in the US but also in Europe, has demonstrated the importance of effective engagement of all those involved in clinical trials, including academic and patient communities.4

The CRT meeting was the catalyst for MoreTrials, a public campaign "for more, better, randomised trials", of which the ESC is an active supporter. These efforts have had some success, including signs of positive engagement from the ICH. For example, ICH has already made some helpful changes to GCP. In June 2016, Professor Landray and colleagues were invited to present the CRT's concerns to the ICH meeting and as a result, in January 2017, the ICH launched a consultation on a proposal for more widespread revisions to its key guidelines.

Professor Landray said: "We are delighted that the ICH is starting to listen but there is still a way to go. The ICH has proposed only limited academic engagement in the development of new GCP guidelines (largely confining our input to studies that are observational or based on existing databases)."

Professor Casadei concluded: "The ESC will continue to campaign for much greater engagement between regulators, pharmaceutical companies, patients, scientific organisations and academic organisations in the development and application of clinical trials regulations. Such work is critical to advances in care and improvements in outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease."
A representation of the molecular surface of one variant of human rhinovirus. Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0

The common cold is a major source of annoyance for most of us, but new research has found that the most prevalent respiratory infection can be far worse than a stuffy nose for one sector of the populationbone marrow transplant patients.

These vulnerable patients, whose immune defenses have taken a dramatic double hit from both their original disease and the treatments required to repopulate their immune system with donor cells, are especially susceptible to a wide range of infections that typically don't cause major problems in healthy people. But rhinovirus, the most common respiratory virus, has traditionally been overlooked in this population, said Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center infectious disease specialist Dr. Michael Boeckh.

"This is such a prevalent virus ... about 25 percent of stem cell transplant patients get infected [with rhinovirus] during the first year," said Boeckh, who heads Fred Hutch's Infectious Disease Sciences Program. "The virus was always considered kind of a common cold, a mild virus. People shrugged their shoulders, what should we do about it, it comes and goes."

Now, a new study led by infectious disease researcher Dr. Sachiko Seo, formerly of Fred Hutch and now a physician at the National Cancer Research Center East in Chiba, Japan, and Boeckh and published last month in the journal Haematologica has found that like more "serious" viruses, rhinovirus can cause pneumoniaand when it does, it can be deadly to those recovering from transplantation.

The results not only point to the importance of strong infection prevention measures for transplant patients and better care for those with rhinovirus-related pneumonia but lend a rationale for drug companies and researchers to prioritize developing effective antiviral drugs for this most common of common cold-causing viruses, Boeckh said.

"Just to treat people like you and me who are irritated by the sniffles, that's not good enough for the market," he said. "For a company or anybody to step forward and say, 'I'm going to make this a priority,' you have to show that there's a real disease."

This virus 'can't be disregarded'

Their study was not the first to show that transplant patients get rhinovirus but the first to definitively link the virus to pneumonia in these patients. That new discovery is thanks to modern virus detection methodsrhinovirus was difficult to pinpoint using older technologies, Boeckh said. Over the past decade, with the advent of better viral detection, he and other clinicians started to see evidence of rhinovirus in the lungs in transplant patients with pneumonia. But they didn't know if the virus was causing the complication or if it was just along for the ride.

In their recent study, the researchers took a retrospective look at 697 patients who'd received transplants at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Fred Hutch's clinical care partner, between 1993 and 2015 and who had also tested positive for rhinovirus. They compared the 128 patients with rhinovirus in the lower respiratory tract to those infected with viruses already known to cause pneumoniaand sometimes deathin transplant patients, namely, influenza; parainfluenza virus, or PIV; and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

In contrast to what researchers believed in the past, their study showed that rhinovirus is linked to pneumonia and death even without any other co-existing infections, strongly suggesting that the so-called mild virus can be dangerous all on its own.

Boeckh and his colleagues found that rhinovirus infection led to pneumonia less often than the other viruses. About 15 percent of patients with an upper respiratory tract infectionthe type of infection we typically think of as a "common cold"went on to develop pneumonia, or an infection of the lower respiratory tract. Progression from cold-like symptoms to pneumonia for patients infected with RSV, for example, happened about twice as often.

But once patients developed pneumonia, rhinovirus turned out to be just as deadly as the other viruses, the researchers found. About 40 percent of patients in their study who developed pneumonia from any viral infection died.

Even though rhinovirus is less likely on a case-by-case basis to lead to pneumonia, it's actually the most common cause of pneumonia caused by respiratory viruses in transplant patients, Boeckh said. That's because the virus is so common and because it's present year-round, unlike the other, more seasonal viruses.

Overall, their results point to the need for better preventions and treatments for the virus, Boeckh said.

"This is an important pathogen," he said. "It can't be disregarded as a common cold virus."

How to prevent complicationsnow and in the future

In fact, the scientists believe the pathogen is so important they've started an entire research program around it. Dr. Alpana Waghmare, one of the study authors who is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Seattle Children's and a Fred Hutch affiliate researcher, is launching a research project to better understand how and why rhinovirus is so dangerous to transplant patients.

For now, she's concentrating on understanding which patients are most likely to develop pneumonia from the virus. In a different study Waghmare presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation in Orlando, Florida, the researchers teased out a few risk factors that can drive the development of lower respiratory tract infectionsnamely, high levels of steroid use (commonly given to transplant patients for other complications such as graft-vs.-host disease) and a low white blood cell count.

Her team's next step will be to understand whether certain patients are at higher risk for getting infected with rhinovirus in the first place and to ask if there are other risk factors for pneumonia and other poor outcomes from the infection.

Even though there's no effective drug for rhinovirus on the market yet, understanding who is at highest risk of complications from the virus is still important, Waghmare said. The research field needs to provide evidence of how rhinovirus is harmful to spur such a drug's development as well as to understand which patients would benefit most once such a treatment is available so clinicians can know who should be monitored or treated more aggressively, she said.

"So many of our patients get rhinovirus, but most of the infections are mild and we want to know who would likely benefit from any potential therapies," Waghmare said. "You need to know how to stratify people to get the most bang for your buck in terms of whom you treat."

For now though, in the absence of an effective drug, there are a few steps transplant patients and their caregivers can take, Waghmare said.

Patients who are within the first year of receiving a transplant should always check with their doctor as soon as they develop any cold-like symptoms. "Don't wait things out," she said.

As a general infection control practice, any family members and friends with cold or flu symptoms should limit contact with post-transplant patients as much as possible. Waghmare acknowledges that's difficult in practice though, as for instance when the patient's caregiver comes down with a cold.

For cancer care facilities, it's important to keep employees with any cold symptoms out of the clinic, Boeckh said. He points out that the SCCA has a very aggressive infection control program and they all make infection prevention in this vulnerable population a top priority.
During pregnancy, a mother's immune system is suppressed to protect the fetus, which is perceived as a foreign body because it is genetically different. A study in mice found that suppressed immunity during pregnancy creates a window of opportunity for the H1N1 influenza virus to infect the mother and to rapidly, within a few days, mutate into a more virulent strain. The findings appear in Cell Host & Microbe on March 8. More research is required to determine if similar viral mutations occur in pregnant humans.

"The first line of defense of the immune system, the innate immune response, is not acting quickly enough to clear the virus," says co-lead author Gulsah Gabriel, a virologist at the Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology in Hamburg, Germany. "The virus takes advantage of this permissive environment and mutates very fast. This is what influenza viruses do best. The new variants are responsible for increased virulence."

For the last century, study after study has shown that pregnant women suffer more severely from influenza than non-pregnant women. A 2010 World Health Organization analysis of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic found that pregnant women were 7 times more likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die from H1N1 infection than non-pregnant women.

In response, Gabriel and co-lead author Petra Clara Arck, a reproductive immunologist at the University Medical Center in Hamburg, joined forces to understand the biology behind these observations. Previous studies of influenza evaluated mice that were pregnant with genetically identical fetuses, called syngenic pregnancies. These pregnancies do not mimic natural human pregnancies, in which babies are the product of the combined genes of a mother and father.

So, using mice, Gabriel and Arck also studied allogenic pregnancies, in which the fetuses differ genetically from the mother. In allogenic pregnancies, they found that the immune system is more suppressed than in syngenic pregnancies.

The immune system typically mounts waves of defense against viral infections. Cells in the innate immune system respond immediately by secreting inflammatory factors called cytokines to stop the spread of infection. As the infection progresses, adaptive immune cells called T cells move to the area of infection, where they detect and kill infected cells.

To understand immune suppression in mice with genetically distinct pregnancies, the researchers examined gene expression patterns in immune cells during infection. They found that the genes responsible for releasing cytokines were suppressed, resulting in a weak initial response to infection. In addition, genes responsible for activating and recruiting T cells to an infection were also suppressed. "The entire immune system is damped down to protect the fetus," says Arck.

Influenza appears to take immediate advantage of the mother's vulnerability, according to the study. During the first days of infection, a typical innate immune response will stop the spread. But during pregnancy, the initial response is not strong enough to stop the virus. Rather, surviving viral invaders have time to mutate and produce a range of variants, some of which are more likely to cause a severe infection.

The most frequent mutation the researchers found in influenza in pregnant mice was a variant that further dampens the innate immune response, giving the virus an even better chance to survive and thrive. "In this environment of a dampened innate immune system, the virus has a chance to escape and become more virulent," says Gabriel. "This suggests that during pregnancy, a typical influenza infection could hit very hard."

To determine if pregnant women experience a similar evolution of influenza infection, Gabriel and Arck are planning to look for similar mutations in samples from pregnant women who suffered from influenza. Similar mutations have been seen in other influenza cases in pregnant women, but not in studies large enough to confirm that they are more frequent than other variants.

If a larger study confirms that these variants are seen more commonly in pregnant women, that would further strengthen the importance of influenza vaccinations for pregnant women. "The best bet for pregnant women is to be vaccinated to prevent infection, because influenza viruses are very good at escaping," says Gabriel.

In response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the World Health Organization made pregnant women the number one priority for vaccination, with a goal of vaccinating 75% of this population. The flu shot is safe and protects both the mother and the fetus from infection. According to the CDC, in the US in 2016, about 50% of pregnant women got the flu shot, an improvement over the 20% vaccinated in 2009.

More information: "Pregnancy-related immune adaptation promotes the emergence of highly virulent H1N1 strains in allogenically-pregnant mice," Cell Host & Microbe. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2017.02.020 Journal information: Cell Host & Microbe "Pregnancy-related immune adaptation promotes the emergence of highly virulent H1N1 strains in allogenically-pregnant mice,"
Credit: St George's University of London

Experts from St George's University of London, and St George's Hospital have joined forces to investigate whether a common and cheap malaria drug can be used also against cancer.

The researchers and clinicians raised more than 50,000 through a crowd funding campaign to fund the second part of their trial into whether the drug artesunate can tackle colorectal cancer and now are recruiting patients to take part in their clinical studies.

In all 54,247 was raised through crowd funding to investigate whether the drug can help cancer patients by reducing the multiplication of tumour cells and decreasing the risk of cancer spreading or recurring after surgery.

If it does the drug could be used to provide a cheaper adjunct to current expensive chemotherapy.

Professor Sanjeev Krishna, an infectious disease expert at St George's, University of London, who jointly leads the study with Professor Devinder Kumar, a colorectal cancer surgeon based at St George's Hospital, said: "We are delighted that the next phase of our study is now going ahead and we are looking forward to working with patients to examine whether this important work can have a real impact on cancer patients' lives.

"Working with colleagues at St George's Hospital has proved invaluable. Our partnerships will now also include Ashford and St Peter's University Hospitals and Kingston University Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts so we can speed up the process of recruiting patients and getting the study results.

"Collaborations like this between the academic researchers and clinicians in our leading hospitals are the bedrock of our opportunities to gain understanding and potential breakthroughs in treatment that can benefit many.

"Other centres are also welcome to join if interested in our work, which is now moving into answering the clinically important questions aiming to change practice."

Researchers worked with supporters from the public, patients, colleagues and charities including Bowel Disease UK and the AntiCancer Fund to support their crowdfunding campaign on FutSci, an organisation that aims to support crowdfunding for research, innovation and technology in the life sciences.

A charity, Bowel Disease UK, started by Gary Douch after he became a patient treated by Professor Kumar donated 200,000 to fund the study.

Professor Devinder Kumar, who has been a colorectal cancer surgeon for three decades, added: "We are proud to have set up this pioneering study at St George's University and St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We hope that this study will help to answer some really important research questions to see if a simple intervention with an established, off patent and affordable antimalarial drug such as artesunate taken for 2 weeks before surgery can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence in patients with Stage II/III bowel cancer. The overall aim of our research is to improve patient survival and quality of life. Research into repurposing drugs in this way for new disease indications is vital and an excellent use of resources for the NHS."

Artesunate is derived from the plant Artemisia annua also known as Sweet Wormwood. The Chinese scientist Tu Youyou whose research in the 1960s led to the development of artesunate from a plant used in Chinese traditional medicine, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine 2015.

More than one million patients are diagnosed with colorectal cancer globally each year. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and the second most common cancer in women and is a leading cause of mortality. In the UK, 110 new cases are diagnosed daily, with older patients particularly at risk of death. Current treatments involve complex combinations of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The first robust evidence that supports community initiatives to prevent acute rheumatic fever has come from researchers at the University of Auckland.

In a paper published online in the latest Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, lead researcher and clinician, Professor Diana Lennon says until now, treatment to prevent rheumatic fever in children was derived from studies in adults in the American armed forces.

Rheumatic fever in New Zealand affects mostly Maori and Pacific Island children in low-socioeconomic areas in the North Island, particularly in Northland and south Auckland. It affects mainly primary age children and peaks in nine- to 10-year-olds.

Globally, it is a disease of poverty in developing countries, and untreated episodes can lead to the disabling effects of rheumatic heart disease in children.

"In New Zealand, rheumatic fever has continued at an unacceptably high rate with hospitalization from this disease affecting about one in 150 Maori or Pacific Island children, aged under 13 years," she says.

"Life span in Maori adults with heart damage from rheumatic fever is reduced by more than 10 years."

Research using data collected, from providing access to sore throat management to more than 25,000 children/year in 61 south Auckland primary schools between 2010 and 2016, was led by Professor Lennon.

The programme itself is delivered by an alliance of health providers led by the National Hauora Coalition. The research aspect was funded by a partnership grant arising from a joint venture between the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Ministry of Health, Te Puni Kokiri, CureKids and the Heart Foundation.

The prevention model uses a team of school-based nurses with a whanau support worker, based at school clinics five days per week operating sore throat clinics with daily assessment and treatment of group A streptococcal sore throats in the children.

This model was first developed as a new model of healthcare delivery to improve access in an earlier published trial (in 2009) funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Ministry of Health and the Heart Foundation.

"In the latest study, we were able to demonstrate for the first time using robust methodology, that first presentation of acute rheumatic fever is preventable in a community setting and using oral amoxicillin," says Professor Lennon.

"The sore throat programme in schools resulted in a significant decrease in acute rheumatic fever rates among primary children," she says.

Over two years of running the sore throat clinics, the rates of rheumatic fever dropped 58 percent, from 88 in 100,000 children to 37 in 100,000 children.

A parallel decline in Strep A from throats was found in cross sectional surveys once the prevention programme was begun.

"We have demonstrated this 'proof of principle' - the first both nationally and internationally - supporting prevention of first presentation rheumatic fever through sore throat management delivered in school clinics," says Professor Lennon.

"This supports the continuation of school clinics already underway in Northland, Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and other regions around New Zealand," she says.

"This has been a 30 year journey, based on community advocacy and partnership, empowerment, and knowledge sharing that began with participation from the Maori Women's Welfare League," says Professor Lennon.
A dense network of normal CD1a (green)- and CD1c (red)-expressing Langerhans cells in human skin. Credit: A*STAR Singapore Immunology Network

A coincidence helped A*STAR researchers unravel the function of a little-understood molecule involved in the body's immune defense system.

During a clinical study involving analysis of skin biopsies, researchers from the A*STAR Singapore Immunology Network discovered an adult who completely lacked CD1a molecules.

The CD1a molecule is part of the CD1 family that plays a key role in the body's immune response to pathogens, particularly bacteria, by delivering pathogenic molecules to the T-cells that orchestrate an immune response.

However, says lead researcher Katja Fink from A*STAR, the specific role of CD1a has been unclear. Alongside its role in immune response there was some evidence CD1a helped maintain the barrier function of the skin.

"Immune inadequacies due to CD1a defects have not been previously described," Fink says. "It has proved difficult to dissect the specific role of CD1a in immune regulation because mice, as model systems to study molecular functions, do not express CD1a."

The discovery of an adult without CD1a presented a golden opportunity to study the biological significance of CD1a expression.

Subsequent testing of the CD1a-deficient adult's family membersboth the parents and all four siblingsrevealed one sibling also had the same condition. Both CD1a-deficient individuals presented as healthy.

After uncovering the CD1a deficiency using microscopic analysis of blood and skin samples, the team used DNA sequencing of the CD1a molecule and genome of the family to determine its cause. Fink says the CD1a deficiency resulted from the combination of two genetic mutations: one inherited from each parent.

"This coincidence resulted in the inability of cells to produce CD1a," she says, adding the condition is "extremely rare and we did not find it in all the publicly available human genomic databases".

Importantly, the lack of CD1a expression did not produce any apparent skin abnormalities, or impair the systemic immune in either individual.

Fink says their study, in collaboration with the Dengue Research Group at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam, is the first to suggest CD1a deficiency has no apparent consequences for health.

"This absence does not cause obvious problems, and we think that other CD1 molecule members can take over the role of CD1a," Fink says.

The discovery will inform future immunological research, Fink says. "We know that for anti-microbial immune responses we have to consider the role of several CD1 family members and not only focus on CD1a since different CD1 molecules might do the same job."

More information: Daniela Cerny et al. Complete human CD1a deficiency on Langerhans cells due to a rare point mutation in the coding sequence, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2016). Journal information: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Daniela Cerny et al. Complete human CD1a deficiency on Langerhans cells due to a rare point mutation in the coding sequence,(2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2016.05.028
Credit: Brigham Young University

Thanks to a national initiative, salad bars are showing up in public schools across the country. Now a Brigham Young University researcher is trying to nail down how to get kids to eat from them.

BYU health sciences professor Lori Spruance studies the impact of salad bars in public schools and has found one helpful tip: teens are more likely to use salad bars if they're exposed to good, old-fashioned marketing. Students at schools with higher salad bar marketing are nearly three times as likely to use them.

"Children and adolescents in the United States do not consume the nationally recommended levels of fruits and vegetables," Spruance said. "Evidence suggests that salad bars in schools can make a big difference. Our goal is to get kids to use them."

Some 4,800 salad bars have popped up in public schools around the country according to the Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative. About 50 percent of high school students have access to salad bars at schools, 39 percent of middle school kids and 31 percent of elementary school children.

Spruance's study, published in Health Education and Behavior, followed the salad bar usage of students in 12 public schools in New Orleans. Spruance and coauthors from Tulane University administered surveys to the students and tracked the school environment through personal visits.

Not only did they find better marketing improved salad bar usage among secondary school students, but they also found female students use salad bars more often than male students, and children who prefer healthy foods use them more frequently.

"The value of a salad bar program depends on whether students actually use the salad bar," Spruance said. "But few studies have examined how to make that happen more effectively."

Some examples of successful salad bar marketing efforts included signage throughout the school promoting the salad bar, information in school publications and newsletters, and plugs for the salad bar on a school's digital presence.

Spruance suggests that schools engage parents in their efforts to improve the school food environmentsuch as reaching out to parents through newsletters or parent teacher conferences. Of course, she says, offering healthy options at home makes the biggest difference.

"It takes a lot of effort and time, but most children and adolescents require repeated exposures to food before they will eat them on their own," Spruance said. "If a child is being exposed to foods at home that are served at school, the child may be more likely to eat those fruits or vegetables at school."

Spruance's research builds off of previous studies that show students are more likely to use salad bars if they are included in the normal serving line.

There have now been 2,401,500 kids served from salad bars in public schools nationwide. However, only two Utah public schools currently have salad bars funded by the Let's Move initiative.

More information: Lori Andersen Spruance et al, Individual- and School-Level Factors Related to School-Based Salad Bar Use Among Children and Adolescents, Health Education & Behavior (2017). DOI: 10.1177/1090198116687713
Treatment with fusicoccin-A induces the regeneration of damaged axons towards the center of the injury. The axons are stained in green and the tips of the growing axons, called growth cones, are stained in red. Credit: McGill University

A foray into plant biology led one researcher to discover that a natural molecule can repair axons, the thread-like projections that carry electrical signals between cells. Axonal damage is the major culprit underlying disability in conditions such as spinal cord injury and stroke.

Andrew Kaplan, a PhD candidate at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University, was looking for a pharmacological approach to axon regeneration, with a focus on 14-3-3, a family of proteins with neuroprotective functions that have been under investigation in the laboratory of Dr. Alyson Fournier, professor of neurology and neurosurgery and senior author on the study.

During his search, he found research describing how plants respond to a specific type of fungal infection. When plants are exposed to fusicoccin-A, a small molecule produced by a certain strain of fungus, the leaves of the plant wilt but the roots grow longer. Fusicoccin-A affects 14-3-3 activity by stabilizing its interactions with other proteins.

"While 14-3-3 is the common denominator in this phenomenon, the identity of the other proteins involved and the resulting biological activities differ between plants and animals," says Kaplan.

Kaplan theorized that fusicoccin-A could be an effective way of harnessing 14-3-3 to repair axons. To test this theory, he and his fellow researchers treated mechanically damaged neurons in culture with the molecule and observed the results.

"When I looked under the microscope the following day the axons were growing like weeds, an exciting result that led us to determine that fusicoccin-A can stimulate axon repair in the injured nervous system," says Kaplan.

Besides brain and spinal cord injury, axonal damage is a factor in many other disorders and diseases, including multiple sclerosis and neurodegenerative conditions. The team's discovery means that fusicoccin-A and similar molecules could be the starting point to develop drugs that treat axonal damage. Kaplan says future work should focus on better understanding the mechanisms by which fusicoccin-A improves axon repair.

In particular, a protein called GCN1 holds promise. The team found that the physical bonding of 14-3-3 and GCN1 is an important factor in fusicoccin-A-induced axon growth. Now scientists can examine the function of GCN1 in the nervous system and test whether the bonding with 14-3-3 could serve as a drug target for more tailored therapies.

"We have identified a novel strategy to promote axon regeneration with a family of small molecules that may be excellent candidates for future drug development," says Fournier. "This is an exciting advance because the field has struggled to find treatments and identify targets for drugs that stimulate axon repair."

More information: Small-Molecule Stabilization of 14-3-3 Protein-Protein Interactions Stimulates Axon Regeneration, Neuron, Volume 93, Issue 5, p10821093.e5, 8 March 2017. Journal information: Neuron Small-Molecule Stabilization of 14-3-3 Protein-Protein Interactions Stimulates Axon Regeneration,, Volume 93, Issue 5, p10821093.e5, 8 March 2017. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.018
Four states legalized recreational marijuana in November, nearly doubling the number of states where recreational pot is legal. As more states consider joining them, a range of arguments for and against legalization is swirling around the national conversation.

But which of these arguments resonate most strongly with Americans? It's the arguments that support legalization, according to a new study co-authored by Jeff Niederdeppe, associate professor of communication in Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

More than 60 percent of people surveyed in the study said they supported legalization because they agreed with arguments saying it would increase tax revenues, create a profitable new industry, reduce prison crowding and lower the cost of law enforcement.

In contrast, fewer people in the study agreed with anti-legalization arguments emphasizing the damage the policy would have on public health. These reasons included that legalization would increase car accidents, hurt youth's health, expand the marijuana industry, increase crime and threaten moral values.

"The pro arguments are really practical: 'Give us money and jobs. Keep our prison from being overcrowded, make law enforcement's job easier,'" said Niederdeppe. "And the con arguments are a little more ideological: 'This is going to lead to big industry and crime and undermine the fundamental values that make America great.'"

Niederdeppe emphasized that he and his colleagues are advocating neither for nor against legalization. Rather, their research offers a snapshot of public opinion at a time when legalization debates are in the air, he said.

"We'd better understand where the public stands on this issue if we want to develop policies that are responsive to democratic values and what people are concerned about," he said. "Understanding where the public sees benefit and where it is nervous can help regulators emphasize those things people agree are important."

More information: Emma E. McGinty et al, Public perceptions of arguments supporting and opposing recreational marijuana legalization, Preventive Medicine (2017). Journal information: Preventive Medicine Emma E. McGinty et al, Public perceptions of arguments supporting and opposing recreational marijuana legalization,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.01.024
Deaths and injuries from gun violence occur at higher rates in the United States compared to other developed countries. Yet, there has been relatively little public health research aimed at understanding and preventing this important threat to health. In a Viewpoint published this week in JAMA Surgery, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, argue for more research on firearm injury, including the establishment of a national database on incidents of gun violence. The authors point to recent research showing that in Philadelphia, gun murders and injuries are much more strongly associated with race than neighborhood income levels.

"Firearm violence is still largely a taboo research subject," said lead author Jessica Beard, MD, MPH, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery at Penn Medicine. "We struggle to obtain even basic information on its epidemiology. We need data to accurately assess the overall extent and geographic distribution of this problem."

As trauma surgeons in Philadelphia, Beard and co-author Carrie A. Sims, MD, MS, an associate professor of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery, routinely treat victims of gun violence in the city. Although they acknowledge that perfecting the clinical management of gunshot wound patients is important, they believe that the best way to address this public health problem is to prevent it.

"When we save a patient in the operating room, we feel great, and yet despite our hard work the patients keep coming," Sims said. "Sometimes we feel powerless to address the deeper causes of this problem."

With colleagues from the Penn Injury Science Center, Beard and Sims have been researching the epidemiology of gun violence in Philadelphia. In a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Penn team analyzed statistics on firearm assaults in Philadelphia during 2013-14. Results showed that the gun murders and injuries were much more strongly associated with race than with neighborhood income levels. People living in relatively high-income black neighborhoods, for example, suffered a rate of firearm assault almost 16 times higher than that experienced by people living in white neighborhoods with the same income.

According to police data analyzed by the researchers, more than 80 percent of victims of firearm injuries reported in Philadelphia were black, and less than 6 percent were non-Hispanic whites.

"This racial/ethnic disparity is the 'elephant in the room' of firearm injury epidemiology," Beard said. In the new essay, she and Sims argue for more research and scientific resources to explain this disparity, which they suggest may be rooted in structural inequality and other social factors that are amenable to policy interventions.

"We as trauma surgeons need to work with our surgical associations and members of government to advocate for more research funding to determine the root causes of this important public health problemand to start identifying effective prevention strategies," Beard said.

In a 2013 "Statement on Firearm Injuries," the American College of Surgeons called for a national database on these injurieswhich would allow researchers to track trends and determine if interventions are working. Beard and Sims echo this recommendation, saying that such a database would be a basic first step towards understanding and addressing the problem of urban gun violence in America.
A total of 89,707 surveys were completed over the five-year period and researchers compared survey-reported data before program implementation with rates from 2010-2014. Regarding sexual violence victimization, rates were 12 to 13 percent lower in the intervention versus control schools in years three and four, respectively. Credit: University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women

University of Kentucky researchers have observed a significant reduction in sexual violence perpetration and victimization among Kentucky high school students, according to a recently published study on the "Green Dot" bystander intervention program..

Led by Ann Coker and Heather Bush in UK's Center for Research on Violence Against Women (CRVAW), the study is the largest and longest randomized controlled trial of bystander intervention programs focusing on sexual violence prevention in high schools. Published this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study reveals the implementation of Green Dot in Kentucky high schools decreased not only sexual violence perpetration, but related forms of violence including sexual harassment, stalking and dating violence.

"This research is great news for parents, schools, young adults and adolescents across Kentucky and the USA," said Coker, who is the Verizon Wireless Endowed Chair in CRVAW and professor in the UK College of Medicine. "We found that sexual violence can be preventedthis violence is not inevitable. Adolescents and young adults can learn how to identify risky situations and safely intervene to prevent violence."

Sexual violence continues to be a serious problem for Kentucky teens. One in seven high school students in Kentucky experience physical dating violence, and one in 11 have had unwanted sex because they were physically forced, or too intoxicated to give consent. Bystander training programs like Green Dot teach individuals how to recognize situations or behaviors that may become violent, and intervene to reduce the likelihood of violence.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study followed 26 Kentucky high schools over the past five years. Half of the schools were assigned to receive the Green Dot intervention, with the others serving as the study's control group. Interventions were conducted by trained rape crisis educators. The Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs (KASAP) served as a community partner in the trial and covered the cost of Green Dot training for at least one staff at each regional center across Kentucky. By utilizing these existing resources, the schools encountered no additional costs to implement the program.

"The total cost of the program, over the study period for all intervention schools, was $1.55 million, which was largely personnel costs," said Heather Bush, Kate Spade & Co. Foundation Endowed Professor in CRVAW and associate professor of biostatistics in the UK College of Public Health. "Because KASAP educators were ideally positioned to add prevention education to their therapeutic skill set, schools did not incur any additional costs to implement Green Dot. Given the partnership with KASAP, we estimate the cost of providing Green Dot to new schools at $25,000 per school."

The interventions were implemented in two phases. In Phase 1, rape crisis educators delivered Green Dot speeches to all students in the intervention schools. In Phase 2, educators implemented intensive bystander training. This training was conducted in smaller groups by high school students perceived as leaders by their peers (about 12-15 percent of the student body). Because Green Dot involves intensive training for a small number of students, ongoing costs were relatively low and were less impacted by school size, according to Joshua Bush, leading author of the cost analysis study and visiting professor of accounting at Eastern Kentucky University.

"When you have a larger initial investment but low cost of student participation, sharing the investment across multiple schools is particularly cost-effective," Joshua Bush said. "The KASAP partnership provided the relationships and personnel for such a statewide implementation. School administrators can benefit from this strategic partnership because violence prevention training is not required in secondary schools, and is not part of a typical budget."

Each spring from 2010 to 2014, students at each school completed anonymous surveys to measure the frequency of violence they personally experienced, termed "victimization," as well as the frequency of violence they personally inflicted, termed "perpetration." All students, in both intervention and control schools, received hotline numbers and website information. Rape crisis staff were also available at each school to talk with any students who needed assistance.

A total of 89,707 surveys were completed over the five-year period and researchers compared survey-reported data before program implementation with rates from 2010-2014. Regarding sexual violence victimization, rates were 12 to 13 percent lower in the intervention versus control schools in years three and four, respectively. This translates to 120 fewer sexually violent events in year three, and 88 fewer in year four, indicating that sufficient time is required to see the ultimate effect of the training on violent behaviors.

"In this study we sought to change the culture that supports violence in high schools, and making these changes requires time," said Coker. "Fortunately, we had five years to implement and evaluate these changes and we definitely needed all five years. We saw reductions in violence acceptance and increases in bystander actions in the second and third years of the study, but we did not see significant and consistent reductions in sexual violence and other forms of violence until the fourth and fifth years of the study when Green Dot training was fully implemented."

Green Dot, designed by former UK faculty member Dorothy Edwards, has been in use at the university since 2008. It teaches students how to identify situations that could lead to an act of violence (represented on incident maps by a red dot) and shows them how to intervene safely and effectively. A "green dot" represents "any behavior, choice, word or attitude that promotes safety for all our citizens and communicates utter intolerance for violence."

"The State Prevention Team, convened by KASAP, selected the Green Dot program for this trial because the program engages all students across the school quickly with motivational presentations," said Eileen Recktenwald, executive director of KASAP. "The second training phase targets the natural leaders or trendsetters amongst the students. Their behaviors (engaged bystander actions to reduce violence risk) will be noticed and emulated by other students. Training this small yet influential group results in an efficient use of training resources and extends the intervention reach across a school or community."

UK President Eli Capilouto praised the study and the Green Dot program for making both college campuses and high schools safer.

"As educators, we have an obligation to provide our students with a safe place to live and learn," Capilouto said. "The Green Dot program was ahead of the curve when it was established at the University of Kentucky. Today, it is an effective bystander intervention training tool on college campuses across the country, and the results of the Center for Research on Violence Against Women's study illustrates its effectiveness in high schools. Providing this important training earlier supports all our efforts to make high schools and college campuses safer for all people."

More information: Ann L. Coker et al, RCT Testing Bystander Effectiveness to Reduce Violence, American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2017). Journal information: American Journal of Preventive Medicine Ann L. Coker et al, RCT Testing Bystander Effectiveness to Reduce Violence,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.020
A group of Russian and German biologists and mathematicians led by profs. Victor Sadovnichii and Vladimir Skulachev (Moscow State University) and prof. Thomas Hildebrandt (Leibniz Institute, Berlin) have published a study in Physiological Reviews in support of a breakthrough hypothesis explaining the exceptional longevity of the naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber), an African rodent. According to the hypothesis, these animals had evolved a slow process of individual development resulting in a dramatic increase in the period of youth and a decelerated aging process.

A similar process has begun in humans, as well. Analysis of data on human longevity and the reproduction period indicates that humans have already slowed down the pace of our "master biological clock," and this deceleration has progressed throughout human history, resulting in increased lifespan and prolongation of youth.

Such regulation of the rate of aging means that the aging process (in both naked mole-rats and humans) is genetically programmed and cannot be explained by simple accumulation of random damage with age. This is a very important finding, because modern science is already capable of switching off some biological programsfor example, the process of cell suicide, apoptosis. Prof. Skulachev's research group is now trying to apply the same method to retard the program of aging using specially designed mitochondrially targeted antioxidants.

Victor Sadovnichii, rector of Moscow State University, says, "Aging studies are based on different statistical datasets. Traditionally it is one of the most mathematics-oriented areas of biology. In this particular case, statistical analysis demonstrated a very important fact: Human aging is already decelerating."

Vladimir Skulachev, head of Belozersky institute of Moscow State University, says, "I think our work proves that the biological evolution of two highly social species of mammals (humans and naked mole rats) resulted in deceleration of the aging program and prolongation of youth. So the aging is, indeed, a program, and it has already slowed down through natural selection. But we humans no longer rely on the extremely slow method of natural evolution. We use technical and scientific progress to achieve our goals. It is exactly the time when we must apply this method against aging."
(HealthDay)For unaffected relatives of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, preclinical alterations in levels of soluble mediators may predict transition to disease, according to a study published in the March issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Melissa E. Munroe, M.D., Ph.D., from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City, and colleagues examined factors associated with transition to classified disease in 409 previously identified blood relatives of patients with SLE who had up to four American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for SLE at baseline.

The researchers found that at the time of follow-up (mean, 6.4 years), 11 percent of unaffected relatives had transitioned to classified SLE. More lupus-associated autoantibody specificities and higher SLE-specific portion of the Connective Tissue Disease Screening Questionnaire (SLE-CSQ) scores at baseline (P < 0.0001) were seen for relatives who transitioned versus those who did not transition to classified SLE. Elevated baseline plasma levels of inflammatory mediators, including B lymphocyte stimulator, stem cell factor (SCF), and interferon-associated chemokines (P  0.02), were seen among relatives who developed SLE, with concurrent decreases in the levels of regulatory mediators, transforming growth factor  (TGF), and interleukin-10 (P  0.03). Significant and independent predictors of SLE transition included baseline SLE-CSQ scores or ACR scores and plasma levels of SCF and TGF, but not autoantibodies.

"Immune perturbations precede SLE classification and can help identify high-risk relatives for rheumatology referral and potential enrollment in prevention trials," the authors write.

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
When experiencing a stroke, people who are brought to the hospital in an ambulance with a CT scanner and telemedicine capabilities are evaluated and treated nearly two times faster than people taken in a regular ambulance, according to a study published in the March 8, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

An ischemic stroke is the most common kind of stroke, when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain. It can often be treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA), a clot-busting drug, but the drug ideally should be given within four-and-a-half hours of the start of symptoms to improve chances of recovery.

"The sooner someone is treated for stroke, the better chance they have for survival and an improved recovery," said study author Muhammad S. Hussain, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Telemedicine makes it possible for a neurologist to see a stroke patient, and possibly treat them, before they even arrive at the hospital."

To improve treatment times, the Cleveland Clinic created a mobile stroke treatment unit, an ambulance equipped with a mobile CT scanner and telemedicine technology. It was first used in the city of Cleveland in 2014. The medical team on board includes a registered nurse, a paramedic, an emergency medical technician and a CT technologist.

For the study, researchers compared the stroke care of the first 100 people transported by the mobile stroke unit to the stroke care of 53 people brought to the hospital by a regular ambulance in 2014. People in both groups had similar stroke severity.

A vascular neurologist evaluated each person transported in the mobile stroke unit on the way to the hospital. A neuroradiologist and vascular neurologist also assessed CT scan images taken during the ride.

Researchers found there was a significant reduction in the time from the initial call for help to getting a CT scan, an average of 33 minutes for those transported by the mobile stroke unit compared to 56 minutes for those transported by regular ambulance. Average time from the first call for help to receiving clot-busting drugs was 56 minutes compared to 94 minutes. Average time between arrival at hospital to treatment with clot-busting drugs was 32 minutes compared to 58 minutes. Average time from the start of symptoms to receiving clot-busting drugs was 97 minutes compared to 123 minutes.

Of those evaluated in the mobile stroke unit, 16 people received clot-busting drugs and 25 percent of them received the drugs within an hour of the start of symptoms.

"Overall, people transported by the mobile stroke unit received clot-busting drugs nearly 40 minutes faster," said Hussain. "Also, 44 percent of them received clot-busting drugs within an hour-and-a-half, compared to just 8 percent of other patients. More people were given the treatment they needed, faster."

Limitations of the study include its small sample size and that those transported by regular ambulance were taken to facilities in just one hospital system. Questions remain about the cost-effectiveness of mobile stroke units, especially in rural areas, as well as their feasibility since fast wireless networks are needed to transmit images quickly.

In an accompanying editorial, Andrew M. Southerland, MD, of the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville and member of the American Academy of Neurology, said, "Ongoing efforts are needed to streamline mobile stroke unit costs and efficiency before achieving road-readiness for widespread health system deployment."
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) has warned South Africans that two messages purporting to come from the organisation are fake.

Please note that this is part of the scam where people are advised to input their PIN in reverse at ATMs, it said.

While some of the messages have been taken from the SABRIC website, in an attempt to give these messages credibility, SABRIC denies having issued or disseminated any such message.

Please be aware of the following false information purporting to be from SABRIC.

Fake Message 1

From FNB; ABSA; CAPITEC; NEDBANK In the spite of armed robbery, here is something you may really need. When a thief forces you to take money from the atm, do not argue or resist, you might not know what he or she might do to you. What you should do is to punch your pin in the reverse, i.e. if your pin is 1254, you punch 4521. The moment you punch in the reverse, the money will come out but will be stuck into the machine half way out and it will alert police without the notice of the thief. Every ATM has it, it is specially made to signify danger and help. Not everyone is aware of this. Forward this to all your friends and those you care for.

Fake Message 2

SAVE A LIFE SABRIC strongly urges banking customers to be alert at all times about their financial dealings even when receiving information that is seemingly credible and helpful. We advise bank customers to validate any unsolicited information that they receive either by email, telephone or even hearsay with their banks prior to acting upon it. The banks have dedicated call centres to deal with client queries and the public should make better use of them. The alertness of bank clients is often the best preventative measure against many bank-related scams. SABRIC has the following tips for ATM users: Be vigilant when performing an ATM transaction and be aware of your surroundings.

Always choose an ATM that is in a well-lit and safe environment.

Ask someone you know and trust to accompany you to make your ATM transaction if you feel unsafe.

Notify your bank and the police immediately if you fall victim to a bank-related crime.

Never let anyone distract you when making an ATM transaction.

Never ask anyone to assist you with your ATM transaction; rather go into the bank.

Never force your card into the machine; rather use another ATM machine.

Make sure that there is no one watching you when entering your secret PIN number; shield the ATM keypad with your other hand. For information on industry measures and any queries contact: SABRIC Media Liaison Tel: +27 11 847 3000, [email protected]

Now read: South African criminal reveals how they steal your bank card at an ATM
Malaysian streaming video service iFlix plans to launch in South Africa and several other African countries before the end of the year.

This is according to the companys spokesperson in South Africa, Jo Eyre.

iFlix is focused on the lower end of the streaming market, and aims to launch with mobile network operators as partners.

It is talking to several local operators and discussions are going well, said Eyre.

Negotiations in other African markets are further along.

Zero-rated data

Strategies iFlix is considering include zero-rating data used to stream video over a partner network, or bundle packages  for example, getting access to iFlix when buying a 250MB data bundle.

Eyre said iFlix consumes less data than other services. Where Netflix and ShowMax need 2Mbps or 4Mbps connections, iFlix needs around 650kbps.

iFlix also plans to launch at a much lower price point than rivals, and currently charges between $1.80 and $3.00 per month elsewhere in the world. Local currency billing is supported.

Eyre added that iFlix doesnt see the likes of Netflix, ShowMax, ONTAPTV, or VU as direct competitors, though.

It is instead focused on addressing a particular market segment and tackling the issue of film piracy at a grassroots level.

iFlix will include the ability to download videos and watch them offline, and plans to launch a single catalogue for the whole of Africa.

The service will feature a range of local content, which will be curated based on the region the user is in.

At launch, iFlix will focus on supporting Android smartphones, with other devices being investigated.
Azerbaijan army units open fire in direction of Armenia positions

Minister: Britain's government faces tough decisions

Boris Johnson from fighting for Conservative Party leader over fears of losing income

Greece slams Turkish authorities' temporary ban on Greek official's entry

Scientifically proven: EU is inscrutable

OPEC: To avoid unrestrained volatility we need to invest in oil

Turkmenistan becomes regional energy center

Kishida pledges to strengthen Japan's naval and military capabilities

Germany and eight other EU member states plan to expand sanctions against Iran

NYT: Kyiv plans total evacuation in case of power outage

Iran reveals new air defense missile

IRGC neutralizes terrorist group in southwestern Iran

Bahrain to continue building relations with Israel after Netanyahu's victory

Iran says it confiscated a large batch of U.S.-made munitions

Iran successfully launches Ghaem 100 rocket, making the US nervous

U.S. sends warplanes to Iran

Washington Post: US privately urges Ukraine to show willingness to negotiate with Russia

Parisien: French man wins  160 million in European lottery

U.S. decides to block number of seats on planes because of the increase in passenger weight

BMW M4 turned into a pickup truck

Blinken calls on Israel and Palestine to urgently de-escalate tensions

Romania signs deal with Norway for purchase of over 30 F-16 fighters

Stoltenberg: The alliance has no plans to change nuclear positions and deployments

Tagesschau: Nearly 200,000 people took part in strikes at industrial enterprises of Germany

Teenagers hacks Uzbekistan senate website

Artsakh Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis fired at tractor in Khramort village of Artsakh

Rally participants' statement: Artsakh can't be a part of Azerbaijan

Person accused of arson in Russia cafe confesses

Fars: Iranian Foreign Ministry reported UAV deliveries to Russia a few months before the start of the UAS

Bayramov: Azerbaijan, Armenia leaders next meeting will take place in Brussels this month

Unity rally of participants start march in downtown Yerevan

North Korea launches 4 ballistic missiles

Council of Border Guard Troops commanders discusses situation at CIS external borders

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan joins rally in downtown Yerevan

Russia oil, natural gas companies plan to collaborate with Iraq

Armenia army intelligence troops 30th anniversary is solemnly celebrated (PHOTOS)

Rally of unity in support of Karabakh kicks off in downtown Yerevan

Pentagon announces sending 8 NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine

Armenian Apostolic Church Supreme Spiritual Council meeting ends, Armenia and Artsakh security discussed

Tropical Storm Nalgae death toll climbs to 155 in Philippines

Artak Beglaryan is appointed advisor to Artsakh Minister of State (PHOTOS)

US House committee extends deadline for Trump to produce documents on Capitol attack

Over 200 elephants die in Kenya amid drought

13 dead in cafe fire in Russia

Armenia Security Council chief to head for Poland, Netherlands, Lithuania

Rishi Sunak: State cannot fix all problems

Newspaper: To what extent Armenia adheres to sanctions on Russia?

Biden accuses Twitter of spewing lies

Newspaper: There are active political processes in Karabakh

Qatar FM slams hypocrisy of calls to boycott World Cup

France, Singapore and Switzerland begin joint testing of experimental digital currencies

Oil war is Biden's biggest mistake

Japan considers possible deployment of hypersonic missiles by 2030

Germany to install better air defense system over Defense Ministry buildings

Erdogan and Stoltenberg discuss war in Ukraine

Armenian MOD: Azerbaijani Armed Forces open fire in direction of Armenian positions

True cost of Europe's rejection of Russian gas

White House tries to explain Biden's statement about freeing Iran

Former Pakistani Prime Minister: Either we will have a peaceful revolution or a bloody one

Aramyan: Why are police officers' salaries increasing, while defense officers' are not?

Pentagon and U.S. weapons manufacturers to discuss Russia, human resources and supply chain

Ankara says U.S. may approve sale of F-16s to Turkey within few months

IMF: Turkey should tighten monetary policy and give the Central Bank more independence

Pope urges religious leaders to keep the world from brink of abyss

Putin awards Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II with Order of Honor

U.S. says G7 countries realize need for coordinated response to China

Round-the-clock curfew is introduced in Kherson

Borrell says they can't put China and Russia on same level

Olaf Scholz calls on China to influence Russia

G7 foreign ministers express 'unwavering commitment' to protecting Ukraine, criticized PRC and IRI

Political technologist explains why Pashinyan was elected chairman of board of ruling party in Armenia

Erdogan signs up for TikTok

China's army is constantly preparing for war amid provocative U.S. actions

Kalin: Armenia is constructive about normalization of relations

Poland asks EU to suspend fines

Putin: Situation in Ukraine was deadly for Russia

Portugal to test a four-day workweek

US embassy in Armenia issues statement ahead of November 5 protests in Yerevan

Dollar, euro go up in Armenia

Baku authorities once again refuse to allow PFPA to hold protest rally

Iranians commemorate anniversary of US embassy seizure

Richard Kauzlarich: Azerbaijan, Armenia FMs meeting in Washington 'will send message to Putin'

Russia ratifies protocol on requirements for length of service of EEU bodies' employees for pensions

Armenia deputy defense minister in Russia, discusses military cooperation

Yerevan receives proposal to hold Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan interparliamentary talks

Health minister: We will work with fallen Armenia detainees relatives one more time after which bodies will be buried

Putin allows mobilization of citizens with unexpunged criminal record for serious crimes

Arnika, NESEHNUTI NGOs of Czech Rep. issue joint statement on plan to expand gold mine in Armenias Karaberd

Putin urges to evacuate civilians living in Kherson from the war zone

Iran parliament speaker to visit Armenia

Ruling force MP: Canada is opening embassy in Armenia because we are one of worlds most democratic countries

Girl with Armenian roots ends up in Vladimir orphanage

Erdogan says he has agreed with Putin to supply grain to needy countries for free

Armenia President, UK envoy agree to continue cooperation, close contacts

Armenia FM receives EU Monitoring Capacity

Spanish MPs don't approve agreement with Baku as a sign of solidarity with Armenia

Japan says North Korea may go ahead with nuclear test

Armenia government to allocate about $5M to Karabakh refugees support program

Belarusian border service: Border guards intercepts Ukrainian training drone

President appoints Ruben Vardanyan as Karabakh Minister of State
To this day, it is not clear what is happening at the line of contact, since there is no independent source that would inform who was the first to open fire.

Ambassador James Warlick, former US Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, told the aforesaid to Voice of America Armenian service.

Warlick noted that he would like to listen to people in Armenia and Azerbaijan saying loudly that the time has come to establish peace, and forcing their presidents to find a way to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As per the US diplomat, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan realize that the resumption of this conflict is extremely dangerous.

In Warlicks words, the maintenance of status quo in the conflict zone will not bring peace; this status quo is not sustainable, and it makes the threat of war more likely.

According to the former co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the main obstacle facing the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is the absence of a respective political will by the parties to this conflict.

The diplomat recalled that a comprehensive settlement comprises numerous factors, and they all need to be developed.

He added that even though the status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be discussed, the returning of territories to Azerbaijan likewise needs to be talked about at the same time.

James Warlick expressed a belief that peace can be established in Karabakh, the population of the region deserves peace, and now the time has come for peace.
YEREVAN.  Azerbaijan is to blame for the suspension of the talks toward the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Ambassador Ara Papyan, Modus Vivendi Center Director and political scientist, said the above-said at a press conference on Wednesday.

In his words, Azerbaijan FM Elmar Mammadyarovs latest statement is the affirmation of what exists today.

That is, the negotiations are suspended, and Azerbaijan is to blame for this, noted Papyan. Let them blame themselves, since the parties must give up something during talks and reach an acceptable viewpoint.

We see that all the authorities of Armenia have always made great and unjustified concessions; but even thus, we were unable to convince Azerbaijan to likewise give up something.
Its a pleasure for me to visit Paris again, a city which faced a lot of waves during history but never sank and continued prospering and developing, eternally remaining a unique center of civilization, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said at the reception held in the Municipality of Paris on Wednesday.

Addressing the Paris city authorities and particularly Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, Sargsyan noted: It is thanks to you that decentralized cooperation, especially the one with Paris, has such an important place on the agenda of the Armenian-French relations. I highly appreciate that you are by our side at the most important moments for us: I mean your visit to Yerevan both in the framework of the events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the festivities dedicated to the 2798th anniversary of the city of Yerevan. And, of course, Ms Mayor, we will be happy if you visit Yerevan on these days next year, when we will be celebrating the 2800th anniversary of the Armenian capital.

Furthermore, the Armenian leader expressed satisfaction with the fact that Yerevan and Paris are sister cities, the productive cooperation between them strengthening and expanding every day. Every year a number of joint programs are implemented both in bilateral and multilateral formats, starting from cultural programs to exchange of experience in the spheres of city economy and urban development, he noted.

I would like to especially touch on our collaboration within the framework of the International Association of Francophone Mayors. Thanks to that cooperation, a number of schools in our capital have created conditions for advanced learning of French. Besides, art educational centers and libraries have been mproved and renovated. The city with the greatest number of libraries in the world should be exemplary for us. Thanks to that collaboration, the French breath has become more noticeable in our capital. I hope that the ongoing programs will also be successfully materialized. Armenian house and French house will be established in France and Armenia respectively, this making Armenians and the French feel at home in each others capitals.

Being in Paris, you realize why dozens of thousands of Armenians preferred France and the French after the Armenian Genocide. Trade is also an art here, the latter being a lifestyle.

These people came here and thanks to your hospitality turned into law abiding citizens, respected and demanded specialists. They also came here for the world to listen to the sweet French songs of Charles Aznavour, enjoy the beautiful music of Henri Verneuil and the films of Alain Terzian.

Let me specially address my compatriots in this hall.

It can be confidently said that you have your input in the French culture and development of economy. Taking the best of the French, you enriched it with a unique raciness of Armenianness.

Now that thousands of Syrian Armenians have established in Armenia as a result of the crisis, we feel that raciness closer and appreciate it, Sargsyan noted.
International powers should step up pressure on Azerbaijan to avoid all-out war in Nagorno-Karabakh, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan told AFP in an interview ahead of his visit to France.

"The danger of a new war is constant and will persist until Azerbaijan is persuaded that there is no military solution to the conflict," Sargsyan said.

The Armenian Presidentwho will meet French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Wednesday noted that his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev hinders the diplomatic progress by threatening to start fighting unless he gets his way.

"He said Azerbaijan will not start a war if Armenia fulfils its demands. I said that this is blackmail, not a compromise," the Armenian leader said.

He urged Paris, Moscow, and Washington to "show what price one of the sides will pay if it initiates an attack."

"Public opinion in Armenia is that the resumption of hostilities is a matter of time -- maybe weeks or months -- and the commander-in-chief and defence minister must be prepared that a war could start tomorrow. I don't think a fresh war is an immediate threat, but nothing is ruled out when one deals with an unpredictable neighbour," Sargsyan stressed.

Referring to the relations with Turkey, the President noted that at this point, the process of normalization is in an impasse.

Stressing that international pressure and military balance between Yerevan and Baku have so far helped avoid a new war, Sargsyan also expressed concern over Russia supplying sophisticated weapons to Azerbaijan.

"We take it painfully because Russia is our strategic partner," he noted.
YEREVAN. - In the banners of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), the security is depicted in the character of President Serzh Sargsyan dressed in military uniform, which is a failed propaganda.

Yelk (Way Out) alliance member and MP Nikol Pashinyan said the aforementioned at the campaign rally held in Yerevans Aznavour Square on Wednesday.

According to him, the greatest enemy of Armenia is despair, and it is Yelks task during the elections to overcome this and say that there is a way out.

Referring to the RPA motto Security and progress, Pashinyan said that their campaign is failed, since Serzh Sargsyanwho is depicted in banners in a military uniform was the only head of state in the 25 years of history, during whose term the Armenian people lost 800 ha of land. As a result of his government, the security of Armenia is ensured by weapons of the 80s. Even the re-equipment at the frontline was carried out thanks to the crowdfunding of the citizens, Pashinyan said.

The MP asked what they were busy with for 25 years. How come you have destructive cars, destructive consumes, destructive houses but not destructive aviation? Do you ensure Armenias security so that now the Premier says the tanks wouldnt start? It would be better to depict on the poster a tank which wont start. Looking at Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenian citizens should realize that they are looking at a tank, which didnt, isnt and wont start, Pashinyan noted.

In his words, security is Serzh Sargsyans linchpin.

Referring to the word progress, he said that Karen Karapetyan is the one who symbolizes it in the RPA banners.
PARIS. - President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, who is on an official visit to France, met with his French counterpart Francois Hollande in Elysee Palace on Wednesday.

By the end of the meeting, the presidents signed a number of documents on the deepening and development of the Armenian-French cooperation. They also summed up the results of the negotiations in the statements made before media.

In his statement, Sargsyan thanked Francois Hollande for the invitation and warm reception. He also noted, in particular:

We just finished our negotiations during which we discussed various issues of mutual interest.

I am pleased to note that our positions on all the issues are very close to each other, both in terms of our bilateral relations and the issues and events going on in our region.

The centuries-old friendship and historical and cultural ties, as well as the absence of political issues between Armenia and France are certainly a solid ground based on which our relations continue to expand in the climate of mutual respect and confidence.

We stated with satisfaction our achievementsstable political dialogue, very strong inter-parliamentary ties, active economic, scientific and educational, as well as cultural ties, deepening of decentralized cooperation, mutually beneficial cooperation on international platforms, support programs implemented by France in Armenia, backing each other in important international issues, and comprehensive legal framework.

Today we made a few more steps towards the deepening of our relations by signing documents in respect of the spheres of tourism, as well as interuniversity and scientific and educational cooperation.

High-level political dialogue is certainly a solid ground also for efficient economic cooperation. And although our economic relations have not yet reached the level of political relations, we are taking confident steps in that direction. And as Mr President said, this morning I was tying to convince French businessmen in France Mouvement des entreprises de France (MEDEF) that Armenia has favorable investment conditions. I proposed them to come and make investments in Armenia. I tried to convince them by the reality that being a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenia can be a platform for them to produce in Armenia and sell in the 170 million EAEU market. Secondly, having good relations with Iran and maintaining good relations with that state after the lifting of sanction, as well as knowing the Iranian market and people, Armenia can be useful to leading French companies here as well, serving as a platform for European companies and having opportunities, as well as serving them to the development of these relations. If the French business flourishes in Iran, we will benefit from this as well. I thanked President Hollande for backing the decision on holding the Francophonie Summit in Armenia in 2018. This is a very important event for us, and we will certainly be able to organize and hold that event at decent level in 2018. Apart from this, this preparation period will include large dissemination of the French language and the French culture in Armenia. This year alone we have planned over 600 events, whose implementation will certainly strengthen our friendship, since there are two known circumstancestwo very important facts and factorsin our links. One of them is almost the half million Armenians living in Armenia, who were able to flee the disaster, reach France, establish there and work for the development of France, preserving their national identity. Currently, they are a very big natural bridge. The second circumstance is the French culture, which Armenia likes and knows, and which is spread in Armenia. We must constantly cherish all this as a guarantee of our friendship.
Repeats story published March 7.

If it feels like you've seen a ton of Kellyanne Conway on TV lately, it's because you have.

Conway, former Trump campaign manager and current counselor to the president, has received millions of dollars in free earned media since the start of the year, according to data from analytics firm mediaQuant. Last month, she got more airtime than Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. And the month before, she edged out Vice President Mike Pence. The only figures who have consistently beat her in free media attention in 2017 are Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

"I'm the face of Donald Trump's movement," Conway said in a January interview with The Hollywood Reporter. And she appears to be right.

Conway, 50, got $15.9 million in free earned media in February, her boss' first full month in office, and $13.1 million in January. Over the past year, she has gotten more than $100 million in unpaid press attention.

Unsurprisingly, broadcast television is where she's gotten the most play, with about 60% of free media attention coming from there. She is also prominent in online news and Twitter.

She far outpaces other White House figures such as Reince Priebus, Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon in free earned media. She appears to be making a relatively equal splash to Pence, who got more media than her in February but less in January and December.

"Pence just hasn't got his own voice out there," said Paul Senatori, chief analytics officer at Portland-based mediaQuant. "Maybe it's hard in the shadow he's operating under, but Kellyanne Conway hasn't had that problem."

To be sure, Conway's free media prowess falls far short of her boss'. Trump rode $5 billion in free earned media to the White House, per mediaQuant's calculations.

To arrive at its estimates, mediaQuant tracks the coverage of each candidate and calculates dollar values based on advertising rates of the media in which the article or news broadcast appears. It weights mentions by the reach of the source (meaning how many people are likely to see it) and includes various mediums, including print, broadcast, online news, blogs and social. It makes adjustments based on sentiment, segment and search metrics.

Since joining the Trump campaign in August 2016, the former pollster has become a prominent figure on the media circuit. She is one of the most talked-about figures in the Trump White House, for bad and for good.

A heated interview with CNN's Jake Tapper went viral in February, and before that, Conway drew attention when she told NBC's Chuck Todd that the White House's claims about the president's inauguration crowd size were "alternative facts."

Conway took a step back from the airwaves late last month after a series of missteps, including offering an impromptu "free commercial" for Ivanka Trump on "Fox and Friends" -- a maneuver that earned her a letter from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics that the White House eventually rebuffed. She also appeared to be out of the loop with regards to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's communications with Russia prior to his departure from the Trump administration.

Pop culture has caught onto Conway as well. SNL's Kate McKinnon has spoofed her several times, sometimes in a relatively lighthearted light, other times, less so. A photo of Conway kneeling on a couch in the Oval Office swept social media last week.

In an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. last month, Conway, a mother of four, discussed her rise in prominence. She said it is hard for her to consider herself a feminist in the "classical sense" but spoke of being a woman in power.

"I don't have any special advice for America's women, except to know who you are and to put your priorities in order and not to worry about the naysayers and critics," she said.

Love her or hate her, she's got thick skin and needs it, given her media presence.
It happened again: A presidential tweet hit an entire industry, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Tuesday. But fortunately, that industry was pharma, and it's created the perfect opportunity for investors to buy, buy, buy.

Cramer said investors have three options when President Trump takes aim at stocks in their portfolio. They can panic, they can take a wait-and-see approach or they can buy on the weakness.

As we've learned with Boeing (BA) , Lockheed Martin (LMT) , General Motors (GM) and countless others, the correct response is to start buying.

This is not the first time Trump has been critical of drugmakers and drug pricing. But the fact remains that to make any substantive changes, the President will need Congress, and Congress' track record against drug companies clearly shows that this is a battle that cannot be won.

Cramer said if Trump really wants to lower drug prices, he should target our trading partners, which squeeze all of the profits out of drug prices for their citizens, leaving the U.S. to burden all of the research and development costs.

That's why Cramer said he'd use today's weakness to buy Merck (MRK) , Eli Lilly (LLY) , Pfizer (PFE) and Allergan (AGN) , an Action Alerts PLUS holding.

Meanwhile, on Real Money, Cramer explains why the FANG stocks (Facebook (FB) , Amazon (AMZN) , Netflix (NFLX) and Google, now Alphabet (GOOGL) ) are still going from strength to strength. Check out his strategies with a free trial subscription to Real Money.

Oh, Snap

If you're a younger investor who picked up shares of Snap (SNAP) , Cramer said he's sorry for your loss. Shares plunged another 10% in today's trading. He said the company's IPO of just 200 million shares had little chance of providing more than a short-term pop, which is exactly what it gave us.

Cramer said he only hopes that the deal, which was immensely popular among younger investors who adore the product, hasn't soured them against owning individual stocks. The truth is that Snap has no plans to turn a profit, has slowing growth, $400 million in annual data center costs and an unproven advertising model.

Snap may be able to reinvent itself as a video provider or the company might benefit from additional advertising dollars moving online, but in the meantime, Cramer said, his daughter informed him that "no one clicks on the ads" in Snapchat, and that should be worrisome for investors once the newness of the company wears off.

Executive Decision: Logitech

For his "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer once again sat down with Bracken Darrell, president and CEO of Logitech (LOGI) , the computer accessory maker with shares that are up 27% since Cramer last checked in back in November.

Cramer first asked how it is that Logitech could deliver a 367% return over the past four years, vastly outperforming the markets. Darrell explained that Logitech is a "humble device maker" that just makes great products that people love. He said his company's keyboards, mice and headsets are beloved by gamers for whom every millisecond matters.

Logitech is also a global company, with its products being sold online and in stores worldwide.

When asked about the future, Darrell said that the cloud is the new growth platform for Logitech and there are many opportunities for new devices to connect to cloud.

Off the Charts: Tesla

In his "Off The Charts" segment, Cramer checked in with colleague Robert Moreno over the chart of Tesla (TSLA) , which has fallen from $280 to $248 a share after hints of a secondary offering began looming.

Moreno noted that Tesla's weekly chart have been moving in 43-week cycles, building towards its highs of $285, then breaking down and selling off violently. The stock's high last month were right on schedule, with the next time to buy likely in November.

The chart of Ford (F) however, has been stuck in a downtrend since 2014, but has recently consolidated and si not near its long-term ceiling. The MACD momentum indicator just signaled a bullish crossover, with the Chaikin money flow nearing positive territory.

Moreno also looked at General Motors (GM) , which broke out in November in a measured move higher, but also has been consolidating. With the MACD and Chaikin both bullish, Moreno felt the stock was a buy above $38.25 a share.

For more on Moreno's examination of Tesla's charts, read Tesla's Cyclical Winter of Discontent.

Executive Decision: Thor Industries

In his second "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Bob Martin, president and CEO of Thor Industries (THO) , a stock that was crushed today, down 9.8%, on a penny-a-share earnings beat with tempered guidance.

Martin said they were being conservative in their guidance, but still expect to have an good year, even if production is limited. He said RV dealers have never been more positive and the production increases will happen; they just take time.

When asked about the drop in average selling prices, Martin said they are selling more entry-level trailers and homes to younger buyers, but he sees that as a positive because those buyers will upgrade over time.

Turning to the topic of rising gas prices, Martin said after seeing $4 gasoline just a few years ago, the retail channel is ready for rising prices from current levels. Buyers simply take shorter trips, he explained, and it's not a factor for sales.

Cramer told viewers to do their homework on Thor.

Lightning Round

In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Treehouse Foods (THS) , TG Therapeutics (TGTX) , Kinder Morgan (KMI) , Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP) , Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and Arconic (ARNC) .

Cramer was bearish on Exact Sciences (EXAS) and Stratasys (SSYS) .

Read more of Cramer's comments about the stocks in the Lightning Round.

Cramer and the AAP team say news and caution are weighing on energy and health-care sectors. Find out what they're telling their investment club members about Apache (APA) , Cimarex (XEC) , Arconic (ARNC) and Allergan (AGN) with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.

Trump and your taxes:Cramer leads a roundtable discussion on how investors and retirement savers should position their portfolio.

Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC.

To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here.

At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had positions in APA, XEC, ARNC, AGN, FB, GOOGL, MMP.
Shakira performed for Pope Francis at the UN today (Friday), Shakira - Imagine (Live at the UN's General Assembly 2015) : The text a...
"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is brought to you by Miller Brewing Company, calling Milwaukee home since 1855. For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages  including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!

Milwaukee is a beer town, built on brew. But which Brew City bar has the best beer list? For seven years straight, OnMilwaukee readers have declared that Sugar Maple, 441 E. Lincoln Ave., in Bay View has the best beer list in town.

With 60 American craft beers on draft, it's hard to argue with the readers' vote ... but the OnMilwaukee editors did anyway, selecting the beer list at nearby Burnhearts as its favorite.

Rounding out the top five were Cafe Hollander  which won best restaurant beer list during last autumn's dining month ballot  Stubby's Pub & Grub, Burnhearts and Von Trier.

OnMilwaukee editors' pick: Burnhearts

Runners up:

2. Cafe Hollander

3. Stubby's Pub & Grub

4. Burnhearts

5. Von Trier

This year we also asked a variety of prominent Milwaukeeans to weigh in on their pick for specific categories. For this category, we consulted FM102.1's Jon Adler.

Adler's pick: The Vanguard

For a place that boasts an impressive and large selection of whiskeys, The Vanguard's beer list should NOT be overlooked. It's a fun, diverse and simple (one page) mix of tap beers that has something that pairs well with everything on their menu but works great if you're just grabbing drinks. My last visit there this past Saturday night, I started with a Karben4 Fantasy Factory, then switched to a Fuller's London Porter once our food arrived.

I don't mind bars that have three or four pages of beer listings but the odds are higher that they're out of a certain beer. Not the case at The Vanguard. Everything on their list (on a Saturday) was on tap and available.
"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is brought to you by Miller Brewing Company, calling Milwaukee home since 1855. For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages  including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!

Its been almost two years since Lovino Sangria disappeared from store shelves, leaving fans of the refreshing party-perfect beverage in the lurch.

But thanks to Discovery Worlds Director of Philanthropy Jennifer Clearwater, who purchased the recipe and brand in 2016, local sangria will be making a comeback.

"Our grapes are fermenting," she says, "And we should have 100 cases of the sangria ready to release in Wisconsin by June."

Created and launched by Erica and Jamie Zdroik in 2012, Lovino developed a loyal following largely due to its balanced flavor profile. The key, says Clearwater, is a base of Cabernet Franc, which has a complex flavor profile and helps to create a refreshing beverage that isnt cloyingly sweet.

"One thing I loved about this product was the recipe," she says. "It doesnt rely on brandy and sugars, so its healthier than most sangrias on the market. And Erica and Jamie get all the credit for that. Its a great product, and my job is simply to get it back into the market."

To make it happen, Clearwater has entered into a partnership with Craig Fletcher of Mona Rose in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin to produce the beverage.

"Craig was already producing a Cabernet Franc, and it was really good," she says of the partnership. "The vegetal notes from the wine forms a really nice base for the sangria. And his business is already part of the Wisconsin Winery Cooperative, so that offers us a mechanism to distribute the product at a small scale. Eventually, wed like to be a wholesaler for the product, but this is a good place to start."

In preparation for the release, Clearwater has also spent recent months reconnecting with Lovino fans through social media with the help of "Wine Girl," a figurine she purchased online years ago.

"Im so cliche," she says with a smile. "Ive been a Napa Valley Cabernet fan for so long  and thats really who I am. And now I own this business. Its perfect. Sangria is a social beverage. Its about getting together with friends and having a good time."

Despite her love for wine, Clearwater says she was never a fan of sangria. But after spying a bottle at a charitable auction in 2012, she says she was intrigued. She loved the story behind the product and says she liked the idea of supporting a local business. So she purchased a bottle to try.

"Im actually not a sangria drinker," she says. "In fact, Im not really into sweet drinks at all. Im more attracted to dry leathery earthy Cabernets. But it was a warm summer day when we opened the bottle, and surprisingly, I loved it. Were nerdy 'Game of Thrones' fans. So, we got to a point where wed get a bottle just about every week to drink while we watched."

When Clearwater came across an announcement on Facebook that the Zdroiks were interested in selling the company in 2014, she says she reached out to gather more information.

"We had a conversation," she says. "But after thinking about it, I realized that it wasnt a good fit for me at the time. And we let it go."

But by the summer of 2016, Clearwater says she noticed that Lovino had disappeared from the market. So, she reached out to Zdroik again and they met for coffee.

"When Erica told me the company was still for sale," she says, "I had a change of heart. And I decided I really wanted to take it on."

Clearwater is sole owner of the company. But she says Lovino is a family business.

"My husband has manufacturing experience," she says, "so hes knowledgeable about supply chain management. My father is in sales and my mother is a retired accountant. So Im really pulling from their knowledge to make this a success."

Shes also making use of her background in public relations and marketing to reconnect with Lovino fans and build long-lasting partnerships that will help to propel the brand forward.

"Thirty years from now, this could be a global brand," says Clearwater. "I really believe that. But right now, were starting off slowly. Were going to grow slowly, smartly, strategically. And demand will determine how fast that happens. Perhaps well open a tasting room at some point, or a warehouse in Port Washington. Right now, were building partnerships and focusing on getting the product into as many different hands as possible."

Curious Lovino fans can follow progress of the brand (and the adventures of Wine Girl) on Instagram and Facebook. And stay tuned to OnMilwaukee for additional details on the re-release.
"We are extremely excited for this concept ... when we started planning for our transition from Trocadero, we wanted something that encapsulated the European feel Milwaukeeans love about this property, while bringing something new and exciting to the space," said JJ Kovacovich, Managing Partner at Wild Planet Hospitality Group, in a press release. "We look forward to fun, long days on the terrace in summer flowing into cozy, fun filled nights with friends and family during colder months."

Some of those special wood-fired pizzas planned for DiModa Pizza include the Clam, Endive, Bacon, featuring little neck clams, charred endive, roasted garlic-lemon butter, crisp bacon and oregano; the Devils Pie topped with Nduja sausage, roasted peppers, giardiniera, fresh mozzarella and Sam Marzona tomato; and the Spicy Charred Pepperoni, complete with charred pepperoni, caramelized cipollini onions, buffalo mozzarella, spicy tomato and pecorino cheese.

For those looking to go a different route from pizza, DiModa's modern takes on rustic Italian favorites include scallop giardiniera pasta, featuring scallops, linguine, crab, house-made giardiniera, bread crumb, tomato and precorino cheese; Sardinian-style clams and fregola pasta, with little neck clams and charred fregola pasta mixed with corn, tomato, clam broth, olive oil and ricotta salata cheese; and Spicy Brick Chicken, organic marinated chicken dished up with blistered grape tomatoes and Calabrian peppers, grill potatoes, charred lemon, arugula, oregano, pecorino and olive oil.

In addition to its pizza and Italian entrees, the new menu at DiModa will feature salads, daily soups and sharable plates.

"We want guests to enjoy the experience of sharing a meal with friends and family; the menu presents new and creative dishes coupled with enjoyable classic Italian fare," said Mark Grimes, Wild Planet Hospitality Group Culinary Consultant, in a press release, adding, "Theres no right or wrong way to order off this menu ... just jump right in and enjoy!" For those who miss brunch at Trocadero, have no fear, because Wild Planet also confirmed that the new DiModa Pizza will feature a weekend brunch menu on Fridays and Saturdays  featuring some returning favorites from the building's former concept, including the Frenchie Bloody Mary and beignets. When it opens in late April, DiModa will be open Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. until midnight, with Saturday and Sunday brunch hours from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and weekend dinner hours from 4 p.m. until close.

For a first look at the new DiModa Pizza, stay tuned to OnMilwaukee.
Wednesday, March 8 is International Womens Day, a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year, the day has also been set aside for A Day Without A Woman, a general strike during which women and their allies are taking action to support equity, justice and human rights for all women and gender-oppressed people.

And here in Milwaukee, a growing number of woman-owned businesses have gotten together to do a bit of both.

"As a female business owner, its much more difficult to consider not showing up for work," says Katie Rose, co-owner of Goodkind in Bay View. "So, in lieu of shutting down and not offering the services that were so proud of, and that weve worked so hard to get going, were taking the opportunity to rally together, to create awareness for female-owned businesses and do some good in the process."

The Lady Business initiative aims to generate funds for the Milwaukee Womens Center (a part of Community Advocates) through the sale of goods and services during the day on Wednesday. Some businesses will host specials on Wednesday and all participating businesses have agreed to donate at least 10 percent of their earnings for the day to MWC.

The growing list of Lady Business participants currently includes:

Bars & restaurants

Retail and other

More to consider

Wear red. It's a color symbolizing love, revolution, energy and sacrifice, and it will put your stance in solidarity with the cause. Spread the word about the businesses you're supporting by using #ladybusinessmke on social media. You can maximize your impact by visiting a number of participating businesses over the course of the evening during the Wassailing Witches Event. More information is available on Facebook. Consider participating in the #GrabYourWallet boycott, which includes retailers that do direct business with the Trump family. Here's more information and a list of the corporations to boycott. Additional businesses are being added faster than we can keep up. So, keep checking the Lady Business event on Facebook for additions to the March 8 fund-raiser.

Milwaukeeans are also urged to make donations directly to the Milwaukee Womens Center, which can be accomplished online. Please mention "Lady Business" in your donation comments so that your donation is counted among the March 8 effort.

*Full disclosure: The author of this article owns From Milwaukee with Love, a participating business.
A documentary on Norwegian public TV network NRK claimed 90 percent of Minke whales (pictured) killed each year in Norwegian waters were females and that "almost all" of them were pregnant

Animal rights activists expressed anger on Wednesday after reports emerged that a large majority of whales harpooned each year in Norway are pregnant.

A documentary broadcast on public television network NRK, featuring gory video images of whales being cut open and foetuses removed, claimed that 90 percent of Minke whales killed each year in Norwegian waters were females and that "almost all" of them were pregnant.

"Whale hunting is now even more unacceptable," the head of Greenpeace Norway, Truls Gulowsen, told AFP.

"On the one hand because it's in violation of an international ban but also because ... it's indefensible from the point of view of the animal's well-being to hunt them during an advanced stage of gestation," he said.

Norwaywhich does not consider itself bound by a 1986 international moratorium on whaling, to which it formally objectedand Iceland are the only countries in the world that authorise commercial whaling.

Japan also allows whaling but officially it is for scientific reasons, even though a large share of the whale meat ends up on the market.

Oslo, which argues that it has strong enough whale stocks to sustain the hunt, has authorised the killing of 999 whales this year, up by 199 from the quota allotted in 2016.

"It is horrific to learn that such a high rate of the whales killed in Norway are female and pregnant," the Swiss animal rights group OceanCare said in a statement.

"The whalers are not only killing the current but also part of the next generation of whales," it added.

But hunters and experts said they saw no problem.

"Lots of slaughtered animals are sent to the slaughterhouse when they are pregnant," a veterinarian specialised in whale hunting, Egil Ole Oen, said in NRK's documentary.

"We have a professional approach and therefore we don't think about it," added Dag Myklebust, the captain and harpoonist on the whaling ship Kato.

The fact that they are pregnant "is a sign of good health," he said.

 2017 AFP
Artwork with 'bait ball' Ichthyosaur. Credit: Julio Lacerda

Ichthyosaurs, which are similar-shaped to dolphins and sharks, but are reptiles, swam the seas for millions of years during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. They were the first, large extinct reptiles brought to the attention of the scientific world.

Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist and Honorary Scientist at The University of Manchester, working with Professor Judy Massare of Brockport College, New York, have studied thousands of ichthyosaur fossils and have delved through hundreds of years of records to solve an ancient mystery.

Many ichthyosaur fossils were found in England during the early 19th century, but it was not until 1821 that the first ichthyosaur species was described - called Ichthyosaurus communis. This species has become one of the most well-known and iconic of all the British fossil reptiles. A sea of Ichthyosaurus fossils can be seen on display at the Natural History Museum, London.

In 1822, three other species were described, based on differences in the shape and structure of their teeth. Two of the species were later re-identified as other types of ichthyosaur, whereas one of these species, called Ichthyosaurus intermedius, was still considered closely related to I. communis.

In the years that followed, many eminent scientists, including Sir Richard Owen (the man who coined the word dinosaur), studied ichthyosaur fossils collected from Dorset, Somerset, Yorkshire and other locations in England. Their studies and observations of Ichthyosaurus communis and I. intermedius resulted in confusion with the species, with many skeletons identified on unreliable grounds.

Artwork with single ichthyosaur. Credit: Robert Richardson

Lomax said, "The early accounts of ichthyosaurs were based on very scrappy, often isolated, remains. This resulted in a very poor understanding of the differences between species and thus how to identify them. To complicate matters further, the original specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis is lost and was never illustrated.

Similarly, the original specimen of I. intermedius is also lost, but an illustration does exist. This has caused a big headache for palaeontologists trying to understand the differences between the species".

In the mid-1970s, palaeontologist, Dr Chris McGowan was the first to suggest that Ichthyosaurus communis and I. intermedius may represent the same species. He could not find reliable evidence to separate the two species. Subsequent studies argued for and against the separation of the species.

In this new study, the duo have reviewed all of the research for and against the separation of the two species. This is the most extensive scientific study ever published comparing the two. The duo confirm the species are the same and that features of Ichthyosaurus intermedius can be found in other ichthyosaur species, including I. communis.

In recent years, the duo have described three new species and have provided a reassessment of historical species. Their work has provided a far superior understanding of the species than has ever been produced.

The research has been published in Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

More information: Judy A. Massare et al, A taxonomic reassessment ofandand a revised diagnosis for the genus, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (2017). DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2017.1291116 Journal information: Journal of Systematic Palaeontology
Life restoration of Sparalepis tingi (foreground) and other fauna from the Kuanti Formation. Credit: Brian Choo

An ancient fish species with unusual scales and teeth from the Kuanti Formation in southern China may have evolved prior to the "Age of Fish", according to a study published March 8, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Brian Choo from Flinders University, Australia, and colleagues at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, China.

The Devonian Period (419.2 - 358.9 million years ago) is popularly called the "Age of Fishes" because of the apparent increase in the abundance and variety of jawed fishes when compared with the preceding Silurian Period (443.7 - 419.2 million years ago). Until recently, the Silurian fossil record of jawed vertebrates has been based on highly fragmentary remains, limiting our understanding of their early evolution. Recent discoveries from the Kuanti Formation of Yunnan, southwestern China, have dramatically enhanced our knowledge, with several superbly preserved fish species described in recent years. The fish-bearing sediments of the Kuanti Formation have been dated to the latter part of the Silurian, about 423 million years ago.

Now, Choo and colleagues have described a new genus and species of Kuanti fish, Sparalepis tingi, which represents only the second Silurian bony fish based on more than isolated fragments. This new form, along with its contemporary Guiyu and the slightly more recent Psarolepis, possesses spine-bearing pectoral and pelvic girdles, features once thought to be restricted to the armored placoderm fishes. Sparalepis and its kin may represent an early radiation of stem-sarcopterygians, ancient cousins of modern lungfish, coelacanths and tetrapods.

But Sparalepis also has an unusual scale morphology which distinguishes it from its cousins. The scales are particularly tall, thick and narrow, with the ones at the front having interlocking mechanisms on both the outer and inner surfaces. The closely packed squamation resembles a wall of shields, giving rise to the genus name of Sparalepis, a mixture of ancient Persian and Greek meaning "shield scale".

Sparalepis adds to an ever-growing list of bizarre ancient fishes from the Silurian and earliest Devonian of Yunnan, suggesting that this region may have been an early center of diversification for the jawed vertebrates. The "Age of Fishes" appears to have arrived early during the Silurian of southern China.

More information: Choo B, Zhu M, Qu Q, Yu X, Jia L, Zhao W (2017) A new osteichthyan from the late Silurian of Yunnan, China. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0170929. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170929 Journal information: PLoS ONE
Stanford graduate student Lupita Ruiz-Jones takes a sample from the corals near Ofu Island, American Samoa. Credit: Zack Gold

Stanford marine biologists have discovered that corals activate a specific group of ancient, defensive genes when exposed to stressful environmental conditions. These stress-induced genes could serve as a kind of warning sign for coral bleaching events.

In the study, researchers monitored three coral colonies in a lagoon on Ofu Island, American Samoa, for their response to stressors like high temperatures, oxygen, and ocean acidity. On the hottest days, the researchers saw a significant change in which genes the corals were activating within their cells.

"They started using a whole set of genes that they had just not been using before," said Steve Palumbi, a professor of marine sciences, director of Hopkins Marine Station, and an author of the paper that outlines the study, recently published in Science Advances.

A snapshot of coral health

In 2016, the Great Barrier reef saw the worst coral bleaching event on record as corals across hundreds of miles turned stark white. These bleaching events can eventually lead to coral death. Scientists predict that global climate change and the continued increase in ocean temperatures will increase the frequency of coral bleaching worldwide. The tricky part is, corals don't show visible signs of bleaching beforehand. The genes identified in this study could give scientists a snapshot indication of coral health - and an idea of when bleaching is likely to occur.

Under stressful conditions, a coral's normal cellular functions begin to fail. In response, the group of genes identified in this study triggers a process, called the unfolded protein response, that works to restore normal conditions within the cell. If conditions continue to worsen, the corals bleach and eventually die.

"For the first time, we are able to ask those corals, 'how are you doing?' They don't have a heartbeat. They don't have a pulse. We need to know their vital signs in order to understand how they react to the environment," Palumbi said.

An ancient stress response

Over the course of the seventeen-day study period, Palumbi and graduate student Lupita Ruiz-Jones monitored over 17,000 coral genes at just after noon each day. On the seventh and eighth day, when tides were lowest and temperatures hottest, the corals' genes initiated the cellular unfolded protein response. On day nine, the tides rose and the corals' systems returned to normal.

"This response just shows how in sync corals are with their environment," said Ruiz-Jones, who was first author on the paper.

This stress response is not unique to corals. It's been observed in mammals as well as some yeast species. Humans activate the same ancient genes in response to diseases, like cancer. In times of stress, a cell's misfolded and unfolded proteins accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum, a series of flattened, tube-like structures in the cell that assist with building proteins. The unfolded protein response is a reaction to the flood of misassembled proteins.

"It's basically the organism recognizing that something isn't right," Ruiz-Jones said.

Studying tough corals

The lagoon on Ofu Island, a shallow turquoise bathtub, provided the ideal coral laboratory for studying heat-tolerant corals. The corals on Ofu Island experience water temperatures near human body temperature, enough to kill most coral species. The corals of Ofu, however, prosper in stressful environmental conditions.

Scientists believe that frequent, pulsing exposure to high temperatures may make corals stronger, much in the same way athletes train for competition. Understanding why some of the world's toughest corals are so heat-tolerant could help scientists identify and map other survivor coral colonies around the globe.

"We know that corals have the ability to adapt and evolve to warmer water than we thought before. We can use that as a primary asset to help them live through the next decades until we solve global climate change," Palumbi said.

Palumbi is also a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
Credit: Brigham Young University

When in Rome you do as the Romans do, right? Not necessarily. When it comes to fitting in with foreign cultures, "just be yourself" might be the more appropriate mantra, according to BYU professor Stephen Moody.

Looking at language specifically, Moody's research shows that you don't have to speak like a native to be accepted by natives; in fact, trying too hard to fit in might just set you back. Instead, he found, you can actually use your status as a foreigner to advance yourself socially or professionally.

"A lot of language teaching focuses on doing things according to local conventions," said Moody, a professor of Asian and Near Eastern Languages. "Our research kind of challenges the idea that this is always necessary by noticing that there are times when a visiting foreigner is not expected to follow conventions and, in such situations, following conventions too closely can actually be seen as unusual."

For the research, published in Applied Linguistics, Moody tracked American students interning at Japanese firms, analyzing how they used formalities of Japanese language to assimilateor notinto their workplace culture.

Honorifics, elements of Japanese used to convey politeness and formality, help construct identity, establish roles and define social relationships. By analyzing this specific aspect of the language, Moody was able to identify what does and doesn't work when it comes to fitting in.

The biggest takeaway? Regardless of how well you speak, there are still circumstances where you will be seen as a foreigner. Don't resent it; accept it and use it.

"It's not always about whether or not you're using the language correctly, but if you're comfortable being who you are," Moody said. "If you try to fit into the local convention so much that you step away from who you are, you're not going to fit in as well, even if you're using the language 'correctly.'"

One group of interns, he said, was so determined to "become Japanese" that they over-used honorifics to the point of unnatural politeness.

"It would be like someone coming in and saying, 'Um, excuse me, I'm sorry, could I perhaps impinge on your time for a brief moment?'" Moody said. "If you're talking like that all the time it's a little too much."

Another group of interns was all business; they used honorifics appropriately and could maneuver through the professional world effectively, but they were stiff and formal and continually seen as outsiders on a social level.

In contrast, one intern intentionally used the language incorrectlybut with positive results. "He went in and just played up the fact that he's a foreigner," Moody said.

According to Moody, this intern used exaggerated honorifics to play the role of goofy foreigner. His ironic and playful humor allowed everyone to laugh and connect on a more personal level, and his boss told Moody, "He's one of us; he fits right in."

Different situations will call for different approaches to assimilating into a foreign culture, but Moody hopes that this research will provide insight into understanding the context-specific challenges of being in a foreign workplace.

At BYU, which recently ranked 30th for global university employability, approximately 65 percent of students speak a second language. And, said Moody, "The role that language plays in facilitating relationships in the workplace is becoming more important. As more cultures combine in the workplace, employees are going to have to relate across cultures and build relationships."

More information: Stephen J. Moody. Fitting in or Standing out? A Conflict of Belonging and Identity in Intercultural Polite Talk at Work, Applied Linguistics (2017). DOI: 10.1093/applin/amw047
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Time crystals may sound like something from science fiction, having more to do with time travel or Dr. Who. These strange materialsin which atoms and molecules are arranged across space and timeare in fact quite real, and are opening up entirely new ways to think about the nature of matter. They also eventually may help protect information in futuristic devices known as quantum computers.

Two groups of researchers based at Harvard University and the University of Maryland report March 9 in the journal Nature that they have successfully created time crystals using theories developed at Princeton University. The Harvard-based team included scientists from Princeton who played fundamental roles in working out the theoretical understanding that led to the creation of these exotic crystals.

"Our work discovered the essential physics of how time crystals function," said Shivaji Sondhi, a Princeton professor of physics. "What is more, this discovery builds on a set of developments at Princeton that gets at the issue of how we understand complex systems in and out of equilibrium, which is centrally important to how physicists explain the nature of the everyday world."

In 2015, Sondhi and colleagues including then-graduate student Vedika Khemani, who earned her Ph.D. at Princeton in 2016 and is now a junior fellow at Harvard, as well as collaborators Achilleas Lazarides and Roderich Moessner at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Germany, published the theoretical basis for how time crystalsat first considered impossiblecould actually exist. Published in the journal Physics Review Letters in June 2016, the paper spurred conversations about how to build such crystals.

Ordinary crystals such as diamonds, quartz or ice are made up of molecules that spontaneously arrange into orderly three-dimensional patterns. The sodium and chlorine atoms in a crystal of salt, for example, are spaced at regular intervals, forming a hexagonal lattice.

In time crystals, however, atoms are arranged in patterns not only in space, but also in time. In addition to containing a pattern that repeats in space, time crystals contain a pattern that repeats over time. One way this could happen is that the atoms in the crystal move at a certain rate. Were a time crystal of ice to exist, all of the water molecules would vibrate at an identical frequency. What is more, the molecules would do this without any input from the outside world.

The concept of time crystals originated with physicist Frank Wilczek at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2012, the Nobel laureate and former Princeton faculty member was thinking about the similarities between space and time. In physics parlance, crystals are said to "break translational symmetry in space" because the atoms assemble into rigid patterns rather than being evenly spread out, as they are in a liquid or gas. Shouldn't there also be crystals that break translational symmetry in time?

"The atoms move in time, but instead of moving in a fluid or continuous way, they move in a periodic way," Sondhi said. "It was an interesting idea." It also was an idea that led to hot debates in the physics journals about whether such crystals could exist. The initial conclusion appeared to be that they could not, at least not in the settings Wilczek visualized.

Sondhi and Khemani were thinking about a completely different problem in 2015 when they worked out the theory of how time crystals could exist. They were exploring questions about how atoms and molecules settle down, or come to equilibrium, to form phases of matter such as solids, liquids and gases.

While it was common wisdom among physicists that all systems eventually settle down, work during the last decade or so had challenged that notion, specifically among atoms at very low temperatures where the rules of quantum physics apply. It was realized that there are systems that never go to equilibrium because of a phenomenon called "many-body localization," which occurs due to the behavior of many atoms in a disordered quantum system that are influencing each other.

Work in this area is a long Princeton tradition. The first and seminal concept of how quantum systems can be localized when they are disordered, called Anderson localization, stemmed from work by Philip Anderson, a Princeton professor and Nobel laureate, in 1958. This work was extended in 2006 to systems of many atoms by then Princeton professor Boris Altshuler, postdoctoral fellow Denis Basko, and Igor Aleiner of Columbia University.

While on sabbatical at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Germany, Sondhi and Khemani realized that these ideas about how to prevent systems from reaching equilibrium would enable the creation of time crystals. A system in equilibrium cannot be a time crystal, but non-equilibrium systems can be created by periodically poking, or "driving," a crystal by shining a laser on its atoms. To the researchers' surprise, their calculations revealed that periodically prodding atoms that were in non-equilibrium many-body localized phases would cause the atoms to move at a rate that was twice as slowor twice the periodas the initial rate at which they were prodded.

To explain, Sondhi compared the driving of the quantum system to squeezing periodically on a sponge. "When you release the sponge, you expect it to resume its shape. Imagine now that it only resumes its shape after every second squeeze even though you are applying the same force each time. That is what our system does," he said.

Princeton postdoctoral researcher Curt von Keyserlingk, who contributed additional theoretical work with Khemani and Sondhi, said, "We explained how the time crystal systems lock into the persistent oscillations that signify a spontaneous breaking of time translation symmetry." Additional work by researchers at Microsoft's Station Q and the University of California-Berkeley led to further understanding of time crystals.

As a result of these theoretical studies, two groups of experimenters began attempting to build time crystals in the laboratory. The Harvard-based team, which included Khemani at Harvard and von Keyserlingk at Princeton, used an experimental setup that involved creating an artificial lattice in a synthetic diamond. A different approach at the University of Maryland used a chain of charged particles called ytterbium ions. Both teams have now published the work this week in Nature.

Both systems show the emergence of time crystalline behavior, said Christopher Monroe, a physicist who led the effort at the University of Maryland. "Although any applications for this work are far in the future, these experiments help us learn something about the inner workings of this very complex quantum state," he said.

The research may eventually lead to ideas about how to protect information in quantum computers, which can be disrupted by interference by the outside world. Many-body localization can protect quantum information, according to research published in 2013 by the Princeton team of David Huse, the Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics, as well as Sondhi and colleagues Rahul Nandkishore, Vadim Oganesyan and Arijeet Pal. The research also sheds light on ways to protect topological phases of matter, research for which Princeton's F. Duncan Haldane, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics, shared the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Sondhi said that the work addresses some of the most fundamental questions about the nature of matter. "It was thought that if a system doesn't settle down and come to equilibrium, you couldn't really say that it is in a phase. It is a big deal when you can give a definition of a phase of matter when the matter is not in equilibrium," he said.

This out-of-equilibrium setting has enabled the realization of new and exciting phases of matter, according to Khemani. "The creation of time crystals has allowed us to add an entry into the catalog of possible orders in space-time, previously thought impossible," Khemani said.

The papers "Observation of discrete time-crystalline order in a disordered dipolar many-body system" and "Observation of a discrete time crystal" were published March 9 by Nature.
Credit: Swiss National Science Foundation

In Europe, 2017 is a 'super election' year. There are going to be elections in the EU's two big players, France and Germany, and in several other countries. But this time everything is different. Since Donald Trump's success in the US presidential election, a spectre is haunting Western democracies: digital populism. Controversial discussions have now been taking place about whether there is a connection between the success of the populists and their social media campaigns.

Researchers are hesitant about drawing conclusions. At the Institute of Communication and Media Studies (icmb) at the University of Bern, Thomas Haussler warns against blaming Facebook and other social media for the successes of the populists. "Of course populists make clever use of social media  here in Switzerland, that primarily means the Swiss People's Party (SVP)", says Haussler, who is researching into political communication and online mobilisation. "But for them it's just one more channel of communication".

The classical media still have more of an influence on the political opinion-forming process, he says. In Switzerland, that's mostly the newspapers. Elsewhere, it's the TV. If we were to pull the plug on Facebook tomorrow, the political landscape would not change fundamentally, he says. The political polarisation that already exists would not disappear overnight.

A direct line to the people

Fundamentally, however, online platforms and populism are indeed an ideal combination: "Populists look for a direct line to the people", explains Sven Engesser of the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research at the University of Zurich. At the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) 'Democracy', he is researching into populism and the mass media. "Facebook and Twitter enable them to feel the supposed pulse of the people, and to convey their messages to them without the detour of using the classical media".

The role of social media in the rise of populist movements has until now been subjected to remarkably little scholarly research, says Engesser. Research into digital populism is made more difficult because there is no generally recognised definition of 'populism'. This is itself in part a result of the heterogeneity of the parties and movements generally described as being 'populist'.

Offline populism online

Engesser and other researchers at the University of Zurich have been engaging with the content that populists from Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Great Britain have been spreading on the Internet. What they all have in common is that they see themselves as the 'true' representatives of an idealised people that is in constant conflict with supposedly remote elites. The digital content of the populists largely corresponds to their offline content. Whereas left-wing populists tend to attack the economic elites  thus large corporations and banks  the right-wing populists fire off tweets, make posts and publish online articles against political elites and migrants. Criticism of the traditional mass media mostly comes from the right wing.

In this rejection of mass media, Thomas Haussler sees an important characteristic of populism in the Internet. It is particularly pronounced in the debate about the so-called 'lying press' in Germany. "In historical terms, the public prestige of journalists was never very high. But in recent years it's sunk even further".

The strategic value of insecurity

The media now receives widespread, basic criticism of a kind that was unheard of for many years. And the populists are turning this loss of trust to their advantage. Haussler says: "They accuse the traditional media of being part of an elite that is conspiring against the people and intentionally trying to manipulate them". This accusation is diametrically opposed to the values propagated in journalism's codes of practice, such as independence and a responsibility towards the public. It is not surprising that many populist parties  in Switzerland, that's first and foremost the SVP  are demanding the downsizing or even the abolition of public service broadcasters, because they are supposedly the standard-bearers of the elite.

In its online expression, however, this anti-elitist stance leads precisely to a dissolution of journalistic standards. Suddenly, dubious sources such as the Swiss conspiracy theorists' portal 'Alles Schall und Rauch' ('All hollow words') is afforded the same journalistic significance as a Neue Zurcher Zeitung. Gut feeling and 'healthy common sense' count more than expert knowledge and verifiable facts. It has even become easy to spread fake news by means of fictitious online articles that mimic the style and layout of the traditional mass media. Engesser and Haussler suspect that a conscious political strategy lies behind this. People who feel insecure tend to seek support from charismatic leaders and simple ideologies. And this is exactly what the populists offer.

Is nothing true anymore?

This erosion of journalistic standards can have a long-term negative impact on political processes. Under these circumstances, the media cannot fulfil their role as the fourth estate, with their function of critique and oversight. If everything is relative, it becomes ever more difficult to form a fact-based opinion and to debate political topics. "You then get stuck in the meta-discussion as to whether the basic information presented by the media and experts is actually true  indeed, whether anything at all that the media report is true", says Haussler. "In extreme circumstances, this way of thinking undermines democracy".

This relativisation of facts is promoted even further by so-called echo chambers or 'filter bubbles'. These two concepts have become common-place and are used to describe the tendency for people to surround themselves on the Internet with others who think similarly, and who engage in mutual confirmation of their attitudes. This phenomenon is not new, when one considers that newspapers faithful to specific parties dominated the Swiss scene until the 1960s. Thomas Haussler agrees, but he points out: "If you wanted to know that there were other opinions apart from the one in your party newspaper, you just had to take a step back at the kiosk for you to see the newspapers of the other parties".

Taking a step back  adopting a neutral, bird's eye-view, as it were  is no longer possible in the Internet, says Haussler, because with every new click, its users are constantly changing their communicative network. Algorithms use their activity to ensure that users see content that corresponds mostly to their own presumed worldview. And this trend is further intensified by the micro-marketing companies that have specialised in tailored Internet advertising.

When the Internet 'flows over'

Up to now there has been no empirical proof that filter bubbles in the Internet have helped the populists to electoral victory. Both Haussler and Engesser assume that there is a so-called spill-over effect, meaning that, by reporting on tweets, blogs and Facebook entries, the traditional media act like continuous-flow water heaters. They merely serve to amplify the impact of those tweets and blogs, far beyond the actual bounds of social media.

To survive in the battle for coverage (and thus for advertising revenue), the classical media are increasingly orienting themselves to social media. "Drama, emotions, clear messages  everything that populists offer in tweets and in Facebook posts can get more people to read an online newspaper article, for instance", says Engesser. These statements often cannot withstand fact-checking. But once they've been disseminated, it's difficult to disprove them. Although the populists and the supposedly lying mass media are at loggerheads, paradoxically they profit from one another, Engesser adds. The tirades of the populists provide the clicks, while the mass media spread their messages.

This problem has become especially virulent in countries where politics is highly polarised, and where media supportive of the state (and thus, in the eyes of the populists, allied to the 'elites') are unable to assume a moderating function. A paramount example is the USA, where the public service broadcasters are very weak. During the presidential election, the US mass media simply fell short with their cultivation of indignation, says Thomas Haussler. "By taking up every hair-raising tweet by Donald Trump and disseminating it in their quest for clicks and advertising, they ultimately promoted his policies too"
Brunel University London and Mission Resources limited are developing an innovative low-temperature pyrolysis treatment to convert household waste into fuel to heat water.

A self-contained Home Energy Recovery Unit (HERU) could make every home a micro-power plant, save families up to 15% on fuel bills and solve the global waste management problem at source.

From lunch-time leftovers to dirty nappies, it turns all sorts of waste into a clean, sustainable fuel that can heat water for the home. The oxygen-free heating process, pyrolysis, uses leading-edge controllable heat pipe technology to produce energy-rich combustible char, gas and liquid fuels.

A working prototype funded by UK waste management company, Mission Resources won further support from Innovate UK's 1.5m Energy Game Changer fund for development, trials and on-site testing.

"Waste management is one of the most crucial challenges developed countries face," said co-inventor, Dr Hassam Jouhara. "Rising fuel costs leave so many households with the difficult decision of whether to eat or to heat their home and countries worldwide are being urged to cut carbon consumption. The vision is to solve this global problem and slash energy bills while producing energy for heating from waste that is otherwise a burden on local authorities and households."

By removing the need for bin collections, Dr Jouhara believes the system could slash the UK's carbon footprint for waste disposal by over 70% and save local authorities millions. Already four local authorities and a multi-national bank have opted to trial the device in the UK.

The self-contained unit is the size of a wheelie bin. Connected to the water main and drainage, it sits just outside the house and runs off a normal 13-amp domestic plug. And for every 1kWh of energy needed to power it unit, 2.5kWh of energy is generated, making it extremely energy efficient.

"We're thrilled to have the ongoing support of Brunel University London," said Nik Spencer, Mission Resources' CEO and co-inventor of the HERU concept. "The on-site test facility will go a long way in helping us expand HERU's scope and potential.

"Back when we started, we needed a technology capability that had never been achieved before in a commercial setting, as such we approached Brunel and have worked closely with Dr Jouhara and his team ever since. The relationship has provided us with access to industry-leading facilities, but also to the solutions and ideas of world expert in heat pipes."

More information: H. Jouhara et al. Heat pipe based municipal waste treatment unit for home energy recovery, Energy (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2017.02.044
Enterovirus 71 infected cells: with the cell nuclei stained blue while the virus proteins are stained green. Credit: A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology

The unavailability of antiviral medicines and vaccines has made outbreaks of hand, food and mouth disease (HFMD) caused by enterovirus 71 (EV71), a serious threat that affects millions worldwide. Now, an A*STAR comprehensive study has identified which human proteins in a cell are hijacked by EV71 and which try to resist its invasion. Clarifying these host-pathogen interactions could reveal new targets for antiviral therapeutics.

EV71 infections mainly affect children and can lead to aseptic meningitis, and long-term neurological complications, including polio-like paralysis. Since the EV71 genome encodes for just 11 proteins, it has cleverly evolved to exploit human cells to its advantage and guarantee its successful replication.

To check which human proteins facilitate or hinder EV71 replication, scientists at the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology have developed a gene 'atlas'. They screened 21,121 human genes, using a technique called small interfering RNA (siRNA). The team reported an extensive list of known and unknown classes of genes that play a role during EV71 infection.

Among the 256 so-called 'host factors' identified, several proteins help regulate the length of different stages of the cell cycle, like aurora kinase B (AURKB) and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6). Interestingly, the virus seems to manipulate these proteins to favor its own replication. For example, by evicting CDK6 out of its workplace, the nucleus of the cell, EV71 could extend certain stages of the cell cycle to its own benefit.

Another sly mechanism used by this virus is to interfere with the cellular quality control process that discards abnormal or wrongly manufactured proteins. In this way, viral proteins can be produced inside the human cell, undisturbed.

The scientists focused on two host factors that were both shown to assist EV71 replication: N-glycanase 1 (NGLY1) and valosin-containing protein (VCP). Drugs that inhibit these two host factors also reduce the number of EV71-infected cells. VCP is probably held inside vesicular structures used by the virus to copy its genome, but it remains unknown how EV71 benefits from NGLY1.

"This is the first genome-wide siRNA screening for EV71-human factors interaction and reveals the complex interplay between the virus and the proteins of a specific human cell line," points out Justin Jang Hann Chu, lead author of the study. "Some host factors we found are shared with picornaviruses and enteroviruses infections, while others are completely new and need to be further explored. This information opens a new chapter in the development of antiviral strategies for HFMD."

More information: Kan Xing Wu et al. Human genome-wide RNAi screen reveals host factors required for enterovirus 71 replication, Nature Communications (2016). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13150 Journal information: Nature Communications
Mosses cover a tree. An international research team has discovered a pathway with which these tiny plants produce their outer protective layer. Credit: Ralf Reski

An international research team has discovered a biochemical pathway that is responsible for the development of moss cuticles. These waxy coverings of epidermal cells are the outer layer of plants and protect them from water loss. The biologists discovered this mechanism that facilitated the evolutionary transition of plants from fresh water to land in the moss Physcomitrella patens. The team was led by Professor Ralf Reski from the University of Freiburg/Germany and Doctor Daniele Werck-Reichhart from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institute of Plant Molecular Biology (IBMP) in Strasbourg/France and published their results in the journal Nature Communications.

Plant cuticles came into being more than 450 million years ago when the first plants colonized the hitherto hostile land masses. Because the waxy cuticles protect against water loss, they enabled the spread of plants on land and the subsequent evolution of our complex ecosystems. The seed plants that evolved later use similar chemical reactions to form the biopolymers lignin, cutin and suberin. Especially lignification of cell walls contributes to wood production and helps trees to grow several meters in height. In contrast, mosses do not contain lignin and are tiny. It remained unknown which biochemical pathway contributes to the protective layer on moss cells.

The researchers now found that the enzyme CYP98 from the family of cytochromes P450 plays a crucial role: While it initiates the production of lignin in seed plants, it is responsible for the development of a phenol-enriched cuticle in Physcomitrella. When they switched off the gene that is responsible for the synthesis of this enzyme, moss developed without cuticles. As a result, these moss plants were not protected against the environment and, moreover, were not able to form complex tissues: the developing organs fused and their further development was halted. The researchers could compensate this genetic defect by feeding the plants with caffeic acid, which they identified as the main component of the moss phenolic metabolism. The biologists conclude that the moss cuticle predated the evolution of lignin, cutin and suberin and may therefore originate from the last common ancestor of mosses and seed plants - the prehistoric plants which left the fresh water to dwell on rocks and thus laid the foundation for the development of all current ecosystems on the mainland.

"Our results reveal one of the earliest evolutionary innovations that helped the first plants to survive on land over 450 million years ago," explains Reski. "It furthers suggests new biotechnology strategies for engineering biopolymers in plants beyond the well-known lignin production of trees."

Werck-Reichhart and Reski were Senior Fellows of the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) and the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study (USIAS) which funded their German-French co-operation project "METABEVO". Reski holds the Chair of Plant Biotechnology at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Freiburg/Germany. He is a founding principal investigator of the Cluster of Excellence BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies.

Researchers from the University of Strasbourg/France, the University of Victoria/Canada and from Cornell University/USA were also involved in this study.

More information: Hugues Renault et al. A phenol-enriched cuticle is ancestral to lignin evolution in land plants, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14713 Journal information: Nature Communications
Gaik Ambartsoumian, UTA associate professor of mathematics and principal investigator of the project, with his team. Credit: UTA

Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington are working on a project which could have a sizable impact on imaging technologies, by developing new mathematical theories that can help solve outstanding problems.

Technologies using imaging that could benefit include: modern healthcare equipment, national security, space exploration and industrial applications.

Gaik Ambartsoumian, UTA associate professor of mathematics, is principal investigator of the project, titled "Conical Radon transforms and their applications in tomography," which is funded by a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Mathematical Sciences.

Tomography is a technique for creating three-dimensional images of the internal structures of a solid object by analyzing the travel of waves of energy, such as X-rays, electromagnetic or acoustic waves, through the object.

The techniques directly related to Ambartsoumian's project include single-scattering optical tomography and gamma ray emission tomography, which are used in medicine for diagnostics and treatment monitoring of various diseases. The project also focuses on Compton camera imaging, which is used for detection of radiation sources in homeland security and in radio astronomy; and a few others, he said.

"We are working on the development of a new mathematical theory necessary for the advancement of imaging techniques in optical tomography and cameras using Compton scattering effect," Ambartsoumian said. "More specifically, we are studying the properties and deriving inversion formulas and algorithms for the broken-ray and conical Radon transforms, which are at the forefront of scientific endeavors in modern integral geometry and inverse problems."

Jianzhong Su, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics, said the project has the potential to improve the technology used to diagnose and treat cancer and other diseases, which helps further UTA's commitment to improving health and the human condition, one of four pillars of the University's Strategic Plan 2020 Bold Solutions | Global Impact.

"Dr. Ambartsoumian's project can help to make key improvements in the effectiveness of various methods of tomography," Su said. "Improving these transforms can lead to greater accuracy of the images obtained from imaging modalities such as computed tomography, which is also known as CT, and ultrasound scanning, and could lead to improved airport security and advances in space exploration."

Ambartsoumian is joined in the work by co-PI Venkateswaran Krishnan, a faculty member in the Center for Applicable Mathematics at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bangalore, India, and by three doctoral students working in Ambartsoumian's group: Sl-Ghi Choi, Mohammad Javad Latifi Jebelli and John Montalbo.

The project also provides research experience to three to four undergraduate students, who are exposed to sophisticated mathematics with applications to real-world problems. This year, undergraduate students Srivani Gandikota, Brendon Hotchkiss and Javier Salazar will participate in the project. Special emphasis is being made on training students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields, including women and minorities, Ambartsoumian said.
The nanoislands are completely isolated (left) or adjoining each other (right). Credit: IFJ PAN

Europium silicide has for some time attracted the attention of scientists. Recognized as being promising for electronics and spintronics, this material has recently been submitted by a team of physicists from Poland, Germany and France to comprehensive studies of the vibrations of its crystal lattice. The results yielded a surprise: deposited on a substrate of silicon, some structures of europium silicide appear to vibrate in a way that clearly broadens the possibilities of designing nanomaterials with tailored thermal properties.

The vibrations of atoms in the crystal lattices of materials, known as phonons, are not chaotic. Instead, they are governed by the lattice symmetry, atomic mass and other factors. For instance, the atoms deep in the solid oscillate differently than on its surface, and still differently when the material forms, for example, nanoislands i.e. small atomic clusters on a substrate. An international team of physicists, composed of scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble, have for the first time comprehensively examined how the vibrations of the crystal lattice of europium silicide (EuSi2) change depending upon the nanostructures arrangement on a substrate of silicon. The study yielded remarkable results: a new type of vibration was observed in the sample in which the EuSi2 nanoislands were in contact with each other.

"Usually nanoengineering means modifying material on a scale of nanometres, or billionths of a metre. The research on europium silicide in which we participated allows us to offer something more: phonon nanoengineering, i.e. engineering in which not so much the structure of the material is carefully designed as the vibrations of atoms in its crystal lattice," says Dr. Przemyslaw Piekarz (IFJ PAN).

Europium silicide forms a crystal, in which each europium atom is surrounded by 12 silicon atoms. The system exhibits what is known as tetragonal symmetry: the distance between atoms in one direction is different than in the two remaining directions. This metallic compound readily binds to silicon, and also has a record-breakingly low so-called Schottky barrier (i.e. the barrier of potential energy electrons encounter on their transition from the metal to silicon). Such materials are of interest today in view of their potential application in nanoelectronic systems, for example, in MOSFET technology used in the production of modern processors. However, at low temperatures EuSi2 also exhibits interesting magnetic properties, which makes it attractive for the successor of electronics - spintronics.

Although compounds of rare earth metals and silicon play a fundamental role in heat transport, among others, their lattice vibrations have not to date been comprehensively studied. Meanwhile, in nanoelectronic systems where heat is generated in large amounts, thermal properties of a material became as important as the magnetic or electric properties.

A group led by Dr. Svetoslav Stankov (KIT, Germany) has developed a procedure for the preparation of epitaxial EuSi2 nanostructures by depositing, in ultrahigh vacuum conditions, small amounts of europium atoms on a heated substrate of single crystalline silicon. Moreover, by careful adjustment of the temperature of the substrate and the amount of europium atoms they were able to tailor the morphology of the prepared EuSi2 nanostructures on the silicon surface.

"In this experiment we focused our attention on four europium silicide samples forming: a uniform film, which could be regarded as a solid crystal, a tightly pleated film, and two different assemblies of nanoislands," explains Dr. Stankov and adds: "A nanoisland is a discrete cluster of self-organized atoms on a surface reaching sizes of several tens of nanometres with a height of a dozen or so nanometres. It turned out that especially interesting are the samples in which the EuSi2 nanoislands are completely isolated from each other and those where the nanoislands are in close contact with each other."

The surface of nanoislands is marked in brown, solid EuSi2 crystals in yellow, and the silicon surface in black. Two interfaces are visible: between the nanoislands and the silicon surface (blue), and the source of new vibrations -- the interface between two nanoislands (green). Credit: IFJ PAN

The samples were prepared in the ultra-high vacuum system at the nuclear resonance beamline of the ESRF synchrotron in Grenoble by the KIT group and investigated in situ by nuclear inelastic scattering (NIS).

"NIS is a state-of-the-art method for direct measurement of the energy spectrum of atomic vibrations of nanomaterials with very high resolution. In this experimental technique the sample is illuminated with high energy photons, selected so that their absorption by atomic nuclei excites or annihilates lattice vibrations of a certain kind, yielding the element-specific phonon density of states," adds Dr. Stankov.

Theoretical studies at the IFJ PAN were carried out ab initio, based on the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics and statistical physics, using PHONON software written by Prof. Krzysztof Parlinski (IFJ PAN). The Cracow group dealt not only with modelling the vibrations of the crystal lattice of structures of europium silicide, but also determining the conditions for conducting experiments in the ESRF synchrotron.

"In Grenoble only the vibration energies of europium atoms were recorded. The curves obtained from the measurements agreed very well with our calculations for the solid crystal and the surface. We could supplement these data with our predictions for the movements of silicon atoms, which helped to better interpret the results," says Prof. Parlinski.

Particularly interesting results were obtained for the samples with nanoislands. In the case of a substrate coated with discrete nanoislands a significant increase of the amplitude of vibration of europium atoms was observed, up to 70% relative to the vibrations in the crystal. Such a large increase translates into significantly greater possibilities in the field of heat transfer. The most interesting effect appeared, however, in the sample with nanoislands adjoining each other. Namely, additional vibrations with a characteristic energy were found at the interfaces between the nanoislands. Although theoretically predicted earlier on, their existence was confirmed experimentally for the first time. They constitute another 'gateway' through which material can discharge heat into the environment. By means of the adjoining nanoislands a significant increase in the efficiency of heat transfer in nanostructures becomes a reality.

"In the analysis of materials scientists usually look at the properties of a sample of fixed morphology. We have described a whole spectrum of possible surface morphologies of EuSi2. An advanced theoretical model and precise measurements have allowed us for the first time to exactly trace how the vibrations of the crystal lattice of a nanomaterial change depending on its arrangement on the substrate," stressed Dr. Piekarz.

The research on europium silicide nanostructures, funded by the Helmholtz Association, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (project VH-NG-625) and on the Polish side by the HARMONIA grant from the Polish National Science Centre, is of a basic nature. However, the knowledge gained, especially with regard to the crystal lattice vibrations occurring at the interface between adjacent nanoislands and the related drastic changes in the heat transport, is universal. After suitable adaptation, this phenomenon will allow researchers to design nanomaterials other than europium silicide with tailored thermal properties.

More information: A. Seiler et al, Anomalous Lattice Dynamics ofNanoislands: Role of Interfaces Unveiled, Physical Review Letters (2016). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.276101 Journal information: Physical Review Letters

Provided by The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences
Wildfires scorching hundreds of square miles of Kansas, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma have been blamed in at least six deaths as of Wednesday. Thousands of people have been displaced by the wind-whipped flames.

Here's a look at the situation:

WHAT'S BURNING?

A two-county wildfire in Kansas has consumed an estimated 861 square miles of land, eclipsing last year's record for the biggest single blaze in the state's recorded history. Kansas Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Katie Horner says the estimated 625 square miles charred in Clark County as of Wednesday is about 85 percent of that county's total land, with an additional 236 square miles lost in Comanche County. Horner tells The Associated Press that that number in the two predominantly ranching-and-farming counties appears certain to grow. The previous record for the most-widespread Kansas blaze came last year, with the Anderson Creek fire in Barber and Comanche counties consuming 488 square miles of land.

Horner says that since last Saturday, large grassfires have been reported in 23 Kansas counties, consuming more than 1,000 square miles. At least 70 structures in Kansas have been damaged or destroyed.

In addition, three wildfires in the Texas Panhandle have burned nearly 750 square miles of rural land, while more than 540 square miles of property has been blackened in Oklahoma. Dozens of square miles also have been charred in northeastern Colorado.

WHAT CAUSES SUCH BLAZES?

It's not yet clear what sparked the wildfires now raging.

But Bill Bunting, forecast operations chief at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said human activity causes most wildfires in the prairiea cigarette thrown from a car or sometimes a spark from a catalytic converter. Bunting said lightning accounts for 25 percent of wildfires.

WHAT'S STOKING THE FLAMES?

Parched conditions amplified by strong winds and low humidity put the region at risk for wildfires. All of eastern Colorado is classified as either moderately or abnormally dry along with much of Kansas and Oklahoma, and some of northern Texas, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly tracker of dry conditions across the U.S.

Noting the abundance of vegetation fuel, drought conditions and windiness in the southern central Plains, Liz Leitman, a Storm Prediction Center meteorologist, said Wednesday that "everything has come together to overlap to create a pretty volatile situation."

PROMISING WEATHER AHEAD

Firefighters in many of the affected states may catch a break within days.

Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the Nebraska-based National Drought Mitigation Center, said the weekly drought report he put together for release Thursday will show an intensification of drought conditions in the fire-ravaged region.

But perhaps starting late Thursday and lingering into the weekend, a storm is forecast to drop an inch or more of rainfall from central Kansas through much of Oklahoma and Texas, Fuchs said. The Texas Panhandle, eastern Colorado and western Kansas may miss out on that.

"That will be enough precipitation to put the brakes on some of this (wildfire outbreak) right now," he said.

COULD THE OUTBREAK BE CYCLICAL?

Leitman said the latest outbreak of wildfires "seems to be, at least in my experience, a naturally occurring cycle for this area" and "not unusual for this time of year."

She said the last large outbreak came in late 2010 and into 2011, when similar conditions caused wildfires that scorched more than 4,000 square miles in Texas and Arizona.

COULD CLIMATE CHANGE BE IN PLAY?

In 2013, University of Illinois atmospheric sciences professor Don Wuebbles warned that the frequency and intensity of wildfires likely would increase in the coming years, given the confluence of such factors as higher temperatures, untamed underbrush and less rain.

Wuebbles, a co-author of a draft federal report linking climate change to an increase in severe weather trends, postulated then to National Geographic that "this probably is the new normal."

"Thirty years from now, we may look upon this as being a much better period than what we may be facing then," he said then.

WHAT'S THE COST?

Officials in the states affected by the ongoing wildfires haven't released estimates of the economic losses from damaged or destroyed homes, businesses and livestockor the expense of firefighters' efforts to knock down the flames. But it's expected those costs will run well into the millions of dollars.

During last year's massive wildfire along the Kansas-Oklahoma border, for example, firefighting costs reached $1.5 million in Barber Countythe Kansas county hardest hit by that blaze. That county's emergency management chief, Jerry McNamar, said the county's economic losses included 750 to 800 cattle that died in the county, along with at least 2,700 miles of fence, worth $27 million, that was destroyed.

GLASS HALF FULL

Wildfires can offer some ecological benefits.

Conservation experts, for instance, say that last year's sprawling Oklahoma-Kansas blaze managed to clear out more eastern red cedars in a week than local efforts to eradicate that invasive species could have accomplished in decades.

Red cedars, also known as junipers, are fast-growing, drought-resistant trees that are useful for erosion control along canyon edges in the region's Red Hills. But those treesoften the focus of prescribed burnsare a nuisance on prairie land because they crowd out native grasses, suck up moisture from the soil and reduce the amount of forage area for wildlife and livestock.

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Acorn Woodpeckers, Summerhaven, AZ. Credit: Allan Block

New research from the University of St Andrews has sparked debate about what it takes to live in stable, long-lasting social groups.

Investigation of the brain-size of woodpeckers, which often live in stable social groups, has revealed that the brains of social species are smaller than would be expected of individuals required to deal with the politics of social living: social competition, manipulation and deception.

Researchers conclude the birds are so successful at supportive community living that they have been able to disinvest in brain tissue, challenging social brain theory as we know it.

Professor Richard Byrne explains: "It's been known for many years now that animals like primates, and several other kinds of mammal, have larger brains in species that live long-term in social groups: other things being equal, the larger the typical size of their groups, the larger the brain. That correlation supports the 'Machiavellian intelligence' or 'social brain' theory, which identifies dealing with other individuals as one of the most challenging mental problems for animals."

Group living may be important for survival  monkeys, for instance, live in groups to reduce the risk of predation  but it presents challenges. Group members inevitably compete for resources, including food and mating, and being smart helps.

It now seems birds may be the exception to this rule. Natalia Fedorova used a summer internship in the School of Psychology to test whether social brain theory holds in stable communities of birds.

"I went to the London Museum of Natural History," Fedorova describes, "and measured the size of the brain cavity in preserved specimens of dozens of different species. Then we categorized their social system, based on a survey of the literature, as solitary, pair-living or group-living."

Professor Byrne continues: "Picking out a genuine effect is tricky; because body size also affects brain size, and because closely related species may be similar just because they are related. So we needed to use powerful modern statistics. We turned to Dr Cara Evans, at that time in the School of Biology, who supervised all the analyses and their interpretation."

The trio have now published their findings in Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

Remarkably, they found the opposite of what social brain theory would predict: the group-living woodpeckers had the smallest brains, and whether or not pairs lived together over years or associated only in the brief mating system made no difference to brain size. The researchers conclude that long-term social groups in birds must be socially quite different to those of mammals, where competition is an intrinsic part of the background.

More information: Living in stable social groups is associated with reduced brain size in woodpeckers (Picidae). Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0008 Journal information: Biology Letters
At a time Acting President Yemi Osinbajo should have been enjoying his 60th birthday, he made a very timely visit to Sokoto state, just in time to take part in a two-day clinic organised for the development of small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria.

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

He was received at the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and members of his cabinet.

Before the commencement of the event proper, the Acting President paid a visit to Sultan Muhammad Sa'ad at his palace in Sokoto.

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Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

The MSMEs Clinic had in attendance Governors Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi.

Recall that Osinbajo was in Lagos on Tuesday, March 7 where he flagged-off the Lagos-Ibadan rail line construction, a major project embarked upon by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and expected to be completed in December 2018.

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

READ ALSO: 8 reasons Osinbajo is loved by Nigerians

The acting president, who was receiving birthday wishes from Nigerians as he clocks 60, was in Sokoto on Thursday, March 9.

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

While in the state, he embarked on an inspection tour of projects, hold interactive sessions with government agents and financial institutions, as well as operators and stakeholders in the MSMEs sub-sector.

He also visited His Eminence, Sultan Muhammad Saad Abubakar III at his palace in Kanwuri, Sokoto.

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

A statement from Imam Imam, the spokesperson for Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Osinbajo is to further take part in a two-day nationwide clinic organised for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

READ ALSO: Osinbajo storms Lagos, to flag-off Lagos-Ibadan rail line project

The statement said Osinbajo would also inspect sample of works by small and medium scale enterprises from across the federation.

Below are more photos from the Vice President's august visit.

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Economic growth: Osinbajo pays timely visit to Sokoto

Source: Legit.ng
- Reno Omokri says President Muhammadu Buhari is not capable of ruling Nigeria without his deputies

- Omokri says Buhari could not lead during the military era, claiming that it was Idiagbon who did all that needed to be done

- The former aide to Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has said that like in the military regime, Osinbajo is playing Idiagbon's role

Reno Omokri has taken another swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari. The former aide to GEJ took to his Facebook, to share his vote of no confidence in Buhari.

Omokri said Buhari lacks the ability to rule Nigeria on his own, claiming that history shows that Buhari will always depend on his deputies.

READ ALSO: Court gives ruling on suit against Buhari

Buhari is just a figure head, history never lies - Reno Omokri

His Facebook statement reads: "History does not repeat itself. Men repeat history and blame it for repeating itself. In 1984 Tunde Idiagbon was the real power behind the Muhammadu Buhari. In 2017 Professor Yemi Osinbajo is the intellectual power behind Buhari!

It was when Tunde Idiagbon travelled out of the country that the first Buhari administration FELL in August of 1985 and it was when Buhari travelled out of the country that the second Buhari administration started to RISE beginning from January of 2017.

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This proves that Buhari's governments can survive without Buhari himself, but it is doubtful if it can survive without his deputies."

In recent times, the former aide on new media to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan has consistently taken swipes at Buhari.

Omokri said on Thursday, February 23, that he believes President Muhammadu Buhari is better at coding than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

This he said in his continued response to the issue of the alleged bribe given by Buharis lawyer Kola Awodein to Justice Adeniyi Ademola while he presided over the famous certificate case in 2015.

According to Omokri, President Buhari has had Nigerians fooled with how smoothly he reportedly transformed a bribe into a gift.

In tweets on his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday, February 22, Omokri wondered how the N500,000 given by Buhari's counsel Awodein to Justice Ademola could transform into a gift from a bribe.

Source: Legit.ng
The African society is one that is fierce when it comes to the race for the top spots in all fields. For women the challenge becomes doubled, as they have to break extra barriers before they can rise through the ranks and file.

Most powerful women in Africa

In the year 2016, some African women proved beyond a doubt that women in this part of the world can rise beyond the themes which for too long has seen them relegated to the background.

Of all women from Africa, three made it to the Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world.

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According to Forbes, the list contains the smartest and toughest female business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, philanthropists and CEOs making their mark in the world today.

Africa has many women of substance, below are 6 most powerful women in Africa, which cannot be toyed with. Those in the top 3, are they who made the Forbes list in 2016.

6. Hajia Bola Shagaya

She is a Nigerian businesswoman and fashion enthusiast. Undisputed, one of the richest women in Africa

Her career started with the audit department of the Central Bank of Nigeria before venturing into commercial activities in 1983. Her business experience started with the importation and distribution of photographic materials and she introduced the Konica brand of photographic materials into the Nigerian market and West Africa.

International Women's day: Africa's top 6 most powerful women

Hajia Bola Shagaya is also the managing director of Practoil Limited, one of the largest importers and distributors of base oil in Nigeria, serving local lubricant blending plants.

Her businesses also includes huge investment in real estate, spanning across major cities in the country with over three hundred employees.

She is currently on the board of Unity Bank (Nigeria) Plc[7] (formerly Intercity Bank) and has been for over eight years. She is also a member of the recently inaugurated Nepad Business Group  Nigeria.

Hajia Shagaya is a patron of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria, (FADAN), and a fashion and art enthusiast who supports and encourages the fashion and art industry. She also loves sports, especially polo. On the 22nd of July 2010, she was awarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR), the title of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON)

5. Ngina Kenyatta

Popularly known as "Mama Ngina", she is former First Lady of Kenya. She is the widow of the country's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, and also the mother of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

International Women's day: Africa's top 6 most powerful women

She has grown over the years to became one of the richest individuals in Kenya, owning plantations, ranches, and hotels.

She currently leads a quiet life in Kenya as a wealthy widow.

4. Isabel dos Santos

She is an Angolan investor considered by Forbes at some point, to be the richest woman not only in Angola, but the whole of Africa.

Born in Baku Azerbaijan on the 20th of April 1973 (age 43 years), her net worth sits at about 3.2 billion USD (2017) Forbes.

She is the daughter of Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled the country since 1979.

A 2013 research by Forbes, suggested that she might be Africas first billionaire woman.

In the early 1990s, Isabel dos Santos returned from London to join her father in Luanda and started working as a project manager engineer for Urbana 2000, a subsidiary of Jembas Group, that won the contract for cleaning and disinfection of the city.

Following that, she set up a trucking business. The widespread use of walkie-talkie tecchnology paved the way for her subsequent foray into telecoms.

International Women's day: Africa's top 6 most powerful women

It is reported that in 1997, at the age of 24, she started her first business by opening the Miami Beach Club, one of the first night clubs and beach restaurants on the Luanda Island.

Over a period of nearly 20 years she expanded her business interests, leading to the creation of several holdings, in Angola and mostly abroad, and to make substantial investments in a series of prestigious entreprises, especially in Portugal.

3. President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

At third place is Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim who made it narrowly to the 2016 Forbes list at number 96. Before she was pulled to politics in 2015, the 56 year old President was immersed in her Research center that was compiling a database of the plants on the Island nation and promoting the importance of biodiversity to an international audience.

She became the Islands President after she was selected as a presidential candidate by the major political party. She has used her power to bring her concerns as scientist to a larger audience.

READ ALSO: 9 most powerful people in Buharis administration

She (Ameenah) is working to advance awareness of global warming and to promote new investments in science and technology in Mauritius and greater Africa. Shes already making strides on both fronts, including partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pilot 10 PhD research grants on the island, with plans expand the program to as many as 10,000 other scientists across Africa in the future. Said Forbes

2. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

In second place is Liberias President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who comes in 83rd on the global list.

The 77 year old formidable leadership in rebuilding Liberia post-civil war and amidst crippling debts landed her on the list and was as well recognized for her efforts by the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Ms Johnson Sirleaf has been able to negotiate settlements, rebuild infrastructure, lift sanctions and rebuild womens rights.

She (Sirleaf) came under fire for cronyism and corruption, and during the devastating Ebola outbreak of 2014, her decision to use troops to quarantine the heavily infected and poor West Point neighborhood was widely criticized. Despite this, she receives credit for some parts of her leadership, including her final presidential act: Stepping aside to let the countrys democratic process choose its next leader. Says Forbes

1. Folorunsho Alakija

From Africa's largest country comes the most powerful woman in the continent. She (Folorunsho Alakija) ranks number 80 in the worlds 100 most powerful women in the world.

At 65, Alakija is said to have a net worth of 1.73 billion dollars after investing in the oil industry. She is the vice chair of a Nigerian oil exploration company, Famfa oil, that is in one of Nigerias largest deep water oil discoveries.

READ ALSO: See Americas newest beauty queen in charming photos

Billionaire Folorunsho Alakija, Africa's richest woman.

Alikijas net worth however, has fallen due to the low global oil prices.

READ ALSO: Why these women are carrying water basins on their head (Photo, Video)

International Women's day: Africa's top 6 most powerful women

According to Forbes, the top five most powerful women in the world include Germanys Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton Presidential candidate in the United States, Chair at the Federal Reserve in the United States Janet Yellen, Melinda Gates the Cochair at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and fifthly, Mary Barra the CEO of General Motors in the United States.

For International Women's Day 2017, the world has been urged to #BeBoldForChange. People have been asked to call on the masses or call on themselves to help forge a better working world- a more inclusive, gender equal world.

Source: Legit.ng
Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether 

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Guatemala declared three days of mourning after a blaze in a government-run children's shelter killed at least 22 teenage girls and focused attention on allegations of sexual and other abuse in the facility. All those killed were aged between 14 and 17. Most died of burns in the fire in the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home in San Jose Pinula, 10 kilometers (six miles) east of Guatemala City, officials said. A total of 38 other people were injured, 16 of them in critical condition, hospital officials said. President Jimmy Morales said on national television that he had ordered the dismissal of the shelter's director. The blaze was believed to have started during an overnight rebellion in the center, which holds nearly double the 400 people it was designed to house. Some youths tried to escape, news reports said. Morales said that before the fire, orders had been given to transfer some of the youths to other facilities because of the overcrowding. "They were serving food to the teenagers when some of them started a fire in a mattress and that's how the fire was set," said Abner Paredes, a prosecutor defending children's rights. Human rights activists held a vigil Wednesday night, lighting candles and placing flowers outside the shelter and in the main square in Guatemala City. - A 'time bomb' - "It was a ticking time bomb. This was to be expected," one of the center's former employees, Angel Cardenas, said outside. He said he had lodged several warnings about conditions inside. At the entrance of the shelter -- whose imposing, barbed wire-topped concrete wall showed no sign of the drama inside -- crying relatives crowded the entrance. They were searching for news of the children kept there. Police blocked access to them and to journalists. A few survivors were seen hugging kin on the pine tree-lined road. But many other family members were left unattended. "They don't want to give any information at all," said Rosa Aguirre, a 22-year-old street vendor who had rushed from the capital to see if her two sisters, aged 13 and 15, and her 17-year-old brother were among the casualties. She said many frustrated people had gone to hospitals to see if their relatives were there. Aguirre said she, too, had lodged complaints about how the center's residents were treated, but received no attention. She said brawls broke out inside often, and her brother was sometimes put in a dark isolation cell nicknamed the "chicken coop." She said she had tried in vain to gain custody of her siblings after their mother's death four months ago. Guatemalan media said the shelter's occupants had revolted overnight and into Wednesday against alleged sexual abuse by staff, and over poor food and conditions. The center, supervised by state authorities, hosts minors under age 18 who are victims of domestic violence or found living on the street. They are sent there by court order and are under the responsibility of the social welfare ministry. The shelter has been the target of multiple complaints alleging abuse. Dozens of children have run away in the past year, reportedly to escape ill treatment. - Calls to close shelter - The government decreed three days of mourning. A prosecutor for upholding children's rights, Hilda Morales, told reporters she was requesting the shelter be closed due to welfare authorities' inability to manage it. "We are going to ask for the immediate closure of the center, and attribute administrative and criminal responsibility against those in charge of the center for not fulfilling their duty," she said. She noted that last year the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had found in favor of several adolescents who had alleged mistreatment and sexual abuse in the shelter. Another prosecutor tasked with protecting children in the country, Harold Flores, told the radio station Emisoras Unidas that since last year complaints had surged against the shelter over minors fleeing to escape alleged sexual abuse there.
Africans welcome trade but on fair terms which preserves our independence, Mamadou Goita, executive director of development organisation IRPAD/Afrique said: Getty

Campaigners have accused the Government of using post-Brexit trade deal negotiations to deepen corporate interests in African countries at the expense of ordinary people across the continent.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will meet with representatives from Commonwealth countries in London on Thursday in a bid to promote free-trade deals between Britain and African countries, a plan that has been internally dubbed empire 2.0 by some Whitehall officials.

The event is organised by the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), a group backed by large corporations with business interests in Africa, including mining companies, Gem Diamonds and Firestone Diamonds, British multinational equipment manufacturer JCB, and engine manufacturer Rolls Royce, which is currently embroiled in an international bribery scandal.

Campaign group Global Justice Now said the CWEIC has a particular interest in breaking into healthcare markets in the Commonwealth.

It has established a Commonwealth Healthcare Business Group that has written to ministers in all 53 Commonwealth countries asking for their top health investment priorities. They CWEIC says The Healthcare Business Group will then consider how best the private sector can help meet those priorities.

Mamadou Goita, executive director of IRPAD/Afrique in Mali, which promotes development in the continent, said: Africa has had quite enough of having terms of trade forced on it by Britain. Oiling the wheels of Britains economy with cheap products and cheap labour has cost our farmers, our workers and our business people dearly.

Africans welcome trade but on fair terms which preserves our independence, Mr Goita said. But weve had enough of the sort of exploitation that bleeds our countries of wealth and resources.

Nick Dearden, the director of Global Justice Now, said: Unfortunately for Liam Fox and his plans for empire 2.0, Britain no longer rules the waves, and cant dictate the terms of trade to poorer countries in quite the way that it once could.

But that doesnt mean that Fox wont try to fleece African economies in the interests of putting as much cheap stuff as possible on Western supermarket shelves.
BERGEN, Norway, March 8 (Reuters) - ** Norway's Seafood Council, a state-owned marketing firm, aims to secure regular access to the Chinese market in the coming months, it said on Wednesday ** In December of 2016, Norway and China re-established normal diplomatic ties following a spat that began in 2010, and which had hampered trade ** "There are still issues to overcome but we hope for trade to normalise within the months to come," director for market access Asbjoern Warvik Roertveit told an industry conference ** Norwegian and Chinese food safety authorities could meet as early as this month, though a date has yet to be confirmed, he added ** Roertveit aims to publish a list of approved Norwegian seafood exporters at the end of April ** Fisheries Minister Per Sandberg separately said several cabinet members will visit China soon, and that he will go at the end of May ** Roertveit says China access will support prices ** Norwegian salmon prices have dropped from a record high above 80 crowns per kilo at the start of the year to currently around 55 crowns (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Desperately needed airports and trains are part of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's envisioned "golden age of infrastructure", but graft, red tape and other perennial problems threaten the $170-billion plan.

Unprecedented influxes of money from China and Japan are key planks of the hoped-for building frenzy, which aims to rectify decades of underspending that has been one of the main anchors on the Philippine economy.

Decrepit light rail lines in the capital of Manila, which snake above ever-worsening traffic that has come to be known as "Carmageddon", are among the most obvious symbols of the infrastructure problems.

"The city is really suffering now from lack of mobility, not only in terms of mobility, it's really the total absence of infrastructure," Duterte said last week as he described Manila as "decaying".

Duterte and his aides have repeatedly said the six years of his administration will be the "golden age of infrastructure", with a record $168 billion to be spent on 5,000 projects across the nation.

If the plans come to fruition, infrastructure spending would reach 7.2 percent of the gross domestic product by 2022, when Duterte is due to step down -- a huge increase from 1.8 percent in 2011.

The Philippines ranks 95th out of 138 countries for quality of infrastructure, and behind most of its Southeast Asian neighbours, Japanese-based financial services group Nomura said in a recent report.

It said the lack of infrastructure was a huge drag on economic development, citing a Japan International Cooperation Agency estimate of traffic costs in Manila alone as equivalent to four percent of GDP.

- Ambitions curtailed -

Infrastructure spending started to rise during the administration of Benigno Aquino, who stepped down last year, but his much more ambitious plans were curtailed by many problems that will also confront Duterte.

"Financing is the least of the problems," transport and infrastructure consultant Rene Santiago told AFP, pointing to an abundance of government funds plus cashed-up local businesses and eager foreign investors.

Story continues

"The biggest obstacle is the implementation capacity of the government infrastructure agencies."

Santiago, chief executive of Manila-based business consultancy Bellweather Group, said the government did not have enough personnel with the capabilities or experience to oversee such a massive spending plan.

Another major issue is corruption.

Aquino was heavily criticised in some quarters for not spending more on infrastructure, but he said he had to slow down the contract-awarding process in an effort to increase transparency and minimise graft.

About 10 to 30 percent of an infrastructure project's cost is typically lost to corruption, according to Vincent Lazatin, executive director of the Transparency and Accountability Network in Manila.

Lazatin said this rose to 50 percent when congressman were directly involved in allocating national funds in a system known as "pork barrel".

In a massive corruption scandal unearthed during the Aquino administration, 200 lawmakers were implicated in such scams. But, as part of an infamous "culture of impunity", few have been brough to justice.

Lazatin warned that infrastructure projects financed by foreign partners would also be vulnerable to corruption.

"It is in the negotiation process (between the Philippines and the donor nation) that deals can be made that are off the books," Lazatin said.

- China hopes -

Duterte has made China one of his top targets for loans and investments. He visited Beijing last year and said he returned with commitments for $15-billion worth of projects.

Chinese contracts for a $593-million railway project in 2003 and a $300-million national broadband network in 2007 negotiated under then-president Gloria Arroyo had to be cancelled because of corruption scandals.

In a speech at an economic forum last month, Chinese ambassador Zhao Jianhua acknowledged graft would again be a concern.

"We will try to make sure these projects are going to be corruption-free," Zhao said.

The Philippines' legal system is another major problem, with projects often held up due to lawsuits filed by losing bidders, according to Dindo Manhit, head of economic and political think-tank the Stratbase group.

"The reality of our democratic process is in our rules on public bidding, there are always bidding groups who if they do not win, they try to find other ways (to get the contracts)," Manhit told AFP.

In its report Nomura also cited a host of bureaucratic bottlenecks, including "opaque regulatory framework or political intervention", as problems in the country's infrastructure programme.

But it said the government was focused on finding solutions and there was reason for optimism.

"Even if partly successful, we believe the government's ambitious infrastructure programme would have significant implications for the economy," it said.

mm/kma/dan
AFP News

The UN's COP27 climate summit kicked off Sunday in Egypt with warnings against backsliding on efforts to cut emissions and calls for rich nations to compensate poor countries after a year of extreme weather disasters. An alarming UN report said the past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record, with an acceleration in sea level rise, glacier melt, heatwaves and other climate indicators. "As COP27 gets underway, our planet is sending a distress signal," UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement, calling the report a "chronicle of climate chaos". Just in the past few months, floods devastated Pakistan and Nigeria, droughts worsened in Africa and the United States, cyclones whipped the Caribbean, and unprecedented heatwaves seared three continents. The conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh also comes against the backdrop of Russia's war on Ukraine, an energy crunch, soaring inflation and the lingering effects from the Covid-19 pandemic. But Simon Stiell, the UN's climate change executive secretary, said he would not be a "custodian of backsliding" on the goal of slashing greenhouse emissions 45 percent by 2030 to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above late 19th-century levels. "We will be holding people to account, be they presidents, prime ministers, CEOs," Stiell said as the 13-day summit opened. "The heart of implementation is everybody everywhere in the world every single day doing everything they possibly can to address the climate crisis," he said, noting that only 29 of 194 nations have presented improved plans as called for at COP26 in Glasgow last year. Current trends would see carbon pollution increase 10 percent by the end of the decade and the Earth's surface heat up 2.8C, according to findings unveiled last week. Promises made under the 2015 Paris Agreement would, if kept, only shave off a few tenths of a degree. Britain's Alok Sharma, who handed the COP presidency to Egypt, said that while world leaders have faced "competing priorities" this year, "inaction is myopic and can only defer climate catastrophe." "How many more wake-up calls does the world -- and world leaders -- actually need?" he said. - 'Loss and damage' - The COP27 summit will focus like never before on money -- a major sticking point that has soured relations between countries that got rich burning fossil fuels and the poorer ones suffering from the worst consequences of climate change. The United States and the European Union -- fearful of creating an open-ended reparations framework -- have dragged their feet and challenged the need for a separate funding stream. After two days of intense pre-summit negotiations, delegates agreed on Sunday to put the "loss and damage" issue on the COP27 agenda, a first step towards what are sure to be difficult discussions. Stiell said inclusion of loss and damage on the agenda after three decades of debate on the issue showed progress. "The fact that it is there as a substantive agenda item I believe bodes well," he told reporters. COP27 president Sameh Shoukry of Egypt said it would be unproductive to speculate on what outcome the negotiations will lead to, "but certainly everybody is hopeful." "Anything that we do effectively has to be on the basis of our common efforts and that we leave no one behind," he said. Shoukry also noted that rich nations have not fulfilled a separate pledge to deliver $100 billion per year to help developing countries green their economies and build resilience against future climate change. He lamented that most climate financing is based on loans. "We do not have the luxury to continue this way. We have to change our approaches to this existential threat," he said. - US-China tensions - After the first day of talks, some 110 world leaders will join the summit on Monday and Tuesday. The most conspicuous no-show will be China's Xi Jinping, whose leadership was renewed last month at a Communist Party Congress. US President Joe Biden has said he will come, but only after legislative elections on Tuesday that could see either or both houses of Congress fall into the hands of Republicans hostile to international action on climate change. Cooperation between the United States and China -- the world's two largest economies and carbon polluters -- has been crucial to rare breakthroughs in the nearly 30-year saga of UN climate talks, including the 2015 Paris Agreement. But Sino-US relations have sunk to a 40-year low after a visit to Taiwan by House leader Nancy Pelosi and a US ban on the sale of high-level chip technology to China, leaving the outcome of COP27 in doubt. A meeting between Xi and Biden at the G20 summit in Bali days before the UN climate meeting ends, if it happens, could be decisive. One bright spot at COP27 will be the arrival of Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose campaign vowed to protect the Amazon and reverse the extractive policies of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro. bur-lth/mh/lg
AFP News

The UN's COP27 climate summit kicked off Sunday in Egypt with warnings against backsliding on efforts to cut emissions and calls for rich nations to compensate poor countries after a year of extreme weather disasters. Just in the past few months, climate-induced catastrophes have killed thousands, displaced millions and cost billions in damages across the world. Massive floods devastated swaths of Pakistan and Nigeria, droughts worsened in Africa and the western United States, cyclones whipped the Caribbean, and unprecedented heatwaves seared three continents. The conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh comes in a fraught year marked by Russia's war on Ukraine, an energy crunch, soaring inflation and the lingering effects from the Covid pandemic. But Simon Stiell, the UN's climate change executive secretary, said he would not be a "custodian of backsliding" on the goal of slashing greenhouse emissions 45 percent by 2030 to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above late-19th-century levels. "We will be holding people to account, be they presidents, prime ministers, CEOs," Stiell said as the 13-day summit opened. "The heart of implementation is everybody everywhere in the world every single day doing everything they possibly can to address the climate crisis," he said. Current trends would see carbon pollution increase 10 percent by the end of the decade and Earth's surface heat up 2.8C, according to findings unveiled last week. Promises made under the 2015 Paris Agreement would, if kept, only shave off a few tenths of a degree. "Whilst I do understand that leaders around the world have faced competing priorities this year, we must be clear: as challenging as our current moment is, inaction is myopic and can only defer climate catastrophe," said Alok Sharma, British president of the previous COP26 as he handed over the chairmanship to Egypt. "How many more wake-up calls does the world -- and world leaders -- actually need?", he said. In a dire warning, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said the past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record, with an acceleration in sea level rise, glacier melt and heatwaves. "As COP27 gets underway, our planet is sending a distress signal," UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement. - 'Loss and damage' - The COP27 summit will focus like never before on money -- a major sticking point that has soured relations between countries that got rich burning fossil fuels and the poorer ones suffering from the worst consequences of climate change. The United States and the European Union -- fearful of creating an open-ended reparations framework -- have dragged their feet and challenged the need for a separate funding stream. Delegates agreed on Sunday to put the "loss and damage" issue on the COP27 agenda, a first step toward what are sure to be fraught discussions. Inclusion of the agenda item "reflects a sense of solidarity and empathy for the suffering of the victims of climate induced disasters," said COP27 president Sameh Shoukry of Egypt. "We all owe a debt of gratitude to activists and civil society organisations who have persistently demanded the space to discuss funding for loss and damage," he said to applause. Shoukry also noted that rich nations have not fulfilled a separate pledge to deliver $100 billion per year to help developing countries green their economies and build resilience against future climate change. He also lamented that most climate financing is based on loans. "We do not have the luxury to continue this way. We have to change our approaches to this existential threat," he said, calling for solutions that "prove we are serious about not leaving anyone behind". - US-China tensions - After the first day of talks, more than 120 world leaders will join the summit on Monday and Tuesday. The most conspicuous no-show will be China's Xi Jinping, whose leadership was renewed last month at a Communist Party Congress. US President Joe Biden has said he will come, but only after legislative elections on Tuesday that could see either or both houses of Congress fall into the hands of Republicans hostile to international action on climate change. Cooperation between the United States and China -- the world's two largest economies and carbon polluters -- has been crucial to rare breakthroughs in the nearly 30-year saga of UN climate talks, including the 2015 Paris Agreement. But Sino-US relations have sunk to a 40-year low after a visit to Taiwan by House leader Nancy Pelosi and a US ban on the sale of high-level chip technology to China, leaving the outcome of COP27 in doubt. A meeting between Xi and Biden at the G20 summit in Bali days before the UN climate meeting ends, if it happens, could be decisive. One bright spot at COP27 will be the arrival of Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose campaign vowed to protect the Amazon and reverse the extractive policies of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro. bur-lth/fz
Hungary: Lawmakers prepare law targeting Soros-backed groups

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  Lawmakers from Hungary's governing Fidesz party will likely submit a new law regulating non-governmental organizations within two weeks, a party spokesman said Wednesday.

The law that would require "agent organizations" seeking to influence Hungarian politics to reveal the sources of any foreign funding is widely viewed as targeting groups backed by Hungarian-born U.S. financier George Soros.

Some of the organizations, including the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, offer legal aid and other services to migrants and refugees, populations the Hungarian government is working to keep out of the country.

"Brussels and the Soros organizations have launched an intense attack on Hungary," Fidesz party spokesman Janos Halasz said. "The organizations supporting migration are aiding and abetting the migrants, encouraging them to migrate illegally, confront authorities and break the law. We won't tolerate this from anyone."

Fidesz and the far-right Jobbik party on Tuesday approved a new set of rules limiting the rights of asylum-seekers, measures which have been strongly criticized by the United Nations' refugee agency, the Council of Europe and some of the NGOs partly funded by Soros's Open Society Foundations.

A Fidesz lawmaker earlier said Soros-backed organizations needed to be swept out of Hungary.

An Open Society Foundations representative said Soros and the foundation "are becoming convenient scapegoats" for politicians across the region.

"In Romania, our foundation is labeled as pro-Hungarian and undermining Romanian statehood," Goran Buldioski, director of the Open Society Initiative for Europe, told The Associated Press. "In Hungary, the government says we work against Hungary. In many ways, all these arguments do not add up."

Soros said in a statement that his motivation for supporting civic groups was the same as during the communist era, which ended in Hungary in 1990.

Story continues

"Their goal is to hold governments accountable to their people, the majority of whom are motivated by the same impulse that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall  the desire for freedom," he said.

Transparency International, another of the targeted organizations, said the law was meant to "stigmatize" civic groups as foreign agents.

"The idea in itself is at odds with the fundamental right to peaceful assembly," said Miklos Ligeti, the group's head of legal affairs.

Transparency International nevertheless signed a contract with the government and the European Commission last year to help monitor public procurement procedures for the construction of a highway in southern Hungary.

"So far, this cooperation is running smoothly," Ligeti said.

Halasz said the law would surely be approved by lawmakers and could go into effect before the end of parliament's spring session, which is currently set to conclude in mid-June.

In 2014, Prime Minister Viktor Orban ordered a crackdown on civic groups supported in part by Norway, but extensive investigations and audits did not uncover any financial irregularities of note.

Many non-governmental organizations already publish details of their funding, including those from foreign sources.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has created a joint venture to begin a feasibility study in the country

On Tuesday, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) announced that it has set up a joint venture with local partners Dwi Putranto Sulaksono and Ron Mullers called Hyperloop Transtek Indonesia.

Through the joint venture, the parties have allocated US$2.5 million to conduct feasibility study to build the Hyperloop technology in the country.

Conducted between three to six months, the feasibility study will analyze three potential routes: Connecting Jakarta to Soekarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang, major airports in Java, and major airports in Sumatra.

The airports of Java will be just [like] one terminal! Imagine what it can do for the economy, says Bebop G. Gresta, Chairman & Chief Bibop Officer at HTT, during an interview with e27.

Destination Indonesia

HTT is not the only tech company who is currently undergoing negotiations with governments across the world to do feasibility study, and eventually build the hyperloop technology in their soil. Its competitor Hyperloop One has recently conducted tests in the Nevada desert.

HTT itself has secured five out of the 20 negotiations it is doing. In United Arab Emirates, the company is currently in the final stage of feasibility study, which results will be revealed by end of March.

With Indonesia itself, though there has not been any written agreement with the government, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Semadi was present during the signing of the MOU.

Also Read: Indias Hyperloop experiment is a victory for moonshots across Asia

The next question to pop in mind will be: Why Indonesia?

There is no perfect geographical condition for Hyperloop. [But] there is the perfect economic condition [for it]. You have density, lack of infrastructure, and the need for a solution. So [its] the combination of the three, Gresta answers.

The ability to start from zero also seems to be a benefit for Indonesia.

Story continues

If you go to Europe, or Japan, and ask them to switch their railway system to Hyperloop, it will take years. [But] in countries where they dont have a legacy, the burden of this antiquated system  They are at the forefront of innovation. Like Africa, they pass from nothing to 5G, without having to pass through intermediate technology, he further elaborates.

Regarding possible challenges such as land acquisition, Gresta believes that the case for Hyperloop will be the different with the case of, for example, high-speed rail.

With high-speed rail you go to a farmer and you say, give me your land and I will disrupt it completely. Your animals cant migrate anymore, you cant access the other side of the land. It will be noisy  And the value of the land goes down. Of course farmers will oppose it in any way they can, he explains.

With Hyperloop, we can say: Give me a little piece of your land. And in exchange I will give you electricity. Because the system is built with renewable energy  Even the static from the tube can be brought to produce electricity. Combined with solar panel, and geothermal in areas where solar panel is not feasible, it can generate up to 30 per cent of electricity, he continues.

Also Read: Elon Musk-backed Hyperloop is looking to launch in India by 2020

The Hyperloop technology also produces no audio pollution, leading him to believe that it is a fairer and more promising offer for the farmers.

When asked when can Indonesians see the technology being implemented in their country, Gresta says the hyperloop technology is currently ready to be employed.

We have done the testing, the CFD. We have a small scale prototype, one to two kilometers in San Diego  We have tested everything and now we want to build a full-scale Hyperloop, he says.

Optimism abound

HTT has been dubbed by the Harvard Business Review as the biggest startup in the planet as the company implements a crowdsourcing system to build its technology.

Apart from its 35 full time employees, HTT also counts in the help of 800 full time and part-time volunteers from 32 countries who are doing the work in exchange of stock options.

Some of these volunteers include NASA retirees who had worked in the Apollo mission.

The way I see it is that this is the biggest attempt by humanity to put together the best minds to solve one of the biggest problems, Gresta said.

Do you want a mediocre engineer for a month or 10 hours of the best minds in the industry? He questioned.

Considering himself as an idealist, Gresta believes that the time has come for humanity to change.

Also Read: Time travel: Looking back at 10 stuff of science fiction stories in 2016

Historically, roads have played a significant role in building the economy, but the era of building cities around cars is obsolete now.

Do you know what is the greatest weapon that the Roman Empire has built? Roads. Roads allow you to transport goods, tools, things that you need to make your economy  [But] right now we are stuck in our own mistakes. Hyperloop can give us the chance to not repeat our mistakes.



Image Credit: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies

The post Is Indonesia ready to have Hyperloop built? appeared first on e27.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has created a joint venture to begin a feasibility study in the country

Imagine speeding pass the traffic jam in this.

On Tuesday, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) announced that it has set up a joint venture with local partners Dwi Putranto Sulaksono and Ron Mullers called Hyperloop Transtek Indonesia.

Through the joint venture, the parties have allocated US$2.5 million to conduct feasibility study to build the Hyperloop technology in the country.

Conducted between three to six months, the feasibility study will analyze three potential routes: Connecting Jakarta to Soekarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang, major airports in Java, and major airports in Sumatra.

The airports of Java will be just [like] one terminal! Imagine what it can do for the economy, says Bebop G. Gresta, Chairman & Chief Bibop Officer at HTT, during an interview with e27.

Destination Indonesia

HTT is not the only tech company who is currently undergoing negotiations with governments across the world to do feasibility study, and eventually build the hyperloop technology in their soil. Its competitor Hyperloop One has recently conducted tests in the Nevada desert.

HTT itself has secured five out of the 20 negotiations it is doing. In United Arab Emirates, the company is currently in the final stage of feasibility study, which results will be revealed by end of March.

With Indonesia itself, though there has not been any written agreement with the government, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Semadi was present during the signing of the MOU.

Also Read: Indias Hyperloop experiment is a victory for moonshots across Asia

The next question to pop in mind will be: Why Indonesia?

There is no perfect geographical condition for Hyperloop. [But] there is the perfect economic condition [for it]. You have density, lack of infrastructure, and the need for a solution. So [its] the combination of the three, Gresta answers.

Story continues

The ability to start from zero also seems to be an advantage for Indonesia.

If you go to Europe, or Japan, and ask them to switch their railway system to Hyperloop, it will take years. [But] in countries where they dont have a legacy, the burden of this antiquated system  They are at the forefront of innovation. Like Africa, they pass from nothing to 5G, without having to pass through intermediate technology, he further elaborates.

Regarding possible challenges such as land acquisition, Gresta believes that the case for Hyperloop will be the different with the case of, for example, high-speed rail.

With high-speed rail you go to a farmer and you say, give me your land and I will disrupt it completely. Your animals cant migrate anymore, you cant access the other side of the land. It will be noisy  And the value of the land goes down. Of course farmers will oppose it in any way they can, he explains.

With Hyperloop, we can say: Give me a little piece of your land. And in exchange I will give you electricity. Because the system is built with renewable energy  Even the static from the tube can be brought to produce electricity. Combined with solar panel, and geothermal in areas where solar panel is not feasible, it can generate up to 30 per cent of electricity, he continues.

Also Read: Elon Musk-backed Hyperloop is looking to launch in India by 2020

The Hyperloop technology also produces no audio pollution, leading him to believe that it is a fairer and more promising offer for the farmers.

When asked when can Indonesians see the technology being implemented in their country, Gresta says the hyperloop technology is currently ready to be employed.

We have done the testing, the CFD. We have a small scale prototype, one to two kilometers in San Diego  We have tested everything and now we want to build a full-scale Hyperloop, he says.

Optimism abound

HTT has been dubbed by the Harvard Business Review as the biggest startup in the planet as the company implements a crowdsourcing system to build its technology.

Apart from its 35 full time employees, HTT also counts in the help of 800 full time and part-time volunteers from 32 countries who are doing the work in exchange of stock options.

Some of these volunteers include NASA retirees who had worked in the Apollo mission.

The way I see it is that this is the biggest attempt by humanity to put together the best minds to solve one of the biggest problems, Gresta said.

Do you want a mediocre engineer for a month or 10 hours of the best minds in the industry? He questioned.

Considering himself as an idealist, Gresta believes that the time has come for humanity to change.

Also Read: Time travel: Looking back at 10 stuff of science fiction stories in 2016

Historically, roads have played a significant role in building the economy, but the era of building cities around cars is obsolete now.

Do you know what is the greatest weapon that the Roman Empire has built? Roads. Roads allow you to transport goods, tools, things that you need to make your economy  [But] right now we are stuck in our own mistakes. Hyperloop can give us the chance to not repeat our mistakes.



Image Credit: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies

The post Is Indonesia ready for hyperloop? How starting from zero could actually be an advantage appeared first on e27.
Iraqi forces worked to clear bombs and flush out any remaining jihadists in retaken areas of west Mosul Wednesday to set the stage for an offensive against the Old City. Supported by US-led air strikes, the forces have made steady progress in their battle to seize Iraq's second city from the Islamic State group, announcing the recapture of three more areas on Wednesday. IS overran large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014, with its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declaring a cross-border "caliphate" in his last public appearance at a Mosul mosque in July that year. A US official Wednesday said Baghdadi was no longer in Mosul, and that the hunt for the enigmatic figure is being led by groups outside the US-led anti-IS coalition, including US special operations forces. Iraqi forces launched the massive operation to retake Mosul on October 17, first recapturing its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west. The jihadists are under mounting pressure from twin US-backed ground offensives targeting Mosul and their other main stronghold, Raqa in Syria. They have fought back with suicide car bombs, roadside bombs, snipers and weaponised drones. Iraqi forces have recaptured a series of neighbourhoods in Mosul as well as the provincial government headquarters and the museum where IS militants infamously filmed themselves destroying priceless artefacts. The focus on Wednesday was on clearing the newly retaken areas and defusing bombs in booby-trapped houses, said Lieutenant Colonel Abdulamir al-Mohammedawi of the elite Rapid Response Division. - 'Important step' - The battle for the Old City may see some of the toughest fighting in west Mosul. "The liberation of the city centre is a first and very important step for beginning the liberation of the Old City," Mohammedawi said, referring to an area near the Old City that Iraqi forces have recaptured in recent days. "The Old City is a very difficult area" of narrow streets and closely spaced houses, he said. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to still be trapped under jihadist rule in the Old City. Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC) said Wednesday the elite Counter-Terrorism Service had recaptured the neighbourhoods of Al-Mansur, Al-Shuhada al-Oula and Al-Shuhada al-Thaniya in west Mosul. It said soldiers and pro-government militiamen had retaken Badush prison northwest of Mosul where IS reportedly killed up to 600 people execution-style and also were said to have held more than 500 kidnapped women from the Yazidi minority. The JOC did not specify whether anyone was still being held at the prison when it was recaptured. The fighting in the city's western districts has forced more than 51,000 people to flee their homes, says the International Organization for Migration. But 750,000 people are believed to have remained in west Mosul under IS, whose fighters have used civilians as human shields to defend themselves from approaching forces. "We couldn't go outside because of the IS fighters," said Manhal, a 28-year-old resident of Al-Danadan, a district now under Iraqi control. - Berms and barriers - "Those who went out were taken hostage. The fighting was very violent. Mortar rounds fell on our roof and inside our yard," he added. Federal police said anti-IS forces were now setting up defences in recaptured areas of Mosul as they eyed the next phase. "Berms and barriers were set up to protect (the) forces and they began search operations in Al-Dawasa and Al-Danadan and Al-Agaidat areas to find (IS) remnants to prepare for the completion of offensive operations," said Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat. In neighbouring Syria, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters has been advancing on Raqa and on Monday they reached the Euphrates River cutting the main road to the partly IS-held city of Deir Ezzor downstream. Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies meanwhile have pushed south from the Turkish border and driven IS out of the northern town of Al-Bab. Russian-backed government troops have swept eastwards from Syria's second city Aleppo and seized a swathe of countryside from the jihadists. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said heavy Russian bombing struck IS positions near the town of Al-Khafsah, where regime forces retook a key water pumping station the day before. State television said more than 260 explosive devices had been defused at the pumping station as the area was cleared for work to start on restoring water to Aleppo city. An AFP correspondent saw dozens of trucks and cars full of suitcases and bedding waiting on the road between Al-Khafsah and the town of Manbij. "The shelling began and we fled -- wherever we found somewhere safe, we'd settle there," said Abu Hammoud, an elderly man who left his home near the pumping station. "We need help for the children. They're sleeping in the open air. There's no food here. Everyone can see us, but no one is doing anything."


Michelle Yeoh as seen in 2016's "Mechanic: Resurrection".



8 Mar  Malaysian martial arts star, Tan Sri Dato' Seri Michelle Yeoh, is the next name to be confirmed as part of the all-Asian cast of "Crazy Rich Asians".



Yeoh will be joining American actress Constance Wu (TV series "Fresh Off the Boat") in the big screen adaptation of Kevin Kwan's New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, according to The Hollywood Reporter.



Yeoh will be playing Eleanor Young, the mother to Wu's character's boyfriend, who disapproves of her.



Wu stars as Rachel Chu, who travels to Singapore to attend her boyfriend's best friend's wedding, only to discover that her boyfriend comes from an impossibly rich family. She faces a difficult situation not only because of his disapproving mother but also because of the women who are jealous of her and want to bring her down.



To be directed by Jon M. Chu ("Now You See Me 2", "Jem and the Holograms", "Step Up: All In"), this is the first Hollywood movie to feature a cast made up of Asian actors since the 1993 adaptation of "The Joy Luck Club", also from a book of the same name.



Filming is expected to begin in Singapore this April, though no release date for the movie has been set at the moment.
Josh: Kalis in Mono is widely regarded as one of the first (if not the first) standalone video sections, which, intentionally or not, paved the way for the solo video part that the internet is filled with today.

Josh: You know what, I think that full length videos havent changed at all; I still see them coming out. The problem is in my opinion that theres too much coming out, via Instagram and all that, that it doesnt have the impact when the videos do come out. The video comes out, a solo part comes out, whatever it is  theres only one big platform, and that platform is Thrasher, Transworld, whatever? Every single one of these platforms, the dudes video part comes out and, two hours later, theres a new video. No-ones given the time toI dont know, we used to rewind videos.

Mike: I think it takes a while. A video can come out and, going with Joshs point, can get overshadowed by whatever. It used to be that, when a video part came out, that was the only thing that people watched for a long time. But now, if something is truly good and meant to be watched over and over again, people still do that; it just takes a little longer for it to be recognised as such.

Josh: But dude, I mean Im 40 years old and Ill still download a video  but Ill download it in a way where I can slow mo tricks. Im still doing that on the computer, hitting the arrow like you were hitting the arrow on the remote back in the day. So if Im doing it at 40, you fucking best believe some kids are doing it too! Its just Instagram, Youtube, all that shit, it takes away from the impact that full length videos do have.

Mike: I choose not to watch a lot of it, because its too much for me, but a lot of it too is that skaters themselves put out stuff that they would have never put out of themselves a generation previously. Now, dudes will film stuff of themselves in a park, all day long every day. Thats not really what

Josh: I gotta tell you Mike, we were just talking about this; how theres this whole generation of motherfuckers watching people play video games. Theyre watching people play video games and theyre watching people build shit on Minecraft. This whole new generation of kids are watching other people do shit! So yeah, when you watch Mariano, or Appleyard, or whoever putting up slappy grinds, sloppy kickflips and shit like that, its the same mentality of that kid who wants to watch that person play the video game. They just want to see what that persons doing and how they are as a normal person  it doesnt matter, AppleyardI always use Appleyard in interviews, dont I? He could put himself up playing video games and the kids would be just as stoked. Its like anything goes right now, your fans are your fans no matter if youre tre flipping bump to cans or slappy grinding curbs. And you never knew that before because you never got instant feedback, whereas now you get that; Damn, I only got 500 likes on that shit? I wont be doing that again. [laughs].

People are down to watch a video of the Gonz ride his bike around New York for five minutes.

Josh: And I dont know if the Gonz pays attention to that shit

Mike: Im pretty sure he doesnt. [laughs] Did you watch him caveman that icebox, cooler, whatever the fuck it was? That was amazing. I guess thats the good thing about all this  that may not have ever even seen the light of day years ago or ended up in the credits section of a Blind video or something. Now, you get to watch that! There are good aspects to it too.

Going back to Love Park, Mike, have you ever seen a photo of Josh that you looked at and thought damn, I wish Id shot that?

Mike: I meanyou mean like a photo thats been shot, and youre bitter that it wasnt you? [laughs]. Probably the switch back tail on Hubba, if I had to pick one. I mean I lived in the city at the time, but he had to do that one with Ballard because he had started to ride for DC and Droors. So if I had to choose one  that would be it.

So to finish off  with the Olympics taking in skateboarding in their next round, do you see skateboarding moving even further away from the plaza vibe?

Josh: I dont

Mike: Nor do II mean theres good and bad aspects of it and you have to take the good with the bad, or vice versa. It will shed light on skating, but at the same time people will be in plazas, skate street and not give a shit about all that. I think there will always be those kids out there and I dont think that will ever change.

Josh: Heres my thing man; maybe Im tripping, but I think that there were more skaters that made more good money  pro skaters that made a good, living income  before all that shit even fucking existed. Before Monster and Red Bull and Nike, before that shit was even here and it was just ma and pa skate shops, skaters made better money. Skate shops were thriving betterhow long is it gunna take before these motherfuckers figure this shit out? Think about it

Mike: Well there were fewer skaters toofewer everything.

Josh: And there were fewer skaters! The hard goods were kicking ass, shoes were kicking ass, you had skaters buying cars and houses  were talking the late 90s, early 2000s. Then as soon as the big corporate money came inhow the fuck did that come in? Then the skaters made less money, skateboard companies started going out of business, skate shops started going out of business, what the fuck happened?!

So the Olympics is coming in, maybe its just gunna completely kill a huge side of skatingthen real skating can come back, you know?

Mike: Well I do think that theres a huge group of kids who just wont be about that, know what I mean? Theres dudes like Wes, Wes will never be in the Olympics [laughs].

Josh: I dunno, Wes could be in the Olympics dude

Mike: Maybe we can bet on that one right now? Im pretty sure he will not, Im pretty sure hell be driving his mums Volvo still, not wanting anything to do with it.

Josh: Nah, hes secretly stacking chips! [Laughs]. I mean Ill watch it for sure

Mike: Yeah Ill be watching it just out of curiosity, but I want to see the first fool who walks out in a goddamn uniform, like a Ralph Lauren Olympics uniform!

Blades of Glory, peacock style

Mike: Exactly, its going to be insane!

Josh: We should go and heckle everybody I just want to go and see who gets kicked out for having weed in their system.

Mike: Its going to be just two dudes left, competing against each other
Our sincerest sympathies to all of Andy Williams family and to his many friends across the global skateboarding community.

Andy passed away earlier this month  anyone wanting to pay their respects, or to share memories of him, should direct themselves to the Facebook page set up in his memory.

Anyone who was on the skateboarding scene from the early 80s through the 1990s will remember Andy as a trail-blazing skateboarder who traveled the UK and Europe, and as somebody who always had a smile on his face.

Andys funeral service will be taking place on March 15th at 11.30am at Narberth Crematorium, Pembrokeshire, followed by a wake at Narberth Rugby Club. All of those people out there who knew Andy are invited to come to the service to pay their respects.

Rest in peace mate.

All photos courtesy of Kevin Banks
Your companys supply chain covers everything from ordering and storing raw materials to managing your finished inventory to fulfilling orders and ensuring they get to the buying customer safe and sound. With so many different steps in the supply chain process, it can become overwhelming to manage.

If youre not properly overseeing your supply chain, costs can begin to inflate. Without clear systems, processes and budgets, you may easily find yourself spending way too much money on your supply chain and logistics.

Cutting your supply chain costs may actually be easier than you think. If you feel like youre overspending in your logistics department or you just want to save your business as much money as possible, here are a few smart cost-cutting ideas you should try.

How to Save Money on Logistics

Create a Detailed Timeline

Last-minute decisions can lead to mistakes, missed opportunities and high costs. If you dont have a clear plan of when items should be produced, shipped and delivered to your customers, youre likely to take on some unnecessary costs before the shipment is completed.

Create a detailed timeline that follows each and every product from start to finish. Know how long your products will take to manufacture, when an item will need to be shipped to be delivered on time and what you can do to reduce those costs. If you take the time to consider the small changes you can make in your timeline, you can free up ample room in your budget.

Use a Multitasking Supplier

Your suppliers are a major part of your businesss success. But if youre buying different items from suppliers all over town, you can run into additional costs. When there are too many areas you need to collect supplies from, your supply chain becomes longer, you have longer lead times and you will end up paying more.

Work with suppliers who can provide you with multiple things you need. Companies with multiple capabilities can help you reduce time and can even save your company money. Multitasking suppliers can also reduce the chance of mistakes and eliminate additional supply transportation costs.

Have a Backup Plan

While you will want suppliers who can provide you with the majority of what you need to create your product, you dont want to have all your supplies coming from one location. If your supplier does not have any competition, they may want to jack up their prices, knowing it could be more of a hassle for you to find a new supplier.

Having multiple suppliers can also ensure your business runs smoothly if there is ever an issue between you and one party. If you have multiple suppliers, your production wont stop if one goes out of business, you cant come to an agreement or they raise their prices outside of your budget.

Run a Lean Operation

A company is lean when they do not have frivolous or unnecessary additions to their processes. For supply chain, a lean operation includes operating at full capacity, keeping little raw material sitting in inventory and properly forecasting future purchases and demand. While a lean operation is not always easy to run, it can save your company a decent amount of change.

To start, look at where your company could be more efficient. Are you frequently sending out half-empty shipments? Are your facilities or storage units underutilized? Cut back on the things you dont need and rearrange items or processes until youre making the most of your space and assets.

Only Use One Platform

Instead of using multiple platforms to perform different tasks, keep all your information, needs and product details in one place. Be sure this platform is accessible to anyone who may need the information.

Operating on just one platform can reduce mistakes, missing information or duplicate activities. When you have fewer platforms to flip between, there is a smaller chance of an order going missing, getting sent to the wrong location or being forgotten. If you have fewer mistakes, youll save time, money and headaches for your employees.

Consistently Review Your Demand Needs

No matter how long youve been in business, your demand will probably change from time to time. Certain seasons or years may be busier for you while other times may bring you fewer orders. If youre operating on the same supply chain plan all year round or from year to year, youre probably wasting a good chunk of money.

You should be doing research on your demand consistently throughout the year. Make adjustments to your supply chain periodically throughout the year to reflect your research. Track your projections and your actual orders until you have a better idea of what your demand looks like.

Consider Outsourcing

While outsourcing your supply chain management would mean another expense for your business, it may actually help you become more efficient and make more money. For smaller businesses that may not have the funds to keep a full supply chain team in-house, outsourcing logistics can take the stress off your shoulders and give the work to a professional.

Outsourcing your supply chain management can also reduce the number of mistakes your company experiences during the fulfillment or shipping process, saving you precious time and money. If you feel like supply chain is something you just dont have time to master, consider outsourcing at least a part of it.

If youre not paying close attention to your supply chain, it can easily get out of control. The more mistakes you make, the more money you need to pay to keep your customers happy and ensure theyre getting the products theyve purchased.

Getting smart about your supply chain is one of the best ways to reduce costs and improve your efficiency. With these tips, theres no reason you should still be struggling to streamline your supply chain process.

Republished by permission. Original here.

See Also: How to Turn Your Customer Complaints into Business Benefits
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
Graduates from medical and technical schools top the list of students moving abroad. But family ties is a strong factor for returning back.

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More information about the Slovak labour market Please see our Career & Employment Guide. This years edition was published also thanks to support from the general partner of the guide, the executive search firm - Amrop.

Veronika Hajdukova graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in her hometown of Kosice, but lives and works in Prague.

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I decided to leave because of more job offers in my and also my husbands specialisations and also salary conditions, she told The Slovak Spectator. She and her husband are not planning to return.

Hajdukova, who is now 27 years old, is one of about 300,000 people who have left Slovakia in the past 15 years. This number comes from an analysis published by the Institute of Financial Policy (IFP), which runs under the Finance Ministry. More than half of those who have left are under 30 years old.

Who leaves Slovakia?

The analysis is based on estimates of the registers kept by health insurance companies. In Slovakia, health insurance is compulsory but those who leave the country usually de-register with their insurers. As a result, it is more accurate than basing the statistics on changes in permanent residency, according to its authors.

It is a very useful overview about Slovaks who live abroad over a long period, Miloslav Bahna of the Institute of Sociology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences told The Slovak Spectator.

The analysis shows that people who are unemployed and single are more likely to seek work abroad. Moreover, the majority of people leave the districts situated in north-eastern Slovakia. Between the years 2005 and 2015, Snina lost the most inhabitants  more than 6.5 percent of its population. In second place was the district of Humenne (6.3 percent), followed by Medzilaborce (5.8 percent).

On the other hand, less than 2 percent left the districts of Komarno, Senec, Malacky, Pezinok and Kysucke Nove Mesto over the same period.

The analysis also suggests that every tenth university graduate moved abroad between 2010 and 2013, which means that every year the state lost some 44.8 million it had invested into their education.

Medical and technical school graduates lead the way

Graduates from medical and technical schools top the list of students moving abroad, according to the analysis. From among the top 10 schools listed by the IFP, five are medical faculties, while three are technical specialisations. The highest rates of brain drain were reported by the Comenius Universitys faculties of medicine in Bratislava and Martin, and the Faculty of Aeronautics at the Technical University of Kosice.

These occupations have much better working and salary conditions abroad, Robert Chovanculiak, analyst with the economic think tank Institute for Economic and Social Studies (INESS), told The Slovak Spectator.

(Source: Institute of Financial Policy)

Bahna recalls that the fight for experts is a global phenomenon. In the medical sector, for example, the hospitals situated in former eastern Germany hunt for experts. A similar situation can be found in IT and other attractive professions, he explained.

These people are then replaced mostly by Ukrainians and Serbians, says Peter Kremsky, executive director of the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS). Money, however, may not be the only reason for moving abroad.

24-year-old Marian Rusnak from Presov, for example, wanted to gain new experiences. A graduate from the Faculty of Informatics at the Masaryk University in Brno, he currently works in London as a software engineer.

I am often asked whether I couldnt find a job in Slovakia, Rusnak told The Slovak Spectator. I could and I even have one, alongside my London job. But the foreign experience is priceless.

For Zuzana Samaj, a 28-year-old graduate from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, the reason was her husband. When they met, he had already been working in London. When deciding on a place to live, they chose London because there were more job opportunities, she said.

Problems with an ageing population

Over the last 15 years, brain drain was at its peak in 2004 and 2005, i.e. when Slovakia accessed the European Union. During that time, about 200,000 people left the country.

The departures, however, increase the risks linked to the demographic crisis. Slovakia will become the country with the highest ageing population in the EU, according to the Eurostat estimates.

While currently there are 19 people aged 65 and above per 100 Slovaks of a productive age, in 2040 the number of elderly people is expected to increase to nearly 40 people per 100 of a productive age. Yet this is a rather optimistic prediction. If the labour force continues moving abroad, the number of elderly people may be as high as 43 per 100 Slovaks of a productive age, the analysis suggests.

Analysts addressed by The Slovak Spectator also warn about the risks ageing poses. The country is left with people who show little initiative, are not very capable or teachable and they often lack the motivation to grow and improve, according to Kremsky.

The country is losing its elites, which isnt good for it, Kremsky told The Slovak Spectator. It may harm its operation in the future, and support the growth of extremism and emotional solutions during crisis.

Returns questioned

The IFP study suggests that about half of those who left between 2000 and 2012 returned before 2015. Many people who study and work abroad, however, decide to stay there. This has also been proved by a PAS survey carried out in 2015, in which as much as 70 percent of its respondents said they do not plan to return to Slovakia.

The Education Ministry has meanwhile launched a programme aimed at luring experts back to Slovakia. If they find a job in state administration, they may receive a financial contribution: 10,000 for graduates from foreign universities and 50,000 for experts with at least 10 years of experience in the field.

The ministry has already approved the return of eight experts from abroad within the scheme, and considers utilising the programme in the future, as well.

Chovanculiak, however, says that under the current conditions, with underfinanced and generally weak research facilities in Slovakia, there is only a small chance of attracting somebody with higher ambitions in the field.

Bahna also says that the state has limited possibilities when luring young people back. The state should instead make it easier for foreigners from neighbouring countries to access the Slovak labour market.

The state should also motivate universities to actively search for students abroad for not only paid, but also free studies here, he added.

Family draws Slovaks back

The PAS survey revealed that the highest share of people want to return to Slovakia for family reasons. Also Samaj admits that she and her husband (also Slovak) are drawn back mostly by their families and friends. However, she cannot say now when exactly they will return.

I would welcome the business environment to improve, she said when asked what would persuade her to return.

Rusnak also wants to return, saying he feels good here mostly thanks to his family, friends and other people he usually meets with.

Of course, Slovakia is not perfect, but no country is, he said, adding that though many people think it is better abroad, that is not necessarily true.

Samaj appreciates several initiatives currently underway in Slovakia, like the Green Watch run by activist Matus Cupka, Slovensko. Digital or Leaf, about which there should be at least as much reporting as the ongoing scandals.

It is necessary to send positive examples abroad that the situation is improving in Slovakia thanks to the initiative of its people, she adds.
The corporate income tax dropped from 22 percent to 21 percent.

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The taxes paid by companies in Slovakia will be lower thanks to an amendment to the law on income tax which came into force on January 1, 2017.

Under the new rules, the corporate income tax dropped from 22 percent to 21 percent. Moreover, health insurance contributions from dividends were scrapped and replaced with a 7-percent tax, the TASR newswire reported.

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As a result, companies will pay less.

The aim of the change is to improve the business environment and increase the motivation to pay taxes, the Finance Ministry explained, as quoted by TASR.

Regarding dividends, the ministry originally proposed a rate of 15 percent, while employers wanted it to amount to 5 percent. Eventually, the ministry set it to 7 percent. It also abolished the retroactive taxation of dividends, which had been heavily criticised by employers.

The amendment also increases the cap for lump-sum allowances for the self-employed. In line with the new rules, they will be able to claim flat-rate expenditures comprising up to 60 percent of total costs, with the maximum amount set to 20,000 annually.

The changes also concern the tax licences which will be scrapped as of January 1, 2018. Moreover, the amendment defines the controlled transaction regarding rental of property between siblings, or parents and their children, TASR reported.

The amendment should also secure legal certainty in the field of transfer appreciation. It defined the term controlled transaction, and also specified the primary adjustment of the tax base.

While the sanctions for taxpayers deliberately avoiding tax duties increased, the sanctions for those who pay fines on time dropped.

The measures are aimed at fighting tax evasion, TASR reported.
Bratislava city transport company is upgrading its ticket machines at the most frequented places in the capital.

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Citizens and visitors of Bratislava will now be able to buy tickets for public transport from ticket machines by using contactless bank cards. Firstly the Bratislava Transport Company (DPB) will update 15 of its machines and later this year an additional 35, the company informed on its website.

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We want passengers to have as much comfort as possible, said Milan Urban, CEO of DPB. We believe that this service of purchasing single tickets via contactless payment card will contribute to this.

DPB is already testing such a machine at the Slavicie Udolie stop. Machines at the Botanicka Zahrada and the Main Station will follow. In total there will be four such machines at the Main Railway station.

The city transport company promises to upgrade the first 15 machines enabling contactless payment for tickets by the end of March. The remaining nine will be located at the stops: Patronka (going to the centre), Panonska (Petrzalka railway station), Cintorinska, Betliarska-Lubovnianska, Pekna Cesta, Vajnorska  Ceska, Danube, Novy Most, Predstanicne Namestie Square, and Aupark (going to the centre).

Already these machines are marked with a label saying that at these places people will be able to buy tickets without cash.

The upgrade of the remaining ticket machines will follow during the next few years, depending on availability of funds.
The idea of cancelling the so-called Meciar amnesties got so high-profile and much discussed that it provoked their author to make a public appearance after many years.

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Long-time chairman of the HZDS party and former prime minister Vladimir Meciar had a discussion on the TV political show Topic of the Day, on news TV channel TA3 on the evening of March 7, with the head of the coalition party Most-Hid, Bela Bugar.

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The TV channel decided on Bugar as the ex-PMs opponent, since he is one of a few current politicians who was in parliament when Meciar granted his amnesties.

The last time the HZDS chairman was seen in public was at the funeral of his long-time party colleague Marian Augustin Huska last year, the Sme daily wrote. However, he refused to discuss political topics.

The announced talk show attracted dozens of people who felt the urge to show discontent with what happened back in the 1990s and share grievances against Meciar. Police were also summoned  as a preventive measure  but did not have to intervene. Some opposition MPs also appeared. Listening to the debate on mobile phones, people shook their heads and called him a liar.

While Bugar said he would insist on the cancellation of the amnesties dating back to the late 1990s, Meciar, who through them definitively prevented any investigation and prosecution of all crimes connected with the abduction of the son of then president Michal Kovac to Austria, was clam and insisted on not abolishing them. The Constitutional Court said they were non-cancellable and parliament has no competence to cancel amnesties, Meciar said, as quoted by Sme. He added they could end up at the European Court of Justice  but he would not file the motion. I do not have to; there are people here who mind the legal status of his country, he explained. Meciar also attacked the witness of the abduction, Oskar Fegyveres, for receving money for his part in the act; as well as the late president Michal Kovac who allegedly knew about what was going to happen in advance.

Bugar opposed him, opining that there is a way to cancel them. After the debate, Bugar summed it up: I know him, Meciar has not changed. But it made sense [to arrange for the debate], as at least people who did not live then got a bit of an overview of what happened at that time. He added he would try to persuade his coalition partners to support abolishing the amnesties: Ten votes are enough, and we have the necessary 90, Bugar said. I will keep persuading them.
It has been a year since the elections that brought many new elements into Slovak politics: extremists in parliament, a centre-right party ruling the country with Smer.

Andrej Danko (left) and Bela Bugar are on friendly terms. One year ago, SNS and Most-Hid were unlikely partners. (Source: TASR)

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March 5 marked one year since the 2016 parliamentary elections that dramatically changed the Slovak political landscape.

The parliaments door opened to far right Peoples Party - Our Slovakia (LSNS) and anti-system and anti-migrant Sme Rodina party, while the Christian Democrats (KDH), one of the major mainstream parties in Slovakia since the very emergence of the state, was left out in the cold. Smer scored much lower than it was expected to, as did the now extinct Siet that in the scope of perhaps six months went from the most hopeful newcomer to the smallest coalition party and then to naught.

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The ruling coalition itself came as a surprise to many. Smer, Slovak National Party (SNS), Most-Hid, and Siet made up an improbable union, which remains a source of disappointment mostly for the voters of the latter two. When Siet fell apart, the coalition agreement was rewritten in August. Since then, Slovakia has a coalition of three parties which, with some minor quakes, seems to be a relatively stable element.

More radical

Most-Hid (and Siet) explained their decision to join the government with Smer to build a dam against extremism. Observers, label this the raison detre of the current government. And while the sole fact that the government emerged and still holds together is a dam to some extent, because early elections would definitely play into the hands of extremists, analysts are very sceptical when it comes to actual measures or steps taken to prevent extremism from spreading further.

As of 2017, Slovakia has stricter legislation against hate and extremism-motivated crimes. But the fact is that one year after the elections, the far right LSNS, which entered the parliament with 8 percent of the vote, now polls around 10 percent (the February poll of the Focus polling agency).

The success of LSNS is mainly due to its ability to attract protest voters who, however, might not share many of its far right attitudes at all, political analyst Peter Spac from the Masaryk University in Brno told The Slovak Spectator. The reason why the party increased its support among voters can be traced to the factors that led to its success one year ago: the poor quality of public service, corruption, the economic situation in some regions, and also the perceived arrogance of power.

Milan Mazurek, now an MP, at a protest against Islamisation. (Source: YouTube)

Political analyst Grigorij Meseznikov of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) however notes that LSNS was never an instant use party and it was going to take some time for its support to drop.

There are factors that nourish the support of these parties not only in Slovakia but also elsewhere in Europe, Meseznikov told The Slovak Spectator and added that it is now part of the agenda of every mainstream party to distance themselves from extremism.

Anita Vilagi from Comenius Universitys school of political science sees that LSNS in the parliament has influenced not only the work of the parliament, but also the general discourse in the country towards the radical.

Many statements that would previously have been considered unacceptable because they are offensive to some groups or individuals living in this society, are today part of the political debate also among politicians who are not from LSNS, Vilagi observed.

Dam against extremism

The dam against extremism is a very nice and presentable metaphor, according to Marek Rybar from the Masaryk University in Brno.

But I do not see any measures directed at the prevention of a further rise of extremists, Rybar told The Slovak Spectator.

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On the contrary, Spac gives the example of the amended rules for regional elections, where the government changed the two-round voting system for regional governors into one round only, disregarding experts' recommendations that a two-round election weakens the chances of marginal parties for success.

Now the coalition parties say they want to join forces in some regions with the opposition to lower the chances of LSNS candidates, which Spac considers a paradox.

If the government wanted to keep its official creed about the dam it would never have changed the election system, Spac said.

Basternak decreases influence of Kalinak

The first year of the third government of Robert Fico was marked in particular by the so-called Basternak scandal, pertaining to the excessive VAT refunds granted to businessman Ladislav Basternak who bought and sold seven apartments in the Five Star Residence complex built by tycoon Marian Kocner. Interior Minister Robert Kalinak has been linked with the case.

Rybar believes the scandal to be the key event of the governments first year.

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The scandal seems to have eliminated the influence of Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, Rybar said and added that it also gave grounds for criticism to the opposition and shed some light on the coalition partners of Smer who have to cope with the fact that such an important thing has not been concluded or solved.

(Source: SITA)

The Basternak case and the non-reaction of the ruling politicians are also behind the previously mentioned radicalisation of the people in Slovakia and their tendency to vote for LSNS, Vilagi noted.

Presidency, Brexit, anti-shell law

While the government has been slow to make changes or take action, which observers admit was due to Slovakias presidency over the EU Council in the second half of 2016, analysts point to the Justice Ministry as the place where key laws have originated. They particularly single out the so-called anti-shell law.

It is one of the few concrete steps that could help in the fight against corruption, Vilagi said.

Slovakias EU presidency was absolutely key in the first year after the elections and influenced politics and government. Rybar calls it a socialisation experience.

It was the first time the Slovak ruling politicians and the whole administration fully felt the burden that the work of the EU entails, Rybar said.

Political landscape one year on

The results of the elections and particularly the formation of the current government dramatically changed Slovak politics. When Most-Hid and Siet agreed to join the coalition, they broke the barrier that existed up until then concerning the non-cooperation between Smer and the centre right.

This means that in the future we should also count on having a greater number of patterns of possible ruling formations, Spac said.

(Source: TASR)

Yet changes have also occurred within the coalition and even within the parties: the Basternak case led to the end of Kalinak as the possible replacement for Fico; and the more recent case when it transpired that SNS leader Andrej Danko was made captain of the Slovak army in reserve seems to have halted the prime-ministerial ambitions of Danko and the rise of SNS at the expense of Smer, Spac noted.

The opposition has had a turbulent time in the first year. Richard Sulik, the leader of the strongest opposition party SaS, is in the European Parliament for the most part. Daniel Lipsic, one of the key figures of the OLaNO-NOVA caucus, left politics altogether after a tragic car accident. More recently, both SaS and OLaNO saw departures from their caucuses, and currently they have 37 MPs altogether. The rest of the parliament are anti-system Sme Rodina, extremists from LSNS, and a few independent MPs.

There is no relevant alternative among the opposition, if viewed through the parliamentary arithmetics, Vilagi said.

Besides, the opposition too needs to cope with the fact that one of their own is now part of the coalition with Smer.

Its a completely new situation for the parties in the opposition, but also for the whole political scene, Rybar noted.

Radka Minarechova contributed to this report.
After skirmishes and negotiations, opposition parties signed an agreement on cooperation in the regional elections.

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The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO-NOVA) on March 7th, signed an agreement to join forces in all eight regions of Slovakia for the regional elections due to take place in the autumn.

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Party chairmen Richard Sulik (SaS) and Igor Matovic (OLaNO-NOVA) announced that they have agreed to back SaS candidates for governors in the Bratislava Region (Juraj Droba), the Trencin Region (Renata Kascakova) and the Banska Bystrica Region (Martin Klus).

Meanwhile, the parties will evenly divide the number of candidates for the regional parliaments of each region.

Our parties received almost one quarter of all the valid votes in [last years general] election, so its only responsible to become the core of an alternative to irresponsibility, represented in the regions mainly by Smer, said Sulik, as quoted by the SITA newswire.

Matovic, for his part, called on the ethnic-Hungarian SMK and the Christian Democrats (KDH) to join the bloc, as a move aimed at uniting the democratic opposition.

We only rule out cooperation with Smer and Peoples Party Our Slovakia (Kotleba-LSNS), said Matovic, adding that OLaNO MPs Jozef Viskupic and Erika Jurinova are considering running for the posts of governor of the Trnava and Zilina regions, respectively.

Even if more partiees joined an election coalition, SaS and OLaNO would stay united and proceed in a coordinated fashion, the Sme daily wrote.
The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) is conducting a raid at several companies involved in the completion of the nuclear power plant in Mochovce (EMO).

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The raid by this special team took place on March 8th, at several suppliers in the counties of Kosice and Presov  in eastern Slovakia, the website WebNoviny.sk wrote on that day.

The Italian company Enel, still in charge of the completion of two nuclear units of Mochovce, last summer sold half of its 66 percent stake in Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) electric power utility to the Czech energy group EPH. The Italian investor now wishes to sell the remaining 33 percent stake but it will only be allowed to do so after the ultimate completion and commissioning of the two nuclear units, the SITA newswire wrote.

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SE officially launched the completion of Mochovce on November 3, 2008. The Slovak dominant power producer officially signed contracts with the main suppliers of the Mochovce project, the Czech Skoda Jaderne Strojirenstvi, Russian Atomstroyexport [no longer part of the project], the Slovak companies VUJE, Enseco, Inzinierske Stavby Kosice and the Italian Enel Ingegneria & Innovazione in early June 2009.

The new nuclear blocks will each have an installed output of 471 MW, which represents approximately 13 percent of Slovakias electricity consumption, the website reiterates.

The SE denied any raid on that day, stating (as cited by Sme daily) In the premises of Slovenske elektrarne, no raid or any other police operation, is taking place.
A new frog species, detected from Perus Andean forests is named after famous British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. In the past years, large numbers of living and vanished wildlife genus, including some species of reptiles, invertebrates, mammals, and plants have been named after Sir David Attenborough  the celebrated British broadcaster and naturalist. However, in a one-of-its-kind attempt, a new species, belong to flesh belly frog has been named after the famous naturalist and host of the Life series of BBC Natural History.

According to the detailed paper, published in journal ZooKeys, the scientific name of the new frog genus is Pristimantis attenboroughi. However, it will be commonly recognised as the Attenboroughs rubber frog, an honourable tribute to world famous personality  David Attenborough. The frog was collaboratively discovered by Dr. Edgar Lehr, from the Illinois Wesleyan University and Dr. Rudolf von May from the University of Michigan from Andean Forest of Peru. During an explorative project, going on between 2012 and 2014, both researchers, alongside their team scrutinised the forests of central Peru to weigh up the preservation status of local reptiles and amphibians.

Sir David Attenborough

During this operation, they came across the never-before-seen, tiny frog in the forests of Peru and after going through its unusual characteristics, the researchers categorised it as a new frog species. Alongside the new one, the researcher also stumbled upon a number of new frog species during their two years of the explorative mission.

The presence of the Attenboroughs rubber frog is detected in a number of forestry areas across the Pui Pui Protected Forest, located at a height between 3400 and 3936 m a.s.l. in central Peru. As highlighted by the founders, the size of the adult male Attenboroughs rubber can go up to 14.6-19.2 mm in length, while the female frogs measure between 19.2 and 23.0 mm. It means the female frogs of this species are longer than their counterparts. Moreover, the colours of the frogs are recorded in four variants like pale, dark gray, reddish brown and brownish olive. The younger frogs from this genus are more bloodless  yellowish to reddish brown, said the lead author of the study.

According to the lead author of the study, We have dedicated the new frog species to honour Sir David Frederick Attenborough. As a tribute to his educational excellence and documentaries on wildlife, especially on amphibians like Life in Cold Blood, Fabulous Frogs, and to his initiatives to create awareness about the significance of wildlife conservation, we have recorded the new frog species after the name of him.
Policy

Website Ranks K12 Reading, Math Programs Under ESSA Standards

Image Credit: Evidence for ESSA.

A new website launched by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) offers insights into K12 reading and math programs. The website provides up-to-date and reliable information to help education leaders better understand how these programs compare under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

The Evidence for ESSA website uses [the] expertise and authority of the centers faculty, as well as scholarly studies, to determine an academic programs effectiveness under the new law, The Hub reported. It sorts through research databases, locating school-based, scientific studies and categorizes the programs that have been reliably and scientifically tested.

Math and reading platforms can be searched by elementary and middle/high school levels. For example, users can look up a math program specifically for the elementary school level to see whether it meets the new ESSA evidence standards. Programs are ranked using language found in the law  either strong, moderate or promising, depending on the quality of their ESSA alignment.

The results can be filtered by:

Grade level;

Programs designed for the whole class or struggling students;

Community type (rural, suburban, urban or not specified);

Ethnic group; and

An array of features, including cooperative learning, family engagement and more.

Director of the CRRE and School of Education Professor Robert Slavin told The Hub that the website functions as a consumer report of sorts, with an overall goal of helping state chiefs, district superintendents, principals and other education leaders determine how vigorously a program has been vetted.

"But there are many other people  parents and teachers, for example  who could use this information to advocate for particular programs that they think would be better for their kids. And we hope they will," Slavin said.

The Evidence for ESSA website is now live.
Market Trends

Virtual Schools Market in North America Expected to Grow 13% per Year Through 2021

The virtual schools market in North America is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of almost 13 percent from 2017 to 2021, according to a new report by market research firm Technavio.

The report states that Technavio analysts forecast the virtual schools market in North America to grow to more than 1 billion enrollments by 2021, though there are fewer than 1 billion people residing in the United States and Canada, the researched countries.

Technavio analysts provide the following three factors that are contributing to the growth of the virtual schools market in North America:

Increase in online content development and digitization;

Demand for cloud-based e-learning; and

Rise in custom learning methods.

The report notes that the target audiences for the virtual school concept are parents with hectic schedules, people with a high mobility career, and children of families that are unable to admit their kids into normal schooling due to various issues like lifestyle, place and time zone difficulties.

Furthermore, the availability of a number of courses and flexible timing options that is the core strength for virtual schools will also significantly boost the growth of the market.

E-learning course providers are creating and delivering content based on the availability of innovative new technological tools, which have become a crucial part of online education or training systems, said Jhansi Mary, one of the lead analysts at Technavio for education technology research, in a statement.

Some of the key vendors in the virtual schools market are:

Other prominent vendors include Abbotsford Virtual School, Alaska Virtual School, and Basehor-Linwood Virtual School.

The study provides a detailed industry analysis based on ownership  private education management organizations, or EMOS, and non-profit EMOS.

According to Technavios report, the virtual schools operated by private EMOS dominated the market in 2016, and are expected to grow more in the next five years. Factors such as advanced facilities, average student-teacher ratio, and the on-time graduation rate boost student enrollments in private EMOS.

The student-teacher ratio in private EMO virtual schools is around 40-to-1, when compared to U.S. public schools, which are approximately 16-to-1, the report said. Moreover, the on-time graduation rate in these full-time virtual schools is over 50 percent. This will attract parents to enroll their kids into private EMOS, further driving the growth of the market, Technavio said.

The 82-page report is priced at $3,500. To request a copy of the Technavio report, visit this Technavio site.
The family of a former FBI agent who went missing in Iran exactly ten years ago says theyre hopeful hes still alive and being held hostage. Robert Levinson disappeared from Kish island in 2007 while working on an unauthorised mission for the CIA. Some six years later, the Agency reportedly paid his family around 2.3 million euros to ensure details of his work in Iran were kept out of the courts. His wife, Christine, told Associated Press keeping his case in the public eye for a decade has been a challenge. If he is still being held hostage, he will have been held captive for longer than any other American in history. We believe people can survive for ten years under any circumstances, she said. In the worst places, people survive. We know Bob is alive. Trumps pledge During the last US election campaign the now-President Donald Trump vowed to bring him home. Christine Levinson is pushing for him to keep that pledge. Iran is responsible for Bob, she said, echoing the findings of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. They know where he is and what happened to him. Theyve had him for 10 years. And we need the United States government to meet with them and find out whats necessary to get Bob home. Im hoping that the Trump administration will be able to do that, she added. Christine Levinson and the family visited Tehran shortly after her husbands disappearance. Ahead of the Iran trip, he had been a private investigator and part-time consultant for the CIA. The FBI has offered a reward amounting to around 4.7 million euros for information on his whereabouts. Proof of life One video and a photo have emerged since Levinsons disappearance. The 2010 video showed him complaining of poor health. A Pashtun wedding song can be heard playing in the background. In 2011, a photo appeared of Levinson looking gaunt, bearded and with long hair. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit with a sign claiming he was being held in the US-run Guantanemo Bay prison. Do not forget Robert Levinson, being held hostage in Iran for 10 years. Come on POTUS let's see what you can do. Bring him home! pic.twitter.com/R9otmCe1cK Marc D Gonsalves (marc_gonsalves) February 1, 2017 Prisoner exchange and false leads Iran denies knowing anything about the circumstances surrounding Levinsons disappearance or his whereabouts. However, in 2010, the countrys then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told AP: Of course, if it becomes clear what his goal was, or if he was indeed on a mission, then perhaps specific assistance can be given. In 2016, under Barack Obamas presidency of the US, Iran released five American prisoners. The exchange was timed to coincide with the coming into effect of a major nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers. While Levinson was not among those released, the Obama administration accepted a promise from Iran to help locate his whereabouts. Days ago (March 5, 2017) the New York Times reported that the information Tehran provided led nowhere.
Protesters took to the streets of several Egyptian cities on March 7 after government cuts supply of subsidized bread. Protesters blocked roads and surrounded government buildings, local reports said.

The Egyptian supply minister Ali Moselhy said that the ministry had reduced the bread subsidy quota for bakeries in order to trim waste caused by the misuse and profiteering of bakery owners, according to Egyptian media. Credit: Facebook/Egypt Movement Office via Storyful
By Maria Sheahan and Ece Toksabay BERLIN/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign minister accused Germany on Wednesday of hostility towards his country and Islam, and Berlin complained of increased Turkish espionage on German soil as acrimony between the two NATO allies showed no sign of abating. Ankara is furious over the cancellation of several rallies by Turkish ministers in Germany, while Berlin has demanded the immediate release of a Turkish-German journalist detained on terrorism charges. Turkish ministers want to rally support among Germany's large ethnic Turkish community for President Tayyip Erdogan's bid to increase his powers in a referendum on April 16. Germany has said they can do so, provided they respect local laws, but has cancelled several rallies, citing security concerns. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was allowed to speak at a rally in Hamburg on Tuesday evening, but he remained very critical of Berlin's stance after talks in Berlin on Wednesday with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel. "In Germany we see many politicians and the press ... are very harsh and very anti-Turkey and we even see Islamophobic sentiment," Cavusoglu said during a visit to the ITB travel fair, where he also pressed Turkey's continued appeal as a tourist destination. Cavusoglu said Turkey wanted to remain friends with Germany but that it was for Berlin to decide and to act accordingly. He said Gabriel would soon visit Turkey and added that Germany had agreed to all necessary security measures if Erdogan visited Germany ahead of the referendum. German foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said no official request for an Erdogan visit had been received. NAZI COMPARISON Speaking at a separate event after his meeting with Cavusoglu, Gabriel tried to strike a conciliatory note, mindful that Germany needs Turkey's active cooperation in helping to slow the flow of migrants and refugees to Europe. "Whatever differences and arguments we have, there is no alternative to talks because (only) then is there a possibility of returning, step-by step, to normalised and friendly relations between Germany and Turkey," said Gabriel. But he also made clear that campaigning in Germany came with certain conditions, including respect for the "ground rules", and said comparisons with Nazi Germany overstepped the mark. Gabriel was referring to comments by Erdogan on Sunday in which he described the cancellation of some political rallies in Germany as "fascist actions" reminiscent of the Nazi era. Bilateral relations have soured significantly since last July's failed coup in Turkey, with Germany and other European countries criticising the scale of Erdogan's crackdown on suspected supporters of the coup. Berlin continued to press Ankara for consular access to Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel, whose arrest in Turkey has further strained ties in recent weeks, and for a fair judicial process, the foreign ministry said. The editor-in-chief of newspaper Die Welt, Yucel's employer, wrote an open full-page letter to Erdogan on Wednesday saying the current state of bilateral relations did not reflect what the two nations had in common. "You can change that. You of all people. Releasing Deniz Yucel would send a signal," Ulf Porschardt wrote in the letter, printed in both German and Turkish in the newspaper. Also on Wednesday, the German domestic intelligence agency BfV expressed concern about increased Turkish espionage in Germany and said internal Turkish divisions over Erdogan's referendum were playing out among ethnic Turks based in Germany. BfV chief Hans-Georg Maassen warned of "proxy fights" between supporters of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and right-wing Turkish nationalists on German streets. (Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Michelle Martin, and Reuters TV and Ankara and Istanbul bureaus; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Hungarys parliament has been heavily criticised for approving plans to detain asylum seekers in converted shipping containers placed in detention camps on its border. At present migrants can be held for up to four weeks if they are apprehended within five miles of the border, but the new rules remove the time limit and will apply countrywide. The measures were fiercely opposed by civil liberties groups and some socialist MPs but was nevertheless a vote was passed overwhelmingly by 138 votes to six with 22 abstentions. Support came from Prime Minister Viktor Orbans Fidesz party and the far-right Jobbik. The United Nations claims the changes breach EU law and the refugee convention. In practice, it means that every asylum-seeker, including children, will be detained in shipping containers surrounded by high razor wire fence at the border for extended periods of time. And (it) will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered, said UNHCR spokesperson Cecile Pouilly. The Hungarian government has stressed that any detained asylum seekers will be free to leave at any point, as long as they drop their claim and return to either Serbia or Croatia, the two countries through which refugees have mainly been arriving. In 2015 a total of 391,000 people arrived in Hungary illegally, according to government figures. Prime Minister Orban said at an oath-taking ceremony for border guards, or border-hunters as they are called by the government, that the arrival of migrants may have slowed but it had not ended. My ladies and gentlemen, the migration crisis will last until the root causes are dealt with. It will last until it is recognised everywhere that migration is the Trojan wooden horse of terrorism. In addition, Hungary is pressing ahead with a second electrified fence along the Serbian-Hungarian border.The new barrier, stretching for nearly 150km, will enable the frontier to be monitored using CCTV and thermal cameras.
By Samia Errazzouki RABAT (Reuters) - Public spending in Morocco is being put at risk by the country's inability to form a government nearly five months after elections, opposition lawmakers said. The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which led the last coalition government, increased its share of parliamentary seats at October's election. But it fell out with its former government partner, the conservative Istiqlal party, over economic reforms, and has been unable to strike a new deal. The 2017 budget, which should have been approved by parliament by the end of 2016, cannot be passed until a government is in place. "There are already complaints about funds not being allocated in certain branches of the public sector," Nourdin Moudian, head of Istiqlal's parliamentary group, told Reuters. "It is the Moroccan people who will ultimately suffer the most from this delay." A government source said that while the political deadlock had "slowed things down", it would not would stop the state functioning because in the absence of a budget approved by parliament there are decrees that allow for ministries to work. The PJD first came to power in 2011 after "Arab Spring" protests prompted King Mohammed VI to call a referendum on constitutional reform, granting more powers to the elected government. The king re-appointed PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane prime minister after the election but his talks with Aziz Akhannouch, leader of the center-right National Rally of Independence (RNI) and a friend of the king, have stalled. RNI has been trying to impose a bloc of four minor parties into the coalition, which would weaken the Islamists' sway. "Our position on the government is clear ... We want a powerful government," Akhannouch told a party conference, justifying his insistence on including the minor parties, particularly the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP). In January, USFP member Habib El Malki was elected parliament chief, despite the party coming sixth in the election with just 20 out of 395 seats in parliament. But Prime Minister Benkarine has ruled out the USFP joining the government. "Enough. You won 20 seats and the parliamentary presidency? That's enough," Benkirane said in remarks to PJD members last month. Issandr El Amrani, director of International Crisis Groups North Africa project, said since 2011 there had been a backlash against Islamist parties and, although still popular among a large minority of Moroccans, the PJD is weaker now. "The PJD is in a less of a strong position than it was in 2011 and the palace has more cards to push for its dilution, he said. While the palace says it maintains equal distance from all parties and does not interfere, local media have speculated over a possible royal intervention to help form a new government. "It's not a royal intervention, but the prime minister will present a report to the king," Slimane Amrani, PJD vice-secretary general, told Reuters when asked about the party's position on the deadlock. (Editing by Patrick Markey and Robin Pomeroy)
By Lidia Kelly and Gabriela Baczynska WARSAW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Poland's euroskeptic government urged other EU states on Wednesday not to reappoint Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, as chairman of the European Council, saying it would further damage the fragile unity of the bloc. But diplomats said European Union leaders were virtually certain to extend Tusk's mandate by a further 30 months when they meet on Thursday in Brussels. The European Council groups the EU's 28 national leaders. Poland's ruling right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) accuses Tusk, a soft-spoken centrist, of overstepping his mandate by, for example, criticizing the Warsaw government during its standoff with the opposition over media freedom. Tusk and PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski are also long-standing bitter rivals in Polish politics. "We cannot allow the creation of such a dangerous precedent whereby a democratically-elected government in a member state comes under political attack from the president of the European Council," Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said in a letter to the other EU leaders. Tusk dismissed the accusation of political bias in his current job, though he said he also had a responsibility as Council chair to defend European values. The EU has accused the PiS government of undermining Polish democracy. "I am, and I should be also in the future, impartial and politically neutral versus all 28 member states," Tusk told reporters on Wednesday. "LARGE SUPPORT" FOR TUSK Poland hopes to be able to delay a decision on Tusk beyond Thursday, potentially opening the way to horse-trading and agreement on another candidate, diplomats say. Last week Warsaw proposed a Polish member of the European Parliament, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, to replace Tusk. But EU diplomats said Tusk's reappointment was virtually guaranteed, noting that the bloc had enough problems already, including Brexit, the migration crisis, an assertive Russia and the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump. "The renewal of Tusk's mandate has very large support," said one senior EU diplomat. Tusk is seen as a safe pair of hands and has earned respect with his smooth handling of issues such as Britain's shock vote last summer to leave the EU. As Council president he is expected to play a key role in the looming Brexit negotiations. Joseph Muscat, prime minister of Malta, current president of the EU, will oversee Thursday's discussion on extending Tusk's mandate and a simple majority will be enough to re-elect him. The enmity between Tusk and Kaczynski, who both began their political careers during the underground struggle against communism in Poland, goes back many years. Kaczynski holds Tusk "morally responsible" for the death of his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, in a plane crash in Russia in 2010, when Tusk was prime minister. Polish and Russian investigations blamed pilot error. (Additional reporting by Robin Emmott, Alastair Macdonald, Jan Strupczewski, Robert-Jan Bartunek and Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Gareth Jones)
One of New Mexicos most well-known experts on Southwestern cuisines has released her first book in more than a decade.

Corrales resident Jane Butel has spent years perfecting her recipes and cooking techniques. She calls her newest book, Simply Southwestern, an example of fusion

cooking, which is using traditional ingredients in a nontraditional way or using old traditions with new ingredients. In addition to entrees, the book has recipes for drinks, breads, soups, sauces, salads and desserts.

Many of the books more than 200 recipes are traditional dishes with a Southwestern twist, such as green chile cheddar biscuits, green chile sourdough bread, lamb shanks that are cooked with chipotle chile powder and spicy fresh roasted ham. Butel said 95 percent of the recipes are also brand new and the book includes vegan and vegetarian dishes.

This is her 23rd cookbook.

The tradition of sharing recipes goes back to Butels grandmother. Her grandmother decided while attending college in the early 1900s that she wanted to become a doctor, just like her father, which was Butels great-grandfather.

Her father said Oh no. Thats not a fit career for a woman. I wont pay for that education,' Butel said. So she decided to study what they called domestic science.

Butels grandmother eventually ended up in Albuquerque with her husband, who worked for the railroad. She began helping local women create written recipes for the traditional dishes they were making for their families. She also had an uncle who married a Mexican woman who had attended cooking school in Paris.

She was a big influence on me, she said. She liked to do things so elegantly.

Butels publisher, Turner Publishing Co., has also revised and re-released seven of her previous cookbooks, including Hotter than Hell and Southwestern Kitchen, which Butel uses as the basis for her cooking school.

Butel said she once had two brothers travel all the way from Japan to attend one of her cooking classes in New York City. When she asked them why they selected her, they said it was because her recipes were easy to understand.

I believe in fresh ingredients, she said. I also believe in using as few ingredients as possible. Keep it simple.

GREEN CHILE CHEDDAR BISCUITS

Makes 24 biscuits

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

 teaspoon salt

 teaspoon baking soda

 cup ( stick) unsalted butter or margarine, melted

 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2-4 tablespoons parched and chopped green chile, to taste

2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in the cheese, green chile and buttermilk to make a soft dough.

Turn out dough onto a floured board and knead lightly 7 or 8 times, just until smooth. Roll to about -inch thickness and cut into rounds with a 1-inch-round cutter. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 12 minutes, or until light golden. Serve immediately.

 From Jane Butels Simply Southwestern
BILOXI, Miss.  The Latest on a train-bus crash in Biloxi, Mississippi (all times local):

8 p.m.

A bus hit by a train in Mississippi  killing four people  was carrying people on a trip organized by a Texas senior center.

A flier for the tour says some passengers boarded Sunday in Austin, Texas, and others boarded about 30 miles east in Bastrop, Texas. Bastrop Senior Center President Barbara Adkins tells Texas media that 22 of the tourists were members, who describes as family.

The tour group was transferring Tuesday from a casino in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to one farther east in Biloxi. Travelers were scheduled to visit New Orleans later and return home Saturday.

In 2013, a bus with passengers from the Bastrop Senior Center hit a pickup truck in southwest Louisiana on another casino trip. Of the 46 people on that trip, 12 were taken to a hospital, mostly with minor injuries.

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7:30 p.m.

At least one witness to a bus-train crash in Biloxi says the railroad crossing there poses a problem for vehicles because of a steep climb on each side to get over an embankment.

Mark Robinson tells the Sun Herald of Biloxi on Tuesday that many vehicles have gotten stuck at the crossing.

Federal records show 16 accidents have occurred at the crossing since 1976. Accidents in 1983 and 2003 each involved one fatality. A delivery truck was struck at the same crossing in January, WLOX-TV reports. No one was injured in that crash.

The Main Street crossing has warning lights, bells, a crossing arm and a sign warning of low clearance.

The city announced last month that it and railroad CSX Transportation have agreed to close six of Biloxis 29 crossings, citing in part vehicles that get stuck on inclines. The Main Street crossing wasnt marked for closure.

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The company that owns the tour bus involved in a Biloxi crash that killed four people and injured dozens has a satisfactory safety rating from a federal agency.

Over the past two years, Echo Transportation only had one injury-causing crash and no fatalities, according to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Five other crashes resulted in tows.

Only two of the companys 113 vehicle inspections resulted in a bus being taken out of service.

Safety records show Echo based in Dallas, while corporation records list a mailing address in nearby Grand Prairie. Elisa Fox, a lawyer for the company, says its mobilizing to assess the situation.

Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokesman Duane DeBruyne says the agency will help inspect the bus and investigate the drivers record.

The National Transportation Safety Board says its sending investigators Wednesday.

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6:45 p.m.

A city official says authorities are raising the death toll in a bus-train crash to four.

Officials initially said four people died in the Tuesday crash and then revised it down to three. But Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city of Biloxi, now says after consulting with the coroners office that they can confirm that four were killed in the incident.

Creel emphasized that its a very fluid situation. He said  Any time you have a major incident like this, the information can change.

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An official says 48 passengers and a driver were on the bus hit by a train in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city, says a bus manifest had listed 50 passengers but two of them did not make the trip.

A freight train smashed into the charter bus Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks.

Michelle Crowley of the Biloxi fire department says 40 people were injured. Of those, seven were in critical condition.

Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney says rescuers needed one hour and four minutes to clear everyone from the wreckage. Two people had to be cut out of the bus.

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6 p.m.

Authorities are lowering the death toll in a bus-train crash in Biloxi, Mississippi. Fire Chief Joe Boney says three people died and 35 people were injured and taken to area hospitals after Tuesdays crash. Earlier Boney had said that four people died, three of them at the scene and a fourth after being taken from the scene. He did not immediately explain the discrepancy.

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5:55 p.m.

A woman who lives about a block from where a train and bus finally came to a stop after the train crashed into the bus says she heard a loud boom and knew immediately what had happened.

Cecelia McDonald says she ran out of her house and saw a scene of carnage.

A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving three people dead.

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4 p.m.

A spokesman for CSX Transportation says the freight train that hit a tour bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, was headed from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, at the time of the deadly crash. Gary Sease says the train had three locomotives and 52 cars. He says the train crew was not injured.

The bus belongs to Echo Transportation, a Grand Prairie, Texas-based company. A lawyer for the company said officials were mobilizing to respond, but he declined to comment further. Biloxi Police Chief John Miller has said that three people were killed after the train hit the charter bus Tuesday before 2:15 p.m. in the Mississippi Gulf Coast city.

He says the bus was carrying passengers from Austin, Texas, and appears to have been stopped on the tracks at the time of the crash. He says the bus had up to 50 people and that a majority of the other passengers were also injured.

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3:15 p.m.

A train has collided with a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries.

Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel says emergency responders were still removing injured people from the bus more than 30 minutes after the crash Tuesday.

Creel says a CSX train headed eastbound hit the bus at a crossing in downtown Biloxi just before 2:15 p.m., pushing the bus about 300 feet down the tracks.

He says a nearby hospital is setting up a triage unit at the site to treat the injured.

Creel says as many as 50 people were on the bus. He said there are deaths and injuries, but he could not immediately quantify them.

Charter buses often carry patrons to casinos in Biloxi, but Creel says he doesnt know where this bus was headed.
WASHINGTON  Members of Indian tribes from across the country began to arrive in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for four days of protests, prayer and demonstrations to assert their rights and raise awareness of issues affecting American Indians.

The Native Nations Rise movement will bring a tepee encampment along with speakers and cultural workshops to the Mall next to the Washington Monument. An interfaith service is planned for Thursday at Washington National Cathedral, and the weeks events will culminate Friday morning with a march on the White House and a rally at Lafayette Square.

The march, which is being led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Indigenous Environmental Network and the Native Organizers Alliance, follows a years-long battle by the Standing Rock Sioux and environmentalists against construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. Protests against the pipeline last year drew Indians from hundreds of tribes to the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota and sparked a resurgence of the indigenous rights movement.

The tribe had opposed the 1,172-mile pipeline, saying that it crossed sacred burial grounds and threatened its water supply where it crosses the Missouri River a mile from the tribes reservation.

In December, President Barack Obama temporarily halted the $3.8 billion project. But President Trump greenlighted its completion with an executive order soon after taking office in January.

Trumps move angered tribe leaders, who say they have not been adequately consulted on the pipeline project. The standing Rock Sioux chairman, David Archambault II, traveled to Washington last month expecting to meet with a White House official to make his case for stopping the pipeline but learned that a final decision to go ahead with it had been made while he was en route.

While construction on the final phase of the pipeline continues, tribes remain hopeful that they can stop it in court. On Tuesday, a federal judge denied a preliminary injunction request by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to halt construction on religious grounds. Now the Cheyenne River Sioux and the Standing Rock Sioux tribes will wait for a judges decision on a lawsuit the tribes filed jointly. That ruling is expected in April.

While they await that decision, they plan to make their case on Americas front lawn. Last week, Archambault called on other Native relatives and allies to join the protest.

We must march against injustice, he said in a statement. Native nations cannot continue to be pushed aside to benefit corporate interests and government whim.
CHEYENNE, Wyo.  Intense wind is wreaking havoc across the Rocky Mountain region, blowing tractor-trailers off roads and keeping an injured skier from being flown to a hospital.

Authorities warned truck drivers not to take risks with the wind topping 45 mph Tuesday. Even so, wind tipped at least four trailers along Interstate 25 south of Cheyenne near the Colorado line.

One worker was hurt when wind caused a building under construction to collapse in Greeley, Colorado. Fire officials say two other workers escaped injury.

Authorities say they called a medical helicopter to help an injured skier, but wind had grounded the aircraft. The 23-year-old skier had collided with a tree at Eldora Mountain Resort southwest of Boulder, Colorado.

The Daily Camera reports (https://goo.gl/P9ZeRy ) the man was pronounced dead about 45 minutes after he was found.
WASHINGTON  A 34-year-old activist admitted in court Tuesday to discussing a plot to disrupt an inaugural ball for Trump supporters with an acid attack inside the National Press Club in downtown Washington, D.C.

Scott Charney, of Washington, pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court to conspiracy to commit assault, a misdemeanor. In an agreement with prosecutors, the criminal record will be expunged if he performs 48 hours of community service.

The arrest of Charney hours ahead of the Jan. 19 DeploraBall attracted national attention, with police saying they had successfully foiled a dangerous plan to spread butyric acid through the press clubs ventilation system the night before Trump was inaugurated as president.

The crux of the police case was a conversation secretly recorded by associates of conservative activist James OKeefe, who caught Charney and two others discussing the plot over beer at a pizza restaurant in December. OKeefes operatives took the video to D.C. police and posted portions of it on the Internet.

Protest leaders maintained that Charney, who works at a local nonprofit group, and two others at the restaurant never considered carrying out an attack. They said the group knew it had been infiltrated and that the conversation was a ruse to distract from their real plans to identify the operative.

Charneys attorney, Shan Wu, said his client had not intended to injure anyone in any way. He said his client did not have any acid and added, I certainly think the plea offer with no criminal conviction or record correctly reflects the innocuous nature of this offense. Wu said Charney apologized to the court, to law enforcement and to any other who might have been alarmed by his statements.

Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office for the District, declined to comment beyond the plea agreement offered in court. Two other associates of Charneys were also arrested in the same case; both pleaded guilty earlier and were also given 48 hours of community service.

Charneys arrest was among the first by police trying to head off or confront protesters who tried to disrupt the presidential inauguration.

The day Trump was sworn in, a small group of protesters rampaged through a four-block area of downtown near Franklin Square, armed with hammers and crowbars, burning a limo and breaking windows of shops and cars. Rocks were thrown at riot-gear-clad police who countered with pepper spray and explosive sting grenades. Police arrested more than 230 people on charges of felony rioting. Prosecutors dropped charges against some, and a grand jury indicted 214 as authorities connected them to black bloc tactics of premeditated violence.

Charneys plea agreement identifies him as a member of the D.C. Antifascist Coalition/DisruptJ20 Movement, an umbrella organization representing a variety of groups that came to the District to protest Trump.

In a statement released after his plea was entered in court, Charney called the charges political and said his arrest was more about silencing dissent in Trumps America.

I have apologized in court and taken responsibility for carelessly speaking in a way that alarmed others, the statement says. But the far greater causes for alarm are the real acts of violence being perpetrated against Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Muslim-Americans, Jewish-Americans, and others targeted by Trumps policies.

OKeefe said in an interview last month that the discussion his operative captured on video was part of a real plot and that the arrests by police prevented groups from carrying out other even more disruptive attacks, such as chaining subway cars to cripple the citys transportation system.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for Project Veritas noted that evidence provided by the group was key to the prosecutions but said the group is absolutely not satisfied with the sentences.

The video shot by OKeefes operative shows a detailed discussion of how to best create havoc at the DeploraBall. Charney and two others settled on butyric acid, which can damage skin and eyes. This stuff is very efficient, its very smelly and lasts a long time, Charney is heard saying. One of his associates added, If you get it into the HVAC system, it will get into the whole building.

The plea agreement signed by Charney said the defendants engaged in a conversation about how they could conceal the acid into the event, suggesting water bottles, water guns, beer bottles, and other receptacles. They talked about how much the acid would cost to purchase and how much it would cost to get into the event.  Finally, they discussed dispersing the acid as eventgoers were exiting the National Press Club.

Police also learned that one of the conspirators had purchased tickets to the ball.

The plea agreement states that the evidence indicates the defendants did not want to hurt any person or eventgoer, but rather discussed only plans to disrupt the event.
The FBI has begun preparing for a major mole hunt to determine how anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks got an alleged arsenal of hacking tools the CIA has used to spy on espionage targets, according to people familiar with the matter.

The leak rattled government and technology industry officials, who spent Tuesday scrambling to determine the accuracy and scope of the thousands of documents released by the group. They were also trying to assess the damage the revelations may cause, and what damage may come from future releases promised by WikiLeaks, these people said.

It was all a familiar scenario for a government that has repeatedly seen sensitive information compromised in recent years.

In the wake of revelations from Army private Chelsea Manning and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, officials sought to tighten security procedures, and federal agents came under greater pressure to find and prevent secrets from spilling out of the government.

But cracks keep appearing in the system. Last year, the FBI arrested Harold Martin, an NSA contractor who took home documents detailing some of the agencys most sensitive offensive cyberweapons. Some of those files later appeared online, although investigators are still trying to determine Martins role, if any, in that part of the case.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he violated the Espionage Act. Officials call the Martin case the largest theft of classified information in U.S. history.

Now, less than a year after the Martin case, U.S. intelligence agencies are rushing to determine whether they again have suffered an embarrassing compromise at the hands of one of their own.

Anybody who thinks that the Manning and Snowden problems were one-offs is just dead wrong, said Joel Brenner, former head of U.S. counterintelligence at the office of the Director of National Intelligence. Ben Franklin said three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead. If secrets are shared on systems in which thousands of people have access to them, that may really not be a secret anymore. This problem is not going away, and its a condition of our existence.

In Silicon Valley, industry figures said they received no heads-up from the government or the hacking community that such a move by WikiLeaks was in the works. By midday Tuesday, industry officials said they still had not heard from the FBI.

It wasnt immediately clear if the CIAhad sent a crimes report to the Justice Department  a formal mechanism alerting law enforcement of a potentially damaging and illegal national security leak. Such a report would offer the FBI a road map for where to begin investigating, and whom to question.

The FBI and CIA both declined to comment.

Once investigators verify the accuracy of the WikiLeaks documents, a key question to answer is who had access to the information, according to veterans of past leak probes. The FBI has spent years investigating WikiLeaks, and authorities are eager to figure out whether it hasrecruited a new, well-placed source from the U.S. government.

In releasing thousands of pages of documents, WikiLeaks indicated that its source was a former government employee or contractor.

This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA, WikiLeaks said in announcing the first release of documents. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.

One former intelligence official said if that claim is accurate, theres going to be another major mole hunt . . . If this is all correct, its a big deal.

A key distinction for investigators will be whether WikiLeaks reveals the actual computer code  or enough details about such code  that others can develop and deploy some of the hacking tools, according to current and former officials.

The security failures highlighted by damaging leaks from Snowden and Manning have proven difficult to address.

Manning was arrested in Iraq in May 2010 after transmitting documents to WikiLeaks that came to be known as the Iraq and Afghanistan War Logs. She also leaked a video showing a U.S. Apache helicopter in Baghdad opening fire on a group of people that the crew thought wereinsurgents. Among the dead were two journalists who worked for Reuters. She also leaked documents pertaining to Guantanamo Bay prisoners, as well as 250,000 State Department cables.

In response to the Manning case, the Obama administration created the National Insider Threat Task Force, designed to teach and train government workers and contractors to spot potential leakers.

Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, came out as transgender after her 2013 conviction. In the waning days of his presidency, Barack Obama commuted her 35-year prison sentence, and she is due to be released in coming months.

The post-Manning efforts did not stop Snowden from taking reams of data about sensitive bulk intelligence collection in 2013 and giving the material to reporters. Those revelations, including a court document showing how the government gathered Americans phone records, sparked years of political debate about privacy and government surveillance in the digital age.

Snowden has remained out of reach of the U.S. government, living in Russia.

Brenner, the former counterintelligence official, said the net effect of the new leaks could be very dangerous to us, because they accelerate the leveling of the playing field between the United States and its adversaries in cyberspace.

The bigger lesson of the newest leak, Brenner argued, is that U.S. pursuit of dominance in cyberspace may actually be destabilizing over the long run. That is a very unsettling debate for our military and our intelligence services, but I think its coming, he said.

Snowden also weighed in regarding the alleged CIA documents, tweeting: What @Wikileaks has here is genuinely a big deal. Looks authentic.
WASHINGTON  A vast portion of the CIAs computer hacking arsenal appeared to have been exposed Tuesday by the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks, which posted thousands of files revealing secret cyber tools used by the agency to convert cellphones, televisions and other ordinary devices into implements of espionage.

The trove appeared to lay bare the design and capabilities of some of the U.S. intelligence communitys most closely guarded cyber weapons, a breach that will likely cause immediate damage to the CIAs efforts to gather intelligence overseas and place new strain on the U.S. governments relationship with Silicon Valley giants including Apple and Google.

WikiLeaks, which claimed to have gotten the files from a former CIA contractor, touted the trove as comparable in scale and significance to the collection of National Security Agency documents exposed by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

But while the Snowden files revealed massive surveillance programs that gathered data on millions of Americans, the CIA documents posted so far by WikiLeaks appear mainly to unmask hacking methods that many experts already assumed the agency had developed.

U.S. intelligence officials and experts said that details contained in the newly released documents suggest that they are legitimate, although that could not be independently verified, raising new worries about the U.S. governments ability to safeguard its secrets in an era of cascading leaks of classified data.

The files mention pieces of malware with names like Assassin and Medusa that seem drawn from a spy film, describing tools that the CIA uses to steal data from iPhones, seize control of Microsoft-powered computers or even make Internet-connected Samsung television sets secretly function as microphones.

The release of so many sensitive files appeared to catch the CIA, White House and other government entities off-guard. A CIA spokesman would say only that we do not comment on the authenticity of purported intelligence documents.

In a statement, WikiLeaks indicated that the initial stockpile it put online was part of a broader collection of nearly 9,000 files that would be posted over time describing code developed in secret by the CIA to steal data from a range of targets. WikiLeaks said it redacted lists of CIA surveillance targets, though it said they included targets and machines in Latin America, Europe and the United States.

The release was described as a huge loss to the CIA by security experts and former U.S. intelligence officials. It looks like really the backbone of their network exploitation kit, said a former hacker who worked for the National Security Agency and, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the subject.

The breach could undermine the CIAs ability to carry out key parts of its mission, from targeting the Islamic State and other terrorist networks to penetrating the computer defenses of sophisticated cyber adversaries including Russia, China and Iran, former officials and tech specialists said.

Any exposure of these tools is going to cause grave if not irreparable damage to the ability of our intelligence agencies to conduct our mission, a former senior U.S. intelligence official said.

If legitimate, the release represents the latest major breach of sensitive U.S. government data to be put on global display in humiliating fashion by WikiLeaks, which came to prominence in 2010 with the exposure of thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables and military files. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has engaged in an escalating feud with the United States while taking refuge at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London from Swedish sexual assault allegations.

WikiLeaks latest assault on U.S. secrets may pose an early, potentially awkward security issue for President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly praised WikiLeaks and disparaged the CIA.

Trump declared I love WikiLeaks last October during a campaign rally when he read from a trove of stolen emails about his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, that had been posted to the organizations website.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer declined to comment when asked about the CIA breach during a press briefing Tuesday.

WikiLeaks indicated that it obtained the files from a current or former CIA contractor, saying that the archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.

But the counter-intelligence investigation underway at the CIA is also likely to search for clues to whether Russia had any role in the theft of the agencys digital arsenal. U.S. intelligence officials allege that WikiLeaks has ties to Russian intelligence services. The website posted thousands of emails stolen from Democratic Party computer networks during the 2016 presidential campaign, files that U.S. intelligence agencies concluded were obtained and turned over to WikiLeaks as part of a cyber campaign orchestrated by the Kremlin.

Experts and former intelligence officials said the files appeared to be authentic in part because they refer to code names and capabilities known to have been developed by the CIAs cyber branch.

At first glance, the data release is probably legitimate or contains a lot of legitimate stuff, which means somebody managed to extract a lot of data from a classified CIA system and is willing to let the world know that, said Nicholas Weaver, a computer security researcher at the University of California at Berkeley.

Faking a large quantity of data is difficult, but not impossible, he noted. Weaver said he knows of one case of WikiLeaks deliberately neglecting to include a document in a data release and one case of WikiLeaks deliberately mislabeling stolen data, but no cases yet of deliberately fraudulent information.

WikiLeaks said the trove comprised tools  including malware, viruses, trojans and weaponized zero day exploits  developed by a CIA entity known as the Engineering Development Group, part of a sprawling cyber directorate created in recent years as the agency shifted resources and attention to online espionage.

WikiLeaks labeled the trove Vault 7 and said that it contains several hundred million lines of code, many of which are designed to exploit vulnerabilities in everyday consumer devices.

In a statement, WikiLeaks said the files enable the agency to bypass popular encryption-enabled applications  including WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram  used by millions of people to safeguard their communications.

But experts said that rather than defeating the encryption of those applications, the CIAs methods rely on exploiting vulnerabilities in the devices on which they are installed, a method referred to as hacking the endpoint.

WikiLeaks said the files were created between 2013 and 2016 and that it would only publish a portion of the archive  redacting some sensitive samples of code  until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIAs program.

The organization did not clarify what achieving such a consensus would entail, but for now it appeared to be withholding fully formed pieces of ready-made code that could be used by other intelligence services or even novice hackers.

Still the data release alarmed cybersecurity experts, who said the files contain snippets of code that could enable adversaries to replicate CIA capabilities or identify and root out CIA implants currently in place.

This is explosive, said Jake Williams, founder of Rendition Infosec, a cybersecurity firm. The material highlights specific anti-virus products that can be defeated, going further than a release of NSA hacking tools last year, he said. The CIA hackers, according to WikiLeaks, even discussed what the NSAs . . . hackers did wrong and how the CIAs malware makers could avoid similar exposure.

Hackers who worked at the NSAs Tailored Access Operations unit said the CIAs library of tools looked comparable. The implants  software that enables hackers to remotely control a compromised device  are very, very complex and at least on par with the NSA, said one former TAO hacker.

Beyond hacking weapons, the files also purportedly reveal information about the organization of the CIAs cyber directorate and indicate that the agency uses the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, as a hacking hub for operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Though primarily thought of as an agency that recruits spies, the CIA has taken on a larger role in electronic espionage over the past decade. In 2015 the agency created the Directorate of Digital Innovation, a new division that put cyber work on equal footing with long-standing directorates devoted to conventional spying and analysis.

The CIAs focus is more narrow and targeted than that of the NSA, which is responsible for sweeping up electronic communications on a large scale around the globe. By contrast, CIA efforts mainly focus on close in operations in which the agency at times relies on individuals carrying thumb drives or other devices to implant code on computer systems not connected to the Internet.

One of the most intriguing tools described in the files, called Weeping Angel, can apparently be used to put certain television sets into a fake off mode while activating a microphone that enables the CIA to capture any conversations in the surrounding space.

  

Ashkan Soltani and Julie Tate contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration, searching for money to build the presidents planned multibillion-dollar border wall and crack down on illegal immigration, is weighing significant cuts to the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and other agencies focused on national security threats, according to a draft plan.

The proposal, drawn up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also would slash the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides disaster relief after hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. The Coast Guards $9.1 billion budget in 2017 would be cut 14 percent to about $7.8 billion, while the TSA and FEMA budgets would be reduced about 11 percent each to $4.5 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively.

The cuts are proposed even as the planned budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees all of them, grows 6.4 percent to $43.8 billion, according to the plan, which was obtained by The Washington Post. Some $2.9 billion of that would go to building the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, with $1.9 billion funding immigration detention beds and other Immigration and Customs Enforcement expenses and $285 million set aside to hire 500 more Border Patrol agents and 1,000 more ICE agents and support staffers.

The plan puts the administration in the unusual position of trading spending on security programs for other security priorities at the southern border, raising questions among Republican lawmakers and homeland-security experts.

The Budget prioritizes DHS law enforcement operations, proposes critical investments in front line border security and funds continued development of robust cybersecurity defenses, the draft said. The Budget aggressively implements the Presidents commitment to construct a physical wall along the southern border.

Overall, funding for ICE would grow about 36 percent to $7.9 billion, while the budget for Customs and Border Protection would increase 27 percent to $14.2 billion.

Michael Short, a White House spokesman, cautioned Tuesday that the Trump administration is still early in the process of working on the budget, which the administration will send to Congress later this month. He and a DHS spokesman, David Lapan, referred other questions to the OMB, which did not respond to requests for comment.

Trying to draw conclusions this early would be extremely premature, Short said.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R.-Calif., who supported Donald Trumps run for president and oversees the House Transportation subcommittee on the Coast Guard and maritime transportation, questioned whether OMB officials are on the same page as President Trump, citing the sea services roles in stopping illegal immigration and the flow of drugs into the United States from South America.

OMB has always treated the Coast Guard like a little piggy bank that they can go after whenever they need money for anything else, Hunter said. If the president is serious about getting after the cartels and getting after drug networks, this makes no sense.

The Coast Guard cuts include deactivating Maritime Security Response Teams, which carry out counterterrorism patrols in ports and sensitive waterways, and canceling a contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries to build a ninth national security cutter, with a potential savings of $500 million.

Rick Ozzie Nelson, a former Navy helicopter pilot and national security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the decisions would effectively sideline the service in missions in which it could be the most effective.

If theyre not there to do it, who is there to do it? Nelson said of port security. Were not going to put destroyers and frigates off the coast to protect those ports. Thats a Coast Guard mission and capability.

At the TSA, the proposed budget cuts, first detailed by Politico, would eliminate four programs that cost the agency $187 million. The programs have been considered a vital piece of airport security and for preventing a repetition of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings after planes are aloft.

Training for what is known as the armed pilot program, begun after 9/11, would be eliminated at a savings of $20 million. The training was intended to prepare pilots and crews for an attempted armed takeover of an aircraft.

If you were on one of the four hijacked planes on 9/11, youd sure say it was important, said former TSA administrator John Pistole. To me, its a relatively small investment for the potential for the risk-mitigation value. Its all about how much risk do you want to take on. I would advocate for a reduction in that program but not elimination.

An additional $57 million would be saved by cutting a program that sends armed teams of highly trained, uniformed agents to sweep airports, train stations and bus terminals. Commonly known as the VIPR teams (for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response), they were deployed to Reagan National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, Amtraks Union Station and District of Columbia-area subway stations to guard against terrorist attacks during Trumps inauguration.

The $45 million in grants that local law enforcement uses to patrol in and around airports also would be eliminated.

The fourth program slated for elimination uses specially trained TSA agents to watch passenger behavior in airports, and particularly as fliers approach checkpoints, to single out those who appear to behave oddly.

The budget proposal said $65 million also could be saved by eliminating that Behavior Detection Officer program. The value of the program was questioned by the Government Accountability Office in a 2013 report, but Pistole, who then headed the TSA, responded that it provided a crucial layer of security that brought 2,116 passengers to the attention of law enforcement in 2012, resulting in 30 boarding denials and 183 arrests.

At FEMA, a corner of the federal government whose budgets were beefed up after the 2001 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, the proposed cuts would slash some programs whose effectiveness has long come under criticism. Research into bio-surveillance threats and other research and development work that gets tens of millions of dollars in federal funding a year would take a 28 percent hit, examples of programs the budget proposal describes as having failed to show meaningful results.

But the spending plan  which could cut $361 million from FEMAs $3.5 billion budget  also eliminates or reduces the federal commitment to helping states and local governments prepare for natural disasters through training, salaries and benefits for staff, coordination and state-of the-art equipment. These grants help communities prepare for emergencies so that local and state governments can coordinate and respond quickly.

Other programs would require localities and states to contribute a greater share than they do now.

Emergency management officials noted that FEMA has for years promoted and refined a national response system that requires local communities to follow the same emergency response strategies. The cuts would undermine that progress, they said, and result in a less sophisticated response to emergencies.

When you propose not just cuts but draconian cuts, your ability to respond to a disaster can cause lives to be lost and property to be damaged, said Nick Crossley, emergency-management director in Hamilton County, Ohio, and first vice president of the International Association of Emergency Managers, which represents 4,000 local officials across the country.

He said pouring the money saved from FEMA into border security would be catastrophic.

Defense and security at the border are important, he said. But youre damaging the national system that makes us the strongest country when it comes to being prepared for disasters.

Homeowners in flood-prone areas of the country also would be levied a surcharge on their flood insurance, according to the document, although the OMB has been asked to come up with a plan to limit the extra payment for homeowners with lower-value homes.
Three double murder suspects were arrested after two SWAT standoffs in different parts of Albuquerque on Monday, according to online court and jail records.

Eder Ortiz-Parra, 24, was arrested after a standoff at a house near San Ygnacio and 98th SW in the afternoon. And Rafael Gonzalez-Parra, 25, and Edwin Edsel Ortiz-Parra, 26, were arrested near Irving and Universe NW around 8 p.m., according to jail records.

The men were born in Sinaloa, Mexico, according to jail records, but it is unclear how they are related to one another.

All three are charged with two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated battery with great bodily harm and conspiracy, but little else is available about the case.

The arrest warrant affidavits detailing probable cause for the arrests are sealed and a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department said he could not release any information. He didnt know anything about the arrests, the investigation, or who the men are accused of killing.

Ive been directed not to ask questions about this case, so I didnt, said APD spokesman Fred Duran.

An order filed in Metropolitan Court states the affidavits are sealed because they identify confidential sources or witnesses and could result in the obstruction of justice.

Sean Waite, the director of operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration in New Mexico, said agents assisted police at the Northwest Albuquerque house. Detectives with APDs gang unit were also seen at that house after the arrests.

I can tell you that we were at that residence as part of a narcotics investigation assisting APD, Waite said.

He couldnt release any more details about the case.

Frank Fisher, an FBI spokesman, said FBI agents assisted, but he did not provide any other information.

Of the three suspects, only one has a criminal history in New Mexico.

In 2014, Eder Ortiz-Parra was charged with distributing more than 100 pounds of marijuana in Las Vegas, N.M. It is unclear from court records what happened in that case.

Eder Ortiz-Parra was arrested after an hourslong standoff in Southwest Albuquerque that delayed dismissal at two nearby elementary schools. Two other people who were in the house with him were also taken into custody, but they dont appear to have been charged with any crimes.

As that standoff was coming to a close around 4 p.m., another standoff began across town, according to a neighbor who watched the scene unfold.

Kristen Montano said she watched the SWAT team try to persuade Edwin Ortiz-Parra to leave his Northwest Albuquerque house for hours. She said she watched the family of four children, a woman and four men eventually come out of the house and get taken into custody. Only Edwin Ortiz-Parra and Gonzalez-Parra appear to have been charged.

The men will face a judge for their felony first appearances in the 2nd Judicial District Court today and the affidavits will be unsealed after their arraignments, which havent been scheduled.
New Mexico has a unique opportunity today to accomplish two important goals for our state simply by raising taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products. First, we can substantially strengthen our childrens classrooms, which have been hit with cuts worth tens of millions of dollars since 2008. Second, we can make sure that more than 11,000 additional kids never even become smokers and more than 10,000 current adult smokers will quit, significantly lowering overall health costs. We cannot afford not to do it.

My legislation, SB231, would increase the tax on cigarettes by $1.50 per pack, with an equivalent increase in other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and chewing tobacco. The tax on a pack of cigarettes would increase from $1.66 to $3.16. It will produce new revenues of $89 million annually for our state.

I believe strongly the additional funds should be targeted to backfill the deep funding cuts our public schools have weathered during recent years, to strengthen classroom budgets and improve outcomes for students. My bill earmarks all the proceeds of the new tax for the state equalization guarantee, or formula distribution, for all our public schools.

Why? Our K-12 classrooms need the money that a cigarette tax boost would bring. Depending on the outcome of other bills in the Legislature, public schools may be facing another steep funding crisis later this year. Gov. Susana Martinez has vowed to veto many other measures that have been proposed to help schools bottom line.

What can New Mexico expect without an infusion of new revenues for our schools? Larger class sizes, fewer teachers, fewer counselors and reduced classes in physical education, music, dance and art all lie ahead, if the experience of other states is any guide. Elsewhere, all-day kindergarten and summer classes have been cut, and even school weeks have been reduced to four days. Surely we cannot allow this to happen here.

Without new revenues, our public schools may see cuts of 5 percent to 7 percent across the board. This would have a devastating impact. We are submitting proposals now to make sure this does not happen. But Gov. Martinez continues to stand by her campaign promise to oppose all options required for a responsible balanced budget.

Raising the tax on tobacco also has been proven to stop kids from smoking before they start. Most smokers begin smoking before they turn 19. A $1.50 per pack increase in New Mexicos cigarette tax means there will be thousands of fewer smokers in the future, including those who are taking up the increasingly popular e-cigarettes.

Smoking costs New Mexico $844 million in direct health care and Medicaid treatment, and it results in countless deaths, diseases and cancers. Making smoking more expensive would save the lives of more than 7,000 New Mexicans.

Eighty-one percent of New Mexicans think it a good idea to impose a higher excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco. This tax enjoys overwhelming support.

SB231 is endorsed by all the leading health organizations, including the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Cancer Society Action Network. In the House of Representatives, HB282, sponsored by Rep. Liz Thompson, will accomplish the same goals.

When cigarette and tobacco use declines, lives and money are saved. Raising the tax on tobacco sharply reduces the number of kids and adults who smoke. Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in our state.

The benefits for the health and for the classrooms of New Mexico are enormous if we raise the cigarette tax by $1.50. This legislation cannot wait.
LOS ANGELES  JoAnnie Duran was stopped at a red light when her sisters fiance called. She struggled to make out most of his words, but finally two of them stuck: Sandras dead.

Duran pulled into a gas station parking lot and sobbed, but couldnt bring herself to say the words out loud. She had Sandras 12-year-old son in the car with her. How could she possibly break it to him? And how could it be true? Her sister had called her just 20 minutes earlier to tease her about a video shed posted on Facebook.

Even now, more than two weeks since her older sisters death, she cannot accept the way it happened. Officials say a drunken driver ran a red light, smashing into Sandras car that Sunday morning  an hour or so after the sisters worshipped together at church.

The driver  who faces murder, vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated charges in connection with the Feb. 19 crash  is an immigrant in the country illegally who has been deported from the United States at least five times, according to police and court records.

Estuardo Alvarado, 45, was fleeing the scene of a traffic accident at a high rate of speed when he smashed his vehicle into a car driven by Sandra Duran, according to Detective William Bustos of the Los Angeles Police Departments Valley Traffic Division.

Duran, 42, suffered serious injuries and later died. The two other people in the car  her 18-year-old son, Christian, and his girlfriend  were treated for minor injuries. Alvarado was arrested after being transported to a hospital, Bustos said.

Alvarado has been removed from the U.S. and sent to Mexico five times since 1998, most recently in 2011, according to Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Mexican citizen has never held legal status in the U.S., according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Durans death started to garner national attention on Tuesday morning when Fox News picked up a Los Angeles Daily News report about the crash, in which the victims sister expressed concern over Alvarados immigration status.

Its a great concern because this could have been prevented, the victims sister, Los Angeles police Officer Lisa Morales, told the newspaper. Its sad and its unfortunate. Its going to happen not just to my family but to other families.

Seated in the living room of his Arleta home Tuesday morning, Santos Duran stared at a memorial of flowers, white candles and photos of his second-oldest daughter.

I often wonder, Why us? he said, pausing to look toward heaven. But I can accept it, because the man up there knows were all just passing through.

He said hes haunted by the thought that his daughters death was avoidable, knowing that Alvarado remained in the country given his criminal history. But he is also worried that his daughters death could be used as a political weapon against huge swaths of immigrants in the country illegally.

Its ruined our life. This person had DUIs and deportations, he said. But whatever I say now isnt going to bring my daughter back. I worry, I worry about the people that are here already and settled here already and have families already and have their kids in school. I worry for those people.

Sandra Durans mother, Carmen Duran, said she has a simple question for Alvarado about that Sunday morning:

 How come you didnt stay home? You couldve stayed home. Knowing he was drunk and driving, she said, sighing. It doesnt have to be about immigration and all this. There are people who are from here and they go out and kill other people, too. Its not only people from Mexico or anything like that. It just happened to be that hes from Mexico. Theres different races .

Her husband cut in to finish her thought:

 and we all make mistakes, he said.

Santos Duran has forgiven Alvarado, but he said that beyond that he tries not to think about him much. This is a time, he said, to remember his daughter, who worked for insurer Health Net.

Sandras family members remember her as a doting mother and a vivacious presence in the home she shared with her parents and her sons, Christian, 18, and Jacob, 12. On weekends, Sandra  who found great joy in making her loved ones their favorite foods  woke up early to make her parents a breakfast of toast, sausage and scrambled eggs. Anytime her boys were hungry, even late at night, she made them their favorite meal: pancakes. She loved to surprise her fiance, Rodrigo Macias, with fresh brownies and every Thanksgiving she buttered the familys turkey.

Her family members spent Tuesday watching old cellphone videos of Sandra. There was the one JoAnnie filmed on Thanksgiving, when everybody had their eyes closed during a prayer, until the camera cut to Sandra. Ever the performer, she sensed the spotlight on her and struck a pose. In another video filmed on her brothers birthday, Sandra twirled her hair and broke out in a deep belly laugh.

Santos Duran closed his eyes for a moment. Thats her laugh, he said, mournfully.

Alvarado, who remains jailed in lieu of $2.1-million bail, has been arrested several times in Los Angeles, according to court records. He pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and impeding traffic in 2011, and pleaded no contest to separate charges of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license in the 1990s, court records show. He has also been cited for marijuana possession twice, records show.

His next court date is scheduled for March 14.

The case marks the latest in a series of deaths that officials attribute to immigrants in the country illegally. Although studies have found that immigrants, whether in the country legally or not, commit crimes at lower rates than native born Americans, the killings have become a flashpoint in the national debate over so-called sanctuary cities and immigration enforcement policies.

The 2015 shooting death of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco drew national outrage when it was revealed that her accused killer had been deported from the U.S. five times. President Donald Trump has promised to revoke federal funding from cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles whose governments have refused to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement actions.

The relatives of three Californians who authorities say were killed by undocumented immigrants were Trumps guests during a speech delivered to Congress last week.

During the speech, the president chastised opponents of his hard-line immigration stance, asking them what they would say to a family who loses their jobs, their income or a loved one because America refused to uphold its laws and defend its borders?

For the Duran family, the focus remains on Sandra.

Someone visits the cemetery every day, her father said. To remind her that shes loved, they show up with cupcakes or with fries and hamburgers from In-N-Out  her favorite foods.
The U.S. Senate is poised to consider rolling back the Bureau of Land Managements Methane and Waste Prevention Rule, an extensive update of 30-year-old federal regulations governing the flaring, venting and leaking of methane  the major component of natural gas and a key contributor to atmospheric warming.

But instead of annihilating the regulations wholesale, which the oil and gas industry would like, our senators should preserve the many positive fiscal and environmental aspects of the well-researched regulations and either revise or carve out those they deem unsalvageable. (House Republicans have already voted to repeal the rule.)

There is a lot at stake, particularly for New Mexico, which derives a huge portion of its revenues from the oil and gas industry, and cant afford to waste a drop of income in the current budget crisis. Just as important is the fact that New Mexico is home to the highest concentration of atmospheric methane in the nation  a hotspot the size of Delaware situated over the San Juan Basin. It was discovered by NASA imagery in 2014.

Because methane is highly effective at absorbing the suns heat, its a key contributor to atmospheric warming, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. As such, methane is considered a greenhouse gas, like carbon dioxide. Even though methane doesnt linger in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, it is initially more devastating to the climate. In the first two decades after its release, methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, according to EPA research. Although methane comes from both natural and man-made sources, the largest source of industrial emissions is the oil and gas industry.

And the waste of methane is expensive. The BLM says that on federal and Indian leases across the nation in 2014, nearly $454 million of natural gas was vented or flared  gas that would have netted $56 million for taxpayers. A 2014 report by Western Values Project said New Mexico taxpayers had lost out on more than $42.7 million in royalty revenue since 2009 because of uncaptured gas.

At the behest of the Government Accountability Office, the Office of the Inspector General and members of Congress, the BLM updated its methane regulations and released them last November. Proponents of the updated regulations, which apply to oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands, say they will reduce harmful methane emissions, curb waste of public resources, and provide a fair return for federal taxpayers, tribes and states.

The revised rule limits how much methane can be vented, leaked or flared from oil and gas wells, pipelines and other infrastructure, and instead directs producers to capture the gas and send it to refineries where it can be sold on the open market. In the process, the gas  which is owned by taxpayers  produces additional revenue for the states, royalty beneficiaries and, presumably, the producers and refiners. Producers also must periodically inspect operations for leaks and replace outdated equipment.

But industry officials say the math wont work out, they are already doing enough to curtail methane emissions  down 40 percent since 2006  and the regulations hurt small producers. To that end, the regulations phase in requirements, gradually increasing capture rates to 98 percent by 2026, giving producers time to tend to their infrastructure and comply.

And while the mere fact of being small is not a strong argument for continuing to pollute public skies or waste public dollars, there is a valid concern that under the rule some wells originally drilled for oil are now leaking methane, but are in areas where the infrastructure to capture gas is 1.) expensive and 2.) takes months in regulatory approval. There are also reasonable questions regarding pipeline capacity, access to those pipelines, market volatility and the painfully slow permitting processes. This regulation should be crafted so it gets producers to fix the system, not puts them out of business so they cant. The West is already littered with plenty of abandoned and seeping mines; it does not need a commensurate number of well heads.

But it does need improved methane regulation. A hot spot that can been seen from space and tens of millions of dollars in natural gas that are lost each year should be a bipartisan issue worthy of compromise. And theres a terrible wrinkle in any repeal  the act that allows Congress to dump this rule also prohibits the federal agency from adopting similar rules in the future. Thats a lose-lose proposition for New Mexico and the nation.

Because the new regulations dont kick in until January 2018, theres time to address the shortcomings in the revised Methane and Waste Prevention Rule. It would be a great disservice if the Senate joins the House to simply toss out the entire rule in favor of continuing to waste a valuable natural resource at the expense of the publics coffers and clean air.

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.
A resolution that requires Albuquerque police to test rape kits within three months of receiving them gained final City Council approval Monday.

The measure now goes to Mayor Richard Berry for his consideration.

Barring a veto, the three-month rule would go into effect when the Albuquerque Police Department Crime Lab is staffed with 10 full-time analysts, but no later than October 2018.

Councilor Pat Davis, the bills sponsor, proposed that trigger mechanism after consulting with APD.

New Mexico has the highest number of untested rape kits per capita in the nation, according to an investigation by the state auditor. Of the 5,302 untested rape kits counted in November, more than 3,940 were collected during investigations in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.

The council approved Davis amendment and the resolution unanimously.

I hope we can provide some assurance that were getting to the place we need to be, Davis said, adding that he wants to make sure APD has time to ramp up the staff in its lab because he doesnt want to set the department up to fail.

But the delay in the implementation has at least one advocate for sexual assault victims frustrated.

A sexual assault victim who presents at Albuquerque (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) tomorrow morning, regardless of their age  at best, our nurses can tell them that their kit might be tested, best case scenario, in October 2018. Thats just very discouraging to me, said Connie Monahan, the SANE coordinator at the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs.

Monahan said the time frame seemed inflated, though she acknowledged that it will take time to hire and certify technicians.

Its reality, she said. I understand that.

Davis said he understands Monahans frustration, but absent this (resolution), a person who comes into SANE tomorrow has no guarantee that their rape kit will be tested.

The lab is now staffed with six full-time analysts and is poised to hire a seventh analyst in the near future, according to APD spokeswoman Celina Espinoza. She said the legislation calls for the additional three spots to be filled during the next budget cycle, which begins July 1.
The grandparents of a special needs student filed a lawsuit Monday alleging the girl was raped by another student at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School in August.

Matthew Garcia, the attorney representing the family in their suit against Albuquerque Public Schools, said the male perpetrator has not been identified, but is believed to be a student with learning disabilities. No charges have been filed, he said.

Although the girl did not immediately report the Aug. 29 incident to administrators, she cried as she told her grandparents when she got home that night, Garcia said. The student was taken to a social worker the next day, according to the lawsuit filed in state District Court.

A sexual assault exam corroborated the girls account, Garcia said. The test found evidence that she had been sexually penetrated and choked, according to the lawsuit.

Where exactly on school grounds the rape took place remains unclear, Garcia said, but it took place during school hours.

We are sort of struggling because we dont have all the information that we would like or need, he said. Its so early on.

District spokeswoman Johanna King said APS cannot comment on the lawsuit.

The girl requires supervision when she is on school property and she is not supposed to wander the campus alone, according to the lawsuit. The school district, it alleges, failed to operate the school in a reasonably safe manner.

The lawsuit argues that APS negligently operated the facility. Police have been called to the school repeatedly, the lawsuit argues, to address problems that could have been prevented with supervision.

The girl, who is identified in the lawsuit only by her initials, has since transferred to another school, Garcia said.

Its obviously caused a fair amount of distress both with the child and within the family, Garcia said. For obvious reasons, school is a difficult place for her to go.

The students grandparents are seeking damages to compensate the girl for pain and suffering, harm and medical costs.
WILMINGTON, Ohio  Thousands of miles from here, the Kremlin is denying accusations that it meddled in the U.S. presidential election. But in this town of rolling farmland and main streets shaded by grain elevators, the barrage of news coming out about the Trumps administrations ties to Russia has fallen on mostly indifferent ears.

The Russia thing doesnt fit too well here, said Harold Rowland in between bites of his breakfast at McDonalds. Nobody really cares.

Rowland, 75, comes almost every morning to this McDonalds on the outskirts of town to sit and talk with three other Wilmington residents who have formed an informal breakfast club.

Theyve only discussed Russia once in recent weeks  when former national security adviser Mike Flynn resigned over revelations about his potentially illegal contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

He was out of bounds for sure, said Rowland, who last voted for a Democrat in 1962.

Wayne Smith, 74, said hes skeptical about all the stories about alleged ties between Trump associates and Russia.

Is there something there? Probably, said Smith, who walks with a cane and stands up about every 10 minutes to relieve the pressure on his back, a lingering reminder of his half century working as a barber before he retired. But Judas Priest, dont go overboard.

Smith said he thinks the media and Democrats have made a mountain out of a mole hill and killed off any chance for a rational discussion. When he watched Trumps joint address to Congress last week, he felt buoyed by it.

I saw 72 percent approved or something like that, said Smith, likely alluding to a joint CNN/ORC poll following the speech reporting that about 7 in 10 who tuned in were more optimistic about the direction of the country.

Its a start, but I wish he was more upright, more presidential, said Smith, smiling. But you know, he still speaks our language . . . the language of the country boy.

Tom Speer, 70, seems more perturbed by the news on Russia. Do I think it affected the outcome of the election? Speer said. No, but they have no business meddling in ours.

As for Flynns contacts with the Russian ambassador, Speer said the retired lieutenant general had just put the cart before the horse.

Still, the four men at the table said they are pleased with how Trump is running the country and remain optimistic, no matter the news coming out of Washington.

Trump is doing great, Speer said. Hes not God or Superman, but hes done what he could with his executive orders.

After the election and Trumps inauguration, the town has been more focused on local issues. In early February, retail giant Amazon.com decided to pull a burgeoning shipping hub and plans for as many as 3,000 new jobs at Wilmingtons airpark, opting instead to take a $10 million dollar tax break to relocate to Kentucky. That news dashed hopes that the town would be able to pump new life into its economy soon. (Amazons founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos, owns The Washington Post.)

At a coffee shop six miles away and closer into town, Emma Heyo, 20, said the Russia news had barely crossed her radar, appearing only sporadically on her social media feeds.

Russia stuff? I really dont know much about it, said Heyo, a part-time barista who is studying medical massage in nearby Dayton. Were friendly with Putin right? And friends are better than enemies.

To be honest, politics is something I try and avoid, she added.

Mostly white and with a population of roughly 12,000 people, Wilmingtons surrounding county of Clinton has gone Republican in every presidential race since 1962, when Lyndon B. Johnson was elected. In November, it cast more votes for Trump than any other Republican candidate in the countys history. In another first, more than 70 percent of Wilmingtons eligible voting population came out to the polls.

Yet there is a small core of residents who are less enamored of Trump.

The Pageturners book club, which meets once a week in the basement of Wilmingtons library, had just finished their discussion of the 2016 bestseller The Nest by Cynthia DAprix before talking about a recent piece in the New Yorker titled, Trump, Putin and the New Cold War.

Our hairs on fire and this stuff cant come out fast enough, said Mary Thomas Watts, about the flood of news about Russia and Trump. A former journalist from Mississippi, Watts sits on the board of the library, leads the Pageturners discussion and usually helps organize the weekly progressive happy hour at the General Denver Hotel in town.

After learning the Sessions had potentially misled Congress after saying he did not have contacts with the Russians during Trumps campaign, the group of six women and one man was incensed.

They all have got to go, Watts said.

Watts traveled to Washington for the Womens March, while others in the group participated in a smaller march at Wilmingtons courthouse on the same day. Just imagine this group all in pink hats, said Watts.

The small group and their liberal leanings are a rarity in Wilmington, a fact theyve become acutely aware of as the town turned out in droves for Trump.

Julie Butcher, member of the book club and an employee at a local insurance company said that her 14-year-old daughter has Trump yelled in her face regularly at school after she admitted to voting for Hillary Clinton during a mock election in the fall.

You cant say anything, and you cant post anything because you just get attacked, Butcher said.

  

Video: The small town of Wilmington, Ohio, was devastated in 2008 when DHL left and took more than 7,000 jobs with it. As the town tries to claw its way back, the Post explains why Donald Trumps election victory has brought it new life.

URL: http://wapo.st/2jB7I52
Googles reputation is built on its algorithms, which are increasingly being used to give answers out of the search engines index of results. But what used to be a list  the first page of results  has become simpler over the past couple of years: Sometimes, Google extracts one result that it thinks will best answer whatever it is youre asking, and puts that answer in a featured section right at the top of your results. That section is called a snippet, and its not always getting the answer right.

Here are a few of the questions that the Outlines weekend report on Google snippets identified, along with the answers Google provided at the time:

 Is Obama Planning a Coup? According to details exposed in Western Center for Journalisms exclusive video, not only could Obama be in bed with communist Chinese, but Obama may in fact be planning a communist coup detat at the end of his term in 2016!

 Who is the King of the United States? Barack Obama. Which, interestingly, was sourced to an article criticizing Google for initially pulling this answer from Breitbart.

 Presidents in the Klan. Google listed four presidents  citing a dubious article whose headline indicated there were five  for this snippet. To be clear, theres no credible evidence to suggest that any of the listed presidents were Klan members.

The first of these three examples has since been corrected. However, we were able to replicate the results for Who is king of the United States? on Tuesday evening, and Presidents in the Klan pulled a similar answer but from a different source.

These snippets are Googles attempt to directly answer whatever question you might be asking, without making you search through results. Its mostly great for, say, the date of a holiday or basic information  although sometimes even that can get really messed up. Overall, though, Googles algorithms have a reputation for being reliable. Its what made it successful as a search engine. Which is perhaps why it has felt so jarring when would-be researchers discover that Google is capable of being very wrong.

One place where Google has a lot of trouble is when bad information on a topic is more widely discussed and shared than good information. For instance: In the last weeks of the election, the idea that Hillary Clinton was secretly a drunk became an extremely popular right-wing meme. If you ask Google, is hillary clinton an alcoholic, the answer is a link that goes to a Gateway Pundit article that quotes a tweet that reads, Sick Hillary Clinton is an Alcoholic. Source of health problems and falls?

To be clear, the claim that Clinton has a drinking problem is completely unproven. The evidence cited in support of this meme merely indicates that Clinton likes to have a drink, which is a really different thing to speculate.

There are lots of articles in Googles search results about Clintons relationship to alcohol, however, that either nod to or explicitly spread the unproven claim about a problem drinking habit. There are relatively few articles  we did one, for instance  that discuss this question critically. So when Google looks for answers to this question, it gets a lot of bad ones.

If youre wondering why these snippets are so crucial, imagine that youre accessing Google not through a browser search, but through your voice assistant. Based on the Outlines reporting, a BBC journalist asked Google to verbally tell him the answer to, Is Obama planning a coup? It read that inaccurate snippet we quoted above, verbatim.

Googles search results have long been subject to quirks and manipulation. But like Facebooks long-standing hoax problem, Googles role in spreading misinformation became a bigger story after the 2016 election, based on speculation that fake news played a role in influencing how Americans voted.

The company told Quartz that it removes incorrect snippet results manually, when they feature a site with inappropriate or misleading content. But the process of selecting these snippets in the first place is automatic and algorithmic.

Automatic and algorithmic are supposed to convey neutrality: Its out of the hands of the flawed humans, in other words. Except, as we have written before, thats not exactly true. Algorithms are written by humans, and they depend upon the input of humans to get better. In other words, they can have a bias, too.
From his hateful tweets and provocative rhetoric to his new executive order banning Muslims and refugees all over again, President Donald Trump is driven by the idea that Islam is a threat to what makes us American.

Trump has declared that Islam hates us. There is, he says, an unbelievable hatred. Stephen K. Bannon, one of his chief advisers, claims that we are in an outright war against . . . Islam and doubts whether Muslims that are shariah-adherent can actually be part of a society where you have the rule of law and . . . are a democratic republic. He believes Islam is much darker than Nazism and seems to agree with HUD Secretary Ben Carson that Islam is a religion of domination.

But Trump and his administration could learn a thing or two about American values such as freedom and equality from the religion and people they so hate.

In Islams founding story, after Muhammads death, it was unclear who would lead the nascent Muslim community. Typically, succession disputes make for great drama. This one, however, was more C-SPAN than Game of Thrones. Rather than intrigue or bloodshed, the believers pursued democracy. Only by the peoples consent, they reckoned, could a ruler justly be named and a community freely governed. They chose Abu Bakr, one of Muhammads companions. His inauguration speech, according to one of Muhammads earliest biographers Ibn Ishaq, was brief (though were not sure how big the crowd was). It went something like this: Im no better than any of you. Only obey me if I do right. Otherwise, resist me. Loyalty means speaking truth. Flattery is treason. No human, but God alone is your lord.

Abu Bakr sought to guard the people against domination by making himself accountable to them. The people obliged, securing their liberty. They could call him out at any time, and he had to listen. He even had to ask their permission for new clothes. His successor, Umar, carried the legacy forward. Publicly rebuked by a woman for overstepping the law, Umar responded: That woman is right, and I am wrong! It seems that all people have deeper wisdom and insight than me.

This spirit of accountability and liberty would become enshrined as a religious duty in Islam, though as with any tradition, these values are not always upheld. Nonetheless, every Muslim has the obligation to command right and forbid wrong, correcting and resisting any who betray justice, rulers included. That Abu Bakr and Umar are paradigms of good Islamic rule for well over 1 billion Sunni Muslims tells us something about this traditions love for freedom, whether or not its followers always live up to their ideals.

So does the 12th-century theologian al-Ghazali, one of Islams most beloved figures. In his most famous political work, an open letter to a young sultan, Ghazali famously defends a golden rule of liberty: The fundamental principle is . . . treat people in a way in which, if you were subject and another were Sultan, you would deem right that you yourself be treated. Nothing a ruler would not himself endure has any place in politics. While sin against God can be forgiven, violation of this rule cannot: Anything involving injustice to mankind will not in any circumstance be overlooked at the resurrection. Ghazali tells rulers that on judgment day, not God but the people will determine their fate: The harshest torment will be for those who rule arbitrarily. He sounds striking similar to James Madison writing in Federalist 57, for whom rulers will be compelled to anticipate the moment when their exercise of power is reviewed, and they must descend to the level from which they were raised. Only in Ghazalis vision, the tyrant descends to hell.

Of course, like their Western counterparts, many Muslim regimes fail to honor this vision of liberty. But it is women and men like Malala Yousafzai, Humayun Khan and the hopeful youths who filled Tahrir Square who are faithful to the best of Islam, not the likes of the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Saudi princes.

For Islam and the American founders alike, freedom is about protection from arbitrary power and rule by law, not the caprices of men. Theirs is a vision where citizens stand not in slavish deference to masters but on equal terms with all. This vision animates our whole system of governance. It was this vision Lincoln endorsed when he wrote, in words that echo Ghazali: As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. And it was this vision Sojourner Truth, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Harvey Milk invoked when they each demanded that equality before the law be still further expanded so that it would eventually include not just straight white men but everyone.

This vision is under threat in a way it rarely has been in our history. But it is under threat not by Islam, but by Trump and his administration.

Trumps first Muslim ban was an act of brazen, unconstrained power and barely concealed animus. The second ban is more of the same. The blessing of the first was just how blatantly it betrayed our deepest values. The danger of the second is its attempt to conceal its dominating and bigoted aims. No serious observer thinks these bans make us any safer. Instead, they seek to circumvent rule of law, roll back libertys benefit and wage Bannons war with Islam. They give Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and other agents discretionary power to decide on a whim whether to sever families, deport refugees and detain Muslims. And they make Trump and his cronies unaccountable arbiters of who really loves the very American values the administration is busy betraying.

Trump wants to return America to its former greatness. But when it comes to freedom, Ghazali and Abu Bakr have far more in common with Madison and Lincoln than with terrorists and tyrants who claim Islams mantle. For that matter, they have far more in common with this countrys great lovers of liberty than does the current president. So, instead of banning Muslims, Trump should listen to them: He might learn something about liberty and equality, two values he seems not to have learned to love from our own nations history or the Constitution he swore to uphold.

 Decosimo teaches religion, ethics and politics at Boston University and is currently writing a book on freedom and domination in Christianity and Islam.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a bill Wednesday to create a National Criminal Justice Commission which would work for 18 months to review every aspect of the nations criminal justice system, from policing to prosecution to prisons, and then issue a set of proposed reforms for not only federal but state and tribal systems as well.

The legislation aims to accomplish what a similar Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice did when it was created by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. That group produced more than 200 recommendations which had lasting impact on the justice system, such as calling for the creation of the 911 emergency call system, improving training for law enforcement and establishing research organizations such as the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The bill is being introduced by Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex) with 17 co-sponsors as diverse as Republican Sens. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah) and Thad Cochran (Miss.) and Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Kamala D. Harris (Calif.). The proposal also has the backing of numerous law enforcement and civil rights groups, such as the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Urban League, the NAACP and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Too many Americans see growing challenges in our justice system, Peters said in a news release, ranging from overburdened courts and unsustainable incarceration costs to strained relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. He said he hoped the new commission would help reduce crime, improve public safety and promote more equitable criminal justice practices.

Both the Fraternal Order of Police and International Association of Chiefs of Police have been calling for such a commission for years.

The goal here, said Chuck Canterbury, the FOP president, is to improve not only policing in the U.S., but our nations criminal justice system as a whole.

Donald W. De Lucca, president of the IACP and chief of the Doral, Florida, police, said it was imperative that we explore all aspects of the criminal justice system to develop recommendations that address the new and emerging challenges that confront not only law enforcement but other criminal justice providers.

On the civil rights side, Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said, Its clear that our justice system is in dire need of reform. He said a national justice commission would provide the first comprehensive review in over 50 years and serve to validate many of the current reform efforts across the country.

Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACPs Washington bureau, said that civil rights groups also have been calling for a thorough review of the justice system for years. Shelton said a national commission could help make crucial changes that will help strengthen the perception of integrity by all Americans, save lives, prevent crime and help law enforcement keep our communities even safer.

The bill calls for the commission to work for 18 months to make recommendations for reform of the federal criminal justice system, and to issue findings and supplemental guidance to federal, state, local and tribal governments as well. The scope of the review is vast: all areas of the criminal justice system, from federal to local, examining costs, practices and policies, and including members from not only law enforcement and criminal justice but also national security, prison and jail administration, prisoner reentry, public health, victims rights, civil rights and liberties, court administration, social services, and state, local and tribal governments.

The members will be overseen by 14 commissioners, with co-chairs appointed by the president and congressional Democrats, with Congress and the president making the other 12 appointments in bipartisan fashion. The bill is titled the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2017.
MANSFIELD, Ohio (AP)  The Ohio prisons system has accidentally released about 2,000 prisoners' Social Security numbers as part of a records request by a convicted identity thief.

The information was included on a list of inmates at Chillicothe (chihl-ih-KAHTH'-ee) Correctional Institution provided to an ex-offender who regularly requests inmate rosters.

The Mansfield News Journal reports (http://ohne.ws/2lDWWNz ) 43-year-old Lonny Bristow turned the information over to the newspaper Tuesday, a day after receiving the records.

Bristow's past convictions include credit card scams committed while serving previous sentences. Bristow says that it's ironic that the prisons system turned the information over to him but that he didn't plan to use it because his criminal life is over.

Prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith says that the agency is looking into identity theft monitoring services for the affected inmates.

Information from: News Journal, http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Chris Vance was drinking his morning coffee and reading the text of President Donald Trumps first executive order banning visitors from some Muslim-majority countries when he decided he had to take action.

So the prominent Republican from Auburn, Washington, who said the order was antithetical to what I believed as an American, grabbed his laptop and did what thousands of Americans have done to register their outrage toward the president: He joined the American Civil Liberties Union, pledging to donate money every month to the organization.

Donating to the ACLU has become an act of political defiance in the Trump era as the group has positioned itself as a high-profile and aggressive opponent of the presidents agenda.

Since the night of the election, when the group famously challenged Trump  saying that it would see you in court  membership has nearly tripled to 1.2 million, and the group has collected more than $80 million in online donations alone. It is adding scores of attorneys and investigators, and faced with a new surge of volunteers, has started a grass-roots arm to mobilize them to lobby on state and local matters.

It is a new and potentially risky position for one of the nations best-known nonprofit organizations, which is liberal-leaning but has built a reputation of crossing ideological lines on issues such as gun rights and political spending and has famously represented some of those most detested in society, from suspected terrorists to neo-Nazis.

Some conservatives say the organization has shifted away from principles of free speech and religious liberties over the years in favor of popular liberal causes such as abortion and gay rights, and think the ACLU favors atheists and other religions over Christians.

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice who has advocated for the rights of Christians, offered the example of the entry ban. A federal judge blocked the original executive order, leading the administration to revise it this week, citing the need to protect national security. But the ACLU and others remain opposed because they view it as targeting Muslims.

There was nothing the president could do that would have satisfied the ACLU except not issue it, Sekulow said. Thats where they are ideologically.

Vance said he took a lot of heat for his decision to join such an openly anti-Trump organization, with conservatives on social media and talk radio denouncing him as disloyal and a RINO  a Republican In Name Only. Vance said he is unperturbed by the criticism.

Im, like, Mr. Republican in this state, said Vance, a former state representative and GOP chairman who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate last year. I have always thought the ACLU was very consistent. They stand up for the Bill of Rights.

Vance was a prominent critic of Trump during the election and did not cast a ballot for president. On Tuesday, he said that Trumps new entry ban is dramatically better than the previous one, which he felt more openly targeted Muslims. But he said he continues to oppose it.

The original version was blocked by a federal judge, but Trump revised it in a way that his administration says passes legal muster.

ACLU officials acknowledge they have never taken such an oppositional stance against a president. However, they argue that they have built capital in their nearly 100-year history by challenging every president, including many with whom they largely agree.

During President Barack Obamas term, the organization repeatedly took him to task over his use of drones to attack suspected terrorists and his reliance on mass surveillance. Decades earlier, the ACLU led the legal fight against the creation of Japanese internment camps under Franklin D. Roosevelt, a liberal icon.

The ACLU has characterized Trump as a unique threat to American ideals, calling him a one-man constitutional crisis. The organization has filed more than a dozen legal actions against his policies in his first month in office  mostly targeting the entry ban  and says that it has found no common ground with him on his proposals.

We think lawsuits can help crystallize policy debates for the public to engage, said Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU. Litigation can also . . . gum up the machinery of the Trump administration. If we can rob them of momentum, we can keep them from doing greater harm or damage.

The ACLU has tried to blunt the impact of Trumps actions in a number of ways: It increased its legal assistance in heavily Latino neighborhoods after immigration authorities stepped up deportations last month. It pledged to move forward on a transgender students lawsuit after the administration revoked guidance calling for schools to allow students to use the bathroom of their choice. It submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the administrations plans to issue an executive order expanding the rights of people of faith to opt out of activities or laws that infringe on their religious beliefs  a proposal the group criticized as antigay. It has pledged to aggressively defend Planned Parenthood if Trump and congressional Republicans follow through on their promise to defund it. And it has called for a special prosecutor to investigate Trumps campaign ties with Russia.

The groups stance has earned it rock-star status in liberal circles, with fancy restaurants and even yoga studios holding ACLU fundraisers. At the Academy Awards, some actors wore blue ACLU pins. At a comedy club fundraiser in Chicago in January, the crowd at one point chanted the name of the local affiliates communications director, Ed Yohnka.

Here I am  Im a white, middle-aged guy with a bald head who wears a suit and tie every day. Theyre chanting, Ed! Ed! Ed!  Yohnka said, referring to his appearance at a nighttime event attended by hip urbanites. The event, he said, was really affirming of the work that we do.

The ACLUs position on religious liberties has been a particular source of controversy.

In 1993 the organization was among the broad cross-section of politicians and groups that supported the passage of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The legislation came after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision of the state of Oregon to deny unemployment benefits to two Native Americans after they were fired for testing positive for the use of drugs used during a religious ceremony.

Congress tried three years later to pass another version of the bill after it was struck down by the Supreme Court. But the ACLU and others withheld support, in part because it was opposed by the burgeoning gay rights movement, said John Inazu, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

In recent years, the ACLU has been a vociferous opponent of state laws attempting to pass religious freedom bills viewed as antigay.

Some critics have noted the groups shift on protests outside abortion clinics. In 2000, the ACLU sided with conservative religious protesters in Colorado challenging restrictions outside of the clinics. In 2014, it sided with the government and against protesters in a similar case in Massachusetts.

For religious conservatives, the most plausible explanation would be a shift toward reproductive rights and away from religious freedom and free-speech concerns, Inazu said.

Charles Haynes, founding director of the Religious Freedom Center at the Newseum Institute, said the ACLU has mostly remained true to its mission. At a time when the president is facing vocal opposition, it follows that the organization would be popular, he said.

But there have been times that it has hemorrhaged members, he said, such as when it defended the rights of neo-Nazis to march in Skokie, Illinois, in 1977. In 2009 it sued a Florida school district on behalf of students barred from wearing T-shirts that said, Islam is of the Devil.

What I would say is if the ACLU defends anything you dont like, you should just suck it up because, remember, tomorrow the ACLU will defend something you do like, Haynes said.
WASHINGTON  The premise of the upcoming Fox series Shots Fired is certainly ripped from the headlines: Its about two racially charged murders in a Southern town, including the killing of a white student by a black police officer.

But we learned at the D.C. screening of the show at the Newseum on Tuesday night that there is even more real-life inspiration at work: the character played by actor Stephan James  an idealistic young prosecutor at the Justice Department  is based in part on former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr., who offered guidance to the shows creators and to James.

The shows co-creators, husband-and-wife team Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Bythewood, consulted with the top lawyer in the Obama administration, as well as conducting interviews with Wanda Johnson, the mother of Oscar Grant  whose shooting was dramatized in the film Fruitvale Station  as well as former New York City Police Department commissioner Raymond Kelly. Some of the things (Holder) gave us ended up being a template for Stephans character, Reggie Bythewood said.

Probably a lot of Eric Holder, James said when asked about the inspiration for his character. He was so helpful to me in the beginning stages of creating this character. Hes had so much success in his career, and Preston Terry (James character) is on that same trajectory.

James described his on-screen persona in a way that might sound familiar to those who know the former AG: Hes this young, confident lawyer who comes in and thinks hes going to change this community, and maybe even change the world. It seems James is developing a pattern of playing Washington types  he portrayed Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., in the 2014 film Selma.

Stars Mack Wilds and Sanaa Lathan also strutted the crimson gantlet at the Newseum, chatting about the show and posing for the cameras  but it was veteran actor Richard Dreyfuss who broke the red-carpet routine.

The American Graffiti actor appeared disheveled compared with his polished and well-coiffed co-stars (his necktie was completely outside his V-neck sweater, and he wore a heavy overcoat). Dreyfuss appeared buoyant, first attempting to lead the reporters lining the red carpet in an inexplicable chant of Nazi bes!

If this show does what it should, it will be the most current show youve imagined in your life, he boasted. In Shots Fired, Dreyfuss plays the owner of a private prison, and Dreyfuss reminded us that hes quite comfortable playing newsworthy men.

Ive played Dick Cheney; Ive played Alexander Haig, he said. This is like rolling off a log.
If the new videos highlighting New Mexicos entrepreneurship culture look like they could also work as travel ads, theres a good reason: They were produced by the New Mexico Tourism Department.

The state tourism agency, which manages a $9.7 million marketing and advertising budget, recently turned its attention to the entrepreneurs behind the Taos Mountain Energy Bar company and Albuquerque-based technology startup Innobright. In the videos, the companies founders describe why they started their businesses, interspersing shots of their operations with the likes of hot-air balloon launches, mountain bikers and scenic vistas.

Tourism Secretary Rebecca Latham said the state made the videos as part of a partnership with the City of Albuquerque, which will have them available for use at the SXSW conference that begins this weekend in Austin, Texas.

The state has also purchased advertising that will play a New Mexico True commercial for anyone logging onto Wifi at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport during the month of March, Latham said. Its part of the tourism departments broader, four-month, $170,000 advertising push in the Texas capital this spring.

In a Wednesday morning presentation to Economic Forum of Albuquerque, Latham said the New Mexico True messaging  which she described as a brand rather than a campaign  attracts travelers but also can entice people to start or move their businesses here. She cited Longwoods International research that found those who have seen the ads were 133 percent more likely to consider New Mexico a good place to start a business.

I know what youre thinking: Its totally different, Latham told the crowd of about 150 business leaders. You dont market tourism the same way you market economic development, but there is definitely a synergy there.

In the Taos Mountain Energy video, executives tout the states Local Economic Development Act and the opportunity to not just be another startup within a state where you have hundreds, if not thousands, of startups popping up every year. But they also cite Taos majestic nature and authenticity.

Latham said in an interview her department has no plan for paid placement of the ads yet.

We want to see what they can do organically, she said. But we wanted to create content that could be useful in business recruitment efforts.
STERLING, Colo.  The Latest on a wildfire in northeastern Colorado (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

Firefighters have contained a grass fire that destroyed four homes and left about 200 head of cattle dead on the plains of northeastern Colorado.

Logan County spokeswoman Marilee Johnson says crews completed containment lines around the fire on Wednesday but were still working to extinguish hot spots, including hay bales.

Johnson says no human injuries were reported from the fire.

Ranchers in adjacent Phillips County reported they lost 200 cattle that were either killed by the fire or had to be killed because of their injuries. Authorities were still trying to determine cattle losses in Logan County.

The Colorado Cattlemens Association appealed for donations of cash, hay and fencing supplies.

The fire started Monday in Logan County and quickly spread west to Phillips County ahead of gusty winds. The cause is being investigated.

___

11:50 a.m.

Firefighters are close to extinguishing a grass fire that has destroyed four homes and killed dozens of cattle on the plains of northeastern Colorado.

Crews hope to have the 50 square mile fire near Haxtun fully contained by the end of Wednesday and are working to put out hay bales, trees and fence posts still burning within the fire zone.

The damage from the fire is still being assessed but officials say about 195 head of cattle died as a result of the fire in Phillips County.

The Colorado Cattlemens Association is asking for donations of hay, feed and fencing supplies for ranchers in the region.

The fire started Monday in neighboring Logan County and quickly spread in gusty winds. The cause is being investigated.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump proposed slashing State Department and foreign aid budgets by nearly 40 percent. Now European diplomats are warning those cuts would be dangerous and expose European allies to further Russian aggression.

Six eastern European envoys, including the Ukrainian foreign minister, testified before the Senate Tuesday to urge stronger U.S. leadership in the region to hedge against Russia. While lauding U.S. military assistance and recent troop deployments to the Baltic region under the NATO flag, they also warned cutting funding to non-military assistance measures could strengthen Russias so-called hybrid warfare tactics.

We will not feel safer when the budget for such projects will be essentially cut, Polish Ambassador Piotr Wilczek told a panel of Senate Appropriations Committee members.

We hope that its just a kind of deliberation  a kind of tweeting, not really a decision. Because this sounds very dangerous, he said.

Wilczek, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, and the ambassadors of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Georgia all joined the panel urging the Senate to keep the flow of military and nonmilitary aid flowing to eastern Europe.

They pointed to the importance of U.S. foreign military assistance, but also smaller government-funded efforts, from Voice of America to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, that play an outsized role in bolstering post-Soviet democracies and countering Russian aggression. All are potentially on Trumps budget chopping block. State and foreign aid could see their budgets slashed 37 percent, if the White Houses opening salvo in the federal budget process sticks. His proposed cuts showcase a troubling disregard for the important role [the State Department] plays in U.S. national security, especially in regards to the transatlantic relationship wrote Rachel Rizzo, research associate with the Center for New American Security.

But its not just his budget proposals that are rattling allies. During the campaign, Trump brushed off U.S. commitments to NATO allies and openly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. Top White House officials misled Congress on meetings with Russian diplomats during the presidential campaign season, which toppled Trumps first national security advisor, Michael Flynn, and hamstrung Attorney General Jeff Sessions as Congress poises to investigate Russias interference in the U.S. election.

Since his election, Trump has walked back his NATO skepticism. But allies are fearful he could neglect or even spurn European allies to forge more cooperation with Moscow. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Defense James Mattis visited Brussels last month to soothe allies unnerved by Trump. Both administration officials offered reassuring noises, but with a tinge of conditionality, former NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow told Foreign Policy, making clear Washington expects NATO allies to shoulder a bigger part of the defense burden.

The stakes are especially high for Ukraine and Georgia, both grappling with Moscows illegal annexation of swaths of their countries. Klimkin, Ukraines foreign minister, detailed for Congress the size of Russias military footprint. In eastern Ukraine, he said the Kremlin has poured in 4,200 regular troops and 40,000 militants, more than 400 tanks, and 1,000 artillery platforms. Some 23,000 Russian troops are in occupied Crimea, he said.

He told the senate panel he received strong signals of support from his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Tuesday.

The Baltic States, unlike Ukraine or Georgia, are under NATOs protective umbrella as full members. But theyre also staring down the barrel of Moscows military might. Russia bulked up its military hardware on NATOs borders in the Baltic States and regularly conducts massive snap military exercises to showcase its force.

Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland has become the most militarized region in Europe, Wilczek warned. In October last year, Russia deployed nuclear-capable missiles to the region. Some defense experts now doubt NATO could reinforce the Baltic states quickly enough in the unlikely event Russia invaded. NATO is funneling troops led by U.S., Canadian, German, and British contingents to the Baltic states to deter that scenario. The deployment makes a very substantial difference in terms of credibility of NATOs deterrence, Vershbow said.

Vershbow, also former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, said a conventional Russian invasion was highly unlikely, but whats more troubling is Russias hybrid warfare  prodding U.S. allies with subversive economic or political maneuvers to undermine their strength. Thats where U.S. foreign aid matters, helping fortify democratic institutions and counter Russian propaganda.

Eerik Marmei, Estonias ambassador in Washington, told the Senate Tuesday Russias hybrid antics werent limited to the former Soviet Union. We, as neighbors to Russia, are just a bit more used to witnessing such behavior, he said. Upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France, and Germany are a perfect theater for the Russian disinformation warriors, he added. Those concerns have already borne fruit.

The Lithuanian ambassador Rolandas Krisciunas said Russian spies tried to aggressively meddle in his countrys domestic politics, adding Moscow was bankrolling Russian-speaking groups in the Baltic states to incite ethnic tensions.

The European envoys largely sidestepped the elephant in the room: Trumps possible ties to Russia. But lawmakers did not.

We understand the interference youve had. We now count ourselves among those who are facing the same kind of interference, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., told the European diplomats.If we forgive and forget regarding our own election well invite future aggression by other countries, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said.
Samsung on Wednesday said that it is looking into reports based on WikiLeaks documents that the Central Intelligence Agency may have developed a way to access Samsung SmartTVs to control some features of the device and to record conversations within range of the television.

According to the documents, which have not been confirmed by the CIA, the agency was able to use a Fake Off mode to make the television appear inactive and record conversations. Only Samsung smart TVs from 2012 and 2013 that run the older 1111, 1112 and 1116 versions of the companys firmware are affected, the documents said.

Protecting consumers privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung, the company said. We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter.

Before the panic sets in, though, lets take a step back.

First, The Washington Post has not been able to independently verify whats described in the WikiLeaks information dump, and the CIA has declined to comment.

Second, the WikiLeaks document describes the hacking of individual, targeted devices. Judging by the information posted on WikiLeaks, the CIA needed to plug a USB drive into a television to get the hack to work. While some say its likely that the CIA was also developing the ability to get into televisions remotely, as Forbes reported, there isnt proof that theyve succeeded.

For the vast majority of us, this does not apply to us at all, said Jan Dawson, an industry analyst at Jackdaw Research. Theres no need to worry for any normal law-abiding citizen, based on what Ive seen.

But if you still have concerns, there are some steps to take if you want to turn off the voice recording capabilities on your Samsung television. You can head to your settings menu, then select Smart Features. From there, you can choose Voice Recognition and turn it off.

The WikiLeaks report adds to concerns that recently have been raised about smart televisions and spying. The report focuses on government surveillance, but the electronics companies themselves have been accused of using their televisions to invade customers privacy. Last month the Federal Trade Commission settled with television maker Vizio, which was accused of collecting and sharing its customers data without permission. Samsung in 2015 drew criticism when its privacy policy included a warning telling people not to have private conversations too near their smart televisions in their own living rooms.

Given consumer preferences, its going to get more difficult to find a television that isnt smart. According to a report from the Consumer Technology Association, 28.7 million smart TVs are expected to sold in the United States in 2017, out of 40 million units of total digital displays expected to sell. That means roughly 72 percent of TVs sold in 2017 will be smart in some way, though the report doesnt break down how many of those might have audio and video recording capabilities.

Of course, the news that its televisions could be used as surveillance tools, isnt great for Samsung. The company has already taken several public hits in the past few months, due to recalls of its Note7 smartphone and some washing machines, as well as bribery charges being leveled at one of its top executives in South Korea.

In isolation, this would come and go without problems, but now its another reason for Samsung to be in the headlines, said Dawson. Taken together, he said, it fits into a greater negative narrative about Samsung, which sells at least one-third of the worlds smart televisions.
Womens March on Washington organizers made their first large-scale attempt Wednesday to build on the momentum of their January march, calling on women across the country to skip work and take to the streets to resist the policies of the new presidential administration.

The result was a smaller crowd with a harder-edged concept than the earlier march.

In the Washington, D.C., region, the large number of teacher time-off requests prompted public school districts in Alexandria, Virginia, and Prince Georges County, Maryland, to close, along with at least nine charter schools in the District.

In New York, 13 women, including top organizers of the January Womens March, were arrested as they blocked traffic and made a human wall around Trump International Hotel. Elsewhere, the demonstrations were more subdued.

In the nations capital, protesters swarmed public spaces in front of the White House, Capitol and Labor Department.

From Santa Cruz, California, to Chicago to Philadelphia, women held rallies aimed at drawing attention to womens roles in the labor force and to criticize government actions they view as anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-woman.

Trump is afraid of us, yelled Terry ONeill, president of the National Organization for Women, at a rally outside the White House. You know who else should be afraid of us? Any member of Congress who does not respect our rights.

Day Without a Woman coincided with International Womens Day and sparked conversations about women in the workforce and disparate wages between men and women. The day brought a new edge to a feminist movement that gained steam the day after President Donald Trumps inauguration, when more than a million people in the District and across the country spilled into the streets.

Many of them wore pink pussyhats, a wry reference to a term Trump has used to describe female genitalia, and held cheeky signs to signal their displeasure at the new presidents tone and policies.

If those gatherings had a jubilant feel, the actions Wednesday were decidedly more strident as protesters were countering policies that have since been implemented or proposed by the Trump administration. In a public park in front of the White House, hundreds of men and women protested the Mexico City policy, known by critics as the global gag rule, which says that foreign nonprofits providing abortions will forfeit aid from the U.S. government. Trump reinstated the Reagan-era rule on one of his first days as president.

Resist Trump, stop the gag, they chanted.

Since the Womens March, some conservatives have written off the movement because of its embrace of certain liberal causes, such as abortion rights and Palestinian rights. Some critics felt Wednesdays strike put a burden on poor women who could least afford a day off work.

Jody Ellenby, a fifth-grade D.C. charter school teacher who skipped work Wednesday, attended two protests and acknowledged that her job, which offers paid leave, allowed her to go on strike with little consequence.

I hope to stand in solidarity with women who cant strike today, and I hope to be a voice for women who have seen violence in the past, Ellenby said. I am a privileged person, but I hope to use that privilege to stand for others who may not be able to.

Women who couldnt join the strike were urged to participate by wearing red  a color that symbolizes revolutionary love and sacrifice, organizers said  and spend money at small and women-owned businesses.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., emerged from the Capitol on Wednesday clad in red and waving a sign, showing support for the strike and urging more women to run for office.

People would say to me, If you ruled the world, what one thing would you do to make the future better? Thats an easy answer: The education of girls, Pelosi said.

Trump didnt respond to the protests but tweeted to coincide with International Womens Day, saying, I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy.

Trump press secretary Sean Spicer said in a news briefing that he didnt believe any women in the White House participated in the strike but added that people have the right to express themselves.

On Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of strikers took over a plaza at the entrance to the Labor Department. They filled a wide, empty fountain and did an impromptu, choreographed dance before marching to a nearby park, chanting resist and equal pay for equal work.

A.J. Verdelle, a D.C. native and creative-writing professor at Morgan State University, participated in the White House and Labor Department protests. She carried a sign that read women count, featuring science symbols.

It was a hard decision, she said of skipping work. But because the Republicans have Congress and the presidency, people in the streets are our best bet.
SANTA FE  In a long-shot bid to secure more funds for public schools statewide, the Senate voted 24-16 on Wednesday to approve a proposal that would generate an estimated $89 million annually by nearly doubling New Mexicos tobacco tax rate.

The measure faces an all-but-certain veto if it passes the House and arrives on Gov. Susana Martinezs desk, but majority Senate Democrats said the measure would provide an alternative to additional K-12 spending cuts.

This will not only assist us with some of the (potential) cuts for this year, but it will also help us backfill some of the cuts from previous years, said Sen. Howie Morales, D-Silver City, sponsor of Senate Bill 231.

If approved, the measure would nearly double the states tax on cigarettes, raising it from $1.66 a pack to $3.16 a pack, a $1.50 increase. It would also apply to cigars and electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, although it wasnt clear how those items would be taxed.

Republican senators expressed opposition to the legislation, with some saying it would hurt cigar shops and other locally owned businesses.

Others questioned the wisdom of increasing the cigarette tax rate for the second time in seven years  a 75-cent hike was part of a 2010 tax package signed into law by then-Gov. Bill Richardson.

Were making the poor even poorer than they are right now  unless they quit, said Sen. Greg Baca, R-Belen.

Meanwhile, Wednesdays vote on the bill came just one day after the bill cleared a key Senate committee, which also heard testimony from school superintendents statewide about the potential impact of additional spending cuts.

Generally, bills appear on House and Senate calendars for at least one day before votes are taken.

School districts have faced several years of belt-tightening as part of an overall state budget crunch. A solvency package enacted earlier this year by the Legislature and signed by Martinez included a provision that reduced funding for most school districts by a total of $46 million.

Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, who described himself as a former smoker, said it was time for the Legislature to take a stand against the governors no tax increase stance.

If I still smoked, Id gladly pay  an extra $1.50 per pack to ensure some of the (budget-cutting) scenarios dont come to pass, he said. Were running out of options.

The Senate has already approved a separate tax package that includes a provision to raise New Mexicos gasoline tax rate, while the House has approved its own tax hike legislation.
Kuwaits first business accelerator will launch this summer with a Made-in-New Mexico stamp.

Albuquerques Creative Startups program signed a license agreement in January with the private equity firm Messilah Ventures to use its curriculum and resources for training and mentoring entrepreneurs from around the Middle East. The first two startup cohorts will take place this summer and fall.

Creative Startups co-founder Alice Loy is in Kuwait City this month to set up the program, and to visit Dubai, Jordan and Lebanon to recruit participants.

This will be the first accelerator program of any kind in Kuwait, and the first one focused on the creative industries in the entire region, Loy told the Journal.

It marks Creative Startups first successful thrust into foreign lands under an effort begun last year to expand the program to other states and nations. That expansion is funded, in part, by a $190,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which aims to help people attain economic independence.

The first non-New Mexico program started last summer in Winston-Salem, N.C., organized by the Center for Creative Economy after licensing the Creative Startups curriculum. The Maryland Institute College of Art has also signed an agreement to begin in Baltimore this year. And Startup Angra in Portugal is completing the licensing process now to launch its first cohort this summer, Loy said.

The accelerator, which began in 2014, provides intensive, eight-week training courses for new businesses in the creative industries. That includes everything from design, games, software and film to music, publishing, and performance and visual arts.

In Kuwait, it will focus on food, at least at first, reflecting that countrys reputation as a food capital, said Messilah Ventures founder Rashid Sultan. Later cohorts may expand to other industries, such as digital media and gaming.

The startup ecosystem here is still in its infancy, Sultan told the Journal. We want to grow it in Kuwait and across the Gulf region.

For New Mexico, the program expansion brings international recognition, plus gateways to Middle Eastern markets for New Mexico startups, Loy said.

Its an opportunity to put New Mexico on the map with a stake in the ground that says we are global leaders in the creative economy, Loy said. Our startups also need access to growing markets, and Kuwait is a huge oil state with a burgeoning middle class. Were building trusted relationships that can help New Mexico companies crack open opportunities here.
A mid-level drug dealer who authorities said sold heroin to users and other dealers in the Albuquerque for years pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to traffic heroin in a case that left one of his customers dead.

Rosendo Flores Angulos plea agreement calls for him to be sentenced to 14 to 17 years, though his sentencing hearing hasnt been scheduled. He pleaded guilty Wednesday morning before Magistrate Judge William Lynch to conspiracy to distribute heroin.

A Mexican national, Flores Angulo, 39, will face deportation after he serves his prison sentence.

Prosecutors said in court on Wednesday that Flores Angulo, who used several aliases, sold small balls of heroin wrapped in aluminum foil throughout Albuquerque. David Hutchinson, 31, a low level dealer who Flores Angulo supplied, was also charged in the case.

According to an indictment, Flores Angulo sold Hutchinson heroin, and Hutchinson then sold $20 of that heroin on April 29, 2015 to a user identified in court documents as DJ.

DJ used the heroin at his parents home that night and collapsed and died, prosecutors said. A medical toxicologist was expected to testify at Flores Angulos trial that DJ died from the heroin, prosecutors said in court.

New Mexico has one of the highest rates for deaths caused by opioid overdoses. U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez said in a statement that even though the man used a small amount of heroin, it was lethal.

Hundreds of people die each year in New Mexico from heroin and opioid overdoses. As the facts of this case demonstrate, there is no safe threshold for heroin use, and even a very small dose of heroin  just one-quarter of a gram in this case  can be lethal, Martinez said. Heroin users and distributors need to understand that they are playing Russian roulette and every dose of heroin is another round in the cylinder.

Hutchinson has also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, according to court documents.
New Mexicos congressional delegation on Wednesday continued to weigh in against a House Republican plan to replace to Affordable Care Act.

On Tuesday, Sen. Tom Udall said the plan introduced this week would cost New Mexico jobs and result in fewer insured. Rep. Steve Pearce, the delegations lone Republican, also voiced skepticism about the bill on Tuesday, without saying he would oppose it outright.

On Wedneday, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, a New Mexico Democrat who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, voiced his objection to the Republican bill.

The legislation before us today brings to mind two questions for my (Republican) friends across the aisle: Have you forgotten these people? Or are you intentionally ignoring them? Lujan said. Because this bill pits sick kids against aging grandparents and thats just not okay. The ACA is not perfect, but we should mend it, not end it.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, the top-ranking Democrat on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, also said on Wednesday that the Republican plan would not help provide affordable health care.

The Republicans health care plan gives a tax break to the ultra-wealthy and forces the middle class to foot the bill, he said. Economists agree that the Republican plan to gut the Affordable Care Act is bad for working families, and we will uncover just how devastating its impact could be. What we do know is that the GOP plan would cut Medicaid by $370 billion over the course of 10 years, shorten the life of Medicare by four years, and make it harder for Americans with pre-existing conditions to find coverage. Its our duty to ensure Americans get the affordable care they deserve, and the GOP health care plan fails miserably.

Michelle Lujan Grisham also voiced objections on Wednesday.

As I predicted, Republicans in Congress are forging ahead with a health care plan that gives insurance and pharmaceutical companies more power to drive cost increases, raises costs for low-income and middle-aged Americans, and gives the wealthiest Americans a $600 billion tax cut, she said.

On Tuesday, Pearce, R-N.M., said the Republican plan is not perfect. Pearce is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which has advocated for a complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act. The broader House GOP plan would retain some key provisions of that law. One conservative GOP lawmaker told Politico this week that the bill is Obamacare by a different form.

Pearce said the legislation had at least one strong point, enabling states such as New Mexico, which dramatically expanded their Medicaid roles under the new law, a transition period to adoption of the GOP bill, if it was enacted.

It does contain a much needed transition period for the state Medicaid program, which has the potential to greatly benefit New Mexico, Pearce said Tuesday. Yet, it continues many of the same mandates that have driven health insurance prices up for millions, making coverage unaffordable and inaccessible. Significant questions remain about the implementation of this plan, its affordability for consumers, and its ability to be signed into law.

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said he worried what the Republican plan would mean for New Mexicos low-income health care recipients.

Thanks to Obamacare, 300,000 more New Mexicans have health insurance, and seven of the top 10 fastest-growing job categories in our state are in the health care field, Udall said on a conference call with New Mexico reporters on Tuesday. Without Obamacare, and with no comparable replacement, New Mexicans would lose an estimated 19,000 jobs by 2019, and our state would lose $2.2 billion in funding annually by 2019a huge hit that could send our states economy back into recession.
A constellation of influential groups representing the nations hospitals and physicians came out Wednesday against a House Republican proposal to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, marking the latest round of setbacks to the controversial plan.

Seven groups representing the nations hospitals, health systems and medical colleges collectively added their significant concerns to the growing opposition, focusing on the prospect of sharply lower numbers of insured Americans if the Republicans plans were to become law. Separately, the American Medical Association, a powerful lobbying group for physicians, rejected the bill for the same reason.

The new round of opposition underscored the challenge that proponents of the bill, known as the American Health Care Act, are facing. It came as the White House and House Republican leaders moved to try to overcome the surge of hostility to the bill from conservatives, Democrats and industry groups.

In a letter to Congress, the hospital groups, which included the American Hospital Association, wrote, Our assessment of this legislation as currently drafted is that it is likely to result in a substantial reduction in the number of Americans able to buy affordable health insurance or maintain coverage under the Medicaid program.

They said they anticipated tremendous instability for those seeking affordable coverage.

The groups also addressed the proposed changes to Medicaid, warning that they would mean lost coverage and funding cuts for a program charged with caring for vulnerable children, elderly and disabled Americans.

The cuts forecast to providers, in combination with reduced coverage, would reduce our ability to provide essential care to those newly uninsured and those without adequate insurance, their letter continued.

AMA chief executive James Madara, a doctor, wrote in a letter released Wednesday: We cannot support the AHCA as drafted because of the expected decline in health insurance coverage and the potential harm it would cause to vulnerable patient populations.

The list of organizations opposing the measure has grown quickly since the bill was unveiled on Monday. The AARP came out against it Tuesday.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that administration officials, including President Trump, are engaged in a full-court press to sell the House GOP health-care bill through local radio and television interviews and meetings with stakeholders.

On Capitol Hill, where a pair of House committees started trying to advance the legislation, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., expressed confidence the bill would eventually pass, even though some House GOP members have railed against it.

Trump will host a group of conservative leaders at the White House on Wednesday night to discuss their concerns, Spicer said  the second night in a row Trump has huddled with players in the debate to discuss strategy.

At the same time, Spicer sought to pre-emptively discredit the nonpartisan budget analyst that is preparing to report on how much the bill will add to the federal deficit.

Next week, the Congressional Budget Office will also forecast how many people could lose coverage if the measure is enacted, an area where the Republican plan is vulnerable.

If youre looking to the CBO for accuracy, youre looking in the wrong place, Spicer said, accusing the office of mistakes in its forecasts about the Affordable Care Act.

Ryan described the proposal as a conservative wish list that would deliver on years of GOP campaign promises to reform the nations health-care system.

This is the covenant we made with the American people when we ran on a repeal-and-replace plan in 2016, he said at a news conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

I have no doubt well pass this, because were going to keep our promises, he said.

The developments highlighted the high stakes confronting Ryan as that committee work got underway on Wednesday. Republican leaders face stiff opposition to their proposal from both the left and the right, as Democrats decry the plans expected toll on vulnerable populations, and conservative Republicans say it would not go far enough in pulling back elements of the ACA. Moderate Republicans and major stakeholders from the health-care industry, including hospitals, also have pushed back on the plan.

The most imminent and serious threat is criticism from conservative lawmakers and advocacy groups, such as Heritage Action for America, FreedomWorks and the Club for Growth, which hold significant power to produce no votes within the right flank of Ryans conference. The speaker can lose only 21 Republican votes if the American Health Care Act is to pass, and opponents are promising to use that leverage to force changes to the bill.

To reporters, Ryan played down the conservative rebellion, describing it as a temporary reaction from Republicans who have never held office under unified GOP control.

Were going through the inevitable growing pains of being an opposition party to being a governing party, he said. Its a new feel, a new system for people.

Ryan also sought to mute complaints that the measure was released without a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, calling the situation very common and vowing the numbers would be available next week.

This is a monumental, exciting conservative reform, he said of the plan in a bid to woo critics on the right. Ive been working on this for 20 years. This is exciting. This is what weve been dreaming about doing.

Ryan does have one major ally in his corner  Trump, who wants the House bill approved quickly and without significant changes and has warned that not doing so will result in trouble for Republicans at the ballot box.

The White House has already spent several days targeting skeptical conservatives in a behind-the-scenes charm offensive, said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has emerged as the bills chief skeptic.

Every conservative thats come out publicly opposed to this has been called by the White House and is being cajoled and wooed by the White House to give in, Paul said during an interview with MSNBCs Morning Joe on Wednesday.

But if conservatives stick together . . . we will have a force and a negotiation, he said. Because I dont think they have the numbers to pass this at this point.

Trump specifically called out Paul with a tweet Tuesday evening: I feel sure that my friend @RandPaul will come along with the new and great health care program because he knows Obamacare is a disaster!

Meanwhile, by midday Wednesday, the two House committees working on the bill were experiencing the kinds of partisan skirmishes expected to dominate the process over the next several weeks.

In a meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee, Democrats moved immediately to lambaste the bill and the process that produced it.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, offered a motion to delay the hearing for one week to allow for further hearings on the bill and to examine the CBO report. The motion was voted down on a straight party-line vote.

Health care is too important, it impacts too many lives, to have a health-care bill jammed though in the same manner as President Trumps immigration order, Doggett said. What this bill needs is some extreme vetting.

In the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Democrats engaged in another procedural protest as they questioned why the majority had constrained most members to one-minute speeches, rather than three-minute speeches.

In a sign of how strained relations between the two parties have become, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., the panels top Democrat, repeatedly sparred with Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., over parliamentary procedure once the House bill was called up for consideration.

As Pallone peppered Walden with questions and said Democrats were prepared to offer roughly 100 amendments, the Oregon Republican replied in an exasperated tone. Well get through this, he said. Lets all just settle down.

But Democrats continued to press their objections, demanding that the committee clerk read the revised legislative proposal word-for-word rather than skip that step for the sake of time, as is customary. Walden estimated that process alone would take two hours.

The lack of a CBO score remained a flash point in the committee hearings, with lawmakers saying they could not properly assess the bill without forecasts about its budget and insurance impact.

Earlier in the day, a House Republican aide pushed back on this criticism in an email to reporters, writing that the score is not necessary and that the leadership will have a score showing that weve hit our targets before the bill goes to the floor.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney also played down worries about the missing cost estimate, predicting it would arrive Monday and noting that because the health-care plan is being considered under a special budget procedure known as reconciliation, it cannot increase the federal deficit after a period of 10 years.

We all know [the bill] is going to score positive in helping out the deficit, to spending less money, another thing that conservatives should be supportive of, Mulvaney said on MSNBC. So I hear all the talk about the CBO score. The only question about the CBO: Is it going to be really good or is it going to be great when that number finally comes out?

Ryan has outlined three phases in which health-care reform would be achieved: first, via reconciliation, of which the current measures are a part; then, through regulations at the Department of Health and Human Services; and finally, the passage of other bills that would need more backing and could include the ability to buy insurance across state lines, a priority for conservatives.

Republicans in the Senate have complained that the process is still moving too quickly.

I dont think we need to introduce legislation on Monday and have one chance to amend it on Wednesday, Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) said on Morning Joe, referring to the House committee hearings.

I want to get it right. I dont want to get it fast. And the Senate certainly will not just be jammed with whatever the House sends over here, he said.

Several Republican senators complained Tuesday afternoon that Trump does not fully grasp the Senates slower pace or its concerns.

If [passage] takes months or a year, so be it, said one Republican senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing.

The senators said there is confusion about who is managing the process and which administration figures, if any, have the power to sway Trump.

  

The Washington Posts Kelsey Snell, Dave Weigel and Robert Costa contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  A senior presidential aide said Wednesday that American families should have various school options for their children, including private schools.

Jason Botel, Donald Trumps education adviser, told a National PTA conference that some children may not thrive in traditional public or charter schools and should have an opportunity to attend private schools.

We need an education landscape that offers high quality options to all students and parents, Botel told the conference.

Botel, who has worked in both traditional public and charter schools, told the story of some of his students who were only able to succeed academically after going to private schools. We are committed to ensuring that students and parents of all backgrounds for whom public school may not be the best option have access to high quality private schools, he added.

Botels message highlighted the focus of the Trump administration on school choice. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a longtime charter school advocate, and Trump recently visited a small, private Catholic school in Florida to promote private-school voucher programs. The administration has talked about expanding voucher programs, which are publicly funded scholarships for low-income families to attend private schools, and tax credits to give more children access to private schools.

Some in the audience did not appreciate the message.

Our stance is that public money should not go to funding private education, said Rebecca Gawsyszawski with the Ohio PTA. Its part of our democracy that every child should be allowed free public education.

But Cindy Gerhardt, president of the Florida PTA, said she was inspired by Botels background and his understanding of both traditional schools and other school options.

His history and his career  makes me feel more confident in his ability to direct the conversation in his position because of his history of knowing PTA and knowing what we stand for and being a part of that and being an educator as well, Gerhardt said.

Shannon Sevier, vice President of advocacy for National PTA, was skeptical of Botels agenda.

PTA is not for private schools that would marginalize students, that would divert funds from public schools, that would remove private liberties from students, that would not have accountability or transparency, Sevier said. So if hes got a model that doesnt do that and he will show it to us, I am most interested in seeing it.

In the end, Sevier said, PTA is ready to wait for political winds to change.

Political climate changes and we are strong enough and we have the longevity to outlast a four or an eight-year term, she said.
Top infectious disease experts are warning about a rapidly spreading outbreak of deadly yellow fever in Brazil that could hit parts of the United States. The danger would be most acute if the virus starts spreading by the same mosquito that transmits Zika.

The outbreak in Brazil has been underway since December, mostly in rural areas in the southeastern part of the country. Its taking place primarily in jungle areas, where forest-dwelling mosquitoes are spreading the virus mainly to monkeys. But an increasing number of people have also been infected, making it Brazils worst yellow fever outbreak among humans in decades. There have been at least 326 confirmed cases, including 220 deaths, with hundreds of additional cases under investigation, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

Writing Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said experts are concerned because the number of yellow fever cases is much higher than whats reported in a typical year in this part of Brazil. Officials are also worried because these areas are also close to major urban centers like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, where tens of millions of people live and where city-dwelling Aedes aegypti mosquitoes could start spreading the disease in a human-to-human cycle.

Although there is a highly effective vaccine for yellow fever, it is not routinely given in Brazils major urban centers, they said. But millions of Brazilians have since been vaccinated this year as health authorities scramble to prevent the outbreak from turning into an epidemic.

Aedes aegypti are the same mosquito species that transmit Zika, dengue and chikungunya, viruses that are all related to yellow fever.

The concern now is that there are a considerable number of these jungle cases, and theres always the possibility  although its very unlikely  that some of these infected people in the jungle will travel to an urban area and spread the infection to the city-dwelling Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, Fauci said in an interview Wednesday, rather than the jungle-dwelling species that are transmitting it now.

This proximity raises concern that, for the first time in decades, urban transmission of yellow fever will occur in Brazil, wrote Fauci and Catharine Paules, a colleague at NIAID.

Although its highly unlikely there will be yellow fever outbreaks in the continental United States, the increase in domestic cases in Brazil and frequency of international travel could lead to travel-related cases occurring in warmer parts of the United States, in the Gulf Coast states, and outbreaks in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories, where Zika has spread explosively, primarily through infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

In light of the serious nature of this historically devastating disease, public health awareness and preparedness are critical, even for critical cases, the authors said.

Officials from the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been monitoring the outbreak closely. Transmission continues to expand toward Brazils Atlantic coast, with confirmed infections in the states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Espirito Santo. The entire state of Espirito Santo is now considered at risk for yellow fever transmission, the WHO said this week.

The yellow fever outbreak in Brazil is yet another reminder of the dangers posed by mosquito-borne diseases around the world, said Erin Staples, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC. Its critical that nations have the capacity to quickly detect and control these outbreaks in order to decrease the illness and death and prevent the spread to other locations. CDC has been working with PAHO and WHO to provide technical assistance to Brazilian authorities.

Fauci said clinicians need to keep yellow fever on their radar in case they start seeing possible clusters of cases in areas where there are also Zika outbreaks, and also in possible travel-related cases. Most infectious disease clinicians havent ever seen a case of yellow fever, he said.

This is not chicken little, the sky is falling,' he said. Its a public health heads up. Extensive immunization campaigns, along with effective mosquito control  especially in developed countries  have reduced yellow fever cases worldwide. Localized outbreaks still occur in parts of Africa and Central and South America, accounting for an estimated 84,000 to 170,000 severe cases of disease and between 29,000 and 60,000 deaths annually.

In late 2015, an outbreak of yellow fever in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo resulted in 961 confirmed cases and 137 deaths. During that outbreak, the worlds emergency vaccine stockpile reserve was exhausted, making the outbreak more difficult to control.

Historically, yellow fever has claimed millions of lives, including many thousands in the United States. The Philadelphia epidemic of 1793, for example, killed approximately 10 percent of the citys population and prompted the federal government to flee the city, the authors noted.

The fearsome disease starts like a common flu, with symptoms of headache, fever, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting. But in about 15 percent of patients, it develops into the more severe form of the disease, with high fever, jaundice, internal bleeding, shock, organ failure and death. Up to half of those who develop the severe form may die.

To prevent a similar occurrence during a future yellow fever outbreak in Brazil or elsewhere, the authors note that early identification of cases and rapid implementation of public health management and prevention strategies, such as mosquito control and appropriate vaccination, are critical.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was fired from his prominent White House job last month, has registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for $530,000 worth of lobbying work before Election Day that may have aided the Turkish government.

Paperwork filed Tuesday with the Justice Departments Foreign Agent Registration Unit said Flynn and his firm were voluntarily registering for lobbying from August through November that could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey. It was filed by a lawyer on behalf of the former U.S. Army lieutenant general and intelligence chief.

After his firms work on behalf of a Turkish company was done, Flynn agreed not to lobby for five years after leaving government service and never to represent foreign governments.

Under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, U.S. citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign government or political entities must disclose their work to the Justice Department. Willfully failing to register is a felony, though the Justice Department rarely files criminal charges in such cases. It routinely works with lobbying firms to get back in compliance with the law by registering and disclosing their work.

A Turkish businessman who hired Flynns consulting firm told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the amended filings were made in response to pressure from Justice Department officials in recent weeks. The businessman, Ekim Alptekin, said in a phone call from Istanbul that the changes were a response to political pressure and he did not agree with Flynns decision to file the registration documents with the Justice Department.

I disagree with the filing, he said. It would be different if I was working for the government of Turkey, but I am not taking directions from anyone in the government.

Flynns attorney did not respond to questions about whether the Justice Department or FBI had contacted Flynn about his lobbying activities.

Flynns consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group Inc., had previously disclosed to Congress that it worked for Inovo BV, a Dutch-based company owned by Alptekin. But neither Flynn nor his company had previously filed paperwork with the Justice Department, which requires more extensive transparency about work that benefits foreign governments and political interests.

In the filings with the Justice Department, Flynns attorney, Robert Kelner, noted they served as a termination of the registration, saying the firm had ceased operations in November, the same month the lobbying contract ended.

Calls to phone numbers associated with Flynn and his firm werent answered. Kelner, his attorney, declined to comment through a spokesman for his law firm, Covington & Burling.

Reached Wednesday afternoon, an official at the Turkish embassy in Washington said he would refer the questions to the embassy spokesman. The spokesman did not immediately respond.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Trump fired Flynn last month for misleading Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials about his contacts with Russias ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

As a key member of Trumps transition team last December, Flynn spoke by phone several times with Kislyak during the period when former President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. and levied new sanctions in response to Russian election-related hacking.

According to the new paperwork, Flynns firm took on the Turkish-related lobbying work in August while he was a top Trump campaign surrogate. Flynn Intel disclosed in its filing that in mid-September, the company was invited by Alptekin to meet with Turkish officials in New York.

Alptekin acknowledged Wednesday that he had set up the meeting between Flynn and the two officials. He said they met at an undisclosed hotel in New York. Alptekin said Flynn happened to be in New York while the Turkish officials were attending United Nations sessions and a separate conference Alptekin had arranged.

I asked one of Gen. Flynns staff if he was in town and would be available to meet and they got in touch with him, said Alptekin, who owns several businesses in Turkey.

Among those officials, the documents said, were Turkeys ministers of foreign affairs and energy. Flynns company did not name the officials but reported the two worked for Turkeys government to the best of Flynn Intel Groups current understanding.

Alptekin, who previously told The Associated Press he has no relationship with the Turkish government, is a member of a Turkish economic relations board run by an appointee of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president.

Erdogans power base is Turkeys Islamic voters, and since a failed coup in July, he has accelerated a crackdown against the nations weakening secularist faction. Erdogan has accused cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the aborted coup and called for his extradition from the U.S., where he lives. The Obama administration did not comply, and Gulen still lives in a compound in Pennsylvania.

According to the filing, Flynn Intels work involved collecting information about Gulen and pressuring U.S. officials to take action against the cleric, including a meeting in October between Flynns firm and a representative of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Flynn Intel arranged the meeting to discuss a technology developed by another Flynn Intel client. But after discussing the technology, the firm changed the subject to Gulen, pressuring the committee to hold congressional hearings to investigate the cleric, said a U.S. official with direct knowledge of Flynn Intels work. That request was rebuffed. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The official said Flynn Intel never revealed whom it was representing during the meeting.

The October meeting came as Flynn was working on an op-ed promoting Turkeys political and business affairs that was later published in The Hill, a Washington-based political newspaper. Flynn wrote that Turkey needed support and echoed Erdogans warnings about Gulen, whom he called a shady Turkish Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania. Flynn argued that Gulen should not be given safe harbor in the U.S.

In the new filing, Flynn disclosed that in writing the op-ed, he relied on research conducted as part of the Inovo BV contract. Flynns firm also admitted it conducted open-source research, directed by Inovo, focusing on Gulen.

The results were provided to Inovo and to a separate lobbying firm, S.G.R. LLC Government Relations and Lobbying, a public relations company retained by Flynn Intel. The materials were aimed for distribution to third parties, but because the project terminated early, the full scope of the contract was not performed, according to the filings.

In the filings, Flynn emphasized that neither Inovo BV nor the Turkish government directed him to write the op-ed. He also said he was not paid for the op-ed. Alptekin said he had been opposed to Flynns writing the op-ed, although he agreed with its anti-Gulen and pro-Turkley stances.

Alptekin added that he had asked for some of the $530,000 in payments to the Flynn Intel Group to be returned to him because of his dissatisfaction with the companys performance.

___

Associated Press writer Julie Bykowicz contributed to this report.
Leading Democrats in the Maryland General Assembly want to increase funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in the state if Congress cuts federal funds for the reproductive health care services the organization provides.

Lawmakers have sponsored a bill that would allocate $2.7 million to help pay for health care services that officials say nearly 25,000 women in Maryland could lose under a proposal introduced in Congress this week.

This is about protecting the citizens of Maryland, keeping them in good health, lead sponsor Del. Shane Pendergrass, D-Howard, said Wednesday, surrounded by a host of female lawmakers dressed in red for International Womens Day. We will not let the federal government mess up the state of Maryland.

The legislation is the latest attempt by Maryland Democrats to counteract actions by President Trump and Republicans in Congress that Democrats consider harmful to state residents. Last month, the General Assembly passed a resolution to allow the state attorney general to sue the federal government without first having to get permission from the governor.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, D, also has proposed a bill to address the possible defunding of Planned Parenthood; and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, R, has pledged to provide state funding to cover money Planned Parenthood could lose in his state.

Under the proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Planned Parenthood could not use Medicaid funding and would not be provided support from Title X, a federal program that provides family planning and preventive health services.

Donald Trump has launched a war on women, especially a war on poor women, said Sen. Richard Madaleno Jr., D-Montgomery, the lead sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. It is only right that we stand up to this sort of divisive action.

Gov. Larry Hogan, R, who in general has tried to distance himself from Trump, did not take a position on the Maryland legislation.

Healthcare organizations have been consistently funded in each of the governors budgets, said Amelia Chasse, a spokeswoman for the governor. Future budgetary decisions will be made at the appropriate time.

Sen. Andrew Serafini, R-Washington, a member of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, which must approve the bill for it to advance, said he opposed the funding because Planned Parenthood provides women with abortion, among other health services.

I dont think we should do this at the state or the federal level, frankly, Serafini said. I should not be compelled to fund something that is morally objectionable.

Planned Parenthood provides cancer screenings, including mammograms and Pap smears, birth control, abortions, and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The state funding would cover services provided under Title X, which does not include funding for abortions.

Del. Ariana Kelly, D-Montgomery, a co-sponsor of the bill, said defunding Planned Parenthood would cause a public health disaster. She and others argued that women could die without the services the clinics offer.

You are literally saving lives of Marylanders, Karen Nelson, president of Planned Parenthood of Maryland, said during a news conference to unveil the legislation.

While most who spoke at the news conference took aim at Trump and Republicans in Congress, some also took swipes at Hogan for not taking a more public position on federal policies that impact the state.

I would love for Larry Hogan to stop being silent, Madaleno said. Its time for him to speak up and speak out to protect the people of Maryland.
The State Department has approved a resumption of weapons sales that critics have linked to Saudi Arabias bombing of civilians in Yemen, a potential sign of reinvigorated U.S. support for the kingdoms involvement in its neighbors ongoing civil war.

The proposal from the State Department would reverse a decision made late in the Obama administration to suspend the sale of precision guided munitions to Riyadh, which leads a mostly Arab coalition conducting airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Secretary of State Rex Tillersons approval this week of the measure, which officials say needs White House backing to go into effect, provides an early indication of the new administrations more Saudi-friendly approach to the conflict in Yemen, and a sign of its more hawkish stance on Iran.

It also signals a break with an approach the previous administration hoped would limit civilian deaths in a conflict that has pushed Yemen to the brink of widespread famine, but which gulf ally Saudi Arabia has cast as a battle against the spread of Iranian influence across the Middle East.

The move takes place as the Trump administration considers its approach to the Yemeni war, which has pitted U.S.- and Saudi-backed Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi against an alliance of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Shiite Houthi rebels. Officials in Riyadh allege that the Houthis have received substantial support from Saudi Arabias main regional rival, Iran.

While the U.S. military has provided support to the Saudi-led air campaign since 2015, including aerial refueling for Saudi jets and a U.S. advisory mission in the Saudi operations headquarters, the Obama administration sought to scale back that support last year amid a series of alleged Saudi strikes on civilian targets.

Despite Saudi hopes that the conflict would quickly restore Hadi to power, it is now approaching its third year. As of January, the conflict had led to the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.

It has become a quagmire in which we were deeply involved but had very little influence, said Tom Malinowski, who served as the top human rights official at the State Department under President Barack Obama. That was not a good deal for the United States.

Pressure increased on the Obama administration in October of last year, when Saudi jets attacked a Yemeni funeral hall, killing more than 100 people. At the end of a review prompted by that strike, the Obama White House made the decision to halt the planned sale of roughly $390 million worth of precision munitions guidance systems to the kingdom.

At the same time, officials reaffirmed other kinds of military support, part of a carrot-and-stick approach, reflecting U.S. eagerness to smooth things over with a crucial Middle Eastern ally that was sharply critical of Obamas nuclear deal with Iran.

Now, President Donald Trump, who has also voiced opposition to the nuclear deal, has an opportunity to recalibrate that support and reset ties with Riyadh.

An ongoing Yemen policy review is also a chance for Trump to demonstrate a tougher approach to Iran and its activities throughout the Middle East. Trump and some of his top advisers, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have called Tehran a chief threat to American security.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the Trump administration hopes to roll back Iranian influence in large part in Yemen.

Well be looking for ways to blunt Iranian malign influence in the region. And well be looking for all the tools that the U.S. government has, the official said. In that context, I think you have to look at Yemen.

Trump has already supported the expansion of a separate military campaign in Yemen, one that U.S. forces are now waging against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a potent militant group that has grown stronger amid Yemens instability.

It is not yet known how the new administration will approach the beleaguered Yemen peace process, one that Tillersons predecessor, John Kerry, tried unsuccessfully to push toward a Saudi-Houthi deal.

If the United States still hopes to help broker a nonmilitary end to the conflict, it is critical that it draws bright distinctions between our counter-AQAP efforts in southern Yemen, the delivery of new [arms], and the coalitions efforts in Yemen, said Eric Pelofsky, who served as senior director for North Africa and Yemen in the Obama White House, cautioning that the precision weapons and the expanding counterterrorism effort could be conflated with actions by the Saudi-led coalition the United States may or may not support.

Gerald Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, said that allowing Saudi Arabia to purchase the precision weapons would make sense. My own view is that we should be able to sell these, said Feierstein, who now directs the Center for Gulf Affairs at the Middle East Institute.

Feierstein and other advocates of the sale argue that precision munitions are preferable to unguided or dumb bombs and are less likely to cause civilian casualties when used properly.

We should provide more help, more support, to get them to stop doing stupid things, Feierstein said. We should not cut off all the tools that would enable them to do this the right way.

U.S. officials disagree over whether the weapons and greater hands-on support for the Saudi air campaign would result in diminished danger to civilians, arguing that the larger problem has been Riyadhs choice of targets.

Urging the Saudis to end the war while continuing to provide the weapons theyre using is like trying to persuade a friend not to rob a bank while driving his getaway car, Malinowski said.

The decision last year to suspend the sale of the weapons did not mean that Saudi Arabia, which officials said has a stockpile of those arms, was forced to switch immediately to unguided munitions.

A spokesman for the Saudi military coalition did not respond to a request for comment.

If the White House gives its blessing to the new State Department position, the administration would then notify Congress about its intent to move forward with the sale. It could encounter resistance on Capitol Hill.

If you are interested in radicalizing the Yemeni population against the United States and pushing them into al-Qaidas arms, then continue to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. The Saudis are deliberately going after civilian targets.

Last fall, Murphy was the co-sponsor of a measure that would have blocked a separate sale of Abrams main battle tanks to Saudi Arabia. While the measure did not pass, it was a rare public sign of frustration with an allied nation that has been an important customer for U.S. defense companies.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., another critic of U.S. policy on Yemen, said that a proposed sale without proof of altered conditions in the protracted conflict would face vociferous, bipartisan opposition in Congress.



The Washington Posts Greg Jaffe and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.  The Woolworth building in downtown Nashville, where black civil rights leaders once defiantly sat at a segregated lunch counter that wouldnt serve them, will soon celebrate the culture it once shunned by housing a soul food restaurant with live music.

Restaurant entrepreneur Tom Morales announced the project Wednesday inside the unfinished building at an unveiling. Soulful songs and powerful remarks about the buildings history echoed through the largely emptied structure lined with caution tape.

As construction cranes continue to fill Nashvilles growing skyline, Morales said its an act of love and responsibility to save the Woolworth building, reference its history and create the restaurants own identity. Woolworth on 5th is expected to open in late 2017. The building was most recently a Dollar General.

We should save this history, Morales said. We should identify and embrace it and make sure that it stays. Because even as the high-rises go up, which are a part of growth and progress, the little building next to it represents a movement that, really, its roots were here in Nashville.

Mayor Megan Barry noted that civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, was first arrested in 1960 as a college student at a sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter. It would be the first arrest of dozens in Lewis fight for civil rights.

At that Woolworth sit-in, Lewis was punched in the ribs and saw someone put out a cigarette on the back of another protester, Barry said.

Everything starts somewhere, Barry said. And for John Lewis, that first arrest actually happened right here, on this spot, when he sat at that segregated lunch counter inside Woolworths on February 27, 1960.

The lunch counter will be rebuilt, as Morales looks to reshape the venue to look like it did in 1960. The restaurant will feature 1950s and 1960s rock and soul music, dancing, spoken word and plays. Its a different type of offering in downtown, which is known for its strip of honky tonk bars.

It is about time there was a place in downtown Nashville where you can get down downtown, boogie instead of boot scoot, if you will, said Caroline Randall Williams, an accomplished author and poet.

Growing up with nine brothers and sisters, Morales said he remembers occasionally getting a milkshake at Woolworth. As a member of a Hispanic family, he said he also remembers being the only Morales in the phone book.

The well-known restaurateur revived the historic Acme Farm Supply building downtown, where he remembers his family getting his dog food. He created Acme Feed & Seed, a live music venue and eatery, and he has opened several other Nashville hotspots.

Meanwhile, as Nashville continues to grow, other historic sites, including music fixtures, have been torn down to make way for new construction.

We can see the cranes all over the place. I can drive up the street and I dont even know where I am anymore, Morales said. But the history is important to our identity.
The MP Birla Group has chosen Lodestar UM, the media agency from IPG Mediabrands, to handle the media duties of its cement business.

The MP Birla Group (established in 1919) and having interest across Cement, Power & Telecom Cables, Jute Goods, Healthcare, Education, etc., operates its cement business under its flagship company, Birla Corporation and its subsidiary Reliance Cement Company.

Birla Corporation recently acquired 100 per cent shares of Reliance Cement Company, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, with its units spread across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. With this acquisition, MP Birla Cements total manufacturing capacity has crossed 15 million tons across major markets of North, West, Central and Eastern India.

As a first step of its new branding exercise, MP Birla Cement has launched Perfect, a premium Portland Pozzolana Cement in Central India.

Speaking on the engagement, Sandip Ghose, Executive President  Sales, Marketing & Logistics, MP Birla Cement, said, We are pleased to have a professional media agency, Lodestar UM, on board. We were impressed by their quick understanding of our marketing mission, a flexible and collaborative approach in developing a plan that meets our needs and priorities.

He added, We look forward to Lodestar UM partner us on the new branding journey. We have very high expectations of Lodestar UM as well as confidence in its ability to make the difference along with our creative agency, Ogilvy and Mather.

Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM, concurred, This is a very major event in the life of MP Birla Cement and the stakes are high. The success of this launch will determine much of the future trajectory of the company. Lodestar UM, with its insights and solutions-led approach, will strive to create a strong differentiation in the market  cutting through the clutter and me-too media activities.

Lodestar UMs key clients include Coca-Cola, Samsung, Tata Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Mahindra, Whirlpool, CenturyPly, Amul, IndusInd Bank, ExxonMobil, and VIP Industries, among others.
Federal Office of Police

Bern, 08.03.2017 - The Swiss Confederation and the Kingdom of Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 8 March 2016 to step up the fight against cross-border crime. Under the agreement, the two countries will provide mutual support to police investigations and tighten their criminal prosecution.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by Switzerland and Thailand on 8 March 2017, is the next important step in bilateral police cooperation.

Both countries wish to focus efforts on combating certain forms of crime, primarily human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. Under the agreement, they agree to pursue common goals and provide mutual support in ongoing investigations. Combating cross-border crime is a complex undertaking; the two countries therefore seek optimal solutions on a case-by-case basis. The MoU represents an intended common line of action but does not contain any obligations, either on the operational or strategic level. On the part of Switzerland, fedpol is responsible for coordination.

Tangible benefits

The MoU provides the following benefits:

The authorities of both countries can exchange strategic, operational or police information faster, in particular through INTERPOL.

Major, joint investigations by the Royal Thai Police and fedpol can be expedited and coordinated more efficiently.

The Swiss authorities can cooperate more effectively with their local counterparts in remote areas of Thailand, hence speeding up investigations.

The movements and whereabouts of known offenders in Thailand, especially in connection with paedophile crime, can be determined with greater accuracy.

Joint strategic working groups will facilitate common strategies on fighting organised crime such as drug trafficking.

Cooperation will foster joint working groups in criminal investigations.

Swiss mutual assistance requests can be processed faster.

Switzerland and Thailand work together to combat various types of crime, such as human trafficking, sexual exploitation, paedophile crime, organised crime, drug trafficking, people smuggling, cybercrime and money laundering. The Swiss police attache, stationed in Bangkok since 2004, plays an important role in cooperation between the two countries. The attache collaborates effectively with the Thai authorities and has established a reliable and working network of contacts for Swiss law enforcement services. Along with his intensive work in widely differing areas of crime, the attache has for some time now also been handling several major international cases involving human trafficking.

Address for enquiries

Communication and Media Service, fedpol, T +41 58 463 13 10

Publisher

Federal Office of Police

http://www.fedpol.admin.ch/fedpol/en/home.html




We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain.
Googles Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP Project, is heading to Baidu, Yahoo Japan, and Sogou, with Baidu backing Google up on bringing the optimized experience to other search platforms. The AMP Projects expansion was announced at the very first AMP Developer Conference, which took place in New York. David Besbris, Googles Vice President of Engineering, made the announcement. According to Besbris, expanding to Sogou and Baidu alone will mean that AMP pages will be available to some 90% of online search users in China. The expansion does not directly ape Googles approach to AMP integration, instead taking advantage of the fact that the AMP framework is open-source to allow full integration with the other search services.

On stage, Besbris also announced that Yahoos Tumblr blogging platform will soon be rolling out AMP support for all blogs, and that AMP is helping to get LinkedIn articles about 10% more reader engagement on average. He also showed off a messaging app made in AMP, stating that while such things are not the platforms original purpose, it should serve as proof that AMP can support almost any content through its combination of flexibility and advanced compression and server-side algorithms. The support for a wide range of different content has brought AMP into competition with dedicated content delivery platforms, and into just about every category of website on Google, including the likes of e-commerce and media consumption sites.

AMP support is available to any sites indexed on Google who want to incorporate it, and Google is determined to work with Baidu, Yahoo Japan, and Sogou to ensure that the technology works the same way when they roll it out; one of the goals of AMP was to allow web page developers to create a single product and have a consistent user experience without having to create multiple variants of their site. AMPs open nature and ease of use give it a distinct advantage over dedicated platforms like Facebook Instant Articles, which web developers usually have to build specifically for, or build the original page around the capabilities of the platform in order to avoid having incongruency in the user experience across platforms, or facing down bugs.
BlackBerrys latest efforts in the smartphone industry resulted in a handful of Android-powered smartphones, but despite those recent releases, it appears that the Canadian tech giant is now focusing on becoming a software company. In a recent interview with MobileSyrup, BlackBerrys Chief Operating Officer Marty Beard shared some of the companys future plans and revealed that BlackBerry is quickly shifting towards catering to the enterprise market, i.e. the so-called Enterprise of Things segment. The companys main goal is to provide security to enterprises and make its BlackBerry Secure label ubiquitous, similar to how Intel Inside became a prominent badge in the computer industry.

BlackBerry has been trying to redefine itself in recent years. The companys smartphone business kept losing ground and its latest efforts to remain a relevant smartphone manufacturer have resulted in the new BlackBerry DTEK phones and the BlackBerry KEYone powered by the Android operating system. However, as a company, BlackBerry shifted dramatically from where it stood back in 2013 when John Chen became its interim CEO, and BlackBerry now considers itself a software company. Over the past two years, BlackBerry made several acquisitions including Good Technology and AtHoc, and much of these platforms have already been integrated into what the Canadian company now calls the BlackBerry Secure technology, Beard said. The companys COO also revealed that BlackBerrys enterprise sales force has either doubled or tripled over the past year, with several hundred employees focusing on selling BlackBerrys solutions as opposed to focusing on carrier sales.

BlackBerrys main focus now includes any connected device that may be used by a company or another large organization. In order to do this, the company recently launched its BBM enterprise software development kit (SDK) and started working on building a strong developer community around the software. The company is hoping that any application that requires communications capabilities or notifications will rely on the BBM enterprise SDK for security and generate revenue whenever its being used. BlackBerrys new vision includes devices sporting the BlackBerry Secure logo and the company is hoping that anyone who uses a BlackBerry-branded device will have a professional, highly secure feeling, Beard said.
Earlier this year, a report from Japan suggested that Sony Mobile might be planning to release its first OLED smartphone in 2018, presumably as a successor to the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. However, seeing how the company continues to diminish its efforts in several key markets including the US and India and given how Chinese smartphone manufacturers have competitive offers in Japan, recent reports suggest that Sony might want to play it safe with its first OLED smartphone and make the new display technology available in a limited edition device.

Numerous smartphone manufacturers have been shifting from LCD to OLED display technology and assuming that rumors are accurate, Sony Mobile is also leaning towards using OLED displays for one of its upcoming flagships in 2018. However, with more smartphone makers switching to OLED, demand will be on the rise and Sony might find it difficult to break into the OLED smartphone market with a mass-produced device. Furthermore, as Sony Mobile continues to minimize its presence in several key markets around the globe, the company is also experiencing increased competition from Chinese phone makers who continue to grow in popularity in Japan due to their products offering great value for money. Having said that, Sony Mobile could decide to play it safe and release its first OLED flagship as a limited edition device, presumably only in Japan, in an attempt to try and secure its position in the premium segment.

Sony Mobiles latest flagship phone was unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2017 as the company announced the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. It accommodates an IPS LCD Triluminos display with a 5.46-inch diagonal and a resolution of 3840 x 2160, leading to a pixel density of roughly 807 pixels per inch. Having reached the peak of what mobile LCD displays can offer today, it would make a certain amount of sense for the company to finally switch gears and try to find a viable solution for the adoption of OLED display technology in its future flagship phones. However, given the uncertainty surrounding the companys mobile branch, only time will tell if and how Sony Mobile will make use of OLED panels moving forward.
Samsungs Q1 2017 operating profit estimate has been revised, by FnGuide. The company is expected to post an operating profit of 8.7 trillion won in Q1 2017, which translates to $7.5 billion. Now, for those of you who dont know, several analysts predicted that the company will earn 9.3 trillion won ($8.14 billion) in the first quarter of this year, such predictions surfaced two weeks ago, and it seems like opinions have changed. As things are at the moment, FnGuide expects the company to increase their operating profit for 30.6 percent compared to Q1 last year.

For those of you who dont know, FnGuide is a market tracking company, and theyve conducted a survey of earnings forecasts for Samsung Electronics, and thats where they got those numbers weve mentioned in the previous paragraph. In addition to all this, such numbers suggest that the companys year-over-year earning for the January  March period could fall 0.3 percent. Samsung is expected to post strong results in the semiconductor department, as their semiconductor division is expected to surpass 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion) operating profit for Q1 2017. Companys mobile division is also expected to do good in Q1 2017, as theyre attempting to recover from the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Samsung did not release a new flagship smartphone since the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, which were released a year ago, not counting the Galaxy Note 7 which is no longer available, of course.

That being said, Samsung is expected to release their official financial results soon, and then well see how accurate are FnGuides predictions. In addition to that, Samsung will announce their new flagship smartphones on March 29, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, which have been leaking for months now. These two phones are expected to go on sale in the second half of April, which means they will affect the companys Q2 results quite a bit, and Q3 will be significantly affected by the sales of the Galaxy S8 devices as well, for sure. It will certainly be interesting to see how well will the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus sell, well see if the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco managed to affect consumers in any way, or will the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus be an overwhelming success for Samsung.
It seems like quite a few companies are putting focus on AI (Artificial Intelligence) lately, and Xiaomi is one of them. Xiaomis CEO, Lei Jun, actually spoke about Ai during a recent press conference in China. Artificial Intelligence is only one topic Lei Jun decided to talk about, he also mentioned Xiaomis plan to expand to more markets, and the companys offline stores which are coming to life in Asia as we speak. Weve actually already talked about the offline stores part yesterday, and Lei Jun did not really talk much about the companys global expansion, except for the fact that it is in companys plans, and that they have to be careful. Lei Jun did, however, talk quite a bit about AI, read on.

Now, as already mentioned, Xiaomi is putting focus on AI, and in order to boost the development of AI products, the company will expand its development team by 50%. Lei Jun did not specify what exactly is Xiaomi making, but based on what other companies came up with, Xiaomis very own personal assistant could be in the cards. As many of you know, MIUI is Xiaomis very own Android-based OS, or a skin, as some people would call it. MIUI is much more than just a coat of paint on top of Android, though, as it takes some getting used to, and changes your regular Android experience a bit. Not to say that MIUI OS is bad, quite on the contrary, Xiaomi really did make significant improvements to it last year when the company launched MIUI 8, and its next iteration also looks very promising. Well, if Xiaomi is planning to release their very own personal assistant, chances are it will come pre-installed on companys devices as part of MIUI.

Unfortunately, though, we still dont have any specific info about this, though its worth mentioning that Xiaomi manufactures all sorts of smart gadgets, from smart lightbulbs and smart scales, all the way to fitness trackers, electric bicycles and smart coffee machines. Having that in mind, Xiaomi will probably put some AI touches to all of their upcoming products, once they actually release their first AI piece of software. In addition to the fact that Xiaomi will boost their development team quite significantly, Lei Jun also mentioned that he believes PCs will be replaced by smartphones in the next 3 to 5 years, and that AI will be more present than ever. So, it seems like Lei Jun and Xiaomi along with its boss, see AI product as a thing of the future, and something to invest in. It remains to be seen what is Xiaomi planning, though we might have to wait quite a bit before we see the companys first AI product.

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According to a new rumor which surfaced in China, Nokia might announce their flagship Android smartphone in June. Nokia actually introduced three Android-based smartphones during this years Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, two of which are brand new, the Nokia 3 and Nokia 5. In addition to that, Nokia also re-introduced the Nokia 6 for the global market, and also announced a brand new Nokia 3310 phone as an homage for their legendary Nokia 3310 cellphone, which is probably the companys most recognizable device ever.

Some people expected the companys flagship to land during MWC 2017 as well, but that did not happen. Nokia could launch their high-end offering in June, if the Chinese media is to be believed. According to the provided info, the companys flagship smartphone will be made out of metal, and will also ship with Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 64-bit octa-core SoC, which is their most powerful chip at the moment. Nokia is reportedly planning to release two flagship devices, those two phones will probably be more or less identical, though they will be different in terms of size, in order to cater to a wide range of consumers, no matter if they like smaller or larger devices. According to the source, Nokia will also launch two RAM variants of the device, one will ship with 4GB of RAM, while the other will come with 6GB of RAM. Now, we do not know if these RAM variants are tied to different sizes of the device, that part is not all that clear.

Furthermore, Nokias upcoming flagship will, allegedly, ship with a dual camera setup on the back, and wont feature Zeiss camera tech, and dont expect PureView either. At least one of the sensors on the back will be quite large, a 23-megapixel camera has been mentioned, though theres a possibility we might see an even larger sensor than that. The smaller Nokia flagship is rumored to cost $580 in China, while the larger variant could cost $650. The source revealed quite a few info when it comes to Nokias upcoming flagship, though we still dont know how legit is this info, so take it with a grain of salt, as its usually the case with such rumors.
Samsungs Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will seemingly cost 799 & 899 in the UK, which converts to about $981 and $1,103 USD respectively. Having said that, the USD pricing is merely the converted pricing for the two phones at online UK retailer MobileFun, and not likely what the actual costs will be for either device in the U.S. In fact, chances are that the prices for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will end up costing $799 and $899 as the rumored costs for the two phones in Europe were also set at these prices in Euros according to a leak from yesterday.

Considering yesterdays leak and todays leaked prices for the phones through the online UK retailer, it seems possible that the prices will be uniform across a number of the regions where Samsung plans to launch their new flagship devices. Cost aside, the listings for both phones are for a 64GB model, and alongside the internal storage thats listed a handful of other specifications are detailed. While the specs have been rumored numerous times before now, the specs in the retail listings match up with whats been previously rumored, and they mention that the Galaxy S8 will come with a 5.8-inch display while the Galaxy S8 Plus will come with a 6.2-inch display.

Both phones are also listed as coming with 8-megapixel cameras on the front while having 12-megapixel cameras on the back, QHD resolution for the screens, IP68 certification, and expandable storage via a microSD card slot. The retail listings also mention 4GB of RAM, a 3,000mAh battery and a Snapdragon 835 processor, but most of these specs were already suspected as being incorporated into the device. Black is the only color thats shown as an option for purchase over at MobileFun, but yesterdays rumors also mentioned that there would be Silver and Violet models available, however it wasnt mentioned whether or not all three colors would make it to every region where the phones are sold. Alongside the listings for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, the retailer also has several listings for various Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus cases, ranging from 5.99 to about 49.99. Both phones are labeled as being available for pre-order status only at this point and there is no mentioned shipping date, but interested customers can set up to be notified once the phone is in stock.
Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Xiaomi launched a coffee machine via its crowdfunding site. According to the website, the device will be a relatively high-end bean brewer, though Xiaomi is only looking to launch the product. The device itself will actually be manufactured by Ningbo Heart Technology and marketed under the Scishare brand. Funding has already hit 499% of its goal as the device raised over 1,993,803 yuan, which translates to around $289,000. The first batch is expected to begin shipping on April 18 and larger volumes of the Scishare coffee maker will be produced later this year.

Despite packing a broad range of features, the coffee maker will be priced at only 339 yuan, i.e. approximately $58. The device uses a capsule system thats often utilized by high-end machines, while its insides contain an Italian-imported pressure pump that is rated at 1200W, with controls to adjust the strength of each brew, including a flow lever. Compatible brewing cups will range between 15ml and 85ml in size. While it is by no means a small machine, measuring at 34 x 10 x 26 centimeters  or around 13 x 4 x 10 inches  it was designed in a clean manner and should fit nicely in most kitchens.

Despite the fact that Xiaomi is best known as being a smartphone manufacturer, the Chinese tech giant has been investing in other fields related to consumer electronics for a while now. Investing in a wide variety of startups allows companies to build trust through partnerships and can also be a great opportunity for some positive publicity. Xiaomis crowdfunding platform is just one of the methods that the China-based manufacturer uses to accomplish those goals. In addition to building partnerships and generating positive publicity, Xiaomi has also recently been turning to a broader range of consumer electronics in order to diversify its portfolio and consequently make its revenue stream less reliant on smartphones. While its currently unknown whether the Scishare coffee machine will make it out of China or be available exclusively in the Far Eastern country, backers are being offered 50 brewing cups as a reward for backing the project. Those interested can follow the source link below to check out the device themselves.
According to one of the UKs leading mobile retailers, Carphone Warehouse, the Nokia 3310 has seen an unprecedented level of demand in the UK. By all accounts the Nokia 3310 is not a new phone. However, the newly-rebranded Nokia under the guidance of HMD Global announced a new and updated version of the Nokia 3310 at MWC 2017 and since then, the mobile industry has seen swarms of interest surrounding the new Nokia 3310. These latest comments look to highlight that the interest is not purely a result of just consumer fascination and instead  and at the very least in the UK  are signs of actual and tangible demand for the Nokia 3310.

According to Carphone Warehouses UK Director of Buying, Andrew Wilson, the demand so far has been well beyond expectation with Wilson specifically saying that levels of pre-registrations at Carphone Warehouse are incredibly strong. A point which Wilson goes on to note proves consumers do actually one to purchase the Nokia 3310 and that the interest surrounding the phone is not all hype. However, it does remain to be seen how widespread the demand will be on a global level and certainly in other mature markets due to the Nokia 3310s dependence on older networks. Although if consumers in mature markets are considering this as more of a novel purchase than a usable one, then for the budget price, the likes of Snake may very well outweigh whether the phone is compatible with a consumers regional network.

Of course, price is always likely to play a role in a devices success and the Nokia 3310 is no exception. While this is a phone that is not smart in any meaningful capacity and offers little compared to the current mobile phone landscape, the price of the Nokia 3310 is set at only 49 in Europe. Which certainly makes this a very affordable product and one which some consumers are likely pick up irrespective of whether it is used as their daily driver. While the specs are not riveting or by any measure, competitive, it does seem that the Nokia 3310 is managing to capitalize on its nostalgia value well. Something that seems to be becoming more prevalent in the technology sector in general  with the likes of the Nintendo NES Classic Edition offering the same sort of throwback features and seemingly, also able to translate interest into actual sales.
FWD

SUV

The special paint job beautifies the sculpted lines more than any other color available for the CX-5 , which celebrates its European premiere at the Swiss show. Slated to arrive at dealers early this summer, the second-gen CX-5 is sharper than its predecessor as far as exterior design is concerned.Theres a lot to be said about what changed from an aesthetic standpoint, albeit the most notable improvement doesnt go unnoticed even to the untrained eye. Im not referring to the chicken wire up front, nor the LED lighting front and rear.Its the A-pillars, which were moved 3.5 centimeters back for improve visibility and give the impression the hood is larger than it actually is. The cab-rearward style is complemented by a far improved cabin thats both driver-oriented and roomy enough for all passengers. The center tunnel takes a bit of legroom from the rear occupants, but its no deal breaker.In a similar fashion to the 2016.5 model year CX-5 yours truly tested only recently, the 2017 Mazda CX-5 is available with the same selection of 2.0- and 2.2-liter SkyActiv engines. The naturally aspirated gasoline-fed four-banger boasts 165 PS and 210 Nm inform, whereas the all-wheel-drive system sees those values drop to 160 PS and 208 Nm of torque.In the case of the turbo diesel unit, the base tune for the SkyActiv-D develops 150 PS and 380 Nm of oomph from 1,800 rpm. Higher up, Mazdas oil burner has 175 PS and 420 Nm to offer from 2,000 rpm. Transmission-wise, a six-speed manual comes standard, joined by an optional six-speed automatic. On the handling front, the 15.5% better torsional rigidity and the G-Vectoring Control system will do the talking.The compact crossoveris the receiver of another goodie worth mentioning: Advanced Smart City Brake Support. A laser sensor acts as the eyes of the system, looking for traffic signs, cars, and pedestrians.
SUV

It portrays a compact-class, which would become a competitor of Nissans Qashqai it was turned into a production model immediately. In typical Citroen fashion, the concept vehicle has been exaggerated in certain aspects, while faithfully maintaining the brands styling cues and lines.While not every element of the C-Aircross Concept will reach production, unfortunately, this vehicle will inspire future SUVs and crossovers from the French brand.With the recent deal to acquire Opel/Vauxhall, the PSA Groupe could let Citroen become the marque that gets to experiment with "crazy shapes," ideas, and colors, while the rest of the brands could do their own thing and still make a profit.Citroens crazy cars of the past may not have been incredible regarding sales success, and some of them did terribly concerning reliability or rust, but some of those cars can stir your soul with desire. We are not talking about the adorably-simple 2CV here, or the loved-by-all DS 19 and DS21.Instead, we are referring to the Citroen SM, a forgotten gem of the French company, which is rarely discussed when the French brand comes to mind.The dual chevron brand launched numerous models since then, which obtained significant sales results and kept the company afloat, but outlandish cars like the SM remain engraved in the memory of any petrolhead.The pure madness of the SM , interpreted in todays craze for SUVs just like they did on this concept vehicle, could become Citroens bread-and-butter in the coming years.Hopefully, the French marque manages to seize the opportunity and propose this kind of car for millennials, who are known for their unusual taste in cars.Citroen has surprised us with its Geneva exhibit, as the brand has decided to change the color of the C-Aircross. The shade of blue they chose suits this car even better than the previous one, which was shown last month
SUV

HP

It was first unveiled online ahead of the Geneva Motor Show , and we had seen it before in spyshots. Thecomes with a distinctive styling, and its interior is covered in premium materials. These elements are expected from a brand with premium ambitions, and it was natural for DS Automobiles to focus on these aspects.The DS7 Crossback is currently the flagship of the French brand, and it will become available later this year. However, clients can order the DS7 La Premiere ahead of the regular models.The latter is available online for reservations, and customers have to choose between the most powerful engines in the range, which are an 180-BlueHDi and a 225 HP THP unit, both with Start&Stop technology and an eight-speed automatic gearbox.On the inside, the DS7 Crossback features two 12-inch instrument screens with a new interface. The vehicle features a system that allows semi-autonomous driving, and it also has an array of driver assistance technologies.At a later date, DS Automobiles will offer a plug-in hybrid version of the DS7 Crossback, which promises to feature 300 HP and all-wheel-drive. The announced figures come from a 225 HP turbocharged gasoline engine mated to an eight-speed automatic, and the assistance of two electric motors on the rear axle.DS Automobiles has not announced when it will launch the plug-in hybrid on the market, but this could be a part of the companys American offensive. It will be interesting to see if the American plans of DS and Groupe PSA will still materialize after they go through their deal with General Motors According to reports, the two partners have already discussed a no-compete clause in China, which could be extended to the U.S. if the French are seen as a potential threat to GM on home turf.
Rob Melville, the man who helms McLaren's styling efforts explains some of the supercar's features. For instance, many might wonder while a carmaker like McLaren, who believes in the form follows function principle, has turned to an overly extrovert move like the illuminated engine compartment.As it turns out, the Brits came to the conclusion that the lowered engine wouldn't be as visible and since everybody wants to check out the heart of a supercar, the LEDs in the engine compartment were mandatory.McLaren has gifted the 720S with a dual character, so the supercar can be considerably cozier than the 650S during your daily driving activities, while becoming a sharper instrument on the track.When it comes to the cabin, the company's design boss talks about the Scottish leather and the machined aluminum controls when describing the haptic side of the interior and it's worth noting that the British automaker has always paid close attention to this side of a vehicle, which might wrongfully appear as non-important to some.The Brits improved both sides of the supercar's power-to-weight ratio. On the one hand, the 720S is 40 lbs lighter than the model it replaces, with its all-carbon tub also delivering a boost in terms of torsional rigidity.On the other hand, the twin-turbo V8 heart of the McLaren has gained 0.2 liters of displacement, with the 4.0-liter mill churning out 720 hp and 568 lb-ft.Drag racing fans among you will be pleased to find out that the quarter-mile sprint time has dropped by 0.2s, with the 720S being able to complete the task in 10.3 seconds.The mid-engined delight can play the 0 to 62 mph game in 2.9 seconds, while its top speed sits at a generous 212 mph.You can check out the Geneva-dominating presence of the 720S in the live photos to your right.
For all the talk about rising right-wing populist movements in Europe, there's something worth watching on the other side of the planet in Western Australia where an unusual alliance has formed between the mainstream center-right Liberal Party and the hardcore populist nationalist party One Nation, led by the controversial figure Pauline Hanson.

For an update, I got in touch yesterday to two of the leading figures on Australia's anti-establishment Right  Cory Bernardi, the Senator who recently broke away from the ruling Liberal Party to launch his own Australian Conservatives party, and the influential columnist Andrew Bolt.

Here's what they told me about how the Australian movement compares to Trump's:

Bernardi says "the major political parties have delivered misery, debt and BS" while telling the people everything is great. "No one can stomach that sandwich for long." He says the concerns about immigration, political correctness and speech censorship, distrust of elites and 'experts' are all live issues in Australia.

Like Trump, Bernardi and Hanson view Islam as a threat to the West.

Bolt says that "voters supporting all these renegades are desperate to seize some control over their country after seeming so powerless and even despised ... For some it seems the sheer joy of rattling a stick along the white picket fences of the rich, which is why they do not share the disdain of the elites for the rude and even intemperate talk of Trump, Wilders, Farage and Hanson. They want to be heard. They want the powerful to jump a bit."

Bernardi, a free trader, cautions that there are differences especially on the trade issue, which in his judgment isn't as charged an issue as it is in Trump's America.

More important than trade is foreign investment  especially when it comes to the Chinese buying up agricultural land. "Selling the farm (foreign investment) is big here," Bernardi says. "Not necessarily rational but is a common gripe."

What comes next in Australia: Bolt makes the important point that the Australian political system makes it much harder for a Trump to triumph and become prime minister. "A party cannot be hijacked or subverted so easily as Trump could by running as a rogue presidential candidate," he says. "You need to win the support of your political colleagues to get elected prime minister, and you need to have a lot of party credentials to get that."

Why this matters: The next parliamentary elections will be in 2019, if not sooner. One Nation polled at 8% in the first national primary vote poll conducted recently by The Australian. In Queensland the party's support is 23%. That's a big deal in a country with two entrenched main parties. "You can't form government but you have a good chance, once elected, of gumming up the works," White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is following these developments along with the nationalist movements sweeping Europe and Asia. And his former website Breitbart is eyeing Australia as a potential place to launch a new foreign outpost.




First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain.





Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that.





And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details.





If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb.

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The Irish Government has today launched its new trade strategy, Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World.



Ireland Connected is the successor to the previous Trade, Tourism and Investment Strategy, which ran from 2010 to 2015 and saw extraordinary success despite low growth in the global economy during that period.



It sets ambitious targets for Irelands exports, foreign direct investment, tourism and international education. The new strategy aims to deepen Irelands economic resilience and responsiveness in the face of highly changeable global conditions by intensifying the business development activity in existing markets and diversifying into new regions. The aim is to reinforce Team Irelands agility and capacity to respond to the dynamic global environment.



The strategy hopes to generate 30,000 more jobs in tourism by 2020 and 5 billion in overseas tourism revenues by 2025. It also hopes to increase Ireland's indigenous exports, including food, to reach 26 billion by 2020  up by 26% from 2015.

Furthermore, the strategy hopes to increase value to the economy with an uplift of 25% spend in the economy from Enterprise Ireland supported companies and a 20% uplift from IDA Ireland supported entities.



With regards the brexit, the report aims to intensify and diversify 80% of indigenous export growth to 2020 to be outside of the UK market and maintain exports of at least 7.5 billion to the UK.



The strategy hopes to secure 900 new foreign direct investments in the period 2015-2019 and to increase the number of our Irish owned companies of scale by 30% seeing a greater number exceed turnover thresholds of 3 million, 20 million and 100 million.



Launching the strategy, An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny said, "Ireland is one of the worlds most open, export-based economies and our new trade strategy Ireland Connected sets out our strategic plan for the years ahead. While we are determined to preserve the gains that we have made so painstakingly over recent years, Brexit has the potential to reshape Irelands enterprise and export strategy for decades to come."

He added, "Ireland's immediate priority will be to further diversify and intensify our engagement with non-UK markets, with a particular emphasis on the Eurozone. By working together we are confident that with the right policies and cross-Government commitment we will continue to attract FDI, overseas visitors and international students, and to help Irish businesses reach into new markets."



Source: www.businessworld.ie

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It almost qualifies as one of the more unexpected headlines in recent memory. can the california republican party bounce back in 2018? asked the Los Angeles Times in late February. Who would expect the GOP ever to reemerge in California? Yet that such a question was even asked by a member of the states single-party media is meaningful. Maybe something is stirring within this seemingly permanent minority.

A mere stir wont be enough, though: the political equivalent of a Home Depot paint mixer will be required. The Golden State is the deepest blue of the 20 states that Hillary Clinton won: 62 percent of California voters cast their ballots for her, the highest percentage of any state. Using data from the IBD/TIPP poll, Investors Business Dailys John Merline wrote in December that if you take California out of the popular vote equation, then (Donald) Trump wins the rest of the country by 1.4 million votes. And if California voted like every other Democratic statewhere Clinton averaged 53.5 percent winsClinton and Trump end up in a virtual popular vote tie.

Not that this outcome was any great surprise. California has been a one-party state for what seems like a geologic era. The only chamber of the state legislature that hasnt been under Democratic Party control in the last four decades is the Senate. The GOP held it by a slim two seats in 19951996. The last time the Republicans held at least one chamber before that was in 19691970, when Ronald Reagan was governor and the GOP had two-seat majorities in both the Assembly and Senate. Since Reagans stint in Sacramento, there have been three Republican governors (and was Arnold Schwarzenegger truly a Republican?) and three Democratic governors (including Jerry Brown twice). Only six Republicans, one of them Schwarzenegger, have held statewide seats since 1998. Democrats have held 23.

Its a similar story with Californias representation in Congress. The House of Representatives has been prime Democratic property since the late 1950s, with a 26-26 tie in the states congressional delegation in 19951996 being the only exception. Since then, the spread has increased steadily to reach 38 Democrats, 14 Republicans, and one vacant seatthat of Xavier Becerra, now the states attorney generalthough some might say that the real attorney general is Eric Holder, the former Obama AG hired by the legislature to lead the states Trump resistance. California has not sent a Republican to the Senate since Pete Wilson, having won the governorship, appointed John Seymour to serve the final two years (1991-1992) of his term in Washington.

Only 27.3 percent of California voters are registered as Republicans. Thats the smallest sliver for the GOP since 1980, the year of the Reagan revolution. Republicans have even lost San Bernardino County, a longtime GOP stronghold in Californias flyover country, with registered Democrats there now outnumbering Republicans.

Republicans deserve a healthy portion of the blame for their marginalization. In the early 2000s, they colluded with Democrats to redraw districts in a scheme that ensures that few seats are competitive and for the most part gives both parties perpetual possession of the seats they hold. This makes it nigh-on impossible for Republicans to unseat Democratic politicians.

And too often, Republicans are hard to distinguish from Democrats anyway. Stephen Frank, an editor for the California Political Review, complained a few years ago that the GOP establishment has run candidates without serious ideologyexcept the desire to win election, and recalled a 2013 legislative surrender in which Democrats got the votes they needed in Sacramento from the GOP to extend $2.3 billion a year in vehicle taxes. More recently, Frank said that if you stand for nothing as a party, youll cease to exist.

Democrats have the state sewn up not only through their safe districts but also through a constituent bloc that will vote them back into office again and again. Those on the lower end of the economic ladder tend to support Democrats and their redistributionist agenda. In 2014, Pew Research showed that 51 percent of Californians earning less than $30,000 a year are Democrats or lean toward the party (22 percent are Republicans/leans); 53 percent earning between $30,000 and $49,999 a year are Democrats/leans (30 percent are Republicans/leans). In return for their party loyalty, the poor Californians who vote Democratic are robbed of economic opportunities by Blue State public policy.

Those at the top also have a role in perpetuating Democratic power. Pew says that 49 percent of Californians earning more than $100,000 annually are Democrats or lean that way, while only 39 percent identify with the GOP. According to Political Data Inc., the gap closes somewhat for those earning more than $500,000 a year. But Democrats still hold a 38-33 edge there.

Given these facts, its baffling why anyone, even the most optimistic Republican operative, could imagine that the party might bounce back in California. The reason for many is simple: Donald Trump. These Republicans believe that they can emulate on the state level what Trump achieved nationally. One key to the GOPs resurgence lies in between the economic extremes that support the Democrats and is primarily inland from the posh coastal districts. Its a shrinking middle class at odds with the ruling party over water, climate, energy production, immigration, infrastructure priorities, housing, economic policies, and the environment. Enough polarization exists to lead some to believe that the state needs to be splitnot in two parts but in six.

Frank believes that the states minorities can also play a role if the Republican Party has the courage to show them how Democrats have destroyed their hopes and condemned them to poverty and dependence.

Some Democrats are considering the possibility that the Trump phenomena could carry over to California. If we didnt get a wake-up call from what happened in the rest of the country, then shame on us, David Townsend, a Democratic strategist, told Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton after the election. Skelton, no Republican apologist, acknowledged that Democrats have been paying little attention to the middle class.

So maybe there is an opening. As GOP consultant Ray McNally told Skelton, power really does corrupt, which could mean that the Democrats, with all their raw political muscle in California, are vulnerable to making the fatal mistakes that can happen when politicians believe theyve become too powerful to pay for the consequences of their actions.

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images
On 1 November 2016, fundraising provisions from the new Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 came into force, requiring:

Additional provisions in agreements between charities and professional fundraisers / commercial participators; and

For charities that are legally required to have their accounts audited, disclosure of certain additional information in the trustees annual reports.

Where a charity uses a professional fundraiser or commercial participator (commercial partner) to raise funds, the Charities Act 1992 and associated regulations require an agreement in writing containing specific provisions including, among other things, a statement of the objectives of the agreement and the methods to be used in pursuing them, and information on how the remuneration or expenses of the commercial partner will be calculated.
Richard Taylor is executive director of fundraising, marketing and communications, at Macmillan Cancer Support

After more than 17 years with CRUK, how was the transition to Macmillan?

On the outside, the charities look more similar than they are; they are both fundraising organisations that are trying to reduce the impact of cancer on society. However, they come from slightly different places. CRUK is a scientific, academic organisation; Macmillan is in the business of caring for and supporting people. Culturally, they are more different than you might imagine.

While I was very familiar with the fundraising, marketing and branding techniques, getting to know what Macmillan does as an organisation took longer than I thought it would. You can go a long way before you feel youve really got your arms around the organisation and you understand it. I would say its a more complex organisation than I expected. The interventions it does to help people with cancer are all along the cancer pathway, so becoming familiar with that and how we help people takes a long time.
This month's Fundraising Magazine features the results of our inaugral Suppliers' Survey which shows that they want to work with the sector to restore trust. It also includes an interview with Macmillan's head of fundraising and outgoing Institute of Fundraising chair Richard Taylor.

There are also special features on Artificial Intelligence in fundraising, and on RNLI and CRUK explaining their decisions to go opt-in.

Fundraising Magazine is a practical and inspiring magazine that provides fundraising professionals with the tools to unlock new revenue streams, yield better results from campaigns and boost donor income. Subscribe today to receive 10 issues per year and access to premium fundraising content on civilsociety.co.uk.
Apple Pay donations have been enabled today for 22 of the UK's largest charities, including Comic Relief, Cancer Research UK, and the Disasters Emergency Committee.

The feature, which was announced last year for US charities last year, is now available in the UK and supports Gift Aid. Charities said they hoped that the new feature would make it easier for people to donate online when using Apple devices.

Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 devices and later, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3 and later and means that people can confirm payment, or donations, using fingerprint recognition software on their devices or entering a passcode to trigger payment from a stored debit or credit card.

Participating charities are: ActionAid UK, Alzheimer's Society, Barnardos, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Comic Relief, Concern Worldwide (UK), DEC, Marie Curie, Oxfam, (RED), The Royal British Legion, RNIB, RNLI, RSPB, RSPCA, Scope, Sightsavers, Unicef UK, VSO, WaterAid, and WWF-UK.

Charities say it could be a game changer

Michael Dent, director of fundraising at Alzheimers Society, said: Offering supporters a quick and simple yet highly secure way to donate could be a real game changer for charities. People pay for goods online and on their mobiles every day with ease and should expect their charitable donation to be just as efficient and safe.

This innovative technology will make single and regular donations much easier and we hope it will increase our fundraising so we can support even more people living with dementia, fund further treatments and ultimately find a cure.

A Barnardos spokesman: Donations from individuals are crucial to our work and this system will make it easier and more secure to give.



With just a touch, people will now be able to help improve the lives of the most vulnerable children and young people, easily, quickly and at the very moment they feel inspired to donate.

Amanda Bringans, director of fundraising at the British Heart Foundation, said: Were delighted to offer Apple Pay to help make it even easier for people to support our lifesaving work, as every pound raised could help bring us a step closer to beating heart disease.

Graham White, individual giving director at Cancer Research UK, said: Its important we explore different ways to pay to make sure we stay relevant and that people can continue to give to us in ways that fit into their busy lives.



Cancer Research UK has been at the forefront of exploring donation mechanics in the third sector. We are striving to make it easier for people to donate to us, and continually test new ways to give.



Zenon Hannick, chief technology officer at Comic Relief said: We are really excited to be offering our supporters the chance to donate using Apple Pay during Red Nose Day on March 24th. We are confident it will be making a donation to Comic Relief even easier, helping us raise more money to help and support vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the UK and some of the worlds poorest communities.

Peter Reynolds, director of fundraising at Concern Worldwide UK, said: Our donors are increasingly using digital channels to engage with and support our work tackling hunger amongst some of the worlds most vulnerable communities. They want fast, convenient and secure ways to donate, so we are delighted to be one of the first UK charities to offer Apple Pay to our supporters.

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC said: It is really exciting that the UK public will now be able to donate to DEC disaster appeals using Apple Pay, enhancing the user experience and making fundraising for these emergencies quicker and easier than ever before. DEC appeals are only launched in response to large scale humanitarian crises.

Steve Armstrong, head of digital at Marie Curie said: Marie Curie is committed to making it as easy as possible for people to support us in many different ways. Apple Pay offers a frictionless and secure means for our supporters to donate money and help us care for terminally ill people and their families."

Matt Jerwood, Oxfam's head of digital fundraising, said: "Apple Pay makes it even easier for our supporters to contribute to our work across the globe. It means they are just one touch away in our app from providing clean water, food or a blanket in a humanitarian emergency.



"Our digital fundraising strategy is increasingly centred on mobile devices and on giving supporters greater ease, transparency and control over their giving. Apple Pay provides a quick and secure way to make a difference.

Deborah Dugan, CEO, (RED), said: Its so exciting to see Apple continually expanding the ways customers can support the AIDS fight with (RED). Over the past ten years, Apple has raised almost $120 million for the Global Fund through its (RED) partnership, so were thrilled that people can now donate using Apple Pay with just the touch of a finger. said

Steve Tyler, head of innovation and development at RNIB said: "New technologies, like Apple Pay, are helping to change lives by making giving to a good cause simpler and safer, and we seek to ensure that accessibility is simply part of the experience. RNIB research shows that while the vast majority of blind and partially sighted people want to take control of their financial affairs, they're often prevented from doing so because of inaccessible systems. With a focus on security, privacy and accessibility, smart technologies give blind and partially sighted people greater confidence that their financial details remain private and their transactions are secure."

Luke Surry, RSPB head of digital and data, The introduction of Apple Pay to our website is an important milestone in our plans to deliver improved experiences and the latest technology to our supporters. We are excited to be part of the initial launch in the UK as Apple Pay will simplify how our website visitors support us financially, and allow us to continue to give nature a home.

RSPCA assistant director of income generation Julian Holmes-Taylor said: Were thrilled that were part of the launch of Apple Pay in the charity sector which will give our supporters an easy, secure and convenient way to donate and more choice about how they pledge their money.

Tracy Griffin, director of marketing, fundraising and communications at Scope, said: We know that many people want to donate to charities like Scope but the focus on a cash-free wallet means many are not able to. Donating to Scope through Apple Pay is simple, secure and speedy so can help us reach more people, more quickly.

Becki Jupp, Sightsavers director, global individual giving and marketing, said: Mobile technology is changing the way Sightsavers supporters help improve lives. We are therefore very excited to be one of the first charities to offer Apple Pay in the UK. We believe that such advances in technology and the way people can donate mean we can offer greater choice to our supporters  enabling them to give in a way that best suits them and is quick and effortless. comments

Catherine Cottrell, deputy director, fundraising, Unicef UK, said: At Unicef UK we want to make giving as easy as possible. People are increasingly using mobiles and other digital devices to make payments so offering choice about how to donate is all the more important. Integrating Apple Pay makes donating both instant and effortless and secure for our supporters, and we hope that it will encourage more people to join us and share our mission to do whatever it takes, until every child is safe.

David Dawson, global digital manager at VSO said: For VSO, the future of giving is all about connecting the public to the communities we serve in some of the poorest parts of the world. So its right that if people want to support our work that they can do so securely, intuitively and in as straightforward way as possible. Apple Pay represents a huge leap forward in giving, making the act as simple as the touch of a button.

Marcus Missen, WaterAids director of fundraising and communications, said: We are delighted that our supporters can now help make change happen with just the touch on a button. Apple Pay gives us one more way to help bring safe water and sanitation to the worlds poorest people, and to work towards the UN Global Goal of reaching everyone, everywhere with these essential services by 2030.



Kerry Blackstock, director of fundraising, WWF, said: Our supporters needs are constantly changing, they want innovative and easy ways to give to WWF. They want more control in how they give and when the give as well as knowing their donation is making a difference. Thats why we are happy to be one of the first charities in the UK to support instant donations through Apple Pay and to launch our Give an Hour for Earth Hour fundraising campaign at the same time."

Melanie Vasseur, digital transformation manager at the RNLI, said: We are keen to explore Apple Pay, and believe it will result in donations we may not otherwise receive, as well as connecting us with new types of supporters.

She added: "Its important we try to remain at the forefront of fundraising technology.

"The RNLI has a proud history of innovating in its fundraising methods  from holding the first street collection in 1891, to being the first UK charity to launch an app to work with the Apple Watch in 2015. Introducing Apple Pay is the latest step for us on that journey, and we will closely monitor how much money is donated through this payment method.
There were just three mentions of charity in the official Budget document, but sector leaders are divided on whether this is good or bad news for the sector.



Todays Budget announcement contained very little in the way of specific announcements for the sector. Some sector figures have said that they are disappointed and that there was not more support for the sector in todays announcements, but others said that stability was welcome.

NCVO  sector needs to rethink its approach

Karl Wilding, director of public policy and volunteering at NCVO, said that while it was a very quiet Budget for charities it gave a clear indication of how the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, takes a more strategic approach than his predecessor.

He said the funding announced for social care and schools would be of interest to those sectors.

Wilding also said that given that ahead of the Budget some people were nervous about Insurance Premium Tax and business rates the fact that there is stability and actually very little that we have to respond to is a good thing.

He said todays announcement showed Hammond is taking a more strategic approach and showed he is not a Chancellor who is interested in spraying money around.

Previous Budgets included little bits of money and pet projects, he said the fact that stuff isnt in there any more is a good thing.

He went on to suggest that charities looking to influence Hammond should think long-term and avoid shopping lists shortly before budgets.

Now we should be looking to 2020 and the election and thinking what do we want for 2020/25, he said.

Charity Finance Group  were being ignored

Caron Bradshaw, chief executive of CFG, accused the government of ignoring the voluntary sector and said the sector faced a big task that charities face in reintegrating ourselves into the heart of government.

She said: As a charity sector we need to make sure that the important contribution that we make is understood by politicians and that in the rush to make Britain competitive in the post-Brexit world, we dont forget the value of a stronger society.

But Bradshaw said the silence wasnt all negative because there were no further increases in Insurance Premium Tax announced.

Acevo  government doesnt understand charities

Vicky Browning, chief executive of Acevo, said the announcements of new funding for domestic violence was a positive step but that overall the Budget was disappointing.

The government does not seem to fully understand the depth and breadth of the skill and expertise which exist in civil society organisations. Skill which can help us reach our mutual goals, she said.

This Budget is devoid of reference to the shared society or civil society. That seems a bit of a shame to us.

She urged the government to demonstrate some evidence that theyre committed to the shared society.

Charities Aid Foundation  government needs to listen

Hannah Terrey, head of policy and campaigns at CAF, called for the government to listen to charities.

She said the Chancellors pledge to make Britain stronger, fairer and better will require the government to work hand in hand with charities in order to deliver this promise and to bring a divided country back together.

Terrey added that: It is good news that the government has given funding to some charities in todays Budget but there needs to be more to the plan than temporary funding measures.

Charity Tax Group  hope for more support in autumn

John Hemming, chair of CTG, said: There were very few announcements that have a direct impact on charities and we hope that the Government will consider greater support for the sector in the Autumn Budget.

CTG has published a summary of developments relevant to charities on its website.

Navca  missed opportunity on business rates

Neil Cleeveley, chief executive of Navca, said he was "pleased to see extra 2bn investment in social care and said the voluntary sector needed to be included.

But he also criticised Hammond for not supporting calls for charities to get 100 per cent mandatory business rates relief.

As a signatory to the joint letter to the Chancellor calling for charities to get a mandatory 100 per cent business rate relief, not providing specific help to the voluntary sector is a missed opportunity to strengthen charities supporting the most vulnerable in society.

Social Enterprise UK  doesnt deliver radical change

Peter Holbrook, chief executive of Social Enterprise UK, said there were some welcome steps but that overall the Budget wont deliver the radical change the economy needs.

We welcome the discretionary business rates relief fund which local authorities must use to support those businesses which offer the most sustainable economic, environmental and social value, he said, but that the lack of mentions for the sector is a worrying sign that the government may have completely lost sight of the value of the social economy.

Vidhya Alakeson, chief executive of the independent trust Power to Change also called for local authorities to support community businesses which are working against a difficult backdrop, and councils can offer them a little more help.

Local authorities should consider the help they can offer community businesses when using the new discretionary fund.

Directory of Social Change - 'a total washout for charities'

Jay Kennedy, director of policy at DSC, said: "Expectations werent high, but still this Budget was pretty much a total washout for charities  despite the fact that the charity sector is holding this country together at the seams. Government seems determined to impose ever more financial and regulatory burdens on charities without much concern about the impact."

But also said that the charity sector needs to "up our game" to make itself heard".

"It feels like were not being heard. How are we going to change that? Especially given the volume around big debates like Brexit? We need to up our game, because society needs charities to be at the centre of social debates  particularly as dangerous trends in social care, local government finance, and the health service affect communities and people across the country," he said.

Children England - 'Budget fails children'

In a statement the charity said: "As councils across the country weigh up how far todays 2bn funding announcement might help avert the immediate crisis for adult social care, todays budget offered nothing at all to address the parallel crisis in childrens services."




Corporate Watch, a non-profit co-operative group, which has accused a number of homelessness charities of collaborating with the government to forcefully deport non-UK rough sleepers.

The Corporate Watch Report, The Round-Up: rough sleeper immigration raids and charity collaboration, names St Mungos, Change Grow Live and Thames Reach as conducting regular joint visits with Immigration Enforcement officers which saw 133 rough sleepers detained and a further 127 non-UK citizen rough sleepers deported from the UK last year.

Charities dispute the allegation that they are collaborating.

The report said, while charity outreach workers set out to help homeless people, through a creeping process of changes they are being turned into informers, while some of the citys most vulnerable people are disappeared into the nightmare of indefinite detention and deportation.

Figures from the most recent Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), annual report for Greater London April 2015-March 2016 indicated that nearly 60 per cent of rough sleepers on the streets of London were non-UK nationals.

The story has been picked up by The Guardian, which said that enforcement activity against non-UK rough sleepers was stepped up last May, before the EU-referendum vote. The Guardian said that local authorities have been invited to bid for Home Office funds to assist with immigration enforcement initiatives.

A spokesman for the Mayor of Londons office told the Guardian that it funds routes home for non-UK rough sleepers at a cost of 599,406 a year and that St Mungos has been contracted to "provide the service.

We do not share information with the Home Office, except where the individual has given consent

Homelessness charity St Mungos, one of the charities named by Corporate Watch in its report, has refuted the notion that it collaborates with the Home Office to forcefully deport rough sleepers, saying instead it does not share information except when an individual has given their consent, or in situations where people are at risk.

In a statement on its website, the charity said: People not from the UK may not have entitlements to any benefits. This can result in complex situations for them with no access to housing or support services, which in turn results in long term rough sleeping which is harmful and dangerous.

Our outreach teams are commissioned by local authorities. If they are working with non UK nationals sleeping rough they would first ensure that people understand their rights and entitlements, including, where feasible, assistance to take up options in the UK like work and housing.

Where local authorities or the Home Office decide to take action against individuals or groups who are sleeping rough, we do work with them in order to ensure that people who are vulnerable get the help that they need. Our role here is about advocacy and safety."

A spokesman from Thames Reach said that, between April 2016 and January 2017, outreach teams from the organisation supported 92 people to return home voluntarily covering the cost of their travel and put them back in touch with family and friends and connected with accommodation providers and support agencies.

Mark Moody, executive director of health and social care at Change, Grow, Live, said: "We work with a number of local authorities and statutory agencies around the country to reduce the risks faced by rough sleepers and find solutions to their sometimes complex needs. If employment or housing cannot be found for an EU national, we will offer supported reconnection to that home country or somewhere they have relatives, and liaise with services there to ensure they have a place to go.

When there is no other option and the person has refused reconnection, they are unable to work and cannot be housed, there is little alternative to them going back to their home country.

Using homeless charities to spy on the homeless is a new low, says Spurrier

Martha Spurrier, director of human rights membership organisation Liberty, said that evidence of the Home Office using charities to spy on the homeless is a new low.

Using homelessness charities to spy on the homeless is a new low, even for a government bent on bringing border controls into every corner of our lives.

Turning unaccountable citizens into immigration officers can only lead to racial profiling, discrimination and alienation, raising tensions in already divided communities. If the Home Office genuinely wants to rise to the post-Brexit challenge, it must end this toxic border on every street policy.

For its part, Corporate Watch has called upon other homelessness charities and care workers to refuse or forget to hand over information to the Home Office and to stop cooperating with St Mungos, Thames Reach, CGL, and other collaborating charities until these stop working with the Home Office.

A spokesman from the Home Office, said: It is unacceptable for anyone to come to the UK with the intention of sleeping rough and/or to beg on the streets to support themselves.



Those who are encountered rough sleeping may be misusing their free movement rights. We will take action, including removal from the UK where appropriate, against EEA nationals who refuse to find alternative accommodation.

We work closely with local councils and homelessness outreach services to ensure that those who are vulnerable receive the care they need.
Charities are as susceptible to fraud as anyone else, but good policies can help protect your organisation. Wendy Cotton discusses the best practice.

Like all sectors, charities are susceptible to fraud and can be a target for criminals. The repercussions of fraud can have a vast impact on a charity, not only does it cause a financial loss, it can also have an effect on a charitys good work and reputation.

A recent report by the Charity Commission showed there were 178 fraud incidents reported during the financial year 2015/16. A review of the type of fraud showed a third of these were classified as internal fraud.

Internal fraud

Whilst you may not expect people working in charities to commit fraud, the reality is that more and more organisations are suffering as a result of fraudulent actions by trustees, staff or volunteers. It can happen in a number of ways such as misuse of funds, pocketing of donations or claiming false expenses.

In a recent report by civil society, a finance director of a learning difficulties charity based in London committed a series of frauds amounting to more than 800,000.

Fortunately this charity was able to work with the Charity Commission to strengthen their governance and financial procedures, but this example highlights how things can easily escalate without the right financial controls in place.

Tips to manage internal fraud

Regularly review accounting and audit procedures

Ask questions such as: Are there any areas where financial controls are weak? Are audits thorough enough? Are the dates of audits too predictable? Is access to sensitive areas of the charity tightly monitored?

Ensure that even those in senior positions are subject to checks

All staff with access to money or those who handle finances should be audited regularly; basic principles such as double verification of cash collected and outgoing payments can prevent problems.

Have a whistleblowing policy in place

Fraud is detected largely through others voicing concern, so make sure that employees have guidance and clear procedures to follow regarding who they can talk to in strict confidence. A whistleblowing policy template can be found on the charities against fraud website.

Have an action plan in place for how to deal with fraud if it arises

This means thinking about how you would report fraud to the Charity Commission, Action Fraud (the UKs national fraud reporting centre) and, of course, the police. The plan should also involve HR who would play a vital part in the event of fraud  they would ensure all legalities are in place and interview potential witnesses.

Emerging fraud risks

Another area highlighted in the Charity Commission report was cyber-enabled fraud; this is a growing risk as the sector becomes more reliant on technology. Cyber-enabled crime is traditional crime such as theft which can be increased in scale or reach by use of computers. A statistic from Action Fraud showed that 70 per cent of fraud is now cyber-enabled. This can include; fraudulent donations through bogus websites, email and social media, impersonating senior members of a charity to trick staff into making payments to the fraudsters bank account and also credit card scams.

In January this year the Charity Commission issued a public alert to raise awareness of sham charity appeals after email and social media were used to encourage the public to donate to fake appeals. As these risks become increasingly common, it is important for charities to consider their own practices and look at cyber in risk management exercises.

Tips to manage cyber-enabled fraud

Raise staff awareness of cyber-enabled fraud

Ensure all staff are aware of the risks and know to look out for suspicious websites and emails. Have a process in place to report concerns and remind staff not to click on any links or download files they are not sure are genuine.

Check all payment requests are from a genuine source

Challenge payments made to unknown bank accounts even when requests are made from senior staff, follow up with a phone call to confirm the payment is genuine.

Become familiar with the governments Cyber Essentials Toolkit

Developed by the government and industry experts, the Cyber Essentials scheme provides guidance on the controls you can put in place to mitigate cyber risks.

Report any suspicious activity to Action Fraud

Action Fraud is the national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre that can provide a point of contact if you think your charity has been a victim of fraud or cyber crime. They also have a range of resources available to assist with preventing fraud.

Insuring for the worst

Of course not all fraud risks can be anticipated or prevented, but having an effective insurance policy can help respond to and minimise the financial impact of fraudulent incidents. Fidelity guarantee is an insurance cover that protects against the loss of money or goods arising from dishonest or fraudulent acts by volunteers or employees as well as third party computer and funds transfer fraud.

Wendy Cotton is technical line manager - social welfare at Markel

Civil Society Media would like to thank Markel for its support with this article.
Ahead of todays Budget Kirsty Weakley summarises what the charity sector is hoping for.

Later today Philip Hammond will set out his first, and last, Spring Budget (he announced at the Autumn Statement that in future the Budget will take place in the autumn  starting this autumn). Here is what the charity sector has suggested the Chancellor might consider.

Reform to the tax system

The Charity Finance Group coordinated a letter on behalf of Navca, Children England, Locality, the Association of Charitable Foundations, Voice4Change England, the Small Charities Coalition, Social Enterprise UK and the Institute of Fundraising.

They emphasised the value of the charity sector to the economy - 12.2bn per year and called for tax cuts to support charities. The main points are:

Reduce Irrecoverable VAT for charities Increase mandatory charitable non-domestic business rate relief to 100 per cent Increase pay back of National Insurance Contributions for charities Lower the Insurance Premium Tax for charities to 6 per cent

The Charity Tax Group echoed calls on VAT and Insurance Premiumn Tax and called on the government for the reinstatement of Research and Development Credit as a relief for non-university charities, and exemption for charities from digital record-keeping.

NCVO also said the government should use tax policy to support charities and do more to engage with the HMRC Charity Tax Forum. It also announced that it is setting up an independent commission to review to tax system.

Charity Commission

In its letter to the Chancellor, the Directory of Social Change urged Hammond to increase funding for the Charity Commission, so that charities would not have to pay for it.

A consultation on the future funding of the commission has been anticipated for some time now. The regulators chair, William Shawcross, is known to believe that some element of charging charities, but the Treasury is yet to launch the consultation.

More support for charities

NCVO also called for government to do more to support local communities and volunteering.

Elsewhere, Sense have called for more support for social care. Richard Kramer, deputy chief executive of Sense, said: "The sector has been waiting with bated breath for a long-term Government solution to the growing crisis and whilst some action has been taken, it has not been anywhere near enough to save the current system, which is completely unsustainable and at real risk of total collapse.

"If it wishes to avert disaster, the government must recognise in this Budget that it is now or never for social care, by delivering the funds and long-term sustainability plan that councils and care providers need in order to maintain quality services.

Patrick Murray, head of policy and external affairs at charity think tank NPC, warned in its blog that even if there is more money for social care it could hit the sector in other ways.

So even if that short-term money provides a bit of a sticking plaster, other services like libraries, childrens centres or help for people experiencing homelessness could face further pressure. Charities who work with local authorities need to be vigilant about what might be coming, he said.

The Samaritans has produced a report, Dying from Inequality, linking inequality with higher risk of suicide and calling of on the government to do more to support those with unstable employment, insecure housing, low income or in areas of socioeconomic deprivation.

Follow #volsecbudget on Twitter for live updates of the Budget as it happens. We'll have full coverage of all the news for charities later today.




Cruise Industry News has launched a new website page, a cruise industry whos who of the top executives at all major cruise brands with a photo guide covering all small and large cruise companies.

View cruise industry whos who now.

Get more than 1,000 executive listings covering all departments: port ops, deployment, purchasing, marine/hotel ops, food and beverage, technical and much more in the Cruise Industry Executive Guide.
When the SuperStar Virgo moves to Shanghai in July, it will be to sail roundtrip eight-day cruises to Japan. Star Cruises will also introduce interporting in Tokyo (Yokohama) and Osaka, with fly-cruise programs sailing open-jaw.

With SuperStar Virgos triple homeport deployment in China and Japan, we hope to further grow and expand our source market and footprint, as well as strengthen the Star Cruises brand presence in these countries, Moo Lim Ang, president, told Cruise Industry News.

The average cruise length for ships sailing from mainland Chinese ports is just under five days.

2017 Asia Deployment

Before the deployment move to Shanghai, however, the SuperStar Virgo, which is said to be the fastest ship in the Asia market, will spend most of March, April and May with a triple homeport program between Hong Kong, Manila and Kaohsiung, sailing six-day cruises.

The triple homeport will also allow travelers the flexibility to embark and disembark in Kaohsiung, Hong Kong or Manila, Ang said. With the Philippines, we are also excited to highlight Manila as part of the strategic homeport itinerary and be the first international cruise company to homeport in Manila.

Ang said the potential source market in the Philippines was untapped, and the company was bullish on developing it as a key cruise hub.

For June the SuperStar Virgo will move to a duel homeport deployment in Taiwan, turning around in Kaohsiung and Keelung.

That will push capacity up in the Taiwan market, where the SuperStar Aquarius is a year-round ship.

Most importantly it creates new options for travelers to choose from, while strengthening our presence in these markets and further stimulating the growth of the cruise tourism industry across all three homeports, he noted.

For the rest of the fleet, Star Pisces will continue to serve the Hong Kong one-night market and the SuperStar Gemini will continue her program from Singapore targeting the fly-cruise market in Southeast Asia.

Finally, the SuperStar Libra remains based in Penang year-round.

Changes

Ang said the Asia source markets were evolving.

We have taken various steps and initiatives to seize new opportunities, create new milestones and introduce a series of firsts for Star Cruises and the cruise industry as a whole, he said.

An example was last winter, when the SuperStar Virgo kicked off a Pearl River Delta strategy in China, and was also the first ship to sail from the new Shenzhen cruise homeport facility.

Now attention has turned to source markets in the Philippines, as well as more varied deployment options from Shanghai.

Another key growth metric for Ang will be building up fly-cruises packages for Chinese passengers.

We will continue to actively promote fly-cruise packages for the China market, providing exciting and new options for Chinese travelers to cruise from many of our year-round homeports across the region, Ang noted.

Port Congestion

With an influx of capacity moving into the Chinese market, Ang said homeports were improving and keeping up with supply growth.

It remains crucial for these strategically located ports to continue to upgrade, Ang said, noting he still expected congestion at key ports in the near future.

Over the years, Star and Genting have supported and helped inaugurate ports all over Asia, including Sanya, Haikou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Guangzhou and Shenhzen, as well as the neighboring homeports in Hong Kong and Taipei. In 2016, we formed strategic alliances to develop the ports in Nansha (Guangzhou) and Tai Zi Bay, Shekou, (Shenzhen) into international cruise homeports with the goal of accelerating the growth of the cruise industry in China, Ang said.

The traffic the homeports are seeing in Asia is then extending out, putting pressure on transit ports (ports of call).

There is still a need for many of these transit ports to improve on their services and facilities to support the growing cruise industry in the region, Ang said. Also, we hope to support and see more ports in China progress and move up the value chain as homeports, which will further boost the industry and the port cities. Besides that, with Chinas long coastal line, its important to explore and develop new ports.

Planning

What goes into itinerary planning for Star Cruises?

First, said Ang, is balancing all of Genting Hong Kongs brands (Star Cruises, Dream Cruises and Crystal Cruises), which complement one another by targeting different source markets and market segments.

For Star Cruises, future deployments will still be centered on our key homeports in Asia as many of our homeports are underpinned by strong fundamentals, including a growing economy, an expanding middle class, an increase in outbound travel, especially intra-travel across the region  all vital to the growth of the cruise tourism sector. In addition, available capacity of our ships will always be a factor in our deployment strategies, he explained.
At CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference the political landscape and economic outlook was the buzz. Not to mention the impressive keynote speech delivered flawlessly by Former Secretary of State, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.). But after jamming at Late Night at the GAC and Sound Nations performance, whats next?

As a career tradeshow attendee, here are 4 credit union events you must attend in the next few months:

1.April: GonzoBanker Chief Executive Officer Spring Roundtable

Cornerstone Advisors has a unique series of credit union roundtables each year that provides credit union executives unique opportunities to collaborate and share best practices with their peers in a more intimate setting.

Led by the experienced experts at Cornerstone, this is a must-attend event for CEOs. The event kicks off on April 19 at the picturesque Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch.

2.May: 2017 National Conference for Canadas Credit Unions

The credit union movement is strong all across the entirety of North America. The National Conference for Canadas Credit Unions is built on innovation and diversity. New to this years event is the Innovation Session Series. Growing and maintaining a strong membership depends on innovative products and services as well as in their delivery.

Halifax is the perfect place to experience the credit union movement and the beauty of Nova Scotia. The conference is encouraging attendees to come early and stay late this May to discover this magnificent province.

3.May: Corelation Client Conference

Corelation is taking the core banking space by storm with its new Keystone core platform. With Keystone continuing its steady tide of signing credit unions and seeing significant conversions, any credit union saddled with a legacy system or in the process of reevaluating its core needs to pencil in this event for May.

The annual conference is in Corelations San Diego backyard and kicks off May 16 and if youre lucky, youll get to check out a Padres game!

4.June: CU Tech Talk Info Security Conference

June 14 kicks off the 15th annual Credit Union InfoSecurity Conference. This is the only security conference for, by and about credit unions. It is also one of the least expensive events on my annual list.

Block chain security, cybercrime trends and even biometric authentication technologies will be covered during this three-day event. Register now and well see you in San Diego!

There you go. Four great shows and four great reasons to rack up some frequent flyer miles in the next few months. See you there!
Norway Says Cyber Attacks Came From Russia

Norways foreign ministry, army and other institutions are being targeted in a cyber-attack by a group suspected of having links to Russian authorities, according to Norwegian intelligence, which was one of the targets. Known as APT 29, the group singled out by Oslo has already been accused of hacking interference in the US presidential election.

Nine different email accounts were targeted in an attempt at what is called spear phishing, in other words, malicious emails, Arne Christian Haugstoyl, an official with Norways intelligence service, PST, told television channel TV2.

He said it was difficult to know the goal of the operation, which Norway was alerted to by an allied country, but he described APT 29 as a group with links to the Russian authorities.

The PST spokesman Martin Bernsen said there was no reason to believe that classified information had been obtained in connection with the attack, according to the daily newspaper Verdens Gang (VG).

In addition to the PST, the foreign ministry and the army, the attack targeted the radiation protection agency, a school and the parliamentary group of the Labour party, the traditionally dominant party in Norway which is currently in opposition.

Norway, a Nato member, and neighbouring Russia normally enjoy good relations but these have grown more tense since the Ukraine crisis.

It summoned the Russian ambassador recently to lodge a protest after Moscow refused visas to two senior parliamentarians in a move Oslo denounced as unjustifiable.

Russia said the refusal was a reaction to Norways participation in EU economic sanctions against it over the Ukraine crisis. Moscow was also angered by the recent deployment of about 300 US soldiers on Norwegian soil.

Guardian:

Why Is China Hacking Norway?:

Russian Cyber Spies & Hackers Are The New Normal:
Talking Points:

Oil Prices fell on Tuesday as supply shortage from OPEC may not extend

Gold continues to fall in light of confident Federal Reserve

SPDR Gold Shares ETF shows lowest AUM since early February

The price of Crude Oil looks to be aligning with the backwardation that recently came to pass where the front month futures contract was trading at a premium to futures contracts a few years out. A driver for the support of the Oil price has been a hope that OPEC would extend supply cuts beyond summer. However, on Tuesday, Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy cast doubt on the certainty that OPEC will extend cuts. Al Mazrouei said the level of inventories is dropping slower than expected, which is likely either to the aggressively supply from the US Shale or the lack of demand.

Signs out of CERAWeek in Houston appear promising for the future of the Oil market and those anticipating higher prices. Mohammed Barkindo, OPEC secretary-general, met with the heads of multiple oil production and oil service companies to discuss the demand for higher oil prices down the road with a balanced market with lower inventories being beneficial to everyone. However, the growth prospects ahead make a full-scale inventory and production pull-back difficult in practice, even if it sounds nice in theory.

Interested in Joining Our Analysts, Instructors, or Strategists For a Free Webinar? Register Here

The recent pick-up in the correlation of Gold with US Rates and US Dollar has not fared well for Gold. Gold futures on Tuesday posted the sixth straight decline for the longest such strength since November. Much of the decline in Gold has to do with the fear of holding an asset with no interest bearing rights as the Central Bank of the worlds reserve currency begins to raise rates and thus, the reference rate for tens of Trillions of dollars in loans.

Year-to-data, Spot gold is still up nearly 6%. However, for the upside to return for Gold, we would likely need to see a move lower in yields at the middle of the curve (5-10Yr). The easiest outcome that would bring this to pass would be an FOMC meeting to pass without a rate hike. Another risk the market is watching that is specifically displayed in EUR/XAU as the French Election in a few months down the road.

Are crude oil and gold prices matching DailyFX forecasts so far in 2017? Find out here !

GOLD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS  Gold prices pushed below the February low on Tuesday. Many traders were watching $1,216.52/oz, which broke on Tuesday and now turn their attention to the 38.2% retracement level at $1,209.79, which is the December-February range from $1,122.51-$1,262.5 per oz. A pick-up in Bearish momentum below $1,218 would open up the late January low as a target at $1,180/oz. For now, only a move above the 200-DMA ($1,261.7/oz.) would resume the Bullish Bias that we have seen gaining traction since mid-December.

Chart created using TradingView

CRUDE OIL TECHNICAL ANALYSIS  Crude oil prices remain stuck in a narrow range, but the longer-term structure appears trend continuation. While there was excitement on the recent run to $55/bbl, it remains possible we are tracing out a larger bullish Triangle chart formation than previously anticipated that could take weeks, if not months to complete. Others are viewing this as a longer-term topping pattern before a new attempt at $20/bbl, though I do not take that view.

We will continue to favor the patient-longer-term Bullish view absent a move below Triangle top resistance-turned-support at 53.66 aims for trend line support doubling as the Triangle bottom, now at 52.31.A daily close above the 55.21-65 area (January 3 high, 38.2% Fibonacci expansion) targets the 50% level at 57.18 and quite possibly, higher.

Chart created using TradingView

--- Written by Tyler Yell, CMT, Currency Analyst & Trading Instructor for DailyFX.com

Key LevelsOver the Next 48-hrs of Trading as ofTuesday, March 7, 2017

For those interested in shorter-term levels of focus than the ones above, these levels signal important potential pivot levels over the next 48-hours of trading.

Contact and follow Tyler on Twitter: @ForexYell
Gujarat Fluorochemicals to sell wind farm business; stock surges 6 per cent

Inox Renewable Ltd., a subsidiary of Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd., has decided to sell its operating wind farm to Chennai based, Leap Green Energy Pvt. Ltd. The company has not disclosed the deal amount, but the received funds would be utilised to pare the debt of the Company. This deal is expected to be completed over the next few months, subject to certain precedents, which include certain approvals, the Company said. This transaction will help the parent company (Gujarat Fluorochemicals) to decrease leverage, by reducing debt of around Rs 800 crore that was attributable to the wind farming business.



Leap Green is also engaged in the business of power generation through renewable resources.



The Inox Group is a diversified conglomerate, which is valued at around USD 3 billion. The group holds a leadership position in dealing with industrial gases, chloromethanes, refrigerants, fluoropolymers, multiplexes, wind turbine manufacturing and cryogenic engineering.



In Wednesdays trade stock of Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd., almost 6 per cent to touch the day's high of Rs 560. The stock is currently trading at Rs 555 up 5 per cent.
HAMBURG - Leading retailers including Esprit and the Otto Group this week met with the Foreign Trade Association (FTA) to agree an action plan to improve the protection of Syrian workers in Turkey. It has been estimated that there are between 250,000 and 400,000 Syrian refugees working illegally in Turkey - many in the textile industry - however, the majority of them work informally and lack worker rights. Second tier suppliers and illegal sub-contracting are a major challenge for brands sourcing from Turkey, which is Europe's largest garment manufacturing destination and the second largest supplier of clothing to the EU.
It's never too late to quit smoking. Even after heart surgery, research has shown that quitting smoking reduces the risk of a heart attack, stroke or death. Yet only about one-third of smokers hospitalized for heart attacks and other serious heart problems received proven smoking-cessation therapy while they were in the hospital, according to research scheduled for presentation at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session. Moreover, data showed that amid mounting evidence of the dangers of tobacco smoke, use of smoking-cessation treatments only increased by 10 percent in hospitals nationwide over the last decade.

"Hospitalization is usually a highly teachable moment, when patient motivation to quit smoking is really high," said Quinn R. Pack, MD, MSc, a preventive cardiologist at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, and lead author of the study. "Yet our study suggests that two-thirds of these patients leave the hospital without having been given evidence-based smoking-cessation tools that we know can help them quit."

Pack and his colleagues examined diagnostic and billing data from 282 hospitals to determine how often smokers hospitalized for heart attacks or heart surgery received smoking-cessation counseling, nicotine replacement therapy (such as the nicotine patch, gum, lozenge or inhaler) or a smoking-cessation medication (varenicline or bupropion) during their hospital stay. The researchers reviewed data for 36,675 patients coded as active smokers at hospital discharge between 2004 and 2014. Nearly 70 percent were men, their average age was 58, and 63 percent of them were hospitalized for a heart attack. The hospitals were located across the country and ranged from medium-sized community hospitals to large university-affiliated medical centers. All of the hospitals had voluntarily submitted the data, stripped of information that might identify individual patients, to a large quality-improvement database.

Overall, about 30 percent of the patients received at least one smoking-cessation therapy during their hospital stay. Of those, about 20 percent were given the nicotine patch, which was the most commonly given treatment, and about 10 percent received professionally delivered smoking-cessation counseling. Few patients received medication or other forms of nicotine replacement therapy such as nicotine gum or lozenges. Smokers who had lung disease, used alcohol, were depressed or were younger than 58 years of age were statistically significantly more likely to receive smoking-cessation therapy.

The study also found wide variation across hospitals in the use of smoking-cessation therapies among smokers being treated for heart disease, Pack said.

"We found that some hospitals were getting just over half of their patients on smoking-cessation treatment, while at other hospitals, less than 10 percent of patients who could benefit from smoking-cessation treatment were receiving it," he said.

This research points to "a sizeable performance gap" among hospitals and cardiologists, Pack said.

"Smoking is the number one behavior that predicts early all-cause death," he said. "Hospitals and cardiologists can do more to help patients who smoke get the treatment they need to help them quit."

The study has limitations.

"The data we examined cannot tell us whether patients actually quit smoking," Pack said. "We only know if they received smoking-cessation therapy while they were hospitalized because that creates a billing record. We also don't know whether some patients were offered smoking-cessation therapy but declined."

Another limitation is that the diagnostic codes used to identify patients as smokers may have missed some patients who should have been included in the study.

Previous research has shown that nicotine replacement therapy and smoking-cessation medications are safe and effective in helping nonhospitalized smokers quit, Pack said.

"It has not been definitely proven in a randomized controlled trial that nicotine replacement therapy after a heart attack improves quit rates," he said. "But, we do know that, in general, patients who receive nicotine replacement therapy in the hospital are more likely to continue to use it after they are discharged and that it improves quit rates in the general population of smokers."

Smoking damages the heart in a number of ways, including speeding up plaque formation in the arteries, reducing blood flow, raising cholesterol and promoting blood clots, among other negative effects. Experts say quitting smoking can cut the risk of repeat heart attacks and death from heart disease by about half.

Pack said he and his research team plan to identify the strategies and practices high performing hospitals use to provide patients with smoking-cessation tools and medications so that other hospitals can follow their examples and learn from their experiences.

###

Pack will present the study, "Smoking Cessation Therapies are Persistently and Significantly Underutilized Among Hospitalized Smokers with Coronary Heart Disease," on Friday, March 17, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. ET at Poster Hall C at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington. The meeting runs March 17-19.

The ACC's Annual Scientific Session, which in 2017 will be March 17-19 in Washington, brings together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the world to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention. Follow @ACCCardioEd, @ACCMediaCenter and #ACC17 for the latest news from the meeting.

The American College of Cardiology is a 52,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications.
Borrowing concepts from medical diagnostic devices, they've created a simple, cheap set of handheld tests that can detect the presence of many water or food-borne pathogens

FORT COLLINS, COLORADO - Food poisoning: Many of us have had it, and we won't soon forget it. Colorado State University chemists are trying to make it so we can.

Borrowing concepts from medical diagnostic devices, they've created a simple, cheap set of handheld tests that can detect the presence of many water or food-borne pathogens. If applied in the field, such tests could greatly reduce the number of expensive follow-up tests needed to keep the food supply safe from fecal contamination.

The new testing systems are innovations from the lab of Chuck Henry, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry. The research is in Analytical Chemistry, a publication of the American Chemical Society (ACS), and is the subject of an ACS news release. The paper includes authorship by graduate students Jaclyn Adkins and Katherine Boehle, CSU research assistant Colin Friend, undergraduate researcher Briana Chamberlain, and Bledar Bisha of the University of Wyoming.

For their study, Henry and colleagues targeted a broad class of bacteria known as fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), which cause the highest number of hospitalizations and deaths from food poisoning. A common culprit: the use of unsafe water to irrigate green vegetables like alfalfa sprouts, spinach and lettuce.

While federal regulations require regular testing of fruits and vegetables for contamination with fecal matter, standard processes could use improvement. Common techniques like immunoassays and polymerase chain reactions (PCR) work reasonably well, but they can lead to false positives and require expensive equipment. The gold standard for bacterial detection is a lab culture, but this can take up to 48 hours to complete.

Henry and colleagues went for accurate, simple and cheap. They made two types of tests that detect an enzyme associated with the FIB bacteria. The first is a small strip of paper treated with a substrate molecule that changes color when it contacts the bacterial enzyme - similar to a home pregnancy test. The researchers envision a smart phone app could be coupled with the paper test.

"We found that with filter paper, wax and a little bit pf packing tape, we can do quite a bit of chemistry on here," Henry said. "That's about 2 cents worth of materials."

Their second test is electrochemical and consists of screen-printed carbon electrodes on transparent sheets, which indicate the same bacteria by being inserted into a reader. The setup is similar to a home glucometer.

The researchers ran tests of contaminated water from a nearby lagoon, as well as water contaminated with E. coli and Enterococcus faecalis that was used to wash clean alfalfa sprouts. Both tests detected the harmful bacteria within four to 12 hours.

They next want to build a mobile computing platform for their tests. They're working on a Raspberry Pi-based system that could perform kinetic measurements to detect changes in the bacteria levels over time, and automatically transmit the information to a cloud platform. The team is working with computer science researcher Sangmi Pallickara on these advances.

Henry explained that his lab's new tests can't tell exactly which bacteria are present, but they can detect the broad class of FIB bacteria that are usually responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks or closed beaches during the summer. "At this point, it is accurate but not specific," Henry said. "This is the test that tells you that you need to do more tests."

In contrast, PCR tests for bacteria, which are currently used for food safety, are more specific, but slower and more expensive. A cheap, simple pre-test like Henry et al.'s could save money and time by cutting back on the overall number of food safety tests needed.

The research has been supported in part by the Catalyst for Innovative Partnerships (CIP), a program of the CSU Office of the Vice President for Research that funds cross-disciplinary science. Through CIP, Henry has collaborated with researchers in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology. As a result, the food safety project has included the perspective and expertise of microbiologists, who would be most likely to use the devices in the field.

The CIP team, which includes researchers Brian Geiss and Elizabeth Ryan, is also studying antimicrobial resistance, among other projects.

###
A new study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) reveals that type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a 26% increase in the risk of death from cancer in Asians, as well as increases in the risk of death from site-specific cancers that can be even greater.

The research conducted by Dr Yu Chen (Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Department of Population Health at New York University School of Medicine) and colleagues, as well as researchers from institutes across America and Asia, looked into the relationship between T2D and cancer deaths across cohort studies conducted in 7 Asian countries.

There is increasing evidence of an association between T2D and an individual's risk of developing cancer or dying from the disease. Most of the studies into this relationship have looked only at Western populations, but with diabetes becoming increasingly prevalent throughout Asia, it is important to understand whether the risk of developing cancer in Asians with T2D is similar to that seen in the West, or whether they face different, and possibly greater risks than white western populations. Earlier research had suggested that at any given body mass index (BMI), Asians are more susceptible to developing insulin resistance, and go on to have a higher prevalence of T2D in comparison with people of European extraction.

Although there have been previous studies of diabetes and site-specific cancer risk in East Asian populations, the authors note that the majority only considered one or a few cancer types, included only a small number of patients with diabetes, or didn't control for other important risk factors such as obesity.

Data for this new study were drawn from the Asia Cohort Consortium (ACC), an international effort which combines 29 cohorts to examine the relationship between genetics, environment, and disease in a population of more than 1 million people. From that, 19 cohorts were chosen and further refined, resulting in a study population of 658,611 East Asians and 112,686 South Asians from China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, India and Bangladesh. Participants averaged 53.9 years of age at the start of a study, and 37,343 cancer deaths were identified during a mean follow-up time of 12.7 years. A major strength of this study was its large sample size of diverse Asian populations, which allowed for a detailed analysis that could take into account differences in factors such as sex, age, smoking status and alcohol consumption. It was also the first study of its kind to investigate the influence of T2D on cancer in South Asians.

The authors found that having T2D led to a 26% increase in the risk of dying from any form of cancer, even when taking into account factors such as BMI, alcohol consumption and smoking. They also found statistically significant links between T2D and the risk of death from specific cancers, with data consistent with that reported in Western countries showing increased risk of death from cancers of liver, pancreas, bile duct, colorectum, and breast associated with T2D. The strongest association was observed for cancers of the liver, thyroid and kidney (double the risk in each case), and endometrium (2.7 times increased risk) and breast (1.7 times increased risk), relative to individuals who did not have T2D.

For certain site-specific cancers including kidney, thyroid, and prostate cancer, there was evidence that T2D has a greater effect on risk in Asians than in people of European extraction. In addition, the risk of death from cancer in general was higher in individuals with T2D who were under 60 years old at the start of a study.

The authors found that: "These data together suggest that the influence of T2D on the risk of death from overall cancer, digestive cancers and breast cancer is largely similar in Asians and in developed Western countries."

They add: "Taken together, given the magnitude of the associations and the consistent data across different studies and populations, T2D should be considered as a risk factor for cancers in Asians, especially for liver cancer which has a high incidence in Asians"

The authors conclude: "The findings indicate a potential need for appropriate cancer screening among individuals with T2D, and a greater emphasis on lifestyle modifications to prevent T2D and reduce cancer mortality, not only in Western populations, but also in Asians."

###
With new survey, a team of astronomers has doubled the number of known young, compact radio galaxies

[Toronto] A team of astronomers has doubled the number of known young, compact radio galaxies--galaxies powered by newly energized black holes. The improved tally will help astronomers understand the relationship between the size of these radio sources and their age, as well as the nature of the galaxy itself.

In particular, it will help astronomers understand why there are so many more young radio galaxies than old.

"We do not understand how radio galaxies evolve," says Joseph Callingham, a postdoctoral fellow from the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) and lead author on the paper describing the result.

"For a long time, we thought all small galaxies evolved into massive galaxies. However, we have now found far too many small galaxies relative to the large ones. This suggests some never make it to the 'adult phase'."

In a survey of ninety thousand radio galaxies, the astronomers identified 1500 compact galaxies among them. The results are described in a paper published 20 February in the Astrophysical Journal.

"These compact galaxies used to be as rare as hen's teeth," says Prof. Bryan Gaensler, a co-author on the paper and Director of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto. "But now we've been able to discover a huge number of new cases. This breakthrough will let us begin to study the overall properties of these unusual and important objects."

A radio galaxy is a galaxy that shines brightly at radio wavelengths. A super-massive black hole--typically with the mass of millions of Suns--powers this outpouring of energy.

Gas and dust fall into the black hole, releasing vast amounts of energy. The energy is focused into two jets of particles, travelling in opposite directions at nearly the speed of light. As the jets blast through the galaxy, each generates its own lobe or hot-spot of radiation as it interacts with the gas in the galaxy.

According to one model, compact radio sources are young because the jets have not had time to reach far beyond the central black hole. The hot-spots are relatively close together and we see them as compact sources. Over time, the jets reach farther out into the galaxy and even beyond its confines; the hot-spots are farther from each other, and we see a more extended, double-lobed source.

In this simple model, the overabundance of young, compact radio galaxies raises the question: why don't young, compact radio galaxies mature into old, extended radio galaxies?

However, another model argues that the relationship between the age and observed size of a radio galaxy is not so straightforward. That's because a compact source may be compact, not because it's young, but because gas within the galaxy is dense enough to prevent the jets from extending far from the central black hole; i.e. it remains compact despite it's age.

"This study shows that it is possible a dense environment near the heart of the galaxy hinders and stops galaxy growth," says Callingham, who did much of the research as a PhD student with the Australian Centre for All-shy Astrophysics (CAASTRO).

The astronomers made the discovery using data gathered with the Murchison Wide-field Array (MWA), an interferometric radio telescope in the Western Australian outback. The discovery was possible because, unlike conventional radio telescopes that observe tiny patches of the sky at a time, the MWA sweeps large areas of the sky and is capable of observing across a broader range of wavelengths.

Additional notes:

1) The Murchison Wide-field array combines the signals from over 2000 separate antennas. With an area of 2000 square metres, it has a collecting area equivalent to a conventional radio telescope dish. The MWA is located at the Murchison Radio Astronomy Observatory, the future Australian site of the Square Kilometre Array, around 700 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia. Over the past three years, it has been used to survey 90% of the southern sky.

2) For more on the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA (GLEAM) survey of 300,000 galaxies: http://www.icrar.org/gleam/

Contact:

Dr. Joseph Callingham

ASTRON Postdoctoral Fellow

Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

p: +31 521 595 785

e: callingham@astron.nl

Prof. Bryan Gaensler, Director

Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics

University of Toronto

p: 416-522-0887

e: bgaensler@dunlap.utoronto.ca

Dr. Wiebke Ebeling

Education & Outreach

ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO)

Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy

Curtin University

Bentley WA 6102, Australia

p: +61 8 9266 9174

e: wiebke.ebeling@curtin.edu.au

Chris Sasaki

Communications Co-ordinator

Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics

University of Toronto

p: 416-978-6613

e: media@dunlap.utoronto.ca

w: dunlap.utoronto.ca
Nonwhite solid organ transplant patients were less likely to have regular dermatologic exams and to know race-specific signs and risk factors for skin cancer, such as human papillomavirus

It's been long recognized that the immunosuppressant drugs patients are prescribed after an organ transplant come with a fair share of dangerous side effects -- including squamous cell carcinoma and other types of skin disease.

But despite advances to improve skin cancer prevention for these patients, little is known about how skin conditions affect African-American, Asian and Hispanic transplant recipients. That's a problem, considering that more than half of the 120,000 Americans on the waiting list for organs are nonwhite, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Now, new research from Drexel University College of Medicine shows that nonwhite organ transplant recipients require unique, specialized dermatological care following their procedure. It is one of the first studies to analyze the risk factors, incidence, locations and types of skin disease in this population.

The researchers found that the majority of skin cancers in black transplant patients occurred in sun-protected areas, like the groin-genital area, and most of those lesions tested positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). Further, nonwhite organ transplant recipients were less likely than their white counterparts to have regular skin evaluations by a dermatologist and to know the signs of skin cancer. The results were published this week in JAMA Dermatology.

These findings suggest that dermatologists need to evaluate, counsel and treat organ transplant recipients differently based on their race, according to principal investigator Christina Lee Chung, MD, associate professor of dermatology in the College of Medicine.

"Practitioners need to know there is not a one-size-fits-all model for their patients," said Chung, who is the director of the Drexel Dermatology Center for Transplant Patients.

The study builds on a previous report from Drexel Dermatology, which identified 19 skin cancer lesions in 6 percent of 259 nonwhite patients. The authors concluded that all organ transplant recipients, regardless of race, should receive routine, total-body screenings for skin cancer.

In their most recent study, the researchers compared medical records of 412 organ transplant recipients -- including 154 white patients and 258 nonwhite (black, Asian or Hispanic) -- who were referred to the Drexel Dermatology Center for Transplant Patients between 2011 and 2016. As one of the only models of its kind in the country, the center provides post-transplant dermatological care to every patient who is transplanted by and/or followed by the Drexel University and Hahnemann University Hospital Transplant Programs. That means that every patient, regardless of race is screened annually for skin cancer. This provided a rich dataset for the research team to analyze.

Two hundred eighty-nine transplant recipients exhibited malignant, infectious or inflammatory conditions during their evaluation. However, their primary acute diagnoses differed greatly by race. In 82 white patients, skin cancer was the most common acute problem requiring attention at first visit. Black and Hispanic patients, by contrast, were most often diagnosed with inflammatory or infectious processes, such as fungal infections, warts, eczema, psoriasis and rashes.

Overall, squamous cell carcinoma in situ was the most common type of skin cancer diagnosed in each racial or ethnic group. But the location of the cancerous lesions again depended on the race of the patient. Most lesions in white and Asian patients occurred in sun-exposed areas of the body, like the scalp, neck, chest and back. For black patients, the lesions were primarily found in the groin.

Moreover, six of the nine lesions found on black patients tested positive for high-risk HPV strains, suggesting a strong association between the virus and skin cancer for African-Americans. Chung says it is still unclear why African-American transplant patients would have higher rates of HPV-related skin cancer. But the findings from this study show that dermatologists need to closely examine the groin, genital and perianal areas in this population.

Additionally, although early detection of cancer is vital, nonwhite transplant recipients would also benefit from addressing fungal and HPV infections, which can be persistent and magnify over time, she said.

"A lot of times doctors are so worried about preventing skin cancer, that they are not thinking about other problems that can greatly affect a person's quality of life," Chung said. "But if patients of color who are at risk for these conditions are evaluated early, then they can get a jumpstart on treatment before the issues become chronic and frustrating."

The researchers also provided questionnaires to 66 organ transplant recipients to find out more about the patients' awareness of skin cancer prevention. Seventy-seven percent of white patients were aware their skin cancer risk was increased, compared to 68 percent of nonwhites. Only 11 percent of nonwhite patients reported having regular dermatologic examinations, compared to 36 percent of whites. Finally, 45 percent of white patients, but only 25 percent of nonwhite, reported knowing the signs of skin cancer.

The study authors note that the high rates of nonwhite individuals knowing their risk of skin cancer is likely thanks to the strong emphasis that the Drexel University and Hahnemann Hospital Transplant Programs place on the importance of dermatology as part of comprehensive post-transplant care.

The researchers' total findings underscore the importance of skin cancer screening guidelines for organ transplant recipients, with counseling and treatment contingent on skin type and race.

"Right now, we don't have any consensus screening guidelines pertaining to post-transplant skin cancer development," Chung said. "For the future, screening protocols, patient educational materials, and risk assessment tools must be developed that specifically address the non-white population."

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An international team of astronomers, led by Nicolas Laporte of University College London, have used the [Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA - http://eso.org/alma) to observe A2744_YD4, the youngest and most remote galaxy ever seen by ALMA. They were surprised to find that this youthful galaxy contained an abundance of interstellar dust -- dust formed by the deaths of an earlier generation of stars.

Follow-up observations using the X-shooter instrument on ESO's [Very Large Telescope] confirmed the enormous distance to A2744_YD4. The galaxy appears to us as it was when the Universe was only 600 million years old, during the period when the first stars and galaxies were forming [1].

"Not only is A2744_YD4 the most distant galaxy yet observed by ALMA," comments Nicolas Laporte, "but the detection of so much dust indicates early supernovae must have already polluted this galaxy."

Cosmic dust is mainly composed of silicon, carbon and aluminium, in grains as small as a millionth of a centimetre across. The chemical elements in these grains are forged inside stars and are scattered across the cosmos when the stars die, most spectacularly in supernova explosions, the final fate of short-lived, massive stars. Today, this dust is plentiful and is a key building block in the formation of stars, planets and complex molecules; but in the early Universe -- before the first generations of stars died out -- it was scarce.

The observations of the dusty galaxy A2744_YD4 were made possible because this galaxy lies behind a massive galaxy cluster called Abell 2744 [2]. Because of a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, the cluster acted like a giant cosmic "telescope" to magnify the more distant A2744_YD4 by about 1.8 times, allowing the team to peer far back into the early Universe.

The ALMA observations also detected the glowing emission of ionised oxygen from A2744_YD4. This is the most distant, and hence earliest, detection of oxygen in the Universe, surpassing another ALMA result from 2016.

The detection of dust in the early Universe provides new information on when the first supernovae exploded and hence the time when the first hot stars bathed the Universe in light. Determining the timing of this "cosmic dawn" is one of the holy grails of modern astronomy, and it can be indirectly probed through the study of early interstellar dust.

The team estimates that A2744_YD4 contained an amount of dust equivalent to 6 million times the mass of our Sun, while the galaxy's total stellar mass -- the mass of all its stars -- was 2 billion times the mass of our Sun. The team also measured the rate of star formation in A2744_YD4 and found that stars are forming at a rate of 20 solar masses per year -- compared to just one solar mass per year in the Milky Way [3].

"This rate is not unusual for such a distant galaxy, but it does shed light on how quickly the dust in A2744_YD4 formed," explains Richard Ellis (ESO and University College London), a co-author of the study. "Remarkably, the required time is only about 200 million years -- so we are witnessing this galaxy shortly after its formation."

This means that significant star formation began approximately 200 million years before the epoch at which the galaxy is being observed. This provides a great opportunity for ALMA to help study the era when the first stars and galaxies "switched on" -- the earliest epoch yet probed. Our Sun, our planet and our existence are the products -- 13 billion years later -- of this first generation of stars. By studying their formation, lives and deaths, we are exploring our origins.

"With ALMA, the prospects for performing deeper and more extensive observations of similar galaxies at these early times are very promising," says Ellis.

And Laporte concludes: "Further measurements of this kind offer the exciting prospect of tracing early star formation and the creation of the heavier chemical elements even further back into the early Universe."

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Notes

[1] This time corresponds to a redshift of z=8.38, during the epoch of reionisation.

[2] Abell 2744 is a massive object, lying 3.5 billion light-years away (redshift 0.308), that is thought to be the result of four smaller galaxy clusters colliding. It has been nicknamed Pandora's Cluster because of the many strange and different phenomena that were unleashed by the huge collision that occurred over a period of about 350 million years. The galaxies only make up five percent of the cluster's mass, while dark matter makes up seventy-five percent, providing the massive gravitational influence necessary to bend and magnify the light of background galaxies. The remaining twenty percent of the total mass is thought to be in the form of hot gas.

[3] This rate means that the total mass of the stars formed every year is equivalent to 20 times the mass of the Sun.

More information

This research was presented in a paper entitled "Dust in the Reionization Era: ALMA Observations of a z =8.38 Gravitationally-Lensed Galaxy" by Laporte et al., to appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The team is composed of N. Laporte (University College London, UK), R. S. Ellis (University College London, UK; ESO, Garching, Germany), F. Boone (Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France), F. E. Bauer (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Instituto de Astrofisica, Santiago, Chile), D. Quenard (Queen Mary University of London, London, UK), G. Roberts-Borsani (University College London, UK), R. Pello (Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France), I. Perez-Fournon (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain; Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain), and A. Streblyanska (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain; Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain).

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).

ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

Links

* Research paper - http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1708/eso1708a.pdf

* Photos of ALMA - http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/search/?adv=&subject_name=Atacama%20Large%20Millimeter/submillimeter%20Array

Contacts

Nicolas Laporte

University College LondonUnited Kingdom

Tel: +44 2 035 495 802

Cell: +44 7452 807 591

Email: n.laporte@ucl.ac.uk

Richard Ellis

ESO

Garching bei Munchen, Germany

Tel: +44 7885 403334

Cell: +49 151 629 56829

Email: rellis@eso.org

Richard Hook

ESO Public Information Officer

Garching bei Munchen, Germany

Tel: +49 89 3200 6655

Cell: +49 151 1537 3591

Email: rhook@eso.org
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Nanotechnology has become a growing part of medical research in recent years, with scientists feverishly working to see if tiny particles could revolutionize the world of drug delivery.

But many questions remain about how to effectively transport those particles and associated drugs to cells.

In an article published today in Scientific Reports, FSU Associate Professor of Biological Science Steven Lenhert takes a step forward in the understanding of nanoparticles and how they can best be used to deliver drugs.

After conducting a series of experiments, Lenhert and his colleagues found that it may be possible to boost the efficacy of medicine entering target cells via a nanoparticle.

"We can enhance how cells take them up and make more drugs more potent," Lenhert said.

Initially, Lenhert and his colleagues from the University of Toronto and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology wanted to see what happened when they encapsulated silicon nanoparticles in liposomes -- or small spherical sacs of molecules -- and delivered them to HeLa cells, a standard cancer cell model.

The initial goal was to test the toxicity of silicon-based nanoparticles and get a better understanding of its biological activity.

Silicon is a non-toxic substance and has well-known optical properties that allow their nanostructures to appear fluorescent under an infrared camera, where tissue would be nearly transparent. Scientists believe it has enormous potential as a delivery agent for drugs as well as in medical imaging.

But there are still questions about how silicon behaves at such a small size.

"Nanoparticles change properties as they get smaller, so scientists want to understand the biological activity," Lenhert said. "For example, how does shape and size affect toxicity?"

Scientists found that 10 out of 18 types of the particles, ranging from 1.5 nanometers to 6 nanometers, were significantly more toxic than crude mixtures of the material.

At first, scientists believed this could be a setback, but they then discovered the reason for the toxicity levels. The more toxic fragments also had enhanced cellular uptake. That information is more valuable long term, Lenhert said, because it means they could potentially alter nanoparticles to enhance the potency of a given therapeutic.

The work also paves the way for researchers to screen libraries of nanoparticles to see how cells react.

"This is an essential step toward the discovery of novel nanotechnology based therapeutics," Lenhert said. "There's big potential here for new therapeutics, but we need to be able to test everything first."

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Other researchers contributing to the work are Aubrey Kusi-Appiah, Lida Ghazanfari and Plengchart Prommapan from Florida State University; Melanie Mastronardi, Chenxi Qian, Ken Chen and Geoffrey Ozin from the University of Toronto; and Christian Kubel from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

This work was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An international team of scientists led by Liang-shi Li at Indiana University has achieved a new milestone in the quest to recycle carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere into carbon-neutral fuels and others materials.

The chemists have engineered a molecule that uses light or electricity to convert the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide -- a carbon-neutral fuel source -- more efficiently than any other method of "carbon reduction."

The process is reported today in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

"If you can create an efficient enough molecule for this reaction, it will produce energy that is free and storable in the form of fuels," said Li, associate professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Chemistry. "This study is a major leap in that direction."

Burning fuel -- such as carbon monoxide -- produces carbon dioxide and releases energy. Turning carbon dioxide back into fuel requires at least the same amount of energy. A major goal among scientists has been decreasing the excess energy needed.

This is exactly what Li's molecule achieves: requiring the least amount of energy reported thus far to drive the formation of carbon monoxide. The molecule -- a nanographene-rhenium complex connected via an organic compound known as bipyridine -- triggers a highly efficient reaction that converts carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide.

The ability to efficiently and exclusively create carbon monoxide is significant due to the molecule's versatility.

"Carbon monoxide is an important raw material in a lot of industrial processes," Li said. "It's also a way to store energy as a carbon-neutral fuel since you're not putting any more carbon back into the atmosphere than you already removed. You're simply re-releasing the solar power you used to make it."

The secret to the molecule's efficiency is nanographene -- a nanometer-scale piece of graphite, a common form of carbon (i.e. the black "lead" in pencils) -- because the material's dark color absorbs a large amount of sunlight.

Li said that bipyridine-metal complexes have long been studied to reduce carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide with sunlight. But these molecules can use only a tiny sliver of the light in sunlight, primarily in the ultraviolet range, which is invisible to the naked eye. In contrast, the molecule developed at IU takes advantage of the light-absorbing power of nanographene to create a reaction that uses sunlight in the wavelength up to 600 nanometers -- a large portion of the visible light spectrum.

Essentially, Li said, the molecule acts as a two-part system: a nanographene "energy collector" that absorbs energy from sunlight and an atomic rhenium "engine" that produces carbon monoxide. The energy collector drives a flow of electrons to the rhenium atom, which repeatedly binds and converts the normally stable carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide.

The idea to link nanographene to the metal arose from Li's earlier efforts to create a more efficient solar cell with the carbon-based material. "We asked ourselves: Could we cut out the middle man -- solar cells -- and use the light-absorbing quality of nanographene alone to drive the reaction?" he said.

Next, Li plans to make the molecule more powerful, including making it last longer and survive in a non-liquid form, since solid catalysts are easier to use in the real world. He is also working to replace the rhenium atom in the molecule -- a rare element -- with manganese, a more common and less expensive metal.

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All of the research on the study was conducted at IU. The first authors on the paper are Xiaoxiao Qiao and Qiqi Li, former graduate students at IU. Additional authors are professor Krishnan Raghavachari and graduate students Richard N. Schaugaard, Benjamin W. Noffke and Yijun Liu, all of the Department of Chemistry; Dongping Li, a visiting professor from Nanchang University; and Lu Liu, a visiting undergraduate from the University of Science and Technology of China.

This study was supported by IU Office of the Vice Provost for Research and the National Science Foundation.
Mainz-based Professor of Philosophy Thomas Metzinger sets another example for ethically responsible publishing in the digital age. After successfully publishing the Open MIND Project in 2015, Professor Thomas Metzinger is now releasing the collection Philosophy & Predictive Processing (PPP) in cooperation with Dr. Wanja Wiese. The PPP project comprises 26 original contributions written specifically for this volume by 28 international authors. The anthology will be freely available online at http://www.predictive-mind.net and will also be later published in print form. Unlike the Open MIND Project, this time all the contributions have a thematic focus: the philosophical discussion of Predictive Processing.

Predictive Processing is an approach that has become an independent research category in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience. On the technical side, the theory is ambitious. It unifies numerous ideas and concepts from cognitive science for the purpose of assessing the proposition that the main function of the human brain is to generate predictions on the basis of sensory signals and to minimize the mistakes it makes when doing so. Unexpected signals, such as an incorrect note in a known melody, lead to large errors in prediction and are thus perceived with particular intensity. From a philosophical point of view, Predictive Processing is relevant because, among other things, it delivers very general and standardized formal descriptions of the neural operations which form the basis for our perception, thought, and actions while also delivering material that makes it possible to generate concrete hypotheses about how these operations shape the functioning of our conscious perception. The collection at hand provides an entry level introduction to the current debate, and is specifically designed for use by scholars of philosophy.

Following the publication of two major philosophical monographs on the subject, increasing numbers of philosophers have come to recognize the relevance of the development of Predictive Processing theory to their own research. In 2013, philosopher Jakob Hohwy of Monash University in Melbourne published The Predictive Mind, which introduced the theoretical foundations of Predictive Processing to a broad audience. By applying the Predictive Processing approach to classic philosophical problems, he also showed how useful the method can be for a variety of other disciplines. Then in 2016, philosopher Andy Clark of the University of Edinburgh further galvanized the systematic philosophical discussion of Predictive Processing through his monograph Surfing Uncertainty. Aiming to extend the philosophical discussion on Predictive Processing and make it more systematic, the PPP Project is the first collection of works dedicated exclusively to the philosophical implications of Predictive Processing. The volume also contains a short introduction to the subject tailored specifically to those working in the humanities.

Professor Thomas Metzinger, who is receiving support for his activities through a Fellowship of the Gutenberg Research College of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), is also using the project to promote young academics. Most of the authors who have contributed to the anthology are in the early stages of their academic careers. Furthermore, as in the case of the Open MIND Project, some of the articles were written by researchers affiliated with the MIND Group. Metzinger founded this group in 2003 to provide young German philosophers with a platform to help them liaise with the international research community and gain access to the latest developments in contemporary philosophy. Through this group, an ever-changing group of higher semester students, doctoral candidates, and young researchers from many countries meet with prominent guests twice a year in Frankfurt am Main at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS). FIAS has provided the group with organizational support for many years now, and the Barbara Wengeler Foundation in Munich provides financial support for the meeting and also awards an annual prize worth EUR 10,000.

"I was looking for an innovative way to promote young researchers," said Metzinger, Director of the Theoretical Philosophy Group and the Neuroethics Research Group at Mainz University, explaining his reasons for establishing the MIND Group. In the MIND Group, not only do junior members have the opportunity to meet leading academics, but both junior members and leading analytic philosophers of mind can meet scientists conducting empirical research in the areas of cognitive science and neuroscience, thus fostering the pursuit of pioneering theories and the formation of a network that can experiment with new forms of interdisciplinary collaboration.

One result of this productive cooperation is the Open MIND online collection, which is now being supplemented by the PPP Project. "Each of the 26 original articles was reviewed four times, proofread by the authors and the editorial team, and made available with professional help in three different digital formats online," explained Metzinger. The group was also once again able to keep the processing times very short: the whole collection was ready for publication in a mere ten months.

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The website http://www.predictive-mind.net will go live on March 8, 2017.

Related links:
Depression is common in patients with central vision loss, but study suggests that low vision rehabilitation and occupational therapy could decrease its severity

Johns Hopkins researchers report that in-home occupational therapy appears to reduce the rate and severity of depression in people at higher risk for the disorder because of seriously impaired vision.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says older adults in the United States are already at an increased risk of depression as their health and social lives change. Vision-impairing diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, contribute to these changes for an estimated 1.6 million Americans.

The new study, described March 8, in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, used measures obtained from the previous Low Vision Depression Prevention Trial in Age-Related Macular Degeneration (VITAL) study to conclude that low-vision patients who improve in their day-to-day functions, such as cooking, reading mail or using a computer, through at-home training with an occupational therapist have less severe symptoms of depression than similar patients who did not train with an occupational therapist.

"Our goal for this study was to see if occupational therapy was a better investment than supportive therapy in preventing depression in low-vision patients," says Ashley Deemer, O.D., instructor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The study was based on information originally gathered for the VITAL study at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and included data on 188 patients with age-related macular degeneration. The patients' average age was 84, and 70.2 percent of the patients were women. The patients had an average visual acuity of 20/96, meaning that the average person in this study could see an object 20 feet away, while someone with normal vision could see the same object at 96 feet. All patients also reported borderline depressive symptoms, scoring greater than five on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, a clinical survey used to estimate depression risk. In this survey, a score of zero is an indication that the patient has no depression or is at a low risk, and a score of 20 or higher marks a patient as at risk for severe depression.

After enrollment in the study, all patients visited a low vision rehabilitation optometrist and filled out a questionnaire designed to assess the importance and difficulty of daily activities, such as cooking, driving, pleasure reading and using a computer.

Patients were then divided into two treatment groups -- an occupational therapy group and a supportive therapy group. The group of patients receiving occupational therapy met with an occupational therapist for six one-hour sessions in their homes. Utilizing tools like magnifying glasses, electronic devices and computer programs, the occupational therapist helped train patients to find new ways to achieve the tasks patients had ranked as both important and difficult.

"For example, if a patient had difficulty reading his or her mail, the therapist would use a magnification device to train and practice with the patient until he or she could successfully read the mail," says Deemer.

The supportive therapy group acted as a control group for comparison. These patients met with a social worker for six one-hour sessions of talk therapy, which emphasized personal expression about loss and disability. In essence, the researchers say, this group got attention and empathetic support but not specific occupational therapy directed to improve their ability to function.

Four months after treatment, the researchers followed up with the patients in the study. Before treatment, the occupational therapy group's average PHQ-9 score was 5.5, and the supportive therapy group's average score was 5.6, placing both groups at the borderline of having a depressive disorder. After re-administering the questionnaire after treatment, the researchers found that the occupational therapy patient group's average score decreased to 4.62 and the supportive therapy's score decreased to 4.54.

At this follow-up, the researchers found that 26 percent of the supportive therapy patients reported that their depression symptoms worsened, while only 12 percent of the occupational therapy patients reported worsening symptoms. In total, these data show that while both forms of therapy decreased depression in patients, the group that received occupational therapy reduced its risk of depression by much more.

Comprehensive low vision rehabilitative services typically incorporate specialized care from an optometrist and other rehabilitation therapists, including occupational therapists. Because the VITAL study was not originally designed to distinguish the differences among these particular low-vision rehabilitation services, Deemer says one limitation of her findings is the researchers were unable to measure visual function improvements from occupational therapy services alone. Rather, the effects on visual function seen here are the result of comprehensive low vision rehabilitative care, including services given by both the optometrist and the occupational therapist.

Deemer says the costs associated with occupational therapy are often covered by Medicare, but such services appear to be underutilized.

"Many caregivers and patients may not realize how prevalent depression is among people with low vision, and our duty as health care providers is to raise awareness of the problem and the availability of help," says Deemer. "It is good practice not only to refer low vision patients to a mental health expert, but to also suggest low vision rehabilitation and occupational therapy, which could have a huge impact on our patients' lives."

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If you would like to view the video that accompanies this release please contact Rachel Butch. Reporters are welcome to demo the tools used in low-vision occupational therapy at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute upon request.

Other researchers involved in the study were Robert W. Massof of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Barry W. Rovner, Robin J. Casten and Catherine V. Piersol of Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.

This work was supported by National Eye Institute grant U01 EY018819.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Fragile X syndrome is the most common cause of autism. Even though the single gene that's responsible for it was discovered in 1991, and the disease is detected by a simple blood test, there's no treatment or cure.

A team of researchers led by Michigan State University, however, has provided a promising lead in battling this disease. In the current issue of Nature Communications, the scientists identified a single protein that appears to be the culprit in causing many behavioral symptoms as well as molecular and cellular abnormalities related to Fragile X.

"We began with 600-800 potential protein targets, searching for the equivalent of a needle in a haystack," said Hongbing Wang, MSU physiologist and study co-author. "Our needle turned out to be ADCY1. When we compared levels of this protein in Fragile X mouse model to normal controls, we saw a 20-25 percent increase of ADCY1."

Subsequent tests of the team's prime-target protein on the Fragile X mouse model revealed four key results. First, by reducing the expression of ADCY1, the team eliminated many autism-like behaviors. Second, the protein's increased expression caused increased signaling in neurons. By reducing levels of ADCY1, the team dampened neuron signaling to levels within a normal range.

Lastly, neurons associated with Fragile X have excessive dendritic spines, or bumps, when compared to those in healthy patients. Reduction of the rampant protein also resulted in improving the appearance of the neurons.

Finding a single target that's responsible for so many of the causes makes the research attractive to pharmaceutical companies, Wang said.

"Our research has identified a key target and a new approach that could easily be pursued by pharmaceutical companies," he said. "We've shown an accessible target that, through treatment using NB001, suppresses activity. The next steps would be to test toxicity and optimization."

NB001, an experimental compound that also holds potential as a painkiller, delivered positive preliminary toxicity tests as well as demonstrated the ability to pass the blood brain barrier, the protective membrane separating the bloodstream from brain extracellular fluid.

Although the study revealed a critical target and potential medicine, the findings are still years away from being considered for human clinical trials, Wang added.

In addition to potential drug development for adults, future studies could focus on children. Since the team studied adult mice, the question of catching the problem at an earlier age has yet to be addressed. If caught at an early age by a blood test, could the disease be stopped before symptoms surfaced?

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Additional MSU researchers who were part of this study include Ferzin Sethna, Qi Ding and Alfred Robison. Wei Feng and Yue Feng with Emory University also contributed to the paper.

The National Institutes of Health and FRAXA Research Foundation funded this research.

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.

For MSU news on the Web, go to MSUToday. Follow MSU News on Twitter at twitter.com/MSUnews.
Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a $6.1 million, five-year award to accelerate fundamental research on wireless communication and networking technologies through the foundation's Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) program.

Through the PAWR Project Office (PPO), award recipients US Ignite, Inc. and Northeastern University will collaborate with NSF and industry partners to establish and oversee multiple city-scale testing platforms across the United States. The PPO will manage nearly $100 million in public and private investments over the next seven years.

"NSF is pleased to have the combined expertise from US Ignite, Inc. and Northeastern University leading the project office for our PAWR program," said Jim Kurose, NSF assistant director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. "The planned research platforms will provide an unprecedented opportunity to enable research in faster, smarter, more responsive, and more robust wireless communication, and move experimental research beyond the lab -- with profound implications for science and society."

Over the last decade, the use of wireless, internet-connected devices in the United States has nearly doubled. As the momentum of this exponential growth continues, the need for increased capacity to accommodate the corresponding internet traffic also grows. This surge in devices, including smartphones, connected tablets and wearable technology, places an unprecedented burden on conventional 4G LTE and public Wi-Fi networks, which may not be able to keep pace with the growing demand.

NSF established the PAWR program to foster use-inspired, fundamental research and development that will move beyond current 4G LTE and Wi-Fi capabilities and enable future advanced wireless networks. Through experimental research platforms that are at the scale of small cities and communities and designed by the U.S. academic and industry wireless research community, PAWR will explore robust new wireless devices, communication techniques, networks, systems and services that will revolutionize the nation's wireless systems. These platforms aim to support fundamental research that will enhance broadband connectivity and sustain U.S. leadership and economic competitiveness in the telecommunications sector for many years to come.

"Leading the PAWR Project Office is a key component of US Ignite's mission to help build the networking foundation for smart communities," said William Wallace, executive director of US Ignite, Inc., a public-private partnership that aims to support ultra-high-speed, next-generation applications for public benefit. "This effort will help develop the advanced wireless networks needed to enable smart and connected communities to transform city services."

Establishing the PPO with this initial award is the first step in launching a long-term, public-private partnership to support PAWR. Over the next seven years, PAWR will take shape through two multi-stage phases:

Design and Development . The PPO will assume responsibility for soliciting and vetting proposals to identify the platforms for advanced wireless research and work closely with sub-awardee organizations to plan the design, development, deployment and initial operations of each platform.

. The PPO will assume responsibility for soliciting and vetting proposals to identify the platforms for advanced wireless research and work closely with sub-awardee organizations to plan the design, development, deployment and initial operations of each platform. Deployment and Initial Operations. The PPO will establish and manage each platform and document best practices as it progresses through the lifecycle.

"We are delighted that our team of wireless networking researchers has been selected to take the lead of the PAWR Project Office in partnership with US Ignite, Inc.," said Dr. Nadine Aubry, dean of the college of engineering and university distinguished professor at Northeastern University. "I believe that PAWR, by bringing together academia, industry, government and communities, has the potential to make a transformative impact through advances spanning fundamental research and field platforms in actual cities."

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The PPO will work closely with NSF, industry partners and the wireless research community in all aspects of PAWR planning, implementation and management. Over the next seven years, NSF anticipates investing $50 million in PAWR, combined with approximately $50 million in cash and in-kind contributions from over 25 companies and industry associations. The PPO will disperse these investments to support the selected platforms.

Additional information can be found on the PPO webpage.

This announcement will also be highlighted this week during the panel discussion, "Wireless Network Innovation: Smart City Foundation," at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.
BROOKLYN, New York - As South by Southwest's annual Gaming Expo opens next week, big-name game companies will be vying for attention for their newest releases ... alongside a virtual reality app that can make bone and capillary-forming endothelial cells as exciting as racing and shooting. It should come as no surprise that the app is the work of university students and faculty - the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, to be specific. Their goal: to attract future engineers and scientists as hyped on STEM as they are.

High school graduates admitted to the class of 2021 at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering will find a 3D cardboard viewer in their acceptance packages that will take them on a journey to a microscopic, intracellular world -- a virtual reality (VR) game environment where they can watch cells communicate using chemical signals.

NYU Tandon will debut the experience, called Tandon Labs, at the SXSW Gaming Expo, Thursday, March 16 to Saturday, March 18, 2017. NYU Tandon is the only school invited to showcase a VR game that is being used as an admissions tool, but its Tandon Labs is available to all as a free download for Android and Apple.

The journey is an immersion -- literally -- into the research of Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Alesha B. Castillo. Users visit her Laboratory for Mechanobiology and Regenerative Medicine, where they are virtually dropped through a microscope's eyepiece to the interstice between bone and capillary-forming endothelial cells. There they will enjoy a colorful close-up view of the process by which bone cells use chemical signals called paracrines to enjoin capillary endothelial cells to commence angiogenesis -- the formation of new blood vessels.

"Little is known about the interaction between different cell types within the bone injury environment," said Castillo. "We started this research to look specifically at how bone cells might control angiogenesis using signaling molecules."

The app was designed by artist and NYU Tandon digital media faculty member Mark Skwarek, who heads the NYU Mobile Augmented Reality Lab, and Integrated Digital Media graduate student Siyuan Qiu. Working with Castillo, they meticulously recreated the cells and movement that researchers see through the microscope. That same attention to detail marked last year's inaugural voyage, called Tandon Vision, also designed in the Mobile Augmented Reality Lab: a trip to Mars featuring a robot built by the school's Lunabotics student club and featuring real images from NASA.

Skwarek said that this year's app is designed to be compatible with 3D VR viewers Oculus Rift and VIVE. The Tandon Labs VR experience includes a gaming element: Users can increase the speed at which capillaries grow and extend toward bone cells by pressing the button on their cardboard viewer when visual cues representing the rhythm of ambient music cross a floating marker. The action is accompanied by a dreamlike soundtrack provided by musician, artist, and Associate Professor R. Luke DuBois, who co-directs NYU Tandon's Integrated Digital Media Program.

NYU Tandon Dean Katepalli R. Sreenivasan said that virtual reality gives prospective students the opportunity to experience firsthand the exciting research being done at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

"Immersive experiences like Tandon Labs allow students to envision themselves as a part of our world-class research community," said Sreenivasan. "But, just as importantly, it evinces our commitment to taking engineering 'out of the box' by encouraging experimentation and collaboration between disparate communities and disciplines. Tandon Labs is an example of how great ideas spring from thinking beyond silos, labels, and definitions."

The project also reflects Tandon's emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Last year 37 percent of Tandon freshman were women, historically the largest percentage of women in an incoming Tandon class. By contrast, women made up just 21.4 percent of undergraduates enrolled in engineering programs nationwide. Forty-nine percent of incoming freshmen at Tandon last year belonged to underrepresented STEM populations (African American, Hispanic, Native American and female).

The Tandon Labs experience is narrated by female undergraduate student Simone Brown and features two women student researchers. Five of the seven members of the Tandon Vision team are women, including the project leads in the Office of Enrollment Management.

"Tandon Labs is a great tool for attracting more prospective and newly admitted students," said Elizabeth Ensweiller, director of enrollment management at the school. "We hope Tandon Labs inspires more underrepresented STEM populations to start their journey with STEM at NYU Tandon School of Engineering."

"It is still not easy for students to find female mentors, so it is critically important that we have more women in the field -- and that women have a place at the table," said Castillo.

View a video of the Tandon Labs immersive 3D experience.

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About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, the country's largest private research university, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu.
A team of researchers repaired a hole in a mouse's skull by regrowing "quality bone," a breakthrough that could drastically improve the care of people who suffer severe trauma to the skull or face.

The work by a joint team of Northwestern University and University of Chicago researchers was a resounding success, showing that a potent combination of technologies was able to regenerate the skull bone with supporting blood vessels in just the discrete area needed without developing scar tissue -- and more rapidly than with previous methods.

"The results are very exciting," said Guillermo Ameer, professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering, and professor of surgery at Feinberg School of Medicine.

Supported by the China Scholarship Council, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Chicago Community Trust, and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the research was published last week in the journal PLOS One. Russell Reid, associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center, is the article's corresponding author. Reid, his long-time collaborator Dr. Tong-Chuan He, and colleagues in Hyde Park brought the surgical and biological knowledge and skills. Zari P. Dumanian, affiliated with the medical center's surgery department, was the paper's first author.

"This project was a true collaborative team effort in which our Regenerative Engineering Laboratory provided the biomaterials expertise," Ameer said.

Injuries or defects in the skull or facial bones are very challenging to treat, often requiring the surgeon to graft bone from the patient's pelvis, ribs, or elsewhere, a painful procedure in itself. Difficulties increase if the injury area is large or if the graft needs to be contoured to the angle of the jaw or the cranial curve.

But if all goes well with this new approach, it may make painful bone grafting obsolete.

In the experiment, the researchers harvested skull cells from the mouse and engineered them to produce a potent protein to promote bone growth. They then used Ameer's hydrogel, which acted like a temporary scaffolding, to deliver and contain these cells to the affected area. It was the combination of all three technologies that proved so successful, Ameer said.

Using calvaria or skull cells from the subject meant the body didn't reject those cells.

?The protein, BMP9, has been shown to promote bone cell growth more rapidly than other types of BMPs. Importantly, BMP9 also appeared to improve the creation of blood vessels in the area. Being able to safely deliver skull cells that are capable of rapidly regrowing bone in the affected site, in vivo as opposed to using them to grow bone in the laboratory, which would take a very long time, promises a therapy that might be more "surgeon friendly, if you will, and not too complicated to scale up for the patients," Ameer said.

The scaffolding developed in Ameer's laboratory, which is a material based on citric acid and called PPCN-g, is a liquid that when warmed to body temperature becomes a gel-like elastic material. "When applied, the liquid, which contains cells capable of producing bone, will conform to the shape of the bone defect to make a perfect fit," Ameer said. "It then stays in place as a gel, localizing the cells to the site for the duration of the repair." As the bone regrows, the PPCN-g is reabsorbed by the body.

"What we found is that these cells make natural-looking bone in the presence of the PPCN-g," Ameer said. "The new bone is very similar to normal bone in that location."

In fact, the three-part method was successful on a number of fronts: The regenerated bone was better quality, the bone growth was contained to the area defined by the scaffolding, the area healed much more quickly, and the new and old bone were continuous with no scar tissue.

The potential, if the procedure can be adapted to treat people that suffered trauma from car accidents or aggressive cancers that have affected the skull or face, would be huge, and give surgeons a much-sought-after option.

"The reconstruction procedure is a lot easier when you can harvest a few cells, make them produce the BMP9 protein, mix them in the PPCN-g solution, and apply it to the bone defect site to jump-start the new bone growth process where you want it." Ameer said.

Ameer cautioned that the technology is years away to being used in humans, but added, "We did show proof of concept that we can heal large defects in the skull that would normally not heal on their own using a protein, cells and a new material that come together in a completely new way. Our team is very excited about these findings and the future of reconstructive surgery."

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CHICAGO --- Gentle sound stimulation -- such as the rush of a waterfall -- synchronized to the rhythm of brain waves significantly enhanced deep sleep in older adults and improved their ability to recall words, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

Deep sleep is critical for memory consolidation. But beginning in middle age, deep sleep decreases substantially, which scientists believe contributes to memory loss in aging.

The sound stimulation significantly enhanced deep sleep in participants and their scores on a memory test.

"This is an innovative, simple and safe non-medication approach that may help improve brain health," said senior author Dr. Phyllis Zee, professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine sleep specialist. "This is a potential tool for enhancing memory in older populations and attenuating normal age-related memory decline."

The study will be published March 8 in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

In the study, 13 participants 60 and older received one night of acoustic stimulation and one night of sham stimulation. The sham stimulation procedure was identical to the acoustic one, but participants did not hear any noise during sleep. For both the sham and acoustic stimulation sessions, the individuals took a memory test at night and again the next morning. Recall ability after the sham stimulation generally improved on the morning test by a few percent. However, the average improvement was three times larger after pink-noise stimulation.

The older adults were recruited from the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern.

The degree of slow wave sleep enhancement was related to the degree of memory improvement, suggesting slow wave sleep remains important for memory, even in old age.

Although the Northwestern scientists have not yet studied the effect of repeated nights of stimulation, this method could be a viable intervention for longer-term use in the home, Zee said.

Previous research showed acoustic simulation played during deep sleep could improve memory consolidation in young people. But it has not been tested in older adults.

The new study targeted older individuals -- who have much more to gain memory-wise from enhanced deep sleep -- and used a novel sound system that increased the effectiveness of the sound stimulation in older populations.

The study used a new approach, which reads an individual's brain waves in real time and locks in the gentle sound stimulation during a precise moment of neuron communication during deep sleep, which varies for each person.

During deep sleep, each brain wave or oscillation slows to about one per second compared to 10 oscillations per second during wakefulness.

Giovanni Santostasi, a study coauthor, developed an algorithm that delivers the sound during the rising portion of slow wave oscillations. This stimulation enhances synchronization of the neurons' activity.

After the sound stimulation, the older participants' slow waves increased during sleep.

Larger studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of this method and then "the idea is to be able to offer this for people to use at home," said first author Nelly Papalambros, a Ph.D. student in neuroscience working in Zee's lab. "We want to move this to long-term, at-home studies."

Northwestern scientists, under the direction of Dr. Roneil Malkani, assistant professor of neurology at Feinberg and a Northwestern Medicine sleep specialist, are currently testing the acoustic stimulation in overnight sleep studies in patients with memory complaints. The goal is to determine whether acoustic stimulation can enhance memory in adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Previous studies conducted in individuals with mild cognitive impairment in collaboration with Ken Paller, professor of psychology at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern, have demonstrated a possible link between their sleep and their memory impairments.

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Other Northwestern authors on the study are Paller, Sandra Weintraub and Rosemary Braun.

Northwestern has a patent pending for the technology. Santostasi is a cofounder of DeepWave Technologies, Inc., which plans to commercialize the technology.
At the molecular level, muscle contraction is defined by myosin molecules pulling actin filaments. New electron cryomicroscopy images with unprecedented resolution taken by researchers at Osaka University reveal unexpectedly large conformational changes in the myosin molecule during the pull. These findings, which can be seen in Nature Communications, provide new insights into how myosin generates force and a paradigm for the construction of nanomachines.

To biophysicists like Keiichi Namba, professor at Osaka University, the ability of tiny molecules to generate large amounts of force seen in muscle make myosin an engineering marvel.

"Myosin and actin are nanomachines that convert the chemical energy of ATP hydrolysis into mechanical work" he says.

Myosin converts this energy by hydrolyzing ATP molecules into movement along an actin filament. The hydrolysis involves a number of conformational changes in myosin. These changes have been imaged using electron microscopy, but, notes Takashii Fujii, specially appointed assistant professor, "there were no atomic images of ATP hydrolysis when myosin is interacting with actin," which would more accurately represent the changes myosin takes during muscle contraction.

Indeed, Fujii and Namba used electron cryomicroscopy to acquire images at 5.2 A resolution to show a previously unobserved conformational change in the myosin molecule when it interacts with actin. The two scientists hypothesized that this conformation could explain why muscle myosin has far faster kinetics than other myosin in the body.

The images also give clues into how myosin moves along actin. The binding of ATP forces a rotation within the myosin molecule that reduces the number of bonds between it and actin. This weakly bound structure with a highly asymmetric bond distribution allows myosin to detach from actin and rebind preferentially in one direction, thus pulling the actin filament. Detachment toward the opposite direction would require a larger number of bonds to be broken at once, preventing detachment. This picture provides a new perspective on how myosin functions.

"This is a very unique image, because the weak binding state is unstable and it lifetime is short," noted Namba. He believes that this conformational state could be the reason why experiments on ATP hydrolysis by myosin without actin do not explain muscle contraction well.

"There is a structural asymmetry in the system", he said. "This could explain why myosin moves over much longer distance per ATP hydrolysis than expected."

Besides providing new molecular details on muscle contraction, Namba expects the structural information gained by this work could be used to make artificial nanomachines. "We are studying nature's nanomachines to build man-made ones," he said.

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A new article published in the American Journal of Hypertension finds that babies born to mothers with cardiometabolic risk factors were less likely to develop high blood pressure if their mothers had higher levels of folate during pregnancy.

Since the late 1980s, the prevalence of childhood elevated blood pressure has increased in the United States, in particular among African Americans. From a life course perspective, childhood high blood pressure can predict higher blood pressure values later in life, and people with higher blood pressure are at greater risk of developing cardiovascular, metabolic and kidney disease and stroke. Research has also shown that maternal cardiometabolic risk factors during pregnancy--including hypertensive disorders, diabetes, and obesity--are associated with higher offspring blood pressure.

Because controlling hypertension and cardiovascular disease in adults is difficult and expensive, identifying early-life factors for the prevention of high blood pressure may be an important and cost effective public health strategy.

There is growing evidence that maternal nutrition during pregnancy, through its impact on the fetal intrauterine environment, may influence offspring cardiometabolic health. Folate, which is involved in nucleic acid synthesis, gene expression, and cellular growth, is particularly important.

In young adults, higher folic acid intake has been associated with a lower incidence of hypertension later in life. Citrus juices and dark green vegetables are good sources of folic acid. However, the role of maternal folate levels, alone or in combination with maternal cardiometabolic risk factors on child blood pressure has not been examined in a prospective birth cohort.

In the current study, researchers analyzed the data from a prospective U.S. urban birth cohort, enriched by low-income racial and ethnic minorities at high risk for elevated BP, to examine whether maternal folic acid levels and cardiometabolic risk factors individually and jointly affect offspring blood pressure.

Researchers included 1290 mother-child pairs, 67.8% of which were Black and 19.2% of which were Hispanic, recruited at birth and followed prospectively up to age 9 years from 2003 to 2014 at the Boston Medical Center. Of the mothers, 38.2% had one or more cardiometabolic risk factors; 14.6% had hypertensive disorders, 11.1% had diabetes, and 25.1% had pre-pregnancy obesity. A total of 28.7% of children had elevated systolic blood pressure at age 3-9 years. Children with higher systolic blood pressure were more likely to have mothers with pre-pregnancy obesity, hypertensive disorders, and diabetes. Children with elevated systolic blood pressure were also more likely to have lower birth weight, lower gestational age, and higher BMI.

The study findings suggest that higher levels of maternal folic acid may help counteract the adverse associations of maternal cardiometabolic risk factors with child systolic blood pressure, although maternal folic acid levels alone were not associated with child systolic blood pressure. Among children born to mothers with any of the cardiometabolic risk factors, those whose mothers had folic acid levels above the median had 40% lower odds of elevated childhood systolic blood pressure. These associations did not differ appreciably in analyses restricted to African Americans, and they were not explained by gestational age, size at birth, child postnatal folate levels or breastfeeding.

"Our study adds further evidence on the early life origins of high blood pressure," said Dr. Xiaobin Wang, the study's senior corresponding author. "Our findings raise the possibility that early risk assessment and intervention before conception and during pregnancy may lead to new ways to prevent high blood pressure and its consequences across lifespan and generations."

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Contact Info:

Xiaobin Wang, MD, MPH, ScD

Director, Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease

Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health

Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

615 N. Wolfe Street, E4132

Baltimore, MD 21205-2179

Phone 410-955-5824

Email xwang82@jhu.edu

The Article, "Association of Maternal Plasma Folate and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Pregnancy with Elevated Blood Pressure of Offspring in Childhood," is available at https://academic.oup.com/ajh/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/ajh/hpx003 Funding:

Source of Funding: The Boston Birth Cohort (the parent study) was supported in part by the March of Dimes PERI grants (20-FY02-56, #21-FY07-605), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants (R21ES011666, 2R01HD041702, R21HD066471). The follow-up study is supported in part by the NIH grants (U01AI090727, R21AI079872, R01HD086013); and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (R40MC27443). Dr. Hongjian Wang is supported by a Chinese Scholarships Council scholarship, grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81300156) and the PUMC Youth Fund/the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (3332015103).
How is drug resistance of cancer cells affected by ABC-transporters? A new research paper, published in the open access journal BioDiscovery, looks at the complex relationship between the second generation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) - Dasatinib (DAS), and the expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, ABCB1 and ABCG2, to assess whether these drug transporters might compromise therapeutic effect.

Cancer enabled "targeted" treatment is an effective method with a minimal damage for healthy cells. Targeted therapy brought about a revolution in cancer treatment in the last decades by utilising rationally designed drugs that interfere with specific molecules (molecular targets) essential for proliferation and survival of malignant cells.

While DAS represents excellent choice for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia resistant to imatinib, recent laboratory studies suggested that antiproliferative effect of DAS might be significantly reduced when overexpression of the ATP-binding ABC transporters, ABCB1 and ABCG2 comes into the equation.

"Despite the importance of this relationship, it was still unclear whether these drug transporters might compromise therapeutic effect of DAS in clinic," explains Dr. Petr Mlejnek, Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic. "Believing that the drug transporter expression level is a crucial factor that affects the results and thus may help to explain the existing controversy we decided to study relationship between expression levels of ABCB1 and ABCG2 and cell resistance to DAS in vitro."

In their study Dr. Petr Mlejnek and his team from the Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic observed that the expression level of the studied ABC-transporter is an important factor that affects the cell resistance. While the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of DAS might be reduced by ABCB1 or ABCG2 overexpression at clinically relevant concentration, the actual effect of the studied ABC transporters on DAS efficiency depends on their expression levels. The lower expression levels of ABC transporters mediate lower resistance. Considering the fact that expression levels of ABCB1 and ABCG2 transporters are hardly high in clinical samples, their contribution to the overall resistance to DAS is probably low but significant.

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Additional Information:

This research is published in the open access journal BioDiscovery, as part of the special collection "From Drug Discovery to Clinical Trials" dedicated to outputs from the Second Clinical Sciences and Drug Discovery Conference, which took place in July, in Dundee, Scotland.

The aim of BioDiscovery is to provide a platform for scientists in all areas of biology and medicine to promote, share and discuss new ideas and developments. BioDiscovery considers for publication original, high quality research which contributes significantly for the development of the knowledge in biology and medicine. Articles submitted to BioDiscovery benefit from its broad scope and readership, and dedicated media promotion.

Follow BioDiscovery on Twitter @BioDiscoveryJrn

Original Source:

Mlejnek P, Dolezel P, Ruzickova E (2017) Drug resistance of cancer cells is crucially affected by expression levels of ABC-transporters. BioDiscovery 20: e11211. https://doi.org/10.3897/biodiscovery.20.e11211
Penn State chemistry graduate student Julie Fenton has been selected to participate in the 67th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in chemistry, during which she will interact with Nobel Laureates at Lake Constance in Germany. She was chosen after a multi-stage competitive selection process among science scholars under the age of 35 at 155 scientific institutes, universities, foundations, and research-based companies worldwide. 400 young scientists from 76 countries were selected to attend the 6-day meeting in June 2017, during which the students and Nobel Laureates will share their knowledge, ideas, and experience during meetings, lectures, discussions, master classes, and panel discussions.

"These Nobel Laureates represent numerous countries, continents, cultures, and sub-disciplines of chemistry, all contributing to some of the most impressive and impactful work in chemistry done over the last several decades," Fenton said."Making connections with them and learning from all their different backgrounds and cultures will give me a rich network that will help me to purse of my goal of having an impactful career in academic chemistry, unbounded by national borders or cultural barriers. Plus, I am looking forward to sharing with them some of the exciting research we have going on here at Penn State. I am honored to be able to represent the United States, Penn State, and the Department of Chemistry at the Lindau meeting this summer."

"Julie is a rising star in chemistry and this is a well-deserved honor," said Fenton's research advisor at Penn State, DuPont Professor of Materials Chemistry Raymond E. Schaak. "This honor will provide her with an excellent opportunity to interact with, and learn from, some of the top scientists in the world." According to a statement from the Lindau Nobel Laureate organization more than thirty Nobel Laureates, so far, have confirmed their participation in the 2017 meeting.

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More information about the Lindau Meetings is at http://www.lindau-nobel.org/about/

CONTACT: Barbara Kennedy (PIO): science@psu.edu, (+1) 814-863-4682
WASHINGTON (March 8, 2017) -- A minimally invasive treatment that reduces urinary tract symptoms for men with enlarged prostates maintains its effectiveness for at least three years after patients undergo the therapy, according to research being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting today. This study of 1,000 men is the largest of its kind to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of prostate artery embolization (PAE).

Enlarged prostate, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is one of the most common prostate problems occurring in men older than 50. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 14 million men in the U.S. had symptoms suggestive of BPH, which can affect 50 percent of men between 51 and 60 years of age and up to 90 percent of men older than 80.

Researchers also found that PAE, developed and performed by interventional radiologists, is especially effective in men with BPH who also have acute urinary retention or the inability to voluntarily urinate and in patients with very large prostates who are normally treated with open surgery.

"Prostate artery embolization gives men with BPH a treatment option that is less invasive than other therapies and allows them to return to their normal lives sooner," said Joao Martins Pisco, M.D., an interventional radiologist at St. Louis Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal, and the study's lead author. "Time and time again, I see patients who are relieved to find out about PAE because they are not able to tolerate medications for BPH due to their side effects. These men also don't want traditional surgery because it involves greater risks, has possible sexual side effects, and has a recovery time that is relatively long compared to PAE, which is generally performed under local anesthesia and on an outpatient basis."

Between March 2007 and March 2016, Pisco and his team performed prostate artery embolization on 1,000 men who averaged 67 years of age. All patients were evaluated in the short term (one, three, and six months), 807 patients were seen through the medium term (every six months between six months and three years), and 406 patients were evaluated long term (every year after three years).

During each evaluation, the men's symptoms were measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), which tests for the blockage of urine flow, and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), which assesses erectile dysfunction. Researchers also measured the size of the prostate and the amount of urine left in the bladder after urination. They also evaluated the peak urinary flow rate and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, a test used to screen for prostate cancer.

The data from these measures revealed at the short-term mark that the treatment had an 89 percent cumulative success rate--measuring the success across all variables through the given testing period. The 807 men evaluated at the medium-term mark had an 82 percent success rate. And of the 406 patients measured at the long-term mark, 78 percent were considered cumulative successes.

"Our results demonstrate that this minimally invasive treatment is successful in the long term and should always be presented to patients who are exploring options to resolve their BPH," remarked Dr. Pisco.

During PAE, an interventional radiologist makes a tiny incision in either the groin or wrist to insert a catheter (a small tube about the size of a strand of spaghetti) into an artery and, using image guidance, directs the catheter to the blood vessels on both sides of the enlarged prostate gland. Once there, the doctor uses microscopic beads to block the blood flow to specific areas of the prostate, depriving those cells of oxygen, which results in the gland's shrinkage. In an additional analysis, researchers found that among 112 patients who also suffered acute urinary retention (AUR) before undergoing PAE, 106 or 94.6 percent had their catheter removed between two days and three months after treatment. At medium-term and long-term follow up, 95 of the 112 (84.8 percent) and 89 of the 112 (78.5 percent) did not experience any recurrence of their AUR.

The team also performed PAE in 210 patients who had limited treatment options due to extreme enlargement of the prostate (larger than 100 cm). Of these men, 84 percent experienced cumulative success at short-term evaluation and 76.2 percent at medium- and long-term. The normal size of a prostate is 15 cm3 to 30 cm3.

While this research demonstrated that PAE was highly successful, Pisco noted that the treatment may not be appropriate for all patients, such as those with advanced arterial atherosclerosis that may be due to smoking or diabetes. He recommends that men speak with an interventional radiologist or other members of their care team to discuss treatment options.

As a next step, researchers are now conducting a study comparing the effectiveness of PAE to a sham - or placebo--treatment to address any possible placebo effect that may have occurred during Pisco's research with these 1,000 patients.

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Abstract 1: "Short, Medium and Long-Term Outcomes of Prostate Artery Embolization for Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: 1,000 Patients." J. Pisco, Lisbon, Portugal; T. Bilhim, Lisbon, Portugal; L. Campos Pinheiro, Lisbon, Portugal, L. Fernandes, Lisbon, Portugal; N. Costa, Lisbon, Portugal; A. Oliveira Universidade Federal de Rio Grande do Norte. Natal, RN Brasil. SIR Annual Scientific Meeting, March 4-9, 2017. This abstract can be found at sirmeeting.org.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology

The Society of Interventional Radiology is a nonprofit, professional medical society representing more than 6,100 practicing interventional radiology physicians, scientists and clinical associates, dedicated to improving patient care through the limitless potential of image-guided therapies. SIR's members work in a variety of settings and at different professional levels--from medical students and residents to university faculty and private practice physicians. Visit sirweb.org.

The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its Annual Scientific Meeting March 4-9, 2017 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Visit sirmeeting.org.
Ichthyosaurs, which are similar-shaped to dolphins and sharks, but are reptiles, swam the seas for millions of years during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. They were the first, large extinct reptiles brought to the attention of the scientific world.

Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist and Honorary Scientist at The University of Manchester, working with Professor Judy Massare of Brockport College, New York, have studied thousands of ichthyosaur fossils and have delved through hundreds of years of records to solve an ancient mystery.

Many ichthyosaur fossils were found in England during the early 19th century, but it was not until 1821 that the first ichthyosaur species was described - called Ichthyosaurus communis. This species has become one of the most well-known and iconic of all the British fossil reptiles. A sea of Ichthyosaurus fossils can be seen on display at the Natural History Museum, London.

In 1822, three other species were described, based on differences in the shape and structure of their teeth. Two of the species were later re-identified as other types of ichthyosaur, whereas one of these species, called Ichthyosaurus intermedius, was still considered closely related to I. communis.

In the years that followed, many eminent scientists, including Sir Richard Owen (the man who coined the word dinosaur), studied ichthyosaur fossils collected from Dorset, Somerset, Yorkshire and other locations in England. Their studies and observations of Ichthyosaurus communis and I. intermedius resulted in confusion with the species, with many skeletons identified on unreliable grounds.

Lomax said, "The early accounts of ichthyosaurs were based on very scrappy, often isolated, remains. This resulted in a very poor understanding of the differences between species and thus how to identify them. To complicate matters further, the original specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis is lost and was never illustrated.

Similarly, the original specimen of I. intermedius is also lost, but an illustration does exist. This has caused a big headache for palaeontologists trying to understand the differences between the species".

In the mid-1970s, palaeontologist, Dr Chris McGowan was the first to suggest that Ichthyosaurus communis and I. intermedius may represent the same species. He could not find reliable evidence to separate the two species. Subsequent studies argued for and against the separation of the species.

In this new study, the duo have reviewed all of the research for and against the separation of the two species. This is the most extensive scientific study ever published comparing the two. The duo confirm the species are the same and that features of Ichthyosaurus intermedius can be found in other ichthyosaur species, including I. communis.

In recent years, the duo have described three new species and have provided a reassessment of historical species. Their work has provided a far superior understanding of the species than has ever been produced.

The research has been published in Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

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Notes to editors

When referencing the article: Please include Journal title, author, published by Taylor & Francis and the following statement:

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About the author

Dean Lomax is a multiple award-winning palaeontologist, science communicator and author. He has travelled around the world and worked on many fascinating projects from excavating dinosaurs in the American West to discovering new fossil hunting locations and describing new species of extinct marine reptiles in the UK. An Honorary Scientist at The University of Manchester, Dean is passionate about communicating palaeontology and actively engages with traditional and social media. He has written two books, numerous scientific papers and many popular articles and regularly appears on television, most recently as series advisor and recurring on-screen expert presenter for ITV's Dinosaur Britain. Dean is also the patron of the UK Amateur Fossil Hunters organisation. More here: http://www.deanrlomax.co.uk.

For media interviews with Dean Lomax, please email joe.paxton@manchester.ac.uk.

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About The University of Manchester

The University of Manchester, a member of the prestigious Russell Group of British universities, is the largest and most popular university in the UK. It has 20 academic schools and hundreds of specialist research groups undertaking pioneering multi-disciplinary teaching and research of worldwide significance. The University is one of the country's major research institutions, rated fifth in the UK in terms of 'research power' (REF 2014), has had no fewer than 25 Nobel laureates either work or study there, and had an annual income of just over 1 billion in 2014/15. Visit http://www.manchester.ac.uk.
Europium silicide has for some time attracted the attention of scientists. Recognized as being promising for electronics and spintronics, this material has recently been submitted by a team of physicists from Poland, Germany and France to comprehensive studies of the vibrations of its crystal lattice. The results yielded a surprise: deposited on a substrate of silicon, some structures of europium silicide appear to vibrate in a way that clearly broadens the possibilities of designing nanomaterials with tailored thermal properties.

The vibrations of atoms in the crystal lattices of materials, known as phonons, are not chaotic. Instead, they are governed by the lattice symmetry, atomic mass and other factors. For instance, the atoms deep in the solid oscillate differently than on its surface, and still differently when the material forms, for example, nanoislands i.e. small atomic clusters on a substrate. An international team of physicists, composed of scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble, have for the first time comprehensively examined how the vibrations of the crystal lattice of europium silicide (EuSi2) change depending upon the nanostructures arrangement on a substrate of silicon. The study yielded remarkable results: a new type of vibration was observed in the sample in which the EuSi2 nanoislands were in contact with each other.

"Usually nanoengineering means modifying material on a scale of nanometres, or billionths of a metre. The research on europium silicide in which we participated allows us to offer something more: phonon nanoengineering, i.e. engineering in which not so much the structure of the material is carefully designed as the vibrations of atoms in its crystal lattice," says Dr. Przemyslaw Piekarz (IFJ PAN).

Europium silicide forms a crystal, in which each europium atom is surrounded by 12 silicon atoms. The system exhibits what is known as tetragonal symmetry: the distance between atoms in one direction is different than in the two remaining directions. This metallic compound readily binds to silicon, and also has a record-breakingly low so-called Schottky barrier (i.e. the barrier of potential energy electrons encounter on their transition from the metal to silicon). Such materials are of interest today in view of their potential application in nanoelectronic systems, for example, in MOSFET technology used in the production of modern processors. However, at low temperatures EuSi2 also exhibits interesting magnetic properties, which makes it attractive for the successor of electronics - spintronics.

Although compounds of rare earth metals and silicon play a fundamental role in heat transport, among others, their lattice vibrations have not to date been comprehensively studied. Meanwhile, in nanoelectronic systems where heat is generated in large amounts, thermal properties of a material became as important as the magnetic or electric properties.

A group led by Dr. Svetoslav Stankov (KIT, Germany) has developed a procedure for the preparation of epitaxial EuSi2 nanostructures by depositing, in ultrahigh vacuum conditions, small amounts of europium atoms on a heated substrate of single crystalline silicon. Moreover, by careful adjustment of the temperature of the substrate and the amount of europium atoms they were able to tailor the morphology of the prepared EuSi2 nanostructures on the silicon surface.

"In this experiment we focused our attention on four europium silicide samples forming: a uniform film, which could be regarded as a solid crystal, a tightly pleated film, and two different assemblies of nanoislands," explains Dr. Stankov and adds: "A nanoisland is a discrete cluster of self-organized atoms on a surface reaching sizes of several tens of nanometres with a height of a dozen or so nanometres. It turned out that especially interesting are the samples in which the EuSi2 nanoislands are completely isolated from each other and those where the nanoislands are in close contact with each other."

The samples were prepared in the ultra-high vacuum system at the nuclear resonance beamline of the ESRF synchrotron in Grenoble by the KIT group and investigated in situ by nuclear inelastic scattering (NIS).

"NIS is a state-of-the-art method for direct measurement of the energy spectrum of atomic vibrations of nanomaterials with very high resolution. In this experimental technique the sample is illuminated with high energy photons, selected so that their absorption by atomic nuclei excites or annihilates lattice vibrations of a certain kind, yielding the element-specific phonon density of states," adds Dr. Stankov.

Theoretical studies at the IFJ PAN were carried out ab initio, based on the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics and statistical physics, using PHONON software written by Prof. Krzysztof Parlinski (IFJ PAN). The Cracow group dealt not only with modelling the vibrations of the crystal lattice of structures of europium silicide, but also determining the conditions for conducting experiments in the ESRF synchrotron.

"In Grenoble only the vibration energies of europium atoms were recorded. The curves obtained from the measurements agreed very well with our calculations for the solid crystal and the surface. We could supplement these data with our predictions for the movements of silicon atoms, which helped to better interpret the results," says Prof. Parlinski.

Particularly interesting results were obtained for the samples with nanoislands. In the case of a substrate coated with discrete nanoislands a significant increase of the amplitude of vibration of europium atoms was observed, up to 70% relative to the vibrations in the crystal. Such a large increase translates into significantly greater possibilities in the field of heat transfer. The most interesting effect appeared, however, in the sample with nanoislands adjoining each other. Namely, additional vibrations with a characteristic energy were found at the interfaces between the nanoislands. Although theoretically predicted earlier on, their existence was confirmed experimentally for the first time. They constitute another 'gateway' through which material can discharge heat into the environment. By means of the adjoining nanoislands a significant increase in the efficiency of heat transfer in nanostructures becomes a reality.

"In the analysis of materials scientists usually look at the properties of a sample of fixed morphology. We have described a whole spectrum of possible surface morphologies of EuSi2. An advanced theoretical model and precise measurements have allowed us for the first time to exactly trace how the vibrations of the crystal lattice of a nanomaterial change depending on its arrangement on the substrate," stressed Dr. Piekarz.

The research on europium silicide nanostructures, funded by the Helmholtz Association, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (project VH-NG-625) and on the Polish side by the HARMONIA grant from the Polish National Science Centre, is of a basic nature. However, the knowledge gained, especially with regard to the crystal lattice vibrations occurring at the interface between adjacent nanoislands and the related drastic changes in the heat transport, is universal. After suitable adaptation, this phenomenon will allow researchers to design nanomaterials other than europium silicide with tailored thermal properties.

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The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics (IFJ PAN) is currently the largest research institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The broad range of studies and activities of IFJ PAN includes basic and applied research, ranging from particle physics and astrophysics, through hadron physics, high-, medium-, and low-energy nuclear physics, condensed matter physics (including materials engineering), to various applications of methods of nuclear physics in interdisciplinary research, covering medical physics, dosimetry, radiation and environmental biology, environmental protection, and other related disciplines. The average yearly yield of the IFJ PAN encompasses more than 500 scientific papers in the Journal Citation Reports published by the Thomson Reuters. The part of the Institute is the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice (CCB) which is an infrastructure, unique in Central Europe, to serve as a clinical and research centre in the area of medical and nuclear physics. IFJ PAN is a member of the Marian Smoluchowski Krakow Research Consortium: "Matter-Energy-Future" which possesses the status of a Leading National Research Centre (KNOW) in physics for the years 2012-2017. The Institute is of A+ Category (leading level in Poland) in the field of sciences and engineering.

CONTACTS:

Dr. Przemyslaw Piekarz

Head of Computational Materials Science

The Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences

tel. +48 12 6628281

email: przemyslaw.piekarz@ifj.edu.pl

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS:

"Anomalous Lattice Dynamics of EuSi2 Nanoislands: Role of Interfaces Unveiled"

A. Seiler, P. Piekarz, S. Ibrahimkutty, D. G. Merkel, O. Waller, R. Pradip, A. I. Chumakov, R. Ruffer, T. Baumbach, K. Parlinski, M. Fiederle, S. Stankov

Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 276101

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.276101

LINKS:

http://nanodynamics-group.com/

The website of the NANODYNAMICS group at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

http://www.esrf.eu/

The website of the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble.

http://www.ifj.edu.pl/

The website of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

http://press.ifj.edu.pl/en/

Press releases of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

IMAGES:

IFJ170308b_fot01s.jpg

HR: http://press.ifj.edu.pl/news/2017/03/08/IFJ170308b_fot01.jpg

Microscopic images of the europium silicide nanoislands on the silicon surface. The nanoislands are completely isolated (left) or adjoining each other (right). (Source: IFJ PAN)

IFJ170308b_fot02s.jpg

HR: http://press.ifj.edu.pl/news/2017/03/08/IFJ170308b_fot02.jpg

A structure of europium silicide nanoislands. The surface of nanoislands is marked in brown, solid EuSi2 crystals in yellow, and the silicon surface in black. Two interfaces are visible: between the nanoislands and the silicon surface (blue), and the source of new vibrations - the interface between two nanoislands (green). (Source: IFJ PAN)
DNA in hair samples collected from Aboriginal people across Australia in the early to mid-1900s has revealed that populations have been continuously present in the same regions for up to 50,000 years - soon after the peopling of Australia.

Published today in the journal Nature, the findings reinforce Aboriginal communities' strong connection to country and represent the first detailed genetic map of Aboriginal Australia prior to the arrival of Europeans.

These are the first results from the Aboriginal Heritage Project, led by the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) in partnership with the South Australian Museum.

Researchers analysed mitochondrial DNA from 111 hair samples that were collected during a series of remarkable anthropological expeditions across Australia from 1928 to the 1970s and are part of the South Australian Museum's unparalleled collection of hair samples.

Mitochondrial DNA allows tracing of maternal ancestry, and the results show that modern Aboriginal Australians are the descendants of a single founding population that arrived in Australia 50,000 years ago, while Australia was still connected to New Guinea. Populations then spread rapidly - within 1500-2000 years - around the east and west coasts of Australia, meeting somewhere in South Australia.

"Amazingly, it seems that from around this time the basic population patterns have persisted for the next 50,000 years -showing that communities have remained in discrete geographical regions," says project leader Professor Alan Cooper, Director of ACAD, University of Adelaide.

"This is unlike people anywhere else in the world and provides compelling support for the remarkable Aboriginal cultural connection to country. We're hoping this project leads to a rewriting of Australia's history texts to include detailed Aboriginal history and what it means to have been on their land for 50,000 years - that's around 10 times as long as all of the European history we're commonly taught."

A central pillar of the Aboriginal Heritage Project is that Aboriginal families and communities have been closely involved with the project from its inception and that analyses are only conducted with their consent. Importantly, results are first discussed with the families to get Aboriginal perspectives before scientific publication. The research model was developed under the guidance of Aboriginal elders, the Genographic Project, and professional ethicists.

This is the first phase of a decade-long project that will allow people with Aboriginal heritage to trace their regional ancestry and reconstruct family genealogical history, and will also assist with the repatriation of Aboriginal artefacts.

"Aboriginal people have always known that we have been on our land since the start of our time," says Kaurna Elder Mr Lewis O'Brien, who is one of the original hair donors and has been on the advisory group for the study. "But it is important to have science show that to the rest of the world. This is an exciting project and we hope it will help assist those of our people from the Stolen Generation and others to reunite with their families."

"Reconstructing the genetic history of Aboriginal Australia is very complicated due to past government policies of enforced population relocation and child removal that have erased much of the physical connection between groups and geography in Australia today," says Dr Wolfgang Haak, formerly at ACAD and now at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany.

The South Australian Museum's collection of hair samples, complete with rich cultural, linguistic, genealogical and geographical data, comes from the expeditions run by the Board of Anthropological Research from the University of Adelaide.

"This Aboriginal Heritage Project is able to exist because of the extensive records collected by Norman Tindale and Joseph Birdsell and others on those expeditions, which are held in trust for all at the South Australian Museum. They include detailed information about the birthplaces, family history and family trees, film, audio and written records - allowing a wide range of approaches to be used by this project to reconstruct history," says Brian Oldman, Director of the South Australian Museum.

"The South Australian Museum's Aboriginal Family History Unit has also been instrumental to the project and has worked closely with the University team to consult with Aboriginal families and communities to obtain permission for tests to be performed," he says.

Professor Cooper says: "We are very grateful for the enthusiasm and overwhelming support for this project we have received from Aboriginal families, and the Cherbourg, Koonibba, and Point Pearce communities in particular."

The research will be extended to investigate paternal lineages and information from the nuclear genome. Team member Dr Ray Tobler, postdoctoral researcher in ACAD with Aboriginal heritage on his father's side, has an Australian Research Council (ARC) Indigenous Discovery Fellowship to extend the AHP research, to examine how the longevity of Aboriginal populations in different habitats across Australia has shaped the remarkable physical diversity found across modern Aboriginal Australians.

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Other research partners include La Trobe University, Deakin University, and the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics. The project is funded by the ARC Linkage Projects scheme with financial or additional research support from the Australian Genome Research Facility, Bioplatforms Australia, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, and the National Geographic Society.

A video about the project can be seen at https://youtu.be/R6LzbKszKhQ

Notes to media: An embargoed online news briefing will be held by the Australian Science Media Centre on Tuesday 7 March at 6.00pm US Eastern Time. The online news briefing can be accessed here five minutes before the briefing and at any point during the briefing.

Media Contact:

University of Adelaide: Professor Alan Cooper, Project leader, University of Adelaide. Phone: +61 (0)8 8313 5950. Mobile: +61 (0)406 383 884, alan.cooper@adelaide.edu.au

Robyn Mills, Media Officer. Phone: +61 8 8313 6341 Mobile: +61 (0)410 689 084, robyn.mills@adelaide.edu.au

South Australian Museum: Andrea Murphy, Manager Communications and Marketing. Phone +61 (0)475 834 072, andrea.murphy@samuseum.sa.gov.au
(Edmonton) Heart failure patients who are getting by on existing drug therapies can look forward to a far more effective medicine in the next five years or so, thanks to University of Alberta researchers.

Heart specialist Gavin Oudit and his research team discovered a molecule--angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)--that works to restore balance to the pathways responsible for chronic and acute heart failure, including in patients with advanced heart failure who underwent heart transplants.

In conducting their research, Oudit and his team used genetic mapping technology to discover to an extent not seen before how the renin-angiotensin system (RAS)--which regulates the body's sodium balance, fluid volume and blood pressure--is at play in both acute and chronic heart failure.

It led to the creation of recombinant human ACE2, a new drug that was manufactured by Apeiron Biologics in collaboration with Oudit. It was bought by GlaxoSmithKline, which recently successfully completed phase II clinical trials that tested for the safety and efficacy of the drug on hundreds of patients. The new drug is expected to be on the market in the next three to five years.

Oudit added that using mapping technology has also made it possible to individualize the dose a patient needs, allowing for a truly personalized treatment plan for heart failure patients in the future. The study also broke ground by showing how ACE2 can be used in heart transplant patients with heart failure.

About six million Canadians will develop heart failure, a common condition that most often happens after the heart has been damaged or weakened by heart attack or stroke. According to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, the two most common causes of heart failure are heart attacks and high blood pressure. When someone has heart failure, the heart either can't accept the inflow of blood or pump it out, or both.

"This research is a terrific example of how the university works together synergistically to develop world-class research and translate that into medicines that impact patient outcomes," added Oudit.

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The research--conducted at U of A's Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, and the Alberta Transplant Institute--was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The research was funded by Alberta Innovates, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Opening up narrowed veins from the brain and spinal cord is not effective in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study led by the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health.

The conclusions about the so-called "liberation therapy," which thousands of people with MS have undergone since 2009, represent the most definitive debunking of the claim that patients could achieve dramatic improvements from a one-time medical procedure.

"We hope these findings, coming from a carefully controlled, 'gold standard' study, will persuade people with MS not to pursue liberation therapy, which is an invasive procedure that carries the risk of complications, as well as significant financial cost," said Dr. Anthony Traboulsee, a UBC Associate Professor of Neurology and Director of the MS Clinic at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. "Fortunately, there are a range of drug treatments for MS that have been proven, through rigorous studies, to be safe and effective at slowing the disease progression."

To get the most reliable evidence, the study had some people undergo a "sham" procedure - the surgical equivalent of a placebo. All 104 participants had a catheter inserted into their blocked veins, but only 49 had their vessel walls pushed out by inflating a small balloon, known as venoplasty.

A year later, the venoplasty group's results were statistically the same as those in the sham group, as measured by brain imaging, standard assessments of MS symptoms and the patients' own self-assessments.

The findings from the $5.4 million study, jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the MS Society of Canada, and the Provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec, were presented today, March 8, at the Society for Interventional Radiology's annual scientific meeting in Washington, D.C. The researchers are now preparing an article to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, in which the body's own defenses attack the protective coating of brain cells, or neurons. The degradation of that insulation slows the neurons' ability to conduct electrical signals, leading to problems with movement, sensation and cognitive function. The causes of the disease remain unknown, though research has implicated genetic variations and environmental factors, including a lack of Vitamin D.

Using venoplasty as an MS treatment was put forward by Dr. Paolo Zamboni of Italy, who asserted that narrowing of the veins in the neck could be causing iron to accumulate in the brain and spinal cord, triggering the autoimmune response. He called his theory chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), and cited several dozen cases of patients who improved after undergoing venoplasty by him.

Many patients in Canada and Europe, upon learning of those anecdotal results through the news media, asked for imaging of their veins and subsequent venoplasty. But almost all Canadian physicians, citing the lack of supporting evidence, would not perform it, prompting some patients to seek the treatment in the U.S., Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Researchers from across Canada, led by the UBC and Vancouver Coastal Health team, conducted two major studies, seeking more evidence on the CCSVI theory. One study, supported by the MS Society of Canada, sought to determine if narrowed veins was a distinct feature of MS; the other tested the proposed treatment.

The first study, published in The Lancet in 2013, found that narrowing was just as common in both groups - in fact, it was even more common than Zamboni had described. Those findings raised serious questions about Zamboni's theory.

"Despite the negative findings of that diagnostic study, many patients wanted to know if the venous dilation procedure could help," said Dr. Lindsay Machan, a UBC Associate Professor of Radiology who presented the findings at today's interventional radiology conference. "We were committed to meticulously evaluating this treatment with robust methods and patient-focused outcomes."

The 104 people in the latest study - in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal and Quebec City - all had MS and narrowing of the jugular vein, which drains blood from the brain, or the azygos vein, which drains blood from the spinal cord. The study was "double-blinded": Neither the patients nor the physicians who evaluated them knew who was receiving the actual treatment or the sham procedure.

All patients were put under minor sedation, and all of them had a catheter threaded through an incision in the groin to the area of vessel narrowing. For those receiving the actual treatment, the balloon was inflated once or twice; for those receiving the sham, the catheter simply remained in the narrowed area for the same amount of time, about one minute.

The researchers found no statistically significant difference between the treatment group and the sham group in patient symptoms, either as reported by the patients or as determined by physicians, three days after the procedure and a year later. Patients in both groups reported slight but equal improvements a year later; physician assessments showed no improvement in either group.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their brains was used to count the number of new lesions in their myelin, and researchers found no difference after six months and after one year between the treatment group and the sham group.

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Alternate media contact:

Heather Amos

UBC Public Affairs

O: 604,822.3213

M: 604.828.3867

heather.amos@ubc.ca
A study published in the journal Health Communications shows that women at high risk for breast cancer who received a letter informing them of their options for additional imaging with contrast-enhanced MRI of the breast (in addition to a letter sent to their primary care physician) were more likely to return to the center for additional screening with MRI. The letter, which is included in the published paper, may help breast imaging centers navigate the complex legal, ethical and institutional landscapes in a way that increases the likelihood that women will follow through with American Cancer Society breast cancer screening recommendations for adjunct breast screening in women at elevated risk.

The project is a collaboration between Invision Sally Jobe Breast Centers, which contributed the de-identified data, and researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Radiology and the Colorado School of Public Health.

"Invision Sally Jobe Breast Centers screen about 65,000 women every year for breast cancer and some of these women are at high risk. When Invision Sally Jobe Breast Centers adopted the American Cancer Society recommendations for breast cancer screening, they first only informed referring physicians. Invision Sally Jobe Breast Centers later went on to adopt the practice of informing women of these recommendations directly, in addition to the physicians. So we have a natural experiment where we can compare the two methods of communication," explains Deborah Glueck, PhD, the paper's senior author. Dr. Glueck is a CU Cancer Center investigator and associate professor of radiology and biostatistics at the Colorado School of Public Health.

The paper compares rates of follow-up MRI for women found to have greater than 20 percent risk according to the widely used Gail model risk assessment. The study was split into two periods - one in which the recommendation for additional screening was communicated via letter only to a woman's primary care physician, and one in which recommendations were communicated via letters to both the woman and to her primary care physician. When women were sent a letter informing them of the American Cancer Society additional breast screening recommendations for women at elevated lifetime risk, follow-up screening with breast MRI increased significantly.

"In an earlier study, we noticed that only a small percentage of women were coming back for MRI. This paper is the result of us wondering why," says John Brinton, PhD, assistant research professor at the Colorado School for Public Health, the paper's first author.

However, the researchers point out that their results do not necessarily prove that direct communication caused the increase in follow-up screening. Because this was an observational study, the increase in follow-up screening could have been due to unrelated factors - what the researchers call "secular trends" - such as current events or changes in culture that could have influenced attitudes about MRI screening in these high risk patients.

"We show that this kind of communication is associated with an increased rate of women returning for breast cancer screening with MRI," Glueck says. "But the thing I really care about is whether risk assessment, good communication and breast cancer screening actually save lives, or just cause harms from additional screening."

This is the central question of Glueck and Brinton's continuing line of research. Just now, with data collection pre- and post-adoption of ACS guidelines by many thousands of patients at the Invision Sally Jobe Breast Centers, and with the hope for continued research funding, the team may be able to gather the resources needed to answer Glueck's larger question.

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Cabozantinib, a drug already used to treat patients with certain types of thyroid or kidney cancer, was able to eradicate invasive prostate cancers in mice by causing tumor cells to secrete factors that entice neutrophils - the first-responders of the immune system - to infiltrate the tumor, where they triggered an immune response that led to tumor clearance.

The drug, marketed as Cometriq, enhances the release of specific chemical signals, known as CXCL12 and HMGB1, from prostate cancer cells. These signals cause the neutrophils, produced in the bone marrow, to flock to the tumor and attack the cancerous cells. In mice with aggressive prostate cancer, it produced near-complete clearance of invasive prostate cancers within 48 to 72 hours.

The authors of this study (published online March 8, 2017, in Cancer Discovery) note that this is the first demonstration that a drug of this type (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor) could activate innate anti-tumor immunity, resulting in the eradication of invasive cancer. They also suggest it could be used as part of a novel approach to combination cancer immunotherapy.

"We saw dramatic anti-tumor responses," said the study's lead author and investigator, medical oncologist and physician-scientist Akash Patnaik, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director of the Developmental Therapeutics Laboratory and Attending Physician within the Genitourinary Oncology Program at the University of Chicago Medicine. "We used a difficult-to-treat, aggressive prostate cancer mouse model. We were very surprised to see complete eradication of the most invasive, poorly differentiated tumors within days."

"The results of this study were really unexpected," said co-author Lewis Cantley, PhD, Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.

Cabozantinib, FDA approved in 2012 for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer and in 2015 for advanced renal cell carcinoma, was recently tested in the COMET-1 trial in men with metastatic prostate cancer. But the results were disappointing. Some of the patients had a good response, but many did not.

"Why some of these patients responded and others did not was unclear," Cantley said.

Following the dramatic results in a subset of advanced prostate cancer patients in the Phase II trial, Patnaik and colleagues began testing the drug in the lab. In their mouse model for prostate cancer, cabozantinib caused dramatic shrinkage of the tumors within a few days. But when tested on prostate cancer cell lines in a petri dish, it had relatively little effect.

Why was there a dramatic in vivo effect with little ex vivo effect? Patnaik and colleagues wondered.

"The drug was not actually killing the tumor cells," Cantley said. "Instead, it was inducing them to release factors that stimulated an attack by the innate immune system."

The key was the neutrophil-attracting chemical signals CXCL12 and HMGB1, released by tumor cells. When the researchers blocked production of these signals, the drug was no longer effective. The neutrophils - Patnaik refers to them as the "suicide bombers of the immune system" - never engaged in battle.

"Our findings could also explain why some patients in the COMET-1 trial did not benefit from the drug," Patnaik said. "This Phase-III trial included patients who had already received aggressive chemotherapy, which may have compromised their immune systems."

While additional research is being done to understand how cabozantinib accomplishes this effect, "this paper raises the possibility that a new class of drugs could be developed to treat cancers by stimulating attack by neutrophils," Cantley said.

For several years now, the most exciting development in cancer research has been the emergence of immunotherapies, especially checkpoint blockade drugs such as ipilimumab, nivolumab and pembrolizumab that enable the adaptive immune system, in this case T cells, to enter and attack tumors. But there has been little attention paid to inducing the innate immune system, such as neutrophils, to go after tumors.

"Neutrophils can be just as potent as T cells," Patnaik stated. He now hopes to use them in combination.

"Based on our results showing that cabozantinib can activate innate immunity and overcome an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, we are planning clinical trials to test the combination of cabozantinib and T cell checkpoint immunotherapy in specific subtypes of advanced kidney and prostate cancer. Our goal," Patnaik said, "is to enhance long-term anti-cancer responses from activating both innate and adaptive immunotherapy."

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This study was funded by grants from the National Institutes for Health, P01CA089021; R01 GM041890; the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center SPORE Career Development award, 5 P50 CA090381-08; a Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award; a Department of Defense Physician Researcher Training Award W81XWH-11-1-0298; and by Reason to Ride Cancer Charity fund. Additional authors were Kenneth D. Swanson, Eva Csizmadia, Aniruddh Solanki, Natalie Landon-Brace, Marina P. Gehring*, Katja Helenius, Brian M. Olson, Athalia Pyzer, Lily Wang, Olivier Elemento, Jesse Novak, Thomas B. Thornley , John M. Asara, Laleh Montaser, Joshua J. Timmons, Todd M. Morgan, Yugang Wang, Elena Levantini, John Clohessy, Kathleen Kelly, Pier Paolo Pandolfi, Jacalyn Rosenblatt, David E. Avigan, Huihui Ye, Jeffrey Karp, Sabina Signoretti, and Steven P. Balk.
An international research team has discovered a biochemical pathway that is responsible for the development of moss cuticles. These waxy coverings of epidermal cells are the outer layer of plants and protect them from water loss. The biologists discovered this mechanism that facilitated the evolutionary transition of plants from fresh water to land in the moss Physcomitrella patens. The team was led by Professor Ralf Reski from the University of Freiburg/Germany and Doctor Daniele Werck-Reichhart from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institute of Plant Molecular Biology (IBMP) in Strasbourg/France and published their results in the journal Nature Communications.

Plant cuticles came into being more than 450 million years ago when the first plants colonized the hitherto hostile land masses. Because the waxy cuticles protect against water loss, they enabled the spread of plants on land and the subsequent evolution of our complex ecosystems. The seed plants that evolved later use similar chemical reactions to form the biopolymers lignin, cutin and suberin. Especially lignification of cell walls contributes to wood production and helps trees to grow several meters in height. In contrast, mosses do not contain lignin and are tiny. It remained unknown which biochemical pathway contributes to the protective layer on moss cells.

The researchers now found that the enzyme CYP98 from the family of cytochromes P450 plays a crucial role: While it initiates the production of lignin in seed plants, it is responsible for the development of a phenol-enriched cuticle in Physcomitrella. When they switched off the gene that is responsible for the synthesis of this enzyme, moss developed without cuticles. As a result, these moss plants were not protected against the environment and, moreover, were not able to form complex tissues: the developing organs fused and their further development was halted. The researchers could compensate this genetic defect by feeding the plants with caffeic acid, which they identified as the main component of the moss phenolic metabolism. The biologists conclude that the moss cuticle predated the evolution of lignin, cutin and suberin and may therefore originate from the last common ancestor of mosses and seed plants - the prehistoric plants which left the fresh water to dwell on rocks and thus laid the foundation for the development of all current ecosystems on the mainland.

"Our results reveal one of the earliest evolutionary innovations that helped the first plants to survive on land over 450 million years ago," explains Reski. "It furthers suggests new biotechnology strategies for engineering biopolymers in plants beyond the well-known lignin production of trees."

Werck-Reichhart and Reski were Senior Fellows of the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) and the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study (USIAS) which funded their German-French co-operation project "METABEVO". Reski holds the Chair of Plant Biotechnology at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Freiburg/Germany. He is a founding principal investigator of the Cluster of Excellence BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies.

Researchers from the University of Strasbourg/France, the University of Victoria/Canada and from Cornell University/USA were also involved in this study.

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Original publication: Hugues Renault, Annette Alber, Nelly A. Horst, Alexandra Basilio Lopes, Eric A. Fich, Lucie Kriegshauser, Gertrud Wiedemann, Pascaline Ullmann, Laurence Herrgott, Mathieu Erhardt, Emmanuelle Pineau, Jurgen Ehlting, Martine Schmitt, Jocelyn K.C. Rose, Ralf Reski, Daniele Werck-Reichhart (2017): A phenol-enriched cuticle is ancestral to lignin evolution in land plants. Nature Communications 8, 14713.
All research requires decisions on how to restrict the material under study. The material included in an archaeological study is in many ways already chosen before the researcher begins to make such decisions. The kinds of selections effected by the research process itself have rarely been examined.

In her doctoral dissertation, Tuula Tynja studies the way the method of retrieval influences the quality and quantity of archaeological objects for research. The method of retrieval entails the criteria used to select material for retrieval and disposal from the archaeological objects available.

The material under discussion was excavated over the course of two archaeological projects in the Kinneret region, in present-day Israel.

"As the excavations are close to each other within a single area of habitation, we can assume that the impact of external factors on the selection of material is minimal. Comparing the Iron Age ceramic objects retrieved at Kinneret using a variety of methods proves that different retrieval methods generate research materials that differ in both quality and quantity. For this reason, the method of retrieval should be reported in the study," the doctoral candidate summarises.

Systematically collected material produces a more exact image of the excavated objects

Traditionally, the retrieval of ceramic objects has favoured the best-preserved pieces, and only a selection of the excavated objects has been retained. However, in 2003, two excavations adopted a more intensive method of retrieval, in which all edge pieces of ceramic dishes were retrieved and analysed. The intensive retrieval resulted in a larger amount of available material which could be considered a representative sample.

"When I compared the representative sample to the selectively retrieved material, I found that the selectively retrieved set featured a disproportionately large number of small, closed vessels, while the most common dish groups, i.e., bowls and cookware, were under-represented. Early reports in particular are likely to show a similar distortion of the most common dish groups. For this reason, a more intensive method of retrieval should be preferred," Tynja estimates.

In addition to the actual retrieval and disposal, another significant form of selection is the ways in which all discovered objects - including those intended for disposal - are documented.

"The more detailed the documentation of disposed material, the better the academic community can estimate the degree to which the material is representative of all excavated ceramics. This also facilitates the evaluation of the conclusions based on the material," Tynja concludes.

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The public defence of the dissertation entitled "From the Field to the Publication - The Retrieval and Presentation of Pottery - A case study from Early Iron Age Tel Kinrot, Israel" in the discipline of Old Testament studies, will be held on 8 March 2017 at 12.15 in the University of Helsinki Main Building, Auditorium XII, Unioninkatu 34.

The opponent will be Eran Arie, DPhil, from the Israel Museum, and the custos will be Professor Martti Nissinen from the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Theology.

The dissertation is also available in electronic form through the e-thesis service.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 8, 2017) -- University of Kentucky researchers have observed a significant reduction in sexual violence perpetration and victimization among Kentucky high school students, according to a recently published study on the "Green Dot" bystander intervention program..

Led by Ann Coker and Heather Bush in UK's Center for Research on Violence Against Women (CRVAW), the study is the largest and longest randomized controlled trial of bystander intervention programs focusing on sexual violence prevention in high schools. Published this week in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study reveals the implementation of Green Dot in Kentucky high schools decreased not only sexual violence perpetration, but related forms of violence including sexual harassment, stalking and dating violence.

"This research is great news for parents, schools, young adults and adolescents across Kentucky and the USA," said Coker, who is the Verizon Wireless Endowed Chair in CRVAW and professor in the UK College of Medicine. "We found that sexual violence can be prevented -- this violence is not inevitable. Adolescents and young adults can learn how to identify risky situations and safely intervene to prevent violence."

Sexual violence continues to be a serious problem for Kentucky teens. One in seven high school students in Kentucky experience physical dating violence, and one in 11 have had unwanted sex because they were physically forced, or too intoxicated to give consent. Bystander training programs like Green Dot teach individuals how to recognize situations or behaviors that may become violent, and intervene to reduce the likelihood of violence.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study followed 26 Kentucky high schools over the past five years. Half of the schools were assigned to receive the Green Dot intervention, with the others serving as the study's control group. Interventions were conducted by trained rape crisis educators. The Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs (KASAP) served as a community partner in the trial and covered the cost of Green Dot training for at least one staff at each regional center across Kentucky. By utilizing these existing resources, the schools encountered no additional costs to implement the program.

"The total cost of the program, over the study period for all intervention schools, was $1.55 million, which was largely personnel costs," said Heather Bush, Kate Spade & Co. Foundation Endowed Professor in CRVAW and associate professor of biostatistics in the UK College of Public Health. "Because KASAP educators were ideally positioned to add prevention education to their therapeutic skill set, schools did not incur any additional costs to implement Green Dot. Given the partnership with KASAP, we estimate the cost of providing Green Dot to new schools at $25,000 per school."

The interventions were implemented in two phases. In Phase 1, rape crisis educators delivered Green Dot speeches to all students in the intervention schools. In Phase 2, educators implemented intensive bystander training. This training was conducted in smaller groups by high school students perceived as leaders by their peers (about 12-15 percent of the student body). Because Green Dot involves intensive training for a small number of students, ongoing costs were relatively low and were less impacted by school size, according to Joshua Bush, leading author of the cost analysis study and visiting professor of accounting at Eastern Kentucky University.

"When you have a larger initial investment but low cost of student participation, sharing the investment across multiple schools is particularly cost-effective," Joshua Bush said. "The KASAP partnership provided the relationships and personnel for such a statewide implementation. School administrators can benefit from this strategic partnership because violence prevention training is not required in secondary schools, and is not part of a typical budget."

Each spring from 2010 to 2014, students at each school completed anonymous surveys to measure the frequency of violence they personally experienced, termed "victimization," as well as the frequency of violence they personally inflicted, termed "perpetration." All students, in both intervention and control schools, received hotline numbers and website information. Rape crisis staff were also available at each school to talk with any students who needed assistance.

A total of 89,707 surveys were completed over the five-year period and researchers compared survey-reported data before program implementation with rates from 2010-2014. Regarding sexual violence victimization, rates were 12 to 13 percent lower in the intervention versus control schools in years three and four, respectively. This translates to 120 fewer sexually violent events in year three, and 88 fewer in year four, indicating that sufficient time is required to see the ultimate effect of the training on violent behaviors.

"In this study we sought to change the culture that supports violence in high schools, and making these changes requires time," said Coker. "Fortunately, we had five years to implement and evaluate these changes and we definitely needed all five years. We saw reductions in violence acceptance and increases in bystander actions in the second and third years of the study, but we did not see significant and consistent reductions in sexual violence and other forms of violence until the fourth and fifth years of the study when Green Dot training was fully implemented."

Green Dot, designed by former UK faculty member Dorothy Edwards, has been in use at the university since 2008. It teaches students how to identify situations that could lead to an act of violence (represented on incident maps by a red dot) and shows them how to intervene safely and effectively. A "green dot" represents "any behavior choice word or attitude that promotes safety for all our citizens and communicates utter intolerance for violence."

"The State Prevention Team, convened by KASAP, selected the Green Dot program for this trial because the program engages all students across the school quickly with motivational presentations," said Eileen Recktenwald, executive director of KASAP. "The second training phase targets the natural leaders or trendsetters amongst the students. Their behaviors (engaged bystander actions to reduce violence risk) will be noticed and emulated by other students. Training this small yet influential group results in an efficient use of training resources and extends the intervention reach across a school or community."

UK President Eli Capilouto praised the study and the Green Dot program for making both college campuses and high schools safer.

"As educators, we have an obligation to provide our students with a safe place to live and learn," Capilouto said. "The Green Dot program was ahead of the curve when it was established at the University of Kentucky. Today, it is an effective bystander intervention training tool on college campuses across the country, and the results of the Center for Research on Violence Against Women's study illustrates its effectiveness in high schools. Providing this important training earlier supports all our efforts to make high schools and college campuses safer for all people."

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MIAMI-- University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science scientist Mark Donelan and his Norwegian Meteorological Institute colleague captured new information about extreme waves, as one of the steepest ever recorded passed by the North Sea Ekofisk platforms in the early morning hours of Nov. 9 2007.

Within the first hour of the day, the Andrea wave passed by a four-point square array of ocean sensors designed by the researchers to measure the wavelength, direction, amplitude and frequency of waves at the ocean surface.

Using the information from the wave set--a total of 13,535 individual waves--collected by the system installed on a bridge between two offshore platforms, the researchers took the wave apart to examine how the components came together to produce such a steep wave.

The data from the 100-meter wide "wall of water" moving at 40 miles per hour showed that Andrea may have reached heights greater than the recorded height of 49 feet above mean sea level. They also found that rogue waves are not rare as previously thought and occur roughly twice daily at any given location in a storm. The findings showed that the steeper the waves are, the less frequent their occurrence, which is about every three weeks at any location for the steepest rogues.

The Andrea crest height was 1.63 times the significant height (average height of the one third highest waves). Optimal focusing of the Andrea wave showed that the crest could have been even higher and limited by breaking at 1.7 times the significant height. This establishes the greatest height rogues can reach for any given (or forecasted) significant height.

"Rogue waves are known to have caused loss of life as well as damage to ships and offshore structures," said Mark Donelan, professor emeritus of ocean sciences at the UM Rosenstiel School. "Our results, while representing the worst-case rogue wave forecast, are new knowledge important for the design and safe operations for ships and platforms at sea."

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The study, titled "The Making of the Andrea Wave and other Rogues," was published in the March 8 issue of the journal Scientific Reports. The authors include: Donelan and Anne-Karin Magnusson from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The work was partly performed within the ExWaMar project (ID 256466/O80) funded by the Norwegian Research Council. ConocoPhillips provided the wave data.

About the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School

The University of Miami is one of the largest private r

Journal Scientific Reports DOI 10.1038/srep44124

esearch institutions in the southeastern United States. The University's mission is to provide quality education, attract and retain outstanding students, support the faculty and their research, and build an endowment for University initiatives. Founded in the 1940's, the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions. Offering dynamic interdisciplinary academics, the Rosenstiel School is dedicated to helping communities to better understand the planet, participating in the establishment of environmental policies, and aiding in the improvement of society and quality of life. For more information, visit: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu and Twitter: UMiamiRSMAS
Authors say studies point to the need for more research on root causes of urban violence

PHILADELPHIA -- Deaths and injuries from gun violence occur at higher rates in the United States compared to other developed countries. Yet, there has been relatively little public health research aimed at understanding and preventing this important threat to health. In a Viewpoint published this week in JAMA Surgery, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, argue for more research on firearm injury, including the establishment of a national database on incidents of gun violence. The authors point to recent research showing that in Philadelphia, gun murders and injuries are much more strongly associated with race than neighborhood income levels.

"Firearm violence is still largely a taboo research subject," said lead author Jessica Beard, MD, MPH, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery at Penn Medicine. "We struggle to obtain even basic information on its epidemiology. We need data to accurately assess the overall extent and geographic distribution of this problem."

As trauma surgeons in Philadelphia, Beard and co-author Carrie A. Sims, MD, MS, an associate professor of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery, routinely treat victims of gun violence in the city. Although they acknowledge that perfecting the clinical management of gunshot wound patients is important, they believe that the best way to address this public health problem is to prevent it.

"When we save a patient in the operating room, we feel great, and yet despite our hard work the patients keep coming," Sims said. "Sometimes we feel powerless to address the deeper causes of this problem."

With colleagues from the Penn Injury Science Center, Beard and Sims have been researching the epidemiology of gun violence in Philadelphia. In a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Penn team analyzed statistics on firearm assaults in Philadelphia during 2013-14. Results showed that the gun murders and injuries were much more strongly associated with race than with neighborhood income levels. People living in relatively high-income black neighborhoods, for example, suffered a rate of firearm assault almost 16 times higher than that experienced by people living in white neighborhoods with the same income.

According to police data analyzed by the researchers, more than 80 percent of victims of firearm injuries reported in Philadelphia were black, and less than 6 percent were non-Hispanic whites.

"This racial/ethnic disparity is the 'elephant in the room' of firearm injury epidemiology," Beard said. In the new essay, she and Sims argue for more research and scientific resources to explain this disparity, which they suggest may be rooted in structural inequality and other social factors that are amenable to policy interventions.

"We as trauma surgeons need to work with our surgical associations and members of government to advocate for more research funding to determine the root causes of this important public health problem--and to start identifying effective prevention strategies," Beard said.

In a 2013 "Statement on Firearm Injuries," the American College of Surgeons called for a national database on these injuries--which would allow researchers to track trends and determine if interventions are working. Beard and Sims echo this recommendation, saying that such a database would be a basic first step towards understanding and addressing the problem of urban gun violence in America.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $5.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 18 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $373 million awarded in the 2015 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Chestnut Hill Hospital and Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2015, Penn Medicine provided $253.3 million to benefit our community.
Salt, snowflakes and diamonds are all crystals, meaning their atoms are arranged in 3-D patterns that repeat. Today scientists are reporting in the journal Nature on the creation of a phase of matter, dubbed a time crystal, in which atoms move in a pattern that repeats in time rather than in space.

The atoms in a time crystal never settle down into what's known as thermal equilibrium, a state in which they all have the same amount of heat. It's one of the first examples of a broad new class of matter, called nonequilibrium phases, that have been predicted but until now have remained out of reach. Like explorers stepping onto an uncharted continent, physicists are eager to explore this exotic new realm.

"This opens the door to a whole new world of nonequilibrium phases," says Andrew Potter, an assistant professor of physics at The University of Texas at Austin. "We've taken these theoretical ideas that we've been poking around for the last couple of years and actually built it in the laboratory. Hopefully, this is just the first example of these, with many more to come."

Some of these nonequilibrium phases of matter may prove useful for storing or transferring information in quantum computers.

Potter is part of the team led by researchers at the University of Maryland who successfully created the first time crystal from ions, or electrically charged atoms, of the element ytterbium. By applying just the right electrical field, the researchers levitated 10 of these ions above a surface like a magician's assistant. Next, they whacked the atoms with a laser pulse, causing them to flip head over heels. Then they hit them again and again in a regular rhythm. That set up a pattern of flips that repeated in time.

Crucially, Potter noted, the pattern of atom flips repeated only half as fast as the laser pulses. This would be like pounding on a bunch of piano keys twice a second and notes coming out only once a second. This weird quantum behavior was a signature that he and his colleagues predicted, and helped confirm that the result was indeed a time crystal.

The team also consists of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University, in addition to the University of Maryland and UT Austin.

Frank Wilczek, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was teaching a class about crystals in 2012 when he wondered whether a phase of matter could be created such that its atoms move in a pattern that repeats in time, rather than just in space.

Potter and his colleague Norman Yao at UC Berkeley created a recipe for building such a time crystal and developed ways to confirm that, once you had built such a crystal, it was in fact the real deal. That theoretical work was announced publically last August and then published in January in the journal Physical Review Letters.

A team led by Chris Monroe of the University of Maryland in College Park built a time crystal, and Potter and Yao helped confirm that it indeed had the properties they predicted. The team announced that breakthrough--constructing a working time crystal--last September and is publishing the full, peer-reviewed description today in Nature.

A team led by Mikhail Lukin at Harvard University created a second time crystal a month after the first team, in that case, from a diamond.

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This research was supported by the U.S. Army Research Office, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity and the Simons Foundation.
From: American Evaluation Association (AEA) For Immediate Release: Dateline: Washington , DC Wednesday, March 8, 2017

PeiYao Chen, Kelly Gannon, and Lucy McDonald-Stewart at

Strengthening womens rights movements is a key component of Global Fund for Womens

Currently in the pilot stage, the Movement Capacity Assessment Tool includes a series of questions that capture respondents perceptions of their movements along seven dimensions. It also captures the movements stages of development, because movements are always evolving.

Hot Tips

Before launching an assessment, first define the social movement you want to focus on.

Providing a clear definition and scope ensures that you invite the right people to participate and that the respondents are talking about the same social movement.

Lack of scope or difficulty in defining the movement can signify pre-nascent movements or no movement at all. Diverse voices matter.

Because social movements are composed of diverse actors, our sampling approach focuses on including individuals and organizations representing different perspectives, and playing different roles within the movement. These include leaders at the center of the movement as well as those at the margins.

Diverse perspectives should also consider generational differences. This might be a difference between the older and younger generations of activists, between more established and newer organizations, or between old-timers and newcomers in the movement. The tool can be used to inform planning and to measure progress over time.

Results of the assessment can help movement actors and their supporters develop a shared understanding of where the movement is, what the capacity needs are, and develop action plans accordingly.

Participants noted that the process provided space for them to reflect on their role in building movements. Some were motivated to re-engage with other movement actors to develop strategies to collectively address challenges.

Lesson Learned: The tool has its limitations  it cannot capture how different movements intersect, overlap, or exclude one another or provide a comprehensive landscape analysis of a social movement, though it may help identify new or unknown actors.

After we complete the pilot project, we plan to make the tool available to the public. If you are interested in learning more about the tool or helping us test it, please email Kelly at

The American Evaluation Association is celebrating Feminist Issues in Evaluation (FIE) TIG Week with our colleagues in the FIE Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from our FIE TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.

Hi! We are, andat Global Fund for Women , a public foundation that raises money and attention to advance womens rights and gender equality.Strengthening womens rights movements is a key component of Global Fund for Womens Theory of Change . We are charged with figuring out how to meaningfully measure progress of movement building. After two years of research, we developed the Movement Capacity Assessment Tool  an online tool that allows movement actors to assess the strengths, needs, and priorities of their movement and to use the results to develop action plans to strengthen movement capacity.Currently in the pilot stage, the Movement Capacity Assessment Tool includes a series of questions that capture respondents perceptions of their movements along seven dimensions. It also captures the movements stages of development, because movements are always evolving.Results of the assessment can help movement actors and their supporters develop a shared understanding of where the movement is, what the capacity needs are, and develop action plans accordingly.Participants noted that the process provided space for them to reflect on their role in building movements. Some were motivated to re-engage with other movement actors to develop strategies to collectively address challenges.The tool has its limitations  it cannot capture how different movements intersect, overlap, or exclude one another or provide a comprehensive landscape analysis of a social movement, though it may help identify new or unknown actors.After we complete the pilot project, we plan to make the tool available to the public. If you are interested in learning more about the tool or helping us test it, please email Kelly at kgannon@globalfundforwomen.org


From: Joyce L. Gioia, CMC, CSP -- The Herman Group Austin , TX Wednesday, March 8, 2017

The Herman Trend Alert March 8, 2017 Life Expectancy in Rich Countries The process of forecasting demographics is not an easy one; and when you try to factor in other, independent variables, it becomes even more complex. Life expectancies Yet the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and others offer forecasts that are remarkably like each other. However, a new study was recently released by researchers at Imperial College London and the WHO. Published in in the UK medical journal Lancet, itdelivers fascinating statistics on longevity in 35 rich countries, using a combination of 21 statistical models, instead of just one, Some major surprises Leading the world in boosting longevity is South Korea, where a girl born in 2030 would likely live to age 90. Interestingly, the study found that Sweden, Japan, and other countries can expect smaller gains. Most surprising, the study predicts that life expectancy in some poorer countries, like Mexico and Croatia, will soon surpass that of the US. The Economist Magazine reports that in the US, "If Republican plans to repeal Barack Obama's health law end up reducing access to care, this trend might accelerate." Why South Korea fares so well The main reasons for South Korea's longevity gains will be big reductions in child mortality, deaths from infections, and deaths from diseases related to high blood pressure. Fewer South Koreans have high blood pressure than in any other country. Moreover, fewer South Koreans suffer from obesity. Obesity increases the susceptibility to several chronic illnesses, including diabetes, coronary artery disease, and cancer. Besides all this, smoking rates among women in this country remain low. Obesity is a key consideration One major reason for the US' poor showing is the high rate of obesity. More than one third (36.7 percent) of the US population is considered obese. Obesity was also the major factor in the poor showing made by women in France and Switzerland. Where the gains are "More than half of the projected gains in life expectancy at birth in women will be due to enhanced longevity above age 65 years." The fact that these gains will be in the later years will challenge governments to support these aging populations with "sufficient health and social care policies". Haves vs. Have-Nots Nowhere else in our view will the contrast between the haves and the have-nots be so acute. Having access to affordable healthcare will begin to be a consideration for aging populations, affecting all kinds of decisions, including where to live. In the US, as fewer and fewer physicians accept Medicare, we expect to see pockets of population emerging around areas where people can find affordable healthcare. ********* The Herman Group is a firm of Strategic Business Futurists concentrating on workforce and workplace issues. We forecast the future and advise clients regarding relevant trends and how those trends may affect their lives. Applying our expertise as Certified Management Consultants, we advise corporate leaders regarding employee retention and organizational development to help them build workforce stability. We help organizations become Employers of Choice. We also work with Employer of Choice, Inc. to formally recognize employers that meet the stringent standards dictated by the labor marketplace. As authors of management books and as active professional speakers, we inform and inspire people to make a positive difference in the world of work. You did really get the ball rolling with our retention presentation, overall we have seen a move in the right direction with our turnover. In practice since 1980, we have served a wide variety of clients throughout the United States and in other countries. Our global affiliates assist us in sharing our expertise and advice with clients internationally. Our team of professional consultants and trainers is supported by an administrative staff that gets things done. We also have consultants certified to deliver our programs in your local area. Delivering to both small and large groups across 100 industries, The Herman Group has provided over 2,500 educational and informative keynote speeches and training seminars worldwide. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, we travel extensively to meet the needs of our clients. We can always be reached through the support team in our office at (800) 227-3566. Overseas callers may reach us through 336-210-3547. Should you have any questions after touring our website, please call or e-mail us at info@hermangroup.com. Get started now on improving the stability and performance of your workforce and increase your chances for success in the future.


Wednesday, March 8, 2017

This weekend, the wild and wacky Frozen Dead Guy Days festival takes place in Nederland, Colorado. Yes, there is a real frozen dead guy at the center of it all, kept in a dry ice-filled crypt in a shed in this tiny mountain town west of Boulder.

The festival includes a parade of hearses, coffin races on a snowy obstacle course, costumed polar plunging, frozen turkey bowling and salmon tossing, lots of live music, alcohol, and much more  including The Doyenne of Death! You can hear an interview about it live on Denvers TalkRadio 630 KHOW at 7:20 a.m. MT this Thursday (tomorrow) with host Ross Kaminsky.

Im heading there soon to present The Newly-Dead Game (its like The Newlywed Game, but the questions focus on how well you know your partners last wishes) and to show the documentary, Grandpas in the TUFF Shed, which tells the unusual story of how Bredo Morstoel became the famous Frozen Dead Guy. A big thank you to Passages International, leading providers of environmentally-friendly and green funeral products, and their educational website, www.AGreenerFuneral.org, as the main sponsor of my activities there this weekend.

The one who dies with the most toys still dies. If you love T-shirts with snappy sayings, snap up this latest T-shirt from A Good Goodbye. Click here for more information and click here to purchase ($20 plus shipping).

The next Albuquerque Death Cafe is scheduled for Saturday, March 25 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at my home. Please RSVP for address and directions.

Theres lots of great information at The Family Plot Blog. Links to recent posts, upcoming events and a funny quote follow. Please call 505.265.7215 if I can be of assistance!

Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death

The Family Plot Blog Highlights

Click on the titles to read the blog post and see the associated videos. Review all posts on The Family Plot Blog or view just the Death Cartoons posted on the blog!

Why Not Join the Lively Woodworkers in Coffin Clubs? According to this story in The New York Times, D.I.Y. coffin clubs bring people together to build their own burial containers, which they playfully call underground furniture.

Five Ways to Make Your Death More Eco-Friendly As baby boomers start facing their own mortality, the idea of eco-friendly funerals is becoming more widespread.

The latest Death Cartoons feature funnies from Bizarro, Close to Home and Non Sequitur.

Upcoming Events and a Funny Quote

See the Calendar page for a full listing of events.

Saturday, March 18, 9:00 to 10:15 a.m.  Gail Rubin keynotes the Cancer Support Now conference in Albuquerque, NM. Her talk, titled A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Dont Plan to Die, is sponsored by Morris Hall, PLLC, a premier estate planning law firm. Register for the free daylong conference at www.CancerSupportNow.org.

Wednesday, March 22, 2:30 p.m.  The University of New Mexico Retiree Association features Gail Rubin speaking on Kicking the Bucket List: Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die at the UNM Continuing Education Center North Building.

Thursday, March 23, noon  Congregation Albert Open Mind luncheon series features Gail Rubin speaking on Downsizing and Organizing. Location: The Board Room at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM.

Saturday, March 25, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Death Cafe at Gail Rubins home. RSVP for address and directions. More information here.

Sleep is death without the responsibility.  Fran Lebowitz

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The United Nations is celebrating International Womens Day today (8 March) by reinforcing the strength of women who live in rural areas in combatting world hunger.

Leaders from the three UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) reminded the world that women and girls play a crucial role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular, the goal of eradicating hunger and extreme poverty.

"Women play a critical role in agriculture and food systems - not just as farmers, but also as food producers, traders and managers," said FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva on the occasion of the Day.

"However, women still face major constraints in rural labour markets and in agricultural value chains. They are more likely to be in poorly paid jobs, without legal or social protection. This limits women's capacity to advance their skills, earn incomes and access employment opportunities."

In the UK, Anne, Princess Royal paid tribute to all the women who work behind the scenes in agriculture across the country.

Anne said: For all those ladies working hard behind the scenes, who perhaps dont have your names on the [business] letterheads, I hope you feel that progress has been made here.

Unleashing women's potential

However, across the world, Graziano da Silva noted that the future of global food security depends on unleashing women's potential.

"Achieving gender equality and empowering women are crucial ingredients in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition which is strongly recognized by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," he said.

IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze said, "We need to face the fact that we will never overcome poverty and hunger without empowering rural women."

He added: "We have ample evidence from around the world that greater empowerment of women in rural and urban areas leads to higher economic growth and a better quality of life for women and men alike.

"Despite progress, it is still the case today that rural women's double burden of farm labour and unpaid domestic work prevents them from participating fully and fairly in income-generating activities.

"Improving rural women's access to technologies that save time and labour is essential to reducing their workloads. Transforming gender relations within the family is also crucial to empowering women and enabling them to make decisions about their lives."
The farming sector has urged the Northern Irish government to find a solution for bereaved families facing difficulties with policy on the inheritance of herd and flock numbers.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has adopted a policy that prevents the family of a deceased sole trader from inheriting the herd and flock numbers on the farm.

But the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) describes the current approach as 'extremely inflexible' and says it is causing unnecessary complications for farm families.

UFU deputy president, Victor Chestnutt said: A number of years ago DAERA adopted a policy that has prevented the family of a deceased sole trader from inheriting the herd and flock numbers on the farm. Instead DAERA forces bereaved families to go through the process of setting up new business IDs, herd and flock numbers.

The UFU said this has created many problems for families already going through difficult times while trying to keep businesses going after a bereavement.

It said DAERA needs to accept this, and review its approach.

'Frustrating and confusing'

Mr Chestnutt continued: Many of these herd and flock numbers have been in existence for a long time. They are linked with industry programmes such as Farm Quality Assurance and the BVD eradication scheme.

These rely on accurate and reliable data being transferred from APHIS so that the value and the health status of the livestock on these farms can be maintained, says Mr Chestnutt.

The UFU said the 'frustrating and confusing' process DAERA uses brings risks of livestock temporarily losing their quality assured and BVD status, through no fault of the families in this situation.

Cattle may also end up out of spec because DAERAs approach adds residencies to cattle that have not moved premises, said the UFU deputy president. The UFU says this is 'entirely unnecessary bureaucracy' that creates stress and costs at a time when families are ill-equipped to cope.

I would challenge DAERA to see some sense on this matter and bring forward a solution to help families at their most difficult time, when the last thing they need is more red tape, concluded Mr Chestnutt.
First Milk has confirmed the completion of a new long term contract with Nestle UK & Ireland.

First Milk has supplied British milk to Nestle since 2003.

CEO Mike Gallacher said: "Nestle are a hugely important customer for First Milk and I am delighted to see this relationship renewed for the long term.

"Nestle have consistently supported British Dairy farmers and are at the forefront of driving best practice on responsible sourcing and sustainability.

"Initiatives like our shared Next Generation Young Farmer Program demonstrate a long term and strategic commitment to the UK supply chain."

Robin Sundaram, Responsible Sourcing Lead - Milk Buyer, Nestle UK & Ireland said: "We are delighted to renew our commitment to First milk and to our Nestle farmers.

"Good quality milk is a key ingredient in some of our iconic brands such as Nescafe and KitKat. We look forward to continuing our strategic long-term partnership to drive our vision of supporting our farmers and our environment."

The announcement follows recent communications on First Milks progress following a new strategy focused on core business of Liquid Milk Contract supply and Cheddar manufacturing.

This has resulted in a circa 30M improvement in profitability over the last two years.
A new leadership course is set to give young people a leg-up in the rural industry, by developing their management and communication skills.

The Leadership and Management Programme (LAMP), established by the Worshipful Company of Farmers, will target the personal development of its participants, while helping to contribute to the growth of the wider rural sector, explains Richard Soffe, director of Duchy and Bicton Colleges Rural Business School.

Launching in October, the course is aimed at 20-30 year-olds who are in the early stages of their career and may or may not have formal academic qualifications.

This is an age gap we have wanted to target for some time, as it is a really important age to get set up for the future, adds Mr Soffe. It can make all the difference to someones career.

Developing leadership

The programme, run in conjunction with Duchy and Bicton Colleges, is a week-long residential course held in the Midlands, and will help attendees to develop basic leadership skills, undertake self-assessment and achieve high standards in everything they do.

We want the course to help delegates develop a deeper understanding of the wider business environment and to improve their capacity to operate effectively within their own businesses, explains Mr Soffe.

The course is a foundation for candidates which can then be built upon throughout their careers by attending the Challenge of Rural Leadership course and Advanced Course in Agricultural Business Management.

Shaping careers

Incorporating the use of live case studies, guest speakers and a personal development plan, it will be a platform on which delegates can shape their careers.

Participants will also benefit from mentor support for a year after the attending the programme, giving them the chance to keep track of their progress and continue building on what they have learnt, he says.

Supporting the younger generation is essential for the development of British agriculture, as they are the basis upon which the future is built.

Jane King, CEO at AHDB adds: We are entering a defining moment for the future of the industry and strong leadership will be fundamental to our future success.

Courses like the Challenge of Rural Leadership are truly inspirational in finding and nurturing great leaders who grow spectacular businesses and go on to have real impact and influence on others. Personal development and a positive attitude towards lifelong learning will be vital if were to build a world class industry together.
Big Dutchman distributor Newquip says there has been increased interest in the company's barn systems since announcements by most big UK retailers that they would stop selling cage eggs by 2025.

The egg industry has been waiting to see what the major supermarkets will replace their existing value range with come 2025, although Tesco, the country's biggest supermarket has committed to sourcing barn eggs.

Yorkshire-based Newquip, Big Dutchman's UK distributor, says it has received more expressions of interest in barn since the retailers' cage-free commitment, although the company said that only two customers had so far gone through with installations of significant sale.

"There has been an interest, mostly the big producers who have existing cage units, or colony units, who need to start considering what they are going to do with those colony units once the supermarkets move over to no cage shell eggs on their shelves," said Richard Buchan, Newquip technical sales adviser.

It was, perhaps, inevitable that it would be colony cage producers who would show an interest in converting to barn because they are the ones for who space will often be an issue. Many do not have the room for the range necessary for free range production.

"Some will be people who put in colony early in the run-up to the cage ban in 2012. Some of their equipment will be getting tired and it will be a natural choice for them to change to barn," said Newquip's Adam Dye.

He said that, for early adopters of enriched units, the financial impact of investing again, this time in barn, would not be as significant as it would be for someone who had installed enriched colony units more recently - possibly just before the European Union ban on battery cages came into force at the beginning of 2012.

Alternative methods

Glenrath Farms is one company that took an early decision to replace some of its colony units with barn.

As long ago as September 2014 Glenrath chairman Sir John Campbell told FarmingUK that he intended to start replacing some of his enriched colony production. He said at the time that the market was moving away from any form of cage production to alternative methods.

Richard Buchan, Newquip technical sales adviser

He was making the switch because he expected that barn production - currently a very small part of the UK egg sector - would grow in the future. He already has orders for his barn eggs.

Figures produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that barn eggs accounted for just over two per cent of packing station throughput last year.

However, all major UK retailers have now committed to going cage-free by 2025 and those who want to retain a value egg could opt for barn.

Three barn units

Glenrath has had three barn units installed so far on its own farms in the Scottish Borders.

Sir John said the two-tier units had replaced older enriched colony units that had, themselves, been adapted from cage units. He said that the company had spent as much as 2 million recently on barn installation. Simply removing old colony units had cost as much as 40,000.

Two of the new Glenrath units are now supplying customers, although Sir John would not disclose where the eggs were going. He said he was awaiting more orders before populating the latest unit, but he said he was committed to investing in barn production if there was a demand for it from the country's retailers.

Glenrath's new installations are Big Dutchman units, although Sir John deals directly with Big Dutchman. Newquip, which represents Big Dutchman in the United Kingdom, points to its Natura Step system as one that is deal for both barn conversion and new build units in the UK.

"It can go into older houses - it is perfect for refurbishment, where the step can be spaced out accordingly to the building width. So that's quite a good one to work out well," said Richard Buchan.

"The biggest advantage, really, is it's similar to a free range house, except the birds don't range. So the equipment is exactly the same as you would have in a free range laying house. If you imagine a free range laying house with the pop hole doors closed, no access outside but everything else inside is exactly the same, so they have their nest areas, their scratching areas on the floor, full access to the floor at all times, a lot of perching, all the food and water that they require, so exactly as you would see in a free range house but not free range."

Caged system with doors removed

Newquip's Adam Dye said it was possible to obtain a system at the more intensive end of the scale for barn. This was, effectively, a cage system with the doors removed.

Stocking density might be 18 to 20 birds a square metre compared to the 15 birds per square metre Freedom Food standard.

"The Natura Step's selling point is that it is very much like a free range unit but without the pop holes. Everything is identical apart from the fact there is no range," said Mr Dye.

He said that new entrants into the egg sector were still opting predominantly for free range units, although the investment cost for barn was lower. Investment in a new barn unit would cost about 25 a bird, he said. A barn conversion in an existing shed would cost 10 to 15 per bird. Investment in a free range unit would cost 30 to 35.

Richard Buchan said: "Obviously you don't have the land involvement, so without the land you are certainly making a saving from that point of view, plus the producers who are looking at this have existing buildings. So they are able to utilise the infrastructure that they have - the building costs are already covered. It's really a case of removing whatever is inside the building and replacing it with Natura Step."

Returns are lower for barn eggs. The difference in producer price between free range and barn eggs amounts to about 20 pence per dozen.

However, the decision by supermarkets to go cage-free, and the realisation that at least some of the big retailers will still want a supply of value eggs, seems to have heightened interest in available barn systems.
A new Earth observation satellite launched on 7 March will help with precision farming, land management and environmental protection by farmers.

The Copernicus Sentinel-B2 satellite developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) doubles the coverage of high-resolution optical imaging in the Sentinel-2 mission in the framework of the European Union's Copernicus programme.

The faster and more precise data that the new satellite will bring is set to benefit farmers.

High-resolution satellite images allow farmers to closely follow the evolution of their land, check the status of their crops and make more informed decisions. The addition of the new satellite will bring down the cost of these services to farmers.

Images from the new Earth observation satellite will also have a wider impact on the management of Europe's food and farming sector, allowing for more accurate monitoring of agricultural production and more efficient controls linked to aspects of EU farm policy such as direct payments.

The space programme will deliver benefits to a wide variety of industries, such as reduced costs of precision farming services, increased productivity of fish farmers, thanks to the monitoring of toxic algal blooms, and savings for construction companies via a work progress monitoring application.




Haiti - Reconstruction : UN calls for support of Haiti's $ 2,72 billion plan





Monday was launched an call for urgent support to improve disaster risk management in Haiti following a damning investigation of the countrys losses from Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.



Robert Glasser, the UN Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction declared "Hurricane Matthew revealed disturbing truths about least developed countries which lack the capacity to respond adequately to climate change and the rising intensity and frequency of weather-related disasters.



While the governments civil protection system prevented many deaths, it is unacceptable that over 600 people should have died in a hurricane that was so well-forecast. A very thorough government-led Post-Disaster Needs Assessment has been conducted which shows that the country lost US $2.8 billion as a result of Hurricane Matthew or 32% of GDP. It came on top of two years of drought affecting the food security of one million people and the 2011 earthquake which cost 120% of GDP."



Speaking on the eve of the 5th Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas which opens in Montreal, Canada, tomorrow, Mr. Glasser urged strong support for the recovery plan developed by the Haitian government, the UN and other partners which seeks US $2.72 billion for a three-year recovery plan which is guided by the need to build back better, centred on reducing future disaster risk, improving multi-hazard early warning systems, and reducing the exposure of impoverished communities to the multiple natural hazards.



Haiti is estimated to have lost on average 2% of its GDP to weather-related disasters every year between 1975 and 2012.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Dominican Republic : Leonel Fernandez tribute to Rene Preval





Following the sudden disappearance of the former President of Haiti, Rene Preval https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20253-haiti-flash-rene-garcia-preval-passed-away-this-friday.html the former President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez, in a letter addressed to Idalbert Pierre Jean the Ambassador of Haiti in Santo Domingo, expresses his sincere condolences to the one who over the years had become for him a true friend.



"His Excellency the Ambassador,



Allow me to express, through you, our sincere condolences to the Haitian government and people following the death of our dear friend Rene Preval, President of Haiti, a peaceful and very affable man with whom I have arrived to cultivate a personal friendship.



The death of Preval is a great loss not only for Haiti but for the entire political community in the region, because he was a man who made important contributions to the development and strengthening of democracy and who cultivated a cordial relations with neighboring countries.



By destiny, on two different occasions and decades, Preval and myself, we agreed as leaders of our respective Nations, a time when there was a bond of friendship and harmony as had not been known before in the history of relations between the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti.



For these reasons, we would like to transmit to the Haitian government, the relatives of the former President, his collaborators and the Haitian people in general our sincere condolences to this irreparable loss.



We cherish the deepest desire that the valuable legacy left by this leading political leader inspires Haitians to continue to work enthusiastically for the benefit of democracy, institutional strengthening and social justice.



That his soul rests in peace !



With sincere feelings of regret,



Regards,



Leonel Fernandez."



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping politics...





Arrest of two dangerous individuals

Police in the North Department arrested Geffard Armstrong and Sevelma Alize, two suspected bandits, wanted for murder and criminal association.



Danilo Medina in solidarity with Haiti

Following the death of former President Rene Preval, in a letter addressed to his Haitian counterpart Jovenel Moise via the Chacellerie, Dominican President Danilo Medina Sanchez, solidarizes with the people and the Haitian government. "We are united with the people and the Haitian Government, on behalf of the people and the government of the Dominican Republic and in my own name" asking to extend his condolences to the family and to the relatives of Rene Preval.



A Haitian 2nd Prize in the international poetry competition

Carl Withsler A. Benoit, a young Haitian native of Gonaives, won the second prize of the 18th edition of the "International Contest of Poetry in French". About 100 young people aged 15 to 25 from Canada, France and Switzerland competed in the competition, and Carl is the only Haitian to have reached the final stage of the competition.



Distribution of 6,000 l of milk to the prisoners

The Canadian Embassy in Haiti, in collaboration with the Canadian company MERA, has distributed 6,000 liters of Soya milk to prisoners in the national penitentiary. This action comes as a result of the increasing number of deaths in the country's prisons . Michel-Ange Gedeon, the Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) who attended the event, visited the cells, dispensary and kitchen of the penitentiary before thanking the Embassy of Canada and all those who work for the improvement of the living conditions of detainees in Haiti.



Exhibition at the CEP, on women

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) informs the general public that it is organizing a series of activities to mark the International Women's Day (8 March) in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and UN Women. This series of activities will include the opening of an exhibition on the participation of women in the electoral process on Wednesday 8 March from 1:00 pm in the premises of the CEP in Petion-ville. The exhibition will last one month.



Sympathy of Brazil

"The Brazilian Government has learned with sadness of the death of the former President of the Republic of Haiti, Rene Preval. The Brazilian Government expresses its solidarity with the Haitian people and Government and extends its sincere condolences to the members of the family of former President Rene Preval..



Opening of a book of condolence in DR

The Embassy of Haiti in Republican opened this Tuesday, a book of condolences for the death of the former President Rene Preval https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20272-haiti-news-zapping-politics.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















One tiny but brave soul volunteers for rat patrol duty for the betterment of the group. (Photo by Joe Tobiason)

We human beings can sometimes be a neurotic, anxious lot, but guinea pigs might give us a run for our money in that regard.



In Ccorca, Peru, Heifer is helping 600 families raise guinea pigs to improve their nutrition and quality of life. And its working. Since 2013, incidences of anemia in the districts children have decreased from 85 percent to 25 percent. Child malnutrition has also gone down dramatically, from 76 percent to 36 percent.

Part of the reason for the success of Ccorcas guinea pig ranchers is that families go to great lengths to nurture their apprehensive little animals through their anxieties. And, make no mistake, they have a lot of anxieties. But who doesnt, right? No judgment here.

Without a care in the world ... except for strangers, loud noises, rats, the heat and potential future dietary changes. (Photo by Joe Tobiason)

Among other things, Im told that the following will cause the average guinea pig to fret:

Dietary changes

Hot weather

Rats

Strangers

Unfamiliar sounds



That seems like a fair list to me. In response, guinea pigs might pile into a corner of their pen, which is, of course, adorable. More seriously, constant anxiety can lead to health concerns or problematic pregnancies for the animals.

Luckily, our friends in Ccorca have a few tricks up their sleeves to combat the stressors of everyday guinea pig life. Its important that the guinea pigs are kept on a strict schedule so they can get used to a routine. Petting sometimes eases a troubled guinea pigs mind. Strangers are rarely let into the guinea pig barns. And the high-altitude Andean climate is ideal for raising the crittersit is where they come from, after all.



Many of the folks who raise guinea pigs go the extra mile and wake up at 4 a.m. to waft eucalyptus smoke over their animals, to soothe them and cure some of the ailments that life of worry might bring.



Most people in Ccorca also play music for their guinea pigs, to drown out strange noises and calm the animals down. When I asked Edgar Ccolque Quispe what kind of music his guinea pigs like, he said they like a little bit of everything.




Railroad fixing four rough crossings

Motorists will have an easier ride over four railroad after work this week by the NCDOT and Blue Ridge Railroad.

View the Slideshow Related Stories

Were partnering with the NCDOT repaving some of the approaches to the crossings on about four crossings there in Hendersonville, just trying to make the approach and the crossings themselves a little smoother for the motorists, said Blue Ridge Railroad general manager Darl Farris.

Crews were scheduled to smooth out the crossing on Highland Lake Road on Wednesday after first posting a sign that the work would be done on Tuesday. The other crossings are on Brooklyn Avenue, Roper Road and West Blue Ridge Road.

It will probably be a work in progress for the next four days, Farris said Tuesday morning. Theres four crossings and each one of those crossings takes about one day to complete. Obviously, there will be some alternative routes but we just ask that they be cautious as they approach those locations and be careful for the men that are working on the tracks.

The work on the Highland Lake Road crossing was a long time coming.

Mayor Bob Staton wrote a letter several years ago asking Southern Railway to fix the bone-jarring crossing. Since then Watco, a Kansas-based shortline freight company, bought the line, which it operates here as Blue Ridge Railroad.

Farris praised the NCDOT for its help on the four crossings.

Were certainly grateful for their help in paving the crossings, he said. They really are the ones that handle the majority of traffic management. The railroad is just there really to work on the portion of the crossings between tracks. Were grateful that the state of North Carolina is willing to partner with us and try to make things more durable and enjoyable for the general public.
The Magic of Hotel Room Allocation & Distribution Technology

The average nightly rate for a hotel room in Nashville last year was $261. In Boston, the average was $257.[1] For the average four-night stay in either destination, a guest invests over $1,000 without anything to show for it but a tiny bottle of shampoo and good memories.

Know what else costs $1,000? A brand-new, stainless-steel refrigerator. And if the store delivered the wrong one, would they shrug their shoulders like a front desk agent? Of course not. They would take it back and bring the right one. The same goes for any other major purchase. In fact, I wouldnt buy a product with a $1,000 price tag without some guarantee that the company would deliver the exact item with nary a ding nor scratch.

How is it then that every day, the hotel industry delivers the wrong product to many of their gueststelling guests when they arrive that the room type or features they requested are no longer available? There are two issues at play. The first is that hotels have come to consider themselves synonymous with service. Of course, a hotel is only as nice as its staff however, its more complicated than that. Hotels require product + service in equal measure. Having focused so much on service as of late, hotels have chalked product to social lobbies and WiFi rather than focusing on delivering guests the requested roomthe actual product. Think of the money and time that is spent driving guests to the brands website, only to knowingly accept that some will be disappointed in the end.

The reason for this is located in the second issue: technology. Hotels havent had the technology to bridge the disconnect between distribution and allocation. It is this divide that has created the rift between what travelers buy and what they get when they arrive.

If what they receive when they arrive is anything but the room that was reserved with the features that were reserved, those good memories are already compromised, and they have only your hotel to point to, even if they booked through a third-party.

Hotels act as though there is no solution. Im sorry, the King on the high floor that you reserved? It is impossible tonight. We do our best to guarantee your reservation, but we arent able to control this.

But it is not impossible. And making it so requires dealing with this issue long ahead of check-in, dealing with it at the point of the reservation.

It is now entirely possible to guarantee a guest the room type they purchase with the features they requestand to guarantee it no matter where the guest books. By using predictive future room assignments, hotels can ensure that whether the guest books on an OTA, a CVB, via metasearch, or any other third party, she will receive the room she booked. Using this intelligent technology, the studio suite with a view is shown during the booking process only if it is available, and it is allocated upon the reservation instead of the morning of arrival.

To do so, the technology communicates with the hotel PMS, enabling the booking path to be highly personalized. This means guests can select the relevant room type as well as room attributes and features and receive the product they ordered.

Hotels have succeeded in not delivering on their product promise for so long that guests have little trust that they will receive the requested room. Why else would travel insiders repeatedly suggest that guests call ahead to the hotel if theyll be late or if its really important. (To which I say, When is it not important?) And the notion that a guest should have to call ahead after already having reserved their room is preposterous. However, because the industry has been without proper allocation resources for so long, those early adopters that are able to truly guarantee the guests room and features will have a competitive edge until the industry catches up.

Its not magic; its technology. And it is possible.

[1] Nashville Hotel Rates Ranked Highest in US. Tennessean. October 2016.

About the Author:

Pierre Boettner

Founder and CEO, hospitalityPulse

Pierre Boettner spent his entire life between hotel operations and hospitality technology. In 1993 he pioneered an industry-first forecasting and pricing tool for Movenpick Hotels and was later involved in many system innovations, helping hoteliers improve their distribution capabilities. Recognizing the increasing difficulty of managing rooms operations, he and long-time colleague Denis Bajet founded hospitalityPulse in 2013. This company has dedicated itself to solving the most complex operations tasks still requiring daily human intervention. Pierre Boettner is a graduate of the esteemed Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne.
Announcement, made at the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF), follows the news that IHG achieved record signings in 2016 and now has more than 100 hotels either in the pipeline or in operation in the market

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) yesterday announced the signing of eight new hotels within the Holiday Inn brand family in Germany.

The announcement comes as IHG has recently reported a strong year for the market, and three consecutive record years of signings, including 17 hotels in 2016. One of the key drivers of IHG's success in the region has been working with Multiple Development Agreement (MDA) partners to develop in locations where there is guest demand.

Martin Bowen, Vice President, Development, Germany, said: "We have a tailored offer for the German market, and this has paid off. Several of these new hotels are all with long-standing MDA partners who have established relationships with IHG, and understand the returns both Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express deliver."

Germany, which was one of the top ten regions for inbound travel in 2016, is a competitive market in which IHG has already made a significant impact. 57% of the market is still unbranded, meaning there remain plenty of growth opportunities in the market, particularly within the midscale sector, IHG's growth engine.

All the new hotels will feature the innovations developed as part of the Holiday Inn brand family transformation. For Holiday Inn, this includes the Open Lobby, in which guests can enjoy dwell-time in the merged restaurant, bar and lounge area. Holiday Inn Express hotels will feature the next-generation room design, which, based on guest insight has revolutionised the design of our public spaces and guest rooms, improved service delivery, and introduced new technology to enhance guest service.

Germany is IHG's second biggest market in Europe with 69 hotels and 38 in the pipeline.

The hotels signed are:

Holiday Inn Munich  North and Holiday Inn Express Munich - North (Ingolstaedter Strasse) which will be run as a dual branded property. Both hotels are part of Primestar Hospitalitymultiple development agreement. Holiday Inn Munich  North will feature 156 rooms, a gym, 11 meeting rooms and four smaller meeting spaces, and Holiday Inn Express Munich North (Ingolstaedter Strasse) will feature 236 rooms. The property will have a shared restaurant and will benefit from being just a few kilometres away from the Allianz Arena and BMW Museum.

Holiday Inn Express Berlin - City Kurfuerstendamm is one of two hotels signed with partners Foremost Hospitality GmbH. The hotel, which will feature the next-generation room design in each of its 177 rooms, will be open in the heart of the former West Berlin and only a few minutes away from one of Berlins main shopping districts, the Kurfurstendamm.

Also signed with Foremost Hospitality is Holiday Inn Express Leipzig - City Hauptbahnhof (Brandenburgerstr). The 168-room hotel will be located next to Leipzig central station, the most important rail hub in Eastern Germany. It will be 10-15 minutes' walk away from downtown Leipzig and the city's university. Automotive manufacturers BMW and Porsche are also based in the area.

Holiday Inn Express Furth, which has been signed with tristar GmbH, will be situated opposite the city's Stadthalle auditorium and within walking distance of restaurants, pubs and the main station, but also close to the businesses based in the city. The new build will feature next-generation rooms and a refurbished lobby and ample car-parking space. IHG also signed Holiday Inn Express Saarbrucken, a 163 room conversion of a post-war office building. The hotel will feature two large meeting areas and ample car-parking space.

As part of a 20 hotel MDA with one of largest hotel groups in Germany, NOVUM Hotel Group, IHG has also signed Holiday Inn Express Erlangen, close to the Erlangen city centre. The 186-room new build property will be will be within walking distance of the main train station and is part of a wider urban development with access to residential and shopping facilities.

In its first partnership with IHG, IFA Immobilien has signed Holiday Inn Express Merzig, a unique 86 room new build hotel, located within a new business park with direct access from the motorway. Within walking distance to the town centre and the Yachting Club Merzig, the hotel will be the ideal choice for both business and leisure travellers.
We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector
SHAIT YANG VILLAGE, Kachin State  Nearly 2,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) arrived at Shait Yang village in Laiza District, an area controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), on Jan. 21. These IDPs came from the Zai Awng and Hkau Shau camps in Waingmaw Township.

They had to flee the camps in darkness on Jan. 19 when artillery shellsfired in a battle between the Burma Army and KIArained down around their camps. These civilians rushed into Shait Yang village, which is situated on the Burma-China border. They expected that Shait Yang would be safe because there were no soldiers there, and because the Chinese and KIA had an agreement not to deploy soldiers too close to the frontier. An IDP and refugee relief committee struggled to assist the new arrivals.

The weather offered no helpthe area is one of the few in Burma with snowfall. At night, the temperatures dropped to -4 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit). On Jan. 25, when The Irrawaddy visited, some residents in the camp lacked clothes warm enough to protect them from the bitter cold. Some built fires to stay warm.

My legs are killing me. They are numb due to the cold, said 60-year-old Laphai Zau Ra, who wore only a worn-out blue sweater. He said that hed had no time to grab other clothes when he ran for his life, away from the artillery shells at Zai Awng.

Another IDP, Kawt Mai, said she was afraid of the nighttime because the temperatures were becoming extreme.

I have never experienced this kind of cold in my life, she said. It seems very long when I wait for the day to break.
MANDALAY  Leading a life of hand-to-mouth existence, over 100 internal migrants bake blocks every day in one of the brickworks near Don Kone and Thayet Tapinsmall villages on the bank of the Irrawaddy River in Mandalays Patheingyi Township.

In this area there are four brickworks, and each location contains more than 20 small kilns. These workplaces are unique in the way that entire families, with the exception of babies, can be found working there.

In some cases, children as young as five years of age share in their familys labor when they really should be playing or studying at school.

Living in make-shift huts, the migrants have moved from other parts of Mandalay Division to the riverbank in order to earn a living.

For most of these families, the meager wages and the high cost of food mean that everyone has to work. There is no other way to meet production goals and to earn the money they need to sustain themselves.

In some cases, when adult workers have fallen ill, they have asked their employers for an advance on their wages until they can recover. Then, when they are unable to pay the money back quickly, they pull their children into working with them.

The migrant families will bake bricks on the bank of the Irrawaddy River until the rainy season, when water levels rise and clay is no longer available. Then they will movealong with their familiesto another brickworks controlled by the same owners in Madaya Township, continuing the vicious cycle.
In Person Social Welfare Minister: I Will Always Campaign for Gender Equality

Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr. Win Myat Aye, who also chairs Myanmar National Committee for Womens Affairs, is pictured at the Womens Week opening forum on Monday in Naypyidaw. / Naing Lin Soe / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYIDAW  On the occasion of Womens Week celebrations, the Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr. Win Myat Aye, who also chairs Myanmar National Committee for Womens Affairs (MNCWA), talked with The Irrawaddys San Yamin Aung at the Womens Week opening forum in Naypyidaw on Monday. He spoke about the governments plans to support gender equality and womens rights during its five-year term.

What do you feel is the role of Burmese women in the countrys politics and developments?

Women are over 50 percent of Burmas population. For a household, a society and also for the country, we need their strengths and also we need more womens participation in politics and businesses.

If we [the ministry], the government, the private sector and UN organizations are working together, I believe women will understand their rights more and thus, womens participation will increase.

As you are also the chairman of Myanmar National Committee for Womens Affairs (MNCWA), what will you do to prioritize supporting gender equality and the empowerment of women?

First of all, I took the role of chairman in the MNCWA. In the committee, we include womens advocates, the Myanmar Womens Affairs Federation, the Maternal and Child Welfare Association and womens networks. We will work to improve the situation for women in the country by collaborating with all of those [groups]. And I would like to say we will try to finish the laws that can prevent violence against women and also urgently protect womens rights.

How about the ministrys National Strategic Plan for the Advancement of Women 2013-2022 (NASPAW)so far, how has it been carried out?

The plan covered a lot. It is based on the 12 priority areas [livelihoods, poverty reduction, education and training, health, halting violence against women, emergencies, economy, decision making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, environment, and the child]. There are many areas in which the ministry is developing action [plans]. We will implement them all continuously with our best effort.

In the past, even holding a meeting once a year with the MNCWA was difficult. But we will now hold meetings frequently and also collaborate with organizations for implementation.

What will be achieved after implementing the NASPAW, which will end in 2022?

We will have more national plansand after 2022, I believe we will see significant changes toward the improvement of the situation of women in our country and concerning womens rights. As the State Counselor says, I believe women can work toward the development of the country by taking on responsibilities and carrying out their duties.

From this Womens Week celebrations, how would you like to encourage men and women in working toward gender equality?

Though we are celebrating Womens Week, men are also included in the events. My participation as a chairman of Myanmar National Committee for Womens Affairs could encourage men to work together [with women] toward gender equality. I will always be campaigning for it.
Burma Myanmar Now Journalist Sued Under Telecommunications Law

Ko Swe Win talks to the media at the Myanmar Now office in Rangoon. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy

MANDALAY  A Mandalay resident filed a lawsuit against Myanmar Now chief correspondent Ko Swe Win on Tuesday, accusing the reporter of insulting nationalist monk U Wirathu.

U Kyaw Myo Shwe, a follower of U Wirathu, opened a case under Burmas Telecommunications Law at a police station in Mandalays Maha Aungmyay Township.

Weve accepted the case and registered it; however, legal advisors are still discussing whether to bring it to court, said an officer from the police station, adding that Ko Swe Win has not yet been detained.

U Kyaw Myo Shwe told The Irrawaddy that Ko Swe Win wrote on his Facebook that U Wirathu committed a cardinal sin and his monkhood was over, and that insulting U Wirathu was something that he and other followers would not stand for.

We asked him to apologize within a week but he didnt so we filed the suit, he said, adding that he would withdraw the action if Ko Swe Win apologized.

On his Facebook, Ko Swe Win shared a Myanmar Now news story that stated that U Wirathu was no longer in the monkhood as he had thanked the assassins who killed National League for Democracy legal advisor U Ko Ni.

The Myanmar Now story quoted a senior abbot who said that thanking and encouraging murder was an unforgivable offense in the monastic practice.

I only wrote what Sayardaw U Seinda said. I have nothing to do with the accusation and will face trial according to the law, said Ko Swe Win.

I have to question the rule of law in a country where people who support an assassination and spread hate speech over the internet go unpunished while people like me are being sued, he added.

U Wirathu is a hardline nationalist monk who is known for vitriolic hate speech against the countrys Muslim minority.

He demanded an apology from Ko Swe Win but the journalist said at a press conference in Rangoon on Wednesday that he saw no reason to apologize to someone who had encouraged killing.

He hasnt spread hate speech just once. Everyone knows he fans tensions across the country, Ko Swe Win said.
Guest Column They Call It a Crime: Being Born Non-Bamar in a Conflict Zone

Activists hold flowers as they march in Rangoon on Nov. 23, 2014, protesting against a Burma Army artillery attack on a Kachin Independence Army training center in Laiza, which killed 23 cadets. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters

On a winter night on the China-Burma border, I sat cramped in a small house with two dozen people, members of five Kachin families who had recently been displaced by fighting in Mong Ko, also on the border in northern Shan State. The purpose of my trip was to research and document the impact of conflict in the region; I stayed up late into the night listening to the stories of the displaced.

The following day I was taken to meet more members of the Kachin community in other internally displaced peoples (IDP) camps in the surrounding area. Even in the face of tragedy, the individuals I met were accommodating and kind, and invited me to visit them in Mong Ko someday, under better circumstances.

Kachin Baptist Convention Members Arrested

Weeks later, I was informed that two of the men who were staying in the house that night65-year-old Dumdaw Nawng Lat and 35-year-old Langjaw Gam Seng, a pastor and youth leader, respectively, from the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC)had been detained by the Burma Army.

They were charged under Article 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act, accused of providing support to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

Community members speculated that the two men had been arrested on December 24 because they took a group of Burmese journalists to visit the site of a church recently destroyed by rockets fired from a Burma Army fighter jet. In doing so, they had revealed what the state-run media had tried to cover up in Mong Ko: that the Burma Army had attacked a religious compound.

Just as it has been documented that women from ethnic areas have been targeted by institutionalized sexual violence, with rape used as a weapon of war in conflict zones, Article 17(1) has often been used against male members of ethnic communities as a form of collective punishment. The law states that those who are found to be members or supporters of an organization deemed unlawful can be sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison.

Since the Burma Army broke its 17-year ceasefire with the KIA in June 2011, the number of Kachin people charged under 17(1) has been steadily increasing.

A Special Dossier distributed in 2013 by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and Asian Legal Resource Centre documented 36 cases in which Article 17(1) was used to charge Kachin men in Kachin State, during 2011 and 2012.

The Kachin Lawyers Network reported 50 such cases between 2011 and 2014.

In 2016, more than 50 people were arrested and charged under the statute, including 49 youthssix of whom were womenwho were returning from attending an agricultural training in Mai Ja Yang, an education hub for civilians living in the KIO-administered area. In the November 2016 report A Far Cry From Peace, the Kachin Womens Association Thailand said that 116 Kachin individuals had been arbitrarily detained and tortured by the Burma Army over previous year, suspected of having links to armed groups like the KIA. Given the isolation of the rural northern regions, one could argue that these numbers might, in fact, be even higher, as gathering information in a conflict zone is an ever-difficult task.

Recently, All-Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) member U Min Htay, whose group signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the government in 2015an act though to have ended his own organizations unlawful statuswas detained for associating with the KIO.

The Unlawful Association Act originated in the India Act XIV of 1908. Drafted by the British, this colonial-era law is now benefitting the Burma Army in its effort to delegitimize and undermine political demands made by ethnic armed organizations by outlawing these entities as enemies of the state.

Once charged, a persons sentence always is accompanied by the possibility of extension, due to a corrupt and nontransparent legal procedure still largely controlled by the institution of the military.

One of the most well known cases is that of Lahpai Gam, a Kachin man detained after being accused of being a KIA major responsible for several bomb blasts. Over a four-year detention period, before he was sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2016, he was subjected to degradation, which included severe beatings and sexual abuse. The elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government was not responsive to calls from rights groups and the United Nations to free him.

After calls from local and international rights organizations demanding the whereabouts of the two men from the KBC, Burmas Presidents Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay responded on January 10 to media that it was the KIA who had taken them, and not the Burma Army. As the calls grew louder, on January 19 the military publicly acknowledged the arrest of the two men, under Article 17(1) of the Unlawful Association Act.

Effects on the Kachin Community

In Kachin and northern Shan states, many of the men targeted by Article 17(1) have resided in rural areas and have had access only to primary school education, according to the AHRCs Special Dossier report. These men have been displaced multiple times, and often their arrests occur at IDP camps or while performing menial jobs near these camps.

As the sole providers for their families, their detention puts a particular strain on their dependents. Many families of those arrested under 17(1) have exhausted their savings or accumulated debt fighting the charges through multiple court appointments. In their report, the AHRC describes how the wife of one accused man had attended nine court dates in less than two months while living in an IDP camp. She was forced into debt in order to pay for the legal process.

As we speak, the KBCs Dumdaw Nawng Lat and Langjaw Gam Seng, as well as the 49 youths studying agriculture in Mai Ja Yang, are awaiting access to legal assistance to defend themselves against charges of unlawful association with the KIA. We must ensure that they receive reparations for the injustices that they continue to suffer.

Those of us who envision a peaceful Burma must put pressure on the authoritiesboth the government and Burma Armyto immediately repeal the Unlawful Association Act. The newly created terrorist label, which can be assigned through the statute, is a tool to exclude ethnic armed organizations from the countrys peace process, effectively undermining the building of trust with these groups. Furthermore, the Act victimizes individuals based on their ethnicity, gender or religious associationparticularly those living in conflict zones. As long as Article 17(1) remains on the books, it will allow Burma Army troops to continue carrying out violations of fundamental human rights in ethnic states, and to do so with impunity.

Stella Naw is an advocate for democratic federalism in Burma, with a special interest in reconciliation and the rights of ethnic and indigenous peoples.
Burma Lawmakers Vote to Fix Corrupt Judicial System

Lawmakers in Burmas Lower House / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYIDAW  After a heated debate between the chief justice of Burmas Supreme Court and lawmakers, the Lower House on Tuesday approved a proposal that allows Parliament to oversee the judicial system.

U Tin Htwe of Waw Township put forward the proposal to the Lower House on Feb. 10, urging the court to fix what he and fellow lawmakers describe as a corrupt judicial system.

Twenty-five lawmakers discussed the proposal on Tuesday, suggesting that the jury system be adopted to improve the judiciary.

Despite Chief Justice U Soe Nyunts objection, the proposal was put to the vote and approved by 286 of the lawmakers while four voted against and 61 abstained.

U Tin Htwes proposal argued that although there was a decline in corruption cases in the judicial system during the first few months of the new government, the culture of corruption appears to have returned and could thrive again.

Chief Justice U Soe Nyunt responded that it was U Tin Htwes personal assumption, adding: He hasnt submitted convincing evidence and named the corrupt judges or explained how they took bribes.

The Supreme Court deals with complaints that have been made against all other levels of court in the country, which, he says, administer justice for over 300,000 cases annually.

Out of this number, the Supreme Court receives more than 1,000 complaints, according to the chief justice, who said this was a comparatively small amount. He added that less than one percent of judges were found guilty of corruption charges.

Accusing the judicial system of being paralyzed because of bribery and corruption harms the dignity of the courts, said U Soe Nyunt, claiming the accusation went against the 2008 Constitution. This amounts to contempt of court.

Lower House Speaker U Win Myint rebuffed the claim of contempt, explaining that the Constitution provides checks and balances between the three branches of power and the proposal was the result of these checks and balances.

Harsh action should be taken against corrupt plaintiffs, police, lawyers, and law officers as well as corrupt judges if we want to fix the judiciary system, lawmaker U Myo Zaw Aung told the Parliament.

The previous government appointed all the judges serving at the Supreme Court. The Constitution allows them to hold the position until they turn 70.

Current lawmakers say another proposal to adopt the jury system was rejected by the previous Parliament under former President U Thein Seins government.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
Burma Northern Alliance Warns Civilians in Kokang of Ongoing Clashes

Taang National Liberation Army soldiers / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  The Northern Alliance urged civilians in northern Shan State and along the Burma-China border to exercise caution on Wednesday, and said that ongoing clashes between the coalition of ethnic armed groups and the Burma Army in the Kokang Self-administered Zone were likely to intensify.

The clashes are likely to be quite serious, so we would like to request visitors and locals take extra caution if they want to travel, Brig-Gen Tar Bone Kyaw, General Secretary of the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Northern Alliance spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy.

The Northern Alliance consists of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the TNLA, and the Arakan Army (AA).

Brig-Gen Tar Bone Kyaw justified recent assaults in Laukkai, in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone of Shan State, by saying that the Burma Army had denied the groups the chance to join the peace process and had been conducting large-scale offensives in MNDAA- and TNLA-controlled areas.

Id like to request our people to have a deep sympathetic understanding towards us for the things we have done because of intolerable military pressure, he said. We have no choice if military pressures are intolerably mounting.

The Burma Army did not make public statements about clashes with the MNDAA in January and February.

The Office of the Commander-in-Chief released a statement on Monday, however, saying that the Burma Army had clashed with the MNDAA 56 times between Jan. 19 and Feb. 11.

Northern Alliance troops raided the Yan Long Zhai (also spelled Yan Lon Kyaing) border gate on the Burma-China border and military outposts, police stations, and hotels in Laukkai on early Monday morning.

In response, the Burma Army brought in reinforcements and armored tanks, and Northern Alliance troops withdrew from Yan Long Zhai Gate and Laukkai.

Clashes continued in the mountains between Laukkai and Maw Htike on Tuesday morning.

The Burma Army was shelling us with 102 millimeter and 105 millimeter launchers between Laukkai and Maw Htike, and was occupying one hill after another, said Brig-Gen Tar Bong Kyaw.

On Monday, Burmas State Counselors Office and the Office of the Commander-in-Chief released separate statements, both claiming that five civilians and five traffic police died in the clashes.

Around 20 burned bodies were found, the statement said, and four traffic police were taken hostage.

The statement from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief said that the MNDAA, TNLA, and AA would not be required to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) to attend the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference on the condition that they announce giving up their armed struggle.

Brig-Gen Tar Bone Kyaw said the three ethnic armed groups would not disarm to join the peace process, but demanded that ceasefire negotiations be held and that they be invited to join the peace process.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in her Monday statement, also urged the warring groups to abandon armed clashes and join the peace negotiation table and lamented the plight of locals.

On Nov. 20 last year, Northern Alliance troops launched attacks on military outposts and police posts at the Muse 105th Mile Border Trade Zone and in Mong Ko in northern Shan State, and said that the attacks were intended to counter the Burma Armys continuous assaults on their mountain outposts. Since then, military tensions have remained high in the area.

According to government figures, over 40 civilians were killed and many more were injured in the clashes.
Burma Questions Raised Over Land Ownership and Development in Ngapali Mangroves

Pleasant View Resorts photos from Feb. 15, shared on their Facebook page, of a new destination floating restaurant. It is believed to be located on the contested location near Mayut Kalay village in Thandwe Township, southern Arakan State. / Pleasant View Resort, Ngapali Beach / Facebook

RANGOON  Arakan State parliamentarian U Naing Kyway Aye told The Irrawaddy that the Rangoon-based owner of a local Thandwe hotel purchased land with the intent to develop it without permission from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

The National League for Democracy regional MP said that Daw Mar Mar Khin, the owner of the Pleasant View Hotel, in recent months bought 50 acres of land covered in mangrove palm trees from local villagers, at five lakhs per acre (US$368)well below the market rate.

Pleasant View Resorts manager Ko Than Htike Aung confirmed that his boss is implementing a new project but that it is not being officially launched as a hotel resort. He denied accusations that the resort was cutting down mangrove palms to carry out construction work and claimed that the land had been purchased after being officially registered in the regional land department.

Recently, we just developed a road to link with the village, he added.

The area in question is located near Mayut Kalay village in Thandwe, southern Arakan State. Along the Ngapali coastline, developers need to obtain permission for the construction of new structures from local authorities and the Union ministry of hotels and tourism in Naypyidaw directly handles hotel business permits.

As far as I know that place is vacant land. But the villagers indiscriminately sold 50 acres of mangrove palm and now the hotel owner has already built four wooden huts. I think in a period of time they are going to cut down the palms there for construction, U Naing Kyway Aye said.

Lower house lawmaker U Min Kyi of Thandwe Constituency corroborated U Naing Kyway Ayes conclusion that the palm mangrove is believed to be on vacantrather than registeredland, unlisted in public records. It is possible, he added, that the farmers sold it without having owned it in the first place.

Of concern, U Min Kyi also said, is environmental impact of a project in the area, as the mangroves are crucial in protecting the coastline from flooding and other damage during hurricanes. The parliamentarian said he would gather a team of environmental activists to assess the project.

Lawmaker U Naing Kyway Aye complained to the regional minister of planning and finance U Kyaw Aye Thein that the project had been under discrete construction for months, even though local Thandwe authorities had not been informed. Three ministers from the Arakan State government checked the location in February, and reminded the owner to adhere to the ministrys construction procedures.

U Kyaw Aye Thein said that the Pleasant View Resort owner had not applied for a business permit but confirmed that she had already constructed a restaurant and some wooden huts on the land. He could not verify whether the 50 acres of mangrove palms had indeed been vacant land or had been owned by the villagers. He asked the land record department and township land management committee to scrutinize the areas background.

Some local sources told The Irrawaddy that 15 acres of mangrove palms had already been cut down, but Minister U Kyaw Aye Thein rejected this assertion, saying that the hotel had cleared enough trees only to build a 40-foot thatched roof building, linked to a road.

Hotel owner Daw Mar Mar Khin has since presented her conceptual plan for a tourist destination to ministers, who suggested that she submit the proposal officially to the ministry, explained U Kyaw Aye Thein. He told The Irrawaddy that environmental and development factors would have to be considered before permission would be granted.

As you know, the only activities in Ngapali are swimming and sunbathing. So, they [the Pleasant View Resort] would like to make a different structure. By developing that area, the locals could benefit. We should encourage them, he said.
Burma Thousands Flee Burma Army Clashes with Insurgents Near China Border, Official Says

Civilians displaced by fighting between the Burma Army and Kokang rebels in Laukkai, Shan State, February 2015. / J Paing / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Thousands of people have fled clashes between the Burma Army and ethnic rebels along the border with China, a Chinese official said, as fighting threatened leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyis top goal of reaching peace with minorities.

About 30 people were killed on Monday in the attack staged by ethnic Chinese insurgents in the town of Laukkai, 800 kilometers (500 miles) northeast of commercial hub Rangoon, prompting thousands to seek refuge across the border in camps in China.

Thousands of people have crossed into China, said the Chinese government official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Hotel workers in Nan San, a town abutting Burmas restive Kokang region where the fighting is taking place, described disoriented people moving rapidly into the town.

There are so many people here and the traffic is chaotic. There are thousands of refugees here and they look frightened. Some of them brought suitcases with them, while some only brought some light clothes, said a staff member at the Golden Star hotel in Nan San who identified himself by his surname Li.

The 42-year-old owner of the Fuyuan Hotel, who identified himself by his surname Yang, said: All we can do is to help them and give them food.Chinese people here are very worried about our safety.

Yang compared the scenes to those in 2015, when tens of thousands escaped fighting between the army and the predominantly ethnic Chinese Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)the same group that attacked on Monday.

MNDAA is part of the Northern Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups comprising one of Burmas most powerful militias, the Kachin Independence Army, and two smaller groups that have been in a stand-off with Burmas military since clashes in Kokang two years ago.

On the Burma side of the border, some 300 people were waiting to be transferred to a camp for internally displaced people in the town of Chinshwehaw near Laukkai, said Saw Shwe Myint, an official from the Myanmar Red Cross Society in Laukkai.

We are discussing with our partner organizations how to transfer these people to Chinshwehaw, he said. About 200 people were transferred on Tuesday.

Those in the camp comprised local residents and migrant workers from other parts of Burma, Saw Shwe Myint said. I do not hear the fighting right now but I heard shooting this morning, he said.

China called for an immediate ceasefire between the two sides on Tuesday, urging them to resolve their differences through peaceful means.
Specials Champions for Change

Champions for Change was published jointly by the Womens Forum for the Economy & Society and The Irrawaddy

Inspiring business leaders from the private sector are featured in a new publication Champions for Change published jointly by the Womens Forum for the Economy & Society and The Irrawaddy.

On International Womens Day, we share profiles from the book of key individuals who are helping empower women in the workplace and beyond in Burma.

Yin Myo Su

Yin Myo Su is the managing director of the Inle Princess Resort in Shan State and the Mrauk-U Princess Resort in Arakan State. She is also the founder of the Inle Heritage Foundation.

Ask Yin Myo Su the reason for her current success after more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, and the 44-year-old will declare, no gender discrimination at work.

Its also her suggestion for others working to promote equality in their businesses.

She believes that her enterprises would not be in the strong position that they are now had she treated her male and female employees differently. If she had, she doubts that she would have achieved the productivity, mutual understanding and respect with her staff that has contributed to her hotels advancement locally and internationally.

The winner of the 2015 Global Leadership Award acknowledged that Myanmar women have arguably enjoyed more freedom in comparison to their counterparts in some neighboring countries. Yet still, Yin Myo Su emphasizes the huge gap that remains between men and women in Myanmar society, thanks to what she described as invisible culture barriers.

One trait that bothers her most is the macho sense of pride often unknowingly fostered by parents in their sons, for whom they generally have higher expectations than for their daughters.

As a result, she said, it places men in the role of protectors, and girls are treated as weak, and in need of protection.

Its so wrong, she said, adding that if women are independentfinancially and sociallythen so are men, as they no longer feel obligated to look after women. You should know that my liberation as a woman is tied to your liberation as a man, Yin Myo Su said.

 Kyaw Phyo Tha

Phyu Ei Thein

Phyu Ei Thein is the founder of the Sunflower Group and the Sunflower Weaving Studio.

For Phyu Ei Thein, giving jewelry-making trainings to women in internally displaced peoples camps in war-torn Kachin State is about more than creating fashion accessories.

She thinks such activitiescrafting earrings, necklaces and bracelets out of amber and other local stonesare more meaningful than the seemingly endless peace dialogues in conference rooms, where grassroots voices are often conspicuously missing.

It is an individual peace process, said the founder of the Sunflower Group, explaining that women in the camps can forget their troubles and despair at least for a short while when they are making jewelry.

They feel happy when they earn money from their products, which are sold back in Yangon. Plus, they are ready to make a living [from the craft they have learned] when they are able to settle back in their homes again, she explained.

Apart from giving trainings to nearly 50 women in the camps, Phyu Ei Thein, 45, has run a hand-woven textile business as a sustainable development program for more than 10 years. Her Sunflower Weaving Studio encourages young women, particularly those from rural and border areas, to join weaving schools by offering stipends and job opportunities after the training. She said that she doesnt want them to end up working in karaoke lounges and migrating to other countries like so many others who feel it is their only way to make a living.

I am happy to see their lives changed or better, she said, reflecting on her work of the past decade. But I have to say I havent done much so far. Only if the countrys politics improves, and if the government and others in our business work together, will we have more success.

 San Yamin Aung

Nang Lang Kham

Nang Lang Kham is the executive director of KBZ Bank.

When it comes to issues of equality and anti-discrimination, conventional wisdom has it that government must set policies, and NGOs will implement them. But Nang Lang Kham says that in this framework, the participation of business leaders and employers is generally overlooked.

The 29-year-old believes that embracing diversity in the business world can lead to greater productivity.

After holding a series of in-house awareness workshops at KBZ Bank on gender equality, Nang Lang Kham informed her 450 branch managers last year that the bank was focusing on promoting inclusivity, warning: There will be zero tolerance for discrimination.

In 2016, for the first time in the banks 22 years of operations, she dropped the requirements regarding gender, age and marital status from job announcements. Currently, 51.54 percent of positions above the level of assistant general manager are held by women.

The organization is planning to adopt a formal policy regarding inclusivity later this year, in order to encourage staff to pursue leadership roles. Specifically, Nang Lang Kham emphasized that she does not want anyone to be held back because of their gender or because of a disability.

Bank customers are diverse. There will be more understanding between us and the customers if we are a diverse organization providing services to people with different backgrounds, she said.

 Kyaw Phyo Tha

Charles-Edouard Bouee

Charles-Edouard Bouee is the Chief Executive Officer at German consultancy firm Roland Berger, and member of the global YPO leadership organization for chief executives.

For Charles-Edouard Bouee, focusing on gender equality is a vital step in building a truly diverse company.

As a leading consulting firm, he said, Roland Berger aims to be at the forefront of gender equality; the company is convinced that diversity better enables a company to understand the marketplace. He added that an awareness of gender-related issues also significantly increases Roland Bergers attractiveness as an employer to potential job candidates.

As a global firm, we must strive to implement the best practices from around the globe when it comes to strengthening the position of women in our organizationand we are working on it, he said.

Bouee said that Roland Berger provides special leadership and development trainings to assist women in accessing senior positions at the company. The firm has also strengthened its efforts to recruit female candidates at all levels. Creating an environment where female consultants can share their doubts and questions is key to ensuring that Roland Berger capitalizes on opportunities to improve its practices, he said.

He also noted that it was crucial to involve male team members as much as their female colleagues in order to hone approaches to work-family balance and to make the company a better workplace for everyone.

It is a burning topic for all young and modern fathers who want to have a career, support their wives careers as well, and spend time with their children, Bouee said. In the end, everyonewomen, men and the companywill benefit from corporate diversity and gender equality initiatives.

Phyu Phyu Tin

Phyu Phyu Tin is the co-founder of the social enterprise Yangon Bakehouse.

If she were to pass away at this point in her life, Phyu Phyu Tin says she would be satisfied with what she has accomplished in her work.

For the past five years, the co-founder of the Yangon Bakehouse has provided catering apprenticeships designed to empower women. During the paid 10-month training, Phyu Phyu Tins studentsincluding ex-convicts with few job prospects and women with very little formal educationlearn how to bake European bread and pastries. They also study reproductive health, family financial planning and build their self-confidence.

A proclamation on the website of Yangon Bakehouse now says: 71 women: lives forever changed.

On my deathbed, I would feel relief thinking about the changes I brought to them and seeing their faces in my minds eye, Phyu Phyu Tin said of the women she has worked with at the social enterprise.

Some of her students described facing negative reactions from their husbands and fathers in response to the steps they took to earn more economic and social independence through their work with the Bakehouse. Phyu Phyu Tin encouraged them to defy these limitations.

Yangon Bakehouse has a high graduation rate. More than 80 percent of its students have completed the apprenticeship program and have gone on to earn higher paying jobs as chefs, bakers and permanent workers at the Bakehouse and at other restaurants and cafes in the country.

To become a good man or a good woman is not possible without being raised by a good mother. So we empower women to change their lives and their families lives for the better, she said.

 San Yamin Aung

May Myat Mon Win

May Myat Mon Win is the general manager at the Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon.

May Myat Mon Win feels it is up to women to put themselves to the forefront of leadership roles and to define their own life priorities.

It is up to women to make themselves equally capable, smart and competent in this competitive world, in order to create a competitive edge, she said. The general manager of the Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon said that the greatest challenge in her career has been to balance being nice and being tough, being emotional and being objective.

While her hotel does not have its own specific program to promote gender equality, May Myat Mon Win said that its status as a member subscribing to the United Nations Global Impact frameworkwhich lists principles for business regarding labor, rights, the environment and anti-corruptionmeans that it strives to be non-discriminatory.

At our management table, 40 percent of the seats are taken by women, she said. I am quite happy about that.

As women advance in their careers, however, May Myat Mon Win said she sees them facing unique challenges because of converging pressures at home and at work.

The job gets more and more demanding, and so does family life. At one point, some women have to make a decision, she explained. We always encourage women associates to try, with all their potential and capacity, to grow in their professional careers.

 Zarni Mann

Wai Phyo

Wai Phyo is the managing director of Yathar Cho Industry Ltd.

Wai Phyo believes men must allow for equal chances to be given women, for the sake of developing the country.

Men must not think that women are unable to do anything that men are doing. Actually, women have better abilities than men in many sectors, he said.

The young entrepreneur, manufacturer and distributor of Yum Yum, the countrys leading instant noodle brand, said that theres no discrimination in his factory, and that the company has promoted gender equality since it first opened in 1997.

There are many women in our industry. We have no limitations on gender regarding employment, Wai Phyo said. Differences in thought processes and in the problem-solving skills of women benefit the businesses and the environments they are in. Weve received a more multi-dimensional view since womens participation in our business has developed.

Wai Phyo created an in-house nursery and daycare center for the mothers at his factory, to encourage skilled women laborers to continue working, while assuring their social welfare.

He said there are many patterns in Myanmar culture and tradition that bar women from fully participating in the world. For example, a businesswoman might have social engagements with both male and female business partners, but fraternizing with male colleagues is often frowned upon.

Our societys cultural view is that women should not hang out with men, especially late in the evenings. This limits women from developing business relationships with their business partners, he explained.

We men, and the society, need to break these wrong ideas and stop thinking women are unable to do things. If a woman is empowered and given an equal chance, you are contributing to the development of not only that woman, but also her family and her community, Wai Phyo added.

 Zarni Mann

Baroness Mary Goudie

Baroness Mary Goudie is a member of the Labour Party in the British House of Lords and a founding member of the 30% Club steering committee. She also serves on the board of directors with the Vital Voices Global Partnership.

For Mary Goudie, the case for diversity and gender equality is clear.

When a company has access to a full range of talent across the board, it is able to be more creative, to be more aware and therefore to take better decisions, she explained.

As a member of the global 30% Clubs steering committeewhich aims to encourage corporate boards to reach a minimum of 30 percent women membersthe Baroness has seen women chair banks like HSBC and Santander, and energy companies like Cisco and Petronas, to financial services groups like Goldman Sachs.

For Myanmar, which is undergoing an important and rapid transformation, Baroness Goudie sees the current era as both a critical and exciting time. One, in her words, that requires calling on the brainpower, the organizational and financial skills, and the determined entrepreneurial spirit of [the countrys] women and men alike.

It is exciting to see visionary women and men embrace this challenge, she said.

Win Win Tint

Win Win Tint is the Chief Executive Officer of City Mart Holding Co., Ltd.

One of the reasons Win Win Tint promotes gender equality in her organization is that she doesnt want to transfer what she sees as negative cultural norms to the next generation, she explained.

The mother of two daughters and a son said that while there may be no written or easily visible forms of discrimination against women in Myanmar, unwritten beliefs and practices still widely exist in which women are considered supporting characters and defined as inferior to men regarding their religious status.

Her employees enjoy equal rights, Win Win Tint said. At City Mart Holding Co.,Ltd, 75 percent of those in management are women, and 65 percent of a total of 8,500 staff in more than 170 outlets are also women.

I believe we dont need to give special privileges or more opportunities to women or men. If we give equal opportunities, women can succeed. But the problem is that there are many places that are not giving this, resulting in a low number of women in leading roles, she said.

As the first Myanmar businesswoman included in Forbes Asias 50 Most Powerful Businesswomen of 2015, Win Win Tint said that more inclusivity towards women in her company has proven to be an advantage.

Promoting gender equality benefits us, she said, referring to entrepreneurs like herself. If the company gave promotions not based on gender but based on performance and skill, they would see improvements.

 San Yamin Aung

Htun Htun Naing

Htun Htun Naing is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Ocean Operating Management Co. Ltd. The company has expanded into various entities providing information technology services, including the Blue Ocean Contact Center.

In October 2016, Htun Htun Naings Blue Ocean Contact Center opened a new hotline to provide legal advice for women suffering from domestic violence, in addition to other existing hotline services, including those related to astrology, health and blood donation.

Created in consultation with female law experts, the new hotline has received around 1,000 calls mostly from Myanmars rural and border areas, regarding inquiries related to experiences of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

When asked why he created a hotline to help domestic violence victims, the founder of the first outsourced call center in Myanmar said he wanted to provide a safe space for women where they could talk about the abuses they were facing freely and confidentially. The hotline, Htun Htun Naing envisioned, would be a way for them to seek resources and help through a simple phone call.

He is also one of few male businessmen who actively promote and prioritize gender equality.

Htun Htun Naing said he has made sure not to employ gender-based discrimination in recruitment. He also emphasized how he has worked to ensure the safety and security of all staff in his businessincluding those on the night shift. There is even a night shift ferry which brings women back home at midnight.

The call center provides part-time job opportunities for wives and mothers who want to work in their free time but cannot take on a full-time career.

Because of measures like this, now 64 percent of staff in the 24-hour call center are women.

As a father of two daughters, Htun Htun Naing said that the age has come to an end in which women are forced to take on traditional roles as housewives or housekeepers.

Men need to change their mindsets and give equal chances to women, he said.

 San Yamin Aung

Muhtar Kent

Muhtar Kent is the chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. He launched Coca-Colas 5by20 global initiative which aims to economically empower 5 million women entrepreneurs by the year 2020.

Through his leadership in advancing opportunities for female employees at The Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent created the Womens Leadership Council with female executives. The WLC develops strategies, initiatives and metrics to advance both female leadership and gender balance within the company.

The CEO and chairman of Coca-Cola premiered the companys 5by20 initiative in 2010, a global commitment to support 5 million women entrepreneurs across the companys value chain by 2020.

Currently, programs are being implemented in more than 60 countries to address the barriers to success faced by female entrepreneurs. The initiative offers business skills training courses, financial services and assets, and access to networks of peers and mentors.

In Myanmar, Coca-Cola is partnering with Swan Yia village-based savings and microenterprise development programto form banking groups managed and sustained entirely by the women themselves. Since mid-2012, Swan Yi has empowered more than 32,500 women across five regions in Myanmar through education, training and capacity building. Participants had eleven times more personal savings than at the beginning of the program, and approximately one-third, or 8,500 women, had started a new business or expanded existing enterprises.
Lehr's Team First to Name Amphibian After BBC's Attenborough

Pristimantis attenboroughi, or Attenboroughs Rubber Frog

March 7, 2017

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Although a number of species have been named after famed British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, not until now has the BBC Life series host been honored with an amphibian.

Illinois Wesleyan University Associate Professor of Biology Edgar Lehr and his research partner, University of Michigan Postdoctoral Fellow Rudolf von May, discovered a new fleshbelly frog, formally described as Pristimantis attenboroughi, during an expedition in the Peruvian Andes. The species is informally dubbed Attenboroughs Rubber Frog, and is described in the open access journal ZooKeys.

Lehr and von May have conducted three separate expeditions to different regions within Perus Pui Pui Protected Forest  two of these expeditions were sponsored by National Geographic. Their efforts have been rewarded with several new species of frogs and a new spectacled lizard.

Over his career, Lehr and his colleagues have been involved with the discovery of 89 species (85 from Peru, one from Ecuador, and three from Vietnam), while Attenborough has had numerous species  from mammals and reptiles, to invertebrates and plants  named after him. Putting the two together did not occur to Lehr until he was watching a TV program celebrating the broadcasters 90th birthday.

In giving his permission for the new frog species to be named in his honor, Sir David Attenborough told Edgar Lehr of his lifelong admiration for "this wonderful, versatile group of animals."

Lehr wrote to Attenborough asking the legendary broadcaster for his permission. In my letter, I introduced myself shortly to him along with the abstract of the manuscript, the etymology in which we explain the species name, and a photo of the new frog species, said Lehr.

The biologist said Attenborough wrote back that he was thrilled with the idea and granted his permission. Lehr said Attenborough wrote that hed kept a European tree frog when he was eight years old, calling it one of the loveliest creatures he had ever seen, and that he had never lost his delight in this wonderful, versatile group of animals, according to Lehr.

You can actually see Attenboroughs admiration for frogs in his movies or on photos where often he has a frog on his hand, said Lehr. He and von May said they dedicated the new species to Sir David Frederick Attenborough in honor for his educational documentaries on wildlife, especially on amphibians, and for raising awareness about the importance of wildlife conservation.

Attenboroughs Rubber Frog is known to inhabit several localities across the upper montane forests and high Andean grasslands of the Pui Pui Forest. The adult males reach sizes of 14.6-19.2 mm in length, while the females are larger, measuring between 19.2 and 23.0 mm. Their ground color ranges from pale to dark gray, or reddish brown to brownish olive with dark gray scattered flecks. Meanwhile, the juveniles are paler (yellowish to reddish brown) with contrasting dark brown flecks and distinct stripes.

Lehr, left, and his research partner, Rudolf von May (far right) conduct expeditions with local assistants in the Peruvian Andes.

Because the amphibian is known from fewer than 10 locations, the species should be deemed either Vulnerable or Endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Categories and Criteria. However, the authors suggest that Attenborough's Rubber Frog should be listed as Near Threatened instead, since the Pui Pui Forest is formally protected and still largely unknown, so it is likely that there are more additional populations of the new species. On the other hand, factors such as fungal infections, climate change, pollution, and man-made fires continue to be threats for many Andean amphibians even inside protected areas.

In a 2013 profile in IWU Magazine , Lehr spoke of the fun of naming a new species, but said he hoped his discoveries of new species encourages increased conservation efforts in the areas he explores.

The Pui Pui Forest is protected from direct human interactions because it is difficult to reach, said Lehr. However, my publications have raised interest among other scientists who study other organisms to go there and to continue the exploration of its biodiversity. In the end, we can only try to protect what we know.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Reuters Arabic reports that a wave of anger swept the Syrian refugee camps of southern Lebanon Monday and Tuesday when they learned that Trump intends to ban Syrians and five other nationalities from coming to the US for at least 3 months and all refugee entries for 6 months.

Reuters says that Sultan Jalloud and Abdallah al-Omar expressed their sorrow on waking up to hear the news. Jalloud said that recently his son had gone on ahead to the US as a refugee, being over 18, and the consular officer had told him that Sultan and the rest of the family would be able to join him in a couple of weeks. Now it wont happen.

Al-Omar complained that in Akkar where he and his family had fled from Homs, the Lebanese authorities did not so much as let them go for a walk. What is left, but for them to cut off our air and drinking water entirely, since our lives here amount to nothing?

Trumps Syria ban has already had a huge negative impact on the position of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, since it encouraged Lebanese President Michel Aoun, a Christian, to emulate it and to call for the expulsion of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in that country of 4 million. If the Syrians stayed permanently, they would change the balance of power in the country toward the Sunni Arabs, whereas at the moment the Shiite Muslims are likely the largest single ethnic group, with the Christians 3rd at 22% if we count the children.

Note that all Syrians are denied visas for at least 3 months and no refugees will be accepted for at least 6 months. One implication is that the Syrian Kurds of the northeast, among whom US troops are embedded in the fight against ISIL, have just been slapped in the face. How can you say you are allies and at the same time say you dont trust them?

The first attempt at a ban on Syrians, which was stayed by the courts, elicited from one Syrian refugee an open letter to Trump. The upshot? Refugees are not terrorists and excluding them wont make the US safer. Refugees are themselves victims of terrorism. (Department of Homeland Security statistics bear him out).

There are at least 150,000 Syrian-Americans, though the true number is much vaster. In 1880-1924 a large number of Syrian Christians came to the US, and they typically married into other Christian families here, so that they did not retain a strong Syrian identity.

For those Syrian-Americans without permanent residency or citizenship, Trumps ban means they cannot see family members and friends still abroad. Likely this EO interferes with the lives of millions of people. No Syrian-American has committed any terrorism in the US in this century, and very large numbers of Syrians in the US are physicians and engineers.

The Obama administration had admitted almost no Syrian refugees before 2015. In 2016 the US allowed in a little over 12,000 Syrians, out of nearly 85,000 refugees that year. American allies have been far more generous.

Note that the US is responsible for the creation of Syrian refugees. It sent weapons to fundamentalist rebels via the Saudis, prolonging the war and leading to the displacement of people. It also subjected eastern Syria to massive bombing raids, along with allies it enlisted in this endeavor. This bombing may have been justified, since it was aimed at defeating Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). But the US does bear moral responsibility for the cosequent flight of people from the bombs. Why Washington thinks it can go around inflicting massive violence on other societies without accepting any responsibility at all is a mystery. But then being Trumpist means never saying youre sorry.



Related video:

VOA News: Local Communities Break Bread With Refugees to Break Barriers
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Rebecca Gordon | Tomdispatch.com |  

In his inaugural address, President Trump described a dark and dismal United States, a country overrun by criminal gangs and drugs, a nation stained with the blood seeping from bullet-ridden corpses left at scenes of American carnage. It was more than a little jarring.

Certainly, drug gangs and universally accessible semi-automatic weapons do not contribute to a better life for most people in this country. When I hear the words American carnage, however, the first thing I think of is not an endless string of murders taking place in those mysterious inner cities that exist only in the fevered mind of Donald Trump. The phrase instead evokes the non-imaginary deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in real cities and rural areas outside the United States. It evokes the conversion of millions of ordinary people into homeless refugees. It reminds me of the places where American wars seem never to end, where new conflicts seem to take up just as the old ones are in danger of petering out. These sites of carnage are the cities and towns, mountains and deserts of Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, and other places that we dont even find out about unless we go looking. They are the places where the United States fights its endless wars.

During the 2016 election campaign, Donald Trump often sounded like a pre-World War II-style America First isolationist, someone who thought the United States should avoid foreign military entanglements. Today, he seems more like a man with a uniform fetish. Hes referred to his latest efforts to round up undocumented immigrants in this country as a military operation. Hes similarly stocked his cabinet with one general still on active duty, various retired generals, and other military veterans. His pick for secretary of the interior, Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, served 23 years as a Navy SEAL.

Clearly, these days Trump enjoys the company of military men. Hes more ambivalent about what the military actually does. On the campaign trail, he railed against the folly that was  and is  the (second) Iraq War, maintaining with questionable accuracy that he was totally against it from the beginning. Its not clear, however, just where Trump thinks the folly lies  in invading Iraq in the first place or in failing to keep Iraqs oil afterward. It was a criticism he reprised when he introduced Mike Pompeo as his choice to run the CIA. Mike, he explained, if we kept the oil, you probably wouldnt have ISIS because thats where they made their money in the first place. Not to worry, however, since as he also suggested to Pompeo, Maybe well have another chance. Maybe the wrong people had just fought the wrong Iraq war, and Donald Trumps version will be bigger, better, and even more full of win!

Perhaps Trumps objection is simply to wars we dont win. As February ended, he invited the National Governors Association to share his nostalgia for the good old days when everybody used to say we havent lost a war  we never lost a war  you remember. Now, according to the president, We never win a war. We never win. And we dont fight to win. We dont fight to win. So we either got to win, or dont fight it at all.

The question is, which would Trump prefer: Winning or not fighting at all? Theres probably more than a hint of an answer in his oft-repeated campaign promise that were going to win so much well get tired of winning. If his fetish for winning  whether its trade wars or shooting wars  makes you feel a little too exposed to his sexual imagination, youre probably right. In one of his riffs on the subject, he told his audience that they would soon be pleading they had a headache to get him to stop winning so much  as if they were 1950s housewives trying to avoid their bedroom duty. But daddy Trump knows best:

And Im going to say, No, we have to make America great again. Youre gonna say, Please. I said, Nope, nope. Were gonna keep winning.

Theres more than a hint of where were headed in Trumps recent announcement that hell be asking Congress for a nearly 10% increase in military spending, an additional annual $54 billion for the Pentagon as part of what he calls his public safety and national security budget. You dont spend that kind of money on toys unless you intend to play with them.

Trump explained his reasoning, in his trademark idiolect, his unique mangling of syntax and diction:

This is a landmark event, a message to the world, in these dangerous times of American strength, security, and resolve. We must ensure that our courageous servicemen and women have the tools they need to deter war and when called upon to fight in our name only do one thing, win. We have to win.

So it does look like the new president intends to keep on making war into the eternal future. But its worth remembering that our forever wars didnt begin with Donald J. Trump, not by a long shot.

The Forever Wars

Joe Haldemans 1974 novel, The Forever War, which won the three major science fiction prizes, a Hugo, a Nebula, and a Locus, was about a soldier involved in a war between human beings and the Taurans, an alien race. Because of the stretching of time when traveling at near light-speed (as Einstein predicted), while soldiers like Haldemans hero passed a few years at a time at a front many light-years from home, the Earth theyd left behind experienced the conflict as lasting centuries. Published just after the end of the Vietnam War  fought for what seemed to many Americans like centuries in a land light-years away  The Forever War was clearly a reflection of Haldemans own experience in Vietnam and his return to an unrecognizable United States, all transposed to space.

In 1965, Haldeman had been drafted into that brutal conflict, probably one of those that Donald Trump thinks we didnt fight to win. It certainly seemed like a forever war while it lasted, especially if you included the French colonial war that preceded it. But it did finally end, decisively, with an American loss (although, in a sense, its still being fought out by the thousands of Vietnam veterans who live on the streets of our country).

After the attacks of 9/11 and George W. Bushs declaration of a Global War on Terror, some people found the title of Haldemans novel a useful shorthand for what seemed to be an era of permanent war. It gave us a way of describing then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfelds vision of a new kind of war against an enemy located, as he told NBCs Meet the Press on September 30, 2001, not just in Afghanistan. It is in 50 or 60 countries and it simply has to be liquidated. It has to end. It has to go out of business.

More than 15 years later, after a decade and a half of forever war in the Greater Middle East and parts of Africa, al-Qaeda and the Taliban are still in business, along with a set of new enemies, including Boko Haram in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon; al-Shabaab in Somalia; and ISIS, which, if we are to believe the president and his cronies, is pretty much everywhere, including Mexico. In a war against a tactic (terrorism) or an emotion (terror), its hardly surprising that our enemies have just kept proliferating, and with them, the wars. Its as if Washington were constantly bringing jets, drones, artillery, and firepower of every sort to bear on a new set of Taurans in another galaxy.

Decades before Haldemans Forever War, George Orwell gave us an unforgettable portrait of a society controlled by stoking permanent hatred for a rotating cast of enemies. In 1984, the countries of the world have coalesced into three super-nations  Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Winston Smith, the novels protagonist, recalls that, since his childhood, war had been literally continuous, though strictly speaking it had not always been the same war. Smith joins thousands of other citizens of Oceania in their celebration of Hate Week and observes the slick substitution of one enemy for another on the sixth day of that week:

when the great orgasm was quivering to its climax and the general hatred of Eurasia had boiled up into such delirium that if the crowd could have got their hands on the two thousand Eurasian war-criminals who were to be publicly hanged on the last day of the proceedings, they would unquestionably have torn them to pieces  at just this moment it had been announced that Oceania was not after all at war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Eurasia was an ally.

Except that there is no actual announcement. Rather, the Party spokesman makes the substitution in mid-oration:

The speech had been proceeding for perhaps twenty minutes when a messenger hurried onto the platform and a scrap of paper was slipped into the speakers hand. He unrolled and read it without pausing in his speech. Nothing altered in his voice or manner, or in the content of what he was saying, but suddenly the names were different. Without words said, a wave of understanding rippled through the crowd. Oceania was at war with Eastasia!

And it had always been thus. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.

1984 is, of course, a novel. In our perfectly real country, human memories work better than they do in Orwells Oceania. Or do they? The United States is at war with Iraq. The United States has always been at war with Iraq. Except, of course, when the United States sided with Iraq in its vicious, generation-destroying conflict with Iran in the 1980s. Who today remembers Ronald Reagans tilt toward Iraq and against Iran? Theyre so confusing, those two four-letter countries that start with I. Who can keep them straight, even now that weve tilted back toward whats left of Iraq  Trump has even removed it from his latest version of his Muslim ban list  and threateningly against Iran?

Many Americans do seem to adapt to a revolving enemies list as easily as the citizens of Oceania. Every few years, I ask my college students where the terrorists who flew the planes on 9/11 came from. At the height of the (second and still unfinished) Iraq War, when many of them had brothers, sisters, lovers, even fathers fighting there, my students were certain the attackers had all been Iraqis. A few years later, when the real men were trying to gin up a new opportunity to go to Tehran, my students were just as sure the terrorists had been from Iran. I havent asked in a couple of years now. I wonder whether today Id hear that they were from Syria, or maybe that new country, the Islamic State?

I dont blame my students for not knowing that the 9/11 attackers included 15 Saudis, two men from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one Egyptian, and one Lebanese. Its not a fact thats much trumpeted anymore. You certainly wouldnt guess it from where our military aid and American-made weaponry goes. After Afghanistan ($3.67 billion) and Israel ($3.1 billion), Egypt is the next largest recipient of that aid at $1.31 billion in 2015.

Of course, military aid to other countries is a windfall for U.S. arms manufacturers. Like food money and other forms of foreign aid from Washington, the countries receiving it are often obligated to spend it on American products. In other words, much military aid is actually a back-door subsidy to companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Being wealthy oil states, the Saudis and the UAE, of course, dont need subsidies. They buy their U.S. arms with their own money  $3.3 billion and $1.3 billion worth of purchases respectively in 2015. And theyre putting that weaponry to use, with U.S. connivance and  yes, it should make your head spin in an Orwellian fashion  occasional support from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, by taking sides in a civil war in Yemen. U.S.-made fighter planes and cluster bombs have put more than seven million Yemenis in imminent danger of starvation.

War Without End, When Did You Begin?

When did our forever war begin? When did we start to think of the president as commander-in-chief first, and executor of the laws passed by Congress only a distant second?

Was it after 9/11? Was it during that first Iraq war that spanned a few months of 1990 and 1991? Or was it even earlier, during the glorious invasion of the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada in 1983, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury? That was the first time the military intentionally  and successfully  kept the press sequestered from the action for the first 48 hours of that short-lived war. They did the same thing in 1989, with the under-reported invasion of Panama, when somewhere between 500 and 3,500 Panamanians died so that the United States could kidnap and try an erstwhile ally and CIA asset, the unsavory dictator of that country, Manuel Noriega.

Or was it even earlier? The Cold War was certainly a kind of forever war, one that began before World War II ended, as the United States used its atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to, as we now say, send a message to the Soviet Union. And it didnt end until that empire imploded in 1991.

Maybe it began when Congress first abdicated its constitutional right and authority to declare war and allowed the executive branch to usurp that power. The Korean War (1950-1953) was never declared. Nor were the Vietnam War, the Grenada invasion, the Panama invasion, the Afghan War, the first and second Iraq wars, the Libyan war, or any of the wars were presently involved in. Instead of outright declarations, weve had weasely, after-the-fact congressional approvals, or Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, that fall short of actual declarations of war.

The framers of the Constitution understood how important it was to place the awesome responsibility for declaring war in the hands of the legislative branch  of, that is, a deliberative body elected by the people  leaving the decision on war neither to the president nor the military. Indeed, one of the charges listed against King George III in the Declaration of Independence was: He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the others who met in the stifling heat of that 1776 Philadelphia summer, close enough to battle to hear the boom of British cannons, decided they could no longer abide a king who allowed the military to dominate a duly constituted civil government. For all their many faults, they were brave men who, even with war upon them, recognized the danger of a government controlled by those whose sole business is war.

Since 9/11, this country has experienced at least 15 years of permanent war in distant lands. Washington is now a war capital. The president is, first and foremost, the commander-in-chief. The power of the expanding military (as well as paramilitary intelligence services and drone assassination forces, not to mention for-profit military contractors of all sorts) is emphatically in presidential hands. Those hands, much discussed in the 2016 election campaign, are now Donald Trumps and, as he indicated in his recent address to Congress, he seems hell-bent on restoring the military to the superiority it enjoyed under King George. That is a danger of the first order.

Rebecca Gordon, a TomDispatch regular, teaches in the philosophy department at the University of San Francisco. She is the author of American Nuremberg: The U.S. Officials Who Should Stand Trial for Post-9/11 War Crimes. Her previous books include Mainstreaming Torture: Ethical Approaches in the Post-9/11 United States and Letters from Nicaragua.

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, John Feffers dystopian novel Splinterlands, as well as Nick Turses Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardts latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Copyright 2017 Rebecca Gordon

Via Tomdispatch.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2017) - International Lithium Corp. (TSXV: ILC) (the "Company" or "ILC") is pleased to announce, with strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., ("GFL") and together the "Companies", a maiden resource estimate for the Mariana lithium brine project (the "Project") located in Salta, Argentina.

Summary

ILC requested Geos Mining Minerals Consultants ("Geos") based in Sydney, Australia to prepare an independent lithium brine resource estimate for the Companies' Mariana lithium brine deposit in Argentina and compile a report (the "Report") consistent with the standards and guidelines set out by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") and to prepare a Technical Report, in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (the "NI 43-101 Technical Report"), including a resource estimate.

In preparing the Report, Geos took into account and applied processes which Geos determined to be appropriate for brine style deposits. The Report also adheres to the Joint Ore Resources Code JORC (2012) for mineral projects. The NI 43-101 Technical Report will be available on SEDAR within 45 days. The effective date for the resource estimation is January 20, 2017, which represents the date of the most recent data that supports the brine estimate and this Report.

Report highlights - Mariana lithium brine project in Argentina

The following highlights taken from the Report, and set out below, should be considered in the context of the detailed information provided.

Indicated resource for Resource Area 1 contains an estimated 747,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

The indicated resource for Resource Area 1 is estimated at 765 billion litres of brine grading 306 mg/L lithium ("Li") and 9,457 mg/L potassium ("K").

Based on drill information, the brines within the project area are interpreted to cover an area of about 135 square kilometres and extend from depths of about 0.5 m to at least 329 m.

The preliminary estimates for lithium brine are in the upper end of the Companies' expectations, very much validating the Companies' investment policy.

Further details from the Report

Brine deposits are unlike the majority of mineral deposits in that they are fluid. Fluids within a brine deposit can move, and can mix with adjacent fluids when exploitation of a brine deposit begins. Evaluation of such deposits therefore requires special considerations that are not, in general, applied to other styles of mineral deposits.

Determination of a brine resource is based on the geometry of the host aquifer or aquifers, the specific yield, and the grade or concentration of the economically significant elements dissolved in the brine.

To determine recoverable brine indicated mineral resources, the permeability of the aquifer, the specific yield of the aquifer (the unit volume of fluid that will drain under gravity) and the water balance (the fluid inputs and outputs to the aquifer) must be considered. At a conservative specific yield of 15% (based on the available porosity data) the indicated mineral resource for Resource Area 1 is estimated at 765 billion litres of brine grading 306 mg/L Li and 9,457 mg/L K, Table 1.

The Companies caution the reader that no economic studies have been carried out on the Project. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves as defined by the CIM and the Companies cannot guarantee that the resources reported here will be converted to mineral reserves.

For the indicated resource, total contained lithium amounts to 747,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent ("LCE"). The Companies are currently conducting water balance and natural evaporation brine concentration studies to determine a target rate of production as a goal for the upcoming feasibility studies.

Table 1: Total indicated resource

Indicated Resource Volume Mm3 Volume G L Density g/mL Li mg/L B mg/L K mg/L SO4-2 mg/L Mg mg/L HCO3 mg/L LCE K t Resource Area 1 765 765 1.218 306 599 9,457 15,530 4,291 529 747 Total Indicated 765 765 1.218 306 599 9,457 15,530 4,291 529 747

The goal of the resource calculation was to verify that sufficient litihium resources are present in Salar de Llullaillaco to continue with the economic evaluation of the project. The results show that there is sufficient resource and Llullaillaco can now be added to the list of salars in Argentina that are undergoing economic analysis for a possible mining operation.

ILC has completed four drilling campaigns on the Project since 2009: 10 reverse circulation (RC) holes and 13 cored holes. A total of 2,880 m were drilled on the Project during the last 10 months. A final campaign hole, MA16-24, was being completed at the time of this Report. Geophysical surveys were conducted down hole for the completed drill holes using an electrical probe. Resistivity and spontaneous potential were measured. As part of a bulk extraction of lithium from brine bulk testwork, conducted by GFL, undertaken in 2015 a pumping well, MA15-09-PW, and 2 monitoring wells, MA15-08-MW, MA15-10-MW, were drilled and constructed. Drill hole MA12-07 was refurbished and used as a third monitoring well. The drilling and hydrogeological data indicates that the Mariana Project at Salar de Llullaillaco is a brine-bearing sedimentary filled basin complex with unconfined interconnected aquifer to considerable depth of 328m and possibly deeper. Geos, based on the preliminary drill information, recognised eight lithological classes that are able to be identified in the drill hole cores, shown in the west, east and southern extents of the basin. The aquifer volume is still open at depth in the majority of the salar since only two drill holes (MA16-23 and MA16-18) potentially intercepted suspected basement Mesozoic volcanic lithologies.

Sampling and sample handling procedures observed by Geos during site visits were excellent. Sample containers and sampling equipment were rinsed prior to collecting the samples; bottles were rinsed with brine, then filled to overflowing before capping to exclude air, labelled with a unique sample number and sealed for transportation to the laboratories. Prior to capping and sealing one sample was tested on site by geotechnician for pH, brine density, temperature, turbidity, Eh, and electrical conductivity. All measurements used appropriate industry standard meters and were conducted to manufacturer's specifications and industry accepted practice. Samples were assayed for, Li, Mg, K, Ba, B, Ca, Fe, SO4-2, Na, Cl, and Sr using industry standard trace inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) methods and to the standard operating procedures. Analytical quality was monitored through the use of blanks (barren commercial mineral water), duplicate (repeat) field samples, a check sample of local potable spring water of distinct different chemistry, and standard reference material (SRM) were inserted into the sample stream as submitted to the analytical laboratory. The samples were packaged and sent to either the ASA Chemex Group Environmental Division Laboratory (ASA), or SGS which are independent of the Companies. Both laboratories are in Argentina and are ISO 9001:2000-certified. During site visits, Geos verified the information and data supplied by the Companies and found it to the industry standard.

The initial brine resource estimate for the Project is based on limited knowledge of the geometry of individual aquifer units between broadly spaced drill holes, and the variation in porosity and brine grade within these aquifers. Specific yield values are based on porosity test results from a restricted sample population and compared with data from analogous salars in the region and technical references. In order to assess the recoverable brine resource with a higher level of confidence, further information on the permeability and flow regime in the aquifer, and watershed basin water balance are necessary.

Corporate Update

As stated in its news release of February 9th, ILC is continuing its comprehensive review of all its operations and will focus on the advancement of the Mariana lithium brine project in Argentina and the Avalonia lithium pegmatite project in Ireland, together with strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., in a manner that best suits the interests of both parties. As these projects progress it has become important to identify the most effective structure in which to move these projects forward and this is expected to affect the individual responsibilities of both parties to the joint ventures. This matter is still under consideration with increased productivity and efficiency being the object of any restructure of responsibilities between GFL and ILC.

The restructure of responsibilities may result in the transfer of responsibilities of project manager of the Mariana joint venture from ILC to GFL but this would only affect its administrative responsibilities and not its share in the investment. Under this scenario, ILC would no longer receive management fees for the joint ventures but the effect would be offset by administrative savings consequent on ILC no longer fulfilling the project management responsibilities.

Kirill Klip, Executive Chairman of ILC stated, "I am very pleased that as part of our successful strategic transition at International Lithium we are announcing a maiden resource estimation of our main project in Argentina, the Mariana lithium potash brine project, together with our strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium. Now we are working on the clear, transparent and most cost efficient structure to advance our joint ventures with Ganfeng in order to ensure the rapid advancement of the projects."

The following Qualified Person(s) (QP's) are responsible for preparation of the Report:

Llyle Sawyer, Senior Consultant, Geos Mining; and

Oliver Willetts. Senior Resource Geologist, Geos Mining.

Llyle Sawyer is a senior geological consultant with over 20 years of experience in geology, mineral exploration, mineral resource estimation and mineral project assessment. He is a Registered Professional and is currently a Member of the Australia Institute of Geoscientists (member number 3512). Llyle Sawyer is an independent technical consultant contracted by Geos Mining and has worked on similar lithium brine salar deposits in Argentina and other brine style deposits within Australia. He has the required level of experience and expertise to qualify as a Qualified Person (QP) as defined in the National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Form 43-101F1 Technical Report and related consequential amendments.

Mr. Sawyer is independent of Litio Minera Argentina S.A. (and International Lithium Corp.) as independence is described by Section 1.4 of NI 43101. He has visited the Mariana Project on 4 occasions during drilling operations since May 2016. Mr. Sawyer has been involved with the Project since August 2010 in the form of ongoing advice upon request, discussion of exploration programs and during preparation of the brine resource estimate and the Report.

Geos Mining is an independent consulting firm recognized for providing expertise in geological, mineral exploration, resource modelling, and mining advice; as specialists in the fields of geology, exploration, mineral resource and mineral reserve estimation and classification, and project valuation. Litio Minera Argentina S. A. (the joint venture company formed by the Companies to advance the Mariana project in Argentina, "LMA") have continued to engage Geos Mining to prepare this independent preliminary resource report for the Project.

Oliver Willetts is a senior resource geologist with over 9 years of experience in geology, mineral exploration, mineral resource estimation and mineral project assessment. He is a Registered Professional and is currently a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (member number 312940). Mr. Willetts is an independent technical consultant contracted by Geos Mining and has worked on resource estimation for a variety of minerals (phosphate, potash (from brines), gold, coal, base metals) within Australia, Africa and South America.

Afzaal Pirzada, Geological Consultant of the Company, and a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101-Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

About International Lithium Corp.

International Lithium Corp. is an exploration company with an outstanding portfolio of projects, strong management, robust financial support, and a strategic partner and keystone investor Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., a leading China based lithium product manufacturer.

The Company's primary focus is the strategic stake in the Mariana lithium-potash brine project, a joint venture with Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. within the renowned South American "Lithium Belt" that is the host to the vast majority of global lithium resources, reserves and production. The Mariana project strategically encompasses an entire mineral rich evaporate basin, totalling 160 square kilometres, that ranks as one of the more prospective salars or 'salt lakes' in the region. Current ownership of the project is through a joint venture company, Litio Minera Argentina S. A., a private company registered in Argentina, owned 80% by GFL and 20% by ILC. In addition, ILC has an option to acquire 10% in the project through a back-in right.

Complementing the Company's lithium brine project are three rare metals pegmatite properties in Canada known as the Mavis, Raleigh, and Forgan projects, and the Avalonia project in Ireland, which encompasses an extensive 50km-long pegmatite belt. The Avalonia project is under option to strategic partner GFL that currently owns 55% of the project. The Mavis and Raleigh projects are under option to strategic partner, Pioneer Resources Limited (ASX:PIO) pursuant to which Pioneer is in the process of acquiring a 51% interest in the projects.

The Mavis, Raleigh and Forgan projects together form the basis of the Company's newly created Upper Canada Lithium Pool designated to focus on acquiring numerous prospects with previously reported high concentrations of lithium in close proximity to existing infrastructure.

With the increasing demand for high tech rechargeable batteries used in vehicle propulsion technologies and portable electronics, lithium is paramount to tomorrow's "green-tech", sustainable economy. By positioning itself with solid strategic partners and acquiring high quality assets for the Energy rEVolution supply chain, ILC aims to be the partner of choice for investors in green-tech and to continue to build value for its shareholders.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 8, 2017) -

Highlights:

Akwasiso drilling campaign underway to upgrade 3.85 million tonnes of Inferred Resources containing 193,000 ounces of gold to an Indicated classification

Significant intersections received for Akwasiso drilling, including: 7 metres at 13.05 g/t gold 11 metres at 3.21 g/t gold 54 metres at 1.70 g/t gold 33 metres at 1.50 g/t gold

Akwasiso deposit is situated on a current mining lease and supplementary permitting is expected to be complete in H2 2017

Project 5 Million under construction and expected to be completed a quarter ahead of schedule

Expansion capital costs are fully funded from current internal resources and cash generated from operations

Asanko Gold Inc. ("Asanko" or the "Company") (TSX:AKG)(NYSE MKT:AKG) is pleased to announce positive initial results from the Akwasiso drilling campaign, which is currently underway targeting an upgrade of 3.85 million tonnes ("Mt") of Inferred Resources containing 193,000 ounces of gold to an Indicated classification.

Akwasiso is a large scale satellite deposit located 5 kilometers north east of the processing facility, which is in the process of being upgraded to increase throughputs from 3.6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 5Mtpa. The plant upgrade, "Project 5 Million", is tracking well ahead of schedule and expected to be completed and ready for commissioning at the beginning of Q4 2017. The project's capital costs, including the opening up of Esaase and the installation of the overland conveyor belt over the next two years, is fully funded from existing cash resources and cash generated from operations over this period. Project 5 Million is expected to further increase gold production in 2018 as well as lower All-in sustaining costs ("AISC").

Mining of the Akwasiso deposit is expected to commence during 2018 to augment mill feed from both the Nkran and Dynamite Hill pits, providing mining flexibility in anticipation of the commissioning of the Esaase pit and overland conveyor in H2 2018. The Akwasiso incremental, at surface oxide ounces are expected to have a lower cost profile than the current Nkran operations, thereby contributing to lowering AISC in 2018. The Akwasiso deposit is on an existing mining permit and only requires a supplementary permit application, which is well advanced. Asanko anticipates receiving full permits for Akwasiso in H2 2017.

Peter Breese, President and CEO, commented, "The results received so far from the Akwasiso infill drilling program support a significant upgrade of Inferred resources to the Indicated classification. These near-surface, incremental oxide ores are cheap to mine and process and will form part of the 2018 mine plan, along with Nkran and Dynamite Hill, to supply 5Mtpa of ore to the processing plant once the plant upgrades have been completed. The plant upgrades, which will be funded from internal cash resources, are currently tracking well ahead of schedule and we expect hot commissioning to commence early in Q4 2017.

Since we received the more conservative resource model for Nkran, which we published in February 2017, Asanko has now embarked on a pit optimization process to establish the optimal NPV for all eleven pits making up the Asanko Gold Mine Mineral Reserve base. This optimization will be included in the new feasibility study that is due for publication in Q2 2017."

The infill drilling campaign is close to completion, with 4,437 meters of the planned total of 4,800 meters drilled. Intersections are shown in Table 1 (refer to the Appendices at the end of this release), and highlights include a number of 30-50m mineralized zones evident in boreholes 016 and 018, as well as high grade intercepts. Upon receipt of all assays, the Akwasiso Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") will be revised and an updated pit design will be completed. Two cross sections showing key intercepts are also included in the Appendices.

Akwasiso is a satellite deposit which was acquired in Q3 2016 and is situated within the Nkran Shear corridor five kilometers north east of the Nkran Pit. The deposit shows similar geological characteristics to Nkran, with at least three mineralized structures within a sandstone-siltstone sequence and an intrusive granite which hosts shallow dipping quartz veining.

A successful drilling program in Q4 2016 delineated an initial MRE which was published on February 24, 2017 as part of the updated Global Mineral Resource and Reserve Statement for the Asanko Gold Mine.

Table 2: Akwasiso Mineral Resource Estimate, as at December 31, 2016

Cut-off grade 0.5 g/t Au Tonnes Mt Grade g/t Au Moz Indicated 4.61 1.20 0.18 Total Measured and Indicated 4.61 1.20 0.18 Total Inferred 3.85 1.56 0.19

Qualified Persons Statements

Phil Bentley, Asanko Executive: Geology and Resources (Pr.Sci.Nat.) is the Asanko Qualified Person under NI 43-101 guidelines who assumes technical responsibility for Mineral Resource contents of this news release. The December 2016 MRE for Akwasiso was prepared by Charles J. Muller, B.Sc. Geology (Hons), PR.Sci.Nat., MGSSA, a Director of CJM Consulting Pty Ltd. ("CJM") of Johannesburg, South Africa. The MRE is reported in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 requirements and the South African Code of Reporting of Exploration Results (SAMREC), which is consistent with the CIM Estimation Best Practice Guidelines in Canada.

Enquiries:

For further information please visit: www.asanko.com or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

About Asanko Gold Inc.

Asanko's vision is to become a mid-tier gold mining company that maximizes value for all its stakeholders. The Company's flagship project is the multi-million ounce Asanko Gold Mine located in Ghana, West Africa. The mine is being developed in phases. Phase 1 commenced gold production in January 2016 and declared commercial production on April 1, 2016. Ramp-up to steady state production was achieved in Q2 2016.

Asanko is managed by highly skilled and successful technical, operational and financial professionals. The Company is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighbouring communities.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2017) - Ashanti Gold Corp. (TSXV: AGZ) ("Ashanti" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a first set of results from its recent 20 hole, 2,000m reverse circulation drill program on the Anumso project, Ghana. Assays from seven of the twenty holes have been received and are consistent with previous drilling and support broader correlation of along strike and down-dip gold content from previous explorers.

Ashanti's CEO Tim McCutcheon said "Ashanti filed a NI 43-101 report on Anumso in October 2016 and these first drill results are in line with the historic data in that report. Anumso has a historic gold resource of 250,000 ounces along 2 km of Banka conglomerate. Ashanti Gold is delighted with the results so far and is looking forward to the assay results from an additional 13 drill holes within the coming days."

Ashanti Gold's drill program was designed to verify and confirm gold mineralization as identified in historic drilling along 2.6 km of Banka conglomerate, the key gold-bearing stratigraphic unit of the Tarkwaian suite of rocks that overlie Birimian volcanic rocks of the Ashanti Belt, Ghana. Banka conglomerate consists of quartz pebbles and cobbles set in silt and mud matrix along with gold. This is the same rock unit that hosts the famous Tarkwa, Iduapriem, Teberebie, and Damang deposits approximately 135 km to the southwest where AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields Ltd are currently producing gold. As an analog to Anumso, the Tarkwa Gold Mine (owned and operated by Gold Fields) is considered relevant, in that (i) at the Tarkwa Gold Mine the reserve grade is approximately 1.3 g/t and the strip ratio is approximately 6:1 (as per Gold Fields Limited presentation "Analysts Site Visit" May 2015), however there can be no assurances that the reserve grade and strip ratio for Anumso will also be similar; (ii) many of the mineralised and economic conglomerate strata at Tarkwa are identified by Gold Fields as being up to three meters thick. As such, the known widths of gold mineralization at Anumso are similar to what is being commercially mined by Gold Fields at Tarkwa. One difference is the slope of the strata, where Anumso dips more steeply than at Tarkwa.

Ashanti Gold has undertaken this initial drill program to assess that portion of Banket strata which has been previously tested by historic exploration. This represents 2.6 km of a total of ~10km of strike length of Banket conglomerate occurring within the Anumso concession. The remaining portion of this strata is untested or incompletely tested with a few isolated historic drill holes. Ashanti Gold wishes to investigate further the opportunities posed by these rocks.

All samples were collected over 1 m intervals and were collected from dry cuttings. Samples were collected from the drill site and transported to the company's secure camp and preparation facility where they were split using a standard universal splitter into lab samples of approximately 2 kg. Remaining material is retained for later resampling or checking. Samples were transported by the company to ALS laboratories in Kumasi where they were prepared and assayed using standard 50g fire assay technique.

Drill hole from to interval Au (g/t) AGZ RC001 1 3 2 0.39 24 30 6 1.15 39 74 35 0.46 incl. 53 56 3 0.99 incl. 62 66 4 0.825 incl. 68 74 6 0.61 86 92 6 0.35 95 97 2 0.99 AGZ RC002 1 3 2 0.38 16 32 16 0.44 37 49 12 0.60 incl. 37 39 2 1.10 60 71 11 0.51 AGZ RC003 7 9 2 0.57 16 47 31 0.66 incl. 16 28 12 0.81 incl. 21 23 2 1.51 incl. 42 47 5 1.14 71 79 8 0.26 AGZ RC004 4 22 18 0.80 Incl. 4 12 8 1.46 incl. 4 6 2 4.44 30 47 17 0.64 incl. 30 34 4 1.84 53 57 4 0.29 AGZ RC005 4 7 3 0.87 29 35 6 2.11 38 72 34 0.64 45 50 5 1.31 66 70 4 1.38 78 79 1 1.05 83 87 4 0.40 AGZ RC008 12 13 1 2.62 23 26 3 0.57 32 44 12 0.80 incl. 32 34 2 1.41 63 66 3 0.40 AGZ RC012 16 19 3 0.30 30 34 4 0.42 40 62 22 0.58 incl. 40 48 8 0.70 incl. 46 48 2 1.13 Incl. 60 62 2 1.94 68 72 4 0.30 78 80 2 0.60

ABOUT ASHANTI GOLD

Ashanti is a gold-focused, exploration and development company with projects in the northern Ashanti Belt of Ghana and the Kinieba Belt of Mali. The Company targets projects where it has a competitive advantage due to past work experience of the team and specific project know-how.

Qualified Person

The information presented in this Press Release has been reviewed by Dr. Paul Klipfel CPG (AIPG certification #10821) of Mineral Resource Services Inc. and a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian NI 43-101. Dr. Klipfel is not an Independent Person, as he is a shareholder of AGZ.

Historical Data

The historical estimates of resources at Anumso were developed by Goldpat PLC; and are considered relevant by the Company. AGZ is advised that such estimates are compliant with JORC rules of disclosure, however the Company has not independently verified such data, the Company's qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources, the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance thereon.
TORONTO, March 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Treasury Metals Inc. (TSX: TML) ("Treasury" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results from an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") integrating recent engineering and incorporating the 2015 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate from its Goliath Gold Project ("Goliath" or the "Project").

"The updated 2017 PEA benefits from increased mineable resources and a higher grade profile while using a more conservative approach related to all mining costs, capital costs and dilution compared with the 2012 PEA. As such, Treasury will confidently move forward with a Feasibility Study in addition to the other development activities set forth in our March 1, 2017 corporate update. The revised PEA is the result of all the considerable progress made at Goliath over the past five years and represents a key milestone in the path towards a production decision," said Chris Stewart, President and Chief Executive Officer of Treasury.

Goliath is located in northwestern Ontario, lying 20 kilometres east of the city of the Dryden. The total area of the Project is 49 km2 and is owned 100% by the Company. The site benefits significantly from excellent access to infrastructure and is directly adjacent to the Trans-Canada highway and Canadian Pacific Railway. The Project has access to electrical and natural gas power, rail, paved roadways to site and several nearby communities.

The optimized mining plan used in the PEA envisions an initial open pit generating immediate revenues to fund underground development. Underground ("UG") production begins in the second year with the open pit operating over an additional 7 years at a reduced output to supplement UG production to a total of 2,500 tonnes per day over the course of a 13 year total mine life. Total gold production is estimated at 1.14 million ounces of gold and 2.0 million ounces of silver. Initial capital to fund construction is estimated at C$133.2 million with an additional C$132.5 million in sustaining capital over the LOM primarily to fund the underground expansion.

The mine is proposed to produce an average head grade of 3.81 g/t gold and 10.55 g/t silver with Open Pit and UG mining producing average grades of 1.58 g/t and 4.87 g/t of gold, respectively. The infill diamond drilling programs completed since the PEA completed by Treasury in 2012 (the "2012 PEA") has resulted in improved project economics and overall confidence in the mine plan. The stripping ratio of waste rock to mill feed has been reduced to 6:1, which represents a 35% improvement over the 2012 PEA. This stripping ratio does not include pre-production stripping of approximately 1.3 million m3 cubed of overburden material. All mined ounces in the open pit are within the Measured and Indicated categories. Seventy per cent of the mineable ounces within the Underground are classified within the Measured and Indicated categories which represent a significant increase from the 2012 PEA. UG production is envisioned to be carried out at an average rate of 1,600 tonnes per day using the long hole stoping method on 30 metre sublevels. Average UG operating costs have been estimated at $77/tonne, a 28% increase over the cost assumption in the 2012 PEA.

Goliath PEA Overview

The 2017 PEA was prepared by CSA Global Canada Geosciences Ltd. ("CSA Global") with the assistance of P&E Engineering Consultants and the Company's operations and exploration teams in collaboration with a range of industry consultants (see Qualified Persons section below).

The PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 and the technical report that summarizes the results of the 2017 PEA will be filed on the Company's website and on Sedar (www.sedar.com) within 45 days of this press release.

PEA Assumptions and Economic Results (Base Case Metrics)

Table 1 presents a summary of the life-of-mine gold production information and other key highlights of the Project. All amounts are in Canadian Dollars except the realized gold and silver price which is quoted in US Dollars. All grade and oz. values are quoted separately as gold and silver unless specified as equivalent ounces, with 1 oz Au = 110 oz Ag, calculated by base case metal prices as listed in Table 1.

Table 1

Project Parameters Unit Amount Gold Resources Gold and Silver Production  Recovered Resources Oz 1,142,000 and 2,075,000 Cut-off Grade  Open Pit and Underground Au g/tonne 0.55 and 2.10 Average Mill Feed Gold Grade Au (g/tonne) 3.81 Average Mill Feed Silver Grade Ag (g/tonne) 10.55 Average Open Pit Gold Grade (Au) Au (g/tonne) 1.58 Average Underground Gold Grade (Au) Au (g/tonne) 4.87 Average Gold Grade AuEq (g/tonne) 3.91 Operating Metrics Total Tonnes Mill Feed Produced Tonnes 9.8 million Tonnes Mill Feed Produced breakdown OP and U/G 3.18 and 6.60 million Mill Feed Production Rate tpd/tpa 2,500 tonne/day or 875,000/yr Dilution (Open Pit) 25% Dilution (UG) 15% Strip Ratio (excluding 1.3 million m3 of pre- production overburden stripping) Waste:Mill Feed 6:1 Gold Recovery (Processing) % 95.5% Silver Recovery (Processing) % 62.6% Average Gold Production Oz/year 87,850 Average Silver Production Oz/year 160,000 Average Gold Production (Au Equivalent) Au Eq 90,000 Peak Production (Year 6) Au 111,800 Mine life Years 13 years Financial Metrics Realized Gold and Silver Price (Base Case) US$/Oz $1,225 and $17 Total Initial Capital Expenditures C$M $133.2 Total Sustaining Capital (Including U/G) C$M $132.5 Cash Operating Cost US$/Oz $518 All in Sustaining Cost (AISC) US$/Oz $566 Mining Costs  Open Pit and UG $/tonne Open pit $3.45 and UG $77 Milling Costs and G & A costs $/tonne $18.15 and $2.85 Open Pit Waste Mining $/tonne $3.30 Overburden Removal $/m3 $6.00 Exchange Rate US$ C$1.32

Cautionary statement required by NI 43-101

According to the cautionary statement required by NI 43-101, it should be noted that this assessment is preliminary in nature as it includes Inferred mineral resources that cannot be categorized as reserves at this time and as such there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment and economics will be realized.

Project Economics

CSA Global concludes that under base case assumptions of 2,500 tpd production and US$1,225 per ounce (base case  3 year trailing average gold), the Life of Mine post-tax net present value (NPV) of $306 million based on a 5% discount rate, internal rate of return (IRR) of 25.0% and a payback of 4.1 years. The payback includes all UG mine development costs.

The following table summarizes the base case compared to various metal price assumptions:

Pre-Tax NPV and IRR Sensitivity to Gold Price

Gold Price (USD) NPV (5%) (CDN$M) NPV (7.5%) (CDN$M) IRR Payback from Production US$1,150/oz $356.7 $268.3 26.3 4.0 US$1,200/oz $402.4 $306.2 28.7% 3.8 Base Case US$1,225/oz $425.3 $325.2 29.9% 3.7 US$1,275 $471.0 $363.2 32.3% 3.5 US$1,350 $539.4 $420.1 35.7% 3.2 US$1,500 $677.0 $534.3 42.3% 2.8

Post-Tax NPV and IRR Sensitivity to Gold Price

Gold Price (USD) NPV (5%) (CDN$M) NPV (7.5%) (CDN$M) IRR Payback from Production US$1,150/oz $254.6 $185.1 22.1% 4.6 US$1,1200 $288.9 $213.6 24.1% 4.3 Base Case - US$1,225 $306.1 $227.9 25.0% 4.1 US$1,275 $340.4 $256.4 27.0% 3.9 US$1,350 $391.8 $299.1 29.8% 3.6 US$1,500 $494.9 $384.8 35.2% 3.2

Net Cash Flows

C$ Million Yearly Average Yearly Average for Yr 3 to 9 LOM Total Net Metal Revenue $134.2M $166.1M $1,187M Operating Cost $58.5M $67.2M $812.7M Transportation, Royalties and Refining $0.6M $0.78M $9.3M Capital Costs $18.6M $11.0M $265.7M Pre-Tax Cash Flows $48.6M $81.1M $729.5M Corporate Tax $18.8M $24.0M $254.5M After-Tax Cash Flow $36.3M $63.5M $545.0M

Project Improvement and Future Trade-off Studies

Resource Expansion: The resource remains open both at depth and on strike. The PEA has also taken a conservative approach to the exclusion of several areas of inferred resources. Specifically, the PEA has excluded two zones of mineralized material that are separated approximately 300 metres from the underground main resource area to the east and west, respectively. These areas represent approximately 84,000 oz combined and highlight the potential of resource expansion via open strike extensions.

The resource remains open both at depth and on strike. The PEA has also taken a conservative approach to the exclusion of several areas of inferred resources. Specifically, the PEA has excluded two zones of mineralized material that are separated approximately 300 metres from the underground main resource area to the east and west, respectively. These areas represent approximately 84,000 oz combined and highlight the potential of resource expansion via open strike extensions. Reduction and Optimization of Capital Expenditures: Availability of used equipment on the market and/or the option of leasing equipment have potential to significantly reduce capital costs. For example, used Open Pit, UG equipment, and used milling equipment such as a SAG Mill could be sourced and would replace more expensive and long lead time expenses used in the PEA. As the Project progresses, there will be continual options to explore using leased equipment and/or contract mining to lessen the upfront investment needed depending on the market conditions as the project is initiated. The Company will continue throughout the Feasibility study to evaluate all potential options to increase the economics of the project.

Availability of used equipment on the market and/or the option of leasing equipment have potential to significantly reduce capital costs. For example, used Open Pit, UG equipment, and used milling equipment such as a SAG Mill could be sourced and would replace more expensive and long lead time expenses used in the PEA. As the Project progresses, there will be continual options to explore using leased equipment and/or contract mining to lessen the upfront investment needed depending on the market conditions as the project is initiated. The Company will continue throughout the Feasibility study to evaluate all potential options to increase the economics of the project. Mine Plan Optimization: Presently, the UG development costs in the PEA are based on contractor rates for certain equipment and personnel. With the purchase of equipment and use of company personnel, the overall UG development cost could be significantly reduced in the sustaining capital section. Further optimization of open pit mining phases, along with the current infill drilling programs, could help to reduce the stripping ratio in the initial years while providing optimized grade directly to the mill in the initial years of production. In conjunction with optimized phase design, the PEA has also elected to not use any low grade stockpile. Further optimization of mining could make use of a low grade stockpile to provide an increased open pit head grade being fed to the mill prior to the initiation of UG mining.

Presently, the UG development costs in the PEA are based on contractor rates for certain equipment and personnel. With the purchase of equipment and use of company personnel, the overall UG development cost could be significantly reduced in the sustaining capital section. Further optimization of open pit mining phases, along with the current infill drilling programs, could help to reduce the stripping ratio in the initial years while providing optimized grade directly to the mill in the initial years of production. In conjunction with optimized phase design, the PEA has also elected to not use any low grade stockpile. Further optimization of mining could make use of a low grade stockpile to provide an increased open pit head grade being fed to the mill prior to the initiation of UG mining. Process Optimization: Further optimization of the gold processing plant could help to improve economics by reducing operating costs and increasing gold recoveries. It has been recommended to study the use of oxygen injection into the leaching circuit to both speed leaching times and reduce cyanide consumption. A further advantage is the ability to operate the slurry leach circuit at a lower pH that favours the carbon adsorption step and together with the accelerated leach kinetics can allow a significant drop in leach tank volume requirements, significantly lowering capital costs.

The Company announced a detailed corporate update and project development strategy on March 1, 2017 to further advance the Company's Goliath Gold Project. The Company's key objectives for Goliath and proposed timelines related to a Feasibility study and mine permits were provided in that report.

The Company will provide additional details related to Tailings Management and Closure process in conjunction with the filing of the PEA on Sedar in April 2017.

Proposed Mining Plan

In a similar method to previous studies, the PEA proposes an initial open pit mining plan to take advantage of mineralized material at surface. Revenues generated from open pit mining will be used in the development of the underground operations. In an effort to optimize the mill head grade, the PEA envisions that UG mine development will start immediately in year one with the objective of creating underground mill feed by year two. It has been proposed that once UG production is online the open pit production will decrease over an 8 year period to supplement the UG mill feed to the nameplate capacity. As proposed, the open pit will operate over an 8 year mine life and uses no significant stockpile from the storage of low grade material. This will have the additional benefit of reduced re-handle costs for the low grade stockpile that was proposed in previous studies.

Total gold production is estimated at 1,142,000 ounces of gold and 2,075,000 ounces of silver of which it is proposed that 154,700 ounces of gold will be from the Open Pit and 987,300 ounces of gold will be produced from the Underground. The PEA is based on an average milling rate of 875,000 tonnes per year, or 2,500 tonnes per day with an average head grade of 3.81 g/t gold and 10.55 g/t silver. Metallurgical and optimization studies continue to indicate high recoveries using a traditional Carbon in Leach (CIL) circuit and estimated overall recovery of 95.5% for gold and 62.6% for silver.

Initial capital to fund construction is estimated at C$133.2 million with an additional C$132.5 million in sustaining capital over the LOM primarily to fund the underground expansion. The main increases in the capital costs since the 2012 PEA came from advanced engineering studies to support the mine permit process and the major cost changes attributed to the tailings facility, closure costs and open pit pre-production costs. The total mill facility includes costs associated with a backfill plant for underground production and the Company will make use of existing office, warehousing and electrical facilities onsite to minimize capital costs needed for construction.

Advanced engineering studies also helped to revise operating cost estimates. The PEA has defined a $18.15/tonne processing cost, $3.45/tonne for open pit ore mining, $3.30/tonne for open pit waste mining and $77/tonne for underground mining costs. Underground development costs have been estimated at $6,000/lateral metre and $4,500/lateral metre for contractor and owner rates, respectively, with a total of 14,725 total metres needed for capital development.

Metallurgy and Processing

A standard carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit with gravity extraction is considered the base case for the proposed processing facility. An average of 2,500 tonnes per day will be primary crushed with a jaw crusher and then ground to the target leaching P80 of 106 microns using a single stage SAG mill and classifying cyclones. A gravity circuit consisting of a scalping screen and centrifugal concentrator will be fed from the cyclone feed distributor. The gravity concentrate will be batch treated in an intensive leach reactor (ILR) with the pregnant solution treated by electrowinning. Cyclone overflow will pass through a trash screen prior to entering the carbon in leach (CIL) circuit.

The PEA has provided for a 24 hour leaching residence time in the 6 tank CIL circuit with a cyanide detoxification circuit to be used prior to discharge to the tailings facility. Average processing costs have been estimated at $18.15/tonne over the course of the mine life.

All metallurgical testing to date, which includes Teck Resource's previous 2,375 tonne bulk sample and the most recent 420 kg representative sample, has shown extremely positive results for this proposed circuit. Recoveries are estimated to be 95.5% for gold and 62.6% for silver.

Goliath LOM Production Profile

The attached chart provides an overview of the gold and silver production.

Pre-Production Capital and Sustaining Capital

C$M Initial Capital Sustaining Capital Total Capital Processing Plant $90.7M $12.4M $103.1M Tailings $11.1M $10.0M $21.1M Open Pit Pre-Production $12.5M $0.0M $12.5M Open Pit Equipment $17.0M $1.6M $18.6M Underground $0.0M $96.3M $96.3M

2015 Mineral Resource Estimate

The following table summarizes the 2015 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate in the "Measured", "Indicated" and "Inferred" Resource categories. The report is available on the company's website and on www.sedar.com.

Mineral Resource Estimate Statement (1-8)

Category Cut-off AuEq g/t Tonnage Au (g/t) Contained Au (oz) Ag (g/t) Contained Ag (oz) AuEq (g/t) Contained AuEq (oz) Open Pit Measured 0.35 1,015,000 1.90 62,100 7.8 256,000 2.00 65,200 Indicated 0.35 17,174,000 1.22 675,700 5.2 2,869,000 1.29 710,400 M+I 0.35 18,189,000 1.26 737,800 5.3 3,125,000 1.33 775,600 Inferred 0.35 1,351,000 0.99 42,800 4.3 186,000 1.04 45,000 Underground Measured 1.90 103,000 7.32 24,200 23.1 76,000 7.60 25,100 Indicated 1.90 2,264,000 4.84 352,400 14.4 1,044,000 5.02 365,000 M+I 1.90 2,367,000 4.95 376,600 14.7 1,120,000 5.13 390,100 Inferred 1.90 2,120,000 4.22 287,300 10.9 743,000 4.35 296,300 Total Measured 0.35& 1.90 1,117,000 2.40 86,300 9.2 332,000 2.51 90,300 Indicated 0.35& 1.90 19,437,000 1.65 1,028,100 6.3 3,913,000 1.72 1,075,500 M+I 0.35& 1.90 20,554,000 1.69 1,114,400 6.4 4,245,000 1.76 1,165,800 Inferred 0.35& 1.90 3,470,000 2.96 330,100 8.3 928,000 3.06 341,300

Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred resources as an Indicated or Measured mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured mineral resource category. The mineral resources in this press release were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council. A gold price of US$1,397 /oz and silver price of US$22.93 /oz based on the April 30, 2015 three year trailing average prices and an exchange rate of US$1.06 = Cdn$1.00 were utilized in the AuEq cut-off grade calculations of 0.35 g/t AuEq for Open Pit and 1.90 g/t AuEq for Underground mineral resources. Open Pit mining costs were assumed at Cdn$5.00 /t for mineralized material, Cdn$3.15 /t for waste rock and Cdn$2.00 /t for overburden, while Underground mining costs were assumed at Cdn$70.00 /t, with process costs of Cdn$13.81 /t, G&A of Cdn$2.72 /t, and process recoveries of 95% for gold and 70% for silver. The Au:Ag ratio used for AuEq was 82.68. A bulk density model averaged 2.76 t/m3 for mineralized material. Totals in the table may not sum due to rounding.

Qualified Person



Technical information related to the PEA contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Douglas Roy, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., an Associate Mining Engineer with CSA Global, who is an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, with the ability and authority to verify the authenticity and validity of this data. The PEA technical report will be filed on Sedar within 45 days. Technical information in the press release has also been reviewed and approved by Mark Wheeler, P. Eng., Director Projects, who is a Qualified Person for the Goliath Gold Project under the definitions established by National Instrument 43-101.

The 2015 Mineral Resource Estimate was prepared by Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., Antoine Yassa, P.Geo., and Yungang Wu, P.Geo. of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. of Brampton, Ontario, Independent Qualified Persons ("QP"), as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

To view further details about the Goliath Gold Project, please visit the Company's website at www.treasurymetals.com.

About Treasury Metals Inc.:

Treasury Metals Inc. is a gold focused exploration and development company with assets in Ontario, Canada and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the symbol "TML". Treasury Metals Inc.'s 100% owned Goliath Gold Project in northwestern Ontario is slated to become one of Canada's next producing gold mines. With first-rate infrastructure currently in place and gold mineralization extending to surface, Treasury Metals plans on the initial development of an open pit gold mine to feed a 2,500 per day processing plant with subsequent underground operations in the latter years of the mine life. Treasury Metals is currently in the mine permit process and working towards completion of a Feasibility Study on the Goliath Gold Project.
Rapper and songwriter Koncept stands on a street in Seoul. / Courtesy of Clayton Jones



By Celeste Kriel

Rapper, producer and songwriter Koncept landed in Korea last November expecting to play two shows in Seoul and then return to New York. But, after almost four months and a music video, a couple of collaborations and a deal with Sony Music Asia, he is still here and has no immediate plans to leave.

"I flew to Korea for what was supposed to be for two weeks for a show at Vinyl City and another at Secret Society, but I'm still here and loving it," he said.

Arriving in Korea high on the afterglow of American Thanksgiving, jet lag and the novelty of being here for the first time, Koncept played his first show at Vinyl City in the Hongik University area that same night with Seoul-based rapper duo, Part Time Cooks and Korean rapper and DJ Ugly Duck. "It was my first show in Asia, and it was incredible."

After his first show the rapper was featured at Stove Top Sessions, a well-known hip-hop party series featuring local and international hip-hop talent, hosted by Part Time Cooks at Secret Society near Hongik University. The energy in the room was alive. "The room was completely packed and everybody was dancing and having fun. I feel Korean people have a great energy and just want to have a good time and they really support the artists."

That show led to Koncept being booked for other shows. A Sony Music representative happened to be at one of them and Koncept was invited by the label to stay and record his next official release, "14 Hours Ahead."

"It's called 14 Hours Ahead because I'm literally 14 hours ahead of my home, New York," he explained.

The name also hints at Koncept's relentless ambition. "I use that reference as a time reference too, but also being ahead in a competitive way. They say it takes 10,000 hours to truly make it, and I'm 14 hours ahead in terms of success. I only create the best music I possibly can with the intent that it touches people," he added.

Success for him is making music that connects to people. "My favorite thing about being here is the opportunity to play music for people that don't even speak the language that I do and still being able to feel that connection."

Since landing here he has hit the ground running, releasing a music video for "Understand Me," a song that will be on his Sony release this coming spring, as well as shooting two more music videos, and collaborating with well-known Korean rapper Vasco aka Bill Stax in the studio, plus performing at his birthday show in Busan. He looks forward to playing more shows in Korea and eventually the rest of Asia. He also just got back from touring Bangkok.

"I love playing music and the opportunity to travel and learn other cultures and perform for other people is just incredible," he said. "I am enjoying the friendliness and openness of Koreans. Everybody I've met has been phenomenal."

Koncept will be performing March 11 as part of the grand opening weekend of Soap Soul in Itaewon at an art and live music event titled "Paint." The lineup also includes American rapper Joshua Gunn, Part Time Cooks and various Seoul based hip-hop DJs. Visit facebook.com/SoapSeoul or facebook.com/konceptfanpage for more.
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Ltd., Nutrition & Biosciences USA 1 LLC, Nutrition & Biosciences USA 2 LLC, Nutrition & Biosciences USA 3 LLC, Nutrition & Biosciences Vietnam Company Limited, Nutrition Biosciences USA 4 Inc, Nutrition and Biosciences South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Nutrition and Biosciences Spain S.L., OOO WIBERG Rus, P.T. Essence Indonesia, PARMA FA, PIASA USA (24), PM Taiwan Inc., PT Blue Cube Indonesia, PTI Astana LLC, PTI CA LLC, PTI Center LLC, PTI Group of Companies LLC (GK PTI), PTI-BEL TUE, PTI-MOL LLC, PTI-NN LLC, PTI-Ukraine LLC, Platinum Absolut LLC, Pointer Specialty Chemicals LLC, Protein Technologies Do Brasil Ltda., Protein Technologies International Asia Pacific LLC, Protein Technologies International Development LLC, Protein Technologies International Europe LLC, Proveedores de Ingenieria Alimentaria S.A. de C.V. ("PIASA") (17), Prowin International Ltd., Pucheng Yongfang Fragrance Technology Co. Ltd. , Redbrook (UK) Limited, Redbrook Blentech Limited, Redbrook Ingredient Services Limited, Rene Laurent SAS, Representaciones FYMSA S.A. de C.V (FYMSA) (18), Rohm and Haas Wood Treatment LLC, SP EMEA Holding 8 BV, SP Holding IB Inc., SP Nutrition and Health (Singapore) Inc., Sabormax Industria de Alimentos e Representacao Ltda., Savoury Flavours (Holding) Limited, Savoury Flavours Ltd., Solae (UK) Limited, Solae Argentina S.A., Solae Australia Pty Limited, Solae Belgium N.V., Solae Company India Private Limited, Solae Denmark ApS, Solae Deutschland GmbH (f/k/a CSY Agri-Processing (Deutschland) GmbH), Solae Do Brasil Industria E Comercio De Alimentos Ltda., Solae Europe S.A., Solae Holdings LLC, Solae Investimentos LTDA, Solae LLC (SMLLC of Solae Holdings), Solae Overseas B.V., Solae Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Solae de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (formerly PTI Mexico), Solae do Brasil Holdings Ltda., Sonarome Private Limited (15), Southern Cross Botanicals Pty Ltd, Specialty Products Balkans d.o.o., Specialty Products FZE, Specialty Products N&H Inc, Specialty Products US LLC, Speximo AB, TNI Investments NV, Tastepoint Flavors (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Tastepoint Inc., Tastepoint OOO, Tastepoint Polska Sp.z o.o, Tastepoint SA (Pty) Ltd., Tastepoint Tovarna arom in etericnih olj d.o.o., Taura Natural Ingredients (Australia) Pty Limited, Taura Natural Ingredients (North America) Inc., Taura Natural Ingredients Holdings Pty Limited, Taura Natural Ingredients Ltd., Taura Natural Ingredients NV, Tekhnomol Soya Products LLC, The Additive Advantage LLC, The Additive Advantage LLC, The Foote & Jenks Corporation, The Mighty Company Limited (21), Thorungaverksmidjan HF (12), UFC America Inc., Unique Flavors Proprietary Limited, Unique Food Solutions Proprietary Limited, Unique Ingredients Limited, VAYA PHARMA HONKG LTD, VITIVA proizvodnja in storitve d.d., Vantodio Holdings Limited, Vaya Pharma Inc., Vaya Pharma Pte Ltd. (20), Venezuela Protein Technologies Internationla -PTI C.A., W.W. Holdings Inc., WIBERG Italia S.r.l., Wiberg Baharat San.Tic.A.S, Wiberg Canada Inc., Wiberg Corporation of California, Wiberg Corporation., Yderns 1 ApS, ZAO Danisco, extrakt chemie Dr. Bruno Stellmach GmbH, iDrug Delivery Inc.(Delaware) (22), nternational Flavors & Fragrances S.R.L., van Ameringen-Haebler Inc., and world wide WIBERG GmbH.

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Two Makerere university lecturers have been arrested by Police for allegedly altering students marks.

The university Deputy vice chancellor finance and administration Prof Barnabus Nawangwe recently wrote to the Inspector general of police to investigate the lecturers who smuggled names of unqualified students in the booklet for the 67th graduation.

The suspects identified as Christopher Ntwata and Mike Baronogo were arrested by plain clothed police personnel on Monday evening.

Speaking to KFM, Prof Nawangwe said he has not yet received official communication from police about the arrests but he confirmed writing to IGP over the issue.

Meanwhile, the head of security Makerere University, Jackson Muchuguzi declined to comment when we contacted him.
The following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group Public: 360 Connect S.A., 3@ Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus  Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way  Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U.  Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited  Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal  Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V..

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Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the hospitality industry. The companys portfolio is concentrated in upper upscale, full-service hotels across the US. The portfolio strategy seeks to optimize total returns by maximizing the value of new acquisitions while paying dividends over time. The company boasts a geographically diversified portfolio of dominant branded full-service hotels. Ashford Inc externally advises Ashford Hospitality Trust.

Ashford Hospitality Trust is the culmination of decades of real estate experience dating back to the 1960s. Now based in Dallas, TX, the company was founded and went public in 2003. The company is geared to withstand the ups and downs of the hospitality and hotel cycles. The company is committed to disciplined capital market activities, has a successful transaction track record, and brings value-added asset management to the table.

Ashford Hospitality Trust is guided by five principles that best describe the company. These are Ethical, Innovative, Profitable, Engaging, and Tenacious and all key components of its reputation for integrity.

The companys portfolio is well-diversified across brands and includes but is not limited to Courtyard, Crown Plaza, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton, Marriot, Ritz-Carlton, and Sheraton. Properties are located in 25 of the 50 US states and Washington, D.C. targeting the top 25 markets in the nation. The company also owns a number of private and boutique names as well.

Ashford Hospitality Trust was founded by Monty J. Bennet who is the Chairman of the Board as well as Chairman, CEO, and President of Ashford, Inc which also trades on the NYSE. Mr. Bennet has more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry including owning and operating major hotels.
Dancehall musician Charles Nii Armah Mensah populer known as Shatta Wale, has thrown a warning message to Yaa Pono for him to warn his fans to stop calling him Gbee Naabu.

The beef between Yaa Pono and Shatta Wale escalated after the former was denied an opportunity to perform at a concert headlined by Shatta Wale in Cape Coast in the Central region last month.

Many Ghanaian music lovers have taken to social media to mock the dancehall King after Yaa Pono spit some bars at him in his latest diss track Gbee Naabu.

The comments which sighted by Daily View Ghs Dan Kwasi Prince stated that;

@ponobiom abeg warn your fans to stop calling me gbee naabu, else this thing go turn police case. Go ask Ara b. #SM4LIFE

The organizers of the concert later explained that Yaa Pono was unable to perform because they were running out of time and therefore had to cut down on the performances.

Things got ugly when the two released diss tracks to attack each other.
Last Saturday, the forecourt of the Trade Fair Centre at La in Accra came alive when some selected top hiplife and dancehall music icons thrilled music fans at the 2017 edition of the 'YFM Area Code Jam' concert.

The event which was organised by YFM and sponsored by Guinness Ghana attracted thousands of music fans from all walks of life.

Indeed, all the artistes who performed at the event virtually sent the enthusiastic patrons into frenzy when they took the stage in turns. Their performances kept the audience on their feet, singing and dancing along.

The event witnessed groundbreaking performances from hiplife and dancehall heavyweight such as Shatta Wale, Yaa Pono, Kofi Kinaata, Tee Phlow, Jupitar, Shegah and a host of others.

Yaa Pono, Shatta Wale, Jupitar and Kofi Kinaata performed excellently on the night as they managed to thrill music fans who attended the show to their satisfaction.

Shatta Wale's delivery was extraordinary on that night. It was quite a spectacle as Shatta Wale treated the excited fans to some serious dance moves on stage.

The dancehall star had a very strong stage presence and was cheered on all the way through his display.

Jupitar who was at his best sang and danced as he worked the crowd into frenzy. Another impressive personality during the concert was Kofi Kinaata, who turned up with an exciting performance.

He delighted music fans with some of his hit songs which were etched on the hearts of many Ghanaians. He set the whole venue on fire with his unique style of delivery.

The night would have been incomplete without Yaa Pono, Shegeh and Tee Phlow. They all gave a good account of themselves on stage during their performances.

The 'Area Codes Jam' is most popular among neighbourhoods, especially as the area that hosts it is determined by an on-air poll. The next area to host it will be decided by the public on YFM.

By George Clifford Owusu
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has unveiled an ambitious plan to increase the tourist attraction of the Bosomtwe Lake, the largest natural fresh water body in the West African sub-region.

This involves the construction of a walkway, zip-line for cable cars and a bicycle trail.

Peter Achampong, Acting Ashanti Regional Manager of GTA, said there was also going to be a redevelopment of the Busia's Lodge, a strategic site with an airstrip, left abandoned since the overthrow of the late prime minister's government in military coup in 1972.

He indicated that this would be done in partnership with the Bosomtwe and Bosome-Freho District Assemblies and some identified investors, including M&J Travel and Tours.

He was speaking after a tour of the lake  a designated United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) heritage site.

Mr Achampong said they are determined to ensure substantial rise in tourist arrivals to generate more revenue and create job opportunities for the people. The youth in the area would be trained as tour guides.

Lake Bosomtwe, one of the natural wonders of the world, is 10.5 kilometres in diameter and provides livelihood for a combined population of about 70,000 in 30 communities.
Award-winning young actor Abraham Nii Attah, with support from his foundation (Abraham Attah Foundation) and Believe Charity Outreach, has donated items worth thousands of Ghana cedis to two orphanages in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

The donation is part of Abraham Atta and his foundation's initiative to help the less-privileged in society.

The items which include 330 brand new pairs of shoes, bags of rice and cooking oil and more were presented to Musluv Orphanage and Tepa Orphanage Home, both at the Tano North District in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

Presenting the items, the management of the foundation said, We are glad to show love to this children during the month of love.

Abraham Attah gained international prominence playing alongside Idris Elba in the movie 'Beasts Of No Nation', directed by Emmy award-winning Cary Fukunaga.

He played the character Agu, who is forced to join a unit of mercenary fighters when civil war tears his family apart and transformed into a child soldier, earned Abraham Attah praise around the world.

He won Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor at Venice Film Festival 2015, Best Male Lead Award at the 2016 Independent Spirit Awards, and also Rising Star Award at the Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC).

The award scheme referred to Attah's role as one of the strongest and most phenomenal we have ever seen and added that he has a very bright future ahead of him.
08.03.2017 LISTEN

For over a decade now, Ghanaian national, Emmanuel Awumee, a Car Care Consultant has distinguished himself as a specialist in Car Detailing and Reconditioning.

Emmanuel Awumee has been the best at what he does and this has merited his company the privilege to Detailing Presidential vehicles of a number of Presidential administrations in Ghana.

His company SESIL CONSULT which specializes in Interior and Exterior maintenance of vehicles, has a collaborative arrangement with TOTAL PETROLEUM in Ghana and Partnership arrangements in Cote D'Ivoire and also coming up in Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Emmanuel will be making his debut appearance on the Corporate Dialogue of the renowned mentoring platform Role Model Africa, this March.

Since its creation in 2015,Role Model Africa has received mention on GTV (Ghana), Business Television Africa (Ghana), Ghana Business and Finance Magazine (Ghana), Daily Graphic Newspaper (Ghana), Daily Sun Newspaper (Nigeria) and Africa Rizing (an Offshoot of Voice of America)

The revered platform has over the years attracted illustrious Role Models to share their stories in an open dialogue. Emmanuel Awumee joins the Hall of Fame of Role Models, being in the company of Dr. Samuel Onwona (Former World Bank Official), Prince Kofi Amoabeng (UT Bank), Michael Okyere Darko (Obrafour), Bishop Titi-Ofei (Pleasant Place Parish) and Dr. Mrs Ellen Hagan (L'aine Services) among a high cadre of personalities who have honored the platform as Role Models.

Having at one point in his business lost almost all he started with including the folding up of about 5 branches of his company, the 'Professional Car Washer' will in an open dialogue speak on the theme: Winning in Business' on Sunday 26th March at the African Regent Hotel in Accra.

As has been the culture the platform which promotes African Narratives will attract guests from across Africa, magnetizing a rich pool of human capital and knowledge base for networking and business. The event which is scheduled to be held at the African Regent Hotel is set to start at exactly 3pm And climax at 6pm. Guests are expected to be seated 30 minutes ahead of the program.

The Corporate Dialogue will also host Investment Banker ,Dr. Sam Ankrah a global business strategist by choice, and a Ghanaian socioeconomic advocate by temperament. Dr. Ankrah has had more than 15 years successful experience in providing fiscal, strategic and operations leaderships in uniquely challenging situations. He has repeatedly produced sustained revenue and EBITDA growth in dynamic and changing markets. Dr. Ankrah has a proven track record in management and finance, investment banking, leasing and finance, factoring and forfeiting oil and gas, private pension management and international trade.

Educated in the United Kingdom, Dr. Ankrah holds a Bachelors degree in Statistics and Management from the University of London, an MBA (Finance & Management) and a Leadership Advantage Program Certificate from the Cranfield School of Management, an MSc. in Economics, Social Science and Philosophy, and a PhD in Philosophy and Social Science all from the Pan-American University of Science and Medicines. Dr. Ankrah who has been awarded a PhD. (Honoris Causa) from the Sovereign Medical Order of the Knights Hospitaller, for innovative and exceptional financial engineering to help bring the functions of the group to the Sub-Saharan Africa Region will make his appearance on the Corporate Dialogue of Role Model Africa to distill insights on the theme: Winning in Business

Dr. Ankrah has been speaking and promoting investment opportunities in Africa, educating and encouraging the youth to venture in entrepreneurship at various platforms including UN sub-committees.

In open dialogue format the Role Model will share pragmatic insights on how to win in business, turn failing business around and building a globally competitive business.

Guests from all across Africa are expected to participate in the Corporate Dialogue to help project African Narratives.

The public is advised to contact 0503183699 or visit www.inventsfoundation.com for registration.

Africa has Role Models
Adepeju Jaiyeoba

08.03.2017 LISTEN

Today is International Women's Day .As a youth activist I have taken it upon myself to celebrate young African women who are making impact in their communities and countries. Today I celebrate a change maker, entrepreneur and a mentor of thousands of young leaders in Africa. Her name is Adepeju Jaiyeoba from Nigeria.

Adepeju Jaiyeoba is a skilled community advocate with experience in womens right and maternal and child health in Nigeria. She is the founder of Mothers Delivery Kit, a company that manufactures and distributes birth kits for purchase. In this capacity, she coordinates business development for the organisation and works to continually develop an effective distribution line that will see women across Nigeria connected to lifesaving supplies irrespective of their location at childbirth.

Adepeju is an award winning entrepreneur, trained lawyer, public speaker and maternal and child health enthusiast passionate about innovation and creating simple lifesaving solutions.

She is the founder of Brown Button Foundation which trains birth attendants and Mothers Delivery Kit which provides ultra affordable sterile supplies for women to use at childbirth while also increasing access to quality healthcare services.

With hundreds of thousands of kits sold, Adepeju is a:

White House Emerging Global Entrepreneur in 2015.

Research Fellow of the Coady International Institute

2016 PATH Innovation Champion

D-Prize Awardee in Global Health

Cordes Fellow

2014 Mandela Washington Fellow

Fellow, Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College Global Women's Entrepreneurship Institute

Young Innovator of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH)

Member of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR)

She Leads Africas top 10 female entrepreneur for Diaspora Demo day

2015 YNaija top 10 most influential Nigerians under 40 (Advocacy)

Global Change Leader awardee, Coady International Institute, Canada.

Upon her great achievement and contribution to reducing maternal Health in Africa, Adepeju is very humble, selfless and an epitome of leadership. Many young African leaders are looking up to her .She has mentored thousands.
Fighting fraud or corruption is like smoking a mole or rat out of a hole. To begin with vigilance is required. Next, one has to look out for all possible exits or escape routes. Third ensure that all the loopholes if any detected are pluggedleaving no space even for an ant to escape. Be mindful a rodent always has an escape route, so continue to remain vigilant against a possible escape. Anything short of this could be an exercise in futility.

The above scenario clearly fits our Civil or Public Service in Ghana. Our nation has been dealing with moles possibly on a daily basis. Theyve succeeded to remain in their various offices because of public connivance and negligence on our parts. The system has allowed this unholy practice to go on for ages. And the weasels are having a field day. Theyre reaping where theyve not sown, leaving the tax payer at the mercy of the world.

Its systemic and has become widespread. Its fangs have crept from the very bottom of the nation up to the crown---chocking heh. Now leading the fight is none other than the President of the nation Akufo-Addo. Hes a sworn enemy against corruption and fraud. And he plans to take the fight deep into the holes of the moles.

During his State of the Nation Address recently in Accra the president revealed that the nation had incurred some GHc 7 billion of arrears and outstanding payments evaded by the very public financial management system that was put in place t failed to plug the loopholes. Yes, you heard it right. The watchmen didnt watch instead they went to sleep.

Without a doubt corruption has become endemic in our society and any attempts to uproot it will require a concerted effort. But most importantly those entrusted to police the holes or prevent such leakage must ever remain vigilant and duty-bound.

We must bear in mind that like rodents they multiply when they are not prevented. The longer they stay in the system the thinner the national kitty becomes. Fraud is a scheme used by fraudsters to swindle innocent people, to siphon state funds. Unfortunately, our Public or Civil Service has become a haven for this unholy practice.

So does Akufo-Addo Administration have what it takes to protect the public purse?

On Saturday 7January 2017 during his inaugural speech at the Independence Square Mr. Akufo-Addo remarked: We must decentralise more, trust the collective, and restore integrity in public life. State coffers are not spoils for the party that wins an election. I shall protect the public purse and insists on value for money.

He also had these unpalatable words for those who aspire to be part of his dream team: If your goal in coming into government is to enrich yourself, then dont come. Go to the private sector. Public service is going to be exactly that, public service.

A British anti-fraud expert says in fighting fraud two key strategies are required notablyOpenness and Transparency.

Lesley Hume Executive Director, Fraud, Error & Debt Team Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom in a presentation on Tuesday 21 February 2017, said r the most frequently occurring crime in the UK is Fraud and to continue to respond to it effectively, we need to approach it with a culture of openness and transparency.

Speaking under the theme: A Brilliant Civil Service, Unified Open and Accountable Ms. Hume noted that talking about fraud can be a difficult conversation. Nonetheless, it is ca conversation we must have because public money must be protected.

This approach she notes, allows the Civil Service to increase Britains capability to find and fight fraud. Civil servants are already carrying out invaluable work to counter fraud. With the support of active collaborative response across the civil service we can continue to ensure that taxpayer money is spent on our vital services that need it most.

What do they say? What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Value for money and protecting the public purse is what the citizenry including the president are clamoring for. I therefore suggest that this approach is replicated if its already not in place. We must remember the president alone cannot fight this canker. The president alone cannot win the war against corruption or fraud. Two heads they say are better than one. And it takes two to tango.

Are Ae Already Seeing Signs?

The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is reported to have frozen the bank accounts of Mr. Daniel Ohene-Agyekum, the immediate past Board Chairman of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD). Mr. Ohene-Agyekum a former Eastern Regional Minister becomes the second at the COCOBOD to have his accounts withheld by EOCO.

The office, on February 21 2017, froze the accounts of immediate past chief executive officer Dr. Stephen Opuni.

According to the Daily Graphic (a state-owned-news organisation) the two are being investigated for allegedly causing financial loss to the state.

Under section 33 (1) of Act 804, the executive director of EOCO as the powers to freeze property he or she considers necessary to facilitate an investigation.

This is not the first time public office holders or ministers of state had come under investigation or faced prosecution. In 2007 the Kufuor-NPP-administration Mr. Dan Abgodakpi, a minister of state Mr. Kwame Peprah Finance Minister and his deputy Victor Selormey were imprisoned for causing financial loss to the state.

It remains to be seen whether the two officials currently under investigation would tread that path.
08.03.2017 LISTEN

Those who chose the theme for Ghana at 60 celebrations, chose the words carefully, and beautifully crafted as the words ring hope and project for a better future for mother Ghana with confidence - mobilising for Ghana's future. It's an interesting theme well chosen and framed to suit life after 60 years of Ghana's independence and how we should all work hard to accelerate the growth and development of our motherland, Ghana.

No matter how hard we work, we all admit that we can never do without our police since we must be free from crimes to guarantee our safety whilst we mobilise. Our police is therefore actively involved in mobilising for a better future for mother Ghana and that is undeniable fact. They are very inherent as for as maintaining law and order is concerned whilst mobilising for Ghana's future.

It is for this reason that every Ghanaian must answer the clarion call of mobilising for a better future and rally behind the flag to put Ghana on the right path for accelerated growth and development but how do we the ordinary police officers be mobilised for the future of Ghana in wakes life-threatening threats that come with our work particularly in recent times that our work has becoming very dangerous? Should we continue to die haphazardly whilst we are mobilising for Ghana's future? Should that be the case?

How do we mobilise if the police officer is easily killed at the least encounter with robbers and their families neglected? Do we have future as we are easily killed when combating violent crimes? Do we mobilise for Ghana's future after we have been killed by armed robbers because we are not properly resourced and poorly maintained? I don't think so. We can't mobilise for a better Ghana if our police continue to die because our police are ill resourced and poorly maintained. We can never mobilise this way because our police no matter how accusing fingers are pointed at them, they are our bloodline to our lifeline. We can not do without them.

We can call them necessary evils if we wish.

No one can underrate the contributions of the police as far as peace and stability of this country is concerned. Many police officers have lost their lives in combating various violent crimes just to make society safer. Just after their deaths, their families are driven out from the barracks amidst economic hardships as well as psychological and emotional traumas. Is that the future we want to mobilise our police for or a different one that the police officer will be well equipped and maintained to avoid some of needless deaths? A future that the spouses and children of deceased police officers will be taken care of in return of their lives they laid down for mother Ghana is what we need. In fact, we should be protected to stay alive to take care of our spouses and children ourselves first.

The constitution has always been express on what should be done to enable the police to effectively and efficiently maintain law and order to make Ghana safer from all forms of crimes, and that is to be equip them fully as well as properly maintaining them. Article 200(3) is categorical on that by imploring authoritative modal verb "SHALL" to sound it very obligatory in maintaining and equipping the police to carry on with their constitutional role of maintaining law and order. That is very simple but seems almost impractical in reality as a lot still needs to be done for the police to stay safe whilst combating violent crimes of all kinds 60 years on after independence from colonial rule.

It is one thing to equip the police to make them effective and efficient on the job as well as to ensure their safety as a police officers, and another thing to maintain police officers to make them economically, physically and psychologically stable to do their work well. We need to know the difference as we mobilise for Ghana's future 60 years on in order to put our police its right place in the growth and development of this country.

To equip the police is to provide them with all the needed tools, equipments and logistics that they need to do their work effectively and efficiently without much difficulty. You can talk of regular supply of uniforms and booths, guns and ammunition, bullet proofs vest and ballistic helmets, shield for crowd control, effective communication gadgets, vehicles to facilitate easy movement of the police to enable them respond to emergency calls at all levels and whole lot needed for complementing modern day policing. Everything that the police officer needs do his work effectively and efficient, particularly in these modern times that crime combat is becoming more sophisticated and dangerous is what is referred to as equipping the police.

New threats to policing keeps emerging at an increasing rate and for that matter the police officer should be properly equipped in a manner to deal with all the threats that come with crime combat with confidence. When we take the proactive measures to ensure the safety of the police officer whilst combating violent crimes as well as maintaining law and order, we can then say that we are living in the true words of our chosen theme of the independence celebrations, mobilising for Ghana's future. Once police officers are fully equipped and properly maintained to maintain law and order and fights violent crimes with confidence, they are mobilised for the future of Ghana already.

To maintain police officers is also another thing which is separate from equipping the police. The two are never the same. To maintain the police officer is to ensure his economic, psychological and physical well being and that is quite different from equipping the police. It is always misconstrue that once the police officer is equipped, he is maintained as well but that is never the case.

The police officer must be economically sound in in his pocket to avoid temptations of bribery and corruption. The police officer must be adequately compensated in monetary terms particularly if he works more than stipulated 8 hours. Currently, Regulation 35 (3) of Police Service Regulations 2012, otherwise known as C.I. 76 prescribes that if a police officer works beyond 8 hours, he or she should be adequately compensated in monetary value by the police administration but it is largely ignored. The police officer can never be equipped without economic welfare. He or she will be involved in massive bribery and corruption to satisfy his economic needs despite the fact that our laws frown on bribery and corruption. I am not sure that is what we want to mobilise our police for a better Ghana particularly when this government has launched war on corruption and bribery.

Not only economic maintainance do the police need but must also be maintained physically too, as well as psychologically. The police officer must have a sound place to lay his head together with his or her family. To accommodate the police officer is very key in arranging his physical needs in order of importance. Take a look around the various police barracks across the length and breadth of this country and ask yourself whether the police officer is properly maintained? Many police officers are struggling to find decent accommodation and are renting outside the barracks at the risk of their lives. If your organisation fails to satisfy your physical needs particularly if one is a police officer, we can never mobilise for Ghana's future. How do we do it ?

It is when police officers are fully equipped and properly maintained that they will be psychologically stable to work effectively and efficiently. That is when they will make right sense of judgment in executing their duties without getting unreasonably angry with least provocations from the civilian populace. If the police officer is psychologically imbalance, it is society that is at risk.

60 years on, the lives of ordinary police officers should not be gambled with in wakes of life-threatening threats that come with their work whilst we are mobilising for a better future. It's time to reward the police properly 60 years on for their services to the nation, and fulfil all the constitutional obligations of equipping and maintaining the police to perform their traditional role of maintaining law and order whilst we mobilise for Ghana's future.

Ahanta Apemenyimheneba Kwofie III

[email protected]

#Ahantadiaries_08_03_17
08.03.2017 LISTEN

Former president, John Mahama has called for more support for women as the world marks International Women's Day.

John Mahama has called on Ghanaians to commit to making the world a better place for all girls and women.

Mahama posted via his Facebook page on Wednesday, March 08, 2017 that, Lets dedicate today to reflect on the toils of our mothers, sisters and wives. And lets commit to making the world a better place for all girls and women.

March 8 every year is dedicated to celebrating the struggle for womens right. This year, the day is being celebrated globally under the theme, Be bold for change with a charge on all to take bold pragmatic actions to accelerate gender parity.

Although stakeholders have lauded the progress made so far in ensuring parity, women in many parts of the world especially in Africa are still challenged with cultural and some workplace practices that work against their progress.

Such practices include, workplace sexual harassment, Female Genital Multilation, Child, Early and forced marriages.



By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The African No.1 Online Travel Agency announces more properties, hitting 300,000 hotels across the world and 30,000 in Africa.

Jumia Travel is further solidifying its global presence in the hotel, travel, and tourism ecosystem, unveiling new continental and internationaldestinations . The company has registered an inventory of more than 30,000 hotels in Africa and over 300,000 worldwide; only four years since inception in 2013. These include new properties in popular destinations in Africa including South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia, as well as outbound destinations including Dubai, London, New York, Paris, and Mecca among others.

Guaranteeing continued quality of service, Jumia Travels boss Paul Midy says, We have the requisite capacity to offer our partners global visibility, and to our customers, solutions for all their travel needs anywhere in the world.

The move is directed at enabling more Africans to expand their travel horizons both domestically and internationally. As part of the initiative, customers will have access to travel packages to the new destinations, with 24/7 local customer service and expertise as well as flexible payment options including Mpesa, payment on arrival, and credit cards.

The packages will consist of hotel stays, return flight tickets, tours or excursions upon request and availability. They exclude Visa processing fees, travel insurance, among other activities not mentioned above.

Jumia Travel Nigeria MD, Kushal Dutta also explained: Travelers are increasingly shifting focus from generic products to more customized and personalized experience. We are therefore working closely with our hotels and other OTA partners to provide our customers with tailor-made worldwide travel options.

The first package focuses on Dubai as an outbound destination for African customers during the upcoming Easter holidays.

Jumia Travel recently launched its flights services, adding to its efforts to create a one stop travel shop across Africa.

About Jumia Travel

Jumia Travel ( travel.jumia.com ) is Africa's No.1 online travel agent, allowing you to get the best prices for more than 30,000 hotels in Africa and more than 300,000 hotels around the world. Our ambition is to bring every bit of available accommodation online, and to create the easiest and cheapest way to travel in Africa and across the world.

At Jumia Travel, we have hundreds of travel specialists constantly in touch with our customers. Our offices are located in Lagos (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Dakar (Senegal), Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Algiers (Algeria), Douala (Cameroon), Kampala (Uganda), Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), Nairobi (Kenya) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Before June 2016, Jumia Travel was known as Jovago. Jumia Travel was founded in 2013 by Jumia and is backed by MTN, Rocket Internet, Millicom, Orange, Axa and financial partners.
Accra. 7th March, 2017  Odebrecht Ghana, a leading engineering and construction company with over 70 years experience, has partnered the College of Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Technologys (KNUST) Annual Career Fair. The Fair which hosted several thousands of students especially those pursing disciplines in engineering, took place at the KNUST College of Engineering Hall, in Kumasi.

Speaking at the Fair, Mr. Marcus Vianna, Finance and Administrative Manager of Odebrecht Ghana emphasized: Odebrecht Ghana continues to invest in the human resource base of this country by supporting important educational activities like this one. Odebrecht Ghana has many career-building opportunities for students and they are in the form of internships and Young Partners programmes specially designed to help students gradually transform in professionals with technical competencies that match international standards.

Mr. Vianna delivered a presentation that described major projects Odebrecht completed across the world and the impact they are making in the lives of millions of people and in the preservation of the environment. Participants were impressed at the magnitude of projects and scope of their successes.

The Provost of the College of Engineering, Prof. Mark Adom-Asamoah, in his remarks, thanked Odebrecht Ghana for the continued support to the College and the deliberate investment in enhancing the capacity of students of the University. He called on other corporate organisations to emulate the company and requested that Odebrecht Ghana extends opportunities for on-the-field trainings for young lecturers of the College.

Ransford Agyemang, of the hundreds of excited university students that visited the Odebrecht Ghana Booth at the Fair manned by Vanessa Ashun and Vanessa Amaral Lobato, said: I am highly impressed by the magnitude of Odebrechts successful projects across the world and the use of state-of-the-art technology. Odebrecht Ghana is a place I would like to work, because I am sure I will be trained and empowered to work with international standards.

Mr. Danilo Trinchao, in charge of People and Finance at Odebrecht Ghana concluded: Odebrecht Ghana is focused on encouraging and motivating students, including females, to learn and overcome challenges, and to pursue careers in the engineering field, making them valuable addition to the national human resource base and helping them launch out on a professional career path with international standards.

Odebrecht has presence in 21 countries, including Ghana. The company has diversified business activities and a decentralized structure and does business in the fields of engineering and construction, industry, and in the development and operation of infrastructure and energy projects, creating integrated and innovative solutions that serve both its clients and communities where it operates.
Samira Bawumia, wife of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, has condemned the assault on an employee of Fast Food joint, Marwako, in Accra.

Mrs Bawumia stated that the treatment meted by Jihad Chaaban, who heads the Abelenkpe branch of Marwako Fast Food, to Evelyn Boakye is simply unacceptable.

Evelyn Boakye is said to have had her face dipped into pepper sauce by her Lebanese supervisor, Jihad Chaaban.

Already, close to 2,500 people have signed an online petition launched last week to seek justice for the Ghanaian worker who was assaulted by her employee.

The petitioners, addressed to President Nana Akufo-Addo, want the government to stem the tide of abuses suffered by Ghanaians in the hands of their employers.

The online petition is calling for an end to inhumane treatment of Ghanaians by foreigners and a shutdown of the fast food chain.

Mr Chaaban was arrested and later granted police inquiry bail as investigations continue.

Speaking on the issue, while hosting the special edition of the Super Morning Show on Joy FM on International Womens Day, the Second Lady noted that Lebanese supervisor should be the one to be punished.

I think its one too many but I think its the employee who needs to be penalised. Its unacceptable and I saw yesterday the Gender Minister was there with the lady and Im sure they are going to push this to its logical conclusion, she said.

The Employment Minister has directed managers of Marwako Fast Food to produce a report over the incident within a week.

Ignatius Baffour Awuah told the media Tuesday the report of the company will assist the ministry's own investigation into the incident.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Ernest Dela Aglanu (Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela)
It appears there is growing disinterest and mistrust among DKM customers who are yet to be paid their locked up cash by the Registrar General's Department.

The Registrar General's Department which is the official Liquidator of DKM Microfinance is expected to today conclude final payment of the remaining DKM customers.

Citi Business News checks reveal that a total of 60,000 out of the 93,000 DKM customers have been settled so far.

Payment of the locked up cash which was supposed to be completed last year (2016) has been delayed on a number of occasions.

Some of the customers who spoke to Citi Business News said they would only take the development seriously when they are paid.

We cannot actually believe what they are saying because they keep on telling us this same story day in and day out. Today we hear the list is out tomorrow we hear the same thing so now that we have received information that the list is out we just hope that it is true, one of the expectant customers, Solomon Otchere said.

According to the Principal Company Inspector for the official liquidator for DKM Microfinance, Jones Nathaniel Ansah, the final list will be published at the eight designated branches of GCB Bank.

He also stated that the final list contains not less than ten thousand people who can go and claim their investments.

. It has finally come to an end with the final list that is to be released tomorrow, per the information I gathered from PWC, the final list has about ten thousand creditors, specifically the people who have not had their names on any of the previous lists, he said.



By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
Every year, March 8th is set aside to observe International Womens Day (IWD) around the world to recognize the achievements and contribution of women to society. As Ghana joins the international community to mark the event on Wednesday 8th March, GFD seizes the opportunity to congratulate all women for their diverse contributions towards the development of our country.

Ghana has adopted the theme: Economic empowerment of rural women: A tool for sustainable development in a changing world of work. In reality, economic opportunities in Ghana for women with disabilities are very limited and it is an undeniable fact that the unemployment rate of women with disabilities is much higher than those without disabilities.

They also face all kinds of violence, discrimination and almost completely remain at the margins of decision-making and work in terms of gender equality.

The gender unit of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) is observing the International Women's Day by appealing to the government of Ghana to revise the Affirmative Action Bill including the rights of Women and girls with Disabilities. The government should also ensure effective implementation of the Gender Policy so that WWDs are not left behind in development. We further appeal to government to ensure that women with disabilities are included in the 30% appointment quota set aside for women in governance.

The rights of women and girls with disabilities are recognized by the GFD which is an umbrella organisations of persons with disabilities in Ghana that seeks to advocate full inclusion and effective participation of Persons with Disabilities in the Ghanaian society. With its current eight national member organisations namely, Ghana Blind Union, Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled, Mental Health Society of Ghana, Ghana National Association of the Deaf, Ghana Association of Persons with Albinism, ShareCare Ghana  a group of people with auto-immune disorders, Inclusion Ghana  a group of people with intellectual disabilities and Burn Survivors Association we say Ayekoo to all women.

SIGNED

RITA KYEREMAA KUSI

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +233-240-867200
Geneva (AFP) - The UN's top rights official on Wednesday called for a high-level investigation into abuses committed against civilians in the violence-wracked Democratic Republic of Congo following the discovery of mass graves.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein praised the DR Congo government for quickly investigating the killings and other severe human rights violations in the isolated Kasai and Lomani provinces, but said a UN probe was also needed.

"I commend the swift action taken by the government to begin processes of investigation and accountability in some of the alleged killings attributed to soldiers, and offer the assistance of my office," Zeid told the UN Human Rights Council.

But, he continued, "in light of recurrent reports of grave violations and the recent discovery of three more mass graves, I urge the council to establish a Commission of Inquiry to look into these allegations."

In February, a seven-minute video posted on social media, which appeared to be taken on a mobile phone, purported to show a massacre of unarmed men and women by Congolese soldiers apparently in the central Kasai area.

The country has also been rocked by political violence after President Joseph Kabila refused to step down at the end of his second and final term in December.

His continued presence in office sparked clashes that left more than 100 people dead in September and December, Zeid said.

"My office will be closely watching judicial developments in regard to actions by security forces which lead to the deaths," he told the council.

Zeid also expressed disappointment there had been "no meaningful progress" towards implementing a power-sharing deal signed on New Year's Eve.

That deal allows Kabila to stay on as president until elections can be held at the "end of 2017", but calls for a transition council to be established.
An Accra magistrate court has remanded to police custody the Lebanese Supervisor at the center of the Marwako Restaurant assault case, Jihad Chaaban.

The magistrate, Victoria Ghansah gave the ruling after an application by the prosecution on Wednesday, March 8, 2017.

The prosecutor argued that the accused and the company had started interfering in the case by threatening to dismiss staff members who had been invited by the police to serve as witness in the case.

The prosecutor also added that the remand was necessary because the police could vouch for the security of the accused person.

Jihad Chaaban pleaded not guilty to three charges of causing harm, assault and offensive conduct.

The Lebanese national, who is a Supervisor at the Abelemkpe branch of the Marwako Restaurant, is said to have grabbed the head of his Ghanaian female staff and dipped her face in blended pepper.

Jihad is also alleged to have subsequently locked her up with the burning and hurting eyes, preventing the other worried colleagues from helping her.

The 25-year old lady in an interview with Citi News, said she did not do anything wrong to provoke the attack.

But Mr. Chaaban in an apology letter said he did everything possible to get help for the victim after the incident.

He however disputed claims that he locked up the victim after he forced her face into the blended pepper.



By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Chairperson of Parliament's Gender and Children Committee, Hajia Ladi Ayamba has called for the immediate deportation of the Lebanese supervisor at the heart of the Marwako Pepper assault saga.

Hajia Ayamba, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Pusiga said, the act is despicable and justice must be served at all cost.

It's completely unfair, unacceptable. I heard that he was arrested and later given bail. In fact such a person should not be given bail; he should be dealt with straightaway and deported, she added.

The said supervisor, Jihad Chaaban was charged with assault on Tuesday for allegedly shoving the face of a Ghanaian worker, Evelyn Boakye in hot pepper.

Background

Jihad Chaaban is alleged to have grabbed the head of the lady and dipped her face in blended pepper.

He is also alleged to have subsequently locked her up with the burning and hurting eyes, preventing the other worried colleagues from helping her.

The lady, whose name has been withheld in an interview with Citi News, said she did not do anything wrong to provoke the attack.

I went to work on Sunday, and while working, one of my supervisors told me to go and blend fresh pepper. So I was blending the fresh pepper and one of the white men came out and started saying that I will spoil the blender. He asked if I couldnt see that the blender was making noise, and I told him I was blending fresh pepper, he said.

Narrating the incident, she stated that, he took the blender and poured the pepper out, and put my face into the blender and the pepper entered my eyes so I washed my face and the situation worsened. She added that, the managers of the facility prevented her from going home after the incident so that I wouldnt report the case.

Jihad arrested, charged

The Lebanese supervisor at the centre of the assault case has been formally been charged with assault by the Police.

He has subsequently been remanded into Police custody.

Minister orders probe by Labour Department

The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, has tasked the Labour Department to investigate the assault case.

The Minister has given the Labour Department a week to conclude the investigations.



By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has obviously fallen in love with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Interacting with journalists in Accra moments before his departure from Accra after attending Ghana's 60th Independence anniversary celebration, President Mugabe said, Here is the man I could relate to.

After listening to him [Akufo-Addo] deliver his speech during the independence parade at the famous Black Star Square in Accra Monday, President Mugabe said he could not but tell President Akufo-Addo, Thank you for making Nkrumah great.

According to him, he saw in Akufo-Addo the spirit of Ghana's first President  Dr Kwame Nkrumah, whose strong and revolutionary ideas led to the country's independence on March 6, 1957.

It just struck me. That speech goes quite deep into history  the history Nkrumah used to tell us. When he was reading his speech and there was reference to Nkrumah You don't refer to Nkrumah if you don't believe in him, President Mugabe told journalists.

He considers his personal relationship and that of his country to Ghana, more of brotherhood, recalling with nostalgia, memories of the time he spent in Ghana in his early days as a young man at the Achimota School, from where he came to acquire knowledge and eventually got married to a Ghanaian lady [his first wife], Sally Hayford.

After several years of close relations with Ghana, he said, I will come for Fufu here. I'm carrying some yam, cassava and plantain with me and I've told my present wife to pound them.

Zimbabwe Eyes UNWTO Post

In another development, Mr Mugabe and his fellow African leaders are pushing for the candidature of Zimbabwean Minister of Tourism, Dr Walter Mzembi, for the Secretary-General position of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

Speaking to journalists in Accra, Dr Mzembi said, My vision is for a UNWTO which is responsive to member states' aspirations for a global tourism that is inclusive, integrative, tolerant, responsible, empowering, equitable, sustainable and an effective tool for public diplomacy.

My mission is to achieve universal state, improve affiliate and associate membership to the UNWTO, advocate for greater intra and inter-regional collaboration, safe, secure, seamless travel, and strive for double digit regional tourism growth and equity.

Mr Mzembi noted that equally important is the need to grow affiliate and associate membership to levels commensurate with sectoral growth.

On the issue of inclusivity, the Zimbabwean Minister said he aspires to embark on a 'Tourism for all' campaign; for the right of every individual to enjoy barrier-free travel and product access around the globe, regardless of physical challenges, age, gender, colour or creed.

He also aims at developing a value proposition that meets member states' aspirations beyond the current technical policy functions, giving emphasis to networking and partnerships for tourism resource mobilisation and developmental needs.

Beliefs

Mzembi is a firm believer in sensitivity to emerging contemporary challenges that include inter alia; security, terrorism, political conditions, pandemics, epidemics, climate change, human trafficking, child sexual abuse and embracing ICT solutions, promoting policies that foster growth with equity, equal treatment and equitable resource allocation to member states, sign posting tourism contribution to Global GDP from 10% to 15% during his tenure.

Should he win the position, the man intends to lobby and advocate for intelligent taxation, safe, secure and seamless travel through Open Skies, Open Borders and security sensitive policies while leveraging on tourism as a tool for sound inter- and intra-state relations, tolerance, citizen engagement and deployment of soft power in the resolution of contemporary challenges to promote peace, social harmony and understanding.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) is reportedly investigating the alleged financial rot at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

The EOCO is said to have written to the acting Director-General of the Trust to furnish it with information on some private companies believed to be prominent during the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

A source at EOCO mentioned some of the companies as Pro-Vision Consulting Limited and Perfect Business Systems  both IT companies that provided wide-ranging consultancy and other services even to state-owned institutions, including SSNIT.

Perfect Business Solution is the company handling the SSNIT biometric project dubbed 'Operation Business Suite,' popularly called (OBS) which has run into troubles after several millions of cedis had been paid to the vendor.

The OBS has become an albatross on the Trust with some people using it to milk the distressed pension fund managers.

All these dodgy deals were under the supervision of the immediate past SSNIT Director-General, Ernest Thopmson.

The EOCO was said to be acting pursuant to Section 19 of the Economic and Organized Crime Office Act 2010 (Act 804).

EOCO Letter

The letter to SSNIT, signed by Acting Executive Director ACP K.K. Amoah(rtd), requested for information on all contract documents between SSNIT and Pro-Vision Consulting Limited, including all charges requests and service level agreements for the provision of all Oracle-based software.

The Office also asked for all contract documents between SSNIT and Perfect Systems, including all charges requests and service level agreements for the provision of Operation Business Suit (OBS) software.

The EOCO further requested for payments made by SSNIT to Pro-Vision Consulting and Perfect Business Systems on legacy and currently used systems.

SSNIT Boss

SSNIT immediate past Director-General, Ernest Thompson, was relieved of his appointment in January by President Akufo-Addo.

The sacking of Mr. Thompson was reportedly received with excitement by the staff who were of the view that SSNIT was allegedly run down under him, with most of its priced assets including banks like Merchant Bank, being offloaded.

The outgoing SSNIT board under Joshua Alabi also gave approval for the trust to put a number of its expensive management residential facilities in Accra on sale at the eleventh hour when the NDC was on its way out of government.

The buildings include six residential properties and two guest houses located in plush areas like North Ridge, Cantonments and Airport Residential Area  all in Accra  but there are concerns that the facilities will be sold at very cheap rates as most state properties are being sold allegedly to cronies.

Unpopular Decision

The decision raised public concerns because some observers believed that SSNIT needed to protect the properties and not dispose of them, while others claimed that the powerful management and the board might turn around to buy the affected properties for peanuts.

By William Yaw Owusu
The leadership of parliament has called on the Special Investigative Committee probing the bribery scandal to release its report to make the matter rest.

At a joint press briefing in Accra yesterday, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the members were awaiting the committees report latest next week, to inform the house as to how to handle the issue.

Although he wanted an immediate release of the report, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said the committee deserved to be given the necessary space and time to come out with a complete report.

The committee, chaired by Joe Ghartey, a former deputy speaker, is investigating bribery allegation made by Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga, against Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko that he (minister) paid members of the Appointments Committee to approve his nomination.

Budget Debate

The general debate on the 2017 'Asempa' budget will commence today in parliament with some new members of the house eager to make some impact during the debate.

It is expected to be a heated debate from both sides.

The leadership of parliament has decided to give more slots to new members from both the majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) during the debate.

The majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who briefed the media about the intended debate, urged the parliamentary press corps and media houses to give a lot of space and attention to the debate since it is the time real critique is made on the government's budget and financial policy.

He said leadership had decided to give more time to new MPs to contribute to the debate and for them to prove their worth in debating on the financial policy of a government.

The debate will focus on all the sectors of the economy and chairmen of the various select committees as well as ranking members would be given 15 minutes each to advance their arguments while ordinary members would be given 10 minutes to debate.

The minority leader, Haruna iddrisu, indicated the minority's readiness to subject the 'Asempa' budget to serious scrutiny.

The motion on the debate is expected to be moved by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah.

Meanwhile, the minority leader who is the ranking member of the Appointments Committee, has indicated that the committee would start the vetting of the deputy regional ministers on Tuesday, March 14.

He has appealed to President Akufo-Addo to quickly submit the list of the rest of the deputy ministerial positions to the committee for it to complete its work on time.

By Thomas Fosu Jnr
After the Soweto massacre in South Africa, black students across South Africa formed the South Africa Students Organization (SASO). The motto of the organization was 'FREE SASO'. As students in Ghana, even though we were not domiciled in apartheid South Africa, we moved in sympathy with our colleagues over there and formed our own branches on many campuses across Ghana. Those were the days when we used to have debating societies on campuses and we seriously debated different topics on the way the whites were treating black Africans in South Africa. Critiquing the apartheid regime therefore became a passion for us.

In fact, we exchanged letters with our colleagues in South Africa and joined them in spirit. The hawks among us wanted to join our brothers and sisters in South Africa and slug it out with the apartheid regime. We saw Apartheid as evil and abhorred the system to the extent that those of us who were reading literature composed damning poems about apartheid. Unlike the late president of Ivory Coast, Houphouet Boigny who was calling for a tete-a-tete approach to the South Africa problem, some of us wanted war as a solution to apartheid.

One day, Miriam Makeba visited Ghana and in an interaction with the SASO in Ghana, the beautiful lady who sung Malaika told us how Dr. Kwame Nkrumah ordered the Foreign Ministry of Ghana to issue her with a Diplomatic Passport since she could not acquire a South African passport because she ran into exile when the regime threatened to arrest her. In fact, it was not only Ghana that provided the stateless Zenzile Miriam Makeba with an international passport. Guinea and Belgium also did the same to the lady. At the end of her wonderful and sorrowful speech we joined her in singing the ANC anthem: Nkosi sikeleli Africa. Malu phakanyiso uphondo wayo. Yiya imithandazo yethu. Nkosi sikelela Nkosi sikelela (Lord, bless Africa. May her spirit rise high up. Hear thou our prayers. Lord bless us, Lord bless us). Even though Xhosa is not a language spoken in Ghana, we were able to sing the song in Xhosa so well that tears trickled down the face of Miriam Makeba.

All these while, the late Nelson Mandela was languishing in jail at the Robbins Island and we saw him as an icon in the fight against apartheid. A copy of one of the letters he wrote in prison which was smuggled out reached Ghana and you could imagine how it was photocopied and circulated among members of SASO. In those days, the most popular and sought for pictures we all wanted to paste on walls in our dormitories were those of Nelson Mandela and Che Guevara, the Cuban revolutionary. Even before Rawlings launched his 1979 revolution, we were revolutionizing in support with our brothers and sisters in South Africa.

The whole world, and Africans in particular, could not hide their joy when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. We even became more elated when the ANC led by Mandela won the election which led to Mandela becoming the first black president of South Africa. Black Africans did not troop to South Africa to steal the nation's wealth. Since we were brothers in arms during the fight for freedom from apartheid rule, black Africans felt the time had come for them to also contribute their quota in building South Africa. So doctors, nurses. engineers, artisans, hairdressers and all manner of professionals went to South Africa to work because prior to the death of apartheid, the whites cowed and denied the blacks the needed education for them to be self reliant and employable. The high unemployment rate in South Africa is not as a result of other black Africans taking over jobs. It is as a result of the South African blacks' inability to prepare themselves for the job market. And that was not their fault because under the apartheid regime opportunities for blacks were very limited.

Since other black Africans started going to South Africa, everything was going on well until 2008 when the first xenophobia attacks on fellow black men and women happened. Those attacks led to the death of many innocent black Africans. The world and African leaders for that matter condemned the attacks and called for the immediate stop to the violence. Those calls fell on deaf ears because before one could blink, another xenophobic attacks came knocking on our doors in 2015. That too led to the death of countless black Africans. Those attacks too were condemned by all well meaning Africans but sadly one has happened again.

The black South Africans seem to be riding the wrong horse. Corruption under Jacob Zuma is very endemic and as a result, investors are not attracted to the country. Instead of the blacks in South Africa demonstrating against Jacob Zuma and his bunch of corrupt officials, they rather chose to vent their anger on innocent migrants who are contributing their quota in their own small way towards the development of South Africa. Here in Ghana, we have foreigners competing with Ghanaians in trading, and even 'galamsey' operations but we are not out there displaying xenophobic attitudes. Why South Africa, with such a vast natural resources and high technology? The truth is that few things have changed since the end of apartheid in South Africa. The slum, called SOWETO, overlooking the plush whites only skyscrapers, is still there as it was before apartheid was disbanded. The gap between the whites and blacks as far as riches are concerned is still wide and crime which used to be the problem of the apartheid regime has hit the sky.

AU: ANOTHER TOOTHLESS BULLDOG?

Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph  Emperor Haile Selassie

On 25th May 1963, the first organization, the Organization of African Unity was formed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The then president of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah played a key role in the formation of the union which was initially made up of thirty two independent African countries. A Charter was adopted with high hopes to help other African nations have their independence and also bring about change and freedom to African countries and restore dignity of the African people, particularly those in bondage in South Africa. The OAU tried its best but sadly its best was not good enough for Africa so it was dissolved in 2002 and replaced with the African Union.

Critics of the OAU argued that the Union in particular did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, and they often dubbed it the Dictators' Club. Just travel down memory lane and read the list of dictators in Africa who were members of the Union, starting from our own Kwame Nkrumah to Iddi Amin and recently a bully and an inane and boorish character called Yahya Jammeh and you will side with the critics. The dream of a United States of Africa as proposed by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah did not see the like of the day because there were suspicions flying everywhere as each president wanted to rule his or her own nation.

Unlike the OAU, the African Union is a geo-political entity, almost covering the entirety of the African continent, with Morocco being an exception. Initially when the AU was formed some of us thought at long last the real unity that we have been looking forward to will become a reality. What is happening in South Africa has forced us to revise our notes because things have rather turned sour and bad. If fellow Africans are clubbing and butchering their fellow Africans with clubs and axes, then I think, we should redefine unity. So the AU cannot do anything apart from just condemning the acts of these South Africans? What about sanctions which should be so biting that no African nation will dare tow the line of South Africa?

Anytime there is a xenophobic attack in South Africa, I remember the toils and travails of our forefathers like Namdi Azikiwe, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Seiku Toure, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Kenneth Kaunda, Julius Nyerere, Haile Selassie , Modibo Keita, Leopold Senghor, Maurice Yamyogo, Nelson Mandela, Sadauna of Sokoto, Jomo Kenyatta and many more. These were African leaders who risked their lives and put their noses on the grindstone to bring Africa this far only for a few black South Africans to turn the clock back. By now they may be turning in their graves and asking: Is this the South Africa we fought for?

Eric Bawah
We have followed the Marwako episode since the story broke. While we do not agree with any action which seeks to denigrate the citizens of this country by both local and expatriate employers, we are guided by the need to be fair in whatever we do.

Social media have been expectedly busy with the subject as most contributors  if not all  are demanding that patronage for Marwako products be stopped forthwith.

The above is a costly call, the implications of which are far-reaching: the victim has spoken as has the chief executive officer of the company who is on the side of fairness.

The law enforcement agency is currently investigating the case in which the suspect is said to have pushed the head of a Ghanaian female worker into blended pepper. It would be in the interest of both victim and the suspect that the matter is managed fairly and in accordance with the laws of the land.

We are unable to deal with the intricacies of the case, such exercise being the preserve of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service. Besides, we do not want to take sides in a matter which fallouts if not managed properly, can have negative effects on our business environment. We certainly do not want to post a picture of a Ghana where the rule of law is varied for citizens and expatriates.

It is more in the interest of the victim that the case is treated professionally and fairly than otherwise. The way things stand now and in the event of a warped management of the case, the message that would be posted would be enough to scare prospective investors away  no matter how minute such effect might be.

Our investment climate must not under any circumstance be tainted by actions which tend to paint us as antagonists against expatriates. We must not forget that investors prefer environments where they can count on the fairness of the law enforcement and judicial system.

Jumping to conclusion in a case in which the employer of both victim and suspect is ready to cooperate with the police and to allow the law to take its course as it were, is not the right thing to do.

For those who are clamouring for a boycott of the Marwako food brand, they should remember the over four hundred persons who would be laid off. That is not to say that employers, local and expatriate, must abuse the rights of their staff. All we are saying is let us allow the rule of law to work.

The victim, we have heard, has started posting a picture of suffering from a sort of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We are not experts in this field, but we just have a feeling that she is stretching the subject too far. In the event that she wins the case she might not be able to work again in the Marwako environment which appears to have been fouled by the social media interventions in the manner that we are seeing.

Should the law enforcement deem it fit to prosecute, let them not hesitate to do so because we want the truth to be told. In the event there was an iota of racism or even disrespect to the victim, the applicable law should apply.
The suspected arsonist

08.03.2017 LISTEN

The police in the Ashanti Region have arrested a man suspected to have set a fire which led to the death of four people, including his ex-fiancee.

This paper could not readily get the exact details of the suspect as the police were tight-lipped over the matter.

Even though DAILY GUIDE tried its best, the name of the man, his age and where he was arrested, were not provided.

But sources disclosed that the suspect was allegedly behind the Monday dawn blaze at Breman Kontwima, which killed four people in a wooden structure.

The suspect was said to have been jilted by his ex-fiancee (name not revealed), who's now reportedly dating another man.

Monday dawn whilst the woman (fiancee) and her two children were asleep, the unidentified man was said to have locked the door from outside.

He, according to sources, then poured a liquid substance like petrol at the place and torched it before absconding to his hideout.

The woman, her two children and her fiancee, reportedly cried out loud for help but it was too late as the inferno burned them into ashes.

The police were informed about the case and through investigation they managed to apprehend the suspect from his hideout on Tuesday.

There were reported bruises on his hands and some parts of the body at the time of his arrest.

A police source hinted DAILY GUIDE that the suspect had confessed setting the fire at the place, citing broken-heart.FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije

08.03.2017 LISTEN

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma South, Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, has called for a six-year non-renewable term for the president instead of the four-year term to promote development in the country.

He said the current four-year term is a complete waste of time and resources and that there is the urgent need for the 1992 Constitution to be reviewed to give every president a six-year non-renewable term to give him ample time to execute his plans and that of his party's manifesto fully.

He said as Ghana celebrates its 60th Independence anniversary, the country must seriously review the constitution and increase the tenure of the president to help fast-track development of the country.

In a four-year term, the President uses the first year to appoint his ministers and put in place his government, the third-year is used to marshal resources for another elections and the last year is used for electioneering campaign and so the only active year for effective governance is the second year, he said, stressing that if a president is not re-elected in his second term bid, his first term would not have any impact on the electorate and would have been a waste of time.

Dr Okoe Vanderpuije made the call in a statement he made on the floor of parliament yesterday on the topic 'Ghana @60, the political lessons and the way forward'

He disclosed that it is an undisputable fact that since the promulgation of the 1992 constitution, anytime a president is elected, time and resources are spent to defend a one-term four year incumbency and that the first four-year-term comes with huge financial outlay and burden.

The term of office, as it exists under the current constitution, is woefully insufficient for any government to seriously consider improving the economy and organizing elections in every four years. It is a financial pest and a drain on the limited state resources, he said, stressing that there can't be any effective planning and maximum development during a four-year term.

My statement is for the consideration of the House a six-year term of presidency without any opportunity for re-election since this will in the long run promote greater development, save the nation huge financial burdens in organizing elections and promoting proper accountability to the electorate

The NDC MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini backed the call by the Ablekuma South MP, saying it was for the same reason that former President J.A. Kufuor in his last 'State of the Nation' address also called for a five-year term renewable for the president.

He said there is great wisdom in giving a government enough time to implement its policies to improve the lives of the people.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alex Afenyo-Markin, in his contribution, said he has also made several calls for some portions of the constitution to be amended to meet the needs of the people.

He could not fathom why the constitution could prevent some groups of public workers like civil servants from engaging in partisan politics and at the same time allow public servants like teachers and health workers to openly engage in partisan politics and even contest for positions in political parties.

When that happens, it becomes very difficult for people who openly opposed other candidates while holding public offices to work with elected politicians, for instance, in the Ministry of Education, who could undermine them in achieving their political goals.

Some of the MPs also called on the President to quickly bring the report of the Constitution Review Commission to Parliament for immediate consideration.

By Thomas Fosu Jnr
Dolapo Ogundimu

08.03.2017 LISTEN

Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana, Dolapo Ogundimu, has been voted the most reputable Ghanaian bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in a ranking poll led by South African based Reputation Management Agency, Reputation Poll and leading PR and Rating Agency, Avance Media.

The ranking poll, which featured 34 distinguished leaders of Class 1 banks in Ghana, had Mr Ogundimu attracting 17 percent votes from the over 3,000 voters, who participated in the polling exercise.

Dolapo is a seasoned banker with over three decades of high-level professional banking experience in the sub-region.

He has been recognised as a change manager and contributor to the development of the financial services industry in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana.

He is the first managing director to have won the voted Ghana Banking Awards 'Bank of the Year' with two different banks, an accolade he still holds among his peers.

Until his appointment in 2012 as MD of Access Bank Ghana, Dolapo pioneered Guaranty Trust Bank to become one of the most successful banks in the industry.

Forbes ranked entrepreneur and founder of Reputation Poll, Barrister Rex Tonye Idaminabo, admonished all CEOs of bank in Ghana to use their experiences to mentor young people to become better business leaders across the continent.

Access Bank's growing reputation has come at no surprise, given its recent achievements in the Ghanaian banking industry.

Access Bank in December last year became the first bank with Nigerian heritage to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

A few weeks ago, the bank also retained its leadership position as the 'Most Influential Bank on Social Media' for 2015 and 2016.

Reputation poll is a South African research based global performance management consulting company.

Avance Media is Africa's leading media and public relations agency focused on creating varied contents for the global market.

A business desk report


Switzerland imported over $2 billion worth of gold from Ghana in 2016 alone for conversion to finished products for the world market.

This shows an overwhelming increase of about $90 million over the 2015 figure of $1 billion.

Charge de Affairs of the Swiss Embassy in Ghana, Roland Fischer, announced this at the annual Swiss-Ghanaian Chamber of Commerce (SGCC) cocktail and business executives meeting in Accra.

Trade statistics

In 2014 alone, the volume of trade between Switzerland and Ghana hit $1.8 billion and has since been rising every year.

Within the same period, Ghana imported $14.8 billion, making it the 87th largest importer in the world.

Over the last five years, the imports of Ghana, have increased at an annualized rate of 13.7 percent from $7.8 billion in 2009 to $14.8 billion in 2014.

The most recent imports are led by refined petroleum which represents 14.7 percent of the total imports of Ghana, followed by crude petroleum which accounts for 3.68 percent.

Ghana as trade partner

According to Mr. Fischer, Swiss continued to see Ghana as its major trade partner, adding Ghana is the third most important producer of gold for Switzerland, with Peru and Uzbekistan being first and second respectively.

He added that Ghana also continued to remain the major supplier of cocoa and other cashew crops for Switzerland.

Switzerland also exports finished products such as pharmaceutical products, tools and equipment and vehicles to Ghana, he said.

Mr. Fischer admitted that there was a large trade imbalance between the two countries, but indicated that it was the responsibility of both governments to address the issue.

As part of the Swiss government's plans to reduce the gap, he said a total amount of $74 million has been earmarked for development projects in Ghana for 2017 alone.

He said the government planned to assist Ghana in the areas of public health, public financing, infrastructure and education.

Insurance policy

Customer Relations Executive of the RMAS, an insurance brokerage company, Hughes Razak Dakpo, advised business owners and directors to take advantage of the many benefits offered by insurance policies.

He said it was important for business executives and directors to stay abreast of the insurance policies in the country in order to serve their customers and employees well.

Chairman of the SGCC, Dr. Nortey K. Omaboe, said the chamber was established to promote the interests of Ghanaian and Swiss businesses in the country.
KARA, Togo, 8 March 2017,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- At least 24 villages in the Kara region are expected to benefit from a new health initiative spearheaded by electronics giant, Samsung, the Togo Ministry of Health and Vision Togo. The Samsung Mobile Health Clinic is a facility mounted onto a truck and is fully equipped to assist community members in the prevention and diagnosis of medical conditions. The truck will move between Lome and Kara in an eight week rotation to ensure maximum outreach.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Togo's Minister of Health, Prof. Moustafa Mijiyawa, says: "We wish to cultivate a culture of proactive healthcare in Togo. The Samsung Mobile Health Clinic supports our mission in championing a healthy nation with our people - to live well, live long and with peace of mind."

Sir Paul Judge, founder of Vision Togo says: "We are encouraged by this partnership as it supports our goal to reduce inequalities in Togo. We forsee so many communities benefitting from these medical services and the Samsung Mobile Health Clinic is best placed to help us do this. We hope to roll out more clinics in other regions in the future. The mobile clinic will enable last mile health interventions as well as real time data gathering which is essential to improving overall access to healthcare in Togo."

A large focus will be placed on screening people to establish conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, tooth decay and cataracts. The mobile clinic will also be used to educate the communities about health issues and encouraging people to take tests as a preventative measure.

The Chief of Kpagouda, a village elder, says that the arrival of the mobile clinic in the village will contribute a lot to the reduction of tropical diseases and above all help improve efficiency in the local health system. "It will also empower women, since the clinic arrives direct to the village and they do not need to raise money to travel far to a health facility. It is a great honour for our village to be selected on the route of the mobile clinic."

Mr. Lee Changwook, managing director for Samsung Electronics West Africa says: "Delivering effective healthcare in the continent usually means doing things differently. The Samsung Mobile Health Clinic is designed for use in remote rural areas, and intended to eliminate the economic and geographical barriers that prevent people from obtaining free quality medical attention."

"We continuously strive to make a positive change in people's lives through our technology and expertise and help the United Nations in tackling the SDGs in Africa to achieve the agreed targets. We are confident the mobile clinic will bring positive change to the lives of people in Togo," he adds.
Savana signatures a non-governmental organization has called for effective measures to ending child-marriage in the country especially the three regions of the North.

in a press statement to mark the 2017 International Women day celebration, the NGO believes early and force marriage denies girls from attaining high level of education making them less productive in the working world.

"As an organization working to improve the lives of women and young girls, we wish to boldly condemn the practice of Forced and Early marriages that continue to deny girls the opportunity to go to school and enjoy their basic rights as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana" the statement said

The statement also congratulate women especially, Ghanaian women for their immense contributions to both the economic and political stability and development of the country.

"As we mark the International Womens Day (today), Savana Signatures wishes to congratulate Ghanaian women for their immense contributions to peace, political stability, development and economic advancement of the nation.

Savana Signatures identifies itself with the theme for this years International Women's Day celebration dubbed Be Bold for Change. This theme challenges all stakeholders to boldly contribute to improving lives of many including young girls and boys" the statement added

.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW

Press Release: Lets End Forced and Early Marriages in Ghana

Savana Signatures as an organization recognizes the role women play in social, political and economic development of every nation. Women are not only good managers, they are also active contributors to the socio-economic development of the nation.

As we mark the International Womens Day (today), Savana Signatures wishes to congratulate Ghanaian women for their immense contributions to peace, political stability, development and economic advancement of the nation.

Savana Signatures identifies itself with the theme for this years International Women's Day celebration dubbed Be Bold for Change. This theme challenges all stakeholders to boldly contribute to improving lives of many including young girls and boys.

The prevalence of early and forced marriages in our communities is a concern to Savana Signatures.

As an organization working to improve the lives of women and young girls, we wish to boldly condemn the practice of Forced and Early marriages that continue to deny girls the opportunity to go to school and enjoy their basic rights as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

The physical and psychological harm young girls suffer when forced into unwanted and early marriages cannot be downplayed. Forced and early marriages expose girls to HIV and AIDS, Sexual transmitted Infections (STIs), teenage pregnancy and its attended consequences among other things and should no more be condoned. Early and forced marriages are unacceptable and should be halted immediately.

It is based on this that; Savana Signatures is calling on all stakeholders to join hands to help end forced and early marriages in Ghana.

We are calling on the media as a key development partner to help forge a better working world- a more gender inclusive world that provides equal opportunities for men and women, and boys and girls in the society; A world that does not discriminate on grounds of race, gender, religion and political affiliations and a world that respects the basic rights of young people. Above all a world that does not encourages child, forced and early marriages.

We are urging the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Civil Society Organizations, political leaders, traditional authorities, religious groups, Ghana Police Service and individuals to stand up against forced and early marriages. Lets us end early and forced marriages in Ghana.
Teenage pregnancy is a very critical issue which requires urgent actions in Ghana in terms of its ramifications for the general development of teenagers and the nation as a whole. Globally, an estimated 16 million young women aged 15 to 19 years give birth every year. Meanwhile, most of these teenage pregnancies are premarital and unintended. Teenage pregnancy, apart from having direct impact on the physical and emotional health of girls, also has the potential of permanently curtailing their life opportunities (UNICEF, WCARO). This means that teenage pregnancy is a threat to Africas demographic dividend and must be tackled with all urgency and seriousness.

As the world marks International Womens Day today, ExLA Group takes a look at the state of girls in Ghana in relation to teenage pregnancy and the way forward.

In Ghana, teenagers or better still adolescents form close to a quarter (22.4 per cent) of the total population of citizens according to the 2010 national census. They are between the ages of 11 and 20 years. A recent study on 20-24 year old population of Ghanaian female adolescents having a birth by 18 years by UNICEF, WCARO revealed an 18.55 per cent mark, out of which 17 per cent of the births were before age 15, with the remaining 83 per cent taking place after age 15. Interestingly, this percentage happens to be the lowest in the sub-region. Nonetheless further statistics reveal that countries with the highest rates of adolescent childbearing are usually those with high early child marriage rates. Ghana happens to be doing quite well at the moment when it comes to reducing the cases of child marriage. It again has the lowest rate in the West and Central African sub-regions which alludes to the correlation between early child marriage and teenage pregnancy.

What this suggests is that, to the extent that child marriage is a major cause of teenage pregnancy in other sub-Saharan African countries, Ghana is partially exempted. However, there are a vast number of factors which cause teenage pregnancies in Ghana, but the condescending factors as far as regional and global trends are concerned point to the following  access to education, area of residence and level of household wealth. It is therefore assumed that the higher the status of a teenage girl in relation to any of the above factors, the lower the possibility of she getting pregnant. That is to say for instance that the easier the access to quality higher education by the girl child, the more the access to information and security hence a lower possibility of teenage pregnancy and so on.

However, as much as education helps to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy in Ghana just as is globally, there have been reports of teachers impregnating teenagers in recent times in the Central Region of Ghana, one of the top 5 regions with a high prevalent rate of the menace. The report as revealed by the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the Department of Gender in Central region suggests that primary and secondary school teachers were responsible for 301 teenage pregnancy cases in the area in the year 2015 alone. This is a very disturbing development considering that teachers are among the most important professionals as far as nurturing teenagers are concerned. Such breach of trust could awkwardly thwart the gains made so far through education to curb the menace of teenage pregnancies in Ghana. It is therefore crucial for the Ghana Education Service and the Police to take the necessary steps to investigate the revelations and administer sanctions where necessary to bridge the gap once more.

The prevalent rate of teenage pregnancy in five regions in Ghana including Upper East, Volta, Brong Ahafo, Central and Eastern stood at 14 per cent or more by the end of 2014 according to the Gender Ministry. This directly contributes to the maternal and child mortality rates and pregnancy-related complications in the country noting that teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19 stand higher risks four times more than those 20 years and above.

In the 60th year of Ghanas independence where mobilising for the future is an overriding theme, it would be highly essential to work hard to safeguard the future of girls as they grow. Consequently, it is also necessary to establish social safety nets for these young victims of teenage pregnancy in order not to lose their contributions towards the agenda.

ExLA Group through its gender desk therefore calls on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to lead the fight against teenage pregnancy at all levels, enforcing the compulsory enrolment of all girls in school while making schools safe environments for nurturing girls for their effective contributions towards the development of Ghana. This also requires effective collaborations between the ministry, Civil Society Organisations and NGOs to develop comprehensive, sustained and consistent approaches to tackling the menace.
The National Democratic Congress, (NDC) in the Upper West Region, has sacked four executives in the Lawra Constituency, who they say contributed to the party's poor performance, which saw the defeat of their 2016 parliamentary candidate, Bede Ziedeng.

The four include the Constituency Secretary, Philip Bagyo, Deputy Youth Organizer, Sampson Botee, Women's Organizer, Hajia Bintu Alhassan, and the partys Communication Director in the constituency.

According to the party, they were sacked because they supported the dismissed former Member of Parliament of the area, Sampson Abu, who contested as an independent candidate in the last parliamentary elections held on December 7, 2016.

Sampson Abu

The Lawra Constituency Chairman of the NDC, Joshua Lotaa, told Citi News the actions of the dismissed executives contributed to the defeat of the party's parliamentary candidate Bede Ziedeng.

He noted that, the constituency secretary as well as his other executives, received money and logistics from the party to boost their campaign, yet failed to utilize the resources for the purpose to which they were given.

The Secretary received resources as well as a brand new motorbike to do party work for the constituency, but he never campaigned for the party. All that he did was to campaign for the independent candidate and at the end of the day we lost the seat. So after the election during the review, everybody accused the secretary of breaching the party constituency for his action, same with his other colleagues  All of them received money for campaign, he added.

In a separate statement from the Lawra NDC, the party has replaced the dismissed executives with the following people:

Madam Mary Zimaal has been appointed as the Constituency Women Organizer to replace Hajia Bintu Alhassan whilst Madam Seraphina Banongwie has also been appointed Deputy Constituency Women Organiser to replace the late Agnes Sorinye. Mr Yussif Zakaria has been appointed Deputy Constituency Youth Organizer in place of Mr. Sampson Botee. Mr Michael Tangkur has been elevated from Deputy Communications Officer to Constituency Communications Officer whilst Mr Muazu Adams has been appointed Deputy Constituency Communications Officer.

Mr Frederick Yirlabuor, Alhaji Baba Wawaa, Aloysious Daanoma, Clovis Saame, Nicholas Nangzie, and Faatol Dominic, have all been appointed as members of the Executive Committee of the party in accordance with article 49 of the NDC constitution, the statement added.

Bede Ziedeng

Following the NDC's poor performance in the 2016 election, the party formed a 13-member committee to investigate the cause of the party's historic defeat.

The committee was tasked to submit its report within 90 days after its inauguration.

Below is the full statement from the NDC in Lawra constituency:

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS

LAWRA CONSTITUENCY

LAWRA

The Lawra Constituency Executive Committee of the NDC held a meeting on the 14th December 2016 at Eremon D/A J.H.S. to review the performance of the party in the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

At the end of the deliberations, the following decisions were taken at the meeting:

The Constituency Secretary Mr. Philip Bagyo has been removed from office and suspended from the party for refusing to participate in campaigning for the party in the 2016 elections but rather chose to campaign for the independent candidate Samson Abu which led to the defeat of the party's parliamentary candidate Bede A. Ziedeng in the parliamentary election.

His conduct is anti-party and in breach of articles 45 and 46 of the NDC constitution.

In place of Mr Philip Bagyo, Mr Ignatious Ziem Meyir who is the Deputy Constituency Secretary has been elevated to the position of substantive constituency secretary of the Lawra constituency in accordance with article 49 of the NDC constitution.

The Deputy Constituency Youth Organiser; Mr. Sampson Botee has also been removed from office and suspended from the party for campaigning on the platform of the independent candidate and also acting as his polling agent at the Kalsagri polling station on election day. His conduct is also anti-party and in complete breach of articles 45 and 46 of the NDC constitution.

The party re-iterates that on the 1st November 2016, the General Secretary of the NDC Mr, Johnson Asiedu Nketia dismissed from the party Hon. Samson Abu, Hajia Bintu Alhassan (the then Constituency Women Organiser), Mr. Peter Asibi Kayir( the then Constituency Communication Officer) in a press statement also for breaching articles 45 and 46 of the NDC constitution and we hereby confirm those sanctions.

The following decisions were also taken at the meeting:-

Madam Mary Zimaal has been appointed as the Constituency Women Organizer to replace Hajia Bintu Alhassan whilst Madam Seraphina Banongwie has also been appointed Deputy Constituency Women Organiser to replace the late Agnes Sorinye Mr Yussif Zakaria has been appointed Deputy Constituency Youth Organizer in place of Mr. Sampson Botee

Mr Michael Tangkur has been elevated from Deputy Communications Officer to Constituency Communications Officer whilst Mr Muazu Adams has been appointed Deputy Constituency Communications Officer

Mr Frederick Yirlabuor, Alhaji Baba Wawaa, Aloysious Daanoma, Clovis Saame, Nicholas Nangzie, and Faatol Dominic, have all been appointed as members of the Executive Committee of the party in accordance with article 49 of the NDC constitution.

We wish to use this opportunity to thank all NDC party members in the constituency for their support during the 2016 elections and to urge them to continue to have faith in the party.

We appeal to all party members to continue to remain calm whilst we take steps to put things right so that the party can move forward. The NDC still remains the dominant political force in the constituency and will continue to remain so into the future. What happened in the parliamentary election is simply considered a temporary setback. We shall be back.

JOSHUA LOTAA

(CONSTITUENCY CHAIRMAN)



By: Godwin A. Allotey & Umaru Sanda Amadu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
You are welcome as the new Regional Minister of our region, the land of my birth and the land of historically courageous and peace-loving people who always aspire to ensure the prevalence of justice, peace and tranquility. The joy of learning that you have been appointed and confirmed as the new Regional Minister outweighed my reason to come to congratulate you for achieving such a great feat. Congratulations sir and I think it is worthwhile that you are carried shoulder high through the region as a re-enactment of the story that the stones the builders rejected has become the corner stone.

In fact, I would have been very disappointed if dozens including known against had not thronged your residence to celebrate your success with you.

But I seek to advise that you do not allow the joy of the position overcome your determination to transform our forgotten region as you promised. Know that many have been in that office and were seen a disappointments simply because they failed to honor their promise to the region.

Hon. Minister, my attention has been drawn to a lot of issues going on in the region and within our party which i am not happy with and I wish to bring it to your attention first of all as Minister and also chairman of the party in the region. I have been reliably informed that, favoritism, cronyism, and Political hypocrisy are becoming much within your office and among the regional executive.

Hon. Minister, kindly permit me to explain these words favoritism, cronyism and Political hypocrisy.

Favoritism is just what it sounds like; it is favoring a person not because he or she is doing the best job but rather because of some extraneous feature-membership in a favored group, personal likes and dislikes, etc. Favoritism can be demonstrated in hiring, honoring, or awarding contracts. A related idea is patronage, giving public service jobs to those who may have helped elect the person who has the power of appointment.

Cronyism is a more specific form of favoritism, referring to partiality towards friends and associates. As the old saying goes, "It's not what you know but who you know," or, as blogger Danny Ferguson put it, "It's not what you don't know; it's who your college roommate knows." Cronyism occurs within a network of insiders-the "good old boys," who confer favors on one another.

Political hypocrisy is "the conscious use of a mask to fool the public and gain political benefit."

Sir, do not get mad at me on what you are about to hear neither do i want you to be like the former regional minister who called GETFUND not to approve my financial aids because I am an NPP Member and always speaking against his government.

Sir, my worry is all about Asunafo South, Atebubu/Amantin, Asutifi South, Dormaa, Tain and Sunyani, Municipal and District Chief Executives-MDCEs positions being lobbied. It is very much as if you have so much self interest in who becomes head in these municipal and district assemblies. Surprisingly, I am of the view that your dual position as head of region and party should have made you play a more neutral role.

The region is of important significance to the political landscape of this nation and its socio-economic and infrastructural development should match this level of significance and for this reason competence, efficiency and effectiveness of political heads is of much essence.

Mr. Minister, we the people of Brong Ahafo, especially the youth, pleads with you to allow laid down procedures and regulations work. We will also entreat you to advice your various self appointed aides to respect human dignity and life achievements including age of all persons in and of the region.

You should note that the effect of election 2020 starts with how you are handling preliminary issues such as this. You have the right to doubt what have been said but you should have it at the back of your mind that, the over whelming victory in the region was not as a result of your hard work but because of the wind of change that blew in the whole nation. Ghanaians were fed up with the incompetence and corrupt nature of the then Mahama led administration coupled with the fact that Ghanaians wanted to honor Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo for his patience and contribution to the socio-political development of the nation.

Let us have men and women who will make the various assemblies attractive to investors who will help create employment in the region. The party came into power with an agenda to create jobs and make livelihood better. The region has lots of natural resources and available labor to support productivity. It is time we benefit directly from the natural resources in the region. This can only be achieved when we have competent, efficient and effect but not Chairmans/Ministers favorite as head of the various assemblies.

I wish you all the best as you have started your first ever service to Region, Country and God.

Thank you.

God bless Ghana

God bless Brong Ahafo

God bless Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo

God bless us all

Sincerely Yours,

Nana Moses II

Qingdao-China.
Each time Ghana comes out of an election and it was time for the nomination of Ministers of State, the most debatable issue that sparks off is the number of Ministers that a government should have. Is it a business question, a political question or an emotional question?

I have often pondered over this statement and sometimes get confused over strong arguments that people make concerning ministerial numbers. The simplest and easiest of solutions I hear civil society groups make is that let's compare Ghana to Britain, the United States, and Germany among others. Does this presuppose learning from these countries in terms of their population against persons in ministerial positions? Will Ghana succeed?

There are millions of arguments, however, the question of right size is often at the discretion of the policy holder and not the outsider. The outsider can only advise based on his experience and not from an emotional point of view.

Politicians have also not done well to themselves as they criticise each other over the ministerial number with no one talking about the output. I wish therefore to adduce business logic when it comes to deciding on human and physical resources needed to run a business.

In the world of business, one philosophy which business owners never argue on is the objective of setting up a business which is to make profit. But when it comes to number of employees, no two business managers will agree on the right number.

The required number of Ministers like any other business should be dependent on the business strategy which should also clearly spell out the intended output. The business strategy determines the required resources needed for its accomplishment. The number game therefore is clearly irrelevant. There are businesses with small staff number of 10 and incurring a loss of 1 million Ghana cedis or lower per year and other businesses with huge staff strength of 2000 or more people making a profit of GH500.00. Which will be the preferred business to choose from? This is clearly to demonstrate the dynamics of using numbers before thinking of the business strategy. I would prefer to hear people say with this strategy you do not need this number of people and not before the strategy is rolled out.

There is another school that waits to hear of the names of new ministries and advise on synchronisation with other ministries or merger. I wish all these theorists will rather ask the President to show us the mandate given to each of these Ministers as the Parliamentary Appointments Committee tried to do. In some cases, the Committee was pleased with the rationale behind the new ministries created, in other cases they were not because either the appointees' could not express themselves properly or have not asked further questions to understand their job descriptions well

There is another school of thought whose argument is very basic. Each minister will be paid x-amount of amount and also provided with an official vehicle and therefore a drain on the national resources. This is very simple. I started the discussion by underlining the need for us to know the business strategy or the objective which the President wishes to achieve.

Let's adduce some reasons for the number of Ministers. In context, one can say that the current government made more promises than any other political party prior to the election. They have been elected into office strictly based on their messages and they must fulfil them. The urgency to do this within the next four years is probably the reason for the number of Ministers.

The main objective of the government is to create more jobs and this cannot happen in a vacuum. The creation of new regional capitals will definitely come with additional jobs and costs such as Regional Police Command, Regional House of Chiefs, Regional Education Office, Regional Minister, etc.

The Minister for the Inner Cities and the Zongo is new but it is meant to create menial jobs, I suppose, and improve upon the living conditions of the Zongos. All the ministries may have purposes, the question that we need to keep asking is whether these Ministers and ministries will help the government achieve its objectives within the four-year mandate period.

One great argument that I often find difficult to subject myself to is also from the same business philosophy which says that businesses should keep operating into the unforeseeable future. Should the business stay in business while making losses or should it close down, cut down some of its operational lines.

This is the slate on which I expect all to judge governments. Should we allow the same approach and team to continue working even when the targets are far from reach? The President has the choice to reshuffle and this he must do.

Some leaders stubbornly refuse to reshuffle or change their approach when all can see that there is something fundamentally wrong. This is the point of decision that separates a good manager from a bad one. The good manager has the power to take decisions and he /she does so when it matters. A bad manager sees a problem but finds it difficult to take a decision.

The unique part of business that guarantees continuity is the business' objective and the leaders' ability to pull together the requisite human and physical resources to accomplish the set objectives. It is not about numbers. Once we talk about numbers, we cloud our judgements which should rather be opened to see the job descriptions and strategies laid out by the Ministers to ensure that they are working in line.

The writer is the CEO of Origin8 Limited, an Advertising, Marketing, Research and Public Relation Company in Ghana.

By William Yaw Ansah
US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson (left), supporting Kweku Agyemang-Manu in unveiling the art of Johnson & Johnson

A New-Jersey-based multi-national manufacturer of pharmaceutical, diagnostic, therapeutic, surgical and biotechnology products, as well as personal hygiene company, Johnson & Johnson, has launched its West African office in Ghana.

The bureau which is located at the Nester Square, Airport City, close to Stanbic Heights, Accra, was unveiled on Tuesday, with a firm pledge from Johnson & Johnson to further support local healthcare providers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) across the sub-region in combating emerging health issues.

Forming part of the expansion drive of Johnson & Johnson in West Africa, the office is expected to help coordinate the pharmaceutical giant's global public health capabilities and resources to deliver a sustainable, measurable impact against health crisis within the sub-region.

Speaking at the launch, Ghana Country Manager of Johnson & Johnson, Priscilla Owusu-Sekyere, explained that the opening of the Accra-based West African bureau would help improve the quality of and access to healthcare within the sub-region.

Particular focus, she said, would be paid to the issues of mental health, maternal, newborn and child health, HIV prevention and oncology.

We are building a talented team that will lead the expansion of our product portfolio and continue to address many of the most prominent health issues impacting patients and healthcare providers here, she indicated.

The Global Head of Johnson & Johnson, Jaak Peeters, said the company would partner local healthcare providers in the region in the fight against infectious and non-communicable diseases.

He disclosed that the company was producing a number of new medications for the treatment of malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, among others.

Minister of Health Kweku Agyemang-Manu, in a statement on behalf of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, indicated that government was putting in place a number of measures to help strengthen healthcare delivery in the country.

Government has taken a decision to restructure NHIS to make sure it functions properly to provide healthcare efficiently to Ghanaians, he said, calling for public-private partnerships (PPPs) within the health sector in Ghana.

He appealed to Johnson & Johnson to consider establishing a factory in Ghana for the production of some of its products.

BY Melvin Tarlue


Vodafone Ghana Foundation has cleared the bills of 13 patients at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).

The charitable arm of Vodafone Ghana presented an amount of GH32,000 to the management of the hospital to disburse the medical bills of the patients who otherwise could not afford their cost of treatment.

The beneficiary patients were from the national reconstruction, plastic surgery and burns centre and the maternity wards of the hospital who had stayed in the hospital for two weeks to one month after receiving treatments.

Some of them owed as much as GH110.

This year, the foundation has targeted 300 patients across five regions in Ghana to benefit from its charity.

According to Ebenezer Amankwah, Head of Corporate Communication, Vodafone Ghana, the foundation has been undertaking such projects for the past four years on St Valentine's Day or during Christmas.

He, however, added that as part of Ghana's 60th anniversary, the foundation has decided to use the month of March as a platform to support patients who cannot afford their cost of treatment.

Mr Amankwah said, Apart from Korle-Bu we do this in 37 Hospital in Accra, Volta Regional General Hospital, Eastern Regional General Hospital and in Central Region as well. The hospitals are scattered across some of the key regions in this country.

As a company, there a lot of deliverables we are about to roll out which will fall under our big umbrella of 'supernet'. We intend to bring comfort to our customers this 60 years of independence. Aside that, this is also part of the things we are doing; all in the streamline of celebrating the 60 years of this country's independence, he said.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Mustapha Salifu, stated that the amount of money the foundation had donated was likely to increase since they were still considering other patients who were in need of such assistance.

Mariam Arhin, one of the beneficiaries of the donation, expressed their profound gratitude to Vodafone Foundation for the deed done them.

By Abigail Owiredu-Boateng
Investigations conducted by DAILY GUIDE have revealed that the oxygen plant of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) is broken down and needs immediate attention.

The Tamale Teaching Hospital has been in the news lately for the wrong reasons, and the latest gas incident is believed to be part of the mal-administration that has hit the hospital lately.

The situation has caused the facility to reportedly spend over GH15,000 weekly to buy oxygen from a company in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region to supply the product.

The hospital is reported to have been buying 100 cylinders of oxygen weekly from Air Liquide and Air Mate, private companies that produce oxygen.

Information available to DAILY GUIDE indicates that the facility will need a little over GH30,000 to fix the problem on the oxygen plant.

Surprisingly, the amount spent per week to buy oxygen from Kumasi if multiplied within four weeks could fix the oxygen situation at the hospital.

A staff at the facility who spoke to DAILY GUIDE on condition of anonymity said five children died due to lack of oxygen at the hospital.

When the paper contacted the head of the oxygen plant, Godwin Nyanyo, he admitted that the oxygen machine is faulty and needs to be fixed.

According to him, some components on the oxygen machine need to be replaced to guarantee the smooth operation of the machine.

Mr Nyanyo indicated that last week, the hospital took delivery of 100 oxygen cylinders from Kumasi.

He disclosed that parts of the oxygen plant are difficult to get in the country unless outside the country.

Mr Nyanyo, however, bemoaned the position of the building, saying that the heat produced around the plant causes it to overheat.

We are not even able to stay there as humans to work, left alone the machines, he stressed

Mr Nyanyo appealed to management to provide the department the needed components of the oxygen plant in order to fix the problem.

FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale


The Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Naa Yakubu Andani at Yendi in the Northern Region has decried the water crisis in his jurisdiction and called for help.

The Yendi Municipality is currently facing acute water shortage which has halted business activities in the area and its surroundings.

The perennial water crisis which has hit the area for almost a decade now becomes acute when the area does not receive enough rains.

The situation has affected residents of Yendi; schools, Hospital and other private institutions who are working in the area.

The Dagbon Regent, Kampakuya Naa Yakubu Andani, told DAILY GUIDE that they had solicited help from the Ghana Water Company and the government to no avail.

According to the regent, because of the population increase in Yendi, the source of water at Dakar is drying up and cannot sustain the people.

He indicated that people in the area have resorted to using water from unhealthy sources that could reintroduce guinea worm infestation into the area.

Sometimes you don't have any alternative than to rely on such water to survive which could also cause you some health challenges.

He recommended water supply from River Oti as the interim remedy to the situation because it is the largest river around and close to the area.

The regent appealed to government to as a matter of urgency come to their aid to avert the collapse of economic activities in the area.

However, Naa Yakubu Andani lauded the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration for capturing Yendi in the budget statement and hope that the water problem will be fixed.

He also thanked the President for letting Ghanaians know that they have to change their attitudes adding that 'if we want to grow as a people, then Ghanaians have to change their attitude towards everything'.

FROM Eric Kombat, Yendi


Throughout the world, whether developing or developed countries, nurses play an integral role in the health and well being of the populace as well as the health care delivery system. Thus, they are at the heart of providing health care to individuals, families and communities at large. However, the standards and level of nursing in the country has become a major issue of concern to most stakeholders.

Others too complain about the kind of treatment given to employed nurses as well as trainee nurses such as scrapping of the allowances as well as refusal of government in posting qualified health Professionals. Despite all these, nurses over the years have retained their prominence through high standards of academic excellence as well as intensive practical examination.

To some people, the nursing profession has lost it value and it is not as encouraging as it used to be some decades ago but to other stakeholders, the nursing profession is quiet interesting and attractive. To those who see the nursing profession to be some less attractive, they cited reasons such as scrapping of trainee allowances as well as refusal of government in posting nurses after their completion ti buttress their claims. To them, gone were the days where government used to give trainee nurses some token at the end of the month.

These amounts were used by most students to purchase things like course handouts among others. Other students also used these allowances to pay for their fees alongside other debts. To say the least, to some less endowed families, once their wards gets admission into the nursing training institution, they know their worries and wails are all over because to them, their children will receive allowances from the government and that will be used by the children ti may their fees. The allowances also served as source of livelihood for most vulnerable families.

Now, these allowances are no more and it indirectly means that families irrespective of their status are to fund their children's education solely by themselves. This has however deprived most people the chance to enter into the nursing training institutions.

Gone were the days where the government posts nurses immediately after completion of their national service. Now, the tained nurse and allied health professional will have to wait for a period of almost three years before he or she will be employed by the government. From 2014 till date, not even a single trained health professional have been posted by the government despite the formation of bodies such as coalition of unemployed nurses among others coupled with a number of about six different demonstration all in the name of getting them posted but all their efforts proved futile finally. As a result of this, most trained health professionals have become objects of ridicule in their various homes and some are even called toothless bull dogs.

In sharing views on this issue, majority of he people said it is unfair for nurses to be treated this way. According to them, the patients to nurse ratio is on the increase, maternal mortality keeps increasing in some parts of the country, under five mortality among others all keep on increasing day in day out, we have the skilled personnel to work and alleviate this situation but this is the case government has refused to post them. As at now, there are about fifteen thousand nurses and other allied health staff who completed from 204-2016 and awaiting postings from the government.

They however appealed to government to post these nurses as soon as possible in order for them to provide health care to people. To them, it is senseless for government to keep building health facilities and refuse to post nurses as due. The Unposted nurses also deserve better treatment. We pray that government hears their cries and attend to them duly.

God Bless Our Homeland Ghana.

Asante Richard

Health Promotion Intern

Fiaso CHPS Compound

Techiman Municipal Health Directorate.
March 8th is celebrated every year as International Womens Day, as designated by the United Nations.

Over the years, women have played and continue to play crucial roles in our national development and daily lives. Women like Yaa Asantewaa, and Madam Theodosia Okoh, blazed the trail.

Today, the fourth highest office in the land is held by a woman, her Ladyship Georgina Theodora Wood; the Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament is a woman, Hon Adwoa Safo, while the Electoral Commissions Chairperson is also a woman, Mad Charlotte Osei.

For the first time in Ghanas history the Chief of Staff is a woman, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, while Ambassador Mercy Yvonne Debrah-Karikari is the first ever femaleSecretary to the Cabinet.

As well, three of Ghanas five major telecom companies are headed by women - Yolanda Zoleka Cuba (Vodafone), Lucy Quist (Airtel) and Roshi Motman (Tigo).

In politics, religion, academia, and every other sphere of human endeavour, Ghanaian women continue to make remarkable strides both home and abroad. The women who farm and toil each day, including the kayayei should not be forgotten. We thank you all.

On this International Womens Day I wish to salute you all, especially my mother and lovely wife Samira, I say Ayekoo!

Ghana is proud of you.
Khartoum (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday pardoned 259 rebels captured in fighting with government forces, including dozens who had been sentenced to death, the presidency said.

Bashir's order came three days after a prominent insurgent group freed dozens of prisoners, mostly soldiers, it had captured in fighting with government forces.

"The decision to pardon 259 rebels aims at preparing the environment for achieving lasting peace in the country," Bashir's office said in a statement.

Those pardoned include 66 rebels who had been sentenced to death.

Of the 259 rebels to be released now, dozens were captured in 2015 after fierce fighting in war-torn South Darfur between government forces and rebels.

Although the presidency did not specify which group these rebels belonged to, government forces in 2015 fought pitched battles with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in South Darfur.

Forty-four rebels also among those pardoned were captured in the city of Omdurman in 2008 after similar clashes between government forces and JEM fighters.

"The decision to pardon is a progressive step and would help in the ceasing of hostilities," Nur Ahmed al-Nur, editor-in-chief of Assayha newspaper, told AFP.

On Sunday, another prominent rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), freed at least 125 prisoners, mostly soldiers.

The prisoners had been captured in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, where the SPLM-N has been fighting government forces for years.

The conflict in Darfur, a region the size of France, erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, accusing it of marginalising the region economically and politically.

At least 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur and another 2.5 million displaced since the conflict erupted, the United Nations says.

In 2011, similar rebellions against Bashir's regime also broke out in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

Khartoum announced a unilateral ceasefire in June 2016 in all three conflict zones, which it extended by six months in January.

Bashir, who has ruled Sudan for nearly three decades, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur. He steadfastly denies the charge.
08.03.2017 LISTEN

A High Court in Tamale in the Northern region has annulled an Islamic marriage of a man who was found to have married another woman by Ordinance.

Annulling the second marriage of Abdul Razak, the presiding judge Justice Edward Apenkwa was emphatic that his marriage to Rukaiya Mohammed contravenes Ordinance CAP 127 which mandates a man to be married to one woman.

The judge was unequivocal that Razak must not be seen together with his illegally married wife, Rukaiya.

Razak had celebrated his Islamic marriage to Mohammed Rukaiya on January 8, 2017 after he returned from a year's stay in Belgium.

But his first wife, a 30-year-old Ayisha who had hoped that her husband's return would mean fresh impetus for her marriage was left devastated by the news.

She secured the services of the Legal Aid Board and proceeded to court.

Aisha had married Razak in December 2013 under Ordinance, a move which was advocated by her husband. Being Muslims, it was expected that the marriage will be by Islamic traditions which allows a man to marry more than one woman.

But Aisha said Razak was so much in love with her and wanted to use the Marriage by Ordinance to stress his vow to remain a one-woman husband.

According to Joy News' Hashmin Mohammed, before the Ordinance marriage, Razak was extensively counselled on the repercussions of going the Ordinance way.

Razak married Aisha and soon after travelled to seek greener pastures in Belgium. The court heard that the two never communicated while Razak was away. He did not take care of his wife who is also a trader.

Razak returned suddenly last December and broke the news to his wife that he intends to marry another wife.

In a conservative society where marital issues are kept out of litigation, Aisha defied the odds and went to court. No amount of pressure from family and faith could dissuade her from instituting legal proceedings against her husband.

The judge was 'very, very clear' that Razak should not be seen with Mohammed Rukaiya in any way that creates the impression that they are married.

The judge granted the following reliefs:

1. Ayisha Tahiru, the plaintiff married under the marriage ordinance CAP. 127 on the 5th Dec, 2013 at the district court in Tamale and that marriage is in force and binding on the 1st defendant mohammed Abdul Razak.

2.an order directed that mohammed Abdul Razak new wedding, Islamic and customary marriage on the 8th January 2017, is annulled and declared void, invalid and of no legal effect.

3.Both mohammed Abdul Razak and his new wife mohammed Rukaiya cannot hold themselves out as husband and wife, living together, cohabiting and doing any thing as such.

4. A punitive cost of 1000 cedis has being awarded against mohammed Abdul Razak.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|EA
Management of GN Bank has refuted reports in the media and other social media platforms urging their customers to withdraw their deposits because the Banks website had been hacked into.

A statement released by the Bank Wednesday said, "indeed GN Bank got wind of the hacking over the weekend and immediately moved to rectify the situation."

"Our technical team are done with the restoration of the website and are in the process of implementing additional security patches to ensure non-occurrence of any such situation in the future," the bank explained.

According to them, they have taken "this opportunity to assure the general public that customer financial information including online banking data is intact and adequately secured."

They, however, stated categorically that customers "deposits have not been tampered with as its being speculated. No Customer has lost a pesewa of deposits."

The Bank assures its cherished customers that their deposits are safe and encouraged them to verify their balances from their respective branches.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Joy Business
Lawyer for Jihad Chaaban, the Lebanese supervisor at the centre of the Marwako assault case, has denied claims that his client and the management of Marwako Fast foods, are intimidating potential witnesses in the trial.

Mr. Chaaban was remanded into police custody on Wednesday by an Accra Magistrate Court, and during proceedings, the prosecutor argued that the accused and Marwako management were threatening to dismiss staff members who had been invited by the police to serve as witnesses in the case.

But Mr. Chaaban's lawyer, Augustine Asafo Adjei, rubbished such claims as false, noting that the police has said it has already concluded investigations.

Mr. Asafo Adjei also asserted that, during the court proceedings, the investigator looking into the case stated categorically that there was no external interference.

Speaking to Citi News Fred Djabanor, he said: So the issue is, if that is even true, which people are they going to parade as witnesses before the court? Who was there to come and testify? The police have said they have investigated that matter. What the police have said is that they have completed investigations.

That assertion by the police is false. See how they disgraced themselves before the court where the investigator who conducted the investigation is also saying another thing, then the commander comes in to say another thing the investigator who is supposed to be doing the investigation said the person didn't interfere.

Mr. Chabaan, who is a Supervisor at the Abelemkpe branch of the Marwako Restaurant, is said to have grabbed the head of , 25-year-old Ghanaian female employee, and dipped her face in blended pepper.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, March 8, 2017  The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced on International Womens Day the launch of a major gender competition in order to promote gender equality in its operations.

Following the successful internal idea competition in 2016 or INNOPitch, I am today officially launching a special 2017 edition of INNOPitch called Gender INNOPitch to generate innovative ideas on gender mainstreaming, said AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina. Staff will be invited to submit ideas on mainstreaming gender in their work and seed funding of US $10,000 per idea will be awarded to the most innovative ideas that have the potential to generate impact on gender outcomes, he added.

In an Op-Ed published on International Womens Day, he recalled that Sub-Saharan Africa will achieve gender parity in 79 years according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2016 published by the World Economic Forum.

He urged all stakeholders (governments, development partners, civil society) to close the gender gap in Africa with bold actions. We need more women as CEOs, in parliaments, as engineers, computer scientists, astronauts, and as Heads of State  traditional areas dominated by men. he added.

The African Development Bank is taking bold actions to address the gender gap in Africa. Its Gender Strategy, Investing in Gender Equality for Africas Transformation: 2014-2018, seeks to strengthen gender mainstreaming in all its operations and strategies. In this regard, the AfDB is finalizing a Gender Marker System. This system will help AfDB ensure that gender is firmly taken into account in all of the Banks activities, and that the gender impact of projects is properly measured.

We are doing better in mainstreaming gender into our Bank operations, Adesina emphasized. When comparing the years 2012-2013 to 2014-2015, the Bank has improved its performance in gender parity in job creation and gender-specific training for jobs. Gender specific impacts of a Banks operations by sector are becoming more equal between females and males, and is even higher at 60% in favour of women in education, he wrote in his Op-Ed.

The AfDB is also implementing its Affirmative Financing Action for Women in Africa Program (AFAWA). AFAWA aims to catalyze and optimally deploy resources towards the objective of improving womens access to finance. The goal is ambitious: through the mobilization of US $300 million, the AfDB aims to leverage an additional US $3 billion for AFAWA.

In a video statement posted on AfDBs website, Jennifer Blanke, AfDB Vice-President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, is bullish about promoting gender equality. The AfDB has the footprint and the capacity to influence real transformative change. We are committed to using our resources to promote positive action as well as accountability in favour of gender parity, she said.

The Gender Strategy will also need to address AfDBs own internal transformation to make it a more supportive, gender-responsive institution, valuing its female and male staff equally. Presently, women represent one third of all AfDBs staff, with one third in management, one third of professional experts and close to two thirds of support staff, Blanke observed.

To increase the number of women at professional and management level, the AfDB has reviewed its recruitment process, ensuring significant representation of women in the long- and short-listing process. Other recruitment vehicles are being used to increase gender parity such as the Young Professionals Program, with the most recent 2016 cohort comprised of 60% women.

At the Bank, we are working hard internally to close the gender gap. Of the recent Senior Management appointments I have made to run the business of the Bank in our five regional offices, 50% are women, Adesina wrote in his Op-Ed.

The AfDB is indeed making great strides in terms of Senior Management recruitment. In addition to the women appointed at executive positions in the Banks five regional hubs, more women have been appointed at the Senior Management level including Presidential Advisors, the Senior Vice-President, Frannie Leautier, and Vice-President Jennifer Blanke.

We must continue to work hard on this and are committed to attaining 50/50 by 2030, said Blanke.

The AfDB has also reviewed its internal policies to improve the working environment such as providing breastfeeding facilities in offices and allowing mothers still breastfeeding to travel on official missions with their infants. The Bank has also introduced a womens mentorship pilot program, Crossing Thresholds. This program has proven to be very empowering for women. It provides women in the Bank with an opportunity to develop their career in a structured and supportive environment.

 Read: President Akinwumi Adesinas Op-Ed: Time to Close the Gender Gap in Africa with Bold Actions

 Watch: Vice-President Jennifer Blankes video statement on the occasion of International Womens Day 2017

 Read: International Womens Day: 25 portraits - How the AfDB is improving the lives of African women
By Samuel Akapule

Navrongo(UE), March 8, GNA - The Kassena-Nankana Municipal in the Upper East Region, has intensified its efforts at solid waste management and disposal to help contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

It was among the 21 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the country that prequalified for the 'Duapa Award' under the Sanitation Challenge for Ghana (SC4Gh) Project.

The SC4Gh Project which is in its second phase and now dubbed 'the Dignified City Award 'is aimed at inducing MMDAs in the country to partner with the private sector and academic institutions to design and implement liquid waste management strategies to help accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

The Kassena-Nankana Municipal which is the only municipality in the Upper East Region selected once again for the phase two of the project is expected to compete among other selected 16 MMDAs for the Dignified Award.

The IRC Ghana is into Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and is the lead local implementing agency of the Sanitation Challenge for Ghana project and is supporting the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to implement the project with funding from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).

It would reward the best performing Assembly with 1.43 million pounds as a prize whilst others would also receive consolation prizes depending on their performances.

Briefing the IRC progress monitoring team and some Journalists about the progress of implementation of the project, Mr Andani Iddrisu, the Municipal Planning Officer of the Assembly, told the team that the Assembly had intensified its efforts at tackling liquid waste management and other waste related problems.

He said the Assembly had gone into partnership with the Liquid Waste Field Company Limited, a Company which had the capacity in solid waste management to secure 20 hectares of land at Gingania, a community in the Municipality, to construct liquid waste disposal site where liquid and other wastes would be disposed off.

'For the first time in the history of the Assembly, the annual budget for sanitation particularly solid waste management for the year 2017 has been increased significantly. In fact, it is among one of the highest estimates. The Assembly is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that it works with a lot of private partners including the academic institutions to help address the liquid waste challenges in the Municipality,' he said.

The Municipal Planner said plans were also far advanced by the Assembly with other private partners to encourage and support households in the area to construct 100 household toilet facilities and a 10-seater flush toilet at the Navrongo lorry park among other activities.

Mr Abubakari Shani Wumbei, the Communication, Learning and Advocacy Coordinator of IRC Ghana, said it was regrettable that only 15 per cent of households in Ghana could boast of having good sanitation facilities while majority of the people defecated in the open.

The IRC progress monitoring team and the group of the Journalists, prior to the briefing, were conducted around the 20 hectares land site at Gingania which is being worked on by the Assembly in collaboration with the Liquid Waste Field Company Limited. The team also visited the solid waste management site at Pungu.

GNA
08.03.2017 LISTEN

By Samuel Akapule, GNA

Navrongo, March 8, GNA - The over 2000 students of the Navrongo Senior High School in the Upper East Region are compelled to take their meals on shift basis due to lack of dining hall infrastructure.

The dining hall which was built since the establishment of the school in the 1960s has not been expanded to meet the growing number of students. The structure also looks dilapidated.

This compelled the school's authority, to re-programme the students to take their meals on shift basis, therefore affecting teaching and learning.

This was made known when the old students Association of the School, popularly called 'Nabia', handed over the toilet, bathhouse and the Assembly Hall facilities it had renovated and constructed for the School at a ceremony held on the campus in Navrongo.

Whilst lauding the Students' Association for coming to the aid of the school, the headmistress, Mrs Francisca Yizura, appealed to the Government and other development partners to support the school by expanding and restructuring the dining hall infrastructure to help address the challenge of the growing population of the school.

She said but for the support of the Association, the students would have been continuing to engage in open defecation and bathing in the open.

The Headmistress mentioned the lack of staff and student accommodation as well as the lack of a fence wall for the school as some of the major challenges confronting teaching and learning.

She commended the leadership of the Association for organizing to ensure that they raised money promptly to support one student who had been selected to attend a programme in the United Kingdom.

The National President of the old students' Association, Alhaji Mohammed Haroon, said the Association decided to support the school with the facilities in response to the demand made by the headmistress.

The President, who is also the Regional Director of Education in charge of the Northern Region, said the School had been neglected for far too long by successive governments and appealed to the present Government to support it with infrastructure.

He challenged the students to follow the footsteps of the past students of the School who had excelled academically and were doing well in life, by taking their studies serious.

Alhaji Haroon also appealed to all past students of the School who had not yet joined the Association to do so to help contribute to the growth of the School and commended those who had over the years been contributing to the development of the School.

'Old Navascans are noted for their giving spirit and unity for development. I will therefore want to urge you all never to relent in your efforts at contributing your quota to the welfare of the School,' he said.

The National President was accompanied by the Upper East and the Navrongo Chapters to perform the handing over ceremony of the projects.

GNA
08.03.2017 LISTEN

By Kofi Mensah, GNA

Fomena (Ash), Mar 08, GNA - The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, has underlined the determination of the government to substantially invest in education, to ensure quality and access.

He said it firmly believed that this was the way forward to drive the nation's development.

He said this in a speech read for him at the 48th anniversary and speech and prize giving day of the Fomena T. I Ahmadiyya Senior High School (SHS).

Mr. Osei-Mensah said education was a major priority on the development agenda of the Akufo-Addo Administration and that it would receive every necessary attention.

He reminded students to accept to do their part by remaining focused and working hard on their books.

He told them not to waste their time on social media, Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter.

The Minister said although the mobile phone was an important communication tool, it had its down side - could distract students from their studies.

He advised them to stay away from anything that could ruin their future - alcoholism and hard drugs.

Alhaji Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, Ameer and Missionary in-charge of Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana, called for teachers to show strong commitment and passion for the job.

They should also become good example - role model to their students.

Ms. Zainab Adams, the Headmistress, complained about inadequate classrooms, students' and staff accommodation and the lack of well-equipped information and communication technology centre (ICT).

She said these needed to be tackled to enhance smooth teaching and learning in the school.

GNA
Accra March 8, GNA - A campaign to end tax injustice against women started on Wednesday through the collaborative effort of ActionAid Ghana, the Global Alliance for Tax Justice and partner organisations around the globe.

The movement dubbed #TaxJustice for Women's Rights Global Days of Action, would see women, girls and their allies call on governments to fulfil their commitment to securing women's rights and economic equality by taking action for tax justice.

It would also call on the government to maximise available resources to invest in quality, gender-responsive public services, the care economy, and social protection.

The group would also call on the government to establish an inclusive intergovernmental UN Global Tax body where all countries would have a seat at the table and equal say in determining international tax rules.

In a statement to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Benjamin Kwesi Tawiah, the Communication and Public Relations Manager for ActionAid Ghana expressed concern about the discriminatory global, regional and national tax policies that threaten the rights of women and girls around the world.

'Women account for the majority of the world's poor, yet current tax policies are generally not beneficial to them.

'In Ghana, current laws and practices enable multinational corperations and the very rich, in many cases, to get away with not paying their fair share of tax. This denies government budget of a key source of funding for public services, such as healthcare, education and clean water, which was critical to realising women's rights and gender equality,' he said.

Mr Tawiah said that Ghana loses $2.27billion every year to tax incentives granted to multinational companies who invest in the country.

'Meanwhile, such monies could have been used to fund public services such as the establishment of pre-school facilities to reduce the burden of child care and create opportunities for women in rural and urban areas to participate in economic activities.

He said the country had also raised the rates of tax on consumer goods to compensate for revenues lost through cuts to tax rates for corporations and the wealthy elite which placed an unfair tax burden on women as they spent a larger portion of their income to buy basic goods.

Mr Tawiah stated that tax justice was vital to providing public services that could help reduce violence against women and girls, provide universal access to public healthcare, ensure quality public education for more girls, support women's economic equality and reduce their unpaid care work.

'Therefore the group would call on the government to raise taxes in the most progressive way possible such as direct taxation of income, wealth, and high net worth individuals as well as ensuring that multinational corporations pay their share'', he said.

He said other recommendation would call on government to carry out tax impact assessments especially on the poorest women.

'The government should also ensure that national and regional tax and financial secrecy policies do not contribute to large-scale tax abuse in other countries or are biased towards wealthy countries, corporations, and the wealthy elite'', he said.

GNA
Johannesburg (AFP) - South African environmental activists declared a major victory Wednesday after winning the country's first climate change case and forcing the government to reassess the impact of a coal power plant.

The group, Earthlife Africa, successfully challenged a government decision to confirm construction of a proposed coal-fired power station, arguing that the proper climate change impact assessment had not been carried out.

Environment minister Edna Molewa accepted that the impact of the proposed Thabametsi power plant had not been "comprehensively assessed or considered" -- but granted environmental approval anyway, according to the ruling seen by AFP.

North Gauteng High Court judge John Murphy ordered that the environment ministry must now complete a climate change assessment before construction of the plant, due to be built in northern Limpopo province, can proceed.

Earthlife Africa spokeswoman Makoma Lekalakala told AFP that the ruling sent "a very strong message to government and to locals to take part in consultation before any decision takes place."

"It is a landmark ruling that actually holds the department of the environment to account," she added.
Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, has expressed disappointment with treatment meted out to women in the country.

She disclosed on Joy FMs Super Morning Show Wednesday that it is becoming difficult for women to climb the corporate leadership ladder without suffering some form of harassment from their male bosses.

She told wife of the Vice President, Samira Bawumia, who hosted the special International Womens Day edition of the programme that the appearance of women, sometimes, determines the nature of the assault they go through.

If you are beautiful it is a liability, if you are ugly it is a liability, she said.

The discussant include former Deputy Finance Minister, Mona Quartey, Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministry, Joyce Aryee, and Senior Director-in-Charge of Government Relations at Newmont Africa, Ama Sarpong Bawuah.

Incidents of sexual harassment in formal workplace and academia in Ghana are growing by the day, experts have said.

A report launched by Africa Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) in 2016 indicates the issue is a pervasive yet ignored problem in Ghana.

Gender Activist, Dinah Adiko had told Joy News on February 3 that school girls in classes as low as class four are being sexually harassed. The issue is so rampant at junior high school, she added.

The EC boss who was accused by Assin Central Member of Parliament in 2016 for allegedly trading sex for her position said it is about time something was done about the issue.

She said while in the banking industry, her former boss had quizzed her about her Christian values in order to find out her position on sexual favours.

He asked questions about the Methodist hymn, she said, adding she never thought about getting promotion by giving in to the demands of men. It is a value.

Mrs Osei lamented what she described as "an issue of confidence" that she believes prevents qualified women from taking up positions they are capable of occupying, prescribing a dose of female mentoring to address the issue.

"If youve been in leadership anywhere [you will know that] all the mediocre men will harass you [for a vacancy when] the women are more qualified than them," she said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brako-Powers | [email protected]
Rabat (AFP) - Morocco is "more determined than ever" to develop the Western Sahara, Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said Wednesday on a two-day visit to the disputed territory.

Rabat insists the former Spanish colony is an integral part of its kingdom, but the Algeria-based Polisario Front demands a referendum on self-determination there.

The two sides fought for control of the Western Sahara from 1974 to 1991, with Rabat gaining control of the territory before a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect.

"We are more determined than ever to continue to develop the Sahara region," Hassad told AFP.

"Unfortunately there are many people who don't like this, particularly the fact that we are building roads," he said, referring to the Polisario.

Hassad spoke after Morocco pulled back from the area of Guerguerat near the Mauritanian border in late February at the request of the United Nations.

Tensions flared last year after the Polisario set up a new military post in the same area.

That was in response to Morocco starting to build a tarmac road in the area south of the buffer zone separating Moroccan troops from Polisario fighters.

Rabat sees the road as key to trade between Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa.

Hassad said Morocco has invested around $8.5 billion (8.1 billion euros) in the territory in projects expected to create more than 10,000 jobs by 2021.

The projects include a university to teach medicine and a 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) highway along the coast, he said.
Nairobi (AFP) - Rights groups on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to impose "targeted sanctions" on Burundian officials over alleged human rights violations there, in an open letter published online.

The letter, penned by Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) among others, was published on the eve of a meeting of the UN's top decision-making body to discuss the crisis in the Great Lakes nation.

"We... write to urge the UN Security Council to impose targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for ongoing serious human rights violations in Burundi," the 19 international and local rights group said.

"Such measures, including travel bans and asset freezes, would send an important message to Burundian leaders who have faced little consequence for continuing to perpetrate gross abuses against their own people," the statement added.

The United States and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on officials from the Burundian regime. Stalled by a Chinese and Russian veto, however, the UN Security Council has not followed suit.

The Burundian authorities "have continued their broader policy of repression against suspected opponents, independent civil society, and media, and they have deliberately obstructed the ability of the UN to document rights violations", the NGOs wrote.

They also accused the ruling party's youth militia of having "killed, tortured, raped, and severely beaten scores of people across the country".

The UN's special adviser on preventing genocide, Adama Dieng, meanwhile warned of "mass atrocities" in Burundi and called on the UN Security Council to take "robust action" to quell the violence, in a letter to the body's members seen Wednesday by AFP.

Burundi's ambassador to the UN Albert Shingiro lashed out at Dieng's letter, branding it in a tweet "a theatrical show aimed at influencing the UN Security Council briefing".

He also said his east African country was facing "diplomatic harassment".

Hundreds of people have died in violence in Burundi triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision in April 2015 to stand in elections for a third term in office, which he went on to win.

A September report by UN rights experts recounted spine-chilling cases of torture and horrific sexual violence, mass arrests and disappearances and warned that "the crime of genocide also looms large".

More than 390,000 people have fled the country, and that figure is expected to surpass 500,000 this year, according to the UN refugee agency.
When the night crawls into the behest of dawn, just at that moment when the terror of the night won't be subdued, a tear soaks the ropes of the boats of conveyance to the Maker, a voice calls to the heart of Heavens. At this time, the snores at night tries to challenge this hearty call but that voice won't succumb to any because the survival of an entire generation must rest on those modest shoulders.

The shoulders will surely wish a rest but again, the early rise without a blink of an eye in this terror must become a routine of life. This is when, the sun meets the creature of our Maker, this is when there is a bargain, this period is when there is an exchange of life for the survival of others. At this point, even in the cold torrents of the rains, sweats trickle down that beautiful face. An entire generation must still survive.

I've tried to define womanhood, I've tried to question a few elderly women, I've tried to seek counsel from the one we all call abrewatia, the only reason I could make out of their submissions was what I tried to coin up in my first paragraph. It is for the purpose of service, the reason of nurturing a generation, that is why we celebrate women. It is unfortunate, very disturbing phenomenon in our history that, even when a lot more women had done tremendously well for us, we shelved their efforts. These women that were muted by history pivoted the essence of our freedom today. It is very urgent for us to note that, amongst these great women who toiled, cried, slaved and abused were youths. Young ones who refused to be submerged by the image of the male factor.

These young women knew the purpose, understood the reason and found solace in the fact that, this country is a woman and to impact on the lives of the generations yet unborn was to subject themselves to servitude. They ignored the luxuries of their age and maimed their obstacles for us. I have no other way of celebrating these gallant women but to also take on their armour, be induced by their thoughts and serve the generation yet unborn. Indeed, we have all done absolutely great but until we continue the fight of service, our fulfillment will mean nothing.

Today, the eyes of the world, Ghana is on all of us. The reason is because, without us, they fail to exist. Today, we have a celebration in our stead and perhaps tomorrow, we will be snored upon but be reminded of just a single statement today from this words that I speak, ''at every minute that you render a patriotic service to any mortal on this earth, your celebration begins because that is where you get fulfilled''.

God bless women

God bless Ghana.
In response to todays announcement that the South African government has decided to revoke its notice to the UN of its intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute, Amnesty Internationals Africa Director for Research and Advocacy, Netsanet Belay said:

This formal revocation of the notice of withdrawal from the ICC presents yet another opportunity for the government of South Africa to rethink its decision to thwart the pursuit of justice. While the international community appears indifferent to mass atrocities committed with impunity around the world, it is even more important today that South Africa reclaims its position as a champion of African victims of crimes under international law.

"It remains to be seen if this revocation means a shift in Governments intention to withdraw from the ICC or rather a temporary step to comply with the High Court decision and exhaust domestic procedures before formalising its withdrawal.

If the Governments revocation of its withdrawal becomes permanent, it means the nation follows the lead of Gambia which also revoked its withdrawal from the Rome Statute recently.

We urge South Africa to align itself with the majority of African states that have unequivocally rejected calls for withdrawal and stood firm in their support for the ICC.

Amnesty International has today submitted a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services in response to the call for public comment on the proposed Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Repeal Bill. Click here to download the briefing.

Background

The news of South Africa revoking its notification of withdrawal from the Rome Statute follows a decision by the North Gauteng High Court two weeks ago which held, in a case brought by the opposition Democratic Alliance, that the governments action in withdrawing from the ICC without consulting Parliament was unconstitutional and invalid, and which ordered the government to revoke its withdrawal.

The government had officially deposited its instrument of withdrawal from the ICC with the United Nations on 19 October 2016.

On 16 February 2017, Gambia also revoked its withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation today received a briefing by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on the High Court ruling on the ICC withdrawal and subsequent revocation.
You might not know it from the promising talk of conversational computers, self-driving cars and lifelike human prosthetics, but computing is confronting a crisis. After decades of rapid acceleration, the speed of transistors  computerizations fundamental building blocks  is hitting a wall.

But to the relief of researchers and industry leaders, a superstar scholar who immigrated to the United States from Ghana may have found a way forward. It concerns neuromorphic computing  mimicking the processes of the human brain  which has long been recognized as both a hugely daunting technological challenge and the likely key to solving the transistor problem.

Amid broad scientific uncertainties over how best to proceed, Kwabena Boahen, a professor of bioengineering and electrical engineering at Stanford University who is one of the fields pioneers, has now outlined a badly needed road map for finishing the job.

It appears to be a "transitional moment" for neuromorphic computing, said R. Stanley Williams, a senior fellow at Hewlett-Packard Labs.

The central barrier to a future of ever-smarter products is well understood: Given the simple constraints of matter, transistors are now being made almost as small as possible. Researchers sounding the alarm bells "have been at this for a long time," said Randal E. Bryant, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. As Mr. Bryant acknowledged at a recent scientific conference, "theres a certain point where atoms are atoms."

Thats where Mr. Boahen and his fellow "neuromorphs" come in. Neuromorphic computing is an extremely complicated mix of advanced sciences, including human biology, physics, mathematics, and chemistry. The goal is to build automated systems far faster and more efficient than current computer chip technologies allow, largely by using the human brain as their template.

A key insight is a back-to-the-future concept: Give up our heavy reliance on digital systems, and return to analog.

The Analog Brain

At its foundation, the transistor is a simple device: three wires sticking out of a tiny sandwich of materials arranged so that a sufficient electrical signal applied to one of those wires enables current to flow between the other two.

By taking the basic on-or-off switching ability of a single transistor  a signal that could be represented as either a zero or a one  and multiplying it thousands of times within a device, scientists and engineers have made generations of astounding products, including the computers that helped put humans on the moon.

The yes-or-no character of those signals provides some clear advantages over analog, which refers to a signal that varies within a broad range of possibilities. Old analog TVs, for instance, were notoriously susceptible to electrical interference from changes in weather, regularly giving viewers fuzzy and faded pictures as slight electrical disturbances from distant broadcast antennas were reflected in the televised images.

Digital signals, by contrast, put a priority on being flawless. For a TV, or a computer, one strategy to avoid transmission errors is to send signals at a relatively high rate of power to ensure each unit of data is clearly read as a zero or a one.

But that demand for power limits size and performance. And a reliance on digital is just one way in which modern computer systems remain, at least as compared to the brain, highly inefficient. While modern digital computers feed their processing tasks into thousands of "cores," the brains army of processors  neurons  number in the billions.

The brain is also, in computer terms, an ever-adjusting mix of software and hardware that grows and disposes of its processing equipment as needed. A digital representation does help computers process data very accurately. But a computers inability to seamlessly trade precision for speed, and to widely share and adjust processing duties, impose far more critical limitations.

The brain knows these things. A product of billions of years of evolution, the essential organ of humanity is a marvel of efficiency. Mr. Boahen calculates that the human brain has the computational power of a refrigerator-sized supercomputer that is about 50 times heavier, takes up 100 times more space, and consumes 100 times more power than the brain.

The brain does use a type of binary signal to relay data, he said. But those signals are many thousands of tiny blips of electrical information that are processed by the brain in essentially an analog, or continuous, fashion. That combination of digital and analog, Mr. Boahen said, is "fundamental to the difference between the computer and the brain."

A Neuromorphs Manifesto

Mr. Boahen has been working for 30 years to make computers act more like brains. But it was in October, at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers first International Conference on Rebooting Computing, that his efforts gained a significantly new level of appreciation.

The son of Albert Adu Boahen, the professor of history at the University of Ghana who helped lead his nation to democratic rule, Mr. Boahen did not arrive at the session as a revolutionary. But he may have left as one.

During his talk, you could see people's eyes growing to the size of whale's eyes, and smoke coming out of their ears.

In a 53-minute presentation, Mr. Boahen outlined five main challenges to producing a working computer based on neuromorphic principles. Each point was highly technical  covering such challenges as developing circuits that "gracefully" respond to signals and work without external timing cues  but the effect was of a salvo.

"During his talk," said Mr. Williams, who is also an adjunct professor of chemistry at UCLA, "you could see peoples eyes growing to the size of whales eyes, and smoke coming out of their ears."

Many in the audience had spent years pursuing neuromorphic computing, Mr. Williams said, and Mr. Boahen had just given the research community a concise manifesto making clear which avenues of exploration deserved more attention and which were probably a waste of time.

"He effectively convinced everybody else in the room, who thought they were doing neuromorphic computing, that they didnt actually know what it was," Mr. Williams told last months annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston. "In his talk, he defined for the first time really what neuromorphic computing is."

The presentation also showed how far ahead of the pack Mr. Boahen appears to be. He already has built a small robot with a functioning mechanical arm using neuromorphic chips. Among the five challenges he listed, Mr. Boahen already has largely solved four, Mr. Williams said in an interview. "Others maybe have gotten to one or two," he said.

The last remaining obstacle, Mr. Boahen explained, involves figuring out ways to accurately convey the continuously changing signals in the series of "spikes," which are those blips of electrical signal that the brain uses to pass along data. Patterns of those spikes are like super-precise versions of the bar codes found on supermarket items, and reading their timing and placement is central to the brains internal communication.

Mr. Boahens success is a tribute to the value of thinking slowly and carefully, and not worrying about "the latest trend," Mr. Williams said. Its also a reminder, at this moment in American history, of the value of immigrants, he said.

A Traumatizing Climate

After a recent speech at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mr. Boahen met with a graduate student from Lebanon who had a long list of questions about his work. The two also talked about U.S. politics, which had become "really scary for him," Mr. Boahen said of the student. Lebanon is not among the majority-Muslim countries affected by President Trumps travel-ban proposals, and the student is Christian.

But the student spoke of fear that his elderly parents might die if denied entry at a U.S. airport and forced to make back-to-back 20-hour flights. He described being warmly accepted on campus but encountering racism not too far out of town. And the student wondered if those conditions, combined with a lukewarm American commitment to funding research, mean that hell eventually have to take his computing talents elsewhere.

Mr. Boahen said he had tried to reassure the student, who asked not to be identified by name, that circumstances change. "But its really a shame," Mr. Boahen said, "that people who just came here dont have that context, and its really traumatizing what we are putting them through."

At least Mr. Boahen is not worried for himself: He obtained U.S. citizenship last year. "I could see the writing on the wall," he said. "My father fought a dictatorship, and I dont want to try."

Paul Basken covers university research and its intersection with government policy. He can be found on Twitter @pbasken, or reached by email at [email protected]
On the occasion of International Women's Day, Ghanas First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo has pledged to advocate for an increase in women participation in politics.

This she says would help in mainstreaming gender issues whilst promoting women rights and equality.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the International Womens day celebration, the First Lady bemoaned the low numbers of women involved in policy making, thus her resolve to use her influence to champion increased participation.

The world economic forum predicts the gender gap won't close entirely until 2186. But we cannot wait that long. That is why the idea of being bold for change is so important. We need more female voices in politics and policy making. We need more female voices in academia, industry, business, finance, agriculture, the arts and many more areas. It's going to be an arduous battle, but I believe we are up to it.

Mrs Akufo-Addo also urged women who have succeeded in their various fields of work to help support other less privileged women in the society.

We should be the shoulders that other women stand on. We should be the voice for those who have no voice. We should be the army that fights to save other women. Achieving gender parity and giving other women the dignity of economic independence is our responsibility.

On her part, a former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, blamed the setback in the fight for women empowerment on successive leaders of the country.

She recounted how successive governments have failed to implement the affirmative action bill to address the anomaly.

You may have a leader who comes into power and helps to propagate the gender balance issue, and so women's issues start moving forward. Then you have another one who doesn't really care and think a few women dotted around as ministers are enough and so we can move forward and backwards in a way that creates its own problems. I think we have to look at things differently. Since 1998-2000 we have been talking about affirmative action. It will help us address all imbalances in our society.

The ceremony which was held at the office of the first lady here in Accra was attended by the second lady of the republic, Samira Bawumia, Ghana's Chief Justice Georgina Woode, former second lady Hajia Aliu Mahama, chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Madama Charlotte Osei and many other dignitaries.



By: Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Hebron Financial Investment Limited has halted its online forex trading following the Bank of Ghana's decision to stop the operations of the company.

The central bank, on Tuesday [March 7, 2017] announced it had halted the operations of Hebron financial investment for flouting the country's foreign exchange Act .

A statement on the matter and copied to Citi Business News further cautioned the public to stay away from the institution.

But speaking on Business Today, the CEO of Hebron Financial Investment, Ebo Eshun explained that though the company had halted operations, he is confident that the outfit is not operating outside the law.

We are not operating our online trading business but our training session where we train people in forex trading, Ebo Eshun stated.

He added, The fact that we are acquiescing to their demands does not mean that we are going contrary to the rules. We respect them as the authority but that doesn't mean their findings are true; we are acquiescing for the sake of peace and that is why we are standing down.

Hebron Financial Investment in a rejoinder refuted claims its operations run contrary to the regulations guiding forex trading in Ghana.

The company explained that its operations were carried out in a professional manner.

We hereby submit that this is absolutely false and does not represent the interest of our core values, it is not who we are, the rejoinder stated.

Hebron is engaged in a clean, transparent financial services and seeks to advance the interest of our clients in the most ethical, honest and professional manner. Any suggestion that we are doing contrary is most inappropriate, it further added.

The Bank of Ghana is however yet to comment on the next move following the stance by the company.



By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
By Francis Ameyibir, GNA

Accra, March 8, GNA - The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection on Wednesday commended Ghanaian women, particularly rural women, who work across the country in unfavourable conditions for their toils and hard work towards the family, the community and the nation at large.

'We particularly commend all men who have joined the quest for a just society where men and women work side by side to ensure national development,' Ms Comfort Asare, Director Department Gender stated in Accra to mark the International Women's Day.

The United Nation's Global theme for 2017 International Women's Day (IWD) focuses on: 'Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50:50 by 2030'.

The theme also focuses on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action including the achievements and challenges that affect implementation of gender equality and women's empowerment.

Ghana has adopted the general theme: 'Economic Empowerment of Rural Women: A Tool for Sustainable Development in a Changing World of Work'.

According to the Gender Ministry, national theme seeks to focus on the rural woman whose invaluable contribution to national development is often neglected despite the obstacles that confront her.

The statement said: 'Rural women contribute significantly to the growth and economic development of every country and yet their efforts are often less appreciated in national development.

'Ghana has chosen the theme to demonstrate the Gender Ministry's and the new government under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's commitment to help rural women and girls to achieve their ambitions.

'The negative traditional and socio-cultural practices; call for gender-balanced leadership; value every woman and man's contribution equally; and create inclusive flexible cultures in line with the focus of the international community.

'Evidently, today's women, particularly rural women, are doing extremely well and supporting all sectors of society aside the odds and limitations.

'Women have indeed come far and would go miles when given recognition and opportunities to develop their full potentials in the Ghanaian society.

'As we observe this day, the Ministry of Gender, Children and social Protection would like to urge all Ghanaians to join in the global campaign; 'Be Bold for Change'.

'We urge all Ghanaians to be bold to challenge the discrimination and difficulties that confront the rural women by changing the world of work around them.

'Doing this, calls for concrete actions that raises awareness about the invaluable contributions of all women and girls, particularly rural women and girls in Ghana.

'Today therefore, presents us with the opportunity to actively engage women and girls at all levels; political, social and economic spheres, including those in the rural areas who are often forgotten in national development in a more gender inclusive manner.

'Women's contributions to the socio-economic and political development of Ghana cannot be over-emphasized.

The Gender Ministry said: 'The social and economic well-being of women as mothers, traders, farmers, nurses and public sector workers has evolved throughout the centuries. Women have also been instrumental in decision-making and public life in Ghana'.

March 8, is a day set aside by the United Nations (UN) globally to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women the world over.

The occasion is further used to draw the world's attention to areas requiring further action, and the need to accelerate gender parity.

The commemoration of the day again is intended to remind government, policy makers and stakeholders of their key roles in translating the theme into a reality and to rally support for women towards a common goal of ensuring their empowerment.

International Women's Day was first celebrated by the United Nations in 1975. Since the year 1996, a global theme is always proposed by the United Nations to mark the celebrations.

Member states are however encouraged to domesticate this global theme in accordance with their national developmental agendas. To this end, Ghana, as a member of the UN, has being commemorating the day year on.

GNA
08.03.2017 LISTEN

By Josephine Nyarkoh/Mispah Tumtuo, GNA

Kumasi, Mar 08, GNA - Mrs. Phyllis Oduro, the Kumasi Metropolitan Coordinator of the Ghana National Association of Teachers - Ladies Society (GNAT-LAS), has called for teachers to become agents of change - to lead the transformation of the society.

She said they should epitomize everything that was noble and dignified.

Mrs. Oduro, who is the head teacher of the New Aboabo junior high school, said they must serve as good example to the children they were teaching.

She was contributing to roundtable discussions held by the Metropolitan GNAT-LAS under the theme 'Transforming societies through education, the role of the female teacher: Agenda 2030'.

It brought together 50 coordinators drawn from across all the 16 local zones in the metropolis.

The programme provided the platform to review activities of the teacher association over the past year and to plan the way forward.

She counselled her colleague female teachers to show total commitment and love for the job they had been doing.

Mrs. Matilda Gyamerah, a Senior Housemistress at the Kumasi Girls' High School, asked them to do more to aid their students to uphold the values of hard work, discipline, honesty and patriotism.

They should not focus only on academic excellence but good character training.

'Children these days are increasingly exposed to crime, violence and unhealthy competition and it is our duty as teachers to help them to know the right from wrong - distinct between good and bad behaviour.'

Mrs. Gyamerah spoke of the need to help particularly the girl-child to identify their potentials, motivate and support them to be retained in school.

Mr. Johnson Kwaku Adu, the Metropolitan GNAT Secretary, urged female teachers to join the association and actively participate in its activities for their own good and career development.

GNA
08.03.2017 LISTEN

By Priscilla S. Djentuh, GNA

Accra, March 8, GNA - Mrs Winifred Amugi, former Second Vice Chairperson of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has called for programmes in the financial sector that specifically addresses the challenges of women.

She said women in the banking sector are facing 'rigid' challenges due to the dedicated hours of work in denial of their responsibilities at home, adding that 'we cannot blame them' for spending less time at home.

Mrs Amugi called on financial institutions to address the issue of transfer by locating employees near their respective residence for easier work and home management.

This was disclosed in a conference by the Trade Union Congress to celebrate International Women Day on the theme 'Trade Union in the changing World: step it up for gender equality 2024'.

Mrs Naomi Dede Otu, Titular Public Service International (Global Union) East and West Africa, also encouraged women to embrace technology as a 'step it up' in the education social and health centre among others.

She said women needed to create time to address the welfare of their children.

Ms Adwoa Sakyi, who also spoke at the conference, said women needed to step up collective bargaining/agreement in the area of employment and Ante Natal care as a strategy for gender equality 2024.

According to Mrs Patricia Blackson Akakpo, a gender specialist, trade Unions in Ghana Must support gender parity genuinely to address the gender gaps in various disciplines, adding that women need to move beyond their comfort zones. 'We need equity', she stressed.

Meanwhile General Secretary of the TUC Dr Yaw Baah, said societal challenges in the home; work places and churches must be addressed to encourage women empowerment.

'God Created male and female but society created women and menin the process of creating the woman, they deny you education' because they believe women belong to the home, he said.

Mrs Aba Sampson, the Chairperson of the Conference, in an address acknowledged the importance of the International Women Day, saying it is a day women in society should reflect upon concerning their contributions and achievement.

She noted that TUC had been a strong advocate in women participation in all unions and noted that this year's celebration was significant for the fact that women who contributed to the independence of Ghana were being celebrated.

GNA
By Laudia Sawer, GNA

Tema, Mar 8, GNA - The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has been urged to consider easing the plight of deprived women in the metropolis as a commitment to principles underpinning the International Women's Day.

Ogyedom Nana Ama Tsetsewah I, Tema Fantehene and an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediator said it was about time the TMA helped market women and fish mongers in the Metropolis to improve upon their livelihoods.

Ogyedom Tsetsewah told the Ghana News Agency that it was pathetic to see the deplorable conditions in which fish smokers and mongers work at Tema Newtown.

She noted that apart from sitting directly under the scorching sun at the fishing harbour to ply their trade, they also worked in unhygienic conditions including the drying of anchovies on the bare contaminated floor.

She added that market women operating from the Kwasiajaaso in Tema Community One also had no sheds or platforms to display their wares forcing them to sell fruits and vegetables on the ground while sitting by the roadside with their babies stripped at their back and inhaling contaminated air emanating from vehicles and nearby refuse heaps.

Ogyedom Tsetsewah, who is also the Mankrado of Gomoa Oguan and the Osumpahene of Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council, also bemoaned the discounting of rural women's status to child bearers and cooks.

According to her, due to the value the rural dweller placed on women having children, it had led to the increase in the incidence of teenage pregnancy, as the girls always aspire to have children early to attain a woman's status in their localities.

She indicated that in order for women to get help on their farms and at home, they resorted to giving birth to many children with the hope that they would grow into a labour force to ease their burdens.

The Chief wondered why women will go to the farm with men, return home to cook and fetch bathing and drinking water for the husband and the household while her spouse sat and chatted away.

She further said currently the practice of men sharing and wearing boots to the farm while their female counterparts either go barefooted or in slippers still existed a practice which she described as unfair and discriminating.

Ogyedom Tsetsewah encouraged women in leadership positions to open their doors to under privileged women, educate and mentor them on how to make it in life and provide the needed physical and psychological support to spur them on.

She said it was unfortunate that instead of women helping each other and building a good foundation for others, they rather engaged in pulling each other down, describing the intra gender conflict as 'playing the crab in a container style, always pulling each other down'.

The ADR Mediator also asked women not to only strive to be seen but also endeavour to discharge their responsibilities at work and home diligently as well as help their husbands to provide the needed education and nurturing for their children.

The International Women's Day (IDW) which was originally called International Working Women's Day is celebrated on March 8th every year.

It first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. The day is therefore used to recognize women for their achievements.

The 2017 United Nation's (UN) theme for the IDW is: 'Women in the changing world of work: planet 50-50 by 2030.'

GNA
A GNA feature by Laudia Nunoo Sawer

Tema, Mar 8, GNA - My interest in sex started at Teshie at a tender age of about 10 years when I chanced on some three boys having sex in turns with an equally young girl.

I was forced by them to have a taste of the act which they described as enjoyable when I threatened to report them to their parents.

This is how Augustus Koku Gbedemah, a 24-year-old artist who is the president of the Kwesi Plange Electoral Area Adolescent Boys Community Group in Tema, narrated his experience to the Ghana News Agency at the Adolescent Corner at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly's (TMA) Clinic.

Gbedemah, who enjoyed the experience, continued to explore with girls who were far older than him when he relocated to Tema, and even extended his sexual activities to his master's daughter during his apprenticeship at Ashaiman, an experience he saw as adventurous since his master never discovered his activities.

Another adolescent disclosed amidst smiles that he had his first sex at the age of 13 but did not discharged into the girl as he was afraid. According to him, he currently has two girlfriends and that he had regular sex with one and only engaged in kissing and caressing with the other.

At the Tema Manhean Health Centre, a 19-year-old Junior High School (JHS) finalist, whom I choose to call Gina said she had her first sexual encounter at the age of 15 with somebody she described as her boyfriend who she is still in a relationship with.

For them, they had a mutual understanding to engage in sex with the use of condoms. Gina said she has never regretted embarking on that journey.

Some of her friends, who said they were waiting until they complete school, disclosed that they had engaged in some form of caressing but did their best to avoid having penetrative sexual intercourse.

The story of Mary is far different from her peers above, the 14-year-old is seven months pregnant. Dressed in a blue satin dress, she wore a sad face, as she narrated her ordeal at the Adolescent Corner of the Tema General Hospital.

Mary indicated that she dropped out of school at class five as her mother had no money to see her through school while her father was only interested in spending the few coins he got on the consumption of alcohol.

She was left with no other option than to stay with her aunty at Ashaiman while she sold sachet water to make a living and support her mother's sister who had agreed to accommodate her.

It was on one of her hawking rounds at the Ashiaman Kuffour station that she was called by a woman who claimed she wanted to buy some of her water. She asked her to enter a kiosk and she locked her in with a 40-year-old man who defiled her.

She became pregnant and a report to the Police leading to the arrest of the man who is still on trial.

To help girls like Mary to overcome their woes and look up into the future, Adolescent Health Providers in the four centres in the Tema Metropolis, provide counselling, coping mechanisms and sometimes financial support to put a smile on their faces.

The centres also provide opportunities to others like Gbedemah, Gina and their friends to share their experiences and serve as peer educators to their peers.

They also receive education on the need to abstain from sexual activities, use of condoms and contraceptives, personal hygiene, breast examination, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, among others.

These interactions, the adolescents agreed, had informed them and changed their decision making especially in respect sexual reproductive health matters.

To them, more centres must be opened in the communities as they provided them with the opportunities to discuss and talk freely about their feelings, challenges and fears without being judged by their parents and society.

Statistics from the Tema Health Directorate show that the Metropolis has 107,945 adolescent and young people's out of which Tema Central, accounts for 31,295 while East and West have 34,314 and 42,336 respectively.

Out of the figure, 713 teenage girls got pregnant in 2016, 85 engaged in abortions that nearly killed them, 27 contracted HIV/AIDS while 1,333 were put on family planning.

GNA
Orocobre Ltd [ASX:ORE] is a lithium miner. They predominately mine in Argentina. Like many lithium stocks, ORE had a great year in 2016. The stock climbed 96.96%.

But the stock has recently fallen on hard times. Investors are showing ORE the love they once did. ORE has dropped 39.4% year-to-date. And this morning, the stock dropped more than 4%, to $2.74.

What happened to the Orocobre share price?

Today, ORE announced a US$13.9 million debt repayment. Sales de Jujuy SA, the operating company of the Olaroz Lithium Facility (owned by ORE), paid their six-monthly principle and interest to creditors. The payment totalled US$13.9 million.

ORE now has US$155.2 million left to pay.

What now for ORE shares?

Why would OREs share price go down after paying down debt? Common sense would suggest the share price should increase. The company has reduced their liabilities and improved the longevity of the business.

But investors were likely more concerned with OREs valuation. The stock has a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.38-times. That means, if earnings remain constant, shareholders will receive their initial investment in 56.83 years. Its far higher than the industry average of 18.99.

Investors have likely opted to look at cheaper lithium miners for the meantime.

Regards,

Harje Ronngard,

Junior Analyst, Money Morning

PS: We likely wont see another turnaround in resources like we did in 2016. And if we do, it could be a while. Unless commodity prices suddenly move higher, earnings will likely stagnate.

Thats why some investors prefer the smaller end of the market.

Smaller miners are a riskier investment, theres no running away from it. But they could potentially grow earnings 10-fold in a short space of time. Resource specialist Jason Stevenson is no stranger to explosive resource stocks.

In his advisory service, Resource Speculator, Jason has made gains of 142%, 145% and 242%.

To find out more, click here.

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Disgraced Andrew Yakubu, a former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to award N1 billion in his favour as damages against Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for violation of his right.

Andrew Yakubu has sued the EFCC over alleged invasion of privacy

He is also asking the court for a declaration that he was entitled to the dignity of his person, personal liberty, freedom of movement, private and family life as enshrined in the 1999 constitution.

He further wants the court to declare that his continued detention by the EFCC without being charged to court or allowed to complete his medical procedure in the United Kingdom was a violation of his rights.

READ ALSO: Senate orders government agency to account for missing $246m

In an unannounced operation recently, the EFCC had stormed Yakubus house located at Chiku road, Sabon Tasha Area, Kaduna South local government area and recovered the sum of 9.772 million dollars and another 74,000.

Daily Trust reports that Yakubus counsel, Mr Adeola Adedipe told the court that the matter was brought pursuant to Order 8 Rule 4 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.

Joined in the suit are the EFCC and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as first and second respondents.

Yakubu, who has been in detention, prayed the court for an order enforcing his rights to personal liberty, dignity of human person, freedom of movement, private and family life.

He wants to be admitted on bail so he can complete his treatment in the United Kingdom. He also wants an order of perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from further detaining him unlawfully.

Apart from these, he is asking the country to compel the EFCC to tender a public apology to him in two widely published national daily newspapers for the violation of his rights.

Opposing Yakubus application, the EFCC through a counter affidavit deposed to by one Waziri Adamu, said the anti-graft agency was still investigating Yakubu and that the interim findings revealed that the monies found in Yakubus house were not gifts but suspected to be proceeds of crime.

READ ALSO: Speaker Obasa raises optimism over recovery of looted funds under Jonathan

According to the EFCC, Yakubu was a public officer and there were existing laws that barred public officers from accepting those kind of gifts under any guise.

The EFCC pleaded with the court to allow it continue to detain Yakubu especially as the search conducted in Yakubus house was backed with a valid court order.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed adjourned the matter until March 9.

Source: Legit.ng
The Federal Government has released the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which unveils a road map for Nigerias economic recovery growth and sustainable development.

The Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, James Akpandem, announced this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the adviser, the ERGP is available on the ministrys website, www.nationalplanning.gov.ng and that of the Budget Office, www.budgetoffice.gov.ng.

Akpandem said that the development of the plan went through rigorous processes, including wide consultation and robust engagement with stakeholders.

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The plan has been approved by the Federal Executive Council. The core vision of the plan is one of sustained inclusive growth.

There is an urgent need as a nation, to drive structural economic transformation with emphasis on improving both public and private sector efficiency.

The aim is to increase national productivity and achieve sustainable diversification of production, to significantly grow the economy and achieve maximum welfare for the citizens, beginning with food and energy security, he said.

The official said that the plan envisaged that by 2020, Nigeria would have made significant progress towards achieving structural economic change with a more diversified and inclusive economy.

He said that the plan was expected to deliver on five key broad outcomes, namely: a stable macroeconomic environment, agricultural transformation and food security as well as sufficiency in energy.

Other outcomes, he said, would be on improved transportation infrastructure and industrialisation, focusing on small and medium scale enterprises.

Akpandem said that the ERGP was different from previous strategies and plans because it focused on implementation, at the core of the delivery strategy over the next four years.

He said that it outlined bold initiatives such as ramping up oil production to 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) by 2020.

It focuses on privatising selected public enterprises/assets, and revamping local refineries to reduce petroleum product imports by 60 per cent by 2018.

READ ALSO: Forex: CBN pumps additional $100m into market

It builds on existing sectoral plan such as the National Industrial Revolution Plan and the Nigeria Integrated Infrastructure Master-plan.

The plan signals a changing relationship between the public and private sector, based on close partnership.

It also utilises the value of the merger of budget and planning functions into one ministry, to create a better and stronger link between annual budgets and the ERGP.

In addition, he said that the plan would provide for strong coordination with the states to ensure that the federal and sub-regional governments worked towards the same goals.

Akpandem said that the ceremonial presentation of the plan would take place when President Mohammadu Buhari, returned from vacation.

Meanwhile, as part of the initiative of the Buhari led administration, acting President Yemi Osinbajo in the video below recently flagged off construction of Lagos - Ibadan railway line in Lagos.

Source: Legit.ng
Political parties in Nigeria under the aegis of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop toying with Nigerians by releasing every day report of phone calls he is making on vacation in London.

Ezugwu, CNPP secretary general, says Nigerians want good governance and not reports of phone calls

CNPP noted in a statement sent to Legit.ng and signed by Willy Ezugwu, its secretary general, that the almost daily reports of phone calls from the President to eminent Nigerians and other global leaders was becoming distracting.

READ ALSO: Reno Omokri speaks on Osinbajo's performance in Buhari's absence

Ezugwu said: Federal Government should face governance issues that would alleviate the suffering of the masses.

The statement read in part: We see the continued media hype of President Buharis phone calls and possible photoshopped pictures of individual visits to his London hospital as a distraction.

Why is Mr. President always calling from his sick bed to individuals at a time he should be resting to get well quick and return home?

If he can be talking to individuals, what is difficult about talking to the nation in a live broadcast, where some citizens can call in and get his response?

CNPP says the presidency under Buhari would have to be more forth-coming with information about the president's true state of health and not be reporting phone calls.

The Presidency should stop deceiving Nigerians and know that governance must not be based on lies and propaganda.

At a time the average Nigerian does not know where the next meal will come from, we see the presidency toiling with peoples emotions rather than face governance issues to reduce the current suffering in the country.

Enough of phone calls from President Buhari. It is time for the ruling party to deliver on its campaign promises and make life better for the citizens of Nigeria.

CNPP's words come just days after President Buhari was reported to have called three Nigerians at home on Sunday, March 5.

The included former military head of state Yakubu Gowon who Buhari commiserated with over the death of his sister Kande Martha Audu a day earlier.

The call to Gown made it three calls that President Buhari made on Sunday alone.

Recall that presidential spokesman Femi Adesina confirmed the call to ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo on the occasion of his 80th birthday on Sunday while Kingsley Fanwo, the spokesperson to Kogi state governor Yahya Bello also confirmed a second call from Buhari to his principal same day.

Source: Legit.ng
Premium Times is reporting that three Nigerian banks are set to take over telecommunications firm Etisalat today, Wednesday, March 8, over unpaid N541.8billion debt.

An Etisalat experience centre on the Lagos Island; one of the company's assets that now be forfeited to the banks.

According to the report, the move follows the failure of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) to broker a peaceful resolution between Etisalat Nigeria and a consortium of banks.

The banks involved are:

1. Guaranty Trust Bank

2. Access Bank

3. Zenith Bank

However, these are not the only banks as there are also some foreign banks that have also been reportedly having a running battle with the telecoms company over the loan facility totalling $1.72 billion (about N541.8 billion) and was obtained in 2015.

READ ALSO: Italy deports 37 Nigerians

The report says the loan involved a foreign-backed guaranty bond and was given to Etisalat to finance a major network rehabilitation and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria.

After failing to service its debt since 2016, the banks reported the company to the Central Bank of Nigeria and communications sector regular NCC.

Etisalat blamed its inability to fulfil its obligation to the banks on the current economic recession in Nigeria but the banks replied that Asset Management Company of Nigeria regulations demanding immediate cut down on the rate of their non-performing loans give them no other option.

A senior bank official among those affected said Etisalat management was given option of filing for bankruptcy but it was not taken. This option, he said, would have required the banks just a management to oversee the telecoms firms operations.

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Although the NCC is not happy with the takeover, a top source at the regulatory body NCC said on Tuesday, March 7 that it had approved the takeover that is now expected to happen today.

Meanwhile, in the bid to restore the ailing economy, the Federal Government has released the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which unveils a road map for Nigerias economic recovery growth and sustainable development.

James Akpandem, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, announced this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the adviser, the ERGP is available on the ministrys website, www.nationalplanning.gov.ng and that of the Budget Office, www.budgetoffice.gov.ng.

Source: Legit.ng
Andrew Yakubu, a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has claimed that the around N3 billion ($9,772,800 and 74,000) recently recovered from him was gift from well-wishers.

Ex-NNPC GMD Andrew Yakubu is now in EFCC custody

The Nation reports that Yakubu said the money recovered from his Kaduna home by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was part of gifts he recieved during ceremonies.

READ ALSO: 3 Nigerian banks set to take over Etisalat today over N541.8 billion debt

However, Yakubu, who is now in EFCC custody, did not mention the ceremonies at which he got the money or those who gave him the gift but he denied that the funds were proceeds of crime.

He was said to have made the claim in a court document filed on his behalf before the Federal High Court in Abuja by Dolapo Kehinde, one of his lawyers.

Kehinde said: In specific reply thereto, the applicant (Yakubu) states that the monies in respect of which the applicant is being held by the respondents are gifts and goodwill by well-wishers and friends given to him during celebrations and ceremonies and not proceeds of crime as alleged.

Furthermore, I know that there is no investigation or finding whatsoever by the first respondent (EFCC) that has proven contrary.

Kehinde said Yakubu did not receive the money as a public officer, but saved it for a period of five years.

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He added: The applicant (Yakubu) denies paragraphs 10 and 11 of the first respondents (EFCCs) counter-affidavit.

In reply thereto, the applicant states that the monies concerned were not given to him as a public servant or while he was a servant.

The applicant humbly relies on Exhibit B hereof where he is quoted as saying: These were periodic savings for over five years.

The applicant (Yakubu) did not breach any provisions of the Independent Practices and other Related Offences Act or indeed any law.

Meanwhile, Yakubu is asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to award N1 billion in his favour as damages against EFCC for violation of his rights.

Among other things, he also wants the court to declare that his continued detention by the EFCC without being charged to court or allowed to complete his medical procedure in the United Kingdom was a violation of his rights.

Source: Legit.ng
Miss Justina Dusu, 27, who was allegedly brutalised and her sister, Simi, killed by her boyfriend, Stephen Luka, for refusing to abort her pregnancy, has been delivered of a baby boy.

Luka is currently facing charges of murder, attempted murder, assault and abuse at a Jos High Court.

I have put to bed and I am very happy; I love my child so much in spite of what happened . He is innocent and I cannot extend my anger to him , she said on Wednesday in Jos.

The accused was alleged to have attacked the two sisters on July 27, 2016 at his home in Sabon Gari, Tudun Wada, Jos, after they went to confront him over Justinas pregnancy.

Luka, who accepted responsibility for the pregnancy, however, suggested an abortion, an idea Justina and her sister flatly rejected.

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An angry Luka was said to have lost his cool and used a machete on both sisters, resulting in Simis death, while Justina lost her left eye in addition to severe injuries on her body.

Luka has denied the charges.

But Justina, who appeared very happy and at peace with herself, told NAN that her son did not commit a crime to be hated by her.

I lam very happy that I put to bed safely. I love my son very much. He has not done anything to me. He is innocent and I cant hate him.

I have put the past behind me. I dont want to remember the horrible things that happened to me and my sister. When I look at my child, I feel happy.

Justina, however, maintained that she and her family wanted justice and the appropriate punishment given to Luka.

I have forgiven Luka over what he did to me and my sister, but I need justice. Justice must be served and he must be punished for his actions.

He humiliated me and my family and I cant take it. He must be punished, she said.

She said that Lukas family visited her for the first time, since the attack, on Feb. 28 and subsequently on March 5.

READ ALSO: 643 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in 3 months  NEMA

His (Lukas) family visited me and my family, on Feb. 28., for the first time. They did not t tell me anything. They only said they came to visit me.

After I put to bed, one of his uncles also came to visit me. He, too, said he just came to visit me. But none of them brought anything for me or my baby, she said.

However, in the video below by Legit.ng, a relationship question was posed to Nigerians if they can marry women or men who are 10 years older or below them. Here are their responses.

Source: Legit.ng
- The Europe Union has promised that the continent would open up legal channels for Africans to migrate because of its alleged 'ageing' population

- European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria, Michel Arrion, said that Europe like migration as long as it is legal

European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria, Michel Arrion, has reportedly said that Europes ageing population means the continent needs to open up legal channels for Africans to migrate.

Mr Arrion, who heads the EUs delegation to Nigeria, made this claim at the countrys Bureau of Public Service Reforms, according to tweets published by the government agencys director general, Dr Joe Abah.

READ ALSO: 20 million African migrants heading for Europe

The Ambassador declared that: Europe must support properly-regulated immigration from Africa after making comments which made mention of his West African hosts astronomic birth rate, Abah said.

Europes ageing population means it must support properly-regulated immigration from Africa.  EU Ambassador to Nigeria & ECOWAS.

Mr Arrion has made similar statements in the past. In 2015, at a conference on migration policy in Abuja, Mr Arrion stated that the EU welcomes migration because the continent needs fresh blood.

According to the ambassador, immigration enhances the movement of factors of production, particularly labour, especially in Europe.

He continued: Migration is good. We (Europe) like migration as long as it is legal. We need migration for various reasons. Movement of factors of production is a good thing and labour moving freely is a very good thing.

In Europe and in other western countries, we have this specific issue of aging population. So we need fresh blood in our countries.

Mr Arrion cautioned against the phenomenon of brain drain, however, noting that there are more PhD holders from Nigerian origin in Europe or in America than in Nigeria.

Last summer, the European Commission unveiled plans to massively increase legal migration from Africa with a relaunched Blue Card scheme to make Europe more attractive to people from the worlds poorest continent.

Last month, the UN-backed International Organisation for Migrations Europe director said Africans seek a decent livelihood  which they are unable to find in their homelands  and so EU nations should provide them with jobs.

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Declaring Africans desire to move to Europe a legitimate aspiration, Eugenio Ambrosi said Europe must open channels allowing them to migrate legally if Brussels wants to cut deaths in the Mediterranean.

Source: Legit.ng
There is an ongoing fight between the Hausas and Yorubas at Sabo market of Ile-Ife, Osun state.

The clash reportedly started when a bus used his side mirror to hit a Hausa woman at sabo last night.

Hausas and Yorubas clash at ile-Ife, Osun state

The Magaji of Hausa community in Ile- Ife and secretary to the central mosque in the town, Alhaji Nasir Magaji has explained the cause of the mayhem.

Magaji explained that a Hausa man allegedly slapped a wife of a Yoruba man, Kuburat, who was a pure water vendor.

He said: It was Kuburat that provoked the Hausa man who slapped him and that after slapping her, many Hausa people were not in his support as they scolded him for doing that, but the Yoruba who were not pleased with the situation, retaliated by beating the Hausa man and others."

Hausas and Yorubas clash at ile-Ife, Osun state

Gunshots are being heard while some shops have been set ablaze and residents have deserted both Sabo and Lagere, Ile-Ife, in bid to escape the clash.

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Hausas and Yorubas clash at ile-Ife, Osun state

Police and army personnel have been discharged to the area.

The Osun state government has declared a two day curfew in Ile-Ife which will start from 6pm and end by 7am till Friday, March 10.

According to a statement from the Director of Bureau of Communication, Media and Strategy to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Mr Semiu Okanlawon: The curfew has been compelled by the breach of the peace in the area which led to avoidable destruction of lives and properties."

Source: Legit.ng
Furniture makers in Omu-Aran, Kwara, have called on the Federal Government to ban importation of finished furniture products into the country to boost the local industry.

Chief Olu Abioye, Chairman, Kwara state Furniture Manufacturers Association (KSFMA), Omu-Aran Chapter, made the call in an interview on Wednesday.

Abioye said that some Nigerians preference for foreign goods had become a stumbling block to the nations growth and economic development.

To me, government still has a lot to do to achieve the desired high patronage for locally produced goods.

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Though the present administration has been championing patronage of indigenous products through stringent policies, there is also a need for government to have a strong political will.

An outright ban on importation of finished furniture products will in no small measure promote local production, patronage and income, Abioye said.

The furniture maker blamed both government agencies and the rich for their insatiable taste for imported goods.

According to him, many government offices are filled with imported furniture, neglecting made in Nigeria products.

Abioye said the furniture industry had immense potentialities due to the abundance of raw materials in Nigeria, adding that the business was lucrative.

READ ALSO: Happy Birthday, Professor! Buhari congratulates Osinbajo @ 60

The industry is currently providing qualitative and affordable furniture to a teeming market across the country.

This is quite evident as a substantial number of professionals are flooding the industry on a daily basis, he said.

Meanwhile, in the video below, Nigerians speak on the possibility of the president returning to Nigeria hale and hearty.

Source: Legit.ng
Nigerias official language is English and it is very popular in the urban communities than it is in the rural areas.

There is another language which very popular in Nigeria and it is Pidgin English.

This is the language of the street and is spoken mostly in south south region than in any other place. It is a mixture of English with words from local languages and some made-up words.

It is a means of daily communication among many Nigerians, mostly the uneducated. Most uneducated Nigerians cannot communicate properly in English language but would do well in pidgin.

Even in formal settings, Pidgin is a popular medium of communication between friends and colleagues and because of its popularity, some have suggested that it should be one of Nigerias official languages.

READ ALSO: 17 hilarious Nigerian pidgin proverbs and their meaning

In no particular order, these are some of the cities in Nigeria where Pidgin is spoken the most.

1. Warri

Like they say, Warri no dey carry last. When it comes to Pidgin English, Warri is like the headquarters. The way they speak the Pidgin is quite different from others. It has some kind of street swag and the slangs might be hard to comprehend.

2. Benin

The people in Benin can speak Pidgin language as good as those in Warri. It is spoken by the old and the young. It is like the go to language for everyone.

3. Port Harcourt

It would be surprising for one to grow up in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers state, and not know how to speak Pidgin English. Port Harcourt residents are very eloquent in Pidgin. It is easier to communicate in Pidgin because there are several ethnic groups present in this big city.

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4. Yenagoa

This is another place in the Niger Delta region where Pidgin English is very popular. Just like its neighbor, Port Harcourt, the people communicate more in Pidgin than English Language.

5. Lagos

Though English language is very popular, Pidgin English is also prevalent in Lagos probably due to the heavy migrant population there. It is the next language bus conductor, trader or any other person would speak to you if you do not understand Yoruba.

6. Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory is home to all, so it is not surprising that Pidgin is one of the common languages the people use in communicating.

7. Lokoja

Lokoja is arguably one of the best in Pidgin English in the north central region of Nigeria.

READ ALSO: This is why Daddy Showkey uses Pidgin in his music

8. Calabar

A number of people in Calabar which was Nigerias first capital city have adopted pidgin as their means of communication.

Source: Legit.ng
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo thanked everyone for wishing him well on his birthday.

The acting president of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo thanks Nigerian and God for the support and love as he celebrates his sixtieth birthday today, March 8.

Osinbajo, on his Facebook page said: "Thank you everyone, for your kind words, I am humbled and grateful.

Osinbajo and wife

READ ALSO: SEE Beautiful cake Osinbajo's mum gave him for his birthday (photo)

"I am especially grateful to the Almighty God who has kept me in His arms for 60 years. There is no me without Him.

"Saved by Grace alone."

The acting president also released a video where he was holding his wife, Dolapo Osinbajo's hand and singing praises to God.

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Meanwhile, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has saluted Acting President Yemi Osinbajo as a man of destiny as he turns 60 today, March 8.

The Rivers governor prayed for God's protection and guidance for the acting president as he pilots the affairs of the country.

Watch Osinbajo and wife sing in the video below:

Source: Legit.ng
The U.S. Embassy in Abuja said on Wednesday that there was no reason for Nigerians with valid visas to postpone or cancel their travel to the United States.

The Embassy said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday. It explained that: Nigeria is not named in the Executive Order on Immigration issued on March 6.

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And there is no prohibition against Nigerian lawful permanent residents or persons with a valid visa or other U.S. Government authorisation from entering the U.S.

Recall that the Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had on Monday advised Nigerians to reconsider their travelling plan to the U.S.

Dabiri-Erewa said that Nigerians who have no compelling or urgent reason to travel to the U.S. to postpone their travel plans until the new administrations policy on immigration becomes clearer.

She said that her office had in the last few weeks received a few cases of Nigerians with valid multiple-entry U.S. visas being denied entry and sent back home.

She said that no reasons were given for the decision by the U.S. immigration authorities.

However, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, Foreign Affairs Ministers reaction on Tuesday while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja, corroborated the embassys claim.

Onyeama said that no Nigerian with full valid entry visa had been denied entry to the U.S., adding that Nigerians are free to travel to U.S. as the country was not on the ban list.

The minister said he was constantly in touch with the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S. and the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, adding that there is no report on Nigerians being denied entry into the U.S.

The U.S. Mission to Nigeria had also earlier in February assured Nigerians that the executive order on immigration would not affect Nigerians, noting that visa applicants will continue to get two-year multiple entry visas as before.

READ ALSO: Trumps new plan will worsen refugees woes - UN

The U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 27, barring people from seven mainly Muslim-majority countries from travelling to the U.S. for 90 days.

It also stopped all refugees for 120 days and Syrian refugees permanently.

Source: Legit.ng
Because the entire value of the car is not being financed, the payments are less on a monthly basis than they would be if the vehicle were purchased over the same period. That is a main reason that leasing is so popular: It lets consumers drive cars that are more expensive than those they might be able to afford to buy.

When the vehicle is returned at the end of the lease, the only additional costs are those incurred if the vehicle was driven more than the maximum agreed-upon mileage, any amount due for damage beyond normal wear and tear, and any turn-in fees. The lessee may also decide to purchase the vehicle, for that contracted residual value.

One reason car leases tend to be so inflexible is that the deal is a three-party contract: The dealer signs the lease with the customer, and then assigns the contract to a leasing company. Leases can be voided if the original agreement was made under untruthful conditions  if the lessee is a minor, for example, or does not possess a valid drivers license. In those cases, the leasing company would not want to be part of a fraudulent contract.

This is not as rare as one would think  people do fraudulent deals all the time, said Randall McCathren, managing director of the Association of Consumer Vehicle Lessors, a trade group.

In addition, if the lease terms or the vehicle was misrepresented, the lessee can try to void the lease under each states laws on unfair and deceptive acts and practices, Mr. McCathren said.

But in a legally struck deal, even death will not necessarily free one from a lease obligation. Typically, the dead persons estate becomes liable for the obligation, although some car finance companies will make exceptions.

Still, it never hurts to try to seek concessions.

It absolutely pays to contact the leaseholder and try to work out some consideration, Mr. McCathren said. He noted that leasing companies will typically defer payments if a lessee is in the hospital for a limited period of time.
So much of the artwork is about the artist or a self in relation to the tumultuous world that were in, Mr. Lew said.

The featured artists vary in their race, gender, sexual orientation and geographic locations. There are nearly as many women as men; a large delegation from California; and several from outside the continental United States. They work in various media, including technology. (The museum announced in 2015 that the next biennial would be in 2017 rather than this year so curators could adjust to the new building.)

Since moving downtown, the Whitney has tried to better integrate the spirit of the biennial into its year-round activities, by re-energizing its emerging artists program. A little bit more in the trenches, Mr. Rothkopf said, a little closer to the ground.

While the biennial includes established artists like Jo Baer, William Pope.L, Dana Schutz and Jordan Wolfson, many are largely unknown.

The curators worked closely with a team of advisers: Negar Azimi of the Middle East publication Bidoun; Gean Moreno of the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami; Wendy Yao of the exhibition space 356 South Mission Road and the art shop Ooga Booga in Los Angeles; and Aily Nash, a curator with the New York Film Festival, who is helping organize the biennials film program.
With many artists jumping into the fiery debate over President Trumps travel ban, a tweet from a small indie musician in Brooklyn thrust one of the worlds most famous gatherings of tech, culture and music into a controversy that resulted in dozens of acts promising to avoid the festival.

Following an avalanche of criticism over what some bands said was a deportation clause in its performance contract, the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Tex., which starts Friday, released a statement on Tuesday saying that it would amend its agreements starting in 2018. The organizers of the festival, however, furiously denied that the language in its contracts over the past five years had been designed to encourage the deportation of foreign artists visiting the United States to perform at its event.

Last week, a Brooklyn-based indie band, Told Slant, posted on Twitter that it would be pulling out of the festival after noticing a clause in what appeared to be a performance contract, which had to do with barring bands from playing unofficial venues that were not connected to the festival.
1. WikiLeaks latest release, if confirmed, appears certain to rock the technology world and deliver a serious blow to the C.I.A.

The so-called Vault 7 documents offer details of what are described as highly classified C.I.A. hacking tools used to break into smartphones and computers, turn Internet-connected TVs into spies and bypass encryption on messaging services like Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram.
ALBION  Erika Maneke admits she isnt particularly interested in politics, but she is passionate about the importance of state parks, and that shone through in a letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Maneke, a junior at Center Noble High School, was selected as the winner of the Noble County Republicans annual letter-writing contest to the keynote speaker of the partys Lincoln Day Dinner. This year, that just happened to be the head of Indianas government.

More than 80 students from Noble Countys three main public school districts wrote letters to Holcomb in this years contest, according to Randy Handshoe. The letters were supposed to address a state policy issue that the student is concerned about.

Maneke was one of nine finalists  three from each school district  before being selected as the winner. Maneke and the other finalists were invited to attend the Lincoln Day Dinner, where they got a chance to meet Holcomb.

Maneke chose to write about state parks because she values the environment and is a frequent visitor of public parks.

I have been to several state parks and over 250 national parks, and they should be treasured. They are protecting historical land. Our future generations should be able to see what our country was built upon and enjoy visiting the parks. Some politicians may think that they should be low priority with other issues at hand, but the parks are worth it, Maneke said.

In her letter, Maneke cited federal budget cuts that had affected the National Park Services ability to provide services to park visitors and caused some parks to shut down or limit their availability. She asked the governor to ensure that Indianas parks dont face similar cutbacks in the future.

She also encouraged Holcomb to visit Chain O Lakes State Park near Albion if he is in the area.

The state parks are a great way for people to experience Indiana. The parks provide exercise, educational experiences and much more. Not only are they beautiful places, but they also produce tourism in smaller towns around Indiana, she wrote.

Like most people, Maneke took note of how tall Holcomb is and said she exchanged a few kind words with the governor while taking photos at the Lincoln Day Dinner.
For years, federal investigators have been scrutinizing Caterpillars overseas tax affairs with no resolution to the examinations of the complex maneuvers involving billions of dollars and one of the companys Swiss subsidiaries.

Now, a report commissioned by the government and reviewed by The New York Times accuses the heavy-equipment maker of carrying out tax and accounting fraud. It is extremely rare to accuse a big multinational company of tax fraud, which could result in high penalties.

Caterpillar did not comply with either U.S. tax law or U.S. financial reporting rules, wrote Leslie A. Robinson, an accounting professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the author of the report. I believe that the companys noncompliance with these rules was deliberate and primarily with the intention of maintaining a higher share price. These actions were fraudulent rather than negligent.

No charges have been filed, and it is not clear whether investigators agree with the findings or intend to act on them. The report, which has not been made public or made available to Caterpillar, outlines a company strategy for bringing home billions of dollars from offshore affiliates while avoiding federal income taxes on those earnings.
The investment firm 3G Capital, the driving force behind Kraft Heinz and the company that owns the Burger King and Tim Hortons chains, seems to have found the secret sauce of deal-making.

But could that sauce now be nearing its expiration date?

Until recently, 3G looked unstoppable. Founded in 2004 by Jorge Paulo Lemann and four other Brazilian deal makers, the firm made its name by relentlessly crossing the globe to buy companies and ultimately form the worlds biggest beer maker, Anheuser-Busch InBev. Since then, 3G has built up empires in food through bold and aggressive acquisitions.

But last month, 3Gs Kraft Heinz retreated on a $143 billion takeover offer for the British-Dutch conglomerate Unilever, the maker of Hellmanns mayonnaise and Lipton tea, as well as Dove soap and other personal products, after facing opposition from the target company and European politicians.

Still, 3G is not likely to shut down its insatiable acquisition drive after being thwarted over Unilever. Its recent setback provides an opportunity to reflect on what makes this firm different.
Ray Dalio, the founder of the hedge fund firm Bridgewater Associates, on Tuesday argued on behalf of his firms unusual workplace culture, where meetings and internal debates are recorded.

Speaking at a conference sponsored by The New York Times in Half Moon Bay, Calif., the 67-year-old billionaire likened that culture  which he calls radical transparency  to going to a nudist camp for the first time.

You first walk into a nudist camp and its very awkward, he said at the New Work Summit conference. For people to get beyond that, he said, there has to be getting over the emotional reaction.

The culture at Bridgewater, which manages more than $150 billion for large investors like pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, has been the focus of a number of articles in The Times and The Wall Street Journal over the last year.
Joseph W. Rogers, a founder of Waffle House, the restaurant chain that achieved a kind of cultural renown with its no-frills menu, attentive service and round-the-clock hours, died on Friday in Atlanta. He was 97.

The company announced his death on Monday. Joe Rogers Jr., who succeeded his father as chief executive in the late 1970s and remains chairman and controlling owner, said the elder Mr. Rogers died after having dinner with his wife of 74 years, Ruth, earlier in the evening.

Mr. Rogers and an Atlanta neighbor, Tom Forkner, founded the restaurant in 1955. At the time, Mr. Rogers was a senior official at a restaurant chain called Toddle House. Mr. Forkner was a real estate investor. The two were eager to own a restaurant in their neighborhood.

Even after starting the restaurant, Mr. Rogers kept his day job at Toddle House and moved to Memphis when he was promoted to vice president. But in 1961, frustrated that the company did not allow employees to acquire an ownership stake, he returned to Atlanta and devoted himself to Waffle House full time.
Tronc, the publisher of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, is in late-stage conversations with Wenner Media to acquire the celebrity magazine Us Weekly, according to a person briefed on the talks.

Tronc and Wenner, which also publishes Rolling Stone and Mens Journal, are negotiating a price of more than $100 million for Us Weekly, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal talks are private. The talks are in progress, and a deal could fail.

In 2006, Wenner spent $300 million to buy back the 50 percent share in Us Weekly it sold to the Walt Disney Company for $40 million five years earlier. Wenner still makes significant debt payments each year stemming from the loan it used to fund the transaction.

For Wenner, selling Us Weekly would be a further paring of its holdings. Last year, it sold a 49 percent stake in Rolling Stone, a music and popular culture magazine, to BandLab Technologies, a Singapore-based music tech company led by the son of an Asian business magnate. At the time, Rolling Stone, founded by Jann S. Wenner in 1967, said the deal was intended to help the magazine expand into new markets and strengthen its brand internationally. The company used $25 million from the $40 million deal for a special payment on its loan, according to credit reports.
WASHINGTON  Millions of people who get private health coverage through the Affordable Care Act would be at risk of losing it under the replacement legislation proposed by House Republicans, analysts said Tuesday, with Americans in their 50s and 60s especially likely to find coverage unaffordable.

Starting in 2020, the plan would do away with the current system of providing premium subsidies based on peoples income and the cost of insurance where they live. Instead, it would provide tax credits of $2,000 to $4,000 per year based on their age.

But the credits would not cover nearly as much of the cost of premiums as the current subsidies do, at least for the type of comprehensive coverage that the Affordable Care Act requires, analysts said. For many people, that could mean the difference between keeping coverage under the new system and having to give it up.

The central issue is the tax credits are not going to be sufficient, said Dr. J. Mario Molina, the chief executive of Molina Healthcare, an insurer that offers coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces in California, Florida and several other states.
A private lawyer, Roger Bennet Adler, who was appointed in 2012 by the Office of Court Administration to serve as a special prosecutor investigating the campaign, has announced his intention to dismiss all charges in the interests of justice and because he doesnt have proof that the men, David G. Thomas and David Jones, did anything wrong.

Image Roger Bennet Adler in 2015. Credit... Brian Harkin for The New York Times

There will be no trial.

Like a modern-day version of Inspector Javert from Victor Hugos Les Miserables, the dogged Mr. Adler has spent the better part of five years trying to find evidence that two men stole money from the campaign  even though they made proper filings with the city campaign finance board.

The amount of the purported larceny was $5,000.

It has probably cost 200 times the value of the nonexistent theft for Mr. Adler to reach the conclusion that there is no crime to prosecute.

During the investigation, Mr. Adler billed the city over $520,000 in fees, at $300 an hour, below the prevailing rate, he said on Tuesday. He has not yet submitted his final invoice.

The tab for the special prosecutor is just a fraction of the public and private money involved.

Grand jurors sat for months, hearing evidence; multiple judges, up to and including members of the states highest court, reviewed and ruled on the case, whittling down the charges; defense lawyers, including, among others, Justine Harris, Florian Miedel and Sam Gregory  who worked at a discount, but not free  filed volumes of motions; the full machinery of the judicial system, including court officers, law clerks and stenographic reporters, was deployed every time there was a hearing. For good measure, at their initial appearances the defendants were handcuffed, fingerprinted and delivered to court in police cars.
Mayor Bill de Blasio had just arrived for a meeting with Jewish leaders on Tuesday morning to discuss a disturbing rise in the number of hate crimes aimed at Jewish community centers and organizations when he was briefed by police officials about the latest incident: a bomb threat at the office of the Anti-Defamation League in Manhattan.

New threats are coming in literally as of today, Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference after the meeting, held at the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center on Staten Island. The center had received a bomb threat about a week earlier and the facility was evacuated while police searched the building.

Other threats on Tuesday morning were made at Anti-Defamation League offices in Boston and Washington, and at several Jewish community centers and a day school in upstate New York, Florida, Maryland, Oregon and Wisconsin, according to Twitter posts by the leagues chief executive, Jonathan Greenblatt, and state officials.

This is a moment in time, a moment in history, where forces of hate have been unleashed, Mr. de Blasio said.
Lynne F. Stewart, a radical-leftist lawyer who gained wide notice for representing violent, self-described revolutionaries and who spent four years in prison herself, convicted of aiding terrorism, died on Tuesday at her home in Brooklyn. She was 77.

Her son, Geoffrey Stewart, said the cause was complications of cancer and a series of strokes.

Ms. Stewart, who had been treated for breast cancer before entering prison, was granted a compassionate release in January 2014 after the cancer had spread and was deemed terminal. Doctors at the time gave her 18 months to live.

A former librarian and teacher, she had taken up the law in the cause of social justice after seeing the squalor in the area around the public school in Harlem where she taught. She built a reputation for representing the poor and the reviled, usually for modest, court-paid fees.

Believing that the American political and capitalist system needed radical surgery, as Ms. Stewart put it, she sympathized with clients who sought to fight that system, even with violence, although she did not always endorse their tactics, she said.
Last month, the detectives both pleaded not guilty in State Supreme Court in Manhattan to similar charges. In that case, prosecutors said the detectives claimed a man had threatened a person with a gun and had the weapon on him at the time of the arrest, which other evidence later contradicted.

Police officials said that the detectives had both been suspended by the department. Detective Desormeau has been with the department since 2006; Detective Cordoba joined in 2007. It is unclear whether a review of their arrest histories has uncovered any other potential wrongdoing. Lawyers for both detectives did not respond to messages seeking comment on Tuesday.

In the Queens case, prosecutors said that the detectives arrested Mr. McCoy, who was 45 at the time, on the evening of Aug. 28, 2014, for selling crack cocaine to a woman on a sidewalk near 108th Avenue and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in the Jamaica neighborhood. In a Criminal Court affidavit, Detective Desormeau claimed that he saw a hand-to-hand exchange between the man and a woman who was not arrested. Detective Desormeau reported that he had recovered rock cocaine from the mans waistband, prosecutors said.

Later, Detective Desormeau testified before a grand jury in Queens that he saw the man hand two women something in exchange for money, and that he had a twist of crack cocaine in his possession when he was arrested, prosecutors said. Then, the detective repeated a similar account while testifying in a hearing.

The Queens district attorneys office ultimately dismissed the charges against Mr. McCoy, but his case had been prosecuted over a period of more than a year. Mr. McCoys lawyer, Gabriel P. Harvis, said that his client was worried about the prospect of facing years in prison and that he was troubled by the willingness of the detectives to misrepresent the circumstances of his arrest.
On Feb. 22, Gundersen St. Josephs held a community focus group with assistance from HGA Architects. The aim of the focus group was to gather qualitative information about the needs of the community relating to the development of a new hospital. Attendees of the focus group represented the many communities served by Gundersen St. Josephs Hospital and Clinics including Elroy, Wonewoc, Union Center, Kendall, Ontario and Hillsboro.

The focus group began with a tour which aimed to highlight problem areas in the current facility  factors which included accessibility and way-finding, privacy, security and comfort. The discussion also helped discover areas of opportunity and growth, including new services and amenities for the community.

The facility was a much needed addition to the community back in the 1950s, and there were many individuals who went above and beyond to support the building of a new hospital back then," said Kristie McCoic, clinic operations officer for Gundersen St. Josephs. "We owe a lot to those individuals. Since then, we have grown as an organization, health care has changed and our patients needs have changed. We have great staff here who provide high quality, personal care for our patients and both deserve a facility that supports them as we move into this next chapter of St. Josephs.

Many of the positive comments from the community centered around the compassionate nature of the staff at Gundersen St. Josephs, as well as the healing natural beauty of the lakeside location. When youre sick and spending a night in hospital, where else would you want to be than beside this lake with bald eagles soaring majestically over the water right outside of your window? said Dan Howard, director of marketing at Gundersen St. Josephs, who conducted one of the tours around the facility.

The focus group was the second stage of a five-month phase referred to as "pre-design." HGA Architects were represented by health care planner and architect Tarah Raaum and junior architect Matt Carlson. HGA was chosen by the administration team of Gundersen St. Josephs due to their roots in west central Wisconsin; Raaum being a native of Viroqua and Carlson who grew up in La Crosse.

It was important to us that we hired individuals who understood what rural communities need, how they interact and whats important to them, McCoicm said. Thats why we hired HGA.

We havent put pen to paper yet, but the focus groups are intended as listening sessions to help inform the design of the new hospital. We organize these meetings really early in the design process so that the feedback can influence the design direction of the new hospital, said Raaum, health care planner and architect at HGA.

HGA will take all of the feedback provided through the focus group and community survey and begin the process of developing ideas for how the facility can meet the needs of the community. HGA are expected to report back during May.

For more information on the new hospital project, or to submit thoughts, contact Dan Howard, director of marketing at Gundersen St. Josephs Hospital and Clinics at djhoward@gundersenhealth.org.
The bill would also, for the first time ever, apply a per-person limit on how much the federal government spends on Medicaid. This change could shift about $370 billion in health care costs over 10 years to state governments, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Many state governments, faced with limited budgets, would be forced to cut benefits or cover fewer people.

For people who buy insurance on federal or state-run health exchanges, the G.O.P. plan would greatly reduce the A.C.A.s subsidies, which come in the form of tax credits. For example, a 40-year-old living in Raleigh, N.C., who earns $30,000 a year would receive $3,000 from the government to buy insurance, 32 percent less than under current law, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The bill would provide older people more generous subsidies  those over 60 get a subsidy of $4,000, or twice as much as 20-somethings  but insurers would be allowed to charge older people five times as much as younger people.

The plan would do away with the current mandate that requires nearly everybody to obtain insurance or pay a penalty. (Instead, insurers would be allowed to charge people who dont maintain their insurance continuously 30 percent more for coverage.) But because the legislation would still require insurers to cover pre-existing conditions, people would have a strong financial incentive to buy insurance only when they got sick  a sure way to destroy the insurance market.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and Tom Price, the secretary of health and human services, have railed against high premiums and deductibles for plans sold on the health exchanges, but that problem would only worsen under their proposal because insurers would almost certainly raise their prices as the pool of the insured shrank. Republican lawmakers seem to think that people who cant afford insurance are simply irresponsible. Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, for instance, told CNN that people should invest in their health care, rather than getting that new iPhone. Word to Mr. Chaffetz: Health insurance costs more than $18,000 a year for an average family; an iPhone costs a few hundred dollars.
We have so many big, hard things we need to do, but big hard things can only be done together. And that takes a leader who can bring us together to do things worthy of our energies and dedication  like proper health care reform, immigration reform, tax reform and infrastructure investment, or properly working with China and Russia where we can and drawing red lines where we must.

But it also requires trust in the integrity of that leader  that when things get tough, the leader wont bail and shoot his aides and followers in the back. There is not a G.O.P. congressman or U.S. ally abroad who today is not asking: Can I trust this guy when the going gets tough, or will Trump lay a fact-free Twitter rant on me? Can I even trust sharing information with him?

Government moves at the speed of trust, observes Stephen M. R. Covey in his book The Speed of Trust. There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world  one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.  That one thing is trust.

Despite a bizarre number of meetings with Russians, no proof has surfaced that Trumps team colluded with Russia. What our top three intelligence services have declared, though, is that Russia did hack our election on Trumps behalf. And as more of our lives move to cyberspace, understanding exactly how that was done, how it is probably being done in European elections right now and how to deter this new weapon from undermining the West, which is Russias goal, is a vital security issue. Without an electoral process we can trust, were sunk.

Sadly, most of the Republican Party today is morally AWOL, preferring to sweep the Russian hacking under the carpet rather than have a credible, independent investigation. That will lead people to question any collaboration Trump tries with Moscow.

Moreover, one day soon something will happen  in North Korea, the South China Sea, Ukraine, Iran  that will require him to make a judgment call. Trump will have to look the American people in the eye and say: Trust me  I decided this based on the best information and advice of the intelligence community. Or, Trust me, we needed to work with Russia on this.

And who will believe him? There is nothing more dangerous than a U.S. president whos squandered his trust before he has to lead us through a crisis. But thats what happens when hes surrounded by people ready to slather peanut butter on their chins. It greases the decline of companies and countries. Or as the Peanut Butter song warns, Strange to think what a guy can do just because everybody thinks hes right.
INTERNATIONAL

An article on Feb. 14 about the death of four snowboarders in an avalanche in the French Alps  including an unidentified 48-year-old man, his 19- and 15-year-old male relatives and their 59-year-old instructor  misstated the relationship of the 19-year-old man to the 48-year-old. The younger man was the older ones stepson, not his son-in-law.

NEW YORK

Because of an editing error, an article on Sunday about an impromptu trip to Israel by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo described incorrectly an earlier visit he made there. The governor visited near the Gaza border; he did not go to Gaza.



The Inside The Times feature on Tuesday about the newspapers efforts to provide a variety of coverage on its front page and its home page misspelled the surname of the editor in charge of the daily Briefings column. She is Andrea Kannapell, not Kanapel.

BUSINESS DAY

An article on Thursday about a leadership shake-up at the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates misspelled, in several instances, the surname of a former Apple executive who also left Bridgewater. He is Jon Rubinstein, not Rubenstein.
WASHINGTON  Jeff Bezos, the billionaire chief executive of Amazon, founded a rocket company as a hobby 16 years ago. Now that company, Blue Origin, finally has its first paying customer as it ramps up to become a full-fledged business.

Mr. Bezos announced that customer, the satellite television provider Eutelsat, on Tuesday. In about five years, Eutelsat, which is based in Paris, will strap one of its satellites to a new Blue Origin rocket to be delivered to space, a process it has done dozens of times with other space partners.

For Blue Origin, the relationship represents its evolution from an engineering-obsessed company into one that also seeks to make a profit eventually.

That goal may be a moon shot, with high risks, high costs and no guarantee that enough customers need transportation beyond Earth. Blue Origin, based in Kent, Wash., has launched only its New Shepard rocket to the edge of space, 62 miles up, before returning to Earth.
A freight train slammed into a charter bus full of people on their way to a casino on Tuesday afternoon in Biloxi, Miss., killing at least four onboard and injuring many more, the authorities said.

The bus, which was near its destination in Biloxi on a trip from Austin, Tex., appeared to have gotten stuck on the tracks at a railroad crossing, the Biloxi Police Department said. About 50 people, including many members of a senior center in Texas, were on the bus when the crash occurred, around 2:10 p.m., and almost every passenger appeared to have some injuries, said the police chief, John Miller.

Its a terrible tragedy, Chief Miller said at a news conference, adding that the accident was the worst of its kind that he could recall in Biloxi. It is a terrible, chaotic scene right now, but we have it under control.

A witness who called 911 and ran to the accident scene described a horrific sight: the locomotive, still running, tearing into the drivers side of the bus and knocking people out of their seats.
WASHINGTON  In June 2009, House Democratic leaders unveiled the first draft of legislation that would ultimately become the Affordable Care Act. A month later, three House committees began formally drafting the bill ahead of a House vote that came well into the fall, after the summer heat had dissipated and the leaves had begun to change.

On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee will formally mark up legislation to repeal and replace the act  less than 48 hours after Republicans unveiled the bill to the public. If all goes according to plan, the House will vote within a few weeks, and the Senate will take up the legislation before its spring recess begins on April 7.

Republicans excoriated Democrats for rushing passage of the Affordable Care Act  President Barack Obamas landmark health law  blasting back-room deals and cheering on the nascent Tea Party movement, with its hostile chant Read the bill, read the bill. But Republicans have adopted a much more aggressive timetable for repealing the law and remaking Medicaid, the health program for more than 70 million low-income people.

The difference between 2009 and 2017 is like black and white, said former Senator Max Baucus of Montana, one of the chief architects of the Affordable Care Act, who spent countless hours in hearings and negotiations on the legislation as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Its a chasm. Theres no comparison.
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.  As Tuesday brought another round of threats against Jewish institutions, the nations senators urged the Trump administration to take quick action to curb the episodes, which have left Jewish community centers deeply unsettled.

It has become clear that threats of violence against individual JCCs are not isolated incidents, said the letter, which was signed by all 100 senators and addressed to the attorney general, Jeff Sessions; the secretary of homeland security, John Kelly; and the director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey.

We are concerned that the number of incidents is accelerating, putting people at risk and threatening the centers, the letter said.

The F.B.I. has been investigating, and last week, a St. Louis man, Juan Thompson, was charged with cyberstalking and accused of making at least eight of the threats nationwide. The authorities believe that Mr. Thompson, 31, was trying to harass his ex-girlfriend by pinning the threats on her.
When the United States began deploying a missile defense system in South Korea this week, it was to protect an ally long threatened by North Korean provocations. But it was instantly met by angry Chinese warnings that the United States is setting off a new arms race in a region already on edge over the Norths drive to build a nuclear arsenal.

China condemned the new antimissile system as a dangerous opening move in what it called Americas grand strategy to set up similar defenses across Asia, threatening to tilt the balance of power there against Beijing.

The tensions are testing the new Trump administration and its uneasy allies South Korea and Japan, which have complained for years that China has simultaneously chastised and coddled the North, refusing to enact stiff enough measures to force it to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.

But with the beginning of work to install the antimissile system, the delicate international cooperation against North Korea is splintering: Beijing is expressing more concern about American intentions in the region than about the dangers of the Norths latest surge in nuclear and missile testing.
But the president helped Mr. Netanyahu in another way a few weeks earlier. On the eve of their first visit, the White House told reporters that the president would be open to a peace accord between the Israelis and the Palestinians that did not involve the creation of a Palestinian state.

That statement, which broke with decades of American policy in favor of a two-state solution, was a political gift to Mr. Netanyahu. He was under intense pressure from right-wing members of his coalition not to utter the phrase two-state solution during his trip to Washington, nor to have the new president formally embrace the policy.

When Mr. Trump was asked during a news conference with Mr. Netanyahu whether he favored a one-state or two-state solution, he replied: I like the one that both parties like. Im very happy with the one that both parties like. I can live with either one.

When Mr. Netanyahu was asked his opinion, he referred approvingly to the briefing by the White House before he arrived.

I read yesterday that an American official said that if you ask five people what two states would look like, youd get eight different answers, he said. Mr. President, if you ask five Israelis, youd get 12 different answers. But rather than deal with labels, I want to deal with substance.

The next day, speaking at the United Nations, the American ambassador, Nikki R. Haley, said that, in fact, the United States still absolutely supported the two-state solution. For Mr. Netanyahu, that hardly mattered; back home, his trip was widely hailed as a success.

Experts on the Israeli-American relationship said the choreography bore the imprint of Israels ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, and Mr. Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is taking a leading role in Middle East policy for the administration. The two speak regularly and were instrumental in setting up the visit.
With hopes for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians vastly diminished, Palestinians and their supporters have been advocating a strategy called B.D.S.: boycott, divestment and sanctions. The movement has been most active in Europe and the United States, and supporters have compared it to the campaign against apartheid in South Africa  an analogy fiercely disputed by defenders of Israel.

Academic groups, artists, churches and companies from many countries are boycotting or divesting from Israel, or from the occupied territories in the West Bank. The Israeli government and other critics say the boycott movement is anti-Semitic and aims to undermine Israels right to exist.

Bezalel Smotrich, a member of the Knesset who is a co-sponsor of the bill to bar entry to boycott supporters, said: We will now stop turning the other cheek. Preventing B.D.S. supporters who come here to hurt us from the inside is the very least we should be doing against haters of Israel.

Dov Hanin, who voted against the legislation, said that at a time when boycotts against settlements are being promoted around the world, the law is really a law to boycott the world.

A country that boycotts the world is basically isolating and boycotting itself, he continued.

Israel has already turned away some travelers for political reasons. Last December, Isabel Phiri, a theologian and an assistant general secretary of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, was refused entry after landing in Tel Aviv with a tourist visa. Last July, five Americans on a fact-finding trip were detained, questioned and deported, with Israeli officials citing security reasons.
The sixth annual Promoting Modern Agriculture event has been scheduled for March 23 at the Riverport Inn in Winona, where farmers and farm groups will work together to educate the public about how efficient farming practices benefit everyone.

This years featured speaker is Mike Pearson from Market to Market. His topic will be Whats Driving Agriculture in the Year Ahead? Get ready to laugh and learn with Mike Pearson as he takes the audience on an entertaining journey- a look ahead at the outlook for the farm markets- and global trends impacting these markets. Pearson keeps viewers informed as host of the Weekly Journal of Rural America. Mike grew up on a farm in central Iowa, where his family raises grain and livestock.

Speaking also will be scholarship winners.

The event committee has helped the community in several ways in the past, including:

Awarded $1,000 scholarships in conjunction with Winona County Farm Bureau, Southeast Minnesota Ag Alliance, Minnesota Soybean Growers, Minnesota Pork Producers, and Winona County Corn Growers;

Worked on connecting high-school students with the history and value of agriculture through farm tours and activities;

Been involved with the Winona Chambers annual Family Night on the Farm, where 2,500 people visited a dairy farm; and

Provided book bundles to area schools.

Farmers have significant challenges today and yet have managed to become one of the most adaptable sectors of the economy. In 1945 there were 24 million dairy cows. Today, there are 9 million, and in spite of the fact there are fewer cows, the country is able to be feed not only its own people but can export dairy products to other countries. Modern agriculture proves that farmers are efficient and care deeply about the land and animals.

This event is sponsored by farm families and agribusinesses. The public is encouraged to help through sponsorship. For more information, call Duane Wirt at 507-523-2860 or email duanewirt@hotmail.com.
But Turkeys main worry is not ISIS but ensuring that Syrian Kurds do not establish a ministate in northern Syria. That has spurred fears that Turkish troops and their allies in the Syria opposition might move to seize Manbij, a town in northern Syria that was taken from ISIS by Syrian Arab and Kurdish militias backed by the United States.

The fighters defending Manbij do not believe that the Turkish posture is mere saber-rattling. Abu Amjed, the head of the Manbij Military Council, said in an interview last week that his fighters were being shot at by Turkish troops and that he considered Turkey to be more of a threat than ISIS.

As the situation escalated, the Manbij Military Council has tried to pre-empt any Turkish offensive by striking a deal with Russia to turn nearby villages under its control over to Syrian government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. As part of that deal, a Syrian government convoy with humanitarian aid began to make its way to Manbij, escorted by Russian armored vehicles, which halted just short of the town.

At the same time, American troops in Stryker fighting vehicles and armored Humvees flying large American flags began to appear in and around Manbij to dissuade Turkish-backed militias and other groups from attacking the area. The American troops include a unit of Army Rangers, who appear to have been sent to northern Syria from the base American forces use in Erbil, Iraq. It was an unusually public role for Army Rangers, who often prefer to operate in the shadows.
So far, the right is definitely reading. Matthew Continetti of The Washington Free Beacon, in an article reposted by National Review, called the first issue lively and thought-provoking and at times deeply insightful. Ross Douthat of The New York Times, a strong critic of Mr. Trump, noted the journal in a recent column, though he called the ideas on offer not quite as daring as I had hoped.

Over on the left, Jeet Heer of The New Republic was less appreciative. High-toned discussion of civic friendship and covenantal nationalism, Mr. Heer said, effectively whitewashes Mr. Trumps racial demagoguery and authoritarianism and aims to hoodwink elite conservatives into believing that Trump is just like them.

Mr. Krein says the point is exactly the opposite. Trump is not like them, and thats what makes him attractive  at least on a policy basis, he said.

He continued: There has to be a sense of a distinct political community. I dont think it has to be ethnic or racial, but there has to be a distinct American citizenship that matters.

Mr. Krein grew up in Eureka, S.D., and studied political philosophy at Harvard with the noted conservative scholar Harvey C. Mansfield before going into finance, working at Bank of America, the Blackstone Group and smaller firms. (He now works full-time on the journal.)

Hes also a skilled connector, as the crowd at the Harvard Club attested. The main event was a discussion of globalization between Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Trump supporter, and Anne-Marie Slaughter, the president and chief executive of the left-leaning think tank New America. (Mr. Krein said he met Mr. Thiel several years ago though a reading group dedicated to the philosopher Leo Strauss.)
On Tuesday, just 24 hours after James Levine, the Metropolitan Operas music director emeritus, conducted a superb performance of Mozarts Idomeneo, his designated successor, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, gave a glimpse into the companys future with an exciting concert at Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Nezet-Seguin, the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, brought that great ensemble to Carnegie for a program that paired excerpts from Tchaikovskys Swan Lake with a searing account of Bartoks Bluebeards Castle. This was Mr. Nezet-Seguins first performance of an opera in New York since the Met announced his appointment in June.

Of course, since his impressive Met debut in Carmen in 2009, the charismatic Mr. Nezet-Seguin, who turned 42 on Monday, has offered ample evidence of his excellence in opera. For me, his most distinguished work has been an insightful performance of Verdis Don Carlo in the spring of 2015.

The bigger question concerns his vision for the Met. What aspects of the four-decade Levine legacy will he build upon? In what areas does he see the Met as weak? Will he be a music director who, at long last, makes the company a proving ground for new opera? He has given scant suggestions of his thinking so far. And he will not assume his role full time until the fall of 2020, which leaves the company hanging.
PARIS  The Italian director Saverio Costanzo has signed on to direct and to help write a 32-part television series based on the four Neapolitan novels by the author who publishes under the pseudonym Elena Ferrante.

The novels, published between 2012 and 2014, have developed a cult international following. They are My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay and The Story of the Lost Child, and trace the lives of two friends, Elena and Lila, from their childhoods in postwar Naples to the present.

Mr. Costanzo, best known for Private and Hungry Hearts (which co-starred Adam Driver), said in a telephone interview that the biggest challenge to adapting the novels for television was how to convey the same emotions as the books in a cinematographic way.

He added that he was writing the script with the Italian writers Francesco Piccolo and Laura Paolucci, and that Ms. Ferrante was also expected to contribute to the screenplay. (He expects to communicate with the author via email.)
SPACEMAN OF BOHEMIA

By Jaroslav Kalfar

276 pages. Little, Brown and Company. $26.

All new books, but debut novels especially, are blind dates. The raconteur who charmingly burbles during drinks is tapped out of stories by the time the oysters arrive; the genius who wears his erudition so lightly over appetizers starts clubbing you over the head with it during dessert. (No, your mind screams when things turn. And it was all going so well.)

I start a lot of debut novels in this job. Most betray me at some point or another  though a few make my heart do cartwheels, or at least a pirouette.

Jaroslav Kalfars Spaceman of Bohemia is not a perfect first effort. But its a frenetically imaginative one, booming with vitality and originality when it isnt indulging in the occasional excess. Kalfars voice is distinct enough to leave tread marks. He has a great snout for the absurd. He has such a lively mind and so many ideas to explore that it only bothered me a little  well, more than a little, but less than usual  that this book peaked two-thirds of the way through. Sigh. Dont we all.

The cast of this production is small. The spaceman of the title is Jakub Prochazka, a Czech astrophysicist who, as the book opens in 2018, launches into space from a state-owned potato field. Just 18 months earlier, a comet from a neighboring galaxy had swept into the Milky Way, bringing with it a cloud of intergalactic dust that permanently bathed Earths nights in purple zodiacal light, altering the sky we had known since the birth of man.
Image Listening to Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. chief, speak to the Rwandan Parliament in 2008. The country requires that at least 30 percent of its representatives be women. Credit... Lionel Healing/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images

Next is Bolivia, where a 2009 measure requires women to occupy at least 50 percent of elected positions. Women now hold 69 of the 130 seats in the lower house (53 percent) and 17 of 36 in the upper house (47 percent).

Cuba, which is third, uses positive discrimination, putting women in almost half the seats in the National Assembly.

Iceland, Nicaragua, Sweden, Senegal, Mexico, Finland and South Africa fill out the top 10. The U.S. is No. 104, with 83 women out of 435 representatives, and 21 of 100 senators.

The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them, the Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, told a Harvard graduating class in 2011. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.

Caryn A. Wilson contributed reporting.

_____

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Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated on the web all morning.

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The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico agreed and rejected the changes  except as they would affect teachers hired after August 2014. That left veteran teachers earning the backloaded benefits of the old plan, and new hires paying the higher contribution rates of the new one.

Federal oversight may soon change that. In his 10-year fiscal plan, Mr. Rossello has called for shifting all current teachers into a separate defined-contribution plan, where their money could no longer be used to pay retirees. Teachers who prefer the backloaded plan may well sue again, citing their win in 2014, but now that Puerto Rico is under federal oversight, federal law presumably trumps local precedent.

Mr. Rossello has also called for helping workers to join Social Security where possible.

For current retirees, the federal oversight board had asked for 10 percent pension cuts, but the governor said on Wednesday that he would limit cuts to 3 percent, imposed only on retirees with pensions above $24,000 a year.

This administration is committed to protecting the most vulnerable people, Mr. Rossello said to enthusiastic applause in the islands imposing seaside Capitol. The seven-member federal board has until mid-March to decide whether to accept the governors 10-year plan or impose its own.

The process is being watched closely in the states with troubled pension systems. Puerto Rico cannot declare bankruptcy, because of its status as a United States territory, so last year Congress enacted a special new law, called Promesa, which gives it a legal framework for restructuring.

The states cannot declare bankruptcy either, and experts want to see whether Puerto Ricos case shows how financially troubled states like Illinois can rebalance the interests of their taxpayers, investors, public workers and retirees.

But the disclosures provided by pension funds make it hard to see how much pensions cost and who pays  and that is no accident.

The actuaries know this, said Michael Podgursky, an economics professor at the University of Missouri, referring to the professionals who help track the funds and their costs. They could put this in their reports, but they dont, because their job is not to bring visibility.
Mr. Clayton, who says he will recuse himself from certain cases involving former clients, has also personally invested in a number of hedge funds and private equity firms through special Sullivan & Cromwell investment vehicles, according to the filing. He earned $7.6 million from Sullivan & Cromwell over the past year or so and has investments in portfolios managed by Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, J.C. Flowers and Perry Partners. His wife, Gretchen, who works at Goldman Sachs, has a number of investments in Goldman-managed funds as well as a small amount, described in his filing as being less than $1,001, with a retirement account once managed by Omega Advisors, a hedge fund now fighting S.E.C. charges.

Mr. Claytons disclosures offer a rare glimpse into his client list and family wealth  a sum of at least $50 million, his filing shows  and may reinforce a view among consumer groups and Democratic lawmakers that he could have conflicting interests as a Wall Street regulator. Although he is expected to broadly support the agencys enforcement efforts, he has made statements suggesting that he will probably move to ease at least some of the Obama-era regulations weighing on Wall Street clients.

Some of those clients are well represented in the new administration, perhaps none more than Goldman. The Trump administration has become a virtual magnet for former Goldman executives: Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary; Gary D. Cohn, the chairman of the national economic council, and Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trumps chief strategist, have all worked at Goldman.

The addition of Mr. Clayton, who represented Goldman during the 2008 financial crisis, will most likely fuel concerns that the bank has outsize influence in the administration.

But one Democrat is scrutinizing more than just Mr. Claytons ties to Wall Street. In a previously unreported letter, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat of Nevada and one of the newest members of the Senate Banking Committee, questioned him on his representation of the Nordic telecommunications company TeliaSonera.
When SoftBank, the Japanese telecommunications giant, bought the British semiconductor designer ARM Holdings last year for $32 billion, Masayoshi Son, SoftBanks founder, said the deal would bring benefits like jobs and investment to Britain.

Now, just six months later, SoftBank is in final-stage talks to sell a 25 percent stake in ARM, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The roughly $8 billion sale will be to a new $100 billion investment fund that Mr. Son has created with Saudi Arabia and other investors, raising questions about how politicians in Britain, the United States and elsewhere will respond to such investments in their national technology industries. Chips made by ARM power iPhones and millions of other mobile devices worldwide.

Mr. Son met with President Trump before his inauguration in January about using the $100 billion fund to buy stakes in American tech companies, with the aim of creating thousands of new jobs.
In an effort to streamline the board of adjustment and planning commissions interviewing process, the Houston County Board of Commissioners discussed the recent changes made to the current board and committees state of affairs.

Along with the board of adjustment and planning commission discussion, Houston County Human Services Director Tess Arrick-Kruger brought forward a maintenance staffs request for a new mower and the resignation of Nathan Rask at the Feb. 28 meeting.

Previously, at the Jan. 24 county board meeting, Arrick-Kruger named the finalists for a five member board of adjustments. Commissioner Scott Connor brought up concerns over lack of involvement in the interviewing process.

The board of adjustments is the only other decision making board in Houston County. They hear appeals of decisions made by the zoning administrator, settle unclear language in zoning ordinances and approve applications by land owners to permit building and land use.

Decembers commissioners had unanimously voted to change the size of the board from three members to five after concerns over political corruptness; two legal cases had been brought against the county.

In what Connor said was an effort to keep up with the learning curve, he offered a motion to keep a three member board for this year, and add two new members after Dec. 31, 2017. This change would stagger the new board of adjustment members terms.

The motion was approved and the county board appointed Dana Kjome and Ken Visger. The third seat is still in term.

I guess, first I have to say that I get a little bit of heart burn trying to change policies in the middle of the ball game, Commissioner Justin Zmyewski said. It seemed to me that the process was agreed upon and after the candidates were selected then we needed to change the processIts easy to stagger terms. We dont have to forgo adding people on to stagger the terms. Its muddied the water.

Connor said there were other reasons to take advantage of staggering the terms earlier.

Its three years. I wouldnt get any input until possibly my last year as commissioner, he said. If something changes people can vote how they want to voteWe are a board of majority.

Miller said that the board must have faith in people.

If we micro-manage every committee, why not have every decision made by the board and forget about committees? he said. We have to have faith that people are doing things for the right reasons.

The discussion moved back to the application process.

It gets difficult, if you say all applicants do have to go in front of board, Zmyewski said. Why this circumstance and not department heads? There could be potential data leaks. There could be separate interviews but then its, Why are we doing that for these committees? We could go off resumes only. The only issue is that individuals could get help writing resumes. There are issues all the way around...I do think a committee is good, but all commissioners should see the resumes.

Miller agreed that he would like the commissioners to have access to applicants resumes.

Show me a bad resume, he said. Its a brag sheet. Its not influential in the long run. At least give everyone the opportunity to say, I know him. Heres what I know about him.

Connorwho had previously submitted his own interviewing process for reviewsaid that is legal for the board to review applications if they are on the application committee.

Arrick-Kruger, a licensed attorney in the state of Minnesota who specializes in the field of employment and labor law, brought forward some legal implications for the board.

The two laws that we must comply with are data practices law and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, she said. If you are on the committee, then you have a business purpose to access that data ... Let me say this. I caution that the vetting has to be objective. Not subjective. If we know people then committee members must recuse themselves. We have to be cautious. This could expose the county to considerable liability.

Arrick-Kruger added that if three or more members join the committee, it would have to be a public committee.

Without a final decision on what became a discussion over the department head, board of adjustments and planning commissions application process, Arrick-Kruger will take counsel with Houston County Attorney Sam Jandt to make sure any potential changes will be legal.

In Other News

-In another request, Arrick-Kruger shared the maintenance staffs desire to replace the current mower with a John Deere X754 Tractor Less Deck and John Deere 54 inch Mower Deck.

According to Arrick-Kruger, the mower is for more than just mowing. The machine would help equip the maintenance staff sand and salt the parking lot and sidewalks.

There were two offers at $10,922.65 from SEMA in Caledonia and $11,000 by Breyers in La Crescent. The added sander/spreader to be used on sidewalks and parking lots would add $566.

Zmyewski brought forward concerns that the older mower is a zero-turn model, while the new tractor would not have that ability.

The request was tabled, until Zmyewski could look into the equipment purchase.

-Nathan Rasks resignation was approved by the board. His last day in the highway department will by March 24.
LONDON  The French waste and water company Suez Environnement said on Wednesday that it had partnered with a Canadian pension fund manager to acquire General Electrics water treatment technology business in an all-cash deal that valued the business at about $3.4 billion.

The industrial conglomerate put GE Water and Process Technologies up for sale in October after it agreed to merge its oil and gas division with a fellow services provider, Baker Hughes. That deal came together after Baker Hughess planned merger with another oil field services company, Halliburton, collapsed after the United States Justice Department sued to block the combination.

Suez would acquire 70 percent of the water business, while the remaining 30 percent would be owned by the Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, the companies said on Wednesday.

The transaction valued the business at 3.2 billion euros, or about $3.4 billion.

The deal would bolster Suezs geographic reach, particularly in the United States and in emerging markets, the French company said.
You want to know the dirty, little secret of Silicon Valley? Its called the 409A valuation.

Yes its obscure, and yes, its a little bit technical. Heres how the process works: In order to attract and to retain high-powered employees, high-flying tech companies want to issue them common stock or options. To do so and to comply with Internal Revenue Service rules, they need to obtain an independent, third-party valuation of the company.

This type of valuation allows hot, privately owned technology companies  like Uber, Airbnb or Nextdoor  to issue common stock or stock options to employees at a low price and, at the same time, or nearly the same time, sell preferred stock to outside investors at a price that is often three or four times higher. Its also a way for company founders to control the market for the stock of their private companies while rewarding themselves and key employees with cheap shares that seem instantly worth a lot more than the price at which they were issued.

Failure to comply with section 409A of the tax code would make employees receiving the stock grants personally liable for immediate taxation on the excess value embedded in the stock or options, plus a 20 percent penalty tax.

But of course the valuations are costly and wrapped in complexity. The many firms that do the 409A valuations are able to charge around $50,000 a pop for them depending on the work needed to be done to value a company, and they often prompt discussions between the appraisers and the companys auditors, raking in still more fees for all involved. Because companies are often issuing stock  say, when new employees are hired  the 409A valuations get done several times a year.
Technology companies are scrambling to assess how badly their core products may have been compromised in the wake of the latest disclosure of the American governments snooping capabilities.

WikiLeaks released documents on Tuesday that appeared to show that the Central Intelligence Agency had acquired an array of cyberweapons that could be used to break into Apple and Android smartphones.

It also put another fissure in the relationship between intelligence agencies and Silicon Valley  a relationship that had already fractured when Edward J. Snowden disclosed that the federal government was hacking major technology companies. Relations also cracked after Apple resisted a Justice Department request for help accessing the iPhone of one of the attackers in the 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.

Denelle Dixon-Thayer, chief legal and business officer at Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser and which was mentioned in the WikiLeaks files, said that the C.I.A. and WikiLeaks were undermining the security of the internet. The C.I.A. seems to be stockpiling vulnerabilities, she said, and WikiLeaks seems to be using that trove for shock value rather than coordinating disclosure to the affected companies to give them a chance to fix it and protect users.
A stall of flower arrangements at the Rizhsky market in Moscow on Wednesday, International Womens Day, when Russians give bouquets to all the women in their lives.

Credit... James Hill for The New York Times
LOS ANGELES  The Walt Disney Companys annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday brought the companys chief executive, Robert A. Iger, face to face with a smattering of people who demanded that he resign from President Trumps business policy forum.

The question is about endorsement, said Mehrdad Azemun, from Chicago, echoing two others who had spoken. None of the three who broached the topic with Mr. Iger were actual shareholders, but were instead acting as proxies for groups of shareholders.

By staying on the economic council it looks like you are tacitly endorsing Trumps policies, added Mr. Azemun, who identified himself as Iranian-American. Mr. Azemun complained about anti-women and anti-immigrant policies and decisions by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Iger objected strongly, saying that he had no plans to step down and that his involvement was not an endorsement at all of the policies of the new administration. The shareholder meeting was in Denver and was streamed live on the internet.
PARIS  The Paris shows  and the whole ready-to-wear season  came to a close on Tuesday in the Cour Marly of the Louvre, under an I.M. Pei glass pyramid and a darkening sky, amid heroic 17th- and 18th-century marble nudes and plunging horses.

Through them ranged the road warriors of Louis Vuitton: women not bound by reference or decade; women rooted to the ground in thick-soled knee-high boots, mixing the pastoral and the urban, the folk and the futuristic. Even though some of them wore lace, they were absent fragility.

The next day was International Womens Day, but as far as fashion was concerned, it had already arrived.

There may have been less overt politics on the runways in Europe than there had been in New York (the slogan tee didnt make it across the water, though the pussy hat and the tied together bandanna did), but that doesnt mean that the current social climate wasnt a subtext in almost every collection. Designers were either trying to armor women for battle, or decorate them for battle, or take care of them so they could go into battle, or simply make the question of dress (literally) more streamlined so they could  well, do battle.
The American Medical Association, a powerful lobbying group representing the nations doctors, announced on Wednesday that it opposed the House Republicans proposed legislation to replace the federal health care law, saying it was concerned the bill would result in millions of Americans losing coverage and benefits.

The group, which provided crucial support for the Obama administrations contentious health care legislation before it was enacted in 2010, also sent a letter to the two House committees responsible for drafting the Republicans bill, called the American Health Care Act. The groups concerns echoed some others raised this week among industry organizations like hospital groups worried about the possible losses of coverage that could result from the proposed legislation that was released on Monday.

All of the major hospital groups, including the American Hospital Association, also came out against the bill. We are very concerned that the draft legislative proposal being considered by the House committees could lead to tremendous instability for those seeking affordable coverage, the hospitals said in a letter to Congress. The hospitals also raised concerns about Republicans plans to significantly alter Medicaid, which they said could result in a loss of coverage and cuts to health care services.
In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, the January 2017 womens march that followed, and the first months of the Trump administration, many feminists are left asking: Whats next?

In this activity, students are challenged to think about what constitutes a feminist in 2017 and what the next steps should be for the womens movement.

Ask students to read these four excerpts (PDF) from Susan Chiras piece Feminism Lost. Now What? (If they have time, they should read the entire article.)

The article begins:

This was supposed to be the year of triumph for American women. A year that would cap an arc of progress: Seneca Falls, 1848. The 19th Amendment, 1920. The first female American president, 2017. An inauguration that would usher in a triumvirate of women running major Western democracies. Little girls getting to see a woman in the White House. Instead, for those at the forefront of the womens movement, there is despair, division and defiance. Hillary Clintons loss was feminisms, too. A man whose behavior toward women is a throwback to pre-feminist days is now setting the tone for the country. The cabinet that Donald J. Trump has nominated includes men  and a few women  with public records hostile to a range of issues at the heart of the womens movement. A majority of white women voted for him, shattering myths of female solidarity and the belief that demeaning women would make a politician unelectable. More broadly, there is a fear that womens issues as the movement has defined them  reproductive rights, womens health, workplace advancement and the fight against sexual harassment, among others  could be trampled or ignored.

After students read the article excerpts, they should write about the following questions:

1. Was the election of Donald Trump as president a setback for feminism? Why or why not?

2. Is feminism a proxy for liberalism? Can a person be politically conservative and a feminist?

3. Should the feminist movement work hard to build bridges across racial and ethnic lines, and fight racism along with sexism?

4. What do you think the future of feminism should look like? For what issues should it fight?

5. Do you want to be a part of the feminist movement? Why or why not? What changes do you want to see, and be a part of, in your lifetime?
In December 2013, I wrote an article for The Times Magazine about Jacob Deng Mach, one of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan who had been resettled in Georgia after a childhood of war-induced wandering. The article covered the most recent incarnation of Machs relentless pursuit of the American dream  a star-crossed bid to become an Atlanta police officer.

After more than a year of punishing training at the citys police academy, the saga of Recruit Mach did not end quite as expected. Mach started the grueling 22-week training session three times, but couldnt pass the required emergency driving test and failed out of the academy. In consolation, the department gave him a civilian position as a code-enforcement officer, inspecting derelict properties.

Happily, I can now report, that was not the final chapter. On Valentines Day, nearly five years after becoming a recruit for the first time, Mach joined the other members of his academy class for a graduation ceremony at Atlantas City Hall. After working two years in code enforcement, Mach reapplied to the academy and was admitted. Again he failed a driving-related test and had to be held back to repeat the training from the start. But on his fifth and last possible attempt, he made it through, surely leaving him Atlantas best-trained rookie cop ever. He started at age 32 in Class 227 and graduated at 37 in Class 246.

He also likely set a departmental mark for the cultural distance traveled by a recruit. In accepting his diploma, and exchanging a crisp salute with Chief Erika Shields, Mach fulfilled his longtime goal of becoming, as far as can be determined, the first Lost Boy to wear the uniform of an American police officer.
The $200,000 robbery of a check-cashing store in Queens in 2012 could have been a scene out of a movie.

Indeed, the action was so reminiscent of The Town, a 2010 Boston-based crime drama starring Ben Affleck, that federal prosecutors, over defense objections, played short clips from the movie at the trial of three men arrested in the heist to show that the accused robbers were inspired by the movie. All three men were convicted.

On appeal, lawyers for two defendants argued that playing the scenes at their trial in Federal District Court in Brooklyn had unfairly swayed the jury. But on Wednesday, a federal appeals panel ruled that the judge had not erred in admitting the evidence.

Our courtrooms are not movie theaters, wrote Judge Debra Ann Livingston of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Both Minnesota State Senator Jeremy Miller and Minnesota State Representative Greg Davids confirmed that there will probably be no extended debt relief for rural schools in the next yearLa Crescent-Hokah School District included.

The deadline is (this) week, Miller said. The bill has to be introduced by the sixth. I dont think this is going to happen this year.

The group of 12 from La Crescent, along with their lobbyist group representative Deb Griffiths of Schools for Equity in Education (SEE), sat down with Miller and Davids Feb. 28 for SEE Day at the Capitol in Saint Paul.

SEE Day at the Capitol is an annual event that SEE uses to bring local representatives from the communities they work with to address their legislatures over financial burdens in their district.

This is grassroots, La Crescent resident Jerry Berns said. This is people trying to make a difference.

La Crescent-Hokah School District, as well as Jerry Steffes Noisemakers campaign, had a few goals in mindall of which relied on the use of the states $1.65 billion surplus.

The tax committee, weve heard $8 billion worth of bills, Davids said. Thats just not going to happen ... Thats not a good plan. You need a different plan.

Griffiths argued precedent to push for education funding in finance.

There was the 1971 tax miracle ... the 2013 supercharged referendum. There is precedent. Thats what we would like to see, property tax relief, she said.

The group also asked Miller and Davids for a per-pupil rate of imbursement higher than the two percent currently requested in Minnesotas Governor Mark Daytons 2017 E-12 budget.

The proposed budget wants to increase general education funding by $371 million in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. The per-pupil formula would increase to $121 in fiscal year 2018, and $124 by fiscal year 2019. This would be a two-percent-by-two-percent formula.

The proposal puts aside $40 million for special education funding. This would be a 1.5 percent increase for the next two years and would lower the cross-subsidy by three percent.

Other issues of interest for La Crescent-Hokah are property tax relief and the underfunded special education mandates that the district deems excessive.

La Crescent-Hokah currently has one of the highest numbers of special education students within the state of Minnesota. The districts projected cross subsidy expenditures for fiscal year 2017 is $1.3 million.

We have been making progress, Miller said. Weve increased pre-K to 12 education by 25 percent over the last six years. The funding disparity between metro and greater Minnesota has decreased by three percent. Three percent in my opinion is not enough. In last years tax bill we have a significant reduction in property taxes for farmers in relation to referendums ... Thats where we are at.

The tax bill that Miller referenced did not pass last summer.

Twenty-two percent of our budget is going to special education, La Crescent-Hokah Superintendent Kevin Cardille said. Cuts showed up on our progress report as general fund raised. Half the cross-subsidy dollars are taking away from general fund kids.

La Crescent resident Patti Balacek asked for Millers support.

We really need you to support two-and-two, she said. It may be selfish but we need equalization. We need you to support it. This is my personal stand point. You need to support two-and-two and whatever there is to do about special education.

Miller and Davids each ended their sessions asking the group to send a list of underfunded mandates to look at.

Cardille sent the legislatures two bills that could potentially help the district with special education costs: house file 344 and senate file 62. Both bills modify the calculation of special education aid.

The discussion isnt ending, Davids said. Three-for-three is not going to happen. I try to be upfront and truthful.
It was decision day for many New York City children on Wednesday, as the Education Department told eighth graders where they had been accepted to high school, and incoming kindergartners where they would start school in the fall.

Despite a push to increase the number of black and Latino students at the citys most competitive high schools, the specialized schools, the number of those students who were offered seats for the fall was essentially unchanged from last year, according to the department.

Entry to eight specialized high schools is based entirely upon a single standardized test, and the schools have long been criticized for the demographic makeup of the students who are admitted. Only about 10 percent of offers from those schools were extended to black and Latino students, though those students make up about 68 percent of the school system.

The Education Department has begun several initiatives that aim to alter that balance, including trying to increase the number of students who take the test, starting by targeting particular districts, and expanding the free DREAM program that helps prepare students for the exam.
During a time of great uncertainty, when a knock at the door can upend a life lived in this country for more than a decade and tear a family apart, it is best to be prepared.

That, at least, is the view of Esmeralda Mosso.

So on a soggy morning last week, she joined the scores of people who have been descending on the offices of the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Lower Manhattan to get the paperwork needed to ensure that whatever happens, she and her children will not be separated.

Ms. Mosso is an undocumented immigrant who moved here 12 years ago from Guerrero State in Mexico.

Two of her children, however, are American citizens.

She was waiting in line to get official copies of their birth certificates, which she needed for passports and so they could apply for dual citizenship with Mexico.
Out of concern for recent changes to United States immigration policies, immigrants have been lining up around the block in New York City to collect their childrens birth certificates. We spent a week in line hearing their stories. Most didnt give their last names, and some didnt give their names at all, for fear of deportation.

Monday

An Ecuadorean mother was in line to get a copy of her 3-year-old daughters birth certificate, and she said that many of her friends had done the same.

To meet the demand, New York Citys Bureau of Vital Statistics had added extra hours during the week.

So why the surge in requests?

For dozens of undocumented immigrant families whom we spoke to last week, the answer was the same: President Trump.
Its a brighter idea than it may first appear to visit the Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park in Edison, N.J. Guideposts like a giant light bulb sculpture and an Art Deco concrete tower topped with a nearly 14-foot bulb dwarf the two-room museum, at 37 Christie Street. The center looks like nothing more than a gatehouse, which indeed it once was.

In 1875, Thomas A. Edison bought Menlo Park, a failed housing development in Raritan Township (renamed Edison in 1954). He made it his headquarters the next year when he was 29. In less than a decade at the site, the inventor encountered both extraordinary success and personal tragedy.
A career con artist who often pretended to be a military veteran while engaging in schemes across the country was convicted on Wednesday for a recent charade.

The man, Jeremy Wilson, 43, who has adopted more than two dozen aliases over the years, was convicted of forgery and possession of stolen property in State Supreme Court in Manhattan after a two-week trial.

The jurys verdict came just minutes after they rewatched Mr. Wilsons taped confession, which had also been played during the trial.

Mr. Wilson was arrested in Manhattan in January 2016, when he was found with a luxury BMW that he had leased weeks earlier in Boston under a false name, forged documents and pilfered funds.
Mr. Diallo, his mother and four siblings fled to a domestic violence shelter when he was 13. After that, he said, I started acting like I was the father figure, and got his first job in ninth grade.

Whenever Mr. Diallo needed an escape, he turned to Greek mythology. His favorite character was Perseus, a demigod who was cast out to sea with his mother and dedicated himself to protecting her. These fictional characters began to be my role models because they could do things that I couldnt do in the real world, he said.

Another one of this years winners, Chaim Fishman, 19, has already been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania. To him, the opportunity is precious. Growing up in a very conservative Hasidic community, Mr. Fishman read only religious texts and spoke nothing but Yiddish. He summoned up the courage to leave his yeshiva at age 15, defying the expectations of nearly all of his friends and family.

Now he is excelling at a public school, fascinated by science  especially the big-picture questions, like how the mind works and the origins of the universe.

All those years when I wanted to learn, I wasnt able to, he said. So the anticipation built up.

Driven as they are to succeed, many of this years winners also cited the importance of giving back  to family members, to friends and even to total strangers.

I know I want to do something that will help people, said Shafqat Shadaab, 17. He moved to the United States from Bangladesh at the age of 9 with his mother, who had glaucoma. When he was 14, his uncle, a father figure, died of leukemia. So Mr. Shadaab devoted himself to his mother, taking on a caretaker role while earning sky-high marks in school.
A gun-trafficking ring in Virginia brought more than 200 legally purchased guns up the I-95 corridor to New York, where they unwittingly sold them to an undercover detective, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday.

The indictment of 627 counts charged 24 people, some of whom have violent criminal records and ties to the Bloods street gang, with conspiracy and illegal weapons sale and possession. In all, the authorities recovered 217 guns, including 41 assault weapons like AK-47s, AR-15s and a Thompson submachine gun.

In telephone conversations recorded by wiretap and played at a news conference in Downtown Brooklyn, where officials announced the indictment, some of those charged could be heard boasting about their roles as traffickers and mocking Virginias lax gun laws.

Were the big dogs, Kenneth Threatts of North Chesterfield, Va., said in one recorded conversation in November. Were trafficking! You know what Im saying?
I led the White House negotiations with the industry in 2009 that resulted in this historic agreement. We worked with the companies to set standards for each type of vehicle they planned to make, according to its size and attributes. Consumer choice would not be restricted. Our only demand was that all new cars and trucks had to steadily improve fuel efficiency for every type of vehicle over time.

Nothing revolutionary was required. The companies can meet their targets by adopting technologies already available or well within reach, like advanced transmissions and turbocharging, or by improving vehicle aerodynamics. The standards dont require a dramatic shift to electric vehicles but depend overwhelmingly on improvements to traditional internal combustion engines.

In exchange for this clarity, the auto companies signed formal commitment letters agreeing not to challenge the standards. Indeed, industry lawyers helped the government to successfully defend them in court.

The Obama administration used the same template to set standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks, again with industry support. Other countries, like Canada, copied our approach, creating a consistent North American strategy.

Unraveling the agreement now will undo this alliance, plunging the companies back into regulatory chaos, with all its uncertainty, acrimony and cost.

And if the Trump administration tries to significantly weaken the rules, California will withdraw its consent and enforce its own higher standards using its waiver, which is valid to 2025. Should the E.P.A. try to revoke the waiver prematurely, California will, without question, sue.

Even if the companies want to take that risk, a rollback is not warranted by the facts. Market conditions now favor tighter standards, even though automakers say the 2025 target is expensive and unrealistic for them to meet as consumers shift away from smaller vehicles to bigger, less fuel-efficient pickups and S.U.V.s.
Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has gall. He has jailed tens of thousands of people, shuttered more than 150 media companies and called a referendum in April to enlarge his powers. Yet when local authorities in Germany, for security reasons, barred two Turkish ministers from campaigning on his behalf among Turks living in Germany, Mr. Erdogan exploded, accusing Germany of Nazi practices and knowing nothing about democracy. If he himself was barred from speaking in the country, he warned, hed set the world on fire.

This is all the more galling knowing that among the scores of journalists jailed in Turkey is a reporter for Die Welt, with German and Turkish citizenship, whom Mr. Erdogan has accused of being a German spy and a representative of an outlawed Kurdish rebel group. Some furious German politicians have urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to tell Mr. Erdogan that he is not welcome in Germany. Properly, and wisely, she has not. Appearances by leading Turkish politicians, she said, remain possible within the laws applicable here. Permits for demonstrations are handled locally, though, and Ms. Merkel said she has no say in them.

Ms. Merkel does have security reasons for her restraint: Germany uses a NATO base in Turkey for reconnaissance aircraft in the fight against the Islamic State, and Ms. Merkel was the key force behind a European Union deal with Ankara by which Turkey helps stem the flow of refugees into Europe. But more important, Germany does not want to stoop to Mr. Erdogans level.
To the Editor:

Soon after the election, one of us raised concerns about Donald Trumps fitness for office, based on the alarming symptoms of mental instability he had shown during his campaign. Since then, this concern has grown. Even within the space of a few weeks, the demands of the presidency have magnified his erratic patterns of behavior.

In particular, we are struck by his repeated failure to distinguish between reality and fantasy, and his outbursts of rage when his fantasies are contradicted. Without any demonstrable evidence, he repeatedly resorts to paranoid claims of conspiracy.

Most recently, in response to suggestions of contact between his campaign and agents of the Russian government, he has issued tirades against the press as an enemy of the people and accusations without proof that his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, engaged in partisan surveillance against him.

We are in no way offering a psychiatric diagnosis, which would be unwise to attempt from a distance. Nevertheless, as psychiatrists we feel obliged to express our alarm. We fear that when faced with a crisis, President Trump will lack the judgment to respond rationally.
The Tri-County Chapter #1386 of NARFE (National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees) is scheduled to meet at Pizones Restaurant, 202 Superior Avenue, Tomah, Wis. on Thursday, March 16, 2017. Lunch is available at 11:30 a.m. The meeting starts at approximately 12 p.m. The guest speaker will be Sonja Farver, a member of the Tomah Area German Club. Also, recent chapter by-law revisions will be voted on. All members, their guests and interested active and retired federal employees are welcome.
The world has been wondering where President Trump will face his first national security crisis. This week it has looked as if North Korea might be the first hot spot. A series of ballistic missile tests and other provocative actions by North Korea, a nuclear-capable country, have heightened regional anxieties and stirred speculation about Americas reaction.

The most recent tests involved the simultaneous launch on Monday of four missiles, which landed off Japans coast. The North Koreans have described the tests as drills for striking American bases in Japan, but the ultimate goal is assumed to be a strike on the United States. Some experts expect Pyongyang to have that capability within four years.

This use of multiple missiles raised concerns that the North was trying out a new attack strategy that could overwhelm Japans limited defenses, analysts said. The tests almost certainly were a reaction to annual United States-South Korea military exercises, which began last week and which the North considers a threat. It is just three weeks since the North crossed another milestone by launching a solid-rocket missile, which is more efficient than the liquid-fueled missiles it had previously relied on; there were also tests in August and September.
This strategy was ultimately a policy failure, and it left Obamacare an established fact. At which point the G.O.P. was boarded and seized by candidate Trump, who clearly grasped the political logic of reconciling his party to some form of coverage expansion, even though he lacked an interest in actually hammering out the details. His campaign thus pointed ahead to a likely future in which the G.O.P. accepts a health care subsidy for the working class, without addressing all the internal reasons that the party cant agree on what that subsidy should look like.

Those internal tensions that have given us the botch that is the House G.O.P.s Obamacare alternative. Its a piece of legislation caught betwixt and between: It includes enough in the way of tax credits and regulation to be labeled Obamacare lite by the partys would-be ideological enforcers, but it also promises to throw many people off the insurance rolls  many Trump voters included  for the sake of uncertain policy goals. Its outline bears some resemblance to what the smartest conservative health policy thinkers favor, but it doesnt want to spend the money (whether on risk pools or pre-funded health savings accounts or income-linked subsidies) that would make that approach politically viable. And its desire to spend less while keeping Obamacares most popular regulations (the ban on discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, above all) promises to make the risk of an insurance death spiral that much worse.

So its a bill that nobody on the right much likes: Not libertarians and not reformocons, not right-wing donors and not mushy moderates, not the Tea Party senators who promised full repeal and not the swing-state senators who well know that their own voters want the coverage expansion to endure. As for Americans who arent ideologically committed, forget about it: Passing the bill would be an invitation to a political beheading.

But in fairness to its designers, there was no bill that could have united all of the rights disparate factions, because on health care policy, as on a range of issues, the Republican Party as an organism does not know what it believes in anymore.

Which brings us back to Trumps resemblance to Jimmy Carter, who presided over a party suffering a similar crisis of belief. The political-science schema that makes the two men comparable figures is more compelling as history than as prophecy: It tells us how Trump could fail; it doesnt tell us that he necessarily will. A strong-enough, savvy-enough, effective-enough president, placed in the transitional role that Carter occupied, could become transformative rather than disjunctive, and build a new ideological majority amid the rubble of the old.

And Trump does have a few of the necessary qualities. On policy he is incurious yet also more politically savvy than the partys congressional leaders, more attuned to where his own voters and the country stands. His workers party is a more compelling vision for the rights future than either status quo bias or tax cuts plus nothing zeal. With focus, attention and the judicious use of the bully pulpit, he could potentially bigfoot all the rights ideological factions. Instead of tepidly embracing legislation that doesnt come close to fulfilling his campaign promises, he could force his party to accept a bill that makes more political sense  be it the more redistributive plan advanced by conservatives like Avik Roy, or the federalist compromise floated by Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and Susan Collins.

Alas, as anyone on Twitter is regularly reminded, focus, attention and judiciousness are all qualities that this disjunctive president lacks. Which is why, even though nothing is inevitable, the Carter precedent  a majority wasted and then lost  looms as this administrations most likely destination.
On Wednesday, protesters around the world will celebrate International Womens Day by showing their economies what a day without womens work, paid or unpaid, is like.

Inspired by two strikes last October  one successfully quashing a Polish parliament bill banning abortion, the other drawing tens of thousands to protest violence against women and girls in Argentina  organizers in more than 50 countries have coordinated a day of global action, including strikes, rallies and other gatherings.

The United States strike will focus on broadening the definition of violence against women, says Sarah Leonard, spokesperson for the strike. In addition to protesting domestic, sexual and physical violence against women, Tithi Bhattacharya, a member of the strikes organizing committee, says the strike on Wednesday focuses on rejecting the systemic violence of an economic system that is rapidly leaving women behind.

This is the day to emphasize the unity between work done in the so-called formal economy and the domestic sphere, the public sphere and the private sphere, and how most working women have to straddle both, says Ms. Bhattacharya. Labor is understood to be work only at the point of production, but as women we know that both society and policy makers invisibilize the work that women do. The strike calls for women to withhold labor, paid or unpaid, from the United States economy to show how important their contributions are.
Making matters worse, the hair had been cut with scissors. The best way to get genetic material from a strand of hair is to pull it out at its DNA-rich root.

Given these uncertainties, the scientists decided to increase the odds of success by searching for abundant mitochondrial DNA, which is situated outside the cell nucleus and is inherited solely from the mother. Eventually, the scientists managed to piece together all the mitochondrial genes in each of the hair samples.

By comparing the aboriginal sequences to DNA from other parts of the world, the scientists determined that they all belonged to a single human lineage, indicating that all aborigines descended from a single migration to the continent.

Mitochondrial DNA gradually accumulates mutations at a roughly regular rate, ticking like a molecular clock. By adding up the mutations in the hair samples, the scientists also estimated that their owners all descended from a common ancestor who lived around 50,000 years ago. That finding fits nicely with the estimated ages of the oldest archaeological sites in Australia.

The mitochondrial tree also provided clues to how people spread through the continent.

Fifty thousand years ago, sea levels were so low that Australia and New Guinea formed a single continent. Humans moved from Southeast Asia onto this landmass, some settling in what is now New Guinea, others traveling farther south into Australia.

They kept to the coastlines until they reached southern Australia 49,000 years ago. But once this great migration was finished, the new study suggests, the ancestors of todays aborigines hunkered down in their new homes  for tens of thousands of years.

The mitochondrial DNA contains no evidence that these populations mixed in any significant way, surprising researchers. We were fully expecting a fully diverse mix of people in all places at all times, Dr. Cooper said.
Lets get this out of the way: Im not in the business of giving medical advice. I cant say if traveling abroad for dental work  or a hip replacement or open-heart surgery  is wise, safe or worthwhile for you. Only your dentist or doctor can and, unfortunately for my bank account, Im neither. What I am is a working parent who would rather spend my savings on a vacation than on a root canal. Call me crazy. So when costly dental work became unavoidable, I was willing to consider getting it done overseas and letting the savings from lower-cost care pay for a week on a tropical Thai island. My conclusion? Medical tourism is not for everyone, but its not as crazy as it sounds. I would do it again.

Youre Going Where for a Root Canal?

Many of the doctors and dentists at respected hospitals and clinics in places like Venezuela, where I had my wisdom teeth removed years ago while studying there, have trained in places like Australia, Britain or the United States, speak English and are internationally accredited. With that in mind, my biggest concerns were not quality of care, but cost and timing: Would the trip pay for itself and how long would we need to stay? Had I been in the market for major surgery, my calculations would have been different. For routine dental work, my main consideration was logistics.

Spin the Globe

There were 114 million Americans without dental insurance (at last count, in 2014), according to the National Association of Dental Plans, a trade association focused on the dental benefits industry. Dental Departures, a company that matches customers with clinics in 35 countries, lists the top destinations for dental tourism as Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dubai, Hungary, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Spain, Thailand and Turkey. While some of those destinations are far-flung, most bargain hunters stay close to home. Many parents with young children prefer shorter, direct flights, which makes Mexico and Costa Rica popular with North Americans.

Flexibility Is Your Friend

Many clinics specializing in international patients make it easy to get estimates and make appointments online. Be sure to ask how much time is needed for the work to be done. Then add three days. Friends recommended two clinics in Bangkok. Both had good reviews and similar prices. But only one was able to accommodate our two-week window to complete our root canal procedures. While our experience was excellent, I regretted scheduling my final appointment the night before our early morning flight home, which didnt give me a chance to return for a crown adjustment.
Small rooms are in the DNA of a number of new hotel brands, including Moxy Hotels from Marriott and Vib from Best Western, that are chasing millennial travelers. Now house rentals are shrinking too with the rise of the tiny-house hotel.

Proponents of shrunken living spaces champion environmental and economic efficiencies. And while there is no standard definition of a tiny house, the Small House Society, a group that encourages simpler living, identifies those under 500 square feet as tiny, though many are less than half that size.

Theres a kitschy-ness to them that people love, said Jenna Spesard, a blogger who writes about tiny houses, lives in a 160-square-foot dwelling and acts as the host at the new Mount Hood Tiny House Village, a collection of five small houses to rent on a campground in northern Oregon. People also love the idea of storage solutions, she said. Its about creativity in design and it gets peoples wheels turning.

This spring and summer, eight new tiny-home hotels will open across the country colonized by Colorado-built Tumbleweed tiny houses, cute mini-R.V.s that look like cottages or cabins.
Once again in the young presidency of Donald J. Trump, women rallied against his administration on Wednesday, this time by skipping work, wearing red and refusing to spend money. But the protests were far smaller than the masses who turned the womens marches on Jan. 21 into a phenomenon, keeping the question open of whether protesters fervor can be channeled into a sustained movement with demonstrable political results.

In New York City, hundreds of people jammed into a Midtown block, and the Womens March on Washington said 10 of its organizers were arrested there for blocking traffic. The municipal court in Providence, R.I., shut down because seven of the clerks and a deputy court administrator stayed home from work. Schools in Alexandria, Va.; Chapel Hill-Carrboro, N.C.; and Prince Georges County, Md., closed for the day because so many teachers stayed home.

The strike was held on International Womens Day, and President Trump weighed in early with a restrained statement, writing a message of respect on Twitter for women and the role they play in the economy.
The timing has meant that the attention of Democrats has been divided as they devoted substantial time and resources to failed attempts to derail Trump cabinet nominees. They have also been occupied battling the new administration on multiple other fronts such as the repeal of the health care law, the presidents executive order on immigration and demands for an independent inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

At the same time, Democrats have emerged from one-on-one meetings with Mr. Gorsuch praising his intellect and demeanor, though some have said he failed to provide persuasive answers on basic constitutional issues.

The situation was worrying enough to Gorsuch opponents on the left to provoke a chastising letter to Senate Democrats. Democrats have failed to demonstrate a strong, unified resistance to this nominee despite the fact that he is an ultraconservative jurist who will undermine our basic freedoms and threaten the independence of the federal judiciary, the 11 groups wrote. We need you to do better.

The letter also followed a sense among progressives that Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee who will consider the Gorsuch nomination had not been aggressive enough in their treatment of Jeff Sessions, their former Republican colleague, during his confirmation hearing for attorney general  a hearing some viewed as a test run for a Supreme Court fight.

Senator Jeff Merkley, the Oregon Democrat who joined Ms. Murray at Tuesdays news conference, said the progressive groups were right to try to stir him and his colleagues to action.

I think they are doing exactly what they should be doing, he said. We have to pivot and really focus on this Supreme Court nomination.

Other Democrats say Judge Gorsuch will struggle to win the eight Democratic votes he would require to be assured of overcoming a filibuster. They believe the hearing will stiffen the party resolve, particularly if he is not more forthcoming with answers about how he views the role of an independent judiciary in standing against the presidency.
The array of groups taking strong positions against the bill is evidence that its potential consequences extend far beyond health insurance coverage, to much of the nations economy.

The opposition is also a powerful reminder of how many past efforts to overhaul the American health care system failed because of resistance by major interest groups. Winning the support of the health care and insurance industries allowed the Obama administration in 2010 to push through the most significant health care legislation since President Lyndon B. Johnsons Great Society.

Within a few months after President Barack Obama took office in 2009, his administration had lined up support from health care providers, insurers, consumers and pharmaceutical makers by offering a grand bargain: The health bill would include a requirement that most Americans have health insurance, providing millions of new customers through the laws often substantial premium subsidies and its option for states to expand Medicaid. In exchange, hospitals would have to accept spending cuts and the health care industry would have to accept new taxes to pay for the legislation.

The Obama White House dedicated enormous effort to win pledges of support before Democrats even put out a bill  an effort not replicated by the Trump White House or Republican leaders in Congress.

But the Affordable Care Act also created an array of taxes that the Republicans now hope to wipe away, helping them win the support of groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Tax Reform, led by the anti-tax activist Grover Norquist.

The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation issued estimates this week showing how much revenue the government could lose starting in 2018 under the Republican bill, which the party has called the American Health Care Act, as a result of repealing taxes on drug makers (nearly $25 billion over 10 years), insurers (nearly $145 billion), makers of medical devices (nearly $20 billion), and high-income households (more than $270 billion from taxes on earned income and investment income).
Mr. Chin, 50, a deep-voiced career litigator who was appointed to his post, rather than elected, has shown an appetite for challenging Mr. Trump in recent weeks. At a meeting between Mr. Trump and state attorneys general last week in Washington, Mr. Chin pressed Mr. Trump to defend the thinking behind his attempts to crack down on travel from the Middle East.

Mr. Trump replied by asking if Mr. Chin was among the attorneys general who had sued over his travel ban, and then said he was trying to make America safe, according to Mr. Chin and two other people who were present for the meeting.

Mr. Chin said the president had also acknowledged to the group that a lot of us wouldnt like how he was approaching that.

A spokesman for the White House did not respond to a request for comment on the Hawaii and San Francisco cases.

Even amid the multiplying legal challenges to Trump administration policies, both actions stand out for their aggressive approach. While many mayors have denounced Mr. Trumps threat to withhold federal funding from cities on the basis of immigration policy, they have also largely declined to take pre-emptive action against the presidential order, pledging to do so in the event that he actually carries out his threat.

In San Francisco on Wednesday, the city attorney, Dennis Herrera, argued that a district court should prevent Mr. Trump from even trying to enforce his order while the city challenges its legality. Mr. Herrera said that because the city budget relies on federal funding, San Francisco could not develop a realistic spending plan under a cloud of uncertainty and a budgetary sword of Damocles.
UW-Extension Dairy Team members will discuss hoof health topics based on revised recommendations for footbath dimensions from new research conducted at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine. The program, entitled Walking Strong will be held on Tuesday, March 21 at the Alma Center VFW Post, 111 E. Main Street from 1-3:30 p.m. with lunch served at 12:30 p.m.

Walking Strong is an educational meeting for dairy farm employees focused on dairy cattle hoof health, including economics of dairy cattle hoof health, proper foot wrap application and footbath management. In addition, basic recommendations for successful milking routines will be discussed.

A footbath is one of the most important tools used on farms to prevent lameness and maintain hoof health. When used properly and paired with a disinfectant, a footbath can prevent and control foot rot and digital dermatitis on dairy farms. Dairy employees attending this meeting will learn of the stages of digital dermatitis, new footbath recommendations, considerations for footbath location, topical treatment and proper foot wraps for infected (stage M2) digital dermatitis on individual cows and ideas for retrofitting a current footbath.

Speakers include Aerica Bjurstrom Kewanee County UW-Extension Dairy Agent and Sarah Mills-Lloyd DVM, Shawano County Dairy and Livestock Agent. Speaking on recommendations for successful milking routines will be Maria Fuenzalida, graduate student of Pam Ruegg UW Milk Quality specialist.

There is no charge for the program, but registration is appreciated for lunch count. The program is open to dairy farm owners/managers as well, and is offered in English and Spanish. Contact the Jackson County UW-Extension office for more information 715-284-4257.
Wildfires raging across four states, fanned by winds and fueled by a drought-starved prairie, have killed at least six people and burned more than 2,300 square miles.

Winds in western Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle were easing somewhat on Wednesday, but weather officials said that conditions were challenging for fire crews and were expected to worsen on Thursday and Friday, renewing concerns about getting the fires under control.

These conditions will make it somewhat easier for firefighting efforts, but far from perfect, Bill Bunting, forecast operations chief for the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center, told The Associated Press. The fires still will be moving.

The ideal situation is that it would turn cold and rain, he said, and unfortunately, thats not going to happen.
Dr. Steinberg and his colleagues demonstrated that sensation seeking  the yearning for excitement that can characterize adolescence  peaks around age 19 worldwide, and then declines with age. In contrast, self-regulation  the ability to quash an impulse  climbs in a gradual, linear trend until around ages 23 or 24, when it plateaus at adult levels. The fact that self-regulation lags behind sensation seeking helps explain consistent evidence that risk-taking spikes during the teenage years.

But just because something is rooted in biology, Dr. Steinberg notes, doesnt mean that its not malleable and that theres nothing we can do about it. As he adds, even in China we are finding that adolescents are at a time of heightened sensation seeking, but they dont engage in the high rates of drug use, unprotected sex and recklessness that we see in America and Western Europe.

Adolescent risk-taking spans a stunning range across the globe. For example, only 2 percent of Indonesian teenagers report having tried alcohol in the last month, compared to roughly half of Argentine adolescents. Cultural mores and patterns of access to opportunities shape how teenagers push limits. Dr. Steinberg also suspects that the countries with the lowest rates of adolescent risk-taking encourage self-control from a very early age and structure adolescence in a way that doesnt give kids a lot of free, unstructured time to get into a lot of trouble.

In contrast, Americans often celebrate adolescence as a spirited time of life when young people push boundaries, take chances and seek independence.

While many Americans see individual autonomy as a cherished aspect of our national identity, granting lots of freedom may not be the best way to keep teenagers safe. Graduated licensing laws in most states have effectively reduced the number of deaths and injuries in car crashes involving young drivers, and generally we see that the more supervision teenagers have, the less likely they are to come to harm.
JOHANNESBURG  South Africa has revoked its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, citing in a letter submitted to the United Nations a recent court ruling that declared the withdrawal unconstitutional and invalid.

It was not clear, however, if the South African statement on Tuesday meant that the country had abandoned intentions to leave the international court, or if it was seeking another way to do so.

Two other African countries, Burundi and Gambia, had announced plans to leave the court despite intense international pressure to stay, although Gambia reversed its decision last month. Supporters of the court fear that such withdrawals  especially by South Africa, one of the courts staunchest early supporters  would lead to to an African exodus from the tribunal.

The South African government of President Jacob Zuma has long criticized the international court as being biased against African states and, in its most recent public statements, the leadership has maintained its aim to leave the organization.
BEIJING  China tried unsuccessfully to calm newly volatile tensions on the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, proposing that North Korea freeze nuclear and missile programs in exchange for a halt to major military exercises by American and South Korean forces. The proposal was rejected hours later by the United States and South Korea.

We have to see some sort of positive action by North Korea before we can take them seriously, Nikki R. Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters after a Security Council meeting in New York on the escalating Korea crisis. Standing beside her, Cho Tae-yul, the South Korean ambassador, said, This is not the time for us to talk about freezing or dialogue with North Korea.

The statements by Ms. Haley and her South Korean counterpart came hours after Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi, proposed the suspensions during a Beijing news conference, describing them as a way to create the basis for talks that would end North Koreas nuclear ambitions.

The alternative to talks, he said, would be an increasingly perilous standoff that threatened the entire region.
Still, local merchants are experiencing what they say is a slowdown in tourist activity from China. Incheon officials said that this month, several large Chinese businesses that were planning to send thousands of employees to company workshops in the city canceled the visits.

Although the number of Chinese visitors to Incheon rose in 2016 over a year earlier, when an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome caused tourism to plunge, the numbers have not returned to 2014 levels. Yoo Jeong-bok, Incheons mayor, said in an interview at city hall, If we didnt have these geopolitical security issues, I think these 2016 figures would have been much higher.

Lee Chung-ha, 65, owner of a small dealer of Korean-made rice cookers, said he used to sell about 30 cookers a day to Chinese visitors. On a recent Wednesday, he was unable to sell even one and cited the Thaad deployment as the biggest factor.

In the underground Sinpo International Market, a warren of small retail stalls selling clothing, handbags and used cellphones, business was sluggish on a recent visit.

Things are really bad right now, said Kim Min-seop, 52, owner of Mirae Mobile, where he sells recycled cellphones and iPads. But to be honest, what can the government do? This is such a sensitive political issue.

Down the hall, at a tiny skin care salon, Kim Chun-yeo, 57, the owner, sat alone on a small stool waiting for a customer to stop by. An ethnic Korean who was born in China, Ms. Kim opened her stall two years ago. About half of her business came from Chinese visitors, including a steady stream of cruise ship and ferry workers who wanted facials. Now, shes lucky to get one or two customers a day.

Ms. Kim never thought she would need to pay so much attention to politics. I think the politicians have not done well, she said. Because for the economy to be good, we have to have a relationship with China. I think Korea should be smarter by trying to cooperate with China.
BEIJING  The story dripped with intrigue.

A frantic President Trump, holding court in a bathrobe, ordered his aides to wrap the White House telephones in tinfoil, several Chinese publications reported this week, citing The New Yorker.

There was only one problem: The New Yorker article, by the comedian Andy Borowitz, was satire.

That did not stop the story, purporting to describe the depths of Mr. Trumps worry that his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, was eavesdropping on him, from ricocheting across the Chinese internet.

Trump turns White House upside down looking for signs of Obama: I know hes still here!  read headlines in respected publications like Caijing, a business magazine, and Sina, a news portal.

Internet readers were puzzled. The state-run news media  and Chinas army of censors  are not known for making jokes. Was this for real?
KABUL, Afghanistan  Gunmen disguised as medical staff members stormed the main military hospital in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in an attack that was claimed by the Islamic State and that highlighted the countrys deteriorating security situation.

Afghan forces struggled for seven hours to evacuate the crowded hospital and end the siege, killing all of the perpetrators of the audacious attack, which was carried out in broad daylight in the center of the Afghan capital.

As the war in Afghanistan has escalated and security forces have suffered high casualty rates, the 400-bed Sardar Daud Khan hospital remains the main care center for wounded army soldiers. The hospital is busy on any given day, as the bodies of those who are killed around the country are also brought there for their families to pick up.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday through its Amaq News Agency, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, hours after the Taliban denied involvement.
SEOUL, South Korea  The Constitutional Court of South Korea said Wednesday that it would rule on Friday whether to reinstate President Park Geun-hye or formally oust her from office on charges of corruption and abuse of power.

Ms. Park has been suspended from office, with all her presidential powers frozen, since the National Assembly overwhelmingly voted to impeach her in December on charges of abusing power and collecting bribes from businesses.

If the Constitutional Court supports the vote in its verdict on Friday, Ms. Park will become the first South Korean president to lose office through parliamentary impeachment.

The court has held 17 hearings since the impeachment vote, but Ms. Park has never appeared in court. In a statement read by one of her lawyers during the last hearing, on Feb. 27, she vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Simon Busuttil, the countrys opposition leader, also posted on Twitter, saying, This is a sad day for #Malta. We have just lost an icon of our countrys natural beauty.

Malta, in the central Mediterranean, has a population of roughly 400,000 and counts tourism as a main economic driver. In recent years, rising interest in the arch and nearby sites has been driven in part by their appearance in the series Game of Thrones, which will air its seventh season on HBO this year. The Azure Window was a backdrop for the wedding of Daenerys Targaryen, a recurring character played by Emilia Clarke, to Khal Drogo, portrayed by Jason Momoa, in the first episode in mid-2011.

In 2013 a geological study of the site found that erosion was inevitable. Last year in response to that and to concerns for public safety, the authorities banned walking across the site, with a fine of just over $1,500 for lawbreakers.

In the end, nature  in the form of a heavy storm  not humans doomed the arch.

Roger Chessell, a local resident, told The Times of Malta he was at the site when it collapsed on Wednesday morning.
When Daniel Rom Kristiansen, a 14-year-old student in northern Denmark, was given a homework assignment on World War II, his father had a jokey suggestion.

Family legend had it that a plane crashed not far from their farm in 1944. Go out and find the plane, the father, Klaus Kristiansen, suggested.

Much to his surprise, Daniel did.

What began as a good-natured attempt by a man to make history come alive for his son turned into headline-grabbing news this week when Daniel, aided by Mr. Kristiansen, discovered the wreckage of a German warplane, along with the remains of a man who might have been its pilot.

After the discovery Monday, forensics police officers arrived to secure the site, along with bomb disposal experts and a representative from the German Embassy. Soon, the Danish news media descended on the farm, in the remote town of Birkelse in the north of the Jutland peninsula.
The majority of people who spoke at a veterans town hall meeting at the Tomah Veterans Administration hospital Saturday praised the Tomah VA staff and the care they received.

However, most agreed that a program designed to offer choice outside the VA system remains tangled in bureaucracy, and one person said his brother died while waiting for dental care in Tomah.

The meeting, conducted by Tomah VA medical director Victoria Brahm, lasted nearly two hours and attracted 50 people.

Donald Hildebrandt said his brother, Marine veteran Richard Hildebrandt, died less than a month after a Feb. 2 appointment in Tomah to repair a broken tooth was cancelled. Donald Hildebrandt said the dentist had called in sick that day and that the appointment was rescheduled for mid-April. He found his brother dead in his Nekoosa apartment Feb. 28.

Richard Hildebrandt, who served a tour in the Vietnam war, was 71 years old. Donald Hildebrandt said the cancelled appointment may have contributed to his brothers death.

That just goes with the wait times, Donald Hildebrandt said. I know for a fact that with a tooth problem ... it affects other conditions in the body.

He said his brother also had cardiac and circulatory conditions that werent adequately treated by the VA.

Brahm declined to comment directly on the case but said the Tomah VA isnt a full-service medical facility. She said the hospital focuses on primary care, mental health patients and long-term care.

We do not have an emergency department, and we do not have all the specialists that the larger hospitals have, Brahm said. Its incumbent on us when we see something very serious happening to quickly refer to either our partners, Flight for Life or any resources we have available ... It is our mission to protect every veteran, whatever it takes.

Brahm said changes are likely coming to the choice program, which allows veterans to be treated by private providers and bill the VA. She said a package of VA reforms offered by new Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin would eliminate a provision that limits choice to veterans who are required to travel more than 40 miles for care.

The reforms are needed, said Larry Hill, Wisconsin adjutant for Disabled American Veterans.

The Congressional representatives know that choice is broken, Hill said.

He also said the VA needs to streamline an eligibility appeals process in which individual cases can take up to three years.

Our appeals is broken and needs to be fixed, he said.

Even veterans who expressed frustration with the bureaucracy said their experience with Tomah staff was mostly positive. One veteran urged patience and persistence.

Do your part and advocate for yourself and keep moving she said. Just do it in a loving and respectful way.
THE HAGUE  As concern grows that Dutch politics is being influenced by American money, a new campaign disclosure report released in the Netherlands on Wednesday provided a twist: The spigot of American cash seems to have been mostly shut off.

The report, coming a week ahead of contentious national elections and amid a Dutch experiment with campaign finance disclosure, showed that the burst of money donated in 2015 to the far-right leader Geert Wilders has dropped sharply. Yet in Europe, where disclosure laws are porous, loopholes in the Dutch laws still prevent a full picture of the scope and influence of foreign money.

The report showed that Mr. Wilders and his Party for Freedom, which has been running first or second in Dutch polls, received about $25,000 last year from the David Horowitz Freedom Center, run by David Horowitz, an American activist with strident views on Islam. In addition, a Buffalo-based company, listed in the new Dutch records as FOL Inc., appeared in the records as giving roughly $7,400 in November. The company could not be immediately identified in New York State records.

That is still a sharp drop from 2015, when Mr. Horowitzs center donated nearly $120,000 to the Party for Freedom, making it the largest individual donation that year in the Dutch political system, which is small and parochial compared with American politics.
WARSAW  Only one country in the European Union has publicly opposed the reappointment of Donald Tusk as president of the European Council: his own.

Mr. Tusk was Polands prime minister for seven years, until 2014, when he was chosen to lead the Council, which helps set the blocs agenda. He was a driving force in last years deal with Turkey to address the migration crisis, and he has coordinated the European Unions response to Britains plan to withdraw.

But the right-wing government that took power in Poland in 2015 wants him out of the job. It has even suggested  without evidence  that he has betrayed his country.

The dispute has injected a note of high drama as leaders of the blocs 28 members gather in Brussels on Thursday for a summit meeting where Mr. Tusks future is on the agenda.
MADRID  Teresa Rodriguez, the leader of the far-left Podemos Party in the southern region of Andalusia, was visiting an exhibition in the Chamber of Commerce of Seville when she ran into a member of the group she had never met before.

In no time, the man, Manuel Munoz Medina, pushed up against her and simulated kissing her on the mouth  before handing her his business card.

Ms. Rodriguez, 35, said she was too upset and shocked to react at the time, just before Christmas. But she then took to social media and started legal action this year. Mr. Munoz Medina, 72, later apologized for his behavior, saying he had been drunk, and resigned from the chambers board.

Spanish women have made tremendous advances in recent years as the revolt against mainstream parties helped break down some old-boy networks. But that upheaval, the women say, has also laid bare the deeply entrenched sexism and machismo in Spains political establishment, which has at the very least been slow to adapt to changing times, intensifying a clash of both generations and genders.
The call for women to leave their workplace and make noise (called ruidazo) was the warm-up to the fourth womens march across the country since June 2015, when tens of thousands gathered under one banner, Ni Una Menos (Not One Less), after a horrific wave of killings. In October, the brutal rape and murder of a 16-year-old led to the first womens strike in the country.

Laura De Marinis, a 30-year-old lawyer, clapped and blocked a road alongside other protesters. I left my kid at home with my husband, she said, emphasizing one of the key points of the demonstration: Domestic work continues to fall disproportionately on women.

Many of those present said they had witnessed a change in attitudes. Women are starting to stand up for themselves more, and we are realizing that we dont have to put up with a culture that oppresses us just for being women, said Lucia DAgostino, 48, a psychologist.

In Tbilisi, Georgia, women demonstrated under a symbolic glass ceiling to illustrate limitations on womens empowerment.
Nacho Escamilla has lived in the U.S. for more than 25 years after he left his home country of Mexico in 1991 at the age of 16, leaving behind his mother, father and two younger brothers. He is one of the lucky immigrants, having had citizenship for nearly seven years.

Immigration was a hot topic during the recent presidential election, causing a lot of uproar across the U.S. Today in Jackson County, Hispanic immigrants make up 2.5 percent of the county population with most of the Hispanic population located in areas surrounding Alma Center and Black River Falls.

Cowz-R-Us, a local dairy farm in Alma Center that milks about 1,000 cows, employs 36 employees. Cody Heller, one of the owners of the farm, says they rely heavily on immigrant labor for several reasons.

That is a workforce that is willing and able to provide the labor needs of our industry [dairy farming]. Non-immigrants arent knocking our door down for those jobs, said Heller. This isnt only an issue for dairy farmers. It goes across all of agriculture and other industries, such as the hospitality sector.

One of those employees is Escamilla, who has worked for Cowz-R-Us for over 20 years. Escamilla is currently the herdsman for the entire farm, working his way up from milking cows in the parlor when he started.

When Escamilla crossed the border, he first lived and worked in Dallas, Texas.

I got to Dallas, Texas and I spent probably a couple of months there, but because I was under-age, I had a hard time finding a job down there, said Escamilla which is why he looked elsewhere for a job. I moved from Texas to Pa. because I had an uncle that lived there and he said I could work on a big farm with horses.

Escamilla worked at that farm for about three years before his uncle convinced him to move to Florida to pick oranges and then to Ind., which is where he met his wife Patty who was a natural-born citizen of the U.S.

They [his wifes family] used to come from Texas to Indiana every summer after school and they would work for three months in Ind. and then they would go back to school, said Escamilla.

From Ind., he and his wife moved to Wis. in 1995 which is also the year he became a resident with the help of his wife and Blake Heller, who is the original owner of Cowz-R-Us.

A lot of people dont believe me when I tell them I didnt hire a lawyer to get legal. My wife did all of the paperwork. She printed it off and we filled them out, said Escamilla. I went and paid a fine, back then I think it was $1,000, for coming into the U.S. illegally.

After that, he had to have them run his fingerprints through police databases and complete a physical. Once he had residency, he could get a social security card and start working. He had residency status for more than 10 years until he applied for citizenship.

For citizenship, the most nerve-racking part for Escamilla was the test, not only because you need to know the answers to the questions, but also because of the language barrier.

You have to get 6-of-10 at least, so they asked me seven and I was already 6-of-7 so they didnt ask me anymore, said Escamilla. I was a little nervous in the beginning because I know I can speak English enough to do it, but I was most concerned about the reading and writing part.

Heller says the language barrier is the hardest part about hiring Hispanic employees, When it comes to having a daily conversation, the language barrier is our biggest challenge.

Heller says some of the other challenges include learning the different cultural nuances such as the major importance of family in their everyday lives. Furthermore, learning and understanding the concept that they celebrate different holidays than most Americans.

Heller also says that the fear of deportation has become a bigger problem recently.

Hispanics have the inherent fear of deportation due to the new executive orders even though 90 percent of them arent directly affected. One of the biggest challenges right now that dairyman are having is the lack of understanding about how our political structure works and the communication with their Hispanics about what they as employers are doing to help with their immigration challenges, said Heller.

Hispanics that are currently here illegally can be put on the deportation list several ways, but usually it is because they receive a felony. This can include simple things like getting a citation for driving without a drivers license three times, which would then become a felony.

President Trump intends to deport all criminal immigrants, so this has escalated the fear in Hispanic culture for those that are low-level offenders. While he may not agree with this, Heller still contends that criminal felons should be deported.

I dont want to employ criminals. Neither does anyone in the industry no matter what ethnicity, said Heller.

Ultimately, Heller believes that America needs immigrant labor because so many sectors, including agriculture, depends on it.

The cost of producing food would likely increase without immigrant laborers because non-immigrants would demand higher wages to do the work. And some of the jobs would go unfilled, period. That would result in more expensive food in the store, said Heller.

Heller also feels that if the Hispanic workforce wasnt available, his farm would move quickly to alternative forms of labor including technology.

The other thing it would do is push us very quickly to using more robots, said Heller. It would force us to look at different technologies and hiring fewer people, which is not good for the local and global economies primarily because the ripple effects that wage levels have on every sector of the economy is huge.

Trisha Wagner, the Jackson County UW-Extension agriculture agent also says immigrants have a huge effect on the dairy industry in Jackson County, whether small or large farms.

Even a lot of our 100 to 150 cow herds have or have-used immigrant labor as a labor source, said Wagner. It definitely has helped to serve the labor gap in Jackson County.

In the end, Escamilla is happy that he took the chance to immigrate to America over 25 years ago. Today, his pride and joy is seeing his six children grow up and be good citizens of the U.S.

I took them onto the farm at a young age and showed them the hard work, so that way I know they want to go to school and finish college, said Escamilla. So far, for my oldest one, he said I dont want to spend my life working with cows like you have.

It is this chance for a future that many immigrants chase when crossing the border.

It is a select few that are lucky like Escamilla and get to see that dream come to fruition.
From Daily Kos

The president signed the Muslim Ban Executive Order in hiding and released the photos to the media. CNN did not fall for the trap. They are maintaining their recent stance (Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer) on holding the president accountable.

CNN made sure Trump did not control the message that Americans saw. The discriminatory ban is one of Trump's signature promises to those that were instrumental in him winning the electoral college.

It was clear that Trump would want a photo op. He intended to talk about fulfilling his promises to his base. But his actions stepped on the event he had scheduled for today. The media, who cannot seem to cover multiple events of consequence simultaneously, are hyper-fixed on his tweet accusing President Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower.

So he had the signing of his signature bill in private, in hiding. Following, he released the photos. CNN threw a wrench in his gears. They did not acquiesce to Trump's cowardliness and refused to air any of the pictures. CNN's John King, in this excerpted video, called out Trump appropriately, "The fact that," John King said. "We won't show you the picture of the President signing the Executive Order. It is incredibly important to his administration. It is a very important policy debate in our country. We won't show you the picture because we have a policy that you can't have canned press release pictures from a White House. You have to let the reporters in. The President is a big boy. He doesn't have to answer questions if they are shouted at him. But they wouldn't let anyone in because of the other issue front and center today. That is the President saying that he believes his predecessor somehow wiretapped him somehow during last year's campaign."
From The National

Dustin Pfundheller, 30, an American dentist living in Singapore, was set to become the youngest person to visit every country in the world while in a full-time job. His globetrotting has taken him to 192 of the 193 recognized states, bringing his medical skills to the world's remotest places. But in January he was barred for the second time from Israel, the only country left on his list, having previously been refused entry last year.

Despite an invitation to a dental conference in Tel Aviv, and Israelis who vouched for him, border officials banned Mr Pfundheller for 10 years. No reason was given, but lawyers suspect visits to Iran and the Arab states sealed his fate. There could hardly be starker evidence that Israel stubbornly refuses to become a normal country.

Paradoxically, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Singapore last month to promote Israel as a tolerant country, one "committed to a better world, a world of diversity."

The reality could not be more different. Arabs and Muslims have always struggled to gain entry to Israel. Palestinians are routinely abused at the borders, and thousands, especially from Jerusalem, have been stripped of the right to return home after living abroad.

But new figures show Israel is excluding other groups too. Entry denials have increased nine-fold in the past five years, topping 16,000 people last year. Among those increasingly turned away are political activists. Israel controls all access to the occupied Palestinian territories, and now regularly denies entry to solidarity activists and those who support the boycott movement.

But in practice the net is cast wider still. Recently, Israel subjected Jennifer Gorovitz, an American Jewish vice-president of the New Israel Fund, to a humiliating interrogation at airport arrivals. NIF is one of the largest funders of Israeli organizations supporting human rights and social justice. That includes assistance to groups that monitor military abuses in the occupied territories. This presumably explains why Ms Gorovitz's interrogators suggested she posed a "security threat." She finally gained admittance only after Talia Sasson, the Israeli head of NIF, pulled strings.

Ms Gorovitz wrote of her experience: "My privilege as a Jew means I never imagined that Israel could or would deny me entrance."

Such an assumption was justified. Israel's Law of Return is supposed to guarantee Jews around the world the right to almost instant citizenship in Israel.

For that reason, the law is grossly unjust. It privileges Jewish access to Israel at the expense of the native Palestinian population, most of whom were expelled in 1948.

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In last November's election, Maine voters approved a ballot issue that directs future major office elections in Maine to be conducted using ranked voting. Although the campaign surrounding Question-5 rarely (if ever) mentioned the name IRV (Instant-Runoff Voting), it seems clear from the wording of the issue that IRV was the particular system of ranked voting to be adopted. Specifically, the wording of the Question-5 defined ranked-choice voting as "the method of casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds in which last-place candidates are defeated and the candidate with the most votes in the final round is elected".

But in common usage, "ranked-choice voting" refers to any of the many possible systems in which voters are asked to list the candidates in order of preference. Clearly IRV is such a system but IRV defines the vote, counting only one of many possible alternatives. However, IRV has been promoted so widely that it is widely assumed there is only one system of ranked-choice voting.

If we can assume that the objective of a voting system is to accurately assess the wishes of the voters there are a number of things that seem perverse or at least odd about IRV. Some of these have been discussed in earlier articles of this series:

In this article we return to this topic to examine yet another aspect of IRV that is particularly interesting and revealing, not just about IRV but about other systems of voting as well. To describe this peculiarity, imagine that you were unfamiliar with IRV but you wanted to simulate a series of elections in which one (or perhaps more) candidates were to be eliminated with each iteration of counting. How would you decide which candidates to remove (keeping in mind that you want the decision to be a democratic one)? To make this simpler, just consider what the the best way would be to decide which of the candidates to eliminate first. Would it occur to you to ask voters which candidate they like the most?

Maybe instead would you ask yourself what you want to know from the voters and ask them for that. You are going to remove one candidate from contention so why not simply ask the voters how you should proceed? Thinking democratically, you would surely ask each voter which candidate the voter would choose to remove first. With an open-minded approach, would it not seem really odd to instead ask a voter which candidate she likes the most?

This line of thinking leads to something closely resembling IRV, but in a critical way it is the opposite of IRV. Voters are asked to rank the candidates, starting with the one they would most like to have removed from contention and second the one that the voter would most want removed after the first listed is removed -- and so on down at least to include all candidates that the voter views as unacceptable.

The first candidate to be removed will be the one that the most voters want removed. In the subsequent rounds, ballots will be counted as if the eliminated candidates were removed from their ballots and counted as a vote against the first candidate on their ballot that has not yet been eliminated. If ties (or near ties) occur then more than one candidate could be removed at a time, but the recounts would continue until only a single candidate remained as the winner.

It will be convenient to have a name for this alternative system of ranked voting, so let's call it IRRV (Instant-Runoff-Removal Voting) since voters are asked to rank candidates according to their preferred removal order. At first glance, it might seem that a voter would construct exactly the reverse order for IRRV as she would for IRV and that is a useful way to conceptualize it -- but that is an overly simplified view that is apt to be only approximately the case. Pollsters have come to realize that the phrasing of their questions will influence their answers and that lesson probably applies to elections as much as it does in polls. Some examples may be in order.

With ten candidates in a race, if you ask a voter to list the candidates in order of preference you may possibly get a list of ten candidates back, but it is likely that there will be candidates left off of some lists -- particularly candidates that the voter does not know. But the last candidate on the list is very likely to be the candidate that the voter likes least. With IRV such a shortened list will be counted in a way that is at odds to the voter's likely wishes. Unfortunately, if that last-place name on the list is ever counted it will help that candidate to win election. Putting that name last on the list does, however, give the voter the illusion of expressing what great opposition the voter feels about that candidate and that is why a voter is apt to include that name.

However, if instead you ask a voter in what order would he like candidates to be eliminated, the first on the list is apt to be one that the voter particularly dislikes but all of the candidates the voter knows nothing about are apt to make it onto the list. Since the voter does not want his favorite candidate to ever be eliminated, that favorite candidate (and maybe several favorite candidates) will not be on the list at all. Leaving the candidate off the list of those to be removed from consideration is clearly the best way for the voter to express how she feels about that most-favored candidate. But more importantly, with IRRV this intuitive idea of what the voter feels his vote means is in concert with the way the vote is actually counted.

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This is all very touching but completely misguided. I watched the four videos making up one movie at https://ivansprayerforjustice.org/ and read the accompanying materials at https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-ivan?source_location=petition_nav and signed the petition. Then I watched them again carefully, and read the accompanying material carefully, and researched the case from online court documents, and now I realize that I and many others have been duped. Teleguz may or may not deserve the death penalty but the evidence shows overwhelmingly that he did hire Edwin Gilkes and Michael Hetrick to murder his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Stephanie Sipe. Moreover, the claim of his attorney that Gilkes falsely testified that he saw Teleguz commit a murder that never happened is both false and a gross distortion. Gilkes may have made such a statement to an investigator, and it was excluded by the court as too inflammatory. But Teleguz's attorney had Gilkes explicitly deny making such a statement and he did deny it in the only testimony that the judge and jury heard, so that claim that such false testimony is responsible for his death sentence is simply false propaganda. See the opinion of appeals court Judge Jones below for details.

The videos are designed to make it seem as though Teleguz had nothing to do with any of the men who testified against him at trial, Edwin Gilkes, Michael Hetrick, and Aleksey Safanov. The movie leaves unexplained how Safanov led the police to the killer Hetrick whose blood was found at the murder scene and makes it seem that the police simply gave him and the other men Ivan's name in order to put him into the picture. They make it seem as though the police had found Hetrick on their own and then could not give up their unfounded zealous conviction that Ivan was behind it all and simply coerced the men who did the crime into implicating Teleguz. In fact Ivan Teleguz knew and met with both Gilkes and Hetrick and contracted with them to kill his ex-girlfriend. It is a thoroughly dishonest and deceitful documentary that takes advantage of the trust and goodwill that people knowledgeable about police and judicial corruption are willing to offer to someone pretending to defend the innocent yet unjustly accused and convicted. Gilkes' recanting affidavit in particular struck me as inculpatory rather than exculpatory, especially #3, which reads:

"During questioning, police told me that the Russian guy from Massachusetts [Safanov] was the one who told them about me. Since I only met that guy once [and did not talk about the murder with him], I figured Teleguz was the one who told that guy about me. That made me really angry at Teleguz. It was easier to make stuff up about Teleguz, because I believed that Teleguz threw me under the bus by telling police."

In the movie this goes by quickly and seems to explain why Gilkes--a black man--vengefully make up testimony against Teleguz, but if you stop and read it slowly it also clearly implicates Teleguz as knowing about Gilkes' role in the murder. In giving Gilkes' motive for revenge--because he inferred that Teleguz had also given him up to the police--it also reveals the involvement of Teleguz. Judge Jones, in assessing the credibility of Gilkes' recantation by affidavit drew the same conclusion and noted:

"The recantations contained in Gilkes' affidavits are incomplete at best and at worst are contradictory. While Gilkes retracted his trial testimony implicating Teleguz, he failed to provide any explanation why he and Hetrick traveled to Harrisonburg to murder Sipe, who drove them there, or how they ultimately located Sipe."

Furthermore, during his initial interview with Whitfield, Gilkes denied any involvement in the murder but still implicated Teleguz with purported second-hand information from Rymarenko. Tellingly, in his second affidavit, Gilkes stated,

(Pet'r's Ex. 34 3.)"Thus, after all of his supposed recantations, I infer from this statement that, at a minimum, Teleguz had sufficient prior knowledge of the murder for Gilkes to suspect that he had led police to his door.

"For these reasons, I find Gilkes' affidavits unreliable."

And by the way, the murder was pretty clearly a contract hit. The video shows that Hetrick was violent against women and makes it seem like a crime of passion, but another unconnected part reveals that Hetrick knocked on Sipe's door pretending to be a stranded motorist so he could gain access to her apartment, and then attacked her. The "stranded motorist" ploy indicates that she was the target of a contracted murder.

I go further. The neat handwritten affidavit of Gilkes that appears in part in the video was probably not written nor composed by Gilkes. The script is almost calligraphic proletarian. The likely conclusion is that the text was composed artfully by defense counsel with Gilkes' cooperation and handwritten by a secretary in block print to make it seem genuine. Too many details of legalistic phrasing that I will not pursue here about just what Gilkes affirms ooze concern about avoiding the charge of suborning perjury, and in exposing Gilkes' motivation to get even with Teleguz, the affidavit revealed that Teleguz knew that Gilkes had participated in the murder of Sipe, inculpating Teleguz, not exculpating him.

The judge's account of the "recantation" by Safarov is equally compelling. In contrast to the video propaganda that leaves a complete mystery how Safarov identified Gilkes except by the police feeding him information, Safarov initially provided information about the identity of Gilkes--whom he had met just once, and this is what convinced Gilkes that Teleguz must have opened his big mouth and told Safarov about the murder--that was not known to any of the state investigators:

Even assuming the authenticity of his affidavit, the reliability of Safanov's recantation is suspect, given that it fails to explain how Safanov possessed information necessary to rejuvenate the stale investigation. Before speaking with anyone related to the investigation of Sipe's murder, Safanov provided information to [Deputy Marshal] Nelson, an uninterested party, which information was neither publicly available nor provided to him by any law-enforcement officer. In particular, Safanov gave Nelson information that was unknown even to investigators assigned to the Sipe homicide -- that "a Russian male hired a black male from Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania to kill his wife."11 (Hr'g Tr. 143:9-10, Nov. 13, 2013.) A few days later, Safanov reported to Nelson that "the black male from Lancaster, PA, lives on the same one-way street as the Lancaster County Jail." (Resp't's Ex. 3, at 1.) A cross-reference of the Lancaster County Jail address with Teleguz's phone records led law enforcement to Gilkes, who in turn implicated Hetrick as the murderer.

As for the supposedly prejudicial "testimony" by Gilkes that he saw Teleguz murder another Russian in front of the Ephrata Recreational Center; this testimony is a fiction and an investigation of the murder indicates that Teleguz was involved in it. I excerpt from the option of Judge Jones, below:

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In the West, even among people who consider themselves not susceptible to government-corporate media propaganda, any wild story about North Korea can be taken as credible. We should ask ourselves why that is the case, given what we know about the history of government and media fabrications, often related to gaining our acquiescence to a new war.

The corporate media reports North Korean agents murdered Kim Jong Nam with the banned chemical weapon VX. They fail to add that the US government is one of the few countries that still has a stockpile of VX. They rarely note the Malaysian police investigating the case have not actually said North Korea is connected to his death.

The story of his death or murder raises a number of serious questions. North Korea says Kim Jong Nam was not murdered, but suffered from heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes, required constant medication, and this caused his death. The North Korean diplomat in Malaysia Ri Tong-il "cited the postmortem examination conducted by Malaysian health authorities, claiming that the postmortem showed Jong-nam died of a heart attack." [1]

Malaysian authorities conducted two autopsies, the second after the first said to be inconclusive in identifying a cause of death, before announcing well over a week later that VX was involved.

What was going on here? And why weren't the autopsies made open to others besides Malaysian officials?

Why was the South Korean government the first country to come out quickly after Kim's February 13 death to blame North Korea for murdering him with the VX nerve weapon -- before Malaysia had determined anything? The Malaysian autopsy was not complete until February 23, ten days later.

Why did these two women charged with murder travel several times to South Korea before this attack occurred?

Why was Ri Jong-choi, the only North Korean arrested in the case, released for lack of evidence?

The two women did not wear gloves, but had the liquid directly on their hands. "The police said the four North Korean suspects who left the country the day of the killing put the VX liquid on the women's hands." [2] They later washed it off. Why did none of them die or even get sickened by it? No reports say they went to the hospital.

"Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Khalid said the women knew they were handling poisonous materials during the attack". leading forensic toxicologists who study murder by poison" question how the two women could walk away unscathed after deploying an agent potent enough to kill Kim Jong Nam before he could even make it to the hospital." [3]

"Tens of thousands of passengers have passed through the airport since the apparent assassination was carried out. No areas were cordoned off and protective measures were not taken." [4]

Why, if a highly deadly VX used to kill Kim, did the terminal remain open to thousands of travelers, and not shut down and checked for VX until February 26, 13 days later?

Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said "VX only requires 10 milligrams to be absorbed into the system to be lethal," yet he added that there have been no reports of anyone else being sickened by the toxin. [5]

DPRK's Ri Tong-il said in his statement, "How is it possible" the two ladies survived? "How is it possible" no single person in the airport got contaminated? "How is it possible" no nurse, no doctor, no police escorting Kim after the attack were affected? [6]

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From Counterpunch

"The strange sight of liberal America participating in a neo-McCarthyite assault on Trump appointees, not on the grounds of their inherent racism and stupidity, but because they have contacts with Russia, is among the more surreal spectacles of modern political history." -- John Steppling, Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, a Secret Agent of Vladimir Putin?, CounterPunch

If Donald Trump is found guilty of illegal behavior in his connections with Russia, then he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But shouldn't the same rule apply to Obama? Shouldn't Obama be held responsible if he authorized an illegal investigation of the Trump campaign in order to destroy a political enemy?

A widely-circulated article in the New York Times casts suspicion on the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia. The article titled "Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking" strongly insinuates that Russian "tampering" might have helped the campaign "tip the election in Mr. Trump's favor."

These are serious charges and Congress is currently taking steps to investigate whether there's any substance to the allegations or not.

But a careful reading of the Times article also reveals disturbing details about the overzealous manner in which the White House attempted to build its case against Trump. Here's an excerpt from the piece:

"In the Obama administration's last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election -- and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians -- across the government." ("Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking," New York Times)

The opening sentence sounds innocent enough until we get more background later in the article. Halfway through the piece, we see that things are much more murky than they seem. Check it out:

"At intelligence agencies, there was a push to process as much raw intelligence as possible into analyses, and to keep the reports at a relatively low classification level to ensure as wide a readership as possible across the government -- and, in some cases, among European allies. This allowed the upload of as much intelligence as possible to Intellipedia, a secret wiki used by American analysts to share information...There was also an effort to pass reports and other sensitive materials to Congress." (New York Times)

Let's paraphrase and readers can decide whether they think my analysis is fair or not:

In the final days of the Obama administration, White House officials made a concerted effort to spread unsubstantiated information about Russia's alleged attempts to influence the 2016 election. The administration also tried to uncover contacts between associates of Trump and Russia that could be used in future investigations or impeachment proceedings. Presumably, the contacts would be used to create the impression that Trump or his lieutenants were guilty of criminal wrongdoing even though, so far, there is no evidence of any impropriety. Since there was no proof that Trump or his colleagues were involved in anything nefarious, most people would be inclined to call the Obama investigation a "fishing expedition" which is an unfocused probe aimed at uncovering incriminating evidence.

Aside from the fact that the Intel agencies were spying on the members of a presidential campaign without probable cause and without any evidence of criminal wrongdoing; the fact that they decided to release "raw intelligence" that was re-classified so that it could be disseminated as widely as possible, suggests that someone may have acted improperly if not illegally. At the very least, we must assume that higher-ups in the administration (The DOJ?) authorized the Intel agencies to "dig up dirt" on a political enemy in order to roll back the results of the 2016 presidential election.

Is that a fair reading of the two paragraphs in the Times?

More from the NYT: "There was also an effort to pass reports and other sensitive materials to Congress" (and to) "European allies."

Who made that decision? Someone (Obama, the DOJ, the CIA?) sought to disseminate as much damaging information as possible to as many people as possible to undermine the new administration and create a legal foundation for impeachment proceedings. The fact that the information they were disseminating was "raw intelligence" -- which was not necessarily reliable -- suggests that the primary objective was not to reveal the truth, but to use whatever tools that were available to sabotage the Trump presidency.

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From Robert Reich Blog

Early Saturday morning, March 4, the 45th president of the United States alleged in a series of tweets that former president Barack Obama orchestrated a "Nixon/Watergate" plot to tap Trump's phones at his Trump Tower headquarters last fall in the run-up to the election. Trump concluded that the former president is a "Bad (or sick) guy!"

Sunday morning, Trump called for a congressional investigation.

Trump cited no evidence for his accusation.

Folks, we've got a huge problem on our hands. Either:

1. Trump is more nuts than we suspected -- a true delusional paranoid. Trump's outburst was triggered by commentary in the "alt-right" publication, Breitbart News, on Friday, which reported an assertion made Thursday night by right-wing talk-radio host Mark Levin suggesting Obama and his administration used "police state" tactics last fall to monitor the Trump team's dealings with Russian operatives.

If this is what triggered Trump's tantrum, we've got a president willing to put the prestige and power of his office behind baseless claims emanating from well-known right-wing purveyors of lies.

Which means Trump shouldn't be anywhere near the nuclear codes that could obliterate the planet, or near anything else that could determine the fate of America or the world.

2. The second possibility is the Obama administration did in fact tap his phones. But if this was the case, before the tap could occur it's highly likely Trump committed a very serious crime, including treason.

No president can order a wiretap on his own. For federal agents to obtain a wiretap on Trump, the Justice Department would first have had to convince a federal judge that it had gathered sufficient evidence of probable cause to believe Trump had committed a serious crime or was an agent of a foreign power, depending on whether it was a criminal or foreign intelligence wiretap.

In which case we have someone in the White House who shouldn't be making decisions that could endanger America or the world.

3. The third possible explanation for Trump's rant is he was trying to divert public attention from the Jeff Sessions imbroglio and multiple investigations of Trump associates already found to have been in contact with Russian agents during the election, when Russian operatives interfered with the election on Trump's behalf.

Maybe he's trying to build a case that the entire Russian story is a plot concocted by the Obama Administration -- along with the intelligence agencies and the mainstream press -- to bring Trump down. This way, he can inoculate himself against more damaging evidence to come.

But if it's all a big show to divert attention and undermine the credibility of the intelligence agencies and the press, Trump is willing to do anything to keep his job -- even if that means further dividing America, undermining trust in our governing institutions, and destroying the fabric of our democracy.

So there you have it. We have a president who is either a dangerous paranoid who's making judgments based on right-wing crackpots, or has in all likelihood committed treason, or is willing to sacrifice public trust in our basic institutions to further his selfish goals.

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During the recent contest for DNC chairman, I found myself hoping that Tom Perez would come out the winner. I find Keith Ellison to be one of the most likable and energetic congressmen to come on the scene in many years. I find Perez equally sincere and engaging. Both seem to have boundless energy and both seem to attribute poor Democratic presidential and congressional showings to lack of sufficient "boots on the ground" and not enough "footprints" in the right places. In that sense they are apparently the best tandem the DNC could possibly have hoped for at this time. Why, I asked myself, did I prefer Perez to Ellison?

The reason, I have to admit, is that it seems that the more excited the chair of the DNC seems to be about the goals and "ideals" of the "Democratic Party and "what we stand for," the less effective the party seems to be. Democrats did well under socially liberal and fiscally careful Howard Dean, but not too well under idealistic Terry McAuliffe and the robotic Hillary zombie Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Under Dean, Democrats "asked" constituents what it was that they needed and talked about how they could go about getting it for them. Under McAuliffe, Democrats "told" people what they needed, things like gay marriage and legalized abortion at any stage of pregnancy, even on a whim. The confused John Kerry was so busy worrying about these issues that he forgot to ask people in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, in the midst of a depression, if they might need jobs !

How was Hillary Clinton's campaign different than Kerry's? Except for the fact that Republicans didn't have to make up stories about her, the two campaigns looked alarmingly similar, alarmingly vacuous. Did Hillary go into West Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio or anywhere and ask "what do you need?" Of course not. Apparently, Democrats "know" what people need. They need free college education, even for kids who actually need vocational skills and won't be able to graduate from college anyway, not affordable loans, right? Did Democrats "ask" gay people if they "needed" civil unions first or did they need "marriage"immediately and at what political cost? Oh, and is it our Democratic "ideal," even if we disagree, to disrespect the pro life advocates' view that terminating a pregnancy is somehow terminating a living thing? The argument that "it's my body and I can do anything I want to it," is an insult and hardly an "ideal," nor does it do anything in the long run to preserve Roe V. Wade.

What scared me about Mr. Ellison was the fear that he would be too gung ho liberal and idealistic and not practical enough to elect patient candidates with long range vision. I don't know that Mr. Perez is any more patient than Mr. Ellison. Will they ask people in the inner cities what they really need or will they tell them that their problems are bigotry and bad police? Will they listen when people of all colors and ethnic groups tell them that what they really need are better K-12 public educations for boys and girls, including vocational skills, so students have a chance to work themselves through college if they choose or get skilled jobs in the community? What is it they say-" idle hands are the devil's workshop?" Or, do we let Republicans exploit children for illicit profits with phony charter schools and wasted vouchers?

Despite his often unrealistic economic policies, I was an ardent supporter of Bernie Sanders. He seemed to be the most honest candidate I had seen in many years and except for totally free college tuition, I agreed with most of his goals. I found many conservatives who actually liked him, even though they did not agree with many of his plans. What they liked was his honesty and the fact that he seemed to actually concern himself with what they felt that they needed. Bernie never seemed to ask anyone about what they "wanted." I believe that Bernie would have beaten Donald Trump because of his integrity. If Democrats want to start winning elections, let's face it, we need better candidates with a more realistic sense of what people really need and with long range plans on how those needs can realistically be fulfilled. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, Panderer in Chief, out pandered Hillary, offering as many people as possible, what they want, but I suspect, not what they actually need.

Al Finkelstein, 3/2/17
On Sunday, Feb. 26, state legislators and local representatives spoke to approximately 50 Jackson County residents at Maxs Club 95 during the annual Jackson County Lincoln Day Dinner.

The event was organized by the Republican Party of Jackson County and was open to the general public.

Assemblywoman Kathy Bernier of the 68th District gave an overview of the the biannual state budget. Bernier stated that state finances were in good shape and that legislators had the opportunity for making some fundamental changes to the tax code that would reduce the residential property tax burden on Wisconsin citizens.

Bernier also stated she would be holding some environmental town hall meetings in the near future with representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Assemblywoman Nancy VanderMeer of the 70th District serves as the co-chair of the Veterans Services committee and gave an overview of upcoming Veterans services initiatives state legislators are working on.

VanderMeer also stated she recently became the Chair of the Committee on Rural Development and Mining, which covers sand mining in Wis. She is looking forward to her expanded role in the state legislature and serving Jackson County in this capacity.

Assemblyman Treig Pronschinske of the 92nd District was one of two freshman state legislators to speak. Pronschinske is a member of the Committee on Children and Families, the Committee on Environment and Forestry, the Committee on Housing and Real Estate and the Committee on Rural Development and Mining.

Pronschinske stated he is a good fit for these committees and that there are a lot of improvements to be made in social services for the rural counties of western Wisconsin.

Senator Patrick Testin of the 24th District, the second freshman legislator to speak, is Chair of the Committee on Workforce Development, Military Affairs and Senior Issues, Co-Chair of the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems, Vice-Chair Committee on Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry, Vice-Chair of the committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, and serves on the committee on Agriculture, Small Business and Tourism and the committee on Economic Development, Commerce and Local Government.

Testin provided an overview of the election and discussed upcoming agricultural legislation.

The Jackson County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ray Ransom provided the audience with an overview of the top issues being worked on by the County Board of Supervisors. Specifically, Ransom discussed challenges with road funding, county law enforcement service and foster care services. Ransom also provided an overview of the improvements made to the county courthouse.

A highlight of the evening was hearing from Dr. Lowell Holtz, candidate for state superintendent of Public Schools. Dr. Holtz gave a detailed presentation on a number of areas where Wisconsin can improve public education and discussed the need to return school control to parents and local school boards.

Dr. Holtz also discussed the need to reduce the administrative burden on teachers, so teachers can focus on teaching again. Dr. Holtz received Wisconsin Principal of the Year award for turning around a failing inner city school system and was a district administrator at a suburban Milwaukee School district.
The American working class has discovered that it has among Trump's government no larger a constituency than have the Russians. Having been told by corporations, which are spending billions of dollars buying back their own stock, that they are too poor to pay US wages, Trump has found that the path to economic security for the workforce lies in corporate tax reduction. Identity politics marches for open borders for Muslims and Hispanics and for trans-gendered toilet facilities, not for bread and peace, and wants Trump impeached because he is not yet at war with Russia.

Trump's Russophobic appointments, such as McMaster, Mattis, and Fiona Hill are actually worse than Obama's Victoria Nuland, Samantha Power and Susan Rice. Just as Hillary and Nuland brought regime change to Ukraine, Tillerson at the State Department has signaled regime change of the democratically elected government in Venezuela. Ecuador and Bolivia won't be far behind.

Washington has never supported governments that put the interests of their peoples ahead of the interests of those who rule the US. From Africa to South America to Indonesia to Cuba to Vietnam to Iran to Egypt, Washington has always misrepresented the forces for change as communist. Washington overthrew the first democratically elected government in Iran, the first in the Congo, the first in Egypt, and a large numbers of others. Read Stephen Kinzer's The Brothers. Read General Smedley Butler who said that he and the US Marines made South America safe for the United Fruit Company and investments of the New York Banks. Read John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

Washington opposes democratic change with an iron fist. Now Marine Le Pen, the favored candidate for the presidency of France in the upcoming election, is in the process of being destroyed by Washington.

Marine is not on Washington's approved list. The reasons are:

(1) she speaks to French interests, not to Washington's or the EU's, (2) she opposes the Trans-Atlantic Partnership, which gives US global corporations immunity to French laws against GMOs, and French labor, safety, and environmental standards, (3) she supports French opinion that the French are French and not "European" and wants out of the European Union, and, (4) she wants France out of NATO, which uses France as a tool for American aggression.

Washington first attacked Marine via its surrogates in the French press and government, who managed to nullify her parliamentary immunity. With this achieved, she is now accused of "misuse of EU funds."

The charge, of course, is a hoax, a frame-up. The charge, if it proves effective, will rely on the French presstitute media's portrayal of Marine as a "fascist" for representing French nationalism. Today, if a European person is loyal to his or her own country and not to the EU, the person is considered to be a "nationalist," a term that has been merged with "fascist." The consequence is that anyone in France who wants to represent the French is a "fascist."

Marine Le Pen lost her parliamentary immunity because she posted photos of ISIS victims on Twitter. The photos she posted were accurate and correct, simply the truth. But the charge is that to tell the truth about ISIS means that you are anti-Muslim, which today is like being anti-Jew, anti-black, anti-homosexual and anti-transgendered. The protection of Identity Politics now extends not only to the Muslim refugees from America's wars who are overrunning the Western world but also to ISIS. The accurate and truthful photos violated Identity Politics.

The consensus of those few in Europe who reside outside the Matrix created for them by Washington and the American presstitutes is that the CIA will not permit Le Pen to become President of France. She is a threat to Washington's empire. If she cannot be destroyed with scandal and false charges, like Dominique Strauss-Kahn, she will be assassinated.

Democracy cannot function without an honest media. Nowhere in the Western world does an honest media exist. There are a relatively few sites on the Internet media that are independent of ruling elites and speak the truth to the extent that they can find it. But the very shadowy PropOrNot website, likely a product of the CIA or George Soros, has declared those who understand that good relations between thermo-nuclear powers are essential to be "Russian agents."

One dozen Russian Satan 2 ICBMs are sufficient to destroy the United States. One is sufficient to destroy France, the UK, or Texas. Why is Washington and Washington's European, Canadian, and Australian puppets inviting such an outcome with continuous false accusations against Russia (and China)? No person with any intelligence can possibly regard the thrice elected president of Russia as "the new Hitler," "a Mafia Don," "a thug."

By orchestrating Russophobia in the West, Washington has put all of humanity at risk. The Russians have watched Washington's false accusations against Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Yeman, Pakistan, Iran and against Russia herself -- "invasion of Ukraine." False accusations have in the 21st century always been Washington's set-up of the target country for invasion or bombing.

These provacations issued daily by the idiot Western press, the idiot Western governments, and the idiot commentators have prepared the groundwork for a misunderstanding that can result in thermo-nuclear war and the end of life on earth.

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The government forces of Syria and Iraq continue to fight against terror groups under support of their allies. Russian Air Force assists the Syrian army, and the International Coalition headed by the U.S. is 'cooperating' with the armed forces of Iraq.

It should be mentioned that the liberation of Aleppo from Jabhat al-Nusra's terrorists by the Syrian army units last December became a tipping point in the Syrian war. Then the Syrian government has taken all possible measures to safely evacuate all of the civilians from the western neighborhoods of the city. The humanitarian pauses have been introduced and thousands of people left the city through humanitarian corridors. More than 110,000 civilians have been evacuated from the city, including 44,000 children.

Unfortunately the situation in Iraq is the complete opposite. The locals are facing very difficult condition. On the one hand, they are threatened by ISIS terrorists who placed their positions in residential areas in the vicinity of schools and hospitals. In addition, the terrorists use the civilian population as a human shield. On the other hand, the advance of the Iraqi army under support of International Coalition bombers, which frequently carry out indiscriminant attacks on the residential neighborhoods. As a result of the U.S. air raids dozens of civilians die 'by mistake'.

According to the official figures, 220 people have been killed by the International Coalition strikes in Iraq and Syria since 2014. It's obvious that the coalition intentionally hides the real number of victims in order to avoid criticism by international human rights organizations.

The situation in Mosul can only be described as a humanitarian catastrophe. There are still more than 750,000 civilians in the western neighborhoods of Mosul, who have nowhere to run. The refugee camps are currently overflowing. The representative of the International Organization for Migration in Iraq Hala Jaber stated that in the near future a refugee camp for 60 thousand people should be set up in the area of the Qayyarah airbase. However even the organization of this camp won't be enough to save all those in need.

In addition, when the Mosul-Raqqa highway was blocked last year, the city was left without humanitarian and commercial supplies. The citizens of western Mosul reported that almost half of local grocery stores closed and bakeries can't afford flour because of high prices. Due to the destruction of sewage facilities the local people desperately lack drinking water.

Reporting the situation in Mosul the Western media prefer not to cover the problems of the local population, who are forced to flee the war, and keep silent about the deaths of civilians from the hands of terrorists.

When the city of Aleppo was liberated in the end of last year, the situation was completely different. Although the local citizens were leaving their homes via humanitarian corridors organized by the Syrian military, the media dubbed this situation as a 'humanitarian catastrophe' and blamed the Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Hence a question arises: what hindered the Iraqi authorities and the International coalition from organizing humanitarian pauses for withdrawal of civilians from the besieged city similarly to what the Syrian government had done?

It seems that the Western countries remain indifferent to the destiny of the civilians of Mosul, who have to hide in basements hoping that they won't be found by terrorists or be 'mistakenly' bombed by the US jets. Only a miracle could save them and bring them back to safety.
From Counterpunch

At a water cooler or Starbucks near you, speculating about Donald Trump's psychological state is America's newest cultural obsession. Is the president crazy? Or crazy like a fox?

I don't know. What I do know is that Trump's Democratic opponents are doomed if they think they can beat him by acting reasonable. Haven't they learned anything from Hillary's disastrous "when they go low, we go high" shtick?

Point of order: what follows are musings about political strategy, not an impassioned "Trump is evil and here's how to get rid of him" advisory column. If this makes you want to read no further, here's the big reveal: Democrats are congenital wimps.

Still here? Awesome.

This Week In Trump (TWIT): the president accused ex-president/drone killer/kitesurfer/eight-figure author Barack Obama of having his phones tapped during last year's election. Is he right?

I don't know. What I do know is that corporate media is ridiculing Trump for "offering no evidence." That phrase was in the New York Times' headline. Nice qualifier; a similar expression of uncertainty would have saved hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives during the Bush-Judy Miller days. "Citing no evidence," said the Los Angeles Times about Trump's claim . Since when does that corrupt paper care about evidence? If you can see past its crazy tone and placement on Twitter, the substance of Trump's charge is hardly outlandish.

True or false, Trump's accusation is a blockbuster. Whether by design or coincidence, the resulting tsunami of coverage wiped the question of whether attorney general Jeff Sessions lied under oath about meeting with the Russian ambassador and whether he made any untoward promises during those rendezvous.

Political observers have noticed a pattern in Trump's behavior. Whenever he's under fire, Trump does something bigger and more outrageous.

Magically, Trump's troubles go: poof!

Grab them by the p*ssy," Trump was caught saying on video just before his key second debate against Hillary Clinton. "You can do anything." Seasoned politicos, including your humble narrator, thought his campaign was all over. So Trump invited three women who'd accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct to attend the debate. It was a gangster move. A WWE move. And no one could stop talking about it.

Goodbye PussyGate, hello White House!

Again, I'm not weighing in on Trump or his policies here. This is about politics and human psychology and how Trump understands them better than the Democrats.

It has been suggested to me by frustrated Democrats and progressives that Americans should be reminded that the Real Issue is Jeff Sessions' lying about Russia. They say that the media ought to ignore Trump's accusation against Obama.

Sorry, guys. That won't work.

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Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Rob explores the difference between a natural, organic, bottom-up connection consciousness and our corporately imposed top-down hierarchical collective consciousness. What Rob is speaking about is the difference between an artificial and ultimately stagnate way of organizing the world and a natural, organic growth, which starts with a seed, sends downs roots and sends up shoots which blossom. By returning to a Nature-based theory of connection, the Bottom-Up revolution brings us back into alignment with Earths laws, returning humanity to its place in creation. Like a good gardener, Rob works into the soil of his thesis different voices that exemplify how this Bottom-Up revolution is expanding in politics, business, religion, personal self-awareness and story. And he places technology where it belongsas a tool to further our connection consciousness, not an end in itself. The bottom-up revolution is about democracy finally living up to its original ideals, where we the people decide what we need from our society."



Cathy Pagano, author of Wisdoms Daughters: How Women Can Change the World
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Bottom-Up is a direct and logical look at how we live our lives, conduct our business, manage our societies, and, most importantly, communicate with each other. Author Rob Kall explains it all in plain English. But don't let the readability of this book fool you into thinking that it's not important. Kall cuts to the heart of the most critical issues in communication today. This book is as important as game theory. And people will take notice."



John Kiriakou, former CIA officer and author of The Reluctant Spy and Doing Time Like a Spy
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Rob Kall has certainly acquired the firsthand experiences and knowledge gained through interviews to deliver some interesting insights about the "bottom-up" information revolution. Whereas the old 'top-down' systems created stove-pipes and excessive secrecy that blocked information sharing and led to the 'failure to connect the dots' before 9-11, the bottom-up approach should be the main fix. Kall's concept would seem to interface equally well with the founding fathers' idealism in setting forth their democratic theory of governance as with the realism that makes the multi-sourced, bottom-up Wikipedia work. As someone who shares my support of both government and corporate whistleblowing -- which is nothing more than encouraging greater horizontal sharing of information, I commend Rob Kall's important work on this topic."



Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent and named one of TIME Magazine's "Persons of the Year" in 2002)
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Even the most ardent Trump supporters admit that Donald Trump's behavior is, at best, unusual, or, at worst, bizarre and unhinged. While many of his supporters believe his behavior is somehow connected to the bluntness and political incorrectness called for to be a successful businessman, many of his opponents attribute his behavior to the more sinister and well-designed plan to transform our democracy into a fascist state. Other opponents see Trump's behavior as the manifestation of some form of mental illness. It is surprising that so many people find it credible to believe that Trump is mentally deranged rather than a budding fascist given the abundance of evidence that Trump is a fascist who is aligned with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Fascism is often used as a pejorative and equated with Nazism, although not all fascists have been Nazis. To lessen the derogatory sting of "fascism," some observers have substituted "authoritarianism," "totalitarianism," or "illiberal democracy" as less incendiary substitutes. Nazism is only one of the many different types of fascism. Compared to Nazism, for example, Italian fascism was syncretic and did not have a coherent ideology.

Characteristics of Fascism

While many analysts of fascism have identified various characteristics of fascism, there is a remarkable consistency in what they found. Two analysts, Henry Wallace and Umberto Eco, are of particular interest because their analyses were conducted during or shortly after World War II and were based on their personal experiences with fascism. Their explanations of the dynamics of fascism show the truth that Donald Trump and many of his Republican supporters are without question fascist.

Henry Wallace

Henry Wallace, Vice President of the U.S. (1941-1945) identified several characteristics that he believed described American fascists. Some of the characteristics he identified in 1944 include the following:

The dangerous American fascist is the man who wants " to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power;

A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religious, cultures, regions, or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends;

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The Millston Park Commission held its annual Chili/Soup Cook-off Feb. 18 at the Buck Stops Here Bar & Grill in Millston.

Eleven chili and seven soup entries were tasted by over 70 local residents who tasted and voted on their favorites.

There was a three-way tie for second place in the chili category: Jordon and Emma Coryell, taco chili; Vern Juneau, good tastin chili; and Sandi Katzenberg, spicy chicken chili. The winnerwas Rick Coryell for his Ragin Cajun chili.

In the soup category Jan Cottone took second place honors for her chicken dumpling soup, and the winner was April Handy for her potato cheese soup entry.

Over $2,100 was raised during the three-hour event that was held from noon to 3 p.m.

In addition to the cook-off there were donations made by local patrons, including $1,000 from the Woodland Riders Snowmobile Club of Millston, $150 from The Buck Stops Here Bar & Grill and $100 from Deli, Inc. (Mosser Lee). The day also included raffles with gift certificates donated from the Millston Kwik Mart and Al Muth Harley Davidson of Black River Falls. A silent auction and bake sale were also held.

The funds during the cook-off will be used for the annual fireworks display that is held every July 3 displayed over Lake Lee. The display is held on the 3rd as to not interfere with Fourth of July fireworks in Black River Falls and Tomah.

In addition to year-round fundraising at local establishments, the Millston Park Commission will be hosting a Chix-Q Monday, July 3 beginning at 4 p.m. in the park. A Battle of the Bars softball tournament will be hosted this year, including teams from the 400 Club, Evergreens Supper Club, The Buck Stops Here Bar & Grill and Trails End. Everyone is welcome.

To make a donation, mail contributions to the Millston Park Commission, P.O. Box 404, Millston, WI 54643.
Sessions lied in the hearing to confirm him as Attorney General as he volunteered that he had not met with Russians during the election season. Sessions served as a surrogate for Donald Trump as a primary in the Trump presidential campaign, during which time, Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Kislyak in July and September. If this were a "normal" Presidency, we would expect that the president would encourage Sessions to recuse himself in any examination of the campaign. Any President who cared to have his administration trusted would be eager to display that his chosen Attorney General projected integrity in all his dealings. Instead, Trump is seething. Trump is irate that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions recused himself from issues related to the investigation of the influence of Russians on the 2016 Presidential elections. We have to ask why.

As the Devil's advocate (Trump's advocate), Trump needs Attorney General Sessions to obstruct any comprehensive investigation into Russia's hack into the DNC computer system and email leaks to WikiLeaks. His election has already been illegitimated and additional information is becoming available about Russia's blackmail, social media trolling, fake news, and illegal contributions to undermine democratic elections. Trump's public pretense that Democratic cries of foul about a "Russian invasion" is a sign that Democrats are blinded by disbelief that they didn't win in November. If that were the case, he would want to refute this falsehood and not suffer additional damage from a weakened Attorney General.

Alternatively (or in addition to), It may be Trump, Ivanka, Jared, and the Steves (Bannon and Miller) have kept their many ties to Russian oligarchs and government officials hidden because of their participation in corrupt and illegal business practices. It seems that Trump has laundered money from Russian criminals, Iranian guards, and Vladimir Putin himself. They are rightly convinced that a full investigation of their activities would dispel the illusion that they are negotiating with the Russians for world peace and lead to their criminal prosecutions.

However, neither of these explanations holds water. If the Democrats are sore losers, or if the Trumpetts are engaged in the quest for world peace, the administration would welcome scrutiny and would be eager now to reveal all -- to shame the Democrats and to delight their base. Instead, Trump is seething, and the press is drip-drip-dripping details each day. Why are they lying about their connections with Russians at a time when there is widespread acceptance of the idea that Russia invaded our country by contaminating our election process?

Last Thursday, for example, Sessions acknowledged "inadvertently" misleading the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, on Monday, after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago with Trump, Sessions amended his testimony by asserting in a written statement that he had told the truth when he said he hadn't met with Russians. He justified this last lie to cover his first lie by saying that he did not meet with Russians as part of the campaign but as a member of the Senate (although the meeting was at the Republican Convention and his travel was not paid for by the government). After being caught in such a clear lie, many have called for Sessions to resign. But, Sessions has no intention of resigning because Trump (and Bannon) need him. (Sessions is not just a loyal Trump employee; he and Steve Bannon have long strategized how to restrict immigration, curtail voting access, and to clamp down on inner cities for the glory of white supremacy and the old South.)

Trump and his posse have engaged in wrong doing and are now being run down by the media and intelligence community. They hope that the lies they tell, will at least buy them some time so that they public will forget. They may be right unless the new stories based on leaks are buttressed by facts uncovered by public investigations.
From Wikileaks

Today, Tuesday 7 March 2017, WikiLeaks begins its new series of leaks on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Code-named "Vault 7" by WikiLeaks, it is the largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency.

The first full part of the series, "Year Zero," comprises 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virgina. It follows an introductory disclosure last month of CIA targeting French political parties and candidates in the lead up to the 2012 presidential election.

Recently, the CIA lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized "zero day" exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.

"Year Zero" introduces the scope and direction of the CIA's global covert hacking program, its malware arsenal and dozens of "zero day" weaponized exploits against a wide range of U.S. and European company products, include Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones.

Since 2001 the CIA has gained political and budgetary preeminence over the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). The CIA found itself building not just its now infamous drone fleet, but a very different type of covert, globe-spanning force -- its own substantial fleet of hackers. The agency's hacking division freed it from having to disclose its often controversial operations to the NSA (its primary bureaucratic rival) in order to draw on the NSA's hacking capacities.

By the end of 2016, the CIA's hacking division, which formally falls under the agency's Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI), had over 5,000 registered users and had produced more than a thousand hacking systems, trojans, viruses, and other "weaponized" malware. Such is the scale of the CIA's undertaking that by 2016, its hackers had utilized more code than that used to run Facebook. The CIA had created, in effect, its "own NSA" with even less accountability and without publicly answering the question as to whether such a massive budgetary spend on duplicating the capacities of a rival agency could be justified.

In a statement to WikiLeaks the source details policy questions that they say urgently need to be debated in public, including whether the CIA's hacking capabilities exceed its mandated powers and the problem of public oversight of the agency. The source wishes to initiate a public debate about the security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons.

Once a single cyber "weapon" is "loose" it can spread around the world in seconds, to be used by rival states, cyber mafia and teenage hackers alike.

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks editor, stated that "There is an extreme proliferation risk in the development of cyber 'weapons'. Comparisons can be drawn between the uncontrolled proliferation of such 'weapons,' which results from the inability to contain them combined with their high market value, and the global arms trade. But the significance of "Year Zero" goes well beyond the choice between cyberwar and cyberpeace. The disclosure is also exceptional from a political, legal and forensic perspective."

Wikileaks has carefully reviewed the "Year Zero" disclosure and published substantive CIA documentation while avoiding the distribution of "armed" cyberweapons until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA's program and how such "weapons" should [be] analyzed, disarmed and published.

Wikileaks has also decided to redact and anonymise some identifying information in "Year Zero" for in depth analysis. These redactions include ten of thousands of CIA targets and attack machines throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States. While we are aware of the imperfect results of any approach chosen, we remain committed to our publishing model and note that the quantity of published pages in "Vault 7" part one ("Year Zero") already eclipses the total number of pages published over the first three years of the Edward Snowden NSA leaks.

Analysis

CIA malware targets iPhone, Android, smart TVs CIA malware and hacking tools are built by EDG (Engineering Development Group), a software development group within CCI (Center for Cyber Intelligence), a department belonging to the CIA's DDI (Directorate for Digital Innovation). The DDI is one of the five major directorates of the CIA (see this organizational chart of the CIA for more details).

The EDG is responsible for the development, testing and operational support of all backdoors, exploits, malicious payloads, trojans, viruses and any other kind of malware used by the CIA in its covert operations world-wide.

The increasing sophistication of surveillance techniques has drawn comparisons with George Orwell's 1984, but "Weeping Angel," developed by the CIA's Embedded Devices Branch (EDB), which infests smart TVs, transforming them into covert microphones, is surely its most emblematic realization.

The attack against Samsung smart TVs was developed in cooperation with the United Kingdom's MI5/BTSS. After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a 'Fake-Off' mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on. In 'Fake-Off' mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server.

As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations. The CIA's Mobile Devices Branch (MDB) developed numerous attacks to remotely hack and control popular smart phones. Infected phones can be instructed to send the CIA the user's geolocation, audio and text communications as well as covertly activate the phone's camera and microphone.

Despite iPhone's minority share (14.5%) of the global smart phone market in 2016, a specialized unit in the CIA's Mobile Development Branch produces malware to infest, control and exfiltrate data from iPhones and other Apple products running iOS, such as iPads. CIA's arsenal includes numerous local and remote "zero days" developed by CIA or obtained from GCHQ, NSA, FBI or purchased from cyber arms contractors such as Baitshop. The disproportionate focus on iOS may be explained by the popularity of the iPhone among social, political, diplomatic and business elites.

A similar unit targets Google's Android which is used to run the majority of the world's smart phones (~85%) including Samsung, HTC and Sony. 1.15 billion Android powered phones were sold last year. "Year Zero" shows that as of 2016 the CIA had 24 "weaponized" Android "zero days" which it has developed itself and obtained from GCHQ, NSA and cyber arms contractors.

These techniques permit the CIA to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman by hacking the "smart" phones that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic before encryption is applied.

CIA malware targets Windows, OSx, Linux, routers

The CIA also runs a very substantial effort to infect and control Microsoft Windows users with its malware. This includes multiple local and remote weaponized "zero days", air gap jumping viruses such as "Hammer Drill" which infects software distributed on CD/DVDs, infectors for removable media such as USBs, systems to hide data in images or in covert disk areas ("Brutal Kangaroo") and to keep its malware infestations going.

Many of these infection efforts are pulled together by the CIA's Automated Implant Branch (AIB), which has developed several attack systems for automated infestation and control of CIA malware, such as "Assassin" and "Medusa."

Attacks against Internet infrastructure and webservers are developed by the CIA's Network Devices Branch (NDB).

The CIA has developed automated multi-platform malware attack and control systems covering Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, Linux and more, such as EDB's "HIVE" and the related "Cutthroat" and "Swindle" tools, which are described in the examples section below.

CIA 'hoarded' vulnerabilities ("zero days")

In the wake of Edward Snowden's leaks about the NSA, the U.S. technology industry secured a commitment from the Obama administration that the executive would disclose on an ongoing basis -- rather than hoard -- serious vulnerabilities, exploits, bugs or "zero days" to Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other US-based manufacturers.

Serious vulnerabilities not disclosed to the manufacturers places huge swathes of the population and critical infrastructure at risk to foreign intelligence or cyber criminals who independently discover or hear rumors of the vulnerability. If the CIA can discover such vulnerabilities so can others.

The U.S. government's commitment to the Vulnerabilities Equities Process came after significant lobbying by US technology companies, who risk losing their share of the global market over real and perceived hidden vulnerabilities. The government stated that it would disclose all pervasive vulnerabilities discovered after 2010 on an ongoing basis.

"Year Zero" documents show that the CIA breached the Obama administration's commitments. Many of the vulnerabilities used in the CIA's cyber arsenal are pervasive and some may already have been found by rival intelligence agencies or cyber criminals.

As an example, specific CIA malware revealed in "Year Zero" is able to penetrate, infest and control both the Android phone and iPhone software that runs or has run presidential Twitter accounts. The CIA attacks this software by using undisclosed security vulnerabilities ("zero days") possessed by the CIA but if the CIA can hack these phones then so can everyone else who has obtained or discovered the vulnerability. As long as the CIA keeps these vulnerabilities concealed from Apple and Google (who make the phones) they will not be fixed, and the phones will remain hackable.

The same vulnerabilities exist for the population at large, including the U.S. Cabinet, Congress, top CEOs, system administrators, security officers and engineers. By hiding these security flaws from manufacturers like Apple and Google the CIA ensures that it can hack everyone &mdsh; at the expense of leaving everyone hackable.

"Cyberwar" programs are a serious proliferation risk

Cyber "weapons" are not possible to keep under effective control. While nuclear proliferation has been restrained by the enormous costs and visible infrastructure involved in assembling enough fissile material to produce a critical nuclear mass, cyber "weapons," once developed, are very hard to retain.

Cyber "weapons" are in fact just computer programs which can be pirated like any other. Since they are entirely comprised of information they can be copied quickly with no marginal cost.

Securing such "weapons" is particularly difficult since the same people who develop and use them have the skills to exfiltrate copies without leaving traces -- sometimes by using the very same "weapons" against the organizations that contain them. There are substantial price incentives for government hackers and consultants to obtain copies since there is a global "vulnerability market" that will pay hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for copies of such "weapons." Similarly, contractors and companies who obtain such "weapons" sometimes use them for their own purposes, obtaining advantage over their competitors in selling "hacking" services.

Over the last three years the United States intelligence sector, which consists of government agencies such as the CIA and NSA and their contractors, such as Booz Allan Hamilton, has been subject to unprecedented series of data exfiltrations by its own workers.

A number of intelligence community members not yet publicly named have been arrested or subject to federal criminal investigations in separate incidents.

Most visibly, on February 8, 2017 a U.S. federal grand jury indicted Harold T. Martin III with 20 counts of mishandling classified information. The Department of Justice alleged that it seized some 50,000 gigabytes of information from Harold T. Martin III that he had obtained from classified programs at NSA and CIA, including the source code for numerous hacking tools.

Once a single cyber "weapon" is "loose" it can spread around the world in seconds, to be used by peer states, cyber mafia and teenage hackers alike.

U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt is a covert CIA hacker base

In addition to its operations in Langley, Virginia the CIA also uses the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt as a covert base for its hackers covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

CIA hackers operating out of the Frankfurt consulate ("Center for Cyber Intelligence Europe" or CCIE) are given diplomatic ("black") passports and State Department cover. The instructions for incoming CIA hackers make Germany's counter-intelligence efforts appear inconsequential: "Breeze through German Customs because you have your cover-for-action story down pat, and all they did was stamp your passport."

Your Cover Story (for this trip)

Q: Why are you here?

A: Supporting technical consultations at the Consulate.

Two earlier WikiLeaks publications give further detail on CIA approaches to customs and secondary screening procedures.

Once in Frankfurt CIA hackers can travel without further border checks to the 25 European countries that are part of the Shengen open border area -- including France, Italy and Switzerland.

A number of the CIA's electronic attack methods are designed for physical proximity. These attack methods are able to penetrate high security networks that are disconnected from the internet, such as police record database. In these cases, a CIA officer, agent or allied intelligence officer acting under instructions, physically infiltrates the targeted workplace. The attacker is provided with a USB containing malware developed for the CIA for this purpose, which is inserted into the targeted computer. The attacker then infects and exfiltrates data to removable media. For example, the CIA attack system Fine Dining, provides 24 decoy applications for CIA spies to use. To witnesses, the spy appears to be running a program showing videos (e.g VLC), presenting slides (Prezi), playing a computer game (Breakout2, 2048) or even running a fake virus scanner (Kaspersky, McAfee, Sophos). But while the decoy application is on the screen, the underlaying system is automatically infected and ransacked.

How the CIA dramatically increased proliferation risks

In what is surely one of the most astounding intelligence own goals in living memory, the CIA structured its classification regime such that for the most market valuable part of "Vault 7" -- the CIA's weaponized malware (implants + zero days), Listening Posts (LP), and Command and Control (C2) systems -- the agency has little legal recourse.

The CIA made these systems unclassified.

Why the CIA chose to make its cyberarsenal unclassified reveals how concepts developed for military use do not easily crossover to the "battlefield" of cyber "war."

To attack its targets, the CIA usually requires that its implants communicate with their control programs over the internet. If CIA implants, Command & Control and Listening Post software were classified, then CIA officers could be prosecuted or dismissed for violating rules that prohibit placing classified information onto the Internet. Consequently the CIA has secretly made most of its cyber spying/war code unclassified. The U.S. government is not able to assert copyright either, due to restrictions in the U.S. Constitution. This means that cyber "arms" manufactures and computer hackers can freely "pirate" these "weapons" if they are obtained. The CIA has primarily had to rely on obfuscation to protect its malware secrets.

Conventional weapons such as missiles may be fired at the enemy (i.e., into an unsecured area). Proximity to or impact with the target detonates the ordnance including its classified parts. Hence military personnel do not violate classification rules by firing ordnance with classified parts. Ordnance will likely explode. If it does not, that is not the operator's intent.

Over the last decade U.S. hacking operations have been increasingly dressed up in military jargon to tap into Department of Defense funding streams. For instance, attempted "malware injections" (commercial jargon) or "implant drops" (NSA jargon) are being called "fires" as if a weapon was being fired. However the analogy is questionable.

Unlike bullets, bombs or missiles, most CIA malware is designed to live for days or even years after it has reached its "target." CIA malware does not "explode on impact" but rather permanently infests its target. In order to infect target's device, copies of the malware must be placed on the target's devices, giving physical possession of the malware to the target. To exfiltrate data back to the CIA or to await further instructions the malware must communicate with CIA Command & Control (C2) systems placed on internet connected servers. But such servers are typically not approved to hold classified information, so CIA command and control systems are also made unclassified.

A successful "attack" on a target's computer system is more like a series of complex stock maneuvers in a hostile take-over bid or the careful planting of rumors in order to gain control over an organization's leadership rather than the firing of a weapons system. If there is a military analogy to be made, the infestation of a target is perhaps akin to the execution of a whole series of military maneuvers against the target's territory including observation, infiltration, occupation and exploitation.

Evading forensics and anti-virus

A series of standards lay out CIA malware infestation patterns which are likely to assist forensic crime scene investigators as well as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Nokia, Blackberry, Siemens and anti-virus companies attribute and defend against attacks.

"Tradecraft DO's and DON'Ts" contains CIA rules on how its malware should be written to avoid fingerprints implicating the "CIA, US government, or its witting partner companies" in "forensic review." Similar secret standards cover the use of encryption to hide CIA hacker and malware communication (pdf), describing targets & exfiltrated data (pdf) as well as executing payloads (pdf) and persisting (pdf) in the target's machines over time.

CIA hackers developed successful attacks against most well known anti-virus programs. These are documented in AV defeats, Personal Security Products, Detecting and defeating PSPs and PSP/Debugger/RE Avoidance. For example, Comodo was defeated by CIA malware placing itself in the Window's "Recycle Bin". While Comodo 6.x has a "Gaping Hole of DOOM".

CIA hackers discussed what the NSA's "Equation Group" hackers did wrong and how the CIA's malware makers could avoid similar exposure.

Examples

The CIA's Engineering Development Group (EDG) management system contains around 500 different projects (only some of which are documented by "Year Zero") each with their own sub-projects, malware and hacker tools.

The majority of these projects relate to tools that are used for penetration, infestation ("implanting"), control, and exfiltration.

Another branch of development focuses on the development and operation of Listening Posts (LP) and Command and Control (C2) systems used to communicate with and control CIA implants; special projects are used to target specific hardware from routers to smart TVs.

Some example projects are described below, but see the table of contents for the full list of projects described by WikiLeaks' "Year Zero."

UMBRAGE

The CIA's hand crafted hacking techniques pose a problem for the agency. Each technique it has created forms a "fingerprint" that can be used by forensic investigators to attribute multiple different attacks to the same entity.

This is analogous to finding the same distinctive knife wound on multiple separate murder victims. The unique wounding style creates suspicion that a single murderer is responsible. As soon one murder in the set is solved then the other murders also find likely attribution.

The CIA's Remote Devices Branch's UMBRAGE group collects and maintains a substantial library of attack techniques "stolen" from malware produced in other states including the Russian Federation.

With UMBRAGE and related projects the CIA cannot only increase its total number of attack types but also misdirect attribution by leaving behind the "fingerprints" of the groups that the attack techniques were stolen from.

UMBRAGE components cover keyloggers, password collection, webcam capture, data destruction, persistence, privilege escalation, stealth, anti-virus (PSP) avoidance and survey techniques.

Fine Dining

Fine Dining comes with a standardized questionnaire i.e., menu that CIA case officers fill out. The questionnaire is used by the agency's OSB (Operational Support Branch) to transform the requests of case officers into technical requirements for hacking attacks (typically "exfiltrating" information from computer systems) for specific operations. The questionnaire allows the OSB to identify how to adapt existing tools for the operation, and communicate this to CIA malware configuration staff. The OSB functions as the interface between CIA operational staff and the relevant technical support staff.

Among the list of possible targets of the collection are "Asset," "Liason Asset," "System Administrator," "Foreign Information Operations," "Foreign Intelligence Agencies" and "Foreign Government Entities." Notably absent is any reference to extremists or transnational criminals. The "Case Officer" is also asked to specify the environment of the target like the type of computer, operating system used, Internet connectivity and installed anti-virus utilities (PSPs) as well as a list of file types to be exfiltrated like Office documents, audio, video, images or custom file types. The "menu" also asks for information if recurring access to the target is possible and how long unobserved access to the computer can be maintained. This information is used by the CIA's "JQJIMPROVISE" software (see below) to configure a set of CIA malware suited to the specific needs of an operation.

Improvise (JQJIMPROVISE)

"Improvise" is a toolset for configuration, post-processing, payload setup and execution vector selection for survey/exfiltration tools supporting all major operating systems like Windows (Bartender), MacOS (JukeBox) and Linux (DanceFloor). Its configuration utilities like Margarita allows the NOC (Network Operation Center) to customize tools based on requirements from "Fine Dining" questionairies.

HIVE

HIVE is a multi-platform CIA malware suite and its associated control software. The project provides customizable implants for Windows, Solaris, MikroTik (used in internet routers) and Linux platforms and a Listening Post (LP)/Command and Control (C2) infrastructure to communicate with these implants.

The implants are configured to communicate via HTTPS with the webserver of a cover domain; each operation utilizing these implants has a separate cover domain and the infrastructure can handle any number of cover domains.

Each cover domain resolves to an IP address that is located at a commercial VPS (Virtual Private Server) provider. The public-facing server forwards all incoming traffic via a VPN to a "Blot" server that handles actual connection requests from clients. It is set up for optional SSL client authentication: if a client sends a valid client certificate (only implants can do that), the connection is forwarded to the "Honeycomb" toolserver that communicates with the implant; if a valid certificate is missing (which is the case if someone tries to open the cover domain website by accident), the traffic is forwarded to a cover server that delivers an unsuspicious looking website.

The Honeycomb toolserver receives exfiltrated information from the implant; an operator can also task the implant to execute jobs on the target computer, so the toolserver acts as a C2 (command and control) server for the implant.

Similar functionality (though limited to Windows) is provided by the RickBobby project.

See the classified user and developer guides for HIVE.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why now?

WikiLeaks published as soon as its verification and analysis were ready.

In Febuary the Trump administration has issued an Executive Order calling for a "Cyberwar" review to be prepared within 30 days.

While the review increases the timeliness and relevance of the publication it did not play a role in setting the publication date.

Redactions

Names, email addresses and external IP addresses have been redacted in the released pages (70,875 redactions in total) until further analysis is complete.

1. Over-redaction: Some items may have been redacted that are not employees, contractors, targets or otherwise related to the agency, but are, for example, authors of documentation for otherwise public projects that are used by the agency.

2. Identity vs. person: the redacted names are replaced by user IDs (numbers) to allow readers to assign multiple pages to a single author. Given the redaction process used a single person may be represented by more than one assigned identifier but no identifier refers to more than one real person.

3. Archive attachments (zip, tar.gz, ...) are replaced with a PDF listing all the file names in the archive. As the archive content is assessed it may be made available; until then the archive is redacted.

4. Attachments with other binary content are replaced by a hex dump of the content to prevent accidental invocation of binaries that may have been infected with weaponized CIA malware. As the content is assessed it may be made available; until then the content is redacted.

5. The tens of thousands of routable IP addresses references (including more than 22 thousand within the United States) that correspond to possible targets, CIA covert listening post servers, intermediary and test systems, are redacted for further exclusive investigation.

6. Binary files of non-public origin are only available as dumps to prevent accidental invocation of CIA malware infected binaries.

Organizational Chart



Since the organizational structure of the CIA below the level of Directorates is not public, the placement of the EDG and its branches within the org chart of the agency is reconstructed from information contained in the documents released so far. It is intended to be used as a rough outline of the internal organization; please be aware that the reconstructed org chart is incomplete and that internal reorganizations occur frequently.

Wiki pages

"Year Zero" contains 7,818 web pages with 943 attachments from the internal development groupware. The software used for this purpose is called Confluence, a proprietary software from Atlassian. Webpages in this system (like in Wikipedia) have a version history that can provide interesting insights on how a document evolved over time; the 7,818 documents include these page histories for 1,136 latest versions.

The order of named pages within each level is determined by date (oldest first). Page content is not present if it was originally dynamically created by the Confluence software (as indicated on the re-constructed page).

What time period is covered?

The years 2013 to 2016. The sort order of the pages within each level is determined by date (oldest first).

WikiLeaks has obtained the CIA's creation/last modification date for each page but these do not yet appear for technical reasons. Usually the date can be discerned or approximated from the content and the page order. If it is critical to know the exact time/date contact WikiLeaks.

What is "Vault 7"?

"Vault 7" is a substantial collection of material about CIA activities obtained by WikiLeaks.

When was each part of "Vault 7" obtained?

Part one was obtained recently and covers through 2016. Details on the other parts will be available at the time of publication.

Is each part of "Vault 7" from a different source?

Details on the other parts will be available at the time of publication.

What is the total size of "Vault 7"?

The series is the largest intelligence publication in history.

How did WikiLeaks obtain each part of "Vault 7"?

Sources trust WikiLeaks to not reveal information that might help identify them.

Isn't WikiLeaks worried that the CIA will act against its staff to stop the series?

No. That would be certainly counter-productive.

Has WikiLeaks already "mined" all the best stories?

No. WikiLeaks has intentionally not written up hundreds of impactful stories to encourage others to find them and so create expertise in the area for subsequent parts in the series. They're there. Look. Those who demonstrate journalistic excellence may be considered for early access to future parts.

Won't other journalists find all the best stories before me?
From Smirking Chimp



Trump's lies and omissions

(Image by nuclear-news.net) Details DMCA



We face a very serious political problem in this country, and that problem is manifested in a post written yesterday by Amber Phillips of The Washington Post. In her piece, Phillips criticizes me for lowering the state of our political discourse, because I accused the president of being a "liar."

What should a United States senator, or any citizen, do if the president is a liar? Does ignoring this reality benefit the American people? Do we make a bad situation worse by disrespecting the president of the United States? Or do we have an obligation to say that he is a liar to protect America's standing in the world and people's trust in our institutions?

I happen to strongly believe in civil political discourse. The vast majority of people in Congress who hold views different than mine are not liars. It is critical we have strong, fact-based debates on the important issues facing our country and that we respect people who come to different conclusions. In a democracy people will always have honestly held different points of view.

But how does one respond to a president who has complete disregard for reality and who makes assertions heard by billions of people around the world that have no basis in fact?

In her post, Phillips reprints five tweets that I sent out yesterday as examples of "the sorry state of political discourse right now."

Here they are:

One of my great concerns is that there undoubtedly will be major crises facing the United States and the global community during Trump's tenure as president. If Trump lies over and over again what kind of credibility will he, or the United States, have when we need to bring countries around the world together to respond to those crises? How many people in our country and other countries will think that Trump is just lying one more time?

Trump said three to five million people voted illegally in the last election. This is a preposterous and dangerous allegation which intentionally opens the floodgates for an increase in voter suppression efforts. Amber Phillips herself previously wrote, "There is just no evidence of voter fraud. Why launch an investigation into something that nearly everyone in U.S. politics -- save one notable exception -- doesn't believe warrants an investigation?"

Trump claimed that his victory "was the biggest electoral college win since Ronald Reagan." Anyone with access to Google could see that this is factually incorrect. George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama all had bigger electoral margins of victory than Trump.

And then there are the trivial lies. Trump stated "it looked like a million and a half people" at his inauguration. Who cares? But none of the people who are trained to estimate crowd size believe that one and a half million people attended his inauguration.

More importantly, Trump helped lead a baseless and dangerous attack against the legitimacy of Barack Obama's presidency by suggesting over and over again that Obama was not born in the United States and therefore not eligible to become president. This was not a disagreement with Obama over policy. It was a deliberate and dishonest effort to appeal to racist sentiment in this country and deny the right of our first African-American president to serve.

Lastly, my tweet which states that the United States will not be respected or taken seriously around the world if Trump continues to shamelessly lie is self-evident. We are the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth. If we have a president who is not taken seriously by people throughout the world because of his continuous lies, our international standing will clearly suffer.

I find it interesting that Ms. Phillips did not take issue with my facts. Her complaint appears to be that it is improper for a United States senator to state the obvious. And that is that we have a president who either lies intentionally or, even more frighteningly, does not know the difference between lies and truth.

What do you think?

It is easy to know how we respond to a president with whom we disagree on many, many issues. I disagree with Trump's support for repealing the Affordable Care Act. I disagree with Trump's plan to give huge tax breaks to billionaires. I disagree with Trump's appointment of an anti-environmental EPA administrator. I disagree with Trump's appointments of major Wall Street executives to key economic positions and his plans to loosen regulations on Wall Street designed to protect consumers. And on and on and on! These strong policy disagreements are a normal part of the political process. He has his views. I have mine.

But how do we deal with a president who makes statements that reverberate around our country and the world that are not based on fact or evidence? What is the appropriate way to respond to that? And if the media and political leaders fail to call lies what they are, are they then guilty of misleading the public?

What are your views on this extremely important issue? I look forward to your comments.
This is the third part of Erik Irmisch's winter road trip. Last stop: Barcelona.After the intensive training session in Italy, YT team rider Erik Irmisch and filmer Ralf Schupp headed off to Spain (they were up with the sun!). Ahead of them, a 10-hours drive. Its a long way to go and a long way from home, but they were rewarded with incredible views of the many beautiful landscapes along the journey. When they arrived, they arranged to meet up at La Poma Bike Park, which was buffed out to a shine. After a few hot laps, it was time to check out the home of Bienve, Adolf, and Andreu.The guys showed their local riding spots on their CAPRA and TUES. They had a great time together, and they also took the opportunity to build up two fresh new TUES for Andreunot forgetting to enjoy the odd evening beer or two. All in all it was a great trip with awesome weather, excellent food, and good training for the upcoming season. Thanks to Andreu, Bienve, Luis, Adolf, Lisa and all the other locos who came to hang out. Your hospitality is very much appreciated!Riders: Andreu Lacondeguy, Erik Irmisch, Adolf Silva, Bienve Aguado, Luis LacondeguyShot by: The sure shot / Ralf Schupp
The PokerStars Festival Rozvadov Kicks Off This Week

March 08, 2017 Paul Seaton

The Kings Casino in Rozvadov welcomed players from across Europe to the Czech Republic this week for the latest PokerStars Festival.

PokerNews coverage of the festival kicks off with the 5,300 Kings High Roller tournament March 8 and March 9.

The 1,100 Main Event is the centerpiece of the festival, with five full days of play March 9 through 13. The PokerStars Festival in London produced English winners from both its 2,200 High Roller event (Joe Johnson) and the 990 Main Event, where Rehman Kassam topped a field of 944 players by winning $111,638.

The only player from the Czech Republic to cash in that Main Event was Matous Houzvicek, who finished 114th for $2,112. The locals can surely expect a better return in their home country.

PokerNews coverage of PokerStars Festival in Rozvadov will close out after the 2,200 High Roller March 12 and 13, running parallel with the final two days of the Main Event. PokerNews will have live reporting throughout the tournament with the usual features, tournament updates and photographs to bring you closer to the action than ever before.

Kings Casino

Rozvadov 7, 34806 Rozvadov

Czech Republic

Dress code: Casual, but no sportswear.

Minimum age: 18 years+

Must bring a valid government issued passport or ID to participate

Opening hours: 24 hours a day, every day of the year

If Rozvadovs previous tournaments, along with the growing presence of Kings Casino, is a guide, then the latest PokerStars festival will be a roaring success.

Leon Tsoukernik

Part of the warmth that comes from Rozvadovs welcome is extended directly from the famous owner of Kings Casino, Leon Tsoukernik. Despite sitting seventh on the all-time money list for players from the Czech Republic, Tsoukernik describes himself as a poker-oriented casino owner and an occasional player as he told us when we met him back in 2015.

The growth of Kings as a European poker resort since then has been nothing short of phenomenal. Kings is often listed as a favorite venue of poker players in interviews, and not just for tournaments. Cash games are extremely busy all year round. The number of cash games that have been streamed live from Kings has gone up dramatically in the last 18 months, attracting more and more players to the venue.

There is an easy  and accurate  parallel to be drawn between the rise of Kings in the Czech Republic and other established European poker venues such as Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham, England. Both casinos are run with the attitude of offering spectacular guarantees to casual and professional poker players alike.

These tournaments might flirt with overlays, but the possibility of added money being in the prize pools is secondary to building a reputation. That kind of generosity from owners Rob Yong (Dusk Till Dawn) and Tsoukernik in Rozvadov keeps players coming back for more. This week should do even more to enhance the already strong regard poker players have for Kings Casino.

Leon Tsoukernik - EPT 13 Prague 50,000 Super High Roller Winner

Martin Kabrhel

One of the highest profile players who will be expected to be in attendance will be Martin Kabhrel. Kabrhel currently sits third in the all-time money list for players from the Czech Republic.

Kabrhel came second in the most recent 5,300 High Roller at the beginning of February. He won $32,111 after leaving the title to German player [Removed:291] heads up. Kabrhel enjoys playing in his native country, and especially at Kings Casino. He enjoyed five cashes in the final two months of 2016, including winning the 8,500 Super High Roller for $53,490 in November.

Rank Player Winnings 1 Martin Staszko $6,168,123 2 Vojtech Ruzicka $3,213,594 3 Martin Kabrhel $2,104,302 4 Jan Skampa $1,479,958 5 Marti Hruby $962,003 6 Ondrej Vinklarek $945,331 7 Leon Tsoukernik $882,262 8 Jiri Horak $835,058 9 Tomas Junek $692,223 10 Michal Mrakes $563,485

Martin Kabrhel

Check out PokerNews' live reporting now for updates.
Focus on helping refugee women find hope and stability with viable opportunities and solutions amid crisis

By: Malteser International Americas

www. orderofmaltarelief. org

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-- On, Malteser International Americas, an affiliate of Malteser International, the humanitarian relief agency of the Order of Malta, today announced that it will lead a side-panel at the United Nations (UN) on, centered on helping women to find hope and opportunity in the midst of the global refugee crisis.The panel entitledwill take place at the Ex-Press Bar at the UN (3rd Flr. NW corner of the General Assembly Building), and is scheduled during theHeading up the panel are: Ravi Tripptrap, Executive Director,; Ninette Kelley, Director of the New York Office,; H.E. Mr. Odo Tevi,; James Wiley, COO,; and Amal, aThese global humanitarian leaders will offer a hard look into the world of female refugees, present their experience empowering refugee women, and sharing their global relief efforts and solutions, which lead to opportunity and hope for women in countries most challenged with refugees and internally displaced people (IDP).Malteser International's empoweringk program in Middle Eastern Refugee Camps will be highlighted. The program offers trainings and cash-for-work for unskilled females, while offering renewed stability, better livelihoods and stronger family structure."Each woman in a refugee camp has a deeply personal story, which is oftentimes accompanied by unconscionable tragedy. Many have lost children and family members. The lives of these mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives are filled with anguish, and their dignity has been stripped from them. Malteser International'sprogram empowers women and offers them a life-saving opportunity to create stability and normalcy for themselves  and their families  within the camps," said Ravi Tripptrap, Executive Director, Malteser International Americas Malteser International has been operating health care programs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq since August 2014, providing emergency relief for refugees, IDPs, and entire host communities.The panel will also host a refugee named Amal who will share her harrowing experience of life on-the-run after she fled her country when her husband was captured, injured, and their safety was threatened."When you are a refugee you have to leave your whole world behind. In Sudan we were not safe, and we had to run away. We had to leave our home and our jobs and flee to Egypt with our son, but even there we were not safe. I felt alone and scared because my husband was very sick, and my son was only 4 years old. We refugee women have to work hard to keep our hope, even if it is as small as a match. We have to kindle that little flame, to keep holding light in the midst of darkness," said Amal.Co-leading the panel is the Permanent Observer Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations. The Order of Malta provides aid to refugees along the Balkan route, in European countries where it provides housing and assimilation assistance, and in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, where many lives fleeing by sea have been saved."Respect for human rights today is lower than at any time since the adoption of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Order of Malta strongly believes that every human has rights and that is why we ardently work around the globe to support migrants and refugees," said Oscar R. de Rojas, Ambassador and Permanent Observer Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the UN.For more than 60 years the UN's High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) has protected and promoted the rights of tens of millions of refugees and displaced people. Ninette Kelley, Director of the New York Office, UNHCR, will offer global insight on the refugee crisis and how the agency works to better the lives of women in camps around the world."UNHCR's work builds upon the resilience and strength of refugee and displaced women, helping them to improve their lives, as well as those of their children, families and communities, every single day," said Ninette Kelley.While violence, conflict and persecution lead the reasons children and families around the globe flee their countries, climate change is another devastating cause. In 2005, the UN declared the inhabitants of the village of Lataw on Vanuatu to be the Earth's first climate refugees. As a result, the country of Vanuatu and H.E. Mr. Odo Tevi, Ambassador of Vanuatu to the United Nations, have been vocal about refugees and displaced people due to climate change and natural disasters."In times of crisis women and girls are mostly forgotten. Lending a hand to women and girls during difficult times not only saves them, but it provides hope for the whole family," said Ambassador Tevi.The panel is open to the public, and interested attendees mustand include their full name, contact information, and confirmation of attendance in an email to: contact@malteser- international.org Registration/sign-up for this event is required due to limited seating capacity.
Urgent Care Hawaii  Kailua will now be open seven days a week, and Waikiki will have expanded hours.

By: Urgent Care Hawaii

1 2 Urgent Care Hawaii Urgent Care Hawaii CEO, Donna Schmidt

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-- Urgent Care Hawaii announces new expanded hours at two of its new clinics. Starting March 12, the Kailua clinic will be open seven days a week: Monday through Friday 8 AM to 6 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Starting March 13, the Waikiki clinic will be open longer hours: Monday through Friday 8 AM to 6 PM.Medical Director, Pani Shoja, M.D., remarks, "We are looking forward to expanding the hours at our clinics to better serve our patients with fast, friendly, family care. People can walk in and even go online and reserve their space through our new easy 'ZipPASS' system at ucarehi.com."Urgent Care Hawaii educates patients about when they should use urgent care instead of an emergency room. CEO Donna Schmidt remarks, "What we bring into the community is high acuity urgent care which means we care for and treat patients with complex medical problems. We offer EKGs, x-rays, lab tests, splinting for sprains, IV therapy for dehydration, and more."Urgent Care Hawaii also provides Occupational Medicine Services at each of its four locations: Waikiki, Kailua, Kapolei and Pearl City. Dr. Shoja adds, "Employees receive the very best in state-of-the-art medical care that is fast, friendly and affordable. From physicals to lab tests, our goal is to get patients in and out comfortably and quickly without sacrificing the quality of medical care."The Urgent Care Hawaii Clinics are located at: Waikiki, 1860 Ala Moana Blvd; Pearl City Clinic, 1245 Kuala Street; Kapolei, 890 Kamokila Blvd; and Kailua, 660 Kailua Rd. For more information about Urgent Care Hawaii services, locations and hours, please call 808-456-CARE (2273) or visit http://www.ucarehi.com : Urgent Care Hawaii medical clinics provide immediate and urgent medical care on Oahu for Pearl City, Honolulu, Waikiki, Waipahu, Aiea, Kapolei, Kunia, Waipio, Makakilo, Halawa, Mililani, Kailua and Ewa Beach. The clinics provide quick and affordable options for people needing immediate medical care and treatment for common or everyday health problems seven days a week  no appointments are necessary. The Pearl City location is certified by The Urgent Care Association of America. Member of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, Kailua Chamber of Commerce, Kapolei Chamber of Commerce, and Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association.
By: Connect Malaysia

Contact

Joe Perri & Associates

***@joeperri.com.au Joe Perri & Associates

End

--principal consultant Mr Joe Perri andfounder Dr Tom Verghese have announced an extensive cross-cultural workshop for SMEs, with a focus on the importance of understanding Malaysian culture and its impact on the commercial success of Australian business owners. The workshop will be held on Saturday May 6 2017.Mr Perri commented, "Malaysia is one of Australia's top ten trading partners and the prospects for business has provided a beacon for SMEs to expand their operations into Malaysia. The country's strategic geographical position and access to the markets of ASEAN is a further incentive for SMEs.""However, many ventures have been cut short by cross cultural blunders in matters such as language, etiquette, non-verbal communication and general indifference to local customs and norms," affirmed Mr Perri.Dr Verghese added, "A poor understanding and appreciation of Malaysian culture might on the surface appear trivial  even humorous by Aussie standards, but the cultural mistakes made in areas such as management, marketing, advertising and during negotiations have resulted in devastating financial consequences"Cultural Synergies and Connect Malaysia have joined forces to provide a workshop on this subject on Saturday May 6. Theworkshop is supported by, Malaysia's external trade agency. Theoffice at 432 St Kilda Road Melbourne will be the venue for the event.MATRADE Director Ms Noor Hayati said, "Malaysia is a multi-cultural and harmonious society comprising three distinct groups  native Malays, as well as large populations of Chinese and Indians.""Like Australia, Malaysian SMEs play a vital role within the nation's economy with the sector comprising nearly 97.3% of the country's businesses. We are very pleased to support initiatives that bring Malaysian and Australian SMEs together to develop long-term mutually beneficial commercial undertakings,"said Ms Hayati.The workshop program has been developed and will be presented by Malaysian-born Dr Tom Verghese, an internationally renowned expert, consultant author and main platform/workshop presenter on cross cultural awareness and Cultural Intelligence (CQ).To illustrate some often-misunderstood cultural mistakes that will be covered in the workshop, Dr Verghese provided some examples:- Business cards are exchanged after the initial introductions.- Use two hands or the right hand only to exchange business cards.- Examine business cards you receive before putting them away as the respect you show someone's business card reflects the respect you will show them in business.- Never write on someone's card in their presence.Malays, Chinese and Indians all strive to avoid shame both in public and private. This is known as "Face" and embraces an individual's qualities such as a good name, character, and being held in esteem by one's peers.Face can be lost by putting someone on the spot, criticizing, insulting, challenging someone in authority, refusing a request, not keeping promises or disagreeing publicly with someone.If invited to someone's home for a meal, bring the hostess pastries or good quality chocolates, but they must be Halal and definitely no alcohol. Present the gifts with the right hand only or both hands.Do not wrap the gifts in white wrapping paper as it symbolizes death and never give the children toy dogs or pigs.- The best approach is always friendly, yet formal.- Within a team environment, introduce the most important/senior person first.- Foreign men should always wait for a Malaysian woman to extend their hand. Similarly, women should also wait for a Malaysian man to extend his hand.- It is important to use professional titles i.e. doctor, professor, Dato, etc. Malays and Indians use titles with their first name while Chinese use titles with their surname.Theworkshop will conclude with presentations from representatives from banking, government and business facilitation consultancies. The cost will be $240, and include lunch and refreshment breaks."Being able to work in cross cultural environments is a necessary skill for SMEs and the intensive program developed by Dr Verghese will assist business owners to understand the Malaysian culture and importance of cross-cultural intelligence for business success," concluded Mr Perri.For enquiries and registration please contact Cultural Synergies by email at enquiries@culturalsynergies.com or telephone 03 9909 7456Issued jointly by Connect Malaysia & Cultural SynergiesMedia enquiries Mr. Joe PerriConnect MalaysiaMobile: +61 412 112 545Email: jperri@joeperri.com.au
New Epicor MEA Regional Vice President Monzer Tohme to Bolster Growth

By: Epicor

Epicor Logo

Contact

Vernon Saldanha

Procre8

***@procre8.biz Vernon SaldanhaProcre8

End

--Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, today announced the appointment of Monzer Tohme as regional vice president, sales, Middle East and Africa (MEA). Taking leadership of a business that has seen strong growth over the last year, Tohme will focus on building the sales team, growing the channel community and expanding the company's footprint in the region.Commenting on the appointment, Sabby Gill, executive vice president, for Epicor International, said, "As a high growth market, the Middle East and Africa region is strategic for us. In the last year alone, we rolled out our cloud-first strategy for the region and launched a brand new, innovative partner programtwo initiatives that have allowed us to provide our regional customers with the best-in-class enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions that serve as a platform to support and accelerate their business growth."Gill continued, "As we look to build on our success in the region, having the right individual to lead the organisation is critical to our international growth strategy. An industry veteran with over 25 years of sales experience in the ERP market, Monzer has the market knowledge, contacts, and most importantly, the leadership skills that will allow us to build a strong Epicor team and partner community in the region."With an initial focus on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia (KSA) and South Africa, Tohme will look to grow the Epicor business within its existing customer base through upgrades to the latest software versions. At the same time, he will drive customer acquisition, specifically in the hospitality and manufacturing service sectors."I am extremely excited to be joining Epicor at such a pivotal period in the company's growth," commented Tohme. "Between the availability of industry specific solutions, the recent rollout of a cloud offering and the strengthening of a channel that is committed to service excellence, Epicor has an attractive value-proposition for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region. With SMEs forming the backbone of the regional economy, we have an opportunity to not only grow our business but just as importantly, provide our customers with the solutions that will allow them to grow their businesses and compete in the global economy."
Successful Crowdfunding Campaign of the revolutionary Appy software an innovative Business Software Allows Start-Ups to Focus On Development

By: Appy LLC

Business Software

Contact

Esteban Chaves

***@appy.la Esteban Chaves

End

-- Today Appy is please to announce to the public the success of the indiegogo crowd funding campaign it launched on the 28th of January 2017. The goal was reached was reached within two days. The Appy software is a revolutionary technology birth specially designed for small business growth.According to the Appy team,The Impact of the Appy start-up software will truly help save new businesses thousands of dollars. Entrepreneurs will no longer need to buy random, overlapping software from scratch to efficiently evolve their start-ups. Instead Appy provides one ready-made software system especially developed for new and small businessessaid Esteban Chaves founder of Appy.The Appy Software is really creating a buzz on the internet with its dynamic features that help entrepreneur solve everyday challenges. Majority of start-ups never make it past their first year of business which makes the Appy software their one stop solution to skyrocket their businesses.Many backers made the campaign possible through generous donations and backing and we assure they will enjoy the amazing features of the Appy software."Locking in enough operating capital is critical. Businesses need funds to ramp up, and keep the doors open. The vast majority of start-ups never make it past their first year of business, which is bad news for everyone, from the investors to the customers who could have benefitted from whatever product the start-up was offeringsaid Appy CEO, Esteban Chaves.The Appy is a Startup company in Delaware, we are committed to stirring a revolution in the business world with our dedicated team of expert software engineers. Once again we say thank you for supporting and backing our campaign. To read more about the Appy Software, visit https://igg.me/ at/appy
Gary Petersen, Cornerstone Bank Chairman

Contact

Kristin Jaeger, Marketing Director

***@cornerstonebanks.net Kristin Jaeger, Marketing Director

End

-- Gary Petersen, Cornerstone Bank Chairman, has accepted an appointment to the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.According to the Minneapolis Fed, Council members provide information, advice, and recommendations from the perspective of community depository institutions. Members are representatives of depository institutions (thrifts, credit unions and banks) in the Ninth District with total assets of less than $10 billion. The chair of the Minneapolis Council represents the Ninth District at meetings of the Board of Governors' Community Depository Institution Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. Members are appointed by the Minneapolis Fed President and serve a three-year term.Petersen is Chairman of the Board for Cornerstone Bank and Cornerstone Holding Company. He is active in several American Bankers Association committees and councils. He also currently serves on the Bank of North Dakota Advisory Board. He is a past Director and Chairman for the North Dakota Bankers Association Board and was previously a member of the North Dakota Department of Banking and Financial Institutions Board. Petersen has served on numerous other community boards and has been an active volunteer for community events. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of North Dakota and is a member of the State Bar Association of North Dakota.Cornerstone Holding Company, based in North Dakota, is the parent company of Cornerstone Bank. One of North Dakota's ten largest financial institutions, Cornerstone Holding Company is an $820 million financial institution. Cornerstone Bank has North Dakota locations in Bismarck, Dickinson, Fargo, Makoti, New Town, Parshall, Plaza, Watford City and a South Dakota location in Sioux Falls. There are Cornerstone Mortgage offices Grand Forks and Minot, North Dakota along with Aberdeen, South Dakota. Cornerstone Bank provides an expansive product offering while staying true to their mission of providing access to financial experts who give straight answers and the best possible financial options. Cornerstone's offerings include business and personal loans, deposits and cash management services, online and mobile banking along with mortgage services. https://www.cornerstonebanks.net/ Please print attached photo with release.
The new solar project will occupy 88 acres off Atomic Road in Beech Island and generate approximately 23,100 megawatt hours annually.

South Carolina Solar Project to Bring $11 Million in Capital Investment

Media Contact

Maureen McHale

***@hiremaureen.com

3524062011 Maureen McHale3524062011

End

-- ESA Renewables, an alternative energy provider, has announced it will be constructing a new, utility-scale solar farm in Beech Island, South Carolina. This new utility-scale solar farm, 8.1 miles southeast of Augusta, is expected to bring at least $11 million in capital investment to Aiken County. The solar project will be capable of powering almost 2,400 single-family residences per year.Construction on the project is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018, and it should be operational by the third quarter of 2018.ESA is a solar integration company with more than 500 solar photovoltaic, power-generating facilities located in the United States, Puerto Rico, Spain, Chile and Italy."We are pleased to have worked closely with Aiken County and various members of South Carolina's renewable energy sector on the proposed utility-scale solar project," said ESA Renewables CEO Lindsay Herold. "This collaboration presents a promising opportunity for South Carolina, and we are proud to be part of the joint efforts to move toward sustainable energy within the state.""South Carolina's renewable energy sector continues to grow, and we're excited about today's announcement of ESA Renewables' new $11 million solar project in Aiken County. This is an incredible testament to our business-friendly reputation that ESA Renewables is bringing their latest facility to Aiken County," Governor Henry McMaster said."We are excited that ESA Renewables is investing in Aiken County. Renewable energy provides both positive environmental and economic benefits to communities. Today's announcement is the fourth in February for both EDP and Aiken County, and demonstrates the favorable business conditions that Aiken County Council works tirelessly to maintain," Economic Development Partnership Chairman Gary Stooksbury said.Aiken County Council Chairman Ronnie Young said the County is "grateful" the company decided to locate in Aiken County, and looks forward to establishing a "strong partnership"with them. "We have a long history with sustainable alternative energy, and this will complement those existing efforts," Young said.Previously identified as Project Roy in Aiken County Council documents, ESA's solar farm marks the fourth economic development investment in Aiken County announced this month. For the month of February, the projects total $28.5 million invested and 154 new jobs, said Will Williams, president and CEO of the Economic Development Partnership for Aiken, Edgefield and Saluda counties.ESA Renewables has positioned itself as a leader in the industry providing a wide variety of services to solar PV systems worldwide. ESA activities include project financing, EPC, commissioning, monitoring, O&M, third party engineering, production simulation and development. With headquarters in Castellon, Spain, ESA has additional offices in Florida, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Italy. For more information about ESA Renewables, LLC, please visit http://www.esarenewables.com or call 407-268-6455.
Company issues call to action for volunteers to help remove trash from important local off-road park

Media Contact

Matthew Konkle

mattk@quadratec.com Matthew Konkle

End

-- Quadratec Inc., a leading national provider of four wheel parts and accessories, is pleased to announce its sponsorship of a major trail clean up event April 1 at Pennsylvania's Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area.The experience is part of Quadratec's partnership with Off Road Consulting, and designed to remove trash and debris throughout AOAA as the park enters its spring campaign. The event is free and runs from 8am-1pm. Lunch will be provided following the cleanup for all volunteers, and Quadratec will raffle off over $2,000 worth of product."Quadratec has a long history of promoting responsible outdoor recreation through our Quadratec Cares grant program, and this event is another great way we can support that concept," said Craig Jaros, Quadratec's Director of Outside Events. "We invite everyone who can, to come out and help us keep these trails clean and accessible to the public."Those interested in attending the cleanup event can register directly with Off-Road Consulting here: http://store.offroad- consulting.com/ products/quadratec- cl... All volunteers will be provided necessary tools, gloves and trash bags. Following the lunch and raffle, all participants are invited to stay and spend the afternoon light four-wheeling on AOAA's trails."As an off road driver, we need to give back to the trails and the off road parks that provide us with legal, safe and beautiful places to enjoy our hobby," said Off Road Consulting owner Kyle Buchter.AOAA is a nearly three-year-old family-friendly motorized and non-motorized recreational facility sitting on 6,500 acres of coal lands in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The property was mined heavily into the 1950s, but sat unused since then until the facility's May 2014 opening. While the land sat vacant for decades, many used it as a dumping ground.Since 1990, Quadratec's mission is always to deliver Expert Advice and Unbeatable Prices to enthusiasts of the legendary Jeep CJ & Wrangler, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee vehicles. Quadratec's courteous factory-trained sales & customer service staff has the knowledge to make sure you, and your vehicle, get exactly what you need. Contact us at 800-745-2348 or www.quadratec.com.
By: Seacoast Community School

Contact

Seacoast Community School

***@communitycampus.org Seacoast Community School

End

-- The Seacoast Community School is celebrating 50 years of educational excellence in 2017 and is planning a full year of fun activities for our larger school community to celebrate."We are delighted to be celebrating this important milestone this year," says Peter Gilmore, Executive Director of the Seacoast Community School. "We have a special committee devoted to planning fun activities throughout the yearfor adults, kids, and whole families alike."Because the school has moved several times throughout its history and also experienced a few name changes, Gilmore is encouraging "lost alumni" to get in touch so that they can be notified of all of the upcoming events."If you attended the Community Child Care Center, the Community Day Care Center, or the Seacoast Community School, you are an alum and we want to hear from you!" Gilmore says. "We have contact information for our alums since 2004 but are looking to get in touch with as many former students before that as possible."All alums are encouraged to call the school at 603-422-8223, or email acole@communitycampus.org , to sign up and be added to the events notification list.The Seacoast Community School is the third-largest early learning center in New Hampshire, with over 300 children enrolled in its diverse educational and enrichment programs. It has been a leader in after-school and Early Childhood Education programs forchildren in the region since its founding in 1967. The school's mission is to provide nurturing care and exceptional education for all children of the Seacoast and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Contact

Afsheen Hasan

***@naturalplaygrounds.ca Afsheen Hasan

End

-- Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds is pleased to announce a partnership with the United Nations Association in Canada's innovative youth employment initiative, the Canada Green Corps.Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds is a locally owned and operated social entrepreneurship based in Dundas, Ontario, dedicated to connecting children and communities to nature. Adam Bienenstock, founder and CEO, states "We spend over seven hours a day on screens and very little time in nature. Issues such as obesity, ADHD, and inflammatory diseases are on the rise in children as a direct result of this lack of contact with a biodiverse and challenging play environment. We are thrilled to partner with the UNAC and CGC to continue raising awareness of the importance of connecting our communities with nature." In addition to natural playgrounds, Bienenstock also offers a wide range of workshops and professional development opportunities to assist teachers and community members with incorporating nature-based learning into their curriculum.The Canada Green Corps Program is a results-focused initiative that strategically fulfills government commitments to restore Canada's place on environmental stewardship and showcase national leadership in climate action, while empowering youth to pursue meaningful employment. As stated on the website, "The power of youth to shape and transform the world is clear. Canadian youth benefit from their diversity advantage, world-class education, and energy." The United Nations Association in Canada is a respected youth serving and deploying national organization built on twenty years of success.Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds ( www.naturalplaygrounds.ca ) can be found on Twitter under @Bienenstock, and on Facebook under @BienenstockPlaygrounds.The Canada Green Corps ( http://unac.org/ unac-projects/ canada-green- corps/ ) can be found on Twitter under @UNACGreenCorps, while the United Nations Association in Canada can be found on Facebook under @UNACanada1945.
Green data center program pays clients to use high efficiency servers and cloud computing

End

--CeraNet, Inc., a leading Green Data Center and Managed Solutions Provider located in Columbus, Ohio, was identified as a top performing solutions provider for 2016 in the AEP Ohio Energy Efficiency and Data Center programs. CeraNet was awarded multiple individual awards throughout the year totaling over 420,000 kWh of energy savings. Energy savings were calculated from the difference in power draw between older physical servers and the newer high efficiency cloud servers that replaced them. These awards provide incentive payments that CeraNet uses to fund client upgrades. Clients were able to upgrade their infrastructure to CeraNet's high availability cloud computing servers, reduce costs, and minimize their environmental impact.CeraNet engineers also worked to identify additional energy saving opportunities within the physical data center infrastructure using cool white roof coatings and specialized data center floor layout with spot cooling to save an additional 450,000 kWh of utility power. These solutions help minimize the power needed to cool the data center, as well as reduce load on the utility grid during peak times. State of the art solutions like these allow CeraNet operate at a higher efficiency than most data centers and in turn charge much lower rates for equipment colocation and power.CeraNet recently launched an initiative to drive 1,000,000 kWh in energy savings for 2017 through an ongoing partnership with clients and AEP Ohio. Jason Harris with CeraNet stated, "We've committed $100,000 in direct payments and services to help clients discover innovative ways to upgrade their technology infrastructure while saving massive amounts of energy". These funds will be used to help clients transition from old inefficient physical servers to new high efficiency equipment that power cloud computing solutions. "We offer free expert assistance that enable organizations to develop comprehensive IT infrastructure solutions that not only give them more for their IT budget, but also show them how they can environmentally friendly at the same time" added Mr. Harris.Additional information on green data center solutions: https://www.cera.net/ paying-you-to- save-energy/ CeraNet was founded in 1996 and is located in Columbus, Ohio. CeraNet is in business to help clients solve complex business issues and create innovative e-business solutions in the most economical and environmentally sustainably way. CeraNet's core data center infrastructure solutions are based on its Hybridservices that allow you to combine your colocation equipment, dedicated physical equipment, and high availability cloud computing solutions into one seamless, easy to use control panel. CeraNet provides advanced expert technical consulting and management services with experienced engineers to help support your systems and business needs. For more information about CeraNet, please visit www.cera.net
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  New research findings show that as the world warmed millions of years ago, conditions in the tropics may have made it so hot some organisms couldnt survive.

Longstanding theories dating to the 1980s suggest that as the rest of the earth warms, the tropical temperatures would be strictly limited, or regulated by an internal thermostat. These theories are controversial, but the debate is of great importance because the tropics and subtropics comprise half of the earths surface area, greater than half of the earths biodiversity, as well as over half the earths human population. But new geological and climate-based research indicates the tropics may have reached a temperature 56 million years ago that was, indeed, too hot for living organisms to survive in parts of the tropics.

That conclusion is detailed in the article Extreme Warmth and Heat-Stressed Plankton in the Tropics during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, published by the online journal Science Advances and co-authored by Matthew Huber, professor in the Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Department at Purdue University and member of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center. Hubers contribution focused on climate modeling and interpreting paleoclimate data within the context of modern theoretical understanding. Part of this work was performed while Huber was also at the University of New Hampshire.

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) period occurred 56 million years ago and is considered the warmest period during the past 100 million years. Global temperatures rapidly warmed by about 5 degrees Celsius (9 F), from an already steamy baseline temperature, and this study provides the first convincing evidence that the tropics also warmed by about 3 degrees Celsius (5 F) during that time.

The records produced in this study indicate that when the tropics warmed that last little bit, a threshold was passed and parts of the tropical biosphere seems to have died, Huber said. This is the first time that weve found really good information, in a very detailed way, where we saw major changes in the tropics directly associated with warming past a key threshold in the past 60 million years.

The study is unique because of the quality of the geological records utilized. Geological records from the PETM are difficult to find, especially from an area of the tropics, Huber said. The research was based on a shallow marine sedimentary section deposited in Nigeria.

We dont find 50-million-year-old thermometers at the bottom of the ocean, Huber said. What we do find are shells, and we use the isotopes of carbon and oxygen within the shells, complemented by temperature proxies from organic material, to say something about the carbon cycle and about the temperature in the past.

Two research methods were used to judge the temperature during the PETM, one utilizing isotopes in shells, while the other examined organic residues in deep-sea sentiments. The biotic records left behind from living organisms indicate they were dying at the same time the conditions were warming.

If the tropics are not able to control its temperature and do not possess an internal thermostat, that should reshape future thinking about climate change, Huber said.

If you say theres no tropical thermostat, then half of the worlds biodiversity  over half of the worlds population, the tropical rainforests, the reefs, India, Brazil  these populous and very important countries have nothing to prevent them from warming up substantially above conditions that humans have been used to, he said.

The trends in temperature increases in the tropics are similar to those found in other parts of the world, but other records have been very sparse and limited until now.

Hubers work has been funded by the National Science Foundation through grants EPS 1101245 and OCE 0902882. The model used in the study is developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is also supported by the NSF. Computing was provided by ITaPs Research Computing.

Media contact: Brian Peloza, 765-496-9711, bpeloza@purdue.edu

Source: Matthew Huber, huberm@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: A copy of the research paper is available from Brian Peloza, Purdue News Service, at 765-496-9711, bpeloza@purdue.edu

ABSTRACT

Extreme warmth and heat-stressed plankton in the tropics during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Joost Frieling1, Holger Gebhardt2, Matthew Huber3, Olabisi Adekeye4, Samuel

Akande4, Gert-Jan Reichart5,6, J.J. Middelburg5, Stefan Schouten5,6, and Appy Sluijs1

1 Marine Palynology and leoceanography, Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. 2 Geologische Bundesanstalt, Austria.

3 Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire. 4 Department of Geology and Mineral Sciences, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. 5 Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.6 NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Global ocean temperatures rapidly warmed by ~5C during the Paleocene - Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ~56 million years ago; Ma). Extra-tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) met or exceeded modern subtropical values. With such warm extra-tropical temperatures, climate models predict tropical SSTs >35Cnear upper physiological temperature limits for many organisms. However, few data are available to test these projected extreme tropical temperatures or their potential lethality. We identify the PETM in a shallow marine sedimentary section deposited in Nigeria. Based on planktonic foraminiferal Mg/Ca and oxygen isotope ratios and the molecular proxy TEX_86^H, late Paleocene equatorial SSTs were ~33 C, and TEX_86^H indicates that SSTs rose to >36 C during the PETM. This confirms model predictions on the magnitude of polar amplification and refutes the tropical thermostat theory. We attribute a massive drop in dinoflagellate abundance and diversity at peak warmth to thermal stress, showing that the base of tropical foodwebs is vulnerable to rapid warming.
Streaming platform Wuaki has become the first destination outside the US for Disneys millennial-focused channel Freeform.





The Rakuten-owned over-the-top (OTT) company has reached an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to premiere part of Freeforms catalogue exclusively in Spain.The selected content will be added to the Wuaki Selection video-on-demand (VOD) package by the end of March.Among the titles to be added by Wuaki are series such as Beyond, Stitchers, Dead of Summer, The Fosters and Young & Hungry, and teenage hits including Shailene Woodleys Divergente.For the moment, the Disney content will only be available for Spanish subscribers, even though the streaming platform is available in other European countries including the UK, Ireland and Italy.Freeform (formerly ABC Family) is a well-established cable and satellite channel in the US, where it has been available since 1977 and has undergone several rebrandings. The network was named Freeform in 2015 after The Walt Disney Company took control of it.
While the nation is divided about Trump, I think everyone should be excited that Trump is our new president. Yes, I am serious and please hear me out before I get crushed by comments.

For all of you Democrats out there, lets be realistic for a moment. You should be happy that Hillary didnt win the election.

In all seriousness, I question whether she would have won again in four years. She wouldnt have been against Donald Trump anymore, instead she would have been against a polished, well-spoken Republican presidential candidate. After his defeat, Republicans wouldnt have made another mistake like Trump.

Between everything that has conspired since Bill Clinton was president, the Clinton name has been beaten up and I think people are tired of both Bill and Hillary. Not only that, but she would have been without a Democrat-led Congress and so thus would have been completely debilitated as a President, just like Obama.All of this would have screamed to the nation...get us out of here!

Four years later you would have been stuck with a Republican President and congress for eight years instead of four.Its funny because all of this probably would have been solved if you would have made Sanders your nominee. Moving on quickly

Instead with Trump winning, you have fired up the millennials. I think they now understand that they actually have to show up to an election in order for their favorite to win. Hopefully for you, that means more Democratic wins down the road. Also, maybe you can take back the Senate, House or both in two years and stop whatever Trump is trying to do.The only thing you should be shaking in your boots about is if you lose another Supreme Court Justice.

On the flip side, all of you Republicans should be rejoicing at the opportunity to undo much of what Obama did. Whether you like Trump or not, you should at least get that done.

In all honesty, I think Trump is an experiment. Do I think he is an upstanding person? Probably not. But I do think he is going to shake things up. I think he may change the face of politics and I think he deserves a chance.

That is what Republicans should be rejoicing about, they have an opportunity to reinvent the wheel. They perhaps have seen the light and now know what the American public wants to see. Maybe instead of putting the Republican Party on life support in 10 years, this will reinvigorate your base and allow you to become current with what voters want and feel.

Lets be honest here, true Democrats and true Republicans are shaking in their boots right now. Its obvious why Democrats are shaking in their boots, but Trump isnt really a pure Republican. I mean his stance on abortion and womens right is pretty left leaning. He is really a new breed of politician beholden to no party.

In the end, I hope he is the best president we have ever had. Let me put that into contextI hope every president that we ever have is the best president we have ever had, because that means our country is moving forward. I think the true test of a President is that he or she made the nation better when he or she left, than when he or she started.

That true test is yet to be determined. Until then, we need to give him a chance because if we dont, he is going to fail before we even get started.

I know you can talk all day about the popular vote, but the fact is, close to half of this nation wanted him as our president, most of which are sensible people (I would have said the same if Hillary won).

As someone who definitely has an opinion of Trump, an opinion Im not willing to share here, I do know that we will make it through this. That is why our forefathers had the forethought to invent things like checks and balances.

In the end, we should all be happy. Democrats because they have a chance to change the narrative in the next election and Republicans because they have a chance to prove Democrats wrong.

Who will be happy in the end is yet to be determined.
At 2017 Geneva Motor Show being held from 9-19th March 2017, Mercedes-AMG GT sedan Concept hybrid is being displayed. This hybrid four door car receives a twin turbo 4.0 liter V8 engine also seen in the GT coupe which along with an electric motor can make a whopping 805 hp power and 627 lb/ft torque. Power is sent to all 4 wheels while acceleration from 0 to 100 kmph is achieved in just less than 3 seconds.

Mercedes-AMG GT sedan Concept may have no mention of hybrid in its name but it does get distinctive EQ Power+ badge proclaiming its hybrid system. It is the third AMG GT model after the SLS AMG and AMG GT and is being developed at the company headquarters in Affalterbach as a part of AMGs 50th anniversary celebrations.

Its exterior is dominated by a deep bonnet and raked windscreen. It also gets what is called a Panamericana grille, horizontally positioned LED tail lamps and is built on its own specially modified version of Mercedes Benz MRA platform also seen on the new C-Class and E-Class while it will also make its way onto the new CLS and new S-Class due for launch sometime in 2020.

Design elements also include a tail lamp with new light technology located below the three dimensional lens of rear lamps, a centrally located tail pipe and a steeply sloping roof line. The GT sedan concept gets wide rear shoulders and flared wheel arches embodying well styled wheels with a fine spoke design offering a better view of the AMG ceramic high performance compound brake system. Brake calipers are painted bronze and sport AMG Carbon Ceramic lettering.

Mercedes-AMG GT sedan Concept is slated to replace the CLS Shooting Brake which will be discontinued while a third generation CLS will make its way in later this year. In terms of rivals, the new GT sedan Concept will take on the Audi RS7, BMW XM6 and Porsche Panamera.
Skoda Auto India had showcased the BS6 Karoq mid-size crossover at Auto Expo 2020 in early February

Unveiled at 2020 Auto Expo, the Skoda Karoq has been launched in India at a starting price of Rs 25 lakh ex-showroom. The 5-seater SUV (technically a crossover) comes to our market as part of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India groups India 2.0 product strategy. Along with Karoq, Skoda also launched the Rapid Turbo and Superb FL today.

In 2019, the Czech and German brands entered an exclusive partnership, wherein the merged entity Skoda Auto Volkswagen India was tasked with producing a range of SUVs and crossovers based on MQB-A0-IN platform. It was developed keeping in mind the specific needs and preferences of Indian buyers.

The Skoda Karoq borrows several styling elements from the Kodiaq. In international markets, it sits between the Kamiq and Karoq. Key features include sleek LED headlamps with AFS (Adaptive Front Lighting), signature Butterfly grille, squared wheel arches, R17 Aronia dual-tone alloy wheels and C-shaped LED tail lamps.

Interiors have a premium look and feel thanks to liberal usage of leather in beige and black alongside silver highlights. It packs an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system (supports Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and SmartLink Connectivity), Virtual Cockpit (digital instrument cluster), ambient lighting, leather seats, two-zone climate control, 12-way electrically adjustable driver seat with memory function, panoramic sunroof and Keyless Entry and Start System (KESSY).

Powering the 2020 Skoda Karoq is an all-new 1.5-litre TSI turbocharged direct-injection four-cylinder petrol engine (shared with the Volkswagen T-ROC) that churns out 148bhp at 5,000-6,000rpm and 250Nm of torque at 1,500-3,500rpm. This is mated to a 7-speed DSG automatic unit. The SUV can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 9 seconds and can attain a top speed of 202 km/h. Mileage claimed is 14.9 kmpl.

As may be recalled, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India has adopted a petrol-only strategy for the Indian market. This is why the new Skoda Karoq does not get a diesel option. In international markets such as Europe, the Karoq is offered in a range of petrol and diesel engine options alongside an all-wheel-drive option (front-wheel-biased). In terms of safety, the new Skoda 5-seater crossover gets nine airbags, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), ABS, multi-collision braking (MKB) and iBuzz driver fatigue alert system.

The Skoda Karoq enters an already crowded mid-size SUV space in India, where it will compete with the likes of the MG Hector, Jeep Compass, Tata Harrier and Mahindra XUV500. The Skoda Karoq is sold in India via the CBU route and hence it has a relatively higher price tag.
A minimally invasive treatment that reduces urinary tract symptoms for men with enlarged prostates maintains its effectiveness for at least three years after patients undergo the therapy, according to research being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting today. This study of 1,000 men is the largest of its kind to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of prostate artery embolization (PAE).

Enlarged prostate, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is one of the most common prostate problems occurring in men older than 50. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 14 million men in the U.S. had symptoms suggestive of BPH, which can affect 50 percent of men between 51 and 60 years of age and up to 90 percent of men older than 80.

Researchers also found that PAE, developed and performed by interventional radiologists, is especially effective in men with BPH who also have acute urinary retention or the inability to voluntarily urinate and in patients with very large prostates who are normally treated with open surgery.

"Prostate artery embolization gives men with BPH a treatment option that is less invasive than other therapies and allows them to return to their normal lives sooner," said Joao Martins Pisco, M.D., an interventional radiologist at St. Louis Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal, and the study's lead author. "Time and time again, I see patients who are relieved to find out about PAE because they are not able to tolerate medications for BPH due to their side effects. These men also don't want traditional surgery because it involves greater risks, has possible sexual side effects, and has a recovery time that is relatively long compared to PAE, which is generally performed under local anesthesia and on an outpatient basis."

Between March 2007 and March 2016, Pisco and his team performed prostate artery embolization on 1,000 men who averaged 67 years of age. All patients were evaluated in the short term (one, three, and six months), 807 patients were seen through the medium term (every six months between six months and three years), and 406 patients were evaluated long term (every year after three years).

During each evaluation, the men's symptoms were measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), which tests for the blockage of urine flow, and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), which assesses erectile dysfunction. Researchers also measured the size of the prostate and the amount of urine left in the bladder after urination. They also evaluated the peak urinary flow rate and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, a test used to screen for prostate cancer.

The data from these measures revealed at the short-term mark that the treatment had an 89 percent cumulative success rate -- measuring the success across all variables through the given testing period. The 807 men evaluated at the medium-term mark had an 82 percent success rate. And of the 406 patients measured at the long-term mark, 78 percent were considered cumulative successes.

"Our results demonstrate that this minimally invasive treatment is successful in the long term and should always be presented to patients who are exploring options to resolve their BPH," remarked Dr. Pisco.

During PAE, an interventional radiologist makes a tiny incision in either the groin or wrist to insert a catheter (a small tube about the size of a strand of spaghetti) into an artery and, using image guidance, directs the catheter to the blood vessels on both sides of the enlarged prostate gland. Once there, the doctor uses microscopic beads to block the blood flow to specific areas of the prostate, depriving those cells of oxygen, which results in the gland's shrinkage. In an additional analysis, researchers found that among 112 patients who also suffered acute urinary retention (AUR) before undergoing PAE, 106 or 94.6 percent had their catheter removed between two days and three months after treatment. At medium-term and long-term follow up, 95 of the 112 (84.8 percent) and 89 of the 112 (78.5 percent) did not experience any recurrence of their AUR.

The team also performed PAE in 210 patients who had limited treatment options due to extreme enlargement of the prostate (larger than 100 cm). Of these men, 84 percent experienced cumulative success at short-term evaluation and 76.2 percent at medium- and long-term. The normal size of a prostate is 15 cm3 to 30 cm3.

While this research demonstrated that PAE was highly successful, Pisco noted that the treatment may not be appropriate for all patients, such as those with advanced arterial atherosclerosis that may be due to smoking or diabetes. He recommends that men speak with an interventional radiologist or other members of their care team to discuss treatment options.

As a next step, researchers are now conducting a study comparing the effectiveness of PAE to a sham -- or placebo -- treatment to address any possible placebo effect that may have occurred during Pisco's research with these 1,000 patients.
A team of researchers repaired a hole in a mouse's skull by regrowing "quality bone," a breakthrough that could drastically improve the care of people who suffer severe trauma to the skull or face.

The work by a joint team of Northwestern University and University of Chicago researchers was a resounding success, showing that a potent combination of technologies was able to regenerate the skull bone with supporting blood vessels in just the discrete area needed without developing scar tissue -- and more rapidly than with previous methods.

"The results are very exciting," said Guillermo Ameer, professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering, and professor of surgery at Feinberg School of Medicine.

Supported by the China Scholarship Council, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Chicago Community Trust, and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the research was published last week in the journal PLOS One. Russell Reid, associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center, is the article's corresponding author. Reid, his long-time collaborator Dr. Tong-Chuan He, and colleagues in Hyde Park brought the surgical and biological knowledge and skills. Zari P. Dumanian, affiliated with the medical center's surgery department, was the paper's first author.

"This project was a true collaborative team effort in which our Regenerative Engineering Laboratory provided the biomaterials expertise," Ameer said.

Injuries or defects in the skull or facial bones are very challenging to treat, often requiring the surgeon to graft bone from the patient's pelvis, ribs, or elsewhere, a painful procedure in itself. Difficulties increase if the injury area is large or if the graft needs to be contoured to the angle of the jaw or the cranial curve.

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But if all goes well with this new approach, it may make painful bone grafting obsolete.

In the experiment, the researchers harvested skull cells from the mouse and engineered them to produce a potent protein to promote bone growth. They then used Ameer's hydrogel, which acted like a temporary scaffolding, to deliver and contain these cells to the affected area. It was the combination of all three technologies that proved so successful, Ameer said.

Using calvaria or skull cells from the subject meant the body didn't reject those cells.

?The protein, BMP9, has been shown to promote bone cell growth more rapidly than other types of BMPs. Importantly, BMP9 also appeared to improve the creation of blood vessels in the area. Being able to safely deliver skull cells that are capable of rapidly regrowing bone in the affected site, in vivo as opposed to using them to grow bone in the laboratory, which would take a very long time, promises a therapy that might be more "surgeon friendly, if you will, and not too complicated to scale up for the patients," Ameer said.

The scaffolding developed in Ameer's laboratory, which is a material based on citric acid and called PPCN-g, is a liquid that when warmed to body temperature becomes a gel-like elastic material. "When applied, the liquid, which contains cells capable of producing bone, will conform to the shape of the bone defect to make a perfect fit," Ameer said. "It then stays in place as a gel, localizing the cells to the site for the duration of the repair." As the bone regrows, the PPCN-g is reabsorbed by the body.

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"What we found is that these cells make natural-looking bone in the presence of the PPCN-g," Ameer said. "The new bone is very similar to normal bone in that location."

In fact, the three-part method was successful on a number of fronts: The regenerated bone was better quality, the bone growth was contained to the area defined by the scaffolding, the area healed much more quickly, and the new and old bone were continuous with no scar tissue.

The potential, if the procedure can be adapted to treat people that suffered trauma from car accidents or aggressive cancers that have affected the skull or face, would be huge, and give surgeons a much-sought-after option.

"The reconstruction procedure is a lot easier when you can harvest a few cells, make them produce the BMP9 protein, mix them in the PPCN-g solution, and apply it to the bone defect site to jump-start the new bone growth process where you want it." Ameer said.

Ameer cautioned that the technology is years away to being used in humans, but added, "We did show proof of concept that we can heal large defects in the skull that would normally not heal on their own using a protein, cells and a new material that come together in a completely new way. Our team is very excited about these findings and the future of reconstructive surgery."
Deaths and injuries from gun violence occur at higher rates in the United States compared to other developed countries. Yet, there has been relatively little public health research aimed at understanding and preventing this important threat to health. In a Viewpoint published this week in JAMA Surgery, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, argue for more research on firearm injury, including the establishment of a national database on incidents of gun violence. The authors point to recent research showing that in Philadelphia, gun murders and injuries are much more strongly associated with race than neighborhood income levels.

"Firearm violence is still largely a taboo research subject," said lead author Jessica Beard, MD, MPH, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery at Penn Medicine. "We struggle to obtain even basic information on its epidemiology. We need data to accurately assess the overall extent and geographic distribution of this problem."

As trauma surgeons in Philadelphia, Beard and co-author Carrie A. Sims, MD, MS, an associate professor of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery, routinely treat victims of gun violence in the city. Although they acknowledge that perfecting the clinical management of gunshot wound patients is important, they believe that the best way to address this public health problem is to prevent it.

"When we save a patient in the operating room, we feel great, and yet despite our hard work the patients keep coming," Sims said. "Sometimes we feel powerless to address the deeper causes of this problem."

With colleagues from the Penn Injury Science Center, Beard and Sims have been researching the epidemiology of gun violence in Philadelphia. In a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Penn team analyzed statistics on firearm assaults in Philadelphia during 2013-14. Results showed that the gun murders and injuries were much more strongly associated with race than with neighborhood income levels. People living in relatively high-income black neighborhoods, for example, suffered a rate of firearm assault almost 16 times higher than that experienced by people living in white neighborhoods with the same income.

According to police data analyzed by the researchers, more than 80 percent of victims of firearm injuries reported in Philadelphia were black, and less than 6 percent were non-Hispanic whites.

"This racial/ethnic disparity is the 'elephant in the room' of firearm injury epidemiology," Beard said. In the new essay, she and Sims argue for more research and scientific resources to explain this disparity, which they suggest may be rooted in structural inequality and other social factors that are amenable to policy interventions.

"We as trauma surgeons need to work with our surgical associations and members of government to advocate for more research funding to determine the root causes of this important public health problem -- and to start identifying effective prevention strategies," Beard said.

In a 2013 "Statement on Firearm Injuries," the American College of Surgeons called for a national database on these injuries -- which would allow researchers to track trends and determine if interventions are working. Beard and Sims echo this recommendation, saying that such a database would be a basic first step towards understanding and addressing the problem of urban gun violence in America.
Opening up narrowed veins from the brain and spinal cord is not effective in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study led by the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health.

The conclusions about the so-called "liberation therapy," which thousands of people with MS have undergone since 2009, represent the most definitive debunking of the claim that patients could achieve dramatic improvements from a one-time medical procedure.

"We hope these findings, coming from a carefully controlled, 'gold standard' study, will persuade people with MS not to pursue liberation therapy, which is an invasive procedure that carries the risk of complications, as well as significant financial cost," said Dr. Anthony Traboulsee, a UBC Associate Professor of Neurology and Director of the MS Clinic at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. "Fortunately, there are a range of drug treatments for MS that have been proven, through rigorous studies, to be safe and effective at slowing the disease progression."

To get the most reliable evidence, the study had some people undergo a "sham" procedure -- the surgical equivalent of a placebo. All 104 participants had a catheter inserted into their blocked veins, but only 49 had their vessel walls pushed out by inflating a small balloon, known as venoplasty.

A year later, the venoplasty group's results were statistically the same as those in the sham group, as measured by brain imaging, standard assessments of MS symptoms and the patients' own self-assessments.

The findings from the $5.4 million study, jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the MS Society of Canada, and the Provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec, were presented today, March 8, at the Society for Interventional Radiology's annual scientific meeting in Washington, D.C. The researchers are now preparing an article to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, in which the body's own defenses attack the protective coating of brain cells, or neurons. The degradation of that insulation slows the neurons' ability to conduct electrical signals, leading to problems with movement, sensation and cognitive function. The causes of the disease remain unknown, though research has implicated genetic variations and environmental factors, including a lack of Vitamin D.

Using venoplasty as an MS treatment was put forward by Dr. Paolo Zamboni of Italy, who asserted that narrowing of the veins in the neck could be causing iron to accumulate in the brain and spinal cord, triggering the autoimmune response. He called his theory chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), and cited several dozen cases of patients who improved after undergoing venoplasty by him.

Many patients in Canada and Europe, upon learning of those anecdotal results through the news media, asked for imaging of their veins and subsequent venoplasty. But almost all Canadian physicians, citing the lack of supporting evidence, would not perform it, prompting some patients to seek the treatment in the U.S., Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Researchers from across Canada, led by the UBC and Vancouver Coastal Health team, conducted two major studies, seeking more evidence on the CCSVI theory. One study, supported by the MS Society of Canada, sought to determine if narrowed veins was a distinct feature of MS; the other tested the proposed treatment.

The first study, published in The Lancet in 2013, found that narrowing was just as common in both groups -- in fact, it was even more common than Zamboni had described. Those findings raised serious questions about Zamboni's theory.

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"Despite the negative findings of that diagnostic study, many patients wanted to know if the venous dilation procedure could help," said Dr. Lindsay Machan, a UBC Associate Professor of Radiology who presented the findings at today's interventional radiology conference. "We were committed to meticulously evaluating this treatment with robust methods and patient-focused outcomes."

The 104 people in the latest study -- in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal and Quebec City -- all had MS and narrowing of the jugular vein, which drains blood from the brain, or the azygos vein, which drains blood from the spinal cord. The study was "double-blinded": Neither the patients nor the physicians who evaluated them knew who was receiving the actual treatment or the sham procedure.

All patients were put under minor sedation, and all of them had a catheter threaded through an incision in the groin to the area of vessel narrowing. For those receiving the actual treatment, the balloon was inflated once or twice; for those receiving the sham, the catheter simply remained in the narrowed area for the same amount of time, about one minute.

The researchers found no statistically significant difference between the treatment group and the sham group in patient symptoms, either as reported by the patients or as determined by physicians, three days after the procedure and a year later. Patients in both groups reported slight but equal improvements a year later; physician assessments showed no improvement in either group.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their brains was used to count the number of new lesions in their myelin, and researchers found no difference after six months and after one year between the treatment group and the sham group.
A team of astronomers has doubled the number of known young, compact radio galaxies -- galaxies powered by newly energized black holes. The improved tally will help astronomers understand the relationship between the size of these radio sources and their age, as well as the nature of the galaxy itself.

In particular, it will help astronomers understand why there are so many more young radio galaxies than old.

"We do not understand how radio galaxies evolve," says Joseph Callingham, a postdoctoral fellow from the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) and lead author on the paper describing the result.

"For a long time, we thought all small galaxies evolved into massive galaxies. However, we have now found far too many small galaxies relative to the large ones. This suggests some never make it to the 'adult phase'."

In a survey of ninety thousand radio galaxies, the astronomers identified 1500 compact galaxies among them. The results are described in a paper published 20 February in the Astrophysical Journal.

"These compact galaxies used to be as rare as hen's teeth," says Prof. Bryan Gaensler, a co-author on the paper and Director of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto. "But now we've been able to discover a huge number of new cases. This breakthrough will let us begin to study the overall properties of these unusual and important objects."

A radio galaxy is a galaxy that shines brightly at radio wavelengths. A super-massive black hole -- typically with the mass of millions of Suns -- powers this outpouring of energy.

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Gas and dust fall into the black hole, releasing vast amounts of energy. The energy is focused into two jets of particles, travelling in opposite directions at nearly the speed of light. As the jets blast through the galaxy, each generates its own lobe or hot-spot of radiation as it interacts with the gas in the galaxy.

According to one model, compact radio sources are young because the jets have not had time to reach far beyond the central black hole. The hot-spots are relatively close together and we see them as compact sources. Over time, the jets reach farther out into the galaxy and even beyond its confines; the hot-spots are farther from each other, and we see a more extended, double-lobed source.

In this simple model, the overabundance of young, compact radio galaxies raises the question: why don't young, compact radio galaxies mature into old, extended radio galaxies?

However, another model argues that the relationship between the age and observed size of a radio galaxy is not so straightforward. That's because a compact source may be compact, not because it's young, but because gas within the galaxy is dense enough to prevent the jets from extending far from the central black hole; i.e. it remains compact despite it's age.

"This study shows that it is possible a dense environment near the heart of the galaxy hinders and stops galaxy growth," says Callingham, who did much of the research as a PhD student with the Australian Centre for All-shy Astrophysics (CAASTRO).

The astronomers made the discovery using data gathered with the Murchison Wide-field Array (MWA), an interferometric radio telescope in the Western Australian outback. The discovery was possible because, unlike conventional radio telescopes that observe tiny patches of the sky at a time, the MWA sweeps large areas of the sky and is capable of observing across a broader range of wavelengths.
DNA in hair samples collected from Aboriginal people across Australia in the early to mid-1900s has revealed that populations have been continuously present in the same regions for up to 50,000 years -- soon after the peopling of Australia.

Published in the journal Nature, the findings reinforce Aboriginal communities' strong connection to country and represent the first detailed genetic map of Aboriginal Australia prior to the arrival of Europeans.

These are the first results from the Aboriginal Heritage Project, led by the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) in partnership with the South Australian Museum.

Researchers analysed mitochondrial DNA from 111 hair samples that were collected during a series of remarkable anthropological expeditions across Australia from 1928 to the 1970s and are part of the South Australian Museum's unparalleled collection of hair samples.

Mitochondrial DNA allows tracing of maternal ancestry, and the results show that modern Aboriginal Australians are the descendants of a single founding population that arrived in Australia 50,000 years ago, while Australia was still connected to New Guinea. Populations then spread rapidly -- within 1500-2000 years -- around the east and west coasts of Australia, meeting somewhere in South Australia.

"Amazingly, it seems that from around this time the basic population patterns have persisted for the next 50,000 years -showing that communities have remained in discrete geographical regions," says project leader Professor Alan Cooper, Director of ACAD, University of Adelaide.

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"This is unlike people anywhere else in the world and provides compelling support for the remarkable Aboriginal cultural connection to country. We're hoping this project leads to a rewriting of Australia's history texts to include detailed Aboriginal history and what it means to have been on their land for 50,000 years -- that's around 10 times as long as all of the European history we're commonly taught."

A central pillar of the Aboriginal Heritage Project is that Aboriginal families and communities have been closely involved with the project from its inception and that analyses are only conducted with their consent. Importantly, results are first discussed with the families to get Aboriginal perspectives before scientific publication. The research model was developed under the guidance of Aboriginal elders, the Genographic Project, and professional ethicists.

This is the first phase of a decade-long project that will allow people with Aboriginal heritage to trace their regional ancestry and reconstruct family genealogical history, and will also assist with the repatriation of Aboriginal artefacts.

"Aboriginal people have always known that we have been on our land since the start of our time," says Kaurna Elder Mr Lewis O'Brien, who is one of the original hair donors and has been on the advisory group for the study. "But it is important to have science show that to the rest of the world. This is an exciting project and we hope it will help assist those of our people from the Stolen Generation and others to reunite with their families."

"Reconstructing the genetic history of Aboriginal Australia is very complicated due to past government policies of enforced population relocation and child removal that have erased much of the physical connection between groups and geography in Australia today," says Dr Wolfgang Haak, formerly at ACAD and now at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany.

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The South Australian Museum's collection of hair samples, complete with rich cultural, linguistic, genealogical and geographical data, comes from the expeditions run by the Board of Anthropological Research from the University of Adelaide.

"This Aboriginal Heritage Project is able to exist because of the extensive records collected by Norman Tindale and Joseph Birdsell and others on those expeditions, which are held in trust for all at the South Australian Museum. They include detailed information about the birthplaces, family history and family trees, film, audio and written records -- allowing a wide range of approaches to be used by this project to reconstruct history," says Brian Oldman, Director of the South Australian Museum.

"The South Australian Museum's Aboriginal Family History Unit has also been instrumental to the project and has worked closely with the University team to consult with Aboriginal families and communities to obtain permission for tests to be performed," he says.

Professor Cooper says: "We are very grateful for the enthusiasm and overwhelming support for this project we have received from Aboriginal families, and the Cherbourg, Koonibba, and Point Pearce communities in particular."

The research will be extended to investigate paternal lineages and information from the nuclear genome. Team member Dr Ray Tobler, postdoctoral researcher in ACAD with Aboriginal heritage on his father's side, has an Australian Research Council (ARC) Indigenous Discovery Fellowship to extend the AHP research, to examine how the longevity of Aboriginal populations in different habitats across Australia has shaped the remarkable physical diversity found across modern Aboriginal Australians.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6LzbKszKhQ
When you read your weekly or daily newspaper, do you read the minutes from a school board meeting or the details of an ordinance passed by your municipality? All of these notices can be found in the public notice section of your local newspaper.

In the age of the internet, a debate is growing as to whether or not these notices still need to be published in the newspaper or if they can simply be posted on your local government website.

On one side, school districts, municipalities, and counties have been steady in their push to put their notices online. Their argument? Its less expensive to put notices online than to publish them in the local newspaper. On the other side, the newspaper industry is adamant that published notices allow the public to effortlessly access what local government is doing. They argue that by eliminating local newspapers from the equation, government transparency will take a hit.

The elimination of printed notices in the newspaper has been gaining steam. In his budget, Gov. Scott Walker has proposed that the state be required to publish only certain notices in the newspaper for an estimated savings of $24,000 during the next biennium. This will also apply to school districts, municipalities and counties. No longer will local governments be required to publish a printed version of meeting minutes and other public notices on local ordinances. Everything would be moved online with the exception of any document that is intended to inform an individual of an opportunity to exercise a right such as election documents, referenda, notices of public hearing before a governmental body, and notices of meetings of private and public bodies. These will still need to be published in the newspaper.

My professional background gives me a unique perspective on this issue. I was a newspaper editor for 25 years and can see the value of public notices, and Ive also been the mayor of the city of Dodgeville since 2012 and understand how much it costs to publish notices.

As a local and state government official, I want the public to have as much information as possible. It doesnt matter if they gather their information from a government website or if they read it in the public notice section of the local newspaper. In many areas of the state, newspapers are the lifeblood of a community and sometimes the only convenient source of information. By allowing the electronic option, we are cutting off a source of information to our constituents, our taxpayers and the people who hold us accountable. At this time, the savings obtained by not publishing notices does not outweigh the publics right to know.

As the Joint Finance Committee works on the governors budget, it is my hope they remove anything related to the elimination of the publication of government notices. We can still debate the merits of this issue, but it should be as stand-alone legislation where it can be discussed at the committee level and on the floor of both the Assembly and Senate.

Access to government should never be diminished, and I fear that once we start down this road it may become a slippery slope.
An ancient fish species with unusual scales and teeth from the Kuanti Formation in southern China may have evolved prior to the "Age of Fish," according to a study published March 8, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Brian Choo from Flinders University, Australia, and colleagues at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, China.

The Devonian Period (419.2 -- 358.9 million years ago) is popularly called the "Age of Fishes" because of the apparent increase in the abundance and variety of jawed fishes when compared with the preceding Silurian Period (443.7 -- 419.2 million years ago). Until recently, the Silurian fossil record of jawed vertebrates has been based on highly fragmentary remains, limiting our understanding of their early evolution. Recent discoveries from the Kuanti Formation of Yunnan, southwestern China, have dramatically enhanced our knowledge, with several superbly preserved fish species described in recent years. The fish-bearing sediments of the Kuanti Formation have been dated to the latter part of the Silurian, about 423 million years ago.

Now, Choo and colleagues have described a new genus and species of Kuanti fish, Sparalepis tingi, which represents only the second Silurian bony fish based on more than isolated fragments. This new form, along with its contemporary Guiyu and the slightly more recent Psarolepis, possesses spine-bearing pectoral and pelvic girdles, features once thought to be restricted to the armored placoderm fishes. Sparalepis and its kin may represent an early radiation of stem-sarcopterygians, ancient cousins of modern lungfish, coelacanths and tetrapods.

But Sparalepis also has an unusual scale morphology which distinguishes it from its cousins. The scales are particularly tall, thick and narrow, with the ones at the front having interlocking mechanisms on both the outer and inner surfaces. The closely packed squamation resembles a wall of shields, giving rise to the genus name of Sparalepis, a mixture of ancient Persian and Greek meaning "shield scale."

Sparalepis adds to an ever-growing list of bizarre ancient fishes from the Silurian and earliest Devonian of Yunnan, suggesting that this region may have been an early center of diversification for the jawed vertebrates. The "Age of Fishes" appears to have arrived early during the Silurian of southern China.
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In February 2017 an Israeli firm offered an MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) compliant Heron TP UAV. This new Heron TP-XP is, in effect, demilitarized (according to MTCR) by reducing its payload to 450 kg. MTCR prohibits member states from selling missiles or UAVs (or the needed tech to build them) carrying a payload of half a ton (500 kg) or more and a range exceeding 300 kilometers. The TP-XP is basically a Heron TP with additional fuel capacity built in making the full 30 hour endurance standard instead of optional. The 450 kg payload of the TP-XP provides ample opportunity to carry all the sensors needed for reconnaissance and surveillance. The similar American 4.5 ton MQ-9 Reaper has already made available in a demilitarized version.

The Heron TP was not designed to carry nukes but in theory it could and thus it is a MTCR violation. Created in 1987, MTCR was one of several breakthrough arms control treaties agreed to during the 1980s. Compliance with MTCR rules is voluntary but 35 nations have signed on and pledged to abide by MTCR when exporting or importing applicable aircraft. Israel has not signed the MTCRbut has promised not to export tech covered by MTCR to any country that is not a MTCR member. India joined the MTCR in June 2016 so it could speed up the acquisition of the ten Israeli Heron TP UAVs the government agreed to purchase in September 2015. India joined MTCR in order to remain on the side of the righteous as long as Israel developed an MTCR compliant Heron TP. Israel has now done so and can sell it to all MTCR members. India is paying about $40 million each for the Heron TP-XPs. India has been buying Israeli UAVs for over a decade. The late 2015 Indian decision to buy Heron TPs was one response to Pakistani announcing its first use (against Islamic terrorists) of an armed UAV.

The original Heron TP was equipped to carry smart bombs and guided missiles but was used mainly for long range reconnaissance and surveillance. The Heron TP was designed as an unarmed surveillance aircraft, but there has been so much demand for armed UAVs that in 2013 Israel modified the Heron TP to handle weapons. The Heron TP entered squadron service in the Israeli Air Force (with 210 Squadron) in 2009. The UAV's first combat service was in 2010, when it was used off the coast of Gaza, keeping an eye on ships seeking to run the blockade.

Development of the Heron TP was largely completed in 2007, mainly for the export market, and the Israeli military was in no rush to buy it. There have been some export sales and the Israeli air force eventually realized that this was an ideal UAV for long range operations or for maritime patrol. But it turned out there were few missions like that, especially for a UAV that was not MTCR compliant.

Equipped with a powerful (1,200 horsepower) turboprop engine, the 4.6 ton Heron TP can operate at 14,500 meters (45,000 feet). That is above commercial air traffic and all the air-traffic-control regulations that discourage, and often forbid, UAVs fly at the same altitude as commercial aircraft. The Heron TP has a one ton payload, enabling it to carry sensors that can give a detailed view of what's on the ground, even from that high up. The endurance of 30 hours makes the Heron TP a competitor for the U.S. MQ-9 Reaper. The big difference between the two is that Reaper was designed as a combat aircraft, operating at a lower altitude, with less endurance, and able to carry a ton of smart bombs or missiles. Heron TP was designed mainly for reconnaissance and surveillance especially since Israel wants to keep a closer, and more persistent, eye on Syria and southern Lebanon.
Portugal has ordered two MRZR2 and seven MV850 ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) for its small special operations force. Portugal is buying these in part because U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has been buying more and more ATVs since 2008, especially the MRZR2 and larger MRZR4. These ATVs have proved ideal for operations in remote areas. The main reason for this is that the manufacturer (Polaris) pays attention to user feedback and reacts quickly. This was especially useful for special operations troops and often a matter of life and death.

The MRZR2 is a 1.1 ton (loaded with nearly 450 kg of fuel, passengers, and cargo) 4x4 vehicle. It is 3 meters (9.1 feet) long and has no doors, two seats, and a steel framework on top of which is usually left open for maximum visibility. The vehicle is optimized for cross country operations and has an 88 horsepower engine. Fuel capacity is 7.25 gallons (27.4 liters) and range depends on what sort of terrain is being crossed. The MRZR4 is a larger MRZR2 that weighs 1.5 tons (loaded with nearly 700 kg of fuel, passengers, and cargo) and is also a 4x4 vehicle.

The MV850 is basically a 4x4 cross country motorcycle. It is an 869 kg (loaded with nearly 385 kg of fuel, passengers, and cargo) 4x4 vehicle. It is 2.4 meters (7.7 feet) long single seat vehicle that can tow up to 680 kg (1,500 pounds) and is optimized for cross country operations. MV850 has a 77 horsepower engine. Fuel capacity is 11.7 gallons (44 liters) and range depends on what sort of terrain is being crossed.

ATVs have proved particularly useful, and popular, in Afghanistan, especially for special operations forces. There are many models in use, all of them militarized civilian vehicles. These vehicles are innovative both in original concept and how they are constantly modified and upgraded. A recent innovation is the use of non-pneumatic tires. The non-pneumatic tires are not solid like traditional tires but built with a web of plastic honeycomb and surrounded by a thick band of rubber that is very similar to the tread found on pneumatic tires. These tires can survive a hit by a 12.7mm (.50 caliber) bullet and keep going. They feel about the same as pneumatic tires, although some users report they are not as effective in mud or watery surfaces.

British special operations troops were the first to develop unique vehicles for commando missions in rough country and SOCOM has formed close ties with their British and (since 2001) NATO counterparts. That has led other NATO special operations troops to quickly adopt new items developed and validated by the Brits and yanks. Moslem nations that have worked with NATO special operations forces since 2001 have done likewise.

The ATVs have been so popular that many troops have bought them when they get back home and use them for cross-country trips (for camping, hunting, or just sightseeing). The U.S. Army has bought some of these ATVs for use by troops just returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. It's the kind of high-excitement recreation that has been found to help the troops decompress after returning from a combat tour.
ARABIAN SEA (March 3, 2017) The amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) transits the Arabian Sea. The ship is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners, and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Devin M. Langer)

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by Austin Bay March 7, 2017

North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un's 2017 intimidation offensive is so uniquely threatening it deserves its own nickname: Kim's "Paranoid Spring."

In January Kim Jong Un seeded this extraordinary season of fear by threatening to strike South Korea, Japan and the U.S. with ballistic missiles. The fear factor rose on February 12 when North Korea successfully launched a solid fuel intermediate range ballistic missile.

Then came the assassination in Malaysia of Kim Jong Un's half-brother, Kim Jong Nam. The assassins apparently used VX nerve agent -- yes, a chemical agent that when delivered in large quantities in a missile warhead is a weapon of mass destruction. South Korea says evidence definitively ties North Korea to Nam's very public execution in Kuala Lumpur's international airport.

Threats, murder and weapons of mass destruction have provoked serious responses. The U.S., Japan and South Korea are reportedly contemplating "military action to force regime change in North Korea." Yes, that's war. China, North Korea's semi-friend, has condemned Pyongyang's most recent ballistic missile tests. Kim Jong Nam was regarded as a friend of Beijing -- and that may have been one reason his brother had him murdered.

For decades, North Korean intimidation offensives have followed a rather predictable script. The Pyongyang regime conducts a forbidden missile test, authors a violent incident or two, threatens war. The scripted threats take East Asia to the edge of all-out war.

But war's edge is the goal, not war's abyss. North Korea then seeks a pay-off. Even if food, fuel and other aid are not forthcoming, a month or so with Pyongyang in the global spotlight may be sufficient political reward. Here's a cherished Pyongyang narrative: fearless North Korea confronted rich and powerful nations, the U.S., South Korea and Japan, perhaps even China.

Initially, 2017's intimidation offensive followed the usual script. Kim's regime definitely plotted and timed the intimidation offensive's key military technology demonstration. The February 12 launch of the Pukguksong-2 (Polaris-2) was a well-choreographed threat staged and filmed for maximum propaganda value. Kim wanted the world to know his regime possesses a missile it can launch on short notice, from either a submarine or tracked transporter-erector launcher .

The Pukguksong-2 shrinks a defender's "warning time" of impending attack. Missiles on subs or on TELs hidden in tunnels means North Korea could launch second-wave attacks.

The Pukguksong-2 missile theater had a certain rationality. Though the capabilities were new, the "threat drama" imitated past performances.

Then Nam was assassinated. Rumors of new opposition within North Korea to Kim Jong Un appeared, followed by reports that his regime used anti-aircraft guns to execute several disloyal senior officials.

This week North Korea touted its latest missile test, a volley of four missiles launched on March 6, as "practice" for a strike on American military bases in Japan.

Erratic, violent and paranoid behavior doesn't stay on script. Kim Jong Un's behavior smacks of megalomaniacal desperation. Megalomania is a form of paranoia. Its psychological manifestations include delusions of grandeur and obsession with the exercise of power.

Fear me, Paranoid Kim instructs Planet Earth. I already threaten Seoul and Tokyo. Soon I will possess missiles with nuclear warheads that can destroy North American cities.

Kim's verified impulsivity dramatically increases the risk that one day North Korea will cross the edge and ignite a nuclear war.

This is not an irrational fear, it is a sobering realization. This week, a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile battery deployed to South Korea. It improves South Korea's defense against northern missiles but doesn't defend against Kim's impulsivity.

So America, Japan and South Korea are discussing offensive strikes to eliminate the source of the problem.

What is China doing? Good question. China opposes THAAD in South Korea. Beijing needs to end its opposition to the defensive system. Following the March 6 missile volley, China urged everyone to "exercise restraint" so regional tensions didn't intensify. It's time for Beijing to help permanently restrain Paranoid Kim.
The logo of PricewaterhouseCoopers is seen on the local offices building of the company in Luxembourg, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP [PWC.UL] pinned blame for MF Global Holdings Ltd's collapse squarely on the commodity brokerage and its former chief executive officer, Jon Corzine, as a trial over the auditor's own responsibility got under way on Tuesday.

Jurors in Manhattan federal court are considering whether PwC should pay roughly $3 billion for its alleged negligence in causing MF Global's October 2011 bankruptcy.

MF Global's bankruptcy plan administrator blamed the collapse on PwC's "egregious" accounting advice on Corzine's risky $6.3 billion European sovereign debt wager, and on so-called deferred tax assets.

But PwC said the administrator is trying to pass blame for decisions by Corzine, the former New Jersey governor and senator and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) co-chairman, and the brokerage's own accountants.

"MF Global was a sophisticated financial company," and "Mr. Corzine was the mastermind and the driver" behind the European debt strategy, James Cusick, a lawyer representing PwC, told a standing-room-only courtroom in his opening statement.

"Pricewaterhouse did not commit negligence," and "is not at all to blame, not one bit, for the bankruptcy," he added.

Daniel Fetterman, a lawyer representing the administrator, told jurors that PwC's failures led to a "crisis of confidence" for investors and counterparties, who fled MF Global upon learning its true financial condition.

"PwC had a job, one job," Fetterman said. "It was a job to properly audit MF Global's financial statements. PwC botched its job. It failed."

MF Global plunged into Chapter 11 in less than a week, battered by news about the European debt, an unexpected large quarterly loss, credit rating downgrades and margin calls.

A resulting panic caused an estimated $1.6 billion shortfall in customer funds that were supposed to remain segregated. That money was later recovered.

The expected five-week trial is the last major piece of litigation to recover money for MF Global creditors.

PwC in April 2015 reached a separate $65 million settlement with MF Global investors, but denied wrongdoing.

Corzine has not been accused of intentional misconduct, but in January reached a $5 million civil settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He is expected to testify later this week.

Lynn Turner, a former chief accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the administrator's first witness, testified that PwC made an "incorrect certification" of MF Global's financials by treating the European debt and tax matters improperly.

"Did PwC do their job?" Steven Thomas, a lawyer for the administrator, asked him.

"No, I don't believe so," Turner answered.

The case is MF Global Holdings Ltd as Plan Administrator v PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-02197.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Lisa Shumaker)
James Lee Havlicek passed away Thursday, March 2, 2017. He was born in La Crosse, Dec. 4, 1934, to Edward and Alice (Bruha) Havlicek.

Dad took an apprenticeship for tool and die making at Machine Products after graduating from Aquinas High School in 1953. He was drafted into the Army in 1956, and finished his apprenticeship after serving for two years in the military, one year of which was in Germany with the Redstone missile program. When he was granted leave time during his stint in the Army, he traveled Europe by train extensively, taking more pictures than any Russian spy plane of the day. Later, after converting these pictures into several filmstrips, this reconnaissance proved completely effective at helping his children to fall asleep at night. After completing his apprenticeship, he went on to work as a tool and die craftsman for 20 years at Iland Tool & Die, Northern Engraving, Lake Center Switch and Luxco. He then made a career change to teach tool and die making at Western Technical College in La Crosse for 20 years, before he retired in 2001. While working at WTC he attended Winona State College and received his BS degree in education at the age of 50.

In 1988, he purchased 66 wooded acres near Black River Falls and began his dream project of building a retirement log cabin. He spent countless hours with family and friends constructing the cabin, and then added a major addition in 2005, with Joanne by his side. He loved to deer hunt, having several tree stands and one highly successful Lazy Boy recliner, but mostly he loved to simply watch the deer as they wandered near the cabin.

After marrying Joanne, Dad started his second career as a gifted silversmith making, selling, and often simply giving away handmade sterling silver jewelry in Wisconsin and Sun City West, Arizona. Dad was an active member of the Toy-Ki Silver-craft club. Dad and Joanne enjoyed many years of being snowbirds between Sun City West and Black River Falls.

He spent the last 14 years with the constant companionship of his loving wife, Joanne, with whom he again traveled extensively, including returning to Europe. In 2010, Dad and Joanne traveled to the Czech Republic, including visiting our namesake city Havlickuv Brod, the Eagles Nest in Austria, and Munich, Germany.

He married Lois Stachowitz in 1960, and was predeceased by her in 1999.

He is survived by three children, Andrea, Penn Valley, Calif., Jim, La Crosse, John, La Crosse; 12 grandchildren, Kyle, Elma, Wash., Amy, Calif., Philip, Portland, Ore., (currently in Fort Lee, Va., with the National Guard), Alex, Carina, Teresa, Anthony and Cecily, all of Penn Valley, Jason, Park City, Utah, Nick, Madison, Wis., Ben, La Crosse, Madalyn, La Crosse; and recently, his first great-grandchild, Aria Fae, seven months, Penn Valley.

A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 25, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Black River Falls.

Donations may be given in memory of James to St. Josephs Catholic Church, Black River Falls. Please join Jamess family in sharing memories, pictures or videos on his tribute wall at www.caminodelsol.com.
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Nelly knows all too well what it's like to be left behind. When the pot-bellied pig's owner moved away, she couldn't bring Nelly with her, and Nelly was left on the farm in Ontario, Canada. But Nelly found a best friend, not in a human being, but in another pet: a barn cat named Pedro, who particularly enjoys snuggling up on Nelly, as well as riding around on Nelly's back.

When a new family bought the farm where Nelly and Pedro live and moved in, they didn't really know how to take care of a pet like Nelly, so Jackson, a boy from the family, reached out to a local sanctuary for help: Ralphy's Retreat, in Norfolk County, Ontario.

"We worked with the family for over a year helping them keep Nelly in her original home," Kara Burrow, founder and president of the sanctuary, which also helps unwanted and abandoned animals find loving new homes, told The Dodo. But this year, the family learned that they would have to move away, and Nelly - along with her friend - would again be in limbo. "They are moving from the farm and didn't want her to be left behind again," Burrow said.

Dodo Shows Soulmates Growling Little Kitten Becomes Her Mom's Best Friend

Burrow rushed to find a perfect home for the friends so that they could stay together. And the clock was ticking. The family was about to move and Burrow didn't want to take the pair temporarily only to move them again. "I didn't want to move them here and then move them to a new home," she said. "It can be so stressful." Luckily, Burrow has been rescuing animals for over a decade and is well connected in the sanctuary circuit. She thought to contact a sanctuary in Kingston to see if it had room for the special friends. And Happy Tails Farm Sanctuary jumped at the opportunity to give Nelly and Pedro a home. This week, the pair arrived at a forever home already famed for cross-species friendships - earlier this year a lamb and another cat formed a very close bond. They continue to be obsessed with each other.

"At Happy Tails Farm we have pigs, sheep, ducks, chickens, guinea fowl and turkeys! And our little farm family continues to grow," Carla Reilly Moore, co-founder of Happy Tails, told The Dodo.

As Nelly and Pedro settled into their new home, it became clear that they are closer than ever, napping together in the hay and Pedro partaking in his favorite pastime - riding around on Nelly's back.

"I'm not sure what's going on with us and bonded animals," Moore said, "but whatever it is it's great!"
Gary Stokes watched the men unload the large white sacks - one after another - from a shipping container in Hong Kong. He didn't need to open the sacks to know what was inside - shark fins. "It's so strong, the smell," Stokes, the Southeast Asia director at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, told The Dodo. "It's like cat pee on steroids."

Sacks of shark fins being unloaded from a shipping container in Hong Kong | Sea Shepherd Global

Hong Kong is "the hub" for shark fins, Stokes explained, and it's not unusual to see huge shipments of shark fins - accounting for hundreds of thousands of animals - come into the city. But Stokes recently discovered something fishy going on - shipping companies that had previously banned carrying shark fins were the very ones transporting them into Hong Kong.

Sacks of shark fins inside a warehouse, with unpacked fins in the middle of the room

During a three month investigation, Stokes and a small team discovered that shipping companies like Maersk, Virgin Australia Cargo and Cathay Pacific were carrying shark fins, despite previously placing embargos on shark fins. "When we found the big Maersk containers, the alarm bell went off because Maersk was the first to ban shark fins in 2010," Stokes said. "So when you see a big container with Maersk on the side and they're unloading shark fin, you think, 'Hello, there's something going on here.'"

Dodo Shows Little But Fierce Pocket-Sized Kitten Grows Up To Be A Wild Woman

Sacks of shark fins being unloaded from a shipping container in Hong Kong | Sea Shepherd Global

Stokes believes that a single shipping container could account for hundreds of thousands of dead animals. "It's a gut-wrenching feeling," Stokes said. "As a diver, the chance of seeing a shark on a dive is just so slim - it's amazing if you get to see one. And then here, I'm seeing hundreds and thousands of dead sharks right in front of me, and I think, 'How is it possible that there are any left in the ocean?'"

A different shipment of shark fins laid out on the street for drying | Sea Shepherd Global

Shark fins are a prized commodity in China and other parts of Asia. People use the fins to make shark fin soup, which can cost $100 or more per bowl in upscale restaurants. The dish is so popular that an estimated 73 million sharks are killed for their fins each year.

A different shipment of shark fins laid out on the street for drying | Sea Shepherd Global

And the way sharks are killed is incredibly cruel - fishermen often catch them, cut off their fins and dump their still-living bodies back into the ocean. "Fins don't grow back, so once these animals have been mutilated, they're no longer able to swim, and if they're not moving, their gills can't function and extract oxygen," Joanna Grossman, a former federal policy advisor for the Animal Welfare Institute, told The Dodo back in January.

A different shipment of shark fins laid out on the street for drying | Sea Shepherd Global

The sharks end up bleeding to death, suffocating or starving, according to Grossman. Stokes would love to see the shark finning industry banned altogether. But it's still legal to import fins from most shark species into Hong Kong. The best ways to stop the industry would be to stop consumer demand - followed by getting big shipping companies to ban shark fin products, which is what Maersk, Virgin Australia Cargo and Cathay Pacific have tried to do.

Shark fins being removed from their shipping sacks | Sea Shepherd Global

So how are people still shipping the fins with companies such as Maersk? They don't label their shipments as shark fins, Stokes explained, but instead as "marine products" or "seafood." "Because of that, it didn't ring any alarm bells when they were checking in to ship," Stokes said. While it's still unclear what type of sharks the fins belonged to, Stokes is worried about the high possibility that protected species like oceanic whitetip sharks and scalloped hammerheads were among the victims.

Shark fins being removed from their shipping sacks | Sea Shepherd Global

"When you see a container full of shark fins that hasn't even been checked by customs, you wonder, 'How many endangered species are mixed in with those legally caught sharks?'" Stokes said. Despite the challenges ahead, Stokes is optimistic that things will get better for sharks. He's already had some positive meetings with the companies to try and find ways to better regulate their cargo.

Sea Shepherd Global
LONDONFourteen years after the popular movie, the filming of a Love, Actually short is underway, and theres good news: Hugh Grants David and Martine McCutcheons Natalie are married.

Fans of the 2003 romantic comedy might also be delighted to learn that Grant is still running the United Kingdom.

Read more:Your disgust for Love Actually wont stop a sequel

Thanks to photos tweeted Sunday by producer Emma Freud, who worked as script editor on the first film with longtime partner, screenwriter Richard Curtis, fans are getting some behind-the-scenes looks at the happy couple.

Its unclear though if Grants character has actually been the prime minister for 14 years.

It could have happened. The longest-serving prime minister in the countrys history was Robert Walpole, who held the job for nearly 21 years.

On March 24, fans will learn what life has been like for the characters when the 10-minute film airs on BBC.

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PHILADELPHIAThe next battle in the criminal case against Bill Cosby will be whether prosecutors can use his lurid deposition testimony about giving pills and alcohol to a string of women before sex  material that may be disallowed at his trial since the judge ruled most of the women themselves cant testify.

Judge Steven ONeill must resolve the seeming conflict between two key pretrial rulings he made in recent months: One lets the deposition in, while the other excludes most of the accusers Cosby discusses.

The two sides will slug it out in briefs being filed in the coming weeks. The case is set for trial June 5 in suburban Philadelphia.

Cosby, 79, is accused of drugging and molesting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. The TV star whose reputation as Americas Dad has been destroyed by a barrage of sexual assault allegations could get 10 years in prison if convicted. He has said the sexual contact was consensual.

The comedian gave the damaging testimony more than a decade ago as part of a lawsuit filed against him by Constand, who later settled for an undisclosed sum.

Read more:Judge bars numerous accusers from testifying at Bill Cosbys sex assault trial

Some veteran trial lawyers doubt prosecutors can get in any of his testimony about other women, since that would amount to a backdoor way to bring in evidence the judge has blocked.

It should all be excluded, said Alan Tauber, a defence attorney who faced a similar issue in a Philadelphia priest-abuse trial. Otherwise, Tauber said, the ruling barring several other women from taking the stand would be rendered entirely an academic gesture, with no meaning.

If the material is excluded, the jury wont hear Cosby admit giving quaaludes to a 19-year-old he met in a hotel gift shop before having sex with her; describe giving three drinks to a teen actress at his New York townhouse during a supposed acting lesson before moving to the couch where, she says, he sought oral sex; or deny knowing a Las Vegas masseuse or a Sausalito, California, waitress who say they were drugged and attacked.

I doubt if any of that comes in, said David Rudovsky, a criminal lawyer and University of Pennsylvania law professor.

Prosecutors had hoped to call 13 other accusers to try to show Cosby had a pattern of drugging and molesting women that spanned 50 years.

In a victory for Cosby that could prove even bigger at trial, ONeill ruled last month that the jury can hear about only the most recent of those allegations, involving a woman who worked for Cosbys agent at the William Morris Agency. She said Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her during a lunch meeting in 1996.

Cosby was not asked about her in the deposition because she had not yet come forward.

However, the judge could still allow Cosbys more general testimony about the use of quaaludes. In the deposition, Cosby said he obtained about seven prescriptions of the powerful sedative from his doctor in the 1970s.

When you got the quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with? Constand lawyer Dolores Troiani asked him.

Yes, Cosby replied.

Joseph Cammarata, the attorney for the accuser who met Cosby in the Las Vegas gift shop, said the quaalude testimony should be allowed because its not specific to his client or anyone else.

He talks about his approach to sexual contact with women. His approach is, Ive got quaaludes that are not for my own use. ... Im going to use them to have sex with young women. Thats pretty powerful, important admissions, Cammarata said.

When Cosby was asked during the deposition if he had any quaaludes or similar drugs on hand when he met Constand, his lawyer intervened before the actor could answer.

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BEIRUTIt has been 18 months since the body of 3-year old Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shore of Turkey, the premature end of a flight from Syria.

Nilufer Demirs photo of Kurdi, face down in the morning surf, prompted an outpouring of compassion for refugees around Europe and North America.

Now, voters in developed countries are rewarding candidates for smearing refugee resettlement as a cultural and security threat, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Director Evgeny Afineevsky hopes his new documentary, Cries From Syria, which premieres at 10 p.m. EST Monday on HBO, can revive our collective sympathy.

I tried to show the human side of these people, and their dignity, he said in an interview from Los Angeles. Their dignity is the essential thing.

Its HBO premiere and limited run in Los Angeles and New York movie theatres falls on nearly on the sixth anniversary of Syrias murderous war, one so brutish, the UN has lost count of the death toll. Most estimates put it over 400,000. The government is responsible for the bulk of those fatalities.

Cries From Syria is a difficult film that opens with a shot of little Aylans body before rewinding to the popular uprising that spiralled into war.

The historical context given is thin, but in broad strokes, is factually correct. The Assad family had ruled Syria with an iron fist for four decades, and cracked down on dissent with militaristic violence. However, those hoping for an in-depth history lesson on how President Bashar Assad managed to maintain an indissoluble core of support within the states various security apparatuses and the air force will need to look elsewhere.

Stitching together footage recorded by activists of the events in Syria with moving interviews from people who can only be described as survivors of Assads desperation to rule, Afineevsky delivers a wrenching expose of the crackdown that sparked the still-raging war.

A lot of the footage is graphic, and will be unfamiliar to those who have not followed Syria closely. Viewers will gaze on the disfigured corpse of a dead 13-year-old who, by opposition accounts, was kidnapped and tortured to death by the governments security services in 2011 to make an example out of protesters.

Without this brutality, you wont understand why these people are looking for shelter, why the take the boats and head for the seas, said Afineevsky, whose 2015 Winter on Fire: Ukraines Fight for Freedom was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary. You want to feel the same thing that mothers feel, to lose their kids.

Individual cases are difficult to verify, but prosecutors and human rights watchdogs have accumulated reams of evidence pointing to an industrial scale of torture and extrajudicial killings in the governments shadowy network of detention centres. They have collected evidence of war crimes by the conflicts other parties, too, though at a smaller scale.

Read more:

Turkish, Russia, U.S. generals meet to discuss tensions over Syria operations

U.S.-backed Syrian fighters cut main road linking to Daesh-held areas

Syria used chlorine bombs at least 8 times in Aleppo, study says

The film moves through the phases of the war, ending with a chapter called In Between that returns to the desperate attempts to flee the war. One of them, of course, belongs to Kurdis family. The UNs refugee agency says 5 million Syrians  nearly one-quarter of the countrys pre-war population  are refugees. Once citizens, with jobs, belongings, homes, access to education and health care, they are now mired in the camps and the ghettos of Syrias neighbours. They are stateless, and they need onward passage to rich, developed nations, for the sake of their childrens futures if for nothing else.

But the nature of the subject matter means the film will doubtless raise other questions, as well, chief among them: What could the U.S. and Europe have done? What can they still do?

In one of the final clips of the film, Kholoud Helmi, 33, who earlier described the uprising in the most romantic terms, tells viewers she doesnt know what she wishes for anymore. What she wants most dearly  a brother who was disappeared by the security forces  can never be returned.

It is to Afineevskys credit that he leaves these questions unanswered. The truth is, Syrias future is dark, and any accounting for the realities today reveals there is little room for hope.

At its core, Cries For Syria is unsparing. But whether it will move American and European viewers to rethink their posture toward refugees is anyones guess. History suggests that feelings of collective generosity are ephemeral.

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By now theres probably someone in your office raving about their new Instant Pot, the kitchen appliance thats a combination pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer and yogurt maker that will also keep your food warm and saute meats and veggies.

Its life-changing, and I can make chili with dried beans in an hour, one co-worker marvelled. I always make my moms Portuguese chicken soup with it, said another.

In the past two weeks, three more coworkers shelled out $185 for the Canadian invention.

The Instant Pot Community Facebook group has more than 400,000 members sharing recipes, hacks, videos and for some of the more hardcore users, pictures of rolling carts dedicated for the Instant Pot, the appliance decked out in decals for a personalized touch and recommendations on what bags built specifically to carry the Instant Pot is best. This week, an authorized Instant Pot special issue recipe magazine hit the newsstands.

The Instant Pots story began during the 2008 economic bust when Robert Wang, a laid-off Ottawa telecom engineer, made a 180-degree turn in his career and looked at household appliances. With nary a marketing plan and a staff of only 25, two million Instant Pots have since landed on kitchen counters, mainly from word of mouth raves, and spurred an industry of Instant Pot-heads with their own cookbooks and fan clubs.

At least part of its genius is it helped home cooks get over the one enduring fear of pressure cookers  the kablooey factor.

Why smartphones succeed is that they have nine to 10 sensors whether its in the camera or screens. I thought what if we added more sensors to the pressure cooker? We can make it safer, provide consistency and automation, says Wang, the 53-year-old CEO of Ottawa-based Double Insight, the company behind the Instant Pot.

Its obvious that Wang comes from a tech background and not a culinary one. He spoke more about consistency, efficiency and simplicity than flavour or texture.

Wang worked at the research arm for the now-defunct Canadian telecommunications company Nortel from the mid-90s to 2000, right around the time the tech bubble burst. He moved on to form another telecom start-up with another colleague that raised millions in venture capital, but that too ended with another burst: the subprime mortgage crises of 2008.

I thought it was impossible to do high tech because funding was becoming a serious problem, Wang says. I thought we should look into the consumer space, specifically kitchen appliances.

Wang and his colleagues looked into the electrical pressure cooker, which was gaining popularity as people were cooking more rather than dining out, but wanted a meal that was also healthy and fast. A pressure cooker works by creating an airtight seal in the cooker, building pressure inside the pot and forcing hot steam into the food, rendering the toughest meats into a tender, juicy meal in a fraction of the time it would take in the slow cooker or oven.

The Instapot works in the same way, but sets itself apart from other pressure cookers with additional features like slow cooker, rice cooker yogurt maker, and saute.

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The first Instant Pot went on sale in 2010 with subsequent models released every 12 to 18 months, each with incremental improvements such as an added yogurt-making function; presets for different foods; accessories like a rack for eggs and in the newest fourth generation model: bluetooth capability. The Instant Pot also eased fears of the notorious pressure cooker by incorporating more safety features that make the machine far less temperamental than its stovetop predecessors.

In high tech, you improve your project on a continuous basis, Wang says, adding that four new Instant Pot models are scheduled for release this year along with an improved recipe app. We listen to our customers closely and we have a page on our site where people can submit ideas.

To promote it, the company gave free Instant Pots to influential food bloggers and recipe developers to test, but it was Amazons rankings and reviews that Wang used to track success: January 2013 was the tipping point when the second-generation model ranked higher than all other stovetop pressure cookers on Amazons bestseller list.

With more than 2,000 reviews averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars on its bestseller third-generation model, its an endorsement better than any ad the company could buy. Fans released Instant Pot cookbooks, a Facebook group called Instant Pot Recipes 101 has 17,000 members, and thousands of Instant Pot cooking videos can be found on YouTube.

Pressure cooking does have limits, however. If you want the golden, crispy and slightly charred skin on your chicken or potatoes, stick to an oven. Pressure cookers also need 10 to 15 minutes for the pressure to build, and another 5 to 10 for the pressure to release before its safe to lift the lid, so while risotto takes five minutes to cook, in total its more of a 30-minute venture. Still, fans love it for the consistent results and ability to step away from the kitchen while its cooking.

For now, Double Insight is in the midst of expanding as its product is quickly becoming a household name like Crockpot or KitchenAid. The company is planning to double its workforce to 50 employees over the next year to keep up with the continuous need to innovate. Other appliances are in the works but what will be the followup to the Instant Pot, Wang is unsurprisingly tight-lipped.

We want to reimagine the kitchen and apply the same technology to other appliances, says Wang. The Instant Pot isnt the be-all-and-end-all product.

Mushroom and Pea Risotto

This classic Italian rice dish is what Instant Pot devotees say sold them on the gadget. Theres no need to keep an eye on the pot or constant stirring, perfect for parents with tykes running around. This recipe is has been adapted from Serious Eats recipe for Pressure Cooker Mushroom Risotto.

1/4 cup (60 mL) olive oil

2 tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter

1-1/2 lbs (670g) mixed mushrooms (button, oyster, shiitake, etc.)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups (500 mL) arborio rice

1 tbsp + 1 tsp (20 mL) white miso paste

2 tsp (10 mL) Japanese soy sauce

3/4 cup (180 mL) dry white wine

1-900 mL box no-salt added vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 cup (125 mL) finely grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup (125 mL) frozen peas, rinsed and drained

Chopped parsley, for garnish

Using Saute function on normal setting, heat oil and butter. Stir until butter is melted and bubbly. Add mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Stir occasionally until mushrooms are browned and excess moisture has cooked off, about 15 minutes depending on variety of mushrooms.

Add onions and garlic. Stir frequently until onions are soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add rice and stir until grains are lightly toasted but not browned (centre of rice will remain opaque but edges will turn translucent). Stir in miso paste and soy sauce. Add wine and stir frequently until alcohol smell has cooked off, about 2 minutes.

Press Keep Warm/Cancel button. Add broth. Secure lid on Instant Pot, making sure valve is switched to Sealing mode. Cook risotto on Manual setting for 5 minutes at low pressure.

When time is up, carefully pull release valve and let steam escape until float valve drops to indicate lid is safe to remove.

Remove lid. Stir to let remaining liquid evaporate. Taste. Add salt and pepper, if necessary. Stir in parmesan and peas. Transfer to serving plates and garnish with parsley.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Meaty Bean Chili

Chilis and stews are go-to meals for Instapot users since dried beans can be cooked in less than an hour without an overnight soak. This is an updated version of my turkey chili recipe with cocoa powder and coffee added in. It sounds odd but it gives the chili added depth and smoky flavour.

1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil

1 lb (450g) extra lean ground beef, chicken or turkey

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 red pepper, diced

1/2 cup (125 mL) corn kernels

1/4 cup (60 mL) tomato paste

2 tsp (10 mL) each, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, finely ground coffee

1 tsp (5 mL) each unsweetened cocoa powder, cumin

1/2 tsp (2 mL) cayenne

2-28 oz cans diced tomato

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (250 mL) dried red kidney beans

Grated cheddar, parsley and sour cream, for garnish

Using Saute function on normal setting, heat oil and saute meat until no longer pink. Add onion and garlic. Stir until meat is browned and onions have softened, about 2 minutes.

Add diced red pepper and corn. Stir in tomato paste, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, coffee, cocoa, cumin and cayenne until incorporated. Press Keep Warm/Cancel button. Add canned tomato (including liquid) with dried beans.

Secure lid on pot, making sure valve is on Sealing setting. Turn on Bean/Chili function and cook for 50 minutes on high pressure.

When time is up, allow natural pressure release, about 15 minutes. Remove lid and stir chili. If chili is to runny, turn on Saute function to cook off excess liquid till chili reaches desired thickness.

Garnish with cheddar, parsley and sour cream. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 10 servings.

Korean Chili Pulled Pork

Pork shoulder is a popular cut for pressure cooking since it can render the tough and relatively affordable piece of meat into juicy pulled pork in an hour (it would take five to seven in a slow cooker). When cooking large cuts of meats, its recommended to let the pressure cooker depressurize on its own time rather than pulling the quick release valve. This ensures the meat stays tender.

Gochujang, fermented Korean chili paste, and gochugaru, Korean chili flakes can be found at Asian grocers or the Asian aisle at the supermarket.

The pork can be served on rice, in tacos, or in a bun with slaw, but I like serving it in steamed baos, found in the refrigerate section of Asian grocers. They take 15 minutes to steam. This recipe will fill about 20 baos.

For the gochujang sauce

1-200 g container or 1/2 cup (250 mL) gochujang

1/4 cup (60 mL) apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp (30 mL) brown sugar

1 tbsp (15 mL) Japanese soy sauce

1 tsp (5 mL) each garlic powder, onion powder, gochugaru or any chili flakes

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Set aside.

For the pork

1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable or canola oil

1-4 lb (1.8 kg) bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder cut into 4 large chunks

1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh ginger, minced

1 cup (250 mL) no-salt added beef broth

Using Saute function on normal setting, heat oil. In batches, brown meat on all sides till golden brown. Remove all pork from pot. Saute onion, garlic and ginger in rendered fat till soft. Add broth to deglaze pot, scraping bottom of pot with a wooden spatula to loosen bits of caramelized pork. Press Keep Warm/Cancel button. Return pork to pot.

Secure lid on pot, making sure valve is on Sealing setting. Turn on Manual function and cook for 50 minutes on high pressure.

When time is up, let cooker depressurize naturally, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove lid and check if pork is fork tender. If not, replace lid and cook on high pressure for another 10 minutes.

Transfer pork to a large bowl. Discard bones and skin. Shred meat with two forks. Toss pork in gochujang sauce. Serve immediately with rice, in tacos, in soft burger buns or steamed baos.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

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LOLIM, UGANDA-Sitting on a patio drinking a cocktail at dusk while watching hippos rise like submarines from the Victoria Nile River is the embodiment of luxury.

Chobe Safari Lodge is plonked in the middle of a thick savannah on the east end of Murchison Falls National Park, a five-hour drive from Kampala, or you can fly in on the resorts runway, which is an experience all to itself. Along the red-stone gravel airstrip youll be welcomed by warthogs, giraffes, Ugandan crested cranes and a whole ton of hippo dung.

The lodge, built in the 50s, is perched on layered terraces that overlook the river and the resorts fantastically blue swimming pool.

Staying in the semi-permanent, immaculately furnished tents is an unforgettable experience. In the morning, wake up to a vervet monkey on your stoop and through the tents thin walls in the evening hear the ever-present sound of the frothing rapids, punctuated by the grunting and huffing of hippos and water buffalo as they make their way through the resort grounds for their nightly stroll in the surrounding savannah.

You can take a guided walking tour into the park, where you can see scores of giraffes munching on acacia trees, and herds of water buffalo who look at you like angry busybodies with terrible haircuts. Beware of tsetse flies, though. Their sharp bites are painful, and youre more likely to be bitten while wearing black and dark blue. They are harmless, however, and according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, no longer carry disease.

On the water, boat tours through Murchison Falls National Park and on to the eponymous falls at the other end feature elephants drinking from the Nile, crocodiles catching flies, and the chance to spot some of the countrys amazing birds.

Uganda is a birders paradise. It boasts 1,061 species of birds, which is more than half of Africas birds, and 10 per cent of all the worlds birds. On the cruise, you can see kingfishers hovering like hummingbirds over the water then dive bombing to their prey, and prehistoric-looking shoebill storks lurking in the reeds.

The grand finale of your water safari is the mighty and wild Murchison Falls. This waterfall is the most powerful in the world as the water from Lake Albert crashes through a six-metre gorge.

This part of the world is, in every sense of the word, magical.

Andy Macdonald was hosted by Tourism Uganda, which didnt review or approve this story.

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CALGARYThe case of a Calgary imam who has spent more than seven months in a Turkish prison will remain in limbo for another two months.

Davud Hanci was expected to appear today before a judge by video conference on allegations he helped orchestrate last summers attempted coup.

But his sister-in-law, Ruveyda Durmus, says the case has been delayed until May 3 because of a secret witness.

His wife says an earlier court date for Hanci, who has Canadian and Turkish citizenship, had been set for Jan. 31 but was postponed because of lack of evidence.

Read more:

Family of man held after Turkish coup searches for answers

Canadas immigration minister cautious over Calgary imam held in Turkey

Relatives fear for safety of Canadian detained in Turkey in wake of failed coup

Rumeysa Hanci says worrying about her husband since his arrest last July has been like torture for her and their two young sons.

She says her husband is a peaceful man and the allegations against him are ridiculous.

I feel so extremely overwhelmed. Its really difficult to fight, she said after ushering the couples two young sons out of the room so they wouldnt be upset by her talking about their father.

My mind is so full of everything.

She said her husband is being kept in solitary confinement and has not been allowed visits or phone calls with family, but he has been able to see his lawyer face-to-face.

She says hes trying to be strong, said Rumeysa.

Relatives have said the couple and their two sons, who are eight and nine, were in Turkey last July visiting the imams ailing father in Trabzon on the coast of the Black Sea.

Shortly after, he was moved to a prison nearly 1,000 kilometres away in the province of Kocaeli east of Istanbul.

The accusations are so ridiculous, said Rumeysa. I want Canadians to know a good man is staying there without any evidence.

Turkish news reports have accused Davud Hanci of having ties to Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric whom the Turkish government accuses of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt.

Gulen, a former ally-turned-critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has denied any involvement.

Turkey has arrested tens of thousands in its investigation into the failed coup, and dismissed or suspended more than 100,000 people from government jobs.

Michael OShaughnessy of Global Affairs Canada called the case a priority, though he said privacy considerations prohibit him from discussing it in detail.

We are actively engaged on this case, and doing everything we can to support the family, he said. Parliamentary Secretary Omar Alghabra has met with the individuals family, and consular officials remain in regular contact.

Rumeysa said the ordeal has been tough on their sons.

They need him so much. So they keep asking questions like when he will be home, she said.

The boys are apart from their father and its hard to find answers to their questions anymore.

I want this torture to end as soon as possible, she said. I want him back home. I want him seeing my boys growing and taking care of them.

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Phil Trudel was heading west along Burnhamthorpe Rd. in Mississauga one afternoon when another car coming south off a side street ran a stop sign and slammed into his Dodge Ram pickup truck.

On another day, Amita Shah and her husband Jayesh were driving north on Mavis Rd. when their car collided with a driver making a left turn out of a plaza driveway while the driver was talking on her cellphone.

Both Trudel and the Shahs were injured in these separate accidents. Both hired a personal injury lawyer on contingency  you dont pay unless we win. And both believe they received thousands of dollars less from their settlements than they were entitled to under Ontario law.

Why? In each case, their lawyers appear to have taken both a percentage cut of the settlement dollars and an additional payment to cover costs. Under Ontario law, legal costs in these contingency cases actually belong to the clients under the theory that the lawyers have already been paid a fee through their cuts of the damages.

An ongoing Star investigation found personal injury lawyers in Ontario routinely take this second payment, which critics call double-dipping.

Like many clients past and present, and hundreds of personal injury lawyers, Trudel and the Shahs will be closely watching a potentially precedent-setting case that begins Wednesday in a Toronto court.

The Ontario Court of Appeal will determine whether the case of a woman from Brooklin, Ont., against Toronto law firm Neinstein & Associates should be certified as a class action.

The case centres on Cassie Hodge, a mother of two who developed chronic pain after a car accident in December 2002. She alleges that double dipping and other factors reduced her take from a $150,000 settlement to just $10,000. Class counsel Peter Waldmann writes in his submissions to court that lawyer Gary Neinstein and his firm took from clients both a percentage of the damages and the costs.

Chris Paliare, the Neinstein firms lawyer, argued in his factum that the case should not be certified. In a letter to the Star, Paliare also noted there have been no legal determinations on the allegations raised by Ms. Hodge, nor have there been any factual findings in her case against the Neinstein firm.

Originally, a Superior Court judge refused to certify the Neinstein case as a class action. Then the Divisional Court reversed that decision. Now that decision to certify is being appealed by Neinstein and his firm. If the case is certified, between 4,000 and 6,000 former clients of the Neinstein firm could potentially join the class, and the case, barring any further appeals would proceed to trial or a settlement.

The Neinstein case could have wide-ranging ramifications for other personal injury cases in Ontario. A recent Star series prompted dozens to come forward with their stories.

The Shahs accident happened near a Home Depot plaza in Mississauga in 2009 when a distracted driver pulled in front of their car. Their car struck the drivers side of the other vehicle. Amita Shah, 51, still suffers from leg tremors, anxiety and pain. Her husband, Jayesh, 54, was in the passenger seat and his shoulder was injured by the impact.

The Shahs hired Conte & Associates, a personal injury law firm with locations in Whitby and Vaughan run by Jane Conte, who in a promotional video for her firm is seen getting out of a white BMW convertible with the licence plate SEEUNCRT.

Like many clients of various firms the Star has interviewed, neither Amita nor Jayesh Shah truly understood the contingency fee retainer Amita signed. The document states the firm will take as its fee 30 per cent of the amount recovered, plus the costs awarded.

The case settled in 2015 for $295,000, according to settlement documents. The detailed accounting shows Contes total payment for her services was $95,346  composed of a fee of $70,346 plus an additional amount termed costs of $25,000. There were also a series of disbursements, including $1,250 for photocopies and $1,091.30 for Legal Link, a company that on its website says it provides business-critical information to the legal and business communities. In the end, the Shahs received $154,496.27  just over half the settlement.

Jayesh Shah said he was generally happy with the lawyers work, but then noticed the $25,000 in costs. He did not know Ontario law banned this in contingency agreements, and complained only because they were surprised at the flat fee charge. After a back-and-forth, Conte agreed to return half that amount, Jayesh told the Star.

Conte told the Star that despite the description of the fee on the documents she does not take costs.

Our fees charged after handling both these matters for six years were fair and reasonable, and everything was explained in detail to our clients resulting in a good result, which our clients acknowledge, Conte said in an email.

In a phone interview with the Star, Conte said: I know clients dont like to pay fees, thats an unfortunate situation.

Conte said the final statement of account the Star is basing its information on, dated 2015 and sent by Conte to the Shah family, was in fact never processed in this matter and was prepared in my absence while I was out of the country with a terminally ill family member. Conte recently sent the Star different documents dated five months after Shahs original bill. Shah says he never received a copy.

This second statement showed the fees paid to Conte & Associates were now $82,719.77  a difference of $12,626.50, which appears to account for the approximate 50 per cent reduction in the amount called costs.

In another email to the Star, Conte said the retainer agreement, which states that costs will be taken, was changed by our office eight years ago, shortly after I left my previous firm and opened C&A, and reflects the proper calculations.

Conte told the Star she would supply a current retainer agreement, but has yet to do so despite five requests from the Star.

The crash that severely injured Phil Trudel in December 2012 deployed his trucks airbags and spun the vehicle 180 degrees so that it came to rest facing the opposite direction, he says. Trudel was knocked unconscious when his head smashed into his steering wheel, leaving him with a concussion, head, neck and back injuries, tinnitus in his left ear, and PTSD, he says.

Within a month of getting out of hospital, Trudel chose a lawyer after he saw a television ad for Preszler Law Firm featuring an urbane gentleman in a suit and tie. (The Star recently reported that the man in the firms ads is actor John Fraser, not a lawyer).

Trudel called the Preszler firm, prompting a visit to his home in Puslinch, Ont., by lawyer David Preszler, a son of the firms founder.

Trudel said he found Preszlers contingency fee agreement confusing, but signed it anyway.

I was trying to take care of my injuries. . . . I was dealing with my insurance company, I had to take time off work. . . . Youre in a different world, said Trudel, who works as an employment co-ordinator at a non-profit social work agency.

One part of the contingency fee agreement states the Preszler firm would take as its fee 20 per cent of all damages and interest on damages, plus a percentage of damages that is equivalent to the partial indemnity fees recovered from the defendants (if any), plus HST. Partial indemnity fees is a commonly used term in legal circles for costs.

Confusingly, in another paragraph, the agreement says that the law firm would not include any amount either awarded or agreed to by way of costs when calculating its fee.

After the case settled in June 2016 for $90,000, Preszler sent Trudel a statement of account. It appears to show the firm taking nearly $11,000 in partial indemnity costs (or an amount equivalent to that), in addition to $14,546.62, which equals 20 per cent of the damages.

Lawyer Jeff Preszler told the Star his firm did not retain the actual costs awarded to Mr. Trudel as part of the settlement. Rather, he said the firms fee is a variable percentage, a portion of which is calculated in relation to partial indemnity fees plus HST.

In this case, our fee was taken from the damages only as is permitted under the Act, Preszler said in an email. The amount charged to Mr. Trudel is fair, reasonable, and is in fact roughly half of the docketed time that we actually incurred on Mr. Trudels case.

Preszler went on to say that his firm takes significant risks under the contingency fee agreements that our clients, including Mr. Trudel, choose to sign.

We spend hundreds of hours with no guarantee of payment. None of our cases are perfect, and all of them involve risks of varying degrees, he said.

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Patricia Mae Bogie, 89, of La Crosse died Sunday, March 5, 2017, at Eagle Crest South. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church, with burial in Mormon Coulee Memorial Park, both in La Crosse. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to time of service. A full obituary will be provided by Dickinson Family Funeral Home and Crematory.
With no certainty on funding from other levels of government or certainty on costs, Mayor John Tory's executive committee supported moving ahead with a one-stop subway extension in Scarborough Wednesday.

While critics called the plan estimated to cost at least $3.35 billion an albatross that is destined to be a colossal mistake, Tory and supporters said they were diligently moving ahead with the plan as promised while contradicting evidence from city staff on the benefits of a subway.

Its time to build, Tory said at the committee ahead of a vote, adding a reference to his 2014 mayoral campaign slogan: Its time to say to Scarborough, you are included in One Toronto.

Executive committee approved the plan, which includes aligning the subway along McCowan Ave., in a near-unanimous vote. Only Councillor Paul Ainslie (Ward 43 Scarborough East), who has supported a light-rail plan, voted against it.

A motion from Tory to review options for the private sector to help finance a $187 million bus terminal  recommended by staff and now included in the cost of the subway extension  was also approved.

Council has the final say at the end of the month.

The debate Tuesday saw lobbyists paid for by Scarborough Town Centre owners Oxford Properties Group through newly-created organization ConnectScarborough advocate for the one-stop subway while members of the citizens group Scarborough Transit Action argue that the money would be better spent on a network of LRTs.

There were emotional arguments made by both members of the public and councillors Tuesday on the time that could be saved on commutes with the subway  time better spent with family.

At one point, Tory asked a resident to speculate on how much faster he could get where we would be going on a line that is not yet built. The resident guessed 15 minutes could be shaved from his commute.

But in a report released in June, city staff said the replacement of the SRT with a one-stop subway could save riders up to five minutes.

Asked about that assessment by staff and whether it was responsible for him to ask members of the public to speculate, Tory told reporters:

"Well, I guess, you know its funny because we have lots of experts and we get lots of reports from them but actually nothing substitutes for the experiences that people among the public actually have on a day-to-day basis. You can have all the expert reports you want but I think nothing replaces the lived experiences.

Council originally planned and the province agreed to fully fund a seven-stop LRT to replace the aging Scarborough RT. But that plan was halted when council flip-flopped to approve a three-stop subway under mayor Rob Ford in 2013.

Three levels of government originally committed $3.56 billion to a three-stop subway  funding city manager Peter Wallace told committee members on Tuesday, needs to be confirmed and is to some extent at risk.

In January 2016, facing ongoing criticism of the justification for the subway, Tory and senior city staff presented a new plan  a one-stop subway to Scarborough Town Centre which they said would allow a 17-stop LRT to be built within the same funding envelope.

Since then, the cost of the one-stop subway extension has climbed from an approximate estimate of $2 billion to $3.35 billion, effectively pricing out the Eglinton East LRT. Tory has said the other levels of government will pay for that line. Neither government has signaled a willingness to pay for it.

This is not a referendum about subways and LRTs, budget chief Councillor Gary Crawford said at committee. We are moving forward diligently.

Councillor Anthony Perruzza countered that the subway would burn through the available funds for Scarborough transit while serving a small number of residents.

We are making a colossal mistake.

Longtime Scarborough resident Ashwani Bhardwaj said his part of the city paying their fair share of taxes has been neglected by council.

I believe that Scarborough subway has been overdue, he said. It will make Scarborough Centre an economic hub to attract employers and would provide greater Toronto opportunities for Scarborough residents.

Zuzana Betkova, who currently lives in Davenport and previously lived in Scarborough, said what that region needs is a rapid transit network as soon as possible.

Im wondering, though, about the people in Scarborough who do not want to go downtown Toronto, who want to live and work in Scarborough and who do not have transit options within Scarborough and I dont see how this one-stop Scarborough extension will help those people, she said, adding she favours the light-rail option.

Councillor Frances Nunziata challenged Betkova, saying council had already made up its mind and that an LRT-only option was no longer on the table.

To which Betkova replied: I want to just speak to the fact that youve already voted on it. I, as a taxpayer, am fully entitled to keep disagreeing with you and to speak, right? Because its a democracy.

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The creation of a specialized tribunal and more education and transparency around power of attorney are among the 58 recommendations in a report going to government on strengthening the laws around substitute decision-making for people who are incapacitated.

An individual appointed by another person to be their power of attorney can potentially make a wide array of decisions on their behalf when called upon, including on living arrangements, health care, property and finances.

But the Law Commission of Ontario, an independent body that recommends law reform, found the system around substitute decision-making is complex and lacks co-ordination.

We learned a lot of concerns about the misuse and potential abuse of powers of attorney, the commissions executive director, Nye Thomas, told the Star. Theyre very powerful legal instruments. They give the person granted the power of attorney a lot of authority to make decisions.

The issue with them, however, is theyre essentially private legal tools, and theres not a lot of accountability or transparency around them, and as a result we heard a lot of stories about things like financial misuse of disabled Ontarians or elderly Ontarians because, either through inadvertence or intent, the power of attorney was used improperly.

The recommendations are the result of nearly two years of research and consultation by the law commission, which says it is the most comprehensive study in 30 years of Ontarios laws governing issues such as power of attorney and legal capacity.

To improve the system, the commission is recommending the creation of a statement of commitment that the person granted power of attorney must sign, which would set out their legal responsibilities

A second document, called a notice of attorney, would be sent out once the person holding power of attorney begins to act. The notice would be sent to the grantor (the person whose decisions are being made on their behalf), their spouse, any previous holder of power of attorney, as well as anyone else identified by the grantor.

The grantor would also have the option, under the commissions recommendations, to name a monitor, who would have powers under the law to communicate with the grantor and review records to ensure the attorney is properly carrying out their functions.

Its kind of sober second thought, making sure that the person using the authority is using it appropriately, Thomas said of the monitor.

Other recommendations target access to justice and dispute resolution that could arise in the area of substitute decision-making  for example, disputes involving children fighting over control of the property of a parent who has been deemed incapacitated.

Currently, these disputes are typically dealt with in Superior Court, which can often be a lengthy and costly process, and which Thomas said can be especially difficult for people representing themselves.

The commission is proposing the government create a specialized, expert tribunal with broad jurisdiction in this area of the law, and the ability to provide flexible and holistic approaches to disputes.

Thomas said this tribunal could include features of both the court and the existing Consent and Capacity Board, an independent body composed of psychiatrists, lawyers and members of the public that already deals with situations such as reviewing a persons finding of incapacity and appointing a representative to make decisions on medical treatment for an incapacitated person.

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The iconic Sam the Record Man sign will go back on display near its original Yonge St. home later this year, Ryerson University announced Wednesday.

Ryerson, which is responsible for the process of restoring and reinstalling the famous piece of Toronto history atop the Toronto Public Health building on the east side of Yonge-Dundas Square, has now chosen a company to do the refurbishment.

Sunset Neon will start working this spring, and move the sign to its new home over the summer.

The neon sign, a 15-metre by 11-metre behemoth featuring two large records with spinning lights, hasnt been on public display since 2008, when it was taken down from the former site of the late Sam Snidermans Toronto music shop on Yonge St. a block north of Dundas St.

Weve had a stellar day today, his son Bobby Sniderman told the Stars Laura Beeston. I just really couldnt have asked for more. It looks great. Its a great location. I think this will really be a positive thing for anyone whoever went in the store or bought a record and has great memory of Sams.

My father would be really thrilled. He would be very, very happy. It was one of his life-long desires. This site is a better home for it.

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The stores former location is now home to Ryersons Student Learning Centre. When the university bought the site, council designated the sign a piece of city heritage, making Ryerson responsible for its preservation.

Ryerson was originally supposed to display the sign on its modern, glassy new building. But after it had already been stored away at an undisclosed location, the school said the sign would clash with the design of the Student Learning Centre, and asked to be released from the agreement.

Council asked for a new plan, and in 2014, backed a proposal to place the sign on top of the Toronto Public Health building on the east side of Yonge-Dundas Square  a spot just around the corner from its original home.

Although there was some concern the building could be sold, council voted to ensure that any future sale would include an agreement to preserve and maintain the sign.

In February, 2016, Ryerson began restoring the long-beloved sign to its former glory, and opened up the process for bids to install it.

We are very pleased to announce the iconic Sam the Record Man signs, with their spinning neon discs, will once again illuminate downtown Toronto, said Ryerson president and vice-chancellor Mohamed Lachemi. Were very thankful to the City of Toronto and the Sniderman family for their ongoing support and patience.

Sunset Neon is a Hamilton-based company that also created the signs on Ryersons downtown campus. Other clients include Dairy Queen, the TIFF Lightbox and Mobilicity.

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Torontos mumps outbreak continues to spread; three new cases were confirmed Wednesday, bringing the total to 31 this year.

Toronto Public Health is investigating what health officials say is now a community outbreak.

On Tuesday, the Toronto District School Board confirmed that two of its students were infected with the mumps virus, bringing the total of confirmed cases among students to three.

Despite the three cases found, one in each of three schools, Dr. Vinita Dubey, an associate medical officer with Toronto Public Health, said the virus has mainly affected 18- to 35-year-olds who frequented bars in part of the citys west end. The affected area is west of Yonge St., east of Lansdowne Ave. and south of Bloor St. W.

Toronto normally averages about four cases of mumps per year. The largest mumps outbreak on record was in 2009, according to public health officials, when 33 cases were confirmed.

The highly contagious virus spreads through coughing, sneezing and coming into contact with a persons saliva. Symptoms include swollen saliva glands, loss of appetite, tiredness and headaches.

Health officials are urging parents and children to check their immunization records and ensure they are up to date on their vaccinations. Two doses of the mumps vaccine are recommended for all individuals born in 1970 or later.

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After a six-alarm fire ravaged the historic Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto last month, residents of a neighbouring condominium banded together to thank some of the firefighters that worked to contain it.

The fire, one of the biggest in the city in recent memory with more than 500 firefighters battling it, began the morning of Feb. 14 and kept firefighters on-scene all night, until early morning the next day.

Residents of the condo at 47 St. Clair Ave. W., just west of the Badminton and Racquet Club, sent a letter to Capt. Steve Green and their local fire hall to thank the firefighters for their hard work. Their condo, the WestClair, did not suffer any damages from the fire, said Malcolm Hamilton, one of the directors on the board of the condo.

We believe that, if it were not for the perseverance and bravery of your firefighters and those of other stations in battling the flames, the WestClair could have easily been engulfed by the blaze, the letter, signed by Paul J. Evraire, secretary of the board of directors for the condo, read.

Hamilton said residents also tried to organize a pizza lunch for the firefighters at their local fire hall, but discovered city policy did not allow for that. Instead, they raised funds for Camp Bucko, a camp for child burn victims.

People were like, What can we do? and its turned into quite the event where it was a tragedy yet now were closer to our firefighters over there and even everyone in the building is a little closer to each other, Hamilton said. So, it was quite something.

Approximately $1,000 was raised for the camp, and a cheque was presented to Green and other firefighters on March 5.

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A 58-year-old Toronto high school teacher was stabbed to death in Costa Rica while travelling, local police say.

Bruce McCallum, a math teacher at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, was found dead around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning by residents of the southern Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, according to Marco Monge Gomez, a spokesperson for the Judicial Investigation Police.

Gomez stated in an email that McCallum was likely stabbed during a mugging.

McCallum had been travelling the country with other tourists since Feb. 19. He told others in his group he was going to wake up early to photograph the sunrise at the beach.

His body was later found lying on a street, with his camera and other belongings missing. He also had a bruise above his right eye and a puncture wound on the left side of the chest.

The death has been ruled a homicide. Police are investigating for potential suspects, Gomez stated.

In a letter sent home to parents and students on Wednesday, Albert Campbell principal Carol Richards-Sauer confirmed that McCallum passed away tragically over the weekend following a senseless act of violence while travelling abroad.

McCallum had been on a scheduled leave of absence and last taught during the 2016 school year, according to the letter. He had been a teacher for 20 years, 18 of which he had spent at the school.

Mr. McCallum touched the lives of students and staff who had the pleasure of working with him, the letter stated. He was a positive role model in the Campbell community who had a passion for photography and travel. His energy and work ethic were an inspiration to us all. Bruce will be sorely missed.

Fellow math teacher Chris Rosenquist said students were devastated to learn of McCallums death on Wednesday.

Everybody is still shocked and numb, said Rosenquist, who sat beside McCallum in the math office. For me, its a loss. Its like my friend is gone, my older brother. This is somebody that youve known for about a third of your life and is just gone.

Toronto District School Board staff were at the school to offer support and counselling Wednesday.

He really believed . . . that part of being able to teach a student is being able to make a connection with that student, said Caroline Crabtree, a math and computer science teacher who knew McCallum for 14 years. He took the time to talk to kids, to find out what they were interested in.

McCallum was a staff representative for the anime, film and comic clubs, which he often stayed after school to help run.

He was one of those teachers that hung out at school. He didnt leave at 3:05, said Crabtree. It was a passion, absolutely. He cared about his students as people.

Many of McCallums former students are also mourning his loss.

Its a shock to me, said Wilex Ly, 23.

Ly said McCallum taught him applied math when he was a Grade 9 and 10 student. The teacher often incorporated humour and practical examples in his teaching techniques to explain complex concepts, according to Ly.

He imitated a teeter-totter so that students would understand algebra, Ly recalled. He went so far out of his way and we were laughing for about a good five seconds and then you just watched as everybodys faces just completely changed because their minds were blown because they understood.

Ly said McCallum had an uplifting essence to him that allowed him to connect with students.

There are some teachers who just dont try, but he was one of those guys in a movie, Ly said. I watched students who had zero interest in math, they actually started listening. Thats why it hits me so hard.

With files from Simone Lai

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Canadas refugee acceptance rate shot up drastically last year with two out of three claims granted asylum, according to latest data from the Immigration and Refugee Board.

In total, adjudicators rendered 5,414 positive decisions and rejected 2,732 claims out of 9,171 decisions made. The rest were either abandoned or withdrawn by the claimants.

The 2016 refugee acceptance rate, at 66.1 per cent, is the highest since the revamp of the asylum processing system by the former Conservative government in 2012. It surpassed the rates in the previous years  38.1 per cent in 2013, 38.8 in 2014 and 45.5 per cent in 2015.

Unlike previous years, when some decision makers actually rejected every single case they heard, the latest figures showed none of the boards 100 or so refugee judges had a zero acceptance rate in 2016.

The positive news is the consistency of decision making is improving. It reflects the professionalization of the decision makers from (government) appointees to civil servants, said Osgoode Hall Law School professor Sean Rehaag, who obtained the data.

The system has become more protective, but there is still subjectivity in the adjudication process.

The refugee board data showed one-third of the asylum refusals under appeals at the appeal tribunal were successful, said Rehaag, suggesting wrong decisions continued to be made despite the merits of the claims.

Some countries that are designated as safe in Canadas refugee system for fast-tracking also produced many positive refugee decisions. Hungary, for example, had a 66.9 per cent acceptance rate with 529 individuals, predominantly Roma minorities, granted asylum in 2016.

Claimants from all six countries under U.S. President Donald Trumps travel and refugee bans announced Monday also enjoyed above-average success. Eighty per cent of Iranian refugees were granted asylum; 89 per cent for Libyans; 71.6 per cent for Somalis; 72.7 per cent for Sudanese; 97.2 per cent for Syrians; and 92.5 Yemenis.

Refugees from Djibouti, which, along with the Sudanese, are among the biggest groups of irregular crossers into Canada in recent weeks, had an 89.1 per cent acceptance rate. Of the 46 Djibouti asylum claims heard in 2016, only five were rejected.

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On the eve of the U.S. homeland security secretarys visit to Canada, refugee advocates worry Ottawa could ask the Americans to beef up border enforcement to curb the flow of asylum-seekers coming into the country.

The surge of illegal crossings in recent months is expected to be a key issue on the agenda between Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and U.S. Secretary John Kelly.

They have done it in the past and started arresting people coming up at the border. Canadian officials can ask the Americans to boost enforcement, said Janet Dench of the Canadian Council for Refugees. It would be really disturbing if Canada is going to push the U.S. to do that.

The Department of Homeland Security has yet to officially announce Kellys trip, but Canadian cabinet minister Marc Garneau has told the media it could be as early as Friday. The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa would not confirm the meeting.

In the first two months of 2017, about 1,700 refugee claims were filed at the land border across the country, including asylum-seekers who entered outside an official port of entry, which officials call irregular crossings, and those who crossed legally at a border enforcement station.

RELATED:

Canadas refugee acceptance rate highest in four years

Quebec, which has seen the highest number of irregular crossings across Canada so far this year, has already received 1,087 land-border claims. Thats 43 per cent of the total for all of 2016.

Last year, the province received 2,527 land-border claims, up sharply from 1,054 in 2015 and 881 in 2014.

Canada?s public safety minister said on Monday the government was examining a revised order that halts new U.S. visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries. Ralph Goodale said it appears that Canadian citizens will be unaffected.

On Tuesday, Goodale said the government is working on contingency plans should the situation along the border change. Contingencies being considered include the possibility of a larger number of migrants attempting the crossing as the weather improves and threats to the safety of migrants in case of flooding along the Red River near Emerson, Manitoba, another hot spot for irregular crossings.

We are examining all of that, the physical circumstances, the forces or factors that might pull that migration (away) and others that might push it (toward Canada). I mean all of that is being carefully analyzed, Goodale said.

As the circumstances evolve, we want to make sure that weve thought it through in advance and we have ourselves in a position to deal with it effectively.

Goodale would not comment on what options are under consideration by officials on both sides of the border to slow down the refugee inflow via the U.S.

It is clearly affecting Canada as the migrants come across the border. We need to have a very good co-operative seamless arrangement with the U.S. to fully appreciate where the flow began and all of the factors, he said.

The Americans have indicated they are equally interested in fully getting the facts and understanding the genesis of this and we will work collaboratively and seamlessly with them to make sure the management of the situation is as good as it can possibly be.

Asylum-seekers who crossed through an unguarded section of the Canada-U.S. border dont fall under the domain of the Safe Third Country Agreement, which restricts refugees to seeking asylum in the country of their arrival.

Once they are in Canada, they become the countrys responsibility and the Immigration and Refugee Board must grant them a fair hearing.

To slow down irregular crossings, experts say, one option is for Canadian officials to ask their U.S. counterparts to intercept prospective refugees before they land on Canadian soil.

Another option at Ottawas disposal, said Quebec immigration lawyer Mitchell Goldberg, is using a provision in the immigration laws introduced by the former Conservative government to allow the public safety minister to declare certain groups of refugees, such as irregular border crossers, designated foreign nationals.

That designation gives border enforcement officials the authority to detain the asylum-seekers, expedite the processing of their claims, prohibit their families from joining them and bar them from becoming permanent residents for five years even if their asylum claim is successful, Goldberg said.

This wont stop people from coming, but it allows Canadian officials to detain without reasons, so they face being locked up in the U.S. versus being locked up in Canada, said Goldberg, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.

The Liberals were very clear in (favouring) cancelling that scheme when they were in opposition. If they are going to designate these foreign nationals, its going to blow up their own moral authority.

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Too often, women cant have nice things. We arent paid as much as men, attend school at lower rates and receive worse health care while shouldering more of the caregiving burden. According to one recent study, it will take women 170 more years to reach gender parity.

Experts say we need to chip away at this problem a little bit at a time. And Melbourne has one creative solution: the Australian city is turning the figures depicted on some of its pedestrian crossing lights from men to women.

The idea is to install traffic lights with female representation, as well as male representation, to help reduce unconscious bias, Committee for Melbourne chief Martine Letts told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC). She also said that male-only signs are discriminatory.

Read more:

Viennas pedestrian traffic lights feature same-sex couples

In its pilot program, the city will install 10 such new lights. It costs $1,400 per change and the government says taxpayer money was not used. In the long term, Letts says, her group wants gender parity.

There are many small  but symbolically significant  ways that women are excluded from public space, said Victorias minister for women, Fiona Richardson, in a statement.

Not everyone is so enamored. Evan Mulholland of the Institute of Public Affairs told ABC that the move was politically correct gesturing by policy-makers that want to feel good about themselves.

In June, London introduced a new spin on the idea. As the Washington Posts Max Bearak reported:

Nearly 50 traffic signals for pedestrians around Londons Trafalgar Square were modified to show emblems of love and LGBT pride in the lead-up to the citys pride parade this weekend. The changes were made Sunday by the company Siemens, which operates the lights, in co-operation with Londons transit authority.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan explained that the changes were a way to express solidarity with the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.

These new signals show that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them and display the tolerance and celebration of difference in our city, he said. There are seven versions of the green lights, representing different kinds of couples, as well as universally recognized signs for transgender people.

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LONDON  A former British spy who compiled an explosive and unproven dossier on President Donald Trumps purported activities in Russia has returned to work.

Christopher Steele said Tuesday he is really pleased to be back in his London office after a prolonged period out of public view. He went into hiding in January after his name was published in connection with the dossier.

The 52-year-old runs London-based Orbis Business Intelligence, a private security firm. He made a statement outside the firms central London office.

Read More:

Former British spy who authored Trump dossier had agreement with FBI: sources

Trump blasts explosive Russia reports as phoney at wild press conference

Russia denies claims it collected compromising material on Trump

Im now going to be focusing my efforts on supporting the broader interests of our company here, he said without addressing the Trump dossier.

He thanked the public for its support and said he wont be making any further comments.

Trump has described the lurid reports in the dossier as phoney allegations concocted by his political opponents.

The dossier was reportedly produced as opposition research for the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

It contains unproven allegations of co-ordination between Trumps advisers and Russians on hacking the emails of prominent Democrats and claims about sexual activities.

The 35-page dossier was circulated in political and media circles in the United States but was not published for some time because the information could not be verified.

The entire contents became public in January when it was published by BuzzFeed.

The Associated Press has not authenticated the claims.

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Tyanna Buie knew she wanted to be an artist when she was just six years old.

The daughter of a drug-addicted mother, she spent much of her youth in Chicago and Milwaukee in foster care but found solace and strength in her artwork. Buie, now living in Detroit and the section chair of printmaking at the College for Creative Studies in Michigan, is visiting the La Crosse School District this week, sharing her story of resilience and working with students on printmaking projects at Northside Elementary School and Hamilton Early Learning Center.

Buies residency at the two schools was funded through a $1,500 grant from the La Crosse Public Education Foundation awarded to Northside Elementary Art Teacher Amoreena Rathke. Rathke had her own struggles at home as a child, and when she saw a video of Buie sharing her story and working with children, knew she wanted to bring the artist to the district.

We have a high poverty rate at the school and a number of kids dealing with some kind of trauma, Rathke said. I wanted to show the kids someone who has made it, someone who found their resilience in art.

Printmaking is a sophisticated art technique. Ink is pressed through a cloth screen onto paper, and most students dont get to experience it until high school or college, Rathke said. During her work with Northside students on Tuesday, Buie made prints of paper cutouts the students created of people, with the colored ink unable to pierce the cutouts and thus leaving their outline in the final print.

This is looking really good, Buie said as she showed the students the final result of one print made with blue ink. Because the paper people stuck to the screen, she said, the students could make another print with the figures, this time choosing red ink to make a purple background.

Buie said art gave her confidence that she couldnt find with other subjects in school. Living in foster care wasnt a stable environment, but she was able to take her art with her no matter where she went, giving her something consistent.

It is a good outlet for kids struggling, she said. What do you with all that energy? It has to go somewhere.

Alex Maxwell, a fifth-grade student at Northsides charter school Coulee Montessori, said it was really cool that kids had the chance to visit with an artist. He said art is one of the best ways he knows to let his emotions out and work through things that are bothering him.

Drawing is his favorite art form, and while he was dressed in a green snake hoodie on Tuesday, said his favorite animals to draw are mammals, especially polar bears. Printmaking was cool too, he said, especially how Buie had to use a wooden squeegee to get the ink through the cloth screen and onto the paper.

If Im sad I can put it down in my drawings, he said. If I am happy I can put it down. When I have the blues, I can come to art class and Im happy by the time I leave.

It is a good outlet for kids struggling. What do you with all that energy? It has to go somewhere. Tyanna Buie
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATESTen years after a former FBI agent working on an unauthorized CIA mission disappeared in Iran, his family hopes U.S. President Donald Trump will do something Americas last two presidents have been unable to achieve: Finally bring him home.

Robert Levinsons family told The Associated Press this week that Trumps background as a deal-making businessman and his harder line on Iran could be an asset in finally determining what happened to the investigator, whose 69th birthday is Friday.

They described the heartbreak of seeing other American prisoners in Iran freed while the mystery surrounding his disappearance remains. They also acknowledged the challenge of keeping his case in the public eye, as he now has been held captive longer than any American in history, if he remains alive.

We believe people can survive 10 years under any circumstances. In the worst places, people survive. We know Bob is alive, his wife, Christine Levinson, told the AP. Everyone else has gotten out of Iran, but Bob has been left behind every single time. Its now time for him to be returned home to his family.

Levinson disappeared from Irans Kish Island on March 9, 2007. For years, U.S. officials would only say that Levinson, a meticulous FBI investigator credited with busting Russian and Italian mobsters, was working for a private firm on his trip.

Read more:Retired FBI agent appears in hostage video years after vanishing in Iran

In December 2013, the AP revealed Levinson in fact had been on a mission for CIA analysts who had no authority to run spy operations. Levinsons family had received a $2.5 million annuity from the CIA in order to stop a lawsuit revealing details of his work, while the agency forced out three veteran analysts and disciplined seven others.

Since his disappearance, the only photos and video of Levinson emerged in 2010 and 2011. He appeared gaunt and bearded with long hair, and was wearing an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.

The video, with a Pashtun wedding song popular in Afghanistan playing in the background, showed Levinson complaining of poor health. Levinsons family believes his diabetes and high blood pressure could be under control with his weight loss.

Im not as worried about his health, his son, Dan Levinson, said. I understand people thinking it being over 10 years and fearing the worst, but we dont believe that.

The FBI now offers a $5 million reward for information leading to Levinsons safe recovery and return.

Rumours have circulated for years, with one account claiming he was locked up in a Tehran prison run by Irans paramilitary Revolution Guard and U.S. officials suggesting he may not be in Iran at all. Dawud Salahuddin, an American fugitive living in Iran who is wanted for the assassination of a former Iranian diplomat in Maryland in 1980, is the last known person to have seen Levinson before his disappearance.

Iranian officials have been less than forthcoming. Former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested in an interview with the AP in 2010 that his country already had suspicions about Levinson before the nature of his trip became public knowledge.

Of course if it becomes clear what his goal was, or if he was indeed on a mission, then perhaps specific assistance can be given, Ahmadinejad said.

Levinsons family said theyve written letters to Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and moderate President Hassan Rouhani with no response. Irans mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment about Levinson.

That lack of response, even with the U.N.s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issuing a report in January that held Iran responsible for addressing the situation of Mr. Levinson without any further delay, has the family believing Trumps harder line on Iran might finally force the country to release him.

We know if President Trump chooses (to be involved), hes a dealmaker. Thats what he does. Its going to require negotiating with the Iranians to get him out of there, Levinsons son Dan said. Hes very well-suited to be able to do this. Were hopeful for that.

Read more:Iranian president calls Trump administration a problem as country marks 1979 revolution

White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration was in contact with Levinsons family and said we continue to hold out hope that he could be safely returned from Iran.

Another White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said administration officials recently held a call with members of the Levinson family, who were assured that the case is a priority for the Trump administration. The Levinsons hope to meet personally with Trump in the coming months.

Well never, ever give up hope, his daughter, Stephanie Curry, said. Well never give up hope hes coming home to us.

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U.S. President Donald Trumps revised executive order barring citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries from travelling to the United States confronted its first legal challenge late Tuesday, the day after it was signed, when the state of Hawaii asked a federal judge to block it temporarily.

The court filing from the office of the attorney general of Hawaii, Doug Chin, a Democrat, may signal a wave of legal assaults on Trumps second take on the travel ban, which preserves the fundamentals of the first while lifting restrictions on Iraqis, green card holders and lawful permanent residents, and people who are already approved to enter the United States.

Lawyers for Hawaii, which is also being represented by the law firm Hogan Lovells, argue that the administrations changes are not much of an improvement. The latest filing noted that one of Trumps top aides told Fox News in late February that while the new directive would address the legal issues that had arisen around the ban, youre still going to have the same basic policy outcome for the country.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump END

Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor general in the Obama administration who heads the Hogan Lovells team, said Tuesday, We absolutely agree with the presidents senior adviser, Stephen Miller, who said this executive order is the same as the last one. Katyal said, The same legal problems that infected the first one infect version 2.0.

Still, some legal specialists say the revisions may help the administration dodge the legal pitfalls of the initial ban.

Read more:

Donald Trumps new travel ban renews pressure on Trudeau to speak out

Some permanent residents of Canada can be barred from U.S. under Trump order

U.S. denied entry to Canadian citizen, told her she needed a visa

In the court papers, lawyers for the state argued that the new order discriminates against Muslims, even if it affects fewer people than the previous one.

In addition, the state said, the ban is inflicting immediate damage to Hawaiis economy, educational institutions, and tourism industry; and it is subjecting a portion of the states citizens to second-class treatment and discrimination, while denying all Hawaii residents the benefits of an inclusive and pluralistic society.

It also said Hawaiians and other Americans would be cut off from family members living in the six countries affected by the ban. One plaintiff in the lawsuit is Ismail Elshikh, imam of the Muslim Association of Hawaii and a U.S. citizen of Egyptian descent, whose Syrian mother-in-law will most likely be barred from visiting the family in Hawaii.

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment Wednesday.

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SEOULA man claiming to be the son of the slain half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in a YouTube video saying hes safely with his mother and sister.

Kim Jong Nam was killed by two women who rubbed a prohibited nerve agent on his face at an airport in Malaysia on Feb. 13, according to Malaysian police. Kim Jong Un was widely suspected to be behind his brothers murder to eliminate a potential challenger to his rule. Subsequently, there have been worries about the safety of Kim Jong Nams son Kim Han Sol, who described his uncle Kim Jong Un as a dictator during a rare 2012 interview with Finnish television.

Read more:

North Korea, Malaysia ban each others citizens from leaving over Kim Jong Nam killing

Malaysia, North Korea ties unravel fast over Kim Jong Nams murder

The strange life, and sudden death, of North Korean exile Kim Jong Nam

My name is Kim Han Sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family, the man says in English in the 40-second YouTube clip uploaded Wednesday. My father has been killed a few days ago. Im currently with my mother and my sister . . . We hope this gets better soon.

An official at South Koreas National Intelligence Service said the NIS had determined that the man in the video is Kim Han Sol. The public affairs official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules, didnt explain how his agency confirmed the mans identity.

NIS officials gave the same confirmation to the office of a lawmaker who sits on South Koreas intelligence committee without saying how it reached such a conclusion, according to an aide to the lawmaker. The aide requested anonymity for both himself and the lawmaker, saying they werent authorized to give the information to the press.

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The NIS has a spotty record on reporting developments in North Korea. But a private voice analysis institute in Seoul said there was a high probability that Kim Han Sol in the 2012 interview, which can also be found on YouTube, and the man in the latest video clip were the same speaker.

Its right to determine they are the same person, said Lee Cheul-houng, head of the Transcription Analysis Laboratory.

Malaysias prime minister said Wednesday that relatives of the half brother of North Koreas ruler may be too scared to help police investigating his mysterious poisoning death in Kuala Lumpur.

Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke a day after a stunning diplomatic breakdown involving the investigation into Kim Jong Nams killing, with North Korea barring Malaysians from leaving its territory and Malaysia responding in kind. While on Tuesday he denounced North Korea for effectively holding our citizens hostage, Najib said Wednesday that his country still wants to negotiate.

You must appreciate  I know youre hungry for news  but you must appreciate that this is a sensitive matter and that sometimes its best conducted in secrecy so that we can achieve the desired result, Najib told reporters. He said Malaysians in North Korea are going about their lives normally, and he was not worried about their safety.

Najib also said authorities are still trying to get DNA samples from Kims immediate family to formally identify his body.

Maybe they are scared to come forward, Najib said.

The man claiming to be Nams son in the latest video doesnt talk about the whereabouts of his family or how they were being protected. The video was posted on the YouTube channel of Cheollima Civil Defence, which describes itself as a group helping North Korean defectors.

The group said on its website that it responded to an emergency request last month by three members of Kim Jong Nams family and relocated them to safety. The group expressed gratitude to the Netherlands, China, the United States and a fourth government to remain unnamed for providing assistance in protecting the three.

South Koreas Unification Ministry said it had no knowledge of the Cheollima group.

Malaysia has never directly accused North Korea of killing Kim Jong Nam, though it is searching for seven North Korean suspects over the case. North Korea has denied any responsibility and accused South Korea of being behind the accusation.

Relations have steadily deteriorated, with each country expelling the others ambassador. The dispute took a surprising turn on Tuesday when North Korea announced that it was blocking all Malaysians from leaving the country until a fair settlement of the case was reached. Malaysia then barred North Koreans from exiting its soil.

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HUNTSVILLE, TEXASA paid hit man was executed Tuesday night in Texas for gunning down a San Antonio woman in a life insurance scheme nearly a quarter-century ago.

Rolando Ruiz was given a lethal injection for fatally shooting Theresa Rodriguez, 29, outside her home in 1992 as she was getting out of a car with her husband and brother-in-law, who both orchestrated her murder. Ruiz was paid $2,000 to carry out the killing.

Ruiz, strapped to the Texas death chamber gurney, looked directly at two sisters of his victim and their husbands and apologized profusely.

Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am and the hurt I have caused you and your family, he told them as they looked through a window a few feet from him. May this bring you peace and forgiveness.

He also thanked his own family for their love and support.

I am at peace, he said. Jesus Christ is Lord. I love you all.

As the lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered, he took several deep breaths, then began snoring quietly. All movement stopped within about 30 seconds.

Ruiz, 44, was pronounced dead 29 minutes later at 11:06 p.m., less than an hour before the execution warrant would have expired.

His execution, delayed for nearly five hours until the U.S. Supreme Court rejected three appeals Ruizs attorneys had filed to try to stop the punishment, was the third this year in Texas and the fifth nationally.

Its not going to bring her back, so it really doesnt mean very much, Susie Sanchez, whose daughter was killed in the contract murder, said Monday. Her daughters, who were among the witnesses Tuesday night, declined to comment afterward.

His lawyers argued to the high court that lower courts improperly rejected an earlier appeal that focused on whether Ruiz earlier had deficient legal help. They also contended Ruizs execution would be unconstitutionally cruel because hes been on death row since 1995, had multiple execution dates and two reprieves. Attorney Lee Kovarsky blamed the long time between a San Antonio jurys verdict and the punishment on the states failure to provide Ruiz with competent lawyers earlier in his appeals.

Justice Stephen Breyer said he would have stopped the execution to further examine the question of prolonged death row confinement.

This I believe is an appropriate case to conduct that constitutional scrutiny, he said. If extended solitary confinement alone raises serious constitutional questions, then 20 years of solitary confinement, all the while under threat of execution, must raise similar questions, and to a rare degree, and with particular intensity. That is why I would grant a stay of execution, allowing the Court to examine the record more fully.

Assistant Texas Attorney General Edward Marshall had disputed the claims, telling the high court arguments about earlier deficient legal help have been inspected, scrutinized, studied, probed, analyzed, reviewed and evaluated at all levels of the federal courts. While some individual Supreme Court justices, like Breyer, have raised questions about long death row confinement, the courts consistently have ruled it was not unconstitutionally cruel.

Ruiz approached a car pulling up to Rodriguezs home the night of July 14, 1992, under the guise of seeking directions. Her husband of nearly seven years, Michael, was in the car along with Michaels brother, Mark. Ruiz, who already had pocketed $1,000 and had failed in two earlier killing attempts, asked Mark Rodriguez if he wanted him to do it, and Rodriguez gave him the go-ahead. As Theresa Rodriguez was getting out of the car, Ruiz put a .357 Magnum revolver to her head and fired. Three days later, Ruiz collected another $1,000 for the completed job.

Evidence showed Michael Rodriguez stood to collect at least a quarter-million dollars in insurance benefits from his wifes death and that hed recently applied for another $150,000 in life insurance for her.

Ruiz had met Mark Rodriguez at the home of a mutual friend, was arrested nine days after the shooting and implicated the brothers. The police investigation was aided by a telephone tip after Theresa Rodriguezs employer, the San Antonio-based financial services giant USAA, offered a $50,000 reward for information about her slaying.

The Rodriguez brothers eventually accepted life prison terms in plea deals. Mark Rodriguez was paroled in 2011.

Michael Rodriguez later joined Ruiz on death row as one of the notorious Texas 7, a group of seven inmates who escaped from a South Texas prison in 2000 and killed a Dallas-area police officer. He was executed in 2008. He blamed his infatuation with a younger woman for the contract murder plot.

Joe Ramon, who accompanied Ruiz the night of the shooting, and Robert Silva, identified as the intermediary who put the Rodriguez brothers in touch with Ruiz, also received life prison sentences.

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ST. PAUL, MINN.The youngest son of U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, who was Hillary Clintons running mate last year, was one of six people arrested while protesting against a rally in support of U.S. President Donald Trump at the Minnesota state capitol building last weekend.

The protesters clashed with hundreds of Trump supporters who gathered at the Capitol rotunda in St. Paul on Saturday for one of several pro-Trump rallies held throughout the country.

Linwood Woody Kaine, of Minneapolis, and four other people were suspected of lighting a smoke bomb inside the Capitol, St. Paul police spokesperson Steve Linders said Wednesday. He said he didnt know the circumstances surrounding the sixth arrest, which was made by state troopers.

Kaine, 24, ran from the scene and was arrested about a block away after he resisted arrest, was sprayed with a chemical irritant and was taken to the ground, according to police. Kaine was booked into the Ramsey County Jail on a recommended second-degree riot charge.

The Ramsey County Attorneys Office declined to file criminal charges, finding insufficient evidence to substantiate the charge, spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said Wednesday. The St. Paul City Attorneys Office was reviewing the case and didnt immediately reply to a message seeking comment.

Tim Kaine, a St. Paul native who is now a senator representing Virginia, and his wife, Anne Holton, released a statement following their sons arrest.

We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues. They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully, they said.

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Ontario is at a tipping point. High hydro bills are hurting families, driving people and employers out of the province, and keeping new investment away.

Last week, I released my plan to lower hydro bills by 30 per cent. It includes ending time-of-use pricing, scrapping unfair delivery charges and several other measures that will deliver immediate savings for everyone on their hydro bills.

It also fixes the system for the long-term by returning Hydro One to public hands  because owning it is a win-win that will deliver lower bills, permanently, and put $7 billion back into the province  money that can go into schools and hospitals.

So, when Premier Wynne rolled out her plan, its fair to say I joined Ontario families in being frustrated. Its a borrowing scheme that gives an additional $40 billion in interest payments to bankers. Thats $40 billion that everyday Ontarians will pay for, one way or another.

The difference is clear: over the next 30 years, the Liberal plan will see as much as $40 billion in additional interest payments flow to banks, while our plan sees the province earn over $7 billion in the same time frame as a result of public ownership. Thats $7 billion we can use to reduce rates, invest in schools and hospitals, and build transit.

Weve all heard the heartbreaking stories of families, businesses, farmers and community organizations that are close to the breaking point. Despite their enormous efforts and improvements in efficiency and conservation, their bills continue to skyrocket.

I think of the single mom in Kitchener who had to choose between paying the hydro bill, or buying Christmas presents. I think of Charlene in Sault Ste. Marie. She works two jobs, and her husband works full-time, and theyre drowning from the cost of hydro. I think of the curling club in Welland that may have to close its doors because of the hydro bills. It should never have come to this.

We all know that we have to fix the cost of hydro in the province. But the contrast between the plans couldnt be more clear.

My plan helps people. Premier Wynnes plan helps bankers. And Patrick Brown and the Conservatives have no plan at all.

Any relief that borrowed cash provides will be short-term  and, of course, for a premier seeking re-election, that might be enough. Ontarians Ive spoken to across the province this week say theyre worried that loan will show up on their bills right after the election.

And the Liberal plan does nothing to address the underlying issues in Ontarios hydro system.

Premier Wynne still plans to continue the sell-off of Hydro One, which will drive our bills up even further. And the Liberals refuse to stop unfair rural delivery charges or time of use premiums. Their scheme does nothing to address the private power contracts that continue to drive up our hydro bills, and it fails to end oversupply payments, where we actually pay private and foreign corporations for power we dont use.

I want to be very clear: Ontarios New Democrats will give careful consideration to any measure that will help ease the hydro burden Ontarians are facing. But this Band-Aid financing scheme does nothing to address the root cause of the problem. Bad contracts with private and foreign corporations, and a sale on public assets are still at the core of the Liberal plan.

In my plan, there are real, concrete measures we can take today that will start reducing bills immediately, including fixing unfair delivery costs, ending mandatory time-of-use rules, capping private profit margins, bringing real oversight to electricity prices, and using tax benefits to help hydro users, not bankers.

The NDP plan will actually fix the system, today, and for generations to come. It will lower rates immediately, and repair the mess the Conservatives and Liberals have made with their privatization and bad contracts  contracts that benefit private and foreign corporations, and not everyday bill-payers. We will end unfair delivery charges and time-of-use pricing, so people arent paying a ridiculous premium for doing things like living in a small town or making dinner for their kids.

Our plan is online for all to read (ontariondp.ca/hydroplan ). I encourage Ontarians to take a look for themselves.

Andrea Horwath is the leader of Ontarios New Democrats.

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North Korea is not as nutty as it seems. There is method in the apparent madness of dictator Kim Jong Un as he fires missiles into the Pacific and threatens nuclear war.

It is the logic of a regime with its back to the wall, one that calculates  not entirely inaccurately  that it has no friends and little choice.

In the West, North Korea is treated as a bizarre anomaly  a country on the brink of starvation that spends all of its time saber-rattling, a Communist state governed by a hereditary dynasty of weirdos.

Allegations that Kim had his half-brother assassinated in a Malaysian airport with the toxic nerve agent VX might seem unbelievable in most other contexts (although the American CIA did contemplate something similar  assassinating Fidel Castro with an exploding cigar). But North Korea has a habit of doing the unbelievable.

This is, after all, the country that kidnapped a well-known South Korean film director and his actress wife in the 70s because Kims father, then heir apparent, wanted to make movies.

But in reality, the weirdos have not been that weird. North Korea sees itself at war with the United States and its allies because officially it is. A peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War has never been negotiated or signed.

Indeed, even the terms of the 1953 armistice that suspended the fighting have not been fully honoured.

The armistice called for all foreign troops to leave the Korean Peninsula. But roughly 28,500 American soldiers are still there. The armistice called for the peninsula to be free of nuclear weapons. But the U.S. didnt withdraw its nukes until 1991.

The New York Times reports that for the past three years, U.S government cyberwarriors have been secretly attempting to sabotage North Koreas missile development program.

So perhaps it should come as no surprise that the North mistrusts American intentions. Americas invasion of Saddam Husseins Iraq in 2003 underlined what could happen to regimes that werent nuclear-armed. Three years later, Pyongyang conducted its first successful nuclear test.

Throughout, the U.S. and North Korea have been at cross-purposes. America is unwilling to engage in direct talks leading to a formal peace until the North abandons its nuclear program. The North, meanwhile, insists that relations between it and the U.S. must be fully normalized before anything can happen.

The U.S. and its allies have persuaded the United Nations to impose sanctions on North Korea in an effort to isolate it economically. North Korea responds by focusing production on a commodity that all nations want  armaments.

The result, as a UN report noted this week, is that sanctions havent worked. North Korea continues to sell arms to Africa and minerals to China.

The Chinese huff and puff. Last month they stopped buying coal from North Korea.

But as historian Bruce Cumings writes, ultimately China will balk at any solution that threatens the existence of the government in Pyongyang.

The Chinese may find an outlaw regime on their southeastern border troublesome. They would find a pro-American regime on that border even more so.

And so the dance continues. The North Koreans keep testing missiles, as they did Monday when they launched four more into the Sea of Japan.

The U.S., rightly worried that Pyongyang may eventually be able to strike targets in North America, is setting up an anti-missile system in South Korea. That, in turn, alarms the Chinese, who view such a system as aimed, in part, at them.

Japan, meanwhile, feels under direct threat. The prospect of a nuclear-armed North may be all that is needed to let Prime Minister Shinzo Abe persuade his compatriots to end the countrys constitutional ban on making war.

In short, North Korea has the region in an uproar.

None of this seems to bother the regime in Pyongyang. In fact, it is probably chuffed. It is showing the world that it cannot be ignored.

The U.S. and its friends may think they are encouraging North Korea to compromise. But to a regime built around the ideology of self-reliance, compromise equals failure.

As historian Cumings puts it, pigheadedness is part of the Norths historic behaviour pattern.

It survived one war with the most powerful nation on Earth. If necessary, it reckons, it can survive another.

Thomas Walkom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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Around the world, people have been preparing for International Womens Day  a day that both recognizes womens achievements, and acknowledges the challenges we continue to face as we work to advance gender equality. In Canada, we have a lot to celebrate. As we mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation, we can be proud of the enormous strides we have made toward gender equality.

Under the leadership of our feminist prime minister, I sit with an equal number of men and women at the cabinet table. Our public appointments process now aims to achieve gender parity in the nearly 4,300 available positions, which will lead to an increased amount of womens voices in key decision-making roles on federal boards. Our country is stronger, and our government more effective, when our decision-makers truly reflect Canadas diversity.

Women now make up approximately 47 per cent of our workforce, compared to just over 45 per cent in 1996 and less than 38 per cent in 1976. In 1996, 38 per cent of women had a diploma, degree or certificate from college or university; by 2015, that had risen to 61 per cent. In fact, women now represent close to 58 per cent of all post-secondary graduates. With advancements like these it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that we still have work to do.

Discrimination and gender stereotypes continue to influence our daily lives. Whats more, we dont always recognize those stereotypes when we see them. Whether its the still persistent view that men dont stay home to raise children, or the sexism at the root of any number of jokes about shrill women bosses, these outdated and false assertions continue to hold us all back. Our government has been working to ensure that our federal institutions are workplaces free from sexism and harassment and Canadians must do their part as well. By working together, we can eliminate these destructive attitudes and behaviours.

Thankfully, the call for gender equality is getting louder each and every day as more and more people are realizing that inequalities still exist and that these inequalities are damaging to us all. We must stay committed to ensuring that women and girls can reach their full potential.

This year, Canadas theme for International Womens Day is Equality Matters.

Equality matters because we can make our economy stronger when we harness the talents of all Canadians.

Equality matters because when women have a seat at the table, our government is more effective.

Equality matters because our children are watching and learning from our actions.

Equality matters because an inclusive society where everyone has a chance to contribute will always work better than one that marginalizes its people.

I am proud to be part of a government that has made gender equality a key priority. I believe Canada has the potential to lead the world on this issue. I believe we can come together and show the global community that equality is good for the economy, good for democracy, good for families, and good for everyone.

In honour of International Womens Day 2017, I am urging all Canadians to help us expose stereotypes and discrimination. By challenging our assumptions about gender, we can move beyond them. By eliminating sexism and misogyny, we can move closer to an equal future where our children can aspire to any goal they can imagine and where all Canadians are able to contribute to every aspect of society, regardless of gender.

I know that we can do it together. When a girl gets a good education, she will develop the skills she needs to find a solid, well-paid job. When a mother has the opportunity to join the middle class and help grow the economy, her whole family benefits. When a woman steps forward to lead, the community is strengthened. When all women are afforded these opportunities, our entire nation reaps the rewards.

Together, women and men and girls and boys, have the power to create change shoulder to shoulder. We need to call out inequality. We need to break down barriers by telling our stories. We can say loudly and proudly that equality matters to us. Every action  big and small  will help us move closer to equality for all.

We have everything we need to succeed, but it is up to us to do the work. What we do today will have an impact that will be felt for the next 150 years. Canada must continue to be a beacon of hope internationally!

Maryam Monsef is Canadas Minister of Status of Women.

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When Jordan Miller died of an opioid overdose in Victoria in 2014, his mother, Leslie McBain, says the young man was receiving prescriptions from as many as five physicians.

Sadly, that would hardly have been unusual. In Alberta, for instance, figures show that nearly 40 per cent of those who fatally overdosed on opioids had been prescribed the drugs by at least three different doctors in the year before they died.

This practice of addicts doctor shopping, which has done so much to enable the epidemic of opioid overdoses, is about to get much more difficult in British Columbia and Alberta, two of the hardest-hit provinces.

Governments there are adopting welcome guidelines that will require physicians to check patient histories in databases before they initiate or renew a prescription for the powerful drugs. The systems will immediately alert doctors if their patients are already receiving prescriptions for the drugs from other physicians.

Its a good plan in the face of an overdose emergency that has done particular damage on the West Coast. And as the crisis spreads East, Ontario should look to the new guidelines as a model.

The terrible toll of opioid addiction is already being felt here. Last year the Office of the Chief Coroner said opioid overdoses were killing an average of two people in Ontario every day, making it the provinces third-leading cause of death. In 2015, the last year for which statistics are available, 710 overdose deaths were attributed to opioids.

The roots of the problem go beyond doctor shopping.

Health experts across the country say the ballooning opioid crisis cant be solved until physicians stop prescribing the drugs so freely.

From 2006 to 2012, opioid prescriptions in Canada rose by 32 per cent, putting us among the top-prescribing countries per capita in the world. As Albertas interim Liberal leader, David Swann, who is also a physician, pointed out at this week, 75 per cent of addicts were started by doctors.

To redress this alarming state of affairs, B.C.s College of Physicians and Surgeons became the first medical regulatory body in Canada to release new mandatory standards for prescribing opioids last June. They are much more restrictive than the Canadian guidelines, which are due to be updated soon.

Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins, meanwhile, took a good first step to stopping the over-prescribing of opioids last November when he passed on the names of 86 doctors to Ontarios College of Physicians and Surgeons for investigation after they were flagged by a new computerized narcotics monitoring system for their unusual prescribing patterns.

But much more can be done to contain the opioid crisis before it worsens in Ontario. Hoskins should start by following the lead of B.C. and Alberta and crack down on doctor shopping in this province.

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In an open letter published on his Sina (SINA) Weibo account, China's Twitter (TWTR) -like service, Alibaba (BABA) founder and Chinese billionaire Jack Ma on Tuesday asked Chinese legislators to penalize counterfeiters with serious jail time and steep fines, the kind of measure that China adopted to crack down on drunk driving.

Ma's plea comes at the the same time as more than 5000 Chinese lawmakers and government officials are convening at the annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

The meetings, known as the "Two Sessions," often generate decisions that carry broad implications for international business communities.

"The existing laws are lagging, failing to impose actual threats on the behavior of counterfeiters and leave far too much room for cheating. Fighting the war on counterfeits requires not only collaboration among various forces of society, but also a strong legal foundation," wrote Ma.

Anti-counterfeiting efforts have become a priority for Alibaba over the years. The Chinese e-commerce giant has been accused by international brands and trade associations of being lax with fake goods on its e-commerce platforms, in particularly its peer-to-peer shopping site Taobao. The site was also labeled as a "notorious market" by the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative in December last year, just four years after escaping the list that includes file-sharing site Pirate Bay.

Persistent criticism against Ma and Alibaba for having not done enough to stamp out counterfeits and copycats has also been weighing on Alibaba's stock, Ivan Feinseth, Head of Research and Chief Investment Officer, Tigress Financial Partners, suggests.

"It has been weighing on the stock for quite sometime. As an investor in Alibaba, you are going to have to hope that they can create a vetting process for vendors that somehow tries as best as they can to create a level of comfort with buyers," said Feinseth who has a strong "Buy" rating on the Alibaba stock.

Ma's unusual public plea to Chinese authorities signals another step-up in Alibaba's on-going anti-counterfeiting campaign but some experts wonder whether it will lead to anything substantial. Besides Alibaba, major ecommerce platforms such as Amazon.com (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) have all been of accused of harboring knock-offs.

"Jack Ma has consistently had a public anti-counterfeiting persona that is difficult to reconcile with Alibaba's actions. Counterfeits have exploded on the platform with Alibaba admitting that they removed 380 million listings just from Taobao in 2016. Many of these items had already been sold to consumers before the removal and many were simply relisted," said Craig Crosby, publisher of The Counterfeit Report, a consumer watchdog organization.

In January, Alibaba took its first legal actions against counterfeits. The company filed a lawsuit against two sellers of fake Swarovski watches on its Taobao platform with the Shenzhen Longgang District People's Court, claiming 1.4 million yuan ($201,482) in damages. In Tuesday's open letter, Ma suggests even harsher punishment for manufacturers of fake goods.

"For example, if the penalty for even one fake product manufactured or sold was a seven-day prison sentence, the world would look very different, both in terms of intellectual property enforcement and food and drug safety, as well as our ability to foster innovation," added Ma.
About 100 veterans will receive word tonight that theyve made it to the front of the line for a seat on a chartered jet to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials built in their honor.

La Crosse Freedom Honor Flight president Pat Stephens announced Tuesday at American Legion Post 52 that Freedom Honor Flights board of directors will make the phone calls tonight to about half of the 11 World War II veterans on the waiting list. The rest of the calls will go to Korean War-era veterans, with a sprinkling of Vietnam War-era veterans rounding out the organizations 19th flight on Saturday, May 6.

The organizations 20th flight will make the one-day round trip from La Crosse to Washington and back on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Freedom Honor Flight is the first Wisconsin affiliate of the national network of Honor Flight organizations. Based in La Crosse, it serves 25 counties in western Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northern Iowa. The group receives no government funding and depends on donations, which are tax deductible.

It is such a fun experience, calling veterans and letting them know its their turn to fly, said board member Kathy Van Kirk-Przywojski. Most of them have been on the waiting list for some time, so theyre really excited and ready to go.

There are 11 World War II veterans, 171 Korean War era veterans and 306 Vietnam veterans on the waiting list. Veterans for the flights are selected in order of application, though World War II veterans have priority status, as do veterans with health problems. The group encourages World War II and Korean era veterans to apply for future flights.

Officials also remind the public that all veterans in the Freedom Honor Flight service area are eligible to apply for an honor flight. Physicians and paramedics accompanying each flight help with oxygen, medication and personal needs, enabling those with chronic health problems or disabilities to attend. Volunteer guardians assigned to each veteran provide additional assistance.

Freedom Honor Flight launched a new website Tuesday that allows veterans and guardians to apply online. Downloadable applications are also available on the new site at www.freedomhonorflight.org.
American International Group (AIG) plans to set up an insurance subsidiary in Luxembourg to ensure it can continue selling policies in continental Europe after Brexit.

AIG said it will need two subsidiary insurance companies in Europe after Britain leaves the trading bloc, one in the U.K., which is still the company's biggest market, and one in Luxembourg.

As well as the 27 member nations which will still be in the European Union after Britain leaves, the Luxembourg subsidiary will also have the freedom to write business in Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

"This is a decisive move that ensures AIG is positioned for whatever form the U.K.'s exit from the EU ultimately takes," said AIG Europe CEO Anthony Baldwin. "AIG sees opportunity in the ongoing resilience of the UK insurance market. At the same time, we are ensuring that our clients and partners experience no disruption from the UK's EU exit."

"Our Luxembourg company will be complementary to our existing structure and will be part of our single European module," AIG said. "Luxembourg, a founding member of the European Union, offers us a secure location in a stable economy with an experienced and well-respected regulator in continental Europe close to many of our major markets."

Earlier reports had focused on Ireland and its capital city Dublin as the most likely destination for non EU insurers looking to guarantee their continued survival in the bloc post-Brexit. Dublin still expects to pick up business from other companies because of its English-language and access to both the EU and U.K. markets.

But AIG decided that Luxembourg's proximity to its continental markets and developed financial services infrastructure would serve it better. Although one of the European Union's smallest member states, Luxembourg has played an outsize role both as one of the bloc's founding members, which has supplied more than its fair share of leading European politicians, but also because of its low tax base and - for most of the post-World War II era - its banking secrecy.

AIG shares traded 0.76% higher at the open on Wall Street Wednesday, trimming the three-month gain to around 2.84%.
The U.S. must see "some sort of positive action" from North Korea for it to take Kim Jung Un's regime seriously and address ways to diminish tensions on the Korean peninsula, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said today.

Haley's statement comes after China called North Korea earlier today and asked the country to suspend its nuclear missile activities in exchange for a halt of joint military exercises conducted by the U.S. and North Korea.

However, Haley made it clear that North Korea must be the first to respond and justified the U.S. military activity as defensive.

She also defended the U.S. deployment of a missile defense system in South Korea, even though China strongly opposes the program.

"We have not seen any goodwill at all coming from North Korea," Haley said. "I appreciate all my counterparts wanting to talk about talks and negotiations (but) we are not dealing with a rational person."
Will the real health of Starbucks (SBUX) business please stand up.

Starbucks' U.S. store traffic fell last month, according to new data this week from market research firm xAd, less than a month ahead of the departure of its longtime CEO Howard Schultz. The coffee giant's U.S. foot traffic fell to 11% in February, down from 12% in January, according to xAd, a mobile advertising company which tracks location traffic.

Wall Street was also spooked from a new survey from YouGov saying consumer perception of the Starbucks brand recently took a hit, perhaps due to its stance on hiring 10,000 refugees. Some customers threatened to boycott, arguing that the company should instead focus on hiring U.S. military veterans.

Starbucks' internal veterans group, the Starbucks Armed Forces Network, responded that the company has already hired nearly 9,000 veterans and families, three years after Schultz and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced a plan for the company to hire 10,000 veterans by the end of 2018.

Starbucks shares have shed nearly 4% over the last five trading sessions.

The coffee giant moved to refute the claims on Friday with its own helping of research.

"Over the past week, there has been misinformation widely disseminated in the market about our brand, and stakeholders need the facts," said Starbucks Chief Strategy Officer Matt Ryan. "The following note (seen below) came from the president of Kantar Millward Brown - our long-term partner in providing brand and consumer equity research - clarifying current Starbucks brand perception. Reports suggesting anything other than this should be viewed skeptically and do not reflect the customer satisfaction and perception trends we are seeing so far in 2017."

"Kantar Millward Brown has provided continuous Brand Equity measurement for Starbucks since 2013. Following the recent release of results from a YouGov Brand Index Survey, several news organizations have reported that Starbucks is suffering from consumer backlash related to its announcement to hire 10,000 refugees globally over the next five years. Such backlash or declines are not substantiated in our own measurement of Starbucks Brand Health and Consumer Sentiment. Kantar Millward Brown has conducted ongoing monthly measurement of Starbucks Brand Perceptions and Consumer Sentiment toward the Brand and saw no such impact in February 2017. In fact, in February 2017-after the announcement-we did not observe any substantive impact on Customer Consideration, Future Visitation Intent or Brand Perceptions or any other key performance metrics for the Starbucks brand."

Nevertheless, Starbucks has previously said it's a victim of its own success at mobile ordering. The company reported in its most recent quarter that mobile ordering spend increased 21% year-over-year, now accounting for over 7% of total transactions. However, its popularity has led to "significant congestion," such that some customers "either entered the store or considered visiting a Starbucks store and then did not complete a transaction," soon-to-be CEO Kevin Johnson told analysts on a recent conference call.

"We can't specifically quantify the number," Johnson said of these missed sales. "We do think that was the most significant contributing factor to our 3% comp," he added, referring to Starbucks' 3% same-store sales growth.

Along with slowing same-store sales, Starbucks bulls are also likely concerned about the impending departure of Schultz, who steps down April 3. It's the second time Schultz will leave Starbucks -- his first retirement lasted eight years, and he rejoined the company in 2008 amid a weak stock price and operational issues.

Jim Cramer and the AAP team hold a position in Starbucks for their Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells SBUX? Learn more now.

Editor's Pick: Originally published March 10.
The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc..

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The following companies are subsidiares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft: ABFS I Incorporated, ABS MB Ltd., Alex. Brown Financial Services Incorporated, Alex. Brown Investments Incorporated, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft mbH, Ambidexter GmbH i.L., Argent Incorporated, BHW - Gesellschaft fur Wohnungswirtschaft mbH, BHW Bausparkasse Aktiengesellschaft, BHW Holding GmbH, BT Globenet Nominees Limited, Bainpro Nominees Pty Ltd, Baldur Mortgages Limited, Bankers Trust Investments Limited, Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc., Berkshire Mortgage Finance, Betriebs-Center fur Banken AG, Better Financial Services GmbH, Better Payment Germany GmbH, Borfield Sociedad Anonima, Breaking Wave DB Limited, Cardales UK Limited, Cardea Real Estate S.r.l., Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Asset Management Company Limited, Cathay Capital Company (No 2) Limited, Cedar (Luxembourg) S.a. r.l., Chapel Funding, China Recovery Fund LLC, Consumo Srl in Liquidazione, D B Investments (GB) Limited, D&M Turnaround Partners Godo Kaisha, DB (Barbados) SRL, DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Asing) Sdn. Bhd., DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Tempatan) Sendirian Berhad, DB Alex. Brown Holdings Incorporated, DB Aotearoa Investments Limited, DB Beteiligungs-Holding GmbH, DB Boracay LLC, DB Capital Markets (Deutschland) GmbH, DB Cartera de lnmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Chestnut Holdings Limited, DB Corporate Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., DB Delaware Holdings (Europe) Limited, DB Direkt GmbH, DB Elara LLC, DB Energy Trading LLC, DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equity Limited, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology SRL, DB Group Services (UK) Limited, DB HR Solutions GmbH, DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB IROC Leasing Corp., DB Impact Investment Fund I. LP., DB Industrial Holdings Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, DB Industrial Holdings GmbH, DB Intermezzo LLC, DB International (Asia) Limited, DB International Investments Limited, DB International Trust (Singapore) Limited, DB Investment Managers Inc., DB Investment Partners Inc., DB Investment Partners Limited, DB Investment Resources (US) Corporation, DB Investment Resources Holdings Corp., DB Investment Services GmbH, DB London (Investor Services) Nominees Limited, DB Management Support GmbH, DB Nominees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB Nominees (Jersey) Limited, DB Nominees (Singapore) Pte Ltd, DB Omega BTV S.C.S., DB Omega Holdings LLC, DB Omega Ltd., DB Omega S.C.S., DB Operaciones y Servicios lnteractivos Agrupacicm de lnteres Econemico, DB Overseas Finance Delaware Inc., DB Overseas Holdings Limited, DB Print GmbH, DB Private Clients Corp., DB Private Wealth Mortgage Ltd., DB Re S.A., DB Service Centre Limited, DB Service Uruguay S.A., DB Services (Jersey) Limited, DB Services Americas. Inc., DB Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., DB Strategic Advisors Inc., DB Structured Derivative Products LLC, DB Structured Products Inc., DB Trustee Services Limited, DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB UK Bank Limited, DB UK Holdings Limited, DB UK PCAM Holdings Limited, DB US Financial Markets Holding Corporation, DB USA Core Corporation, DB USA Corporation, DB Valoren S.a. r.l., DB Value S.a.r.l., DB VersicherungsManager GmbH, DB Vita SA., DB lmmobilienfonds 5 Wieland KG i.L., DB lo LP, DBAH Capital. LLC, DBCIBZ1, DBFIC Inc., DBNZ Overseas Investments (No.1) Limited, DBOI Global Services (UK) Limited, DBR Investments Co. Limited, DBRE Global Real Estate Management 18 Ltd., DBRMS4, DBRMSGP1, DBUK PCAM Limited, DBUSBZ1 LLC, DBUSBZ2 S.a. r.l., DBX Advisers LLC, DEBEKO lmmobilien GmbH & Co Grundbesitz OHG, DEE Deutsche Erneuerbare Energien GmbH, DEUKONA Versicherungs-Vermittlungs-GmbH, DEUTSCHE BANK AS., DI Deutsche lmmobilien Treuhandgesellschaft mbH, DISCA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, DWS Alternatives France, DWS Alternatives Global Limited, DWS Alternatives GmbH, DWS Asset Management (Korea) Company Limited, DWS Beteiligungs GmbH, DWS CH AG, DWS Distributors Inc., DWS Far Eastern Investments Limited, DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA, DWS Group Services UK Limited, DWS Grundbesitz GmbH, DWS International GmbH, DWS Investment GmbH, DWS Investment Management Americas Inc., DWS Investment S.A., DWS Investments Australia Limited, DWS Investments Hong Kong Limited, DWS Investments Japan Limited, DWS Investments Shanghai Limited, DWS Investments Singapore Limited, DWS Investments UK Limited, DWS Management GmbH, DWS Real Estate GmbH, DWS Service Company, DWS Shanghai Private Equity Fund Management Limited, DWS Trust Company, DWS USA Corporation, Deposit Solutions, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Capital Holdings New Zealand, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Foreign Investments New Zealand, Deutsche (New Munster) Holdings New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Access Investments Limited, Deutsche Aeolia Power Production Societe Anonyme, Deutsche Alternative Asset Management (UK) Limited, Deutsche Asia Pacific Holdings Pte Ltd, Deutsche Asset Management (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Australia Limited, Deutsche Bank (Cayman) Limited, Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd., Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA, Deutsche Bank (Uruguay) Sociedad Anenima lnstitucien Financiera Externa, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank Americas Holding Corp., Deutsche Bank Europe GmbH, Deutsche Bank Financial Company, Deutsche Bank Holdings Inc., Deutsche Bank Insurance Agency Incorporated, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A., Deutsche Bank Mutui S.p.A., Deutsche Bank Mexico. S.A., Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Deutsche Bank Polska Spelka Akcyjna, Deutsche Bank Representative Office Nigeria Limited, Deutsche Bank S.A, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Limited, Deutsche Bank Societe per Azioni, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Delaware, Deutsche Bank Trust Company National Association, Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation, Deutsche Bank. Sociedad Anenima Espanola, Deutsche CIB Centre Private Limited, Deutsche Capital Finance (2000) Limited, Deutsche Capital Hong Kong Limited, Deutsche Capital Markets Australia Limited, Deutsche Capital Partners China Limited, Deutsche Cayman Ltd., Deutsche Custody N.V., Deutsche Domus New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Equities India Private Limited, Deutsche Finance No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Foras New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur lmmobilien-Leasing mit beschrenkter Haftung, Deutsche Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Group Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Deutsche Group Services Pty Limited, Deutsche Grundbesitz Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., Deutsche Grundbesitz-Anlagegesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Deutsche Holdings (BTI) Limited, Deutsche Holdings (Grand Duchy), Deutsche Holdings (Luxembourg) S.El r.l., Deutsche Holdings Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 3 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 4 Limited, Deutsche India Holdings Private Limited, Deutsche India Private Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services (Ireland) Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services Limited, Deutsche International Custodial Services Limited, Deutsche Investments (Netherlands) N.V., Deutsche Investments India Private Limited, Deutsche Investor Services Private Limited, Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd., Deutsche Leasing New York Corp., Deutsche Mexico Holdings S.a. r.|., Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Group Limited, Deutsche Mortgage & Asset Receiving Corporation, Deutsche Nederland N.V., Deutsche New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Nominees Limited, Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office AG, Deutsche Overseas Issuance New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Postbank, Deutsche Postbank Finance Center Objekt GmbH, Deutsche Private Asset Management Limited, Deutsche Securities (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Securities (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities (SA) (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities Asia Limited, Deutsche Securities Australia Limited, Deutsche Securities Inc., Deutsche Securities Israel Ltd., Deutsche Securities Korea Co., Deutsche Securities Mauritius Limited, Deutsche Securities SA. de C.V.. Casla de Bolsa, Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia, Deutsche Services (Cl) Limited, Deutsche Services Polska Sp. z o.o., Deutsche StiftungsTrust GmbH, Deutsche Strategic Investment Holdings Yugen Kaisha, Deutsche Trustee Company Limited, Deutsche Trustee Services (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Trustees Malaysia Berhad, Deutsche Wealth Management S.G.I.I.C. SA., Deutsche lmmobilien Leasing GmbH, Deutsches lnstitut fur Altersvorsorge GmbH, Durian (Luxembourg) S.a. r.l., EC EUROPA IMMOBILIEN FONDS NR. 3 GmbH & CO. KG i.l., Elizabethan Holdings Limited, Elizabethan Management Limited, European Value Added I (Alternate GP.) LLP, Fiduciaria Sant Andrea S.r.l., Finanzberatungsgesellschaft mbH der Deutschen Bank, Funfte SAB Treuhand und Verwaltung GmbH & Co. Suhl "Rimbachzentrum" KG, G Finance Holding Corp., German American Capital Corporation, Grundstucksgesellschaft Frankfurt Bockenheimer LandstraBe GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Miesbaden LuisenstraBe/Kirchgasse GbR, Hollandsche Bank-Unie, ISTRON Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH, IVAF l Manager S.a.r.l., Immobilienfonds Buro-Center Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben I GbR, J R Nominees (Pty) Ltd, Joint Stock Company Deutsche Bank DBU, Jyogashima Godo Kaisha, KEBA Gesellschaft fur interne Services mbH, Kidson Pte Ltd, Konsul lnkasso GmbH, LA Water Holdings Limited, LAWL Pte. Ltd., Leasing Verwaltungsgesellschaft Waltersdorf mbH, Leonardo lll Initial GP Limited, MEF I Manager. S. a r.|., MIT Holdings Inc., Maher Terminals Holdings (Toronto) Limited, Morgan Grenfell & Company, MortgageIT, MortgagelT Inc., MortgagelT Securities Corp., OOO "Deutsche Bank TechCentIe", OOO "Deutsche Bank", OPB Verwaltungs- und Treuhand GmbH, OPB-Oktava GmbH, OPB-Quarta GmbH, OPPENHEIM Capital Advisory GmbH, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Manager GmbH, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, PADUS Grundstcks-VermietungsgeseIlschaft mbH, PB Factoring GmbH, PB Spezial-lnvestmentaktiengesellschatt mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, PCC Services GmbH der Deutschen Bank, PT Deutsche Sekuritas Indonesia, Pan Australian Nominees Pty Ltd, Plantation Bay. Inc., Postbank Akademie und Service GmbH, Postbank Beteiligungen GmbH, Postbank Direkt GmbH, Postbank Filialvertrieb AG, Postbank Finanzberatung AG, Postbank Leasing GmbH, Postbank lmmobilien GmbH, Quantiguous, R.B.M. Nominees Pty Ltd, RREEF, RREEF America LLC., RREEF China REIT Management Limited, RREEF European Value Added I (G.P.) Limited, RREEF Fund Holding Co., RREEF India Advisers Private Limited, RREEF Management LLC., RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., Route 28 Receivables. LLC, SAB Real Estate Verwaltungs GmbH, SAGITA Grundstucks-Vermielungsgesellschaft mbH, SAPIO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, Sal. Oppenheim, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Beteiligungs GmbH, Sharps SP l LLC, Stelvio lmmobiliare S.r.l., Suddeutsche Vermeigensvewvaitung Gesellschaft mit beschrenkter Haftung, TELO Beleiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Tempurrite Leasing Limited, Thai Asset Enforcement and Recovery Asset Management Company Limited, Treuinvest Service GmbH, Triplereason Umited, VOB-ZVD Processing GmbH, WEPLA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Wealthspur Investment Ltd., World Trading (Delaware) Inc., lmmobilienfonds BuroCenter Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben II GbR, lmmobilienfonds Wohn- und Gescheftshaus Koln-Blumenberg V GbR, and norisbank GmbH.

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State Street Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company offers investment servicing products and services, including custody; product accounting; daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; depotbank services; record-keeping; cash management; foreign exchange, brokerage and other trading services; securities finance and enhanced custody products; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loans and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; performance, risk, and compliance analytics; and financial data management to support institutional investors. It also engages in the provision of portfolio management and risk analytics, as well as trading and post-trade settlement services with integrated compliance and managed data. In addition, the company offers investment management strategies and products, such as core and enhanced indexing, multi-asset strategies, active quantitative and fundamental active capabilities, and alternative investment strategies. Further, it provides services and solutions, including environmental, social, and governance investing; defined benefit and defined contribution; and global fiduciary solutions, as well as exchange-traded fund under the SPDR ETF brand. The company provides its products and services to mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, and investment managers. State Street Corporation was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
On Tuesday President Donald Trump reappeared in the debate over prices of drugs and sent pharmaceutical stocks plunging again thanks to a tweet that promised medication costs would be lowered for Americans.

Trump tweeted that he was working on a system where the drug industry will once again have competition.

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alerts:

Mylan NV, which makes EpiPen the allergy shot that has been the center of public outrage related to drug prices, was down 1.6%, while Perrigo fell 1.8% and Allergan was down 1.1%.

Trump tweeted early Tuesday after Republicans in the House unveiled their legislation to repeal then replace Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act late on Monday, which Trump touted as well, adding that there would be competition to come during the rollout of the new healthcare.

An analyst said the industry was intrigued at how Trump timed his tweet on Tuesday as it appeared quite rapidly after the healthcare bill from the House was unveiled. He added that he believes the tweet shows a continued interest on the part of the administration related to drug pricing.

The S&P 500 Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Index with 25 members was down by 1.3%, which is the most since January 11, when the president-elect Trump said members of the pharmaceutical industry were getting away with murder.

Trump has promised on multiple occasions to lower the cost of drugs and threatened to use the buying power of the government to force down prices, but to date has not produced any specifics related to how he will accomplish that.

The tweet on Tuesday left some analysts trying to determine what was meant by the Presidents tweet, especially due to Trump alluding to bidding in previously tweets.

Unlike most nations around the world, the U.S. does not regulate prices of medicine in a direct manner, and makers of drugs have resisted it in a big way.

There is competition already between branded and generic drugs, which also have intense pricing wars amongst themselves, said one Wall Street analyst.

Medicare Part D, which is the prescription drug arm of the governments program for elderly citizens, already has multiple tiers with branded medications that are interchangeable that means they compete against one another, said the analyst.

However, for Medicare Part B that is not how it works. Part B covers visits to doctors, lab tests and outpatient treatments.
(By Tsem Rinpoche)

I love it when people try new and creative ways to bring Buddhism to a new crowd. The world today is full of distractions caused by technological advancements, so it is apt that this Japanese Buddhist priest has adopted a techno-music approach, drawing from his DJ background, to attract a younger Japanese crowd to his sermons and temple.

He is not the only one to have done so. Kansho Tagai, aka MC Happiness from Kyoouji Temple in central Tokyo, uses rap music to educate his flock about the Buddhist sutras. Others such as Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Gomo Tulku and Singa Rinpoche have also used modern methods  film-making, pop music and hip-hop respectively  to do the same. I applaud their efforts and I hope that many other Buddhist teachers will also bring the Buddhas wisdom to a new audience through creative and modern methods, and not be dissuaded by public opinion as to what a Buddhist teacher can and cannot do.

Enjoy the article.

Tsem Rinpoche

Japanese Buddhist Temple Holds Techno Memorial Services

In an effort to make his Buddhist temple more accessible to the wider public and draw younger generations to religion, a former DJ turned Buddhist priest has been holding techno memorial services at his temple in Fukui City, Japan.

Attending one of the unconventional memorial services organized at the Sho-onji Buddhist temple by 49-year-old Gyosen Asakura feels more like a warehouse rave than a traditional religious experience. A kaleidoscope of psychedelic lights bathes the golden decorations of the temple, and electronic music ranging from IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) to breakbeats blends with chantings of Buddhist scripture.

The sight of a Buddhist priest wearing his traditional garb, but also sporting a pair of large headphones while operating a DJ station during his sermon only adds to the psychedelic feel of attending a techno memorial service at Sho-onji. Its definitely a strange experience, but one that is fulfilling its purpose of bringing people, especially youths, back to religion.

For Gyosen Asakura, a big fan of electronic music and a former DJ, blending techno and Buddhism was a no-brainer. Despite some criticism to his unorthodox ways, the 49-year-old priest only sees this combination as a modernized recreation of the image of the Pure Land of Perfect Bliss, and an interpretation of the divine land of Amida Buddha that can resonate with the people of today.

Buddhism says The Pure Land (a heaven-like celestial realm) is a world of light. It is said people used to use the most advanced technologies available to them at the time in order to ornament temples with gold leaf and thus recreate this world of light. What I want to do with this project is use lighting and contemporary technology in order to make it possible for people to get a more accurate image of what Lord Buddhas world looks like, Asakura says.

However, his techno memorial services, which combine colorful lights, projection mapping, and techno music with Buddhist scripture are an expensive affair that requires a variety of high-tech gadgets and software. The high cost of organizing such an event, has only allowed him to hold two techno memorial services so far  once in May and once in October of last year. The response has been very positive, but in order to keep his project going and improve it, he needs money.

Gyosen Asakura recently started a crowdfunding campaign on Japanese website Readyfor, asking 300,000 yen ($2684), but with 14 days to go, he has already surpassed his goal. 38 backers have already pledged 373,000 yen to his cause.

Or view the video on the server at:

https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/JapanMemorialService001.mp4

If youve ever wanted to experience a techno memorial service, Asakura plans to hold his next one on May 3, 2017, so if youre in Fukui City, be sure to stop by his Sho-onji. Im sure its an experience you dont want to miss.









For more interesting information:



Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 13 of the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987, allowance is made for fair dealing for purposes such as non-profit research, private study, criticism, review or the reporting of current events. The Operator and author(s) of TsemRinpoche.com, a not-for-profit blog, do not claim ownership on the intellectual property rights of the contents, images and/or videos reproduced in this article. Any subsisting intellectual property rights shall belong to the legal owner of the contents, images and/or videos.
- The US president made an official phone call to President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday, March 7

- The phone call which took around 30 minutes focused on trade relations, terrorism and bilateral relationship

- Uhuru was the third president in Africa to speak with Trump since he took office in January 20, 2017

US President Donald Trump spoke to President Uhuru Kenyatta via phone call at around 6:15pm on Tuesday, March 7.

READ ALSO: US President Donald Trump APPLAUDS KDF

A statement from White House stated the two leaders reaffirmed the strong bilateral relationship between Kenya and the US.

The 30-minute phone call focused on the economic partnership between the two countries and mutual dedication to overcoming terrorism and other regional security challenges through close cooperation.

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"The two leaders discussed our economic partnership and mutual dedication to overcoming terrorism and other regional security challenges through close cooperation," read the statement.

The discussion also touched on ways to boost bilateral trade and investment in Kenya and the broader East Africa region.

Trump also recognised the sacrifice the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers in the fight against al-Shabaab.

READ ALSO: Doctors finally 'respond' to President Uhuru's back to work order

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The phone call was the first between the two leaders since Trump took office on January 20 and he was the third president in Africa to speak with Trump.

On February 13, Trump called South Africa President Jacob Zuma and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

Have something to add to this article or suggestions? Send to news@tuko.co.ke

Watch a video on the phone call below;

Source: TUKO.co.ke
WASHINGTON (TNS)  A little-known Senate budget rule could pose a huge challenge to the GOPs top priorities of increasing defense spending and cutting taxes this year.

Providing more funds to the military and rewriting the tax code both depend on the House and Senate agreeing to a fiscal 2018 budget resolution. The fiscal blueprint would set an enforceable topline for appropriators and provide reconciliation instructions allowing a tax overhaul to advance in the Senate with a simple 51-vote majority.

Because of the importance of a tax overhaul to the GOP, it is even possible House and Senate Republicans will end up trying to pass a second bare-bones budget resolution  this one designed to provide reconciliation instructions for taxes  instead of a full budget resolution. After they failed to agree on a fiscal 2017 budget resolution last year, Republicans in January wrote and adopted a pared-down budget to provide reconciliation instructions for repealing the 2010 health care law.

The fiscal 2018 budget resolution already faced serious obstacles because Republicans are divided over how much to cut spending and whether to again chart a path to balancing the budget in 10 years.

The Senate rule, embedded in budget law, makes the job even harder. Enforced by a point of order, the rule prohibits consideration of any bill, resolution or conference report that would cause discretionary spending limits to be exceeded. Senate Budget Committee GOP staff confirmed that the rule applies to budget resolutions.

As a result, it will be nearly impossible for the two chambers to adopt a fiscal 2018 budget that would raise base defense spending above the $549 billion defense cap. It would take 60 votes to waive the point of order in the Senate, meaning Republicans would need Democrats support. Democrats are sure to object to any increase in defense spending without a corresponding boost in nondefense spending.

In his fiscal 2018 budget, to be released later this month, President Donald Trump is expected to ask Congress to raise defense spending by $54 billion and pay for it by reducing domestic spending by the same amount. The caps are set in law, so any attempt to raise them would ultimately require a change in law, which needs 60 votes in the Senate.

Republicans on the House Budget Committee are already beginning to struggle with how much money to allocate to national defense and other funding categories as they work on the next budget resolution behind closed doors.

No decisions have been made about that yet, but that is something were going to have to look at, House Budget Chairwoman Diane Black told CQ Roll Call when asked about defense funding and the point of order. The Tennessee Republican said the committees actions will be based in part on what Trump proposes and what the conferences desire is.

The point of order against exceeding the caps does not apply in the House. It nevertheless poses a challenge for the House Budget Committee because the budget resolution must be adopted by both the House and Senate to take effect.

Florida Republican Mario Diaz-Balart, a senior appropriator who sits on the Budget Committee, favors higher defense spending but said its unclear how the budget resolution will address defense. Were at the beginning of that process, he said.

With the debt approaching $20 trillion, South Carolina Republican Mark Sanford, another Budget Committee member, advocates sticking to the spending caps. In a perfect world we would allow for more robust defense expenditures, he said. We dont live in that perfect world.

The caps on discretionary spending established in the 2011 deficit reduction law will drop in 2018, meaning that, barring a change in law, Congress will have to pare back discretionary spending by several billion dollars. The cap on base defense spending will fall from $551.1 billion in fiscal 2017 to $549 billion in fiscal 2018. The cap on nondefense spending will fall from $518.5 billion to $515.4 billion, the Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Apart from waiving the Senate point of order, there are two ways to increase defense spending in the budget resolution above the caps.

One is to provide additional money through the Overseas Contingency Operations account, which is outside the constraints of the caps. Over the past three years, Republicans have written budget resolutions that complied with the caps but provided additional funding to the Pentagon through the war funds account.

In 2015, for example, the two chambers adopted a fiscal 2016 budget that added $38 billion to President Barack Obamas request for $58 billion in war funds. The $96 billion in war funding represented a victory for defense hawks over fiscal conservatives who tried to limit or offset war funding in both chambers. Before the year was out, the Congress and Obama struck another budget deal to raise the caps after Democrats blocked appropriations bills in the Senate.

Besides using the OCO, the other option is for Democrats and Republicans to pass yet a third budget deal raising the caps, as they did in 2013 and 2015.

Its also possible Republicans could forego a budget resolution. Lawmakers could deem an enforceable topline in the absence of a budget. Another scenario involves bringing appropriations bills to the floor after May 15 without either a budget or deeming resolution, which the House did for the first time last year.

The real problem with skipping a budget is that it eliminates the chance to use budget reconciliation to move a tax overhaul through the Senate with 51 votes. Republicans are counting on using the expedited process to pass a tax overhaul, which the GOP sees as the key to faster economic growth and job creation. Reconciliation cannot be used unless the two chambers adopt a budget resolution containing reconciliation instructions.
In Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia regions there is a significant avalanche danger due to the thaw.

This has been reported by the State Emergency Service with reference to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centers forecasts.

"On March 8, as thaw starts, a considerable level (3) of avalanche danger is expected in mountain areas in Zakarpattia and Ivano-Frankivsk regions," the report said.

ish
The Information Policy Ministry has announced five main facts of Russian lie at the ICJ in The Hague.

Deputy Head of the Information Policy Ministry Dmytro Zolotukhin wrote this on his Facebook page.

"Events in the east of Ukraine are not a military aggression but an internal Ukrainian conflict  it is a LIE. In fact, the creation, financial support and military training of the relevant paramilitary organizations in Donbas were carried out by the Russian forces in 2009 in the context of preparations for active actions against Ukraine," Zolotukhin cited the first fact of the Russian lie.

In addition, according to him, the state bodies and public organizations of Ukraine have provided and continue to provide gigabytes of evidence of the presence of Russian troops in the sovereign territory of Ukraine.

According to the deputy minister, it is a lie that MH17 could be shot down by the Ukrainian military, which Russia claims could be also deployed in close proximity to the disaster site. "The investigators have long established all the facts and aspects of the way the BUK-M1 missile launcher, which killed 298 people, was brought to the territory of Ukraine from Russia, being under the control of Russian mercenaries and terrorists controlled and sponsored by them, and launched a missile from an already established location," the deputy minister noted.

The Russians have lied in The Hague that there are no Russian weapons and troops in Donbas. Zolotukhin has noted that governmental and non-governmental organizations, journalists, experts and volunteers have already collected gigabytes of evidence that representatives of Russian regular military units were present in Donbas, used weapons, took part in combat clashes, supplied weapons and heavy equipment of Russian origin to terrorists.

The Russian delegation has also lied about the fact that Ukraine does not adhere to the Minsk agreements. "The escalation in Avdiivka was provoked by pro-Russian terrorists five hours after a telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Volunteers recorded armored vehicles and heavy artillery in close proximity to the contact line, which violated the norms of agreements within the framework of the Minsk deal," the deputy head of the Information Policy Ministry said.

The Russian delegation was the most cynical when it said that the current so-called "blockade" in Donbas showed "that Ukraine itself is a sponsor of terrorism." At the Ukrainian enterprises, which the Russians have not yet managed to steal, citizens of Ukraine have been working, and they receive salaries and pay taxes to the Ukrainian budget. Those citizens of Ukraine are held hostage by terrorists and need help of the international community and protection in the international court!" Zolotukhin stressed.

ish
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin has highly appreciated the U.S. support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This has been discussed during a meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and U.S. National Security Adviser Herbert Raymond McMaster in Washington, the press service of the Foreign Ministry reported.

Klimkin expressed hope that the experience gained by Lt. Gen. Herbert Raymond McMaster while studying Russias hybrid war strategy against our country was useful for understanding the challenges faced by Ukraine.

The minister has also noted the need for further deepening of Ukrainian-American cooperation in the field of security, which is of common interest.

The parties also discussed the agreements reached by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and President of the United States Donald Trump during their telephone conversation on February 5, as well as possibilities to continue in this course the dialogue with the U.S. administration at all levels.

ish
The facts of discrimination by Russia of the Crimean Tatars and the Ukrainian people in Crimea have been documented by authoritative human rights organizations.

Ukraines representative in the UN International Court of Justice Harold Hongju Koh said this during a speech at the hearing in The Hague.

"By promoting ethnic Russian domination, Russia aims to discriminate against non-Russian population, in particular the Crimean Tatars and the ethnic Ukrainian population. These facts have been well-documented by authoritative human rights organizations," he said.

According to him, the UN condemned discrimination in the occupied Crimea a few months ago.

ish
03/08/2017

Media contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

LOWELL, Mass.  Noy Thrupkaew, whose investigative reporting has exposed human trafficking and labor exploitation across the globe, has been named UMass Lowells 2017 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies. Previous scholars include 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee.

Thrupkaews research, writing and public speaking about human trafficking shines a light on how the use of violence, fraud or coercion is used to force people into a range of roles not of their choosing. Her 2015 TED Talk, which has been viewed online more than 88,000 times, shares her realization as an adult that her childhood nanny was the victim of human trafficking. This discovery inspired her to work to expose the practice and advocate for improvements in law-enforcement response in order to stop it.

Thrupkaew has investigated some of the largest human trafficking cases in the United States, from uncovering human rights abuses of Thai farmers brought to the country for cheap labor to the plight of Indian metalworkers rebuilding oil rigs after Hurricane Katrina under threat of deportation. She has also delved into the complexity of issues behind prostitution in Southeast Asia and has filed stories from countries including Burma, Cambodia, Cuba, Iran, Morocco, Thailand and Vietnam. A contributing editor at The American Prospect, her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, National Geographic and The Nation, along with Ms. and Marie Claire magazines.

She has received fellowships from the Open Society Institute, the Fulbright Program, the Pew Foundation and the American Prospect. The recipient of Fulbright and International Reporting Project grants, she is a former editor of the Boston-based feminist newspaper Sojourner: The Womens Forum and has taught classes about how to conduct international investigations.

As the Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies at UMass Lowell, Thrupkaew will lead a series of programs for students, faculty, staff and the community next month.

I'm so honored to serve as this year's Greeley Scholar, to explore the living meaning of justice and peace with a community that draws on a rich, complex history of organizing in support of workers rights and the vibrancy of migrant and refugee experience, she said.

Greeley Scholars are selected for their humanitarian achievements and ability to effectively promote peace and conflict resolution at the local, regional, national or international level. The honor is named for Rev. Dana McLean Greeley, a longtime Unitarian Universalist minister in Concord.

Thrupkaew was chosen for the honor from among 20 international leaders working to stop human trafficking, said Robert Gamache, the UMass Lowell professor emeritus who co-directs the Greeley Scholar Advisory Committee and the universitys Peace and Conflict Studies Institute (PACSI) with Imogene Stulken, campus minister.

Noy Thrupkaews research and dedication to the topic identify her as a true scholar, but it was her TED Talk that convinced me. Because she experienced the effects of trafficking, she brings forth a passion that separates her from other speakers. Her time on campus will give the UMass Lowell community and the public the opportunity to learn from a giant in the field, Gamache said.

Thrupkaew will headline A Crisis from Which We Bleed: Resisting Economic Injustice Across the Divide at UMass Lowells annual Day Without Violence on Tuesday, April 4 at 12:30 p.m. The free event will be held at the OLeary Library Learning Commons on the universitys South Campus at 61 Wilder St., Lowell. Free parking will be available across the street from the venue. For more about the Day Without Violence and other local appearances by Thrupkaew, see www.uml.edu/Research/PACSI/Day-Without-Violence.aspx.

As a Greeley Scholar, she joins an esteemed list of human-rights leaders who have also received the honor. They are 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Gbowee, a grassroots organizer who helped end the Second Liberian Civil War; womens rights activist and peace-builder Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini; Albie Sachs, an architect of South African democracy and contemporary of Nelson Mandela; John Prendergast, founder of The Enough Project, who frequently collaborates with George Clooney; Linda Biehl, who forgave the South African men who killed her daughter Amy and now teaches about restorative justice and reconciliation with them; Padraig OMalley, who works for peace in Northern Ireland; and the late Gavriel Salomon, who founded and directed the Center for Research on Peace Education in Israel.

The Greeley Scholar program is funded by the Greeley Endowment for Peace Studies, established with a gift from the Dana McLean Greeley Foundation for Peace and Justice and a contribution from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts via the UMass Foundation.

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 17,750 students bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu
Americas workforce will grow over the next two decades if new immigrants replace retiring baby boomers, a Pew report shows. (Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images)

CORPORATIONS

Disney chief defends spot on Trump panel

Walt Disney chief executive Robert Iger said he plans to stay on a presidential advisory panel after activists at the companys annual shareholder meeting Wednesday asked him to step down from the position.

A representative of the Colorado Peoples Alliance told Iger that his presence on the panel made it seem as though he was endorsing President Trumps agenda. Iger said shareholders and others benefited from his presence there.

I happen to believe this company, as has this country, has benefited from an open and fair immigration policy, Iger, 66, said. I dont happen to believe policies that single people out by religion are fair and just. Thats just one example of things that may come up.

At the meeting, held in Denver, Iger also faced comments from investors on employee relations and accusations of bias at ABC News.

 Bloomberg News

Also in Business

 Chipotle Mexican Grill on Wednesday won dismissal of a lawsuit claiming it defrauded shareholders about its ability to protect customers from at least seven norovirus, E. coli and salmonella outbreaks in 2015. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan said shareholders failed to show that Chipotle improperly concealed the seriousness of foodborne illness outbreaks, the status of a federal probe into an E. coli outbreak and information about how its food safety checks failed to stop the risk of outbreaks.

 From news services

Coming Today

 From news services
President Trumps pledge to create a program that funds $1 trillion in new infrastructure programs has kicked off with numerous meetings but few firm decisions, beset by understaffing, bureaucratic challenges and major questions about how to pay for everything.

Trump promised in a February speech to Congress that a $1 trillion infrastructure rebuilding plan would create millions of new jobs, but few of those jobs are expected to materialize this year, because no firm deadlines have been set and much of the planning could spill into 2018.

Despite those challenges, the White Houses infrastructure team has become one of its broadest task forces, with Trump considering it a central plank of his promise to create more jobs. He has activated a team of White House and Cabinet agency officials to identify a wide range of infrastructure projects across the United States and come up with a way to fund them, launching the internal deliberations to design the $1 trillion package he promised on the campaign trail.

On Wednesday, Trump hosted an infrastructure-focused luncheon with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, General Atlantic chief executive William Ford and a number of others. On Tuesday, Trump discussed infrastructure with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

And on Capitol Hill at a Senate hearing Wednesday, highway officials and other interested parties aired some ideas for funding new projects.

(The Washington Post)

Behind the scenes, a government-wide effort kicked off last week when White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn led a meeting with officials from 15 federal agencies and departments, pressing them to come up with answers to six planks for the infrastructure plan.

They were told they need to identify new projects; find existing projects that need help with completion; identify policy, regulatory and statutory issues that would need to be addressed; and finally come up with a way to pay for it all.

Were still kind of getting geared up, a senior administration official said.

The quick shift from popular campaign promise to the bogged-down bureaucratic negotiation process is the latest test of Trumps ability to pivot from thematic ideas to concrete action. He has already encountered logjams on tax policy, repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, and plans to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the U.S. border.

On infrastructure in particular, Trump faces challenges selling members of his party on his plans once they jell, given GOP resistance to government spending programs.

This is going to take a lot of work in the administration and on Capitol Hill, said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist and former Capitol Hill staffer. They dont have the personnel right now to get that done.

White House officials are hopeful that the infrastructure planning, even if it moves slowly, will gain ground through what they see as the methodical process they have put in place.

The agencies that attended last weeks meeting  working on issues such as transportation, housing and energy  are expected to continue meeting and planning, but the White House has not set any deadlines. White House officials envision that the projects could include building or rebuilding ports, roads, bridges and airports, expanding access to broadband and expanding access to housing.

The process that began at the meeting last week in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building represents a back-to-the-drawing-board moment following an exhaustive effort to identify infrastructure projects during the presidential transition.

Daniel Slane, an Ohio developer who worked on the infrastructure package for Trump during December and January, said he crafted a list of more than 50 projects and turned them over to Trump officials before he left the team on Jan. 20. These projects included expanding access to the Port of Baltimore and the development of a wind-power project in Oklahoma, among other things.

He said he has been frustrated by the slow start.

It takes a long time to mobilize, Slane said in an interview. If you want to be moving dirt in the fall, you have to start now. Now the weeks are turning into months.

Slane never had the authority, however, to expedite any projects, and the Trump team had long planned on taking a more comprehensive review of the project.

One of the biggest challenges officials face is finding a way to pay for the $1 trillion in projects. Infrastructure projects can be politically popular, but funding them is tricky, particularly as Republicans are torn about growing levels of federal debt.

Trump has said he wants the financing to be a combination of public and private money.

As the president has said many times, strong public-private partnerships will also be key to revitalizing our countrys ruined roads, crumbling bridges and outdated airports, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Wednesday. The government has wasted too much of the taxpayers money on inefficient and misguided projects. By looking at infrastructure from a businesspersons perspective . . . we can restore respect for the taxpayer dollar and make the best investment.

[White House split on import tax puts Congress in limbo]

Public-private partnerships could include tax credits for developers, toll projects or government payments to private developers that issue debt to finance specific projects, among other things, a senior administration official said. No decision has been made on whether there will be a uniform funding plan or whether the White House will pursue different funding models for different projects, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the deliberations are private.

Potentially complicating matters, Trump has said the infrastructure plan must be revenue-neutral, meaning it cannot add to the federal debt. That means even if the government pays $200 billion of the $1 trillion package, it must find a way to raise revenue or cut costs elsewhere to offset the price tag.

In anticipation of a major infrastructure initiative, the National Governors Association last month forwarded a list of 428 shovel-ready projects to the new administration. The list, culled from the states, includes an array of transportation, water, energy and emergency-response projects. And the sheer size of it underscores the intense interest in the initiative from governors of both political parties.

Based on guidance from the Trump transition team, states were asked by the NGA in December to submit three to five projects apiece. Most far exceeded that number.

California alone offered 51 priority projects that Brian P. Kelly, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, said represent more than $100 billion in targeted investments throughout the state.

Officials in Virginia submitted eight projects to the NGA, including the replacement of Long Bridge, which is the only railway crossing between Virginia and the District. The bridge transports 46 passenger trains and 23 freight trains daily, according to Virginias submission.

The state is also seeking help to expand the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, a project officials say would reduce congestion and better facilitate evacuations from Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

Officials in Maryland and the District have not released a full list, but District officials said priorities include Metro upgrades and the rehabilitation of the Arlington Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River.

The NGA said that the list it submitted in February included projects from 49 states and U.S. territories.

Some Democrats saw Trumps infrastructure-plan pledge as a possible opening for a bipartisan deal, since many liberals want more spending on roads and bridges in their states and districts.

But as the weeks go by, it seems to be receding further and further into the background, said Jim Manley, a lobbyist who served as a senior aide for then-Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).

Still, supporters of Trumps effort say the White House should not try to rush a plan into place.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address these issues, and we want to see it done right and not fast, said Edward L. Mortimer, executive director for transportation infrastructure at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who was among those who testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Were it not for the renegade work of club owner, Hollywood producer and self-described showman Fred Weintraub, the lives of Bruce Lee, Frankie Valli, Neil Diamond, Richard Pryor and Woody Allen, to say nothing of the mud-encrusted hippies Mr. Weintraub captured in the movie Woodstock, might have taken other turns.

Mr. Weintraub died at 88 on March 5, leaving a legacy that included founding the storied New York folk and comedy club the Bitter End, greenlighting a music festival shoot that became the documentary Woodstock (1970) and signing the young martial arts expert Lee to star in the Weintraub-produced movie Enter the Dragon (1973).

The cause was complications from Parkinsons disease, said his wife, Jackie Dubey-Weintraub. He died in Pacific Palisades, Calif., the New York Times reported.

Fred Robert Weintraub was born in the Bronx on April 27, 1928, to parents who owned and operated two baby furniture stores. Mr. Weintraub, who had two sisters, inherited that appetite for retail.

After attending the Wharton School of Business, he took over the familys Darling Furniture and Toy company, where the driven entrepreneur expanded the business to 50 stores and sold it in the late 1950s. He subsequently made a foray to Havana, landing a gig playing piano in a house of ill repute.

An exterior of The Bitter End in 2014. (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

While in Cuba, Mr. Weintraub recounted being arrested and falsely accused of gunrunning. He spent a few days in jail and, upon release, eventually returned to New York City.

Greenwich Village was a center of youth culture at the time, and Mr. Weintraub needed a way to burn up the restless energy that had plagued me since childhood, he wrote in his rollicking 2012 autobiography, Bruce Lee, Woodstock and Me, co-authored with David Fields. In 1961, he took over the lease on a little Village coffeehouse that he renamed the Bitter End.

Among those who performed at the Bitter End when Mr. Weintraub owned it were Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, George Carlin, Bill Cosby and Joan Rivers. On their debut album, the folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary posed in front of the Bitter Ends famous brick wall, an iconic backdrop that has since become the de facto standard for comedy clubs.

My earliest memory of the Bitter End, Allen said in Bruce Lee, Woodstock and Me, is that people told me it was a place for young people starting out, particularly at the Tuesday night Hootenanny. I went over, and Fred, who looked like a character who stepped out of a Russian novel, was instantly very warm, friendly and encouraging.

Mr. Weintraub sold the Bitter End in 1974 and focused on producing for TV, where his early successes included creating the seminal music series Hootenanny.

When his friend Ted Ashley became the head of Warner Bros. film studio, Mr. Weintraub was hired as an executive in charge of production. After Easy Rider did so well, they wanted to hire someone with a ponytail down to his behind, he told Variety in 1994.

Mr. Weintraub fit the bill, and the hire paid off. One of Mr. Weintraubs first projects for the company was helping to finance Woodstock after being contacted by desperate festival organizers who needed film gear but were running out of money. According to Mr. Weintraubs account in the New York Post, Warner Bros. $500,000 investment helped Woodstock earn $32 million during its theatrical run.

Producer Fred Weintraub with wife Jackie in 2006. (Chad Buchanan/Getty Images)

He had found his calling. After producing the George C. Scott vehicle Rage (1972), Mr. Weintraub set his sights on the kind of martial arts movies earning profits in Hong Kong. With a script in hand and looking to adapt that action for American audiences, Mr. Weintraub cast the young martial arts instructor Lee.

The film, Enter the Dragon, went on to gross more than $100 million worldwide, according to Variety. Lee died a few days after the films release.

Mr. Weintraub left Warner Bros. to become an independent producer for TV and film and saw success with projects including the David Carradine vehicle Kung Fu and The Dukes of Hazzard. Long a believer in shoestring budgets, Mr. Weintraub decried the excesses of the Hollywood system while making films in the 1970s and 1980s including Black Belt Jones, Force: Five, Under the Gun and High Road to China.

In the early 1990s, Mr. Weintraub and his wife, Jackie, helped build Lithuanias film industry after the fall of the Soviet Union. Seeking a budget-conscious location to shoot the series The New Adventures of Robin Hood, the pair opened a door that producers continue to use decades later.

Mr. Weintraubs experiences, especially after turning independent, led him to make a prescient prediction to the Creators Project in 2012. In five years, therell be 10 million people paying $2 to see a new movie on its first night on the Internet, he said.

I found the business fun, he added. Its still fun.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Weintraub is survived by four children from earlier marriages.

 Los Angeles Times


The new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center on Marylands Eastern Shore opens Saturday. (Marylou Tousignant)

If Harriet Tubman were to magically reappear in Dorchester County on Marylands Eastern Shore, she might think she had time-traveled back to her childhood. The areas grassy marshes, sparkling rivers and flat farmland look much as they did when she lived there in the early 1800s.

A recently discovered photograph of Harriet Tubman from the late 1860s. Tubmans life  including her role as a Civil War spy  is part of the visitor center exhibits. (Swann Auction Galleries)

She knew these fields and waterways well, both as a child born into slavery as Araminta Minty Ross and as a woman who married and changed her name to Harriet Tubman. She escaped to freedom at age 27 and risked capture and even death by returning to the area a dozen or more times to help about 70 others, including her parents and brothers, escape, too. They used a secret network of people and places called the Underground Railroad. Tubman was one of its most famous conductors. She earned the biblical nickname Moses for freeing her people.

[How Harriet Tubmans story was nearly forgotten.]

That much about Tubman is pretty well known. But other parts of her amazing, long life (she lived into her 90s) are not. A visitor center opening this weekend in Dorchester County aims to give a fuller picture of this remarkable woman.

The first item visitors will see is a bronze bust of Tubman. Mounted on a column, it shows how tall (or short) she was  5 feet. Sculptor Brendan ONeill was putting the bust in place last week. He said he wanted to show the strength and grit Tubman displayed, despite her small frame. Preteen visitors may feel it as they face her eye to eye.

Statues and exhibits in the two main halls round out Tubmans life story. One of nine children, she was taken from her mother at age 6 and forced to work. One statue shows her hunting muskrats, valuable for food and fur. Another honors her Civil War service as a cook, nurse, scout and spy for the Union. During an 1863 raid in South Carolina, Tubman helped free more than 700 slaves.

In her later years, she opened a home for the elderly on land she owned in New York. And she worked for womens rights as well as for minorities and the disabled.

I like to think of Harriet Tubman as a normal person who did extraordinary things, said Angela Crenshaw,



Maryland sculptor Brendan O'Neill looks at his bronze bust of Harriet Tubman as it is installed in entrance to the visitor center. (Marylou Tousignant)

Kids can collect Harriet Tubman trading cards and earn a Junior Ranger badge at the grand opening. (Marylou Tousignant)

assistant manager of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park, home to the new visitor center.

Tubman never learned to read or write. She suffered all her life from a severe head injury she received as a girl. She had a $100 reward placed on her, yet returned time after time to Maryland to help more slaves escape.

She just never quit, said historian Beth Parnicza of the National Park Service. She thinks Tubmans message for kids is in seeing how a person can truly live their ideals no matter what their circumstances are. . . . By doing whats right, everybody can change the world. Tubmans life proves that.

Her tombstone sums it up best. It reads: Servant of God, Well Done.
Anne Arundel County

The following were among incidents reported by the Anne Arundel County police. For information, call 410-222-8050.

PASADENA AREA

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Fort Smallwood Rd., 7000 block, 6:20 a.m. March 1. A cash box was stolen from a business.

SEVERN AREA

WEAPONS

Meade Village Cir. and Meade Village Rd., 6:30 p.m. Feb. 27. Shot were fired, and nine shell casings were found in a road.

Annapolis

These were among incidents reported by the Annapolis Police Department. For information, call 410-268-9000.

SHOOTING

Annapolitan Lane, 500 block, 4:55 a.m., Feb. 25. A man shot an acquaintance at a home. An Annapolis man, 28, was charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder and related charges.

ROBBERIES

Market Space, 2:45 p.m. Feb. 27. Two men armed with a knife stole cash and shoes from a store. A Glen Burnie man, 45, was charged with armed robbery and related charges.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Carver St., 7 p.m. Feb. 27 to 8 a.m. Feb. 28. A radio and DVD monitor were stolen from a vehicle.

Green St., 100 block, Feb. 19 to Feb. 24. Jewelry was stolen from an unlocked vehicle.

Heritage Ct., 8 to 11:30 a.m. Feb. 24. Shoes were stolen from a home.

Sixth St., 500 block, 1 a.m. March 2. A homeowner woke to a noise outside his home. He saw a male jump from a second-floor patio to the ground and flee on foot.

W. Washington St., 2 a.m. March 2. A masked male assaulted a man at his apartment, stole a television and DVD player, and fled. On March 1, the man in the apartment was assaulted by several people, and his keys were either lost or stolen. The keys may have been used to enter the apartment.

Westbridge Dr., 1900 block, Jan. 29 to Feb. 6. An E-ZPass transponder was stolen from a vehicle.

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

McKinley St., 1200 block, 1:30 p.m. Feb. 26 to 8 a.m. Feb. 27. A white 2012 Volkswagen Jetta was stolen.

Howard County

These were among incidents reported by the Howard County Police Department. For information, call 410-313-2236.

CLARKSVILLE AREA

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Clarksville Pike, 12400 block, 4:27 a.m. March 1. A door was pried open at a business; nothing was reported stolen.

COLUMBIA AREA

ROBBERIES

Hickory Ridge Rd., 10800 block, 6:40 p.m. Feb. 23. Two armed males with their faces partially covered stole prescription medication from a pharmacy and fled.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Columbia Rd., 5000 block, Feb. 24 to 25. A door at a home was pried open; entry was not gained.

Greystone Lane, 8400 block, 9:01 p.m. March 1. A male kicked in a door at a home; he fled when confronted by an occupant.

Little Patuxent Pkwy., 10400 block, Feb. 24 to 27. Power tools were stolen from a trailer at a construction site.

Sea Water Path, 8100 block, 6:36 p.m. Feb. 24. A garage door opener in a vehicle was used to enter a garage at a home; nothing was reported stolen.

ELKRIDGE AREA

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Golden Slumber Lane, 7600 block, Feb. 24 to 27. Drywall was stolen from a construction site.

ELLICOTT CITY AREA

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Baltimore National Pike, 9200 block, 7:11 a.m. Feb. 25. Cash and equipment were stolen from a business.

Centennial Park West, 4600 block, Feb. 2 to 23. A door on a storage shed at a business was pried open; entry was not gained.

Main St., 8100 block, Feb. 27-28. A jar of chocolates was stolen from a store.

Pine Run Ct., 8500 block, 5:57 a.m. Feb. 28. Cash, pocketknives, gift cards and sunglasses were stolen from vehicles. A Columbia man, 25, was charged with theft and rogue and vagabond.

Walking Stick Rd., 4900 block, 5:32 a.m. Feb. 27. Airbags were stolen from several vehicles.

JESSUP AREA

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Washington Blvd., 8100 block, Feb. 27-28. A television was stolen from a game room at an apartment complex.

Willowwood Way, 8800 block, 6:40-10:21 p.m. Feb. 28. Jewelry, cash and shoes were stolen from a home.

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

Jenmar Rd., 8000 block, 8:18 a.m. Feb. 24. A go-cart was stolen.

LAUREL AREA

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

All Saints Rd., 9100 block, Feb. 27 to 28. Cash, cigars and other items were stolen from a dollar store.

All Saints Rd., 9100 block, 1:15 a.m. March 1. Cash and cigarettes were stolen from a market.

All Saints Rd., 9100 block, 1:03 a.m. March 1. A glass door was broken at a liquor store in an attempt to gain entry.

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

Thamesmeade Rd., 9100 block, 8:29 a.m. Feb. 25. A white Ford F150 van was stolen.

ARSON

Kindler Rd., 10:01 p.m. Feb. 27. A vehicle was set on fire.

SAVAGE AREA

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Perri Dr., 8300 block, Feb. 13 to 24. A sliding door at a vacant house was smashed; it is unclear whether anything was stolen.

Washington Blvd., 9000 block, 3:55 a.m. Feb. 28. Cash and cigarettes were stolen from a store.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at Marylands National Harbor on Feb. 23. DeVos met with transgender students, their families and advocates for the LGBTQ community Wednesday. (Susan Walsh/AP)

With tears in their eyes, Vanessa and JR Ford recounted to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos the story of their transgender daughter Ellie, sharing the drawings in which Ellie depicted herself as a stick figure in a little dress and telling her about Ellies fourth birthday, where she declared I am a girl in my brain and my heart.

In the Department of Education conference room, Ellie sat nearby sketching characters from Sonic the Hedgehog and munching on apple sauce. She had just met the secretary, the Fords later recalled, giving DeVos her classic fake-out handshake in which she ran her tiny fingers up the womans arm, squealing Squirrel!

The Fords, who live in the District and send Ellie to a charter school, joined other families with transgender children at a Wednesday meeting hoping to persuade DeVos to do more to protect transgender students, whom they say have been imperiled by the Trump administrations move to roll back Obama-era protections two weeks ago.

It was very painful to have to do. Both my husband and I fought through tears trying to tell her how difficult the past two weeks have been, Vanessa Ford told The Washington Post. These are our families. These are our friends. And we are angry.

The emotional meeting came after the Fords and others sent a letter to the Trump administration in late February, asking its officials to sit down to discuss transgender students rights. It took place immediately before DeVos met with representatives of three LGBTQ groups  National Center for Transgender Equality; the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network; and Equality Michigan  who echoed the parents message and outlined policy recommendations.

Ellie Ford, left, who came out as transgender at age 4, hugs her brother Ronnie. Ellie, now 5, and her parents Vanessa and JR met with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Wednesday. (Family photo) (Family photo/Family photo)

I joined my colleagues from NCTE and Equality Michigan and a delegation of families in meeting with Secretary DeVos to relay the concerns and fears of hundreds of thousands of students, educators, and parents who have been affected by the alarming actions of the Trump administration, Eliza Byard, executive director of GLSEN, said in a statement. We highlighted the pervasive violence and discrimination that the majority of transgender students face across the country, including being prevented from using their correct name and pronouns and appropriate school facilities.

DeVos said in a statement that she is committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for all children.

I am grateful to have had the time to speak directly with the families, students and community leaders about their concerns, thoughts, fears and suggestions. Every school and every school leader has a moral responsibility to protect all students and ensure every child is respected and can learn in an accepting environment, DeVos said. I remain committed to advocating for and fighting on behalf of all students. Todays meeting was compelling, moving and welcomed, and part of an ongoing dialogue with families and students throughout the country.

[Trump administration rolls back protections for transgender students]

On Feb. 22, DeVos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions pulled back Obama-era guidance that directed public schools to call transgender students by their chosen name and gender and to allow them to use the bathrooms of the gender they identify with, regardless of what is on their birth certificates. The two Cabinet members said the issue was a matter best left to states. But according to a GOP operative with knowledge of conversations on the issue, DeVos voiced private objections to rescinding the directive.

Grace Dolan-Sandrino, 16, a transgender girl who attends Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the District, was among those who met DeVos on Wednesday. She had been in that same conference room two years earlier, sharing her experiences as a transgender student with Arne Duncan, then the education secretary, as his department worked to craft the very directive that DeVos undid.

The teenager said she told DeVos that what she had done was cruel. And she left her with some strong final words.

[Graces essay: Transgender kids are resilient]

I told her in order to feel good about the meeting that I needed to leave her with a charge, the teenager said. She has the lives and the futures of thousands of students across the country in both public and public charter schools in her hands. It is up to her to provide protections for transgender students, and it is up to her to combat the ignorant, harmful, bigoted actions of the Trump administration.

The Supreme Court, which was scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case of a transgender Virginia teen seeking to use the boys bathroom at his high school, remanded the case this week to a lower court as a result of the change in guidance. It delivered another blow to the fight for transgender student rights and worried advocates, who fear that more schools and school districts will seek to restrict where transgender students use the bathroom. Attorneys for the teen, Gavin Grimm, on Wednesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to expedite the case so that it could be resolved before the high school senior graduates on June 10.

The rollback means states, schools and, in some cases, individual principals decide where transgender students use the bathroom, which advocates say will further imperil a group of students already at an increased risk of being bullied at school and suicide.

[Trumps move leaves bathroom questions up to schools and states]

Katharine Prescott of Vista, Calif., joined the families, talking about her transgender son Kyler, who committed suicide two years ago at the age of 14 after struggling with depression. Prescott said she wanted to underscore how vulnerable transgender children can be and how critical it is for the government to protect them.

Prescott shared with DeVos just how much the guidance would have meant to her son and just how much it meant to transgender children who face a world where they often feel like they are not accepted.

They need our support more than anything, Prescott said. These are children, and they need to be able to go to school like anyone else.

Looking around the room at other families and their transgender children, Prescott said she shed a few tears.

I was wishing I could have been there with my son. That was the other emotion, Prescott said. These familes were coming in to stand up with their kids. I couldnt do that because Kyler isnt here anymore.

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Classes were canceled in Alexandria, Prince Georges County and at least nine D.C. charter schools as teachers took leave in solidarity with a womens protest. (J. Lawler Duggan for The Washington Post)

Hundreds of teachers took leave Wednesday in solidarity with a womens protest day, forcing the cancellation of classes in Prince Georges County, Alexandria and at least nine charter schools in the District.

As parents scrambled to find child care and some debated the teachers actions, Prince Georges, with 132,000 students, appeared to be the largest district in the country to shutter schools because so many employees took off to be part of A Day Without a Woman.

The national demonstration, which encouraged female workers to show the importance of women in the workforce by staying home, was planned in conjunction with International Womens Day. Federal data shows that most public school teachers are female. Many female teachers also participated in the womens marches held the day after President Trump took office.

[Women protest for Day Without a Woman]

At least one other school district elsewhere, Chapel Hill-Carrboro in North Carolina, also canceled classes Wednesday when too many staff members requested the day off.

(WUSA)

In the Maryland suburb of Prince Georges, school officials said Tuesday evening that about 1,700 teachers and 30 percent of the transportation staff had asked for the day off.

We cannot transport students and provide safe, productive learning environments without adequate staff, Prince Georges schools chief Kevin Maxwell said in a statement. Maxwell apologized for the inconvenience to families. Maxwell and other school officials said closure decisions were not influenced by politics.

But Maxwell came under fire for the late hour of his announcement. Prince Georges Board of Education member Edward Burroughs III said officials should have paid closer attention to staffing levels earlier on.

I think it was pretty clear we were going to have a problem, Burroughs said.

Prince Georges school officials said Wednesday that the process for requesting leave is automated and that there is not a cap on the number of employees who can take off a particular day.

The extent of the absences became clear following calls to each of the districts more than 200 schools late Tuesday afternoon, officials said. More than 20 schools would have had teacher absentee rates of more than 50 percent if classes were held; another 20 schools would have had rates of 25 to 50 percent.

We didnt have those numbers earlier in the day, schools spokeswoman Raven Hill said.

The action in Prince Georges came a day after Alexandria Superintendent Alvin Crawley decided to cancel classes in the Northern Virginia school system. More than 300 staff members  the majority of them teachers  asked for the day off. The district of about 15,000 students has about 1,400 teachers.

[Virginia school district to close for A Day Without a Woman]

Some parents were frustrated by the last-minute rush to find child care or having to miss work. They criticized the school system for allowing so many teachers to take personal leave.

Alexandria schools spokeswoman Helen Lloyd said the school system typically does not deny those requests. Lloyd said some teachers also indicated that they planned to wait until Wednesday to request leave, which would have left the district casting around for substitutes to cover their classrooms.

At least nine charter schools in the District also canceled class, the D.C. Public Charter School Board said: six Center City Public Charter Schools campuses, as well as the Latin American Youth Center Career Academy, Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School and Lee Montessori Public Charter School.

In Prince Georges, Khadija Bowen, a mother of four from Upper Marlboro, described the teachers action as selfish and irresponsible. She said her third-grade son told her that classes could not possibly be canceled because he had important math testing scheduled for Wednesday.

The kids suffer, she said. You dont put the kids in the middle to prove a point. What if physicians decided not to come to work? What happens when Mom and Dad split up or fight? The kids lose. There are right ways and wrong ways to get a point across.

Bowen pointed out that many working parents cant locate child care on such short notice and that a majority of students rely on free and reduced-price meals at school. Nobody thought this through and thought about the people they were affecting, she said.

Prince Georges school officials said seven schools across the county were open to serve lunches to students.

Others were not dismayed at the teachers.

I appreciate the fact that the teachers are doing it  I support it  but I just wish we had a tiny bit more notice, said Chelai Johnson, a mother of two who lives in southern Prince Georges and ended up taking her children with her to work.

Theresa Mitchell Dudley, president of the Prince Georges County Educators Association, which has about 10,000 members, said the union had no role in organizing the countys teachers to take leave and did not know in advance that so many would be out.

I had no idea, Dudley said. Were sensitive to the concerns of parents, and the safety of children is paramount. But she noted that many of the unions members participated in the womens march in January. The spirit of the Womens March is with us, she said.

Arelis Hernandez, Perry Stein and Alejandra Matos contributed to this report.
Rock band Los Campesinos! will perform at the 9:30 Club on Thursday. (Owen Richards)

THU 09

Los Campesinos! with Crying and Infinity Crush The rock band from Cardiff, Wales, performs in support of its new album, Sick Scenes. 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. 202-265-0930. 930.com. $25.

FY5 The Colorado roots band performs songs from its 2015 album, Eat the Moon. 7:30 p.m. Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-549-4172. hillcenterdc.org. $15-$20.

Guy Torry The comedian has been featured on ComicView, Comedy Central, the Kings of Comedy Tour and ESPN. Opens Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Through March 12. DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202-296-7008. dcimprov.com. $20.

Josemi Carmona and Javier Colina: De Cerca The guitarist and upright-bassist perform standards from the Latin American songbook and original compositions by Carmona, joined by percussionist Bandolero. 7:30 p.m. Former Spanish Ambassadors Residence, 2801 16th St. NW. 202-728-2334. spainculture.us. $15.

FRI 10

Evening at the Embassy of the Czech Republic A diplomatic evening with dinner, Czech beers and wines, and a presentation about Prague. 7:30 p.m. Embassy of the Czech Republic, 3900 Spring of Freedom St. NW. 202-274-9100. embassyexperiences. com. $44, subject to change.

Brick Penguin Tries Its Best . . . Again The sketch-comedy troupe presents a best-of show. Opens Friday at 8 p.m. Through March 25. Dojo Comedy, 3503 Georgia Ave. NW. 1-844-469-3656. brickpenguinsketch.com. $12.

Chromatic Scale: Prints by Polly Apfelbaum The artists colorful abstract prints, made with interchangeable wood blocks and gradient inking, reference minimalist and pop art. Opens Friday, with a gallery talk Wednesday at noon. Through July 2. National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. 202-783-5000. nmwa.org. Free-$10.

SAT 11

Moulin Rouge! Nicole Kidman stars in the 2001 film about an infamous Parisian nightclub. 2 p.m. Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. 202-387-2151. phillipscollection.org. $10-$12.

Dead Man Walking The Washington National Opera presents Jake Heggies operatic version of the movie . Closes Saturday at 7 p.m. Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW. 202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org. $35-$300.

Now Contradiction Dance explores the idea of distraction. Closes Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-631-6291. contradictiondance.com. $10-$20.

Priests with Coup Sauvage & the Snips and Atta Girl The D.C. punk band plays a record-release show, with a dollar from each ticket going to Casa Ruby. 8 p.m. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. 202-667-4490. blackcatdc.com. $16.

Southern Soul Assembly All-star Southern-influenced musicians Marc Broussard, JJ Grey, Anders Osborne and Luther Dickinson perform an acoustic jam in the round. 8 p.m. The Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. 202-803-2899. thehowardtheatre.com. $45-$75.

SUN 12

Peter and the Starcatcher Constellation Theatre stages the Tony-winning prequel to J.M. Barries Peter Pan. Closes Sunday with shows at 3 and 8 p.m. Source Theatre, 1835 14th St. NW. 202-204-7800. constellationtheatre.org. $20-$45.

MON 13

Ragtime The Tony-winning musical, based on E.L. Doctorows 1975 novel, continues Monday at 7:30 p.m. Through May 20. Fords Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. 202-347-4833. fords.org. $18-$71.

TUE 14

Environmental Film Festival in the Nations Capital The 25th annual event, the countrys largest environmental film festival, features more than 150 films at various locations. See website for listings. Opens Tuesday. Through March 26. dceff.org. Free-$30.

WED 15

Evening at the Embassy of Chile A diplomatic dinner with the ambassador, plus drinks, music by Mauricio Miranda, art and a film. 6:45 p.m. Embassy of Chile, 1732 Massachusetts Ave. NW. 301-519-8030. embassyexperiences.com. $50, subject to change.

Nicholas Payton The trumpet and keyboard player performs at an album-release party for his Afro-Caribbean Mixtape. Opens Wednesday with shows at 8 and 10 p.m. Through March 16. Blues Alley, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. 202-337-4141. bluesalley.com. $25-$30.
A Maryland lawmaker who is a leading proponent of hydraulic fracturing could profit from the controversial gas-extraction process if the state decides to permit it, because he owns land and mineral rights in Garrett County.

Del. Wendell R. Beitzel (R-Garrett) has said little publicly about the possibility that he could make money off gas royalties if the legislature allows a moratorium on fracking to expire in October. In interviews, however, he acknowledged his financial stake in the matter, even as he repeated that his efforts to support fracking in Western Maryland stem from a desire to protect the rights of property owners in the region.

Fracking opponents say Beitzel has a conflict of interest that should disqualify him from deliberations over whether to allow fracking and under what conditions. It is another example of the political elite using the power of government to enrich themselves at the expense of the taxpayer, anti-fracking activist and Garrett County resident Kenny Braitman said.

The Democratic-majority General Assembly has not been eager to embrace fracking; a bill to ban it permanently passed the House of Delegates on Friday, though its chances are less certain in the Senate. A separate bill would extend the existing moratorium for two years.

Beitzel staunchly opposes the ban, but he has been amenable to the moratorium as a way to keep the possibility of fracking alive in Maryland. In the House of Delegates on Friday, he said that prohibiting the gas-extraction method would absolutely take away property rights from the people who own them.

After consulting with the legislatures ethics adviser, Beitzel has filed an ethics disclaimer form saying he owns land in the area where fracking would potentially occur. He said he saw no need to say on the forms that he owned gas rights for some of the land.

Beitzel, who has proposed legislation to compensate landowners if fracking is banned permanently, says his position on the industry is in line with that of most of his constituents, noting that he twice won reelection as a supporter of the practice.

I think I represented the majority of the people that voted for me, he said. Its something I represented to the public, and its something I intend to hold to.

[In Western Maryland, divisions over fracking run deep]

Beitzel, 74, acquired a 99-acre parcel, along with its gas rights, for about $140,000 in the 1980s. In 2007, his first year in the legislature, he paid $400,000 to buy a different 86-acre site.

Both parcels sit above the gas-rich Marcellus Shale, which the fracking industry wants to access in Maryland, to the dismay of environmentalists and health advocates who say the practice is dangerous. A gas company owns most of the underground mineral rights for the property Beitzel bought in 2007, but he owns the rights for the 99-acre parcel.

Beitzel placed the 86-acre site in the states Rural Legacy preservation program and placed the 99-acre parcel in the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, each time receiving a payment equal to the propertys development value in exchange for promising not to use it for industrial purposes. He often cites those agreements when asked whether he could profit from fracking if the drilling method is allowed in the state.

I can only lease that land for agricultural purposes and other uses that are not restricted by the conservation easement, he explained last month.

But Beitzel could make money off gas royalties for the 99-acre parcel by allowing horizontal drilling from a neighboring property, a practice that has become more common as the industry has matured.

Beitzel introduced a bill in 2009 to allow drilling on land in state conservation programs, but it was rejected. The previous year, he lobbied the board of the agricultural foundation to allow surface drilling on lands in its program, according to the foundations executive director and meeting records. The foundation ultimately decided to permit horizontal drilling below such properties on a case-by-case basis, provided the drilling did not disturb the surface.

The foundation paid Beitzel $77,000 in 1996 to preserve the 99-acre parcel for agricultural purposes. In 2009, Beitzel accepted a $427,000 offer from Rural Legacy to preserve his 86-acre site.

Beitzels contract with Rural Legacy has drawn scrutiny from Braitman and other anti-fracking activists because of a clause saying Beitzel must use his best efforts to encourage the owner of the propertys gas rights to minimize the impact to the surface of the property and, to the extent possible, conduct any mineral extraction by accessing the sub-surface of the property laterally from adjacent property rather than from the surface of the property.

Critics of the lawmaker, including Garrett County resident Michael Bell, say it is a loophole that could be exploited. But a state Department of Natural Resources spokesman says the clause was used for properties accepted into the program when the landowner did not also own the gas rights.

Beitzel also owns 73 acres near Deep Creek Lake, along with the gas rights for that property. The state proposed fracking regulations last year that would prohibit surface drilling in the Deep Creek watershed, but those guidelines would not bar horizontal drilling below the protected area, meaning Beitzel could still benefit if the state allows hydraulic fracturing.

The lawmaker said he is unlikely to profit from gas beneath that parcel because companies would have to drill horizontally from about three miles away, outside the watershed. But drilling technology is constantly evolving, and some companies have already drilled horizontally for upward of three miles.

In 2011, Bell wrote to Beitzel, saying the lawmaker should not participate in gas-extraction deliberations because the land he owned created a conflict of interest. Beitzel sent a letter to the legislatures ethics counsel at the time, William G. Somerville, asking for advice on whether he should recuse himself.

Somerville replied in writing that Beitzels interest in leasing land for gas exploration creates the presumption of a conflict of interest with regard to any legislative action related to fracking, which he said meant the lawmaker could file a disclaimer of conflict form. The letter said Beitzel did not need to recuse himself, because so many of his constituents had similar gas and land interests.

The next day, Beitzel updated a disclosure form he had filed with the legislatures joint ethics committee in 2007, writing that the appearance or presumption of a conflict of interest might exist with regard to legislative matters on gas extraction. In explaining his reasoning, he stated: I am a landowner in Garrett County.

Deadra W. Daly, the legislatures current ethics counsel, does not comment on advice she gives to individual lawmakers. But Beitzel said he checks with Daly each year to make sure he is following the rules.

It was clear as day that the reason I took that action [filing the form] was to divulge the fact that I own land above Marcellus Shale, and I could derive some benefit from it, he said. I did everything I thought I was supposed to do.

In interviews last month, Beitzel dismissed the idea that he could make money from fracking, noting that the land he owns is protected from industrial activity. Contrary to what has been alleged by some, my position on this issue is not motivated by greed to enrich myself, he said.

But asked last week whether he could potentially make money from horizontal drilling on his 99-acre parcel, he acknowledged that he could.

In America, people who own land often own the mineral rights for their land, Beitzel said. And I dont think it should be taken away without compensation.
The woman was getting into her car in a shopping center in Fairfax County when a thief yanked open the passenger door and grabbed her purse. The purse, according to the county police, contained the usual items, and something else.

That something was of great value and spiritual importance to the 69-year-old woman. It was her rosary. Police said on Tuesday that the officer who showed up after the Feb. 21 incident on Richmond Highway realized the significance of the liturgical object and did something unusual about it.

According to the police, Matthew Pleva, the officer who arrived at the shopping center in the 6700 block of the highway after the 7 p.m. incident found the woman shaken up. He calmed her, the police said, and made certain that she had suffered no physical harm.

Then, as is routine, he obtained a description of what was taken. In that way, police said, he learned that among the items taken was the womans rosary.

Four days later, according to the police account, Officer Pleva showed up at the womans home. It was a Saturday. He was not expected. But police said he knew that the next day, Feb. 26, would be the first Sunday that the woman would face without her rosary.

Officer Pleva, according to the police account, was not going to let it happen.

And what he did, police said in the statement they released Tuesday, prompted the theft victim to praise him in a letter to the commander of the Mount Vernon police district.

The letter was based on the act of generosity performed during the officers visit. He presented her, police said, with a new rosary.

In her letter, the woman recounted how the officer explained it.

She said his words were simple. He told her, You cant go to Mass tomorrow without a rosary.
Former Maryland Delegate Michael Vaughn, right, and his attorney William Purpura leave federal court in Greenbelt Wednesday. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Former Maryland State Del. Michael Vaughn (D-Prince Georges) has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a wide-ranging bribery scheme and the theft of campaign funds to cover his personal bills.

Federal authorities allege Vaughn received more than $10,000 in cash from liquor store owners in exchange for favorable legislation that would expand liquor sales in Prince Georges County or edge out the competitors of those who paid him.

Vaughn had resigned from the legislature in January after news of the federal probe of the local liquor board broke and resulted in the initial arrest of two liquor store owners, the head liquor board inspector and a member of the commission. Vaughn, who served as a delegate from 2003 to 2017, cited health reasons for his resignation.

A judge allowed Vaughn released on his own personal recognizance during his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt Wednesday. Vaughn, 59, arrived at the hearing in a dark pinstripe suit and answered "Yes, sir" when the judge asked questions and informed him of his rights. Vaughn was ordered to avoid contact with victims, witnesses and others charged in the case, along with people who contributed to his campaign since 2012.

His attorney declined comment after the hearing.

[Federal bribery charges filed over Prince Georges County liquor licenses]

Vaughn was indicted on eight counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and bribery in connection with actions that occurred during his time in office between 2012 and 2016.

Federal authorities also accuse Vaughn of illegally shifting money donated to his campaign for his personal use, according to a statement from the government. The allegations involve at least $6,000 in funds, the indictment states.

If convicted, Vaughn faces up to 65 years in prison.

In Annapolis, House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said, this is a sad day for the Maryland General Assembly. We are sworn to protect the public trust, and if proven, this was an egregious violation of that trust and a violation of criminal law. Im deeply disappointed that any member of the House would compromise our Democratic process.

Sen. President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) called the indictment distressing.

Its before the courts, hes resigned from the House of Delegates and well just have to see what the courts have to say, he said.

[Democrat Michael Vaughn of Prince Georges resigns from state legislature]

In January, four others were arrested in connection with the long-running probe by the FBI: David Dae Sok Son, 40, the director of the liquor board in Prince Georges. Anuj Sud, 39, a county liquor board commissioner who resigned; Young Jung Paig, 62, owner of Central Avenue Restaurant & Liquor Store; and Shin Ja Lee, 55, owner of Palmer Liquor Store.

On the day of their arrests, the FBI raided the county liquor board officers and several locations throughout the county.

Federal authorities allege Son served as a middle man, transferring the cash from liquor store owners Paig and Lee to Vaughn.

The indictment against Vaughn, unsealed late Tuesday, alleges that in one instance, Vaughn met Son, Paig and Lee at a restaurant in Bowie. Afterward, Paig got into Vaughns car and handed over $4,000, half of which Vaughn deposited into an ATM immediately after the meeting, the indictment states.

Vaughn also accepted bribes as liquor store owners sought legislation that would limit their competitors, the government alleges.

Vaughn had served in the House of Delegates from January 2003. In addition to being the Deputy Majority Whip, he also served on the Economic Matters Committee, which deals with bills that regulate alcohol, as well as banking, economic development, insurance and utilities. The government said Vaughn boasted that his position on the committee would allow him to help amend or kill proposed liquor legislation.

At the end of the day, [the committee] has final say so... Im gonna be checking and double checking. Making sure none of this... slip through, the indictment states.

Vaughn was born in Tuskegee, Ala. He attended DuVal High School in Prince Georges County before receiving a bachelors degree from Southern University in Louisiana.

Before being elected to the House, Vaughn worked in banking and finance, according to his official House of Delegates biography. He came under scrutiny for falsely claiming on his campaign website that he played football for the Dallas Cowboys for three years, which he retracted in 2010 after questioning from a Washington City Paper reporter.

He also worked in sales for Marriott and Hiltons Embassy Row Hotel in Washington. Vaughn owns ADDR Properties, a real estate company in Mitchellville, according to Maryland assessment records.

In a related case, former state Del. William A. Campos (D-Prince Georges) pleaded guilty to funneling government money and performing other officials favors to those who paid him bribes and kickbacks during his time as a county council member.

Federal prosecutors would not detail how Campos is directly involved with the liquor-board investigation in which Vaughn and others were charged.

But in charging affidavits,prosecutors said two elected officials started working as informants in the liquor board investigation to avoid harsh sentencing on other corruption charges. One cooperator is described as a former elected official who took a plea agreement and helped federal agents in the case between June 2014 and July 2015, months before Campos resigned from the state legislature.

Several details in Camposs plea agreement, such as cash totals, conversations, and promised favors, appear to align with the description of an informant in the charges brought against others.

Josh Hicks and Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.
Peter Newsham , nominated to be chief of the D.C. Police Department, answers questions at a community meeting Tuesday at Israel Baptist Church in Northeast. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

A community leader in the District entertained the idea of sentencing offenders to church and to sweeping sidewalks instead of to jail. A recovering drug addict urged more discretion for police to get some criminals help instead of putting them in cuffs.

And a lifelong D.C. resident with a sister on the police force and a brother in prison talked about her own troubles as a victim of domestic violence and an investigation she said veered between help and hindrance.

Those were some of the more than a dozen people who testified Tuesday night at the first of three public forums this month on the nomination of 28-year police veteran Peter Newsham to lead the Districts police department.

All but two people supported Newsham, pressing lawmakers on the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee at a community center in Ward 8 on the challenges and expectations they see for a new police leader. Many pressed council members to ask tough questions about reducing crime, addressing trouble spots in the department and bringing innovation to deal with low-level criminals and addicts.

Im comfortable supporting him for chief, said Sandra Seegars, a former Advisory Neighborhood Commission member from Ward 8. Of shootings and homicides, she said Newshams passionate speeches appear genuine: I believe he is as frustrated as the citizens.

Eugene Puryear at a community meeting Tuesday with city leaders and Peter Newsham, nominated to be District police chief: Police and police chiefs are only going to be as good as those of us who hold them accountable for the things that we dont like. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

[Mayor names Newsham Districts police chief]

As residents gathered Tuesday at the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center near Congress Heights, Newsham joined Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) at Israel Baptist Church in Northeast Washingtons Brentwood community, where an overflow crowd demanded answers to a spate of recent crime.

The line for questions stretched to the back of the church, and when people stepped up to the microphone, they asked about more than crime. Some asked about remedies to problems they said influence bad behavior: the lack of productive ways for teens to spend time and the shortage of affordable housing.

And, as in other parts of the city, many residents said they found it hard to believe that crime, particularly homicides, has been reduced.

Murders cant be down  there were two shootings in front of my apartment just before the holiday, said Dorothy Davis, a 69-year-old community organizer in Ward 5. Aint nothing down. And why isnt it down? Because they are bringing in guns that the police dont even have. Somebodys got the wrong data.

Eugene Puryear, a 31-year-old community activist who ran for a seat on the D.C. Council in 2014, said that for him, police and police chiefs are only going to be as good as those of us who hold them accountable for the things that we dont like.

Whether its Chief [Cathy L.] Lanier, Chief Newsham or Chief Sylvester the Cat, its up to us to make sure that they stay true to what we think is the right way to treat people in this city, he added.

After the meeting, Newsham accompanied residents on a walk through Brentwood and said crime last year was at the lowest its been in a decade. Even though weve been able to reduce violent crime as much as we have, people dont want to have it at all  and I think thats a good sign, said Newsham.

At the council hearing in Southeast, the testimony was as much about retooling the police force and what many believe to be a corrupt justice system as it was about Newshams fitness for the job. Indicating challenges Newsham faces, discussions stretched into vexing policy issues about curbing police abuse and demanding more aggressive policing to combat crime and reduce overflowing prisons.

The Public Safety Committee will vote on Newsham sometime after the final March 24 public forum at the Wilson Building. If approved, his name will be forwarded to the full council for a confirmation vote.

Karen Lucas, a D.C. resident of nearly 50 years and an Advisory Neighborhood Commission member for areas covering Congress Heights and Barry Farm, has a sister who is a detective on the citys police force and a brother incarcerated in Virginia. Lucas said she overcame initial reservations about Newsham after meeting him and after he helped her when she became a victim of domestic violence and complained of being ignored by investigators.

[Roundtable discussion set to vet Newsham as police chief]

He was not overly placating, Lucas said. He told me what would occur and what would not occur . . . and he followed up. His yes was yes. His no was no, and those things he could not figure out and he would not be able to speak on, he didnt speak on. That told me a lot about the man.

Janelle Thomas, who works for a needle-exchange program, said that Newsham has worked well with disadvantaged groups to lower arrest rates and seek treatment for addicts.

She recounted how she recently was arrested after an officer found a registered needle in addition to residue that Thomas said tested positive for heroin. Prosecutors did not pursue a criminal case, but Thomas said that she spent the night in a police lockup and that there was a need to find alternative ways to handle that type of situation.

Thomas joined others representing advocacy groups for drug addicts and prostitutes who urged Newsham to begin a program, used in Seattle and being tested in Baltimore, to divert low-level drug users from jail. Called LEAD, it differs from other court-based diversion programs common in the District in that it allows officers to offer alternatives before making an arrest.

Going to jail just makes your problem worse, Thomas said, adding that she tries to avoid the police at all costs. Even if I need help, I dont call them. Im scared they might find this or that and the call will turn into something different.

Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) told his own stories about being a young black man with dreadlocks being unfairly stopped by D.C. police while also saying that he understands his constituents frustrations over grime and crime and a desire for more enforcement.

White asked Anthony Muhammad, an ANC member, for a way to reconcile these seemingly opposing views. Muhammad answered, Sentence people to church.

It was a quip with serious intent  send some low-level criminals back to the community to make reparations and help them reintegrate. Muhammad complained that the Justice Department is incapable of giving black people justice and that police detectives need to be reined in.

We dont need more police, he said. We need neighbor-to-neighbor responsibility.
Women who are Democratic members of the House walk down the Capitol steps to speak on womens issues during Day Without a Woman protest in Washington.

March 8, 2017 Women who are Democratic members of the House walk down the Capitol steps to speak on womens issues during Day Without a Woman protest in Washington. Melina Mara/The Washington Post

The protest originated with organizers of the post-Inauguration Day womens marches that drew millions around the world. The strike resulted in some schools in the region closing as women opted to protest. Others who went to work wore red in solidarity.

The multifaceted day of protest started with organizers of the post-Inauguration Day womens marches that drew millions around the world. The strike resulted in some D.C. region schools closing as women opted to protest. Others who attended work wore red in solidarity.

The multifaceted day of protest started with organizers of the post-Inauguration Day womens marches that drew millions around the world. The strike resulted in some D.C. region schools closing as women opted to protest. Others who attended work wore red in solidarity.

Womens March on Washington organizers made their first large-scale attempt Wednesday to build on the momentum of their January march, calling on women across the country to skip work and take to the streets to resist the policies of the new presidential administration.

The result was a smaller crowd with a harder-edged concept, which contrasted with the spirit of the earlier march. In the Washington region, the large number of teacher time-off requests prompted public school districts in Alexandria and Prince Georges County to close, along with at least nine charter schools in the District.

In New York, 13 women, including top organizers of the January Womens March, were arrested as they blocked traffic and made a human wall around Trump International Hotel. Elsewhere, the demonstrations were more subdued.

In the nations capital, protesters swarmed public spaces in front of the White House, Capitol and Labor Department. From Santa Cruz, Calif., to Chicago to Philadelphia, women held rallies aimed at drawing attention to womens roles in the labor force and to criticize government actions they view as anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-woman.

Trump is afraid of us, yelled Terry ONeill, president of the National Organization for Women, at a rally outside the White House. You know who else should be afraid of us? Any member of Congress who does not respect our rights.

(Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

Day Without a Woman coincided with International Womens Day and sparked conversations about women in the workforce and disparate wages between men and women. The day brought a new edge to a feminist movement that gained steam the day after President Trumps inauguration, when more than a million people in the District and across the country spilled into the streets.

Many of them wore pink pussyhats, a wry reference to a term Trump has used to describe female genitalia, and held cheeky signs to signal their displeasure at the new presidents tone and policies.

[Some women are striking from smiling today. Heres why.]

If those gatherings had a jubilant feel, the actions Wednesday were decidedly more strident as people were countering policies that have since been implemented or proposed by the Trump administration. In a public park in front of the White House, hundreds of men and women protested the Mexico City policy, known by critics as the global gag rule, which says that foreign nonprofits providing abortions will forfeit aid from the U.S. government. President Trump reinstated the Reagan-era rule on one of his first days as president.

Resist Trump, stop the gag, they chanted.

Since the Womens March, some conservatives have written off the movement because of its embrace of certain liberal causes, such as abortion rights and Palestinian rights. Some critics felt Wednesdays strike put a burden on poor women who could least afford a day off work.

Jody Ellenby, a fifth-grade D.C. charter school teacher who skipped work Wednesday, attended two protests and acknowledged that her job, which offers paid leave, allowed her to go on strike with little consequence.

[Schools cancel classes as teachers take leave on day of womens protest]

I hope to stand in solidarity with women who cant strike today, and I hope to be a voice for women who have seen violence in the past, Ellenby said. I am a privileged person, but I hope to use that privilege to stand for others who may not be able to.

Women who couldnt join the strike were urged to participate by wearing red  a color that symbolizes revolutionary love and sacrifice, organizers said  and spend money at small and female-owned businesses.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) emerged from the Capitol on Wednesday clad in red and waving a sign, showing support for the strike and urging more women to run for office.

People would say to me, If you ruled the world, what one thing would you do to make the future better? Thats an easy answer: The education of girls, Pelosi said.

Ruth Gresser, owner of four restaurants in the Washington region, went on strike Wednesday and allowed her female employees to do the same. Half of her menu was available, intended to signify a day without half of the population.

Gresser and several other restaurant owners throughout the region donated some of their profits Wednesday to womens organizations.

[Is the Day Without a Woman protest elitist?]

What I would like to see happen from today is that women recognize our own value, said Gresser, who owns Pizzeria Paradiso. Im saying to the women who work for me, take this day for you, because you have value and the situation you face in the world is different because you are a woman.

Trump didnt respond to the protests but tweeted to coincide with International Womens Day, saying, I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy.

Trump press secretary Sean Spicer said in a news briefing that he didnt believe any women in the White House participated in the strike, but added that people have the right to express themselves.

On Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of strikers took over a plaza at the entrance to the Labor Department. They filled a wide, empty fountain and did an impromptu, choreographed dance before marching to a nearby park, chanting resist and equal pay for equal work.

A.J. Verdelle, a D.C. native and creative writing professor at Morgan State University, participated in the White House and Labor Department protests. She carried a sign that read women count, featuring science symbols.

It was a hard decision, she said of skipping work. But because the Republicans have Congress and the presidency, people in the streets are our best bet.
When Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld released his revised fiscal 2018 budget Monday, officials pointed to the fare increases and service and job cuts in the spending plan as evidence they had done all they could to put the agency on sound financial ground. Jack Evans, the agencys board chairman, said it is now up to regional and congressional leaders to come up with a dedicated funding source for the struggling transit agency.

I dont like raising fares, cutting services, all that stuff, but it takes them off the table for the discussion next year, Evans said Tuesday. Metro has gotten its act together. . . . So what now? What other hurdle? What other excuse are the elected officials trying to throw up to avoid dealing with the problem?

But not everyone is buying it. Some officials said the agency has much to do to convince them it has done all the belt-tightening and structural reform it possibly can.

Not even close, said Matthew Letourneau (R-Dulles), a Loudoun County supervisor who serves as vice-chairman of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

The boards finance committee is scheduled to vote on a $1.8 billion operating budget Thursday. Since the finance committee consists of the full board, Thursdays vote could effectively be viewed as final approval even though the full board vote is scheduled for March 23.

[Metro moving forward with fare increases for coming year]

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) said the fare hikes and other austerity measures have helped focus the attention of local and federal lawmakers. The instability of our financial base is now apparent for everyone to see, he said.

But others, like Letourneau, pushed back.

Achieving a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year is an important step, he said, but he bristled at the idea that Metro had exhausted all of its options for cutting costs.

Maybe thats true within the confines of the existing contract [with labor unions] that Metro is operating under, Letourneau said. But the whole point is that there are a myriad of things in the contract that are concerning  and whether those are addressed through the terms of the contract, of the [Metro] Compact itself, they have to do that.

Letourneau pointed to a clause in Virginia legislation linked to a bill that establishes a new commission to oversee safety at Metro. It directs the Virginia transportation secretary to hold talks with his or her counterparts in the District and Maryland, and with the federal government, to rewrite the Metro Compact to tackle issues such as labor policies, board structure and financing.

Those issues, Letourneau said, will need to be addressed. I dont think that just simply having fare increases and doing what theyre doing this year is going to be enough.

Letourneau, a Republican in a heavily Democratic region, is more outspoken than most. But powerful Democrats, including Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, have also said Metro needs structural reforms before more funding is discussed.

[Va. bill creating Metro safety body clears critical hurdle, but requires talks on rewriting compact]

The fare hikes and service cuts are part of Wiedefelds plan to fill a $290 million shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1. He also has eliminated 500 jobs and is in the process of cutting 500 more.

Rush-hour rail fares would increase by a dime, with $2.25 as the new minimum and $6 as the maximum one-way fare. Off-peak fares would go up by a quarter; bus fares also would rise 25 cents, to $2. There also would be longer waits for trains.

Wiedefeld has stopped short of advocating for dedicated funding, but he has indicated the belt-tightening measures Metro has turned to are unsustainable in the long term.

For more than a year, Evans has been sounding the alarm that Metro wont survive without additional sources of revenue, such as a regional gas or sales taxes, or increased subsidies from the federal government.

Most of the elected officials in this region believe that the fairy godmother will wave her wand and Metro will be okay, Evans said. Thats [what] theyve been hoping for the last 15 years.

Sharon Bulova (D), chairwoman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, applauded Metros efforts to get its financial house in order, but disagreed with Evans contention.

I wouldnt say that Metro has done all it can, she said, naming governance and labor issues such as overtime and benefits. I know that Metro is looking at all of those things and they need to continue to look at those things. I believe that the issues of governance and the issue especially of labor needs to be on the table not just for Metro but for all of us as a region.

[Will Donald Trump make Metro great again?]

Evans proposes a 1-cent sales tax for the District and the Maryland and Virginia jurisdictions served by Metro. Bulova, however, declined to offer up specific proposal.

Whether its a sales tax or some other source of revenue from Fairfax or from Virginia, that is still to be decided  but I acknowledge that theres a need for additional revenue for all of the jurisdictions and Im not sure exactly what that source of revenue will be.

Maryland Del. Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery), who chairs the House Environment and Transportation Committee, said he was similarly open-minded about what form an eventual dedicated funding source might take. Still, he said, the responsibility for righting Metro should not just fall to the agency and its immediate jurisdictions. The federal government should play a more significant role in helping solve Metros financial problems, he said.

[Metros trains and buses are more reliable. So why arent they on-time?]

Wed like for them to get serious about this, and to help us fix the system, Barve said.

And fare hikes, service cuts and employee layoffs  however unpleasant for Metro riders and staff members  indicate that Metro has earned additional outside help, he said.

I think the seriousness of Paul J. Wiedefeld is all the proof that anybody needs about the seriousness of Metros management, Barve said.

Connolly also said that Wiedefeld and his reality-check budget have amassed goodwill on Capitol Hill, because hes shown that hes willing to make tough and difficult decisions about issues like operations, finances and personnel.

Still, goodwill may only go so far, Connolly acknowledged. Many lawmakers remain unconvinced that the federal government is responsible for taking a more active role in funding the system  and they continue to be wary about whether Metros safety, financial and operational improvements have gone far enough.

I think its going too far to say that confidence is fully restored in Metro, Connolly said. I dont know whether any one act or any one individual is going to be able to do that.

Despite the entreaties for additional federal financial support, there also is some concern among the regions congressional delegation that Metro will be able to hang on to its current levels of federal funding.

Last week, Connolly and other members of the regions House delegation wrote to leaders of the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, urging them to maintain transit grant funding levels for Metro in the coming year. The concern is that, in an administration seeking to transfer billions of dollars to defense spending, Metro might wind up with even less than it has now.

I would suggest that the road is steeper than ever, Connolly said of the prospect for increased federal aid in coming years. I think its going to be a struggle across the board.
When accountant Nathan D. Larson was talking to voters and collecting signatures to qualify as a candidate for Virginias House of Delegates, he left out some unusual details from his resume:

In 2009, he pleaded guilty to threatening to kill the U.S. president, an admission that led to 16 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. Since then, among other things, he has advocated for legalizing incestuous marriage and making it harder to win a court restraining order against an allegedly abusive spouse.

Nathan D. Larson, who is running for state delegate in Virginia's 31st District after serving 16 months in federal prison for threatening to kill the U.S. president. (Nathan D. Larson campaign)

If [voters] had asked about it, I would have told them, said Larson, who describes himself as a libertarian, although party leaders say they have disavowed him. He hopes to run as an independent to replace Republican L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William) in Virginias 31st District, which includes portions of Fauquier and Prince William counties. He has submitted more than the required 125 signatures and has until June 3, the day of the primaries, to file candidacy papers.

Larsons criminal record precluded him from running for office until last year, when Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) restored voting and other civil rights to thousands of convicted felons across the state.

The executive action drew outrage and a successful court challenge from Republicans, but McAuliffe found a way to proceed with rights restoration on a more limited basis.

Now, it is propelling Larsons otherwise quixotic bid for public office into Virginias heated governors race.

This is the problem when you have a blanket restoration of rights like this, Ed Gillespie, the leading Republican gubernatorial contender, says in a video posted to his Facebook page in which he criticizes his Democratic opponents for their support of McAuliffes order.

I would like to know why Congressman Tom Perriello and Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam think its a good idea for people like Nathan Larson and for those who are the most violent felons in the commonwealth should not only have their rights restored and be able to vote but also to be able to run for office and put them on a path to be able to obtain a weapon, Gillespie says.

Northam spokesman David Turner said in a statement that the Democrat finds Nathan Larsons threats, beliefs and behavior abhorrent and considers him unfit for public office.

However, Ed Gillespies attempts to attack important steps forward in criminal justice reform to score political points underscores how he is stuck in the D.C. swamp, Turner said. He is against providing those who served their sentence and are law-abiding with their right to vote.

Larson, 36, says his candidacy is rooted in a genuine desire to bring positive changes to Virginia. He called a letter he sent to the Secret Service in 2008 that warned of his imminent plans to assassinate either President George W. Bush or President Barack Obama an act of civil disobedience meant to call attention to what he believes is the tyranny of the U.S. government.

It doesnt allow people to secede or do anything like that, Larson said. If people want to break away from the majority, theyre not allowed to do that.

His platform includes legalizing child pornography as well as incestuous marriage; allowing men to have multiple wives and physically discipline them; repealing the 19th Amendment; and abolishing state funding for girls and women to attend high school and college.

Larson also wants to strengthen fathers rights in child-custody cases and make it tougher to win a court restraining order against a spouse  positions that he said are inspired by personal experience.

In 2015, after he returned to Virginia from Colorado, his then-wife was granted a court restraining order against him shortly after they were officially divorced. He later learned she was pregnant with their daughter. The daughters mother committed suicide after the baby was born, Larson said, and the girl is being raised by relatives in Colorado. He has met the child only once and has since remarried, he said.

Larson has been convicted of several misdemeanors, including a 2003 charge in Fairfax County for use of computer for harassment and two earlier convictions for marijuana possession, court records show. And he argues that his experience with police and courts gives him a leg up on Lingamfelter and the two Democratic candidates for the delegates seat, Sara Townsend and Elizabeth Guzman.

If youve been through the system, youve seen it from that perspective, and you know more about how the justice system works, he said.

Manassas resident Jane Lakeman, the first voter to sign Larsons petition for candidacy, was taken aback when she learned Wednesday that she had supported the political ambitions of someone who had threatened to kill a U.S. president.

Im a little bit uncomfortable that he was at my door, Lakeman said. I didnt even know you could run for office if you were convicted of a felony.

Lakeman, a Democrat, said Larson described himself as a Libertarian who wanted to present voters in Virginia with more options, an idea she supported. It was a very short conversation, she said. He seemed okay. Not well-dressed, but clean-cut.
Groups gather for the Women's March on Washington on Jan. 21 in Washington. Two rallies were planned Wednesday as part of the Day Without a Woman protest. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

(Update: The strike is on: Women protest as part of Day Without a Woman)

The national Day Without a Woman strike on Wednesday meant fewer women in Washington-area workplaces, the closure of some schools and a rally downtown to bring attention to the role women play in the workforce. A second rally in front of the White House will highlight a U.S. policy that critics say will harm women abroad.

The multifaceted day of protest, which coincides with International Womens Day, started with the organizers of the post-Inauguration Day womens marches that drew millions around the world. Organizers are now calling for women and their allies to come together for a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity.

Women who cant join the strike were urged to participate by wearing red  a color that symbolizes revolutionary love and sacrifice, organizers aid  and spending money at small and women-owned businesses.

[Is the Day Without a Woman protest elitist?]

(WUSA)

It is unclear how many women skipped their jobs for the day, but at least nine D.C. charter schools, along with public schools in Prince Georges County and Alexandria City were closed because of staff requests for time off.

The decision is based solely on our ability to provide sufficient staff to cover all our classrooms and the impact of high staff absenteeism on student safety and delivery of instruction. It is not based on a political stance or position, Alexandria schools Superintendent Alvin L. Crawley said in a statement.

[Someone women are striking from smiling today. Heres why]

Some restaurants were shrinking their menus Wednesday while others announced specials to coincide with the day.

Pizzeria Paradiso is offering a limited menu at its three locations in Washington and Virginia. The restaurants chef and owner, Ruth Gresser, said she was going on strike and is offering paid leave for female employees at Pizzeria Paradiso and Veloce, which she also owns, to do the same. She will donate half of her profits to two womens organizations, My Sisters Place and the National Organization for Women.

[Where to find food and drink specials for International Womens Day]

By cutting our menu in half, we symbolically reinforce the impact of a day without approximately half of the worlds population, Gresser wrote in a menu that she will display Wednesday. I ask you, my customers and my community, to support me and equal rights for women with this symbolic restraint and limitation.

[Restaurants, schools close in Day Without Immigrants protest]

Labor organizers are planning a Women Workers Rising rally Wednesday outside the U.S. Department of Labor to spotlight female workers rights, including pay equity, a livable wage and protections against workplace violence. Organizers include advocacy groups and organizations representing the women-dominated professions of restaurant workers, nursing, teaching and domestic workers.

We will be there to really get people to understand that is our building, said Eve Ensler, a feminist activist and one of the event organizers. Its the workers building, and we are there to fight for workers rights.

Wednesdays strike follows the Day Without Immigrants protest in February, when scores of restaurants across the region closed to highlight immigrants economic importance to a presidential administration that has taken a hard-line stance on immigration policies.

Another Day Without a Woman rally is planned Wednesday at Freedom Plaza, where more than three dozen groups are joining to protest the Mexico City policy, known as the global gag rule by critics, which states that foreign nonprofits providing abortions will forfeit aid from the U.S. government. President Trump reinstated the Reagan-era rule on one of his first days as president.

Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity  one of the groups organizing the rally  said the groups planned the event to coincide with International Womens Day but also to stand in solidarity with the Day Without a Woman strike. The Protest to Stop the Gag will start at 11 a.m. and end with a rally at the White House.

One of Trumps first actions was an attack on girls and women across the seas in some of the poorest countries, Sippel said. This is a showing of women in the U.S. that we are not going to stand for it and we are going to fight back.

In the Maryland state legislature, female politicians wont be going on strike, but many are expected to wear red.

Maryland Del. Aruna Miller (D-Montgomery), who heads the states legislative womens caucus, is encouraging members of the 64-person coalition to attend Wednesdays legislative session wearing red in a show of solidarity. The womens caucus plans to meet Wednesday morning to celebrate the day and honor one of the state legislatures longest-serving female members, Del. Sheila E. Hixson (D-Montgomery), who has been a member of the State House since 1976.

Miller said she didnt think it would be effective if the elected officials joined the strike.

Women being here and voting is critical for our empowerment, she said.

Josh Hicks contributed to this report.
While running for U.S. Senate last year, Chris Vance was one of the few Republican candidates in the nation to publicly break with the partys presidential nominee, Donald Trump. He is a supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times)

Chris Vance was drinking his morning coffee and reading the text of President Trumps first executive order banning visitors from some Muslim-majority countries when he decided he had to take action.

So the prominent Republican from Auburn, Wash., who said the order was antithetical to what I believed as an American, grabbed his laptop and did what thousands of Americans have done to register their outrage toward the president: He joined the American Civil Liberties Union, pledging to donate money every month to the organization.

Donating to the ACLU has become an act of political defiance in the Trump era as the group has positioned itself as a high-profile and aggressive opponent of the presidents agenda.

Since the election, after which the group famously challenged Trump  saying that it would see you in court  membership has nearly tripled to 1.2 million, and the group has collected more than $80 million in online donations alone. It is adding scores of attorneys and investigators, and faced with a new surge of volunteers, it has started a grass-roots arm to mobilize them to lobby on state and local matters.

It is a new and potentially risky position for one of the nations best-known nonprofit organizations, which is liberal-leaning but has built a reputation of crossing ideological lines on issues such as gun rights and political spending and has famously represented some of those most detested in society, including suspected terrorists and neo-Nazis.

Some conservatives say the organization has shifted away from principles of free speech and religious liberties over the years in favor of popular liberal causes such as abortion and gay rights, and they say the ACLU favors atheists and other religions over Christians.

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice who has advocated for the rights of Christians, offered the example of the entry ban. A federal judge blocked the original executive order, leading the administration to revise it last week, citing the need to protect national security. But the ACLU and others remain opposed because they view it as targeting Muslims.

There was nothing the president could do that would have satisfied the ACLU except not issue it, Sekulow said. Thats where they are ideologically.

Vance said he took a lot of heat for his decision to join such an openly anti-Trump organization, with conservatives on social media and talk radio denouncing him as disloyal and a RINO  a Republican In Name Only. Vance said he is unperturbed by the criticism.

Im, like, Mr. Republican in this state, said Vance, a former state representative and GOP chairman who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate last year. I have always thought the ACLU was very consistent. They stand up for the Bill of Rights.

Vance was a prominent critic of Trump during the election and did not cast a ballot for president. On Tuesday, he said that Trumps new entry ban is dramatically better than the previous one, which he felt more openly targeted Muslims. But he said he continues to oppose it.

The original version was blocked by a federal judge, whose decision was upheld by a federal appeals panel, but Trump has revised it in a way that his administration says passes legal muster.

ACLU officials acknowledge they have never taken such an oppositional stance against a president. However, they argue that they have built capital in their nearly 100-year history by challenging every president, including many with whom they largely agree.

During President Barack Obamas time in office, the organization repeatedly took him to task over his use of drones to attack suspected terrorists and his reliance on mass surveillance. Decades earlier, the ACLU led the legal fight against the creation of Japanese internment camps under Franklin D. Roosevelt, a liberal icon.

The ACLU has characterized Trump as a unique threat to American ideals, calling him a one-man constitutional crisis. The organization has filed more than a dozen legal actions against his policies in his first month in office  mostly targeting the entry ban  and says that it has found no common ground with him on his proposals.

We think lawsuits can help crystallize policy debates for the public to engage, said Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU. Litigation can also . . . gum up the machinery of the Trump administration. If we can rob them of momentum, we can keep them from doing greater harm or damage.

Rock-star status

The ACLU has tried to blunt the impact of Trumps actions in a number of ways: It increased its legal assistance in heavily Latino neighborhoods after immigration authorities stepped up deportations last month. It pledged to move forward on a transgender students lawsuit after the administration revoked guidance calling for schools to allow students to use the bathroom of their choice. It submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the administrations plans to issue an executive order expanding the rights of people of faith to opt out of activities or laws that infringe on their religious beliefs  a proposal the group criticized as anti-gay. It has pledged to aggressively defend Planned Parenthood if Trump and congressional Republicans follow through on their promise to defund it. And it has called for a special prosecutor to investigate Trumps campaign ties with Russia.

The groups stance has earned it rock-star status in liberal circles, with fancy restaurants and even yoga studios holding ACLU fundraisers. At the Academy Awards, some actors wore blue ACLU pins. At a comedy club fundraiser in Chicago in January, the crowd at one point chanted the name of the local affiliates communications director, Ed Yohnka.

Here I am  Im a white, middle-aged guy with a bald head who wears a suit and tie every day. Theyre chanting, Ed! Ed! Ed!  Yohnka said, referring to his appearance at a nighttime event attended by hip urbanites. The event, he said, was really affirming of the work that we do.

The ACLUs position on religious liberties has been a particular source of controversy.

In 1993, the organization was among the broad cross-section of politicians and groups that supported the passage of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The legislation came after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision of the state of Oregon to deny unemployment benefits to two Native Americans after they were fired for testing positive for the use of drugs used during a religious ceremony.

Congress tried three years later to pass another version of the bill after it was struck down by the Supreme Court. But the ACLU and others withheld support, in part because it was opposed by the burgeoning gay rights movement, said John Inazu, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

In recent years, the ACLU has been a vociferous opponent of state attempts to pass religious freedom bills viewed as anti-gay.

Some critics have noted the groups shift on protests outside abortion clinics. In 2000, the ACLU sided with conservative religious protesters in Colorado challenging restrictions outside of the clinics. In 2014, it sided with the government and against protesters in a similar case in Massachusetts.

For religious conservatives, the most plausible explanation would be a shift toward reproductive rights and away from religious freedom and free-speech concerns, Inazu said.

Charles C. Haynes, founding director of the Religious Freedom Center at the Newseum Institute, said the ACLU has mostly remained true to its mission. At a time when the president is facing vocal opposition, it follows that the organization would be popular, he said.

But there have been times that it has hemorrhaged members, he said, such as when it defended the rights of neo-Nazis to march in Skokie, Ill., in the 1970s. In 2009, it sued a Florida school district on behalf of students barred from wearing T-shirts that read, Islam is of the Devil.

What I would say is if the ACLU defends anything you dont like, you should just suck it up because, remember, tomorrow the ACLU will defend something you do like, Haynes said.
Guns and assault rifles confiscated in what authorities called the largest sting operation in Brooklyn's history are displayed at a news conference. (Colleen Long/Associated Press)

NEW YORK

Undercover officer busts gun trafficking ring

An undercover officer in New York City bought 217 assault weapons, tommy guns and handguns, dismantling a trafficking ring that exploited Virginias looser gun laws and sent sellers north on buses with bags full of weapons, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Traffickers were caught on wiretaps bragging about their ability to buy guns for resale, authorities said. They used code words such as chopper and joint to peddle the weapons, investigators said. Ammunition was food.

Theres no limit to how many guns I can go buy from the store, suspect Antwan Walker was heard saying on a police wiretap. I can go get 20 guns from the store tomorrow. I can do that Monday through Friday. . . . They might start looking at me, but in Virginia, our laws are so little, I can give guns away.

Acting Brooklyn district attorney Eric Gonzalez said 24 people were arrested, mostly in Virginia. One person was from Brooklyn, and one was from the District. They were charged in an indictment alleging a conspiracy to bring up to a dozen guns illegally into New York City at a time.

Walker, 21, and others were being held in Virginia awaiting extradition to New York.

Prosecutors said the guns were bought in Brooklyn neighborhoods and sold for up to $1,200 for a handgun and up to $2,200 for an assault weapon. Prosecutors said it was the largest number of guns purchased in one operation in Brooklyn.

 Associated Press

CALIFORNIA

LA mayor easily wins reelection

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti claimed a second term, easily trouncing 10 little-known rivals in an election with a tiny turnout but potentially major implications for the nations second-largest city.

The 46-year-old Democrat, whose campaign benefited from an improved economy, won 81 percent of about 250,000 votes cast in Tuesdays election. Mitchell Jack Schwartz was a very distant second with 8 percent.

Garcettis huge margin of victory allowed him to avoid a runoff in May.

He was first elected mayor four years ago on a back-to-basics slogan. He was reelected with just over 200,000 votes in a city of 4 million, according to preliminary returns.

In the voting for the citys ballot measures, the fiercely contested proposal known as Measure S, intended to restrict larger real estate projects, was handily defeated with nearly 69 percent opposed. Another city ballot measure, which would give the mayor and City Council new powers to regulate marijuana as its recreational form becomes legal next year, had the support of 79 percent of voters. The measure would also set different tax rates for different forms of pot.

 Associated Press

Statue of Liberty goes dark, briefly: The Statue of Liberty has her juice back after an evening-long partial power outage. The incident Tuesday night sparked speculation on social media that it was done deliberately for Wednesdays A Day Without A Woman protest. But it was actually a case of human error. National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis said the lights were supposed to go on at dusk but did not. The situation was resolved by 11:45 p.m. The crown and torch kept shining. Willis said the statue will experience more outages over the next few weeks  this time on purpose  while workers install a new emergency generator as part of Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.

Five killed in Detroit apartment fire: Five people were killed and four others were hurt in an apartment building fire on Detroits east side on Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Mike Duggans office said. A spokesman had no other details about the blaze, but WWJ-AM reported that strong winds sweeping through southeastern Michigan may have helped spread the flames.

 From news services
Trees go up in flames as a large wildfire burns after sundown on March 6 northeast of Hutchinson, Kan. (Lindsey Bauman/The Hutchinson News via Associated Press)

wildfires

Flames leave 6 dead; crews work in 4 states

Emergency crews struggled Tuesday to contain wildfires that have scorched hundreds of square miles of land in four states, killing six people and forcing thousands of others to flee their homes ahead of the wind-whipped flames.

Fires burned in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, and warnings that conditions were ripe were issued for Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, even after powerful thunderstorms moved through the middle of the country overnight, spawning dozens of tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.

Kansas wildfires have burned about 625 square miles of land and killed one person. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Corey Holt of Oklahoma City died Monday when his tractor-trailer jackknifed as he tried to back up because of poor visibility on a southern Kansas highway and he succumbed to smoke after getting out of the truck.

The fire originated across the state border in Oklahoma, where it burned an estimated 390 square miles in Beaver County. Officials say a separate fire in neighboring Harper County took the life of a woman who had a heart attack while trying to keep her farm near Buffalo from burning.

The largest evacuations elsewhere were in Reno County, Kan., where 10,000 to 12,000 people left their homes Monday night, a spokeswoman for the states Department of Emergency Management said.

In the Texas Panhandle, three fires have burned more than 195 square miles of land and killed at least four people. One of the blazes near Amarillo threatened about 150 homes, while a larger fire near the Oklahoma border was only 5 percent contained as of Tuesday morning, according to Texas A&M Forest Service.

 Associated Press

threats

ADL, Jewish centers across country targeted

The Anti-Defamation League and several Jewish community centers across the country got a new round of bomb threats Tuesday, adding to the scores they have received since January.

Federal officials have been investigating more than 120 threats against Jewish organizations in three dozen states since Jan. 9 and a rash of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries.

Also Tuesday, two suburban Jewish community centers in Upstate New York were shut down when someone phoned in bomb threats, authorities said. The Jewish Community Center in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay was closed for two hours.

In Providence, R.I., an administrator at the Jewish Community Day School, attached to a synagogue, received a threat Tuesday morning alleging there was a gunman with an assault rifle on the roof of the building, police said. Police and a K-9 team swept the building; no one was found.

Chicago Jewish Day School on the citys north side was evacuated for a few hours while police investigated.

In New York, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said five threats were made, including to the Anti-Defamation League, which also received threats to its offices in Atlanta, Boston and the District. The group said threats were also made in Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, Maryland and Toronto.

On Friday, Missouri resident Juan Thompson was arrested and accused of making at least eight of the threats nationwide. Authorities said he was trying to harass his ex-girlfriend by pinning the threats on her.

 Associated Press

MISSISSIPPI

Train crashes into bus, killing at least 4

A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Miss., on Tuesday, dragging the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving at least four people dead, authorities said. The bus was carrying 50 people from Austin, police said. Authorities believe the bus was stopped on the tracks at the time of the crash.

Witnesses told WLOX-TV that the passengers were senior citizens. Charter buses often carry patrons to one of Biloxis eight casinos.

 Associated Press
LIBYA

Eastern parliament quits U.N. peace deal

Libyas eastern parliament voted Tuesday to withdraw its support for a peace deal and unity government brokered by the United Nations, stoking concerns that recent violence in the fractured country could escalate.

Abdullah Ablaihig, a spokesman for the Tobruk-based, internationally recognized House of Representatives, said the body voted to annul its acceptance of a presidential council and the U.N.-backed government led by Prime Minister Fayez Serraj in Tripoli.

The decision comes as Libyas rival power centers are sliding closer to open conflict, with militias backed by western Libyan factions seizing oil terminals from the easts strongman general.

The Tobruk body called on all Libyan parties to condemn the militias, saying it was suspending its participation in peace talks until they did so. The militias say they intend to take the eastern city of Benghazi and drive Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter from the area. Hifters army is allied with the eastern parliament, while the Tripoli government opposes him.

Libya descended into chaos with its 2011 civil war, which ended with the killing of dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

 Associated Press

SOUTH SUDAN

U.N. report alleges ethnic cleansing

A new United Nations report describes South Sudan as teetering on the edge of genocide and experiencing ethnic cleansing, a stark portrayal of a nation whose crises include famine.

The seven-month inquiry by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights is the most comprehensive report so far into conditions that could lead to genocide in a nation mired in civil war, according to U.N. officials.

The report includes new details on deliberate starvation and bombardment of civilians. It also describes the use of hate speech by top officials, including President Salva Kiir.

Violations have mainly been committed by government soldiers, members of the National Security Service, police officers and militias aligned with government forces, it says.

South Sudan fell into civil war in December 2013, two years after it won independence from Sudan. Tens of thousands have been killed, and more than 1.5 million people have fled the country.

The report cites numerous reports of SPLA [Sudan Peoples Liberation Army] soldiers targeting Nuer civilians and raping Nuer women.

Many of South Sudans forces, like Kiir, are ethnic Dinka  traditional rivals of the Nuer.

 Associated Press

Philippine House backs death penalty in drug cases: The House of Representatives in the Philippines has approved a bill to restore the death penalty by hanging, lethal injection or firing squad for drug offenses despite opposition from the influential Roman Catholic Church and human rights groups. It brings nearer to reality President Rodrigo Dutertes campaign promise to restore capital punishment for hard-core criminals, especially drug traffickers. The bill must be merged with the Senate version and then signed by Duterte to become a law. Both chambers are dominated by his allies.

Pakistan temporarily reopens border with Afghanistan: Thousands of stranded Afghans and Pakistanis returned home as Pakistan temporarily reopened two main crossings that had been closed last month after a wave of militant attacks, officials said. The Torkham and Chaman crossings were to remain open through Wednesday. Pakistan shut the crossings three weeks ago after suicide bombings that authorities said were linked to Islamist militants based in Afghanistan.

Court dismisses Syrian refugees case against Facebook: A court in Germany has dismissed a case brought by a Syrian refugee who wanted Facebook to identify and delete posts falsely linking him to crimes committed by migrants. Anas Modamani was one of several asylum seekers who took selfies with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015. His selfie started appearing in Facebook posts after high-profile crimes in Germany in which migrants were identified as the perpetrators. The court said Facebook had not created the slanderous posts and, therefore, could not be forced to abide by a cease-and-desist order.

 From news services
THE AMERICAN Health Care Act, which House Republicans unveiled Monday night with White House support, is repeal and replace, kind of. It has some suspicious similarities to Obamacare. But it marks a sharp departure in at least one crucial respect: fiscal responsibility.

The bill would repeal a vast array of the Affordable Care Acts pay-fors  taxes on upper-income people and on health-care-related entities including drugs, insurance and medical devices. To finance the spending it still envisions, the bill would replace those by cutting Medicaid and other assistance to poor and near-poor people. This is not only heartless, it is reckless. Within a few years, governors will be pressing Congress to protect Medicaid. At that point, it is a decent bet lawmakers will simply choose their default option when faced with a politically tough situation: make poor people suffer, and add to the debt.

Republicans may insist that they will hold the line, but their recent behavior offers little assurance. In an earlier draft of their Obamacare replacement bill, House leaders envisioned limiting the preferential tax treatment of employer-sponsored health benefits. This rational reform would have helped curb unsustainable increases in health-care costs, but it is not popular with anyone other than economists. So Republicans ditched it. Their bill also would delay Obamacares principal cost-containment mechanism, the equally unpopular Cadillac tax. This would represent the second time that tax will have been delayed, creating the precedent lawmakers will need to push it off in perpetuity.

Adding to this irresponsible picture, Republicans are poised to mark up their bill without a full analysis from the Congressional Budget Office of its budgetary impact or  crucially  of how many people the proposal would (or would not) cover.

On the latter question, there is ample reason for concern. The bill would substantially reduce the amount of assistance that low-income people get to buy coverage on the individual insurance market, it would ramp up how much more insurers can charge older people relative to younger people, and it would remove Obamacares crucial link between actual insurance costs and the federal assistance people get. Combined, these changes would push many needy people out of the individual insurance market. Republicans claim that Americans would have more flexibility in the sorts of insurance plans on offer, including cheaper catastrophic-only health-care policies, but that sort of coverage, with its high deductibles and limited benefits, is hardly useful to people barely scraping by now under Obamacares much more generous system.

Passing the GOPs latest health-care reform proposal would enable a few members of Congress to boast that they rewrote Obamacare. It also would allow House Republican leaders to flex their legislative muscles in the face of their intransigent right wing. But a lot of poor people would pay a substantial price to give them that satisfaction. Chances are, so would the federal deficit.
President Trump, long at the forefront of intellectual discovery, last week came up with a major finding: Health-care reform is hard. Unbelievably complex, in fact.

Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated, the president said.

Actually, we all knew. Thats why Republicans successor plan to Obamacare, repeal and replace, became repeal and delay. Thats why House Republicans kept their draft legislation under guard in a secret, GOP-only reading room in the Capitol, so copies wouldnt leak. Thats why they decided to push the legislation through committees this week only a couple of days after introducing it  and before waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to say how much the legislation would cost taxpayers and how many people would lose health insurance.

Apparently they have to pass the bill so we can find out whats in it.

[An insipid GOP attack line just got worse]

(Reuters)

And now that Republican leaders in the House have finally revealed their plan, the magic formula turns out to be . . . a cheap knockoff of Obamacare: covering fewer people, charging them more and giving a tax cut to the rich.

Democrats, predictably, panned it because its a cheap knockoff of Obamacare, and they prefer the original over imitators. The bigger problem for GOP leaders is that conservatives also panned it because, well, its a cheap knockoff of Obamacare.

Outside the Capitol Tuesday afternoon, conservative legislators lined up to denounce the bill.

A step in the wrong direction, said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) likened the flawed bill to horse excrement.

Lets not lower the bar on what we believe simply because a Republican is in the White House, said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.).

Rep. Thomas Garrett (R-Va.) complained that the bill was drafted in a cloak of secrecy and blessed a new entitlement.

Obviously, deduced Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), we have some serious concerns.

The sales effort so far has been wanting. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), defending the legislation on CNN on Tuesday, suggested that Americans, rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and they want to spend hundreds of dollars on that, maybe they should invest in their own health care.

The authors of the legislation, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), didnt do much better. They paraded their 123-page bill before the cameras Tuesday morning with a sign pasted on it: Read the Bill.

[How Trump blew it on health care]

They came armed with a letter from Trumps health and human services secretary, Tom Price, backing the legislation (Trump himself calls it wonderful), but they had no direct answers for how much the bill would cost, how many fewer would be covered and what sort of tax break the wealthy would see.

CBSs Nancy Cordes pointed out that Republicans complained for years about Democrats ramming through Obamacare. So arent you doing the exact same thing?

No, not at all, replied Walden  who then admitted he was indeed following the procedure the Democrats did when, in passing Obamacare, they didnt have a CBO score before it went up to the Budget Committee.

The Republican legislation also includes many of the gimmicks they decried in Obamacare: delaying implementation of costly provisions to out years to make the bill appear cheaper than it is. The bill, which Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) called Obamacare 2.0, uses the structure of Obamacare, sustains Obamacares Medicaid expansion at least through 2020 and keeps the Cadillac tax on generous health-care plans.

Democrats say the GOP plan would cause at least 11 million to lose health coverage, cause premium, co-pay and deductible increases, deplete the Medicare trust fund, and amount to a huge transfer of wealth to the richest. They are getting a bit of support from a group of four relatively moderate Senate Republicans who have already demanded protections for those covered by Obamacares Medicaid expansion.

This leaves little if any wiggle room for Republican leaders to placate restive conservatives, even though Vice President Pence assures them hes open to improvements.

[An Obamacare repeal thats both heartless and reckless]

Powerful conservative groups such as Heritage Action, FreedomWorks and Club for Growth have all denounced the GOP legislation. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called the bill Obamacare lite, and he and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said they would reintroduce legislation calling for an outright repeal of Obamacare.

Brady, one of the authors of Obamacare lite, warned Republicans: We can act now or we can keep fiddling around and squander this opportunity to repeal Obamacare.

Apparently, that argument hasnt prevailed. As Brady and Walden finished their news conference, an email from House Speaker Paul D. Ryans (R-Wis.) office arrived announcing a do-over: Brady and Walden would have another health-care news conference later in the day, this time joined by Ryan.

Who knew it would be so hard?

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
ITS PRETTY clear that a proposal floated by the White House to safeguard federal funding to Planned Parenthood if the group stopped providing abortions never stood a chance of even being considered by the group. Non-negotiable, said one Planned Parenthood official. But the fact that the idea was broached at all is significant as the latest sign that Republicans recognize the problems  and likely political repercussions  of cutting off funds to an organization that is held in high regard by the American public for providing critical health-care services.

Weakening or destroying Planned Parenthood has been high on the GOP agenda for years, and with the party in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, the threat is real. The bill released Monday by House Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act includes a provision that would block people with Medicaid coverage from receiving care at Planned Parenthood health centers. Defunding  the term commonly used by Republicans  is a misnomer since the group doesnt receive a blank check or a line-item appropriation from the government but instead is reimbursed, like any other health-care provider, for preventative health care, including birth control, cancer screenings, and sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment.

Except in very rare instances, no federal money pays for abortions, a fact that underlies the illogic of the Republicans ideological attack on the organization. If Republican efforts succeed, the victims will be the low-income people, both men and women, who rely on Planned Parenthood for basic health care. The argument that other providers will fill the gap is, as experts have repeatedly said, a complete myth.

No doubt the White House understands its between a rock and a hard place in trying to satisfy the GOPs conservative base by living up to its campaign promises while most Americans are opposed to stripping Planned Parenthood of federal funding. Hence, as the New York Times reported, the trial balloon of seeing if Planned Parenthood would be willing to stop providing abortions. Whatever ones personal views about abortion, it is legal, and Planned Parenthood was right not to consider selling out the interests of its patients.

Its time for the White House to go back to the drawing board to figure a way out of its dilemma. Heres an idea: Study what President Trump said as a candidate about Planned Parenthood. Millions and millions of women  cervical cancer, breast cancer  are helped by Planned Parenthood, he said in a February 2016 debate. In other words: Stop the grandstanding and allow this respected health organization to continue its work unimpeded.
If you were writing a pitch for a Hollywood series about the roiling investigation of the Trump campaigns possible dealings with Russian operatives, you might describe it as Billions meets The Americans.

This plot has already had some weird twists and turns, and we arent even at the end of Season One. Its must-see television, for sure, but disheartening, like the O.J. Simpson trial. You know its not going to end happily for most of the characters (or, indeed, for the country), but you cant stop watching.

Lets look at the two protagonists in our presidential potboiler. First, our billionaire president. Hed be lucky to have as much hair (or money) as Damian Lewis, who stars as the fictional hedge-fund trader Bobby Axelrod in Showtimes Billions. But President Trump has a similar scorched-earth approach to dealing with his adversaries, which is part of why hes in growing difficulty in the Russia investigation.

Trumps behavior over the past year, as allegations deepened of Russian covert action to help his campaign, has been comparable to his business life. As chief executive of the Trump Organization, he bargained hard. When he was sued, he often countersued, creating a costly jumble of litigation that intimidated many adversaries. And he disliked settling cases, on the theory that such compromise only invited more attacks.

This hyper-adversarial style has been on display with the Russia story. Trump has denied having business contacts with Russian oligarchs (he tweeted: NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA), a claim thats contradicted by the public record. When the allegations continued, he counterattacked  first accusing the intelligence agencies of leaking information in the style of Nazi Germany and then alleging that President Barack Obama had wiretapped his offices at Trump Tower. Both charges were false, but useful distractions.

(Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

Trump from the beginning has refused any hint of compromise on the Russia issue. It would have been easy, early on, to have affirmed the easily documented facts, said he favored a better relationship with Moscow because it was good policy, and ordered his associates to explain their past dealings. But he didnt do that.

Trumps defiance has put his presidency on a collision course with Congress and the FBI. Some supporters claim hes facing a secret coup from an intelligence and foreign policy establishment that constitutes a despotic deep state. But really, Trump is confronting the orderly process we call the rule of law.

Why is Trump so resistant to compromise? Does he fear the revelations that might eventually emerge? Or is this simply his perennial negotiating style  never bend, lest you diminish the tough-guy, always-a-winner image? We dont know, but Trump is taking us to a dark place where we may find out.

Now, what about the Russian players in our drama? First, they are masters of the intelligence game. The characters in the FX series The Americans offer a hint of the subtle and implacable tradecraft the Russians have brought to espionage since the czars time. They are a relentless adversary. But that doesnt mean theyre perfect, or that we are doomed to perpetual Cold War.

As Trumps associates are learning, Russian diplomats and top business leaders often perform an intelligence function, too. So a discussion with an ambassador, say, or a prominent oligarch is likely to be monitored by U.S. intelligence. And when these Kremlin insiders brag among themselves about their access to the Trump entourage (hypothetically speaking), these conversations may well be intercepted, too. And sometimes leaked to the press.

But we should remember, when we read stories about Russian intelligence contacts with the Trump team (or anyone else), this is raw information  and often unreliable. Russian diplomats, intelligence operatives and business executives routinely boast about their contacts  inflating their access and information.

State Department officials have been unfairly tarred by such surveillance, as when the FBI pursued false claims that a U.S. diplomat in Pakistan had been recruited as a spy. We need to understand the possibility that Trump and his associates could be unfairly maligned by raw intelligence, too  gossip thats dressed up as top secret. Thats why we need quiet, careful investigations to establish the truth.

(Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

Russians arent 10 feet tall, as an earlier generation of CIA officers sometimes imagined. They arent monsters who are Americas permanent enemies. They spy on us, as we spy on them. But they are very good at it, as our real-life espionage blockbuster has demonstrated over the past few months.

This one is going to Season Two. Spoiler alert: The Russians have already won.

Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
An old Marine told me that Marines guard Marines from the other side. And when one of their brothers is being threatened, the Devil Dogs (a.k.a. Marines) will go wild on them for eternity.

Yes, but what about the sisters? Do the Devil Dogs protect them, too? What about the female Marines whose nude photos were posted to a Facebook group where comments ranged from raunchy to suggestions of violence?

Do female Marines count in the Devil Dogs lore?

The questions arise as the Defense Department begins an investigation into recent revelations about the Facebook group Marines United, which the Associated Press reports was composed of active-duty and retired male Marines along with some Navy Corpsmen and Royal British Marines.

Some of the nude shots were grabbed from Instagram, which mostly prohibits nudity. Others were shot surreptitiously. Most were passed along a testosterone-rich grapevine. More than two dozen active-duty women in the photographs were identified by their rank, full name and location. Needless to say, the women were horrified to learn that they had been sexually objectified by their peers.

One said the scandal had ruined her Marine experience and that she wouldnt reenlist. One active corpsman said hed seen the photos on the Facebook page, which also provides news and support, but wasnt interested and skipped over them. He didnt find the collection surprising, however, likely given his generations comfort with nudity in all its forms.

The young women who knowingly had their photos taken apparently thought that viewers would be of the womens own choosing. One can imagine, however, that a libidinous corpsman (pardon the redundancy) who discovers a picture of a semi-nude or nude female Marine might be inspired to share it. Isnt sharing the operative term in todays narcissistic, show-and-tell-all culture?

The difference and the distinction, however, is that the Marines United boys club basically stole the images and used them without the subjects consent. Marines being Marines? Or are they guilty of something more sinister, potentially deserving court-martial?

To the civilian mind, the answer is rather simple: The Pentagon, now fully infiltrated and indoctrinated by modern feminists, has decided to put women in combat (thank you, President Barack Obama). Therefore, women must be treated as men.

But what about the vice versa? Must men be treated as women? That is, should they be trained to be more sensitive? If so, can you simultaneously create sensitivity in the desensitizing, killing culture that breaks down an 18-year-olds humanity and instills in him an instinct for extreme brutality?

Put another way, how stupid are we?

Theres a reason we say in times of great peril, Send in the Marines, and its not because of the few brave, committed women among them. But try to find someone in todays military willing to say so.

Older vets with nothing to lose will sometimes open up. Two of my regular Marine correspondents, Jack and Russ, both of them Vietnam vets, explained the culture that creates killers and how this environment isnt conducive to civilian norms.

Jack, who told me the afterlife story, is my brother. Russ is a retired Methodist minister who counsels veterans navigating post-traumatic stress disorder. Neither they nor I intend to justify the Facebook group but rather aim to illuminate the mind-set that might have led to it and the misunderstandings that create havoc.

Hollywood makes this s--- up, says Jack in his best French. I never saw a Marine shed a tear for lost buddies. Now in the Middle East, these guys have f------ breakdowns and unit ceremonies and all that s---. In Vietnam, your buddies put you in a body bag, a chopper flew your dead a-- to Da Nang, and off you went on a jet back home.

It aint Hollywood. It is stinky, bloody, sweat-soaked, soil-your-britches killing and being killed. You push that cr-- down so far in your guts that it comes out 50 years after the job is done. Thats PTSD.

Russ explains the culture in somewhat more polished terms.

Marines embrace the warrior archetype more than other branches. The shadow of this is patriarchy, misogyny and brutality. We are trained to be killing machines, deadening all emotion except anger. Were told we dont have the luxury of sensitivity, so we objectify everything, including women.

Still, hes optimistic, saying that we need to return to the embodiment of the hero archetype in the medieval knight. Aggressiveness can be coupled with honor, nobility and compassion.

Maybe so. But knights typically didnt joust with women, which may be the most salient inference. That said, chivalry has a place here. An apology to the women who exposed themselves to the few, not the proud, would be appropriate  both as gesture and punishment.

Read more from Kathleen Parkers archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook.
WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP called the U.S. news media the enemy of the American People and brandished the moniker fake news at reports he didnt like, tyrants everywhere perked up. They heard the president say exactly what they have been saying about nettlesome journalists who expose human rights abuses, corruption and rigged elections. Mr. Trumps remarks have a ripple effect overseas, signaling that the United States will no longer champion freedom of the press and expression. This will inevitably lead to more repression.

Cambodia, which last year sentenced a man to 18 months in prison for a Facebook post, was one of the first to seize upon Mr. Trumps approach. A government spokesman, noting how the White House had barred several U.S. outlets from a briefing, warned Radio Free Asia and Voice of America about their news coverage, which is quite straightforward and therefore threatening to the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The spokesman declared, Freedom of expression is subject to law and must respect the states power.

Respect of state power and the ruling Communist Party is also what China demands in no uncertain terms from its news media, insisting they have the party as their family name. Chinas propagandists have started to mimic Mr. Trumps methods in news articles. The partys leading newspaper, Peoples Daily, denounced Western news coverage of a Chinese lawyer and human rights advocate who said he had been tortured by splashing a photograph with the words FAKE NEWS. The paper said it was fabricated to tarnish Chinas image.

In Russia, where press freedom has been corralled into a small space under President Vladimir Putin and the dark arts of propaganda and disinformation are well practiced, the Foreign Ministry has set up a new section of its website for fake news, with a big red stamp of FAKE for reports that it does not like. Among those so branded was a New York Times article describing the new practice.

Mr. Trump has a personally contradictory relationship with the news media. He has long hungered for favorable coverage. But he appears to see the news media in strictly promotional terms, not as a mechanism of democracy to probe and criticize.

His behavior has global consequences. The press would not be free in Cambodia, China or Russia if a different U.S. president had been elected. But the United States has a long tradition of speaking out against crackdowns on the news media, and sometimes those interventions make a difference. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that American foreign policy must promote our core values of freedom, democracy and stability. Does the president agree?
A month before the election, President Trump stood before a cheering crowd at a rally in northeast Pennsylvania and declared: I love WikiLeaks!

Back then, Trump loved anything that made his rival Hillary Clinton look bad  even if the information had been hacked, stolen or leaked. Trump repeatedly celebrated and shared information released by WikiLeaks, calling the anti-secrecy organization a treasure trove. During a news conference last summer, Trump even urged Russia  which U.S. intelligence agencies believe has links to WikiLeaks  to look for tens of thousands of emails from Clintons private server that were not handed over to the Justice Department.

But now that he is in the White House, Trump is having to confront the threat of hacking, along with leaks from within his own administration  and, suddenly, he is not a fan. Trump and his aides have angrily railed against leakers, threatening to find and prosecute them and urging congressional allies to investigate, while being uncharacteristically quiet when it comes to WikiLeaks.

The latest sign of how the tables have turned came Tuesday when WikiLeaks announced that it had obtained a vast portion of the CIAs closely guarded cyberweapons and began posting files online. The breach could cause massive fallout among U.S. allies and poses a serious challenge for Trump, who has been feuding with the intelligence community over probes into alleged ties between his campaign and Russia.

[WikiLeaks posts files it says are from the CIAs computer hacking arsenal]

President Trump walks into the East Room of the White House for a meeting with House Republicans on Tuesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

White House press secretary Sean Spicer declined to comment on the latest WikiLeaks dump during a briefing with reporters Tuesday, saying it has not been fully evaluated. But moments later, Spicer did decry leaks generally, saying they are threatening our national security.

Youre seeing the leaks happen over and over again that come out throughout the administration, throughout government and undermine national security, he said.

The president has said that the emails released by WikiLeaks during the campaign do not compare to the information now being leaked, some of which he says is classified.

In one case, youre talking about highly classified information. In the other case, youre talking about John Podesta saying bad things about the boss, Trump said at a news conference last month, referring to Clintons presidential campaign chairman whose private email account was hacked.

While the files being posted by WikiLeaks on Tuesday have yet to be authenticated, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that if the group can hack the CIA, they can hack anybody. McCain also mocked Trump for belittling earlier hacks by suggesting that they were being carried out by somebody in the basement of his mothers house smoking a cigarette in his underwear rather than a foreign government. McCain said the White House needs to focus on the issue quickly.

Id like to see a greater emphasis, to tell you the truth, McCain said. I really would. Id like to see a greater emphasis.

For months, a variety of people have warned Trump that hacking is something that should always be condemned and never encouraged  even in a joking tone.

(Dalton Bennett,Greg Miller/The Washington Post)

In July, WikiLeaks published thousands of emails from the Democratic National Committee. Days later, Trump scoffed at accusations that the Russians could have been involved with the hack, saying that it was probably China, or it could be somebody sitting in his bed. He added that he hoped Russia had all of Clintons emails, even the beauties that were deleted or were not turned over to the Justice Department.

I will tell you this, Russia, if youre listening, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, Trump said, referring to messages that Clinton did not hand over because she and her team categorized them as personal. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Lets see if that happens.

Republicans rushed to denounce the comment, and Trumps running mate Mike Pence quickly issued a statement that read: If it is Russia and they are interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences.

[Trumps split screen: A two-hour virtual conversation between the president and Fox & Friends]

Months later, in October, Podestas email account was hacked, and his emails were released by WikiLeaks. At the time, Podesta said the FBI was investigating the criminal hack as part of a wider inquiry into potential Russian cyberattacks  and he suggested Trump might have known about the hack ahead of time.

Trump and his associates have denied having anything to do with the hacks, although at a Jan. 11 news conference, Trump conceded that Russia was probably behind the hacks. He added that the Russians might have tried to hack the Republican National Committee but were unable to because it had a very, very strong hacking defense.

The Democratic National Committee was totally open to be hacked. They did a very poor job. They could have had hacking defense, which we had, Trump said. They tried to hack the Republican National Committee, and they were unable to break through. We have to do that for our country. Its very important.

Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director for Clintons 2016 campaign, said watching Trump decry leaks within his own administration after praising WikiLeaks during the campaign has been an exercise in the absurd.

Now, she said, Trump may be forced to confront the consequences of normalizing a culture of leaks and hacks.

He was playing with fire all during the campaign, and hes started to get burned, she said. When you bring leaks and investigations into the political realm, youre playing with fire.

Robby Mook, Clintons former campaign manager, said Tuesday that he hopes Trump finally realizes that the hacking that happened during the election is an anti-American problem, not a partisan one, and needs to be investigated so it does not become a regular part of the political process.

The problem at its core is that a country that our own Joint Chiefs of Staff said was our greatest enemy and greatest threat to our security stole information from one of our national political parties and used it against one of the candidates, Mook said, referring to Russia. Do I believe that this is going to come back to haunt the Republicans? Absolutely, I do.

Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.
President Trump ended a circuitous search for the governments top advocate before the Supreme Court by nominating Washington lawyer Noel J. Francisco as the next solicitor general.

Francisco had originally been named as the No. 2 in the solicitor generals office, which represents the federal government in appellate courts. He might be best known as the lawyer who represented former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell last year when the Supreme Court unanimously overturned McDonnells conviction on corruption charges.

[Supreme Court overturns McDonnells conviction]

The solicitor general is considered to be one of the nations best legal jobs, and the occupant is often referred to as the 10th justice. (Although Justice Elena Kagan, who held the job under President Barack Obama, joked that the court considered her more like the 37th clerk.)

Although the legal world is intensely interested in the solicitor generals job, Franciscos nomination was announced Tuesday night in a White House news release along with other nominations. The job requires Senate confirmation.

The small but elite solicitor generals office is staffed mostly by career attorneys, with only two political appointees. People familiar with the plan said Jeffrey B. Wall, a veteran of the office who now works for the firm Sullivan & Cromwell, will assume Franciscos role as principal deputy.

After Trumps election, Francisco was among a number of conservative lawyers considered for the post.

According to lawyers who followed the process, representatives of the Trump transition approached U.S. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit  an influential judicial voice on the right  to see whether he would be interested in the job. Apparently, the discussion of whether Kavanaugh would be willing to leave his lifetime appointment to the bench did not advance very far.

For a time, there appeared to be two front-runners. One was George T. Conway III, a New York lawyer who received high marks from those in the Supreme Court bar and who is also married to Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. The other was Charles Cooper, a Washington legal fixture and confidant of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Cooper pulled out of consideration, and the Trump administration expanded its search.

Francisco, meanwhile, has been in the office since January in the principal deputys job, and serving as the acting solicitor general. But he has had to recuse himself from some of the most important cases, such as the legal battle over Trumps first travel ban executive order, because his law firm Jones Day represented parties in the dispute.

Francisco is a former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, and keeps a bobblehead figure of the former justice on his desk. Like other now powerful figures  Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) among them  Francisco was part of the team that represented President George W. Bush in the 2000 Florida presidential election recount.

From 2001 to 2003, Francisco served as associate counsel to the president, and from 2003 to 2005 he was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel.

He was raised in Oswego, N.Y., and both his undergraduate and law degrees are from the University of Chicago.

Besides his win in the McDonnell case, Francisco has argued two other times at the Supreme Court. In Zubik v. Burwell, he represented religiously affiliated organizations that said providing contraception services for their female employees would implicate them in sin. They said the accommodation offered by the Obama administration was not adequate. The eight-member court split on the case and sent it back to lower courts.

Francisco also successfully challenged the Obama administrations view of the presidents recess appointment power in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning.

One complication to Franciscos nomination may be a law that limits the presidents ability to nominate a person to a job in which he already serves in an acting capacity.

But there appear to be ways around the restriction. According to sources, Wall will start at the solicitor generals office Friday, and Francisco will move to another job in the Justice Department while he prepares for his confirmation hearing.
People stop to read messages written by protesters posted on a wall outside the official opening of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver late last month. (Darryl Dyck/Associated Press)

A trio of watchdog groups has asked the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York to investigate whether President Trump has received payments or other benefits from foreign governments through his business interests in violation of an obscure clause in the U.S. Constitution.

The request, sent by letter Wednesday morning to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, is a novel strategy by ethics critics who have been pressing Trump to comply with the Constitutions emoluments clause, which prohibits top officials from receiving payments or favors from foreign governments. Trumps business empire stretches across the globe. The letter was sent six weeks after one of the groups filed a lawsuit in federal district court making a similar claim.

Trump has said he addressed ethics concerns by turning over management of his business to his adult sons, whove said they have separated the family business from their relationship with their father and the U.S. government.

There are lines we would never cross, Eric Trump told The Washington Post in a recent interview, and thats mixing business with anything government.

[Meet Trumps unorthodox overseas business partners]

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

On Wednesday, the White House referred questions to the Trump Organization, where attorney Alan Garten dismissed the letter as factually inaccurate, legally erroneous and politically motivated.

Although the president has relinquished day-to-day management of his businesses, his critics say his continued ownership interest means he effectively receives benefits from foreign entities, in violation of the Constitution. The ethics advocates, mostly Democrats, have held news conferences and filed a lawsuit. Now they are asking one of the countrys leading federal prosecutors for help.

We call on you as the United States Attorney for the jurisdiction where The Trump Organization is located to exercise your responsibility to investigate and take appropriate action to ensure that the Trump Organization and related Trump business enterprises do not receive payments and financial benefits from foreign governments that benefit President Trump, the letter said. It is signed by Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, bipartisan leaders of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington organization (CREW), and Paul Smith of the Campaign Legal Center.

[Trump sons, planning expansion of family business, look to leverage campaign experience]

It cannot be the case that the president can flagrantly violate the Constitution and get away with it, said Norman L. Eisen, who served as ethics counsel under President Barack Obama. Eisen, who signed the letter as chairman of CREW, acknowledged that asking a U.S. attorney to investigate a matter involving a sitting president is unusual. But, he said, having a president with these conflicts is also unprecedented. The letter is also signed by CREWs vice chair, Richard Painter, who served as ethics counsel to President George W. Bush.

In January, CREW filed suit against Trump in federal district court arguing that his continued receipt of payments from foreign entities violated the Constitutions emoluments clause. Trumps reply in that case is due April 1. Eisen said the request to the U.S. attorney should not be seen as a sign that the suit will not move forward. We believe our complaint in the judicial branch should not exclude review by the other branches of government, he said, citing the importance of the emoluments restriction.

That clause says that no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. It was written in to Article I out of concern that the fledgling countrys leaders could be influenced by a wealthy European power.

[China grants preliminary approval to 38 new Trump trademarks]

The meaning of the clause has not been rigorously tested. The watchdog groups say the text should be interpreted to mean that Trumps businesses should cease commercial transactions with foreign states.

The letter notes that China recently granted Trump a trademark for building construction services. It also points out that tenants of Trump Tower in New York include a Chinese bank and the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, and that the Trump hotel in Washington has been courting business from foreign diplomats. The document notes that Trumps business entities have plans to build luxury hotels in China, and that it is also engaged in real estate and licensing projects in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Taiwan and Turkey.

We believe the Justice Department has a broad mandate to ensure compliance with provisions of the Constitution that relate to Federal officeholders, the letter said.

The letter noted testimony of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in his confirmation hearings. Sessions stated that although he was not aware of a federal law that directly charges the Justice Department with enforcing the emoluments clause, he recognized that the Justice Department has the responsibility to ensure that officeholders comply with their constitutional obligations.

Wertheimer said that the request was made because he sees a powerful record that President Trump is receiving benefits that do not comply with the emoluments clause. He and other signers said Bharara was chosen in part because he is known for fierce independence. Since he was appointed in 2009 he has investigated New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, both Democrats. Although Bharara was appointed by Obama, Trump met with him after the election and asked him to stay on as U.S. attorney.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a news conference on the sidelines of the fifth session of the 12th National Peoples Congress in Beijing on March 8. (Wu Hong/European Pressphoto Agency)

Chinas foreign minister has a plan to ease tensions in East Asia: North Korea should stop testing missiles, and the United States and South Korea should stop joint military exercises, he said Wednesday.

The comment was delivered at a news conference in Beijing two days after North Korea test-fired four missiles and the United States and South Korea began deploying a new missile defense system that Beijing opposes, raising regional tension and renewing questions about Asia policy under President Trump.

Chinas suggestion is, as a first step, for North Korea to suspend nuclear activity, and for the U.S. and South Korea to also suspend large-scale military drills, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. This, he said, could get all sides back to the negotiating table.

Wang warned that the United States and North Korea appear headed for a collision. The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way, he said.

The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains.

(Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

[Chinas anger over U.S. antimissile system poses challenge to Trump]

What Wang proposed Wednesday is not new. North Korea has pitched suspension for suspension many times, and the United States has balked.

But this is the first time it has been raised under Trump, presenting some new possibilities, said John Delury, an assistant professor at Seouls Yonsei University.

We dont know what Trump is going to do about North Korea, Delury said. There is a policy review underway now, and it looks like all options are on the table.

At the heart of all this is a question about Beijings role in relations among China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and the United States, particularly as Washington charts a new foreign policy under Trump.

In February, North Korea tested a solid-fuel rocket that it claimed was part of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States. The country was then linked to the killing, in Malaysia, of ruler Kim Jong Uns half brother, Kim Jong Nam, who had been under Chinese protection.

On Monday, as Chinas National Peoples Congress opened in Beijing and U.S.-South Korea military exercises got underway, Pyongyang launched four missiles  target practice, it said.

All sides have condemned North Koreas actions. What they cannot agree on is what to do next.

China says the conflict should be solved by the United States and North Korea  the speeding trains themselves. But Washington has long argued that the conflict cannot be resolved without more help from China, North Koreas last real ally.

North Korea and China were once as close as lips and teeth, as communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong put it. Although they are still technically allies  Wang resurrected Maos lips and teeth line Wednesday  China is frustrated by North Koreas nuclear theatrics and exhausted by its economic woes.

After Februarys rocket launch, Beijing closed loopholes in an existing effort to curb North Korean coal imports, a sector seen as a financial lifeline for Kims regime.

Chinese experts insist that Beijing has few remaining options when it comes to Pyongyang, mostly because North Korea sees the development of its nuclear program as the only way to protect against the United States  the North would rather have no coal, or no cash, than cease to exist, the theory goes.

Even if China stops oil aid to North Korea, it will still not give up developing nuclear weapons, said Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. We cut off coal imports from North Korea, and its economy was affected. However, North Korea can have nothing, and it will still believe it needs nuclear weapons to stop the U.S.

Indeed, despite their many differences, Beijing and Pyongyang share a belief that the presence of U.S. troops in South Korea is the root of regional conflict  a view highlighted this week when China lashed out at the United States and South Korea over the deployment of a new antimissile system.

The United States and South Korea say the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is necessary to shoot down North Korean missiles. China believes it could be used to spy on Chinese airspace and has called the project a strategic plot.

Although Trumps precise plans are unknown, his previous comments on North Korea suggest that he thinks it is up to China to play a bigger role. The THAAD deployment, however, could make it tougher to get Beijing on board.

Experts said Trump seems unlikely, for now, to accept Wangs proposal. There is very little possibility that they will get back to talks, said Zhang Liangui, a North Korea expert at the Communist Partys Central Party School.

That means the next move will probably come from Washington  and depend on Trump. We just hope that the U.S. can solve this, Zhang said.

Congcong Zhang and Jin Xin contributed to this report.

Read more:

North Korea tests four more missiles  and Chinas patience

Why China is so mad about a missile defense system aimed at North Korea

China suspends North Korean coal imports, striking regimes lifeline

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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A convoy of U.S. armored vehicles drives near a village on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Manbij, on March 5. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)

The U.S. military is getting drawn into a deepening struggle for control over areas liberated from the Islamic State that risks prolonging American involvement in wars in Syria and Iraq long after the militants are defeated.

In their first diversion from the task of fighting the Islamic State since the U.S. militarys involvement began in 2014, U.S. troops dispatched to Syria have headed in recent days to the northern town of Manbij, 85 miles northwest of the extremists capital, Raqqa, to protect their Kurdish and Arab allies against a threatened assault by other U.S. allies in a Turkish-backed force.

Russian troops have also shown up in Manbij under a separate deal that was negotiated without the input of the United States, according to U.S. officials. Under the deal, Syrian troops are to be deployed in the area, also in some form of peacekeeping role, setting up what is effectively a scramble by the armies of four nations to carve up a collection of mostly empty villages in a remote corner of Syria.

The latest twist in Syrias ever more complicated war points to one of the many risks of a U.S. strategy that has prioritized the military defeat of the Islamic State at the expense of political solutions to the broader conflicts fueling instability in the wider region, analysts say.

Photographs and videos posted on social media in recent days have shown convoys of U.S. troops, including Stryker armored vehicles and Humvees, heading through the northern Syrian countryside flying big Stars and Stripes flags. They have taken up positions in the villages north and west of Manbij, where U.S.-allied Arab forces backed by Kurds have been fighting for more than a week against U.S.-allied Arab forces backed by Turkey, according to U.S. and local officials.

The public display, unusual for a small U.S. presence of mostly Special Operations troops officially numbering just 503, is deliberate, a Pentagon spokesman, Capt. Jeff Davis, told reporters this week. We want to have a visible show that were there, he said, adding that the goal is to urge all parties to stay focused on the common enemy, which is ISIS.

Other wars are brewing elsewhere across the vast areas freed so far from Islamic State control, in Iraq as well as Syria. In recent days, the United States has been mediating between rival Kurdish factions in Iraq, both of them indirectly allied to the United States in the fight against the Islamic State, after clashes erupted around the northwestern town of Snune, freed from the Islamic State more than two years ago.

Manbij is the first instance, however, in which U.S. troops have become directly involved in keeping rival factions apart. The Pentagon has described their mission as one to reassure and deter local parties from attacking one another, a new role for the U.S. military in the Islamic State war, and one that could set a trend for the remaining cities to be conquered.

The deployment is fraught with risk, said Robert Ford, who served as the Obama administrations last ambassador to Syria until 2014. He is now with the Washington-based Middle East Institute and teaches at Yale University.

Thats not a small policy change. It is a huge policy change, he said. We have never in our Syrian policy ever put U.S. personnel in between warring Syrian factions or to maintain a local cease-fire.

The deployment does not appear to signal a departure from the Obama administrations policy of relying on Syrian Kurds and their Arab allies to fight the Islamic State in Syria, he said. The Trump administration has not announced the result of a review of the Obama administrations policy for fighting the Islamic State, but U.S. officials have indicated that although it may involve more U.S. troops, it wont diverge significantly from the original plan to rely on a force dominated by Syrian Kurds to continue the fight against the militants in Syria.

In pursuit of the plan, the Pentagon said Wednesday that U.S. Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit have arrived in Syria to set up an artillery base, marking the first officially announced deployment of conventional U.S. troops in Syria.

The Manbij confusion does, however, point to the contradictions of a strategy that has focused on arming local factions to take on the Islamic State without regard to existing rivalries, said Aaron Stein of the Washington-based Atlantic Council. Military officials in Washington are just laserlike focused on ISIS, he said. All this other stuff is on the back burner.

The defeat of the Islamic State in Manbij last August offered an example of the complications likely to arise. Hailed as a significant military victory over the militants, the capture of Manbij cut the road between their capital in Raqqa and the Turkish border and paved the way for the ongoing, four-month-old offensive led by Kurdish forces to isolate Raqqa from the surrounding countryside.

It also, however, left the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, in control of Manbij, in contravention of assurances the United States had offered to Turkey that the group would withdraw after the town was captured. Turkey objects to the YPGs expanding presence in northern Syria because of its close ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has been waging a three-decade insurgency inside Turkey. Manbijs strategic location west of the Euphrates River gave the Kurds a significant beachhead from which to advance the borders of the autonomous region they are creating in northern Syria.

Within weeks of the battles conclusion, Turkish troops crossed the border into Syria, with U.S. support, saying they wanted to join the fight against the Islamic State but also to push back against the Kurds. Advances by Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies culminated in the confrontations around Manbij over the past week between the U.S.-backed fighters on opposite sides of the Kurdish-Turkish divide.

The Manbij deployment has not yet affected U.S. plans for taking Raqqa, Davis said. But it does raise new questions about the viability of the U.S. plan to capture Raqqa, an overwhelmingly Arab city, by a force that is commanded mostly by Kurds.

To alleviate Turkish concerns about the U.S. relationship with the Syrian Kurds, the U.S. military has created a parallel, Arab force called the Syrian Democratic Forces that is allied with the Kurdish YPG but comprises recruits drawn from local Arab populations. U.S. Special Operations troops have now trained thousands of Arab recruits, who are expected to be put on the front lines of the eventual battle for Raqqa.

The SDF is also the force that negotiated the deal with Russia to have Syrian troops police the front line between the rival Manbij fighters  without U.S. input, according to U.S. officials.

That has fueled concerns among some of the Arab fighters recruited by the United States that their participation in the force will result in turning over areas they fight for back to the Syrian government, said Ahmed Mohammed of the Syrian Institute for Justice, who is from Manbij and has relatives in the city. Though SDF leaders owe loyalty to the Kurdish YPG, many rank-and-file fighters once belonged to the Syrian rebel groups that originally ousted the Syrian government from Manbij in the early years of the war, and they dont want a deal that would bring the government back into the area, he said.

The fighters have a lot of worry, but they dont have any power, he said. Its a big mess, and we are scared about the future of the people living in Manbij.

Meanwhile, the U.S. presence in the area does not appear to have ended the fighting. Battles continued west of Manbij on Wednesday, according to both sides. A video posted on social media Wednesday morning showed U.S.-armed Arab fighters allied to the Kurds using an antitank missile to destroy a military vehicle belonging to the Arab fighters allied to Turkey. Though the provenance of the missile could not be ascertained, U.S. officials have confirmed that they began providing antitank missiles to the SDF late last year.

This war is just so messy, Stein said. If were going to go into Syria and fight the Islamic State, were going to create a whole lot of wreckage. Weve interjected ourselves into a multisided war.

Correction: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect first name for Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis.

Missy Ryan and Karen DeYoung in Washington, Heba Habib in Stockholm and Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul contributed to this report.

Read more

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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WikiLeaks said it obtained an alleged arsenal of hacking tools the CIA has used to spy on espionage targets. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

The FBI has begun preparing for a major mole hunt to determine how anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks got an alleged arsenal of hacking tools the CIA has used to spy on espionage targets, according to people familiar with the matter.

The leak rattled government and technology industry officials, who spent Tuesday scrambling to determine the accuracy and scope of the thousands of documents released by the group. They were also trying to assess the damage the revelations may cause, and what damage may come from future releases promised by WikiLeaks, these people said.

It was all a familiar scenario for a government that has repeatedly seen sensitive information compromised in recent years.

In the wake of revelations from Army private Chelsea Manning and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, officials sought to tighten security procedures, and federal agents came under greater pressure to find and prevent secrets from spilling out of the government.

But cracks keep appearing in the system. Last year, the FBI arrested Harold T. Martin III, an NSA contractor who took home documents detailing some of the agencys most sensitive offensive cyberweapons. Some of those files later appeared online, although investigators are still trying to determine Martins role, if any, in that part of the case.

(Dalton Bennett,Greg Miller/The Washington Post)

He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he violated the Espionage Act. Officials call the Martin case the largest theft of classified information in U.S. history.

Now, less than a year after the Martin case, U.S. intelligence agencies are rushing to determine whether they again have suffered an embarrassing compromise at the hands of one of their own.

Anybody who thinks that the Manning and Snowden problems were one-offs is just dead wrong, said Joel Brenner, former head of U.S. counterintelligence at the office of the Director of National Intelligence. Ben Franklin said three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead. If secrets are shared on systems in which thousands of people have access to them, that may really not be a secret anymore. This problem is not going away, and its a condition of our existence.

In Silicon Valley, industry figures said they received no heads-up from the government or the hacking community that such a move by WikiLeaks was in the works. By midday Tuesday, industry officials said they still had not heard from the FBI.

It wasnt immediately clear if the CIA had sent a crimes report to the Justice Department  a formal mechanism alerting law enforcement of a potentially damaging and illegal national security leak. Such a report would offer the FBI a road map for where to begin investigating, and whom to question.

The FBI and CIA both declined to comment.

Once investigators verify the accuracy of the WikiLeaks documents, a key question to answer is who had access to the information, according to veterans of past leak probes. The FBI has spent years investigating WikiLeaks, and authorities are eager to figure out whether it has recruited a new, well-placed source from the U.S. government.

In releasing thousands of pages of documents, WikiLeaks indicated that its source was a former government employee or contractor.

This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA, WikiLeaks said in announcing the first release of documents. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.

One former intelligence official said if that claim is accurate, theres going to be another major mole hunt . . . If this is all correct, its a big deal.

A key distinction for investigators will be whether WikiLeaks reveals the actual computer code  or enough details about such code  that others can develop and deploy some of the hacking tools, according to current and former officials.

The security failures highlighted by damaging leaks from Snowden and Manning have proven difficult to address.

Manning was arrested in Iraq in May 2010 after transmitting documents to WikiLeaks that came to be known as the Iraq and Afghanistan War Logs. She also leaked a video showing a U.S. Apache helicopter in Baghdad opening fire on a group of people that the crew thought were insurgents. Among the dead were two journalists who worked for Reuters. She also leaked documents pertaining to Guantanamo Bay prisoners, as well as 250,000 State Department cables.

In response to the Manning case, the Obama administration created the National Insider Threat Task Force, designed to teach and train government workers and contractors to spot potential leakers.

Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, came out as transgender after her 2013 conviction. In the waning days of his presidency, Barack Obama commuted her 35-year prison sentence, and she is due to be released in coming months.

The post-Manning efforts did not stop Snowden from taking reams of data about sensitive bulk intelligence collection in 2013 and giving the material to reporters. Those revelations, including a court document showing how the government gathered Americans phone records, sparked years of political debate about privacy and government surveillance in the digital age.

Snowden has remained out of reach of the U.S. government, living in Russia.

Brenner, the former counterintelligence official, said the net effect of the new leaks could be very dangerous to us, because they accelerate the leveling of the playing field between the United States and its adversaries in cyberspace.

The bigger lesson of the newest leak, Brenner argued, is that U.S. pursuit of dominance in cyberspace may actually be destabilizing over the long run. That is a very unsettling debate for our military and our intelligence services, but I think its coming, he said.

Snowden also weighed in regarding the alleged CIA documents, tweeting: What @Wikileaks has here is genuinely a big deal. Looks authentic.
The Trump administration, searching for money to build the presidents planned multibillion-dollar border wall and crack down on illegal immigration, is weighing significant cuts to the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and other agencies focused on national security threats, according to a draft plan.

The proposal, drawn up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also would slash the budget of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides disaster relief after hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. The Coast Guards $9.1 billion budget in 2017 would be cut 14 percent to about $7.8 billion, while the TSA and FEMA budgets would be reduced about 11 percent each to $4.5 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively.

The cuts are proposed even as the planned budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees all of them, grows 6.4 percent to $43.8 billion, according to the plan, which was obtained by The Washington Post. Some $2.9 billion of that would go to building the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, with $1.9 billion funding immigration detention beds and other Immigration and Customs Enforcement expenses and $285 million set aside to hire 500 more Border Patrol agents and 1,000 more ICE agents and support staffers.

The plan puts the administration in the unusual position of trading spending on security programs for other security priorities at the southern border, raising questions among Republican lawmakers and homeland-security experts.

The Budget prioritizes DHS law enforcement operations, proposes critical investments in front line border security and funds continued development of robust cybersecurity defenses, the draft said. The Budget aggressively implements the Presidents commitment to construct a physical wall along the southern border.

Transportation Security Administration screeners using a millimeter wave device to scan Amtrak passengers at Washingtons Union Station in 2007. (Susan Biddle/The Washington Post)

Overall, funding for ICE would grow about 36 percent to $7.9 billion, while the budget for Customs and Border Protection would increase 27 percent to $14.2 billion.

Michael Short, a White House spokesman, cautioned Tuesday that the Trump administration is still early in the process of working on the budget, which the administration will send to Congress later this month. He and a DHS spokesman, David Lapan, referred other questions to the OMB, which did not respond to requests for comment.

Trying to draw conclusions this early would be extremely premature, Short said.

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R.-Calif.), who supported Donald Trumps run for president and oversees the House Transportation subcommittee on the Coast Guard and maritime transportation, questioned whether OMB officials are on the same page as President Trump, citing the sea services roles in stopping illegal immigration and the flow of drugs into the United States from South America.

OMB has always treated the Coast Guard like a little piggy bank that they can go after whenever they need money for anything else, Hunter said. If the president is serious about getting after the cartels and getting after drug networks, this makes no sense.

[5 challenges Trump may face building a border wall]

The Coast Guard cutter Polar Star rests by a dock in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 12. (Audrey McAvoy/AP)

The Coast Guard cuts include deactivating Maritime Security Response Teams, which carry out counterterrorism patrols in ports and sensitive waterways, and canceling a contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries to build a ninth national security cutter, with a potential savings of $500 million.

Rick Ozzie Nelson, a former Navy helicopter pilot and national security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the decisions would effectively sideline the service in missions in which it could be the most effective.

If theyre not there to do it, who is there to do it? Nelson said of port security. Were not going to put destroyers and frigates off the coast to protect those ports. Thats a Coast Guard mission and capability.

At the TSA, the proposed budget cuts, first detailed by Politico, would eliminate four programs that cost the agency $187 million. The programs have been considered a vital piece of airport security and for preventing a repetition of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings after planes are aloft.

Training for what is known as the armed pilot program, begun after 9/11, would be eliminated at a savings of $20 million. The training was intended to prepare pilots and crews for an attempted armed takeover of an aircraft.

If you were on one of the four hijacked planes on 9/11, youd sure say it was important, said former TSA administrator John S. Pistole. To me, its a relatively small investment for the potential for the risk-mitigation value. Its all about how much risk do you want to take on. I would advocate for a reduction in that program but not elimination.

An additional $57 million would be saved by cutting a program that sends armed teams of highly trained, uniformed agents to sweep airports, train stations and bus terminals. Commonly known as the VIPR teams (for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response), they were deployed to Reagan National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, Amtraks Union Station and D.C.-area subway stations to guard against terrorist attacks during Trumps inauguration.

The $45 million in grants that local law enforcement uses to patrol in and around airports also would be eliminated.

The fourth program slated for elimination uses specially trained TSA agents to watch passenger behavior in airports, and particularly as fliers approach checkpoints, to single out those who appear to behave oddly.

The budget proposal said $65 million also could be saved by eliminating that Behavior Detection Officer program. The value of the program was questioned by the Government Accountability Office in a 2013 report, but Pistole, who then headed the TSA, responded that it provided a crucial layer of security that brought 2,116 passengers to the attention of law enforcement in 2012, resulting in 30 boarding denials and 183 arrests.

At FEMA, a corner of the federal government whose budgets were beefed up after the 2001 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, the proposed cuts would slash some programs whose effectiveness has long come under criticism. Research into bio-surveillance threats and other research and development work that gets tens of millions of dollars in federal funding a year would take a 28 percent hit, examples of programs the budget proposal describes as having failed to show meaningful results.

But the spending plan  which could cut $361 million from FEMAs $3.5 billion budget  also eliminates or reduces the federal commitment to helping states and local governments prepare for natural disasters through training, salaries and benefits for staff, coordination and state-of the-art equipment. These grants help communities prepare for emergencies so that local and state governments can coordinate and respond quickly.

Other programs would require localities and states to contribute a greater share than they do now.

[Trump to propose 10 percent spike in defense spending, major cuts to other agencies]

Emergency management officials noted that FEMA has for years promoted and refined a national response system that requires local communities to follow the same emergency response strategies. The cuts would undermine that progress, they said, and result in a less sophisticated response to emergencies.

When you propose not just cuts but draconian cuts, your ability to respond to a disaster can cause lives to be lost and property to be damaged, said Nick Crossley, emergency-management director in Hamilton County, Ohio, and first vice president of the International Association of Emergency Managers, which represents 4,000 local officials across the country.

He said pouring the money saved from FEMA into border security would be catastrophic.

Defense and security at the border are important, he said. But youre damaging the national system that makes us the strongest country when it comes to being prepared for disasters.

Homeowners in flood-prone areas of the country also would be levied a surcharge on their flood insurance, according to the document, although the OMB has been asked to come up with a plan to limit the extra payment for homeowners with lower-value homes.

Read more:

What it will take for President Trump to deport millions and build the wall

Interactive graphic: Explore the U.S.-Mexico border wall

DHS is considering separating mothers and children who cross the border illegally
In this image taken from a video, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, reacts during the launch of four missiles. (KRT via Associated Press video)

The Trump administration turned up rhetorical pressure on North Korea on Tuesday, calling it an isolated and dangerous threat and underscoring the countrys commitment to defend Asian allies President Trump had criticized as free riders during the presidential campaign.

At the White House, press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump had assured leaders of Japan and South Korea, during phone calls Monday, of the ironclad commitment to stand with Japan and South Korea in the face of the serious threat posed by North Korea.

At the State Department, a spokesman used the first public press briefing since the administration took office to label North Korea a pariah and announce that the reclusive regime would be a central topic for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a trip to China, Japan and South Korea starting next week.

Obviously given North Koreas continuing provocative behavior and actions, the U.S. is actively engaged with its partners and allies in the region to address the threat posed by North Koreas weapons programs, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

The Trump administration canceled plans for unofficial talks between U.S. and North Korean representatives in New York this month, ending at least for now a back channel that has been used in the past to try to reassure Pyongyang that the United States does not plan to attack.

North Korea fired a ballistic missile last month in what was widely seen as a test of U.S. resolve, and on Monday fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japans northwest coast.

Given North Koreas recent behavior, were not at the point where were looking at direct engagement with them. Were not rewarding that behavior in any way, shape or form, Toner said.

Theyre increasingly becoming a pariah through this kind of behavior, Toner said. Were pursuing tougher and tougher sanctions, but were also looking at other means to make that message clear to them.

The White House is considering tougher missile defense systems as part of an ongoing review of diplomatic and military policy surrounding North Korea. The study was among the first undertaken by the new administration, which considers North Korean nuclear weapons capability a primary threat.

The Trump administration had shelved the regular daily State Department briefings in part to consolidate control of U.S. policy at the White House. The absence was one of the most visible signals that the Trump administration might try to reduce the role of the State Department in foreign policy and national security decisionmaking.

Tillersons upcoming trip sends mixed signals about his own profile and priorities in a new administration whose every move is scrutinized by foreign capitals for clues to U.S. plans and policy.

He will reaffirm the U.S. military pledge to defend Japan and South Korea, a bedrock of U.S. nuclear policy in Asia for decades that Trump had questioned as a candidate. He will reiterate to China that the United States is not planning to upend the separate decades-old One China policy governing Taiwan, which China considers a province.

But Tillerson is traveling without the usual symbolism of the big blue and white United States of America plane past secretaries of state have routinely used, and without the usual U.S. press corps. The State Department has said only that a smaller plane is more convenient and reliable, and that there is not room to bring reporters.

In China, where Tillerson will be first senior Trump administration official to visit, he will try to enlist greater Chinese help in deterring North Korea while calming Chinese government anger over the U.S. deployment of an anti-missile system to South Korea.

Chinese opposition to a system it sees as a potential threat could undermine Beijings willingness to lean on North Korea. Chinese economic and diplomatic influence is considered essential to reining in North Korea, which sees the United States as its principal enemy.

China threatened necessary measures to safeguard our own security in response to deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system. THAAD stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.

Weve been very clear that a decision to deploy THAAD is as a defensive measure, in order to protect not only South Korea, but also our military who is stationed in South Korea, Toner said.
A Yemeni man inspects a destroyed house after an alleged airstrike by the Saudi-led military coalition on a funeral reception on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on Feb. 16, 2017. (Yahya Arhab/European Pressphoto Agency)

The State Department has approved a resumption of weapons sales that critics have linked to Saudi Arabias bombing of civilians in Yemen, a potential sign of reinvigorated U.S. support for the kingdoms involvement in its neighbors ongoing civil war.

The proposal from the State Department would reverse a decision made late in the Obama administration to suspend the sale of precision guided munitions to Riyadh, which leads a mostly Arab coalition conducting airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Secretary of State Rex Tillersons approval this week of the measure, which officials say needs White House backing to go into effect, provides an early indication of the new administrations more Saudi-friendly approach to the conflict in Yemen and a sign of its more hawkish stance on Iran.

It also signals a break with an approach the previous administration hoped would limit civilian deaths in a conflict that has pushed Yemen to the brink of widespread famine but that Persian Gulf ally Saudi Arabia has cast as a battle against the spread of Iranian influence across the Middle East.

The move takes place as the Trump administration considers its approach to the Yemeni war, which has pitted U.S.- and Saudi-backed Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi against an alliance of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh and Shiite Houthi rebels. Officials in Riyadh allege that the Houthis have received substantial support from Saudi Arabias main regional rival, Iran.

While the U.S. military has provided support to the Saudi-led air campaign since 2015, including aerial refueling for Saudi jets and a U.S. advisory mission in the Saudi operations headquarters, the Obama administration sought to scale back that support last year amid alleged Saudi strikes on civilian targets.

Despite Saudi hopes that the conflict would quickly restore Hadi to power, it is now approaching its third year. As of January, the conflict had led to the deaths of at least 10,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.

It has become a quagmire in which we were deeply involved but had very little influence, said Tom Malinowski, who served as the top human rights official at the State Department under President Barack Obama. That was not a good deal for the United States.

Pressure increased on the Obama administration in October, when Saudi jets attacked a Yemeni funeral hall, killing more than 100 people. At the end of a review prompted by that strike, the Obama White House made the decision to halt the planned sale of roughly $390 million worth of precision munitions guidance systems to the kingdom.

[With some changes, U.S. maintains military aid to Saudi Arabia despite rebukes over Yemen carnage]

At the same time, officials reaffirmed other kinds of military support, part of a carrot-and-stick approach reflecting U.S. eagerness to smooth things over with a crucial Middle Eastern ally that was sharply critical of Obamas nuclear deal with Iran.

Now, President Trump, who has also voiced opposition to the nuclear deal, has an opportunity to recalibrate that support and reset ties with Riyadh.

An ongoing Yemen policy review is also a chance for Trump to demonstrate a tougher approach to Iran and its activities throughout the Middle East. Trump and some of his top advisers, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have called Tehran a chief threat to American security.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the Trump administration hopes to roll back Iranian influence in large part in Yemen.

Well be looking for ways to blunt Iranian malign influence in the region. And well be looking for all the tools that the U.S. government has, the official said. In that context, I think you have to look at Yemen.

Trump has already supported the expansion of a separate military campaign in Yemen, one that U.S. forces are now waging against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a potent militant group that has grown stronger amid Yemens instability.

It is not yet known how the new administration will approach the beleaguered Yemen peace process, one that Tillersons predecessor, John F. Kerry, tried unsuccessfully to push toward a Saudi-Houthi deal.

If the United States still hopes to help broker a nonmilitary end to the conflict, it is critical that it draws bright distinctions between our counter-AQAP efforts in southern Yemen, the delivery of new [arms], and the coalitions efforts in Yemen, said Eric Pelofsky, who served as senior director for North Africa and Yemen in the Obama White House, cautioning that the precision weapons and the expanding counterterrorism effort could be conflated with actions by the Saudi-led coalition the United States may or may not support.

Gerald M. Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, said that allowing Saudi Arabia to purchase the precision weapons would make sense. My own view is that we should be able to sell these, said Feierstein, who now directs the Center for Gulf Affairs at the Middle East Institute.

Feierstein and other advocates of the sale argue that precision munitions are preferable to unguided or dumb bombs and are less likely to cause civilian casualties when used properly.

We should provide more help, more support, to get them to stop doing stupid things, Feierstein said. We should not cut off all the tools that would enable them to do this the right way.

[Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children are nearing starvation]

U.S. officials disagree over whether the weapons and greater hands-on support for the Saudi air campaign would result in diminished danger to civilians, arguing that the larger problem has been Riyadhs choice of targets.

Urging the Saudis to end the war while continuing to provide the weapons theyre using is like trying to persuade a friend not to rob a bank while driving his getaway car, Malinowski said.

The decision last year to suspend the sale of the weapons did not mean that Saudi Arabia, which officials said has a stockpile of those arms, was forced to switch immediately to unguided munitions.

A spokesman for the Saudi military coalition did not respond to a request for comment.

If the White House gives its blessing to the new State Department position, the administration would then notify Congress about its intent to move forward with the sale. It could encounter resistance on Capitol Hill.

If you are interested in radicalizing the Yemeni population against the United States and pushing them into al-Qaedas arms, then continue to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). The Saudis are deliberately going after civilian targets.

Last fall, Murphy was the co-sponsor of a measure that would have blocked a separate sale of Abrams main battle tanks to Saudi Arabia. While the measure did not pass, it was a rare public sign of frustration with an allied nation that has been an important customer for U.S. defense companies.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), another critic of U.S. policy on Yemen, said that a proposed sale without proof of altered conditions in the protracted conflict would face vociferous, bipartisan opposition in Congress.

Greg Jaffe and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.
A federal judge in Hawaii will hear arguments on whether to block President Trumps revised executive order barring the issuance of new visas to citizens of six Muslim-majority countries the day before the measure is set to take effect.

U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson scheduled a hearing for March 15 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time to hear arguments on the state of Hawaiis latest legal challenge to the order.

Hawaii late Wednesday formally filed its lawsuit asking Watson to block the executive order.

The 38-page complaint asserts that the new executive order  much like the old  violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment because it is essentially a Muslim ban, hurts the ability of state businesses and universities to recruit top talent and damages the financial interests of the state, which considers tourism its lead economic driver.

[Hawaii plans to sue to block new Trump travel ban]

President Trumps new Executive Order is antithetical to Hawaiis State identity and spirit, lawyers for the state wrote. For many in Hawaii, including State officials, the Executive Order conjures up the memory of the Chinese Exclusion Acts and the imposition of martial law and Japanese internment after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Trumps new travel ban is substantially revised from its original version, and those who sue over it will probably have a harder time getting it immediately frozen by the courts. They will have to convince judges that there is an urgent need to do so and that, in the long term, Trump will probably be found to have run afoul of the First Amendment.

The new order reduces the list of affected countries from seven to six  removing Iraq while keeping Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Syria. It explicitly exempts legal permanent residents and current visa holders, blocking only the issuance of new visas for citizens of the affected countries for 90 days.

It also spells out a lengthy list of people who may be eligible for exceptions, including those previously admitted to the United States for a continuous period of work, study, or other long-term activity; those with significant business or professional obligations; and those seeking to visit or live with family.

The new order keeps intact a 120-day suspension of the refugee program, and it declares that the United States will not accept more than 50,000 refugees in fiscal 2017, down from the 110,000 cap set by the Obama administration. It will take effect March 16 unless a court intervenes before then.

[What Trump changed in the new travel ban]

In its lawsuit, Hawaii argues that foreign residents and travelers contribute substantially to the functioning of the state, and blocking even the issuance of new visas would have a major impact. State lawyers wrote that Hawaii is home to 12,000 foreign students, and at least 27 graduate students are from the seven countries affected by the original ban.

In 2016, lawyers for the state wrote, Hawaiis foreign students contributed more than $400 million to Hawaiis economy with tuition and fees, living expenses and other activities. The lawyers also said that tourism was a driver of Hawaiis economy, and that 8.7 million visitors accounted for $15 billion in spending in 2015.

[Trumps new travel ban raises the same Silicon Valley objections]

As others did with the first travel ban, Hawaii is still pointing to campaign trail comments by Trump indicating that he wanted to impose a blanket ban on Muslims as evidence that the order violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. U.S. officials have disputed that characterization.

Justice Department lawyers have asserted that a short-term freeze is especially unnecessary, because the new ban only applies to the issuance of new visas, a process that can take months.

In its court filing, the state pointed to the case of Ismail Elshikh, the imam of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, whose mother-in-laws application for an immigrant visa was still being processed. Under the new executive order, lawyers for Hawaii said, Elshikh feared that his mother-in-law would ultimately be banned from entering the United States.

That could be true, and Elshikh, a U.S. citizen, would have better standing to sue in U.S. courts than a noncitizen. But Justice Department lawyers might point to the waiver process as a way the imams mother-in-law could enter the country.

The state of Washington had successfully convinced a U.S. district judge and a three-judge appellate panel that economic harms imposed by Trumps first ban presented a need to immediately order the measure suspended. The new order, though, might lessen the effect of any harms.
Afghan police arrive at the site of an explosion in Kabul. The attack rattled Kabul's diplomatic district, as insurgents struck Afghanistan's largest military hospital. (Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

Gunmen disguised as doctors and medics drove an ambulance into Kabuls main military hospital Wednesday morning, then opened fire on patients and staff members and battled Afghan security forces for hours. At least 30 people, most of them civilians, were killed and twice as many wounded, officials said.

The audacious midmorning attack, the deadliest in the Afghan capital in months, was claimed by the Islamic State extremist militia. It drew immediate condemnation from foreign governments and humanitarian groups, and was denounced as an atrocity by the U.N. mission here because it targeted a medical facility.

This attack marks an abhorrent new low. Dressing in disguise to shoot at the sick and wounded is a cowardly, wicked act, Hamdullah Mohib, the Afghan ambassador in Washington, said in a statement. These are forces of evil the world must work together to defeat.

It also highlighted the threat of terrorist violence that continues to plague even the most secure areas of the Afghan capital, as well as other regions, after 16 years of conflict with Taliban insurgents and other armed groups that has cost tens of thousands of lives and involved more than 100,000 American troops at its peak.

Currently 8,400 U.S. troops are in the country, and U.S. military officials have said more are needed to prevent further insurgent gains and to keep the Western-backed government afloat.





As the Trump administration weighs its policy options here, experts have warned that 2017 is likely to be as grueling and deadly as 2016, which had a record number of civilian casualties and left Taliban forces in control of more than one-third of the country. The increasing threat from the Islamic State, known here as Daesh, is especially worrisome.

We are on the front lines of a fight that can affect the world, and we cant let Afghanistan become a global terrorist center, Siddiq Siddiqi, the chief spokesman for Afghanistans Interior Ministry, said this week. We have made a lot of sacrifices, but we need more help, especially in counterterrorism.

The assault Wednesday began when a vehicle bomb detonated outside the front gates of the Sardar Daud Khan medical complex, a large and heavily guarded compound that is near the U.S. and European embassies, the headquarters of the U.S.-led military coalition, and Afghan government buildings in central Kabul.

Almost immediately afterward, witnesses and officials said, gunmen already inside the hospital, wearing white medical coats, pulled out concealed assault rifles and began shooting. At least four attackers were involved, some of whom took cover on the second floor. Grenade explosions were also heard inside the compound.

Suddenly gunfire broke out and a gunman was shooting at everyone, he was shooting at doctors, patients and visitors, a witness identified as Zahir Khan told news agencies. He said he had hidden under a table in the hospital and later escaped. Some patients and staff members were seen climbing out hospital windows and crouching on ledges.

The attackers fought off Afghan guards, police and special forces for hours before all of the assailants were finally killed, officials said. Sporadic gunfire was heard well into the afternoon. Military helicopters were seen landing on the hospital roof, and commandos scrambled out to join the fight.

I saw a man in a white shirt with a gun in his hand, firing, a military doctor who gave her name as Zainab said in a brief online conversation Wednesday night. She said she and her colleagues took refuge in the hospital basement for four hours before the siege ended. Everybody was so frightened, she said. I dont want to go back there.

A security official said late Wednesday that the gunmen sneaked inside by using an ambulance to pretend to bring patients for treatment. The hospital treats sick and wounded Afghan military personnel and their families. Officials said that doctors and patients were among the casualties and that more than 66 wounded victims were taken to two civilian hospitals.

The incident followed a pair of similar attacks March 1 on a police station and an intelligence police facility in the Afghan capital, which left 23 people dead. Those attacks were claimed by the Taliban, which denied any role in the new assault.

[In Afghanistan, Trump inherits a costly stalemate]

The the Islamic State asserted responsibility through its online Amaq News Agency. Regional militias pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, based near the border with Pakistan, have said they were responsible for numerous bombings in Kabul in the past year, including one that killed 80 people during a peaceful protest, another that killed 22 people outside the Supreme Court, and several at Shiite mosques.

[Battle with Taliban killed 33 civilians, U.S. military says]

The capital was clogged and chaotic Wednesday morning, and many streets were already closed because of a large ceremony marking the third anniversary of the death of Marshal Mohammed Fahim, a former Afghan army chief and anti-Soviet militia leader.

Many government officials and Afghan leaders attended the all-day ceremony across the city, accompanied by large numbers of government and private armed guards, leaving the area near the military hospital quiet and deserted just before the blast.

[Pakistan shells border with Afghanistan as tensions rise]

President Ashraf Ghani, who was speaking at a ceremony honoring International Womens Day when he learned of the assault, condemned it as an attack against the entire people of Afghanistan. A hospital is considered immune in any law, any religion and sect, he said.

The attack came just days after Ghani replaced Kabuls longtime police chief for not curbing terrorist actions as well as rising criminal activity in the capital.

The governments chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, addressing the ceremony for Fahim, called the attack a crime against humanity, adding: The only solution is to keep unity. Our enemies are only able to carry out their goals when there is political discord. Disputes between Abdullah and Ghani have left the government divided and weakened.

A statement from the U.N. assistance mission called the attack egregious and morally reprehensible and said it may amount to a war crime because it targeted people at their most vulnerable and those caring for them. Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable, the statement said.

Read more:

Taliban stage twin attacks in Kabul, including on police station

Afghan troops surround vice presidents compound in Kabul standoff

U.N. says civilian toll in Afghanistan is highest in years

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
A displaced Syrian family unload their belongings at a makeshift camp for displaced people near the town of Manbij, Syria. (Delil Souleiman/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

Turkey has ordered Oregon-based Mercy Corps, one of the largest humanitarian organizations delivering aid to Syria, to immediately shut down its Turkish operations, ending a program that provides regular assistance to hundreds of thousands of besieged Syrian civilians and refugees.

Our hearts are broken by this turn of events, which comes after five years of cooperation with the government of Turkey and other partners, spokeswoman Christine Bragale said in a statement early Wednesday.

It was unclear whether other aid organizations have been similarly affected, and Turkish government officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Bragale said that no specific reason had been given and that we continue to seek a dialogue with Turkish authorities and remain hopeful that the government of Turkey will allow us to return to serve those in critical need.

Turkey has admitted more than 3 million refugees fleeing violence in Syria, and towns and cities along its southern border have been a hub for sending humanitarian supplies into the war-torn country.

Mark Toner, acting spokesman for the State Department, said it was aware of the situation with Mercy Corps, which he called a valuable partner in delivering humanitarian assistance to needy Syrian refugees. We have informed the government of Turkey of our concerns regarding Mercy Corps closure and the impact it will have

on their ability to provide critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations, he said.

Mercy Corps expulsion is likely to increase growing tension along Syrias northwest border, where the myriad military forces involved in a civil war and the separate fight against the Islamic State have converged in pursuit of conflicting objectives.

[U.S. military aid is fueling big ambitions for Syrias leftist Kurdish militia]

Turkish forces, along with Syrian rebel allies, crossed the border last fall to clear part of the area of Islamic State fighters. The larger Turkish goal has been to prevent U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds, whom Turkey considers terrorists, from expanding their control over the border region.

Turkey has said it wants to create a safe zone inside Syria along the border, 60 miles long and about 28 miles deep. But that area would include the town of Manbij, taken from the Islamic State last summer, with U.S. assistance, by the joint Kurdish and Arab Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF.

The U.S. military hopes to use the SDF, bolstered with recruits, to capture the city of Raqqa, the Islamic States Syrian capital, in an offensive planned for this year. Turkey has objected, and its force is headed toward Manbij. To head them off, Russian and Syrian government troops have moved into villages west of the town, and U.S. Special Forces arrived in Manbij last weekend.

The growing controversy brought together the top military officials from Turkey, the United States and Russia on Tuesday in the Turkish city of Antalya, a new step in exploring how military operations by the three countries will occur in increasingly tight quarters in Syria.

The meeting between Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Russian Gen. Valery Gerasimov; and Turkish Gen. Hulusi Akar was at Turkeys invitation.

It marked the second meeting in a month between Dunford and Gerasimov, as senior U.S. military officials have called for increased talks to deconflict operations in Syria and make sure there are no collisions between U.S. and Russian aircraft.

[Pentagon plan to seize Raqqa calls for significant increase in U.S. participation]

Under a framework established in 2015, a U.S. colonel in Qatar and a Russian counterpart in Syria discuss the locations of operations their countries are carrying out in Syria without sharing intelligence. Russia has pushed to expand collaboration in Syria, something that President Trump has said he would favor in the fight against the Islamic State.

Even as they vie for Turkeys support, both the United States and Russia have cooperated with the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG. Turkey has labeled the YPG an affiliate of the separatist Turkish Kurdistan Workers party, which Washington and Ankara have designated a terrorist group.

In a statement, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the three generals gathered to discuss regional security matters in Syria and Iraq, specifically the current situation of the fight against all terrorist organizations in Syria, with an effort to wage a more effective fight against all terrorist organizations in the future and the importance of additional measures for de-conflicting operations.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told a news conference that more coordination among the three is needed.

Carol Morello in Washington and Liz Sly in Beirut contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that the Russian government had designated the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party a terrorist group. The article has been corrected.

Read more

On the front lines of the fight for the Islamic State capital of Raqqa

Al-Qaeda is eating us: Syrian rebels are losing out to extremists

First sign of enhanced U.S.-Russia relations under Trump: an invite to Syria talks

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Around 100 people protested on the steps of the US Immigration Court in downtown Los Angeles on Monday against the abduction and detention of Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez. Romulo was pulled over and arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in front of his 13-year-old daughter Fatima as he dropped her off for school last week. Fatima captured the arrest on her mobile phone and the video has been viewed more than 600,000 times.

When I saw the video and the young girl and her father being taken away it broke my heart, Jung Hee, a mother of two from Romulos neighborhood of Highland Park, told WSWS reporters. I cant even imagine what its like to be that young girl and see one of her parents get taken away, she said. Jung said she came to the protest because she wanted to stand up for certain communities that are being targeted right now and say, Thats not right, thats not the country I want to live in.

Jocelyn Avelica, Romulos 19-year-old daughter, addressed the demonstration. Were not leaving, she said. Were bigger than Trump! Were bigger than ICE, all of us together! Protesters chanted, Fuera Trump! Fuera ICE! (Get out Trump! Get out ICE!)

Mondays demonstration is only the latest in a wave of protests in opposition to the Trump administrations attacks on immigrants. A series of executive orders signed by Donald Trump, and a memo from Department of Homeland Security Director John Kelly, place millions of immigrants in imminent danger of detention and deportation. Trump told a press conference last month that the assault on immigrants and refugees was a military operation which is getting bad dudes out of this country.

In fact, immigrants like Romulo are being targeted as part of a campaign of fear and terror being waged by the Trump administration against the entire working class. Romulos criminal history consists entirely of a drunk driving arrest more than 10 years ago and vehicle registration forgery more than two decades ago. A 48-year-old Mexican-born restaurant worker, Romulo has lived in the US for over 25 years and is the father of four daughters, all US citizens. He was the main source of income for his family, sometimes working 60-70 hours per week.

I work in the fields, said Ricardo, a farm worker who came to the demonstration from Santa Barbara. It is bad what they are doing with the immigrants because we immigrants are the ones who contribute to the country. We work hard for a future. We are the ones who work hard in the sun, in the cold. Theres ice and we are still putting our hands in. It is very difficult in the fields and we the workers are the ones who put up with all of it. We dont deserve the treatment that we are getting.

Romulo has now spent a week in an ICE detention center in Adelanto, California, and is threatened with deportation if his visa extension is not approved. The facility is under quarantine for a measles outbreak and his family has not been allowed to visit him.

Outside the ICE headquarters, people carried handmade signs that read, Free Romulo! Sanctuary, not Deportation! Stop terrorizing my neighbors, No ban. No wall and Muslims in solidarity with Romulo. The last two refer to two of President Trumps executive orders, which call for the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border, as well as banning citizens from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

St. Claire Adriaan, the principal of Fatimas school, told the crowd that on the day of Romulos arrest, Our eighth graders were going to the Museum of Tolerance because they are reading The Diary of Anne Frank . He continued, When Fatima came to school that morning, when I had to meet a traumatized 13-year-old crying because she has no idea if she is going to see her father again, I was mad.

I was mad as an educator that politicians would allow ICE to do this to our children. They are tearing our families apart. But we will stand by our children and our families. Because an injury to one is an injury to all.

Adriaan recalled to the WSWS his childhood growing up in Apartheid South Africa and having to go to segregated restaurants and schools and beaches. We have the same blood running through our veins, he said. No human being should make any other human being feel inferior or dehumanized, and what Im seeing here is exactly the same.

Sara, one of the demonstrators, said, Everyone is an immigrant, they just dont talk about it that way. My ancestors came over from Eastern Europe, from Russia and Poland, and they came before World War II and Im Jewish, so who knows what would have happened to my family line if they werent welcomed here?

The attack on Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez is part of a pattern of egregious actions by ICE in recent weeks designed to strike fear into the immigrant population.

 On the Friday, 27-year-old Juan Carlos Coronilla-Guerrero was snatched up by ICE at the Travis County courthouse in Austin, Texas.

 On March 1, 22-year-old Daniela Vargas was detained by ICE agents after speaking at a press conference against the detention of her father and brother. She now faces deportation to Argentina, the country she left at age seven.

 On March 2, Juan Carlos Fomperosa Garcia, a father of three US citizens who came to the US 20 years ago, went to his appointment at an ICE office to discuss his request for asylum. He never came home, having been deported to Mexico, leaving his 23-year-old daughter Yennifer as sole guardian of her younger brother and sister.

These unprecedented moves will have the effect of frightening undocumented people from showing up in court, thus criminalizing them. The list of these horrors is growing daily, and the protests continue.
The takeover of Opel by PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) has been finalised. An announcement was made Monday by the chiefs of General Motors and PSA at a joint press conference in Paris. The merger could cost many thousands of autoworkers their jobs.

GM chief Mary Barra boasted of a win-win situation for all involved and Opel head Karl-Thomas Neumann referred to it as a genuinely historic day. Meanwhile, the troubling question confronting the 200,000 employees of Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and Vauxhall, as well as thousands more at their suppliers, is what will the takeover mean for their jobs and working conditions?

This question is more than justified. One only needs to look at what is happening in the US. Last Friday was the last day of work for 1,300 GM workers at the companys Detroit-Hamtramck plant. Then on Monday, as Barra was boasting to investors that the spin-off of Opel would free up $2 billion for stock buybacks to further enrich its top shareholders, GM announced that 1,100 workers would be out of a job in mid-May when the third shift is phased out at its Lansing-Delta Township plant.

For these workers it is neither a win-win situation nor an historic day.

The Opel takeover is part of a major restructuring of the European auto market. The automakers are readying themselves for the trade war announced by US President Donald Trump with mergers and takeovers to eliminate overcapacity and tens of thousands of jobs.

It is difficult to see how PSAs takeover of Opel, the New York Times wrote Tuesday, could succeed without major job cuts and, probably, shutting some factories. Opel has not been profitable since the 1990s, and both companies have more factories than they need.

The newspaper added, At a time when European unity is under threat, the sale of Opel to PSA could strain relations among Britain, France and Germany as they try to ensure that any pain is imposed on someone elses backyard.

In Paris, PSA chief Carlos Tavares said all that counted was the new companys performance, meaning shareholder returns. In a thinly veiled threat, he said workers had the power in their own hands to determine whether the Opel and Vauxhall plants operated profitably within the next two years.

According to this, by the end of 2018, when the current jobs guarantee expires, the Opel and Vauxhall plants had to produce profitably. Losing money for a decade, according to Tavares, was, of course, a problem that had to be resolved. PSA plans to save 1.7 billion annually in purchasing, development and production. This means a major increase in speed-up and unpaid forced overtime, and in the longer-term an all-out jobs massacre.

To achieve this Tavares needs the unions to impose managements dictates on workers. For years, the unions have proven to be reliable partners in suppressing the resistance of the working class defending the interests of capital.

PSA has destroyed 22,000 jobs in France over recent years with the assistance of the CGT and CFDT unions. In 2023, PSA closed its Aulnay-sous-Bois plant, eliminating the jobs of 3,000 workers, most of whom have still not found jobs in the economically hard-hit suburb of Paris.

In the United States, the United Auto Workers (UAW)which has a 9.4 percent ownership stake in GM and a seat on its corporate board of directorshas collaborated in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of jobs since the 1980s and is now cheering on the ultra-right America First nationalism of the Trump administration.

At Opel and Vauxhall, workers have been repeatedly betrayed by the nationalist unions, which pit workers in different countries and even within different regions of the same country against each other in a fratricidal struggle for jobs. The Saab plant in Sweden and Opel plants in Antwerp, Belgium, Bochum, Germany and St. Petersburg, Russia were closed with the collaboration of IG Metall and other unions. From a total workforce of 70,000 ten years ago, only half of these jobs remain.

Tavares explicitly praised employee representatives and said the relationship with them was a competitive advantage. The chair of the Opel central works council, Wolfgang Schafer-Klug, authored a joint statement with IG Metall union leader Jorg Hofmann, which applauded the trusted cooperation with the new management. We were able to ensure that the existing comprehensive corporate co-determination remains fully intact after the sale, the joint statement declared.

Schafer-Klug told the press the restructuring of the German and European industry could be mastered better than with the old company. His predecessor, former central works council chair Klaus Franz, nicknamed Mr. Opel, said there was no alternative to the takeover by PSA.

At an employees meeting at the Russelsheim plant on Monday, the IG Metall-led works council demonstrated its loyalty to the new management, presenting the takeover as a fait accompli and leaving workers in the dark about the corporate offensive which is coming.

Central works council chair Schafer-Klug shouted down any worker who dared to question the takeover, demanding they keep quiet. Whoever expressed opposition or even frustration during these conditions of uncertainty, Schafer-Klug proclaimed, was damaging Opel. An IG Metall bureaucrat from the works council then denounced former Bochum Opel workers, who were moved to the Russelsheim after the closure of their plant, as raiders who wanted to profit from Opel.

During the first part of the meeting on Friday, March 3, the only speaker invited by Schafer-Klug was Opel chairman of the board Neumann. He spent an hour praising the newly-founded European auto champion with German-French roots, before disappearing to Paris. The meeting was then halted without further discussion.

Workers then received a written invitation to the continuation of the interrupted employees meeting on Monday. The two largest rooms of the old factory were set up with video projectors on which the speeches, mainly from Schafer-Klug and other IG Metall grandees, were broadcast. Everything was decided in advance.

Zero information had been presented by the works council, complained Opel workers as they left the employees meeting.

An older worker with 22 years on the assembly line told the World Socialist Web Site on his way home, The works council is playing its cards close to its chest. No idea what we will face next. Obviously we should expect nothing good.

Gerd, a middle-aged worker who is familiar with the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, agreed. We are getting no information, but we know that Peugeot also closed an entire plant in France three or four years ago.

Perhaps we have another two years here, a female worker added. It is true what you write. They want to cut thousands of jobs. They already closed Opel in Bochum and Antwerp. Asked what she thought of IG Metall and the works council, she said, They are all hiding under the same cover. Of course, they are telling us nothing about what is going on.

All lies, what they are telling us, another worker intervened. He said he was only 51 years old but Im just hoping for a good pay-off.

An older worker said he had been in the plant for 44 years and currently worked in the press plant. He could still recall how at one time 64,000 were employed in the plant. Today we are just 15,000 workers, and many of us contract workers. He continued, At that time all auto parts were produced and fitted here in the plant. Today, the work is shifted here and there, there are hundreds of contract firms and the poor guys earn much less than us. All of that ought to be done away with.

But the response of the works council and IG Metall had been yes and amen to everything.

From works council sources, this author learned that offers of pay-offs could be expected this year and not only in 2018. According to the source, major job cuts were unavoidable if PSA wants to save 1.7 billion per year. The Russelsheim development centre would also certainly be affected because PSA already has its own development centre.

The television programme WISO broadcast a segment Monday evening about the Opel takeover. A former Opel Bochum worker commented on the situation in front of the massive building site on which the once huge Bochum plant is being torn down. Mike Szczeblewski worked there until its closure in December 2014.

He was disgusted with IG Metall. Commenting on the supposed job guarantee until 2018, Szczeblewski said, So from this summer they will begin making their inventory. Then each location will be played off against anotherall in the interest of the company.
Photo credit: First Hello Project

From Redbook

As birth photographers know well, the act of labor and eventual arrival of the baby are full of intense, emotional moments. But for the artistic minds behind one photography series, there's a very particular moment that they're intent on capturing: the very first meeting of parent and child, or the "first hello."

The First Hello Project was founded by Bel Pangburn and River Bennett, two photographers (and mothers themselves) from Sydney, Australia. The central idea for their collaboration first arose during a late night chat, as the two women discussed milestones in their photography careers. Pangburn mentioned that a previous experience photographing her sister's birth was a highlight, and soon after, Bennett photographed a birth for the first time herself.

"Immediately after I left the hospital, I rang Bel on a high," Bennett told People. "We kept saying how incredible it was to document that for someone. We loved how it released the husband to be present for his wife and not be caught up in taking pictures and also how incredible it was to capture a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when a parent meets their child for the first time."

And so, the First Hello Project was born.

In black and white photos, Pangburn and Bennett capture everything  labor, delivery, and the incredible first moments when the parents lay eyes on their newborn. They also memorialize other family members meeting the new additions for the first time, including grandparents and siblings.

The duo even had the opportunity to take First Hello global, photographing a child born in Uganda.

They've also partnered with the Love Mercy Foundation, donating a portion of their profits towards the construction of a maternity ward at the Kristina Health Centre in Uganda, where maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world.

You can find more of the stunning, intimate photos at the First Hello Project official website, including stories directly from their clients about the experience of being photographed during labor.

Story continues

(h/t Babble)

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Chances are youve seen the majestic bowls of frilly snow ice around Greenwich Village (or on Instagram). Quite distinct in appearance and texture, NY Frost Factorys snow ice is shaved ice cream thats fluffy and sweet, yet also creamy and refreshing. Originating in Taiwan, this dessert has...

Chances are youve seen the majestic bowls of frilly snow ice around Greenwich Village (or on Instagram). Quite distinct in appearance and texture, NY Frost Factorys snow ice is shaved ice cream thats fluffy and sweet, yet also creamy and refreshing. Originating in Taiwan, this dessert has flavors like taro, matcha, strawberry, and lychee. In addition, there are special flavors of the month, which have included lemon and black currant in the past. The reception has been absolutely amazing. We are excited and energized to introduce new flavors each month. We are really excited to see which flavors become permanent additions.

Why is it important to import certain ingredients from Taiwan?

The goal of the company is to serve authentic Taiwanese snow ice in New York City. We were trained in Taipei and everything we use is imported from Taiwan, besides items we must get locally, such as fruits and candies. This is as authentic as we can possibly make it here in the city.

Any exciting plans for the shop going into summer?

This is the teams first business and the only Frost Factory. The vast majority of our customers are pleasantly surprised with the unique texture; it's soft, fluffy and very light. We are excited to bring this one-of-a-kind texture to New York. We are amazed that we are still maintaining a five-out-of-five-star rating on Yelp.
Ben Carson Faces Backlash After Saying Slaves Were Immigrants Who Came to the U.S. for Better Opportunities

Ben Carson is in hot water yet again after he referred to slaves as immigrants during his first address to employees as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The retired neurosurgeon, who was confirmed to lead the department last week, spoke highly of immigrants in his first remarks to staff on Monday, praising their work ethic before making the startling comparison.

There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, who worked even longer, even harder, for less, but they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land, the 65-year-old said.

Ben Carson..please read or watch Roots, most immigrants come here VOLUNTARILY,cant't really say the same about the slaves..they were stolen  Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) March 6, 2017

Many took notice of the politicians comments, with social media users taking to Twitter.

Samuel L. Jackson posted an expletive-laden message to Twitter, writing in part, OK!! Ben Carson . I cant! Immigrants ? In the bottom of SLAVE SHIPS??!!

Ben Carson..please read or watch Roots, most immigrants come here VOLUNTARILY, cant really say the same about the slaves..they were stolen, Whoopi Goldberg tweeted.

Carson later took to Facebook to clarify his statements, although he did not offer an apology.

The slave narrative and immigrant narrative are two entirely different experiences, he wrote. Slaves were ripped from their families and their homes and against their will after being sold into slavery by slave traders.

He expanded on his comments later on SiriusXMs Armstrong Williams Show.

I think people need to actually look up the word immigrant, he said. Whether youre voluntary or involuntary, if you come from outside to the inside, youre an immigrant  slaves came here as involuntary immigrants. But they still had the strength to hold on.

Story continues

This is not the first time Carson has made a shocking comparison to Americas shameful and inhumane history of slavery.

In 2013, Carson said that the Affordable Care Act (also called Obamacare) was the worst thing since slavery, according to CNN.




It has been nearly six years since Casey Anthony was acquitted of murder charges in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. The 30-year-old, once dubbed the most hated mom in America, has spoken out for the first time  talking about her life now, her daughter and why she feels kinship with O.J. Simpson after becoming obsessed with his murder trial.

I dont give a s about what anyone thinks about me, I never will, Anthony told the Associated Press in her first interview since the 2011 acquittal. Im okay with myself, I sleep pretty good at night.

Despite giving the AP five interviews over the course of a week  a reporter caught up with the woman at an anti-Donald Trump rally in Florida  Anthonys comments are likely to leave more questions than answers. She maintains she still does not know what happened in the final moments of Caylees life.

She also revealed that she has attempted to maintain a social life  drinking with friends at local bars where she says the men are attracted to her and often buy her drinks. She also said she has had short-lived romances since the trial  though she says she keeps a lonely, guarded life now.

Anthony made national headlines when she became the focus of the 2008 murder case in which the toddlers remains were found in a wooded area near her home. Caylee was supposedly last seen on June 16, 2008  but she wasnt reported missing for more than a month, July 15.

Caylee would be 12 right now. And would be a total badass, Anthony told the AP. Id like to think shed be listening to classic rock, playing sports.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

After the month-and-a-half-long trial that became a nationwide media frenzy, Anthony was found not guilty of aggravated manslaughter, aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder. Anthony spent three years in prison as she awaited the trial.

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She was convicted of four counts of lying to police, with Anthony admitting she falsely claimed she left her daughter with a baby-sitter and received a phone call from Caylee the day before she was reported missing, the AP reports. Two of the charges were later dropped.

I understand the reasons people feel about me. I understand why people have the opinions that they do, she told the AP. Im still not even certain as I stand here today about what happened.

 Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more.

Prosecutors could not establish how Caylee died, and the circumstances surrounding the childs death still remain a mystery. However, earlier this month, Judge Belvin Perry Jr., who presided at Anthonys trial, suggested that Anthony may have accidentally killed her daughter while trying to calm her with chloroform, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The Florida Department of Children and Families has concluded that Anthonys actions or the lack of actions  ultimately resulted or contributed in the death of the child, the AP reports.

Attorney Cheney Mason Gives Update on Casey Anthony: She Wants to Go on With Her Life

Now, Anthony lives in the South Florida home of Patrick McKenna, who was a lead investigator on her defense team. She also works for McKenna, doing investigative work including social media searches.

Sources previously told PEOPLE that she receives financial support from some members of her legal team. One insider said that Anthony had launched her own photography business, Case Photography, but has done very few projects.

During her investigative work for McKenna, Anthony said she became fascinated with Simpsons high-profile murder trial, noting that she sees a lot of parallels to her own case in Simpsons trial.

I can empathize with his situation, she told the AP.

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.




Eliza Dushku is still a Slayer  only now its of her personal demons.

The Buffy the Vampire and Angel alum, 36, addressed 8,000 middle and high school students on Tuesday at the first New Hampshire Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness in Manchester (at which Attorney General Jeff Sessions was also a surprise speaker). Although the actress started by saying she had nothing prepared by way of remarks  she was there at the request of Jim Wahlberg, Marks brother, and the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, which sponsored the event  she went on to get candid about her own addiction to opiates and alcohol, which she traced back to her middle school days in Watertown, Mass.

Dushku, who has now been sober for eight and a half years, told the crowd that her drug use  which occurred during her Buffy, Angel, and Tru Calling years, but she got in check before she appeared in 2009s Dollhouse  was fun, and I loved it, until it wasnt. Drugs didnt love me. They didnt love my family. They definitely didnt love my friends that died. I have a lot of friends who are dead.

The brunette, who split with her live-in love Rick Fox in 2014 and later relocated to Boston, said that asking for help was the most difficult thing shes ever done.

Im a real badass and tough girl, she said. That was part of my thing. It was the hardest thing in the world to ask for help, but it was the most powerful thing Ive done.

#LIVESTREAM NOW #NH #OpioidYouthSummit ???? http://www.wmur.com/article/watch-on-tuesday-new-hampshire-youth-summit-on-opioid-awareness/9089468 ???????? #drugfreeisuptome A post shared by Official Eliza Dushku (@elizadushku) on Mar 7, 2017 at 7:19am PST

Dushku admitted that when she initially got sober, it wasnt for herself.

Ill be honest  I got sober at first for my family, she revealed. I got to a point where I felt so sick about myself. I was depressed. I didnt like myself. But I loved my family.  I remember my brother telling me he didnt want me to be around my niece [now 14] because he didnt trust me. Im a really good auntie today, but you know what? He was right. I am a good person, but when I did drugs and drank I didnt make good decisions. Im sure some of you can relate to that, but all it takes is one bad decision. You dont have to live like that.

Story continues

Eliza Dushku at a fashion event in L.A. in April 2016. (Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Getting sober hasnt ruined her life  or made her less fun.

Ill tell you right now  I still dance on tabletops, she told the young crowd, which drew cheers. I still have such amazing times, and I connect with people.  I get to be an actress. Im back in college at 36 years old, attending Suffolk University, where shes pursuing a bachelors degree in sociology and hopes to work with addicts. Its something I always wanted to do and I didnt get to do because I was on a different path.

And although she didnt get sober for herself, she stays sober for herself.

I got sober for my family, Dushku said. But today, Im sober for me, and Im sober for you. Because drugs and alcohol are powerful, but we are more powerful, you guys. We are. Were in this together. We can connect with each other. We can protect each other.

Dushku took to social media later that day to reflect on her speech. If I said 1 thing that may have helped 1 person today  Im grateful, she wrote.

If I said 1 thing that may have helped 1 person today- I'm grateful. #addiction #recovery Thx @JWahlly & everyone who organized & attended ???? https://t.co/jOt0YDUWsC  Eliza Dushku (@elizadushku) March 7, 2017

Were sure her words will help many more than that.

Read more from Yahoo Celebrity:
Authorities say an 18-year-old North Carolina man called 911 on Monday claiming he had decapitated his own mother  and he was found soon after by responding officers allegedly holding her severed head in one of his hands, PEOPLE confirms.

Oliver Mauricio Funes Machada is being held without bail after being charged with his mothers first-degree murder, according to a statement from the sheriffs office in Franklin County, North Carolina.

Investigators claim that Machada stabbed his 35-year-old mother, Yesenia Funez Beatriz Machado, an undisclosed number of times on Monday before beheading her. Machada then called law enforcement to his mothers residence at around 12:45 p.m. Monday, the sheriffs office said.

He allegedly told 911 operators that he had decapitated his mother.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Deputies arrived to find Funes Machado holding the large butcher knife he allegedly used to kill his mother in one hand and her severed head in the other, according to the sheriffs office.

The statement alleges that Machada placed Machados head on the ground as authorities began approaching him. He was then taken into custody without incident.

After handcuffing Machada, deputies entered the home where they were confronted with a gruesome scene, a sheriffs spokesman tells PEOPLE. Machados body was also inside.

 Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more.

Two young children were inside the residence at the time of the slaying, the sheriffs office said. But the kids were not injured during the deadly incident, and it unclear how they are related to Machada and his mother.

Another of Machados sons was at school when she was killed, authorities said.

Machada has yet to retain legal counsel, and attempts to reach his relatives were unsuccessful Tuesday. He has not entered a plea.




For the first time since being acquitted in 2011 in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, Casey Anthony spoke out in an interview with the Associated Press.

Im okay with myself, I sleep pretty good at night, the 30-year-old, once dubbed the most hated mom in America, said, adding that she feels a kinship with O.J. Simpson.

PEOPLE began covering the case the day after Caylee was reported missing, interviewing more than 200 key players in the case. Here is PEOPLEs cover story on the crisis enveloping Caylee family from Feb. 9, 2009.

The police who showed up at the Hawaii Motel in a seedy section of Daytona Beach, Fla., on Jan. 22 didnt know what to expect. They were looking for George Anthony, whose daughter Casey is scheduled to go on trial in March for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. During the day George, 57, had been sending text messages to his family in Orlando suggesting that he was about to harm himself, telling them he wanted to be with Caylee. Tracking Georges cell phone, authorities traced him to the motel. When George let officers in the room, they discovered two empty pill bottles and a rambling eight-page letter, in which Anthony claimed to have swallowed some pills. Except George seemed perfectly lucidand when brought to the hospital he told a nurse, I havent taken anything, according to one police source.

But Georges attorney Brad Conway insists it was a suicide attemptthat George took sleeping pills and blood pressure medication and mixed them with alcohol. Whatever the case, it was a bizarre episode, one that took place amid startling new disclosures about Casey, 22, and her family thatas far as prosecutors are concernedsignificantly tighten the case against her. Whats more, based on a review of a trove of recently released documents from the state attorneys officealong with PEOPLEs own interviews with family and friendsit becomes clear that the family has been seriously dysfunctional for years. George and his wife, Cindy, 50, were frequently at odds and, though almost everyone agrees that Cindy was an exceedingly devoted grandmother, she and Casey had an intense rivalry.

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The evidence laid out in the documents, much of which comes from clues gathered from Caylees body, which was found in a wooded area less than half a mile from the Anthony home on Dec. 11, also adds heartbreaking new details about the way Caylee may have died. Investigators discovered Caylees mouth had been sealed with duct tapeand a small heart-shaped sticker had been placed over her mouth. You have to think about a person who would duct tape a child, says Pat Brown, a Washington-based criminal profiler who is familiar with the case. Nobody is going to duct tape a child after she is dead. A source close to the investigation told PEOPLE the duct tape is of considerable value. When pressed on whether that means fingerprints have been found on the tape, the source would only say, Read between the lines. It may also turn out that the items found with Caylee that can be linked to the Anthony home, such as a blanket and a toy horse, undercut Caseys contention that she dropped her daughter off with a babysitterthen went a month while the child was supposedly missing before authorities were notified. To top it off, law enforcement specialists who examined Caseys cell phone found no record of the purported sitter. Weve got a really solid case against Casey, says the law enforcement source. We know that the killer had to have access to the house and also had to know what liked and what her favorite toys were.

It is an open question how much the disclosures helped put George over the edge. There is little doubt that he was in genuine anguish the day he went missing. According to Daytona Beach police chief Mike Chitwood, who was at the motel, George appeared melancholy. Later, on the ride to the hospital, says Chitwood, he said, You just dont understand. Youll never understand what this is like.' Authorities were able to have Anthony committed for observation. As of Jan. 26 he remained in the hospital, though his lawyer said he had regained the will to live.

The documents and interviews make it clear that recent yearseven before Caylees murderhave been tough on the family. Casey and Cindy quarreled constantly, according to one source who knows the family well. They were always at each others throats about something, says the source. Cindy would tell Casey she was immature, and Casey would tell Cindy she was ruining her life. They couldnt communicate if it wasnt for their fighting and bickering. Things were scarcely better between Cindy and George. In an interview with the FBI last year, George said that he and his wife had separated for more than six months starting at the end of 2005. They reconciled, but there was no mistaking the rift between them. Ive watched Cindy berate George over the littlest thing, just nasty, mean stuff, says the source. Shell say, George, youre so stupid, in front of his friends. (The Anthonys referred all interview requests to their attorney, who did not make his clients available for an interview.)

According to the documents, at one point Cindy wanted to divorce George but changed her mind because she feared losing the house and her savings in a settlement. The main problem in their marriage seemed to be their vastly different personalities. The source who knows them describes Cindy, who works as a nurse, as the domineering type. Cindy is very type A, and she really runs that house, says the source. Shes the one who earns the money. George sort of defers to her, does whatever she wants, treats her like royalty.

As George, a former police officer, explained to authorities, his own work record has been spottyincluding short-lived business ventures with his father and on his own after he left the force. During one period when he was unemployed, he sheepishly told investigators, he fell prey to an Internet scam. He provided few details of the swindle, except that it involved e-mail come-ons and $2.2 million purportedly in a United Kingdom bank. I shouldve known better; it was stupid, he said. He admitted he lost about $30,000 of the familys moneyand then lied about it to Cindy, telling her that he had blown the money on gambling. At the time of the interview with authorities he said he still hadnt come clean with his wife. She doesnt know I did this scam thing, he said.

In the Anthony family, lying at times seems to have been the default position when dealing with inconvenient facts. The released documents, for instance, highlight Cindy and Georges strange handling of Caseys pregnancy. Cindys brother Rick Plesea recalled the time that Cindy, George and Casey showed up at his wedding in June 2005. The first thing he noticed was that Casey was clearly pregnant. But when he asked Cindy and George about it, they denied all, explaining that she was just putting on weight. When he later questioned them again, Cindy blithely said that Casey could not be pregnant because Casey had assured her she did not have sex with anyone. Plesea was astounded: So Im thinking if its not a baby its a tumor, and she only has a short time to live because its big. Two months later Casey gave birth to Cayleewith conflicting stories about who the father was.

If anyone was hoping that the arrival of Caylee would help bring the family together, they were to be disappointed. In fact the birth of the baby only sharpened tensions between mother and daughter that had been festering for years. In the documents there is an account of how in the hospital after the delivery it was Cindy who held the baby firstwhich remained a source of friction. That pattern was to be repeated again and again. Cindy called herself Mommy to Caylee right in front of Casey, says Jesse Grund, Caseys former fiance. It was a calculated move to get under Caseys skin.

More recently, the suspicious circumstances under which Caylee went missing also created strain between Cindy and her brother Rick Plesea. A slew of e-mails between the two that were released by investigators (see box) shows that Plesea quickly concluded that Caylee was almost certainly dead and that Casey was somehow responsibleand couldnt understand why Cindy, who staunchly defends her daughter, didnt draw the obvious conclusions. No parent would be at a nightclub every Friday after their daughter is kidnapped, he wrote. She has no remorse and doesnt care about anyone except herself. You are so far out in left field on this, you have lost touch with reality.

There is also reason to believe that at other times Cindy had little regard for her daughter. Grund, who has been interviewed by investigators and is considered a witness, recalls a dispute between Cindy and Casey. All of a sudden, Cindy starts railing on Casey, says Grund. Cindy tells Casey what a loser she is and starts saying really awful stuff right in front of me. Then she asks me things like, How could you be with her?'

Casey remains in the county jail, awaiting her trial. Her defense team points out that so far there is no indication that investigators have established a cause of death for Caylee, a fact that they plainly hope to exploit. If theres not trauma to the bones, what are you going to say Ms. Anthony did to her child? says a defense team spokesman. But are her parents still completely convinced that she is innocent? When asked that question by reporters right after Georges hospitalization, attorney Conway hedged. They dont know, they dont know, he said. None of us know.




By Liz Goodwin

WASHINGTON  Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Wednesday that she believes the U.S. House of Representatives needs to slow down in its quest to repeal and replace former President Barack Obamas health care law and said the current bill unveiled this week would get a chilly reception in the Senate.

I do not think it would be well received in the Senate, Collins told Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric of the current House bill, which President Trump has called wonderful.

Collins, a moderate Republican who has bucked Trump on a handful of his Cabinet nominations, said she is concerned by analyses that estimate 6 million to 10 million people would lose their coverage under the bill and that older peoples premiums would rise. She also thinks the bill breaks the promise Congress made to states that they would receive 90 percent of the funds to expand Medicaid. (The House bill phases out expanded Medicaid funding.)

Asked if she agreed with her colleague Sen. Rand Paul that the bill is dead on arrival in the Senate, Collins responded yes. But she stressed that the bill is a work in progress and may improve to the point where she could support it.

Slideshow: Behind the scenes of Katie Courics interview with Sen. Susan Collins >>>

I want us to slow down to take more time to be sure we get this right, Collins told Couric.

The Maine senator also strongly opposes defunding womens health services and abortion provider Planned Parenthood in any health care bill, since 10,000 women in her state use Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings and other health care. Existing federal law prevents Planned Parenthood from using any federal funds for abortions.

Where are those people going to go? And why should those women have to change doctors? That doesnt make sense, she said.

Collins, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, also responded to White House press secretary Sean Spicers recent claim that Trump has not released his tax returns because he is still under audit by the Internal Revenue Service.

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This is an awfully long audit if that is the case, Collins said.

She also left open the possibility that Americans may see Trumps tax returns as part of the intelligence committees investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Trump associates were reportedly in contact with Russian officials during the campaign, though both they and the Trump administration deny that anything nefarious occurred.

Well, at this point, it is his choice. It is possible that during the course of our investigation by the intelligence committee that we may find that we need access to financial information to inform our conclusions, Collins said. Were not there yet, and I dont know that we will get to that point, but that is another possible avenue.

She said her preference would be for the president to voluntarily release his tax returns on his own.

Collins said the intelligence committee would attempt to find answers for the American people on Russias involvement in the election. The U.S. intelligence community has accused the Kremlin of backing cyberattacks that led to massive email leaks from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons campaign chairman.

She criticized Trump for frequently praising Russian President Vladimir Putin but said her personal theory is that the Russians were determined to sow doubt about American democracy no matter which candidate won.

I dont understand the presidents affection for Mr. Putin, Collins said. I think that President Putin is an authoritarian thug. I believe that hes pure KGB, and I dont understand [Trump] describing him in any admiring way.

But I will say that I think we cant jump to conclusions on this and that its important that we do a thorough and careful investigation, she said. My theory is that regardless of who was elected president, the Russians have been determined to sow the seeds of doubt about the legitimacy of our elections and our democracy, and theyre doing it in Western Europe right now as well.

Collins said the committee would also look into Trumps recent allegations that Obama wiretapped him during the election  though she said shes seen no proof to substantiate the presidents claims. Obamas post-presidency office denied the incendiary allegations, which the White House has called on Congress to investigate.

I think it would be helpful if the president has evidence of this that he turn it over to the House and the Senate intelligence committees, she said. We need evidence, not tweets, if were going to look into these allegations.

She also said that she was confused about why Trump chose to take to Twitter last Saturday morning to strongly suggest that his predecessor had committed a crime.

I dont know why he would make those allegations, because the president had just given a very well-received State of the Union address, and he stepped all over his own story on that, she said. So I dont know. There must have been something that led him to believe that this occurred, and Id like to know what that something is.

Collins had a piece of advice for the president: Delete your account. Look, if I were advising President Trump, I would say, put your Twitter account on hold and make sure youre not sending out this storm of tweets before youre sure of [the] facts, she said. In fact, I would suggest he not send out tweets at all.

Though Collins has been more critical of Trump than some of her Republican colleagues, she praised many members of his Cabinet, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the new national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, whom she views as an upgrade from his predecessor, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

In the wide-ranging interview, Collins further said she believed Sessions showed integrity in recusing himself from any potential investigations involving the Trump campaign. Sessions announced the decision last week after it was revealed that he incorrectly claimed during his confirmation hearing that he had had no contact with Russian officials while involved with Trumps presidential run.

Collins also called Trumps new, revised executive order temporarily banning visas for people from six majority-Muslim countries much better than the first one, since it does not contain a religious test. She said she remains concerned that its not the best approach.

This is a blunt instrument that the president is using, she said. I do see it better than his original executive order but not where we should be.

Video thumbnail photos: Mary F. Calvert for Yahoo News

Read more from Yahoo News:
While recently at LAX, Rae Sremmurd's Swae Lee told TMZ that he not only wants to date Malia Obama, but knows exactly how he would set up their first date.

Lee wasn't directly asked about his dating life, though when questioned about who he would like to write for as an artist he said, "I want to write for Adele, or with Adele. I want to do some crazy s*** I never did before and break some boundaries, you know? Hell yeah. Malia Obama get at me. I know you're on vacation."

Lee, who is 21, said he would take Malia, who's 18, to the Bahamas, and laid out an elaborate dinner date that would be "200 feet in the air on a suspended table at a five-star restaurant." He would then take her to the beach, "maybe go on some jet skis," then take her home.

When asked how he would approach her famous presidential father, Barack Obama, Lee said he would pay his respects and "do it like a gentleman," teasing, "I might come with some flowers, you never know."

Watch the full interaction below.
From Road & Track

Look, we get it: You want a big body-on-frame SUV. You've got fond memories of the K5 Blazers or full-size Jeeps from your childhood, and you want to act on them.

But let's be real. If your 4x4 duties don't involve towing a trailer or low-range crawling over a rock path, you don't need that big, heavy off-roader. And that's fine, because the Subaru Crosstrek just got its first redesign since the line was launched in 2012, and it's a compelling package.

Technically, the model you see here is the Japanese-market Subaru XV, which just debuted at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. But aside from a few tiny market tweaks, this car is very representative of what will arrive in North American Subaru dealers later this year.

Based on the automaker's new Subaru Global Platform, the all-new Crosstrek offers big improvements in rigidity, handling, ride comfort, and crash safety over the outgoing model. Subaru's new "hawk-eye" headlight design appears here, as well as the utilitarian-looking raw plastic fender flares that have become a Crosstrek hallmark.

Under the hood, a revamped version of Subaru's FB 2.0-liter direct-injected flat-four returns, making 155 horsepower and 145 lb-ft of torque. Subaru's Lineartronic CVT with "seven speed" manual mode returns, and Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive is standard, now with active torque vectoring and X-Mode with multi-terrain settings and hill-descent control.

Subaru also crammed the new Crosstrek with standard safety equipment, including EyeSight, the automaker's safety suite that includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, and pre-collision braking. In addition, the new Crosstrek will offer automatic high-beam headlights that turn with the steering wheel, blindspot detection, and reversing assistance.

Good ground clearance, all-wheel drive, decent cargo capacity, reasonable size. You know it's the sensible choice.

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Authorities are investigating after finding 21 dead dogs in a Virginia home Monday.

Police said they were called to the Hampton home for a wellness check and upon entering, they discovered the dead animals.

Read: 3 Dogs Tied to Trees and Left to Die in Louisiana Floods Are Rescued

The dogs' cause of death is still being determined, police said.

Police also reportedly found one dog alive, and it was brought to a local rescue.

"The suffering that happened in this home is haunting," said Misty Collins of Blue Angels Advocacy and Rescue. "No animal, nobody should have to endure something as horrible as this."

Read: Woman Found Dead in Her Basement May Have Been Eaten by Daughter's Dogs: Source

No one was living at the residence but neighbors said theyd seen a man with the dogs in the home, according to the Daily Press.

Police did not reveal the breed of the dogs.

Watch: 276 Dogs and Puppies Seized From Home of Extreme Hoarder Get Adopted

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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
House Republican leadership and the White House have locked arms behind the GOPs Obamacare replacement package, with the president formally endorsing the measure Tuesday. Facing opposition from conservative lawmakers who feel it doesnt go far enough, and from moderates who worry the opposite, Speaker of the House Ryan declared Wednesday that the bill is a conservative wish-list. Its the beginning of Republicans all-out effort to bring their members along so they can fulfill the promise they have consistently made to their votes for eight years: to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, in control of both the legislative and executive branches, the GOP is out of excuses. What the White House and Ryan will communicate to members is that failing to support the House bill would mark a breach of trust with their voters. They believe there is only one opportunity to reform the lawand even that is sketchyand that failing to act now will mean the law exists in perpetuity.

The House will begin marking-up the legislation Wednesday, beginning the process of tweaking the draft proposal released Monday. But all of that is set to happen in a vacuum, without a score from the Congressional Budget Office, which would reveal just how much it would cost the federal government. Republicans are looking to push ahead without the data, believing thats the only way they can build the necessary momentum to send the legislation to the Senateand to meet their ambitious time frame of passing the legislation by the Easter recess.

The White House is still struggling to defend President Donald Trumps allegation of wiretapping by former President Barack Obama, with press secretary Sean Spicer saying Tuesday that any proof, if it exists, is above [his] pay grade. The administration was caught off guard by Trumps charge, which came as he was frustrated by press coverage about his associates ties to Russia and after a heated Oval Office exchange with his senior staff on Friday.

Story continues

Trump upsets his predecessor. His National Security Advisor attends a naturalization ceremony. And Neil Gorsuchs classmates letter.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

Rapport Between Donald Trump, Barack Obama Crumbles

Budding feud is new distraction in a Trump presidency that has been struggling to enact its agenda [Wall Street Journal]

Trump campaign approved advisers trip to Moscow

Campaign leaders knew in advance of Carter Pages Russia visit in July 2016, former aide says [Politico]

WikiLeaks Releases Trove of Alleged C.I.A. Hacking Documents

Further straining Washingtons ties with Silicon Valley [New York Times]

These Republicans Have Criticized the New House GOP Health Care Plan

A roster of those opposed or critical of the bill [TIME]

Sound Off

This will be a plan where you can choose your doctor. This will be a plan where you can choose your plan. President Donald Trump taking ownership of the GOPs Obamacare replacement plan Tuesday.

My understanding is hes still under audit White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on whether the President will release his tax returns this year.

Bits and Bites

Exclusive: Neil Gorsuchs Columbia Classmates Wrote a Letter of Support For His Supreme Court Nomination [TIME]

The Entire Senate Wants President Trump to Act on Threats Against Jewish Centers [TIME]

Top official overseeing Trumps D.C hotel is out at GSA as Democrats call for investigation of lease [Washington Post]

Trumps new national security adviser attends naturalization ceremony of Iraqi he sponsored [CNN]

Next step in Dem realignment: Their own CPAC [Politico]

Major Conservative Groups Have Big Problems With the GOP Obamacare Replacement Bill [TIME]

3 Times Donald Trumps Team Got Hit With Plagiarism Charges [TIME]

Rod Rosenstein Will Not Commit to Recusing Himself from Russia Investigation [Associated Press]

President Trump Surprises Group of Schoolchildren as White House Tours Resume [TIME]
Oslo (AFP) - Animal rights activists expressed anger on Wednesday after reports emerged that a large majority of whales harpooned each year in Norway are pregnant.

A documentary broadcast on public television network NRK, featuring gory video images of whales being cut open and foetuses removed, claimed that 90 percent of Minke whales killed each year in Norwegian waters were females and that "almost all" of them were pregnant.

"Whale hunting is now even more unacceptable," the head of Greenpeace Norway, Truls Gulowsen, told AFP.

"On the one hand because it's in violation of an international ban but also because ... it's indefensible from the point of view of the animal's well-being to hunt them during an advanced stage of gestation," he said.

Norway -- which does not consider itself bound by a 1986 international moratorium on whaling, to which it formally objected -- and Iceland are the only countries in the world that authorise commercial whaling.

Japan also allows whaling but officially it is for scientific reasons, even though a large share of the whale meat ends up on the market.

Oslo, which argues that it has strong enough whale stocks to sustain the hunt, has authorised the killing of 999 whales this year, up by 199 from the quota allotted in 2016.

"It is horrific to learn that such a high rate of the whales killed in Norway are female and pregnant," the Swiss animal rights group OceanCare said in a statement.

"The whalers are not only killing the current but also part of the next generation of whales," it added.

But hunters and experts said they saw no problem.

"Lots of slaughtered animals are sent to the slaughterhouse when they are pregnant," a veterinarian specialised in whale hunting, Egil Ole Oen, said in NRK's documentary.

"We have a professional approach and therefore we don't think about it," added Dag Myklebust, the captain and harpoonist on the whaling ship Kato.

The fact that they are pregnant "is a sign of good health," he said.
Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa has formally revoked its controversial decision to leave the International Criminal Court following last month's High Court ruling that such a move would be unconstitutional.

Notice of Pretoria's decision to end the withdrawal process was posted on the UN's treaty website this week, although it does not necessarily spell the end of its bid to leave the Hague-based court.

South Africa had in October announced it would withdraw from the UN court which was set up to try the world's worst crimes following a dispute sparked by its refusal to arrest visiting Sudan President Omar al-Bashir.

The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Bashir over alleged war crimes, but South African authorities refused to detain him, saying he had immunity as a head of state.

The decision to leave the UN court sparked widespread criticism, but on Tuesday, Pretoria informed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that the process by which it had begun withdrawing "was found to be unconstitutional and invalid".

"In order to adhere to the (High Court) judgement, I hereby revoke the Instrument of Withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court with immediate effect," the notice on the UN's treaty website said.

Last month, the North Gauteng High Court ruled that the government's bid to quit the ICC was unconstitutional because it had failed to properly consult parliament.

The case was brought by the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance.

Although Pretoria complied with the court ruling, this week's decision to cancel the withdrawal process may only be a temporary reprieve, with the government expected to table a bill in parliament to win approval for South Africa's departure from the court.

- Court in a bind? -

Although the High Court ruling was a blow to President Jacob Zuma, it was welcome news for the ICC, which has been hit by a number of withdrawal threats following complaints of an alleged bias against Africa.

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Late last year, The Gambia had notified the UN it was withdrawing from the ICC in a process which was swiftly reversed under the government of new President Adama Barrow, who took office in January.

Burundi has also registered to leave, while Kenya is considering following suit.

Currently, nine out of 10 ICC investigations concern African countries, with the only other case concerning Georgia.

However, experts point out that many of the current cases -- in Central African Republic, Uganda, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- were referred to the ICC by the governments of those states.

Bashir has evaded arrest since his ICC indictment in 2009 for alleged war crimes in Sudan's Darfur conflict in which 300,000 people were killed and two million forced to flee their homes.

The South African government's decision not to arrest him was denounced as "disgraceful conduct" by the country's Supreme Court which also ruled that the failure to arrest the Sudanese leader was unlawful.

The ICC was set up in 2002 in The Hague as a court of last resort to try the world's worst crimes where national courts are unable or unwilling to act.

The court is unable to carry out investigations in countries which have not ratified its founding Rome Statute unless the United Nations refers a case for investigation.
Paris (AFP) - France slipped into its biggest monthly trade deficit ever because of weak foreign sales by aircraft maker Airbus, a cornerstone of the country's exports, customs said Wednesday.

Exports fell 7.7 percent in January from December and imports rose by 2.9 percent, resulting in a record trade gap of 7.9 billion euros ($8.3 billion), the customs office said in a statement.

The figure is a setback for the French government which has been trying to improve its trade balance in the hope of creating jobs at home and rekindling sluggish growth.

It comes after the trade deficit already rose by more than three billion euros in 2016 over the previous year, to 48.1 billion.

The customs officer explained the January fall by "extremely low Airbus sales". A pullback after traditionally strong end-year deliveries had always been expected, it said, "but the level of group sales is weaker than in previous months of January".

Airbus delivered just 25 aircraft in January, after 111 in December.

Imports meanwhile were boosted by France's rising energy bill because of higher oil prices and unusually high pharmaceutical imports.

Economists warned that France may be relying too much on the aerospace sector, especially Airbus which last month reported nosediving annual profits as charges related to problems with its A400M military cargo transport plane sent earnings into a tailspin.

"The fact that we are still very dependent (on aerospace) shows that there is a problem with our foreign trade," Axelle Lacan, an economist at Coe-Rexecode, told AFP.

Government efforts to raise French competitiveness were showing some success, but not quickly enough. "For now, they're not translating into an improving trade balance or a recovery in export market share," she said.

Nor were French companies managing to exploit the euro's recent weakness to push sales outside the eurozone, said Ludovic Subran, head of research at EulerHermes and Allianz.

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"We're still struggling to conquer dollar zone markets such as big emerging markets like in the Gulf or Hong Kong, but also countries like the United States," he said.

Some 120,000 French companies export goods, compared with 240,000 in Italy and 300,000 in Germany, Subran said.

Germany, France's biggest trading partner, recorded a record trade surplus of 253 billion euros in 2016.
Washington (AFP) - FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday he plans to hold his job until 2023, amid a political storm that has made him a target of both US political parties.

Comey's leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been marked by controversy over its investigation into Hillary Clinton's email and President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated accusations that Barack Obama ordered the wiretapping of phones at Trump Tower.

But Comey told a cyber security conference in Boston that he has no plans to step down, three years into his 10-year term at the helm of the powerful law enforcement agency.

"You are stuck with me for another six-and-a-half years," he said.

Any decision on whether Comey stays or goes, would not be his alone, however.

The FBI director is appointed by the president, with confirmation from the Senate, and a president can remove the director, although he would risk accusations of political interference if he were to do so.

Comey has drawn fire -- and praise -- from both Republicans and Democrats for his high profile performance in cases that have brought him in conflict with powerful political leaders.

In the latest, he is reported to have urged the Justice Department to publicly deny Trump's allegation that his Trump Tower phones were wiretapped during the campaign on Obama's orders.

Trump offered no evidence to back up his claim, made in an explosive series of tweets over the weekend.

Trump implied that the FBI -- which is responsible for domestic crime and security investigations -- was part of an Obama-directed political operation against the New York billionaire.

"How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process," Trump wrote in one of the tweets early Saturday.

Media reports said the Justice Department has declined to speak out for the FBI, leaving the president's claim unanswered.

Comey did not address the issue in his speech at Boston College.

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At least one powerful committee in Congress has said it will probe Trump's charges along with the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Comey also was at the center of a separate controversy involving Clinton's use of a private server to send and receive emails while serving as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

After a lengthy investigation, Comey announced in July he would not recommend that charges be brought against Clinton.

But just 11 days before the November 8 election, Comey alerted Congress that the FBI was reopening the probe after a new batch of email surfaced. Then two days before the vote, he said nothing incriminating had been found.

Clinton and her supporters complained bitterly that Comey's public intervention halted her momentum late in the campaign, costing her the election.
Australia endured a summer of record-breaking extremes, scientists said on Wednesday, with climate change tipped to increase the frequency and severity of such phenomena.

Intense heatwaves, bushfires and flooding plagued the December-February summer season with more than 200 records broken over 90 days, the independent Climate Council said in a report.

"Climate change -- driven largely by the burning of coal, oil and gas -- is cranking up the intensity of extreme weather events," the "Angry Summer" report said.

"Days of extreme heat and heatwaves will become even more frequent and severe in Australia, and will increase the risks to critical infrastructure (e.g. electricity), the economy, health and ecosystems."

Australia has warmed by approximately 1.0 Celsius since 1910, according to the biannual State of the Climate report from the Bureau of Meteorology and national science body CSIRO released in October.

While bushfires are common in Australia's arid summers, climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures and led to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons.

"For Australia, it's harder to see the impact of climate change because we have a very variable climate anyway," Will Steffen, a climate scientist at the Council, told AFP.

"But our extremes are becoming so extreme that we can actually see the influence of climate change quite clearly."

Steffen added that such weather phenomena would worsen "over the next couple of decades" while efforts to reduce emissions catch up with rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere.

Australia is one of the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, due to its heavy use of coal-fired power.

The Bureau of Meteorology said last week the country's largest city Sydney had just experienced its hottest summer ever as "records were broken for numbers of hot days and nights across the city".

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Heat records were also smashed for the eastern cities of Brisbane and Canberra for the same period, while in the west, Perth reported one of its wettest summers on record, the bureau added.

The Council's energy expert Andrew Stock told AFP the changing climate was a key risk for energy infrastructure not built to withstand severe weather conditions.

South Australia last year was hit by a state-wide blackout after severe wind gusts from an "unprecedented" storm tore transmission towers from the ground.
Ottawa (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vigorously defended women's access to abortion services, saying on International Women's Day Wednesday that they have a right to "choose their path, their future."

"When we take a stand against abortion... we are taking away the power of women to choose their path, their future, when, how, (and) with whom to start a family," he said at an event to announce Can$650 million over three years for women's health initiatives overseas.

The prime minister's support of a woman's right to choose to have an abortion sharply contrasts with US President Donald Trump's anti-abortion stand.

Trump nixed federal funding for NGOs that offer or promote abortions abroad.

"We can only build a better world, a stronger world with more opportunity for everyone... if women are empowered," Trudeau commented.

"For far too many women and girls, unsafe abortions and a lack of choices in reproductive health means that they either are at risk of death or else simply cannot contribute and cannot achieve their potential through education, through involvement in their community, through a broad range of opportunities."

The Canadian funding will go to "comprehensive sexuality education, strengthening reproductive health services, and investing in family planning and contraceptives," according to a government statement.

The programs aided by the announcement also "will help prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence, including child early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation and cutting and support the right to choose safe and legal abortion, as well as access to post-abortion care."

Separately, the government statistical agency issued a report noting that there is still a way to go to reach gender parity in Canada.

On wages, access to jobs or gender parity in politics, inequalities persist despite advances in recent decades to narrow the gap, according to Statistics Canada.

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Women earn Can$0.87 for every dollar earned by men.

The difference "is largely a function of wage inequality between women and men in the same occupations," said Statistics Canada.

Many women (56 percent) also continue to be employed in "occupations that have been the purview of women historically," such as teaching, nursing, social work, clerical or sales and services.

At the same time, they remain far outnumbered by men in natural and applied science occupations.

Since taking office at the end of 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pressed for gender equality, making gestures such as having an equal number of male and female ministers in his cabinet.

In the House of Commons, however, the imbalance persists with two-thirds of members being men.

In a statement, Governor General David Johnston, Queen Elizabeth II's representative in Canada, called for gender equality in all areas, saying "there is still much to be done before women worldwide can achieve the equality they seek."
Paris (AFP) - Many animal species are known to give off chemical signals to attract sexual partners, but scientists still debate whether pheromones used in aphrodisiac perfumes actually play any role in human mating.

On Wednesday, Australian researchers added fuel to the fire by stating that two naturally occurring steroids widely thought to be appeal-boosting human pheromones have no impact on "mate perception".

The chemicals -- estratetraenol (EST) or androstadienone (AND) -- are already a component of perfumes that promise to leave the opposite sex weak at the knees.

But the titillating effect may be all in the mind, researchers wrote in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

"AND and EST are unlikely to be human pheromones," said a research quartet from the University of Western Australia.

They tested whether those chemicals -- the lead contenders for human pheromone status -- had any effect on 94 heterosexual men and women in two lab experiments.

In the first stage, participants were asked to indicate whether a "gender neutral" face, created by computer-fusing photos of people from both sexes, belonged to a man or a woman.

In the second, they had to rate faces for attractiveness, and whether they thought the person had an adulterous nature or not -- part of what makes up "mate perception".

Being exposed to either AND or EST during the experiments made no difference to the participants' choices as they would have done if they truly were pheromones, the researchers found.

In previous research, men and women reported that a person's scent affected their sexual interest, and women often say they place more importance on a man's smell than his looks.

Yet no human sex pheromones have been identified with any certainty, and previous studies on AND and EST's aphrodisiac effects have yielded contradictory findings.

Despite a lack of scientific proof, AND is marketed as a male pheromone, and EST a female one -- often in pricey perfumes.

"We recommend a return to first principles in the search for human pheromones," said the team -- referring to the fundamental assumptions on which any theory is based.

They called for trials run by scientists rather than perfume labs in the quest for actual human pheromones.
We'll admit we have a soft spot for celebrities who enjoy ribbing each other online.

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds are two such celebrities. Despite engaging in quite the bromance, Deadpool and Wolverine seem to be equally obsessed with taking the p*ss out of one another.

SEE ALSO: Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart know why Magneto isn't in 'Logan'

Jackman was recently in Beijing to help promote his new film Logan, but even there, he couldn't escape the gentle sniggering from Reynolds.

"Thanks for an amazing visit Beijing," Jackman wrote under a picture of himself standing in front of a crowd of fans.

Reynolds was not convinced. "Pretty sure those are protesters," he fired back.

Pretty sure those are protesters. https://t.co/URNGDCg0cO  Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) March 5, 2017

Jackman in mock exasperation, seemed to be not impressed.

The pair, who appeared together in their respective superhero characters in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, have been at it for a while now.

Like when Jackman posed as Reynolds, asking viewers to urinate on the section of the sidewalk where Reynolds' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located. It's right by the Dolby Theatre, by the way.

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@VanCityReynolds asked me to post this 100% real video by him on being honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame today. pic.twitter.com/LE4dQXpTuV  Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) December 15, 2016

Or when Reynolds took over Jackman's Instagram, impersonating the actor's Australian accent. Admittedly, he does an impressive job.

"G'day mate. Hugh Jackman here. Just reminding you to get your votes in for People's Sexiest Man Alive," Reynolds said.

A post shared by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman) on Nov 9, 2015 at 6:09am PST

But despite their impersonations, it seems like they're pals through and through. Naww!
Yerevan (AFP) - Armenia's President Serzh Sarkisian has urged international powers to step up pressure on Azerbaijan to avoid all-out war over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region, accusing his nation's arch-foe of military "blackmail".

"The danger of a new war is constant and will persist until Azerbaijan is persuaded that there is no military solution to the conflict," Sarkisian told AFP in an interview ahead of a visit to France.

Fears that the decades-long Nagorny Karabakh dispute could escalate have risen since sporadic firing across the volatile frontline surged last April into the worst violence since a 1994 truce.

A ceasefire brokered by Moscow stilled several days of bloodshed but long-standing mediators from Russia, the United States and France have since struggled to restart a stalled peace process.

Sarkisian -- who will meet French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Wednesday -- accused his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev of sabotaging any progress by threatening to start fighting unless he gets his way.

"He said Azerbaijan will not start a war if Armenia fulfils its demands. I said that this is blackmail, not a compromise," the Armenian leader said.

Sarkisian urged Paris, Moscow, and Washington to "show what price one of the sides will pay if it initiates an attack."

"That will have a sobering effect," he said.

- 'A matter of time' -

Baku and Yerevan have feuded over the Nagorny Karabakh region since Armenian separatists seized the territory from Azerbaijan in a war that claimed some 30,000 lives in the early 1990s.

Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway region by force but Moscow-allied Armenia has vowed to crush any military offensive.

The war ended in a fragile 1994 truce but the two sides never signed a firm peace deal and Sarkisian warned that fears of a new surge in fighting are growing.

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"Public opinion in Armenia is that the resumption of hostilities is a matter of time -- maybe weeks or months -- and the commander-in-chief and defence minister must be prepared that a war could start tomorrow," Sarkisian said.

"I don't think a fresh war is an immediate threat, but nothing is ruled out when one deals with an unpredictable neighbour."

- Regional titans -

Any new war in Karabakh could pitch regional titans Russia and Turkey against each other in the Caucasus region that has historically been an arena of their geopolitical rivalry.

Sarkisian also took aim at Armenia's longstanding foe Turkey, blasting Ankara's support for its traditional ally Baku over the Karabakh conflict.

There are no diplomatic ties between Yerevan and Ankara, which in 1993 sealed its border with Armenia out of support for Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan.

Turkey has also been angered by Yerevan's campaign to have the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire recognised as genocide.

"At this point, the process of normalisation (with Turkey) is in an impasse," Sarkisian said. "They link normalisation with the Karabakh issue."

Stressing that international pressure and military parity between Yerevan and Baku have so far helped to avoid a new war, Sarkisian also expressed concern over Russia supplying sophisticated weapons to Azerbaijan worth billions of dollars.

"We take it painfully because Russia is our strategic partner."

Moscow has sold weapons to both of the former Soviet nations but has a military alliance with Armenia.
President Donald Trump used to host the show The Celebrity Apprentice, but when he started campaigning, Arnold Schwarzenegger took over the job for him.

Trump could not resist making snide comments about the reality shows low ratings after he left, therefore sparking a feud with Schwarzenegger. The president has even posted scathing comments about Schwarzeneggers performance on his social media page.

But if you were to ask the Terminator: Genisys star, no one else is to blame for the poor ratings but Trump himself. Its not about the show, Schwarzenegger told Empire Magazine. Because everyone I ran into came up to me and said I love the showbut I turned it off as I read Trumps name. Im outta there. When people found out that Trump was still involved as executive producer and was still receiving money from the show, then half the people [started] boycotting it.

When asked during The Michael Smerconish Program why Trump is so obsessed with his stint on The Celebrity Apprentice, Schwarzenegger jokingly replied, I think hes in love with me. Yeah, I think so.

Schwarzenegger also said that he is now leaving the show, contrary to rumors that he was fired. And if asked to host it again, he would decline because of Trumps association with it. However, he said he will be taking away with him lots of fond memories.

I learned a lot, I had a great time, it was a really great opportunity. But under the circumstances, I dont want to do it again, he said. With Trump being involved in the show, people have a bad taste and dont want to participate as a spectator or sponsor or in any other way support the show. Its a very divisive period right now and I think the show got caught up in all that division.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Photo: Getty Images/Kevin Lee

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On Wednesday evening, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his wife, Heidi, will dine with President Trump at the White House. Cruz has been effusive in his praise of Trump lately, calling his joint address to Congress a positive, unifying vision for the country.

But the two former primary foes were not always so cordial, as the 2016 campaign got personal, dragging in both mens wives, conspiracy theories about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and National Enquirer stories.

His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswalds being  you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous, Trump said of the man he called Lyin Ted during the primary. What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They dont even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it. I mean, what was he doing  what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? Its horrible.

Trump brought the rumor up again the day after accepting the Republican nomination in Cleveland.

In the heated contest, a group backing Cruz ran ads with some of Melania Trumps modeling work in conservative Utah, suggesting she was unfit to be first lady. It led to Trump retweeting an image comparing the two candidates wives with an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz, which is still active on his account:

After spending the early parts of the campaign saying he wouldnt get into a cage match with Trump, Cruz accused the Trump campaign of planting a National Enquirer story accusing him of adultery in March, and unloaded on his opponent the morning of Mays Indiana primary.

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This man is a pathological liar, said Cruz. He doesnt know the difference between truth and lies. He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth.

The man is utterly amoral, continued the senator. Morality does not exist for him. Its why he went after Heidi directly and smeared my wife, attacked her. Apparently, shes not pretty enough for Donald Trump. I may be biased, but I think if hes making that allegation, he is also legally blind.

But Donald is a bully. Bullies come from weakness. Bullies come from a deep, yawning cavern of insecurity. Theres a reason Donald builds giant buildings and puts his name on them everywhere he goes.

Cruz spoke at the Republican National Convention, but didnt explicitly endorse Trump during his address. After the election, Cruzs name was floated as a possible attorney general  a maneuver the transition team employed with a number of former opponents, which had the effect, intended or not, of defusing their criticism and bringing them on board with the new administration.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked Wednesday whether Trump had plans to apologize to Heidi Cruz during her visit. Spicer did not answer the question directly, saying that the president is looking forward to the dinner and is willing to engage with anyone who can help move the country forward.

Cruz is far from the first former rival to make up with Trump following a contentious, mudslinging primary. Trump in turn will need his former rivals as he attempts to get health care reform and the rest of his agenda through Congress. But with the level of vitriol and deeply personal attacks on display during the campaign, its not just policy disagreements the Republicans will need to forgive.

Here are a few of the other reconciliations that have followed the White House win.

Marco Rubio

The Florida senator was harsh with the eventual primary winner, calling Trump a con artist, an erratic individual and dangerous. He also compared Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying, There is a lunatic in North Korea with nuclear weapons, and some would say a lunatic trying to get a hold of nuclear weapons in America, but thats different. Rubio also got more personal, suggesting that Trump had small hands, which could signify a deficiency in other parts of his anatomy. This was partially in response to Trump labeling the senator Little Marco.

Despite these comments, Rubio eventually supported and voted for Trump. In the confirmation hearings for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Rubio was aggressive with the Exxon-Mobil CEO, and made headlines suggesting he would become the Senates prime antagonist to the White House. Rubio eventually voted yes on Tillerson, and attended a White House dinner with his wife last month.

Ben Carson

In November 2015, Trump implied the retired neurosurgeon had fabricated a childhood story about attempting to stab a friend only to have the friends belt buckle block the blade.

So I have a belt: Somebody hits me with a belt, its going in because the belt moves this way. It moves this way, it moves that way, said Trump at a rally. He hit the belt buckle. Anybody have a knife? Want to try it on me? Believe me, it aint gonna work. Youre going to be successful, but he took the knife and went like this and he plunged it into the belt and, amazing, the belt stayed totally flat and the knife broke.

He goes into the bathroom for a couple of hours, and he comes out, and now hes religious, Trump said. And the people of Iowa believe him. Give me a break. Give me a break. It doesnt happen that way. It doesnt happen that way.  Dont be fools, OK?

How stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?

Carson was sworn in as Trumps secretary of housing and urban development on March 2.

John Kasich

The feud between the Trump campaign and Ohio governor peaked during the convention  which Kasich refused to attend, even though it took place in Cleveland. Then-Trump campaign surrogate Paul Manafort called Kasich petulant and said he was embarrassing his party in Ohio. Trumps April comments were more personal, when he said of Kasich, I have never seen a human being eat in such a disgusting fashion.

Kasich visited the White House in February for a 30-minute conversation with the president.

The man is the president of the United States, said Kasich following the meeting. Its sort of like being on an airplane; you want to root for the pilot. If youre on the airplane with the pilot, you dont want the pilot to screw up.

I can have my opinions, but now its time to be constructive. And sometimes being constructive is to not be positive, to make your point, and Im very glad that Ive been able to make my point on this whole business of Obamacare and Affordable Care Act, and Im going to continue to make it. And if it upsets Republicans in the Congress, thats life.

Lindsey Graham

In the early days of the Republican primary, the South Carolina senator called Trump a jackass. Trump responded by giving out Grahams cell phone number at a rally and calling him a lightweight and idiot.

He doesnt seem like a very bright guy. He actually probably seems to me not as bright as Rick Perry. I think Rick Perry probably is smarter than Lindsey Graham, Trump said.

Graham had lunch at the White House Tuesday, and said it went so well he gave Trump his new cell number. Perry was confirmed as Trumps secretary of energy earlier this month.

Rand Paul

The Kentucky senator was targeted early and often during the primary.

First of all, Rand Paul shouldnt even be on this stage, said Trump during a September 2015 debate. Hes number eleven  hes got one percent in the polls.

I never attacked him on his looks, Trump added, and believe me, theres plenty of subject matter right there.

On Twitter Tuesday, Trump referred to Paul as my friend and said he expected him to come along in support of the new GOP proposed Obamacare replacement plan.

Carly Fiorina

Look at that face! said Trump of the former Hewlett Packard CEO in a September 2015 interview. Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president? I mean, shes a woman, and Im not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?

After the October release of the Access Hollywood tapes in which Trump appeared to describe himself sexually assaulting women, Fiorina called on him to drop out of the race and said that he didnt represent her or her party. In December, during the transition, Fiorina visited Trump Tower and praised the president-elect as a champion and said he was adding fantastic people to his administration.

Read more from Yahoo News:
A day before the third disappearance anniversary of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, an Australian university pinpointed at a location where the jet is believed to have crashed. Two years ago, the University of Western Australia (UWA) had predicted the location of the debris from missing Flight MH370.

Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi told local media Tuesday that the UWAs reverse-drift modeling finds the resting place of Flight MH370 at Longitude 96.5 E Latitude 32.5 S with a 40km (25 miles) radius. This location is at the northern end of the 46,000 square miles of search area, which has been scoured with no concrete clues as to the whereabouts of the plane. The multimillion-dollar search in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean was called off in January.

The UWA's prediction is based on an independent analysis of the satellite data and the drift analysis from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and is close to what is called the seventh arc, which was the area where the last known communication between Flight MH370 and a communication satellite was believed to have taken place.

Of the 22 pieces of debris found, the locations of 18 were predicted by the UWA model, Professor Pattiaratchi said, according to Perth Now.

Flight MH370 went missing with 239 people on board while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. While several debris pieces have been found washed up on shores of some islands in the southern Indian Ocean, authorities are yet to unravel the plane's mysterious disappearance.

Since the plane went missing, several conspiracy theories made the rounds, including some blaming the pilot of deliberately crashing the plane while others pointed at technical fault and a possible hijack.As families of those on board look to find answers even after three years, a new lawsuit filed in the U.S. suggests the plane went down due to an electrical fault.

The lawsuit, filed against Boeing in U.S. District Court in South Carolina by Gregory Keith who is a special administrator for the families, claims an electrical fire caused the jet to depressurize, incapacitated the crew, and leading the plane to fly on auto-pilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed.

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The defects caused and/or allowed a massive and cascading sequence of electrical failures on-board the lost plane, which disabled vital systems, including the lost planes ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) and Mode S Transponder, the lawsuit alleges, according to reports. Boeing elected to equip the lost plane with these ineffective ELTs (Emergency Locator Transmitters) and ULBs (Underwater Locator Beacons) despite the presence of other readily available and reasonable alternative technologies that would have allowed the lost plane, the FDR (Flight Data Recorder), and the CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) to be tracked in real-time anywhere in the world, especially in cases of crashes, disruption of communications and other losses.

Meanwhile, the families of 15 Chinese passengers on Tuesday filed papers in court announcing their intention to sue Malaysian Airline System BHD (MAS), the parent company of Malaysia Airlines, over the crash.

Malaysian media reports the families argue the disappearance of MH370 cannot have happened without culpable negligence by MAS, the Department of Civil Aviation, the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Malaysian Government.

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Authorities say a Mississippi police officer shot a man during a fight that broke out after the officer discovered him apparently drunk behind the wheel.

Jackson Police spokeswoman Officer Chelsea Gross says the shooting happened Tuesday evening.

Gross says the officer was responding to a report of a one-vehicle crash when he discovered the man. She says the two began to fight and the officer shot the driver twice in the side. A knife was found in the truck, but Gross says she doesn't know if the driver tried to use it.

The man was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.

Gross did not release the names of either the man or the officer. She says the man was black, but did not release the officer's race.
Ukraine may have won its first big battle in its fight against corruption.

Roman Nasirov, a government official, was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days of pretrial detention for his involvement in a case of fraud and embezzlement of roughly $100 million. He will be granted house arrest only if he posts bail of $3.7 million, in which case he must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. He spent Sunday night hiding out in the courthouse, which was surrounded by anti-corruption protesters.

Nasirov, who heads the politically important fiscal service, is the highest-ranking government official to face the real prospect of jail time over corruption charges  a symbolic victory for a system of government characterized by corruption and influenced by oligarchs.

His case comes amid rising public disillusionment over the extent to which reform is possible in Ukraine. It will be a make-or-break test for the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the fledgling independent agency created after the Maidan revolution to investigate major corruption cases free from political interference. The outcome will also say a great deal about Ukraines progress in fighting corruption and developing a stronger legal system more broadly.

For Dmytro Shymkiv, the deputy head of the presidential administration in Ukraine, the Nasirov case is an encouraging sign in what has been a three year effort to clean up the countrys dirty political system and a welcome indicator that change is indeed taking root  albeit at a slower pace than desired.

The fact that this is happening, the fact that this is transparent, the fact that this is taking place  its a good thing, Shymkiv told Foreign Policy during an interview in Washington. NABU is now up and running, and an arrest was made after the collection of evidence by that independent institution. That, per Shymkiv, is how the system is supposed to work.

Following the ouster of corrupt former President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014, a wave of euphoria fueled a reform effort among Ukrainian lawmakers. In October 2014, the countrys parliament passed a major reform package, but many of the initiatives have faced resistance from lawmakers, causing the anti-corruption measures to be delayed or watered down before being implemented. Still, Ukraines anti-corruption movement  fueled by an increasingly active civil society and NABU  have won some hard-fought gains. Most notably, in October 2016, a new online declaration system that mandates that officials publicly disclose all assets in their name, as well as those in the name of their family members has shone a light on the wealth of the countrys political elite. Publicizing officials wealth opens them not only to scrutiny but also potentially to criminal prosecution for a false disclosure.

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Against this backdrop of progress, NABU launched its case against Nasirov, in what is likely to be a drawn out, high-stakes legal battle. Proving Nasirovs guilt in court requires navigating Ukraines judicial system, which has historically been an instrument for settling political scores.

The quality of the evidence will be crucial, Shymkiv argued. In cases like this, where were talking about senior officials, its very important to have bulletproof evidence because usually they hire very bulletproof lawyers, he said.

Its really not really a victory, its a tactical win, Balazs Jarabik, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told FP. The real test is to see how the judiciary handles this. If it can, that would be a victory.

NABUs ability to continue its work hinges on how this case goes and how the agency weathers the internal push and pull of different power brokers and ministries and information brokers within the Ukrainian system, Hannah Thoburn, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute, told FP.

That push and pull could, of course, lead to accusations or allegations that arrests are being made for political purposes, as arrests are routinely suspected to be in Russia and have been in Ukraine in the past. Thoburn acknowledged that anti-corruption cases are inherently political, not because theyre politically motivated, but because corruption and politics are so entwined in Ukraine.

Shymkiv, too, recognizes people could say theyre the target of anti-corruption efforts and could claim to be political victims. If youre talking about politicians, they immediately jump and say, Why me? Im innocent. Im good, he said. For us, its important that NABU continues to demonstrate independence, and anti-corruption prosecutors demonstrate their position, and I think thats the key.

Photo credit: Danil Shamkin/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Bentley is embracing electricity. The British brand will oversee the introduction of a plug-in-hybrid variant of its Bentayga SUV sometime next year, with other models to follow. Plug-in hybrids, though, are merely a stepping stone to all-out electrification, something the brand has discussed with us a couple of times previously. The British firms latest concept car, the EXP 12 Speed 6e, is a showcase for what an all-electric car wearing the Flying B might be like.

The Speed 6e is essentially a droptop variant of the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept shown two years ago, but details on its powertrain are scant. Bentley does note that an electric Bentley would be able to drive between . . . Milan and Monaco on a single charge, a travel distance of a little less than 200 miles. Charging is done via a plug-in port hidden behind the rear license plate, although Bentley says the car also can be charged via wireless induction.

The brand proved far more forthcoming in discussing the roadster concepts gimmicks, though, including a pair of cameras in place of side mirrors, an illuminated 6e logo within the grille, and a steering wheel that appears to be plucked right out of Adam Wests Batmobile. The wheel features two buttons at the top of its spokes, with one activating a performance boost (think something like the push-to-pass function on a race car) and the other limiting vehicle speed, presumably to make the most of the electric vehicles available range. Additionally, the Speed 6e comes equipped with an OLED touchscreen infotainment system and copper accents throughout its wood and leather-lined interior, features we anticipate the production vehicle will offer.

Whether something like the Speed 6e reaches production remains to be seen; wed heard the first Bentley EV may be a practical sedan in order to widen its appeal (and to provide more room for packaging the electric hardware, we imagine). Nevertheless, the EXP 12 Speed 6e concept signals the beginning of a new era at Bentley, and were interested in seeing where it takes the brand.
BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government said on Wednesday there had been a significant increase in Turkish spying in Germany, where tensions within the large Turkish community have escalated ahead of next month's referendum on Turkey's presidency. The BfV domestic intelligence agency said divisions in Turkey leading up to the April 16 referendum on boosting the powers of President Tayyip Erdogan were mirrored in Germany. At the same time, strained relations between Germany and Turkey, which soured after a failed army bid last July to overthrow Erdogan, reached a new low this month in a row over Turkish political rallies to drum up support in the referendum. "The BfV is observing a significant increase in intelligence efforts by Turkey in Germany," it said in a statement. No further details were provided. Germany's chief federal prosecutor launched an investigation in January into possible spying by clerics sent to Germany by Ankara. Bfv President Hans-Georg Maassen underscored his concern over tensions between right-wing Turks in Germany and supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). "There is the danger that these proxy fights between PKK supporters and nationalist, right-wing extremist Turks will escalate because there is a high, hard-hitting potential for danger in both groups," he said. Maassen did not specifically address the issue of Turkish spying. He told reporters in January that Germany would not tolerate Turkish intelligence operations within its borders. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Wednesday met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Berlin and said Turkey's internal fights should not be imported into Germany. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Dominic Evans)
best movies on Netflix

If youre looking for the best Netflix movies to celebrate International Womens Day, there are plenty of options. International Womens Day rejoices the cultural, social, and political achievements of women, and some of the best movies on Netflix highlight just that. In addition to compelling documentary movies, there are plenty of romantic comedies, dramas, and even a couple of horror movies streaming on Netflix that highlight the awesomeness of women.

Woman in Gold

Helen Mirren stars in this true story of one womans mission to seek justice and reclaim her legacy. Sixty years after fleeing Vienna during World War II, Maria Altmann sets out to retrieve her family possessions that the Nazis stole during the war. Her journey would take her all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Audrie & Daisy

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP)  A black University of Alabama student supported by a secretive campus group long controlled by whites has been elected student government president, breaking a barrier that seemed unlikely to fall a few years ago.

Junior marketing major Jared Hunter won the office in balloting Tuesday, carrying 54 percent of the vote in a three-way race.

Hunter won after writing a column in the student newspaper, The Crimson White, stating he was supported by a campus organization called The Machine, which is composed of the most prestigious, historically white fraternities and sororities on campus. Blamed for various acts of wrongdoing for years, the group has controlled campus politics for generations.

Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Hunter said he's been told he was the first black candidate ever backed by the group for SGA president, but race never became an issue in the election.

"It still feels pretty unreal that I won," he said.

Hunter is the first black member of the Theta Chi fraternity at Alabama and got the Machine endorsement. Running on a platform that included more intercultural events on campus, combatting sexual assault and free soft drink refills at football games, Hunter defeated two white candidates including the incumbent, who was seeking re-election.

Two other black candidates have been elected student government president at Alabama  independent Elliot Spillers most recently in 2015, when he received the support of some white fraternities. But no other black has ever been acknowledged as being backed by The Machine.

In publicly announcing his support by The Machine, Hunter wrote that he had misgivings about accepting the group's support after being told it wanted to back him.

"Running for office with the support of a group with such a checkered past was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made," he wrote in a column published by The Crimson White before the election.

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Stories of Machine actions aimed at opponents are numerous through the years  a burglary, a cross-burning, vandalism, social ostracism, to name a few. The student government association was temporarily disbanded two decades ago after a non-Machine presidential candidate claimed she was assaulted, and a former Tuscaloosa school board member sued over claims the group improperly swayed a city election by providing students with booze and concert tickets in 2013.

Hunter, who grew up in Wetumpka near Montgomery, wrote: "The Machine's stigma casts a shadow on the history of this university to this day. I wrestled with the dilemma - and eventually realized I had an incredible opportunity. I knew my campaign and my ideas were my own. No matter who chose to support me, I would run on my own terms."

After publication of the column, a campus board found Hunter violated campaign spending rules by paying a $500 bar tab for other students at a campaign kickoff party and subsequently lying about what had happened. The board also ruled he had overspent a $1,000 limit on campaign spending, but Hunter denied wrongdoing and won the election despite the decision.

The election of a black Machine candidate comes after years of change at Alabama, which once was racially segregated but has used aggressive recruitment and building programs to transform itself and grow dramatically since 2003, when enrollment topped 20,000 for the first time.

With a student body that was long composed mainly of Alabama natives, the university's fall 2016 enrollment of 37,665 students included 55 percent out-of-state residents. The student body is about 12 percent black.

Targeted by protests over racial exclusion four years ago, the university's traditionally white sororities now have a small number of minority members, and Hunter said other white fraternities have selected blacks as members.

The university last year developed a plan for increasing diversity in the Greek-letter groups in consultation with the Justice Department, and it's in the process of hiring its first diversity officer.

At Alabama, Hunter said: "Everything has changed."
La Paz (AFP) - Bolivia passed a controversial measure Wednesday to expand production of coca, the raw material for cocaine.

Leftist president Evo Morales dismissed warnings that an increase in coca crops would fuel the illegal drug trade.

The coca leaf is commonly chewed or drunk like tea, but drug gangs make it into cocaine in a chemical process that brings out its narcotic qualities.

Morales rolled back a 1988 US-backed law which curbed illegal coca growing by restricting production.

He is himself a former coca farmer and current leader of a grouping of coca farmers' unions in the central Chapare region.

"We want to guarantee coca supplies for life" for Bolivians who consume the leaves legally, sometimes in ancestral rituals, he said Wednesday in a speech.

He signed into law a reform passed by congress last month.

It officially recognizes as legal 22,000 hectares of coca crops, raising the limit of 12,000 hectares fixed in the previous law.

A European Union study in 2013 estimated demand for legal coca in Bolivia at just 14,700 hectares.

Other coca farmers' unions boycotted the launching of the measure, alleging that Chapare supplies coca to the cocaine trade.

Bolivia is the third biggest coca producer in the world after Colombia and Peru. Those two countries are trying to reduce their coca crops to curb drug-trafficking.

Former president Jorge Quiroga said Morales's move would "bring international shame" on Bolivia "due to the stigma of drug-trafficking and the crime that it will cause."
Brabus bills its latest customized Mercedes, the Brabus 550 Adventure 4x42 as the most off-road capable supercar in its history. It's certainly the biggest.

When the company's head of communications, Sven Gramm, said "You'll see a big SUV," when asked what the company was planning for Geneva, he wasn't exaggerating.

The Brabus 550 Adventure 4x42 is 2.25 meters tall, over 2 meters wide and thanks to portal axles that allow the wheels to sit below rather than in line with the engine's drive shafts, offers a ground clearance of almost half a meter, too.

And while on first glance, it does look like a big boy's toy, the latest souped-up Mercedes to get the Brabus treatment is a very serious off-roader. Even though, in true Brabus fashion it is a much faster car than the original version -- the company has boosted the engine from 422hp and 610Nm of torque to 550hp and 800Nm, it has electronically limited the car's top speed to a comparatively sedate 210km/h (130mph). However, that's to preserve the integrity of the vehicle's off-road tires.

Even with very knobbly rubber wrapping each of the wheels, the car can still accelerate from 0-100m/h in 6.7 seconds. And so that this turn of speed doesn't feel like crossing the sea during a storm, Brabus has fitted its own electronically adjustable suspension built from aluminum to reduce unsprung weight and which can be adjusted remotely via a control panel in the cabin.

Other modifications include a custom roof rack with off-roading lights, an integrated winch, a reworked front bumper and underride guard, mesh protectors over the lights, a functioning hood scoop, foldaway side steps (it's a long way up into that cabin) and a new rear bumper with fog lights and a deflector for protecting the car from rocks and other obstacles.

Inside it's a similar story with a custom leather trim and a host of extra creature comforts not available on the standard car, the most notable being a center console for rear seat passengers that offers fingertip control of the infotainment and climate control settings. Other neat touches include search lights on the roof that can be remotely pivoted from the driver's seat and a stealth button that immediately kills all lights and switches the exhaust to its quietest mode.
Brain scans of infants as young as 6 months old may be able to predict whether a child will develop autism, a new study suggests.

In the study, researchers found that infants who later developed autism had higher amounts of cerebrospinal fluid  the clear liquid that cushions the brain within the skull  that could be seen on an MRI, compared with those who did not develop autism.

What's more, the researchers also found that the levels of CSF lined up so closely with the risk of autism that they could use measurements of CSF volume to predict the development of autism among "high-risk" infants, or those who had an older sibling with the condition. Measurements of CSF volume at 6 months predicted which high-risk infants were diagnosed with autism at age 2 with a 70 percent accuracy, the researchers said. [11 Facts Every Parent Should Know About Their Baby's Brain]

Although more studies are needed, the researchers say that one day, doctors might be able to monitor CSF to help gauge a child's risk of autism.

"Neuroimaging CSF could be another tool to help pediatricians diagnose autism as early as possible," study author Mark Shen, a postdoctoral fellow in psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, said in a statement. "It could help signal risk using regular MRIs that you find in any hospital."

Still, the researchers said there are a number of questions that need to be answered before doctors could use MRIs for this purpose. For instance, the researchers don't know whether this CSF anomaly is found only among children at high risk for autism, or if it would be found more generally in all children who develop autism. The researchers also don't know if this anomaly contributes to the development of autism, or if it's simply a marker of another factor related to autism.

The results confirm those of an earlier study by the same group of researchers, which also found a link between CSF volume and the risk of autism. However, the earlier study was relatively small, involving 55 infants.

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In the new study, the researchers examined MRIs from 343 infants at ages 6, 12 and 24 months. Of these, 221 infants were at a high risk of developing autism based on their family history, whereas 122 had no family history of autism.

At the end of the study, 47 infants in the high-risk group were diagnosed with autism by the time they were 2 years old. None of the infants in the comparison group developed autism.

Among infants who were at a high risk for autism, those who were ultimately diagnosed with the condition had, on average, 18 percent more CSF in an area known as the subarachnoid space, which surrounds the brain, at 6 months of age, compared with those who did not develop autism.

In addition, infants who developed more severe symptoms of autism had 24 percent greater CSF volume in the subarachnoid space, compared with those who did not develop autism.

The researchers hypothesize that this CSF anomaly could be a sign that the CSF is not properly circulating as it should. Normally, the CSF circulation helps to filter out potentially dangerous molecules.

"CSF is like the filtration system in the brain," said Shen, who began this work as a graduate student at the MIND Institute at the University of California, Davis. "As CSF circulates through the brain, it washes away waste particles that would otherwise build up." The researchers believe that an increase in CSF in the subarachnoid space "is an early sign that CSF is not filtering and draining when it should."

The result is that there could be a buildup of neuroinflammation that isn't being washed way," Shen said.

Future studies are needed to evaluate both the underlying causes of increased CSF volume, and the potentially harmful effects on brain development, the researchers said.

The study is published today (March 6) in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Original article on Live Science.

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Britain owes the European Union budget two billion euros after turning a blind eye to a major scam by Chinese importers, the EU's fraud office said on Wednesday.

"We recommended that the European Commission recovers the money from the United Kingdom," the EU's anti-fraud office OLAF said in an email to AFP, confirming a report by Politico.

OLAF accuses Britain of ignoring rampant use of fake invoices and customs claims by Chinese importers which cost 1.99 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in lost customs duties to the EU.

The claim comes at a sensitive time in EU-Britain relations, just before London is to embark on Brexit negotiations in which the UK's exit bill -- estimated at 60 billion euros -- has already sparked sharp exchanges.

The UK government said it rejected the report and insisted Britain was tough on fraud.

"We don't recognise the figures and (the UK's revenue authorities) are looking at it now," a spokesman for British Prime Minister said.

The matter was "entirely separate and unrelated matter to the Brexit negotiations," he added.

An investigation by OLAF showed that between 2013 and 2016, fraudsters evaded customs duties by using false invoices and incorrect customs value declarations on imports into the UK.

OLAF said that "despite repeated efforts and in contrast to the actions taken by several other member states to fight against these fraudsters," the scam in Britain continued to grow.

The office said that the scheme also cost other EU countries -- such as France, Germany, Spain and Italy -- 3.2 billion euros in lost national value-added-tax revenue.

The fraudsters involved "are in fact organised crime groups whose actions affect the entire EU; they operate in criminal networks active across the EU," OLAF said.
The Canadian town of Onoway, in Alberta, has apologized to locals after its drinking water turned bright pink.

Residents started complaining about the water which suddenly changed color, on Monday night, CBC reports.

The stages of pink at one household. Alberta Environment to have water speacialist in #Onoway today. @GlobalEdmonton #yeg pic.twitter.com/7B9NFl936l  Shallima Maharaj (@ShallimaGlobal) March 7, 2017

In a Facebook post, the CBC reports, town authorities said that after several hours, the color change was caused by a stuck valve, which allowed potassium permanganate, a chemical disinfectant into the water. The disinfectant is used to treat water and residents were never at risk the statement said.

Could the town have done a better job of communicating what was going on yesterday to our community  absolutely, without a doubt, Mayor Dale Krasnow said on the towns website, according to the CBC. We do apologize for that.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The United States on Wednesday rejected China's proposal for a halt to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises if North Korea suspends its nuclear and missile activities. It called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un irrational and demanded "positive action" before the U.S. can take his regime seriously.

In Washington, U.S. State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner said, "At this point we don't see it as a viable deal." A Pentagon spokesman, Cmdr. Gary Ross, said U.S. activities to defend South Korea "cannot be equated to North Korea's repeated violations of its obligations and agreements."

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told reporters after an emergency Security Council meeting on North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches that the United States must see "some sort of positive action" by Kim's regime before discussing ways to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"They've given us enough reason to think how irresponsible that they are that we ever try and think that we're dealing with a rational person on this," she said.

Earlier Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed the freeze-for-freeze, likening escalating tensions between the North and Washington and Seoul to "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way."

The idea was rejected by South Korea and Japan as well as the U.S.

Haley said the military drills are especially needed now after North Korea conducted two nuclear tests and 24 ballistic missile launches last year and two sets of missile launches and the assassination of Kim Jong Un's estranged brother using a chemical weapon this year.

She also defended the upcoming deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea, a move that has been strongly opposed by China. She said America would not leave its ally facing the threat from North Korea without help.

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"We have not seen any goodwill at all coming from North Korea," Haley said. "I appreciate all my counterparts wanting to talk about talks and negotiations, (but) we are not dealing with a rational person."

With any other country, the United States would be seeking negotiations, she said.

"This is not a rational person, who has not had rational acts, who is not thinking clearly," Haley said of North Korea's leader. "This is someone who is trying to get attention. This is someone who is trying to get a reaction."

Haley said the United States is re-evaluating how it is going to deal with North Korea going forward "and we are making those decisions now and will act accordingly."

"We're not ruling anything out and we're considering every option that's on the table," she said.

South Korean Ambassador Cho Tae-yul also rejected the idea of a North Korean nuclear freeze in exchange for halting U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which he stressed are defensive in nature.

"Linking this exercise to anything else, which is illegal nuclear and missile provocation by North Korea, is inappropriate and unacceptable, and I think this is just trying to link the unlinkable," he said.

"All kinds of options have been exhausted so far," Cho said, "So the only available means to change the North Korean behavior fundamentally is to continue to keep up the pressure and sanctions on North Korea."

Japan's U.N. ambassador, Koro Bessho, said that "at the starting point we need some assurances they are serious about the denuclearization."

"So Japan's position is that it's not freeze-for-freeze but it's denuclearization that we're looking for," Bessho said.

But Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi warned that "if you look at ... the development of events now on the Korean Peninsula there's a real danger, there's a real risk."

The alternative to China's proposal "would be escalation of tension, and the situation may get out of control," he told The Associated Press and two other reporters.

"We should avoid any worsening of the situation, or still any conflict, any sparks triggering a larger-scale conflict or even war on the Korean Peninsula," Liu said. "That's not something that's in the interest of anyone."

He said implementing China's proposal "shouldn't be hard" if there is political will, but "it would take the agreement of all the sides to get this result."

When asked whether China had a commitment from North Korea to freeze testing, he told the AP that "we have been talking to various parties concerned about this."

Haley said talks are one option on the table for U.S. consideration along with many others that she declined to specify. She said other Security Council members would also all be discussing with their capitals what to do next on North Korea.

Japan's Bessho said three of the missiles launched Sunday night landed in his country's exclusive economic zone where fishermen troll for squid. He said the North Korean military unit that conducted the launches is tasked with striking U.S. military bases in Japan when necessary.

"This shows us they are serious in these aggressive actions," Bessho said, calling the North's actions "a serious matter for the whole world."

He welcomed the Security Council's reaction late Tuesday, which was stronger than after previous launches.

The council strongly condemned the North's missile tests, "increasingly destabilizing behavior" and defiance of the council's resolutions. It said the missile activity increases tensions in the region and beyond, and risks a regional arms race.

The Security Council has already imposed six rounds of increasingly tougher sanctions on North Korea. It urged all countries to "redouble efforts" to implement them and warned of possible "further significant measures."

North Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Wednesday categorically rejected the council statement that labeled what he called its "routine" ballistic missile launches a threat. The spokesman reiterated that the U.S.-South Korean exercises are pushing the situation "to the brink of a nuclear war" and the North was responding with "the self-defensive right of a sovereign state."

At the Security Council meeting, British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, the current council president, said members discussed "a potential role" for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in pursuing "a united council position," but gave no details.

Speaking on behalf of Britain, Rycroft backed the U.S. saying it's "very important that the first step" come from North Korea to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization.

China's Liu told the AP the Security Council must follow the situation closely "but it is key that the main players in the region refrain from doing anything that would exacerbate the current highly tense situation on the Korean Peninsula."

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.
An experimental treatment for children suffering from seizures and people with glaucoma and other disorders would be more accessible in Wisconsin under a bill headed to Gov. Scott Walker's desk.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow the possession of cannibidioid (CBD) oil for a medical condition with a doctor's approval. The Senate approved the bill 31-1 last month.

The oil, derived from marijuana plants, has been used to treat seizures in children. Its use was legalized in Wisconsin in 2014, but under current law only licensed providers can obtain it. This legislation would ease those rules to allow easier access.

The legislation would allow possession of CBD oil as long as a doctor has certified it is being used for a medical condition. It would also require the state to follow suit within 30 days if the federal government were to reclassify CBD oil so it is no longer a Schedule I drug. Its use would not be limited to seizure conditions, as previous versions had required.

"Its an exciting day but its also a little bittersweet," said Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, who authored the bill with Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine.

Krug noted some children who would have benefited from the legislation have died since the Legislature first visited the issue, but said it's "even more important today ... we have a process that we can have doctors and patients make the decisions for themselves about treatments that are highly effective for the disorders theyre facing."

Despite having broad, bipartisan support when a similar bill was introduced last session, a handful of Republican senators who were concerned it would open the door to marijuana legalization blocked its passage in the Senate.

An amendment from Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, to expand the bill to legalize medical marijuana, was not passed.

Taylor and other Democrats spoke in support of and voted for the bill, but said it doesn't do enough, encouraging their Republican colleagues to consider medical marijuana.

Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, argued marijuana legalization "could be considered a gateway situation especially with the heroin epidemic were dealing with throughout the state."

Walker has signaled he will likely sign the bill into law. The governor does not support legalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.

"This bill, as I understand it, theyve been very focused on keeping it narrow, specifically to address the concern that parents had," Walker told reporters last month. "As long as it stayed that focused I'm willing to support it. I just want to make sure its not so broad as to open the door to legalizing marijuana in the state."
By Ben Blanchard and Clare Jim BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - A controversial interpretation by China's parliament of Hong Kong's mini-constitution that effectively bars pro-independence lawmakers from taking office showed Beijing's resolve to prevent secession, a Chinese leader said on Wednesday. Chinese leaders are increasingly concerned about a fledgling independence or secessionist movement in the former British colony of Hong Kong, which returned to mainland rule in 1997 amid promises of wide-ranging autonomy including judicial independence under a "one country, two systems" arrangement. China's parliament last year staged a rare interpretation of the Basic Law, as Hong Kong's mini-constitution is called, and staged one of Beijing's most direct interventions into the city's legal and political system since the 1997 handover. "The interpretation fully demonstrates the Chinese central leadership's resolve in upholding the 'one country, two systems' principle and its firm stand against any attempt at secession of Hong Kong from the Chinese nation," parliament chief Zhang Dejiang said in his annual report to the National People's Congress (NPC). The NPC had ruled last November that all lawmakers must swear allegiance to Hong Kong as part of China and that candidates would be disqualified if they changed the wording of their oath of office or if they failed to take it in a sincere and solemn manner. Two lawmakers, Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung, who pledged allegiance to a "Hong Kong nation" during their oath-taking, have since been barred from office after being democratically elected. Four other pro-democracy lawmakers face possible disqualification for improper oath-taking. "It embodies the firm will of the 1.3 billion Chinese people, including those in the Hong Kong region, to safeguard their country's sovereignty, security and developmental interests," added Zhang, who is also the ruling Communist Party's third-ranked leader. Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China and any attempt at Hong Kong independence is a violation of "one country, two systems", China's constitution and Hong Kong's Basic Law, he said. A former Hong Kong secretary for justice, Elsie Leung, said it was important for Hong Kong's prosperity and integrity that the central government made a statement on independence. "This is the bottom line (of China) and cannot be over written," Leung, now a vice-chairperson of a parliamentary committee on the Basic Law, told reporters in Beijing before the release of Zhang's report. While Communist Party rulers in Beijing have ultimate control over Hong Kong, their perceived growing interference in the financial hub's affairs has stoked tensions and protests including the "Occupy" civil disobedience movement in 2014 that saw major roads blocked for nearly three months in a push for full democracy. Premier Li Keqiang also warned over the weekend in his annual work report to parliament that the notion of Hong Kong independence would lead nowhere. A Hong Kong member of China's top advisory body now in Beijing said a person close to Xi Jinping had once told him the Chinese leader had described Hong Kong as "very troublesome" for China. With Hong Kong due to select a new leader in an election on March 26, the delegate, who declined to be named, said it was likely Xi wanted someone who could better manage the city and not bring an even bigger headache for Beijing. Wang Guangya, head of China's Hong Kong Macau Affairs Office, told reporters Beijing's special attention on the election was "reasonable and shouldn't be criticised". In a sign of China's tightening oversight over local politics, a new batch of Hong Kong delegates to the NPC will have to declare in writing they've never received funds from foreign institutions or individuals in relation to an upcoming NPC election, so as to "safeguard the security of China and prevent foreign powers from interfering", according to new draft electoral guidelines. (Editing by James Pomfret and Michael Perry)
BEIJING (Reuters) - Taiwan's formal relations with its dwindling number of allies around the world lack a basis in international law and have "no future", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday. China has heaped pressure on self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing views as a breakaway province ineligible for state-to-state relations, since Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party won a presidential election last year. China resumed ties with former Taiwan ally Gambia last March, shortly after Tsai swept to victory, and in December the west African state of Sao Tome and Principe ditched Taipei for Beijing. Wang, speaking at his annual news conference on the sidelines of the ongoing meeting of China's parliament, said there was only one China in the world, Taiwan was part of China and that was the international community's consensus. "The Taiwan region establishing or maintaining so-called diplomatic ties with any country lacks a basis in international law, has no legitimacy, and inevitably has no future," he said. "The Taiwan authority should be clear about this trend of events. No person and no force can stop China from finally achieving total national unification." Taiwan had as many as 30 diplomatic allies in the mid-1990s, but now has formal relations with just 21, most of them smaller and poorer countries in Latin America and the Pacific. China is deeply suspicious of Tsai, suspecting she wants to push for the island's formal independence, a red line for Beijing, though she says she wants to maintain peace with China. Proudly democratic Taiwan has shown no interest in wanting to be ruled by autocratic China. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China, fearing a rapid escalation of tension on the Korean peninsula, called on North Korea on Wednesday to stop its nuclear and missile tests and for South Korea and the United States to stop joint military drills and seek talks instead. North Korea launched four ballistic missiles on Monday in response to the joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which it regards as preparation for war. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the tests by the North and the joint drills across the border in South Korea were causing tension to increase like two "accelerating trains coming toward each other". [L3N1GL1L4] "China's suggestion is, as a first step, for North Korea to suspend nuclear and missile activities, and for the U.S. and South Korea to also suspend large-scale military drills," Wang said at his annual news conference on the sidelines of the meeting of China's parliament in Beijing. Such a "dual suspension" would allow all sides to return to the negotiating table, Wang said. North Korea fired the four missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, angering South Korea and Japan with the latest in a series of ballistic missile and nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. resolutions in recent months. "Holding nuclear weapons won't bring security, using military force won't be a way out," Wang said. "There remains a chance of resuming talks, there is still hope for peace." His comments came a day after the U.S. military started to deploy the first elements of its advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea. That deployment added to the complexity of the tensions between South Korea and China, which opposes the THAAD deployment that it says destroys the regional security balance. Wang reiterated those concerns on Wednesday, describing its deployment as a mistake. China says as part of its objection that the system's far-reaching radar can penetrate into its territory. In turn, South Korea and the United States have said the missile system is aimed only at defending against any North Korean missiles. DEEPENING ROW The diplomatic standoff between Beijing and Seoul has deepened over the past week, with Chinese authorities closing nearly two dozen retail stores of South Korea's Lotte Group, which approved a land swap with the military last week to allow it to install the anti-missile system. Lee Hyun-jae, chairman of the ruling Liberty Korea Party's policy committee, said on Tuesday South Korea would actively consider filing a complaint to the World Trade Organization over what it considers trade retaliation. Since the THAAD deployment was announced, South Korean companies in China have reported cyber attacks, store closures and fines. State-controlled media in China has called for a boycott of South Korean goods and services. China is also isolated North Korea's most important supporter, but China has been angered by its repeated missile and nuclear tests and has signed up for increasingly severe U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang, including suspending coal imports. However, China has also rejected accusations from U.S. President Donald Trump that it could be doing more, saying the problem was ultimately between the United States and North Korea. Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn after Monday's missile tests, with Abe later saying the threat from North Korea had "entered a new phase". North Korea's missile and nuclear tests are seen as a growing test of resolve for Trump, who had vowed to get tough on Pyongyang, and his aides are pressing to complete a strategy review of how to counter the threats. North Korea remained typically defiant. North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Choi told the U.N.-backed Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday that the annual U.S.-South Korean drills were "a major cause of escalation of tension that might turn into actual war". North Korea is mired in a separate row with Malaysia over the murder of leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother at Kuala Lumpur international airport last month. Malaysia and North Korea have expelled each other's ambassadors and announced tit-for-tat bans on departures of their nationals, sharply escalating tension between two countries that, until the killing of Kim Jong Nam, had maintained rare close ties. On Wednesday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak sounded a more conciliatory tone, saying there were no plans to cut diplomatic ties as he attempts to secure the release of 11 Malaysians stuck in North Korea. Police say King Jong Nam's attackers used VX nerve agent, a super-toxic chemical listed by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction, to kill him. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Philip Wen and Christian Shepherd in BEIJING, James Pearson in SEOUL, Rozanna Latiff and Marius Zaharia in KUALA LUMPUR and Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. doctors' organization and several hospital groups came out strongly on Wednesday against a Republican plan backed by President Donald Trump to overhaul America's healthcare system, as Democrats mounted a fierce battle to thwart the bill. Two House of Representatives committees began debating the plan and considering amendments two days after it was unveiled by Republican leaders. The legislation aims to repeal and replace the Obamacare law, which Republicans call a government overreach that has ruined healthcare in the United States. Trump and fellow Republicans in Congress campaigned last year on a promise to dismantle the signature domestic policy achievement of Democratic former President Barack Obama. But they face resistance from conservatives in their own party who have condemned the bill as too similar to the law it is meant to supplant. Democrats, meanwhile, have denounced it as a gift to the wealthy that will take insurance away from millions of people. "What theyre doing is very destructive. ... It represents the biggest shift of money to the wealthiest people in our country, the top 1 percent, at the cost of working families," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters. Doctors and other providers said the bill would probably cause many patients to lose insurance and raise healthcare costs. The American Medical Association doctors' group urged senior lawmakers in a letter to reconsider drastic changes to Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor. The AMA, which supported Obamacare, said the replacement of income-based subsidies with age-based tax credits to help people buy insurance would make coverage more expensive, if not out of reach, for poor and sick Americans. Obamacare, formally called the Affordable Care Act, enabled 20 million previously uninsured people to obtain coverage, about half through a Medicaid expansion the new bill would end. Insurers are worried about the affordability of the tax structure and proposed major changes in Medicaid financing. In a letter to Congress, America's Health Insurance Plans, which represents Anthem Inc and others, indicated that was still a concern, despite many aspects of the draft that would help stabilize the individual insurance market. Seven hospital groups, including the American Hospital Association, America's Essential Hospitals and the Catholic Health Association of the United States, also voiced opposition, writing in a letter to lawmakers that the proposal could lead to "tremendous instability" for people seeking affordable medical coverage, including children, the elderly and disabled. Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade. But the bill's fate is far from certain, with a number of Republican conservatives saying it is not a full repeal and sets up new entitlement programs. Trump met with leaders of conservative groups on Wednesday who have concerns about the bill. "Im encouraged that the president indicated they are pushing to make changes," David McIntosh from one of the groups, Club for Growth, told reporters after the meeting. "CONSERVATIVE WISH LIST" The House Ways and Means Committee, with jurisdiction over taxes, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees health issues, kicked off what could become marathon sessions working on the legislation. The plan would scrap the Obamacare requirement that most Americans obtain medical insurance and would replace its income-based subsidies with a system of fixed tax credits to coax people to buy private insurance on the open market. Trying to mollify skeptics in his party, House Speaker Paul Ryan, an architect of the plan, touted it as "a conservative wish list" and "monumental, exciting conservative reform." Representative Mark Walker, head of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest group of conservatives in Congress, said RSC leaders might support the bill if two changes are made. The first, proposed by Representative Joe Barton in the Energy and Commerce Committee, would bring forward the end of enrollment in Medicaid expansion by two years to January 2018. The second would make age-based tax credits for purchasing health insurance partially rather than fully refundable. With those changes, "wed be a hard 'yes'," Walker told reporters. Democrats were using every procedural maneuver possible to delay the committee work, including demanding votes to adjourn on the House floor. The top Energy and Commerce Committee Democrat, Representative Frank Pallone, called the Republican plan "a prescription for disaster" and said not a single hearing had been held to develop the bill. Republicans insisted on committee action even though the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had not yet done its customary assessment of the cost of the measure and how many people it would cover. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said, "If you're looking at the CBO for accuracy, you're looking in the wrong place." Ways and Means Democrats raised questions over the bill's proposed tax break for insurance company executives, with Representative Lloyd Doggett calling it a "$400 million windfall" for insurance company executives. Hospital stocks clawed back some of Tuesday's losses after the bill's unveiling. Community Health Systems Inc rose 4.5 percent and Tenet Healthcare Corp gained 1.5 percent. Health insurer shares, including WellCare Health Plans Inc and Aetna Inc, closed moderately higher. (Additional reporting by David Morgan, Caroline Humer, Eric Walsh, Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu, Toni Clarke and Steve Holland in Washington, and Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Writing by Will Dunham and Nick Tattersall; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
Marine scientists have made an early but exciting discovery about how some corals respond to stress.

Certain species of corals can activate a set of ancient, defensive genes when exposed to high water temperatures, ocean acidity or low oxygen levels, a team from Stanford University found in a new study.

This genetic response suggests these corals are particularly tolerant to changes in the ocean  a trait that could be key to their survival as the oceans heat up and turn more acidic because of human-driven climate change.

SEE ALSO: Get your feet wet as a marine biologist in a VR coral reef

The stress-triggered genes may also serve as a warning sign for scientists that a coral bleaching event is about to happen, the researchers said in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

Several species of damselfish nestle in a cauliflower coral at Rose Atoll Marine National Monument in American Samoa.

Image: NOAA

Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, providing shelter and sustenance to everything from algae, worms and snails to thousands of fish species and shellfish. They also bring billions of dollars' worth of goods and services to land dwellers through tourism and fishing.

Yet corals are facing an unprecedented threat from global warming, which is raising water temperatures worldwide.

In 2015 and 2016, Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef suffered its largest die-off ever recorded due to unusually warm waters, with an average of 67 percent of corals in one area declared dead. The corals had expelled the symbiotic algae that give them their vibrant colors, creating hundreds of miles of stark-white coral. This phenomenon is known as coral bleaching, and the longest-recorded worldwide bleaching event is still underway.

The corals in the Stanford study aren't necessarily immune to these threats. But researchers said their stress response indicates they may be less vulnerable than other types of coral, giving them more time to adapt.

A staghorn coral colony in Guam that is bleached but still alive.

Image: NOAA

"It shows we can predict areas in the world where there are corals that are more likely to be more tolerant to future climate scenarios," said Lupita Ruiz-Jones, a co-author of Wednesday's study and a lecturer at Stanford.

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This knowledge could help conservationists focus their efforts on more heat-tolerant species and reefs.

For the study, Ruiz-Jones and Stanford marine sciences professor Steve Palumbi monitored three coral colonies in a lagoon on Ofu Island, American Samoa. During the course of 17 days in August 2013, they monitored over 17,000 coral genes just after 12 p.m. each day.

On days 7 and 8, when tides were lowest and water temperatures spiked above 30.5 degrees Celsius, or 87 degrees Fahrenheit, the corals' genes turned on a set of defensive genes involved in the "unfolded protein response." The response is used by all mammals  including humans with diabetes or cancer  to help cells combat problematic proteins.

"They started using a whole set of genes that they had just not been using before," Palumbi said in a press release. But by day 9, when the tides rose and water temperatures cooled, the corals no longer tapped into this genetic stress response.

"It's the first time to detect a coral stress response in the field when there's no visible signs of stress," Ruiz-Jones said.

The scientists said the corals' frequent, relatively brief exposure to high temperatures might ultimately make them more resilient  just as regularly lifting weights or running keeps you ready for a race. By studying other heat-tolerant corals, marine biologists globally could start to identify and map other tougher colonies around the world, the researchers said.

"There is resiliency growing into the system because of adaptation," said Wade McGillis, a professor at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory who studies coral heat stress and was not involved in the Stanford study.

"Most certainly, coral species with those gene types are going to have a better ability to handle the next [warming event] and keep going on," he said by phone from the Galapagos Islands.

Recognizing that many coral reefs are likely to perish as ocean temperatures climb in coming years, conservationists are turning to strategies that target the more resilient species for saving.

For example, a new initiative known as 50 Reefs launched in late February. Led by Bloomberg Philanthropies, it aims to identify the 50 highest priority coral reefs that have the best chance of surviving climate change, as a way of protecting coral reefs from climate change-induced extinction.
Lawyers for the state of Hawaii appear likely to be the first to pursue a court challenge to President Trumps new order limiting immigration from six Mideast nations. That challenge is due to be filed in Honolulu on Wednesday. Similar lawsuits are expected to be filed elsewhere soon.

Judge Derrick K. Watson

Under a schedule that Trump administration lawyers joined in proposing. Hawaiis constitutional challenge would come up for a hearing on the morning of March 15, just hours before the new Executive Order is set to go into effect that evening. (Hawaii time is five hours earlier than East Coast time.)

The President signed the new order, modified from an earlier version issued in late January but blocked by federal court orders, on Monday. But the new orders effective date was delayed for 10 days  a point that challenging lawyers are expected to use as an argument that there is no urgent need for the restrictions and there is no pressing national security threat.

The new Hawaii case will begin in the federal District Court of Judge Derrick K. Watson. He handled that states earlier challenge to the original Trump order. That case, however, was put on hold by the judge at the federal governments request on February 9, because a separate case filed against the first order by the states of Washington and Minnesota had reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

That is the Circuit Court that hears appeals from West Coast states and from Hawaii. That court refused to allow the first Trump order to be enforced. (Technically, the Washington-Minnesota case had remained active in the Ninth Circuit Court, but administration lawyers on Tuesday voluntary withdrew their appeal in that case.)

Hawaiis lawyers told Judge Watson on Tuesday that their new legal complaint, along with a request for a temporary court order blocking enforcement of the new Executive Order, will be filed promptly. If the judge agrees with the schedule proposed jointly by the two sides, the first documents will be filed by the state on Wednesday, the government response would be due on March 13, and the states reply by noon on March 14. A hearing, with at least some of the lawyers participating by telephone, would be on March 15.

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The new Trump order includes a number of changes that federal officials believed would overcome the legal flaws that the Ninth Circuit Court and a federal trial judge in Seattle had found in the original attempt to curb immigration from seven Mideast countries that have Muslim majority populations. The new order targets six of those same nations, but leaves Iraq off of the list.

Lawyers for a number of states and for civil rights groups have made public statements that the new version is similarly flawed, under both the Constitution and federal immigration laws.

Those arguments will now be tested as the new Hawaii case, and no doubt others, move quickly through federal courts.

Legendary journalist Lyle Denniston is Constitution Dailys Supreme Court correspondent. Denniston has written for us as a contributor since June 2011 and has covered the Supreme Court since 1958. His work also appears on lyldenlawnews.com, where this story first appeared.

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New York (AFP) - Throngs of demonstrators, mostly women and many wearing red, rallied in New York and Washington on Wednesday to protest against President Donald Trump's policies toward women on International Women's Day.

In New York, nearly 2,000 people gathered on an unseasonably warm day at the edge of Central Park two blocks from Trump Tower, the Republican president's long-standing New York home and headquarters of his property company.

Red was everywhere, in a hat, bandana or coat, while others wore the pink "pussy hats" that came to symbolize the giant women's march on Washington the day after Trump's January 20 inauguration.

From the podium, Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour and a range of other community activists exhorted demonstrators to "keep resisting" and "keep motivated." Another New York rally is scheduled Wednesday night.

Arielle Datz, who works in publishing, said she took the day off -- dubbed "Day Without a Woman" -- to take part in the demonstration and described the speeches as "very inspiring."

"We hope it won't be four years... but we will keep it up as long as we have to," she told AFP in reference to Trump's four-year term.

Many men also were protesting, such as Corey Ford, who closed his small venture capital firm to take to the streets.

"Fifty percent of our team, eight employees, and 50 percent of the CEOs of our companies are women," he said. "This is a women's demo, anti-Trump is part of it but it's not all of it."

In Washington, at Lafayette Park across from the White House, many of the several hundred demonstrators carried signs decrying Trump's order blocking US aid to foreign nonprofits that provide or actively promote abortions.

"Donald Trump has got to go!" and "This is what democracy looks like!" the crowd chanted.

Susanne Lowen, a 55-year-old baker, decried the president's plan to link foreign aid to a prohibition against disseminating information on birth control as "cruel and immoral."

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Plenty of anger was also directed at other Trump administration policies.

Sheila Collins choked on her words when she tried to explain the many reasons she was protesting, ranging from Trump's refusal to release his tax returns to controversial statements by cabinet officials like Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

"Every day I wake up thinking, 'this can't be real,'" said the 40-year-old marketing director with a sign that read "Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Vote."

"They are doing things to undermine our democracy," she said.

As the crowd streamed into Lafayette Park, knots of demonstrators broke off and paused to take selfies with the White House as a backdrop.

Police officers clad in black, several on bicycles, discreetly eyed the crowd from a distance.

For demonstrator Tess Thapalia, 20, the main issue was what she described as "reproductive justice."

"These are our bodies. And we decide what to do with them. For anyone else to say what to do with them is truly shameful," said Thapalia, a college student from New York.
Dafne Keen bruised Hugh Jackman in Logan audition

Logan might have brought an end to Hugh Jackmans reign as Wolverine, but it did introduce the world to Dafne Keen, who portrayed X-23 in the comic-book adaptation.

Logans writer and director James Mangold has now admitted that he actually had serious concerns that they wouldnt be able to find an actress that could portray X-23, as it was such a challenging role for a teenage actor. James Mangold made this admission to Comic Book Resources, revealing that there was only a handful of actors in the world that could do it justice.
The Mirror Ball Trophy on the set of 'DWTS'

The Dancing With The Stars 2017 cast has been practicing their routines for the DWTS premiere, and its almost time for them to show the world what they are made of. Some of the teams have posted some behind-the-scenes footage from their rehearsals, and it looks like this season isnt going to disappoint!

While there are already some clear front-runners like the dance-experienced Heather Morris from Glee and performer Erika Jayne Girardi from The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, there are a few other serious Dancing contenders on Season 24.

The Dancing With The Stars cast was officially announced on Good Morning America exactly one week ago on March 1. Since that time, the stars have been busy trying to learn how to ballroom dance. It all starts with the basics but with only two weeks until showtime, those moves are pretty critical. Making it past week one of the dancing competition show is a mountain for so many of the stars.

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WASHINGTON  The Womens March on Washington and its sister marches showed the power of women coming together in one place, leading to the largest single-day demonstrations in American history. Now the group behind the march is looking to showcase womens workplace and purchasing power through their absence.

Wednesdays A Day Without a Woman action involves a retreat from engagement with the world as a way of highlighting womens central roles within it. No going to work. No spending money or shopping, except at small and women-owned businesses. No unpaid labor, either. Wear red clothing in solidarity, when striking is not possible.

This general strike action, held in connection with International Womens Day and in solidarity with the International Womens Strike, has been criticized by some U.S. movement supporters for asking women to risk their jobs in a nation where only 10.2 percent of women are in unions. But the organizers see it as the next step in their efforts to empower women opposed to President Trumps agenda and character.

Protesting itself is not enough, which is why we stepped to the next level of asking people to sacrifice, you know, being a part of the strike, Tamika Mallory, co-chair of the Womens March organization, said in a video posted to Facebook. All of these things work together. We cant do one thing and expect that the walls are going to come tumbling down. Its going to take multiple levels of action, activism and resistance in order to insure that democracy is preserved in this country.

A woman chants while attending the Womens March on Washington in Washington, Jan. 21, 2017. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Slideshow: A Day Without a Woman protests across the U.S. >>>

And while general strikes in U.S. history have sometimes had a violent past, Wednesdays actions have drawn a broad spectrum of mainstream support and in some cases are being tied into broader womens workplace empowerment efforts and celebrations of womens history and achievements. International Womens Day in Europe draws a substantial number of corporate supporters, and several major companies in the U.S. have extended notices to their employees that they are free to take a personal day on Wednesday in support of the strike.

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The youth music network MTV is turning its M logo upside down to make it a W  for women  for the day. Fusion is posting special womens issues content. New York magazines the Cut is not posting new content on Wednesday, announcing, In honor of International Womens Day, were on strike. NBC and Netflix have offered employees the chance to take the day off as a personal day without penalty. So have car-sharing services Uber, recently under fire for allegedly fostering a culture of unrestrained sexual harassment, and Lyft.

A strike is not undertaken lightly, and many of the women on the front lines risked their lives in fighting for this deserved justice. It is crucial we acknowledge that strikes and human rights movements of the past have been predominantly led by low income women, immigrants, queer women, and women of color. They led, and are leading, the way to true equality, wrote a group of women at Tumblr, which is owned by Yahoo Inc. For us, employees of Tumblr in 2017, a strike isnt as risky. Tech is a male-dominated field, so a single day without women at Tumblr may simply mean a few empty chairs in meetings.

Facebook is connecting the day to the Lean In feminism of the companys chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg. Facebook will host a 24-hour, #SheMeansBusiness Facebook Live event featuring conversations with some of the incredible women who start and run businesses, Sandberg announced, launching the She Means Business Facebook page.

Slideshow: International Womens Day around the world >>>

Even Trump, who sneered at the Womens March protesters in January  Why didnt these people vote? he asked then  got into the mix. I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy, he tweeted Wednesday morning. On International Womens Day, join me in honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.

School districts in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Alexandria, Va., announced they were canceling classes for the day. Public schools in Prince Georges County, Md., announced Tuesday night they were canceling classes for the day in response to the number of employees saying they were taking the day off, raising the ire of parents who would have preferred more than one days notice of this. Prince Georges County Public Schools CEO Kevin Maxwell reported that more than 1,700 members of the school systems staff and 30 percent of transportation staff had said they would be out. We cannot transport students and provide safe, productive learning environments without adequate staff, said Maxwell. Based on our policies, PGCPS and the Prince Georges County Board of Education have no political stance on A Day Without a Woman.

Some have criticized the general strike as an action available only to privileged women who have enough workplace flexibility to take time off without risking their finances or their jobs. The idea behind the strike is a noble one. Who doesnt want economic equality for everyone? But in practice, most American women cannot afford to opt out of either paid or unpaid labor, wrote Maureen Shaw at business site QZ. Others argue that it has been less privileged women who have been taking time off work for years to engage in protests for social change, such as those around immigration and police brutality. So many women with so much to lose from striking are already doing so, wrote Magally A. Miranda Alcazar and Kate D. Griffiths in the Nation.

Others have wondered why the Womens March is asking people to wear red in solidarity if they cant take the day away from work, instead of the pink that organically came to define the marches through the work of craftivists who knit and crocheted hundreds of thousands of pink pussyhats.

Show them the color PINK to represent womens power. No red!!!! Be consistent and choose PINK again and again! Claim the color that is ours! wrote Connie White on Facebook in response to Mallorys organizing video.

The color red has to do with the history of International Womens Day, which began as International Working Womens Day, in 1909, in remembrance of a strike of women textile workers in New York City the year before, and later continued with the support of the Socialist Party. First celebrated in February, the date was moved to March 8 in observance of the day womens textile workers went on strike in Petrograd in 1917, helping spark the Russian Revolution. The U.N. got behind the day during the height of second-wave feminism in 1977.

Several major protests also are planned over the course of the day around the country, and Washington, D.C., and New York City will each see at least two different protests.

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Alexandria (United States) (AFP) - What does a day without women look like? The city of Alexandria, Virginia, just outside the US capital, found out on Wednesday as an avalanche of teacher requests for time off to mark International Women's Day forced it to close down its entire public school district.

Alexandria's unprecedented decision -- announced two days ahead of time to give parents time to plan for the disruption -- appeared to be broadly well received in the progressive northern Virginia city.

Softening the blow, one of its elementary schools, Patrick Henry, set up a temporary day care costing just $15 so parents did not have to take the day off.

Local resident Elizabeth Proctor, dropping off her young daughter, said she "definitely" supported the movement -- part of a nationwide "Day Without a Woman" protest called to highlight women's pivotal role in society.

"You really see how much we do, and how much we do impact the world around us," she told AFP.

Another parent, Nicole Radshaw, did not hesitate to take the day off to join in the protest.

"Although closing the schools may be inconvenient for some, I think an action like this has to be disruptive in order to be effective," she said.

"It will make our power heard."

Any momentary inconvenience, she said, "is lesser than the inconveniences and challenges women face in our society and in this current political climate."

- 'Unprecedented' -

Wednesday's day of action was spearheaded by several of the groups behind the massive Women's March event held the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Organizers called for women to take the day off work and avoid shopping to highlight issues such as pay inequality.

In Alexandria's schools, the uptake was massive: out of 1,400 teachers, more than 300 asked to take the day off, according to Helen Lloyd, head of communications for the city's public schools.

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"This is unprecedented for us," Lloyd said.

"It's the first time we've had to make a call like this in Alexandria City Public Schools. We have never had a time when we've had so many staff members who have submitted a personal leave on the same day."

Lloyd stressed that, by closing the school system, Alexandria was not sending a political message.

"We just reacted to the situation," she said. "This is not a decision influenced by politics, it's a decision that was influenced by the safety of our students and our ability to deliver instructional learning for that day."

Lloyd also said she was aware that two days was a pretty short lead time for parents.

"We tried to give them as much time as possible to find a solution with child care," she said.

"We've also put services in place to make sure that we minimize the impact on families so we have breakfast and lunch service for any of our students."

- 'Very progressive' -

Radshaw was not surprised the "Day Without a Woman" protest was well followed in Alexandria -- apparently more than elsewhere across the country -- because her city is in "a very progressive area."

"Most of the people here voted for Hillary Clinton," she said. "We're exposed to many different cultures and many different types of people."

In last year's election 76 percent of Alexandria voters cast ballots for the Democrat Clinton, while Republican Trump earned just 17 percent of the vote.

Trump -- whose campaign was nearly derailed by sexual harassment charges -- tweeted Wednesday that he had "tremendous respect" for women, triggering a deluge of scorn on social media.

Maureen McNulty, who took the day off to spend it with her children, said Wednesday was a logical follow-up to the initial Women's March.

"It's a way to bring attention to women's rights, better pay, better working conditions -- and I would say because I'm a nurse, better health care for women," she said.

She said she wanted her children to become politically active, and -- rather than have them spend the day in front of the TV -- planned to take them to a rally for abortion rights being held on Capitol Hill.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three Democratic lawmakers questioned the White House on Wednesday over its handling of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law's potential conflicts of interest now that he is serving as an official adviser. Jared Kushner, a real estate developer who advised Trump during the presidential campaign, was cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice in January to serve as a White House senior adviser. Kushner, who is married to Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka, has been given a wide range of domestic and foreign policy responsibilities, including working on a Middle East peace deal. In a letter to Deputy White House Counsel Stefan Passantino, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tom Carper expressed concern over media reports that Kushner is maintaining some business interests, and asked how the White House plans to comply with laws that prohibit federal officials from profiting by government work. "Neither the White House nor Mr. Kushner's attorneys, however, has confirmed which financial assets Mr. Kushner still controls," making oversight "impossible," they wrote with U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, the senior Democrat on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the House of Representatives. They also said the White House, unlike previous administrations, is not posting ethics-pledge waivers on its websites, adding that the public should know the issues from which Kushner must recuse himself. The White House had no immediate comment on the letter. A lawyer for Kushner, Jamie Gorelick, said in a statement: "Mr. Kushner is fully complying with the ethics rules, removing himself from active participation in his prior businesses, divesting of substantial assets and recusing himself where appropriate in light of interests that he is not divesting." Before Trump took office on Jan. 20, Gorelick said her client would leave his family's company, divest substantial assets and recuse himself from matters that could affect his financial interests, Bloomberg reported. Public interest journalism site ProPublica, citing documents submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, reported in February that Kushner had divested some assets but was keeping other holdings linked to privately held Kushner Companies. In authorizing Kushner's appointment, the Justice Department ruled that Trump, as president, has special hiring authority that exempts White House positions from laws barring the president from naming a relative to lead a federal agency. The Democratic lawmakers called on the White House for details on what holdings Kushner maintains, a list of issues he will recuse himself from, and copies of any ethics waivers. They also raised questions about holdings belonging to his wife, who established a clothing and jewelry line, and whether that would lead Kushner to recuse himself from any issues. Trump himself has said he would maintain ownership of his global business empire but would hand off control to his two oldest sons while president. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by David Alexander and Jonathan Oatis)
Moscow (AFP) - A striking combination of glass, curves and straight lines -- the Tsentrosoyuz building in downtown Moscow stands as a monument to modernist architecture and the genius of its famed designer Le Corbusier.

Completed in 1936 to house the Soviet Union's ministry of light industry, the inventive office block was the first major public commission received by the legendary Swiss-French architect.

It is a symbol of the experimentalism of the early years of Communist rule -- but conservationists are now worried that the historical building could be overshadowed by a 58-metre (191-feet) tall business centre, being mooted for right next door.

For the time being, there is no question of Le Corbusier's creation -- renovated in 2013 -- being touched.

It is classified as a protected historic monument by the authorities and the current inhabitants -- state statistics agency Rosstat -- have no intention of moving out.

But the potential destruction of two neighbouring late 19th century residential buildings to make way for the new business centre has set some preservationists on edge.

"If this project is realised it will change in a very regrettable way the immediate environment of the Tsentrosoyuz," Antoine Picon, the president of the Fondation Le Corbusier, wrote in a letter sent in January to Russia's culture minister and the mayor of Moscow.

"The design took into account the make-up of the buildings that existed at the time," he wrote.

Picon told AFP that he was still to receive a reply to his letter.

- 'Enormous changes' -

The Moscow building applied some of Le Corbusier's architectural principles, including a curtain-wall facade and flat roof, and was made of concrete and red tuff stone, a type of volcanic rock.

One of the fathers of modern architecture, Le Corbusier's ideas about utilitarian concrete buildings have altered the face of cities across the planet and have had an equally profound influence on urban planning.

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According to preservation group, Arkhnadzor, the buildings slated to make way for the business centre are owned by Russia's defence ministry, but a private investor, Fin.Kom, now holds the rights to develop the 15,000-square-metre (161,400-square-feet) site.

When contacted by AFP, Fin.Kom did not respond.

Moscow's cultural heritage authorities told AFP that they have not yet "received or agreed to" any application for work at the site.

But they confirmed that the buildings were not classified for preservation and could, in principle, be torn down.

"We do not currently have knowledge of any threats to the Tsentrosoyuz," they added.

But in a sign that preparations for the development could be speeding up, a group of state-approved planning experts last year issued a favourable ruling for the developers.

They insisted that, given the "enormous changes that have taken place over the past quarter-century" in the area, the two residential buildings are now "obsolete".

City officials must still approve the experts' findings.

But in December, city hall published draft development plans that included replacing two old residential blocks with a 58-metre high building.

For those fighting to protect Moscow's architectural heritage, these moves are a major blow.

- 'Concentration of riches' -

Some 17 Le Corbusier projects around the world were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2016 and, while Tsentrosoyuz is not among them, it is viewed as a potential future candidate.

Experts say erecting the business centre next door would likely dash those hopes.

More generally, as the Moscow skyline has changed dramatically in recent years, conservationists complain that the project is symptomatic of official disregard for protecting the historic gems studding the city.

"To put a construction that will be twice as big next to such a building... that means reshaping the whole district and disfiguring its appearance even more," said Konstantin Mikhailov, of Arkhnadzor, which works to preserve Russian heritage.

"Moscow is a place where there is a concentration of riches and where there exists a lot of pressure from investors," he told AFP.

"Authorities in the city can't always resist this pressure and sometimes they even encourage it themselves."
Bob Iger just became the galaxy's greatest tease.

The Disney CEO offered some footage of the upcoming Star Wars sequel, The Last Jedi, at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Denver Wednesday  and the footage apparently included a pretty major spoiler for the movie. (Look away now if you don't want to know it.)

SEE ALSO: The new Star Wars episode title means more than you think

The teaser features Luke Skywalker's first meeting with Rey  the moment where The Force Awakens ends, and The Last Jedi begins  with Luke asking Rey "who are you?" according to a Los Angeles Times reporter at the meeting. (Most reporters, listening in on the shareholder call, were blocked from hearing the footage shown.)

We just saw more "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" footage. In it, Luke asks Rey, "Who are you?" Then we see her deftly handle a lightsaber.  Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) March 8, 2017

Why is that a spoiler? Because if Luke doesn't know who Rey is, that all but nixes one major fan theory that's been doing the rounds since 2014  that she's Luke's daughter, or some other relative known to him.

SEE ALSO: Let's talk Rey: The 4 best fan theories about 'The Force Awakens' hero

That gives credence to more wacky theories about Rey's origin: that she's the granddaughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi, or a clone of the late Emperor, or simply a regular Force-sensitive would-be Jedi who was hidden away on the desert planet of Jakku for her own good.

Of course, that line may not end up in the actual film. Maz Kanata, the ancient cantina owner voiced by Lupita Nyong'o, says the same thing in a Force Awakens trailer, and it didn't end up in the finished movie.

Still, it seems a fairly strong indicator that the mystery of Rey is supposed to be deeper than most fans expect  and that the line of Skywalkers in the Skywalker saga may finally be at an end. (That is if you don't count Ben Solo, a.k.a. Kylo Ren, a.k.a. Anakin Skywalker's grandson.)

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The teaser footage also included "an X-wing wobbling mid-air, under attack inside a giant ship," according to Miller, as well as a silent look at General Leia Organa, played by the late Carrie Fisher.

One last thing on the "Last Jedi" footage: We saw all sorts of settings  mountains, oceans, forests, deserts. Look suitably epic, exotic.  Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) March 8, 2017

Iger, meanwhile, revealed he is one of the few souls in the universe to have seen The Last Jedi all the way through. His verdict? "It's great ... a perfect chapter in the iconic Skywalker family drama."

Of course, it's likely that the film he saw is far from complete. The elves at Lucasfilm's special effects shop, Industrial Light & Magic, are hard at work on the special effects at time of writing.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson hits theaters on December 15, 2017  and the first actual public trailer is likely to drop very soon.
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have decided to keep working on their marriage.

Read: Ben Affleck Talks Latest Film 'Live By Night' and the 'American Quality' of Gangster Films

The Hollywood power couple announced their separation in 2015 but continued to put on a united front for their kids.

They were recently photographed together during a family outing in Santa Monica, Calif., and last month they were spotted leaving church together.

Garner was apparently the one who made the decision to put the brakes on the separation and they have decided to work through their problems and continue on.

"Jen has called off the divorce," a source close to Garner told People magazine. She really wants to work things out with Ben. They are giving things another try."

People were taken aback when the couple announced their split. Reports claimed that the Alias actress was bothered by his gambling. Then came talk that the Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice star was having an affair with the nanny.

Read: Ben Affleck Says His Son Thinks He Is Batman at Premiere of 'Batman V. Superman'

He denied being unfaithful. Now, Affleck and Garner, both 44 years old, are giving their relationship another try.

The couple married in 2005, it was his first marriage and her second. They have three children together.

Watch: Angelina Jolie Breaks Her Silence on Her Split From Brad Pitt: 'We Will Get Through This'

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DORTMUND, Germany (AP)  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a hat trick and Christian Pulisic claimed his first Champions League goal as Borussia Dortmund overcame Benfica 4-0 to reach the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Aubameyang had missed a penalty when Dortmund lost 1-0 in the first leg of the Round of 16 contest three weeks ago. But he made up for that by taking his tally to seven goals in seven games as the German side progressed 4-1 on aggregate.

"I wasn't happy with my game, with how I played," Aubameyang said of his previous performance in the away match. "I wanted to show my teammates that I could do much better."

Barcelona stunned Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 in Wednesday's other second-leg game with the decisive goal coming in injury time for a 6-5 victory on aggregate. The draw for the quarterfinals takes place in Nyon, Switzerland on March 17.

Aubameyang got Dortmund off to a flying start in the fourth minute, heading in from point blank range after Pulisic headed on a corner.

"That was all rehearsed," Dortmund captain Marcel Schmelzer joked.

Pulisic was playing in place of the injured Marco Reus, with the 18-year-old American making his eighth Champions League appearance.

Dortmund kept the visitors pegged back, with Marc Bartra going close and then Ousmane Dembele trying his luck from distance.

It was midway through the half before Benfica finally got forward, though Roman Buerki easily saved Franco Cervi's low shot  a good chance for the visitors.

Fear of conceding an away goal seemed to weigh on the Dortmund defense.

Cervi should have scored after the break after Lukasz Piszczek botched a clearance but the Dortmund defender scrambled back in time to block.

"We did have our chances after the break and didn't use them. Then we were hardly able to react," Benfica coach Rui Vitoria said.

Piszczek more than made up for his error by finding the impressive Pulisic to score at the other end in the 59th with a brilliant chip over the outrushing Ederson.

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Within two minutes Dortmund had another as Aubameyang grabbed his second from Schmelzer's volleyed cross after Julian Weigl picked him out with a fine diagonal ball.

Bartra hit the post with a header before Aubameyang completed his hat trick with five minutes remaining thanks to Erik Durm's cross.

"We were just as dominant as we were in the away game," said Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel, whose side had missed a host of chances in Portugal.
BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of tourists visiting Egypt this year could come close to levels seen before its 2011 uprising, encouraged by investments in airport security and a cheaper Egyptian pound, the country's tourism minister said. Egypt's tourism industry, a crucial source of hard currency, has suffered in the years of turmoil that followed the mass protests, as well as from the suspected bombing of a Russian plane in Sinai in 2015, which killed all 224 people on board. The number of tourists coming to Egypt's beaches and ancient sites stood at 9.3 million in 2015, compared with more than 14.7 million in 2010, while receipts stood at $6.1 billion. "I think if we are fortunate enough, this year we will come very close. We are hoping to close the gap as we go on," Yehia Rashed told Reuters ahead of the world's biggest travel trade fair, ITB Berlin, which starts on Wednesday. Rashed said on Tuesday he did not yet have any figures for tourist arrivals in 2016. Tourism accounts for around 11 percent of the country's economy. In the first two months of 2017, the development of arrivals was "very, very good", he said, adding receipts were also improving as visitors spent more and stayed longer on average. German market researcher GfK said last week that German holidaymakers' bookings for trips to Egypt in the upcoming summer season were up 91 percent from last year, but were still 23 percent below pre-uprising levels. Egypt has been offering incentives to airlines such as easyJet and Germany's Air Berlin and tour operators such as TUI and Thomas Cook to bring more tourists to the country. In addition, some $50 million have been invested in airport security in Egypt, with further upgrades still coming, which Rashed said should encourage tourism. Also, the devaluation of the Egyptian pound after Egypt's central bank abandoned its currency peg to the U.S. dollar in November is making it cheaper to spend holidays in the country. "I think (the devaluation) is significantly important as well. People want the best value for price paid," Rashed said. Still, efforts by the Egyptian tourism sector to recover have also been frustrated by a halt on flights to Egypt from Russia following the attack on the Russian plane and a British suspension of flights to the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. Rashed said he was confident those travel restrictions would be lifted eventually. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Alison Williams)
In a show of bipartisan unity, all 100 members of the U.S. Senate signed a letter Tuesday to high-ranking officials in the Trump administration, urging them to address the increasing number of bomb threats against Jewish schools and organizations in recent weeks.

The effort was led by senators from both parties including Gary Peters, Rob Portman, Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio and was addressed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, FBI Director James Comey, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. It comes a day after another round of bomb threats against Jewish community centers and the Anti-Defamation League.

We write to underscore the need for swift action with regard to the deeply troubling series of anonymous bomb threats made against Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), Jewish Day Schools, Synagogues and other buildings affiliated with Jewish organizations or institutions across the country, the letter says. We are concerned that the number of incidents is accelerating and failure to address and deter these threats will place innocent people at risk and threaten the financial viability of JCCs, many of which are institutions in their communities.

There have been at least 98 threats against Jewish community centers and schools in 33 states in 2017, according to the JCC Association of North America  a stat the senators noted in their letter.

The letter also calls on the Trump administration to to work with Jewish community centers around the country to determine what assistance is needed for enhanced security as well as investigate and prosecute those making the threats.
By Michael Martina

BEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) - China's plan to boost domestic manufacturing by 2025 is "highly problematic" and could be used to discriminate against foreign firms in favour of Chinese competitors, a top European business lobby said on Tuesday.

Beijing's "Made in China 2025" plan calls for a dramatic increase in domestically-made products in 10 sectors - from robotics to biopharmaceuticals - that the government hopes will accelerate an industrial upgrade as economic growth slows.

Foreign business groups, however, have grown more vociferous in criticising Beijing's lacklustre market reforms, and worry that the plan will force members to give up key technology in order to access the market or bypass them altogether.

"Made in China 2025" amounts to a "large-scale import substitution plan aimed at nationalising key industries" or "severely curtailing the position of foreign business", the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a report.

Chinese policies, including hundreds of billions of euros in subsidies, were already harming European business, the chamber said.

"Under recently passed legislation in the new energy vehicle industry, for example, European business is facing intense pressure to turn over advanced technology in exchange for near-term market access," the group said.

"In the field of industrial robotics, government subsidies are contributing to overcapacity in the low- and mid-tiers of China's market; and in the information technology industry European business is seeing market access constrict further," it said.

A progressive increase in domestic parts used in such sectors to 70 percent by 2025 is among targets set out in the plan, which aims to use subsidies, technology standards, financial policy and government-backed investment funds to reach them.

Premier Li Keqiang told China's parliament at the opening of its annual session on Sunday that foreign and domestic companies "will enjoy the same preferential policies under the Made in China 2025 initiative".

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But such pledges have done little to allay the concerns of China's trade partners, and there are growing calls in the United States and Europe for equal market treatment in response to what they see as Beijing's mercantilism.

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative said last week it would take aggressive action with other countries, including using "all possible leverage" to give U.S. producers fair, reciprocal access to their markets.

The nominee to be the next U.S. trade negotiator, veteran steel industry lawyer Robert Lighthizer, has long argued for such aggressive measures against China.

Chamber president Joerg Wuttke said the report was intended to "send a wake-up call to companies and members" about what the competitive landscape would look like in 2020 and 2025, as Chinese companies benefit from a protected market at home and then look abroad.

"The worry that we have is that this unbalanced competition landscape that we face in China might be replicated in our home turf," Wuttke told reporters before the report's release.

"Are you up to it to compete against state-sponsored companies in China as well as globally?" Wuttke said.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders will discuss on Thursday their agreed plan to cut immigration from Libyan shores to Italy but they increasingly fear that calmer spring weather will bring a new surge of arrivals from Africa. Arrival numbers from lawless Libya are already higher than last year. Some 9,000 people made the perilous voyage in January and February last year, compared with nearly 13,500 in 2017. EU states agreed a month ago on a plan to curb that flow, part of the bloc's wider push to crack down on immigration after taking in some 1.6 million refugees and migrants coming through the Mediterranean in 2014-2016. The Libya plan includes training the coastguard of the internationally recognized government in Tripoli to have it intercept people and put them back on Libyan shores, as well as funding the U.N. refugee and migrants agencies to improve conditions in migrants camps in Libya. Helping to send more migrants back from Libya to their home countries further south in Africa, controlling the country's borders and fighting smugglers are other parts of the plan. But it is all easier said that done in Libya, a country that descended into chaos following the overthrow of its long-time strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and where the government is challenged by a powerful warlord in the east. "It's a real headache how to translate this into action. And even if we manage, it won't bring immediate results in terms of migration," one senior diplomat in Brussels said. Another diplomat said: "The numbers are already significantly higher than last year. There is growing concern. It just looks like it'll happen all over again." SECURITY SITUATION Italy, Libya's former colonial master, has the best intelligence and is doing most of the heavy-lifting on the ground for the EU. Rome is worried that this coming migration season, which usually lasts from April to October, the arrivals could well exceed the 180,000 people who made it last year, overwhelming Italy in terms of accommodation, security and asylum systems. In the scenario Rome fears most, the chaos would provoke EU states to close its northern border, stranding all the people on its soil in degrading humanitarian conditions and triggering growing social anger. But with Libya in disarray and Tripoli nowhere near being in full control, there is a limit of what the EU can do. The dire security situation means safe access is limited or impossible in large parts of the country, including the south. It puts clear limits on how quickly the U.N. International Organization for Migration can scale up its operations there. The IOM, however, is expected to announce this month that its international staff will be returning to Libya. Rights groups have criticized the EU for deciding to be involved in any way in the migrant camps in Libya, which EU officials and diplomats describe as reminiscent of concentration camps, private prisons or modern-day slave markets. "We are worried, we have to be honest about it," another senior EU diplomat said. "The real issue is on the ground in Libya. For reception centers, absorbing, sending back migrants, you need the Libyans, you need a functioning government and that is going to take some time. The big worry is how to we implement what we agreed." (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Alison Williams)
Brussels (AFP) - The EU will take just 48 hours to issue its first plan for Brexit negotiations after Britain formally triggers its departure, President Donald Tusk said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union -- the divorce notification clause -- by the end of March.

Tusk said the European Council, the EU institution which groups the bloc's national leaders, would issue its draft plan for the talks soon after that.

"When the UK notifies, it is our goal to react with the draft negotiation guidelines for the 27 members to consider, for this I think we need more or less 48 hours," Tusk told a news conference in Brussels.

"Leaders will then meet probably in April to finalise these."

Article 50 will begin a two-year countdown to Britain's actual exit, during which Britain and the EU must negotiate the terms of the departure and, they hope, a future trade relationship.

Tusk said he still hoped it was possible for May to trigger Article 50 earlier than the end of March despite the process being held up in the British parliament "but it is not our decision".

"We are well prepared and our reaction after formal notification will be fast and responsible," he said.

Formal talks are however not set to begin until at least two months after the notification as the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, must also set out more detailed plans for the negotiations based on guidelines from the leaders.

Britain voted to become the first country to leave the EU in a shock vote in June 2016 and its EU partners have pushed it to speed up its departure to end the uncertainties generated by Brexit.
Brussels (AFP) - The European Union is sending a top official to Hungary to have a "serious discussion" with the government over plans to detain all asylum seekers, a spokesman said Wednesday.

EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos will travel to Budapest in the coming weeks after Hungary's parliament approved the detention scheme on Tuesday.

The legislation will see arriving asylum-seekers, as well as those currently in the country, confined in camps made of shipping containers at Hungary's southern borders while their applications are processed.

European commissioners meeting in Brussels "discussed the legal situation regarding Hungary" on Wednesday, said a spokesman for the Commission, the 28-nation EU's executive arm.

The commissioners "concluded that Home Affairs Commissioner Avramopoulos will go to Hungary for a serious discussion with the Hungarian authorities".

The visit will take place within the next two weeks, the spokesman said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said the detention plan will make all of Europe safer from terror attacks, calling immigration the "Trojan Horse of terrorism".

EU member Hungary previously systematically detained all asylum applicants but suspended the practice in 2013 under pressure from Brussels, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the European Court of Human Rights.

The UNHCR said Tuesday that the new legislation "will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered."
The University of Wisconsin Colleges campuses located in Richland County, Rock County, Sauk County and in counties throughout the state, and the University of Wisconsin Extension in every county of Wisconsin, play a key role in placemaking and its intended outcome of cultural, economic and social growth. Being as close to the operation of the UW Colleges as I am, this last statement seems self-evident to me. However, I realize that it is not self-evident to all and that supporting information is important.

Since late 2016, discussions in Richland County and Sauk County have focused on placemaking and how such efforts can enhance quality of life and enhance communities economies. Rock County already has strong, on-going placemaking and economic development work underway. According to the authors of Places in the Making, placemaking seeks to build or improve public space, spark public discourse, create beauty and delight, engender civic pride, connect neighborhoods, support community health and safety, grow social justice, catalyze economic development, promote environmental sustainability, and of course, nurture an authentic sense of place. I believe that higher education institutions are critical to successful placemaking.

One graduate of UW-Richland noted in a statement recently at uwcx.org that she has fulfilled a lifelong dream of returning to her home community to establish her physicians practice. Another graduate, in this case of UW-Baraboo/Sauk County, wrote at uwcx.org that in her role as a community partner some four decades later, I continue to be grateful for having access to a UW College in our community. An alumna of UW-Rock County writes that Starting college with big dreams  but no idea of how to make them happen  I decided to enroll in a college somewhere close to home to make sure I found the right path for me.

In Impacts of new universities on hosting cities and the implications for Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa, authors Deon Kleinsmith and Anele Horn note that [e]very college and university serves to some extent as an economic anchor in its respective community ... They tend to attract revenue from outside the immediate area through tuition, endowment income or state tax allocations and to attract significant human capital  students and employees from a national market  that can contribute to the areas economic growth.

The UW Colleges and UW-Extension provide access to education and expertise that help expand the capacities of our communities to grow and thrive. At the UW Colleges, for example, only 36 percent of our students rely on student loans; this lower debt load has the potential to affect positively our graduates ability to contribute to the economies of our communities. The UW-Extension in 2014 helped Wisconsin businesses create over 500 jobs and acquire $75 million in capital for investment. These jobs and this capital investment strengthen communities.

The individual experiences I highlighted above underscore what Places in the Making and Kleinsmiths and Horns article tells us. Our graduate from UW-Baraboo/Sauk County who has devoted her adult life to civic engagement helps spark public discourse and engender civic pride. Our alumna, who is now a physician in Richland County, is helping to catalyze economic development by promoting the health and well being of Richland County residents. The UW-Rock County alumna embodies the human capital who  along with her classmates and the faculty and staff who serve our students  help contribute to [Rock Countys] economic growth. You can read more such testimonials  and contribute your own  at uwcx.org.

The University of Wisconsin, in all of its forms, contributes to our states sense of place. The campuses of the UW Colleges serve as economic drivers and as economic anchors in their communities and their host counties. Investment of state resources in Wisconsins public higher education infrastructure will ensure that UW graduates continue to contribute strongly to our state, helping to make it a place where people, businesses, and communities will thrive.
President Donald Trump proposed slashing State Department and foreign aid budgets by nearly 40 percent. Now European diplomats are warning those cuts would be dangerous and expose European allies to further Russian aggression.

Six eastern European envoys, including the Ukrainian foreign minister, testified before the Senate Tuesday to urge stronger U.S. leadership in the region to hedge against Russia. While lauding U.S. military assistance and recent troop deployments to the Baltic region under the NATO flag, they also warned cutting funding to non-military assistance measures could strengthen Russias so-called hybrid warfare tactics.

We will not feel safer when the budget for such projects will be essentially cut, Polish Ambassador Piotr Wilczek told a panel of Senate Appropriations Committee members.

We hope that its just a kind of deliberation  a kind of tweeting, not really a decision. Because this sounds very dangerous, he said.

Wilczek, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, and the ambassadors of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Georgia all joined the panel urging the Senate to keep the flow of military and nonmilitary aid flowing to eastern Europe.

They pointed to the importance of U.S. foreign military assistance, but also smaller government-funded efforts, from Voice of America to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, that play an outsized role in bolstering post-Soviet democracies and countering Russian aggression. All are potentially on Trumps budget chopping block. State and foreign aid could see their budgets slashed 37 percent, if the White Houses opening salvo in the federal budget process sticks. His proposed cuts showcase a troubling disregard for the important role [the State Department] plays in U.S. national security, especially in regards to the transatlantic relationship wrote Rachel Rizzo, research associate with the Center for New American Security.

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But its not just his budget proposals that are rattling allies. During the campaign, Trump brushed off U.S. commitments to NATO allies and openly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. Top White House officials misled Congress on meetings with Russian diplomats during the presidential campaign season, which toppled Trumps first national security advisor, Michael Flynn, and hamstrung Attorney General Jeff Sessions as Congress poises to investigate Russias interference in the U.S. election.

Since his election, Trump has walked back his NATO skepticism. But allies are fearful he could neglect or even spurn European allies to forge more cooperation with Moscow. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Defense James Mattis visited Brussels last month to soothe allies unnerved by Trump. Both administration officials offered reassuring noises, but with a tinge of conditionality, former NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow told Foreign Policy, making clear Washington expects NATO allies to shoulder a bigger part of the defense burden.

The stakes are especially high for Ukraine and Georgia, both grappling with Moscows illegal annexation of swaths of their countries. Klimkin, Ukraines foreign minister, detailed for Congress the size of Russias military footprint. In eastern Ukraine, he said the Kremlin has poured in 4,200 regular troops and 40,000 militants, more than 400 tanks, and 1,000 artillery platforms. Some 23,000 Russian troops are in occupied Crimea, he said.

He told the senate panel he received strong signals of support from his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Tuesday.

The Baltic States, unlike Ukraine or Georgia, are under NATOs protective umbrella as full members. But theyre also staring down the barrel of Moscows military might. Russia bulked up its military hardware on NATOs borders in the Baltic States and regularly conducts massive snap military exercises to showcase its force.

Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland has become the most militarized region in Europe, Wilczek warned. In October last year, Russia deployed nuclear-capable missiles to the region. Some defense experts now doubt NATO could reinforce the Baltic states quickly enough in the unlikely event Russia invaded. NATO is funneling troops led by U.S., Canadian, German, and British contingents to the Baltic states to deter that scenario. The deployment makes a very substantial difference in terms of credibility of NATOs deterrence, Vershbow said.

Vershbow, also former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, said a conventional Russian invasion was highly unlikely, but whats more troubling is Russias hybrid warfare  prodding U.S. allies with subversive economic or political maneuvers to undermine their strength. Thats where U.S. foreign aid matters, helping fortify democratic institutions and counter Russian propaganda.

Eerik Marmei, Estonias ambassador in Washington, told the Senate Tuesday Russias hybrid antics werent limited to the former Soviet Union. We, as neighbors to Russia, are just a bit more used to witnessing such behavior, he said. Upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France, and Germany are a perfect theater for the Russian disinformation warriors, he added. Those concerns have already borne fruit.

The Lithuanian ambassador Rolandas Krisciunas said Russian spies tried to aggressively meddle in his countrys domestic politics, adding Moscow was bankrolling Russian-speaking groups in the Baltic states to incite ethnic tensions.

The European envoys largely sidestepped the elephant in the room: Trumps possible ties to Russia. But lawmakers did not.

We understand the interference youve had. We now count ourselves among those who are facing the same kind of interference, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) told the European diplomats.



If we forgive and forget regarding our own election well invite future aggression by other countries, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said.

Photo credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Brussels (AFP) - EU President Donald Tusk on Wednesday rejected charges from Poland's rightwing government that he has sought to undermine it, on the eve of a vote on his leadership.

EU leaders meeting Thursday in Brussels are widely expected to reappoint Tusk -- a former Polish premier -- as head of the European Council despite sharp exchanges with Warsaw, which claims he has interfered in domestic politics and acted as a German stooge.

"I am not the one responsible (for the) clashes," Tusk told reporters when asked about the vote on giving him another two-and-half-year term.

"I am, and I should be also in the future, impartial and politically neutral for all 28 member states," he said.

"I'm not here to assess my term of course, it's for the leaders tomorrow ... (but) I am ready for this judgement," he added.

Earlier Wednesday, a senior German official said Tusk had "overwhelming support" and was fully expected to be given another term in office.

Warsaw's eurosceptic and rightwing government has a history of bad blood with the centrist Tusk and last week proposed MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski as a counter-candidate.

On Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo told her European Union peers that Tusk as Council president had "brutally violated" the rule of "political neutrality" by becoming involved in domestic political disputes.

The ruling party's powerful leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said earlier this week that Tusk was "Germany's candidate" for the EU presidency.

Since winning power in 2015 elections, Poland's rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) government has pushed through a string of controversial reforms that have triggered mass protests at home and an EU threat of sanctions over rule-of-law violations.

Kaczynski has also accused Tusk of "moral responsibility" for the death of his brother Lech, then president, in an air crash in Russia in 2010. Tusk was prime minister at the time.
By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen dressed as medics attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital on Wednesday and battled security forces for hours, killing more than 30 people and wounding dozens in an assault claimed by Islamic State. A suicide bomber blew himself up at the rear of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified U.S. embassy, providing the signal for three attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades to open fire inside the complex, according to witnesses. Defence Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said the attack was suppressed by mid-afternoon, with all three gunmen killed. As security forces swept the hospital buildings, another ministry spokesman said they found more than 30 dead and 50 wounded, including doctors, patients and hospital staff. Earlier, a spokesman for the public health ministry said three dead and 66 wounded had been taken to other hospitals in the city. The gunmen, dressed as medical personnel, had taken up positions on the upper floors of the hospital and engaged special forces sent to the scene, officials said. Security forces blocked off the area around the hospital, near a busy traffic intersection, and special forces soldiers descended on to the roof of the main building from helicopters. Sporadic gunfire could be heard for several hours and, as fighting went on, there was a second explosion, which a spokesman said was caused when a car inside the hospital complex blew up. A statement from Islamic State's Amaq News Agency said its fighters had attacked the hospital, while an Afghan Taliban spokesman denied responsibility, saying the Islamist insurgency had "no connection" with the attack. The raid on the hospital followed warnings by government officials that high-profile attacks in Kabul were likely to escalate this year. With U.S. President Donald Trump yet to announce his policy for Afghanistan, where the top U.S. commander has said thousands more international troops may be needed to maintain stability, the attack also pointed to Islamic State's growing threat. The movement, whose local branch is called Afghanistan Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - Khorasan province (ISIS-K) is opposed to both the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban. The movement is based in the Middle East but has established a solid presence on the border with Pakistan. It has also mounted several high-profile attacks on civilians in Kabul over the past year, including several on prominent Shi'ite targets. HIDDEN WEAPON The attack on a hospital that treats military casualties from around Afghanistan drew wide condemnation and President Ashraf Ghani said it "trampled on all human values". "In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan," he said in impromptu remarks during a speech for International Women's Day in Kabul. General John Nicholson, commander of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, praised Afghan forces which he said had responded "swiftly and professionally." "We are committed to help our Afghan partners destroy ISIS-K in Afghanistan," he said in a statement. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the attack on hospital staff and patients not involved in the conflict amounted to a war crime. Witnesses inside the hospital said they were caught by surprise as a gunman dressed in a white doctor's coat took out a concealed AK-47 assault rifle and opened fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker. "Suddenly gunfire broke out and a gunman was shooting at everyone," said Zahir Khan, who hid under a table and later escaped. "He was shooting at doctors, patients and visitors." As the fighting went on, some patients climbed out of the building and could be seen sheltering on window ledges high above the ground. Patient Zia Zabuli was lucky to escape. In hospital with a leg wound, he and three others hid in a room and barricaded themselves in when they saw one of the gunmen approaching. "Together we put beds, chairs and whatever there was behind the door," he told Reuters after the siege ended late in the afternoon. At one point, one of the assailants tried to break in. "He came up to our door and kicked it several times but it did not open. Then he left," said Zabuli, as he limped away from the scene supported by a relative. "We stayed quiet and prayed for our safety." The attack came just a week after dozens of people were killed and wounded in coordinated attacks on a police station and an office of the intelligence service in Kabul. That attack was claimed by the Taliban, who are seeking to expel foreign troops, defeat the U.S.-backed government and reimpose Islamic law after their 2001 ouster. Away from Kabul, dozens of people have been killed over the past few days in fighting across Afghanistan, from Kunduz and Baghlan in the north to Farah in the southwest and Helmand and Kandahar on the Pakistan border in the south. (Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi, Mohammad Ismail, Mohammad Aziz and Omar Fahmy in CAIRO; writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Nick Macfie and Mike Collett-White)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday evening that the bronze statue of a fearless little girl defiantly staring down the famous Charging Bull statue near Wall Street will stay in lower Manhattan through April 2.

De Blasio revealed how long the much-discussed statue would stay in a tweet at 6 p.m. on March 8, International Womens Day.

Our future rests in the hands of fearless girls, the caption reads.

A spokesperson for the Mayors Office told Yahoo News that the temporary permit for the art project had previously been only for March 7-12, but that it had been extended to April 2.

She said the statue is on Department of Transportation property, so the question of whether the statue will become a permanent fixture of Bowling Green park falls to them.

The statue was put up the night before; State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), a $2.47 trillion asset manager, commissioned artist Kristen Visbal to create it.

Slideshow: A Day Without a Woman protests across the U.S. >>>

Our future rests in the hands of fearless girls. pic.twitter.com/RRXHqap7iA  Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) March 8, 2017

The elementary school-aged girl stands directly in the bulls path in the heart of New Yorks financial district. She is intended to represent the future.

State Street is calling on more than 3,500 companies, which represent more than $30 trillion in market capitalization, to take major steps to increase the number of women on their boards. State Street invests in these companies on behalf of its clients.

Wednesday is also the one-year anniversary of the SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index exchange-traded fund, which is represented by the ticker symbol SHE.

State Street Global Advisors commissioned the little girl statue located in downtown Manhattan to coincide with International Womens Day. (Photo: Business Wire)

Ron OHanley, the president and chief executive officer of SSGA, said in a statement that a key to effective board leadership is diversity of thought, which requires a variety of expertise, skills and backgrounds.

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Today, we are calling on companies to take concrete steps to increase gender diversity on their boards and have issued clear guidance to help them begin to take action, OHanley said.

SSGA cited a Modern Index Strategy Indexes (MSCI) study that found that companies with strong female leadership tend to profit more than those without a significant number of women in top positions  a return on equity of 10.1 percent per year as opposed to 7.4 percent.

One out of four Russell 3000 companies does not have a woman on its board, and nearly 60 percent have fewer than 15 percent female directors on their boards, according to SSGA.

Rakhi Kumar, the head of corporate governance at SSGA, said that it reviewed gender diversity on financial boards by comparing Australian, British and American markets.

Most large cap company boards in these markets have at least one female director but have yet to fully embrace gender equality in their ranks, Kumar said in a statement. We believe boards have an important role to play in increasing gender diversity and believe our guidance can help directors take action now.

Slideshow: International Womens Day around the world >>>

The fearless girl statue stares down the famous Charging Bull. (Photo: Business Wire)

Back in December 1989, Italian-American sculptor Arturo Di Modica unveiled the Charging Bull as a piece of guerrilla art in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Authorities initially removed the statue, but it soon became a permanent fixture a short walk away thanks to its widespread popularity.

Unlike Di Modica, SSGA discussed the art project with the New York City government to ensure that it stayed up at least temporarily.

The bull has long been a symbol of financial optimism and aggressive decisions in a market where share prices are expected to rise. In the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash, Di Modica said, his statue represented the strength and power of the American people.

Despite the artists original intentions, however, many see the Wall Street bull as symbolic of what they consider the excesses of capitalism: economic inequality and corporate greed. The bull was incorporated into a poster promoting the original Occupy Wall Street protest on Sept. 17, 2011, in nearby Zuccotti Park. In imagery similar to the fearless girl, a ballerina is seen posing atop the bull.

A representative for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation redirected Yahoo News to City Hall when reached for comment.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Wall Street's famed Charging Bull has company for International Women's Day -- "The Fearless Girl."

Ahead of International Women's Day and planned " A Day Without a Woman" protests, Wall Street firm State Street Global Advisors placed a statue of a small girl in facing the signature bronze bull statue in Manhattan's Financial District on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

The statue is meant to call out corporations' issues regarding gender equality and the pay gap, reports the BBC.

"Today, we are calling on companies to take concrete steps to increase gender diversity on their boards, and have issued clear guidance to help them begin to take action," according to a statement from State Street Global Advisors CEO Ron O'Hanley. The firm is owned by parent company State Street Corp. (ticker: STT).

State Street worked with advertising agency McCann New York for the installation of The Fearless Girl statue "in the middle of the night," reports Adweek, much like how the bull was put there nearly 30 years ago. McCann has a permit.

Artist Kristen Visbal made the statue that now faces the Charging Bull created by Arturo Di Modica. The bull originally appeared at the New York Stock Exchange in December 1989. Following public support, it was later given a permanent home five minutes away.

The Fearless Girl could, too, call the spot home.

"We're actively pursuing that it stays for a month," Anne McNally, vice president and head of North American public relations at State Street told Reuters. "If the city decides that it should stay in perpetuity, we're absolutely on board with that."

Timed with International Women's Day, women across the U.S., led by the organizers of January's Women's March, will not head into work Wednesday as a form of protest. Those who cannot take a day off are encouraged to show solidarity in other ways, like by wearing red or shopping exclusively at female-owned businesses, reports Reuters.

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Statements praising State Street and accompanying images of the symbolic statue have popped up all over Twitter, where #InternationalWomensDay is trending worldwide. Twitter users are tweeting #FearlessGirl along with the photo.

Loving this new #FearlessGirl statue in front of the bull on Wall Street. What an appropriate symbol of female fortitude and strength. pic.twitter.com/7ue7VFt2pe

-- Lizeth (@LizMaraMedina) March 7, 2017

A determined girl statue meets #WallStreet bull. Hats off to #SSGA. #InternationalWomensDayhttps://t.co/J5s2I1t6jf

-- AlannaN (@AlannaN) March 8, 2017

What a powerful way to land the message! #Fearlessgirl statue at Wall Street unveiled ..facing the Bull. #iconic pic.twitter.com/e8prMcVS99

-- Anshu Mor (@anshuMor) March 8, 2017

Happy #internationalwomensday there's now a little girl statue facing the raging bull on #WallStreet #Ace pic.twitter.com/mRucdpqte2

-- Nathan Amzi (@theamzi) March 8, 2017

Increasing gender diversity on boards increases company performance and shareholder value #InternationalWomensDay https://t.co/6ta5BjlTDY

-- Anjali Kumar (@anjalikumar6) March 8, 2017

#FearlessGirl takes on the bull in #lowerManhattan @NYSE. YOU GO GIRL! pic.twitter.com/pvJnqNGa7G

-- Amy Phillips (@amyphillips94) March 7, 2017

Asset mngr, @StateStreet, installed this statue of a girl to call on companies to deliberately ?? gender diversity #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/8N6tfW01cq

-- P. Coleman (@PhoebeColeman) March 8, 2017

This is pretty incredible. I hope it stays. #InternationalWomensDay. https://t.co/rzS0NbhzPC

-- Stephanie (@Steph_JonesPR) March 7, 2017

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David Oliver is Associate Editor, Social Media at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, or send him an email at doliver@usnews.com.
Kiev (AFP) - Around a thousand people marched through Kiev on Wednesday, International Women's Day, calling for a return to the original feminist meaning of a holiday now largely associated with flowers and gifts.

March 8 was celebrated in the Soviet Union and is still one of the most widely marked holidays in Ukraine, but activists say the emphasis on flowers and compliments to women runs counter to the concept of gender equality.

"I came to the march just to revive the original meaning of March 8," said Alina Zabruyko, a 22-year-old student.

"From the beginning it was a day for women's rights, not a day for flowers."

Marchers shouted slogans including "Woman's rights are human rights!" and held banners saying "Sexism isn't sexy" and "Don't give flowers, give safety".

Protesters said they were marching to highlight domestic violence, mistreatment of women in maternity hospitals and bullying in the armed forces.

"Today in Ukraine violence is being used against women. It is often invisible -- it takes place in families, in hospitals, at work. It is not given enough attention," said 27-year-old protester Diana Poladova, who works for an NGO called the Expert Centre for Human Rights.

Police detained three counter-protesters after they attempted to throw bright green disinfectant at the activists.

One of those detained told journalists he wanted to "protest against actions that divide Ukrainian society".

"They are alienating Ukrainian women from Ukrainian men," the young man told the crowd as he was grabbed by police officers.
People with cancer face many challenges, including the symptoms of the disease, the toxicity of the treatment, financial costs, and social expectations. Heres a new threat: navigating their care in an ocean of hype.

Cancer drugs are all too often hailed as miracles, breakthroughs, game-changers, or even cures, even when they are no such thing. We recently reported in JAMA Oncology that these words were used 50 percent of the time to describe drugs not approved by the FDA, and 14 percent of the time to describe drugs that had only worked in mice. The leap from helping a mouse to saving a human is uncertain, long, and overwhelmingly unsuccessful.

Even when we do have drugs that work, hype may mislead us about how well they work and how many people they will benefit.

Consider immunotherapy. This new form of cancer therapy, which uses the bodys own immune system to fight cancer, has captivated the public imagination, is a topic of the nightly news, and has been featured in at least one Super Bowl ad.

Read more: Beware the hype: Top scientists cautious about fighting cancer with immunotherapy

When immunotherapy works, the result is terrific, even life-changing. Today, though, only a tiny minority of patients expected to die from cancer will benefit from immunotherapy. As is often the case, hype sadly exceeds evidence, creating misunderstandings between patients and their doctors.

Although immunotherapies have been used for a hundred years, such as the deliberate injection of bacteria into the body to stimulate the immune system, 2011 marked the approval of the first immunotherapy for cancer, a so-called checkpoint inhibitor named ipilimumab (Yervoy). This class of drugs unleashes the bodys immune system against cancer, and is the subject of much enthusiasm.

Using US national cancer statistics and FDA approvals, we estimated the percent of cancer patients who might actually benefit from immunotherapy. The result was surprising, given the way these drugs are described.

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To do this, we first calculated the percent of cancers for which immunotherapy has been approved as of February 2017. From that number we determined that two-thirds (68.8 percent) of Americans predicted to die of cancer will die of one that currently has no FDA-approved immunotherapy options. These include prostate cancer, colon cancer, and ovarian cancer, among others.

We next determined the percentage of cancer patients that could expect to see their tumor shrink from immunotherapy. Tumor shrinkage is widely considered to be a prerequisite to benefitting from these drugs. Only 26 percent of patients had this happen.

Finally, we combined those two calculations and asked, of all patients dying of cancer in America this year, how many might benefit from a checkpoint inhibitor drug? We assumed the best-case scenario: that every patient with one of these cancers could afford the drug and get access to it.

The answer was just 8 percent. We also ran the numbers another way by setting a lower bar for success, and credited these drugs for any patient whose cancer did not grow substantially during follow-up. Even with that adjustment, the estimate was less than 10 percent.

What do these results mean? When immunotherapy works, there is no argument  the results are terrific. Patients with otherwise life-threatening cancers live far longer than expected and some may even be cured. But at least today, few patients can expect to be among the lucky ones.

Some argue that these drugs will be approved for more cancers in the years to come, or that they may work better in combination with other drugs or one another. While we hope that comes true, it is not the reality today. And for several common cancers, like colon and breast cancer, we already know that these drugs work poorly  there is a reason why the first approvals were in cancers like melanoma  and we fear the percentage of people benefiting from cancer immunotherapy will not change greatly.

Who is to blame for the disconnect between reality and hype? All of us. Doctors, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, reporters, patient advocates  all use sensational language to describe these drugs. To make matters worse, the United States is one of the only countries to permit direct-to-consumer advertising, resulting in an astonishing 80 drug ads airing every hour  some of which are misleading.

We owe it to people with cancer to do better. Navigating the waters of accurate information and reasonable hope is a big challenge for oncology. Deciding when and how to treat cancer is a sacred journey that patients and their doctors make together. Distorting the effectiveness of treatments in the public eye can tear the very fabric that unites patients and doctors. Misunderstanding ensues. Expectations become disappointments. A good death becomes a bad one.

The intrusive nature of hype  without context, without nuance, and without limit  can be a huge challenge faced by cancer patients in America. For that reason, it should come as no surprise that many cancer patients have an inflated understanding of their prognosis compared to what their doctors understand. Too many patients and their families are inevitably let down when they find themselves among the 90 percent who dont benefit from immunotherapy.

We are not pessimists in our quest to improve survival and quality of life for cancer patients. Instead, we are optimists that we can all do better in communicating the reality of cancer care to patients, to the public, and even to physicians. That way, we may all make more honest choices if and when we must cope with cancer.

Nathan Gay, MD, is an oncology fellow at Oregon Health and Science University. Vinay Prasad, MD, is assistant professor in the Division of Hematology Oncology at Oregon Health and Science University and the author of Ending Medical Reversal. The views expressed in this article are the authors personal opinions and do not represent those of OHSU.
Clara Lemlich (1886-1982)

A shirtwaist garment worker, Carla Lemlich rallied against the mostly male-driven unions that were trying to recruit women into their organizations. In 1909, with support from the National Womens Trade Union League, Lemlich led the New York shirtwaist strike, which would later be called the Uprising of the 20,000. Up to that point, it was the largest strike by women in the United States. Unfortunately, change would not come fast enough. The next year, 146 workers, mostly women, died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire due to unsafe working conditions.
Qamishli (Syria) (AFP) - Captivated by the idea of fighting jihadists, or dedicated to starting a "revolution," foreigners have diverse reasons for joining the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.

The group is the key component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces alliance, now advancing on the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqa.

Hundreds of foreign fighters have fought alongside the YPG in Syria, of whom at least 25 have been killed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor says.

- Kimmy -

Kimmy Taylor, a 27-year-old British citizen, travelled to northern Syria in 2016 to write about women's rights after studying politics at university in Sweden.

She had planned a 10-day visit but, after just three days, she decided to stay.

Kimmy says she fell in love with the system of "autonomous administration" Kurdish authorities have implemented across northern Syria, describing it as "an answer to everything that I've seen wrong with the world".

"I thought, why am I reading books in Sweden about politics when I can live in a revolution?" she tells AFP excitedly, a checkered black-and-white scarf wrapped around her head.

Kimmy has taken courses in the Kurdish language, "the ideology of democratic confederalism" and military affairs with the YPG's female arm, the YPJ.

"After I was on the front line for some months, I joined the YPJ media team and now we're in Raqa" province, she says, describing her daily routine of taking, editing, and publishing photos of the battle.

She says witnessing IS lose Raqa city "would be a dream".

"Maybe this hasn't happened in history before -- that normal people have... created a people's army and defeated a group that is like Daesh. It's incredible," she says, using an Arabic acronym for the group.

Although she misses her family, friends, and good chocolate, Kimmy has no plans to leave: "I know if I return to Europe, I'll be bored after one week."

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- Firas -

Firas Vancouver, 23, was working as a correctional officer in a high-security prison in Victoria, Canada when he started learning about the YPG.

"It was a tough job, you see kind of the dark side of humanity," Vancouver says.

"One of the main factors of me coming here, getting on a plane and joining the revolution, was seeing the struggle through internet, on TV, on the news," he adds.

Sporting short spiky hair and some stubble, Vancouver says he emailed the YPG directly, who responded encouraging him to travel to northern Syria.

"It was probably less than a month from when I sent the first email that I was on a plane to start my journey," says Vancouver.

He says he hopes the presence of foreigners alongside the Kurdish fighters will force Western governments to pay attention and provide "more support for Rojava and the struggle here with YPG and YPJ".

Rojava is the Kurdish name for Kurdish-majority parts of northern Syria.

"We weren't forced to come here. We volunteered to come here. And the Kurdish people -- you can tell -- they see that and show us a lot of love," he says.

- Roger -

At 20, Roger Benjamin -- now known as Jakdar Kawa, or Fighter Kawa in Kurdish -- is one of the youngest known foreign fighters.

His thick curly black hair swept up in a voluminous do, Roger tells AFP there are three reasons he left the United States a month ago for northern Syria.

"Number one, any kind of medical help I can give. I have some kind of experience with that. Number two, fight IS, cause seriously they're very bad people," he says.

"And number three, just to see what direct democracy is like. If you look around at the village, the people, the culture, whatnot. Take it in. I want to see how it works, this political system."

He speaks quickly, hitting his fist into his hand for emphasis: "So far, they're really pounding it in about ideology and language. They really want us to assimilate to the culture, to get to know the Kurdish people, who they are, the YPG."

Benjamin says he admires YPG fighters killed in battle because "they're dying fighting for what they believe in".

"If there's any way I could die, it would be that."

- Maxime -

Maxime, a French citizen, is in northern Syria for his second stint with the YPG.

The 27-year-old fought alongside the group in 2015 in Tal Abyad, near the Turkish border, but broke up with his girlfriend in December to return for a longer stay.

"If I have to stay a year, two years, three, or even 10, I will stay for 10 years to support this revolution and help people," he says.

The YPG facilitated his entry into Syrian territory, where he joined the International Freedom Battalion, a unit of foreign fighters.

"We're not here to impose our ideas, whatever they are, but the people are asking for us to liberate them," he says.

"We will liberate them and try to establish a more humane system."
Who needs a better night's sleep? Fitbits betting that you do.

The fitness tracker company on Monday announced new tracking tools designed to give users greater insights into not just how much sleep theyre getting, but also how restful that sleep is.

Fitbit worked with sleep scientists to develop the software, but experts who have expressed concern about the accuracy of sleep-tracking fitness devices in the past tell Consumer Reports they want to see more research on Fitbit's new technology before coming to any firm conclusions about its usefulness.

The company's sleep-tracking tools, which will roll out in late March as upgrades to the Fitbit mobile app, were introduced alongside a new fitness trackerthe Alta HR, which tucks a heart-rate monitor into the ultraslim profile of the Fitbit Alta. The new device, which will sell for $149.95 starting in April, touts up to 7 days' worth of battery life. That's equal to the staying power of the Fitbit Surge that sits atop our ratings.

Fitbit says the first sleep tool, Sleep Stages, will not just tell users how much time they slept, but also break down how much of that time was spent in light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep, the latter of which is closely associated with dreaming and memory formation.

The second tool, Sleep Insights, takes the data collected by a users device, compares it with data gleaned from 3 billion nights' worth of Fitbit users' sleep, and provides individualized recommendations. For instance, the app may notice that a user is sleeping much longer on the weekend and let the person know that the lengthy slumber could be a sign that he or she needs more sleep during the workweek.

Its not a one-size-fits-all approach, Dr. Allison Siebern, a consulting assistant professor at Stanford Universitys sleep center, said in a phone interview. Its a great tool for helping people figure out what their personal sleep needs arewhat works for them, what doesnt.

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Siebern, Dr. Michael Grandner of the University of Arizona, and Dr. Michael T. Smith, Jr., of Johns Hopkins University all worked as paid consultants on the project, sharing sleep expertise with Fitbits research and development team.

But many questions remain about the efficacy of such sleep-tracking tools. According to a February study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, "most consumers are unaware that the claims of these devices often outweigh the science to support them as devices to measure and improve sleep."

The authors criticized fitness trackers for depending too heavily on users' movements to determine sleep levels, for a lack of transparency in their sleep-tracking algorithms, and for a tendency to reinforce bad sleep habits by encouraging extended time in bed.

The lack of transparency surrounding the algorithms used to calculate sleep make it impossible to know how accurate they are even under the best circumstances, the study says.

When asked about the study cited in JCSM, Fitbit pointed to two other studies (abstracted here and here) that show that fitness trackers can be effective in tracking sleep. In a statement, it explained that its algorithm is the product of "extensive internal testing" that involved the analysis of several hundred nights of heart-rate and movement data from volunteers whose sleep patterns were observed and mapped with clinical-grade equipment.

Fitbit's R&D team also factored other data about the influence of sleep stages on heart rate and movement into the algorithm.

The University of Washington's Dr. Nathaniel Watson, a board-certified neurologist and sleep specialist, said fitness trackers are good at encouraging people to pay attention to the quality and the amount of sleep theyre getting.

But he echoed the concerns voiced in the JCSM study, saying he's not convinced that Fitbit has succeeded in solving the device's precision problems. While its plausible that a company could design a consumer device that accurately tracks the stages of sleep by analyzing heart rate and movement, he explained, he has yet to see one that does so.

The onus is on them to do the research to support their claims, he added. I think the medical community will be interested to see that data.



More on Sleep





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Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright  2006-2017 Consumers Union of U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was fired from his prominent White House job last month, has registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department for $530,000 worth of lobbying work that may have aided the Turkish government.

A lawyer for the former U.S. Army lieutenant general and intelligence chief said in paperwork filed Tuesday with the Justice Department's Foreign Agent Registration Unit that Flynn was voluntarily registering for lobbying that "could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey."

Under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, U.S. citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign government or political entities must disclose their work to the Justice Department. Willfully failing to register is a felony, though the Justice Department rarely files criminal charges in such cases. They routinely work with lobbying firms to get back in compliance with the law by registering and disclosing their work.

Flynn's attorney did not respond to questions about whether the Justice Department or FBI had contacted Flynn about his lobbying activities.

Flynn's consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group Inc., had previously disclosed to Congress that it worked for Inovo BV, a Dutch-based company owned by a Turkish businessman. But neither Flynn nor his company had previously filed paperwork with the Justice Department, which requires more extensive transparency about work that benefits foreign governments and political interests.

In the filings with the Justice Department, Flynn's attorney, Robert Kelner, noted they served as a termination of the registration, saying the firm had ceased operations in November, the same month the lobbying contract ended.

Under a Trump administration ethics pledge that post-dated his company's work, Flynn agreed not to lobby for five years after leaving government service and never to represent foreign governments.

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Calls to phone numbers associated with Flynn and his firm weren't answered. Kelner, his attorney, declined to comment through a spokesman for his law firm, Covington & Burling.

Reached Wednesday afternoon, an official at the Turkish embassy in Washington said he would refer the questions to the embassy spokesman. The spokesman did not immediately respond.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Trump fired Flynn last month for misleading Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

As a key member of Trump's transition team last December, Flynn spoke by phone several times with Kislyak during the period when former President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. and levied new sanctions in response to Russian election-related hacking.

According to the new paperwork, Flynn's firm took on the Turkish-related lobbying work last August while he was a top Trump campaign surrogate. Flynn's consulting firm said its lobbying work ended in November, when the company ceased operations.

Flynn Intel disclosed in its filing that the company was invited by its Turkish client, Ekim Alptekin, to meet with Turkish officials in New York in mid-September. Among those officials, the documents said, were Turkey's ministers of foreign affairs and energy. Flynn's company did not name the officials but reported the two worked for Turkey's government "to the best of Flynn Intel Group's current understanding."

In late October and early November, Flynn wrote an op-ed promoting Turkey's political and business affairs that was later published in The Hill, a Washington-based political newspaper. In the new filing, Flynn disclosed that in writing the op-ed, he relied on research conducted as part of the Inovo BV contract.

But Flynn's filing emphasized that neither Inovo BV nor the Turkish government directed him to write the article. He also said he was not paid for the op-ed.

Related:

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

___

Associated Press writer Julie Bykowicz contributed to this report.
(Reuters) - The son of 2016 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine was arrested last weekend during a protest against President Donald Trump in Minnesota after a scuffle with law enforcement, police said on Wednesday. Officers used a chemical irritant spray and a knee strike to subdue and arrest Linwood Michael Kaine on Saturday at a park on the grounds of the state Capitol in St. Paul, said Steve Linders, a spokesman for the St. Paul Police Department. Kaine, 24, was arrested, along with four other people, after reports of fireworks being used inside the Capitol building, Linders said. Kaine was arrested on suspicion of second-degree riot. St. Paul City Attorney Samuel Clark said in a phone interview on Wednesday he was reviewing the case for possible misdemeanor charges. Kaine, whose father was Hillary Clinton's running mate in her unsuccessful bid for the presidency in November's election, was taking part in a counter-protest meant to disrupt a pro-Trump rally. He was booked at the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center, according to facility records, but was released on Tuesday. Tim Kaine, a U.S. senator from Virginia, told the Pioneer Press he respected his children's political positions. "We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues," he said in a statement to the newspaper, which first reported the arrest. "They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully." (Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Andrew Hay and Peter Cooney)
Paris (AFP) - The support building behind French centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron's bid for the presidency was underscored Thursday when a poll showed he would finish ahead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the first round of voting next month.

Macron, a 39-year-old former economy minister, has rapidly attracted backing with a pro-reform, pro-business campaign aimed at voters disillusioned with the traditional right and left of French politics.

"I think we are living through a time of deep and radical change," he told France Culture radio.

The Harris Interactive poll showed Macron taking 26 percent of the vote in the first round on April 23 -- a six-point gain in two weeks -- compared with 25 percent for the anti-immigration and anti-EU Le Pen, who had long been leading in the first round.

With no candidate likely to win an outright majority in the first round, a run-off between the two top candidates will be held on May 7.

Le Pen, seeking to ride the wave of anti-establishment sentiment in Europe and the United States, said the poll showed that her support was "extremely solid".

"We still need to win people over. Millions of people still haven't made their choice," she said.

Despite what looks increasingly certain to be a strong showing for the National Front candidate in the first round, polls currently show that Le Pen would be beaten in the runoff.

The Harris poll indicates that Macron would take 65 percent of that vote to Le Pen's 35 percent.

In a boost to a campaign that is not backed by either of the two main parties, Macron on Wednesday won the support of Bertrand Delanoe, the former Socialist mayor of Paris.

Delanoe, who oversaw the French capital from 2001 to 2014, called him "a reformist, a European and a realist".

He told France Inter radio he backed Macron because it was essential to "throw the most weight possible behind the candidate who can beat Madam Le Pen in the first round".

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The growing concern among French diplomats about serving under a Le Pen presidency was put into sharp focus when France's ambassador to the United States said it would be a "total disaster" if Le Pen won.

Gerard Araud said that if Le Pen pulled the country out of the European Union, it "means the collapse of the EU, because the EU without France doesn't make any sense."

"And it means the collapse of the euro and a financial crisis, which will have consequences throughout the world," Araud told The Washington Post.

On Wednesday, France's ambassador to Japan said he would refuse to serve under her.

- Fresh blow for Fillon -

Macron, a former investment banker who quit the Socialist government in August to launch his presidential bid, said in remarks on International Women's Day on Wednesday that ideally he would name a woman as prime minister if he won the keys to the Elysee Palace.

An already highly unpredictable French election has become even harder to call given the legal woes afflicting the conservative challenger Francois Fillon, who has fought to remain in the race after becoming embroiled in allegations he used public funds to pay his wife and children for "fake jobs".

In another blow, the investigative paper Le Canard Enchaine this week published new claims that Fillon had failed to declare an interest-free loan of 50,000 euros ($53,000) from a billionaire friend.

Once the frontrunner in the race, Fillon has slipped to third in the polls, and the gap between him and Macron and Le Pen appears to be widening.

Delanoe's support for the Macron campaign is a blow for the Socialist candidate for the presidency, Benoit Hamon, whose hard-left policies have led some commentators to dismiss him as unelectable.

But Macron still has his detractors, with the veteran conservative former prime minster Alain Juppe describing him this week as "politically naive".

burs-gj/adp/js
Sofia (AFP) - A self-styled Bulgarian border vigilante vowed Wednesday to continue his hunt for migrants trying to enter the EU country, after a court acquitted him of illegally detaining and abusing three asylum-seekers.

"I will return to the border and keep controlling it to stop the migrants," Petar Nizamov told Bulgarian media, a day after he was freed.

Nizamov was arrested in April 2016 after he posted a video online showing three frightened migrant men lying on the ground with their hands being tied behind their backs in woods on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

Several vigilantes were seen standing around the men, with at least one of them wearing combat fatigues and a hunting knife on his belt.

The voice of a vigilante was heard to say: "Go back (to) Turkey... No Bulgaria for you."

The video, which went viral and was also broadcast on Bulgarian television, sparked major outcry.

But Nizamov was acquitted on Tuesday after witnesses said they could not remember who had tied up the migrants.

Prosecutors who had sought a two-year sentence said they would appeal the ruling.

Bulgaria, which shares a 259-kilometre (160-mile) border with Turkey, saw a rise in vigilante cases last year as migrants sought new routes to western and northern Europe following the closure of the so-called western Balkans trail.

Around 19,000 mostly Afghan asylum-seekers remain stranded in Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest country.

Although the number pales in comparison to other bloc members like Greece and Italy hosting migrants, the issue features heavily in the upcoming general election on March 26.

"Send them back to where they came from" is one of the slogans pushed by the Socialists who are neck and neck with the conservatives.

A recent Gallup showed some 77 percent of Bulgarians think migrants pose a threat to national security.
By Adrian Croft and Marine Pennetier PARIS (Reuters) - France's ambassador to Japan has pledged not to serve under far-right leader Marine Le Pen if she becomes president, saying her policies are at odds with French principles. Thierry Dana, writing in Le Monde newspaper, became the first high-ranking French diplomat to state publicly that he would step down rather than work for Le Pen if she were to win presidential elections held over two rounds in April and May. "If the pieces of the French tragedy which are being put in place were to lead to her election, I would stand aside from any diplomatic role," Dana said. "I couldn't loyally defend your positions, which run counter to all the principles championed by France when it is great in the world," he wrote. Buoyed by the election of President Donald Trump in the United States and by Britons' vote to leave the European Union, Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-EU National Front hopes for similar populist momentum in the French election. Outgoing President Francois Hollande also warned ministers at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday about the threat posed by the extreme right, especially to France's role in the European Union, government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said. Most polls show Le Pen winning the first round but losing heavily in the second, whether she is pitted against independent centrist Emmanuel Macron or conservative Francois Fillon. However, Fillon's legal woes over allegations of misuse of public money have increased investors' concerns that Le Pen could win and take France out of the euro and the EU. Japanese investors were net sellers of French bonds for the third month in a row in January, the longest such spell since mid-2011, due to uncertainty over the French elections, Japanese Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday. Dana, 60, said he was due to take up a new diplomatic post in the summer, but he would rather give it up than "serve the diplomacy of the National Front". "When you claim to restore our grandeur, you are shutting France in a cellar filled with demons that we thought had been forgotten," he said. National Front deputy leader Florian Philippot responded on Twitter: "Go ahead and resign then. No problem." Dana won praise from France's ambassador to the United States, Gerard Araud, who said on Twitter "very nice article from my counterpart in Tokyo". In response to Dana's article, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault sent a message telling all French diplomats that they must remain neutral during the election. However, he echoed some of the worries raised by Dana, saying "in all my contacts with foreign partners, I note every day the concern that the preparation of our election day is causing." "Our partners want France to remain France, a country open to the world and committed to a more united Europe," Ayrault said in the note seen by Reuters. (Reporting by Adrian Croft, Jean-Baptiste Vey, Marine Pennetier; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Paris (AFP) - Veteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday announced Wednesday that he is being treated for cancer, but added in a Twitter message that his life was not in danger.

"I was actually screened a few months ago for cancer cells for which I am currently being treated," he wrote.

"My life is not in danger today," added the 73-year-old who has been described as the French Elvis.

"I'm doing very well and in good physical condition," he added.

Hallyday's announcement came ahead of the publication Thursday by Closer magazine of an article which describes his condition as of serious concern.

While Hallyday has never achieved widespread fame abroad, he is a musical icon at home and has sold more than 100 million records in his decades-long career.

His health has been the subject of media speculation since he was hospitalised in 2009 in the United States for complications following a hernia operation, and was put in an artificial coma.
Sugar Grove Church of Christ will be hosting its annual pancake breakfast, Saturday, March 11, from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m..

Breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, eggs and morning beverages. A freewill donation will be taken.

Proceeds will go to Morgan Randalls summer mission trip to Ecuador to provide veterinarian services to the less fortunate, and also to Lena Kvigne and her work with CTI Music Ministries.

The church is located on Church Road, just off Hwy. 14, in Sugar Grove.
Los Angeles (AFP) - Connoisseurs of "Friends" will remember ditzy, loveable masseuse and occasional folk guitarist Phoebe Buffay's surrogate pregnancy storyline, written into the smash-hit NBC comedy to accommodate Lisa Kudrow's real-life baby bump.

Well, prepare to feel old because it is 18 years since 27 million Americans tuned in to see Phoebe give birth to triplets, and Kudrow's son Julian, born a few months before the episode aired, is already preparing to go to college.

"Friends," seen on US television from 1994 to 2004, won dozens of awards and garnered global celebrity for Kudrow and her co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry.

The 53-year-old Californian has appeared in around two dozen movies and TV series since it ended -- the latest of which, DreamWorks animated feature "The Boss Baby," has her reflecting on the challenges of parenthood.

"Whenever I play a mother, I try to draw on my own experience as a mother. There are some pretty universal truths," Kudrow told AFP ahead of the movie's March 31 US release.

"The Boss Baby" sees her playing the mother to a newborn like any other, except that he wears a suit, carries a briefcase and speaks with the voice and wit of Alec Baldwin -- and turns out to be a fully grown spy in a baby's body.

- 'Imposter' -

If the premise sounds daft, the high-wire plot weaves in larger themes such as the jolt an only child experiences when an "imposter" sibling turns up, demanding the love and attention they were once able to monopolize.

Kudrow herself disrupted a settled family when she came into the world, the youngest by six years of three children born to a professional couple in California's sun-kissed San Fernando Valley.

She laughs at the suggestion that she might have been something of a manipulative "boss toddler" herself, but admits she would seek special treatment at home.

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"I think I saw early on if I was irritating my brother and sister, I would just use what I'd heard my parents say -- 'I'm just little -- I don't know,'" Kudrow told AFP.

The actress, descended from Jewish immigrants who fled the Soviet Union, graduated in biology and began following the family vocation -- her brother David is a neurologist and her father Lee was a physician -- as a researcher specializing in headaches.

She was nudged into show business by a comedian family friend. And after a stint in improv theater and a handful of bit-parts, she won an early role as airhead waitress Ursula Buffay on NBC sitcom "Mad About You."

The name should sound familiar as Kudrow reprised the character in "Friends," although it was in her main role as Ursula's nicer twin sister, Phoebe, that the actress earned six Emmy nominations, winning the award in 1998.

- Awkwardness -

Starring parts came in movies "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion," "The Opposite of Sex" and "Analyze This," and Kudrow found herself facing the dilemma male stars seem largely to avoid -- balancing work and home life.

She says it wasn't until her son was in fourth grade that she realized she was spending too much time away and cut back on her acting.

Kudrow started on "Friends" at $13,500 per episode, but over five contract negotiations became the highest paid TV actress of all time alongside her female castmates, receiving $1 million per episode.

The money has allowed her the luxury of picking roles she finds intriguing and often she gravitates towards the same kind of cringeworthy characters preferred by British filmmaker and comedian Ricky Gervais.

In acclaimed roles on "Friends," "The Comeback" and "Web Therapy," Kudrow has revelled in the charm of characters whose appeal lies largely in the awkwardness their lack of self-awareness creates.

"I think they don't know that they're setting their dignity aside," she says.

"They're completely unaware that that's what they're doing for the greater good, however you want to judge their version of the greater good. That stuff makes me laugh."
Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Gambian police have launched an investigation into a violent public assault of a reporter by supporters of President Adama Barrow, a police source told AFP Wednesday.

Journalist Kebba Jeffang was hit, scratched and insulted at a press conference on Sunday held by ministers from three parties who joined together to form Barrow's new coalition government.

Barrow has made press freedom a pillar of his reforms since taking power this year from Yahya Jammeh, whose authoritarian 22-year rule was marked by arrests and intimidation of reporters.

"We have received a criminal complaint from Kebba Jeffang and a file is opened for the case," the police source said.

"His witnesses who accompanied him to the station have written down their statements. We will look into the matter."

Witnesses said Jeffang was attacked for asking questions about whether the parties would maintain their coalition in upcoming legislative polls, a thorny topic just a month before the vote.

Video footage of the attack on Jeffang, who works for the Foroyaa newspaper, went viral.

Press union leaders called on interior minister Mai Fatty, one of those present, to help the police in identifying the perpetrators.

Barrow had been a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) until he resigned to stand in a December election that unseated President Jammeh from power.

He won largely because the broad backing of every Gambian opposition party except one, but it is now unclear whether the parties who joined him will run again as a coalition on April 6.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the attack in a statement Wednesday.

"The attack, perpetuated by parties who form part of the government that promised a new dawn of freedom for the press corps in The Gambia, is a violation of constitutional provisions that guarantee the freedom and independence of the media," it said.
Paris (AFP) - French utility Suez said Wednesday it had teamed up with a Canadian investment fund to buy General Electric unit GE Water, building an "unparalleled" new business at a time of worsening global water scarcity.

Suez and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) are putting 3.2 billion euros ($3.4 billion) on the table to pick up GE Water with a view to merging it with Suez's own industrial water business, the buyers said in a joint statement.

Suez is footing 70 percent of the bill and CDPQ the rest, they said.

"Long-term demand for water treatment equipment, chemicals and services are expected to remain strong both as a consequence of growing water scarcity and the impact of global warming on the water cycle," the statement said.

"Furthermore, there are increasing global concerns related to industrial wastewater and its impact on the environment which make advanced treatment of water an absolute necessity," it said.

Suez chief Jean-Louis Chaussade said the link-up would crease "an unparalleled industrial water platform".

Suez supplies drinking water to 92 million people worldwide and waste water treatment services to 65 million more but has been short on customers from industry.

GE said at the end of last year that it was looking to spin off its water business, which employs 7,500 people, as part of its pending merger with oil giant Baker Hughes.
New York (AFP) - Everyone knows her magnified flowers and desert bones of New Mexico. But Georgia O'Keeffe also was a pioneer in preening her austere, androgynous image, which helped her become an icon of US art.

That extraordinary branding is the focus of a new exhibition, "Georgia O'Keeffe: Living Modern," that just opened at the Brooklyn Museum, one of New York's major museums along with the better-known Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art.

Long before the era of ubiquitous selfies and curated Instagram accounts, O'Keeffe was adept at self-branding, using wardrobe style and photographic portraits to reinforce her artistic message.

The exhibition illuminates those correspondences with dozens of garments -- and some shoes, which she preferred flat -- and more than a hundred photographs, including those taken by her famous husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, as well as Ansel Adams and fashion master Bruce Weber.

The items are juxtaposed with about 30 of her paintings, including the blow-up flowers, arid deserts and stylized views of New York skyscrapers dating from her years with Stieglitz in Manhattan.

Born in 1887 on a farm in the Midwest, O'Keeffe stood out during her school years in Virginia as someone who rejected Victorian manners and dresses that restricted the female body.

In the high school yearbook from her senior year, in 1905, her classmates wrote: "A girl who would be different in habit, style and dress. A girl who does not give a 2 cent for men and boys still less."

- Marketing -

Stieglitz, who was her lover before they married in 1924, was the first to market O'Keefe, pushing her from the early 1920s to play off her angular image and holding a near-monopoly on the young artist's photographic portraits, which also fed into his own success.

"He would not have used the word 'marketing' but he had a sense that the more we saw or heard from a person, it could help a career as an artist. She learned a lot from him," said Wanda Corn, art professor at Stanford University and guest curator of the "Living Modern" exhibition.

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One of the photographs from this period, by Stieglitz, already declares the color, or rather the lack of color, that O'Keeffe preferred in making black and/or white her wardrobe trademark.

The artist draped herself majestically in a large black cape, covered her head with a large, mannish black bowler, and gazed into the distance with an ever-so-slight smile.

Shot from a low angle, against a neutral background, the entire image gives the impression of a woman -- or a man, because there is no makeup, no jewelry, no other trace of femininity -- ready to face the future with straightforward confidence.

O'Keeffe liked to sew, and the exhibition showcases several of her handcrafted garments found after her death in 1986 in the closets of the two homes she owned in New Mexico.

There are long dresses and blouses, mostly black or off-white. They are ample and severe and made with natural materials like silk and cotton.

- New Mexico -

After the death of Stieglitz in 1946, O'Keeffe left New York to live in New Mexico. Under its vast blue skies and in the desert, where stores were miles (kilometers) away on rough roads, the artist strayed from her black-and-white world and indulged in blue denim, notably for her large aprons.

It was there, in the middle of these empty southwestern landscapes, that O'Keefe truly became a 20th century icon, as attested by two Andy Warhol portraits in 1980.

During the 1970s, Warhol was part of a new generation of artists, feminists, hippies and fashion designers like Calvin Klein who were fascinated by this old woman who painted with the greatest simplicity.

"Suddenly, all these people wanted to meet with her," Corn said. "They helped make her iconic... and this helped construct this image of the solitary genius of the American West."

The "Living Modern" exhibition closes on July 23.
Berlin (AFP) - German police Wednesday made two arrests, seized guns and shot dead a Doberman attack dog in coordinated raids against the far-right "Reichsbuerger" or "Citizens of the Reich" movement, they said.

Its members, who reject the legitimacy of the German republic, have long been dismissed as malcontents, crackpots and followers of esoteric beliefs, but they are seen as a growing threat after several have opened fire on police.

Police commandos targeted six residences and the seat of a so-called "Association for Bioenergetic Life" located in a former restaurant, all in North Rhine-Westphalia state.

They confiscated "three firearms, including a shotgun leaning, ready for use, by the front door" as well as home-made guns, gunpowder and ammunition, police said in a statement.

Officers also made two arrests of movement members on unrelated charges -- a 53-year-old suspect, who was injured in a struggle, and his wife, 52, who was said to be in shock.

"Police were forced to shoot dead an aggressive Doberman for their own safety," police added in their statement.

The Reichsbuerger include conspiracy theorists, neo-Nazis and gun enthusiasts who generally believe in the continued existence of the pre-war German Reich, while some idolise Nazi Germany.

Several groups have declared their own mini-states, made flags and issued their own identity papers, currencies and postage stamps. They often come into conflict with authorities because they refuse to pay taxes and fines.

Several Reichsbuerger have opened fire on police, hoarded weapons and explosives, and allegedly plotted attacks against state institutions, migrants and members of the Jewish community.

Domestic intelligence service chief Hans-Georg Maassen said Wednesday the "Reichsbuerger scene" of activists and sympathisers was now thought to number about 10,000, including 500-600 right-wing extremists and 700 with gun licences.

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The community was growing more "radical" via social media and displayed "a considerable willingness to employ violence", Maassen said in a statement.

In an attack last August, a 41-year-old Reichsbuerger and one-time "Mister Germany" pageant winner opened fire on police carrying out an eviction order at his house in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The gunman was seriously wounded and three police officers suffered light injuries.

Another Reichsbuerger is accused of shooting dead a police officer and wounding three others during a raid to confiscate his hunting weapons in a Bavarian town in October.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's chief federal prosecutor will carefully examine a trove of new documents released by anti-secrecy group Wikileaks related to the CIA, and will launch an investigation if it sees concrete indications of wrongdoing, a spokesman said. "We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators," a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office said. "We're looking at it very carefully." A German foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday Berlin was in close touch with Washington about such issues generally. Wikileaks said the documents showed that the CIA used the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt as a major remote hacking base. He said Germany needed to verify the authenticity of the documents. (Reporting by Matthias Sobolewski; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Michelle Martin)
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) are running neck-and-neck ahead of national elections, though one poll on Wednesday showed a surge in support for the SPD was easing. Both Merkel, who will seek a fourth term as chancellor in the September ballot, and the SPD are hoping to end their governing coalition and form a new administration with smaller allies. An Ipsos poll released Wednesday showed a one percentage point gain for the conservative bloc to 33 percent, while the SPD, the junior partner in government, dropped one percentage point to 29 percent. Ipsos said a surge in support for the SPD after it nominated former European Parliament president Martin Schulz as its candidate for chancellor in the Sept. 24 election appeared to be waning. "The Schulz effect is clearly wearing off," wrote the pollsters. But a poll by the Forsa institute for Stern magazine showed support for the SPD edging higher to 32 percent, one percentage point behind the conservatives. Forsa put its margin of error at 2.5 percentage points, putting the CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD neck-and-neck. The Ipsos poll showed a one percentage point gain for both the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP), to 6 percent, and the pro-environmental Green party, to 8 percent. The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party lost one percentage point to 11 percent. The poll surveyed 1,058 people in Germany from March 3-6. The Forsa institute, which polled 2,500 voters last week, put the AfD down one percentage point at 8 percent, while support for the Greens and the Left party were unchanged at 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Forsa said the FDP lost one percentage point to 6 percent, just above the 5 percent threshold needed to enter parliament. Based on the results, the SPD could form a coalition government with the Greens and the Left, Forsa head Manfred Guellner said, as the parties' combined score of 47 percent would translate into a slim parliamentary majority. Schulz has promised to combat job insecurity and old-age poverty by reducing temporary work contracts and rolling back some of the 'Agenda 2010' labor reforms enacted by the last SPD-led government. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Andrea Shalal; editing by John Stonestreet)
BERLIN (Reuters) - A decision by Russia to permanently station Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, its enclave on the Baltic Sea, would mark a setback for European security, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told Russian news agency Interfax on Wednesday. Russia said in October it had moved the ballistic nuclear-capable missiles to Kaliningrad and deployed a S-400 air missile defense system there. It said the deployment was part of routine drills, but Western military officials worry that it may become permanent. "If Iskander missiles were stationed in Kaliningrad permanently, that would be a cause for great concern and a blow to European security," Gabriel said. "That is why we are watching what's happening in Kaliningrad very carefully." Gabriel traveled to Moscow late on Wednesday after a meeting with his Polish counterpart in Warsaw. Some modifications of the Iskander-M missiles can hit targets 700 km (450 miles) away, putting the German capital of Berlin within range of Kaliningrad. Lithuania, which borders Kaliningrad, in January said it planned to build a two-meter-high wire fence along its border, underscoring its concerns about a more assertive Russia. Gabriel visited Lithuania last week, vowing to keep German troops in the region for as long as need. In the Interfax interview, Gabriel rejected Russian criticism of NATO's deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland and the Baltic states, including 400 German soldiers in Lithuania. "Germany and other NATO states were not the first to go into the Baltic area," he said, adding that the number of German troops in the region was miniscule compared with a massive Russian buildup. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Larry King)
By Lefteris Papadimas ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek farmers clashed with police in central Athens on Wednesday when a protest against tax and pension reforms mandated by the country's multi-billion-euro bailout turned violent. Waving shepherds crooks, about 1,300 farmers who had arrived in Athens from the island of Crete overnight headed to the agriculture ministry, which was sealed off by police buses. Tempers flared after reports spread among the assembled crowd that officials had refused to see a delegation from the farmers, witnesses said. A number of farmers charged the building and smashed windows of two parked police buses, with police responding by using tear gas, dispersing crowds into sidestreets. At one point some police were cornered by men who pounded their riot shields repeatedly with sticks. Riot police remained at the scene, with some demonstrators occasionally appearing to hurl stones at them. One demonstrator punched a hole in a police bus window, placing a large blue-and-white Greek flag in it. Shops in the area, a commercial district in downtown Athens, were shuttered. Farmers have been engaged in a long-running feud with Greek authorities over social security laws introduced in mid-2016 which force them to pay on imputed earnings upfront, and higher pension contributions. While most Greeks bore the impact of the adjustment, it hit farmers particularly hard since many previously did not make pension contributions. "The state is taking 75 percent of my income ... we all need meds to endure this," said Manolis Bobodakis, 42. Greece is now engaged in discussions with creditors on additional economic reforms required to meet bailout obligations. The crisis-hit country signed up to a new credit lifeline worth 86 billion euros in mid-2015, its third since 2010. Farmers have also been hit by high production costs triggered by the removal of tax breaks on items such as fuel and fertilizer, coupled with low prices. "It's killing us," said Panagiotis Koutsomikos, 47, a beekeeper. (Writing By Michele Kambas; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Wisconsin residents will be able to nominate and elect local representatives to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and express support or non-support for a range of advisory questions on conservation and natural resources management issues at the Congress spring meetings held in every county of the state on Monday, April 10, starting at 7 p.m.

The county meeting is held jointly with the Department of Natural Resources Spring Hearings. For those unfamiliar with the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, it is a statutorily established advisory group to the state Natural Resources Board (NRB) on all natural resource issues.

In Vernon County, the joint DNR and Conservation Congress annual county meeting will be held in the Viroqua High School commons in Viroqua, said Greg Koelker, chair of the Vernon County delegation.

At the meetings, citizens will have the opportunity to comment and register their support or non-support for Congress proposals that could someday become the rules that regulate fishing, hunting, trapping and other outdoor recreation activities in Wisconsin. They may also submit resolutions addressing conservation needs or concerns they observe.

Citizens have the opportunity to weigh in on natural resources issues that may affect them. The Congress asks these questions to gauge the publics support, or lack thereof, on any given issue, Koelker said.

Results of the publics input on these proposals will be presented to the Natural Resources Board in May 2017. If there is support for a proposal, the advisory question could become a DNR rule change proposal in following years.

This year the Conservation Congress will seek public input on 49 advisory questions on a range of topics, some of which include:

a proposal to establish the wild turkey as Wisconsins state game bird;

a proposal to provide training on lead reclamation for shooting ranges;

a proposal to add a surcharge on otter applications to fund aquatic furbearer research;

a proposal to increase inland trout stamp fees;

a proposal to establish a new bear hunting zone south of Hwy. 10;

a proposal to change the walleye bag and slot limit on the Mississippi River;

a proposal to change the procedure for obtaining a fall turkey permit.

"Conservation Congress advisory questions generally originate from citizens ideas," said Larry Bonde, chairman of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. "If resolutions presented at the county level meetings are supported, the resolution is advanced to one of the Congress' advisory committees and the District Leadership Council for consideration.

"Each year, there are over 200 resolutions submitted locally. Not all pass, but the ones that do have the potential to become a rule, policy or legislative change in the subsequent years," Bonde continued. "It is a true grassroots process that empowers the citizens of this state to shape natural resources policy."

Anyone submitting resolutions must submit two copies of their resolution typed or neatly printed on 8-1/2- by 11-inch white paper. Resolution writing instructions and a template for writing a resolution are available online at http://dnr.wi.gov/About/WCC/springhearing.html.

In addition to the Congress advisory questions, the county meeting is also reserved for the election of delegates to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. To vote for Congress delegates, one must be 18 years old and provide identification, along with proof of residency in the county.

There will be two seats up for election, in Vernon County in 2017, Koelker said. "Any citizen of the county, who is a Wisconsin resident and is at least 18 years of age may be nominated to the Congress for a two or three year term. Nominees must be willing to volunteer their time and represent their local citizens on natural resource issues.
Paris (AFP) - French carmaker PSA, which this week bought Opel and Vauxhall in a bid to create a European champion in the auto industry, must still face the uncertainty of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

The group believes however that even a so-called 'hard' Brexit, in which Britain would leave the single EU market, could be a "very nice opportunity".

PSA announced Monday the acquisition of General Motors' European subsidiary, which includes Germany's Opel and Britain's Vauxhall, for 1.3 billion euros ($1.38 billion).

The takeover will see PSA regain its position as the second-biggest car manufacturer in Europe after Germany's Volkswagen group, overtaking its French rival Renault.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to trigger Article 50 by the end of March, starting the two-year EU divorce process.

"Brexit is interesting because nobody knows how it's going to unfold," said PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares.

A hard Brexit would see Britain's departure from the EU's single market or tariff-free zone, while ending the free movement of people.

In a more amicable, or soft Brexit, Britain might retain at least some access to the single market in return for free movement of people.

"If it's not a hard Brexit, then everybody will be happy because if it's not hard then the markets will be in a better shape and everybody will benefit from it," Tavares told a news conference.

In that situation, it will be all about "performance", allowing PSA "to be competitive in the UK against all the other regions, all the other countries".

"It can be an opportunity that can be strengthened, eventually by the weakness of the pound."

Britain is Opel's largest European market, where vehicles are sold under the Vauxhall marque. It also employs about 5,000 people in Britain, most of them in two factories located in Ellesmere Port in northwestern England and Luton in the southeast.

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But even a hard Brexit could be "a very nice opportunity" for Vauxhall's supply chain "to be able to source the UK from the UK", according to Tavares.

"In that situation... possibly it is important that we can source parts from the UK. So that the cost structure will be more in pounds as much as the revenue structure.

"So if it's a hard Brexit, then, of course, the supplier basis needs to be developed, and I think this is something that the UK government completely understands."

- GM blames Brexit -

In London, a Downing Street spokesman Monday was asked about reports that PSA was keen to keep a plant in Britain in case of a hard Brexit to protect themselves against potential tariffs.

He said he was not aware of this issue being mentioned in conversations between London and PSA.

"The company themselves have said this morning that Brexit was not the driving factor behind the decision," he said.

For Len McClusky, the secretary general of the Unite trade union, "there is also a role for the government to play. The uncertainty caused by Brexit is harming the UK auto sector".

Last year, some 1.72 million cars were assembled in Britain, or 8.5 percent more than in 2015. Eight out of 10 have been exported. Among those shipped abroad, 56 percent were to the European Union.

GM's chief executive Mary Barra blamed the June Brexit vote and the fall in the value of the pound afterwards for 2016 losses. The group had been hoping for a return to profitability for Opel and Vauxhall, but it ended up reporting a loss of $257 million.

She said the financial results for its European subsidiary "have improved dramatically" in recent years.

"It's clear that the team would have hit the goal of breaking even in 2016 had it not been for Brexit."

Opel and Vauxhall have booked repeated losses in recent years, costing the Detroit-based GM around $15 billion since 2000.
Just two days after President Donald Trump signed a new executive order restricting travel to the United States from citizens of six Muslim-majority countries, the order is already facing trouble. The state of Hawaii plans to file a lawsuit Wednesday against the revised travel plan, becoming the first state to challenge it, CNN reported.

One of the lawyers for Hawaii also announced the state's decision to contest the ban on Twitter.

The revised executive order on immigration and travel that Trump signed Monday, being called "Trump Travel Ban 2.0," keeps the old 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. for citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, but excludes Iraq. It also keeps in place a ban on all refugees for 120 days.

Many immigrants' rights groups as well as state attorneys expressed concerns immediately after the new version of the executive order was signed but none had filed new lawsuits or amended their original filings. Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz from Hawaii expressed pleasure at his state being the first to do so.

"To be sure, the new executive order covers fewer people than the old one," Neal Katyal, one of the lead attorneys for Hawaii, told CNN in an interview. However, while pointing out the limitations of the ban, he said it still "suffers from the same constitutional and statutory defects."

The Justice Department said Monday the new executive order is "a lawful and proper exercise of presidential authority."

In a joint filing, Hawaii and the U.S. government have asked the judge for oral arguments in the case to be held on March 15, a day prior to the new travel ban coming into effect, according to CNN.

When Trump signed the first executive order Jan. 27, many states joined the legal battle against the ban. Washington, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia were the first ones to challenge the ban that caused chaos at airports in those states, as multiple media publications reported at the time.

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Hawaii filed a suit against the earlier travel order on Feb. 3, saying it severely impacted its residents, businesses and universities, and was also violating the Constitution. However after the ban was halted by court, the suit filed by Hawaii was also paused, Reuters reported.

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Hawaii filed suit on Wednesday to temporarily block U.S. President Donald Trumps revised travel ban, arguing the new executive order barring people from six Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States illegally discriminates against people based on their religion.

The case, which is poised to be the first of many fresh legal challenges to the new ban, seeks to use Trumps and his allies words against them to argue that the executive order has a clear discriminatory intent, according to a proposed amended complaint filed in federal court. It may provide a blueprint for lawyers across the country trying to challenge the slimmed-down ban the administration unveiled Monday.

Lawyers said the revised ban dodges many of the legal and optical problems that saddled Trumps first executive order, giving them a narrower path for challenging it in court. But they argued it has the same constitutional issues as the original ban. They plan to point to a trail of evidence, including the language of the old ban and Trumps previous statements, to prove it still intends to discriminate against people on religious grounds.

The president campaigned on a platform of banning Muslims from entering the United States, at least on a temporary basis, and I dont see how any iteration of carrying out that campaign promise will be constitutional, Billy Corriher, deputy director of legal progress at the Center for American Progress, said.

The revised ban halts refugees from entering the United States for 120 days and bans travel from six Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Syria and Libya. Iraq was dropped from the list after protests from senior U.S. military officials and Iraqi officials who said it would cause irreparable harm to U.S.-Iraqi relations.

The new ban also now clearly exempts legal permanent residents and people who already have valid visas, and it removed language giving preference to religious minorities. It also explicitly defends the previous order against accusations of religious discrimination. That order was not motivated by animus toward any religion, the order states, asserting that it was instead intended to protect all religious minorities.

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These changes, coupled with the administrations decision to slow the revised bans rollout, seem intended to avoid a repeat of the mass confusion and chaos that was set off by the first ban. That executive order was finalized without being widely vetted and implemented with almost no warning. Its rollout was accompanied by scenes of refugee families turned back from their planes and throngs of lawyers camped out at airports to free visa-holding travelers from detention.

Immigration lawyers who have been contesting the original ban concede the text of the new one renders many of the arguments against the first executive order moot. For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision that halted the ban rested on the case that the wholesale revocation of visas was a violation of the visa holders due process rights. But the new ban doesnt target visa holders. And the foreign nationals who arent covered by a green card or a visa usually wouldnt have standing to challenge the order in an American court.

The new executive order has kind of removed the rug under some of the most potent arguments, said Tyler Cullis, a legal fellow at the National Iranian American Council, which is currently part of a coalition of Iranian American groups challenging the EO.

But lawyers said changes made in the revised ban did nothing to mitigate its discriminatory intent. They pointed to Trumps statements calling for a total and complete shut down of Muslims entering the United States and a trail of leaked drafts of the order that show its evolution. They also argued that even the cleaned up order can be seen as an admission of a mistake highlighting the intent behind the initial order.

Then there are the statements by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump ally, and Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller about efforts to implement a Muslim ban legally. And just hours after the new ban was announced, the Trump team sent out a fundraising email touting the order, saying it would restrict immigration from six countries compromised by radical Islamic terrorism.

Justin Cox, a lawyer at the National Immigration Law Center which is litigating cases against the original ban in Maryland and Brooklyn, has won lawsuits in the past against states that tried to bar Syrian refugees from being resettled in their states on religious-discrimination grounds. He said cases against the ban will follow a similar outline. The main difference is that the President of the United States is the defendant, he said.

I think there will be this moment of truth when these cases really get litigated, almost a stress test of checks and balances of American democracy, said Cox, who is pursuing cases against the old ban until March 15, when the new ban takes effect. To what extend is the judiciary willing to accept bold-face lies from the president about the reasons for the action?

The government will argue that only the contents of the new executive order should be evaluated, not the intent, and that using statements from the campaign trail to quash the order effectively ties the Presidents hands to pursue any immigration restrictions at all, Cullis said. The Department of Justice declined to comment. The White House didnt respond to a request for comment.

There is legal precedence for courts to look into the intent, especially when there is evidence about the intent. Even where laws are written to be neutral, courts have looked behind them when their enactment was motivated by animus to a particular religious group, William Stock, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told FP. He said other arguments will also be used.

Hawaiis complaint enumerates eleven instances where Trump made comments related to intending a Muslim ban, including promises during his campaign and statements like If I win, theyre going back! about Syrian refugees. It also highlights statements and actions from the rollout of the first executive order, such as when Trump read the title of it and said we all know what that means.

But it doesnt rest entirely on the religious-protection argument. Hawaii also said the ban would harm the states economy and educational institutions, and pose a hardship to Hawaiians with family members abroad who cant reunite. A hearing is scheduled for March 15, a day before Trumps new ban is supposed to go into effect.

Upcoming legal challenges are likely to play out more slowly in many separate courts, without the drama of lawyers racing to the airport to help detained clients after the first ban went into effect, lawyers said. In some instances, existing challenges to the first travel ban could be amended to include the new one, they said. In other cases, fresh legal challenges will be filed.

That sets the ban up for a variety of conflicting decisions. It depends on the judges, said Corriher. Some who are inclined to only look at the wording of the order will deem it constitutional, he said, adding, I think any honest look at the evidence on the intent behind this shows that it is targeting the Muslim community.

This post was updated Mar. 9 at 6:52 a.m.

Photo credit: DREW ANGERER/Getty Images
WASHINGTON  President Trump made headlines on Saturday after he sent a series of explosive tweets claiming that the phones in his Manhattan skyscraper were tapped by former President Barack Obama during last years campaign. On Sunday, the White House released a statement calling for congressional intelligence committees to investigate the charge as part of probes into alleged Russian interference in the election. The statement also said that Trump and his staff would not comment further until a congressional investigation was conducted.

Despite that effort to put an end to the discussion, the White House has been peppered this week by reporters asking whether Trump had proof for his explosive claim that President Obama was tapping my phones. At his daily briefings on Monday and Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer repeatedly declined to answer questions about the presidents claim and said a congressional investigation was the appropriate place to deal with the matter. While the White House is keeping quiet about the issue, one senior administration official agreed to explain some of the thinking behind the presidents tweets and his wiretapping concerns to Yahoo News.

At some level, somebody clearly did violate the law, said the official, who only agreed to talk anonymously.

The official who spoke to Yahoo News did not offer any specific evidence in support of Trumps assertion that the phones in Trump Tower  which housed both Trumps apartment and the headquarters of his campaign and transition operations  were tapped on Obamas orders. But the official said the president was still troubled by the existence of, and leaks about, transcripts of phone conversations between Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Though the transcripts have not been made public, anonymous officials described those documents and conversations to the New York Times last month. During the transition before Trumps inauguration, Flynn talked with Kislyak about U.S. sanctions that had been leveled against Moscow after intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in last years election. Flynn had told multiple senior administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, that he had not discussed the sanctions with Kislyak, and the revelation that he had not been truthful about his communications with the ambassador led Trump to demand Flynns resignation President Donald J. Trump waves as he walks across the South Lawn toward the White House, March 5, 2017. (Photo: Erik S. Lesser-Pool/Getty Images)[/caption]

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The White House official said the fact that Flynn was recorded indicates there was likely a warrant issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court, a secretive body that considers monitoring requests from U.S. intelligence agencies.

In order for Flynns name to come up, you have to assume there was a FISA warrant or surveillance, the official said.

U.S. intelligence agencies regularly monitor foreign diplomats in the country. The existence of transcripts of Flynns calls with Kislyak would not be proof that Trumps adviser was the primary target of any surveillance. It would have been possible for officials to have heard Flynns conversations with the Russian ambassador if they were monitoring Kislyak. The official who spoke to Yahoo News acknowledged this but said the question of how Flynn was recorded is just one of the things bothering Trump. According to the official, the White House is also concerned about the fact that Flynns name was included in the surveillance and leaked to the press.

You have to ask yourself, how did that happen? the official said. FISA allows intelligence agencies to target non-US persons. Communications involving American citizens like Flynn that are obtained during FISA surveillance must be destroyed unless they are found to contain significant foreign intelligence information, evidence of a crime, or information pertaining to a threat of serious harm to life or property.

The names of U.S. persons involved in communications monitored and preserved through FISA are generally supposed to be anonymized except under specific conditions. The details of FISA investigations are highly classified, and, the official noted, the fact that Flynns conversations were made public clearly constituted an illegal leak, which the official said was another one of Trumps concerns.

It is illegal for a U.S. citizens name to be released, said the official.

Kevin Lewis, a spokesperson for President Obama, released a statement on Saturday that said, Neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen and Any suggestion otherwise is simply false. While Obamas office insisted that the former president and his team did not order wiretaps on Trumps camp, the statement left open the possibility that other government officials launched the surveillance. On Sunday, Obamas former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said he could deny that there was any FISA order for surveillance on Trumps team during the election or presidential transition. However, Clapper noted that he couldnt speak for other authorized entities in the government or a state or local entity.

But Trumps tweets directly blamed Obama for alleged wiretapping.

Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! Trump wrote in one of his messages.

Id bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election! he said in another.

Yahoo News asked the White House official whether it was possible that Trump was speaking figuratively and simply meant that surveillance was conducted by officials during Obamas tenure without the president being personally involved. The official suggested Trump believes that members of Obamas administration must have played a role in any surveillance on his advisers or the leaking of details from intercepted communications involving his team.

There are lots of people in that world whove suggested that you could not do something of that magnitude without someone in the White House knowing about it, the official said.

The official also said that part of Trumps frustration is what the White House sees as a double standard where direct proof is not necessarily required for allegations against the president, but he is expected to present evidence if he levels a charge.

People make accusations about him and what hes done, the official said with clear exasperation, adding, And then the president says something and its, Show me your proof. Theres obviously a considerable double standard.
Paris (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday spoke out against what he said was a decline in women's rights in the United States and Russia.

Speaking on International Women's Day, the French leader said that "threats of backtracking" on women's rights don't just come from "emerging nations or countries under dictatorships, but also in developed and rich countries".

"What about positions or intentions expressed by the new US administration?" he asked.

They would "reduce funding for family planning, as if this is the first cut to be made to allow an increase in military spending," he added.

Hollande also took aim at Moscow's policies, pointing out that a law that penalised violence against family members had recently been modified.

"Why would anyone change this text except to once again attack the freedom of women?" he complained.

Hollande, who is coming to the end of his tenure and not standing for re-election, added that in Poland there had recently been protests against attempts to impose a near total ban on abortions.

Such moves to row back on women's rights stem from "religious fundamentalism" and "the resurgence of reactionary ideologies which intend to reassign women to the procreative role in the domestic sphere," he said.
Call him friar pup.

A stray schnauzer mutt has been taken in by a monastery in Bolivia, where he received not only a new home but a Franciscan habit as well.

Read: Soldier Drapes American Flag Over Former Military Dog Partner's Body After He Is Put Down

His life is all about playing and running," Friar Jorge Fernandez told The Dodo website. "Here all of the brothers love him very much. He is a creature of God."

The silver-and-black dog had been living on the street before a local animal rescue organization called Proyecto Narices Frias (Cold Nose Project) picked him up and made him available for adoption to the monastery.

Read: Couple Postpones Their Wedding Day to Focus on Finding Missing Dog

The brothers posed for photos of the animal, clad in a tiny brown habit with a rope belt, and one friar posted them to Facebook, where they were liked more than 2,000 times.

Watch: 5-Year-Old Going Blind Gets Blessed by Pope on Visual Bucket List

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The chairman and ranking members of the House Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday that their investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election will also examine President Donald Trumps claim that his predecessor ordered that he be wiretapped, a claim for which the White House has so far refused to provide any evidence.

Over the weekend, Trump called on congressional investigators to look into his Twitter allegation that former President Barack Obama ordered that the real-estate mogul be placed under surveillance, a claim that may have originated with the right-wing radio host Mark Levin, who is known to entertain fact-free conspiracy theories.

On Tuesday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said his panel will accept the presidents request.

We should be able to determine in fairly short order whether this accusation is true or false, Schiff told reporters. Since the abuses of executive-branch power in the 1970s, the president does not have the authority to order wiretaps, making Trumps claim highly unlikely.

Speaking separately, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the committees chairman, said that he had so far seen no evidence that Obama ordered Trumps phones tapped.

Legal experts note that American intelligence law was written to prevent precisely such abuses, and FBI Director Jim Comey has reportedly appealed to the Justice Department to issue a statement knocking down the presidents allegation. Comey is reportedly concerned that Trumps statement implies the FBI broke the law. The Justice Department has issued no statement in response to Trumps claim.

Through a spokesperson, Obama has emphatically denied ordering the wiretaps, and James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence, said over the weekend that no such surveillance was ever ordered.

The American intelligence community has concluded that Russia intervened in the U.S. election to boost Trumps chances, a claim that Trump has disputed, even as persistent questions about his and his advisers connections to Moscow continue to swirl. Just six weeks into his administration, the political firestorm around the Russian connection has already resulted in the resignation of his national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and intense scrutiny of his attorney general, Jeff Sessions.

Story continues

Several congressional panels are now investigating the scope of Russian interference in the election and whether members of the Trump campaign may have colluded with Moscow in that effort.

Critics question if a Republican-controlled Congress can effectively investigate a sitting Republican president, but, so far, calls for an independent prosecutor or a special commission, akin to that created after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have run into a brick wall of GOP opposition.

On Tuesday, Schiff emphasized that the House Intelligence Committees investigation cannot become bogged down in partisan differences. In the upper house, Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said he will not accept any investigation tainted by political concerns.

There is cause for concern among Democrats about whether congressional Republicans involved in the inquiry can maintain their independence from the Trump administration. Last month, the White House recruited Nunes and his Senate counterpart  Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.)  to push back against press reports that Trump aides were in frequent contact with Russian agents.

On Tuesday, Nunes questioned the accuracy of the U.S. intelligence assessment that the Kremlin interfered in the U.S. election on behalf of Trump. Nunes has close ties to the White House and served on the Trump transition team, and has shown a willingness shared by few Democrats to take the president at his word.

Asked Tuesday whether his investigation into Trumps Russia ties would include an examination of his tax returns  which Trump, breaking decades of political convention, never released  Nunes told a reporter there was no need to do so.

The president has said that he has no ties to Russia, Nunes said. I assume that is true.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
It is midday Sunday. Ellen and Scout just sneaked in from a walk up on the ridge and surprised me surprising Ellen by washing windows. They had a good walk and saw a number of turkeys. In fact, while we were talking on the patio a couple of the big birds flew across the Oak Hollow up behind the tobacco shed.

Ellen had a good report at the clinic this week, where they restored her drivers license, let her walk up the ridge and shovel some snow, and let her get back to volunteering with the first grade at Stoddard Elementary. Anyway, Ellen said that on her way home from church this morning she saw four big toms strutting their stuff for a big flock of hens over in valley to the north. The farmer there has been regularly spreading a fresh feast of smelly stuff that turkeys love. Our neighbors will start that soon enough.

I spent much of Saturday getting the Mississippi Queen river worthy, fixing a leaky fuel line, cleaning up a corroded battery, and getting all the trailer lights to operate (only two trips to town were necessary). This morning Vince and I took the Mississippi Queen down to Genoa. While purchasing some minnows at Captain Hooks, owner Mark Clements told us the Clements Fishing Barge will open Saturday. He was heading out to work on the float as we spoke.

The sun was shining when Vinny and I motored up behind the float near the dam and tried angling for perch. That time is coming I think, but it was not this morning. We drifted along the railroad rocks north of the power plant for a bit and then tried fishing around the barge cells. We hooked stuff, but not fish. Vince said smoke was coming out of my ears while I tried to think of another idea for fishing. The sun left us soon enough with clouds and a rising breeze.

I told him that I remembered a day when Kevin Withey schooled my nephew Jason and me south of Genoa. He was trolling upstream along the sand bar below the northern Twin Island on the Thief Slough side, catching one walleye after another  and tossing them back in the river. Like any good teacher, he told us how he was fishing, then he showed us what he was using, a lead head jig with a purple twister tail, and then we were on our own to practice the lesson. Jason and I made tackle and got in line along the sand bar and commenced watching Kevin catch and throw back pike. I made a subtle suggestion that he could throw a few of those fish dinners into our boat, but he just laughed and didnt.

Anyway, Vince and I had pretty much the same luck this day although the water is higher and no one appeared to be catching much of anything where we were or had been.

Finally, we did as we so often do and chose the better part of valor  that is we went for breakfast at The Thirsty Turtle. Their weekend-only breakfast was good  biscuits and gravy, home fries, eggs over easy, toast and bacon. Today was the second day in a row I have eaten at The Turtle. On Saturday, Ellens three sisters  Barb, Kathy and Lori drove up to visit her (and make sure I am taking good care of her I am pretty sure). We all went down to The Turtle for lunch, and Chad and Meg served us the usual good stuff.

Ben and his partner Drew Rouse are working at the Iowa Deer Classic in Des Moines representing REEL Game Calls. They said the show was going well and sales were good. They will be in Scottsdale, Ariz., for the big Sportmens Expo on March 25 and then Madison the next week for the Wisconsin Deer and Turkey Expo. Ben texted they will head back to Colorado this evening.

Last week, a group including George Meyer of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and Mark Clements of Genoa, all representing many thousands of outdoors types, visited with Sen. Van Wanggaard in Madison regarding the onerous railroad trespass law. The group presented over 5,000 signatures from petitions to the legislature from citizens around the state.

Not sure where this stands, but we need to keep letting our representatives and the governor know how we feel about this ridiculous law. Remember, this is not a safety issue. The fact is that almost 100 percent of train track fatalities are not people trying to access the thousands of miles and acres of Wisconsins natural lands, but suicides, drunks, and foolish people trying to beat a train. According to statistics, almost all of these deaths happen at already marked crossings. Also, tell your elected representatives that this issue is not going away until it is fixed, even if that takes a change using the voting booth.

Speaking of being heard, join me at the Wisconsin DNR and Conservation Congress Spring Hearings at 7 p.m., Monday, April 10, at the Viroqua High School commons, 100 Blackhawk Dr. (There is hearing in each Wisconsin county at the same time if that doesnt work for you.) Come and weigh in and hear others on the issues being considered and vote on them. Several proposals that caught my eye include a proposal for a slot limit and smaller bag limit on walleyes on the Mississippi River, allowing the possession of shotgun slugs while hunting outside of a firearm deer season, and raising some stamp and license fees.

I just got in from a walk of my own. Scout and I went up the Grouse Hollow path. I didnt hear any grouse, but there were owls calling, mating calls I bet. There are deer and turkey tracks. Some clover and other greenery is trying to peep out in the Christmas tree food plot. Sadly, everywhere I look there are dying ash trees. They seem to go faster than Dutch elm trees even. I also saw many recently dead elms  mushroom trees we call them. One has to give the Dutch elm tree credit for tenacity. Whenever a couple die in an area, many more spring up nearby, giving hope to morel mushroom hunters anyway.

Until next time, get out  mark your calendar for the Gina Nickelotti Benefit, Saturday, March 18, at 3 p.m. at the Retreat Sportmens Club. Finally, I always say, you cant catch em if you dont go. What I dont usually add is that I often mutter under my breath that some of the time, you cant catch em even if you do go. Oh well, were having cedar planked grilled salmon with raspberry chipotle sauce for supper tonight. Enjoy.
Budapest (AFP) - Hungarian border police are systematically abusing migrants, through beatings, using tear gas and dogs and confiscating shoes in cold weather, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

But the charges were swiftly denied by a government spokesman, who said Budapest "utterly rejects" the allegations.

In an interview with AFP, Christopher Stokes, one of MSF's directors, said the abuse appeared to be a way of deterring people from entering the country.

"This doesn't seem to be the behaviour of one or two policemen that fly off the handle," he said.

"It seems to be much more systematic and routine and organised."

Last week, Stokes visited locations near Subotica, a town in northern Serbia close to the Hungarian border, as well as MSF's facilities in Belgrade.

Although he said he had not himself witnessed any abuse, he interviewed "dozens" of migrants who had tried to enter Hungary in recent weeks and months and who were examined by MSF.

Migrants "get a kind of welcome package, if I could say cynically, from the border police that seems to consist of beatings and tear gas," Stokes said.

Police also "have people lie on the floor and walk on them and run on them with their boots," he said, with injuries such as bruising and cuts that were "pretty consistent" with such claims.

- 'Don't come to Hungary' -

Last year, injuries treated by MSF tended to be "more open wounds and broken bones," Stokes said.

Now "there seems to be a tendency to hit them on the muscles, on other parts of the body, to create less obvious or visible marks but they are still detectable," he said.

Since the start of the year, MSF has also noticed police using the cold weather "as an element of extra punishment" -- confiscating shoes and other items of clothing and making people stand and walk in the snow.

They have also treated people with marks apparently caused by muzzled dogs pressing against necks.

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"We are used to treating people who have suffered violence, and the stories we are hearing match with what we are seeing in our clinics," Stokes said.

"It seems to be to deter them from coming again so that people will pass on the message: don't come into Hungary."

- 'Trojan horse of terrorism' -

But a spokesman for the government of hardline Prime Minister Viktor Orban rejected the allegations, insisting that migrants "are not being harassed".

"Hungarian police officers and soldiers are protecting the EU's Schengen borders lawfully and in compliance with EU and Hungarian regulations," Zoltan Kovacs told AFP by email, referring to Europe's passport-free zone.

"The police are performing their duties lawfully, professionally and proportionately, and they place special emphasis on treating migrants humanely and with respect for their human dignity," he said.

"Hungary treats those in genuine need humanely, and those waiting on its borders or on its territory receive fair treatment."

Hungary, which in 2015 erected a razor-wire fence on its southern border with Serbia, has often been criticised for its treatment of migrants.

On Tuesday, parliament approved plans to confine all new asylum-seekers, as well as those already in Hungary, in container camps at its southern border while their applications are processed -- unless they choose to return to Serbia.

The legislation, which was sharply criticised by the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) and others, is aimed at keeping Hungary and Europe safer, Orban said on Tuesday.

Immigration, he said, was "the Trojan Horse of terrorism".

The Council of Europe also voiced its concerns on Wednesday.

"Automatically depriving all asylum seekers of their liberty would be in clear violation of Hungary's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights," it said.
Photo credit: Hyperloop One

From Popular Mechanics

Hyperloop One, one of a few outfits rushing to build Elon Musk's tube transport creation, has had its own share of ups and very strange downs. But the company is finally revealing its Nevada hyperloop test site where it will (hopefully) construct the future of transportation.

Called the DevLoop, the track is 500 meters long and the constructed tubes are 3.3 meters (almost 11 feet) wide. The images were released during Middle East Rail, a transportation conference held in Dubai that brings together companies, engineers, and contractors to discuss the future of transportation. Hyperloop One expects to hold a public test in the first half of 2017 on its new test track only 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas. These images come only 10 months after the company publicly tested the hyperloop's propulsion system.

Hyperloop One isn't the only company in the running for creating our tube-based transportation future. Several universities, including MIT, Delft University, and the Technical University of Munich, have created hyperloop concepts, and other companies like Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has even spoken with central European countries, agreeing to build hyperloop systems. Even Elon Musk recently announced a new boring company, a technology that could potentially be used to create hyperloop tunnels.

But the Hyperloop One track would be a first for a complete test of the system, including the actual vacuum tube and all. After four years, the hyperloop might finally become much more than just hype.

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A man pretending to be Ryan Gosling fooled a German award show Tuesday night as he accepted an honor on the La La Land actor's behalf.

Read: And The Oscar Goes To: See The Full List of 2017 Academy Award Winners

Sitting in the audience were such international stars as Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell. They seem to know right away that something is wrong as the man took the stage.

Two comedians were behind the stunt that proved incredibly embarrassing to the Goldene Kamera Awards, which The Hollywood Reporter calls "arguably Germanys most prestigious media award."

The two comics, Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, found a Munich-based cook named Ludwig Lehner to impersonate Gosling.

The hoax comes on the heels of the Oscars blunder heard 'round the world, when La La Land was mistakenly given the Best Picture award instead of Moonlight.

Lehner was in character at his hotel room right before the awards show, with an entourage befitting an A-list Hollywood star.

The pranksters and their team watched the awards ceremony live on TV to see if they could actually get away with it, and cheered when he won.

Read: 'I Now Pronounce You Husband and Wife': Denzel Washington 'Marries' 2 Tourists Who Stumbled Into Oscars

In his acceptance speech, the fake Gosling thanked the two pranksters and rushed off the stage as fast as he could.

"I dedicate this award to Joko and Klass, thank you very much. There is a saying in Hamburg, which is, 'Bye bye!'

Watch: Accountants in Best Picture Blunder Banned From Oscars - and Have Been Getting Death Threats

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By Tommy Wilkes and Rupam Jain NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indians headed to the polls on Wednesday in the final lap of a race for the country's most politically important state, the biggest mid-term verdict on Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he stormed to power three years ago. The election has been staggered over seven phases in Uttar Pradesh, a poor and agrarian state home to 220 million people, and the final phase includes the ancient Hindu city of Varanasi, Modi's home constituency. Results of the election, as well as those in four other Indian states, will be announced on Saturday, and help to shape the next two years of Modi's government as he heads toward a 2019 general election. The outcome will also show whether support for Modi's party has held up after his shock decision last November to ban big banknotes to crack down on tax evasion and bribery. Police on Wednesday stepped up security for final voting in Uttar Pradesh after they said they had shot dead an alleged Islamic State-inspired militant in Lucknow, the state capital. The election, the world's largest democratic exercise this year, has been largely peaceful, but police arrested five men suspected of involvement in a small explosion on a train this week. "ONE-MAN PARTY" Modi has campaigned hard to win Uttar Pradesh, holding more than 25 rallies after a lackluster start to his Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign following a tie-up of two opponents that upset voting calculations. "The election is much closer than we thought it would be," pollster Praveen Patil told Reuters. He put the BJP marginally ahead of the alliance between the ruling Samajwadi Party and the Congress party, but within the margin of error and far from ensuring the BJP a majority in the 403-seat assembly. "The BJP is a one-man party. After realizing that they were trailing, they were left with no option but to press Modi onto the campaign trail," Patil said. A third party, popular among lower-caste Indians in a region where most people vote along social and religious lines, appears to be recovering some lost ground, analysts said, strengthening the chances for a hung state assembly. WINNER TAKES ALL Clinching a vote share of more than 30 percent in the three-way contest could deliver a landslide result, under India's first-past-the-post system. Modi swept the battleground state in 2014 on the way to the biggest parliamentary majority in three decades. Exit polls are due late on Thursday. They have often been wrong in the past, but any clear trend showing Modi in front could trigger further buying by investors who have pushed the benchmark NSE share index toward a record high. "If Modi wins it's going to be a huge boost," said Shumita Deveshwar, a policy analyst at macro advisory firm TS Lombard. "Even if they fall short but are still first, markets will take it in their stride." Modi's campaign in Varanasi, where the prime minister spent three days and fielded 20 ministers and BJP leaders, was a desperate attempt to regain lost ground, said a spokesman for the Samajwadi party of state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. "This was their last attempt to defeat us, but it seems like they will stand defeated," Ghanshyam Tiwari said. Voters in tiny northeastern Manipur also headed to the polls on Wednesday, with voting in three more states having wrapped up last month. (Additional reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
By Carolyn Crist (Reuters Health) - Even months after a stroke, survivors can make major strides in communication and quality of life with intensive speech therapy, a recent study in Germany suggests. After 15 hours a week of therapy for three weeks, the study participants could express themselves more effectively in daily communications, such as changing a doctors appointment over the phone. For a long time, it has been assumed that language recovery is limited to the first months after the initial stroke, said lead author Caterina Breitenstein of the University of Muenster. During the past two decades, however, several clinical studies and systematic reviews have challenged this dogma, but they werent considered high-quality studies, she told Reuters Health in an email. Chronic aphasia, the inability to understand or express speech well due to brain damage from stroke, affects about 30 percent of stroke survivors. One year after stroke, about half of them are still struggling with aphasia. It interferes with day-to-day activities and often leads to a lower quality of life and depression as well as accounting for about 9 percent of stroke-related health care costs during the first year after stroke, the study team writes in The Lancet. Breitenstein and colleagues enrolled 156 patients from 19 treatment centers who had aphasia lasting more than six months after a stroke. About half were randomly assigned to intensive speech therapy and the other half were put on a waiting list for the therapy. For three consecutive weeks, people in the treatment group had speech therapy for 10 hours or more per week in one-on-one and group sessions, as well as another five hours or more per week of individual computer-based exercises. People in the waitlist group also had about 1.5 hours of speech therapy a week as part of their normal care. Before and after the three-week intensive treatment program, researchers measured the effectiveness of all the participants verbal communication in 10 everyday life situations, such as rescheduling a doctors appointment or picking up clothes from a dry cleaner. They also scored patients on specific aspects of communication like how easy they were to understand and their syntax. Compared to the waitlist group, about 44 percent of patients in the intensive therapy group significantly improved their communication ability, and the benefits remained stable during the six-month follow-up after the therapy sessions. The patients and their partners rated quality of life higher as well. Until now, a lack in evidence has severely hampered stroke survivors access to language rehabilitation services, Breitenstein said. This demonstrates that intensive practice is the key. The study authors chose a three-week treatment because most German health insurance companies limit aphasia rehabilitation to about three weeks. A subgroup of 34 patients received five weeks of therapy and showed additional improvement over the three-week group. The most recent Cochrane review suggests that high-intensity therapy leads to reduced aphasia and improvement in communication, said Linda Worrall of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, who coauthored a commentary accompanying the study. Despite this, the intervention provided in clinical settings is far from what would be considered intensive, Worrall told Reuters Health. Confusion remains about the overall dose and intensity of treatment required for meaningful change. The study focused on stroke survivors younger than 70 to limit any age-related cognitive effects but otherwise found no differences in the effectiveness of the treatment based on age, time since stroke or severity of chronic aphasia. Patients with a milder stroke showed larger gains in verbal communication compared to those with more severe strokes, however. In future research, Breitenstein's team wants to study what minimum treatment intensity is required to improve speech skills and whether multiple three-week sessions could help even more. In addition, they want to investigate the general feasibility of implementing intensive speech therapy since cost seems to be a barrier. During the study, for example, 153 screened patients couldnt participate because their rehabilitation center had staff shortages and couldnt provide therapy. Aphasia therapy works, Breitenstein said. This calls for an urgent change in the way rehabilitation resources are currently used. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2nfukXm and http://bit.ly/2m3pTyJ The Lancet, online March 1, 2017 and February 28, 2017.
For years, International Womens Day was celebrated mostly in the former Eastern Bloc and was marked mostly by giving the special women in ones life candy and flowers.

But that isnt how the day began. Rather, International Womens Day started in New York in February of 1908, when about 15,000 female garment workers marched to demand fairer working conditions. They did so the next year, too, with the endorsement of the Socialist Party of America. This was the official first National Womens Day, a tradition they continued on the last Sunday of February until 1913, when the day was moved to March 8.

March 8 was also the day of the 1917 womens march in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) that began the Russian Revolution. Eventually, given its socialist origins and Cold War jitters, the day fell out of fashion in the United States. Only recently has it made its way back westward  and returned to its political roots around the world.

This year, however, Russian feminists pulled a very 1917 move and tried to attach a banner to the Kremlin calling for the ousting of men from politics. The banner read, Two hundred years of men in power. Out with them! The women also set off blue-colored smoke bombs.

In Poland, women (and men) continued their protests against increasingly restrictive abortion laws  and against the ruling partys treatment of womens rights, including the presidents recent decision that laws protecting women from domestic violence are superfluous.

In Georgia, women in Tbilisi protested in solidarity with one another  some even stood below a fake glass ceiling.

In Ireland, women wore black and protested the fact that abortion is illegal in nearly every situation (unless the womans life is in immediate danger).

And in the United States, where President Donald Trump held a luncheon for the day at the White House, women joined a strike in an effort to demonstrate what the world would be without women. They protested on Capitol Hill (joined by some members of Congress).

And thousands, dressed in red, protested in the streets of New York City  just as 15,000 did over a century before.

Photo credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Wednesday marks International Women's Day, an annual event that this year has spurred calls for strikes, rallies and other demonstrations.

Some women in the Philadelphia region and elsewhere plan to strike as part of a nationwide movement called A Day Without a Woman, an effort to highlight the contributions of women to society. Other women can't or don't want to take the day off, but are participating in other ways, including wearing red to show solidarity, sharing support on social media or only shopping at women-owned businesses.

Here's a look at how the day is playing out.

Rallies and other Philadelphia events

Some Philadelphia teachers took part in informational pickets outside schools Wednesday morning. Most teachers at two city schools have called out for the day.

At 3:30 p.m., supporters plan to gather for a sign-making event at Aviator Park across from Logan Square.

At 5 p.m., the protesters will march from Logan Square to Thomas Paine Plaza near City Hall.

At 7:30 p.m., a concert highlighting female artists, including several Philadelphia punk bands, will take place at Underground Arts.

A reception and discussion on issues facing women in Philadelphia were being held at City Hall.

How will you honor #InternationalWomensDay? Join us! TODAY! #BRBLunchSeries | The State of Women: A Roundtable Discussion A post shared by Blondell Reynolds Brown (@councilwomanbrb) on Mar 8, 2017 at 6:39am PST

The city was also recognizing women who work in public service.

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About to start a great program honoring Women in Public Service. #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/9tWTxtlepW  Philadelphia Fire (@PhillyFireDept) March 8, 2017

The radio station WXPN is playing music featuring women all day Wednesday.

Happy International Women's Day! We're wall-to-wall women on @wxpnfm until 7p tonight. pic.twitter.com/QmiQoL3Ecb  XPN Morning Show (@xpnmorningshow) March 8, 2017

On social media

While organizers have called for women to mark the day by staying home, many still headed to work Wednesday. But that doesn't mean the day was going unheralded. #InternationalWomensDay and #ADayWithoutAWoman were trending topics on Twitter in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and many women were sharing their thoughts on the day, spreading empowering messages and honoring women who had inspired them.

Step up to mentor a woman then watch how strong and beautiful that collaboration will be #InternationalWomensDay  Anne Gemmell (@AnneGemmellPA) March 8, 2017

Not work today? Why? Don't we have enough Hidden Figures in women's history? Be indivisible, not invisible. #InternationalWomensDay  Annie Heckenberger (@anniemal) March 8, 2017

President Trump, whose inauguration was followed by massive women's marches in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia in protest of his policies and statements about women, also voiced support for the day on Twitter.

On International Women's Day, join me in honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

Across the country

Protests and other events to mark the day are being held in cities nationwide, though most places, like Philadelphia, appeared to be seeing a muted response to calls for a strike.

A handful of school districts nationwide have canceled classes for the day due to a large number of teachers calling out.

Though apparently unrelated, in a bit of symbolism, the Statue of Liberty's lights temporarily went dark late Tuesday, spurring speculation that the outage was related to the women's day.

 Watch: The Statue of Liberty's lights go back on after more than an hour of darkness. Story: https://t.co/OS0jpeEmSx pic.twitter.com/UG2sjRqu2h  AP Eastern U.S. (@APEastRegion) March 8, 2017

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What brought Indians to the United States, and what made Indian immigrants, as a whole, so successful once here?

Thats the question Sanjoy Chakravorty, Devesh Kapur, and Nirvikar Singh set out to answer in their The Other One Percent: Indians in America. They track the increase in Indian immigration to America, both after the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, and again during the (still-ongoing, in some ways) tech boom. They use data and research to show how the Indians who come to America are triple selected through Indias socioeconomic hierarchy, highly competitive education system, and the U.S. immigration system. If the one percent of the U.S. population that is Indian has done particularly well, the authors argue, it is perhaps because selection factors were such that the Indian-born population is over three times more educated than the population of the United States.

The book was published shortly after U.S. President Donald Trumps election, and written before changes to the visa system and increased violence against Indians in America. So Foreign Policy spoke with Chakravorty and Singh to ask how they think the story of the other one percent will change in the time of Trump.

To start with the big picture: Toward the end of the book, you say that its still to be seen whether the 2016 election is as big a shift in immigration as the 1965 immigration law or the tech boom. The elections over, and were a month and a bit into Trumps presidency. What do you think now?

SC: Its clear that this administration has a pretty distinct view on immigration and immigrant labor. I think there is a pretty large thrust, in a sociological sense, toward creating an Other  a non-white, immigrant population of the U.S.  and marginalizing them. Thats a huge part of the political agenda. And the Other is part of the America First agenda  to kind of cut down on not only foreign workers, but relations with other countries, cutting down on trade. There are plenty of signals that the H-1B visa system is going to be changed. Exactly how is unclear at this point. But its very likely to be more restrictive, if not abandoned all together. And it will have pretty significant consequences, not just for immigrants but for the tech industry. Im sure there are some Indian tech workers who are visibly replacing so-called American workers, but by and large the industry has grown massively in 30 years. And a lot of it through foreign labor. And it raises the question, to me at least, why the American education system, who raised some of the top people  in the middle level [of the tech sector], that labor market really has not been generated in this country. And if there is a squeeze in that labor market, there will be pretty serious consequences.

NS: Its hard to tell exactly what will happen. The initial signs are not encouraging from what I read. I know weve gone through cycles in the past with the H-1B visa program  to me, this comes in the context with Steve Bannon being on record in an interview saying something like, Oh, there are too many South Asian CEOs in the U.S. Which seems pretty racist to me. One can be racist without using negative characterizations. Basically I think this is sort of what we point out in our book: there have been eras where the United States adopted a very closed and nativist approach to immigration. Its possible were heading in that direction. At least this administration seems to be very comfortable with that approach. American immigration policy is not just shaped by high-minded ideals, but by domestic politics and geopolitics. Its kind of a weird situation. I think wed all gotten used to post-1965 immigration policy, and this administration seems to want to question the fundamentals of that approach. The initial signs to me are not at all encouraging. Its not just America first  theres also a racial element to it. That adds a layer of discomfort.

Fast processing of H-1B visas has been suspended, at least for now. Do you think this will change, at least in the short term, Indian immigration to the United States?

SC: Honestly, Im not sure what that particular tweak is going to do. [Fast processing of H-1B visas] basically gives a leg up to the big firms. Theyre able to pay the extra dollars needed to fast track. Normally its six to eight weeks, they do it in a couple of weeks. There are plenty of reports that this is biased toward the big firms, and startups are unable to take advantage. Im honestly not sure what this tweak will mean.

NS: To the extent that people are having trouble getting H-1B visas, I think straightforwardly that will slow down the pipeline. If Indian IT companies undertake structural shifts in how they distribute work across locations, that may be a more permanent shift. A company cannot rely on a fickle immigration policy. I think the other factor  the really chilling effect is going to be from the killings of Indian Americans. Even me, Im telling my children who were born in the U.S., please be extra careful.

You briefly touch on violence against Indians in America  and in particular against Sikhs  in the book. An Indian immigrant was fatally shot yesterday, and it was the third time in two weeks that theres been an attack on an Indian in the United States. How does this fit into the story of Indians in the United States, and do you think that the fact that so many Indians in America live not in big cities but, for professional reasons, what you describe as ethno-techno bubbles, makes them particularly visible/vulnerable at present?

SC: Many communities have bemoaned the fact that theyre not taken into consideration. They dont get political traction. And yet when communities do become visible, they can become targets. And this is not the first time Indians have become targets. In the late 80s, there was the dot buster phenomenon in Jersey City. So their visibility can provoke, and does, and has in the past and will in the future, probably, racial anxiety and racial violence. Are they more vulnerable where theyre more visible? I honestly dont know  the genie [of racially motivated violence] is out of the bottle. It will be very hard to put it back.

NS: I think thats a reasonable inference. The Kansas shooting was particularly striking. These were not even Sikhs, but they were brown-skinned. Obviously they were South Asian. I think the shooter knew that. It was just like, Okay, youre the wrong skin color. Or, Okay, youre the wrong skin color, and youre taking my job. I think the current administrations rhetoric  all those dog whistles really were dog whistles.

To what extent do you think the plight of Indians in the United States will impact U.S.-India relations under Trump?

SC: Thats a difficult question, because you know we have Mr. Trumps equivalent as the prime minister of India. He uses very similar language. His people do violence on minorities, particularly Muslims. And he looks the other way, passively and sometimes openly encourages  uses coded language that kind of enables  this. So in a sense theres a meeting of the minds there. But there is the contradiction of  but you cant treat my people poorly when theyre over there, and we need to keep this transfer thing going, its good for your economy and my economy. So I honestly dont know how those relations work. How does one have a stable relationship if the top is so unstable? Is that even feasible?

NS: On the one hand, the Indian government is very concerned. I think the Indian government views the Indian diaspora as a major asset and would want to speak up for that group. The irony is that the current government in India doesnt have a great track record of inclusiveness itself. I dont think that will really factor into it. It seems like Trump and Modi will get along. Maybe Modi can influence Trump to tone down some of his rhetoric and policies with respect to Indians in America They can say dont do this with visas, or tone down your rhetoric, but theres so much else going on in terms of Othering minorities.

You say at several points in the book that Indian success in America is not because of inherent traits, but rather the factors that led to Indian immigration. Were you consciously trying to stress that message?

SC: Its for a number of reasons. It is almost the singular message of the book. We really wrote the book for an Indian audience, because there are many myths in Indians about themselves, and we needed to address that. The way we put it, we call it triple selection. Indians call it hierarchy. The caste system, the complete inequality with access to education formed over the past 150 years, and in that group you have this ultra-competitive exam system  and most people coming over here have come through that ultra-competitive system. And then the U.S. lets in certain people. The people who are here are extremely fortunate not to be here  theyve been fortunate their entire lives. Of course theyre going to do well. America is really getting a lot of talent for relatively little money. This group is pretty innovative, all of them are rising to the tops of their professions. Theres a lot of talent here. And that talent is in service of America. But these people were bloody lucky. Theyre lucky there, and theyre lucky here. And for us it was important to say that.

NS: Our goal in the book was to be data driven. Thats what actually comes out of the data. Theres no evidence for a secret sauce. Yes, you can identify some factors such as kinship ties and trust networks. I dont want to say that sociological or cultural factors are irrelevant, but I think that even in those cases  theyre a relatively small part of the story. The biggest predictor is education, and Indians in America are really highly educated. We said, okay, lets look at the data. And then that story emerged. I think it surprised us. I think theres a huge lesson there for the United States as a whole  if you want to make America great again, you should really improve education for everyone.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

Photo credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

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A NantHealth investor filed suit in federal court this week against Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and his health technology company, alleging violations of federal securities laws. The lawsuit follows the publication of a STAT investigation that showed how the biotech billionaire used a philanthropic donation to steer business back to his company.

The suit was filed on behalf of a single investor; the law firm handling the case indicated it may ask a judge to expand it to a class action if additional investors come forward.

NantHealths stock has plummeted 35 percent since the publication of STATs report on Monday.

STATs article detailed how Soon-Shiong made a $12 million donation via three of his foundations to the University of Utah for a genetic research project. The contract was worded in a way that effectively left the university with no other choice but to spend $10 million of the gift paying NantHealth for genetic sequencing work. Several tax law experts told STAT the arrangement may violate federal tax rules against self-dealing.

NantHealth did not report the money it brought in as part of the Utah deal as revenue, which the tax experts told STAT was appropriate. But the company did count that work in a tally of tests it conducted with its signature GPS Cancer diagnostic tool.

Read more: How the worlds richest doctor gave away millions  then steered the cash back to his company

The company told investors last November that the Utah work represented one third of the 524 GPS Cancer tests it had conducted in the third quarter of last year. But two representatives of the University of Utah told STAT that the sequencing work, which was entirely preclinical, had nothing to do with GPS Cancer, which analyzes the genetics of cancer patients tumors and recommends treatments.

The new lawsuit alleges that NantHealths lack of transparency about the particulars of the University of Utah deal artificially inflated the market price of NantHealth stock. The plaintiff would not have purchased the companys stock at the inflated prices, the suit said, if the facts had been more clear.

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Jen Hodson, a spokeswoman for NantHealth, did not immediately return an email and calls placed Wednesday afternoon. The company has declined to return STATs calls and emails since the publication of an earlier investigation that showed how Soon-Shiong has used his moonshot initiative to cure cancer to aggressively promote GPS Cancer.

Soon-Shiong is the majority owner and CEO of NantHealth. Hes also the second largest shareholder in tronc, the national newspaper chain that owns the Los Angeles Times.

Read more: He vowed to cure cancer. But this billionaires moonshot is falling far short of the hype

Late Tuesday, the LA Times published an interview with Soon-Shiong in which he called STATs article maliciously false. Soon-Shiong told his newspaper that the contract for his gift to the University of Utah was not worded with the intention that NantHealth would win the genetic sequencing work. He was quoted saying he was befuddled by any other motivation that could be perceived in the donation beyond what he described as his foundations aim of disseminating knowledge to scientists.

Nothing in the LA Times article refuted STATs reporting. NantHealth has not pointed STAT to any errors in the story or asked for any corrections.

The Nant investor who is the plaintiff in the suit is identified in the complaint as Dona Holmberg. NantHealths chief financial officer, Paul Holt, is also named as a defendant.
Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces worked to clear bombs and flush out any remaining jihadists in retaken areas of west Mosul Wednesday to set the stage for an offensive against the Old City.

Supported by US-led air strikes, the forces have made steady progress in their battle to seize Iraq's second city from the Islamic State group, announcing the recapture of three more areas on Wednesday.

IS overran large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014, with its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declaring a cross-border "caliphate" in his last public appearance at a Mosul mosque in July that year.

A US official Wednesday said Baghdadi was no longer in Mosul, and that the hunt for the enigmatic figure is being led by groups outside the US-led anti-IS coalition, including US special operations forces.

Iraqi forces launched the massive operation to retake Mosul on October 17, first recapturing its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.

The jihadists are under mounting pressure from twin US-backed ground offensives targeting Mosul and their other main stronghold, Raqa in Syria.

They have fought back with suicide car bombs, roadside bombs, snipers and weaponised drones.

Iraqi forces have recaptured a series of neighbourhoods in Mosul as well as the provincial government headquarters and the museum where IS militants infamously filmed themselves destroying priceless artefacts.

The focus on Wednesday was on clearing the newly retaken areas and defusing bombs in booby-trapped houses, said Lieutenant Colonel Abdulamir al-Mohammedawi of the elite Rapid Response Division.

- 'Important step' -

The battle for the Old City may see some of the toughest fighting in west Mosul.

"The liberation of the city centre is a first and very important step for beginning the liberation of the Old City," Mohammedawi said, referring to an area near the Old City that Iraqi forces have recaptured in recent days.

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"The Old City is a very difficult area" of narrow streets and closely spaced houses, he said.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to still be trapped under jihadist rule in the Old City.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC) said Wednesday the elite Counter-Terrorism Service had recaptured the neighbourhoods of Al-Mansur, Al-Shuhada al-Oula and Al-Shuhada al-Thaniya in west Mosul.

It said soldiers and pro-government militiamen had retaken Badush prison northwest of Mosul where IS reportedly killed up to 600 people execution-style and also were said to have held more than 500 kidnapped women from the Yazidi minority.

The JOC did not specify whether anyone was still being held at the prison when it was recaptured.

The fighting in the city's western districts has forced more than 51,000 people to flee their homes, says the International Organization for Migration.

But 750,000 people are believed to have remained in west Mosul under IS, whose fighters have used civilians as human shields to defend themselves from approaching forces.

"We couldn't go outside because of the IS fighters," said Manhal, a 28-year-old resident of Al-Danadan, a district now under Iraqi control.

- Berms and barriers -

"Those who went out were taken hostage. The fighting was very violent. Mortar rounds fell on our roof and inside our yard," he added.

Federal police said anti-IS forces were now setting up defences in recaptured areas of Mosul as they eyed the next phase.

"Berms and barriers were set up to protect (the) forces and they began search operations in Al-Dawasa and Al-Danadan and Al-Agaidat areas to find (IS) remnants to prepare for the completion of offensive operations," said Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat.

In neighbouring Syria, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters has been advancing on Raqa and on Monday they reached the Euphrates River cutting the main road to the partly IS-held city of Deir Ezzor downstream.

Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies meanwhile have pushed south from the Turkish border and driven IS out of the northern town of Al-Bab.

Russian-backed government troops have swept eastwards from Syria's second city Aleppo and seized a swathe of countryside from the jihadists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said heavy Russian bombing struck IS positions near the town of Al-Khafsah, where regime forces retook a key water pumping station the day before.

State television said more than 260 explosive devices had been defused at the pumping station as the area was cleared for work to start on restoring water to Aleppo city.

An AFP correspondent saw dozens of trucks and cars full of suitcases and bedding waiting on the road between Al-Khafsah and the town of Manbij.

"The shelling began and we fled -- wherever we found somewhere safe, we'd settle there," said Abu Hammoud, an elderly man who left his home near the pumping station.

"We need help for the children. They're sleeping in the open air. There's no food here. Everyone can see us, but no one is doing anything."
CASHTON  The maple sap began flowing early this year at the expanding B&Es Trees farm south of Cashton, where owners Bree Breckel and Eric Weninger have put up a building with their own evaporator inside to boil the sap to create syrup.

Once theyve made their certified organic maple syrup, it will be aged for a year in charred oak bourbon barrels at the Food Enterprise Center in Viroqua, to give it a unique flavor. Then Beckel and Weninger will use their own bottling equipment to bottle it at the center, for sale in retail stores and restaurants and on the B&Es Trees website.

B&Es Trees sold its first bourbon barrel maple syrup in the fall of 2015, Breckel said.

Before she and Weninger came up with that unique product, their business had been selling regular certified organic maple syrup since 2012 to the Maple Valley Cooperative in Cashton.

This is their sixth year of maple syrup production.

Breckel and Weninger bought their first 40 acres of maple trees in 2011, before buying another 24 acres of land in 2012 and another 80 acres in 2016. Of their total 144 acres, maple trees cover about 120 acres.

Because weve been expanding, we were outgrowing the shared facility, Weninger said of the couples decision to install their own evaporator in their own new sugar house building. (The evaporator was expected to begin operating last week.) Before that, they and three other maple syrup producers had been sharing the evaporator at another sugar house a mile away.

It takes 40 to 50 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. From the trees, the sap flows through food-grade plastic tubing into three tanks at the farm. From there its transferred to three other tanks near the sugar house, before going into the evaporator to boil off water.

Weninger and Breckel plan to construct a second building in a few years, and move their bourbon barrel aging and bottling operations there.

For now, they run the equipment in the sugar house with a couple small solar panels and a propane-fired electric generator. They plan to add more solar panels and a wind turbine this summer.

We want to have as much of the farm and this facility on renewable energy as we can, Weninger said.

Sap usually begins flowing from their maple trees around the first or second week of March. But this year it began flowing in early February because of a warm spell. It warmed up so fast, before cold temperatures returned, Breckel added.

Sap flows best in maple trees with warm, sunny days and freezing nights. The amount of syrup that can be produced this spring depends on the weather.

The B&Es Trees maple syrup thats being sold today in stores and restaurants in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Colorado was aged for a year in bourbon barrels through an arrangement with Central Waters Brewing Co. in Amherst, Wis. It resulted from conversations with the brewerys owner, whom Weninger and Breckel first met at the Midwest Renewable Energy Associations 2013 energy fair in Custer, Wis.

After the barrels are used to age bourbon at a distillery, theyre emptied and sent to B&Es Trees and used to age maple syrup for one year. After theyre emptied of maple syrup, the barrels go to the Central Waters brewery where theyre used to age some of its beer.

Breckel and Weninger said the aging mellows the sweetness of the syrup and adds a hint of bourbon as well as smoky vanilla notes from the charred oak of the barrels. But theres no alcohol in it, Weninger said of B&Es Trees syrup.

Breckel, who was raised near Westby, has worked full time at B&Es Trees for two years. Before that, she worked at the Peoples Food Co-op in La Crosse for 10 years.

In February, Weninger, who was raised near Holmen, quit his job as a combustion engineer at the Harley-Davidson product development center in Milwaukee to work full time at B&Es Trees.

Breckel and Weninger first met at an Earth Day 2010 event in La Crosse.
It seems Netflix and Marvel's latest show Iron Fist is not so punchy.

While the two brands have rarely failed to impress with their small screen superhero sagas, critics don't seem to love the latest addition to Netflix's library.

The show, which launches on March 17, follows Danny Rand (Finn Jones), a rich kid who returns to his hometown of New York after being missing (presumed dead) for years, now touting expert kung fu skills and the ability to call on the mystical powers of the Iron Fist, which makes his fist... really strong.

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 'Iron Fist' trailer looks worthy of its Marvel brethren

The series is the fourth and final installment in the street-level superhero stories (following Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage) that will tie together and culminate in the super-team miniseries, The Defenders.

Here's what some critics had to say about Iron Fist:

Danny Rand: Not so super?

Marvels Iron Fist

Image: netflix

Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter:

Rick Marshall, Digital Trends:





In fact, many critics would prefer Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) to be the hero

Marvel's Iron Fist

Image: netflix

Maureen Ryan, Variety:

Luke Lancaster, CNET:





The show, in general, is too boring

Marvel's Iron Fist

Image: netflix

Alan Sepinwall, Uproxx:

Jim Vejvoda, IGN:

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, The Daily Dot:

Diversity fail + the "white savior" problem

Marvel's Iron Fist

Image: netflix

Kwame Opam, The Verge:

Susana Polo, Polygon:

Bottom line? Sorry, Netflix.
More than 30 people were killed and 50 others wounded when gunmen dressed as doctors stormed Kabuls largest military hospital in a massive attack that highlighted the Islamic States growing foothold in Afghanistan.

Four gunmen attacked the Sardar Daud Khan hospital after what appeared to be a suicide bomb explosion to open the medical complexs gate at 9:00 a.m. local time Wednesday. A hospital staffer described a gunman wearing a white coat holding a Kalashnikov and opening fire on everyone, including the guards, patients and doctors, according to BBC.

Afghan commandos landed on the roof of the hospital and killed the attackers, but only after hours of gun battle. Doctors, soldiers, and civilians were all caught in the crossfire, as some hospital patients climbed out of windows and hid on ledges to seek shelter.

The Islamic State claimed credit for the attack, while the Taliban denied any involvement. If the Islamic States claims are confirmed, it would undermine the Afghan governments claims that it has the terrorist group on the defensive. The government has been struggling to curb attacks that are increasingly high-profile and sophisticated by emboldened terror groups.

Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan, called the attack an unspeakable crime in a statement Wednesday.

A hospital is a place that is considered immune in any law, any religion and sect, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said. Attacking a hospital is an attack against the entire people of Afghanistan and against all the women of Afghanistan, he said. He added women should stand up to extremism, citing International Womens Day, celebrated Wednesday.

Abdullah Abdullah, the countrys chief executive, called the attack a crime against humanity.

The only solution is to keep unity. Our enemies are only able to carry out their goals when there is political discord, he said.

The Islamic State first announced it was setting up shop in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2015. Since then, its carried out multiple deadly attacks concurrently with the Talibans own attacks. In July 2016, ISIS claimed credit for a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed 80. Another ISIS suicide bomber killed 22 in an attack on the Afghan Supreme Court in February.

If theyre not coordinating their attacks, the two militant groups may be learning from each other. This is the first time the Islamic State employed the Taliban tactic of using suicide bombers to blow open gates, then having another group of fighters pour into a building, BBC Afghans Inayatulhaq Yasini said.

Photo credit: SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's parliament gave preliminary approval Wednesday to two measures that would limit calls to prayers from mosques, including one prohibiting the use of loudspeakers at all hours, a parliament statement said.

The second of the bills would ban loudspeakers between 11 pm and 7 am in urban areas. The bills will have to be reconciled later in the legislative process, with three more readings required before they can become law.

They were approved after a heated discussion that turned into shouting matches between ruling coalition members and Arab lawmakers, some of whom tore copies of the legislation and were ejected from the chamber.

The bills passed 55-48 and 55-47.

While the bills in theory would apply to any religious place of worship, Muslims say it is clearly meant to silence the traditional call to prayer at mosques.

The notion of Israeli legislation silencing mosques has sparked outrage around the Arab and wider Muslim world.

Supporters of the move say it is needed to prevent daily disturbance to the lives of hundreds of thousands of non-Muslim Israelis.
President Donald Trumps elder daughter and confidant Ivanka Trump may have been embroiled in controversies related to her clothing line early this year, but the brand has benefitted enormously, possibly from the publicity it has been receiving, reports show.

In the starting of February, department store chain Nordstrom announced it was dropping Ivankas clothing and accessories over concerns regarding poor product sales. The president of the Ivanka Trump fashion brand, Abigail Klem, however, disagrees.

Since the beginning of February, they were some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand, Klem told Refinery29 in an interview published Tuesday. For several different retailers Ivanka Trump was a top performer online, and in some of the categories it was the [brands] best performance ever.

E-commerce aggregator Lyst found sales of Ivanka Trumps brand registered an increase of 346 percent from January to February, according to Refinery29. The brand also reportedly increased 557 percent in February compared to the same month last year.

Ivanka, 35, took a formal leave of absence from her brand after her father became president. After Nordstrom dropped her line in February, President Trump took to Twitter to protest the unfair treatment being meted out to his daughter. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway went a step ahead during an appearance on Fox & Friends to urge viewers to go buy Ivankas stuff.

Grab Your Wallet, a campaign critical of the president and his administration, on the other hand, called on the public to boycott retailers that offered any Ivanka or Donald Trump-related products. A number of retailers, citing the same reason as Nordstrom, either dropped the brand or reduced the number of its items they sold.

Despite Trumps daughter reportedly acting as walking billboard for the line with her numerous appearances in Ivanka Trump clothing, the firm maintained it is completely distinct from Ivanka or her political role. Klem herself is a registered Democrat.

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Its unprecedented what this brand is dealing with, Klem said in the interview. We are really committed to having the brand be separate, even from [Ivanka], so certainly her dad is even more distant from that. We're committed to doing everything we can to carve an identity for this brand that is about what the brand stands for and the core brand attributes. And so absolutely, it complicated matters.

Related Articles
Ivanka Trump and the first family returned to Washington to resume their duties at the White House after spending time at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. President Donald Trump's oldest daughter shared a cute of her three children on Instagram Sunday after spending a relaxing weekend at the "Winter White House."

In the photo, Ivanka and Jared Kushner's children dressed in matching patriotic outfits while at the Mar-a-Lago estate's croquet course.

On Friday, the Kushner children got their first ride on an Air Force One helicopter with their grandfather during their visit to the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

During the latest visit to Florida, the president and Ivanka visited an Orlando religious school, along with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Kushner, and Marco Rubio. Ivanka has been carrying out ceremonial responsibilities in the White House since her father took office on Jan. 21, while the first lady Melania Trump continued to live in New York with her 10-year-old son Barron until he finishes the school year.

Last week, Ivanka went for a private tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum without her father, who is considering his own visit. She was accompanied by her mother-and-father-in-law, Charles and Seryl Kushner.

The 35-year-old socialite helped her father through his presidential campaigns and is touted as her fathers favorite child. Ivanka has an estimated net worth of $300 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. After her father won the elections, Ivanka and Kushner moved to Washington D.C., amid rumors that the two could be taking key positions in the Trump White House.

[Ivanka] is very, very trusted by me. She has great real-estate instincts and great political instincts, Trump said about his daughter had earlier said, according to New York Times.

Last month, Trump officially renamed the White House's Office of the First Lady to the Office of the First Family, giving rise to speculation that daughter Ivanka and his wife, Melania, will both have dual administration roles.

Related Articles
Japanese political dissenters chalked up a small victory Wednesday when a court struck down a city's move to ban a "mannequin flash mob" anti-government protest.

The Yokohama District Court nullified an injunction issued by Ebina city, south of Tokyo, against a local politician who took part in the silent demonstration against the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The group of about 10 people staged the event -- in which they gathered and stood still like mannequins -- in a public space in front of a local train station in February last year without obtaining a permit.

They held placards with messages such as "We do not tolerate Abe politics."

The court row began after the city ordered a member of its municipal assembly who had taken part not to do so again.

The city claimed she violated a local ordinance which requires prior approval for public events and demonstrations in front of the station.

The demonstrators countered that the action violated their right to free speech.

Masamichi Okubo, the presiding judge, nullified the city's order, according to a court spokeswoman. She did not elaborate.

Okubo said the protest did not disrupt foot traffic in the area and did not meet the requirements for obtaining prior approval, local media reported.

Abe, while enjoying high public approval ratings, has been the target of protests over his hawkish and conservative social and defence policies. These have unnerved many in a nation known for staunch pacifism.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 140 Jewish community center leaders sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday expressing frustration with the progress made in identifying whoever is responsible for this year's wave of bomb threats against Jewish interests.

The letter, sent by the JCC Association of North America and signed by 141 of the group's leaders, came as two more community centers received threats of violence on Wednesday. On Tuesday, a fresh round of threats were received by more than a dozen Jewish organizations, bringing the total to approximately 140 after five previous waves.

"We are frustrated with the progress in resolving this situation," the leaders wrote. "We insist that all relevant federal agencies, including your own, apply all the resources available to identify and bring the perpetrator or perpetrators, who are trying to instill anxiety and fear in communities across the country, to justice."

On Wednesday, a Jewish center in West Hartford, Connecticut, received an emailed threat early in the morning, while another center in Louisville was evacuated after a phoned-in threat arrived around noon, according to local media reports. A Vancouver center also received a bomb threat late on Tuesday night.

As with all the previous threats, the latest incidents were determined to be hoaxes.

Federal authorities have made one arrest, charging a disgraced former journalist, Juan Thompson, last week with cyber stalking for making at least eight threats nationwide. Thompson is accused of trying to blame the threats on an ex-girlfriend as part of a harassment campaign.

A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the letter.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Tom Brown)
MADISON  Gov. Scott Walker refused to endorse the House bill overhauling the federal health care law for a second day Wednesday, declaring more work needs to be done and expressing concern that there were no cost estimates for the proposal championed by fellow Wisconsin Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Walker repeated for a second day that he viewed the bill as a work in progress and said that after speaking with Ryan he is anticipating a series of changes before it passes the House. Ryan has publicly said the bill is the only proposal in Congress that advances the Republicans long-held promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

I just still think theres some more work to be done, Walker told reporters. Our ultimate goal as governors, certainly my goal, is to have ultimate flexibility.

Walker said it was unconventional for the House to be moving forward without knowing the costs.

I, personally, want to know what the cost is, Walker said. At some point before the members of the House or the Senate are asked to vote, at a minimum they should not only have the (costs) back but they should have some time to digest it.

Walker has been measured in his response to the Ryan bill as he weighs both his concerns for Wisconsin and those of other governors. Walker, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has worked with Ohio Gov. John Kasich and others on an alternative proposal that would effectively put states in charge of their Medicaid programs but require the federal government to continue financing them.

The challenges theyre going to have in the House and Senate are not unlike those were going to have amongst governors, Walker said. Trying to balance that out is no easy task amongst governors. I can only imagine its not an easy task in the House and the Senate just on the issue of what you do with expansion states, not to mention the other issues out there.

Some Republican governors have complained that Ryans proposal will force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or require states to pay for the cost of keeping them covered. There are also concerns among Republican governors in states that accepted federal money to expand Medicaid and those that did not.

Walker rejected the $500 million to expand Medicaid. Instead, he reduced those on the program by limiting it only to people at or below poverty, but it expanded it to include childless adults who previously had been on a waiting list for coverage. He said he hoped the federal bill would ultimately be modeled after what he did in Wisconsin.

Walker said he was on a telephone call Tuesday night with Republican governors, who lead 33 states, to discuss the proposal. He said governors want maximum flexibility and are united in liking that Congress is at least moving to repeal the current law.

Walker was among Republicans who have spent years bashing former President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010 by a Democratic Congress. But Walker on Wednesday downplayed concerns over its replacement, saying most people wont be affected because they purchase health insurance through their employers.

Most people arent going to be affected by this no matter what happens, he said. Its a whole lot of attention people are paying to it, understandably, but its not going to affect most people.
Jordan Peele's directorial debut Get Out has become the first major movie event of 2017, but Samuel L. Jackson had one notable critique: The actor told hip-hop radio station Hot 97 that Get Out should have starred an African American actor instead of the British-born Daniel Kaluuya.

Then Britain's own Star Wars actor John Boyega caught wind of the comment, he dismissed it as a "stupid-ass conflict."

SEE ALSO: 'Get Out' rips the mask off a monster we know too well

There are a lot of black British actors in these movies, Jackson told the New York radio station. I tend to wonder what Get Out would have been with an American brother who really understands that. I mean, Daniel grew up in a country where theyve been interracial dating for a hundred years," Jackson said.

"What would a brother from America have made of that role? I'm sure the director helped, but some things are universal, but everything ain't ... there are some brothers from America who could've been in that movie, he added.

The conversation turns to Get Out around 25:30. Jackson said that British actors are cheaper than American ones (but make more in the U.S. than U.K.) and that they are often classically trained in theater.

Black brits vs African American. A stupid ass conflict we don't have time for.  John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) March 8, 2017

Boyega's tweet doesn't give much context, which speaks to his message and his desire to not spend more time on the matter. Before that, he retweeted a Twitter user asking Jackson to "emancipate [himself] from mental slavery."

Kaluuya himself told Vulture in February  before Jackson's commentary 

"I know what it means to be stopped by police. Ive been stopped by police a lot. And the party scene, when everyone was highlighting how black Chris was and saying 'black' things and being nice. You kind of cant say anything, because you know the intention is to make people feel welcome."

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"Only a black guy could write this, only someone that lives this," he added, referencing Jordan Peele's script. "I've been to so many parties in England and in America thats exactly like that, where youre kind of like seen as Other."

I didnt want to go with a British actor because this movie was so much about representation of the African American experience," Jordan Peele told The Guardian recently. "Early on, Daniel and I had a Skype session where we talked about this and I was made to understand how universal this issue is.

Get Out is in theaters.
JoJo Fletcher almost snatched Ben Higgins heart last year, but the Bachelor star broke her heart after choosing Lauren Bushnell. Rachel Lindsay experienced the same after Nick Viall sent her home when he had to choose his final two girls. Now, Lindsay is set to follow Fletchers footsteps as the next The Bachelorette star.

If there is one woman who fully understands Lindsays predicament today, it would be Fletcher. In fact, the latter had an even more bitter experience, after Higgins told her that he loved her yet chose another woman during the final rose ceremony.







Lindsay had already moved on from Viall. However, she told E! News that had the Bachelor chosen her, she would have accepted his marriage proposal. The Bachelor star just thanked Viall for opening her up and making her a believer.

Fortunately for both Fletcher and Lindsay, they were given the chance to star in The Bachelorette, where they can choose the man of their dreams. Fletcher found her fiance Jordan Rodgers on the reality show, and now Lindsay could have her own happy ending.

Shes a lawyer  she thinks a lot, shes always in her head. I was gonna tell her try not to be in her head that much but also listen to that mind of yours because youre smart, and dont let you heart get carried away with the looks and the lust, cause it happens, Fletcher told Extra when asked for what advice she would give to the next Bachelorette star.

Meanwhile, Fletcher debunked the rumors that her relationship with Jordan has hit rock bottom by sharing that things are amazing between them. In fact, she revealed that she is very proud of her fiance because he has been working so hard and can clean their kitchen super fast. Fletcher playfully added that Rodgers sleep-talks with an accent, which was one of the things she loved about him. The pair is already preparing for their wedding.

Meanwhile, Lindsay recently revealed that she is ready for The Bachelorette. She told People that she has no particular type when it comes to the physical features of a man. Shes from an intermixed family, and her family members are all very accepting. She explained that she chose to join the show to find love, not to judge how a person looks on the outside.

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Do you think that Lindsays season of The Bachelorette will be exciting? How do you find Fletchers advice for her? Drop a comment below.





JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers

Photo: Getty Images/Cooper Neill

Related Articles
Jon Huntsman, a former governor, ambassador and one-time Republican presidential candidate, has been offered the position of U.S. ambassador to Russia, Politico reported on Wednesday. Two administration sources told Politico Huntsman intends to accept the offer.

The pick, if true, is a bit surprising, since U.S. President Donald Trump has so far shown to favor loyalty over experience in filling certain positions. Huntsman was at times a critic of Trump during his campaign, though the former Utah governor endorsed Trump in April, 2016.

The White House refused to confirm the news when Foreign Policy reached out for comment.

Huntsmans family company has operations in Russia but he has little expertise in U.S.-Russia diplomacy. However, Huntsman was ambassador to Singapore under George H.W. Bush  the youngest U.S. ambassador in over 100 years. More recently, he served as ambassador to China under Barack Obama. He currently chairs the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank that promotes transatlantic ties.

If he accepts, and gets Senate confirmation, Huntsman will succeed John Tefft, still the U.S. envoy in Moscow, who is widely regarded for his regional knowledge and experience. Prior to moving to Moscow, Tefft had worked in Lithuania, Georgia, and Ukraine.

Experts and former diplomats who spoke to FP didnt consider Huntsmans lack of deep Russia expertise a hindrance. If true, its an excellent choice given his broad foreign policy expertise and strong leadership exhibited here at the Atlantic Council, Alexander Vershbow, former U.S. ambassador to Russia who now works for the Atlantic Council, told FP.

My impression is that Huntsman is a seasoned statesman who would bring a lot of talent to the role, Matthew Rojansky, director of the Wilson Centers Kennan Institute, told FP. That said, we are also fortunate to have John Tefft, one of our countrys absolutely top career diplomats now serving as ambassador, so we can have high confidence that the transition will be handled smoothly and professionally.

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Tefft was preceded by Michael McFaul, who caused something of a stir upon his arrival to Russia by meeting immediately with Russian opposition figures. On Twitter, McFaul, a prolific tweeter, reacted simply to news of Huntsmans nomination, I wish him well!

Huntsman called on Trump to withdraw his candidacy for president in October 2016 after a tape emerged in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women. Hes since forged closer ties to the campaign, defending Trumps controversial call with the Taiwanese leader in December that undermined decades of U.S. understanding with Beijing over the One China policy.



In recent weeks, sources close to Huntsman also speculated he was considering running for senate in Utah to replacing 82-year old Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Alternatively, he was bandied about as a possible deputy secretary of state. That position remains unfilled, after Trump squashed Secretary of State Rex Tillersons choice, Elliott Abrams, who had been critical of the real estate mogul during the campaign. (Or perhaps, as Abrams suspects, Trump simply confused him with another critic.)

Update: This article was updated to include comments from the White House and Alexander Vershbow.

Photo credit: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday that his government will spend $650 million on sexual and reproductive health initiatives around the world over three years.

The plan, which was announced on International Womens Day, will focus on closing gaps in reproductive health services, putting money into contraceptives and family planning and sexuality education.

For far too many women and girls, unsafe abortions and a lack of choices in reproductive health mean that they either are at risk of death, or simply cannot contribute and cannot achieve their potential, Trudeau said during an event to commemorate International Womens Day, the Toronto Star reported.

Canadian women used the day to call for improvements in child care services, an end to gender-based violence and equal pay between men and women, The Canadian Press reported.

Trudeau, who announced the new initiative with International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, has pledged to advocate for womens rights both in Canada and around the globe.
Nairobi (AFP) - Kenyan authorities said Wednesday they would hire foreign doctors to get public hospitals running again after talks failed to end a strike that has crippled healthcare for 94 days.

The government has threatened repeatedly to fire striking doctors and has even gone so far as to jail union officials in a bid to end the country's longest-ever medical strike, but the doctors are digging their heels in.

Peter Munya, the chairman of the council of governors, said the government was "working on contingent measures to return the health sector to where it was by looking for services wherever they are available in the continent or outside the continent."

"We decided that doctors who have failed to resume work should consider themselves sacked," he added.

A furious President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday lambasted the some 5,000 doctors who have been striking for better pay and working conditions, accusing them of "blackmail".

"We will not succumb to threats and intimidation. Do these doctors think we are that stupid? We have offered you better salaries than those in private hospitals!" he said at a joint press conference with Munya.

At the root of the doctors' strike is a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) agreed between the government and the unions in 2013.

The document promises to triple salaries but also to improve often dire conditions in public hospitals -- which striking doctors point to when accused of being greedy.

The government said the document was still being fine-tuned but doctors argue it is a legal deal which they want implemented immediately.

A Kenyan court which declared the strike illegal appointed church leaders to mediate after several other mediators failed. However even they failed to make headway after the union on Tuesday rejected a 50 percent salary increase and improved risk allowance.

The previous offer had been 40 percent.

- Poor working conditions -

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Poor salaries and working conditions -- such as a lack of vital drugs and equipment -- have pushed Kenyan doctors to flee the public sector or go to other countries where there are better opportunities.

Kenya's main doctors' union, KMPDU, says the country has one doctor to 17,000 patients, while the World Health Organization recommends one to 1,000.

University lecturers also went on strike in January, a double blow to Kenyatta's government just five months before general elections.

A series of corruption scandals -- including in the health ministry -- are fuelling the discontent, as is anger towards lawmakers who are among the best paid in the world and have voted themselves new benefits while claiming to be unable to meet doctors' and lecturers' demands.
Kim Kardashian loves see-through clothes and bare shoulders

Kim Kardashians haters have to hate, but Kim isnt letting the negativity get to her. Kardashian has been through some tough times in the last year, and her strength and determination have kept the reality star on top of her world. Theres no way a few more internet trolls or a 74-year-old pensioner are going to get her down. Thats right, according to TMZ, an old man in Connecticut was just arrested for trashing Kims Selfish books at a local Barnes & Noble.

The dreadful deed took place last October, not long after Kim endured the terrifying experience of being robbed. Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in her luxury hotel suite when she was in Paris attending Fashion Week. The book-wrecker could have chosen a better time to further traumatize Kardashian, but fortunately, his attack on Kims books dont seem to have bothered Kim all that much.

Click here to continue and read more...
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Donald Trump spoke with TMZ founder Harvey Levin on Wednesday in the Oval Office for about an hour, reports the New York Times. The meeting was first covered at Entitymag.com.

This comes as a big WTF, as Trump has basically gone on a worldwide tour of bashing all corners of the media. In February he literally said that the media was the "enemy of the people." He also announced that he will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April (several news outlets said "So what?" and decided to bail as well).

And did we mention that the L.A. Times, CNN, The New York Times, Politico, and BuzzFeed were all barred from a February briefing? Hell, even Breitbart found itself in some hot water when it blamed Reince Priebus for the ignominious departure of Mike Flynn.

So, every which way you look at it, the Trump administration has been at odds with the media. But it seems that TMZ (which broke this news today) is in the clear.

What was Levin doing at the White House (in the Oval Office, no less)? Sources told the Times that Levin and Trump were talking about the possibility of an interview for Fox News. Last fall, Levin had spoke with Trump on a special called OBJECTified: Donald Trump. The interview led to a spinoff series called OBJECTified, which is slated to begin this fall. Sources say that Levin was approaching Trump for an interview for the new series.

As noted at Paste Magazine, Trump's meeting with Levin comes before the President has even made the effort to make contact several countries. They include:
KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - Kuwait is building one of the world's longest causeways to its remote north where it will pump billions into "Silk City", aiming to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route.

The oil-rich emirate is eager to inject life into the uninhabited Subbiya region on its northern tip that has been chosen as the location for Silk City.

The plan is to reinvigorate the ancient Silk Road trade route by establishing a major free trade zone linking the Gulf to central Asia and Europe.

The 36-kilometre (22-mile) bridge, three-quarters of it over water, will cut the driving time between Kuwait City and Subbiya to 20-25 minutes from 90 minutes now.

Investment in the Silk City project is expected to top $100 billion, and a 5,000-megawatt power plant has already been built in Subbiya.

At a cost of 904 million dinars ($3.0 billion), the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway, named after the emir who died in January 2006, is one of the largest infrastructure ventures in the region.

It is already nearly three-quarters completed.

Despite the sharp drop in oil income which made up 95 percent of public revenues, the emirate has pledged to keep spending on capital projects almost intact.

- 'A strategic link' -

Kuwait boasts a $600-billion sovereign wealth fund, and is in the middle of a five-year development plan stipulating investments worth $115 billion.

"The causeway project is a strategic link connecting Kuwait City to the northern region," said Ahmad al-Hassan, assistant undersecretary for road engineering at the public works ministry.

He told AFP that in addition to the fully integrated residential Silk City, other economic ventures are planned for Subbiya and its surroundings.

A large container port is also under construction on nearby Bubiyan, Kuwait's largest island.

Completing the causeway and harbour projects will pave the way for transforming the area into a commercial and investment hub with a free trade zone planned on five small islands nearby.

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The causeway project consists of the main bridge north to Subbiya and a 12.4-kilometre (7.7-mile) bridge running west, dubbed the Doha Link.

The two bridges start from the same point at Shuwaikh Port, the country's main commercial port.

"If we take the Subbiya bridge alone, it is the fourth longest in the world," Hassan said.

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the United States is the world's longest bridge over water, stretching 38.44 kilometres (23.8 miles).

The two Kuwaiti bridges are scheduled for completion in November next year, project engineer Mai al-Messad said.

- Economic gateway -

"We have already completed 73 percent of the project and hope to finish it ahead of the contractual period," Messad told AFP.

The Subbiya bridge sits on more than 1,500 piles with a diameter of up to three metres (10 feet) each, some of which have been driven as deep as 72 metres (240 feet) into the loose clay seabed, Messad said.

The bridge is between nine metres and 23 metres (30 feet and 75 feet) above sea level.

The Silk City project itself has been proceeding at a slow pace, but the government recently sent a draft bill to parliament to establish a special authority to oversee development in the area.

Parliament is expected to start debating the bill soon.

Under the original blueprint, the city's completion date was 2030 and was to include a 1,001-metre (3,284-feet) tower and a population of 700,000.

In late 2015, the cabinet gave the green light to establish a free economic zone on the five islands near Subbiya and the coastlines of Iraq and Iran.

It is hoped that once complete, the zone, spread over several thousand square kilometres (square miles), will become the economic gateway to the northern Gulf.

However, nothing tangible has yet been done to advance the free economic zone project itself.

The Subbiya Causeway contract was awarded to a consortium led by South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. along with Kuwait's Combined Group Contracting Co.

Another South Korean firm, GS Engineering & Construction, won the smaller Doha Link contract.
John Oliver performs at Caroline's On Broadway in New York City.

John Oliver has branded the brewing Russian scandal involving the administration of new Republican president Donald Trump stupid Watergate.

In the latest episode of his award-winning Last Week Tonight show, Oliver argued things have grown to be so absurd the burning question is no longer what the president knew and when he knew it, but rather is the president physically capable of knowing things at all?

Oliver began the show by acknowledging Trump was coming off of something of a high given his well-received speech before Congress where he laid out his vision for the country and adopted a more disciplined form in doing so.

Soon after that, Oliver lamented, things returned to form for the administration, with the Washington Post reporting newly minted Attorney General Jeff Sessions had not revealed hed met twice with the Russian ambassador to the United States while he was still a senator and adviser to Trumps campaign.

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PHILADELPHIA (AP)  The Latest on International Women's Day events (all times local):

4:40 a.m.

Denmark's minister for gender equality, Karen Ellemann, is focusing on paternity leave on International Women's Day, saying equality between the sexes "also means equal opportunities to be a parent."

Ellemann spoke Wednesday when visiting Danish companies "to learn more about what makes fathers choose as they do."

According to official figures, Danish men in 2014 took on average 29.5 days' paternity leave, or 11 days more than they did in 2003.

In Denmark, parents have the right to a total of 52 weeks' leave with maternity subsistence allowance. The mother is entitled to four weeks' maternity leave prior to giving birth and 14 weeks after; the father is entitled to two weeks' leave after the birth; and the remaining time can be divided according to individual wishes.

___

4:30 a.m.

Scores of women working in the childcare industry in Australia have walked off the job early on International Women's Day to protest what they deem inadequate pay rates.

The United Voice union, which represents the workers, said more than 1,000 staffers at childcare centers in every state and territory in Australia stopped working at 3:20 p.m. on Wednesday to call attention to wage disparities felt throughout an industry where the vast majority of workers are women.

"3:20 represents the time that Australian women ostensibly start working for free in comparison to men if you take into account the gender pay gap," said Helen Gibbons, the union's assistant national secretary.

"We know that this has traditionally been seen as women's work," Gibbons said. "It's 2017 and this is not OK to continue. The people who work in this sector demand equal pay."

___

2 a.m.

Organizers of January's Women's March have called for women to take the day off and encouraged them not to spend money to show their economic strength and impact on American society.

"A Day Without a Woman" on Wednesday is the first major action by organizers since the nationwide marches held the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration that drew millions of women into the streets in protest against misogyny, inequality and oppression. Though it is unclear how many women could participate, thousands across the country have signaled their support and interest online and to employers.

The event coincides with the U.N.-designated International Women's Day, and organizers say they want to "stand with women around the globe" who supported their efforts Jan. 21 with similar protests in cities around the world.
Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces Wednesday a grilling by lawmakers investigating if her government shielded Volkswagen from regulators despite knowing the auto giant was carrying out emissions cheating.

The parliamentary committee was launched after VW -- Europe's largest carmaker with 12 brands ranging from luxury Porsche to lower-end Skoda -- admitted in September 2015 to fitting some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide with software that temporarily reduces harmful emissions when undergoing regulatory tests.

Tasked with investigating Berlin's response to emissions excesses going back to 2007, the group of lawmakers have already heard witnesses from across the government and Volkswagen, including the car group's former chief executive Martin Winterkorn.

Merkel has been chancellor for the entire period covered by the inquiry, which has also heard serving and former ministers including Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who previously served as economy minister, and Chancellery chief of staff Peter Altmaier.

The hearings have yet to uncover clear evidence that Merkel or her government acted improperly.

Her appearance before the emissions committee is Merkel's second as a witness this year, coming less than a month after she deflected MPs' questions about mass spying by Germany's BND foreign intelligence service on behalf of the US National Security Agency.

- Battery of questions -

When Merkel takes her seat as the inquiry's final witness, MPs will come at her from a number of angles.

One of the top questions is why the diesel cheating was uncovered by officials in the United States, rather than Germany's own KBA motor vehicle authority.

California's powerful Air Resources Board (CARB) was one of the first regulators to bring the VW scandal to light, along with the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Transport minister Alexander Dobrindt -- whose brief includes oversight of the KBA -- told the inquiry in his own testimony that the regulator "acted faster than others" in responding to the scandal.

Story continues

MPs also want to find out more about a conversation between Merkel and then-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010.

Merkel criticised strict regulations on diesel vehicles in the most populous US state, CARB chief Mary Nichols, who was present at the meeting, told the inquiry Monday.

Nichols was "surprised" that a head of government was informed in such detail about the topic, according to a summary of her testimony published on the Bundestag (German parliament) website.

Closer to home, the lawmakers have questions about whether Merkel intervened in Brussels to de-fang European emissions regulations for the benefit of German manufacturers.

And they will be attentive for any hint that Merkel might have known earlier than she has so far acknowledged about the scandal.

Former VW CEO Winterkorn told the inquiry that Merkel learned about 'dieselgate' in a phone call on September 22, 2015 -- just after Winterkorn himself claims to have found out.

But prosecutors are already investigating the carmaker's one-time "Mr. Quality" for fraud, saying they have "sufficient indications" that he may have known about the questionable software earlier than he has admitted and failed to inform investors.

In the United States, the FBI believes senior VW executives in Germany found out months earlier than they have so far claimed, in July 2015.

That allegation could cost VW dear in Germany, where investors are suing the firm for billions over what they say was a failure by executives to inform them of the scandal in a timely fashion.

VW has so far set aside 22.6 billion euros ($23.8 billion) to cover fines and compensation related to the affair, but experts estimate the final bill could be much higher.

- Under government's wing -

German politicians have long nurtured the nation's auto industry, one of the country's strongest and an employer of some 800,000 people.

Volkswagen's deep links with the Social-Democrat led Lower Saxony government, a major shareholder with seats on the firm's board and ties to its powerful works council, have often been criticised.

And Merkel was quick to intervene last month when France's Peugeot said it would buy German carmaker Opel, helping secure guarantees that the new owners would uphold collective-bargaining agreements with workers in personal talks with chief executive Carlos Tavares.

The task of lawmakers on the inquiry committee is to determine whether such feather-bedding for the favoured industry extended as far as turning a blind eye to much higher emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides than allowed.
Bobigny (France) (AFP) - Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and right-wing Francois Fillon on Wednesday lashed out at the French government a day after a mob of school children in a Paris suburb assaulted police and smashed public property.

Chaotic images of tear gas being fired outside a secondary school in the tough northern suburb of Saint-Denis on Tuesday quickly became a political issue less than seven weeks from presidential elections.

The incident, which led to the arrest of 55 youths including 44 minors, followed a string of protests in February against police brutality after a black youth worker was allegedly raped with a police baton.

"Something is broken in our republic," said Fillon.

Le Pen, who has made crime and immigration a core part of her campaign, claimed the government's reaction had been "minimal".

"It's unacceptable that vandals threatened the future of our country and put teachers and other pupils in danger," she said.

Le Pen, an anti-immigration nationalist, vowed to "reimpose order in the republic and win back the lost territories of our country".

Saint-Denis, where the latest incident occurred, is home to a multi-ethnic population.

French police are regularly accused of using excessive force in poor neighbourhoods against suspects of mainly African origin.

Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve responded to criticism by calling on candidates not to "exploit" the violence for "electoral (campaign) purposes".

- 'Very serious acts' -

The clashes broke out Tuesday after a Saint-Denis high school was evacuated on Tuesday afternoon when students let off smoke bombs inside the premises.

As the school emptied, a group of 80 to 100 pupils began throwing stones at police, setting fire to bins and breaking public property, police sources told AFP.

Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem called for firm action.

"These are very serious acts by vandals that we need to punish severely," she told reporters at a meeting of cabinet ministers.

Story continues

Secondary schools in Paris have been repeatedly disrupted amid anger over police brutality following the alleged assault of a young black man in early February who says he was anally raped with a baton during his arrest.

A police source said officers heard some of the youths chanting "Revenge for Theo", the 22-year-old who was allegedly raped.

France goes to the polls to elect a new president on April 23 and May 7, with immigration, security and worries about defiance of France's state among the key issues.
President Donald Trumps second executive order restricting immigration from six Middle Eastern countries is getting extreme vetting  at least in the legal community. Heres a roundup of what scholars and pundits are saying about the revised order and its prospects in court.

The new executive order, called Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States, replaces an order issued on January 27 that caused confusion and led to a national injunction in federal court. At least several court cases involving the first order are still active and it remains to be seen how the courts will handle the second executive order.

In previous weeks, President Trump said his second executive order would be tailored to satisfy concerns raised in federal court that led a Seattle-based federal judge to issue a national temporary restraining order and a Virginia-based federal judge to grant a local injunction.

The new executive order adds more classes of people directly exempt from temporary immigration bans, provides for case-by-case waivers and gives people affected by the ban 10 days notice before the bans provisions go into effect on March 16. The order also recognizes that all green-card holders, dual citizens and current valid visa holders are exempt from the travel ban, and Syrian nationals are included in a 120-day refugee ban.

It is also clear that the new order was written to counter arguments in several federal courts that the original bans intent was to target Muslim-majority countries. But the six countries targeted in the new order are all Muslim-majority nations.

Heres a quick look at opinions from parties in the cases and some legal experts on both sides of the issue.

Washington state (which sued and won in round one in the Ninth Circuit)

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is evaluating the new order but also claimed victory on Monday after noting that Trump tweeted out that federal government would see Ferguson in court. It bears pointing out that the administration since that tweet has done everything in its power to avoid seeing anyone in court.  There is a reason for that: The president was essentially afraid to see us in court because he knew he would lose again.

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The Justice Department

The Department of Justice believes that this executive order, just as the first, is a lawful and proper exercise of presidential authority. This Department of Justice will defend and enforce lawful orders of the President consistent with core principles of our Constitution. The executive is empowered under the Constitution and by Congress to make national security judgments and to enforce our immigration policies in order to safeguard the American public, said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The ACLU (which is fighting the order in court)

The Trump administration has conceded that its original Muslim ban was indefensible. Unfortunately, it has replaced it with a scaled-back version that shares the same fatal flaws. The only way to actually fix the Muslim ban is not to have a Muslim ban. Instead, President Trump has recommitted himself to religious discrimination, and he can expect continued disapproval from both the courts and the people, said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project.

Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies

The whole executive order is a temporary measure. You can make policy arguments against it. I dont think the specifics are nearly as important as the broader question, which is, do the peoples elected representatives get to decide who comes into the United States, or do judges get to decide on their own, said Krikorian on public radio. He also believes the list of countries could be expanded. This is all explicitly provided for by Congress, so that the President can exclude any class of foreigners from coming into the United States for any reason he wants. Judges are acting lawlessly if they are attempting to interfere with this, unless they are asserting that Congress acted unconstitutionally. Thats the only argument they can make, and no judge has made that argument.

Stephen Wasby, State University of New York In Albany

Its possible that enough clarification was put in this document that it would now satisfy a judge who was generally deferential to the executive, Wasby, a political scientist, told Bloomberg News.

David Bier, Cato Institute

Overall, the changes are certainly substantive, Bier told Politifact. Any order that applies to fewer people, especially fewer people with strong U.S. ties, will be more likely to withstand judicial scrutiny. But I dont think that the new order resolves all of the legal problems.

Stephen Yale-Loehr, Cornell University Law School

U.S. relatives will still sue over the inability of their loved ones to join them in the United States, Yale-Loehr also told Politifact. U.S. companies may sue because they cannot hire needed workers from the six countries. And U.S. universities will worry about the impact of the order on international students willingness to attend college in the United States.

John Eastman, Chapman University and the Claremont Institute

The new Executive Order definitively addresses even the pretextual grounds that led to legal challenges against its predecessor. If the critics of the prior order were truly sincere in their concerns about the prior orders unconstitutionality, the new order should be welcomed by them as perfectly legal and constitutional, Eastman said in a blog post.

Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Irvine School of Law

Travel ban 2.0 is slightly better than 1.0; at least it respects those who already have a lawful right to entry. But I expect that courts across the country will recognize that it contains many of the same flaws, and find it unconstitutional, said the law school dean.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach

I think this order, if it were challenged in the Ninth Circuit, it would be the most activist judicial venue for it, I think it will survive. And, of course, if it survives the Ninth Circuit, it will survive anywhere else too, Kobach, a Trump supporter, told PBS.

Neal Katyal, former Acting Solicitor General under President Barack Obama

There are some changes. In this new executive order, it does say: We dont intend to discriminate against Muslims. But the Supreme Court has been very clear that just because a government says that  they can always say, we dont intend to discriminate on the basis of religion. You have to go back to look at the history of this. And if its a pretext for discrimination, as this sure looks like, then it is going to fall in the courts for that reason, said Katyal, appearing on the same PBS segment as Kobach.
If you want to watch a horror movie for free, simply head no further than Twitter.com or check your Washington Post notifications right before you try to go to sleep.

The line between the horror genre and the American political system has become increasingly faint in the past few weeks/months/years? since Donald Trump was elected president. Every morning brings a fresh wave of scandals so traumatizing it makes getting out of bed or talking to your friends about anything besides the upcoming nuclear holocaust next to completely impossible.

But like all horror movies, people have got to find a way to safety.

SEE ALSO: What to do when you're so overwhelmed by the Trump presidency you can barely move

Below is a list of strategies, adopted from actual horror movie conventions, that people can use to help them survive Trump's remaining time in office. Obviously, these tips won't help people whose lives are immediately threatened by a Trump administration. But they can provide some guidance to people who want to be able to to sleep at night without dreaming of Steve Bannon in shorts.

1. Just when you think the bad guy is gone for good, he comes back. Again and again, each time a little bit fuglier.









Killers in horror movies must do a lot of yoga. Even with their bullet-riddled bodies, they'll still rise from the dead to assault a new victim.

When someone tells you that, "THIS is the scandal that will take down Donald Trump," hold your breath. Remember when he bragged about sexually assaulting women and then 65 million Americans voted him in as leader of the free world?

He's BAAAAAAAACK.

2. Never split up and try to fight the killer alone.

At some point in every horror movie, some ding-dong will come up with the brilliant idea of having everyone "split up" to peacefully locate the man who wants to kill them all.

This is a terrible idea. So is seceding from a political party that doesn't give you everything you want it like it's Christmas, and writing in someone like "Deez Nuts" or "Susan Sarandon" on the ballot. Solidarity is critical if people have any hope in taking down their common enemy, which is not Pantsuit Nation but Trump.

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3. If you feel like there's a secret evil lurking inside a big (white) house, you're right.

Never minimize. A house full of ghosts and a White House full of white nationalists are both profoundly dangerous. Don't let anyone tell you that "he's just a harmless janitor" or "Reince Priebus will be a moderating influence" when that's never going to be the case.

4. Don't let anyone tell you that there's "nothing to be scared about."





"I tell the President everything Mother whispers in my ear." Stephen Miller.@KeithOlbermann pic.twitter.com/rdBCX6OZIK  BumTrumpet (@TheBumTrumpet) March 4, 2017

Sorry, but serial killers and a man who identifies as a Darth Vader-Satan hybrid should both give us considerable pause. It's completely normal to spend every day of your life in constant, low level fear.

5. Never watch a horror movie when you're living in one.





You know what happens when people in horror movies watch horror movies? They die.

You know what happens when people in a political horror show constantly watch a political horror show? They feel sad. All the time.

Watch something else. Something that includes Meg Ryan.





6. Know that wherever you go, they're probably watching.





People in horror movies think that they can escape the killer by locking themselves in dark, locked basement. This is dumb.

Forget privacy. It's far easier than you think for the federal government to collect your personal data. Now's a good time to try and keep some of your text messages encrypted through apps like Signal.

7. Remember: the bad guy is often "the nice guy" with a hidden rage problem.





You can't trust anyone in this movie/life, except Auntie Maxine Waters.

8. Realize that there's a good chance there's an even worse sequel.

Just when you think a terrible movie/presidency is about to end, people somehow request a sequel/another four ars. Of course, the original was miserable and everyone in the MSM gave it horrible reviews, but there are plenty of fans out there on Reddit who  despite logic  want more, more, more.

9. If you trip, grab your broken ankle and keep going





You did everything you possibly could to escape from the bad guy/destroy Betsy DeVos and it didn't work. You want to give up and collapse in the snow, or stay in your house with all the shades drawn, watching Law and Order until you get old and die.

As much as you want to, you can't. It's just not possible. If you have any hope of making it out of this story, you've got to run from it, and find help wherever you can.
Paris (AFP) - France's Muslim women feel the sting of prejudice whether they choose to cover their heads or not -- and many are beginning to speak out in a deluge of books, online postings and open letters.

Traditional feminism is failing many Muslim women, to judge from an outpouring of complaints that they suffer prejudice on as many as three fronts at once -- sex, religion and national origin.

"Don't liberate me, I'll do that myself," sociologist Hanane Karimi, a prominent French Muslim feminist, said on Twitter.

France is home to the largest Muslim population in Europe, with people from Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian backgrounds as well as from other former French colonies such as Senegal and Mali.

A small minority of Muslim women in France are "forced" to wear a veil, documentary filmmaker Sarah Zouak told AFP. "That's a reality, we mustn't deny it."

But, she said, those who choose of their own volition to wear a veil or hijab headscarf are "lumped together" with those who are forced to, and it is assumed that they all do so at the behest of a father, husband or brother, she said.

A recent book of essays by journalists, sociologists and activists titled "Voiles et Prejuges" (Veils and Prejudice) accuses French society of "appropriating the voices" of Muslim women.

The hijab has become the preferred target of Islamophobes, they say, arguing that France's strict rules on separating religion from public life encourage identity politics -- even though secularism is meant to protect religious and other freedoms.

The hijab was banished from the classroom and government offices in France in 2004, but it is a common sight in the streets.

Prejudice against the garment comes from both the left and the right, causing unnecessary tensions and even fuelling radical Islam, Muslim women activists say.

Last summer, the appearance of the body-concealing burkini swimsuit on French beaches became a burning campaign issue in the run-up to this year's presidential election.

Story continues

"The right has clear racist positions but the Socialist government of the last five years was among the worst for us," said Zouak, who founded an association to "give a voice to women who are the victims of racist and sexist oppression".

She recalled comments last summer by then prime minister Manuel Valls backing several rightwing mayors who tried to ban the burkini from their beaches.

Valls, who stepped down in December to mount a failed bid for the Socialists' presidential candidacy, said during the controversy that the veil was synonymous with "women's enslavement".

- 'Submission to God' -

Zouak also pointed to a remark by women's rights minister Laurence Rossignol likening women who wear the hijab to "Negroes who supported slavery" in the United States.

Karimi and five other feminists denounced Rossignol in an op-ed, saying she was supposed to "defend the cause of all women".

Rossignol later retracted the remark, which she made last March in reference to designers creating high-fashion burkinis and hijabs targeting the Muslim market.

Zouak went further, accusing Rossignol of being a "white feminist, fighting oppression by men telling us how to dress, think etc. but copying oppression against other women, thinking she has a monopoly on feminism".

Another Muslim woman to speak out is Hanane Charrihi, who recently published a book in memory of her mother who was killed in last July's jihadist truck attack in the southern city of Nice.

"My veil is not submission to a man but to God," Charrihi told AFP. "It's the result of an intimate journey in faith."

She added: "You fight for freedoms, so that a woman can wear a veil if she wants to, or a mini-skirt if that's her choice."

Sociologist Eric Fassin said it was striking that women were speaking out on the issue "after long allowing debate to rage without their voices being heard".

"We were given to understand that the women were not allowed to speak out, but in fact we contributed to this silence" by not giving them a voice, he said.

At a screening of a documentary by Zouak about Moroccan women, an audience member initially did not want to discuss the subject with AFP.

But then the woman, who works in the public education sector, opened up, complaining about "prejudice" against her.

"If I say I am Muslim, and wear a veil outside work, you automatically think I have a horrible husband. But I'd like you to meet him!"
Although theres still no official trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, new footage that debuted at Disneys annual shareholders meeting Wednesday reportedly revealed Luke Skywalkers first words in the film.

According to the Los Angeles Times, in a continuation of the final scene from The Force Awakens, the clip from the upcoming installment featured Mark Hamills Luke asking Daisy Ridleys Rey, Who are you?

The scavenger then responds in the most Rey way possibleby demonstrating her lightsaber skills.

We just saw more "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" footage. In it, Luke asks Rey, "Who are you?" Then we see her deftly handle a lightsaber.  Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) March 8, 2017

Chewbacca, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and Finn (John Boyega) reportedly also appeared in the footage.

Also making appearances in "The Last Jedi" footage: Chewbacca, General Leia Organa and Finn.  Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) March 8, 2017

More on "The Last Jedi" clip, since ppl are asking: General Leia Organa was onscreen for just a second in military garb and didn't speak.  Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) March 8, 2017

The Last Jedi hits theaters Dec. 15.
The experts at Lonely Planet have compiled a list of spring break ideas this year, that go beyond Disney parks and college student hotspots to include night kayaking in Puerto Rico and surfing in Nicaragua.

For last-minute bookers and Easter weekend travelers, there's still time to reserve a first-quarter getaway, this time that offers more than a spring break cliche.

Take inspiration from Lonely Planet's list of top 10 spring break destinations 2017.

Here's a selection:

Hawaii, The Big Island

March marks the end of high season in Hawaii, presenting the best opportunity to visit for travelers on a budget. Those who aren't afraid of crowds, however, might want to head out in April for the Merrie Monarch Festival, a three-day hula competition.

Whistler, British Columbia

Likewise, when the weather warms the snow begins to melt, the crowds also begin to thin in April, ushering in deals and discounts during the off season. Longer days also mean more daylight to hit the slopes.

Culebra and Vieques, Puerto Rico

"These two sister islands are the things that tropical dreams are made of: white sand, sparkling blue sea and slow living," editors note. A must-do while there? Book a nighttime kayak trip, for an unforgettable "Avatar"-like experience with bioluminescent marine life creating a glow-in-the-dark ride.

Southern Baja California, Mexico

Far from the madding crowds of Los Cabos is Baja California Sur, where nature-loving visitors can swim with sea lions, kayak, whale watch and help with turtle conservation.

Tampa Bay, Florida

If you want to avoid the drunken college crowd, head over to Fort De Soto Park, a stretch of beach that spans 11 km and features nature trails and wildlife spotting.

Asheville, North Carolina

Food lovers will want to bookmark this option, as Asheville, North Carolina offers a thriving foodie and craft beer scene delivered with southern hospitality. After gorging on good comfort foods, walk it off at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which is located within easy striking distance.

Other destinations on the list include Los Angeles, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, Rio de Janeiro and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
Boeing pulled back the curtain for its newest jetliner, the 737 Max 9, unveiling the largest single-aisle aircraft in its 737 MAX series, with a range for transatlantic flights.

Scheduled to enter service next year, the aircraft has a range of 6,510 km or 3,515 nautical miles.

Boeing claims that represents 600 mi or 1,100 km more than the competitor without additional fuel tanks, at a lower seat cost for airlines.

For comparison, the Airbus 321neo has a range of 6,850 km with Sharklets, a specialized wingtip used on the A320 series.

Compared to its older sibling, the 737 MAX 8, the newer aircraft also has an additional 16 seats, for a maximum capacity of 220 passengers.

Airlines that have already placed orders for the 737 MAX 9 include Air Canada, United Airlines, Icelandair, Alaska Airlines, WestJet and Turkish Airlines.

The MAX 8 is set to de be delivered this year, while the smaller MAX 7 and higher capacity MAX 200 are expected to roll out in 2019.

Meanwhile, in a company blog post, Boeing also offered new details on the development of its next 737 MAX aircraft, the 10X, a direct response to the A321neo, which offers the same capacity but with lower costs and more range.

"Simply put, the 737 MAX 10X would be the most profitable single-aisle airplane the industry has ever seen," writes Randy Tinseth, vice-president of maarketing.

The 737 MAX 10X would enter into service in 2020.
Paris (AFP) - LVMH will tap architect Frank Gehry once again to create a centre for applied arts beside his Louis Vuitton Foundation, the luxury group and the City of Paris announced Wednesday.

The celebrated Canadian-American architect, 88, will be tasked with renovating and transforming a disused museum located a stone's throw from the futuristic Foundation he built on the western edge of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne.

"The new centre will be dedicated to artists, live performances and to the applied arts and French savoir-faire," the joint statement said.

The eight-storey building designed in the 1970s by architect Jean Dubuisson, which housed a museum of folk art and traditions, has been closed since 2005.

The new centre, to be called the Maison LVMH - Arts, Talents, Patrimoine (Heritage), will be created at an estimated cost of 158 million euros ($167 million) -- including between 50 million and 80 million euros for asbestos removal.

The project "sends a powerful message to young generations: artisanal craftsmanship offers tremendous potential and opportunities that we encourage them to discover and seize, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in the statement.

President Francois Hollande attended Wednesday's news conference announcing the project, along with Hidalgo, Gehry and LVMH Group CEO Bernard Arnault.

The centre will include two halls for concerts, exhibitions and workshops, and a panoramic restaurant on the top floor.

The project will be developed in "close collaboration with the heirs of Jean Dubuisson," the statement said, noting that Dubuisson's grandson Thomas, also an architect, has worked for Gehry at his Los Angeles base.
By Fatos Bytyci TETOVO, Macedonia (Reuters) - A leader of an ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia said the political crisis in the country could drag on for years and could be used by some politicians to ignite an ethnic conflict. The president has refused to back a coalition of the Social Democrats and ethnic Albanian parties after an election in December, arguing its pledge to allow wider official use of the Albanian language amounted to foreign interference in Macedonia's affairs. Their coalition agreement triggered street protests in several cities in which nationalists marched and waved Macedonian flag. Ethnic Albanians make a third of the population in the former Yugoslav republic. "This is a political crisis and should be resolved with political means and not be made an inter-ethnic problem for the gains of some political parties," Ali Ahmeti, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), told Reuters late on Tuesday. Ahmeti said the deadlock could continue for "up to four years", when next election is due. The constitution is not clear on what happens if the president refuses to give mandate to a party, nor does it give deadline for forming the government. Ahmeti's DUI, the biggest ethnic Albanian party in parliament, emerged as king maker following the Dec. 11 poll after neither of the two biggest parties - the nationalist VMRO-DPMNR and the Social Democrats - won enough votes to form the government themselves. The DUI, which had been in coalition with VMRO-DPMNE for eight years from 2008 until 2016, announced it would support the Social Democrats led by Zoran Zaev. Ahmeti, a former guerrilla commander, said that according to the coalition deal, Albanian would be used in state institutions and on banknotes. He also said the parties had agreed to elect an ethnic Albanian as speaker of parliament for the first time since the Balkan state seceded from former Yugoslavia in 1991. Macedonia's relations with its Albania minority have long been difficult. It reached the brink of civil war during an ethnic Albanian insurgency in 2001 before EU and other diplomacy defused the situation. The EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, last week asked president, who is close to the VMRO-DPMNE, to reverse his decision and urged political leaders to step back from a dispute that risked sparking conflict. (Additional reporting by Kole Casule in Skopje; Editing by by Ivana Sekularac and Alison Williams)
Waukesha County Provides is a day of giving, hosted by the Waukesha County Community Foundation, and is designed to raise funds and awareness for 4 basic needs agencies within Waukesha County. The 4 agencies are the FOOD Pantry of Waukesha County, Hebron House, The Hope Center and The Womens Center. Joining us to discuss the campaign and how you can get involved is Shelli Marquardt from the Waukesha County Communmity Foundation and Karen Tredwell from the Food Pantry of Waukesha County. The Online Giving Day is tomorrow, March 9 and their Community Celebration that day from 11am to 1pm at the Waukesha Public Library. To RSVP for the celebration, call (262) 513-1861. For more information and to donate, WaukeshaFoundation.org.
By Rozanna Latiff and Liz Lee KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak struck a softer tone with North Korea on Wednesday, a day after accusing it of assassinating the estranged half-brother of Kim Jong Un and treating Malaysians as "hostages." Malaysian police have identified eight North Koreans wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13, three of them hiding in the North Korean embassy. In a bid to "ensure the safety" of its diplomats and citizens in Malaysia, North Korea retaliated on Tuesday by banning Malaysians from leaving the country until the case was "properly solved." Najib denounced that move as an "abhorrent act" and ordered a reciprocal ban. He also for the first time directly accused North Korea of murdering Kim Jong Nam, who Malaysian police say died from super-toxic VX nerve agent smeared on his face by two women. "What we are facing now is the result of their action in assassinating their own citizen in Malaysia, on Malaysian soil, using a strictly banned chemical weapon," Najib told state media agency Bernama on Tuesday. In Malaysia's Borneo state of Sarawak, 37 North Koreans were detained on Tuesday at a construction site for overstaying their visas, a state government source said. They were among 176 North Koreans working in Sarawak. Those who overstayed would be given 30-day extensions, however, an immigration source said. But faced with the priority of securing the release of the 11 Malaysians stuck in North Korea, Najib sounded more conciliatory in parliament on Wednesday, saying there were no plans to cut diplomatic ties. "We are a country that's friendly to them," Najib said, after reassuring MPs the three embassy staff, six family members, and two other Malaysians in North Korea were safe. Najib declined to elaborate on the next steps: "If there's any negotiations, we can't do it through the media." VIDEO PURPORTEDLY OF SON North Korea is in danger of losing one of the few friends it has outside of China. On Monday, Malaysia expelled North Korea's ambassador for questioning the impartiality of the murder investigation and ended visa free travel for North Koreans. Last week, Malaysia said it would investigate North Korea front companies after a Reuters report showed that Pyongyang's spy agency was running an arms network in the country. North Korea says the dead man is not Kim Jong Nam, and has suggested he had a heart attack. Najib said the body has to be formally identified, although the deputy prime minister and senior police officials have previously confirmed that it is Kim Jong Nam. "It's been hard for us to do the DNA verification as no one has come forward,' Najib said. "Maybe they're scared to come forward." Malaysia has said it would only release Kim's body to the next of kin, refusing demands from North Korea to hand it over without an autopsy. A man claiming to be Kim Jong Nam's son said he was lying low with his mother and sister in a video posted online by a group that said it helped rescue them following the airport murder. The governments of Netherlands, China, the United States, and a fourth unnamed country provided emergency humanitarian assistance to protect the family, the group, called Cheollima Civil Defense, said in a statement released on Wednesday along with the video. An official at South Koreas National Intelligence Service said the man in the video is Kim Han Sol, Kim's 21-year-old son. "I'm currently with my mother and my sister...," the man says during the 40-second video, without disclosing his location. "We hope this gets better soon." Reuters could not independently verify the video. Kim Han Sol is the son of Kim Jong Nam's second wife, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau with Kim under Beijing's protection after the family went into exile several years ago. 'EXTRACTION AND PROTECTION' South Korean intelligence officers say Kim Jong Un had issued standing orders for the elimination of his elder half-brother. The statement released on the website of Cheollima Civil Defense said the organisation responded last month to an emergency request by Kim Jong Nam's family for "extraction and protection". U.S. officials and South Korean intelligence suspect North Korean agents were behind the assassination of Kim Jong Nam. He had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic rule of North Korea. The only people charged so far are a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman, accused of smearing the victim's face with VX. The police are pressing to question up to three men believed to be hiding in the North Korean embassy, but said they would not raid the building. Police have said that four other North Koreans fled Malaysia hours after the murder. The only one to have been detained was released and deported on Friday due to insufficient evidence. (Additional reporting by James Pearson in SEOUL and Joseph Sipalan in KUALA LUMPUR; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Bill Tarrant)
VALLETTA (Reuters) - A rock structure in the form of an arch which had featured in countless Malta tourism brochures collapsed into the sea on Wednesday in what Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described as a "heartbreaking event". Geologists had long warned that the structure, on the north-western coast of the small island of Gozo, was eroding fast and the authorities had banned visitors from walking on top of it. The structure, known as the Azure Window because it arched over blue seas popular with divers, collapsed as Malta was hit by rough seas and stormy weather. Gozo resident Roger Chessell went to the coastline in the morning to take pictures. "There was a big raging sea beneath the Azure Window," he told the Times of Malta newspaper. "Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea with a loud whoomph, throwing up a huge spray." Prime Minister Muscat said in a Tweet that the famous Mediterranean landmark had always faced destruction because of natural corrosion. "That sad day has arrived," he wrote. (Reporting by Chris Scicluna; editing by Crispian Balmer)
Who knew selfies could induce such anger?

Carl Puia, a 74-year-old man from Glastonbury, Connecticut, was arrested this week for alleged criminal mischief after destroying a half-dozen copies of Kim Kardashian's selfie book, Selfish, at a local Barnes & Noble.

He must really hate Kim.

SEE ALSO: Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen have officially launched a book club

According to People, Puia turned himself in to the police earlier this week, nearly five months after the incident, because security camera footage surfaced of him spreading a red liquid over the books.

The Glastonbury People Department released a statement in which they explained that Puia left a typed note along with his crime in which he explained "his dislike of Ms. Kardashian and people like her."

Airplane selfie  A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Aug 3, 2015 at 12:02pm PDT

Puia has since been released on $2,500 bail and we hope he learns that he doesn't have to pay attention to everything he dislikes.
SEOUL  A man claiming to be the son of the slain, estranged half brother of North Koreas leader said he was lying low with his mother and sister, in a video posted online by a group that said it helped rescue them following the murder a month ago.

The governments of Netherlands, China, the United States, and a fourth unnamed country provided emergency humanitarian assistance to protect the family, the group, called Cheollima Civil Defense, said in a statement released on Wednesday along with the video.

An official at South Koreas National Intelligence Service said the man in the video is Kim Han Sol, the 21-year-old son of Kim Jong Nam, who was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13 by assassins who Malaysian police say used a super-toxic nerve agent that killed him within 20 minutes.

The intelligence official declined to go beyond identifying Kim Han Sol. During the 40-second video posted on Wednesday, the man says his father was killed a few days ago.

Im currently with my mother and my sister, he said, without disclosing his location or who he was living with.

We hope this gets better soon, he added.

Reuters could not independently verify the video. But the man closely resembled Kim Han Sol, who was last interviewed on camera in 2012 by former Finnish defence minister Elisabeth Rehn.

Kim Han Sol is the son of Kim Jong Nams second wife, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau with Kim under Beijings protection after the family went into exile a several years ago.

South Korean intelligence officers say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had issued standing orders for the elimination of his elder half-brother.

DUTCH ENVOY THANKED

The statement released on the website of Cheollima Civil Defense said the organisation responded last month to an emergency request by Kim Jong Nams family members for extraction and protection.

Story continues

It thanked the Netherlands ambassador to North and South Korea, Ambassador Lody Embrechts, for his timely and strong response to the groups request for help.

Embrechts, who is based in South Korea, declined to comment on the statement.

The three family members were met quickly and relocated to safety. We have in the past addressed other urgent needs for protection, the Cheollima Civil Defense statement said, adding that the whereabouts of the family will not be addressed.

Cheollima is the name given to a mythical horse in Chinese and Korean folklore, which is said to be able to travel over great distances. The term is used widely in North Korea to name streets, restaurants, and other domestic brands.

WAITING FOR DNA

In the video, Kim held up a black North Korean service passport in the video and opened it.The details were edited out, but a North Korean state stamp is visible on one page, as is a line of English text which said the passports validity had been extended.

North Korean service passports are issued to government officials. They are black and embossed with gold text which says PASSPORT (FOR OFFICIAL TRIP).

South Korean intelligence and U.S. officials say Kim Jong Nams murder was an assassination organised by North Korean agents.

Malaysian police have identified eight North Koreans wanted for questioning in the case, but the only people charged with the murder so far are an Indonesian woman and a Vietnamese woman who police say wiped the VX nerve agent on the victims face.

Malaysia is still waiting for DNA samples of the next of kin to officially verify the identity, but no family member has made contact yet.

The Southeast Asian country has said it would only release Kims body to the next of kin, refusing demands from North Korea to hand over the body without an autopsy.

Additional reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Bill Tarrant
By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) - Two Massachusetts doctors urged a judge on Wednesday to let them proceed with a lawsuit seeking an order that the state's murder and manslaughter laws do not apply to physicians who offer lethal medications to terminally ill patients.

During arguments before Superior Court Judge Mary Ames in Boston, a lawyer for the doctors, one of whom is suffering from cancer, said a cloud of uncertainty was preventing physicians from providing such medications.

"Medical aid-in-dying is simply not covered by the Commonwealth's manslaughter and murder laws," lawyer John Kappos said.

He made the arguments on behalf of Roger Kligler, a retired doctor diagnosed with stage-four prostate cancer, and Alan Steinbach, a physician who says he is willing to write prescriptions for lethal medication but fears prosecution.

Assistant Attorney General Robert Quinan said that while Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey extended her "utmost sympathy" to Kligler, no grounds existed to grant the ruling he sought.

Quinan argued the court should defer to the state legislature to decide the issue and ensure safeguards are enacted to protect vulnerable patients and the integrity of the medical community.

"Only a deliberative body can implement the appropriate safeguards," he said.

Ames made no ruling on whether to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed in October, following two hours of arguments. She called the issues "important" and said the case was headed to a higher court no matter how she ruled.

"These are probably issues very much on the mind of anyone with family members facing very serious disease and mortality, Ames said.

The lawsuit is being pursued by nonprofit right-to-die organization Compassion & Choices.

According to the group, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, California and Colorado and the District of Columbia allow medical aid-in-dying, with all but one of the states taking the action as a result of legislation or ballot initiatives.

The Massachusetts legislature has considered, but never enacted, similar legislation. In 2012, voters narrowly defeated a ballot initiative that would have legalized the practice.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Peter Cooney)
London (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has sacked Michael Heseltine, a senior figure in her Conservative Party, from various advisory roles for rebelling against the government in a Brexit vote in the House of Lords.

Heseltine, 83, a former deputy prime minister nicknamed "Tarzan" for his mane of hair and macho reputation, said he was called away from dinner with his wife late Tuesday to be sacked.

"My preoccupation has been from the very beginning that I believe that the referendum result is the most disastrous peacetime result that we've seen in this country," he told BBC radio on Wednesday.

Heseltine, who had been working three to four days a week in an advisory role for the government, said he was surprised at the suddenness of his sacking, since his position on Britain leaving the European Union was already well known.

He was one of 13 Conservatives in parliament's unelected upper House of Lords who voted for an amendment proposed by the opposition Labour Party on Tuesday that would give parliament the final say on how Britain leaves the EU.

Heseltine said the prime minister had "entirely the right" to sack him but added: "I'm sorry that the expertise which I have put at the government's disposal over the last six years has now come to an end".

"However, in the last resort, I believe... the future of this country is inextricably interwoven with our European friends," said Heseltine, a former defence minister who was once seen as a possible future prime minister.

"It's the duty of parliament to assert its sovereignty in determining the legacy we leave to new generations of young people," he said.

May's spokesman said at a daily briefing on Thursday that Heseltine had been asked to stand down because he "voted against the official position of the government".

"The government would like to warmly thank Lord Heseltine for his service," he said.

The amended bill empowering May to begin Brexit is due to go before parliament again next week and the government has said it plans to trigger the two-year EU divorce proceedings by the end of this month.

The sacking was interpreted by some commentators as a warning to potential Conservative rebels in the elected lower House of Commons not to vote against the government.
Dakar (AFP) - The embattled mayor of Senegal's capital Dakar was on Tuesday charged with embezzlement of public funds and placed in custody, one of his lawyers told AFP.

Khalifa Sall, who has run the city since 2009 and had been seen as a possible presidential candidate, was charged with fraud involving public funds, misappropriation of public funds, criminal conspiracy and money laundering, lawyer Me Bamba Cisse said.

He said the judge had ordered Sall's detention. Five of his staff were also ordered to be remanded in custody.

On March 3, the country's chief prosecutor, Serigne Bassirou Gueye, said a judicial investigation would be opened against Sall over the alleged misappropriation of 1.83 billion CFA francs ($2.85 million, 2.7 million euros) in city funds.

Sall, a rebel member of the Socialist Party, part of the country's ruling coalition, who had been seen as a probable contender in the 2019 presidential elections, has claimed a plot may be under way to remove him from running.

"This arrest and detention is only to stop Khalifa Sall in his political ambitions," his lawyers said in a statement read to the press in court, referring to July legislative elections and the 2019 presidential polls.

Sall has repeatedly denied any malfeasance after a government monitor published a report raising a flag about missing funds.

Senegal is widely seen as one of Africa's most stable democracies.
By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Floyd Mayweather sent a message to mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor on Tuesday to stop 'barking' and find some 'bite' after months of talk about a crossover fight between the two. Speaking after announcing an IBF world super-featherweight title bout in London on May 20 between his defending protege Gervonta Davis and Britain's Liam Walsh, Mayweather suggested McGregor was all talk. "Conor McGregor is blowing smoke up everybodys ass," the 40-year-old unbeaten and now-retired former world champion told Reuters. "He dont really want to fight. If he really wants to fight, sign the contract. "This is what Im going to do: Im going to get a contract typed up tonight, Im going to sign it and Im going to fax it over to Conor McGregor and see if hes going to sign it," he added. Mayweather said he did not know if the fight would happen, gave no details about what he would put in any contract he might draw up, and accused the Irishman of "disrespect". "He's barking, he's barking, he's barking," he said. "Once you get the paperwork and sign the contract, then you bite. Right now you're just barking. "He got famous off my name, these fighters keep doing this," added the American. "(Filipino multiple world champion Manny) Pacquiao did the same thing. He got famous off my name. Stop that shit." MEDIA BARBS McGregor has been challenging Mayweather, who retired in 2015 with a 49-0 record, to a fight for months. The two sides have yet to reach terms, while doing their part to drum up interest with plenty of media barbs, with some major hurdles to overcome. Mayweather has asked for a guaranteed $100 million to make the fight happen, with $15 million going to McGregor, while UFC president Dana White has talked of $25 million to each plus pay-per-view money. McGregor, the biggest pay-per-view draw in mixed martial arts, is contracted to UFC and the organisation would have to approve any fight. Mayweather was more amused about reports that one of his cars, branded with his 'The Money Team' insignia, had been broken into and set alight during a visit to Birmingham last Saturday. "My automobiles are all in the U.S," said the five division world champion. "But I like the story because it was all around the world. It was good press. So thank you." The super-featherweight fight at London's Copperbox arena in May features unbeaten 22-year-old champion Davis, who has won 16 of his 17 fights by knockout, against 30-year-old British, Commonwealth and European champion Walsh. Mayweather hailed Davis as one of the most exciting young fighters in America and said his promotional company planned to bring three more shows to Britain this year. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
Just days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a rare public appearance in Jamaica for the wedding of the young royal's best friend, speculation grew over the duo's marriage. While there have been reports about the "Suits" star becoming a princess after marrying Prince Harry, recent reports claim that it is unlikely she will receive the title.

Markle will not be Princess Meghan but is likely to be titled a duchess if Queen Elizabeth II gives the title of duke to Prince Harry. Under the British monarchy, the title princess only applies to those born into the title, for example, Princess Charlotte.

When Kate Middleton and Prince William married in 2011, the queen granted the dukedom to the couple on the occasion of their marriage, making them the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. However, in case the second in line to the British throne inherits the title of Prince of Wales, Middleton will become the Princess of Wales at the time.

According to reports, the dukedom expected to be awarded to Prince Harry would be of Sussex, making Markle the Duchess of Sussex.

Markle and Prince Harry started dating in August 2016, and the Kensington Palace confirmed their relationship on Nov. 8. While several engagement rumors surfaced, Prince Harry and Markle require the queen's approval for their marriage before taking their relationship to the next level.

So far, Markle has met Prince William, Middleton and their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Prince Harry also has met with Markle's father Thomas Markle.

Last week, a report by Us Weekly magazine said Prince Harry is likely to propose to Markle by the end of summer. The couple is currently living apart from each other as the 35-year-old is filming for her popular show in Toronto.

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Megyn Kelly NBC Debut Coming Soon

Megyn Kellys NBC debut is coming sooner than people might think. She left the Fox News Channel earlier this year in search of a better fit for her work schedule. The 46-year-old will take on a variety of broadcasting duties at NBC that will consist of a one-hour morning news program, a daytime show, and a Sunday evening news magazine. Shell also anchor special coverage of political and other breaking news events.

NBC News Group chairman Andrew Lack spoke at a breakfast panel in New Yorks IESE Business School to discuss the hiring of Megyn Kelly and how the media is being skewered by the Trump administration.

The Hollywood Reporter recapped what Lack said about the mega star journalist and what its like being a part of the unpopular media.

Lack raved about having Kelly as a part of the NBC team.

Click here to continue and read more...
melania trump health

A few Americans are not pleased with Melania Trumps recent statement she made during her visit to the childrens hospital. Radio host and media personality Farron Cousins has even accused the First Lady of trying to give false hope to the sick kids because of the presidents health care plan of 2017.

During her latest visit at childrens hospital in Washington, D.C., First Lady Melania shared her views on the benefits of the positive environment on health. The released statement from the hospital cites Melania Trump when she revealed her take on the well-being of all children.

I am a passionate believer in integrating and interpreting natures elements into our daily lives to create a warm, nurturing and positive environment, said Melania Trump, based on a statement released by Childrens National Hospital. I believe that these same natural benefits can be instrumental to enhancing the health and well-being of all children.

Click here to continue and read more...
GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP)  Bangladesh made a solid start in reply to Sri Lanka's hefty first innings total of 494, reaching 133 for two at stumps on day two of the first Test on Wednesday.

After Kusal Mendis had posted a brilliant 194 for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh openers Soumya Sarkar and Tamim Iqbal put on 118 for the first wicket on a flat track before Iqbal was run out in bizarre fashion by wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella for 57.

Sarkar was unbeaten on 66, with his knock including seven fours and a six. He benefited from being dropped early on at gully by Dilruwan Perera off the bowling of Suranga Lakmal. Iqbal was also dropped, by Dickwella off Perera, when he was on 28.

It was Bangladesh's best opening partnership against Sri Lanka, but the hosts finished strongly to lead by 361 runs heading into day three.

"The wicket is still good. I think there is a long way to go in this match," Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said. "I think we are good enough to get over 500."

Bangladesh, however, could have been in an even better position if Iqbal had not given his wicket away.

Appearing to think a leg bye was on offer, Iqbal started moving forward without realizing the wicketkeeper had the ball in his hand, and Dickwella was quick to whip the bails off.

"It brushed his pad and I caught it," Dickwella said. "He must have thought the ball went past me, and he went out of the crease."

Mominul Haque, who averages close to 50, was then snared LBW by Perera for 7, leaving Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease overnight on 1.

Earlier, the 22-year-old Mendis looked set to become the second youngest Sri Lankan to score a double ton after Mahela Jayawardene, but holed out going for a six. Iqbal caught him at long-on, threw the ball in the air, regained his composure and came back to collect the catch cleanly.

It was test best score for Mendis, improving on the 176 he made against Australia last year. He batted for more than seven hours and faced 285 deliveries in a fluent innings containing 19 boundaries and four sixes.

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He had been dismissed off a no ball before he had scored a run, and then got a reprieve on 175 when he hooked Subashis Roy and Mustafizur Rahman at fine-leg took the catch, but stepped over the boundary rope.

Mendis added 110 runs for the fifth wicket with Dickwella, who scored 75, as Sri Lanka piled on the runs in the morning to reach 443 for six at lunch.

Dickwella also posted his test best score before becoming Mehedi Hasan's third victim when he mistimed a shot and was caught at short third man by Mahmudullah Riyad. His entertaining innings contained six boundaries and a six. It was his second half-century.

Bangladesh snared the last four wickets for 37 runs to keep Sri Lanka under 500, with nineteen-year-old off-spinner Hasan finishing with four wickets.

Although Asela Gunaratne (85) and Perera (51) also posted half-centuries for the home side, Hathurusingha was happy with the effort put in by his bowlers.

"On a flat wicket, losing the toss and keeping them under 500 is a fairly good effort," he said.
Amy Schumer is gorgeous, obviously.

So when she talks about being "what Hollywood calls 'very fat,'" she's not just sharing a ridiculous anecdote, she's breaking down a frightening beauty standard that governs the images we consume daily.

And it seems she's giving less and less of a f*ck about railing against them.

SEE ALSO: Amy Schumer's SNL monologue was filled with jokes about the Kardashians and Bradley Cooper

Her new Netflix stand-up show (which premieres midnight P.T. Wednesday) is called Amy Schumer: The Leather Special, in honour of the very chic outfit she wears. And like always, body image is a key theme in her new set. Specifically the weight loss she was politely coerced into before filming Trainwreck.

"Somebody like explained to me, 'Just so you know, Amy, no pressure, but if you weigh over 140 pounds, it will hurt peoples eyes. I just bought it. I was like, 'Okay, I'm new to town. So I lost weight," she says according to People magazine.

After a gruelling effort to shed weight, Schumer says she felt awful. "I look very stupid skinny. My dumb head stays the same but then my body, like, shrivels and [I] just look like ... a Thanksgiving Day parade [balloon] of Tonya Harding ... Nobody likes it. It's not cute on me."

After putting the weight back on once the film wrapped up, she says "I got worried because it gets in your head  just everything on television and movies and magazines and the internet. I'm like, 'Oh, my god! Are men still going to be attracted to me?' And that's when I remembered ... they don't care."

@netflix #theleatherspecial tomorrow A post shared by @amyschumer on Mar 6, 2017 at 11:09am PST

Also, she gives honourable mention to her father for bringing her back down to reality. "My dad, like, has MS and is in a wheelchair and it's, like, I'm just psyched I can fing move," she says. "How are you going to complain [about your imperfections?] Shut the f*ck up. You're alive. You can move. You feel good!"

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"I feel very good in my own skin," she concludes in the set. "I feel strong. I feel healthy. I do. I feel sexy."

You are, mate!
Mexico City (AFP) - Shrimp, caviar, truffle and gold flakes aren't standard ingredients in Mexico's popular tacos. But chef Juan Licerio Alcala uses them to create the world's most expensive taco at $25,000.

No one has ordered one. Yet.

The handheld dish made of a corn or wheat tortilla folded around a filling is low-cost fare in Mexico.

Licerio, the chef at the Grand Velas Los Cabos Resort, a luxury vacation destination in Baja California, told AFP he decided to think outside the box.

"People are excited and a little surprised about how you can eat a taco for $25,000 (497,000 pesos) when you can find one on the street for 10 pesos," he said.

"Then I explain the delicacy, the technique and the harmony that they will lift from the plate, and that it's worth it."

To make the over-the-top dish, the chef takes a corn tortilla speckled with 24 carat gold flakes and fills it with Kobe beef, shrimp, Almas Beluga caviar and black truffle Brie cheese.

The taco is dressed with a salsa based on Morita chiles and civet coffee, a pricey liquid made from the fermented droppings of a civet which has eaten the berries of a coffee plant.

For good measure, gold flakes are sprinkled on top.

A week after the outrageously pricey dish hit the menu, no one has ordered it, the chef admitted.

But he said many have shown interest, mostly US customers who like to "push the boundaries."

Ordering the world's most expensive taco has its own particular method. First, a customer has to put down a $12,500 deposit and already be staying in the presidential suite.

The dish is presented in the middle of the desert encircled by motorcycles, or during a marriage proposal.

"We can adjust to the guest," Licerio said.

If money is no object, the chef has just the tipple to complement the taco: the luxury tequila Pasion Azteca, at $150,000 a bottle.

Related:

Watch TV shows, movies and more on Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.
The Mexican government opened legal aid centers at each of its 50 consulates across the U.S. Saturday to consult Mexican immigrants who may be affected by President Donald Trumps hard-lined policies targeting undocumented people living in the country.

The defense centers were specifically designed to provide consular assistance as well as legal representation to all Mexican migrants who require support in America," Mexicos Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said in a statement. The centers will help the roughly 5.8 million undocumented Mexicans living in the U.S. gain dual citizenship, Videgaray said.

Videgaray also said that Mexico allocated $54 million to the "defense centers," and hired 320 temporary workers to provide free legal assistance to Mexican citizens who might feel as if their human rights were being threatened in the U.S., CNN reported Sunday. The initiative was spearheaded by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who guaranteed Mexicans living immigrants in the U.S. that they would have access to legal guidance amid Trumps harsher deportation standards among undocumented people.

"The Mexican offices in the United States will turn into defenders of the rights of Mexican immigrants," Nieto said at the Mexican consulate in New York in a video posted on the president's website.

Trump's executive order on Jan. 25 made it easier for officials to investigate an immigrant suspected of posing "a risk to public safety." While immigrants in the U.S. have long been subjected to being categorized as removable aliens if convicted of a crime, Trump's executive order made anyone having criminal records for low-level crimes like marijuana possession or writing a bad check becoming the targets of deportation raids.

Trumps campaigns pledges of issuing mass deportations and building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border has created deep anxieties among undocumented Mexicans, causing many to consider starting a new life in Mexico if they are forced to leave.

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Because there are Mexican immigrants who have spent decades away from their native country, some have lost formal documentations recognizing their Mexican citizenships. Videgaray has said that legal aid centers will be tasked with reissuing passports and birth certificates. By doing this, the Mexican government will be better able to identify its citizens so that it could provide them with legal assistance if they are in "vulnerable situations" and subject to deportation.

"With the birth certificate, Mexicans benefitting from this program will be able to request basic documents such as passports and consular registrations, enjoy all the rights and obligations conferred by Mexican nationality, and continue to participate in the civic life of our country," Videgaray said.

There were 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. in 2014, making up 3.5 percent of the U.S. population, the Pew Research Center reported in November. Among those, roughly 52 percent were Mexican.

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Michigan State University is asking all current and former student-athletes for information that may be relevant to the investigation into Dr. Larry Nassar. Nassar is a former University employee charged with sexually assaulting at least 7 athletes in his care. MSU police are investigating dozens of other reports of sex assault. Nassar is also charged with molesting the young daughter of a family friend and with possession of child pornography. More than 50 former patients are suing him in federal court.
(Reuters) - Minnesota residents will be able to purchase alcohol on Sundays from liquor stores for the first time in the state's history this summer after the governor signed a bill to legalize the sales.

Governor Mark Dayton on Tuesday signed into law a bill allowing for the sale of alcohol from stores on Sundays between the hours of 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. beginning on July 2. Minnesota's ban on Sunday liquor store sales has stood since it gained statehood in 1858, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

This new law reflects the desires of most people in Minnesota, who have made it clear to their legislators that they want to have this additional option, Dayton said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cities in the state continue to have the authority to enforce their own Sunday sales bans by drafting local regulations.

A 2015 poll by Public Policy Polling, cited by Dayton in his Tuesday statement, found that around two-thirds of state residents supported ending the Sunday ban on alcohol sales.

(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Keith Tonkel, one of 28 white United Methodist ministers who signed a statement condemning segregation and racism in the Deep South in 1963, has died.

Wells United Methodist Church, where he had been pastor since 1969, announced that Tonkel died Wednesday in Jackson, where he had been hospitalized for pneumonia and blood clots in his lungs. The church said he died after experiencing a heart problem. He was 81.

Tonkel was born in New Orleans to a drummer and a debutante, and grew up Catholic there and in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He became a Methodist as a young man.

Tonkel was pastor of the small Guinn Memorial Methodist Church in Gulfport when he and 27 other young ministers signed the "Born of Conviction" statement against racism. It appeared in a Mississippi Methodist publication in January 1963, near the height of white resistance to the civil rights movement. It was released three months after a mob rioted because of the court-ordered integration of the University of Mississippi in Oxford and about five months before Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers was assassinated outside his Jackson home.

"Confronted with the grave crises precipitated by racial discord within our state in recent months, and the genuine dilemma facing persons of Christian conscience, we are compelled to voice publicly our convictions," said the statement, which caused some signers to be ostracized.

Their statement affirmed the Methodist position on race: "Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches that all men are brothers. He permits no discrimination because of race, color, or creed."

Twenty of the 28 ministers who signed the document left Mississippi for a variety of reasons, said Joseph Reiff, who published a book in 2015 called "Born of Conviction: White Methodists and Mississippi's Closed Society." Reiff, a religion professor at Emory & Henry College in Virginia, said about a half dozen of them "really did not have a choice" to remain in Mississippi because of threats.

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Reiff said Tonkel faced anonymous threats by phone, and a man showed up outside his house wielding a shotgun. Some church members publicly criticized Tonkel for signing the statement, and he told them they had a right to do so.

Tonkel told The Associated Press in 2005 that he signed "Born of Conviction" with the understanding that he was committed to staying in Mississippi.

"How can you flesh out a conviction if you're absent?" Tonkel said. "I thought our responsibility was to see what we can create that would be inclusive."

Wells Church has a racially integrated congregation in a low-income Jackson neighborhood that was largely abandoned by white residents during the 1960s and 1970s.

Reiff attended Wells Church as a college student in the 1970s and was pastor of another Methodist church in Jackson in the 1980s.

"He was an exceptional person in so many different ways," Reiff said of Tonkel. "He had this way of connecting with people and had really a remarkable way of connecting people to God."
Podgorica (Montenegro) (AFP) - A Montenegrin court jailed a group of Serbian nationals Wednesday for five months over an alleged coup plot during October's election, the latest such sentences.

The five struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty in exchange for light sentences, as another three of their compatriots did last month.

"Five citizens of Serbia admitted to being part of a criminal organisation whose plan was to break into the parliament of Montenegro violently," with the aim of seizing it, the prosecutor said in a statement.

Montenegro's state prosecutor has alleged that the plot included a plan to assassinate then prime minister Milo Djukanovic on election day on October 16.

Authorities have accused "Russian nationalists" of orchestrating the alleged plot, saying pro-Moscow Serbs were hired to carry it out.

Montenegrin prosecutors suspect 25 people, mostly Serbian citizens, of links to the alleged coup and have launched a manhunt for two Russians who are on the run.

The suspects include two leading pro-Russian lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Front (DF), Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic, whose parliamentary immunity was lifted last month so that they could face charges.

DF leaders have repeatedly denied involvement in a coup plot, claiming the government set them up. Both Mandic and Knezevic have also denied knowing any of the sentenced Serbs.

A prominent Montenegrin lawyer Branislav Lutovac told AFP that "the case of attempted terrorism is full of contradictions".

The eight who were convicted were given "light sentences for serious crimes," Lutovac said, adding however that guilty pleas will "enable the prosecutor to use them as evidence against other defendants".

The case should make for "a very interesting trial," Lutovac said.

Montenegro hopes to become a NATO member later this year, a move considered by Russia to be a "provocation". Moscow opposes the alliance's further enlargement in the Balkans.

Montenegro's accession will reinforce NATO's presence in the Balkans as Greece, Croatia and Albania are already members.
Tensions have remained high in the more than 60 years since North and South Korea fought a fierce war from 1950-53.

Here is a timeline of relations between the two Koreas, who remain technically at war:

- War ends in stalemate -

- June 25, 1950: the army of communist North Korea crosses the 38th parallel, which separates it from capitalist South Korea, seizing Seoul in three days.

Beijing is Pyongyang's main backer, while Washington supports Seoul during the three-year war in which between two and four million Korean, Chinese and US soldiers and civilians are killed.

North and South Korea sign an armistice on July 27 1953 and a Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is established near the 38th parallel. It is never ratified by a formal peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war.

- Infiltrations and attacks -

Since the end of the war, numerous attacks, troop infiltrations and clashes, mostly provoked by Pyongyang, have threatened the fragile ceasefire.

Pyongyang has on several occasions placed its troops on a war footing.

- January 21, 1968: a team of 31 North Korean commandos is sent to Seoul to assassinate President Park Chung-Hee, but is intercepted by South Korean security. All but two are killed, and only one of those captured.

- August 18, 1976: North Korean soldiers attack a work party trying to chop down a tree inside the demilitarised zone. Two US army officers are killed in what becomes known as the "axe murder incident".

- October 9, 1983: An attempt to kill South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan takes place when North Korea plants a bomb in a mausoleum in Yangon, Myanmar during a visit by Chun. He survives but 21 people, including some government ministers, are killed.

- November 29, 1987: A bomb planted on a Korean Air flight explodes over the Andaman Sea, killing all 115 people on board. Seoul accuses Pyongyang, which denies involvement.

- September 18, 1996: A North Korean submarine on a spying mission runs aground off the eastern South Korean port of Gangneung. After a 45-day manhunt, 24 crew members and infiltrators are killed.

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- Direct confrontation -

- June 15, 1999: South Korean and North Korean naval ships clash off South Korea's Yeonpyeong island. One North Korean torpedo boat is sunk and three patrol boats badly damaged. North Korean casualties are estimated at around 50.

- March 26, 2010: The South Korean corvette Cheonan sinks near Baengnyong island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 sailors. An international investigation concludes that it had been torpedoed by a North Korean submarine. Pyongyang denies the charge.

- November 23, 2010: North Korea fires 170 artillery shells at Yeonpyeong, the first attack on an area populated by civilians since the war: four are killed, including two civilians. South Korea's military goes on top alert, its troops firing back with cannon.

- August 20, 2015: South and North Korea trade artillery fire across their border. North Korea gives the South 48 hours to dismantle loudspeakers blasting propaganda messages across the border or face further military action.

- Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions -

North Korea has steadfastly pursued development of its nuclear programme and ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets in Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

- October 9, 2006: It carries out its first successful nuclear test, since then it has come under a series of international sanctions.

- September 9, 2016: It carries out its fifth and most powerful test yet, claiming it has tested a miniaturized nuclear bomb for a warhead that could be mounted on a missile.

- July 2016: Seoul announces plans to deploy the US THAAD system on its territory of, which is designed to defend it from a North Korean attack.
Arguing that President Trumps new effort to curb immigration of people from Mideast nations is actually a continued attempt to ban Muslims based on their religion, the state of Hawaii has opened a new round of court challenges to the federal governments power to restrict travel as a way to head off what it considers threats of terrorism.

In papers filed Tuesday night in federal trial court in Honolulu, the states lawyers argued that the second Trump executive order is infected with the same legal problems as the first order  undermining bedrock constitutional and statutory guarantees. A federal judge on Wednesday reacted quickly, ordering a fast-paced schedule that could allow a ruling before the second order is due to take effect at one minute after midnight on March 16. Trump Administration lawyers joined Hawaii in proposing that schedule.

The state is seeking the same kind of nationwide ban on enforcement of the new order as a federal judge in Seattle issued last month in reaction to the first Trump order  an enforcement ban that then won the approval of a federal appeals court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The Trump Justice Department will defend the new order before U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson in Honolulu and, if he rules in favor of Hawaiis challenge, the administration is expected to pursue a new appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court and, perhaps, to the Supreme Court.

Technically, the Hawaii lawsuit needed  and quickly obtained  Judge Watsons consent before it could move forward, because he had previously handled a lawsuit by that state challenging the first Trump order and he had put that case on hold when the Ninth Circuit Court got involved in reviewing the Seattle judges enforcement ban, imposed in a separate case pursued by the states of Washington and Minnesota. Those two states seem likely to pursue their own new case against the presidents revived effort, and other challenges seem certain, such as a planned lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.

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After the courts initial enforcement ban, several federal agencies along with White House aides fashioned a new presidential order, with the aim of curing the legal flaws that the courts had found in the original version. The effort was postponed several times, and a new order was issued on Monday.

One key choice that officials made for the new order was to drop any references to religion as that applied to foreign nationals who would be eligible to enter the U.S. during a new 90-day span aimed at nationals of six Mideast nations. (The first order had applied to seven Mideast nations with Muslim majorities, but the second order dropped one of those  Iraq.)

The elimination of language about religion, the state of Hawaii is claiming in its new challenge, did not make the restrictions any less a ban on Muslims than had been the case with the first order. The second order, it argued, began life as a Muslim ban.  It based that claim on a series of statements by Donald Trump as a presidential candidate and as president, and on statements by his close associates, indicating that the target of the efforts was to be Muslims.

Thus, the first legal claim in the states new lawsuit is that the order violates the Constitutions First Amendment religion clauses, because it and the statements of the president and others show that the order has the effect of disfavoring Islam.

The state seeks to bolster its claim about a religious content and to support its arguments about a human impact by adding to the case, as an individual challenger, an Egyptian-born U.S. citizen, Ismail Elshikh, who is the imam of a mosque that serves a group of Hawaiis Muslims. The imam and his citizen wife and five children are unable to arrange a visit for his wifes mother, who is Syrian now living in Syria, because she does not have a current visa and thus is banned by the new presidential order, according to the legal complaint.

Hawaiis lawsuit also makes these claims about the second presidential order: it violates constitutional guarantees of legal equality due to discrimination based on nationality as well as on religion, violates constitutional guarantees of a right to travel internationally, violates constitutional guarantees of fair procedures in determining who may travel in and out of this country, violates federal immigration laws, violates a federal law protecting religious freedom from government interference, exceeds the governments powers under immigration laws, and was published illegally because the public had no chance to react to it before it was issued.

The lawsuit asks specifically that the judge strike down the 90-day suspension of travel to the U.S. by nationals of six Mideast nations, as well as the orders 120-day suspension of travel to the U.S. by refugees from any country. And it asks the judge to forbid enforcement across the nation.

While Hawaiis lawsuit proceeds in Judge Watsons court, it will file later on Wednesday a formal request for the judge to issue a temporary restraining order so that the presidents new order does not take effect in the meantime. That is the kind of court order that the Seattle judge had issued last month to stop enforcement of the first version of the presidential order.

Under the initial schedule the judge approved on Wednesday, the Trump Administration will file its answer to the Hawaii claims on March 13, the state will file a reply on March 14, and Judge Watson will hold a hearing  with some lawyers taking part by telephone  on March 15.

Legendary journalist Lyle Denniston is Constitution Dailys Supreme Court correspondent. Denniston has written for us as a contributor since June 2011 and has covered the Supreme Court since 1958. His work also appears on lyldenlawnews.com, where this story first appeared.

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The constant narrative of the high cost of college in the news and the idea of free higher education has driven some schools to offer tuition-free programs to low-income students.

Most of these tuition-free programs, usually referred to as "promise" programs, cover tuition and fees -- but generally not the full cost of attendance.

The majority of these programs are implemented at community colleges, but there are a handful of four-year institutions across the U.S. that offer these tuition-free or guarantee programs to financially needy students.

"These programs are becoming increasingly popular. A lot of it depends nationally on what the state contributes," says Robert McMaster, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education at the University of Minnesota, which has offered a promise scholarship for nearly 10 years.

[Explore 12 tuition-free colleges.]

Policy analysts say tuition-free programs exist in patches across the U.S. either at the state, local or institutional level.

"It's really a roll of the dice to where the student lives and what institutions they get into," says Iris Palmer, senior policy analyst for education at New America, a think tank based in the District of Columbia. "For almost all these programs, you have to be a resident of the state."

Some of the four-year public universities that offer a promise or tuition-free guarantee program to low-income students include Arizona State University, West Texas A&M University, Purdue University--West Lafayette, the University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill and all campuses for the University of Minnesota and the University of Nebraska.

Many of these programs also require the student to be Pell-Grant-eligible, a federal grant for undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need. The maximum Pell Grant award is $5,815 for the 2016-2017 school year.

[Read four need-to-know facts about state aid for college.]

"Pell Grants and state grants will cover a large share of the tuition costs, therefore allowing institutions to make this guarantee because the remaining amount isn't too expensive," says Thomas Harnisch, director of state relations and policy analyst at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, on the remaining portion that is covered by institutional funds through "last dollar programs."

Story continues

Higher education experts say it's easy to brand these programs for low-income students, but the details of each program varies.

For prospective students and families interested in a tuition-free education at a four-year public college, here are a few facts about these programs.

-- There are more of these programs coming for fall 2017. Palmer from New America says the movement for expanding tuition-free programs has "devolved down to the state, local and institutional level."

This February, Florida International University and the University of New Hampshire announced that they will offer tuition-free programs to needy students who are entering their first year of college this fall. Both programs require these students to be in-state residents.

[Attend an out-of-state college while paying in-state tuition.]

-- Pell Grant eligibility is often used to determine if a student qualifies. Many tuition-free programs use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, to determine eligibility. The federal form establishes whether a student qualifies for a Pell Grant and the estimated family contribution, a figure as to what the student and his or her family can pay toward education.

Each school's terms for eligibility vary. While the UNH's Granite Guarantee program offers incoming freshmen tuition-free education if they qualify for any Pell Grant amount, the FIU Golden Promise scholarship only awards this benefit to Pell Grant recipients who have a "zero" estimated family contribution.

At FIU, only half of Pell grant recipients are zero EFC, says Francisco Valines, director of financial aid at FIU.

"We're expecting about 1,200 for fall 2017," says Valines, as the program only applies to incoming freshmen.

In contrast, a UNH spokesperson says that the school's tuition guarantee will probably support nearly 300 freshmen for the 2017-2018 year.

-- Most of these programs only cover tuition and fees, not the full cost of attendance. There are only two four-year public institutions -- UNC--Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia -- that report meeting full financial need, according to data submitted to U.S. News in an annual survey.

So these other programs at four-year public colleges only cover tuition and fees, and in some cases, a few hundred or thousand dollars over the amount.

"We're exceeding full tuition and fees for need by $2,000," says McMaster from the University of Minnesota on covering in-state Pell Grant students with a zero EFC under its U Promise program. "We're short on the full cost of attendance."

Harnisch from AASCU says these programs don't cover living expenses, which can sometimes be more than tuition and fees.

But he says: "Having the institution as the messenger for these programs is important because the students will be receiving their tuition bill from them."

Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.

Farran Powell is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering paying for college and graduate school. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at fpowell@usnews.com.
Good morning. These are todays top stories:

WikiLeaks releases secret CIA files

WikiLeaks has published thousands of confidential CIA documents that purportedly describe the scope and direction of the U.S. intelligence agencys worldwide covert hacking program. WikiLeaks said in a news release that it is the largest leak of CIA secret documents ever.

Health care debate begins today

The House Commerce Committee will meet today to discuss Republican lawmakers plans to replace and repeal the Affordable Care Act. The GOP unveiled its health care proposal on Monday, and many conservative legislators criticized it as being too similar to Obamacare. President Donald Trump is also set to meet with Republican leaders about health care at the White House today.

Its International Womens Day

Women across the country today will be taking off from work, boycotting shopping and wearing red in support of a strike dubbed A Day Without A Woman. The movement, which coincides with International Womens Day, aims to show the vital role women  most of whom receive lower wages than their male counterparts  play in the economy.

America falls in list of best countries

The U.S. has dropped to seventh place in a new ranking of the best countries in the world. Switzerland came out on top in the latest listing.

Also:

At least 30 people are dead after gunmen attacked a military hospital in Afghanistan.

A train smashed into a bus in Mississippi, killing at least four people.

The Statue of Liberty experienced a brief power outage, and many people noticed the odd timing.

Pandas are black and white to help them camouflage and communicate, researchers say.

Couples should have sex at least once a week to maximize happiness, a new study suggests.

The Morning Brief is published Mondays through Fridays. Email Morning Brief writer Melissa Chan at melissa.chan@time.com.
There are many perks that come with a high-profile post in the Trump administration; job security does not appear to be among them.

Six weeks into Donald Trumps presidency, one key member of his inner-circle has already been tossed overboard, and a second is facing noisy calls for resignation. Meanwhile, a recent spate of buzzy insider news stories portrays a chaos-gripped White House filled with aides desperately clinging to their jobs while the president spirals into fits of rage over their incompetence. Trump went ballistic on senior staffers, says ABC News; the knives are out for chief-of-staff Reince Preibus, reports Politico. And just for good measure, heres some footage of chief strategist Steve Bannon gesticulating angrily during a recent Oval Office meeting.

All the drama begs the question: When will the next Trump adviser get the ax?

Though Trump likes to boast of his fierce personal loyaltyboth to his employees, and to his supportershe has demonstrated a tendency throughout his life and career to throw even the most dedicated allies under the bus at moments of peak crisis. And with peak crisis as the default setting of the Trump presidency so far, this pattern of behavior is worth a close examination.

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As Ive written before, Trumps professional inner-circle has been purged and reconstructed many times throughout his decades-long business career, with close alliances and partnerships frequently ending in a mess of litigation and public feuding.

In some cases, Trump cuts ties to avoid personal embarrassment. When Roy Cohnthe notorious attorney-cum-operator who was instrumental in getting young Donald established in New York Citywas diagnosed as HIV-positive in the 80s, Trump promptly ditched his friend and mentor. Stunned by the betrayal, Cohn reportedly marveled, Donald pisses ice water.

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In other cases, Trump has sacrificed personal loyalty in search of a scapegoat. In 1990, he sought to shift the blame for the early failures of the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City onto his younger brother, Robert. According to one former executive who later recounted the episode in a book, Trump bitterly rebuked his brotherwho worked for him at the timein front of other employees. I thought you could handle this, Trump said. I mustve been out of my mind. I let you make recommendations. Im sick and fucking tired of listening to you. Robert responded by storming out of the casino, unwilling to endure further abuse.

Perhaps one of the most fraught positions for someone to occupy in Trumps orbit is that of the PR man. Long before he earned the distinction of becoming the first president to live-tweet cable news, Trump was a headline-obsessed media junkie who devoured the New York Post daily and demanded round-the-clock attention from the publicists on his payroll. In one emblematic example from the early 90s, Trump became irate that he was losing the media battle with his first wife, Ivana, as their breakup dominated the tabloidsso he fired the public-relations consultant that his family had employed for more than two decades. Asked about the incident years later, the consultant, Howard Rubenstein, waved it off as a short-lived temper tantrum. There was a time when [Trump] was upset with everybody, he shrugged.

Still, in retrospect, the episode seems to have foreshadowed Trumps widely chronicled displeasure with Sean Spicer. Several people who have worked with Trump speculated to me that the beleaguered White House press secretary wont last long, if only because its virtually impossible to get passing marks from this president in that job. During the transition, one Republican who was being considered for the press secretary post told me he wasnt interested because, Im in a good place with [Trump] right now  and that job is too easy to screw up.

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Throughout the election, Trump showed a similar inclination to churn rapidly through top aides and allies, with a perpetually in-flux campaign organization that was helmed by three different people in less than 18 months.

The candidate demonstrated his convenient application of loyalty early in the cycle when it was discovered that Sam Nunberga deeply devoted adviser who had spent years laying the groundwork for his bosss presidential bidhad written some racist posts on his personal Facebook page. The revelation caused a minor stir in the news, and Nunberg quickly apologized. But while he managed to win the forgiveness of Al Sharpton, Trump was less merciful, firing the young aide and allowing his campaign to release a humiliating statement that referred to him as a low level part-time consultant. Nunberg was crushed, and later told me that for months after his firing he would get teary-eyed every time he walked past Trump Tower. I loved Donald like an uncle, he said, adding, He can certainly be loyal, but its selective.

At the time, Nunbergs firing was viewed inside Trumplandia as a victory for Corey Lewandowski, the hard-charging campaign manager who was then busy consolidating power within the organization. But it wasnt long before he, too, found his job in peril. After roughly grabbing a female reporter in a press scrum, Lewandowski faced a battery charge and a chorus of critics calling for his head. Trump stuck by him at first, even spinning his own refusal to fire the aide as a selling point for voters. (During a meeting with Jewish reporters, for example, Trump cited his loyalty to Lewandowski as proof that he would be a stalwart ally to Israel.)

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The charges against Lewandowski were dropped, but Trump eventually fired him anyway. The reasons for the dismissal were murkyLewandowski had made a number of enemies who were eager to see him gobut when Trump was asked about it, he said simply that it was time to take a different route.

The operative who took Lewandowskis place, Paul Manafort, lasted less than two months before landing on the chopping block forced to resign amid reports of his past lobbying for pro-Russia oligarchs.

Theres no reason to believe that Trumps administration will be any less turbulent than his campaign or casino business were. Of course, Trumps defenders would point to his victory in November over a cautious opponent who ran a well-oiled machine of a campaign as proof that stability is not necessary for success. Maybe theyre right. But Trump built his success on his willingness to toss aside mentors, friends, and family members during moments of frustration and chaosand as aides and appointees now bet their careers on his willingness to reciprocate their loyalty, theyre also gambling that at 70, hell suddenly change.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Seoul (AFP) - Dealing with a notorious murder by detonating a huge diplomatic row, and firing missiles as a practice assault on US bases in Japan -- North Korea's recent actions demonstrate its willingness to escalate tensions whatever the consequences, say analysts.

Pyongyang on Tuesday banned all Malaysian citizens from leaving North Korea, its latest move in an increasingly heated feud over the assassination of leader Kim Jong-Un's half-brother in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian police are investigating the death of Kim Jong-Nam, who was killed last month by two women using VX nerve agent, but all fingers have pointed to Pyongyang as the culprit behind the murder.

The North has denied any involvement, denouncing the Malaysian probe as a "smear campaign" to tarnish the country, before the two engaged in tit-for-tat expulsions of their ambassadors.

Daniel Pinkston, an analyst at Troy University in Seoul, said the North's belligerent response followed its textbook method of using force to handle political disputes.

"There is a famous quote in their literature: if someone brings a pistol, bring a cannon. That's how they operate," he said.

The travel ban on Malaysians came on the same day that Pyongyang described the launch of four missiles -- three of which came down in waters that are part of Japan's exclusive economic zone -- as a practice drill for a strike on US military bases in the country.

The direct challenge to Washington comes with a new, famously unpredictable president in the White House who is still formulating his approach to North Korea.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump at times implied that negotiations could be an option, but in phone calls Tuesday reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad commitment" to allies Japan and South Korea and warned of "very dire consequences" for Pyongyang.

"It would seem common sense to behave well before Trump sets his policy, but North Korea is just going its own way regardless of the consequences," said Koh Yu-Hwan, a professor of North Korea studies at Dongguk University.

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"Trump talks of achieving peace through strength and the North seems to be applying the same logic, although it can't compete in terms of strength," Koh added.

- 'Dire consequences' -

Being blamed for Kim's killing -- Malaysian authorities are still seeking to question seven North Koreans over it -- could mean tougher international sanctions, including being put back on Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Analysts say the feud with Kuala Lumpur is a calculated move before Malaysia announces the final results of its probe.

"This is obviously destroying bilateral relations with Malaysia but I think at the end of the day, that falls fairly low on North Korea's list of priorities," said John Delury, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University.

In any case, he added: "Once Malaysia comes to a conclusion and they deny it, they are at loggerheads and having a public fight about it."

The quadruple missile launch came shortly after South Korea and the US started annual joint exercises that always infuriate Pyongyang, which sees them as practice for invasion and regularly mounts protest actions -- with seven missile launches last year.

But the explicit targeting of Japan -- only the second time a North Korean missile has landed in its EEZ -- represented an escalation.

It drew strong global condemnation with the UN Security Council scrambling to discuss additional measures against the North.

Kim Kwang-Jin, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, said: "It's probably all based on a calculation that they can't hope for any concession or change from the Trump administration.

"Compared to his father Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Un is much more aggressive in dealing with a new US administration. It's under tougher sanctions but ignoring all of them."

But some analysts warn the North's strategy could go horribly wrong.

Trump could take a much more "hardline" stance than the Obama administration, potentially reintroducing nuclear weapons to the South, said Choi Kang, an analyst at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

"Obama couldn't openly talk about bringing in tactical nuclear weapons because of his pledge for a nuclear-free world but Trump will be uncompromising," he told AFP.

"After all, he called Obama's 'strategic patience' a failed policy."
BRUSSELS (AP)  NATO and the United States warned Wednesday they could scale back cooperation with Kosovo's security services if the government goes ahead with plans to transform its lightly-armed security force into an army without the required constitutional changes.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he told Kosovo's leaders by telephone "that unilateral steps such as these are unhelpful." He warned that if Kosovo goes ahead as planned "NATO will have to review its level of commitment, particularly in terms of capacity-building."

A U.S. embassy statement said "adoption of the current proposed law would force us to re-evaluate our bilateral cooperation with and longstanding assistance to Kosovo's security forces."

The move must be carried out through an "inclusive and representative political process," the statement added.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci on Tuesday sent a draft law to parliament asking approval to form a regular army. The move was immediately denounced by Serbian leaders, who refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence and said they will use all political means available to prevent the formation of an army.

"There is no turning back. The KSF (Kosovo Security Force) will be transformed into Kosovo's army," Thaci told Radio Free Europe Wednesday. "Western Balkans is endangered from the Russian military bases in Serbia, from Russia's MIG jets in Serbia and from the Russian military exercises in Serbia."

"I expect that NATO is aware of such concrete threats," Thaci said at a news conference later Wednesday.

Constitutional amendments would require voting approval from the ethnic minorities at Kosovo's parliament. Serbia in effect holds a key say through Kosovo Serbs on whether the required constitutional changes can happen.

Thaci said Kosovo cannot "coordinate with Serbia" on its own affairs and that "Belgrade cannot decide for Kosovo."

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"NATO and our international partners should assist Kosovo during this transformation and never think of punishing it simply because Serbia is not convinced that Kosovo should found its own army," he said.

Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday said he expects "help and support" from the European Union, the United States and Russia over Kosovo's plan. Vucic said the move was against the U.N. resolution that ended the war in Kosovo in 1999, and even against Kosovo's own constitution, which Serbia does not recognize.

Thaci said he asked Vucic at a telephone call Tuesday to tell ethnic Serb minority lawmakers to return to the parliament to vote for a number of projects including creation of the new army, and made clear to the Serb prime minister that the army would never be a "threat for Serbia or any other country."

"The response was disappointing," he said.

Both the U.S. and NATO are key Kosovo allies and have been helping to build up Kosovo's security force.

Relations between Kosovo and Serbia have been tense recently and the move is likely to make things worse. Kosovo declared independence in 2008. The move has been recognized by 114 countries but not Belgrade.
Pristina (AFP) - NATO and the US on Wednesday condemned Kosovo's plans to create a national army, a move that would spark anger among its minority ethnic Serbs and in Belgrade.

Since Kosovo's 1998-1999 war with Serbia, NATO-led multinational troops have been deployed in the territory but it is not allowed its own army in accordance with a UN resolution.

The former Serbian province, which in 2008 declared independence despite opposition from Belgrade, does have a security force and an elite police wing.

But President Hashim Thaci proposed a draft bill on Tuesday to establish a regular army for Kosovo, by changing the current law on the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) and extending its powers and number of soldiers.

Such a move would not require a constitutional amendment and would therefore circumvent a likely veto from Kosovo's Serb minority, who are hostile to the move. Most of Kosovo's population is ethnic Albanian.

"Unilateral steps such as these are unhelpful," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a press release, urging Kosovo's authorities to remain "in close contact with Belgrade".

"Should the mandate of the KSF now evolve in the way proposed, NATO will have to review its level of commitment, particularly in terms of capacity-building," Stoltenberg warned.

In a separate statement the US embassy in Pristina said that the security change should be made "in accordance with the Kosovo Constitution and through an inclusive and representative political process that reflects Kosovo's multi-ethnic democracy".

The KSF is currently a 2,500-member strong force, while the proposed new army would consist of 5,000 lightly-armed soldiers and 2,500 reservists.

However, despite NATO's warning Thaci remained defiant and said "the process is unstoppable."

Speaking to reporters in Pristina later Wednesday, he urged Prime Minister Isa Mustafa to give "a high priority" to the initiative.

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Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said he spoke to Thaci about the plans on Tuesday and expected to receive help from the European Union, the Unites States and Russia over the issue.

Improved ties between Pristina and Belgrade are a crucial part of both sides' bids to join the EU, but relations remain tense.

In January, Belgrade sent a train towards Kosovo covered in the slogan "Kosovo is Serbia" in multiple languages, spurring Kosovo to send its elite police unit to the border, to the anger of Serbia.

The late 1990s war, between ethnic Albanian independence-seeking rebels and Serbian troops under Slobodan Milosevic, left around 13,000 people dead.
A man has described the fortuitous moment he stumbled upon a blind dog in the mountains more than a week after it wandered away from his neighbor's home.

Dan Estrada knew his community in Santa Cruz, California had been looking for Sage, a 12-year-old Labrador retriever, when he took a hike through a wooded area behind his home on March 4.

Read: Soldier Drapes American Flag Over Former Military Dog Partner's Body After He Is Put Down

Eight days earlier, Sage, who belongs to Estrada's neighbor, Beth Cole, had wandered from the area after each member of the Cole family mistakenly believed someone else had brought her inside.

"Everybody was searching for her," Estrada told InsideEdition.com. "Santa Cruz is a huge dog community. That dog means a lot to everybody."

As he and a friend, Victor Lopez, took a walk through the wooded area, he thought he spotted a pile of trash at the bottom of a steep embankment.

"I look a bit closer and I thought it was a dog," he said.

Estrada, a paramedic and EMT for the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department, immediately thought he was going to have to be the bearer of bad news.

"I know what happens when you find a body," he said. "Ive had to be the one to tell families that a loved one didnt make it."

The two friends made their way down to Sage and as they neared her, she apparently heard Estrada's two dogs and lifted her head a little.

That's when Lopez cried: "Dude, she's alive!"

Suddenly, "I'm in the water," Estrada recalled. "I dont even care that my boots are [wet]. I gave her a big hug and kiss."

Read: 21 Dead Dogs Found in Abandoned Home, 1 Dog Found Alive

Somehow, Sage had avoided being sniffed out by mountain lions, and luckily, there hadn't been any rain since she'd been missing.

Estrada scooped up the exhausted dog and put her across his shoulders to carry her out of the woods.

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When they told the Cole family the good news, they couldn't believe it. "Everyone was crying," Estrada said.

The pup was hungry and tired. After a visit to the vet, she's back home. Her family offered Estrada a reward, which he turned down.

Instead, he created seven leather dog leashes  one for each day Sage was lost  with Lopez. They will be raffling off the leashes at a celebration for Sage in Boulder Creek on March 18, and all proceeds will be donated to the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter.

Watch: Blind Pooch Explores the World With Help of Pomeranian Guide Dog Friend



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Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria's military on Wednesday announced it would look into alleged human rights abuses by troops, including in the fight against Boko Haram, despite having previously dismissed such claims.

The chief of army staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, said a special board of inquiry would look into allegations such as those made by Amnesty International and pro-Biafra campaigners.

But he said it would not go over cases already looked at by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which has ruled out another probe of the army's mass killing of Shiite protesters in December 2015.

The board of inquiry, unveiled at an event in the capital, Abuja, comprises serving and retired officers plus a representative from the NHRC.

Buratai said it would investigate claims of extra-judicial executions, arbitrary detention, torture and "enforced disappearance of suspected Boko Haram terrorists".

"These allegations are not good for civil-military relations and are capable of demoralising Nigerian army personnel in the performance of their constitutional roles," he added.

"It is therefore expedient to thoroughly and impartially investigate these allegations... to find out the facts of the matter to enable relevant authorities (to) take appropriate actions."

Those wrongly accused should be exonerated but those found guilty should be "treated in line with the full military justice system", he added.

Amnesty International said in a statement that the investigation was "encouraging" but warned that any inquiry should be "independent of the military, impartial and thorough, and its findings made public."

- 'Spurious' claims -

Nigeria's military has long faced claims of human rights violations, particularly in its attempts to put down Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency in the northeast.

Last month the army dismissed as "spurious" Amnesty International's claims that hundreds of people, including women and children, had died in military custody.

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In November last year, the army said the global rights watchdog's claim that soldiers had killed at least 150 pro-Biafra protesters since August 2015 was an attack on the military's reputation.

Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly called for Nigeria to comply with a court ruling to release a pro-Iran Shiite cleric and hundreds of his supporters.

Ibrahim Zakzaky, who leads the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), has been in custody for more than a year after at least 350 of his supporters were killed in clashes with the military.

The violence was allegedly sparked by IMN members' refusal to allow Buratai's convoy to pass along a road in the northern city of Zaria.

Separate investigations by the NHRC and Kaduna state government have, however, not led to any action against troops.
North Koreas stated goal is to develop a nuclear-armed ballistic missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. This is not just the whim of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un  it is, in fact, part of his family legacy. In 2011, Kim Jong Uns father, former regime leader Kim Jong Il, said his nations nuclear deterrent [was] to protect our sovereignty from the blatant nuclear threat of the United States and its increasingly hostile policy.

Since taking the reigns, Kim Jong Un has thrown everything at this quest, believing that it guarantees the future of his despotic regime. A fourth nuclear test in early 2016 prompted unprecedented U.N. sanctions, but a fifth test still followed. The brazen Feb. 13 assassination of Kim Jong Nam  Kim Jong Uns estranged half-brother  at Kuala Lumpur International Airport was bookended by missile tests one day before and three weeks after.

Experts posit that North Korea is four to five years away from developing a nuclear-armed ballistic missile capable of decimating an American city. However, Thae Yong Ho, a former deputy ambassador to London who defected to South Korea late last year, said the secretive regime wants to capitalize on the disruptive election of U.S. President Donald Trump and impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye to realize full nuclear capability at all costs by the end of 2017.

Read More: How North Koreas Nuclear History Began

Nathan J. Hunt, head of 3D reconstruction at the Strategic Sentinel analysis firm in Washington D.C., has been modeling North Korean missile and nuclear facilities for 16 years. He tells TIME that the four to five year range is pretty much accurate. However, he highlights that North Korea has already mastered submarine launch capability and has canisterised its Pukkuksong-2 (Polaris-2) ballistic missile ahead of predications. This key development means rockets are kept in mobile environmentally controlled canisters for launch anywhere, any time. They can erect it, its cold launched and then ignites, Hunt says. They dont have to fuel it.

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However, this latest salvo of four rockets launched March 6  three of which fell into Japans Exclusive Economic Zone; a fifth failed  was probably more for propaganda value. They were older generation extended range scud missiles for regional use, and were likely launched as a show of force as the U.S. and South Korea undergo annual military drills, which North Korea views as a rehearsal for invasion. South Korea has also just accepted the first U.S. THAAD anti-missile battery this week much to the ire of Pyongyang and Beijing.

Still, those launches were strategically significant as the first from Sohae Satellite Launching Station  actually from a field nearby  which is generally used for space launches and the static test-firing of missile engines. Sohae launches provide more range to gain altitude over the Korean peninsular and so are better suited for Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM). The regime may be getting the world used to missile tests from Sohae as they move forward with actual ICBM tests. That way when they do a true ICBM test its not going to be that big of a shock, says Hunt.

Read More: North Korea Tests Chinas Patience with Missile Launches During Its Biggest Political Gathering

An ICBM test is much more sophisticated, involving a multi-stage missile, and would be a major step forward. The impoverished nation of 25 million has already successfully completed two-stage launches but would need to perfect three-stage to develop true ICBM capability.

This is what is ultimately necessary to hit the U.S. mainland (San Francisco is 8,200 km away; New York City is 10,800 km). North Korea would need a missile that can take off, exit the earths atmosphere, handle reentry without burning up and deliver a miniaturized nuclear payload to a specific target. That is no mean feet and took Western powers half a century to get pretty much right, though the technology is still by no means perfect.

Marchs U.N. sanctions were designed to hamper the regimes pursuit of that technology by limiting the import of specialist, high-grade materials. Although this has had some mild success slowing down development works, North Korean scientists are very smart, says Hunt, and have found work-arounds for a number of problems. They have already conducted heat-shield testing earlier than initially predicted, and so solid state ballistic missile reentry capability could also be developed relatively soon.

Read More: North Korea Needs 3 Things to Hit the U.S. With a Nuclear Weapon

Once you have an ICBM missile you have to put an atomic warhead on the end. North Korea currently possesses enough nuclear material for about 15 such weapons but miniaturizing that technology is far from easy. Currently, they have honed nuclear bombs down to about half a meter in diameter, so smaller versions are very much in their grasp, says Hunt.

Schematics for North Koreas new KM14 ICBM, which they claim is deployable but has never been tested, shows a nose section for such a miniaturized payload. It has an estimated range of up to 15,000 km, though some put the figure closer to 6,000 km. Hunt expects a test launch of the KM14 or derivative type class missile by the fall. As such, four to five years seems closer all the time. And lets not forget about the U.S. islands of Guam and Hawaii, nor the 28,000 American soldiers in South Korea and 50,000 in Japan, who remain under more immediate threat.
It has been a bad month for Chinese-North Korean relations. The assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the older brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who had been under Chinese protection and living in Macau, was followed by another round of missile launches by Pyongyang, stirring vocal anger from Seoul and Tokyo and quiet fury from Beijing.

At the same time, discussions between U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chinese Foreign Ministry counterparts coincided with a Chinese cutoff of coal imports from North Korea, raising expectations that the United States and China may be able to cooperate to further punish Kim.

Tillerson claimed during his confirmation hearings that China possesses complete control over what sustains the government of North Korea. Responding to an earlier missile test by North Korea, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said essentially the same thing. China has considerable clout over North Korea but not enough to push Pyongyang away from what it considers priorities for national survival, such as nuclear weapons and the uprooting of any chutes of the slightest dissent that might lead to systemic political change. North Korea, meanwhile, is looking to offset not only military threats from the United States but also what it increasingly perceives as economic and ideological threats from China.

How strong are Sino-North Korean relations right now? And what might this mean for Chinas willingness to enforce sanctions? The triangular relationship between North Korea, China, and the United States has changed a great deal since the era of the Korean War. At the request of then-leader Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedongs Chinese troops saved the North and stuck around to secure the country until their exit was negotiated in 1958. Anti-Americanism was at the core of their shared interests.

That relationship has changed a great deal since the 1970s and 1980s, when China resumed wide-ranging interactions with the United States, began doing business with South Korea, and blanched at the growing personality cult around the North Korean supreme leader. Chinas heralded reform and opening up brought in foreign culture that alarmed North Korean leaders, who also bridled at Deng Xiaopings slowness to accept the principles of hereditary succession that North Korea still clings to today. Nevertheless, the North Koreans stood by Beijing after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and have been reliable supporters at the United Nations in defense of Chinas controversial policies toward Tibet and Taiwan. For China, allies like this may be annoying, but they are hard to come by.

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The notion that China in reality does not want North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons seems misplaced. To be sure, no one in Beijing is losing sleep when Japan  a shared adversary  complains that it feels threatened by North Korea or demands its abducted citizens back. But China does not want to see North Korea sufficiently emboldened that the Kim family again begins itching for kinetic military action against South Korea or the U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula. Chinas support of multiple rounds of international sanctions punishing North Korea is not just theater but a genuine indication of Beijings anger. The problems between Beijing and Pyongyang are real and manageable, not a staged set of contradictions underneath which the North Koreans act as Chinas puppets. Since Chinese troops left North Korea in 1958, Beijing has had limited leverage over the countrys policy direction.

Tillerson and other critics are certainly right that Beijing can bring tremendous economic pressure to bear on North Korea. As North Korean economic cooperation and exchange with South Korea have nosedived, Chinese producers, extractive industries, and even small businesses have filled the gap.

But Beijings latest initiatives may prompt more hostility than cooperation from North Korea. The implications of the massive One Belt, One Road scheme are dire for the North. China has announced grand plans to transform its international frontiers, creating links with those areas via trade and transportation links, including high-speed rail. Along with this infrastructural emphasis come increased cross-border cultural ties on a Chinese basis, including more Confucius Institutes for language teaching, leveraging of overseas Chinese, and further outward migration of Chinese citizens and corporate interests.

This all goes fundamentally against North Koreas mode of economic interaction with China since the late 1950s, which stresses chajusong, or self-reliance, and hedges foreign relations against Chinese trade surplus balances wherever possible. And the North is willing to take shocking moves against China for the sake of preserving that self-reliance. Recent examples include the violent expropriation of the North Korean operations of Haicheng, a huge Chinese steel conglomerate, in 2012 and the sudden execution of Kim Jong Uns uncle Jang Song Thaek, Chinas main interlocutor in the North, in December 2013.

Chinas rise to international power has been meteoric, and its neighbors in Pyongyang have naturally noticed. Watching the Chinese economy take off while North Koreas has tanked at worst, and plateaued at best, has been instructive and probably galling for North Korean leaders. And it is not just North Korean leaders and officials who can see Chinas prosperity  the people of the border region do as well, and Chinese tourists are able to flaunt their wealth in most of North Koreas cities far more prevalently than their Western counterparts. Seouls K-pop gets more press as an instrument of soft-power penetration of North Korea, but Chinese cultural influence is every bit as dangerous for the regime in Pyongyang.

Kim Jong Un has found a middle road in dealing with Chinese economic leverage. Some small amount of investment has been accepted on the margins, but by and large the country has put up a figurative wall against excess Chinese infrastructure or influence penetrating its northern frontier. China was allowed to provide aid after last Septembers cataclysmic floods, but no Chinese army engineers were allowed to build pontoon bridges to besieged North Korean border cities like Musan or Hoeryong. Instead, Kim Jong Un called upon brigades of middle-aged women to pick up displaced railroad ties with their bare hands, working by torchlight. Chinese aid comes with implicit yet distinctive attention to North Koreas own failures.

In 2009, North Korea accepted a de facto sunshine policy from the Chinese Communist Party. Bilateral trade was to be expanded radically; new special economic zones were to be set up along the frontier. A huge new bridge was begun between Dandong in China and Sinuiju in North Korea. North Korean business activity in northeast China and province-province economic ties (including to the Chinese province of Jiangsu) were to be expanded. This activity coincided with a spike in coal exports to China. Today, after an estimated $300 million of Chinese spending and construction, the new bridge exists, but it sits unused. The dazzling plans and drawings of special economic zones abutting China have largely remained just that  plans and drawings displayed in front of what is still farmland.

The reduction of coal exports to China from North Korea will force some adjustments from Pyongyang but will not bring about wholesale change to the relationship. Steady or even enhanced Chinese enforcement of current sanctions would likely revert relations to where they were a few years ago, prior to Wen Jiabaos meetings with Kim Jong Il, rather than seriously worsening them. In the meantime, North Korean minerals interests have made a massive amount of money, and coal can be turned more fully to domestic electricity production to feed Kim Jong Uns various new monumental edifices in Pyongyang.

China remains a site and conduit of possible interaction between the West and North Korea, and that countrys trade with China is probably the greatest source of leverage for political change there. But we should temper our expectations of a broad strategy that could pull down the North Korean regime. Pyongyang might be getting the cold shoulder from Beijing, but that has happened before; it would take much more radical, and unlikely, action to shake a country that prides itself on self-reliance regardless of the cost.

Photo Credit: KNS/AFP/Getty Images
By Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Rattled by North Korean military advances, influential Japanese lawmakers are pushing harder for Japan to develop the ability to strike preemptively at the missile facilities of its nuclear-armed neighbor.

Japan has so far avoided taking the controversial and costly step of acquiring bombers or weapons such as cruise missiles with enough range to strike other countries, relying instead on its U.S. ally to take the fight to its enemies.

But the growing threat posed by Pyongyang, including Monday's simultaneous launch of four rockets, is adding weight to an argument that aiming for the archer rather than his arrows is a more effective defense.

"If bombers attacked us or warships bombarded us, we would fire back. Striking a country lobbing missiles at us is no different," said Itsunori Onodera, a former defense minister who heads a ruling Liberal Democratic Party committee looking at how Japan can defend against the North Korean missile threat. "Technology has advanced and the nature of conflict has changed."

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For decades, Japan has been stretching the limits of its post-war, pacifist constitution. Successive governments have said Tokyo has the right to attack enemy bases overseas when the enemy's intention to attack Japan is evident, the threat is imminent and there are no other defense options.

But while previous administrations shied away from acquiring the hardware to do so, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's LDP has been urging him to consider the step.

"It is time we acquired the capability," said Hiroshi Imazu, the chairman of the LDP's policy council on security. "I dont know whether that would be with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or even the F-35 (fighter bomber), but without a deterrence North Korea will see us as weak."

The idea has faced stiff resistance in the past but the latest round of North Korean tests means Japan may move more swiftly to enact a tougher defense policy.

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We have already done the ground work on how we could acquire a strike capability, said a source with knowledge of Japan's military planning. He asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Any weapon Japan acquired with the reach to hit North Korea would also put parts of China's eastern seaboard within range of Japanese munitions for the first time. That would likely anger Beijing, which is strongly protesting the deployment of the advanced U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea.

"China has missiles that can hit Japan, so any complaints it may have are not likely to garner much sympathy in the international community," said Onodera. GROWING THREATS

Currently, more than three missiles at one would be too many for Japan's already stretched ballistic missile defense to cope with, another source familiar with Japans capability said.

One serious concern for Japan is North Korea's development of solid fuel systems demonstrated last month that will allow it to conceal preparations for missile strikes because it no longer needs fuel its missiles just prior to firing.

That test also demonstrated a cold launch, with the rocket ejected from its launcher before engine ignition, minimizing damage to the mobile launch pads. Japanese officials also noted that the launch truck was equipped with tracks rather than wheels, allowing it to hide off road.

North Korea says its weapons are needed to defend against the threat of attack from the United States and South Korea, which it is still technically at war with.

Japan is already improving its ballistic missile defenses with longer-range, more accurate sea-based missiles on Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan and from next month will start a $1 billion upgrade of its ground-based PAC-3 Patriot batteries.

Also under consideration is a land-based version of the Aegis system or the THAAD system.

Those changes, however, will take years to complete and may not be enough to keep pace with rocket technology advances by Pyongyang, the sources said.

A quicker option would be for Japan to deploy ground-to-ground missiles to defend against an attack on its Yonaguni island near Taiwan fired from bases on Japanese territory several hundred kilometers to the east. A missile with that range could also hit sites in North Korea.

Japan could also buy precision air launched missiles such as Lockheed Martin Corp's extended-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) or the shorter-range Joint Strike missile designed by Norway's Kongsberg Defence Aerospace AS for the F-35 fighter jet.

But with limited capability to track mobile launchers, some Japanese officials still fear any strike would leave North Korea with enough rockets to retaliate with a mass attack.

"A strike could be justified as self defense, but we have to consider the response that could provoke," said another LDP lawmaker, who asked not to be identified. (This story was refiled to correct full name of THAAD in paragraph 10) (Editing by Lincoln Feast)
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday said "all options are on the table" to deal with North Korea and dismissed China's suggestion of a "dual suspension" of U.S. and South Korea military drills and Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests. "We are not dealing with a rational person," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after the United Nations Security Council discussed North Korea's launch of four ballistic missiles on Monday. "It is an unbelievable, irresponsible arrogance that we are seeing coming out of Kim Jong Un at this time," Haley said. She said the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was reevaluating how it would handle North Korea and that "all options were on the table," adding: "We are making those decisions now and we will act accordingly." North Korea fired the missiles into the sea off Japan's coast in response to the annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Pyongyang sees as preparation for war. Pyongyang has fired dozens of missiles and conducted two of its five nuclear tests in the past year in defiance of U.N. resolutions. In a statement sent to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry warned that it would "reduce the bases of aggression and provocation to ashes with its invincible Hwasong rockets tipped with nuclear warheads and reliably defend the security of the country and its people's happiness in case the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces fire even a single bullet at the territory of the DPRK." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that the tests by the North and the joint drills across the border in South Korea were causing tension to increase like two "accelerating trains coming toward each other," suggesting a "dual suspension" to allow all sides to return to negotiations. "We have to see some sort of positive action taken by North Korea before we can ever take them seriously," Haley said when asked about Beijing's proposal. She said the drills had been held annually for 40 years and North Korea was always notified. The Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned North Korea's missile launches and expressed concern over the country's "increasingly destabilising behaviour". North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions aimed at impeding the development of its banned nuclear and missile programs since 2006. "The most important thing is to implement those Security Council resolutions in a comprehensive way, including reducing tensions and also not to do anything to exacerbate tension on the Korean Peninsula," China's U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi said. French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre said on Wednesday that France was also working on proposing new European Union "restrictive measures" on North Korea. He did not give details. North Korea's Foreign Ministry rejected on Wednesday the Security Council statement as "a brigandish act." The U.S. military on Tuesday started to deploy the first elements of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea, which China opposes. Diplomats said China raised the THAAD deployment during Wednesday's closed-door meeting. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Alistair Bell and James Dalgleish)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  The New York Senate voted on Wednesday to withhold state university funding from any student group calling for a boycott of Israel or other "allied nations."

Supporters of the measure say it's a way of showing solidarity with Israel during a time of increasing anti-Semitism. Opponents including the New York Civil Liberties Union and the group Palestine Legal say it would unfairly deprive certain students of public funding based on constitutionally protected political speech.

The bill passed the Republican-led Senate 49-11 and now moves to the Assembly, where it is expected to face significant challenges.

Specifically the bill would prohibit state university funding from going to campus groups that engage in hate speech, a term that in the bill includes calling for a boycott.

"We don't have to stand by and give taxpayer money to groups that sell such hate," said Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-Long Island.

Besides Israel, the anti-boycott bill would cover other NATO countries, South Korea, Japan, Ireland and several Pacific and Latin American treaty signatories.

An attorney with Palestine Legal, Rahul Saksena, said similar bills have popped up in other states but to his knowledge none has been signed into law. He described his organization as one that defends the rights of organizations advocating for "Palestinian freedom."

"Today, by singling out for punishment those who advocate for Palestinian rights, the New York state Senate has sent a message, loud and clear: that New Yorkers cannot count on them to safeguard democracy in the (Republican President Donald) Trump era," he said.

The Senate also passed legislation that would codify into statute an executive order from Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo prohibiting the state from doing business with companies that support a boycott of Israel. That bill also passed the Senate last year but did not proceed through the Assembly.
President Donald Trumps allegations that former President Barack Obama wiretapped the Trump Tower before the 2016 presidential election have not gone down well with the latter, even as Obama refused to respond to Trumps accusatory tweets.

The former president has stayed out of the limelight following Trumps inauguration and decided against replying to the presidents Twitter rampage, an Obama aide told the Wall Street Journal. Obama, who had previously offered to advise the president on issues of governance, was furious at the serious allegations being made against him as they questioned the integrity of the office of president, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.

How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!  wrote Trump in one of the many tweets he posted accusing Obama, without providing any proof to back up his claims.

While Obama did not address the Twitter outburst on his own, a spokesman for the former president released a statement to contest the allegations.

A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice, said Kevin Lewis. As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.

During an appearance on ABC News, former press secretary Josh Earnest said the Trump administration was attempting to distract people from its alleged ties to Russian officials. Earnest said, President Trump is working very hard to try to distract the American public and the news media from the growing scandal about why his administration and why he himself has, at best, not been forthcoming about their talks and their ties with Russia.

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Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

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Wednesday, otherwise known as International Womens Day, will this year become the Day Without a Woman or the International Womens Strike. Its set to be one of the largest anti-Trump collective actions since the Womens March in January and is meant to demonstrate the enduring solidarity of the resistance movement. Organizers, including many who put together the historic post-Inauguration Day march, are asking women to abstain from paid and unpaid work, avoid spending money at big corporations and wear red in solidarity with labor movements.

School districts in North Carolina and Virginia have cancelled classes Wednesday, citing low staff turnout. The main offices of the National Organization for Women, the National Womens Law Center, the Democratic Socialists of America and NARAL Pro-Choice America will be closed so staff can participate. Hollywood talent agency UTA is excusing all female staff members from work, encouraging them to instead attend women-only off-sites where they can discuss gender equality.

But for the major non-profits and labor organizations that helped fuel the energy behind the Womens March, encouraging a strike can be problematic.

Its more of a global solidarity day than a day without a woman,' says Amaya Smith, a spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO, which was a partner in the Womens March. Theres a very definitive definition of what a strike usually encompasses in a workplace, and encouraging people to participate in a day of solidarity is a little different from that.

Planned Parenthood and the Natural Resources Defense Council, both premier partners of the Womens March, will be open on Wednesday. And while many labor organizations have expressed support for the Day Without a Woman and plan to participate in rallies, few have encouraged their members to stay home from work.

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Our doors are open to women who participate in the Womens Strike and we encourage women who are striking to do something healthy for themselves  like get a checkup, says Kelley Robinson, deputy national organizer for Planned Parenthood Federation of America in a statement. The Natural Resource Defense Council will also not close, but plans to support the many ways our staff may choose to honor the day, including participating in the strike or related events or activities, said Jenny Powers, senior director of marketing and media relations.

Nurses unions and teachers unions both came out strong for the Womens March  which drew millions of people to marches around the nation, including at least 470,000 to Washington D.C., roughly triple the size of Trumps inauguration. But the Day Without a Woman is on a weekday, not a Saturday like the Womens March, and many of the labor organizers that supported the March said urging members to walk off the job can be fraught.

Were being very careful and very intentional about how we communicate with our members, says Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, a which was a partner in the Womens March. As a union, we have the ability and the authority to conduct economic strikes. And were being very careful not to do that in any way. She added that the AFT was very careful not to participate in the aspect thats about withholding services. In an email sent out to members on Tuesday, Weingarten urged their 1.6 million members to stand in solidarity by joining an event, wearing red and participating on social media, but did not mention staying home from work.

The 1199 SEIU, which represents health care workers across the East Coast, was also a proud and vocal partner of the Womens March. But the largest health care union in the nation  an industry dominated by women  has chosen to sit out the Day Without a Woman completely. Spokesman Mark Riley said that the union was not officially participating, and that he didnt know whether members were choosing to strike on their own.

The National Domestic Workers Alliance, another partner of the Womens March, chose not to call on workers to strike. With the essential nature of care, its hard for many who are caring for elders or children to take a day off, says NDWA spokeswoman Jennifer Dillon, adding that some members were planning to go to a Women Workers Rising protest in Washington D.C.

The Day Without a Woman organizers say they never expected every woman in America to strike. We are fully aware that to walk off the job is a heavy load, says Janna Pea, a spokeswoman for the organizers. By no means are we pushing women to take off if theyre not in a position to do so. She added that women who couldnt take the day off can wear red and avoid buying from big businesses to show solidarity for those that are striking on your behalf.

But for those who are planning to strike, the Day Without a Woman signals a change in the meaning of International Womens Day, which has traditionally been more about raising awareness than direct political action. International Womens Day had unfortunately become an anodyne happy happy thing, and not really focused on the need for political power, says Terry ONeil, president of the National Organization for Women. Political, policy-focused feminism is coming to the fore, and its hugely popular among women.
At least 15 militants and two soldiers have been killed in two separate gun battles in a relatively peaceful district of Pakistan just northwest of the capital Islamabad, officials said Wednesday.

The shootouts come after a recent resurgence in militant violence, with 130 people killed nationwide in the month of February, ending a lull in Pakistan's long battle against homegrown Islamist fighters.

The two raids took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Swabi district, which is just 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Islamabad and far from the border tribal areas that have been the main battlefront over the course of the insurgency.

Soldiers on Tuesday conducted a raid on a village in the district, triggering a gunfight.

"During exchange of fire Capt Junaid and Sepoy Amjad embraced martyrdom," said a military statement, adding: "Five terrorists killed during the operation."

Security forces stormed a second compound in a nearby village on Wednesday, killing 10 militants, a senior security official told AFP.

No details regarding the second shootout have yet been released, but the incident came to light after police and security forces brought 10 bullet riddled bodies to a local hospital.

"They were militants and killed during an intelligence based operation," the senior security official told AFP.

Separately, the military said that five Taliban militants who had been sentenced to death were executed on Wednesday at a prison in northwestern garrison town of Kohat.

Pakistan created special military courts by constitutional amendment after the country's deadliest ever extremist attack in 2014.

The assault on a school in northwestern Peshawar, in which gunmen killed more than 150 people -- mostly children -- traumatised a country already grimly accustomed to atrocities.

The law allowing secret military courts to try civilians on terror charges expired in January, after the controversial tribunals hanged 12 people and ordered the executions of 149 more amid sharp criticism from rights groups. The government is mulling resuming military courts after a fresh constitutional amendment.

Pakistan's military announced the launch of a nationwide anti-terrorist operation in the wake of the violence last month.

The attacks, most of which were claimed by the Islamic State group or the Pakistani Taliban, dented optimism after the country appeared to be making strong gains in its decade-and-a-half long war on militancy.
The new chief Palestinian envoy to the United States says authorities in the West Bank stand ready to be the ultimate partners in a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

Speaking to media in Ramallah minutes before he was sworn in as the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)s chief representative in Washington on Tuesday, Dr Husam Zomlot said he had faith Trump would listen to both sides in any negotiations.

There are sufficient signs he [Trump] is after the ultimate deal. My task is to explain were the ultimate power, that we have done sufficient investment to be the launchpad for that deal, he said. If President Trump seeks the ultimate deal, he needs to know were the ultimate partners. There will be no deal without us.

Zomlot formally takes up his post in the U.S. on April 1, several months earlier than expected as the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) attempts to capitalize on Trumps early interest in resolving the deteriorating situation in Israel.

Last month, Trump shocked Middle East experts by backing away from the U.S.s 15-year commitment to a two-state solution, which would see a Palestinian state created between Israel and the River Jordan. Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump declared he he can live with either a one or two state resolution.

The idea of a one-state solution is problematic because Palestinians fear they would not be treated equally and could suffer a form of apartheid with few rights and no citizenship. Similarly, Jewish Israelis worry they would be consistently outvoted by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians if full democracy was granted to those living on the West Bank and in Gaza, the coastal strip currently under the rule of the militant Hamas faction.

Trumps early meeting with Netanyahu, who is trying to placate a vocal and increasingly powerful Israeli nationalist movement, worried Palestinians because they thought it signaled the U.S. would favor Israel under his presidency. He has also raised fears by choosing David Friedman as his ambassador to Israel, a pro-settlement hardliner who supports a controversial proposal to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

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However, Zomlot, who was previously strategic affairs adviser to P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas, believes Trumps interest in what the President has called the ultimate deal means his administration would listen carefully to both sides  citing his background as a dealmaker and his appointment of son-in-law Jared Kushner  one of his closest confidantes  as a senior White House adviser on the Middle East.

Zomlot indicated Trump could bring greater impetus to a peace process that has badly stalled. I believe Trump, that he wants a deal the ultimate deal. We believe that through the trajectory of his career, beliefs and tendencies  There is sufficient indication of this from his previous incarnation as a businessman, his book [The Art of the Deal, published in 1987], and, before he was even inaugurated, appointing his son-in-law.

The Palestinian envoy said Trump is right that there are only two boxes  the options of a one or two state solution  available for long-term peace. There is no third box unless that is to accommodate and manage the status quo, but the status quo is not sustainable, he argued. He was speaking to a small group of British journalists in a roundtable organized by BICOM, the Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre.

Zomlots move to Washington in a role that the Palestinians describe as ambassador represents something of a rebranding for the P.A. At 43, he is significantly younger than most of the Fatah politicians who run the P.A., while he has a notably western background. Zomlot was educated at the London School of Economics and still owns an apartment in the northwest of the U.K. capital where there is strong Jewish representation.

He hopes these distinctive characteristics will help him make waves on Capitol Hill and in the State Department. When I go to Washington I want to explain that, firstly, there is a new game in town, he said,  and secondly, there is an assertive voice of reason.

The hardline militants of Hamas are overseeing a desperate state of affairs in Gaza, which is badly struggling from water and electricity shortages and extremely high levels of unemployment. The United Nations has warned Gaza will be uninhabitable by 2020.

A truce between the Fatah and Hamas factions appears unlikely any time soon, but Zomlot warned that time is running out to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians while Gaza residents suffer. He said: While we are looking for a solution, Gaza is melting physically, metaphorically.
By Elida Moreno PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panamanian former dictator, CIA spy and convicted cocaine trafficker Manuel Noriega was in a coma on Tuesday after suffering a hemorrhage from an operation to remove a benign brain tumor, representatives for the 83-year-old said. "He has a major brain hemorrhage and is in serious condition," his daughter Lorena Noriega told reporters outside the Santo Tomas hospital where he was operated on, describing his state as "critical". The ex-Panamanian leader underwent a second operation that stopped the bleeding, his lawyer Ezra Angel said, adding that his client was in an induced coma. Noriega ruled Panama from 1983 to 1989, spying for the Central Intelligence Agency before the United States invaded in 1989, toppling his brutal regime and ending a drug trafficking career that associated him with Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar. Angel said the second operation in eight hours was carried out with "open skull" and that Noriega's high blood pressure may have contributed to the hemorrhage. Noriega was initially sentenced in the United States in 1992 and is currently serving time for murder in Panama. Judicial authorities had granted Noriega a period of house arrest until April 28 to undergo the operation. As military ruler of the Central American country, Noriega made world headlines as his relationship with Washington soured, prompting the United States to send in nearly 28,000 troops to seize Panama City and capture him in a house-to-house hunt. Noriega orchestrated the disappearance of scores of opponents, some of whose bodies later turned up in exhumations at the former Tocumen military base, bound and showing signs of torture. "I hope that one day the country will know the truth about General Noriega, and the families who lost their loved ones can be free, close this chapter and move on," Panama's current President Juan Carlos Varela said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Elida Moreno; Editing by James Dalgleish, Toni Reinhold)
The Panama Papers investigation has this week received its fourth major American journalism prize, the William Brewster Styles Award for Business/Economics Reporting from the Scripps Howard Foundation.

The series, which illuminated offshore tax havens and shook up politicians around the world, was coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, at the time a project of the Center for Public Integrity. The two organizations have since separated. The Styles Award also recognized McClatchy newspapers and the Miami Herald, who were partners in the project.

Journalists from ICIJ, McClatchy, the Herald and more than 100 media partners worked collaboratively to investigate a trove of leaked documents from inside Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in Panama that sells offshore companies and other complex corporate structures.

This story is part of The Panama Papers. Click here to read more stories in this series.

Don't miss another Accountability investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email.

The award judges noted that the project exposed offshore hideaways tied to mega-banks, corporate bribery scandals, drug kingpins, arms traffickers and a network of people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin that shuffled as much as $2 billion around the world. Judges also noted that since the probe, governments and corporations in 79 countries have opened at least 150 inquiries, audits or investigations.

Along with the recognition comes prize money of $10,000. The Scripps Howard Awards celebrate excellence in journalism in a total of 17 categories, with prize money totaling $180,000. The Scripps Howard Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the E. W. Scripps Company. Other winners in this years contest included ProPublica, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, The Oregonian and the East Bay Times.

The Panama Papers series has previously been honored with an Editor & Publisher award, a Polk award and a Barlett & Steele award.

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This story is part of The Panama Papers. Click here to read more stories in this series.

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Copyright 2017 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvanias auditor has an idea to combat the states budget deficit  legalize recreational marijuana.

Eugene DePasquale, the states auditor, said Monday at a news conference that legalizing marijuana could amass at least $200 a year for Pennsylvania, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. His projections are based on Colorado, where legalizing weed brought in nearly $70 million in May 2016.

He did note that it was only one of many ideas he has on how to close the states budget gap, which could be as high as $3 billion for the next two years.

I wasnt necessarily convinced Pennsylvania should be the first, but now that we have actual results and data from other states, the evidence is clear that this can be both good socially and fiscally, Mr. DePasquale said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pennsylvania is one of 17 states with pending legislation that would legalize recreational marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. There are eight states including Massachusetts and California that currently allow small amounts of marijuana for adult-recreational use.
For the first time since being acquitted in 2011 in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, Casey Anthony spoke out in an interview with the Associated Press.

Im okay with myself, I sleep pretty good at night, the 30-year-old, once dubbed the most hated mom in America, said, adding that she feels a kinship with O.J. Simpson.

PEOPLE began covering the case the day after Caylee was reported missing, interviewing more than 200 key players in the case. Here is PEOPLEs cover story from July 4, 2011, just days before the shocking verdict.

For three intense weeks, George and Cindy Anthony alternately listened and testified as the State of Florida methodically laid out a first-degree-murder case against their daughter Casey: Hair samples. Air samples. Damning computer searches for the words chloroform and neck breaking. A climactic star turn by Orange County chief medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavagliaa.k.a. Dr. G of the hit Discovery Health Channel serieswho looked squarely at the jury of seven women and five men and told them in no uncertain terms that Caseys 2-year-old daughter Caylee had been murdered: There is no other logical conclusion. Having heard the states case, do the parents who stood by her for three years before subtly pulling back as the trial began now believe their daughter is guilty? Honestly, I think theyre all over the place with that, says a family friend. What they want, and what theyve always wanted, is to know what happened.

Its a desire shared by the millions of trial watchers who have become hooked on the twisty case, along with the spectators who line up daily for a chance to see the drama and its key players up close. Message boards are flooded with angry posts calling for Caseys conviction. Meanwhile the 25-year-old defendant has displayed everything from scowls to sobs to stone-faced indifference as she sits beneath the words emblazoned high in the courtroom: Equal Justice Under The Law. Yet despite riveting testimony from more than 30 witnesses and 315 pieces submitted into evidence, the mystery surrounding Caylee Marie Anthonys disappearance on June 16, 2008, largely remains as vexing as ever. Among the unanswered questions when prosecutors rested their case in a tension-filled Orlando courtroom on June 15: When exactly did Caylee die? Where did she die? If, as the state claims, she was murdered by her motherwhy? And perhaps the most surprising question of all: Could Casey Anthony possibly the most hated woman in America right nowpossibly go free?

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Quite simply: yes. This is definitely not a slam-dunk case, says Karin Moore, a former criminal-defense attorney and law professor at Florida A&M University. The state doesnt have an eyewitness. They dont have a confession, so most of the evidence is circumstantial. An acquittalor a conviction on a lesser chargeis hardly far-fetched. There are gaps in the prosecutions theories, and the jury will notice them, says New York City defense attorney Stuart Slotnick. A prosecution source counters that the evidence against Casey is substantial and sufficient. People hear circumstantial and think that means its a weak case, the source says of the evidence, which ranges from the location of Caylees remains to duct tape placed over her nose and mouth (see page 53). But what it means is that we built a case using a lot of evidence. There is no one smoking gun.

The jury may not see it that way. Sequestered and cut off from friends, family and all media coverage of the case, theres an enormous amount of pressure on them, says Dr. Philip K. Anthony, a top trial consultant. Seated some 15 feet directly across the artificially lit courtroom from the defendant six days a week, theyre quizzical about Casey herself, he says. Shes fairly poised when she needs to be and emotional when she needs to be. Theyre probably very interested in that. Confined to a solitary cell in prison (see box), she commands the spotlight in court: On June 14, she riveted onlookers when she pointedly looked away after her mother mouthed I love you upon leaving the stand. She does love Casey, the Anthony family friend says of Cindy. Casey is her daughter. Both George and Cindy love her unconditionally.

Yet they both listened as defense attorney Jose Baez stunned the courtroom in his opening arguments with claimsyet to be solidifiedthat Caylee accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool and that Caseys father, George, had helped cover up the death after years of sexually abusing Casey. (George has denied both claims.) Now that the defense is under way, the jury will be paying close attention to whether those bombshells are backed up with hard evidence. Baez made a promise: Youre going to hear that Casey was sexually abused,' says assistant state attorney Stacey Honowitz. Now the defense is in a situation where they have to prove something.

Of course, the burden of proof rests with the prosecution, not the defense. And the multitude of photos showing a fun-loving Casey partying in the weeks following Caylees disappearance may not be enough to establish a motive for the murderor that Casey had planned it in advance. Party pictures can prove that she was out partying later but not that she intentionally killed , says Karin Moore. Nor is the wealth of testimony exposing Caseys astonishing web of liesincluding the 30 days she kept Caylees disappearance a secretsurefire proof that she killed her daughter. Being a liar does not mean shes a murderer, says Slotnick. It means shes an unlikable liar. Still, should Casey be called to testify by the defensesomething experts say is necessary to beef up her claim of sexual abuseher credibility has already been attacked, says Moore. If she decides to testify, that will hurt her.

Regardless of whether Casey testifies, the prosecution source says the state is confident she will not walk away a free woman. The evidence is there, says the source. Her actions are there. Her own words are there. I dont like to look at it like win or lose, because, as the judge says, this is not just a game. I believe we have a solid case.

Ultimately, of course, the decision rests with the five men and seven women seated attentivelyand most often impassivelyin the jury box who must agree unanimously on a verdict. No one knows what the jurors are going to do, in part because the jurors themselves dont know, says Dr. Philip K. Anthony. They are looking over at Casey and trying to figure out: Who is she?' As with the other perplexing questions surrounding CaseyAnthony, the answer remains, for now, stubbornly out of reach.




Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay was sacked on Wednesday after lawmakers ruled he lied to them over his American citizenship, ending an eight-month stint that ironically featured outbursts against the United States.

In an extremely rare move, members of a congressional body unanimously voted to reject Yasay's nomination as foreign secretary following tense confirmation hearings in which he admitted to misleading the lawmakers.

"He was not telling the truth. He was not being forthright in the question and answer portion of the (confirmation) hearings," Senator Panfilo Lacson told reporters after announcing the decision.

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Yasay, a former roommate at university decades ago, at the start of his administration on June 30 last year.

Following the Commission on Appointments' ruling, Duterte's spokesman released a statement confirming Yasay would step down, saying the president would announce an acting foreign secretary.

Yasay told an initial confirmation hearing last month that he had never been an American citizen.

But on Wednesday Yasay faced the commission again and was grilled over documents that showed he obtained US citizenship in 1986.

The documents also showed Yasay renounced the American citizenship at the US embassy in Manila days before his appointment as foreign secretary.

Yasay, who worked as an immigration lawyer while living in the United States, insisted he never lied about his citizenship but apologised for "inadvertently misleading" the commission.

"I may not have fully disclosed what was required in my answering this question but this is really normal in a process like this," Yasay said.

"You get nervous, you somehow come up with answers that you do not intend."

Lacson said Yasay could not be reappointed and warned he may face perjury charges.

Duterte is now left with finding a new top diplomat at an important time for the Philippines while it holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. A summit of ASEAN leaders will be held in Manila next month.

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Duterte's spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said an announcement on an acting foreign secretary would be made "forthwith", without specifying when.

The revelations that Yasay had US citizenship are ironic given the president's repeated anti-American tirades.

Yasay also regularly criticised the United States as he helped steer Duterte's foreign policy away from the Philippines' former colonial ruler and towards China instead.

"We cannot forever be the little brown brothers of America," Yasay said last year.

Yasay also posted a long statement on Facebook in October headlined: "America has failed us".

"Breaking away from the shackling dependency of the Philippines to effectively address both internal and external security threats has become imperative in putting an end to our nation's subservience to United States' interests," Yasay wrote.
By Enrico Dela Cruz MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine lawmakers dismissed a close ally of President Rodrigo Duterte as foreign minister on Wednesday, citing "compelling issues" about his qualifications and his failure to prove he was not a U.S. citizen when he took the job. The Commission on Appointments unanimously decided not to approve Perfecto Yasay as minister, hours after a confirmation hearing in which he was grilled about his citizenship and inconsistent statements made during television interviews and to legislators while under oath. Yasay has been foreign minister since Duterte took office in June last year. In the Philippines, confirmation hearings can take place long after ministers start work. The U.S.-educated lawyer, a former classmate of the president and member of his inner circle, was the first casualty in Duterte's eight-month-old Cabinet. It is not clear who will replace Yasay in what is a crucial role for a government aggressively pursuing tighter business and defence ties with China, Russia and Japan. The Philippines is also chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations. Panfilo Lacson, head of the commission's foreign affairs panel, said Yasay's close relationship with the president was no guarantee he should keep his job and said his conflicting comments under oath raised questions about his honesty. "It was the view ... that he was not telling the truth," Lacson told reporters. "He was not forthright in the question-and-answer portion of the hearings." Yasay was not present for the decision and an aide who answered his telephone said there would be no immediate statement. 'NERVOUS' TESTIMONY Numerous allegations have been made against Yasay but the main point was whether he was a U.S. citizen at the time of his appointment on June 30 last year. Yasay has denied being a U.S. citizen, and said that although he was granted citizenship in the 1980s, he was disqualified because he had acquired it with a prior intent to renounce it and return to live in the Philippines. He said his repeated use of a Philippine passport to visit the United States was "tacit acceptance" by Washington that he was not an American. However, records of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service suggests Yasay may have held U.S. citizenship when he became foreign minister. The U.S. Federal Register last month published names of individuals who had lost citizenship, whose information had been received "during the final quarter" of 2016. Yasay's statements to the committee on Wednesday were loaded with legalese, lengthy and at times, confusing. He apologised to lawmakers and said he had not sought to deceive them. "I did not lie. I may not have fully disclosed what was required ... but this is really no fun in a process like this," he said. "You get nervous. You somehow come up with answers that you do not intend, and I apologise for that." No conclusion was made by the committee as to whether or not Yasay was a U.S. citizen while foreign secretary. The hearing also questioned whether the issue of his naturalisation meant he had broken the law by serving as senator, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and running for vice president in 2010. (Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)
By Enrico Dela Cruz MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine lawmakers dismissed a close ally of President Rodrigo Duterte as foreign minister on Wednesday, citing "compelling issues" about his qualifications and his failure to prove he was not a U.S. citizen when he took the job. The Commission on Appointments unanimously decided not to approve Perfecto Yasay as minister, hours after a confirmation hearing in which he was grilled about his citizenship and inconsistent statements made during television interviews and to legislators while under oath. Yasay has been foreign minister since Duterte took office in June last year. In the Philippines, confirmation hearings can take place long after ministers start work. The U.S.-educated lawyer, a former classmate of the president and member of his inner circle, was the first casualty in Duterte's eight-month-old Cabinet. It is not clear who will replace Yasay in what is a crucial role for a government aggressively pursuing tighter business and defense ties with China, Russia and Japan. The Philippines is also chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations. Panfilo Lacson, head of the commission's foreign affairs panel, said Yasay's close relationship with the president was no guarantee he should keep his job and said his conflicting comments under oath raised questions about his honesty. "It was the view ... that he was not telling the truth," Lacson told reporters. "He was not forthright in the question-and-answer portion of the hearings." Yasay was not present for the decision and an aide who answered his telephone said there would be no immediate statement. 'NERVOUS' TESTIMONY Numerous allegations have been made against Yasay but the main point was whether he was a U.S. citizen at the time of his appointment on June 30 last year. Yasay has denied being a U.S. citizen, and said that although he was granted citizenship in the 1980s, he was disqualified because he had acquired it with a prior intent to renounce it and return to live in the Philippines. He said his repeated use of a Philippine passport to visit the United States was "tacit acceptance" by Washington that he was not an American. However, records of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service suggests Yasay may have held U.S. citizenship when he became foreign minister. The U.S. Federal Register last month published names of individuals who had lost citizenship, whose information had been received "during the final quarter" of 2016. Yasay's statements to the committee on Wednesday were loaded with legalese, lengthy and at times, confusing. He apologized to lawmakers and said he had not sought to deceive them. "I did not lie. I may not have fully disclosed what was required ... but this is really no fun in a process like this," he said. "You get nervous. You somehow come up with answers that you do not intend, and I apologize for that." No conclusion was made by the committee as to whether or not Yasay was a U.S. citizen while foreign secretary. The hearing also questioned whether the issue of his naturalization meant he had broken the law by serving as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and running for senator and for vice president. (Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Ottawa (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife set off a social media firestorm on Tuesday, the eve of International Women's Day, by suggesting that men should be celebrated too.

"As we mark International Women's Day, let's celebrate the boys and men in our lives who encourage us to be who we truly are, who treat girls & women with respect," Sophie Gregoire Trudeau wrote on her Instagram account.

She posted a photo of herself and her husband -- who proudly declares himself a feminist -- showing them holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes.

Gregoire Trudeau urged women to post a photo with their male ally.

Joining in this way could help "create a movement that inspires more men to join the fight to build a better tomorrow with equal rights & opportunities for everyone... because #EqualityMatters," she wrote.

Her post attracted plenty of blunt criticism.

"I've never had to have my hand held," conservative MP Michelle Rempel tweeted. "Women's day is about women, not men!!"

A woman from Vancouver added, "This is so problematic I don't even know where to start.

"International women's day is a day to celebrate intersectional feminism and acknowledge the strides women have taken for equality while simultaneously acknowledging the active misogyny women and women identified individuals encounter on a daily basis. It is NOT a day about men."

Gregoire Trudeau seemed to take the criticism in stride, saying in a post Tuesday night, "Well, now we're having a conversation!"

"Our goal is gender equality, and fighting for it is going to require men and women working together -- raising our boys and girls to make a difference, hand-in-hand. This is about recognizing that we should be allies on this journey," she said.
Warsaw (AFP) - Poland's prime minister on Wednesday stressed her opposition to compatriot Donald Tusk's re-election as EU president on the eve of a European summit overshadowed by the row.

The rightwing Beata Szydlo accused the liberal Tusk of having "brutally violated" the rule of "political neutrality" by becoming involved in domestic political disputes.

The attack on Tusk, made in a letter to governments of the 28-member bloc, came a day ahead of a Brussels summit where leaders were expected to rubberstamp a new two-year mandate for the former Polish premier.

Since winning power in October 2015 elections, Szydlo's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government has pushed through a string of controversial reforms that triggered mass protests at home and an EU threat of sanctions over rule of law violations.

"We can't allow a dangerous precedent where the democratically elected government of a member country is politically attacked by the president of the European Council," Szydlo said in the letter, stopping short of citing Tusk by name.

Poland's eurosceptic government on Saturday proposed MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski as its official candidate to replace Tusk.

So far Poland has won support only from Hungary -- led by the outspoken, anti-immigration Viktor Orban.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the PiS party chief who is widely regarded as Poland's most powerful politician, on Tuesday called arch-rival Tusk "Germany's candidate" for EU president.

Known for his anti-German rhetoric, Kaczynski also said that "Germany is too weak a state to play the role of EU leader."

EU leaders meet Thursday in Brussels for a two-day summit focused on charting a future course for the bloc after Britain leaves.

They are at odds over the contents of a declaration they hope to make on the EU's post-Brexit future at a summit in Rome later this month marking the EU's 60th birthday.

Big guns like Germany and France back a "multi-speed Europe" in which some members could deepen integration faster than others, but Eastern nations like Poland strongly oppose it.
Berlin (AFP) - German police admitted Wednesday they had falsely linked two high-profile crimes -- an unsolved child murder and a neo-Nazi cell's killing spree -- because investigators accidentally contaminated DNA evidence.

Police last October reported that genetic material found near the skeleton of nine-year-old schoolgirl Peggy Knobloch, who went missing in 2001, matched that of the late neo-Nazi gunman Uwe Boehnhardt.

This seemed to connect the child's death to the 2000-2007 racist murder spree on the National Socialist Underground, far-right militants who shot dead nine men with migrant roots and a policewoman.

But it has now been established that the DNA found near the girl's corpse was in fact inadvertently transferred there through "police equipment" from Boehnhardt's corpse, said prosecutor Daniel Goetz.

Boehnhardt and his accomplice Uwe Mundlos had died five years ago in an apparent murder-suicide following a botched bank robbery.

It remained unclear which piece of police equipment had been used in both cases, Goetz said, but media reports have pointed at a measuring stick police use on crime scenes.

Something like that "should not have happened," admitted Uwe Ebner, who leads a special inquiry into the child murder.

Knobloch vanished on her way home from school in 2001 near her home, in a high-profile case that captivated the nation.

Hundreds of police and soldiers scoured the area for weeks, but her remains were only found in July last year, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from her home, by a mushroom picker.

After her death, a man with a learning disability spent more than 10 years in jail for her murder before he was exonerated and released, as police resumed the search for her murderer.
A major manhunt is underway for a teenager suspected of killing a 9-year-old boy and then posting photos and video of the childs body online, German police said.

Officers alerted by a tip searched the basement of a house in Herne and discovered the boys body, a police spokesman told The Associated Press.

Read: 8-Year-Old Shot and Killed Moments After Car Crash, Cops Searching for Suspects

The child and 19-year-old suspect Marcel Hesse were neighbors, authorities said.

Hesse posted the disturbing photos and video to the "Darknet,"  a cyberspace hideout sometimes used for posting criminal acts, police said.

The teen appeared to be gloating as he stood next to the victims body while displaying bloodied hands, police said.

The images "left even the investigators stunned," a regional interior minister told the wire service.

Hesse was clearly identifiable in the photos, police said.

One of the images has since been posted on social networking sites.

Read: Police Searching for Suspects After Teen Killed While Protecting His Mom During Robbery

Helicopters and sniffer dogs were part of the search effort to find Hesse, police said. The suspect has no previous criminal record, they said.

Hesse knows martial arts and may be armed, authorities said. Members of the public were warned to stay away from the teen, and asked that anyone who sees him to call police.

Watch: 3-Year-Old Boy Dies After He Was Allegedly Beaten by Mom's Boyfriend

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MEDINA, Ohio (AP)  Police say a northeast Ohio man apparently fatally shot his pregnant girlfriend at her home before killing himself, leaving a gruesome scene discovered by the woman's mother and son.

Medina (meh-DY'-nuh) police say 36-year-old Julie Young and 43-year-old Cedric Jones were found dead Monday afternoon.

Police Lt. Dave Birckbichler tells the Akron Beacon Journal that the pair reportedly had a volatile, on-and-off relationship and investigators were trying to figure out where that stood. Birckbichler says the deaths left Young's family with many questions, but it's basically a closed case for police.

Young's father, Philip Duke, tells Cleveland.com that his daughter was a caring mother of two boys from a previous relationship and that her boyfriend didn't want to have a baby.
LUCKNOW, India (AP)  Police said Wednesday they had killed a man suspected of masterminding the bombing of a passenger train that injured eight people this week in India.

An anti-terrorist police squad engaged the suspect in an 11-hour gunbattle overnight, after tracking him down at the home of a Muslim cleric in the city of Lucknow, according to senior police official A. Satish Ganesh in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Ganesh identified the slain suspect as Saifullah, and said he was wanted in connection with Tuesday's train blast near Bhopal in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Indian police on Tuesday arrested and questioned four suspects in Madhya Pradesh, leading to tips that drove police in Uttar Pradesh to arrest two more suspects in the city of Kanpur, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Lucknow.

The suspects said they had been hired by a man called Saifullah, whom they said was a sympathizer of the Islamic State terror group and was hiding in a Muslim neighborhood in Lucknow.

Police said Saifullah refused to surrender and fired on them with an automatic weapon.

Ganesh said items recovered from the cleric's house included an Islamic State flag, six mobile phones and detailed sketches of railway stations in the cities of New Delhi, Lucknow, Agra and Bangalore.

The incident came amid state elections in Uttar Pradesh, the results of which are expected Saturday.
Photo credit: Getty

From ELLE

On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order that will temporarily stop entry to the United States for people from six countries, all of which are majority Muslim (Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen). The executive order is a revised version of the previous order, which was thrown out in court.

Though there are some differences in the 90-day ban, like exempting people who have current visas already and dropping Iraq from its banned-countries list, critics called it simply a rewritten version of his previous travel ban. Below, see just some of the reactions from both politicians and celebrities, who have called the order discriminatory and even illegal.

Americans need to know that this latest Exec Order has absolutely nothing to do with national security. It is still a ban. #MuslimBan2 - Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 6, 2017

Version 2 of the ban still targets Muslims, still inspires more terrorism, still violates our founding principles. Oh, and still illegal. https://t.co/b80kX16G2D - Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 6, 2017

The new Muslim ban is still a Muslim ban. #MuslimBan2



ACLU comment: https://t.co/rigBKhNEGw https://t.co/p7oxSEYnTj - ACLU National (@ACLU) March 6, 2017

The stroke of a pen in Washington will never change New York's values. https://t.co/bv0Z2nxYrD - Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) March 6, 2017

This is unamerican and will backfire, and has nothing to do with safety. They said it was urgent, then delayed a week for PR timing. Sick. - Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) March 6, 2017

This is the same ban, with the same purpose, driven by the same discrimination that weakens our fight against terror https://t.co/kulZNQU5bo - Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) March 6, 2017

The American people should not be fooled #Trump's 2nd attempt at a #MuslimBan: it still cruelly blocks refugees & it is still unAmerican. https://t.co/l4w9xZbKP9 - Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) March 6, 2017

.@POTUS told Americans 37.5 million people in Iraq were dangerous. He was just kidding. Shows how arbitrary & capricious he is. #MuslimBan2 - Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 6, 2017

Trump only issued a "new" travel ban because he can't stand that he lost on the old one. This is about his ego, not about our security. - George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 6, 2017

Oh look, another travel ban. If the first movie is a massive flop, there usually isn't a sequel right away. There's no Waterworld 2. - Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) March 6, 2017

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A far-right website loyal to Donald Trump says a so-called Deep State is the force behind a covert resistance to the new President. White House aides reportedly blame it for the daily stream of leaks that have kept Trumps team on the defensive since before he even took office.

But what is the so-called Deep State?

To allies of Trump in the conservative media and on Capitol Hill, it is an organized resistance within the government, working to subvert his presidency. They blame career bureaucrats, many of whom they see as loyal to former President Barack Obama, for leaking damaging information to the news media.

But until recently, Deep State was a term mainly used outside the United States, and generally associated with authoritarian regimes like Turkey and Egypt. And government experts are skeptical one exists in America.

This is a dark conspiratorial view that is being pushed by [top Trump strategist] Steve Bannon, his allies at Breitbart and some others in the conservative movement that is trying to delegitimize the opposition to Trump in many quarters and pass the blame to others, said David Gergen, who has advised presidents in both parties.

Heres what you need to know amidst all the chatter about a Deep State.

What is a Deep State?

The term, which emerged toward the end of the 20th century, was originally used to describe a shadow government in Turkey that disseminated propaganda and engaged in violence to undermine the governing party, often coordinating with people who were not part of the government.

When we say Deep State it has this really sinister pernicious meaning, said Nate Schenkaan, a project director at Freedom House  which advocates for democratic, political and human rights  and author of Democracy in Crisis: Corruption, Media and Power in Turkey.[It] included mafia leaders organizing military leaders to attack minorities, to kill and torture people, and they were used by elements of the state because it gave the state ways to get around the legal structure.

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Mike Lofgren, a former longtime Republican congressional staffer and author of The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government, has used the term in the context of American politics, albeit in a much less physically threatening way: to describe members of the public and private sectors who influence government policy, including career public servants in the intelligence community. Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who reported on Edward Snowdens NSA leaks, has also used the term in reference to U.S. politics. The Deep State unleashed its tawdriest and most aggressive assault yet on Trump, he wrote in January, after revelations that Trump was briefed that Russia could have compromising information about him.

What has the Trump Administration and its allies said about a Deep State?

Trump himself hasnt used the phrase in public. Most references from the President himself have been more subtle, alluding to conspiracy theories, like Saturdays tweet-storm accusing Obama  without any evidence  of wiretapping Trump Tower before the election, or pondering on social media why intelligence officials are apparently leaking information to the media. What Trump accused Obama of would be a federal crime and there are safeguards in place to prevent Presidents from ordering this kind of surveillance.

The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security "leakers" that have permeated our government for a long time. They can't even  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2017

find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2017

Other reports, including a recent one in the Washington Post, suggest that people close to Trump believe these longtime government workers amount to a Deep State that could threaten his presidency.

A phrase I keep hearing from Trump ally after Trump ally: "deep state." Growing belief inside WH that elements of I.C. aligned against them.  Robert Costa (@costareports) March 5, 2017

Breitbart, the far-right website Bannon used to run, has published numerous articles about an alleged Deep State aligned against Trump, including one recapping conservative radio host Mark Levins theory that Obama loyalists are waging a silent coup against Trump. That article was widely speculated to be the source of Trumps wiretapping accusation against Obama.

Congressional allies have used the term as well.

We are talking about the emergence of a Deep State led by Barack Obama, and that is something that we should prevent, Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King told the New York Times. And Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said on CNN that the government is trying to provoke Trump into a conflict with Russia. I think its really the Deep State versus the President, the duly elected President, he said.

OK, but does this really amount to a Deep State?

Experts said that using the term this way  rendering a federal bureaucracy synonymous with a Deep State  not only deviates from its original intention, but isnt describing a sinister or even a new dynamic. Career civil servants, whose appointments are non-political, have always played a big role in formulating policy. And theyve always leaked details of said policy to the media. Senior members of the Trump White House also regularly leak favorable information and go off-the-record with reporters, despite their protestations about leaks.

[The White House] is taking a sexy term that means something very real in an environment in which there has been a lot of violence associated with this term and were applying it to stuff thats pretty normal in terms of a large bureaucracy, said Schenkaan, the Freedom House project director. These are state employees and they have been implementing their jobs faithfully for a long time.

Timur Kuran, a professor at Duke University who has also studied the dynamic in Turkey, said that leaks would only be evidence of a Deep State if there was definitive proof they were all interconnected and connected to a conspiratorial plot. There is no evidence of that.

[Leaks are] evidence of people upset with the bureaucracy and upset with individual policies, but doesnt in itself point to an organizational hierarchy to systematically undermine the government, Kuran said.

Gergen noted that Trump came into office with a mandate to rip up the old model of government  the same model in which many of these civil servants have spent their entire careers  so its only natural there would be pushback.

Changing the status quo is hard and hes finding it is harder than it looks to change the culture of government, Gergen said. But that doesnt mean there is some sort of conspiracy going on.
Photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESSAP / Associated Press

From Cosmopolitan

Photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESSAP / Associated Press

President Donald Trump's revised travel ban will temporarily halt entry to the U.S. for people from six Muslim-majority nations who are seeking new visas, though allowing those with current visas to travel freely, according to a fact sheet obtained Monday by the Associated Press.

The White House confirmed that Trump signed the new executive order Monday morning. The directive aims to address legal issues with the original order, which caused confusion at airports, sparked protests around the country, and was ultimately blocked by federal courts.

The revised order is narrower and specifies that a 90-day ban on people from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen does not apply to those who already have valid visas. The White House also dropped Iraq from the list of targeted countries, following pressure from the Pentagon and State Department, which had urged the White House to reconsider, given Iraq's role in fighting the Islamic State group.

The fact sheet cites negotiations that resulted in Iraq agreeing to "increase cooperation with the U.S. government on the vetting of its citizens applying for a visa to travel to the United States." An Iraqi spokesman said the change marks a "positive step" and shows the countries have a "real partnership."

A fact sheet detailing the order was distributed to lawmakers and obtained by the AP.

The mere existence of a fact sheet signaled that the White House was taking steps to improve the rollout of the reworked directive. The initial measure was hastily signed at the end of Trump's first week in office, and the White House was roundly criticized for not providing lawmakers, Cabinet officials, and others with information ahead of the signing.

Notably, Trump did not hold a public signing ceremony for the new measure. Instead, several Cabinet secretaries - Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions - planned to discuss the order at an event late Monday morning.

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Press Secretary Sean Spicer is not scheduled to hold an on-camera briefing Monday either, leading to the appearance that the president was distancing himself from the order, which was a signature issue during his campaign and the first days of his presidency. The order also risks being overshadowed by unsubstantiated accusations the president made over the weekend that former President Barack Obama had ordered the wiretapping of his phone during the campaign.

Trump administration officials say that even with the changes, the goal of the new order is the same as the first: keeping would-be terrorists out of the United States while the government reviews the vetting system for refugees and visa applicants from certain parts of the world.

According to the fact sheet, the Department of Homeland Security will conduct a country-by-country review of the information the six targeted nations provide to the U.S. for visa and immigration decisions. Those countries will then have 50 days to comply with U.S. government requests to update or improve that information.

Additionally, Trump's order suspends the entire U.S. refugee program for 120 days, though refugees already formally scheduled for travel by the State Department will be allowed entry. When the suspension is lifted, the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. will be capped at 50,000 for fiscal year 2017.

Other changes are also expected, including no longer singling out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban. Syrian refugees will now be treated like other refugees and be subjected to the 120-day suspension of the refugee program.

The new version is also expected to remove language that would give priority to religious minorities. Critics had accused the administration of adding such language to help Christians get into the United States while excluding Muslims.

"I think people will see six or seven major points about this executive order that do clarify who was covered," said presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway in an interview with Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends.

She said the new order will not go into effect until March 16, despite earlier warnings from the president and his team that any delay in implementation would pose a national security risk, allowing dangerous people to flow into the country.

Legal experts say the new order addresses some of the constitutional concerns raised by a federal appeals court about the initial ban but leaves room for more legal challenges.

"It's much clearer about how it doesn't apply to groups of immigrants with more clearly established constitutional rights," said University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck. "That's a really important step."

Removing language that would give priority to religious minorities helps address concerns that the initial ban was discriminatory but its continued focus on Muslim-majority countries leaves the appearance that the order is a "Muslim ban," Vladeck said.

"There's still going to be plenty of work for the courts to do," he said.

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PITTSBURGH (AP)  A woman accused of drowning her two young sons in a bathtub had tried to kill the boys before by leaving one in a hot vehicle and by running over both with her van while they were tied up with twine, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Laurel Schlemmer is charged with killing 6-year-old Daniel and 3-year-old Luke in April 2014 so she could focus on raising their older brother, who was then 7. Prosecutors at Schlemmer's bench trial are seeking a first-degree murder conviction, which carries life in prison.

After walking the eldest boy to a school bus stop, Schlemmer walked back to her house planning how she'd kill his brothers that day because she was "fixated that Daniel and Luke were not normal children"  even though they were  and that she'd be a better mother if the younger boys were "in heaven," Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrino told the judge in her opening statement.

Schlemmer's attorney, Michael Machen, didn't make an opening statement. But in a pretrial discussion with the judge, he made it clear that he'll try to prove Schlemmer was insane or operating under diminished mental capacity.

Schlemmer, 43, was sworn in, suggesting Machen plans to call her as a witness. The attorneys are under a gag order and can't speak about the trial or their strategy outside the courtroom.

But Pellegrini told the judge evidence of the past attempts on Daniel's and Luke's lives  and other evidence from the drowning scene  will prove Schlemmer planned their deaths.

Among other things, Pellegrini played a recording of a 911 call in which Schlemmer told a dispatcher she had let the boys play in the bathtub while she "went to the restroom and took longer than I should have or planned and, when I came back, they were unconscious."

McCandless Township Officer Todd Ray testified that the boys had been dried off and were lying next to each other by the time he arrived. Only their hair was damp, and it appeared to have been combed, he testified.

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Schlemmer, meanwhile, had changed into dry clothes before calling 911, Pellegrini said.

Pellegrini contends Schlemmer had put each boy face-down in the tub, then sat on them until they were unresponsive. Luke died that day and Daniel died four days later. The medical examiner ruled both drowned.

Their father, Mark, was at work at the time. He sat in the courtroom, sometime hunched over, his eyes red. He shook his head when Schlemmer said she understood her rights and had been found mentally competent to stand trial after several stints in a state hospital.

Ross Township Officer Michael Thomas testified he was called to a mall lot in September 2009 after security workers found Daniel in a parked vehicle. Thomas used a heat sensor to determine the vehicle was 112 degrees inside and said the boy had been inside about 20 minutes. He also said, however, that the front windows were open about 6 inches each and that he was able to reach inside to unlock a door.

Schlemmer was ticketed for leaving Daniel alone in the car.

Other witnesses testified to an April 2013 incident at Schlemmer's parents' house, where she backed her van over Daniel and Luke.

Police and a hospital nurse said the boys had tire tracks on their abdomens. The boys were treated for various broken bones, but police and county child welfare caseworkers never determined exactly how and why the boys were run over.
Washington (AFP) - The first public hearing into Russian interference in the US election will take place on March 20, with top intelligence officials invited to take the stand in Congress on the snowballing controversy.

Devin Nunes, the chair of the House of Representatives intelligence committee which is probing the allegations dogging the government of President Donald Trump, announced the hearing on Tuesday.

Top US intelligence officials including FBI director James Comey, NSA director Mike Rogers, former CIA director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former acting attorney general Sally Yates have been invited to take part, he said.

"I want to conduct as many of these hearings in open in the public," said Nunes.

"That's a little rare for the intelligence committees to do," he noted, saying he was taking the step "because of the seriousness of the accusations involved on all sides."

The panel will examine a wide range of subjects related to Russia's activities, including contacts by members of Trump's campaign with Russian officials; alleged leaks by US intelligence officials on the matter to media; and Trump's accusation Saturday that former president Barack Obama had US intelligence or law enforcement wiretap his Trump Tower in New York.

US intelligence agencies have publicly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of masterminding the operation to interfere in last year's election, but there remain huge questions over media reports saying Trump aides and advisors had regular contact with Russian officials during the campaign.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has already held closed-door hearings into the matter, but nothing has been reported from those sessions publicly.

Democrats are meanwhile demanding the Justice Department name an independent prosecutor to investigate, fearing that politics could taint any probes by Congress or the department.

Earlier Tuesday Democrats pressed Trump's nominee for deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, to confirm that he would back a special independent prosecutor if the facts supported it.

If confirmed in the job Rosenstein would likely be the one to decide, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions had to recuse himself from any Russia-related investigations last week because of his own meetings with Russia's ambassador to Washington last year.
Women in more than 50 countries worldwide are participating in the Women's Strike on International Women's Day to loudly shout about the issues that matter to them.

SEE ALSO: How to participate in the Women's Strike if you can't skip work

As part of the International Women's Strike  also called A Day Without a Woman  women around the world are skipping paid and unpaid work on March 8 to call for gender equality, labour rights, reproductive health access and an end to domestic violence.

Women from Australia to Guatemala are taking part in the strike, and the reasons for striking vary from country to country.

Mashable interviewed women around the world to find out why the strike is important to women of their country.

UK

Screen on the Green cinema in Islington displays a message for International Women's Day, London.

Image: Jeff Blackler/REX/Shutterstock

Women across the UK skipped work as part of the strike and many showed their support for the strike through individual actions.

The organisers of the UK Women's Strike stated in a blog post that the strike aimed to show solidarity with women across the globe, to stand up for economic justice.

Mothers and children gathered in Parliament Square in London to call for a living wage for mothers and carers.

Mothers & children are the majority of the casualties of war! #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/gFxHdAuxNV  GlobalWomenStrike (@WomenStrike) March 8, 2017

UK-based Krzysia Balinska said she's striking because she feels uncomfortable going back to Poland, her home country, due to its strict anti-abortion laws. But she's also striking to raise awareness of issues faced by women in Britain.

"I'm striking because the British government has drastically cut the funding to domestic violence services, and justified it by the 'necessary austerity measures'," says Balinska.

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On March 8 join the worldwide day of action #ADayWithoutAWoman https://t.co/wQcaD18a2Z pic.twitter.com/u3SxJ3bic0  Women's March London (@womensmarchlon) February 19, 2017

"I'm striking because there is no quality sexual education in Poland, and access to contraception is being limited.

"I'm hoping to draw attention to the reproductive justice  or the lack of it  in many countries which sadly includes my native Poland. I'm hoping that one day starting a family in my country could be an option, because it isn't for now," Balinska said.

IRELAND

Women in Ireland are striking to urge the government to repeal the Eighth Amendment, a constitutional ban on abortion which only permits women whose pregnancies put their lives at risk to have access to safe, legal abortion services. This constitutional ban means that abortion isn't permitted in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities.

"Since 1983, access to abortion has been unavailable here in Ireland due to the Eighth Amendment. Consequently, Ireland is one of only two countries in the world  alongside Chile  where abortion is dealt with in a nation's constitution," says Eoin, one of the organisers of Ireland's "Strike4Repeal".

"People in Ireland are tired of the issue being sidelined by successive governments. Strike 4 Repeal exists to demonstrate the palpable anger a huge number of people here feel towards being denied bodily autonomy in 2017," Eoin continues.

FRANCE

Women in France are striking for equality in the workplace. In a blogpost, the organisers of France's strike "8 Mars" stated that "women today still don't have the same access as men to jobs, to professional training, to different industry and senior jobs."

French feminists and their supporters hold posters and placards during their rally for gender equality on the occasion of International Women's Day on Place de la Republique in Paris.

Image: LANGSDON/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

"The situation is changing, but slowly, and businesses are resisting change," Romy Duhem-Verdiere  one of the organisers of 8 Mars  explains.

"I can't speak on behalf of the women of France. But I think the pay gap is reason enough," Duhem-Verdiere continues.

Reproductive rights are also high on the agenda in France. In Marseille, an artist staged an abortion rights demo outside the city's regional courthouse to protest the council's plans to cut funding to a family planning organisation.

Collage geant d'une #Femen sur le conseil regional de Marseille ou siege celle qui veut couper les subventions du @leplanning #livgcestsacre pic.twitter.com/VG59jAvl92  Sarah Constantin (@sarahconstantin) March 8, 2017

ITALY

In Italy, activists have formed a collective called Non Una Di Meno and drafted a manifesto for Italy's "Lotto Marzo" strike.

"We strike for fighting violence of the system in any form: The patriarchal violence on women and on LGBTQI+, the violence of state control on our bodies, the violence of the borders on the migrants. The violence of state cuts in welfare and rights," explains a spokesperson from Non Una Di Meno.

Laura de Bonfils  one of the strikers in Italy  explained her personal reasons for striking.

"Personally Im also striking for LGBTI+ rights because this summer I will get married to my partner in Finland and our marriage will not be recognised in Italy," says de Bonfils.

BELGIUM

A protestor holds a sign during a demonstration for International Women's Day outside EU headquarters in Brussels ,

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

Strikers in Belgium gathered in front of the European Parliament to call for international access to abortion and pay equality.

One of the strikers in Belgium, writer Hilary Seriously, explained that she was striking in solidarity with women in Ireland, where she's from.

"I am from Ireland and I live in Belgium. The reason I am striking is to support the fight for women's reproductive rights in Ireland. Abortion is illegal there unless the mother's life is in danger," she explained.

USA

Women across America are striking today and those who are unable to skip work are showing support by wearing items of red clothing and turning their profile photos red.

Winnie Wong, from New York City, says she's striking in resistance to Donald Trump's presidency.

"I'm striking quite simply because it's the women leading the resistance against Trump's authoritarian garbage fire of a government," says Wong.

"We have the most to lose, and we will NOT be silenced. We must fight systemic patriarchy by practicing powerful solidarity," Wong continues.

My 7 yo and 8 yo emailed this to their school last night.#DayWithoutAWoman #InternationalWomensDay #WomensStrike pic.twitter.com/IPmcSbcMnB  Mindy Wilkerson (@mindymoons) March 8, 2017

Sama Dizayee  a journalist from Washington D.C.  says she's striking to call for equal pay for female journalists.

"Journalists are not supposed to be advocates, how can I not be today as a woman journalist? Many women in the media/journalism industry don't get equal pay," says Dizayee.

"And that's only one industry, many industries around the world do unjust to women in unequal pay," she continues.

Dizayee is also using the strike to protest Trump's presidency. "In America, President Trump says he respects women and then goes and calls women 'nasty', 'ugly', 'grab them by the p***y.'"

"Should we just sit down and let a president make sexist comments and not be offended? Absolutely not," says Dizayee.

Leslie Z. Hollingsworth in San Francisco is closing her business  the San Francisco Massage Supply Co.  for the day.

"I am striking to make a point that women are a large portion of the workforce, and may be overlooked as we do more of the 'behind the scenes' work, so we dont always get credit. And we work HARD!" says Hollingsworth.

"With our new administration in place, the blatant undermining and dismissing of many womens rights and programs has become a huge issue. Everything from basic healthcare to cancer screenings is under fire," she says.

AUSTRALIA

Educators and childcare workers in Australia went on strike to demand fairer wages and equal pay, and many took to the streets in major cities to participate in demonstrations.

Vid of striking educators on Sydney rd today 8/3/17 "Hey Malcolm, listen up! Educators are standing up!" @UnitedVoiceECEC #BigStepsNOW pic.twitter.com/sHjH8LKd2J  Approaching Critical (@approachingcrit) March 8, 2017

March by striking early childhood educators demanding fair wage has concluded, now for #InternationalWomensDay rally @ 5:30 @UnitedVoiceECEC pic.twitter.com/5jT8JZ16QR  Approaching Critical (@approachingcrit) March 8, 2017

Dee: we are walking off job because we're fed up with working 4 love. We are more than $20 an hour #IWD2017 @GedKACTU pic.twitter.com/UtQ31rvmbC  Big Steps (@UnitedVoiceECEC) March 8, 2017

GUATEMALA

A spokesperson for ParoINTdeMujeres explained that women in Guatemala are striking to call for an end to violence against women and girls and femicide.

"Femicide  the violent death of a woman, killed by someone close to her, usually her husband, boyfriend or ex-boyfriend  is our main reason to strike," the spokesperson said.

And photos from around the world show even more women marching and protesting.

PAKISTAN

Pakistani women workers rally in Karachi.

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

INDONESIA

In Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Image: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

PHILIPPINES

Activists and residents of urban communities from Manila hold posters and setup a barricade as they occupy a government housing project in Bulacan, Philippines.

Image: Jes Aznar/Getty Images

ECUADOR

RUSSIA

An activist holds a poster reading 'A woman for president!' during a protest inside the Kremlin with The Troitskaya Tower in the background in Moscow.

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

Happy International Women's Day!



Additional reporting by Sasha Lekach.
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP)  Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama's health care law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered.

Governors, especially those from political battleground states, were generally cool to the bill put forth in the Republican-controlled U.S. House. Some signaled that they would continue working on their own legislation to compete with the measure introduced Monday.

"We've said all along, 'Work with the governors,' that it should be a governor-led effort and for the Congress to rely on the governors," Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said Tuesday. "Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesn't include anything that the governors have talked about."

Republican governors lead 33 states, across all regions, and represent states pivotal to President Donald Trump's victory in November, including much of the upper Midwest. Their role in the health care debate could influence the biggest public policy changes this year and help determine the party's future.

On Wednesday in Washington, House Speaker Paul Ryan defended the bill, casting it as the only proposal in Congress that advances the GOP's long-promised goal of repealing and replacing the 2010 law. In addition to the doubts among GOP governors, members of Ryan's own caucus described the speaker's attitude as a take-it-or-leave-it approach to a proposal that does not do enough to reduce government spending.

At the heart of the governors' criticisms is that the House plan would jeopardize coverage for roughly 11 million people covered through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. The law allowed states to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income individuals and their families at costs borne largely by the federal government.

Phasing out the federal supplement for Medicaid would hit hardest in states where governors chose to participate in the expansion, such as Michigan, Nevada and Ohio. The House bill's provision to shift the federal Medicaid commitment to those states would shrink the number of people eligible for coverage and require states to drop people from coverage or risk incurring huge costs rapidly to keep them enrolled.

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"Phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug-addicted, mentally ill and working poor who now have access to a stable source of care," said Gov. John Kasich of Ohio.

Michigan, Nevada and Ohio alone have added a combined 2 million to Medicaid's enrollment since that part of the law took effect in 2014.

The GOP governors expressed some of the same reservations as Democratic governors in states that expanded Medicaid, fretting about higher costs and fewer people covered.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Democrat, warned against any health measure that kicks residents off Medicaid and leaves them "in the cold." The state has been carried by Republican presidential nominees for the past five elections and has added 175,000 residents to Medicaid coverage.

Another problem some Republican governors see with the bill is in converting Medicaid coverage from an open-ended federal entitlement to one that operates under a per-capita cap. A cap would not account, for instance, for rapidly rising drug costs, a big part of a state's Medicaid budget. GOP governors have suggested that any change in the law should give them more autonomy to account for such changes.

Like other GOP governors, Maine Gov. Paul LePage wants Congress to allow states to broadly rewrite Medicaid rules to allow, for example, work requirements and a personal financial stake in the coverage.

"The only way you will truly repeal and replace  and reform  Obamacare is if you act with as much boldness as those who created it," LePage said.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker echoed the more muted response from his peers, calling the House bill "an important first step."

"We will continue working with the Trump administration, the Congress and governors across the country, as we seek a personalized, patient-centered plan that treats people as humans and not like numbers," he added.

Walker, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has been working with governors such as Kasich to draft a proposal that would effectively put states in charge of their Medicaid programs but require the federal government to continue financing them.

The governors' alternative could become a viable measure in the legislative debate, should it gain Senate sponsorship. The governors working on it have met with senators and staff on the Senate Finance Committee.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is already sounding some of Kasich's concerns. In a letter sent Monday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Portman wrote that House legislation "does not provide stability and certainty for individuals and families in Medicaid expansion programs or the necessary flexibility for states."

___

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; and Michael Virtanen in Morgantown, West Virginia, also contributed to this report.
The countrys top infectious diseases researcher warned Wednesday that the spread of yellow fever in Brazil could have consequences for the US.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the US could see small localized spread of the dangerous virus, similar to Floridas 2016 Zika outbreak, if an unusually large yellow fever epidemic in rural Brazil takes root in either or both of that countrys two large metropolises, Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. US territories  for instance Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands  might also face local transmission, Fauci and a colleague wrote in a perspective published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In an era of frequent international travel, any marked increase in domestic cases in Brazil raises the possibility of travel-related cases and local transmission in regions where yellow fever is not endemic, they noted.

In an interview with STAT, Fauci stressed that he thinks it is unlikely this will happen, but doctors need to be aware of the risk so they will spot cases if they start to occur in Brazils major cities, or if travelers bring the virus back to the US.

You have to have it on the radar screen, he said. If you dont think of a diagnosis, youll never make the diagnosis.

Read more: Massive yellow fever vaccination campaign begins in Congo

The last epidemic of yellow fever occurred in the US in 1905. But in earlier times, epidemics regularly happened in the United States, with large outbreaks in major cities  New York, Philadelphia and Boston  in the late 1700s resulting in more than 10,000 deaths. Later, the virus restricted itself to the south; New Orleans had outbreaks through the 1800s.

In Brazil and other places where yellow fever is still endemic, there are two patterns of transmission. Sylvatic, or jungle yellow fever, is spread from infected forest-dwelling mosquitoes to primates. Occasionally people will be bitten and infected, but humans play an incidental role in this transmission cycle. At times, however, mosquitoes that live in cities will become infected, triggering urban yellow fever outbreaks. One such epidemic occurred last year in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In those outbreaks, the virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, which are ubiquitous in cities in the parts of the world where they are found.

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Aedes mosquitoes also spread the Zika virus, which has raced through Latin America during the past couple of years. But yellow fever, which is related to the Zika virus, is a far more dangerous foe. Deaths from Zika are rare, but not so yellow fever. Most people do recover, but between 15 percent to 20 percent of patients have a more severe illness and between 20 percent and 60 percent of the people who develop this more severe illness may die.

So far the Brazilian outbreak has been a sylvatic one. But concern has arisen because the states involved are located close to Sao Paolo and Rio. Those cities have populations of more than 12 million and more than six million people respectively. People in these cities arent routinely vaccinated against yellow fever, Fauci noted  a fact that could allow for spread if the virus is introduced.

Thats the thing thats the big if, Fauci said. If it does make a transition from sylvatic to urban, lets go. All hands on deck here.
Activists hung a banner that read Refugees welcome at the base of the Statute of Liberty in New York on Feb 21. (Photo: @altstatuteofliberty)

ALOHA MEANS HELLO AND GOODBYE. Hawaii will sue over Trumps new travel ban. The state of Hawaii said in a court filing Tuesday that it intended to file a legal challenge to President Trumps revamped executive order pausing refugee resettlement and immigration from six majority-Muslim countries, reports the Los Angeles Times. In a court filing in the state, Hawaii Atty. Gen. Douglas Chin asks the court to approve a swift briefing schedule on the states intended request for a temporary restraining order blocking the new travel ban before it takes effect on March 16.

CITY OF ACTIVISTS. The mayor of Los Angeles, which has one of the largest populations of undocumented immigrants in the country, drew some activist attention Tuesday.

Democratic Socialists of America are protesting outside L.A. Mayor Garcetti's election party, want him to defend immigrants more strongly. pic.twitter.com/07iRUbFm2a  Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) March 8, 2017

REMEMBER THEIR HISTORY. Alex Roarty of McClatchy reports that Trumps immigration and refugee policies have had the astonishing effect of turning Mennonites in Lancaster County, Pa., into activists:

Mary Beth Martin and Lindsey Martin Corbo each held one side of the large cardboard poster, the mother and her adult daughter eager to deliver a personal if unconventional message to their congressman, Republican Rep. Lloyd Smucker.

Hey Smucker, said the sign, written in red, green, and blue markers. 300 years ago our Mennonite family took sanctuary in PA, just like yours did.

Lancaster values immigrants.

The anger might have been directed at Smucker, but Martin and Corbo were really there  like 100 others  because of President Donald Trump.

The two women were among a hundred newly engaged activists assembled in Republican-heavy Lancaster County  an area that went for Trump in November by 57 percent  braving toe-freezing temperatures to protest Trump and the lawmaker, who was 200 yards away at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

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That Martin and Corbo were protesting was  by their own admission  a remarkable development. Both are members of the Mennonite Church, a religion that encourages its members to stay away from politics, just as it asks them to shun the wider culture.

ANTI-REFUGEE SENTIMENT MAY HAVE SWUNG THIS VERMONT RACE. Meanwhile, a mayor in Rutland, Vermont  population 17,292  just lost reelection thanks to his support for bringing Syrian refugees to the town. Reports Seven Days:

Rutland Mayor Chris Louras, who endured months of withering criticism for his plan to bring Syrian refugees to the city, lost his reelection bid on Tuesday.

In unofficial voting results, David Allaire, a city alderman and leading critic of the resettlement, trounced Louras, a 10-year mayoral incumbent, by a 776-vote margin, according to results cited by the Rutland Herald and WCAX-TV.

Im simply wishing him luck and Im moving on, Louras told Seven Days Tuesday night. He declined further comment, saying he would not hazard a guess as to what the election results say about Rutlands support for refugees.

Louras had beaten Allaire in two previous mayoral elections.

A FAMILY AFFAIR. Linwood Kaine, 24, the son of former Hillary Clinton running mate Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), was arrested while allegedly disrupting a pro-Trump rally at the Minnesota State Capitol over the weekend. We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues, the elder Kaine said in a statement. They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully.

EXCLUSIVE: Son of Sen. Tim Kaine was one of six arrested during Trump rally at state Capitol Saturday https://t.co/eIsUeu2g6B pic.twitter.com/aCYM4go0R5  Pioneer Press (@PioneerPress) March 8, 2017

DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS. Thats the new tagline of the Washington Post, and when the lights went out at the Statue of Liberty Tuesday night, people on Twitter quickly took it as a sign about the future of liberty in America. The Womens March organization, along with a number of others, tweeted that it was an early sign of support for their A Day Without a Woman action. Officials later said it was a temporary power failure.

Lady Liberty got the memo. On 3/8, we strike! #DayWithoutAWoman #StatueOfLiberty (Anyone know who this amazing artist is? Pls let us know!) pic.twitter.com/AGaHvk3gOj  Women's March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017

Thank you Lady Liberty for standing with the resistance and going dark for #DayWithoutAWoman ???? ????: @randybals #StatueOfLiberty pic.twitter.com/D0JG9MmSRj  Women's March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017

WOMENS DAY. Reports Yahoo News: The Womens March on Washington and its sister marches showed the power of women coming together in one place, leading to the largest single-day demonstrations in American history. Now the group behind the march is looking to showcase womens workplace and purchasing power through their absence.

Wednesdays A Day Without a Woman action involves a retreat from engagement with the world as a way of highlighting womens central roles within it. No going to work. No spending money or shopping, except at small and women-owned businesses. No unpaid labor, either. Wear red clothing in solidarity, when striking is not possible.

This general strike action, held in connection with International Womens Day and in solidarity with the International Womens Strike, has been criticized by some U.S. movement supporters for asking women to risk their jobs in a nation where only 10.2 percent of women are in unions. But the organizers see it as the next step in their efforts to empower women opposed to President Trumps agenda and character.

Read the full story here.

(Cover thumbnail photo: Rolf Schulten/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

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Read more from Yahoo News:
Animal stories can't always be about exciting whale videos or pregnant giraffes. Sometimes, reality has to rear its ugly head. After all, iconic species like rhinos and elephants are increasingly threatened by poaching and habitat loss in the wild.

This week, poachers in Europe and Africa made two particularly notable kills in what should've been safe spaces for wildlife.

SEE ALSO: This national park tracked down rhino poachers thanks to a selfie

Just outside Paris, assailants broke into the wildlife park at Thoiry Zoo overnight. They shot Vince, a 4-year-old white rhinoceros, three times in the head before using a chain saw to remove its horn, Thierry Duguet, the zoo's director, told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Bruno, left, and Gracie: two rhinoceroses at the Thoiry Zoo where a rhinoceros named Vince was killed.

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

Rhino horns are extremely valuable, and can be sold for up to 40,000 euros, or about $42,200, on the black market, the Le Parisien newspaper reported. Some cultures believe the horns have aphrodisiac powers or medicinal benefits.

Elephant tusks are similarly coveted around the world, despite global efforts to halt the illegal flow of ivory.

On Monday, poachers killed one of Africa's oldest and largest elephants in a Kenyan national park. The killing illustrates the peril that elephants face due to the ivory trade.

Satao II, believed to have been about 50-years-old, belonged to a dwindling group of giant "tuskers." Their ivory teeth are so long they nearly scrape the ground, and only about 25 of these tuskers remain in the world, Richard Moller of the Tsavo Trust told AFP this week.

A male African "tusker" elephant in Kenya.

Image: Eye Ubiquitous/REX/Shutterstock

"They are icons, they are ambassadors for elephants," he said.

It's still unclear how poachers killed the elephant, though they may have shot it with a poisoned arrow. The tusker was roaming in the Tsavo National Park near Nairobi when he died.

Kenyan authorities apprehended two poachers believed to be responsible for the elephant's killing.

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In Paris, however, police are still investigating the brazen rhino killing, and the suspects remain at large, AP reported.

And now, back to fun animal videos:
A rhino at a Paris zoo was shot and killed Monday night by poachers who used a chainsaw to steal his horn. The incident is believed to be the first time that poachers attacked an animal residing in a European zoo.

The five-year-old white rhinoceros named Vince was discovered by workers at the Thoiry Zoo, to the west of the French capital, at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Le Parisien reported. He had three bullets in his head while his horn, which can sell for up to $40,000 on the black market, had been sawed off.

It's a real shock, it's unbelievable to see this on a site like ours, the zoos director told The Local in France.

The poacher, or poachers, might have forced a door open at the back of the zoo before entering a building where the zoos three rhinos lived. It's possible the thieves attempted to attack other animals, but did not have time, a source with knowledge of the case told La Parisien.

Investigators said they were still trying to determine what weapon was used to kill the rhino, with the thickness of the animals skin proving a hindrance to determining the caliber of the weapon.

white rhino

Photo: Getty Images

Vince was at the zoo for two years, having been brought there along with another young white rhino, Bruce, to join the zoos existing rhino, Gracie, according to information on the zoos website. Vince was born in September 2012 at Burgers Zoo in the Netherlands.

The white rhino is second only to the African elephant in terms of size of land mammals. Once on the verge of extinction, there numbers have been successfully raised to more than 20,000 today. However, they are still classified by the World Wildlife Fund as near-threatened and poachers have been responsible for killing record numbers in recent years.

There is a channel between France and China for trading rhino horns and there have been a spate of thefts at French museums in recent years. The ivory horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a range of ailments, including fever and gout. Some also believe that the rhino horn can serve as an aphrodisiac.

Related Articles
Rio de Janeiro's main airport said Tuesday it will mark International Women's Day by temporarily changing its name in honor of a prominent activist against domestic violence, Maria da Penha.

The international airport currently named after Brazilian music icon Tom Jobim -- although more commonly known as Rio Galeo -- will get the new name for 10 days starting Wednesday, said spokeswoman Bianca Ferreira.

Also to join in the worldwide March 8 events highlighting women's rights, two Brazilian GOL Airline flights were being staffed entirely by female crew and pilots on Tuesday and Wednesday, Ferreira said.

Maria da Penha is a Brazilian biopharmacist who survived brutal abuse by her husband, including being shot and electrocuted. She fought for justice in the courts and in 2006 gave her name to legislation known as the Maria da Penha law, which targets domestic violence against women.

The temporary airport renaming aims "to stir discussion on questions related to women's rights by taking advantage of the impact that an airport can generate, thanks to the high number of people passing through the terminals every day," the airport said in a statement.

Brazil, one of the most violent countries in the world, is plagued by abuse of women.

A major study last year found that 4,757 women were murdered in 2014, up 11.6 percent on a decade earlier. Physical harassment and assault are a common problem in public places, with one assault occurring every four minutes during Rio's recent carnival parties, according to police.
The Hague (AFP) - A planned rally in Rotterdam due to be attended by Turkey's foreign minister to drum up support in a high-stakes Turkish referendum has been cancelled, the Dutch city's mayor said Wednesday.

"The venue's owner has informed me he will no longer make it available" for the gathering, mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said in a letter to the port city's council.

A Turkish-Dutch political association had said Friday that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu would attend the rally, hoping to persuade hundreds of thousands of Turkish-origin Dutch citizens to vote "yes" in the April 16 referendum aimed at boosting the powers of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Dutch officials including Prime Minister Mark Rutte had condemned the plans as "undesirable".

Far-right MP Geert Wilders demonstrated outside the Turkish embassy in The Hague Wednesday, saying: "We say: 'Stay away from us, stay away from here, this is our country, this is the Netherlands'.

"We wouldnt allow lobbying for North Korea or Saudi Arabia in our country either. And this is Holland, so stay away."

Aboutaleb, who is of Moroccan origin, backed Rutte and said even if the organisers had tried to continue with the meeting it would have been nixed on safety grounds.

"I'm of the opinion that the minister's visit forms a direct risk to public order and safety in Rotterdam and could lead to increased polarisation and escalations," Aboutaleb said.

"I'm confident that the international diplomacy and politics will do its work and that the minister will cancel his visit," he added.

Tensions ran high among the city's sizable Turkish community after the abortive coup against Erdogan in July, when Turkish authorities arrested more than 40,000 people.

German towns last week banned four similar rallies which had been due to be attended by Turkish ministers, provoking anger from Ankara.

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But Cavusoglu on Tuesday still attended a gathering in Hamburg.

Addressing a small crowd of 200 people in the northern German city he said the Berlin government should "not to give us lessons in human rights and democracy".

Previous gatherings involving Rotterdam's Turkish residents, who comprise around eight percent of the harbour city's total population, have often been tense.
Paris (AFP) - France's advertising regulator has ordered fashion house Saint Laurent to remove posters of extremely thin models in "degrading" poses after an outcry over their appearance around Paris.

The campaign features a reclining woman in a fur coat and fishnet tights opening her legs and another of a model in a leotard and roller skate stilettos bending over a stool.

Stephane Martin, head of advertising regulator ARPP, told AFP Tuesday that his organisation had received 120 complaints over the way the posters depicted women.

The authority bars all "degrading and humiliating" representations of people.

It has written to Saint Laurent asking them to "stop the use of these images, to withdraw them or to change them," Martin said, explaining that a more detailed assessment of the campaign would be made on Friday.

Britain's advertising watchdog banned a Saint Laurent advert two years ago that featured an overly thin model whose ribcage was showing.

The latest campaign was created in-house by Saint Laurent, which is under new young Belgian designer Anthony Vaccarello whose debut collection featured a dress that exposes one breast.

Saint Laurent has declined to comment. Ironically, the label made its name by putting women in men's tuxedos, a gesture that chimed with the rising feminist wave of the 1970s.

The poster campaign "ticks all the sexist boxes. The women are objectified, hypersexualised and put in submissive positions," Raphaelle Remy-Leleu from French women's group, Osez le feminisme ("Dare to be Feminist"), told AFP.
Rolando Ruiz, a 44-year-old contract hitman who has been on death row for 22 years and has spent 20 of those years in solitary confinement for a life insurance murder plot in 1992, will not be granted a reprieve from the Supreme Court, reports said on Tuesday.

In 1992, 22-year-old Ruiz was convicted of shooting and killing a twenty-nine-year-old woman, Theresa Rodriguez outside her home for $2,000. The murder plot was hatched by the victims husband Michael Rodriguez and his brother Mark, both of whom were present with her in the car when she was shot by Ruiz, who fooled the victim by pretending to ask her for directions.

As Theresa Rodriguez was getting out of the car, Ruiz put a .357 Magnum revolver to her head and fired, CBS reported. Her husband Michael Rodriguez stood to earn around $250,000 in life insurance from his wifes death.

Both Michael and his brother Mark were given life sentences. Mark was given parole in 2011 and Michael was executed in 2008 following a prison escape that involved the slaying of an officer in an unrelated case according to Associated Press.

Its not going to bring her back, so it really doesnt mean very much, Susie Sanchez, mother of the victim said Monday according to CBS news, adding that some of her children may attend the execution.

Ruiz was not executed 7:00 PM Tuesday, Eastern Time (ET) as planned because the Supreme court did not issue a decision denying Ruizs requests for a stay of the execution until then. Dissenting with his peers on the verdict, Justice Stephen Breyer sided with the arguments presented by Ruizs lawyer.

At this point, a quarter-century has elapsed since Mr. Ruiz committed a contract murder in 1992, two days after he turned twenty years old.  Mr. Ruiz has lived for over two decades under a death sentence, spent almost twenty years in solitary confinement, received two eleventh-hour stays of execution, and has received four different execution dates, Ruizs lawyers wrote in his petition, according to BuzzFeed.

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Mr. Ruiz argues that his execution violates the Eighth Amendment because it follow[s] lengthy [death row] incarceration in traumatic conditions, principally his permanent solitary confinement.  I believe his claim is a strong one, and we should consider it, Breyer wrote in his dissent.

This I believe is an appropriate case to conduct that constitutional scrutiny.  If extended solitary confinement alone raises serious constitutional questions, then 20 years of solitary confinement, all the while under threat of execution, must raise similar questions, and to a rare degree, and with particular intensity. That is why I would grant a stay of execution, allowing the Court to examine the record more fully, added Breyer in the dissent.

Before murdering Theresa Rodriguez, Ruiz worked as a laborer, having dropped out of the school in 10th grade. Rolando has previously been arrested and served time for assaulting his ex-girlfriend and stealing her vehicle. While in prison, he assaulted a jailer, reported Death Penalty News.

He was also allegedly abused as a child, which led him to be addicted to drugs and alcohol. Rolando also claims that because of his excessive use of drugs and alcohol, he has difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality, according to Death Penalty News.

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DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi security forces killed a suspected Islamic State militant when he pulled a gun on a patrol in the capital Riyadh, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. The patrol was trying to check a complaint on Tuesday evening that a resident of a flat in the capital's al-Rayyan district had joined Islamic State. "When security men tried to arrest him, he initiated resistance and pulled a gun and it became necessary to deal with him and neutralize him, which led to his death," the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. A companion of the dead man was arrested and found to be in possession of a weapon, it said. The hardline Sunni militant group has carried out a series of bombings and shootings in Saudi Arabia since mid-2014 that have killed scores of people, mostly members of the Shi'ite Muslim minority and security forces. The militant group, bitterly opposed to Gulf Arab rulers, is trying to stir sectarian confrontation on the Arabian peninsula to bring about the overthrow of the states' ruling dynasties. In a separate incident, a policeman was shot and killed by unidentified assailants in Tarout Island in eastern Saudi Arabia, an area where many of the Sunni Muslim country's Shi'ite minority live, according to another interior ministry statement. Shi'ites in eastern Saudi Arabia complain of discrimination, which they say prevents them from gaining good government jobs and deprives them from state investment in their neighborhoods. The Saudi government denies such charges. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Scarlett Johansson and her French husband Romain Dauriac have long been separated. However, the Ghost in the Shell star is ready to end her marriage with Dauriac by filing for a divorce, which many believe will lead to a custody battle over their 3-year-old daughter, Rose Dorothy Dauriac.

Johansson and Dauriac started dating in 2012. They eventually became an item, got engaged in 2013 and tied the knot on Oct. 1, 2014, after the Avengers star gave birth to their daughter. Unfortunately, two years after Johansson and Dauriac tied the knot, the couple split, Us Weekly reported. The pair had been very private when it came to their relationship. The split rumors only surfaced when the Lucy star was spotted on several occasions without her wedding band.

Just like any other parent, Johansson adores her daughter, Rose, and wants to spend more time with her. In fact, her little one was with her while she was shooting Ghost in the Shell in New Zealand. The Captain America: Civil War star said that while her job takes her everywhere, she will probably settle down in one place because Rose will be going to school soon.

I guess now were kind of committed to living here because with our daughter we have to commit to someplace. Shell be in school in a hot minute, Johansson told Playboy.

On Tuesday, Johansson filed for divorce in the Manhattan Supreme Court, stating that her marriage with Dauriac was irretrievably broken. The Under the Skin star also asked the judge for primary custody of Rose, Page Six reported.

Unfortunately, Johansson and Dauriacs divorce is expected to involve a nasty custody battle. Harold Mayerson, Dauriac's lawyer, revealed that his client is ready to fight Johansson's request. He would like to move to France with his daughter and Ms. Johansson does a lot of traveling, Mayerson stated about the couple's divorce drama. It will be an interesting process.

Should the court grant Johanssons request? Do you agree with Dauriac that he should have primary custody over Rose? Share your thoughts below.

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Scarlett Johansson

Photo: Reuters/Danny Moloshok

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ROME (AP)  Lucia Annibali's face was rebuilt for the price of atrocious pain and 18 surgeries after an acid attack ordered by her ex-boyfriend corroded her eyelids, cheeks and forehead almost to the bone and left her nearly blind.

The man she enraged with a breakup is now serving a 20-year sentence for attempted murder. Prosecutors allege that after he failed to kill Annibali by tampering with a gas line in her apartment, he engaged two men to douse her with sulfuric acid when she got home the evening of April 16, 2013.

While she lay in agony in a hospital emergency room, Annibali made a vow to her ex, who was then a lawyer in an Adriatic resort town, as was she. "I swear to you that I will make it," she told him in an imaginary conversation. "If you wanted to annihilate me, know that you didn't succeed."

Annibali, now 39, kept her promise. She also proudly forged a new role for herself in what is an expanding cadre of courageous muses who are determined to inspire fellow women in Italy to rebel against violence at the hands of controlling men.

A photo of a smiling Annibali, her nostrils deformed and the grafted skin from her groin and thigh pulling at her reconstructed eyelids and cheeks, graces the cover of her memoir "Io Ci Sono," ("I Am Still Here.") The book became the basis of a movie shown on Italian state TV.

Another scarred survivor working to fight gender-based violence in Italy is a one-time beauty pageant winner and former aquatic park star. Gessica Notaro, 27, her face still swathed in bandages and her eyesight put at risk, forms a heart with her fingertips in a photo to well-wishers. Two months ago she was doused with acid in an attack similar to the one on Annibali. Her former boyfriend has been arrested.

Slain women are inspiring the fight, too. Hundreds of women, and some men, marched in Sara Di Pietrantonio's memory last June, a few days after the Roma Tre' university student was strangled and her corpse set afire, allegedly by a former boyfriend who was furious she was seeing another man.

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The rebellion marks a stunning turnabout. A generation ago, the Italian penal code prescribed prison sentences as short as three years for men who killed women out of jealousy. Until 1981, the law sanctioned leniency for male defendants who murdered to preserve "family honor."

Recent years have brought about "a Copernican revolution in mentality and approach" to addressing violence against women, lawyer Lorenzo Puglisi said.

Puglisi established a website, SOS Stalking, for those seeking help to protect themselves from jealous or vengeful husbands, boyfriends and acquaintances. Parliament passed anti-stalking legislation in 2009. Since 2010, hundreds of women, many fearing for their lives, have contacted his Milan office for assistance, including obtaining restraining orders.

However, the harsh condemnation Italy received last week from the European Court of Human Rights underscores how deeply attitudes that leave women at the mercy of men still permeate Italian society.

The Strasbourg, France-based tribunal ruled Italy had violated a woman's rights by underestimating the danger posed by her husband, who beat her and attacked her with a knife in separate incidents in 2012. The husband fatally stabbed their teenage son while trying to assault her with a knife again the next year.

The woman, who survived with multiple stab wounds, had gone to stay at a women's shelter for a few months but returned home when the center ran out of space.

Too often, police still "confuse violence with conflict," Titti Carrano, one of the lawyers who presented the woman's complaint to the rights court, said. Despite the end of laws weighted in favor of men, "there is a culture in Italy which still justifies violence" against women, Carrano said.

Italy recorded 108 gender-motivated murders of women, sometimes referred to as "femicide," last year, 111 in 2015 and 117 in 2014, according to state police statistics.

The slight dip mirrors an overall decline in murders in the past few years, national police official Maria Carla Bocchino stressed. Unfortunately, "the incidence of female victims in a family or romantic context has stayed level," hovering at about 65-70 percent of cases in which women are slain, Bocchino said.

Acknowledging the toll on society, the Chamber of Deputies last week approved legislation to help orphans of femicide.

The bill would establish a 2 million euro ($2.1 million) fund for school scholarships or job training, and simplify the vital records bureaucracy so children no longer have to carry the surname of the father who killed their mother.

On Valentine's Day, Senate President Pietro Grasso, a former anti-Mafia prosecutor, promoted a public awareness campaign in which empty chairs will be draped with red cloth in all public buildings to highlight femicide, until these killings are ended.

Sociologist Franca Garreffa of the University of Calabria said that what is happening in Italy "considering all this cultural baggage, is an epochal change." But she ventured that Italian women's growing refusal to tolerate violent men could put them in even greater danger unless they get prompt, adequate protection from the state.

"The men have always been used to being dominant, both in the family and in society," Garreffa said in an interview in Rome, where she was attending a presentation of a report in the Chamber of Deputies on the economic costs to society of violence against women.

A 2014 survey of 25,000 women conducted by Italy's national statistics agency showed that nearly 35 percent feared for their lives at some point because of current or former partners. That compared with the nearly 19 percent that reported feeling that way in 2006, when the last such survey was undertaken.

On Women's Day 2014, less than a year after the attack that forced Annibali to reconstruct her life along with her face, Italy's president kissed her hand and named her a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic in recognition of her "courage, determination, dignity."

She moved to Rome last fall to work with the Italian government in its effort to reduce femicide. Her remade face transmits her unflinching message, which is about the mistake of not recognizing a threat that disguises itself as love and about having the resilience to leave violent men.

"These are women so strong and so generous they manage to remain in these situations," Annibali said, noting that strong women are more likely to be victims than meek ones. Instead, "in reality, they must learn to be more selfish toward themselves."

___

Frances D'Emilio is on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fdemilio
An increasing number of school districts have announced the cancellation of classes in order to accommodate employees who have planned to participate in the "A Day Without a Woman" national protest on Wednesday. Event organizers have encouraged women to take the day off from work and not to patronize any businesses to recognize "the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system -- while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity."

Prince George's (P.G.) County Public Schools, located in the suburban Washington, D.C. area, was among the latest districts to say it would close Wednesday. However, the brief statement released by P.G. Public Schools seemed to indicate the closures were not happening out of solidarity with the staff who requested to take the day off.

"We cannot transport students and provide safe, productive learning environments without adequate staff," the statement said in part. "We apologize for the inconvenience this will surely cause to many families.

The school district's apparent reaction seemed to be a standard response. One exception was the Maple Street school in Brooklyn, New York, where parents were sent a letter supporting the school staff's decision to take the day off. "At Maple Street we have taught our kids, your kids, to have a voice, to use their words kindly but firmly, to always have a plan and think about the how and the why."

Below is a look at other schools and school districts planning to close up shop Wednesday:

Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia also announced it would close for similar reasons to P.G. Public Schools. "This was not a political decision," school spokesperson Helen Lloyd told local news outlet WJLA. "This is about the safety of our students and our ability to deliver instruction to them."

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Six charter schools in nearby Washington, D.C., were also set to close , according to the Associated Press. It was not immediately clear if that decision was made because its staff was planning to skip work or out of solidarity with the protest's cause.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina was also set to close, local news outlet WNCN reported. "Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools values and supports its female employees," officials said in a statement. "However, the decision to close schools is not an endorsement of the planned demonstration. The decision is made solely to avoid operating school on a day when there are insufficient staff to provide instruction and basic school services."

A Day Without A Woman will fall on International Women's Day. Participants in the A Day Without A Woman protests were expected to wear red, "take the day off, from paid and unpaid labor" and "Avoid shopping for one day (with exceptions for small, women- and minority-owned businesses)." It was being organized by the same people behind The Womens March on Washington, which took place the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration and saw participants wearing pink that day.

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By Tom James

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Seattle federal judge on Wednesday wrestled with whether he has the power to release a Mexican immigrant with a work permit who was arrested by U.S. authorities last month.

Daniel Ramirez Medina was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who went to his house to arrest his father. ICE alleged Ramirez had gang ties and should be deported. Ramirez's lawyers have denied their client has any gang involvement or criminal record, and called his arrest unconstitutional.

Ramirez argues that the challenge to his arrest should be heard in the federal courts, while U.S. Justice Department attorneys say the case should proceed in a separate immigration court. If Ramirez can win his freedom in Seattle federal court, it could point a new way forward for thousands of people across the country threatened by stepped-up immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James Donohue said he hoped to issue a ruling by early next week.

Immigration courts, which operate separately from the broader federal judiciary, have a huge backlog and immigration lawyers say it is difficult to win deportation challenges there.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Donohue questioned lawyers for the Justice Department on whether they could set up a roadblock to stop anyone "who is driving while brown," start deportation proceedings against them, and then send them to immigration court.

"They have no remedy or recourse in the district court?" Donohue asked.

Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Robins said Ramirez's case is not such an extreme circumstance.

Ramirez's case could be the first under the Trump administration in which a person granted a work permit under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has been taken into immigration custody, his lawyers say. The program started by former President Barack Obama offers protection from deportation for some 750,000 immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. These people are sometimes called "dreamers," in reference to the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) legislation that failed to pass Congress.

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Federal law says deportation cases must be heard in immigration court, but Ramirez's lawyers argue that they are merely challenging his arrest, not his deportation. Still, Donohue asked whether Ramirez's arguments are so intertwined with deportation that they should be heard in immigration court.

Ramirez's lawyer Mark Rosenbaum repeated that they are merely seeking a recognition that Ramirez's arrest was improper and an order releasing him.

(Reporting by Tom James; Writing by Dan Levine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
WASHINGTON  The leaders of a congressional inquiry into Russias efforts to sway the U.S. election called on the Justice Department Wednesday to produce any evidence that supports President Donald Trumps explosive wiretapping allegation.

Declaring that Congress must get to the bottom of Trumps claim, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente and FBI Director James Comey to produce the paper trail created when the Justice Departments criminal division secures warrants for wiretaps.

Trump tweeted last weekend that former President Barack Obama had tapped his phones at Trump Tower during the election. But Trump offered no evidence to back up the accusation. Through a spokesman, Obama said neither he nor any White House official had ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Obamas director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said nothing matching Trumps claims had taken place.

Following Trumps tweet, FBI Director James Comey privately asked the Justice Department to dispute the presidents claim because he believed the allegations to be false.

As the chairman and top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary crime and terrorism subcommittee, Graham and Whitehouse said they would take very seriously any abuse of wiretapping authorities for political reasons.

But, they added, We would be equally alarmed to learn that a court found enough evidence of criminal activity or contact with a foreign power to legally authorize a wiretap of President Trump, the Trump Campaign, or Trump Tower.

The senators are seeking warrant applications and court orders, which they said can be scrubbed to protect secret intelligence sources and methods.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told Iowa reporters in a Wednesday telephone call that he needs to be able to sort fact from fiction before making any decisions about Trumps wiretapping allegation.

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Grassley also said hes waiting to receive a briefing from Comey, who told the senator earlier this week that hes awaiting clearance from the Justice Department.

The House and Senate Intelligence committees, and the FBI, are investigating contacts between Trumps campaign and Russian officials, as well as whether Moscow tried to influence the 2016 election. Trump demanded that they broaden the scope of their inquiries to include Obamas potential abuse of executive powers.

Graham and Whitehouse acknowledged Trumps desire for the intelligence committees to have purview, but they argued that their subcommittee has oversight of the Justice Departments criminal division.

Graham has been a frequent critic of Trumps push for closer ties with Moscow. After Trumps victory in November, he pledged to use his position in the Republican majority to investigate what he called Russias misadventures throughout the world.
After President Donald Trump made unsubstantiated claims that former president Barack Obama wiretapped him, two senators asked the Justice Department if it has any proof to back up the extraordinary allegation.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committees Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, sent a letter Wednesday to the FBI and Department of Justice requesting any information they have on possible eavesdropping on Trump or his campaign.

Rather than a show of solidarity with the White House, however, it could be a move to call Trumps bluff. On Saturday, the president tweeted an unsubstantiated claim Obama wiretapped Trump and Trump Tower during the presidential campaign.

Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017

White House surrogates struggled to explain the allegations on Sunday talk shows and cited no evidence or further details. And on Wednesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer raised more questions about the presidents claim: There is no reason to believe that he is the target of any investigation.

In their letter, Graham and Whitehouse wrote that we would take any abuse of wiretapping authorities for political purposes very seriously. And they added: We would be equally alarmed to learn that a court found enough evidence of criminal activity or contact with a foreign power to legally authorize a wiretap of President Trump, the Trump Campaign, or Trump Tower.

The lawmakers addressed their letter to FBI Director James Comey and Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente. Trumps Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigations involving Russia last week after reports emerged he misled a Senate panel on his meetings with Russias ambassador in Washington during the presidential campaign. Critics have accused Trump of trying to change the subject and distract attention from the unanswered questions surrounding his campaigns contacts with Moscow.

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The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee accepted the presidents request for an investigation Tuesday. We should be able to determine in fairly short order whether this accusation is true or false, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told reporters.

Obama and former senior U.S. intelligence officials flatly rejected Trumps allegations. Neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false, an Obama spokesperson said.

And former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told NBCs Meet the Press Sunday: For the part of the national security apparatus that I oversaw as DNI, there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the President-elect at the time, or as a candidate, or against his campaign.

In their letter, the senators acknowledged that any warrant applications and court orders provided by the Justice Department would have to be redacted as necessary to protect intelligence sources and methods that may be compromised by disclosure, and to protect any ongoing investigations.

Trumps accusation, for which he offered no evidence, seemed to imply he thinks presidents have the power to order the FBI or spy agencies to eavesdrop on American citizens. But under U.S. law, only the FBI or intelligence agencies  not the president  can be granted a warrant to conduct such surveillance, and only after persuading a court that it has sufficient cause. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was created in 1978 to oversee eavesdropping requests to prevent abuses that had been revealed during the Nixon administration.

Photo credit: MARK WILSON/Getty Images
DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegalese authorities have arrested the mayor of the capital Dakar, a potential rival to President Macky Sall in elections expected in 2019, on suspicion of embezzling 1.8 billion CFA francs ($2.87 million), his lawyer said on Wednesday. Last week a public prosecutor summoned the mayor, Khalifa Sall, who is no relation to the president, to give evidence on how he spent the money between 2011 and 2015. The mayor, who denies any wrongdoing, was arrested late on Tuesday, the lawyer said. Khalifa Sall's socialist party is part of a coalition backing the president, but he has since distanced himself. He has not publicly announced he plans to run against Sall, but has been tipped by his supporters. "This arrest was made by invoking fallacious arguments about the embezzlement of public finds but in fact it's aimed at preventing him from carrying out his political ambition," lawyer Cire Cledor said. A justice ministry spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter. With few natural resources, Senegal does not suffer from kleptocracy on the scale of the mineral-rich countries in the region, but has nonetheless been dogged by scandals in the past. Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, served three years in prison for corruption, including hiding funds in offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Panama. He was freed in June last year. ($1 = 626.8800 CFA francs) (Reporting by Diadie Ba; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Gareth Jones)
LA PLATA, Md. (AP)  A law enforcement officer in Maryland has been suspended after he was accused of posting an insensitive comment on Facebook about two teenagers who were killed in a crash last week.

Authorities say Officer Robert Glover of the Charles County Sheriff Office used a profanity and wrote "shouldn't have been driving that fast" on his personal Facebook page.

The post was referring to 17-year-olds Colin Bipat and Desmond Cook, who were killed in a crash in Waldorf, Maryland, on Friday after striking a light pole.

An 18-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries.

Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry said in a statement Monday that Glover has been suspended pending further administrative actions. Berry called the comment "disgusting" and says Glover has apologized on Facebook.
If you started a new side hustle last year, such as pet-sitting through a service like DogVacay or renting out your spare bedroom on Airbnb, filing your taxes could be more complicated than you might think.

A lot of people in the gig economy "don't think of themselves as running a small business, which is actually what they are doing," says Peter Burridge, president and chief commercial officer of Hyperwallet, a payout platform for independent workers.

[See: Answers to 7 Burning Tax Questions.]

This attitude can lead to unpleasant surprises come tax-filing season, because unlike employees, freelancers, consultants and others who participate in the gig economy don't have money withheld for taxes. The Internal Revenue Service requires them to pay both the employer and employees' portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes. For 2016, the self-employment tax rate is 15.3 percent on the first $118,500 of your net income.

If you earned extra income from side projects such as driving for Uber or Lyft, selling your handiwork on Etsy or hiring out your services on a freelance basis, here's a general overview of what you need to know.

Declare all income. Make sure you're tracking how much money you make from side hustles so you can properly declare it on an IRS form called Schedule C (or for rental income and expenses, Schedule E). If you're working through a gig economy app such as TaskRabbit, Fiverr or another on-demand tool, that platform will likely track that income for you. If you're piecing together money from several gigs, make sure you track your income.

If you earn more than $600 in a calendar year from one company as an independent contractor, you should be issued a 1099 tax form from the company where you provided a specified service. Some companies will voluntarily send 1099 forms to all contractors, even if they earn below this threshold.

The IRS also receives a copy of your 1099, so failing to declare that income will only cause future headaches. The IRS will also charge you penalties and interest if it receives a 1099 for income you did not declare, cautions Eric J. Nisall, an accountant and founder of AccountLancer, a tax service for the freelance community. "It doesn't matter if you get a 1099 or not," he says. "Even if you earned a penny of income, anything outside of selling your personal items is called earned income and it's all taxable," he adds.

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Pay quarterly estimated taxes to prevent bill shock. For earned income that isn't subject to tax withholding, Nisall recommends paying quarterly estimated taxes rather than waiting until April 18. "It's easier to pay in four small chunks than it is to come up with a huge lump sum," he says.

Failing to pay quarterly taxes can also trigger penalties and interest. If you haven't already paid quarterly estimates and realize you should have, "pay as much of your estimate as you can as soon as you can to try and minimize any penalties [or] interest," Nisall says.

To make quarterly tax payments, you can mail in checks with the IRS form 1040-ES or make payments via the IRS website. For 2017, the deadlines are April 18, June 15, Sept. 15 and Jan. 16.

[See: 7 Most-Missed Tax Deductions and Credits.]

Track expenses to lower your tax liability. Since side hustlers are essentially micro-entrepreneurs, they can deduct qualified business expenses to offset their tax bill. Eligible expenses vary depending on the nature of your business and how aggressive you or your accountant wants to be about taking deductions.

For instance, if you're driving for a rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft, you can deduct your mileage, provided you keep a detailed log. Using GPS, the app will likely track the miles you drive while transporting passengers. However, Tai Stewart, a writer, former Uber driver and founder of Saidia Financial Solutions, a Houston-based accounting firm that caters to entrepreneurs, recommends also tracking and deducting miles between rides to pick up passengers so you don't miss out on deductible miles.

For 2016, the standard business mileage rate was 54 cents. Depending on which method gives you a higher deduction, you can use the standard mileage rate or deduct expenses such as car registration, depreciation and maintenance. However, you cannot take both deductions.

Airbnb hosts, on the other hand, use a Schedule E form to report rental income and expenses. "Schedule E is going to ask you how many days [the rental] was available and how many days it was actually rented out," Stewart says. Hosts might want to track and deduct expenses such as linens, cleaning supplies and a portion of Wi-Fi if they're providing it to guests. "If you're using it for personal use as well throughout the year, there's different rules for [a space that's part vacation rental, part personal]," Stewart adds.

Ideally, you'd maintain separate bank accounts for business and personal use to avoid blurring the lines between business and personal expenses. "A lot of times people are not seeing it truly as a business, so they may end up intermingling business expenses with personal expenses, which makes it harder to track," Stewart says. In the event of an audit, the IRS prefers to see a clear distinction. For this reason, some Uber drivers maintain a personal and business vehicle, she explains.

Still, "any money that you take from the business is not a salary and is not an expense to the business [unless you're set up as an S corporation]," Nisall says. Some bookkeeping tools aren't intuitive enough to make the distinction between different business structures, which can cause side hustlers to erroneously take this deduction, he adds.

[See: 10 Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund.]

Depending on your specific situation, your taxes may have extra complications. So, when in doubt, consult a tax professional about what expenses are deductible, when to pay quarterly taxes and how to properly file your taxes as a side hustler.

Susan Johnston Taylor has contributed to the money section of USNews.com since 2011, covering everything from personal finance apps and spending strategies to mortgages, insurance and estate planning. Her articles on business and personal finance have also appeared in or on The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Learnvest, Entrepreneur and Fast Company. Susan's goal is to offer readers new insights and practical ways to save money, advance their careers or improve their lives. You can find her on Twitter @UrbanMuseWriter.
Leaked. Wikileaks is back, and has dumped thousands of pages of what it claims are CIA documents showing how the agency can bypass encryption tools, and spy on the phones and personal computers of private citizens. The leak, FPs Elias Groll writes, can in effect turn computers and phones into remote microphones for government snoops. The CIA is refusing comment, but most experts in the field have said the documents appear legitimate.

The classified programs  which could be part of the largest leak of C.I.A documents in history according to the New York Times  were slapped with code names like Wrecking Crew, CrunchyLimeSkies, ElderPiggy, AngerQuake and McNugget.

Bad paper. The leaks, however, have likely further eroded trust between Silicon Valley tech firms and the government. No one has claimed credit for passing the documents on the Wikileaks, but experts say that its likely that only a foreign power could have had the tools to break into government servers and swipe the material. The leak comes just days after President Donald Trump charged, without evidence, that the U.S. government had tapped his communications at Trump Tower during the presidential election.

China pushes for peace, threatens Washington. Beijing is pleading for calm in the wake of the latest North Korean missile and nuclear tests, asking Pyongyang to halt the tests, and Washington and Seoul to put the brakes on a major military exercise. But that doesnt mean the Chinese are happy about the U.S. deployment this week of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea.

Beijing is firmly opposed to the deployment, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters at a press briefing in Beijing. China will resolutely take necessary measures to defend our own security interests. All consequences entailed from this will be borne by the US and the ROK.

Test for Trump. The White House has tried to reassure allies in the region, with president Trump having called Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson preparing to visit the region next week. Tillerson will make stops in Tokyo, Seoul, South Korea, and China, but he has never dealt with a proliferation problem like this one in his career as an oil executive.

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The New York Times notes that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has already been to Seoul on one visit, but was there mostly to reassure the country that, despite Mr. Trumps statements last year, the United States remains committed to its defense, and new national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, has focused more on counterinsurgency than dealing with the peculiar problem of a nuclear-armed failing state.

Sit down. The top U.S. military officer met with his counterparts from Russia and Turkey on Tuesday, in a significant pow-wow that brought together Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian general staff; and their Turkish counterpart, Gen. Hulusi Akar. The point of the meeting was to discuss the fight against all terrorist organizations in Syria and the importance of additional measures for de-conflicting operations, a spokesman for Dunford said in a statement.

Serious tensions remain, however. Turkey is alarmed that the United States continues to back Kurdish militias in Syria, a group Ankara says are terrorists. A Turkish official told Reuters that the meeting, however, could change the whole picture.

But  and this is a big one  the official said Ankara is not happy that the U.S. might push the Kurds and Arabs into Raqqa, without Turkey. It appears that the U.S. may carry out this operation with the [Kurdish] YPG, not with Turkey. And at the same time the U.S. is giving weapons to the YPG. American military officials insist they only supply arms to Syrian Arabs, who are allied with the YPG. If this operation is carried out in this manner there will be a cost for Turkey-U.S. relations, because the YPG is a terrorist organization, the official added.

Elsewhere in the fight. Iranian officials have that around 2,100 Iranian troops have been killed fighting in Iraq and Syria. Some 2,100 martyrs have been martyred so far in Iraq or other places defending the holy mausoleums, Mohammad Ali Shahidi told the state-run IRNA news agency. The figure was more than double the number he gave in November, which referred only to Syria.

Messaging. President Trumps National Security Advisor, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, spoke at a naturalization ceremony in Alexandria, Virginia, earlier this month as an Iraqi family he sponsored became U.S. citizens. The speech comes as the Trump administration works to temporarily ban immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, citing terrorism fears. The Iraqi whom McMaster sponsored worked as a translator for him in Tal Afar in northern Iraq in 2005. In the White Houses second attempt at instituting the ban, Iraq was taken off the list after lobbying by the government in Baghdad and senior U.S. defense officials.

The Washington Post notes that the revised ban keeps out people from six countries that the Trump administration says pose certain national security risks. There have been 10 fatal attacks tied to Islamist extremist ideology or otherwise deemed international terrorism since 2001 and the people behind those attacks are from none of the banned countries.

Welcome to SitRep. Send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley.

Breaking. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack underway at a military hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. The New York Times reports that gunmen launched a complex attack on the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital early Wednesday, breaching the entrance with a suicide bomber after which gunmen stormed the facility. As is often the case, early casualty figures are vague and contradictory with estimates of the dead ranging from three to 20. An Islamic State affiliate has taken hold in Afghanistan over the past two years, with U.S. and Afghan forces targeting its strongholds in Nangarhar province.

Assassination mystery. The strange saga behind the assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Uns brother in just got stranger. Channel News Asia reports that after what is believed to have been North Korean agents assassinated Kim Jong Nam with nerve agent in a Malaysian airport, a group calling itself Cheollima Civil Defense has posted a video to YouTube featuring Kim Jong Nams son, Kim Han Sol. In the video, he shows off his passport and says Im currently with my mother and my sister, mentions the death of his father, and concludes that we hope this gets better soon. No one seems to know who or what the Cheollima Civil Defense group is but South Korean intelligence did confirm that the man in the video is Kim Jong Nams son.

Drone killers. Counter drone systems  theyre not just for the U.S. Central Command anymore. Defense Update reports that the European Command is about to get a new counter UAS system called CMIC (counter UAS mobile integrated capabilities) based on a rapid prototype thats been under development since 2014. The CMIC system is mounted to Stryker armored vehicles and can detect small drones and jam them, as well as identify their ground control stations so that other weapon systems can fire on enemy drone pilots. The Army deployed two CMIC vehicles to Europe in February where Stryker units will train and evaluate the system to provide feedback to the Army.

Epidemic. The Marine Corps is scrambling to respond after an investigation by The War Horse uncovered a 30,000-member Facebook page for current and active duty Marines sharing a vast trove of revenge porn featuring female Marines. But as the Washington Post reports, the problem is hardly a new one in the Marine Corps, or limited to just one Facebook page. Its Marine Corps wide, one female Marine whose sex tape was posted to Marine social media platforms tells the paper. Investigations by various publications in 2013 reported similar incidents in which Marines shared revenge porn of their female fellow service members and sexuall harassed them.

Missiles. One of Russias older submarines is getting a life extension and a new cruise missile. The Diplomat reports that Russia is equipping its Project 949A Oscar II class submarines with anti-ship 3M-54 Kalibr cruise missiles. The submarines were built to take on American carrier strike groups and will be receiving anti-ship versions of the the Kalibr. Russian Kilo-class submarines have fired a land attack variant of the Kalibr at targets in Syria from the Caspian and Mediterranean.

Recidivism. Theres new data from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on released Guantanamo detainees returning to the fight. The Hill reports that ODNI has slightly modified its figures, downgrading the official tally from 122 to 121 former prisoners who have re-engaged in combat against the United States. The release of the figures come amid controversy over President Trumps false claim that President Obama released 122 Guantanamo detainees who returned to the fight. Eight detainees released under the Obama administration have thus far returned to terrorism with the remaining majority of recidivists released by the Bush administration.

Photo Credit: United States Forces Korea via Getty Images
Snapchat is getting political, again.

The mobile storytelling app  now facing the heat of Wall Street as a public stock  relaunched its political news show Good Luck America on Wednesday. The new episode is available to Snapchat users in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Australia.

SEE ALSO: Evan Spiegel has already made $1.5 billion off Snapchat's IPO

The series, which premiered last January, stars Snap's Head of News Peter Hamby, formerly a political reporter for CNN who also was an embed for Sarah Palin's campaign back in 2008.

Over the first season, Hamby took viewers on the presidential campaign trail, following each candidate and describing the intricacies of politics such as the electoral college. Now, he's tasked with pulling back the curtain of President Donald Trump's America.

"America's in a pretty weird place right now. Let me show you what's really going on," Hamby says in the latest episode. "Everything you thought you knew about American politics, you can just flush down Donald Trump's golden toilet. Does he have a golden shower too?"

In this first episode, which lasts just over five minutes, Hamby breaks down Trump's America. He takes viewers through the three working theories of who Trump is: the working hero; the autocrat; the accidental president.

"Nothing will stand in his way, not the courts, not the media and definitely not a population distracted by dumb clickbait," Hamby says. "Don't think this is politics as usual."

Hamby interviews Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), David Frum of The Atlantic, Republican strategist Tim Miller (former Jeb Bush staffer) and Democratic strategist Symone Sanders (former Bernie Sanders staffer).

"Our Democracy is in peril, but it's not doomed," Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, tells Hamby.

Future episodes this season will feature Killer Mike, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and the hosts of Pod Save America: Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor and Jon Lovett.

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The last season featured interviews with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Bill Clinton and Lindsey Graham.

I think I'm in love with the "Good luck America" guy on #snapchat  pic.twitter.com/TVtgocPl2G  Sabra Wilson (@SabraSativa) May 11, 2016

Good Luck America is part of Snapchat's effort to become a new form of TV for millennials, offering what Snapchat calls "Shows." It remains the only "Show" produced in-house by Snapchat and also helps guide projects developed by ABC, NBC, the BBC and other networks, according to a Snap spokesperson.

This style includes having the segment shot vertically and full screen. It's quickly paced and highly visual, with motion graphics and quick cuts, says a spokesperson. More than 22 million unique viewers watched the first season.
By Isabel Coles MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Through the scope of al-Moqdadi al-Saeedi's sniper rifle, Mosul's ruined skyline came into sharp focus, but the Islamic State marksmen he was looking for were nowhere to be seen. It was just hours since Iraqi forces announced they had raised their flag over the Mosul governorate building on Tuesday following a daring night raid  part of their push to dislodge Islamic State from the city's western half. But later that day, Islamic State snipers were still active in the area, harassing government troops. On the top floor of a building nearby, Iraqi snipers were in position, surrounded by spent bullet casings and foam mattresses as they waited for their enemy to show itself. "Just like we're hiding from them, they're hiding from us," said Saeedi, commander of a sniper unit that is part of the Iraqi Rapid Response division. As an outnumbered and outgunned Islamic State mount a fierce defence of their last stronghold in Iraq, snipers have been one of their most effective weapons. At times they can pin down advancing Iraqi forces for days. As snipers themselves, the Iraqi unit understand the Islamic State sniper capability better than most. "The sniper's role is more defensive than offensive," said Saeedi. The Iraqi snipers say they are having an impact. Earlier on Tuesday, they had killed four Islamic State snipers, according to one of the unit's members, Taif Tala. The rest of the enemy, however, had since changed position and hidden behind some trees. "They hit that wall a while ago so we figured out which building they were in," said Tala. "We imagine ourselves to be the enemy: if I were the enemy, where would I hide? A member of the Iraqi police forces fighting alongside Rapid Response came to tell the snipers that an Islamic State fighter had been sighted. A member of the unit fired a few rounds, filling the room with the smell of gunpowder, but it was not clear if he hit anybody. Sometimes it proves impossible to deal with an enemy sniper, so the unit calls in heavier weapons or an air strike. WAITING GAME As Iraqi troops move ahead, the sniper unit advances behind them, choosing a position from which to target the enemy without being spotted themselves. "Eighty-five to 90 percent of it is about hiding," said Saeedi. "Hiding and endurance: they complement each other. Some people can hide but they can't endure: that person cannot be a sniper." The building in which they were lying up on Tuesday belongs to the Ministry of Justice and appeared not to have been used during Islamic State's two and a half years in the city. The floors were strewn with ministry files dated before June 2014, when the militants overran Mosul. The papers now bear the boot prints of Iraqi soldiers. "There are high buildings in front of us," said Tala, explaining that even if an Islamic State sniper climbed on top of them, he could not see his Iraqi adversaries. Usually the Iraqi snipers would lie on their stomachs because it is easier to stay still that way, and it makes aiming more accurate. But on Tuesday they rested the barrels of their rifles on cupboards they had dragged in front of the window. Caffeine pills help them stay alert while they wait, Tala said: "Sometimes we don't eat, but you forget your hunger." Islamic State marksmanship is not to be underestimated. Saeedi showed a picture on his mobile phone of the scope of his rifle, shot straight through by an Islamic State sniper in a previous battle. "They say snipers are cowardly fighters because they are always behind the troops and they hide," said Abo Ali, a member of the unit. But he added: "We hide, and we kill." (Reporting by Isabel Coles; editing by Giles Elgood)
The unsung heroes of the footwear world? Both a tool and a beautiful work of craftsmanship, traditional snowshoes are what's made human habitation across the winter hinterlands possible. Over the years, Bill Mackowski has collected over 200 pairs of snowshoes and the incredible stories and history that go with them. To assemble what is possibly the world's largest collection, he has traveled to far-flung Inuit and Cree villages, from Newfoundland to the Yukon. Along the way, Mackowski has also made it a point to learn and preserve traditional snowshoe-making techniques that date back thousands of years. Enter his workshop in Milford, Maine, and you'll see a true tribute and museum to the craft, filled with intricate and beautiful snowshoes he has collected and created over the years.
A few months ago, in the wake of the fake-news debacle surrounding the election, Facebook announced partnerships with four independent fact-checking organizations to stomp out the spread of misinformation on its site. If investigators from at least two of these organizationsSnopes, Politifact, ABC News, and FactCheck.org, all members of the Poynter International Fact Checking Networkflag an article as bogus, that article now shows up in peoples News Feeds with a banner marking it as disputed.

Facebook has said its employees have a hand in this process by separating personal posts from links that present themselves as news, but maintains that they play no role in judging the actual content of the flagged articles themselves. We believe in giving people a voice and that we cannot become arbiters of truth ourselves, wrote Adam Mosseri, the vice president of Facebooks News Feed team, in introducing the change.

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The announcement was an early step in Facebooks ongoing revision of how it defines its role as a platform on which people consume news. Through the tumult of the election and under heavy public pressure, the company has gone from firmly denying any status as a media company to now acknowledging (albeit vaguely) some degree of responsibility for the information people take in. The things that are happening in our world now are all about the social world not being what people need, Mark Zuckerberg told Recode after he published a sweeping, 6,000-word manifesto on the companys future last month. I felt like I had to address that.

Missing from this evolving self-portrayal, however, has been significant mention of a distinct kind of editorial practice that Facebook and most other prominent social-media platforms are involved in. Thus far, much of the post-election discussion of social-media companies has focused on algorithms and automated mechanisms that are often assumed to undergird most content-dissemination processes online. But algorithms are not the whole story. In fact, there is a profound human aspect to this work. I call it commercial content moderation, or CCM.

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* * *

CCM is the large-scale screening by humans of content uploaded to social-media sitesFacebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and others. As a researcher, I have studied this process in detail: In a matter of seconds, following pre-determined company policy, CCM workers make decisions about the appropriateness of images, video, or postings that appear on a given site material already posted and live on the site, then flagged as inappropriate in some way by members of the user community. CCM workers engage in this vetting over and over again, sometimes thousands of times a day.

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While some low-level tasks can be automated (imperfectly) by processes such as matching against known databases of unwanted content, facial recognition, and skin filters, which screen photos or videos for flesh tones and then flag them as pornography, much content (particularly user-generated video) is too complex for the field of computer visionthe ability for machines to recognize and identify images. Such sense-making processes are better left to the high-powered computer of the human mind, and the processes are less expensive to platforms when undertaken by humans, although not without other costs.

Increasingly, CCM work is done globally, in places such as the Philippines, India, and elsewhere, although CCM workers can also be found in call centers in rural Iowa, online on Amazon Mechanical Turk, or at the headquarters of major Silicon Valley firmstypically without full-time employment and all it entails, such as access to quality health care. CCM workers are almost always contractors, in many cases limited in term due to their high rate of burnout.

No leeway was given for videos that showcased violence toward civiliansbeheadings, hangings, and other murders.

Over the past six years, I have spoken with and interviewed dozens of CCM workers who have labored in locales as diverse as Mountain View, Scotland, and the Philippines. Despite cultural, ethnic, and linguistic challenges, they share similarities in work-life and working parameters. They labor under the cloak of NDAs, or non-disclosure agreements, which disallow them from speaking about their work to friends, family, the press, or academics, despite often needing to: As a precondition of their work, they are exposed to heinous examples of abuse, violence, and material that may sicken others, and such images are difficult for most to ingest and digest. One example of this difficulty is in a recent and first-of-its-kind lawsuit filed by two Microsoft CCM workers who are now on permanent disability, they claim, due to their exposure to disturbing content as a central part of their work.

CCM workers are often insightful about the key role their work plays in protecting social-media platforms from risks that run the gamut from bad PR to legal liability. The workers take pride in their efforts to help law enforcement in cases of child abuse. They have intervened when people have posted suicidal ideation or threats, saving lives in some casesand doing it all anonymously.

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CCM workers tend to be acutely aware, too, of the outsized role social-media platforms have in determining public sentiment. One CCM worker, a contractor for a global social-media firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, described his discomfort in the way he had to deal with war-zone videos. He brought up the case of Syria, which he and others cited to me as examples of the worst material they had to see on the job in terms of its level of violence and horror. He explained that much of the material being uploaded to his companys video-distribution platform seemed to come from civilian cell phones, who wanted, it was supposed, to disseminate footage of the civil wars nightmare for advocacy purposes.

This CCM worker, whose identity I am ethically bound to protect as a condition of my research, pointed out that such content violated the companys own community codes of conduct by showing egregious violence, violence against children, blood and gore, and so on. Yet a decision came down from the group above hima policy-setting team made up of the firms full-timersto allow the videos to stand. It was important to show the world, they decided, what was going on with Syria and to raise awareness about the situation there.

Meanwhile, the employee explained to me, other videos flooded the platform on a daily basis from other parts of the world where people were engaged in bloody battle. Juarez was one pointed example he gave me. Although the motives of the uploaders in those cases were not always clear, no leeway was given for videos that showcased violence toward civiliansbeheadings, hangings, and other murders. Whether or not the policy group realized it, the worker told me, its decisions were in line with U.S. foreign policy: to support various factions in Syria, and to disavow any connection to or responsibility for the drug wars of Northern Mexico. These complex, politically charged decisions to keep or remove content happened without anyone in the public able to know. Some videos appeared on the platform as if they were always supposed to be there, others disappeared without a trace.

* * *

Is an editorial practice by any other name, such as CCM, one that the public ought to know more about? Social-media firms treat their CCM practices as business or trade secrets and typically refuse to divulge their internal mechanisms for decision-making or to provide access to the workers who undertake CCM. There is no public editorial board to speak of, no letters to the editor published to take issue with practices. For this story, I contacted four social media platforms for comment: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Instagram declined to speak on the record; the others havent responded.

Meanwhile, platforms have frequently released new media-generation tools without a demonstrated understanding of their potential social impact. Such has been the case of Facebook Live and Periscope, both of which were introduced as fun ways to livestream aspects of ones life to others, but have served key roles in serious and violent situations; the cases of Philando Castile and Keith Lamont Scott are two recent examples. At the behest of law enforcement, Facebook turned off the Facebook Live feed of Korryn Gaines as she was using the platform to document an attempted arrest. After her feed went dark, she was shot and killed and her son was shot and wounded by police.

The consequences for democracy are unclear.

Such cases starkly illustrate the incentive for social-media companies like Facebook to shy away from the media company label. Media companies are held to public criticism and account when they violate ethics and norms. Its a great position for a firm to be able to reap profits from circulating information, and yet take no responsibility for its veracity or consumption.

Social-media companies often appear eager to completely and cost-effectively mechanize CCM processes, turning to computer vision and AI or machine-learning to eliminate the human element in the production chain. While greater reliance upon algorithmic decision-making is typically touted as leap forward, one that could potentially streamline CCMs decision-making, it would also eliminate the human reflection that leads to pushback, questioning, and dissent. Machines do not need to sign NDAs, and they are not able to violate them in order to talk to academics, the press, or anyone else.

What key information and critiques are now missing from view, and to the benefit of whom? In the absence of openness about these firms internal policies and practices, the consequences for democracy are unclear. CCM is a factor in the current environment of fake-news proliferation and its harmful results, particularly when social-media platforms are relied upon as frontline, credible information sources. The public debate around fake news is a good start to a critical conversation, but the absence of the full understanding of social-media firms agenda and processes, including CCM, make the conversation incomplete.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP)  Dean Elgar made an unbeaten 128 laced with 22 boundaries to lift South Africa out of trouble and into a commanding position at stumps Wednesday on the first day of the first test against New Zealand.

Opener Elgar carried his bat for his seventh test century and shared partnerships of 148 for the fourth wicket with Faf du Plessis (52) and 81, unbroken, for the fifth with Temba Bavnuma (38) to lead South Africa to 229-4 after it had slumped to 22-3.

His was an innings of contrasts, compiled with studied care and patience over 358 minutes and from 262 deliveries but also including abnormally high proportion of boundaries: 88 runs from fours which exhibited the full range of his shot play.

South Africa was able to steadily rebuild its innings through the day after Neil Wagner and Trent Boult had combined to remove Stephen Cook (3), Hashim Amla (1) and J.P. Duminy (1) by the 19th over.

Boult first dismissed Cook with a classic example of late swing when the batsman thought it safe to leave the ball outside off stump only to see it duck back late and trap him lbw.

Then Wagner produced a brilliant double, dismissing Amla and Duminy in the same over. He bowled Amla with a full delivery which swung back between bat and pad.

Duminy was then undone with a bouncer which reared steeply, took the batsman by surprise and caused him instinctively to sway backwards. He left his bat in its path and it glanced off glove and onto his helmet before flying to Ross Taylor at first slip.

At that point, du Plessis had every cause to believe he had mis-read the pitch and made an error in choosing to bat first. Boult and Wagner looked almost unplayable and the veteran spinner Jeetan Patel, introduced in only the sixth over, tied down run ends and reduced the run rate to a trickle.

New Zealand made the stunning decision shortly before the start of play to drop its senior fast bowler Tim Southee  Man of the Match in two of its previous home tests this series  and go instead with only two specialist seamers and the spinners Patel and Mitchell Santner.

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It was a decision which seemed to have been justified early on and might yet be as the pitch wears and becomes slower. But Elgar's innings may have changed some the balance.

Boult bowled superbly, finishing with 1-40 from 20 overs and Wagner, giving the rare chance to take the new ball, had 2-55 from 18. Patel bowled without luck and finished with 0-60 from 24.

Allrounder James Neesham made a rare appearance at the bowling crease and supported his inclusion at the expense of Colin de Grandhomme with the wicket of du Plessis.

"Obviously there wasn't a whole lot of help in the wicket laterally and there wasn't a whole lot of bounce either," Neesham said. "But I thought we stuck at it pretty well and to keep them to 229 over the course of the day with only four down probably reflects it was a decent effort."
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African authorities have been asked to appear at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 7 over the failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir during a visit two years ago, a senior official said on Wednesday. Ayesha Johaar, the acting chief state law adviser, said Pretoria was asked to appear at the Hague-based court for failing to comply with a cooperation request from the tribunal, contrary to the provisions of the treaty establishing the court and which came into force in 2002. "It concerns an order of non-compliance by South Africa as a member state of the ICC and Sudan's president," she said. Pretoria announced its intention to leave the ICC in 2015 after the tribunal criticized it for disregarding an order to arrest Al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes. Bashir has denied the accusations. South Africa's High Court last month blocked the government's attempt to withdraw from the ICC. But Justice Minister Michael Masutha said the government would press ahead with withdrawing from the Hague-based tribunal, noting that the ruling was based largely on procedure - that the decision to pull out did not pass first through parliament. To comply with part of the court order, Pretoria has formally revoked its withdrawal from the ICC. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia)
Madrid (AFP) - Police have found a large stash of explosives in northern Spain which they suspect belong to the Basque separatist group ETA, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

The Guardia Civil police force discovered seven drums of explosives in a rural area near the town of Irun on the border with France, the ministry said in a statement.

"The deposit has not seen recent activity and it is thought that it was used by the terrorist group to supply material to an ETA command unit in the Irun area," the statement said.

Police have cordoned off the area and explosives experts are analysing the material that was found.

The operation is continuing and the interior ministry said it could not rule out that other explosives caches may exist in the area.

Founded in 1959, ETA waged a violent decades-long campaign for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France, and is blamed for the deaths of more than 800 people.

The outfit has been severely weakened in recent years after hundreds of its members were arrested and some of its weapons were seized.

It declared a ceasefire in October 2011 but has refused to give up its weapons.

Five people were arrested and arms seized in December in a joint raid by Spanish and French officers near Bayonne in southwest France which officials in both nations described as a "blow" to ETA.

But it subsequently emerged that those arrested included the head of an environmentalist group, a former head of the Basque Country chamber of agriculture, and a female journalist.

The head of French rights group the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (LDH), Michel Tubiana, condemned the raid, saying the aim of the activists was to destroy ETA arms and to hand them over to authorities.

ETA is seeking to negotiate its dissolution in exchange for amnesties or improved prison conditions for the roughly 400 ETA members held in Spain and France.
The announcement of this year's XPoNential Music Festival, happening from July 28 to 30 at the BB&T Pavilion and adjacent Wiggins Park in Camden, is coming in dribs and drabs.

Last month's word was that Wilco, Conor Oberst and Hop Along are playing the BB&T on Friday night. Today's announcement about the WXPN-FM (88.5) presented fest is that the Saturday lineup willl be co-headlined by Britt Daniel-fronted Austin, Texas four piece Spoon - whose album Hot Thoughts comes out Friday - along with Philadelphia songwriter Amos Lee.

Lee apparently will be getting some assistance: His portion of the show is officially billed as Amos Lee & Friends with Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the latter being the New Orleans old time jazz institution who has made it a common practivce in recent years to collaborate with open minded contemporary acts, like Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Who Lee's other "friends" will be in this instance is yet to be determined.

Also on tap: Houston, Texas soul, funk and reggae band The Suffers, and rising Los Angeles quartet Chicano Batman, whose "This Land Is Your Land" commercial you might have seen during the Super Bowl.

The Sunday night at the BB&T show, and the entire lineup of the Wiggins Park more intimate festivities, on Friday through Sunday, is still to come.

Tickets for Satiurday nights show go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. More info here.

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The Statue of Liberty went dark for two hours Tuesday night  the eve of International Women's Day.

Read: Ben Carson Backtracks on Comparing Slaves to Immigrants: '2 Entirely Different Experiences'

The unexpected outage at 10 p.m. left the statue with only her crown's interior lights and torch illuminated.

Two hours later, the landmark's official Twitter account said it was "likely related to new emergency generator/Hurricane Sandy recovery project work."

Some lights on the Statue were temporarily off tonight. Likely related to new emergency generator/Hurricane Sandy recovery project work.  Statue of Liberty NM (@StatueEllisNPS) March 8, 2017

While the lights were out, social media lit up over the symbolism. The incident occurred on the same day the president proposed a new travel ban on citizens from six Muslim nations.

This is so symbolic of the United States rn #statueofliberty pic.twitter.com/XdLOFN7z6z  MATTHEW (@musiquefreak) March 8, 2017

Don Lemon on #cnn is reporting that the lights are out on the Statue of Liberty. Symbolic? #statueofliberty #Immigration #ageoftrump  John Fea (@JohnFea1) March 8, 2017

Lady Liberty no longer lifts her lamp beside the golden door.



I suppose it was only a matter of time. #StatueOfLiberty  Digital Cuttlefish (@cuttlefishpoet) March 8, 2017

Others found Lady Liberty going dark as a symbol for her standing with the resistance for #DayWithoutWomen. The strike set for Wednesday  International Women's Day  is asking women to skip work to show what it would be like if they were not in their respective positions for a day.

Read: Dad of Fallen Muslim Soldier Asks Trump: Want to Borrow My Copy of the American Constitution?

Thank you Lady Liberty for standing with the resistance and going dark for #DayWithoutAWoman 



: @randybals #StatueOfLiberty pic.twitter.com/D0JG9MmSRj  Women's March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017

CNN has just reported that the Statue of Liberty has gone dark tonight.



Power failure or social commentary?   Raymond Braun (@raymondbraun) March 8, 2017

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By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Patient Zia Zabuli was lucky to escape Wednesday's attack on a military hospital in central Kabul, which has been claimed by Islamic State. In hospital because of a leg wound, he and three others hid in a room and barricaded themselves in when they saw one of the gunmen approaching. "Together we put beds, chairs and whatever there was behind the door," he told Reuters an hour or so after a prolonged battle ended in the late afternoon. From their hiding place, they heard gunfire and the sound of explosions from hand grenades as special forces troops battled the three militants. At one point, one of the assailants tried to break into the room where he was hiding. "He came up to our door and kicked it several times but it did not open. Then he left," said Zabuli, who was still wearing his hospital pyjamas as he limped away from the scene supported by a relative. "We stayed quiet and prayed for our safety." According to witnesses, the gunmen were already inside the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital in the Afghan capital when a suicide bomb went off outside, signalling the start of the carnage. At least 30 people were killed and dozens wounded by militants who wore medical coats to conceal their identities and weapons. It was the latest in a series of attacks against civilian and military targets in Afghanistan, and underlined the growing threat posed by insurgents pledging loyalty to the Middle East-based Islamic State. The group is opposed to the Western-backed government as well as to the main Afghan Taliban insurgency, which is larger and remains the main security concern for Afghan and NATO troops seeking to impose stability. BODIES SIDE BY SIDE When the blast went off at around 9 a.m. local time, doctor's assistant Ahmad Mahmoodi looked up and saw a gunman on the second floor of the main building shooting indiscriminately at the hospital entrance below. A security guard was killed and another person was shot in the arm. "I was in the corridor and jumped inside the emergency ward and from one of its windows, I jumped out," he said. Throughout the 400-bed complex, Afghanistan's largest military hospital, medical staff, patients and visitors scrambled for cover as the attackers went through the buildings. As Afghan special forces landed by helicopter on the roof of the hospital and the fighting raged, some people could be seen from outside the hospital crouching on window ledges. Ghulam Hazrat was with his wounded brother when the gunmen appeared and shot two other visitors. He jumped out of the building, but added: "My brother is inside." As night fell, scores of people gathered outside the hospital waiting for news of family members and friends. One man, who did not give his name, said he had received a telephone call from his brother, who was taking care of their wounded father when the attack happened. "He told us that he was carrying our father on his back," he said. "Now my uncle who is inside the hospital has just called and told us both were martyred. He said their bodies were next to each other." (Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
Juba (AFP) - Hundreds of uprooted South Sudanese students missed taking school-leaving exams this week after refusing a government order to leave the safety of a UN base to sit the tests.

Officials said nearly 900 students declined to leave the so-called "Protection of Civilians" (PoC) site inside a fortified UN base in the capital Juba to take the exam that is a prerequisite for a university place.

Thuk Bentiu, 23, said he and fellow students would not leave the camp "because of insecurity".

Many of the students have sheltered in the UN base since civil war began in December 2013, sparked by a dispute between President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar.

The conflict quickly took on an ethnic character pitting Kiir's Dinkas against Machar's Nuer.

Most of those living in the camp are members of the Nuer or other minority ethnic groups while the Dinka-dominated government and security forces control the capital.

Hundreds of civilians were killed in the most recent major outbreak of violence in the city last July.

"We could not trust going outside the PoC camp," said Bentiu, who completed his secondary education in the camp and dreams of studying agriculture at university.

"If we had a government that protected us outside there, our people would not have been killed and we would not have run to the PoC."

Bentiu reached the Juba camp days after the outbreak of civil war, escaping from government soldiers who had already killed some of his relatives.

Nationwide exams for the South Sudan Certificate of Education began this week for around 20,000 students but many of those worst-hit by the conflict feel disenfranchised.

"It is very unfortunate that those of us who are survivors are told to come and sit examinations outside," said Bentiu. "Who will be liable for us if we go missing?"

Nearly 40,000 uprooted people live in the Juba camp. Gatwot Matai, head teacher at one of three secondary schools set up there, said they had prepared 965 students to sit the exams but only 70 had dared to leave to take the tests.

Matai said the education ministry gave no explanation when it issued an order last week that all students must sit their exams outside the UN base.

Contacted by AFP, South Sudan's National Secretary for Examinations, Lul Ruei Dhol, said, "We are working on a solution" but gave no further details.
Manbij (Syria) (AFP) - US-backed Syrian fighters have turned over several villages in the country's north to government forces under a deal to avoid conflict with Turkey, a spokesman told AFP on Tuesday.

The Manbij Military Council, part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, announced the planned handover last week.

"Some villages and points on the western side of the town of Al-Areima have been handed over to the border guards of the Syrian regime," Manbij Military Council spokesman Sherfan Darwish told AFP.

He said the handover was carried out "with the goal of curbing Turkey's expansion and its occupation of Syrian territory, and to... prevent the shedding of civilian blood."

He declined to give further details but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said the handover had happened on Monday and involved fewer than 10 villages.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman described the handover as "for show."

"Members of the Manbij Military Council simply put on army clothes and raised the Syrian flag to avoid friction with the Turks," he told AFP.

There was no mention in Syrian state media of the handover to government forces.

The Manbij Military Council, part of the Kurdish-Arab SDF, first announced the handover last week, marking the first time that US-supported fighters had proposed ceding territory to regime forces.

The Council said the deal had been agreed with Russia to "protect the line dividing the Manbij Military Council and the areas under the control of the Turkish army and Euphrates Shield."

Euphrates Shield is the name of the operation Turkey launched inside Syria last August targeting the Islamic State group and the SDF, which is dominated by Kurdish fighters that Ankara sees as "terrorists".

The handover plan was announced after Euphrates Shield forces attacked several villages under SDF control east of the town of Al-Bab last week.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that the operation's next target would be Manbij -- a former IS bastion that is now under SDF control.

But on Monday, Ankara stepped back from that threat, saying it would not act without cooperation from Russia and the United States.

The profusion of forces operating in Syria has led to a deeply complex battlefield and tensions between different parties.

Washington said on Monday it had sent additional troops into Manbij to deter rival powers from targeting each other rather than IS.

"This is obviously a really complicated situation," said Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis.

"We have made visible actions in deploying US forces as part of the coalition in and around Manbij to reassure and deter -- that's to deter parties from attacking any other parties other than ISIS itself," he said, using another acronym for IS.

More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
By Tim Ghianni

NASHVILLE (Reuters) - A Nashville man has been arrested on charges linked to the death of his mother's pet dog, a diminutive Shih Tzu that was dumped while still alive in the trash compactor of an apartment complex, Tennessee police said on Wednesday.

Security video from Feb. 21 showed Terrence Clark, 27, placing the dog in a grocery bag, putting the bag in the compactor, pushing the machine's button four times and then driving away, the Nashville Police Department said in a statement.

Firefighters rescued the animal after a resident of the Arbor Hills Apartments in southeast Nashville heard it "whimpering and barking inside the compactor," police said. The dog was rushed to a veterinarian but died four days later.

Clark was arrested on Tuesday and charged with aggravated animal cruelty, police said. He is being held on a $65,000 bond. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.

It was also not clear if Clark and his mother lived at Arbor Hills. A woman who answered the phone at the complex's office said staff there had been told not to comment on the case. One-bedroom apartments at the complex rent for about $900 per month.

Police declined to provide any more details, and a local fire department spokesman did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

(Reporting by Tim Ghianni; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Tom Brown)
By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A cluster of late-winter prairie fires in the Texas Panhandle has killed four people, including three ranch hands racing to herd livestock to safety, while scorching hundreds of thousands of acres of grasslands, officials said on Tuesday. Wildfires stoked by high winds and tinder-dry vegetation also raged across Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas, prompting thousands of evacuations and destroying numerous structures. One motorist, reported to be a truck driver, died in southern Kansas on Monday night from smoke inhalation, authorities said. NBC News reported a sixth fire-related fatality, a woman in Harper County, Oklahoma, who suffered a heart attack while trying to move cattle from harm's way. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin declared an emergency in 22 counties hit by wildfires in her state. The highest death toll was in Texas, where a woman and two men died on Monday in Gray County. One victim was overcome by smoke and two died from burns, said County Judge Richard Peet. "They were trying to move cattle away from the oncoming fire," he said in a telephone interview. A fourth person was killed in nearby Hemphill County, but the circumstances were not immediately available, said Phillip Truitt, incident commander with the Texas A&M Forest Service. He said one of the blazes had neared the Pantex Plant nuclear weapons facility, but the advancing flames were suppressed. "The fire line next to Pantex is out cold, and we don't expect the fire to pose any threat to it," he said. The largest conflagration in Texas, dubbed the Perryton fire, spread rapidly on Tuesday to blacken nearly 300,000 acres (121,000 hectares) in the panhandle region and was 50 percent contained, authorities said. That fire destroyed two houses. Wildfires in northwestern Oklahoma prompted evacuations of multiple towns, according to state forestry officials, who said more than 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) have burned. At least 10,000 residents in central Kansas were asked to evacuate their homes due to a wildfire in Reno County, where about 230 responders were on the scene, the county's emergency management agency said. More than 650,000 acres (263,000 hectares) have burned in Kansas, but the fire threat subsided on Tuesday with just eight counties reporting active blazes, according to the state's emergency management agency. Firefighters battling a 30,000-acre (12,000-hectare) grassland fire in northeastern Colorado extended containment lines to 80 percent of the blaze's perimeter on Tuesday, but five homes, 15 outbuildings and well over 200 head of livestock were lost in the flames, said Laurie Clemons, a spokeswoman for Phillips County. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Heide Brandes in Oklahoma City, Keith Coffman in Denver, Jim Forsyth in San Antonio, Kevin Murphy in Kansas City and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by James Dalgleish and Bill Rigby)
Sir Ian McKellen was spotted eating a potato at Liverpool University.

There for a speaking event, his eating habits may not have seemed like a huge deal to some. But the student guild was so delighted, they had a plaque made to commemorate the moment McKellen ate a baked potato on their humble campus, located at table five of The Sphinx bar.

Liverpools student guild laid a plaque to commemorate Sir Ian Mckellen eating a jacket potato https://t.co/jSWt303fLt pic.twitter.com/ZJ5e5cCBkh  Scott Werntz (@mrpinkoutloud) March 7, 2017

SEE ALSO: Let #GandalftheGuide show you New Zealand in this photo series

The decorated English actor's probably best known for his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. But he's also a committed activist for the LGBTQ community, having been openly gay since 1988. He showed up to Liverpool University on Friday to give a talk on LGBTQ rights, as The Tab reports.

He spoke about sexuality and gender labels, discussing the importance of coming out. For him, that moment in his life was so important, he said he would like his gravestone to read: "Here lies Gandalf, I came out."

Then, at some point, he decided to have a little snack, a "jacket potato" as the Brits call it, or basically just a baked potato.

And if you believe the tweets, quite a few people stopped to sit and watch him eat that much-discussed potato.

So @IanMcKellen is sat in The Sphinx @LiverpoolGuild having a jacket potato. Just saying.  Sean Turner (@GuildPresTurner) March 3, 2017

Today I saw Ian McKellen eating a jacket potato & I'm scared I'll never see anything as great again.  Ruth (@ruthldalton) March 3, 2017

I'm currently watching Sir Ian McKellen eating a jacket potato at my work trying not to feel like a stalker...  Rachel Coleman (@RacheColeman) March 3, 2017

Also loved seeing @IanMcKellen casually eating a potato in @LiverpoolGuild  Rebecca Mulvaney (@beccavane) March 3, 2017

Within days, that special moment was celebrated with a blue plaque right at the scene of the potato-eating. It also paid tribute to McKellen's drinking of a latte in the same spot.

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It probably goes without saying some students were pretty stoked on this new development.

so uni installed a plaque to commemorate @IanMcKellen eating a jacket potato which is fun https://t.co/4HhD2mzxGh  ellie rice (@helloelli3) March 7, 2017

My uni has actually put up a blue plaque in a bar booth because Ian McKellen sat there and ate a jacket potato   rach (@rrrachellouise) March 7, 2017
Thor: Ragnarok star Tom Hiddleston has done a fantastic job playing the villainous Loki in three movies already: Thor in 2011, The Avengers in 2013 and Thor: The Dark World in 2013.

He will be reprising the role again in Taika Waititis Thor: Ragnarok, but sadly, Hiddleston told USA Today that the character might be played by some other actor in the future. I cannot play Loki forever, its not possible, said Hiddleston, who just turned 36 last month. Loki is immortal and Im deeply mortal.

Hiddleston said Marvel might have to conclude Lokis storyline eventually or replace him as the villain. Regeneration, at some point, will be required, Im not quite sure when, he said.

For now, Hiddleston said theres a great storyline in Ragnarok between his character and Benedict Cumberbatchs Doctor Strange. However, Hiddleston said Loki actually looks down on Strange. I think he probably dismisses Strange, Hiddleston said about Loki. Yes, his sorcery is very impressive, but Lokis been doing that for [a] century so who cares? But Hela (Cate Blanchett) is a different beast and full of surprises. [She] actually might have been someone with whom he actually got along, but the circumstances have changed, he told IGN.

Due to Helas power, Hiddleston told Comic Book that the stakes are raised as far as villainous characters are concerned. Loki would have no choice but to team up with his half-brother and nemesis Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in order to save Asgard from destruction.

Its the kind of destruction that both Thor and Loki have never seen, on a scale of terror theyve never ever seen before. So, they fall back on their brotherhood fractured though it is to see what they can do to stop her, he said.

Thor: Ragnarok will be released on Nov. 3.

Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth

Photo: Getty Images/Albert L. Ortega

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Dhaka (AFP) - Thousands of Rohingya who took refuge in Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar have returned home because of a Bangladeshi plan to house them on an uninhabited flood-prone island, community leaders said Wednesday.

Nearly 73,000 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh since last October, when government forces in Myanmar unleashed a bloody crackdown on the Muslim minority. Many told horrific stories of villages being burned and women gang-raped.

Most headed to the already overcrowded refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh's main tourist resort district which borders Myanmar.

The influx led Dhaka to resurrect a controversial plan to relocate refugees to an undeveloped island in the Bay of Bengal.

Community leaders told AFP more than 5,000 Rohingya had now returned to the Buddhist-majority nation despite the risk of persecution.

"They chose to die by bullets than to be killed by nature," community leader Noor Hafiz said.

"People became very concerned after they learnt about the relocation plan. We heard the island submerges during the monsoon. Now we can only hope the situation back home is better."

Hafiz said 3,000 people had left his camp, while another 2,000 people had left two separate newly-built makeshift refugee camps.

"They said they don't want to die in flash floods," said Dudu Mia, a Rohingya who heads another camp called Leda.

The Bay of Bengal is frequently hit by cyclones. Rights groups have dismissed the plan to populate the island of Thengar Char with refugees as "ridiculous".

Nonetheless the Bangladesh government has ordered the construction of a jetty, helipad and visitor facilities on the 6,000-acre (2,430-hectare) island.

Last week it began a Rohingya headcount as part of its relocation campaign after seeking international support for the plan.

Bangladesh says some 400,000 Rohingya are now living in squalid conditions at refugee camps in the country, although most predate the recent unrest in Myanmar.

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A Border Guard Bangladesh official also said growing numbers of Rohingya were returning, although he gave a much lower figure.

"Last month 48 refugees notified us they were leaving Bangladesh for home," Teknaf Major Abu Russell Siddique told AFP.

"This month, in a week, the number has reached 235."

Siddique said parts of Myanmar's Rakhine state, where most of the country's Rohingya live, were now stable.

"As far as we know, only people from the villages which were unaffected (by the crackdown) are returning," he said.
A decade ago, a physician in Italy proposed an unorthodox but intriguing theory: that the intermittent autoimmune attacks that occur in multiple sclerosis are triggered by narrowed veins in the head and neck.

Since then, tens of thousands of MS patients around the world have undergone balloon angioplasty to widen their veins. Clinics from California to Bulgaria have sprung up to provide the liberation therapy, even as studies have increasingly poked holes in it and neurologists have frowned on it.

Now, the first large, rigorous clinical trial of vein-widening, or venoplasty, has shown that it is no better than a sham for treating multiple sclerosis. The results of the study, conducted in four Canadian cities and led by the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, were presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Society for Interventional Radiology in Washington.

Weve got this tension between science and social media, where people will put these compelling stories, saying, Ive had this treatment, and I feel dramatically better,  said study co-leader Anthony Traboulsee, a neurologist who directs the MS clinic at the University of British Columbia. I hope these findings from a carefully controlled gold standard study will persuade people with MS not to pursue liberation therapy, which is an invasive procedure that carries the risk of complications, as well as significant financial cost.

Patients like Janet Grieco, 60, of Chalfont, are unlikely to be swayed.

Dissatisfied with the marginal benefits, high costs, and serious side effects of standard MS drugs, Grieco has had venoplasty seven times since 2010  the first three at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, before officials there scuttled the treatment as unproved for MS.

Venoplasty "is for relief, not a cure, said Grieco, who says she believes the procedures improved her walking ability and mental sharpness. Im doing great. I wouldnt hesitate to have it again.

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But the new study could deter the treatment if insurers end coverage that Grieco and some U.S. patients have relied on.

Venoplasty is an expensive procedure, about $8,000, depending whether you go to a private clinic. Insurers base a lot of their coverage on studies. Insurers are not going to pick it up anymore, predicted Sharon Richardson, a Denver MS patient. She has had venoplasty twice and is president of a patient advocacy group called CCSVI Alliance.

The groups name is short for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, the terminology coined by Paolo Zamboni, a vascular specialist at Italys University of Ferrara. While trying to help his wifes MS, he discovered that the three main veins that channel blood from the brain back to the heart  the jugulars and the azygos  are often twisted or constricted in MS patients.

He posited that blood backs up in the brain, creates new drainage patterns to compensate for the slow-flowing veins, and leaves behind iron that irritates delicate brain tissue. In theory, this signals immune cells to seep out of the blood and try to mop up the toxic deposits.

Zambonis maverick work offered an explanation for the central mystery of MS: why immune cells run amok, attacking nerves and causing progressive disability, usually over the course of decades. An estimated 2.3 million people worldwide, including 400,000 in the United States, are living with the varied and unpredictable symptoms, including weakness, numbness, blurred vision, and problems with walking, balance, and continence.

It was a reasonable theory, a bold theory, said Traboulsee. Our goal was to take Dr. Zambonis observation and validate it with a stringent study. We couldnt validate it, and thats unfortunate, but thats science.

To prevent the biases of patients and doctors from undermining the study, the researchers randomly assigned half the patients to a sham procedure, the surgical equivalent of a placebo. Although all 104 participants had a tube, or catheter, threaded into their blocked veins, only 49 had their vessels widened by inflating the balloon tip. Neither the patients nor the doctors who evaluated their results knew who had the fake procedure.

Assessments  variously including brain MRIs, vein imaging, standard MS evaluations, and patients' self-evaluations  were done 72 hours after the procedure and four more times over a year. There were no significant differences between the two groups, providing "the most definitive debunking of the claim that patients could achieve dramatic improvements from a one-time medical procedure," said a study news release.

Even before the latest study, researchers around the world were finding fault with the CCSVI concept. Poor vein drainage does not bother everyone who has it, and some studies have found it is common in healthy people as well as those with neurological conditions other than MS. Not all MS patients get better after venoplasty, and their veins often re-narrow within a year.

Paulette O'Leary, 48, of Toronto, was turned away for venoplasty at Lankenau in 2010, but went on to undergo the procedure twice at Albany State Medical Center in New York. She said she now sometimes needs crutches and gets Botox shots for urinary control.

"I don't think [venoplasty] made a difference in me," she said this week. "But I think it does work for some people."

Patients in the Canadian study had no serious complications related to the treatment. But safety has been an issue. In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that liberation therapy had caused side effects including stroke, blood clots, and death.

That alert sharply curtailed the availability of the procedure, according to patients and medical groups.

The new study, which has not yet been published in a journal, was funded with $5.4 million from the Canadian national and provincial governments and the MS Society of Canada.

In the U.S., the National MS Society's executive vice president, Bruce Bebo, wrote in an email that results "suggest that treating CCSVI may not have benefits for people living with MS."

Although there are 14 FDA-approved MS drugs, Bebo said, "there remains an urgent need for therapies that can stop disease activity and progression."

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One of Sen. Tim Kaines sons was recently arrested after he and a group of people crashed a Minnesota rally where hundreds of people were gathered in support of President Donald Trump, police said.

Linwood Kaine, 24, was released from jail Tuesday after the Saturday scuffle but has not yet been charged with a crime, the Pioneer Press reports. He is the youngest son of the Virginia Democrat, who was Hillary Clintons running mate during last years presidential election. Authorities said Linwood Kaine was among six people taken into custody. He was arrested on suspicion of second-degree riot, the Press reports.

About 50 people showed up at the pro-Trump rally. Some of the counter-protesters lit fireworks and smoke bombs, which sent Trump supporters scrambling, the Washington Post reports. A chemical irritant was also sprayed into the crowd.

We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues, the elder Kaine said in a statement. They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully.
SHANGHAI (AP)  China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks, a move that offers a potential business foothold for President Donald Trump's family company and protects his name in a country notorious for counterfeiters. The trademarks cover everything from hotels and golf clubs to bodyguard and concierge services, public documents show. Trump's lawyers in China applied for the marks in April 2016, as Trump railed against China at campaign rallies, accusing it of currency manipulation and stealing U.S. jobs. Critics maintain that Trump's swelling portfolio of China trademarks raises the possibility of conflicts of interest. China's Trademark Office published the provisional approvals on Feb.

BEIJING (AP)  As if any reminder were needed, delegates to China's ceremonial parliament were repeatedly told in no uncertain terms this week what job No. 1 is: "Follow the leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core." The exhortation carries added weight as China moves toward its most important political event in five years, the ruling Communist Party's 19th National Congress. The event, this fall, is expected to usher in a second five-year term as general secretary for Xi  China's most powerful leader in decades  along with a major infusion of new blood into the party's governing bodies.

BEIJING (AP)  China's foreign minister said Wednesday that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, in an unusually public proposal that analysts said showed Beijing's growing alarm over the tensions. The U.S. and South Korea resisted the idea. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said the U.S. has to see "some sort of positive action" from North Korea before it can take Kim Jong Un seriously. South Korea's ambassador called linking the annual drills to the North's provocations "unacceptable." The ambassadors spoke after the Security Council condemned North Korea's latest volley of ballistic missile launches Monday that landed into ocean off Japan.

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  Gunmen wearing white lab coats stormed a military hospital in Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. The attack on the 400-bed military facility, located near two civilian hospitals in Kabul's heavily-guarded diplomatic quarter, set off clashes with security forces that lasted several hours. The brazen assault reflected the capability of militant groups in Afghanistan to stage large-scale and complex attacks in the heart of Kabul, underscoring the challenges the government continues to face to improve security for ordinary Afghans. Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said there were "more than 30 killed and more than 50 wounded" in the attack.

SYDNEY (AP)  An Irishman and French woman have been rescued off Australia's southeastern coast after their yacht's rudder broke in raging seas between Australia and New Zealand in the midst of the couple's around the globe voyage. Nick Dwyer, 55, and Barbara Heftman, 44, said Thursday they thought they would not survive the repeated capsizing of their 12-meter (40-foot) sailing boat before an Australian police boat rescued them Wednesday in 6-meter (20-foot) seas more than 370 kilometers (230 miles) east of Sydney. They landed on Sydney Harbor on Wednesday night and police provided them with beds. Dwyer said their yacht's rudder broke on Saturday on route to Sydney and heavy seas capsized them several times before he activated an emergency beacon on Tuesday and made radio contact with Australian rescue authorities.

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The United States on Wednesday rejected China's proposal for a halt to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises if North Korea suspends its nuclear and missile activities. It called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un irrational and demanded "positive action" before the U.S. can take his regime seriously. In Washington, U.S. State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner said, "At this point we don't see it as a viable deal." A Pentagon spokesman, Cmdr. Gary Ross, said U.S. activities to defend South Korea "cannot be equated to North Korea's repeated violations of its obligations and agreements." The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told reporters after an emergency Security Council meeting on North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches that the United States must see "some sort of positive action" by Kim's regime before discussing ways to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

BRISBANE, Australia (AP)  Australian police say a 42-year-old man who allegedly posed as Justin Bieber online to solicit explicit images from children has been charged with more than 900 child sex offenses. Bieber, a 23-year-old Canadian pop singer, is currently in Australia performing his "Purpose World Tour." Police on Thursday warned young fans and their parents to be extra vigilant when using the internet. Gordon Douglas Chalmers, a law lecturer at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, was charged in November with using Facebook and Skype to impersonate the star after tip-offs from U.S. and German authorities. A police statement says Chalmers was charged this week with another 931 child sex offenses dating back a decade including rape and making child exploitation material.

ISLAMABAD (AP)  More than 2,000 students from Islamic seminaries have rallied in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, urging the government to take stern action against all those people who are posting blasphemous content on social media. Wednesday's rally came hours after the Islamabad High Court, responding to a petition from an Islamic cleric, ordered the government to impose a travel ban on people who post blasphemous content. Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in Pakistan and anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its Prophet can be sentenced to death.

WASHINGTON (AP)  If China was hoping for a concession from the U.S. after recently suspending coal imports from cash-poor North Korea, it got the opposite. The U.S. is starting to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea which the allies say is needed to defend against North Korea. But China and North Korea view it as a threat. That adds to strains in the high-stakes relationship between Washington and Beijing weeks into Donald Trump's presidency. And it could further complicate cooperation between the two world powers in combating something they both oppose  North Korea's nuclear program. The U.S.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)  Malaysia's prime minister said Wednesday that relatives of the half brother of North Korea's ruler may be too scared to help police investigating his mysterious poisoning death in Kuala Lumpur. A man claiming to be the victim's son, meanwhile, appeared in an online video saying he and his family were safe in a location he did not reveal. Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke a day after a stunning diplomatic breakdown involving the investigation into Kim Jong Nam's killing, with North Korea barring Malaysians from leaving its territory and Malaysia responding in kind. While on Tuesday he denounced North Korea for "effectively holding our citizens hostage," Najib said Wednesday that his country still wants to negotiate.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit South Korea, Japan and China, the State Department announced Tuesday, just a day after North Korea launched ballistic missiles close to ally Japan.

On his first visit to the region as top US diplomat, March 15-19, Tillerson will speak with authorities after the tests, which were followed by Washington's deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea.

"In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from the DPRK, and reaffirm the Administrations commitment to further broaden and enhance US economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region," spokesman Mark Toner said.

Tillerson arrives in Tokyo on March 15; heads to Seoul on March 17, and on to Beijing on March 18.

The US Pacific Command said Monday that the Americans had begun deploying the THAAD system to South Korea, which is designed to defend the US ally from a North Korean attack.

China responded that it was "firmly opposed" to the deployment and vowed to "resolutely take necessary measures" to defend its security interests.

China, a permanent council member and Pyongyang's main ally, has argued that deployment of the THAAD would further destabilize the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Meanwhile, China on Wednesday called on North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military wargames, to avoid what it called a "head-on collision."
When a relationship fades a time may come for making a change, and it's not rare for retirement investors to find themselves looking for a more compatible providers.

A move may make sense if the 401(k) provider you were stuck with at work doesn't look like the best match now that you've changed jobs or retired. Or maybe you find your individual retirement account trustee makes it hard to talk to a human, charges high fees, doesn't have the funds or you want or doesn't provide the investing advice you need.

"It makes sense to transfer accounts if you are paying high fees, have a plan that forces you to use expensive products, or have a limited option of investments available," says Michelle Brownstein, director of private client services at Personal Capital, a wealth management firm in California and Colorado.

[See: 10 Long-Term Investing Strategies That Work.]

"It can also make sense to transfer accounts for consolidation purposes," she says. "Having four 401(k)s from past employers at four different companies can be harder to track and manage than one consolidated rollover IRA."

Funds in a 401(k) can be moved into a new employer's 401(k) or into a rollover IRA that should allow you to buy just about any stock, bond or fund you want. Assets or cash in an IRA can be moved into a different IRA.

"This is a very hot topic right now due to many baby boomers retiring," says Courtnie Nein, president of Good Life Advisors in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

First, Nein says, think about why you want to move.

"If you are moving your accounts it should be to improve performance, lower fees, receive better service, or create a strategy for you and your family," she says. The move, for example, may be part of a strategy to change your asset allocation.

Nein and other experts say the key is to keep apples with apples. Assets in tax-favored accounts like 401(k)s and traditional IRAs should go into new accounts with the same tax treatment, while holdings in tax-free Roth accounts should go into new Roths. Tax-sheltered money should not be put into taxable accounts, else a tax bill may follow.

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The goal is to avoid a "taxable event," with a tax bill triggered on money that could continue to be sheltered from taxes.

Making a large withdrawal from a 401(k) or traditional IRA and then putting the proceeds into a new account could trigger a big income tax, for example, if the money is not put into a new tax-favored account within 60 days. And the old firm will probably withhold taxes when it sends you the check.

[See: 10 Costs You Can Eliminate in Retirement.]

"Cashing out your account value and taking a lump sum distribution from your 401(k) will incur a mandatory 20 percent withholding, as well as potential taxes and a 10 percent tax penalty for those under 59.5 years of age if not eligible for early distribution," says Dan A. Ament, senior vice president at The Ament Group, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Wayzata, Minnesota.

Even if you put the entire check into the new account by the 60-day deadline, you'll have to make up the 20 percent withholding out of other funds to avoid a tax bite, he adds.

The easiest way to avoid problems is to order a direct transfer from the old firm to the new one, which avoids the tax withholding or any other taxable event. Typically, this is done by filling out forms with the new company, on paper or online. That firm then deals with the old one. But the old one may also ask you to fill out a form authorizing the move.

Account holders generally have two options: an in-kind transfer that moves the actual holdings to the new account or a liquidation of the old account, converting all holdings to cash that is then sent to the new trustee.

Even if the old account has proprietary funds only that firm offers, it may be possible to move them to a new account in which it would not be possible to get those funds. They could still be sold later, of course, but it may not be possible to buy more, even with reinvested earnings. It's best to ask both firms.

If you're moving from a previous employer's 401(k) to one with a new employer, the new account may well require a cash transfer, Ament says, but in-kind transfers are generally permitted from one IRA to another.

"You may wish to continue holding certain investments," he says. "In addition, the ability to transfer in-kind and then make re-allocation decisions also keeps you invested versus liquidating an account and waiting for a transfer to be completed."

While many financial transactions take place at light speed these days, shutting down one retirement account and opening another can sometimes take weeks, Brownstein says. In-kind transfers continue to enjoy investment gains while the process drones on, while a conversion to cash means your money is sidelined until it arrives in the new account and can be reinvested.

Whatever you do -- cash transfer or in-kind -- have an investment strategy for the new account before you make the move, Brownstein says.

[See: 10 Financial Perks of Getting Older.]

And talk to both firms about the process, since each will have an incentive to describe it in a self-serving light. The new firm will be eager to get your business, and the old one sorry to see it go.

Jeff Brown spent nearly 40 years as a newspaper reporter, columnist and editor, including 20 years writing about investing, personal finance, the economy and financial markets. He spent 20 years at The Philadelphia Inquirer and has been freelancing since 2007.
President Donald Trump signed his revised executive order travel ban Monday, but like the first version, critics were quick to criticize it as effectively being a Muslim ban. Although it exempted Iraqi nationals and green card holders, the new order banned immigrants from six Muslim-majority nations: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The American Civil Liberties Union responded with a release on its website titled, Well See You In Court 2.0: Once A Muslim Ban, Still A Muslim Ban.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International said that it was putting anti-Muslim hatred into policy.

No amount of editing can make this executive order anything but what it is  blatant bigotry, the organization said in a statement. There are real threats to security, but this bigoted order will do nothing to make the country safer.

Much of the opposition was based on Trump previously stating his intent to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Shortly after the first executive order, which was later blocked in federal court, went into effect in January, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an adviser to Trump during his campaign, said that he had been tasked with legally creating a Muslim ban.

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Photo: Getty Images

The scale of a true Muslim ban would, however, be almost unfathomable. As of 2010, there were 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, roughly 23 percent of the worlds population, according to the Pew Research Center. Islam was also the worlds fastest-growing religion, and its number of followers was expected to exceed Christianity by 2070.

There were 3.3 million Muslims already in the United States, as of 2015, about one percent of the U.S. population. Muslims were expected to make up more than two percent of the population by 2050. The share of immigrants granted green cards who were Muslim doubled from five percent to 10 percent in the 20 years between 1992 and 2012.

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President Donald Trumps accusations that former President Barack Obama wiretapped the Trump Tower before the presidential elections, alleged ties between Trumps officials and Russia, and the withdrawal of an appeal to the ruling that prevented the presidents first travel ban executive order  the Trump administrations woes seem never-ending.

Less than two months after stepping into office, President Trumps administration is in freefall, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather wrote in a post on Facebook Monday. Rather wrote,  At some points words fail, or they are starting to fail me. We have an Administration in freefall.

Rather launched a sharp attack on Trump after the presidents Twitter tirade where he made allegations against Obama for using his position as president to wire tap Trumps offices prior to the 2016 presidential elections.

I have a real question if President Trump actually believes what he is saying, Rather wrote. Even Richard Nixon, the most paranoid president to date, ruled for years with a relatively calm hand.

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Photo: REUTERS/Keith Bedford

Rathers attack was not limited to Trump or his administration. It also extended to those who were reluctant to raise their voice against the president. Rather added, Every one who normalizes Mr. Trump now, or has in the past, will have to answer to future generations for their acquiescence, silence or sophistry  if, indeed, not outright cowardice.

Currently the managing editor and anchor of Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel AXS TV, Rathers comments on President Trump did not go down well with some who brought up his fall from grace at CBS after his investigative piece on former President George W. Bushs military service from 1968 to 1973 in the Texas Air National Guards champagne unit.

Rathers view, however, resonated with many who are concerned by the presidents attempt to create a distraction while his administration battles some major issues.

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Read the full post below:

At some points words fail, or they are starting to fail me. We have an Administration in freefall. Have we passed through the circle of chaos? Are we at the circle of havoc?

The real Donald Trump has stood up, once again. Let no one ever be fooled. Let there be no doubt. The man who sends out a twitter tirade accusing a former President of crimes for which he provides no evidence, the man who doubles down when everyone with any sense pushes back, that man is our Commander in Chief. Every one who normalizes Mr. Trump now, or has in the past, will have to answer to future generations for their acquiescence, silence or sophistryif, indeed, not outright cowardice.

How hollow do all those pundit plaudits (including from many progressives) sound now for an average and disingenuous speech of someone else's words read from a teleprompter to Congress and the nation a week ago? A presidential Trump is a punchline to a joke no one wants to have told. Conspiracy theories are corrosive in society at large. When they dictate national policy, they can be lethal.

This is a man who challenged the citizenship of President Obama, with lies, innuendo, and no evidence. This is a man who claimed widespread voter fraud with lies, innuendo, and no evidence. This is a man who has taken a rhetorical blowtorch to our Constitutional principles with lies, innuendo, and no evidence. Those who rose in Congress to applaud his turns of phrase bear responsibility. Those who cynically use his presidency to push forward unpopular giveaways to the rich and well connected bear responsibility. Those in the press who meet insults with explanations bear responsibility.

Even the most grounded of presidents must fight to keep themselves moored to the real world. The Oval Office can be a bubble. Power attracts sycophants and cynics. But I have never seen anything like this. The sheer level of paranoia that is radiating out of the White House is untenable to the workings of a republic. I have a real question if President Trump actually believes what he is saying. Even Richard Nixon, the most paranoid president to date, ruled for years with a relatively calm hand. This Administration has been an off kilter whirlwind since the inauguration, and news reports suggest that seething anger from Mr. Trump is only getting worse. There is a growing consensus that the President may be "unhinged." It's a serious allegation, but even if it is not the case, Mr. Trump only has himself to blame.

To call a drama Shakespearean or operatic is usually an overreach. But I imagine artists of the future, and even the present, will find ample inspiration in our moment in history. Doesn't Steve Bannon strike you as an Iago whispering in the ear of an Othello-like Trump, consumed by jealousy and paranoia?

As the questions mount around Russia, as the circles of defense begin to falter, the determination to create diversions will escalate. But if the President hoped he could create a distraction, I think he misjudged the will of the American people. We have woken. We are paying attention. And we love our country too much to let it falter without a fight.

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The Supreme Court sent an important case concerning a transgender student in Virginia back down to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday, in part because of the Trump administrations new position on the issues involved in the case.

In Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., Gavin Grimm sued his school district for the right to use the boys bathroom, which corresponds with his gender identity. Under the Obama administration, it looked like Grimm might have a strong chance of success at the countrys highest court, potentially setting a precedent for school districts across the country. Now, thats looking less likely.

The Trump administration has rolled back Obamas former policies, meaning that transgender students like Grimm may have to follow policies on bathroom use and other accommodations set by individual school districts.

Grimms case has been winding its way through the court system for nearly two years. In the summer of 2015, a federal district court dismissed Grimms claims. The judges decision turned on their interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools that get federal funds. Courts have disagreed about the meaning of sex discrimination: Some have held that it covers gender identity, meaning that it prohibits discrimination against transgender people like Grimm. Others, like the district court in Grimms case, have disagreed. The Obama administration supported the inclusive interpretation, instructing schools to accommodate transgender students.

Last April, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision in Grimms favor: They held that the courts should defer to the administrations interpretation of Title IX, meaning in effect that Gloucester County should have to let Grimm use the bathroom of his choice. The Supreme Court stayed the opinion and the school district appealed. In October, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Arguments were set for late March.

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Recommended: The Conservative Uprising Against the Republican Healthcare Bill

But in February, the Trump administration withdrew the Obama administrations guidance, arguing that there must be due regard for the primary role of the States and local school districts in establishing educational policy. This was a clear sign that Trump is backing away from the Obama administrations inclusive interpretation of Title IX, favoring the previous status quo in which individual school districts decided how to deal with transgender students according to state and local laws.

While Grimms attorneys encouraged the Supreme Court to move forward with the case despite the Trump administrations new letter, the justices declined to do so on Monday, remanding the case back to the Fourth Circuit for further consideration in light of the guidance document issued by the Department of Education and Department of Justice on February 22, 2017.

The Supreme Courts decision not to hear the case at this point is a sign that this issue is likely to remain unresolved, at least for the near future. The courts have long been conflicted about the meaning of Title IX and other civil-rights statutes that deal with sex discrimination, in part because the law is arguably unclear about what sex discrimination means.

In wrestling with cases like Grimms, they have consistently looked to the executive and legislative branches for guidance. So far, Congress hasnt passed a law that clearly and incontrovertibly prohibits gender-identity discrimination in the context of education, employment, or other arenas. In practice, that has meant the White House and other agencies have had an outsized influence in determining how cases like Grimms should be handled.

Recommended: Many Trump Supporters Are Going to Love This One Part of the GOP Health-Care Bill

With its guidance letter to schools, the Obama administration set up transgender kids for success in making anti-discrimination claims in court. Thats largely why Grimm was victorious at the Fourth Circuit. Now, the Trump administration has reversed their fortunes, making it less likely that students like Grimm will prevail. When Gloucester County is argued before the Fourth Circuit for a second time, Grimm will be missing much of the support that helped him win the first timeincluding the support of the White House.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
President Donald Trump's first months in office have been mired in controversy and historically low approval ratings, the worst of any American president in modern history, following his signing of several controversial executive orders restricting travel from several Muslim-majority nations and demanding the increase in deportation rates nationwide.

But it's his erratic tweets that have caught the country by storm, with media and social media users alike typically waking up on a daily basis to some new presidential controversy and many questioning whether Trump is fit to lead the nation through some of the most challenging, crucial moments any president faces throughout their tenure in the Oval Office. A group of mental health professionals even wrote in to the New York Times in February describing their concerns over the presidency's state of mental health.

The notion Trump may be unable to serve in his role as commander-in-chief could undermine his presidency to the point where he could be removed without an official impeachment process, according to a little-known section within the 25th Amendment to the United States.

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Photo: Reuters

The Constitutional Amendment clearly states Vice President Mike Pence could call on Congress to remove Trump from office if he is proven "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." The language used within the Amendment open for interpretation; Congress would ultimately need to review a letter signed by the vice president and a majority of his Cabinet members demanding a transfer of power before the action can be done.

Of course, a vice president and Cabinet has never used section four of the 25th Amendment and there isnt any reported or apparent plans of a vice presidential coup. For now, its nothing short of a moonshot hope for Democrats and activists resisting Trumps presidency across the country. But if the most recent presidential election has proven one thing, its that anything is possible.

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According to section four of the 25th Amendment: "Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."

The provision indicates Congress wouldnt even need to vote on removing Trump from office in this unique situation, whereas an impeachment process would require a Senate vote and could be easily derailed by a Republican-majority backing the sitting president.

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President Donald Trump furthered allegations against former President Barack Obama across social media Tuesday morning, now accusing his predecessor of attempting to shut down the Guantanamo Bay military prison  known for its captivity of allegedly dangerous international terrorists and frequent use of torture as an interrogation tactic  in an effort to cause global acts of terror.

The early-morning tweetstorm followed Trumps previous accusations over the weekend that Obama had his phones wiretapped in New York Citys Trump Towers during the 2016 presidential election; an unfounded claim with no legal or realistic possibility, according to multiple national security experts and several of Trump's aides as well.

"122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield," Trump wrote on Twitter. "Just another terrible decision!"

Tuesday's tweets were subsequently published on the official twitter account for the president, @POTUS.

Meanwhile, it remained unclear how many people joined global terror groups like Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, otherwise known as ISIS. In 2014, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated there were anywhere from 20,000-31,500 fighters in Iraq and Syria alone. U.S. officials said joint-military operations backed by the U.S. and its allies killed as many as 50,000 ISIS fighters worldwide.

Several officials across party aisles long-pointed the finger at Guantanamo Bay as Americas use of unnecessary torture tactics in its fight against global terror, despite the fact many inmates detained in the military prison could in fact be innocent.

"There are still innocent people there," Lawrence B. Wilkerson, former chief of staff to then-secretary of state Colin Powell, said in a March 2009 interview with the Associated Press. "Some have been there six or seven years It did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something of importance."

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Photo: Reuters

Obama made it one of his campaign promises to end all use of torture throughout the American military, vowing to completely shut down the controversial prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. He failed in his mission to close the center entirely, but was effective in lowering its total population from 242 detainees in January 2009 to just 41 by the time Trump took office January 2017.

The former president's administration knew it would never enact a total closure of Guantanamo Bay, however.

"I don't anticipate that we will succeed in that goal of closing the prison, but it's not for a lack of trying  that, I assure you," Josh Earnest, former White House press secretary, told reporters at the time. "Because of the obstacles erected by Congress, terrorist organizations have a powerful recruiting tool and millions in taxpayer dollars are wasted to operate this large facility."

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By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump plans to meet with a group of infrastructure business leaders at the White House on Wednesday, a person briefed on the meeting said. During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would push for a $1 trillion infrastructure program to rebuild roads, bridges, airports and other public works projects. The lunch meeting is set to include real estate, management consulting, private equity and other business leaders, along with at least one environmental group, a person briefed on the matter said. Last month, Trump touted the plan in an address to Congress. "The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding," Trump said. "To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States - financed through both public and private capital - creating millions of new jobs." The American Society of Civil Engineers has graded U.S. infrastructure at D+ and estimated the country needs to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told Fox News last month that the needs for infrastructure are so great the federal government cannot shoulder all the costs. "Public private partnerships are a very important part of a new way of financing our roads and bridges that are in disrepair and our very dangerous," Chao said. In January, Trump signed an executive order aimed at expediting environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects, especially high priority projects "such as improving the U.S. electric grid and telecommunications systems and repairing and upgrading critical port facilities, airports, pipelines, bridges, and highways." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Berlin (AFP) - Germany on Wednesday sought to end a bad-tempered row with Turkey, stressing their long-standing friendship -- but the appeal drew only a cool response from Ankara.

NATO allies Ankara and Berlin have been locked in a new dispute over the past week after several local authorities in Germany blocked rallies by Turkish ministers.

The row is the latest in a long list of problems that have plagued relations and comes just after Ankara's arrest of a journalist with the German daily Die Welt that sparked consternation in Berlin.

On Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the stakes when he told a rally in Istanbul that the blocking of public appearances by his ministers was "not different from the Nazi practices of the past".

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, after hosting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu for talks, said he had "made clear that comparisons between the Nazi era and the cancellation of rallies or the rule of law in Germany are unacceptable".

But he said that despite Berlin and Ankara's deep differences on a host of issues, "there is no alternative to dialogue because that is the only way we can return, step-by-step, to a normal and friendly relationship".

Cavusoglu acknowledged that poor relations were in neither side's interests, and promised to host Gabriel for a new round of talks in Turkey "as soon as possible".

But at the same time, he told Germany to decide "if Turkey is a friend or not".

Back in Ankara, Erdogan was equally cool. "Whatever closed hall, stadium we go to, we will always fill it," he told public television channel TRT.

"They know this, because they know it they are trying to find ways to stop it. In Europe or around the world, no one can cut our emotional links with our citizens."

- 'Please don't preach' -

Turkish ministers have been streaming into Germany to campaign in favour of an April referendum on expanding Erdogan's powers.

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The ministers are anxious to tap into Germany's Turkish community with its 1.4 million people who are eligible to vote -- the fourth largest electoral base after Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

Cavusoglu had himself travelled to the northern German city of Hamburg where he addressed some 200 supporters at the residence of the Turkish consul on Monday evening.

"Please, don't give us lessons in human rights and democracy," the minister said, accusing Germany of failing to practise what it preached in reference to the scrapped rallies.

On Wednesday, a journalist for German newspaper Die Zeit said he had been assaulted by several men when he went to the consulate in Hamburg to hear Cavusoglu speak.

The journalist had been holding a sign reading "Free Deniz" in reference to German-Turkish correspondent for newspaper Die Welt, Deniz Yucel, who has been detained in Turkey since February.

Hamburg authorities have asked the consulate for an explanation regarding the incident.

Separately, Zurich authorities said Wednesday they have asked the Swiss government to cancel a planned rally by Cavusoglu on Sunday because of security concerns.

And Austrian chancellor Christian Kern has called for a ban on Turkish politicians from politically campaigning across the EU.

- 'Part of our country' -

Germany and Turkey have a special relationship due to the large community of Turks who have settled in Europe's biggest economy, the legacy of a "guest worker" ("Gastarbeiter") programme dating to the 1960s and 70s.

But those ties have been put to the test in the past year over differences on issues surrounding human rights and press freedom, particularly since last July's failed coup in Turkey aimed at ousting Erdogan.

Berlin has emerged as a strident critic of Ankara's vast crackdown in the aftermath of the putsch, which has seen more than 100,000 people arrested, suspended or sacked for alleged links to the plotters or to Kurdish militants.

Ankara has in turn accused Berlin of harbouring "terrorists" and failing to respond to requests to hand over suspects from the coup as well as Kurdish militants who it believes are members of the outlawed PKK group.

With the latest feud rumbling on, Germany's domestic spy agency on Wednesday voiced concern that tension between nationalist Turks and PKK supporters could escalate.

"We have seen for a long time that conflicts in Turkey also have an impact on the security situation in Germany," said the BfV agency's head, Hans-Georg Maassen.
Berlin (AFP) - Germany and Turkey must work towards restoring ties frayed by a series of disputes, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Wednesday, while warning Ankara that any comparison to Nazis is a "red line that cannot be crossed".

Ankara and Berlin have been locked in a new row over the past week because of a ban imposed by several German local authorities on rallies by Turkish ministers.

The dispute is the latest in a long list of problems that have plagued ties, and comes just after Ankara's arrest of a journalist for German daily Die Welt that sparked consternation in Berlin.

On Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the stakes when he told a rally in Istanbul that the German ban against his ministers is "not different from the Nazi practices of the past".

Hosting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu for talks on Wednesday, Gabriel said he "made clear that comparisons between Nazi-era and the cancellation of rallies or rule of law in Germany is forbidden."

"Both sides have the responsibility to simply not cross certain red lines, and comparisons to Nazi Germany is one of them," said Gabriel.

Despite their deep differences on a host of issues, "there is no alternative to dialogue because that is the only way we can return step by step to a normal and friendly relationship," added Gabriel.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish politicians are using a spate of cancelled rallies in Germany to stir up nationalist feeling ahead of next month's referendum on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers, analysts say.

Since last week, German and Turkish politicians have traded barbs over the banning of events by Turkish officials visiting Germany in a bid to boost support ahead of the April 16 vote on whether to create an executive presidency in Turkey.

Although Berlin has insisted the rallies were cancelled by local authorities for logistical reasons, Turkish officials have hit back repeatedly, with Erdogan even comparing such actions to "Nazi practices".

In an attempt to maintain its relations with Ankara -- a crucial partner to halt the influx of refugees and migrants into Europe -- Germany has refrained from further exacerbating the tensions, urging Turkey to "keep a cool head".

But the spat has provided fodder for those working for a 'Yes' vote in the April referendum.

"This tension serves Erdogan's referendum campaign," said Ahmet Insel, a political scientist and academic.

"They have difficulty finding themes to fill their campaign and have difficulty mobilising the 'Yes' camp," he said.

According to Insel, the move to prevent such rallies in Germany and elsewhere in Europe has allowed Erdogan to resort to "the discourse of victims and (to) fuel anti-European resentment".

The academic said that 300,000 to 400,000 'Yes' votes from Turks abroad could represent a difference of one percentage point in the referendum, "especially if participation was lower in Turkey".

In the 2015 elections, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) which Erdogan co-founded, won the backing of 60 percent of Turks living in Germany.

Back home, it secured just under 50 percent of the vote.

- A valuable target -

Erdogan's AKP is running the 'Yes' campaign, saying the changes would bring political stability and avoid the potential confusion from a two-headed system with both a president and prime minister.

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While the outcome of the referendum seems uncertain, the government is trying to "seize every opportunity to gain a political advantage," said Sinan Ulgen, head of the Istanbul-based Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy (EDAM).

Turkish leaders attach an importance to these rallies, Ulgen said, not only because of the influence on Turkish voters in Germany but also because, through the media coverage, they "can possibly influence the nationalist vote in Turkey".

Germany is home to the largest Turkish diaspora outside of Turkey with 1.4 million people who are eligible to vote in the referendum.

Although the community only represents about 2.6 percent of Turkey's 54 million eligible voters, it represents an attractive target for campaigners.

But Erdogan's latest diatribes recalling Germany's Nazi past may have been a broadside too far, Ulgen said.

"It is not certain that the (Turkish) population, and especially the economic circles -- since Germany is a major trading partner for Turkey -- is inclined to support rhetoric as fierce as the comparison with the Nazi regime."

- 'Isolating itself... again' -

Jean Marcou, a Turkey expert at Sciences Po in the French city of Grenoble, said the referendum's outcome could be tighter than expected.

He said Erdogan's strategy of "defiance" could cause concern among some parts of the electorate "because Turkey is, again, isolating itself completely".

"Erdogan enjoys the dispute with Germany. He seeks external enemies useful in domestic politics to win his referendum," Omid Nouripour, an MP and foreign policy spokesman for the German Green party, told Germany's Bild daily.

Turkey has also been sharply criticised by other European countries including Austria and the Netherlands for seeking to campaign abroad.

Despite the furore, two Turkish ministers have visited Germany in recent days in defiance of European opposition and the prevention of meetings in which they were to have taken part.

"The government could ban the arrival of Turkish politicians, but would that be smart to give Turkey the role of martyr and to give Erdogan the voices missing for this referendum?" asked Julia Kloeckner, vice president of the Christian Democrats (CDU), Chancellor Angela Merkel's party.

"I doubt it," she said.
Daimi Akyuz (left) gunned down Alistair Grimason in 2003, leaving parents David and Ozlem heartbroken (Picture: REX Features)

The man who gunned down a Scottish toddler at a Turkish cafe in 2003 has died after he was shot at his own wedding.

Daimi Akyuz was killed on Saturday as he stepped out for a cigarette, only six days after being released from prison.

Akyuz, 46, had been jailed for life after he killed 2-year-old Alistair Grimason in the seaside resort of Foca almost 14 years ago.

The tragic incident occurred at a cafe in the seaside resort of Foca (Picture: REX Features)

The toddler was sleeping in his pushchair when he was hit by a bullet after a fight broke out in a cafe over a mobile phone.

Akyuz immediately went on the run, but was later arrested and found guilty of killing the toddler and and murdering Ali Bektas, a mobile salesman.

Despite having served less than half his life sentence, Akyuz was released from prison last week  only days before he was gunned down at his wedding.

Alistair Grimason was gunned down as he slept at a roadside cafe (Picture: REX Features)

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Alistairs father David said he took no joy in knowing that his sons killer had been gunned down after an early release from prison.

He said: I was told that he was at his wedding and stepped outside for a cigarette and someone came along and shot him.

I dont want to see anyone lose their life, especially in those sort of circumstances. It is ironic  he was not scared to use guns and that is how he was killed himself, but I dont want to see that. We campaigned for a long time about gun crime in Turkey.

Daimi Akyuz had served only 13 years in prison (Picture: REX Features)

Some people might feel I should be pleased that he has been killed but I dont take any comfort from that at all. I almost feel sorry for him in a way, or certainly for his family. He had two children and they have lost their father. I dont take any joy in what has happened.

Its claimed that Ozlem received early release after the attempted coup last year caused prisons to overflow, with older inmates released before the end of their sentence.

David and Ozlem shortly after their sons death in 2003 (Picture: REX Features)

Mr Grimason added: I dont understand why they would let out anyone who was as dangerous as he was. The first thing I felt was a bit of anger that he was out of prison. Thirteen-and-a-half years is about a third of the sentence he was supposed to have served.

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We always had that little peace of mind that he was being punished for his crime. That was his punishment  to be in jail.
Beirut (AFP) - Two people were killed on Wednesday in bombardment of a Syrian rebel bastion near Damascus, a monitor said, less than 24 hours after Russia announced a freeze in fighting there.

"A young man and a woman were killed in air strikes on Douma," the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta region, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Raids also hit the town of Arbin, and regime artillery hit Harasta, leaving nearly two dozen people wounded in Eastern Ghouta.

"These are the first air strikes since the truce was announced" on Tuesday afternoon, Abdel Rahman said.

An AFP correspondent in Douma told AFP that a warplane had struck the town and that residents who were outside had rushed back into their homes.

"The situation is tragic -- the heavy shelling is ongoing," said Zeina, a resident of Douma who spoke to AFP via the internet.

Russia's defence ministry on Tuesday declared a two-week "regime of silence" in Eastern Ghouta, the last opposition stronghold near the Syrian capital.

Hamza Bayraqdar, a spokesman for the Army of Islam, told AFP on Tuesday that the faction had not been notified about the ceasefire, but would not "reject any agreement to stop the bloodshed and suffering of our people".

And senior Army of Islam official Mohammad Alloush lambasted regime ally Moscow on Wednesday after the strikes.

"Russia's announcement of a cessation of hostilities in Eastern Ghouta is a political announcement -- militarily, it's not being executed," he told AFP.

"Russia wants to present itself as neutral and a sponsor of a political solution (to the Syrian conflict), but on the ground it's a different case," he said.

"This announcement came late. It was supposed to be announced on March 5, but the regime didn't commit to it. Even with this announcement, there is no agreement from the regime on a freeze."

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Eastern Ghouta has been under a devastating government siege since 2012, but has also been the target of a blistering regime offensive in recent months.

It is the last remaining opposition stronghold near Damascus, where a string of local "reconciliation deals" have seen villages and towns brought back under the control of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Russia and rebel backer Turkey sponsored a nationwide truce between Assad's forces and opposition fighters in December, but fighting has continued across swathes of Syria.

More than 310,000 have been killed since Syria's conflict began in March 2011.
By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) - A second Brazilian man has been charged with conspiring to launder money linked to a massive fraud out of the United States in a case that led to the discovery of $17 million in cash under a mattress in a Massachusetts apartment.

Leonardo Casula Francisco was charged on Tuesday in an indictment filed in federal court in Boston that also named another Brazilian, Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, who was arrested in January.

Casula, 30, remains in Brazil, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said. A lawyer for Casula could not be identified. Rocha's attorney, Raymond Sayeg, said his client plans to plead not guilty.

The case stemmed from an investigation into TelexFree, a Massachusetts-based company that sold voice-over-internet telephone service and was founded by James Merrill, a U.S. citizen, and Carlos Wanzeler, a Brazilian who is Casula's uncle.

Prosecutors said TelexFree was a pyramid scheme, making little to no money selling its service while taking in millions of dollars from thousands of people who paid to sign up to be "promoters" and post ads online for it.

TelexFree filed for bankruptcy in 2014. Prosecutors said 965,225 victims in the United States, Brazil and various other countries lost $1.76 billion when it collapsed.

Merrill, who was arrested in May 2014, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud charges in October.

Wanzeler fled to Brazil in 2014 and could not be extradited. In February, federal prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo filed charges against 22 people for their involvement with TelexFree, including Wanzeler and Casula.

According to Tuesday's indictment, Casula in mid-2015 asked a cooperating witness to help transfer cash earned through the fraud that was hidden in the greater Boston area out of the United States.

The pair agreed someone would be sent to the United States to deliver the money in increments to the witness, who would send it to accounts in Hong Kong where it would be transferred to Brazil, prosecutors said.

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In December, Casula sent Rocha to the United States to deliver money to the witness, the indictment said.

Prosecutors said that after a Jan. 4 meeting in a parking lot where Rocha gave the witness $2.2 million in a suitcase, federal agents followed Rocha to a Westborough, Massachusetts, apartment complex.

They returned to it after arresting Rocha to find $17 million hidden under a mattress, prosecutors said.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, additional reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis)
By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The world needs an international treaty to protect people's privacy from unfettered cybersurveillance, which is being pushed by populist politicians preying on fear of terrorism, according to a U.N. report debated on Wednesday. The report, submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council by the U.N. independent expert on privacy, Joe Cannataci, said traditional privacy safeguards such as rules on phone tapping were outdated in the digital age. "It's time to start reclaiming cyberspace from the menace of over-surveillance," Cannataci told the Council. With governments worldwide demanding data from firms such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter, it did not make sense to rely entirely on U.S. legal safeguards, and creating an "international warrant" for data access or surveillance would unify global standards, he said. "What the world needs is not more state-sponsored shenanigans on the Internet but rational, civilized agreement about appropriate state behavior in cyberspace," the report said. "This is not utopia. This is cold, stark reality." Cannataci was appointed as the first "Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy" in 2015, following the uproar caused by revelations by Edward Snowden, a former U.S. security contractor who once worked at the U.S. mission in Geneva. His report was submitted last week, before the latest publication by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks of what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions of hacking techniques of smartphones and other gadgets. The United States did not react to Cannataci's report, but many countries welcomed it and agreed that online privacy standards should be as strong as offline standards. China's diplomat at the Council said rapid technological advances and the "drastic increase worldwide in the violation of privacy" made it urgent to enhance protection, while Russia's representative said Cannataci's report was "extremely topical". Venezuela, Iran and Cuba all welcomed Cannataci's work and criticized international surveillance. A draft legal text was being debated by activists and "some of the larger international corporations" and was expected to be published within a year, Cannataci said. In his report, he criticized populist laws that intruded on privacy in the name of fighting terrorism. He said such sweeping but unproven powers were largely based on fear, and said that their lack of proportionality should be tested in ways similar to those used by a U.S. federal judge when he assessed President Donald Trump's proposed restrictions on migrants from Muslim-majority countries. "The level of the fear prevents the electorate from objectively assessing the effectiveness of the privacy-intrusive measures proposed," he wrote. "Trying to appear tough on security by legitimizing largely useless, hugely expensive and totally disproportionate measures which are intrusive on so many peoples privacy  and other rights - is patently not the way governments should go." (This stpry corrects paragraph 13 to remove implication of a direct comparison to Trump's travel ban) (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Alison Williams)
VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors on Wednesday backed the agency's chief, Yukiya Amano, for a third term as director general after he ran unopposed on a platform of continuity in dealing with issues like Iran's nuclear program. Amano, a 69-year-old career diplomat from Japan, has headed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 2009, a period that included the run-up to Iran's nuclear agreement with major powers in 2015 and the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in 2011. The Board of Governors' decision to reappoint Amano took place without a vote, meaning no country expressed opposition. It must be confirmed by a meeting of all IAEA member states in September, which is widely seen as a formality. "The United States is pleased to join the consensus decision of the board in endorsing Yukiya Amano to serve as director general for the term beginning December 1, 2017," the U.S. statement to the closed-door meeting said. Since most countries had backed Amano long before the board meeting, one of the few open questions had been where the United States stood, since it had yet to express a view publicly. "This decision by acclamation clearly demonstrates the board's appreciation for the director general's leadership during some of the agency's most significant challenges, including coordination of the international response to the Fukushima Daiichi accident," the U.S. statement added. When he was first elected, Amano was backed by Western powers seeking a more like-minded successor to Mohamed ElBaradei, who clashed with U.S. officials over Iran and was accused by the administration of George W. Bush of being too soft on Tehran. ElBaradei was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with the IAEA in 2005, two years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Striking a deliberate contrast with ElBaradei's more political style, Amano often emphasize the technical nature of the agency's work, which includes policing the restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities imposed by Tehran's deal with major powers, which also lifts economic sanctions against Iran. He has called the Iran deal "a net gain" and discussed it with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week, but neither side said what view Tillerson had expressed. U.S. President Donald Trump has called it "the worst deal ever negotiated". "We will continue to carefully monitor and verify Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments," Amano said in a statement to reporters after the board's decision to reappoint him. "I am deeply honored by this consensus decision," he said. (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Pritha Sarkar)
Ever since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, U.N. relief agencies have sought to distance themselves from the U.S.-led war on terror, fearing a hit to their reputations and more risks of retaliation for peacekeepers and aid workers in the field.

But the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) is now seeking to carve out a big role for itself in preventing terrorism from taking root, requesting $108 million over the next four years to fund what would be the U.N.s largest global push to limit the spread of violent extremism, according to a confidential UNDP draft strategy paper obtained by Foreign Policy.

The move comes as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is seeking to establish a counterterrorism czar to bring order to the U.N.s sprawling efforts, across more than 38 departments, to contain the spread of radical movements, though its unclear if he is prepared to embrace the UNDPs proposals.

The world bodys evolving role reflects a grudging recognition that the U.N. needs to carve out a niche for itself in the war on extremism if it wants to remain relevant, particularly at a time when the major powers  including Britain, France, the United States, China, and Russia  want the U.N. to do more to support their own struggles against terrorism.

How can we defeat terrorism without eradicating the terrible poverty and malnutrition? Frances U.N. ambassador, Francois Delattre, said during a visit this week by the U.N. Security Council to the Lake Chad Basin, a stronghold of the West African terrorist organization Boko Haram.

The U.N. push into the counterterrorism field may face strong head wind from Washington, where President Donald Trumps administration is questioning the value of preventative strategies aimed at the root causes of terrorism, like those favored by former President Barack Obamas administration.

Saying we need jobs for jihadis  [that] its about root causes and upstream factors  is wholly fallacious, Sebastian Gorka, an advisor to Trump, told NPR this month. If poverty and lack of education were the causes of terrorism, then half of India would be terrorists. And theyre not.

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The initiative, titled the Global Programme on Development Solutions for the Prevention of Violent Extremism, is outlined in a confidential 67-page draft document and marks something of a reversal by the U.N. development agency, which for years resisted any association with counterterrorism efforts.

In the face of heartless violent extremism, there are legitimate calls for more security inspired counterterrorism actions, the report states. Yet they are not sufficient and will not, on their own, provide a sustainable solution to the crisis of violent extremism the world is facing today.

With funds tight, and as the United States and other wealthy governments are scaling back foreign development assistance, such a rebranding could make it easier for the U.N. to get donors interested in underwriting development programs.

A UNDP spokesman said the $108 million price tag reflects the interest of several partners in supporting the program. The official insisted that all projects would comply with human rights standards, and be firmly focused on preventing violent extremismfrom taking root.

This is entirely distinct from counter-terrorism activity, the official said.

A decade ago, the UNDP was reluctant to deal with counterterrorism, fearing that it would actively undermine its work, said Sebastian von Einsiedel, a director at U.N. University in Tokyo who has written about the U.N.s evolving counterterrorism role.

He suggested the push toward countering violent extremism could be the U.N.s effort to ingratiate itself with the Trump administration and to avert feared cuts in funding, given the U.S. is UNDPs largest donor.

But the initiative is facing pushback from both inside and outside the United Nations. Some observers say the UNDP is simply slapping a counterterrorism label on traditional development work  like promoting jobs for women and youth  in the hope of stemming its own steady decline in funding over the past decade.

And some critics fear that if the U.N. embraces the initiative, it would play into the hands of governments that portray legitimate dissidents and political opponents as violent extremists in order to justify repressive policies. One reason the U.N. has been leery of jumping into counterterrorism is the difficulty of determining just who a terrorist is.

Richard Atwood, a U.N. expert at the International Crisis Group, says the strategy encourages an us-and-them mentality, with the U.N. positioned even more forcefully on the governments side when it already in many places has a problem in being perceived as too close to the government.

The U.N.s own high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, has also cautioned the organization to wade carefully into the struggle against terrorism.

In a confidential memo from March 2016 obtained by FP, Zeids office flagged concerns that governments might misuse laws and policies purportedly crafted to fight terrorism as a pretext to crack down on political opposition and repress dissenting voices.

As we have seen in the context of counterterrorism, all too often measures that lack basic elements of due process and sweeping definitions of terrorism are used to marginalize or even criminalize otherwise legitimate activities disproportionately targeting minorities, opposition groups, human rights defenders, journalists or civil society organizations, the memo stated.

Other U.N. agencies have sought to keep their distance, as well. In September 2016, Maria Calivis, the deputy executive director of the U.N. Childrens Fund, or UNICEF, was scheduled to participate in a pledging conference at U.N. headquarters for a fund to underwrite programs aimed at preventing extremism.

But Calivis pulled out of the event, which was sponsored by the United States and Switzerland, after UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake balked, according to two diplomatic sources.

Lake has made it clear he doesnt want to have anything to do with this, said one diplomat. UNICEF did not respond to a request for comment.

The UNDP started exploring a role in countering extremism in May 2014, when it hosted its first major brainstorming session on the topic in Istanbul. The Obama administration urged the U.N. more broadly to pay attention to it, as well. In early 2015, President Obama developed a strategy to counter violent extremism to run alongside the military campaigns against the Islamic State, al Qaeda, and other groups.

At the White Houses urging, then-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon embraced the strategy as his own, presenting his U.N. Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism to the General Assembly last year. He characterized it as a counterweight to the military strategy being prosecuted by the United States and other key powers, warning that a single-minded focus only on security measures and an utter disregard for human rights have often made things worse.

The UNDP has carried out some work on countering violent extremism in 41 countries, including pilot programs from Bangladesh to Sudan.

The UNDP report acknowledges that great uncertainty still surrounds the question of what drives young people to join terrorist organizations, carry out suicide attacks, or murder innocent civilians. It calls for a partnership with the Oslo Governance Centre in Norway to undertake research on the roots of violent extremism.

Eric Rosand, the director of the Prevention Project, said its great to see the UNDP exploring opportunities to contribute to the fight against extremism. But he said the agency must develop an accurate understanding of what fuels extremism and resist the temptation to relabel some of its traditional development programs as counter-extremism initiatives.

In Sudan, the U.N. agency has been trying to get at the root causes, interviewing hundreds of Sudanese  including 100 people in a government-sponsored deradicalization program  to figure out why some turn to terrorism.

They concluded, among other things, that Khartoums universities were a key hot spot for radical ideology. That claim was bolstered by reports that 12 medical students, including nationals from Britain, Canada, and the United States, were recruited to join the Islamic State while studying at the University of Medical Science and Technology in the Sudanese capital.

Some observers worry that findings like this could be used to justify government crackdowns on Khartoums universities. But others still see a role for the U.N. in promoting development programs as an antidote to extremism, particularly since traditional funding sources are drying up.

Look, we live in reality, and this is where the money comes from now  from donors, said Manal Taha, a Sudanese-born American scholar who studies violent extremism in Sudan, Libya, and Chad at the U.S. Institute for Peace.

A big bunch of money is coming through countering violent extremism.

Photo credit: OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images



This story has been updated.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make his first trip to Asia next week and meet with senior officials to discuss North Korea's recent missile tests and U.S. economic and security interests in the region. He will arrive in Japan on March 15, continue on to South Korea on March 17 and visit China from March 18-19. The trip comes after Pyongyang's latest missile launches and the assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother have added urgency to the region's security situation. U.S. President Donald Trump faces a growing test of resolve after vowing while campaigning to get tough on North Korea. Trump's aides are pressing to complete a strategy review on how to counter Pyongyang's missile and nuclear threats. Trump has attacked China on issues ranging from trade to the South China Sea and what he perceives as China's lack of interest in reining in nuclear-armed North Korea. Last month, Trump held his first face-to-face talks with a member of the Chinese leadership, top diplomat Yang Jiechi who outranks Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the White House said it was a chance to discuss shared security interests and a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping. Wang and Tillerson met last month in Germany on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 top economies. "I think that Secretary of State Tillerson is a person who is willing to listen and is a deep communicator," Wang said at his annual news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, on the sidelines of China's parliament. "I believe we can establish a good working relationship," he added. (Reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Michael Perry)
By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The state of Hawaii said it will ask a federal court on Wednesday for an emergency halt to President Donald Trump's new executive order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority countries, becoming the first state to challenge the ban in court. In a court filing on Tuesday, Hawaii said it would seek a temporary restraining order against the new travel ban. Hawaii's suit against the original executive order was put on hold. The Trump administration this week issued the new executive order that supplanted an earlier, more sweeping one which had been challenged in court by several states in addition to Hawaii. The new order is much more narrowly tailored than the first one issued in January. It keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen but excludes Iraq, and applies the restriction only to new visa applicants. "To be sure, the new executive order covers fewer people than the old one," Neal Katyal, one of the lead attorneys for Hawaii, said in an interview with CNN. He said the new travel ban still "suffers from the same constitutional and statutory defects." "We are confident that the president's actions are lawful to protect the national security of our country," the Justice Department said in a statement. In a joint filing, Hawaii and the U.S. government asked for oral arguments in the case to be held March 15, a day before the new travel order is set to take effect. Separately, in a case brought by Washington state against the first Trump travel order, the Justice Department on Tuesday said it would voluntarily dismiss its own appeal of a Seattle federal court ruling that had suspended the order. Washington state did not oppose the administration's request to end its appeal, the filing said. Immigration advocates said the new ban still discriminates against Muslims and fails to address some of their concerns with the previous directive. Legal experts said the new ban would be harder to challenge because it affects fewer people living in the United States and allows more exemptions to protect them. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday said his office was evaluating whether it would challenge the new order and would likely decide this week. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month had blocked Trump's first order, saying Washington state would likely be able to prove that it violated constitutional protections. That appeals court ruling has not been withdrawn and its legal reasoning can still be cited as precedent in future cases, Washington attorney general spokesman Peter Lavallee said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Additional reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Leslie Adler)
By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats, seeking to capitalize on growing disclosures about the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia, urged a top Republican lawmaker on Tuesday to obtain President Donald Trump's tax returns as a matter of national security. It was the second request for Trump's returns by Senate Democrats in as many weeks, part of a Democratic campaign to pressure Republicans in Congress into obtaining the documents that could reveal conflicts of interest posed by the president's global business empire. Trump has defied decades of precedent by refusing to release his tax returns, saying his tax affairs were under federal audit. The Internal Revenue Service has said that is no obstacle to releasing them publicly. In a letter on Tuesday to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, two of the panel's leading Democrats said Trump's tax returns should be pursued in light of "critical national security implications" posed by contacts between Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak and Trump associates, including U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "There is no debate that the conflicts in question pose a threat to American national security and the integrity of the government of the United States, and more and more keep coming to light," wrote Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the committee's top Democrat, and Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Hatch and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady rejected a request for the returns last Wednesday by Senate Democrats, saying congressional actions that target individual tax returns would constitute an abuse of authority and set a dangerous precedent. On Tuesday, a Hatch spokesman said the Utah Republican had no further comment. The two Democratic lawmakers said national security had long been a focus of the Senate Finance Committee oversight of issues involving trade, Iran and terrorism. They also said the panel previously sought the tax returns of former Enron Corp executives, oil and gas companies and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, as part of its oversight duties. Wyden and Stabenow said they wanted the committee to hold a closed session in which lawmakers could conduct a bipartisan review of Trump's returns. They added: "If committee members identify ties or relations to foreign governments within these documents, we will respectfully request the chairman and members of the committee hold a vote to make that information available to the public." (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)
NYON, Switzerland (AP)  UEFA has open disciplinary cases against Arsenal and Bayern Munich after their Champions League match.

UEFA says Arsenal has been charged for a fan running on the field at Emirates Stadium during the team's 5-1 loss on Tuesday. Arsenal was eliminated 10-2 on aggregate.

Bayern faces sanctions for fans throwing objects.

UEFA's disciplinary panel will judge the cases on March 23.

UEFA also opened a case against Napoli for a range of fan incidents, including throwing objects, during a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid on Tuesday. Madrid advanced 6-2 on aggregate.
Vienna (AFP) - The board of the UN atomic watchdog, which tracks Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, Wednesday backed Yukiya Amano to serve a third term as director general, the board's chairman said.

The appointment for four more years still has to be approved by all members of the International Atomic Energy Agency's in September but this is seen as a formality.

Amano, 69, a veteran Japanese diplomat, was a somewhat contentious choice when first appointed head of the Vienna-based IAEA in 2009.

US diplomatic cables quoted by WikiLeaks described him as being "solidly in the US court on every key strategic decision".

Andrew Schofer, the US representative to the IAEA, said Wednesday's decision "demonstrates the board's appreciation for the director general's leadership during some of the agency's most significant challenges".

Amano has been accused in some quarters of seeking to turn what is meant to be a purely technical organisation into a political body with excessive oversight.

But he won kudos for his handling of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in his native country and the thorny Iran dossier. He was comfortably re-appointed in 2013.

The IAEA is crucial to monitoring Iran's compliance with Tehran's 2015 deal with major powers downscaling the country's nuclear activities.

It is however not present in North Korea, which has carried out a string of nuclear tests, after inspectors were kicked out in 2009.

"We will continue to carefully monitor and verify Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments," Amano said Wednesday.

He added that the IAEA would "maintain our readiness to resume our verification work in North Korea once political developments make this possible."
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned the latest North Korean missile launches, calling them "a grave violation" of its sanctions resolutions.

The United Nations' most powerful body said it deplored all North Korean ballistic missile activity, which contributes to improving its missile delivery systems and increases tensions in the region and beyond.

The tests risk a regional arms race, the council added.

In press statement issued Tuesday night, the council also expressed serious concern over North Korea's "increasingly destabilizing behavior" and defiance of council resolutions.

The council said its member nations would continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures. It already has imposed six rounds of increasingly tougher sanctions on North Korea.

The statement urged the United Nations' 193 member states "to redouble their efforts to implement" the sanctions.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches and expressed serious concern over Pyongyang's "increasingly destabilizing behavior."

The strong condemnation came in a US-drafted statement that was unanimously approved by the council despite US tensions with China over Washington's deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea.

The council described the missile tests as a "grave violation" of UN resolutions barring North Korea from developing missile technology and vowed to "take further significant measures."

Council members will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday at the request of the United States and Japan to discuss the launches of four missiles that North Korea said were part of a training exercise for a strike on US bases in Japan.

Three of missiles fired on Monday came down in waters close to Japan.

Council members said in the statement that North Korea's activities "increase tension in the region and beyond as well as the risk of a regional arms race."

The United States circulated the draft statement ahead of the meeting as tensions were rife with China over the US move to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system.

The US Pacific Command said Monday that the Americans had begun deploying the THAAD system to South Korea, which is designed to defend the US ally from a North Korean attack.

China responded that it was "firmly opposed" to the deployment and vowed to "resolutely take necessary measures" to defend its security interests.

China, a permanent council member and Pyongyang's main ally, has argued that deployment of the THAAD would further destabilize the situation on the Korean peninsula.

The council has imposed six sets of sanctions on North Korea -- two of which were adopted last year to significantly ramp up measures and deny Kim Jong-Un's regime hard currency revenue.

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A recent report by a UN panel of experts said North Korea was resorting to ingenious ways to circumvent sanctions by setting up front companies, notably in China and Malaysia.

The report raised questions about China's commitment to implement sanctions against North Korea.

The council called on all UN member-states to redouble their efforts to ensure that they comply with the sanctions resolutions.
Washington (AFP) - The United States already is in a trade war with other nations, but only now is beginning to fight back, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Wednesday.

In a continuation of the Trump administration's unapologetically aggressive trade policy, which views trade deficits as a national security threat, Ross said, "we've been in a trade war for decades, that's why we have the deficits."

But, "the difference is our troops are now coming to the ramparts," he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose unilateral tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and China, criticized Germany for its surplus, pulled out the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, and pledged to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But Ross downplayed the threat of a damaging trade confrontation.

"It's not going to be a shooting war. If people know you have the big bazooka, you probably don't have to use it," he said.

Ross said renegotiation of NAFTA would not begin until late in the year and hopefully will not last more than a year but noted "these are very complicated issues."

"I would like the results tomorrow, but that is not the way the world works," he said, adding that implementing the renegotiated terms with Canada and Mexico will take some time.

The White House must give Congress 90 days notice before opening talks to revise the trade pact. Any NAFTA member can withdraw from the agreement with six months notice.
WASHINGTON (AP)  If China was hoping for a concession from the U.S. after recently suspending coal imports from cash-poor North Korea, it got the opposite.

The U.S. is starting to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea which the allies say is needed to defend against North Korea. But China and North Korea view it as a threat.

That adds to strains in the high-stakes relationship between Washington and Beijing weeks into Donald Trump's presidency. And it could further complicate cooperation between the two world powers in combating something they both oppose  North Korea's nuclear program.

The U.S. military said Tuesday it has started bringing in equipment for the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD. It says the system is designed to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during the last part of their flights.

The announcement came after North Korea on Monday launched four ballistic missiles into ocean off Japan  a show of force in response to annual U.S.-South Korean military drills. The allies say they are routine but Pyongyang views them as rehearsal for an invasion.

China is concerned that THAAD has powerful radar that could track Chinese missiles and weaken its deterrence against the United States. Beijing said Tuesday it will take "necessary measures" to protect itself and warning that the U.S. and South Korea should be prepared to bear the consequences.

China has already exerted pressure on some South Korean commercial interests, but it remains unclear how the deployment will impact ties with Washington, which insists China is not targeted by THAAD. U.S.-based experts say that Chinese concerns are exaggerated, if not entirely unwarranted.

"The question is whether China having expressed their grievances will be prepared to let this pass or will let it erode their relationship with South Korea and a meaningful capacity for cooperation with the United States on North Korea," said Jonathan Pollack of the Brookings Institution think tank.

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China proposed Wednesday that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the U.S. and South Korea.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing that the "suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table."

Both the U.S. and South Korea resisted the idea. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said: "We have to see some sort of positive action taken by North Korea before we can ever take them (North Korea) seriously."

North Korea is one of the main national security challenges facing the Trump administration. It may already have the capability to strike South Korea and Japan  and the tens of thousands of American forces there  with nuclear weapons, and could pose the same threat to the U.S. mainland within years.

For China, the North's nuclear program poses a less direct challenge, but it could destabilize Northeast Asia and incentivize Japan, a rival of China's to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. And it could encourage the U.S. to strengthen its military posture in the region with systems like THAAD.

In a sign of growing impatience with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, China announced last month it was suspending coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year in adherence to U.N. sanctions passed in November after the isolated nation's most powerful nuclear test explosion to date.

But Beijing remains reluctant to exert too much pressure on its traditional ally, fearing that a regime collapse would lead to a unified Korea allied with Washington at its border.

Joel Wit, a former State Department official and specialist on North Korea, said that the main factor in the continuing disconnect between the U.S. and China on dealing with Pyongyang is rooted not in differences over missile defense, but in a stalemate over how to approach the problem.

"The U.S. is always talking about increasing pressure, and taking military steps to protect its allies and itself," he said. "But the Chinese are always talking about need to reach out and talk to the North Koreans."

State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner made clear Tuesday that the U.S. administration is not seeking direct engagement with a provocative Pyongyang. When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes his first visit to the region next week, with stops in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, he'll be seeking a "strategic coordination" to address the escalating threat posed by North Korea.

"Right now we are focused on sanctions, and implementing those sanctions to the fullest extent possible, but we're looking at other possibilities as well," Toner said, without elaborating.

The THAAD deployment will hang over Tillerson's meetings with the Chinese.

Missile expert John Schilling said Beijing's concern is that the system's radar could provide detailed tracking of Chinese long-range missiles and that could be used to alert U.S. missile defenses.

"This is somewhat exaggerated as a threat, but the full capabilities of the THAAD system are classified so it can't be entirely discounted," he said, adding that China could counter that by modifying their missiles with multiple warheads or decoys, a process that it has likely begun already.

"We have to consider whether this leads in the direction of an arms race between United States and China," Schilling said, "which I don't think anybody wants."
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday discussed reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations during her first meeting with the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations.

Haley tweeted after her talks with Ambassador Riyad Mansour that the Palestinians should "meet with Israel in direct negotiations rather than looking to the UN to deliver results that can only be achieved through the two parties."

Mansour told AFP that during the 45-minute meeting Haley "raised the desire to see the two parties engaging in negotiations" and indicated that the United States was considering a fresh bid to revive talks.

"I don't know at what level they want to do that, but once we receive a request to that effect, we will respond to it accordingly," he said.

The Middle East peace process has been comatose since former US secretary of state John Kerry's efforts to broker a deal collapsed in April 2014.

France stepped in and organized an international conference in January intended to lay the groundwork for a return to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, but there has been little headway.

"The US is committed to supporting a true peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," Haley said on Twitter.

Mansour described his meeting with Haley as "cordial" and said they agreed to continue discussions.

The US ambassador earlier this month rejected suggestions that the new administration was abandoning the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"We absolutely support a two-state solution, but we are thinking out of the box as well," Haley said.

The UN Security Council will discuss the Middle East peace process on March 24 and hear a first report on whether Israel is complying with a new UN resolution demanding an end to the building of settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

The resolution was adopted after the former US administration did not resort to its veto and instead abstained, allowing the measure to pass.

Haley has fiercely criticized the former administration for failing to use its veto to defend Israel and has dismissed the resolution as a "terrible mistake."
Geneva (AFP) - The UN human rights chief took aim at US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying the country needed better leadership to meet grave challenges like surging xenophobia and religious discrimination.

"I am concerned by the new administration's handling of a number of human rights issues," Zeid bin Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein told the main annual session of the UN rights council, in his latest swipe at the new US leader.

"Greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities," he added.

Zeid warned that Washington's "vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims" as well as "false claims" about higher crime rates among migrants "fuel xenophobic abuses."

And, taking direct aim at Trump personally, Zeid said he was "dismayed at attempts by the president to intimidate or undermine journalists and judges."

Major media organisations as well as press freedom groups have accused Trump of threatening reporters in an unprecedented manner for a president, including by referring to the media as "the enemy of the people."

Zeid had been the first top UN figure to speak out against Trump's initial travel ban and on Wednesday blasted a revised executive order that bars entry of people from six mainly Muslim countries.

The rights chief said the measure raised the risk of potentially illegal deportations.

"Expedited deportations could amount to collective expulsions and refoulement, in breach of international law," Zeid said, stressing his concern about its impact on children and "families torn apart."
Picture Rex

Venice is known as the Floating City  but it could disappear beneath the waters of its famous canals by the end of this century, scientists have warned.

Venice and other Italian landmarks are under threat, as sea levels rise by up to four feet, researchers have warned.

By contrast, levels have risen just one foot in the past 1,000 years, researchers from Italys National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology say.

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The researchers analysed coastal quarries to study previous sea level change  and used these models to predict future changes.

The researchers say that a rise of between three and four feet over by 2100 would swamp Venice and 33 other areas along the coast.

Other areas at risk include Fiumicino in Lazio, the Versilia in Tuscany, and coastal areas near Catania, Cagliari and Oristano.

The coast of the Mediterranean provides several remnants of ancient coastal quarries, which are now useful to study sea level change occurring during the last millennia, the scientists wrote.

Millstones quarries were exploited with same quarrying techniques from rocks like beachrocks, sandstones or similar lithologies, were shaped to be suitable to grind olives, seeds and wheat, to produce oil and flour, or to break apart soft rocks.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017

A judicial misconduct decision of the Wyoming Supreme Court

Judge Ruth Neely objects to the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics (Commission) recommendation that she be removed from her positions as municipal court judge and part-time circuit court magistrate because of her refusal to perform same-sex marriages in her judicial capacity as a part-time circuit court magistrate. We conclude, as have all the state judicial ethics commissions that have considered this question, that a judge who will perform marriages only for opposite-sex couples violates the Code of Judicial Conduct, and we hold that Judge Neely violated Rules 1.2, 2.2, and 2.3 of the Wyoming Code of Judicial Conduct. However, we do not accept the Commissions recommendation for removal, and instead order public censure, with specific conditions.

The judge had sought guidance from the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee by asking

Without getting in too deeply here, homosexuality is a named sin in the Bible, as are drunkenness, thievery, lying, and the like. I can no more officiate at a same sex wedding than I can buy beer for the alcoholic or aid in another persons deceit. I cannot knowingly be complicit in anothers sin. Does that mean I cannot be impartial on the bench when that homosexual or habitual liar or thief comes before me with a speeding ticket? Or the alcoholic appears before me for yet another charge of public intoxication? No. Firmly, no. I have been the municipal court judge for the Town of Pinedale for over 20 years; and there has not been one claim of bias or prejudice made by anyone who has come before me. Not the homosexual, not the alcoholic, not the liar, not the thief. Not one.

No answer was forthcoming.

The court majority

Our conclusion that Judge Neelys expressed refusal to conduct same-sex marriages violates the Code of Judicial Conduct is in line with every other tribunal that has considered the question. The judges in In re Matter of: The Honorable Gary Tabor and In re Roy S. Moore, were disciplined for their conduct. Five state advisory commissions offered opinions, consistently stating that a judge may not perform judicial functions for some parties while declining to perform them for same-sex couples without violating the Code of Judicial Conduct: Supreme Court of Ohio, Board of Professional Conduct, Opinion 2015-1, Judicial Performance of Civil Marriages of Same-Sex Couples (August 7, 2015) (a judge may not decline to perform same-sex marriages, and may not decline to perform all marriages in order to avoid marrying same-sex couples); Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee, Opinion No. 15-1 (August 18, 2015) (judge may not decline to perform only same-sex marriages, but may decline performing all marriages); Arizona Supreme Court, Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, Revised Advisory Opinion 15-01, Judicial Obligation to Perform Same-Sex Marriages (March 9, 2015) (judge may not distinguish between same-sex and opposite-sex couples); Nebraska Judicial Ethics Committee Opinion, Opinion 15-1 (June 29, 2015) (a judge who is willing to perform traditional marriage manifests bias or prejudice by refusing to perform same-sex marriage); Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania Newsletter, Impartiality in Solemnizing Marriages, by Elizabeth A. Flaherty, Deputy Counsel, Judicial Conduct Board (No. 3 Summer 2014) (judge who decides not to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples must opt out of officiating at all wedding ceremonies). Only in Mississippi Commn on Judicial Performance v. Wilkerson, 876 So.2d 1006, 1016 (Miss. 2004), did the tribunal find that a judges comments disparaging gays and lesbians did not violate the Code of Judicial Conduct. But there, only the judges speech as a private citizen was at issue; not his conduct as a judge, and there was no issue of performing marriages. See Boland, 975 So.2d at 892 (distinguishing Wilkerson on basis that judge in Boland made remarks while acting in her judicial capacity).

Sanction

Weighing these factors, we find that Judge Neelys misconduct warrants a public censure. We further find that Judge Neely must perform her judicial functions, including performing marriages, with impartiality. She must either commit to performing marriages regardless of the couples sexual orientation, or cease performing all marriage ceremonies. This does not mean, as the dissent suggests, that no judge can now turn down any request to perform a marriage. What it means is that no judge can turn down a request to perform a marriage for reasons that undermine the integrity of the judiciary by demonstrating a lack of independence and impartiality. This is no different than allowing parties to exercise the right to peremptory challenges of jurors for any reason, while prohibiting them from challenging jurors on the basis of race or gender...

We decline to remove Judge Neely from her position as a municipal court judge; such a punishment would unnecessarily circumscribe protected expression, and we are mindful of our goal to narrowly tailor the remedy.

Justice Kautz dissented

This case is of the utmost importance to the State of Wyoming. It is a case confronting new and challenging issues, where the parts of the legal landscape recently changed dramatically and rapidly.16 Contrary to the position asserted by the majority opinion, this case is about religious beliefs and same sex marriage. The issues considered here determine whether there is a religious test for who may serve as a judge in Wyoming. They consider whether a judge may be precluded from one of the functions of office not for her actions, but for her statements about her religious views. The issues determine whether there is room in Wyoming for judges with various religious beliefs. The issues here decide whether Wyomings constitutional provisions about freedom of religion and equality of every person can coexist. And, this case determines whether there are job requirements on judges beyond what the legislature has specified...

There is no cause for discipline in this case, nor for concern if Judge Neely is not disciplined or precluded from performing marriages. Same sex couples have full access to marriage, all persons before the courts can be certain of an unbiased and impartial judiciary, and religious individuals can remain in public office even if they hold a traditional religious view of marriage. Judicial positions are filled without either side insisting on a religious test for who may serve. There is room enough in Wyoming for both sides to live according to their respective views of sex, marriage and religion.

I respectfully dissent, and would find that Judge Neely did not violate the Wyoming Code of Judicial Conduct.

Justice Davis joined the dissent.

The judge had sought summary judgment in the judicial misconduct proceeding.

The motion explains comments made to a reporter that had led to the action

On Friday, December 5, 2014, Judge Neely was attempting to hang Christmas lights outside her home. Frustrated with the project, she came inside to untangle a hopelessly intertwined strand of lights. Judge Neely checked her cell phone and saw that she missed a call from an unknown number. She almost immediately returned the call, as is her habit because unknown numbers are often from people attempting to reach her about official town work.

Upon dialing the unknown number, Judge Neely reached Ned Donovan. She identified herself, and Mr. Donovan informed her that he was the person who had called her. He told Judge Neely that he was a reporter for the Pinedale Roundup and asked if she was excited to be able to start performing same-sex marriages. Judge Neely, distracted at the time, struggling to remove her bulky winter clothing and holding an armload of Christmas lights, did not immediately recall Judge Haws's earlier guidance to refrain from commenting on the matter. She reflexively and truthfully answered Mr. Donovan's question, telling him that her religious belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman precludes her from officiating at same-sex weddings. Mr. Donovan then proceeded to ask Judge Neely more about her personal views regarding marriage. During the remainder of that call, Judge Neely told Mr. Donovan that other government officials in town were willing to perform same-sex marriages, that she had never been asked to perform one, and that she had never denied anyone anything. (citations to record omitted)

(Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2017/03/a-judicial-misconduct-decision-of-the-wyoming-supreme-court-judge-ruth-neely-objects-to-the-wyoming-commission-on-judicial-c.html
SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. (AP)  The state's top court is considering whether the distribution of Ku Klux Klan fliers is protected speech.

The five-justice Vermont Supreme Court met in a packed Vermont Law School lecture hall on Wednesday to hear the appeal case of William Schenk, a North Carolina man who left KKK recruitment fliers at the homes of two minority women in Burlington last year.

Schenk was convicted in April of two counts of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to 120 days in jail, a longer sentence than usual because the court considered his offence a hate crime. He was defended by Rebecca Turner, a lawyer from the state defender general's office.

"This is not a threat under the First Amendment, this is core protected speech," Turner told the justices, who also heard five other cases Wednesday.

The flier Schenk used had a picture of a Klan member in robes on horseback holding a burning cross. The slogan "Join The Klan And Save Our Land!" is emblazoned on the top of the page.

The justices sought to clarify if Schenk meant to threaten the women he gave the fliers to, a key part of the state's argument.

Justice Marilyn Skoglund asked whether the flier's slogan was threatening or if the flier was threatening because it was distributed to just two minority women.

Skoglund offered for the sake of argument the hypothetical slogan "Join the Klan and Make America Great Again," a reference to Republican President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, inciting laughter and a few grimaces in the crowd.

The state lawyer arguing to uphold Schenk's conviction, Aimee Griffin, said after the laughter died that targeting the minority women with such a racially charged image is what made the flier threatening.

The American Civil Liberties Union had said in a letter to the Burlington trial court that convicted Schenk that his distribution of fliers, no matter how egregious, is protected speech under the First Amendment.

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In Vermont, someone who breaks the disorderly conduct law must have done something that is significantly physical, like fighting or obstructing traffic.

The previous court ruled that because Schenk put fliers in the door and in the mailbox of the women's homes, he was intruding upon their privacy, which was considered to be a significant enough physical action and in part led to his earlier conviction. Griffin defended the lower court's interpretation of disorderly conduct.

If any of the decisions the Vermont court decides is appealed, the case would go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can decide which cases it wants to hear, meaning if it decides not to take a Vermont case the Vermont Supreme Court ruling will likely be final.

Decisions will be handed down by the justices as early as next month.

___

This story has been corrected to show the lawyer's name is Aimee, not Amiee.
By Andreas Cremer and Agnieszka Flak

GENEVA (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler <FCHA.MI> boss Sergio Marchionne's attempts to find a partner were frustrated for a second time in as many days on Wednesday, as Volkswagen (VW) joined General Motors (GM) in dismissing any interest in talks with their smaller rival.

Marchionne said on Tuesday that European market leader VW <VOWG_p.DE> would be hardest hit by PSA Group's <PEUP.PA> purchase of Opel, which will create a stronger European No. 2, and the pressure could prompt VW to sit down with FCA.

But VW chief Matthias Mueller was quick to rebuff the overtures, saying his company had enough on its plate already as it battles to recover from a diesel emissions scandal.

"We are not ready for talks about anything ... we have other problems," he told Reuters on the fringes of the Geneva auto show on Wednesday. "I haven't seen Marchionne for months."

Marchionne has long advocated car industry mergers to share the costs of making cleaner and more technologically advanced vehicles and on Tuesday stressed deals were as vital as ever.

"You need to achieve scale or we will end up delivering an incredibly poor return and margins on this business. We need to fix this," he said, referring to the wider auto industry.

The PSA-Opel deal leaves FCA in an increasingly difficult position in Europe. The indebted group has a European market share of only about 7 percent, its operating margin of 2.5 percent lags most rivals, as does its spending on cleaner and more autonomous cars.

Mueller's rejection follows a similar snub from GM <GM.N>, after Marchionne said the U.S. company remained his favorite merger candidate despite its decision to exit Europe by selling Opel and having rebuffed FCA's approaches several times already.

"We weren't interested before and we're even less interested now," GM President Dan Ammann told reporters in Geneva.

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A combination of VW and FCA could in theory create a European market leader with a share of around 30 percent, give VW a strong foothold in North America through FCA's Chrysler operations and fix FCA's lack of scale in Asia. But the combination could also mean thousands of job losses that unions and politicians from Italy to Germany would strongly oppose.

Mueller also stressed scale was not a priority for VW.

"In my opinion, size does not matter," he said. "I have always said volume is not our sole goal. We want to be a successful manufacturer in every way."

DIESELGATE WOES

Marchionne is courting VW at the worst possible time.

The German company is at the start of a multi-billion-euro transformation to embrace electric cars and automated driving as it struggles to overcome its emissions scandal.

While grappling with billions of costs for fines, buy-backs and other charges in the United States, VW is also facing a mounting challenges from consumer groups seeking compensation.

The group is battling with its powerful labor unions too about cost cuts to fund its new strategy.

Since being rejected by GM, Marchionne has focused on eliminating debt and shifting production towards higher-margin vehicles, including SUVs, to become a more attractive merger partner in future. But his options appear to be dwindling.

"In western countries we believe that Volkswagen remains the main candidate for M&A, but after dieselgate, which likely stopped everything for a while, the top candidates for an FCA deal moved to the East (Koreans or Chinese), with all the risks on timing and political consequences that they would bring," said Angelo Meda, head of equities at Banor SIM.

Some analysts also question why anyone would buy FCA now when the price could be set to fall, given the North American market - where it makes most of its profits - may be peaking.

(Additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach in Geneva and Danilo Masoni in Milan; Editing by Mark Potter)
Dunedin (New Zealand) (AFP) - Neil Wagner ignited an inspired New Zealand fightback to end the South Africa first innings at 308 on day two of the first Test in Dunedin on Thursday.

The last six wickets fell for 56 runs, with the innings mopped up five overs after lunch, following South Africa resuming the day at 229 for four.

Wagner started the rout in the 13th over of the day with the removal of South Africa's batting mainstay Dean Elgar for 140.

He caught the edge of Elgar's bat three times in a barrage of bouncers with one ball sailing over the slip cordon and one falling just short of Ross Taylor at first slip before the third nick went straight to wicketkeeper BJ Watling.

Elgar had added 104 runs from the time he was dropped by Watling on the first day and also posted his hishest Test score, surpassing the 129 he scored against Sri Lanka two months ago.

Temba Bavuma, who put on 104 with Elgar for the fifth wicket, was the first of three wickets on day two for Trent Boult who finished with four for 64.

Wagner took three for 88 and Jeetan Patel two for 85 including Quinton de Kock for the third time in as many innings this tour, restricting the usually prolific batsman to 10.
BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Warplanes bombed rebel-held towns east of Damascus on Wednesday, striking residential areas where Russia had declared a ceasefire less than 24 hours earlier and leaving dozens injured, according to residents, rebels and a monitoring group. Air raids and artillery hit three towns in Eastern Ghouta, part of Syria's Damascus province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A ceasefire had been agreed in the area until March 20, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. The Syrian air force struck at jihadists linked to a former al Qaeda offshoot in Irbeen, a city north-east of Damascus in Eastern Ghouta, and in al Qaboun, closer to the center of the capital, according to a media unit of Hezbollah, a Damascus ally. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian military. At least 30 air raids hit the region on Wednesday, along with dozens of artillery rounds and ground-to-ground missiles fired from government-held areas, a rebel and a resident said. The Syrian army has been closing in on eastern suburbs of Damascus still in rebel hands, such as Qaboun, and seeking to storm neighboring towns in Eastern Ghouta. Air raids and fighting have escalated in recent days, opposition sources said. The army and its allies are trying to force rebels to agree to truces similar to those that have led to the evacuation of thousands of opposition fighters to northern Syria. The army has for the last 20 days concentrated its air strikes on Qaboun district, effectively ending a ceasefire that rebels in the area agreed with the Syrian army which had been in place since the end of 2013. The army suspects tunnels from Qaboun to Eastern Ghouta have become a lifeline for people and rebels in the besieged area, the opposition's largest remaining stronghold near Damascus. "If they take over Qaboun, the regime will be able to enforce a complete siege of Ghouta," said a fighter from Failaq al Rahman, a rebel group operating in the area called Fahed. Thousands of civilians have fled Qaboun, a district that had drawn tens of thousands of people escaping from violence elsewhere. They have found refuge in the adjoining Damascene district of Barza, where many families have taken refuge in the streets, public gardens and mosques. Barza has agreed a full truce with the government that has been in place since 2014. Unlike other besieged suburbs, most of civilians living in Barza can go to the capital to work and to buy food and other supplies. Before the Syrian conflict began in 2011, more than half a million people lived in Eastern Ghouta. The sprawling mix of urban districts and farmland was once a major economic hub serving the capital, but now its population has dwindled to tens of thousands and continues to shrink. (Reporting by Tom Perry and Suleiman Al-Khalidi, editing by Larry King)
The United Nations is celebrating International Womens Day 2017 with the theme Women in the Changing World of Work. Their speakers on Wednesday reflect a fairly wide range of work expertise  from heads of state to stars of Hollywood, with Anne Hathaway scheduled to speak in her capacity as a Global Goodwill Ambassador. Here is the schedule for the United Nations events on Wednesday, which can be live-streamed here.

Moderated by Ms. Sade Baderinwa, ABC News

Opening musical performance by Ms. Jayna Brown

 H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations (video message)

 H.E. Ms. Amina Mohammad, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations

 H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson, President, 71st Session of the General Assembly

 H.E. Mr. Bjarni Benediktsson, Prime Minister of Iceland

 H.E. Ms. Lana Nusseibeh, President, UN Women Executive Board

 Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women

 Ms. Casar Jacobson, Disability Activist and Youth Champion

 Ms. Anne Hathaway, Global Goodwill Ambassador
By Chris Prentice

(Reuters) - A government watchdog group, Public Citizen, said on Wednesday it has asked lawmakers to investigate whether Carl Icahn violated lobbying disclosure laws, a complaint the billionaire investor denied and called a "witch hunt."

The group said Icahn may have been acting as a lobbyist when he advised President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. biofuels program. Icahn, an unpaid adviser to Trump on regulation, submitted a proposal to Trump last month to change the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard by shifting the burden of blending biofuels into gasoline away from oil refining companies, and further down the supply chain to marketers.

Public Citizen said that, because Icahn owns a controlling stake in a refinery that could benefit from the proposed change, he may have been required by a 1995 lobbying disclosure law to disclose his discussions with Trump on the subject as lobbying. The group said it has made its request for a probe in a letter sent to Congress on Wednesday morning.

"All of this has occurred with no record of any (Lobbying Disclosure Act) filings by or on behalf of Mr. Icahn," Public Citizen said in a copy of the letter provided to Reuters.

Icahn did not respond to Reuters requests for comment but described the complaint in an opinion piece on The Hill website as a "gross misstatement of the facts" and said he had vetted his activities with lawyers.

'ETHICS ROCK AND A LOBBYING HARD PLACE'

The RFS, signed into law by former President George W. Bush, requires oil companies to mix increasing levels of renewable fuels into gasoline and diesel each year - a requirement that many refiners say costs them millions of dollars. Oil companies can either blend biofuels or buy paper credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RIN), from those that have.

Icahn owns an 82-percent stake in refiner CVR Energy Inc <CVI.N>, which along with other refining companies, has urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shift the blending obligation away from them.

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"While we are not fighting the Renewable Fuel Standard, I have for months and will continue to speak out against the misguided way in which the EPA has been administering the RFS" with regards to the agency's handling of a "corrupt" RIN market, Icahn said.

Efforts to reach the White House were not immediately successful.

"Carl Icahn is between an ethics rock and a lobbying hard place," said Norman Eisen, co-founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington who served as the chief ethics lawyer for former President Barack Obama. "If he claims he is an informal advisor, then he is subject to lobbying rules."

Icahn has disclosed his role as a Trump adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but he has not registered as a lobbyist. Several Democratic lawmakers have said they want more information about his role in the Trump administration.

Shares of CVR Energy jumped over 1 percent following Icahn's response but pared gains and was unchanged at $21.40 by 3:47 p.m. EST (2047 GMT). Share values have risen about 70 percent since the presidential election. Over that time, Icahn's stake has gained over $600 million in value, according to Reuters data.

Last week, the head of a U.S. biofuels group said Icahn told him that Trump was readying an executive order to change the point of obligation for blending under the biofuels program, something both the White House and Icahn have denied.

The White House has said it is reviewing Icahn's proposal and has not yet taken a position.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice in New York; Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson and Lawrence Hurley in Washington; editing by Richard Valdmanis and Marguerita Choy)
Travelers who may be affected by the revised US travel ban can seek free help from a group of volunteer lawyers who have launched an online portal to help protect immigrants and refugees.

Called Airport Lawyer, the group is made up of thousands of volunteer lawyers who are on standby at 17 airports across the US and Canada, ready to help travelers who may need help navigating the legal waters of US customs and immigration and understanding their rights.

"This project is a labor of love by a team of individuals and organizations concerned about the treatment of vulnerable immigrants and refugees," reads an excerpt from the website.

"We saw an opportunity to ensure that the vast volunteer resources being contributed to the immigration crisis are deployed efficiently and effectively. We connect families in need of assistance with lawyers who can help.

To use, travelers send their flight information such as arrival date, time and destination airport, through a secure website. Friends and family of travelers affected can also use the site.

The information is received by lawyers at the local airport, who will make themselves available to answer questions, help with documentation, and find interpreters.

- Mobilizing for round two of travel ban -

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump released details of the second version of his controversial travel ban, which imposes sweeping restrictions on travelers from six countries and refugees.

When Trump rolled out the first edition of the ban in January, immigration lawyers mobilized at airports waving signs that read "Free lawyer," approaching random passengers and asking if they needed help -- a strategy that was disorganized and haphazard.

To make their goodwill more effective and organized, a group of Seattle lawyers created Airport Lawyer with a legal software company who designed the site.

For round two of the travel ban, lawyers are mobilized and ready to connect with affected travelers.

The service is also available in Arabic and Farsi, with Somali in development. Likewise, the group is working on making lawyers available at departure airports, where travelers are reporting problems of denied boarding.
The Hague (AFP) - Twenty-eight parties and 1,114 candidates, the highest number since World War II, will compete in the Dutch elections on March 15, chasing 150 seats in the lower house of parliament.

In this system of proportional representation, even the smallest parties can play an outsize role as kingmakers in building a 76-seat majority.

Here is a guide for navigating the alphabet soup of Dutch politics:

- Mark Rutte's VVD -

Liberal party. Led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leans towards the right on the economy but is more progressive on social issues. Founded in 1948, it has been the ruling coalition partner in two successive governments since 2010. Rutte is vying for a third term as premier, but has vowed not to work with anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders.

Campaign theme: "Act. Normally." Despite positioning itself as the party of the status quo, Rutte has hardened his tone and recently told immigrants they should respect the country's norms "or leave".

Poll position: 1st, with 23-27 seats

- Geert Wilders' PVV -

Far-right, anti-Islam, anti-EU. Led by outspoken MP Geert Wilders, known for his blonde bouffant hair. With his Freedom Party (PVV) topping the polls he is eyeing the premiership but many say they will not work with him. Campaign theme: "Reclaim The Netherlands For Us". He has vowed to bar Muslim immigrants, close mosques, ban sales of the Koran and quit the EU.

The party is officially an association with just one member -- Wilders.

Poll position: 2nd, with 21-25 seats

- The CDA -

The centrist Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), now led by Sybrand Buma, was founded in 1980. It has long held an important place in Dutch politics but as the country has become more secular, support has waned. Campaign slogan: "Choice for a better Netherlands". Its themes revolve around a strong society and the family.

Poll position: 3rd, with 18-20 seats

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- The D66 -

Progressive and pro-European, D66, led by Alexander Pechthold is the Democracy party founded in 1966. Campaign slogan: "Together Stronger. Chances for Everyone" stressing education and jobs.

Poll position: 4th, with 17-19 seats

- GroenLinks -

Ecologist. Founded in 1990, the "GreenLeft" party is led by Jesse Klaver, at 30 the country's youngest party leader. Amid a certain weariness with traditional politics, it has drawn increasing support, particularly among young voters. Campaign theme: "Time For Change".

Poll position: 5th, with 16-18 seats

- The Socialists -

Founded in 1972, the Socialist Party is anti-EU. Campaign slogan: "Seize the Power". Has called for a fight against poverty, an increase of the minimum wage and the abolition of the European Commission.

Polls position: 6th with 13-15 seats

- The PvdA -

Labour. Founded in 1946, it is the junior party in the outgoing coalition. Campaign slogan: "Forward Together". It has been campaigning on jobs, better housing, health and education. It has sought to reposition itself on the left, but lacks credibility after four years in government.

Poll position: 7th, with 11-13 seats

- And some others... -

SGP: Orthodox Protestant Calvinist, the Reformed Political Party was founded in 1918. It did not admit women members until 2006. Is against abortion and euthanasia. Could win three to five seats.

Christian Union (CU): May also take five to seven seats.

50+: The party for the over 50s. Could boost its seats to between four and six.

Animal Party: founded in 2002, works for animal rights. May take four to six seats.

Denk: Founded in 2015 by immigrants. Drawing increasing support from the Turkish and Moroccan communities. May take up to two seats.

Niet-stemmers: The party of non-voters. Has vowed never to vote in parliament.

FVD: Forum for Democracy, led by eurosceptic Thierry Baudet. Helped initiate last year's referendum against the EU-Ukraine treaty.

Artikel 1: The country's newest party launched in December by black TV presenter Sylvana Simons to fight racism.

Jesus Lives: Evangelist, founded in 2013 and says it lives by the commands of Jesus. Polling figures are from Peilingwijzer, an aggregate of six surveys. mbr/jkb/jhe/ri


China is expanding its presence in the South China Sea with plans to build an underwater observation system and to send tourists to the disputed areas.

Chinese media say the government is planning to build an underwater observation system to provide real-time information on many different seabed conditions. The Chinese government newspaper, Global Times, says it will study the physical and chemical qualities of the sea.

Experts say the effort will help China to better explore the area for valuable resources such as oil and natural gas. Each year, five trillion dollars worth of trade passes through the South China Sea. China claims territorial rights to most of the sea.

China expands control of the area

Some observers say the observation equipment is another way for China to strengthen its claims to the area. The Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia hold competing claims in the South China Sea.

Satellite images suggest that China has added military weapons to some of the islands.

The Global Times reports that the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Acoustics and Shanghais Tongji University together will build the observation system. An Academy official reportedly said that the undersea project would also cover areas in the East China Sea.

Both China and Japan claim a group of islands in the East China Sea, located about 220 kilometers northeast of Taiwan. Japan calls the islands Senkaku. China calls them Diaoyu.

Experts say they think the system will include an underwater platform with a series of wires linked back to China. They say it could collect information for undersea mineral gathering or oil drilling, but also for military purposes.



Euan Graham is an East and South China seas security expert with Australias Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney. He said it is very likely that scientific findings will be passed to Chinas military.

Its possible all of those things can inter-operate in the rather gray space between oceanography and military science.

Yun Sun is with the East Asia Program at the Washington-based Stimson Center. She agreed that Chinas military will probably use the information the observation system gathers. But she noted that the observation project will also be valuable for civilian uses.

I think the military element is part of it, but the civilian part of it is not negligible for this project," she said. "At the minimum, if this system is deployed, it will help China better collect information on both (seas).

Tourism in disputed waters

Meanwhile, Chinese media reported a new passenger ship began its first trip to the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

Xinhua news agency reported the Chinese ship left Thursday from Sanya, in the southern province of Hainan. It was carrying 308 passengers on a four-day trip. Tourists would be visiting three islands in the disputed Paracels, Xinhua added.

According to the South China Morning Post, officials are also planning to launch tourist flights to the Paracel Islands. The officials are currently seeking approval from government ministries and the military for the flights, the newspaper reported.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Ralph Jennings reported this story for VOANews.com. Bryan Lynn adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Do you think China should further open up tourism in parts of the South China Sea. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

real-time  adj. actual time during which a process or event happens

platform  v. raised structure with a flat surface where people or machines work

rather  adj. to some degree or level

negligible  adj. small, not important

minimum  adj. the least amount of something
By Thomas Escritt THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders led a small protest outside Turkey's embassy on Wednesday, denouncing its president as a dictator, as he tried to arrest his party's slide in opinion polls with one week to go before a parliamentary election. Turkish politicians have announced plans to address rallies in Germany and the Netherlands to drum up support among expat Turks for President Tayyip Erdogan, stirring disquiet in both countries and offering a campaign opportunity for Wilders. He led a few dozen activists from his anti-Islam Freedom Party who unfurled a banner protesting the Turkish foreign minister's plans to campaign for Dutch-Turkish dual nationals to vote in an upcoming referendum to expand Erdogan's powers. "Leave us alone, lobby in your own country, and stay away," Wilders said of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's plan to hold a rally in Rotterdam. The city's mayor later said the minister's appearance had been canceled. "Mr Erdogan is a mere dictator," Wilders said. "We would not allow lobbying for North Korea or Saudi Arabia in our country either," he added, calling for the entire Turkish cabinet to be declared "persona non grata". Wilders' opposition right-wing Freedom Party, which wants to shutter mosques, ban the Koran, quit the European Union and stop Muslim immigration, led opinion polls for most of last year but is now losing ground to the conservative Christian Democrats (CDA) and the far-left Socialists. It is running second behind the pro-business liberals of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, which along with the CDA has toughened some of its rhetoric on immigration and Islam in the hope of capturing support from Wilders. ATTACK AD On Tuesday, Wilders targeted Socialist leader Emile Roemer in an online campaign advert, after the latter said in a newspaper interview that "fear of Islam is talked into you". The advert responded by listing acts that Islam supposedly punished with death, including apostasy and homosexuality. There was no reaction from within the embassy to the protest, during which bedraggled demonstrators unfurled a banner reading "Stay away. This is our country". Erdogan, who survived a coup attempt last year, says he needs the expanded powers to tackle Kurdish rebels, Islamist militants and other political enemies. Critics accuse him of an authoritarian power-grab with the new constitution, and his government's plans to campaign for it among the big diasporas in Germany and the Netherlands have met fierce criticism. Cavusoglu, who arrived in Germany on his planned campaign tour on Tuesday, has been declared persona non grata in two German cities. The mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, said his appearance there had been canceled after the owner of the location withdrew permission. "Rotterdam's security agencies would likely have forbidden it otherwise," he said in a letter quoted by news agency ANP. The Dutch election is being closely watched in France and Germany, where populist anti-EU and anti-immigration politicians hope to make major gains in national elections this year and deliver upsets that could reshape European politics. But with Wilders' party now trailing on 14.6 percent in Peilingwijzer's poll of polls behind Rutte's VVD on 16.4 percent, and the Christian Democrats not far behind on 12.1 percent, that prospect may be receding. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt, Svebor Kranjc and Yves Herman; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
A New York mother flew into a rage when an elderly woman suggested she teach her child some manners, attacking the senior citizen with her own cane in a subway station, officials said.

The 71-year-old victim was waiting to enter an elevator to exit the Q train station at 86th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan when a woman and a young boy also wanting to get on pushed past a crowd getting out about 2:10 p.m. Monday, a police source told InsideEdition.com.

"You should teach your child to wait till people come out of the elevator instead of trying to get in," the septuagenarian told the younger woman as they stepped onto the elevator, a police source said.

Read: Elderly Woman Dies, 4 Months After She Was Knocked Out on Sidewalk Outside Deli

The mother responded by allegedly attacking the elderly woman in full view of the little boy, cops said.

She allegedly threw the victim off the elevator, punched her and then snatched the womans cane to continue the attack, the police source said.

The woman then fled with the child in an unknown direction, authorities said.

Read: Elderly Woman Gets Knocked Out For Yelling at Man To Stop Fighting Over Beer

The victim suffered a cut to her hand and was left with pain throughout her body, the source said.

Cops are searching for the raging straphanger, who they describe as about 28 years old, standing 5 feet, 6 inches and having last been seen having braids and wearing a green jacket, blue jeans, black sneakers, a black hoodie, glasses and a tan bag.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for their Spanish-language hotline, 1-888-57-PISTA.

Watch: Video Shows Good Samaritan Use Cane to Fight Off Man Who Attacked Bus Driver

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By Joseph Ax and Letitia Stein (Reuters) - Women demonstrated across the United States on Wednesday in favor of economic equality and against President Donald Trump's policies on abortion and healthcare for "A Day Without a Woman," some skipping work or boycotting stores. Looking to seize upon the momentum of the Women's March on Washington on Jan. 21, the day after Trump's inauguration, the one-day protest coincides with International Women's Day with events in more than 50 countries, organizers said. The day was modeled in part after pro-immigrant demonstrations on Feb. 16, the latest in a series of anti-Trump protests since his Nov. 8 election. "I had to go to show that is not my president. Every time he opens his mouth, it's a garbage can," said Iloane Lila, 73, who joined thousands of women at a rally in New York City's Central Park. Lila, a Trinidad native, said she asked for the day off from her job as a nanny and attended her first-ever political rally in January, prompted by her anger at Trump. A similar crowd gathered at Washington and other rallies were planned in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco. At least three U.S. school districts, in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, closed on Wednesday because of staff shortages. Trump, whose 11-year-old comments about grabbing and kissing women against their will surfaced during the campaign, took to his Twitter account early on Wednesday to cite International Women's Day and the "critical role" of women around the world. "I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy," the Republican president tweeted. It was unknown how many women may have sacrificed a day's pay or withheld their purchasing power from the economy. At a rally of about 100 people in St. Petersburg, Florida, Tammye Moore, 55, a self-employed event planner said she was taking an earnings hit to attend. "It's important enough to pause for this cause, because the loss would be greater for me not to be here today," Moore said. By having women, who make up 47 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force, flex their economic muscle, organizers hope to call attention to the gender pay gap, access to reproductive health services, and Trump's actions that have restricted access to abortion overseas. American women on average earn 79 cents for every $1 that men make, and African-American and Latina women make even less, said Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women. Since women account for two-thirds of all minimum wage workers, lifting the hourly wage would significantly narrow the pay gap, she said. The minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 at the federal level since 2009, although it is higher in many states. Not all women, however, were on board with the call for a women's strike, with some critics citing the vagueness of the movement's aims and the disruptive effects of a work stoppage. Organizers, aware that many women lack the motivation or cannot afford to take a day off, are also urging women to limit shopping for the day to stores owned by women and minorities or small business. Women could also wear red to show their support. O'Neill said the rallies and activities had a partisan edge that may not make all women feel welcome. "People who voted for Trump need to think long and had about what they imposed upon our country," O'Neill said.Among the targets of some demonstrations are a Trump "gag order" that bars foreign health providers receiving U.S. funds from raising abortion as an option, she said. (Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York and Letitia Stein in St. Petersburg; Writing by Peter Szekely; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Lisa Shumaker)
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Many American women stayed home from work, joined rallies or wore red Wednesday to demonstrate how vital they are to the U.S. economy, as International Women's Day was observed with a multitude of events around the world.

The Day Without a Woman protest in the U.S. was put together by organizers of the vast women's marches that drew more than 1 million Americans the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

The turnout on the streets this time was much smaller in many places, with crowds often numbering in the hundreds. There were no immediate estimates of how many women heeded the call to skip work.

"Trump is terrifying. His entire administration, they have no respect for women or our rights," said 49-year-old Adina Ferber, who took a vacation day from her job at an art gallery to attend a demonstration in New York City. "They need to deal with us as an economic force."

The U.S. event  inspired in part by the Day Without an Immigrant protest held last month  was part of the U.N.-designated International Women's Day.

In a message, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said leadership positions are predominantly held by men, and "outdated attitudes and entrenched male chauvinism" are widening the economic gender gap. Closing that gap would add $12 trillion to global GDP by 2025, he said.

Gueterres also lamented that "around the world, tradition, cultural values and religion are being misused to curtail women's rights, to entrench sexism and defend misogynistic practices."

In Warsaw, thousands of women showed Poland's conservative government red cards and made noise with kitchenware to demand full birth control rights, respect and higher pay.

In Rome, hundreds of women marched from the Colosseum to demand equal rights. Thousands marched in Istanbul, despite restrictions on demonstrations imposed since last year's failed coup. Turkish police did not interfere.

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Women also held rallies in Tokyo and Madrid.

Germany's Lufthansa airline arranged for six all-female crews to fly into Berlin. Sweden's women's soccer team replaced the names on the backs of the players' jerseys with tweets from Swedish women. Finland announced a new $160,000 International Gender Equality Prize.

A crowd of about 1,000 people, the vast majority of them women, gathered on New York's Fifth Avenue in the shadow of Trump Tower. Women wore red and waved signs reading "Nevertheless she persisted," ''Misogyny out of the White House now" and "Resist like a girl." Thirteen people were arrested for blocking traffic, police said.

School in such places as Prince George's County, Maryland; Alexandria, Virginia; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, canceled classes after hundreds of teachers and other employees let it be known they would be out. In Providence, Rhode Island, the municipal court closed for lack of staff members.

In Washington, more than 20 Democratic female representatives walked out of the Capitol to address a cheering crowd of several hundred people.

Dressed in red, the lawmakers criticized efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi encouraged more women to go into politics, saying, "You have marched for progress. Now you must run for office."

A few hundred people gathered on the lawn outside Los Angeles City Hall to rally for women's rights. Julie D'Angelo took the day off from her job in music licensing, saying she wanted to stand for those women who can't afford time away from work or are too intimidated to ask for the day off.

Hundreds of women dressed in red and holding signs with photos of their local lawmakers gathered at the Utah Capitol to remind legislators they are closely watching how they handle women's issues.

In Denver, several hundred people marched silently around the state Capitol. Kelly Warren brought her daughters, ages 3 and 12.

"We wanted to represent every marginalized woman whose voice doesn't count as much as a man's," said Warren, a sales associate in the male-dominated construction industry.

Some businesses and institutions said they would either close or give female employees the day off.

The owners of the Grindcore House in Philadelphia closed their vegan coffee shop, where eight of the 10 employees are women.

"The place definitely wouldn't run without us," said Whitney Sullivan, a 27-year-old barista who planned to attend a rally.

In New York, a statue of a fearless-looking girl was placed in front of Wall Street's famous charging bull sculpture. The girl appeared to be staring down the animal. A plaque at her feet read: "Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference."

As part of the Day Without a Woman protest, women were also urged to refrain from shopping.

Some criticized the strike, warning that many women cannot afford to miss work or find child care. Organizers asked those unable to skip work to wear red in solidarity.

Monique LaFonta Leone, a 33-year-old health care consultant in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had to work but put on a red shirt and donated to charity, including Planned Parenthood.

"I have bills to pay, but I wanted to make my voice heard, no matter how quiet," she said. "I also wanted to make a statement to say that women are doing it for themselves. We're out here in the workforce and making a difference every day."

Trump took to Twitter to salute "the critical role of women" in the U.S. and around the world. He tweeted that he has "tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy."

First lady Melania Trump marked the day by hosting a luncheon at the White House for about 50 women.

The White House said none of its female staff members skipped work in support of International Women's Day.

Lovely Monkey Tattoo, a female-owned tattoo parlor in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, offered tattoos with messages like "Nevertheless, She Persisted"  a reference to the recent silencing of Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the Senate floor  with proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.

Women make up more than 47 percent of the U.S. workforce and are dominant among registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists, according to the census.

They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, and the same with lawyers and judges. Women also account for 55 percent of all college students.

At the same time, American women earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data.

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A Day Without A Woman: https://www.womensmarch.com/womensday/

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Associated Press writers Phuong Le in Seattle; Mike Householder in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Michelle Smith in Providence, Rhode Island; William Mathis and Edith Lederer in New York City; Nick Riccardi in Denver; and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.

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Errin Haines Whack covers urban affairs for The Associated Press. Follow her work on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/emarvelous.
On March 8, people around the world observed International Womens Day  a day to commemorate the struggle for womens rights and celebrate the political, social, economic and cultural achievements of women throughout history.

Online, Wednesdays Google Doodle featured a litany of female firsts: the first Turkish woman to compete in the Olympics; the worlds first computer programmer; Koreas first female judge; Egypts first female pilot; the first woman in space; and others.

On the ground, International Womens Day sees thousands of conferences, gatherings, rallies, exhibitions, festivals and more each year. Although International Womens Day was only adopted by the United Nations in 1975, it was marked for the first time in New York in the early 1900s.

Over a century later, the celebrations birthplace marked International Womens Day in a suitably grand fashion, with women nationwide invited to participate in A Day Without a Woman  a strike to raise awareness around issues of civil liberties, reproductive rights and economic inequality.

Heres how other countries have been celebrating so far:

Australia:

In several cities childcare workers orchestrated a strike to protest pay inequality and the lack of funding for early education. More than 1,000 early-years workers walked off the job at 3:20 p.m. local time, when organizers said women in Australia begin working for free, and joined International Womens Day rallies.

According to childcare union United Voice, the 97% female workforce is under-paid, and qualified early childhood educators earn about half the national average wage.

PICS JUST IN: An International Womens Day rally outside Parliament House. #9News pic.twitter.com/2GhFLux3pP  Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) March 8, 2017

Ahead of International Womens Day, Melbourne installed ten female pedestrian crossing icons on the citys traffic signals, in an attempt to fight unconscious bias and stereotypes among citizens.

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China

According to Chinese law, women are entitled to a half-day off on International Womens Day. For many shops and online retailers, however, the day is simply an opportunity to attract female shoppers with discounts on cosmetics, lingerie and footwear.

Chinese feminist Li Maizi, who was detained for over a month two years ago after she and four other young activists tried to hand out stickers about sexual harassment on public transport in Chinese cities for International Womens Day, addressed an audience in London, noting that there has been both progress and a backlash against womens rights since her arrest and the increasing state surveillance of NGOs.

The harrowing experience of Li and the rest of the Feminist Five means that womens marches are unlikely to be seen this year in China, which is home to around 675 million women. And in the lead-up to International Womens Day, Sina Weibo  the countrys popular Twitter-like micro blogging site  suspended the account of feminist blog Womens Voices, providing no explanation for the sudden shut-down.

Japan

Marchers gathered in the capital Tokyo to mark the day. Despite recent attempts by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to raise the profile of women in the workforce, ingrained sexism keeps women chronically underemployed. The country also recently ranked 163rd out of 193 countries in female representation in lower houses of parliament.

Iceland

The tiny Nordic country announced on Wednesday that it will become the first in the world to make companies prove they offer equal pay regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and nationality.

Iceland plans to introduce The Equal Pay Standard, which will require employers with more than 25 staff to ensure they give equal pay for work that is of equal value. Through that, the country hopes to eradicate the gender pay gap by 2022.

As a country we set ourselves the challenge to eradicate the gender pay gap by 2022 but, despite taking steps such as introducing dedicated paid leave for new dads and 40% quotas for women on boards of larger companies, we have not made the progress we would have wished, Icelands Equality and Social Affairs Minister Thorsteinn Viglundsson said on Wednesday. It is the right time to do something radical about this issue.

India

A march for the One Billion Rising campaign, supported by 30 womens groups in India, is set to place in capital New Delhi. Spurred into action by the gang rape and murder of a medical student Jyoti Singh in 2012, advocates have been making strides in India to beat back the culture of violence against women and help victims find justice.

Scenes from inside the march. The line of ppl extends further than the eye can see! #8MarDelhi17 #IWD2017 #IWD pic.twitter.com/NKbgrTJazW  Feminism in India (@FeminismInIndia) March 8, 2017

Indonesia

In the Indonesian capital, womens right groups have planned a march from central Jakarta to the presidential palace. On Saturday, another march saw hundreds of women dress in blood-stained clothes to decry sexual abuse and violence against women.

Italy

Women in Italy will enjoy free entry to all of the countrys museums and cultural sites, where exhibitions that celebrate the feminine world by highlighting art by and about women, will be showcased.

Ireland

Womens groups in Ireland are using International Womens Day to call for a referendum to repeal the eighth amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, which recognizes the right to life of the unborn, effectively banning abortion. The Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment called the legislation a source of discrimination against all women living in Ireland and has organized a strike and rally on March 8 under the hashtag #Strike4Repeal.

Happy #InternationalWomensDay and solidarity from all on the ROSA #Bus4Repeal. Join us for the rest of today's action #Strike4Repeal pic.twitter.com/FRcVy1xpg0  ROSA (@RosaWomen) March 8, 2017

Lebanon

Womens rights activists have planned a march from Beiruts historic Sassine Square to Kaskas Garden on Saturday to protest womens lack of political representation in the Lebanese parliament, a patrilineal citizenship law that means Lebanese mothers cant pass citizenship onto their children if they marry a foreigner, domestic abuse  which effects nearly half of Lebanese women  and a penal code that fails to adequately punish rape.

Poland

Women protested outside the headquarters of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party to demand reproductive rights and demonstrate against gender discrimination. Additional demonstrations are to take place in more than 80 towns and cities in Poland. This follows huge protests in October against a blanket ban on abortion which would have also blocked terminations for pregnancies that resulted from rape and incest. The government dropped the abortion ban as a result of the protests.

Party time at Law and Justice HQ. #IWD pic.twitter.com/ipk4JIzC1v  Christian Davies (@crsdavies) March 8, 2017

U.K.

U.K. Parliaments Women and Equalities Select Committee released a video encouraging women to get into politics.

Britains Department for International Development has made a video of a series of stories by women, supported by U.K. aid, who are now leading the change in their communities.

We all know that women are part of the solution; that womens participation in education, health, politics and peace building increases the chances of a more prosperous and stable future International Development Secretary Priti Patel says in a statement. Yet we must also remain alive to the many challenges that still come before girls and women to have an equal part in this story. So we stand with them all, in every way.
Paris (AFP) - This week's brutal killing of a rhino in its enclosure at a French zoo points to a new European frontier for greedy poachers that must be closed as a matter of urgency, environmentalists and officials say.

With skyrocketing Asian demand for rhinoceros horn to use in "medicine" or as a display of wealth, Europe's museums, auction houses, antique dealers and taxidermist shops have long been targets as traditional sources dry up.

In many museum exhibits, stuffed rhinos already sport fake horns to discourage thieves.

But in 2011, police agency Europol warned that zoos too, could fall prey.

Monday's killing of Vince the white rhino marked the first time a European zoo had been breached in this way.

- Why rhino horn? -

Despite a dearth of scientific evidence that it has any curative powers, rhino horn commands astronomical prices of about $60,000 (57,000 euros) per kilo (2.2 pounds) -- more than gold or cocaine.

The highest price ever recorded by French conservation NGO Robin des Bois (Robin Hood) was 100,000 euros for a kilo of powdered horn in a private sale in China.

One horn can weigh four kilos -- comprised exclusively of keratin, the same substance in human hair and fingernails.

Demand for the commodity is soaring in Vietnam and China, where it is thought to cure anything from hangovers to cancer.

- Why a zoo, and why in Europe? -

Wild rhino numbers are plummeting. About 1,400 are killed every year, out of an estimated population of 25,000 -- mainly in South Africa but also in Asia and India.

In the last eight years alone, roughly a quarter of the world population has been massacred in South Africa, home to 80 percent of surviving rhinos.

Today, it may be easier to poach in a European zoo than an African game park, where just about every rhino has its own guard.

There are about 160 rhinos in European zoos -- a potential goldmine for horn smugglers.

- What can zoos do to protect live animals? -

According to Europol, zoos and other public places with rhino horns on display or in storage, must remain on alert for "possible 'visits' from persons likely to defraud or attack them to obtain specimens."

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The NGO Robin des Bois recommends ramping up zoo patrols and giving guards the right to fire warning shots.

It also wants to boost customs procedures and surveillance of postal services to stop the horns, whose sale is illegal everywhere, from ever reaching the Asian market.

Education is also needed to convince possible consumers that rhino horn does not have any of the healing powers it is credited with.

Another worrying development is a rise in the theft of live animals from European zoos in the last 15 years -- anything from monkeys and flamingos and penguins, according to Robin des Bois spokeswoman Charlotte Nithart.

"If this first blow (for zoo rhinos) is not followed with rigorous security measures, it is certain to be repeated in another zoo in France or in Europe," she told AFP.
Hong Kong (AFP) - Shares in Chinese telecom giant ZTE jumped as much as 8.8 percent on Wednesday in Hong Kong after it ended a year of uncertainty in its US business following a $1.2 billion fine.

US officials said on Tuesday the firm would immediately pay a massive fine of $892 million for flouting US sanctions by shipping to Iran and North Korea.

It would be subject to another $300 million in penalties if it violates the terms of the settlement, in what amounts to the largest criminal penalty in US history in an export control case

The US had placed trade restrictions on the telecommunications equipment giant in 2016 over the violations.

Export privileges for the company are subject to denial for seven years if any aspect of the settlement is not met.

Shares in ZTE -- one of the world's largest suppliers of telecommunications equipment and services -- were up around 5.1 percent by the break at HK$12.82 ($1.65).

"The rebound is fully reflective of this positive release of previous tension," Kingston Securities executive director of research Dickie Wong told AFP.

But Wong warned the "financial burden" of the fine would be significant.

ZTE shipped $32 million in US cellular network equipment to Iran, and made 283 shipments of mobile phones to North Korea from January 2010 to March 2016, with the full knowledge of the highest levels of company management, US officials told reporters.

ZTE used third-party companies to hide the export of US components to the sanctioned countries, and "packaged the US items with its own self-manufactured items to hide the US-origin goods," and did not include the US items on the customs declaration forms, the investigation found.

As part of the settlement, the firm agreed to plead guilty to three charges including obstructing justice for hiding information from government investigators. The agreement is subject to court approval.

The company also agreed to a three-year probation including a compliance program with a corporate monitor who will have "far reaching access" to the firm's business records.

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The five-year government investigation into ZTE's actions involved the US Justice, Commerce and Treasury departments.

In March 2012, the company temporarily suspended exports to Iran following a news story about the sales, but resumed in late 2013.

"ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change," company chief Zhao Xianming said.
Geneva (AFP) - Zurich on Wednesday asked the Swiss government to cancel a planned visit by the Turkish foreign minister to the canton over security concerns, after several local authorities in Germany blocked rallies by Turkish ministers.

"I've sent a letter to Bern, to (Swiss Foreign Minister Didier) Burkhalter, stating that we want them to take measures that the planned event in Zurich on Sunday would not happen," Urs Grob, communications chief at Zurich's cantonal security directorate, told AFP.

He cited security concerns and expectations that "heavy demonstrations" would take place if Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu were to visit Zurich.

The move came after a spate of cancelled rallies in Germany by Turkish politicians aiming to boost support ahead of an April 16 referendum on whether to expand President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers by creating an executive presidency.

Although Berlin has insisted the rallies were cancelled by local authorities for logistical reasons, Turkish officials have hit back repeatedly, with Erdogan even comparing such actions to "Nazi practices".

In a statement, the canton of Zurich said it had stressed the controversy in Germany in its request to Bern to cancel Cavusoglu's visit.

"In view of the extremely controversial discussions surrounding the presence of Turkish representatives in Germany, massive rallies can be expected before the event," it warned.

"Even with a large police presence, it can not be guaranteed that the event can take place peacefully," the statement said, also stressing concern over the risks to which a large number of institutions in the city of Zurich would be exposed if the visit went ahead.

The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed it had received the letter from the canton of Zurich, telling AFP that it and the justice ministry had requested a full security analysis of the planned visit.

"The next steps in this case will be taken once we have that analysis," the ministry said in an email.

Earlier Wednesday, the ministry confirmed it had been informed by Turkey that Cavusoglu was planning a visit, but said "no meetings are scheduled with Swiss authorities".

The Turkish minister was instead planning to meet with Turkey's representative in Switzerland and Austria, followed by a meeting near the Zurich airport with members of the Turkish community, it said.


This is Whats Trending Today

March 8 is International Womens Day.

In the United States, some people will be marking the day by protesting. Wednesday is being called A Day Without a Woman.

Organizers of the Womens March on Washington proposed the demonstration in the United States. Like that march in January, organizers say the protest is in reaction to President Donald Trumps position on womens issues and comments he has made about women.

But unlike the womens march, Wednesdays protest centers on the absence of women.

Organizers are calling for women to take the day off work and are urging them not to spend money Wednesday. They say A Day Without a Woman is a way to bring attention to, in their words, the enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system -- while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequalities.

Organizers also are asking supporters to wear the color red to show love and sacrifice.

Some U.S. school districts have already canceled classes for Wednesday. Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia said more than 300 staff members requested to take off work Wednesday.

As they did with the womens march, the organizers for the A Day Without a Woman strike have largely used social media to gain support and spread the word.

But, some people on social media have been sharply critical of the protest. They say that, because many women cannot afford to take a day off work, the protest only includes those at a higher economic level.

A writer for the Los Angeles Times describes Wednesdays protest as A Day Without a Privileged Woman. Privileged means having special rights or conditions that most other people do not have.

The organizers, however, have said that women who can protest will strike for those who cannot.

Many women in our most vulnerable communities will not have the ability to join the strike, due to economic insecurity, organizers said on their website. We strike for them.

Women in more than 50 countries around the world will also protest on March 8. The movement is part of the International Womens Strike. They will be protesting violence against women and demanding equal rights.

And thats Whats Trending Today.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

enormous - adj. very great in size or amount

background - n. the experiences, knowledge, education, etc., in a person's past

afford - v. to be able to pay for (something)

privileged- adj. having special rights or advantages that most people do not have

vulnerable - adj. open to attack, harm, or damage
Photo credit: ABC

From Cosmopolitan

White House press secretary Sean Spicer had been a staple of the news cycle (and Saturday Night Live's sketch lineup) since the beginning of Donald Trump's presidency. But in the early months of the administration, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders took on an increasingly prominent role, often handling the press briefings. On July 21, Spicer resigned from his role and deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders took over the position. Here's what you need to know about the 34-year-old woman who acts as a spokesperson for the president.

1. She's Mike Huckabee's daughter.

If Sanders's name sounds familiar, that's because she's the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Catching up with my dad @GovMikeHuckabee in NYC tonight. He's off to @KellyFileFNC and I'm headed to @donlemon! pic.twitter.com/pDcgSIQqP4 - Sarah Huckabee (@SarahHuckabee) November 4, 2016

She and her dad are close. In 2010, she told Time that her father was her political hero. "He's an amazing politician, but an even better parent," she said. "Everyday he challenges me to be a better person and I will forever be grateful for that."

She has two older brothers, but according to her brother David, she's the "the chosen one." She is the only girl, and the youngest, and unquestionably spoiled, her father told Yahoo.

And the father and daughter speak most mornings before 6, according to the Associated Press. "I'll call and say, 'What do you think if I say this?' He'll say, 'That's really good. You might try to say it a little bit more like X,'" she told the AP.

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Her father also says he's heard praise from the president. Every time I talk to him, hell say, Huckabee, I like you. Youre a great guy. Youre terrific, but your daughter, shes so much better. Shes so much better, Huckabee said.



2. She headed straight to Washington after college.

According to a Time profile from 2007, Sanders considered going to law school but instead she dove directly into the political world. Right after graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas (which also happens to be her dad's alma mater), she moved to Washington to take a job with the Department of Education under the Bush administration.

3. She has worked as a political consultant.

Photo credit: Getty

Sanders has worked on several campaigns as a political consultant. In 2010, she managed Arkansas Republican John Boozman's successful run for the Senate. She's also served as senior adviser to former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton.

She and her husband, Bryan Sanders, founded Second Street Strategies, a consulting firm that provides "general consulting services, including strategy, research, polling, message development, and advertising production and placement for candidates, independent expenditure committees, businesses, and non-profits."

4. She has worked on several presidential campaigns.

Sanders got her start on campaigns working with her father, first during his 2002 reelection campaign as governor, and later in his presidential runs in 2008 and 2016.

Her experience isn't limited to working with her dad though. In 2004, she worked as a field coordinator in Ohio on George W. Bush's reelection campaign.



5. She was a senior adviser to Trump during the 2016 campaign.

After her father dropped out of the 2016 presidential race, Sanders joined Donald Trump's campaign as a senior adviser. In a statement about her decision to join Team Trump, Sanders said:



I volunteered to join Mr. Trump's campaign because he is a champion of working families; not Washington-Wall Street elites. Like the other Republican candidates, Mr. Trump is pro-life, pro-marriage and will appoint conservatives to the courts. What makes Mr. Trump my choice for president is he will break the grip of the donor class on our government and make it accountable to working families again. I'm honored to help Mr. Trump make America great again.

Sanders wasn't the only one in her family to go all-in on Trump. In November, her father Mike Huckabee vowed to "remember" the Republicans who hadn't backed the now-president during the campaign.

"I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to remember them," Gov. Huckabee said during an appearance on Fox News. "And I hope every other Republican remembers them. Don't ever ask me for your vote again because you're done."



6. She has publicly praised President Barack Obama.

In her Time 40 Under 40 interview, Sanders was asked what she saw as the most overlooked issue facing America. In her reply, she offered up some praise for then-President Barack Obama.

"America needs more fathers taking an active role in their children's lives," she said. "Kids who are the victims of broken families are more likely to end up in poverty, rehab, or jail. I'm a Republican, but I respect President Obama for setting the right example and addressing this problem. I hope more people will join him in his efforts."



7. She began acting as President Trump's spokesperson when she was deputy press secretary.

When White House press secretary Sean Spicer withdrew from the spotlight, Sanders stepped up to take his place defending the Trump administration's policies (and the president's personal statements and tweets) publicly.

She was tasked with speaking with the press about Trump's allegations the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 presidential election, including a heated one-on-one interview with ABC News' Martha Raddatz on March 5, 2017.

During the interview, Raddatz grilled Sanders on the source of Trump's claims and called her out repeatedly for framing the situation as a request for an investigation into if the alleged wiretapping occurred even though Trump himself used definitive language in his tweets.

RADDATZ: Well, what about these accusations? You keep saying, if, if, if. The president of the United States said it was a fact. He didn't say, "I read a story in Breitbart or the New York Times or wherever else." He said, "[I] just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower." That's not an if.



SANDERS: Look, I - I will let the president speak for himself. But in terms of where we are in the White House, our ask -



RADDATZ: You're his spokesperson.



SANDERS: And I'm speaking about it right now.



RADDATZ: But you're backing off of it. You're backing off of it.



SANDERS: How am I backing off of it while I'm saying that I think that this happened -



[CROSSTALK]



RADDATZ: Because you're saying if.

Things also got tense for Sanders during a March 6 Good Morning America interview with George Stephanopoulos. The anchor repeatedly stopped Sanders during her answers to correct misinformation she was disseminating.

STEPHANOPOULOS: We now know that the FBI director has told the Justice Department that President Trump's explosive claims are inaccurate. Does President Trump accept the FBI director's denial?



SANDERS: You know, I don't think he does, George. I think he firmly believes that this is a storyline that has been reported pretty widely by quite a few outlets. The wiretapping has been discussed in the New York Times, BBC, Fox News, and we believe that it should be looked at by the House Intelligence Committee.



STEPHANOPOULOS: Sarah, I have to stop you. Sarah, I have got to stop you right there. Every single article you just mentioned does not back up the president's claim that President Obama had him wiretapped. Not a single one of those articles backs that up. So, what is the president's evidence?



SANDERS: It does back up the fact that the administration was wiretapping American citizens. There was wide reporting suggesting that his administration, whether it was directly ordered by this president specifically, his administration could have done this.



STEPHANOPOULOS: Sarah, I have got to stop you again. No, Sarah, I have got to stop you again because that is simply not true. All the articles you just mentioned, not one of them says that President Trump ordered a wiretap.

Later in the interview with Stephanopoulos, Sanders used a peculiar analogy to describe how she views Trump's relationship with the media.

"Frankly, George, I think if the president walked across the Potomac, the media would report that he can't swim," she said.

She used the same analogy in an interview on NBC's Today show:

If the president walked across the Potomac, the media would report that he couldn't swim, WH spox says @TODAYshow pic.twitter.com/7PbZtB8ctp - Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 6, 2017

In early May 2017, Sanders went on TV to defend Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey. She told Tucker Carlson it was "time to move on" from the Russia investigation, and during an exchange on Morning Joe over the Russia investigation, she claimed everyone - " the House committees, the Senate committees, the FBI" - had looked into it and come to the same conclusion that there was no collusion. Mika Brzezinski responded: "You're actually not telling the truth right now."

8. She has three young children.

So proud of my amazing wife @SarahHuckabee who starts her new job as Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary today pic.twitter.com/kYcTCyUllt - Bryan Sanders (@sanders_bryan) January 20, 2017

Sanders moved her young family to Washington to be part of the Trump administration, according to the Associated Press. Sanders and her husband, political consultant Bryan Sanders, have three young children together.



9. She filled in for Sean Spicer during press briefings.

On May 5, Sanders took to the podium during a daily White House press briefing. She was filling in for press secretary Sean Spicer while he was fulfilling his duty as a Navy reservist. According to CNN, she briefed reporters off-camera the day before about the switch, saying, "Sean is actually on Navy Reserve duty, so you guys are stuck with me - today and tomorrow. So brace yourselves for a fun 24 hours."

The Hill noted that the room was less full than usual, likely because Trump was in New York meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Either way, her dad was proudly watching, on multiple channels.

Proud of daughter Sarah subbing at WH press briefing today. Her Dad thinks she crushed it! Hey I'm as unbiased as the media! pic.twitter.com/txXD10ocMf - Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) May 5, 2017

On May 10, it was announced that she would fill in for Sean Spicer for the rest of the week while he fulfilled his U.S. Navy Reserve duties - a big news week considering Trump had just fired Comey the day before. In her briefing that day, she said Comey committed "basic atrocities" as director. She handled the briefing the next day as well, but then the White House announced that Spicer would return that Friday.

On May 18, Politico reported that Spicer was expected to stop giving the daily briefings. One source told the outlet Sanders would take over, while another said the White House would be cutting down on on-camera briefings in general.

10. She has a contentious relationship with the media.

Sanders has echoed Trump's disdain for many traditional media outlets, including CNN, which retracted a story about the Trump campaign's alleged connections to Russia.

On June 27, Sanders slammed the media during a White House press briefing, accusing journalists of perpetuating "fake news" and arguing Americans "deserve something better." Reporter Brian Karem fired back, accusing her of "inflaming" everyone with her rhetoric, and insisting journalists are just trying to do their jobs. The back and forth happened just a day after the president of the White House Correspondents' Association met with Spicer and Sanders to discuss the future of press briefings as a whole.

"The fact is: I like Sarah Sanders. I like Sean Spicer. I like most of the people Ive met who work in this administration," Karem wrote in a Playboy column. "But I dont like bullies and I dont like the entire institution of the press and free speech being castigated for no other reason than we either get stories wrong - which happens, and it should be then responsibly corrected - or because we report news the president doesnt like - which seems to happen even more often than getting stories wrong."

11. She took over the press secretary role after six months.

After Sean Spicer resigned July 21, following the announcement that New York financier Anthony Scaramucci would become communications director, Scaramucci said at a press briefing that Sanders would take over the role of press secretary.

NEW: Scaramucci announces Sarah Huckabee Sanders to be new WH press secretary following Spicer resignation https://t.co/qxhTiObu1w pic.twitter.com/XF85L9eRwq - CBS News (@CBSNews) July 21, 2017

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By Josh Duboff. Photos: Getty Images.

Long before she was Prince Harrys girlfriend, Meghan Markle was, as youre probably aware, a successful actress with a starring role on USAs Suits, as well as the founder of a lifestyle site called The Tig. (Tig refers to an American mispronunciation of Tignanello winedont worry about it.) Markle purports on the site to provide a hub for the discerning palatethose with a hunger for food, travel, fashion & beauty, making it not dissimilar to, yep, a Goop or a (R.I.P.) Preserve.

As Harry and Meghans romance continues to flourishthe two just attended a wedding together in Jamaica, their odds of getting married as set by London bookkeepers never higherMarkle has been extremely tight-lipped in the press, understandably. This means, with little to go on, or suggestion as to where her head is at, her Tig output, which she has maintained since their relationship started, provides our best resource at the moment.

It seemed high timeif not also a little obsessive and insaneto take a careful look back through Markles recent Tig content, starting with when she and Harry reportedly first got together last May. Upon analysis, a theme emerges: Markle seems pretty low-key! For the most part, Markle comes off as a practical (if occasionally quite whimsical), individual. She likes her playlists, her favorite foods, and her friends, and . . . that seems to be the bulk of it. (There are no $575 umbrellas being featured on the Tig.) Harry has always, by royal standards, seemed quite unmannered, as well. He has never appeared to be someone especially enamored of the pomp and circumstance associated with his standing. What else is on The Tig that we can overanalyzewith an added bonus for anything that potentially indicates what makes Harry and Meghan such a good match?

She throws low-key celebrations. Markle shared a lengthy post in July about a bachelorette weekend she planned for her best friend Lindsay. She notes that instead of organizing festivities involving running around a city and trying to get into clubs and wearing headbands of the phallic persuasion, which would not be very on brand for them, she was hoping for something more low-key, planning a relaxing trip to Hydra, Greece. A remindersimple, clearthat she has moved past any clubbing days, not dissimilar from the perceived intentions of a certain royal we know!

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She is not interested in fictional tales of romance. In a post about her favorite vacation reads, Markle recommends Michael Ondaatjes The English Patient. She writes, Heres the thing  just as with the movie, The Notebook, I have never seen these endlessly romantic love stories that people speak about with such tremendous adoration, nor have I read the books of which they are based. Sothis is the time. Not for The Notebook, but rather to dig into the epic World War II love affair called, The English Patient. Theres a reason its a classic. Im about to discover why. Why is this the time, Meghan?! Might it have something to do with an endlessly romantic real-life love story you might be casually familiar with?

She has a bit of an edge to her. It is probably verging on the ridiculous to analyze this answer in any way, but Markle notes in a questionnaire that everything tastes better . . . with a little hot sauce, which feels to us like the exact same answer Harry would give to that question?

More: The 20 Most Satisfying TV Kisses of All Time

She is cool just staying home! Though she clearly loves travel, she reminds us that she very much enjoys a staycation, too. Sometimes jumping on a plane, train or automobile isnt in the cards, and your only opportunity to vacate is at home sweet home, she notes. For Harry (and now Meghan, too), getting tracked and photographed in public is now sadly part of the day-to-day existence, so it is probably an especially good thing that she does not seem to mind.

In fact, she does not mind hanging out without anyone else, entirely! An entire post about living independently and being O.K. with doing things like seeing a movie alone and taking yourself out to dinner!?!? Meghan was clearly going through something at this point. Seriously, though, this comfort with being independent is no doubt helpful when dating a person with the demands on him that Harry has.

Want specific proof she is cool being on her own? She spent a whole month on an Eat, Pray, Lovetype adventure. There is much to parse in Markles Eat, Pray, Love post from September, in which she explains that she spent much of her August attempting to eat everything, pray (and meditate) often, and simply love my life, every ounce of it. She shares all sorts of Instagram-travel-porn photos, and describes, in fairly vague terms, how she was able to take some time off to celebrate life with friends and food and experiences. This coincides with a likely inflection point in her relationship with Prince Harry, having been with him several months but with the news not public yet. Were they having a mild rough patch, this entry the version of a See, Im doing great! Facebook status when newly single? Or maybe she was just having a really great August, and she wanted to share some great sangria pics.

Her main focus for the holidays? How to be sustainable. In two posts, timed for when she would be celebrating her first holidays with Harry (Markle jetted to London for part of December), she featured two separate posts about the conscientious manner in which she observes the holidays: one focused on sustainable holiday celebration tips, and the other on holiday gifts that give back. It is not hard to imagine her accompanying Harry on any sort of trips or appearances he might be making on behalf of his charitable causes, as she has been involved with her own causes for years.

She has famous friends, but it is no big deal. Markle shares that she once met Michael Buble at a dinner party in November 2015, and that hes one hell of a dinner companion. (She then shares Bubles holiday playlist.) Yeah, she ate with Buble and felt comfortable enough asking him to curate a playlist for her site, but dont worry about it.

This story originally appeared on Vanity Fair.

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Elizabeth Zeldin and Nelini Stamp. (Photo: Roy Beeson for Yahoo Style)

Wednesday is International Womens Day so Yahoo Style is highlighting a few of the powerful women who are living by the years IWD theme, #BeBoldForChange, which calls on women to help forge a more gender-inclusive world.

Just a few weeks ago, Brooklyn-born Nelini Stamp, 29, an Occupy Wall Street alum and national membership director for the progressive Working Families Party, and Elizabeth Zeldin, 37, a mom of two and nonprofit housing worker with little activist background, didnt know each other.

But they were both worried about what they saw as the coming threats of a Trump administration and a Republican-led Congress, including a ban on people from majority-Muslim countries, an attorney general with a history of hostility to civil rights, and a promise to repeal healthcare with no clear replacement plan  not to mention a secretary of education who has used her billions to undermine public schools.

So the two women created a massive resistance coalition in Brooklyn that recently led to more than 3,000 people massing outside the luxury apartment building of Sen. Chuck Schumer, demanding that he and other Democratic leaders in Congress toughen up against the Trump/GOP agenda. It appears to be working: Initially, Schumer said after the election hed seek to work with Trump on things like infrastructure, then voted yes on three of his cabinet picks. But the backlash against him from his own base was so strong that he went on to veto every other Cabinet pick and vow to fight Trump tooth and nail against his Supreme Court pick.

Stamp and Zeldin are part of just one of countless movements emerging across America that pundits are calling the progressive version of the conservative Tea Party. Here, Stamp and Zeldin tell us how it happened.

Zeldin: It started when Nelini started #ResistTrumpTuesdays. Nelini is a very seasoned, professional activist, but I work full time and Im the mother of a 1-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl. Ive never done political organizing before. But with Trump, I felt that values I hold dear  justice, inclusiveness, trust, and access to opportunity  were at risk. I wanted to take an active role defending them.

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Stamp: The first action we did was in December at Sen. Kirsten Gillibrands office in Manhattan, urging her to vote no on all Trumps Cabinet picks. They didnt let us upstairs, so a staff member came down and we sang Please Vote No to the tune of Let It Snow. It kind of worked!

Then groups like Move On, Peoples Action, and Indivisible hopped on, hosting a call the day after the Womens March with 60,000 people listening in. Now theres been #ResistTrumpTuesdays in places like Las Vegas and Portland, Me., and over 200 actions at reps offices nationwide demanding that they say no to the Trump and GOP agenda. Every Tuesday were No. 2 or No. 3 trending on Twitter.

Zeldin: So after the election, Im listening to Schumer say that he wants to work with Trump on some things, hearing how Schumer and Trumps attorney general pick Sen. Jeff Sessions are gym buddies, and Im getting antsy. I read the Indivisible Guide and it dawned on me that Schumers deal making is going to be a problem if we really want to resist Trump. I was put in touch with Nelini and we organized our first rally in front of Schumers apartment with a few hundred people.

Right after that, Schumer said hed vote no on Sessions. But then he voted yes on three cabinet picks Pompeo, Flynn, and Mattis. We were bombarded with angry messages. So we decided to do another rally on Tuesday, Jan. 31. And this time, thousands of people poured out in the cold after work to chant, WTF, Chuck!

Stamp: Our message to Schumer that night was that we were making him protect us and lead the way in the resistance because Trump is hitting us from all sides. We were like, Chuck, you need to stand up. With pressure, he came out against [Trump cabinet picks] Betsy DeVos, Sessions, Tillerson, and Mnuchin and led the boycott against their confirmation votes. So our message to him was Thanks, but we need you to continue blocking, and if you dont, were gonna bring it on.

Now we need them to go hard on Trumps Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch. Republicans have blocked Obamas pick for almost a year. This person can decide the future of abortion or of workers rights to organize. We need Senate Dems to ask him hard questions, and if were not satisfied, we need them to filibuster. And we need House leaders to protect health care and do some offense.

We need to fight toward the 2018 races, putting Democrats and moderate Republicans on notice that we are watching them. Heres where you can tap into your local efforts.

Zeldin: Or even just Google community organizing plus the name of your city, and groups and individuals will come up. This process is not as complex as it might seem. My husband and kids have come to all the rallies with me. Weve hosted sign-making parties and practice chants. Ive had some great conversations with my 4-year-old about whats going on in the world and our role in making change. Ive been able to do most of the planning work after the kids have gone to sleep or while on playdates with other politically involved parents.

Stamp: In the past week, #ResistTrumpTuesdays has happened everywhere from Nebraska to Gainesville, Fla., to Harrisburg, Penn., to St. Louis, Mo. I think back to how hard the Tea Party fought Obamas progressive agenda in 2009. Now its our turn. Putting extreme pressure on your elected leaders to resist Trumps agenda isnt going low. Its going hard.

 By Tim Murphy

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FILE PHOTO - The lobby of the CIA Headquarters Building is pictured in Langley, Virginia, U.S. on August 14, 2008. REUTERS/Larry Downing/File Photo

By John Walcott and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that they have been aware since the end of last year of a security breach at the CIA that led to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks publishing agency documents on its hacking tools.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that they believed that the documents published by WikiLeaks on Tuesday were authentic.

Investigators were focusing on CIA contractors as the likely source of passing materials to WikiLeaks, the officials said. The group published what it said were nearly 8,000 of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used between 2013 and 2016.

In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutor's office said that it would review the Wikileaks documents because some suggested that the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt. "We're looking at it very carefully," a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office told Reuters. "We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators."

Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials appeared to be legitimate.

The latest revelations came days before Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to visit Washington for an initial meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has sharply criticized Berlin for everything from its trade policy to what he considers inadequate levels of military spending.

The Wikileaks documents may also complicate bilateral intelligence ties that have just begun to recover after a series of scandals, including news in 2013 that the National Security Agency had bugged Merkel's cellphone. The consulate was already heavily investigated by German lawmakers after that incident.

Merkel last month told lawmakers she did not know how closely Germany's spies cooperated with their U.S. counterparts until 2015 when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the BND spy agency had for years passed on information to the NSA about European companies and politicians.

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Germany scaled back the level of cooperation with the NSA after those revelations.

U.S. officials have acknowledged that the consulate in Frankfurt is home to a CIA base. A facility adjacent to the citys airport and the Rhein-Main Air Base has for many years been home to the CIAs Tefran station, a U.S. center for collecting intelligence on Iranian activities in Europe, maintaining surveillance on Iranian officials and targeting potential defectors working in Irans nuclear weapons program.

SERIOUS MATTER Foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a regular government news conference that Germany took the issue seriously, but more work needed to be done to verify the authenticity of the documents. Berlin was in close touch with Washington about the case and such matters generally, he said.

Officials at the German government news conference declined to answer questions about any knowledge Berlin might have about CIA activities in Germany. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany's domestic intelligence agency was tasked with uncovering espionage activities in Germany, and carried out its work comprehensively.

Wikileaks reported CIA employees had been given diplomatic passports and State Department identities to carry out their work in Germany at the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, focused on targets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The documents included advice for CIA experts about life in Germany, including the fact that shops are closed on Sundays, and to have "your cover-for-action story down pat" when they passed through German customs. One European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Wikileaks material could in fact lead to closer cooperation between European spy agencies and U.S. counterparts, which share concerns about Russian intelligence operations.

The European official said there was suspicion, still unconfirmed, that Moscow could have had a hand in the latest leaks. U.S. spy agencies accuse Russia of meddling in the U.S. presidential election last year, which Russia denies.

Its interesting and maybe significant that this leak coincides with stepped-up Russian attempts to influence upcoming European elections, intimidate the Baltic states and other former Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe, and destabilize NATO and the European Union," said the European official.

When a reporter at the German government news conference asked whether it was a double standard that Berlin tolerated U.S. spying while trying to root out such activity by Russians, one of the government spokesmen said Berlin had good reason to suspect Moscow of seeking to influence Germany's election. (Reporting by John Walcott and Yara Bayoumy in Washington and Matthias Sobolewski and Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Editing by Peter Graff and Grant McCool)
"Still working through the publication, but what @Wikileaks has here is genuinely a big deal. Looks authentic," Snowden said on his Twitter.

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden said Tuesday the cache of 8,700 alleged CIA files released by WikiLeaks seemed to be legitimate  and "genuinely a big deal." The watchdog organization claimed the classified documents, called Vault 7, came from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence.

"Still working through the publication, but what @Wikileaks has here is genuinely a big deal. Looks authentic," Snowden said on his Twitter.

Snowdens thoughts on cybersecurity were sure to make waves, given his position in the intelligence community. The ex-Booz Allen Hamilton employee leaked information in 2013 that showed the NSA was, in fact, spying on Americans iOS and Android smartphones and disclosed the existence of PRISM, a program the NSA used to access servers of U.S. technology companies directly.

WikiLeaks said Tuesday's hacks, which violated the Vulnerability Equities Process former President Barack Obama passed in 2014, should be taken seriously. "Serious vulnerabilities not disclosed to the manufacturers places huge swathes of the population and critical infrastructure at risk to foreign intelligence or cyber criminals who independently discover or hear rumors of the vulnerability," it wrote in a news release. "If the CIA can discover such vulnerabilities so can others."

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The hacking abilities and programs apparently occurred between 2013 and 2016, where a variety of devices, including Apple's iPhone, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows and Samsung's TVs, became microphones known as zero day exploits.

It wasnt immediately clear whether the documents were authentic, but CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu told the Associated Press the agency does "not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents."

Snowden tweeted that the Program & office names, such as the JQJ (IOC) crypt series, were what made him believe the authenticity of the documents. Only a cleared insider could know them, he added.

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Many speculated the CIA made these attacks, bought them or took them from the Government Communication Headquarters in the UK, the FBI or NSA, according to Axios.

Snowden, who was granted asylum, has been residing in Russia since he left the U.S. in 2013 for exposing the NSA surveillance programs. Russia recently said it would extend Snowdens asylum to 2020.

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FILE PHOTO - A Tesla logo is seen on media day at the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Gary Clark, a former IT chief technology officer at Juniper Networks Inc <JNPR.N>, joined Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> in February as its chief information officer, according to Clark's LinkedIn profile.

Clark succeeds Jay Vijayan, who left the electric carmaker in January last year to start his own venture - Stealth Startup Company.

Tesla was not immediately available for comment.

Clark graduated from University of Surrey with a master's in science. He previously worked at Barclays Global Investors as managing director and head of technology services.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported about Clark joining the automaker.

(Reporting by Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
(Reuters) - WikiLeaks, the website that specializes in exposing secrets, released thousands of documents that described internal U.S. Central Intelligence Agency discussions on hacking techniques it used between 2013 and 2016 to circumvent security on electronic devices for spying. U.S. officials said on Wednesday that CIA contractors were the likely source of the leak. The following are some questions and answers users of consumer electronics may have: Q: How many of the vulnerabilities described in the Wikileaks document are still open to exploit by hackers or spies? A: There is no definitive answer in the documents, which describe attack techniques but often do not give enough detail for even the device and software vendors to understand fully how their products were targeted and close the security holes. Software updates have solved many of the flaws but it is unclear how many remain. In a chart of exploits for Apples iPhone, the most recent version listed as hackable was iOS 9.2, which was released in late 2015. Q: What did we learn about the CIA's hacking program? A. WikiLeaks published documents that it says describe CIA tools for hacking into devices including mobile phones, computers and smart televisions. Q: How can you hack a TV? A: WikiLeaks said it identified a project known as Weeping Angel where U.S. and British intelligence agencies developed ways to take over Samsung smart TVs equipped with microphones, forcing them to record conversations when the device appeared to be turned off. Experts have long said smart TVs and other Internet-connected devices can be exploited to monitor a target. Q: Are these revelations new? A: While the specific details are new, it is well known in the cyber security community that intelligence agencies are constantly trying to leverage flaws in technology products to conduct espionage. Q: The documents suggest that the CIA can access information in encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal. I thought they were safe from even government spying? A: No system is perfect. The documents describe ways to get information in those apps on Android devices, but only after gaining full control of those phones. Reuters has not found evidence in the documents released by WikiLeaks that the CIA had figured a way to break the encryption in those apps. Q: Are iPhones also vulnerable? A: The documents discuss ways to get into iPhones as well. One appeared to show a list of Apple iOS security flaws purchased by U.S. intelligence agencies so they could gain access to those devices. Q: What should I do if I'm worried? A: Most people do not need to worry about being targeted by intelligence agencies. But everybody should stay on top of software patches so all their computers, mobile phones and other connected devices are running software with the latest security updates. Consumers should balance security concerns with their need to use smart devices. Q: What did we learn about how the CIA may try to make American hacking look like the work of hackers from other countries like Russia? A: The CIA has a library of attack code taken from multiple sources and sorted by function, including a program from a Russian criminal kit that permits spyware to survive rebooting and a data-destruction tool lifted from a suspected Iranian operation. One purpose of such a collection is to avoid having to write programs from scratch, while another is to confuse anyone who discovers the malware in action. The documents released so far do not show that the CIA set out to deceive victims into believing they had been hacked by someone else, but it suggests that the agency was capable of doing so if it wanted. Q: Is this as big as the leaks from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden? A: The Snowden leaks revealed that the NSA was secretly collecting U.S. call metadata on ordinary Americans. The materials released by WikiLeaks on Tuesday did not appear to reveal the existence of unknown any unknown programs. Instead they supplied details on how U.S. intelligence agencies work to discover and exploit security flaws to conduct espionage. Q: How damaging is this revelation to U.S. intelligence? A: U.S. intelligence officials say the damage is limited because much of what was published is old, a number of the vulnerabilities in smart TVs and other devices have been known for at least two years and many have been patched. The breach was discovered late last year according to U.S. officials and most or all of the tools Wikileaks published are no longer in use. In addition, they said, unless additional codes that would enable users to exploit the leaked material are also published, it would be difficult for other countries, groups, or people to use the leaked material against the United States or its allies. Q: Are the documents authentic? A: Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents. U.S. officials told Reuters that they believe the documents are authentic. While the CIA has declined to comment, independent cyber security experts and former intelligence agency employees who have looked through them say that they appear to be authentic, citing code words used to describe CIA hacking programs. Q: How did WikiLeaks get the information? A: Unclear. Someone inside the agency may have leaked the information. Or, someone outside may have figured out a way to steal it. U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday that contractors were the likely source for the leak. Q: What has the U.S. government and other governments said in response? A: The White House said U.S. President Donald Trump was "extremely concerned" about the CIA security breach that led to the WikiLeaks release. Germany's chief federal prosecutor's office said it would review the Wikileaks documents which suggest the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, and would launch a formal investigation if warranted. (Reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston, Jonathan Weber in San Francisco and Dustin Volz in Washington; editing by Grant McCool)
By Olivia Oran (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley has hired a former senior counterterrorism advisor in the Obama administration, Jen Easterly, to advise the bank on managing technology risk. Easterly started at the bank in the last several weeks, a Morgan Stanley spokesman confirmed. Easterly had most recently served on the National Security Council as the senior director for counterterrorism and a special assistant to former President Barack Obama. Other big banks have recently hired senior ex-government officials to help them combat online threats. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs Group hired Andy Ozment, the former assistant secretary for cyber security and communications at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. JPMorgan Chase & Co has also hired a number of senior former military officers for cyber security in the last several years. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Frances Kerry)
A court in the United States has ordered a hearing next week on President Donald Trumps new executive order on immigration.

The order suspends the countrys refugee admissions program and bars entry to people from six countries. In all six, most of the population is Muslim.

Officials in Hawaii have disputed the legality of the order, which is to take effect on March 16th. The court will hear arguments in the case March 15th.

The executive order blocks the approval of new U.S. visas to citizens of Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. The travel ban will be in effect for 90 days.

The order also bars refugees from entering the United States for 120 days. Trump says the measure is necessary to protect national security. He has dismissed critics who say it targets Muslims.

U.S. federal courts suspended enforcement of an earlier version of the executive order.

The top law enforcement official in Hawaii said on Monday that the new order is just a new version of a Muslim ban.

State attorney general Doug Chin said under the pretense of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees.

The executive order says the government must improve its investigation of those who seek to enter the United States. It says the six countries named in the order have a compromised ability to provide the necessary information to ensure people entering the U.S. are not a threat.

Iraq was included in the first executive order, but was removed after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said his office was in contact with the Iraqi government. He said they were working to improve the system for investigating the security risk of Iraqi citizens.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ahmed Jamal told the Associated Press that removing his country from the order will improve cooperation in the fight against Islamic State militants.

Mohamed Naji works for the Sudan Tribune news website in Paris. He said officials in Sudan are furious about the order because they were involved in a process that was supposed to lead to all U.S. sanctions being lifted.

Naji said that process began during the presidency of George W. Bush. He said Sudan is wondering if there has been a setback in the process, especially given that President Trumps executive order lists Sudan among states sponsoring terrorism.

In the United States, several congressional leaders have expressed support for the new executive order. Trumps Republican Party controls both the House of Representatives and the Senate. But most Democratic Party lawmakers and human rights organizations oppose the measure. Some critics called it racist and anti-Islamic.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said the order helps to support our shared goal of protecting the United States. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he believes the new order will not be considered as a religious ban and will not be blocked by the courts. Reports say the new order was written to deal with the concerns of the federal judges who blocked the first order.

Graham said he believed the new order to be a ban on individuals coming from compromised governments and failed states.

Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders expressed sharp disagreement with Republican supporters of the ban. He said the order targets Muslims in an attempt to divide us up. This isnt about keeping America safe. A president who respected our traditions of religious freedom would not have resorted to hateful, anti-Islamic rhetoric to justify [the] ban.

The International Rescue Committee provides humanitarian aid to 40 countries and has helped resettle refugees in 28 U.S. cities. It said the new order is a threat to the 60,000 refugees who have already been investigated, but are still in crisis areas.

The IRC said the American resettlement program is considered the worlds most successful and secure. It said there has not been a deadly terrorist attack by a refugee in the U.S. since the resettlement program began in 1980.

Im Kelly Jean Kelly.

VOAs Chris Hannas, Lou Lorscheider, James Butty and Timothee Donangmaye reported this story from Washington. John Smith adapted their reporting into VOA 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.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

executive order  n. an order that comes from the U.S. President or a government agency and must be obeyed like a law

pretense  n. a false reason or explanation that is used to hide the real purpose of something

furious  adj. very angry

sanction  n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country

setback  n. a problem that makes progress more difficult or success less likely

resort to  phrasal verb to do or use (something) especially because no other choices are possible
Remember that quirky Mario Kart-inspired tour service in Japan we told you about last week? Well now in addition to being sued by Nintendo, the company  called MariCar, in case you had forgotten  is in the news thanks to one of its karts driving right into the side of a small police post. Who would have known letting untrained tourists drive a go-kart a bustling urban center would lead to such headaches? Oh, right, everyone would have known that.

Don't Miss: Man suffers fatal heart attack after catching one of the rarest creatures in Pokemon Go

Japanese news service The Mainichi reports that the tourist was a South Korean woman who rented the go-kart from MariCar and was cruising around Tokyos Minato Ward with a group of other tourists on March 5th when she lost control. The kart proceeded to slam into the side of one of the citys many police boxes, which are small manned outposts law enforcement uses to receive reports and carry out other community duties.

The tourist, who was reportedly in her 20s, failed to properly negotiate an intersection and found herself speeding up the sidewalk and into the side of the building. Thankfully, no serious injuries resulted from the mishap, and everyone walked away from the crash in good shape. None of the other costumed kart-riders were involved in the crash.

Needless to say, this isnt going to help MariCar win its court case, and might call into question Japans apparently lax laws against driving go-karts on city streets. In the United States and many other countries, a vehicle like a go-kart is generally considered to be not licensable, and therefore is prohibited from zipping down streets alongside full-sized cars.

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See the original version of this article on BGR.com
At this point, there is precious little we dont know about Samsungs upcoming new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. As weve seen in countless leaks including BGRs own exclusive report, the companys new flagship phones will feature a stunning new design that removes the home button from the face of the phones, thus narrowing the bezels and inching us closer to the all-screen design of our dreams. We also know practically all there is to know about the Galaxy S8s specs, which are set to be the post impressive specs weve seen among all Android phones to date.

We know when the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be unveiled, we know when theyll be released, and we know about nearly all of the features theyll introduce. What we dont know, however, is how much theyll cost  but if new claims from a well-known smartphone retailer end up panning out, Android fans should prepare to cough up a whole lot of cash to get their hands on Samsungs latest and greatest smartphones.

Don't Miss: Hundreds of millions of Android users at risk, according to CIA docs released by WikiLeaks

If all goes according to plan, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be unveiled by Samsung later this month during a press conference on March 29th. The phones are then expected to go on sale a month later on April 28th. The release date was initially said to be April 21st, but a source with a terrific track record reported on Tuesday that Samsungs plans have changed.

As far as specs go, were looking at a killer flagship phone powered by Qualcomms next-generation Snapdragon 835 chipset in the US, or by a comparable Exynos processor elsewhere. The phones will also feature Samsungs latest flexible Super AMOLED displays (5.8 inches for the S8, 6.2 inches for the S8+), 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with microSDXC support, 12-megapixel Dual Pixel rear cameras, 8-megapixel front cameras, IP68 water and dust resistance, Android Nougat and, yes, a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Story continues

Now, heres where things get a bit troubling. According to British gadget retailer MobileFun.co.uk, the phones will have sky-high pricing at launch. In an email to BGR, the retailer said that the Galaxy S8 will cost 799 and the larger Galaxy S8+ will cost 899. For comparison, the iPhone 7 starts at 599 in the UK, while the iPhone 7 Plus costs 719 and up.

These prices are not confirmed yet, of course, but MobileFun.co.uk is a well-known smartphone retailer that may indeed have access to official pricing information. Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have already been made available for preorder on the companys website, though no release date has been specified.

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See the original version of this article on BGR.com
TipRanks

Seesaw trading and mixed messages  thats been the markets pattern for the past few weeks, and last week was no exception. The week started with four straight days losses, but ended on a winning Friday session after an unexpectedly strong jobs report. Even so, the S&P 500 was down 3.35% for the week, snapping a four week rally. Overall, the index is down 21% for the year, in bear territory, and losses on the tech-heavy NASDAQ are even steeper, at 33%. The conflicting currents make it difficult
FILE PHOTO: Jim Gianopulos, Chairman and CEO, Fox Filmed Entertainment, reveals a mural of Bruce Willis during a special event to commemorate 25 years of Die Hard movies on the backlot at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California January 31, 2013. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Viacom Inc is in talks with former Twentieth Century Fox Chairman Jim Gianopulos to lead its Paramount Pictures film studio, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The New York-based media company is also in talks with Oscar-nominated producer Michael De Luca to be Gianopulos's No. 2, in charge of film production, the Journal said late Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/2lCn23u)

Viacom, which has struggled with declining domestic advertising revenue and poor ratings, said last month that it would focus on its Paramount movie studio and five of its cable television brands as part of a turnaround plan.

If appointed, Gianopulos will replace Brad Grey who stepped down last month after leading Paramount for 12 years.

Viacom has been at the center of a power struggle in the past year with controlling shareholder, Sumner Redstone, and his daughter, Shari, and the company's former chief executive, Philippe Dauman.

Gianopulos and De Luca could be officially named as soon as the end of this week, the Journal added.

The news was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

Gianopulos, who was replaced last year at Fox by Stacey Snider, has been a top prospect for several jobs in Hollywood, according to the Journal.

Viacom declined to comment.

(Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)
Even when an X-ray beam is steered and focused with advanced mirrors and other optics, abnormalities can creep in. These problems have names familiar to those with imperfect vision, such as astigmatism or coma and spherical errors. And just like our eyes, an X-ray beam can lose power and focus when its alignment isnt perfect.

To address this challenge with X-rays, a research collaboration designed and built special spectacles, or corrective phase plates, for use at light sources that use high-intensity X-rays to probe matter in fine detail. Nature Communications published the details of the method, developed in part by researchers at the Department of Energys SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Just like sight is different in every human, the optics are different with every X-ray light source and instrument, says lead author Frank Seiboth, a researcher at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Germany currently on a Peter Paul Ewald fellowship at SLACs free-electron X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Once we measure the problems, then we can make corrective glasses that will make everything sharp again.

Using a method called ptychography, the team of researchers measured errors in X-ray beams at synchrotrons and a free-electron laser. The information allowed them to manufacture customized corrective glasses for an individual beam. Left: Illustration showing desired shape and depth of a corrective plate based on ptychography data. Right: A corrective plate carved in quartz. (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

Exceptionally precise instruments form X-rays into beams intense enough for experiments conducted at free-electron lasers and synchrotron light sources. Scientists and engineers must focus the beam into a spot that may be smaller than a tenth of a micrometer, or less than a thousandth of the width of a human hair.

Because the wavelength of X-rays is much shorter than that of visible light, the production of appropriate mirrors and lenses is more challenging. Tiny shape errors can decrease the beam quality, and only a few materials are suitable for these types of optics.

To focus the beam in this study, the scientists stacked 20 small lenses made from beryllium, one of the best available materials for X-ray lenses. Multiple lenses are needed to bend the light enough to create these tiny focal spots, due to the very weak interaction of X-rays with matter. The errors from the shape of each of these lenses add up. While this seems like a problem, it actually is easier for scientists to measure and fix the larger, combined error. The researchers were then able to collect data about the curve of the beam that informed the design of corrective glasses to refocus the X-rays.

To make the precisely curved shape of the glasses that correspond to the measured error pattern, the scientists used a high-intensity optical laser to carve the corrective plates from quartz. By adding the custom-made glasses to the end of the 20-lens stack, they saw fewer deformities in the beam. While most (75 percent) of the focused beam was stretched out over an area with a diameter of 1,600 nanometers before, the researchers managed to sharpen the edges of the beam and refocus the same percentage of X-rays to a spot below 250 nanometers in diameter. And since the X-rays were more concentrated, the intensity of the beam nearly tripled.

As a test that there was no change in overall beam quality, the researchers noted that the corrective lenses did not change the sharpness in the central part of the beam, a critical measurement defined in optics as the full width at half maximum or FWHM. This remained at about 150 nanometers, with or without the glasses.

Profile of the focused X-ray beam, without (top) and with (bottom) the corrective lens. (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron)

High-intensity focusing is particularly important, for example, when scientists study matter in extreme conditions and conduct nonlinear experiments where the response of the system is more complex and challenging to study, Seiboth says.

The corrective glasses can be designed for standard configurations commonly used in X-ray experimental set-ups. They were tested at LCLS, as well as at two synchrotronsPETRA III at DESY and the Diamond Light Source in the United Kingdom. At all three light sources, the lenses worked as planned. Collaborators of Friedrich-Schiller Universitat in Jena, Germany, manufactured the glasses, and the samples were prepared at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. DESY, the Technical-University of Dresden and the University of Hamburg contributed expertise to the research.

LCLS is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. The DOE Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences and Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, funded the research at SLAC.

Citation: Seiboth et al., Nature Communications, 01 March 2017 (10.1038/ncomms14623)

For questions or comments, contact the SLAC Office of Communications at communications@slac.stanford.edu.

SLAC is a multi-program laboratory exploring frontier questions in photon science, astrophysics, particle physics and accelerator research. Located in Menlo Park, Calif., SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.


WikiLeaks has published documents it says show how the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) collects information from electronic devices.

The anti-secrecy group did not say how it received the 8,700 documents and files connected to the CIAs Center for Cyber Intelligence.

But WikiLeaks said the number is greater than the National Security Agency (NSA) documents provided by Edward Snowden in 2013. Snowden formerly worked as a contractor for the NSA.

VOA and other news media could not confirm if the documents released on Tuesday accurately describe CIA efforts to get information from smart phones, televisions and computers.

Jonathan Liu, spokesman for the CIA, said the agency does not comment on whether leaked documents are real.

One of the more sensational examples of hacking reported by WikiLeaks involved Samsung smart televisions.

WikiLeaks said the CIA infected some smart TVs with a computer virus known as Weeping Angel. The virus created a fake off button that left owners thinking the receiver wasnt operating.

But while in the off position, the TV reportedly would record discussions and send the recordings over the Internet to a CIA computer.

WikiLeaks said the agency developed tools that could also work around security measures on Apple iPhones and Googles Android phones.

Infected phones could be programmed to send the CIA the location of the user, along with messages and other information. The hack also activated the phones camera and microphone, WikiLeaks reported.

The website described one program it says has been tested against Microsofts Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 computer operating systems. It enters coding information that enables a hacker to gain use of the programs memory and other controls.

All this happens, WikiLeaks said, without the knowledge of the computers owner.

WikiLeaks also said the CIA was looking into ways to infect control systems used on modern cars. The purpose is not known WikiLeaks suggested it could allow the agency to kill enemies and terrorists.

WikiLeaks said the CIA also collected information on how other countries, including Russia, do internet spying.

In addition to its main offices in Virginia, the agency also has an office in Frankfurt, Germany. It serves as a secret base for computer spying in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, WikiLeaks said.

Bob Ayers, a retired U.S. intelligence official, told the Associated Press that damage from WikiLeaks latest release is high.

But he said WikiLeaks has said it plans to release even more material, which could do even more damage.

WikiLeaks said the person or persons who provided the documents did so to start a discussion on whether the CIA is going beyond its official powers.

Sean Spicer, press secretary for President Donald Trump, would not comment on the WikiLeaks report.

WikiLeaks publishes secret information, often provided by people who do not want to be identified. It was founded in 2006 by Julian Assange.

Some U.S. intelligence officials have said that WikiLeaks provided information used to hurt former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections. Clinton was the Democratic Partys candidate for president. Officials accused Russian intelligence agencies of using the information to help Donald Trump, the Republican candidate.

Trump won the election and now is in his 2nd month as president.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. His story is based on reports by VOA News, the Associated Press, Reuters and other sources. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

contractor - n. a person who is paid to perform work or to provide goods at a certain price or within a given time

determine - v. to find out information

accurately - adv. free from mistakes or errors

sensational - adj. causing very great excitement or interest with shocking details

hacking - n. to secretly gain use to the files of a computer or computer network in order to get information or cause damage

fake - adj. not real

microphone - n. a device into which people speak or sing in order to record their voices or to make them sound louder

coding - n. of or related to a series of directions for a computer
Black Adam, the Dwayne Johnson-fronted DC superhero film, kept its hold on the No. 1 spot at the North American box office in its second weekend in theaters. Down 59% from its launch, Black Adam added $27.7 million in ticket sales, bringing its domestic total to $111.1 million. That is according to studio estimates Sunday. Bucking recent romantic comedy trends, moviegoers remained curious about Ticket to Paradise, Universals Julia Roberts and George Clooney destination romp, which fell only 37% in weekend two to claim second place with $10 million. The horror films Prey for the Devil," Smile and Halloween Ends rounded out the top five.
DESHLER, Neb.  Reinke has recognized Holdrege Irrigationwith locations in Holdrege, Alda, Lexington and Ravennaas one of the top ten highest selling dealerships throughout the United States and Canada in acknowledgment of the companys marketing year success. Holdrege Irrigations Holdrege location was also honored with a Reinke Longevity award for its 25 years of selling Reinke products.

Holdrege Irrigation was further recognized as the number one highest selling dealership in the West Central Territory, a top five sprinkler retro dealer and a top five parts dealer. And its company locations received a Diamond Reinke Pride Award. The dealership was honored during Reinkes recent annual convention held in Orlando, Fla.

We congratulate Holdrege Irrigation on this well-deserved recognition, said Reinke Vice President of North American Irrigation Sales Mark Mesloh. We appreciate their ongoing commitment to Reinke and to their agricultural community.

Reinke dealerships from across the United States and Canada gather each year to attend the companys sales convention. The convention awards ceremony recognizes select Reinke dealerships for their hard work and dedication to sales and marketing throughout the past year.

The Reinke Pride awards are determined as part of an incentive program that distinguishes superior achievement levels according to an evaluation based on a dealerships exterior and interior housekeeping and maintenance, indoor and outdoor displays, safety, retail environment, merchandising, professionalism, promotions and event participation and market share.
The AroundTown section of the Clipper-Herald is to notify the public of upcoming events and to publicize pertinent information from individuals, groups or organizations that are not for profit.

PEOPLE

The family of Alice Jean Dreher is suggesting a card shower in honor of her 90th birthday on March 11. Cards and letters of congratulations may be sent to: Alice Jean Dreher, Brookdale No. 9, 1811 Ridgeway Drive, Lexington, NE 68850.

Open House for Lyn Kopfs 80th Birthday will be held Saturday, March 11, 2017 from 2 - 4 p.m. at the Elmwood Community Center. Let your presence be your gift. If unable to attend, cards may be sent to her at 512 North 4th Street, Elmwood, Nebraska 68349.

The children of Ken and Lola VerMaas are suggesting a card shower in honor of their parents' 65th wedding anniversary on March 12. Cards may be sent to Ken and Lola VerMaas, 1702 N. Hoover, Lexington, NE 68850.

To help Nola Reed celebrate her birthday, she would like everyone to donate a couple of cans of food to their church pantry or the local area food pantry. "That would make my birthday happy," Nola said.

Lynn and Ann DeLaet will celebrate their 65th anniversary with an open house Saturday, March 18, 2 - 4 p.m. The event will be held at the First United Methodist Chruch, 4500 Linden Drive in Kearney. Those unable to attend may send cards to Lynn and Ann DeLaet, 4426 Ave. P , Kearney, NE 68847. They request no gifts please.

An open house will held March 18, 2017, 2 - 5 p.m. at the Oconto Senior Center to honor Mary Jane Houchin, for her 90th birthday on March 22. Those unable to attend may send cards and greetings to Mary Jane Houchin, 43731 Rd 775, Eddyville, NE 68834

HAPPENINGS

Miller Dances: All Dances start at 7 p.m. Bring finger food and snacks. Questions? Call 308-325-2909. March 11: Ray Mullen; March 18: No Dance; March 25: Judy and the Troubadours.

VITA Free Tax Preparation Services will not be offered this year at Lexington Public Library.

2017 Lenten Lunches, sponsored by the Lexington Ministerial Association, has released a schedule. Lenten Lunches are hosted by churches in Lexington offering a lunch and devotional service provided by each individual congregation. Lunch is from 12 to 12:20 p.m. Service is from 12:20 to 12:45 p.m. The schedule is as follows: March 9: Grace Lutheran Church (105 E. 17th St.), March 16: Trinity Lutheran Church (205 E. 7th St.), March 23: First Presbyterian Chruch (801 N. Lincoln St.), March 30: St. Anns Catholic (Parish Center - 1003 Taft St.), April 6: First United Methodist Chruch (201 E. 8th St.).

Bonneville Chapter DAR will meet March 14, 2017 at Grace Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, use south entrance. There will be a 6 p.m. social time and a 6:30 p.m. business meeting honoring the awards winners in celebrating the 150 year anniversary of Nebraska statehood. The program to follow will be on "Sex Trafficking."

Lexington Regional Health Center Auxiliary will meet March 15 at 2:00 p. m. at the Community Health and Fitness Center. Cheryl Gerken will present the program, "Let's Become A Trim, Healthy Family." Visit the gift shop in the lobby at Lexington Regional Health Center for spring and Easter decor.

The Knights of Columbus will host its 21th Annual Fish Fry on Tuesday, March 17 at St. Anns Church Hall from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $8 for adult, $4 for children 6-12, children 5 and under free. Menu is Alaskan Pollack, potato wedges, coleslaw, roll and dessert.

The 36th annual Eddyville dinner theater will be held Saturday, March 18 at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 19 at 3:00 p.m. at the Eddyville Community Center. Doctor Devereaux, The Dastardly Doctor, will be presented by the Eddyville Dinner Theater Troupe. All proceeds will go toGrace United Methodist Church and the Eddyville Community Center. Dinner consisting of homemade soup, pie and sandwiches will be served at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and after the Melodrama on Sunday. Tickets are available at the door or in advance at U Save Pharmacy and Loudons in Lexington, Five Points Bank in Sumner and Eddyville businesses. For more information call Barb at 308-858-4601.

The Lexington Lions Club Pancake Feed will be Saturday, March 18, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at the 4-H Building at the Dawson County Fairgrounds. Tickets, $2.00 children and $4.00 adults, are available from any Lion or at the door.

WIC Clinics for Dawson County for January, February and March are scheduled as follows:

In Lexington, 931 West 7th, Tuesday through Thursday the first four full weeks for each month. Call 308-324-6212 for an appointment.

In Cozad, 120 East 9th, Monday, March 13.

Events at the Lexington Grand Generation Center - Public Bingo on Mondays at 7 p.m. Must be 18 to play. For questions call 308-324-2498. Homemade Pretzel Baking on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. Cost to purchase pretzels is .50/pretzel, $6.00/dozen. Purchase and/or come help roll!

Love in Action Outreach, 907 West 8th St., Lexington, is open Monday through Thursday, 12:30  4 p.m. For assistance go to 909 West 8th St. Donations of clothes, furniture and other items any time back of store or contact 308-651-0925 for further assistance. Monetary donations are accepted as well.

Are you a person with compassion and good listening skills? Parent-Child Center would like to give you the opportunity to put those feelings and abilities into practice. The Parent-Child Center needs volunteers to answer our lines after office hours. If you are interested please call for more information at 308-324-2336.

If you visit the grave of a veteran and the flag holder is missing or damaged, please notify the Dawson County Veteran Service Office by calling 308-324-3041.

Volunteers needed for Adult Education ESL and GED classes offered through Central Community College. To volunteer contact Marge Bader, volunteer coordinator at 308-785-2111 or 324-8483 or email mbader57@msn.com.

Lexington Area Parkinsons Disease Support Group Meetings are held the second Thursday each month at 2 p.m. in the education room at the Community Health & Fitness Center (1600 W. 13th, Lexington) For more information contact Dixie Menke at 308-325-5350 or 308-784-4022 or Brenda Bierman at 308-324-2523.

RYDE Transit - Public Transportation is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule a ride in Dawson County or Lexington call 308-324-3670. Public Transportation is easy to ride and open to everyone.

YMCA EVENTS

Adult 5 vs 5 Futsal League starting March 9,

Changing Old Habits Challenge/Coaching: March 15

Living a Chemical-Free Home starting March 16

A Chemical-Free Home starting March 16,

Posture Perfected starts March 22

Door Charms to make with Jamie - March 20

Youth Speed Camp begins March 13

Register at the Orthman YMCA, via website, 308-324-1970

MEETINGS

American Legion in Lexington meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Heartland Musuem of Military Vehicles.

Bingo Night at Lexington Regional Health Center will be held Thursday evenings from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at The Corner Cafe (LRHC dining room). Come and enjoy FREE soup and an evening of BINGO.

Survivors of Suicide Suppport Group meets every second Monday of the month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 1616 W. 39th St., in Kearney. For more information contact Carol Rowedder at 308-237-2635.

LEXINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Check out our new "Can't wait to read it" display in the new book section. The display shows book covers of books the library is waiting to receive. You can place a hold on these titles at the circulation desk.

You are invited to join us at the Lexington Public Library on Sunday, March 12 at 2:00 p.m. for music with Chuck, Job, and Peter. Spend an hour enjoying light rock and pop from the 1960s and 1970s at this live concert for all ages. This program is sponsored by the Lexington Public Library Memorial Fund and the Lexington Community Foundation.

The next Booked for Lunch program at the Lexington Public Library is Thursday, March 30. This month Barbara Eymann Mohrman, author of Four Blue Stars in the Window, will present her book about an Oakdale, Nebraska family during the Great Depression and the sacrifices they made during World War II when four sons went to war. A soup and salad luncheon will be served from 11:30 to 12:00 noon followed by Mohrmans presentation. Reserve your space by calling (308) 324-2151 or by visiting the library. This program is sponsored by the Lexington Public Library Memorial Fund and the Lexington Community Foundation.

Its the FINAL MARKDOWN at the Lexington Public Librarys Paperback Booksale! We have a variety of books available for you to choose from. Paperback books are now $0.10 each or 13 for $1.00. Shop for yourself, for your family and friendsand support the Lexington Public Library. All proceeds go to the Library Memorial Fund and are used to support Library programs.

Novel Stitchers meets on Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m. If you enjoy stitching--knitting, crocheting, quilting, cross stitch, needlepoint, or have another portable stitching project--join us at the library for two hours of stitching and visiting. We will meet on Tuesdays, March 7, 14, 21, and 28 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Lexington Public Library Board Room. We would love to have you join us.

The Lexington Public Library will host Story Time each Wednesday this spring at 10:30 a.m. Pre-readers and their caregivers are invited to join us for stories, songs, and activities. Make time in your week for this fun and educational pre-school activity.

LEXINGTON

GRAND GENERATION CENTER

Exercise room is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Every Sunday

Center available for rent

Monday

9 a.m. - Tai Chi

10 a.m. - FROG

12:45 p.m. - Ive Got It

3 p.m. - Strength Training

7 p.m. - Public Bingo

Tuesday

1 p.m. - Pretzels

1 p.m. - Foot Clinic

Wednesday

9:15 a.m. - Go4Life

9:30 a.m. - Coffee/Crafts

9:30 a.m. - Pool T. - Holdrege

12:45 p.m. - Cards

1:30 p.m. - FROG

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. - Hot Cookies

3 p.m. - Strength Training

LEXINGTON GRAND

GENERATION

CENTER MENU

Homemade bread everyday. Choice of skim, 2% or chocolate milk. No reservations needed except for large groups. Serving time: 11:30 a.m.

Monday

Mushroom steak, potato cakes, buttered cabbage, plums

Tuesday

Pork cutlets, buttered noodles, 3-bean casserole, roasted brussel sprouts, peaches/pineapple

Wednesday

Baked chicken, baby bakers, butter beans, orange slices, tapioca pudding

ORGANIZATIONS

AA/NA: open meeting Friday nights at 7 p.m. at Plum Creek Mall at Two Bridges Counseling, 513 N. Grant St., Suite 3a, Lexington.

Westside Group: AA/NA open meeting on Monday and Wednesday nights at separate locations at 8 p.m. Monday night meetings at First Christian Church, 1206 N. Erie St. in Lexington. Wednesday nights at Community Health Center (west of hospital) 1600 W. 13th St. in Lexington.

AA Elwood: at 8 p.m. on Sundays at United Methodist Church, 601 Rush in Elwood. Contact: 785-3567 (Tom).

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, non-smoking: at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at St. Anns Catholic Church basement, 301 E. Sixth St. Contact: 320-2564, or 858-4821.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, non-smoking - Smithfield: At 8 p.m. on Thursdays at Hope Lutheran Church, 74098 Road 436 in Smithfield. Call 785-3567 or 472-3376.

Celebrate Recovery: a 12-step, anonymous program helping participants overcome any hurts, habits, addictions or hang-ups. Meets twice: 1) at 7 p.m. on Thursdays at Lexington Evangelical Free Church, 810 S. Washington Street. Contact: 308-324-3825 or 308-238-1298. 2) at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays at Parkview Baptist Churchs Y.A.C., 1105 Park St.. Contact: 308-324-4410.

Central Community College Adult Basic Education and English as Second Language in Lexington. Basic reading, writing, math and spelling. Citizenship classes, preparation for the high school equivalency (GED) exam. All classes open to individuals 16 years or older not enrolled in secondary school. Contact Marilynn Hersh at 324-8483 or 324-8480. An annual fee applies to all students.

Central Health Center at 1308 N. Adams: provides pap test, free HIV/AIDS counseling and testing, sexually transmitted infection screening, pregnancy testing, emergency contraception. Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays 1-7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Services available by appointment or walk-in. Sliding scale fees charged. Insurance accepted, donations welcome. Contact 324-6944 for information.

The Compassionate Friends, Lexington Area Chapter (a support group for parents who have lost a child), meets the third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m., at the Great Western Drive-In bank meeting room, corner of 6th and Lincoln. For more information call 308-320-1483.

Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska Public Immunization Clinic, 1st & 3rd Mondays every month: Open 10 a.m.-noon and 2-4 p.m. by appointment at 931 West 7th St., Lexington. Clinics serve ages 2 months - 18 years. Children must be accompanied by an adult, previous vaccination records required. Contact 308-865-1352 ext. 143.

Dawson/Gosper County CASA: seeking Volunteers. CASA Volunteers are everyday people from all walks of life, who advocate through the court system in the interests of children. Contact 324-7364 for more information.

Double Trouble in Recovery: starts June 4 on Mondays from 12 to 1 p.m. at Heartland Counseling, 307 5th St., Lexington. For more information contact Heartland Counseling at 308-324-6754.

Gamblers Anonymous: at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays at Richard Young Hospital, 1755 Prairie View Place, Kearney.

Grupo Lexington AA (Spanish Speaking) open meeting Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 11 p.m., at 114 West 6th St. in Lexington.

Lexington Area Grief Support Group: meets at 4:30 p.m. on the first Mondays of each month at Fitness Center, 1600 W. 13th Street. Open to anyone experiencing the death of a loved one. Contact Lexington Regional Health Center Home Health office, 324-8300.

Lexington Genealogical Society: at 2 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at Lexington Public Library. Visitors welcome.

Lexington Kiwanis: meets at noon every Wednesday at Grand Generation Center.

Lexington Lions Club: meets at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of every month at Grand Generation Center. Contact any member or attend any meeting to join.

Lexington MS Group: meets at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of each month in the Community Education Room at the Lexington Regional Health Center Fitness Center.

Lexington Optimist Club: meets at noon on Thursdays at Kirks Restaurant.

Lexington Rotary Club: meets the first and third Wednesday of the month at Lexington Public Library from 12 to 1 p.m. For more information contact Kirsten Faessler at 308-324-8333.

Love In Action Outreach Ministry: Located at 907 W. 8th Street in Lexington, is in need of mens clothing, all sizes and styles; pots pans, serving dishes and utensils; bedding, crib sheets, twin size, reg. size, queen and king size, pillows, blankets, beds; winter coats and jackets. Bring to 907 W. 8th during our regular operating hours, Monday through Friday, 1 - 4 p.m. Monday to Friday we have bag sales, small bag $10.00 and large bag $15.00 dollars. Closed Saturdays, Sundays & all Federal Holidays.

Narcotics Anonymous: open meeting on Sundays at 12 p.m. at Two Bridges Counseling, 513 N. Grant St. Suite 3a in Lexington.

MOMS (Making Our Mothering Significant): resources and relationships to encourage for mothers of all ages. Meets from 8:45-11 a.m. every other Thursday at Parkview Baptist Church, 803 W. 18th, Lexington.

Overeaters Anonymous: meets at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Cozad Hospital meeting room and at 10 a.m. on Saturdays at the Fitness Centers conference room in Lexington. Contact 308-785-2064 or 308-537-3063.

Parkinsons Support Group: meets at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of the month at United Methodist Church, E and McDonald, North Platte. Contact 534-7404.

Phoenix Group for divorce recovery: meets at 7 p.m. on Mondays in the Friendship Room at First United Methodist Church Kearney, 46th Street and Linden Drive. Contact Julie, 234-9986.

Recovery Education for persons who have a family member or loved one dealing with abused substances. This free program is at 5 p.m. every Tuesday at Heartland Counseling, 307 East 5th St., Lexington. For questions, call Jennifer Sand at 324-6754.
Howard K. Chessmore, 74, of Callaway, died Monday, March 6, 2017, at Callaway Good Life Center.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held Monday, March 13, 2017, at 10:30 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Callaway with Pastor Shanon Williams, officiating.

Visitation will be held Sunday, March 12, 2017, from 2-4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Callaway with Masonic Rites by Parian Lodge #207 to be held at 4:00 p.m. Burial will be held in Rose Hill Cemetery at Callaway.

Memorials are suggested to the United Methodist Church in Callaway or the Donors Choice.

Timm-Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Callaway is assisting the family with arrangements. Please share online condolences with the family by visiting: reynoldslovefuneralhome.com.
A news release dated March 1965 commemorating the 25th anniversary of the previous Lubavitcher Rebbes arrival to the United States:

The following article is in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn to the United States, 1940-1965, which will be marked on the 9th day of Adar Sheni, this year on Saturday, March 13.

It was a typically brisk windswept March morning, that Tuesday back in 1940, which saw a crowd of several thousand at New Yorks pier 97, gathered there to witness what was to be one of the finest hours in Judeo-American history.

The Drottingholm, a Swedish liner, had just weighed anchor and its passengers prepared to disembark. New York City police suggested that the distinguished passenger whom the assembled had come to greet, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, the great sage and hero who narrowly escaped the European onslaught, be the first to go ashore, to avoid unnecessary confusion on the part of the surging crowd.

Even the transatlantic voyage of the celebrated Chassidic leader was, as his life story, stormy and eventful. North Atlantic waters were infested with U boats; no one was at any time certain that the ship would ever reach its destination. No less than four times was the Drottingholm stopped on the high seas by warships of various countries who wanted to assure themselves of its neutrality and search for military cargo. In fact, the liner was the last commercial transport to cross the Atlantic prior to the shipping ban of World War II.

But the Rebbe had finally made it and his long awaited arrival to the shores of America had become a reality. Here he stood surrounded by the official reception party which had gone out to sea aboard a special boat to greet him as the Drottingholm approached the harbor.

As he made his way to a special platform set up on the pier for his reception, a resounding but grateful Sholom Aleichem rocked the pier.

The reception was brief. The Rebbe addressed the gracious crowd and acknowledged the presence of the various dignitaries, representatives from all levels of government and nearly all Jewish organizations, and all who had come to welcome him.

Your warm and cordial reception is deeply moving, the Rebbe said, but the joy in my heart caused by this meeting is overwhelmed with pain and concern for the plight of our brethren on the other side. Their cry for help echoes in my ears and heart. I have not come to seek my own refuge, the Rebbe exclaimed.

Europe is aflare, countries are being savagely overrun, Jews are being mercilessly massacred, there exists in Europe a holocaust which defies description. Americas conscience must be awakened, and above all, American Jewry must alert itself to the life saving mission now on its hands as never before in the history of mankind.

As it turned out, the Rebbes mission was actually twofold. While he had to focus concern on what was happening in Europe, he knew that religious Jewish life in America sorely needed to be revitalized.

American Jewry was by in large frozen in complacency, and he realized that  as he phrased it  the ice of American Jewry must be melted. Toward this enormous task with all its ramifications he vowed to dedicate himself.

On the very first day of his arrival he founded his first school in the United States. A number of senior Yeshiva students registered to study under his guidance, and temporary quarters were immediately arranged. This small group of scholars soon became the nucleus of the large school network he was to establish in America.

The Rebbe could not contently acquiesce to the new community which had formed around him in New York alone. With his keen pioneering perception he concluded that if there was a lost generation of Jews in America, it was the new one, the children, which can and must be salvaged from ignorance of their glorious heritage and way of life.

He sent forth capable and determined young men to found Jewish day schools in Jewish communities far from New York. These schools would educate all Jewish children regardless of background or previous orientation. Characteristically, the young emissaries encountered strong opposition. The schools were refuted by those who considered them unfashionable and the whole idea preposterous. But the stubbornly dedicated young men, most of whom were American born, held their ground, and before long opposition gave way. The Rebbes schools were not only there to stay but also became the forerunner of the Jewish day school system with schools in nearly all sizeable Jewish communities throughout the country.

The Rebbe soon after his arrival also founded a number of other organizations to cope with matters of Jewish concern. His Merkos LInyonei Chinuch (Central Organization for Jewish Education) has become one of the largest Jewish international educational organizations of its kind in the world today. His Machne Israel is devoted to problems of Jewish welfare; Kehot Publication Society is the worlds largest publisher of Chassidic literature  to mention but a few of his more popular organizations.

Rabbi Joseph Schneersohn possessed a uniquely multifarious personality. For despite his expansive communal activity, he was, after all, a spiritual leader of countless thousands from all walks of life, from all over the world, who continually sought his counsel.

His mind and heart were constantly and devotedly attuned to the call of the Jewish masses, yet his sincere concern for the individual was fatherly.

In the tradition of Chabad-Lubavitch leaders of which he was the sixth in succession, he contributed his profound and articulate teachings to the annals of Chabad philosophy. The recent gradual publication of his discourses and writings attest to the genius and stature of this man so completely steeped in the inexhaustible amplitude of the Torah.

It is unfortunate that the Rebbes epoch making heroism while in the Soviet Union has not been, and for obvious reasons cannot be, committed to print. During his many years in Russia, despite vicious and relentless attempts to destroy Judaism, the Rebbe lead his adherents in raising generations of loyal Torah true Jews. The persecution, imprisonment and physical torture suffered as a result of his efforts there, left its mark on his body. Those who had seen him during his visit to the United States in 1930, saw a marked difference in seeing him upon arrival in 1940. His voice was not nearly as audible, his reddish golden beard turned silver, his body noticeably weaker.

Yet the temptation of abundance and sudden freedom can be an equally difficult obstacle to surmount. As far as the Rebbe was concerned, though, his undaunted spirit, his vision and determination was, to say the least, unchanged, in the free world.

During his ten years in the United States until his passing in 1950, he succeeded in transplanting the Israel of Old in this country. In the land once thought to be doomed never to see a Torah true future, he sunk deep and fruitful roots.

As Divine Providence would have it that decade served as a prelude to the era of his successor and son-in-law, the present Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, whose spiritual affluence and magnanimous abilities have since his ascension in 1950 long become universally recognized, and whose influence  directly or indirectly  today penetrates the mainstream of Jewish life in communities throughout the world.

Therefore, in marking the 25th anniversary of the late Rebbes arrival to the shores of the United States of America on the 9th day of Adar Sheni  this year on Saturday, March 13  it is not only American Jewry but indeed world Jewry at large which has much thanks to give in commemorating this auspicious milestone in Jewish history.

* * * * *

3/1/65
Its a case of Bubbys Boarding House come to life.

Rabbi Dovid and Goldie Tiechtel of Illini Chabad Center, which serves students at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, recently worked with businessman Eric Schames and his wife Debbie to open a hospitality house dedicated to providing students and their families with resources they would expect to find at home.

The house, which is near the Chabad house and is located in the center of Campustown, includes sleeping space, kosher food, internet, and other home amenities. Urbana-Champaign counts a Jewish student population of 4,000, (at least 2,000 are affiliated with Chabad), and an overall population of nearly 45,000.

After being here for many years, we noticed that oftentimes students need a place to go not just for Jewish life, but a place to go in times of need, notes Rabbi Tiechtel. Even if theyre in a fraternity or sorority, sometimes students need a place to step away where its quieter, maybe to stay overnight. Additionally, explains the rabbi, the hospitality house is open to parents who want to stay near Chabad when they come to visit their kids. Its a space where people can sleep, live, or just hang out.

When the opportunity arose to participate in funding the Hospitality House at Illini Chabad, I jumped at it, Schames says. Rabbi Dovid and I realized that students sometimes need a safe-zone from all the noise on campus. We wanted to provide this space for them. Furthermore, we also wanted to provide a free lodging option for parents and families spending Shabbat on campus. Bubby Bevys Hospitality House, as the home is aptly called, is dedicated to the memory of Schames grandmother.

Schames, who first met the Tiechtels through his wife Debbie, an alumnus of the University of Illinois, made a commitment to partner with Illini Chabad and financially support them whenever I could. What is so rewarding, he explains, is that each dollar donated to Illiini Chabad has a direct impact on helping Jewish students and the community.

Since it opened, notes Tiechtel, students and parents have been making use of the hospitality house.

The hospitality house is a really great idea and a very unique opportunity that many students would not get to experience without Chabad, says Chabad student president Lisa Goldsman. I think it will encourage the Jewish student body to get more involved in Chabad, as well as be more open about their religion.

The idea for the hospitality house takes the notion of Chabad providing students with a home away from home to a whole new level. Im not sure if Illini Chabads Hospitality House is the first Chabad-on-Campus led student hospitality house, Schames says, but I honestly believe that many more universities can tremendously benefit from this concept.

To learn more about Illini Chabad, visit www.jewishillini.org.
Two coffee roasters in the Bay Area are headed to national competition this month in Nashville.

Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters has been around for nine years.

"We get beans from all over the world. Right now we have about 30 different countries," said owner James Cook.

The shop goes through 700 pounds of beans a month. Cook is a career chef and now a master in coffee. He roasts the beans in the 1,200-square-foot shop.

A specialty item for the business is its cold brew. "It's cold water, slowly dripping over the beans. It produces less acid, more flavor, more caffeine," Cook said.

It takes over 24 hours to make it, and it's qualified for America's Best Cold Brew at a national competition called CoffeeFest.

"Competing against 32 other awesome companies -- most of them are from up north so were stoked about that," Cook said.

It takes more than 24 hours for Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters to make its cold brew.



Customers say they love it, but it's not just the coffee that brings them to the business.

"It's like Cheers, you know, you walk in and you hear it's Nicole, Nick, everybody knows your name," said Nicole House Lembo. "And you get educated about coffee, you learn about different coffees, how theyre brewed, how theyre roasted," she said.

It's that enthusiasm that has the coffee roaster opening another store front in downtown Inverness in the coming months that's almost four times the size of the Hernando location.

The competition is being held in Nashville March 17-19. Concord Coffee out of Lakeland will also be competing.


Thanks to the efforts of Bradenton residents and Manatee County's Rotary Clubs, playgrounds at three of Manatee County's parks will soon receive improvements to make them more accessible to everyone.

Family of Easton Gonzalez, 8, began community push

County's seven Rotary Clubs involved in effort

Improvement estimated to cost around $1.8 million

Easton Gonzalez, 6, is no stranger to the playground at G.T. Bray Park in Bradeton. Whether he's making music or scaling the ramps, there's no stopping this kindergartener.

Gonzalez was born with spina bifida, and has no use of his legs below the knee. That doesn't stop him from trying to keep up with his friends on the playground.

"He'll adapt," said his mother, Jennifer Griffith. "He will climb up slides, he will go up on pieces of equipment if he is able."



While Easton can do some things, he wishes he could do more. That's what sparked his family to begin a push to make local playgrounds more accessible to everyone.

"There's truly, truly a need for this type of playground, for kids to interact with each other," said Griffith.

Their idea soon became a mission for Manatee County's seven Rotary Clubs. County officials gave those groups the green light on Tuesday to put their plan into action.

"Theres not a lot of opportunity for children with different levels of ability to play together," said Judy Bennett with Suncoast Playground Projects, Inc., a group started by Rotary members. "What we learned through this process is how important it is for children to learn to play together."



In addition to the changes slated for G.T. Bray, they're planning to remake the playgrounds at Tom Bennett Park and Buffalo Creek Park.

The changes are expected to cost about $1.8 million.
WikiLeaks published more than 8,000 CIA documents, mainly dealing with surveillance techniques and tools considered as cyber weapons.

According to WikiLeaks, the CIA can hack into smart TV, record conversations

Top transparency organization direction says most hackers know smartphones are not secure

White House, CIA refuse to comment

The WikiLeaks claims have not been authenticated and the U.S. government is not commenting on it. However, WikiLeaks claims it could be the largest leak of U.S. intelligence tools ever.

Some of the controversial parts of the leak, called Vault 7, shed light into CIA operations. One surveillance technique called "Weeping Angel" hacks into smart TVs, essentially turning them into a wiretap, according to the claims.

The leaks claim British Intelligence was also involved in this program.

Basically, the program fake-off would shut down a smart TV, so the owner falsely believes it is off when it really is on, according to the leaks.

The voice recognition app within the TV would record conversations in the room and send them over the Internet to a covert CIA server, according to the leaks. Another revelation was that as of October 2014, CIA started development of hacking into vehicles.

WikiLeaks reports also said the CIA uses the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany as a covert base for its hackers.

WikiLeaks says some of these hacking techniques would allow the CIA to mask its hacking to make it look like someone else did it.

A former CIA Analyst, Aki Peritz, said if this claim is true, WikiLeaks has dealt a significant blow to U.S. national security.

"Every time a place like WikiLeaks blows our ops, it means that the bad guys evolve," Peritz said.

A top transparency organization, The Sunlight Foundation, said the leaks do not change much of what was already known.

"This doesn't fundamentally change the security posture of anyone because we've known these sources and methods exist, said Alex Howard, Sunlight Foundation deputy director. If you go to annual security conferences and talk to hackers, they know that smartphones are not as secure as they might need to be to defend against a nation-state."

Howard said there is a troubling aspect of the leaks if they are true.

"This looks like the United States government has a trove of ways to compromise individuals devices or their services or some combination of the two that they're not releasing to the public, said Howard. Which means effectively they know that parts of our digital infrastructure are insecure but they're not acting to fix it because it enables them to do surveillance of targets."

WikiLeaks said it published on Tuesday because President Donald Trump ordered a review of all CIA cyber operations last month. WikiLeaks felt it timely to get the information out before that governmental report.

All this happens as the president recently claimed his offices were wiretapped during the election by his predecessor.

Howard thinks the WikiLeaks' Vault 7 and the president's claims make matters more confusing for the public. 

"This kind of release is going to cause the world to be mindful or aware again the United States has tremendous capacity to surveil people if it chooses and I think that will be connected to his comments," said Howard.

If the leaks are true, Howard repeated the assertion that the government is not releasing vulnerabilities obtained through CIA hacks to the tech companies as promised.

The standard answer from intelligence officials was they cannot comment on intelligence.

The White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also declined to comment.

One of the more revealing reactions came from someone who the U.S. government considers a traitor, former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.
Women worldwide are using Wednesday to show the economic strength of women. Women in the Bay area are taking part as well.

'A Day Without a Woman' events in Bay area

March from downtown Tampa library to Gaslight Park

Series of speakers at Williams Park in St. Pete

International Women's Day

ALSO: A Day Without a Woman brings mixed reactions

Organizers of January's Women's March have called for women to take the day off as part of "A Day Without a Woman."

Though it is unclear how many women could participate, thousands across the country have signaled their support and interest online and to employers. The Florida chapter of the Woman's March on Washington sent 27,000 people to D.C. on January 21.

The event coincides with the U.N.-designated International Women's Day, and organizers say they want to "stand with women around the globe" who supported their efforts Jan. 21 with similar protests in cities around the world.

On International Women's Day, join me in honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

In Tampa, the Hillsborough chapter of Womens March Florida will host a rally at the Downtown Tampa Library.

The event begins at 6 p.m. at the library with a presentation, followed by a march to Gaslight Park for a candlelight vigil and ceremony honoring women.

In St. Petersburg, organizers will host a series of speakers at Williams Park beginning at 10 a.m.

All residents and visitors are invited to participate in these events.

Unlike the Women's March, Wednesday's protest focuses on the absence of women, who are being steered to local rallies and community groups and away from work or shopping in stores or online. Organizers also are asking women to wear red to signify love and sacrifice.

Unlike the Women's March, Wednesday's protest focuses on the absence of women, who are being steered to local rallies and community groups and away from work or shopping in stores or online.

Organizers also are asking women to wear red to signify love and sacrifice.
If all goes as planned, within two years there will be 40 percent less traffic on Gandy Boulevard in Tampa between the Gandy Bridge and the Selmon Expressway.

Extension has support of chamber of commerce

Not all businesses are in agreement, however

Recession delayed work on project

LINKS: Selmon Extension Project | Save Gandy Now

The Selmon Extension, originally proposed in 2009, is back on track, as the final four contractors make their pitch to the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) in the next few months.

While the extension has the official support of the South Tampa Chamber of Commerce, not all businesses are ready to sign on.

Samuel Jacob Lott runs a business along Gandy and has been fighting against the proposed changes to the road from the beginning.

"Last time, the way that I heard it is, that it was done. That everyone signed a petition against it and that they were scrapping the whole project," he said. "And then we didn't hear anything for a year or so, and then we heard it's been approved. It's going through and nothing can stop it at this point."

According to Sue Chrzan, with the Expressway Authority, the project was green-lighted eight years ago and while shelved, never canceled.

"And then the recession hit. And at that time we also didn't have the financial means to do it," Chrzan said. "So, where we are, seven years later and we have the financial means to do it. We have the savings account in order to be able to help fund it, and we also have the bonding, the mortgage capabilities to do it."

The two-lane toll road will run down the middle of Gandy Boulevard, covering the existing median and left lane in either direction. Standard overpass lanes are 15 feet high.

The Selmon Connector will be twice that tall, and have a similar feel to the existing Selmon Expressway Express Lanes between Brandon and Downtown Tampa. Landscaping will thrive in a more shaded environment and no construction or changes will be made to existing turn lanes or business driveways.

Chrzan said any road block during construction will be in the left lane, and the need for more extensive closures will happen overnight and during non-peak hours.

The Expressway Authority estimates the new structure will remove 40 percent of existing commuter traffic from the lanes of Gandy Boulevard.

For more information on the Selmon Extension Project and information from the opposition, Save Gandy Now, follow their web links.


The new Jimmy Fallon attraction at Universal Studios began "soft openings" last week.

Race Through New York opens April 6

Attraction features elements from 'Tonight Show'

1st Universal attraction to use virtual lines



It was the first chance the public got to test Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon, which is scheduled for a grand opening April 6.

Race Through New York will be the first Universal attraction to feature the park's "Virtual Line" system. The virtual line can be accessed through kiosks in the park or the Universal Orlando app. Riders will be assigned a time to return, allowing them to be in line for the attraction while taking in other experiences in the park.

Riders will be given color-coded cards shaped like a piece of the NBC peacock logo.

Heres how you know its time to move to the next part of the attraction: The lights change color, and the NBC chime will sound. If the lights match the color of your card, you are sent upstairs for the next part of the attraction.

Volcano Bay will also use Virtual Lines when it opens in May.

On Tuesday, members of the media got an opportunity to preview the ride and talk with the creative minds behind it.

The wacky celebrity races that have been featured on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon were a source of inspiration.

The attraction combines the talk-show element with a friendly competition between the audience and show host Jimmy Fallon, who challenges you to a race through  you guessed it  New York.

The focus on New York City was intentional, making it more translatable to people who might not have seen the Tonight Show.

Jason Surrell with Universal Creative said that international guests can still appreciate all the sights, sounds and smells of NYC.

According to Surrell, it was important for Universal to bring that world to life.

"Just because it's a TV talk show and not a huge movie franchise doesn't mean that we want to treat it with any less deference," Surrell said Tuesday. "For us, it was as important to create a lush environment with a rich attention to detail as it would be if you're creating Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley."

The talk-show element allows Universal to continuously update the attraction so that it remains timely, topical, Surrell said.

New bits, sketches and material for the Ragtime Gals, Fallon's barbershop quartet, could be introduced at anytime.

Jason Surrell from Universal Creative discussing virtual lines at #FallonRide pic.twitter.com/qy326TFEFa  Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) March 7, 2017

The queue/pre-show

The outside of the attraction captures New Yorks iconic Rockefeller Center, complete with a marquee.

As you enter the building, youre taken through the history of the Tonight Show. Displays featuring previous hosts like Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and even Conan OBrien line the walls of the ground floor.

Each display contains memorabilia from the various incarnations of the talk show.

The next part of the attraction is a lounge area, which is upstairs.

This is where visitors can take pictures with Hashtag the Panda, play games on the interactive tables, watch pre-recorded Tonight Show clips, charge their phones or catch a performance by the Ragtime Gals.

A little Destiny's Child by the Ragtime Gals at Jimmy Fallon ride. #UniversalOrlando pic.twitter.com/a5qPkjtjRH  Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) March 7, 2017

The lounge area also features couches. However, the designers of the attraction want people to move around the room, play games and interact with the space.

Tonight Show fans will appreciate this: At the interactive tables, you can send your very own Thank You Notes.

From here, you are ushered toward an actual ride queue where you pick up your 3D glasses and watch a preshow video with a safety spiel featuring Fallon and The Roots.

Then, its off to the ride

Race Through New York

You are taken to a large theater that features the ride vehicle and a giant screen.

Fallon, in a Tonight Rider, then challenges the audience to a race.

Riders then careen and dip through Times Square and the subways, before taking a trip into the East River and flying past the Empire State Building.

Fallon favorites make appearances in the ride, including the Ragtime Gals, The Roots (in an out-of-this-world sequence), Ew! Girl and Hashtag the Panda.

Throughout the ride, there are a few 3D moments. For example, during one sequence, Fallon uses a T-shirt cannon to fire 3D shirts at the audience.

Race Through New York also has plenty of Fallon's brand of humor. Listen carefully for a few one-liners.

The ride itself is not jerky, although some might feel a little dizzy once it's over.

NOTE: The ride doesn't move around like Transformers: The Ride-3D or Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon opens April 6.
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The Japanese financial services company, Nomura, in its latest report, estimated that daily gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the first five days of March was around MOP630 million, down 15 percent from the last week of February. The broker believed the higher ratio of weekend-to-weekday days helped to lift GGR/day by about MOP30 million. The broker noted the assumption that the GGR/day is 50 percent higher on weekend days and, by extrapolating that for March, expected that March GGR would be up 10-15 percent year-on-year. In the same document, the company noted that in February, gaming revenue grew by 18 percent, an amount higher than their estimations. Such an increase was mostly driven by the VIP market.

Womens Association against high LRT fines

A representative from the Womens General Association of Macao expressed her disapproval of a proposal that sets fines from MOP400 to MOP5,000 for passengers transport infractions committed on trips on the Macau Light Rail Transit (LRT). The amount set for some fines is said to be too high, which can create conflicts between common passengers and vulnerable groups. The proposed laws that will influence the operation of the LRT are currently under public consultation. For the time being, the Transportation Infrastructure Bureau (GIT) are gathering opinions so that they are able to make prudent changes to the final document. Such fines are set for special cases such as the transportation of pets and other animals, traveling without a valid ticket and where ineligible people occupy priority seats.

Cape Verde  Macau cooperation enhanced by CCI

The bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Cape Verde and the MSAR in the field of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) is a priority in the relationship, and a topic for further exploration, said the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam. Tam made this statement on Monday during a meeting at the government headquarters with the Minister of Culture and Creative Industries of Cape Verde, Abraao Vicente. According to a government statement, Tam also noted that the task of increasing the bilateral cooperation is part of efforts to fully implement measures coming from the central government. The two officials noted that existing cooperation in areas like tourism and education has helped to further extend ties between the Republic of Cape Verde and the MSAR.

CPPCC delegate proposes draft history textbook

Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Macau delegate, Lei Pui Lam, has suggested that mainland China should help Macau in drafting a history textbook for the region, according to a report by Macao Daily News. Many of Macaus schools use Hong Kong or Taiwan published textbooks, which is the main reason behind Leis proposal. Lei says that many teachers in Macaus schools do not have sufficient knowledge of Chinese history because they received a western, Hong Kong or Taiwan-based education.

Delegates want tourists with civic behavior

Seven of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Macau delegates, proposed, in Beijing, that mainland authorities should enhance the promotion of civic tourism behaviors. The proposal was aimed in particular towards mainland tourists who travel abroad. The delegates hope that an enhanced promotion of pro-social behaviors can reduce the negative influence caused by a minority of mainland tourists. They also suggested that China should add concepts of civic tourism behavior and aspects of other counties culture into Chinas primary and middle school textbooks. They hope that the mainland can enhance its supervision of travel agencies.

Lok Kok Restaurant to be restored

The former Lok Kok Restaurant, which is listed as a heritage site, will have its appearance restored in accordance with the buildings original look, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) revealed recently. Constructed in the 1940s, the interior of the building collapsed and its walls are the only features which remain today. The head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the IC, Leong Wai Man, said that the building located at Rua 5 de Outubro has been abandoned for more than ten years. Lok Kok Restaurant is listed by MSAR government as a Classified Immovable Property in the category of Buildings of Architectural Interest. IC president Leong Hio Ming revealed that the IC requested the buildings owner to restore the building according to its original features, which the owner agreed to. Leong informed that once the Lands, Public Works, and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) approve the restoration plan, DSSOPT will start the restoration works.
China is violating its free-trade pledges by pressing foreign makers of electric cars and other goods to share technology under an industry development plan that is likely to shrink access to its markets, a business group said yesterday.

The report by the European Union Chamber of Commerce adds to mounting complaints Beijing improperly shields its fledgling developers of robotics, software and other technology from competition.

Technology is a growing flashpoint in trade tensions with Washington and Europe, which worry their competitive edge is eroding as Beijing buys or develops skills in semiconductors, renewable energy and other fields.

European companies express frustration Chinese enterprises have been permitted to acquire technology leaders such as German robot maker Kuka while most of Chinasassets are off-limits to foreign buyers. In December, Germany blocked the Chinese purchase of a chipmaker, Aixtron, after Washington objected on security grounds.

The European chamber warned tactics Beijing is using to carry out its ChinaManufacturing 2025 initiative might inflame sentiments in Europe and the United States in favor of trade controls.

The plan calls for China to be able to supply its own high-tech components by 2020 and materials by 2025 in 10 industries from information technology and aerospace to pharmaceuticals. A broad outline was issued in 2015 and officials have been gradually releasing details.

Suppliers of electric cars and other goods are under pressure to hand over technology in violation of Beijings World Trade Organization commitments, the European chamber said. It said that also contradicts the ruling Communist Partys repeated promises of equal treatment and to give market forces a bigger role in the state-dominated economy.

That strategy is in fact a large-scale import substitution plan aimed at nationalizing key industries, or at least severely curtailing the position of foreign business in them, the chamber said.

In a possible response to such criticism, Chinas top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, promised in a speech Sunday foreign companies would receive equal treatment under the manufacturing plan. He gave no details.

Foreign suppliers of technology from X-ray scanners to wind turbines to bank security software complain they face growing official obstacles to making sales inChina. Those range from controls based on national security concerns foreign suppliers say might be exaggerated to procurement rules that encourage hospitals and other customers to favor Chinese suppliers.

Beijing has clashed repeatedly with Washington and Europe since the 1990s over its efforts to induce foreign companies to hand over encryption and other technology.

In November, Chinese legislators approved a cybersecurity law business groups warned would hamper access to technology markets. They said a provision requiring security technology to be secure and controllable might require providers to disclose how products work, raising the risk trade secrets might be leaked.

In electric cars, where Beijing sees major opportunities, the manufacturing plan says two of the top 10 global brands by 2025 should be Chinese, the European chamber said. It said that rules out joint ventures created by foreign companies with Chinese partners.

The chamber appealed to Chinese leaders to discard quotas and other controls and focus instead on encouraging basic research and improving their manufacturing base.

Perfecting the market would do far more to ensure that China reaches its full potential for economic development and innovation than more old-school, expensive industrial planning ever could, the chamber said. Joe McDonald, Beijing, AP
Chinas finance minister yesterday rejected accusations that the country is keeping its defense budget under wraps after the figure was omitted from an annual report released to the media.

The defense budget and budgets for foreign affairs and domestic security had been included in a draft submitted to members of Chinas rubberstamp parliament, Xiao said at a press conference on the margins of the annual 10-day legislative session.

Let me be very clear, there is no such thing as opacity in Chinas military spending, We made some new changes in the way we compiled the files, he said, without giving any details on why the figures had not been publicly released.

A finance ministry official earlier this week told The Associated Press that the budget was rising 7 percent to 1.044 trillion yuan (USD151 billion) this year, pushing it to its highest level ever, even while the rate of economic growth slows to its lowest this century.

The U.S. and others have routinely asked China to be more forthcoming about the goals of its ambitious military modernization program, under which the budget has grown by double-digit percentages for most of the past two decades.

China now has the worlds second-largest defense budget, although it totals less than a quarter of what the U.S. spends. AP
North Korea barred Malaysians from exiting its borders and Malaysia followed suit yesterday, turning ordinary citizens into pawns in the diplomatic battle surrounding the investigation into the bizarre death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns half brother.

The tit-for-tat directives come as relations between the two countries disintegrate over the poisoning of Kim Jong Nam in a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13.

This is way out of normal diplomatic practice, Lalit Mansingh, a New Delhi-based scholar and longtime top Indian diplomat, said of North Koreas decision. He could not recall anything similar in recent years, where so many everyday citizens were pulled into a diplomatic standoff.

Although there is growing speculation that North Korea orchestrated the attack, Malaysia has never directly accused Pyongyang. Still, North Korea has slammed the investigation as flawed and called into question Malaysias autopsy report that found VX nerve agent  a banned chemical weapon  killed Kim.

The Norths official Korean Central News Agency said yesterday that Pyongyang was banning Malaysians from leaving the country until the safety of the diplomats and citizens of [North Korea] in Malaysia is fully guaranteed through the fair settlement of the case that occurred in Malaysia.

Malaysia is looking for seven North Korean suspects. Three of them, including an official at the North Korean Embassy, are believed to still be in Malaysia. Khalid Abu Bakar, Malaysias national police chief, said the three are probably holed up inside the embassy.

We will not raid the embassy, Khalid said. [] We will wait. We will wait, and if it takes five years we will wait outside. Definitely somebody will come out.

Soon after North Korea announced its travel ban, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak issued a strong condemnation and said he was barring North Koreans from leaving.

This abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage, is in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms, Najib said in a statement. I have also instructed the Inspector General of Police to prevent all North Korean citizens in Malaysia from leaving the country until we are assured of the safety and security of all Malaysians in North Korea, he said.

Malaysian officials had initially said the ban would affect only North Korean Embassy staff and officials, but later expanded it to include all North Koreans. Police briefly cordoned off access to the embassy.

About 1,000 North Koreans are believed to be working in Malaysia. Before diplomatic ties broke down, Malaysia had been one of the few places in the world where North Koreans could travel without a visa. As a result, for years its been a quiet destination for North Koreans looking for jobs, schools and business deals.

Malaysias finding that the nerve agent VX killed Kim boosted speculation that North Korea was behind the attack. Experts say the oily poison was almost certainly produced in a sophisticated state weapons laboratory, and North Korea is widely believed to possess large quantities of chemical weapons, including VX.

North Korea has not acknowledged that the victim is Kim Jong Nam or a relative of Kim Jong Un. Instead, it refers to him as Kim Chol, the name on the diplomatic passport he was carrying when he died.

Custody of the body has become a flashpoint. Malaysia says it needs to conduct DNA tests to formally identify the body, but North Korea says it has no right to keep the body of a North Korean citizen. AP
Macau is the second most expensive region in Asia for construction, a report by design and architecture consultancy firm, Arcadis, concluded in its annual survey results published this week.

The reason for the high relative costs is a shortage of available land partly due to large casino projects that are currently under construction. However, the ability of Macau to easily import foreign construction workers, unlike in Hong Kong, helps to reduce the impact of labor costs in the construction industry.

Jeff Wong, a national director for capital markets at Jones Lang LaSalle Macau, said yesterday that construction are costs are only one component of three factors largely deciding residential house prices.

A developer looks at three things when setting the residential price, he told the Times, the cost of the land, the cost of development [construction] and the profit they expect to make.

The Arcadis report compares the relative construction costs in 44 of the worlds major cities, with the theme of Cost Certainty in an Uncertain World. The assessment takes into account developments such as product quality, supply chain and cost differential factors specific to each city, according to a summary posted by the firm.

Hong Kong is the most expensive city in Asia and the second most expensive internationally to build in due to the shortage of labor in the construction industry.

Hong Kong markets are stabilizing at peak levels of activity, which have seen projects affected by significant resourcing challenges, noted the report. While big projects such as the Zhuhai- Macau bridge link and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen High Speed Rail link are well advances, new programs [] are expected to sustain workload at current levels.

Hong Kongs residential, hospitality and commerce markets depend on mainland demand, which so far has been sustained, it continued, much the same as in Macau.

Macau ranks as the second most expensive in the Asia region and the fifth in the world, according to the Arcadis report, with its position unchanged from last years ranking.

For the 44 cities compared, New York topped the list, followed by Hong Kong (2), Geneva (3), Central London (4) and Macau (5).

Other Asian cities also scored high on the international ranking, including Doha (11), Singapore (15) and Tokyo (17). Further down the list was Shanghai (35) and Taipei (40), the only other Chinese cities to be covered in the assessment.

Separately, the report ranked 10 of the highest value construction projects in 2017, with Chinas One Belt, One Road initiative taking the top spot at approximately USD150 billion.

The developments of both Beijing Daxing International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport also made the list in positions 9 and 10 respectively. DB
Chinas announcement of a 7 percent rise in military spending for the year came shortly after President Donald Trump called for a 10 percent increase in Americas defense budget, prompting renewed scrutiny of how the two countries capabilities compare.

While the U.S. military remains the dominant force in Asia and the world, China has been moving from quantity to quality and is catching up quickly in equipment, organization and capability, and is increasingly able to project power far from its shores. Rapid economic growth, lavish spending and a desire to regain Chinas historical role as East Asias leading power are helping drive the moves.

Below is a comparison of the present state of the two militaries, based on figures found in recent U.S. government research on Chinas capabilities and information from defense think tanks and government websites. Some figures are estimates or approximations.

THE BIG PICTURE  Chinas Peoples Liberation Army has a total of 2.3 million personnel under arms, constituting the worlds largest standing military. It provides only partial information about its order of battle, the PLAs mission and future plans, although outside analysts have produced detailed estimates. U.S. troop strength varies depending on need, but as of Jan. 31, there were 1.4 million active service members spread throughout the services.

BUDGETS  China announced this week that defense spending would rise by 7 percent this year to 1.044 trillion yuan (USD151 billion). While China has the worlds second-largest defense budget, its just a fraction of what the U.S. spends, even if analysts estimates of hidden additional spending are taken into account. Trumps request for an additional $54 billion in spending would bring the U.S. defense budget to a record $603 billion, and thats before including tens of billions of dollars for overseas military operations. If approved, the increase would mean the U.S. was spending 3.4 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, up from 3.2 percent of GDP last year. China says its budget this year would equal 1.3 percent of GDP.

GROUND FORCES  Owing to the PLAs origins as a guerrilla army and former tensions along its land border with Russia, the ground forces continue to dominate, with 1.6 million personnel and a weighty emphasis on armored vehicles (9,150) and heavy artillery (6,246). The U.S. army boasts 460,000 personnel with another 182,000 in the Marines. It has a smaller emphasis on artillery (1,299) and armored vehicles (8,848), but places a greater emphasis on air support and special forces operations.

AIR POWER  The U.S. can boast more than 13,000 aircraft of all types to Chinas nearly 3,000. The gap is especially great in helicopters, where the U.S. has more than 6,000 to Chinas 802. Despite having fewer aircraft, some of which are under the Chinese navy, Chinas air force has 398,000 personnel to 308,000 for the USAF. Both air forces are seeking to upgrade their aircraft, although the introduction of the fifth generation F-22 and F-35 jets puts the U.S. several years ahead. Chinas stealth fighters remain in the prototype stage, although it has managed to replace more than half of its fighter fleet with fourth-generation aircraft.

NAVY  Chinas navy has many more vessels (714 to 415), but the U.S. has more where it counts in terms of power projection. The U.S. has 10 aircraft carriers to Chinas one (although more are being built), 62 destroyers to Chinas 32, and 75 submarines to Chinas 68. The U.S. Navy has 323,000 personnel to Chinas 235,000, reflecting the breadth and depth of a service that operates worldwide. Chinas navy has made strides in that direction since it established a permanent overseas presence by joining in multinational anti-piracy patrols off Somalia in 2008, and has begun exercising in the Western Pacific beyond the first island chain that blocks its access to open seas.

MISSILE COMMAND  The PLA has a completely separate branch, the Rocket Force, to operate its formidable arsenal of short-, medium- and long-range missiles, including those capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Estimates say China has a stockpile of approximately 260 nuclear warheads for delivery by nearly 150 land-based ballistic missiles, 48 sea-based ballistic missiles as well as bombers. The U.S. has an estimated 1,740 nuclear warheads deployed for delivery by the same means. Chinas development of the DF-21D ballistic missile that is thought capable of threatening aircraft carriers has garnered much attention, although it remains untested in a conflict.

OVERSEAS PRESENCE  China hasnt fought a conflict outside its borders since it invaded Vietnam in 1979 and officially eschews overseas alliances. Nonetheless, the PLA has been expanding abroad, from garrisons atop man-made islands in the South China Sea, to U.N. peacekeeping operations, joint naval exercises with Russia in the Mediterranean and the construction of its first overseas base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti. The U.S. military, in comparison, currently operates in more than 100 countries, maintains a worldwide network of alliances and is engaged in major conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and, increasingly, Syria. Christopher Bodeen, Beijing, AP
A general strike called by ethnic groups a day after police fire killed at least three protesters shut down markets, schools and transport in much of southern Nepal yesterday.

Police had opened fire Monday on protesters attempting to disrupt a political rally, killing at least three and wounding dozens in southern Nepal, which has been hit by violent protests over the last year.

Yesterday, protesters blocked main highways and towns to enforce the general strike.

They attacked several government offices and vandalized a vehicle from the National Human Rights Commission, which had a team monitoring the situation. There were minor clashes between police and the protesters, but no one was hurt.

The commission said it was probing the police firing and monitoring the fresh violence in the area.

Home Ministry official Bal Krishna Panthi said police first tried to disperse the protesters with bamboo batons and tear gas before firing their guns.

He said three people were fatally shot and 33 police officers injured in the clash. He could not say how many protesters were hurt.

Police stepped up security yesterday in southern towns and increased patrols on highways, which were mostly deserted because of the general strike.

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu issued a statement saying it was deeply concerned at signs of rising volatility in some areas of Nepal.

The violence Monday broke out after the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) attempted to hold a rally in Rajbiraj town, 400 kilometers southwest of Kathmandu. Ethnic Madhesi groups oppose the party and have vowed to stop its rallies.

The Communist Party of Nepal was in power and its leader, Khadga Prasad Oli, was prime minister when the Madhesis held protests between August 2015 and February 2016 after Oli rejected their demands for changes to a new constitution that would give the ethnic group more territory in proposed federal states.

The protests shut down southern towns for months, blocking the border with India and stopping the supply of fuel and medicine.

The protests eventually fizzled out and a new administration that took power in August 2016 promised to address the demands by the Madhesis.

The protests have been held in southern towns since Saturday and come ahead of district and municipal elections set for May. AP
When President Donald Trump signed his first travel ban with scant warning and little planning seven days into his presidency, he meant to signal he was a man of action. After the lawsuits, chaos at airports and international criticism, Trumps rewritten travel ban sent a different message: The White House has learned some lessons.

The Trump administrations unveiling of its revised restrictions on travel and refugees was deliberate and cautious, an implicit acknowledgement of some of the unforced errors from the first rollout. The executive order was announced by Trumps Cabinet officials, some of whom felt cut out of consultations on the earlier version. It does not go into effect immediately, giving the world time to assess its impact.

The White House took weeks of consultation with agency heads about how best to withstand expected legal challenges.

The scaled-back order will still face fire from critics. It bars new visas for people from six Muslim- majority countries and temporarily shuts down Americas refugee program, affecting would-be visitors and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.

Department of Homeland Security intelligence analysts have questioned the rationale behind it, concluding that citizenship is an unlikely indicator of terrorism threats to the United States.

But the new ban does eliminate many of the original orders most contentious elements. It removes Iraq from the list of banned countries  at the urging of U.S. military and diplomatic leaders  and it makes clear that current visa holders will not be impacted. It also removes language that would give priority to religious minorities  a provision some interpreted as a way to help Christians get into the U.S. while excluding Muslims.

Trump signed the order without fanfare in a closed-press ceremony in the Oval Office.

Legal experts say the new order addresses some of the constitutional concerns raised by a federal appeals court about the initial ban but leaves room for more legal challenges. AP
Paulo Barbosa, Renato Marques

The Portuguese public television (RTP) is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week and in celebration, it has made available to the public many of its historical archives on the website arquivos.rtp.pt.

The archives include many references to Macaus historical moments, including several documentaries made in the early 1970s in the territory, which was then under Portuguese administration.

The rare films now available make it possible to revisit the places and way of living of Macanese society during the second half of the 20th century.

For example, the 25-minute TV documentary Macau 70 depicts the city in 1971. The documentary by Adriano Nazareth shows quiet and slow city life just after the opening of the Hotel Lisboa and before the construction of the first link between the Peninsula and the island of Taipa (Nobre de Carvalho Bridge). At that time in the territory, the textile industry was thriving; it was the main source of income for the region and employed a great percentage of the population.

The documentary includes many picturesque images, which greatly contrast with the cityscape today. The images show that back in 1971 there was minimal transit (except bicycles and the omnipresent rickshaws) or tourists in the Senado Square area. Macau was already known as a gambling hub, although scenes filmed inside a casino show that the casinos then lacked the current sophistication of todays gaming facilities.

Many people observed Chinese traditional customs, and Taipa remained undeveloped as it was only accessible by boat. Coloane appears unrecognizable, with a thriving fishing community and children walking around barefoot.

RTP archives show many other moments linked to the history of Macau, such has the opening of the new facilities of the Conde de Sao Januario Hospital in 1974 (made available without sound, since many of these archives consist of unedited material stored on reels for decades) or the 1987 signage of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the question of Macau.

Moving forward, we find at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s reports on the process of the handover. The footage of Macau goes all the way to 2008 with a special highlight for the year of 1999 (year of the handover) where we can find a series of documentaries that attempt to portray the 500 years of history of the Portuguese in the region and its centenary relations with China.

The controversial corruption case involving Macau governor Carlos Melancia and a 1998 visit to the city by the current U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres are also depicted.

The website includes radio recordings starting from the 1930s and TV images from 1956 onwards. To access the local content enter keyword Macau in the website search bar.
Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of Chinas National Peoples Congress (NPC), has said that the central government attaches great importance to the elections due to be held this year in Hong Kong and Macau, as the results will affect the SARs prosperity and stability.

According to Chinese press, Zhang pointed out that the central government hopes that Hong Kongs Chief Executive election unfolds smoothly towards the election of a patriotic Chief Executive (CE) who loves Hong Kong and is trusted by the central government, as well as being capable of governance and of drawing the support of the Hong Kong people.

While expressing his wish to the 6th Macaus Legislative Assembly (AL) election, Zhang hoped that the AL could sustain Macaus stability and defend the SAR governments decision so that they could be implemented effectively and in accordance with the law.

According to a Chinese report, Zhang Dejiang, in a remark about the upcoming Hong Kong CE election, said that the central government has absolute appointment rights over the CE.

Zhang also remarked that the central government has higher requirements of the CE, compared to other lower level government officials.

Macau CPPCC delegate Leong Sio Pui stated that Zhang Deijiang hopes the people of Macau will elect leaders from associations that act on a principle of loving the country and Macau, to ensure that the AL consists of a patriotic majority.

On Monday morning, Zhang Dejiang joined a panel discussion with Macaus CPPCC delegates. Zhang encouraged Macau to take the initiative to participate in the administration of national affairs.

Macau delegate Lao Ngai Leong commented on the meeting with Zhang, saying that despite the Macau delegation being small, its speech was built on high standards.

According to delegate Jose Chui, the members of Macau CPPCC will file a minimum of 60 proposals in Beijing, hoping that the central government can solve some of the issues in Macau, such as improving its elderly care services.
SOUTH KOREAs Constitutional Court will rule tomorrow on whether impeached President Park Geun-hye should permanently leave office over a corruption scandal or be reinstated, a decision that could radically reshape the countrys political landscape.

JAPAN Revised data show Japans economy expanded at a slower than hoped for 1.2 percent annual pace in the last quarter of 2016. Abe has struggled to deliver on promises of sustained, stronger growth as frugal consumers and companies have opted to save rather than spend more.

AFGHANISTAN Gunmen wearing white lab coats stormed a military hospital in Afghanistans capital yesterday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. The brazen assault reflected the capability of militant groups in Afghanistan to stage large-scale and complex attacks in the heart of Kabul.

IRAN says a vessel from a joint U.S. and British naval fleet approached Revolutionary Guard boats in the Strait of Hormuz in an unprofessional manner aimed at escalating tensions in the region, through which 30 percent of the worlds sea-borne oil is transported.

UKRAINE foreign minister told U.S. senators that sanctions against Russia shouldnt be eased and possibly should be ratcheted up as Moscow escalates its military aggression against its western neighbor.

NATO-KOSOVO NATO and the United States warned yesterday they could scale back cooperation with Kosovos security services if the government goes ahead with plans to transform its lightly-armed security force into an army without the required constitutional changes.

EUROPEAN UNION The EUs police agency says an international operation has dismantled a crime network smuggling live eels to China, describing it as the organizations biggest success in recent years against trafficking in endangered species.

USA WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents described as secret files about CIA hacking tools the government employs to break into users computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs from companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung.

ARGENTINAs most powerful unions brought tens of thousands of people into the capitals streets to protest government job cuts, the lifting of restrictions on imports and other policies of President Mauricio Macri.

PERU-VENEZUELA Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is calling his ambassador to Venezuela back home for consultations to protest a barrage of attacks by Venezuelas socialist government.
NORWICH, NEW YORK  Tim Brown is Chobanis new president and chief operating officer, the company announced Monday.

Brown, who has more than 30 years of experience in the food industry, will report to founder, owner, CEO and chairman Hamdi Ulukaya. He will oversee operations, sales, marketing, legal and finance teams.

Tim and I clicked the moment we met, Ulukaya said in a statement. Hes an amazing leader with views and values I really respect and believe in. With his deep experience in consistently delivering quality growth, hes the perfect person to partner with me in continuing to lead the new wave of better food for more people.

Brown has worked at Nestle, the third-largest nonalcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. While overseeing brands such as Perrier, San Pellegrino and Poland Spring, he helped bring in $4.3 billion in annual net sales.

The company had 8,500 employees, 29 plants and operations in more than 140 communities.

Joining a company like Chobani to partner with someone like Hamdi and this great team is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Brown said. Ive been following Chobani for years as they have changed the food landscape in this country. Im thrilled and honored to be coming aboard at a time of such momentum and incredible potential.

Browns predecessor was Kevin Burns.

Chobani is at record production, and has surpassed Yoplait as the No. 2 manufacturer of yogurt, the company announced. Its market-share of the overall spoonable yogurt category is 19.8, which translates to 37.6 share of overall Greek Yogurt.
BOISE  State legislators approved funding Tuesday for a new early reading test for kindergarten through third-grade students, the Idaho Department of Education announced.

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved money for the new test  a computer-based assessment from Istation. It will replace the current Idaho Reading Indicator.

A panel of state and local educators chose the new test in December after a review process.

The Idaho Department of Education will ask for school districts interested in piloting the test next school year. About 10,500 students in participating schools will take both the new and old reading tests.

The pilot will cost about $100,000. After that, the new test will cost about $450,000 each year for four years.
BOISE  A bill to hike hunting and fishing fees, while locking in rates for people who buy a license every year and also adding a new surcharge to help pay landowners for the cost of depredation, passed the House Tuesday.

The bill raises the fees for hunting, fishing and trapping licenses by 20 percent starting in 2018, while including a price lock to exempt people who buy a license every year from the higher rates for at least five years. The fee increase is expected to bring in another $3 million a year for the department, which would go toward programs such as predator management, enforcement patrols, improving public shooting ranges, modernizing hatcheries and increasing fish production.

It would also add a new surcharge, paid by everyone, of $5 for Idaho residents and $10 for nonresidents. This is expected to bring in another $2 million a year, of which $1 million would go to depredation  half to compensate farmers for crop damage caused by animals, half for programs designed to prevent such crop damage  and $1 million to providing access to land from willing landowners to hunt and fish.

Resident fees havent gone up since 2005. Fish and Game commissioners have sought to increase fees a couple of times in recent sessions, saying they need more money to run the department, but these attempts have stalled. This years fee hike seemed to be in trouble in the beginning of the session, because some lawmakers wanted the department to improve its depredation program, hence the addition of the surcharge in the latest version.

This year, the increase made it out of the House on a 43-26 vote, and now heads to the Senate. The entire Magic Valley delegation voted for it except Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, who was absent, and Rep. Steve Miller, R-Fairfield, who spoke on the House floor for about 20 minutes against the bill, saying he wants to see reforms first to the way landowners file depredation claims.

Miller told the committee his own story about losing hay to elk and getting the bureaucratic runaround from the Department of Fish and Game when trying to file a depredation claim.

As a property owner, it has been an uphill battle to try to deal with Fish and Game, he said.

Miller thinks an independent adjuster should be in charge of the process, someone who is selected by both parties and whose decision is binding on both.

We need an independent adjuster, somebody who does it for a living, who has no connections with the financial aspects of either party, to come in and come up with some numbers and go through the process, he said.

Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, said he also hears complaints about depredation from his constituents, much of it because of increasing elk populations between the Snake River and the Utah and Nevada borders. However, he said, this bill was an improvement over the way things are now because it directs more money to depredation, noting how unusual it is for the Idaho Farm Bureau to come out in favor of a Fish and Game fee increase, as it has for this bill.

Is this bill perfect, no its not, Wood said. ...But this is certainly a step in the right direction.
BOISE  The House Education Committee has shot down a proposal to encourage gun-safety training in Idaho high schools.

The panel voted 9-6 Tuesday to hold the bill, which was brought by Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, in committee. Local Reps. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, and Sally Toone, D-Gooding, both voted with the majority to hold.

Nates bill would have encouraged school districts to create optional elective firearm safety courses for high schools. The instructors would have been law enforcement, Department of Fish and Game staff or licensed firearms instructors from organizations like the National Rifle Association, and use of live ammunition would not have been allowed.

Nate pitched the bill as a safety measure, saying gun-safety courses have been proven effective.

This firearms safety class is a serious attempt to address a potential problem that could happen when kids come in contact with firearms and theyre not familiar with the proper handling, use or safety of them, he said.

Nate said expanding the program to even younger students was a step for the future and one I would certainly consider, but I think at this point for Idaho it would be best to try it out at the secondary schools, observe results and see if it is beneficial to move forward and encourage it in all our schools.

But lawmakers on the committee, including some Republicans who liked the general idea, expressed a variety of worries that, together, were enough to get six Republicans to join the Democrats to kill the bill. Toone, who is a retired teacher, questioned Nate extensively, wondering how the course would be structured  a high school credit course needs to be 60 hours long  and who would develop the curriculum.

And when you do that, she said, its going to take time and money from somebodys budget.

Toone also worried the course would compete with businesses that offer firearms instruction.

What will you tell them on why some of their business is going away? she asked.

You just made a great case for school choice, Nate replied. The public schools are competing with ... private schools all the time.

We shouldnt be be competing with local businesses, Toone replied. That is their livelihood.

Nate said he had no problem with schools competing with classes offered by Fish and Game, and that the bill could create an opportunity for private instructors to contract with school districts to offer instruction.

I think were really crossing our lines on where we want our businesses to go and what the purposes of our schools are, Toone replied, ending their exchange.

The only person to testify at the hearing was Idaho Second Amendment Alliance board Chairman Zach Brooks, who supported the bill. Brooks said the bill could help to address some of the training concerns people had last year when Idaho repealed the requirement for a concealed carry permit within city limits.

I think having that education in a classroom where it is safe, theres no live fire ammunition available, this has the potential to be an excellent program, he said.
May 30, 1930  March 3, 2017

On March 3, 2017, the life of Werner Henry Kramer, MD came to an end, as all who knew him would expect, on his terms.

Hank was born May 30, 1930 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska to Peter and Molly Kramer, who were part of the Volga German community. He spoke only German until he started school. He joined ROTC at the University of Nebraska, and upon graduation, was commissioned in the Air Force. Before leaving for basic training , he married Marjorie Ann Ida Deckert on June 9, 1953. One year later, to the day, their first child, was born. Two years after that, again on June 9, their second son was born. Three more children followed, two by birth and one by adoption.

After his service, he and Marj moved to Lincoln where he attended medical school and she studied nursing. After an internship in Ogden, Utah, he moved to his first practice in Mountain Home, Idaho. After a few years, he moved his family to Twin Falls and shared office space with Dr Luke and Dr. Smith on Addison Avenue. Late in his career, he moved his office to the Lynwood shopping center property.

He was an active member of the medical staff at Magic Valley Memorial, but he never escaped the lure of farming. His office was closed for two hours for lunch during the summers so he could irrigate and and attend to his farm. During more than 30 years of practice, he delivered hundreds of babies and cared for many people who could not afford care elsewhere. He and Marj raised their five children, only a few blocks from the hospital. Though a contrarian by nature, he was held in deep affection by many of his patients and his office staff.

His family remembers him as a man of strong opinions, who always knew how things should work and how any task should be done. He built his own track shoes in high school and later built a camper for his family. He loved hunting and camping with his family. His greatest pleasure was looking out on his fields from the ditch bank. He purchased his last John Deere in 2016.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marjorie-Ann, sister Marie Boellstorff of College Station, Texas, brother Arnold of Wallace, Nebraska, and sister, Wilma Nelson of Downers Grove, Illinois. Sons: Mark (Halina), Monte (Dawna) and Lynn (Tracey) and daughter Holly Toomians (Alek), ten grandchildren and one great grandson.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Norman and his daughter, Tiara.

Thanks to the staff of the Curry Cafe and the Depot Grill who were so kind to him over the years.

Memorials: Dr. Kramer was not a believer in giving away money. He would prefer you keep it and pass it on to the next generation.

Memorial Service Peace Lutheran Church, Filer, Idaho Saturday March 11, 2017 at 1 pm.
Last weekend, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama  without any evidence  of ordering Trumps phones to be wiretapped during last years presidential campaign. It was only the most recent in a bewildering number of conspiracy theories the president and his circle have embraced over the past year. In 2017, having the president of the United States openly disregard the truth for short-term political gain is the new normal. And that is not normal.

This is a dangerous time for democracy. Less than two months into the administration, the danger is no longer that Trump will make conspiracy thinking mainstream  that has already come to pass. Conspiracy theories, rumor and outright lies now drive the news cycle, as the weekend demonstrated once again. (Earlier examples included Trumps false claim about widespread voter fraud and his misrepresentations about a Navy SEAL raid in Yemen.) Far worse, such untruths may now be driving government policy in realms as disparate as immigration policy and civil rights. In the long term, the damage done to trust by the normalization of untruth may threaten the social contract on which democracy itself rests.

Hostility toward facts is at the core of Trumps governing style. Trump and his advisers do not innocently repeat conspiracy theories about the subjects they choose, whether its largely imaginary voter fraud or the false claim that Texas Sen. Ted Cruzs father was involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. By now, its hard not to be suspicious that a pattern of repeatedly bringing up untruths and rumors is more than a coincidence. Judged strictly on results, Trumps methods have proven incredibly effective. As University of Miami political scientist Joe Uscinski pointed out last year, if anything, voters rewarded Trump for running a campaign that rejected facts.

How did conspiracy theories come to pose such a challenge to truth? The long-term decline in general trust played a crucial role. As political scientists Joanne Miller, Kyle Saunders and Christina Farhart observe, to believe in a successful conspiracy, one must first believe that powerful actors are willing to conspire against the public  hardly the position of someone who believes that elites make the best, or at least good, choices. As more people came to mistrust authority, they became susceptible to stories about how good people like them were being betrayed by nefarious elites.

Growing political polarization provided the second necessary ingredient. As voters have become more and more likely to identify with strongly and vote for their preferred political party, they have also become more closed off from other viewpoints. The creation of partisan echo chambers on social media and in other institutions has accelerated the growth of conspiracy thinking. As Norbert Schwarz, Eryn Newman and William Leach note in Behavioral Science and Policy, people judge whether they should believe an argument not through rigorous fact-checking but through criteria, such as coherence, familiarity and plausibility.

Polarization generates closed loops in which believing untruths about the other side becomes more plausible than seeking out information that might challenge those ideas, as The Washington Posts Ishaan Tharoor suggested Monday. Thus, conspiracy theories can come to seem more plausible than objective sources, even if only just through repetition. Similarly, Schwarz, Newman and Leach suggest that brains judge coherence by whether a claim tells a good story. Ironically, that means that unfalsifiable conspiracy theories, in which everything can be explained as evidence of a sinister design, lends them a coherence that reality, full of coincidence and randomness, can never have.

To be fair, Trump did not create the conditions for the rise of untruth. Through luck or design, however, he has exploited it. Moreover, his embrace of fringe thinking has led to a reversal of a usual pattern. Before 2017, conspiracy thinking was a feature of the party out of power. Now, however, Republicans have continued to embrace ideas like DeepStateGate even though they control almost the entire edifice of government, from the White House and Capitol to two-thirds of state legislatures.

The damage to the foundations of a fact-based discourse has seeped to both sides. Last week, liberals and Democrats crowed about Attorney General Jeff Sessionss admission that he had met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 campaign. The subtext  and sometimes text  was that Sessions may have helped coordinate a Kremlin-based plot to steal the election. The evidence supports no such assertion; as Ryan Lizza wrote in the New Yorker, so far this appears to be a cover-up without a crime. Yet the echo chambers of Twitter resounded with liberals eagerly sharing the news and hoping that Sessions would resign for a highly visible  but still undefined  transgression.

In the longer term, the feedback loop of lies begetting rumor will threaten the foundation of democracy. Democracy requires trust  including the fundamental trust that losing an election does not mean losing power forever. Not only do conspiracy theories feed on mistrust of authority, they also promote mistrust. If a substantial fraction of Americans believes that their political opponents have become their enemies, then the basis for compromise and accommodation that democratic institutions produce will collapse. Through his actions, Trump is bidding for that to be his most lasting legacy.
Morocco and Cote dIvoire have added another dimension to their multifaceted cooperation ties, namely that of protecting and preserving the environment as embodied in the rehabilitation project of Cocody Bay in Abidjan, whose total cost is assessed at $450 million.

The rehabilitation project, described as a pilot model of South-South cooperation, was launched in June 2015, during a visit by King Mohammed VI to the West African country and is jointly managed by Marchica Med, a Moroccan State-owned company, and the Ivorian Government.

The rehabilitation of the bay was becoming urgent because of severe environmental degradation, increased pollution, repeated flooding and silting, accelerated by the massive urbanization of the Gourou basin.

On Monday (March 6), King Mohammed VI and President Alassane Ouattara took part in a ceremony in Abidjan, during which President of the Board of Marchica Med, Said Zarrou, surveyed the stages covered by the project, highlighting the progress made regarding various infrastructures.

The first phase of the project is almost completed and concerns the cleaning up and decontamination of the site, the landscaping, the construction of anti-flood, hydraulic and retaining structures, the realization of road improvements and the construction of a cable-stayed viaduct, Zarrou said.

As to the second phase, he explained that it concerns mainly the promotion and development of the bay, the aim being to improve the environment for the citys inhabitants and to consolidate the tourist assets of Abidjan, where Cocody Bay is a highly symbolic site. He made it clear that all the phases and constituents of the project are underway.

The Cocody Bay rehabilitation project provides, besides the construction of dams, bridges and road infrastructure, for the development of a marina, an urban park, as well as recreational, sporting and tourism facilities. The project is scheduled to be fully completed in 2019. It is financed through a bridging loan by the Ivorian government and via commercial banks, the Moroccan Attijariwafa Bank and its Ivoirian subsidiary and concessional loans by the main Arab funds as the Islamic Development Bank and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.

In this vein, King Mohammed VI and his host, President Ouattarra, presided, during the presentation ceremony, over the signing of a memorandum of understanding concerning the new development phases of the bay.

The MoU also provides for an extension of the partnership for urban and port development in Grand Bassam.

The Cocody Bay rehabilitation project, a very symbol of an Africa that trusts Africa, illustrates again the Moroccan Kings unwavering commitment to help Africa rely on its own resources to fulfil the development of the continent and the wellbeing of the African citizen.
A disgruntled South Sudanese army general on Monday announced he had formed a new anti-government rebel group to topple incumbent president Salva Kiir

Lieutenant General Thomas Cirillo Swaka, formerly deputy head of logistics, resigned last month after he accused Kiir of turning the countrys military into a tribal army.

A statement attributed to him on Monday said his new rebel group, The National Salvation Front (NSF) is convinced that to restore sanity and normalcy in our country, Kiir must go; he must vacate office.

NSF would fight to eradicate the malady that has badly tarnished the image of South Sudan, the statement said.

In the document Swaka said an above-the-law culture and mentality prevailed among top officials in the military and blamed that for rampant crime, including robberies, rapes, embezzlement of public funds.

South Sudan, the worlds youngest nation, was engulfed in civil war in 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his rival and former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup against him.

An August 2015 peace deal was left in tatters when fighting broke out in Juba in July last year.

In a report released on Monday, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan voiced alarm at the massive increase in gross human rights violations and abuses in recent months.
Previously known as the Gold Coast, Ghana was the first Sub-Saharan African country to become independent on the back of Ghanas first President and his Pan-African ethos, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The celebration, the first for President Akufo-Addo, was marked with the traditional march past and parade at the iconic Black Star Square.

The President took the national salute and delivered a speech of solidarity to Ghanaians before lighting the perpetual flame.

Addressing the parade, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said after sixty years, Ghanaians have run out of excuses, and it is time to set Ghana to rights and get the country to where it should be.

We have a bright future, and we must mobilize all our resources and all our strengths, here and in the Ghanaian Diaspora, to get to that promised land of prosperity faster, he said.

Zimbabwes 93-year-old Mugabe, Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Cote dIvoires Alassane Ouattara and Togos Faure Gnassingbe joined the colorful event. Others included Vice President of Zambia, Inonge Wina.

Over 30 other African countries eventually gained their own independence in the decade following Ghanas liberation. Kwame Nkrumah played a key role in the march towards independence of a number of African countries.
Georgias success

By Messenger Staff

President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili believes the country has achieved rightful success in the granting of visa free travel to Georgia in the Schengen area of the EU from the spring.The President stressed this was a step forward, but not the final result on the path towards Europe.This is a new possibility to establish a closer partnership with the EU. The decision re-confirms that Georgias European choice is irreversible and the EU has confidence in Georgia as a reliable partner, the Presidents press speaker stated.Only formal procedures are left until Georgians will be able to travel to Europe visa-free.The regulation which was adopted by the Council of Europe was formally signed by the European Parliament President and a representative of the EU Council Presidency, currently held by Malta, on March 1.The decision will be published in several days' time in the EUs official journal, while 20 days later, Georgians with biometric passports will be able to travel to the Schengen states for a period of 90 days within any 180-day time period for any purpose other than working or studying.Despite this achievement, Georgia must not forget that the adoption of the suspension mechanism was a precondition for the Georgia-EU visa waiver.Under the new rules, in certain situations the visa waiver deals of developing countries with the EU may be suspended, in which case their citizens would need to apply for a visa to enter the EU.The suspension mechanism relates to one or more of the following cases: a substantial increase in the number of nationals of that country are refused entry to or stay irregularly in EU territory; a substantial increase in unfounded asylum applications; a decrease in cooperation on readmissions (returns of migrants); or an increase in risks or imminent threats to public policy or internal security related to nationals of the third country concerned.There is a risk that many Georgians will try and leave for Europe from the end of March, as the current economic situation in Georgia is far from satisfactory.The government should work very actively on an information campaign to decrease the risk of Georgia having its visa-free travel suspended.
The News in Brief

Controversies of the Patriarchate



The scandal concerning the alleged murder of a person of high rank in the Georgian clergy seems to become more intriguing. Detained priest Giorgi Mamaladze tries to avoid being interrogated by the investigators from the Prosecutors Office.



He claims that he is ill and cannot answer the questions. The prosecutors suspect that he is simulating, whereas his lawyers demand that his condition should be matter of concern.



Mamaladze also demands the protection of his family from the alleged threats.



The Georgian Church is split in two parts, those who are for the unbiased investigation and the second, which is insisting that Mamaladze is innocent and there are allegations against him. (The Messenger)







UN Regrets Plans for Abkhazia Crossing Points Closure



Stephane Dujarric, the Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, expressed regret over the planned closure of two crossing points along the Administrative Boundary Line of Georgias breakaway region of Abkhazia.



The de-facto Abkhaz government decided to close two out of four crossing points along the administrative boundary line (ABL) - Nabakevi-Khurcha and Meore Otobaia-Orsantia - between Abkhazias predominantly ethnic Georgian Gali district and its adjoining Zugdidi district of Samegrelo region at its session on December 28.



Responding to questions on February 27, Stephane Dujarric stated that the announced plans to close the two additional crossing points will be detrimental to the freedom of movement and overall well-being of the population, including school children, on both sides of the administrative boundary line, especially those living in the Gali District.



We join other international partners in calling for the continued functioning of the existing crossing points to ensure the freedom of movement, including humanitarian crossings, Stephane Dujarric added.



We underline previous calls for all the participants in the Geneva International Discussions to engage constructively in making tangible progress and to refrain from any unilateral actions that may adversely impact regional peace and security and undermine the work of those Discussions, he also stated.



The planned crossing points closure has raised concerns internationally before as well. (Civil.ge)







Second Georgian contractor held captive in DRC named



The second of two Georgian pilots who were taken prisoner by rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been identified as Vyacheslav Pluzhnikov.



Pluzhnikov has a background from the Georgian air force. He was arrested for alleged espionage for Russia in 2010 and released three years later in a mass amnesty.



The captured pilots identity was first reported by Imedi TV.



Pluzhnikov was injured when the military helicopter he was in crash landed in the east of the country nearly a month ago. He has recovered and is feeling well, Imedi reports.



The two Georgian helicopter crew members are there on private contracts and they were captured by rebels who are waging a guerrilla war against the central government.



The other Georgian pilot is Soso Osurauli, also a former officer of the Georgian air force.



Pluzhnikov was arrested in 2010 in a case known as the Enver Affair, after an alleged Russian intelligence agent code named Enver. 15 people were arrested in the swoop, mainly air force officers.



Those who pleaded guilty were soon released, but those who pleaded not guilty were sentenced to prison terms of various lengths.



Pluzhnikov was among those who insisted on his innocence and he was sentenced for 13 years and 6 months.



After the change of power in 2012, his case, which had previously caused much controversy, was reviewed.



The following year, he was released in a mass amnesty following a prisoner abuse scandal. (DF watch)







Agreement on new program worth 285 million achieved with IMF



An agreement on a new program worth 285 million has been achieved with the International Monetary Fund, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili said at the meeting summarizing the IMF mission results.



According to him, the two-week talks with the IMF mission were successfully completed.



As Kumsishvili noted, the Government, the National Bank and the Fund actively work on the new program within the framework of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).



"The three-year program was initiated to support the government's economic policy. The new program is not only declaration of full confidence to the government's economic policy, but it is fully based on the government's reform plan," said Kumsishvili.



"Under the program, the IMF will be our main partner in pursuing the government's economic policy," said Kumsishvili. (IPN)




@laurenfcarroll @amysherman1

For his entire term, former President Barack Obama wanted to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but he was unsuccessful.

President Donald Trump promises to keep it open, and he took to Twitter the morning of March 7 to criticize Obama for releasing Guantanamo detainees at all.

"122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!" Trump tweeted  from both his personal account and the official White House account, @POTUS.

Guantanamo detainee transfers are likely in the news because a March 2, 2017, U.S. military airstrike killed a former Guantanamo prisoner, Yasir Ali Abdallah al Silmi, who Obama released to Yemen in 2009.

Trumps claim that the Obama administration released 122 prisoners from Guantanamo that "returned to the battlefield" is right on the numbers but wrong on who is to blame. The vast majority of detainees who fall into Trumps total were actually released during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Keep reading from PolitiFact.
@amysherman1

Gov. Rick Scott vigorously defended the states agencies for business incentives and tourism marketing in his State of the State address, delivered just steps away from the fellow Republican attacking the governors priorities.

Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran did not call each other out by name in separate opening-day speeches, but each man used pointed language to double down on his view of the fiery Enterprise Florida/Visit Florida debate.

"Its easy to throw out catch phrases like picking winners and losers and corporate welfare," Scott said in reference to Corcorans attacks on Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida. "But thats not what we are doing."

Corcoran warned that the House would not back down: "And for anyone waiting for us to slow down, to drop the big ideas, to stop trying to shake up the system, to cower in the face of attacks, or to cave to the demands of special interests; heres our message to you: We will not."

From PolitiFact Florida, heres a rundown of the governors remarks with context and a fact-check of a Democratic response.
The Florida Senate reversed years of opposition to a statewide ban on oil and gas fracking and advanced a bill Tuesday that will prohibit the controversial practice in Florida.

The Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation voted unanimously to prohibit "advanced well stimulation treatment," specifically hydraulic fracturing, acid fracturing and matrix acidizing -- the high pressure process that is used to inject water into rock formations to extract oil and gas.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Dana Young, R-Tampa, who reversed her opposition to a fracking ban last year, promising voters in her newly-drawn Senate seat that she would make passage of the ban a top priority.

"This has been a wonderful journey,'' Young said, acknowledging the shift in position since she voted for a House bill lasts year that would have regulated and authorize fracking beginning in 2017, after a state study.

She held up a rock of Florida karst limestone: "It is fragile. It is porous,'' she said. "Florida is unique. Florida is special and we do not have to be like every other state in the nation."

Opposing the bill were Exxon Mobile, the Florida Chamber, the James Madison Institute, the Heartland Institute of Washington, D.C., the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Petroleum Council which argued that Florida's ban would be the strictest in the nation, that hydraulic fracturing has been proven safe in other states and must remain an option if Florida is to meet its energy needs.

Dave Mica, president of the Florida Petroleum Council, said the state consumes 27 million gallons of gasoline every day in the state, the third largest amount in the country, and most of the natural gas used in the state comes from the process of hydraulic fracking. "We have a shared interest in our industry to protect energy resources."

Jake Kramer, attorney at Stearns, Weaver, Millers which represents Collier Resources, the company that has shown an interest in drilling for natural gas in Florida, warned that the measure "will be a lightening rod for litigation in this state.''

Noting that large landowners will be forced to bring lawsuits against the state because the bill could deprive them of access to subsurface minerals, he said the bill will open the door to lawsuits that claim the measure would qualify as an economic taking and qualify landowners for compensation.

But Young disagreed. She said the bill does not foreclose mineral rights and does not prohibiting traditional oil and gas exploration.

"There may be some uncertainty but the question is are you willing to roll the dice with the future of our state?,'' she said. "Are you willing to roll the dice with the future of our environment?"
@MichaelAuslen and @ByKristenMClark

State Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, has a message for lawmakers pushing to loosen restrictions on guns in Florida.

"I can't find myself voting for any bill that does not have a mental health component to it," he said. "Making sure that we invest more money into the system, making sure that people have access and treatment abilities. That is my main focus."

Garcia, the Senate's Children, Families and Elder Affairs chairman who has advocated to improve Florida's mental health system, often finds himself a swing vote in hearings over controversial issues like gun access. A more moderate Republican from an urban district, he has bucked the party line before.

In the wake of mass shootings at Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, and the Ft. Lauderdale airport, Garcia has become even more concerned about widespread gun access, particularly among people in a mental health or substance abuse crisis who might be more likely to commit a violent crime.

READ MORE: Mass shootings lead to talk, but little action, on mental illness

During a Judiciary Committee vote Tuesday on a bill to let concealed-carry permit holders take their guns to courthouses and store them with security officials, Garcia called out the Legislature for not doing more on mental health. Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, raised concerns, as well, about gun bills that are not narrowly tailored to fix specific problems.

"Every time we have this issue of guns, we have this debate in a vacuum," Garcia said. "And we always forget that at least when you look at the massacres that have happened across this nation and here in Florida, a lot of the common denominator has been a lack of mental health diagnosis or a lack of treatment."

Garcia praised Gov. Rick Scott for putting more money into mental health and substance abuse treatment. This year, the governor proposed adding $25 million to the annual base budget, though he proposed cutting the total mental health and substance abuse budget by $5 million, much of which comes from capital projects.

Photo: Sens. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, and Anitere Flores, R-Miami, talk on the floor of the Florida Senate in 2016. Both have been skeptical of wholesale loosening of gun laws. (Scott Keeler | Tampa Bay Times)
The crime scene at Pulse nightclub, where a gunman's rampage killed 49 and wounded many more, is seen under investigation Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times)

@JeremySWallace

Citing the killings at Pulse night club in Orlando last summer and the Fort Lauderdale airport shootings earlier this year, the leader of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement called on budget writers in the Legislature on Wednesday morning to give him the authority to hire 46 new counter terrorism experts.

We know that terrorists are here, either plotting against Florida or using our state as a location to train, raise money and plan attacks in other areas of the country, FDLE commissioner Richard Swearingen told a Senate committee.



Swearingen said FDLE does not currently possess sufficient resources to dedicate adequate personnel to fighting terrorism and needs the $6.4 million to fix that.

What happened in Orlando on June 12, 2016 shook us all, Swearingen told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice. But it did not break us. And it convinced all of us in public safety that we can and we must do more to protect our state.

Later Swearingen cited the shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as proof of increasing threats in Florida.

He stopped short of saying either incident could have been prevented had he had the 46 hires, but said Florida cannot leave all of the work to the federal government.The federal government doesnt have the resources or ability to do all of the work on their own, he added, and needs state and local law enforcement to do more.

This threat is so prolific that they dont have the resources to fully investigate every instance, Swearingen said.

If that werent ominous enough, Swearingen reminded the Senate that the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. had numerous ties to Florida. Eight of the 19 attackers had Florida drivers licenses and the majority had flight training in Florida.

We should never forget the connection so many of these terrorists had to Florida, he said.

Swearingen noted that the terrorists were not impeded at all by any government action, a point made by the 9/11 Commission.

Swearingens plea is early in the budget process but Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, already sounded like he is on board. He said because the funding would come from dedicated trust funds and not the states general revenue it will be relatively easy to cover the $6.4 million.

Gov. Rick Scott pointed to the counter terrorism funding as a top priority in his annual State of the State Address to the Florida Legislature on Tuesday.
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The Dakota Access pipeline could begin transporting oil as soon as next week after a judge on Tuesday rejected the latest effort to prevent its completion and operation.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, D.C., denied a request by the Cheyenne River Indian tribe to halt construction on grounds that the pipeline violated its members religious freedom. The tribe had claimed that the pipeline was a terrible Black Snake prophesied to come into the Lakota homeland and cause destruction by desecrating water used in religious ceremonies.

Both the Cheyenne River and the Standing Rock Sioux tribes reservations border Lake Oahe, a dammed section of the Missouri River under which the final leg of the $3.8 billion, 1,170-mile pipeline is now being completed. The tribes have argued for months that the pipeline threatens sacred cultural sites and their water supply, which is drawn from the lake.

Yet after months of protests, hundreds of arrests and many legal challenges, the pipeline, which would transport more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil daily from western North Dakota to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Ill., is all but certain to become operational this month, according to the company building it, Energy Transfer Partners.

We are pleased with Judge Boasbergs decision today to deny the motion by the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, the company said in a written statement. We have progressed quickly with the final piece of construction under Lake Oahe in North Dakota and anticipate that oil will be introduced to this part of the line the week of March 13 or the week of March 20, but it is more likely to occur the week of March 13.

Last month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Indian Affairs cleared the sprawling protest camps near Lake Oahe that once were occupied by thousands of people.

Boasberg rejected the Cheyenne River tribes religious claim in part because it had not previously raised specific concerns about the Black Snake prophecy in more than two years of contact with the Corps over the pipeline and concerns that it threatened water and would damage sacred sites. While his ruling was specific to a request for a temporary injunction to stop construction, Boasberg said the claim was unlikely to succeed on its merits.

A lawyer for the tribe, Nicole Ducheneaux, said Tuesday that the tribe was disappointed in the decision and that the ruling demonstrates a continued misunderstanding of American Indians religious beliefs. She said the effort to stop construction was just the beginning of a much broader legal fight.

Jan Hasselman, a lawyer for the Standing Rock Sioux, said Tuesday that the tribe will continue to challenge the pipeline on issues including whether the Corps adequately considered the tribes treaty rights when it issued the decision to grant an easement for the pipeline to travel beneath the lake. Although the pipelines route does not travel on reservation land, it does cross an area granted to Sioux Indians under treaties they signed with the government in the 1850s and 1860s. Hasselman said the tribe has a treaty right to safe drinking water.

Hasselman also said the tribe will challenge the Trump administrations decision not to pursue a more vigorous environmental review ordered in the final weeks of the Obama administration. President Donald Trump, in one of his first actions as president, instructed the Corps to reverse that plan. He said he hoped Boasberg would hold a hearing in April on those and other issues raised by the tribe. If the judge eventually were to rule in the tribes favor, the pipeline could be turned back off, Hasselman said.

The ruling came on the same day that members of Native American groups and others began four days of protests in Washington, D.C., that include setting up teepees on the National Mall. The protests are expected to culminate with a march to the White House on Friday.
Dorothy Bradley probably knew the Montana Legislature was geared to politicians of the male variety before she went to work in the Capitol in 1971, but she might not have guessed all the evidence that'd come her way.

"It was not a place that was used to women," said Bradley, former legislator and Democratic nominee for governor in 1992. "All those little bonuses you get in the mail, I still remember laughing over some of them  it was for a free shave and an opportunity to try on toupees.

"Clearly, this place was not tuned in to women."

A few decades later, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library's Archives and Special Collections is featuring the quote by Bradley along with other words by Montana women in celebration of Women's History Month at the University of Montana.

"Women's Words, Writings and Reminiscences" kicks off Thursday, March 9, with special presentations from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., all free and open to the public.

Caroline Patterson, director of the Missoula Writing Collaborative, will speak, as will UM's Elizabeth Hubble, of the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, which is also an exhibit host.

The display is part of the Mansfield Library's stellar record supporting academia, Hubble said. The library is at the forefront of research opportunities at UM, she said, and it's putting on powerful exhibits, such as one for Black History Month and another about Muslims in America.

"They're just right now kind of on the cutting edge of bringing those issues in," Hubble said.

This particular exhibit, "Women's Words," showcases the importance of archival material and the insight it offers into a past that's often omitted from the history books. For instance, Hubble is reading about a woman who traveled to Yellowstone National Park in 1877 and the items she packed for the trip.

"It's one of those ways that really allows us to see the history that's still yet to be written about women," Hubble said.

***

Tuesday, Hannah Soukup, in Archives and Special Collections, offered a preview of some of the journals, books, and other materials that will be shown through July 7.

For roughly a year, Soukup has wanted to create a display featuring women, and in recent months, women's voices have grown louder on the political stage with the historic Women's March in Washington, D.C., and around the world the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost her historic bid for president as the first female nominee in this country, and the political arena in Montana and nationally remains more accustomed to men.

According to historic data posted on the Montana Legislature website, women peaked at 31.3 percent of the combined state Senate and House seats in the 2015 session; this year, women make up 28 percent of the Legislature.

But women have a long tradition of being involved in Montana politics, and the new display showcases some prominent female figures, such as Missoula's only female mayor to date, Juliet Gregory, and former Gov. Judy Martz.

"It's nice to remind people there is a legacy," Soukup said.

At the Mansfield Library's Theta Rho Room, the posters in the collection borrow the logos of the Women's March and pair them with illustrations of plants from naturalist Kim Williams' book, "Eating Wild Plants."

The display also honors women who didn't make headlines, but endured the hardships of homestead life in Montana. The chorus of their voices was powerful, and it had a unique quality, Soukup said.

"There's this survival element that comes through when you look at their history," she said. "You see it in their writing, and you hear it in their words."

Visitors are likely to encounter new voices along with people they may recognize from the community. Longtime Missoula activist Judy Smith is quoted in one of the posters that are part of the exhibit.

"Montana itself ... It nurtures feminism, you know. The kinds of connection you can make here, the influence you can have, because we are a pretty self-reliant, small group of people, pretty determined," said the late Smith. "We believe in freedom and equality in our own weird ways here."
Rich Maricelli, the new Missoula County undersheriff who officially started Monday, must attend a law enforcement refresher course in Helena at some point in his first year on the job.

Sheriff T.J. McDermott appointed Maricelli after former undersheriff Jason Johnson retired in February. Maricelli had a 23-year career with the Missoula sheriff's office before retiring in 2013 as the captain of detectives.

Because he spent several years away from active duty, state law requires Maricelli to attend a one-week refresher course. The undersheriff is able to serve as an officer right away with all the authority of the undersheriff position, but must finish the course within a year, said Perry Johnson.

Johnson is the executive director of the Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training Council, or POST, which handles certification of officers in the state.

An officer in good standing who has been out of active service for less than three years can return to a job with no additional requirements. Those with between three and five years away must complete a refresher course, which covers updates to the law and training in domestic violence and use of force.

Anyone gone longer than five years must attend the entire Montana Law Enforcement Academy again.

The one-week refresher course is held twice a year in Helena, the fall and spring, Johnson said, although this years spring session was held last week.

Johnson, a former sheriff of Ravalli County, said he remembered Maricelli from his own time as an officer in the Bitterroot, and said hes a great pick for undersheriff.

Im really glad hes going to be back, he said.
Weve all seen how furious the radical left is about losing the election. I can understand their frustrations. What I cant understand is their mind-numbing push to denigrate anyone and anything even remotely associated with President Donald Trump, ignoring the particular merits of every situation.

President Trumps nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, is the perfect example. By all accounts, this is a judge of impeccable character with the highest of qualifications. And he is being opposed by some in the Democratic leadership because of Trump.

Gorsuchs qualifications are off the charts. Undergraduate degree from Columbia University, then Harvard Law School, a PhD. in law from University College at Oxford University on Marshall Scholarship.

His professional experience is just as impressive. He clerked for Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and both Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy at the U.S. Supreme Court.

He became a partner at the exclusive Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel Law Firm. He then served as Principal Deputy to Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum at the U.S. Department of Justice.

President George W. Bush finally appointed him to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and he was confirmed on a voice vote  which means, unanimously. No Democrat expressed a single concern, including then-Democratic Montana Sen. Max Baucus. Also supporting him then were: President Barack Obama (as senator from Illinois), Vice-President Joe Biden (as senator from Delaware), Secretary Hillary Clinton (as a senator from New York), and current senators Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), and Richard Durbin (D-Illinois).

No one criticized these prominent Democrats for that support, given such an impressive, mainstream nominee.

Judge Gorsuch has been praised by both sides of the aisle. Liberal Professor Neal Katyal wrote in the New York Times:

I was an acting solicitor general for President Barack Obama; Judge Gorsuch has strong conservative bona fides and was appointed to the 10th Circuit by President George W. Bush. But I have seen him up close and in action, both in court and on the Federal Appellate Rules Committee (where both of us serve); he brings a sense of fairness and decency to the job, and a temperament that suits the nations highest court.

That is the simple truth of this non-controversial appointment.

But now Democratic senators who are up for re-election, including Sen. Jon Tester, are being bullied by the radical left to fight President Trump by opposing this honorable man, Judge Gorsuch. I hope they do not give in to such an unjust political assault of this nature.

Montanans do not care about Washington political gamesmanship. We care about what is happening in our communities and our hurting families.

This is a good judge by every indication. He should be confirmed quickly so that senators can get back to the task of fixing the rising cost of our health care, getting our economy back on track, and keeping us safe.

I sincerely hope Sen. Tester does not give into the faux pressure from the left. Bowing to them on Gorsuch will not help him one iota on his reelection campaign here in Montana.

He should join our other senator, Steve Daines, who praised Gorsuch, saying, Neil Gorsuch has an established record as a mainstream judge who upholds the rule of law and doesnt legislate from the bench.

Whatever Sen. Tester does, including how much time he wastes on this political attack of a mainstream nominee, will let us know where his priorities lie in practice, no matter what he says on the campaign trail.

Are his priorities aligned with the radical left and the senseless political partisanship in Washington, or is he focused on the well-being of the people of Montana? The Gorsuch test will reveal much for us.
The Missoula County Election Advisory Committee (EAC), a bipartisan committee of Missoula County citizens, recently discussed the upcoming special election to fill former Congressman Ryan Zinkes seat. We learned the Missoula County Elections Office and other county election offices across the state are already in fiscal straits after reprinting ballots following the untimely death of Libertarian candidate Mike Fellows prior to the 2016 General Election.

We learned that many of our schools (customary polling places) will be unavailable due to construction or other planned activities. We also learned the costs associated with a poll election with normal polling places, elections judges, etc., to fill Zinkes seat will cost hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars; this is an expense that is unbudgeted, meaning other county needs will go unmet if a normal poll election is held.

The EAC also learned about the cost savings should the upcoming special election be conducted by mail-in ballot. With this approach, each registered voter receives a ballot at their address of record. After filling it out, the voter simply mails it back, or, if the voter chooses, drops the marked ballot off at the Elections Office or at a number of designated ballot drop-off locations. Municipal and school elections are often already run this way, so it is not a totally new way to hold elections in Missoula.

After discussing this issue fully, the Missoula County EAC voted unanimously to encourage the state Legislature and the governor to allow Montanas county elections officials to run this special election by mail. This one-time arrangement would not change future elections. We hope Missoula County citizens will join us in supporting this reasonable, cost-effective way to conduct this special election.
Don't let the numbers fool you. President Trump wants to increase the military budget by 10 percent. We have seen 10 before and 10 is big, but not that big.

But 10 percent of the military budget really looks like around $200 million dollars per day, i.e., every day. If this was divided equally among the states, each state could build 15 working-class houses per day. That is 15 working-class houses in every state every day; or in round numbers 5,500 houses per year in each state; or 275,000 new homes each year for the country. Do we really have a housing problem?
Well, we now know the name of the Cowardly Lion: it is U.S. Sen. Steve Daines. Shame on him for not holding town hall meetings. What is he afraid of?
DEER LODGE  A handyman and probationer was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for killing a man and his mother after being confronted over the theft of 1,700 ounces of silver.

David Wayne Nelson, 54, of Deer Lodge must serve at least 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole, District Judge Ray Dayton ruled. Nelson pleaded guilty to two counts of deliberate homicide last September for the deaths of Greg Giannonatti, 57, and Beverly Giannonatti, 79.

The Giannonattis were reported missing in late October 2015, beginning a monthlong mystery that shocked the small southwestern Montana town, home to the Montana State Prison.

The investigation ended when Nelson confessed to stealing the silver from Greg Giannonatti, selling it for $26,000 and killing the Giannonattis on Oct. 24 or 25 during a confrontation over the theft.

Investigators learned that a registered violent offender, Nelson, had done work at Beverly's rental properties and was making improvements at the home of Beverly's late ex-husband, Bill, at the time the Giannonattis disappeared.

Officers received a tip that Nelson had traveled to Missoula to sell the silver at Grizzly Gold and Silver. One bar still in the store had previously been sold to Greg Giannonatti, court records said.

Nelson, who was still on probation for a 1998 kidnapping and accountability to robbery in Ravalli County, was initially jailed for violating his probation for traveling out of the county without his probation officer's permission.

On Nov. 29, 2015, Nelson made a jailhouse confession, saying he killed Beverly and Greg in the bathroom of Bill Giannonatti's house. Nelson said he hit Greg in the head with a hammer and threw Beverly against a wall before strangling her with an electrical wire.

Nelson said he dumped their bodies and went back to the house to clean up.

Nelson led investigators to the bodies of Greg and Beverly Giannonatti, court records said.

"The money Nelson received from the sale of the silver was recovered from his residence, less $2,000 he used to repay his stepdaughter for his recent shoulder surgery and other amounts he said he'd used for living expenses," court records said.
HELENA  Ryan Zinke was the Republican Party's first choice to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018 and re-claim the seat that would give Montana an all-GOP congressional delegation.

President Donald Trump dashed those hopes by snatching the former congressman to become his Interior secretary.

"I fully expected that Zinke would be the guy," GOP chairman Jeff Essmann said Tuesday. "My world was blown up."

With Greg Gianforte saying he'll seek to stay in Montana's only U.S. House seat, the field of potential challengers to Tester is narrowing.

Republicans in Montana and in Washington, D.C., are now courting the state's attorney general, Tim Fox, to run against Tester next year. Fox is a popular incumbent who won re-election with 67 percent of the vote last year.

Fox was recently U.S. Sen. Steve Daines' guest for Trump's joint congressional address. While he was in Washington, Fox said he met Trump, Zinke, Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, among others.

Fox didn't rule out a run against Tester next year but said his main concern now is making sure his office's budget and bills move through the legislative session.

"A lot of people asked me about the 2018 election," Fox said. "I appreciate people wanting to talk about this, it's important for the people in our state. It's not my priority at the moment."

Re-taking Tester's Senate seat has been a long-coveted prize for the GOP since the bristle-haired farmer from Big Sandy upset former Sen. Conrad Burns in the 2006 election.

Former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg came close in 2012, losing to Tester by 18,072 votes after a long, bruising campaign. The Republican Party sees 2018 as an opportunity to pick off Tester by riding the momentum of wins in the 2016 election, including Trump capturing 55 percent of the vote in Montana.

With Zinke out of the picture, Gianforte was seen as a possible challenger to Tester. The Bozeman businessman lost to incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in his first run for public office last year, but he built name recognition after spending millions of dollars on ads and trekking across the state to meet voters.

Gianforte could still challenge Tester, but his entry in this year's race to serve the remainder of Zinke's term in the U.S. House complicates matters. Gianforte told The Associated Press last week that if he wins the May 25 special election, then he will seek to retain the House seat in the 2018 election.

That leaves open the possibility that Gianforte could run for governor again in 2020, but it would eliminate him as a contender for U.S. Senate.

Other potential Republican candidates include some or all of those who won Montana's statewide offices last November. One of them, State Auditor Matthew Rosendale, said he had not made a decision about the 2018 race.

"We've got plenty of time to talk about the next campaign cycle," Rosendale said.

The 2018 election is 20 months away. Rehberg launched his campaign 21 months before the 2012 election  and still lost.

Tester is already ramping up his re-election campaign. He's hired a campaign manager and is meeting with voters and raising money. He had $1.5 million in campaign cash on hand at the end of last year.

Campaign manager Christie Roberts said in a statement that Tester's record as a senator makes him a formidable candidate.

"We look forward to stacking that record up against anybody," she said.
While Charlton Campbell, one of the three federally indicted Montana Buds medical marijuana providers, has been set to plead guilty to drug charges for some time, it was unclear until Friday particularly why.

In an offer of proof of evidence pertaining to Campbells expected guilty plea filed on March 3 by the U.S. attorney, Campbell is accused of breaking Montanas fluctuating medical marijuana laws, which opens him up to prosecution on federal drug charges, according to a recent federal court ruling.

According to the Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan McCarthy, had Campbells case gone to trial they would have presented evidence that Campbell was convicted of felony aggravated kidnapping and burglary charges in Gallatin County in 1995, and therefore is prohibited by the Montana Marijuana Act from being a provider.

When medical marijuana was first legalized in Montana by referendum in 2004, only those convicted of felony drug offenses were barred by law from being providers. In 2011, the Legislature expanded provider prohibitions to include all felons. According to the Montana Secretary of State, Montana Buds was registered as an entity in 2010.

Jon Ebelt, spokesman for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, said local law enforcement members are given the names of providers in their jurisdiction; the providers must also undergo a fingerprint background check by the Department of Justice and the FBI.

The Department of Public Health and Human Services does not release information on individual providers within the Montana Marijuana Program, and could not comment on how a felon like Campbell became or remained a provider.

The prosecution also said it could prove Campbell sold illegal quantities under the Montana Marijuana Act of marijuana, totaling one pound, over the counter on three occasions to a DEA informant who did not present a medical marijuana card.

Also included in the anticipated evidence was testimony of other confidential sources that large quantities of marijuana cultivated at Montana Buds was shipped out of state, and that Campbell traveled to California to pick up a large amount of hash oil.

Based on this information, the DEA applied for and received a warrant, raided Montana Buds operation in Bozeman, and confiscated over 1,500 marijuana plants, nearly 400 pounds of marijuana, and over 40 pounds of edibles. The offer of proof states a large clandestine hash oil laboratory was discovered.

Campbell is expected to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana, with a second count and two counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana to be dropped by the prosecution. Campbell faces 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine, five years of probation, and must forfeit $30,000 and the Montana Buds properties in Bozeman.

The other two defendants, Walter Campbell and Michael James Mason, have fought federal charges, arguing that they never broke the Montana Marijuana Act, and therefore cannot be federally prosecuted for related drug crimes.

In the first part of Walter and Masons hearing on a motion to dismiss prosecution on February 17, DEA agents testified that they did not understand Montanas medical marijuana laws when they raided Montana Buds in May 2016. As marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug and still illegal under federal law, state laws were irrelevant to the U.S. Department of Justices authority to prosecute medical and recreational growers and users -- that is until an August 2016 Ninth Circuit Court ruling.

That ruling, in USA v. McIntosh, was based on an obscure federal regulation called the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment that bars the DOJ from spending money to prevent states that have legalized medical marijuana from implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana."

The court ruled that the DOJ must prove that those indicted on federal marijuana charges were in violation of their states medical or recreational marijuana law, otherwise they cant prosecute.

Campbells change of plea hearing is at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, at the Missoula federal courthouse.
COYOTE SHOOTER ARRESTED FOR DUI

A Melrose citizen called police late Friday to report several people spotlighting and shooting cat coyotes nearby. When the people left the caller followed them to Divide. Police found their truck pulled off the road near Interstate 15's mile marker 119 at 1:20 a.m. Police said the passengers were puking out their windows, and that the driver, Cameren Struble, failed field sobriety tests and blew over the legal driving limit. Struble, 24, was arrested for DUI. Police said the people did have permission to be on the property in Melrose and shoot at coyotes.

CHEESE THIEF CAUGHT IN BATHROOM

Police were called to the Town Pump in Rocker at 1:15 a.m. Monday after a worker reported they thought someone had shoplifted a pair of sunglasses. Sean Walker, 30, was located in the bathroom, where police said he was found to have stolen not sunglasses, but $1.99 worth of cheese. Walker was arrested for theft.

MAN ARRESTED AT DRIVE-IN BANK

Employees of the US Bank on Main Street called police around 1 p.m. Monday to report a suspicious man who had been sitting in the drive-through lane for 20 minutes. When asked what he was doing, police said the man told them he was filling out a job application, and then gave them a fake name. Police determined the man to be Phillip Brown, 36, an absconded probationer who was driving without insurance. Brown was arrested for violating probation, obstruction and driving without insurance.
Eight people have applied to replace the late Dennis Henderson as District 5 commissioner representing mostly rural parts of southern and southwestern Butte-Silver Bow County.

The candidates include the owner of an auto body shop, a doctor and a longtime appraiser and specialist for the Montana Department of Transportation.

All will be interviewed by sitting commissioners at Wednesdays council meeting, which starts at 7:30 p.m. on the third floor of the Butte-Silver Bow Courthouse. The council will vote that night on who gets the District 5 seat.

So nobody gets an advantage in the interview process, the same questions will be asked of each candidate, said council Chairman John Morgan. But they will be asked to stay outside the chamber until their interview, so they wont know the questions ahead of time.

Henderson died Feb. 6 after battling cancer. He was 71 and had been re-elected to the seat this past November.

Although the council will appoint his successor Wednesday night, he or she will have to win election next year to keep the seat and then run for a full four-year term in 2020 if they want to stay on. There are 12 commissions on the council.

The eight candidates are:

Frank Butori: Owns and operates Butori Collision Center in Butte. Born and raised in Butte, serves on the Weed Board and says he supports numerous organizations, including the Butte Chamber of Commerce, BLDC, Rescue Mission, Safe Space and the Butte Kiwanis Club.

Anna Chacko: She is a former director of radiology at St. James Healthcare who once was chair of the VA Medical Center in Pittsburgh. She served in the U.S. Army Medical Department for nearly 24 years. She has been a Butte resident the past 10 years.

Mike Challeen: Has lived most of life in Butte and held various positions working with highly hazardous chemicals and plant operating systems. Employers have included GT Advanced Technologies, REC Silicon and Montana Resources.

Justin Fortune: Has worked for Jay Fortune Construction Co. since 2006, including project manager and project estimator. Graduated Butte High School in 2011 and Montana State University in 2016 with a degree in Construction Engineering Technology.

Michael Lews: Born and raised in Butte. Has worked in various disciplines for Universal Technical Resource Services, MSE Technology Applications, North American Energy Services and Montana Power Co.

Dan Olsen: Lifelong resident of Butte. Started, owned and grew Computer Solutions Inc., a computer and network support business. Previously worked for Montana Power Company, including a lead systems programmer and technical support supervisor.

Les Taylor: Member of the Butte-Silver Bow Zoning Board. Has served in numerous roles with the Montana Department of Transportation, including review appraiser, right-of-way specialist and utilities engineer specialist. Also worked for Montana Department of Revenue.

James Williams: Lifelong Butte resident. Was an engineer in Butte-Silver Bow Public Works Department from 1971 to 2005. Served on Butte Catholic Board of Education from 1984 to 1996. Helped with planning and construction of Butte Central Elementary and Maroon Activities Center.
Wednesday, March 8

OGCT AUDITIONS

The Orphan Girl Children's Theatre in Butte has announced its auditions for both "Charlotte's Web," directed by Jackie Freeman, and "The Miracle Worker," directed by Elizabeth Crase, 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Callbacks will be 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9. "Charlotte's Web" runs on the Orphan Girl Theatre stage April 14 through 23, and "The Miracle Worker" runs on the Orphan Girl Theatre stage May 12 through 21. Details: www.orphangirl.org.

PELON CONCERT

Internationally acclaimed musician Lauren Pelon will appear in concert at 7 p.m. at the Twin Bridges School, 216 West 6th Ave., Twin Bridges. The concert is presented by Twin Bridges Community Association with free admittance. Details: 406-596-5933.

CHORAL CONCERT

The St. Johns Mens University Chorus, under the direction of Axel Theimer, will perform at 7:30 p.m. at St. Anns Church. The concert is free but there will be a freewill offering to help the group pay travel costs. Details: 406-723-4303.

TECH TALK

Ben Colman of the University of Montana will talk about Big Questions About the Role of Small Particles in the Ecosystem at 4 p.m. in CBB 102 on the Montana Tech campus.

DEMOCRATS HOST SPEAKER

Norma Nickerson, director of the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research of the University of Montana-Missoula, will be the guest speaker at the Butte-Silver Bow Democrats Burros Club's March luncheon at noon at the Butte Country Club, 3400 Elizabeth Warren. Details: 406-498-1678.

INTL WOMENS DAY

In celebration of International Womens Day, there will be an art display at the Butte Plaza Mall Wednesday, along with service vendors. In addition, at 5:30 p.m. a fashion show will be held near Maurices in the mall. Details: Theresa Dennehy, 406-497-5085.

CLUBS AND MEETINGS

BUTTE

Bingo will be played at 7 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, Montana and Galena. Players are urged to come early to get a good seat.

United Veterans Council meets at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Hall.

Xi Iota Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi will have its annual St. Patrick's Day party at 7 p.m. in the home of Denise Jordan.

Preceptor Beta, Beta Sigma Phi, will have its St. Patrick's Day party at 6:30 p.m., in the home of Gwen Waggoner, 2601 Bayard.

Butte Sunrise Kiwanis Club meets at 7 a.m. at Perkins. Guest speaker YMCA Director, Phil Borup, will talk about the Ys "ritz Apostel Dream third grade water safety program.

Chapter AC of PEO meets at 6 p.m. Details: 406-533-0042.

ANACONDA

Anaconda Retired Educators will have a lunch meeting at 1 p.m. at the Haufbrau. Details: 406-563-5066.

DILLON

Combat Veterans, VFW, Bill Carroll Post 9040, meets at 6 p.m. at American Legion Hall, 437 E. Glendale, Dillon. Details: PJ at 406-683-3590.

Dillon Kiwanis meet at noon at the Beaverhead Brewery, 218 S. Montana St., in downtown Dillon. Guest speaker will be Tracey Roberts, local alpaca rancher.
The quality of life we enjoy in Montana is directly connected to the public investments we make in our communities - modern schools and quality education for our children, safe roads, updated water and sewer systems, and an affordable college education for our future workforce. However, with the Montana legislative session halfway complete, legislative leaders have made deep and devastating cuts to the state budget that impede our states ability to continue to prosper and will impact some of our most vulnerable families and neighbors.

Over the past several weeks, subcommittees in charge of the state budget have met to hear from Montanans across the state about the impact of these budget decisions. But our legislators are not listening.

As the budget stands today, state investments essential for seniors, families, students, and our most vulnerable families are at risk. The Department of Public Health and Human Services faces one of the deepest cuts in the budget totaling over $90 million cut in state and federal funds, including serious cuts to programs administering Medicaid benefits and other services to seniors and people with disabilities who need assistance staying in their own home or reside in nursing homes. Investments to the Montana University System have been cut by $23 million, likely to result in double-digit tuition increases for Montana students and families. The Legislature has cut funding within the Department of Military Affairs for regional hazardous materials response teams that conduct training and response exercises with local Montana communities. To be clear: these cuts will hurt our families and our communities, and legislators need to hear from their constituents that the cuts are unacceptable.

In this second half of the session, the Legislature can and should work to restore these cuts, but to do so, it must get serious about ensuring we have adequate revenue in the state. The Governors budget provides a balanced approach to current budgetary constraints, by including both spending cuts and common-sense measures to ensure we have adequate levels of revenue. Unfortunately, key legislative leaders have indicated a dangerous unwillingness to accept this balanced approach and instead have imposed additional deep, unnecessary, and harmful cuts. Rather than closing tax loopholes and ensuring special interests and out-of-state corporations pay their fair share, these legislators seem ready to ask Montanas hardworking families to pay more in tuition, Montanas seniors and individuals with disabilities to go without critical services that make it possible to stay in their homes, and local governments and taxpayers to shoulder a greater share of the costs to ensure our communities are safe.

In fact, while the cuts already taken will have a devastating impact on our communities, these cuts may be just the tip of the iceberg. Last month, the Legislatures staff released a report showing where we stand with revenue and projected spending, factoring in actions taken so far by the Legislature. Considering the cuts already seen, we sit roughly $140 million below the goal of a $300 million ending fund balance. Unless legislators recognize the need for additional revenue, we should expect to see even further cuts.

When the Legislature resumes budget discussions, legislators will make important decisions about whom they represent: multinational corporations and the wealthiest 1 percent, or hardworking Montanans, local communities, and our most vulnerable neighbors.

Montanans are taking note and standing up for strong investments in our state, recently holding rallies in Missoula, Kalispell, and Great Falls. These rallies send a message to our elected officials during the legislative break that we stand with our fellow Montanans and communities who will be negatively impacted by these cuts. There is still time to right these wrongs. The Legislature has 45 more days to ensure we have enough revenue in the state and restore the deep and potentially devastating cuts they have made to the budget. It is possible in the state of Montana to have a balanced budget, fund the services that help citizens and communities across the state, and leave a healthy ending fund balance.

-- Heather OLoughlin is co-director of the Helena-based Montana Budget and Policy Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides in-depth research and analysis on budget, tax, and economic issues.
DEER LODGE  A handyman and probationer who murdered a Deer Lodge man and his mother received two life in prison sentences Tuesday in Deer Lodge district court.

David Wayne Nelson, 54, of Deer Lodge, killed Greg Giannonatti, 57, and Beverly Giannonatti, 79, after they confronted him over the theft of 1,700 ounces of silver. He hid their bodies near Gold Creek, and eventually led authorities to the site.

Nelson must serve at least 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole, District Judge Ray Dayton ruled.

Nelson pleaded guilty to two counts of deliberate homicide last September for the Giannonattis deaths.

Judge Dayton, during Tuesdays sentencing hearing, condemned the brutality and useless of the crime, the futility of the death of two prominent Powell County citizens motivated by money and Nelsons criminal history of violent crime.

Bernadine Johnson, Beverlys sister, in a letter read by attorney Mike Grayson, expressed concern that parole could occur sooner than later, possibly because of prison overcrowding. She wants closure and doesnt want to monitor Nelsons status for the rest of her life.

The life sentences will run concurrently and consecutive to the remainder of a term Nelson is serving out of Ravalli County for aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. He was on parole at the time of this crime.

In Johnsons letter the family wanted to limit restitution for $11,000 in funeral and burial expenses saying it is highly improbable either estate would ever receive any such payments and they dont want Nelson involved any further in the deaths.

Judge Dayton ordered Nelson to reimburse the Crime Victim Compensation Program for $7,000 the family will receive to defray part of the funeral costs and $1,545 to the Missoula Gold and Silver Exchange for one silver bar, belonging to Gregory that Nelson sold, and the family will recover. Nelson must also pay $150 in court fees.

Nelson told the family he was sorry for their pain and for Beverly and Greg. I pray for you and will continue to pray for you, he said.

Twenty friends of the Giannanottis attended Tuesdays hearing, which opened with Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard describing the investigation that included cooperation from a host of agencies.

Beverly, who worked for many years as a court reporter for district Judge Ted Mizner, was a businesswoman with rental properties that a manager took care of for her.

Greg was severely injured in an accident and had moved back to Deer Lodge about four years ago.

Howard said Beverly was reported missing on Nov. 1, 2015, and Greg was missing the next day.

We were asked to go through the three residences where I was disturbed to find their beloved dogs left unattended, something they would not do, and a roast was totally cooked in a crockpot at Gregs, the sheriff said.

Officials interviewed numerous friends and business associations, but didnt have any suspects. Nelson said he last saw them at the Larkspur residence.

Beverly had been amicably separated from her former husband, Bill, who died in August 2015. Nelson was remodeling the Larkspur home she and Bill occupied when they were married, and Beverly planned to move back in.

Beverly and David became pretty close, Sheriff Howard said. She told him many things, including that she had removed valuables from the home and wanted to cover up the scars of memories in the home by remodeling.

During the investigation, officials obtained search warrants and discovered that a large amount of money was transferred from a Missoula bank to Nelsons account in Deer Lodge. It was unusual for Nelson and his wife to receive that kind of money, the sheriff said.

The money came from Grizzly Gold and Silver, Inc. in Missoula where the owner and another man identified a photo of Nelson as the one who sold them the silver bars with serial numbers matching Gregs records.

County attorney Lewis Smith asked about a gold bar that a cleaning lady reportedly found in a bedroom closet.

Howard said a gold bar was never located among estate records and there was no evidence a gold bar had been purchased, adding the Giannanottis kept meticulous records.

By this time Nelson was a person of interest, and was picked up on a probation hold from Ravalli County. When Nelson was questioned in the beginning, he always had an answer that led to a dead end, Howard said.

Nelson finally admitted finding the 17 silver bars and thought they belonged to Beverlys dead husband. He sold them, using the proceeds to pay bills and hiding the remainder in the basement and in a radio in his bedroom.

He told Howard he was working upstairs at the Larkspur house when Greg came through the basement door screaming Where is my (expletive) silver? Nelson realized they knew about it and froze.

The fear of his past and the time hed served in prison put him in a fight mode, he told authorities, and he hit Greg several times with a hammer, killing him. When Beverly came into the bathroom, he grabbed her and threw her against the wall. When she fell against the vanity he didnt know if she was dead or alive so he wrapped an electrical cord around her neck and strangled her. Then he removed the bodies and other evidence from the home.

Our main goal was to recover the victims to return to their family and friends, but also as evidence, the sheriff said. He took us to where the bodies were and it was his first show of remorse. He became physically ill and wished he could turn the clock back, but he cant.

Nelson did a good job of concealing the bodies, Howard said, and it would have been difficult to find them without his help. It was extremely cold and the remains were frozen solid; they would have decomposed when it warmed and probably would never have been found, except for maybe bones.

Nelson also disclosed where he threw the hammer -- used to kill Gregory -- into the Clark Fork River and a bag of rags, rugs and other evidence he disposed of between Anaconda and Georgetown Lake.

It was a very complicated investigation with false leads and lots of things that didnt pan out, Howard said. For months we worked on the investigation after Nelson was charged. Always in a homicide self-defense must be ruled out. This was a double homicide  Beverly and Greg were brutally murdered. We were looking at the death penalty, but the attorney general said it did not reach all the elements for the death penalty and the county attorney agreed.

At the time of the incident, Nelson was on probation during the suspended portion of a sentence issued on Jan. 5, 2000, to serve two 10-year consecutive sentences in Montana State Prison with five years suspended for robbery, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault out of Ravalli County (Hamilton) in 1998. His crime record also shows a conviction for burglary in Beaverhead County in 1981.
Three Butte lawmakers are hopeful that funding for a long-sought retirement home for military veterans will finally win approval in the Legislature and say if it happens, construction could start in Butte this year.

But state Sen. Jon Sesso and Reps. Jim Keane and Ryan Lynch are realists, too. They were optimistic at this point in the 2015 legislative session, only to see the veterans home and other state projects crash amid flaring tempers and partisan wrangling that April.

I was as confident last time in mid-March as I am this time, said Sesso, the minority leader in the Senate.

But in a lengthy sit-down with The Montana Standard on Monday, the three Democrats said there are reasons to be hopeful this session, including new legislative approaches and a perception among more lawmakers that capital projects are affordable and beneficial.

Republicans have sizable majorities in both chambers as they did in 2015, but not enough of them joined Democrats in the House last session to get an infrastructure package across the finish line. During a key House tally in the end, it failed by one vote.

I think there has been a change in the House people, said Keane, a longtime lawmaker who is back in the House this year after previous tenures in both chambers.

There are a number of them that recognize that we are being fiscally responsible in the Legislature by doing this and we are actually benefiting the whole state.

Legislators from Butte, along with Democrats and Republicans from other counties in southwest Montana, have been discussing or pushing for the veterans home since 2009.

They secured $5 million in state funding several years ago and have been looking for another $10 million until federal money comes through. The project has been authorized by the U.S. Veterans Administration, but has ranked too low to get federal dollars.

The facility has been designed to go on a 10-acre parcel in Butte and local government has prepared the area for water and sewer connections.

Gov. Steve Bullock had funding for the home in a package that included about $66 million in cash and $227 million in bonding for projects around the state. They cleared a long-range planning committee and are now in House Appropriations, of which Keane and Lynch are both members.

The package is being separated into several measures now, and members of the House and Senate are negotiating ways to move forward.

Butte lawmakers would like to see a bonding bill that includes a handful of major projects, including the veterans home, renovation of Romney Hall at Montana State University in Bozeman, a building at MSU in Billings and $30 million in building improvements at schools around the state.

They also would like to make approval of numerous smaller bonding projects contingent on the larger bonding bill passing. The idea is to give more lawmakers a stake in the legislation.

Keane also wants to produce a map of Montana showing lawmakers where all projects  both cash and bonding  would be located and their funding amounts.

Instead of looking for the one project in your area, you can see the whole state of Montana and see how the cash and bonding affects the whole state, Keane said.

The map, Sesso said, will show where every dollar is going in every town and every county.

The bonding measures require approval by two-thirds of members in each chamber  meaning 34 votes in the Senate and 67 in the House.

Lynch said legislative leaders were fractured going into the final days of the 2015 session and that made it easy for some rank-and-file Republicans to balk at a final infrastructure bill, in part by saying it didnt include money for schools.

It was just an excuse to pull out of the air, he said.

If they can get a package of bills out of the House by the end of March, the hope in the Senate  Sesso said  is to keep it intact as much as possible to enhance its chances in the end.

There will still be lawmakers who oppose bonding, saying the state cant afford to borrow more money, Keane said. But he and Lynch and Sesso say the state can and should invest in the projects.

The state has never defaulted on bonds and the current payment schedule is going down, Keane said.

It is important to show them that we can afford it at this time, he said.

No matter any twists and turns, Lynch said, "We're all in on the veterans' home."
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The reigning World Memory Champion, Alex Mullen, can memorize the order of a deck of cards in 17 seconds. But in some ways, he's just as forgetful as the rest of us.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  A Fairfield teenager has been arrested in connection with a shooting in Muscatine over the weekend.

Noah Hass, 16, has been charged with attempted murder, a class B felony. He is accused of shooting Aaron Allen, 21, of Letts on Sunday, according to a news release from the Muscatine Police Department.

Hass was arrested by the Fairfield Police Department around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Allen was transported by AirCare to an Iowa City hospital with serious injuries from gunshot wounds. He was found outside of a vehicle in the 300 block of Broadway Street, and officers also located several shell casings in the area.

The Muscatine Detective Bureau is actively working leads in the investigation, police said.

The Muscatine Police Department is asking for the publics assistance, and anyone with information about the incident or other criminal activity is encouraged to call the Muscatine Police Department at 563-263-9922, ext. 608, or send a private message through the department's Facebook account.

Emily Wenger
MUSCATINE, Iowa  The Muscatine City Council will decide at its Thursday night meeting whether or not to hold a hearing on the removal of Muscatine Mayor Diana Broderson.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in council chambers at City Hall, 215 Sycamore St.

If the motion is approved, a hearing on the charges of removal that have been filed by Muscatine City Attorney Matthew Brick will be held at 8 a.m. Thursday, March 23, in council chambers in City Hall.

At the hearing, both sides will be given a chance to present arguments before the council makes its final decision. The hearing is required by state and city code to be held at least 10 days after the mayor is notified.

The vote to remove Broderson must pass by at least a two-thirds majority of the council, according to city code.
DES MOINES - Iowa workers urged lawmakers Tuesday to keep intact a decades-old workers compensation law that has protected injured employees, while employers argued the state needs to reform a lawyer-driven system that is making Iowa noncompetitive for businesses.

More than two dozen witnesses showed up at a Statehouse hearing to discuss the pros and cons of pending legislation that proponents said would bring needed changes, while critics worried the changes would significantly scale back benefits for injured workers and shift costs from businesses to taxpayers.

Steve Stouffer of Tyson Fresh Meats told House members Iowa's workers compensation system has become "a litigious lottery" that has swung from a no-fault configuration addressing workplace injuries to one where costs have tilted against employers who see better arrangements in other states.

Shelly Garrison of the United Workers Union called it "just shameful" that the GOP-led Legislature gutted the state's collective bargaining law for public employees and was now setting its sights on Iowa's workers compensation system, adding "these folks are real people. We're talking about hard-working men and women."

Labor representatives insisted Iowa's costs for work-injury claims remain low and steady even with rising health care expenses, while business groups said claims have spiraled out of control, with employers paying increasingly higher costs.

"We do give a darn about our employees," said Paul Gregory of Fisher Controls Emerson in Marshalltown, but said it's important for lawmakers to keep Iowa competitive as to not push businesses away or thwart expansion.

House File 518 would end worker benefits at age 67, reduce benefits for injuries tied to pre-existing conditions, limit legal fees for attorneys and minimize late fees for employers who fail to pay benefits on time. Employers also would be allowed to deny benefits if an injured worker tests positive for alcohol or drugs. Union officials say the bill would cut benefits for common workplace injuries, eliminate benefits based on an employee's loss of earning power in some cases and discriminate against older workers.

"Whether it is your intent or not, we still believe that this bill discriminates against older workers by requiring an injured employee's age to be used to reduce available benefits," said Charles Wishman, secretary/treasurer of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

"If the intent is to move these workers to a social safety net program, it is unacceptable," he told legislators in attendance. "If that is not the intent, there needs to be more thought given to this proposal. Workplace safety is the employer's responsibility, and an injury on the job is not the taxpayer's responsibility."

In written comments, Jean Dickson, a Davenport lawyer who represents employers, said she has seen "first hand the deterioration of confidence in the system and changes are necessary and essential." Dickson cited examples where employers faced substantial disability awards even though employees returned to full employment, saying "an adjustment is needed to establish a more fair, balanced approach."

By contrast, opponent Marcy Wilfon said in written testimony that workers compensation "have always been slanted toward the employer and insurance, even at its best" and characterized as "corporate welfare" the changes being contemplated. "This bill would increase that slant even farther leaving the employee left hanging."
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 []
Why did State House Nairobi fail to release details of a phone conversation between Trump and Uhuru, until after White House released a statement hours later?

Perhaps thats protocol, but maybe the Americans requested they release first, to avoid any contradiction.

Because I for one would be surprised that the straight talking Trump, with an ego the size of Manhattan, would call the president of Kenya and fail to mention a thing about Obama, and maybe even his birth certificate.

Trump was the birther leader, and even today as president, still so often attacks Obama  the son of a Kenyan.

From the official White House brief, the two presidents discussed bilateral relations between Kenya and the US, terrorism and other regional security matters.

Heres the brief provided by White House.

President Donald J. Trump spoke today with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya to reaffirm the strong bilateral relationship between our two countries. The two leaders discussed our economic partnership and mutual dedication to overcoming terrorism and other regional security challenges through close cooperation. President Trump expressed appreciation for Kenyas significant contributions to the African Union Mission in Somalia and recognized Kenyan troops sacrifices in the fight against al-Shabaab. The two leaders also discussed ways to boost bilateral trade and investment in Kenya and the broader East Africa region.
Apparently, Will Smith is in an East African country, but the community cannot decide which one.

A visit by one of Hollywoods greatest will surely make headlines, and perhaps thats the reason Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have been fighting online on where exactly the A-lister is.

Photos showing Will next to a light aircraft, in what looks like a game reserve have been doing rounds on social media. He had just landed from his Egypt visit.

There are certain reports that Will Smith first landed in Nairobi, then immediately took a flight to Tanzanias Serengeti. The actor himself has not posted anything of his trip as of this writing.

Will Smith has been to Tanzania before, in 2008. While many Kenyans saw this as a PR loss to our brothers in Tanzania, who we are in perennial competition with, it is good to note that prominent visitors to Kenya, particularly the Maasai Mara, are much more.

Anyway, here are the tweets that brought about confusion.

And the pics themselves.
Some weeks back, we published an article explaining how greedy doctors officials had become, by declining a 50% pay rise. Of course we were called names and told we had received a brown envelope we hadnt and still havent.

Read: Why Doctors are Just Being Greedy

I have to start by saying that releasing the doctors officials before their term was over was a big mistake. Perhaps Im being petty, but I think the reasons the appeal judges set them free, i.e. to continue with the negotiations, have amounted to nothing.

I still believe that the entire court case had political backing, and now Im starting to think the whole strike has too.

First and foremost, the lowest doctor earns Sh140,000. I have to admit thats not a lot of money, especially after the government takes its taxes, but they are still the best paid profession in the country.

Of course they undergo a very specialized training, but does that allow them to hold the country hostage for 3 months?

The CBA they keep talking about was probably awarded to them after they issued threats of striking. Whoever signed it was likely doing so with full knowledge that the problem will be someone elses.

Who in their right mind would give you a 300% pay rise. It rarely happens in the private sector, and it sure as hell doesnt happen in the government.

Actually if we look back, government increments are usually very low. Mostly less than 10%.

Yet this time, despite all the warnings from the World Bank, IMF and other institutions about our ballooning wage bill, the government went out of its way and offered a 50% rise.

In the negotiations, doctors have continued to play hardball insisting that their salaries be trippled.

It may be so tempting to support the doctors in this case, but for once use your head.

And if you think Raila, Kalonzo, Mudavadi or any other person as president (despite their utterances now), would give the doctors a 300% pay rise

At the same time if we flip the script and Uhuru happens to be in the opposition, I bet he would be all over the place telling us why doctors should be paid.

But I think from State House anyone is able to see a bigger picture. What do the different moves mean for the economy? What will increasing the doctors salaries do to the wage bill? Will lecturers also strike and demand a similar treatment (Ooh, they already have). Will teachers rise up again with a view that their last increment was inconsequential due to recent developments? Will Kenya Power employees also threaten to do the same? Civil servants? Public servants? What about all the uncountable unions in the country?

Giving in to doctors demands will not only have an instant impact on the wage bill (and in extension more poverty for the poorest), but it will also have a snowball effect.

As I had pointed out last time, the moment we no longer need roads and bridges (perhaps when we start flying our second hand cars), when we no longer require energy generation projects, or irrigation projects, or more hospitals and schools. Or safer towns and cities. The moment we no longer need our garbage collected, our kids learning for free, our products and attractions marketed abroad, our borders protected..

Perhaps then we can direct all our budget to paying salaries.

And Im happy that more Kenyans are seeing beyond their noses and understanding that the doctors salary demands are unsustainable, and that theres no greater act of selfishness than rejecting a 50% offer.

Doctors must be told that they are on their own! No sane Kenyan supports the greedy beings anymore! Go back or get sacked!  Edu kigen (@KigenEdu) March 7, 2017

I support President Kenyatta doctors are now greedy than politicians where is the little ethics they learned of value of life?  Miqdad Kennedy (@KennedyMK3) March 7, 2017

Doctors must be told that they are on their own! No sane Kenyan supports the greedy beings anymore! Go back or get sacked! #DoctorsMediation  John Nyiggih (@JNyiggih) March 7, 2017

#KMPDUCase let the Doctors stop being GREEDY. truth be told they work 4 hrs in Govt hospitals n 8 or more in Private hospitals.  ANTONY KAMUTU (@tonykamutu) March 7, 2017

Doctors are greedy, politicizing health matters sad! #QwetuAsubuhi  Surmat Nabaru (@surmatnabaru) March 7, 2017



https://twitter.com/JohndoeNdungu/status/839179652388257792

Someone needs to remind these doctors the country is bigger than them, they are just as greedy and as selfish as politicians #  no_chills101 (@NoChills101) March 7, 2017

Truth be told, this country has a huge wage bill already. Doctors are selfish and imposing a heavier burden on us Pretence #DoctorsMediation  Ben Mwaura (@benmwaura5) March 7, 2017

Yesterday, President Uhuru backed by all county governors, withdrew the pay rise his government had offered.

Watch him in this video reveal what we already knew An intern is being offered more money than the likes of Nairobi Hospital and Aga Khan pay their medical practitioners.

Before we engage in the but MPs are MCAs earn so much debate, ask yourself what is morally (and economically) right. To fight for the raising of everyones salary to unsustainable levels, or to fight for the lowering of MPs salaries to sustainable levels.

And if you are the type that castigates Boniface Mwangi every time he takes coffins and bloody pigs to parliament, the door is that way.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga has condemned a local daily for publishing a story about his daughters health, terming it as fictitious.

In a statement relayed by his spokesperson Dennis Onyango, Mr Odinga said that the story carried by The Sunday Standard indicating that his daughter, Rosemary Odinga, had suffered a mild stroke causing her admission in a South African hospital, is false.

Ida and Raila Odinga are horrified by the lead story on todays Sunday Standard by the title Raila: Why I fear for my daughter.

The story is a fraudulent exercise of journalism, which attempts to pass fictitious suppositions of the writer on the medical condition of Rosemary Odinga and on the position of the Odinga family on matters surrounding her health and career as truths, the statement said.

He said his family was not consulted before the story was published.

Mr Odinga said that despite his daughter being hospitalized, the familys position is to treat the matter with utmost privacy and as such, attributions used in the story amount to fabrication of facts.

Rosemary Odinga was flown to South Africa last week for what the family termed as further check up, just to ascertain her well-being.

The statement further added that the story is only meant to deceive Kenyans and exhibits the highest level of unprofessionalism.

It is shameful that the writer has sacrificed common decency and trampled over Rosemarys rights to privacy, both standard requirements of professional journalism, in order to fabricate a story for his selfish gratification and sales for the company.
A story is trending online of how a street guy in the Capital City Nairobi returned a windfall of Sh 200,000 that had fallen out of someones bag.

According to the story which has been shared on multiple Facebook groups, an employee of an unnamed business in Nairobi was heading to a bank to deposit Sh700,000 when two bundles of Sh 100k each, fell out of a bag after a zipper caved in.

Moments later, a young man identified as Don, approached the lady with the money and after ignoring Don at first; thinking he was just another street boy begging for a handout, the lady listened to what he had to say and that is when he pulled out the stacks of money.

Here is the story:

Let us appreciate honest folks..wale wamekatikiwa but wamekataa kuibaRich thieves can go for free lessons on honesty from the fella below. ..

Hello, just want you to post it just to show guys there are still good people around.

Id like to remain anonymous incase people think walk around with huge stacks of cash.

Today in the afternoon, our business needed to take the day cash to the bank, it was around 4pm.

Like always, I picked up a bag, placed around 700k in, unfortunately today, there were lots of 500/200 notes so the stash took up more space than normal.

Each bundled into 100k as always, pressed in the bag and headed on to the bank.

On the way however, the zipper on the bag caved in and spat out 2 bundles of notes ~ 200k.

Didnt notice it, proceeded crossing the road from Kimathi Street headed to Kenyatta avenue.

Walked a little while and there was this dirty young man running after me, signalling me to stop.

Well, I figured it was just one of the street families soliciting for funds, I ignored and continued my merry way.

He didnt stop however, he kept pursing me, at the entrance to the bank, I decided it was safer since there were 2 guards there.

I stopped to listen to what he had to say, to all our amazement and utter shock, he pulled out the 2 stacks, uliangusha pesa uko nyuma

Checked the bag, zipper was open 2 pieces were missing.

I didnt have any words for this young man, I was completely shocked.

NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.

The guy said the whole reason he didnt take the cash, inaeza Kuwa ni pesa ya school fees Ama mtu ako mgonjwa mahali sasa siwezi chukua.

While still there he insisted, weka pesa kwa bank Kwanza ndio tuongee, unaweza poteza tena

Went to the teller deposited, no a single note missing.

After I was done, went back out and the guy was no where to be seen.

the only thing I know is that he is called Don

A picture taken by the guards is attached below.

Thanks and Regards.

Social media users moved by Dons story, have since dug him up on Facebook and discovered his heartrending story that has moved Kenyans to raise funds to help.

Apparently, Don who goes by Vince Dancer on Facebook, is a Bachelor of Business IT GRADUATE from St. Pauls University. Life took a sudden turn when his mother died and more recently his father.

His Facebook timeline also reveals his struggle with drug addiction. Funds are being raised to return him to rehab.

Some photos of Vincent in happier times

Lessons of the day.Never judge a book by its cover and dont do drugs.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia  Malaysia's prime minister said Wednesday that relatives of the half brother of North Korea's ruler may be too scared to help police investigating his mysterious poisoning death in Kuala Lumpur. A man claiming to be the victim's son, meanwhile, appeared in an online video saying he and his family were safe in a location he did not reveal.

Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke a day after a stunning diplomatic breakdown involving the investigation into Kim Jong Nam's killing, with North Korea barring Malaysians from leaving its territory and Malaysia responding in kind. While on Tuesday he denounced North Korea for "effectively holding our citizens hostage," Najib said Wednesday that his country still wants to negotiate.

"You must appreciate  I know you're hungry for news  but you must appreciate that this is a sensitive matter and that sometimes it's best conducted in secrecy so that we can achieve the desired result," Najib told reporters. He said Malaysians in North Korea are going about their lives normally, and he was not worried about their safety.

Malaysian authorities have charged two women  one Indonesian, one Vietnamese  with murder for allegedly swiping Kim's face with VX nerve agent as he waited for a flight home to Macau on Feb. 13. He was dead within 20 minutes. Malaysian is seeking seven North Korean suspects, including an embassy official. The investigation has infuriated North Korea, which has dismissed the inquiry as politically motivated.

Najib also said authorities are still trying to get DNA samples from Kim's immediate family to formally identify his body.

"Maybe they are scared to come forward," Najib said.

Kim Jong Nam had three children with two women living in Beijing and Macau. On Wednesday, an online video in which a man claiming to be his son Kim Han Sol said he, his mother and his sister were safe.

"My father has been killed a few days ago," the man says in English in the 40-second YouTube clip. "I'm currently with my mother and my sister. ... We hope this gets better soon."

The man doesn't talk about his family's whereabouts or how they were being protected. The video was posted on the YouTube channel of Cheollima Civil Defense, which describes itself as a group helping North Korean defectors.

The group said on its website that it responded to an "emergency request" by three members of Kim Jong Nam's family and relocated them. The group expressed gratitude to the Netherlands, China, the United States and a "fourth government to remain unnamed" for providing assistance in protecting the three.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said it had no knowledge of the Cheollima group, but an official at South Korea's National Intelligence Service said the NIS had determined that the man in the video is Kim Han Sol. The public affairs official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules, didn't explain how his agency confirmed the man's identity.

NIS officials gave the same confirmation to the office of a lawmaker who sits on South Korea's intelligence committee without saying how it reached such a conclusion, according to an aide to the lawmaker. The aide requested anonymity for both himself and the lawmaker, saying they weren't authorized to give the information to the media.

The Transcription Analysis Laboratory, a private voice analysis institute in Seoul, analyzed the video and an interview Kim Han Sol gave to Finnish television in 2012 and said there was a "high probability" the two clips were of the same speaker.

Malaysian authorities say the two women who poisoned Kim Jong Nam were recruited by a team of North Koreans. North Korea has denied any responsibility and accused Malaysia of being swayed by the North's enemies.

Relations have steadily deteriorated, with each country expelling the other's ambassador. The dispute took a surprising turn on Tuesday when North Korea announced that it was blocking all Malaysians from leaving the country until a "fair settlement" of the case was reached. Malaysia then barred North Koreans from exiting its soil.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also said Wednesday that Malaysia is willing to negotiate.

"So far, we believe they are going to act rationally," he said. "We believe what is important for us is to maintain our diplomatic relationship with them because I think what is important is the safety of our citizens in Pyongyang."

Officials in Kuala Lumpur say there are 11 Malaysians currently in North Korea: three working at the embassy, two U.N. employees and six family members. About 1,000 North Koreans are believed to be in Malaysia, until recently one of the few countries where North Koreans could travel without a visa.

Four of the North Korean suspects being sought by Malaysia are believed to have left the country the day Kim Jong Nam was killed. Police say the remaining three suspects, including a North Korean diplomat, are believed to be in hiding at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, a hulking concrete mansion behind a wall streaked with water stains.

National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said Tuesday that Malaysia would not raid the embassy, which is protected under diplomatic law, but would wait for the suspects to emerge "if it takes five years."

A senior U.S. official on Wednesday accused North Korea of conducting a political assassination on Malaysian soil.

Daniel Russel, the State Department's assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, hailed Malaysia's conduct of the murder investigation.

"The hijacking of the territory of a country by a foreign power for the purpose of murder - for the purpose of political assassination - is reprehensible and my sympathies go to Malaysia on that account," he said in a teleconference with regional media.
LAS VEGAS  A hunt for the killer of two sleeping homeless men in Las Vegas led to an unusual attempted murder charge Tuesday and a legal debate about criminal intent, when a man was accused of trying to kill a mannequin used as a decoy near the downtown site where the men had died of head injuries.

The charge was lodged against 30-year-old Shane Allen Schindler at a hearing in which a justice of the peace ordered him to undergo a mental competency evaluation.

Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn derided the charge of attempted murder as a legal impossibility, saying someone cant kill an inanimate object.

But Nevada appellate law appears to support the charge. The state Supreme Court in 1976 rejected an argument asserting that since it is legally impossible to commit the crime, it must also be legally impossible to attempt the crime.

We decline to concern ourselves with the niceties of distinction between physical and legal impossibility, the court said at the time. It issued a similar ruling in 1989.

Laws in most states take into account what a defendant is thinking at the time of a crime, said Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor who authored a recent article about defendants and criminal intent.

You cant murder a mannequin, Denno agreed. But if the facts were as he believed them to be, he would have been bashing the head of a human being.

Schindler told police following his arrest that he knew it was a mannequin he was attacking.

But DiGiacomo said Schindler could not have known that he wasnt attacking a human when he wielded a 4-pound ball-peen hammer to repeatedly strike the blanket-covered head of a dummy on Feb. 22 in a vacant downtown lot.

Police said Schindler was seen on surveillance video creeping up on the mannequin, pulling a hood over his head, taking the hammer from a plastic bag, and using a two-handed grip to pummel the decoy.

We had a sense of urgency, Walsh said. We didnt want these cases to fall by the wayside because they were homeless. We had to think of something thats not traditional.
Dozens of community members participated in Read Across America Day and honoring Dr. Seuss on his birthday by engaging with almost 500 Calistoga students last week reading various Dr. Seuss books aloud.

To honor the good doctor and celebrate the fun and value of reading, Soroptimist International of Calistogas Read Aloud Partners Program (RAPP) joined the 16th annual National Education Associations Read Across America Day, which celebrates Dr. Seusss birthday and the joys of reading encouraging both young and old to pick up a book and read, said Trudy Boligny.

Bouligny has organized RAPPERS (Read Aloud Partners Program Readers) since 1994.

For Read Across America Day on March 2, Bouligny invites celebrity readers  people who arent necessarily regular RAPPERS  to join about 45 million other readers across the nation.

City Manager Dylan Feik kicked off the day reading Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now to a kindergarten class, and Fire Chief Steve Campbell finished the day reading The Cat In The Hat to a fourth-grade class.

I think the reading program is great and the kids received it well. For me it was an opportunity to share with the kids how important reading was for me when I was their age and how important is for them to continue reading, Campbell said.

Feik agreed about the importance of reading, adding that the program is a great way to bring community members into classrooms to interact with students.

I had a fun time reading and we did our best to act out the book. I also have young boys of my own and spend a lot of time reading to them ... needless to say I have practiced for the event last Thursday, Feik said.

Lots of RAPPERS have been reading to Calistoga Elementary School students for years, such as Judy Barrett of Chateau Montelena Winery, who has read to sixth-graders for about 12 years, and the Calistoga police chiefs have been steady readers over the years, Bouligny said.

Kerry Eddy of Tom Eddy Wines has been a reader for about four years, and said she enjoys it.

I love reading to the first-graders and watching them get into the story. Sometimes we laugh, OK a lot of times we laugh, but sometimes we cry, well at least I do if the story is good, Eddy said. Often I read them books I read to my 29-year-old daughter when she was that age. Her aunt and grandmother were librarians, so you can guess what kind of books she received. I also love reading them poetry, lots of poetry, and sometimes I bring in my ukulele and we do singalongs, Eddy said.

Soroptimist International Calistoga supports the program and raises money every year to purchase books to give to the students for their home libraries.

Books in the home are key to academic success in school research shows, and helps to build a lifelong interest in reading, Bouligny said. The goal is to show Americas children the joy of reading and build a nation of readers  on March 2 and every day.

The program actually began as part of a San Diego nonprofit called Rolling Readers in 1994 which Bouligny heard about, she said.

They gave books once a year to schools with community read-aloud programs and I asked to include Calistoga Elementary, Bouligny said.

Many of the readers early on in the program were Soroptomists and over the years the program ebbed and flowed with a few classes.

When I retired from running the after-school programs in the district I decided I had time to coordinate the Read Aloud Partners and encourage cash donations to the Soroptimists to pay for brand new books for the children to build home libraries, she said.

The current full program that includes all 23 CES classes most years has been happening for the past five years. The past three years we have given three books per child per year. The budget for 1,500 books is about $4.500. All donations are used to purchase books, Bouligny said.

For more information contact Trudy Bouligny at 738-1230 or SICalistoga.org.
Before the city council could approve what looked like a routine resolution for a construction contract for road repairs, history lovers pleaded with the council to consider saving the old electric rail line that lies in buckled and crumbling Washington Street.

As a member of the Native Sons, our order is to preserve California history. This (the electric rail line) is something important to the whole Napa Valley, said Dick Kuykendall to the council Tuesday night.

In 1999, the Native Sons of the Golden West dedicated a plaque to the only existing traces of the Vallejo and Napa Valley interurban railway, which was placed at the corner of Washington and Gerard streets. The remaining segments of the century-old rail, about 70 feet, lie in the middle of the road in front of the Fire Station and Welcome Center.

A 400-foot section of Washington Street between Lincoln Avenue and Gerard Street is necessary due to the deteriorated condition of the road. It will be replaced with 18 inches of base rock and 6 inches of asphalt, said Mike Kirn, public works director. The cost to replace the road is $563,705, with the contract awarded to Argonaut Constructors.

Traffic from lower Washington will be rerouted to Gerard behind ACE Hardware and the Calistoga Depot out to the Fair Way extension by the Indian Springs Gallery. Kirn said it is important to get the road reconstructed soon, before the major work on the Lincoln Avenue Bridge is underway (a 30-month project), to avoid too much disruption to motorists and downtown businesses.

When Kirn was first asked to include replacing the tracks in the reconstruction project, he estimated it would cost between $30,000 and $60,000, or possibly more, he said. Councilmembers were presented with the option Tuesday of including an additional $80,000  the price in the bid from Argonaut Constructors  to the contract to remove and replace the old tracks, but they found the price tag prohibitive. Other bids priced that piece of the work at varying prices, but Argonauts overall bid was the lowest.

I was a proponent of saving the tracks in the beginning when it was $40,000, but the $80,000  its just too rich for me, said Vice Mayor Michael Dunsford. Id like to take the tracks out and save them and maybe find another nonprofit club that would save them, or maybe showcase the tracks on the sidewalk by the plaque.

But Dunsford and Councilmember Jim Barnes couldnt get past the additional cost, or sticker shock as community member Tom Higgins called it.

Gosh, I sure would like to keep the rails, but the term sticker shock is correct, said Councilmember Gary Kraus.

Mayor Chris Canning said that if the council agreed to pay $80,000 to replace the tracks, that money would mean something else in town couldnt be fixed.

What are we going to do to subsidize this? Are we going to say to someone, We cant pave your street because we saved a railroad track? Canning asked.

Higgins urged the council to consider the rails part of Calistoga history and an attraction for tourists, the towns bread and butter.

Its the last remaining symbol of the system, he said.

Sean ONeill, president of the Native Sons of the Golden West, said he understood that 95 percent of the interurban rail is gone already.

Are we going to make that 100 percent? It was built in 1905, how many other places can say that?

ONeill pledged his support, adding that hes willing to compromise and do his part to pitch in and help save at least some of the rail.

Im torn, I really want to save these tracks, Barnes said, but Im a fiscal conservative. I agree with speakers  it behooves us to keep our little bit of history. We own the last 5 percent, I think we could make every effort to save it.

The council agreed to remove the rails and store them until such a time as someone can pay for replacement of the rails, and as Barnes suggested maybe installing the rails down the road where more road repair is needed, but still in the line the original track ran.

Kuykendall, ONeill, Higgins, and the others who attended and spoke at the meeting nodded in agreement. Kuykendall was pleased that storing the rails would give the community time to raise the money needed to reinstall them as a historical feature of Calistoga.

Kraus said he truly believes that the community will rally around the tracks like it has done for other projects like Logvy Park, the Community Swimming Pool, the Monhoff Building and the Veterans Memorial.

The public-private solution has been accomplished in the past, he said, and he doesnt see any reason the rails wont be relocated and honored.

The century-old track is likely the last remaining segment of track that carried an interurban electric rail car that was in service from about 1912 to 1937 that ran from Vallejo to Calistoga. The tracks do not meet the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places or California Historical Resources.

The project will also replace wheelchair ramps, curbs, gutters and driveway entrances into the parking lots behind Westamerica Bank and the Magnolia building. During construction the driveway between the Post Office and the fire station will be changed temporarily to two-way traffic. A tree in the parking lot there has already been removed, Kirn said.
Officials at American Canyon High School and local police are trying to put a stop to students bringing BB and airsoft guns on campus before someone gets seriously hurt.

Several incidents last month  both at ACHS and in the community  prompted Principal Damon Wright to email parents and inform them of the problem, and remind them that school was no place for the weapons.

It has been brought to my attention that some ACHS students have brought airsoft guns to school, to engage in competitions during lunch and after school, Wright wrote in a Feb. 25 email.

Airsoft guns fire plastic projectiles, unlike BB guns that fire metal ones that can cause serious harm. Both kinds have been confiscated from students, some of whom modified their airsoft guns to make them look more realistic and potentially dangerous if confronted by police with them.

While these are not lethal weapons and no injuries were reported, this behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, said Wright. Not only is this behavior dangerous, but it violates the California Education Code, and carries potential consequences up to expulsion.

Police Officer Adam LeCount, who serves as ACHSs school resource officer, said several students were caught in February bringing either airsoft or BB guns to school.

Some of the students recently have been engaging in airsoft BB guns with each other, he said.

One of the more alarming incidents was a video posted on Instagram in which an unidentified male teenager filmed himself brandishing a gun while possibly on the ACHS campus and making threats.

The footage caused some severe concern for staff and parents who had seen the video, said LeCount.

He said he determined after watching the video that the weapon was an airsoft, and that the video contained enough background footage to indicate it was recorded at ACHS.

He said Principal Wright figured out who the student was, and disciplined him.

Bringing an airsoft gun to school is a violation of ACHS policy, but is not against the law, said LeCount, explaining why the matter was handled by Wright.

Students have reported being shot by airsoft guns on campus and in the school parking lot, said LeCount, who stepped up his presence near the front of the school along with campus supervisors after receiving the reports.

A student was also caught carrying a BB gun that fires metal projectiles  an act that can be prosecuted as a felony, according to LeCount.

The officer said another concern was how students modified their airsoft guns to make them look like real weapons, either by removing their orange cap  which manufacturers install to indicate theyre toys  or by spray painting the transparent airsofts black.

LeCount said a student brandishing such a modified airsoft could lead to a disaster he would like to avoid.

They want to make it look realistic, which has some safety concerns for me, said LeCount. In the heat of the moment, I cant tell [if its real or a toy], and Id hate for some tragedy to happen.

In his email to parents, Wright noted: Nationwide, school shootings have staff members and law enforcement agencies on high alert.

He also warned that it is very difficult to distinguish a airsoft gun or BB gun from a real firearm. Your student could encounter an aggressive response from school administration or law enforcement if he or she brings a firearm, airsoft, BB gun or replica to school.

Wright concluded his message by urging parents to speak with their children to ensure they do not bring firearms or replica firearms to school.

Please also reiterate, he added, we will not tolerate this behavior on school grounds or during school hours.

American Canyon Police also have reported incidents in the community involving teenagers and BB guns.

On Feb. 16, a resident reported their car being hit by BBs. Police subsequently pulled over a carload of kids with BB damage to their car, said Police Chief Tracey Stuart.

They claimed no knowledge [of the car being hit], but said there have been BB wars for fun that week, said Stuart.

Then, on Saturday, Feb. 25, the same day Wrights email went out, police got a call of a car with kids sporting weapons in the ACHS parking lot.

A person had seen one of the kids waiving a rifle out the window, said Stuart.

Some airsoft guns are designed to resemble automatic weapons and shotguns.

That same day police received more calls from residents, of 4-7 males all waiving guns around and pointing them at each other near the Vineyard Crossings Apartments on Tapestry Lane, Stuart said.

Police caught up with the car at the intersection of Highway 29 and Crawford Way. Officers found four juveniles and several airsoft guns in the trunk.

They had been messing around with each other, said Stuart. The driver, oldest of the four, was 16 years old and he was cited for the car having expired registration and possession of marijuana. All were released to their parents.
CALISTOGA  What is likely the last stretch of tracks belonging to the Vallejo and Napa Valley interurban railway, which ceased to operate prior to World War II, will be dug up and kept in storage to make room for a road repair project.

The Native Sons of the Golden West asked the City Council Tuesday to rebuild Washington Street with the rails kept in place, but the council rejected this option as too costly.

Instead, the tracks will be removed and stored until the community can help pay for their relocation and preservation.

The contractor for the Washington Street project, Argonaut Constructor, said the project would costs $563,705. Preserving the tracks in place would cost another $80,000.

I was a proponent of saving the tracks in the beginning when it was $40,000, but the $80,000  its just too rich for me, said Vice Mayor Michael Dunsford. Id like to take the tracks out and save them and maybe find another nonprofit club that would save them, or maybe showcase the tracks on the sidewalk by the plaque.

Gosh, I sure would like to keep the rails, but the term sticker shock is correct, said Councilmember Gary Kraus.

Mayor Chris Canning said that if the council agreed to pay $80,000 to replace the tracks, that money would mean something else in town couldnt be fixed.

What are we going to do to subsidize this? Are we going to say to someone, We cant pave your street because we saved a railroad track? Canning asked.

In 1999, the Native Sons of the Golden West dedicated a plaque to the only existing traces of the Vallejo and Napa Valley interurban railway, which was placed at the corner of Washington and Gerard streets. The remaining segments of the century-old rail, about 70 feet, lie in the middle of the road in front of the Fire Station and Welcome Center.

Sean ONeill, president of the Native Sons of the Golden West, pledged his support to raising money to preserve at least some of the rail in a public location.

Councilmember Gary Kraus said he believes that the community will rally around the tracks like it has done for other projects like Logvy Park, the Community Swimming Pool, the Monhoff Building and the Veterans Memorial.

The public-private solution has been accomplished in the past, he said, and he doesnt see any reason the rails wont be relocated and honored.

The century-old track is likely the last remaining segment of track that carried an interurban electric rail car that was in service from about 1912 to 1937 from Vallejo to Calistoga. The remaining tracks do not meet the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places or California Historical Resources.
The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) of Napa County wants to go from being the agency many people have never heard of to a proactive player helping to shape the countys future.

Perhaps LAFCO will take a comprehensive look at how to balance housing needs in coming decades with agricultural preservation. That could include signaling where growth makes the most sense for cities such as Napa, which will soon update its general plan.

The commission could lead a discussion on local cities and the county sharing services to save money, be it police or financial services or corporation yards. It could leave the bureaucratic shadows and enter the public policy fray, at the very least as a hot-topic conversation catalyst.

Big-picture thinking is how Commissioner and county Supervisor Diane Dillon put it at Mondays LAFCO workshop.

All 58 California counties have LAFCOs under state law passed in 1963. The state-imposed responsibilities range from protecting agriculture to limiting sprawl to ensuring orderly growth of public services.

Commission powers include approving annexations by cities, the creation of new cities and service boundary extensions by sewer districts and other special districts.

That said, individual LAFCOs have elasticity. Some might press forward aggressively doing such things as annexing island pockets of unincorporated land to cities and others might simply approve requested annexations from cities and rarely meet.

Whats right for the Alameda LAFCO might not be right for Napa LAFCO, said consultant William Chiat, who led Mondays workshop.

The workshop amounted to the Napa LAFCO searching for an expanded identity. Local commissioners are elected officials from Napa County and its cities and public representatives.

Commissioner and county Supervisor Ryan Gregory said LAFCO could set certain expectations on what cities must do before it will expand their growth boundaries, such as having higher densities or building taller housing projects.

To help us explain, for example, why we need density on Old Sonoma Road, Gregory said.

Napa County wants to redevelop its 8.6acre, former Health and Human Services Agency site on Old Sonoma Road with housing. It plans to seek approval from the city of Napa so a developer can build apartments and townhouses there, given the property is within city boundaries.

But Napa City Councilwoman Juliana Inman had a reply for Gregory.

LAFCO shouldnt determine that the city of Napa should be having high-rises on Old Sonoma Road, Inman said. LAFCO doesnt go there.

Chiat said that LAFCO cant regulate land use, though its decisions affect how land is used.

Inman noted the city of Napa will soon be updating its general plan. That raises questions of when in coming decades the city will need to expand its boundaries to accommodate housing growth and how to balance growth with agricultural protection.

Most of the Stanly Ranch area annexed by the city of Napa decades ago in the Carneros area will never be urban, Inman said. She suggested that LAFCO could someday return it to the county for agricultural preservation and let the city annex land more suitable for development.

Chiat said LAFCO has this power. It could condition a future annexation on detaching land at another location from the city for agriculture.

The city of Napa has approved the VieVage hotel and resort for 93 acres of the 700-acre Stanly Ranch. The rest of the land is to be vineyards and wineries.

Resident John Stewart suggested LAFCO explore having a municipal utility district serving the Napa Valley. He mentioned water and wastewater as possible utilities.

A well-known, regional municipal utility district is East Bay Municipal Utility District, which provides water to 1.4 million people in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The alternative is for each city to provide the service.

Napa LAFCO has only one full-time employee  Executive Officer Brendon Freeman  and a half-time secretary. It has an annual budget of about $500,000 that could also be used to hire a staff analyst or consultants.

At a future meeting, LAFCO commissioners will take another look at their dreams for the agency and decide which can be realized, given the limited resources.
ST. HELENA  The Planning Commission voted 4-0 Tuesday to reject plans by the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone to expand its dorms on Pratt Avenue.

Two weeks after hearing three hours of public testimony and reports on the project, commissioners agreed that neighbors have valid concerns about size, traffic, wastewater, parking and other impacts on the neighborhood surrounding the dorm property.

The commission said the not-for-profit culinary school should try building some of the dorms on its main Greystone campus and keeping the new Pratt dorms within the existing footprint of the old Marlinda convalescent home, which the college plans to demolish and replace with much larger buildings.

School representatives have said theyve determined its infeasible to build dorms on the land surrounding the Greystone building because of steep slopes, high construction costs, and the sites listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Commissioners asked whether the school would be willing to conduct further studies of traffic and wastewater and redesign the project to include some dorms at the main campus.

After conferring with his colleagues and legal counsel, the schools managing director Tom Bensel asked the commission for a yes or no vote, presumably to allow an appeal to the council.

The CIAs proposal is part of a master plan to include operations at its newly acquired Copia property in Napa. The school is seeking to increase enrollment from 200 to 300 students, expand educational facilities in the Greystone building, replace the old Wine Spectator restaurant with a smaller student-run restaurant, and add storage caves and modular buildings at the main campus.

But neighbors are primarily worried about the CIAs plan to build two- and three-story dorms on Pratt Avenue, increasing the dorms capacity by 123 beds, for a total of 224. The dorm plan requires two exceptions to city regulations, because it doesnt include as many parking spaces as the city ordinarily requires (73 instead of 175) and because the new dorms would be closer to Pratt than allowed by city code.

Like other commissioners, David Knudsen said he respects the CIA, but its too much mass on Pratt Avenue. He suggested that the CIA investigate building some dorms on the property adjacent to Greystone that the school bought from Chuck and Ann Carpy, where theres a parking lot.

The current footprint on Pratt, which includes the existing dorm building and the old Marlinda facility, seems like the limit of what that site can take, Knudsen said.

Commissioner Grace Kistner said the dorm design is too massive and dense, especially for a property outside the urban limit line. She said the Pratt dorms should remain within the existing building footprint and not go any taller than two stories. She also said the traffic study should consider the cumulative impacts of the new Las Alcobas hotel and possible changes at Beringer.

We need to split the dormitories between the two properties, said Commissioner Sarah Parker, citing concerns about parking at the Pratt dorms, wastewater, and the difficulty of making a left turn from Pratt onto Main Street.

Parker said the traffic study, which was conducted on a Thursday last May, should be done on a weekend at the height of tourist season, when traffic is at its heaviest.

Ive lived here my entire life and I dont turn there, Parker said. I go down Crinella, and thats exactly what (students) are going to do.

While concerned about the dorms, commissioners were prepared to approve the schools much less controversial plans for the Greystone property. At the CIAs request, the commissioners voted to reject the entire project without prejudice, which allows the applicants to come back with a redesigned project if they wish.
The Indian mascot issue is multifaceted and deserving of attention. But it is my opinion that the persons and groups protesting the mascot, while well meaning, are misguided and historically naive of the reality of Native Peoples called Indians, a name that most use to describe themselves.

New archaeological and historic information reveal that these Native Peoples numbered over 25 million and had in some instances developed societies more advanced than those of Europe or Asia of the same era. The idea of a noble savage is misguided, Indian civilizations can be favorably be compared to those of the Sumarians, Greeks, and Romans.

The demise and loss of Indian cultures was due not to the sword but to the unintentional diseases brought to the Americas by Europeans. A good estimate is that 90 percent of the native populations died from smallpox, measles and hepatitis A due to a lack of immunity.

Let us then look at the word Indian and realize that by using it we are celebrating numbers of lost great civilizations that preceded outside contact. It is then a homage to those great people. I urge you to preserve and respect the Indian mascot.

Dr. Robert Nasser

Napa
VALLEJO  A few seconds of stunned silence elapsed in the council chambers Monday night before those opposed to a marine terminal and cement facility in south Vallejo erupted into a joyful cheer after the citys planning commission voted 6-1 to deny the project.

Several of the commissioners cited quality of life concerns with the Vallejo Marine Terminal (VMT) and Orcem project which sought to re-establish industrial uses on the site through the removal of a deteriorated timber wharf and construction of a modern deep-water terminal, while Orcem wants to open an industrial facility producing cement.

At the end of the day, I have to vote my conscience, always, said Chair Landis Graden. I dont worry about what people say or do because as long as I can sleep at night, Im okay with that.

Graden said that every real estate deal he works on, he asks himself if he would want his mother to live in that location.

I dont think I would, because of the quality of life, Graden said about having his mom live near the 32-acre site at 790 and 800 Derr Ave., in southwest Vallejo, on the Mare Island Strait.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Chris Platzer, the lone vote in support of the VMT/Orcem application, read a prepared statement stating staff attempted to persuade the commission to agree with the recommendation to reject the project.

I would rather not so much be persuaded but rather be informed, Platzer said.

City staff recommended the commission reject the project for numerous reasons, including it having a negative effect on the neighborhood, impacting traffic around the area, being inconsistent with the citys waterfront development policy, and degrading visual appearance of the waterfront.

He further added the draft Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) does not have complete information needed to make a decision.

City staff and the applicants have gone back and forth regarding if the project needs a FEIR. Orcem and VMT say certification of the FEIR would allow the city to have full information about the project. While the city contends such a certification is not needed if a recommendation to reject the project is being offered by staff.

Im not surprised for the denial, I am surprised for the 6-1 vote, said Orcem President Steve Bryan shortly after the vote.

He confirmed a appeal of the commission decision would be submitted to the city council, which can overturn Mondays vote.

Bryan said the commissions decision sterilizes the project site.

The people who want mixed-use, that would add thousands of cars, would that not impact the life of people in that area, he asked.

Many opposed to the project have suggested a mixed-use approach to the site, which might include housing, artist spaces, and other retail businesses.

Representatives with Fresh Air Vallejo, a group opposed to the project, issued a statement shortly after the vote, stating Mondays decision is a vote for the future of Vallejo.

A vote that demonstrates trust between staff, the commission, and the public, the statement reads. Theres optimism in the air which most certainly is better than cement dust in the air.

The city staffs recommendation against the project  and the planning commissions vote against the project  are based on the facts that Orcem/VMT can no longer hide from the truth, the group added. A cement factory on Vallejos waterfront was always a bad idea.
Ballot effort on watershed initiative had fatal flaw

Californias First District Court of Appeal has issued a decision making it harder for backers of a controversial watershed and oak protection initiative to place their measure before voters.

The three-judge panel in a decision agreed with the county that the initiative petition had a fatal, if technical, flaw. Backers might have to once again go to shopping centers and gather a few thousand signatures if they want to move forward.

Backers are considering options, Angwin resident and initiative backer Mike Hackett said. I believe our group is stronger than ever.

Possibilities include appealing the Court of Appeal decision to the California Supreme Court and circulating an amended initiative petition.

Hackett said the goal now is to have a measure on the June 2018 ballot.

The Water, Forest and Oak Woodland Protection Measure wades into an ongoing community debate about allowing hillside vineyards and other large developments amid forests in the countys mountains. It would strengthen stream setback laws, limit the cutting of oaks and, in some cases, require county-issued permits to cut oaks.

Napa Valley Vintners, Napa County Farm Bureau, Winegrowers of Napa County and Napa Valley Grapegrowers oppose it.

Volunteers gathered more than the 3,791 needed to qualify the measure for the November 2016 ballot. But Napa County voided the petition on a technicality.
County hears helipad fears; dozens knock revised plan

On March 1, the Napa County Planning Commission heard dozens of people comment on a heliport proposal by Christian Palmaz on Mount George east of Napa during a five-hour hearing. Most of those comments came from opponents.

Commissioners had plenty of questions about the proposed heliport, but voiced no opinions during the five-hour hearing.

We may not have all the answers today, Planning Commission chairwoman Jeri Gill told the audience.

Opponents and a small minority of supporters packed the 100-person-occupancy meeting chamber, with dozens more going to overflow rooms to watch the meeting on television.

Palmaz is an aviation enthusiast and flies a helicopter out of Napa County Airport. He initially wanted to build a heliport near his family home at 4031 Hagen Road, near the rural Olive Hill Lane neighborhood. He now agrees the heliport would be located a mile northeast on Palmaz property on Mount George.

Attorney Brian Russell on behalf of Palmaz told commissioners that Napa County has allowed private heliports since 1965. It has approved four helipads, two for individuals and two for St. Helena Hospital.

Resident Robert Pursell said that the last heliport approval for unincorporated Napa County came in 1979. The county has since discouraged such applications.

The commission postponed the matter until March 22.
Lin Webers new book, entitled St. Helena Catholic Church: Celebrating 150 Years, is a gem.

The new book documents, in Webers authoritative style, the development and evolution of St. Helenas Catholic parish. It follows the journeys of many of St. Helenas pioneer families and the subsequent arrival of Irish, Italian and German immigrants, the ups and downs of the wine industry, and the dedication and sacrifices that the members of the parish have made to the community.

Filled with delightful photographs on every page  both historical and contemporary pictures of persons and the parish buildings  the graphic design by Jennifer Barry Design of Fairfax creates a colorful and vibrant visual portal into the history of the parish, with informative captions. The design works wonderfully well with Webers succinct descriptions of past times in St. Helena.

Catholic influences, by Webers account, predate the town of St. Helena itself, when General Mariano Vallejo gave an 1841 land grant of 18,000 acres to Edward Bale. Bale was married to a niece of Vallejo, Maria Ignacia Soberanes, who was a devoted Catholic.

But the real historical focus of the St. Helena Catholic Church is tied to the 1866 donation of land for the Catholic Mission in St. Helena by the Tainter family. That was when a home at the juncture of Oak Avenue and Tainter Street was transformed into a meeting place for the Catholic community. Prior to that time Catholic families were meeting in the homes of members and a local saloon called Mrs. Philpots.

Weber writes that Catholic churchgoers transformed the Sheehans 23-foot by 38-foot house into a one-room place of worship with a 12-foot high ceiling. The work was completed in 1866 at a cost of $1,400. By 1876, she continues, the 140 members of the parish required a still larger meeting place, and the old building was sold to the Episcopalians. That building was moved to the corner of Spring Street and Oak Avenue where Grace Episcopal Church is today.

The new Catholic Church building was finished in 1868, according to Weber. It burned down in 1888 and was replaced by the Jacobian-style stone building hewn from native volcanic stone found in the surrounding area. This new building was dedicated in September 1890, and a new bell was delivered in 1891.

The Catholic Church also supported two schools according to Webers documentation: one on the corner of Main Street and Elmhurst Avenue called Elmhurst Academy, and the current school on the southeast corner of Oak Avenue and Tainter Street.

Weber creates wonderful  and sometimes poignant  cameos of the many priests who have served the members of the Catholic community over the years. These include the history of the long tenures of Father Patrick Blake and Monsignor John Brenkle, as well as citing the numerous major contributions of the Upvalley members of the Catholic community.

Filled with photographs and arranged in a comprehensive narrative, Webers St. Helena Catholic Church: Celebrating 150 Years adds both texture and flavor to the history of both the Catholic Church and the community of St. Helena as a whole.

This is Webers eighth historical book on Northern California. The book is 88 pages in length and lavishly illustrated. Its available through the St. Helena Catholic Church office at 1340 Tainter St.
The Planning Commission voted 4-0 Tuesday to reject plans by the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone to expand its dorms on Pratt Avenue.

Two weeks after hearing three hours of public testimony and reports on the project, commissioners agreed that neighbors have valid concerns about size, traffic, wastewater, parking and other impacts on the neighborhood surrounding the dorm property.

The commission said the not-for-profit culinary school should try building some of the dorms on its main Greystone campus and keeping the new Pratt dorms within the existing footprint of the old Marlinda convalescent home, which the college plans to demolish and replace with much larger buildings.

School representatives have said theyve determined its infeasible to build dorms on the land surrounding the Greystone building because of steep slopes, high construction costs, and the sites listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Commissioners asked whether the school would be willing to conduct further studies of traffic and wastewater and redesign the project to include some dorms at the main campus. After conferring with his colleagues and legal counsel, the schools managing director Tom Bensel asked the commission for an up or down vote, presumably to allow an appeal to the council.

The CIAs proposal is part of a master plan to include operations at its newly acquired Copia property in Napa. The school is seeking to increase enrollment from 200 to 300 students, expand educational facilities in the Greystone building, replace the old Wine Spectator restaurant with a smaller student-run restaurant, and add storage caves and modular buildings at the main campus.

But neighbors are primarily worried about the CIAs plan to build two- and three-story dorms on Pratt Avenue, increasing the dorms capacity by 123 beds, for a total of 224. The dorm plan requires two variances, or exceptions to city regulations, because it doesnt include as many parking spaces as the city ordinarily requires (73 instead of 175) and because the new dorms would be closer to Pratt than allowed by city code.

Like other commissioners, David Knudsen said he respects the CIA, but its too much mass on Pratt Avenue. He suggested that the CIA investigate building some dorms on the property adjacent to Greystone that the school bought from Chuck and Ann Carpy, where theres a parking lot.

The current footprint on Pratt, which includes the existing dorm building and the old Marlinda facility, seems like the limit of what that site can take, Knudsen said.

Commissioner Grace Kistner said the dorm design is too massive and dense, especially for a property outside the urban limit line. She said the Pratt dorms should remain within the existing building footprint and not go any taller than two stories. She also said the traffic study should consider the cumulative impacts of the new Las Alcobas hotel and possible changes at Beringer.

We need to split the dormitories between the two properties, said Commissioner Sarah Parker, citing concerns about parking at the Pratt dorms, wastewater, and the difficulty of making a left turn from Pratt onto Main Street.

Parker said the traffic study, which was conducted on a Thursday last May, should be done on a weekend at the height of tourist season, when traffic is at its heaviest.

Ive lived here my entire life and I dont turn there, Parker said. I go down Crinella, and thats exactly what (students) are going to do.

While concerned about the dorms, commissioners were prepared to approve the schools much less controversial plans for the Greystone property. At the CIAs request, the commissioners voted to reject the entire project without prejudice, which allows the applicants to come back with a redesigned project if they wish.
Wine and hospitality go hand in hand, especially up here, said Marco Castellucci of the new, family lifestyle brand, Castellucci Napa Valley.

Adding a modern twist to their familys Italian heritage, he and his sister, Maria Castellucci, have launched the brand together. Starting with a wine label, they will soon be growing it into the hospitality world as well.

The way were trying to differentiate ourselves from other wineries and other brands in the valley, is that this is an Italian family traditional brand, but we are kind of the new, refreshing faces of that history, said Maria Castellucci. Its kind of old world, new world.

The winemaking tradition in the Castellucci family goes back to Italy, where their grandfather Luigi Castellucci made wine at home in a tiny village in Calabria called San Sosti. It has a population of a little more than 2,000.

Back then, as it was with many Italian families, the wine was made simply for consumption at gatherings with family and friends.

Our grandfather on our fathers side, just like a lot of people in the village of the town, made wine in the basement, Maria Castellucci said. Our father recalls as a young child going down into the basement, helping with the process, or filling the jug and bringing it back up to the house.

Both of their parents, Antonio and Rita Castellucci, were from San Sosti, but didnt officially meet until they separately moved overseas to San Francisco in 1971.

It was basically an arranged marriage, like, you have to meet this girl from your hometown, said Maria Castellucci. They didnt know each other in their town, but they did go to first and second grade together, so its a really sweet story.

Living the American dream, their father built a successful San Francisco property management and apartment rental business, Home Realty Investments, which his children, including daughter Angela, are still involved with it today. Eventually, he was looking for a second home for the family to spend the weekends, and his fond memories of making wine in the basement drew him to the Napa Valley, where they bought property in Carneros in 1989.

Like his father, Antonio Castellucci began making wine from the propertys vineyards, about 50 cases a year. There was no label; it was purely a hobby and for the family. But he did bring in a professional to make the wine, after sparking a friendship with his neighbor and notable pinot noir master Kent Rasmussen.

Later on, the Castelluccis partnered with Jac Cole, their current winemaker.

Over the last couple of decades, the family has acquired more and more property throughout the Napa Valley. Now with four vineyards in Carneros, St. Helena, Rutherford and on Spring Mountain  two historic B&Bs and a couple of villas under their name, Marco, 35, and Maria Castellucci, 37, are building a full-fledged brand out of their lifestyle.

It just kind of naturally evolved into something, said Maria Castellucci. We had a beautiful product, our father and family is well respected and we thought, how can we honor our history and our heritage? This is definitely the best fit.

Two years ago, they both permanently relocated with their own families to the Napa Valley, and at the end of 2016, Castellucci Napa Valley launched its first three wines. In April, they will open their first luxury inn, the Ink House. After that, comes a second inn, a collection of villas, and a winery.

The wine

The current trio of Castellucci reds includes a St. Helena merlot and single-vineyard cabernet sauvignons from Rutherford and Spring Mountain. They were made exclusively from the familys vineyards, but there are plans to branch out into some whites, blends and even some Italian varietals, which would give the brand a stronger connection to the Castellucci heritage.

We started with the reds because thats what we had made from our properties, and weve made amazing wines from them. But now the plan is to do a couple other varietals, a white wine, a rose is in the works, and a cab-based red blend, said Marco Castellucci. Trying to tailor the wines to our brand, weve yet to kind of do that. I feel like the wines will evolve, and we would love to do some Italian varietals.

Marco Castellucci and a team of three manage the vineyards, allowing the family to maintain complete control over the growing process.

Theyve released 2012 vintages of the merlot and Spring Mountain cabernet, but the Rutherford cabernet is actually a 2013 vintage. The Rutherford vineyard was in such bad shape when they bought it, that they made the decision to skip their first vintage from it all together. In just a years time, his team was able to turn it around.

The 2012 wine, we didnt even want to put our name on it because it wasnt up to par with what we wanted, said Marco Castellucci. But by 2013, it had completely changed. One year to the next you wouldnt recognize it at all. Im really proud of what we were able to do with that vineyard to get that quality.

Previously winemaker of Spring Mountain Winery and Charles Krug Winery, Jac Cole  part Italian himself joined the Castellucci family as winemaker in 2010 after forming a friendship with Antonio Castellucci. The two hit it off immediately.

They met at a festival Napa Valley function. We have a beautiful vineyard on Spring Mountain, and Jack had worked at Spring Mountain Winery for 10-plus years, so it was such a natural fit. He knew the land very, very well, said Maria Castellucci. It was not intended to become a business at that time.

Currently, they custom crush at Joseph Cellars in Calistoga, but they recently secured the necessary permit to build a winery on their Rutherford property at 3 Zinfandel Lane.

In the meantime, Castellucci wines can be tasted at select local events and starting in April, at The Ink House.

Hospitality

Built in 1885, The Ink House was first a single-family home for Napa Valley pioneer Theron Ink and his family, before later becoming a bed and breakfast. The Castelluccis purchased the property thats just south of Whitehall Lane in St. Helena in 2013. Through the lengthy restoration process, theyre looking to pay homage to the buildings history, while giving it an elegant, modern makeover.

Its an amazing, historical property, so we wanted to preserve that, have a place to feature our wines and a national audience, since tourists come up here from all over, said Maria Castellucci. It was a great fit for the brand.

Set to open this April, the boutique inn will have four rooms, each named after the wife and children of Theron Ink. One special room however, will be the Elvis room.

The King himself is known to have stayed at the bed-and-breakfast for about three months while filming Wild in the Country in 1960.

But sticking to the theme of luxury, the room wont be the type of flashy, Elvis tribute room you might imagine, or find in a place like Las Vegas. Maria Castellucci promises more subtle, chic touches like blue suede slippers.

In addition to providing concierge service for their guests, the family plans to make use of the inns full kitchen by bringing in chefs and creating culinary experiences to pair with their wines.

For tastings, theres also an observatory at the top of The Ink House called The Inkwell, featuring 360-degree views. According to Maria Castellucci, its a natural fit for a tasting space, and the highest point on the valley floor from which you can admire Napa Valley.

They also envision making use of an old barn on the property for more exclusive, member-only tastings. Untouched and dating to 1884, it will need some extensive TLC before it can be used, they said.

Six months ago, the Castelluccis found a property for their second inn, another former B&B on Zinfandel Lane, which just so happens to be around the corner from their St. Helena family home and vineyard.

It definitely has a different feel than the Ink House. Weve got to find its identity, said Marco Castellucci.

The siblings have even begun collecting large estates for future luxury villas, an extension of their hotels, which will require a one-month minimum stay.

I would almost call it a luxury collectionvillas, wine and hospitality, and then you never know, said Maria Castellucci. Its not like a brand. Brand sounds very corporate, and were so the opposite of corporate.

Were just trying to portray our Italian lifestyle to the outside world, echoed Marco Castellucci.
Today, I have spoken to Hashim Thaci and Isa Mustafa to convey the serious concerns of NATO Allies about recent proposals by the Kosovo authorities to transform the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an armed force, without a constitutional change. I made clear that unilateral steps such as these are unhelpful, and I urged the Kosovo authorities to remain in close contact with Belgrade.

In recent years, NATO has supported the development of the KSF as a professional, increasingly multi-ethnic force.

The structure, mandate and mission of the KSF are a matter for local Kosovo institutions in accordance with their constitutional law. However, should the mandate of the KSF now evolve in the way proposed, NATO will have to review its level of commitment, particularly in terms of capacity-building. I made this clear during my visit to Kosovo in February and I reiterated it in my telephone conversations today.

I remain in close contact with my counterparts in the European Union.
NATO Deputy Secretary General, Rose Gottemoeller, ended a two day visit to Iceland on Wednesday (8 March 2017) by addressing students at the University of Iceland on how NATO is adapting to a new security environment. Ms Gottemoeller explained how NATO represents the gold standard in multilateral security cooperation and how it is strengthening its collective defence in Europe and doing more to fight terrorism.

Iceland, a founding member of NATO, is a highly valued Ally and although the country has no standing army, it has made important financial and civilian contributions to NATO missions in the Balkans and Afghanistan.

Ms Gottemoeller arrived in Iceland on Tuesday (7 March 2017) evening for talks with Icelands Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson. The two discussed the current security situation and Icelands contribution to NATO.

On Wednesday (8 March 2017), the Deputy Secretary General met with the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs. She also gave a speech at a NATO Resources Conference in Reykjavik, which has been discussing how the Alliance can best use its financial resources to adapt to the new security environment. Ms Gottemoeller stressed the importance of common funding, which enables Allies to join together to boost their defence capabilities, such as with NATOs fleet of AWACS surveillance aircraft.
An organisation, society or country can only succeed if it uses the full potential of all of its members  men and women, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, marking the occasion of International Womens Day on Wednesday (8 March 2017). He stressed that equal participation of men and women is a core security requirement, essential to the resilience of societies, to the effectiveness of NATO forces and to achieving and preserving peace.

NATO strongly supports the global women, peace and security agenda. The Alliance has integrated gender perspectives in its three core tasks  collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security. NATO works to promote womens rights in training and operations, and in our assistance for partners, such as Jordan, Georgia and Ukraine. The appointment of NATOs Special Representative on Women, Peace and Security  Ambassador Marriet Schuurman  demonstrates the importance of these issues.

Today, NATO has more women in leadership positions than ever before  as ministers, senior officials and military commanders. A quarter of NATO Defence Ministers are women, six of 28 NATO Ambassadors are women, and last year, the Alliance welcomed its first female Deputy Secretary General, Rose Gottemoeller. NATOs Joint Force Command in Naples is also led by US Admiral Michelle Howard, a four-star officer, and US Army Brigadier General Giselle Wilz is the first woman to head NATO HQ Sarajevo. Canadas most senior female military officer, Lt.-Gen. Christine Whitecross, is currently commandant of the NATO Defense College in Rome.

The Secretary General has highlighted that making the best potential of both men and women makes NATO stronger and better prepared to deal with current security challenges. I look forward to the day when not just a quarter but half of NATO ministers are women; I am sure that time will come, said the Secretary General.
(Natural News) The destruction of the Oroville dams main and emergency spillways made major headlines early on in 2017. Some 188,000 Californian citizens were left with no choice but to leave their homes and evacuate. Fortunately, the dam held up and the residents were able to return home safely. However, the damage left behind is no less devastating  even if the sensation of urgency surrounding the dam has subsided.

At the peak of the crisis, it became very evident that the dams major spillway had become severely damaged. As dam operators used the main spillway to control the depth of Lake Oroville, a gigantic hole formed in the middle of the chute, and water began rushing down through the soil beneath.

This led them to turn to the emergency spillway for relief  but it too began to erode away, prompting the evacuation order. The emergency spillway was reportedly comprised of nothing but bare earth, and as Mike Adams explained, it is simply not surprising that gallons upon gallons of surging water would quickly cut through dirt and erode the spillway.

Not one but three separate environmental groups reportedly expressed their concerns about the stability of the emergency spillway. Twelve years ago in 2005, the Sierra Club, the Friends of the River, and South Yuba Citizens League filed a motion with the federal government to require the Oroville dam to be armored with concrete, rather than remain as an earthen hillside, as part of the re-licensing agreement.

These urges were ignored by the government. And you know what they say: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And as the water came pouring down, the Californian government chose to drop sandbags from the sky in the hopes of quelling the raging current.

Now, the Oroville dam and emergency spillway are essentially in a state of ruin. Water flowing from the broken spillway created an enormous ravine just south of the spillway, headed towards the dam. Rocks, trees, dirt and other debris pushed around by massive current of water mostly ended up in the Diversion Pool. State Department of Water Resources spokesperson Lauren Bisnett has said that the department estimates that there is currently up to 1 million cubic yards of debris that made its way into the pool.

To put that in perspective, Mercury News writer Risa Johnson says that based on the average truckload of 18 cubic yards of material, the state is looking at around 55,556 truckloads of debris to be cleaned up.

Bisnett reportedly commented, We knew there was going to be significant damage. Erosion measurements in and around the spillway are still being conducted.

Aerial photos and video of the dam show that the lower portion of the emergency spillway has been ripped to shreds and that an enormous crater was formed in the center of the main spillway.

Gizmodo reports that the spillway was supposed to be able to handle 250,000 cubic feet of water per second (cfs), but notes that when the midsection collapsed when a mere 55,000 cfs were passing through it. There are many theories on what would have caused the collapse beginning to emerge. David Rogers, a dam failure expert from Missouri, has suggested that the spillway may have had cracks that were not tended to properly. He also posited that Californias state of drought may have contributed to it. According to the Sacramento Bee, Rogers has said it is possible that the aging spillway could have weakened as it underwent contractions due to the sudden heavy soaking following years of dry weather.

The damage is clearly extensive, whatever the cause. And certainly the damage that pertains to the emergency spillway might have been mitigated, had officials listened to the safety concerns brought to their attention over a decade ago. But, we all know the government is loath to listen to the concerns of their constituents.

Follow more real investigations at RealInvestigations.news.

Sources:

SHTFPlan.com

NaturalNews.com

MercuryNews.com
Friday, March 03, 2017 by: Lance D Johanson Tags: cancer , corruption , EPA , glyphosate , Monsanto This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) A multi-district cancer lawsuit is currently underway in San Francisco, California. The suit alleges that Monsanto failed to warn the public about Roundups cancer risk to humans. Sixty plaintiffs, many suffering from non-Hodgkins lymphoma, are accusing Monsanto of covering up evidence that Roundup herbicide could cause cancer. A former EPA official, Jess Rowland, is set to testify in the case and could reveal the EPAs buried science linking Roundup (glyphosate) to cancer.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria is looking forward to Rowlands deposition: My reaction is when you consider the relevance of the EPAs reports, and you consider their relevance to this litigation, it seems appropriate to take Jess Rowlands deposition, he said.

Due to regulatory concerns, this case is currently holding Monsanto back from a $66 billion mega merger with German pharmaceutical company, Bayer AG.

What will Rowlands deposition uncover?

According to Bloomberg, the plaintiffs lawyers see Rowlands upcoming deposition as a potential trap, mainly because Rowland enjoyed a highly suspicious relationship with Monsanto through the years. The plaintiffs attorneys are concerned that Rowland could remain silent, not disclosing evidence of Roundups cancer link. After all, Rowland is a close ally to Monsanto and the chair of an EPA committee that gave glyphosate a free pass.

In May 2016, Rowland chaired the EPAs Cancer Assessment Review Committee (CARC). At the time, CARC determined that glyphosate was not likely to be carcinogenic to humans. Suspiciously, Rowland left her chair position just days after CARCs pro-glyphosate report was leaked to the press.

The mainstream media used CARCs pro-glyphosate conclusion as a rebuttal to the contrasting scientific conclusion that was reached a year earlier at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This independent team of scientists (IARC) had previously reported through the World Health Organization that glyphosate was a probable human carcinogen.

Glyphosate toxicity to humans: an overview explains that the chemical disrupts the shikimate pathway of both plants and important microorganisms in the human gut and can even accumulate in bones. Glyphosate scientists Dr. Channa Jayasumana, wrote that Glyphosate acts as a carrier or a vector of these heavy metals to the kidney. By disabling protective gut microorganisms, glyphosate becomes a vector, by which other toxins weaken ones immunity. For this reason, Sri Lankas president banned herbicides containing glyphosate in 2014. (RELATED: For more, visit Glyphosate.News)

Warring factions inside the EPA and buried evidence on glyphosate toxicity

When IARCs findings came out on glyphosate, Monsanto insisted that glyphosate was 100 percent safe with no link to cancer. Not long thereafter, Rowlands pro-glyphosate conclusion came out through CARC. According to US Right to Know, Monsanto shared close ties with Rowland. Even after leaving CARC, Rowland continued to work as the deputy division director in the EPAs Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). Working with Rowland, Monsanto could readily control the scientific conclusions for agrochemicals, especially since Rowland operated within the health effects division of the OPP.

Marion Copley, an EPA scientist of 30 years, has accused Rowland of playing political conniving games with the science to give favor to Monsanto and other pesticide companies. Correspondence dated March 4, 2013, taken from a February 10th court filing, found Copley calling Rowland out for intimidation tactics. Copley said Rowland and another EPA official intimidated staff to change the reports on glyphosate findings. It is essentially certain that glyphosate causes cancer, Copley stated, citing various animal studies that have been buried.

Sources include:

EcoWatch.com

EcoWatch.com

Drive.Google.com
(Natural News) During the first three weeks of the 2003 Iraq conflict, the U.S. military committed egregious war crimes using radioactive weapons. Even though the Pentagon pledged to never use this technology again, military command went ahead anyway in the 2003 Iraq conflict, deploying missiles loaded with depleted uranium (DU). More than 2,000 tons of this toxic radioactive waste rained down on the Iraqi people. The radioactive repercussions of DU will continue to plague the Iraqi people for many years to come. The lingering health effects have already begun to take a toll on the health of U.S. soldiers. Cancer-causing DU has been measured in soldiers urine, but the Department of Defense asserts that its safe.

CENTCOM unveils DU also used deceptively in Syria

According to a new disclosure from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the same horrifying DU-laced weapons were used in the November 2015 air raids in the Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah provinces in eastern Syria. This disclosure contradicts a March 2015 statement issued from U.S. Central Command, which stated, U.S. and coalition aircraft have not been and will not be using depleted uranium munitions in Iraq or Syria during Operation Inherent Resolve.

Apparently the military lied. According to CENTCOM spokesman Major Josh Jacques, in November 2015, 5,265 armor-piercing DU rounds were shot out of an A-10 ground attack aircraft to take out 350 oil tanker convoys owned by the Islamic State. The damages of this radioactive material do not stop when an enemy combatant is killed. The repercussions are experienced for many years to come and even return to U.S. soil.

DU plagues innocent people, including thousands in the U.S. military

DU is a nefarious weapon, a byproduct of enriched uranium that has a half-life in the millions of years. Its used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons and as fuel for nuclear reactors. This material, exclusive to the U.S. and U.K., is used in missiles to effectively pierce a targets armor plating. Smaller shells contain about 300 grams of DU and bunker-busting missiles can contain up to 7 tons. Over the course of the two Iraq conflicts, the U.S. indiscriminately unleashed tens of thousands of tons of DU hell onto the Iraqi people. This will significantly pollute the ground and water of these lands for many years to come. Enriched uranium is a highly toxic substance, whether inhaled or ingested. It is directly linked to birth defects, infertility, and all sorts of cancer.

The repercussions of DU not only plague innocent Iraqis, but they come home to the U.S. as well. A large percentage of soldiers who returned from the Gulf War were exposed to DU aerosols that blasted into the air after hitting high impact targets. A new DU detection method pioneered by Professor Randall R. Parrish found DU still in the bodies of Gulf War veterans 20 years after exposure. Tens of thousands of potential cancer cases of American troops are linked to DU exposure in Iraq. This fact has been stealthily covered up by the Veterans Administration, which has barred medical journals from retrieving cancer statistics within the VA registry. This is not how the U.S. shines as an example for the rest of the world. This is not true National Defense. This is not how the U.S. should treat its veterans.

Sources include:

TheFreeThoughtProject.com

HuffingtonPost.com

NBCNews.com
(Natural News) A recent poll on YouGov BrandIndex is showing a negative correlation between Starbucks brand perception before and after they announced a plan to hire refugees, and it should be cause for alarm for the coffee giant.

On January 29, 2017, Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz announced that the company would implement a five-year plan to hire 10,000 refugees worldwide. The stance was in protest against President Donald Trumps then travel ban on refugees from certain countries already outlined by the Obama administration. The announcement caused outrage and concern among many Starbucks customers, some of whom called for a boycott. People all over the country took to social media to express just how upset they were about the announcement.

The biggest issue raised among people that weighed in was that an American company was being so quick to come to the aide of refugees, but it felt as if American citizens, particularly veterans, were being ignored. Ultimately, Starbucks felt the pressure and issued a second statement to explain to Americas military veterans that the company also had a plan to employ them.

If Starbucks thought this would blow over, they were sadly mistaken. Since the January announcement, consumer perception levels have fallen by two-thirds as measured by YouGov BrandIndexs Buzz score. The perception tracker measures if respondents have heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative. The recent responses show only 24 percent of consumers polled saying they would consider patronizing Starbucks, while two days before the announcement, the results were at 30 percent, the highest proportion in almost a year.

YouGov conducts surveys of about 4,800 people each week day as a representation of the U.S. population, and they say that theres reason to believe the backlash will impact the chains bottom line. (RELATED: Get all the news Google is trying to hide at Censored.news)

It appears Schulz has not learned his lesson that mixing liberal political agendas and coffee does not work out well, or perhaps he is just too cocky to care. Who can forget the failed Race Together stunt where Starbucks encouraged its baristas to write the phrase on cups for customers to start a discussion on race? And there was the uproar caused when Starbucks stripped all Christmas themed images from their cups to promote inclusiveness back in 2015.

Whether or not this decline in positive public opinion or potential loss of revenue will affect Schulzs refugee hiring plan remains to be seen. Most of us know the best way to get action out of a company is to hit them where it hurts  their bottom line  and that appears to be happening right now.

Sources:

Zerohedge.com

Finance.Yahoo.com

Nola.com

Zerohedge.com
(Natural News) For the most part, when the government is put in charge of things, those things tend to get worse and not better. As the late Ronald Reagan once said, government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem. With respect to healthcare, Reagans words hold true  more government is, indeed, the problem.

As it turns out, the liberals in California have yet to learn this important lesson. On Friday, State Senator Ricardo Lara introduced legislation that would transition Californias healthcare into a single-payer system. (RELATED: Read what a retired colonel said about the real purpose of Obamacare). The system would be very similar to the healthcare system currently in place in Canada and would cost California taxpayers roughly $40 billion for the first year alone. Given the poor economic climate California has already created for itself, this will no doubt be just one more burden on the people of California, and one step closer towards total bankruptcy.

Micah Weinberg, the president of the Economic Institute at the Bay Area Council, raised concerns over the financial consequences of the proposed legislation. Where are they going to come up with the $40 billion? he asked. He went on to suggest that adopting a state level single-payer system is just not feasible to do as a state.

The Los Angeles Times has noted that a single-payer healthcare system has been a goal for California liberals for quite some time now. In both 2006 and 2008, bills were introduced to reform the states healthcare system but they were vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many California Progressives now blame the efforts of Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act for their renewed push to bring about statewide single-payer healthcare.

The problem, of course, is that single-payer healthcare doesnt improve the quality and accessibility of care; it makes it all ten times worse. For proof, look no further than just north of our border, where Canadians have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of government funded healthcare.

Of all 11 industrialized nations, Canada ranks last in its ability to provide citizens with same-day or next-day appointments with doctors. As a result of this harsh reality, many Canadians are increasingly traveling south into America to get the care that they need in a quick, efficient manner.

Such was the case with Sharon Shamblaw, a resident of Ontario who was diagnosed in the summer of 2015 with a form of blood cancer. The treatment was available to her at a Toronto hospital 100 miles away from her home, as well as in one of the three facilities inside of her province. The only problem was that each of these facilities had an eight-month waiting period for the particular type of stem cell transplant that Sharon needed.

Four months later, she finally decided to travel south to Buffalo, New York for her treatment. Sadly, Sharon was too late. She passed away at the age of 46, leaving behind her three children and her husband.

There are countless examples of this from different countries around the world. The long waiting times and poor quality care that occurs as a result of single-payer healthcare have terrible consequences not only for the well-being of the people living in these countries, but for the countries themselves. In a place like California, where the entire state economy is teetering on the brink of collapse, a transition into a single-payer system may very well be the straw that breaks the camels back.

Sources:

Breitbart.com

LAtimes.com

TheHill.com

USnews.com
An open letter to Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor, Florida Today:

Bob,

I have received your notice that I have been banished from Florida Today for expressing opposing viewpoints. True to form, the newspaper cant even fire a reader and forum contributor without an ethical lapse:

A week before my March 2nd letter-to-the-editor was published in the newspaper offering a new tech idea for washing and returning lagoon muck, insitu, you censored me online by taking down my forum replies to what I believe is your obviously fake Fact Checkers United anonymous Facebook page. Instead of denying my allegation that you created the faceless social media page for the purpose of countering my criticism of some of your editorial positions, you expelled me. You then informed me on February 28th (four days before using my letter) that I have been banished from Florida Today. What a cowardly and unprofessional thing to do. After declaring me persona non grata from the website you should not have published my letter. Or, you should have given me notification and the option to withdraw it. In other words, I should have had the opportunity to disassociate with your print property just as you have disassociated with me online for merely posting viewpoints in opposition to your editorials.

Its been a long time coming. Youve had a chip on your shoulder ever since you landed at Florida Today. Right away you took a potshot at me online for expressing an opinion that you didnt like. I had criticized the newspaper for its latest promotional Kumbaya on the waterfront, including the front page picture of a guy reading the newspaper at the event. I saw it as blatantly opportunistic on a very sensitive story about an existential threat to our region  a dying Indian River Lagoon. Remember? Before your PR push, very few serious stories had appeared in the newspaper on the collapse of Central Floridas critical environmental resource. While Florida Today was trying to catch up and get on board the issue, I was in the trenches doing something meaningful to save the estuary, or at least the Banana River, by making antiquated sanitary infrastructure a political issue in Cocoa Beach, where the bureaucrats and politicians would eventually agree to video inspect, document and completely rehabilitate the citys sewer lines and manholes with a $6 million state grant. The video inspection phase was one of Jim Waymers first local stories as an environmental reporter for Florida Today. It was the first and only time I spoke with Jim. Like you, he also internalizes opposing viewpoints.

Its a good thing, though, that Brevards elected leaders act like adults. Jim Barfield called me after I criticized the countys environmental bureaucrat, Virgina Barker, in a letter-to-the-editor for having stated in a guest column that the county, indeed, had a written plan to fix the lagoon  the 1996 Indian River Lagoon Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (IRLCCMP). Ms. Barker had taken us all for fools. The document was nowhere to be found on the countys website, and it was merely a set of broad objectives by the various state, federal and local agencies, not a local restoration plan. Barfield assured me that a real plan was in the works, and he asked me to be patient. Exposing the countys indifference to the crisis was, in my opinion, the genesis of the Save Our Lagoon plan. Your newspaper and its award winning environmental reporter never reported the lack of a restoration plan. The most you could muster was a column calling for a summit to pull these people together into a single room to talk. As if that hadnt already happened, ad nauseum.

Florida Todays coverage of the Brevard Public Schools software scandal was yet another whitewash of a critical issue and an egregious ethical lapse, this time by its celebrated watchdog and public interest editor, Matt Reed. Reeds flagrant conflict-of-interest of simultaneously pursuing a job with the very subject of his ongoing investigative analysis, and his concealment that the software contract had been rendered null and void seven years before the school district threw away $6 million to a company not party to the agreement, was outrageous  and you defended it, Bob. Reed claimed he had spent months on thousands of pages of evidence. It took me 45 minutes with a fraction of the documents to zero in on precisely where the malfeasance occurred, which I posted online to his story. To this day, you and the newspaper have not reported the truth.

With such a track record for treating government with kid gloves, Florida Today can now be expected to look the other way when tens-of-millions of dollars in lagoon contracts are awarded over the next decade to no-bid, insider recipients. Tens-of-millions more will simply be wasted, much of it through the incredibly inefficient demucking program that cries out for innovation. Just as you didnt call out Virginia Barker on the non-existence of a restoration plan, Florida Today will likely turn a blind eye to the waste of restoration tax dollars that should go toward innovation and modern infrastructure.

The publics only hope that the lagoon initiative will not be another corrupt government boondoggle is Scott Ellis and his authority to audit. Speaking of which, that was another ethical lapse  Florida Todays political hit piece against Ellis by John Byron. You failed to disclose to the reader that columnist Byron was a political patron of Dave Netterstrom, the well-heeled establishment challenger to incumbent Clerk of Courts, Scott Ellis. The day the online version appeared you promised me in a return voice message that a disclaimer on Byrons piece would be added to the online version, as well as the newspaper that was going to press later that day  but you reneged, and no editors note appeared in either form. So, on election day it did my ailing heart good to see Netterstrom, Byron and Florida Today crushed by Ellis landslide victory. There exists no better political response than annihilation and humiliation at the polls. Bravo.

But then you took the treachery to a new height. Ever the political manipulators, your newspaper deliberately underreported the crowd size at President Donald J. Trumps recent rally, which forced Melbourne airport officials to protect their own integrity by reporting that their attendance numbers were almost twice what Florida Today had claimed. Your subsequent front page correction piece did little to regain lost credibility for the newspaper, especially given the bizarre, but telling headline.

Here is what I posted to your mea culpa on having fudged the Trump Rally numbers: kudos, Bob, for finally acknowledging with your headline what we already know when dealing with your industry and its lies, distortions and omissions, Facts arent always so factual.

According to your own words that was your breaking point, the last straw, and you suspended my forum posting privileges. So Im curious, why take personal offense? I didnt write the headline, you did, Bob. What did you expect, high praise for more political shenanigans, then acknowledging in a column that its just what you people do?

So youve finally silenced your editorial nemesis, Mark Clancey. Congratulations. Put yourself in for a raise, and be sure to take a Stuart Smalley moment in front of the mirror, or a walk on the beach.

Joking aside, despite our many disagreements and heated exchanges, I wish you and your staff at Florida Today well. No hard feelings

Mark Clancey

Sincerely,

Mark Clancey

Cocoa Beach, Florida

PS: I leave the FT forum knowing that I accomplished most of what I set out to do: Raise awareness to the plight of the Indian River Lagoon, especially ground zero (Banana River, Cocoa Beach). Changing the culture of the areas newspaper, however, needs to be taken up by someone with a kinder, gentler way with words. Cause it aint me.

PSS: My own opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time. And anyone who disagrees with this can pick a number, get in line, and kiss my ass.  Christopher Hitchens

Top image credit: Cropped screen shot of Florida Today website
Ambassador Arun Singh, 2017 Halle Distinguished Fellow, returns to Emory for India Week 2017, kicking off March 13.

Singh served in India's foreign service for over 35 years with postings in Russia, France, Japan, Ethiopia, and most recently  the United States. He will give a public talk titled Diplomacy and Statecraft: My Life as an Indian Foreign Service Officer over lunch from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, in room W525 of the Goizueta Business School. Come learn what a diplomat's life is really like behind the scenes. Online registration is requested.

India Weeks line up of highly anticipated speakers continues on Thursday, March 16, when journalist Bachi Karkaria advises audiences to Keep the Change.

India burst out of socialism's straitjacket with the economic liberalization of 1992, Karkaria notes, and the new millennium has witnessed incredible change. The making and spending of money is no longer guilt-edged, and Indians are able to fulfill aspirations in ways undreamt of for centuries.

"The young are predictably the hungriest, but it is women who have seized the moment and made amazing strides in one generation  across class and geographies," she explains. "But entrenched patriarchy does not give up its power easily, and the fault-lines are as manifest as the progress.

Karkaria, who has observed, documented and, to a degree, effected social change as a senior journalist with the influential Times of India, encapsulates the excitement and the challenge of India in 2017. Her talk will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in White Hall 101. Online registration is requested for this event as well.

India Week also includes the following events:

"Mind-Body Medicine: Neuroscience for Success," a public classroom session with Dr. Rick Levy

Monday, March 13, 5-7 p.m., White Hall 101

Levy will summarize research in biophysics and mind-body medicine and review new science surrounding meditation before taking the audience through guided meditation. Sponsored by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.

Student Indian Arts Mela

Tuesday, March 14, 6-8 p.m., Cox Ballrooms

The Indian Cultural Exchange hosts a student celebration of Indian culture. Enjoy dancing and singing performances by numerous student groups.

India-Themed Wonderful Wednesday

Wednesday, March 15, 12:30-2:30 p.m., Asbury Circle (rain location: DUC terraces)

The Halle Institute and the Indian Cultural Exchange join forces to bring you a taste of India. Come by Asbury Circle to experience the art of henna and to sample some tasty Indian treats.
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The reticent and soft-spoken 'bahu' of the first family of the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP, Dimple Yadav, has finally found her groove, emerging as a major crowd puller in election rallies all over the state.From the fumbling leader who repeatedly corrected herself while going through her written text in Parliament on Kaushal Vikas mission some months ago to proper utilisation of manpower, the 39-year-old Kannauj MP has come a long way.The new Dimple - the star campaigner - has learnt how to keep the audience especially the youth involved and impress them. Aptly donning the role of the 'bahu' and 'bhabhi', she has gone about endearingly reprimanding the young enthusiasts with warnings that she will complain about them to their 'bhaiya' (Akhilesh Yadav) and at the same time taking care of the elders among the electorate seeking 'muhdekhaiye' (gift) for her in terms of votes.When party workers went berserk in Allahabad, she said, "I will tell bhaiya (Akhilesh) that you did not let me speak. I will complain...bhaiya is coming here tomorrow."Addressing another election rally in Jaunpur, she won over the elders and young alike when she started her speech seeking 'muhdikhai' -- a ritual where family members give a gift to a bride when they see her face for the first time. "...Main pehli baar poorvanchal aayee hoon...mujhe muh dikhai milegi...poora vishwas hai (I have come to Poorvanchal for the first time. I am confident I will get the gift of votes as muhdikhai)," she said striking an instant chord with the people.In the face of dissent in the family which had left Chief Minister and party president Akhilesh Yadav almost alone to lead the campaign, he found sufficient support in his wife who took to electioneering on her own and with ease.The shy daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav has not desisted from attacking even the high and mighty political opponents but with dignity and decorum in the times when electioneering touched a new low. "Mere angney mein tumhara kya kaam hai?" she questioned in a clear reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's adopted son remark.She was firm when she remarked in Bhadohi: "I am the daughter of an armyman, these people are taking credit for the martyrdom of our soldiers...they are politicising the army... never seen such a government earlier." She also paid back when she said, "The Modi government which had promised 'achchy din' did the 'karnama' of note ban. ...you were made to run around for taking out your own money from banks...that was your hard earned money...till date there is no detail of how much black money has been detected."In the over two dozen meetings that she addressed, Dimple's interaction with the surging crowds had been extempore and personal and the response was surprising.According to party insiders, Dimple's involvement in these elections had not just been confined to campaigning but she had also worked back channels on behalf of her husband. She is said to have met the Congress leadership, carrying message from Akhilesh, for finalising the SP-Congress alliance around which the party built up its election strategy. Shedding the tag of a reluctant politician, Dimple led a sustained attack on political opponents. Not only did her presence add colour to the SP's campaign, she also connected well with the youth and the women. Also read: The power bahus of Uttar Pradesh
Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE Corp has pleaded guilty to violating US sanctions on Iran and obstructing justice and agreed to pay $892 million in fines, a media report said. The settlement is expected to end a five-year probe that raised trade tensions between the US and China, the Wall Street Journal reported. The penalties, among the largest ever in a sanctions case, were imposed on China's largest publicly traded telecom manufacturer for its orchestration of a six-year-long conspiracy to acquire US technology, send it to Iran and mask its involvement through a network of front companies, officials said. "The highest levels of management within the company approved the scheme and the company repeatedly lied to and misled federal investigators," said Mary McCord, who runs the Justice Department's national security division, according to the report. "ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company," said ZTE Chairman and CEO Zhao Xianming in a statement detailing changes the company has made to ensure compliance with the US regulations. The investigation into ZTE - one of the few Chinese consumer brands to break into the US market - had deeply alarmed Chinese policy makers. Following Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc, ZTE is the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in the US based on number of units sold. The steep penalties -- imposed by the Justice, Commerce and Treasury Departments -- will nearly wipe out the equivalent of the past two years of ZTE's net profits, the WSJ report said. The company could be forced to pay an additional $300 million if it violates its pact with the Commerce Department, the report added. In a Wednesday filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, ZTE reported a net loss of $342 million in calendar year 2016 and said that, had it not been for the provisions for the US penalties, its 2016 net profit would have risen 19 per cent. Although ZTE managed to avoid a much more devastating outcome: prolonged trade sanctions blocking companies from exporting US goods to it. Without the ability to get key components for its smartphones such as processors from the US company Qualcomm Inc, ZTE's ability to produce some of its major products could have been crippled in a matter of months, putting it at risk of bankruptcy, the WSJ report said. --IANS in/vd ( 407 Words) 2017-03-08-13:16:08 (IANS)
Despite positive global cues and a huge inflow of foreign funds, the Indian equity markets closed with losses for the second consecutive session on Wednesday. Investors' sentiments were subdued on the back of a marginally weak rupee and heavy selling pressure witnessed in metal, oil and gas, and automobile stocks. According to market observers, investors remained cautious ahead of the outcome of the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy review on Thursday, and the assembly elections results on Saturday. The wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) slipped by 22.60 points or 0.25 per cent, to 8,924.30 points. The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 29,021.06 points, closed at 28,902.79 points -- down 96.77 points or 0.33 per cent from the previous close at 28,999.56 points. The Sensex touched a high of 29,022.32 points and a low of 28,815.48 points during the intra-day trade. The BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bears -- with 1,797 declines and 1,021 advances. In terms of broader markets, the S&P BSE mid-cap index edged lower by 0.56 per cent, while the small-cap index slipped by 0.31 per cent. On Tuesday, the NSE Nifty fell by 16.55 points or 0.18 per cent, to close at 8,946.90 points, and the BSE Sensex was down 48.63 points or 0.17 per cent at 28,999.56 points. "Markets ended lower on Wednesday after some intra-day volatility for the second consecutive session ahead of the assembly elections exit poll outcome. Mid-caps fell a little more than the frontline indices," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS. "However, major Asian markets ended on a positive note, and the European indices like FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX too traded higher." On the currency front, Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, explained that recovery in USD/INR futures prices pressurised the price movement of the equity markets in the second half of the session. "Most sector stocks traded with mixed sentiments and faced resistance at higher levels due to profit booking," Desai pointed out. The Indian rupee weakened by three paise to 66.70 against a US dollar from its previous close of 66.67 to a greenback. In contrast, there was a substantial amount of inflow of foreign funds in the equity markets. Provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased stocks worth Rs 3,573.04 crore, whereas the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) divested scrip worth Rs 1,735.12 crore. "Reflecting the trend in global markets, the Indian market opened flat but slipped within an hour. State election results also played on punters' mind who preferred to stay on the sidelines," Vijay Singhania, founder and Director of brokerage firm Trade Smart Online, asserted. Commenting on the sector-specific movement, Singhania said: "China's warning of a slowdown did not go well with commodity prices globally, as a result of which metal stocks in India saw selling pressure. Metal index closed the day 1.92 per cent lower, the weakest among all sectors." Sector-wise, the S&P BSE metal index plunged by 228.26 points, followed by the oil and gas index, which dipped by 188.34 points, and the automobile index, which fell by 103.89 points. On the other hand, the S&P BSE banking index rose by 37.98 points, the healthcare index was up by 32.37 points, and the finance index inched up by 6.18 points. Major Sensex gainers on Wednesday were: State Bank of India (SBI), up 0.62 per cent at Rs 269.70; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), up 0.53 per cent at Rs 2,513.90; Cipla, up 0.40 per cent at Rs 589.95; Power Grid, up 0.39 per cent at Rs 195.30; and HDFC Bank, 0.38 per cent at Rs 1,391.45. Major Sensex losers were: Tata Steel, down 1.89 per cent at Rs 472.90; ONGC, down 1.78 per cent at Rs 192.75; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), down 1.30 per cent at Rs 1,302.70; Infosys, down 1.22 per cent at Rs 1,007.25; and Gail, down 1.18 per cent at Rs 517.65. --IANS ppg/vt ( 675 Words) 2017-03-08-18:18:09 (IANS)
With an annual turnover of around Rs. 2,400 crore, it is the flagship company of leading auto-component manufacturer Sona Group. The acquisition of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation's 25 percent stake will make Sona Group's holding company emerging with 100 percent ownership of Sona BLW Precision forgings limited.

"The global automotive industry is in a stage of transition fuelled by the demand for green mobility and e-mobility. There is more change expected to happen in the next ten years than has happened in the last fifty years in the automotive world. This wave of change opens up new frontiers for our industry to invest in automation, technology and skill upgradation to design future-ready products and components," said Sunjay Kapur, Chairman, Sona Group.

Sona BLW Precision Forgings Limited (SBPFL) today has 7 plants spread over India, Germany and Hungary and employs over 2300 people worldwide. Sona BLW and its German and Hungarian subsidiaries manufacture near-net-shaped gears precision forged speed gears, synchroniser rings, e-Axles, and differential assemblies for automotive and other applications.

The company's key global customers include OEMs such as Daimler, Volkswagen Group, Renault, MAN, Scania, BMW, Porsche and Caterpillar among others. Sona BLW's Indian arm also supplies to OEMs in the passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and tractor segments like Maruti Suzuki, Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE, Escorts, Volvo Eicher, ITL and Bharat Benz.

The Indian company also has significant exports to leading global automotive players such as John Deere, American Axle, Linamar, CNH, Carraro and DANA. (ANI)
Anushka Sharma is one of B-town's most successful and multi-talented personalities who is not only an actor but has boldly broken barriers by turning producer. The fiery star has now turned rapper for her second production 'Phillauri'. The 'NH 10' star, who is busy promoting her upcoming flick, recently interacted with the media and wished "all beautiful, lovely, strong women a very Happy Women's Day." She even gave out a powerful message to all talented self conscious women and said, "I think if you sincerely feel very strongly about something and like whatever I have done in my life has always come from strong instincts. Something inside of me tells me that I should do something, I listen and I do it and I don't feel scared." "So, the idea is that you always know what is it that you have to do, where your life wants to push you, so you should listen to yourself. Back yourself, support yourself. Only when you do that, can anybody else support you," added the 28-year-old. On a related note, directed by Anshai Lal and produced by Anushka Sharma and Karnesh Sharma under the banner of Fox Star Studios and Clean Slate Films, 'Phillauri' also stars Diljit Dosanjh and Suraj Sharma in the lead roles. The flick will hit the theatres on March 24. (ANI)
The Audit Report of the Comptroller and Auditor of India on Local Bodies, relating to the Tamil Nadu Government for the year ended March 31, 2016, was handed over to Governor CH Vidyasagar Raoon March two for laying before the State Legislature. An official release here today said, under the Comptroller and Auditor General's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India prepares Audit Report on Local Bodies in Tamil Nadu and submits it to the Governor, who causes it to be laid on the table of the State Legislature. It may be recalled that the Local bodies elections were earlier scheduledto be held in October last year, but the Madras High Court had quashed thenotification on a plea filed by the Opposition DMK citing non-compliance ofrules with regard to reservation for STs. After elaborate arguments, the court has directed the State Election Commission to hold local bodies elections before May 14. UNI GV 1820 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1178586.Xml
Security forces gunned down a terrorist early on Wednesday morning in an operation that lasted for nearly 10 hours in the thickly-populated Thakurganj area of Lucknow. Reports suggest that the terrorist was linked to the explosion on a train in Madhya Pradesh which injured nine people on Tuesday morning. Earlier, it was said that two terrorists had holed up in a house and refused to surrender, however, Additional Director General (ADG) of Police of Uttar Pradesh Daljeet Choudhary confirmed to ANI that only one man was in the building and that he has been neutralised. "After opening the door (of the building the terrorists had holed up in), the forces had gone inside and found one person dead. The suspect was found dead inside the house with weapons. During the operation it was felt at one point of time that there was more than one person, but it is confirmed that there was only one man. The operation stands closed and now the rest of the legal formalities will take place," he said. Speaking to the media here from the scene of the encounter, Uttar Pradesh Anti Terror Squad (ATS) Inspector General Aseem Arun revealed that the neutralised terrorist was a member of the ISIS Khorasan module. "We got the intelligence from a sister agency that a person named Saifullah affiliated to ISIS is hiding in a residential area in Lucknow. We the cordoned the area and launched an operation to ensure that he was caught alive. We took the aid of chilly bombs and tear gas shells to smoke him out but to no avail. Then we stormed in after giving a warning and he opened fire on ATS commandos and we returned the fire. Later his dead body was found," he said. The IG further informed that a bag was found strapped to his back which is likely to be laden with explosives, adding that the bomb disposal squad will clear the house first and then the investigation will be launched. He also noted that a lot of restraint was used during the operation as the goal was to ensure the terrorist was captured alive. "Anyway, we are satisfied that no civilians or security personnel have been injured and the operation ended successfully. A pistol, revolver, ammunition and a knife was recovered from the body. This terrorist was a member of the ISIS Khorasan module," Arun added. Meanwhile, security has been tightened on the Indo-Nepal boarder of Pilibhit area in the wake of the encounter and vehicles coming towards Lucknow are being thoroughly searched by the state Police. Search operations will be carried out throughout the night in restaurants and shops located at the side of the highways. Besides checking vehicles, the police are also interrogating people and the registers of the hotels are also being scanned The police are even checking the personal belongings of people travelling in buses from Nepal to India. (ANI)
He will offer his prayers there.

The Prime Minister will also address a public meeting near Triveni Sangam.

Prime Minister Modi yesterday laid the foundation stone of Bharuch bus port in Gujarat.

He said only the people of the city who underwent a lot of trouble would understand the importance of the bridge.

"The world will not understand what it means to build a bridge here. The people of Bharuch, who have undergone so much pain, only they will understand its importance," he said.

Emphasising that India's economy is getting new power on the soil of Bharuch, Prime Minister Modi said, "If the vision is clear, intentions right and ideas perfect, then nothing can hinder success." (ANI)
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co unveiled a redesigned Sonata today, aiming to reverse a fall in sales of a model struggling to stand out in a shrinking saloon segment.Hyundai Motor has adopted a sporty look for the revamped car to regain ground lost to rival models such as Renault SA's SM6 in South Korea, where the market-leader's share fell to a record low last year.The new Sonata will also take on Toyota Motor Corp's remodelled Camry in the United States, where mainstay saloons have been losing favour to petrol-guzzling sport utility vehicles as fuel costs fall because of low oil prices.Hyundai Motor said it aims to increase domestic sales by 12 percent to 92,000 Sonata cars this year, domestic sales chief Lee Kwang-guk told reporters. The Sonata is Hyundai Motor's second-biggest selling model after its Elantra in South Korea as well as the United States, and one of its top sellers in China.The stylish design and affordable price of the previous-generation Sonata, launched in 2009, propelled Hyundai Motor to its biggest-ever share of the US market, and helped it escape an industry-wide downturn largely unscathed.But its curvy styling received mixed reviews in the conservative home market of South Korea, prompting the automaker to tone it down in 2014.With the latest version, Hyundai Motor has changed the sheet metal in an unusual move for a non-generational update. It has also given it a more sporty look with a curvy hood and a bigger grille. Lee said Hyundai Motor's next-generation Sonata will take design cues from this redesigned version.Hyundai Motor is working on next generation cars with "a different flair" for marketing from 2019, Luc Donckerwolke, senior vice president for design, previously told Reuters. REUTERS SV RAI1038 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-1179199.Xml
The public meeting is convened to mark the culmination of its five-month long "Mahajana Padayatra" which took off on October 18 last year from Ibrahimpatnam in Ranga Reddy district.

The padyatra organised to secure social justice and comprehensive development.

Meanwhile, opposing the proposed Kerala CM's public meeting, Bharatiya Janata Party's Goshmahal Legislator Raja Singh threatened that he would obstruct the meeting being organized by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

In a letter addressed to Director-General of Police Anurag Sharma, Singh said he was not against the meeting at the Nizam College Grounds, which was in his constituency, but he was against the presence of Mr Vijayan, who, he alleged, was responsible for the killing of BJP and RSS workers in Kerala.

He also alleged that the main intention of Mr Vijayan's visit was to disturb communal harmony in the State.

He requested organizers to hold the meeting at any other place other than in his constituency.

If organizers go ahead with their plans, BJP and RSS activists would disrupt the meeting, he warned.

Requesting the state government and the police not to grant permission for the meeting, he said both will have to take the responsiblity for the consequences if any arises.UNI KNR CS 1049

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1179220.Xml
Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp has agreed to plead guilty and pay nearly $900 million in a U.S. sanctions case, drawing a line under a damaging scandal that had threatened its cut off its supply chain.While the fine was larger than expected, ZTE, also a major smartphone maker, reported robust underlying earnings for 2016 and was upbeat in estimates for the first quarter. That and the resolution of the case helped its Hong Kong-listed shares surge 6 percent.A five-year investigation found ZTE conspired to evade U.S. embargoes by buying U.S. components, incorporating them into ZTE equipment and illegally shipping them to Iran.In addition, it was charged in connection with 283 shipments of telecommunications equipment to North Korea."ZTE Corporation not only violated export controls that keep sensitive American technology out of the hands of hostile regimes like Iran's, they lied ... about their illegal acts," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.ZTE relies on U.S. suppliers for 25 percent to 30 percent of its components, many of which are key to its goods. It purchases about $2.6 billion worth of components a year from U.S. firms, according to a company spokesman. Qualcomm, Microsoft and Intel are among its suppliers."ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company," ZTE Chief Executive Zhao Xianming said in a statement.The company agreed to a seven-year suspended denial of export privileges, which could be activated if there are further violations, as well as three years of probation, a compliance and ethics program, and a corporate monitor.It also agreed to an additional penalty of $300 million that will be suspended during the seven-year term on the condition the company complies with requirements in the agreement.When asked about the ZTE case, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said relevant departments of the government would continue to pay attention as to whether Chinese firms were receiving fair treatment."The Chinese government consistently opposes foreign governments putting unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies. At the same time, we have always asked our companies to operate legally abroad," he told a news conference without elaborating.Tim O'Toole, a Washington D.C.-based lawyer with Miller & Chevalier specialising in sanction cases, said U.S. court documents suggest ZTE's attempts to obstruct the investigation were the main reason for a penalty significantly higher than in similar cases."What seems really important to U.S. regulators is whether a company or individual after the investigation starts is seen to continue to evade the sanctions and also obstruct the investigation," he said.The investigation, spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, followed reports by Reuters in 2012 that ZTE had signed contracts to ship millions of dollars worth of hardware and software from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies to Iran's largest telecoms carrier.Last year, the Commerce Department released internal documents showing senior ZTE executives instructing the company to carry out a project for dodging export controls in Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Cuba.ZTE has replaced executives allegedly involved, including naming a new president.The company said on Wednesday it slid to a preliminary net loss of 2.36 billion yuan ($342 million) in 2016, its first loss in four years, due to the settlement.But without the fine, it would have logged 3.8 billion yuan in profit, 18 percent higher than a year earlier. That was better than expected, as was a preliminary estimate for the first-quarter net profit rising between 21 and 31 percent, said Cindy Lam, an analyst with UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong.The settlement includes a $661 million penalty to Commerce; $430 million in combined criminal fines and forfeiture; and $101 million paid to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The action marks OFAC's largest-ever settlement with a non-financial entity.The Commerce Department will recommend ZTE be removed from a list of entities that U.S. firms cannot supply without a license if it lives up to its deal and a court approves its agreement with the Justice Department.First placed on the list in March 2016, it has continued to do business with US suppliers under a temporary general license that has been extended several times, with the latest reprieve expiring March 29.The company's guilty pleas, which must be approved by a judge, will take place in U.S. District Court in Texas.REUTERS SV RAI1223 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-1179320.Xml
The Bar Council of Tripura on Wednesday said it has barred 260 lawyers, who have not practiced in any court for the last five years, from further practice. "On the direction of the Bar Council of India (BCI), the state bar council initiated the process last year to identify non-practicing lawyers. Accordingly, 260 advocates who did not practice in courts in the last five years were identified," Bar Council of Tripura chairman Pijush Kanti Biswas told IANS. He said that the bar council on Monday displayed the names of these lawyers in all courts, including the High Court, in the state and barred them from practice. "If the debarred lawyers wish to restart the practice in court, their case would be examined as per the Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015 and after that, the Bar Council would take a final decision," said Biswas, a senior lawyer of Tripura. The bar association membership of these 260 lawyers would also be invalidated. Biswas said that following the Supreme Court directions in 2010, BCI had asked all the state bar councils to identify and debarred the non-practicing and non-serious lawyers. "There were many people who had taken law degree many years ago, and enrolled themselves in the profession as an advocate. But for certain reasons, while some of them switched over to other professions, some became full-time politicians and some people remained out of practice for numerous reasons." The important personalities whose names were revoked as advocates for not practicing in courts in the last five years include, Tripura assembly Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath, Trinamool Congress leader and legislator Sudip Roy Barman, his father and former Chief Minister Samir Ranjan Barman, and Bharatiya Janata Party state Vice President Subal Bhowmik. The BCI, on the direction of the apex court, initiated the process to weed out fake and non-practicing lawyers by implementing the Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules and issued guidelines to state Bar Councils in this regard. Biswas also said that those lawyers took a law degree from any institution while working in government jobs or doing other service and processions, would also be disallowed from practicing in the courts but noted that advocates of these category have not yet been identified. He said that several lakh of such non-practising lawyers from across the country also met the same fate. --IANS sc/sm ( 407 Words) 2017-03-08-13:28:16 (IANS)
Congratulating the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, for figuring in the list of top 10 institutions in the 'Best Small Universities' category of the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings 2017, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said this achievement reiterates his firm belief that Indian Institutions are not lacking in merit and can be amongst the best in the world. In a message to Professor Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc, Bangalore, the President said: "Please accept my hearty congratulations on your Institute having entered into the list of top 10 institutions in the 'Best Small Universities' category of the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings 2017. "Kindly convey my sincere compliments to the entire faculty, staff and students of your esteemed Institute for having responded to my repeated calls to strive to be amongst the top Institutions of higher learning in the world. This achievement reiterates my firm belief that Indian Institutions are not lacking in merit and can be amongst the best in the world," he said. "I am confident your Institution will continue to strive and achieve greater and greater heights in the future," he added. (ANI)
Thousands of people have fled clashes between the Myanmar military and ethnic rebels along the border with China, a Chinese official said, as fighting threatened leader Aung San Suu Kyi's top goal of reaching peace with minorities.About 30 people were killed on Monday in the attack staged by ethnic Chinese insurgents in the town of Laukkai, 800 km northeast of commercial hub Yangon, prompting thousands to seek refuge across the border in camps in China.Suu Kyi's nearly one-year-old government is increasingly besieged by ethnic rebels, grappling with an alliance of militias in Myanmar's north and a new insurgency by Rohingyas rebelling against decades of persecution in the northwest."Thousands of people have crossed into China," said the Chinese government official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.Hotel workers in Nan San, a town abutting Myanmar's restive Kokang region where the fighting is taking place, described disoriented people moving rapidly into the town."There are so many people here and the traffic is chaotic. There are thousands of refugees here and they look frightened. Some of them brought suitcases with them, while some only brought some light clothes," said a staff member at the Golden Star hotel in Nan San who identified himself by his surname Li.The 42-year-old owner of the Fuyuan Hotel, who identified himself by his surname Yang, said: "All we can do is to help them and give them food. Chinese people here are very worried about our safety."Yang compared the scenes to those in 2015, when tens of thousands escaped fighting between the army and the predominantly ethnic Chinese Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) - the same group that attacked on Monday.MNDAA is part of the Northern Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups comprising one of Myanmar's most powerful militias, the Kachin Independence Army, and two smaller groups that have been in a stand-off with Myanmar's military since clashes in Kokang two years ago.On the Myanmar side of the border, some 300 people were waiting to be transferred to a camp for internally displaced people in the town of Chinshwehaw near Laukkai, said Saw Shwe Myint, an official from the Myanmar Red Cross in Laukkai."We are discussing with our partner organisations how to transfer these people to Chinshwehaw," he said. About 200 people were transferred on Tuesday.Those in the camp comprised local residents and migrant workers from other parts of Myanmar, Saw Shwe Myint said. "I do not hear the fighting right now but I heard shooting this morning," he said.China called for an immediate ceasefire between the two sides on Tuesday, urging them to resolve their differences through peaceful means. REUTERS SV RAI1331 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-1179361.Xml
The UK Department for International Trade and HyperCITY Retail (India) Ltd today launched a British food and drink festival, Tastes of Britain in Mumbai. The festival brings together an exclusive collection of forty British brands together for the first time in India in one store. Kumar Iyer, British Deputy High Commissioner to Mumbai said, "Tastes of Britain, at HyperCITY malls across India, is going to be a great festival of British food and drink. There will be a myriad of British products here for people to experience from British shortbreads to the immensely popular range of Jamie Oliver Pesto sauces there will be something for everyone." Much to the delight of those gathered at the store Kumar Iyer took the lead and participated in a live cooking session where he tested his culinary skills using all-British products that were on showcase. He also joined customers in sharing and eating the food he had cooked during a product sampling session in the store. Ramesh Menon, CEO, HyperCITY said, "Through 'Tastes of Britain', we aim to elevate HyperCITY as an aspirational retailer, which is above the current run-of-the-mill ones; raising the bar for the entire industry. Since British cuisine has always been experimental with its multicultural flavours, making it a potpourri of eclectic styles, we want to savour these authentic products exclusively at HyperCITY for our well-deserving customers. Also, we wish to capitalise on the opportunity and trigger impulse purchases in-store and drive strong category growth."The Tastes of Britain festival is being hosted from March 8-31in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi stores. UNI ASH SB 1338 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0388-1179396.Xml
Refuting the reports that it has sought deferment in the implementation of BS IV emission norm, the auto makers association SIAM today clarified that the auto industry is fully committed to commence manufacturing of BS IV vehicles from April 1, 2017 across the country. In a statement, Vinod Dasari, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said, "Contrary to the misinformation being perpetuated by certain sections of the society, specially environmental activists, the auto industry is fully committed to commence manufacturing of BS IV vehicles from April 1, 2017 across the country. The auto industry has fully complied with all technical regulations in the past and will remain fully compliant in future also."Mr Dasari added that the Indian auto industry has been the fastest in the world to upgrade its emission norms. While Europe took 13 years to implement the Euro 4 stage, Indian industry took only 10 years to introduce BS 4 emission norms, which were first introduced in 2010.Therefore, the industry has been manufacturing BS IV compliant passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles since the year 2010. Subsequently, pan-India BS IV norms for vehicles had been delayed due to the non-availability of BS IV fuel across the country, forcing some categories of four wheeled vehicles to remain at the BS III stage till April 1, 2017, when all India BS IV norms will become applicable to all vehicles manufactured from that date.The Indian auto industry will also be the first in the world to leapfrog from BS IV to BS VI Emission norms in a short period of 3 years by 2020, while even the developed countries took about 10 years and also progressed stage by stage without any leapfrogging. The record of the Indian automotive industry in respect of compliance with all Technical Regulations has always been impeccable, he added.UNI ASH SB 1341 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0388-1179423.Xml
The Supreme Court today directed the Union of India to expedite the release of funds for Indo-Bangladesh border fencing. A bench, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, asked the Centre to expedite the release of funds to ensure that the controversy would come to an end. The Narendra Modi government also sought time till the 2nd week of April to release funds for fencing along the India-Bangladesh border. The Centre apprised the apex court that by 2nd week of April, 2017 a substantial amount of fund would be released for fencing the Indo-Bangladesh border.The Union government also submitted that they were working on publishing the National Register of Census (NRC), as ordered by the Supreme Court. The apex court had earlier set a time-frame of March 31, 2017, to complete the NRC . UNI XC RP1555 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-1179608.Xml
Extending support to the United Nations' HeForShe Campaign (UN Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality), Confederation of Real Estate Developer's Associations of India (CREDAI) today announced the launch of its first all Women Mason Batch under its Skill Development initiative. The program aims at boosting gender equality by transforming the livelihood of women construction workers through the power of skill.This initiative will also increase their employability and help them in earning better livelihood. This initiative will begin from Raipur, Chhattisgarh and will be replicated in other cities as well. The trainings are funded by PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNBHFL), under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative with Rustomjee Academy for Global Careers (RAGC) as the Training Partner. The Construction Skill Development Council of India (CSDCI) will oversee the assessment and certification in coordination with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).The construction sector, after agriculture, is the second largest sector of the country; accounting for 11 percent of India's GDP and is also the nation's second largest employer. Only 4 per cent of India's workforce is currently skilled and hence, poses a serious threat to the future growth of the industry and Nation-building. Through Skill Development program, CREDAI has enhanced the quality of life of over 50,000 construction workers across India via its member developers spread across 23 states and 168 city chapters.Commenting on this special occasion, Jitendra Thakkar, Head of Skills Development at CREDAI National, said "Owing to labour intensive activities, the construction industry has always remained a male dominated sector. This initiative therefore is a great opportunity for women to join the construction sector, allowing them to take part in opportunities that till now was largely limited to men."UNI ADP RJ 1531 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0429-1179586.Xml
The father of Saifullah, the slain ISIS terror accused, has refused to accept his son's body, alleging foul play in the encounter carried out by Uttar Pradesh police and the Anti-Terrorism Squad on Tuesday. "Two and half months back he (Saifullah) left home after I hit him for not working. He called last Monday saying he's going to Saudi. I don't believe any of these accusations, they are all false. Saifullah was a well-behaved person; he performed namaz five times a day. We did not expect this," said Sartaj, Saifulla's father. Meanwhile, the father of terror suspect Imran and Faisal, who were arrested in Kanpur today also, denied the charges against them. "Faisal took care of a shop and Imran is married, has a daughter too. Danish is also my son, he had left home as I scolded him for not working," he said. The operation was carried out by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) who had also made Saifullah speak to his brother, over the phone and asked him to surrender. The cops tried to smoke him out by fire tear gas and chilli bombs inside the house but this didn't materialise. After which the cops claim to have taken the drastic step of killing him. The cops have found several arms and ammunitions, pistols, some papers, ISIS flag and many other materials from the spot. The cops have also claimed that the accused were a part of ISIS Khorasan module, a terror outfit associated with Al Qaeda. (ANI)
Unfazed by global headwinds and forces of protectionism in some of the leading economies, India will showcase its technological and engineering prowess to top international firms during the sixth edition of the International Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS) beginning here from March 16. India was expected to attract significant business deals during the three-day event, to be inaugurated by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Ms Nirmala Seetharaman at the Chennai Trade Centre. As many as 400 top global exhibitors, besides over 500 foreign delegates, would participate in the flagship event, being supported by the Union Commerce Ministry, with Russia being the Partner Country. Talking to reporters here today, Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC)India Chairman T S Bhasin said "India had a long standing partnership with Russia in engineering. In fact, the Soviet Union, of which Russia was the largest member, had contributed immensely to the large Indian public sector units which steered the economic and industrial directions of our country, immediately after Independence". A large 200-company delegation from Russia would exhibit their technology and products at the IESS 2017. The bilateral trade between India and Russia stood at USD 6.17 billion in 2015-16. Several measures, including an agreement on a free trade zone between the EurasianEconomic Union (EAEU) and India would help increase the bilateral trade with Russia to USD 30 billion by 2025. "A large Russian Pavilion of 750 sqms (over 8,000 sqft) will be powered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the leading companies which have long-standing contacts with industrial companies in India as well as by small and medium-sized businesses showcasing innovative products and development," said Mr. Sergey L Kotov, Consul General of Russian Federation. "The Russian pavilion will see an international debut of young engineers and inventors,participants of the International festival of youth research and technical creativity 'Ot vinta!'',he said' The IESS will have delegates from Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Vietnam, Germany, UK, Brazil, USA, UAE, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. "While the engineering exports have started growing again, the growth has come about on a low base, formed because of sluggish performance in the last few years. However, despite concerns of protectionism from the US, the focus of the Trump Administration on big investment on infrastructure projects would boost the global demand for the engineering products. ''So, instead of seeing it as a challenge, Indian exporters must look at the unfoldingscenario as an opportunity in the US," Mr Bhasin said.UNI GV 1655 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1179791.Xml
JIPMER today organised "International Women's Day 2017" workshop here.According to a Jipmer release here today,. a workshop on "Gender Issues and Challenges at Workplace" was held to mark the occasion, in which 300 women employees of JIPMER participated. Women Employees of various categories were honoured in this occasion by Dr.Subhash Chandra Parija, Director, JIPMER. Dr.S.C.Parija also honoured senior journalists Ms.NandiniSen Gupta, Times of India and Ms.DebjaniDutta, New India Express. Ms.NandiniSen Gupta, Journalist, Times of India was the Keynote speaker who spoke on "Role of Media in changing perceptions about gender discrimination". Mrs.Vrintha Mohan Advocate & Central Govt. Notary and Mr.Chandru @ Chandrasekaran, Senior Advocate, Puducherry took a session on "Sexual harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013, highlighting the legal aspects of gender issues. Dr.Nancy Premkumar, Medical Social Worker, JIPMER took a session on "Gender Sensitization and Workplace Mental Health", comprehensively addressing psychosocial aspects of gender issues. Dr.J.Balachander, Medical Superintendent, Dr.R.P.Swaminathan, Dean (Academics), Dr. Anita Rustagi, Additional Medical Superintendent, faculties, staffs were present in the occasion. The programme was coordinated by Public Relations Office, JIPMER.UNI PAB JW BL1704 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-1179791.Xml
Supporting Muslim girl Suhana Syeed who was trolled on the social media for singing a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada singing reality show, women activist Brinda Adige on Wednesday said the former is actually unifying different religions together and added radical men are, therefore, jealous. "She should continue to showcase her talent and because she is breaking a path, the people are jealous especially the radical men in Islam. She should not be bothered by them," Adige told ANI. She further said that the people, who are condemning and trolling her on the social media, need to understand Islam is a beautiful religion. "She is actually unifying different religions together. Why would the radical men speak ill of her? They must not use religion to subjugate anybody," Adige asserted. She further said all people trolling Suhana on the social media should be booked for stalking. "Why can't they look at her as an independent person and not only as a 'woman'? Why can't they follow Islam as Islam teaches them to be, to be peaceful, peace loving and respectful to women?" she asked. She emphasized the United Nation's slogan this year is "be bold for a change". "I am very happy that this girl has portrayed her talent, her talent of music and her talent to sing. This should be appreciated by everybody," she said. Suhana Sayeed sang a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada singing reality show where her performance was much appreciated by the judges. Kannada music director Arjun Janya said she stood as a symbol of unity and showed to the world how all religions can remain in peace and harmony through music. However, a Facebook page called Mangalore Muslims began trolling her and called her a disgrace to the community. They said she has tarnished the Muslim community by singing before men. "You have not achieved a great feat. People who learn the Quran in 6 months are the real achievers. Your parents will not go to heaven (Jannat) as you have exposed your beauty to other men. Stop wearing the pardah as you don't how to respect it," read a comment on the page. (ANI)
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report was filed before a Metropolitan Magistrate in Saket court here as part of supplementary chargesheet in the case.

The court has listed the matter for further hearing on July 14.

The police had chargesheeted the former chief of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) under the Indian Penal Code's sections 354A (advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures), 354B (using criminal force against a woman), 354D (stalking), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 341 (wrongful restraint).

Pachauri was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague in 2015.

He stepped down as the chairperson of the UN Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change in February last year and proceeded on leave from TERI, where he was the Director General.

The woman researcher who accused him of sexual harassment in November quit her job at TERI, alleging she was treated badly. TERI denied the charges.

On February 8, 2016, Pachauri was appointed executive vice chairman of the organisation.

Following severe criticism, he went on indefinite leave from the organisation on February 12, 2016.

-- IANS akk/py/vt

( 221 Words)

2017-03-08-18:04:07 (IANS)
India's youngest state-Telangana joined the world in celebrating the International Women's Day with enthusiasm today, with a fervent hope that members of the fairer sex would scale greater heights in all walks of life.Round table meetings with speakers underlining the need to increase the presence of women manifold in organised workforce, get together, launching of welfare schemes and rallies in various parts of the state marked the Day.The state government organised the main function at the imposing Ravindra Bharathi auditorium in the city, where Minister T Nageshwar Rao lit the traditional lamp to herald the celebrations. A start-up christened "SWAN" (Smart Women Angels Network) to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in women and create awareness about investing and recognising the need for women investors, was launched in the city, coinciding with the Day.A colourful celebration was held at the Telangana Bhavan, headquarters of the ruling TRS in the posh Banjara Hills,where K Kavitha, MP, cut a huge cake to mark the day. Several women party activists, including Assembly Deputy Speaker Padma Devender Reddy, attended the celebrations. The Women's day celebrations were also organised at NTR Trust Bhavan, the TDP office, attended by state TDP leaders, who lamented that representation to women was not given in Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's Cabinet.Colourful celebrations to mark the Day were also organised in district headquarters, with Collectors and other top officials participating in them.To mark the Day, the state government honoured 27 eminent women in recognition of their yeoman service in different fields of activity. A "Licence Mela" exclusively for women was organised at the Regional Transport Authority office in Khairtabad area of the city, coinciding with the Women's day.Scores of women enthusiastically took part in the mela and obtained driving licences.UNI SMS JW RJ 1743 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-1179849.Xml
Two survivors of gangrape and an activist of Aam Aadmi Party were taken into preventive custody by the Gujarat police today before they could make a representation before Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while another woman was gagged and later whisked away by the police after she raised slogans near the podium.AAP woman volunteer Vandana Patel, who has been carrying out a campaign against what she describes as increasing cases of atrocities against women in Gujarat, had planned to take along with her, the survivors of Naliya and Mandvi gangrape cases, allegedly involving some office-bearers of Kutch district, to make a representation to the Prime Minister. All three were taken into preventive detention by the police before they could reach the venue where the Prime Minister was addressing the elected women sarpanch of village panchayats, on the occasion of the International Women's Day. The survivor of Naliya gangrape was taken into custody by the police, when she was trying to board an Ahmedabad-bound state transport bus from Bhuj, the district town of Kutch. While AAP's Vandana Patel was detained by the police before she could reach the venue of the Prime Minister's meeting, the woman sarpanch of Mandvi, who too is a gangrape survivor, managed to address a press conference at Bopal in the city. However, she too was taken away by the police to an undisclosed location after the press conference. Meanwhile, a Delhi-based woman Saroj Singh caught the security staff by surprise, when she started raising slogans against insecurity of women near the stage, from where the Prime Minister was addressing the women Sarpanch of village panchayats.Women police immediately gagged the protester's mouth and whisked her away from the venue. Saroj had an invitation card for the meeting, because of which she could enter the venue. UNI ND JW RJ 1938 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0364-1180239.Xml
The UK Department for International Trade in partnership with BEAMA is bringing a Smart Grid Trade Mission to India Smart Grid Week (ISGW).The British smart grid delegation comprises nine smart grid companies along with BEAMA, the UK's leading trade association. The participating companies range from smart meter manufacturers, to communication technology, data analytics, financing and software solution providers. The companies will be exhibiting at ISGW. This is the second year the UK has had a presence and is the largest delegation from the UK to participate at ISGW. Andy Barr, First Secretary, Department for International Trade said, "I am delighted to be working with BEAMA for the second year in a row to bring a focused business delegation to India Smart Grid Week. The UK companies I have met this week have a wealth of skills, services and technologies within and beyond the Smart Grids projects and they are interested in working with Indian partners to ensure efficient and reliable energy for all." This trade mission falls just one month ahead of the visit of Greg Clark to New Delhi on 6-7 April. As Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, he will be meeting his Ministerial counterparts in New Delhi, who are hosting him for the inaugural India-UK Energy Dialogue. I look forward to welcoming more fantastic UK companies to this inaugural Dialogue." Kelly Butler, Marketing Director, BEAMA said, "BEAMA is delighted to be hosting a delegation and pavilion of UK manufacturers again. UK businesses are here to showcase their smart grid capabilities along with a solution-based approach to the exciting Indian market opportunity. This is a perfect precursor to the UK India Bilateral Dialogue summit taking place in April. BEAMA represents technology companies producing a range of infrastructure assets required for a smart energy system. They have established strong working relations with Indian utilities and we are looking forward to forging stronger business ties with Indian businesses through the conference."UNI ASH RJ2015 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0388-1180358.Xml
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today that simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will drastically reduce the election expenditures and will bring the quality of governance both at Centre and states. During a Conversation on "Towards a New Polity: Campaign Finance Reform in India" organized by Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee Research Foundation, Finance Minister said that it will save the money, resources and time which may be used for quality works in the governance. Mr Jaitley said that due to election almost every year, governments face code of conducts issued by the Election Commission and face difficulties in implementing the policies and making new announcements.Mr Jaitley said that due to election every now and then, the debate among political parties and leaders also get affected. He said, "If elections for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies happen together, then every government will get full five year in which the level of debate among political class and bureaucracy will go up.""But it requires changes in the laws and consensus among the political parties. Once it is done, it will help a lot in improving governance," he said.On the issue related to political funding he said, "His government has proposed the best way of in the form of electoral bonds. On suggestion from Election Commission, limit of cash donation has also been reduced to only Rs 2000 per person."On state funding for elections, he said, "I see some issues with the state funding as it may not go well among the citizen. There is also the question of other expenses of the political parties which may not be addressed in the state funding."On the question of corruption in the political funding, Finance Ministrer said that GST and other reforms brought in by his government will make cash generation tough for donors which may result in bringing the elimination of corruption in the political funding.. He stressed the need for going to public for donations in small amounts in large number and said that political parties must use the digital and social platforms for it. It will help a lot in making the political funding corruption free to a large extent.He admitted that on the issue of political funding options, BJP and Congress had hardly any difference of opinion in the past. But the problem lied with the lefty parties and some regional parties only.Taking a dig at Delhi Chief Minister without taking his name over the expenditure on advertisement from government exchequer, Mr Jaitley said that it is not good to make huge expenses of public money.UNI ADP ADG 2038 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0429-1180204.Xml
Deputy Chief of Arm Staff (Planning and System) Lt Gen Subrata Saha today said that India need indigenous solutions to fight Indian wars and possible be with the current ecosystem of technological developments. During the 2-day Telangana Tech Summit the Lt Gen said,"Indian Army, encouraged the industry for technology and procurement tie-ups, especially from the MSME sector." "The Army requirements are very huge and hence have an immense scope for sustained business model," he said. He also briefed the participants on various policy matters pertaining to Indian Army and mentioned that they have created levels of engagements with the Industry in such a way that the support system is enhanced to a level where the risk factor for the industrial investments is almost zero. "Though the Indian Army is looking to reduce imports by encouraging the local industry but at the same time linkages are being established from foreign defence players, he said. The Indian PSU's and the Defence organizations have developed innovation fund and technology development fund to help and support the start-ups", he added.MORE UNI KNR SHS ADG RK2115 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1180455.Xml
Three pilgrims of Gulbarga district in Karantaka were killed and 14 others were injured, when their van collided with a bus at Chintala village in Dornala mandal in Prakasham district today. Police said that a group of pilgrims from Gulbarga district in Karnataka stare were on pilgrimage. While they were returning after visiting hill shrine Srisailam, their Toofan van collided with KSRTC bus killing R Sridevi (45), R Nagamma (40) and R Vijay Kumar (40). The injured people were admitted to Government hospital in Peda Dornala, where the condition of four of the injured said to be serious.UNI DP SHS ADG RK2118 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1180459.Xml
Google India that today launched a training programme called 'Digital Unlocked' for Small and Medium Business community and "SMB Heroes", a programe designed to recognize and celebrate SMBs that have embraced digital. Google that had launched Digital Unlocked training programme in Jaunary 2017, hosted the first of these trainings for Telangana in Hyderabad, where local small businesses were certified on a range of topics including building a digital campaign and using web analytics, among others. Since its launch, workshops were conducted in five Indian cities and trained over 4,000 businesses across the offline and online trainings. After the launch of Digital Unlock programme here, Kevin O'Kane, Managing Director - Google Marketing Solutions, Google Asia Pacific said the nationwide program, SMB Heroes will comprise three categories - Business Innovation through Digital, Impacting Change through Digital and Woman Business Leader. Speaking on the occasion, Google India Vice President and South-East Asia Rajan Anandan saidthe SMB contributes 37 per cent of Indian GDP, while providing employment to 120 million people. In this context, Google has commenced Digital Unlocked an online, offline and mobile training programme to empower thousands of Indian SMBs with essential digital skills. The offline training is being conducted in partnership with FICCI and over the next three years, 5000 workshops will be held across 40 Indian cities. Telangana IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said that the Telangana government and Google has signed an MoU to work together almost a dozen fields including to promote small businesses using digital in the state. He said apart from this, the state government has also taken two important initiatives to protect MSMEs including "Industry Health Clinic". If any industry facing problem (going to be sick) like shortage of finance, business and among others, the government will intervene and protect them. In the upcoming budget session, this pioneering proposal of the government will be debated and if approved will be rolled out next financial year. While explaining another initiative, Mr Ranjan said that several big industries looking Hyderabad to establish their industries. If any industry coming forward to establish their units in the state, the government to mandate that they should give an opportunity to the local SMEs.UNI VV SHS ADG RK2118 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1180462.Xml
The United Nations Security Council condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches and expressed concern over the country's increasingly destabilizing behavior and defiance of the 15-member body.Pyongyang fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, angering South Korea and Japan, days after it promised retaliation over US-South Korea military drills it sees as preparation for war.The Security Council is due to meet behind closed doors today to be briefed on the missile launches.In a statement yesterday, the council deplored the missile launches, saying that "such activities contribute to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension in the region and beyond as well as the risk of a regional arms race."North Korea has been under UN sanctions and an arms embargo aimed at impeding the development of its banned nuclear and missile programs since 2006. The council has strengthened sanctions following each of Pyongyang's five nuclear tests.The council threatened in yesterday's statement to "take further significant measures.""The members of the Security Council further regretted that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles while Democratic People's Republic of Korea citizens have great unmet needs," the statement said.It called on UN member states to redouble their efforts to implement sanctions on North Korea.REUTERS SDR 0737 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1179111.Xml
According to a study prepared by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), only 72 percent of the nation's water supply schemes were found to be functional and 84 percent of those are supplying water not fit for consumption.

The Dawn quoted Science and Technology Minister Rana Tanvir Hussain, as saying that this alarming statistic existed in a country where commercial banks have posted windfall profits in excess of Rs.475 billion since 2014.

The PCRWR report further reveals that 14 percent of the water supply sources in Sindh and Punjab are heavily contaminated with arsenic, well above the permissible limit of 50 parts per billion.

Mr. Hussain revealed that Rs. 279 million had been spent on the Provision of Safe Drinking Water project since 2013. (ANI)
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak struck a softer tone with North Korea today, a day after accusing it of treating Malaysians as "hostages" amid a diplomatic meltdown over the murder of the estranged half-brother of the North's leader.Malaysian police have identified eight North Koreans wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of Kim Jong Nam in Kuala Lumpur International on Feb. 13, and have said up to three of them are hiding at the North Korean embassy.Police say assassins used VX nerve agent, a super-toxic chemical listed by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction. And, in a bid to stop the investigation targeting its citizens, North Korea retaliated on Tuesday by announcing a ban on Malaysians leaving the country.Najib initially denounced that move as an "abhorrent act" while ordering a reciprocal ban on North Koreans leaving Malaysia.Faced with the priority of securing the release of the 11 Malaysians stuck in North Korea, Najib sounded more conciliatory in parliament on Wednesday, saying there were no plans to cut diplomatic ties."We are a country that's friendly to them," Najib said, after reassuring MPs that there was no threat to the safety of the three embassy staff, six family members, and two other Malaysians in North Korea."We didn't pick a quarrel with them but when a crime has been committed, especially when chemical weapons have been used in Malaysia, we are duty bound to protect the interest of Malaysians," Najib said.The United Nations has called for calm and urged the two countries to settle their differences through "established diplomatic practice".Najib declined to elaborate on what action he would take to bring back his citizens: "If there's any negotiations, we can't do it through the media."LOSING A FRIENDNorth Korea is in grave danger of losing one of the few friends it has outside of China due to the diplomatic fallout from the case.On Monday, Malaysia expelled North Korea's ambassador for questioning the impartiality of the murder investigation and ended visa free travel for North Koreans.North Korea says the dead man is not Kim Jong Nam, and has suggested the victim died from a heart attack.The only people charged for the murder so far are a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman, accused of smearing the victim's face with VX.But the police are pressing to question up to three men believed to be hiding in the North Korean embassy. Police have said that four other North Koreans fled Malaysia hours after the airport murder.The only one to have been detained was released and deported on Friday due to insufficient evidence.U.S. officials and South Korean intelligence suspect North Korean agents were behind the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, who had been living in Macau under China's protection. He had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic rule of North Korea.Last week, Malaysia said it would investigate North Korea front companies after a Reuters report showed that Pyongyang's spy agency was running an arms network in the country.REUTERS SV RAI1216 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-1179310.Xml
Texas executed a man convicted of accepting $2,000 to murder a woman from the victim's husband and her brother-in-law, who were looking to collect $400,000 from life insurance policies they took out on her.Roland Ruiz, 44, was put to death by lethal injection at the state's death chamber in Huntsville for the murder of Theresa Rodriguez, 29, in 1992 in the San Antonio area, a prisons official said.The execution was the 541st in Texas, the most of any state since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. It was delayed for several hours as the U.S. Supreme Court considered a last-minute appeal.In a final statement, Ruiz offered his apologies to the victim's family."Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am and the hurt that I have caused you and your family. May this bring you peace and forgiveness," he was quoted as saying by prison officials.Lawyers for Ruiz had asked the court to halt the execution, saying he previously received inadequate counsel and because holding him on death row for a quarter of a century, mostly in solitary confinement, amounted to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution."The delay is attributable to no lapse in Mr. Ruiz's diligence - instead, it is entirely attributable to the state's failure to provide competent lawyers," they said in legal filings.Justice Stephen Breyer recommended that the execution be halted. He expressed concern over Ruiz spending more than 20 years in solitary confinement and said this case was appropriate to conduct constitutional scrutiny of extended solitary confinement.Attorneys for Texas said the appeal lacked merit because Ruiz had failed to show a reason why federal courts should step in.Ruiz was 20 when he reached a contract murder deal with brothers Michael and Mark Rodriguez, who were looking to collect the life insurance money.Ruiz shot Theresa Rodriguez once in the head with a .357 caliber handgun after she pulled into her home's garage, according to court papers, which also said he confessed to the crime.The two brothers were each given life sentences.The father of the murder victim told the San Antonio Express-News ahead of the execution that it would not bring relief for the family."There's never closure," Eddie Sanchez, Rodriguez's father, was quoted as saying.REUTERS SV RAI1218 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-1179316.Xml
Describing China as a friend to both Saudi Arabia and Iran, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said today he hopes both countries can resolve their differences through talks, ahead of a visit by the Saudi king to China.China has traditionally played little role in Middle East conflicts or diplomacy, despite its reliance on the region for oil. But it has been trying to get more involved in efforts to end Syria's six-year-old civil war, where Riyadh supports rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad.Last year China also offered support for Yemen's government, which is backed by a Saudi-led Gulf Arab coalition in a war against the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement that controls much of the country.China has had to tread a careful line, though, as it also has close relations with Iran. President Xi Jinping visited both Saudi Arabia and Iran in January last year.Wang said China welcomes Saudi Arabia's King Salman's visit to China. He did not give a date, but diplomatic sources in Beijing say it is likely to be once China's annual parliamentary session has wrapped up next Wednesday."We hope that Saudi Arabia and Iran can resolve the problems that exist between them via equal and friendly consultations," Wang said at his annual news conference on the sidelines of parliament."China is friends with both Saudi Arabia and Iran. If there is a need, China is willing to play our necessary role," he added, without elaborating.King Salman began a month-long Asian tour late February to build ties with the world's fastest growing importers of Saudi oil and promote investment opportunities, including the sale of a stake in its giant state firm Saudi Aramco. REUTERS SV NS1212 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-1179321.Xml
The police recovered methamphetamine valuing $246.29 million, Xinhua news agency reported.

The men were arrested on Monday at the unit in the Sydney suburb of Smithfield and faced court on Tuesday.

The woman was arrested late Tuesday and will face court on Wednesday.

The arrests were the part of a joint investigation between the police and Australian Border Force, who tracked the shipment from the US.

The drugs were concealed in 396 bottles marked as protein powder, with a total weight of 540 kgs.

--IANS py/vm

( 116 Words)

2017-03-08-13:22:11 (IANS)
The World Sindhi Congress (WSC) hosted a conference titled 'Erosion of Sindhi Culture in Pakistan' at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 6. Among the participants were Rubina Greenwood, President, WSC, Lakhu Luhana, Vice President , Ms. Viorica Dancila, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and Paulo Casaca , Executive Director, South Asia Democratic Forum, Brussels. Ms. Rubina Greenwood opened the conference with reference to the February 2017 terrorist attack by Islamic fundamentalist forces on the Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar at Sehwan in Sindh province of Pakistan. She stated that the attack on the shrine, which killed at least 80 people, was a severe blow to Sindhi culture that prided itself for its secular and tolerant heritage. She charged Pakistan of systematically eradicating Sindhis, who were once in majority in the province of Sindh but now constituted a mere 6-8 percent of the total population. She lamented that Sindhi culture that had evolved from an amalgamation of Hindu and Islamic traditions had been invalidated by the Pakistani government, specially with the widespread establishment of madrasahs that encouraged the spread radicalism. Paulo Casaca in his presentation spoke of Sindh's rich heritage, with deep links to the Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest. He expressed concern that Sindh's vibrant culture was facing extinction due to growing intolerance and a general sense of apathy towards various communities and religious groups by the Sunni Muslim and Punjabi dominated majority. He also stated that the government of Pakistan had failed to act and take measures for the strict implementation of the universal human rights guidelines, in spite of formally adopting these guidelines. Viorica Dancila, MEP in her speech touched upon the decay of the education system in Sindh and the problem of gender inequality. She held Pakistan responsible for perpetrating human rights violation against the ethnic communities by preventing individuals from these communities from following their own culture. In this context , she touched upon how the neglect of Sindh's education system had resulted in the erosion of Sindhi language. Lakhu Luhana also spoke on the cultural genocide in Sindh, citing Article 7 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of indigenous people. He called for an end to this genocide and pressed for the need to respect Sindh's land, its natural resources and values. All speakers called on the international community to pay attention to this serious human rights violation against the Sindhi people who were faced with a threat to their very identity in Pakistan. (ANI)
Rattled by North Korean military advances, influential Japanese lawmakers are pushing harder for Japan to develop the ability to strike preemptively at the missile facilities of its nuclear-armed neighbour.Japan has so far avoided taking the controversial and costly step of acquiring bombers or weapons such as cruise missiles with enough range to strike other countries, relying instead on its US ally to take the fight to its enemies.But the growing threat posed by Pyongyang, including Monday's simultaneous launch of four rockets, is adding weight to an argument that aiming for the archer rather than his arrows is a more effective defence."If bombers attacked us or warships bombarded us, we would fire back. Striking a country lobbing missiles at us is no different," said Itsunori Onodera, a former defence minister who heads a ruling Liberal Democratic Party committee looking at how Japan can defend against the North Korean missile threat. "Technology has advanced and the nature of conflict has changed."For decades, Japan has been stretching the limits of its post-war, pacifist constitution. Successive governments have said Tokyo has the right to attack enemy bases overseas when the enemy's intention to attack Japan is evident, the threat is imminent and there are no other defense options.But while previous administrations shied away from acquiring the hardware to do so, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's LDP has been urging him to consider the step."It is time we acquired the capability," said Hiroshi Imazu, the chairman of the LDP's policy council on security. "I don't know whether that would be with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or even the F-35 (fighter bomber), but without a deterrence North Korea will see us as weak."The idea has faced stiff resistance in the past but the latest round of North Korean tests means Japan may move more swiftly to enact a tougher defence policy."We have already done the ground work on how we could acquire a strike capability," said a source with knowledge of Japan's military planning. He asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.Any weapon Japan acquired with the reach to hit North Korea would also put parts of China's eastern seaboard within range of Japanese munitions for the first time. That would likely anger Beijing, which is strongly protesting the deployment of the advanced US Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea."China has missiles that can hit Japan, so any complaints it may have are not likely to garner much sympathy in the international community," said Onodera.GROWING THREATSCurrently, more than three missiles at one would be too many for Japan's already stretched ballistic missile defence to cope with, another source familiar with Japan's capability said.One serious concern for Japan is North Korea's development of solid fuel systems demonstrated last month that will allow it to conceal preparations for missile strikes because it no longer needs fuel its missiles just prior to firing.That test also demonstrated a cold launch, with the rocket ejected from its launcher before engine ignition, minimizing damage to the mobile launch pads. Japanese officials also noted that the launch truck was equipped with tracks rather than wheels, allowing it to hide off road.North Korea says its weapons are needed to defend against the threat of attack from the United States and South Korea, which it is still technically at war with.Japan is already improving its ballistic missile defences with longer-range, more accurate sea-based missiles on Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan and from next month will start a $1 billion upgrade of its ground-based PAC-3 Patriot batteries.Also under consideration is a land-based version of the Aegis system or the THAAD system.Those changes, however, will take years to complete and may not be enough to keep pace with rocket technology advances by Pyongyang, the sources said.A quicker option would be for Japan to deploy ground-to-ground missiles to defend against an attack on its Yonaguni island near Taiwan fired from bases on Japanese territory several hundred kilometres to the east.A missile with that range could also hit sites in North Korea.Japan could also buy precision air launched missiles such as Lockheed Martin Corp's extended-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) or the shorter-range Joint Strike missile designed by Norway's Kongsberg Defence Aerospace AS for the F-35 fighter jet. But with limited capability to track mobile launchers, some Japanese officials still fear any strike would leave North Korea with enough rockets to retaliate with a mass attack."A strike could be justified as self defence, but we have to consider the response that could provoke," said another LDP lawmaker, who asked not to be identified.REUTERS JW BL1534 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-1179613.Xml
The son of Kim Jong-nam, the murdered half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a mysterious video posted on Facebook has said that his father was killed. In the short and censored clip, the man says: "My name is Kim Han-sol, from North Korea, part of the Kim family." According to him, he is with his mother and sister, but there are no details on the date or location. It is the Kim family's first public comment since the murder at the Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13. The attackers smeared Kim Jong-nam's face with deadly VX nerve agent. According to South Korea's Unification Ministry and National Intelligence Service, the man in the video is Kim Han-sol. The 40-second clip features Kim Han-sol introducing himself and saying: "My father has been killed a few days ago. I'm currently with my mother and my sister." He showed a North Korean diplomatic passport to confirm Kim's identity, though the details have been blocked out. The man in the video said he was "grateful to..." before the audio and image were censored. He ended by saying: "We hope this gets better soon." It is unclear when and where the video was filmed, and what Kim Han-sol's current whereabouts are. It was put online by a group called the Cheollima Civil Defence (CCD). South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the group presumably assists escaping North Koreans -- there is a town south-west of Pyongyang named Cheollima. A message in English on the CCD website said it had responded to a request for protection from "survivors of the family of Kim Jong-nam". "We have in the past addressed other urgent needs for protection. This will be the first and last statement on this particular matter, and the present whereabouts of this family will not be addressed." Kim's son is believed to be 21, and has lived a low-profile life since his father's exile, growing up in Macau and China. In 2012, he appeared in a TV interview from Bosnia, where he was studying, saying he had never met his powerful uncle or his grandfather, the late Kim Jong-il. According to the BBC, he said he had "always dreamed that one day I would go back and make things better and make it easier for the people" of North Korea. Kim Jong-nam was once seen as a potential future leader of North Korea, but was bypassed for succession in favour of his younger half-brother. He has since lived in exile. Though it fiercely denies this, North Korea is widely assumed to have carried out the attack with the deadly toxin, potentially to remove a threat to the leadership. Kim's body remains in a mortuary in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia has said it will not release it until the Kim family provides DNA samples. Two women have been charged with KIm's assassination -- one Indonesian, one Vietnamese. Both say they were duped into killing Kim, and believed they were taking part in a televised prank. Malaysia is seeking seven North Koreans, including a diplomat -- it believes three suspects are hiding in North Korea's embassy in Kuala Lumpur, which has been surrounded by the police. North Korea has yet to confirm the dead man is Kim -- he was travelling under a passport in a different name. The communist nation said the man died of a heart attack, not chemical attack, and is furious that a post-mortem examination was carried out. It has accused Malaysia of conducting a biased investigation and colluding with its enemies, and is demanding to be given the body. --IANS py/vt ( 606 Words) 2017-03-08-17:40:08 (IANS)
This latest development comes as North Korea has repeatedly denied any involvement in Jong Nam's murder.

"What we are facing now is the result of their action in assassinating their own citizen in Malaysia, on Malaysian soil, using a strictly banned chemical weapon," the Bernama news agency quoted Najib, as saying on Wednesday.

Both countries are currently engaged in a diplomatic row as Malaysia banned North Korean citizens from leaving after Pyongyang temporarily banned Malaysians from leaving the country.

Kim Jong-nam, was poisoned on February 13 with deadly nerve agent VX. North Korea has repeatedly disparaged the murder investigation, accusing Malaysia of conniving with its enemies.

Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for the assassination, and Kuala Lumpur has sought several North Koreans for questioning, although the only one it arrested was released for lack of evidence.

So far, two women - one Indonesian and one Vietnamese - have been detained, along with a North Korean man. Seven other North Koreans have been named as suspects or are wanted for questioning.(ANI)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today he had discussed with his German counterpart a possible venue for President Tayyip Erdogan's rally in Germany.Cavusoglu said Germany would take all security measures for Erdogan's rally, but did not say which city it would take place. REUTERS JW BL1810 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-1179996.Xml
Pakistan daily Express Tribune quoted a release by the government's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), stating that the terrorists, tried by the military courts, admitted to their crimes.

The military courts were set up under the 21st constitutional amendment after the 2014 Peshawar attack, which left over 150 people, mostly children, dead.

Those who were executed include Shoukat Ali, involved in attacking of law enforcement agencies. He was tried on five charges and awarded the death sentence.

Imdadullah was involved in destruction of an educational institution in district Buner of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and attack on LEAs, which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers.

Whereas Sabir Shah, Khandan and Anwar Ali were involved in attacking the armed forces, which killed and injured soldiers. (ANI)
Iraqi forces saw off an overnight Islamic State counter-attack near Mosul's main government buildings and took full control today of the last major road leading west to the militant-held town of Tal Afar, the military said.Inside the city troops battled the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim fighters, who hid among the remaining civilian population and deployed snipers and suicide car bombs to defend their last major Iraq stronghold.The US-backed campaign to crush the militants saw Iraqi forces recapture the eastern side of the city in January, and launch their assault on the western half last month.Fighting is expected to get tougher as Iraqi troops get push further into the more densely populated areas, including Mosul's old city.Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the group's self styled-caliphate, which has spanned areas of northern Iraq and eastern Syria, from the Nuri Mosque in Mosul's old city in June 2014.Militants used car bombs in their nighttime counter-attack around the governorate building, Major General Ali Kadhem al-Lami of the Federal Police's Fifth Division told a Reuters correspondent near the site. "Today we're clearing the area which was liberated," he said.Military officials had said that Rapid Response troops, an elite interior ministry division, recaptured the provincial government headquarters on Tuesday, as well as the central bank branch and the museum where militants filmed themselves destroying priceless statues in 2015."The museum is completely empty of all artifacts. They were stolen, possibly smuggled," Lami said. Reuters was not yet able to access the museum to verify.Lami said most of the fighters that had fought around the governorate building were local but there were some foreigners."An order was issued for foreign fighters with families to withdraw with them. Those who do not have a family should stay and fight, whether foreign or local," he said.The few families remaining in the nearby Dawasa district said the militants had set some of their homes on fire as security forces advanced and that the militants had fought among themselves.LAST ROAD FROM MOSULLater on Wednesday, the Iraqi military said the army and Shi'ite paramilitary forces had taken full control of the last major road leading west out of Mosul towards the town of Tal Afar, state TV reported.The 9th Armoured Division and two Shi'ite fighting groups had "isolated the right bank (western side of Mosul) from Tal Afar", it said.The road links Mosul to Tal Afar, another Islamic State stronghold 60 km (40 miles) to the west, and then to the Syrian border.Shi'ite militias which are part of the Mosul campaign began to close in on Tal Afar late last year, after the offensive was launched, and said they linked up with Kurdish fighters nearby to encircle the jihadists.A 100,000-strong force of Iraqi military units, Shi'ite forces and Kurdish fighters, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, have fought since October in the intensive Mosul campaign.Losing Mosul would deal a fatal blow to the Iraqi part of Islamic State's self-styled caliphate, which its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared from the city's Nuri Mosque in 2014, and which has spanned large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraq would continue hitting Islamic State targets in Syria, as well as in neighbouring countries if they give their approval.Abadi on Feb. 24 announced the first Iraqi air strike on Syrian territory, targeting Islamic State positions in retaliation for bomb attacks in Baghdad."I respect the sovereignty of states, and I have secured the approval of Syria to strike positions (on its territory)," Abadi told a conference in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya on Wednesday."I will not hesitate to strike the positions of the terrorists in the neighbouring countries. We will keep on fighting them," he said.The ultra-hardline jihadist group has lost most cities it captured in northern and western Iraq in 2014 and 2015.In Syria, it still holds Raqqa city as its main stronghold, as well as most of Deir al-Zor province, but is losing ground to an array of separate enemies, including U.S.-backed forces and the Russian-backed Syrian army.The group has carried out bombings in Iraqi and Syrian cities as its caliphate has shrunk.REUTERS SHS BD1930 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1180226.Xml
Britain's UN envoy today rejected a suggestion from China that military drills by the United States and South Korea were creating international threats along the same lines as North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.The United Nations Security Council met today behind closed doors to discuss North Korea's launch of four ballistic missiles on Monday in response to the joint US-South Korea military exercises, which it regards as preparation for war."The exercises by the United States and the Republic of Korea ... are defending against threats to international peace and security," British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said on his way into the meeting of the 15-member council."The threat comes from DPRK (North Korea) and the continued plan to nuclearize the DPRK and it is that program of nuclearization that needs to stop immediately," he said.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said earlier today that the tests by the North and the joint drills across the border in South Korea were causing tension to increase like two "accelerating trains coming toward each other," suggesting a "dual suspension" to allow all sides to return to negotiations.North Korea fired the missiles into the sea off Japan's coast, angering South Korea and Japan with the latest in a series of ballistic missile and nuclear tests in defiance of UN resolutions in recent months."We are not doing anything to provoke them so we are in a very strong position to tell them that this is totally unacceptable," Japan's UN Ambassador Koro Bessho told reporters before the council meeting.The Security Council strongly condemned North Korea's missile launches and expressed concern over the country's increasingly destabilizing behavior.North Korea has been under UN sanctions and an arms embargo aimed at impeding the development of its banned nuclear and missile programs since 2006. The council has strengthened sanctions following each of Pyongyang's five nuclear tests."The most important thing is to implement those Security Council resolutions in a comprehensive way, including reducing tensions and also not to do anything to exacerbate tension on the Korean Peninsula," China's UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi said.The US military yesterday started to deploy the first elements of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea, which China opposes. REUTERS SHS RK2300 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1180556.Xml
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang joins a panel discussion with deputies to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from Tibet Autonomous Region at the annual session of the NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
KIGALI, March 7 (Xinhua) -- A new report on refugee camps in Rwanda has painted a bleak picture on what takes place in camps, showing humanitarian actors, camp leaders and host communities among people who sexually exploit female refugees in various camps.

Released on Tuesday in Kigali, the Inter-Agency Gender Assessment Report of Refugee Camps in Rwanda sought to inform gender response.

A total of 1,989 respondents were interviewed, including 56 percent female and 44 percent male.

Over 70 percent of the respondents claimed sexual exploitation and sexual abuse happen in the camps.

Rwanda hosts 125,000 refugees in the six camps across the country, with 32,000 refugees living in urban centres.

Majority are from DR Congo and Burundi driven out of their countries due to political turmoil.

The Inter Agency Assessment of refugee Camps in Rwanda was conducted in April 2016 in all the six camps hosting Burundian and Congolese refugees.

Saber Azam, UN refugee agency country representative to Rwanda condemned the revelation, and urged refugee leaders to protect rights of refugees.

"This is a very sensitive and a very important issue, this was an open question asked to refugees and in every refugee situation we are concerned about this. The people who have the power of helping should not abuse and should not use their position to abuse the refugees and particularly the refugee women," said Azam.

He noted that preventative actions have been taken to ensure that refugee adolescents don't frequent areas where they can fall victims to sexual abuse.

He said Rwandan laws would take course for those implicated.

Seraphine Mukantabana, Rwanda's Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs said her government condemns all acts of violence against refugees.

"The report revealed that some of humanitarian actors take advantage of female refugees who need support and sexually exploit them, this is against Rwandan law and culprits face heavy penalty and can no longer serve anywhere in humanitarian agencies," she said. Enditem
MOSUL, Iraq, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi forces freed three neighborhoods from Islamic State (IS) militants on Tuesday after recapturing some main government buildings in the old city center of western side of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.

The federal police and interior ministry special forces, known as Rapid Response, completely liberated the neighborhoods of Dawassa and Dandan in central Mosul and raised the Iraqi flag on its buildings after heavy clashes against IS militants during the day, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, from the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

The troops also made a new progress in the neighborhoods of Nabi Sheath and Ugaidat in the old city center, sparking heavy clashes with IS militants, the statement said.

The battles in Mosul's old city center left dozens of IS militants killed and five car bombs destroyed, along with destroying six IS vehicles, according to the statement.

Earlier in the day, Yarallah said the troops fought fierce overnight clashes and freed large parts of the two neighborhoods, including the old government complex, museum, court buildings and Nineveh's provincial police command in Dawassa neighborhood.

In the morning, the troops captured the foot of a strategic bridge across the Tigris River, known as al-Hurriyah Bridge, and the adjacent municipality building, as well as the building of the central bank, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Also in the day, the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) completely freed the neighborhood of Tel al-Rumman and continued fighting in the nearby Mansour neighborhood in the southwestern part of Mosul's western side, the JOC statement said.

Meanwhile, the CTS special forces initiated a progress in the neighborhoods of Mualmeen and Shuhadaa amid heavy clashes against IS militants, as the troops are pushing deeper toward the central part of Mosul's western side, locally known as the right bank of Tigris River, which bisects the city.

The battles in southwestern part of the western side of Mosul resulted in the killing of many IS militants and the destruction of four car bombs and 25 explosive devices planted by IS militants, according to the statement.

Near Mosul, the army's 9th armored Division and the Shiite paramilitary Hashd Shaabi unit continued clearing the villages from roadside bombs and booby-trapped houses in Tulul Attshana in west of Mosul, the statement said.

The troops also freed the village of Thaljah from IS militants near Badush area, which located on the main road between Mosul and the IS-held town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul.

The presence of armored division and the Hashd Shaabi is aimed at surrounding Mosul from the west to cut off the escape route from Mosul and the neighboring Syria.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul to visit the security forces and meet with top military commanders, just hours after the troops recaptured the main government complex in the old Mosul city center.

"They (IS militants) have two choices, either they surrender and we promise they will have fair trial and the other choice they will be killed," Abadi told reporters in Mosul as he was wearing the black uniform of the CTS forces. "Some (of IS militants) are escaping but even the escape path is closed and they have no hope, that's why they should surrender."

On Feb. 19, Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, announced the start of an offensive to drive extremist militants out of the western side of Mosul.

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 IS militants.

However, the western part of Mosul, with its narrow streets and a population of between 750,000 and 800,000, appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces.

Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
KIEV, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Miners of the state enterprise "Lviv Coal" in Ukraine's western Lviv region warned on Tuesday that they would suspend coal shipping to the government if their working conditions are not improved.

In a letter to the cabinet, published by the head of the Ukrainian Independent Union of Miners Mykhailo Volynets, workers of the seven mines said that the coal supplies would be suspended on March 9 if their demands are not met.

Particularly, the miners asked the government to allocate at least 7.4 million U.S. dollars for the improvement of the safety of coal mines located in Lviv region.

Besides, the workers required the government to adopt the new salary formation system and repay all the unpaid wages to miners.

The move came after on March 2, the methane gas explosion ripped through Stepova mine, which belongs to "Lviv Coal", killing 8 workers and injuring 21 others.

Some experts suggested that the blast may have been triggered by the improper ventilation of the mine, which has high methane concentration. The official cause of the accident has not been unveiled yet.

Local analysts believe that the ultimatum set by the miners may further deepen the coal crisis in the East European country that erupted after a group of activists blocked the movements of trains, transporting coal from the area in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-independence insurgents.
KHARTOUM, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Tuesday said it has lost 45 billion U.S. dollars due to the American sanctions which had been imposed on it since 1997, Sudan's Ashorooq Net reported.

"The loss has affected the transport, industry and agriculture sectors," Badr-Eddin Mahmoud Abbas, Sudan's Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, was quoted as saying.

"The sanctions led to Sudan's inability to fulfill its external debts," he added.

He further noted that the decision of former U.S. President Barack Obama to lift the American sanctions from Sudan last January is likely to lead to increasing foreign transactions and facilitate financial transfers which would in turn contribute to increasing the development projects.

Last Jan. 13, former U.S. President Barack Obama issued a decision to cancel two executive orders imposing economic sanctions on Sudan.

The United States had been imposing sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and putting it on its list of countries sponsoring terrorism since 1993.

Since then, Washington had been renewing its sanctions on Sudan due to the continuing war in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions in addition to a number of outstanding issues with South Sudan, such as the territorial dispute over the oil-rich Abyei area. Enditem
STOCKHOLM, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Several accidents have occurred on a highway leading to the Arlanda international airport, including a pileup involving 25 vehicles which injured five or six people.

It took more than three hours to clean the lanes, Swedish Television reported.

The Swedish weather service, SMHI, issued a severe weather warning for Sweden's east coast on Tuesday, where heavy snowfall, harsh gales and slippery roads affected the traffic and caused several accidents.

On Tuesday morning, most of the snow came down over the Baltic Sea but it moved inland and intensified throughout the day. There were several accidents on a number of highways as well as in central Uppsala, just north of Stockholm.
WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- WikiLeaks on Tuesday released thousands of documents that it said revealed the secret tools the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has used to hack people's smartphones, computer operating systems and even smart TVs.

A statement from the anti-secrecy organization said that the 8,761 documents were obtained from "an isolated, high-security network" situated inside the CIA's hacking division, the Center for Cyber Intelligence, in Langley, Virgina.

"Code-named 'Vault 7' by WikiLeaks, it is the largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency," the statement said, noting the leaks detailed "the scope and direction of the CIA's global covert hacking program."

WikiLeaks said the leaked documents "have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner", one of whom provided them to WikiLeaks.

By the end of 2016, it said, the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence had over 5,000 people and had produced more than hacking systems, trojans, viruses, and other "weaponized" malware.

These hacking programs can target "a wide range of U.S. and European company products, include Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows (operating system) and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones."

"Such is the scale of the CIA's undertaking that by 2016, its hackers had utilized more code than that used to run Facebook," the WikiLeaks statement said.

"The CIA had created, in effect, its 'own NSA' (National Security Agency) with even less accountability and without publicly answering the question as to whether such a massive budgetary spend on duplicating the capacities of a rival agency could be justified."

U.S. media quoted current and former U.S. officials as saying that details contained in the documents suggest that they are legitimate.

Commenting on the documents, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said that "there is an extreme proliferation risk in the development of cyber 'weapons'."

"Comparisons can be drawn between the uncontrolled proliferation of such 'weapons', which results from the inability to contain them combined with their high market value, and the global arms trade," he added.
WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Nearly one quarter of U.S. adults, or 54 million, have arthritis and 24 million of them are limited in performing daily activities, a new report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday.

The percentage of adults with arthritis who have activity limitations grew from 35.9 percent in 2002 to 42.8 percent in 2014, according to the CDC report.

The report also found that almost 60 percent, or about 32 million, of those with arthritis are of working age.

In addition, about half of U.S. adults with heart disease or diabetes have arthritis and nearly one third of U.S. adults who are obese also have arthritis.

"Overall, arthritis -- a condition that can result in pain, aching, stiffness, and swelling of the joints -- is at an all-time high," the CDC said.

"Arthritis symptoms keep millions of Americans from going about their daily routines," CDC Acting Director Anne Schuchat said in a statement, adding that physical activity is "a proven strategy" to ease pain and reduce symptoms among people with arthritis.

According to the CDC, when people with arthritis engage in physical activity, they can reduce their arthritis symptoms by up to 40 percent.

Yet, many adults with arthritis are not physically active. The new report said about one in three U.S. adults with arthritis report that they do not engage in physical activity during leisure time.

"Doctors and loved ones can help people with arthritis by encouraging them to be as physically active as they can be," Schuchat said.
TRIPOLI, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Libyan eastern-based parliament spokesman said on Tuesday that parliament held a session on Tuesday to discuss the current clashes between the army and militias.

Abdullah Belheg said that the parliament condemned the "terrorist attack on the oil ports," demanding the international community to "take a stand against this attack and support to the Libyan army."

The members of the parliament agreed to suspend the participation in the political dialogue to protest against the attack.

Heavy fighting erupted on Friday between an armed militia called Benghazi Defense Brigades and the Libyan army in two oil ports in eastern Libya controlled by the armed forces.

The air forces have been launching attacks on the militia since the beginning of the attack on Friday.

Libya is plagued by insecurity and political division since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. The oil sector, the country's main source of income, has been suffering due to attacks and fighting between rival militias in oil fields and ports. Enditem
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to the Oval Office after returning to the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb 24, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is seeing more controversy than any other newly elected president in recent memory, and that might hurt his chances of passing his agenda.

Trump, who shocked the world last November when he beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to win the presidential race, has careened from one controversy to another since inauguration in January. Currently, he continues to be dogged by accusations of colluding with Russia.

The latest controversy involves his accusations of his predecessor Barack Obama for the alleged tapping of his phones ahead of last November's Election Day. Trump provided no evidence so far to support his charges, which were swiftly denied by Obama.

The jury remains out on what exactly happened, and about whether the accusations are true or false. But experts said the controversy may well hurt the new president and curb his ability to push his legislative agenda.

"These controversies hurt Trump because they take him off message and make it more difficult to pass the policy changes he has in mind," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

Indeed, Trump was elected on a wave of hopes that he would finally fix a number of long-term problems, from joblessness to over-regulation to tax reform to perceived U.S. weakness in foreign policy. But critics say he's been distracted by one controversy after another, although supporters maintain it's still very early in his presidency.

"The scandals harm his personal reputation and are raising his negatives in public opinion surveys. This is very problematic for him and will make it harder to implement needed changes. People don't trust him and worry that he is not up to the job of being president," West said.

Despite fervent backing from his supporters, the fomer New York businessman overall has very low poll ratings.

Critics now describe Trump's wiretapping accusations against Obama as something out of a spy novel and quite unusual in the United States.

"Trump has provided no evidence that Obama wiretapped him. Even Republican leaders seem dubious of these claims," West said, adding that leading intelligence officials also say this is not true.

Another controversy is that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who met with the Russian ambassador in the U.S. twice last year, did not disclose the meetings during his confirmation hearings. Critics say he should lose his job, although supporters say the controversy can be chalked up to a political witch hunt.

Sessions has recused himself from any investigations into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia.

"The Sessions' recusal means that all investigations of the Trump campaign will go to someone who is less sympathetic to the president than the Attorney General," West said.

Decisions on whether to appoint a special prosecutor will go to a deputy and that person will not have the close personal relationship to the president that Sessions has. The result is riskier for Trump because he will no longer have a trusted ally protecting his legal flank, West said.

"It raises the risk that a special prosecutor will be appointed in the future and that Russia gate could engulf the president," West said of the Russia controversy.

Depending on what the FBI finds, this scandal has the potential to distract Trump from his policy agenda, West added.

"It is not a good way for any administration to start, under the cloud of legal and political scrutiny," West said.
BRASILIA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's government announced Tuesday that 55 infrastructure concessions will be offered to the private sector, in an important trial balloon of the country's future economic potential.

The new concessions will include both new projects and the renovation of existing concessions, across highways, railways, port terminals and energy transmission lines, among other sectors.

At a government meeting on investments, President Michel Temer announced that the new projects would represent 45 billion U.S. dollars in new investments for energy, transport and sanitation, while creating 200,000 new direct and indirect jobs.

"We must do this as our greatest goal is precisely the fight against unemployment," said the president.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Mines and Energy presented a proposal for 35 lots of new energy transmission lines across 17 states, with a total investment cost of 12.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The Ministry of Transport also detailed the concession projects for highways, railways and ports.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the secretary-general of the presidency, Moreira Franco, said that the program would allow potential investors to be certain about the projects.

"Individuals and companies must know what is going to happen and, above all, to feel secure that the rules will be respected in the future," he explained.

In September 2016, the government already presented 35 public-private projects, for airports, ports, highways, railways, oil and gas, mining, energy and sanitation.

Since then, three contracts have been signed alongside seven concession and leasing agreements.

Major concessions are set to be assigned in the coming months. The management for the airports of Fortaleza, Florianopolis, Salvador and Porto Alegre will be tendered out on March 16, two terminals at the northern port of Santarem will be assigned on March 23 and the wheat terminal of the port of Rio de Janeiro will be tendered out on April 20.
by Xinhua Writer Shi Xiaomeng

UNITED NATIONS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Hi-tech education for women and girls is a critical means to ensuring women's participation in current digital economy, said UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Puri said women need to be educated with ICT (information and communications technology)-related skills to have access to decent jobs and stay competitive in the labor market.

Education in science, technology, engineering and math can equip females to meet the demands from labor market and thus to be economically empowered, she added.

To advocate women's economic empowerment is the major focus of the upcoming International Women's Day which falls on Wednesday. The UN will celebrate the Day with a theme "Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030" to call for changes across the world.

Puri said economic empowerment means that women can have equal access to land, property, productive assets and resources, essential services and infrastructures.

It also means women can be given the same opportunities for decent jobs, occupational training, as well as full and productive employment, she added.

"If we don't have women's economic empowerment, we can't enable them to enjoy their equal rights in other areas," said Puri.

She noted that women worldwide are faced with multiple challenges at workplace, including gender pay gap, gender stereotypes, occupational segregation as well as obstacles in promotion.

World Bank statistics show that globally, women are paid less than men. Women in most countries earn on average only 60 to 75 percent of men's wages.

In addition, women bear disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work: women devote 1 to 3 hours more a day to housework than men; 2 to 10 times the amount of time a day to care for children or the elderly.

Puri mentioned that flexible working for women such as Uber-type working can help them find work-life balance.

But she also noted new forms of working may yield conditions that deepen gender disparity which need to be avoided through well-designed policies.

In this regard, she said the private sector needs to bear the major responsibility to integrate gender equality into practices, and the public sector shall provide with corresponding support.

Puri said women entrepreneurship is what the UN agency has been advocating to overcome gender gap in labor market.

"We hope that women entrepreneurship becomes a key driver of employing other women and creating jobs for women," she said.

To achieve this, countries need to create an enabling environment with better financial and technical support to help females to start their own businesses in all sectors, said Puri.

By doing this, "we hope the current economy can be transformed in a way that is more favorable for women, more adaptive to women's needs and talents, thus creating equality worldwide," she added.
MEXICO, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Mexico is "gravely concerned" over a U.S. proposal to separate undocumented migrant families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Tuesday.

"We immediately informed the Department of Homeland Security of our grave concern ... due to the irreversible damage that a situation like this can have on numerous Mexican families," Videgaray told reporters following a meeting with lawmakers.

"Mexico's position was expressed clearly and in a timely manner," and "we hope the opinion of the Mexican government has an influence on the decision the U.S. government finally takes," said Videgaray.

Last week, the U.S. department said it was mulling a policy to separate families as a way to discourage the arrival of undocumented migrants. The scheme would place children in protective custody while their mothers are sent to detention centers to await deportation.

Up to now, families have been kept together and usually released before being deported.
WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Local Police said that four people were killed after a train collided with a bus Tuesday in the U.S. southern state of Mississippi.

The fatal collision took place in the town of Biloxi, where witnesses said the bus, carrying around 50 mostly senior citizens, appeared to have been stuck on the rail tracks before being hit by the eastbound train.

Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said the reason the bus had stopped on the tracks were yet unknown.

The victims have been taken to a nearby hospital by emergency responders, local authorities said.

The incident was not the first to have taken place at the crossing. A soft drink delivery truck was hit by the train at the same location two months earlier, but fortunately hurting no one, local media WLOX reported.

"You simply got to pay attention to those crossing grade signs where it tells you not to cross if you got a larger vehicle. There are several times when we've had limousines stuck on these tracks at these types of grades," Brian Dykes of the Biloxi Police Department was cited by WLOX as saying.
UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri says hi-tech education for women and girls is a critical means to ensuring women's participation in current digital economy

by Xinhua Writer Shi Xiaomeng

UNITED NATIONS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Hi-tech education for women and girls is a critical means to ensuring women's participation in current digital economy, said UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Puri said women need to be educated with ICT (information and communications technology)-related skills to have access to decent jobs and stay competitive in the labor market.

Education in science, technology, engineering and math can equip females to meet the demands from labor market and thus to be economically empowered, she added.

To advocate women's economic empowerment is the major focus of the upcoming International Women's Day which falls on Wednesday. The UN will celebrate the Day with a theme "Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030" to call for changes across the world.

Puri said economic empowerment means that women can have equal access to land, property, productive assets and resources, essential services and infrastructures.

It also means women can be given the same opportunities for decent jobs, occupational training, as well as full and productive employment, she added.

"If we don't have women's economic empowerment, we can't enable them to enjoy their equal rights in other areas," said Puri.

She noted that women worldwide are faced with multiple challenges at workplace, including gender pay gap, gender stereotypes, occupational segregation as well as obstacles in promotion.

World Bank statistics show that globally, women are paid less than men. Women in most countries earn on average only 60 to 75 percent of men's wages.

In addition, women bear disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work: women devote 1 to 3 hours more a day to housework than men; 2 to 10 times the amount of time a day to care for children or the elderly.

Puri mentioned that flexible working for women such as Uber-type working can help them find work-life balance.

But she also noted new forms of working may yield conditions that deepen gender disparity which need to be avoided through well-designed policies.

In this regard, she said the private sector needs to bear the major responsibility to integrate gender equality into practices, and the public sector shall provide with corresponding support.

Puri said women entrepreneurship is what the UN agency has been advocating to overcome gender gap in labor market.

"We hope that women entrepreneurship becomes a key driver of employing other women and creating jobs for women," she said.

To achieve this, countries need to create an enabling environment with better financial and technical support to help females to start their own businesses in all sectors, said Puri.

By doing this, "we hope the current economy can be transformed in a way that is more favorable for women, more adaptive to women's needs and talents, thus creating equality worldwide," she added.
LISBON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo e Sousa Tuesday praised the medical team at Lisbon's Santa Marta Hospital which carried out the country's first artificial heart implant Monday.

"This surgery intervention confirms the scientific progress and the excellence of the work of a team which is part of the national health service," Rebelo de Sousa said in an official statement.

The artificial heart implant took place at Lisbon's Santa Marta Hospital and was carried out by surgeon Jose Fragata, who called the operation a success.

An artificial heart was implanted into the chest cavity of a 64-year-old man who had kidney disorder and suffered from heart failure, according to Fragata.
LISBON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Lisbon's municipal assembly marked International Women's Day on Tuesday, with MPs (members of the parliament) calling for an end to gender inequality.

Social Democrat MP Gabriel Fernandes pointed out that the symbolism of March 8 meant that everyone had to work all year round to put an end to gender inequality.

Miguel Santos from PAN (People Animal Nature) party pointed out that there were still inequalities and discrimination in terms of working conditions and salaries. He also called for the need to pay homage to "all women who fight and undergo risk to save other lives, and which don't have the means to escape several types of violence."

Green Party MP Claudia Madeira called for the need to praise all active people in fighting for a society without gender discrimination, and said it was time to act.

Communist Party MP Lucia Gomes highlighted that there were still people who viewed women as being inferior.

Left Bloc MP Isabel Pires said this was a date to realize that there was still a lot to be done.
PANAMA CITY, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Former Panamanian leader Manuel Antonio Noriega, is in critical condition on Tuesday after he underwent an operation to remove a benign tumor, his family announced.

His daughters, Thays and Sandra, made a brief statement on their father's condition to the local media.

Noriega's lawyer, Ezra Angel, also explained that his client's condition is worrying, especially as he will have to undergo a second operation after internal bleeding was detected during the first.

He added that 84-year-old Noriega suffered from high blood pressure during the operation, which may have caused the bleeding.

In January, a court in Panama authorized Noriega's transfer from a prison to the apartment of one of his daughters, where he was to remain under house arrest while benefiting from better conditions ahead of his operation.

After the U.S.-backed coup which deposed him in 1989, Noriega was taken to the U.S. where he completed a prison sentence for drug trafficking before being sent to France to answer charges of money laundering.

In 2011, France extradited him back to Panama to face charges related to his period as dictator.
CANBERRA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Trade Minister has apologized for "insensitively" announcing an increase in the number flights between Australia and Indonesia on the same day as the ten year anniversary of a Garuda Indonesia crash which killed five Australians.

In Indonesia on a trade mission promoting tourism and investment between the two nations, Trade Minister Steve Ciobo on Tuesday announced flight capacity on Garuda Indonesia services between the two nations would increase by 13 percent in 2017 -- ten years to day after a Garuda Boeing 737 jet overran the runway at Yogyakarta, killing 21 people including five Australians.

In a message posted to social media platform, Twitter overnight, Ciobo said he regrets the timing of the announcement.

"I apologize for the insensitivity of an announcement today -- a day when we should be remembering those killed and injured 10 years ago," Ciobo posted to social media overnight.

On March 7, 2007, a Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737 overshot the Yogyakarta airport runway, killing 21 people. Among the deceased were five Australians; a journalist, a member of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), an AusAID official and two Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers.

The poorly-timed government announcement was brought to attention by Canberra press gallery journalist Philip Coorey, who said it was mystifying how the government could not recognize the gaffe.

"(Ten) years ago today, Garuda pilot Marwoto Komar, flying way too fast, rammed his plane into the runway," Coorey said.

"It bounced three times before stopping in a rice paddy and bursting into flames, killing 21 and maiming dozens more people, including Australian federal police, journalists and departmental staff.

"We lost friends and colleagues, and others were terribly injured. So what does the government do? While Turnbull is in Jakarta marking the event, it releases this."
SYDNEY, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A world-renowned British economist said on Wednesday that Australia is in an excellent position to capitalise on China's growth.

Jim O'Neill, former Goldman Sachs chief economist, spoke candidly to the Australian Financial Review, about the need for Australia to capitalise even further on the opportunities China's growth presents while in the country for a two-day business summit.

O'Neill noted that although Australian banks comprised a high percentage of the market capitalisation,when combined with the high cost of housing and the subsequent debt attached could be a risk, he still has a positive outlook on the economy.

"It seems to be, notwithstanding the housing threat, Australia is in a really good position." O'Neill said.

Long a believer in the potential of the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets, O'Neill maintains that China remains the strongest performer of those economies, with other Asian nations trying to catch up to the growth China has achieved.

"The other big juggernauts coming up behind China are in this part of the world as well, India and Indonesia." O'Neill said.

O'Neill predicts a bright future for the Chinese economy, and stressed that the effective strategy to shift from "old" economic drivers, manufacturing and pollution, towards a service based economy would lead China into an even greater future.

"It's (China) heading towards another decade where GDP will double again," O'Neill said.

"This era of China's growth, which I like to call the new China, is all about the rise of the consumer and they don't have any debt."

As a member of the British House of Lords, O'Neill also touched on Brexit, and maintained that China could be a crucial factor in assisting the transition for Britain into a post-EU economy.

"If the UK was particularly focussed and successful on trade with China, India and Indonesia, then we would cope with Brexit." O'Neill said.
CANBERRA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Australia government has on Wednesday welcomed Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law to the country ahead of bilateral talks on "a range of law, justice and security issues".

In a statement released on Wednesday, Australia's Attorney-General George Brandis said Mr. K. Shanmugam would engage with the Australian government on a number of key issues, including counter-terrorism and border protection.

"We look forward to hosting Mr. Shanmugam over the coming days and exchanging our views and experiences in countering terrorism and violent extremism, border protection, law enforcement and crisis management," Brandis said.

"Discussions will focus on the complex and evolving threat environment in our region, including the shared challenge posed by returning foreign fighters. We will look for further opportunities to deepen collaboration between our law enforcement and security agencies."

Brandis said while Singapore is Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia would host a "special summit" in March 2018, aimed at bringing all 10 ASEAN leaders to Australia to discuss counter-terrorism.

He said Shanmugam's visit was the perfect opportunity to lay out the framework for that summit.

"A Counter-Terrorism Conference will be a major component to the summit, underscoring our global leadership and collective regional action to combat terrorism," Brandis said.

Shanmugam's visit comes less than six months after Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Australia in October. At the time, the two nations signed a billion-dollar defence deal which will result in 14,000 Singaporean troops training in Queensland for 18 weeks a year.
CANBERRA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Climate Council of Australia (CCA) warned on Wednesday that the effects of climate change will only get worse in Australia after 2016/17's summer season was dubbed the "angry summer".

More than 200 weather-related records were shattered in Australia during the summer just gone, and Professor Will Steffen from the CCA said it was indicative that the local environment was struggling to "cope".

He said the records were not all just heat-related. Some parts of the nation experienced record-breaking levels of rainfall during the three summer months from December until the end of February.

"These are rates of change and temperatures that are so high that the environment can't cope with or adapt fast enough," Steffen told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday.

"If you look at the east of Australia, particularly New South Wales and Queensland, the records that have been tumbling there are heatwave-type records, but over in the west, in Perth and up in the Kimberley, they've been setting extreme rainfall records."

A climate report released by the Bureau of Meteorology last week showed the nation's capital, Canberra, and major cities Sydney and Brisbane all experienced their hottest summer seasons on record. Steffen said that the trend was set to continue well into the middle of the century.

"We'll see even more records set in five and 10 years' time and that's because of the momentum in the climate system. Even if we could magically cut emissions to zero tomorrow, we would still have another decade or two where the climate plays out its built-in momentum," he said.

"We're pretty much going to see an increase in extreme weather until the middle of the century."
MEXICO CITY, March 7 (Xinhua) -- UN agencies on Tuesday condemned the killing of a Mexican journalist in the southern state of Guerrero.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued statements respectively decrying the death of Cecilio Pineda Birto.

Armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on Pineda in the city of Altamirano on Thursday as he waited outside a car wash for his vehicle, according to media reports.

Mexican authorities knew Pineda had received death threats, apparently for his investigative reports on local organized crime.

"No attack against a media outlet or a journalist should go unpunished," OHCHR representative in Mexico Jan Jarab said.

"It is essential to have more information about the measures of protection that Pineda Birto could have been given to prevent this tragic incident, so that similar events can be prevented in the future," Jarab added.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova also condemned the slaying, saying "I call on the authorities to spare no efforts in bringing the perpetrators of Cecilio Pineda Birto's killing to justice."

Pineda contributed to several well-known publications and also reported on crime via a social media account.
SYDNEY, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Victorian Government has announced an Australian-first major crackdown on synthetic drugs.

The new laws, introduced into Victorian parliament by the government on Wednesday, would see shops and drug dealers selling the substances face jail sentences and large fines.

Synthetic drugs are substances created with man-made chemicals rather than natural ingredients that mimic the effects of illicit drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy.

Lisa Neville, Victoria's Police Minister, said the laws would close loopholes in 2013 legislation that allowed manufacturers to escape serious trouble for synthetic substances.

"These drugs have just caused such harm," Neville told News Limited on Wednesday.

"We are outlawing all synthetic drugs to protect our communities."

Under the current law compounds need to be outlawed individually but the changes will apply to all compounds going forward.

110 people have been charged in Victoria for synthetic drug-related crimes since 2013.

The amount of methamphetamines considered to be large trafficable quantities will also be reduced from 750 grams to 500 grams while commercial quantities will be cut in half from 100 grams to 50.

Shane Patton, Victoria Police's Deputy Commissioner, praised the new laws as a "game changer."

People found guilty of dealing synthetic drugs will face up to two years in prison and fines of up to 28,000 US dollars.
by Xinhua writers Deng Qian , Wen Xiqiang

LONDON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese leadership's support for globalization sends signals that China is open for global businesses, said Britain's Lord Mayor of London Andrew Parmley in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Parmley made the remarks after he finished the first official visit to China as the leader of the City's business delegation last month, when they visited four Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Hong Kong, in a bid to discuss issues like the financial cooperation, green finance, financial technology and the internationalization of China's currency.

Parmley noted that "in the strange political climate of increasing protectionism, I think China is seizing the moment, so my expectation is China can be very successful in the world stage as it is going to grow."

"Given China's economic power and ongoing commitment to opening its markets, becoming more integrate with the globe financial system, it's natural that China should see to play a constructive role in global economic governance," he added.

The mayor said the promotion of the RMB internationalization is very conducive for both China and Britain. "It's not because of the Brexit, it seems because we work together."

He added data showed that in the international financial market, London has increasingly become the global center of the RMB trading.

Speaking of the communication between the stock markets of London and Shanghai, Parmley said that both sides are eager to promote their cooperation.

Even though the time zone is a question, "it is not an insurmountable problem," he said, adding the two sides are conducting a feasibility study.

Parmley was also optimistic about the development prospect of green finance and relative technologies in China, saying he believes the Asian country will become one of the world leaders in this regard.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the ambassadorial-level relations between China and Britain. Parmley said the long-standing friendship of Britain and China will have a bright future.

He praised China's economic development achievements, which he said is a good example for the rest of the world.

"I think with no secret to say that China's growth and stability as an economic powerhouse is good for the rest of the world altogether," he noted.
WELLINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- African rhinos have the ability to change the sex of their offspring to avoid gender imbalances and to curb severe competition for breeding, according to a New Zealand-led study out Tuesday.

The study provided the first experimental evidence in the wild that unbalanced population sex ratios could result in a response by parents to "correct" the imbalance, said study leader Associate Professor Wayne Linklater, of Victoria University.

"This is called a homeostatic sex allocation (HSA) response -- a biological theory first proposed in 1930," Linklater said in a statement.

"Almost all population models assume birth sex ratio is fixed. Our evidence indicates that this may not be the case."

The research team, including scientists from South Africa and Namibia, examined 24 years of rhinoceros data, gathered during the course of 45 reintroductions of the animals across southern Africa.

Sex bias was especially important in rhinoceros populations due to their critically low numbers, said Linklater.

"But because of the evidence of HSA, we need not be so concerned about that misbalance, because parents appear able to 'correct' it when they breed," he said.

"HSA has an especially strong effect when the gender imbalance is very large. In fact, the further it is from an even-sex ratio, the stronger the response is by parents."

Populations where HSA was possible would be more resilient.

"Their small populations will have improved establishment and greater viability. Such species will populate habitats faster, and be less susceptible to random demographic processes and genetic drift," he said.

Explaining the allocation of resources by parents among male and female offspring was a leading issue in evolutionary biology.

"Extreme sex ratios commonly occur, so the incidence of HSA will significantly impact our understanding of a range of ecological processes including invasion biology and conservation management," he said.

Linklater planned further research into how an HSA response worked in Australian brushtail possums.

"Possums are ideal subjects for such a study because their offspring are born into the marsupial pouch at an extraordinarily young age -- very early in development -- and so can be studied in great detail," he said.

"Possums are also invasive mammals in New Zealand. Understanding their reproductive processes can provide newways of managing population numbers."
UNITED NATIONS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council Tuesday strongly condemned the recent ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and urged the country to "refrain from further actions."

The 15-nation UN body stressed in a press statement that the March 5 missile launches are in grave violation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's international obligations" under relevant Security Council resolutions.

Pyongyang shall "comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions," it added.

Under the Security Council resolutions, Pyongyang was banned from testing any ballistic missile technology. Its latest test-firings have sparked strong condemnation from a string of countries.

"The Security Council deplore all the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's ballistic missile activities, including these launches," which "contribute to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension in the region," according to the statement.

The UN body further regretted that the DPRK "is diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles while Democratic People's Republic of Korea citizens have great unmet needs," the statement said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday also condemned the firing, as "such actions violate Security Council resolutions and seriously undermine regional peace and stability."

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the DPRK fired four ballistic missiles into east waters at about 7:36 a.m. local time (2236 GMT on Sunday). The missiles flew eastward some 1,000 km on average, and three of them fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

On Feb. 12, Pyongyang successfully test-launched a new type of Pukguksong-2 intermediate range ballistic missile reportedly under the supervision of top leader Kim Jong Un.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Cui Xinyu)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- There will be no weakening in China's support for Africa no matter how the international situation or world economy may evolve, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.

China and Africa have a shared future and their cooperation is like mutual help between brothers, Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislature's annual session.

China announced 60 billion U.S. dollars funding support for Africa at the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in December 2015 held in South Africa's Johannesburg.

"What distinguishes China-Africa cooperation is that China always keeps its words," Wang said, adding that so far nearly half of the promised funding support has been disbursed or arranged.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Wednesday his country currently has no plan to cut diplomatic ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The Malaysian government still needs a channel to talk and to negotiate with the DPRK, Najib told reporters at the Parliament, adding the current priority is the safety of Malaysian citizens in the DPRK.

"We received information that they are allowed to live their lives as usual. They are not confined, can get out, and do normal business. So there is no concern over their safety," he said.

Najib said the travel ban on the DPRK citizens in Malaysia will stay while the government is "carefully studying what is the DPRK's (demands) actually."

Najib made the remarks after he chaired a National Security Council on Tuesday evening during which he was briefed about the situation.

In a strongly-worded statement, he also accused the DPRK of taking Malaysian citizens hostages and called for their immediate release.

Malaysia and the DPRK used to enjoy relatively cordial relations until the death of a DPRK man at the Kuala Lumpur airport and the ensuing investigation implicated several DPRK nationals, including a second secretary of the DPRK embassy in Malaysia and an employee from the DPRK national carrier Air Koryo.

Malaysian police said the DPRK man, with the passport name of "Kim Chol," was poisoned by a lethal chemical weapon called VX nerve agent.

While the DPRK demanded the return of the body, the Malaysian police insisted the next-of-kin come for DNA profiling.

Najib said police still need to find the cause of the death of "Kim Chol."

"When a murder is committed, especially when a chemical weapon is used, we have to protect the interests of the nation," he said.

Ties between Malaysia and the DPRK strained after both sides issued a travel ban on each other's citizens.
SHENZHEN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's largest listed telecom equipment maker ZTE said Tuesday night that it had reached a settlement with U.S. authorities over U.S. export controls and sanctions charges "in order to clear unstable factors in the global communications market."

The Chinese company has agreed to pay a criminal and civil penalty of about 892 million U.S. dollars and an additional penalty of 300 million dollars, which will be suspended for a seven-year probationary period to deter future violations.

Zhao Xianming, chairman and CEO of ZTE, said Wednesday that reaching the settlement with U.S. authorities could" secure ZTE a solid foundation to acquire more market opportunities."

He said that ZTE had established sound relations with its U.S. suppliers and created 130,000 high-tech jobs in the United States. Under a global partnership, ZTE expects continuous business growth and expansion in the years to come.

U.S. authorities had claimed that ZTE and its affiliated entities had illegally shipped telecommunications equipment to certain countries in violation of U.S. regulations.

The Commerce Department added ZTE on the Entity List under the Export Administration Regulations in March 2016. This made it difficult for ZTE to acquire U.S. products such as chips and software.

Following the settlement, the Bureau of Industry and Security under the U.S. Commerce Department will recommend that ZTE be removed from the list, according to a ZTE statement Tuesday.

ZTE currently holds about 7 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, the fourth largest after Apple, Samsung and LG. It currently has 14 offices and six research centers in the United States, with 80 percent of the total 350 staff being Americans.

ZTE on Tuesday issued its 2016 performance report, showing yearly revenue topping 101.2 billion yuan (14.6 billion U.S. dollars). Deducting fines triggered by the U.S. authorities' penalties and other losses, the company listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges still secured 5.4 billion yuan profit in 2016, up 25.82 percent year on year.

Net income applicable to its common stockholders increased 19.24 percent to 3.8 billion yuan. The company also expects an increase between 21.21 and 31.65 percent in profits in the first quarter of 2017.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- As Seoul quickens its steps to set up a U.S. missile defense system, conservative political elements in South Korea are putting the vital security interests of the country and the region at risk for their own gains.

On Tuesday, U.S. and South Korean militaries confirmed that some of the equipment for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) arrived in South Korea. According to the South Korean military sources, the anti-missile system will be operational as early as April.

Previously, Washington and Seoul decided to deploy THAAD at the end of the year, a time when South Korea usually holds a presidential election every five years.

It is not difficult to note that the change of the schedule for the installation seems to best coincide with a projected reschedule for the presidential race in South Korea.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye is now under an investigation on corruption charges and an impeachment trial. It is very likely the country's constitutional court would announce its decision very soon. If Park is to be removed from office, a special presidential election will be triggered and held within 60 days.

Political uncertainty inside South Korea is perhaps one of the most important reasons for Washington to speed up the installation as it possibly has to face a new president in Seoul that could change mind on THAAD.

Meanwhile, completing the THAAD deployment in the heat of the election could help South Korea's conservative factions play with the voters' fear for the country's security challenges and to turn around its losing battle in the looming election because of Park's flagrant political scandal.

So long as they could win the race and remain in power, the conservative factions do not care what THAAD really means for the country and its people.

In the eyes of many South Korean politicians, specialists, scholars and ordinary people, the anti-missile batteries, while being of little help to bolster the country's security, are built only to accommodate the strategic security needs of the United States.

Instead of promoting peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, the military build-up would ramp up the risks for a full-blown confrontation in the region. South Korea will be stuck in between and bear the brunt.

Already, a large number of protesters in Seongju county, where the missile system is set to be placed, have taken to the street to demonstrate against the THAAD deployment, and urged the government to cancel the plan.

In Seoul, the business community accuses the plan of damaging China-South Korea relations and bilateral economic cooperation. Many political parties in the Congress have also blasted the government's approval of the deployment for being unconstitutional, and for turning a deaf ear to widespread objections.

In the final analysis, the South Korean government should take heed of the general public's voices, revisit its decision to let THAAD in, and get back to the right and responsible path of working with regional members, so as to eradicate security problems and foster peace in the region for the long run.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Cui Xinyu)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The relations between China and the Philippines have returned to the right path, benefiting the two peoples and other countries in the region, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.

Since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte came to office, he has handled the South China See issue properly and actively improved relations with China, Wang said.

The Philippines has extended a hand of goodwill, so China of course will embrace it with open arms of cooperation, Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

Wang said China and the Philippines are making up the lost time. The potential of bilateral cooperation is rapidly growing.

In less than six months since October last year, there have been about 1,000 new tourist groups from China to the Philippines, and China has imported more than 200,000 tonnes of tropical fruits from the Philippines, he said.

Cooperation on infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and dams, is being actively discussed, with some becoming operational this year, the minister said.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of International Women's Day, women and children in a refugee camp in South Sudan received free medical examinations and treatment, provided by Dr. Sun Xiaoluan and her colleagues, who are Chinese female peacekeepers.

Female peacekeepers like Sun play an increasingly important role on UN peacekeeping missions. Among the 30,000 peacekeepers dispatched by China since it first participated in UN peacekeeping missions in 1990, nearly 1,000 have been female.

The female peacekeepers were deployed in Liberia, South Sudan, Mali and other countries, and include not only medical personnel, but military observers, infantry and police officers.

In every infantry battalion dispatched by China, there is a 13-soldier female squad. The largest group of female Chinese peacekeepers are deployed in Gao, Mali, and is composed of 19 females peacekeepers, who perform military tasks together with male soldiers.

In June 2016, the Ministry of National Defense jointly held a training course for female peacekeepers from different countries with UN Women, the first of its kind held by China.

The UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial held in London last September called for more women in peacekeeping missions.

China first sent female military officers abroad for peacekeeping operations in 2003.
SYDNEY, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Australian energy giant AGL warned on Wednesday of massive gas shortages for the east coast of Australia during the winter months.

The warning from one of Australia's largest gas providers comes as the proportion of LNG exports rises, while domestic demand is not being met, with the company calling for more resources to be diverted domestically from the new 80 billion dollar (60.77 billion U.S. dollar) Queensland LNG plant instead of being sold overseas.

The head of AGL's wholesale markets Richard Wrightson told the Australian Financial Review that the gas plants in the north of Australia need to be pushing their product back into the southern states.

"If there's an exceptionally mild winter, then we could scrape through, but if it's a cold winter, no," Wrightson said.

"We are actually out of contracted gas, we don't have any left in our portfolio."

Despite the warnings from AGL, rivals Origin Energy said that talk of a shortage may be overkill. Chief executive of Origin Energy Frank Calabria stated on Wednesday that he feels that gas will be available where it is needed.

"Origin has gas supply available to contract to customers over the coming winter," a spokeswoman said.

"Notwithstanding the current tight supply-demand balance in the market, it is Origin's view that gas will flow to where it is required."

Over the past 10 years, over 200 billion dollars has been invested into the LNG sector in Australia, with seven new greenfield plants being developed.

However, those who use industrial gas are facing ever higher competition from the export market, and with over one third of Australian gas being consumed by the manufacturing sector, any shortage could risk severe economic implications.

AGL announced at the end of last year they were considering the construction of an LNG import terminal to source gas from overseas to meet the shortages in supply throughout Australia.
UNITED NATIONS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Security Council Tuesday strongly condemned the most recent ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and urged the country to refrain from further actions.

Pyongyang shall "refrain from further actions, including nuclear tests, in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, and comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions," the 15-nation UN body said in a press statement.

The UN body condemned the March 5 missile launches, saying that "these launches are in grave violation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's international obligations" under relevant Security Council resolutions.

Under these resolutions, Pyongyang was banned from testing any ballistic missile technology. The latest launches have sparked strong condemnation from a string of nations.

"The members of the Security Council deplore all the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's ballistic missile activities," which "contribute to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension in the region," the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council further regretted that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles" when its people "have great unmet needs," noted the statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday also condemned the test-firings of ballistic missiles by the DPRK, which he said "violate Security Council resolutions and seriously undermine regional peace and stability."

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the DPRK fired four ballistic missiles into the eastern waters at about 7:36 a.m. local time (2236 GMT on Sunday). The missiles flew eastward some 1,000 km on average, and three of them fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

On Feb. 11, Pyongyang successfully test-launched a new type of Pukguksong-2 intermediate range ballistic missile reportedly under the supervision of top leader Kim Jong Un.

The council members expressed "serious concern" over Pyongyang's "increasingly destabilizing behavior and defiance of the Security Council by conducting these ballistic missile launches, urging the Asian country to "comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions."

Meanwhile, the Security Council also called upon all member states to "redouble their efforts to implement fully the measures" imposed on the DPRK by the Security Council, particularly the comprehensive measures contained in resolutions 2321 (2016) and 2270 (2016).

The body highlighted "the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia at large," reiterating its "commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation and welcomed efforts ... to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue."

The members of the Security Council emphasized the vital importance of the DPRK's showcase of "sincere commitment to denuclearization and stressed the importance of working to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula and beyond."

The members of the UN body agreed to "continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures, in line with the council's previously expressed determination."
KABUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- An explosion and ensuing gunfire rocked a military hospital in a diplomatic district in the central part of Kabul on Wednesday with casualties feared, local media and witnesses said.

"The explosion struck Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Military Hospital in the morning. The blast occurred in the back wall of the facilities and was followed by gun firing," local media Tolo News reported.

Several terrorists were involved in the attack, the report added.

"The blast occurred roughly at 9:05 a.m. (0435 GMT) in Wazir Akbar Khan locality, where several government agencies and embassies are located," witness Abdul Shah told Xinhua earlier.

Security forces have cordoned off the area for precautionary measures.

The Wednesday's bombing is the second terrorist attack in Kabul this month.

On March 1, some 23 people were killed and 119 others wounded in a coordinated attack by Taliban insurgents.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Cui Xinyu)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday urged Japan to adopt the right frame of mind and be sensible to see and accept China's development and revitalization.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic ties, also the 80th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge incident.

"The two anniversary dates represent two totally different paths, one leading to peace and friendship, and the other to war and confrontation," Wang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

Noting that some people in Japan are still torn between the two paths, Wang called for the peaceloving Japanese to step up efforts to make sure the country moves forward in the right direction.

As for the relationship between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, Wang acknowledged the enormous needs and bright prospects for cooperation.

For the moment, the three countries should handle well the issues affecting the healthy development of their cooperation and create necessary conditions for a trilateral leaders' meeting, Wang said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Cui Xinyu)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that China always opposes unilateral sanctions imposed by foreign governments on Chinese enterprises.

Wang was responding to a question concerning the new tide of trade protectionism in the United States at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual legislative session.

He referred to the latest U.S. sanctions on Chinese telecom giant ZTE for violations of U.S. export controls.

China has always asked its businesses to conduct their overseas operations according to law, the minister said, adding that the Chinese authorities will continue to monitor the situation to see whether its enterprises have been treated fairly.
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, March 8 (Xinhua) -- At least five Taliban militants were killed after a U.S. unmanned plane struck a Taliban position in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province overnight, a local official said Wednesday.

"The drone strike targeted a militants' hideout in Daftani locality, Dasht-e-Archi district at midnight. two vehicles together with the militants' bunker were also destroyed by the air raid attack," district Governor Nasruddin Nazari told Xinhua.

No civilian was hurt following the strike in the district bordering Tajikistan, the governor added.

The Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently as spring and summer known as fighting season is drawing near.

The NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) coalition forces use drones for reconnaissance missions and to attack militants in remote areas of the mountainous Central Asian country.

On Saturday night, 18 Taliban militants, including a Taliban shadow district governor, were killed after Afghan air force struck a Taliban position in neighboring Imam Sahib district.

The Taliban militant group has yet to make comments.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Candidates standing for election of National People's Congress (NPC) deputies from the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions (SARs) should bear allegiance to China and declare not receiving foreign funds in relation to the election, say drafts on election methods to be submitted to China's national legislature.

The NPC deputies are the component members of the highest organ of state power who exercise state power on behalf of the people. Therefore, they shall declare in the Participant's Registration Form that they uphold the Chinese Constitution and bear allegiance to China, the drafts say.

The NPC deputies from Hong Kong and Macao should also declare they uphold the Basic Laws, bear allegiance to the SARs, endorse the policy of "one country, two systems", according to the drafts.

The drafts will be explained to a NPC plenary session Wednesday by Wang Chen, vice chairman and general secretary of the NPC Standing Committee.

Candidates should also declare not having received and will not receive, directly or indirectly, any form of funds in relation to the election from any foreign institution, organization or individual, the drafts say.

If a candidate is found and verified to have received any foreign funds, the candidate's election will be declared null and void.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- National lawmakers on Wednesday will start deliberating the draft general provisions of civil law, which, if adopted, will bring the country one step closer to a long-absent civil code.

With the draft submitted to the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, the country is nearing the end of its crucial first step toward a civil code: laying down basic principles.

Last year, the draft went through three readings at the bi-monthly sessions of the NPC Standing Committee. It is rare for a draft law not to be passed after three readings.

After the adoption of the general provisions, separate civil laws on property and contract, among others, will be integrated into a unified code. According to the legislation plan, the code will be enacted in 2020.

Compiling a civil code, dubbed as "an encyclopedia on social life" which regulates personal and property relations, will help "better protect the people's immediate interests, improve state governance, maintain market order, ensure trading security, and promote the sound development of socialist market economy," says an explanation of the NPC Standing Committee on the draft.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Cui Xinyu)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday said the country's diplomats will offer better consular protection services for Chinese overseas.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session, Wang said the foreign ministry and its overseas missions handled over 100,000 consular protection cases in 2016.

Last year, Chinese diplomats managed to rescue people from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan who had been held by Somali pirates for almost five years, he said.

They also helped evacuate over 1,000 Chinese from the conflict-torn South Sudan, and transferred more than 1,000 compatriots to safety from earthquakes, fires, or blizzards in New Zealand, Israel and Japan, Wang said.

The foreign minister noted that Chinese mainland residents make over 120 million outbound visits every year.

The number has seen yearly expansions of ten million for six consecutive years, Wang added, while promising to do a better job in consular protection.






A zebra walks after passing through an animal passage of the SGR tries to pass the A109 highway near Voi, Kenya, Feb. 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

by Peter Mutai

NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Elephants in Tsavo National Park at the coastal Kenya have adapted to the new wildlife pathways that were opened to pave space for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line, a Kenyan official has revealed.

Margaret Mwakima, Principal Secretary of State Department of Natural Resources, said a survey done early this year found out that the animals are walking along to the new routes with ease as some rests below the bridge.

"The way the elephants are behaving today indicate they are at home and that the new pathways do not interfere with them at all," she said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

The new SGR line that stretches from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi, running through Tsavo West National Park and will also pass through Nairobi National Park is 90 percent funded by the China Exim Bank while Kenya is funding the remaining 10 percent.

Part of the SGR is elevated on viaducts, allowing wildlife to pass without risk of injury. The rest is elevated on embankments, and six underpasses have been constructed to allow wildlife to cross.

The SGR engineers designed wildlife paths under the railway line to ease migration of wildlife in the areas.

There were earlier fears by environmental advocates that the new construction would greatly impact the wildlife within national parks.

Mwakima also revealed that Kenya is currently in discussion with the Chinese government with the aim of providing additional funds towards reforestation and wildlife conservation.

She said that the funding will be channeled to Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI).

"The conservation and sustainable management of wildlife and habitats are crucial to the country's long term economic growth and development."

Praising China's bold move when they announced a ban on all ivory trade and processing activities by the end of 2017, Mwakima said that the example should be emulated by other countries that still consume wildlife products.

She called on the Chinese wildlife officials to emulate Kenya's efforts in conserving elephants and other wildlife to help boost the country's economic income.

"Wildlife products belong to the wildlife while they are alive and they play a major role in attracting tourists and help sustain local economy while wildlife crime threatens security, economy and biodiversity of a country," she added.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director General Kitili Mbathi hailed China's conservation role towards the increase of the population of the giant panda that was faced with extinction a few years ago.

The pandas were once widespread throughout southern and eastern China but due to expanding human populations and development, were reduced to limited areas that still contain bamboo forests.

"The two countries can learn from each other and we are ready to help the country have wildlife in the wild," Mbathi added.

He said that China has lately been demonstrating to the whole world that wildlife is better alive than being killed. China is an example of what happens when a government is committed to conservation.

"They have done a good job by investing in panda habitats through the setting up of new reserves," he noted.

In the recent past, wildlife crime has threatened security, economy, and biodiversity of Kenya as demand for rhino horn and elephant ivory continues to rise and poaching methods become increasingly sophisticated.

International networks for poaching, transit, and sale of illegal wildlife products target wildlife populations across borders, creating a complex problem that transcends national boundaries.
RIYADH, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Interior Ministry announced Wednesday that Saudi forces had killed an Islamic State (IS) member and arrested another in Riyadh, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The ministry spokesperson highlighted that the incident occurred when the police deployed to a furnished apartment in Riyadh to deal with a man suspected to be a member in the terrorist group on Tuesday.

He was killed when he resisted his arrest and tried to shoot at the forces. Another man staying with him was arrested and the weapon was confiscated.

The spokesperson highlighted that no civilians in the area were injured during the arrest.

The operation was part of major steps by Saudi Arabia to tackle terrorism activities by IS members and supporters in the country.

The country has dismantled last month four terror cells and arrested 18 suspects, located in Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Al-Qassim.

The newly discovered cells had connections with other groups and individuals who were either killed or arrested during recent raids.
MANILA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Philippines' powerful Commission on Appointments on Wednesday rejected President Duterte's appointment of Perfecto Yasay as Foreign Secretary over his controversial U.S. citizenship.

Yasay, a college buddy of President Rodrigo Duterte, is the first appointee of Duterte to be rejected by the commission, a body in the Senate.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the CA committee on foreign affairs, said it was a "unanimous" decision to reject Yasay's appointment. He urged Duterte to appoint a new one even on acting capacity.

"The commission has gone over the qualifications and issues besetting the appointee," Lacson announced before a plenary session of the CA after the body held a caucus on Yasay's confirmation.

After a careful deliberation, Lacson said "this representation as chairman of the CA committee on foreign affairs, hereby move to reject the ad interim appointment of Yasay."

Lacson said in an interview with reporters that Yasay cannot be reappointed, and that he would no longer be foreign secretary immediately after his rejection.

He said Ysay was already informed about the CA decision.

Yasay has initially denied during his first confirmation at the CA's committee last Feb. 22 that he became an American citizen and that he owned a U.S. passport.

But at the resumption of the hearing this Wednesday, he admitted he was granted U.S. citizenship on Nov. 26, 1986. But he stressed that the citizenship was voided after he abandoned his U.S. residency.

He apologized for "inadvertently" misleading the commission about his U.S. passport.

"Let me quickly apologize for having inadvertently misled the commission on this matter," he said, adding that "it has never been my intention to deceive this commission about my citizenship status."

Yasay took up the post on June 30 last year. Philippine cabinet ministers must undergo a confirmation hearing by lawmakers, but these often take place long after they begin work.
NEW DELHI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Voting for the last phase of local elections in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh and northeastern Manipur began on Wednesday amid tight security and adequate arrangements, officials said.

Polling in the 40 constituencies spread over seven districts of Uttar Pradesh started at 7:00 a.m. local time (0130 GMT)and would go on until 5:00 p.m. (1130 GMT).

"The districts which are going for polls in this phase are Ghazipur, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Sant Ravidas Nagar Bhadohi, Sonebhadra and Mirzapur," an election official said. "Polling is going on smoothly and over 22 percent polling has been recorded until 11:00 a.m. local time (0530 GMT)."

The authorities have set up 14,560 polling centres for 14.1 million electorate to cast their votes. According to election commission officials, 535 candidates including 51 women are in fray for the seventh phase.

Meanwhile in Manipur, polling for the remaining 22 constituencies spread across ten districts was going on in full-swing. Reports said until 11:00 a.m. over 45 percent turnout was recorded.

According to officials, the voting which started at 7:00 in morning will end at 3:00 p.m. Around 800,000 voters will decide the electoral fortune of 98 candidates in this phase.

Election commission officials said to ensure free and fair polling, Assam Rifles and army have also been deployed for domination of the polling areas and emergency support to the police and paramilitary.

In both states reports said long queues of people including women both young and old were seen waiting to cast their ballots at the designated polling booths since morning.

Uttar Pradesh with a population of 200 million is the most populous state in India. The previous six phases of elections recorded around 60 percent voter turnout in the northern state.

The local elections in Uttar Pradesh is seen as a referendum to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision of demonetization - a step to ban high value currency notes.

Modi's Bhartiya Janta Party is facing tough competition from a regional player - Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and an an alliance of regional Samajwadi Party and Congress.

However in Manipur, Congress party's Okram Ibobi Singh, which is ruling the state since 2002, is seeking another term. Singh is the chief minister of the state for past 15 years and in last elections during 2012, he helped his party win the vote for the third time with an absolute majority securing 42 out of the total 60 seats.

In the ongoing elections, BJP is trying hard to unseat Congress.

Known as the "Iron Lady of Manipur," Irom Chanu Sharmila had won worldwide recognition for her persistence in demanding scrapping of a controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

The first phase of elections in Manipur recorded 84 percent voting.

Counting of votes, according to India's Election Commission, would be carried out on March 11.
A Somali refugee girl looks out after getting on a bus heading for Somalia at Dadaab in Garissa, Kenya, July 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Stephen Ingati)

by Chris Mgidu

NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- International charity Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said it was dismayed by the new executive order on immigration and refugee resettlement issued on Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump, barring entrance of citizens of six Muslim-majority countries.

The group said the revised ban on refugees and on travelers from six Muslim-majority nations while suspending the refugee resettlement program for 120 days bounces refugees from hope to despair again.

"When the U.S. government says that it has agreed to resettle refugees, it should follow through on that promise, admitting everyone who has been already vetted," said Joel Charny, Director of Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) USA.

Charny said in a statement issued in Nairobi the new executive order will disrupt thousands of lives due to terrorism fears without factual basis.

"The process of refugee resettlement should be orderly, not an emotional rollercoaster. For the second time in just over a month, imposing this ban further punishes families that already fled their home countries. Refugee lives are not ping-pong balls," he added.

The global charity said the ban discriminates against refugees by unjustly depicting them as a threat to the U.S, noting that refugees already go through a thorough vetting process before they enter the U.S., a process taking up to four years.

"The women, men and children who have come through this process pose a miniscule risk to the security of the U.S. They are only guilty of fleeing war and persecution, and wanting a better life for their families," the NRC said.

The charity said the reducing the accepted number of refugees to the U.S. from 110,000 to 50,000 is shameful for a country so wealthy.

"The new policy sends a dangerous message to the world that the U.S., with all its resources, has abandoned its commitment to addressing the global refugee crisis," warned Charny.

Trump signed a second order after the first one was quashed by courts, halting new visas for travelers from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan.

"The effects of this rhetoric are far reaching beyond America's borders. What happens here today gives momentum to nationalist movements in Europe and elsewhere, that persecution and religious intolerance are acceptable," Charny said.

"It sets a poor example for far less wealthy countries, like Lebanon and Uganda, who have generously taken in refugees and may now question their own commitment. The global refugee regime depends on American leadership," he added.

The charity said refugees already fully vetted and waiting for transportation should be allowed to enter America, with particular focus on family reunification cases, and cases of special vulnerability and distress.
HOUSTON, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC oil producers reaffirmed here on Tuesday their commitment to oil production cut reached last year.

To deal with the oil glut and help stabilize oil prices, OPEC and non-OPEC nations, including Russia and 10 other countries, agreed in November 2016 to trim production by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), which has stabilized oil prices above 50 U.S. dollars per barrel. The accord became effective on Jan. 1, 2017 and runs until July of this year.

Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih told the CERAWeek conference, an annual international gathering of energy industry leaders, experts, government officials and policy makers, that he and his counterparts from other countries were all committed to the pact.

"All of us realize that such an expanded network of producers with a larger share of global production is the only way to achieve a constructive, stable market for all," he said.

Al-Falih noted that the timing of OPEC cutting production to stabilize oil prices without the contribution of the non-OPEC nations are gone.

Saudi Arabia would not bear the burden of the oil production cuts and all the 24 partners in the accord would have to pull their weight, he added.

As for the U.S. shale production, he said the comeback of shale to a certain degree is not only welcome and acceptable but also necessary for demand growth.

Iraq's Oil Minister Jabar Al-Luaibi introduced that his country, whose baseline for the cut was 4.56 million barrels of crude per day, has achieved 85 percent of cut of 210,000 bpd.

United Arab Emirates' Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei also said that his country is speeding up its oil production cuts and expected to meet its commitment to output reduction by 139,000 bpd by June this year.

Both OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers showed optimism that there would be full compliance with the production curbs.

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said the outreach is expected to continue and any decision to extend the OPEC-led production cuts beyond June would have to include the continued participation by the non-OPEC countries.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said keeping the balance of crude supply and demand on the global oil markets as well as raising investment attractiveness of the oil sector would be more important factors for a possible extension of the OPEC and non-OPEC oil production cut accord than reaching a certain price level.

As of January 2017, OPEC, founded in 1960, has 13 member countries and two-thirds of its oil production and reserves are in its six Middle Eastern countries that surround the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

OPEC's combined rate of oil production represented 42 percent of the world's total in 2015, and OPEC accounted for 73 percent of the world's "proven" oil reserves, including 48 percent from its six Middle Eastern members.
by Xinhua writers Peter Mertz, Huang Heng

LAS VEGAS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese heavy equipments targeting the U.S. 100-billion-dollar construction market has taken a strong foothold at 2017 CONEXPO held Tuesday.

An estimated record 130,000 attendees would set foot on this desert oasis of Nevada for the expo by the weekend, where China has attracted the most spotlight, said organizers.

"Most of the folks speculating about further Chinese entry into the (American) market fall into the 'when' camp, not the 'if' camp," said former Sany America CEO Mike Rhoda.

Sources said CONEXPO--CON/AGG, held in the United States every three years, represents a 160-billion-U.S. dollar's global industry, which is expected to reach some 300 billion U.S. dollars by 2021.

The biggest international splash at this year's show was made by the Chinese -- titans of the construction industry in many's eyes - who have literally brought tons of equipments from across the Pacific to exhibit.

"The Chinese invested well more than a million dollars just to attend CONEXPO," said Barry Hubscher, 56, a Chicago heavy equipment sales expert. "Just the costs to transport the equipments are enormous."

The Chinese construction leaders assembling in the Nevada desert have made a "who's who" of the industry - men directly responsible for China's fast growing construction industry during the past 30 years.

In the past 20 years, China's high-speed railway system has seen the building of more than 30,000 kilometers' track, the nation's highway has exceeded 130,000 km, and more than 3,200 km of subways have been constructed.

China has been in full production mode since the great reform and opening up initiated by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, and its construction equipments of big brands have been seen in 170 countries around the world, according to Qi Jun, the president of the China Construction Machinery Association.

Qi was the keynote speaker at a press conference and a workshop held by China's Ministry of Commerce on the expo's opening day that attracted more than 100 media outlets and professionals construction people.

There, leaders of the biggest construction equipment heavyweights in China took stage to discuss their views of the U.S. market. Among them were chief executives of China's top three equipment companies - Sany, Zoomlion and XCMG.

Specifically, Sany has made more excavators than any other producers in the world (last year 170,000 sets), XCMG was the world leader in compaction equipment production, and Zoomlion in tower cranes.

"This important brand promotion gives us an opportunity to enhance the international influence of the Chinese brands," Nick Yaksich, the senior vice president of the Washington-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers told the audience.

The Chinese equipment producers have received the increasing acceptance and sales of their products in the United States, according to industry experts.

The booming of nuclear power plant and bridge construction have created lucrative business chances for earthmoving and piling machinery, concrete machinery, lifting machinery and concrete beam carriers for the construction of railways.

And almost all these equipments were made in China.

"Over the years, the Chinese have become very innovative and spent a lot on research and development," Chicago's Hubscher told Xinhua.

"At first they imported a lot of equipment, but not any more. It's almost all made over there," he said. "And some of the records being broken are amazing."

In 2012, XCMG developed a 4,000-ton crawler crane, also the largest in the world, for the construction of nuclear power plants. And on Sept. 7, 2015, Sany created the record-breaking concrete pumping height of 621 meters in Tianjin.
by Ni Hongmei

UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative is "a great enabler of sustainable development" by unlocking potential of countries and creating appropriate environments, said Saber Chowdhury, the president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Tuesday.

"By focusing on connectivity and cooperation amongst countries across geographical regions," the initiative represents "a very timely and unique opportunity" for the participating countries to reduce infrastructure gaps, as well as to stimulate and accelerate economic prosperity by triggering investment and creating job opportunities, Chowdhury told Xinhua in a written interview.

"It is a win-win proposition for all," said Chowdhury, adding that "I also regard it in essence as an eloquent and practical expression of an important cornerstone of China's foreign policy, that of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence."

The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by China in 2013 and aims to become a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.

On the role the IPU and parliaments can play in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Chowdhury said the IPU was fully engaged in the process of defining the SDGs.

The SDGs are 17 goals adopted by all UN member states in September 2015 to guide the world's development till 2030.

A series of IPU assemblies, as well as the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held at the United Nations headquarters shortly before the adoption of the SDGs, have "focused on the SDGs and refined our inputs," he said, noting that the National People's Congress of China has been actively contributing to the work of the IPU in this regard and others.

"Having been so closely involved in shaping and defining the SDGs, the IPU and national parliaments now have a great responsibility and opportunity in implementing the SDGs and ensuring the people have a future they deserve and aspire to - a brave new world where none is left behind," said the president.

The SDGs represent a global vision for the world and have set goals, targets and indicators in regard to where people want to be in 2030. However, it is for each country to establish, based on its own realities, a road map that will help reach the destination, Chowdhury said.

"National ownership of the SDGs is critical for its success and the IPU has been encouraging national parliaments to take resolutions in support of implementing the SDGs."

Chowdhury said a big challenge that confronts national parliaments is capacity and ability to deliver. China, for its part, has offered to help enhance capacity of parliaments in some developing countries in Asia and Africa.

To help parliaments to assess how "fit for purpose" they are in implementing the goals in their own country, the IPU, together with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has developed a toolkit.

The toolkit is designed to help parliaments identify all the means and processes available to them, as well as the institutional gaps that need to be filled. "I think this is a great resource and I am upbeat that it will be made full use of," said Chowdhury.

The IPU president said that there have been a number of regional initiatives and events around the world with an aim to mobilize parliaments and lawmakers to support the implementation of the SDGs. One of the most recent was the South Asian Speakers' Summit on SDGs, which was held in Indore, India last month.

Further events will continue to be held in different parts of the world, including in Africa, said Chowdhury.

The IPU, established in 1889, is the international organization of parliaments. It fosters contacts, coordination and exchange of experience among parliaments and parliamentarians of all countries.

Chowdhury is a senior Bangladeshi parliamentarian who also has extensive experience in inter-parliamentary relations. He took office in October 2014 as the IPU's 28th president.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A final report on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be released in the months ahead, an investigation team said on Wednesday, the third anniversary of one of the most mysterious aviation incident in history.

The investigation team is working towards finalizing its analysis and findings on eight relevant factors, which include diversion from flight plan route, flight crew profile, wreckage and impact information and aircraft cargo consignment, said the Malaysian arm of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

"With the aircraft wreckage and flight recorders still not found, there is a significant lack of vital evidence available" to determine why the plane diverted from its planned route, said the report.

After scouring over 120,000 square km in the southern Indian Ocean, the three major countries participating in the search, Malaysia, China and Australia suspended the search on Jan. 17. It was decided that the operation will not be restarted unless credible new information surfaced.

Speaking at the Malaysian Parliament on Wednesday, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said, "The suspension is by no means the end" in their commitment to find closure to this tragedy.

The Boeing 777 plane carrying 239 people disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks during a promoting ceremony of East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), which would connect the populated area around the capital of Kuala Lumpur and the less developed region along the east coast of the Malaysian peninsula, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 8, 2017. A massive railway project in Malaysia with the cooperation of China would enhance the bilateral ties between the two countries, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A massive railway project in Malaysia with the cooperation of China would enhance the bilateral ties between the two countries, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Wednesday.

The 600.3 km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) would connect the populated area around the capital of Kuala Lumpur and the less developed region along the east coast of the Malaysian peninsula.

In a joint press release during Najib's visit to China in November, China and Malaysia said the two countries "welcomed the proposed East Coast Rail Line". China Communications Construction Company Limited has signed a business contract with Malaysian side on the engineering, procurement and construction of the project.

Najib said Wednesday that the project would bring benefit to the people along the line, and would enhance Malaysia's ties with China.

"From the perspective of international cooperation with China, this project will consolidate our relationship with China, which is projected to become world's largest economy when the project is completed," Najib said during the open ceremony of the public inspection period for the project.

He stressed that Malaysia decided to work with China to undertake the project because it believes the country's strong capabilities and advantages in the area.

The planned construction period of ECRL is from July 2017 to June 2024. Travelling the entire length of the main line will be under 4 hours.
NEW DELHI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Indian police Wednesday claimed it has killed an Islmaic State suspect in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh after a 12-hour standoff.

The suspect was killed inside a house on the outskirts of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh early Wednesday.

"Commandos tried to storm the room where the suspect was present but he fired upon them and in retaliatory fire, he got killed," Aseem Arun, a senior police official associated with anti-terror unit told media.

"He (Saifullah) was hit by four to five bullets. We have recovered eight pistols, ammunition from the room besides other incriminating material."

Local media quoting police officials have identified the slain suspect was an Indian, and an active member of the Khurasan module of IS.

"Three people have been arrested from Kanpur. The suspect was here. We tried to convince him until last but he didn't relent and we had to ultimately neutralise him," Uttar Pradesh Police Chief Javeed Ahmad told media in Lucknow.

Local residents said on Tuesday that they saw police force surrounding a house and subsequently an operation went on until early Wednesday morning.

"First policemen came in large numbers and then word went across that some suspect is inside a room in the building," Ankur Tiwari, a local told Xinhua. "A huge crowd gathered and then intermittent sound of fire and burst of tear gas shells was heard."

Police officials said they have started investigations into the matter.
SUVA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Fiji's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) signed a letter of Understanding (LoU) with the UN children's fund UNICEF on Wednesday, the Fijian government said.

The signing of the deal, which took place in Suva, initiates the use of the RapidPro platform to assist the Fijian government's efforts in disaster risk management.

Provided to Fiji through the UNICEF's Pacific office, RapidPro is an open-source platform of applications that can help the government deliver information quickly and connect communities to lifesaving services through the short message service (SMS) for mobile phones.

"In both periods of normalcy and disasters, it is important to have updated data and rapid avenues of information gathering and sharing between authorities, responders and communities on the ground," said Meleti Bainimarama, permanent secretary for Fiji's Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and National Disaster Management.

RapidPro's applications, which are produced by UNICEF in partnership with universities and software creators, are constantly updated as new challenges emerge.

RapidPro has been used in several countries and it has been found that ideas and solutions were sometimes created at the grassroots level, said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF's Pacific representative.

A tropical small island country, Fiji is vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunami and hurricanes.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- National lawmakers on Wednesday started to deliberate draft general provisions of civil law, which, if adopted, will bring the country one step closer to a long-absent civil code.

With the draft submitted to the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, the country is nearing the end of its crucial first step toward a civil code: laying down basic principles.

Last year, the draft went through three readings at the bi-monthly sessions of the NPC Standing Committee. It is rare for a draft law not to be passed after three readings.

After the adoption of the general provisions, lawmakers will step up work on compiling individual books on property, contract and marriage, among others, which will be integrated into a unified code.

According to the legislation plan, the code will be enacted in 2020.

Compiling a civil code, dubbed as "an encyclopedia on social life" which regulates personal and property relations, will help "better protect the people's immediate interests, improve state governance, maintain market order, ensure trading security, and promote the sound development of socialist market economy," Li Jianguo, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said while explaining the draft Wednesday at an NPC plenary meeting.

ADAPTING TO NEW ERA

The draft, based on the General Principles of Civil Law adopted in 1986,deals with a variety of issues, ranging from ecological conservation to property protection and the guardianship system.

Existing provisions in the General Principles have been revised and new ones added in line with new conditions in social and economic activities.

The draft establishes a "green" principle, stipulating that in their civil activities, civil subjects must be aware of the need to save resources and protect the environment.

This reflects the country's new development concepts and the fact that China is a populous country that has to strike a balance between people and the environment for a long time to come, Li said.

"Legislative efforts are needed to ensure civil subjects better fulfill their obligations in environmental protection," said national lawmaker and jurist Wu Qing.

Fetuses that require protection for the succession of estates and reception of donations shall be deemed as having the capacity for civil law rights, according to the draft.

"This is a step forward. Rights of a life without capacity for conduct still need protecting," said Shen Guoming, deputy head of the China Society of Jurisprudence.

The draft lowers the statutory age limit of minors with limited capacity for civil conduct from 10 to six years, for the purpose of attaching more attention to minors' own discretion.

The draft also highlights the protection of online virtual assets and data, as incidents of personal information leakage have increased in recent years.

In addition, the draft adds provisions on rural economic collectives and villagers' committees, among others, to help them better participate in civil life, and protect the members' legitimate rights and interests.

"Each and every provision embodies the will of the people," said national lawmaker Sun Xianzhong, deputy head of the China Civil Law Society, who has spent years pushing for a civil code of China.

TIME RIPE FOR CIVIL CODE

The road towards a civil code, a dream for generations of Chinese, has been bumpy.

For millennia, civil rights and civil code were virtually unheard of for Chinese living under imperial autocracy. It was until late Qing Dynasty that the concept of civil code was first put forward, followed by a failed attempt by the Qing government to introduce a code.

Since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the central authority has strived to build a modern country under the rule of law, of which a civil code is an integral part.

In 1954, 1962, 1979 and 2001, China made separate attempts to draft a civil law, only to halt due to political turmoil and other reasons.

For example, the second attempt was interrupted by the chaotic Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), a dark decade in which human rights were trampled and laws could hardly protect anyone.

In 1986, the General Principles of Civil Law was enacted, establishing basic principles for protecting civil rights and interests, and regulating civil relations.

A draft civil law was submitted to the top legislature for the first reading in December 2002, but then shelved for its complexity and difference of opinions over it.

Nonetheless, the General Principles and other separate civil laws promulgated over the past decades, including the Property Law, the Tort Liability Law and Inheritance Law, have laid good groundwork for a civil code.

In October 2014, the Communist Party of China decided at a key meeting to compile a civil code. It is people's congresses that translate the Party's resolutions into the will of the state through legislative procedures.

The legislative task has since been treated as a necessary move to perfect the country's socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, and significant in modernizing state governance.

In March 2015, the drafting of the general provisions started, marking the beginning of China's journey to a civil code of its own.

According to the top legislature, China's civil code will be born out of the country's realities, target problems in China, address Chinese people's concerns and needs, as well as embody Chinese culture, traditions and values.

One cardinal principle for compiling the civil code is weaving socialist core values, including equality, justice and amicability, into the whole process.

In this spirit, for example, the draft stipulates that a person shall not bear civil responsibilities if he acts voluntarily to help another in emergency and inflicts losses on the one being helped, a move to encourage helping others in danger and protect those who do.
DUBAI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Worldwide passenger demand growth hit 9.3 percent year on year in January, representing a five-year peak, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Wednesday.

The IATA report revealed that Middle East carriers had the strongest year-over-year demand growth in January at 14.4 percent.

This is in line with world's busiest airport Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates which said earlier this month passengers in January reached an all-time high of eight million.

Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO said 2017 is off to a "very strong start, with demand at levels not seen since 2011."

Asia Pacific carriers recorded an increase of 10.9 percent compared to January 2016, "helped with the impact of Lunar New Year-related travel and solid growth on routes within Asia," said IATA.

In contrast, North American airlines had the slowest demand growth, with traffic rising 3.2 percent in January, compared to 12 months ago.

IATA estimates the holiday-related travel contributed up to one-half a percentage point in extra demand growth. January capacity rose eight percent, and load factor climbed 1.2 percentage points to 80.2 percent.

IATA noted that the increase in flights to and out of China supported the demand during Chinese Spring Holidays. The Middle East's biggest carrier Emirates for example established flights between Dubai and Yinchuan and Zhengzhou in central China in May last year.

Meanwhile in December last year, Dubai international airport welcomed Sichuan Airlines' first direct flight from Chengdu to the Gulf Arab emirate.

IATA's de Juniac said on the outlook for 2017, the rise in global demand "is supported by the upturn in the global economic cycle and a return to a more normal environment after the terrorism and political shock events seen in early 2016."
JAKARTA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese visitors dominated foreign ones who visited Indonesia's resort island of Bali in January this year with 147,928 travellers, a Statistics Bureau Agency (BPS) official said on Wednesday.

The official added that influx of Chinese visitors in Bali was significantly high as it grew 92.32 percent if compared to 76,919 people recorded in the same period last year.

"Most of them came with direct flights to Bali's Ngurah Rai airport from several cities in China, while smaller number of theme came with cruise ships," Head of Bali provincial BPS office Adi Nugroho said in Bali capital of Denpasar.

He added that with such an enormous arrival figure, Chinese visitors contributed 32.10 percent from a total of 460,824 foreign visitors who visited the resort island in Bali during the first month this year.

According to him, the number of Chinese visitors in January has toppled down Australia's domination in foreigners visiting Bali for years. Australian visitors in Bali stood at 91,515, the second largest after Chinese visitors.

Bali Tourism expert Tjokorda Gde Agung attributed the surge in Chinese visitors to the increasing direct flights from Chinese cities to Bali and the government's initiation to grant free tourism visa for 169 countries, including from China.

Indonesia has regarded China as its main market in tourism sector as the country has increasing number of outbound travelers with 120 million ones recorded in 2015, or 12 percent higher than in 2014.

Indonesia has set target to receive 15 million foreign visitors this year, higher than 12 million ones last year.
Police officers escort a fugitive into a vehicle at Pudong International Airport in east China's Shanghai, March 8, 2017. Chinese police Wednesday escorted a fugitive from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time since the two nations signed an extradition treaty in 2004. With the cooperation of UAE police and the Chinese embassy in the UAE, a suspect on an Interpol red notice, wanted for contract fraud, was extradited. (Xinhua/Fan Jun)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese police Wednesday escorted a fugitive from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time since the two nations signed an extradition treaty in 2004, according to the public security authority.

With the cooperation of UAE police and the Chinese embassy in the UAE, a suspect on an Interpol red notice, wanted for contract fraud, was extradited.

According to police in Shanghai's Putuo district, in September 2007 the suspect, surnamed Kan, falsely claimed that he was authorized to sell a property in Shanghai, swindling deposits of 2 million yuan (around 289,000 U.S. dollars).

He fled to the UAE from Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, in March 2008. In December 2015 the people's procuratorate of Putuo approved his arrest on charges of contract fraud.

Kan was apprehended by UAE police in January 2016. In February last year, China requested his extradition based on the treaty between China and the UAE.

On March 7, UAE police transferred him to a team with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security in Dubai Airports.

Another red notice suspect, surnamed Xu, suspected of fraud was repatriated at the same time.
RABAT, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A lawmaker was shot dead near his house in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, local media reported on Wednesday.

Abdellatif Merdas, 54, a lawmaker from the liberal Constitutional Union Party (UC), was killed late on Tuesday by three shots, Hespress news website said.

Merdas was killed on the spot after he was shot by two bullets in his face, while the third targeted his chest, the same source added.

Eyewitnesses said the attacker shot the lawmaker with a riffle from a foreign registered black car. An investigation has been launched.
Opponents of President Park Geun-hye gather in the rain during a rally in Seoul, South Korea, on March 1, 2017. Peaceful rallies, which have lasted since a scandal embroiling President Park Geun-hye emerged in late October, have made many South Koreans proud of opening a new chapter in the way to express their opinions. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho)

SEOUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's constitutional court said Wednesday that it will make a final ruling on President Park Geun-hye's impeachment later this week.

The ruling on whether to permanently remove Park from office or reinstate her will be made at 11 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) on Friday, the court said on its website.

It will be broadcast live as public attention is centered on the impeachment. The pleading sessions had also been aired live through the court's website.

The motion to impeach President Park was passed on Dec. 9 through the National Assembly by an overwhelming support.

If six out of the eight justices uphold the motion, Park will be forced out of office. If more than three judges reject the bill, Park will be reinstated immediately.

The ruling date was set on Friday as the acting chief justice is scheduled to retire next Monday. Former chief judge retired on Jan. 31.

A presidential election must be held in 60 days if the impeachment is upheld. Park would then be subject to indictment and detention as she loses the immunities as head of state.

Special prosecutors, who had investigated the corruption scandal embroiling President Park for 70 days, identified Park as an accomplice to her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil for multiple charges including bribery.

Choi is now in custody for meddling in state affairs behind the scenes and peddling undue influence for personal gains.

Related:

Pro- and anti-Park South Koreans rally over presidential impeachment

by Yoo Seungki

SEOUL, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Peaceful rallies, which have lasted since a scandal embroiling President Park Geun-hye emerged in late October, have made many South Koreans proud of opening a new chapter in the way to express their opinions.

The festive scene, however, could come to an end as the streets are increasingly packed with more conservative extremists, who even threaten white terror in an open space. Some of them are conservative Christians and others paid for their presence. Full story

Spotlight: Drawn-out political unrest divides S. Koreans over presidential impeachment

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- A long-drawn-out political unrest in South Korea has been dividing people on the streets, with separate mass rallies held in Seoul on recent weekends to permanently oust or reinstate President Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in the parliament on Dec. 9.
BAGHDAD, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Wednesday that Iraq will continue striking the Islamic State (IS) militants in neighboring countries to protect Iraqi cities.

"I respect the sovereignty of other states, and won't hesitate to strike the positions of terrorists in the neighboring countries. We will keep fighting them," said Abadi in the city of Sulaimaniya in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.

"I say, we want to protect Iraq and its citizens and we want cooperation with the neighboring countries, because there (in neighboring countries) are terrorists send car bombs to Baghdad and other Iraqi cities to carry out terrorist acts," Abadi said in a televised speech.

On Feb. 24, Abadi announced that he had ordered airstrikes against positions of IS militants inside Syria in retaliation for deadly bomb attacks in Baghdad.

"We are determined to chase terrorism that tries to kill our sons and citizens wherever it is located. We gave orders to the air force command to conduct airstrikes against the terrorist Daesh (IS group) in Husaybah (IS-held Iraqi border town) and Albu Kamal inside Syrian territories, as they were responsible for recent terrorist bombings in Baghdad," according Abadi's announcement.

Abadi went to Kurdistan region late on Tuesday after he made a surprise visit to the security forces and met with top military commanders in the battleground city of Mosul, just hours after the troops dislodged IS militants from the main government complex in the old Mosul city center.

Abadi's comment in Sulaimaniya came as the Iraqi security forces, backed by anti-IS international coalition, are conducting a major offensive to drive out IS militants from their last major stronghold in and around Mosul.
NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening held a telephone conversation with his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta to discuss areas of mutual interests between the two countries.

A statement from the White House said the two leaders discussed a range of issues like bilateral trade, investments and counter terrorism.

"President Donald J. Trump spoke today with President Kenyatta of Kenya to reaffirm the strong bilateral relationship between our two countries," said the statement.

The two leaders discussed economic partnership and mutual dedication to overcoming terrorism and other regional security challenges through close cooperation, according to the statement.

"President Trump expressed appreciation for Kenya's significant contributions to the African Union Mission in Somalia and recognized Kenyan troops' sacrifices in the fight against al-Shabaab," it said.

The two leaders also discussed ways to boost bilateral trade and investment in Kenya and the broader East Africa region, it added.
JERUSALEM, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli military said Wednesday that Israeli forces raided an online "illegal weapons shop" in the West Bank city of Nablus.

"Overnight, security forces uncovered a store that sold weaponry and hundreds of weapon parts and ammunition were seized," a military spokesperson said in a statement.

The online procurements were made by a "terror cell" that has manufactured weaponry parts. Over the past few months, four firearms and hundreds of weapon parts belonging to the cell were seized in security forces' operations, including 130 bullets, 90 magazines, and 127 various parts," the spokesperson said.

The forces arrested the shop owner together with eight other suspects who were taken for interrogation.

Also, another store suspected of receiving and selling weapon parts over the past few years was uncovered, the military said.

The spokesperson said that raid was carried out in the context of an "ongoing intelligence and operational effort against illegal weaponry" in the West Bank.

"The raid was the start of a widespread operation in the area of Nablus," the spokesperson added.
RABAT, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Morocco will further tighten border control with Algeria to counter illegal migration of subsaharan Africans and arm trafficking, local media reported on Wednesday.

The regional council of Oriental (eastern) region decided to build new control points to go along with the building of 100 km border fence with Algeria, the daily Akhbar Al Yaoum said.

The same source noted that authorities have raised vigilance in the region which is regarded as a main entrance of illegal migrants from subsaharan Africa.
Cambodian Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh (R) shakes hands with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defense Services, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 8, 2017. Gen. Tea Banh met with Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday to discuss defense and security cooperation. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh met with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defense Services, on Wednesday to discuss defense and security cooperation, a senior military official said.

"It is Gen. Min Aung Hlaing's first visit to Cambodia to strengthen and expand relations and cooperation between the armies of the two countries," Gen. Eth Sarath, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, told reporters after the meeting.

He said that both sides agreed to exchange military leaders' visits and military students in order to enhance bilateral ties.

Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Phnom Penh on Wednesday for a two-day visit. He also paid a courtesy call on Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Wednesday afternoon.

Min Aung Hlaing succeeded retired Senior General Than Shwe as Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defense Services in March 2011.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (L) shakes hands with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 8, 2017. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the international community will rally behind Kenya's efforts to tackle biting drought and regional conflicts. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei)

by Christine Lagat

NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the international community will rally behind Kenya's efforts to tackle biting drought and regional conflicts.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Nairobi with his host President Uhuru Kenyatta, Guterres noted that Kenya required external support to help deal with the current drought that has affected an estimated 3 million people.

"I hope the international community will match Kenya's generosity in this time it is facing prolonged drought," he told journalists while reaffirming the UN's commitment to helping Kenya achieve sustainable development, peace and security.

Guterres' first visit to Kenya as the UN Secretary General came against a backdrop of a devastating drought in the northern parts of the country that has fueled inter-tribal hostilities.

President Kenyatta on Feb.10 declared drought a national disaster and appealed to the international community to speed up emergency relief aid. In response, the UN announced it will lend emergency support to communities affected by drought.

Guterres said the United Nations in solidarity with Kenya as the east African nation grapples with climate induced food crises and the spillover of regional conflicts.

"We appreciate the relationship between Kenya and the UN to enable the country achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs)," said the UN boss, adding that Kenya has been a strategic partner in efforts to stabilize regional hotspots like Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

On his part, Kenyatta welcomed UN's support toward a national drought emergency strategy launched early this year to enhance communities' resilience in the face of food and water scarcity.

At the same time, the Kenyan leader said a multilateral approach is key to solving regional conflicts and the attendant refugee crises.
JAKARTA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has pledged to take parts in efforts to facilitate post-conflict settlement in Sri Lanka, a government minister said on Wednesday.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with his Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena at the State Palace, saying that Indonesia is ready to help smooth the ongoing reconciliation between the Sri Lankan government and former Tamil rebel, according to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

Minister Retno said Indonesia has the experience in peacefully terminating a 29-year conflict with rebels in Aceh province in the northern tip of Sumatra Island 12 years ago.

"It (Sri Lanka) is witnessing a case which is similar with our experience in Aceh in the past," Minister Retno said.

President Widodo promised to share experience with the government of Sri Lanka in accelerating the reconciliation.

"We can share many things in achieving peace as we had experienced it in Aceh province," she added.

In 2009, Tamil rebel surrendered to the Sri Lankan government after engaging in rebellion for 25 years.
PARIS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A snowboarder was killed while two others were missing due to an avalanche in Savoie in southeastern France, according to local reports.

The Dutch man was found dead late on Tuesday and a thorough search for the two other snowboarders is underway, the regional newspaper Le Dauphine Libere reported.

Avalanche alert remains high in the area after heavy snowfall, it added.

A day before, an avalanche at Tignes ski resort in the French Alps engulfed many skiers, but no victims had been reported.

Last month, four skiers were killed when an avalanche rushed down an off-piste site near Tignes in Savoie.
KAMPALA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan military said it has arrested 43 former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rebel group M23 fighters over illegal entry into the country with arms.

Maj. Henry Obbo, Uganda's deputy military spokesperson, told Xinhua Tuesday that the fighters were intercepted over the weekend in the western district of Kasese while attempting to cross into Uganda with guns.

"Our forces intercepted a group of the M23 group who were entering into Uganda illegally with guns and arms," said Obbo.

"They are currently being detained in Mbarara. They are supposed to be charged with illegal entry into Uganda with arms," he said.

Uganda People's Defence Forces on Jan. 18 arrested 101 former M23 fighters when they tried to escape back to their country under unclear circumstances.

The fighters who fled to western Uganda in November 2013 after being defeated by the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade in the eastern Kivu province had been camped at Bihanga military training school in Ibanda district in Uganda.

The M23 rebellion also forced thousands of Congolese refugees to flee into western Uganda.
SHIJIAZHUANG, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have begun the second-stage excavation of the ruins of a north China town, hoping to find more evidence for the argument that it is the starting point of the ancient maritime silk road.

The current excavation is also expected to unveil functions of the town as an important trade port during the Jin (1115-1234) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties in Chinese history, said Lei Jianhong, director of the research office for underwater archaeology under the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, on Wednesday.

The first-stage excavation of the site began in July 2016 and lasted for more than five months in a 300-square-meter excavation area in the port city of Huanghua, Hebei Province, with findings including 1,000-year-old architectural sites, ancient roads, and pieces of pottery and porcelain.

Approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and organized by the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics, the ongoing excavation was jointly run by the State Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection Center and Huanghua City Museum.

Located in the southeast of Haifeng town ruins and about 400 meters from the first excavation, the new site covers 1,000 square meters.

Archaeologists said earlier studies showed that there used to be an ancient river, a coal-ash layer, and marks of human trampling, along with roads leading to the outside, indicating a flourishing ancient port.

"The ongoing excavation is to determine the functions of the port ruins' different zones," said Lei.

"Based on the findings of the first dig, the excavation will look into the details of how the ancient port operated and is expected to provide more proof that ancient Haifeng town was the north starting point of the maritime silk road," Lei added.

About 25 kilometers east of Huanghua, the Haifeng town ruins cover a total area of 2.28 million square meters as a national protected heritage site.

In four excavations since 2000, archaeologists found large amounts of porcelain featuring both southern and northern Chinese styles dating back to the Jin and Yuan dynasties, which showed that the Haifeng town ruins had served as a port for porcelain trade as early as the Jin Dynasty.
WINDHOEK, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Health and Social Services has reported a malaria outbreak in the northern part of Namibia which has already claimed thirteen lives in the Kavango region.

According to the ministry's report Tuesday, the outbreak is mostly severe in Kavango West and East region as well as Ohangwena, Zambezi with about 3,881 cases reported so far.

Health Minister Bernard Haufiku has requested for emergency funding to respond to the malaria outbreak.

While addressing parliament, Haufiku said that the total budget for the outbreak response is about 2.1 million Namibian dollars (161, 538 U.S. dollars) of which the ministry only has half of that.

He said that additional equipment such as tents and camping equipment as well as helicopters is needed in order for medications and staff to reach affected areas.

"The state hospital in Rundu is experiencing overcrowding due to the outbreak thus the ministry needs to put up tents to cater for the huge number of patients," Haufiku said.

They have also decided to go to villages and settlements to help those who are not able to travel to the hospital to receive care.

Since 2015, the country has been experiencing an increase in malaria cases affecting mostly the regions bordering Angola and Zambia.

This situation is influenced by climatic and environmental factors as well as significant cross-border population movement from high malaria endemic countries.

Official data showed that in 2015, about 12,045 cases of malaria were recorded while 24,682 cases were recorded last year.

About 43 people died from Malaria in 2015 while 87 deaths were recorded in 2016.
TEHRAN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said that Iran will counter the U.S. visa ban against the Iranians, Tehran Times daily reported on Wednesday.

"Our earlier countermeasure against Trump's order (to stop visa issuance for Iranians) is still in place," Takht-Ravanchi said, adding that "There is no need for a new decision."

On Jan. 27, Trump issued an executive order for a 90-day ban on the entry visa issuance for seven Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa, namely, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen. However, it was halted later by a federal court.

On Jan. 31, Iran said that it had stopped granting visas to U.S. citizens in response to Washington's travel ban.

On Monday, the White House revised the earlier executive order and signed a new order that excludes Iraqi citizens, but keeps the visa applicants from six other countries, still targeting Iranians. The order is to be put into effect on March 16.
Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), delivers a work report of the NPC Standing Committee during the second plenary meeting of the fifth session of the 12th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator on Wednesday pledged further conformity to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core.

National lawmakers should unite more closely "around the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core," to develop the system of the people's congress and realize the dream of national rejuvenation, said Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, while delivering a work report of the NPC Standing Committee.

The endorsement of Xi as the core "reflects the will of all members of the Party, all members of the armed forces and all the people of China," Zhang told nearly 3,000 NPC deputies gathered at the Great Hall of the People.

The NPC, the highest body of state power, opened its annual session on Sunday to set the national development agenda for this year.

The system of the people's congress enables the people to exercise their power as "masters of the state."

It was at the first session of the 12th NPC in March 2013 that Xi was elected Chinese president. He had been elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in November 2012 at the 18th CPC National Congress

Zhang's remarks echoed Yu Zhengsheng, China's top political advisor, who also voiced conformity to the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core when the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee opened on Friday.

Dubbed as the "two sessions," the dual meetings are among the most important political events where development agendas are reviewed and discussed, and key policies adopted.

In reviewing the work last year, Zhang said the NPC Standing Committee advanced legislation in key areas, including developing the system of national security laws, drafting general provisions of civil law and making the law on environmental protection tax.

Decisions were made on major issues, including disqualifying 45 NPC deputies elected by the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress for bribing voters and interpreting Article 104 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to oppose any attempt at secession of Hong Kong from China.

Zhang announced the national legislature's major tasks for 2017, a crucial year in the journey toward a moderately prosperous society by 2020. The CPC will convene the 19th National Congress later this year to elect new leadership for the next five years.

In 2017, effective legislation will be produced to promote national development under the leadership of the Party.

The Leading Party Members' Group of the NPC Standing Committee must promptly request instructions from and submit reports to the CPC Central Committee on major issues in legislation, Zhang said.

According to the plan, the legislature will revise the Law on Administrative Supervision to turn it into a national supervision law amid efforts to establish a "centralized, unified, authoritative and highly-efficient" national supervision system.

The draft general provisions of the civil law was submitted for review after three readings last year. If adopted, it will bring China one step closer to the country's first civil code. Compiling of the individual books will be stepped up so that the civil code could be enacted in 2020.

The legislature will also formulate laws on e-commerce, nuclear safety, intelligence and soil pollution prevention, among others, according to the report.

"Good laws are a prerequisite for good governance. The legislation plans this year will help crack hard nuts in future reforms which have entered the deep-water zone," said NPC deputy Sun Xianzhong, a researcher with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "It reflects Xi's governance thought and the common will of the people."

The Party's leadership is also highlighted in the legislature's oversight over the work of the State Council, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

The NPC and its Standing Committee will strengthen oversight of the implementation of plans for supply-side structural reform and poverty alleviation, both fundamental to building a well-off society, according to the work report.

This has been the fifth and last session of the 12th NPC. The legislature will ensure well-organized elections of deputies to people's congresses, including those to the 13th NPC, Zhang said.

The election of deputies to the 13th NPC shall be completed in January 2018, according to the draft decision.

The legislature will also work to understand, explain, and communicate the new theoretical and practical accomplishments that the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core has made in upholding and improving the system of people's congress and in advancing the rule of law, Zhang said.

"We are closer than ever in history to realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and we have greater confidence in achieving this goal and greater capacity to do so than ever before," he said.

China stresses the unity of Party leadership, people being masters of the country and the rule of law.

"Chinese philosophy of governance includes two concepts: 'minyi,' or public opinion, and 'minxin,' or the hearts and minds of the people," said Wen Yang, a researcher with the Institute of China Studies at Fudan University.

"New ideas, thought and strategies of state governance under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core have solid foundation of public opinion. Proven successful by experience, they have won the people's hearts," he said.
MOSCOW, March 8 (Xinhua) -- While opposition to globalization is emerging in some Western countries, China firmly upholds the idea of openness and integration by pushing forward its Belt and Road Initiative, said a Russian analyst.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is directed against the narrow-minded protectionism, isolationism and attempts to sow discord between nations," Sergei Luzyanin, director of the Far Eastern Studies Institute under the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 in hope of creating a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

"The mega project is aimed exactly at integration, convergence and economic development," said Luzyanin, who has chosen this Chinese initiative as a latest study field.

According to him, the onshore and maritime routes run across areas of higher, medium and lower development levels, and participants can flexibly choose infrastructure overhaul, financial partnership or other forms of cooperation based on different local situations.

Official data showed that China has invested more than 50 billion U.S. dollars in countries along the Belt and Road since 2013.

The initiative has won support from over 100 countries and many international organizations, with nearly 50 cooperative agreements signed between governments.

Luzyanin said the initiative will lead to a general economic improvement, especially in Central Asia and neighboring regions in the long term.

"If we had only the Western European-American option of integration and economic development in the 1990s, today there is a significant addition in the form of the Chinese model," said the specialist on China.

In May, more than 20 heads of state and government, over 50 leaders of international organizations, over 100 ministerial-level officials, as well as more than 1,200 delegates from various countries and regions are expected to participate in a Belt and Road forum for international cooperation in Beijing.

Luzyanin believes the prospects for this initiative are positive, because firstly the project is backed by abundant financial resources, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.

The second reason is that China has accumulated rich experience of economic development and reform over the past 30 years.

The third pillar is the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership with a common focus on the Greater Eurasia. Leaders of both countries have agreed to connect the Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.
MANILA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is to name an acting foreign minister on Thursday, after the Commission on Appointment (CA) rejected the appointment of Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay over citizenship issue.

Duterte's spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said Duterte's office will make the announcement on Thursday morning.

Yasay failed to get the nod of the powerful commission whose members questioned the top diplomat's eligibility following reports he was a U.S. citizen in possession of a U.S. passport.

Yasay has denied legally applying for a U.S. citizenship in past hearings. But during Wednesday's final committee hearing, Yasay apologized for "having inadvertently misled the commission" on the citizenship issue.

"It has never been my intention to deceive this commission about this citizenship status. Simply put, I did not lose my status as a Filipino," Yasay told the commission.

CA Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Panfilo Lacson said the commission's "unanimous" decision on Yasay is final, and that the top diplomat needs to immediately vacate his post.

Whoever Duterte names as acting foreign minister will only serve until May.

Duterte is expected to appoint his former running mate in the last presidential elections, Sen. Peter Cayetano, as permanent foreign secretary. Duterte has promised Cayetano the post even when before he appointed Yasay to the post shortly after assuming office in June last year.
KABUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The counter-attack operation in a military hospital in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul ended on Wednesday, after all gunmen were shot dead by security forces, said a security source.
BANGKOK, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's sustained tussle between authorities and a religious cult's members will come to an end within the upcoming Sunday, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

The Department of Special Investigation's Deputy Director General Songsak Raksaksakul said the month-long siege by the DSI-led police and army units around Wat Thammakaya temple in Pathum Thani province on the northern outskirts of the Thai capital, will be finished no later than the upcoming Sunday.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had imposed the absolute Article 44 of the interim constitution to declare the 800-acre temple premises a restricted zone as thousands of monks and laymen have blocked the DSI-led missions from getting in and arresting Phra Dhammajayo, the former Dhammakaya abbot who remains fugitive and is believed to be hiding inside.

The cult leader, who was recently deprived of a senior monk's rank as Phra Thepmahamunee by the Prime Minister's Office, has been accused of involvement in some 26 million U.S. dollars in alleged money- laundering scams over the last decade.

Songsak said the authorities were assessing the situation in and around the temple before they take steps to get in one of the buildings, namely Boonraksa Building, to search for the fugitive monk.

"We'll make a decision within five days starting from today to do something to put an end to this prolonged situation. The longer it is dragged on, the more they will distort the truth about our siege," said the deputy DSI chief, referring to the protesters who have remained in the premises of the temple, including monks and laymen, most of whom being followers of Phra Dhammjayo.

An arrest warrant was issued against the former abbot by court last year.

He did not elaborate on when the fresh raid on the temple will take place, given thousands of DSI officials and policemen put on alert near the gates to the temple with army soldiers on the outer perimeters.

Meanwhile, the Office and National Buddhism and high-level government officials are yet to decide whether Phra Dhammajayo will be disrobed and detained on the money-laundering charges after he has been rounded up, Songsak said.

A certain venue has already been prepared to detain the fugitive monk during investigation, he said without giving details.

Several monks, known as followers of Phra Dhammajayo, are yet to turn themselves in to the police for their alleged attempts to obstruct the DSI-led missions though six others already did, including Phra Palad Seksan Attathamo, who was briefly detained and released under bail on Wednesday.

About 160 monks and laymen, mostly Dhammajayo's followers, have been summoned by the DSI for questioning due to their allegedly obstructing moves and instigating others to prolong the mass protests against the authorities either inside or outside the temple.
by Wu Qiang, Lu Rui

PYONGYANG, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Women in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday celebrated the International Women's Day, as the country lauded its womanhood for its dedication and contributions to the revolutionary cause and nation-building for nearly a century.

Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Worker's Party of Korea, said at a celebration gathering in central Pyongyang that the nation owes its women for the victory in the resistance against Japanese imperialists and the War of National Liberation, as well as peacetime achievement in the socialist construction.

"Women are not only mothers of soldiers, workers and scientists, but also the caretakers of the elderly and orphans...They make the nation strong and harmonious," he said.

In Pyongyang, women are finding it hard to hide their pride as they make up half of the country's workforce.

The majority of people working at markets and shops, public transportation and tourism are women. At the Pyongyang Shop which caters for foreign diplomats and foreign residents in the city, Choe Hyang Mi, 25, said she saw many customers buying locally-made cosmetics as gifts for their female family members and friends on the International Women's Day.

Hyon Yon Ok, 42, who works at a shop at the Pyongyang Railway Station, said she is raising one 16-year-old daughter and one 13-year-old son. She would like them to become soldiers of the Korean People's Army in the future, as she herself had served in the army for eight years before.

Kwon Son Mi, 26, who works at a big department store opposite the railway station, was selling special packages of cakes and bread for the International Women's Day, as they are very popular for family gatherings on the day.

Kwon said the department store also sold many roses, because in her country, rose is the favorite flower for women.

At the rest hall of the Pyongyang Railway Station, Yang Jong Sun, a train hostess, told Xinhua that she has a 22-year-old son who is serving in the army.

In the DPRK, boys and girls enjoy equal opportunities of eduction, and there is no discrimination against women who give birth to girls, she said.
JAKARTA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia aims to net 470 million U.S. dollars of tourism package transactions in world's leading travel fair event of Internationale Tourismus Borse (ITB) in Messe Berlin, Germany on March 8-12.

That would be much higher than 375,605 U.S. Dollars the nation has netted last year, a minister said Wednesday.

Besides targeting higher transactions in the annual event, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that Indonesia also has set the target of seizing best exhibit title at the event.

In 2016 ITB Indonesia seized "Best Exhibitor Award" for Asia, Australia and Oceania region, brushing aside the other regional nominators, South Korea and India to secure the prestigious title.

"This is the world's leading tourism event. All countries would do their utmost to show their best performance in attracting visitors here by offering the best of their tour destinations. This is the best moment to show off our Wonderful Indonesia brand to the world," the minister said in Berlin in a statement.

Indonesia brings 124 participants from several tour destinations and national travel agents during 2017 ITB, higher than 100 ones last year. This year Indonesian exhibit's design is themed traditional Sulawesi boat of Phinisi.

ITB displayed some 10,000 exhibits last year, attracting at least 180,000 visitors comprised of travel enthusiasts, potential visitors and those indulging in travel and tour industry.

The minister said that winning the best title in international travel event like ITB is very important to bolster the nation's tourism sector, which has been declared as the nation's core business.

He added that the title would boost the 3Cs principle in the sector, consisting of Calibration, Confidence and Credibility.

"Should those three principles be well-addressed, it would increase our bargaining value in world's tourism industry. We already won prestigious international awards in the last two years," the minister said.

Indonesia earned 12 of 16 best awards in international halal tourism for several categories last year, higher than that earned by the nation a year earlier.

Besides those awards, Indonesia's tour destinations received recognitions from several influential travel media as best places to visit for several categories.

Indonesia's resort island of Bali also received an award from Singapore-based prominent travel media, DestinAsian, in the last 12 consecutive years.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage at Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.

Born and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall paintings at Dunhuang, in northwest China's Gansu Province.

"It was not that I favored my job over my family, I just could not bear the guilt of having our ancestors' legacy destroyed," she told Xinhua in Beijing while attending the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The 1,600-year-old Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a huge collection of Buddhist art -- more than 2,000 Buddha figures and 45,000 square meters of paintings spread among 735 caves.

It is China's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

DESERT WARFARE

Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduating from Peking University in 1963. Her college sweetheart was assigned a teaching job in Wuhan, thousands of miles away.

While in Dunhuang, a desert outpost then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare go out to the toilet at night.

"I saw a pair of shining eyes in the dark. I thought it was a wolf," she said, before finding out that the eyes belonged to a donkey.

To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity in the caves. They also control the number of visitors.

"The carbon dioxide people exhale in the caves accumulates and will damage the paintings, so we allow a maximum of 3,000 tourists each day."

In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao, but found Fan firmly in their way.

"The legacy would have been destroyed if it had been listed," she said.

The academy has now photographed and cataloged online all the sculptures and paintings. "Despite our efforts to minimize damage, we can't completely stop them from being eroded. But the digital database will last."

Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up in Shanghai with their aunt.

"I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I'm full of guilt," she said.

NEVER GIVING UP

Fan, 79, retired two years ago as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political advisor.

She has spent International Women's Day in Beijing for the past 25 years as CPPCC typically convened for its annual sessions in early March.

As one of the longest-serving CPPCC members, Fan has raised many proposals for protecting China's heritage. Some have been accepted and led to changes in policy.

Fan recalls the proposal she made in 2003 which led to the establishment of the Dunhuang Tourism Information Center. The digital center opened to public in 2014 after 11 years of research, verification, planning and construction.

"The center helps tourists have a better understanding of what we do here, and doubles our tourist capacity," said Fan.

Another proposal resulted in changes to a planned railway line, which she thought would damage the grottoes.

For the past two years, she has been working on a proposal to use technology to protect sites across the country.

She proposed the Ministry of Science and Technology prioritize cultural heritage protection, have more sites digitized, and combine traditional antique repairs with modern technology.

"Dunhuang has benefited from digital technology and I hope our experience can be replicated in the whole country," she said.

This year, Fan has decided to retire from the advisory body. "I'm too old for the CPPCC job," she said. "But I will keep on working for our heritage protection."
Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi said January 29, 2017 he will not attend next month's Academy Awards, comparing President Donald Trump's visa ban on seven Muslim countries to the actions of hardliners in his own country. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

TEHRAN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said that Iran will counter the U.S. visa ban against the Iranians, Tehran Times daily reported on Wednesday.

"Our earlier countermeasure against Trump's order (to stop visa issuance for Iranians) is still in place," Takht-Ravanchi said, adding that "There is no need for a new decision."

On Jan. 27, Trump issued an executive order for a 90-day ban on the entry visa issuance for seven Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa, namely, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen. However, it was halted later by a federal court.

On Jan. 31, Iran said that it had stopped granting visas to U.S. citizens in response to Washington's travel ban.

On Monday, the White House revised the earlier executive order and signed a new order that excludes Iraqi citizens, but keeps the visa applicants from six other countries, still targeting Iranians. The order is to be put into effect on March 16.
This photo taken on February 17, 2017 shows a general view of the fence between the Moroccan city of Fnideq and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, which was built to keep out migrants, traffickers, or an enemy group. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

RABAT, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Morocco will further tighten border control with Algeria to counter illegal migration of subsaharan Africans and arm trafficking, local media reported on Wednesday.

The regional council of Oriental (eastern) region decided to build new control points to go along with the building of 100 km border fence with Algeria, the daily Akhbar Al Yaoum said.

The same source noted that authorities have raised vigilance in the region which is regarded as a main entrance of illegal migrants from subsaharan Africa.
A Palestinian gunman flashes his weapon during the funeral of Mohammed Abu Khalifa, who was shot dead by Israeli forces, in the Jenin refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Jenin, on January 29, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

JERUSALEM, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli military said Wednesday that Israeli forces raided an online "illegal weapons shop" in the West Bank city of Nablus.

"Overnight, security forces uncovered a store that sold weaponry and hundreds of weapon parts and ammunition were seized," a military spokesperson said in a statement.

The online procurements were made by a "terror cell" that has manufactured weaponry parts. Over the past few months, four firearms and hundreds of weapon parts belonging to the cell were seized in security forces' operations, including 130 bullets, 90 magazines, and 127 various parts," the spokesperson said.

The forces arrested the shop owner together with eight other suspects who were taken for interrogation.

Also, another store suspected of receiving and selling weapon parts over the past few years was uncovered, the military said.

The spokesperson said that raid was carried out in the context of an "ongoing intelligence and operational effort against illegal weaponry" in the West Bank.

"The raid was the start of a widespread operation in the area of Nablus," the spokesperson added.
Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on March 7 urged Islamic State militants in western Mosul to surrender promising fair trials to those who give up fighting. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

BAGHDAD, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Wednesday that Iraq will continue striking the Islamic State (IS) militants in neighboring countries to protect Iraqi cities.

"I respect the sovereignty of other states, and won't hesitate to strike the positions of terrorists in the neighboring countries. We will keep fighting them," said Abadi in the city of Sulaimaniya in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.

"I say, we want to protect Iraq and its citizens and we want cooperation with the neighboring countries, because there (in neighboring countries) are terrorists send car bombs to Baghdad and other Iraqi cities to carry out terrorist acts," Abadi said in a televised speech.

On Feb. 24, Abadi announced that he had ordered airstrikes against positions of IS militants inside Syria in retaliation for deadly bomb attacks in Baghdad.

"We are determined to chase terrorism that tries to kill our sons and citizens wherever it is located. We gave orders to the air force command to conduct airstrikes against the terrorist Daesh (IS group) in Husaybah (IS-held Iraqi border town) and Albu Kamal inside Syrian territories, as they were responsible for recent terrorist bombings in Baghdad," according Abadi's announcement.

Abadi went to Kurdistan region late on Tuesday after he made a surprise visit to the security forces and met with top military commanders in the battleground city of Mosul, just hours after the troops dislodged IS militants from the main government complex in the old Mosul city center.

Abadi's comment in Sulaimaniya came as the Iraqi security forces, backed by anti-IS international coalition, are conducting a major offensive to drive out IS militants from their last major stronghold in and around Mosul.
WARSAW, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has written a letter to members of European parliament (MEPs) explaining the lack of Poland's support for Donald Tusk on his possible second term as European Council president, it was announced Wednesday.

In a letter published on the Polish Chancellery website, an explanation for the country's support for Jacek Saryusz-Wolski over Tusk was included.

According to Szydlo, Tusk abused his authority and interfered into Polish internal affairs, therefore showing lack of neutrality. She said Tusk overstepped his European powers and used his authority as the head of the European Council to intervene in national disputes.

Earlier in January, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, said that Tusk "was in favor of solutions that are extremely harmful to Poland." These include financial penalties for European Union member states that do not accept a quota of refugees. Kaczynski added that such a person cannot obtain Poland's support.

Szydlo in the letter said Saryusz-Wolski was a person who possessed the required qualities and has more than 40 years of experience in European integration.

Tusk's term as the president of the European Council will end on May 31. On Thursday and Friday, the EU will hold a summit in Brussels to make a decision whether to choose Tusk for a second term of office.
KABUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The counter-attack operation in a military hospital in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul ended on Wednesday, after all gunmen were shot dead by security forces, said a security source.

"The Afghan commandos clearance operation against gunmen now ended at around 03:30 p.m. local time after they had managed to eliminate all the gunmen," the source told Xinhua anonymously.

The attack came in the morning after one suicide bomber struck the back gate of Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in fortified Wazir Akbar Khan diplomatic district.

At least 30 people were killed and over 50 others wounded in the deadly attack, according to initial information provided by sources.

The initial blast enabled four gunmen holding grenades and disguised as medical staff to enter the main building. They opened indiscriminate fire on patients and medical staff, according to security sources.

"The Afghan National Security Forces investigation teams are at the scene to assess the casualties at the military hospital as a result of today's terrorist attack," Interior Ministry Spokesman Sediq Sediqi twitted.

An Afghan army helicopter dropped Afghan commandos to the top of the building shortly after the clashes.

Further details about the incident are still forthcoming amid the absence of any official statement.

The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Amaq, an IS so-called news agency, said in an online Arabic statement that the IS fighters had killed over 100 people in the attack.

Wednesday's terrorist attack is the second assault in the fortified 400-bed hospital, which is located in the diplomatic district near the U.S. embassy.

In mid-2011, some six medical students were killed and several others wounded in a suicide bombing.

On March 1, some 23 people were killed and 119 others wounded in two coordinated attacks in Kabul, which has been claimed by the Taliban insurgents.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States should make concerted efforts to maintain the steady and healthy development of their relations in the face of new challenges, observers have said.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday during a press conference on the sidelines of China's ongoing annual parliamentary session, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the China-U.S. relationship is transitioning steadily and developing in a positive direction through intense communication and joint efforts of both sides.

"As long as we act on the consensus reached between our presidents, follow the principle of no conflicts and no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, there is no reason why China and the United States cannot become excellent partners," he added.

Observers believe that achieving the smooth transition of bilateral ties and ensuring the healthy development of China-U.S. relations are not only in the fundamental interests of both peoples, but also exerting a positive effect on the promotion of world peace, stability and development.

NEW CHALLENGES

China-U.S. relations are facing new challenges as populism in the West is picking up, the anti-globalization trend is surging, the international forces are taking on new faces, and the international order is restructuring. Inside the United States, anti-globalization and isolationism are also on the rise.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration sticks to the "America First" principle, meaning putting the U.S. interests in the first place and trying to use "Americanism" to replace globalism, Zuo Xiying, researcher at the National Development and Strategic Research Institute of Renmin University of China, told Xinhua.

Zuo believes that Trump would steer further away from the diplomatic heritage left by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and adjust the security strategy for the Asia-Pacific and probably for China as well, which could bring new challenges to bilateral ties.

On the economic front, Trump has advocated to impose 45 percent tariffs on Chinese products and promised to label China as "exchange rate manipulator." In a recent interview with Reuters, he still called China a "grand champion" of currency manipulation.

Furthermore, Trump claimed in his first address to Congress on Feb. 28 that the United States has "lost 60,000 factories" since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Analysts thus voiced concern that Washington's trade friction with China and other countries may significantly exacerbate.

MUTUAL INTERESTS

Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1979, China and the United States have gone through its share of ups and downs, growing into one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. What's more, such an engagement has proved capable of navigating rough waters and keeping moving forward.

It is also noticeable that mutual interests, rather than conflicts, have always been the mainstream in China-U.S. ties, with economic and trade cooperation serving as an important element.

On Wednesday's press conference, Wang said China and the United States have a growing set of common interests.

"So we should pool our efforts to enlarge our shared interests, rather than building one's success at the expense of the other, because it is just not possible," said the foreign minister.

Observers noted that to achieve win-win results, China and the United States should focus on cooperation, which requires the two sides to care about each other's core interest.

The future of China-U.S. ties is much relying on their mutual efforts made at both strategic and tactical levels, Liang Yabin, senior researcher of Pangoal Institution, told Xinhua.

As the world is now in a nuclear era and no one can get an absolute advantage, China and the United States should realize that maintaining a strategic balance is the only reasonable choice for them, he said, adding that therefore the two countries need to work together to enhance their cooperation and continue to boost globalization.

Meanwhile, the two countries have unprecedented opportunities to work together in dealing with non-conventional global security challenges, such as terrorism, climate change and cross-border crimes.

Tactically, China and the United States should build up institutionalized channels to consult their disagreements and remove any doubt the two sides have about each other, said Liang.

Dialogue is the best way to enhance mutual trust, which will also help facilitate smooth communication and clear up any misunderstanding, he noted.

"GROW TOGETHER, WORK TOGETHER"

The United States is currently the largest developed country, whereas China stands as the largest developing one, with the two being the top two economies of the world.

The two countries are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and key players which are influential in transforming the system and order on a global scale.

The new U.S. government has also realized that the evolvement of its relations with China will have a direct impact on the global situation, especially that in the Asia-Pacific region.

During the State Department's first press briefing Tuesday since Trump took office in January, acting spokesman Mark Toner said relations with China is vital for the United States and the U.S. government is intent in pursuing a more constructive relationship with China.

"We're going to look for areas that we can expand our cooperation," he said. "I think we want to build on our relationship with China."

In the eyes of Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, the Beijing-Washington relationship is not a small boat, but a huge ship that will not become wrecked easily.

Since 1979, the two countries' relations have sustained an overall upward development, notwithstanding some setbacks.

In the process of reform, opening-up and integration into the rest of the world, China has lifted hundreds of millions of its citizens out of poverty, and embarked on the modernization drive. Meanwhile, the American people have also benefited from the healthy development of the bilateral ties.

Both China and the United States have made great contributions to world peace and stability, making peace and development more outstanding themes of the times and win-win cooperation a historical tendency.

Jim Rogers, a renowned American investor and financial commentator, said that if China and the United States "go their separate ways," it will be no good for the two countries and the whole world.

"China and the U.S. are the two largest economies in the world. It would be wonderful if they continue to trade together in many ways," he said. "They should both grow together, work together."
KABUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The death toll rose to 30 and more than 50 others wounded in a terrorist attack against a military hospital in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, for which the Islamic State (IS) outfit claimed responsibility, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The clearance operation against gunmen ended at 03:30 p.m. (local time) but sadly more than 30 of our countrymen were martyred and over 50 wounded in the today's terrorist attack," the ministry said in a statement.

The attack came in the morning after one suicide bomber struck the back gate of Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in fortified Wazir Akbar Khan diplomatic district.

The initial blast enabled four gunmen holding grenades and disguised as medical staff to enter the main building. They opened indiscriminate fire on people inside the seven-story building, according to security sources.

Afghan army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim has visited the site after the attack and instructed the authorities to provide best medical treatment for the victims, according to the statement.

Among the killed and injured were patients and medical staff of the 400-bed hospital, the largest medical facility in the war-torn country.
Striking doctors and people celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Feb. 15, 2017, after a Kenyan Appeals Court ordered the immediate release of the seven officials of the doctors' union. (Xinhua/Nyalwash)

by Robert Manyara

NAIVASHA, Kenya, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and County governors on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to doctors who have been striking for the last three months to return to work or face severe consequences.

Kenyatta, who held a joint news conference in Naivasha, about 90 km northwest of Nairobi, also cancelled a 145-million-U.S.-dollar offer it earlier made to backdate allowances to July 2016 out of goodwill, which the striking doctors had repudiated.

"This additional offer was on condition that the doctors call off the strike and report back to work, this morning. Consequently for failure to call off the strike, the government has now rescinded this offer and there will be no further negotiations on remuneration (salaries and allowances)," they said in a joint statement.

Governors also asked Kenyatta to issue an executive order taking away the role of registering doctors from their union back to the government.

The government made it clear that strenuous efforts had been made to reach an amicable solution with the doctors but they have remained intransigent.

The standoff between the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and the government continues with union officials maintaining a hard-liner stance, refusing to call off the strike until the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is fully implemented.

KMPDU is demanding a 300-percent salary increase for its members as agreed in the CBA, under which the lowest-paid doctor will get earn 3,450 U.S. dollars while the highest should be earning 9,450 dollars.

However, the government has offered a 500 dollars or 50-percent increase for the lowest paid doctors, which would have raised their salaries to 1,760 dollars but unions rejected it and walked out of talks.

The doctors rejected a 50-percent salary increment and an additional 6 million dollars, as backdated allowances, that was offered as a sign of goodwill. These offers would have pushed the doctors annual wage bill to an excess of 145 million dollars.

But doctors rejected the offer, and returned to their demand for a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to be signed.

Governors noted that the 2013 document referred to by doctors is obsolete, and that a new CBA could only be agreed in consultation with individual counties and the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

"It is now time for the die to fall as they may; and for each individual doctor, pharmacists and dentists within the public service to negotiate with his/her particular employer, be it the national government in the case of those working in national facilities, or in the particular county government," they said.

The government said doctors who continued being on duty will receive the new allowances. Those who went on strike but want to resume work should do so immediately.

All postgraduate medical students (registrars) who are sponsored by the government are to report to their respective Duty Stations with immediate effect.

The government directed medical Interns who are currently on internship to report back to their respective internship centers with immediate effect, in order to complete their internship and facilitate registration by the Board.

Earlier, Kenyatta had launched a passionate address on the strike, saying that it was time for doctors to uphold their oath to protect life, and to uphold the principle of fairness.

Kenyatta said his patience, and that of governors, with the striking doctors has run out because they were taking Kenyans for a ride.

The President said the government had offered the doctors pay that was even higher that earned by doctors in private practice.

He said the doctors were trying to blackmail the government by denying their services to the poor while serving the well to do.

"We need clarity about the consequences of their strike: the better off still have access to a doctor's care, while poorer Kenyans must do without," said the President when he officially opened the 4th Annual Devolution Conference.
TEHRAN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A navy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday that an American warship has recently sailed close to the IRGC's vessels near Iranian territorial waters in Persian Gulf which is "unprofessional," Press TV reported.

The American ship was sailing as a part of a naval fleet which also comprised British vessels, Mehdi Hashemi said, adding that it steered out of the international naval transit in the Persian Gulf, coming within 550 meters (0.3 nautical miles) of IRGC vessels.

On Monday, an unnamed U.S. Navy official said that a U.S. ship was forced to change course and move out of the way of Iranian fast boats while moving through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.

The Iranian boats tried to get between the U.S. and other ships, coming within about 600 yards of the USNS Invincible, a tracking ship, the official said, adding that the U.S. ship was travelling north through the strait into the Persian Gulf.

The IRGC commander, however, denied the allegations, saying that they are "lies."

He added that the presence of American and British vessels in the Persian Gulf "endangers the security of this strategic region, which provides a huge portion of the world's energy."
by Christine Lagat

NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A critical mass of trained and well equipped community health workforce is key to easing the rising burden of infectious and noncommunicable diseases in Africa, experts said on Wednesday at a continental forum taking place in Nairobi.

The experts, policymakers and campaigners who attended Africa Health Agenda International Conference agreed that optimal engagement of community health workers is key to revolutionize response to diseases ravaging the continent.

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health Cleopa Mailu in his opening remarks said that investments in training for community health workers will have multiplier impact on Africa's socioeconomic development.

"We require highly skilled and motivated cadre of community health workforce to deal with a high diseases burden in disadvantaged settings in this continent. These community health workers undertake bulk of care and treatment of killer diseases in rural areas," Mailu said.

African countries are grappling with a shortage of community health workers thanks to under-investment in skills upgrade, incoherent policies and poor remuneration.

Mailu stressed that community health workers are key to reducing high infant and maternal deaths in rural parts of Africa.

"It is the community health workers who attend to life threatening conditions like malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections that blight children and women in marginalized areas," said Mailu.

He added that Kenya is committed to integration of community health workers in the mainstream healthcare system in line with global and continental pacts.

The inclusion of community health workers in the formal health systems across Africa is key to bridge human resource gaps in a sector that has a direct bearing on the continent's ability to achieve sustainable development goals.

The CEO of AMREF Health Africa, Dr Githinji Gitahi, said that policy incentives, training and technology adoption is key to increase the number of skilled community health workers in Africa.

"Investments in modern technologies like e-learning and mobile health will help address shortage of community health workers in areas they are needed most," Gitahi said.

He noted that mid-level and community health workers are responsible for provision of 80 percent of treatment and curative services in Africa.

"Community health workers are a critical part of Africa's health infrastructure, linking communities to care givers," said Gitahi.

He revealed that AMREF Health Africa and partners will soon launch a campaign to lobby African governments and corporations to invest in skills upgrade of community health workers.
THE HAGUE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch right populist politician Geert Wilders protested on Wednesday in The Hague against plans by the Turkish government to campaign in the Netherlands for a "yes" vote in the constitutional referendum of April 16 in Turkey.

In front of the Turkish embassy the Anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) leader held a banner with words reading "Stay away! This is our country."

Wilders also demands a temporary travel ban on members of the Turkish government.

The protest announced by Wilders two days ago attracted about 20 PVV supporters.

PVV leader Wilders thinks that Rutte is not doing enough to stop the Turkish government. "I think it is much too weak," he told national broadcaster NOS.

Turkish voters will go to polls on April 16 for a constitutional referendum on the powers of the president, a move that would turn the country from parliamentary to presidential system.

The Turkish government wants to urge Dutch citizens with the Turkish nationality to vote for a stronger position for Erdogan. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu therefore planned to campaign in Rotterdam on March 11.

The Dutch government had, through Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher, already objected the campaign by Turkish ministers in the Netherlands, and had informed their Turkish counterparts about their opinion.

Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb also opposed the Turkish plans.

The Dutch government is still investigating whether it is legally possible to prevent the Turkish campaign.

The Dutch move came after two German cities cancelled similar scheduled events with Turkish officials.

Turkey called the moves "undemocratic" and accused European countries of permitting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rally, while blocking Turkish government's valid campaigning activities.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's first vessel capable of conducting rescue in deep, open water was delivered and put into service on Wednesday in the South China Sea.

The ship, Nanhaijiu 102, is the most advanced rescue vessel in the area and will play a role in emergencies, said the Ministry of Transport.

An all-weather, high-powered rescue ship designed and built by China, is 127 meters long and 16 meters wide, with displacement of 7,300 tonnes and range of 16,000 nautical miles.

Carrying a towing system and autonomous underwater vehicle that can dive as deep as 6,000 meters, the ship is the country's first rescue ship that can conduct air, sea and underwater searches at the same time.

The ministry said Nanhaijiu 102, which can rescue 200 people at a time, is designed for bad sea conditions including 12th grade waves and is suitable for the refueling and landing of helicopters.

China has 74 special rescue ships, among which 31 are in southern sea areas. In addition, the country has 20 rescue helicopters, according to the ministry.
CAIRO, March 8 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court sentenced on Wednesday three Egyptians and six Israelis to 25 years in jail over forming a cell for spying in favor of Israel, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

Among the nine defendants, two Egyptians have been in custody while the other seven have been sentenced in absentia, the report said, noting the six Israelis included four officers in Israel's military intelligence.

The verdict has been issued by Arish Criminal Court, which is based in Arish city of restive North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

However, the court session has been held in the Suez Canal province of Ismailia for security reasons, as Arish has been a target for anti-government attacks over the past few years.

Egypt convicted a number of Israelis in similar espionage cases but they mostly were tried and sentenced in absentia. The two neighboring states also have a history of prisoner swap.

Egypt has a U.S.-brokered peace treaty with Israel since 1979 and there is security coordination between the two countries at the bordering areas near the Sinai Peninsula.
RABAT, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's police arrested on Wednesday a 27-year-old man for alleged involvement in the murder of a lawmaker near his house in Casablanca.

The police discovered on late Tuesday the body of an MP inside a car in front of his house, the police said in a statement.

The police have not revealed neither the name of the murdered MP nor the name of the suspect, but local media has reported that the 54-year-old lawmaker is Abdellatif Merdas from the liberal Constitutional Union Party (UC).

According to the statement, a black private car drove around the victim's house before fired three shots at him and fled the scene.

Investigations are underway, the statement noted.
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China has launched operation "Sky Net 2017" to hunt down corruption suspects who have fled abroad and recover their ill-gotten gains, authorities said in a meeting Tuesday.

The meeting was convened by the office for capturing suspects and recovering ill-gotten assets abroad under the central authority's anti-graft coordinating group.

According to the meeting, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) will take charge of the campaign to nab suspects in duty-related crimes and recover their assets.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) will launch the Fox Hunt operation to capture suspects abroad, and the People's Bank of China, the central bank, will cooperate with the MPS in cracking down on money transfers through offshore companies and underground banks.

According to the meeting, a total of 1,032 fugitives -- including 134 state functionaries, 19 of whom were wanted on "red notices" for the most wanted fugitives -- returned to China from over 70 countries and regions in 2016.

Work in capturing fugitives and recovering ill-gotten assets abroad has achieved partial success under the leadership of the Party and with the efforts of relevant agencies, meeting attendees said.

The anti-corruption work will never end, nor will work in capturing fugitives and recovering stolen assets, according to the meeting.

The central authority called for strengthened coordination and an improved system to make greater achievements.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (3rd R) meets with Chairman of British 48 Group Club Stephen Perry (2nd R) and representatives of "Young Icebreakers", in London, Britain, June 18, 2014. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

LONDON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Britain can play a key role in the Belt and Road Initiative, which also brings London great opportunities, a leading expert on UK-China relations told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

British business leader, vice chair of the London-based 48 Club Group Keith Bennett was commenting as China's annual two sessions are underway in Beijing.

BELT & ROAD

Bennett believed that as a responsible member of the international community, China has long been an active participant in such global institutions as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

"China is also now increasingly taking the lead in the creation of new institutions, designed not to supplant existing bodies, but to supplement them, based on broad and inclusive participation."

Bennett cites key examples such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the BRICS' New Development Bank.

"By far the most ambitious, visionary and transformative initiative that China has unveiled is the concept of the Belt and Road Initiative," said the business leader.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia, Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes.

More than 100 countries and international organizations have responded warmly to the initiative and over 40 of them have signed cooperation agreements with China.

"China's initiative to jointly build the Belt and Road, embracing the trend towards a multipolar world, economic globalization, cultural diversity and greater IT application, aims at being highly efficient in terms of the allocation of resources, and at achieving a deep integration of markets among the countries concerned," said Bennett.

"It will thereby jointly create an open, inclusive and balanced regional economic cooperation architecture that benefits all."

Across the three great continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, the initiative will create new routes and connections by utilizing the "three highs," namely high speed trains, high speed energy transmission and high speed connectivity and communications.

"We are talking about a revolution in infrastructure, technology and connectivity, bringing unparalleled development and prosperity and affording unprecedented investment and growth opportunities," Bennett said.

The business leader believed that Britain can expect to play a significant part in the initiative, particularly in those sectors which remain acknowledged global leaders, with world-class companies, such as in legal, accounting, financial, regulatory and other professional services, as well as funding, listings, architecture and design.

"With Brexit approaching, Britain faces both challenges and opportunities. One of the greatest opportunities is to work with the Belt and Road Initiative and coordinate our own national priorities, such as the Northern Powerhouse and the Midlands Engine, with it," said Bennett.

"Investment from China into Britain's modernization and development of its infrastructure holds great potential for 'win-win' cooperation," he added.

POVERTY REDUCTION

Bennett also stressed that how China's economic performance has exceeded the experience of any other country in human history, lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty.

Since 1981, according to World Bank data, China had by the end of 2015 reduced the number of people living in internationally defined poverty by 728 million, lifting another nearly 12.5 million people out of poverty last year.

"This is greater than the entire population of Latin America or of the European Union. Over the same period, 1981-2015, the rest of the world has only managed to lift 152 million people out of poverty," said Bennett.

"That is, for every one person lifted out of poverty in the rest of the world over the recent historical period, more than four Chinese people were similarly uplifted," he explained.

He added, "as China's economy has advanced, and as its poverty levels have inexorably declined, we find the issue of common prosperity, for China's neighbors as well as for the wider world, as a community of shared destiny, increasingly coming to the fore."
by Njoroge Kaburo

NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday joined Kenyans as they commemorated the International Women's Day (IWD) in Nairobi where he stressed that chauvinism must be defeated all over the world for gender equality to succeed.

Guterres said the world is far from realizing the much talked about gender parity because many societies across the world are male dominated.

"Many societies have the tendency to hide family violence," he said during the celebrations, adding that it was much better to resolve conflicts with the involvement of women.

Guterres regretted that there was significant resistance for gender parity in many societies all over the world where initiatives towards gender equality face many obstacles.

"Everywhere we have a male dominated culture. We are still far from achieving gender equality all over the world," he told participants who included First Lady Margaret Kenyatta who delivered the keynote address from President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Guterres said many violations against women and girls were taking place in families where serious abuses were always put under cover.

He said many institutions including the government, parliament, corporates and schools are better off when they practice gender equality.

Speaking earlier during a joint news conference with Kenyatta, the UN chief said he had seen in his past capacity as High Commissioner for Refugees, the suffering of women in the most tragic circumstances that one can imagine.

"I have seen women being the great victims of poverty, of conflict, of violations of human rights in different parts of the world. The protection of women in these circumstances in absolutely essential but I believe that the only way to make that protection effective is to give full priority to the empowerment of women," he said.

He called on governments to give full priority to the full presence of women in government institutions, in political systems, in the business community, on the board of companies, in peace negotiations, in all aspects of society of today's world.

"We do believe with a full presence of women in our societies, development will be stronger, peace will be easier to maintain, human rights will also be better protected," Guterres said.

Analysts say the presence of the UN boss at the celebrations where he was recognized as a special guest symbolically underlined the pole position the global body places on women in the world.

President Kenyatta reaffirmed the government's zero-tolerance to any violence or discrimination against women and girls across the country.

He said the IWD was a special occasion the world over, to not only celebrate the gains made towards women empowerment, but to take stock of challenges and make renewed commitments toward gender parity.

He said no country can claim to be modern and progressive unless it recognizes the importance of gender equality.

"Let me underscore that gender empowerment is important to any society that considers itself modern and progressive. But equally and more fundamental is the need to ensure the protection of the rights of women and girls," said the president.

In a speech read on his behalf by the First Lady, the president said Kenya has made remarkable progress in implementing global, regional as well as national commitments on gender equality and empowerment of women.

He said Kenya's record on women is clearly elaborated in major continental frameworks like the Maputo Protocol which is the Bill of Rights for women in Africa, the AU solemn Declaration of Gender Equality in Africa and most recently Africa's Agenda 2063- a development framework that aims to achieve a continent that is integrated, peaceful, prosperous and people-centred.

Kenyatta said Kenya takes pride in the many achievements the country has made by investing in priority intervention that are of great benefit to its women.
ISLAMABAD, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on a hospital in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, resulting in the loss of many precious lives and injuring dozens others.

Reports from Kabul said that nearly 30 people were killed and dozens others were injured when a group of gunmen stormed the city's main military hospital.

Islamic States (IS) has reportedly claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.

"We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this heinous terrorist attack and convey our prayers for early recovery of the injured," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.

A statement said Pakistan reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

"In this regard, we reaffirm our commitment to cooperation with the Afghan government and the international community for the elimination of the scourge of terrorism," it said.
KABUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A deadly terrorist attack against a military hospital in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, for which the Islamic State (IS) outfit claimed responsibility, has drawn wide condemnation.

More than 30 people were killed and over 50 others wounded after four suicide bombers struck Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in fortified Wazir Akbar Khan diplomatic district Wednesday morning, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani denounced the bloody attack as a coward terrorist act and vowed that Afghan government won't talk to terrorists, who are killing the innocent people of Afghanistan.

"According to international humanitarian laws, hospitals are immune from attacks. The Wednesday's terrorist attack clearly evinces that terrorists don't follow any rules and laws," the president said in a statement.

Among the casualties were doctors, patients and civilian staff of the 400-bed hospital, according to the defense ministry statement.

President Ghani also ordered concerned security entities to bring to justice all those involved in the heinous crime besides instructing the health authorities to provide best medical treatment for the wounded.

Afghan government's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also condemned the deadly attack in its strongest terms.

"This morning, attackers reportedly disguised as medical doctors detonated a suicide body-borne IED at the entrance gate to the hospital, after which several attackers armed with AK-47s, grenades and suicide vests entered the facility. The armed attackers proceeded to target patients and medical workers before Afghan security forces ended the assault.

"Islamic State operatives claimed responsibility for the attack. The UNAMA continues to verify the number of civilian casualties, which are reportedly high," UNAMA said in a statement.

"This egregious and morally reprehensible attack targeted people at their most vulnerable, while they were receiving treatment in the hospital, and also targeted the medical staff caring for them," Pernille Kardel, the Secretary-General's deputy special representative for Afghanistan and acting head of UNAMA, was quoted in the statement.

"This cowardly attack reflects a fundamental rejection of the most basic principles of humanity," she said. "Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable."

"Attacks on hospitals are a heinous crime against humanity and humanitarian law. No justification possible," the Afghanistan ICRC twitted.

"The attack on the Kabul military hospital is reprehensible and we condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. Once again insurgents show complete disrespect for humanity by attacking a hospital. We stand with Afghan people against terrorism," NATO-led Resolute Support Mission said in a statement.

Several injured remained in critical conditions. And many women were among the victims.

The attack came as the country was marking the International Women's Day, which falls on March 8.

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 UNAMA.
ISLAMABAD, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani army said five hardcore terrorists were executed on Wednesday in a prison in the country's northwest.

The terrorists were tried and handed death sentence by the military courts for their involvement in terrorism, an army statement said. All convicts had admitted their offences before the trial courts.

The five men, who belonged to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, were hanged at a jail in Kohat, a main city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

The statement said the convicts were involved in attacks on the army, members of the other law enforcement agencies which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers. One was also accused of attacking and destroying educational institutions.

The military courts were established for the speedy trial of the terrorists after the deadliest attack on an army public school in Peshawar in December 2014. Nearly 150 people, mostly students were killed in the Taliban claimed attack.

The two-year period of the courts expired in January this year and the government is seeking support of the political parties to extend period of the courts.
British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister's questions at the House of parliament in London, Britain, Feb. 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Tim Ireland)

LONDON, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Britain's upper chamber, the unelected House of Lords, defeated Theresa May's government for the second time Tuesday in a bill paving the way for triggering the process for leaving the European Union.

An amendment to the Article 50 bill designed to give the British parliament a "meaningful vote" on the final Brexit deal reached with Brussels was won with 366 votes against 268.

It was the largest vote in the House of Lords since 1993.

The House of Lords is currently scrutinizing the Article 50 bill as part of the process to make it lawful.

Last week, the Lords backed another amendment in what was seen as a challenge to May's government. That amendment was over the right of European citizens to remain in Britain after Brexit.

Under parliamentary procedures, the bill will return later this month to the elected House of Commons, where MPs will have the chance to overturn the amendments.

Lord Bridges, the government parliamentary under-secretary for exiting the EU urged peers not to support any of the amendments, saying May had already guaranteed a vote on the final deal by the houses of parliament.

"The need for the amendment comes down to a judgment on whether the government and its ministers can be trusted. We will honor our commitment to parliament," he said.

Bridges said similar amendments had already been rejected in the House of Commons where the article 50 bill was backed with a landslide majority.

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis, said after the vote "It is disappointing that the House of Lords has chosen to make further changes to a bill that the Commons passed without amendment. It has a straightforward purpose - to enact the referendum result and allow the government to get on with negotiating a new partnership with the EU."

There was some comfort for Prime Minister May earlier after the House of Lords rejected an amendment put forward by the minority Liberal Democratic party. Their call for a second referendum was defeated by 336 votes to 131.

May aims to trigger article 50 before the end of this month once it is given royal assent by Queen Elizabeth. Some political observers say May is likely well before the end of March to tell Brussels formally of Britain's withdrawal from the EU.
RAMALLAH, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed Wednesday that Palestinians are sticking to a peace process based on the internationally-supported two-state solution.

Abbas made his remarks when receiving Boris Johnson, British secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs in Ramallah on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian state-run news agency WAFA.

"Any peace process should lead to the establishment of the state of Palestine on Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967 with east Jerusalem as its capital," said Abbas.

Abbas briefed Johnson on the latest developments and in Palestinian territories as well as regionally, adding that Israel must stop its settlement expansion and other actions in violation of Palestinian rights such as random assassinations and arrests.

According to WAFA, Johnson said his country supports the two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stressing that settlement activities carried out by Israel in Palestinian territories "are illegal."

Israeli settlement activities is one of the thorniest issues impeding continued peace negotiations between both sides which ended in April 2014.

Johnson also held talks with Reyad al-Malki, the Palestinian minister for foreign affairs, during which both discussed means of increasing efforts towards the resumption of the stalled peace process.

Al-Malki urged Britain "to apologize for the Balfour Declaration which gave over Palestine as a national home for Jews," adding "this declaration was the most disastrous historical decision which has landed Palestinians in this current situation."

"Britain is urged to correct this historic mistake which severely harmed Palestinians and their national cause," adding "this declaration turned Palestinians into refugees and displaced them worldwide."
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The world has come to a crossroads in 2017, as globalization backpedaled in America and Europe while tensions continued to brew on the Korean Peninsula and some other places.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday reassured the world that China will continue to be an anchor of stability, an engine of global growth, while championing peace and contributing to multilateral global governance.

At a press conference on the sidelines of the annual national legislature session, Wang offered China's solution to the world's hot issues, which include dealing with the Trump administration, de-escalating tensions in Northeast Asia, supporting European integration, and ensuring lasting stability in the South China Sea.

The foreign minister said Chinese diplomats have risen to challenges and broken new ground, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core.

He summed up Chinese diplomacy with three key words: vision, initiative and consistency.

VISION

Chinese diplomacy's new vision, put forward by Xi, features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance, forging win-win cooperation, and jointly building a community of shared future for all of mankind.

Wang said this vision rises above the old approach of zero-sum games, and can be of great significance to the world.

Taking a question on China-U.S. relations, Wang said bilateral ties are "transitioning steadily and developing in a positive direction."

Wang said a "very important" phone conversation between Xi and Trump has set the direction and paved the way for China-U.S relations. The two sides are now communicating on future exchanges between their presidents.

"There is no reason why China and the United States cannot become excellent partners," Wang said.

Su Ge, president of the China Institute of International Studies, said China's preference for cooperation over confrontation is a break from Cold War mentality, which has led to conflicts between traditional and rising world powers in the past.

"The approach is an innovation, reflecting the philosophy that countries around the world are tied together and need to march forward through thick and thin," he told Xinhua in an interview.

Over the past year, tensions also calmed down visibly in the South China Sea, with ties between China and the Philippines notably improving.

Wang said since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte came into office, the Southeast Asian country has extended a hand of goodwill.

"China, of course, will embrace it with open arms of cooperation," he said.

On Africa, Wang said there will be no weakening in China's support no matter how the international situation or world economy may evolve. In 2015, China announced 60 billion U.S. dollars funding support for the continent. The support is being implemented through phases.

INITIATIVE

China in 2013 proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, aiming to build a modern trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient Silk Road routes.

It has since won support from over 100 countries and international organizations, with nearly 50 cooperation agreements signed between governments.

The initiative made progress at a time when the world's traditional multilateral mechanisms are feared to have lost steam.

Wang said it has become the most popular public goods initiative and its implementation has opened a new chapter of openness and win-win cooperation.

China will host the Beijing Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May, with attendance of more than 20 heads of state and government, over 50 leaders of international organizations, and more than 100 ministerial-level officials among the 1,000-plus delegates, he said.

This year, China also serves as the rotating chair of BRICS and will host the bloc's ninth leaders' summit in September.

Wang noted with optimism that the mechanism will not lose its luster.

It will shine more brightly if its members stay united, he added.

According to estimates, the share of BRICS gross domestic product in the world economy stood at 21.3 percent in 2013. On purchasing power parity terms, the bloc's economy reached 30 trillion U.S. dollars that year, tailing only slightly behind that of the G7.

"The BRICS countries are like five fingers: short and long if extended, but a powerful fist if clenched together," Wang said, citing remarks by Xi.

CONSISTENCY

BRICS is not the only multilateral mechanism China supports. Wang reaffirmed that China champions multilateralism, openness and inclusiveness amid a growing backlash against globalization and rising protectionism.

"In the face of skepticism over the existing international order and system, we have always called for maintaining it, and where necessary, improving it," Wang said. "The consistency and continuity of China's diplomacy are its due responsibilities as a large country."

The foreign minister also highlighted consistency in Chinese diplomacy, saying that China has adhered to the path of peaceful development in the face of instability and conflicts.

On the Korean Peninsular, where the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) traded missile launches with large-scale military drills held by the United States and Republic of Korea (ROK).

Wang compared the two sides to "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other."

"Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" Wang asked. "The priority is to flash the red light and apply the brakes."

China proposed "double suspension" to defuse the looming crisis -- the DPRK suspending its nuclear and missile activities while the United States and ROK ceasing war games.

China is willing to be a "railway switchman" to switch the issue back to the right track, he added.
TIANJIN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia are cooperating on marine technology in the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The cooperation includes offshore oil and gas exploitation equipment, underwater robotics as well as scientific utilization of the Arctic passages, according to attendees at a forum on marine technology under the Belt and Road Initiative, held in north China's Tianjin Municipality Tuesday through Wednesday.

During the two-day forum, Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) signed agreements with universities and institutes in Russia to research marine technology.
MANILA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that he made the right decision to rekindle ties with neighboring China and expressed his gratitude toward the Chinese people.

"I thank China profusely, and they have really lightened up the economic life of our country," said Duterte in a speech delivered during the 10th Philippine Councilors League National Congress held in Pasay City.

"You can really feel the sincerity of the Chinese," he added.

Since taking office in June last year, Duterte has worked with China to mend bilateral ties that soured under the previous administration of President Benigno Aquino III over the South China Sea issue.

Last October, Duterte paid a four-day visit to China, which signaled a new chapter in China-Philippines relations.

The president said in the speech that his visit to Beijing has paved the way for closer bilateral trade and people-to-people ties.

Chinese official statistics showed that in less than six months since last October, China has imported more than 200,000 tons of tropical fruits from the Philippines and there have been about 1,000 new tourist groups from China to the Philippines.

More Philippine fruits like avocado and other agricultural products are expected to enter Chinese markets, said Duterte.

"So, let me publicly again thank President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people for loving us and giving us enough leeway to survive the rigors of economic life in this planet," said Duterte.

Relations between China and the Philippines have returned to their proper course, benefiting the two peoples and other countries in the region, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi commented Wednesday at a press conference in Beijing.

The potential for further bilateral cooperation is rapidly growing, Wang added.

Related:

China, Philippine relations return to right path: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The relations between China and the Philippines have returned to the right path, benefiting the two peoples and other countries in the region, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.
KHARTOUM, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday issued a decision pardoning 259 members of rebel movements who were earlier sentenced to death, official SUNA news agency reported.

"The decision came to enhance the spirit of national accord and prepare the climate for achieving sustainable peace in the country," the report said.

Some of the pardoned belong to armed groups that are fighting the government in Sudan's Darfur region, while some belong to the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector.

The SPLM/northern sector on Saturday released around 107 government army prisoners of war.

The SPLM/northern sector has been fighting Khartoum's central government at Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas since 2011.

So far 10 rounds of peace talks have been held in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa between the Sudanese government and the SPLM/northern sector, under the patronage of the African Union, but all failed to end the conflict in the two areas.
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC ImagesBillboard reports that rapper Vic Mensa was arrested in Beverly Hills and charged with a felony count of carrying a concealed weapon.

According to the magazine, the incident took place a week ago, February 28. Beverly Hills police tell Billboard Mensa was pulled over after allegedly running a red light and for having tinted windows. During the traffic stop police say they discovered he was carrying a gun in his car but with the wrong permit.



According to TMZ, Mensa had a concealed carry permit, but from from a state other than California. Citing a police report, TMZ says Mensa was booked and spent a night in jail before being released on $35,000 bail.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
CAPE TOWN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The South African government has formally revoked its intent to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The decision to revoke the withdrawal was made by the cabinet on Tuesday and a letter to this effect has been sent to the United Nations, Acting Chief State Law Advisor Ayesha Johaar said in Cape Town.

Johaar, however, refused to take up follow-up questions.

International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and Justice Minister Michael Masutha were supposed to brief Parliament's International Relations Portfolio Committee on Wednesday to explain the cabinet's decision, but they were both absent, causing dismay among opposition MPs.

MPs were informed that Masutha was ill. The minister acting on his behalf, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi, could not make it for the meeting either.

Instead, Muthambi sent Johaar in her stead to explain the decision. But no reason was given for the absence of Nkoana-Mashabane.

The government revoked its intent to withdraw from the ICC after the High Court in Pretoria ruled on February 22 that the government's notice of withdrawal from the ICC, without parliamentary approval, was "unconstitutional and invalid".

The cabinet said after a fortnightly meeting on March 2 that it abides by the ruling.

In October last year, the South African government announced that it had begun the process of withdrawing from the ICC. A written notice was submitted to then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The withdrawal would take effect one year after the secretary general received notification, according to a notice issued by the government then.

South Africa is hindered by the Rome Statute under which the ICC was established, the notice said.

The Rome Statute compels South Africa to arrest people who may enjoy diplomatic immunity but who are wanted by the ICC.

A case in point is Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir who is wanted by the ICC for alleged anti-humanity crimes. South Africa rejected a request by the ICC to arrest al-Bashir when he was attending the 25th African Union Summit in Johannesburg in June, 2015.

The South African government argued that in addition to complying with its obligations to the ICC, the country has obligations to the AU, which rules that no organization can arrest any sitting head of state in African countries.

The South African government said implementation of the Rome Statute is also in conflict and inconsistent with provisions of the country's Diplomatic Immunities & Privileges Act.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Brunei government's move to introduce a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) is hoped to make Brunei a competitive destination for investors through the expansion of manufacturing activities and exports as well as re-exports, said Abdul Rahman, Brunei's Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister of Finance.

Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah outlined the new initiative to facilitate open trade and attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the country, especially in manufacturing, in a speech to mark the opening of the 13th Legislative Council session days ago.

According to a local report on Wednesday, Abdul Rahman said in his 2017-2018 budget speech at the Legislative Council session that the FTZ will reduce the procedures required for unloading, manufacturing and exportation.

The minister also said that a 96-hectare location at Kampong Terunjing in the Brunei-Muara District is being considered for the FTZ, and that it will be expanded according to requirements.

He also mentioned several initiatives that were recently introduced to facilitate the growth of businesses in Brunei, including the introduction of the Foreign Worker Licence application which streamlines the Labor Department's task in controlling and monitoring foreign workers; reducing logistic costs on import and export containers as well as the establishment of a Commercial Court that plays an important role in the development of the legal basis in trade, finance and industries in Brunei.

The minister also said that the country is currently active in implementing FDI projects worth 5 billion U.S. dollars, and is considering a number of suggested projects that total up to 11 billion U.S. dollars in various sectors including oil and gas downstream, business services and Halal products.
Chinese President Xi Jinping joins a panel discussion with deputies to the 12th National People's Congress ( NPC ) from Sichuan Province at the annual session of the NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the country should form a poverty relief mechanism with long-lasting effects and contain formalism in poverty reduction.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during a panel discussion with national lawmakers from southwestern China's Sichuan Province at the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC).



It is the Party's solemn pledge to help all impoverished rural population out of poverty under the current standard and delist all poor counties by 2020, Xi said.

The nearer toward the deadline, the more difficult the campaign to eradicate poverty will be. That requires the country to clarify the responsibilities, take precise measures and make meticulous efforts, Xi said.

China brought 12.4 million people in rural areas above the poverty line in 2016, and there were still 43.35 million people living in poverty at the end of last year.

Xi also said China should improve the management, operation and policy systems for integrated military and civilian development, and build industrial clusters and high-tech industrial bases for this purpose.

Xi stressed the importance of creating a clean political ecology, calling it "unending work" for the Party.

Party members and cadres should consciously conform to the CPC Central Committee in thoughts and deeds, and resolutely uphold the authority of the CPC Central Committee and its centralized and unified leadership, Xi added.

Other senior leaders also joined panel discussions with NPC deputies Wednesday.

In a panel discussion with lawmakers from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Premier Li Keqiang urged efforts to deliver the promise of improving the lives of all ethnic groups through reform and development, with special focus on poverty eradication.

The government should resolutely let go of powers that it should not possess, concentrate on fulfilling its duties and serve enterprises more actively, Li said.

Li also called for the region to actively participate in international cooperation and competition by opening wider to foster new strengths.

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, joined lawmakers from China's northeastern Heilongjiang Province, stressing the need to promote economic reform and development and to further deepen the supply-side structural reform.

Zhang urged the province to take concrete measures to improve people's livelihood and properly solve their difficulties.

In a panel discussion with deputies from south China's Hainan Province, Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, underlined the basic tone of "seeking progress while maintaining stability" as an important principle in state governance and economic development.

While maintaining steady growth, the province should grasp the opportunity of the supply-side structural reform and focus efforts on improving economic structure and the quality of supply, said Yu.

Joining a panel discussion with NPC deputies from Shanxi Province, Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, called for good performance in advancing comprehensive and strict governance of the Party, with a focus on improving intra-Party political culture.

Officials should set an example for others by firmly upholding political ideals, morality and values, and pursuing self-improvement, Liu said.

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli joined lawmakers from Hebei, urging the province to be fully engaged in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

He urged the province to give priority to the cut of excess steel capacity in supply-side structural reform and implement the strategy of innovation-driven development.
BRATISLAVA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A measles epidemic could arise in Slovakia, the country's chief hygienist Jan Mikas warned at a press conference on Wednesday.

"Nationwide vaccination rate in recent years has fallen from 99 to around 95 percent and this is a problem," said Mikas. He noted that a spread of measles to Slovakia from countries such as Romania, Austria, Germany, Italy and Belgium is possible.

"It is clear that the virus is circulating in the European population," said Mikas, who pointed out that despite the fact that Slovakia has not recorded a single case of measles domestic or imported for years, there's favorable epidemiological situation currently in Slovakia.

Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases. There is no cure, but a vaccine has been available since the 1960s.

In 2000, the disease killed more than 700,000 people worldwide, but by 2010 that number had decreased to 160,000 because of better preventative measures.

Measles vaccination in Slovakia began in 1969, and is part of the compulsory vaccination of children between 15 and 18 months of age. Revaccination is performed at the age of 11.
MOSCOW, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian and Indian energy chiefs met to discuss joint search for and development of hydrocarbons on Russia's Arctic shelf, the Russian Energy Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Indian Minister of Oil and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan exchanged views on Arctic cooperation on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in the U.S. city of Houston, read the statement.

But it did not disclose whether any agreement had been reached during their conversation.

With one fifth of its territory located north of the Arctic Circle, Russia has paid close attention to the development of its Arctic region, which is rich in metals, hydrocarbons and other natural resources.

The country's energy giant Gazprom Neft increased hydrocarbon production by 8.2 percent last year on the back of an output hike from the Arctic shelf.

Russia will host the International Arctic Forum in the city of Arkhangelsk later this month, with the attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a number of leaders in the region.
ADDIS ABABA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Empowerment of women is critical for the development of future generations in Africa, according to Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the outgoing Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC).

The AUC Chairperson made the remarks while commemorating the International Women's Day in a ceremony held on Wednesday at the African Union's headquarter in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

"At all levels, empowerment of women is critical. Critical not only for them but also for future generations, because those kids would have the same fate if their mothers went working." she said.

The outgoing chairperson further emphasized the importance to celebrate the determination of women around the world for equal rights and have women's voices heard.

"There are still struggles even at work places that women have to go through, such as the conditions of work, sometimes sexual harassment and less pay for equal work," she said. "These are the struggles that we have to look at."

The Pan-African block joined the international community to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while also reviewing past progress of women's development and looking ahead at future opportunities for women in the African continent.

"Women's Day is an opportunity for the African Union to consider what it will take for African women, especially young girls to succeed in the changing world of work," said Mahawa Kaba Wheeler, Director for Women, Gender and Development at AUC.

The international women's day celebration creates an opportunity for women and men to come together and organize themselves for social transformation on values and principles that ensure enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, she said.

The AU has also honored African women -- past and present -- for their contributions to the struggle for independence, the end of apartheid and the establishment of the OAU/AU.

This year's African Union's International Women's Day commemoration was celebrated with a theme "African Women, Especially Young Women Succeeding in the Changing World of Work: 50:50 by 2063." Enditem
KATHMANDU, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari said on Wednesday that Nepal still has a long way to achieve gender equity and economic empowerment for women from all walks of life.

Addressing a special function organized by Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare on the occasion of 107th International Women's Day, the president said that though Nepalese women are leading the three key posts of the state including President, Speaker of Parliament and Chief Justice, the laws and programs for women are still insufficient and ineffective.

The first female president of the Himalayan country said that the government should put more efforts to bridge the gender gap.

"For nation development, it is necessary to strengthen economic empowerment and to provide social justice to women. The programs launched by the Nepal government and different organizations for women development has not achieved fruitful results yet," said Bhandari.

Bhandari was elected as the first female president of Nepal in October, 2015, which is regarded as the gender milestone not only in this country, but in whole South Asia. She is also counted as one of the world's top powerful female leaders.

Beside president, Nepal has the first female Speaker of the Parliament Onsari Gharti Magar, who was elected after the promulgation of new constitution in 2015. Though Nepal's new constitution sets women's representation in Parliament at 33 percent, women lawmakers in the Parliament currently stands only at 29.8 percent.

Nepal also has the first female Chief Justice, breaking the stereotypes in patriarchal attitudes.

Though these major achievements are praised as landmarks for this least developed country, Nepalese women still lack easy access to justice and equal rights.

Sushila Karki, the first female Chief Justice of Nepal said, "Gender discrimination is impossible to end in society until there is change in the patriarchal mindsets. To use the rights guaranteed by constitution for women, new laws should be formed and more attention should be paid towards providing equal rights to women."

Participation of women has significantly increased in various fields like politics, parliament, local government, security bodies and private sector in Nepal. However, the gender disparity and violence against women is still prevalent in the country due to poverty, illiteracy, patriarchy and social stigmas.

Nepal has planned of achieving the target Planet 50-50 by 2030 as announced by United Nations; however there is a huge gap for women in education, skills and employment.

Bandana Rana, a prominent gender activist working in the field of women over decades, shared with Xinhua, "The change has to start from family. Everyone needs to treat their daughters and sons equally. Women need to have access to every opportunity, in terms of education, employment; access to economic empowerment and then change is possible."

She was of view that the state policies need to be implemented and regularly monitored.

On the occasion of women's day, various rallies, interactions and programs were held across the country. Women from different walks of life celebrated the day under the theme of "Be Bold for Change," calling for the establishment of society based on gender equity.
NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) confirmed Wednesday that one of Africa's oldest and Kenya's last great tusker elephants was found dead on Jan 4 in Tsavo East National Park in southeast Kenya.

KWS spokesman Paul Gathitu said Satao II, about 50 years old, was found dead under unclear circumstances.

"We wish to confirm that the elephant was found dead on Jan. 4, in Tsavo East National Park near Satao area," Gathitu said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

He said the initial inspection by a joint KWS and Tsavo Trust team during the removal of tusks did not find any unusual marks on the carcass and, therefore, was considered to have died from natural causes.

The iconic Satao lived in Tsavo East National park and was one of Tsavo's most adored elephants, was famous as one of the last surviving great tuskers, bearers of genes that produce bull elephants with long tusks that touch the ground.

The elephant was named after another giant was killed in 2014 when it fell victim of runaway poaching in Tsavo.

Gathitu said the carcass of the iconic beast was subsequently not touched by any scavengers which led to the deduction that the elephant could have died from poisoning.

"However, this remains inconclusive as to whether it was as a result of poaching or retaliatory attack by community members due to human wildlife conflict," he said.

The iconic beast is called Tusker elephants because they have tusks weighing over 45kg since they are critically endangered.

Kenya remains a poaching hotspot in Africa despite widespread campaign by conservationists to condemn the menace that is to blame for loss of millions of dollars and ecosystems disruption.

The poaching menace has brought renewed attention to a crisis that has persisted for decades -- the steady decline of Africa's wildlife due to growing human populations and poverty that has put agricultural communities at odds with wildlife for resources.

Conflict between land for wildlife and land for farmers and pastoralists in Kenya has also reached crisis level with rampant killing of lions and elephants among other types of important wildlife.
STOCKHOLM, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Five teenagers who were convicted of a brutal gang rape against a minor boy last October are to be expelled from the country, an appeals court ruled here on Wednesday.

The teenagers, aged 16 to 17, came to Sweden from Afghanistan as unaccompanied refugees.

Last October, they forced a younger boy into the woods in the central Swedish city of Uppsala, gang-raped and beat him at knife-point.

They were sentenced in December by the Uppsala District Court to more than a year of closed juvenile detention for aggravated rape. However, the district court did not sentence them to deportation due to the general security situation in Afghanistan.

However, due to the seriousness of the assault, the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm ruled on Wednesday to deport all five of the boys to Afghanistan. They are banned from returning to Sweden for 10 years.

"Several factors come into play when you consider deportation. First, it's a question of the seriousness of the crime. It's often said that if the offense carries a penalty of more than one year it may be grounds for deportation. In this case, the crime was far more serious," the president of the Svea Appeals Court, Fredrik Wersall, was quoted by TT news agency as saying.

Moreover, the court of appeal pointed out that the teenagers were unconnected to Sweden.

"In this case the court of appeals notes that the boys do not have a link to Sweden. Then you also try the issue whether it's possible to execute a deportation order. In this case the appeals court does not have its own expertise, but relies to a significant extent on the Migration Agency's opinions," added Wersall.

The court also ruled that the teenagers should be treated as adults and therefore any humanitarian reasons to not send them back to Afghanistan were not strong enough to prevent deportation.

"It's simply because the phenomenon of unaccompanied refugee children is not something that has been around very long. New issues arise in a refugee situation like this. It is not particularly strange then that courts reach somewhat different conclusions," Wersall told TT.

According to statistics from the Swedish Migration Agency, over 35,000 asylum applications were made by unaccompanied refugee children in Sweden during 2015. The country initiated border controls last year to monitor migration flows more closely.
JUBA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Wednesday said it granted cash grants for education of 150,000 girls in 2017 in a bid to prevent them from early child marriage that has kept majority girls out of school, its official said.

The minister of General Education Deng Hoc revealed in the capital of Juba that they are working toward making education free for all South Sudanese children, with majority out of school due to poverty and conflict.

"We have worked together with British government on supporting girl education of 150,000 girls. These girls will receive cash transfer from Girl Education South Sudan (GESS)," he revealed.

Girls in South Sudan face serious disadvantages in education. The country has the worst indicators for girls' education in the world. Not only are they less likely to enter school, girls are also more likely to drop out compared to boys.

"We are working to make education free for all from the age of three. I have reminded the people of South Sudan about this provision in our constitution. All children must be allowed to go to school unconditionally," Hoc said.

Women and girls in South Sudan are more likely to die during child delivery than complete primary education.

The World Bank has estimated that only seven girls for every ten boys attend primary education, while five girls for every ten boys are enrolled in secondary education.

In 2013 only 500 girls were in the last grade of secondary school in the whole country.

South Sudan joined the Global Partnership for Education in 2012, and received a 36.1 million U.S. dollar grant from the Global Partnership for the period 2013 to 2016.

This grant, combined with an additional grant from USAID for a total of 66 million dollars, finances the Global Partnership for Education Program which is implemented by UNICEF South Sudan.
SINGAPORE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Singapore and the European Union (EU) on Wednesday reiterated their commitment to realize the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two parties, according to a joint press release.

The EU Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, who is on a two-day visit to Singapore said the European Commission looks forward to the entry into force of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) in a time of rising protectionism in many parts of the world.

"Our trade agreement is a key element in the EU's pursuit to further strengthen our trade relations with Southeast Asia,"she said.

Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry(Trade) remarked that Singapore and the EU are longstanding partners who share a firm belief in free and open trade.

"The early ratification of the EUSFTA will demonstrate the EU's resolve as a key player in the global trading system and send a clear signal about the EU's commitment to step up its engagement of the region," Lim added.

The EUSFTA will provide greater access to each other's markets, including for services providers, investors and companies interested in public procurement, according to the statement.

In the meantime, the European Commission and Singapore are discussing ways to facilitate the approval process of the EUSFTA.
BISHKEK, March 8 (Xinhua) -- On the occasion of the International Women's Day, Kyrgyz leaders congratulated all the women of the country on the spring holiday.

President Almazbek Atambayev, in his congratulation message, emphasized the special role of women in the Kyrgyz history.

"In the modern history of Kyrgyzstan, largely thanks to the patience, perseverance and courage of women, our people went through the hard tests of the last decades. Today, there are many women leaders in the country. The role of women in society continues to increase, and our women, free, proud, talented and beautiful, not only perfectly cope with their direct duties, but also successfully work in almost all branches of the national economy," the President said in his message.

Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament Chynybai Tursunbekov in his congratulatory message named the women the basis of the nation. "Our women not only increase the Kyrgyz family, but equally with men they adequately serve to protect the Motherland and preserve statehood," he said.

Member of the Kyrgyz Parliament Elvira Surabaldieva shared with Xinhua her opinion about this holiday.

"This is a day when men express a special attitude to the beautiful half of humanity. This is a day when we pay a special attention to mothers, sisters, wives, daughters to demonstrate the status of women," she said congratulating all the women of the world on this special holiday.

In 1977, the UN adopted a resolution that called on all countries to proclaim March 8 the day of the struggle for women's rights, the International Women's Day. The International Women's Day has been celebrating in Kyrgyzstan annually. Enditem
Nina, a 91-year-old woman of Russian origin living in China, shows a card, written with greeting words to her hometown in the Vologda Oblast of Russia, in Mansi River Village in Zibo City, east China's Shandong Province, March 8, 2017. Nina was born in 1926 in Vahevo Village in Vologda Oblast in northern Russia. Her father, a Chinese merchant from northern China's Hebei Province, brought her to China when she was seven. Nina's mother was Russian. Nina, whose Chinese name is Liu Molan, has spent most of her life in Mansi River Village in Zibo City. Her late husband Liu Chunshu once served in the Kuomintang air force. Nina's story became known to Russian middle school students through media reports, and the children sent letters and gifts to their distant compatriot. She was excited about the letters, which were the first letters she received from her hometown after she left there 84 years ago. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

JINAN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Nina, a 91-year-old woman of Russian origin living in east China's Shandong Province, received letters and gifts from her hometown in the Vologda Oblast of Russia on Wednesday.

She was excited about the letters, which were the first letters she received from her hometown after she left there 84 years ago.

Nina was born in 1926 in Vahevo Village in Vologda Oblast in northern Russia. Her father, a Chinese merchant from northern China's Hebei Province, brought her to China when she was seven. Nina's mother was Russian.

Nina, whose Chinese name is Liu Molan, has spent most of her life in Mansi River Village in Zibo City. Her late husband Liu Chunshu once served in the Kuomintang air force.

Nina's story became known to Russian middle school students through media reports, and the children decided to send their regards to their distant compatriot.

"We know it may be impossible to speak to you directly, but we hope you are reminded of the small native land where you once lived," said the letter.

"Since your family left, much has changed, but possibly some photos of Vahevo Village will remind you of your happy childhood," it said.

Oleg Kuvshnykov, governor of Vologda, whom the students asked to help deliver the letter and a hand-knitted rooster as a gift, also wrote a letter himself.

"Your destiny is an example of the long-standing friendship between the peoples of Russia and China. I have great respect for your hard-working spirit and optimism," he said in the letter.

Nina said she never expected to receive a letter from her hometown. "I am grateful that they care about me," she said.

The Nanding township government on Wednesday helped her reply to the letter and send porcelain gifts to the Vologda Oblast and students.
OSLO, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A recent analysis shows that only one of six Norwegian companies has a female chief executive and only one in eight has a female chairperson of the board, online newspaper E24 reported Wednesday.

In conjunction with International Women's Day, data and analysis company Bisnode examined gender distribution among top leaders in all stock-based companies, public limited companies and sole proprietorships in Norway.

According to Norwegian law, there should be at least 40 percent of both genders on the board of public limited companies. The requirements also apply to public corporations, inter-municipal companies, large cooperatives and companies where more than two-thirds is owned by municipality.

However, the results have shown that there are only 16 percent of chief executives and 12.6 percent of the chairpersons that are women.

"Although we have gender quotas for the boards of Norwegian companies, our figures show that there is some way to go before peak positions are divided equally between men and women," said Kari Mette Almskog, director of business development and solution sales in Bisnode.

There is also an unequal distribution of ownership among genders, the report said. Norwegian companies are mainly owned by men with only 16.6 percent of companies have a female as the main owner.

Almskog pointed to the ownership structure of the business sector as a possible explanation for why there are so few women at the top, saying that male owners may preferably employ men again as top managers.

Bisnode found that women leaders deliver on average better profit margins than men. While women deliver 12 percent of profit margin, men's share is 9 percent. Enditem
Jorge Chediek, the UN secretary-general's envoy on South-South cooperation, speaks during an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency in New York, the United States, on March 3, 2017. The UN office in charge of promoting South-South cooperation is seeking a stronger partnership with developing countries, including China, Jorge Chediek told Xinhua in a recent interview. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

By Xinhua Writer Gu Zhenqiu

UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN office in charge of promoting South-South cooperation is seeking a stronger partnership with developing countries, including China, a senior UN official told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Jorge Chediek, the UN secretary-general's envoy on South-South cooperation, said that the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), which he heads, are discussing with several countries which showed interest in hosting the Expo.

"We look forward to developing strong partnerships with countries like the People's Republic of China that have become an example for the world" to share successful stories in the South countries' efforts for sustainable development, he added.

The Expo was established in 2008 as a forum for countries of the South and international organizations to showcase what they are doing in promoting South-South cooperation, Chediek said.

"South-South cooperation is the cooperation among developing countries, which have in the last few years developed a lot of resources and a lot of solutions, that are particularly relevant to other countries," he said.

The GSSD Expo is designed to promote evidence-based successful development solutions and initiatives created by countries from the global South to address development challenges.

It provides a powerful platform for development actors from various backgrounds to showcase their development solutions, celebrate successes, disseminate information, share knowledge and lessons learned, explore new avenues for collaboration and initiate new partnership efforts.

It facilitates the sharing and exchange of scalable, replicable and innovative Southern solutions and initiatives that have significant development impact on the ground.

Solutions will therefore not be presented as universal models but as references for voluntary learning, with the common aim of scaling up their development impact.

"So far, we have had eight editions of the Expo in different countries," such as the United States, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Kenya, and the last one took place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate, in 2016, he noted.

The first GSSD Expo was launched in the U.S. city of New York in December 2008, and previous hosts also include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Each edition of the Expo has a theme, and the previous themes cover enhancing innovations towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; building inclusive green economies; global partnership compact for South-South cooperation for development; human development and social protection; Southern development solutions to global food security, energy and climate change challenges, among others.

"Over the last few years, we have attracted over 6,000 development experts and practitioners, and several hundreds of development solutions have been exchanged, and many partnerships have been established," he said.

In addition, the eight Expos have more than 150 countries connected, more than 620 tested solutions showcased and unveiled 16 South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives launched.

"The Expo has generated a lot of answers and a lot of good progress for the people of the countries of South," he said.

The GSSD Expo, as the one and only UN system-wide and global platform for systematic showcasing of development solutions at national, regional and global levels, was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in the Nairobi Outcome Document adopted at the last High-Level UN Conference on South-South Cooperation, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2009.

Chediek, who is from Argentina, was appointed as the UN secretary-general's envoy on South-South cooperation. Since October 2015, he has been the director of UNOSSC leading United Nations system-wide promotion and coordination of South-South cooperation for development. Prior to this, he served as the UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua and other countries, as well as the director of UNDP international policy center for inclusive growth.

Chediek said that UNOSSC has the mandate to promote South-South cooperation within the United Nations system and beyond.

"My office is organizer of the event in the partnership with the host countries and host organizations. We basically put the programs together and mobilized the participants to engage in this event that will become a yearly highlight of South-South cooperation worldwide," he said.
AMMAN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday stressed the need for coordination to address challenges in the Middle East.

King Abdullah said more efforts were needed to institutionalize Arab efforts and action to address these challenges.

He made the remarks at a meeting with visiting Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Than, where discussions focused on ties between the two countries and issues of concern to the Arab nation.

Referring to the Arab Summit, which will be held in Jordan at the end of March, the Jordanian leader said the summit comes at a critical condition the region is going through. He also highlighted the importance of Arab unity.

Also on Wednesday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with the Qatari official.

The two sides looked into latest developments related to the Palestinian issue, the Syrian crisis, the war on terrorism and other regional issues.

The two ministers said continued coordination was necessary to address challenges and preserve stability and security in the region.
JERUSALEM, March 8 (Xinhua) -- In a preliminary reading on Wednesday, Israel's parliament voted in favor of the controversial "muezzin bill" that limits mosques from using loudspeakers for calls to prayer.

The coalition-backed bill, approved in a 55-47 vote, refers to any "house of worship," but it is widely regarded as a measure against mosques because the ban was restricted to the hours between 23:00 and 7:00, during which Jewish synagogues have no activity while Muslims would practice prayer twice, shortly before dawn and at sunrise, respectively.

The bill still needs three more rounds of voting before it becomes a law.

If finally approved, fines of at least 5,000 shekels (about 1,360 U.S. dollars) could be imposed on those who break the law.

On Wednesday's preliminary reading, the parliament also approved a bill which calls to prohibit the use of loudspeakers at any time. A spokesman for the coalition said the two bills are expected to be combined together before the next reading.

The "muezzin bill" was denounced by several Arab countries ahead of its preliminary approval. Experts said it is expected to draw further international criticism.

The vote sparked an uproar in parliament. Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi, lawmakers with the Arab-Jewish Joint List party, tore down the bill during the discussion before the vote.

"It is another brick in the wall of injustices of this government. Their sole goal is to single out the Arab public as an enemy from within," said Odeh.

"This bill is not about loud noise and not about the quality of life. It is about incitement and racism against a national minority. The sound of the muezzin was heard here in this region much before those racists in Netanyahu's government and will stay here long after them," he said.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) also condemned the vote.

Israel is "imposing a vain and unjust law that prevents the followers of the Semitic religions from carrying out their rituals and performing their religious obligations," Yousef Mahmoud, a PNA spokesman, told Israel's Jerusalem Post.

Arabs make up about 20 percent of the population in Israel. The majority of them are Muslims.
ROME, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Italy is in favor of a multi-speed European integration, which is already an existing reality within the bloc, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Wednesday.

Gentiloni made his remarks while addressing both houses of parliament, ahead of the European Council meeting scheduled on March 9 and 10 in Brussels where the debate over the issue will continue with heads of state and government.

"Italy is in favor of a more unified European Union (EU), and we should allow this to happen at various levels of integration," he told lawmakers.

"This would mean acknowledging the state of things: the perspective of an ever greater integration is hard to achieve within a Europe at 28 (member states)."

Meeting in Versailles last week, the leaders of Italy, France, Germany, and Spain had already called for a greater European integration to be developed at different speeds.

"The project (of a multi-speed EU) is not meant to be against someone, but is an existing reality," Gentiloni remarked on Wednesday.

He added his government was keeping pace with its wide reform agenda and would not "take lessons" from EU partners.

"I would challenge anyone to point at another government or parliament in Europe engaged in such a large package of reform as we are," he said.

"We are not top of the class, but we will not accept lessons from anyone."

Later this month, the Italian government is preparing to host the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, which opened the way to the current EU.
ATHENS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Greece marked International Women's Day on Wednesday with a series of events nationwide aimed to raise awareness of gender inequality.

"For any question, the answer is equality," was the main slogan on the poster of the General Secretariat for Gender Equality (GSGE), the governmental organization in charge of equality between women and men in Greece.

Greek women have made strides during the 20th century and the 21st century, but still have a long way to go to fully achieve gender equality, in particular in the workforce, according to GSGE.

"We continue the struggle for equality. Women and men fighting together can win," Fotini Kouvela, GSGE head, said in her message for the day.

Higher unemployment rates, smaller representation in senior management posts and pay gap reflect the discrimination women face in the Greek labor market.

Women suffer more than men from the debt crisis which has hit hard Greece since 2009. According to data from Greece's Manpower Employment Organization in November 2016, among the more than one million registered jobless, 62.35 percent were women.

Women run 20 percent of the senior management positions in Greece, while the global average has hit 25 percent, according to a report by international business consulting firm Grant Thornton.

According to 2016 Eurostat data, Greece's gender pay gap stands at 15 percent.
ALGIERS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Maria Dastis Quecedo stressed Wednesday enhancing bilateral relations with Algeria.

At the invitation of his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra, Quecedo arrived in Algiers Wednesday for a two-day visit.

"I'm very pleased to visit Algeria, as it is my first trip to this country," Quecedo told reporters. "My visit aims at consolidating the strategic relations bounding our two nations in economic and political fields."

He further specified that this visit is part of the regular political consultations between Algeria and Spain, in accordance with the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation signed on Oct. 8 2012.

Alfonso was later received by Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal. They discussed ways of strengthening bilateral relations, ahead of the 7th Algerian-Spanish High Level Meeting, due in Algiers in the second half of 2017.

Trade exchange between Spain and Algeria hit 7.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, according to Customs figures. Enditem
NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited a Kenyan slum Wednesday to underscore the need to focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the fight against poverty, which is punctuated by more women living in poor and unplanned neighborhoods.

Guterres visited the Nairobi slum of Mathare, one of the biggest informal settlements, where he met with the youth, women leaders and representatives of drought-stricken families from the Rift Valley, to discuss how authorities could use policies to deal with drought.

Guterres was accompanied by UN Settlement Agency (UN-Habitat) Executive Director Joan Clos and the UN-Habitat's Chief of Youth and Livelihoods, Doug Ragan, to a youth centre in the slum.

Clos said during the visit, which also coincided with the International Women's Day, the urban centres and cities were emerging spaces for youth innovation, where women were the main players.

"As representatives of change, they are great assets in our efforts towards gender equality and women's empowerment," Clos said.

Guterres met women aspirants vying for political posts during the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Kenya and called for the empowerment of women and girls.

The UN chief said access to credit would empower women and communities.

During the visit, women representatives from Laikipia, one region in Kenya, affected by the ongoing drought in Kenya, called for the protection of women, including those running for political offices.

"We are here to discuss the challenges facing women. Women should not assume that the women's vote could be taken for granted," said Esther Mwaura-Muiru, of Grassroots Kenya, an organization that represents women aspirants.

Guterres met with members of an all-girl team, the Mathare Up for Slum Dwellers Team, to emphasize his agenda against urban poverty, UN officials said.

The team represented the SDG 11 agenda, which UN Habitat officials say is crucial to its ongoing campaign for youth and public space.

"The crisis in Laikipia has to do with climate change but the government is not doing much. They have done too little to assist the communities in Laikipia North, which is a semi-desert. We want our region classified as arid because it has no difference with Wajir," said John ole Monto, a local community leader.

UN agencies insist efforts to improve the status of women are currently underway, including through its newly adopted New Urban Agenda, which is an opportunity to empower women.

"It is a unique tool which recognizes urban economic empowerment of women. It is a tool which recognizes urbanization as an endogenous source of development and prosperity," Clos said.
AMMAN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Jordan and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) stressed on Wednesday that there is no alternative to the two-state solution in ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and achieving peace in the Middle East, state-run Petra news agency reported.

At a meeting between Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the PLO Saeb Erekat, they emphasized that terrorists may take advantage of the despair brought by the lack of progress toward the peaceful solution that can end occupation and lead to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Both sides called for more efforts to renew serious negotiations to realize the Palestinians' legitimate right to statehood based on the borders of 1967 with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Erekat and Safadi warned against any unilateral moves that change the status quo in east Jerusalem and alter its Arabic identity.

They said the peace on the basis of the two-state solution is a strategic option that is in line with the Arab Peace initiative, which was adopted by the Arab states in 2002.
MOSUL, Iraq, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Fierce clashes between Iraqi security forces and extremist Islamic State (IS) militants continued on Wednesday and the government troops seized two more neighborhoods in the western side of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.

The commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) completely freed the neighborhoods of Shuhadaa and Mansour in the southwestern part of Mosul's western side, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

The CTS special forces killed dozens of IS militants in the heavy clashes with IS militants in the two neighborhoods, as the troops are pushing deeper toward the central part of Mosul's western side, locally known as the right bank of Tigris River, which bisects the city, according to the statement.

Near Mosul, the army's 9th armored division and the Shiite paramilitary Hashd Shaabi unit freed Tal Khazaf villages from IS militants near the area of Tulul Attshana in west of Mosul, while the troops continued clearing the freed villages from roadside bombs and booby-trapped houses, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the troops also retook control of Badoush prison compound and raised the Iraqi flag over its building in northwest of Mosul, the statement said, adding that battles are underway in the nearby residential buildings.

The presence of armored division and the Hashd Shaabi is aimed at surrounding Mosul from the west to cut off the escape route from Mosul and the neighboring Syria.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, announced the start of an offensive on Feb. 19 to drive extremist militants out of the western side of Mosul.

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 IS militants.

However, the western part of Mosul, with its narrow streets and a population of between 750,000 and 800,000, appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces.

Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
PRAGUE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Reacting to a statement made earlier on Wednesday by Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern to punish EU member states that refuse to accept refugees by cutting EU subsidies granted to them, Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec dismissed the demand as nonsense.

In a press release, Chovanec said the Czech Republic rejected Kern's statement which is yet another incomprehensible step that divides the EU at a time when common solutions should be sought.

He said the Czech Republic provides sufficient aid for the regions refugees are coming from and in the European countries to which they are arriving.

The official added the Czech Republic was one of the countries that was the most active during the refugee crisis and it consistently provided assistance in conflict areas in other countries.

Kern's demand would mainly affect Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Chovanec said.
ALGIERS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Wednesday warned that security and political instability hitting neighboring nations fuel the remnants of terrorism in Algeria.

"Hotbeds of tension and instability in neighboring countries, where terrorism and cross-border crimes have expanded, represent a security challenge threatening our country," Bouteflika said in a message on the occasion of the Women World Day.

He urged mobilization and vigilance of all Algerians in a bid to defeat the scourges of terrorism and ultimately safeguard the nation's security.

Bouteflika further hailed the courage and sacrifices of the Algerian army troops and security forces in their fight against terrorism and crimes.

Meanwhile, he reaffirmed the determination of Algeria to get free from hydrocarbon revenues dependency, saying "the government and the people have to make more efforts in a bid to built diversified economy with competitive potential in line with the global markets." Enditem
UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told reporters Wednesday that "all options are on the table" for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after emergency closed consultations of the Security Council on the DPRK.

The United States was revaluating how it must deal with the DPRK after the country's repeated missile tests, she said, adding that the U.S. has to see "some sort of positive action" from the DPRK before it can take Kim Jong Un's regime seriously and discuss ways to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Immediately following the Security Council consultations on DPRK's recent missile launches on Wednesday morning, Haley joined a joint stakeout with Ambassador Koro Bessho, Permanent Representative of Japan to the UN, and Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the UN.
AMMAN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Wednesday condemned the draft law endorsed by the Israeli parliament to limit mosque calls to prayers inside Israel and east Jerusalem, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

"Jordan rejects such a measure and believes it entails discrimination and this move violates many international laws and charters," Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said Wednesday.

The Israeli parliament on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to two controversial measures that would limit calls to prayers from mosques, including one prohibiting the use of loudspeakers at any time.

Such measures are in violation of the peace treaty signed between Jordan and Israel in 1994, said the minister.

"Jordan enjoys a historic role to preserve the holy sites in Jerusalem under the deal," he added.

Jordan was the second Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel.
by Chrispinus Omar and Chris Mgidu NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan doctors softened their stance Wednesday after a protracted three months of talks on a new pay offer after the government abandoned talks and ordered governors to issue sack letters to doctors who fail to immediately return to work. "The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is ready for signature. What is left is the signing of a return to work agreement, which will define the technical formula for the doctors to return to work in an orderly manner," said Lukoye Atwoli, a member of Kenya Medical Association (KMA). Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta asked the Council of Governors, under whose docket, the government devolved the medical services, to abandon talks with the medical workers union on Tuesday. The talks were proceeding with the religious leaders, including bishops and sheikhs of the mainstream churches and Muslims towards a solution to the long-drawn strike by the Kenyan doctors. "We have shown good faith in the negotiations. We are ready and prepared to continue with these talks. We have recommitted to the talks for the last time. These negotiations should be done in good faith," said Atwoli, speaking on behalf of the medical workers on strike since December 5, 2016. The doctors have been demanding an unspecified salary increment and improved working conditions at the public hospitals, where some 5,000 members are employed. The government on Tuesday ordered the doctors to return to work, saying each and every doctor should negotiate their terms of work with their employers. But the doctors union said the CBA, which defines the terms and conditions of service for union members of a professional body, was finalized and signed. "The Union is ready to finalize the remaining portions. The doctors would return to work as soon as these sections are agreed upon," Atwoli said after holding talks with officials from the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) who has called for the three-month old strike. However, KMPDU Secretary General Dr Ouma Oluga and other union officials have urged the doctors to maintain their resolve insisting that the recognition agreement and CBA must be signed to end the 94-day strike. "We await to conclude the signing of CBA and then after return to work formula as was guided by the Court of Appeal under the Mediation of Religious Leaders. We hope this shall be done soon," Oluga said in a statement. Despite government withdrawing a deal negotiated during the meditation process, the doctors now say that they cannot be coerced and bulldozed into returning to work without inking the negotiated deal. "While the payroll and the hospital belongs to the government, your skill is selfishly yours. But let nobody make you think that it must be forced on you to use it," said Oluga. But the council of governors remains adamant that the deal is no longer on the table, accusing the union of sabotaging the health sector. Doctors are currently expected to work under the supervision of some 47 County governors, who are responsible for public health as the second tier of a devolved government structure. A deal with the government was signed in 2013, but the government disowned the agreement saying the government officials who signed it did so illegally after their tenure in government ended. "The process of returning to work is contingent upon the signing of a return to work agreement," said Atwoli. Meanwhile, public hospitals began to issue sacking letters to doctors on Wednesday. The Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) sacked 12 doctors and issued warning letters to 48 others for deserting duty, KNH Managing Director Lily Koros announced on Wednesday. "From Dec 3, we warned our doctors not to take part in the strike. Some immediately abandoned duties and some are still in the process -- that is why I am talking about 12 who have been dismissed but there are those on whom disciplinary action is still going on," Koros said. She said the hospital sent out circulars informing doctors that the strike was unlawful and also issued warning to the doctors and other staff that disciplinary action would be taken against those who participated in the strike. Koros directed all doctors employed by the country's main referral hospital "to report back to work with immediate effect or face disciplinary action which may include summary dismissal, eviction from hospital quarters or any other administrative action deemed necessary." Hospitals have been without doctors since the doctors went on strike. However, the state hospitals say they have the right to take disciplinary action against those on strike. The doctors union said it is working on ensuring none of its members is sacked for participating in the strike. Editor: Mu Xuequan  Xinhua Weibo Facebook Twitter Reddit Diigo Delicious Digg Linkedin MySpace Sina Weibo Kaixin Renren Q-zone Tencent Weibo Sohu Weibo NetEase Weibo
Pierre Liot de Nortbecourt, the chief staff of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), addresses a medal parade ceremony in honor of the Chinese contingent at the Chinese troops' camp in Hinniyah village in southern Lebanon, on March 8, 2017. Pierre Liot de Nortbecourt, the chief staff of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), hailed the Chinese peacekeepers on Wednesday for their long-standing commitment, dedication, professionalism and sacrifice for the peace quest in southern Lebanon. (Xinhua)

BEIRUT, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Pierre Liot de Nortbecourt, the chief staff of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), hailed the Chinese peacekeepers on Wednesday for their long-standing commitment, dedication, professionalism and sacrifice for the peace quest in southern Lebanon.

His remarks came at a medal parade ceremony in honor of the Chinese contingent at the Chinese troops' camp in Hinniyah village in southern Lebanon, attended by Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian, Lebanese Army Commander Jean Kahwaji and a number of Lebanese and UNIFIL officials.

"The Chinese contingent comprises a total of 418 personnel, of which 380 constitute CHINBATT, 30 are working in the CHINESE LEVEL 1+ Hospital and the other eight are staff officers working in UNIFIL headquarters," he said.

"Since deployed in May 2016, the operational duties that CHINBATT is performing are vast and important, including support to the mobility and freedom of movement of the Force, contribution to the Blue Line marking process, mine clearing operations, provision of Explosive Ordnance Disposal, construction of Force Protection Installations and medical assistance," Nortbecourt added.
Students of Cairo University react with artists while watching the pro-women show during a demonstration against sexual harassment in Cairo, Egypt, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Cairo University of Egypt organized Wednesday a march on its campus under the theme of anti-sexual harassment to mark the International Women's Day.

Held by the university's anti-sexual harassment unit, the event was attended by large numbers of students, academics and civil society activists, who chanted slogans calling for gender equality.

During the demonstration, a number of university students and artists performed a pro-women show that was largely applauded by the audience.

Head of the Cairo University, Professor Gaber Nassar, said that the university shows solidarity with all women worldwide, stressing that the society should protect women and grant them all their legal rights.

"No community can improve without gender equality. Our university, which was built by donations from an Egyptian princess decades ago, will always champion and support women," Nassar said during the event.

Head of the University's anti-sexual harassment unit Maha al-Saeed said that they seized the occasion to raise awareness about sexual harassment and penalties of verbal and physical harassment.

"There is no difference between men and women...we both have rights and duties, we should respect each other," she said.

International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year and it was adopted by the United Nations in 1975.
JUBA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in South Sudan on Wednesday donated a batch of medicine and medical equipment to the Al-Shabbah Children's Hospital in the capital of Juba.

The donation made through the office of the South Sudanese First Lady, Mary Ayen Mayardit was a gift from the Chinese government to children and women of South Sudan to celebrate the International Women's Day.

The medicine donated included 27 categories of medicines such as Ampilcllin, Saline, Amoxilline, pain killers among others.

The embassy also donated six units of medical equipment, such as microscopes, Digital Blood Pressure machines and Diabetes testing machines.

Jemma Nunu Kumba, Chairperson of Board of Directors of Concern for Women and Children who represented the first lady during the handover ceremony, appreciated the Chinese government for the continued support to the country's health sector.

"We thank you the people and government of China for this donation and we believe that our cooperation and support to our children and women of South Sudan will go further," Kumba said.

Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan He Xiangdong said the donation symbolizes Beijing's commitment to help the development of the world's youngest nation.

He pledged China's unrelenting efforts to support the conflict-hit East African nation in strengthening the fight against diseases, malnutrition, and hunger.

"China will do more to help our friends here in South Sudan especially the children and women," the Chinese envoy said.

China is among the first countries which supported South Sudan materially and diplomatically since its independence from Sudan in July 2011.
CAPE TOWN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's opposition party on Wednesday called for an independent investigation into suspected involvement of corrupt cops in an airport heist of a large amount of cash.

This came after an astounding 24 million rand (about 1.9 million U.S. dollars) in cash was reportedly stolen from a South African Airways plane at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

A group of armed suspects posing as police in a marked police vehicle allegedly intercepted security guards as they were transporting money to a waiting aircraft. No shots were fired and no injuries have been reported.

"The use of a police vehicle in this incident is extremely concerning and could point to the involvement of corrupt cops," the Democratic Alliance (DA) said in a statement.

The DA said it will write to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to request that it conducts a thorough investigation into whether or not South African Police Services (SAPS) members or assets were involved in the heist.

The DA will also submit parliamentary questions to find out how many SAPS vehicles and firearms have been found to have been used for criminal activity, as well as how many SAPS members have been found guilty of criminal offences, DA Shadow Minister of Police Zakhele Mbhele said in Cape Town.

Furthermore, the DA will also be submitting questions to the Ministers of Police and Transport to determine the state of security at the country's airports, said Mbhele.

"The SAPS should be protecting the lives and property of South Africa's people and we should not be seeing the use of official resources by corrupt cops to enrich themselves," Mbhele said.

Meanwhile, the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said it is working closely with law enforcement agencies to arrest those behind the armed robbery.

"South African Police Service and Airports Company South Africa is working closely with other law enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspects. The investigation is at an early stage," the ACSA said.

The SAPS said involvement of corrupt cops could not be ruled out.

The boldness of the criminals as well as their ability to gain access to a secure area highlights the severity of crime in South Africa.

It is not the first time that large amount of cash was stolen at Johannesburg's central airport.

In 2006, an estimated 7.67 million dollars were stolen from an international aircraft at the same airport.
LONDON, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A research team in London and Southampton have developed a new system using 3-D which will help find better treatments for sufferers of tuberculosis (TB), the Medical Research Council(MRC) in Britain announced Wednesday.

The new system will enable researchers to more effectively study human infections in the laboratory.

A team of infectious disease researchers, engineers and bioinformaticians from the University of Southampton and University College London came together to better understand the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

They used a technique known as electrostatic encapsulation to make tiny spheres of collagen, a connecting tissue in the body, within which human cells are infected with TB bacteria to generate conditions that more closely reflect events in patients than similar 2D techniques.

The team developed human lung cells which were then placed in the 3D spheres and infected with TB bacteria, allowing the researchers to further investigate what happens in a human body when the disease develops.

Professor Paul Elkington, who leads the Southampton TB research group, said: "This is a really exciting development for the field of tuberculosis research. The 3D sphere can be created with a collagen matrix so it is more like a human lung."

"This produces an environment which allows particular antibiotics that are important in treating patients to kill the infection, which they cannot do in other 2D model systems."

"This system will help us speed up the process of finding treatments and vaccines for human tuberculosis, an infection that kills 1.8 million people every year," the professor said

With a long-term aim of identifying new antibiotic treatments and vaccines, the 3D spheres are also able to prolong experiments for up to three weeks, more than four times longer than standard 2D model systems. .

The research was funded by the Antimicrobial Resistance Cross-Council Initiative which brings together all seven UK Research Councils to develop collaborative approaches across research disciplines. .

The next phase of the research will be in collaboration with the African Health Research Institute in Durban where there is a very high incidence of TB.

Elkington added: "We will use our 3D model to integrate engineering and biological approaches with clinical specimens to create an entirely new system of studying infection."

Dr Al Leslie, of the Africa Health Research Institute, said: "There is a huge amount to be gained from infectious disease biologists and engineers working together, as they push each other out of their comfort zones and force a new perspective on the problem being tackled."

He said the work will bring real innovation to TB research programs and speed up the pace of discovery to fight what is a deadly epidemic.
ARUSHA, Tanzania, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Zanzibar, Tanzania's semi-autonomous archipelago, on Wednesday launched a cleanliness campaign in two tourist villages aimed at boosting the tourism industry in the Indian Ocean Islands.

The campaign, dubbed "Best of Zanzibar", seeks to change the situation in Isles and is being executed by health experts from the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) and ordinary islanders.

Nahya Khamis Nassor, Best of Zanzibar Project Officer, said that the campaign is to be carried out in Zanzibar's Northern Unguja Region in a bid to boost tourism after a research found that unhygienic conditions in the area, which in turn threatened both residents and visitors.

A study carried out last year in the villages of Kijini and Mbuyu Tende, which heavily depend on tourism, found that in every 100 houses only three to four had latrines, posing a serious threat to tourism-dependent businesses.

SUZA official said that last year's research showed that if things were left they way they were, the lifeline of the villages --tourism-- was in danger as well as the health of both residents and visitors.

Nassor said experts from SUZA had begun with cleanliness education for primary school pupils in the two villages, adding that the program will be carried out in five phases.

"Local leader and their deputies, teachers, women and youth groups, fishermen and health centers will also be reached," Nassor said.

The aim of the project is to kick out recurrent waterborne diseases especially cholera, diarrhea and other ailments that have turned the potential tourism hotspot into a somewhat risky place to visit and live in, Nassor said.

He emphasized that the project also seeks to create awareness on cleanliness with the view to making area residents take matters of health and hygiene into their hands. Enditem
UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Displacement due to ongoing fighting in western Mosul continues to rise rapidly as thousands of Iraqi people are fleeing the north Iraqi city, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters here Wednesday.

Some 53,500 people have been displaced from western Mosul since the renewed military operations there began on Feb. 19, Haq said at a a daily news briefing here. "This is an increase of approximately 3,500 people overnight."

"This figure is expected to continue to rise in the coming days," Haq said, adding that reports are being verified of the arrival of another 13,000 people at a security screening site in Hamam al Alil, south of Mosul.

Since military operations in Mosul began in mid-October, more than 4,600 people have been referred from front line areas to Erbil's two main hospitals to be treated for trauma injuries, he said.

Since hostilities resumed on Feb. 19, more than 600 people have been treated at trauma stabilisation points close to the city for conflict-related injuries, he said.

"A further 15 people have been referred from eastern Mosul city to hospitals in nearby Erbil for the treatment of skin burns, blistering and respiratory issues, which are symptoms consistent with exposure to a blistering chemical agent," he said.

Mosul witnessed a fighting between the Iraqi government forces and Islamic State (IS/Da'esh) terrorists.

The Iraqi government force's advance toward Mosul came after the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on Feb. 19 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.

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 Islamic State (IS) militants.

However, the western side of Mosul, with its narrow streets and a heavy population of between 750,000 and 800,000, appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces, according to the United Nations 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.
Jorge Chediek, the UN secretary-general's envoy on South-South cooperation, receives Xinhua reporter's interview. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

by Xinhua Writer Gu Zhenqiu

UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN office in charge of promoting South-South cooperation is seeking a stronger partnership with developing countries, including China, a senior UN official told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Jorge Chediek, the UN secretary-general's envoy on South-South cooperation, said that the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), which he heads, are discussing with several countries which showed interest in hosting the Expo.

"We look forward to developing strong partnerships with countries like the People's Republic of China that have become an example for the world" to share successful stories in the South countries' efforts for sustainable development, he added.

The Expo was established in 2008 as a forum for countries of the South and international organizations to showcase what they are doing in promoting South-South cooperation, Chediek said.

"South-South cooperation is the cooperation among developing countries, which have in the last few years developed a lot of resources and a lot of solutions, that are particularly relevant to other countries," he said.

The GSSD Expo is designed to promote evidence-based successful development solutions and initiatives created by countries from the global South to address development challenges.

It provides a powerful platform for development actors from various backgrounds to showcase their development solutions, celebrate successes, disseminate information, share knowledge and lessons learned, explore new avenues for collaboration and initiate new partnership efforts.

It facilitates the sharing and exchange of scalable, replicable and innovative Southern solutions and initiatives that have significant development impact on the ground.

Solutions will therefore not be presented as universal models but as references for voluntary learning, with the common aim of scaling up their development impact.

"So far, we have had eight editions of the Expo in different countries," such as the United States, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Kenya, and the last one took place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate, in 2016, he noted.

The first GSSD Expo was launched in the U.S. city of New York in December 2008, and previous hosts also include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Each edition of the Expo has a theme, and the previous themes cover enhancing innovations towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; building inclusive green economies; global partnership compact for South-South cooperation for development; human development and social protection; Southern development solutions to global food security, energy and climate change challenges, among others.

"Over the last few years, we have attracted over 6,000 development experts and practitioners, and several hundreds of development solutions have been exchanged, and many partnerships have been established," he said.

In addition, the eight Expos have more than 150 countries connected, more than 620 tested solutions showcased and unveiled 16 South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives launched.

"The Expo has generated a lot of answers and a lot of good progress for the people of the countries of South," he said.

The GSSD Expo, as the one and only UN system-wide and global platform for systematic showcasing of development solutions at national, regional and global levels, was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in the Nairobi Outcome Document adopted at the last High-Level UN Conference on South-South Cooperation, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2009.

Chediek, who is from Argentina, was appointed as the UN secretary-general's envoy on South-South cooperation. Since October 2015, he has been the director of UNOSSC leading United Nations system-wide promotion and coordination of South-South cooperation for development. Prior to this, he served as the UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua and other countries, as well as the director of UNDP international policy center for inclusive growth.

Chediek said that UNOSSC has the mandate to promote South-South cooperation within the United Nations system and beyond.

"My office is organizer of the event in the partnership with the host countries and host organizations. We basically put the programs together and mobilized the participants to engage in this event that will become a yearly highlight of South-South cooperation worldwide," he said.
KHARTOUM, March 8 (Xinhua) -- As the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector released 107 government military personnel, Khartoum responded by pardoning 259 rebels, which prompted a question on whether the transformation would lead to a peace deal between the two sides.

On the eve of receiving its war prisoners released by the SPLM/northern sector on Saturday, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir issued a decision to absolve 259 members of rebel groups, who were earlier sentenced to death or imprisonment, with the majority coming from the SPLM/northern sector.

Mohamed Hassan Saeed, a Sudanese political analyst, believed that there is too much water under the bridge in Khartoum's relationship with the rebels of the SPLM/northern sector, which has been fighting the government in South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.

"It is apparent that there are transformations taking place now that can result in unexpected results," Saeed told Xinhua.

"The SPLM/northern sector would not initiate releasing of such a big number of government soldiers without receiving guarantees that it would receive a reward from the other party," he added.

Saeed pointed to the role played by Uganda and South Sudan in facilitating the release of the Sudan's war prisoners and their transport from the rebel areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile to Uganda through South Sudan's territories.

"This indicates a growing regional role which is really willing to end the conflict at South Kordofan and Blue Nile. This role is adopted by Uganda, South Sudan and other regional countries," he noted.

Besides, Amer Abdalla, another Sudanese political analyst, stressed the international role contributing to ending the conflict in Sudan.

"It is clear that the United States is leading international endeavors to narrow the view points between Khartoum and the SPLM/northern sector rebels," Abdalla said.

"Washington presented an initiative in November last year on delivery of humanitarian aid to the needy at the movement's controlled areas," he said.

"It is known that the humanitarian assistance issue was the main barrier that led to the failure of the recent rounds of peace talks between Khartoum and the SPLM/northern sector. If this issue is resolved, it would constitute a positive breakthrough," the analyst explained.

In November, the U.S. administration under former President Barack Obama offered an initiative to airlift medical and humanitarian assistance to the affected areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas after the Sudanese government carried out an inspection in the two areas.

The initiative, however, was later rejected by the SPLM/northern sector despite the nod given by Khartoum.

During the peace talks in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa in Aug. 2016, the SPLM/northern sector demanded transport of 20 percent of the humanitarian assistance through Ethiopia's Asosa airport, which was rejected by Khartoum.
BRUSSELS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Wednesday denounced the deadly attack at a hospital in Afghanistan's capital which killed at least 30 people.

Underlining that patients, visitors, and medical workers alike have been innocent victims of the terrorist attack, a spokesperson of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's diplomatic service, in a statement slammed the attack as "acts carried out in blind disregard also of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention".

"The EU stands by the Afghan authorities and people in the fight against terrorism, and remains committed to keep cooperating with the Afghan people to achieve stability, peace and prosperity," the spokesperson added.

More than 30 people were killed and over 50 others wounded after four suicide bombers struck Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in fortified Wazir Akbar Khan diplomatic district Wednesday morning, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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 UNAMA.
HAVANA, Mar. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) began its cooperation conference in Havana on Wednesday, to address a number of cooperation issues such as climate change, sea, air connections, and sustainable development.

According to Ileana Nunez, Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, this was the bloc's first ever cooperation conference and hoped it would become a mainstay to coordinate efforts inside and outside the region.

The official pointed to how Cuba has paid great importance to such collaboration, including by receiving over 20,000 students from across the region.

Around 3,000 students from the Caribbean are currently studying in Cuba, while 31,000 Cuban specialists, including 27,000 health workers, are spread across the region.

Nunez stressed that it is essential for the ACS to improve their cooperation on infrastructure and technical regulations, which can be jointly promoted.

June Soomer, the ACS secretary-general from St. Lucia, also addressed the meeting, saying it was essential for relations to tighten between the 25 ACS member states, the associate members and the observers.

On Wednesday, the 110 delegates at the summit will analyze programs such as the preservation of sandy coasts and coral reefs, and controlling the arrival of sargasso algae and invasive alien species.

These sessions precede the 22nd regular meeting of the ACS Council of Ministers on Friday.

The ACS was founded on July 24, 1994 in Colombia, with the intention of promoting consultation, cooperation and concerted action among all Caribbean countries.
A Techrules Ren concept car of Chinese electric-carmaker Techrules is seen on the second press day of the 87th International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

GENEVA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- As the 87th Geneva International Motor Show prepares to kick off, representatives from top global car firms reaffirmed on Wednesday their faith in the Chinese market while also highlighting the growing expertise of Chinese carmakers in the highly lucrative automotive business.

"We still see growing demand and more and more people in China becoming more wealthy and who are willing to spend money on premium cars, and this segment is still growing," BMW spokesperson Kai Lichte told Xinhua ahead of the opening of the show on March 9.

"A little more than one quarter of all sales are in China, it's the biggest market, bigger than the U.S and Germany," he added.

Volkswagen marketing manager Jurgen Stackmann, who reminded that 50 percent of the group's cars are sold in China, also highlighted similar benefits.

"The power of the Chinese people is enormous, there is no other place so vibrant, so full of energy, so full of entrepreneurship globally," he noted.

While the purchasing power of China's market remains enormous, representatives also lauded the growing expertise of Chinese firms in the car making industry.

This valuable partnership was perhaps most tangible with Volvo Cars, almost seven years after Chinese car maker Geely Holdings Group Co. Ltd. completed its 1.8 billion U.S. dollar-buyout of Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit, in a landmark foreign acquisition by a Chinese company.

"I think it has been a very successful acquisition. If you look at it for Volvo, I think we would not have been where we are today without the support and the ownership of Geely," Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson explained.

Describing what he called a "win-win" situation, Samuelsson said that while Volvo has gained facilitated access to the Chinese market, Geely has stood to gain on the acquisition of new technologies, enabling the Hangzhou-based multinational company to upgrade its products.

Similarly, co-ventures and partnerships between Volkswagen and Chinese firms are also increasing, with the German automaker setting a series of ambitious targets, amongst which is becoming the leader of the electric car market in coming years.

The firms also lauded their growing presence in China on the manufacturing front, with all three car making giants boasting factories there.

According to Stackmann, this shows that "made in China" is becoming more and more synonymous with quality, since all its cars intended for the Chinese market are produced in Asia's economic powerhouse.

"All of ours cars are fully made and sourced in China, this shows that China has reached a quality of products comparable to Europe," he said, adding that he is "absolutely confident" in the Chinese market which is still posting enormous growth.

This year's Geneva International Motor Show hosts some 180 exhibitors showcasing about 900 models including 148 world or European premieres.
JERUSALEM, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrived Wednesday in Israel and stated that his country remained committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including halting the expansion of the West Bank settlements.

In a brief statement to the press jointly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of their meeting, Johnson said "I should remind you that the policy of our government is for a two-state solution, which is what we want to achieve and hope to help bring about."

"Of course, we must also try to remove obstacles to peace and progress, such as the settlements," he added.

Johnson stressed his country's "rock-like" support of Israel. "Israel has first and foremost an absolute right to live in security, and the people of Israel deserve to be safe from terrorism," he said.

The two leaders seemed friendly, but Netanyau said "it's evident that we agree on most things but not on all things," adding that peace hasn't been achieved because of Palestinian refusal to "recognize a nation state for the Jewish people."

Johnson's meeting with Netanyahu followed a meeting earlier on Wednesday with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riad Malki in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

After the meeting in Ramallah, the base of the Palestinian National Authority government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Johnson said he remained hopeful of the chances to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The one-day visit was Johnson's first official visit to Israel. He also met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

His comment came after the U.S. President Donald Trump backed away from the U.S. long-held commitment to a two-state solution. "I'm looking at two-state and one-state and I like the one that both parties like," Trump said during a meeting with Netanyahu in Washington in February.

Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East War and has been controlling it ever since despite international criticism.
BeltandRoad initiative drives China's opening-up efforts, offers solution to global economic downturn. (Xinhua)

MOSCOW, March 8 (Xinhua) -- While opposition to globalization is emerging in some Western countries, China firmly upholds the idea of openness and integration by pushing forward its Belt and Road Initiative, said a Russian analyst.

"The Belt and Road Initiative is directed against the narrow-minded protectionism, isolationism and attempts to sow discord between nations," Sergei Luzyanin, director of the Far Eastern Studies Institute under the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 in hope of creating a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

"The mega project is aimed exactly at integration, convergence and economic development," said Luzyanin, who has chosen this Chinese initiative as a latest study field.

According to him, the onshore and maritime routes run across areas of higher, medium and lower development levels, and participants can flexibly choose infrastructure overhaul, financial partnership or other forms of cooperation based on different local situations.

Official data showed that China has invested more than 50 billion U.S. dollars in countries along the Belt and Road since 2013.

The initiative has won support from over 100 countries and many international organizations, with nearly 50 cooperative agreements signed between governments.

Luzyanin said the initiative will lead to a general economic improvement, especially in Central Asia and neighboring regions in the long term.

"If we had only the Western European-American option of integration and economic development in the 1990s, today there is a significant addition in the form of the Chinese model," said the specialist on China.

In May, more than 20 heads of state and government, over 50 leaders of international organizations, over 100 ministerial-level officials, as well as more than 1,200 delegates from various countries and regions are expected to participate in a Belt and Road forum for international cooperation in Beijing.

Luzyanin believes the prospects for this initiative are positive, because firstly the project is backed by abundant financial resources, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.

The second reason is that China has accumulated rich experience of economic development and reform over the past 30 years.

The third pillar is the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership with a common focus on the Greater Eurasia. Leaders of both countries have agreed to connect the Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.
Qian Bo (C), the Chinese consul general in Istanbul, poses for a photo with students granted a scholarship at award ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 8, 2017. More than 60 Turkish students were granted a scholarship on Wednesday for their outstanding studies of the Chinese language. (Xinhua/He Canling)

ISTANBUL, March 8 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 Turkish students were granted a scholarship on Wednesday for their outstanding studies of the Chinese language.

The awards were presented by Qian Bo, the Chinese consul general in Istanbul, under a scholarship program set up in 2016. Twenty of those honored from five universities in the city were also awarded a chance to visit China for one week in June.

Qian said the interest in the Chinese language and literature has augmented significantly during the last couple of years thanks to the establishment of Chinese research centers and Chinese language departments in some universities in Istanbul.

"The scholarship program aims to carry this interest even further, so that more and more young Turkish students will have a chance to learn about the Chinese culture, while forming a bridge between the two societies," he said.

Referring to the fact that Turkey and China achieved a trade volume of 27.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 and China's non-financial direct investment in Turkey reached 1.3 billion dollars, he said "all these developments require more and more young people able to speak both languages in both countries."

Ahmet Ince, a deputy director of Yeditepe University, urged Turkish students to learn foreign languages as much as possible to meet the needs of the world.

Sule Kut, the rector of Okan University, said Turkish academics have been appreciating China's scholarship program.

"We ask for the continuation of such kind of projects that encourage Turkish students to learn more about China and its culture," she said.
BRATISLAVA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia supports re-election of Donald Tusk as European Council President, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said Wednesday.

"Slovakia wants to see the EU president coming from its own region. Tusk understands this region," said Fico.

According to Fico, the upcoming summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday will be a working one and it will discuss employment, security, migration and preparations for the Rome Summit slated for March 25.

Fico said talks on the EU's future will be critical at the summit, and it is expected that budgetary issues will cause division among individual member countries.

"I'm a bit sceptical when it comes to the EU's future," Fico said, adding that a two-speed EU is likely to emerge in the future.
HELSINKI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority has hit hard four financial enterprises for sloppy advice to customers in old age, media reported on Wednesday.

The highest penalty, one million euros (1.05 million U.S. dollars), was levied on Nordea Bank. The sum is the largest the authority can demand.

The Helsinki Region Cooperative Bank had to pay 400,000 euros. Two other companies paid lesser fees.

The institutions did not check the investing experience of their clients, as required by the law. Documentation of advice given was also insufficient.

The investigation focused on financial advice targeting those over 70 years old in 2015. In one case, a 90-year-old Nordea customer sold his two million euro investments and purchased Nordea instruments. The transaction caused a 100,000-euro tax that the customer did not know in advance.

Harri Vanska, analyst of the leading Finnish business daily Kauppalehti, said the public admonishment and major fines were humiliating to the financial institutions concerned.

The public supervisors took seriously the letters-to-the editor the next of kin of seniors had written about the way their family members had been targeted by bank marketing.

"The investigation was important, as the share of seniors is increasing. The officials have now officially confirmed the complicated structuralized investment products are not suitable to seniors," Vanska said.

Sonja Lohse, an official at the supervisory authority, told national broadcaster Yle that the penalty for Nordea Bank was higher as there had been a situation of conflict of interest in their services.

"The bank systems had consistently suggested to customers that they should sell all their investments and put their money into products that the bank or its partners were offering. The Finnish law prescribes that conflicts of interest in financial advice should be prevented," said Lohse.

Both Nordea Bank and the Helsinki Cooperative Bank said corrective measures have been adopted and staff training increased.

In the Finnish control system, the fines levied by the supervisory authority on a bank will be paid to the state, not to any customers. The banks can file complaints in 30 days.

The Cooperative Bank said it will not complain, whereas Nordea did not comment. (1 euro = 1.05 U.S. dollars)
ANKARA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged Turkish citizens living abroad to participate in the upcoming referendum despite "obstacles" being placed on their path.

"Whatever obstacle they place in front of you, you should go and cast your votes on the date announced for you to participate in the polls," Erdogan said via the state-run TRT television network.

The president's remarks came after some European countries set "obstacles" for Turkish referendum campaign rally in local Turks community.

As scheduled, Turkish voters will go to polls on April 16 for a constitutional referendum that would turn the country from parliamentary to presidential system.

Last week, Germany local authorities cancelled several events related to Turkey's April 16 referendum that Turkish government ministers had planned to address, which suddenly heightened tension between Turkey and Germany. Austria and Netherlands also hold opposite attitudes towards the campaign rally in their countries.

Constitutional reforms and the change to a presidential system have been on political agenda since Erdogan was elected as president in August 2014, and accelerated since the failed coup last summer. The ruling party AKP wants to urge Turkish citizens living abroad to vote for presidential system, which can enhance the power of president in future.

"Your votes will be the most meaningful response to the countries in the West and the world. Nobody has the right to prevent your will," Erdogan said.
BERLIN, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese travel agencies on Wednesday charmed tourism dealers at a key travel trade show in Berlin, featuring the Silk Road destinations.

Chinese provincial tourism administrations from Shanghai, Hunan, Inner Mongolia and Shandong, as well as Chinese airliners participated in the Internationale Tourismus Boerse (ITB), which will last from March 8 to March 12 with an expected 180,000 attendees.

Destinations in West China's regions of Shaanxi and Xinjiang are drawing extra attention, as tourists can enjoy the convenience in the modern cities while traversing moments in history.

Although modern big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, still stay on top of the holiday destinations, the Silk Road spots like Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Xi'an have become increasingly heated in recent years, said Shi Xiang, Frankfurt-based regional director of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

Some selected travel routes are along the historical Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes connecting East and West, offering a similar experience as "the early explorers".

People can ride horses, camels and accommodate in gers just like the local herdsmen.

Viktoria Arneson, a 28-year-old travel expert, said the cities on promotion might well suit the taste of western travelers, since lots of them are "adventurous".

"For me, I like grand landscapes, for example sea, steppe, desert. The Silk Road route have those landscapes and seems to be exotic," Arneson said.

For many German exhibitors and dealers, taking a trip along the ancient trade route is even more luring, since the term Silk Road itself is coined by German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen, who made seven expeditions to China from 1,868 to 1,872.

According to a preliminary report by CNTA, foreign travelers made more than 28 million visits into China in 2016, with a year-on-year growth of 8.3 percent.
BUENOS AIRES, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's foreign minister Wednesday called China a "significant player in the world" and highlighted that the Asian giant would play an "important role" in Argentina's relations with the world.

Susana Malcorra was participating at a political and economic forum organized by The Economist in Buenos Aires. At a press conference, the minister was asked about ties between China and Argentina, which celebrated 45 years of diplomatic relations on Feb. 19.

"China is a significant player in the world. To deny China's existence as a partner in projects is to deny the existence of a part of the world. As we are seeking to open ourselves intelligently to the world, China is an important factor," she explained.

Earlier, Malcorra said "the ties are at a very good moment...There are numerous topics that we are discussing. We have a mutual interest to maintain this relationship at its highest point."

China now stands as Argentina's second-largest trading partner, and is also the largest importer of Argentinean beef, claiming 40 percent of the country's exports.

Moreover, China is also involved in a series of emblematic projects in the South American country, ranging from hydroelectric, nuclear and clean energy, to railway and housing.
MADRID, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The result of the Brexit referendum in June 2016 has had many effects, many of which remain unclear.

The three million EU citizens currently living in Britain are facing uncertain future, while little has been said of the estimated 1.2 million British citizens who live and work in other EU members.

Those Britons living in Spain have been worried about whether or not they will be able to continue their life in the country.

Michael Harris is vice president of EuroCitizens, one of several groups established to defend their rights in the wake of the Brexit referendum.

He told Xinhua that many people have the wrong idea about the typical British citizen living in Spain, thinking they are gin-swilling pensioners sitting around a swimming pool.

"In fact, only 107,980 Britons are pensioners and many of those are living on modest incomes. There are 60,000 British workers in Spain (65 percent employed, 35 percent self-employed). They work in business, education, science and technology, fashion, journalism..."

Audrey Bullen, a British resident in Spain, echoed those feelings: "Miss-representation of expats and manipulation of opinion by the UK media is one of my worries."

Healthcare and pensions are also key issues for those people.

"My husband and I live on our state pension and his small company pension," said Ana Patricia Green Green, adding that the value of those pensions has now fallen.

She explained that healthcare will be a worry if Britain and Spain cannot agree to maintain the current EU reciprocal agreements, leaving residents with high insurance costs and medical bills

Some people feel that their voices are being ignored by the British government.

"The British embassy has been very helpful and we have had three meetings with them, including one with the ambassador. However, our attempts to meet the all-party committee of MPs and Lords who are in Spain have failed," said EuroCitizens Vice-President Harris, adding that attempts to contact Brexit minister David Davis had "received no reply."

According to British electoral law, many British residents in Spain were not allowed to vote in the referendum as the vote is denied to people who have not resided in Britain for 15 years.

"We didn't get a vote in the referendum and someone else is deciding our future," commented Green.

Meanwhile, Justin Horton is worried that the votes of 52 percent of Britains who turned up at the polls and stories of increased attacks on foreigners living in Britain would be seen as the view of the entire population.

"What bothers me beyond all that is that the poison of intolerance may spread," he told Xinhua.

Graham Clark said,"I was proud to be British, but am far prouder to be European." But the question for the Britons living in Spain is: for how long? Nobody in London, Brussels or Madrid currently knows the answer.
BRASILIA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian feminist movements held protests in various states in the country against the high instances of gender violence and rape on Wednesday, or International Women's Day.

The movements are also against the prejudice against black and indigenous women.

The same day, a report by the Brazilian Forum of Public Security, revealed that 4.4 million Brazilian women were attacked in 2016, and that 40 percent of all women suffered some sort of assault last year, especially young and black women.

Among the demands of the protesters was the rejection of the provisional reform proposed by the government of President Michel Temer.

The reform would set the minimum retirement age at 65, with 49 years of fiscal contributions needed to receive full benefits. Men under 50 and women under 45 would be affected by this law.

According to feminist groups, women would be most severely hit by the changes. They state that this reform fails to account for gender inequality in the workforce, such as women being paid less and working longer hours than men, or that having children prevents them from contributing for as many years as men.

Carmen Foro, vice-president of the Unified Workers' Central movement (CUT), said at a march in Sao Paulo that "today is no day of celebration."

"Our mission is huge, it is not worth spending your life barely being a women, we must be fighters and committed to the changes we need. We still live in a misogynistic and patriarchal society," Foro said.

The CUT, along with unions and women's rights movements, protested outside the headquarters of the National Social Security Institute in Sao Paulo.

Brazil's women's rights movements are aligning themselves with other international efforts such as Not One Less (Argentina), the Women's March on Washington (the U.S.) and marches against the criminalization of abortion (Poland).
A RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system moves on the Red Square during the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2015. (Xinhua/Jia Yuchen)

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. military official on Wednesday accused Russia of violating an arms control treaty by deploying a land-based cruise missile, a claim denied by Russia.

It was the first time that the U.S. military had publicly accused Russia of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which bans intermediate-range ballistic missiles based on land.

Speaking here at a congressional hearing, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Paul Selva said the United States believed that the Russians "have deliberately deployed it in order to pose a threat to NATO and to facilities within the NATO area of responsibility."

After the U.S. media claimed last month that Russia had so-called secretly deployed a ground-based nuclear cruise missile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied the accusation, saying that "Russia was and remains committed to its international obligations, including the INF agreement."

In 1987, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and then Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which bans intermediate-range ballistic missiles based on land.
ANKARA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Following tension escalated between Germany and Turkey over the latter's insistence to carry on political campaign to persuade Turks abroad for "yes" vote in April 16 referendum, Turkish government gets into diplomatic unrest with the Netherlands in the meantime.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had a phone conversation with his Dutch counterpart Bert Koenders on Wednesday about his planned visit to Rotterdam where he wanted to address Turkish voters on March 11 at a political demonstration to convince about 240,000 eligible Turkish voters, much against the wishes of the Dutch government.

On Wednesday, the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, said the owner of the location, where the Turkish minister was planning to hold the rally, had revoked permission for the gathering.

"The visit constitutes risk for public peace and security as the polarization could lead escalation of tension," he said in a letter quoted by Dutch ANP Agency.

The Dutch ANP Agency on late Wednesday reported that the minister's visit was canceled.

Last week, the government of the Netherlands said it opposed plans by Turkish politicians to hold a referendum campaign rally in Rotterdam and informed Turkey its position.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Turkish minister's visit, planned for just four days before the Dutch general elections, was "undesirable."

The Netherlands will head to the polls on March 15 for general elections that is widely viewed as a bellwether for broader trends in Europe ahead of votes in France and Germany later this year, as the Dutch vote could give a boost to anti-establishment populist parties across Europe.

Far-right leader Geert Wilders from Party for Freedom (PVV) conducts a campaign against Turkish politicians' plans to rally in his country, saying "Dutch public spaces are not the place for both".

"We cannot allow Turkish ministers to come to the Netherlands and lobby in our country for such a regime. We would not allow North Korea or Saudi Arabia to lobby either," he told reporters.

Wilders said he wanted the Turkish ministers to be temporarily declared as "unwanted man" until referendum in Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu earlier said the Dutch government had informed him that the situation was "complicated" for them and it would be better if the visit was delayed.

"But they firstly made a populist post in a social network and then they secretly informed us on the situation. Such behavior does not fit allies and partners. Of course, we consider such behavior unacceptable," the minister said on Tuesday, adding that Dutch officials informed the Turkish side that in case he visited the Netherlands, it would benefit Wilders.

The minister faced similar approach from Germany but found the formula to address Turks in Hamburg at the Turkish Consulate General after permissions of two halls in the city were cancelled, the fourth such cancellation in the past weeks for Turkish politicians seeking to hold rallies in Germany.

The unnamed ban on Turkish politicians led to the biggest political tensions between Germany and Turkey in recent years.

Cavusoglu on Tuesday night delivered a speech from the balcony of the Turkish consul's residence in Hamburg and said "Germany maintains a systematic antagonism against Turkey."

The Turkish minister then met with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel in a bid to calm down spat. The foreign ministers of the two countries gave softening signals after their first meeting in the capital Berlin.

Speaking to reporters, both Gabriel and Cavusoglu stressed they want to maintain good relations.

But the Turkish government sees "Islamophobic sentiment" in Germany. Cavusoglu said and blamed the country for pursuing a systematic smear campaign against Turkey, particularly against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

There were limits "that may not be overstepped and that include comparisons with Nazi Germany," German minister said referring to Erdogan's earlier statements at which the Turkish president resembled the latest bans on Turkish politicians to practices of "Nazi era".

President Erdogan plans to hold a rally in Germany in upcoming days to drum up support among roughly 1.4 million eligible Turkish voters.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

China willing to deepen cooperation with ASEAN: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to pursue greater mutual benefit and intensify cooperation on connectivity and production capacity, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

Chinese FM promises better consular protection overseas

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday said the country's diplomats will offer better consular protection services for Chinese overseas. Full story

China to continue contributing to global stability, growth, peace, governance: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that China will continue to be an anchor of international stability, an engine of global growth, a champion of peace and development and a contributor to global governance. Full story

China, U.S. communicating on exchanges between presidents: Chinese FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States are communicating on future exchanges between their presidents and at other levels, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday. Full Story

China, U.S. should rise above differences, zero-sum mentality: Chinese FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday called on China and the United States to rise above differences in their social systems and the zero-sum mentality to build a more robust and mature relationship. Full Story

Belt and Road Initiative the most popular public goods: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative has become the most popular public goods and the platform for international cooperation with the brightest prospects in the world, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

China to shoulder more responsibility rather than seeking leadership: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Instead of seeking to become a global leader, China will shoulder more responsibility and contribute more to world peace and growth, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

BRICS mechanism will shine more brightly: Chinese FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS mechanism will not lose its luster but will shine more brightly if its members stay united, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

China voices support for European integration

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to support European integration, hoping to see a more stable, united and prosperous European Union, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

China not to allow South China Sea stability to be disturbed: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China will never allow hard-won stability in the South China Sea to be disturbed or undermined again, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday. Full Story

No int'l law basis for Taiwan to maintain so-called "diplomatic relations": FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- There is no basis in international law for the Taiwan region to establish or maintain so-called "diplomatic relations" with any country, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday at a press conference. Full Story

China signs production capacity agreements with over 30 countries: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China has signed agreements on production capacity cooperation with more than 30 countries amid efforts to facilitate its industrial restructuring and upgrading, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

China, U.S., Russia should pursue win-win relationship: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China, the United States and Russia should work with one another and pursue win-win outcomes, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

China-U.S. relationship developing in positive direction: Chinese FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday said the China-U.S. relationship is transitioning steadily and developing in a positive direction. Full Story

China proposes "double suspension" to defuse Korean Peninsula crisis

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China proposed "double suspension" to defuse the looming crisis on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

THAAD deployment in ROK "a wrong choice": Chinese FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the Republic of Korea (ROK) is obviously a "wrong choice", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

Chinese FM urges Japan to be sensible toward China's development

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday urged Japan to adopt the right frame of mind and be sensible to see and accept China's development and revitalization. Full Story

China, Philippine relations return to right path: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The relations between China and the Philippines have returned to the right path, benefiting the two peoples and other countries in the region, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

Middle East situation at crucial crossroads: Chinese FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday the Middle East situation is once again at a crucial crossroads of growing instability and the hope of peace. Full Story

China not to weaken support for Africa: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- There will be no weakening in China's support for Africa no matter how the international situation or world economy may evolve, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full story

China to continue to support multilateralism, UN-centered int'l system: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping's visit to Switzerland-based international organizations in January sent out a very clear message of China's strong support for multilateralism and China's strong commitment to the UN-centered multilateral international system, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

Chinese FM says no safe haven abroad for offenders

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China is working to shatter the illusions of offenders and make them realize there is no safe haven abroad, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday at a press conference. Full Story

New media make China's diplomacy more down-to-earth: FM

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- New media have built a bridge between the Foreign Ministry and the public, making China's diplomacy more down-to-earth and better understood, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Full Story

China opposes unilateral sanction on Chinese enterprises: FM




Director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) He Lifeng, vice directors of the NDRC Zhang Yong and Ning Jizhe, take questions on China's economic and social development and macro-economic control during a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
Energy map launched

Speaking at the launch yesterday at the Radisson Hotel, Portof- Spain, NGC Pres- ident Mark Loquan said the new edition of the energy map is a must have item for the energy sector, and they were proud to display it on their walls .

It is more than just a printed version of what exists. It represents our history, it represents what we are as an industry considered to be quite a key component of the Trinidad economy. Loquan continued, This print edition not only has local appeal in fact it has been globally distributed and therefore extending the reach in the international arena which position us quite well as a country in the realm of the industry. He said the map provides comprehensive statistical information on the local Petroleum Sector, the locations of TT oil and natural gas fields, associated pipelines and offshore facilities, key ports, as well as the territorial waters, and the earmarked deep-water horizon for exploration and development .

He said the launch fits quite well with their mission of NGC where they would like to establish value for TT across the energy chain not only in TT but outside the country .

He said the map has also been distributed to several ministries including the Ministry of Energy and Industries, the Ministry of Finance, the business community, libraries, as well as tertiary level institutions. Also, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries Selwyn Lashley said the product is something the ministry was closely associated with since its conception, and it forms an important piece of documenting not only the currant state of the industry, but some of the history over the years .

It is a product not only places us on the map globally, but in the national sense it also paints a very accurate picture in terms of where we are in any point in time. Lashley said he had discussion with officials from the school system and they are looking forward to having the map available to have it on display in their libraries and classrooms .

In attendance were External Manager for Shell TT, Candice Clarke Salloum, President of BHP Billiton (TT) Vincent Pereira and Petrotrin President Fitzroy Harewood .
Murder case adjourned

The court appearance on Monday was brief and Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions George Busby, who appeared on behalf of the State, indicated that he had fulfilled his disclosure obligations under the common law and at the next sitting the prosecution will be in a position to proceed with the preliminary inquiry.

Holding for Seecharans attorney Larry Williams was Jamila Sealy.

Seecharan is charged with murdering Banfield sometime between December 4 and December 9 at Charlotte Street in Port-of-Spain.

Banfield went missing on December 5 and three days later, her decomposing body was found at the warehouse of IAM and Company.

Seecharan, who was an employee at the store, was charged with the murder about two weeks later.
Man on $95,000 bail

He will return to court on April 3.

Last Thursday, citizens conducted a citizens arrest of a man who was said to be in a vehicle with a six-year-old girl, who was in her uniform at the time. The man was observed with his zipper down and without underwear.

He was tied up and the Arima police were notified. He was later questioned by police and statements were taken from persons, following which the charge was laid.
Half a million in ganja seized in La Brea

They are expected to appear before a magistrate in Point Fortin today. Police believe someone had minutes earlier made the large drop-off in the Beach Road area.

A police report stated that at about 9.45 am yesterday, officers of the La Brea CID were on patrol in Vance River when they observed two men acting suspiciously at the side of the road while stuffing a crocus bag. They were approached and when questioned, told police officers they were yam diggers and they were packing yams in the bag. Upon checking however, police found several blocks of compressed marijuana in the bag. Supt James, Insp Neemai and Sgt Thompson along with officers of the South Western Division Task Force and Guapo CID assisted in the operation.
To be a woman in TT...

Martin recalled walking along the quiet street on which her sister lived. With a new guest house under construction, she walked past some workmen and, two random times I passed there the men were the worst I have ever experienced in terms of catcalling Martin said the catcalling was so bad she decided never to go back to her sisters house on foot again.

For some women safety and security is a big issue. While some, via a small Facebook sample, indicated they do feel safe, that safety went along with having to restrict movement and even becoming hyper vigilant of ones surroundings. As Phoebe Ann Edwards said, Yes I feel largely safe because of my lifestyle. I do not take many kinds of risks, I do not lime, I do not have a large number of friends and I am always aware of my surroundings... This feeling of a lack of safety and security could stem from some of the reported gruesome murders of women and children in TT. Major headlines reported the body of a 20-year-old being found in a stores warehouse, the throat of a 15-year-old being slit, the body of a 16-year-old San Raphael student murdered with her hands bound behind her back. In 2016 the murder of Japanese Asami Nagakiya rumbled throughout TT and the globe. But what causes this, is it history, is it the socialisation of men? For Folade Mutota, the executive director of Women Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD), the first step to addressing the root of violence against women and girls in TT starts with understanding the complexity of the matter. She said: Collectively as a society, we need to acknowledge that violence against women is a very complex manifestation of the actual status of women in the society. Mutota said often when comments or reports were made by TTs leaders on the matter, a very simple approach was taken to a complex dilemma.

You cant talk about violence against women or gender-based violence without taking into account the violent evolution of our society. She said a legislative framework influenced by the principle of gender equality was the next pillar upon which addressing gender-based violence should be placed. If you dont do that what you will be doing is trying to develop legislation in a void. The third area has to be the area of policy development and implementation, she said. If you dont understand the complexity of the situation then you are not going to prioritise something like a gender policy for example, she said.

While there is legislative framework to address the problem it was largely insufficient, she said.

If you understood the complexities you would be reviewing your legislative framework on an on-going basis to make sure that youre relevant, to make sure that it is timely in addressing womens needs and to make sure that, really, you are doing cutting edge work. Life, she added, is a dynamic thing as much as is the violence perpetrated against women and girls.

A lot of what we are seeing and hearing about is because a lot of people are now more open to discussing violence but also people have social media that they can use. They put things up, a video and so on, you also have more media to cover these things.

We have to remember what we see in the public domain is just a part, a potentially small part of what happens in womens lives, in their homes, when they go out on dates, when they travel in taxis, at the workplace. Governance was the last pillar stating that it was important for leaders to have a continuing, on-going, mutually respectful conversation with womens organisations and women who are working in communities about their lived experiences.

For a future one must make peace with the past For Sunity Maharaj, managing director of the Lloyd Best Institute and facilitator of Side by Side, a civil society organisation, there are several societal measures which need to be implemented for womens and girls safety in TT . In emailed responses, she highlighted measures such as, amendments to the Domestic Violence Act; implementation of electronic monitoring for breeches of protection orders; strengthening of the administration and enforcement of protection orders; establishment of the national DNA database; promotion of sexual harassment policies in the workplace and enactment of legislation to provide protection against cyber crimes including bullying, stalking, revenge porn among others.

But at the root of all violence, be it sexual or otherwise, lies TT s history.

Maharaj said the unjust system of European appropriation of the islands of the Caribbean gave birth to the violence experienced in TT and the wider Caribbean today.

We have come a long way in claiming our rights and freedoms but there remain large issues of justice still to be settled. Until that is done, it will be difficult to negotiate the peace that would allow us to settle down and start the job of building a nation on terms of mutual respect...

To achieve peace in the present, we have to find a way to make peace with the past, she said.

While everyone bore some responsibility for their personal safety, the extent to which one could do so was limited by conditions beyond ones control, she said.

This is where, she added, the responsibility falls to Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary to create and uphold a safe and secure society in accordance with four (a) of the Constitution, that is the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law. While for some, any conversation around violence against women and girls comes with negative talk of men, Maharaj reminded that while all ethnic groups have come out of patriarchal cultures, in the Caribbean, one needed to remember the complete dehumanisation of Caribbean men which occurred. She said: In the aftermath of colonial repression, we have been trying to figure out who we are and how we should relate to each other. Womantra: TT is both progressive and regressive on gender equity and equality When the name Womantra is mentioned there are several takes one might have on it, but the force with which the group rounded-up hundreds of women in the aftermath of Nagakiyas murder cannot be denied. The group is famously and to some, infamously, known for having led to the removal of former Port-of-Spain mayor Raymond Tim Kee and is often chided for its perceived selective treatment of key womens issues.

But for its founder and co-director Stephanie Leitch violence against women in TT is a matter of culture and socialisation.

Leitch, too, said history plays an integral role in what happens today. She said in emailed responses: Violence against women is rooted in our very history and colonial socialisation.

When we tell our boys and men that to be a man and to be masculine they must be aggressive, we socialise them to understand that violence and aggression are necessary parts of their identity.

We also insist that masculinity is powerful, and thereby train them to use violence as a tool for maintaining power.

This works in tandem with the disempowerment of women and girls through the insistence that femininity is equated with weakness and is subordinate to masculinity, as well as with the disenfranchisement of women in economic and political spheres. She agrees the Caribbean needed to revisit its gender constructs.

The TT and Caribbean have very rigid and toxic views around gender that contribute to the culture of violence, and specifically gender-based violence and work to marginalise groups of people who do not conform to what is considered normal. While the countrys establishment of a gender unit and while its makes provisions for education on gender, the country does not have functioning systems in place to monitor, [the] situation of gender-related issues nor implemented policy to help inform the responses to gender-related issues, which made it an anomalous country that is both progressive and regressive simultaneously in comparison to global standards.

No where to be safe But for women like Helen Kennedy there is quite no where in TT to be safe. I feel unsafe almost everywhere in Trinidad. I never know when someone who was socialised to think that he/she should make no effort but should live high on the hog, would attack me to relieve me of my hard-earned possession, my dignity and possibly my life. The problem is exacerbated by those who believe that once they invest in advanced security strategies, theyre good to go and should therefore be unconcerned about those who are unable to protect themselves.

In other words we have evolved into a very selfish society...
Even CJ against PIs

Speaking on Monday during debate in the Lower House on the Indictable Offences (Pre-Trial Procedure) Bill, 2017, Antoine said that even Chief Justice Ivor Archie, has expressed his opposition to keeping the PI system, which is a type of trial in which a magistrate listens to evidence and determines if a case should move to the full trial stage before a judge and jury in the High Courts.

Some PIs are over ten years old.

Antoine, reminded the Opposition that it was the UNC Government that contemplated the same objective in previous legislation, observing that they were unable to accomplish their intention because of Clause 34.

He said preliminary inquiries are not necessary in every matter and even CJ Archie lamented that preliminary inquiries are impeding the delivery of justice.

He said there are many young men in Remand Yard spending more time awaiting trial than the maximum sentence for the crime of which they are accused. He said this was an absurd situation and it makes more sense for someone who is innocent to plead guilty at the preliminary inquiry stage and be sentenced rather than to defend himself and spend years awaiting trial in the Remand Yard. Intoning that Justice delayed is justice denied, he said the Attorney General is trying to ensure that citizens get a speedy trial.

He challenged the Opposition, saying he didnt understand why they were opposing the legislation because they had brought a bill to the House with a similar intent but were now raising all kinds of red herrings. MP for Caroni East Dr Tim Gopeesingh gave the background to the Administration of Justice (Indictable Offences) Bill which was brought by the then UNC government and said it was the same situation which the then government had tried to resolve. He said that bill would have removed more than 150,000 cases from the Magistrates Courts but whereas the UNC legislation proposed that a case be dismissed if the matter was not heard after ten years, the current PNM bill was proposing that if the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had not preferred an indictment against an accused person within twelve months of charges being laid he would be able to apply to a judge to have his case discharged.

Dr Gopeesingh said this meant that the accused person could be freed after one year of charges being laid. He speculated that very few of the persons at Remand Yard have had an indictment laid against them by the DPP after one year, meaning that under the current legislation all of the people at Remand Yard could go free. He said the bill could not be supported as it was framed.

In any case he said the detection rate was so low that the legislation would not make any difference since no one was being held by the Police.

Also during the sitting, Caroni Central Dr Bhoe Tewarie said this country should prepare for mass deportations of citizens from the United States.

Dr Tewarie said US President Donald Trump is unpredictable and is using his executive power to test all of that countrys institutions. He said even healthy democracies such as the US run the risk of ending up with a dictatorship and this should be a lesson to this country that it must jealously guard its democracy.

Also contributing to debate, MP for DAbadie/ OMeara Ancil.
Imbert: Petrotrin owes $1.8B to BIR

53 in petroleum profits tax and $538,533,124 in supplemental petroleum tax.

The minister explained the non-collection of petroleum profits tax from Petrotrin began under the PP, when in 2013, they failed to collect $196 million; in 2014, they failed to collect $1 billion; in 2015, they failed to collect $566 million. He said the deficit for last year is $2 million. I can say that under this government, Petrotrin has resumed once again, to start paying taxes to the Treasury which it was allowed not to do under the UNC (United National Congress) government, Imbert declared. Responding to additional questions from Mark, Imbert said, This gift of $1.8 billion in taxes is similar to the gift of $5 million in backpay which we were gifted upon assuming office.

It is not a simple matter but we are addressing it in a proactive and professional manner. In response to another question, Imbert said Petrotrin owes the State royalties to the tune of $1, 210,868,765 for the production and monetisation of crude oil and condensate. Imbert also indicated he was trying to get further and better particulars as to why Petrotrin retained Canadian company SNC Lavalin as the project manager for its Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel Plant.

As an Opposition MP while the PP was in office in 2012, Imbert raised concerns about allegations of corruption against SNC Lavalin, after the PP awarded the company the contract to build the $1 billion Penal hospital. That hospital has not been built to date.

Noting that SNC Lavalin was first retained by the Peoples National Movement (PNM) in 2009 and this remain unchanged under the PP, Imbert said, I cannot explain why the UNC government for five years and three months maintained a relationship with SNC Lavalin. The minister also told the Senate that the percentage of natural gas sold by BGTT (now Shell) to the National Gas Company from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 was 22.8 percent.
Imbert, Mark defend positions on FATCA

Imbert and Mark outlined their respective cases as debate on the bill, which is essential for this country being compliant with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) of the United States, began in the Senate yesterday. However speaking later in the debate, Independent Senator Ian Roach said it was time to put FATCA to bed and deal with concerns that citizens have with respect to fees being charged by commercial banks in TT.

As he opened the debate and listed the chronology of events regarding the bill, Imbert said it was a misconception that the establishment of a joint select committee (JSC) last September would have facilitated a smoother passage of the Bill in the House. He reiterated that the end of the First Session of the 11th Parliament and the 2016/2017 Budget deliberations in the Parliament made it impossible to establish the JSC last September.

Imbert said on December 9, 2016, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar was ejected from the House after getting into an argument with Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George and the JSC could not be formed then. He added the JSC could not be formed three days later because the Opposition absented itself. Imbert said after the JSC was finally established in January, it took one month for the committee to complete its deliberations.

Mark dismissed Imberts statements, reiterating that the Opposition wanted to pass good law. Noting that he and Imbert have sat on many JSCs during their time as parl iamentarians, Mark boasted that it was Persad-Bissessars almost militant stance which resulted in the JSC being formed. He slammed the Bankers Association of TT (BATT), American Chamber of Commerce and TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce for getting into the dance. Declaring that BATT was totally out of line to tell the Opposition how it should vote on the bill, Mark slammed the association for the unpardonable increases in bank fees and charges by commercial banks to their customers
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- A federal judge in Washington, D.C., denied a last-ditch effort by the Cheyenne River Sioux and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes to halt the flow of oil through the Dakota Access pipeline on Tuesday.



The ruling -- by U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg -- means oil could be moving through the controversial pipeline as soon as next week.



The tribes had asked the court for a preliminary injunction last month -- following the Trump administrations decision to grant an easement for the pipelines final stretch, which runs under the bed of Lake Oahe, a federally regulated reservoir that is a source of drinking water for both tribes.



Chase Iron Eyes, the lead counsel of the Lakota Peoples Law Project, called Tuesday's ruling unjust and unacceptable.



The pipeline had been stalled since last summer as tribal members and other protesters camped out near the construction zone and as the Obama administration deliberated over whether to grant the easement -- ultimately declining to do so -- in early December.



But on his second weekday in office, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum aimed at advancing approval of the pipeline, to the extent permitted by law. Two weeks later, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that it was granting the easement and also canceling a more thorough environmental review of the project that had been initiated two days before Trumps inauguration.



The Corps asserted that a previous environmental assessment -- completed last July with a finding that the pipeline would have no significant impact on the human environment -- was sufficient to grant the final permit for the pipeline to cross at Lake Oahe.



Yet the tribes have long maintained that earlier review paid little heed to their concerns and historical treaty rights.



Once again, the federal government and the Army are treating the original inhabitants of this land as though we are less than human, as though our lives and lands are something to be ignored and discarded in the never-ending quest for profit, Iron Eyes said in a statement.



The four-state Dakota Access pipeline is built entirely underground and is designed to transport crude oil more than 1,000 miles from the Bakken production area in North Dakota to an existing distribution center in southern Illinois. Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the company constructing the pipeline, had argued against the preliminary injunction in court filings, asserting that it stood to lose tens of millions of dollars if the pipeline experienced any further delays.



Judge Boasberg's ruling Tuesday is a narrow one, focusing solely on a claim raised by the Cheyenne River Sioux under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The tribe argued that the mere existence of the pipeline at Lake Oahe would desecrate those waters upon which the Cheyenne River Sioux tribal members rely for their most important religious practices.



Energy Transfer Partners called those claims a last-ditch desperation throw to the end zone that could not conceivably meet the required showing of irreparable harm needed to support a restraining order or preliminary injunction.



The company informed the court earlier this week that construction is progressing and the pipe could be carrying oil by sometime next week.



Thats obviously disappointing and troubling, said Jan Hasselman, an attorney for the Standing Rock Sioux. It does not, however, change anything about the legal case.



The tribes anticipate that court will rule in April or May on their broader challenges to the pipeline, which include allegations that the project was approved in violation of treaty rights and contrary to environmental and administrative law.



Boasberg has set an expedited scheduled to hear those arguments and has indicated that if he rules in favor of the tribes, it is possible the company could be ordered to stop the flow of oil.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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Subscribers to Ooredoo in Qatar have a new reason to celebrate as word of a new team effort recently arrived that meant great things for next generation communications in the area. The effort between Ooredoo Qatar and Nokia (News - Alert) means not only has 4.5G Pro technology been rolled out for some parts of Qatar's capital Doha, but that further refinements are set to follow and lead ultimately to gigabit access this year.





The move actually makes Ooredoo Qatar one of the first next generation communications operators on the planet to bring out 4.5G Pro access, and though it's on a rather limited scale, the results should likely still prove worthwhile. As a result, 4.5G Pro access is now not only available for the Doha Corniche, but also Katara and West Bay along with the artificial island known as The Pearl-Qatar.

Driven by some recent Nokia advances like the AirScale radio platform, as well as two component carrier aggregation systemseach packing 4x4 multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna systems as well as 256 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) systemsthe system can now start reaching at least some customers.

Further, Ooredoo Qatar plans to engage in some spectrum acquisition later this year which will, if all goes as planned, allow the company to offer gigabit wireless service to users. It's all part of a set of scheduled upgrades to what's known as the Ooredoo Supernet, a development that encompasses all of Qatar. With Nokia's technology in hand, such operationseven those not in Qatarcan push onward to 5G launches, still slated for sometime in 2020.

Nokia's Bernard Najm, who runs the Middle East market unit, commented, We are delighted to continue our long history of collaborating with Ooredoo on this deployment. We are showing how our customers can use our technology to deliver performance boosts in the most demanding areas as they evolve their networks on the path to 5G.

It's a rational progression; as the technology becomes available, companies augment systems in order to deliver greater customer satisfaction. Failing to do so increases the likelihood that said customers will jump ship should a better deal ever come along; look what happened in the United States when Google (News - Alert) Fiber entered the market. Companies that seemed to take pleasure in thwarting customers formerly augmented systems to match what would have been offered.

Competition is a valuable thing in most any market, and Ooredoo Qatar is seeing as much first hand. That's great news for subscribers, and good news for Ooredoo itself, who can advance next generation communications and maintain its status as a major name in the field. Nokia also benefits, being the company that made it all possible to begin with.

Edited by Alicia Young
Never send a cop to do a man's job
In the series,, Henry Hart (Jace Norman) fights crime as Kid Danger alongside Captain Man in the town of Swellview. Due to his cool gadgets and agile skills, Captain Man has a great sidekick in Kid Danger. However, Captain Man says he won't be around for much longer, so Henry will have to replace him soon enough. Join BUILD NYC 2017 when Henry Danger himself stops by to talk about the hit Nickelodeon show!:Check out"Space Invaders": Part One, premiering Saturday, March 11th at 7:30pm ET/PT , followed by "Space Invaders" Part Two on Saturday, March 18th at 8:00pm ET/PT, only on Nickelodeon USA!
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Western diplomats are increasingly concerned that the fighting raging in Libya will severely damage the coastal oil infrastructure, the economic lifeblood of the country.

They appeal for calm as Libya descends into a bloody civil war with rival sides battling for control of the hugely lucrative Libyan oil terminals. The call comes after the Islamist-led Benghazi Defense Brigades captured the oil export terminals at Sidra and Ras Lanuf.

The terminals were taken from the control of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the head of the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), a force that dominates in eastern Libya and enjoys Russian and Egyptian support.

Haftar captured the oilfields in September, and the presence of the LNA appeared to have brought enough security to the oil crescent for production to rise from 200,000 barrels a day to close to 700,000.

The oil terminals had been shut for the previous two years while under the control of the rival Petroleum Facilities Guard. The LNA was reported to be concentrating forces around the port of Brega, still under its control, in order to mount a counterattack, with Haftar willing to call up fresh airstrikes if possible from the United Arab Emirates.

The ambassadors of Great Britain, the United States and France urged all sides to recognize that the oil installations were under the control of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) and revenues must be sent to the UN-backed government in Tripoli.

The violence has also had political consequences, with Libyas eastern parliament voting to withdraw its support for a UN peace deal and the UN-backed government in Tripoli. The eastern parliament is close to Haftar and its vote suggests it believes the Benghazi Defense Brigades are working with the Tripoli government.

The loss of the oilfields is also a blow for Haftars prestige and has shown the LNA is not as strong as it was sometimes perceived. Following the death of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has descended into chaos, with no central government.

The Islamic State has taken advantage of the situation to conquer vast swaths of land in the country, mostly in coastal regions where many criminal gangs indulge in illegal migrant trafficking.
The Mauritanian President, who has been reportedly angered by the poor consideration shown by Gambian President during his participation in Gambias celebration of its 52nd anniversary, has recalled the Mauritanian envoy in Banjul.

Two days after his disappointing visit to Banjul, President Ould Abdel Aziz recalled Ba Ousmane, his ambassador to The Gambia, and appointed him chief of the Mauritanian mission in Washington.

Media reports say the move came following Banjuls disrespect towards the Mauritanian President who flew to Banjul on February 18 to attend the festivities marking Gambias independence.

President Abdel Aziz reportedly fumed over his welcome ceremony at Banjul international airport where he was greeted by Adam Barrows Vice-President, Fatoumata Tambajang instead of the President himself.

The Mauritania President was expecting a warm ceremony after his intervention to settle the post-electoral crisis, which gripped the small Western African country after former President Yahya Jammeh refused to relinquish power despite losing the December elections.

Abdel Aziz claimed his intervention convinced Jammeh to renounce power and to choose exile after ECOWAS, the regional bloc, failed to dislodge the Gambia authoritarian leader.

Reports also say that the Mauritanian President did not stand President Barrow side-lining him in favor of Senegalese President Macky Sall who was showered with honors. Macky Sall spearheaded ECOWASs plan for military intervention to ouster Jammeh before negotiations made a breakthrough. Barrow was sworn-in as Gambian President in the Gambian embassy in Dakar, Senegal.

To protest Barrows attitude, Abdel Aziz returned to Nouakchott immediately after the end of the official ceremony, reports say.

Gambian media comment that Ould Abdel Aziz did not save The Gambia from bloodshed but only convinced his friend Jammeh to save his head.
A new attempt to embezzle humanitarian aid by the Polisario separatists has been foiled in north-eastern Mauritania where large amounts of foodstuff and medicines were seized, Moroccan daily Al Massae reported.

The diverted humanitarian aid was loaded on trucks coming from Tindouf in southwestern Algeria despite the outcry of the international community against the diversion of the aid sent to the population held in abject living conditions in the Polisario- run camps.

The seizure comes after the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva denounced at its 34th session the embezzlement of basic commodities such as milk for children and vaccines.

The EUs anti-fraud office (OLAF) disclosed in 2015 a report blaming the Polisario and Algeria for diverting humanitarian aid. The OLAF report documents well-organized, years-long embezzlement by the Polisario Front of humanitarian aid designated for Sahraouis held in the camps of Tindouf in Algeria.

The report states that aid theft begins in the Algerian port of Oran, where the sorting between what should arrive and what can be diverted takes place.

Following the disclosure of the report, the European Commission said it would cut aid commensurately with the estimated number of 90,000 people instead of the inflated 165,000 people put forward by the Polisario and Algeria in an attempt to sell the idea of the existence of a Sahrawi People with a republic in exile.

On the need to undertake a census of the Tindouf camps population to determine actual humanitarian needs and bar the road to embezzlers, the report explains that one of the reasons that made these diversions possible is the overestimation of the number of refugees and therefore aid provided.

Morocco and UN organizations kept calling on Algeria to conduct a census of the population held against their will in the Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps. Morocco puts the number of Sahrawis in the camps at no more than 30,000, while the Polisario separatists and their mentor Algeria claim a largely inflated number.

The lack of such a registration facilitates humanitarian aid embezzlement and leaves the camps population without international protection.

Carrying out a head-count of the population held in Tindouf will enable international aid agencies to assess the needs of the population. It will also pave the way for the camps dwellers to obtain the refugee status, which will grant them the right to return to their homeland Morocco or at least the right to freely choose their country of asylum.

Algeria and the Polisario dread such options the most as they continue to trade in the suffering of Sahrawis living in abject conditions.
King Mohammed VI who is carrying on his friendship and work visit to Cote dIvoire inaugurated on Wednesday the Mohammed VI Emergency Medicine Training Center in Abidjan.

The center, the first of its kind in the West African country, is part of the Yopougon University Hospital.

The new facility provides practical training in emergency medicine for the benefit of emergency physicians, first aid workers and health auxiliaries. It is fitted with modern, state-of-the-art equipment financed by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Sustainable Development.

The center can train up to 75 emergency physicians, and 120 first aid workers and health auxiliaries a year. It will be managed in partnership between the Marrakech Mohammed VI University Hospital and the Ivorian ministry of health.

Part of this strong Moroccan-Ivorian partnership that stands out as a model for South-South cooperation, King Mohammed VI also visited the construction site of a vocational training complex that he had launched during a visit to Cote dIvoire in June 2015.

The complex, halfway of completion, will offer training to 1,000 trainees in construction & building, civil engineering and tourism. It will thus provide these sectors with qualified human resources; and upgrade youths employment.

These projects actually reflect Moroccos resolve to support the large-scale socio-economic development projects underway in Cote dIvoire, and its commitment to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation and share the expertise it has acquired in wealth and job generating sectors.
Defiant Dakota Access Pipeline water protectors faced off with various law-enforcement agencies on the day the camp was slated to be raided. Photo: Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

A federal judge denied another attempt by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes to temporarily block the construction of the last section of the Dakota Access Pipeline. It clears the way for its completion, and as the Associated Press reports, the pipeline could go online and start moving oil as early as next week.

Opponents had claimed that the last stretch of pipeline  to be laid under Lake Oahe, off the Missouri river in North Dakota  would violate the tribes ability to freely practice their religion, which relied on clean water from the sacred Oahe. This was a slightly new legal approach; previously, the tribes had argued that the pipeline would cross sacred tribal lands and threaten their clean water supply, both violations of treaty rights. The Standing Rock Sioux also filed a challenge to review the governments decision-making process, especially for giving the go-ahead to the project without completing a full environmental impact review. (The Obama administration halted the DAPL project so the Army Corps of Engineers could conduct that study; it was nixed with an easement in February. Officials and Energy Transfer Partners, which operates the pipeline, have defended its initial review process.)

The actual legal question of whether the DAPL violates the religious liberty wasnt ruled on by the judge  and the same goes with some of the other legal challenges. That ruling will likely come in April, and the other cases are still unresolved and could wind through the courts. But whats key, for now, is that the pipeline construction wont be halted, and hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil could start moving before these issues are finally settled.

This latest decision comes almost two weeks after police ousted the last stragglers at the protest site near Standing Rock in North Dakota, and about a month after the Army Corps of Engineers issued an easement to permit construction, following President Donald Trumps executive order calling for the completion of DAPL and the Keystone XL pipeline.

And yet this week Dakota Access Pipeline protesters are gathering in Washington, D.C., to continue the fight. Teepees were popping up on the National Mall Tuesday:

Indigenous rights activists have set up teepees on the National Mall near the Washington Monument to protest #DAPL. pic.twitter.com/9BWcz0tghJ  AJ+ (@ajplus) March 7, 2017

DAPL protesters set up teepees, plan bonfire between Washington Monument and White House - https://t.co/f6xWmh7Ybr pic.twitter.com/bZXMgpU5dh  KOMO News (@komonews) March 7, 2017

The activists are planning a four-day protest, where they will also lobby lawmakers on indigenous rights more broadly. Organizers got a permit for a ceremonial bonfire on the National Mall, and will march Friday from the Army Corps of Engineers office to the White House.
Mukemmel Sarimsakci. Photo: Andrew Rice

Donald Trump is out of business, at least for the next four years. But the business of Trump, the commercial brand, is marching onward. In January, shortly before taking office, the president formally ceded his corporate holdings to a trust, and handed management responsibilities at the Trump Organization over to his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric. While the president promised that the company would do no new foreign deals, to avoid potential ethical and constitutional entanglements, the younger Trumps are otherwise bound by few constraints as they seek to expand the family business. The head of the Trump Organizations hotel division recently disclosed that the company is planning an ambitious domestic expansion, and has signed letters of intent with developers in cities around the country, including New York, Austin, Cincinnati, and Nashville. Last month, the first of these local partners stepped forward, revealing plans for a hotel in Dallas.

I think they are just moving full steam ahead, the developer, Mukemmel Sarimsakci, told me. Sarimsakci, a gregarious 50-year-old immigrant, likes to introduce himself as the Turkish Trump  a sobriquet he claims he was given by the press in his home country. He is enthusiastically hoping to play a role in the Trump sons plans to launch a new mid-priced hotel chain, fittingly called Scion. In keeping with the patriarchs business model, the Trumps will license the name and play a role in management and promotion, but it will be up to developers like Sarimsakci to actually finance and build the hotels. He signed a preliminary letter of intent with the Trump Organization on December 6, a month after the election, and if all goes well, hopes to start construction in September.

There is no reason why it shouldnt be, Sarimsakci told me when I recently visited him in Dallas. After all, its a business relationship, right?

Of course, that question is never quite so simple when it comes to dealing with the Trump Organization. The presidents name is still on the marquee, and that brings all kinds of unprecedented complications, as Sarimsakci has discovered. The day before I visited him, Sarimsakci was surprised to hear that a formerly friendly Democratic city councilman had vowed to oppose his Dallas project as a rebuke to Trump, telling Politico: I think that guy is an invalid human and I wish nothing but failure for him. This wasnt the developers first encounter with the Trump resistance. Sarimsakcis proposal to develop another Scion in St. Louis was scuttled by street protests in November. As a naturalized citizen and a secular Muslim, Sarimsakci found himself in a strange defensive position.

Anyone is free to invest in the United States, he said. Sarimsakci, who goes by Mike here in his adopted country, went to graduate school at Stanford and still lives in the Bay Area with his family. Although he is involved in an unusually diverse array of business ventures around the world  office construction in Central Asia, renewable-energy projects in the nation of Georgia, a development for the government of Niger  he spends much of his time these days in Dallas. He is known there for the role he has played in the revival of the citys urban core, which was a dead zone until recently, as well as his Trumpian flair for promoting his big plans, only some of which have come to fruition. Mike was an early mover downtown, said Mayor Michael Rawlings, a Democrat who supports his Scion plan. Sarimsakci thinks that Trump Organizations new hotel concept, which is meant to target millennial business travelers, is well-suited to the area, which he has tried to reposition as a tech mecca.

Last week, I met Sarimsakci at his largest project to date, the conversion of the century-old Butler Building into another hotel and loft-like apartments. A compact, bald man whose face was flecked with gray stubble, he led me around the polished concrete floor of the basement common area, which was subdivided for various whimsical purposes: an art studio, a music performance space, a lounge filled with games. Walking out to the street, past the future location of a bespoke tailor and barbershop, Sarimsakci lit up a big Monte Cristo cigar and surveyed the nearly completed renovation. Everyone thought we were nuts to purchase this property, because its surrounded by homeless shelters, Sarimsakci said. It was a huge risk, and a huge challenge to find financing.

Sarimsakci relies on funding from overseas for his projects  a common strategy in the realm of real-estate finance. More than half of the capital for the $90 million Butler Building project, for instance, came via the federal EB-5 program, which offers green cards to foreign investors. (The investment was marketed primarily in China.) For the Scion project, Sarimsakci says he has lined up a group of private investors, many of them dear friends he has known since childhood in Turkey, along with individuals from Kazakhstan and Qatar. Its interesting, because all the local people thought it wasnt a good idea to do all these things, said Sarimsakci, as he walked me around downtown at lunch hour, pointing out new fashionable restaurants and residential construction sites.

This was empty four years ago, he said. You didnt see any of it.

Sarimsakci said he originally connected with the Trump Organization around two years ago, when he began working with the company on plans to develop Trump-branded hotels in Turkey, Georgia, and northern Iraq. We wanted to do it, and then it turned out that he won the election, and Mr. Trump became the president, Sarimsakci said. As the Trump Organization pivoted, so did Sarimsakcis plans. Domestic was always in play, he said. He initially floated the idea of putting a Scion into a historic building in downtown St. Louis that he is redeveloping. But after a November protest outside the building he dropped the idea, which would have been subject to city approvals.

The emotions were very, very high, and we decided at that point it was not constructive to put that through, Sarimsakci said. We said, well do a Marriott.

Sarimsakci moved on to developer-friendly Dallas. The site he is eyeing for the Scion is currently a parking lot across the street from the Butler Building and the Dallas City Hall, as well as a soup kitchen that currently attracts crowds of scruffy people to the block. Rawlings, who protested the presidents original ban on travelers from seven Muslim countries, said he nonetheless welcomed the Trump Organizations participation in the redevelopment of the area. I have to separate it from my politics, and what I think of the president, he said. Im thumbs-up on the project, and want to make sure that Dallas continues to receive the benefits of Mike being smart about this.

Last month, Sarimsakci unveiled architectural renderings of a six-story glass-walled Scion, inspiring an onslaught of national press attention  and some local opposition. But realistically, even critics of the project admit there is little they can do to stop the hotel, so long as it requires no subsidies and conforms to the zoning code. (You cant discriminate in building permits, said Philip Kingston, the Democratic councilman who has been critical of the Scion project.) Nonetheless, the development is far from being a fait accompli. A letter of intent is a nonbinding agreement, and the Trump Organization has declined to comment publicly on the deal. But Sarimsakci did say that after the news broke, he received a congratulatory phone call from Donald Trump Jr. He has never met the president, though he says he has long been an admirer. Mr. Trump has been my idol in the real-estate development business, Sarimsakci said. I read all his books when I was a teenager and in college.

Before signing the letter of intent, Sarimsakci said, the Trump Organization reviewed and approved his architectural plans, which include a big collaborative office space on the ground floor. They want it to be a start-up entrepreneur atmosphere, he said, which he says fits with the vibe he and other developers have been trying to create in downtown Dallas. I think its actually a good model for up-and-coming cities, he told me. Our next stop after this will be St. Louis  which will happen. He says he has already picked out a new St. Louis site that wont face the same political hurdles as the first one. He envisions building more Scion hotels in cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, and San Jose.

The next day, Sarimsakci told me, he would be flying off to Mexico City, where he was working on a bid to buy a major shopping mall in Panama City. (The former owner was being forced to divest because of U.S. money-laundering sanctions.) Its the most prominent piece of property in Central America  its amazing, an amazing piece of property, the Turkish Trump said, sounding very much like his namesake. He too has political ambitions: He says hed one day like to be the first Turkish-American member of the U.S. Senate. (Although his planning process hasnt gone much further than that.) But even Sarimsakcis admiration for Trump has limits. I didnt do a campaign contribution to Mr. Trump, nor to Ms. Hillary, he said. I didnt vote because I liked certain things in both candidates and disliked certain things both candidates, so I was torn.

I dont know Mr. Trump, he said. I just like his business.
GOP Congressmen Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan, Greg Walden. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In a press conference defending his health-care plan yesterday, Paul Ryan rattled off the same buzzwords he has been repeating for years. It means more choices and competition so that you can buy the plan that you need and that you can afford, he said. The plan creates a better, patient-centered system, and gives people the freedom to buy the plan they want and can afford.

If you dont know exactly what all these terms mean  choice, competition, freedom, patient-centered  thats fine by him. Its better than fine, actually. Its the point. All these terms are meant to complicate the real choice his plan presents, which is a very simple one: more versus less.

Obamacare was designed in an intensely budget-conscious atmosphere, with the requirement that it reduce the deficit, which put severe pressure on its costs. The result is that, while it gives some 20 million people access to insurance, much of that insurance is fairly stingy. To the extent that people dont like Obamacare, it is mostly because they think the law does not cover enough. This recent poll is illuminating:

Those who want to keep the law or have it do more outnumber those who want to eliminate it or have it do less by almost two to one. The most popular position by far is to change Obamacare to make it do more  commanding 46 percent. Changing Obamacare to make it do less gets just 7 percent. That public-opinion landscape explains why Republicans have relentlessly attacked the law for its skimpiness and promised more generous coverage.

Yet that latter position, the one preferred by just 7 percent, is what Trumpcare does. Right-wing dissidents have dismissed Ryans bill as Obamacare Lite. Theres some truth to this. Conservatives do have ideas for radically redesigning the health-care system in a way that relies on the power of patients as educated consumers to drive down costs. The terms Ryan threw around, like patient-centered and competition, are normally associated with those policies. As Ross Douthat points out, very few of these ideas made it into Ryans bill. Thats because implementing those ideas correctly would either cost money or alienate enormous constituencies. (The biggest idea conservatives have, cutting or eliminating the tax deduction for employer-sponsored insurance, was left out because its politically radioactive.)

And so what emerged from the frantic, tax-cut-deadline-driven process was a bill thats essentially Obamacare, but less of it. Obamacare created two vehicles to cover people who couldnt get insurance. It expanded Medicaid to cover the poorest of the uninsured, and those who made more money received tax credits they could use to buy insurance on new state-based exchanges.

Trumpcare cuts funding for Medicaid by $370 billion over a decade, and the cuts are heavily backloaded:

And it reduces funding for subsidies on the exchanges by $2,409 per person by 2020. To be sure, that is an aggregate figure. There are huge variations. Young people, the affluent, and customers in low-cost markets would do better, and some of them actually get more support from Trumpcare than they do from Obamacare. On the other hand, older, poorer customers in high-cost markets (like rural areas, especially) would get absolutely hammered. Abby Goodnough and Reed Abelson report on a few of them. In North Carolina, a 55-year-old would see her tax credit cut from $8,688 to $3,500. A 60-year-old would see his familys tax credit reduced from $25,164 to $11,500.

Those cuts would make any decent insurance plan not remotely affordable. And there is no design reform, no theory, that could make up for the gap between those peoples resources and the cost of their care. (The cost of modern medical care is beyond the resources available to them.) Youre either going to give them enough money to access medical treatment, or youre not. Paul Ryan prefers not because he has a deep philosophical aversion to the kinds of income redistribution required to cover the uninsured. But rather than make that unpopular case, he obscures it with a lot of vague lingo about choice and competition.

The most naked and revealing moment of Ryans press conference came when he was asked about why his plan provides a huge tax cut for the rich. You can watch his response, ten minutes in. Ryan scoffs and makes a dismissive hand gesture, like hes been presented with an utterly frivolous objection. Then Ryan says, Read the bill! Go to readthebill.gop! and moves on to next question while he and his lieutenants share forced laughter at the absurd query.

It is of course incontrovertibly true that Ryans bill provides a big tax cut for the rich. Its a $600 billion tax cut, almost all of which would accrue to the very rich. His tax cut is a major reason why his plan provides fewer resources to cover the poor and sick. He believes that feature is so unpopular and objectionable he literally cannot even acknowledge its existence. It is emblematic of his entire approach. Ryans strategy is to pass his plan into law without ever admitting its central objective.
Police search the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada after an employee received a suspicious phone call on February 27, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Senate sent a letter to top Trump administration officials on Tuesday urging them to do more to combat anti-Semitic threats just as Jewish Community Centers faced another round of bomb threats. Fifteen Jewish organizations in the U.S. and Canada received the phone calls on Tuesday, in the sixth wave of threats this year. The Anti-Defamation League said that 110 institutions have received 140 bomb threats.

We write to underscore the need for swift action with regard to the deeply troubling series of anonymous bomb threats made against Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), Jewish day schools, synagogues and other buildings affiliated with Jewish organizations or institutions across the country, said the letter, which was signed by all 100 senators.

It continued, We are concerned that the number of incidents is accelerating and failure to address and deter these threats will place innocent people at risk and threaten the financial viability of JCCs, many of which are institutions in their communities.

The letter was addressed to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and FBI Director James Comey.

The FBI has been investigating the incidents, and last week the bureau charged Juan Thompson, a former journalist, with making at least eight threats as part of a campaign to harass and intimidate his ex-girlfriend. Hes believed to be a copycat who only started making threats after seeing news reports.

Comey also met with Jewish community leaders to discuss their progress. Afterward, they praised the extraordinary effort that the FBI is applying to the ongoing investigation, according to the Washington Post.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security said it would help Jewish institutions improve security.

Sessions has not discussed the incidents, but President Trump and others in his administration have continued to condemn them. Trump was initially criticized for giving vague, defensive answers when asked about the threats.

We think its long overdue for the Department of Justice to announce a fully resourced criminal investigation into these crimes, said Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League. I mean, these are hate crimes.
Photo: AP

The Statue of Liberty usually glows at night in New York Harbor, illuminated by spotlights trained on the monument. But overnight Lady Liberty temporarily went dark, only its crown and torch left beaming.

The timing of Lady Libertys blackout appeared symbolic, to some: Wednesday is International Womens Day, and organizers of the Womens March are calling on thousands to strike on A Day Without a Woman. It seemed that maybe Americas most iconic lady decided to join in, and maybe protest some other things, too.

Thank you Lady Liberty for standing with the resistance and going dark for #DayWithoutAWoman 



: @randybals #StatueOfLiberty pic.twitter.com/D0JG9MmSRj  Women's March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017

The National Park Service sort of put a wrench in that narrative, tweeting that the outage was likely related to a new emergency generator or Hurricane Sandy repair work. Officials later confirmed to NPR that it was unplanned, and they would determine the cause Wednesday, when crews returned to work.
Im not with her. Photo: Pete Marovich/Getty Images

International Womens Day has come to Donald Trumps America  and all across the country, women are abandoning their posts. Classes have been canceled; children, left to their fathers; boardrooms, left unmanaged; dinners, left uncooked; blog posts, left unwritten.



The strikers are giving their communities a taste of a day without a woman, so as to highlight the indispensable contributions that women make to our society  even as our society suppresses their liberation.

There is broad agreement among American feminists that Trumps election is a testament to our nations unpaid debts to the female population. But there is decidedly less agreement about what, precisely, is owed  and to whom.

Many of Wednesdays protesters believe that they are owed the pussy-grabber-in-chiefs prompt eviction from the Oval Office; equal pay for equal work; access to legal abortion; and stricter enforcement of laws against sexual assault.

Others believe that the ledger runs far longer. To them, if the government wants to settle its debts with womankind, it must provide them with universal health care; free higher education; free child care; an end to mass incarceration; expanded collective-bargaining rights; a $15 minimum wage; the cancelation of the Dakota Access Pipeline; and the decolonization of Palestine  along with a bevy of other social democratic policies necessary for ending decades of neoliberalism.

The organizers of the womens strike fall into this latter category. And this fact has led some in the former group to question the wisdom of such a broad and divisive platform. In their view, the feminist movement should restrict its focus to a narrow set of specifically gender-related issues  the ones that all feminists can agree on.

On first brush, this seems like a reasonable view. Social movements are as strong as their ranks are wide. And surely, there are more women in the United States who support abortion rights than there are women capable of locating the West Bank on a map  let alone, of passionately arguing for its decolonization.

Still, there is a fatal problem with demanding that the feminist movement focus on the issues that are of deep concern to all feminists: No such issues exist.

This point is well-illustrated by one of the most widely read arguments against the International Womens Strikes sweeping platform. In a New York Times op-ed, Does Feminism Have Room For Zionists, Emily Shire laments that the feminist movements desire to be inclusive has actually made it anything but.

Specifically, she argues that by insisting that feminism is connected to a wide variety of political causes, the movement has alienated feminists who dont adhere to far-left orthodoxy:

For example, some who identify as feminists may not agree with the organizers of the International Womens Strike when they call for a $15 minimum wage. Nor do all feminists necessarily join the strike organizers in supporting the Dakota Access Pipeline protesters. For my part, I am troubled by the portion of the International Womens Strike platform that calls for a decolonization of Palestine as part of the beating heart of this new feminist movement. The platform also states: We want to dismantle all walls, from prison walls to border walls, from Mexico to Palestine.



Implying that mass incarceration is analogous to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is analogous to Donald Trumps desire to build a wall along the Mexican border is simplistic at best.



But my prime concern is not that people hold this view of Israel. Rather, I find it troubling that embracing such a view is considered an essential part of an event that is supposed to unite feminists. I am happy to debate Middle East politics or listen to critiques of Israeli policies. But why should criticism of Israel be key to feminism in 2017?

Instead of picking divisive fights over the minimum wage, oil pipelines, and Zionism, Shire suggests that the movement focus on the key womens issues of reproductive rights, equal pay, increased female representation in all levels of government and policies to combat violence against women.

The trouble with this proposal is that not all feminists share the same key issues.

For example, a woman at the bottom of Americas income ladder may find a $15 minimum wage far more relevant to her struggle than equal pay for equal work  earning the same poverty wage as her male co-workers wont make her children less hungry. Nor, for that matter, would it make her less vulnerable to exploitation by male domestic partners.

And this points to another problem with Shires argument  even if all feminists accepted her priorities, different feminists could arrive at diametrically opposed means of honoring them: One might believe that combating violence against women requires longer jail sentences for sexual assault; another might point to the epidemic levels of rape in American prisons and argue for the abolition of the carceral state.

Similarly, one could make a strong argument that universal health care and child care, stronger union rights, and a higher minimum wage are actually more relevant to combating violence against women than many policies that explicitly address that problem: Women at the bottom of the income ladder are six times more likely to be sexually abused than those at the top. Policies that reduce the number of low-income women who are economically dependent on their partners will likely do more to reduce the incidence of rape than, for example, reforming how campuses handle allegations of sexual assault.

This isnt to suggest that the latter isnt necessary  nor that the specific forms of gender oppression encountered by women on college campuses and in corporate headquarters dont need dismantling. The point is simply that the stances Shire champions arent the core issues for all feminists  theyre the core issues for feminists like her.

To a Palestinian woman in the West Bank, no issue may appear more central to her liberation than the end of the Israeli occupation. To a Zionist woman in Tel Aviv  whose family tree lost branches to Hitler and then to Hamas  no issue may seem less relevant to her interests. The feminist movement has no choice but to represent one woman, and not the other.

It is probably easier to argue for the irrelevance of the decolonization of Palestine to feminist goals than it is to say the same about the social democratic reforms on the strikers agenda. Far fewer women in the world suffer from Israeli occupation than are afflicted by poverty or exploitation in the workplace. Still, it is precisely for this reason that left-wing movements like the International Womens Strike and Black Lives Matter feel a responsibility to champion the Palestinian cause: Without the solidarity of larger left-wing movements, the prospects for Palestinian liberation are quite dim.

In my view, it is reasonable to argue that the preservation of a majority Jewish state and the liberation of women arent incompatible goals  or else, that anti-Zionism is too divisive and peripheral a stance for the feminist movement to prioritize. But making this argument effectively requires engaging with the substance of the matter. Which is to say: It requires debating Middle East politics. To suggest that the Israel-Palestine conflict, the minimum wage, and opposition to fossil-fuel extraction are intuitively marginal to the feminist cause is to presume a universality of female experience that does not exist. For women who support the maintenance of a majority-Jewish Israel, it is obvious that anti-Zionism has nothing to do with womens rights. For those who see Israel as an apartheid state, that argument is profane.

Nearly two months before Shire wrote her plea for a feminist movement more tolerant of heterodox views, Erika Bachiochi made a similar case in an editorial for CNN  but the source of Bachiochis alienation was the movements dogmatic insistence on reproductive choice.

Shire would not want the feminist movement to abandon its commitment to legal abortion to make room for women like Bachiochi. Others feel the same about Shires stance on Israel-Palestine.

The feminist movement cannot make room for all feminists  or, at least, it cannot represent all feminists core concerns. Those who wish for the movement to disown parts of the strikers platform accomplish little by declaring, as Shire does, that the stances they oppose have nothing to do with feminism.

Such claims only reiterate the point of contention.
Who knew this could be so complicated? Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

With no consensus emerging on how to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Republican congressional leaders bet that if they released a plan, rank-and-file members of the party would support it, rather than being branded as the Republican who saved Obamacare.

The presidents going to be very pivotal in this, Representative Dennis Ross, a member of the House GOP whip team, explained last month. Hes got to go into these districts and give air cover to these members who are weak-kneed on some of these issues.

After House Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled the American Health Care Act this week, members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus made their own bet: that Trump isnt very committed to passing Ryans vision for health-care reform and can be swayed to their way of thinking.

Their plan got off to a rocky start. During a meeting with 20 House GOP whips on Tuesday, President Trump said he would do everything he can to get the Republican health-care bill passed, and did not acknowledge that the reaction so far has been almost uniformly negative. I really believe were going to have tremendous support, he said. Im already seeing the support not only in this room, Im seeing it from everybody.

This meeting was a confirmation from the president that he will do whats necessary and will have our backs, said Representative Dennis Ross, who was in the meeting. He basically said whatever we need him to do  hell do that, because its really, as Mike Pence said, is a binary choice: you vote keep Obamacare or you vote to repeal it.

President Trumps first contribution was tweeting out a mild jab at Senator Rand Paul, whos branded the AHCA Obamacare Lite.

I feel sure that my friend @RandPaul will come along with the new and great health care program because he knows Obamacare is a disaster!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

But there were other early signs that the Freedom Caucuss gamble might pay off. The GOP leadership plans to pass the AHCA at lightning speed; Ryan said he plans to have a floor vote in two weeks, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said hell bring it directly to the Senate in early April.

Yet multiple White House officials suggested on Tuesday that the current legislation is just a starting point for negotiations. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said the bill is a work in progress. Vice-President Mike Pence described the AHCA as the framework for reform and said the administration is certainly open to improvements.

Members of the Freedom Caucus actually seemed emboldened after a closed-door meeting with Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, on Tuesday evening. Mulvaney, a former Freedom Caucus member, talked with the group on behalf of the Trump administration, but Representative Mark Meadows said he didnt tell them they had to back the AHCA.

He let us know theyre still open to negotiations. That this is not something that is set in stone, said Meadows, who chairs the caucus, according to The Hill.

Representative Dave Schweikerts takeaway from the meeting: If you have other creative things, the White House will look at that too.

While Ryan said earlier in the day that he can guarantee that the bill will have the 218 votes needed to pass when it goes before the full House, several Freedom Caucus members said they dont see how thats possible. Right now, the speaker of the House does not have the votes to pass this bill unless its got substantial Democrat support, said Representative Mo Brooks.

Mulvaney reportedly didnt get into which parts of the AHCA are up for debate, but Representative Raul Labrador said members of his caucus would have to see major changes. I dont think there is any tinkering that will get us to 218, he said.

Entertaining creative ideas and negotiating major changes does not seem possible when youre trying to rush legislation through Congress in record time. But perhaps the president has learned some tricks for navigating the legislative process since he lamented last week, Nobody knew health care could be so complicated. At Tuesdays meeting, Trump declared, Its a complicated process, but actually its very simple. Its called good health care.
Photo: Lawren Lu/Getty Images

Coupledom runs deep. Like, anciently so: In the Symposium, Plato has Aristophanes recount the origins of humanity. Mans original form was a four-legged, four-armed, double-sexed entity, but Zeus, who thought humans might threaten the power of the gods, had them sliced in half  with, wickedly enough, their heads turned towards the wound, so that each person would see that hed been cut and keep better order. This, Aristophanes explains, is where the standardized aching for a soul mate comes from: Now, since their natural form had been cut in two, each one longed for its own other half, and so they would throw their arms about each other, weaving themselves together, wanting to grow together.

This is a primordial example of the centrality of romantic love to the human experience. To Arizona State philosopher Elizabeth Brake, privileging such partnerships over all other relationships and lifestyles has toxic, though sometimes hard to see, consequences. To capture the culture-wide preoccupation with romantic, sexual love, she coined the term amatonormativity. As she explains in her book Minimizing Marriage: Marriage, Morality, and the Law, the word refers to the assumptions that a central, exclusive, amorous relationship is normal for humans, in that it is a universally shared goal, and that such a relationship is normative, in that it should be aimed at in preference to other relationship types.

The neologism is a play on heteronormativity, she tells Science of Us via email, or the social stuctures that take heterosexuality to be the normal way to be. Using amatus, the Latin for beloved, amatonormativity labels the structures that assume exclusive, romantic relationships are the be-all and end-all, and that everybody should organize their lives around securing and maintaining such relationships. Love conquers all, et cetera.

One side effect of mistaking life for a romantic comedy is that it makes it easier to assume that anybody who acts in a non-normative way  whether theyre single, asexual, aromantic, or, you might also say, nonmonogamous  must be weird or defective  since the love amatonormativity prescribes is romantic, sexual, exclusive, and lifelong. Like any culture-defining narrative, the consequences are everywhere, informing how single people view themselves, why unhappy partners stay in bad relationships, and how personal growth and the achievement of adulthood are thought to work. It expands on what singles researcher Bella DePaulo says of the marriage narrative: Its hurting single people because theyre led to believe that theres something wrong with them, something wrong with their lives, even if they recognize at some level that they want to be single, she told Science of Us in an interview last summer. And it also hurts married people, and people who want to be coupled, because if theyre in a bad relationship, they still think, If I become single, maybe Im going to be even more unhappy.

Once acquired, amatonormativity is an extreme case of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, that thing where once you learn a word or hear about a band, you see it everywhere. Like in pop music (2 Become 1, one could be two), in books (romance accounts for a third of the U.S. fiction market), and in the little things people say. Carrie Jenkins, a philosopher at the University of British Columbia and author of What Love Is and What It Could Be, hears amatonormativity in phrases like All the good ones are taken and Youre so lovely, I cant believe youre single. Well-intended as they might be, both suggest that to not be taken is to neither be good nor lovely.

It frames national debates, too: Jenkins points to Justice Anthony Kennedys opinion on same-sex marriage, which reads that the petitioners not  be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilizations oldest institutions and find equal dignity in the eyes of the law. While that very paragraph set liberal hearts aflame, Jenkins is cautious: Theres also the message that without marriage, one lives without dignity, in lonely condemnation, as with some kind of Old Testament curse. Theres also the matter of the embattled structure of health care, says Brake  why is it just spouses that can receive extended coverage? Why not kin or close friends? (Though some places are coming around: The Canadian province of Alberta has had a law on the books since 2003 stating that adults who meet criteria of interdependence are treated like common-law spouses.)

Social science  that shared enterprise into empirically understanding how people work  has also been warped by amatonormativity. My colleague Jesse Singal has reported on how close-relationships researchers have long assumed that everybody either wants to get hitched or is failing at doing so. Methodological sloppiness  like lumping in divorced people with singles  has plagued singles research, though theyre often just the control group for the real action in marriage. And contra amatonormative assumptions, a 2012 meta-analysis of 18 studies found found that in the long term, married people dont end up happier than singles.

Like so much else, amatonormativity hits women harder than men. You can see it in the asymmetry of spinster and bachelor; the former is holed up with her books and cats, the latter is the most interesting man in the world. Fueled by amatonormativity, expectations of motherhood mean that only men make way more money from going to fancy schools and having posh hobbies. University of Connecticut sociologist Christin Munsch has told me that even the most egalitarian couples are constrained by patriarchal practicality  somebody has to pick Johnny up from school, and since Mom makes four bucks to Dads five, its likely on her.

There is also the widespread assumption that in order to grow up, one must settle down. Like essayist Laura Kipnis observed, modern, secular people yearn to be filled with romantic love and the validation it offers. We prostrate ourselves at loves portals, like social strivers waiting at the rope line outside some exclusive club hoping to gain admission and thereby confirm our essential worth, she wrote in The New York Times Magazine.

While a contemporary phenomenon  marriage used to be more about land rights than affairs of the heart  the recent turning of relationships into vehicles of self-realization seems to have made marriages harder than ever before, even as partners spend less time together.

According to the work of Northwestern close-relationships researcher Eli Finkel, marriages are asking more of either partner than before  meeting core psychological needs is a bit different than tilling crops or simply loving someone  but the payoff can be larger, self-realization-wise. Still, James Hollis, the Jungian scholar, would argue that to make a relationship work, your significant other needs to remain significantly other  theyre not there to replace your parents; healing and realization are DIY. Given that the self has a mysterious evolutionary purpose and is (probably) constructed, one thing you can be sure of is that individual selves are just that. They are, Jenkins emphasizes, individual.

Of course, lots of people look for themselves, or at least part of themselves, in their romantic relationships, and their love(s) reflect, refract, and reform their sense of self. But the same, she says, could be true of the friends, family, and communities that you relate to. Beyond that, relationship isnt the only medium available to us. Self-realization can also be found in work, play, creative activity, and all kinds of other things that can make life meaningful to the person living it, Jenkins says. Just as diversity in background and ethnicity and weight and sexual orientation are democratic values, so should be methods of finding fulfillment. Indeed, other research indicates that on average, life is pretty meaningful for most people  indicating that meaning is more accessible, and broadly interpretable, than what amatonormativity (or any number of prescriptive systems) would make you expect.

With its ubiquity, amatonormativity lends itself to glorious, self-affirming rebellion. You could move out to the woods and live deliberately, or just take yourself to the movies or art museum. You might also consider eating alone in Los Angeles. Ive heard it works.
Photo: Vintage Images/Getty Images

On a sultry night in New Orleans in late August 2005, I found myself unwillingly enrolled in a crash course on both the tenacity and the fragility of the rules that govern sleep. On that night, my wife, Devora, and I packed up our car with suitcases, some books, snacks, CDs, and toys for the kids, then caught a few hours of sleep before heading out at four in the morning. Hurricane Katrina was bearing down, and suddenly we were rudely cast outside the gates of normal sleep, trying to find our way back in.

Yet we were fortunate. Our two children were young enough not to be overly anxious about the storm  for them it was an adventure. We had a car and some money in the bank. We had devoted family and friends far from the storms path who were ready to help in whatever ways they could. I had professional connections to people who could help me get back on my feet if disaster struck. But what we thought most about in the hours leading up to our evacuation was where we would sleep.

Shelter is an obvious human need, one that grows most intense during slumber. The need to find safe sleeping accommodations made our trek understandable, even inevitable. But much of our effort went toward something else, toward fulfilling a need that was culturally conditioned rather than biologically dictated: Devora and I were intent on finding a hotel spread out of harms way that would allow the kids their own sleeping spaces. Part of this desire was rational: We wanted a space large enough that we could shelter the kids from our own anxious conversations. But on another, semiconscious level we simply wanted to re-create, on the fly, the aspects of normal sleep that bear most directly on children. Like so many other parents, we had spent countless painful nights trying first one method and then another to teach our children to sleep on their own, in one straight shot through the night, at regularly scheduled times. We had achieved the sleep schedule and configuration of a typical middle-class American family, and we didnt want the storm to put all that effort to waste.

Whats strange, though, is that the sleep schedule we were trying so hard to re-create is a relatively new invention: of all the elements that make up what we consider the natural or normal way to sleep, not one of them seems to have been in force at any time anywhere before around 1800 in Europe and North America. This is worth reiterating: virtually nothing about our standard model of sleep existed as we know it two centuries ago, including the ideal of eight hours of unbroken sleep.

* * *

The first scholar to put consolidated sleeptodays standard one straight shot throughout the nightunder the microscope was historian Roger Ekirch. In his fascinating 2001 essay Sleep We Have Lost: Pre-Industrial Slumber in the British Isles, Ekirch revealed that across a wide range of nationalities and social classes in early modern Europe and North America, the standard pattern for nighttime sleep was to do it in two shifts of segmented sleep. These two sleepssometimes called first and second sleep, sometimes dead sleep and morning sleepbridged an interval of quiet wakefulness that lasted an hour or more. (The interval itself was sometimes called the watching.)

Ekirchs subsequent work offered evidence that a segmented nighttime pattern persisted well into the twentieth century in many non-Western locales, including among indigenous cultures in Nigeria, Central America, and Brazil. During the period of nighttime wakefulness, Ekirch showed, different cultures elaborated ritualsof prayer, lovemaking, dream interpretation, or security checksand while the rituals varied, the pattern itself was so pervasive as to suggest an evolutionary basis that somehow became disrupted in the modern West.

So why did this mode of sleeping fall by the wayside, in favor of the eight-hour, lie-down-and-die model that has become an unquestioned norm? According to Ekirch, the main culprit was the spread of powerful artificial lighting in the nineteenth century in Europe and North America, and later in other locales. As activities that were previously nearly impossible to conduct under cover of darkness became fashionable under an ever-widening penumbra of powerful light, Europeans and Americans gradually shifted their bedtimes later. And as the available space between first and second sleeps shrank, the pattern of two nocturnal sleepsand the enchanted space between thembecame untenable. So complete was the transition to consolidated sleep that an American newspaper advice column in 1911 counseled readers who couldnt sleep well to take their sleep in two shiftsas if this were a novel suggestion! Ekirch argues that the reason so many of us experience middle-of-the-night insomnia (the kind that comes after a few hours of sleep), is that ever since electric lights reordered our sense of time, weve disrupted our ancestralperhaps our evolutionaryrhythms. And while Ekirch eventually came to view the reasons for the shift from segmented to consolidated sleep as more complicated than just exposure to lightincluding shifts in technology, changing cultural attitudes toward work and rest, and the economic pressure to manage time more efficiently under industrial capitalismpowerful artificial lighting, he wrote, still exerted the broadest and most enduring impact upon sleeps consolidation.

Ekirchs thesis has taken surprising hold in some medical and scientific circles. In 1993, at about the same time that Ekirch was doing his historical research into the erosion of segmented sleep patterns by the advent of electric lighting, psychiatrist Thomas Wehr of the National Institute of Health was conducting clinical experiments in which subjects were deprived of artificial lighting for several weeks. Wehr found that under these circumstances, the subjects began to gravitate toward a common pattern of waking up for approximately an hour after midnight. During this interval, the brains of Wehrs subjects showed higher levels of prolactin, a hormone that reduces stress and that is also released during orgasm. Struck by the congruence with his own historical findings, Ekirch contacted Wehr and the two exchanged notes. Perhaps this hormonal activity, they speculated, was the biological basis for the fertility rituals that were so common during the interval between first and second sleep and that seemed to have vanished in the modern world. (The 16th-century physician Thomas Cogan, for instance, advised that intercourse occur not before sleepe, but after the meate is digested, a little before morning, and afterward to sleepe a while.)

Sleep specialists in the United States and Europe have begun to take these findings seriously, reevaluating the common wisdom that healthy sleep means uninterrupted nocturnal slumber. Russell Foster, a professor of circadian neuroscience at Oxford University, saw a therapeutic value in this new view of what constitutes normal sleep: Many people wake up at night and panic, he said in an interview. I tell them that what they are experiencing is a throwback to the bi-modal sleep pattern.

So does that mean, as Ekirchs and Wehrs work suggested, that humans are evolutionarily adapted to sleep in two shifts at night? Not all scholars agree. The historian Sasha Handley, for example, questioned whether Ekirchs sources were representative enough to indicate a universal model of sleep across millennia of human history. A recent scientific study by Jerome Siegel of the University of California at Los Angeles and Gandhi Yetish (now also at UCLA) presents a very different evolutionary scenario. Studying sleep patterns in three contemporary hunter-gatherer societies in Tanzania, Namibia, and Bolivia that lacked electricity, Siegel, Yetish, and their group of researchers found little evidence of segmented sleep at night, but some evidence of daytime napping, especially during the summer months. Surprisingly, the average sleep time among these societies was approximately six hours per night, but the lower number, compared to the eight hours recommended in contemporary Western medicine, had none of the adverse health effectsincluding obesity, diabetes, and mood disordersthat authorities so often link to sleep deprivation.

Even more surprisingly, this supposedly ancient sleep pattern more closely resembles the contemporary Western predilection for consolidated sleep than the preindustrial segmented variety that Ekirch documented, except that six hours a night is usually deemed unhealthful and often blamed on overexposure to artificial light, computer screens, and the like. In a coauthored article, the Siegel/Yetish group claimed that because the tribes they studied shared environments similar to those in which the human species evolved, their sleep patterns represented the truly natural way to sleep: they were the core human sleep patterns  characteristic of pre-modern Homo Sapiens.

Yet this claim, too, may be too sweeping. Ekirch, in a response, allowed that segmented sleep may not have been the pattern for all preindustrial peoples in the non-Western world, but he pointed to dozens of examples provided by anthropologists to show that it was a predominant one. In a commentary on the Siegel/Yetish groups article, another group of prominent sleep researchers rejected the conclusions as an over-interpretation of data, arguing that without a control group, their study simply could not yield normative values for an evolutionary default pattern for human sleep. The Siegel/Yetish group defended their conclusions and in a sense doubled down, suggesting that the evolutionary pattern they had discovered should make sleep clinicians question the notion that sleeping less than seven hours a night is detrimental to the health of adults.

Meanwhile, several anthropologists who study sleep patterns weighed in with their own doubts about the Siegel/Yetish teams conclusions. No culture, Kristen Knutson argued, is a living fossil, and so extrapolating from current practices to a universal evolutionary basis for sleep is problematic. Matthew Wolf-Meyer went further, pointing out that the very societies that Siegel and Yetish studied were far from premodern hunter-gatherers: all three groups had centuries of experience in dealing with colonial administrations and state governments; one had a burgeoning tourist industry; another had members working for big logging companies; a third had extensive trade networks with other communitiesand all of these historical factors likely had some effect on their patterns of sleeping and waking. The arguments are still spinning out as I write this.

So is it natural to sleep through the night, or instead to break sleep up into segments? The dispute between the Siegel/Yetish camp and the others raises profound questions not only about what might be the natural way to sleep, but about whether any particular sleep pattern is more natural for Homo sapiens than others. The argument seems irresolvable, at least by me; but it does indicate the depth to which our societyincluding its academic researchersfeels dissatisfied with sleep: we are looking to the ancestral past as well as to medical experts for solutions. Because sleep is always governed by societys rules and environmental pressures as well as by physiological needs, though the search for one unchanging natural way to sleep seems unlikely to solve our current collective sleep frustrations. The efforts are noble, and they yield fascinating accounts of sleeps mutability; but as the experts present conflicting visions of the best, most naturally human way to sleep, they may only feed sleep anxiety rather than conquer it.

Perhaps we can view these conflicting visions of sleeps evolutionary forms the way we view different consumer products, picking the one that suits our particular sleep quandary the best. Each of the positions staked out in this academic battle might be psychologically comforting to contemporary troubled sleepers in search of some historical or evolutionary perspective on their troubled passage through the night and their drowsiness during the day. The Ekirch position suggests that if you cant stay asleep through the night, youre not an insomniac, but simply more in touch with ancestral rhythms than your culture wants you to be. The Siegel/Yetish position says, in a sense, that we should stop worrying about sleep loss, since, for all our distractions, we dont need as much sleep as the experts tell us we do. And those who argue that there is no single way to sleep naturally or correctly give us license to be more forgiving of our own sleep patterns, to stop thinking that there is a right way that were failing to achieve.

Adapted excerpt from WILD NIGHTS: How Taming Sleep Created Our Restless World by Benjamin Reiss. Copyright  2017. Available from Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

If you live in an American city, and have disposable income, Uber has likely revolutionized how you get around. The app, which more or less invented  and now dominates  the smartphone-ride-hailing business, made getting a cab easier and more pleasant (and in some cities cheaper) than ever before; from design to functionality, the company represents, in many ways, the hopes and promises of a generation of start-ups.

It also represents the pitfalls and dangers of taking the move-fast-and-break-things approach to corporate and regulatory culture. Over the last few weeks, the company has faced allegations of sexual harassment, a lawsuit over stolen technology, and a secret dashboard video of CEO Travis Kalanick losing his temper at a driver. The nonstop barrage of accusations and revelations has clearly shaken Kalanick  and investors. On Tuesday, Kalanick announced he is seeking a new chief operating officer, a peer who can partner with me to write the next chapter in our journey, Kalanick wrote on the company blog. Translation: An executive, ideally a woman, who can run a company without the baggage.

About that baggage: Ubers issues didnt just pop out of nowhere. To those in the technology industry, the company has long been known for its asshole culture; and its frequent clashes with drivers, riders, law enforcement, and local government have made it either a disruptive hero or an arrogant villain, depending on who you talk to, and how badly they need a ride. Either way, theres no question that Uber has been pushing the limits of acceptable corporate behavior for a while.

None of this means that Uber is on its way out. The company is still well-funded by investors, and has  by a long shot  the largest and most comprehensive network of riders and drivers in its category; as Recodes Johana Bhuiyan pointed out yesterday, Ubers market share is so large, it will be hard for competitors like Lyft to take advantage of Ubers recent stumbles. But at the same time, theres no guarantee that Uber would make it through the next decade intact, even if it can right the ship  as the transportation-industry expert Hubert Horan convincingly argued last year, its unclear if Uber can be sustainably operated without the subsidies offered by its investors.

This is the problem, in a nutshell: As an app in your phone, Uber is perfect  well-designed, genuinely helpful, a breeze to use. As a company, though, its a lot more complicated. To get a sense of how Uber put itself in this position, weve created a timeline of its seven-year history, tracing the many warning signals that not all was right in its corporate culture. This list is by no means exhaustive (especially with regards to the growing number of people who have been, and claim to have been, assaulted, harassed, and endangered by drivers), but it makes for some decent context if you find yourself reading about everything going down at Uber in 2017, and thinking, Now, how did we get here exactly? (Editors note: This post initially charted Ubers history from inception to March 2017. It has since been updated to reflect the companys ongoing saga through June 2017.)

June 2010: Uber (then known as UberCab) launches in San Francisco as a luxury black-car, on-demand service. A ride costs about 1.5 times as much as taking a traditional cab.

October 2010: California issues a cease-and-desist order to the newly launched UberCab. Penalties for continued operation include fines of up to $5,000 for each UberCab hailed, and jail time calculated based on the number of days UberCab remained operational after receiving the C&D.

October 2010: UberCab changes its name to Uber.

May 2011: Uber arrives in New York City.

September 2011: At the launch of Uber Chicago, guests are treated to a screen showing  without their permission  the location of known people using Uber in New York. Investor Peter Sims, who got a text from a friend at the party who knew his exact whereabouts, would go on to write a Medium post about the experience in 2014.

December 2011: Uber goes international, launching its first cars in Paris.

January 2012: Uber riders are enraged after the company charges up to six times the normal fare for rides on New Years Eve, as part of its surge-pricing model. Even though the company had made it very clear in advance that surge pricing would be in effect  given the busy nature of the night  for many customers, this was the first time they experienced the full effects of Ubers dynamic pricing model.

March 2012: Uber shares a blog post using rider data to analyze people taking Rides of Glory, Ubers on-demand economy version of the Walk of Shame. The company, in a now-deleted blog post, tracked people who requested rides from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and then requested a second ride hours later from the same place they were dropped off earlier in the evening.

July 2012: Uber introduces UberX, which allows almost anyone with a car who can pass a background check to drive for Uber. An UberX ride is 35 percent cheaper than a ride in a regular Uber car (later rebranded UberBlack), and longtime Uber drivers express frustration at lower rates and increased competition.

November 2012: Hurricane Sandy hits New York City, wiping out most public transportation options and driving up Uber demand. With the increased demand, Uber prices surge to twice the usual fare rate, causing some to accuse the company of price gouging during an emergency. The company responds by dropping the fare to the normal rate, while continuing to pay drivers two times the rate.

August 2013: Uber launches in India and Africa.

September 2013: Bridget Todd, a writer and activist, tweets at Uber claiming her driver, David E, choked her for kissing her white husband. Police arrive at the scene, but no arrests are made. Uber later issues a statement standing behind the driver, claiming that Todd and her husband were intoxicated (something Todd admitted in her tweets before making her account private), and that the situation only escalated after Todd refused to take her feet off of the seats. Leaked internal emails would later show Kalanick wanting his staff to make sure these writers dont come away thinking we are responsible even when these things do go bad, and blaming journalists for making Uber somehow liable for these incidents that arent even real in the first place.

December 2013: Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan files the first documents in a case against Uber, on behalf of over 350,000 current and former Uber drivers in California and Massachusetts. The suit argues that Uber drivers should be classified as employees, not independent contractors, meaning the company should be responsible for providing things like benefits, meeting the minimum wage, and reimbursing drivers for expenses. It will be two years before a judge rules the case can move to a jury trial.

January 2014: Valleywag reports that top Uber staff in New York City are creating accounts on Gett to call and cancel rides on the rival app. After canceling a number of rides, much to the frustration of the Gett drivers, Uber then attempted to poach those drivers to come work for Uber, instead of its competitor.

February 2014: Travis Kalanick does an interview with GQ, in which he refers to his company as Boob-er after the writer asks him about his rising popularity with women. He [Kalanick] deflects [the writers question] with a wisecrack about women on demand: Yeah, we call that Boob-er. Also in the interview, Kalanick, copping a line from Charlie Sheen, says, thats hashtag winning; he also says hed rather be spending time at posh hotels in Miami than working with local authorities to cooperate with limo laws. (Fair enough!)

June 2014: Following allegations of a San Francisco driver assaulting a passenger and calling him a dirty Mexican faggot, PandoDaily reports the driver in question had served time in prison for a felony conviction. Despite his criminal record, the driver still passed Ubers background check. The company initially said it would temporarily ban the driver, but later, following Pandos story, revoked his privileges entirely.

July 2014: District attorneys from San Francisco and Los Angeles send a letter to Uber (and Lyft and Sidecar), threatening legal action if the company doesnt change its process for vetting drivers, and calling the existing model a continuing threat to consumers and the public. The district attorneys told all three companies that they misled customers by claiming their background checks of drivers screen out anyone who has committed driving violations, including DUIs, as well as sexual assault and other criminal offenses, SFGate reported at the time. The district attorneys say thats patently untrue.

August 2014: UberPool launches, allowing people to carpool with other riders headed to geographically close destinations for a significantly reduced rate.

August 2014: The Verge reports that, in a move similar to the one it reportedly used against rival app Gett in January, Uber used a group of independent contractors with burner phones to call and cancel thousands of rides with Ubers rival Lyft.

October 2014: Ubers office in Lyon, France, comes under fire for a promotion with an app that promised to match riders with attractive women as drivers. The apps name, Avions de Chasse, literally translates to fighter jets, but is also a slang term meaning hot chicks. Ubers post about the partnership was deleted after a single day.

November 2014: Emil Michael, Ubers senior vice president of business, suggests that the company hire a team to do opposition research on journalists who are critical of Uber, in order to expose their secrets and give the media a taste of its own medicine. The comment, which was made at an invite-only dinner hosted by Kalanick  and which Michael believed to be off the record  followed an October 2014 piece from Sarah Lacy, the editor of tech site PandoDaily, in which Lacy explained the asshole culture of Uber, and why she was deleting the app.

May 2015: Several months after opening a research facility in Pittsburgh and announcing a partnership with Carnegie Mellon, the Verge reports Uber poached 50 top employees from Carnegie Mellons National Robotics Engineering Center.

June 2015: The California Labor Commission rules that Uber drivers are employees, rather than contractors. (The decision is not a direct effect of the California and Massachusetts class-action suit launched in 2013.)

June 2015: French taxi drivers attack alleged Uber drivers in Paris amid unrest between the two industries. Protestors are motivated by Ubers low fare rates and flexible hours hurting their business, calling Ubers model economic terrorism.

April 2016: Uber settles two class-action lawsuits over labor practices with hundreds of thousands of current and former drivers in Massachusetts and California. The company agreed to pay a settlement of $100 million. A few months later, a federal judge would deem the settlement not fair, adequate and reasonable, and throw it out.

May 2016: Uber ends service in Austin, Texas, after it fails to overturn a city rule with stringent guidelines, including fingerprint-based background checks for drivers. Uber (and competitor Lyft) spent $8.6 million in Austin trying, unsuccessfully, to get the rule changed.

July 2016: After losing a long fight to win the market, Ubers main competitor, Didi Chuxing, purchases Ubers Chinese business. Uber lost a reported $2 billion trying to defeat Didi in China before the sale.

August 2016: Uber drivers in Kenya strike after the company slashes fare rates by 35 percent to stay competitive.

September 2016: An Uber emergency-hotline operator allegedly laughed and hung up when New York man Kevin Ko called to report he had been assaulted by his driver. Ko claims he was sexually assaulted, advanced and forced without consent, saying his driver made him touch his erect penis twice. Uber later banned the driver in question.

November 2016: Uber settles a sexual-assault lawsuit in California related to accusations against drivers.

December 2016: Former Uber forensic investigator Ward Spangenberg sues the company, alleging age discrimination and whistle-blower retaliation. In his filings, Spangenberg claims it is still frighteningly easy for Uber staff to access passenger information via the companys Heaven View map, a new name for the companys controversial God View map, which made headlines after employees allegedly used the tool to stalk VIP users.

December 2016: Travis Kalanick, along with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, announces hell be joining President Trumps economic-advisory council.

December 2016: Uber launches its autonomous car program in San Francisco, only to have the state DMV declare it illegal. A week later, Uber ends the program, saying the DMV revoked the companys car registrations, forcing Uber to look for other locations to test its self-driving cars.

Jan 23, 2017: A depressing report from Bloomberg dives into Ubers driver culture in California, where drivers are known to sleep in their cars to maximize earnings. By staying overnight in their vehicles, drivers dont have to leave areas where fares are higher.

January 30, 2017: A campaign to #DeleteUber reaches its peak, after the company publicly announces it would turn off surge pricing, amid protests at JFK Airport following the announcement of Trumps travel ban. While this is Ubers standard move in times when surge pricing would be seen as gouging people in need, many people took Ubers pricing declaration to be scabbing, particularly since the New York Taxi Alliance called for a temporary boycott of JFK pickups following the ban announcement.

February 2017: Uber drivers in several cities throughout India strike in protest of falling fare rates and decreased driver incentives.

February 2, 2017: Travis Kalanick announces he is leaving Trumps advisory council. Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the President or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that, Kalanick wrote in an email to Uber staff explaining his decision.

February 19, 2017: Ex-Uber engineer Susan Fowler publishes a damning blog post detailing the alleged gender discrimination she faced during the year she worked for the company. Her story  including being solicited for sex by a colleague; and being told by HR that because she frequently lodged formal complaints, she must be the root of her problems  prompted Travis Kalanick to meet later in February with 100 of the companys female engineers, who told him gender discrimination is a systemic problem at Uber.

February 23, 2017: Waymo, Googles self-driving-car company, files a lawsuit against Uber. The suit claims Uber stole Waymos designs for a laser-scanning detection system, a product used by autonomous cars to read the road. The crux of the suit involves ex-Google engineer Anthony Levandowski, who founded Otto, a self-driving-truck company, which Uber acquired in 2016. Levandowski allegedly stole data and documents from Google in January 2016 before leaving the company to found Otto, later bringing that stolen technology with him to Uber, after his company was purchased.

February 27, 2017: Amit Singhal, Ubers SVP of engineering, is forced to resign, after it is revealed that he did not disclose allegations of sexual harassment, which had been levied against him during his time working for Google prior to joining Uber.

On the same day, the Verge publishes a series of emails showing that Uber ignored the California DMVs attempts to help the company get proper permits for its self-driving cars, before launching, disastrously, in San Francisco back in December 2016. Despite the DMVs classifications, Uber repeatedly insisted its self-driving cars technically werent autonomous. (The program was later moved to Arizona, where laws surrounding autonomous vehicles are less strict.)

February 28, 2017: Video surfaces of CEO Travis Kalanick arguing heatedly with an UberBlack driver over decreasing fares over the past few years. The driver, Fawzi Kamel, tells Kalanick that changing Ubers pricing forced him to declare bankruptcy. Kalanick ends the conversation saying, Some people dont like to take responsibility for their own shit, before slamming the car door and exiting Kamels car. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck! Hours after the video was published by Bloomberg, Kalanick released a statement on Ubers blog, apologizing and announcing that hed be seeking leadership help and needs to grow up.

March 2, 2017: Uber decides to apply for autonomous-vehicle-testing permits from the California DMV after all. Permitted vehicles are required to report every time the self-driving technology is shut off and the driver is forced to take control of the vehicle. (This is likely the reason Uber resisted getting the permits initially.)

March 3, 2017: News breaks about a secret software called Greyball, which Uber used to tag, and sometimes track, officials who might hurt the companys business. For example, local officials and law enforcement in cities where Uber had legal troubles were identified using geofences, burner-cell-phone-number records, and credit cards. If one of these tagged people attempted to hail a ride, Uber would use Greyball to show them a fake version of the app, complete with nonexistent cars that would never pick them up. The program, known within the company as VTOS, or violation of terms of service, has been in effect since 2014.

On the same day, Ed Baker, Ubers VP of product and growth, resigns after three years at the company. The resignation, according to a report from Recode, follows some allegedly questionable behavior on Bakers part, including having consensual sex with another employee.

March 7, 2017: Kalanick announces Uber is conducting a search for a new chief operating officer, describing the role as a peer who can partner with me to write the next chapter in our journey. Sources inside the company say a female COO would be preferred.

March 9, 2017: Uber announces it will no longer use its tracking software  Greyball  to label and track officials who might slow the companys business. On its blog, the company explained that Greyball was used for a number of purposes, including the testing of new features by employees; marketing promotions; fraud prevention; to protect our partners from physical harm; and to deter riders using the app in violation of our terms of service. In May, the Justice Department announces it is conducting a criminal probe into the company over the alleged tracking.

March 20, 2017: After just six months on the job, Ubers president, Jeff Jones, resigns his position. His exit was reportedly spurred by the string of scandals and bad press plaguing the company.

March 22, 2017: In an attempt to hire a female engineer who said she was not interested, an Uber recruiter tried to sway her by insisting that the ride-hailing companys alleged problems are the same at every tech company. I just want to say that sexism is systemic in tech and other industries, the recruiter said in a DM, which the engineer, Kamilah Taylor, later tweeted.

March 25, 2017: Travis Kalanicks ex-girlfriend, professional violinist Gabi Holzwarth, tells the press that back in 2014, she and several Uber employees, including Kalanick and Emil Michael, visited an escort-karaoke bar in South Korea. One of the female employees present reported the incident to Ubers human-resources department, a report the company said had been forwarded to Eric Holder as part of his review.

April 12, 2017: Ubers senior vice-president of global public policy and communications, Rachel Whetstone, announces her resignation. I joined Uber because I love the product  and that love is as strong today as it was when I booked my very first ride six years ago, Whetstone said of her departure.

April 13, 2017: The Information uncovers another secret tracking software used by the company. Known as Hell, the program was shut down at the beginning of 2016, but prior to that, Uber used Hell to monitor which drivers were cross-dispatching  industry speak for driving for both Uber and Lyft. Later in the month, former Lyft drivers launch a lawsuit against Uber over the software.

April 21, 2017: Uber board member Arianna Huffington sends an internal email announcing that the independent review of Ubers alleged sexual-harassment problem being conducted by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will be delayed. Holder and his associates reportedly asked the company for more time to complete a thorough report. Meanwhile, 19 Uber dudes and 1 Uber woman spray-painted a wall in San Francisco with the hashtag #UNDELETE. The graffiti was, apparently, an attempt to get disgruntled users to re-download the app.

April 24, 2017: News breaks that back in 2015, Uber used secret codes to tag and track iPhones even after phone owners had deleted the app. The program was most predominant in China, where the company reportedly used the codes to keep drivers from signing up for multiple accounts by using different email addresses, gaming the system to earn more new-driver incentives.

April 27, 2017: As the Uber-Waymo lawsuit heats up, the ex-Googler at the heart of the case, Anthony Levandowski, voluntarily steps down from his role as head of the companys self-driving unit, effectively removing himself from any involvement with LiDAR technology. Several weeks later, a judge ruled that Uber had to return all of the allegedly stolen files to Google, to which Ubers attorney sent Levandowski a letter, saying he could be fired if he didnt do everything he could to help Uber.

May 30, 2017: Uber fires Anthony Levandowski. The ex-Google engineer  and now ex-Uber engineer  pleaded the Fifth and refused to testify in the Uber-Waymo case.

June 5, 2017: Uber makes two high-profile female hires: Frances Frei, from Harvard Business School, to act as the companys first SVP of leadership and strategy, and Bozoma Saint John, formerly an Apple Music exec, as chief brand officer. The news is timely, given details from Ubers sexual-harassment probe are also expected this week.

June 6, 2017: The company fires multiple employees following an internal investigation conducted by Perkins Coie. (This investigation is separate from the probe conducted by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Details from that report were also presented this week, but only to Ubers board members.) Of the 215 claims the firm investigated, 100 were thrown out and at least 20 people were terminated as a result.

June 7, 2017: Eric Alexander, formerly president of business in Asia Pacific, is fired for obtaining and sharing the medical records of an Uber passenger who was raped in India by her driver. (Alexander and others at Uber apparently believed that the rape might have been falsified by Ola, an Uber competitor in India, to hurt business.) Alexander reportedly showed the records to a number of Uber executives, including Travis Kalanick. Alexander was not among the 20 who were fired as a result of the investigation, but rather, only lost his job after journalists from Recode started asking questions.
Casey Anthony. Photo: Red Huber/MCT via Getty Images

Six years after being acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee and being branded the most hated mom in America, Casey Anthony is speaking publicly about the case for the first time. I dont give a shit about what anyone thinks about me, I never will, she told the AP. Im okay with myself, I sleep pretty good at night.

According to the AP, who spoke to Anthony over the course of five on-the-record interviews, the 30-year-olds remarks were at turns revealing, bizarre, and often contradictory, and they ultimately raised more questions than answers about the case that has captivated the nation.

Caylee Anthonys grandmother reported the toddler missing on July 15, 2008, and Anthony was arrested the next day on charges of child neglect. At that point, Caylee had already been missing for a month, a period of time Anthony was unable to convincingly account for. Caylees skeletal remains were found in the woods near the Anthony home in December 2008, six months after she disappeared.

Anthony maintains that she doesnt know how her daughter died. Im still not even certain as I stand here today about what happened, she says.

Despite widespread public belief in her guilt, Casey Anthony was acquitted of murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse in a widely publicized 2011 court case. She was convicted of four counts of lying to police, two of which were eventually dropped.

Based off what was in the media, I understand the reasons people feel about me. I understand why people have the opinions that they do, says Anthony. My sentence was doled out long before there was a verdict. Sentence first, verdict afterward. People found me guilty long before I had my day in court.

During the trial, Anthonys defense team suggested that Caylee drowned accidentally. Prosecutors were unable to establish Caylees cause of death nor to find Anthonys DNA on the piece of duct tape they allege was used to suffocate her.

Everyone has their theories. I dont know, said Anthony of the drowning theory. As I stand here today I cant tell you one way or another. The last time I saw my daughter I believed she was alive and was going to be OK, and thats what was told to me.

Anthony does admit she lied to police while they were gathering evidence, but suggests that she would not have been believed even if she had been entirely truthful. Even if I wouldve told them everything that I told to the psychologist, I hate to say this but I firmly believe I would have been in the same place. Because cops believe other cops. Cops tend to victimize the victims.

Today, Anthony lives in South Florida with private detective Patrick McKenna, helping him with his investigative work. McKenna served as lead investigator on Anthonys defense team as well as on the O.J. Simpson trial. Anthony says she still has trouble visiting the supermarket in case her daughters face is plastered on the front pages of tabloids. Her bedroom is decorated with photos of Caylee.
Women striking in Poland. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

On Wednesday, March 8, women across the world are going on strike. If circumstances allow, theyre refusing to go into work that day, abstaining from unpaid work at home (including child care, if they can), and withholding their purchasing power from the U.S. economy

Those interested in supporting the cause can do so in different ways: You can attend rallies, livestream videos of protests, or even just wear red in solidarity. Heres how you can participate in the Womens Strike no matter where you live.

IF YOURE NEAR NEW YORK CITY

Day-long activities from the International Womens Strike USA. From 9:15 a.m. until the rally at 4 p.m., the International Womens Strike is hosting a day full of activities, ranging from self-defense classes to sign making, art activities with Parsons School of Design students and faculty to a Know Your Rights workshop from the National Lawyers Guild. The full schedule of events can be found here.

A Day Without A Woman: New York City. At noon on Wednesday, strikers are meeting at the intersection of 5th Avenue and 59th Street for a show of solidarity and revolutionary love at the #DayWithoutAWoman rally, from the organizers of the Womens March. The organizers ask that everyone in attendance wear red. More information can be found here.

International Womens Strike NYC: Rally and March. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, a rally and march organized by the International Womens Strike NYC will be held, starting out in Washington Square Park. There will be musical and artistic performances, followed by a march to Zuccotti Park that starts at 5:30 p.m. The march will stop in front of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the famous Stonewall Inn, the Immigration Court, Trump Hotel Soho, and the African burial ground on the way downtown. More information can be found on the Facebook page.

IF YOURE NEAR WASHINGTON, D.C.

You can participate in two of the biggest events of the Womens Strike, which will be occurring on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Protest: RESIST TRUMP. STOP THE GAG. Starting at 11:30 a.m. at the Freedom Plaza in D.C., almost 40 organizations are sponsoring a protest against the Global Gag Rule (Mexico City Policy), one of the first actions President Donald Trump took after entering office. This is about a U.S. foreign policy that has devastating impact and health consequences for women and girls globally, Serra Sippel, president of Center for Health and Gender Equity, told the Cut. We thought that International Womens Day would be an important day to mobilize support for women and girls who are impacted by the policies made here in Washington, D.C.

The protest will feature live testimony from womens rights and health advocates, in addition to slam poetry, music, and performances. From 12 to 1:15 p.m., protesters will march from the Freedom Plaza down 14th Street Northwest to Lafayette Park. For more information, visit the events Facebook page or follow along on Twitter with the #TrumpGlobalGag and #NoAbortionBan hashtags.

Massive Womens Rally at Department of Labor. From 3:30 to 5:30 at the U.S. Department of Labor in D.C., there will be a rally with women workers to end workplace violence and harassment, in addition to calling for pay equality, one fair living wage, labor rights at work, and paid leave. The event will feature performances, testimony, dance, films, and more, from Eve Ensler, Climbing PoeTree, Sophorn Yang, and other women workers, activists, and artists.

Saru Jayaraman, co-director of Restaurant Opportunities Center United, told the Cut that protesters will be surrounding the building until 4:15, when they will march up to John Marshall Park. She explained that it truly will be a rising  Workers standing up and saying we resist the Trump agenda, she said. Jayaraman expects the event will draw one of the largest crowds of the day  around 1,000 people. More information can be found here.

IF YOURE ELSEWHERE IN THE U.S.

There will be a ton of different Womens Strike activities happening all over the U.S., from Alaska to the Midwest and California. The International Womens Strike website has a comprehensive list of events in major cities all over the country.

IF YOURE OUTSIDE THE U.S.

International Womens Day has long been celebrated by women in countries across the globe and tomorrow will be no different. There will be plenty of strikes and rallies taking place in major cities, including those in Argentina, Canada, Sweden, Poland, Italy, Australia, Chile, Guatemala, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, and more.

IF YOU CANT TAKE TIME OFF FROM WORK

Most women who work outside the home arent necessarily able to take a paid day off of work to strike. But even if you have to go into the office, there are still a number of ways you can support the strikes message.

You can wear red. The organizers of the Womens Strike have asked that everyone  men and women  wear red on the day of the strike to show solidarity. So if you cant attend a rally or leave work, you can still wear red.

Talk about the strike with your co-workers. Terry ONeill, president of the National Organization of Women, pointed out that, even if you have to go into the office, you should still try to engage your co-workers in conversations about the strike. You should talk to co-workers about the importance of taking back political power from frankly the white-supremacist agenda that is being promoted by the Republican party, she told the Cut. And I say that as a person who leads a nonpartisan organization.

Stay engaged on social media. Many rallies and protests will be streamed online. Sippel recommends watching and sharing videos of the various events, in addition to showing your support on Twitter, Facebook, and whatever other social media you use.

Dont shop  or if you must, support local, women-owned businesses. ONeill noted that part of the strikes aim is for women to abstain from contributing to the economy that day  which includes not shopping or spending money. However, that may be an impossibility for many women, so if you need to spend money, ONeill suggests doing so at a smaller, women-owned business.

This post has been updated throughout.
Is that a horrible pic of him or did he cross over that gap where you're like normal looking and then BAM, OLD

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I think he just has old man face now, but I still would because I'm disgusting I guess.

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I Actually met him and a year ago at a cafe I used to work at and before I realized it was him I was wondering who's this fine ass daddy was! He had biceps and was in great shape.. then he gave me an autograph and let me sit and talk with him for a bit.. but he's pretty attractice/goodshape irl

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I love DS9! It's probably my favorite.

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i love this lol

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A part of me was excited but then I remembered what they are doing to the Klingons. No thank you.

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Really? That's a relief

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Really? That's a relief



also i did not intend to perfectly echo the comment above lol



Edited at 2017-03-08 02:47 am (UTC)

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I'm rereading them too, and I was shocked at how mean Draco is.

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ngl i almost cried at movie!lucius' expressions/deterioration. isaacs made me sympathize w that evil sob

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They're blood-supremacists. Totally pointless to try and redeem any of the Malfoys. That being said, I think they're very interesting characters!

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This, exactly. I think they're great fictional characters, but awful, awful people. Just like Snape, tbh.

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yah i reread it recently for the first time since i was a kid and dear lord - so much more horrible than i remember

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it's all tom felton's fault ha

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draco in leather pants ugh



i blame cassie claire

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I've never understood the appeal of Draco Malfoy. I don't even think he's that deep or interesting of a character. He's just what happens when shitty people have a kid.

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haha mte, and you could clearly tell that jkr HATED when fans woobified or otherwise fell in love with him lol

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Mh I agree Draco is awful but I find his redemption interesting. Sure you can't blame everything on being raised that way since Harry was raised in the wost way possible and still was willing to sacrifice himself for Wizard kind. I think Tom Felton's portrayal plays into it especially in movies 6-8. But apparently JKR said that his portrayal of Draco made her think more about the depths of the character? Dunno how legit that is I heard it on a podcast. But maybe that influenced Draco not telling on Harry in disguise in desthly Hallows and Harry rescueing him and the whole thing with Narcissa lying to Voldemort. And in Cursed Child (yeah yeah i know) he is sorta redeemed and interacts with Harry and the trio in an interesting way. And from the way he's raising Scorpius he obviously wants to do better than his own parents.



I mean as a Slytherin I am constantly annoyed by them just being seen as the evil house anyway and I have read a lot of Draco in leatherpants fanfiction. Not denying he was a horrible racist shit as a teenager but if I take CC as canon (which I sorta do since I really loved the stage play and the character exposition even if the plot was lacking) he grew up. /shrug

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Lori Petty showed up in another and then finally my all time fave The Adventures of Captain Proton



All hail Queen Arachnia

I caught some Voyager last night while babysitting. One was the Doctor having memory loss. It was sad :(Lori Petty showed up in another and then finally my all time fave The Adventures of Captain ProtonAll hail Queen Arachnia

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I love the Captain Proton episodes. Plus Janeway served that Queen Arachnia costume.

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If nobody is watching The Good Fight, why was it picked up by UK's Channel 4 and Canada's Global for distribution? It ain't a flop.



The subscription is worth if I can get more Christine Baranski and The Good Wife universe. At this point, I don't fucking miss the Florricks.

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tbf, those deals are done way before the show premieres. Has nothing to do with ratings.



But CBS demographic barely has enough strength to take their pills or change the channel, why would they access a streaming TV show in an unknown platform??

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idc if he looks "old", i would still bang him like a screen door.

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Same Cher same

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I actually grew to like her lol

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I don't mind Pulaski, but she is an unfortunate reminder of how they treated Gates McFadden.

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MTE. It's so strange to me that she was written to be reminiscent of McCoy and yet I love McCoy and hate Pulaski. I'm not sure if she just wasn't written as well, or if the performance isn't as good, or what.

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Diana Muldaur was a terrible actor. She failed to make the character interesting, so she got kicked off. See also: getting the (elevator) shaft.

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i never realized she was meant to be like mccoy! what's funny is i love pulaski, but bones puts me off.



except in the The Voyage Home, his reaction in the hospital is one of my favorite moments from all of trek.





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i love pulaski, fight me.

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Aw, I came to love Pulaski and I adore Diana Muldaur.

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So I think all the series are on Netflix so which to start rewatching?



Like, I'm experiencing weed shopping remorse or smth but I haven't eaten much other than red vines and the whole edible package of a 200mg peanut butter bar lol. It came free. Probably bout to get an extra cheese pizza idk  for me tho cos i think I'm in process of new employment and it's looking good so far yas.... lemme Netflix

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Start with The Next Generation. It helped reintroduce Star Trek to the world.

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I keep skipping around to random episodes of Voyager I remember. There's some great ones.

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Hands down DS9

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Lorca as in Federico Garcia Lorca, the Spanish writer? :P

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looool before I clicked I thought it was gonna be Tom Felton, thinking: 'omg he finally won't play a villain!'

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He isn't playing a villain on The Flash!

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omggg I am too behind on that show - he's on it?! ahh.

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I still have my doubts tbh...

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scotty needs to beam him directly into my pants tbqh



smegma stretches, sir~

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Man I really didn't want to have to watch this bc it looks like a fucking mess, but Lucius Malfoy is a powerful incentive

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Some stans clearly don't have home training.

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gonna be honest and say i was fully expecting this to be a shitshow (even tho the lineup is pretty stellar)



pleasantly surprised that it all turned out well. even if the cw (and all those other networks, really) fucked us over by killing off much of our wlw rep, it's good to see that the community spirit is still there u kno

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ok so now that i know what this is i will try and go next year

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lmao i feel like lexa's actress would rather stick a bee down her shorts than go to a clexa panel

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Hell no lmao but honestly it was probs for the best. Made it less about clexa and more about bigger and more important topics.

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lol that's not gonna stop some of the ppl in this post though



(i know the name is unfortunate & god knows i've made fun of it & called out the fandom in previous posts but this actually had a lot of good shit, some of the secondhand embarrassment aside lmao)





Edited at 2017-03-08 03:00 am (UTC)

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It's kinda making me laugh that this whole thing is about them and they didn't even bother to go. I guess they werent into it at all

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not as cringe as i thought

you want true cringe

try getting through this vid without cringing





Edited at 2017-03-08 02:51 am (UTC)

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I dont need to press play to know that this is a shitshow. Im basing this on everyone in the front row along with the man holding the microphone and adding onto the fact this about my little pony.

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you got good eyes my dude

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....also the title :X

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ok but dashcon

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oh my god... I... I don't even have any words lmao wow

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I've never been able to make it through this whole video.

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Sounds like near idea. Seems like it went well. Just wish it was not called ClexaCon.

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mte on clexacon but what can you do

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ia lol i had to google what clexa is. clexacon sounds like an antidepressant

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Considering the fandom's history...yeah. Good idea, but.

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same. super stoked that there's a con devoted to wlw but kinda wish it wasn't called clexacon. but beggars can't be choosers, so hey.

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Seriously. That was by far the biggest mistake of this thing.

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imnotasquirrel



Lmao jk



Tbh I'm proud of them for what they accomplished. Idk if I'll ever be able to go to anything like this tho. told me she's going next year. Don't let her fool you.Lmao jkTbh I'm proud of them for what they accomplished. Idk if I'll ever be able to go to anything like this tho.

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I so want to love this, bc it's all about celebrating women and actually acknowledging wlw (not just fetishizing cis gay dudes)...but yeah, sometimes it can be a bit extra.  There's a LOT of fan entitlement attached to some of these ships and it's just...really missing the point. That being said, Root/Shaw is everything. 

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lmao the 100 fandom is the worst. clexa dying is the end of the world but the show's racism on and off camera is palatable and something to laugh about.

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Exactly. Was the way they killed her and played the fandom shitty, yeah. But considering the way fando dismissed the concerns of POCs about the treatment of POC characters in the show the weeks leading to it came across as pretty hypocritical. The fact most of them still don't care about it shows how little they care about representation.

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i mean the thing is pretty much all cons for anything fandom/media are like that, especially the panels. i've never been to a panel where it didn't devolve into some extra shit.

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The con seemed really inclusive. They had a panelist who is a trans woman talking about trans issues in the media, diversity panels with actual WOC and not white people, black girl nerds there. I think they tried really hard to make it something really nice from what I read.

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I kind of wanted to go but I was afraid that it would be super cringe-worthy. It doesn't look like it was all that bad tho so I'll most likely try to go next year.



I'm curious if Sarah's doucehbag, Trump loving husband knows that her queer fanbase is what will help pay their bills for years to come as queer fan bases are super loyal.



Edited at 2017-03-08 02:50 am (UTC)

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some of those fanbases need to not be so loyal to some (general some) people who make money off of them. and ugh, she should divorce him if he's a trumpette

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You're not wrong

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I'm glad it turned out to be such a success. Hopefully I can make it next year.

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LMAO @ that damn fan tweet. Since when are femmes oppressed?

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you just don't understand the femme struggle

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https://t.co/opV2SgYOm0...  lmao "some rando fan tweet" where's my check! https://t.co/d5cYC4L1jc   (@herizensus) March 8, 2017



She's either a member here or she's got herself on Google Alert cause

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someone probably sent it to her from here and tbf wasn't even needed in the post itself.

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this is actually kind of funny LMAO



hi!!!!

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Lmaooo whatever. What she said was stupid anyways

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hi, hello.



1) that person is non-binary, their pronouns are they/them.



2) the "femme" part of the tweet wasn't about femme lesbians. it was about non-binary femme's and transfemmes.



Just a bit of context. :)

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lmao ontd has completely turned into a fandom bullshit site

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If only fans had cared this much about the show's shitty treatment of POC characters and actors.

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Lesphobe comes into a positive post about an inclusive con that featured diversity panels with WOC to shit on it. Cool. Makes sense. We all know the 100 fandom was messy but this was a really good thing and the fans who created tried pretty hard to be inclusive.

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Yes my gay ass will call out this fandom's hypocrisy over the treatment of POCs in the show like myself, including an Asian gay man in the show. But how dare I a WOC be upset fandom is still going on about their white girl in brown face while POCs were told to shut up when we dared to critic the show's racism, how dare we ruin their positivity, we should just stay in our corners even when we are gay ourselves.

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the usual bi homophobia aside, this is always the dumbest criticism and boils down to "stop caring about lgbt media!" nobody appreciates you people's incessant need to set gay issues against poc issues as if it's a zero-sum game and elevate the latter as more important



most fans and viewers are white het people but let's ignore whatever gets in the way of "gays aren't progressive enough" homophobia based on your anecdotes of a niche group of shippers on the internet. go outside

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I can't believe it's been almost 10 years since South of Nowhere ended. I miss when TeenNick was The N.

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Me too. I'm so happy The N was around when I was a teen.

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The N had the same demographics with MTV, so pouring mouney into original content that steals numbers from your main brand wasn't a smart business move. MTV is tanking now, that's why now TeenNick is for 7-14 year old with non stop Dan Scheider sitcom repeats and late-night programming for people who are not teens anymore.

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I can't/won't watch the alternative ending of Shoot so can anyone brave telling me what happens?

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wait, this one is a big longer/shows more of it too



Edited at 2017-03-08 03:25 am (UTC) it was basically just a cute improv thing of amy coming up behind shaw and surprising her that she was still alive and sarah basically jumps her and it was cute/funny. i didn't wanna watch the vid either, so just apprecaited it in gif form http://flowellch.tumblr.com/post/158001179571/amy-and-sarah-improvised-an-alternative-ending-of wait, this one is a big longer/shows more of it too http://amyacker-root.tumblr.com/post/158002320192/shoot-rootandshaw-if-root-comes-back-alive

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#IronFist review: Too grounded to punch out of the Marvel mold (spoiler-free) https://t.co/0RGg99tV8o pic.twitter.com/buiIeg0WOZ  CNET (@CNET) 8 mars 2017

Limp #IronFist is the first complete misfire of Netflix's Marvel shows https://t.co/YrSBykQsbz pic.twitter.com/XQBBtS0mbX  UPROXX (@UPROXX) 8 mars 2017

RT syndrome208 "Marvel's Iron Fist: Episode 1 Review https://t.co/CAnWW2g4po pic.twitter.com/MRUKk4JgPm"  Matty (@MattyddubX) 8 mars 2017

Review: Instead of badass martial arts, #IronFist is mostly about corporate drama: https://t.co/KFDax5UDEC pic.twitter.com/iBXLqGL4yI  The Daily Dot (@dailydot) 8 mars 2017

Iron Fist isn't just racially uncomfortable, it's also a boring show https://t.co/bdribLLOsS pic.twitter.com/Nybm1P4Uz8  The Verge (@verge) 8 mars 2017

If you plan on binging Iron Fist, steel yourself https://t.co/9KmRPO3BaT  Polygon (@Polygon) 8 mars 2017

Spoiler-free review of Marvel's #IronFist: a second-rate Daredevil that matches the low expectations https://t.co/3WThkYw2bD pic.twitter.com/fCa00JRjV5  Radio Times (@RadioTimes) 8 mars 2017

[ example of problematic scene ] a privileged white guy mansplaining martial arts to a female Asian sensei

The critics have watched the first 6 episodesIron Fist feels like a step backward on every level, a major disappointment that already suffers from storytelling issues and would probably be mercifully skippable in its entirety.The most disappointing element of the show, however, might be Danny Rands surprisingly mediocre fight sequences. When the action scenes do come around, though, theyre fairly forgettable, and lack the sort of creative flair and technical prowess.Iron Fist is the most frustrating and ferociously boring example of Netflix Drift in some time. Not one element of this plodding piece works. The action scenes lack spark, snap, and originality. None of the flat, by-the-numbers characters makes any lasting impression."Iron Fist" felt quite thin on the martial arts and mysticism. There's an awkwardness in Finn Jones' physical movements that makes it hard to buy him as a highly trained living weapon. "Iron Fist" suffers from having to follow "Daredevil", "Luke Cage" and "Jessica Jones".The problem is that Iron Fist is virtually all talk  most of it painfully dull  and the fighting is both brief and unconvincing. Its easily the worst of the Netflix Marvel shows. Whatever charisma Jones displayed as the Knight of the Flowers vanishes in this role, where he comes across as a befuddled surfer who wandered into the middle of a kung fu movie. Even worse, hes not much of a martial artist, and it shows  badly.IGN : Jones simply lacks the physical presence to make you believe Danny could kick anyones butt when his fist isnt glowing. Jones seems too soft for a man who has supposedly endured the elements, combat training, and intense discipline since boyhood.Marvel's Iron Fist starts off sluggishly, seeming far more like a soap opera than a superhero series, complete with bland, pretty, rich people sneering and scheming over family fortunes.Slow-moving and light on action, Iron Fist is a low point for Marvels Netflix franchise. Its a lackluster combination of Daredevil offcuts and corporate drama about rich people with daddy issues. Danny Rand embodies the white savior trope in a story that borrows from Asian martial arts cinema while focusing on white American characters. Its just a stale imitation of Daredevil.Iron Fist is the weakest of Marvels Netflix series to date. Its creative laziness bankrupts the entire show. Marvels new series is a disappointing case study in studios needing to try harder to tell difficult stories well.It is laughably bad. Iron Fists problems with its portrayal of Asian cultures and Asian-Americans are embedded throughout every episode.Iron Fist is basically a sub-par Daredevil, a series which itself is hardly a perfect example of television anyway. The plot is the same ninja nonsense that made Daredevil series 2 a tedious slog. Iron Fist is about as meh as everyone expected.Many critics would prefer Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) to be the hero.sources : 1
Sometimes I feel like people just look for reasons to be mad

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On ONTD? Really? Lol.

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Lol true! I meant him though... he sounds like an ONTDer

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For real. Just looking for any reason to start a protest.

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this thread is embarrassing.

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Wtf is his damage

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i think theres merit in a discussion about this, also casting black americans as africans and vice versa.

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Agreed, bb. But I better leave this post before it gets too messy.

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haha tbh.



how have you been btw? i feel like i havent seen you in while

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lmao mte

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lol same. I'm dipping my toe into this 500+ comment pool. Let's see what happens.

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agreed, ive thought about/discussed this a lot but never voiced it here on ontd. prob for good reason. this post is already iffy.

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I even get passed when they cast Africans from different parts of the continents to play slaves. On Black Sails they have a whole cast of South Africans to play West Africans and it's glaringly obvious to Africans that it's incorrect. Even though I love Lupita the same thing applies to her. Hollywood (and wider society) just doesn't get how diverse Africa and the diaspora is.

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i agree. i don't think it's the biggest issue ever, but at the same time i'm not going to "settle" for 'well at least we got a movie with black characters' when there's other discourse we can engage in as well.

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I like them but the fuck was Kerry Washinton and Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland? Was darkening their skin necessary?

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Yeah I think this is a great discussion. As an African immigrant living in America my experience is just not the same, and I think this should be addressed

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ita

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To be fair, they are better trained

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this is dumb

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Doesn't mean they are better actors or more talented, but the British training is so connected to the wealth of the individual that I'm sorry I do think the training is better and more extensive.

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That's probably what Latinos who have a "LATIN" look, we all know what that means, are hired more and above black Hispanics.

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False. Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis, Aja Naomi King, Chandra Wilson, Denzel Washington, Kerry Washington, Joe Morton, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Alfred Woodard, Rutina Wesley, all have training. The majority of the Black actresses on Orange is the New Black have training. I could go on and on.

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There are plenty of American actors with training they still get passed to hire British actors. IMO it isn't training it's just basically anglophilia - if it's British it's better and higher class.

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I fucking hate this anglophilia. England ain't SHIT and nothing about their society or culture is endearing to me (I lived amongst it for a year and couldn't leave fast enough). English people can be awesome or fuck-tards like anyone but lol I can't @ 'English actors are better trained' OK sure this is a lie anyway.



Acting is as much a trade as it is an art - it's honed and perfected through practice and proper experience in actual roles.

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a jade stan would say this!!! smh

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So they aren't the right "type" of black for him? Fuck off.

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y'all are missing the point spectacularly

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lmao mte.



he specifically talks about the african american experience in a lot of roles that british actors have played that they have no connection with.

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are you surprised? ONTD in a nut shell.

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Exactly. It's a very good discussion that needs to be had and people are just being willfully obtuse.

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It would have been the same movie since a biracial American wrote and directed it...

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good point

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seriously, all actors do is interpret the script they're given

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What about 12 Years A Slave though? British director, and British leads for the two main roles.

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You should include the tweet john boyega retweeted about him needing to "release himself from mental slavery" too. Anyway idt there's anything wrong with what he said, though idk about the interracial dating bit.

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tbh john boyega is one of the types slj is talking about, hes said some sus shit about racism that you can almost certainly pinpoint to his background

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What has he said? I don't keep up with him but just based on the fact that he finds it acceptable to call it mental slavery had me rolling my eyes.

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People do know that's a Bob Marley lyric, right?

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Daniel grew up in a country where theyve been interracial dating for a hundred years



uhh??



Edited at 2017-03-08 04:29 pm (UTC)

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I don't get that either

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Yeah, I mean I can see SLJ's point but that is definitely not true. At all.

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Although I will always love and respect SLJ. He needs to do some research into African British history. Knowledge of the race riots alone could help. That being said, the brits are all over hollywood lately black and white. The majority of our commic book heroes are played by brits.

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I feel like a lot of AA refuse to understand or look into black British history so they can keep making snide comments about how British people pretend the country is a post racial utopia and everyone is in an interracial relationship.



Edited at 2017-03-08 10:06 pm (UTC)

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He think racism towards black people and interracial dating does not exist in the U.K.? Lol

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except that's not what he said

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Read the post again.

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IA I think he made this comment about how some African Americans would leave America and go marry in Europe because it was legal, when it was illegal for interracial people to marry in America.

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Samuel didn't say not 1 lie. I can't speak enough to how black brits don't know our experiences as African Americans and the hell we've faced here.

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Chiwetel Ejiofor was great in Twelve Years A Slave, and I didn't even know he was British when the film came out. I think it should depend on how great the actor is because I've seen so many historical dramas that are supposed to take place in various parts of the world and none of the actors are from said country, and the films are always in English. Even all of those movies that take place in the ancient world mainly Greece and Rome, none of the actors are from either place nor have a background from them.

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i think what bothers me about british actors generally is that it's such a caste system. pretty much every british actor you see these days is from a wealthy background and went to an elite $$$$$ school. not sure if that's also the case for black british actors, and i'm not saying that the american system is perfect, but it'd be nice to see some actors from less fortunate socioeconomic backgrounds promoted in hollywood.



i think his point about british actors not being able to understand the plight of racism that americans face is bullshit though. it's not like the UK is some kind of perfect post-racial utopia.

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Yes and no? At the end of the day it's still racism but I think the nature of it is a bit different. American racism is much more out there and in your face while I feel like British / European racism is more along the lines of microaggressions due to the perception of a post racial society.

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do you think that nuance is important with respect to casting?



i guess what i worded poorly is that if i had to pinpoint what bothers me more about it, it would be the reason why british black actors are more appealing to casting directors (e.g. because they come from wealthy backgrounds, "appear" more educated due to accent, seem less threatening, etc.) as opposed to american black actors and the influence of stereotypes that they face in our society.

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Lol. Thousands of refugees are dying in the ocean whilst the ones that arrive are being forced into slavery across Europe, police brutality is widespread, just for starters. It's just as blatant, gets just as severely underreported but it just perpetuates itself differently.

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the reason why all the brits come from $$$ is because uk cut public funding for the arts. the only people who can afford to act in the uk are wealthy. it's fucked up.

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I get where he's coming from but I don't know if this a hill I wanna die on because at the end of the day, we all have the same struggle just different currency



Edited at 2017-03-08 04:29 pm (UTC)

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mte. It's different faces of the same monster



Edited at 2017-03-08 04:33 pm (UTC)

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mte

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This reasoning is way too simple

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Mte

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There's a point to be made here but he went about it a little wrong

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That's sort of how I feel. I think there are 'unique' qualities to race relations in the United States that are probably best understood by the black men and women who grew up with it, but that certainly doesn't mean that black people in other countries don't experience racism (nor do I think that's what he's implying). Racism is racism, it's always horrible, but I feel like it often wears a difference face and can manifest differently depending on where you live.

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Very well put, IA. There are nuances to racial history here that may not translate properly, and vice-versa. But at the end of the day we're all fighting the same fight and I don't like how he tried to delegitimize the experience of black folks in the UK with that interracial dating thing wtf. lol I remember watching Jane Elliot do her Angry Eye experiment there and nope, racism is alive and kicking there too

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this. I've seen posts here before about how black Brits are implicitly favored over African-Americans since they don't seem "as black" and are therefore more palatable to (white) audiences. SLJ isn't talking about that though so idk if I can really agree with the exact points he's making...

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i dont agree with his statement about interracial dating in the uk but i do agree w/ his general sentiment



lee daniels (who sucks, surprise surprise) cast david oyelowo to play mlk in selma* b/c he had ~no baggage~ as a brit. so yes, imo, this is a conversation that needs to happen





*ava duvernay ended up directing as we know, don't 'well actually' me

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I was just about to say about Ava hehe

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i bet ten dollars that she will start dating chris evans

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they'll prob hookup

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Nah. Chris seems like someone who wants housewife

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Yes Scarlett is too assertive for someone who seems to be insecure.

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He was just with Jenny Slate tho??

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or tom hiddleston

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They sat together at the Oscars. They are fucking. I bet they were friends with benefits in the past too.

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They've been good friends for so long I feel like if it was gonna happen it would've or they've hooked up before already and it never got out.

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Ceremonies are powerful and sometimes ppl want to make a public commitment to each other.



Marriage is tough but worth it.

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@ me next time spouse

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i got married for health insurance, tax breaks, it was easier to buy a house together, and i got a dope engagement ring. he's a gem, too, but our commitment to each other and our relationship wasn't created in the judge's chambers where we got married. that's just where we got the government involved in our relationship.



Edited at 2017-03-08 05:04 pm (UTC)

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Pressure from society



Plus, the LGBT have been fighting for the right

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I believe in marriage for normal ppl - I've seen several successful marriages around me including my very loving parents married 38 years - but don't believe in it for Hollywood or other celeb based communities e.g. Bollywood

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my husband is from the uk and i'm canadian. to apply for sponsorship/visas for either country it's just easier to be married.

plus our relationship has weirdly become even better since our marriage. it was great before but now it just feels... deeper. my husband noticed the change too. it's hard to explain and i didnt expect it, but it's nice.

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wasn't the word that she cheated (or maybe they both cheated)?



mess.



i totally forgot she has a kid, too.

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This sounds like it's going to be an ugly custody battle.

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My first thought.

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If she really bailed without discussing it with him, then she ain't shit.



But the media will paint her as the villain regardless, espec with his accusation about putting work first

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yep :/

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honestly

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I got Kelly Rutherford vibes reading about it.

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MTE. It was the first thing I thought

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Me too. Hopefully it goes better than hers/is less crazy af.

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mfte

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Yeah, I thought the same.

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wait, really abt them not being fluent in each others language?? lol, how did that even work for as long as it did?

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wait i can't believe this is legit lol

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*points himself* *points her* *points the bed* lol

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2521467/Scarlett-Johansson-Of-course-Ive-got-big-ego--I-actor-actors-think-theyre-one.html "We have no need for words"

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I honestly can't imagine her being a mother and forgot she even had a kid. I hope this doesn't get messy

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but who gets Le Gourmet Popcornery?

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literally my first thought lol scanned comments looking for this

WHAT ABOUT THE POPCORN

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priorities! thank you.

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http://people.com/food/scarlett-johansson-yummy-pop-salted-caramel-nutella-popcorn-recipe/



http://www.refinery29.com/2017/02/142399/scarlett-johanasson-popcorn-recipe idk, but I found it amusing that her popcorn recipe is a disaster

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I just went to that site and watched a video of them making popcorn in leftover bacon fat. *Vomit*

Really can't see French people standing in line for that shite.



Edited at 2017-03-08 10:39 pm (UTC)

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my first thought lmao

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She doesn't think monogamy is 'natural' but keeps getting married. Girl, save yourself the time and paperwork in the future.

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I bet she gets married at least one more time despite the monogamy is unnatural statement.

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Lol she is going to be one of those actors who will be married 5 times by the time they reach old age

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Didn't she say the monogamy thing after their break-up was announced? Maybe one more failed marriage made her change her mind.

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oh right i forgot abt ryan reynolds lmao

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lol mte

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maybe it was not a monogamous relationship?

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wtf when did she have a kid lmao

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she was pregnant when they filmed age of ultron lol

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so many couples are getting divorced

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oblig

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cackling. still the best.

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looool, this was perfection.

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lmfaooooo yes

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Shame this comment missed out for Comment of the Year

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me whenever i see happy couples tbh

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Are we saving to submit for comment of the year or would that be consider for last year?

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OP needs to post the comment again so we can submit tbh.

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lmao

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Yas

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i love this so much lol

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What's the context? Lol

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LMAO, this is one of my favorite comments ever.

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Cackling tf out rn!!! I loathe her so I'm especially happy to see another one of her marriages fail and her unhappy.





Btw Wth?! when did she have a kid?

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Literally brightened my shitty day.

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This is why you don't rush into marriage because of a child



How long until she and Hiddles start dating? Or, I could her and Pitt getting down



Edited at 2017-03-08 05:06 pm (UTC)

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I would say Pitt rather than Hiddles.

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I thought they got married before they had a baby, no?

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Maybe he thinks that monogamy is in fact "natural"

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Well that sucks.



What marriage is this? Three?

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I thought it was her third, but it's only her second.

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Australia is posed to build an electricity network with 100 percent renewable energy, that is both affordable and secure, and that utilizes existing technology. The Australian National University has published a study detailing how a zero-emissions grid would work. The grid would rely on wind and solar technology, but the innovation comes from the pumped hydro storage, which would support the network. A move like this would eliminate the need for coal and gas power.

As many aging coal-fired power stations close (on which 2/3 of Australias electricity relies) demand for new types of energy is spiking. Professor Andrew Blakers at the ANU believes that wind and solar energy could be that replacement. The short-term off-river pumped hydro energy storage (STORES) utilizes reservoirs at different altitudes to both store and generate power. This system would provide Australia with a cheap, stable, zero-emissions network that can support a larger share of renewable energy.

The details of the report estimate that wind and solar energy would contribute 90 percent of total annual electricity. Hydroelectricity and biomass sources would supplement the remaining 10 percent. This energy mix is based on the widely-spread wind and energy sources, and leverages the different weather system available in Australia. The pumped hydro storage system is the mechanism by which supply and demand will be managed, as these weather systems are notoriously unreliable at providing the appropriate amount of energy at any given time. The hydro-pump can store the energy produced during peak generation hours, and then distribute it as needed.

The publication by the ANU follows the announcement by EnergyAustralia (a private electricity generation company) last week that it will begin research into an off-river pumped hydro venture, to be located at the top of South Australias Spencer Gulf. As it stands, the majority of Australian land is not near a river to appropriately utilize hydro power, which is why this source has been largely ignored. However, the researchers at ANU are finding thousands of sites across north Queensland, down the Great Dividing Range, across South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia that are potential locations for the system. The hydro-pump stations do not need a river to be operational, making them much more feasible. Related: Trump Needs Higher Oil Prices For His Infrastructure Plan

According to the study, this system would see energy costs drop from $93 per megawatt hour as it was in 2016 to $75 per megawatt hour by the 2020s. The governments Renewable Energy Agency has invested $450,000 into the research, but acceptance across the board does not seem likely yet. Lack of bipartisan support for these types of energy projects and research could hinder the implementation of such a system in Australia any time soon.

However, we need not trust the ANUs numbers alone. A recent report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) supports the case for the shift to renewable energy. The report shows that the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) to build new ultra-supercritical coal-fired power is much more expensive than that to build new wind, solar, and combined-cycle gas infrastructure. The coal-fired power is anywhere from $34 to over $100/MWH more expensive than the aforementioned alternatives.

This is extremely important to Australia, as many coal-fired stations will reach their operating life-span within the next 15 years. They will have to close regardless of any environment or emissions-based concerns.

By Michael McDonald of Oilprice.com

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Iraq will be using offshore oil and gas production ventures to boost the war-torn countrys energy reserves, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibis comments told the press last week, setting off concerns regarding the geopolitical future of the Persian Gulf and its contested fossil fuel wealth.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries second-largest producer is nowhere near production in any offshore oil prospect so far. Luaibi only said he had given guidance to the Oil Exploration Company about the importance of exploring territorial waters to assess the hydrocarbon reserves and to boost Iraqs capacity.

Last week, Baghdad announced a jump in crude inventories from 143 billion barrels to 153 billion barrels, just as the country announced a one percent increase in exports for the month of February, which was caused by activity in Kurdistan  a region over which the central government has little control. Data compiled by Bloomberg show that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) upped its exports by nine percent last month.

Currently, Iraqs only experience in working offshore is through its twin loading docks off the coast of Basra, named Basra and Khor al-Amaya, which received capacity upgrades less than a decade ago under the Iraqi Crude Oil Expansion Project. The initiative allowed for oil exports from Iraq to increase from 1.8 million barrels per day to 4.5 million via a new underwater crude pipeline. Related: OPEC Sends Mixed Signals About Output Cut Extension

A quick look at Iraqs geography will explain why the country lags behind in offshore drilling projects. Unlike neighboring Iran, which enjoys 2,440 kilometers of coastline between its borders on the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, Iraqs total seashores amount to just 58 km.

Still, just those few dozen kilometers could be a boon to the Middle Eastern countrys oil production. The Persian Gulf has proven itself to be a reliable host of easy-to-extract fossil fuel reserves and its largest neighbors  Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran  are the top three producers of OPEC.

The most notable natural gas formation in the gulf, the South Pars field, is in joint custody between rivals Qatar and Iran. Tehrans side of the 1800-trillion-cubic-feet find will enter into production by the end of March under the oversight of Frances Total, according to Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh.

South Pars is the largest natural gas field in the world, so competition regarding its treasures is strong between Qatar and Iran.

If they (Total) give our information to the Qataris, they will have to pay heavy damages, Zanganeh told Fars news agency in February, adding in jest that such a thing is very unlikely to happen.

Iraqs new interest in offshore drilling remains vague. Al-Luaibi still needs to announce a timeline for a tender process for the guidance to become a nationally adopted plan. And the financials of funding an exploratory mission anywhere on Earth are just now looking profitable after the 2014 oil price crash. Related: Oil Prices Hold Steady Ahead Of Inventory Data

Brent barrels have jumped up in value after OPECs recent agreement, along with 11 non-OPEC countries, to cut output by 1.8 million bpd. Iraq has been the focus of worry regarding the future of the deal because of its dependence on oil revenues and the costs of keeping the nations peace. After much opposition, Baghdad pledged to reduce its daily output by 210,000 barrels per day in November, but it has not yet reached the mark.

The addition of new offshore fields to Iraqs portfolio will provide a more complete picture of the total oil and gas reserves available in the Persian Gulf. As an inexperienced player in the gulfs oil geopolitics, it remains to be seen how many of the new finds will remain in Baghdads control by the time the reserves are divided up and drilling begins.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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Something unprecedented happened last November when OPEC sat down in Vienna to hammer out the final terms of its oil production cut deal (which, incidentally, has yet to translate into a drop in record high inventories): one day before the summit, the oil producing cartel - or rather Saudi Arabia - secretly invited hedge funds to sit in on the negotiations and provide OPEC with input on what to do. However, news of the meeting leaked shortly thereafter, and was reported by the FT: "Saudi Arabia convened private talks with the worlds largest oil traders in Vienna before OPECs crunch meeting on whether to cut oil output.

Mark Couling, head of crude oil at Vitol, the worlds biggest independent oil trading company, was invited to Vienna by the Saudi delegation, according to people with knowledge of the talks. Pierre Andurand, who runs the $1.5bn Andurand Capital fund, one of the worlds biggest oil hedge funds, was also invited, alongside at least one trader from Russian independent oil company, Lukoil.

Mr. Couling and Mr. Andurand attended a meeting with the Saudi delegation on Tuesday morning, before the kingdoms oil minister, Khalid al Falih, arrived in Vienna, people familiar with the meeting said. A trader from Litasco, Lukoils trading arm, also attended, they said.

Why this overture by the Saudis to invite and give traders responsible for shipping millions of barrels of oil and trading billions in crude derivative a potential first look? As the FT explained at the time, "Saudi delegates have previously done so on occasion when they were looking to get a better feel for the market."

It is now four months later, oil is modestly higher, but not too high, and conversation has recently shifted away from OPEC's favorite topic - production cuts - to something far less enjoyable: surging shale production. Shale production, which threatens to take away market share from the Saudis and OPEC, is a determining factor in whether or not OPEC will extend the production cut deal beyond the first half of the year. It also appears that OPEC is once again nervous because, as the WSJ reports, the "Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is on an unusual listening tour, in which it exchanges views with hedge funds, investment banks, and other big financial players while trying to figure out how the market reacts to its moves."

In other words, just like last November, OPEC is again colluding with hedge funds.

The private meetings with oil traders and money managers in London and New York, along with a planned gathering this week at a conference in Houston, are a departure for OPEC. The cartels leaders have long derided oil-futures-contract traders as speculators who cause unnecessary volatility in crude prices.

Now, OPEC and its most powerful member, Saudi Arabia, are wooing traders, trying to convince the market they are serious about raising oil prices with a nearly 5 percent production cut agreed to in 2016.

More importantly, "the oil producers are also trying to understand how traders and banks make decisions." Or rather, how traders make "buy" decisions instead of selling.

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo has met with a series of hedge funds and oil buyers. Among them: BBL Commodities Value Fund, a $540 million investment vehicle run by ex- Goldman Sachs trader Jonathan Goldberg; Ospraie Management, headed by veteran commodities investor Dwight Anderson; Taylor Woods Capital, managed by former Credit Suisse trader Beau Taylor. In addition to hedge funds, Barkindo met with "plain vanilla" corporations such as EasyJet, the U.K. budget airline that buys and sells oil-market derivatives to hedge against fuel-price rises.

This week, Mr. Barkindo said he would meet hedge funds on the sidelines of CERAWeek, a conference in Houston featuring the oil industrys biggest players, including Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih. Related: Oil Prices Under Pressure From Record Breaking Inventories

Unlike Vienna, when the meetings were supposedly in place to advise OPEC "how the market reacts to its moves," this time "efforts are aimed at building confidence in OPEC, said Ed Morse, global head of commodities research at Citigroup. Morse organized a private briefing with Mr. Barkindo for dozens of hedge funds, oil companies, and big oil buyers at the Corinthia Hotel in London on Feb. 20, according to the WSJ.

Now, why would OPEC be worried about building confidence? Simple: many are starting to doubt OPEC's drive to cut production, especially since there are just under 4 months left before OPEC may have to revert to its old production: "Oil traders have been skeptical about OPEC following through on production cuts, with members historically pumping far more than pledged."

OPEC formed a coalition of 24 oil producersincluding 11 outside of the cartelto pledge cuts of nearly 1.8 million barrels a day of supply from the market. Mr. Barkindo oversaw the formation of the first-ever compliance committee to soothe fears that members would pump more than they agreed to.

Mr. Morse said Mr. Barkindo wanted to go farther, making a concerted effort to interact with the financial sector. OPEC wants to better understand how [its action] impacts oil prices, he said.

The above activity, taken in the context of private meetings with hedge funds, has another word for it: collusion to "convince" the "evil speculators" to push prices higher because, supposedly, OPEC is telling the truth.

And, as noted above, the WSJ points out that "the coordinated outreach to Wall Street is unprecedented for OPEC and its biggest producer, Saudi Arabia." So why do the meeting? Perhaps it is to give hedge funds a "inside glimpse" into what comes next, and in hopes of acquiring goodwill, get hedge funds to buy even more. Although some may respond that in going through all the extra efforts, OPEC is telegraphing that it may, in fact be, "protesting too much." After all, why would there be a need for such secret meetings if supply was indeed below demand? Perhaps the weekly all-time highs in oil inventories and the historic gasoline glut are the best indicators that there still is just too much supply, whether or not OPEC actually did cut production. Related: U.S. Shale Production Growing At An Unprecedented Pace

So, what does Barkindo want to glean from his hedge fund meetings? Mr. Barkindo has asked about the declining role of investment banks in commodity-futures trading and the increased use of automated trades, according to people who were present. He also asked why U.S. banks were so quick to reinvest in American shale producers after the bust and what would happen if prices fell again, said the sources, who were asked not to disclose the substance of the talks.

Yeah, about that, Barkindo may want to talk to the world's central banks who have flooded markets with so much cash, banks are delighted to "reinvest" in shale producers and will do so every time there is even a hint of distressed opportunities.

There was more: "Mr. Barkindo was also especially interested in how quickly stockpiled oil would be sold off as prices rose, the people said. OPEC has said its production cuts are meant to quicken a sell-off in record levels of stored oilstockpiles that built up when traders bought cheap crude and hoarded it to sell at a profit later. He was mostly listening. He was not confrontational, said a source who attended the meetings.

There was reverse inquiry too: "traders have quizzed Mr. Barkindo on whether OPEC will extend its production agreement at its next meeting in May. Mr. Barkindo said it would depend on whether stockpiled oil had fallen to a five-year average at the end of May."

Which, again, brings up the logical question: if OPEC is indeed cutting production, why has stockpiled oil reached all-time highs?

And since the answer is obvious, one hedge-fund manager told Mr. Barkindo about the importance of extending those cuts, "An extension would cause him to shift his views and bet that oil prices would keep rising, the sources said.

It's not only hedge fund managers who would bet on oil prices rising, shale companies will too, and will produce accordingly, leading to a further deluge in crude oil which would allow the U.S. oil industry to grab even more market share from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia then finds itself in yet another dilemma: keep the cuts and lose market share while oil may (or may not) rise fractionally more or revert back to the "every oil producer for himself" post-November 2014 regime and pray that this time it will finally succeed in taking out shale. Sadly for OPEC, it will fail for one simple reason: as we showed over the weekend, the breakeven prices for shale companies continue to plunge, and will keep doing so until shale becomes the price setter, leaving Saudi Arabia - and OPEC - in the cold.

(Click to enlarge)

By Zerohedge

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To seize the potential of the electric vehicle and energy storage sectors, two former Tesla executives plan to build Europes largest lithium-ion battery factory in one of the Nordic countries -- a factory with annual battery production capacity of 32 gigawatt hours that could start first production by the end of 2020.

Sweden-based company Northvolt ABas SGF Energy AB rebranded itself as of Tuesdaysaid that it is in the process of selecting the site in one of the Nordic countries in Europe, with hopes of nailing down a specific location sometime around the middle of this year.

The future production site will need an investment of US$4.225 billion (4 billion euro) over a period of six years. Northvolt has plans to begin construction in the second half of 2018, and to start manufacturing by the end of 2020.

We foresee a major deficit of lithium ion batteries within a few years, with limited current and planned capacity in place in Europe. There is a market window open. We have a solid business plan in place that enables us to produce high quality batteries at an affordable cost, Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson  a former VP supply chain at Tesla Motors  said in the statement. Related: Where Is Teslas Model 3 Beta Prototype?

The project resonates commercially, since the demand from automotive and energy storage sectors will be huge, Northvolt COO Paolo Cerrutiwho held senior executive roles at Tesla for five yearsadded.

Compared with Asia and the US, Europe is behind in the battery industrialization, Cerruti noted in Northvolts press release.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Cerruti said: We are not positioning ourselves at all against Tesla.

Carlsson, for his part, told FT:

If nobody does anything, Europe is going to be completely dependent on an Asian supply chain. Europe has the opportunity to act for its own energy independence. Its now or never.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Iraqs Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said the countrys compliance rate with the OPEC crude oil production cut agreement has reached 85 percent. Al-Luaibi was speaking at the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference, and added that although oil production in Iraq was increasing, exports were at the rates agreed by the cartels members in November, without providing any further details.

Separately, Al-Luaibi told media that Iraq will be able to pump 5 million barrels daily in the second half of the year, suggesting that it wont support a production cut extension, which has been the object of recent speculation. Yesterday, however, Al-Luaibi was quoted as saying that OPEC will likely need to extend the deal.

Signals coming from Iraq are certainly mixed. The country agreed to cut 210,000 bpd from its crude oil output in November, taking as baseline an average daily of 4.56 million bpd. In January, however, the daily average was 4.47 million bpd  nowhere near the 4.35-million-bpd target set in the agreement.

Whats more, exports are also on the rise, although truth be told, the central government in Baghdad is not the only one responsible for this. In February, total Iraqi oil exports reached 3.85 million bpd, up 1 percent on a monthly basis, but most of the rise came from the Kurdistan autonomous region. Data from Bloomberg shows that exports of crude from the fields around the northern city of Kirkuk, partially controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government, rose by 9 percent in February, while shipments from Iraqs largest terminal in Basra inched up by 1 percent.



Related: Iraq To Start Drilling In Highly Contested Persian Gulf

Iraq has been the main cause of worry with regard to the production cut agreement, not least because of this dual control of its oil wealth. Despite assurances from Al-Luaibi that Iraq is complying, the worry is likely to remain as Baghdad has no actual control over what Erbil does with its share of the oil.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Kurdish group, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)a rival of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Partyhas agreed with Iraqs central government to keep oil from the Kirkuk oilfields flowing via a pipeline to the Turkish export terminal Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing PUK leader Kosrat Rasul.

Last week, production from the Kirkuk fields in northern Iraq was disrupted after Kurdish protestors seized a pumping station in order to protest the policies of Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish area. The protest was allegedly inspired by Kurdish demands that Baghdad authorize the construction of a refinery in Kirkuk, and they shut down the line shipping oil to Turkey. Kirkuk fields were producing 120,000 bpd before the incident temporarily halted operations.

Today, PUKs Rasul told Reuters that an agreement was reached yesterday between his group and Iraqs Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The deal was reportedly reached after Baghdad agreed to boost the capacity of the Kirkuk oil refinery, and thus PUK withdrew its threat to shut the pipeline to Ceyhan, according to a Kurdish source close to the talks, who spoke to Reuters.

Iraqs oil ministry said on Wednesday that it had boosted the refinerys capacity by 10,000 bpd to 40,000 bpd. Another unit at the facility with another 10,000 bpd of capacity is expected to start operations by the end of the year, the oil ministry noted, as quoted by Reuters.



Related: Iraq To Start Drilling In Highly Contested Persian Gulf

The Kurdistan Regional Government led by Massoud Barzani of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party started independent exports of oil from the Kirkuk fields in 2014. The regional government struck a deal with the central Iraqi government last year to split oil export revenues equally, but the PUK party has been opposing the deal with Baghdad. Kurdish parties in the Kurdistan region have been quarreling over oil revenues lately.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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By Taxpayer Association of Oregon

I have not seen such a biased headline in a long time as I have seen today with the front page alarm Poor to be hit the hardest. It headlines with a political opinion and then has the nerve to mention early in the article that state officials are still examining the details. This is also a disservice to Oregons Greg Walden who is there on the Oregonian front cover trying to fix a serious failure in our health care system.



Please, please, please wake up journalists. Obamacare is failing and the reason that most Americans disapprove of it is because they are actually being negatively impacted by its failing. This biased opinion-based headline belongs in the Editorial section and not on the front page of a newspaper.

P.S. If you want to read in Greg Waldens own words what he has proposed, you can read his Wall Street Journal guest opinion article here.
Pak-Afghan border reopened after remaining closed for 18 days

KHYBER AGENCY: Thousands of stranded Afghan citizens crossed the Pak-Afghan border when it was reopened on Tuesday after remaining closed for 18 days.



A Khyber Rifles official said that following the decision of the government, the Torkham border was reopened at 7am and the Afghan nationals stranded in Pakistan were allowed to cross the border.



It is pertinent to mention here that on Monday night the government of Pakistan had announced reopening the Torkham and Chaman borders for two days to facilitate stranded Afghan nationals to return to their country. "In order to provide an opportunity to those nationals of Afghanistan who had come to Pakistan on valid visas and wish to return to their country, the government of Pakistan has decided to open the border crossings at Torkham and Chaman on March 7 and 8," the Foreign Office had said in a statement. Pakistan had sealed the Torkham and Chaman crossings on February 16 after a string of suicide attacks killed more than 130 people across the country.



The temporary opening was for people who had travelled for medical, work and business purposes but were left stranded, according to Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal. "They wanted to go back to Afghanistan but were stuck after the borders were shut," he said, adding that arrangements were being made to airlift them if the border crossing remained shut.



The relaxation of border crossing was granted to pedestrians only, while vehicles with commodities were still stranded at the border, the official confirmed. He further said that Afghan citizens having legal travelling documents, including passports and visas, were permitted to move to their motherland.



Likewise, from the Afghan side, Pakistanis with passports were allowed to cross into Pakistan. However, according to the official, entry of Afghan citizens into Pakistan was banned even if the people had valid documents. Levies official Hikmat Afridi said that after the airing of the news regarding the reopening of Torkham border, thousands of Afghans thronged the border to go to their homeland. Extra troops of the Frontier Corps (FC) along with Khasadar Force had been deployed at Michni checkpost, five miles away from the border, who checked the passports of the Afghan passengers, he maintained, and added that the passport holders were allowed to approach the border, while those who did no have proper documents were sent back from the checkpoint.



The policy affected dozens of repatriating Afghan citizens, as they asked the authorities for permission to move to their country.



Razi Gul, a driver and resident of Nangarhar province of Afghanistan who was refused by the border security officials to cross the border, said that days back he had brought a child of his relatives to Peshawar for medical treatment by paying Rs 2,000 fine at the border. But now the authorities did not allow him to go back to Afghanistan, he claimed. As per the details provided by the tehsildar (passport), Shamsul Islam, as many as 2,300 Afghan citizens had so far returned to Afghanistan, while 500 Pakistanis cross into the Pakistani territory.



He further said that the repatriation process would continue until 8pm today (Wednesday), and efforts would be made to facilitate the people at the border.



Meanwhile, an Afghan woman died in a stampede near the National Logistic Cell (NLC) terminal, Torkham, on Tuesday, a political administration official said.



The official said that Afghan citizen Noor Zia, wife of Ahmadullah of Perwan province of Afghanistan, having passport No 02247899, along with her family was on her way to Afghanistan following reopening of the border when she fell down and died in a stampede at 2pm.



The untoward incident took place as scores of people returning to Afghanistan had gathered at the clearing point. After necessary clearing documentation, her body was handed over to the Afghan border security officials at Torkham border, the official confirmed.
QUEENSBURY  A New York City man who told a judge he runs a daycare center was arrested in recent days on a felony heroin sale charge in Warren County, months after he jumped bail in Washington County on other felony drug charges.

Sergio A. Cepeda, 27, of the Bronx, was affiliated with the Chicken Chasers heroin ring that was broken up by police in Warren County last year, authorities said.

Cepeda pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge of criminal sale of a controlled substance for an alleged sale of heroin in Queensbury in January 2016.

The sale took place while he was free on $30,000 cash bail that he posted for a May 2015 felony drug arrest in Fort Edward, in which he was charged with a felony for possessing an ounce of cocaine, police said.

Shortly after the Queensbury sale, though, Cepeda stopped showing up for pretrial court proceedings in the Washington County case, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He forfeited the cash bail to Washington County, and has been charged with felony bail jumping as well.

Arrest warrants were issued for Cepeda in Warren and Washington counties, and court records show a recent arrest on a misdemeanor aggravated harassment charge in New York City led to police there determining he was wanted on the local charges.

He had not been formally arraigned on a sealed indictment in the Queensbury case until Wednesday, when he was brought before Warren County Judge John Hall.

His lawyer, Warren County Public Defender Marcy Flores, asked Hall to set bail, with Cepeda telling the judge that he has been living in the Fort Edward area off and on since 2014. He told the judge he runs a daycare center in the Bronx.

Warren County Assistant District Attorney Matt Burin pointed out that Cepedas return to the region was not of his own volition, and asked that no bail be set.

He did not voluntarily return to court, he said. He faces a charge of bail jumping in Washington County, and has three failure to appears (in court) on his record.

Hall declined to set bail and sent Cepeda to Warren County Jail.

Cepeda is due in Washington County Court on Friday to answer the 2015 drug and bail jumping charges there.

He is not a licensed daycare provider in New York, according to the states online database of registered daycare providers.

Five other members of the Chicken Chasers have pleaded guilty. The groups members gave themselves the name because the word chicken was used as code for money made by selling drugs.
FORT EDWARD  A Hudson Falls woman who was arrested last year with a large quantity of heroin and crack cocaine has pleaded guilty to a felony charge.

Jessica N. Cross, 33, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in connection with a February 2016 arrest in Hudson Falls. She was charged with possessing drugs with intent to distribute.

Police seized 214 bags of heroin, 15 vials of cocaine and assorted drug paraphernalia when arresting Cross after police received a complaint about people apparently injecting drugs in a car within sight of the Hudson Falls Police station.

She also had an illegal stun gun, and police seized the 2006 Cadillac sedan she was in when she was arrested, officials said.

Cross agreed to a plea deal that includes a 3.5-year state prison sentence to be followed by a year on parole. She is being held in Washington County Jail pending sentencing March 24 by Washington County Judge Kelly McKeighan.
ALBANY  The former village of Cambridge public works superintendent will spend 8 years in federal prison for his convictions in a child pornography possession and distribution case.

Michael J. Telford learned Wednesday he will also spend 20 years on parole after he is released from prison, and may have to make tens of thousands of dollars in restitution to the girls in the pornographic videos he possessed.

Federal prosecutors had sought 20 years in prison and lifetime parole, as well as tens of thousands of dollars of restitution for the children in the videos and pictures. They argued in court documents that some of the material was particularly violent and sadomasochistic and Telford had a quantity that amounted to over 600 images and videos.

Defense lawyer Cheryl Coleman asked in a presentencing memorandum for a sentence of between 70 and 87 months, pointing out that Telford had no criminal history.

There is little doubt that for nearly all of his life, Mr. Telford lived a by the book life, Coleman wrote. There were no indications of the offense he committed, and in many ways, his involvement and reasons behind same remains a mystery.

U.S. District Judge Mae DAgostino told him that his offenses made him a member of a group of people who ensure that these children will have images of the worst times in their lives posted on the Internet, and that these children will continue to suffer from the endless crime of the distribution and redistribution of those images, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Albany.

Police said the videos were not produced locally. Federal authorities have been able to identify the videos and had previously prosecuted the people who produced the pornography.

Many of the victims have been identified by police who investigated the cases previously, and lawyers working for them have sought money for their counseling, the trauma they have suffered and other expenses. A lawyer for three of the girls wrote that they are still children, and are acutely aware of the existence of the pornography.

The violations that these children have endured are ongoing because the images of their abuse, their physical violation are circulated among strangers, a Washington state-based lawyer who represents three of the girls wrote in an affidavit filed in court.

She sought $5,000 in restitution apiece for the girls, while another lawyer sought $10,000 for her client and a third firm sought $25,000 for their client. DAgostino reserved decision on the request.

Telford, 46, pleaded guilty to counts of distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography last October. He will have to register as a sex offender when he gets out of prison.

He was the villages public works superintendent for nearly 18 years at the time of his January 2016 arrest by the Cambridge-Greenwich Police Department, State Police and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He later resigned the position as he awaited disposition of the charges in jail.
FORT EDWARD  NED was a reluctant visitor to Fort Edward school on Tuesday.

NED, represented on the auditorium stage by a cardboard cutout, had a bit of a bad attitude. He did not want to go to school to show off his yo-yo skills. Instead, his friend Sarah Leahy said, he decided to walk his dog, encountered a flying saucer and attempted to run from it.

Leahy contorted her yo-yo into different shapes to show NED on the run from the aliens  on a roller coaster, on a carousel and at the Eiffel Tower.

The aliens eventually caught up with him, she said. They were about to shoot him on a rocket to the planet Jupiter when he begged for another chance.

Ive changed my attitude. I want to do whats right and the aliens said, Oh, Leahy said to students during an assembly that featured a yo-yo and magic tricks.

NED was freed and allowed to return to school. He got into trouble in the first place because he wasnt doing the right thing, Leahy said.

If you want to turn your day around, heres what you have to do. First you have to have a positive attitude. And second you have to do the right thing, she said.

NED stands for Never give up, Encourage others and Do your best.

Leahy told the students she wanted to teach them how to become champions at both school and life. She asked them to think of something both inside and outside school that they would like to become awesome at and mush it into their brain.

She said they should not give up.

Every single day, we have to choose to have a positive attitude, even when things get in our way that make us want to quit, she said.

Leahy also asked students to turn to the people on the other side of the room and pay them compliments. Compliments feel good for both the people giving them and receiving them.

We feel great when we help other people. Champions love to help other people and that is why they encourage others, she said.

For the third component  Do your best  students have to take things one step at a time, she said.

You cannot expect to be an expert at something the first time you try it, she said.

She encouraged people to think about a pencil. The eraser is for correcting the mistakes students will make when they try something new.

If you want to be really, really good at something, you have to make mistakes, but you have to learn from your mistakes, she said.

If they do that, students will get better. Through a little sleight of hand, her pencil became a bigger pencil. Then, it became a huge pencil-shaped prop.

After going through the letters N, E and D, Leahy quizzed students on whether they had mastered the steps on how to become a champion at school and life.

The children knew what each letter represented.

Fourth-grader Leeana Pietri said they have to encourage others to feel awesome.

Leeana received a yo-yo and a crown made out of balloons for her answer.

She liked the presentation.

It was cool, she said.

Leahy capped off the show with a grand finale. She took a tissue and started tearing it into strips that represented when the students experience setbacks in achieving their goals. Then, she put the strips into her mouth. When she reached into her mouth, she pulled out a long, multicolored handkerchief  to the amazement of the students.

The NED program has been in existence since 1989 and has performed in all 50 states, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

The presentation came to the school free of charge, according to Leahy. It was made possible through the organizations pay it forward plan, through which sales of yo-yos and other NED merchandise at another school helped pay for the presentation.

Jones said she saw the show when she worked at the Waterford-Halfmoon Central School District and thought it would be great at Fort Edward.

The message is positive and it coincided with our character education program, she said.

Throughout March, students have taken on a reading challenge in which they pick a partner and read with that person. They dropped everything recently for 15 minutes of reading.

A special school event called An Evening of Learning will be held on March 20, with an information session at 5 p.m. in the library about the Washington County Early Intervention Program for infants up to age 3. A readers fair will be held at 6 p.m., when people can check out the project students have completed about books they have read. At 7 p.m., a theater workshop will be presented in the auditorium.
WARRENSBURG  About 40 parents and community members turned out Tuesday evening at Warrensburg Junior-Senior High School to get the facts about preventing suicide.

Garra Lloyd-Lester, associate director of the Suicide Prevention Center of New York, asked people to remember the acronym FACTS when trying to determine if their children may be at risk.

The F stands for feelings. Parents should see if their child is acting out of character for an extended period of time, such as two weeks, he said.

The A and C stand for actions and changes. It could be an alarming sign if, for example, a child was punctual about getting to school and involved in school activities but changes and no longer wants to be involved.

Threats is the T. A common misbelief is that people thinking about suicide keep their plans to themselves.

Most suicidal people communicate their intent sometime during the week preceding their attempt, he said.

They might not make explicit statements, such as I want to kill myself. But they might say something like, Theyll be sorry when Im gone or Nobody cares about me.

Lloyd-Lester said parents and others should trust their guts and not worry about overreacting.

S stands for situations. Youths going through a life change such as the loss of a relationship or the death of a pet may be at a higher risk for suicide, Lloyd-Lester said.

Suicide is complex, he said  a puzzle with many pieces.

It is very, very rare that one factor leads somebody to act on thoughts of suicide, he said.

Lloyd-Lester presented some statistics from the 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior survey. In the last 12 months, 17.7 percent of high school students seriously considered suicide, 4.6 percent made a plan for suicide, 8.6 percent attempted suicide one or more times and 2.8 percent made a suicide attempt that led to injuries severely enough to require treatment by a doctor or nurse.

Every two hours and 11 minutes, a person under the age of 25 dies by suicide in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Warrensburg high school Principal Douglas Duell said he wanted to hold this program to educate families about situations youths are dealing with and how they can help.

At school, were seeing a real increase in kids with mental issues. Were seeing an increase in cutting, attempts of suicide, he said.

Bullying on social media is a big issue for kids, according to Duell. Students can get bombarded with harmful messages.

Sometimes, kids dont get an opportunity to get away from it like they used to, he said.

Students also face academic pressures, he said.

Duell said the district has trained faculty on how to talk about the subject. In April, the district will be rolling out a curriculum called Lifelines that addresses suicide.

Duell said administrators in Warrensburg have 25 to 30 at-risk students they monitor on a regular basis.

Duell said sometimes students disclose to school officials that they are thinking of harming themselves. The district screens students to assess their risk of acting on the suicidal thoughts. School administrators call parents, and sometimes, they have to notify law enforcement.

The North Country Child and Adolescent Mobile Crisis Team will respond to the school.

Duell encouraged parents to sign a privacy release form, so school officials are authorized to talk to health care providers about a students well-being.

He also told parents to urge their children to get involved in school activities.

The kids that isolate themselves sort of struggle, he said.

Lloyd-Lester encouraged parents to talk to their students about suicide and to be honest and direct.

Its also a myth, he said, that there is nothing people can do when a loved one is considering suicide and that talking about suicide encourages people to kill themselves.

Suicide is based on unclear thinking, Lloyd-Lester said.

Most people thinking about suicide are looking for an escape. Theyre looking for a solution to the crisis theyre facing, he said.

Talking can lower anxiety, open up communication and reduce the risk of an impulsive act, according to Lloyd-Lester.

Parent Crystal Vaisey, whose son attempted suicide, said students have to access the resources that are available.

Among the resources are the North Country Child and Adolescent Mobile Crisis Team, which can be reached by calling 969-1140. It is staffed from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays. People can leave a message for a pager. The National Crisis Line is 1-800-273-TALK.

Parent Krista Giron said her son has gotten text messages from a classmate to the effect of Nobody cares about me. Her son didnt know what to do. He thought it was probably nothing and did not want to get the kid in trouble. She also did not know what to do.

I dont think Im the only parent whos had that situation, she said.

Given the gravity of the situation, dont be afraid to pick up the phone and call the other parent, Duell said.

We dont know whether the person is going to follow through with it, so it really is a matter of life or death, he said.
Tom Flanagin, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, issued the following statement on Tuesday in response to a Post-Star inquiry about the congresswomans position on the House Republican leadership health care law repeal and replacement proposal:

Congresswoman Stefanik believes we need to repeal and replace Obamacare with common-sense reforms that lower costs and increase access for families in our district. She is reviewing the legislation and working with her colleagues to ensure that the package includes reforms that will help lower costs for families and businesses in our district, protect coverage for those on their parents plan and those with pre-existing conditions, help job creators, as well as protect the needs of rural communities like the North Country. Additionally, she is reaching out to constituents and stakeholders across our district to gather their input about the new legislation. She is committed to achieving a 21st century health-care system that helps families and businesses across our district.

Piggybacking

State Sen. Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury, on Wednesday announced the state Senate passed legislation to make permanent an authorization for local governments to make purchases using contracts that other municipalities, government agencies or school districts previously entered with vendors.

The procedure, known as piggybacking, provides municipalities and school districts more flexibility in finding the lowest cost.

Authorization for the procedure was scheduled to expire July 31, 2019.

Making the authorization permanent will provide more certainty for long-term budgeting, Little said, in a press release.

Assemblywoman Addie Jenne, D-Theresa, has introduced companion legislation in the Assembly.

Air-quality regulations

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, on March 1 voted against an amendment Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introduced to exempt clean-air rules from review by a commission that will recommend rules to be repealed, according to the clerk of the House roll call vote record.

The House voted 231-189 to reject the amendment, largely along party lines.

One Republican voted yes, and two Democrats voted no.

The overall legislation  HR 988  passed the House by a vote of 249-185, largely along party lines. Five Republicans voted no, and 11 Democrats voted yes.The legislation, dubbed the SCRUB Act, would establish a commission to review federal rules to identify rules and sets of rules to be repealed in order to lower the cost of regulations.

Stefanik, who voted yes on the overall legislation, said on her congressional office Facebook page that it fits with her emphasis on regulatory reform.When I travel the district speaking to North Country businesses, one of the most frequent concerns they share with me is the need to reduce burdensome red tape so they can grow and hire more workers, she said.

Campaign finance milestone

Democratic congressional candidate Patrick Nelson said he had raised just over $2,100 to date, as of Saturday, achieving his first milestone fundraising goal.

Contributions came from about 50 individuals, Nelson said in an interview before a tavern hall fundraiser and meet-and-greet at Lawrence Street Tavern, a popular Democratic gathering place in the Glens Falls 1st Ward.

Weve had a fair number of recurring donors who have agreed to contribute $21 per month throughout the campaign, he said. Its a grassroots campaign, so were not coming in with any big checks. Nelson, of Stillwater, a political activist and Bernie Sanders delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, in November 2018. Nelson has added a volunteer communications director to his campaign team: Matt Hayner, a high school classmate.

1856 GOP rally

This is the first in a series of posts about local politics as reported in antiquarian issues of the Glens Falls Messenger, on file at The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library.The Messenger was an early local weekly newspaper when the village of Glens Falls still used an apostrophe in its name.

State Assemblyman Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, has a reputation for being long-winded.

But even Stec would have a hard time matching the endurance of A. Oakley Hall, a lawyer from New York City who spoke effectively for over two hours at the Warren County Republican Meeting in Warrensburg on September 1856.About 2,000 people attended, the Messenger reported on Sept. 17, 1856.

The enthusiastic cheers and hearty responses with which the speaker was again and again greeted from the assembled multitude showed clearly that the cause of Liberty, Free Soil and suffering Kansas had sunk deep down into the hearts of old Warren, the Messenger reported.

Peletiah Richards served as president of the meeting. The Rev. Taylor of Fort Edward opened the meeting with an impressive prayer. The Glens Falls Freeman Glee Club performed several soul thrilling patriotic songs.It was an occasion long to be remembered by the freemen of old Warren and will tell well in the coming contest, the Messenger reported. Unless we much mistake the signs of the times, old Warren will in November from the hilltops and mountainside give a long and loud shriek for freedom!

Warren County Democrats held an event in Glens Falls and raised a hickory pole.
BrianAJackson/iStock/Thinkstock(HONOLULU) -- President Donald Trumps new executive order prohibiting travel to the United States for nationals of six Muslim-majority countries is facing its first court challenge, though it almost certainly wont be the last.



Late on Tuesday, Douglas Chin, the attorney general of Hawaii, filed an amended complaint in the state's lawsuit against the first iteration of the travel ban so that it could challenge the legality of version number two.



This second executive order is infected with the same legal problems as the first order -- undermining bedrock constitutional and statutory guarantees, the court filing states.



The state also signaled its intention to seek a temporary restraining order to prevent the new order from going into effect next week.



President Trumps revamped executive order is resulting in immediate damage to Hawaiis economy and educational institutions, the state alleges, and it is subjecting a portion of the states citizens to second-class treatment and discrimination, while denying all Hawaii residents the benefits of an inclusive and pluralistic society, according to the court filing.



On Monday, President Trump signed a substantially revised version of the executive order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.



The new edition comes just over a month after a federal judge in Seattle issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting enforcement of the original travel ban. A court of appeals later rejected the Trump administrations attempt to reinstate it.



The White House overhauled the executive order in an effort to address issues raised in the courts.



The new order explicitly exempts legal permanent residents of the U.S. and current visa holders, and it cuts the number of affected countries from seven to six, leaving out Iraq.



Though President Trump has repeatedly stressed the urgency of getting the policy in place, the new order is getting a delayed rollout. It is scheduled to go into effect March 16.

Legal experts are divided on whether the new executive order will ultimately pass constitutional muster, pointing out that we are still in uncharted waters.



This does follow the road map that the 9th Circuit gave to the government and even goes above and beyond it in a way that is very good, said Peter Margulies, professor of law at Roger Williams University Law School.



But other experts said the new order remains tainted by Trumps campaign statements calling for a Muslim ban and other indications that it has a discriminatory intent and impact.



The odds are long against the plaintiffs ultimately prevailing, but not impossible, said David Martin of the University of Virginia Law School.



Even with the changes to the order, the state of Hawaii argues that the new directive violates the law because it fails to offer a satisfactory explanation for why certain countries were included or excluded from the order. The state also asserts the new order infringes on due process and establishment clause protections of the constitution.



The statements of President Trump and his advisers also provide direct evidence of the executive orders discriminatory motivations, the amended complaint states.



On Wednesday, Judge Derrick Kahala Watson, who is overseeing the case and was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013, ordered the state to file its application for a restraining order by Wednesday and said he will give the Trump administration until Monday to oppose it. A hearing is set for March 15.



Attorneys general in New York, Washington, Massachusetts and Virginia indicated this week that they are reviewing the new order and may also take legal action. The American Civil Liberties Union, which has joined lawsuits around the country challenging the first order, told ABC News we will definitely challenge the second executive order, but its still a matter of where.





Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
I first heard Padraig O Tuama in 2014 (my post here; no link to the interview, but I wanted to share one of his poems). He was interviewed about poetry and movingly read a number of his poems. Next up was an interview on Australias The Spirit of Things (my post and link here). Finally there was the On Being conversation that I listened to today. I so value his take on the importance of language.

Padraig O Tuama is a poet, theologian, and extraordinary healer in our world of fracture. He leads the Corrymeela community of Northern Ireland, a place that has offered refuge since the violent division that defined that country until the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. And Padraig and Corrymeela extend a quiet, generative, and joyful force far beyond their northern coast to people around the world. Over cups of tea, and over the experience of bringing people together, Padraig says, it becomes possible to talk with each other and be in the same room with the people we talk about.

O Tuama reflects of the fact that agreement has rarely been the mandate for people who love each other. Maybe on some things, but actually, when you look at some people who are lovers and friends, you go actually they might disagree really deeply on things, but theyre somehow  I like the phrase the argument of being alive. Or in Irish, when you talk about trust, theres a beautiful phrase from West Kerry where you say, Mo sheasamh ort la na choise tinne, You are the place where I stand on the day when my feet are sore. And that is soft and kind language, but it is so robust. That is what we can have with each other.

I also highly recommend his book In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World (first edition published in 2015).
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
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Chabaan had pleaded not guilty to three charges of assault, causing harm and offensive conduct.

The prosecution claimed Jihad Chabaans self-recognizance bail by the police was interfering with their investigation. The Lebanese's security was another point made by the prosecution for his remand in police custody.

Jihad Chabaan is a Lebanese manager at a fast food joint in Ghana named Marwako. The Lebanese is alleged to have assaulted 25-year-old Evelyn Boakye. According to Evelyn, Jihad shoved her face in hot pepper and prevented her colleagues from coming to her rescue, threatening to fire anyone who did.

Evelyn Boakye who was hired to work in the Rice Department was asked to help in the Full Chicken Department on Sunday, February 26, 2017 when the incident is reported to have happened.

The staff of Marwako reported the case to the police who gave her medical forms to go to the hospital after reporting the Jihad looked her up for several hours with burning eyes before being allowed to step out of the fast food joint in Abelenkpe, a suburb in the capital city of Ghana, Accra.

Management of Mawarko suspended their supervisor before he was arrested by the Ghana Police for his actions towards his subordinate.

Jihad Chabaan later rendered an apology to Evelyn Boakye which read:

The apology was, however, not accepted by Evelyn who told Accra FM:

I cannot accept the apology because if the police had not come in, the matter would have been a foolish case.

I was told by one Ali (also a worker there) that I was not the first person to have experienced this treatment at the place, and that even those handling the chicken also experienced same treatment. He suggested to me that we come together to use this incident to extort money from Chaaban but I said no, I wanted justice.

Because I rejected that ploy, my co-workers have all turned against me and so I cannot accept the apology. I know God will deal with this matter.

Marwako being in the spotlight this way was not what the owners of the fast food joint would have wished for. The assault claim caused outrage on social media with Ghana Twitter creating a hashtag for the movement: #BoycottMarwako.

The movement which started with people behind their laptop and phone screens eventually turned into an attack on the Abelenkpe branch of the fast food joint where the incident is reported to have happened. The Ghana Police Service intervened to calm the scene and offer some protection for the food joint.

With the assault claim moving from the small venue in Abelenkpe to become a national topic, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisa Djaba swore to handle the case seriously.

Speaking on the incident to Accra based Starr FM in Ghana, the Gender Minister said:

After 60 years of independence, nobodys right should be infringed upon and as the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, that message is at the core of our vision and what we have to do for Ghanaians and so Im taking this matter seriously.

I will meet the management of Marwako, Ill meet the victim and then we will have discussion with the Ministry of Employment and TUC and other organisations that are owned by foreigners and even Ghanaian employers. We must respect each other; I think that is at the bottom of what is going on. It is the lack of respect, we need to respect our employees because we cannot do what they do.

Representatives of Amnesty International in Ghana also weighted in the conversation. Acting Director of Amnesty International in Ghana, Frank Doyi urged the law agencies to thoroughly investigate the issue to get the best possible outcome.

Talking to Accra-based 3news, Frank Doyi said: Amnesty International will like to call on the law enforcement agencies particularly the police to take urgent action on the matter to thoroughly investigate the issue, speak to the relevant people involved both the employer and other workers who may have witnessed or who may have been present at the time this woman was unfortunately submitted to this kind of inhumane treatment.

If the police is satisfied with their investigations and they have sufficient information to suggest that there was a clear act of assault, violation of the right of the woman then we will encourage the police to follow due process and present the case to court for the matter to be looked into.

During the court session on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, the Lebanese manager at Marwako, Jihad Chaaban pleaded not guilty to three charges of causing harm, assault, and offensive conduct.

However, that is not the end of an incident that has caused national outrage. This is so much bigger.
The letter said the threats "are not isolated incidents" and cited stats from the Jewish Federations of North America. According to the organization, in the first two months of 2017, at least 98 "incidents" were reported, targeting JCCs and Jewish Day Schools at 81 locations in 33 states.

Amid the threats, Jewish cemeteries saw at least 75 to 100 headstones vandalized, The Washington Post reported.

Thirty-one-year-old former-journalist Juan Thompson was arrested last week in connection with bomb threats made to at least eight Jewish community centers.

Business Insider's Michelle Mark reported Thompson is accused of making some of the threats in the name of an ex-girlfriend as part of a "sustained campaign to harass and intimidate" her, according to a criminal complaint. He has also been charged with one count of cyberstalking.

Until recently, President Donald Trump was ambiguous about his stance on anti-Semitism at large, calling the attacks "reprehensible," but adding that sometimes they're done in "the reverse." Trump's daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and three of his grandchildren are Jewish. Kushner's grandmother was a holocaust survivor.

Senators in the letter said they were "concerned that the number of incidents is accelerating and failure to address and deter these threats will place innocent people at risk and threaten the financial viability of JCCs, many of which are institutions in their communities."

They called on Sessions, Kelly, and Comey for action, saying, "Your departments can provide crucial assistance by helping JCCs, Jewish Day Schools and synagogues improve their physical security, deterring threats from being made, and investigating and prosecuting those making these threats or who may seek to act on these threats on the future."
"There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president, the president-elect at the time, or as a candidate, or against his campaign," Clapper told Chuck Todd in an interview on Sunday's "Meet The Press."

Clapper and Todd were referring to Trump's tweets on Saturday morning that without evidence accused former President Barack Obama of having Trump Tower phones wiretapped before the election.

When Todd asked Clapper whether he could confirm or deny if a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant had been granted to engage in this kind of wiretapping, Clapper said, "I can deny it."

Several national-security experts have said, however, that Todd's question was specific enough to leave Clapper some wiggle room in his response, which referred only to whether Trump campaign officials had been wiretapped.

Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, who has served as the director of both the National Security Agency and the CIA, said Monday morning that he viewed Clapper's response as a denial that Trump aides were specifically targeted by the FISA warrant  not as a denial that a warrant was granted to surveil foreign actors operating inside the US that might have been communicating with Trump aides.

A spokesman for Obama said Saturday that Obama never authorized a wiretap of Trump or any other American citizen and that "any suggestion otherwise is simply false."

On Monday morning, one of Trump's senior advisers, Kellyanne Conway, said former Obama administration officials who were denying that Trump Tower phones were tapped "also left the door open" to the possibility that they were. MSNBC's chief legal correspondent, Ari Melber, replied on Twitter that while former officials "aren't supposed to confirm a FISA warrant anyway," it is true that Obama's spokesman said the former president was not involved  not that there weren't any wiretaps.

FBI Director James Comey on Sunday reportedly asked the Department of Justice to refute Trump's accusations. Matthew Miller, the department spokesman under the Obama administration, said Comey "would know beyond a shadow of a doubt whether there was wiretapping of Trump or his campaign."

"If he says there wasn't any, it's safe to say there wasn't," he told Business Insider.

The Justice Department has not yet issued a statement, but the president does not have the unilateral authority to order a wiretap on suspected foreign spies operating inside the US. Doing so would be a "massive crime," Miller said, that would implicate career civil servants and necessitate a huge cover-up.

Rather, law enforcement and intelligence agencies wishing to monitor signal intelligence they deem relevant to an investigation  in this case, Russia's interference in the 2016 election  must obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Such a process is authorized under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

"Usually, the Department of Justice wouldn't comment on an ongoing investigation, but in a situation like this, where the president has questioned whether the department has violated federal law, is certainly in their interest to correct the record," Miller said. "If Trump's accusation were true, it would mean career civil servants were also involved in a massive crime, and the department needs to come out publicly and defend itself so the public knows it acted appropriately."

Juliette Kayyem, a national-security expert who served in the Department of Homeland Security and now teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, said on Twitter that "it can be both true" that someone is not the subject of a FISA wiretap but has their communications picked up by one.

"Once when getting security clearance, I learned my conversations had been picked up in FISA wiretap. I was talking w/ someone who had a wiretap on them," Kayyem said. "Nature of my work so wasn't shocking that I talked to [someone] who have ties to foreign intel investigation. Shows that comms are picked up on people not subject of wiretap."

Reports have suggested that communications between Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, were picked up by US intelligence officials who had been eavesdropping on Kislyak  not on Flynn. Current and former US officials have also told several media outlets that they have intercepted communications between associates of Trump and Russian officials.

HeatStreet, The Guardian, the BBC, and McClatchy have reported various versions of the same story over the past three months: The FBI sought a warrant from the FISC to investigate evidence of improper communication between Russian nationals and associates of Trump during his presidential campaign.

It has not been confirmed that the FISA warrant targeted Trump associates or that it was ever granted. FISA warrants are rarely denied, however.
According to the WikiLeaks files, it appears that the CIA has teams specifically dedicated to breaking into Apple products, including iOS, the software that runs on iPhones and iPads, and even Apple's line of routers, AirPort.

The WikiLeaks files suggest that the CIA may have access to undiscovered and unreported bugs, or exploits, in iOS, the iPhone operating system.

"

Here's Apple's complete statement on the WikiLeaks files:

There is also evidence in the 7,818 web pages and attached files that the CIA has tools to gain unauthorized access to Android devices, smart TVs, and other computers.

Nothing interesting or new about the published exploits

"So far, there is zero cause for concern," Strafach told Business Insider. "They definitely have vulnerability research (looks very similar to my own company's internal wiki), but nothing which should be if any concern to a user on the latest iOS."

Apple regularly fixes the kind of bugs and potential exploits that the CIA purportedly developed and bought. For maximum security, you should update to the latest version of iOS on your iPhone or iPad in Settings > General > Software Update.

In a statement accompanying the document release, Wikileaks claimed that there was a group inside the CIA specifically dedicated to hacking iPhones and iPads. Wikileaks wrote:

iPhones and other Apple products running iOS, such as iPadsnumerous local and remote "zero days"
In a statement issued by the bank, it stated that clients do not have to withdraw their savings or close their accounts entirely because the situation has been resolved.

The attention of the management of GN Bank has been drawn to some information in the media and other social media platforms urging our customers to withdraw their deposits because the Banks website had been hacked into.

READ ALSO: IFS warns Ghana of potential trade war as WTO agreement enters into full force

Indeed GN Bank got wind of the hacking over the weekend and immediately moved to rectify the situation. Our technical team are done with the restoration of the website and are in the process of implementing additional security patches to ensure non-occurrence of any such situation in the future, it added.

But the statement assured that customer financial information including online banking data is intact and adequately secured.

It also indicated that customers deposits have not been tampered with as its being speculated. No Customer has lost a pesewa of deposits.
The deceased named Jennifer Nyarko, a Consumer Science student fell from her balcony at dawn at Akuafo Annex A room 407 after staying away from lectures for several days.

Unconfirmed reports say she was suffering from Hay Fever which may have caused the fall.

READ MORE: KNUST student commits suicide over exam results

She was confirmed dead at the Legon hospital.

READ MORE: This is what the father of KNUST student who committed suicide had to say

A student at the University of Ghana who spoke to the Citi FM said:
The 33-year-old broke the news on social media with a photo of himself endorsing some documents captioned, Brand ambassador for @flysaa! Signed and sealed....together let's explore the world with @flysaa! #melomoment #Godisgood #melotourist.

READ ALSO:

On this years Valentine Days, John criticized men who cheat on their wives and treat their mistresses better than their legalized women. He listed some of the things women want from their husbands and how the men can ensure peace and harmony in their matrimonial home and strengthen their relationship.

5 Val's day tip for men.....

1. Give her attention, she loves it

2. Listen to her even if you are not in the mood. She will eventually fall asleep.

3. Don't tell her she's become fat...tell her you both need to start gyming. (That's a much much better way of saying she's put on weight)

4. When women get angry, they will insult even your ancestors, my brother, take it in good faith.
In an overwhelmingly male dominated field, they stand out.

The architectural firm, Arch-Xenus has twice as many female architects as male, of the 12 architects and eight of them are women. The rest of the workforce is young; the average age is about 29.

[Most clients; after seeing our work] or when they are meeting the architect for the first time expect an older man. Usually it is a surprise when they see us. They come and its all these young people, - Nana Akua Birmeh; the principal architect told pulse.com.gh.

The firm has previously worked on projects for Universal Merchant Bank, Premier Place and Imperial Lodge.

Motherhood

When you are pregnant or have a baby, you can still work; you are still relevant. You still have something happening in your head,  the mother of three boys said.

When Nana Akua started the firm five years ago, her first child lay in a cot right beside her. She had previously worked at a firm where she felt the work environment did not support motherhood. So at Arch-Xenus, she made sure it did.

The concept of motherhood and family life is very much encouraged alongside work. At the time of our interview earlier in July, the company had just welcomed a baby. Born on July 1 (to the companys administrator), it was the third baby at the firm this year. More babies are expected according to the companys project coordinator, Agnes Otto-Boateng.

Breastfeeding mums signing cheques, while nannies and toddlers running around are commonplace at the firm and before we began our interview, Nana Akuas own children galloped through the open spaces. There are plans to start a playground soon on the lawn of the companys offices, as the children are growing up.

Although the business did not set out specifically looking to hire women, Nana Akua attributes the reason why it is predominantly female (also in other departments of the company) to these systems.

I think women are comfortable here. We have never made it a conscious effort to go after women. It just happened. It is interesting [we have more women] but that is as far as it goes.

Male dominance

When I wanted to do architecture and I applied; a lecturer actually told me that it is not easy work. So as a woman, he will advise that I didnt do it,  recounts Otto-Boateng; who ventured into architecture because she wanted to change the skyline of her native Kumasi; Ghanas second largest city.

Classes at the department of architecture of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, (where the majority of Ghanas architects studied) are overwhelmingly macho.

According to Nana Akua, the classes usually start out as 30 percent girls and after graduation very few continue in the practice, or they divert to what is considered more womanly aspects, such as interior design.

In fact, a lot of the girls that came in here, initially wanted to do interior design. There is a sense, when you are in school that you are a girl, you have to do interior design and decor. But then we put them on site; they build seven storeys; deal with structural engineers; deal with everybody else.

Those who decide to stay in architecture face many hurdles.

When I started out, there were offices that I knew who wouldnt employ females because they will go on maternity leave or have menstrual cramps and you cant be on site when you have work. So they will rather not deal with all of that; Boateng says.

We still wear our heels and still do the makeup

The journey to addressing this imbalance in the field begins with sparking an interest in young girls in the first place. When that eventually develops into a passion; they will need to see people who look like them in the field. According to Nana Akua, female architects will play a very important part by acting as role models and mentors.

For one thing, they [girls] need to see a lot more women at it and still being women. For some reason, maybe, because we work with masons, [there is an assumption] if you are a girl, there is a way you will end up becoming or looking.

No; we still wear our heels and still do the makeup. Education wise, they should see more women in the field.

The Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid served as an inspiration for Nana Akua, her team and many other female architects around the world.

She represented us [in the sense that] at least there was one female architect whose name can be mentioned because it is filled with men but she was right up there matching them boot for boot.

She is definitely an inspiration for every single female architect in this world. It is not even about her style; but of course she is a superb architect; but just the fact that she has broken all the boundaries and she is right there with all of them.

Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize (informally referred to as the Nobel Prize for architecture) in 2004. Her numerous designs include the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Summer Olympics and the Guangzhou Opera House in China. She died in March 2016 in a hospital in Miami where she was being treated for bronchitis.

As such Nana Akua has become involved in a lot of girls empowerment programmes in a bid to encourage more girls to take up pencils and notepads and start sketching. The firm is also very receptive towards interns who look up to the senior architects.

We have the power

In a historically patriarchal society such as Ghanas, the possibilities for young girls can be very microscopic and for Nana Akua, her mission is to work towards empowering more girls to believe that they can achieve anything they want.

I am sensing that for a lot of girls, the future looks very limited. There is always that sense that some man has to come and take over and do something for you. If you picture a certain kind of life, you may need a man of some level; [but] you can literally do whatever you want and get whatever you want without depending on anybody else or a man.

That is how I want to empower young girls; to just see themselves as on their own they can achieve something. It really [doesnt have] to be what a man did for you. We have the power in our hands the same way men do. I believe you can be whatever you want to be.

Our names should be called

The aspirations of the firm are certainly huge.

When the names are called on the international stage, our names should be called. Of course, having that means that we work a certain way towards that kind of leverage. I foresee a much bigger practice beyond the shores of Ghana. So Arch-Xenus New York; London; Tokyo and so on; Nana Akua said.

For Agnes, it is to fulfil the dreams of her younger self; to go back to Kumasi and influence its landscape.
Originally celebrated as International Working Womens Day, it metamorphosed to commemorate women throughout history and across nations and to create a platform to unravel and discuss the challenges that women are faced with each day of their lives especially in a patriarchal society where men dominate economic, political, religious and social affairs.

As Ghana celebrates its Diamond jubilee, can the Ghanaian woman be proud of the same celebration?

Indeed women's emancipation predated Ghanas independence with the earliest womens day marked in New York by the Socialist party of America, in 1909. A year later, an international womens conference was organized which agreed to propositions to institute an international womens day as a grand design to promote equal rights including suffrage for women. Subsequently in 1911, the first International Womens Day (IWD) was marked by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland; characterized by demontsrations, strikes, parades and marches to demand a myriad of rights including the right to vote, the right to hold public office, and an end to economic discrimination amongst others.

The IWD otherwise known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Womens Rights and International Peace has since gained international recognition and celebrated world wide in different forms and even gained the status of a holiday in some countries such as Ukraine

The day has also been marked under various themes encompassing peace and security, human rights, gender based violence, conflicts and hunger, education, gender equality, empowerment and affirmative actions, inclusion of woman in decision making, the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and many more.

In Ghana, the IWD has equally been commemorated year after year to demand for a myriad of rights and freedoms but one will ask, at 60 years of independence, can the Ghanaian woman be proud of a diamond jubilee? Indeed, there has been great transformation in the life of the pre-colonial and colonial woman. The post-independent Ghanaian woman has undergone a semblance of transformation from her hitherto traditional role. Women today are considered to be part of economic activities, participants in development, role players in governance process, education, social mobilization and are now involved in decision making.

However can the level of transformation be justified in a 60-year term?

Government after government appears to have defaulted on campaign and political promises to advance the course of Ghanaian women. The involvement of women in politics and leadership roles still leaves much to be desired. Women representation at the 6th Ghanaian parliament was 10.5%, meaning only 29 out of the 133 women who contested in the 2012 parliamentary elections were elected. This figure rose marginally to 13% in the 2016 election where 37 women were voted into the legislature. Albeit this is the highest so far recorded by Ghanaian women in legislature, it is worthy of note that it falls far short of the 30% threshold by the UN following agreements and satisfactory targets reached at the fourth UN World Conference of Women in Beijing 1995.

Series of gender dialogues and platforms have tackled bits and pieces of women advancement and discussed affirmative action as a major strategy to achieving gender equality and thereby a desirable involvement of women in governance process and decision making. However, the journey seems nothing more than a utopian ideal.

Following bold steps taken by Dr Kwame Nkrumahs government to consciously involve women in the governance process it is sad to note that succeeding governments are yet to gain the same momentum to advance the fortunes of women. It is also noteworthy that women played very significant roles in the struggle for self-government; mounting campaign platforms alongside their male counterparts and organizing women. The CPP Womens League worked sedulously to organize women to be part of the independence process and governance, championing formal education for girls and educating Northern girls against prostitution.

Certainly, the urge to get women involved some 60 years ago cannot be downplayed with the involvement of Dr. Nkrumah himself in affirmative action policies and appointment of women propaganda secretaries and organisers right from inception of his government,

It is remarkable that parliament under the CPP in 1960 passed Representation of the People (Women Members) Bill into law which amongst others made it possible for women to stand for parliamentary elections unopposed and subsequently saw the election of first ten female parliamentarians into the first session of the first parliament.

They included Susana Al-Hassan, Ayanori Bukari, the first woman to hold cabinet portfolio and Victoria Nyarko who represented the Northern Region, Mary Koranteng and Sophia Doku for the Eastern Region, while Regina Asomany represented the Volta Region. Also Grace Ayensu and Christiana Wilmot represented the Western Region, Comfort Asamoah - Ashanti Region, and Lucy Anim for the Brong Ahafo.

Later Dr. Nkrumah appointed Susan Al-Hassan as deputy Minister of Education and Minister of Social Welfare and Community Development between 1961 and 1967. During the same period, other women were also appointed into various positions such as commissioners and to serve on boards and local councils.

Further, the Nkrumah led government introduced equal pay for equal work concept which abolished employment sex discriminatory practices.

Arguably, the most enthusiastic supporters of the CPP were women, including market women, who contributed generously to party funds (R. N. A. Akomfrah, Chairman CPP UK, 2012). This indicates that women are a force to reckon with even in economic terms

Not only did Dr. Nkrumah recognize the enormous role of African women in the struggle for freedom and African Unity, but also recognized the power of women in negotiations and decision-making. During a major international conference for African Women and Women of African descent held in Ghana, 1960, Dr Nkrumah called on women to bring their feminine influence to bear in persuading their brothers, husbands and friends of the importance of Africa unity as the only salvation for Africa

He further charged women that they had a great responsibility to compliment efforts of the men. They must realize that the men alone cannot complete the gigantic task we have set ourselves. The time has come when the women of Africa and of African descent must rise up in their millions to join the Africa crusade for freedom.

It is however sad that Dr. Nkrumah did not live his dream of improving the total worth of women following his sudden overthrow in 1966 and the subsequent relegation of the CPP to the peripherals of political lime light.

Despite a requirement for affirmative action in the 1992 Constitution, government after government is yet to pass an Affirmative Action Bill, which pushes a 40 per cent quota for women in governance and decision-making process and other national roles. The bill further seeks to rectify discriminatory practices on the basis of sex by addressing political, social and economic gender imbalances. Campaign promises on special quotas for women have in the past remained a political rhetoric.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo has promised to fulfill a 30% representation of women in its government as well as work with the 7 parliament to pass the Affirmative Action Law which will ensure equal participation of women at all levels. The Mahama led government missed narrowly the opportunity to pass the bill, which was at the consideration stage. With a new parliament in session, the process has to commence all over following a lapse with the 6 parliament. The bill when passed will also stimulate Ghanas effort in achieving Goal 5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SGDS) - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Perhaps it would have been weightier to celebrate a diamond jubilee with clear-cut affirmative action policies, which consciously compensates for the slow pace of women advancement in Ghana by focusing on programmes that encourages equal opportunities, and consciously reserve quotas.

Indeed, some women have made it to the top echelons of political and national affairs and have performed creditably, an indication that if given the chance women can equally perform. Mention can be made of the Speaker of the 5th Parliament Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, Chief Justice Georgina Wood, Electoral Commissioner Mrs Charlotte Osei, former CEO of the Ghana chamber of Mines Joyce Rosalind Aryee, and other women ministers such as Hon. Hannah Tetteh, Gloria Akuffo and others, also high commissioners and ambassadors including ambassador Mrs Mercy Yvonne Debrah-Karikari (now a cabinet secretary) amongst other great women. First female presidential candidate Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings is equally worth the credit.

However, in as much as these roles are commendable, the level of achievement within a 60-year touchstone is woefully depressing. The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) monitoring team during the 2016 election noted that various factors account for the low participation of women in front line politics and for that matter the governance process, chief amongst which is hostile political terrain that results in mudslinging, name-calling and insults or use of vulgar language. Other factors include traditional roles and religious inhibitions, economic freedom, child bearing amongst others.

Reflecting on the international theme Be Bold for Change, it is a wake up call for women all over the world to extricate themselves from an imbalanced patriarchal society. The IWD platform calls for a pledge of parity campaign that challenges conscious and unconscious biases; gender-balanced leadership; value women and men's contributions equally; and create inclusive flexible cultures starting from awareness raising to concrete actions.

In Ghana, the day will be commemorated under the adapted theme Economic empowerment of rural women: A tool for sustainable development in a changing world of work, which according to the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ms Otiko Afisah Djaba, was chosen to help rural women and girls to achieve their ambitions and also challenge the negative traditional and socio-cultural practices, discrimination and difficulties that confront the rural woman by changing the world of work for all women in Ghana.

As Ghana chalks a whopping 60 years and joins the rest of the world to commemorate international womens day, it is important to reflect on the struggles of our gallant women who some 60 years ago worked assiduously to increase the worth of women. The boldness with which they started the fight is the same boldness and momentum required in tackling the challenges that confront women in all spheres of life. The strides achieved are noteworthy however, upsetting to celebrate on a diamond jubilee.

By Akua Dapaa Amanpour

Email:yaaafrahemaanyarko@yahoo.com
The Presiding Judge, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, said that the sentence was without an option of fine because the accused did not show remorse from his previous conviction.

The judge said that the sentence would serve as deterrent to others and warned the accused to desist from committing crimes in future.

Naziru, an iron scrap trader who resides at Karmo Village, was convicted on a two-count charge of stealing and illegal entering.

In his plea, the convict prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, claiming he was absent minded when he committed the offence.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Florence Auhioboh, told the court that the accused trespassed into Pure Word Assembly Sabbath Church Karmo, Abuja and stole five chairs.
Her husband, Babatunde, had approached the court seeking dissolution of his three-year-old marriage to Rasidat on the grounds that his mother in-law was seeking to control his matrimonial home.

The plaintiff also told the court that his wife packed out of her matrimonial home to live with her parents without notifying him.

But in her response, Rasidat told the court that arrogance, high temperament, selfishness and lack of respect for elders were the best words to describe the father of her one-year-old baby.

According to her, Babatunde pretended to be the best-behaved man on earth when courting her, only to reveal his real character traits after marriage.

I saw hell in the first year of our marriage because I had three miscarriages and he never showed me love as he promised.

It got to a point that I decided to quit the marriage, but my parents encouraged me not to divorce, appealing that he would change when I have baby for him.

He had insulted my parents on several occasions when they were trying to settle our differences.

I gave birth to the only child of the marriage through Caesarean Section which almost claimed my life.

I packed out of my matrimonial home when I could no longer cope with his bad attitude toward me and he did not bother to look after me nor the only child for three months.

I support and agree with his decision to end the marriage because he is not worth to be called a responsible husband, Rasidat told the court.

In his judgment, Chief Mukaila Balogun, the President of the court, said it was clear that both parties no longer love each other.

They therefore cease to be husband and wife henceforth and should go their separate ways, he said.
A prosecutor in the case told a Magistrate court today.

One of the restaurant's supervisors, Jihad Chabaan, is facing the law for allegedly dipping an Ghanaian employee's face in pepper.

The prosecutor told an Accra Magistrate court on Wednesday 8, March 2017, that management threatened to sack workers if they assist the police in their investigations.

READ ALSO: Supervisor charged with assault

According to the prosecution, Jihad has been interfering with their investigations since he was granted self recognizance bail by the police.

The Lebanese manager Jihad Chabaan pleaded not guilty to three charges of assault, causing harm and offensive conduct.

He has been remanded to police custody by a magistrate court.

The prosecutor also prayed the court to heed to their plea because they could guarantee the security of the accused.

READ ALSO: Abusive Marwako manager apologises to victim

Jihad Chaaban allegedly dipped the face of a kitchen staffer Evelyn Boakye at the Abelemkpe branch of the eatery into pepper paste.

This inhumane treatment has caused many social media users in Ghana calling for the boycott of the eatery. This has led to the creation of a hashtag #boycottMarwako.
According to him, "Over the years, women have played and continue to play crucial roles in our national development and daily lives."

Today, Wednesday 8 March 2017 marks International Womens Day and it's on the theme "Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030."

The United Nation (UN) said, the idea behind this year's theme, "is to consider how to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and number 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning".

Dr Bawumia in a Facebook post said "In politics, religion, academia, and every other sphere of human endeavour, Ghanaian women continue to make remarkable strides both home and abroad."

He lauded Yaa Asantewaa, and Madam Theodosia Okoh, who designed the National Flag for their crucial role in the national development of Ghana.

"Today, the fourth highest office in the land is held by a woman, her Ladyship Georgina Theodora Wood; the Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament is a woman, Hon Adwoa Safo, while the Electoral Commissions Chairperson is also a woman, Mad Charlotte Osei"

"For the first time in Ghanas history the Chief of Staff is a woman, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, while Ambassador Mercy Yvonne Debrah-Karikari is the first ever female Secretary to the Cabinet.

"As well, three of Ghanas five major telecom companies are headed by women - Yolanda Zoleka Cuba (Vodafone), Lucy Quist (Airtel) and Roshi Motman (Tigo)," Dr Bawumia added.
Girls following initiation school are given away in marriage as they are regarded as adults following the start of menstruation.

In Accra, the National Programme Coordinator at Women in Law and Development in Africa,(WiLDAF), Melody Darkey, urged stakeholders to advocate gender parity of women.

A statement, issued on Tuesday by WiLDAF, and copied to Pulse.com.gh said government must "Ban harmful and oppressive cultural practices that undermine womens rights including those that prohibit women to inherit land and other resources."

The commemoration of the International Womens Day should not only be full of flamboyant statements of mere rhetoric, but give women hope and assurance that they matter.

READ ALSO: WiLDAF march to end violence against women and girls

The day is being celebrated under the global theme: "Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50:50 by 2030" and it's aimed at ensuring gender equality by the year 2030.

WiLDAF Ghana and Oxfam in Ghana has called on government, traditional leaders and other key land stakeholders to support and honour the demands of rural women proclaimed in the Kilimanjaro Initiative Charter of Demands (Charter of Demands) as way of advancing womens land rights in Ghana.

The Kilimanjaro Initiative is a campaign spearheaded by Civil Society Organisations which brought together over 500 rural women from across 22 African countries including Ghana to the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, where they developed and proclaimed a Charter of Demands on access to land and natural resources in October, 2016. The Charter of Demands was presented to the African Union, for onward presentation to UN Women.

The Charter of Demands contains fifteen provisions emanating from rural women on strengthening their land rights, six of which have been prioritised by key Ghanaian and agricultural stakeholders.

Sensitization of leaders (Traditional, community, religious and land sector actors) youth, people with disabilities, and women on the laws and policies on land

Women empowerment by enabling them access their land rights, technology and financial resources to improve their livelihood
According to her, the government of Akufo-Addo has refused to invite her to State functions.

READ MORE:Akua Donkor names farmer as running mate

She said hatred for her by Nana Addo has left her very worried as she fears she could lose her life.

Speaking on Accra-based Kasapa FM, she said she was not invited by the President nor any of the government appointees to his inauguration on 6 January, 2017, State of the Nation Address (SONA) on February 21, 2017 in Parliament and the Independence Day Celebration on March 6, 2017 at Independence Square, Accra.

READ ALSO: Akua Donkor denies car gift from Mahama

She said even if she goes, no seat will be reserved for her at the State functions.

She added that "President Akufo Addo hates me, he doesnt want to see me anywhere he goes. But once the elections are over he should learn to treat everyone equallywhether they voted for him or not.

READ MORE: NPP calls for probe in to Akua Donkor car gift saga
Members of the House Freedom Caucus and Republican senators suggested the proposed legislation did not go far enough in repealing all the taxes and entitlements in the Affordable Care Act.

"We think you have to get rid of Obamacare completely, so tomorrow I will introduce the bill that every single Republican voted on just 15 months ago, the bill that actually repeals Obamacare," Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said.

Jordan said he would introduce a bill similar to the bill that was passed by Congress in 2015 to repeal the ACA. That bill was vetoed by former President Obama.

Sen. Rand Paul and Sen. Mike Lee, who have also criticized the AHCA for not going far enough, were also present at the press conference. Paul said the GOP is united on repeal but "divided on a replacement," so the party should do a "complete repeal" of the ACA and work on crafting a replacement later.

"There's one thing that has united Republicans in when we won the House, in 2014 when we won the Senate, and in 2016 when we won the White House. This doesn't divide Republicans, this brings us together, and that is complete repeal, clean repeal," Paul said.

President Trump responded to Paul's criticisms in a tweet on Tuesday night, saying that the senator will come around to the plan.

"I feel sure that my friend @RandPaul will come along with the new and great health care program because he knows Obamacare is a disaster!" tweeted Trump.

The AHCA has faced serious criticism since it was introduced on Monday. Conservative Republicans have said the law does not go far enough, moderate Republicans are worried about its changes to Medicaid expansion, conservative groups have called it "Obamacare Lite," and Democrats have said it will rip insurance away from Americans.

Even the AARP criticized a tweak in the law about how much an insurer can charge older patients compared to younger ones.

President Trump defended the law during a meeting around the same time as the Republican press conference bashing it.

"We're going to do something thats great. And I am proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives," Trump said. "It follows the guidelines I laid out in my congressional address.  This will be a plan where you can choose your doctor and this will be a plan where you can choose your plan. And you know what the plan is. This is the plan."

Members of the House GOP leadership came out after meeting with Trump and said that the executive branch is supporting the AHCA.
On Sunday, the day after President Trump accused Obama of wiretapping phones in Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign, the former president was photographed leaving the National Gallery of Art in a brown leather jacket and dark denim. GQ called his out-of-office style "on point."

This is a far cry from outfits we've seen on other ex-presidents, who usually favor wearing a suit sans tie, indicating they're off-duty but still professional.

On vacation in the Caribbean just after leaving office, Obama was even spotted wearing a backwards hat. If that doesn't scream "casual cool," nothing does. After all, Obama once said:

"Here's the general rule: You don't put stuff on your head if you're president. That's politics 101. You never look good wearing something on your head."

But he's no longer president, so all bets are off.

Obama's recent outfits are perhaps a signal that he plans to stay out of politics for the time being.

He's simply not dressed for Washington, DC  how many politicians have you seen wearing a leather jacket?

A reminder, of course, that this is only for now. If we start to see Obama adopting the standard uniform of the ex-president or politician, we might expect some political action.
Essentially, the report attributes North Korea's high rate of failure with Russian-designed missiles to US meddling in the country's missile software and networks.

Though North Korea's missile infrastructure lacks the competence of Russia's, Russians using the same type of missiles achieved a 13% failure rate, while North Korean attempts failed a whopping 88% of the time, according to the report.

But to those in the know, the campaign against North Korea came as no surprise. Dr. Ken Geers, a cybersecurity expert for NATO with experience in the NSA, told Business Insider that cyberoperations like the one against North Korea were actually the norm.

While the fact that the US hacked another country's missile program may be shocking to some, "within military intelligence spaces this is what they do," Geers said. "If you think that war is possible with a given state, you're going to be trying to prepare the battle space for conflict. In the internet age, that means hacking."

North Korea's internal networks are fiercely insulated and not connect to the larger internet, however, which poses a challenge for hackers in the US, but Geers said it's "absolutely not the case" that computers need to connect to the internet to be hacked.

A recent report on Russian hacking in The New Yorker detailed one case in which Russia gained access to a NATO computer network in 1996 by placing bugged thumb drives for sale in local shops near a NATO base in Kabul, Afghanistan. NATO operators bought the thumb drives, used them on the network, and just like that, the Russians were in.

"Thats where SIGINT (signals intelligence) or COMINT (communications intelligence) comes into collaboration with HUMINT (human intelligence)," said Geers, who described the present moment as the "golden age of espionage," as cyberwarfare remains nonlethal, unattributable, and almost completely unpunished.

But the recent missile salvo from North Korea suggests that even a prolonged, sophisticated cyberattack can't fully derail North Korea's nuclear-missile program.

"Imagine you're the president  North Korea is a human-rights abuser and an exporter of dangerous technology," Geers said. "Responsible governments really need to think about ways to handle North Korea, and one of the options is regime change."

Furthermore, Geers said, because of the limited number of servers and access points to North Korea's very restricted internet, "If it ever came to cyberwar between the us and North Korea, it would be an overwhelming victory for the West."
Meet America's THAAD system.

THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) is a unique missile-defense system with

Deploying Americas THAAD

purported hydrogen-bomb test. Since then, the Kim regime has only continued its advance, with its latest missile launch happening earlier this week.

How THAADs hit to kill lethality works

Impressively, the THAAD interceptor does not carry a warhead. Instead, the interceptor missile uses pure kinetic energy to deliver "hit to kill" strikes to incoming ballistic threats inside or outside the atmosphere.

Lockheed Martin's missile launcher is just one element of the four-part antimissile system. The graphic below shows the rest of the components needed for each enemy-target interception.

radar

Raytheon

Once an enemy threat has been identified, THAAD's Fire Control and Communications (TFCC) support team kicks in. If there is a decision to engage the incoming missile, the launcher fires an interceptor to hunt

Here's what the launch looks like from far away:

While in flight, the interceptor will track its target and obliterate it in the sky.

The following infrared imagery shows THAAD demolishing the target:

By the end of 2016, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is scheduled to deliver an additional 48 THAAD interceptors to the US military, bringing the total up to 155, according to a statement from the MDA's director, Vice Admiral J.D. Syring, given before the House Armed Service Committee.

According to the MDA, there are more than 6,300 ballistic missiles outside of US, NATO, Russian, and Chinese control.
Turns out, Apple got a deal on the location, because its past owners, including President Donald Trump, couldn't figure out a use for the property before Apple decided to lease it, according to former Apple retail boss Ron Johnson in an interview with Recode.

The store, lovingly nicknamed the "glass cube," is almost entirely underground. To enter, customers descend a glass staircase in a glass cube in the middle of a plaza.

"The glass cube was a really big deal. We wanted to put a store on 5th Ave. Its the greatest shopping street in the world, and we looked for years and years," Johnson explained. "Finally, our real estate guy came back and says 'Ive got a brilliant idea. Were going to take a spot that Donald Trump couldnt lease for 7 years, its been unoccupied, and we get a hole in the ground.'"

The landlord wasn't able to find anyone who wanted to rent the space because of the restrictions on above-ground space.

That's when Apple came up with the idea to put the store underground, with only a 900 square foot footprint above ground.

That hole in the ground eventually became the flagship Apple store in New York. And Apple got a deal on it  Johnson says Apple's rent was 1/8 of what it was two blocks away. (Two blocks away is Trump Tower, where retailers like Gucci and Tiffany have their flagship stores.)

The plaza was built as part of the General Motors building, which was owned at one point by President Donald Trump, and even had T-R-U-M-P signage, according to the New York Times. " I love building great buildings. I own the General Motors building," Trump said in 1999.

Trump sold the building in 2003 to developer Harry Macklowe, who became Apple's landlord in 2006 when the store opened for the first time. (Macklowe was forced to sell the property in 2008.)

"Donald owned the General Motors building, for a number of years, then he sold it to a guy named Harry , who was our landlord," Johnson said. "We rented from Harry. This spot had been unrentable for 7 years, nobody wanted it, Donalds a smart guy, but thats where I give Steve [Jobs] so much credit, he couldve said, 'Apples at the top of the world, we should have a big building like Louis Vuitton,' but he understood that doing something beautiful and simple, giving back to the community, could have more power."

"We convinced the city to let us put in this physical presence, we said look, were going to take 5% [of the plaza space] for our door, and were going to redo the plaza for the City of New York, were going to put in Wi-Fi. And the city said OK, and that became the Apple Store," Johnson said.

Now the 5th Avenue Apple store faces issues dealing with traffic in the neighborhood. Police have set up barriers around Trump Tower, which has reduced the pedestrian traffic Apple has benefitted from in the past.

Currently, the 5th Avenue Apple store is closed. Apple has temporarily moved into a space nearby, and plans to double the space available at the underground store. The expansion of the location is expected to finish late next year, according to Bloomberg.

Still, people continue to flock to the glass cube and photograph it, even while it's closed. "A few years later, the Apple Store is the 5th most photographed thing in New York," Johnson said.
The NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 is a bill that the Senate and House collaborated on for months, and it appropriates $19.5 billion to the agency. (NASA received $19.3 billion in 2016, or 0.5% of the total federal budget.)

When the Senate brought the bill before the House of Representatives for a vote on March 7, "no members spoke against the bill" and it passed, according to Jeff Foust at Space News.

The document asks NASA to create a roadmap for getting humans "near or on the surface of Mars in the 2030s." It also calls on the space agency to continue developing the Space Launch System (SLS)  a behemoth rocket  and the Orion space capsule in order to eventually go to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

Business Insider did not immediately receive a response from Trump administration officials about the president's plans for the new bill.

But its passage seems likely.

Trump has expressed support for a crewed exploration of Mars, and in his inauguration speech he said he's "ready to unlock the mysteries of space." Administration officials, meanwhile, have said they want NASA to return to the moon in the 2020s but also proposed to end the space agency's 58-year mandate to study the Earth and its climate, details the bill leaves out.

Trump also maintains a relatively tight collaboration with the Republican-controlled legislative branch.

Whats in NASAs proposed budget?

The American Astronomical Society has a convenient breakdown of the $19.5 billion in the bill, including funding for human space exploration, space-station operations, science, and more.
During Disney's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, an audience member took the mic and blasted Iger for being a member of Trump's business advisory council.

Iger told the angry interlocutor he would respond with a quote from the hit musical "Hamilton."

He said he wanted to be "in the room where it happens," a famous line from the Broadway musical (which almost certainly will be made into a movie one day, maybe by Disney).

The line Iger used is said several times throughout "Hamilton," most notably in the song "The Room Where It Happens," in which Aaron Burr expresses his frustrations that he wasn't privy to back-channel negotiations that resulted in a stronger federal government, among other policy changes.

"I made a decision that I thought was in the best interests of our company and of our industry, to have an opportunity to express points of views directly to the president of the United States and to his administration," Iger said. "I think it's a privileged opportunity."

He said his presence on the advisory council didn't imply an endorsement of Trump or his policies.

Iger's response got applause from the crowd.
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GE's Lagos Garage is a hub for advanced manufacturing-based strategy development, innovation, idea generation and collaboration.

We are happy to collaborate with a reputable organization such as the Tony Elumelu Foundation on this skill building initiative. There is a lot of alignment between TEF and GEs commitment to the development of Nigerian entrepreneurs and we look forward to seeing some great success stories from TEF participants on the training program," said Patricia Obozuwa, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at GE Africa.

ALSO READ: Lagos Garage has kicked off its 2017 spring training session

In her comment, Parmindir Vir, CEO at the Tony ELumelu Foundation said: We welcome the collaboration with GE, worlds top 10 most innovative companies, to spur the growth of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs, Nigerias new innovators. This program will help them to further develop their products and business models as a follow up to the Foundations entrepreneurship programme."

They will learn to hone their skills in communication, teamwork, creativity skills and push the excellence of design practice as well as bring concepts to reality.

GE created the Garages program in 2012 to encourage interest in invention, innovation and manufacturing. The Lagos Garage launched out of the GE offices in Lagos in December 2016.
"For this exciting campaign, Sophia invited inspiring women from all over the world to join by taking the brands Claudie bag to their city or a location personal to them, captured with a photo in front of their chosen landmark. Each participant has also personalized one of Sophias signature Speech Bubble Charms with an uplifting mantra or personal quote. These charms of wisdom are attached to the Claudie bag, and a souvenir, unique to each participant and their location, is also included inside of the bag" the brand revealed in a statement on the website.
The larger museum in Marrakesh -- where the late designer often retreated to work in the home he shared with his partner Pierre Berge -- hopes to attract up to 700,000 visitors a year.

"Both museums are aimed at the general public as well as fashion lovers. Yves Saint Laurent was a major artist of the 20th century," the couple's foundation said in a statement.

It holds a collection of more than 5,000 outfits and 15,000 accessories the Algerian-born designer created during his 40-year career.

Berge opened Morocco's first museum of Moroccan Berber art in 2011 -- three years after the death of his partner -- to house the collection they built together.

The new purpose-built Marrakesh museum is near the historic riad mansion the couple shared.
Let's take a trip to Ghana where we would explore a good number of natural and man-made tourist attractions, beautiful hinterland, sunny beaches, lively cities, castles, tons of wildlife, natural rock formations and waterfalls.

1. Accra

Accra, the capital of Ghana, is the largest city in the country.

Whether youre visiting alone or with a family, on your big annual holiday or there for business, Accra has something to make you feel comfortable.

Accra is home to the National Museum where youll find many of the countries historical treasures.

National Theatre, International Trade Fair, the Kwame Nkrumah memorial, Independence Square, and W.E.B. Dubois Centre are interesting places to visit in the city.

2. Castle of Elmina

Elmina Castle, the most photographed structure in Ghana, was erected by Portuguese in 1482 as Sao Jorge da Mina (St. George of the Mine) Castle, also known simply as Mina or Feitoria da Mina) in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast).

First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic slave trade.

ALSO READ: 5 Things you should know about Caribbean Nations

3. National wildlife park

Ghana has a good number of national wildlife parks to visit and most of them have game reserves that will keep you enchanted and fascinated with wild animals and exotic plants. Some of which are, Kakum national park, Bia national park, Digya national park, and Bui national park.

4. Volta Lake

Volta Lake, located at the Volta region, is one great river in Ghana that flows south to the Bight of Benin with hills and rocky outcrops overlooking the Lake. Fed by the Akosombo dam and the largest man-made lake on Earth, it's the major source of power distribution across Ghana.

5. National museum

If youre looking for a good explanation of the ethnographic diversity of modern-day Ghana, the national museum is the place to go.

There are a number of exhibits dedicated to the Atlantic slave-trade and the African lives that where irreparably changed because of it.
The teenager, Fatima Baba, who was forced by her parent to marry Salihu Mohammed, a resident of Shaba Legbo village in Gbako Local Government Area of the state, told the Agency that she was not in love with her husband and instead, wants to go back to school.

I was given in marriage to Salihu by my family who thought I will have a better life with him. I do not want this marriage; I do not love this man. I want a divorce because I want to go to school and it is only when I am divorced that I can return to school, Baba pleaded.

However, Mohammed, in his response, said that he married his wife legally and with the consent of her family.

He added that her uncle, Salihu Mustapha, gave her to him in marriage after she consented to marry him.

At first, my wife was happy with the marriage until she suddenly changed her mind and opted for a divorce.

I still love my wife and I want to spend my life with her, but if she wants a divorce, I have no objection. I cannot force her to remain in the union, he reportedly said.

The District Head of Shaba Legbo, Halilu Shaba, who frowned at the prevalence of forced marriages in the district, told the agency that parents in the community were fond of forcing their children into early marriage.

Some also send their children to become housemaids, thereby denying them the opportunity to go to school, Shaba said.

The Director-General of the agency, Maryam Kolo, commended Baba for the courage to seek for divorce and gave both families a two-week ultimatum within which to dissolve the marriage.

If you fail to do so within the two weeks, the agency will file for divorce on behalf of the girl in a Sharia Court, she said.

Kolo warned parents and community leaders against forcing children into early marriage thereby denying them the opportunity to acquire western education.
The deceased identified as Jennifer Nyarko, who was reportedly suffering from hay Fever, jumped from the balcony of the Akuaffo Hall annex, Room 407, Punch reports.

According to the reports, the deceased had been missing lectures for days prior to her suicide.

Jennifer's roommate claims that the deceased had been on the phone throughout the night with a man before they had finally gone to bed.

ALSO READ: UNN student commits suicide after losing bet

The body of the deceased was found on the floor in front of the hall by a passerby who called the attention of other students as well as the school authority.

Punch reports that Jennifer was immediately rushed to the Legon Hospital, where she was confirmed dead.
The suspect, Muhammed Useni, was arraigned on charges of assault, occasioning grievous harm, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against him and was granted bail in the sum of N20, 000 with one surety in like sum.

Earlier, the court heard that the accused committed the crime on February 28 at about 4:20 a.m., at Avalon in Lekki, Lagos.

The prosecuting Inspector, Philip Osijiale told the court that the accused had unlawfully assaulted one Miss Folashade Kolawole.

According to the reports, Useni flogged the complainant with a horse whip and inflicted serious injuries on her in the process.

The prosecutor revealed that Useni had accused Folashade of soliciting customers at his duty post after he had warned her to leave the spot.

Useni claimed that he caught her there again with one of her numerous customers, which led to the whipping.

Osijiale said that the offense contravened Section 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

ALSO READ: Police arraign taxi driver for assault

A three-year prison sentence is recommended for the offender if found guilty.
Fred has forgotten that I was the one who stood by him when things were so bad and his so called friends and family abandoned him.

He has failed to remember how much I suffered shame, disgrace, mockery and degradation just because I stood by him against the advice of my family because I knew that things would be better one day.

When I met and fell in love with Fred, he was just a struggling young man who had next to nothing. He worked in a shipping company but the salary was so poor that he could not even afford a decent accommodation.

He lived in a boys quarter in a crowded compound in a Lagos suburb but I did not mind because I loved him with all my heart. I was practically fending for Fred with my little salary. I would borrow money from my friends and even my office to take care of Fred.

I would even collect money from men who asked me out only to spend on Fred, believing that I was investing in my future husband.

Then I got pregnant and we had to get married but Fred did not have any money for us to solemnize our marriage, so I had to take a loan from my office and borrow from my sisters just so that we would cover our shame.

After our wedding, I had to source for money for us to get a better apartment and we moved in. I was the one taking care of the home from day one as Fred's office was owing him for so many months.

For good eight years, I was the one taking care of the home, paying the rent, school fees, food and gave my husband pocket money as well.

Even when I wanted to complain, I had to caution myself, knowing that everyone would blame me if they got to hear what we were going through.

Then God smiled on us when Fred got a contract to help clear some good for a manufacturing company and that was when the big break came. He did a very good job of it and the company placed him on a retainership.

From there, other jobs came and he set up his own clearing agency and later went into the importation of goods himself. Within a short while, the business flourished and things took a turn for the better.

Within five years, we had moved into our own house, our children moved to a better private school and things looked up for us.

But just when I was thanking God for enduring with my husband and getting set to eat the fruits of my labour, Fred dealt me a heavy blow by telling me he wanted to take a second wife.

He explained that he family and community wanted him to take a title that would require him to take another wife. I was shocked and when I questioned him where those people were when we were passing through hell, my husband just walked out on me.

He even had the guts to tell me to calculate how much I spent while he had nothing so that he could pay me off. he has vowed that nothing would stop him from taking the second wife and has told me that I either take the situation as it is or I pack out of his house.

I have been crying so much and I keep wondering how treacherous a man can be. I need help fast.

Lizzy."
Daily Mail described the town as the "sextortion capital of the world." These scammers lure men into performing sexual acts on camera. They are later victims of blackmail by these scammers who force them to pay up. If they fail to do so their lewd video clips would be out on the Internet.

British men are constant targets of the scammers in Oued Zem. According to a report by The Sun, these victims pay up to 800 have their embarrassing clips destroyed. These men are desperate to pay so that the clips are not sent to their family and friends.

In 2015, 385 Britons reported cases of sextortion. In 2016, the number of cases reported was 1,245 according to the National Crime Agency Statistics.

One of the scammers, a man, revealed to The Sun how they pulled these scams off. Hamzer Danjer who is now in prison said his team of four used pictures of a Colombian porn star to deceive men. The name of the pornstar is Dayana Perez Sosa.

The sextortion business makes a lot of money yearly by blackmailing young professionals. Blackmailing gangs select their victims on dating sites, LinkedIn and on Facebook. They look out for men who have the ability to pay fast and have a lot at stake.

The government of Morocco is doing something about sexual blackmail. It has detained more than 350 people, most of them from Oued Zem which has a population of 90,000.

Morocco has also created several cyber crime units to battle the sextortion industry.
He denied committing the offence, while the magistrate, Mrs F. A. Azeez, granted him bail in the sum of N250,000, with two sureties in like sum. He adjourned the case till March 27 for mention.

Azeez said the sureties must be gainfully employed and should show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

Ademola, who entered a 'not-guilty plea to a charge of theft, is a resident of Fehintola Street, Ketu, Lagos State.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Emmanuel Ajayi, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Feb. 17 at Agege, Lagos.

Ajayi said the accused stole goods valued at N3.8 million belonging to his employer, Abikka Trading Company.

The accused fraudulently sold Nigeria Breweries and Guinness products worth N3.8 million and converted the money to his own, he said.

He said that the company carried out stock audit and discovered that drinks worth the amount were missing.

The company conducted counting of stock that was in care of the accused, there was shortage of N3.8 million which he could not give a satisfactory account of, he said.

The prosecutor said that the accused made a confessional statement to the police that he actually sold the goods and converted the money to his personal use.

He said the offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Eze, a resident of Calvary Street, Abule-Egba, a Lagos suburb, is being tried for stealing.

The prosecutor, Insp. George Nwosu said the accused committed the offence on Dec. 18 at Dopemu on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

He alleged that the accused as the treasurer absconded with the N100,000 belonging to Umuezeukwu United Brothers Association.

Nwosu said the accused was named the treasurer of the associations end of the year party.

The association organised an end of the year party and the accused was in charge of the money raised.

After the party, the accused was nowhere to be found and all efforts made to recover the money proved unsuccessful.

The accused was later arrested on Feb. 25 but could not provide the money, he told the court.

The offence contravened section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the offence attracts three years imprisonment.

The accused pleaded innocence of the offence and was granted bail in the sum of N100,000 with two suretiesin like sum.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday in a N36.8 million case filed against the bank by the businessman for alleged breach of the lease agreement by the bank, Justice Okikiolu Ighile overruled the objection of the Defence counsel on the document, declaring that it was very relevant to the case.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Qudus Mineye, had pleaded that the technical report be admitted in evidence by the court.

In a statement of claims, Ayomumoye said that a deed of sub-lease which commenced on Oct. 1, 2006, was breached by the bank on his building situated at Plot 15, Aina Layout, Dopemu, Lagos on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

He said contrary to the deed of sub-lease, UBA wholly demolished the property and erected a new structure without the claimants consent or approval.

The businessman is also demanding compensation of N24 million as the cost of restructuring the present building to a multi-purpose building which is similar to what the structure was when the deed was signed.

According to Mineye, when the landlord discovered the breach, he wrote several letters to the bank, requesting for compensation, but the bank ignored it.

Ayomumoye alleged that the bank had in 2008, registered a forged deed of sub-lease, purporting same to be the one executed by him.

He added that the document fraudulently registered by the bank on the property was fundamentally different from the one which was executed by both parties in 2006.

The defence counsel, Mr Collins Obona, objected to the filing of the evidence, noting that it was filled in anticipation of the case and that the witness tended to gain from it financially.

But Mineye said the objection was premature, pointing out that the document was founded on two legs.

It was not made in anticipation and the witness has no financial gain. So, it is relevant to use this because the case of the claimant is the change of the structure of the building and the document backs up that claim, he said.

In her ruling, Justice Okikiolu noted that the document was relevant and admissible in court

The objection of the defense counsel is overruled,she said.
Mr Godwin Aidemagbon, Team Lead, National Campaign Immunisation Team/Presidential Malaria Initiative, disclosed this at the inauguration ceremony of LLIN Coordinating Campaign Network (LCCN), on Tuesday in Lokoja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the nets were provided by the USAID, in collaboration with the Presidential Malaria Initiative, Federal Ministry of Health and the Kogi State Government.

We are here for the distribution of 2.2 million long lasting insecticidal nets to the people of Kogi State and I am glad to inform you that all the nets are already on ground in Lokoja, the official said.

He said that the campaign processes involved three stages  macro planning, micro planning and implementation  adding that the first two had been completed.

We are commencing the implementation stage which is the third and final stage of the campaign.

We shall commence a household mobilization with the issuance of netcards, which will entitle a potential beneficiary to receive a net, he said.

According to him, in 2013, the initiative distributed two nets per household, but this time around, a net would be given to every two persons to meet the Universal Coverage as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The States Governor, Alhaji , has agreed to flag-off the distribution of the nets on April 20; the U.S. Ambassador and Mission Director of USAID will also be in attendance at the occasion, Aidemagbon said.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Saka Audu, in his remarks, said that the event would mark another turning point in the efforts to eliminate malaria from Kogi.

Malaria constitutes a huge epidemiology burden to Nigeria; Kogi State is surrounded by rivers making it a breeding site for mosquitoes.

In the light of the above, and in an effort to control the scourge, long lasting insecticidal net mass campaign was carried out in April 2013; during that campaign, nets ownership rose from 4 to 64 per cent as two nets were distributed per household, he said.
We are proud of our partnership with Unilever Nig. Plc, who have made the success of the previous World Oral Health celebrations possible with their immense support towards oral health in Nigeria, said Dr. Mrs. Bode IjarogbePresident of the Nigerian Dental Association while speaking about the continuous partnership between Unilever and the National Dental Association.

It is imperative to prevent oral diseases in Nigeria by ensuring people brush twice a day, every day. In addition to the fact that many people cannot afford dental care, statistics also shows that there are only about 4,125 registered dentists i.e. about 40,000 people to 1 dentist.

Oral diseases are amongst the most common diseases worldwide. They can be easily prevented by brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.

Pepsodent is set to help Nigerians eradicate oral diseases with lined-up dental activities including, school programmes, health walk, community outreach and several other activities that will be used to create awareness and educate Nigerians on the many benefits and importance of brushing twice daily.

Speaking to the statistics that shows that 59% of Nigerians do not brush day and night, Nigeria Oral Care Category Lead- Ibironke Ugbaja Unilever Nigeria plc, said: We have through our efforts in the past seen the transformative impact that brushing twice daily has on the oral health of Nigerians.

Our goal at Pepsodent is to continue driving improved oral health care practices for a cavity free smile Nigeria. We are also aware that healthy dental habits start during childhood, which is why its vital that the Pepsodent Brush Day and Night campaign reaches more children than ever before. We have reached over 2.5 million children in about 3,500 schools since the inception of the programme. Our goal is to reach 10 million children by 2020.

The Federal Ministry of Health, represented by Dr. Mrs. Bola Alonge Head of Dentistry also mentioned the fact that Unilever signed an MOU with the Federal Ministry of Health to sustain the momentum of the Unilever Oral health schools programme initiative.

Dr. Mrs. Bola Alonge commended the initiative, less than 20% of Nigerians have access to oral care services which focuses on the curative care. Many oral health diseases can easily be prevented through simply brushing twice a day. This is why the Federal Ministry of Health and Unilever have taken on the task to teach children to brush day and night. Children are the change agent of the nation and hence we need to catch them young.

This years World Oral Health Day celebration presents another opportunity for Pepsodent to educate millions of Nigerians about the overriding need of adopting good oral practices.

The media parley ended with a Smiles Pledge by pupils in attendance.

The World Oral Health Day is set to hold on Monday March 20, 2017 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
The Chairman of the caucus, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, made this known while addressing journalists shortly after a closed-door meeting of the caucus.

Akpabio, who is also the Senate Minority Leader, said Sheriff had extended a letter, dated March 6 to the caucus for a meeting.

He assured that the caucus would continue to push for an out of court settlement regarding the current leadership tussle in the party.

He, however, said the meeting of all major stakeholders would be a better option.

We held this meeting because there was a letter from Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff to the caucus and we had to meet first to know whether this is the right time.

Whether the meeting is right or not, what we agreed is that the leadership meets first and thereafter we meet with the Sheriff group, the Makarfi group and the BOT.

When this happens, we will then see whether all can come to a consensus and not just the caucus running to the party office to meet Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff. That will look like sectionalism.

As a caucus, we believe strongly in peace and we believe in the unity of the Peoples Democratic Party so that Nigeria can have a robust democracy.

We believe that without the PDP being strong and united, Nigeria may slide into a one party state and democracy may be in peril, he said.

According to him, for the party to succeed with any alternative to court processes, it is pertinent to meet all major stakeholders, including governors and National Caretaker Committee.

He stressed the need for the stakeholders in PDP to spearhead a major political turnaround that would bring lasting peace to the party.

If we succeed in doing so, it could even be a major way out, instead of continuous processes in court.

We will pursue that option without prejudice to the ongoing court processes," he added.

The chairman said the caucus also discussed about the overall well-being of the nation, prayed and wished President Muhammadu Buhari quick recovery and quick return to the country.

On the recent defection of some PDP Senators to APC, Akpabio said it did not affect the strength of the party in the Upper Chamber.

According to him, the claims that PDP representation in Senate is threatened, is unfounded.

He said I dont see any `defection happening, I only see interest playing out.

PDP in the Senate is still very strong and very robust. We started with 49 Senators and we are still well over 40, we are still going to get more.

So, how can you say defection of two or three Senators who have interest outside the chambers will affect the unity and strength of the caucus."

He urged Nigerians to ignore the insinuation, adding that local circumstances rather than wrangling in the party was responsible for the defection.

He said, Even if there were no wrangling in PDP, there will still be defections.

If you assess your chances of a re-election in 2019 in your locality and you see that a would-be opponent is five times your size, you have to look for alternative platform.

This is ensure that you dont lose out in 2019.

So, anything that has to do with the strength of the PDP dwindling is propaganda.

Akpabio assured PDP supporters across the nation that the party was still vibrant.

He further said that leadership tussle did not in any way diminish the strength of the party across the country.
The towns and villages, according to a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by Brig-Gen. Sani Usman, the Nigerian Army Spokesman, are: Siyara, Kote, Sigawa, Bulabundibe, AdeleKe, Tchatike and Lamukura.

He said that the troops were drawn from Cameroons Battalion Rapid Intervention (BRI) and the 151 Task Force Battalion of 21 Brigade, Nigerian Army.

While conducting the operation the troops came in contact with Boko Haram terrorists and neutralised many of them, apprehended two others, while many others escaped with gunshot wounds.
The British High Commission said the allegation that the British Royal Armed Force was over the area for a number of months and actually located the girls within weeks, but the Nigerian government under former President Jonathan turned down its offer to rescue the girls, was false.

The statement further said a more cordial, collaborative and unified approach between Nigeria and her allies than the reported differences was used.

The statement added: UK worked with the US and France to provide a range of military and intelligence support to the Nigerian government in their search (for the Chibok girls), and in fact, a wider effort to address the longer term challenge of terrorism.

But importantly, we wont comment on specific additional details, which is a matter for the Nigerian government and the military.

ALSO READ: Goodluck Jonathan denies rejecting UK's offer on kidnapped Chibok Girls

The UKs Permanent Representative to the United Nations Security Council, Ambassador Mathew Rycroft, dismissed the allegation when the question was put forward to him during a press briefing on Monday.
The Governor said this on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, during the International Womens Day celebration which held at Kayode Stadium in Ado Ekiti.

He had earlier declared a public holiday to enable women come out and celebrate with him.

According to Daily Post, Fayose said he does not need DSS or police to protect him anymore.

He also boasted saying that anyone who wants to topple his government will not succeed.

Fayose said Anybody moving against my government will be removed; anybody that wants to topple me will not finish their government.

ALSO READ: Fayose says OBJ forced PDP Governors to pay N10m each in 2005 for project

Tell them, I dont need their policemen, I dont need their SSS. Let them come and remove their policemen and SSS. I dont want APC police, I dont want APC SSS, these people are my police.
ABC Mews(WASHINGTON) -- The sources of information for many of President Trump's tweets and some of his public statements have become clearer over time.



Trump has in recent months tweeted information after apparently seeing it on a television news program or reading it in on a news website.

The president seems to favor certain news programs and Fox News' Fox & Friends talk show, in particular, which he directly tagged in two tweets Tuesday morning.

For eight years Russia "ran over" President Obama, got stronger and stronger, picked-off Crimea and added missiles. Weak! @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2017

Don't worry, getting rid of state lines, which will promote competition, will be in phase 2 & 3 of healthcare rollout. @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2017

He has referenced Fox & Friends three additional times on social media in the past eight days. He hasn't directly mentioned any other news sites in that time period except to highlight a favorable poll result mentioned in the conservative National Journal.



Older tweets also include tags of various news outlets, though those tweets are largely his critiques of their coverage.



Trickle down to Twitter



Trump has been open about how he regularly watches cable TV news, and the gaps seem to be shrinking between the time when something airs on a news show and when it ends up in his Twitter feed.



On the evening of Jan. 24, for instance, Trump posted a tweet that included crime statistics for Chicago that had aired on Fox about an hour earlier.



How Trump consumes cable news can also be on display in public appearances, as at a Florida rally Feb. 18 when he said, "you look at whats happening last night in Sweden."



He tweeted the next day that his comment "was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden."



Trump's tweets appear to come from a mix of conservative sources, as seems the case with his Saturday tweets of an unsubstantiated allegation that President Obama tapped his phones before the election. A Breitbart News article highlighting similar allegations made on a recent episode of conservative radio host Mark Levin's program was circulating in the West Wing the day before the president tweeted the charges about Obama, sources told ABC News.



Fox News had also aired a segment the night before in which House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was asked about concerns that "the Obama administration may have been surveilling members of the Trump campaign."



The latest



Tweeting unverified information can result in sharing completely inaccurate content.



That was the case this morning when Trump tweeted that "122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!"



The tweet followed reporting this morning on "Fox & Friends" that included an on-screen graphic of the number of Guantanamo Bay "prisoners re-engaged in terrorism." Fox did not break down when those detainees were released and under which administration.



But Trump did, making his tweet inaccurate. According to the Director of National Intelligence, 113 of the prisoners in question were released during George W. Bush's presidency and only nine were released during Obama's tenure.



Asked about the claim this afternoon at a news conference, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, "obviously, the president meant in totality," not just under Obama.



Such an inaccuracy is an example of what can happen when sources are not verified, according to presidential historian and ABC News contributor Mark Updegrove.



"The danger in a president using television coverage to assess national and international events is that it's so often based on punditry: people's opinions and not fact," Updegrove said on "Good Morning America" in a segment that aired Tuesday.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Okezie made his feelings known on Tuesday when the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of the Nigeria Army, Enugu, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Abubakar, paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Umuahia.

He hailed the military for their efforts and gallantry, especially in battling the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

The time to battle violent crime has come and the Federal Government should acquire trackers for states and deduct the money used to purchase them from the states allocation by installment over a period of time.

We know that such gadgets will help security agencies to meet up with the fight against crime in the states.

Describing Aba as the capital of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria, he said that the city needed adequate security of lives and property for commerce to continue to thrive in the area.

The governor, who commended the military personnel serving in the state for their professional conduct, said that the people reposed great confidence in them.

He solicited their assistance toward governments eforts to reduce crime and the menace of drug abuse in the state.

Earlier in his speech, Abubakar thanked the state government for its support to the 14 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, located at Ohafia.

He said that the Nigerian Army was committed to providing security in the state, especially in Aba, because of its significant contribution to the nations socio-economic development.
This was disclosed to Pulse by Semiu Okanlawon, who is the Director of Communications and Strategy in the Office of the Governor.

Ife has been embroiled in crisis for a few days now.

The Government of Osun says it has caused deployment of heavy security personnel to the scene of the crisis in Ile Ife in Ife Central West Local Council Development Area of the state.

The State government has assured residents of the readiness of the security forces to quell the face-off which has led to the destruction of property in parts of the ancient city.

"This is to assure all and sundry that the breach of the peace in Ile Ife is not beyond the control of our highly mobilized security forces", Okanlawon said.

"To this end, the Governor of the state of Osun, upon receiving reports of the fracas; the exact cause of which is still under investigation, has ordered deployment of adequate security forces and is getting minute-by-minute situation reports.

"The Government therefore warns those involved in this act of criminal breach of public peace to end it immediately as the full weight of the law would be brought to bear on anyone arrested."

The curfew will hold between 6pm to 7am.

It will be in force till Friday.
The speaker also pledged to be bold for change, adding that it was in line with the theme for 2017 celebration.

He stressed the importance of women inclusion in all fields of endeavour in the country, saying that anything short of that was unhealthy for nation building.

According to him, a status quo that relegates women to the background is unhealthy for national development.

He said Women make up approximately half of the Nigerian population, and it is extremely important that an environment that brings out the best in them and enable them reach their full potential is provided.

We cant have half of our people unable to attain their goals or contribute meaningfully to the economy, and expect development.

The House of Representatives have a history of placing women in strategic positions culminating in the election of the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria.

We have continued this tradition of Gender parity in the 8th House by placing our female colleagues in strategic positions of leadership in the House.

The speaker stressed the need to invest on girl-child education to bridge the gap in the school enrolment statistics.

According to him, Nigeria as a country must invest heavily on the girl-child education as a means of bridging the gap in school enrolment statistics between boys and girls and disparity in literacy levels.

No child should be left behind in our society. We must resolve to do away with all laws and practices that encourage violence against women in our society.

Gender should not restrict the dreams and aspirations of millions of our daughters, so we all must be bold for change and support the women around us to achieve their goals and maximise their potentias and talents.

Recent studies show that Nigerian women are some of the best entrepreneurs in the world.

As a nation, we must enact and implement laws and policies to further nurture this entrepreneurial spirit and empower our women, he said.

Dogara, therefore, urged his colleagues to be bold for change to support, respect, desist from and speak against all actions that endangered women.

ALSO READ:Dogara congratulates Acting President on his 60th birthday

The theme of this years celebration is Be Bold for Change.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that International Womens Day is celebrated annually on March 8.

It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, which has been observed since the early 1900s
Addressing the beneficiaries on the occasion of International Womens Day, the governors wife stressed the need to launch Edo women into agriculture to reduce the level of poverty in the state.

She said that the empowerment became imperative as the demand for poultry products in Nigeria was surpassing supply.

She said each of the widows would receive 20 male and 20 female chickens, adding that each of the female chickens was capable of laying six to seven times daily.

The governors wife said that a committee would be constituted to monitor the beneficiaries of the project.

She, however, urged women in the state to desist from pulling down one another.

In a message, Gov. Godwin Obaseki, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Philip Shaibu, congratulated the women on their special day.

The governor commended his wife for her agricultural initiatives to empower women in the state.

ALSO READ:Governor Obaseki apologises to Edo people over traffic difficulties during Osinbajos visit

He said that womens issues were a priority to the present administration.

He appealed to the widows to make good use of the opportunity given to them, promising that more had yet to come.
The resolution was sequel to a motion by Senator Binta Garba in line with the theme for the 2017 International Women Day; Women in the changing world of work: Planet 50:50 by 2030'.

Senator Garba expressed displeasure over the poor implementation of policies that prohibits violence against women and girls in public and public spheres including trafficking, sexual exploitation, early child and forced marriage female genital mutilation.

The Adamawa North senator stated that women are significantly under-represented as legislators, senior government officials and corporate chief executives and managers.

Contributing to the motion, Senator Shehu Sani noted that women are not just mothers or sisters but also partners in nation building.

ALSO READ: Aisha Buhari challenges stakeholders on empowerment of women

Senator Sani called for the implementation of the resolution of the Beijing Women Conference resolutions and amendment of the constitution to allow women to contribute to nation building.

Senate Minority leader, Godswill Akpabio expressed optimism that a woman could become Nigerias president in the future.

I look forward to a day that a woman will become the president of Nigeria because they will bring a lot of refreshment into Nigerian politics, he said.

The former Akwa-Ibom state governor called on all leaders at various levels to give women the chance to contribute their quota to national development.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on Oct. 31, 2016, preferred a 34-count charge bordering on N3.2 billion fraud against Kalu and his former Commissioner for Finance, Ude Udeogo as well as a company  Slok Nigeria Ltd.

The accused had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

On Monday, the Defence had raised an objection to the testimony of a first prosecution witness, Mr Onovah Ogonevoh, on the grounds that his statement was not attached to the proof of evidence served on it.

In a short ruling on the issue, Justice Mohammed Idris, overruled the objections on the grounds that the prosecution had not yet provided his statement.

Idris held that since the witness was under subpoena, he should be allowed to testify in the matter irrespective of whether his statement was available or not.

The court, however, directed the prosecution to ensure that it provided the defence with the statements of all other witnesses, who are not under subpoena.

When trial resumed on Tuesday, the prosecutor, Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) began examination of the first prosecution witness.

Jacob then sought to tender a document from Manny Bank Plc (now defunct) in response to an enquiry from the commission in respect of 27 bank drafts issued by the Umuahia Branch of the bank.

The bank had in its response dated October 13, 2006 to the EFCCs request, attached the customers name, the account number and copies of the bank drafts with a covering letter.Again, the defence raised objections to the admissibility of the documents attached to the letter.

In his objection, counsel to the first accused, Chief Mike Ozhekome (SAN) said its certification by the EFCC was erroneous.

It is legally untenable for the commission to certify a document which originally was in possession of the bank; the bank is in a better position to certify the document.

Ozekhome also noted that since the witness was not the maker of the documents, it will be difficult for the defence to cross-examine him on it.

He urged the court to reject the documents attached to the letter.

Counsel to the second and third accused, Chief Solo Akuma (SAN) and Mr K.C Nwofo (SAN), also aligned themselves with Ozekhomes submission, and urged the court to reject the documents as not being duly certified.

In his reply, the prosecutor argued that once there is no objection to the covering letter, the entire document should be taken by the court as admitted.

He argued that the commission had only certified the letter sent to it by the bank which is now in its possession and that the certification is in substantial compliance with Section 104 of the Evidence Act.

Justice Idris has fixed March 8 to deliver his ruling on the issue.In the charge, the accused were alleged to have committed the offence between August 2001 and October 2005.

The sum is alleged to have formed part of funds illegally derived from the coffers of the Abia State Government.

In one of the counts, his company (Slok Nig. Ltd) and one Emeka Abone who is said to be at large, were also alleged to have retained in the companys account the sum of N200 million on behalf of the first accused.

They were alleged to have utilised Manny Bank, (now Fidelity Bank Plc), Spring Bank Plc, the defunct Standard Trust Bank and Fin Land Bank, now First City Monument Bank (FCMB).

On counts one to 10, the accused were alleged to have retained about N2.5 billion in different accounts which funds were said to belong to the Abia Government.

Cumulatively, in all the counts, the accused were alleged to have diverted over N3.2 billion from the Abia State Governments treasury during Kalus tenure as governor.
In a condolence message on Tuesday issued by the Acting Presidents Spokesman, Mr Laolu Akande, Osinbajo said he learnt with sadness the tragic death of the veteran journalist, playwright, academic and politician.

Besides being the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Daily Times of Nigeria the deceased was also Senior Special Assistant to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Public Communication.

During his lifetime, the brilliant and multi-talented journalist, academic and tested technocrat was a symbol of hope, integrity and decency, with a passion for excellence and community development.

That endeared him to those who came in direct contact with him, Osinbajo noted.

According to the acting president, Onukaba will be long remembered for enriching the nations history with his simple but incisive style of writing.

He said the deceased displayed the skill as biographer of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and co-author of a biography of Late Dele Giwa.

His death at this time is indeed painful, he stated.

The acting president urged all who mourn Onukaba to take solace knowing that his legacies would continue to remain relevant in Nigeria.
Osinbajo turned 60 recently, and encomiums were showered on him from many Nigerians.

The Acting President has been in charge of running the country since President Buhari went on vacation over 40 days ago.

In a message on Twitter, Osinbajo said Thank you everyone, for your kind words, I am humbled. I am grateful to God for 60 years. There is no me without Him. Saved by Grace alone.

Also, in the video, the Acting President was seen singing praises to God, after which he exchanged pleasantries with his wife.
During the visit, Osinbajo will expectedly hold interactive sessions with stakeholders in the state.

This was disclosed by Governor Aminu Tambuwal via his spokesman, Imam Imam.

While in the Seat of the Caliphate, the Acting President will take part in a two-day nationwide clinic organised for micro,small and medium enterprises (MSME), which is being hosted by the Sokoto State Government, Imam said via a statement released on Wednesday, March 8.

During the events, the Acting President will hold interactive sessions with government agencies, financial institutions, operators and stakeholders in the MSMEs sub-sector," Imam added.

Osinbajo will also visit the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad-Abubakar III, at his palace in Kanwuri, Sokoto.

ALSO READ: APC congratulates Acting President Osinbajo at 60
Ajimobi paid tribute to Osinbajo in a congratulatory message signed by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Tuesday.

Ajimobi advised him to continue to work with the president in entrenching an egalitarian society that would be the pride of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Osinbajo will clock 60 years on Wednesday.

Ajimobi said that Osinbajos intellectual disposition to governance as well as his passion for the well-being of Nigerians was worthy of emulation.

The Vice President has, since assumption of office, demonstrated his readiness to work assiduously with President Muhammadu Buhari in ensuring the socio-economic transformation of Nigeria through good policies and programmes.

His unflinching support for the presidents anti-corruption fight has also helped in sanitising the polity and ensuring judicious utilization of the available resources for the betterment of the generality of Nigerians.

He commended Osinbajos visits to the Niger Delta region and constant dialogue with the militants.

The governor noted that the visits had led to the restoration of peace to the restive region, thereby boosting oil exploration activities and improving the nations economy.

Though the president is away in the UK on vacation, Osinbajo has risen to the occasion, while still maintaining regular contact with his boss in the running of the nations affairs.
In a congratulatory message to mark Osinbajos 60 years Birthday Anniversary, Dogara commended the acting president for exhibiting abiding faith and commitment to the ideals of democracy and rule of law.

He noted that since his emergence as the Vice President and chairman of the countrys Economic Council, the acting president had not left any one in doubt in his capacity to handle matters of national interest, development and progress.

He commended Osinbajos disposition towards building national peace, unity and stability of Nigeria which he had always manifested while carrying out his duties.

Dogara wished his Excellency a happy birthday celebration, and prayed that God Almighty will continue to keep him in good health.

In the same vein, the Chairman, Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, has congratulated the Acting President on the occasion of his 60th birthday March 8.

Ndoma-Egba said this in a congratulatory message signed by Mrs Clara Braide, Special Assistant, Communication Office, NDDC, on Tuesday in Abuja.

He described the Acting President as Highly loyal and cerebral.

He said that his integrity, Intelligence and selflessness service has been essential to the numerous achievements recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari led administration.

The NDDC Chairman also turns 61 on the same day as the Acting President.

Ndoma-Egba said that Osinbajo as a man of God and lawyer, has been responsible for the several landmark achievements that has no doubt, endeared him to the President.

I commend and congratulate President Buhari for choosing Prof. Osinbajo as his running mate; the vision and wisdom of this decision is evident for all to see in his ability to hold forte for our dear president.
Based on actual events, "The Zookeeper's Wife" tells the story of then zoo director Jan Zabinski and his wife Antonina, who together saved nearly 300 people, mostly Jews smuggled out of the city's ghetto, by providing them shelter in their villa basement.

Thankfully, the Nazi Germans occupying Poland never found out.

"Antonina and Jan were ordinary people who risked everything -- their safety and the safety of their children -- to save others. They fostered hope in a time that was so dark," Oscar-nominated US actress Jessica Chastain, who plays Antonina, told reporters ahead of the screening.

"What Jan and Antonina did was so extraordinary. But they did it for one very simple reason: because it was the right thing to do," director Niki Caro, who was born in New Zealand, told reporters in the Polish capital.

Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance centre later recognised the Zabinskis as Righteous Among the Nations, an award bestowed upon non-Jews who helped Jews during the Holocaust.

The movie, which hits theatres worldwide in late March, is based on a book of the same name by American author Diane Ackerman, who relied heavily on Antonina's own memoirs from the 1960s.

Caro said she never "really wanted to do a Holocaust movie, but this one was so different."

"You know, most of our war movies are about men. But this is one that was about a woman and children and animals and all of those things interest me very much," she said.

Secret tune

While her husband was out most days working with the Polish underground resistance, Antonina took care of their secret guests as well an eclectic collection of pets including a piglet, an otter and a badger.

Danger was ever present, as the Nazi Germans were constantly milling around the zoo. Helping Jews -- even offering them a glass of water -- was punishable by death in occupied Poland.

Whenever the Nazis approached, Antonina would warn her secret guests by playing a special tune on the piano and they would escape outside via a tunnel in the basement.

The movie also stars German actor Daniel Bruhl and Belgian-born Johan Heldenbergh, who along with Caro and Chastain said they would join a Warsaw march on Wednesday to mark International Women's Day.
Sheriff issued the order via a statement released by his spokesman, Bernard Mikko.

The statement reads in part:

Members of the PDP Welfare Association and indeed all committed staff of the national secretariat who have not resumed duties should immediately get back to work, as they are neither on trial nor involved in any crisis or litigation necessitating any form of political or legal solution to resolve.

The belligerent stance and the series of communiques issued by some members of staff indicate clearly that they have positioned themselves at the centre of political conflagrations involving their bosses against their terms and conditions of employment.

The dissident group which they pretend to profess their loyalty had been proscribed by law and legally dead. Any attempt to resurrect a dead horse will only amount to superstition and largely futile.

Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and the entire NWC are committed to bringing the party to fame to the realization of the dreams of the founding fathers and should be supported to do so.

Failure to heed this call will attract disciplinary procedures as the staff are deemed to be conversant with their terms and conditions of employment, particularly the PDP Establishment Manual that stipulates that they remain apolitical.

The PDP is involved in a leadership battle which has caused it to split into two factions, one led by Sheriff and the other by former Kaduna state governor, Ahmed Makarfi.
Okogbuo made this known in his Uzuakoli country home in Bende Local Government Area of Abia.

We know that Anambra is the stronghold of APGA. The people of the state are solidly behind the party and the hardworking governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

Ask them anytime, any day, they will tell you that Obiano is the man they know, he said.

He dismissed the speculation in some quarters that the ruling All Progressives Congress at the centre would deploy security agencies in the state to rig the election in favour of its candidate.

He said, I am not worried by such speculations and propaganda.

What I am sure of is that the people of Anambra will resist such a move with their last blood, the APGA chieftain said.

He expressed the optimism that Obiano would have a landslide victory in the November election, saying that the governor is the candidate to beat in the exercise.

He said, Obiano has delivered on his campaign promises. We are expecting a 99 per cent vote for him from tthe people of Anambra.

He has proved to be a visionary, dependable and committed governor, acceptable to all strata of the state, including the young and old, Okogbuo said.

He said that he was happy that the governor did not disappoint the Anambra people in his first tenure.

He said that he was sure that the people would renew his mandate for a second tenure.

In politics, when someone performs creditably in his first tenure, the people reward him with a fresh mandate, the case of Obiano will not be an exception, he said.

Okogbuo lauded Obiano for building on the solid foundation and structures laid by his predecessors in office.

He said that former governors, Dr Chris Ngige and Mr Peter Obi, identified and religiously tackled the socio-economic and political challenges facing the state.

The people of the state are happy with him because under his watch, Anambra recorded superlative achievement in economic and infrastructure development.
Shettima made this known on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 during the commissioning of an estate named Bola Tinubu Court.

In a report by TheCable, the governor reportedly said the ex-Lagos governor made it impossible some individuals to hijack the APC structure in Borno state especially towards the 2015 elections.

He said: For us in Borno State APC, I must confess that we owe our political freedom and independence to not only our firmness but importantly, to the wisdom and sincerity of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, he said.

I always tell people that yes, politics is a local affair; yes, we carried out the fight and deployed different strategies for our freedom but then, the truth of the matter is that there are two people whose contributions to us were master strokes.

ALSO READ: Gov Shettima says insurgents created over 100K orphans, widows in Borno

We have President Muhammadu Buharis electrifying popularity to our advantage which significantly helped us during the elections.
According to the reports, the take-over is as a result of Etisalat's failure to service a loan facility it obtained back in 2015.

Premium Times reports that some of the banks, including Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank and Zenith Bank, have been in a long-running battle with Etisalat over the loan facility which totals $1.72 billion (about 541.8 billion).

Etisalat reportedly took the loan, which also involves a foreign-backed guaranty bond, to finance a major network rehabilitation and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria.

However, the company failed to meet up with its debt servicing requirements which led the three Nigerian banks, under pressure from their foreign partners, to report Etisalat to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) - both leading regulators in the banking and telecom sectors.

ALSO READ: Regulator declares state of emergency on quality of service by operators

The Premium Times report says Etisalat blamed its inability to fulfil the debt servicing terms "on the current economic recession in Nigeria." The banks, on the other hand, are going after Etisalat as pressure mounts on them from the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to cut down on their non-performing loans.

The report also mentions a "senior official of one of the banks" as saying that the consortium has proposed the option of declaring bankruptcy to Etisalat - an option which would effectively give the banks full reign over Etisalat and its operations.

Apparently, the NCC has originally stood against this move, but later approved the takeover late Tuesday, the report said. The takeover is expected to go down today.
She is suspected of favoring a construction magnate for public contracts. Her family's real estate company Los Sauces is suspected of involvement in bribes.

Hundreds of supporters rallied in her support as she arrived at the tightly guarded court to answer a summons by federal judge Claudio Bonadio.

"I am the target of judicial and media persecution which is unprecedented in this country's democracy and which also extends to my children," she said in an online message.

Bonadio on Monday had summoned Kirchner's daughter Florencia, 26, and son Maximo, 40, over their roles in Los Sauces.

Bonadio now has 10 days to decide whether to put Kirchner on trial or dismiss the case.

It is the fourth case against Kirchner to reach court since she left office in 2015, and the third in which she faces formal charges.

The case comes at a delicate time for Argentina, Latin America's third-biggest economy.

Mid-term legislative elections in October pose a key test for President Mauricio Macri, who succeeded Kirchner in December 2015.

Tens of thousands of people joined a mass demonstration in central Buenos Aires on Tuesday, the second day of a strike by teachers and hospital staff.

They are demanding pay rises and protesting job cuts and price rises under Macri's economic reforms.

"If you raise my utility costs, I will raise your political costs," read signs waved by the protesters.

Macri's Production Minister Francisco Cabrera said the protests were driven by "political motivations in an election year."

Despite the recession, he insisted the economy was creating jobs.
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein praised the DR Congo government for quickly investigating the killings and other severe human rights violations in the isolated Kasai and Lomani provinces, but said a UN probe was also needed.

"I commend the swift action taken by the government to begin processes of investigation and accountability in some of the alleged killings attributed to soldiers, and offer the assistance of my office," Zeid told the UN Human Rights Council.

But, he continued, "in light of recurrent reports of grave violations and the recent discovery of three more mass graves, I urge the council to establish a Commission of Inquiry to look into these allegations."

In February, a seven-minute video posted on social media, which appeared to be taken on a mobile phone, purported to show a massacre of unarmed men and women by Congolese soldiers apparently in the central Kasai area.

The country has also been rocked by political violence after President Joseph Kabila refused to step down at the end of his second and final term in December.

His continued presence in office sparked clashes that left more than 100 people dead in September and December, Zeid said.

"My office will be closely watching judicial developments in regard to actions by security forces which lead to the deaths," he told the council.

Zeid also expressed disappointment there had been "no meaningful progress"towards implementing a power-sharing deal signed on New Year's Eve.
The conservative candidate "did not deem it necessary" to report the 50,000 euros ($53,000) loan he received from Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere in 2013 to a state transparency watchdog, the Canard Enchaine weekly said in its edition to appear Wednesday.

"The 'oversight' may be costly for the presidential candidate," said the investigative and satirical newspaper, which also made the allegations in January about the fake jobs scandal that has threatened to derail Fillon's candidacy.

Le Canard Enchaine reported that Fillon's lawyer Antonin Levy had confirmed the loan had been repaid in full, but did not say when.

Once the frontrunner to become France's next president in May, 63-year-old Fillon has had to battle to stay in the race because of the revelations that he had paid his wife Penelope hundreds of thousands of euros from public funds, allegedly for fake jobs.

The former prime minister is to be charged later this month.

Ladreit de Lacharriere is the CEO of Fimalac, a financial services holding company, and owns the literary magazine La Revue des Deux Mondes.

The publication paid Penelope Fillon some 100,000 euros in 2012-13 but there is little evidence of her work.

Investigators are looking into a possible link between this job and the bestowal of France's highest civilian honour, the Grand Croix of the Legion of Honour, on Ladreit de Lacharriere in 2011 when Fillon was prime minister.

The Canard Enchaine also said investigators were looking into a consultancy firm called 2F Conseil that Fillon set up in 2012 after he left office as prime minister, which the paper says has paid him hundreds of thousands of euros.

Fillon has denied any wrongdoing with his consultancy work.

Party's 'unanimous' support

With just seven weeks to go before France goes to the polls in the April 23 first round of a two-stage vote, Fillon has remained as the rightwing candidate despite calls for him to allow rival Alain Juppe to stand in his place because of the scandal.

On Monday, he won the "unanimous" backing of his Republicans party after Juppe, 71, adamantly rejected the calls while lamenting the state of Fillon's candidacy, calling it a "waste".

Juppe also chastised Fillon for the disdain he has shown the justice system and his swipes at the media.

Fillon, campaigning as a sleaze-free candidate, was the surprise winner of the rightwing primary in November, besting Juppe who was convicted in 2004 over a party finance scandal.

The infighting among Republicans and Fillon's chaotic campaign have made an already unpredictable election even harder to call.

Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, 39, has gone from strength t o strength, with the latest poll putting him neck-and-neck with far-right leader Marine Le Pen with 25.5 percent to 26.5 percent for her.
The report by Berlin-based Transparency International surveyed more than 20,000 people in 16 countries spanning the Asia Pacific region from Pakistan to Australia.

From the results they estimated 900 million people were forced to fork over "tea money" at least once in the previous 12 months.

Bribery rates were highest in India and Vietnam, where nearly two thirds of respondents said they had to sweeten the deal to access basic services like public education and healthcare.

Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia reported the lowest incidences of bribery.

Police were the most common demanders of kickbacks, according to the survey, with just under a third of people who had come into contact with an officer in the past year saying they had paid a bribe.

The poor are hit hardest by corruption with 38 percent of respondents saying they had to pay a bribe, the highest in any income category.

Yet while poorer people were more likely to be targeted in countries like Thailand, India and Pakistan, the reverse trend was found in places like Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

"Governments must do more to deliver on their anti-corruption commitments,"Jose Ugaz, the chair of Transparency International, said in a press release.

"Bribery is not a small crime, it takes food off the table, it prevents education, it impedes proper healthcare and ultimately it can kill."

When it came to perceptions of corruption Malaysia and Vietnam got the worst ratings from their citizens, who felt graft was widespread and accused their governments of doing little to fight it.

Corruption scandals have rocked a number of governments in Asia over the past year, dominating news headlines and whipping up protests.

South Korea's President Park Geun-hye was impeached by parliament in December over a major influence-peddling scandal that prompted millions to take to the street for months to call for her resignation.

Malaysia has also been seized by a graft scandal since 2015, with global investigators accusing Premier Najib Razak and his associates of misappropriating billions of dollars through the state-backed 1MDB fund.

A report last year by a corruption watchdog also detailed the enormous wealth accumulated by the family and friends of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

China, meanwhile, has been on anti-corruption drive that has netted more than one million officials, while fellow communist country Vietnam has also jailed a number of former businessmen for graft in its bloated state-run sector.
The comments came after German local authorities banned rallies that Turkish officials were due to address to raise support among expatriate voters for a referendum in April on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers.

"Germany must not intervene in our elections and out referendum," he said. "Those who want to say 'Yes' in the referendum are being blocked and that is not right."

Local authorities had called off a rally in Hamburg where Cavusoglu was due to speak, citing fire safety concerns.

Police said about 250 opponents of Erdogan gathered near the consulate, some of them brandishing signs that read "Dictator Erdogan -- Hayir," meaning "No" in Turkish.

Cavusoglu said he would meet Wednesday with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, whom he called a "friend", at a breakfast in Berlin and visit a tourism fair.

Tensions have been rocketing between NATO allies Turkey and Germany over the past week after the cancellation of several rallies where Turkish cabinet ministers were due to whip up support for a "yes" vote in the April 16 referendum.

'Great fear'

Erdogan escalated the crisis over the weekend, likening the cancellations to "Nazi practices," drawing a sharp response from Berlin.

He also warned Germany not to block him from making an appearance if he wished.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's office firmly rejected the Nazi jibe as "absurd and out of place".

Cavusoglu said the rally cancellations were "unacceptable" and reminiscent of practices in the run-up to World War II.

He criticised Germany and several other European countries including the Netherlands, where politicians including Prime Minister Mark Rutte have condemned Cavusoglu's plans to attend a similar rally in Rotterdam.

"We are in a state of great fear," Cavusoglu said. "If we cannot stop the advance of racist parties, Europe will head (back) to the pre-World War II period."

Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik spoke Tuesday with Michael Roth, state secretary at Germany's foreign ministry, sources in Celick's ministry said.

"Turkish-German relations are not local authorities' responsibility but that of the German state," Celik told Roth, according to the sources.

"We believe this is a systematic obstacle to our government."

- 'Embarrassing'-

Germany is home to a sizeable Turkish community, with some 1.4 million able to vote in Turkey -- a potential electoral goldmine in the Erdogan government's campaign to create an executive presidency.

Cavusoglu accused countries "which we deem as friends" of openly taking sides, slamming it "unacceptable" and "embarrassing".

Turkish-German ties have been strained since a vast crackdown launched by Ankara after a failed coup bid to oust Erdogan in July 2016.

Mass detentions have alarmed Europe, which has urged Ankara to respect freedoms. Critics say the clampdown has targeted opponents of the government, not merely coup-plotters.

In another development adding to the acrimony Tuesday, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said he had opened a case against German newspaper Bild for "seriously insulting" Erdogan and himself in a report.
Want to know where a Metro bus is at this very moment or be alerted to how soon one will arrive at your bus stop? There's an app for that.

MetroLINK, Rock Island County's transit service, rolled out its new smartphone app Tuesday. Known as the Transloc Rider app, the new technology is in partnership with national transportation provider TransLoc. The app allows a Metro bus rider to access a real-time location of any bus in the system.

"The TransLoc Rider app gives our 10,000 daily riders up-to-the-minute bus information at the tap of a button," said Jennifer Garrity, MetroLINK's administration manager. "Many of our riders are tech-savvy millennials and young professionals who are used to getting the latest information on their smartphones."

Steve Quested, MetroLINK's operations supervisor, said users can pull up an individual route to see where a bus currently is at or view the entire transit system.

"A lot of riders are pretty familiar with our routes  they know them as well as we do,'' he said. "But for a lot of people this definitely is a way they can look and see where the bus is without standing on a street corner."

MetroLINK joins 200 other transit providers that have partnered with TransLoc over the past decade. Among them are the University of Iowa and the University of Chicago.

"TransLoc's partnership with MetroLINK demonstrates our commitment to building more efficient and sustainable public transportation systems," said Doug Kaufman, TransLoc CEO. "Access to public transportation is critically important to the Illinois Quad-Cities community, with more than 90 percent of riders relying on public transportation to get to their jobs or schools."

Garrity said Metro staff will be on hand over the next month at the different stations and colleges to educate users on the new app.

Passenger Richard Bellman was quick to accept help from Quested in downloading the app. "I'm definitely going to be using it," the East Moline man said, adding he often is "running late and I don't know what bus to get."

Garrity said the new app also supports MetroLINK's mission of creating an efficient transit system to ease traffic congestion and reduce air pollution. "It's another tool that makes transit attractive to the user," she said.

The TransLoc Rider app is available to download on iOS and Android devices. For video tutorials on how it works, MetroQC.com.
The new Element hotel, being built as part of The Q multi-modal station, is on track for an August opening, leaders with Renew Moline learned Tuesday.

"Now you can start to see the hotel addition," Ray Forsythe, the city's planning and development director, told members of Renew's Project Management Team, or PMT.

He said construction crews are expected to add a floor each week  which are arriving in modular pieces.

The Amin Group is redeveloping the former Sears warehouse, located at 1202 4th Ave., into a $35 million extended stay hotel. Russell Construction is building the 96-room hotel. Together, the hotel project and the adjacent passenger rail station are known as The Q.

The steel for the train station's two-story Grand Hall is expected to arrive next week, Forsythe said, adding "Then you'll really be able to see it's a new building."

Meanwhile, he said the Illinois Department of Transportation's rail division is in negotiations with the Iowa-Interstate Railroad for an agreement to build the high-speed rail track on the railroad's property. He estimated the negotiations will be done by June and track construction will begin once an agreement is in place.

When asked when train service would begin, he said the state is saying "they'll have service by next year. But it could be the end of next year."

Janet Mathis, Renew's CEO/president, said the hotel now is expected to be completed in August although a few model rooms will be completed by May when the PMT is planning another tour.

Under a federal grant for the train station, Forsythe said the public side of the project must be done in May.

In other downtown Moline updates, the PMT learned:

Bi-State Regional Commission and Quad-Cities First are working to complete an economic impact study of what construction of the new Interstate 74 bridge will mean.

Gorman and Co. Inc., based in Madison, Wisconsin, is moving forward with plans to build 38 market-rate apartments and a cafe in the former Spiegel Building, Forsythe said.

Global Communities along with Group O, Renew, the city and Western Illinois University are pursuing a federal grant to conduct a feasibility study of The Mercado concept. Launched last summer by Group O, the outdoor farmer's market could be expanded with a permanent structure or community kitchens to promote food entrepreneurs, Mathis said.

Renovations already are underway on converting the former Chase Building into 31 units, she said, adding that Russell expects a summer opening.

Heart of America also is moving forward with its plans to renovate the 5th Avenue building into new housing along with a new concept restaurant and a rooftop bar. The Moline hospitality company also is in the conceptual design phase for a 155-market-rate apartment project on the former John Deere Collector's Center site, Forsythe said.

He also indicated that a regional pharmacy is looking to locate across from the hotel and train station by summer. But he would not identify the tenant.

"It's really exciting to see all this progress in this tough economy," said Joe Rives, chairman of the PMT and vice president of Western Illinois University Quad-Cities. "It really sends a message that we are a community on the move."
Over the past three years, Brandy VandeWall has seen plenty of artsy shops pop up in Rock Island.

Its happened so much that VandeWall, who owns Skeleton Key Art and Antiques, has started to call the city Antique Island.

More and more antique stores have opened to the point where we have 10 in one area, she said. Not a lot of people know that.

To get the word out  and offer a weekend happening  VandeWall has organized a shop hop, called Antique Island, set for Saturday.

Were small businesses, and we dont have the money behind us to do a lot of big things, she said. But if we band together, we can.

Seven stores will participate in the first-ever shop hop. Vintage Rose Antiques and Jewelry is no longer participating after it was damaged by an explosion inside the property on Monday.

Weve definitely grown over the past year, VandeWall said. Theres not a lot of towns nearby with this much to choose from.

Her store, a hybrid of an antique mall and an art gallery, offers metalworks, paintings, jewelry, crafts and antique furniture. Most items are crafted by area artists, including her husband.

There is so much artistic talent in this area, VandeWall said. A lot of artists are looking for places to show off their work, so we love being able to provide that.

The latest store to join Antique Island is More Than Antiques, which Karolyn Williams officially opened in the College Hill District on Friday.

Williams, who sews clothing and offers a mixture of vintage and new items, said More Than Antiques is her eighth antique store. She ran stores in California and two shops  Memories and More and Estate of Grace  in Rock Island.

I always have to have a store, she said. Its what I do.

Her daughter Jennifer Horvath owns Fred and Ethels, a shop directly across 30th street, thats also part of the artsy outing on Saturday.

Its a way to support your local small business, she said. You never know what youre going to find.

Participating stores include:

 Skeleton Key Art and Antiques, 520 18th St., Rock Island, is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday. It's closed Monday and Tuesday. Visit facebook.com/SkeletonKeyArtAndAntiques.

 Jackson's Antiques, 1310 30th St., Rock Island, is open noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and noon-4 p.m. Saturday. It's closed Sunday-Tuesday. For more information, visit facebook.com/jacksonsantiques or call 309-314-4952.

 Fred & Ethel's, 1326 30th St., Rock Island, is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and closed Sunday-Monday. For more information, visit facebook.com/Fred-Ethels-238501676471 or call 309-786-3511.

 Dar-Jac Antiques & Jewelry, 3115 14th Ave., Rock Island, is open noon-5:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday. It's closed Sunday-Tuesday. For more information, visit facebook.com/darjacantiques or call 309-788-0251.

 Vintage Varieties, 1808 3rd Ave., Rock Island, is open noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and closed Sunday-Tuesday. For more information, visit facebook.com/Vintage-Varieties-1509160706003138 or call 309-781-5679.

 More Than Antiques, 1319 30th St., Rock Island, is open from noon-6 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 10 a.m.-4 pm. Saturday. It's closed Sunday-Tuesday.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  A Fairfield teenager has been arrested in connection with a shooting in Muscatine over the weekend.

Noah Hass, 16, has been charged with attempted murder, a class B felony. He is accused of shooting Aaron Allen, 21, of Letts on Sunday, according to a news release from the Muscatine Police Department.

Hass was arrested by the Fairfield Police Department around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Allen was transported by AirCare to an Iowa City hospital with serious injuries from gunshot wounds. He was found outside of a vehicle in the 300 block of Broadway Street, and officers also located several shell casings in the area.

The Muscatine Detective Bureau is actively working leads in the investigation, police said.

The Muscatine Police Department is asking for the publics assistance, and anyone with information about the incident or other criminal activity is encouraged to call the Muscatine Police Department at 563-263-9922, ext. 608, or send a private message through the department's Facebook account.
A Rock Island County judge on Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss charges against Yolanduis McDuffie, who is charged a second time in the fatal shooting of Rock Island tattoo artist Derek Jackson in 2013.

McDuffie, 24, will be back in court Friday for a pretrial conference. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Just before noon Dec. 18, 2013, Rock Island police were dispatched to Jacksons home in the 1000 block of 16th Avenue.

Police found Jackson, 24, lying on his back in the dining room. He had two gunshot wounds to the head and one gunshot wound to his left arm. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

McDuffie initially was charged with first-degree murder in Jackson's death, but prosecutors dismissed the case Jan. 6, 2015, the day his trial was scheduled to begin.

The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning charges could be refiled at any time. There is no statute of limitation for a murder charge.

Rock Island County prosecutors recharged him in August 2015 after investigators found the handgun they believe was used to kill Jackson.

According to prosecutors, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in May 2015 recovered a handgun in a Bettendorf hotel room that was transported and tested at the Illinois Crime Lab.

The gun was found to be a match to the shell casings and bullet that was recovered at the scene of the shooting. Prosecutors have not said how McDuffie was linked to the recovered gun.

McDuffies co-defendant in the case, Aaron D. Henderson II, 24, was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder in connection with Jackson's death and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

The jury rejected prosecutors' theory that Henderson pulled the trigger but were convinced that Henderson was an accomplice in Jackson's death.

Nate Nieman, one of McDuffie's attorneys, filed a motion to dismiss the charges against McDuffie on Feb. 21.

He wrote in the motion that prosecutors erred in their January 2015 motion to dismiss and argued that instead of dismissing the case, they moved to have it "stricken with leave to reinstate."

That means the case is merely suspended for a time and may be resurrected upon the states motion at any time, according to the motion.

McDuffie demanded his right to a speedy trial in his first case, which means that he must be tried within 120 days from the day of his arrest under state statute.

A criminal defendant can ask for continuances, which essentially stop the speedy trial clock and do not count against the 120-day time frame.

Nieman argued in his motion that if the case was stricken with leave to reinstate, the case was still pending and McDuffies right to a speedy trial was violated.

In the January 2015 motion to dismiss, Assistant States Attorney John McCooley wrote that the case was dismissed without prejudice i.e. with leave to re-instate because of new evidence.

He disputed that the case was not formally dismissed and argued that if the defense believed that the first case was still pending, they should have filed a new motion for a speedy trial.

Judge Frank Fuhr denied McDuffie's motion to dismiss and ruled that prosecutors did not act improperly when they filed their motion.

Last year, McDuffie pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a felon in Scott County District Court and was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison in the April 2015 shooting death of James Goode Jr., 33, of Davenport.

He made his first appearance on the newly filed Rock Island County charges in December.
DES MOINES  His job will be to represent the entire United States and act as an intermediary between two of the worlds most populous countries.

But some Iowa business and agriculture leaders think the state could benefit from Terry Branstad serving as U.S. ambassador to China.

Branstad, the nations longest-serving governor with more than two decades of service as Iowas chief executive, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next ambassador to China. Branstad has not yet been confirmed; that is expected this spring.

Branstad will have broad responsibilities as ambassador to represent the entire country, but some say Iowa very well could benefit from having Branstad serve in that role.

Hes been such a wonderful advocator for Iowa, said Li Zhao, president of China Iowa Group, a West Des Moines-based business that contracts with Iowa companies seeking to enter the Chinese market or build business relationships in China. I think hes going to be a fantastic ambassador, and Iowa will definitely benefit from that.

State business and agriculture leaders pointed to Branstads close relationships with both countrys presidents and his knowledge of international trade issues, particularly as they relate to Iowa farmers and businesses.

Branstad has had a professional friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping since 1984, when Branstad visited China. The following year, Xi, then a regional official, visited Iowa.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Branstad was an early post-primary supporter of Trump and did not waver when other Republicans questioned some of Trumps campaign rhetoric. And Branstads son Eric managed the Trump campaigns operation in Iowa.

Once confirmed as ambassador to China, Branstad will serve as a primary conduit between the Trump and Xi administrations.

Because of his relationships with both leaders and because Iowa and China are significant trading partners, Branstad could advocate for policies that benefit Iowans, leaders here say.

We all are looking forward, in ag, to having the governor there in that position, said Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, which represents more than 159,000 Iowa farm families, according to its website. While it does pose great challenges and will be very rigorous for the governor, were glad that hes taken on that duty.

Iowa exported $2.3 billion in goods to China in 2015, including $1.4 billion in agriculture products, according to the U.S.-China Business Council.

Hill said Branstads knowledge of international trade should help Iowa continue to benefit from its trade relationship with China, if not expand those benefits.

Branstad also is a frequent advocate for state policies that benefit Iowa businesses, chief among them, a 2013 package that reduced property tax rates on commercial and industry properties by nearly $400 million in fiscal years 2014 through 2016, according to the states nonpartisan fiscal estimating agency.

Iowa businesses that market goods to China hope Branstad can use his close relationship with the Chinese government to encourage international trade policies that benefit them.

We were pleased that Gov. Branstad was chosen as an ambassador to China, Ken Golden, global public relations director for Deere & Co., said in an emailed statement. Gov. Branstad understands the importance of agriculture to Iowa and the entire farm belt of the Midwest. He also understands that global trade is important not only to John Deere as an equipment manufacturer but also to our customers, especially those in agriculture.

Once he resigns as governor and becomes ambassador, however, Branstad no longer will be representing just one states goods and businesses. He will be representing an entire nation, including an administration whose stated goals very well may run afoul of Chinas interests.

Trump, for example, has stated a desire to renegotiate trade deals to make them more favorable to the U.S. And China has been accused by the U.S. of multiple violations of trade agreements in recent years.

Hill acknowledged Branstad may be required to walk a fine line but also said he thinks Branstads experience makes him the right person for the job.

I think its a two-way street as always in trade, and (Branstad) understands that, Hill said. It will be a very strenuous role that hell have going forward, certainly. But I think, knowing our governor, hell take a very measured, aggressive approach. It will be a positive approach, one that is respectful and considerate of all parties. But I think hes the right person for the job.

Branstad said he understands his role will be, on occasion, to try to encourage agreement between the Trump and Xi administrations.

Donald Trumps a businessman. He wrote a book called The Art of the Deal, Branstad said. In the end of the day, (Trump) wants to make things better for America. He wants better deals for America. But the best deal is a win-win, which would be better for America but also good for China.

My goal is to try to be the go-between between the two strong leaders, between President Trump representing America and my old friend Xi Jinping representing China, and hopefully working out some of these difficult issues. And theres a lot of issues.

Li said she is confident Branstad will be able to work through all those issues and Iowans will benefit from Branstads service as ambassador. She traveled with Branstads administration during a recent trade mission to China and marveled at the work Branstad did to foster those trade relationships.

And for Li  as with so many other Iowans who think Branstad will excel in his new role  it all comes back to that deep-seated relationship with President Xi.

The Chinese culture pays a lot of attention to relationships. We have a word called guanxi, Li said, referring to a Chinese word that literally means relationships and in Chinese business refers to a network of relationships. Its literally the key in doing business, making everything happen in China.

Gov. Branstad has the perfect guanxi with the highest-ranking officials in China. And that makes him pretty unique.
DES MOINES  State and local officials hope to soon launch an aggressive effort to analyze 4,265 untested rape kits for potential evidence that could help prosecutors identify and charge the assailants, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said Tuesday.

Results of a yearlong audit, made public by Miller, found that the untested rape kits are stored in city police departments and county sheriffs offices across Iowa, with nearly two in three at Iowas nine largest cities and some dating to the 1990s.

The statewide initiative, funded by a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, is part of a nationwide effort to address a backlog of untested kits.

It gives us the potential to provide justice, Miller said Tuesday at a news conference.

Officials are in the process of contracting with a private lab to begin analyzing the backlog of kits that also are undergoing a case-by-case review by a panel of criminologists, victim advocates and law agencies. Bids are due April 24, and the first batch of kit tests could begin in June, with an expected 90-day turnaround for results, he said.

We will put a priority on those that are bumping up against the statute of limitation, Miller said.

He estimated about half of the kits would produce usable DNA, and 30 percent or 40 percent of those would generate matches with offenders.

Testing the backlog would overwhelm the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation labs ongoing workload, Miller said, so the team will seek DNA testing through outside labs.

A DCI lab administrator then will decide which results to run in the DNA database, and any hits they generate on suspects will be referred to law enforcement, he said.

All 387 law enforcement agencies in Iowa participated in the survey, which found there are 4,265 untested sexual assault kits in Iowa. Nine police departments  generally serving the most populated cities  account for 63 percent of the untested kits.

Iowa law requires law enforcement agencies to retain sexual assault kits for 10 years for adult victims and for 10 years following a minor victims 18th birthday.

Iowas statute of limitations is 10 years for adults with an additional three years after a DNA match is discovered. The law also has a separate statute of limitations with a three-year time frame that begins to run if  through the development of a DNA profile  investigators discover the identity of a previously unknown perpetrator, Millers office said.

Our ultimate goal in cooperation with the state is to bring justice for the victims and make sure that we get these predators off the street when we can get them identified, Des Moines Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Paul Parizek said.

According to the report, the top reasons departments did not submit kits for testing were that the victim did not wish to file charges (19 percent); law enforcement doubted the truthfulness of the accusation (15 percent); or the victim did not cooperate (12 percent).

The initiative also is pursuing the establishment of a statewide rape kit tracking system that, when implemented, will track the status of all kits collected at a medical facility, stored by law enforcement or sent to laboratories for analysis. The initiative seeks to improve and standardize protocols associated with testing and victim support, training and a review of statutes on rape kit testing.
DES MOINES  A bill that advances Iowans individual, fundamental, constitutional rights by expanding when and how they can use guns won House approval Tuesday, setting up further expansion of gun rights in the future, according to its sponsor.

The 58-39 House vote to approve House File 517 was a triumph for rights Iowans need, deserve and have not been acknowledged for many, many years, sponsor Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, said on the House floor.

Two Democrats  Reps. Bruce Bearinger of Oelwein and Scott Ourth of Ackworth  voted with majority Republican for the bill. On the other hand, Republican Reps. Michael Bergan of Dorchester and David Heaton of Mount Pleasant voted against it.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, predicted it would be approved.

It looks very promising. Ive read the bill. Its a good bill, Zaun said. I think the prognosis looks very good.

Windschitl, who first introduced a stand-your-ground measure in 2007  his first year in the House  called HF 517 a balance for both those Iowans that choose to carry weapons and those Iowans who choose to not carry weapons.

But there was disagreement, especially with those provisions.

Under the bill, a person may use reasonable force, including deadly force, if he or she has a reasonable belief that such force is necessary to avoid injury or death to themselves or others. There is no duty to retreat. And a person may be wrong in the estimation that force is necessary, as long as there is a reasonable basis for it.

Rep. Mary Wolfe, D-Clinton, reminded colleagues she has supported many of the provisions in HF 517 that were voted on as separate measures in the past. But the overall bill included provisions lawmakers hadnt had a chance to thoroughly vet.

Current state law allows Iowans to stand their ground in certain circumstances if they have a reasonable belief that force is necessary to avoid injury or death to themselves or others, she said. There is no duty to retreat if doing so presents a danger.

We all believe in allowing law-abiding citizens to use whatever amount of force necessary to protect themselves or protect their loved ones, Wolfe said.

A defense lawyer, Wolfe offered an amendment she said would clarify when reasonable force could be used to defend property, as well as lay out justification for using deadly force against an aggressor.

My amendment makes it clear that you cannot, it is not legally justified, to use deadly force when all you are seeking to protect is property, she said.

Others spoke of the danger of a provision allowing children under 14 to shoot a handgun under the supervision of a parent or guardian.

I cannot support handing out handguns to children of any age, especially young children who do not possess the judgment necessary to handle a handgun safely, said Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City. Allowing a child of any age to handle a firearm makes us all unsafe.

She predicted the law would result in more accidents and deaths.

Recalling threats and racial slurs he has heard, Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, said he might be justified to treat every white male as a threat based on his experience.

Maybe I should teach those young men the mantra of Hands up, dont shoot, he said after donning a hoodie and headphones.

Rep. David Heaton, R-Mount Pleasant, opposed the bill because it would deny local governments the ability to ban weapons in their facilities. He recalled the Dec. 11, 1986, shooting at a City Council meeting that killed the mayor and wounded two council members.

The problem I have with this bill is that afterwards we banned weapons from our council chamber, he said. And this bill challenges the right of that City Council to ban weapons from the City Council chambers.

My town will never forget what happened, Heaton said. They are my constituents. I cannot support this bill.

A revision to the bill, however, would allow the Board of Regents to continue restricting guns from state campuses.

HF 517 doesnt go as far to expand and protect Second Amendment rights as Windschitl would like. However, its passage sets us up for future successes, to come back next year to get our freedoms back that have been encroached upon for generations.

The big prize for him would be constitutional carry, sometimes called permitless carry, which allows the legal carrying  open or concealed  of weapons without a government permit. Typically, it applies only to handguns.

Id love to have constitutional carry, Windschitl told about 75 Iowa Firearms Coalition members at the Capitol before the floor debate.
URBANDALE, Iowa  Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowas governor-in-waiting, assured a conservative group Wednesday that income tax relief is on the way but might not arrive this year.

Pressed for details by the Westside Conservative Club, Reynolds said she and Gov. Terry Branstad have been looking at various computer runs designed to make the states complex individual and corporate income taxes simpler and flatter, but the states uncertain economic situation  especially the farm sector  has slowed the timetable.

There are a lot of different scenarios that were looking at. How we get the biggest bang for the buck but have it impact all Iowans in a positive way, and so were going to continue to run the numbers, and you will see something with that. You will, she told the breakfast gathering. It continues to be a priority.

Reynolds is slated to become Iowas governor once Branstad is confirmed as President Donald Trumps ambassador to China.

She said that, so far, Republicans working with state Department of Revenue tax specialists have been unable to make the numbers work, but the process is ongoing to assemble a comprehensive tax change package.

Creating a more competitive tax structure is critical to attracting and keeping Iowa businesses and workers needed to grow the states economy, Reynolds said, but the plan must be sustainable while maintaining commitments to education, Medicaid managed care and other priorities.

Honestly, the budget has really made it tough, said Reynolds, who conceded state agencies may be bracing for yet more reductions if revenue estimators downgrade current fiscal year projections when they meet next week.

So, maybe we put the legislation in place, and we phase it in over a couple of years, she told the Urbandale group. If we dont get it done this year, its going to continue to be a focus. We have to do it because thats what is going to continue to make us competitive.

Sen. Randy Feenstra, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said he expects income tax legislation to surface later this month that proposes a comprehensive rewrite to be phased in over multiple years.

Our system is the most complex in the nation, and it takes time to unwind all of that, he said. "It will be changed over a three-, four-, five-year period."

The GOP plan would shrink the income tax brackets from nine to a number yet to be determined, revamp tax credits and deductions and deliver relief in an overall amount yet to be determined.

To make sure there are reductions, you have to take into account all of the credits and deductions, and if you start removing some of those, to make sure that people dont see an increase in their taxes and yet see a net decrease. Thats the complexity of it, and thats why it takes time, he said. The key for us is tax reduction, simplification and tax equality across the board.
PIERRE | The South Dakota Senate rejected a resolution Tuesday that praised President Donald Trump for keeping the nation safe from radical Islamic terrorism.

Senators voted 20-15 to kill the resolution. It came from Sen. Neal Tapio, R-Watertown, who was Trumps campaign chairman for South Dakota last year.

Tapio emphasized freedom in his prepared speech. The press packet he provided to reporters featured a quote he said must be printed in whole or not at all.

The first-year legislator choked with emotion at one point as he said it was the honor of his life "to play a small role" in the election of Trump.

Sen. Ryan Maher, R-Isabel, immediately called for the resolution to be tabled after Tapio finished his speech.

A tabling motion cuts off debate.

Maher later voted against his own motion. The Senate as a whole voted 20-15 to table the resolution.

Tapio stood ready at his desk as the tally was announced. He immediately declared his intent to reconsider.

The presiding officer, Lt. Gov. Matt Michels, told him that would have to be done before the close of business Tuesday. At that point Tapio briefly exited the Senate chamber.

There wasnt an attempt later to reconsider.

Tapio originally introduced the resolution in a much different form. That first version expressed a lack of confidence in the refugee resettlement program.

Lutheran Social Services is the only refugee resettlement agency in South Dakota.

Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen, offered the Trump and Islamic terrorism language as a replacement during a March 1 committee hearing. He was a co-sponsor of Tapios original version.

The House lead sponsor of the original version was Rep. Drew Dennert, R-Aberdeen.

Refugees and other people involved with Lutheran Social Services and other organizations, including Presentation Sisters, hosted a lunch of free pizza behind the Senate chamber Tuesday in the hours before the vote.
PIERRE | State senators gave the final OK Tuesday for state government to sell land and buildings at six locations across South Dakota.

The most controversial property remains STAR Academy, the states juvenile corrections facility near Custer that is now closed.

Senators voted 20-15 to let Gov. Dennis Daugaards administration proceed in that attempt. Many senators said the Custer site could be used for people with drug problems.

"I'm afraid this is a short-sighted endeavor we're engaging in," Sen. Lance Russell, R-Hot Springs, said.

Sen. Kevin Killer, D-Pine Ridge, said it would be a piece in combating South Dakotas drug problem.

It's coming, sooner rather than later, and we need to do something about that," Killer said.

Sen. Troy Heinert, D-Mission, said he favored sale of STAR Academy until a few days ago when he saw a television show about a rehabilitation center that used horses to teach respect. Heinert, a rodeo cowboy, said the academy could be an ideal location. "I think it's an excellent opportunity to look down that road at something," he said.

Sen. Jeff Partridge, R-Rapid City, drew the assignment to argue for the sale. He said the question is whether to put money into facilities or people.

Partridge said state government has owned the Custer property since 1913. He said the buildings aren't usable and require "an enormous amount of money." He said there is a $540,000 budget this year for upkeep and there are four employees assigned to duties.

Sen. John Wiik, R-Big Stone City called the academy "a beautiful piece of property that has served its day." He said $1.7 million of work has been deferred in recent years.

The Senate also approved five pieces of legislation that allow for the sale of various other state-owned properties. Those properties are: the old Rushmore home-construction building in Rapid City, the former state juvenile facility at Plankinton, part of the School for the Deaf campus in Sioux Falls, two buildings scheduled for demolition at the Redfield development center and land and two old buildings at the veterans center at Hot Springs.
The Pennington County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to appeal the judgement to the state Supreme Court that was entered last month in favor of Croell Redi-Mix by a circuit court judge.

Following a closed-door executive session, commissioners voted unanimously to appeal the judgement entered Feb. 16 in the case in which Croell Redi-Mix sued the commission for revoking their construction permit.

Croell planned to expand its operations on the 164-acre property south of Rapid City and argued that the county cannot stop the company from operating mining activities at the quarry because it is grandfathered in to the current zoning laws. Lawyers argued that the county "arbitrarily and capriciously" revoked the construction permit on April 5, 2016, and Judge Michael Brown agreed.

A separate lawsuit seeking up to $10 million in damages from the county has also been filed by Croell Redi-Mix in the circuit court. Lawyers for the county have filed a motion to dismiss that suit. There is no hearing currently scheduled.

In other news, South Rochford Road may be getting upgraded from gravel to asphalt soon as Pennington County plans to move forward with the project that has been in the works since 2004.

A bridge on that road needs to be fixed before materials for the road reconstruction can be moved over it. Pennington County is waiting on state officials to move forward with the bridge project.

Pennington County Highway Superintendent Thomas Wilsey told commissioners Tuesday that the South Dakota Department of Transportation was supposed to have the contract for bridge design awarded and completed last year. Wilsey said he found out last week that the design team has yet to be hired. The bridge was part of the entire South Rochford Road project, but was separated because it was deteriorating, "extremely fast," according to Wilsey.

The project will encompass just over 10 miles of road from Rapid Creek south to Deerfield Road. Roughly $9.5 million is available to fund the project from a variety of sources including $1.86 million from Pennington County according to Wilsey.

The commissioners voted to delay the design authorization for the project on Tuesday, because they want more information on the need for the road work from federal and state authorities and answers to the status of the bridge project.

Commissioner George Ferebee said they need to make sure everyone is "on the same page." He also noted and Wilsey agreed that the bridge is not safe.

"Bottom line is, we need to get that bridge fixed or somebody's going to get hurt," Ferebee said.

Also, a joint presentation by the Pennington County Sheriff, States Attorney and Health and Human Services on mental health care efforts with Rapid City regional Health Facilities and the Pennington County Jail was postponed until the next county commission meeting at 9 a.m. March 21.
PIERRE | Two sets of legislation on government ethics and whistle blower protections won approval Monday from the South Dakota Senate.

But the Senate put off action on a third measure that would establish a state government accountability board. Instead Sen. Justin Cronin, R-Gettysburg, first wants a fiscal estimate of the possible cost for HB1076.

The two other measures didnt run into any delays Monday.

Senate Republican leader Blake Curd of Sioux Falls said HB1052 calling for broader protection of employees who report possible instances of government wrong-doing is an important piece of legislation to consider this year.

I encourage full support today, Curd said.

Sen. Stace Nelson, R-Fulton, offered an amendment specifically prohibiting penalties or retaliation against employees who talk to a legislator, legislative auditor or constitutional officer. The amendment failed.

The Senate passed the bill 34-0. Now it must return to the House of Representatives for a decision whether to agree with a Senate committee amendment.

Next came conflicts of interest legislation that Curd said makes many needed changes.

Among them HB 1170 clarifies requirements made in 2016 legislation, provides for stronger penalties and requires the attorney general to prepare a form to assist in the disclosure process.

Sen. Lance Russell, R-Hot Springs, said he reads the bill to be weaker in some areas from the 2016 legislation. I think it has worked over the last year, he said.

Senators voted 33-1 for the package of changes. It too must return to the House for a decision whether to agree with a Senate committee amendment.
Seven weeks after a Rapid City convenience store clerk was stabbed to death, the two people charged in her killing pleaded not guilty in court.

Carlos Quevedo, 17, is charged in 7th Circuit Court with alternative counts of first-degree murder and second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Kasie Lord, 45, on Jan. 18.

Rapid City police say the murder occurred during a beer theft at the Loaf N Jug on Mount Rushmore Road. Quevedo is also charged with first-degree robbery.

His co-defendant, Cody Grady, 19, is facing first-degree murder, an alternative of first-degree manslaughter, as well as aiding and abetting first-degree robbery and an alternative of grand theft. The defendants, both of Rapid City, can be convicted on only one of their alternative charges.

On Tuesday, after their lawyers entered not guilty pleas on their behalf, Gradys attorney asked Judge Heidi Linngren to impose a $50,000 cash or surety bond on Grady, who is being held at the county jail without bond.

Defense attorney Timothy Rensch said Grady has no record of violent crimes, and that a video shows Grady did not stab anyone at the convenience store. Rensch said also that Grady had been shoplifting at the time, not robbing the store.

Deputy States Attorney Sarah Morrison, who is prosecuting the cases, objected to bond. Grady, she said, admitted to the police that he committed robbery and was the one who planned going to the Loaf N Jug to steal.

Morrison said the video showed Grady running off with items from the store as Quevedo stabbed Lord more than 38 times. Grady headed home and invited Quevedo inside, she said.

The history that occurred on that date is incredibly serious, Morrison told the court, adding that Grady needs to stay where he is.

The judge denied the bond request. Quevedo, meanwhile, is detained at the Western South Dakota Juvenile Services Center.

First-degree murder is punishable by death or mandatory life in prison, whereas second-degree murder carries a penalty of mandatory life.

Because Quevedo was a juvenile when he allegedly killed Lord  even if he is tried as an adult and convicted  he cannot be sentenced to death or mandatory life without the possibility of parole based on U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Morrison told the Journal.

If Quevedo is found guilty of murder, the question will be the length of his sentence, Morrison said.

Linngren is the third circuit judge to be assigned to the two cases after the second judge recused himself and one of the defendants asked that the first judge be changed. The reasons for the recusal and change of judges are not contained in public court records.

Quevedo and Grady are scheduled to return to court April 25.
As you read this I'm in Mexico City, soaking in the history and culture  and trying to get a sense of how the drama of our relationship with this country will affect us in South Dakota.

My take on departure is that the rockiness of our association can only hurt where we'll feel it the most  in the pocketbook. Mexico, since the inception of NAFTA, has turned into an immense market for South Dakota during the past couple of decades, particularly when it comes to our agricultural production.

I watched much of this happen during my years in local cattle production and marketing back in the '80s and '90s, but even as things were heating up on the free trade front back then, it hardly seemed realistic that we'd get to where we are now with our sales to Mexico.

In 1995, total South Dakota exports to Mexico amounted to a virtually negligible $6 million. Mexico was then our tenth largest market. In 2015, that number swelled to $400 million as Mexico became our second largest foreign market.

This broadly tracks the overall growth of American sales to Mexico, which jumped from $46 billion to $230 billion during the same period. But that's where South Dakota's experience parts company with the United States as a whole.

Where our national macro-experience has resulted in the much-derided but insufficiently understood (it's too simplistic to call them "bad" despite what politicians say) trade deficit of $63 billion, South Dakota's experience with Mexican trade has resulted in a huge surplus. The U.S. Census Bureau calculates that South Dakota imports (in 2015) just $70 million of goods from Mexico, which gives us a state-surplus of well over $300 million. This sounds nice but isn't particularly reflective of anything other than the fact that we sell more to Mexicans than we buy from them. What we need to focus on is the amount of our sales, not the net dollar differential in our trade.

And that's where the more insidious problem resides. If Mexico responds to our protective trade impulses with retaliatory trade measures of their own, we're off and running to a trade war, which could easily result in a serious slowdown of South Dakota's agricultural sales to Mexico.

In the meantime, tariffed goods that we buy from Mexico will get more expensive. Of such dynamics are international financial crises bred. That anybody thinks a scenario like that will get American workers back to the production lines because we'll all be "buying American" again is a poor reflection on our collective grasp of history.
A woman raised on a cattle ranch in the Big Hole Valley will talk about her adventures in Iraq as part of the nuclear inspections team following the Gulf War in 1991 at a presentation in Darby tonight.

The Darby Community Public Library continues its Life-long Learning Series with The Life and Loves of a Nuclear Weapons Inspector with Shirley Johnson at 6 p.m., Wednesday, March 8.

Wendy Campbell, director of Darby Community Public Library, said the topic is relevant.

The librarys Lifelong Learning Series exposes us to topics for which we have little information, Campbell said. Shirley Johnsons presentation, The Life and Loves of a Nuclear Weapons Inspector will give us a rare opportunity to learn about nuclear weapons, safeguards, disarmament issues and their relevance to us today.

Johnson grew up on a cattle ranch in the Big Hole valley. She graduated from Girls Central High School in Butte, received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. She continued her graduate studies in separations chemistry, laboratory instrumentation and methodology at the Hanford Graduate Center.

Johnson began her career as an analytical chemist at the Hanford Nuclear Site. She worked at Hanford Plutonium Purification and Conversion Facility and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.

Johnson was appointed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and served as part of the nuclear weapons inspection team in Iraq following the Gulf War in 1991. She will address how the IAEA, an independent agency of the United Nations based in Vienna, Austria, did not detect the Iraq program prior to 1991 and how the IAEA destroyed the Iraq program.

Johnson will also talk about how this action changed the international community and the IAEA.

Since retiring, Johnson has returned to the family ranch and established an international consulting business in the field of nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament.

The IAEA has been quietly doing their work since 1957 in establishing and helping to implement and monitor nuclear non-proliferation treaties around the world, Johnson said. In 1963, President Kennedy predicted that by 1990 there would be more than 20 countries around the world possessing nuclear weapons. That has not happened. For its persistent and professional work in this effort, the IAEA was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Johnson said that she looks forward to sharing her international experiences.

The Darby Community Public Library concludes this years Life-long Learning Series on April 12 as Brian Kahn speaks on Cuban-American Relations.

All programs in the Darby Community Public Library Life-long Learning Series begin at 6 p.m., are free and open to everyone. The Darby Community Public Library is located at 101 and a half S. Marshall St. in Darby. For more information, call 406-821-4771.
The number of outfitters on the upper Bitterroot River, including the West Fork, would be capped at last years levels under a proposal agreed upon Monday by a committee addressing the issue of crowding on the popular river.

The 16-member Bitterroot River Recreation Advisory Committee made a number of tweaks to an alternative that will be offered to the Montana Fish and Game Commission later this spring.

Before the meeting began, FWPs Regional Fisheries Manager Pat Saffel reminded the group that their proposal was the first step in a process that will include additional input from the public.

Dont get too married to your proposal," Saffel said. "This is just the first step. There is a lot of room for change and further public input.

The committees proposed alternative uses a plan similar to whats already in place on the Big Hole River. It will provide local fishermen opportunity to fish different sections of the river without competing with professionally guided trips.

The alternative divides the river starting at Painted Rocks Dam down to the Wally Crawford Fishing Access Site north of Darby into four sections.

If the proposal is accepted as written, each one of the sections would be closed one day a week to outfitters and guides between June 1 to Sept. 15.

On Monday, the committee tweaked the length of the reaches to make them as equal as possible.

The sections include:

*Painted Rocks Dam to Applebury (11 miles). The section would be closed to commercial use on Fridays. Between July 1 and Sept. 15, the section would be closed to all floating as well on Fridays to provide opportunity for fishermen who prefer to wade.

*Applebury to Trapper Creek Job Corps (8 miles) closed to commercial use Saturdays.

*Trapper Creek Job Corps to Hannon Fishing Access Site (8 miles) closed to commercial use Sundays.

*Hannon to Wally Crawford Fishing Access Site (9 miles) closed to commercial use Mondays.

Under the proposal, outfitters would be allowed to launch only two commercial floats per section on any one day.

The biggest change Monday came with the decision to establish a cap on the number of outfitters that would be allowed to use the upper section of the river.

The committee had earlier proposed requiring all outfitters using any portion of the Bitterroot River to obtain a special recreation permit that would require them to provide a report on the number of anglers they served and which sections of the river they used.

The permits required a set fee and a percentage of an outfitters gross revenues to pay for administration with the idea that it would eventually provide the information the state needed to set a cap on outfitter numbers for the river.

Similar permits have been in place for some time on the Blackfoot and Madison rivers. There have not been caps set on either of those rivers.

Outfitters on the committee expressed concerns that establishing a special recreation permit now would create a gold rush of outfitters from other locations hoping to establish use on the river in order to be included in a future cap.

The decision was made Monday to ditch the idea of a special-use permit.

In its place, the proposal calls for implementing a cap on the current number of outfitters using the river between Painted Rocks and Wally Crawford. In order to obtain a permit under the new cap, outfitters would be required to voluntarily provide their logs to FWP to show historical use between Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 31, 2016.

Outfitters would be required to report annually to remain under the cap.

The new permits  which would be free to outfitters  would be transferable and therefore could be sold.

Outfitters using fishing access sites on the West Fork of the Bitterroot that are located on the Bitterroot National Forest are also required to obtain a permit to launch their boats from national forest lands.

West Fork District Ranger Ryan Domsalla said its permit system is not transferable. Outfitters are not allowed to sell those permits to someone else.

Domsalla said the two systems would be different.

We would be the gatekeepers and they would be the road masters, Domsalla said.

The Forest Service requires outfitters to provide numbers as part of its permitting system. According to those figures, outfitters reported 1,300 user days in 2014, 1,659 in 2015 and 1,536 in 2016.

A user day is considered one fisherman. Most guided trips have two fishermen in a raft or boat.

Those numbers are only applicable to the West Fork where boats are launched from national forest lands, said FWP Recreation Manager Christine Oschell.

We dont know who or how many have launched from Hannon down, she said.

For the second time, the committee offered consensus Monday on its proposed alternative.

From here, well starting working toward preparing an EA using the committees preferred alternative, Oschell said.

As early as June, the department will present the state Fish and Game Commission with the environmental analysis. If the commission accepts the document, the department will ask for public input.

Following a public comment period, which will include public meetings, the department will make whatever changes are required before taking the matter before the commission again. That could happen as early as October.

Oschell said she was pleased the committee didnt opt to make any monumental changes Monday night.

It felt like they made the changes that we were expecting, Oschell said. The changes they made addressed many of the same concerns that we have heard since their last meeting on Feb. 15thI was pleased that it didnt go any further. It showed us that group was really in agreement.

The diverse group that represented both the public and outfitting interests developed its alternative over four eight-hour-day meetings earlier this year.
Many letters and opinions have been written about running the upcoming May 25, Special Congressional Election by mail.

I have been running elections for our county for going on 19 years now. When I first started, elections were much different than they are today. We had very few absentee voters. In fact I can remember when sending 300 absentee ballots was a huge number in our county. Now we send out 13,000. We no longer really run poll elections. They are more of hybrid between mailing absentees and poll locations, except that now the voters who are casting absentee ballots are outnumbering the voters who are casting ballots at the polls.

Opponents of mail ballot are concerned that mail ballot elections are more open to fraud than poll elections. They point out that voted ballots can be picked up by anyone and delivered to the election office or not delivered, that is their concern I think.

They go on to give an example of the last election where there were groups out harvesting ballots. The example they are giving was a poll election and the ballots in question were absentee ballots.

My point here is that I completely agree that we need to educate our voters and let them know that if they are voting by mail, whether it be a mail ballot election or absentees in a poll election, they should either return the ballot themselves through the mail or in person at their election office or a drop site or give it to someone they know and trust.

That being said, these groups are doing nothing wrong by asking to help voters by delivering their ballots to the election office to be sure their vote is cast and counted. However, if a voter is going to do this, the voter should contact the election office to be sure their ballot was received.

Again, I think this outreach and education must be done for all elections, regardless of the method we use to run them as the voters in our state have embraced voting by mail, which is evident in the high number of absentee voters that we currently have.

The opponents have also said that those who want to run this election by mail are nihilist. I had to look that one up. The dictionary defines this as: a person who believes that life is meaningless and rejects all religious and moral principles.

This effort to ask the legislature to allow counties to run the upcoming special federal election by mail was started by the election administrators and county commissioners in the state. I know we are all politicians but I struggle to see how that term relates to us wanting to run this election by mail.

The fact is that both groups, in a bi-partisan manner, united behind this idea as we knew running this special election was going to be a challenge for the counties for many reasons. We are all worried about the availability of polling places and election workers, voter turnout and the cost of this un-budgeted election.

The opponents have gone on to say that they are concerned that low-propensity voters will vote. That is, they are concerned that a voter who may not be motivated to go to the polls to vote would be more motivated to return a ballot mailed to them.

I know their concern again is that these ballots may be picked up by individuals or groups for the voter to be delivered (or not delivered). The part they are correct about is the turnout will most definitely be higher if we run this election by mail. If you look at the history of mail ballot elections, the turnout is always higher. We have been running mail ballot elections in this state for over 25 years.

Many districts like fire, irrigation, municipal and school elections have been running elections this way successfully for trustee, levy and bond elections. We run them by mail to save the districts money and the turnout is always better when we run these elections by mail versus running them at the polls.

Again, I think the election offices, the Secretary of State and the parties themselves need to educate our voters regarding the options to return their ballot and the options they have to track their ballot when it is cast by mail. You can go to any election office website or the Secretary of States website to track your ballot online or you can call your local election office directly.

I am proud to run elections in our state and I am proud of the group of elections administrators that I have the privilege to work with. We have over 100 years of election experience between us. We work very closely as a group to insure that the elections are run openly, honestly, and consistently throughout the state.

Decisions that we make are not based on partisan politics but rather on what is best for our voters and the process. I always hear people say that they wish politicians would work together and do what is right. I think that is what your election administrators and county commissioners are trying to do here. I hope you will support us and contact your legislators. Ask them to put their politics aside and do what is best for our counties and our state. Ask them to vote yes on SB 305!

 Regina Plettenberg

Ravalli County Election Administrator, President of the Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders
I would like to compliment Mr. Veto J 'Sonny' LaSalle for the excellent Valley Viewpoint commentary he wrote as contained in the March 3, 2017 Ravalli Republic.

Very early in his comments, Mr. LaSalle mentioned his familys humble beginnings that likely fostered his strong, honorable work ethic- you dont deserve more than what you have earned. That work ethic is an admirable quality that many liberals in our society will never attain.

In general, LaSalle feared that our countrys impending political disaster began with the election of President Obama with his socialistic philosophies. Soon after Obamas election, Americas economy continued on a downward spiral with low employment and a doubling of our national debt under Obamas tenure. Also, LaSalle discusses Senator Bernie Sanders political philosophy of free lifetime entitlements. Too many voting liberals will never understand that someone has to pay for those free lifetime entitlements, because there will never be such a thing as a free lunch.

I would like to emphasize, by reiterating, some very important points that LaSalle specified as follows: There are a lot of people that share my parents, my wifes parents and our work ethic as evidenced by the recent election. They are ranchers, farmers, loggers, miners, factory workers and so many other honorable professions that one candidate called a basket of deplorables, which was an unfortunate comment. Some of the liberal self proclaimed intellectual elite referred to these folks as the uneducated white blue collar group, which is totally inaccurate. In fact they are people with a strong work ethic and it looks like there are quite a few of us.

I fully concur with LaSalles closing statement and restate it as follows: So, do I have fear for our country and its future? Yes I do!

Sonny, keep on writing! Conservatives really appreciate your thoughts.

Fortunately, President Trump and conservative Republicans have identified and are trying to correct the many problems created by the faulty, socialistic Obama administration. Unfortunately, liberals are fighting to impede/stop Trumps progress- because they realize that if Trump is successful, the future of their socialistic agenda is in doubt. Fortunately, liberals- through their own efforts to hinder Trumps corrective actions dont realize that they are endangering their own future electability! Once Trump and conservative Republicans are successful in correcting the Obama problems, the many aforementioned deplorables, plus conservative Democrats, will unite again and vote to stomp out the socialistic Democrats running for election.

Responsible Americans must not let liberals implement their socialistic agenda. Any such agenda must be controlled within our Constitutional guidelines. Americans must recognize that the Democratic Party is moving dangerously further to the socialistic left all the time. Let there be no doubt, that socialistic movement must be held in check or both our dollar, and eventually our Constitutional Republic will fail.

 Jerry Haslip, Victor
HELENA  Several people spoke in opposition Tuesday to a pair of bills they say create a debtors prison for tenants who walk away from rentals and add a special level of protection for landlords without looking out for renters.

Sen. Roger Webb, R-Billings, is carrying the legislation to allow tenants who abandon rentals without giving notice to be charged with theft. A second bill would let landlords ask courts to collect money from tenants who have judgments against them until the amount owed is paid in full.

You cant go to jail for debts on unpaid bills, but this would change that, said Amy Hall, a housing specialist for Montana Legal Services Association. We abolished incarceration of people who failed to pay their debts centuries ago. Do we want to return to the days of debtors prison?

Webb, who disclosed he is a landlord, said he is carrying Senate Bills 239 and 255 because landlords are harmed by tenants who walk away and owe money. He and his wife, Sen. Peggy Webb, R-Billings, have several bills this session addressing landlord-tenant issues.

Normally when they leave in the dead of night normally the conditions they leave (rentals) in arent very satisfactory, Webb said. Im trying to address an issue that for some reason seems to be socially acceptable, Webb said.

He told the Senate Judiciary Committee, which heard the bill and took no action Tuesday, that tenants walking away from rentals is the same as shoplifting.

If an individual pulls up to a service station, fills their vehicle with gas and drives off, thats theft. An individual walks out of a Walmart with a basket of whatever and doesnt pay for it, thats theft. That is the absolute same pretense.

No one spoke in support of either bill. Opponents included housing advocates and representatives for college students.

Hall presented the committee with several scenarios where tenants could be found guilty of theft, including if a member of the National Guard who had pre-paid their rent deployed, leaving their lease early and forgetting to notify their landlord.

She also raised the question of what remedies a tenant would have against a landlords who don't provide necessary services such as a functioning heating system. Tenants who abandon a property because their utility bills are too high could be charged criminally under the bill, she said.

This provides extreme remedies to a landlord for a tenants nonpayment of rent but does not provide comparable remedies to a tenant who has been wronged by a landlord. If the landlord is not providing heat in the winter, shouldnt the tenant be able to file criminal charges to a landlord for theft?

Webb said he wouldn't have a problem with bills to strengthen laws against absentee landlords.

His second bill would let landlords ask courts who have found that tenants owe money to landlords to collect and track where tenants live. It's the landlord's responsibility to do that under current law and Webb said people disappear and never pay.

"It gets to the point where its fruitless. You beat your head against the wall so long it hurts. That judgment is worth just about as much as the paper its written on, Webb said.

Opponents said landlords already have remedies under Montana laws and the bill treats landlords more favorably than other creditors. They also said it would overburden an already overwhelmed court system.
Kathmand, Nepal: Top leaders of major three parties- Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN Maoist Centre have discussed on contemporary issues including the recent incident in Saptari district at Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahals official residence, Baluwatar on Wednesday.

In the meeting called by the Prime Minister Dahal senior leaders from the three parties including Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and others have present.

It is said that the meeting was concentrated over the agitating in the Terai districts. As the UDMF leaders have demanded to withdraw the government decision to hold the local level elections on May 14, the leaders have discussed about the possible hindrance to hold three tiers of elections within the stipulated timeframe.
Kathmandu, Nepal: the agitating Madhes-based parties have handed over a five-point memorandum to the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal giving 7 days ultimatum to address their demands.

The UDMF leaders handed over the memorandum to the Prime Minister Dahal during a meeting held at latters official residence, Baluwatar on Wednesday. During the meeting, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba was also present.

In the memorandum, the UDMF leaders have demanded to withdraw the government decision to hold local level elections and endorse the constitution amendment bill with revisions.

Likewise the UDMF leaders have also demanded a probe the incident of police firing in Saptari on Monday, to take action against the perpetrators, to announce the four deceased as martyrs, provide compensation to their families and treatment of the injured people.
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If you are eligible to receive a Pell Grant, you are not required to pay the confirmation fee. Once eligibility is verified by the UC Financial Aid Office, that's when you won't see the request for payment. After completing the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report within 3 weeks of your submission. You will log into your account on the FAFSA website to view this report. This report will tell you if you are eligible for a Pell Grant based on your level of financial need. If you are eligible, you will not see the request for payment on your status page.


The hundreds who filled every available square foot of space inside the Santa Maria Country Club on Thursday may not have known each other but
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The best foreign students in Poland awarded in the competition INTERSTUDENT

Students from India, Ukraine, Sweden, Iran and PhD students from Lithuania and Belarus are the winners of the competition INTERSTUDENT 2017 for the best foreign students studying in Poland. The awards were presented on February 28 in Krakow.

The mission of the competition INTERSTUDENT, organized by the Education Foundation PERSPEKTYWY in the framework of the program "Study in Poland", is to select, award and promote the best foreign students in Poland. Prizes are awarded in three categories: undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. Internet users also select their laureate.

This year the competition received more than 100 nominations of students from five continents. Due to the high level of nominees, the jury decided to award two students in each of the three categories.

In the doctoral studies category, the jury awarded Sabina Brazevic from Lithuania - PhD student at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. She came to Poland as an Erasmus student. "Meeting great and helping students and outstanding academic staff of the university, where I study now, affected my decision to return to Poland after the completion of the program (...) I also entered the scientific world through participation in national and international conferences. All this has allowed me to share my experiences, encourage others to come to Poland, as well as start doctoral studies" - said Brazevic.

The second winner in this category is Anastasiya Niakrasava from Belarus - PhD student at the University of Warsaw. "I have met high-class specialists in Poland, fantastic people, friends. I still have the opportunity to learn and improve my skills. The choice of studying in Poland is the best choice I have made" - emphasised the Belarusian musicologist.

In the graduate category, the jury awarded Omar Al-Obaidi, Swedish national of Iraqi origin, representing the Jagiellonian University. He is a double winner, because he also won the online vote by a landslide, receiving over 37 thousand votes and the title of the Most Popular Foreign Student in Poland. His nearest plans include finishing his studies at the Jagiellonian University, passing the qualification exam and returning to Sweden, where he intends to take a job in his field. "In the further future I plan to launch dental clinics in Poland, Sweden and Dubai and travel between them, ensuring perfect integration" - said Al-Obaidi.

The second winner in this category is Seyed Mohammadreza Sadr from Iran, psychology student at the University of Warsaw. He decided to study in Poland - as he says - because of the high standard of education and rich cultural heritage. While comparing the different programs of study in psychology he found information about the University of Warsaw offering a unique program of International Psychology Studies in English. "In the future, I plan to combine the knowledge acquired during studies with my earlier learned profession of an engineer; I\'m going to specialize in neurocognitive psychology in order to use virtual reality for neuropsychological rehabilitation" - says the laureate.

The award in the undergraduate category went to Sowmya Thottambeti from India, who studies at Poznan University of Technology. "After completing the engineering course, I would like to work for a year before taking master\'s degree course in technology. In the long run, I\'m going to work and develop my career in the field of network engineering or a related field. I want to inspire especially young women to take on challenges in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics" - declares the winner.

The second winner in this category is Vadym Melnyk from Ukraine, studying in the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow. In his opinion, Poland is a country that combines what\'s best in the western business culture and Slavic mentality and traditions.

The competition was organized under the auspices of the President of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland Prof. Jan Schmidt. Nominees were evaluated by the jury composed of: Prof. Marek Tukiendorf - Rector of Opole University of Technology, Prof. Stanisaw Kistryn - Vice-Rector of the Jagiellonian University, Dr. Bianka Siwinska - Managing Director of the Education Foundation PERSPEKTYWY, Micha Gajda - President of the National Representation of Doctoral Students and Tomasz Tokarski - President of the Students\' Parliament.

In 2016 in Poland there were over 65,000 foreign students from 157 countries, representing 4.1 percent of the total number of students in our country.

The results of the competition INTERSTUDENT 2017 were announced during a gala at the Krakow Cloth Hall, part of the conference "Foreign students in Poland 2017".

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

ekr/ zan/

tr. RL
The new documentary from To Be Takei director Jennifer M. Kroot, The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, will have its World Premiere at SXSW this year. ScreenAnarchy is pleased to offer you this exclusive clip as an appetizer.

In the clip Laura Linney, who starred in the television adaptation of his Tales of the City series, and Sir Ian McKellen speak fondly of their friend, both a literary and LGBTQ icon, not just to people of all walks in the Bay Area but from all over the World.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
 Detailing how common a very long wait on death row has become | Main | Texas executes paid hit-man ... after Justice Breyer dissents from SCOTUS refusing to consider extended solitary death row stay 

The question in the title of this post is the headline of this new Pacific Standard commentary authored by Emmanuel Felton. Here are excerpts:

[T]he idea of making information about offenders public has proven immensely popular. A 2005 Gallup poll showed that virtually all Americans  94 percent  supported public sex offender registries and about two-thirds of those surveyed said they werent even somewhat concerned about how the public nature of registries affected those forced to sign up. With the Internet providing states with a cheap and easy way to get information into the hands of citizens, lawmakers soon found registries to be a relatively inexpensive solution to complex problems, says Amanda Agan, a Rutgers University professor who studies the economics of crime.

These policies were well intentioned and they sounded like they might work. And on top of that they are relatively low cost, Agan says. But now we have all of this evidence that they just dont work, but the problem is its very difficult to start pulling back. There would be a public outcry.

The Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry started off as a fix for a legislature-made problem. In the mid-1990s, at the height of the tough-on-crime movement, Illinois added a host of offenses against children to their sex offender rolls, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, and child abduction, regardless of whether the crime involved a sex offense. Responding to concerns that it was unfair to include those offenders  take, for example, the case of a 13-year-old girl who stabbed her older brother with a kitchen knife after a fight over a shower cap  on the sex crime list, the state created this new violent offender registry. That created a registry for people convicted of a set of violent crimes against children. That list was later expanded to include murderers like Armstrong, whose crimes didnt involve children, when, in 2011, state lawmakers passed Andreas Law, named for a college student strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend.

While Illinois lawmakers may be the most zealous employers of public registries  the state also maintains an online list of those convicted of making methamphetamine  the state is far from alone. Oklahoma also has a violent crime registry similar to Illinois and Kansas has a meth registry like Illinois. Indiana, Kansas, and Montana still have combined sex and violent offender registries. Florida, on the other hand, makes folks convicted of three violent felonies sign up for a public registry. Tennessee also had a meth registry, before expanding it into a much more encompassing drug offender registry. And among the more original uses, Tennessee also has an animal abuser registry and Utah recently launched a registry for people convicted of certain white-collar crimes.

While there isnt much research about the effectiveness of newer crime registries like those for murderers, there has been a lot of research into sex offender registries. Jill Levenson, a professor of social work at Barry University, says that research has been conclusive: those registries simply havent reduced sex crimes. She says thats because they obscure the real threat to children, being abused by someone close to them, and greatly overemphasize the incredibly rare occurrences of children being abducted by people they dont know.

Stranger abductions of children happen just 115 times a year in this country, says Levenson, who studies the effectiveness of policies that aim to reduce sexual violence. While theres no question that thats 115 too many, there are 80 million children in this country. The problem with sex offender registries is they obscure the real threat  over 90 percent of children who are sexually abused are abused by people they know.

St. Louis University Law School professor Molly Wilson says the concept of cognitive availability helps explain why threats like stranger danger remain so prominent in the making of our criminal codes. Cognitive availability describes a logical fallacy where decision-makers tend to overemphasize the importance of examples that quickly come to mind. That leads people to overestimate threats with really salacious details, Wilson says. When you ask someone to estimate how serious a threat is, they search their minds, says Wilson, who also holds a doctorate degree in psychology. What they come to first is what is cognitively available, and thats these really vivid examples that from an empirical standpoint are pretty rare. The human mind is designed to think of the sensory cases that imprint details  an image of the bicycle that a girl was riding sticking out of the bushes.

Cognitive availability is a particularly compelling explanation for why many registries quickly expanded to murderers despite the fact that just 1 percent of murderers kill again. Similarly, just 6 percent of people convicted of rape or sexual assault repeated in the five-year follow-up period covered by a recent Bureau of Justice Statistics report. Thats compared to a 13 percent same-crime recidivism rate for robbers and a 34 percent rate for those convicted of assault. Despite repeated attempts by researchers to link lower sex offender recidivism rates with the passage of registration laws, theres been no conclusive evidence supporting that hypothesis. In fact, there is some evidence that these laws actually increase recidivism as they effectively act as anti-re-entry programs.

Arthur Lurigio, a clinical psychologist and a professor of criminal justice and psychology at Loyola University Chicago, says the rise of registries underscores a central failure of Americas criminal justice system:  We are failing to recognize the possibility of human change....

Wayne Logan  whose 2009 book, Knowledge as Power: Criminal Registration and Community Notification Laws in America, charts the rise of crime registries over 75 years  says there has been some relaxing of registration rules for sex offenders in recent years. He points to Californias public registry, which no longer includes those caught soliciting prostitutes and so-called Romeo and Juliet offensesthose are the cases where theres consensual sex between teenagers, one of whom is a minor. You see some unwinding, says Logan, a professor of law at Florida State University. But the overall trend is expansion. Its a very flexible technology, it can work for arsonists or meth makers or white-collar criminals. Its social control on the cheap.
Jeff Kositsky, the man Mayor Lee put in charge of the newly formed Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) last year, has just submitted his first budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. As the Examiner reports, Kositsky is asking for significant spending increases over the next two years to extend the city's homeless services beyond the "status quo," and he said in a memo to the mayor last month, "Without significant new funding, HSH is unable to propose the scale of investments needed to make demonstrable progress towards reducing homelessness in San Francisco."

This should come as no particular surprise, and the scale of investment here in the problem of homelessness has been significant in the last decade despite there being a perennial and seemingly intractable problem on our city's streets. But in asking for $38 million more over the next two years, Kositsky is certainly seeking some aggressively big sums during a time of budget shortfalls and other belt tightening  and amid threats from the President to cut off some $2 billion in federal dollars that flow to San Francisco each year.

But some are no doubt going to balk at the numbers unless they start seeing results, and fast  the mayor already bumped up the city's budget for homelessness-related activities by $32 million during this last fiscal year, much of that going toward the creation of the new department. SF has homeless services budget of $241 million  a figure that last year caused some stir in the media around budget-making time, and led to at least one person suggesting that is like spending $36,000 a year on every homeless person. Of that $241M, about $140M is said to be the operating and other costs associated with housing for the homeless and formerly homeless, and then the city has over 400 contracts with 76 private organizations who provide either services or housing.

Kositsky's proposal includes funds for redesigning services and creating a unified data system to provide comprehensive client information and enable The City and service providers to track its progress toward achieving outcomes," per his memo.

Though no location for it has been publicly identified, the budget includes $2 million next year for "a 24/7 resource center where people can access restroom facilities, take showers, receive services, and enroll in benefit programs."

Also, $2.5 million of next year's budget will go toward the operation of a new 140-bed South of Market Navigation Center, which will be in addition to the operating costs of the existing Navigation Centers.

Even though we had heard the budget quoted as $241 million last year, Kositsky said he's using $209 million as the baseline for the current fiscal year, which may mean that not all of the budgeted money was spent this past year?

What certainly seems obvious, especially given the musical-tents problem, is that more needs to be done, and the first priority will be the creation of new shelter beds, because there is an ongoing, daily waitlist for beds that far exceeds what the city currently has to offer.

As Kositsky said, perhaps over simply, during a Reddit AMA last year, "Homelessness is a failure of our real estate market to meet the needs of low-income individuals." And he said the one improvement to the city's current status quo that would have the greatest impact would be "consolidating our 13 data systems into one." Also, he says, we need about 10,000 new units of low-income housing, but no one's figured out how to pay for that yet.

Previously: Director Of New Homelessness Department Keeps It 100 On Reddit AMA

71% Of SF Homeless Once Had Homes In SF
Things are going to stay on the chilly side through the week, but it will at least be dry! So here are some activities (mostly indoor) for you to busy yourself with when you're not working or commiserating on social media about the state of our democracy.

TUESDAY, MARCH 7

ELIZABETH BISHOP BIOGRAPHY READING: Fans of the late, great American poet Elizabeth Bishop may want to drop by Book Passage at the Ferry Building this evening for a reading and signing with Megan Marshall, a former student of Bishop's who's written a new biography of her. Marshall won a Pulitzer Prize in 2014 for her biography of Margaret Fuller, and the new book blends elements of her own story with Bishop's, and track's Bishops life, her friendships with fellow poets Marianne Moore and Robert Lowell, and her later-life romance with Brazilian modernist designer Lota de Macedo Soares. Book Passage, Ferry Building, 6 p.m., free

SOULFUL FOLK SHOW: The trio known as The Wood Brothers have a new album out called Paradise, recorded at Easy Eye Studio in Nashville, and Live Nation calls it "a beautiful collection, the bands most sophisticated work to date and also their most rocking." They're appearing tonight at The Fillmore with opening act The Shook Twins, and fans of folk should be all over this. The Fillmore, 1805 Geary at Fillmore, 8 p.m., $27.50

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8

FAUX QUEEN PERFORMANCE ART: Dancer, choreographer, drag performer and performance artist Fauxnique (a.k.a. Monique Jenkinson) brings her one-woman show "The F Word" to the Presentation Theater at USF this week, presented by the Davies Forum in partnership with the Global Women's Forum. As she puts it, "Fauxnique made herstory as the first cissexual female to win a major drag pageant," (i.e. the Miss Trannyshack Pageant), and this show presents her "fashionably fierce form of feminism  from the painted mouth of a lady drag queen." 2350 Turk Blvd., 7 p.m., free

CHEESE TASTING CLASS: The Cheese School of San Francisco (in the space that was once home to Saison in the Mission) is doing a class all about award-winning cheeses from Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and elsewhere on the East Coast, should you want to expand your Cali-centric palates. The class is led by author and cheese authority Janet Fletcher, and the class includes two glass of wine, though you can also bring your own for a $25 corkage, and there's more wine for purchase. 2124 Folsom Street near 17th, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., $79



THURSDAY, MARCH 9



BRAIN/BODY NIGHTLIFE EVENT: This week's adults-only NightLife event at the Academy of Sciences is the first in a series of four events happening throughout the year exploring the relationship between the brain and the physical body. This week's features several yoga classes, including one down by the coral reef in the aquarium, as well as a talk about research into using immune system to fight cancer, and a talk about the human mind's role in fighting climate change. Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, 6 p.m., $15

JAZZ PIANO ACT: Oakland-based jazz pianist and leader of local jazz/funk trio The Jazztronauts, Max Chanowitz brings his act to PianoFight this week, and they promise this evening "Pairs well with evening gowns and the sound of clinking cocktails." PianoFight, 144 Taylor Street, 6 p.m., Free

FRIDAY, MARCH 10

CRAFT BEER & STANDUP COMEDY: At the new Ales Unlimited: Beer Basement (in the space formerly known as The Basement and the club 222 Hyde) they're doing a weekly comedy series on Fridays and Saturdays called The Setup. The show is hosted by Richard Sarvate and Abhay Nadkarni, and this week's edition features Jesse Hett (Attractive Camp), David Naimyar (Rooster T Feathers Comedy Club), Emily Catalano (SF Sketchfest), Casey Ley (Punch Line San Francisco), and Robbie Goodwin (Seeso). 222 Hyde Street, 8 p.m., $10

NEW DRAG SHOW/PARTY: With a dress code of "Just do you, but like, times 1,000," drag hostess VivvyAnne ForeverMore launches the first of a new monthly at the Stud, replacing the drag party she previously co-hosted SomeThing. It's called "Vivvy's Grand Opening," and it sounds like it's a bit more dance party and a bit less of a drag show in sets, with "a dancefloor for queers and their followers" and "a drag feeling for the drag intimate and drag shy." The Stud, Harrison at 9th Street, 10 p.m., $7 before 11 p.m., $10 after

SATURDAY, MARCH 11



PURIM COSTUME PARTY: Did you know that Purim is like "the Jewish Halloween"? Well, not exactly, but sometimes costumes are involved, and it's also been called "Jewish Mardi Gras," and BrokeAss Stuart likes to celebrate it, as he will be this year with a costume party at Codeword in SoMa. You can attend whether you are Jew or goyim, and the party will feature tunes from GO BANG! and mini-pizzas shaped like hamentashens (for sale). Codeword, 917 Folsom near 5th, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., $15 presale tickets here, $20 at the door.

SUNDAY, MARCH 12

SUMMER OF LOVE STREET FEST: Sunday Streets this year is going to be all Summer of Love themed, in honor of the 50th anniversary, with the street closure fests featuring exhibits, themed booths, and the like. It's in collaboration with the group It's Your District (IYD), and this first one on Valencia Street should be a family-friendly hoot. Valencia Street from Duboce to 26th, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., free

COMMUNAL BRUNCH PARTY: In celebration of the upcoming cookbook Feed Your People, this smorgasbord brunch is happening at the Mission's 18 Reasons, featuring some of the recipes in the book including challah and cinnamon buns from chef Gabi Moscowitz, and ratatouille from Frances and Octavia chef Melissa Perello. It's not a hands-on class like some events here, but they say, "Come, eat, let us know what you think, and enjoy a relaxing Sunday with friends." 18 Reasons, 3674 18th Street, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., $35 ($25 for members)

MONDAY, MARCH 13

ANTI-TRUMP POSTCARD PARTY: Join drag doyenne Juanita More at this gay gathering in the Castro to oppose the sitting President, a postcard-writing party in conjunction with the national effort called The Ides of Trump. Be one of the (hopefully) millions to inundate the White House with postcards and letters on March 15, with the help of postcards supplied and designed by local artists Colton Long, Elliott C. Nathan, Dan Nicoletta, Vera Sepluveda, and Miss MORE! herself. Also, there will be Juanita's chicken nuggets. The Lookout, Market at 16th Street, 6 to 10 p.m., free




A man who crawled beneath a delivery truck parked in a SoMa alley suffered life-threatening injuries Tuesday afternoon, when the truck's driver started the vehicle and ran him over.

The San Francisco Police Department was called to the 400 block of Jessie Street, an alley which runs through Mint Plaza, at 2:14 p.m. Tuesday.

When they arrived, witnesses told them that a 28-year-old man had apparently crawled beneath a parked delivery truck.

"When the driver returned, unaware [the victim] was under his vehicle, he started to drive away" and ran the victim over in the process.

Police say that the man beneath the truck suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident. He was transported to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment.

The driver, police say, "stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigation." Further details on the case, including why the man crawled beneath the truck in the first place, were not available at publication time.


A pedestrian was left with life-threatening injuries Tuesday, after he was struck by a cyclist as he crossed the street.

Police say the collision occurred at 8:30 Tuesday night, at the intersection of Third Street and Palou Avenue in the city's Bayview District.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the pedestrian, a 55-year-old man, "jumped off a Muni platform and ran across the street." The cyclist, a 36-year-old man, "collided with [the pedestrian], causing life threatening injury to [the pedestrian]."

The pedestrian was transported to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Police say that the cyclist, who was also injured, was treated at the scene and released.

Citing the ongoing investigation into the collision, police did not provide details on which party had the traffic signal at the time of the crash. They did confirm, however, that no one was arrested at the scene, nor have either of the men been cited.
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The Waukesha Civic Theatre, housed in a repurposed Art Deco cinema, was dark for much of the year when John Cramer took charge as managing artistic director. In the 14 years since his arrival, WCTs building has seldom been empty. The companys educational programs have become a fulltime year-round endeavor; an art gallery featuring local and student work has been installed; the theater has become a prime rental spot for other Waukesha County performing arts groups; and the building has become a functioning cinema again with a once-monthly movie series. But central to the facility is WCTs own season of performances. Off the Cuff spoke with Cramer about his work and the companys next production, Moises Kaufmans 33 Variations.

You were at Sunset Playhouse and doing theater elsewhere before coming to Waukesha Civic?

I started young. I always say it began in Mrs. Roberts second grade class when I directed and starred in my own one-act play. But for a long time I never thought it would be my career path. Actually, I thought Id be a doctor. When I told my mother that I wanted to be in theatera long silence followed. But my parents were supportive. Ive had a good life in theater supporting myself and my family. You cant ask for more than that.

Medicine and acting, science and artyoure one of those people who can access both their left and their right brains.

Waukesha Civic Theatre is a premiere community theater with a very small staff. It takes a lot of organizational skills! There are probably 80 different things we offer the community, between producing our own shows and presenting educational programs, primarily for students ages 4-18. We work with ACAPthe Adaptive Community Approach Program to create performances by people with disabilities. It was so inspiring! I didnt know what to expect at first but I was blown away by what they did.

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Are you filling a gap in arts education for area students?

Yes, we really are. We work with private and public schools whose administrators and teachers really see the value of our outreach programs to their student bodies.

Our younger patrons are due in large part to our educational programs. We are building arts appreciation for the future, which builds this community as a whole by helping make it an appealing place to live. And we provide opportunities for community members of all ages to act.

What is WCTs mission as a theater company?

Wed like to be as diverse as possible. We have a core audience that likes what it likes, but we like to program as wide a range of plays as possible. Our submissions committee balances cost and cast size, makes sure there are acting opportunities for men and women. We try for a variety of periodswe dont want a whole season of plays set in the 1940s or in the Middle Ages.

Tell me about 33 Variations.

Its a risk for usa new work not well known. Most of the time our successful shows are well-known titlesOklahoma, Beauty and the Beast, The Diary of Anne Frankthat resonate with our audience.

33 Variations is a play about Beethoven

Its structured with two castsa modern cast and a Beethoven-era cast. The modern segments concern a musicologist, as she battles ALS [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis], who is investigating the creative process behind Beethovens Diabelli Variations. The Beethoven segments show why and how Beethovenwho was going deafcame to write 33 variations on a simple theme handed him by a music publisher. Its considered one of his greatest works. Dustin Martin is directingits his fifth or sixth production at WCT. He submitted the titlehes really passionate about this show.

Waukesha Civic Theatre presents 33 Variations, March 10-26 at the Margaret Brate Bryant Civic Theatre Building, 264 W. Main St., Waukesha. For tickets call 262-547-0708 or visit waukeshacivictheatre.org.
The longer Donald Trump spoke to Congress, the more obvious it became that the new president had no idea how government works. That could save all of us from the worst consequences of Trumps presidency unless, of course, it destroys us.

Equally obvious was that words mean little to him.

Otherwise, Trump couldnt calmly read a speech calling for national unity and bipartisanship and repeat just as serenely his torrent of campaign falsehoods and inflammatory rhetoric demonizing others that intentionally divide the nation and alarm all but his most rabid supporters.

It might make more sense to watch the reaction of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan sitting behind Trump. Ryan certainly knows how complicated it is to pass extreme right-wing legislation, pushing the limits of decency, since hes been trying to do it for years.

But since the election Ryan has become skilled at faking his support for Trump despite previously denouncing candidate Trumps most offensive ideas as racist, unconstitutional, un-Republican and un-American.

So, there was Ryan bouncing to his feet repeatedly to applaud. Ryan even appears to have given Trump a few tips on how to make political dishonesty sound more convincing.

Magical Thinking

Trump had promised a terrific, magical replacement for Obamacare that, get this, insures everybody at a lower cost. He guaranteed it would cover pre-existing conditions, but wouldnt force anyone to buy insurance, which is literally impossible. If only sick Americans need to buy insurance, it eliminates insurance company profits, unless they raise prices astronomically.

Last week, Trump instead began using Ryans own weasel words, claiming his replacement would ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage.

Of course, it doesnt do Americans any good to have access to coverage if they cant afford it. Republicans still dont really have an agreed-upon plan as cancer victims and others terrified of losing insurance jam the town halls of members of Congress demanding protection.

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Of course, destroying affordable health care for millions is only the beginning of Trumps radical domestic agenda. It also includes abandoning support for civil and voting rights, whacking environmental protection in almost every form leaving only little tidbits intact, redirecting financial support for public schools into private and religious schools, and on and on.

At the same time, Trump brags a $54 billion-dollar increase in military spending that would be one of the largest in American history. Lets see. Fewer people voting and a massive military buildup. We wondered how Trumps admiration for Russia would affect the U.S.

The shift to decimate government programs benefitting Americans in favor of wasteful overspending by the military exposes how completely Republicans have abandoned fiscal conservatism.

Trumps campaign claim that the U.S. military was in tatters was always absurd. We should spend less after winding down two long, agonizing U.S. wars. Instead, the U.S. still spends more on its military than the next seven countries combinedChina, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, United Kingdom, India and Germany.

Trumps call for even more military spending for the sake of spending wont make us safer or allow the U.S. to start winning wars again, as he claims. Its ignorant and dangerous.

The healthiest realization our country finally learned in Vietnam, reinforced again in Iraq and Afghanistan, was that we never win by going to war. What we lose is American lives and that treasure can never be replaced. Thats why war should always be a last resort.

Only shallow national leaders who have never experienced war themselves could ever believe otherwise. Unfortunately, that includes the last Republican president and vice president and now Trump.

I dont fault George W. Bush, Dick Cheney or Trump for avoiding military service. When I was in college during Vietnam, dodging the draft was considered a matter of life and death. Ive always been grateful to be exempted by the Kennedy administration as a young father starting my career.

But I sure fault Bush and Cheney for their seeming eagerness to send others into the horrors of war from which they were protected as privileged young men.

The same goes for Trump taking a few minutes during dinner to approve the disastrous raid on a compound in Yemen, targeting a terrorist who wasnt there, that killed Navy SEAL Ryan Owens and a couple of dozen civilians.

Then, on Fox & Friends, Trump tried to dodge presidential responsibility by saying the raid was planned before his presidency and recommended by his generals. And they lost Ryan. Im sorry, but Trump then milking the applause for Owens tearful, grieving widow during his speech was tasteless and cynical.

Putting American lives at risk should weigh heavily and personally upon any president. Thats why its absolutely terrifying to have a president who asked a foreign policy expert during a campaign briefing: If we have nuclear weapons, why cant we use them?
As the Florentine Operas General Director William Florescu points out, The Florentines have not performed Don Giovanni for 11 years and now, with a superlative cast assembled, Milwaukee audiences can look forward to a real treat with a revival of the widely acclaimed 2006 production.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts sardonically delightful, tongue-in-cheek sense of wayward amorality has delighted audiences for two centuries with its wry, understated sarcasm. But is Don Giovanni a comedy? It begins with a killing. Don Giovanni stabs the Commendatore after trying to rape his daughter, Donna Anna, who then remains vengeful and distraught for most of the operamuch to the despair of her long-time fiance, Don Ottavio, who does not believe in long engagements. He poignantly expresses his frustration with the lovely aria O Mio Tesoro while Donna Anna pleads for more patience in her lovely aria Non Mir Dir.

Not to be outdone is Donna Elvira, one of the Dons rejects who still loves him while having no illusions about his character. She expresses her displeasure in a series of dramatic musical encounters which give the opera a new lilt, counterpointing Mozart's ravishing, beautifully integrated score with a series of memorable arias. The musical momentum is unflagging, pausing only for the mandatory recitative. Of course, the lynchpin defining the tenor of the score is Giovannis hapless manservant Leporello, sung this time by South African baritone Musa Ngqungwana, who bravely endures and sometimes obfuscates his masters ongoing shenanigans. His hilarious catalogue aria gleefully lists Giovannis conquests1,003 in Spain alone. This production highlights the talents of three notable black performers, Ngungwana, Ariana Douglas as Zerlina and Leroy Y Davis as Masetto. Donna Anna and Don Ottavio are sung by Emily Birsan and Brian Stucki in their Florentine debuts. Alexander Dobson also debuts with the company as the irascible Don.

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Gloriously indifferent to the operas shenanigans, the title character continues his pursuit of sexual conquests, trying to seduce the engaged peasant girl Zerlina in the memorable, familiar duet La Ci Darem la Mano. He beats up her fiance, Masetto. Giovanni blithely ignores the Commentators warnings of divine retribution from the grave, invites the apparition to supper, mocking all efforts at repentance and literally goes to hell.

The irony of Mozarts masterwork is that audiences are not convinced that such dire punishment should be forthcoming. Mozarts tongue-in-cheek moral ambiguity tantalizingly implies that the Dons charming nonchalance, his distinguishing trademark, does not require such melodramatic damnation.

Is Don Giovanni a comedy or a drama? As Florescu wryly says, Its a drama thats not that serious or a comedy thats not that funny. By and large its a fantasy with a ghost rising from belowGiovanni is an allegory not always touching upon reality.

This production, including sets, costumes and lighting, was designed by the Florentine in 2006, and has travelled around the country. The element of fantasy in the Florentine production reminds one of surrealistic modernists such as Rene Magritte with floating windows and crescent-shaped forced perspective giving this presentation a uniquely imaginative bent.

Florescu has always cited Mozart as a favorite composer, but adds, I love all of the Mozart operas, but I might place Figaro with its more contemporary outlook above if not next to Giovanni. Everything that happens on the stage is reflected in the music. Great music and great characterization form the basis of great opera. A great score is as essential as a compelling libretto, and the great Mozart operas owe their long-lasting appeal to this essential unity.

Milwaukee resident Emily Fons will sing the challenging role of Donna Elvira. Fons was one of the finalists in the nationwide Metropolitan Opera editions in 2006 and has sung in New York, at the Chicago Lyric, and in Santa Fe. This is the first appearance with the Florentines for the Bay View resident. Her views on the spiky role of Elvira are refreshingly perceptive. Elvira is the real superhero of the opera, she says. She encounters the other characters who have been abused by Giovanni. She has seen the mayhem he creates and she has no illusions about who he is. Having been herself involved with the Don, Elviras music is a combination of anger and regret over her past relationship. Fons adds, The music is very high tessitura and challenging to sing, unusual even for Mozart, but it characterizes a lady who had no illusions about her own feelings or about what the others have endured. The beauty of the score carries all before it.

The Florentine Opera performs Don Giovanni, March 17 and March 19, at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St. For more information visit florentineopera.org.
MUSIC:

Chamber Orchestra Extravaganza @ Schwan Concert Hall, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Monday, March 13

We are very aware that the survival of the first few years of any organization is crucial to its longevity in existence," says violinist Jeanyi Kim of our areas newest chamber music orchestra, Milwaukee Musaik, continuing: We are hoping that this concert will galvanize the steadily growing, loyal support that seems to be out there and give us the momentum we need to bring in more major financial support." A ticket to this event, in fact, not only provides such needed support to this excellent ensemble, but also grants access to an evening of fine chamber works.

Milwaukee Musaiks concert features guest conductor Andres CardenesCuban-born violinist, violist, educator, concertmaster and current professor at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music. Cardenes, who led the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for more than 20 years, is joined on the program by violinist Jeanyi Kim and all the Milwaukee Musaik Chamber Orchestra regulars.

Works theyll be performing are the melodic String Sonata No. 3 in C Major (1804) by Gioacchino Rossini, the splendidly evocative Trittico Botticelliano (1927) by Ottorino Respighi; the harmonically rich Sinfonia Concertante (K. 364; 1779) by Wolfgang Mozart; and the sparklingly upbeat chamber music suite Much Ado About Nothing by Erich Korngold. This latter piece is a five-movement derivation of the incidental music Korngold composed for a 1918 Viennese staging of William Shakespeares famous play.

Elijah @ St. Monica Parish, Whitefish Bay, Sunday, March 12

Bel Canto Chorus next concert is entitled Conviction," a word the dictionary defines as a firmly held belief or opinion." That description, in our current context, refers to two things: composer Felix Mendelssohns own religious faith, which inspired a work such as his 1846 oratorio, Elijah , Op. 70, or his nearly religious reverence for his Baroque Era predecessors, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. Milwaukees Bel Canto Chorusalong with soprano Mathilda Edge, alto Nicole Warner, tenor James Doing and baritone Gerard Sundbergperform this choral masterpiece. Though undoubtedly influenced by and modeled upon works of Bach and Handel, Mendelssohns Elijah yet reflects its Romantic Era milieu with its orchestral colors and lyricism.

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A German Requiem @ Carroll University, Sunday, March 12

Ein deutsches Requiem , Op. 45, was begun in 1865 by Johannes Brahms after the death of his mother and completed in 1869 (Brahms, ever the perfectionist and hyper self-critical, was wont to take his time with his compositions). As Malcolm MacDonald observed in his masterly biography of the German master, this wasnt the first non-Catholic German" requiem, but it was the very first in which a composer had selected and shaped his text for essentially personal reasons to speak to a contemporary audience in a shared tongue, transcending the constraints of ritual." The Waukesha Choral Union and other featured vocalists perform this mighty work of German Romanticism for free (yes, free !) at Shattuck Music Center, 218 N. East Ave.

THEATRE:

TXT U L8R @ Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, March 10-19

First Stage Young Company members perform Eric Cobles TXT U L8R at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (325 W. Walnut St.)a play he wrote specifically for this award-winning theater training program for teenage actors. Set in a high school, the plot centers on modern communicationin particular, how face-to-face encounters are replaced by digital means. Its a mystery, and there are a lot of laughs," Coble explains. I hope the characters we follow feel real, like people we know, even as theyre coming from backgrounds that may not be our own. Its a rollercoaster ride. With cellphones." The play will be directed by frequent First Stage collaborator Matt Daniels. Its recommended for families with children ages 12 and up.

Proyecto Bembe: Latino Carnival @ Latino Arts Auditorium and Gallery, Friday, March 10

Milwaukees Latino Arts (1028 S. Ninth St.) hosts Proyecto Bembes youth performance ensemblealong with professional musicians and dancers from our Latino communityin what they describe as a carnival show," explained further as a historical, cultural and rhythmic voyage throughout Brazil and Puerto Ricos carnival celebrations." As for Proyecto Bembe (Project Bembe"), its an Afro-Latino, percussion-based, performing arts program led by co-founding members Johanna de los Santos and Cecilio Negron Jr. available as an after-school program for youth that utilizes applied ethnomusicology techniques. The Dinner and a Show" special includes a pre-performance fish buffet courtesy of Cafe el Sol.
 Expand Donny Jankowski, Dashcam

Stop me if youve heard this one before, but a hitherto uncelebrated corner of the Milwaukee music scene may be on the brink of a renaissance. Its a narrative that should be familiar at this point, following the growing interest in Milwaukees crowded rap scene, and more recently, the citys jazz resurgence. Those scenes continue to do extraordinarily well for themselves, as does Milwaukees rock scene, the longtime anchor of the citys live music calendars. For the last year or so, though, some of the Milwaukees most exciting music has come from a far less exposed source: the citys fringe electronic music scene.

The scene hasnt witnessed this kind of energy since the 90s. The Noh Life collective is creating some killer club music for people who hate going to clubs, while the modernist EDM crew Close Up of the Serene is finding inventive ways to bridge dance musics past and future. The citys monthly MELT shows have shined a spotlight on some of the scenes outsider sounds, a goal shared by the label Radiograffiti. On the other end of the accessibility spectrum, KIINGs are doing a fantastic job making wide-appeal electronic pop for the Radio Milwaukee set. And, for the first time in ages, the scene has a potential star in Luxi, whose sensationally dreamy new album, Geometric Universe, sounds like, if not her crossover moment, then the path toward one.

So theres a lot to be excited about. Focusing on all that potential, though, overlooks some of the harsher realities. As most promoters will tell you, attendance at most auteuristic electronic billsthe ones that prioritize music over bottle serviceis still pretty modest. Most of this music isnt receiving any airplay. And the scene hasnt attracted much attention at all from the local media, let alone even publications beyond the city. For all its promise, the scene is still just a blip on an extremely overcrowded radar.

Donny Jankowski is aware of all of this. It doesnt dampen his enthusiasm any, though. Im thinking that the scene is just about to burst, says Jankowski, who produces posh, velvety synthwave music under the moniker Dashcam. Theres so much excitement right now, and a ton of creative energyall of these talented individuals out there making music in their bedrooms and in their studios.

It was in hopes of channeling that excitement that, last year, Jankowski co-founded the label NiceFM, which has already assembled an enviable roster that includes Milwaukee artists such as Luxi, the electro-funk project Hot Science and tropical house producer Plaid Hawaii. So far its released several online compilations, and on Friday itll release a Luxi remix EP featuring six of its artists.

NiceFM isnt a label in the traditional sense, however. There are no contracts or expectations of exclusivity; many of its artists have deals or affiliations with other labels. One of them, Tyler St Clair of Datarunner, operates the label Radiograffiti. Jankowski himself is set to release his upcoming Dashcam project on Gloss Records.

We wanted to distinguish ourselves, because these days anybody can launch a label per se with a Bandcamp page and start selling songs for 99 cents apiece, Jankowski says. Were trying to avoid that. We dont have any songs for sale right now. Instead, what Im trying to do is develop the label as a collective and to build a cohesive identity and an environment where artists can feed off of each other.

So NiceFM is trying to create a little structure for a scene that might otherwise be too decentralized to capitalize on its moment. And perhaps just as importantly, its also trying to grow an audience for this music, something that Jankowski doesnt see as a hard sell. Electronic music is squeezing market share away from rock all over the world, and even the rock music that gets the most buzz these days owes as much to electronic music as anything else. Its not a stretch to imagine listeners into bands like Chvrches, Sylvan Esso or Radiohead making the leap, and NiceFMs roster is as good of a gateway as any. They may not make pop music in the traditional sense, but its all pretty accessible.

Were going for the summer vibe, Jankowski says. I want to make music you could put on and people would think is nice; something that someone might share with friends. You know, Im trying to make it so its as accessible as possible, without sacrificing the avant, the part that makes it interesting. To underscore that, the design aesthetic on NiceFMs website and cover art is bright and invitingin obvious contrast to, say, the doomy, industrial iconography of Radiograffitis releases.

Will it be enough to convert listeners, or to help Milwaukee catch up to cities with far more established electronic scene? And what about the fact that even NiceFMs most polished, presentable artists havent found any regular local radioplay?

It will come, insists Jankowski, who says hes playing the long game. It just takes patience. We do want our music to play on 88.9, and it will when theyre ready to play it and when were at the level that we should be. Were kind of on the cusp, so right now its about pushing it over and getting to the next level. Were trying new things. Its not what everyone is used to hearing. Were not just a bunch of rock outfits.

Its hard, Jankowski continues, because Milwaukee doesnt get a ton of national hype, so we dont have that leg to stand on. Weve got to prop ourselves up within the community. It starts from all of us. We dont have an established industry here, so were writing our own rule books.

NiceFMs music is streaming at NiceFM.org.
For some, the 2008 closing of Americas Black Holocaust Museum marked the end of a dream, but others refused to let one of Milwaukees singular cultural institutions die.

By 2010, the Black Holocaust Museum reappeared in virtual form. Under the wings of a new non-profit organization, the James Cameron Legacy Foundation, the museum began sending volunteers into the community giving talks on black history.

At a Feb. 25 Legacy Foundation event at Centennial Hall, the Black Holocaust Museums Head Griot, Reggie Jackson, promised that the museum would resume operations in a new building, perhaps as early as next year. The museum without walls, as he called the digital initiative, will gain a new set of walls in the heart of Bronzeville, rising from the corner of North Avenue and Fourth Street. We need to open up and tell the truth about our historythe bad as well as the good, Jackson said.

Surviving a Lynching

While borrowing the word Holocaust to describe American racism struck an uncomfortable note in some ears when the museum opened in 1988, its founder, James Cameron, was a patient explicator, a kind-hearted docent guiding visitors through an exhibition of hell. He was nearly lynched by an Indiana mob in 1930. As he told the story, the noose was already around his neck when a voice from the crowd cried out that he was innocent of rape. His two traveling companions were not so fortunate.

One of the museums coordinators, Milwaukee filmmaker Brad Pruitt, refers to an infamous photograph of that lynchingthe picture of two young black men hanging slightly apart from a branch that inspired the lyric of Billie Holidays Strange Fruit. James Cameron was supposed to be the one in the middle, Pruitt says.

But Cameron survived, gained an engineering degree, became a tireless campaigner for the NAACP and participated in many civil rights marches after moving to Milwaukee in the 1950s. He became a prolific writer-researcher of African American history. After visiting Israels Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, Cameron was inspired to publically display the artifacts of racism he had collected. Americas Black Holocaust Museum was born.

About the museums 2008 closing, Pruitt says, It was a perfect storm. Dr. Cameron passed away two years earlier. Its always an issue when a founder diesespecially when you lose someone with such energy. Then, one of the museums most influential supporters, Marty Stein, died. And then, the recession

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Keeping the Mission Alive

Pruitt had been working on a documentary of Camerons life with social worker-educator Fran Kaplan. Frustrated in their search for funding, they began working with the son of the museums founder, Virgil Cameron, along with Reggie Jackson and other activists, to reimagine the museum in the digital dimension. As Kaplan recalls, The more we talked, the more we realized that the museums central story was told by the docentsthe griotsmore than the physical artifacts. We could tell those stories online.

The virtual museum grew to include nearly 3,000 exhibits. The Legacy Foundation reported 1.4 million visits from around the world to the site in 2016. While the virtual museum was born in the necessity of a low budget, the result was a global reach Cameron never imagined when he opened the museums doors. According to Kaplan, teachers in Germany, France and Italy are using the exhibits in classrooms. And during the past few years, the museum has kept its mission alive in the physical world through its Griot to Go speakers program, which has attracted packed audiences to presentations on black history at Milwaukee-area public libraries.

So with such success as a museum without walls, why assume the financial risk of brick and mortar? Pruitt explains that Alderwoman Milele Coggs, whose district encompasses the historic Bronzeville neighborhood, championed the move. For her, the museum is where her constituents live, he says. In communities of color, where institutions celebrating art and culture have atrophied, its vital to have physical spaces where people can gather, learn and commune. At the Centennial Hall event, Coggs insisted that the museums return couldnt be more timelythere are some who are fighting to tear down the progress we have made.

The projected physical museum will be part of a block-long development bounded by Fourth and Fifth streets and North and Garfield avenues. The museum will be housed in a new four-floor building designed by HGA Architects, the firm behind the similarly configured East Side Public Library. The museum and museum cafe will occupy the ground level. The Griot Apartments will fill the upper stories. Local art will be displayed in the cafe gallery. A parking lot will be available for visitors.

In the weeks to come, the Legacy Foundation will unveil a fundraising campaign for the museums construction. Milwaukee has been the poster child for residential segregation, Kaplan says. When the Sherman Park incident happened last summer, the national media rushed here to talk about the situation. We couldnt be in a better place as a museum facing these issues. A while back, when we introduced an exhibit called Breaking News, someone from the local media asked, Why do you call it Breaking Newsyoure a museum? That might be a good point if the past wasnt still with us in the present.

Dr. Cameron had deep faith in the promise of America, she continues. He believed that when people understood our history better, the truth would set us free. The museum is carrying on that legacy. Were helping to win the peace.

For more information, visit abhmuseum.org.
When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

This was Donald Trump talking to Billy Bush about assaulting women more than a decade ago, but it has proven to be the ultimate expression of Trumpism.

When Matt Lauer, a rich celebrity, asked Trump, another rich celebrity, about North Carolinas discriminatory bathroom bill, it became a question of whether Trump would be fine with [Caitlyn Jenner] using any bathroom she chooses in Trump Tower.

Jenner, like Trump, is a reality TV star with complicated lines between business and family. Of course she can pee wherever she wants.

But trans people who arent stars and who have to go to the bathroom in less glamorous places than Trump Tower are shit out of luck after the administration declared in late February it would not protect the rights of trans students.

Jenner spoke out against Trumps reversal on trans issues, telling him to call her. But because she is also a star, her plea misses the point. Trump attacks the most vulnerable.

Attacking the Most Vulnerable

If Trump wanted to understand how it feels to be denied access to basic services, he could talk to Gavin Grimm, a trans high school student whose lawsuit against his Virginia school districtfor forcing him to use a refashioned janitors closet instead of the mens roomwas scheduled to reach the Supreme Court later this month, but was sent back on Monday to a lower court because of the new guidelines set by Trumps Justice Department.

Or when Trump spoke at the ultra-right Conservative Political Action Conference in late February, he could have talked to Jennifer Williams and Jordan Evans, the two trans women who stood out in the hallway holding a Dont Tread on Me flag and a sign that said, Proud to be Conservative, Proud to Be Transgender, Proud to be American #sameteam.

We spent the last year fighting for transgender rights and being part of a presidential campaign, [and] we didnt know what we were walking into, Williams said of the anti-trans fervor once again spiking in the ruling party.

Williams has attended the conference since 2006, when she was working on a film called Fear of a Black Republican. She felt that the conference and the conservative movement were moving toward the libertarianism of Ron Paul and away from the traditional values of Mike Huckabee.

Until 2016, she attended the conference presenting as a man, rather than as Jennifer, her authentic self. She says she was received warmly when she reintroduced herself last yearher friends asked if she was still a conservative and when she said she was, they were cool.

But after a brief moment of high hopes, the mood shifted.

First, then-Breitbarteer Milo Yiannopoulos got a keynote spot on CPACs program. Yiannopoulos regularly called trans people mentally ill and used a December speech in Milwaukee to mock a trans student.

Like Yiannopoulos, some openly gay people at CPAC seemed eager to dis trans people in order to cement their own endangered status among the bigots. One conservative lesbian blogger sitting in the press section explained to a Breitbart editor how trans women were really just men who like to dress in womens clothes and masturbate. Autogynephiles, she said, talking high and punching down.

Its going to be hard for the administration to go after lesbian, gay and bi people because they have numbers, they have resources, they have money. We dont necessarily have that, Williams said. Youre going after transgender people ... Were only .6 percent of the population.

Williams was briefly relieved when Yiannopoulos was disinvited from CPAC, but then, the night before the conference began, the regime rescinded the Obama-era directive offering federal protection for students to use the facilities that correspond with their gender identities rather than their birth certificates.

So when Williams and her friend walked in with their signs and their flag, they didnt know what to expect. I was really worried because people were hyped up. We didnt expect it to be the issue du jour by 8 in the morning, walking into CPAC with 11,000, 12,000 conservatives of all different stripes from all over the country.

Although Wiliams access to public facilities is legally protected in Maryland, where the conference took place, she and her friend located single-occupancy restrooms where they knew they would be safe.

Hopefully, nothing bad will happen, I dont expect it to. This is my tribe, just as LGBTQ is my tribe. People at CPAC dont start fights, she said, but theres always that one person you have to be careful about.

She is especially worried for young trans kids. When I grew up, we had no hope, and you knew that if you were going to be out and proud and live your life authentically, it was just going to be tough, she said. These kids have had a great run for several years making life better and easier, so they can live openly. But now if Im them, everybody knows who I am. Whats going to happen to me now?

The fear, she says, has to be overwhelming, because at least the federal government had your back. Now they dont.

At its best, the federal government protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority, but Trumps populism says fuck that shit.

On the same day Trumps Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that trans protections are states rights issues, he also said that recreational cannabis would be a federal issue. In this regime, there are no real principles, only power and the repression of anyone vulnerable enough to repress.

Williams has placed whatever hope she has left in the courts. If we lose the Gavin Grimm case, it could be pretty dismal for a long time. I dont want to say until a Democrat gets elected, because Im a Republican committee person, she said. Hopefully, our party will be the ones to make freedom happen for everyone.

Thats the thing about freedom: If it doesnt happen for everyone, it doesnt happen for anyone.
Tens of thousands of Romanian calves and sheep spared the trauma of live export!

Last year we exposed perhaps one of the saddest aspects of the global live export trade  the shipping of very young calves from Romania to Israel. As our investigations revealed, these defenceless and frightened calves suffered every step of the way.

These baby animals were given a reprieve.

Israel announced a temporary freeze on all live animal imports from Romania  calves and sheep. This means 170,000 Romanian animals were spared this treacherous journey and cruellest of fates.

There are various pressure points at play that have led to this decision by Israel to suspend live animal imports from Romania. The Israeli government has been under sustained and intense pressure  from our friends at Anonymous for Animal Rights, Let the Animals Live and Israel Against Live Shipments who have been working tirelessly for animals in Israel, and from our bold public ad campaign, which confronted politicians at every turn with the face of a defenceless Romanian calf.

There is also a landmark court case underway in Israel challenging the unnecessary suffering of animals during live export. The case to stop the import of live animals from Australia could not be stronger and this decision to freeze trade from Romania is, we believe, the strongest signal yet that Israeli authorities are recognising the wrongs of this industry.

When we exposed the tragic end for Romanian animals exported to the Middle East  where they were beaten, tormented, and suffered a slow and painful death  there was a global outpouring of grief. 70,000 people across the world signed the petition to stop the death ships.

And within Romania we saw an outcry like never before  with thousands of Romanians emailing their local politicians calling for an end to live export. Now, in response to Israels decision, Romanian authorities are openly discussing trade options that dont involve exporting live animals.

Were still lobbying to end live animal exports from Romania to all countries, for good. And we are seeing clear proof that when we unite on behalf of animals, when we are persistent and unwavering in our resolve, authorities have no choice but to take notice.

Get involved
If you prepare food for Angelina Jolie, Michael Jackson, Simon Cowell and other multi-millionaires while theyre lying on their private planes, whats on the plate had better be darn good and nothing your diners palates might desire had better be missing. That slice of lime, wedge of Morbier cheese, tin of Russian caviar or bottle of Dom Perignon has got to be on board before takeoff; after all, theres no Whole Foods Market or Super Cellars in the sky.

Harry Purut, CEO of the Wood-Ridge, N.J.-based Gourmet Inflight Catering, is well aware of that. The 61-year-old Wyckoff resident has been working hard for the past 16 years to satisfy the culinary whims and drink requests of the 1-Percenters whose private carriers fly out of the airports in the metropolitan area, including Teterboro, Newark, JFK and LaGuardia. His catering company, which sits next door to Martini Grill, the Italian-American restaurant his chef brother-in-law, Aret Cakir, owns and for which he is a partner, is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Cakir is also chef of the catering company, which has a staff of 14.

We never close, Purut said. Were like an airline.

Puruts clients are not the passengers, but their companies or managers who hire him to feed their well-heeled travelers. He is in charge of supplying them top-notch snacks, top-end meals and top-shelf liquor. Sometimes an astoundingly large and expensive amount of liquor. Purut recalls one flyer for whom he fetched 16 bottles of Patron Platinum Tequila ($250 per bottle), 6 bottles of Cristal Champagne ($150/bottle) and 6 bottles of Johnny Walker Blue ($200/bottle). The liquor was to be enjoyed on a flight to Atlantic City.

We have five-star clientele, said the gray-haired and mustachioed Purut, who was born in Istanbul. Were not providing regular airline food.

WHATS ON THE MENU

Among the dishes Gourmet Inflight is providing: grilled filet mignon with roasted rosemary potatoes, rack of lamb encrusted with herb-flecked Parmesan and thinly sliced marinated ostrich over caramelized onions. Flying breakfast time? Theres challah French toast with Vermont maple syrup, a selection of smoked fish with black German bread or paper-thin French crepes stuffed with fresh fruit. Just a light nosh? Hows about Beluga caviar with creme fraiche?

If however a passenger wants something other than whats on the companys extensive menu, Purut will try  real hard  to please. He spends lots of time, he said, shopping for food, often searching for specific sometimes-difficult-to-find products a client just cant fly without. For one, he recalled, it was mini veal sausages. In this area its not mini and the sausages are made with pork. Still, he managed to find a Fair Lawn butcher to make mini veal sausages for him. Money is not the issue, he said. For another, it was black pudding (English blood sausage). I found it in a New Milford Irish deli, he said, For still another: organic Gatorade. I never heard of organic Gatorade, he said. Neither it turns out did any store owners in the area. I had it shipped from Phoenix.

Sometimes the demands are not food-related. Jennifer Lopez wanted a dark Santa Fe fleece throw and a crystal-cut ashtray, Purut said. Do you know how hard it is finding this stuff? He managed to find the throw in Lord & Taylor and the ashtray in Bloomingdales.

Its challenging work, never boring, Purut declared. It is work he took on after Martini Grill customers, who happen to work in nearby Teterboro, asked him if hed start an inflight catering firm. They offered to give the restaurant all their business if it would.

Though hesitant at first, the two men decided to go for it when the tanning salon next door to the restaurant moved out and they had the space to build another kitchen. Its a niche business, Purut said  one that they knew nothing about.

So they hired people who worked for the competition  and learned from them. We had to learn about different containers  those for hot food and cold food  size of plane ovens and microwaves, how to cook food that will need to be reheated, etc.

Today, they have 250 customers.

Flight attendant Maryann Minaesian cant be more pleased with Purut.. I never have to worry Did he get it right? she said. He is so professional and his food is fabulous. Plus hes a nice person.

Have the eating habits of the rich and famous changed over time? Yes, Purut says. Like most everyone else, they are eating less carbs  Instead of rice, we make mashed sweet potatoes, instead of potatoes, pureed cauliflower  less fried foods  We used to saute vegetables, now we mostly steam or roast  and theres more demand for gluten-free dishes.

One customer didnt care about gluten or carbs. He had one demand: English tea sandwiches. Purut supplied them. A few days later, the vendor told him, he said, The guy never talks. He never says a word. But he liked the tea sandwiches so much that he actually spoke to tell me how pleased he was. The guy was Keith Richards.
This is one of those big-fish-in-a-big-pond situations.

The pond is Spain, the place with more vineyard acreage than any other country on earth, and the fish is tempranillo, Spains big red grape variety. Its actually not Spains most widely planted wine grape; that honor belongs to the white grape variety airen. But as anglers and wine buffs know, big ponds often have more than one kind of big fish, and all big fishes are not equally rewarding to catch.

Tempranillo is the trophy catch of Spain. The word itself is derived from temprano, which is Spanish for early, and it is believed that the grape got its name because it tends to ripen on the early side of the harvest season. Despite its widespread presence on the Iberian peninsula  or perhaps because of it  tempranillo also goes by many other names in its home country.

In the storied region of Rioja, where the grape has gathered most of its acclaim through the decades, it is called tempranillo. But that is where the clarity ends. In nearby Ribera del Duero, a region that has been gaining ground on Rioja in both quality and reputation for years, the grape is called tinta del pais or tinto fino. In Toro, it is called tinta de toro. In Penedes, it is called ull de llebre in the local Catalan language (and ojo de liebre in Castilian, i.e., good ol espanol), and in Valdepenas and La Mancha, it is known as cencibel. Of course, none of this is sensible to the outsider, since all of it is tempranillo. (And there are many other aliases too.)

It is easy to understand why another country would have an alternate name for it (that whole different language thing), and even Spains neighbor to the west, Portugal, has two separate names for it: tinta roriz and aragonez. Its almost as if the people who know what a great grape variety tempranillo is have been trying to distract and confuse everyone else, just to keep their secret safe.

But alas (or thank goodness, depending on which side youre on), the word got out, and a study by the University of Adelaide (South Australia) concluded that, as of 2010, tempranillo was the worlds fourth-most-planted wine grape behind cabernet sauvignon, merlot and the aforementioned airen. Tempranillo also landed in front of such popular grapes as chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir.

Despite not being formally knighted a so-called international variety (a well-known grape recognized for its ability to produce top-quality wines around the world), tempranillo continues to grow in popularity, and it would not be much of a surprise if one day it were to pass up its white Spanish counterpart airen on the worlds-most-widely-planted list.

When it comes to turning the grape into wine, tempranillo usually does not go it alone. Though it provides a base for many wines, it is not a grape variety that stands up for itself and shouts out its most redeeming qualities over a bullhorn. Instead it moves with the crowd and relies on help from others  notably garnacha (grenache) and mazuelo (aka carinena/carignan) in Rioja, and cabernet sauvignon, merlot and other grapes elsewhere in Spain. Strawberry is a common descriptor of tempranillo, and from there, aromas and flavors can move on to cherries, black fruits, herbs, tobacco, leather and spice. Tempranillo produces medium- to full-bodied wines, especially when blended with heartier grape varieties, and can range in color from ruby red to deep crimson.

This is a wine style that pairs well with ham, lamb, grilled meats, casseroles and game. You could also settle in with a friend and a bottle, along with a hunk of Manchego cheese and some crusty bread. Another option would be to light a candle, pour yourself a glass and crack the binding on Don Quixote or The Sun Also Rises, dreaming of running with the bulls. Tempranillo surely makes up the majority of red wines swilled at festivals across Spain, so go ahead and drink it out of a bota bag if you like, but if you are a beginner, may I suggest not wearing a white shirt. Or if you must wear white, at least tie a red handkerchief around your neck. Im speaking from experience here.

Tempranillo is especially fond of oak barrel aging, and the practice has been a hallmark of the countrys two most famous tempranillo regions  Rioja and Ribera del Duero. But it is not the rule. Despite the fact that tempranillo can be extremely age-able, it is possible today to find young, fruity unoaked versions of it in both regions.

California, Oregon and Washington turn out tempranillos, as do Argentina (where it usually takes the feminine moniker tempranilla) and Australia, where it is often blended with grenache and the Aussie superstar shiraz. In Portugal, tempranillo (as aragonez or tinta roriz) is used in table wines and ports. Even Italy has some tempranillo, and of course they have their own name for it: malvasia nera. While were at it, California has had an alternate name for tempranillo, too: valdepenas (yes, just like the Spanish wine region Valdepenas, where tempranillo is referred to as cencibel).

Obviously Spain, particularly Rioja, is the place where this grape variety enjoys its most-esteemed reputation. The legendary Muga and Marques de Riscal wines come from Rioja, but it is Ribera del Duero that is home to what is possibly the most famous and revered Spanish wine of all, Vega-Sicilia. Ribera del Dueros combination of blazing daytime heat and high-plateau nighttime cool create the perfect growing conditions for tempranillo, although its global sprawl suggests quite clearly that it does just fine elsewhere too.
ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa | A lawsuit in which a Lyon County farmer says a neighbor intentionally poisoned his cattle has resulted in a countersuit of slander by the accused neighbor.

Joel and Marilyn Moser, of Alvord, Iowa, had sued Tristan Kuenzi, of Rock Rapids, Iowa, in Lyon County District Court, claiming that while Kuenzi fed their cattle for five days in October while they were in Florida, he negligently or intentionally scooped up a 100-pound tractor battery, which was ground up with feed in a mixing wagon and fed to 90 cattle. As a result, 80 of the cattle died from lead poisoning.

Kuenzi has denied the claims of negligence and has countersued the Mosers for slander.

He said in the countersuit that the Mosers began to tell media, law enforcement, neighbors and friends that Kuenzi had intentionally poisoned their cattle once their insurance carrier ruled the deaths accidental and would not reimburse them for their loss.

Kuenzi said in his countersuit that Moser was at fault because he hadn't replaced a grill that covered the battery on his loader tractor. Kueinzi said that when he notified Moser after discovering pieces of the battery in the cattle's feed bunk, Moser acknowledged that the battery must have fallen from the tractor and that Kuenzi accidentally loaded it into the feed wagon.

The Mosers said in their lawsuit that Kuenzi intentionally mixed the battery with the feed to harm their cattle and are seeking a judgment to compensate them for their losses.

Kuenzi is seeking punitive damages against the Mosers. He said the stories and accusations have damaged his reputation.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY | Former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota praised leaders of a northeast Nebraska ethanol plant Tuesday for their efforts to boost production of the corn-based fuel.

"Siouxland (Ethanol) deserves a great deal of credit," Daschle said in an interview with the Journal. "They are at just about 80 million gallons a year now, which is a huge amount of ethanol product. They are doing extremely well.

"This has been a good year for them. They are continuing to grow and expand and they are run by a great board. They got a lot of good things going for them."

Daschle, a former Senate majority leader who now works as a Washington lobbyist, was the keynote speaker at Siouxland Ethanol's annual shareholder meeting Tuesday at the Marina Inn. Daschle, a Democrat, was a main sponsor of the Clean Air Act legislation in 1990 requiring gas sold in the nation's smoggiest areas to contain an oxygenate, giving a major boost to the then-fledgling ethanol industry.

"What I want to get across is how dynamic the ethanol industry is and how we need to build on the things in the past," Daschle said before his speech in South Sioux City Tuesday. "We passed the Clean Air Act amendments and that gave us a threshold. We passed the Renewable Fuel Standard and that gave us an opportunity, catalytically, to see the explosion of the industry."

Daschle first represented South Dakota in the U.S. House from 1978 to 1986. After being elected to the U.S. Senate, he served stints as both the minority and majority leader until 2004, when he lost his reelection bid to now Republican Sen. John Thune.

Siouxland Ethanol, located near Jackson, Nebraska, produces an estimated 80 million gallons of corn-based ethanol per year following a $8 million expansion project completed in January. Before the addition, the company made about 50 to 65 million gallons annually.

The Dakota County plant is backed by 700 investors. More than 300 people came to celebrate the company's 10th anniversary Tuesday.

Here's some video from my interview with the former U.S. Senator from South Dakota pic.twitter.com/BG1CymNMXN  Alex Boisjolie (@scjAlexB) March 8, 2017
KIRON, Iowa | U.S. Rep. Steve King says he has sent federal authorities plans to build a Mexican border wall for far less than the estimated $21 billion cost.

"I would be willing to build it for half of that," said King, who operated an earth moving contracting company in western Iowa for nearly three decades. His eldest son now owns Kiron-based King Construction Co.

King, R-Iowa, has been an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump's proposal to erect a wall along the southern U.S. border to halt illegal immigration, which the 4th District congressman says has been drain on U.S. resources and undercuts the rule of law.

King formerly operated King Construction in Kiron, Iowa, then a son took leadership once the congressman began his federal lawmaking tenure.

At a meeting, King presented his plans to Gen. John Kelly, Trump's secretary of Homeland Security.

"I handed an estimate over to General Kelly," King said in an interview with the Journal Monday.

"It was six pages of spreadsheets and fairly sophisticated," King said. "It took several days of pro bono work on the part of King Construction. I put that in the hands of General Kelly and said, 'I want to do all I can to save the taxpayers money and get the best possible design.' "

King also joked, "The press has been reporting that I am trying to steer that wall to King Construction," which the congressman denied.

In a Jan. 13 Tweet, King posted a photo of Kelly with the congressman in his Washington office looking at a scale-model of the border wall, complete with miniature razor wire. "Excellent Trump appointment for Secretary of Homeland Security, General John Kelly & I discuss border security with my wall model on table," King wrote.

In 2006, King also took a proposed wall model and showed it on the floor of the House.

A recent Homeland Security estimate put the border wall cost at $21.6 billion -- $9.3 million per mile of barrier and $17.8 million for associated costs.

Trump's budget calls for the project to receive $2.9 billion in funding in fiscal 2018, according to draft documents for the Department of Homeland Security. The agency also would hire 500 new members of the Border Patrol and 1,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents next year.

More than 300 U.S. companies have expressed interest in the project to the agency, which expects to award the initial contracts in April. The only Siouxland contractor on that public list is LiteForm Technologies of South Sioux City.

Trump has insisted he will eventually force Mexico to foot the bill for the wall. But Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieta in a recent televised national address said, "I've said time and again; Mexico won't pay for any wall."

King said Congress should appropriate money for the wall for now, then the way to get repayment can come later, even if it is not in the form of a check with the memo portion specifying it is payment for the wall.

"I think Donald Trump will get to where they actually pay for the wall. But it will be a number of different forms," King said.

At the end of January, Trump suggested a 20 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico to pay for his long-promised wall. King said he doesn't support that move, saying, "I don't want to start a trade war."

King said some money can come from the confiscation of drug cartel money by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

"We ought to roll all those dollars into the wall," he said.

King said he also likes other aspects of Trump's immigration policy. He said strict enforcement of immigration laws is on the way.

King said there were some media reports that Trump may be open to immigration reform with a path to citizenship for those in the U.S. without legal status. But King said he feels better after Trump's Feb. 28 national speech, where the president spoke of respecting the rule of law, which the congressman took as "nothing (that) indicated amnesty."
LAKE VIEW, Iowa | A rural Lake View, Iowa, man died Tuesday afternoon after re-entering his house while it was on fire, according to Sac County authorities.

Jerry Wayne Brauckman, 47, died as a result of a fire that occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday at his residence, 3054 350th St. in Sac County, according to a news release from the Sac County Sheriff's Office.

The release said the Lake View Fire Department and the sheriff's office were dispatched for a fire report that a man was still inside his house. When they arrived, firefighters met Pamela Huss-Brauckman, 43, who told them that her husband had re-entered the home.

Firefighters located Brauckman, deceased, outside the home on the south side, the release said.

Huss-Brauckman was transported to Loring Hospital in Sac City with non-life-threatening injuries, the release said.

During an investigation involving the Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office, authorities determined both residents had been upstairs in their home and evacuated safely when they could smell smoke.

The release said Brauckman re-entered the home to see if he could determine the smoke's source and became disoriented. He was later able to find his way to an enclosed porch on the south side of the home, where he was able to break out a window and crawl outside the residence.

Authorities determined the fire began on the main floor of the southwest room and believe it started in the area of a space heater. The home received extensive smoke and fire damage.

Brauckman has been taken to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Ankeny, Iowa, for an autopsy.

Also assisting at the scene were the Wall Lake Fire Department, Lake View Police, and ambulances from Lake View and Sac City.
SIOUX CITY | City officials followed established procedure well following an equipment malfunction that led to a boil warning for thousands of residents, the city's water treatment plant superintendent said Tuesday.

But, he said, some of the inadequately treated water still may have reached residents before the warning was issued late Monday afternoon.

Contaminated water may contain disease-causing organisms that can cause symptoms like nausea, cramps, diarrhea and associated headaches, with infants, people with compromised immune systems and the elderly at the most risk.

"Theres a lot of concern from citizens about the timing of what happened," water superintendent Brad Puetz said. "Were trying to let everyone know theres a process there and by law we have to follow it."

The city issued a boil warning for the Grandview Pressure Zone, the largest of the city's five pressure zones, at 4:45 p.m. Monday. The warning expired, as expected, at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Dakota Dunes, a planned community in southeast South Dakota that purchases a portion of its water supply from Sioux City, also went under a warning through 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Puetz said a valve malfunction at the city's Zenith Water Treatment Plant, 1101 Tri View Ave., occurred between 9 and 10 a.m. Monday and was remedied within the hour. But that "hour's worth" of water, which was supposed to have been in contact with chlorine for 2 1/2 to 4 hours, only had contact for a few minutes, Puetz said.

The water treatment plant immediately began gathering information to communicate to the Department of Natural Resources, which it then contacted around 2:30 p.m. The DNR made the determination to issue the boil warning.

A city staff-approved notice was distributed to local media at 4:45 p.m. and published on the city's social media channels, encouraging any resident exhibiting symptoms to seek medical advice.

The city completed all of the steps in less than eight hours, well within the state-mandated 24 hour notification window, Puetz said.

Due to the quick remedy at the plant Monday morning, Puetz said, he was sure the Grandview Pressure Zone was the only of the city's five zones affected by the water. But, he said, it's probable that some of the water had already made it into residents' faucets by the notification time.

"We cannot determine how far it spread," Puetz said. "It's likely that water was in people's homes by then, as difficult as that is to say."

Puetz said the city shut off the Zenith Water Treatment Plant around 3 p.m. to ensure the potentially contaminated water would work its way through the system by 10 a.m. Tuesday. The city did not turn the plant back on until after the advisory was lifted Tuesday morning. Residents were encouraged to flush their lines.

Puetz said a source of confusion during the boil warning was a map of the locations of Sioux City's pressure zones, or neighborhoods, distributed to media outlets that lacked street names, making it difficult for readers to pinpoint their location and decide whether they were in or out of the affected areas.

He acknowledged it was not ideal for the public to read and resulted in several phone calls.

"The calls, (there were) just hundreds and hundreds," Puetz said. '"It took a lot of manpower."

Puetz said the city eventually began stressing for people to boil water if in doubt. He said the city will have a better map if there is a next time.

The boil warning affected not only homeowners, but also operations at local businesses and schools. Some of the former were forced to shut down Monday, resulting in lost business.

The city late Monday posted guidelines through Siouxland District Health for businesses to work through warning.

The Sioux City Community Schools did not cancel classes Tuesday morning, but spokeswoman Alison Benson said in an email that all school buildings in the warning area received cases of water prior to the start of school, and students were not allowed to drink from water fountains.

Food services used disposable trays for breakfast, and after the warning expired, all schools flushed their pipes as a precautionary measure, she said.

The warning also affected Dakota Dunes, which had received about 7,000 gallons of water from Sioux City's system that day, out of a total of 400,000 gallons used in the community.

A Dakota Dunes news release said the community isolated its water system from Sioux City water at 5 p.m. Monday and that the water mains in Two Rivers Business Park, the area closest to the Sioux City connection point, were flushed.

The release said the Dakota Dunes system is currently operating within all quality standards.
Peter Warburton wrote to introduce himself as the most famous duct tape fine artist in the USA and Western Europe. Hype? When I do a Google search for famous duct tape artists, other names fill the first page (though he does show up on the second).

No matter. I met Warburton at the downtown Sweetwaters, where his works were hung in a show last month, and I thought they looked pretty good.

Sixty-nine, a retired counselor at Chelseas Beach Middle School, Warburton is a big guy with keen blue eyes, jauntily dressed in black jeans and jacket. He mildly makes the case for his fame by pointing out that his duct tape pictures have been accepted or displayed at the Vatican and the Museum of Naive Art in Nice, France, and one finished in the top twenty-five in the 2-D category in the 2016 Grand Rapids ArtPrize.

Warburtons subjects are diverse: the works at Sweetwaters included a solemn ballet dancer rendered in bits of black and white tape, a boxy red shut-down crab shack in Maine, and the ArtPrize entry, a glowing orange windmill titled Sunset Montmartre 1896. Though not a copy, Sunset shares the title of a painting by Vincent van Gogh, a Warburton favorite.

I immediately recognized his rendition of Detroits Belle Isle Conservatoryas did a college-age man at a nearby table. Overhearing our conversation, he asked Warburton, Youre the artist? Duct tape?

Warburton is accustomed to raised eyebrows. Though use of duct tape for craft projects (wallets, cups) has shot up in popularity in the last decade, its in its infancy as a serious art form. Warburton was inspired by a student who showed up at school wearing a black duct tape tie. Warburton loved it and paid the boy to make one for him. Soon he and some students were making the ties in his counseling office. Warburton then moved into duct tape painting, which is really more like a layered mosaic. (He keeps ninety rolls on hand, though many of the colors are duplicates.)

With no training in arthis Chicago parochial schools barely taught it, he sayshe learned by trial and error, moving from crude duct-taped animals to more sophisticated projects. Hes made about 125 pictures, he estimates, spending an average of sixty hours on each.



Warburton usually works out of his garage, but the day I visit him at his northwest-side home, hes glumly stationed in the living room. The previous day, hed taken a fall on ice and is hobbling on crutches. He brightens when he shows me his current project: a half-completed rendition of an 1785 Dutch windmill that he and his wife, Diane, spotted on one of their frequent trips to Europe.

He gives me a brief demonstration. Using a box-cutter-like tool, he snips off tiny pieces of tape, presses them onto a glass canvas, and smooths them down with a roller. Here and there, he dabs on paint to fill in gaps.

Warburton, who projects earnestness, isnt being coy when he says he cant explain how he works. I dont draw, he says vaguely. I just kind of gauge it. Inspired by the nineteenth-century French pointillists, hes rendered this piece entirely in tiny dots of tape. Working on the sky, he says, I cant tell you how many layers it will be.

Partly because he cant break down his technique, he declined a request from the Ann Arbor District Library to teach kids how to paint with duct tape. (Another reason: the cutting tools are sharp. Hes nicked himself dozens of times.)

Asked how many pictures hes sold, hes also vague: I couldnt tell you. Prices vary depending on size and the time hes put into a work. At Sweetwaters, Belle Isle was priced at $400, Sunset Montmartre at $2,000.

Warburton seems less motivated by money than by a desire to get his work out there: he mails pictures (with return postage) to museums, galleries, and occasionally to prominent individuals like artist Jamie Wyeth. Wyeth kept Warburtons duct-tape raven and sent him a handwritten thank-you note, which Warburton proudly brandishes. He also shares a reply from archbishop Giovanni Lajolo thanking him for an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which, the archbishop writes, will be conserved in the Vatican and most likely destined to an office of the Roman Curia. But hes not shy about admitting his rejections. He chortles as he recalls a curator at the Louvre in Paris who returned a piece with a curt message: I have no comment.

He also sometimes practices what he calls renegade art, just dropping off a picture at a site to which it is connected. He left a black-and-white picture of Anne Frank, in a concentration camp uniform, under her statue in Amsterdam.

Closer to home, if youve passed the rain garden on Miller near Maple lately, you may have seen his unasked-for image of a sunflower. Hes now hoping a city building might accept his larger Sunflower for Hank, named for his much-loved late mother-in-law, Henrietta. Its eight feet by eight feet, and he spent a whole summer working on it so she could see it from heaven.



Warburton grew up on Chicagos north side, the son of a millwright and a homemaker, and majored in history at Western Michigan. Thats where he met his wife, a graphic artist who specializes in presentations for corporate clients. After earning a masters in guidance counseling from DePauw University, he took the job in Chelsea, retiring seven years ago.

I do miss the kids, he says, but reflects somberly that their problems seemed to deepen during his final years teachingsomething he attributes to a fast-paced society where youngsters feel lost.

Warburton defends the artistic validity of his work. The purpose of art, he says, is to create an emotional response in the viewer. Even those people who stick up their noses at his medium, he points out, are likely to smile. A smile is an emotion. Laughter is an emotion.
DES MOINES | State and local officials hope to soon launch an aggressive effort to analyze 4,265 untested rape kits for potential evidence that could help prosecutors identify and charge the assailants, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said Tuesday.

Results of a yearlong audit, made public by Miller, found that the untested rape kits are stored in city police departments and county sheriffs offices across Iowa  with nearly two in three at Iowa's nine largest cities, and some dating to the 1990s.

The statewide initiative, funded by a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, is part of a nationwide effort to address a backlog of untested kits.

It gives us the potential to provide justice, Miller said Tuesday at a news conference.

Officials are in the process of contracting with a private lab to begin analyzing the backlog of kits that also are undergoing a case-by-case review by a panel of criminologists, victim advocates and law agencies. Bids are due April 24, and the first batch of kit tests could begin in June, with an expected 90-day turnaround for results, he said.

We will put a priority on those that are bumping up against the statute of limitation, Miller said. He estimated about half of the kits would produce usable DNA, and 30 or 40 percent of those would generate matches with offenders.

Testing the backlog would overwhelm the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation labs ongoing workload, Miller said, so the team will seek DNA testing through outside labs.

A DCI lab administrator then will decide which results to run in the DNA database, and any hits they generate on suspects will be referred to law enforcement, he said.

All 387 law enforcement agencies in Iowa participated in the survey, which found there are 4,265 untested sexual assault kits in Iowa. Nine police departments  generally serving the most populated cities  account for 63 percent of the untested kits.

The Sioux City Police Department had 275 untested kits, fourth most in the state, according to the audit.

Iowa law requires law enforcement agencies to retain sexual assault kits for 10 years for adult victims, and for 10 years following a minor victims 18th birthday.

Iowas statute of limitations is 10 years for adults with an additional three years after a DNA match is discovered. The law also has a separate statute of limitations with a three-year time frame that begins to run if  through the development of a DNA profile  investigators discover the identity of a previously unknown perpetrator, Millers office said.

Our ultimate goal in cooperation with the state is to bring justice for the victims and make sure that we get these predators off the street when we can get them identified, said Des Moines Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Paul Parizek.

According to the report, the top reasons departments did not submit kits for testing were that the victim did not wish to file charges (19 percent); law enforcement doubted the truthfulness of the accusation (15 percent); or the victim did not cooperate (12 percent).

The initiative also is pursuing the establishment of a statewide rape kit tracking system which, when implemented, will track the status of all kits collected at a medical facility, stored by law enforcement or sent to laboratories for analysis. The initiative seeks to improve and standardize protocols associated with testing and victim support, training and a review of statutes on rape kit testing.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Maryland federal prosecutor Rod Rosenstein, President Donald Trump's nominee for deputy attorney general.

WASHINGTON

(March 08, 2017)Maryland federal prosecutor Rod Rosenstein, President Donald Trump's nominee for deputy attorney general, would not commit on Tuesday to appointing a special counsel to probe possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign.Despite pressure from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Rosenstein stressed that he was not in the Justice Department yet, nor did he have the facts to address such a matter.Responding to a question from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., about designating an outside prosecutor, Rosenstein replied: "The answer is I'm not simply not in position to answer the question because I'm not in the position to make it."Feinstein, along with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., urged Rosenstein to read the declassified documents regarding Russia's interference in the election after Rosenstein said he has only read media report summaries.Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he was going to try to block his confirmation if Rosenstein does not commit to appointing a counsel."As I told you, I will oppose your nomination if you are unwilling to commit to appoint a special prosecutor," Blumenthal said. "Only you only you have the power to appoint a special prosecutor."The committee chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, opposes appointment of a special prosecutor is needed."Any talk of a special counsel is premature, at best," Grassley said.The panel hearing also questioned Rachel Brand, a United States Chamber of Commerce attorney, who was nominated for associate attorney general.Rosenstein's nomination has come under sharper scrutiny since Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a self-described Trump campaign surrogate, recused himself from any probes into ties between that campaign and Russia.With the intelligence agencies in full agreement that the Russians launched a massive hacking attack in the most recent presidential election, Blumenthal said that the situation is "careening toward a constitutional crisis.""I believe that a special prosecutor is absolutely necessary to ensure absolute independence as well as the integrity of this investigation and that's why I have pressed you privately," Blumenthal said.Blumenthal asked Rosenstein that if he declined to name a special prosecutor if he would come before to the Judiciary Committee again to explain why.Rosenstein did not answer the question directly but instead called attention to the disagreement that he and Blumenthal have "on this narrow issue.""I thought a lot about this issue, senator," Rosenstein said. "You view it as an issue of principle that I need to commit to appoint a special counsel in a matter that I don't even know is being investigated and I view it as an issue of principle that as a nominee for deputy attorney general, I should not be promising to take action on a particular case."However, Rosenstein said he would handle the investigation into Russian meddling, "the way I handle any investigation.""I don't know the details of what, if any, investigation is ongoing, but I can certainly assure you if it's America against Russia, or America against any other country, I think everyone in this room knows which side I'm on," Rosenstein said.Rosenstein is currently the Maryland United States attorney, appointed in 2005 by President George W. Bush."I am very impressed by his responsibilities as the U.S. attorney for the state of Maryland," said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., a witness for Rosenstein. "He has led major criminal investigations and prosecutions in regards to contraband smuggling, with gang members and inmates and correctional officers."Rosenstein has handled sensitive corruption cases, from dealing with police officers to elected officials, as well as protecting Maryland citizens through his commitment on environmental and consumer issues, Cardin said."What impresses me the most is that he's done this in a total non-partisan, professional manner," Cardin said.Sen. Van Hollen, D-Md., also gave his full support."Rod has not only aggressively prosecuted dangerous gangs and criminals in Maryland, but also elected officials who violated the public's trust," Van Hollen said. "He has shown impartiality in these investigations, and his successful prosecutions have led to ethics reforms that increased transparency and public confidence in Maryland."Rosenstein has earned the distinction of being the longest-serving United States attorney, serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations, Van Hollen said." The United States Department of Justice has been my professional home for almost three decades," Rosenstein said. "I have served under five presidents and under nine attorneys general."If confirmed , Rosenstein said, he would work to defend the independence and integrity of the Justice Department.
ANNAPOLIS (March 08, 2017)After Carey Tilghman's 6-year-old daughter, Paisley, suffered from a stroke, doctors drafted a plan to use a round of Botox injections and muscle relaxers to treat her condition.



Searching for an alternative for her daughter, Tilghman found that a transdermal patch filled with cannabis, which has been linked to shielding the brain from stroke damage, could possibly be helpful to her daughter, but she hasn't been able access the drug in Maryland's stalled medical cannabis industry.



Maryland has had one of the slowest rollouts of medical marijuana in the country.



The Natalie M. LaPrade Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, which grants the licenses to growers, processors and dispensers, has been hampered by legal battles and pending legislation in the Maryland General Assembly since the state legalized medical cannabis in 2014.



This legislative session, state lawmakers are considering a spate of bills outlining different solutions intended to address a lack of diversity in licenses, and two lawsuits that have delayed the rollout of Maryland's nascent medical cannabis industry.



The commission expects medical cannabis to be available to patients this summer, according to Vanessa Lyon, a spokeswoman for the group. Patient registry for the drug begins this month, but concerned residents are worried that bills may push back the rollout date even further.



"We can't delay access," Tilghman said. "(Paisley) deserves to have a transdermal patch and play like a kindergartener can play. They want her on muscle relaxers; they want her to have surgery. How do you be a kindergartner on muscle relaxers?"



"You can't," she added, choking up.



The commission was tasked with ensuring racial and geographical diversity in their selection process, and on Dec. 9. it announced pre-approvals for 102 businesses to sell medical cannabis, which broke down into 15 growers, 15 processors, and 72 dispensaries.



However, preference for minority business owners may violate the Constitution, said Cheryl A. Brown Whitfield, principal counsel of the Maryland Department of Transportation.



The state would need to conduct a study to evaluate whether discrimination does exist in the medical cannabis industry before it could take race-conscious measures in awarding licenses, said Zenita Hurley, the attorney general's director of legislative affairs and civil rights. This study could take up to two years.



The commission used Towson University's Regional Economic Studies Institute to rank the company applicants. RESI used a double-blind system that did not take into account the race of owners, which resulted in the commission failing to award licenses that ensure adequate minority representation, said Delegate Cheryl Glenn, D-Baltimore.



While the commission has listed the rankings of each company, it has not released the scores and the criteria for which they were ranked, said Darrell Carrington, policy director for the medical cannabis division of Greenwill Consulting, a government relations firm.



"We're all flying blind right now because the commission refuses to release the scores," Carrington said. "The rankings are meaningless if we don't have the scores. How do we know how to move forward properly and know if we're really making corrections to increase diversity and the like, if we don't know the difference between (the companies) was 5, 10, or 30 (points)."



Maryland includes a black or African-American population of 30.5 percent, a white population of 59.6 percent, and 9.9 percent who identify as another minority, according to data collected by the U.S. Census as of 2015.



The majority of the companies selected for pre-approvals for growing and processing are led by white owners.



Of the 11 companies with pre-approved growing licenses that reported demographic data to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, about 85 percent of of the owners are white, about 8 percent are black, and about 7 percent identify as another racial minority. The nine pre-approved processing companies that reported data showed similar numbers, with 73 percent white ownership, about 15 percent black ownership, and about 12 percent other minority ownership.



The companies selected have about 76 percent male ownership and 24 percent female ownership.



Moreover, after complaints surfaced that the commission didn't fairly include representation in areas of southeastern Maryland, the commission revised their original unanimous decision on the 15 companies slated to receive growing licenses by bumping two higher-scoring applicants and replacing them with two lower-scoring applicants in the underrepresented areas.



GTI, one of the companies originally awarded a coveted pre-approval license, had already picked out a site in Washington County and began developing a plan to produce medical cannabis when they were replaced, said Delegate Brett Wilson, R-Washington. The company has since joined the other business bumped from the list, Maryland Cultivation and Processing LLC, in suing the commission.



The commission has been operating without oversight or transparency, Glenn said. "They can't answer why they made the decisions they made."



To address the lack of ownership diversity, the Legislative Black Caucus, which Glenn heads, has proposed two emergency bills that would overhaul the 15-member commission and reinstate it with members who reflect the racial and geographical diversity of the state.



Sarah Hoyt, director of government affairs for the commission, wrote in testimony that this emergency legislation would "substantially delay the availability of medical cannabis to qualifying patients" by as much as two years.



But Glenn said her legislation would not slow the arrival of the medical cannabis industry.



"The commission operated in an arbitrary, opaque and misleading fashion," said Pete Kadens, CEO and director of GTI, adding that overhauling the "inefficient" commission would actually speed the rollout of the long-awaited industry.



Kadens said he supported the 15 companies who have been pre-approved to start operating immediately.



"Even though we were displaced for the purpose of geographic diversity, even though we scored higher on merit than five of the companies that now have pre-approvals for the state, even though we feel we were wronged, we do not want the patients of the state to be further distressed," Kadens said.



One of Glenn's bills would issue five to seven more licenses for both growers and processors. The bill would also give heavier consideration to businesses with majority black ownership.



The second bill would disband the current commission to create a nine-member Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Licensing Unit. This new group would award new grower licenses in future years and would have a fund to provide minority- and women-owned medical cannabis businesses with loans.



Wilson has proposed a separate bill that would increase the number of growers from 15 to 17 to reinstate the two geographically bumped companies' on the list. This could fix what he called a "fairness issue," adding that it will likely immediately stop any pending litigation, he said.



Wilson said he doesn't oppose the other bills and that it's possible a number of the five bills may merge into "one bill that accomplishes everything."



"We're not in conflict with other bills," Wilson said. "We don't stand against the other proposals in any way."



Delegate David Vogt, R-Carroll and Frederick, has also proposed a bill that attempts to squash the pending lawsuits, while also increasing minority and women ownership. His solution would accept the commission's next 10 ranked applicants, which have been selected as alternates should any of the 15 growing businesses that have been pre-approved fall through.



This bill wouldn't impact how the commission measures any of the businesses that have been tentatively approved, but it would impact any new ones that haven't been measured by requiring the commission to give extra weight to minority- and women-owned businesses.



Vogt's bill also proposes to distribute grant money to the businesses' local communities. The money would be used for infrastructure improvements, increased security and community development. He added that the amount, $250,000 for each area, is a "nominal amount" and that "ultimately, (the state is) going to get that impact money back10, 20 times overwith the tax revenue."



Vogt, like Wilson, noted that he thinks it's likely to create one bill that combined components from each to address the problems in the long-awaited industry.



However, Glenn said she only supports the bills she is sponsoring.



Brian Bickerton, chairman of Mazey Farms, an alternate growing company ranked twentieth by the commission, said while he supports Vogt's bill, he's in favor of any legislation that moves the industry forward. His company has been waiting to officially launch its business for over two years.



"(It's) been a long and arduous process," Bickerton said. "There's been a lot of tears on our end, but we believe in what we do, we believe in this industry, and we believe in the much-needed medicine that needs to get to the patients."



Mazey Farms is majority minority-owned, Bickerton said, adding that he thinks the best way to address the lawsuits and the diversity issues is to allow the commission's next 10 alternative businesses to obtain licenses.



Carrington said it's hard at this point to know which bill will be "the vehicle that will move (the industry) forward."



However, taking the next 10 growing alternates, as Vogt's bill proposes, would significantly address the diversity problem without a delay, Carrington said.



"I can't stand another delay," Tilghman said, her daughter, Paisley, leaning on her. "If another delay is put in place (Maryland will) lose a lifelong resident."
In a county that Republicans swept decisively last election cycle, a group of Florida Democrats prepared to organize an opposition movement.

Polk County is where Mufasa told Simba not to come, said David Jones invoking words from The Lion King to a room full of community activists Saturday at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Lakeland. The gay marriage ban started right here at the First Baptist Church.

Jones is a member of the Rainbow Ridge Democrats, an LGBT political group based in Polk County. He was one of several speakers during the winter meeting of the Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus.

The caucus has been around a while under various names, said Michael Albetta, a district director representing Broward County. Albetta said what started as Triangle Democrats in Key West grew to become a statewide movement known as the GLBT Caucus. Sally Phillips of Hillsborough County took control in 2011 and the caucus later became the Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus with the A standing for allies.

We couldnt do it without our allies, said Phillips.

Terry Fleming of Alachua County was re-elected Caucus President at Saturdays meeting. Chartered by the Florida Democratic Party, the caucus serves to educate, advocate, support and elect.

We dont care where you are on the Kinsey scale as long as you believe in equal rights, said Jones.

In this I-4 corridor community the caucus heard reports from around the state, a presentation from civil rights group Floridians for a Fair Democracy followed by a speech from Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando.

Smith, claiming the title as Floridas first queer Latinx legislator, represents district 49 in Tallahassee. The lawmakers speech primarily focused on guns.

Florida is the gunshine state, Smith said. Its really sad. We  unfortunately because of how permissive our state laws are when it comes to access to firearms  we are at the top of and the bottom of a lot of really terrible lists.

Smith said Florida ranks last among all 50 U.S. states in funding for mental health services. Citing a recent report from the Tampa Bay Times, Smith said a child is shot every 17 hours in Florida.

Attempting to reverse those trends, Smith has filed house bill 6033 which targets the Firearm Owners Privacy Act (FOPA), a 2011 piece of legislation commonly referred to as Docs vs. Glocks.

That law is so stupid, Smith said. God forbid a doctor should ask a patient, Are you a firearm owner? Do you have your firearm safely secured unloaded and locked in a private place in the home? Because if they (Docs) do ask that question under Florida law they can be sued and also lose their license to practice medicine. How stupid is that? Its stupid and extreme.

With many constituents of district 49 still healing from the Pulse Nightclub massacre, Smith is partnering with Senator Gary Farmer of Fort Lauderdale to repeal the Docs vs. Glocks law.

Representatives, Smith said, are allowed to file six bills each session.

Meeting in Lakeland was a risky move for the caucus. Polk County, despite having more registered Democrats (151, 056) than Republicans (147,456) went for Donald Trump in last falls U.S. Presidential election. Trump carried the county with 157,418 votes (55 percent) to 117,422 (41 percent) for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
They waited on a call that never came.

We feel ostracized from our own community, said Vince Foster, President of the Miami Log Cabin Republicans. Its like you are abandoned if you stray from the herd.

The LGBT Republican group said it was not invited to participate in last weekends Fort Lauderdale Pride festivities and has heard nothing from the organizers of Miami Beachs Pride either. Thats just fine with Foster.

Were focused on securing LGBT rights in the workplace and housing and working with our allies in the House and Senate to make sure that happens, Foster said.

Andy Eddy, spokesman for the Broward Log Cabin Republicans, told SFGN no one from Pride Fort Lauderdales board reached out to his chapter to be a part of last Sundays event.

Tens of thousands of people attended Pride Fort Lauderdales beach event as organizers declared this years event to be a smashing success.

Related: Pride Fort Lauderdale Declares Beach Move a Success

Pride Fort Lauderdale President Miik Martorell said politics was the last thing on his mind.

It was not a political event, Martorell said. We didnt ask for it. That divides people.

However, in interviews leading up to Fort Lauderdale Pride, Martorell did note it was the first Pride event in America since the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

In an article published by SFGN on Feb. 15, Martorell said: This is the first time to send a signal out and say: Were here. Were not going anywhere. Were not afraid. Were not going to crawl into a corner. Its very tricky because as a non-profit we have to walk a fine line. Obviously, were celebrating the freedoms we have. You dont have to be a democrat or republican or independent to say we deserve the same rights as everyone else.

While Log Cabin chapters passed on Pride festivities, the Dolphin Democrats, Floridas oldest LGBT political club, did have a presence on the beach Sunday.

Dolphins board member Tim Ross said his organization made the first move in purchasing booth and vending space.

We pay attention to our community, Ross said. They (Pride FTL) didnt reach out to us, we reached out to them. Maybe if the Log Cabin Republicans had their finger on the pulse of the community like they say they do then they would have been there too.

Foster said outreach on Prides part would have been helpful to know the organization was accepting of all.

Had we been invited we would have jumped at the opportunity to cultivate relationships, Foster said.

But thats not how it works, said Martorell.

We didnt send out engraved invitations to the community, Martorell said. We advertised it. All they had to do was go to the website and sign-up. If they are not paying attention, we cant be blamed for that.

Ultimately, Foster said skipping Pride is probably the safest route for Log Cabin Republicans.

Were all sick and tired of being called self-loathing, Foster said.
Democratic Congresswoman Lois Frankel and about 200 constituents spent Monday night agreeing with each other about how awful they believe President Donald Trump and Republicans are:

The Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The alleged tied between Trump and Russia. Trumps Supreme Court nomination. The anti-Muslim travel ban. No major Trump/GOP-backed issue avoided criticism and insults from the crowd or Rep. Frankel (FL-21) at her town hall at Compass, the LGBT community center in Lake Worth.

I think we made history for the first town hall this year at which a politician gets cheered, she proclaimed a little after 6 p.m., when the event started. Lets see how long that lasts. It lasted for the two hours the town hall was scheduled.

While Republican town halls have attracted hundreds of furious constituents, Frankels attracted around 200 sympathizers. It helps that her district, which covers most of mid and south Palm Beach County, leans heavily Democratic. Plus, local liberal group Palm Beach Indivisibles hosted and advertised this town hall.

The town hall was less about arguing issues and more about asking what regular people and Congressional Democrats should do to fight the agenda of Trump and the GOP. Compass CEO Tony Plakas read questions constituents wrote on cards.

A question by West Palm Beach resident Katelyn Miller asked if Senate Democrats should filibuster the hearing of Neil Gorsuch, Trumps Supreme Court nominee. Frankel replied, What I would say is if I was in the Senate, I would obstruct in every single way, Donald Trump's nominees. Unless I was certain they were going to be independent and opposite of his point of view. Most of the crowd cheered and clapped.

Miller told SFGN, I liked her answer. I worry that the Senate Republicans will get rid of the filibuster and should Ruth Bader Ginsburg retire or Anthony Kennedy retire, or something happens to him, [Trumps] nominations will just skate on through. Democrats have 46 seats in the Senate, with two Independents who caucus with them. Republicans hold 52 seats.

Lake Worth resident Echo Steiner wrote, and Plakas read, Do you support the Electoral College? Trump won the 270 votes from the Electoral College needed to win the Presidential election, despite getting around 2.9 million votes less than Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Frankel said she does not support the Electoral College. The Electoral College does not favor the Democrats, she said. The last two elections Republicans won, they lost the popular vote. I think we should go with the popular vote. President George W. Bush won the 2000 election that way, but won reelection in 2004 with the majority of both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

Lake Worth kindergarten teacher Lisa Harris wrote, How do we stop [Secretary of Education] Betsy DeVos from dismantling public schools?

As expected, Frankels response drew cheers. Theres no question what the President wants to do -- and what she wants to do -- is take public money and put it in private schools, she said. Harris replied, Hiss! in support of Frankels statement and against the idea of taxpayer-funded charter schools. She liked her Congresswomans answer. It was what it needed to be, she said, I wanted to get her to talk about Betsy DeVos.

Boynton Beach resident Susan Small was one of a few attendees to get to use a microphone to talk about what she called the militarization of police.

I remember being stopped for running a stop sign when I was 25 in Brooklyn, she said. The police treated you with respect. You had the right to question them. But now they are very militaristic. And they are not educating the youth, of any color.

Frankels response was more cautious than her statements putting down Trump and his administration.

From the federal point of view, I think grants for training, to encourage community policing, especially local governments where you have the jurisdictions over police are part of the solution, she said.

Small was dissatisfied with Frankels answer. She said its training, I say its psychological testing, Small told SFGN. Small said she voted for Frankel.

Frankel recalled meeting Trump at his Palm Beach home, the Mar-a-Lago. I saw Donald Trump recently and I was telling him he needs to start listening to different points of view, Frankel told her audience, And he said 'the people love what Im doing. Thats exactly what he said to me. I was about to respond but the Secret Service lady jumped in front of me.

On White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, Frankel said, He is a racist. He is a misogynist. And I have nothing good to say about him.

Frankel spent much of the town hall putting down Trump and Republican positions, but she did say immigration is an issue on which Democrats and Republicans might work together.

Many Republicans are amenable to immigration reform, she said. Frankel mentioned Miami-Dade Hispanic Republican representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25). And for other Hispanic Republican Congressmen, she said, "I can tell ya they are very sympathetic to it."

One issue Frankel avoided commenting on was what she thinks of state legislators efforts to pass a bill allowing the state to buy thousands of acres of Everglades. The goal is Everglades restoration and cleaning up Saint Lucie River. I dont wanna get in between [State Senator] Joe [Negron] and the Democrats in the state, she said. Not to avoid the question. Ill just say I think we have an excellent delegation in Tallahassee.

Compass emptied at 8 p.m. when the town hall was scheduled to end.

Palm Beach Indivisibles, which hosted Frankels town hall, is part of the larger Indivisible movement, a left-wing movement that started after President Donald Trump was elected last year. At its heart is the Indivisible Guide, written by anonymous authors claiming to be former Congressional staff members.

The Indivisible Guide instructs readers how to copy the success of the right-wing Tea Party movement, which successfully organized and elected extreme conservatives in the 2010 midterm elections. The guide explains how to find other people fed up with Trump and the Republicans, how to organize an Indivisible group, and how to pressure local members of Congress.

Liberals following the Indivisible Guide have stormed Republican town hall meetings, jeering and booing senators and representatives. Freshman Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL-18) faced a furious crowd of around 500 on Friday in Fort Pierce. The Indivisible chapters of Palm Beach County and Martin and Saint Lucie counties organized that event. On February 21, two Florida Republican Congressmen, Dennis Ross of Lakeland and Daniel Webster of Clermont, left their town halls early when enraged crowds showed up.
Riviera Beach City is joining the growing list of Florida cities who have banned the practice of conversion therapy on minors.

With help from the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, the action to ban conversion therapy was taken up by the Riviera Beach City Council who unanimously voted on their first reading to prohibit licensed mental health professionals from administering conversion therapy to minors.

Conversion therapy is usually forced on minors by parents who find it impossible to accept the fact that their children identify as gay or lesbian, PBCHRC Board Member Hutch Floyd said, according to a press release. This so-called treatment is extremely harmful.

PBCHRC has partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center to encourage cities in South Florida to incorporate a ban on conversion therapy for minors, and they have been met with success so far.

Florida cities that have banned the practice include West Palm Beach, Miami and Miami Beach, Wilton Manors, Bay Harbor Islands, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach and now Riviera Beach.

The ordinance for the ban in Riviera Beach was brought forth by City Councilwoman Dawn Pardo and Tonya Davis-Johnson.

As an elected official, it is a key part of my job to take steps to protect children in Riviera Beach from abuse, Davis Johnson said. PBCHRC presented numerous scientific studies to the City Council and the experts all agree that conversion therapy  causes extreme emotional trauma to LGBT youth.

Dr. Rachel Needle is a licensed psychologist in Palm Beach County who has been brought in to present arguments against the practice of conversion therapy to other South Florida City Commissions.

Any ethical mental health practitioner should not attempt to cure or repair gender identity or sexual orientation through these scientifically invalid techniques, Needle said. Attempting to change someones sexual orientation or gender identity can have a devastating impact on a minor.

The ban only applies to state-licensed therapists, and does not affect unlicensed therapists, such as those who practice under faith-based groups who retain their religious freedom to continue the practice. Adults are also still able to pursue conversion therapy.

While progress is being made in individual cities, last year State Senator Jeff Clemens (D) proposed a bill that would ban conversion therapy statewide. The Senate refused to take action on the bill, however, and Clemens plans to reintroduce it this year.

Hopefully, legislative leaders in Tallahassee will schedule a hearing on Senator Clemens bill this year, Davis-Johnson said. However, until a statewide ban on conversion therapy is enacted, we are  going to do all we can to protect LGBT youth here in Riviera Beach.
On Monday, March 6 at 12:20 in the morning, a white four door truck drove in front of the Tulsa, Oklahoma LGBT Equality Center and unloaded 13 pellet shots into the front of the building.

I am sickened, yet not surprised, by the bullet holes that now riddle the front of the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, Oklahomans for Equality Board President Geoffrey Brewster said in a statement. They are the latest reminder of the deep-seated hatred some individuals have towards the LGBT community.

Less than eight hours after the pellet damage was found, a man came into the Equality Center, harassing the staff, bombarding them with hate speech and profanity.

It was so brazen, I thought it was a joke, Toby Jenkins, executive director of the center told Tulsa World. I didnt know him, but then I realized it was serious.

Similar acts of vandalism are occurring across the country. The Orlando Sentinel reported a smashed window at the Orlando Equality Florida office, and the Asbury Park Press reported a cracked window in New Jersey over the weekend.

The Tulsa Equality Center has had its share of attacks in the past. Before the organization owned the downtown property, the center was based in a series of rental locations across the city  every one of which was vandalized, according to Jenkins.

They cant hold in their bigotry, and it just explodes on us like a volcano, Jenkins said. Were getting reports like this from all over the country. Gay community centers being vandalized; welcoming churches being vandalized; gay businesses being vandalized. Now its happening in Tulsa.

Oklahomans for Equality is trying to prosecute the shooting as a hate crime, but Oklahoma does not include sexual orientation or gender identity in its hate crime laws. In response, Oklahomans for Equality will hold a march on Tulsa Town Hall for LGBT hate crime protections in Oklahoma.

This attack comes at a time where our own LGBTQ community is experiencing some of the most vitriolic and systematic hatred in decades, Oklahoma Democratic Party Executive Director Sarah Baker said in a statement.

The recent actions of individuals and groups from the extremist far-right is not just a violation of one community; it is a violation of all communities in our state and across our country, Baker continued. This behavior goes against the very fabric of the principles of freedom which we claim to stand for as a nation.

The March will start at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center on Friday, March 10 at 5 p.m., and will move toward Tulsa City Hall at 5:30 p.m.

Now is not the time for silence, Baker said. Now is the time to stand up and speak out against intolerance. Now is the time to stand up for our friends and neighbors. We must not let actions like this go unnoticed or ignored. We must be vigilant in our efforts to protect those in our community.
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Brew method videos have become their own sort of short film genre in the last decade. There are truly some wonderful videos out there, but none that depict the process with such raw truth as How To Make French Press Coffee by Eric Rothman, a Brooklyn-based animator whose work includes projects with Psyop, Google Creative Lab, Vice, and the band Kings of Leon, for whom Rothman designed projection visuals on a recent tour.

To find out more about his workand especially his towering new coffee brew videoI spoke with the artist digitally from Brooklyn.

Hey, Eric. First, I just want to say that your film truly spoke to me. Its real, its funny, and the most honest brew method instructional video Ive seen.

Wow, thank you so much!

Tell us about yourself!

I live in New York City and I make animations for a living. Im a freelancer, so I get hired to do lots of different kinds of projectsinternet videos, corporate stuff, advertising, etc. I also get a little bit of downtime in between jobs to work on personal projects like this. I also cook a lot and tackle other culinary projects, which is my other obsession. Im curing a ham this week!

Are you a coffee drinker?

Coffee is probably my favorite thing next to butter, or salt, maybe.

Is this film inspired by true events?

Oh yes. My girlfriend and I are fairly snobby with our home coffee brewingwe weigh our beans, take the temperature of our water, etc.so its fairly involved for being the first thing you do when you wake up. We used to have one of those hand grinders and we were always spilling beans all over the place, not boiling enough water, zoning out in the middle of weighing something and the scale would shut off. We would always complain to each other, How is anyone supposed to do this without coffee?! The film came from there. Thankfully its mostly muscle memory at this point.

How many cups of coffee went into the making of this film?

Several hundred thousand, I think.

The French Press as a brew method is fairly simple compared to other brewers. Will you be releasing more brew method videos?

Heh, no plans at the moment, but Id be open to it. The overwhelming majority of my brains computational energy goes toward daydreaming about food, so chances are future work will be food or coffee-related at the very least.

Where else can we see your work?

My website! Its newhappystar.com. There are a few fun pieces on there, including an embarrassing one where I sing about grilled cheese. I also worked on the live visuals for the Kings of Leons most recent tour, so you could go see those guys if you were being really serious about checking me out.

Thanks so much for talking with us!

Thank you!

Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.
Yonkers Raceways stakes season continued Tuesday night (March 7), with five divisions beginning the Sagamore Hill Pacing Series.

The series, named for Long Island estate of Theodore Roosevelt, is open to three and four-year-old pacers that were non-winners of four races and/or $40,000 through this past December 1.

Never Say Never N (Jason Bartlett, $2.70) made it three-for-three stateside with an off-the-pace, 1:55.2 victory in the opening, $20,000 division. From post position No. 5, he moved from fifth to the lead down the backside, opening a couple of lengths in the lane.

He held off a cone-skimming Western Tyrant (Yannick Gingras) by a neck, with Bass Player (Jordan Stratton) a rallying third.

For Never Say Never N, a four-year-old Down Under Bettors Delight gelding co-owned by Thomas Lazzaro & Gerard Stuchbury and trained by Heidi Rohr, the win was his fourth in eight career starts. The exacta paid $12, with the triple returning $57.50.

Canadian interloper Awesomeness (Scott Zeron, $2.10) was the second 1-20 proposition in as many nights, winning the nights final series event (from post No. 5) in a down-the-road 1:55.

The four-year-old Mach Three gelding, who invaded after beating up Woodbines Snowshoe Series, defeated 43-1 Wishiwasagigolo (Stratton) by a couple of lengths for a fifth (consecutive) win in six seasonal starts. Rock Power (Bartlett) was third. The exacta paid $29, with the triple returning $47.80.

The winner is owned by Martin Scharf and trained by Aaron Lambert.

Tuesday nights other Sagamore Hill sojourns went to:

-- Prejudice,g,4 (by Western Terror); co-owners William Sartin,Mark Salerno/trainer Joseph DeCarlo/driver Stratton; (life-best) 1:53/$3.50;

-- Ideal Son,g,4 (by American Ideal); owner Howard Taylor/trainer Tom Fanning/driver Bartlett; 1:54.3/$7.50;

-- Artmagic,g,4 (by Art Major); owner Bamond Racing/trainer Jeffrey Bamond Jr./driver Brent Holland; (matches life-best) 1:54.1/$13.20.

The opening-round hunch play, the Teddy Roosevelt-coined phrase Bully Pulpit, was a non-factor fifth in the fourth division.

(With files from Yonkers Raceway)
With a little over a week to go before the first leg of the 2017 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge, this years handicappers have made their selections of rescues to represent, attempting to win needed funds for their deserving groups.

With former participants retiring from the handicapping challenge, three new handicappers join the fray. Steve Horoky has been a fan for long time. He got actively involved by claiming his first horse at Hiawatha Park in Sarnia before concluding his active career in the sport as an owner/trainer at the old Windsor Raceway. Megan Maccario was born into the industry, as her family has been longtime owners racing in New York and New Jersey. Maccario is currently the lead harness and New York Thoroughbred racing correspondent for Pick Insider. Lastly, Terry Wilson, a former owner of Standardbreds for 30 years on the Ontario circuit, is now pleased to be just a fan. All three are hoping to make a big splash in their debuts.

With additional Canadian sponsorship, each handicapper has selected an American Standardbred rescue in addition to a Canadian adoption society to represent, as Canadian sponsorship fees will now be distributed in the same manner as American funds (donations going to the rescues of the top three handicappers). The Canadian adoption societies Galahad, Greener Acres, Morningstar Acres, Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society, Performance Standardbreds, and Sadies Place span Canada from New Brunswick to British Columbia. A new American rescue, Future for Standardbreds, makes its debut this year, joining the returning American rescues. Some rescues handle more than Standardbreds; all donations are marked for Standardbred rescue use only.

The list of handicappers and their respective rescues is listed at the bottom of this release. Fans are encouraged to learn more about these rescues and to consider making a donation to one or more of them.

Last Call for Sponsors: Time is running out on becoming a sponsor. Sponsorship opportunities levels are available for as low as $100. Those still considering to become a sponsor are encouraged to do so quickly. Information about sponsorship may be found here.

Next Up: The 2017 challenge opens up on Friday, March 17 with the opening leg of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series at Yonkers Raceway. The action continues Saturday evening with the opening leg of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series at the Hilltop oval.

The 2017 Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge is administered by HANA Harness, the harness racing division of HANA, the Horseplayers Association of North America. Fans may follow the challenge by visiting the contest site at hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.

Handicapper

U.S. Recue

Canadian Rescue

Russ Adams

Changing Fates Equine Rescue

Performance Standardbreds

Michael Carter

New Vocations

Morningstar Acres

Ray Cotolo

Racer Placers

Galahad

Adam Friedland

Future for Standardbreds

Sadies Place

Ray Garnett

Rockin T Equine Rescue

Greener Acres

Sally Hinckley

Helping Hearts Equine Rescue.

Morningstar Acres

Jay Hochstetler

Starting Gaits Standardbred Transition Program

Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society

Steve Horoky

Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals

Greener Acres

Megan Maccario

Rainhill Sanctuary.

Sadies Place

Rusty Nash

Heart of Phoenix

Greener Acres

Dennis O'Hara

Sunshine Horse Rescue.

Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society

Bryan Owen

Standardbred Retirement Foundation

Galahad

Matt Rose

Heading for Home

Morningstar Acres

Anne Stepien

Central Virginia Horse Rescue

Performance Standardbreds

Gordon Waterstone

Horse Lovers United

Galahad

Terry Wilson

TROTR; Therapeutic Riding and Off-Track Rehabilitation)

Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society

(With files from HANA)
Kim Davis is the Focus of Oral Arguments Today

Contact: Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Media@LC.org; Press Kit



CINCINNATI, Ohio, March 8, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today Liberty Counsel will present oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit urging against the reinstatement of Ermold v. Davis. This case was dismissed with two other marriage license lawsuits that were filed against Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis in 2015, including Miller v. Davis, which led to Davis spending six days in jail as a prisoner of conscience. The dismissal delivered Davis a decisive victory in her fight for religious freedom. But eighteen months after Davis's time in jailand with a marriage license already in handthese plaintiffs are still attempting to punish Davis for living out her faith.

Two years ago, David Ermold and other plaintiffs sued Davis when she refused to violate her conscience by adding her name and authority to marriage licenses being issued to same-sex couples. After her time in jail, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed an executive order creating a new marriage license form that does not require a county clerk's name and title. The Kentucky General Assembly unanimously made Governor Bevin's accommodation permanent in the Kentucky statutes. Then the trial court dismissed all three 2015 marriage license cases in their entirety, finding nothing left for the court to decide. Today's argument is regarding the Ermold plaintiffs' appeal of that dismissal last year.

Two days ago, on March 6, Judge Edward Atkins issued an order denying the outrageous request of the Miller v. Davis plaintiffs for $231,000 in attorney's fees from Davis. The judge ruled that they were not the "prevailing parties" and were not entitled to any money from Davis.

"The Ermold plaintiffs are not satisfied with the marriage license they received while Kim Davis was in jail," said Roger Gannam, Liberty Counsel's Assistant Vice President of Legal Affairs. "Their vain claims for money and attention were rightfully dismissed," Gannam continued, "and the court should deny their vindictive attempt to take away the religious liberty victory Kim Davis secured for all Americans who want to perform public service without giving up their constitutional rights."
Wildfires are currently raging in the US states of Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Only in Texas, flames have burned an area of more than 50 thousand hectares. The wildfires have already killed 6 people (4 in Texas and 2 in Kansas), injured plenty of residents and burned down at least 30 houses in Englewood, Kansas. 12 thousand people have been evacuated around Reno.

Wildfires burning in Colorado, Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma have forced evacuations and destroyed several buildings.

Kansas

Kansas wildfires have burned about 625 square miles of land and killed one person. Most of the states charred land is in Clark County, where 30 structures were damaged. About half of those structures are near Englewood.

The largest evacuations elsewhere were in Reno County, Kansas, where 10,000 to 12,000 people voluntarily left their homes Monday night.

Several hundred more people evacuated their homes in Russell, Ellsworth and Comanche counties, in central Kansas.

Oklahoma

That fire started in Oklahoma, where it burned an estimated 390 square miles in Beaver County.

A separate blaze scorched more than 155 square miles of land in neighboring Harper County and killed a woman who had a heart attack while trying to keep her farm near Buffalo from burning.

Texas

In the Texas Panhandle, three fires burned about 500 square miles of land and killed at least four people. One of them near Amarillo threatened about 150 homes.

A larger fire in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border was 50 percent contained, but responsible for a death on Monday.

A wildfire in Gray County, also in the Texas Panhandle, killed three ranch hands trying to save cattle.

Colorado

In northeastern Colorado near the Nebraska border, firefighters battled a blaze that burned more than 45 square miles and was 50 percent contained Tuesday.

Officials said the fire had destroyed at least five homes and 15 outbuildings, with no serious injuries.

All of eastern Colorado is classified as either moderately or abnormally dry along with major parts of Kansas, almost all of Oklahoma and some of northern Texas.

Good news! The powerful wind gusts that fanned the wildfires in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas should diminish to about 10 to 20 mph on Wednesday.

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Wole Soyinka  Biography, Wife, Children, Family, Quick Facts Professor Wole Soyinka, a great and brilliant Nigerian writer and political activist, who was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. The name, Wole Soyinka, is a household name both in Africa and beyond especially in the field of literature. With over 50 pieces of work, his writing includes poems, novels, memoirs ...

5 Most Vulgar Kenyan Radio Presenters It appears being vulgar is the real deal nowadays especially for the fact that the world is becoming more exposed and civilized. Sadly, but true, young people are constantly being exposed to images, discussions, and content that most people would deem detrimental to the African culture and moral statutes. This is because most of us ...

6 Sexiest News Anchors In Kenya Some news anchors have been stealing eyes every time they appear on-screen. Most of us hardly concentrate on the programme they present as our entire focus is usually on their striking physique and beautiful faces. It is common knowledge that Kenyan women are amazingly beautiful. From the celebrities to the everyday woman, they are all in ...

Interesting Oprah Winfrey Quotes To Keep You Motivated Oprah Winfrey is one of the worlds most powerful women in the media and business sectors. Her life is the typical success story that motivates and lifts ones morale. One amazing thing about this media mogul is her sincerity about past hurts, mistakes, healing, and success. The renowned talk show host and media personality is the first ...

Chinua Albert Achebe Biography- Family, Net Worth & Death Chinua Albert Achebe, of blessed memory, was a Nigerian prolific author best known for his inventive style of writing and simplicity of expressions. Famed as one of the finest writers Nigeria has ever produced, Achebe lived and died an international hero and a literary giant, who left behind unforgettable legacies and footprints in the sands of ...

Steve Harvey  His Wife, Kids & Height Steve Harvey is an American comedian, actor, radio and TV show host, producer and an author of different relationship advice books. Steve Harveys Early Life Born in Welch, West Virginia, on January 17, 1957, as Broderick Stephen Harvey, Steve was the last of five children. His family relocated to Cleveland when he was young and there, he attended Glenville High School from ...

Intriguing Things You Should Know About Danny Kokers Rise to Fame and Who His Wife Is Danny Koker is popular as the star of the History Channel reality TV series, Counting Cars. Prior to him appearing on the show, the TV personality was a musician who had embarked on a number of national tours with his rock group, Counts 77. He and his group have released quite a number of songs ...

Fun Facts You Didnt Know About Andy Cohens Rise to Prominence and His Partner Andy Cohen is one of Americas top media personalities who gained prominence after helping to bring the Bravo network back to life. He also hosted a couple of shows on the network, including the popular nightly series Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. After rising to the position of head of production and development at ...

Tracing Isha Sesays Career Until CNN, Her Worth And Why She Divorce Her Husband As far as journalists of African origin go, Isha Sesay is one of the most famous on the continent  and by extension, the world. The Sierra Leonean and British journalist has had a successful career since she joined the industry in 1998. In that time, she has worked for a host of major media ...

Open Secrets of How Joanna Gaines Balances Her Career With Being a Wife and Mother Joanna Gaines is the co-founder of Magnolia Homes, a business she runs with one goal: converting houses to homes. She doubles as the lead designer of the company which she co-owns with her husband, Chip Gaines. Lady Gaines gained massive popularity when she became a co-star with her husband on the HGTVs show, Fixer Upper. ...

Juicy Details of Ayesha Currys Love Story With Stephen, Her Family Members and Recent Pursuits When your husband is one of the greatest basketballers that the NBA has ever seen, then it bestows on you the status of a celebrity wife  and may not even demand that you do anything extra to maintain that status. However, Ayesha Curry, the wife of multiple NBA champion, Steph Curry, is not one ...

What Is Tarek el Moussas Ethnicity, Why Did He Divorce His Wife and Who Is He Dating? Tarek El Moussa has made himself one of the most recognizable men on reality television, especially to fans of HGTV. Thanks to his expertise in the world of real estate, Tarek has become a national star. But even to his hardcore followers, there are questions about Tarek El Moussa that remain unanswered, such as his ...

Fun Facts About Natalie Beckers Lonely Childhood and Eventual Career Success Natalie Becker is an actress of South African descent who became famous for her appearance in films like The World Unseen and The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior. A multitalented individual, Natalie is also a television/radio presenter. She is also a co-founder of the Thought Leader Global Media which she runs together with ...

Top 3 Female CNN News Anchors You Didnt Know Were Africans CNN is one of the leading news agencies in the world. The satellite and cable news network was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner and has been one of the best sources of news for a number of years. It also boasts of the best journalists and presenters all around in media broadcasting. The company is a ...

Channels That Aided Katie Pavlichs Growth as a Journalist and All About Her Marriage To Friedson If you have ever come across any Fast and Furious featuring Barack Obama, it is the handiwork of Katie Pavlich. The book which claims to have exposed Obamas bloodiest scandal and the shameless cover-up thereof, has been earning Pavlich much praise and fame ever since it was published in 2012. Nonetheless, Pavlich is more famed ...

Is Oprah Winfrey Married? Husband, Children, Biography, House, Facts Oprah Winfrey is a billionaire philanthropist, talk show icon, producer, actress, and writer. The media icon famously dubbed The Queen Of All Media owns and hosts the highest-rated television program in the media circle. Read more about the powerful television star below. Oprah Winfrey Biography Oprah was born as Orpah Gail Winfrey on January 29, 1954, to a ...

Who Is Arsenio Hall, What Happened To His Talk Show and Why Do Fans Think He Is Gay? He is one of the funniest beings to have graced the comedy constituent of the American entertainment industry. Arsenio Hall has a reputation for the rib-cracking disposition always portrayed in his comedy roles. He is not just a comedian; he is also an actor and a former talk show host for his popular show, The ...

What Is Woah Vicky Famous For and Who Are Her Family Members? Like most social media celebrities in this digital era, Woah Vicky is one of those stars that have utilized the internet as a powerful tool to propel themselves to instant fame. The social media space, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc., offers lots of people the right opportunities and potentials to become superstars overnight. Not everyone achieves ...

Where Is Michael Strahan Since His Retirement From The NFL and Who Is His Partner? Michael Strahan is a retired American football player turned media personality. He played the defensive lineman position and holds the record for most sacks in a single NFL season. He also only played for the New York Giants throughout the entire 15-year professional career that saw him win a Super Bowl ring. In February 2014, ...

How Wendy Williams Went From Being a College DJ to Having Her Own Talk Show and More About Her Divorce Wendy Williams is a former radio personality, now talk show host, who is known for her outspokenness and brash no-nonsense attitude. She gained fame and notoriety for her on-air clashes with celebrities before moving on to host her own talk show. Since 2008, Williams has hosted the nationally syndicated television talk show, The Wendy Williams Show. ...

Who is Sunny Hostin? Her Husband, Family & Net Worth Sunny Hostin is no ordinary Latina  American lawyer but also a successful columnist, multi-platform journalist, and social commentator. A happily married woman and mother of two, Hostin is the Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst for ABC News and co-host of ABCs popular morning talk show, The View. She is a legal expert popularly known as a former ...

Who Is Robert Costa and Is He Married, Who Is His Wife? Robert Costa is a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC who is regarded as being part of Americas next generation of journalists. The University of Notre Dame graduate, who is of Italian/Portuguese descent, has been lauded for his fresh political perspectives in an industry full of old heads. In addition to his work listed above, Costa ...

Team Valor Pokemon Go  7 Key Facts You Need To Know Team Valor Pokemon Go  The craze of the new game Pokemon Go is one that took the gaming world by storm sending teenagers and adults alike into a frenzy and one of its teams Team Valor, has proven to be instrumental in making it so. Before the game was created, Pokemon was a cartoon ...

Sheryl Underwood  Husband, Family & Net Worth She is known for her trademark smile which can be described as the brightest and broadest smile ever seen on planet earth. She is none other than Sheryl Underwood the comedian, actress, and TV host whose funny wits has left America in great awe. Although Sheryl has risen to become an important personality in the industry, ...

Team Mystic Pokemon Go: 7 Facts You Need To Know And Signs You Are One Team Mystic of the break out game Pokemon Go is a team that is full of sass and chivalry. With an enchanting monicker, Team Mystic stands out from the rest of its counterparts and deserves to take the crown as champion in the Pokemon gaming-verse. To be a member of this exceptional team of Pokemon battle ...

Exploring Guy Beahms Dr Disrespect Persona, Wife and Why He was Banned Permanently From Twitch Guy Beahm who is popularly known by his online alias  Dr DisRespect, is an award-winning Twitch.tv streamer. He has leveraged on the Twitch platform to become an internet personality that is quite widely known. His online success is just more proof that anyone who is good at what they do can attain celebrity status ...

Critical Facts About Lee Ann McAdoo  The Infowars Anchor Lee Ann Mcadoo is a conservative journalist and television host whose interests in conspiracies and astrology has established her as a famous American reporter. Often referred to as Wonder Woman, McAdoo is a reporter who works for InfoWars.com, a controversial right-wing website run by radio show host, Alex Jones. Who Is Lee Ann McAdoo? Lee Ann McAdoo was born on 7 ...

Millie Weaver  Age, Husband & Infowars Career Millie Weaver is an American model, journalist, political activist, and social commentator. The young and beautiful journalist rose to fame working as a reporter for a controversial right-wing website InfoWars.com. Also known as Millennial Millie, Weaver is a social media influencer with over 100,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and over 35,000 followers on Twitter. Who Is Millie Weaver and What Is ...

Is Jessica Tarlov Married? What Are Her Height & Weight? Jessica Tarlov is an American political consultant, strategist, and analyst whose influential and regular TV presence has made a popular figure. A good example of beauty with brains, Tarlov has appeared on various TV networks, mostly the FOX News Network where she is known for her liberal views on political analysis and insights. She is also the senior director ...

Who Is Kelly Rebecca Nichols  Alex Jones Ex-Wife? Kelly Rebecca Nichols is the ex-wife of controversial American radio show host, Alex Jones. She got nationwide attention following her divorce and subsequent custody battle with her estranged husband. Nichols, who worked with PETAs public relations department, was herself no stranger to controversies as she was involved in several publicity stunts of the non-profit animal rights ...

Who Is Bree Morgan  Cole Sprouse Ex-Girlfriend And What Is She Up To Now? Although Bree Morgan became famous through the Instagram, she also sapped some dose of popularity from Disneys sweetheart, Cole Sprouse of the Sprouse brothers. She is not only an Instagram star but also a YouTube vlogger whose popularity has long exceeded the ordinary level. Bree is conspicuously prominent on the internet and has her digital savviness ...

Does Vanna White Have Husband or Children, What Is Her Net Worth / Salary? For over three decades, Vanna White has been a household name, famous as the co-host and letter turner of the iconic NBC game show Wheel of Fortune. The talented and beautiful television personality is also an actress with several TV series and films to her credit. Since making her Wheel of Fortune debut in 1982, she has become one ...

Liz Wheeler  Biography, Husband & Net Worth Liz Wheeler is the kind of girl who sets the room on fire whenever she comes around. In this situation, however, she sets our screens on fire each time she appears as the host of One America News Tipping Point. She is, therefore, a presenter, publisher, consultant and a member of the Board of Zoning ...

Betty White  Net Worth, Children & Husband The entertainment industry will remain indebted to personalities like Betty White who brought something extra to the table and kept the world entertained for donkey years. The comedienne, actress, and writer graced the big screens in the early 50s as a show host and has been a delight since then. She is the queen of ...

Is Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Dead or Alive, What Are His Net Worth & Education? Everyone will always remember Bill Nye as the Science Guy. Besides his TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy, he is well-known for his Netflix show Bill Nye Saves the World which started airing in 2017 as well as his appearances in many famous media projects as a science educator. The star studied mechanical engineering ...

Is Cesar Millan Dead, Who Is The Wife & What Is His Net Worth? Cesar Millan is the famous dog whisperer who often stirs up mixed emotions. The Mexican-American is precisely speaking, a dog behaviorist; he has been in the game for over 25 years. His Emmy-nominated television series, Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan further pushed his method and tactics into the limelight. The series was produced from 2004 ...

Is Thomas Sanders Gay and Does He Have A Boyfriend? By the time Vine was shut down in January 2017, Thomas Sanders was already popular within and beyond the internet community for his heavy involvements on the online video hosting platform. After the tragic shutdown of Vine impacted on the growing career of the multi-talented personality, he immediately switched over to YouTube where he continued to upload ...

Is Shepard Smith Gay, Who Is The Boyfriend & What Is His Net Worth? There are only a few media personalities who are as bold and confident as Shepard Smith. Apart from his impressive stint at Fox News Channel which includes but not limited to his classic news delivery, upfront stance on virtually every issue and much more; he loves his job as much as he loves his personality. Smith ...

Is Milo Yiannopoulos Gay? His Husband and Net Worth Milo Yiannopoulos is a popular writer, journalist, polemicist, public speaker, and political commentator who is also known as the founder of The Kernel, an online blog. He has been said to be among the list of 100 weird and influential people in the United Kingdom. He appeared on this list as a result of personal beliefs and ...

Does Ryan Seacrest Have A Wife Or Girlfriend, What Is His Net Worth? From radio to television, Ryan Seacrest is a household name and a force to be reckoned with in showbiz. The radio personality, television host, and producer is best recognized as the host of the popular TV talent search contest American Idol. Heres how the media personality who always knew what his lifes ambition was and diligently pursued ...

Is Anderson Cooper Gay, Who is The Boyfriend or Husband? For many, the thought of becoming a millionaire by writing and talking about other people appears unachievable but this is the reality of the prominent American journalist Anderson Cooper who gathered millions of dollars for conducting accurate political analysis and other vital reports on TV. He is the main anchor of the CNN news show Anderson ...

Is David Muir Gay or Does He Have A Wife, What Is His Salary? David Muir is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works for the ABC broadcast-television network and anchors the ABC World News Tonight with David Muir program while also co-anchoring the magazine program 20/20. The Ithaca College graduate, whose show has become the most-watched newscast in America, has covered stories from all across America and the world; reporting ...

Joel Osteen  Divorce Rumors, Net Worth & Family Members Joel Osteen is an American Televangelist, Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church based in Houston, Texas, a husband and a father of two. He is an author of many books, seven of which are New York Times Best Sellers and his televised sermons capture more than 7 million viewers per week and 20 million every month ...

Who Is Todd Chrisley? What To Know About His Children, Gay Rumors & Net Worth Premiered on the USA network in 2014, Chrisley Knows Best is one of the most watched family reality TV shows in the U.S. The series which is currently in its sixth season is centered around U.S real estate mogul Todd Chrisley and his family. The show reveals Todd the patriarch of the Chrisley family as a strict dad who rules ...

Who Is Shannon Bream Of Fox News? Her Husband, Children & Net Worth Shannon Bream who hosts the iconic primetime program started her journalism career in the late 1990s debuting as the evening and late-night news reporter for the CBS affiliate, WBTV. The beauty from America currently works for the Fox News Channel and she is best known for anchoring the primetime program. She also hosts Americas News ...

Is Troye Sivan Gay, Who Is His Boyfriend and What Is His Net Worth? Troye Sivan is an Australian singer and songwriter best known for songs like Happy Little Pill, Youth, Heaven (with Betty Who) and The Boyfriend Tag (with Tyler Oakley) which have all garnered him different awards and ranked on the Billboard Charts. Sivan, who was born in South Africa but now resides in the United States, is ...

Did iDubbbz Have Cancer, Is He Gay and Who Is His Girlfriend Now? iDubbbz is one YouTuber who has made a career out of courting controversy. Renowned for his absurdist channels and comedy video series, the Los Angeles based personality is the owner of two channels, iDubbzTV, and iDubbzTV2, as well as the brains behind comedy video series such as Content Cop, Kickstarter Crap, Gaming News Crap, and ...

Inside Greg Gutfelds Love Story With Wife Elena Moussa and Why Fans Thought He Was Gay Greg Gutfeld is a seasoned American television producer whose career in the media industry has spanned over a decade. He is a man of many talents who makes extra income through comedy, journalism, and editorial works. Gutfeld regularly appears on Fox News Channel as a panellist and co-host of the political talk show The Five ...

Works That Made Bo Burnham A Household Name and How Much He Is Worth Now One of YouTubes first viral stars and the worlds most exciting young comedian, Bo Burnham, has always amazed critics and comedy aficionados alike. Often regarded as the Justin Bieber of comedy, thanks to his fresh looks, floppy blond hair and hoodies, he has a multi-faceted career bigger than many comedians twice his age. It wouldnt ...

Is Louie Anderson Gay And What Is His Net Worth? Louie Anderson has one of the most abstract faces in the industry and equally knows how to use it to his advantage. He is not only a stand-up comedian but also an actor and television host who is known for his distinctive comic wits. Some of his notable projects include Family Feud, where he was ...

Is Don Lemon of CNN Gay, Who is His Partner and What Is His Salary? Don Lemon has risen to become one of the most recognizable faces on CNN over the past few years. The fiery journalist, who anchors CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, is liked and somewhat disliked for his strong and candid opinions on a variety of matters that do not just include politics but also race, significantly, matters that ...

Is Rachel Maddow Gay, Who is the Wife and How Much Does She Earn in Salary? Rachel Maddow is an award-winning American journalist, political commentator, and television news anchor. She is best known for hosting the popular nightly TV show The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Prior to this, she hosted a talk radio program on Air America Radio from 2005 to 2010. As of now, the TV sensation co-anchors MSNBCs ...

Demystifying Pokimane  Her Real Name, Ethnicity & Boyfriend Like most social media celebrities in this digital era, Pokimane Thicc is one of those stars who took advantage of the internet to make a name for herself. Given the unlimited potentials which the social media space offers, many people have been instantly propelled to fame just by posting creative online contents. Not only has ...

A Breakdown of Kris Jenners Net Worth, Sources Of Income and Relationships Over The Years Standing outside and looking in, Kris Jenner looks like the oil that greases the wheels of the entire Kardashian/Jenner machine. She has been dubbed a momager and rightfully so because she seems to have had a part to play in the trajectory of each and every one of her daughters individually and the Kardashian brand ...

Pursuits That Brought Liza Koshys Fame To its Zenith and Her Love Life Since David Dobrik Liza Koshy is an American actress who has leveraged YouTube as a platform to promote her comedy while also serving as a television host on occasions. She is talented and funny and has gathered a lot of fans from around the world. Koshy started on Vine in high school and was able to get millions of ...

Alex Aiono Biography  Inside The Life Of The American Singer Not everyone who started from the streets has attained the heights where Alex Aiono is currently. His story could be referred to as the perfect definition of rising from Grass to Grace. He came into the limelight after he started out as a YouTuber, singer, and producer. One fascinating thing about the young YouTuber is ...

Virginia Vallejo Biography And Her Love Story With Pablo Escobar Virginia Vallejo can be referred to as one of the oldest whistleblowers in history after her involvement with Pablo Escobar which made her famous. Over the years, many questions have been raised about her relationship with the drug lord and why she endangered her life to be with him despite his notorious acts. The death ...

Princess Love Bio  Ethnicity, Real Name & Parents For many people, Princess Love is simply Ray Js wife but there is so much more to this feisty lady than meets the eye. She is a star in her own right and has many feathers on her cap. Princess Love is a reality TV star, a model, video vixen, and fashion designer. She and her ...

Who is Papa Franku Also Known As Filthy Frank or Joji, Where is He Now? The social media as we all know today has given people the opportunity to be creative and innovative and at the same time, make something of themselves. YouTube is one of the known social platforms we have today that makes it possible for people to express their God-given talents and post videos they created to ...

Who Is Molly Qerim, How Did She Become a Famous Sports Anchor and Who Is Her Husband? Molly Qerim is an American sports anchor popularly known for moderating First Take, a highly rated sports talk show, on ESPN. Prior to joining ESPN, Qerim hosted Fantasy Live and NFL AM on NFL Network. It is quite obvious that the widely acclaimed television personality is in a class of her own when it comes ...

Safiya Nygaard  Height, Parents & Net Worth Safiya Nygaard is an American YouTuber, writer, content producer, and director who is popular for posting makeup, beauty and fashion videos on YouTube. Her videos regularly top at least one million views, thanks to her lively character as well as her willingness to experiment with outrageous outfits and different beauty products. Here are the things to ...

The Rigors of Sunlen Serfatys Career Journey Until CNN and Fun Facts About Her Personal Life CNN correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty is an Emmy Award-winning journalist known for covering a broad range of breaking news stories, national news, and Washington politics. She has been able to garner widespread recognition for herself which even goes beyond the sphere of her work. Her profile also increased with the extensive work she did in covering ...

Demystifying Jazz Jennings Real Name, Boyfriend & Family Of One The Youngest Transgenders Jazz Jennings is an unusual personality who became famous as a transgender activist and was recorded as the youngest documented public figure to be seen as transgender. She is also a YouTube personality and spokesmodel for brands, her fans, and other transgenders. She fought for acceptance in her high school with her super supportive family for over ...

Inside Fred Armisens Life  Ethnicity, Romantic Relationships and Gay Rumors Fred Armisen is an award-winning American comedian, he is also a writer, an actor as well as a musician. He was a cast member of the legendary comedy show, Saturday Night Live for 13 years and also one of the brains behind the successful satirical show Portlandia. Find out more about this incredibly talented guy ...

Ed and Lorraine Warren Biography: Cases, Kids, and Family Life Have you ever woken up with fear you could not explain, or felt a strange presence that made the hair at your nape rise or even experienced strange occurrences around you? Well, these were some of the promptings that made the well-known paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren delve into trying to explain the ideas ...

Truth About Tony Romos Wife, Kids and Life Since His NFL Retirement Tony Romo grew from the field as a quarterback to the screens as an American Football Analyst. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the richest football league in the world (NFL) before retiring. As a junior, he was honored as an All-Ohio Conference Member, an Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and ...

Who is Brittany Venti, The Controversial Game Streamer and YouTuber? In recent times, many people live stream themselves playing video games. This has become a popular pastime on the internet and many highly skilled gamers have become internet celebrities through this means. However, some of them rather than becoming renowned for their gaming skills and great commentary, have become controversial and infamous. A good example ...

Rob Dyrdeks Family: His Kids And Relationship With Wife Bryiana Noelle Flores A multi-talented star and an elite pro skateboarder, Rob Dyrdeks success story began at a remarkably young age. Yet another proof that schooling doesnt always correlate with success, Rob has established himself not just as a phenomenal sportsman but also as a successful entrepreneur. Besides perfecting his skill as a natural talent on the board, ...

xChocobars  Biography and Everything You Should Know About Her Having distinguished herself and recorded massive successes in an industry notably dominated by men, it is very safe to say that Xchocobars deserves all the attention and cash she makes from her career. A household name on Twitch (a smart live streaming video platform), the online-gamer is popularly known for streaming classic games such as Stardew ...

Everything To Know About Mary Padian, Her Boyfriend and Net Worth Mary Padian is a famous American television reality personality best known for her involvements on the Reality show Storage Wars. She also has her own shop called Mary finds where she displays her antique collections. Since her childhood, Padian has been a creative learner. At the time, she used to create new items out of reusable ones and ...

Betsy Woodruffs Family Life: Is She Married or Related To Bob Woodruff? An old name in the world of journalism, Betsy Woodruff has warmed her way into the hearts of many with her impressive talents. Through hard work, Woodruff has carved a niche for herself in a very competitive field. Betsy has strong family and work values and is also an advocate for equal opportunities for everyone ...

Matpat (Matthew Patrick)  Wife, Height & Net Worth As far as internet business is concerned, Matpat remains one of the most dynamic and seasoned figures. He boasts a wealth of experience that has helped him in growing his business from one level of greatness to another. Like most successful people, MatPat started out small but today, he makes millions of dollars from his ...

Facts About Ricegum  His Girlfriend, Real Name & Net Worth Ricegum is an online gamer and YouTube sensation who ditched college; took advantage of the digital era, and made a name for himself on the internet. Though he began as a gaming YouTuber, Ricegum soon gained recognition as a controversial internet star following his many diss tracks. Here is everything you need to know about the youngster ...

Joy Taylor Once Married MLBs Richard Giannotti  Inside Look At Her Love Life and Family The erosion of the sexist idea that women have no business in sports broadcasting created a host of women celebrities who attained fame outside of modeling and acting. One of them, Joy Taylor, a radio personality and TV host for Fox Sports 1, has been in the industry since 2009, becoming one of the most ...

What To Know About Conan OBriens Wife, Kids & Family Today The name Conan OBrien is one that jumps right at you almost immediately you start talking about the most popular television hosts in the USA and this is no surprise because the man behind that name has risen to become one of the most admired men in the business. Known for hosting the late-night talk ...

David Letterman  Net Worth, Wife & Son In all of American, one man whose face has been seen frequently by late night TV talk show lovers is none but David Letterman. The comedian and TV show veteran has been hosting late night talk shows for more than three decades. His Late Night with David Letterman show began on February 1st, 1982 aired ...

Demystifying Sssniperwolfs Family Background And The Boyfriends Shes Had Since she launched her eponymously named channel in 2013, Sssniperwolf has been on the rise when it comes to video game influencers. She is one of the biggest names in the online gaming subgenre of YouTube videos. Real name Lia Shelesh, she started with Call of Duty: Black Ops II but has diversified with other ...

Lester Holt  Wife, Family & Net Worth Lester Holt is a multiple award-winning journalist, newscaster, reporter, and actor who has worked for notable media houses like WCBS TV, CBS, MSNBC and among others. His remarkable feat in journalism has endeared him to the hearts of many and earned him some awards and recognitions. Read on to get acquainted with his biography, ethnicity, ...

What Is Louis C.K. Doing Now, Where Are His Family And How Much Is His Net Worth? It is not easy to make it in comedy. It takes more than a funny bone and the ability to elicit a few giggles from a listening audience. For all the complexities that go into making a successful career in comedy, Louis C.K, the Washington D.C-born comedian, did it. For years, he was at the ...

The Progression of Hoda Kotbs Career, Her Ancestry and Family Life Hoda Kotb gained fame as a television host and news anchor for NBC. She anchors the shows signature show Today, and it has been an excellent vehicle for her skills in front of a camera. Kotb has won several awards, including Daytime Emmys and Peabody Awards. Simply put, she is one of the most successful ...

Jerry Seinfelds Family: All About The Amazing Comedians Wife and Kids Apparently one of the highly important entertainers in America, Jerry Seinfeld is a man of many talents. A very funny man, he is considered to be one of the most successful comedians in the USA who has been in the business as a professional rib-cracker for more than 40 years. As an actor, he has ...

The Rigors Of Sarah Silvermans Rise To Prominence And Rundown Of The Men She Has Dated A comedian, writer, and actress, Sarah Silvermans art and craft is as unique as you would ever find. Her poignant use of comedy to discuss social issues such as race, sexism, politics, and religion has gained her an impressive following. As unorthodox as her style is, so is her life experiences. She previously suffered from epiglottitis ...

Who Is Hannibal Buress, Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend & Why Was He Arrested? Making people laugh when they are tense or not in the mood is a tough order and to ply the trade, it must indeed take some guts and expertise, this is what the humor maker, Hannibal Buress has been able to achieve and sustain after his inital teething process. The African-American is a screen writer, stand-up ...

The Success of John Mulaneys Career Efforts Since His Work On Saturday Night Live and Facts About His Wife John Mulaney had been working as a professional comedian for years before Saturday Night Live changed his status for life and like many who are now his fans, you probably did not know of him then. However, that changed when he joined the sketch comedy show in 2008. Since then, he has been one of ...

Jeff Dunham  Wife, Children and Net Worth Ventriloquism is a very subtle method of making an inanimate object (like a puppet, doll or dummy) appear to be saying words which are actually coming from the person (holding the inanimate object). In effect, the individual throws his/her voice to the puppet and can even appear to be having a conversation with it. Not ...

Ellen DeGeneres  Net Worth, Wife  Portia de Rossi & Parents Ellen DeGeneres is an American female standup comedian who has proven that whatever a man can do, a woman can also do. Since her journey as a standup comedian started in 1981, she has held swirl as one of the finest comedians America and the world at large has seen. She is often referred to ...

Revisiting Joan Rivers Death  The Daughter, Husband & Net Worth She Left Behind Joan Rivers was a renowned American comedian, TV host, writer, and actress. Her brand of comedy consisted of scathing one-liners and no individual or topic is spared. She hosted her own talk shows in the 80s and 90s and was a pioneer for women in stand up comedy. She was the first woman to host a late night ...

The Struggles of Margaret Chos Childhood, How It Influenced Her Career Growth and Love Life Margaret Cho is best described as a comic star who knows how to maneuver everything related to life into a rib-cracking joke. She is also known to criticize every social and political problem, especially those involving race and sexuality. Apart from her talents as a comic actress, she does amazingly well as a singer and ...

Where Is Eric Bolling Today? Who Is His Son & What Is His Net Worth? Eric Bolling who was once a notable figure on Fox News, is an American TV personality, an author, and versatile Journalist. As a political and financial analyst/commentator, he anchored discussions bothering on finance for Fox Business Channel. Here is everything there is to know about his career, family, and allegations that led to his exit ...

Who Is Chelsea Handler and Does She Have A Husband or Boyfriend? Chelsea Handler is one of Americas top female comedians. She is also an actress, writer, television host, producer, and activist. She is known to be very outspoken even with things that are very personal. In separate interviews with The New York Times, Handler revealed that she had an abortion twice when she was 16. She has authored five books ...

How Did Laura Lee Achieve Fame, How Much is She Worth and Who is Her Husband? Laura Lee is a popular American YouTuber, make-up artist and beauty blogger. From posting videos of her makeup routines on Instagram, Lee has transformed into a beauty influencer and a YouTube sensation. Today, her YouTube Channel has over 630 million views and 4.5 million subscribers. Asides having millions of followers across all social media platforms, ...

Madison Gesiotto Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Measurements Madison Gesiotto is no ordinary woman; although she excelled in quite a number of pageants and competitions while she was in school, it is her views on politics and issues in America that has made her name known to most people. She possesses beauty and intelligence in a seemingly equal measure and has been able ...

Who Is Lil Tay? Parents, Brother, Sister, Age, Net Worth, Ethnicity Child stardom is nothing new in the entertainment world. With the advent of social media, we have seen more stars made from the internet than ever before, and Lil Tay is one of them. Her uploaded rap videos trademark is cursing, swearing, cash-throwing, and use of obscene languages. Her fame went wild after she dropped ...

What To Know About Tig Notaros Wife, Kids and Family Today Tig Notaro is an American stand-up comic star, writer, actress, and radio analyst. Since she started her career in 2001, she has become one of Americas best comedians, particularly when it comes to observational comedy. One prominent aspect of her routine involves her family, which includes a wife and two children. Interestingly, Tig Notaro is part ...

Who Is Chantel Jeffries? What To Know About Her Age, Ethnicity & Net Worth Chantel Jeffries is a lady of many talents. Beyond being celebrated as a DJ, she has fared well as a model, an actress, musician, and as an artist. She first rose to fame on Instagram where she has a large following. However, in recent times, she has hit the spotlight for her rumored relationships with some ...

Is Ellen DeGeneres Married, Who Is The Brother  Vance DeGeneres and Family Members? Ellen DeGeneres is one of a kind celebrity in todays world as she has used her wealth for the greater good for many people. She has served a host of famous awards shows like the Grammy, Primetime Emmy and Academy Awards. Moreso, she is probably one of the most decorated entertainment personalities around the world and ...

Carli Bybel Bio  Height, Boyfriend & Net Worth Video blogging is now on the rise and YouTube is the place where most of it happens. If you are a lady who cares about her looks or a guy who likes to help his woman out with her looks, then one person whose name rings a bell when it comes to giving beauty tips ...

Who Is Lexy Panterra? What To Know About Her Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth Lexy Panterra is one of the YouTube personalities whose breakout came through the Twerk dance videos she posted on her social media handles and YouTube which has so far generated over 13 million views for her. From there on, she created her LexTwerkOut workout program in 2014. She is sure very talented as she as moved ...

Who Is AnneMunition? What Is Her Ethnicity & Does She Have A Girlfriend or Boyfriend? AnneMunition is a professional gamer and content creator of American origin. She is one of the most sought-after streamers on Twitch  a popular online platform for watching and streaming videos, especially video games. AnneMunition has almost half a million followers on Twitch and her channel has accumulated at least 13 million views. Her favorite games ...

Norm MacDonald  Former Wife, Son & Net Worth Recently, 59-year-old former Saturday Night Live stand-up comic Norm MacDonald caused a not-so-funny stir when he expressed his personal opinion about the #MeToo movement speaking in defense of Louis CK and Roseanne Barr. Following the backlash of his actions, he is diligently doing damage control for his questionable opinion by posting a public apology on ...

Inside Iliza Shlesingers Life With Husband and How Much She is Worth Now Witty, spontaneous, and truly humorous, Iliza Shlesinger is an American comedian who is clearly proving that the stereotypical claim that women are not really funny is not only incredibly wrong but completely outrageous. Having been in the game for more than 10 years, Shlesinger has grown bigger with each step, stunning fans with her incredible ...

Who Is Nessa Diab? Details of her Parents, Ethnicity & Relationship With Colin Kaepernick Nessa Diab has gained more fame as the girlfriend of different footballers than in her career. She is currently with the popular National Football League (NFL) player, Colin Kaepernick, and has stood by his side during his most trying times. Also known for her mononym, Nessa, she recently engaged in a tweet battle with the ...

Samantha Bee  Inside the Life of Full Frontal Comedian and Presenter We have over the decades seen various brands of humor and personalities who have walked the ropes. One of the formidable forces in the world of comedy is no other than the iconic Samantha Bee of the Daily Show who now runs her own television show on TBS channel. She is a Canadian-American political commentator, ...

What Happened To Jessica Williamss Boyfriend And Which Are Her Best Works? Jessica Williams is a woman who has a lot of feathers in her cap  and keeps acquiring more. The former senior political correspondent of the comic Daily Show, who is also a comedian and actress whose recent movie appearance include starring as a playwright just recovering from a recent split with her boyfriend, Damon, and ...

Who is Nicole Byer? Here are 5 Facts You Need To Know About The Comedian Nicole Byer, an American comedian, actress, and writer, made a name for herself after she played supporting roles on MTVs prank show Ladylike and the reality show Girl Code. The latter was a series that featured comedians who analyzed in minute details, all the issues that young women deal with daily, from period to dating, to weird friendship dynamics and questions about sex. Currently, ...

A Closer Look At Bart Kwans Ethnicity, Height & Personal Life Bart Kwan is one of few Asians who is known for being successful in the comic industry at an international level. His fame broke out after the YouTube channel which he created with his close pal Joe Jo garnered up massive followings. The talented duo has been running the channel since 2007 and their success ...

Heres How VanossGaming Achieved Fame Online, His Worth and Other Facts About The Gamer For many years, the decision to drop out of college to pursue an online career was considered to be foolish and self-destructive by conventional wisdom. It was no different when Evan Fong, popularly known as VanossGaming, dropped out of college to pursue a YouTube career. However, that radical move paid off, and he stands shoulder to ...

Desi Perkins  Ethnicity, Net Worth & Husband YouTube is littered with videos of makeup tutorials by different people but if you are interested in learning how to do your makeup like a pro, there is just one person on that platform who you must follow. She is none other than Desi Perkins! She is a popular make-up artist, Instagram star, and vlogger. Desi, ...

The Phases of Casey Neistats Pursuits and His Love Story With Candice Pool YouTuber, vlogger, filmmaker, and creator extraordinaire; these are just a few hats that Casey Neistat wears and the story of how he got here is incredible. A native of Connecticut, Neistat started out by making refreshingly-authentic short films and videos that featured content that was based on everyday life and called attention to serious issues. He ...

Connor Franta  Inside The Life of American YouTuber YouTube has produced a lot of young celebrities in modern times and Connor Franta happens to be one of them. Apart from being a YouTuber, the young American is also an entrepreneur, entertainer, and writer. His journey to fame began almost a decade ago when he started a self-named YouTube channel where he uploads content ranging ...

Rhett and Link  Bio, Who are Their Wives, Net Worth and Family Facts Rhett and Link refer to an American comedy duo who are very popular on YouTube. They are known for their comic songs, viral commercials, skits and the daily show, Good Mythical Morning. Good Mythical Morning is the most watched daily show online, averaging 100 million views in a month. The show has featured guests such ...

A Walk Through The Maze of Ryan Higas Career Pursuits And Relationship With Arden Cho Ryan Higa is not only celebrated as a YouTube star, but he is also famed for appearing on television screens as an actor and comedian. Nigahiga, his Youtube channel, has gathered over 20 million subscribers and billions of views with his different comic acts, short films, and music videos uploads. With the rise in his career, ...

What to Know About The Shows That Made Craig Ferguson a Star and His Family Ties Rising to the top of your profession can sometimes be a hard and difficult process. It requires days and nights of working consistently hard to be better than what you were yesterday. It requires not giving up when all of your experiences seem to be pushing you to quit. It is because of these challenges ...

David Dobrik Married Liza Koshy for One Month  Inside His Family and Relationships David Dobrik is a YouTube sensation who has garnered fame not just for his vlogs but his love life too. Given his career as a YouTuber, his channel is one place where he shares his romantic escapades. With a cute boyish look like his, this Slovakian young man is definitely a good catch, and not ...

Merrell Twins Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Boyfriend One of the beautiful things about modern life is social media. As rudimentary as it might seem, it could turn out to be the greatest thing that would be invented in the next 50 years because of its impact on human life. Very few tools have revolutionized human behavior and culture as much as social ...

Who Is Bunny Meyer, Is She Married & What Is Her Net Worth? Bunny Meyer is a YouTube celebrity who has amassed over 8.8 million subscribers with 1.5 million viewers on her channel. She is popularly known as Grav3yardgirl and is one of the highest-paid YouTubers in the world. She initially started out as a fashion designer and later chose the path of a YouTuber. Grav3yardgirl has used her knowledge on fashion, makeup, ...

Ninja  Inside The Life of The American YouTuber and Internet Personality Ninja is a talented video game player known for his mastery of Fortnite and other seemingly difficult games he plays with ease. The video gamer made a career out of what is ordinarily the hobby of many people and has since then amassed a huge online following. Find out about him here, including the controversies that ...

What Is Eva Gutowskis True Sexuality and How Did She Rise So Fast As an Influencer? Ever since Eva Gutowski joined YouTube in 2011, it has been an interesting journey for her, moving from one milestone to the other. Backed by an army of young women and teenage girl fans known as Evanators, she has risen to become one of the most-talked-about personalities in the digital stratosphere. She has also leveraged ...

Emma Chamberlain Biography  Age, Height & Net Worth Before now, people in the entertainment industry could only achieve popularity after many years of dedication and hard work but since social media came into the scene, massive success and overnight popularity became possible. That is the story of Emma Chamberlain who encountered fame as a fifteen-year-old. Emma is one of the many young people who became ...

Anna Akana  Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth There is a new crop of YouTubers known by their different contents with a very strong uniqueness that stands every one of them out, some upload video games, some fashion while some others have comedy video contents to showcase on their channels. Anna Akana has used her platform to showcase her comedy contents to the ...

Revealing Truths About Lilly Singhs Ethnic Background, Family and Her Relationship With Yousef Erakat Lilly Singh is an Indian-Canadian YouTube personality, actress, and comedian also known as Superwoman. She kicked off her YouTube career in 2010 with the launch of her channel IISuperwomanII and followed it up with a vlog channel in 2011. This paved the way for her fame and success which led to a world tour. The ...

Who Is Andrea Constand, Is She Married and What Is Her Connection With Bill Cosby? Many people got sexually molested but could not voice out due to the stigma victims suffer and what will become of them thereafter. Very few of the victims danm every consequence to seek justice and bring the perpetrator to the book, like Andrea Constand. She never got any media buzz, not until her friend cum molester; ...

Who Is Lazarbeam (Lannan Eacott)? Here Are Facts You Need To Know Lannan Eacott became a person of interest after his YouTube channel, LazarBeam pulled him to the limelight. Initially, he started with uploads of Madden Challenge videos before deciding to build his own channel in January 2015. Within the space of three years, his YouTube channel had gathered over 7 million loyal subscribers. Today, he has not ...

Puzzling Facts About Wengies YouTube Success and More About Her Fiance Among the many YouTubers who have succeeded in winning the hearts of millions of people is Wengie. She is a Chinese-Australian YouTube personality, vlogger, singer, and voice actress. Wengie is famous for a lot of things, from her simple life hacks, DIYs, craft ideas to fun experiments, tricks and pranks. Her content portfolio also includes hair tutorials, diet & fitness tips, lookbooks, ...

Is Jeffree Star A Billionaire and How Much Does He Make On YouTube? If looks can be deceptive then theres no other person who proves this maxim better than Jeffree Star. A quick look at Stars pictures would likely leave you wondering whether or not to tag him a male or female. But who says being controversial has to be a curse? For Star, his looks have caught ...

The Place of Rosanna Pansinos Career Hats In Her Rise To Fame and Facts About Her Personal Life There are a few phrases that could summarize Rosanna Pansinos rise to fame. None of them can do it better than the famous axiom, no knowledge is lost. Her popularity YouTube comes out of her foray into other professions, specifically acting. Although acting now occupies one of the major professional hats in Rosannas resume, it was ...

Muselk (Elliott Watkins) Biography  Age, Girlfriend and Net Worth The new and best in-thing in terms of career is video gaming and we have over time seen young men and women make massive income from an activity that was purportedly designed to serve as a hobby or a relaxation activity. One of such individuals is the Australian-born YouTube Celebrity and Twitch streamer, Muselk, whose ...

PopularMMOs Biography: 5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know We have over the years seen social media millionaires, especially on the YouTube social platform. These celebrities cum millionaires have made names for themselves after carving out niches on the internet, and a typical example of one of such exciting media personality on the YouTube is American Minecraft gamer and YouTube star, PopularMMOs whose channel ...

Jason Nash Once Married Marney Hochman  What To Know About His Ex-Wife and Kids The now-defunct video-sharing app Vine was the path that led Jason Nash to fame. With it, he built an audience of over two million followers, which he parlayed into a significant YouTube career. That move has seen him become one of the most popular personalities on the internet, with the cash income to go with ...

Where Does Dantdm Live? What Do We Know About His Net Worth, Wife and Brother? Most parents buy video games for their kids to occupy their time leisure, while other parents frown at their kids when they play video games. Despite the disparity, every parent would be proud of their child if he/she eventually turns a celebrity or millionaire through playing video games like Dantdm. Biography of Dantdm Dantdm was born Daniel ...

LaurDIY  Biography: 5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTuber LaurDIY is the YouTube channel of Lauren Riihimaki which she created on December 1, 2011, when she was still a college undergrad with the sole aim of giving Do It Yourself (DIY) as well as practical fashion and beauty tips to her followers. She has used the channel to establish herself as a YouTube personality ...

Lachlan Ross Power  Bio And Family Life Of Australian The YouTube Star It is amazing the varied sources of income that the internet has made possible in this day and age. Internet fame can get its holder a whole lot of monetary and social benefits, but it must be noted that it does not come easy or cheap. For those who desire fame, content is the sacrifice ...

Alfie Deyes  Bio and Net Worth: Everything You Need To Know Alfie Deyes is one internet personality you definitely would like to know about. He boasts of over 10 million subscribers on three of his YouTube channels and has three bestseller books to his name. He is probably the most renowned young personality on YouTube today and his vlogging empire continues to grow by the day. ...

Colleen Ballingers Love Story With Husband Erik Stocklin and How Much She Is Worth Now Colleen Ballinger is an American comedian and YouTuber who is a very funny, adventurous, and highly talented woman. She is also an actress, singer, and writer. Collen is widely known for her work on YouTube where she posts content on her channel, Miranda Sings. The comedian has gained many subscribers over the years and has ...

Who Are The Dude Perfect Members and How Much Are They Worth? Entertainment in the 21st century can be digested in many forms and with platforms like YouTube, the creators and purveyors of entertainment have been democratized. Today, one of the most popular platforms to exhibit ones creative talents is YouTube, even though there are other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, who suffer in comparison to YouTube because ...

Who Is Rudy Mancuso, What Is His Earning Power and What Do We Know About His Girlfriend? Rudy Mancuso started his internet journey on Vine. He would later transition to YouTube where he solidified his place among the internets most beloved comedic creators. He is now regarded as one of the renowned internet personalities in the world, with a presence in mainstream TV and film projects like Comedy Centrals Drunk History and ...

Vsauce (Michael Stevens) Biography and Net Worth: All You Need To Know The advent of YouTube and the internet as a whole revolutionized how human beings consume information. With each passing year, the percentage of learning that is done in a traditional classroom decrease as a seismic shift to internet-based learning happens in our education industry. From open courses online to YouTube classes and videos, there are ...

How did Jake Paul Make His YouTube Big Break and Who is His Wife? One of the most interesting Social Media personalities of the 21st century is the young and popular Jake Paul whose elder brother is the famed Vine star, Logan Paul. Jake has utilized the power of the internet to bring himself to the limelight with a channel named JakePaulProductions that has amassed up to six billion ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About Reaction Time (Tal Fishman)  The American YouTuber Before 2015, the leading meaning of reaction time was the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, until Tal Fishman started his channel, Reaction Time on YouTube and the dominant meaning changed. Today, a google search of Reaction Time would deliver Tal Fishmans videos and YouTube channel link with a few physics ...

Grace Helbig  Net Worth, Boyfriend and Family Life of The YouTuber Grace Helbig is an American internet personality, comedian, actress, and writer. She became popular due to her daily vlog series, DailyGrace, which ran on My Damn Channel from 2008 to 2013. Helbig is also popular for her own indie series on YouTube, ItsGrace, which she launched in 2014. Her vlogs which feature random stuff such as ...

Mark Wiens Bio  Ethnicity, Wife and Parents Food is a great way to connect with people. We all love to eat, if not for the pleasure of food, the satisfaction of quenching hunger, and the very process of providing and sharing that food is part of the strongest bonds that bind humanity together. Maybe it is our historical connection to food, where ...

Is Filthy Frank Dead, What Happened To Him and How Much Is He Worth? As George Kusunoki Miller, he was a nobody. However, as Filthy Frank, George was one of the most famous internet personalities on the planet. The Filthy Frank Show, a sketch series on his YouTube channel, TVFilthyFrank, was one of the platforms most influential creations. He is the reason a crazy dance song, Harlem Shake, made it ...

CaptainSparklez Bio  Net Worth, House and Cars of The Famous YouTuber Sometimes, what society wants from its citizens is quite different from what the citizens want for themselves. This is evident in the life and career of video blogger and American YouTube personality, Jordan Maron famous for his YouTube channel CaptainSparklez. He dropped out of school after discovering his talent in playing an online game called Minecraft. ...

Who is Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg)? Here are Facts You Must Know Canadian Youtube personality, Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg) originally started out polishing and designing nails even before it became a trendy culture in the social media. Simply Nailogica started out her showbiz career in her early days as a child actress, acting in commercials for game and toy companies. Aside from acting, she is blogger, vlogger, specializing ...

5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About Huda Beauty In the world of entrepreneurship, it is interesting when an individual has a mentor who he/she looks up to, this yield more productivity on the part of the individual. The iconic and rich American beautician and makeup artist Huda Kattan nicknamed Heida is the founder of the Huda Beauty blog which is number one Instagram beauty blog ...

Is Dino MasterChef Gay? Details About His Ethnicity, Girlfriend, Where He Is Now Food, for the better part of the early years of human life, was nothing more than what we needed for survival. There was no artistry or curation to the method of cooking. The scarcity of food left no room for artistic expression until we figured out agriculture and we could make as much as we ...

Who Is Gabbie Hanna And How Did She Become Famous? As the world shifts to digital media and depends more and more on streaming services for its news and entertainment content, YouTubers have become one of the leading creators in the new media world. Their understanding of the online audience: how to create, maintain, and increase followers, are all handy skills that have primed them ...

Jacksepticeye  Height, Girlfriend & Net Worth Jacksepticeye is a YouTuber and actor who gained popularity with a series of gaming videos he uploads on his channel to the delight of millions of his subscribers. He is Known primarily for his comic video game series titled Lets Play and his vlogs. His channel was formerly ranked 46th in the list of most subscribed ...

Chris Heria Personal Details: About His Wife, Height & Ethnicity Background In this generation, keeping fit has become one of the major criteria for being hale and hearty. In fact, most occupations these days are majorly concerned with ones body mass, weight and looks. Unlike the past where most people have to register in a gym to keep fit, social media has made it quite easy ...

Everything You Need To Know About Game Grumps Gaming is becoming incredibly popular on YouTube these days with game vloggers make millions of dollars out of them yearly. One of the most popular up-coming gaming YouTube channels is Game Grumps. The Lets Play series was created in 2012 and celebrated its fifth anniversary on July 18th, 2017. In six years of its existence, the ...

Daithi De Nogla Biography, Girlfriend and Net Worth YouTube has created an avenue for many to make wealth and become famous from the comfort of their homes while having fun. Many have built a career out of the platform, uploading numerous videos that have earned them the admiration of viewers across the globe. For Daithi De Nogla, he is loved for his humorous commentary on ...

Does Phoebe Robinson Have A Boyfriend or Husband and What Do We Know About Her Family? Phoebe Robinson is a New York-based comedian, writer, and actress. She is best known as the co-creator and co-host of the WNYC Studios podcast 2 Dope Queens. Just like some other female comedians, she never had any original plans of becoming a stand-up comedian even though, according to her, she took a class on a whim at Carolines on Broadway. After ...

Who Are Lex and Alana from Listed Sisters? What Is Their Ethnicity & Is the Show Cancelled? America is a country built on diversity. Everywhere you look all over the country, a countless number of immigrants or children of immigrants have become an integral part of the fabric of the country. From entertainment to business, immigrants are creating a niche for themselves and climbing to the summit of their respective professions. One ...

Riveting Facts About Danielle Lombard And What She Is Best Known For The American entertainment industry is one that provides many avenues for aspiring hopefuls to express their talents and become famous. From films to television shows and game shows, there is no shortage of ways for men and women who desire fame to pursue and earn it in the United States of America. Another tested medium ...

Unearthing New Details About The YouTube Success And Personal Life of Alex Burriss of Wassabi Productions Wildly hilarious and truly audacious, Alex Wassabi is an American YouTuber who has become a very popular face on the video-sharing platform after having garnered millions of subscribers over the years by keeping people glued to his channel with his witty parody video releases. If you have always loved parody videos, there is every chance ...

Everything You Need To Know About H2O Delirious H2O Delirious whose full birth name is reported to be Jonathan Gormon Dennis has successfully kept himself mystified by hiding his face behind the masks leaving his loyal fans speculating who he really is for many years. The American YouTube star is easily identified by the Jason Mask Style with make-up which he wears on his ...

Who Is HolaSoyGerman and What Happened To Him? German Garmendia has certainly seen it all when it comes to internet success. His channels, HolaSoyGerman and JuegaGerman are in the top twenty most subscribed channel on YouTube. The Chilean YouTuber found a way to tap into one of the worlds greatest inventions and make a living from it. He has been able to build ...

Who Are Glenn Becks Family, What Is His Net Worth And What Happened To Him? The American political commentary space is filled with different personalities. A few of them, through their rhetoric, charisma, and resources have been able to build a large following of men and women who listen to them for insight and direction for various political and social issues in the United States. For Conservatives, the story is ...

Following Charissa Thompsons Rise Through The Ranks Of Sports Casting and All About Her Boyfriend Superstar TV host and sportscaster, Charissa Thompson, has been hailed as one of the highest-profile women journalists in America, and the reason is there for all to see. She has worked for popular establishments such as Versus, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, GSN, and Big Ten Network. She currently hosts the popular pre-game show, Fox NFL Kickoff, ...

Is Chris Kattan Gay or Does He Have A Wife? What Is His Net Worth? Chris Kattan is a popular American comedian and actor. He has appeared in several comic movies and TV series such as The Middle, A Night at the Roxbury and Bunnicula. Kattan is, however, most popular for his six-year stint as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. During his time on the legendary show, he ...

Everything You Should Know About the Rise of Insta Star Claire Abbott and Why She Gave It All Up A lot of young Americans have shot into the limelight for uploading different kinds of videos on YouTube. Some of these young stars include Connor Franta, Desi Perkins, Emma Chamberlain, the Dolan Twins (Ethan and Grayson), and Claire Abbott. The latter became a social media celebrity for uploading sexy bikini pictures of herself on social media. Apart from ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTube Channel  h3h3Productions H3h3Productions is a YouTube channel that specializes on Comic responses or reactions of other contents or trendy stories. The celebrity couple that created the channel has over time racked up sizable views for their commentaries and contents. Even though they had their own fair share of copyright cases, thankfully they scored an unprecedented victory in all ...

Lilypichu Bio  Height, Brother and Love Story With Albert SleightlyMusical Chang Like most popular internet celebrities, Lilypichu is one of those Twitch streamers who spend their lives on camera. From daydreaming about the possibility of becoming a full-time professional streamer, she grew to live out her dreams on the popular live streaming platform where people play games, make crafts, and showcase their day-to-day activities. Given the rise of ...

KSI  What To Know About His Girlfriend, Brother  Deji Olatunji & Net Worth Assuredly, when Internet inventors Vint Cerf and Bob Khan created the technological masterpiece, they probably did not know how massive the creation will be harnessed by many for different purposes including as a platform for earning money through content creation. One of such person who smiles to the bank regularly today for spending time creating ...

The Interesting Progression and Highlights of Carrie Keagans Career as a Host and Actress Carrie Keagan has garnered huge fame through her various stints on television. She is not just your regular TV host but one with a difference. Keagan has hosted several high profile events and TV shows, including VH1s Big Morning Buzz Live and Fox News Channels Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld. However, not many know she ...

The Gist On Elise Jordans Marriages And Her Rise To Prominence Political commentaries tend to be boring when it is handled by someone who does not have a knack for it. However, when you see the likes of Elise Jordan run the same commentary, you will have a lot of reasons to look forward to watching her again as the journalist is well-versed in the field ...

What Is Timmy Thick Best Known For and How Successful Is The Star? Thanks to the internet, many people whose talents would have ordinarily gone unnoticed have become famous. A very good example of this modern-day internet celebrity is Timmy Thick, an American social media star. He became popular on Instagram due to his penchant for posting raunchy pictures of himself. He also often posted videos of himself ...

What Does Heather Storm Do For a Living and Who Is She Dating? Reality Television is a great way to make a name for oneself as well as amass a fortune. Heather Storm can attest to this as she is one of those who have made a name and earned a lot from reality TV. She made her name appearing on shows like Car Fanatics, Awesome Autos, and, ...

Matt Carriker Biography  Net Worth, Wife & Height Unlike your regular veterinary doctor next door, Matt Carriker chose to spice up his noble profession with the unusual. Though he is known to many as a medical practitioner, Carriker is better renowned as a YouTube star and an animal lover. Having recorded huge successes on his various YouTube channels, the vet doctors name and ...

Jillian Mele of Fox News Career Achievements, Husband & Measurements There are quite a good number of presenters on radio and television who listeners and viewers may never wish to miss any of their shows because of their sensational golden voice, beauty or the special way or artistry they anchor their shows. Jillian Mele is one of such. She has been at the top of ...

Who is Gillian Turner of Fox News? Her Fiance or Husband and Net Worth Gillian Turner is well-known as a news correspondent for Fox News Channel but before she became a TV personality, she built an intimidating resume working for different institutions, including the American government. She served in different capacities at the White House National Security Council during the administration of former US Presidents  George W. Bush and Barack Obama. ...

Gloria Govan Bio  Age, Ethnicity & Height Even as Gloria Govan is famous as an American actress, author, a TV host, and reality television star, shes more popular as the wife of the former NBA player, Matt Barnes. She became known after appearing on the Florida version of the reality television series, Basketball Wives and later, Basketball Wives: LA  after Matt was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sadly, ...

Michael Fishmans Interesting Start as an Actor and Why He Divorced His Wife of Many Years When one door closes, another one opens. As silly as that axiom may seem, it is the story of the resurgence of Michael Fishman, who plays D.J Conner on the popular show, Roseanne. Having played the character for several years as a child actor into his teenage years; when the show originally ended, Michael did ...

Who Is October Gonzalez  Tony Gonzalezs Wife? All You Need To Know October Gonzalez is a popular American TV host and media personality. Additionally, she is also a model. Gonzalez has hosted several TV shows such as Beat Shazam, Entertainment Tonight, and Rachel Ray. She has also featured in several reality TV shows. Gonzalezs fame is not just due to her profession but also because of her ...

Who Is Tony Berlin  Harris Faulkners Husband: His Children and Family Facts Tony Berlin is a popular American media guru. He has variously worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer for some of the biggest TV networks in America. They include CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC (where he hosted the popular Good Morning America). Berlin has now diversified into public relations and owns his own PR firm. ...

The Progression of Gianna Tobonis Journalism Career and Details About Her Marriage to Kyle Buckley Gianna Toboni may not be your ideal newscaster but her unusual reporting is what made her a household name. The American journalist is renowned for her hard-hitting and authentic reportage. A motivator and activist for total press freedom, Gianna loves to explore pervasive cultural issues. Not only does this unique and ambitious journalist call for all ...

Dog The Bounty Hunters Family Including Details of His Late Wife and Kids Popularly known as Dog, a name which he got from the television series, Dog The Bounty Hunter, Duane Chapman, an American bounty hunter, and one-time bail bondsman, went from being convicted for a felony to being a reality TV star. He was brought to the limelight following the capture of the convicted criminal, Andrew Luster in 2003 and this eventually made ...

Vicky Karayiannis, Chris Cornells Wifes Bio, Children and Family The world of showbiz is made up of different people who serve different roles, and function in a variety of capacities, and one of the most important people are those in the background. Publicists are undoubtedly one of these background people yet they are vital to the life and fame of most of our favorite ...

Joe Rogan Has A Step-Daughter and 2 Other Kids With Wife Jessica Ditzel  Meet His Family Joe Rogan is a popular American stand-up comedian and TV host. His journey to stardom began in the late 80s and has seen him host several shows, the most popular is the game show titled Fear Factor. The exciting show dares contestants to face some of their greatest fears and embark on challenging stunts. The ...

Josh Gates and Wife Hallie Gnatovich Have 2 Kids But Who Has the Higher Net Worth? Best known for his explorations and adventures, Josh Gates, is a television presenter with a voracious appetite for seeing the world and the beauties in it. Some of that beauty, however, is in his home, in the form of two children he shares with his wife, Hallie Gnatovich. Not excluded is their marriage which has lasted ...

Holly Sonders Wiki, Plastic Surgery & Why She Divorced Her Husband  Erik Kuselias After trying everything within her capacity to have a low key wedding, Holly Sonders was drawn to the public because of her husbands controversy at his workplace. Well, the two are rumored to be divorced but the article below will give more light on how true these rumors are. Meanwhile, Holly Sonders is yet to ...

Nadeska Alexis Bio  Age, Boyfriend & Net Worth Journalism is one diverse profession that allows the practitioners to choose their area of specialty, build a career on it by reporting the truth and facts which in the long run will distinguish them as deserving commendation and recognition among their peers. Some choose to specialize in political journalism, while to others it is sports ...

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A Look At Jimmy Fallons Net Worth and Family Including His Wife & Kids Sometimes, a childs passion for something is a pointer to what he/she would become in the future. As a child, Jimmy Fallon was literally obsessed with watching the late-night comedy program, Saturday Night Live (SNL). Then, his parents would tape the clean parts for him to watch and later, he and his sister would re-enact sketches from the ...

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Stpeach Age, Husband and Other Facts About The Twitch Streamer Lisa Vannatta, famously known by her online alias, STPeach is a Canadian video game streamer cum vlogger who has garnered fame through her appearances on different video-sharing/social networking platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, Twitch, Reddit, and Twitter. The beautiful lady got her career to a start in August 2015 when she joined the live streaming video platform, Twitch. She rose to ...

Insights into Seth Meyers Wife, Family and What His Net Worth Is Celebrities are mostly remembered and known for the work they do. For Seth Meyers, his career as a comedian, writer, actor, TV host, and producer is his biggest identifier. He was on Saturday Night Live SNL show as a head writer and cast member for more than ten years during which he built a reputation ...

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Who Is Collins Tuohy  Michael Ohers sister ? Her Wedding, Husband & Net Worth Collins Tuohy is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, blogger, and social media personality. She is also better known as the adoptive sister of NFL player, Michael Oher, whose life story inspired the Hollywood blockbuster The Blind Side. The Blind Side tells the true life story of Oher who grew up in an impoverished background consisting of a ...

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Marty Lagina Bio  Siblings (Martina and Rick Lagina), Net Worth and Wife Marty Lagina is an American engineer and businessman who has risen to fame as a reality TV star. This is thanks to his involvement in the adventure TV series, The Curse of Oak Island. The Curse of Oak Island is a long-running TV series which airs on the history channel. The show aims to solve ...

Is Jordan Schlansky Just A Character or a Real Life Person and What Does He Do? The world of late-night television is an interesting one. Shows during that time are geared towards giving viewers comedic relief from a long day at work through interviews and comedy sketches. The often charismatic host of this show requires the balancing talent of a producer whose primary job is to deliver great episodes. It is ...

Heres How Wealthy Jimmy Kimmel Is From All The Phases of His Career, Marriages and Sons Health Jimmy Kimmel is a renowned late-night talk show host known for his charm, wit, and the A-list guests he features on his show. As the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! On ABC, Jimmy has been serving comedy to television viewers for years which played a pivotal role in launching him into mainstream fame and enabled ...

Natasha Bertrand Biography  Is She Married? Who Is the Husband & What Is Her Age? Natasha Bertrand is not just a young prominent journalist but a first-rate investigative reporter. With her natural beauty and smile, Natashas sharp, insightful political commentary also makes her a thorough reporter. Her sound political perspective and coverage in the country have made her a force to be reckoned with in the profession. Renowned for her ...

What Happened to Shane Kilcher? His Injury Update, Net Worth and More Shane Kilcher is well-known thanks to the Discovery Channel series Alaska: The Last Frontier. It is a show that documents the daily lives of the extended Kilcher family, people who live without plumbing or modern heating. The episodes follow their routines as they rely on hunting and farming for their nutritional needs as well as ...

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Nikki Mudarris  Bio and Net Worth: 5 Interesting Facts You Need to Know Nikki Mudarris, also known as Miss Nikki Baby, is a reality television star, model and fashionista. Shes best known for VH1s reality TV series Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood. Her entrepreneurial skills enable her to create and run a successful lingerie line Nude by Nikki. Not only that, but Nikki has also successfully run the Las ...

5 Interesting Things You Need To Know About Kelly Nash Ever heard of the lady who gained national prominence for taking a selfie with a dangerous ball just a few inches away from hitting her? Its no other person than Kelly Nash, an American sports broadcaster currently working as host of The Rundown show which airs on MLB Network every weekday at 2 pm ET. ...

Understanding The Height of Fame John Oliver Achieved With The Daily Show and How He Met His Wife Without knowledge of who he is and his exemplary career, John Oliver cuts an unassuming figure of a regular man but he is one of the most influential personalities in America, especially on television. Since he began his career in 1998, he has been a loud and unapologetic agent of change, using his wit and ...

Why Did Big Chief Leave Street Outlaws, Where Is He Now And Why Did He Divorce His Wife? Justin Shearer, otherwise known by his professional name Big Chief is a famous street racer and television personality. He is famously known for being one of the main characters on the racing reality television series, Street Outlaws. Justin, who had been a significant part of the show since its premiere in 2013, appeared in a ...

Who is Josina Anderson of ESPN? Her Husband and Family Facts There has been a gradual paradigm shift in the world of sports which has today produced the likes of Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and other female athletes that are pulling great feats in different sporting fields. Their achievements have also been followed by the emergence of female sports journalists such as Jillian Mele, Eboni Williams, ...

Is Brittany Wagner Married, Who Is The Husband, How Old Is She? Brittany Wagner has been an inspiration to a lot of sports youngster. She has won the hearts of many athletic students with her role as a life coach and an academic counselor. She is well groomed in her career and has worked over a decade for The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and The National ...

Tati Westbrook Bio  Age, Husband & Net Worth With five videos dished out every week, alongside running her own brand, beauty guru, and YouTube superstar Tati Westbrook has proved to the world that theres utterly no impossibility or limit to whatever one is passionate about. Tati is best known for being the owner and manager of the worlds most-viewed beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel, ...

Cathy Areus Long Road to Becoming a Freelance Journalist and What to Know About Her Kids An American freelance journalist, news analyst, and author, Cathy Areu has built a lasting reputation for herself on cable television. Popular for her skillful and sassy presentation of professional views on varying topics including cultural and feminist issues, Cathy is an inspiration to many women across the globe. In addition to being a journalist, she ...

Tucker Carlsons Love Story With Wife Susan Andrews, their Children and Net Worth Today On the TV screens, Tucker Carlson is that fiery fellow who passionately dishes out his conservative and often controversial views on issues of national importance. Such brazenness has fetched him many enemies, especially on the left-wing, but it has also helped him cement a reputation as one of the foremost broadcast journalists in America. His ...

Paige Wyatts Net Worth, Boyfriend and Where She Is Now Paige Wyatt became popular after the Wyatt family began running the reality television show, American Guns. The Wyatt family comprises Rich Wyatt (father), Renee Wyatt (mother), Paige and Kurt Wyatt (children). Rich Wyatt originally ran a gun shop, the Gunsmoke Guns in Wheat Ridge, Colorado which is outside of Denver. The business which he ran together ...

The Progression of Howard Sterns Career As A Media Personality And Why He Divorced His First Wife Howard Stern is a legendary American radio host, who has also done some notable work as an actor, producer, author, as well as photographer. The radio personality achieved worldwide fame as a result of his self-titled radio program, The Howard Stern Show. As a professional radio personality, he has worked in different radio stations. Since 2006, ...

Lisa Joyners Biography  Ethnicity, Net Worth and Other Key Facts Lisa Joyner is an American Journalist, TV talk show host, and actress. Some of her well-known works are her correspondences for the Los Angeles based TV KCBS, inFANity show, Find My Family Show including her film and television appearances in Brimstone, American Sweetheart, The Bold and The Beautiful among others. Lisas passion for reconnecting people with their biological families ...

Amanda Balionis Rise Through the Ranks of Sportscasting and the Identity of Her Boyfriend Amanda Balionis is an American sportscaster currently working as a golf broadcaster for CBS Sports. Among so many of her works in the field of sports reporting, Amandas PGA Tour coverage seems to be the most popular so far. She covered the Super Bowl working with CBS Sports social media team in Atlanta, where she ...

Dissecting Charles Paynes Sexual Allegations, Its After Effects and More About His Wife Charles Payne had a respectable career as an analyst on Wall Street before he made the transition to television and became a contributor and later a host on Fox. In that time, his expertise has come under scrutiny, and he has been at the center of at least one major controversy. The major controversy in question ...

Erik Asla And Tryra Banks Split: Everything You Need To Know Tyra Banks and Erik Asla have called it quits! The couple, who began dating in 2013 and have a son named York Banks Asla, has decided to end what everybody taught was the perfect relationship. Neither person has come out to give a reason for the breakup, but what is obvious right now is that ...

What to Note About Dr Terry Dubrows Qualifications, TV Works and Marriage to Heather Kent In the realm of people that we expect to see regularly on our screens, medical doctors are closer to the bottom of the list. Aside from the fact that their work has little correlation with TV, they are presumably too busy to pursue life as TV personalities. Yet, a few of them have usurped this ...

Jessica Goch  Bio: 5 Things You Didnt Know About Ninjas Wife Jessica Goch is the Schofield-born American Social Media Influencer who has worked as a model but is now better known as a host and interviewer of prominent Electronic sports celebrities at popular gaming events/tournaments. The screen queen also serves as the manager of her famous husband Ninja aka Tyler Blevins whose exploits on Twitch and Fortnite has ...

CNNs Chris Cuomo Biography  Wife, Family & Net worth Chris Cuomo needs no elaborate introduction as he has starred graced many prominent Television cable networks and his voice has been heard through acknowledged radio shows. He is a television journalist and Lawyer who has previously worked for ABC News as Chief law and justice correspondent as well as a co-anchor on 20/20. If you still ...

Neil deGrasse Tyson  Family, Religion & Net Worth Neil deGrasse Tyson is a distinguished American astrophysicist and author who has been able to achieve so much after falling in love with astronomy at the age of 9. He has since attended and become an alumnus of prestigious universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, and also recorded numerous achievements in his field of ...

Is Simon Cowell Gay? Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend and Why is He Famous? Simon Cowell is a well-known talent show judge, TV producer, entrepreneur and one of the most popular TV personalities that Britain has ever produced. In conjunction with his company, Syco, Cowell is the brain behind hugely successful talent hunt shows such as The X-Factor UK, The X-Factor US, Britains Got Talent, Americas Got Talent and ...

Everything To Know About Joanna Gaines Life With Chip Gaines, Their Business Pursuits and Kids Joanna Gaines and her husband Chip Gaines became celebrities after their television show Fixer Upper began airing back in 2013. The show which was about home renovation and decoration ran for about 6 seasons with a total of 79 episodes before the couple bade farewell to it in April 2018. Apart from their appearances on ...

Who Is Larry The Cable Guy? What To Know About His Wife And Net Worth Larry the Cable Guy is a self-professed country kid renowned for his trademark Southern accent and sensational catchphrase Git-R-Done! The famous comedian who talks about anything under the sun has gone on to become one of the most memorable characters in comedy history. Join us in unearthing lesser-known facts about the former on-air-personality, standup comedy superstar, movie ...

Who Is Patrick Starr, What Is His Net Worth and Gender? The make-up industry over the years has grown to become a billion dollar industry not just because there are probably more women wearing make-up but because a whole lot of men, especially the young ones, have become bold enough to wear it unlike before. A few of these men, like Patrick Starr, have even gone ...

How Did Chris Jansing Become a Senior Correspondent at MSNBC and Who Is Her Husband? An award-winning American television news reporter and journalist, Chris Jansing has succeeded in carving a spectacular niche for herself in the field of TV journalism. Outstanding for not just her excellence in journalism, Chris is also cherished for her incredibly gorgeous looks post 60! For close to four decades, Jansing has continued to soar in her ...

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Is Pat Sajak Married to a Wife or is He Gay With a Partner? Pat Sajak is one of the most popular TV game show hosts in America. He commenced his career as a radio disk jockey as well as a TV weatherman before being tapped to host Wheel of Fortune, the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States. Sajak has hosted the popular game show from 1983 ...

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More than 60 businesses have benefitted from the program, which was extended through May 1 while a permanent program is in the works.
Three environmental groups Tuesday moved to defend the states denial of a key sublease needed to build Millennium Bulk Terminals Longview project.

Columbia Riverkeeper, Washington Environmental Council and Sierra Club asked to intervene in support of the state Department of Natural Resources decision. The department in January rejected Northwest Alloys request to grant an aquatic lands sublease to Millennium Bulk Terminals.

Shortly before leaving office, the former head of DNR, Peter Goldmark, rejected the sublease, citing a chronic pattern of failure by the company to provide essential and accurate information. Goldmark questioned Millenniums financial standing and viability in light of declining coal markets and coal company bankruptcies.

Millennium and Northwest Alloys argued that they have provided the department with ample information about the companies finances. The two companies filed a lawsuit on Feb. 2 in Cowlitz County Superior Court to challenge the departments decision.

The attorneys argued that Goldmarks baseless and unreasonable decision infringes on the property rights of both Northwest Alloys and Millennium. While Millennium doesnt own the land, it already has operated on the site as an independent contractor for several years and owns buildings on the adjacent land.

If a judge approves the opponents request to intervene, then Columbia Riverkeeper, Washington Environmental Council and Sierra Club would become parties in the case and could file briefs and appeal decisions.

Columbia Riverkeeper has previously served as an intervenor in similar cases over energy projects, including a liquid natural gas project in Clatsop County, Ore., said Brett VandenHeuvel, rxecutive Ddirector of Columbia Riverkeeper. Its also currently serving as intervenor in case over a City of Portland ordinance limiting fossil fuel infrastructure.

For over six years, people from across the Northwest, tribes and community leaders worked together to protect clean water and our climate from coal export. Now well fight tooth and nail to defend Washington States commonsense decision rejecting Millennium plans to turn the Columbia River into the West Coasts coal export highway, VandenHeuvel said in a statement.

The environmental groups are hoping to schedule a March 15 hearing on whether they can be listed as intervenors, but there was not a firm date scheduled yet as of Tuesday.

DNRs existing lease with Northwest Alloys expires in 2038. The current lease allows for up to three 220-foot docks. Millennium currently has one dock and proposes to add two new docks, two new ship loaders and an access trestle.

The motion filed to intervene in the lawsuit is an attempt by opponents of our project to further delay a straightforward administrative change, said Bill Chapman, president and CEO of Millennium, in a statement. We remain committed to building a world-class port in Longview that creates more family wage jobs and generates millions in tax revenue while meeting strict local, state and federal environmental standards.

The terminal, which Millennium projects would create more than 1,000 construction jobs, 130 permanent jobs and generate millions of dollars in taxes annually, has been hotly debated here and across the region.
A local fishing guide has been fined $7,500 for killing two wild coho salmon, a violation of the federal Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Billy Swann, 52, owner and operator of Swannys Guided Fishing, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge last year in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, where he was sentenced Tuesday. Swann operates a professional guide service on the Cowlitz and Lower Columbia rivers.

At the sentencing hearing, Magistrate Judge Karen Strombom described Swanns conduct as shocking and told him, You had a responsibility and you failed miserably at it.

According to records, on Oct. 1, 2014, Swann led a promotional fishing trip on Cowlitz with the top salespeople from a national fishing bait company. The trip was broadcast over the Internet. Swann encouraged two men to catch two native Cowlitz coho, which are protected by federal and state law.

After the clients landed the fish, Swann clubbed both of them and cut off their adipose fins to make it appear they were hatchery fish and therefore legal to catch and keep. However, the incident was caught on the web broadcast and reported to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

When contacted by authorities, Swann first lied about the conduct, saying the photos of the fish with the adipose fin still intact could have been photo-shopped, according to the Justice Department.

With so many putting so much into bringing back our cherished wild salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest, this conduct is particularly offensive, said U. S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. A salmon fishing guide who makes his living off our natural resources should have respected the rules that are meant to ensure those resources will always be there for all of us.
As a few additional details have surfaced about last weeks Highlands house fire, police have uncovered a few suspicious items.

Officials responded to the fire early in the morning of March 1. The vacant residence, located at 289 23rd Avenue, was still boarded up following a fatal fire on Feb. 1, 2015. The house was a total loss and had no power at the time of both fires, officials said. The city condemned the house in 2013 due to lack of utility services.

After the recent fire, police found a crowbar and a box of dry matches at the scene, said Sgt. Chris Blanchard of the Longview police. They have yet to receive lab results that could identify fingerprints or DNA, he said, and the process could take months.

Justin Noel, fire investigator for the Longview Fire Department, said it does appear the fire was human-set, but he hasnt ruled out the possibility that it was accidental.

Its suspicious to begin with because a vacant building without electricity doesnt just spontaneously catch on fire, Noel said.

Noel declined to elaborate further because the case remains an active investigation.

Blanchard said investigators have been in contact with the owner of the house, Jonathan Chandler. Chandler was sentenced in May to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree arson involving a December 2015 vehicle fire. That record makes him a potential suspect for the house fire, but police dont have specific evidence suggesting he was involved with the house fire, Blanchard said.

In a phone interview Tuesday, Chandler maintained he was innocent in the car fire case even though he pleaded guilty. He said he likely was at his home in Kelso when the fire broke out at his 23rd Avenue home, and he said he did not hear about the fire until several days later. He said he purchased the house after returning home from Afghanistan and getting out of the U.S. Army. The house was intended to be a project of his, but the two fires have destroyed any hopes of salvaging it.

Neither Blanchard nor Noel said there is evidence linking this fire to the string of arsons that occurred in South Kelso during late summer and early fall of 2016. Blanchard said the location of this fire and the lapse in time between the fires make a connection unlikely, but they have yet to completely rule it out.
BRONTE MOULES

ITS a privilege to attend the launch of this anthology, My Walk to Equality.

This important collection gives practical and insightful meaning to our shared goal of gender equality.

I join with others in congratulating all those involved in the project, including editor Rashmii Amoah Bell, the 45 Papua New Guinean women writers involved and Keith Jackson.

The anthology is a timely vehicle through which the contributing writers have been able to express themselves and speak out about issues that matter, deeply, to all societies.
PTI

After a hiatus of few years, the proposal to merge BSNL and MTNL is back on the discussion table with top officials at the telecom department once again 'brainstorming' on various options before the two loss-making, state-owned entities.

According to a highly-placed source in the Department of Telecom, a top-level meeting recently discussed possibility of merging both the entities that are facing financial stress due to increasing competition in the sector.

Another official said that in the first phase, BSNL is keen on picking up mobile operations of MTNL in Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad, where it is already offering landline and broadband services.

The other option could be the acquisition of MTNL's mobile operations in Delhi and Mumbai - the two metros it operates in. BSNL, on the other hand, operates in rest of India.

The meeting, head by the then Telecom Secretary JS Deepak, was held 2-3 weeks ago and idea is gaining ground once again.

The idea of merging the two firms was first mooted years ago by the then telecom minister Pramod Majahan and has been deliberated upon a few times since then. Officials said however that the talks on the merger have been revived at the instance of senior officials in the government.

On the hurdles to the move, sources said, staffing and salary related issues pose a big challenge.

Besides, they said, MTNL is debt-laden and while the move will be a positive for it, BSNL will have to bear the brunt.

MTNL has been reeling under "serious" debt problem and is borrowing money to meet its day-to-day requirements.

In written reply to the Rajya Sabha in November last year, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha had said, "In case of MTNL, it has been going slow in upgradation of equipment during the last 4-5 years due to severe financial problems. MTNL is under serious debt burden and is borrowing money to meet its day to day requirements."

MTNL's standalone net loss has widened to Rs 819.96 crore, surpassing its total revenue, during the three-month period ended December 31, hit primarily by finance cost. The net loss surpassed its total income of Rs 690.59 crore.

The total debt of MTNL reached Rs 19,418.23 crore at the end of December 31, 2016, from Rs 11,542.3 crore in 2012-13, according to official data. In 2015-16, MTNL reported total annual revenue of Rs 3,197.41 crore and net loss of Rs 2,005.72 crore.

The losses of BSNL have narrowed however to Rs 4,890 crore for the nine month period of the current fiscal, from Rs 6,121 crore in the year-ago period.

It posted 5.8 percent increase in income from services at Rs 19,379.6 crore during the period under review.

As per telecom regulator Trai, as of December 31, BSNL and MTNL had a market share of about 9 percent of the total wireless subscriber base of 1.12 billion.
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Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp has agreed to pay $892 million and plead guilty to criminal charges for violating U.S. laws that restrict the sale of American-made technology to Iran and North Korea. While a guilty plea deals a blow to ZTE's reputation, the resolution could lift some uncertainty for a company that relies on U.S. suppliers for 25 percent to 30 percent of its components.

A five-year investigation found ZTE conspired to evade U.S. embargoes by buying U.S. components, incorporating them into ZTE equipment and illegally shipping them to Iran. In addition, it was charged in connection with 283 shipments of telecommunications equipment to North Korea. "ZTE Corporation not only violated export controls that keep sensitive American technology out of the hands of hostile regimes like Iran's, they lied ... about their illegal acts," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.

ZTE agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, obstruction of justice for an elaborate cover-up, and making a material false statement for claims it was complying with regulations The investigation, spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, followed reports by Reuters in 2012 that ZTE had signed contracts to ship millions of dollars worth of hardware and software from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies to Iran's largest telecoms carrier.

The Justice Department noted one Reuters article in its statement announcing the plea deal on Tuesday. "ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company," ZTE Chief Executive Zhao Xianming said in a statement. The company's guilty pleas, which must be approved by a judge, will take place in U.S. District Court in Texas. The Shenzhen-based company has a U.S. subsidiary in Richardson, Texas.

In March 2016, ZTE was placed on a list of entities that U.S. firm could not supply without a license. ZTE acted contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests, the Commerce Department said at the time. Commerce will recommend that ZTE be removed from that list if the company lives up to its deal and a court approves its agreement with the Justice Department.

ZTE warned last month the penalties could impact its results. The company has a market capitalization of about 60 billion yuan ($8.7 billion), according to Thomson Reuters data. It has continued to do business with U.S. suppliers under a temporary general license that was extended several times, with the latest reprieve expiring March 29.

ZTE purchases about $2.6 billion worth of components a year from U.S. technology companies, according to a company spokesman. Qualcomm, Microsoft and Intel are among its suppliers. Items shipped in violation of U.S. export laws included routers, microprocessors and servers controlled under export regulations. Authorities said executives at ZTE approved the scheme to prevent disclosure of the sales. The scheme included a data team that destroyed or sanitized materials involving ZTE's Iran business after March 2012.

"Despite ZTE's repeated attempts to thwart the investigation, the dogged determination of investigators uncovered damning evidence," said Douglas Hassebrock, director of the Commerce Department office that led the investigation. Last year, Commerce released internal documents showing senior ZTE executives instructing the company to carry out a project for dodging export controls in Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Cuba.

ZTE replaced executives allegedly involved, including naming a new president. Last month, it announced that Shi Lirong, who stepped down as president in April, resigned as a non-executive director. The company on Tuesday agreed to a seven-year suspended denial of export privileges, which could be activated if there are further violations. A denial order would bar the receipt of U.S. origin goods and technology.

The denial order is key to keeping ZTE in line, said Eric Hirschhorn, former Under Secretary at the Commerce Department, who was involved in the investigation. If the suspension is removed, theyll probably be put out of business, he said. ZTE also agreed to three years of probation, a compliance and ethics program, and a corporate monitor.

The settlement includes a $661 million penalty to Commerce; $430 million in combined criminal fines and forfeiture; and $101 million paid to the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The action marks OFAC's largest-ever settlement with a non-financial entity.

ZTE also agreed to an additional penalty of $300 million to the U.S. Commerce Department that will be suspended during a seven-year term on the condition the company complies with requirements in the agreement. In addition to being one of the worlds biggest telecommunications gear makers, ZTE is the No. 4 smartphone vendor in the United States, selling handset devices to U.S. mobile carriers AT&T Inc, T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp.

Reuters
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Volkswagen will show off a fully self-driving car at the Geneva auto show, as part of the German carmaker's drive to be at the forefront of new technologies in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal. Europe's biggest carmaker has said it will invest billions of euros in electric cars, ride-hailing and automated driving, and launch over 30 electric models by 2025 as it battles to recover from its emissions test cheating.

The self-driving concept car called Sedric - a so-called Level 5 vehicle capable of fully automated operation - is a precursor for more such models from the Volkswagen (VW) group in years to come, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Monday on the eve of car executives' annual gathering in Geneva. VW is hiring top specialists and plans to spend several billions of euros on automated driving alone, Mueller said, without being more specific.

Sedric can carry 4 passengers and could be used for ride-sharing fleets as well as for individual consumers, VW said. Internet giant Google was a forerunner in self-driving technology with its 2015 prototype vehicle, but has since been challenged by companies ranging from Uber to Apple, as well as traditional carmakers.

Manufacturers and their suppliers are working on different technology suites - including cameras, radar and laser imaging technology lidar - to enable vehicles to drive themselves, but it will take years for these vehicles to come to market. Mercedes-Benz unveiled its fully autonomous F 015 luxury concept two years ago. But Toyota has said it does not expect to see Level 5 cars in widespread use for another 10-15 years, while Ford does not plan to offer such vehicles for consumers until 2025 or later.

Reuters
hidden

Open Internet Project, whose members include Axel Springer and Getty Images, on Tuesday accused Alphabet unit Google of imposing anti-competitive curbs on Android smartphone makers, its second complaint against the U.S. tech giant. The group, which lodged a complaint about Google's comparison shopping service with the European Commission about three years ago, urged the EU competition authority to take action.

"Google once again, in breach of EU antitrust rules, abused its dominant position by imposing restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators, aiming to preserve and strengthen its dominance in general internet search," OIP said in a statement. Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said the regulator would assess the complaint. Google has said Android boosts rather than hurts competition.

The world's most popular internet search engine has been in the EU crosshairs since April 2016, accused of using its dominant Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals. Regulators said such tactics include requiring smartphone makers to pre-install Google Search and the Google Chrome browser to get access to other Google apps.

The stakes are high for Google, which makes billions from advertising sales on Android phones through its apps such as Maps, Search and Gmail. It faces a fine up to 10 percent of its global turnover and an order to end anti-competitive practices if found guilty of breaching EU rules.

Reuters
tech2 News Staff

The future is AI, we know that, but who will make the breakthrough that will redefine AI as we know it? Someone will, eventually, and that someone is likely to be a data scientist.

Google, with fingers deep in the AI pie, now appears to be looking to get more deeply involved in the community. Rumour has it that Google will acquire Kaggle, one of the largest communities of data scientists around. Kaggle routinely hosts competitions in data science and machine learning and had recently partnered with Google to host a $100,000 competition for classifying YouTube videos with AI.

The news was revealed to TechCrunch by unnamed sources and is expected to be announced as soon as tomorrow. TechCrunch reached out to both Google and Kaggle for more information, but none was forthcoming.

TechCrunchs sources lead them to believe that Kaggle will mostly be allowed to run as it is currently running and that the acquisition is more about the community anyway.

Kaggle is more than just a community of data scientists in the same way that GitHub is more than a community of developers. Theres a lot of code flying around and many of the building blocks for basic machine learning algorithms can be found there.
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A Danish consumer watchdog has reported Alphabet Inc's Google to the Danish Data Protection Agency for potentially breaking privacy laws by not capping the amount of time personal data is stored on Google's servers, the watchdog said in a statement on Tuesday.

Web companies such as Google and Facebook face increased scrutiny over how and where they store location and search history data from users of smartphones and mail accounts.

"The consumer council Taenk would like the Data Protection Agency to assess whether Google's indefinite data collection complies with consumer's basic right to privacy," the watchdog stated in the report seen by Reuters.

"We have become aware of the fact that Google today has 9-10 years of data on users with a Google account," the report stated.

In July last year Google changed its data storage practices to comply with requests by Italy's privacy regulator.

Google had to make it clear how users' data was used and guarantee its deletion within a specified time frame.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

Reuters
hidden

Google said Monday it was working to fix a search algorithm glitch that produced "inappropriate and misleading" results from its search engine and connected speaker.

The Internet giant reacted after a blog post highlighted unsubstantiated search results indicating former president Barack Obama was planning a "coup d'etat' and that four former US presidents were members of the Ku Klux Klan.

The weekend post from Search Engine Land editor Danny Sullivan found Google delivered "terribly wrong" answers to some queries in its "one true answer" box at the top of search results and in queries to its Google Home speaker.

"The problematic examples I review don't appear to have been deliberate attempts," Sullivan wrote. "Rather, they seem to be the result of Google's algorithms and machine learning making bad selections."

Sullivan said when he asked the speaker if US Republicans were the same as Nazis, it answered in the affirmative.

Similarly, he cited an example in which Google's search engine listed four former US presidents as "active and known" KKK members, even though there has been no conclusive historical evidence supporting that.

The news comes amid a growing controversy over "fake news" circulating online via Google or Facebook, and efforts by the Internet giants to weed out hoaxes and misinformation.

In a statement to AFP, Google said its boxed results at the top of a search query, known as "featured snippets," are based on an algorithmic formula.

"Unfortunately, there are instances when we feature a site with inappropriate or misleading content," Google's statement said.

"When we are alerted to a featured snippet that violates our policies, we work quickly to remove them, which we have done in this instance. We apologise for any offence this may have caused."

Google also noted it includes a "feedback" link under these snippets that can allow the search giant to flag or remove inappropriate content. Google said Monday it was working to fix a search algorithm glitch that produced "inappropriate and misleading" results from its search engine and connected speaker.

AFP
IANS

In line with the government's Digital India initiative, HP Inc on Wednesday launched its first 'Centre of Excellence' (CoE) in India. The facility is dedicated to demonstrating innovative solutions developed locally that have the potential to digitally transform the country. The 4,000 square-feet facility aims to showcase multiple solutions for sectors such as education, healthcare, BFSI (Banking, Financial services and Insurance) and manufacturing.

"The CoE will allow government and non-government stakeholders to have a practical understanding of the solutions making it easier for decision makers to take a step forward towards comprehensive digitisation of the nation," said P.P. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Law and Justice, in a statement. Developed in collaboration with over 25 system integrators that include top IT software companies, the CoE will be used as a platform to exhibit solutions relevant to government and businesses.

"HP India over the years has delivered transformational technology solutions to help make the Digital India vision a reality," added Rajiv Srivastava, Managing Director, HP Inc India.
PTI

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, one of Harvard University's most famous dropouts, will return to his one-time alma mater this summer to deliver the commencement address at the convocation ceremony. Zuckerberg, 32 will be the featured speaker at Harvard's 366th Commencement on May 25, the University announced on Tuesday. This is an honour that brings distinguished political leaders, business chiefs and artists to address graduating students. Zuckerberg will also be given an honorary degree alongside.

A young Zuckerberg, now among the world's most powerful and influential billionaires, had founded Facebook in 2004 in his Harvard dormitory and had then dropped out of the prestigious institution to focus full-time on building the social media company, which transformed the way people interacted with each other.

Harvard President Drew Faust lauded the former student's leadership and his company's impact on how nearly 1.9 billion people interact, saying she looks forward to welcoming Zuckerberg back to the varsity on Commencement day. "Mark Zuckerberg's leadership has profoundly altered the nature of social engagement worldwide. Few inventions in modern times can rival Facebook in its far-reaching impact on how people around the globe interact with one another," Faust said.

She added that few individuals can rival Zuckerberg in his drive to change the world through the innovative use of technology, as well as his commitment to advance science, enhance education, and expand opportunity through the pursuit of philanthropy. Zuckerberg is not the first Harvard dropout to give the commencement address at his former university. Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft and is a Harvard dropout, spoke at the university's Commencement in 2007.

Born in White Plains, New York in 1984, Zuckerberg was already writing software in middle school, including a program called "ZuckNet" which he created for his father's dental practice. As a teenager, he built a platform called Synapse Media Player that used machine learning to analyse a user's listening preferences. The program was recognised by PC Magazine and earned him job offers from Microsoft and AOL.

Zuckerberg enrolled in Harvard College in 2002 as a member of the Class of 2006. While he was a second-year student, he and a group of friends created a platform called thefacebook.com, initially designed as a social networking website for Harvard students. The website quickly gained unprecedented popularity and drew the attention of investors. Zuckerberg dropped out of college and moved to California to rebrand the company as a global service.

He and his wife Priscilla Chan, a paediatrician and 2007 Harvard College graduate, have pledged to donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares over their lifetimes through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), which is committed to advancing human potential and promoting equal opportunity.
PTI

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate a seminar on 'Digi dhan' here tomorrow, which is aimed at creating awareness among merchants and other sections of people about digital transactions. Directorate of Information Technology of Puducherry government is organising the day-long seminar.

A release from the Directorate said here that Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry (Independent charge) Nirmala Sitharaman will inaugurate the seminar. Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishan, Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanasamy will also address the participants.

Puducherry is among the one hundred cities selected by the Centre to hold the seminar in association with the Puducherry e-governance Society. The NITI Ayog and National Payments Corporation of India are providing the guidelines to hold the meet, the release said.

"The mela is an initiative to generate awareness among the people and also merchants on various digital payment channels including 'Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and Rupay Cards," it said.

The benefits of the electronic mode of payment instead of cash would be highlighted at the seminar. Petty vendors, traders, service providers and consumers would be brought on the same platform to educate them about the methods of cashless transactions and the modalities to get used to the services.

More than 25 stalls would be in place at the venue, marking the participation of the banks, oil marketing concerns, traders association, fertiliser companies, State and Central government departments, telecom companies, mobile wallet operators and cooperative banks. The event will be held for eight hours from 10 am the release added.
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IANS

In addition to its headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the US' CIA also uses the US consulate in Frankfurt, Germany as a covert base for its hackers covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa, WikiLeaks has claimed in its latest leaks on the CIA.

"CIA hackers operating out of the Frankfurt consulate ('Center for Cyber Intelligence Europe' or CCIE) are given diplomatic ('black') passports and State Department cover. The instructions for incoming CIA hackers make Germany's counter-intelligence efforts appear inconsequential," said WikiLeaks which began its new series of leaks on the Central Intelligence Agency on Tuesday.

Code-named "Vault 7" by WikiLeaks, it is the largest ever publication of confidential documents on the US spy agency. The first full part of the series, "Year Zero", comprises 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley.

Two earlier WikiLeaks publications give further detail on CIA approaches to customs and secondary screening procedures. Once in Frankfurt, CIA hackers can travel without further border checks to the 25 European countries that are part of the Schengen open border area, including France, Italy and Switzerland. A number of the CIA's electronic attack methods are designed for physical proximity, the anti-secrecy organisation said.

These attack methods are able to penetrate high-security networks that are disconnected from the internet, such as police record database, WikiLeaks said explaining the method of the US intelligence agency's operations. "In these cases, a CIA officer, agent or allied intelligence officer acting under instructions, physically infiltrates the targeted workplace.

The attacker is provided with a USB containing malware developed for the CIA for this purpose, which is inserted into the targeted computer. The attacker then infects and exfiltrates data to removable media," WikiLeaks said. In the latest release of documents, CIA was also accused of turning Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows and even Samsung TVs into covert microphones.
Seven companies have settled with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for selling illegal toy guns to New York consumers.

The third-party vendors sold nearly 2,000 toy guns using Amazon.com, according to the attorney general's office. The companies will pay more than $44,000 in penalties for violating state law.

In New York, it's illegal to sell "imitation weapons." Toy guns may not have black, silver and other realistic color schemes unless it has a non-removable orange stripe on the front and sides of the barrel.

"We have seen all too often the tragic consequences that can arise when toy guns are mistaken for real ones," Schneiderman said. "The toy gun law exists to protect New York's children and our brave law enforcement officers, and we will continue our commitment to enforcing this law and holding accountable any retailers who violate it."

Schneiderman has now reached settlements with 42 companies for selling illegal toy guns in New York. He sent cease and desist letters to Amazon, Wal-Mart and other major retailers in 2014 after his office found the vendors were selling banned toy guns online.

In 2015, Schneiderman announced settlements with five retailers, including Amazon, Sears and Wal-Mart, for selling toy guns that violated state law. Later that year, 30 more companies settled after the attorney general determined they were selling illegal toy guns.

The latest round of settlements involved companies that used Amazon's retail marketplace to sell the toy guns to New Yorkers. Dentt Inc, which operates online retailer Hammond Toy & Hobby, will pay a $20,000 fine  the largest of the seven penalties announced by Schneiderman.

Fatherland Shop was hit with a $12,000 fine. Halloweencostumes.com will pay $5,400 and Holy Monkey, which operates Kids Army, will pay a $4,194 penalty.

Costume Hub will pay $1,900. Chevere International Corp and GL2 LLC will each pay $300 fines.

The online vendors also agreed to tougher rules for selling toy guns in New York. The companies will follow the New York City law, which requires that toy guns must be white or brightly colored.
Badrul gets life term for trying to kill Khadiza

A court here on Wednesday sentenced Badrul Alam, a former Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader, to life term imprisonment for his attempt to kill college student Khadiza Begum Nargis in October last.



Metropolitan Session's Judge Akbar Hossain Mridha handed down the verdict.



On March 5, the same court fixed today (March 8) for delivering its verdict in the case.



Of the total 37 witnesses, 34 made their depositions before the court in the case.



Khadiza, 23, a student of Sylhet Women's College and daughter of Masuk Miah of Hausa village in Sadar upazila, was stabbed by Badrul, a resident of Chhatak upazila in Sunamganj district, on October 3 last on her way back home from MC College after appearing at an examination following the refusal of his proposal for having an affair with him.



Badrul confessed to hacking Khadiza in his statement made under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) on October 5 last year.



Police submitted the chargesheet against the lone accused, Badrul, on November 8 last.



The court indicted Badrul n the case on November 29 last.



After more than three months of treatment and intensive care, Khadiza returned home from the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Savar on February 24.



On February 26, Khadiza appeared before the court for the first time and made her deposition.



On March 1, the case was transferred to the Metropolitan Session's Judge Court from the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court as the court lacks the authority to give the highest punishment. --Sylhet, Mar 8 (UNB)






WikiLeaks exposes alleged CIA hacking programme

WikiLeaks said the documents\' leak suggests that the CIA has not sufficiently controlled its own cyber weapons, potentially permitting them to fall into the hands of other hackers..

AFP, Washington :

The CIA can turn your TV into a listening device, bypass popular encryption apps, and possibly control your car, according to a trove of alleged documents from the US spy agency released Tuesday by WikiLeaks.

The group posted nearly 9,000 documents it said were leaked from the Central Intelligence Agency, in what it described as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence materials.

WikiLeaks claimed that a vast trove of CIA documents, hacking tools and code representing "the majority of its hacking arsenal" were leaked within the cyber security community-and that it had received, and released, a part of them.

"This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA," it said, warning of a risk of cyber weapons proliferation.

Neither the CIA nor the White House would say if the documents were genuine.

If corroborated, the leak could represent a huge new embarrassment to US intelligence, adding to Edward Snowden's 2013 expose of National Security Agency spying on Americans' communications, and the arrest last year of an NSA official for removing massive amounts of top-secret material to his home over 20 years.

WikiLeaks said the data shows that the CIA is now rivaling the NSA, the US government's main electronic spying body, in cyber warfare, but with less oversight.

The archive shows the CIA exploiting weaknesses it discovers in hardware and software systems, including those made by US companies-without letting anyone know about the flaws in question.

Documents show the CIA has produced more than 1,000 malware systems-viruses, trojans and other software that can infiltrate and take control of personal electronics, WikiLeaks noted.

These hacking tools have targeted iPhones, Android systems such as the personal phone reportedly still used by President Donald Trump, popular Microsoft software, and Samsung smart TVs, which can be transformed into covert microphones, according to WikiLeaks.

The agency has also examined hacking into the electronic control systems on cars and trucks, potentially enabling it to control them remotely.

By infecting and effectively taking over the software of smartphones, WikiLeaks said, the CIA can get around the encryption technologies of popular apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, and Confide by collecting communications before they are encrypted.

The CIA would neither confirm nor deny the documents were genuine.

"We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," said spokesman Jonathan Liu in an email.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined to comment, saying "That's something that has not been fully evaluated."

But Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives's Intelligence Committee, said the disclosures "appear to be very, very serious."

"We are very concerned," he said.

The documents allegedly come from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, which operates both from its Langley, Virginia, headquarters near Washington, and from an office in the US consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, according to WikiLeaks.

"The archive appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive," the group said.

Snowden, who was a contract employee for the NSA before he stole and leaked secret materials, said via Twitter that the document trove "looks authentic."

WikiLeaks said the documents' leak suggests that the CIA has not sufficiently controlled its own cyber weapons, potentially permitting them to fall into the hands of other hackers.

Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, blasted the CIA for not helping companies plug the security gaps in their devices.

"The dark side of this story is that the documents confirm that the CIA holds on to security vulnerabilities in software and devices-including Android phones, iPhones, and Samsung televisions-that millions of people around the world rely on," she said in a statement.
Turkey, Germany must rebuild friendship `step by step

German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel addressing a press conference Berlin on Wednesday.

AFP, Berlin :

Germany on Wednesday urged Turkey to work toward restoring ties frayed by a series of bitter disputes but warned that any comparison to the Nazi era was a "red line that cannot be crossed".

NATO allies Ankara and Berlin have been locked in a new row over the past week after several local authorities in Germany blocked rallies by Turkish ministers.

The dispute is the latest in a long list of problems that have plagued relations and comes just after Ankara's arrest of a journalist for German daily Die Welt that sparked consternation in Berlin.

On Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the stakes when he told a rally in Istanbul that the blocking of public appearances by his ministers was "not different from the Nazi practices of the past".

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, after hosting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu for talks, said he had "made clear that comparisons between the Nazi era and the cancellation of rallies or the rule of law in Germany are unacceptable".

"Both sides have a responsibility to simply not cross certain red lines, and comparisons to Nazi Germany are one of them," said Gabriel.

Despite Berlin and Ankara's deep differences on a host of issues, "there is no alternative to dialogue because that is the only way we can return, step-by-step, to a normal and friendly relationship," he added.

Ties between Germany and Turkey have been particularly strained since last year's a failed coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.

Berlin has emerged as a strident critic of Ankara's vast crackdown in the aftermath of the putsch, which has seen more than 100,000 people arrested, suspended or sacked for alleged links to the plotters or to Kurdish militants.

Despite the tensions, Turkish ministers have been seeking to make campaign appearances in Germany ahead of an April referendum on expanding Erdogan's powers.

The ministers are particularly anxious to tap into Germany's Turkish community with its 1.4 million people who are eligible to vote-the fourth largest electoral base after Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Historic 7th March observed with fresh vows to materialise dreams of Bangabandhu

Chittagong Bureau :

Historic March 7, a red letter day in the history of the Bangladesh and long arduous freedom struggle, was observed in the city and district on Tuesday in a befitting manner with fresh vow to materialize the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On this day in 1971, great leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his epoch-making speech of independence at the Race Course Maidan, now Suhrawardy Uddan, in Dhaka.

In addition to the government programme, different political parties ,their front organizations, socio-cultural and professional bodies, educational institutions, Bangladesh Awami League (AL) and its front organisations, arranged discussions in connection with the observance of historic 7th March through daylong programme. The day's programme began with the placing of floral wreaths on the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the early hours of the day.

The programmes also included hoisting of the National flag at the party offices of the different wings of Awami League and playing of the recorded speech of March 7 by Bangabandhu at all wards office of the Chittagong City Corporation.



To mark the day, Chittagong city unit of Bangladesh Awami League (AL) organized a discussion at Zilla Pariad auditorium. AL also held discussions highlighting the significance of the day at different places and upazilas of the district. Former Mayor and City AL President A B M Mohiuddin Chowdhury presided over the meeting while city mayor also City AL General Secretary A Z M Nasir Uddin, Vice Chancellor of Premier University Dr Anupom Sen, AL leaders Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury, Khurshed Alam Sujan, Badiul Alam and Advocate Iftekher Saimul Chowdhury spoke at the discussion meeting held at the Jilla Parisad auditorium this afternoon. Speaking at the meeting, AL leaders said the March 7 was the turning point of country's independence struggle and the people participated in the War of Liberation inspired by Bangabandhu's speech.

The Awami League leaders called upon their workers to resist anarchy, violence and conspiracies against the present government by vested quarters for establishing a non-communal and prosperous Bangladesh.Chittagong city, north and south districts units of AL and its different front organizations organized day long programmes in observance of the day.

Different social cultural organizations including Chittagong Press Club (CPC), Chittagong Union of Journalists (CUJ), TV Journalists Association in Chittagong today placed wreaths at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at CPC premises marking the historic 7th March.

CPC and CUJ also organized a discussion meeting to mark the day. Our CU correspondent said the authority of different educational institutions including Chittagong University, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology and Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU), University of Science and Technology (Chittagong) USTC and Chittagong College also celebrated historic March 7 holding discussions and playing the record of Bangabandhu's March 7 speech.


Stan Chart regional CEO in BD

Economic Reporter :

Anna Marrs, Regional CEO of ASEAN and South Asia, and CEO, Commercial and Private Banking of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is staying Bangladesh as her first official visit in the country, said a press release.

During her two-day Dhaka visit, she will meet senior government officials, regulators, along with clients and customers of the bank. Central to the discussions will be how Standard Chartered can further contribute to Bangladesh's economic growth and the development of its financial sector.

Abrar A Anwar, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said, "Anna's visit reiterates the Group's strong commitment to Bangladesh." He added, "As the oldest financial institution in the country, with a heritage of over 111 years and deep local knowledge, we are committed to supporting Bangladesh's growth. We will continue to invest in technology and innovative financial solutions that will drive trade, investment and the creation of wealth in the market."
Hawaii to file first court challenge to new Trump travel order

Protesters rally against President Donald Trump\'s revised executive order barring entry to the U.S. by people from six Muslim-majority countries, outside the White House in Washington, D.C. Internet photo

Reuters, San Francisco :

The state of Hawaii said it will ask a federal court on Wednesday for an emergency halt to President Donald Trump's new executive order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority countries, becoming the first state to challenge the ban in court.

In a court filing on Tuesday, Hawaii said it would seek a temporary restraining order against the new travel ban. Hawaii's suit against the original executive order was put on hold. The Trump administration this week issued the new executive order that supplanted an earlier, more sweeping one which had been challenged in court by several states in addition to Hawaii. The new order is much more narrowly tailored than the first one issued in January. It keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen but excludes Iraq, and applies the restriction only to new visa applicants.

"To be sure, the new executive order covers fewer people than the old one," Neal Katyal, one of the lead attorneys for Hawaii, said in an interview with CNN. He said the new travel ban still "suffers from the same constitutional and statutory defects." "We are confident that the president's actions are lawful to protect the national security of our country," the Justice Department said in a statement.

In a joint filing, Hawaii and the U.S. government asked for oral arguments in the case to be held March 15, a day before the new travel order is set to take effect. Separately, in a case brought by Washington state against the first Trump travel order, the Justice Department on Tuesday said it would voluntarily dismiss its own appeal of a Seattle federal court ruling that had suspended the order. Washington state did not oppose the administration's request to end its appeal, the filing said. Immigration advocates said the new ban still discriminates against Muslims and fails to address some of their concerns with the previous directive. Legal experts said the new ban would be harder to challenge because it affects fewer people living in the United States and allows more exemptions to protect them. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday said his office was evaluating whether it would challenge the new order and would likely decide this week.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month had blocked Trump's first order, saying Washington state would likely be able to prove that it violated constitutional protections. That appeals court ruling has not been withdrawn and its legal reasoning can still be cited as precedent in future cases, Washington attorney general spokesman Peter Lavallee said on Tuesday.


China calls on N Korea to suspend missile, N tests

BBC Online :

China has proposed that North Korea suspend its tests of missile and nuclear technology to "defuse a looming crisis".

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that in exchange, the US and South Korea could halt annual joint military drills, which consistently infuriate the North. The appeal comes after North Korea test-launched four missiles on Monday, breaking international sanctions. In response, the US began rolling out a missile defence system in South Korea. Speaking on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary meeting, Mr Wang said the Korean peninsula was like "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way".

"Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" he asked. A mutual halt of military operations would be the first step towards easing

tensions and reopening negotiations, he said.

Three of the North Korean missiles came down inside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Monday, prompting Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump to say the region had entered "a new stage of threat". The UN Security Council earlier strongly condemned the launch in a unanimous statement, calling it a grave violation of North Korea's international obligations, which risked destabilising the region. The Council, which will meet later on Wednesday, also threatened to "take further significant measures" against North Korea, which could imply efforts to introduce a fresh round of sanctions.

It is almost certainly not going to work.

The US-South Korean joint exercises have been an annual fixture for the best part of two decades and North Korea's demands for the drills to be scrapped are always rebuffed.

At a time when Pyongyang is believed to be inching ever closer to developing nuclear warheads, Washington and Seoul are more than ever unlikely to be in the market for a grand, symbolic gesture.

So why would China join its neighbour's call for such a bargain? And why now? It may be that Wang Yi is conveying a genuine offer from Pyongyang and, in the role of an honest broker, is willing to give it a go however narrow the odds. Or perhaps by calling Washington's bluff over the military exercises - casting President Trump as a man unwilling to make compromises in the name of peace - China itself sees some strategic advantage. Meanwhile, the US has again sought to reassure Beijing over deployment of an extensive missile defence system in South Korea. The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system (Thaad) is designed to protect South Korea, and US troops based there, from North Korean missile attacks. The first elements of it were moved into place on Tuesday, hours after the North's latest launch.

The launcher trucks can hold up to eight interceptor missiles. The Thaad deployment, originally agreed under the Obama administration, is controversial. South Koreans living in areas which will host defence batteries are concerned they could become targets. China has said its radar capabilities go far beyond what is required for defence and represents an encroachment of US military power and that it will "resolutely take necessary measures to defend our own security interest". At a news briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner repeated US reassurances to China. He said the US had been "very clear in our conversations with China that this is not meant to be a threat, and is not a threat, to them or any other power in the region".

The US was "actively engaged" with its regional partners, he said, to address North Korea's "continuing provocative behaviour and actions". Mr Toner said that North Korea would be discussed next week when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes his first official visits to South Korea, Japan and China.
24 human traffickers held in city, 37 victims rescued

24 alleged human traffickers were arrested with 37 victims rescued from different areas of the country by the members of the Rapid Action Battalion on Tuesday night.

Staff Reporter :

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested 24 alleged human traffickers and rescued 37 victims from different parts of the city on Tuesday night.

The elite force members also recovered ransom Tk six lakh and seized a huge number of passports, fake visas and fake visa making materials from them, RAB official said.

Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, Director of the Legal and Media Wing of the RAB Headquarters, said this to the reporters at Media Center at Kawranbazar on Wednesday morning, "A team of RAB-3 conducted separate drives at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Uttara, Motijheel and Old Dhaka areas and arrested them."

Among the victims, 10 people were being trafficked to Malaysia illegally, the RAB official said. The rest 27 people were deported from Libya after they had been trafficked to the country illegally, he said.

The arrested men are being interrogated in this connection, he said.

Legal actions have been taken against the detained men.
Ex-MP Iqbal`s wife, 3 children sent to jail

Court Correspondent :

The Special Judge Court-1 of Dhaka on Wednesday sent wife, two sons and a daughter of former Awami League MP HBM Iqbal in the jail in a graft case filed for acquiring wealth illegally and concealing information about assets. Judge Ataur Rahman of the special court passed the order when they surrendered in his court seeking bail in the case.

Former MP Iqbal's wife Mamtaz Begum Dolly, their two sons namely Moin Iqbal and Imran Iqbal and daughter Nourin Iqbal submitted bail petitions through their counsel Pran Nath Biswas. The court turned down their bail petitions and passed orders to send them in the jail.

On May 27, 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against Iqbal, his wife and their three children for acquiring wealth illegally and concealing information about their assets in the statements submitted to the national watch-dog body.

On March 11, 2008, a court sentenced Iqbal to 13 years' imprisonment and fined him Tk 50 lakh. Besides, the court sentenced his wife, two sons and the daughter to three years' imprisonment. In the same year, the High Court stayed the verdict of lower court and issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain as to why the sentence should not be scrapped. On the occasion, the High Court acquitted Iqbal of the charge. Later, the ACC filed a petition challenging his acquittal.

However, the ACC apprised the court in 2015 that they did not want to proceed with the petition. On November 15, last year, the ACC again filed a petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the order against the convictions of the family members of the former MP.

On November 26 of the year, the Appellate Division, upheld the convictions of former AL MP's wife and children.
The New York State Senate unanimously approved legislation Tuesday to end child marriage.

The bill sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Lanza, a Staten Island Republican, seeks to modify an 88-year-old law that allows minors as young as 14 years old to marry in New York if they receive court and parental approval.

The state Senate passed the bill by a 60-0 vote. Cayuga County's senators  state Sens. John DeFrancisco, Pam Helming and Jim Seward  supported the legislation.

Lanza's measure would make it illegal for minors under the age of 17 to wed. For 17-year-olds, court approval would be necessary. The bill also sets procedures for judges to decide whether 17-year-olds are getting married on their terms.

"Sadly, under present New York state law, children as young as 14 years old, usually girls, are coerced and forced into marriage across New York state," Lanza said. "This bill would prevent this unconscionable act from occurring in our state."

From 2000 to 2010, there were nearly 4,000 minors between the ages of 14 and 18 who were married in New York. In 84 percent of the marriages, the relationship involved an adult man and a young girl.

Similar legislation to end child marriage has been introduced by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. Paulin, a Democrat, called it "an appalling practice."

"How is it possible that we allow a 14-year-old to get married?" Yet we don't allow her any practical ways out," Paulin said in a statement. "She can't sue for divorce in her own name. Under current law, she would have to sue for divorce through a parent, who likely forced her into the marriage in the first place, or through a guardian."

A change in the marriage age could be coming this legislative session. In addition to the bills sponsored by Lanza and Paulin, Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled his own proposal to address the issue.

Cuomo and legislative leaders could include the bill in state budget talks, which will heat up over the next few weeks. It's also possible that it could be addressed during the second half of the legislative session.
Banks asked to monitor money handling carefully

Anisul Islam Noor :

The central bank has directed the commercial banks to watch the money handling in the banking channel carefully in order to stop terror financing both at home and abroad.

The Bangladesh Bank issued the direction across the country recently.

Head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) AHM Razee Hassan said, it had asked the banks to monitor especially so that no one can use the banking sector for terror financing.

A guideline for checking money laundering and terror financing through e-commerce will be issued soon also, he said.

Such a strict instruction came from a conference of chief anti-money laundering compliance officials, generally known as CAMLCO recently.

The BFIU will meet the CAMLCOs of non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) within the next two months for taking effective measures to comply with rules and regulations of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) issues properly to check illegal fund transfers, said Razee Hassan who is also the deputy governor of BB.

He also said, the BIFU will also meet the officials concerned of insurances and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in preparation for a greater combat against such financial offences.

The banks have also been instructed to make their board of directors aware about combating the financing of terrorism by the end of 2017, he added.

Besides, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has asked the banks to build up public awareness about combating the financing of terrorism across the country through posturing and initiatives.

A senior official of BB said, the BIFU might take stern action against any chairman, chief executive officer or managing director of any bank if they do not go by the BB instructions related to the AML and CFT in line with the existing Anti-Terrorism Act 2009.

The local offices of foreign commercial banks will have to inform the BFIU prior to termination of any corresponding banking services with local commercial banks as per the new direction.

The bankers have also been asked to submit suspicious-transaction report (STR) and cash-transaction report (CTR) to the BFIU of the central bank timely to help curb money laundering and terror financing.

Besides, the central bank had asked the bankers to comply with 'know your customer (KYC)' provisions properly to check illegal fund transfer.
Huge cache of grenades, ammo recovered

Staff Reporter :

Police busted a den of militant outfit and seized a huge cache of grenades, bombs and ammunitions from a rented house of the Port city Chittagong early Wednesday.



At least 29 grenades, 40 bombs, 240 bomb-making materials and banners inscribed in 'Allahu' in Arabic letters and clothes were recovered from the rented house at Gobhania in Mirsarai upazila early Wednesday, police said, adding the weapons were hidden in the house in order to use in terrorist activities.



"Based on information extracted from the arrested Jashimuddin and Mohammad Hassan, who launched bomb attack on police during a raid in a bus of 'Shyamali Paribahan' on Dhaka- Chittagong highway in Khadghar area of Chandina upazila of Comilla district on Tuesday, grenades and ammunitions have been recovered," Nur-e-Alam Mina, Superintendent of Chittagong Police briefed the journalists on the spot.



Two suspected militants-Hassan, 30, and Jashim, 32, were arrested from Chandina upazila in Comilla while hurling bombs at police. Police also arrested Hassan's sister and bother-in-law in Comilla hours after the attack.



"Hassan and Jashim were said to be the followers of a group of international militant organisation. But identity of the outfit militant organisation could not be known yet," he said, adding during interrogation, police got information that there are more nine members in the gang, including women, though three have already been arrested.



He said a special squad of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police raided the house.



"Introducing himself Mohammad Kamal and a clothes trader, Hasan rented the house from Rizwan, 47, owner of the two storied building in Mirsarai. However, police have sealed off the flat," Nur-e-Alam said.



When contacted Sairul Islam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Mirsarai Police Station, said a bomb disposal team of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) are now on the spot in Mirsarai Sadar upazila to defuse bombs.



"Apart from cops, members of elite force Rapid Action Battalion are also on the spot to conduct more drives," he said.



Sheikh Md Neyamat Ullah, Officer-in-Charge of Patiya Police Station said members of different law enforcing agencies also raided at Shantir Haat and Talatola Chouki area in Patiya Sadar upazila on Tuesday night.



Earlier, on Tuesday, miscreants hurled a bomb at police during their drive in a Dhaka-bound bus of 'Shyamali Paribahan' on Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Khadghar in Chandina upazila of Comilla district.
The Undead Archives

I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world.
The Auburn Enlarged City School District is now accepting applications for its 2017-2018 universal prekindergarten and kindergarten programs.

Children who reside in the district and will be 3 or 4 on or before Dec. 1, 2017, are eligible to apply for the 3- and 4-year-old pre-K programs, which are both available at Cayuga Community College, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, Cayuga Seneca Community Action Agency, E. John Gavras Center, Montessori School of the Finger Lakes and the Auburn YMCA. The Early Childhood Center and Westminster Nursery School also offer the 4-year-old program.

District children who will be 5 on or before Dec. 1, 2017, are eligible for kindergarten. School assignments will be made based on address.

To download registration packets, visit district.auburn.cnyric.org/upk, or visit an Auburn elementary school or pre-K site.

For more information, call Mary Cregg at (315) 255-8825 or Kelly Garback at (315) 255-8613.

The Port Byron Central School District will offer a universal prekindergarten program to eligible district residents in 2017-2018.

Participating children must be 4 years old by Dec. 1, 2017, but not yet 5 by that date.

For more information, or to receive an application, call (315) 776-5728 ext. 1050.

Preschool and kindergarten registration for the Union Springs Central School District will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, at Cayuga Elementary School, 255 Wheat St., Cayuga.

The Cayuga County Health Department will also offer free lead screenings to students and their siblings at the event.

To attend preschool, children must be 4 by Dec. 1, 2017; to attend kindergarten, they must be 5 by that date.

If unable to attend the event, parents may enroll their child by sending the child's full name, address and birthdate, along with the parents' full names, address and phone number information to Jennifer Henry, Cayuga Elementary School, 255 Wheat St., Cayuga, NY 13034, or to jhenry@unionspringscsd.org.

For more information, call (315) 889-4170.
March 8, 1937

D.W. Lougher and Sons, interior decorators of Waverly, have completed their work in St. Patrick's Church in Moravia. The edifice abounds in church symbols and rich paintings, the work of the elder Lougher. The vestibule and vestry have been done in shades of green, while the main part of the church is buff and ivory, with symbolical and pictorial representations.

In the center of the ceiling is a 9 by 12 reproduction of "Holy Night," by Feuerstein. The three altars have been re-decorated and the stations of the cross are of ivory with gold mosaic background. The sanctuary is of lacquered gold with castover stencil of rose. The woodwork is of Swedish finish oak.

March 8, 1962

Four General Electric engineers were the recipients of patent awards presented at an engineering meeting recently at the Auburn Inn. K.E. Rankins and W.F. Lootens, product engineers for the Rectifier Components Department, were presented a joint award for the development of a method to prevent the fracturing of very thin silicon wafers during extreme temperature changes. Silicon is the heart of the rectifier produced here in Auburn.

R.H. Werner and F.D. Neal of Controlled Rectifier Engineering received their joint award for developing the use of silicone rubber coating to protect the controlled rectifier's internal silicon wafer junction from contamination.

March 8, 2007

A nonprofit organization may add to growth along Routes 5 and 20 next year. Seneca Cayuga ARC plans to build a 15,000 square-foot facility near Half Acre Road and move some programming from North and Genesee streets in Auburn. The nonprofit specializing in assistance to the developmentally disabled could break ground as early as spring, Executive Director Kevin Smith said Wednesday.

March 8, 2012

The New York State Board for Historic Preservation recommended the addition of 31 properties and districts to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, one of them being in Cayuga County. Cottage Farm in Fair Haven is one of the oldest seasonal houses in the village; it was built in the 1830s and remodeled around 1880 and in 1910. The State and National Registers are the official lists of buildings, structures, districts, landscapes, objects and sites significant in the history, architecture, archeology and culture of New York state and the nation. Once recommendations are approved by the state historic preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then are nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.
Image courtesy Cox

Cox Communications has announced that its employees will award up to $30,000 to public and private schools in its Southeast Region through the Cox Charities Innovation in Education grants. The grant applications are now available to teachers (grades Pre-K-12) at CoxCharitiesSoutheast.com and will be accepted through March 31.

Applicants will be notified of their funding status before the close of the 2016-2017 school year. Grant recipients will receive payments at the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

The Cox Charities Innovation in Education Program provides grants of up to $5,000 each to Southeast Region schools to fund classroom programs and curriculum that encourage and promote students ingenuity and imagination through the innovative use of technology.

Teachers, librarians and principals are encouraged to submit multiple applications for various programs within their schools. Last year, Crowley High School and David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy received Innovation in Education grants in Acadiana.

The Cox Southeast Region includes Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Floridas Gulf Coast, Central Florida and Middle Georgia.
President Donald Trumps administration could potentially offer a filing in an appeal the Louisiana Republican Party is pushing before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case challenges the federal ban on unlimited donations to political parties.

Trumps Justice Department has until March 13 to file its response to a ruling last year from a three-judge D.C. District Court that upheld the limits enforced by the Federal Election Commission.

That response could be an indication of whether the Trump administration wants to challenge or protect the campaign finance law.

It could also place the Louisiana GOP at the epicenter of what could become another national debate over political donations.

The state Republican Party argues that donations to its coffers are equivalent to free speech, which is an argument the Supreme Court warmed to in 2010 when it paved the way for super PACs, or political action committees, to raise unlimited dollars to support or oppose candidates.
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 64F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming foggy and damp after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.
This month is a little different to the others, mostly because it is 7 weeks long, closer to 2 months! We originally intended to only spend around 3 weeks in Vietnam, but our dream of riding a motorbike from Saigon to Hanoi was something we couldnt turn down. However it turns out that touring a country this way takes much, much longer! But this in turn resulted in the most amazing adventure we could have imagined, continuing from Hanoi to Sapa we rode over 2500 miles and saw so much of this amazing country. So heres my attempting to round it all up for you!

Where we went this month:

Saigon:

Ho Chi minh was our first stop in Vietnam and it is such a chaotic place to be. If I am honest the whole time here was a bit hectic, we were constantly in two minds whether to get the bikes or not, swaying from one opinion to another. We of course explored the city, its wonderful colonial French architecture contrasting wildly with the grimy motorbike filled streets, but there was something to love about the place within all that craziness!

The area around the church and old train station was really quite stunning and of course visiting the war remnants museum an eye opening experience. It was new to us to hear about the war from the side of the Vietnamese and although clearly heavily lined with propaganda is gave a view point in the west rarely heard.

Vung Tau:

After getting the bikes we set off on our grand adventure, to ride from Saigon to Hanoi was our initial aim and our first stop was to be Mui Ne. Only it took us over 3 hours to escape the highways and oppressive traffic of Saigon. Have you ever seen a 4 lane road completely grid locked with only motorbikes! I have now!!

So motorbike touring it turns out is time consuming and hard work, add this to the fact that I was on a bike for the first time in my life and surrounded by traffic, I was panicking and having second thoughts! But we ploughed on and decided to stay in the seaside town of Vung Tau for the night before carrying on to Mui Ne. This night it turns out was New Years Eve and Vung Tau had put on a party in town, complete with countdown, live music and fireworks! So we celebrated bringing in 2017 in the most random place ever and with dancing communist soldiers around us!

Mui Ne:

Mui Ne is a coastal area that has been pretty much taken over by holidaying Russians, even the signs for the shops are in Cyrillic. Despite finding something comforting in this, as it reminded me of those wonderful days in Eastern Europe, it was also quite unauthentic and touristy.

There were some lovely spots to enjoy, the huge sand dunes here are quite a sight, if you can avoid being ran over by the hundred of people unable to control their quad bikes. The fairy stream is probably the thing we enjoyed the most here, a lovely 5km long sand canyon with a warm river running through the middle as the red and white sands mix together.

Here is known also for police corruption and on a certain stretch of the road you are guaranteed to be pulled over on your bike as a foreigner and expected to pay a bribe. A German guy we got stung for almost $50! We decided to take the back roads and avoid the police barrier. However riding around the region, the coastal roads were stunning, the sun was shining and the blue as deep and bright as we could ever have imagined. Riding a bike along here was a new found freedom!

Dalat:

Now for us this is where the real adventure began and where we really began to love Vietnam. It was time to really get to grips with these bikes, heading up into the colder climate of the central highlands and the stunning mountains of Vietnam. The ride up here was the most spectacular of the journey so far, continually climbing up winding roads and seeing the layers of mountains roll out below us. At this point we were getting more used to the bikes too, so it really was a point in which we were starting to enjoy this crazy adventure much more!

In Dalat we also got to do some really cool things, being up in the mountains means for us more opportunity for adventure and having the bikes too also really helped. We were able to explore the region, visit many of the stunning waterfalls, some of which we were completely alone at, see the little villages and coffee plantations. It was quite a wonderful experience.

But the main attraction for us here was the canyoning, one of the things we identified as something we really wanted to do before we set off. Again we were lucky enough to get the tour in exchange for a us working with the company through our blog and it turned out to be one of the best. Taking us on a route that includes a 100ft abseil over a waterfall, amazing zliplines, trekking and the best part: a 7m and then 11m jump!

Nha Trang:

The ride from Dalat was our first in the rain, we were quite unprepared for this change in weather expecting Vietnam to have the hot weather of the rest of South East Asia. However it turns out that they have more of the usual seasons and in January its bloody cold at times! However the weather couldnt dampen our spirits for this adventure and on reflection getting caught in this torrential downpour and on a mountain pass totally alone in 5m visibility was an experience we wont forget.

The road was also really stunning, and once the clouds finally parted we were treated to some of the best views so far on this 1500m pass. Down in the valleys towards Nha Trang we also saw our first rice paddys, complete with women picking rice in the fields wearing the traditional triangular hats. Its funny looking back that we slammed on amazed by these scenes as once we continued further north they would become a constant feature!

Nha Trang itself wasnt really anywhere of much note, quite similar to Mui Ne but a little nicer, just plenty of Russians also! It was a nice place to hang out for a couple of days, visited a waterfall, had a nice Indian and saw a pug so that was good! Lol.

Quy Nhon:

Quy Nhon was supposed to be a short two day stop over before we headed off again. Knowing pretty much nothing about the place before we arrived we were greeted with our first real destination that was well and truly off the beaten track in Vietnam. Here they were not used to visitors at all, no Russians, only 2 hostels and beaches lined with traditional fishing coracles and boats rather than bars. It was everything those other two beach resorts probably were before the tourists started to arrive.

We enjoyed the laid back vibe and the smiles of the locals as they caught sight of us. We even ate with monks one night in a very local vegetarian place near the temple for almost nothing! We also had a really great day riding out to Gahn Da dia, a Vietnamese version of the Giants Causeway.

The ride here took us across a rickety bamboo bridge, through even more farms and rice paddys, into tiny villages where everyone would come out and wave before finally ending up at the coastal attraction. Unlike when we visited the Giants Causeway this place was empty apart from the local fishermen parking their boats on the rocks! Again one of our most memorable days on the bikes and a really great opportunity to see local culture in an authentic way.

Hoi An:

Hoi An itself is a quite lovely place, an old UNESCO listed port that combined the crumbling pastel shades of French colonial architecture with Chinese influences. At night the beautiful streets come alive with an array of bright and multicoloured lanterns that light up the old town. The river is awash with candles in little paper boats, old women wear traditional hats and carry fruit over their shoulders. It all sounds like the perfect Vietnamese town. Only its been taken over by tourists and pretty much ruined!

We spent quite a while here but in truth only ventured into the old town twice. Its actually not so much the tourists who have ruined this place, but the money-grabbing locals who made it sheer hell to walk down the streets day or night. You are constantly getting shouted at, money for picture, eat here, hey rich westerner, motorbike taxi, new suit, boat ride, buy candle. Literally you cannot just have a peaceful walk without feeling completely overwhelmed by it all. Sometimes in Vietnam, not in all the area, but in many of the more touristy ones, that they actually dont like westerners and just see us as a game to see how much money they can get out of us. Its quite annoying and really ruined this town.

However we did have an amazing experience on the outskirts of the town. We managed to get a quite expensive Eco tour again through the blog and working with the company that would have set us back $200!

This allowed us into the lives of the local people, we spoke to people who had been effected by the war, injured and had children effected by Agent Orange. Got to fish on the river with local fishermen and try out their technique and unique boats.

As well as having a go at rice growing, trying out every step of the process and learning just how hard and unrewarding it is for all that effort! It was such an eye opening, rewarding and moving experience and a step towards us seeing the other side to the Vietnamese.

Da Nang:

Again another unintended stop off for a couple of days but a really great one. Whist in Hoi An we had headed to Da Nang to get our oil changed and at the Honda garage met a lovely guy from Alaska called Bob. He had been biking the country too but from North to South and got his bikes from the same place as us. A retiree with over 50 years biking experience we loved Vietnam but also said it was one of the craziest and most dangerous places he had ever ridden!!

We agreed to met up with him in Da Nang, a city he had been staying in for 3 months, to have a ride around the amazing mountains here. It was such a fun day on these perfect and empty roads and we also learnt so much from him too on how to ride our bikes, especially in this environment. It was also fun stopping along the way and sharing stories and travel tales before getting a beer and an Indian together!

Hai Van Pass:

The Hai Van pass has now become famous after the Top Gear episode which inspired so many people, including us, to have this crazy idea to motorbike through Vietnam. Lamented as one of the best roads in the world it snakes through a high mountain pass on the coast from Da Nang to Hue. Now after a tunnel was opened below to cut out this longer route the perfect road is almost empty but for bikers.

The challenging route climbs rapidly from sea level around a series of winding bends on almost new tarmac. There is pretty much no other way to describe it than a bikers paradise, and by this point this is exactly what we were. If there is one place to turn you into a biking enthusiast then Vietnam is the place! The only thing I can complain about here is that it wasnt long enough! One of the best and most enjoyable rides for sure! However sitting at the middle point in the county it was also the point in which we crossed from the warm part of the country into the cold and wet part. Shorts were packed away and rain covers purchased, from here on it was going to get chilly!

Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park:

The home to the worlds largest cave the ride up here was one of the best things we did in Vietnam and also one of the most intimidating. From Hue we set off on the two day ride through the jungles that border Laos and along the famous Ho Chi Minh trail. This route took us through some of the most isolated areas in Vietnam and required us to take with us extra petrol, water and food as the roads here were so desolate.

Along the way we would often not see another person for hours, the thin concrete track winding its way through thick jungle, mountains and amazingly wild scenery, it was hard to believe that we were really in such a place and all on our own! Often the only people we would come across where in tiny minority villages where they would come out and wave and the kids would run alongside the bikes, it was really refreshing and wonderful to see such a way of life. Women would walk from miles along the track with knives to cut down bamboo and carry back, really very simple and traditional.

Getting into the park and the amazing scenery continued. The UNESCO world heritage site has some of the oldest karst mountains in the world and inside of them the biggest and most impressive cave systems. Unfortunately the largest costs over $3000 to visit, so we gave that one a miss. In fact this whole area was crazy expensive with everything being closed off and tour guides or tickets required to visit them. It was frustrating as they prices werent even of the like where you could maybe stretch to it.

The one we wanted to do, the third largest cave in the world on a two day trek for example was $500! We did visit Paradise cave however, the largest in the park when it was discovered and named for its most stunning and beautiful features. The biggest cave we have ever been in by some distance and despite it being a more tame affair than the abseiling, crawling, swimming and climbing we have done to enter caves before back home it was still a really stunning place to visit.

We only wish our budget stretched to doing more here, but just riding around the park, the Ho Chi Minh trail continuing through the mountains and forest here, was an epic adventure. We said we would love to return here in the future maybe on a trip on its own and do some of the larger caves on multi day trips!

Ninh Binh:

Most people dont ride from Phong Nha to Ninh Binh, even along the highways it is a ridiculous distance to even consider! However we didnt fancy stopping at any of the places along the way, everyone we spoke to said this section was a black hole of interest! Given we had been in Vietnam a while now we were eager to make sure we had time for our intended adventures in the north.

So after setting off along the Ho Chi Minh highway and making great progress we decided to go for it. On a route that would take 18 hours and cover almost 500km we finished in the dark and arrived in Ninh Binh late into the last evening before Tet (Vietnamese New Year!) It was quite the effort and something we were actually pretty proud of, it just showed us after that first failed day how far we had come in terms of riding ability and confidence.

Ninh Binh itself was a really cool place, another area full of karst mountains it was much cheaper and much easier to access. Many of the peaks were easily climbable on our own and offered simply breathtaking views over the area and the famous Tam Coc river. It was also a nice area to just ride around and at this point we really did just enjoy going out on the bikes and riding through the countryside! We also got to celebrated Vietnamese New Year here with the family that owned our guest house, it was quite a fun night and the owner was drunk off one small beer! They also made us some lovely food too and all for free.

Hanoi:

Ninh Binh is just 90km from Hanoi and so the ride into the capital was an enjoyable and relaxed ride. Even though we knew we would be now continuing on further north it was a strange feeling to be finally on the last few km into Hanoi and achieving what we first set out to do. In the first few days I honestly felt it was impossible but as time went on I grew to love it more and more each day. It was a little emotional rolling into town after such an adventure.

Our first time in Hanoi we really werent overly impressed and really were a little bored. Maybe we were a little jaded from such a long and tiring journey and at this point over Vietnam. But as it was during Tet is was quiet and almost empty. We really didnt do much other than rest and catch up with some work, it was even hard finding somewhere to eat at all!

The second time when we headed back to finish our journey on the bikes we actually fell in love with the place. Meeting up with people that we had met along the way in Asia, having Bia Hoi and Banh Mi, just wandering around the city and taking it all in. It was such a different place really and one where we strangely felt a home. We also went and paid Ho Chi Minh himself a visit, it was really quite surreal and almost identical to Lenin!

Sapa:

Riding up to Sapa was our last real adventure on the bikes in Vietnam, we would be heading right up to the Chinese border 6 weeks after crossing in from Cambodia and also traversing the Laos border and the coastal region. Up here is was cold and foggy as we climbed and climbed. But we had high hopes from this stunning area. For us Sapa was the highlight of Vietnam and really everything we had hoped of.

On the two day ride up here we also stayed at a wonderful homestay with a local family, eating with them in their stilt house and drinking rice wine to celebrate the last day of tet and sleeping in the communal room with them, singing into the night and learning about their culture as a minority tribe. Really one of the best things we have done.

Riding up to Sapa was a bit like Phong Nha, only we were less prepared for how few petrol stations and cash machines would be along the route, but were again treated to amazing scenery and friendly locals in tiny farming villages. Sapa is known as the home of many minority tribes in Vietnam such as the Hmong people and Red Dio. These people still wear their traditional ethnic clothing and live very different lives to even the everyday Vietnamese person as well as speaking unique languages.

The steep and rugged terrain up here is as a result home to miles and miles of stunning and ancient rice terraces that have been used by these people for centuries. We have been wanting to see rice terraces since we got into Asia but had to skip some in China due to time and cost. But these over here are some of the most impressive and beautiful in the world, add that to the local culture here and it is one of the most enjoyable regions of the country.

Again we got a 2 day trekking tour through the blog and it turned out to be one of the best things we did in the whole of the 7 weeks in Vietnam. The two day adventure involved trekking through the mountains and terraces with local tribes women and learning all about their unique culture whilst seeing some of the most impressive landscapes weve ever set eyes upon. We stayed in a lovely home stay in a really remote and tiny village we had trekked almost 20km to high up in the mountains.

Here we really got to know the rest of the group and made friends with people we feel we will continue to be friends with for life as well as learning so much about the culture here and having amazing locals food and happy water. Those two days with amazing people in amazing scenery and amazing culture have to be a highlight of our entire time in Asia so far. We also had some other days here where we explored on our bikes, taking the last chance to carve around amazing mountain roads and just take in the whole area. Including riding up some ridiculously thin and steep tracks into a small village where a child had to let us into their yard as even our brakes wouldnt hold us as the path was so steep!

Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba:

Coming back to Hanoi it was an emotional farewell to the bikes but time to decide what was next. We were in two minds for a while about what to do. The tours to Ha Long bay were so much as we were waiting it out to see if we could get one through the blog. It nearly worked out but the tour didnt sell enough. We figured after so long in Vietnam we would regret not seeing this wonderful place and the extra few days in the long run would go unnoticed. So we instead decided on the budget option of heading to Cat Ba island on the bus, boat, bus route which costs $10, hiring a bike and exploring the island and doing some kayaking! It would be so relaxing and fun and a great way to end out adventure!

Then the night we arrived I got food poisoning, I felt the most ill I have ever felt in my entire life, I had nothing else to expel from my body it kept trying! I was doubled over in pain! It came on so fast from eating at the hotel that night and is kind of ironic after all the street food we have eaten! In the end Shorty said I had to go to hospital after I had been like this for hours, I ended up having to spend the night there and the next few days in bed and it cost us 30 for the most grim hospital ever!

I still felt ill for a little while afterwards but on our last day on the island we decided to take one of the cheap $16 Ha Long bay tours to at least see it. After not expecting much for the money is was actually a really great day and the scenery really spectacular. Climbing up monkey island the view was amazing and the island full of monkeys stealing things off people! Kayaking in the bay and through some small caves also has to be a highlight of Vietnam, it really lived up to our imaginations and for so much cheaper than its costs in Hanoi too!

The bikes:

By far what made our time in Vietnam so special was the bike. We decided to go with a company where you buy almost new bikes for $1000 with a guaranteed buy back at the end of the trip for $800 rather than buy one of the cheap Chinese fake Honda Wins most backpackers do. These cost around $200-$300 and constantly break down and at the end you can sell it for hardly anything and it has cost you do much more. Having the bikes really allowed us to see the country in so much more detail, to get of the beaten track with so much more ease and experience everything with much more intensity. It was also one of the hardest things weve done but by far one of the best. The riding days were long and tiring and we would often encounter the full range of weathers and temperatures in one day! Before getting on a bike here I had never ridden a motorbike, I had to learn in the crazy traffic of Saigon and quickly! But after this I feel like I have found a new passion and hope to get a bike one day again and maybe even travel like this again. Its also nice to have acquired a new skill, it was also strange getting used to km instead of miles!!

Here are some stats from the bikes:

Distance:

NIC: 3788 KM / 2354 MILES

SHORTY: 3855 KM / 2395 MILES

Petrol:

NIC: 915,000 / 32.30

SHORTY: 1,085,000 / 38.30

Oil Changes:

OIL CHANGES: 3 EACH

TOTAL: 498,000 (DONG) / 17.58

EACH: 8.79

Bikes Washed:

Once: 40,000 / 1.41 (Shameful I Know, but its just so dusty it seemed pointless!)

EACH: 0.71

Cost of bikes:

COST OF BIKES FROM TIGIT: $200 EACH / 160

$400 / 320

OVERALL COST:

NIC: 201.80

SHORTY: 207.80

GRAND TOTAL: 409.60

6 WEEKS: 42 DAYS / 9.80 PER DAY FOR BOTH / 4.88 EACH

Keep in the loop!

If you want more regular updates be sure to check out our facebook page: www.facebook.com/Hilditchshortexplore as we will be uploading photos more often and shorter updates as to where we are. We also update Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_roaming_renegades/ daily too. Keep an eye out in the next few weeks for more detailed posts about the places mentioned here!

Read about our first 4 months in Eastern Europe here:

A round up of our first month backpacking! The highs, lows and unforgettable moments!

Monthly backpacking round up: Month 2 (kind of). Exploring more off the beaten path balkans!

Backpacking through Europe: Month 3! A detour, holiday, jumping off a mountain and a new love affair!

Month 4 of Backpacking around Eastern Europe: A change of pace and surroundings!

Read about our adventures in Asia so far:

Month 1 in Asia: Travelling across China, an amazing culture shock!

Post for each country are under these links (most are not online yet as is why I did this post!)

CHINA

HONG KONG

THAILAND

CAMBODIA

VIETNAM

Stats from our third month:

Countries visited:

This month:

Vietnam (1)

Running total in Asia:

China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam (5)

Transport methods used:

This month:

This month we covered most of our ground on our Honda Blade motorbikes, over 2500 miles! Other than that we used: Fishing Boat, Coracle boat, mini bus, ferry, Army jeep, sandboards, bicycle, buffalo, Cat Ba ferry, taxi, motorbike taxi, scooter, kayak, ship, broken down boat!

Running total in Asia:

Plane, bullet train, hard sleeper train, hard seat slow train, subways, buses, mini bus, taxi, ropeway, Tobbogan, Cable car, Bikes, Yulong ferry, bamboo raft, Electric cart, star ferry, Peak Tram, personal car!, Airport bus, Metro, Sky Train, Bicycle, scooter, Canal boat, Bangkok tut tuk, scooter, Cambodian tuk tuk, ferry, fishing boat, stand up paddle board, mini bus, sleeper bus.

Miles covered and time travelled:

This month:

2,651.3 Miles

157:40 hours

Running total in Asia:

18,047.2 Miles including flights / 8,657.2 Miles without flights

340:40 hours including flights / 323:40 hours without flights

These are of course only estimates but it gives you an idea!

Beds slept in:

This month:

27: Including dorms, homestays, floors, sleeper buses and a hospital!

Running total in Asia:

47, including sleeper trains, sleeper buses, dorms, a 4 star hotel, guest houses, home stays and a hospital!

Where next:

I am currently on a 2-day slow boat making its way down the mighty Mekong river in Laos as I write this. It has taken me so long to put this all together after such an amazing adventure that we have spent 2 weeks in beautiful Laos and are now on our way over to Northern Thailand! Hopefully you have seen some of the wonderful places we have been in this impoverished landlocked nation many forget about!

So next for us is back to Thailand, this time to explore the north of the country and mostly in the regions of Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Pai and the Mai Hong Son loop. Then a brief return to Bangkok to fly to Myanmar (Burma). It looks like we will skip the islands of South Thailand and instead fly from Myanmar over to the Philippines and enjoy the much less crowded and even more beautiful beaches, diving and coastal region over there instead of the overprices tourist packed Thai ones!

After that we continue our plans to do Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and maybe East Timor and Brunei before we end up in Australia and New Zealand.

See more from our backpacking adventures:
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An Auburn school for children under 5 will soon be 65 years old.

A 65th Anniversary Jubilee Fundraiser for Westminster Nursery School in Auburn will be held at Auburn Public Theater Friday, March 10. The school is located in a wing of the education building of the Westminster Presbyterian Church on William Street.

Jill Fandrich, a ruling elder and clerk of session at the church who has previously worked at the school, said Betty Groben, Barbara Clements and Phyllis Diephouse were all instrumental in starting the school. Groben ran a program for young learners at a school on Logan Street, Fandrich said, and when that institution closed in 1951 she taught at different students' homes. In 1952, Clements brought the school to the church.

Fandrich said women were less likely be working then as opposed to now, and programs for young children zeroed in more on the importance of interacting with other students instead of education.

"It was much more of a learn-through-play kind of focus," Fandrich said.

Fandrich said Clements recognized a need for a permanent nursery program in Auburn, and the church essentially agreed.

She said that though renovations had been made throughout the years, many things  including some toys, such as building blocks  have remained since the school's beginnings.

Fandrich said she believed the primary colors on the walls and the light coming through the windows added to the overall feel of the school.

"It has a very inviting, supporting, warm feeling to it," she said.

Director Tracy Blair, who first entered the school's doors in 2001 when she was a student teacher at Cayuga Community College, said the inviting atmosphere and friendly presence of the children immediately endeared the institution to her.

"As soon as I walked in it was like I had been there for the whole school year," Blair said.

Blair was offered a teaching position with the school the following year, and though she left in 2005 to complete her education, she came back after several years  this time with her own children going to the school.

The school added features like universal prekindergarten classes and a toddler class for 2-year-old students as time went on, Blair said. She believes the school has continued to adapt to what the community needs from it.

Westminster's program is distinguished by its intimate, supportive feeling, Blair said.

"That's the big thing the parents always say: 'It's like a family,'" she said.

Blair said parents are kept up-to-date on their child's progress and what they have been doing or discussing while at school, to make sure everyone is well-informed on both sides.

Blair said students often wait in a foyer of the church before school starts, animated over the prospect of showing teachers a stuffed animal they brought or something they did at home the night before.

Fandrich said she believes the school establishes a solid foundation for students to learn more in the future.

"If a child's early educational experiences are good ones," she said, "They're more likely to be successful in public schools."
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
Officers of Southern Illinois Enforcement Group (SIEG) and Herrin Police Department arrested Navon Sutton, 24, of Carbondale on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

Sutton was charged with manufacture or delivery of 1 to 15 grams of cocaine and possession of a controlled substance on March 8.

A news release from SIEG said the arrest was made during a heroin investigation.

Sutton was transported to Williamson County Jail.

SIEG is a multi-jurisdictional unit that is comprised of agents from Illinois State Police, Herrin Police Department and Williamson County Sheriffs Office. Contributing members include Cambria, Carterville, Crainville, Creal Springs, Johnston City and Pittsburg police departments.

 The Southern
ELKVILLE  More local groups and businesses are stepping up to help victims of the Feb. 28 tornadoes.

Ponderosa Steakhouse restaurants in Missouri and Illinois will participate in a Buy One, Give $1 fundraiser Sunday, March 12, to provide assistance to the victims of the recent tornadoes in Missouri and Illinois.

For each entree or buffet sold that day, participating Ponderosa Steakhouses will donate $1 to American Red Cross tornado relief efforts, with the funds going directly to aid tornado victims served by the Southeast Missouri and the South Central Illinois chapters. Together with support from Homestyle Dining, the restaurant brands parent company, participating locations hope to raise as much as $5,000.

Participating Ponderosa Steakhouse restaurants will include: Harrisburg at 507 N. Commercial; Perryville at 1301 S. Perryville Road; Arnold and Washington, Missouri; and Jacksonville and Vandalia.

For more information about Ponderosa Steakhouses, visit www.ponderosasteakhouses.com.

Carbondale Community High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes will host a Zumbathon to raise money for Southern Illinois families that were impacted by the Feb. 28 tornadoes. The event will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 8 in the CCHS gymnasium. The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for high school students.

Multiple Zumba instructors will lead the event, and childcare will be available for moms who want to come but need a place for their children.

The event will include door prizes and giveaways, as well as a donation station for people who would like to donate money or canned goods to the families.

Donations are also being accepted for door prizes. To donate a door prize, call 618-559-5784.
JONESBORO  Madilyn Gawrych-Turner is a student, a daughter and a sister, but she has earned some new descriptions.

They are an exceptional spokesperson for patriotism and outstanding young person of the future, and that is before all her awards have arrived. Madilyn received second place in the national Patriots Pen contest, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

Patriots Pen is a nationwide youth essay contest sponsored by the VFW. Students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades in public, private or parochial school, as well as home schooled students, may enter. This years topic was The America I Believe In.

Madilyn's essay: The America I Believe In When you hear the word America, what thoughts come to your mind? Do you think of our freedom

For Madilyn, the competition began as an assignment at school. Pamela Turner, who also is Madilyns mom, is the sixth, seventh and eighth grade English and writing teacher. Turner asks her students to find quotes from famous people to inspire them. Then their essays are peer-edited and corrected.

I teach the students how writing is a process. I have learned to not give the kids too many of my own thoughts or ideas, or to let them brainstorm too much aloud. In the past, when I have done this, I end up with several essays looking the same, Turner said.

She knew her daughters essay was good, but says other essays were good, too.

The essays were sent to Anna Carroll P. Foster VFW Post 3455 for judging. Madilyn won the post award. In January, she won the District 15 VFW Patriot's Pen contest and was honored at an awards banquet Jan. 7 in Marion where she received $100. During the banquet, Madilyn was notified that she was a top three finalist in the state.

Illinois VFW hosted the three junior high Patriot's Pen finalists and 17 high school Voice of Democracy finalists Feb. 10 through 12 in Springfield. During the awards banquet Feb. 11, Madilyn was awarded first place of the Illinois Patriot's Pen. She is the first state winner for VFW District 15. On Feb. 13, she was notified she placed second in the national competition.

I was so honored just to get $50 for the district. When they said it made it to state, I was so happy. I cried when I won state, Madilyn said. When I heard I got second in national Patriots Pen, I was overwhelmed.

She received plaques for both the district and state competitions. She also received a certificate, necklace and pin as the state winner. Her national award has not yet arrived.

Madilyn said her mom offered to help with the essay, but Madilyn told her it was the America I (Madilyn) believed in, not the America her mom believed in. Pam Turner did help Madilyn pick the quotes.

Writing the essay made Madilyn think more about America, as well as the veterans who have sacrificed to protect the country.

I watch the news and see things. I think immigrants should come to America. We have equality, and every person in the world should see that, Madilyn said.

Madilyn found a quote by the late President Ronald Reagan that has become one of her favorites. He said, America is too great for small dreams. She believes that is true. After all, where else can you grow up to be president?

What are Madilyns dreams?

I think I want to be a kindergarten teacher, she said.

Madilyns dad is Rodney Turner. She had two brothers, R.J., 2, and Brett, 16.
When you hear the word America, what thoughts come to your mind? Do you think of our freedoms? Do you think of our brave soldiers fighting beneath our beautiful waving flag? Do you think of a young child dreaming of becoming president? Former U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas once said the following about America, America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor. I agree.

The America I believe in is hope. The Statue of Liberty has always given hope to the millions of immigrants who come to the United States to start a new life. America is a place that allows everyone an equal playing field. America gives its people the hope of a new beginning filled with freedoms and opportunity, not based on ones race or gender, but instead on ones work ethics and desire.

The America I believe in is compassion. When there is a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, or a horrendous tragedy, such as a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, I have seen our country come together. Americans stand in line to give blood. We hold hands in prayer. Our citizens weep for the wounded, but most importantly, we do not quit. These disasters actually make us a stronger country with deeper bonds.

The America I believe in is excellence and valor. Our brave military men and women are who give us this distinction. In a time of crisis, it is our military who step up and keep our country and its citizens safe, so we can have the freedoms that we love.

Ronald Reagan once said, America is too great for small dreams. Big dreams, and the ability for those dreams to become reality is what makes America greater than any other country. Only in America can that young child really become our future president. Only in America can anyone have the opportunity to enjoy a countless number of freedoms while pursuing ones goals. Only in America can we live a life that we choose while knowing that our military will protect us and keep us from harm. This is the America that I believe in, and I hope it is the America that you believe in too.
An Auburn woman stands accused of assisting in the attempted sale of 15 bags of heroin to undercover deputies in December, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Wednesday.

Christina M. Deuel, 39, was charged on Feb. 28 with attempted third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. She was released on her own recognizance after her arraignment in Auburn City Court.

Deputies said Wednesday that Deuel, of 10 Washington St., had assisted 31-year-old Brandon A. Dutcher in his attempt to sell the heroin to undercover officers on Dec. 8 in the area of Orchard Street in Auburn. Lieutenant Brian Schenck with the sheriff's office said Deuel spoke with undercover officers via telephone to help arrange the sale.

During the transaction, Dutcher ran away but was detained after a pursuit, deputies said. Schenck said Dutcher fled about 350 yards before he was detained.

The Auburn man was initially charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana and resisting arrest. The investigation is now closed, Schenck said.

Dutcher was found in possession of quantities of fentanyl, a synthetic opiate, deputies said. Deuel, meanwhile, was arrested after further investigation, though deputies could not disclose what was involved in the probe.

Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said earlier this month that a near-fatal overdose incident prompted an investigation into Dutcher. Budelmann's comments came at the time Dutcher, of 67 Perrine St., pleaded guilty to the attempted sale charge on Feb. 2.

He is facing 2.5 years in prison with two years of post-release supervision. The proposed sentence also includes an order for shock camp drug rehabilitation.
We are just a few short months removed from one of the most divisive elections in our nation's history. Feelings remain raw. Now more than ever, both parties need to engage in a conversation that establishes common ground and bridges the growing divide.

For many years, town hall meetings were an effective venue to have that kind of conversation. Thats why I hosted public town halls in all 12 counties of the 12th District during my first term in Congress. In years past, town halls allowed you to solicit and hear opposing points of view, share your perspective and weigh the merits of both arguments.

Unfortunately, town halls have been disrupted and derailed across the country, devolving into ready-made protests designed to make dialogue impossible. An activist group called Indivisible literally wrote the liberal playbook on how to upend town halls across the country. A group in Missouri has encouraged out-of-state protesters to flood Southern Illinois and deliver a progressive win  and a Republican defeat. Another online program helps ship outside volunteers living in solid blue states to districts like ours. And the deep-pocketed, pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC, Priorities USA, launched an advertising blitz to push their supporters to town halls across the country.

Its not good for the process when I can no longer have a conversation with constituents who disagree with me. Any legislator knows these conversations make us better public servants. Thats why I have hosted telephone town hall meetings, not with a few dozen constituents in one city, but with thousands across the district. We dont limit those calls to only Republicans or only supporters. In fact, any constituent can sign up to participate. When weve had protests outside our offices, we have offered to set up meetings for them with me or my staff. Ive called folks who are upset with my votes personally to talk with them when Im in Washington.

During contentious times like these, its not enough to welcome differing opinions. We need to seek them out. Thats exactly what I will continue to do, because there are important issues to discuss.

The White House and Congress are developing plans to replace Obamacare with a patient-centered approach gives you more choices in health care. I understand there are passionate points of view on both sides of this issue  trust me, Ive heard and appreciate the concerns from both. But there are areas we can find common ground as well, including ensuring that those with pre-existing conditions can receive the coverage they need and that young Americans can stay on their parents insurance until age 26.

We must also work to roll back the Washington-style over-regulation that has crippled our small businesses, our manufacturers, and our farmers. Thats why I have worked to empower Southern Illinois coal communities, to lift the burden of the Obama Administrations Waters of the U.S. rule off the backs of our farmers and to fight for fair trade that brings manufacturing jobs back to America.

This is why I am a firm advocate of the Buy American, Hire American initiative. This initiative ensures that only American-made products are used in infrastructure projects and federal agencies. Not only does this send a strong message to American workers and businesses that we stand firmly with them, but also allows employers throughout America and in Southern Illinois a competitive footing. Its about time that we prioritize American workers and American products over workers and products from foreign countries.

As a House subcommittee chairman on Veterans Affairs, I am working to process the disability claims backlog. I also introduced a bill to improve inspections and food service standards at VA kitchens and another to ensure that the VA has a plan to hire permanent directors at all VA facilities.

This is a big agenda, and its one I need to hear from my constituents about. Rest assured, moving forward I will continue to find new ways to hear from my constituents, whether they agree with me or not, free from the media circus. They deserve the opportunity, and I cant represent them without it.
Family dynamics are complicated.

Some families revel in togetherness. Others function better with periods of separation. While still others may seem distant, but the familial instinct returns in times of crisis.

The Southern Illinois family is composed of all three models.

There are tight-knit neighborhoods, even entire communities in the region. There are elements of the population who at times seem apathetic to whats happening in Southern Illinois. And, then there are those who seem to have few, if any, real ties to the region.

But, like all good families, Southern Illinoisans step up when the chips are down. Weve seen it many, many times  and, quite honestly, too many times in recent years.

Whether it was in the aftermath of the 2009 derecho, the 2012 Leap Day Harrisburg tornado, the 2016 flooding in Alexander County, or this past week when the area pooled resources and came to the assistance of Jackson County residents who had their homes and businesses destroyed by a EF-4 tornado.

The tornado cut a 50-mile swath through Missouri and southwestern Illinois on Feb. 28. The areas most affected by the tornado were Ava, Vergennes and Elkville.

Gov. Bruce Rauner, Illinois Emergency Association director James Joseph and Illinois State Police director Leo Schmitz toured the area with Sen. Paul Schmipf and Rep. Terri Bryant. Thats a lot of dignitaries to visit small towns, but the politicians arent the story.

The politicians are simply doing their jobs.

The real story is centered on volunteers who take time off from their jobs to help their families, their friends and, in most cases, complete strangers. During the course of cleaning up their properties, foraging through debris from family photos and items of little value, but of great sentimental importance, Jackson County residents surely marveled at the kindness of strangers whether it is the nameless person driving through neighborhoods distributing work gloves; the group of Southern Illinois University students volunteering simply because it is the right thing to do; or church groups living out their ministry.

If the experience of Ava, Vergennes and Elkville residents is similar to the people of Carterville, Harrisburg and Olive Branch, they will feel a sense of serenity, wonder and well-being that can only come from the unsolicited kindness of family, friends and most notably strangers.

There really is no way to put into words the feeling of getting up in the morning and seeing volunteers raking shingles or shards of glass from your yard.

The Elkville Baptist Church stepped up to prepare lunches for residents and volunteers working on the cleanup. The Elkville Christian Church provided evening meals. Local businesses also provided food or clean-up services.

Other groups accepted and distributed donations to residents trying to piece their lives back together, one minute, one hour, one day at a time. Anyone who has ever lived through such an emergency knows how important it is to have tarps, cleaning supplies and even fresh water readily available.

Similar services were provided to affected residents of Ava and Vergennes. The volunteers received no monetary compensation, but were richly rewarded with tears of appreciation, heartfelt handshakes and warm hugs.

These scenes are played out entirely too often for those of us who choose to live in this region of volatile weather. But, the truly amazing fact is that these scenes recur after each and every emergency.

When one or more of us are struck by tragedy, the rest of the region coalesces, as if by instinct, to take care of the less fortunate. It is one of the unspoken, unseen benefits of living in Southern Illinois.

To those of you who lost your homes, you have already learned your neighbors have your back. To those of you who lent a helping hand, your kindnesses will never be forgotten within the family that is Southern Illinois.
It has been said that a Nations greatness is measured by how it treats its neediest members. If this is true, the New York State Executive budget proposal should have included a living wage for those who care for others.

After graduating from college, I began my career as a direct care provider serving developmentally disabled adults. From this experience, I learned the important role that Direct Care Providers play in providing support to those who need assistance with daily living activities.

Direct Care Providers dedicate an incredible amount of time and energy to the people they support every day. They work to provide the most basic needs to residents with developmental and intellectual disabilities. They not only care for the needs of these vulnerable individuals but help them to lead fuller, more self-directed lives.

The month of March is National Developmental Disabilities Month, a perfect time to highlight the need for living wage for those who dedicate themselves to those with disabilities. Despite the clear need for these Direct Care Providers and the individuals they support, our Governor did not include a living wage in his budget or in his 30-day amendments.

This lack of support directly impacts approximately 130,000 New Yorkers with disabilities. This leaves people with developmental disabilities at risk of losing the care and support that helps them to be active, engaged and contributing members of our workforce and our communities.

Turnover is high in Direct Care positions. As a result, Direct Care Providers are routinely required to work long overtime hours. This has the potential to negatively impact the quality and continuity of care provided.

I join with my fellow legislators on both sides of the aisle who overwhelmingly support the #bFair2DirectCare campaign. We are asking the Governor to include adequate funding over the next six years to provide a living wage for direct care workers.

This funding will impact both the individuals in our community who work in these direct care positions as well as those they support, including agencies like CP Rochester, Catholic Charities, Happiness House, and our local ARCs.

Please join me in urging the Governor to reconsider funding this vital service in our communities.
A move to require detailed financial disclosure by members of New York's regional economic development councils appears to be not only unnecessary but might do more harm than good.

The councils, a pet project of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, are spread across the state and are responsible for vetting proposals seeking state funding. The process has thus far led to $4.6 billion in funding for 5,200 projects statewide, including $4 million to help finance the Cayuga Milk Ingredients plant in Aurelius and $1.2 million to kick-start the construction of a 55-room hotel in Fleming.

Legislation being introduced in Albany would require council members to fill out comprehensive financial disclosure forms, a move that critics argue will significantly shrink the pool of qualified candidates, who participate on a voluntary, unpaid basis. Indeed, John Currier, of Currier Plastics in Auburn, said he would likely walk away from the local council if he were required to divulge too much personal information.

We do see the value in making it crystal clear that council members need to stay away from conflicts of interest, but members are already obliged to submit annual statements of interest and list their affiliations with businesses, boards and community groups.

We believe that, more than anything else, the financial disclosure push is a politically-motivated attack on the overall program. What is being proposed here is fixing a problem that might not exist in the first place.

One voice of a 15-member council does not have the power to single-handedly push through any proposal. And consider, too, that the recommendations of the councils are a small part of the overall selection process. In the end, the decisions are made by Empire State Development Corporation

Still, safeguards are important when we're talking about public dollars. A better compromise might be to put a system in place wherein members are required to stipulate at the outset of any economic development discussions that they have no business or personal connections to any particular project. It would be a more proactive procedure than expecting members to voluntarily recuse themselves when and if conflicts arise.
In your recent interview with U.S. Rep. John Katko, the congressman referred to himself as one of the most accessible members of the House. His constituents are finding that statement difficult to swallow, as many (including my friends in the CNY Solidarity Coalition, not to mention the law faculty at Syracuse University) have been trying without success to get him to hold a public town hall meeting. Whats really interesting is that a bit of research suggests this is not Katkos own assessment. Its an RNC talking point. Other Republicans under similar pressure are using the same line. Rep. Glenn Thompson, of Pennsylvania, who has declined to appear at a town hall for constituents, told the Erie Times-News that he is one of most accessible members of Congress. Rep. Todd Rokita of Kentucky told the Lafayette Journal & Courier hes been rated one of the most accessible members of Congress after  whoda thunk?  passing on a town hall held by his constituents. The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that Rep. John Duncan has refused to hold a town hall with his constituents, referring to them as radicals and sore losers while declaring himself one of the most accessible members of Congress in this country. How about that? According to the Washington Post, Virginia Rep. Dave Brat committed to an in-person public meeting after video emerged of him complaining about the volume of constituents asking for one. He was confounded, he said, since he considers himself one of the most accessible members of Congress.
NORWAY -- Infrastructure improvements -- specifically in water and wastewater service and quality -- was selected as the town's highest priority need by citizens attending a public hearing on Feb. 28.

Norway has the oldest operating water system in South Carolina.

Jeff Derwood of the Lower Savannah Council of Governments conducted the Needs Assessment public hearing and survey to help prioritize Norway's needs as part of the process for the town to become eligible to apply for and receive Community Development Block Grants.

Mayor Ann Johnson opened the public hearing, which was attended by 13 citizens. Derwood explained the CDBG process and program and then asked citizens to discuss the needs of the town in the areas of housing, infrastructure, economic development, workforce development, public safety, public facilities, community services, neighborhood revitalization and downtown revitalization.

Discussions centered on several areas including housing rehabilitation and affordability and removal of dilapidated buildings.

Derwood is slated to return to the town with suggestions for securing grants to upgrade Norway's water system. The results of the survey's prioritized categories and specific comments will be made available to the mayor within the next two weeks, he said.
Aflac Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Virgil Miller will speak to South Carolina State University students today on the topic of customer service.

The event will take place at noon in the Belcher Hall Auditorium on the fourth floor.

Miller oversees Aflacs individual and group operations. He also serves as the head of Aflac Group Insurance.

Miller joined Aflac in March 2004 as an operations manager in policy administration. In 2006, he was promoted to second vice president of policy administration and later second vice president of the customer service center.

Millers additional leadership positions within Aflac include management roles in client services, customer assurance and transformation. He was also senior vice president of internal operations.

As a result of Millers outstanding performance, in 2016 he was named chief administrative officer and head of Aflac Group. Under Millers leadership, the Customer Service Center was awarded the prestigious JD Power certification, which demonstrates Aflacs dedication to providing the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

Prior to joining Aflac, Miller held leadership positions at Geico, Wal-Mart and the United States Marine Corps. He is a veteran of the Gulf War.

Miller holds a masters in business administration from Wesleyan University and a bachelor's in accounting from Georgia College and State University. He has received Six Sigma and Project Management Professional certifications from Villanova University.

He currently serves on the board of the 2017 Group Insurance Executive Council, Palmetto Business Forum and the Columbia Urban League. Miller is a former board member of the American Red Cross and the United Way board of trustees.
The William L. McDuffie Student Services Center was filled with music recently as students, faculty, staff and the public celebrated Black History Month at Denmark Technical College. The presentation was a joint effort between the DTC Student Government Association and the choir.

Portraits of civil rights leaders and other historical figures formed a backdrop as the students took turns reading brief biographies of icons such as Rosa Parks and Denmark Vesey. Some students recited poems, some sang, some reenacted events during the time of slavery. Musical selections from the choir were interspersed between the performances.

Interim President Christopher Hall attended the function and closed out the performance.

The students did a wonderful job stressing the importance of perseverance and education to construct positive change. It is important to remember the struggles of our past, Hall said. We must never forget how important education was to our forefathers. With an education, you can change the world and here at DTC we take that responsibility seriously.
Whittaker Elementary School took students on A Journey from the Past to the Future during its annual Black History Program.

Realize you are not just someones legacy, but you are our future, Principal Dr. Teresa Jennings said.

During the Feb. 27 program, Jennings encouraged students to thank every teacher, every cook, every janitor, every secretary, anybody who walks through the doors of Whittaker.

Youve got to realize that the price was paid for you and it was a heavy price, she said. Every day that you come to Whittaker and you get to sit in these classrooms, you dont have to pay the price because it was already paid.

She went on to encourage the students to prepare for upcoming tests, saying, I want you to remember that youve got to do your very best.

As much as our people have done so that we no longer have to sit at the back of the bus, or so that we didnt have to give up our seats, or so that a black man can run and be president, I need for you to understand that now, everything you do is determined by a test, Jennings said.

The Rev. Mack C. McClam, pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church, was the speaker for the event. He told a story of his childhood friend Ronald E. McNair from Lake City, who went on to become an astronaut.

You can travel anywhere if you use your brain, he told the students.

McClam then played a rendition of Lift Evry Voice and Sing on his alto saxophone, saying it was one of McNairs favorites to play.

Members of the faculty and staff also participated in a play entitled Oh Lord, I Wish I Was a Buzzard which told the story of a young girl having to pick cotton with her father.

The culminating program followed a month of events and activities celebrating Black History Month and teaching students the importance of the month.

Every morning during the school year, the students read a book of the day. Jennings said every story surrounded famous African Americans during February.

One story was Our Children Can Soar which she said spoke to the legends of all those that went before them. It told of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Barack Obama.

In addition, the students were given a Black History Tip of the Day every morning, posters of famous African Americans were placed throughout the school buildings and the school named We Are Family as its song of the month.

Our young men in fourth and fifth grade, they dressed up every Wednesday in shirts and ties, Jennings said. Last Thursday, they dressed up again, they went to South Carolina State and they saw the play For Colored Boys.

The school also celebrated the movie Hidden Figures which highlights the story of three African-American women working at NASA in the early 60s, playing key roles in getting John Glenn into space.

On Feb. 17, Whittaker Guidance Counselor Ruby Edwards presented Hidden Stars, a play she wrote imagining an interview with the Hidden Figures women portrayed by three students.

We talked about how important education was, that all three of them went to HBCUs, the challenges and the discrimination they faced, Edwards said. They did an excellent job.

Fourth-grader Tiana Whetstone played Mary Jackson and said she felt special portraying the ladies of the film.

I learned more about my history, Whetstone said.

Fifth-grader Azha Jeter agreed, saying she had not heard of the ladies before the film but playing Dorothy Vaughan in their production gave her an appreciation for their hard work.

They did so much to help black people, Jeter said.

As Katherine Johnson, fourth-grader Vantasia Montgomery said she noticed people crying at their performance and felt overwhelmed just standing there looking at the crowd.

The school took all fifth-grade girls and eight fourth-grade girls on a trip to Columbia to watch the movie.

Members of the community, faculty and staff at Whittaker, churches and local businesses made donations to cover the costs of the girls trip.
WASHINGTON -- Wow, we went from no drama to all drama in the blink of an eye. An embattled President Donald Trump spent the weekend raging in frustration at his inability to control events -- and his administration is just in its second month.

How will he make it through a year? Let alone four?

And how long before Trump campaign insiders whose names have surfaced in reports about Russian contacts start lawyering up? How long before nervous political allies start backing away? How long before Republicans in Congress start putting self-interest -- and, one dares to hope, the national interest -- above party loyalty?

According to widespread news reports, Trump was furious that any momentum he gained from his speech to Congress was halted in its tracks by revelations about Attorney General Jeff Sessions' meetings with the Russian ambassador. Sessions had testified in his confirmation hearing that "I didn't have -- did not have communications with the Russians," which turned out to be what my grandmother used to call a lie.

The next morning, according to The Washington Post, Trump "exploded" in anger. The day after that he "simmered with rage," the newspaper reported, as he summoned his senior aides to chew them out. Trump was apparently irate that after he had said publicly that there was no need for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation into the Russia connection, Sessions had gone before the television cameras to do just that.

The attorney general's recusal was obviously a necessary and proper step, but necessity and propriety do not seem to matter to the president. Sessions had wussed out, in Trump's view, and he appears to consider wussing out a cardinal sin.

What happened is not hard to grasp: Sessions bowed to reality. But Trump won the White House by creating his own reality, built on what adviser Kellyanne Conway called "alternative facts." He has not learned that actual facts do not just go away, even if the president tries his best to ignore or deny them.

I'm assuming here that Trump can tell the difference between real facts and the ones he makes up. If he can't, then we're really in trouble.

I'd suggest that Trump reflect on this fact: The Post and other news organizations apparently had no trouble getting inside sources to dish about the president's mood swings. While Trump fumes about leaks from the intelligence community and the entrenched federal bureaucracy, his closest aides are bending journalists' ears with self-serving narratives.

After he and others were taken to the woodshed by Trump on Friday, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus reportedly spent an hour calling reporters and trying vainly to convince them -- on a not-for-attribution basis, of course -- that no woodshedding had taken place.

On Saturday morning, at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump fired up his Twitter account to make an unprecedented -- and apparently wholly unfounded -- allegation: that then-President Obama had ordered wiretapping of the Trump campaign. The White House press office later doubled down by demanding a congressional investigation of this alleged snooping.

Trump must be unfamiliar with the adage about being careful what you ask for.

A spokesman for Obama denied there was any wiretapping, as did Obama's director of national intelligence, James Clapper, who was in a position to know. FBI Director James Comey reportedly pressed Justice Department officials to issue a statement denying the president's unsupported claim -- which Justice has so far declined to do. If Sessions' recusal was enough to make Trump mad, imagine what a public statement refuting the president's angry tweets would do to his blood pressure.

What if Congress grants Trump's demand, however, and launches an investigation? Any serious inquiry, it seems to me, would necessarily have to look into the alleged reason for the alleged wiretapping: contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians. A congressional probe would take as its starting point the consensus of the U.S. intelligence community that the Russian government meddled in our election with the aim of boosting Trump's prospects of victory.

Trump has put himself in a no-win position. If the Republican leadership in Congress denies his request for an investigation, he suffers an embarrassing public rebuke. If the request is granted, however, Trump sets in motion a process he will not be able to control.

It is one thing to take office determined to disrupt traditional ways of doing things. It is quite another to flail wildly at imaginary enemies, wounding oneself in the process. What on earth will the third month of the Trump presidency be like?
Spring arrived early this year. Azaleas are blooming as if it is time for the Masters. As much as March has been known for some unusual weather, conventional wisdom has it that if Old Man Winter doesnt hit hard by mid-month, the reality of springtime is at hand.

You might not consider it as such, but disaster officials look at springtime as the mean season. Some of the worst isolated damage from thunderstorms and tornadoes has occurred during March, April and May.

During springtime months, the atmosphere is in transition from cold to warm. Air masses often times interact, resulting in turbulent weather conditions. Each year hundreds of communities and lives are shattered as a result of such weather disasters.

State Farm, the states largest home insurer, has more than 12,000 reasons for homeowners to take the weather threat seriously. The company reports that it paid 12,402 wind and hail-related claims on structures across the state of South Carolina in 2016. Nationally, the company paid more than 363,000 wind and hail-related claims on structures costing more than $3.6 billion.

We hope that sharing the actual numbers and costs of severe weather can be a motivator for homeowners to plan carefully and review their insurance coverage before severe weather season, State Farm spokesman Roszell Gadson says.

Amid the threat of severe weather, disaster officials often issue special warnings via the state emergency-response system. To ensure readiness, the S.C. Emergency Management Division annually designates South Carolina Severe Weather and Flood Safety Week. This years observance began Sunday. The objective is to remind people that severe storms, tornadoes and flash floods are significant hazards in South Carolina and people need to take proper safety precautions.

A highlight of the week will be the annual statewide tornado drill, which is conducted in coordination with the South Carolina Broadcasters Association. The state superintendent of education is encouraging schools statewide to participate.

South Carolina has received a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to use the Tornado Warning product on NOAA tone-alert weather radio when the drill is conducted. During the drill, the National Weather Service will use a real-event code, TOR. The TOR code will activate tone-alert weather radios that are set to receive tornado warnings, and those radios will broadcast the exercise message.

The statewide tornado drill will be conducted Wednesday at 9 a.m. Public schools, state and local Emergency Management and others will participate in this annual event. The purpose of the drill is to test communication systems, safety procedures and mitigation processes.

No emergency plan is any better than its implementation. Thats why, on Wednesday, ahead of the mean season, state emergency personnel will put the system to a test. Citizens are advised to take notice and be informed, both of the dangers and what to do in an emergency.
A 21-year-old Orangeburg man remains in custody after the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety charged him with burglary, a weapons violation and trespassing.

Police arrested Brandon Donte Norman-Berry, 21, of 930 Craven Lane, in the parking lot of the Hot Spot gas station at 553 John C. Calhoun Drive at 10:34 p.m. Thursday.

Officers say Norman-Berry was wanted for a burglary on Feb. 9.

At 10:05 p.m. on Thursday, officers were at Hot Spot when they heard a commotion behind the House of Pizza, which is located near the gas station.

A few minutes later, three men emerged from behind the restaurant and walked toward the gas station, the report states.

Two of the men walked directly to the gas station, but the third one, identified as Norman-Berry, stopped at the property line.

Officers approached Norman-Berry as he stood on a crosstie at the edge of the property line. When he stepped onto the Hot Spot property, they detained him. One of the officers recognized him as being on trespass notice for the business.

Norman-Berry told officers he had a loaded firearm in his pocket. They removed it and the four rounds of ammunition in the cylinder, the report states.

He also told officers that he did not have a concealed weapons permit.

As a result, Norman-Berry was charged with a weapons violation and trespassing. In addition, they served him with the warrant for allegedly breaking into a Bennett Street residence on Feb. 9.

The warrant alleges that Norman-Berry broke into the residence and stole $500 in cash, an HP laptop, a Samsung cellphone and a necklace. The value of the stolen items is $1,200.

In addition, police allege Norman-Berry was in possession of an item that belonged to a victim of an armed robbery that occurred on Wednesday night.

Norman-Berry appeared before Orangeburg Municipal Judge Barney Houser on Friday morning. Houser set his bond at $35,000 for the burglary charge and $5,000 for the charge of unlawful carrying of a pistol.
A docker directs the loading of shipping containers onto CMA CGM SA's Benjamin Franklin container ship at Guangzhou Nansha Container Port in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. [Photo/Agencies]

Guangzhou Port Co Ltd, one of the largest hub ports in South China, is planning a share offer in the first half of this year, looking for financing to expand business, according to a senior company executive.

Song Xiaoming, vice general manager of Guangzhou Port Co, said: "It will be a big step forward for the company's business expansion as we are positioning to develop into an international shipping center."

The company's IPO plan on the Shanghai Stock Exchange was approved in late January by the China Security Regulatory Commission, the country's top securities regulator.

The company was jointly founded by the Guangzhou Port Group, SDIC Communications Holding Co and Guangzhou Development Group Incorporated in 2010, with registered capital of roughly 5.5 billion yuan ($797.2 million).

The funds will be raised for construction of new docks and berths at the port in Nansha district, Guangzhou, according to the company.

Four berths with a handling capacity of 100,000 metric tons of containers each and two 70,000 ton container berths will be built at the third phase at Nansha port, with an investment of more than 7.4 billion yuan.

Song said: "Construction of the new berths and docks will help improve efficiency and business expansion of Nansha port."

In 2016, Guangzhou Port opened 18 new international lines, of which four were designed for Europe and the US.

"The number of containers handled at the Guangzhou Port increased significantly last year, thanks to the expansion of shipping lines," said Song.
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This blog is written solely by John Ray, who has a Ph.D. degree in psychology and 200+ papers published in the academic journals of the social sciences. It does occasionally comment on issues in psychology but is mainly aimed at giving a conservative psychologist's view on a broad range of topics. There are very few conservative psychologists.The blog originated in Australia and many (but not most) posts discuss Australian matters. Australians have an unusually good awareness of events outside their own country. Australian newspapers feature news from Britain and the USA not as an afterthought but as a major part of their coverage. So Australians do tend to have a truly Western heart, which is the reason behind the old name for this blog. So events in Australia, Britain and the USA all feature frequently here, plus occasional coverage of other places, particularly Israel.SCOTUS is the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court in the landThe "GOP" stands for "Grand Old Party" and refers to the Republican party. The GOP is at present center/Right, while the Democrats have been undergoing a steady drift Leftwards and now have policies similar to mainstream European Leftist parties.The ideological identity of both parties has however been very fluid -- almost reversing itself over time. In the mid 19th century, the GOP was the party of big government and concern for minorities while the Democrats advertised themselves as "The party of the white man" -- an orientation that lasted into the mid 20th century in the South. The Democrats are still obsessed with race but have now flipped into support for discrimination AGAINST whites.Was Pope Urban VIII the first Warmist? Below we see him refusing to look through Galileo's telescope. People tend to refuse to consider evidence if what they might discover contradicts what they believe.Climate scientist Lennart Bengtsson said. The warming we have had the last 100 years is so small that if we didnt have meteorologists and climatologists to measure it we wouldnt have noticed it at all.The term "Fascism" is mostly used by the Left as a brainless term of abuse. But when they do make a serious attempt to define it, they produce very complex and elaborate definitions -- e.g. here and here . In fact, Fascism is simply extreme socialism plus nationalism. But great gyrations are needed to avoid mentioning the first part of that recipe, of course.Beatrice Webb, a founder of the London School of Economics and the Fabian Society, and married to a Labour MP, mused in 1922 on whether when English children were "dying from lack of milk", one should extend "the charitable impulse" to Russian and Chinese children who, if saved this year, might anyway die next. Besides, she continued, there was "the larger question of whether those races are desirable inhabitants" and "obviously" one wouldn't "spend one's available income" on "a Central African negro".Hugh Dalton, offered the Colonial Office during Attlee's 1945-51 Labour government, turned it down because "I had a horrid vision of pullulating, poverty stricken, diseased nigger communities, for whom one can do nothing in the short run and who, the more one tries to help them, are querulous and ungrateful."The book,, authored by T.W. Adorno et al. in 1950, has been massively popular among psychologists. It claims that a set of ideas that were popular in the "Progressive"-dominated America of the prewar era were "authoritarian". Leftist regimes always are authoritarian so that claim was not a big problem. What was quite amazing however is that Adorno et al. identified such ideas as "conservative". They were in fact simply popular ideas of the day but ones that had been most heavily promoted by the Left right up until the then-recent WWII. See here for details of prewar "Progressive" thinking.R.I.P. Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet deposed a law-defying Marxist President at the express and desperate invitation of the Chilean parliament. He pioneered the free-market reforms which Reagan and Thatcher later unleashed to world-changing effect. That he used far-Leftist methods to suppress far-Leftist violence is reasonable if not ideal. The Leftist view that they should have a monopoly of violence and that others should follow the law is a total absurdity which shows only that their hate overcomes their reasonFranklin Delano Roosevelt was a war criminal. Both British and American codebreakers had cracked the Japanese naval code so FDR knew what was coming at Pearl Harbor. But for his own political reasons he warned no-one there. So responsibility for the civilian and military deaths at Pearl Harbor lies with FDR as well as with the Japanese. The huge firepower available at Pearl Harbor, both aboard ship and on land, could have largely neutered the attack. Can you imagine 8 battleships and various lesser craft firing all their AA batteries as the Japanese came in? The Japanese naval airforce would have been annihilated and the war would have been over before it began. FDR prolonged the Depression . He certainly didn't cure it. WWII did NOT end the Great Depression . It just concealed it. It in fact made living standards worse Joe McCarthy was eventually proved right after the fall of the Soviet Union. To accuse anyone of McCarthyism is to accuse them of accuracy! The KKK was intimately associated with the Democratic party . They ATTACKED Republicans!People who mention differences in black vs. white IQ are these days almost universally howled down and subjected to the most extreme abuse. I am a psychometrician, however, so I feel obliged to defend the scientific truth of the matter:The average African adult has about the same IQ as an average white 11-year-old and African Americans (who are partly white in ancestry) average out at a mental age of 14. The American Psychological Association is generally Left-leaning but it is the world's most prestigious body of academic psychologists. And even they have had to concede that sort of gap (one SD) in black vs. white average IQ. 11-year olds can do a lot of things but they also have their limits and there are times when such limits need to be allowed for. America's uncivil war was caused by trade protectionism . The slavery issue was just camouflage, as Abraham Lincoln himself admitted . See also here Leftist psychologists have an amusingly simplistic conception of military organizations and military men. They seem to base it on occasions they have seen troops marching together on parade rather than any real knowledge of military men and the military life. They think that military men are "rigid" -- automatons who are unable to adjust to new challenges or think for themselves. What is incomprehensible to them is that being(to use the extreme Prussian term for following orders) actually requires great flexibility -- enough flexibility to put your own ideas and wishes aside and do something very difficult. Ask any soldier if all commands are easy to obey.
By Trend





The forthcoming 5th Global Baku Forum just like in the previous years will be a great success, Levente Kozma, the former Hungarian senior foreign policy advisor, told Trend Mar. 7.

The 5th Global Baku Forum titled Future of foreign relations: Power and interests will be held Mar. 16-17, 2017. The forum is organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center with the support of the Azerbaijani State Committee on Work with Diaspora.

Political leaders, scholars and leading experts in global politics will be brought together by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center to assess the current state of affairs in the world and the most pressing threats to peace and international security, Kozma said.

I am very much looking forward to this game-changing event in Baku and to participate in the debate of the current trends in international relations and different kinds of security issues, he added.
By Trend





First Vice President Mehriban Aliyevas name is written in gold letters in the worlds social and political history for her efforts to unite eastern and western civilizations and cultures, Vice Speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament Bahar Muradova said.

Muradova made the remarks Mar. 7 speaking in a plenary session of the Azerbaijani Parliament.

Today, Mehriban Aliyeva addressed the Parliament as an MP and told about the work done by her, Muradova said. But in fact, there was no need to talk about it, because Azerbaijani citizens, as well as other countries, international organizations, representatives of various religions and cultures have been observing Mehriban Aliyevas activity all this time, and many of them are benefiting from that activity.

Mehriban Aliyeva added her great achievement to the list of the historic attainments of Azerbaijani women, Muradova added. Today, Mehriban Aliyeva holds a high position in the supreme executive body, and by this she has demonstrated what the Azerbaijani women are capable of in the socio-political life of the country, and she will further prove what kind of benefit this will bring.

Muradova noted that on Mar. 6, the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan made a decision to terminate the parliamentary powers of Mehriban Aliyeva in connection with her appointment as first vice president of the country.

Muradova wished First Vice President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva success in continuing her mission to serve the people, the state, and the nation of Azerbaijan.
By Trend





Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Azerbaijani First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva on the occasion of the International Womens Day.

Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the occasion of the International Womens Day, Putin said in the congratulatory message. Throughout history women have been protectors of the family hearth, family values and traditions, and embodied love, faithfulness, warm-heartedness and hope.

May your life be filled with bright and happy days, and may success attend all your undertakings, the Russian president said. I wish you robust health, success and well-being.
By Trend





Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev has congratulated Azerbaijani First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva on the occasion of the International Womens Day.

Please accept my most sincere congratulations on the occasion of the remarkable holiday of March 8, the International Womens Day, Medvedev said in the congratulatory message. This day gives people warmth, smile and bright emotions. A period of renewal, spring brings us joy and enthusiasm. On March 8, all our best wishes and most sincere words go to women.

You give attention and care to your family, friends and colleagues, and create an environment of comfort and harmony at home, Medvedev said. May success attend all your endeavors, and I wish your relatives and close ones happiness and well-being. I wish you robust health, and extend my best regards to you.
By Azertac





US Congressman from New Jersey Donald Payne has made a statement on the 25th anniversary of Khojaly genocide.





In his statement, Payne said Khojaly tragedy was a brutal murder of more than 600 civilians, mostly women, children and elderly, in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly 25 years ago. Congressman Payne called on his colleagues to join him in remembering the victims of the tragedy.
Godwin Austen Johnson (GAJ), one of the largest UK architectural and design practices, said 2016 was an exceptional year as of the 15 new schools that opened in Dubai during the last academic year, more than one-third have been designed by the company.



We have had an exceptional 12 months with six new schools completed in a very short space of time, remarked Jason Burnside, partner at GAJ.



These include the Ladybird Early Learning Centre, Emirates International SchoolJumeirah as well as the Sunmarke School located in Jumeirah Village Triangle and the Gems Metropole and Gems International School.



Ladybird Early Learning Centre is the first dedicated early years setting in the Middle East and the fourth in the world to win the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (Leed) Gold certification.



The Dubai-based firm also handed over the award-winning Arcadia Preparatory School, a purpose-built facility that sets a benchmark in sustainable design, construction and operation.



"We have been fortunate to partner with such visionaries as Emirates International School, Arcadia and Gems which has meant that we have been given the freedom to design schools that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional," said Burnside.



When we take on a new school project we are considering two things. In the first instance it needs to be a cost effective design but equally the spaces we design are inspiring, efficient and engaging, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Tiger Cable System, a consortium formed to operate an international terrestrial cable system from the Arabian Gulf to Europe, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Rapid Telecom, a licensed Bahraini telecommunications and information services company.



Tiger project manager Dr Kassim Hassani said: We are delighted to sign the strategic partnership agreement with Rapid Telecom, which has an immediate connectivity to all telecom operators in the GCC countries. Once fully implemented, Tiger cable system will provide high-speed broadband and low latency connectivity from the Middle East to Europe.



Shaikh Hamad bin Khalid Al Khalifa, chairman of Rapid Telecom, said: Forming strategic partnerships with leading telecom operators and providers in Bahrain and the region is of utmost importance to us. This partnership with Tiger Cable System will enable us to expand our regional and international reach, as well as provide customers in Bahrain with innovative solutions that meet their business needs. We look forward to building on this partnership with Tiger, which we believe will be mutually rewarding to both companies.



Tiger cable system is a consortium formed to build and operate international terrestrial cable system from the Arabian Gulf to Europe crossing Iraq, Kurdistan Iraq and Turkey to Europe. Tiger topology is based on utilising existing network of operators in the region in order to reduce total cost of the system and reduce the construction time of the cable.



Established in 2008, Rapid Telecom offers bespoke and comprehensive international data communications services, Internet, voice, national data communication and ICT solutions.  TradeArabia News Service


Huawei, a leading global information and communication technology (ICT) solutions provider, yesterday launched its Huawei Kuwait Innovation and Training Center to advance local ICT skills and provide Kuwaiti youth with hands-on experience on the latest technologies.



Huawei also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kuwaits Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) that will see Huawei and CITRA boost cooperation in the ICT field through knowledge sharing, technology support and consultancy to achieve the target of Smart Kuwait.



The inauguration ceremony took place at Huawei Kuwait headquarters.



Huaweis new Training and Innovation Center is aimed at demonstrating and testing new and known solutions such as Smart City and Safe City that will be the pillar of the future society, relevant to both the public and the private sector.



The partnership with CITRA builds on Huaweis long-term commitment to creating a better connected Kuwait and sees both parties working collaboratively to develop the local ICT industry in alignment with Kuwait Vision 2035, as set by HH the Amir.



Huawei is committed to Kuwaits vision of becoming a Smart City and to deliver true ICT innovation that will see the government empowered to meet the needs of its society. We will achieve this through our technology-driven services and our new Training and Innovation Center, which will showcase the benefits of our technology in all aspects of the society, said Trevor Liu, CEO of Huawei Kuwait. As Kuwaits ICT sector continues to grow and becomes a driving force in job creation and capability, Huawei will be right there supporting the governments vision to spearhead innovation and advance the ICT skills of the local population, he concluded.



The new Innovation and Training Center was inaugurated in the presence of Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Hind Subaih Barak Al Subaih; chairman and CEO of CITRA Salim Alozainah; Ambassador of China to Kuwait Wang Di; Huawei global regions president and board member Xiang Yi; Huawei Middle East president Charles Yang, alongside senior Huawei executives, media representatives and other VIP guests.



Designed to serve as an ICT incubator and multi-function training center, the 1,000 sq m facility will provide ICT training to more than 1,000 trainees a year which will include public sector employees, partners, customers and students. The training center will deliver advanced ICT training capability while creating a platform for Huawei to share its latest innovations.



Guests at the inauguration ceremony were given a tour of the facility which showcased Huaweis solutions for Smart City, Safe City and Smart Energy. They were also presented with Huaweis digital financial solutions, and cloud data center which fuels the digital transformation of all industries.  TradeArabia News Service


GE today announced its new global Powering Efficiency Center of Excellence (COE), which brings together cross-business experts in its energy businesses to apply a total plant hardware and software solution approach to boost the efficiency of the worlds new and existing coal-fired power plants and significantly reduce their emissions.

The global COE, headquartered in Baden, will create integrated solutions as well as provide vision and oversight around the world, the company said.

Regional teams will focus on engineering capabilities and local execution. The COE will bring together the combined experience of a cross-business group of experts from GEs Power Services, Steam Power Systems, Global Research Center and other business units.

The COE aligns with GEs recent study that found carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the worlds steam fleet can be reduced by 11 percent when existing hardware and software solutions are fully applied. Coal-fired power generation provides electricity for about 40 percent of the world. It also accounts for nearly 75 percent of the electricity sectors carbon emissions because many plants are older and inefficient.

The worlds coal-fired power generation assets are critical to meet the everyday energy needs of communities and industry not just today but also well into the foreseeable future. While GE works across various fuel sources, including renewable energy sources, we recognise the urgent need for efficient coal solutions to reduce emissions and bring reliable energy online, said Joseph Anis, president and CEO of GEs Power Services business in the Middle East and Africa. The launch of GEs Powering Efficiency COE highlights our commitment to offer integrated solutions that meet the total plant requirements of customers who own and operate coal-fired power plants for enhanced outcomes.



The newest coal plants being built using GEs ultra-super critical technology can deliver up to 49 percent efficiency ratessignificantly higher than the global average of 33 percent. Every point of efficiency reduces operating costs over the lifetime of the plant while also reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 2 percent, it said.

Modern coal-fired power plants rely on a complex network of sensors, digital controllers and supervisory computers to operate and coordinate plant subsystems. GEs digital capabilities and portfolio of air quality control systems can help further lower atmospheric emissions to meet or exceed the worlds strictest regulations.

In addition, the Powering Efficiency COE will provide a set of financing solutions to help customers develop transformative projects toward a lower carbon intensity power generation mix, said the statement.

GE has been bringing its advanced solutions to equip coal power plants across the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) region.



Sacha Parneix, commercial general manager for GEs Steam Power Systems business in MENAT, said: The UAE, Turkey, Pakistan and the wider MENAT region are increasingly strengthening and diversifying their energy sector. Coal presents a new opportunity to expand the alternative energy base in the region, and GEs advanced solutions for cleaner and smarter steam power support our customers in utilizing this resource in an efficient manner and meeting the regions growing energy needs and sustainable development goals.



In Turkey, the first ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant using GEs advanced technology, is now entering the commissioning phase at Karabiga.



In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), GE has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement along with Harbin Electric International for the Hassyan Project by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). The landmark project which is aligned with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 will produce 2,400 MW of net electricity using GEs ultra-supercritical technology while meeting emissions requirements more stringent than the ones applied in Europe. The first phase of the project has four units of 600 MW capacity, and is a strong statement on GE's commitment to support efficient, diverse energy solutions in the region with a low environmental footprint.  TradeArabia News Service
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi welcomed the production team of India's Telugu movie, Duvvada Jagannadham (DJ), to shoot the main song in the park. The movie features stars including Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde. Above, the winner of a social media contest during the meet & greet with the stars. The movie team was brought to the emirate by Abu Dhabi Film Commission and twofour54 and is set to be released in May 2017.


PHOENIX  A spat over parking spaces is putting some users of electric wheelchairs at odds with other members of the disability community.

A House-passed bill would require that those extra-wide handicapped spaces be reserved for those who have vans. More to the point, HB 2408 would make it illegal for anyone else  even someone with a valid placard or license plate showing disability  to park there, subjecting them to a ticket.

But dozens of foes, many who are disabled, signed in against the measure Tuesday when the measure came up for a hearing Tuesday in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The result was that Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, who chairs the panel, put off a vote for at least a week. And Worsley told Capitol Media Services after the hearing that the measure may fall by the wayside at that point.

The number of spots for the disabled is based on the size of the business.

But Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott, said within that law the requirement is for only one extra-wide space for every eight handicapped slots. And that, he said, creates problems as anyone who is disabled can use that slot.

It was brought to me by a Marine veteran, Campbell explained when the measure was heard last month in the House Transportation Committee which he chairs. That Marine, he said, is a double amputee.

He couldn't get into the assigned space because it was occupied by a vehicle that had a handicapped placard, he said. The whole purpose of having van accessibility is defeated because anybody who's got a placard ... can get into that space.

Patricia Linn-Fuentes, who uses canes, said that's all very nice.

But the legislation has been formulated in a way that's going to make life harder for up to 90 percent of the mobility-disabled population  or more, she told members of the Senate panel on Tuesday. In fact, she said, if any spaces near the entrance to a store should be set aside, it should be the other way around.

First, she said, those people in electric wheelchairs that need ramps or elevators to get them out of a van generally have someone else with them to help.

But even if that's not the case, Linn-Fuentes said the fact is that they are in a powered chair and quite capable of making their way from some distance. By contrast, she said, individuals who use canes and walkers have to maneuver themselves from the parking spot to the store entrance where they may or may not find motorized carts to use.

And Linn-Fuentes, a neuropsychologist, said she learned something else from clients who had vans in the days before there were no extra-wide accessible parking places.

You simply move to where there are two adjacent parking places in the regular parking and you plunk yourself down right in between, right on the line, she said. And then you've got all the room you want.

Campbell said the legislation simply acknowledges the fact that the law does require van-accessible spaces.

It is for a vehicle that's carrying some kind of motorized transportation for the passenger like a wheelchair, he said.

But everybody wants to use it, Campbell continued. It's got a placard (symbol) and they feel they're all entitled to use it. And they are right now.

Linn-Fuentes told lawmakers she is not trying to start a fight with supporters.

I'm not discounting what the gentleman who prompted this bill experiences, she said.

I know that his life is not what it was, Linn-Fuentes continued. And I'm not trying to make it harder.

But she said that accommodating his desire to have a van-accessible space close to the door  one that others who are disabled cannot use  will complicate the lives of others who have their own mobility issues.

Even before the measure got to the Senate panel on Tuesday it was already picking up opposition.

It would create a two-tiered system in the disability community, complained Rep. Pamela Powers Hanley, D-Tucson.

Rep. Athena Salman, D-Tempe, cited her own experience with her grandfather who, before he died from cancer, was using a walker.

I don't think my grandfather should have to walk all the way from the back of the parking lot, she told colleagues.

Campbell said late Tuesday his measure may be dead.

I didn't realize that there'd be so much resistance to what we're trying to do, he said.

He said the only possible way to satisfy everyone would be to require there be more van-accessible spaces. But Campbell said there are costs involved in carving out larger areas and re-striping the spaces.
Etihad Airways has been honoured with the 2016 Treasury of the Year award by Treasury Management International (TMI) for a string of achievements over the past 12 months.



The annual TMI Corporate Recognition Awards, held in London, reflect achievements in treasury and finance policy, practice and innovation.



The Abu Dhabi-based airlines treasury department was once again recognised for excellence in capital raising and to drive efficiency across the business.



Etihad Airways was commended for securing landmark funding agreements from the international financial community that raised over $2.7 billion in the debt capital markets, as well as evolving its treasury systems infrastructure and streamlining processes to improve productivity.



In 2016, Etihad Airways drove the issuance of a second Etihad Airways Partners bond transaction of $500m, together with a debut $1.5 billion five-year Sukuk issuance, the largest ever non-sovereign Sukuk.



Etihad Airways also implemented leading edge treasury systems technology to drive greater efficiency, and radically reduced the number of suppliers for the bulk of its global transactional banking services to just two following a thorough evaluation of cash management capabilities.



The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) was chosen as the airlines Middle East strategic partner and Citi was named Etihad Airways international cash management bank affiliate in all other global markets.



James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group president and chief executive officer, said: As we continue to look at ways to enhance cost efficiencies, drive more benefits and improve global leverage for the business, our Group Chief Financial Officer James Rigney and his treasury team led by Ricky Thirion have developed a stronger framework of innovative transactions and processes for the business to remain more competitive.



We have evolved from a small airline in 2003 to a world-leading aviation and tourism group today, meaning our treasury needs and challenges have grown significantly with scale and complexity.



The treasury team has responsibilities that have extended beyond many group treasury functions. In addition to core treasury activities such as cash, liquidity and risk management, it is responsible for corporate funding and structured finance, insurance, tax, property and infrastructure, payment solutions functions and fraud prevention across the group and in support of the airlines equity partner airlines.



Helen Saunders, editor of Treasury Management International, said: While many treasury functions can deliver a specific project alongside business as usual activities, Etihad Airways has driven change and innovation on multiple fronts, despite having a small treasury team.



These included sourcing unsecured debt for members of Etihads equity alliance partners. re-engineering its cash and banking structure across 71 countries to support the companys ambitious growth plans; promoting centralisation and improving controls by establishing strategic banking partners and best in-class cash management structures, automating processes and improving account visibility.



Voting for the award was by a TMI-led independent judging panel, based on articles and case studies of the airlines treasury activities. - TradeArabia News Service


Dukes Dubai, the Dukes London hotel's first international property, has signed a range of quintessential British brands to further substantiate its great British offering.



Set to open this month with 279 rooms and 227 hotel-managed apartments, Dukes Dubai has signed partnership agreements with Royal Warrant holder Floris; Liberty Fabrics, Paxton & Whitfield cheese, and hair and beauty salon Toni&Guy. In addition to the china by William Edwards and interiors by Andrew Martin.



There are dozens of brands that channel British spirit and our choice of partners reflects the need for us to select the finest British ingredients and style to authenticate the Dukes Dubai experience. Whether guests are British, Anglophile or maybe just curious, they will be immersed in British culture from the moment they arrive with service, food and beverage, soft furnishings, in room amenities and even our hair salon by Toni&Guy, said Abdulla Bin Sulayem, CEO, Seven Tides International.



Toni&Guy will operate its fourth franchise in the UAE at Dukes Dubai, offering cutting, colouring, styling and hair extensions in addition to a range of mens grooming services and selected beauty treatments. Toni&Guy, now the largest hairdressing company in the world, was founded by the four Mascolo brothers in Londons Swinging 60s and has grown from a single salon in Clapham, London, to 475 salons in 48 countries.



In-room amenities are supplied by Floris, the oldest independent family perfumer in the world and Royal Warrant holder. Floris London has been providing stylish fragrances and candles since 1790 and Dukes Dubai brings this expertise to its bathroom amenities in all rooms through the Floris Cefiro Conditioner, Floris Cefiro Shampoo, Floris Cefiro Bath and Shower Gel and Floris Cefiro Body Moisturiser.



Dukes signature dining venue, the Great British Restaurant and Tea Lounge, sources its cheese from Paxton & Whitfield, which has held Royal Warrants since becoming official cheesemonger to HM Queen Victoria in 1850. Today, the firm holds Royal Warrants of appointment to Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales. Its range of cheeses includes Red Leicester, Shropshire Blue, Cashel Blue, Ticklemore & Ragstone Goats and Mrs. Kirkhams Lancashire.



Liberty Fabrics provides custom-made soft furnishings for the Duchess Floor  an entire storey of the hotel dedicated exclusively to female guests. Known for its graphic and floral prints, the company sells luxury goods including womens, mens and childrens fashion, cosmetics and fragrance, in addition to jewellery, accessories, homeware, furnishings, stationery and gifts.



Bespoke bone china specialist William Edwards, which also operates a prestige design and decorating facility, has designed several bespoke ranges for Dukes Dubai and Dukes London, offering the finest china in classic designs. The brand has been supplying its high quality bone china to many luxury hotels and is also well known for the arresting beauty of its ceramic silkscreen printing.



In the Cigar Lounge, Andrew Martin Interiors has brought the great British touch through classic and elegant furniture. The design firm worked with Dukes London for the re-design of the drawing rooms and is known for its fabrics, wallpaper, furniture and home accessories inspired by a unique mix of cultures, nostalgia and decades of history.



Completing the look, Lock & Co Hatters bespoke martini Odd-job 1676 hat  made to commemorate the stores 350th anniversary  sits proudly in Dukes Bar. Founded in 1676 and one of the oldest family owned businesses still in existence, Lock & Cos designs have graced the heads of some of the greatest figures in history including Admiral Lord Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar and Sir Winston Churchill, who adopted their Cambridge and Homburg hats as his trademarks. - TradeArabia News Service
Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village
The last of the large coal companies using self-bonds to cover reclamation in Wyoming announced recently it will switch to insurance when it emerges from bankruptcy next month.

Peabody Energy, which owns the North Antelope Rochelle mine in Campbell County, announced its decision to replace its controversial self-bonds with traditional insurance to cover more than $728 million in reclamation liabilities. The decision ends a long debate over self-bonding in the state, at least for now.

Self-bonds are reclamation obligations that a company essentially promises to pay, based on the health of a companys balance sheet.

Peabody, Arch Coal and Alpha Natural Resources each declared bankruptcy as the coal market tanked in 2015 and 2016. At the time, each of the companies had millions in cleanup costs guaranteed by the solvency of their companies. Opponents of self-bonding criticized the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality for reaching agreements with each company allowing them to continue mining and self-bonding until the end of bankruptcy proceedings. Environmentalists argued that insolvency made the firms ineligible for self-bonding in the state and tensions over self-bonding flared up in each companys case.

The bankruptcies brought existing disagreements over self-bonds to the fore, but a larger question was posed on the future of the practice.

Opponents argue that in the struggling coal market, companies could no longer be trusted to pay up the billions in reclamation owed to states. That money must be posted with insurance to protect the taxpayer from picking up the tab should companies fall into insolvency or disband, they said. Firms and state regulators, however, say self-bonding is a legitimate way to ensure reclamation in some instances and maintain their federal right to do so.

Alpha and Arch both replaced their self-bonds at the end of bankruptcy under pressure from environmental groups and federal regulators.

Peabody now promises to do the same, offering $1.26 billion for cleanup costs via commercial surety bonds and $14.5 million through a state bond pool before its restructuring post-bankruptcy, exceeding the amount of the firms U.S. reclamation costs per their balance sheet, which totals $471 million.

But the company left the door open for a return to self-bonding someday.

Peabody believes it continues to qualify for self-bonding and will consider adding self-bonding to its capital structure to support its coal mine reclamation requirements in the future, should circumstances warrant, CEO Glenn Kellow said in a statement Monday.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality declined to comment on whether Peabody would qualify for self-bonds after it emerges from bankruptcy.

Environmental and land advocates applauded Mondays announcement.

As someone who lives and ranches near Peabodys large strip mines, Im pleased to know that real reclamation bonds will be in place to protect the land and water resources of the area, said L.J. Turner, a member of the Powder River Basin Resource Council and rancher in the Powder River Basin. Better financial assurance will protect taxpayers and neighboring landowners and will ensure that the mining company remains responsible for any cleanup costs for its large Wyoming coal mines.

Peabody will go before a bankruptcy judge next week seeking approval of its restructuring strategy that eliminates $5 billion in debt. If all goes according to plan, the company expects to emerge in April, one year after it filed for Chapter 11 amidst a coal market crisis.
Winning entries of the Nature Conservancy in Wyomings annual I Believe in Conservation high school photography contest is on display this month.

The contest is a great way to get kids out into nature and to begin to take a closer look at their surroundings, said Brie Brower, Development Program Specialist for The Nature Conservancy of Wyoming.
Elton Johns Casper concert is part of an 11-city tour featuring classic album tracks to songs from his latest, Wonderful Crazy Night.

Johns five-decade career includes 38 gold records, 31 platinum albums, 29 consecutive Top 40 hits, and more than 250 million records sold worldwide. He holds the record for the top-selling single of all time, Candle in the Wind 97.
Kayakers and campers alike offer similar complaints about the vigilante antics of a creepy man in northwest Arizona who trespassed some off property he didnt own, and patrolled a remotely located public campground without authorization.

Testimony in the March 1 evidentiary hearing in the case against Danny Button reads like scenes from the movie Deliverance, without Burt Reynolds and squealing pigs.

Button, 60, faces attempted murder, aggravated assault, unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping, endangerment and disorderly conduct charges for threatening kayakers along Burro Creek, near the community of Wikieup.

KAYAK ATTACK

River guide Patrick Phillips told the Court how he and three other kayakers from Flagstaff drew fire from the shoreline after launching at the BLM-administered Burro Creek campground on February 4. A mile downstream they heard a shot ring out before spotting an elderly man emerging from bushes, advancing closer to the water while firing at lead kayaker Tyler Williams, 47, an outdoor writer.

I couldnt believe my eyes and I started yelling for him to stop, Phillips testified. He said they were in a state of disbelief as the man later identified as Button fired four more rounds from a long barrel, nickel-plated .44 magnum handgun while they were sitting ducks on the water.

The man again walked closer, took very careful aim, using both hands on his revolver and pulled the trigger again, Phillips said. Thats when Tyler flipped over in the river and was upside down under his kayak.

Phillips said Williams rolled his kayak upright and furiously paddled away, finding cover downstream. He said Button ordered he and Eric Meudt, 50, and John Govi, 51, both nurses, out of their kayaks while holding them at gunpoint on the bank.

The alleged victims told Mohave County sheriffs deputies that Button claimed they had trespassed on private property, and ordered them to return upstream to the campground. Phillips said he tried to reason with Button, explaining they needed to see if Williams was okay downstream.

Phillips testified that Button was agitated and appeared upset that Williams got away.

At various times the weapon was pointed at all of us...He had us covered, Phillips said. He said that Button held them for some ten minutes before he ordered them to return to the campground at mid-afternoon.

Phillips said they did so, and summoned law enforcement by cell phone. Williams camped out overnight and was located by authorities the next day.

None of the kayakers was injured.

Deputy Kyle Bridgman testified that Button told officers late that same evening that the kayakers had trespassed his property and that he was target shooting when some of the shots he fired might have come close to them. Bridgman said the sheriffs office received a late January complaint from other kayakers who claimed they encountered gunfire in the same area.

Additionally, two other men, James Wilkes and Mark Minchef, informed the sheriffs office that they were also hassled by Button on January 22.

Their written statement noted that, as they put their raft into the water, Button approached them and said that they were likely to get shot at if they headed downstream. He said they were scared, loaded up their raft and drove away.

Deputy county attorney James Schoppmann argued that the law-abiding water recreation enthusiasts should have been left alone.

There is nothing that prevents these kayakers from floating down this river. This is a public waterway. This is not trespassing," Schoppmann said. Danny has no right to enforce these trespassing laws against these individuals or anybody else."

ROGUE RANGER

Carrie Wostal, a Bureau of Land Management ranger, testified that a number of Burro Creek campers complained in May that Button had misrepresented himself as the campground host. She said he collected camping fees and made logs noting license plates and camping space assignments.

Complaint letters from campers referred to the rogue ranger as creepy and strange. They said they could see him up on a ridge monitoring them below throughout the day.

After payment he stayed a very extended time trying to talk to us to the point of being weird, Gary Wilson, Prescott, wrote in his complaint. We had to ask him to leave...He seemed to be stalking...We felt very unsafe.

Wilson wrote that they left a day early because of Buttons behavior.

I noticed he would encounter each and every camper, wrote Loretta Krumbholz, who maintains the campground under contract for the BLM. He seemed very off and extremely creepy.

Wostal testified that Button surrendered his campground logs and some $712 in camping fees when contacted by the BLM about the camper complaints. She said they decided not to prosecute since he returned the money and they sent him a formal cease and desist letter, noting that it was a felony to impersonate an officer and falsely claim he was a representative of their agency.

BUTTON BACKGROUND

Testimony at the hearing revealed that Button had lived for more than 30 years on the nearby ranch owned by his mother-in-law Mildred Schipp. Buttons wife Joyce testified that her husband had never harmed anybody and that she did not consider him to be a threat.

Joyce Buttons sister, Ruthie Schipp, countered that her mother has taken out an order of protection against Button, essentially evicting him from the multiple section ranch along Burro Creek. She further testified that she was very uncomfortable, when on the ranch, to sometimes observe Button pointing a rifle at her from a distance.

Schipp testified that Button told her that he was just using the scope of the rifle to see better.

Schoppmann and Superior Court Judge Steve Conn both noted that everyone will need to brushup on their water law if the case kayak case goes to trial. Both noted that the law is murky with respect to private property rights extending into a navigable waterway.

Judge Conn agreed with Schoppmann that, even if the kayakers were trespassing, Button had no right to fire upon them and hold them at gunpoint.

Responsive to the hearing motion involving release conditions, Judge Conn lowered bond to $25,000 from $100,000. Conn told Button that if he gets out of jail he shall not drink or possess weapons and that he must wear a GPS monitor and not go any closer than a mile of the campground.
Grownup Stuff

Senior Stompers meet Mondays

Free only for Seniors 60+ who like to have fun, love music and like to dance, tapping and stomping to the beat. Join Joyce's Senior Stompers on Monday mornings at 10:50 a.m. and exercise your mind and body. Call Joyce for more information 237-4908.

Swing dance fundraiser Saturday

A 50's style Swing Dance with a 30-45 minute lesson included will be held from 7 to 10 p.m., on Satuday in the new YMCA. Cost is $25 per person or $40 per couple, with kids free. There will be snacks, kids activities, a dessert auction, a 50/50 raffle and of course dancing. All proceeds will be used support a local family's adoption. The event is sponsored by Rick and Stacie McFall.

Jam session Sunday

Monthly jam session will be held at the Eagles from 4 to 8 p.m., on Sunday, March 12. Join in the fun on stage, listening or dancing. The Eagle Riders will be preparing their juicy hamburgers for hungry attendees. No admission, all talents accepted on stage. Entry at north parking lot door, additional parking across the street or the entire corner lot at A and Durbin streets.

Events at Art 321

March at Art 321, 321 W. Midwest Ave., will feature exhibits by the "Pastel Group," as well as works by "Ellen Black and Friends, and the "All High School Show.

When visiting Art 321 to see the current exhibits, be sure to stop by the reception desk and pick up a 2017 brochure with a schedule of exhibits, workshops, and informal groups for the whole year. It's is a good way to plan ahead for any workshops and exhibits of interest and to find out about the benefits of becoming a member.

There are also many new offerings by Wyoming artists to browse through in the beautiful Gift Shop. Offerings include all sizes of art in many varied media, including fiber work, jewelry, and glass, in all price ranges. The gift shop changes merchandise frequently, so there is always something new.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Opening receptions are held the first Thursday of each month from 5 to 8 p.m.

Adult coloring club

Stop by the Natrona County Library anytime between 2 and 5 p.m. on Friday, March 10 for Adult Coloring Club. Coloring books and pages will be available to turn into works of art. Colored pencils, crayons, and markers also will be provided. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information.

Apply for Mrs. Casper

The Mrs. Wyoming Pageant is seeking applicants for the title of Mrs. Casper. Once selected, the successful applicant will advance to represent her community in the 2017 Mrs. Wyoming Pageant to be held on May 6 in Cheyenne.

Local titleholders will compete to win a prize package valued at over $8,000 including an all expense paid trip to the national Mrs. America Pageant. Applicants must be at least 18 years old (no age limit), married at the time of competition and a Wyoming resident, no performing talent required.

Celebrating its 41st year, the Mrs. America pageant is the only competition to recognize Americas married woman.

To request the official application or for information, call Sheree Cooke, Wyomings state director, at 720-549-0440 or visit www.mrswyomingamerica.com.

Nostalgic display at Senior Services

The Senior Center, 1831 E. 4th St., is featuring a display that features nostalgic items back to the late 1800's. The display will be up through February and March. Items include baby plates and cups, antique dolls, Steiff collectibles, and many other items, thanks to Tom and Lida Volin. For more information, call 265-4678.
Wednesday support meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 5:09 P.M., 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 1124 Elma, Imitate the Image Church; 7 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 8 p.m., 328 E. A; 8 p.m, 328-1/2 E. A, closed; 8:23 p.m., 719 3rd St., Evansville. Douglas: 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back); 7:30 p.m,. 805 E. Richards, Ste. 1. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open. Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: 307-351-1688.

Al-Anon: Stepping Stones to Recovery, 303 E. 2nd St., First United Methodist Church, east doors, downstairs, room 12. 7 p.m.

Narcotics Anonymous: noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 8 p.m., 302 E. 2nd St., Methodist Church, enter east side. Web site: http://www.urmrna.org.

Nicotine Anonymous: noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club. Info: Pam M., 577-0518; Troy Y., 267-6326.

OIF/OEF Support Group: 6:30-8 p.m., Casper Vet Center, 1030 N. Poplar St., Ste. B. All OIF/OEF Veterans are invited to attend. No need to pre-register. Info: 261-5355.

Teen Addiction Anonymous: 7- 8 p.m., 12-24 Club Teton Room. Info: 258-7439.

TOPS #35 Weight Loss: 6:45 a.m., First Christian Church, 520 CY Ave. Weight Loss Support Group, Weigh-in is from 6:30 a.m.-8 a.m. Info: 258-2063 or 234-5644.

TOPS #162: 8:30 a.m., United Methodist Church, 1880 Poplar. Anyone interested is invited to join. Info: 472-4926.

Reveille hears of Habitat

Jaci Byrd and Heidi Maldoon from Habitat for Humanity, The Heart of Wyoming Inc. will be presenting at the Reveille Rotary Meeting at 7 a.m. at the Central Wyoming Senior Services Center, 1831 East 4th Street. Guests are invited to attend the Reveille Rotary meeting to learn more about Habitats progress and next steps.

Jaci Byrd, family services coordinator, joined the organization in May 2016. Heidi Maldoon has led the organization as executive director since 2012 and has served as the nonprofit administrator with organizations throughout Wyoming since 2007. Wednesday morning Reveille Rotary meetings are open to the public. Anyone wishing to attend to hear a featured speaker or to learn more about Reveille Rotary is invited to attend.

Lent at St. Marks Episcopal Church

Lent, a time for simplicity and reflection, will be observed at St. Marks Episcopal Church, 7th and Wolcott, starting with Holy Eucharist on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.

The traditional Wednesday night soup supper, in cooperation with St. Stephens, starts at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a special Lenten study at 6:30 p.m. of the Eight Habits of Joy, which explores the joy in the lives of Archbishop Tutu and The Dalai Lama.

A Compline service will follow the study each Wednesday during Lent.

For further information call the church office, 234-0831 or check the church website, stmarkscasper.com.

Free tax help

The Natrona County VITA Program, a United Way of Natrona County initiative, is open through April 12, for free tax return assistance. This is a first come, first serve program. Individuals must bring their Social Security card, photo identification and the appropriate paperwork with them. For a complete listing of required paperwork, please visit www.wyomingfreetaxservice.org.

Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Aspen Creek Building, 800 Werner Ct., Ste. 206. Closed Sunday and Monday.

For more information, call 307-333-5588 during hours of operation or look on Facebook.

Learn intermediate Instagram

The Natrona County Library will offer an Intermediate Instagram class from 2 to 4 p.m. The class will cover Instagram Live, collage apps such as Instagram Layout and PhotoGrid, gif apps such as Boomerang, and stories. Attendees should have a working knowledge of Instagram. Feel free to bring a mobile device to follow along. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information.

International Womens Day party

Indivisible Casper invites everyone of any political affiliation (or none) to celebrate International Womens Day at a real political party from 4 to 7 p.m., at Backwards Distillery, 158 Progress Circle in Mills. The purpose of the event is simple: have fun and get to know each other, so come ready to play mixer games and make new friends. Theres no admission fee; Backwards Distillerys menu will be available for purchase and anyone 21 or over is very welcome.

After school at the library

The Natrona County Library will host a zoo-inspired afternoon for elementary-age students at 4 p.m. Students will get to join the librarys zoo, becoming zoo keepers, creating slithery snakes, playing zoo games, and more. All supplies provided. Call 577-READ ext. 5 for more information.

Casper Charla meets

Would you like to practice conversational Spanish or help others learn? Come and join the Casper Charla on the second Wednesday of each month this spring. The group meets at a different restaurant each month to partake in food, drink and conversation. All levels of Spanish are welcome, from beginner to native speaker. Wednesdays gathering is 5 to 7 p.m. at Guadalajara on the corner of CY Avenue and Fairgrounds Road.

Community impact at Pizza Ranch

Pizza Ranch, 5011 E. Second St., hosts Community Impact nights from 5 to 9 p.m. normally on Mondays and Wednesdays. Members of nonprofit groups bus tables for tips, and 20 percent of meal tickets from diners who mention the group are donated as well. Dine-in, delivery or pickup orders qualify. Wednesdays nonprofit is the NC alpine ski team.

Mayor speaks to Republican women

At the meeting of Natrona County Republican Women, the speaker is Casper Mayor Kenyne Humphrey. The meeting will feature a light supper at 5:45 p.m., for $20. It will be held at the Ramada Plaza, 300 West F St. Business includes approving the new 2017 bylaws.

Fried chicken at the Elks

Wednesday Night Special at the Casper Elks Lodge is fried chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans and corn. All you can eat for $7, children 5 to 12 are $3. Serving from 6 to 7 p.m. or until gone. Members, significant other and guest accompanied by a member. For more information, call 234-4839.

Re-Formation at Good Shepherd

Good Shepherd Lutheran hosts special Re-Formation Lenten services that were 500 years in the making. This year, there is special Lenten emphasis on the 500th observance of the Reformation, as the Lutheran and Catholic churches observe the richness of what there is in common as people of faith.

The Wednesday night services will start with a 6 p.m. fellowship hour. The Paths Where Luther Walked will be observed, including images from the monasteries, castles and villages where Luther was born, ordained, taught, or nailed the famous 95 Theses on the chapel door.

All are welcome for this exciting and festive Lenten season. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is located at 51 Primrose Street in Paradise Valley, behind Shepherd of the Valley Healthcare Community. For more information, call the church office at 237-3503.

Car club meets

The regular monthly meeting of the Oil Capitol Auto Club will be held at Zs Classics on East Yellowstone. This will be a dinner/potluck meeting to celebrate the Irish in all. Dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. and all members are asked to bring something to contribute to the potluck. The club will supply the corned beef and cabbage. Please bring table service as well as something to drink. The meeting will be held after dinner. Spring is coming and planning for the Memorial Day Car Show is proceeding at a furious pace so come on down and see what is going on. Dress will be green, so show your Irish. Questions can be directed to Jerry Russell at 577-7119. Guests are always welcome.

Archaeologists meet

The monthly meeting of the Casper Chapter of the Wyoming Archaeological Society will be held at 7 p.m., on the ground floor of the Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Building, 2211 King Blvd. Please use the entrance on the east side of the building.

Following a brief business meeting, Madeline Mackie, Anthropology Ph.D. student at the University of Wyoming, will be the guest speaker. Her presentation will be on Identifying Artists at the Hole-In-The-Wall Ranch Rock Art, Johnson County, Wyoming. Visitors and potential new members are welcome. Please contact Mavis Greer, chapter president, at mavis@greerservices.com with questions.

Midweek Lenten services

Midweek Lenten Vespers will be held every Wednesday, March 8 through April 5, at 7 p.m., at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1240 S. Missouri. For more information, please call 234-0568.
Casper, Wyoming

May 25, 1930March 3, 2017

Barbara Gosman was born in Wheatland, Wyoming on May 25, 1930. She was raised in Montana, and graduating from Beaverhead County High School in Dillon, Montana. She attended the Colorado Womens college and Montana State University. She was married July 23, 1951 in Butte, Montana to her lifelong friend and companion, Bob Gosman.

After their marriage, the couple went to Dartmouth College on a teaching fellowship where Bob completed his masters degree in geology. The couple then returned to Wyoming with the Ohio Oil Company in 1952, living in Rawlins and Cody Wyoming.

The couple then moved to Billings, Montana in 1956 where her husband worked for Mule Creek Oil Company. In 1959, the family moved to Casper, Wyoming where Bob worked for Warren Morton of WKM Oil Company.

Barbara had a lifelong interest in politics and served on many levels, including a two year term on the DACOWITS National Advisory Committee on Women in the Service, where she traveled to many military bases. She enjoyed entertaining for friends and family in their homes in Casper and Phoenix, the beautiful Echo Mountain ranch and their all-time favorite, the Bar C Ranch in Kaycee, Wyoming. Barbara helped with many campaigns and was a behind the scenes force in the success of a number of republican candidates for over 20 years. She developed a keen interest in fly-fishing, and traveled with her husband on many fly-fishing adventures.

She was a devoted and loving wife and mother, friend and companion and left an indelible mark on all who knew her.

She is survived by her husband, Robert Gosman; two children, Jeff (Pam) Gosman and Debbie (Dave) Stoetzel; and seven grandchildren.

A small celebration of life for family and friends will be held at the Gosman family home at 1530 South Wolcott on March 11, 2017 from 2-4 P.M.

Memorial Contributions may be made in Barbaras name to Central Wyoming Hospice, 319 South Wilson Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601.
Legal wrangling will keep Wyoming wolves on the endangered species list a little longer, despite a recent court ruling saying the state could responsibly manage the predator.

A U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. upheld Wyomings wolf management plan on Friday, reversing a 2014 decision by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington, D.C. The lower courts ruling said, essentially, that Wyomings plan to maintain a buffer of more than 100 wolves and 10 breeding pairs outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Reservation was not legally binding and not sufficient under the Endangered Species Act.

The higher court, however, ruled Friday that Wyomings plan was adequate and the state could properly manage wolves. Both Berman and the higher court agreed that wolves were recovered.

But at least in the immediate future, wolves remain under federal control and cannot be hunted in Wyoming.

The good news is, this decision very much supported Wyomings wolf management plan and we do believe wolf management will be back in Wyomings hands sooner rather than later, said Brian Nesvik, the Wyoming Game and Fish Departments chief game warden.

Court proceedings could take months, but Nesvik hopes Wyoming will assume management by hunting season this fall.

The coalition of environmental groups who originally sued Wyoming in 2012 over the states management plan has the opportunity to ask the court for a review of its decision.

The group is disappointed with the D.C. courts ruling, said Tim Preso, an attorney for Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm representing Defenders of Wildlife and several other environmental groups.

Put simply, a voluntary measure is not regulatory because it does not require anyone to do anything and can be withdrawn or changed at any time, Preso wrote in an email. We are continuing to evaluate the decision and our options.

Under Wyoming management, wolves are considered a predator and can be killed year-round in about 85 percent of the state  which amounts to about 19 percent of the states suitable wolf habitat, according to the appeals court. In the northwest corner of the state, where the bulk of Wyomings wolves live, the plan specifies hunting seasons.

Preliminary estimates by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show Wyoming was home to about 240 wolves in the end of 2016, outside of Yellowstone and the reservation, said Tyler Abbott, Wyoming Field Supervisor for the Service.

The feds killed about 115 wolves in 2016 because of about 250 cattle and sheep killed by the carnivores. It was the most livestock conflicts on record, as well as the largest number of wolves killed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, Abbott said.

In 2015, the Service killed 54 wolves because of 134 livestock conflicts.

The reason were talking about this, whether a delisting or high number of depredations or lethal removal of wolves, is because weve had a very successful recovery program, and its time to get them back into state management, Abbott added.

In 2013, the last year a hunting season was allowed in Wyoming, 24 wolves were killed in the trophy area and 39 in the rest of the state.

Fridays decision to delist wolves is one of many in the predators legal drama in Wyoming, which began when they were reintroduced into Yellowstone in 1995.

I am pleased with todays ruling, said Gov. Matt Mead in a statement Friday. The Court recognized Wyomings Wolf Management Plan was appropriate. We look forward to state management once the 2012 delisting rule is formally reinstated.
Liquor licenses may become a less valuable investment following the passage of a new law that seeks to stop owners from parking licenses rather than using the permits to operate a bar, restaurant or liquor store.

Senate File 14, addressing inoperative liquor licenses, was signed into law Monday by Gov. Matt Mead.

While it is unlikely to appease the current liquor license systems harshest critics, the new law addresses a common complaint: people purchase one of a citys scarce number of liquor licenses and wait for it to appreciate in value rather than use it for operating a business.

That situation has led to liquor licenses selling on the secondary market for up to $300,000 and have presented a high barrier of entry for entrepreneurs looking to open a bar and even for corporate chain restaurants that require a liquor license to operate.

Under the old law, license owners can hold onto a permit for up to three years without using it and can restart the three-year window by temporarily opening a business and then closing it again.

Senate File 14 shortens that time to two years and bars license owners from renewing that time period after opening a business.

It also changes the definition of operational. While the old law only requires a liquor business to be open for at least three months during any calendar year to be considered operational, the new one will require the business to offer alcohol for sale on an ongoing weekly basis.

Wyoming State Liquor Association director Mike Moser explained what he saw as problems with the old law in January.

What you can do is hold it for three years, then call your office a liquor store for three months, then park it for another three years, he said.

Cities can only offer a limited number of full retail liquor licenses, which are needed to operate a bar or liquor store, based on their population. Frustration with the population cap came to a head in Casper over the summer when several entrepreneurs applied to the City Council for a single new license.

Liquor dealers have vigorously opposed any attempt to lift the population cap, saying it would destroy their investment, but saw addressing parked licenses as a reasonable step to take.

More liquor laws

The Legislature passed four other bills related to alcohol.

Cities now can grant more bar and grill licenses, which fall between the uncapped restaurant liquor licenses and the more flexible retail liquor licenses.

Senate File 155 allows cities with up to 20,000 residents to grant six bar and grill licenses, up from three. Cities with up to 30,000 can grant 10, up from four. Cities with over 30,000 people can grant 10, plus one for every additional 7,500 residents.

Another bill effectively eliminated the concept of dispensing rooms, which previously restricted where liquor could be served in licensed establishments. Liquor dealers said the law was archaic and the definition of room was such that metal bars, curtains and other tedious but legally-necessary barriers needed to be erected.

Senate File 45 allows liquor to be served anywhere within a licensed building.

A fourth bill changed the requirements for how microbreweries, distilleries and wineries can offer customers samples.

Due to an odd loophole in current law, it was possible for out-of-state manufacturers to offer samples and sell their alcohol inside Wyoming.

Senate File 13 clarified that manufacturers must actually make the alcoholic product at the location where they offer samples and products for sale.

Finally, Senate File 43 made assorted changes to Wyoming statutes related to alcohol that were archaic or obsolete, such as the requirement that permit fees be paid in cash or by check.

The bill also removed the prohibition on elected officials owning liquor licenses.
A 27-year-old Riverton man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his roommate.

Florin Brandon Wyatt was located in the Cheyenne area in the victim's car on his way to Nebraska. Wyatt was initially arrested for possession of the victim's vehicle. He has not appeared in court.

Riverton Police Capt. Eric Murphy says Wyatt's roommate, a man in his 50s, was found in his residence Sunday morning. Neighbors reported they hadn't seen the man since Thursday afternoon.

The Wyoming State Crime Lab is assisting with the investigation and an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday. The victim's name and suspected cause of death have not been released.
BILLINGS, Mont.  A Wyoming man pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of second-degree murder and other crimes for shooting a couple and wounding their daughter when the family tried to help him along a road on Montanas Crow Indian Reservation.

Jesus Deniz Mendoza, 19, faces life in prison under an agreement reached last month with federal prosecutors in which he acknowledged killing Jason and Tana Shane and wounding their daughter in July 2015. Mendoza was 18 at the time.

I was pulled over by the side of the road and some Native Americans came and assisted me, Mendoza testified Tuesday. I knowingly shot them, got in their car and drove away.

Mendoza also acknowledged that he returned later in the Shanes car and shot at three people who had responded to the initial gunshots and the daughters calls for help.

He offered no motive but told FBI agents after his arrest that he shot the victims because he was getting tired of waiting around and because the daughter laughed at him, according to court documents.

Assistant Federal Defender David Merchant II, Mendozas attorney, denied prosecutors claims that Mendoza asked the Shanes for money when they tried to help him and the family said they did not have any.

Merchant has said his client had schizophrenia, depression and other mental illnesses and had ingested a considerable amount of the synthetic drug spice before his arrest. Further specifics on when he took the drug have not been revealed.

Prior to the plea agreement, Merchant unsuccessfully sought to have Mendoza declared mentally incompetent. The defense attorney later said Mendoza would use an insanity defense if the case went to trial.

Under questioning from U.S. District Judge Susan Watters, Mendoza said he has been taking daily doses of the prescribed medication Seroquel. Thats an antidepressant used for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental conditions, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Mendoza is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Mexico, Merchant said. He moved to the U.S. as a child and testified that prior to his arrest, he had worked as a field laborer and grocery store bagger.

Watters has the final decision on sentencing, set for Aug. 10. There is no parole in the federal criminal justice system.

Mendoza faces a separate accusation of attempted second-degree murder in Wyoming, where authorities say he shot a man at a campground near a small town during a 2013 robbery attempt. That case is pending.
BISMARCK, N.D.  A federal judge declined Tuesday to temporarily stop construction of the final section of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline, clearing the way for oil to flow as soon as next week.

The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes pledged to continue their legal fight against the project, even after the pipeline begins operating.

The tribes had asked U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw permission for Texas-based developer Energy Transfer Partners to lay pipe under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The stretch under the Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota is the last piece of construction for the $3.8 billion pipeline to move North Dakota oil to Illinois.

The tribes argued that a pipeline under the lake violates their right to practice their religion, which relies on clean water, and they wanted the work suspended until the claim could be resolved.

When they filed their lawsuit last summer, the tribes argued that the pipeline threatens Native American cultural sites and their water supply. Their religion argument was new, however, and disputed by both the Corps and the company.

Boasberg in his ruling Tuesday said the tribes didnt raise the religion argument in a timely fashion. He also questioned its merit.

Although the tribes members may feel unable to use the water from Lake Oahe in their religious ceremonies once the pipeline is operational, there is no specific ban on their religious exercise, he said.

The judges decision came as American Indians from across the country gathered in Washington to protest President Donald Trumps policies encouraging oil pipelines. Native Americans are planning four days of activities including lobbying lawmakers and culminating in a march on the White House. Tribal members and supporters plan to camp each day on the National Mall, with teepees, a ceremonial fire, cultural workshops and speakers.

Trump and his friends at Big Oil have not won, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault said in response to Boasbergs ruling, adding that the bigger legal battle is ahead  we stand strong.

Standing Rock attorney Jan Hasselman and Cheyenne River attorney Nicole Ducheneaux said they hadnt decided whether to appeal Boasbergs ruling. In the meantime, they said, theyll continue to argue for more environmental study and for the government to recognize the tribes treaty rights to clean water.

They dont expect a court hearing until at least April  long after pipeline operations are expected to begin  but Boasberg can order the pipeline turned back off, and thats what well be asking for, Hasselman said.

Work under Lake Oahe had been held up in the courts until Trump last month instructed the Corps to advance construction. The Army is involved because its engineering branch manages the river and its system of hydroelectric dams, which is owned by the federal government.

The company began drilling under the lake Feb. 8. Company attorney William Scherman said in court documents that the pipeline could be moving oil as early as next week, and company spokeswoman Vicki Granado said it could be fully operational about three weeks later.

The MAIN Coalition, an industry group made up of agriculture, business and labor entities that benefit from Midwest infrastructure projects, praised Boasbergs ruling paving the way for the projects completion. The decision further demonstrates that both the Army Corps of Engineers and Dakota Access have fully complied with all established laws and regulations, spokesman Craig Stevens said.

The pipeline saga has endured for months. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of pipeline opponents who sided with tribal opposition to the pipeline camped on federal land near the drill site for months, often clashing with police. There have been about 750 arrests in the region since August. Authorities last month closed the camp in advance of spring flooding season and set up roadblocks to prevent protesters from returning.
BISMARCK, N.D.  When an angry farmer was ticketed for not feeding a parking meter, he launched a one-man crusade that made North Dakota the nations only state that bans the meters on all public streets.

Now the governor is quietly trying to end the nearly 70-year ban in hopes of revitalizing downtowns, and the farmers granddaughter is fighting to uphold her familys legacy.

Howard Henry, who grew wheat near the town of Westhope, a few miles from the Canadian border, received the fateful ticket in the 1940s in Minot. He quickly concluded that parking meters were mechanical bandits that were unneeded in a wide-open state.

By reintroducing meters, Gov. Doug Burgum and his allies in the Legislature hope to encourage more parking turnover, leading to more sales for businesses and more tax revenue for communities and the state.

If Henry were still alive, he would be very upset, said his granddaughter, former state Sen. JoNell Bakke of Grand Forks. Hed be ready to go out and do another initiative. He was so passionate about this and everything he did.

Meters were outlawed in 1948. The ban withstood court challenges. When the Legislature repealed it in 1951, Henry led another successful referendum to reverse the decision.

He made it a populist thing and urban versus rural, said Burgum, a Republican and onetime software executive turned philanthropist who helped rebuild the downtown of Fargo, the states largest city, with a population just over 100,000.

The state Senate has endorsed legislation that would allow communities to install parking meters on their streets if they choose. The proposal is awaiting action in the House.

GOP Sen. Jessica Unruh, from the town of Beulah, with a population of about 3,000, said her community does not need any meters. But she sponsored the bill because she was asked to do so by the state Transportation Department at the request of Burgum, who kept his support of the bill mum until The Associated Press asked about it.

If the ban is repealed, Bakke said she will lead another effort to prohibit meters in her grandfathers memory.

Parking meters are allowed on state or private property, and some of North Dakotas colleges have them in parking lots. Instead of using meters, many cities enforce parking limits by chalking vehicle tires.

The states two biggest cities, Fargo and Bismarck, have long supported repealing the ban, even arguing once that chalking tires can cause shoulder and elbow injuries for enforcement officers.

Orlyn Wanstron, who owns Bismarck Barber Shop on the citys Main Street, said its probably best to leave parking meters in North Dakotas history.

The downside I see is people running out filling the meters to keep their parking spots, Wanstrom said. Then you have to pay people checking the expired meters, and that will be more costly for the city.

They got rid of them for a reason, he said.

Henry, a Democrat, gained statewide recognition for defeating the meters, but he failed to parlay the achievement into elected office, losing bids for governor and Congress, despite crisscrossing the state and dropping campaign leaflets from airplanes. He was elected to the state House but died during his term in 1971.

Bakke, also a Democrat, said her grandfather obtained a parking meter that had stood along the Minot street where he got that long-ago parking ticket while chatting with a fellow farmer on the sidewalk. She now keeps it in her living room as a reminder of her feisty relative.

He just didnt feel it was right to have to pay to park and shop in North Dakota, she said. And I dont either.
House Republicans unveiled their plan Monday to replace the Affordable Care Act with a piece of legislation that has received criticism from Democrats and many conservatives but praise from Wyomings congressional delegation.

The bill, dubbed the American Health Care Act, has already faced intense scrutiny and debate. President Donald Trump tweeted that the AHCA was wonderful, and House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was an act of mercy, saving the country from what he described as the eventual collapse of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Despite criticism from conservative lawmakers, media outlets and think tanks, including the Heritage Foundation, Ryan guaranteed the bill would have enough votes to pass out of the House.

Among other things, the bill would eliminate Obamacares provision requiring individuals to purchase health care or face a penalty. It would also peg tax subsidies that help people pay premiums to age rather than income, and would continue until 2020 the ACAs Medicaid payments to states that expanded the program. People who obtain insurance outside of the enrollment period would face 30 percent higher premiums.

The Star-Tribune sent detailed questions about the replacement bill Tuesday to the three members of Wyomings all-Republican congressional delegation. All three responded with a statement that addressed Obamacare and the GOPs replacement generally but not the specific questions themselves.

Rep. Liz Cheney blasted the ACA in her statement and said that she looked forward to studying the replacement proposals to ensure a stable transition to a new law.

In January, Cheney said because of its prices, Obamacare provided catastrophic care at best. She has maintained that she supports retaining some popular provisions of the law  such as keeping protections for people with pre-existing conditions  while discarding other parts, in particular the individual mandate.

How she and the rest of Wyomings congressional delegation feel about the bills details  including its 30 percent premium price increase for late enrollees  is not yet known.

The new bill lacks one of the most controversial parts of the ACA  the individual mandate, which requires people to obtain insurance or pay a penalty. The designers of Obamacare viewed the individual mandate as essential to keeping pools viable while also requiring that insurers cover people with pre-existing conditions.

Senate reaction

In his statement, Republican Sen. Mike Enzi said he was reviewing the bill and appreciated the work of the legislators who crafted it.

The proposal released by the House committees looks to make many of the needed changes in order to transition to a patient-centered insurance system, he said. This proposal would keep the promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Sen. John Barrasso said through his spokeswoman that the replacement bill represented a monumental shift from Obamacare and it will give people in Wyoming the freedom theyve been looking for.

The House proposal as written right now eliminates the mandates forcing people to buy insurance and eliminates taxes and penalties, he added. It still preserves the things that are important.

Barrasso, a former doctor, in a past interview with the Star-Tribune took particular exception to Obamacares individual mandate and the bills list of so-called essential health benefits instituted under the ACA. The list represents health services, like prescription drugs and maternity and newborn care, that are required to be offered by individual and small group plans.

I dont think theyre essential, and I dont think theyre what people want, Barrasso said.

The House GOPs replacement plan appears to scale back that provision and leave the choice up to states as to what they require insurance companies to cover.

Barrasso said the ACA allowed people to game the system: They can opt to not purchase insurance until they have an accident, hospital officials have said, and then sign up when they have an accident. The senator likened it to waiting to buy homeowners insurance until your house catches fire.

Hospital response

But the AHCA appears to still allow that so-called gaming, albeit with a 30 percent mark-up on those who obtain insurance after the enrollment period, said Neil Hilton, the vice president of the Wyoming Hospital Association. Its unclear how Barrasso views the 30 percent provision.

Like Cheney, Barrasso said he supports allowing young people to stay on their parents plan until theyre 26 and to let people with pre-existing conditions continue to obtain insurance. Asked recently how insurance pools could remain viable with the latter provision but without the individual mandate, the senator said the answer lies in high-risk pools.

Prior to Obamacare, the pools were a federally subsidized and state-run method to insure the ill. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Wyoming had a high-risk pool, and as of 2011, 3.4 percent of uninsured people were part of the states program, higher than the national average of 2.2 percent.

The AHCA would provide $100 billion over a nine-year period to establish pools.

However, as USA Today notes and Hilton confirmed, the high-risk pools existed because people with pre-existing conditions could not otherwise obtain health insurance. Premium prices for those in the pools pre-ACA were also usually higher than they were for people who received health insurance elsewhere.

Though the bill has the support of the president and congressional leadership, it has found little love elsewhere on Capitol Hill or in conservative circles, largely because of its similarities to Obamacare. The Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, tweeted that the AHCA falls short of the Obamacare repeal that Republicans have long promised. The National Review, a conservative media outlet, published an editorial calling the bill a disappointing start.

Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said it was a missed opportunity and a step in the wrong direction. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and onetime GOP presidential candidate, called the AHCA Obamacare Lite and predicted it would not pass. Both made the comments via Twitter.

Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said Tuesday afternoon that the bill was Obamacare by a different form and that he would introduce a bill Wednesday to completely repeal Obamacare. Paul voiced support for the idea.

Democrats similarly criticized the bill. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy tweeted that the bill was a skeletal, slapdash, mean-spirited version of the ACA.

But Ryan defended the bill, saying it was a crucial replacement to the collapsing Affordable Care Act. He also suggested apparent Republican disunity was less pronounced than it seemed as he guaranteed the bill would have the votes needed in the House.

Hilton, of the Wyoming Hospitals Association, said it was too early to tell the effects of the bill. He noted that the AHCA had been released with a Congressional Budget Office report, which would have shed light on how much the bill would cost and how many people could lose coverage under its provisions.

Theres a lot of unknown factors relative to how this would impact the number of covered individuals and families here in Wyoming, and ultimately I think thats the key thing to focus on, he said. Thats the focus of American Hospitals Association: wanting to maintain health care coverage and benefits for those enjoying that ability right now without doing damage to that.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
PHOENIX  One hour of coding instruction is not going to teach anyone to create the next generation of Minecraft.

But Sen. John Kavanagh figures that if students are exposed to understanding what boolean changed = true; for(int i = 0; i < list.length && changed; i++) means  and what it can do  it will encourage at least a handful to want to know more.

So the Scottsdale Republican convinced the House Education Committee to vote 7-4 on Monday to require students to be exposed to just one hour of coding sometime between grades 4 and 12. SB 1136, which already has cleared the Senate on a 17-13 margin, now needs approval of the full House.

Kavanagh said he became inspired to push the legislation after a trip to Silicon Valley where he and other lawmakers met with some the major players there including Google and Facebook.

One of the things they kept driving into us legislators was that they have to import hundreds of students from outside the U.S., he said.

There are not enough American students that have coding skills, Kavanagh continued. They would really like to have American-grown talent doing this work here.

So how much can a student learn in one hour?

Not much, Kavanagh conceded. But he said that's not the point.

We're simply trying to show young students what coding is so they understand the concept, he said, learning why when they press a certain key on their smart phones it does a specific thing. More importantly, they realize it may be something they're interested in and something that they're capable of learning.

And it's not even necessary the teacher have any knowledge of coding.

It's built on a web site operated by Hourofcode.com, a nonprofit organization with the stated goal of expanding access to computer science. There are a series of programs at various grade levels.

So at the fourth and fifth-grade (level), the students might not actually write the code, Kavanagh explained.

They may simply pick blocks of words and letters and insert them, he continued, to see how each new provision affects the program. For example, it could be a race car program, where a specific line or group of lines causes a car to go faster or slower.

When they get older they'll actually do the typing of the code command, Kavanagh said.

One of the issues of concern is adding a specific mandate for a very specific area of knowledge. But Kavanagh said it's justified.

I don't have to run a bill to teach students how to write a novel or learn to do calculus, he said. By contrast, he said, coding is new and a mystery to many.

Anyway, Kavanagh said, it doesn't require a background in science to do coding.

What you need is an inquisitive mind, he said.

You need the ability to think abstractly and solve problems, Kavanagh said. That's what coding's all about.

Not everyone thinks this is a great idea.

I'm not very supportive of us micromanaging what we're teaching and for how long, said Rep. Michelle Udall, R-Mesa. And Udall, who has a bachelor's degree in computer science and has done programming, questioned whether what Kavanagh wants will do any good at all.

One hour of coding in between the grades of 4th and 12th is going to give very little benefit, she said. An hour's about enough to figure out how frustrating it can be  but not enough to really learn the skills to be successful at it.

Kavanagh rejected the idea that his legislation is yet another unfunded mandate on public schools, if for no other reason than there's no cost because the online program is free.

Anyway, he said, the amount of time this would take  and just once  is less than a field trip.
World Peace Cookies

Chef's note: A word on mixing, log rolling and patience: This dough can be different from batch to batch  it always seems to turn out well no matter what, but the inconsistency can be frustrating. Ive found that its best to mix the dough for as long as it takes to get big, moist curds that hold together when pressed and then knead if necessary so it comes together. When youre rolling it into logs, keep checking that the logs are solid. Again, the dough can be capricious and it may not always roll into a compact log on the first (or second or third) try. Be patient.

Makes: about 36 cookies

1 cups (170 grams) all-purpose flour

 cup (28 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons; 5  ounces; 155 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature

 cup (134 grams) packed light brown sugar

 cup (50 grams) sugar

 teaspoon fleur de sel or  teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 ounces (142 grams) best-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped into irregular sized bits

Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium speed until soft, creamy and homogenous, about 3 minutes. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Turn off the mixer, add all the dry ingredients and pulse a few times to start the blending. When the risk of flying flour has passed, turn the mixer to low and beat until the dough forms big, moist curds. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix to incorporate. This is an unpredictable dough. Sometimes its crumbly and sometimes it comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl. Happily, no matter what, the cookies are always great.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and gather it together, kneading it if necessary to bring it together. Divide the dough in half. Shape the dough into logs that are 1 inches in diameter. Dont worry about the length  get the diameter right, and the length will follow. (If you get a hollow in the logs, just start over.) Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and freeze them for at least 2 hours or refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.

When youre ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 325. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Working with one log at a time and using a long, sharp knife, slice the dough into -inch-thick rounds. (The rounds might crack as youre cutting them  dont be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them. (If youve cut both logs, keep one baking sheet in the fridge while you bake the other.)

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes  dont open the oven, just let them bake. When the timer rings, they wont look done, nor will they be firm, and thats just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can munch them, or let them reach room temperature (I think the textures more interesting at room temperature).

Bake the remaining dough.

Adapted from Dories Cookies, by Dorie Greenspan (A Rux Martin Book, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016)
Opening Friday

Kong: Skull Island  Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman are the latest band of explorers who wanted onto a remote island ruled by a giant ape. Dont expect the same-old, though: For one thing, the story this time takes place in the Vietnam-era 1970s. PG-13. 119 minutes. Story, Page 8.

The Lure  In Warsaw, a pair of mermaid sisters are adopted into a cabaret. While one seeks love with humans the other hungers to dine on the human population of the city. In Polish with English subtitles. Not rated. 92 minutes. Not reviewed.

Ongoing

Arrival HHH   Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner star in this sci-fi suspense film about Earths response to a possible alien invasion. Denis Villeneuve directs. Rated PG-13. 106 minutes.

Before I Fall HHH  Zoey Deutch stars as a woman forced to relive the last day of her life again and again. You know, like Groundhog Day, except this one is serious. Rated PG-13. 99 minutes.

Bitter Harvest H Set in 1930s Ukraine, as Stalin advances on the Kremlin, an artist battles to save his lover from the Holodomor, the death-by-starvation program that ultimately killed millions of Ukrainians. Max Irons, Samantha Barks and Terence Stamp. George Mendeluk directs. Rated R. 103 minutes.

Doctor Strange HHHH The Marvel Comics Universe takes a step into fantasy with this first installment in the adventures of the Greenwich Village neurosurgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) who defends our realm from otherworldly evil. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams and Tilda Swinton co-star for director Scott Derrickson. Rated PG-13. 115 minutes.

A Dogs Purpose HH  The meaning of life is explored through one pooch and his humans. With Britt Robertson, KJ Apa, John Ortiz, Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad. Based on the novel by Bruce Cameron. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom. 100 minutes.

Everybody Loves Somebody HHH  A doctor asks her co-worker to pose as her boyfriend at a family wedding to avoid questions about her love life. Karla Souza stars and Catalina Aguilar Mastretta directs. Rated PG-13. 101 minutes.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them HH Eddie Redmayne stars as the author of one of the textbooks Harry Potter would go on to read 70 years later at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in this adaptation of J.K. Rowlings best-selling novel. Rated PG-13. 133 minutes.

Fifty Shades Darker  Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return for more naughty misadventures in the world of romantic, yet still kinky, bondage. Rated R. 119 minutes.

Fist Fight HH Charlie Day is the teacher challenged to an after-school fight by a colleague (Ice Cube) he accidentally got fired. Rated R. 91 minutes.

Get Out HHH  Comedian Jordan Peele (Keanu) takes a break from the funny stuff by writing and directing this horror movie about a young African-American man (Daniel Kaluuya) who visits the family of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams). Rated R. 104 minutes.

The Great Wall HH  The great Zhang Yimou directs Matt Damon in this epic-scale adventure about mercenaries defending the Great Wall of China from monsters. Rated PG-13. 104 minutes.

Hacksaw Ridge HHH  Mel Gibsons first outing as a director since 2006s Apocalypto tells the true story of an American soldier (Andrew Garfield) who saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun during one of World War IIs bloodiest battles  emphasis on the bloody. Rated R. 131 minutes.

Hidden Figures HHH   Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae star as the African-American women who did mathematical calculations that propelled NASA in the 1960s space race. With Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Kimberly Quinn, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, Glen Powell. Based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly. Directed by Theodore Melfi. Rated PG. 127 minutes.

I Am Not Your Negro HHHH  A documentary examining race in America using James Baldwins words and archival materials. Directed by Raoul Peck. Rated PG-13. 95 minutes.

Jackie HHHH  Natalie Portman plays Jacqueline Kennedy in this drama set during the immediate days following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Rated R. 99 minutes.

John Wick: Chapter 2 HHH  Keanu Reeves reprises his role as the hit man who somehow manages to outgun his enemies, no matter how many of them there are. Rated R. 104 minutes.

La La Land HHH  Get ready to be very happy. Writer-director Damien Chazelles song-and-dance musical about two aspiring artists (Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling) who fall in love lives up to the hype. Rated PG-13. 133 minutes.

The LEGO Batman Movie HHHH  Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson and Ralph Fiennes provide the voices for this irreverent take on the iconic comic-book superhero. Rated PG. 90 minutes.

Lion HHH   25 years after being separated from his family, a young man (Dev Patel) leaves his adoptive parents (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham) and tries to track down the relatives he left behind in Calcutta. Rated PG-13. 121 minutes.

Logan HHH   Hugh Jackman reprises his role as the clawed mutant Wolverine for the seventh and final time  and this time, the camera doesnt look away from the bloody violence. Rated R. 135 minutes.

Manchester by the Sea HHHH  The third-and best-movie from writer-director Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count On Me, Margaret) stars Casey Affleck as a handyman who becomes the legal guardian of his teenage nephew (Lucas Hedges). Rated R. 127 minutes.

Moana HHH   A once-mighty demigod and a spirited teenager embark on an epic adventure across the ocean. Dwayne Johnson and Aulii Cravalho are among those who lend voices to the animated film. Rated PG. 103 minutes.

Monster Trucks HH  Lucas Till stars in this long-delayed family animation about a truck that grows tentacles and becomes a monster truck, literally. Rated PG. 100 minutes.

Moonlight HHH   The drama charts the life of a black gay youth named Chiron as he grows up in a rough neighborhood in Miami. Told in three segments, when he is a 10-year-old, a teen and in his 20s. Adapted from the short play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Directed by Barry Jenkins. Winner of Best Picture Oscar. Rated R. 110 minutes.

Neruda HHHH An inspector hunts down Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, who becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party. In Spanish with English subtitles. Not Rated. 107 minutes.

Passengers HH  A spacecraft carrying thousands of people to a distant colony malfunctions, causing two of its passengers (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) to wake up from hypersleep 90 years early. Rated PG-13.116 minutes.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter H   The sixth and culminating episode in the action-horror franchise once-again stars Milla Jovovich as the zombie-slaying Alice, returning to the Hive, where it all began. With Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts. Written and Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. 106 minutes.

Rock Dog H  Luke Wilson, Eddie Izzard and J.K. Simmons provide the voices for this animated comedy about a Tibetan Mastiff that dreams of becoming a rock star. Rated PG. 89 minutes.

The Salesman HHHH Iranian director Asghar Farhadis taut tale of a couple of actors dealing with the aftermath of an assault. The backdrop is the play Death of a Salesman. Winner of Oscar for Best Foreign Film. In Persian with English subtitles. Rated PG-13. 125 minutes.

The Shack H Sam Worthington is a man grieving over the disappearance of his child in this adaptation of William P. Youngs novel. Octavia Spencer co-stars as God  no, seriously. She literally plays God. Rated PG-13. 132 minutes.

Sing HH   Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane and Scarlett Johansson provide the voices for this animated fable about animals who put on a musical show to save an old theater. Rated PG. 110 minutes.

Split HH   James McAvoy stars as a man with multiple personalities  23 of them  in the latest twist-filled thriller from M. Night Shyamalan (The Visit, The Sixth Sense). Rated PG-13. 118 minutes.

Table 19 H   After being uninvited from a wedding, a woman (Anna Kendrick) decides to crash the ceremony anyway  and gets seated at a table filled with strangers (including Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson and Stephen Merchant) who barely know the couple getting married. Rated PG-13. 87 minutes.

A United Kingdom HHH  Based on true events, the film tells the story of the forbidden love between King Seretse Khama of Botswana (David Oyelowo) and Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a white woman from London, which caused an international uproar when they decided to marry in the late 1940s, just as apartheid was being introduced into South Africa. Rated PG-13. 111 minutes.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some March 8 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages.
A man who was killed in a one-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 near Miracle Mile early Tuesday morning was identified as Jeffrey J. Thimgan, authorities said.

Thimgan, 21, was killed when he was driving a Honda vehicle west on I-10 and went off the road and struck a concrete wall at the Miracle Mile overpass, said Quentin Mehr, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman.

Thimgan, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene, Mehr said.

The crash occurred at 3:39 a.m.

Investigators do not know why the vehicle went off the road, said Mehr.

No further information was immediately released.
PHOENIX  Parents who dont stay current on their child support payments wont necessarily end up walking under the terms of legislation approved Tuesday by a Senate panel.

Current law requires a judge to suspend the driving privileges of someone who is found to have willfully failed to make payments for at least six months. Only when that person becomes current can he or she seek reinstatement.

The problem with that, according to Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, is it can be self-defeating. Put simply, losing the ability to drive could also mean losing the ability to pay the support.

It doesnt really help pay the bills, she explained. Her HB 2192 would permit a judge to give that person a restricted license.

They can go to work or to school, she explained to members of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The move has the backing of the state Department of Economic Security, which gets involved in these cases of court-ordered child support.

It is just another enforcement tool that allows that noncustodial parent to continue working while still having meaningful involvement with their children, with parenting time, while also furthering their education and continuing to work to support those children, said agency lobbyist Katy Ber. Thats because the restricted license makes someone eligible to not only go to and from work or school but permit that person to drive for parenting time visits.

Ber told lawmakers the law would be enforced by police the same way they handle other situations where someone driving privileges are restricted. She said police, on pulling someone over, would be able to check through a database whether there are limits and then determine if the driver is violating them.

And the legislation allows a court to suspend someones driving privileges entirely for violations, not only of the driving restrictions but failing to stay current with a payment plan.

The unanimous approval of the panel sends the measure to the full Senate. It already has cleared the House.
PHOENIX  A spat over parking spaces is putting some users of electric wheelchairs at odds with other members of the disability community.

A House-passed bill would require that those extra-wide handicapped spaces be reserved for those who have vans. HB 2408 would make it illegal for anyone else  even someone with a valid placard or license plate showing disability  to park there, subjecting them to a ticket.

But dozens of foes, many who are disabled, signed in against the measure Tuesday when it came up for a hearing in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The result was that Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, who chairs the panel, put off a vote for at least a week. And Worsley told Capitol Media Services after the hearing the measure may fall by the wayside at that point.

The number of parking spots for the disabled is based on the size of the business.

But Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott, said within that law, the requirement is for only one extra-wide space for every eight handicapped slots. And that, he said, creates problems as anyone who is disabled can use that slot.

It was brought to me by a Marine veteran, Campbell explained when the measure was heard last month in the House Transportation Committee, which he chairs. That Marine, he said, is a double amputee.

He couldnt get into the assigned space because it was occupied by a vehicle that had a handicapped placard, he said. The whole purpose of having van accessibility is defeated because anybody whos got a placard ... can get into that space.

Patricia Linn-Fuentes, who uses a cane, said thats all very nice.

But the legislation has been formulated in a way thats going to make life harder for up to 90 percent of the mobility-disabled population  or more, she told members of the Senate panel on Tuesday. In fact, she said, if any spaces near the entrance to a store should be set aside, it should be the other way around.

First, she said, those people in electric wheelchairs that need ramps or elevators to get them out of a van generally have someone else with them to help.

But even if thats not the case, Linn-Fuentes said the fact is that they are in a powered chair and quite capable of making their way from some distance. By contrast, she said, individuals who use canes and walkers have to maneuver themselves from the parking spot to the store entrance where they may or may not find motorized carts to use.

And Linn-Fuentes said she learned something else from an acquaintance who had a van in the days before there were no extra-wide accessible parking places.

He simply moved to where there are two adjacent parking places in the regular parking and you plunk yourself down right in between, right on the line, she said. And then youve got all the room you want.

Campbell said late Tuesday his measure may be dead.

I didnt realize that thered be so much resistance to what were trying to do, he said.
To some people, Carlos Erazo-Velasquez is a good example of a bad hombre.

The 37-year-old Honduran crossed the border illegally near Nogales last Wednesday. He fought with Border Patrol agents who tried to arrest him and ran until he collapsed. Then he escaped the Tucson hospital where he was being treated on Friday.

This is a guy who merited an all-out urban hunt, they figure.

That mentality may pervade the U.S. Border Patrols front lines, newly empowered by the election of Donald Trump, but it doesnt translate in central Tucson. The result was an inter-agency battle between Tucson police and the Border Patrol agents union where the real bottom line was how bad a guy like Erazo-Velasquez really is.

To Art Del Cueto, hes dangerous. Del Cueto, as you may know, leads the agents union local in the Tucson sector and is a vice president of the national union. Hes become a widely seen voice of agents nationwide.

And he was disturbed when Tucson police called off their participation in the search for the escaped detainee.

I honestly believe that its not an immigration thing, he said of the search for Erazo-Velasquez. Its a criminal running through the streets of Tucson.

Just how criminal this bad hombre is has been hard to establish, though. On Saturday, the Border Patrol public affairs office put out a news release that said, The suspect has a criminal history related to drug offenses and has previously been removed from the U.S.

That sounds significant until you actually go looking for this criminal history and find  nothing. No records in the federal court system or Arizona courts.

Its possible he was convicted in another state, but if you read the Border Patrol news release carefully, you realize its also possible he was never convicted at all. A criminal history check generally includes cases in which arrests were made, but convictions were not obtained.

I asked Del Cueto of the union, and the agency itself, for help tracking down any convictions. Theyve turned up nothing yet.

The idea that hes a bad hombre to be treated as a dangerous criminal is also belied by the way Border Patrol treated him. They sent one agent to sit by him, an agent who let him leave the hospital without a struggle.

How exactly that happened the agency has not clarified. But in an email to Tucson police officers, Capt. Diana Duffy described the Tucson police response to Banner-University Medical Center this way:

Upon arrival, our officer made contact with the Border Patrol agent and learned he did not see the male leave the hospital and did not know what direction he left other than the information they both were receiving from passerbys, she wrote. USBP had their air unit assisting in the search but because the agent did not have a radio on him we could not initially communicate with them.

This does not sound like an agency in heightened alert for a dangerous guy.

But this is also a cultural and political divide expressed in the last election around the country. The border agents union endorsed Trump, who described the border as completely unsecured and an urgent danger to all Americans. He has made victims of crime by undocumented people a theme of his speeches.

That point of view ran headlong into a more typically liberal  or what I would call, pragmatic  point of view Friday evening.

Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus has established that he is not interested in helping enforce federal immigration laws, especially in ways that might make some members of the community distrust police and fear calling the authorities.

Nevertheless, Tucson police responded to the call. They sent out around 20 officers and dogs, along with a helicopter. The Border Patrol agents and Tucson police stirred up concern in neighborhoods near the hospital where the green-and-white vehicles are rarely seen.

Paul and Annette Felix, longtime residents of North First Avenue, were among many locals alarmed by the unusual law-enforcement action, which included a large Blackhawk flying low.

Were conditioned to hear helicopters because of UMC, but what struck us strange was the constant noise and the big quadrant it was carving out, Paul Felix told me. It kept circling and circling.

It certainly left a lasting impression that they were after Mr. Big.

The search went on from sometime after 5 p.m. till after 7 p.m., when it was dark.

I personally think two-plus hours is a pretty substantial commitment, Magnus told me Tuesday.

By then, dozens of police calls were stacking up. It took 20 minutes to respond to a naked man running into traffic and pounding on cars at Lester and Chiricahua.

And at the same time, some protesters had gathered at the Border Patrol command post near the hospital, police and agents said. Why is unclear, since this wasnt the feared case of federal agents breaking up families through immigration arrests.

A Border Patrol manager asked to move the command post to the Tucson police substation at 1310 W. Miracle Mile.

TPD refused.

Duffy, in her email, said it made no sense to her to have a command post at a police station five miles from the hospital, when the Border Patrol station isnt much farther away. And she didnt want protesters to come to the station, either.

With the scrutiny many of your fellow officers are currently under in light of a recent protest, I made the decision to not allow them now to bring their command post and the anti USBP community members to our station, she said.

One of the TPD supervisors told a Border Patrol manager something about the politics involved, and that really charged up Del Cueto.

He told the world via a statement pushed out late Friday night that TPD had said due to the current political climate regarding immigration enforcement they refused to assist Tucson Sector Border Patrol.

That isnt what the TPD supervisor said or meant, Magnus told me, but the police sometimes do take politics into account.

We live and work in a political environment, Magnus said. To be oblivious to political considerations would be foolish. But it shouldnt be the driving factor in these decisions.

The TPD decision disturbed Del Cueto and his union colleagues enough that they took it to Breitbart News, their favored outlet and the de facto official news medium of the Trump administration. The story set off some alarm, but not the national outrage that might have been expected from the bad-hombre believers.

Tucson police took to Facebook to explain they gave it a try but simply could not afford to keep hunting for a man who could have gotten anywhere by now, and definitely couldnt staff a demonstration at the station, either.

In short, to them, Erazo-Velasquez wasnt that big a threat or that bad an hombre.
PHOENIX  A cardiac surgeon who runs the worlds largest medical network is the lone finalist for the presidency of the University of Arizona.

Dr. Robert C. Robbins, president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, will visit the Tucson campus Wednesday, March 8, to meet with the UA community and take questions from the public.

I am honored and humbled, Robbins told a crowd at the UA Medical School in Phoenix, where he was named as the finalist on Tuesday by the Arizona Board of Regents. The University of Arizona is one of Americas great universities, he said, speaking with a hint of Texas twang.

Regent Bill Ridenour, who chaired the search committee, said the board faced an extremely difficult choice in selecting Robbins over the other contender, Arizona State University executive Sethuraman Panchanathan.

This may be the most important decision in decades for the University of Arizona, Ridenour said.

One of Robbins great strengths is his ability to get people to work together effectively in a large, complex organization, Ridenour said, pointing out that Texas Medical Center is the largest medical system in the world.

Regent Ron Shoopman, vice chair of the search effort, acknowledged in an interview the big difference between what the UA presidents job pays  $670,000 this year  and the $1 million-plus annual salary Robbins now earns in Texas.

He said he feels confident the parties can come to a workable salary agreement.

Board of Regents Chair Greg Patterson invoked the book title Hillbilly Elegy to describe Robbins, who he said grew up poor in Mississippi and overcame many obstacles to obtain an education.

Robbins could have written the book and starred in the movie, Patterson said.

Robbins earned a medical degree from the University of Mississippi and is the former head of cardiology at Stanford University School of Medicine, one of the highest-ranked in the country. Hes been at his current job in Texas since 2012.

He said at a news conference Tuesday that students would be his top priority as UAs president. In a sit-down with the students after he was announced as the finalist, Robbins talked about the need to better align teaching methods with the typical students attention span through increased use of technology in the classroom.

That impressed UA student Claudia Nguyen, 20, who is studying physiology at the Tucson campus and helped greet Robbins Tuesday in her role as a cheerleader.

He has really great ideas about how technology will affect my generation. I cant wait to see what he has in store for us, she said.

Robbins has a few more steps to go through before he gets the job. Regents will meet March 13 to vote on whether to start the contract negotiation process. His hiring would become final when regents vote to approve the contract.

Ann Weaver Hart is stepping down as UA president but will remain on the faculty.

To succeed her, the regents had said they were looking for an innovator who can drive advances in research, fundraising and other key areas, and for experience valuable to the UAs two medical schools.

Robbins would be the universitys 22nd president.
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Dr. Robert C. Robbins, the lone finalist for University of Arizona president, will visit campus Wednesday, March 8, for private meetings with student leaders, faculty, deans, alumni and elected officials.

The campus visit will culminate with a moderated question and answer session open to the public from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Environment and Natural Resources 2 Building, 1064 E. Lowell St.

For those who wish to watch the session online, it will be live streamed at www.azregents.edu/about/abor-live

The Arizona Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday for Robbins over their other final candidate, Sethuraman Panchanathan, a vice president at Arizona State University.

The regents plan a special meeting March 13 to begin negotiations on Robbins' contract. The hiring is not yet final.

Robbins, a highly regarded cardiac surgeon, spent 20 years working for the Stanford University School of Medicine as professor and department chair in cardiothoracic surgery. In 2005, he founded the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.

When Robbins left the California school in 2012 to take his current job in Texas, Stanford put out a news release saying his performance there had won him wide respect.

At Texas Medical Center, the worlds largest medical system, Robbins has introduced new research initiatives in areas such as genomics and regenerative medicine.

Robbins is a million-dollar man in his current post as president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, Arizona Daily Star research shows.

Robbins office wouldnt provide his salary, but the medical centers nonprofit tax records show he earned nearly $1.2 million in 2014, the most recent figure available online.

UA President Ann Weaver Hart's pay package totals $670,000 this year.

None of Arizonas university presidents makes $1 million. ASU President Michael Crow comes closest, with a pay package totaling $788,000 this year.

It isnt clear if the Arizona Board of Regents considered potential salary expectations when choosing the two finalists, or whether the board would consider increasing the pay level for the UA president.

Regents havent answered those questions. Nor have they provided a rationale for why the board eliminated one of the two finalists, leaving only the winner to visit the UA campus community on Wednesday.
The Tucson City Council has signed off on a $4.2 million property tax deal to help HSL Properties redevelop the La Placita property downtown.

The council directed staff on Tuesday night to draw up a formal agreement with the local developer to be brought back for a final vote at a future meeting, but there is majority support for the large tax break in exchange for an estimated $38.5 million investment in the now-vacant downtown property.

The proposed Government Property Lease Excise Tax agreement allows for the abatement of all real property taxes and lease excise taxes on the property during the first eight years following construction.

The direct and indirect benefits of the proposed apartment complex with ground floor retail would generate about $5.2 million in revenue for the city and other taxing entities, according to an economic analysis performed for the city by the Phoenix-based firm, Applied Economics.

The revenue, according to the analysis, is about $1 million more than the $4.2 million property tax savings to HSL Properties over the course of the eight-year tax break.

Regarding jobs, the proposed project will create an estimated 240 construction jobs during the two years it will take to build the complex.

Once fully leased, the project will create about 50 new jobs at the restaurant, coffee shop and property management office. Plans call for incorporating two historic buildings on the property into the new project.

Noting that the developer has already paid for demolition permits to tear down the brightly colored office complex at 110 S. Church Ave., Councilman Steve Kozachik addressed what he saw as the elephant in the room  asking HSL President Omar Mireles whether the tax break was necessary for the project to move forward.

Citing a weakening economic climate, Mireles told the council that without the tax incentive  the project to demolish the 40-year-old structures and build market-rate housing might fall apart.

A few minutes later, Councilman Paul Cunningham sought to address his concerns about Hotel Arizona, the neighboring property HSL also owns that has been vacant for years.

Cunningham hoped the redevelopment of La Placita would lead to some action related to the former Holiday Inn.

Last week, the Rio Nuevo District Board approved preliminary plans for two new hotels to be built in the downtown.

Mireles has previously said that while HSL Properties owns both La Placita and Hotel Arizona, they have different development paths and are controlled by different sets of investors.
NEVADA: Man accused of trying to kill decoy dummy

LAS VEGAS  A hunt for the killer of two sleeping homeless men in Las Vegas led to an unusual attempted murder charge Tuesday and a legal debate about criminal intent, when a man was accused of trying to kill a mannequin used as a decoy near the downtown site where the men had died of head injuries.

The charge was lodged against 30-year-old Shane Allen Schindler at a hearing in which a justice of the peace ordered him to undergo a mental competency evaluation.

Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn derided the charge of attempted murder as a legal impossibility, saying someone cant kill an inanimate object. But Nevada appellate law appears to support the charge. The state Supreme Court in 1976 rejected an argument asserting that since it is legally impossible to commit the crime, it must also be legally impossible to attempt the crime.

NEW YORK: Jewish centers face new wave of threats

NEW YORK  The Anti-Defamation League and several Jewish community centers across the country got a new round of bomb threats Tuesday, adding to the scores they have been plagued with since January.

Federal officials have been investigating more than 120 threats against Jewish organizations in three dozen states since Jan. 9 and a rash of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries.

Over the course of Monday evening and Tuesday, there were eight emailed or phoned-in bomb threats in six states plus Ontario, the JCC Association of North America said.

NORTH CAROLINA: Teen accused of decapitating mother

ZEBULON  An 18-year-old man decapitated his mother and then walked out the front door of her house holding her head in his hand while wielding a knife in the other, authorities said.

The suspect was charged with first-degree murder Monday after he called 911 to say he had killed his mother, according to a news release from the Franklin County Sheriffs office. Authorities say he was arrested without offering resistance, and his 35-year-old mothers body was found inside the home.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Marine commandant decries nude photos

WASHINGTON  The commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps condemned the use of a secret Facebook page by some Marines to share nude photos of women, including female Marines. And he urged victims to come forward if they have been harassed or abused, including over social media.

Gen. Robert Neller, in a sharp video message released Tuesday, said Marines should be focused on preparing to fight, not hiding on social media participating in or being aware of actions that are disrespectful and harmful to other Marines. Its embarrassing to our Corps, to our families and to the nation.

The nearly four-minute video represents the first expansive comments Neller has made about the jarring controversy that has triggered an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
The BB75 networking lunch held recently at The Avenue Restaurant in London saw the industry come together to share ideas, best practice and get an exclusive look at British Bakers own research into the bakery retail market.

The outgoing chief executive of Greggs, Ken McMeikan, was also on hand to collect an award for the north-east bakery chain again topping the list  because of its numbers of stores.

The event also saw craft chains like Wenzels, Waterfields and Birds of Derby attend to listen to a keynote speech on consumer trends by Paul Flatters, the chief executive of consumer research agency The Trajectory Partnership.

John Waterfield, managing director, Waterfields of Leigh, said: Its always interesting to come down and speak to different people, and see whether were in line with them or not.

Mike Holling, retail operations director, Birds of Derby, added: We had a very informative presentation, from Paul Flatters, and it has been an excellent opportunity to network with key people within the industry.

Jason Danciger, head of hospitality at Marks & Spencer, said: It is always fascinating to take a step out when you are going at 180 miles. Its great to stop, look, think and not only find out what everyone else is doing, but at times to reflect and see where the market is.

Some of the market and consumer research today, as well as learning more about the trends, are fascinating things to think about, and thats something to think about when we get back to going at 180 miles an hour.

Graham Nash, director of Nashs Bakery, Bicester, Oxon, added: Its nice to meet other people in the industry, not necessarily bakers, because it is a very diverse sector and it is nice to listen to other people to see that perhaps, I am not doing everything wrong. It has just been a benefit to meet people and get talking.

For more information on BB75, click the link above in the top navigation bar
Devons Crafty Cakes Cafe has closed, so that owner Becky Cuming can focus on her cake business.

Crafty Cakes makes premium-quality cakes made to order for all occasions. It also has a sugar craft centre and runs cake classes.

Half of the Cowick Street shop may now be turned into a gym, after an application was launched last week, but Cuming said that the rest of the business was still very much up and running. She said: "We wanted a refurbishment and a fresh look and felt we didnt need a coffee shop any more due to there already being lots in Cowick Street.

She added that: Were still here and Crafty Cakes is still very much thriving after 27 years. Were looking forward to another 27!

The local authoritys planning committee has set 29 February as its target date for the decision regarding the proposed new gym.
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By Moin Qazi for Twocircles.net

Motherhood is a mercy, being linked

Support TwoCircles



By close affinity to prophethood,

And her compassion is the prophets own.

For mothers shape the way that men shall go;

Maturer, by the grace of Motherhood,

The character of nations is the lines

That score that brow determine our estate.

-Sir Muhammad Iqbal -Rumuz-e-Bekhudi (Mysteries of Selflessness)

This woman, who is your beloved, is in fact a ray of His light, She is not a mere creature. She is like a creator-Jalaluddin Rumi

The portrayal of Muslim women that we glimpse in the media is grim and somber. The public perception of them is one of stubborn stereotypes: supposedly powerless and oppressed, behind walls and veils, demure, voiceless and silent figures, discriminated and bereft of even basic rights. Yet this is far from true.

Contrary to general belief, Muslim women have held the flag of enlightenment all through the historical ages. The early Muslim community recognised and honoured a wide spectrum of female roles and responsibilities. A mother was considered the first school for her children. In Islam, a woman is seen as an individual in her own right, an independent entity, and not as a shadow or adjunct to her husband or any other man. Muslim women are fully entitled to education, work, business ownership, and inheritance.

A closer look at and evaluation of the roles Muslim women have played in many fields including literature, law, art, Islamic studies, the humanities, social sciences and administration  reveals that women, past and present, have achieved and contributed a great deal to intellectual and cultural life in the Islamic world, despite the ways in which they have been caught in the problematic intersections of thought and patriarchal politics. From the first centuries of Islam, women were respected  and held authority  as religious scholars, teachers and leaders, for example as narrators and teachers of hadith.

One such iconic female figure was Khadijah bint al-Khuwaylid (565-623), the Prophets first wife and incidentally the first lady of Islam.

Khadijah was born to a father who was a successful merchant in their Quraysh tribe of Mecca. She inherited her fathers skills in a time in history when society was male-dominated. Upon her fathers death, she took over the business and traded goods through the primary commerce centers at that time, from Mecca to Syria and to Yemen, hiring the most trustworthy men of character to brave the dangerous trade routes. Her business was larger than all of the Quraysh trades combined and the most acclaimed with a reputation of fair-dealing and high-quality goods. when all the Quraysh caravans gathered to begin their long journeys to Syria in the winter or Yemen in the summer, the caravan of Khadijah was equal in size to all of the other caravans combined She had a keen eye and was highly intuitive, earning the monikers, Ameerat-Quraysh (Princess of Quraysh) and al-Tahira (The Pure One) due to her stellar reputation. Khadija knew what she was doing business-wise, never compromising her modesty or integrity to succeed in the male-dominated trades- hiring only those that could meet these standards.

Being the most successful woman around, rich in worldly attainment as well as character, it seems Khadijah faced a consistent campaign of men seeking her hand in marriage. She was married twice before her wedlock to the Prophet; both of these marriages produced children and both left her widowed. Her keen sense of character left her picky; and, she was less than eager to suffer another painful loss of a husband. She resigned herself to being a widowed woman taking care of herself and her family. 

The Prophets uncle under whose guardianship he was cared after being orphaned, Abu Talib had several mouths to feed. It was necessary that he find for his nephew a higher paying job than herdsmanship. One day he heard that Khadijah was hiring men of the Quraysh tribe to work for her in her trade. . When Abu Talib learned that she was preparing a caravan to send to al Sham, he called his nephew, who was then twenty-five years of age, and said to him, My nephew, I am a man devoid of wealth and possessions. The times have been hard on us. I have heard that Khadijah has hired a man to do her trade for a remuneration of two young camels. We shall not accept for you remuneration as little as that. Do you wish that I talk to her in this regard? Muhammad answered, Let it be as you say my uncle. Abu Talib went to Khadijah and said, O Khadijah, would you hire Muhammad? We have heard that you have hired a man for the remuneration of two young camels, but we would not accept for Muhammad any less than four. Khadijah answered: Had you asked this for an alien or a hateful man, I would have granted your request. How then can I turn you down when \your request is in favor of a dear relative? Abu Talib returned to Muhammad and told him the news, adding, That is a true grace from God.

On his first trip in the employment of Khadijah, Muhammad was accompanied by Maysarah, her slave, who was also recommended to Muhammad by his uncle. The caravan made its way to al Sham, passing through Wad Al Zahran, Madyan and Thamud as well as those spots through which Muhammad had passed once before with his uncle Abu Talib when he was twelve years old.

Two unusual events took place during this journey which puzzled Maysarah very much. The first happened when they stopped to rest near the lonely home of a monk. Muhammad sat under a tree while Maysarah was busy with some work. The monk came up to Maysarah and asked, Who is the man resting under the tree? One of Quraysh, the people who guard the Kabah, said Maysarah. No one but a Prophet is sitting beneath this tree, replied the monk. The second event occurred on the journey back to Makkah. It happened at noon, when the sun is at its hottest. Maysarah was riding behind Muhammad and as the sun grew fiercer he saw two angels appear above Muhammad and shield him from the sun.

Muhammads gentle and persuasive style, further refined by his cultural values enabled him to make great gains for Khadijah-indeed more than anyone had done before! And his loyalty and gentleness had won for him the love and admiration of the slave, Maysarah. After he had completed all his business dealings, Muhammad bought for Khadijah that entire she had asked him of the products of al Sham.

When the caravan had returned to al Zahran near Makkah, Maysarah said to Muhammad Run to Khadijah, O Muhammad, and bring to her the news of your success. She will reward you well. Muhammad galloped on his camel towards the residence of his employer and arrived there about noon. Khadijah listened to his report. When Muhammad gave a scrupulous balance of the accounts, Khadijah was even more intrigued to hear Maysaras story of the journey. He gave his mistress a glowing report of Muhammad and also hinted that there was something otherworldly about him. Shortly, despite her forty years of age and the indifference with which she rejected the offers of the noblest of Quraysh, her respect for her employee was to turn into love. Although twice widowed and significantly older than him, she proposed marriage, and returning her affection Muhammad accepted. .



When he received the first revelation in a cave, it was Khadijah to whom he stumbled down the mountain. Physically shaking and unable to comprehend his experience, Mohammed turned to Khadijah, who immediately recognized the significance of what had happened and encouraged him to let go of his fears. She was the first to understand the importance of the revelation and is widely regarded as the first Muslim, who led many others to believe. It was she who sustained, strengthened, and supported him against his own doubt and bewilderment. She played a central role in supporting and propagating the new faith of Islam. She saw Muhammad through the roughest years in his becoming a prophet. It was to her that he brought his fears of madness and his tears of wonder. She simply began to balance everyday life with Divine Wonder as part of ordinary reality. Known for her business acumen and compassion, she gave up everything her wealth, her prestige, her everything in supporting the birth of this new religion. With her husband, however, she faced persecution because of her beliefs and actions until her death. Despite the prevalence of polygamy in war torn Arabia, Prophet Mohammed never took another wife while Khadijah was alive.

Islamic tradition praises Asiya, Mary, Khadija, and Fatima as the four women who provided monumental examples of excellence in faith.

The Prophet said The best of the women of Paradise are Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatimah bint Muhammad, Aasiyah bint Mazaahim the wife of Pharaoh, and Maryam bint Imraan  may Allaah be pleased with them. (Narrated by Ahmad, 2663. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami, 1135

He reiterated again elsewhere: Sufficient for you among the women of the world are Maryam the daughter of Imraan. Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, Faatimah bint Muhammad and Aasiyah the wife of Pharaoh. (Narrated and classed as saheeh by al-Tirmidhi, 3878)

Indeed, another of the most important women of early Islam, Fatimah al-Zahra, was the daughter of the Prophet by Khadijah and it is only through Fatimah (especially through her two sons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn) that the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad is preserved.

The Prophet said of Khadijah:

She believed in me while the people disbelieved in me. And she trusted in me while the people belied me. And she helped and comforted me in person and in wealth when the people would not. Allah provided me with children by her, and He did not with others.(Musnad Imam Ahmad 6/118)

At another place he continues to shower an effusive tribute: God Almighty never granted me anyone better in this life than her. She accepted me when people rejected me; she believed in me when people doubted me; she shared her wealth with me when people deprived me; and God granted me children only through her.(Sahih Muslim).

Moin Qazi is the author of the bestselling book, Village Diary of a Heretic Banker. He has worked in the development finance sector for almost four decades.
Help India!

By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net

Rahmoo, Pulwama: Travelling across several villages in Pulwama district in South Kashmir and interacting with local villagers makes one thing clear: when it comes to use of excessive force to curb protests, the PDP government is no different from its predecessor, the National Conference.

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Zahoor Ahmed Dar, 19, a senior secondary student from Rahmoo village in Pulwama district in south Kashmir, had high hopes with Mehbooba Mufti when she swore as the chief minister of the state, believing she would curb the menace of excessive and abusive use of force.

Six months the same youth along with his friends, became another addition to the thousands of victims of pellet guns.

On 31st October, 2016 when the Valley erupted following the encounter of Burhan wani, Zahoor was having a normal day at home helping his father count the bricks to be used in construction of their house.

A contingent of armys Rashtriya Rifles was passing through the area, which clashed with the local youths leading to full scale escalation and protests. As the norm goes in the valley, a huge contingent of CRPF, J&K Police along with notorious Special Operation group (SOG) had arrived, leading to stone pelting in the area.

The army men were beating the people. They broke the window panes of our mosques. Tell me who can tolerate this blasphemy. People couldnt tolerate this and they pelted stones on the army men, who called forces for the backup, recalls Zahoor.

The stone pelting was going on in the main market where Zahoor lived with his parents and three siblings. As the protests intensified, he peeped out of the gate to see what was going outside. It proved to be a huge mistake, as a volley of pellets hit his chest and face.

He was rushed to the district hospital Pulwama and then to SMHS hospital in Srinagar, where he regained conscious only to feel blood on his chest and face. Close to six surgeries were performed on him and doctors were able to restore some of the vision in his right eye, but his left eye is still without any vision.

It was a terrifying experience. It is only the pellet victims who know how hard it is to live with metal pierced in their vital organs of the body, says Zahoor.

His father, Mohammad Sultan Dar, 50 a farmer, wanted his son Zahoor to get good education and excel in his life. He had saved his life earnings for his education but after hit by pellets he spent all money on his treatment.

I had to take debt for his treatment. The pellets not only affect a single person who is hit by it, but the whole family. Now he cant live the way, he wanted to be, says Sultan.

Four months after he was hit by pellets, Zahoor has been restricted to staying within the house as he can only see a little with his left eye, and that too has only 20% vision.

Interested in political science, Zahoor had always read in his books that there is right to protest which people can use peacefully. But he feels that these notions are only limited to books and no application in real world- at least in Kashmir.

I dont feel anything now. All my dreams have been killed. I didnt even appear in my class 12 examination, he says. My parents give me strength to cope up with my life after hit by pellets, he adds.

Zahoor was not the only one whose life was destroyed that day. Manzoor Ahmed, 22 a baker who was running a shop near his house was also hit by the pellets when he was running for cover from the pellets and tear gas, which were raining over the village.

I was in my shop and saw protests intensifying. I came outside and downed my shutter. As I was about to put a lock on it, I saw a policeman aim his pellet gun at me and pumping a whole cartridge of pellets on me, recollects Manzoor.

He was also hit above the chest like his friend Zahoor. As of now, he has been operated for two surgeries in his eyes. This month he is supposed to go for another surgery.

I have been bedridden since five months. I cant work. My shop is closed since last five months. I was lone bread earner for the family. Who will earn for us now? he asks.

After being hit by pellets, his younger brother Sheraz who is studying in 9th standard has left his studies and he now works as a labourer to support the family.

As the Valley limps back to normalcy, Zahoor and Manzoor are trying to come out of the trauma which they had to suffer after hit by pellets. Every fortnight, both commute to Srinagar-based SMHS hospital for eye checkup.

Our lives are now limited to commuting between Rahmoo and Srinagar and rest all seems dark to us, they say pessimistically.
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): The NIA on Wednesday said it had released two Pakistani teenagers arrested last year in connection with the attack on an Army camp in Jammu and Kashmirs Uri and handed them over to the army for sending them back to their homes.

Faisal Hussain Awan and his friend Ahsan Khursheed, residents of Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, were released when the counter terrorism law enforcement agency found no clue against them during its investigation in the September 18, 2016 terror attack.

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The two were arrested on September 21 in connection with the attack on the Indian Army base in Uri town, that left at least 19 soldiers dead and was blamed on Pakistan.

Hussain and Khursheed have been released and handed over to the Armys 16 Corps headquarters today (Wednesday) for sending them back to Pakistani authorities, said a National Investigation Agency (NIA) official.

The NIA investigation has so far revealed that the two youth crossed over to the Indian side after an altercation with their parents due to pressure over studies.

The agency said that the evidence collected in the form of statements, technical analysis of their mobile phones, seized GPS (Global Positioning System) devices and other circumstantial evidence collected by it did not reveal any linkage of the suspects with the Uri attackers.
As the plight of political prisoners in iran continues, for weeks there was no news about the whereabouts of Ali Moezi, the father of two Iranian opposition members. It has been learned he is held in Tehrans notorious Evin Prison and allowed to have a family visit.

On January 4th Moezi was suddenly transferred from Gohardasht Prison, west of Tehran, to an unknown location without prior notice. He was scheduled to be released back in April 2015, only to be sentenced in absentia to another 12 months behind bars. With his sentence ending, Tehran is refusing to release him even based on its own rulings.

Iran and the many examples

Majid Assadi, a former political prisoner in Iran, has apparently been rearrested. Tahere Riyahi, a female journalist detained in Evin Prison, was provided with a very short telephone call with her family lasting less than a minute. There is new no information about her. Farzane Jalali, a womens rights activist from Kermanshah in western Iran, was arrested on February 23rd and held at an intelligence detention centre.

The allegations raised against such political prisoners and prisoners of conscience lack any legal credibility and are arbitrary in nature. For example, Assadi has been accused of assembly and collusion for measure against national security. He was arrested for the same allegations back in July 2008 and sentenced to four years behind bars.

He was released in 2015 only to be rearrested. Riyahi was arrested on December 27th, 2016 for propaganda against the state. Farzane Jalali, another female political prisoner, was arrested in 2010 for following up on a case of small girls burned at a school fire incident.

Voicing concerns about Iran

The Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has been actively seeking to save the lives of these political prisoners.

Numerous parliaments across the globe and human rights organisations have hosted a variety of NCRI conferences to shed light on the Iranian regimes atrocities.

Most recently, Asma Jahangir, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, released an important report expressing major concerns about no improvements witnessed in the country.

This is especially concerning considering the pledges made by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his signing of the Citizens Right Charter in December 2016.

Ms Jahangir has voiced specific concerns over juvenile executions, political prisoners being denied medical care, and the Iranian regimes use of torture. The report specifically mentions the case of Mrs Maryam Akbari Monfared, who was serving 15 years in prison in relation to her membership in the banned opposition group known as the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), [was denied] medical treatment after she published a letter demanding justice for her brothers and sisters who were reportedly executed in 1988.

This is a major development as a senior UN special rapporteur is acknowledging the summer 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners, mostly consisting of PMOI/MEK members and supporters.

This is a highly sensitive issue for the regime in Iran, especially following the revelation of a sound file associated to the late Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the former successor of Iranian regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini. The sound file covers a meeting between Montazeri and members of the Death Commission tasked to carry out the 1988 massacres in Irans prisons.

The new UN report signals the need to take long overdue action against the mullahs ruling Iran. Those responsible for atrocities ongoing for the past 38 years, and especially targeting the countrys political prisoners, deserve to be placed before justice.
John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, is very firmly against President Donald Trump addressing Parliament when he makes a state visit to Britain later in the year. When he denounced Trump and said he would not allow him into Westminster Hall, he was met with uproarious applause and cheers from MPs.

During his long speech scathing Trump, Bercow said that the House of Commons for which he is the voice is a supporter of equality and an independent judiciary, hence its opposition to Trump. Bercow made the statement after Labour MP Steve Doughty besought a Commons motion asking the authorities of Parliament to hold back its allowances.

Trump has no right to speak at the House

In response to Doughtys plea, Bercow reminded the House that foreign world leaders do not have a given right to a Parliamentary address; it is instead something that is earned through respectable politics and a good, friendly relationship with our nation. He reminded MPs that many precedents are in place so that state visits by world leaders dont necessarily contain an address to both Houses of Parliament.

Bercow added that when it comes to Westminster Hall, where the address would be expected to take place, there are three key holders...the Speaker of the House of Commons (him), the Speaker of the House of Lords, and the Lord Great Chamberlain. He said that in usual cases, they go by popular opinion and use the hall only if all three key holders agree to it.

Bercow also said that while the MPs have strong views about this matter on either side of the argument, he personally is strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. He then reiterated himself, saying that, following Trumps travel ban, which prevented travellers and migrants with visas and other valid travel documents from seven countries with mostly Muslim populations and was recently overthrown by a federal judge, now Bercow is even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall.
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has revealed his budget for this year, and while it does feature some strong strategic decisions, it has left a lot of people unhappy. This is a list of the most important points in the budget, analyses and explained.

2% growth

Hammond has set a forecast for 2% growth by 2021. For 2017, the prediction is also 2%, where it was previously 1.4%. 2018 is forecasted to have 1.6% growth, 1.7% in 2019, 1.9% in 2020, and finally, another 2% in 2021. The Chancellor seemed very chuffed as he announced that this year there would be a larger growth than was previously predicted.

Chancellors have recently struggled with forecasts, and the growth theyve announced has typically been lower than the original forecast. Hammond took great pleasure in boasting his new forecast to the pro-remain referendum voters who were worried about economic growth after the leave result came in, as thankfully, nothing too big seems to have happened yet as a result of Brexit.

Borrowing

In 2016-17, we borrowed 51.7 billion, and now, in 2017-18, thats gone up to 58.3 billion, but Hammond made sure to make it clear that this is just a temporary hiccup as by 2018-19, well only be borrowing 40.8 billion, and itll only continue to go down: 21.4 billion in 2019-20, 20.6 billion in 2020-21, and 16.8 billion in 2021-22.

These are very close to Novembers forecasts. Hammond seemed very smug as he delivered the news of improving on the forecast, but its not all great, since theres still no chance of a surplus by the end of the 2010s.

Small business tax

Small business owners are dubious about Hammonds vow to keep his ear to their plight. He cracked a joke about Tony Blair and Gordon Browns Government being the last Labour government. At a cost of 280 million to the budget, Hammond is delaying small businesses (below the VAT registration threshold) being introduced to quarterly reporting by a year.

Hammond has also given a helping hand in the area of business rates. Hes made 50 per month the maximum amount that small businesses can lose their relief from business rates, and hes giving pubs a 1,000 discount on discount of business rates with less than 100,000 rateable value (which applies to 9 out of every 10 pubs in the country.

He has also set up 300 million funding to give discretionary relief to local authorities, which creates a cut of 435 million. The Tories cheered Hammond on as he made this announcement.

Tax avoidance

Hammond is tackling tax avoidance in his budget, investing 820 million towards preventing tax avoidance and charging VAT on roaming telecoms outside the EU. There is going to be a new fine enforced on businesses caught up in fraudulent activities by HMRC.

National living wage

The national living wage is being increased to 7.50 an hour, starting in April. Hammond vowed to do this last November, so now hes just following up on it. The target is to raise it to 9 an hour by 2020, but reaching that target isnt possible at the current trajectory.

Training

Hammond is providing funding for training of 1,000 PhD students of 300 million. 270 million is being invested in the industrial strategy challenge fund, which funds robotics and driverless vehicles to take jobs away from humans.

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

In Hammond's new budget, the Scottish government get 350 million in funding, the Welsh government 200 million, and the Northern Ireland executive 120 million. Theresa May has expressed interest in keeping the United Kingdom united (since theyre all weve got now), so thats why so much money is getting thrown their way. The massive amount for Scotland is also a thinly veiled bribe to prevent another independence referendum, which the SNP are gunning for.
BEIJING  China has signed agreements on production capacity cooperation with more than 30 countries amid efforts to facilitate its industrial restructuring and upgrading, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.

Serving domestic development is the due task of China's diplomacy, Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

For instance, China's currency renminbi has joined the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights basket. The country has also promoted the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, expanding China's institutional rights in global economic governance, he said.

The foreign ministry has launched promotional events for Chinese provinces to enhance cooperation with foreign partners and help foreign diplomats in China better understand local conditions, he said.

Since the G20 Summit was hosted last year in Hangzhou, the city has taken on a new look and made progress in its economic and social development, he said. "The local people have benefited the most."
The Office for Budget Responsibility has reported a fall in borrowing, defying predictions that the economy would suffer in the event of a Brexit vote.

Chancellor Phillip Hammond delivered his first Spring Budget to Parliament today.

He said that public sector net borrowing for 2016/17 would be 16.4 billion lower than expected.

In Autumn 2016, the OBR predicted that borrowing would reach 51.7 billion.

This goes against the arguments of pro-EU group, Stronger In, that the economy would face significant damage in the aftermath of a Brexit vote.

But Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Government of 'utter complacency' over the economy.

Key measures

Borrowing is predicted to be 24 billion lower than anticipated.

The OBR upgraded growth figures from 1.4% to 2% for 2017.

However, growth is anticipated to slow down to 1.6% in 2018 and then 1.7% in 2019.

In response to the recent hike in business rates, those businesses moving out of Small Business Rate Relief will benefit from an extra cap.

Clare Kober, chair of the Local Government Association's resources board, welcomed this pledge, but warned that local councils will be left 'out of pocket' due to a failure to clarify relief rates.

The further education sector was prioritised in today's Budget.

T-Level qualifications have been introduced for college students.

By ring-fencing FE, the Government has committed 500 million to increase the amount of hours 16-19 year old technical students currently benefit from by 50%.

110 new free schools will be created, in addition to the existing 500, which consists of new maths schools and grammars.

Free school meal pupils will receive free transport.

The NHS has been provided with an additional 2 billion to settle the social care crisis throughout the forthcoming three years. 1 billion will be available for health care in 2017/18.

300 million was set aside to invest in new research talent.

But those experiencing the biggest tax hike will be the self-employed.

Tax hike

Class 4 National Insurance Contributions for the highest paid self-employed workers will witness a 10% spike in taxes in April 2018, a 9% increase. It will then jump to 11% in April 2019.

This breaks the Tory manifesto promise during the 2015 General Election not to increase National Insurance contributions.

Manifesto pledge broken

UKIP deputy chair Suzanne Evans accused the Government of attacking British wealth and job creators.

Corbyn said that the Government have failed to tackle falling wages and suggested they were 'completely out of touch with the reality of life for millions.'

Nonetheless, the socialist failed to reply to the tax increase for Class 4 self-employed workers.

This is despite being warned about them in advance of the Budget.

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said on Twitter that this Budget hits 'white van man' and breaks a key Conservative manifesto pledge.

The Chancellor delivered his Budget from 12.30pm today. You can catch the full speech at: www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/philip-hammonds-budget-speech-full-9989301.
Incidents taking place at work sites have always threatened the lives of Workers, and the regime under the mullahs in iran is the record-holder in this regard. Workers in this country are paying enormous prices in their effort of making a living.

tehran : 238 workers died from March to September 2016

: 238 workers died from March to September 2016 West Azerbaijan Province: 64 workers died at construction sites in a span of 10 months, in addition to 1,083 others injured

Lorestan Province: 59 workers died in six months, signaling a 55% increase

800 workers died across the country in construction sites in the span of 6 months

Unfortunately, this list continues.

Iran is the record-holder in working incidents across the globe, leading to a whopping 15,000 workers killed or injured throughout a 12-month span. This means 41 incidents each day, and 5 or 6 workers losing their lives on a daily basis. Building construction workers have the highest number of deaths amongst workers and each year nearly 1,200 such workers lose their lives in this regard. However, the reason behind these work incidents is that the basis of all the regimes activities are based on plundering and profiting from ordinary peoples hard work, and what Iranian regime officials could care less about is workers lives and safety.

Iran and insurance

Moreover, many workers, and especially building workers that work in workshops with less than 10 employees, are not covered by incident insurance.

Most of these type of workers are forced to give into harsh labor conditions in order to make ends meets, and such ends bring about higher risks of working incidents. And as always, this regimes Labor Ministry continuously claims to inspect all workshops on a regular basis, and safety incidents have actually decreased!

One only needs to remind these Labor Ministry authorities about the atrocious Plasco building fire incident in Tehran where 600 production units were left completely uninspected and none of the complaints were ever answered to.

Why? Because the entire Plasco building belonged to the regimes Mostazafan Foundation, linked to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and where regime officials were plundering ordinary people.

And the future holds?

Currently, the truth is that construction workers and those working on seasonal contracts are quite numerous and they are not insured.

Many rallies held by these workers are for the exact reason of protesting these very policies adopted and employed by regime employers. The irony is that insurance money is deducted from workers salaries and yet no insurance is provided, making them unable to seek medical care in appropriate hospitals. As a result, it is completely clear that such a high number of working site incidents is another sign of how workers face such harsh conditions in Iran under the mullahs regime.

Of course, when regime officials and their inner circle enjoy enormous salaries and embezzle billions what is left for Irans deprived workers is nothing but suffering, poverty, and hardship. The constant protest, seen increasing these days by these workers and other walks of life, are against such cruelty imposed by the regime.
The authorities are investigating allegations that US marines, as well as British marines, posted nude photographs of women combatants on a secret page on Facebook. Such an act violates military law. But everything doesn't go by the rule book and in this case, as reported by Fox News the elite force of the US army have been photographing fellow women, combatants. The Photos were posted on a secret page on facebook. The page was maintained by a marine and probably the members of this elite force used it to pep up their lives. .The photos were uploaded without the consent of the women.

the marine who worked with a contractor would provide an online link to the photos. The names of the women and the units they served in was also mentioned along with the photo. The marine is under investigation and the contractors work terminated.

Investigation

Such a thing could not go on indefinitely and the matter has been detected. Major Clark Carpenter, spokesman of the US marines has confirmed that an investigation is going on. U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he expects a full investigation by the Marine Corps. He said "Degrading behaviour of this kind is entirely unacceptable. They and the nation deserve better," Many women have tweeted their disgust.

History

The fact is that sexual harassment and crimes are deeply embedded in the US armed forces. A 2016 report has confirmed that there were over 6000 cases of sexual harassment in 2015, almost the same number as in 2014. One is reminded of the time when the Britsh army marched in India with a retinue of camp followers. The first Duke of Wellesley when marching from Madras against Tippu Sultan had along with more than 1000 women camp followers.

The same was the practice in the Civil war in the USA.

Ending harassment

The latest sex harassment allegations were reported by a veteran who had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan named Thomas Brennan, in 2016. Now that the matter is reported one expects the US top brass will act decisively to end this harassment. Such acts cannot be totally stopped but the stringent action is called for. Women are agitating in many fields and perhaps they could do something about such incidents as well.
The action was held in New York in the Times Square. On Tuesday morning, 8th of March, Russian flag made of white, blue and red flowers appeared on the bright screens of the famous Square. The slogan "From Russia with Love" showed the intention to bring some positivity on the International Women's Day. People who decided to take part in the action voluntarily, gave women, passing by, flowers and spoke kind words. Twitter users already shared photos and impressions of the action with a hashtag #makerhersmile and #fromrussiawithlove

Even the rainy weather did not stop the Russians, who came out to share a little joy with others.

How did Russians come to this idea on Women's Day?

Russians living in New York came up with this idea. They have received support in social networks and invited everyone who wants to help them to join them on the Times Square. One of the main organisers, photographer Kirill Timonin, said that their goal was to promote the real image of Russia and to make women of America smile. He also adds that many were greatly surprised by this. "For them, it was unexpected and unusual. Not so often, especially in Times Square, girls get flowers just for being there. Here it is not very common, and Russia is perceived in a different way" said Timonin.

"This kind of action was held in the US for the first time," says the source from RIA News.

Next year, volunteers plan to organise it in other cities of the country.

Russian traditions of celebration is slightly different

In many countries, International Women's Day is a day when people highlight serious issues, such as equal rights and violence against women. But in Russia and most post-Soviet countries, it is more of a holiday, when women receive flowers and gifts from family and friends.

Schools and most of the companies are closed to give a day off. People celebrate in restaurants or home, making special dinner.

Today, in the USA, Russians tried to share positive vibes and traditions of their country.
Three people are killed or maimed every hour, worldwide, for organ harvesting, which is subsequently sold on the black market. In many states, people sell their organs voluntarily.

Awful images shocked the whole Internet, after being posted on facebook by Goh Heng Soo. He claims that those photos depict 700 children killed for their organs, which were then sold on the black market.

Children were abducted

The coverage my publication says that the children had organs removed and they were abducted from their parents and taken to a farm located on the border between Malaysia and Thailand.

Goh Soo Heng has launched a warning to the parents. He asked them to take great care of children because they can fall into the hands of such organisations.

In Romania for example, according to a report from the authorities, over 3,000 children are reported missing by relatives or parents.

10,000 fraudulent surgeries occur annually

The World Health Organization estimates that each year, there is around 10,000 fraudulent surgery. Kidneys are the organ most trafficked, occupying 75% of the illicit trade in organs.

Annually, in the United States, over 65,000 patients have switched on waiting lists for a kidney transplant, and of them, approximately 3,000 patients die to wait for one. This high demand has led to the development of the black market and to the increase of traffic in human organs.

In some cases, desperate patients decide to travel to countries like India, Pakistan and China to deal directly with the organ traffickers.

People with financial problems are lured by traffickers who entice their prey through online advertisements, and in some cases, the donors are the ones who are selling their bodies carefully selected through online advertisements.

Although the commercial transplants are outlawed in China, wealthy patients from the Middle East, Asia or even Europe arrive here in order to be put in contact with a donor, willing to pay up to $ 200,000 for a healthy kidney.

"I was blindfolded and taken to a house somewhere in the country. Inside, it was established a complete block operator. I was frightened, but the doctors have anaesthetized me quickly. The client wanted to live and I wanted money", told a man.
Burtons Biscuit Company is expanding its range of Maryland Choc Chip Cookies with the launch of Maryland Crispies.

The Maryland Choc Chip Cookie range, which Burtons claims is the nations favourite cookie, is expanding with two new Crispie variants, Choc Chip & Coconut and Choc Chip & Caramel.

Launching in Tesco, both have an RRP of 1.15 (145g x 20 SRP), featuring 10g cookies which combine the excitement of large cookie flavour experience with a light, crisp texture, according to the company.

David Costello, head of category and shopper management at Burtons, said: In recent years there has been an explosion of new flavours and textures within large cookies, but there has been much less innovation in more permissible, smaller cookies.

Innovative Maryland Crispies provide a very different texture and flavour experience, but in an everyday 10g cookie, to meet everyday treating occasions.

The launch follows the recent introduction of Maryland Cookie Bites, chocolate enrobed cookie bites in a pouch format, targeted at the growing sharing occasion.
The Class of 1967 Reunion Committee has been hard at work planning for the classs 50th reunion. From left, Weldon Haltom, Joy Huntington, Luann Cakebread Bland, Jim Martin, Carrie Casey Martin, Kathy Horton Nelson, Bobby Slack and Linda Davis Kunz. Not pictured are Sharon Dittfurth Tucker and Loretta Porter West.
Some kids were really lucky on Wednesday, when organizers of the A Day without a woman Strike persuaded female teachers to stay home. A gender-equality protest, the strike comes on the same day as International Womens Day, but is not directly related. Reportedly organizers were inspired by protests by women in other countries in the world. However, critics are still saying the strike is bringing politics into the classroom and that it is intended to denounce Trumps presidency.

According to Fox News, it was organizers of the historic Womens March on Washington that organized the event.

That historic march attracted hundreds of thousands of women, protesting against Donald Trump. However, according to the Womens March website, the demonstration on Wednesday is being supported by various other groups too, including Amnesty International, MoveOn.org and Planned Parenthood.

'Day Without a Woman' is about inequality and gender justice

On that website, organizers say they recognize the enormous value women from all backgrounds add to the socio-economic system in the U.S. However, it states women receive lower wages and experience vulnerability to discrimination, greater inequities, job insecurity and sexual harassment. They also recognize the heightened levels of discrimination currently being suffered by trans and gender-nonconforming people, including political targeting and social oppression.

Basically the group is all for gender justice.

A Day Without a Woman for many means a day without school https://t.co/7TjGwsSQh1 pic.twitter.com/5pnInMTmzT  USA news 2017 (@usanews2017) March 8, 2017

School closings on Wednesday

As stated by Fox News, school officials in New York, Alexandria, Va. and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District in North Carolina decided to cancel classes prior to the event, due to anticipated staff shortages.

Another northern Virginia school district, announced school closures after over 300 staff members requested the day off. This led to many parents having to make alternative arrangements for their children or to take the day off themselves, unrelated to the strike.

Those that go to work can participate later

The LA Times reported that even those teachers who didnt go on strike have the opportunity to participate in various rallies and demonstrations outside of school hours.

Debby Pope, a retired teacher told them she is helping organize such events for the Chicago Teachers Union. According to Pope, she has been fighting for womens rights since 1968. Pope said women stand to lose so much of what they have fought hard to gain, mentioning in particular abortion rights, but also gains made through union labor.

No Women, No Love 'A Day Without A Woman' already causing schools to closehere's what happening on March 8 https://t.co/WPBwHtFatU  Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) March 7, 2017

Lady Liberty on strike too?

Rather ironically, many people thought a recent incident in New York was related to A Day Without a Woman. As reported by Blasting News, the Statue of Liberty went dark for just over an hour Tuesday evening, due to an unplanned outage, but many Twitter users believed Lady Liberty was also protesting on behalf of women.
If you want to go to a medical marijuana dispensary in Florida, you won't find them as plentiful as Colorado. The new rules passed by Hillsborough County states that cannabis dispensaries are not allowed to operate near schools, bars, or other places such as churches and public parks. But the biggest problem is the limitation of licensed marijuana dispensaries and licenses. However, Commissioner Kemp helped make the process easier.

Thanks Kemp

Commissioner Pat Kemp won majority vote from her colleagues in Florida's Congress to strip provisions that limit the number of dispensaries to 13 in Hillsborough County.

The 4-3 vote shocked everyone. But Kemp didn't stop there, she won majority vote for an amendment that could revoke the number of licenses based on a point system. This amendment worked well for those licensed dispensaries that are currently recognized by the state of Florida.

"I don't think we should be spending our taxpayer dollars to create this entire licensing scheme," Commissioner Kemp told Tampa Bay Times. However, the Commissioners voted unanimously on enabling these dispensaries to work in Hillsborough County with a few restrictions.

Dispensaries

Kemp's victories were celebrated by advocates for medical marijuana access that were not in favor of a controlled dispensary system. Kemp wants people to have access to alternative medicine, she just wants it to be cheaper and cost-effective than highly over-gouged.

Kemp's decision comes from the Florida Department of Health considering allowing more people to be licensed in the state. The Health Department offered a 30-day window for people to apply for a license to dispense and sell cannabis. But the problem with that was the approval period would have closed long before the decision to expand the cannabis program were to be continued.

As stated in the application process, a person could apply for a license if there were 67,000 people residing in unincorporated areas.

But when Kemp's amendment passed, people who want to apply for a license can and they don't have to jump through anymore hoops. If you apply for a license in Hillsborough County, you can set up shop while the process is ongoing.

However, you won't be able to sell your products until the license has been approved.

Licensed cannabis dispensers still cannot set up shop within 750 feet of other dispensaries, schools, churches, parks and liquor stores or any place that sells alcohol. Dispensaries have only a few options to set up shop: North of the Tampa International Airport, east of Orient Road in Tampa and south of Temple Terrace.
On Monday night, the Republican Party finally rolled out their official alternative to "Obamacare." In an attempt to convince low-income Americans to purchase health insurance, a top Republican congressman decided to insult millions of citizens in the process.

Obamacare replacement

Ever since former President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) into law, the Republican Party has been steadfast in their opposition. Obama's signature piece of legislation has been the number one target for Republicans, conservatives, and the right-wing media for the better part of the last decade, and it appears that they are now closer than ever to getting rid of the law in question.

For years, Republicans have talked about "repeal and replace," but often failed to provide an alternative. Just hours after the offical replacement plan was announced, Republicans and Donald Trump touted the bill, celebrating the first step in changing the healthcare system in the United States. As reported by Mediaite on March 7, the issue was front and center during the latest edition of "New Day" on CNN.

(Chaffetz 'iPhone' comments start at 2:20 in the above video.)

Joining CNN co-host Alisyn Camerota was Republican Rep. jason chaffetz who made questionable remarks in his defense of the "Obamacare" replacement. "Americans have choices and they've got to make a choice," Chaffetz said, before adding, "So maybe rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and they want to go spend hundreds of dollars on that, maybe they should invest it in their own healthcare." Not stopping there, Chaffetz went on to say that people will have "to make those decisions themselves."

House Republicans unveil plan for health care overhaul, launching perhaps the years defining battle in Congress https://t.co/mRD7UvXhmy pic.twitter.com/3d9tn7asuj  CBS News (@CBSNews) March 7, 2017

Alisyn Camerota continued to press the congressman on the new law in question, with Jason Chaffetz insisting that the government must "be able to lower the cost of healthcare." Following the assessment of recent reports, Camerota noted that the replacement, known as the "American Health Care Act," will actually lead to fewer Americans being covered with health insurance.

Not denying the reports, Chaffetz confirmed that, "Yes, I think that's fair."

NEW POLL: Half of Americans oppose removing ObamaCare mandate https://t.co/Jpdu4VT2b5 pic.twitter.com/HhHTzDhEf4  The Hill (@thehill) March 7, 2017

Moving forward

As of press time, it's unknown whether or not the healthcare replacement will be able to reach Donald Trump's desk as it's expected to face a tough hurdle, even in the Republican-controlled Senate. In addition, Democrats have vowed to protect Obamacare as long as possible.
Earlier this week, the Republican Party finally announced their health care replacement bill. While President Donald Trump has given the bill his full support, many have lashed out, with Kellyanne Conway doing her best to fight off the president being linked to the replacement by name.

Conway cares

For nearly his entire eight years in the White House, former President Barack Obama came under fire from Republicans and the right-wing media for signing into law the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as simply "Obamacare." While far from perfect, Obamacare helped lower the uninsured rate in the United States, and included previsions that remain popular today, including not denying people with a preexisting condition, and allowing children to stay under the parent's health insurance until they are 26-years-old.

However, Republicans have argued that Obamacare has only given the government more power, while putting a strain on the middle class, who are too often used to help subsidize health insurance for low-income Americans. These issues were discussed during the March 8 edition of "American Newsroom" on Fox News.

Joining Fox News host Bill Hemmer was Presidential Counsel Kellyanne Conway, who didn't seem too pleased that the new health care replacement was being labeled as "TrumpCare." "This is a piece of legislation also that has presidential leadership," Conway said, before adding, "he's really husbanding this through." "The president and vice president are all-in here," she continued, while noting, "they are working on this more than anything day-by-day."

Conway pushes back against "TrumpCare" label for GOP healthcare bill https://t.co/qbX9RxESDu pic.twitter.com/FjU8iOsDyX  The Hill (@thehill) March 8, 2017

Bill Hemmer then asked how she felt about the bill being labeled "TrumpCare," and Kellyanne Conway responded accordingly.

"It's the American Health Care Act, and I think it's aptly named that for that reason," Conway shot back, explaining that the bill was designed to cover "everybody," stating, "that didn't happen under Obamacare." "I'll call it 'TrumpCare' if you want to, but I didn't hear President Trump say to any of us: 'I want my name on that,'" she said.

"It's not about branding according to someone's name," Conway stated, while labeling the bill "serious business."

Moving forward

While Donald Trump, his team, and Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan have praised the new health care replacement, many are not happy with the details. In addition to expected criticism from Democrats and more liberal pundits, Republican Sen.

Rand Paul referred to the bill as "Obamacare lite," which he doesn't believe will pass the Senate. In addition, Fox News host Shepard Smith gave his feedback, and criticized House Republicans for rushing the roll-out without even knowing how many people will lose their health insurance in the process.
There has been much talk in the media about the horrendous practice of Poachers killing rhinos for their horn. The horn of the African rhino is a treasured item on the black market, commanding high prices, and according to the BBC, around 100 of the animals are killed each month in the wild.

However, this time around, it was a rhino living in a zoo that was killed, shot dead, with one of his horns hacked off with a chainsaw. The four-year-old rhino in question went by the name of Vince and was found lying dead in his enclosure at Thoiry Zoo, located west of the city of Paris on Tuesday morning.

The incident is believed to be the first of its kind to happen in Europe.

Zoo staff is 'extremely shocked' by the attack on the rhino

Thierry Duguet is head of the Parc Zoologique de Thoiry, as it is named in French. Duguet told a local radio station that he and the zoos staff are extremely shocked by what happened, adding that nothing like this has happened in a European zoo before. He said it was a violent assault on the rhino, evidently by poachers trafficking rhino horns.

As reported by The New York Times, the zoo made a statement on Facebook today to say a male rhino named Vince was found dead in his enclosure by one of his caretakers this morning. Reportedly the animal had gunshot wounds to his head and had, in fact, been shot three times.

Duguet also said a fence and several doors, one of which was metal, had been broken and that it looked like the assailant used a chainsaw to remove the rhinos horn.

The statement from the zoo said Vinces second horn was also partially sawed through, suggesting the poachers were interrupted in their actions, or possibly that their chainsaw was faulty.

All of this went on, despite the fact that five members of the zoo staff live on site and there are surveillance cameras in place.

Two other rhinos in the zoo were unharmed

Reportedly there are two other white rhinos in the zoo  Bruno, 5 and Gracie, 37  but luckily both were unharmed. Vince was born in a zoological park in Arnhem in the Netherlands and was introduced to the zoo in Thoiry back in 2015, along with Bruno.

France has outlawed the trade in ivory and horns

Last year, France outlawed the trade in ivory and rhino horns and has become actively involved in breeding programs. Both Bruno and the late Vince were part of a breeding program involving 250 animals in European zoos. Reportedly the breeding program is a conservation success, as white rhinos were close to extinction late in the 19th century  nowadays there is a population of around 20,000 rhinos alive in the world. However, despite intensive efforts to both protect the rhinos  and breed more  poaching has risen in recent years, with Asian markets  including Vietnam and China  prizing the horns for what they believe to be their aphrodisiac properties. According to the BBC report, just one kilo (2.2 lb) of rhino horn can bring in around $60,000 for a poacher.
The revised executive order has finally come from President Donald Trump and it covers immigration and travel from six Muslim countries which are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Iraq has been exempted because it is an ally of the United States in its fight against the ISIS as reported in FoxNews.

The new order puts a brake on the entry of refugees for a period of 120 days but an indefinite travel ban on Syrian refugees is withdrawn. Under the terms of the new order, citizens of the six countries who failed to obtain a visa before Jan.

27 will remain barred for a period of 90 days.

Travel ban will ensure safety of Americans

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that President Trump wants to ensure the safety of Americans and the travel ban is meant to eliminate vulnerabilities that could be exploited by radical Islamic terrorists. The new order is not applicable to green card holders and omits any person who has a valid travel document, a visa and is a legal permanent resident of the United States.

Another action taken by this executive order is to put a ceiling on the number of refugees that the United States would accept annually  it was 110,000 during the previous regime of Barack Obama and is now reduced to 50,000.

Moreover, the new order also indicates different categories of people who are eligible to enter the United States for activities related to business or medical needs.

The new order was released by Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in an event where reporters were present. Incidentally, the earlier version was released during a presidential signing ceremony at the Pentagons Hall of Heroes.

How effective will be the ban?

In the opinion of a Democrat Senator, the new executive order may face hurdles similar to the earlier one and must be repealed. The director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project feels that it is a case of religious discrimination and may have serious repercussions.

The worries of President Donald Trump are understandable.

He wants to prevent entry of undesirable elements into America because terrorism is an evil that is gradually going out of control and restrictions are necessary. It is to be seen whether the revised travel ban will serve the purpose.
Birthday wishes

Call 281-422-8302 or email sunnews@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun.

Happy Birthday Wishes
Every government has its secret operations and certainly the American government as the worlds largest military institution is the one with the most to hide, but it is not alone. For this reason every government also has programmes to uncover its opponents secrets and try to counteract them. Wikileaks has become a mysterious third player with a hidden agenda that nobody as yet understands.

From sci-fi to reality

In itsleatest reincarnation the classic British sci-fi television programme has produces an evil enemy that quickly became a fan favourite.

Weeping Angels are a race that only moves when the enemy does not watch, so the saying Dont blink became a catch cry amongst Whovians about hidden dangers. Yesterday the world discovered that Weeping angels truly exist.

Amongst the hacking tools mentioned in Tuesdays #Wikileaks dump of thousands of highly classified documents one was called Weeping Angel with which American operatives could use an apparently switched off television set to monitor a room and spy on any conversation taking place. The material was released through two important European newspapers, Germanys Der Spiegel and Italys La Repubblica.

The details will be fascinating for many, certainly frustrating and angering for Americas intelligence community, but the timing of the release once more raises doubts of Wikileaks true aims.

Unlikely coincidence

The United States is currently embroiled in a scandal and uncertainty regarding allegations of Russian hacking in the presidential race won by President #Donald Trump. The campaign was subject to the release of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee which embarrassed its candidate Hillary Clinton and like this week the release seemed to be at times of difficulty in the Trump campaign.

At the time Russias security services were indicated as a probable source for the leaks.

Yesterdays release comes in a period when the White House is under pressure on alleged contacts with Russian agents by the Trump team in the campaign and which continued after the election. As a result National Security Advisor Michel Flynn was forced to resign and Attorney General announced his decision to recuse himself from the investigations into these leaks.

These were the reasons that led to President Trump releasing a storm of tweets on the weekend accusing the Obama Administration of improper behaviour during the election and planting further discord into American politics. Thus it is unlikely that the release date for the material by Wikileaks was a coincidence.

Hiding

According to the Guardian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange declared from his refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London where he is avoiding extradition proceedings from Sweden that he did not know the sources for the documents and could not deny that they may have come from Russia. At the same time he praised the high quality of the material and its importance for revealing covert activities by governments, but this role is now coming under increasing suspicion.

Some believe that the release may be a black flag operation by the United States government to divert attention away from the Oval Offices current difficulties, but Assanges declarations would seem to deny that. In any case, the apparent preponderance of material about American activities and the lack of such releases about Russia, China, or other countries raise doubts to Wikileaks supposed political neutrality.

Results

There is no doubt that Tuesdays revelations caused embarrassment for the American intelligence community, but in the long run it may cause many more problems for Wikileaks as it will direct the ongoing investigations into the Russian interference into new directions and Julian Assange may well rue this latest step.

Undoubtedly the results will have major effects on American politics, but as we have seen in recent months they are already occurring which is assuredly the intention of Wikileaks and those who provided the material.
President Donald Trumps constant use of his cell phone has been a constant source of tweets and also inspiration for comics since he began his run for the White House two years ago. Yesterdays revelations by #Wikileaks about the CIAs cyber warfare capabilities have given us much to ponder, beginning with the price of his insistence, so far, not to change his habits.

Oval Office and tweets

The United States and the world have become used to the regular outpouring of tweets from Donald Trump from politics to television programmes, or any matter that may come to his attention as he watches television.

These activities have provided material for satire and serious articles as comics and journalists analyze and comment on the latest tweet released at the oddest hours of the morning.

As of yesterday this should all change.

President Trumps old style cell phone had already been the subject of controversy as it was not secured and may be subject to hacking by unfriendly forces. The Guardian was not the only newspaper to raise the issue and a simple online search using the words Trump, phone and hacking will provide a wealth of articles on the subject.

The details of the cyber warfare weapons available to the CIA are proof that the Presidents phone does indeed provide a potential source for the leaks that have plagues the Oval Office since the Inauguration.

Argument

At the same time it would be naive to think that only the CIA has access to such capabilities. The simple fact that on the weekend CNN showed a film clip of a heated argument between the President and his Chief Strategist Steve Bannon provides proof that it is not so difficult for a determined person to have access to areas that are supposedly secured.

In the same fashion it now also puts into another light the search for the leakers by Senior Press Officer Sean Spicer who checked the phones of his staff to ensure that they had not purposely leaked embarrassing information to the Press. This news was leaked virtually in real time and it is now not in the realms of impossibility that the leaks came from unsecure devices rather than deliberate actions by White House staff.

No doubt these issues are already being discussed in the Oval Office and just as surely measures will soon be taken to ensure that the devises within the sacred precincts will all be secure and possibly banned from particularly delicate discussions and negotiations. But the revelations also point the spotlight on the White House for another reason.

Friend or foe?

During the presidential campaign then candidate Donald Trump praised Wikileaks for its release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton at delicate moments in the campaign. Even at the time these leaks were considered with suspicion by many and were suspected of being orchestrated by Moscow. These then became part of the allegations of Russian interference in the election that has caused much disruption to the new Administration.

Yesterdays revelations now put Wikileaks into another light. The White House must now put into doubt any friendly attitude that it may have towards Julian Assanges organization.

At this stage nobody knows its intentions and long term plans. The saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend has led many politicians to make fatal mistakes and Donald Trumps advisors would do worse that to direct him to look on Wikileaks as a foe rather as a friend.

Last year the target was Hillary Clinton, yesterday the target was the CIA and nobody knows if and when the target will become Donald Trump.

With the shadow of Vladimir Putin hanging over Wikileaks anything is possible.
The ongoing war of words between Donald Trump and Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. After the president continued to pile on the star of "The Terminator," Schwarzenegger admitted that he grew increasingly upset.

Arnold on Trump

Last month, Donald Trump took a shot at Arnold Schwarzenegger for the lower than expected ratings on "The New Celebrity Apprentice," the show the new president used to host before running for office. In response, the former governor of California responded by offering to switch jobs with Trump.

The feud kicked up a notch when Trump appeared at the annual National Prayer Breakfast and smeared Schwarzenegger, while mockingly asking for a prayer from the audience to help produce higher ratings. The two went back and forth on Twitter, with the president targeting Schwarzenegger's time as governor, but that's not where the fight ended. As reported by The Hill on February 6, Schwarzenegger is even more upset than previously thought.

Schwarzenegger on Trump: I wanted to "smash his face" https://t.co/wHu6Xxuze6 pic.twitter.com/mvBoWX5m1f  The Hill (@thehill) February 6, 2017

In a brand new interview with Men's Journal, Arnold Schwarzenegger elaborated on his recent exchange with Donald Trump.

"I called my assistant and said, 'I think what we really should do is request a meeting and go back to New York,'  Schwarzenegger noted, while adding, "And then we just smash his face into the table." The star of "Predator" continued, admitting that he walked back his anger and had other ideas.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the cover of our April issue. He has some things to say about Donald Trump. https://t.co/xmMF4LSCi3  Men's Journal (@MensJournal) February 3, 2017

"Then I think, 'We can't do that, either,'" Schwarzenegger pointed out.

"I think I have to be above all that and put him on the spot," he continued, stating, "Don't get into a stinking contest with a skunk." While the billionaire real estate mogul has yet to respond to the former governor's latest remarks, it's likely that he will considering his recent history and habit of voicing his thoughts on social media.

Moving forward

In addition to the issues with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Donald Trump has increased his feud with the mainstream media and other news outlets. Over the last 24 hours, the former host of "The Apprentice" has labeled CNN, ABC, NBC, and the New York Times as "fake news," while also accusing the media of possibly covering up terrorist attacks around the world.
Could Javi Marroquin have fathered Kailyn Lowry's third child? As speculation continues into the identity of the "Teen Mom 2" star's third baby daddy, an odd tweet has hit the web, which appears to suggest that Marroquin recently told fans on Twitter that there was a "strong possibility" that he fathered the baby.

On March 7, The Hollywood Gossip shared a screenshot of Marroquin's alleged tweet, which read, "There is a strong possibility I'm the father. [Kailyn] isn't sure who the dad is tho." According to the screenshot, the alleged tweet was sent out on March 2, just one week after Lowry confirmed her pregnancy on her official blog.

Javi Marroquin married Kailyn Lowry in 2012

Before tending to his duties with the Air Force in late 2012, Marroquin and Lowry tied the knot in a courthouse wedding ceremony attended by just a few of their close friends and family members. One year later, after Marroquin returned home, they celebrated their marriage with a larger ceremony held at an aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, which is just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Weeks after their 2013 wedding, Marroquin and Lowry welcomed a baby boy, son Lincoln, now 3, and two years later, Lowry became pregnant again. Sadly, her pregnancy resulted in miscarriage weeks later. Months after that, Lowry confirmed the end of her marriage.

Javi Marroquin claims his March 2 tweet was a fake

While The Hollywood Gossip shared a screenshot of Marroquin's alleged tweet, in which he claimed he may be his ex-wife's baby daddy, he claims the tweet was never posted to his account. "Wth! No I never tweeted that," he told fans after the screenshot hit the web. "Y'all are too much." According to the outlet, there are several other men rumored to have fathered Lowry's third child, including Tyler Hill, who fans saw her texting on "Teen Mom 2," JC Cueva, and Chris Lopez.

To see more of Kailyn Lowry and Javi Marroquin, as well as their sons, tune in to new episodes of "Teen Mom 2" season 7B on Monday nights at 9 p.m. on MTV.
cameran eubanks and her husband, jason wimberly, appear to live a squeaky-clean lifestyle. In addition to the reality star doing her best to stay out of the drama on "Southern Charm," her husband, a doctor in Charleston, South Carolina, has stayed off camera completely. That said, the adorable couple has just found themselves in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

While not much is known about Wimberly, aside from his job, fans are now learning that, like a lot of reality stars, Wimberly isn't quite as perfect as he seems. On March 7, Radar Online shared a report with readers in which it was revealed that Wimberly was arrested for DUI at a drive-thru in 2012 after reportedly refusing a breathalyzer test not once, but twice.

Jason Wimberly was charged with three traffic violations during the incident

After being pulled over, the husband of Cameran Eubanks, who was not yet married to the reality star at the time of the incident, received three traffic violations, one of which was reckless driving with alcohol. According to the police report, which was obtained by Radar Online, Wimberly ran a red light, made a U-Turn, and then attempted to pull in to a fast food restaurants parking lot. However, as he attempted to make the turn, Wimberly's vehicle reportedly drove over a curb and nearly hit the restaurants sign.

Upon coming face-to-face with Wimberly, the officer claimed he was slow to respond to [his] verbal commands to exit the vehicle. The officer then noticed that Wimberly had bloodshot eyes -- and that his speech was slurred.

Jason Wimberly refused a breathalyzer test

Wimberly turned down a breathalyzer test after being pulled over by police and after being arrested for DUI and taken to a police station, he refused another breathalyzer test. In court, Wimberly entered a not guilty plea, but later plead no contest to reckless driving in exchange for the two other charges being dismissed.

To see more of Cameran Eubanks and her co-stars, tune in to "Southern Charm" season four on April 3 at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
UNITED NATIONS  China's Belt and Road Initiative is "a great enabler of sustainable development" by unlocking potential of countries and creating appropriate environments, said Saber Chowdhury, the president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Tuesday.

"By focusing on connectivity and cooperation amongst countries across geographical regions," the initiative represents "a very timely and unique opportunity" for the participating countries to reduce infrastructure gaps, as well as to stimulate and accelerate economic prosperity by triggering investment and creating job opportunities, Chowdhury told Xinhua in a written interview.

"It is a win-win proposition for all," said Chowdhury, adding that "I also regard it in essence as an eloquent and practical expression of an important cornerstone of China's foreign policy, that of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence."

The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by China in 2013 and aims to become a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.

On the role the IPU and parliaments can play in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Chowdhury said the IPU was fully engaged in the process of defining the SDGs.

The SDGs are 17 goals adopted by all UN member states in September 2015 to guide the world's development till 2030.

A series of IPU assemblies, as well as the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held at the United Nations headquarters shortly before the adoption of the SDGs, have "focused on the SDGs and refined our inputs," he said, noting that the National People's Congress of China has been actively contributing to the work of the IPU in this regard and others.

"Having been so closely involved in shaping and defining the SDGs, the IPU and national parliaments now have a great responsibility and opportunity in implementing the SDGs and ensuring the people have a future they deserve and aspire to - a brave new world where none is left behind," said the president.

The SDGs represent a global vision for the world and have set goals, targets and indicators in regard to where people want to be in 2030. However, it is for each country to establish, based on its own realities, a road map that will help reach the destination, Chowdhury said.

"National ownership of the SDGs is critical for its success and the IPU has been encouraging national parliaments to take resolutions in support of implementing the SDGs."

Chowdhury said a big challenge that confronts national parliaments is capacity and ability to deliver. China, for its part, has offered to help enhance capacity of parliaments in some developing countries in Asia and Africa.

To help parliaments to assess how "fit for purpose" they are in implementing the goals in their own country, the IPU, together with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has developed a toolkit.

The toolkit is designed to help parliaments identify all the means and processes available to them, as well as the institutional gaps that need to be filled. "I think this is a great resource and I am upbeat that it will be made full use of," said Chowdhury.

The IPU president said that there have been a number of regional initiatives and events around the world with an aim to mobilize parliaments and lawmakers to support the implementation of the SDGs. One of the most recent was the South Asian Speakers' Summit on SDGs, which was held in Indore, India last month.

Further events will continue to be held in different parts of the world, including in Africa, said Chowdhury.

The IPU, established in 1889, is the international organization of parliaments. It fosters contacts, coordination and exchange of experience among parliaments and parliamentarians of all countries.

Chowdhury is a senior Bangladeshi parliamentarian who also has extensive experience in inter-parliamentary relations. He took office in October 2014 as the IPU's 28th president.
New York apparently wants to hold on to as many memories as possible of the cherished Waldorf Astoria hotel.

On Tuesday, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted unanimously to landmark several sections of the hotel's interior.

As for the exterior, that was designated a city landmark in 1993. The designations mean you can't mess with whatever's landmarked.

The vote will protect the building's most grand public spaces, including interconnected rooms and corridors on the ground, first, second and third floors.

The Waldorf has been in the news a lot lately, with many winsome testimonials to its grandeur and star status. The Park Avenue grandee closed on March 1 for what will be two to three years of renovations and an expected conversion mostly to luxury condos.

The Anbang Insurance Group of Beijing bought the Manhattan gem in October 2014 for $1.95 billion from Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, the US hotel giant. Hilton continued to manage the premises for Anbang, but it apparently will have fewer rooms to let when it reopens in 2019 or 2020.

"The Waldorf Astoria hotel has some of the most internationally renowned rooms in all of New York City," Landmarks Commission Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan said in a press release Tuesday. "Today's action not only protects the rich and beautifully detailed Art Deco features of the hotel's interior public spaces, it also preserves the unique experience of moving through the hotel's varied interiors, which countless New Yorkers and visitors have enjoyed for more than eight decades."

And that's OK with Anbang, which said in this statement on Tuesday:

"Anbang knows the Waldorf Astoria's history is a large part of what makes this hotel so unforgettable. That is why we fully supported the commission's recommendations for designation of the Waldorf Astoria's most important public spaces and applaud the commission on achieving landmark status for them. These designations are consistent with our vision and we look forward to presenting our plans for restoring these historic public and event spaces in the coming weeks."

Over the years, the Waldorf, which opened in September 1931, played host to such stars as Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra, and its Presidential Suite was where US presidents often spent the night in the city, at least until Anbang bought the place. But that's another story.

Landmarked spaces on the first floor include the Park Avenue lobby; an entry hall with 13 murals and a floor mosaic by the French artist Louis Rigal; and the wood-paneled main lobby with black marble pillars.

On the east end of the first floor, near Lexington Avenue, preserved are elevators with distinctive metal doors and double staircases with "frozen fountain" balustrades leading through the first, second and third floors.

On the third floor, designated spaces include the Silver Gallery, a long mirrored hallway with a black-and-white mosaic floor linking four ballrooms. The gallery has a coved ceiling with 12 murals by American artist Edward Emerson Simmons.

Then there's the Grand Ballroom, which has room 1,550 guests. The three-level space has projecting balconies and an elaborate ceiling relief. The room has hosted many dinners, banquets, galas and balls, including the annual Alfred E. Smith Dinner, attended by US presidential candidates.

In fact, it was just last October that the dinner was the setting for the lobbing of some caustic bon mots between then-presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Also on the third floor is the Basildon Room, which has colorful wall and ceiling panels from an 18th century British mansion, as well as the Jade Room and Astor Gallery. They retain their original dimensions and share such features as gilded plaster reliefs, nickel-bronze metalwork, glazed doors, mirrored walls and wood paneling.

The LPC is the city agency responsible "for protecting and preserving New York City's architecturally, historically and culturally significant buildings and sites". It was created in 1965, two years too late to save the original Pennsylvania Station from being demolished.

Contact the writer at williamhennelly@chinadailyusa.com
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May holds a press conference with her counterpart from Italy Paolo Gentiloni (not shown) at Number 10 Downing Street in London, February 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON  British Prime Minister Theresa May's plans for steering Britain out of the European Union ran into more opposition Tuesday as Parliament's unelected House of Lords approved legislative changes restricting the government's room to maneuver in divorce talks.

Parliament's upper chamber voted for a bill authorizing the start of exit negotiations, but with an amendment requiring lawmakers, not just the government, to approve Britain's exit deal with the EU.

The 366-268 vote is a headache, but not a roadblock, for the government. The bill now returns to the elected House of Commons, which can  and likely will  undo the change next week.

May's Conservative Party has a majority in the Commons, but not the Lords.

The House of Lords inserted another change into the bill last week, promising that EU citizens living in Britain can stay after the U.K. leaves the bloc. It, too, is likely to be reversed.

Brexit Secretary David Davis accused some members of the Lords of trying to frustrate the government's aim of "negotiating a new partnership with the EU" following last year's national referendum in which Britons narrowly voted to leave the bloc.

"We will now aim to overturn these amendments in the House of Commons," he said.

May has promised that Parliament will get a vote on Britain's EU exit terms  but only on a "take it or leave it" basis. If lawmakers reject the agreement she obtains, the U.K. could stumble out of the EU without any deal in place. That's not good enough for many pro-European legislators.

Michael Heseltine, a former Conservative Cabinet minister, said Britain faces "the most momentous peacetime decision of our time."Giving lawmakers a vote on the terms of Brexit would ensure "that Parliament has the critical role in determining the future that we will bequeath to generations of young people," Heseltine said.

Supporters of the government argue that giving Parliament a veto on the exit deal would encourage the EU to offer Britain bad divorce terms, because lawmakers could always send May back to the bargaining table.

May wants to invoke Article 50 of the EU's key treaty, triggering two years of exit negotiations, by March 31. She can't do that until Parliament passes legislation sanctioning the move, and pro-EU lawmakers have been determined to put obstacles in the government's path.

Back-and-forth between the Commons and the Lords  a process known as "parliamentary ping pong"  could delay passage of the legislation and potentially threaten May's timetable for starting EU exit talks.

AP
US President Donald Trump walks to the Oval Office after returning to the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb 24, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump is seeing more controversy than any other newly elected president in recent memory, and that might hurt his chances of passing his agenda.

Trump, who shocked the world last November when he beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to win the presidential race, has careened from one controversy to another since inauguration in January. Currently, he continues to be dogged by accusations of colluding with Russia.

The latest controversy involves his accusations of his predecessor Barack Obama for the alleged tapping of his phones ahead of last November's Election Day. Trump provided no evidence so far to support his charges, which were swiftly denied by Obama.

The jury remains out on what exactly happened, and about whether the accusations are true or false. But experts said the controversy may well hurt the new president and curb his ability to push his legislative agenda.

"These controversies hurt Trump because they take him off message and make it more difficult to pass the policy changes he has in mind," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

Indeed, Trump was elected on a wave of hopes that he would finally fix a number of long-term problems, from joblessness to over-regulation to tax reform to perceived US weakness in foreign policy. But critics say he's been distracted by one controversy after another, although supporters maintain it's still very early in his presidency.

"The scandals harm his personal reputation and are raising his negatives in public opinion surveys. This is very problematic for him and will make it harder to implement needed changes. People don't trust him and worry that he is not up to the job of being president," West said.

Despite fervent backing from his supporters, the fomer New York businessman overall has very low poll ratings.

Critics now describe Trump's wiretapping accusations against Obama as something out of a spy novel and quite unusual in the United States.

"Trump has provided no evidence that Obama wiretapped him. Even Republican leaders seem dubious of these claims," West said, adding that leading intelligence officials also say this is not true.

Another controversy is that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who met with the Russian ambassador in the US twice last year, did not disclose the meetings during his confirmation hearings. Critics say he should lose his job, although supporters say the controversy can be chalked up to a political witch hunt.

Sessions has recused himself from any investigations into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia.

"The Sessions' recusal means that all investigations of the Trump campaign will go to someone who is less sympathetic to the president than the Attorney General," West said.

Decisions on whether to appoint a special prosecutor will go to a deputy and that person will not have the close personal relationship to the president that Sessions has. The result is riskier for Trump because he will no longer have a trusted ally protecting his legal flank, West said.

"It raises the risk that a special prosecutor will be appointed in the future and that Russia gate could engulf the president," West said of the Russia controversy.

Depending on what the FBI finds, this scandal has the potential to distract Trump from his policy agenda, West added.

"It is not a good way for any administration to start, under the cloud of legal and political scrutiny," West said.
As Zane Wang sees it, China's young "are confident about their future earning power, so they want to borrow money to improve their lives".

Wang is part of a new wave of Chinese financial technology (fintech) companies looking to shake up banking and wealth-management channels in much the same way Airbnb and Uber have altered the hotel and taxi businesses.

He is the founder and CEO of China Rapid Finance, which was started in 2001 and developed a credit-scoring technology for China that is similar to the FICO or Fair Isaac Corp system in the United States.

China Rapid Finance, now operator of the Chinese mainland's largest consumer lending marketplace, and Nuoyuan Technology Development Co Ltd, a risk control management company, were two of the companies present on Tuesday at Lendit USA, a networking event for the emerging fintech industry, in New York.

"In 2010, we leveraged our technology to start a marketplace lending platform," Wang said.

China Rapid Finance, based in Shanghai, is targeting the estimated 500 million Chinese who are working but do not have access to credit yet, Wang said. Banks in China tend to cater to the well-established and affluent clientele, he added.

Wang said China Rapid Finance does not provide the actual financing product to consumers. "We are a facilitator and we don't use our balance sheet to make loans. We match borrowers and lenders," he said.

Wang believes that China's developing middle class provides ample expansion opportunity for his company. To achieve that growth, he needs an expanding middle class, and he believes government policy is promoting that objective.

"The Chinese government is trying to encourage domestic consumption," he said.

China Rapid Finance is a so-called peer-to-peer lending company. In 2015, Internet lender Ezubo allegedly defrauded more than 900,000 people out of the equivalent of $7.6 billion, in what was called China's biggest Ponzi scheme.

Since the scandal, the government has imposed a regulatory framework that Wang believes will protect consumers, lenders and investors.

Reports published last month suggested that China Rapid Finance would seek an initial public offering in the US this year. Wang said no decision has been made yet.

"We need a secure capital base to grow, but we haven't made any announcement yet," he said.

Nuoyuan Technology Development, a unit of Hanfor Holdings, has developed a risk control system designed specifically for the Chinese market.

"China's fintech emerged from a less-mature market (and) aims to reinvent the financial services system," said Guo Lu, president of Hanfor.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com
Oscar Tang, a Chinese-American philanthropist, has given the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York a major work that's been called one of the most important paintings in existence for offering a view into 10th century Chinese art.

The 1,000-year-old painting, Riverbank, is a rare survivor from 10th century China, with very few paintings of that era still in existence today. Tang, a former investment banker and longtime trustee of the Met, originally purchased the painting from prominent Chinese art collector C.C. Wang in 1997.

"This is the very best painting, like the Mona Lisa," Wang told The New York Times 20 years ago when Tang purchased the painting and promised it to the Met.

"I want it to be recognized all over the world."

Watching The Riverbank go to the Met, he said, was "like seeing my daughter married to a good husband".

"This was a piece that perhaps was the most important painting in [Wang's] collection, and this is something that the Met Museum really wanted to have, to highlight in its collection," Tang told China Daily.

"It is one of the earliest examples of monumental landscape painting, which is one of the major forms of Chinese painting, so it's extremely important. The details in the painting - which you have to get close up to examine very carefully - are just magnificent. We're very happy to have this at the museum," he said.

The painting is one of the largest silk hanging scrolls to survive from early Chinese art and larger than anything in either of the palace museums in Beijing or Taipei, said Maxwell Hearn, chairman of the Met's department of Asian art.

"This is one of the great opportunities for us to tell the story of landscape's evolution, from the 10th century right down to the present. Without this painting we lose a whole chapter in that history," he said.

Riverbank is an example of landscape painting's transition from the use of blue-green in the Tang Dynasty (618-906) to the monochromatic style of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Artists began using brushstrokes called cun or cunfa that used different techniques of dotting and texture, according to Hearn.

"I think it's arguably one of the most important Chinese paintings that exist," said Tang.

"Here in the West we're very familiar with the basic elements of Western civilization, but Chinese and Asian civilization needs to have a platform so that the West can appreciate the extent to which Chinese civilization had developed two millenniums ago," he said.

Tang said his donation expressed his "tremendous confidence" in the Met Museum, which has been undergoing budget and restructuring challenges. Museum director Thomas Campbell reportedly resigned under pressure last month over concerns about the museum's finances, though he is staying on through June.

Tang, who moved to the US from Shanghai when he was 11 years old and built a formidable career in investment banking, is a longtime trustee of the museum, supporting major projects including the creation of the Frances Young Tang Gallery, named for his wife, who died of cancer in 1992.

"I was educated here and then built a career in the investment business," he said, "but having been successful in terms of accumulating wealth, I think I want to use that wealth as best I can, to build institutions that support Chinese art and culture as a way to present that to the Western public."

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com
A federal judge on Wednesday said the state of Hawaii could file an amended complaint against President Donald Trump's new executive order temporarily banning the entry of refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries.

US District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii said the state could add to its initial lawsuit, which had challenged Trump's original ban signed in January. The state is claiming the revised ban signed by the president on Monday violates the US Constitution. It is the first legal challenge to the revised order.

The state of Hawaii will ask the court on Wednesday to put an emergency halt to Trump's new order, according to a court schedule signed by the judge. A hearing is set for March 15, a day before the new ban is to go into effect.

The revised travel order changed and replaced an original, more sweeping ban issued on Jan 27 that caused chaos and protests at airports and was challenged in more than two dozen lawsuits around the country. A federal judge in Seattle put the first order on hold, in a decision upheld by an appeals court in San Francisco.

The new order is much more narrowly tailored. It keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, but excludes Iraq and applies the restriction only to new visa applicants. It also removed an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria.

Legal experts have said court challenges will be more difficult now because changes to the order give exemptions to more people.

Hawaii claims its state universities would be harmed by the order because they would have trouble recruiting students and faculty. It also says the island state's economy would be hit by a decline in tourism.

Immigration advocates have said the new ban, like the original one, discriminates against Muslims.

The government says the president has wide authority to implement immigration policy and says the travel rules are necessary to protect against terrorist attacks.

Reuters
FFA members from more than 31 chapters across southeast Nebraska met up to show off their practical knowledge of farming and agriculture on Tuesday morning.

Southeast Community College in Beatrice held their yearly Career Development Event program for FFA members around southeast Nebraska on March 7, taking part in competitions to show off what theyve learned about agriculture during their time in FFA, also known as Future Farmers of America, an organization for middle and high school students interested in a career in agriculture.

The competitions ranged from written quizzes on things like forestry, livestock management, soil, wildlife, biotech, ag sales to hands on contests for veterinary technology, floriculture, horticulture, welding and mechanics.

We have an NRD contest, floriculture, horticulture, and things like livestock management, where they're going through and identifying different tools used in livestock areas, said Kenni Woerner, an agribusiness instructor at SCC. They're taking a written exam over parts of the animals. Individuals each take their test, but then they group together as a team, so their scores are combined together.

The event drew FFA members from 31 different chapters from two districts. District 1, which includes Auburn, Murray, Falls City, Adams, Humboldt, Tecumseh, Lewiston, Nebraska City, Firth, Omaha, Palmyra, Pawnee City, Plattsmouth, Sterling, Syracuse, Lincoln and Waverly and District 5 which includes Bruning, Utica, Crete, Diller-Odell, Fairbury, Geneva, Friend, McCool Junction, Milford, Seward, Hebron, Plymouth, Wilber and York.

We have, give or take, 500 or 550 students here today, said Dennis Toalson SCC ag business instructor. Right now it's getting a little bit bigger. Per school, we have a larger turnout than we ever had before.

In order to accommodate that many students, he said, the competitions take place at three different locations on campus.

The large Truman Hall Gymnasium was home to the pancake breakfast and written tests on forestry and farm, livestock and land management. The Ag Center hosted the farming quizzes on pest and disease reduction and Ford Hall offered hands-on experiences with plant species for the horticulture and floriculture contestswith an opportunity to build a carnation boutonniereas well as several mechanical and welding competitions.

We're looking to see what kinds of things we might be interested in as a career, said Rolf Kloch, an FFA member from Waverly. And, in the short term, making it to state.

Students who score high in the events, said Woerner, have the chance to go on to the state competition in Lincoln this April to compete with members from all six FFA districts in Nebraska, and from there they can go onto the national finals.

Most of the contests are run by volunteer students and faculty of SCC, Toalson said. Of the 275 ag students at the school, almost all of them were volunteering at the event. Whether it was flipping pancakes for breakfast or hosting competitions, they were encouraged to pitch in.

Its more than just a good way for students to pay back to their community, Toalson said, it gets kids interested in furthering an education in agriculture.

That's one of the reasons we host this contest, Toalson said. It's a recruiting tool. I have polled other classes in the past and I may have 12 to 15 students in a class that were here for contests. It just makes them more relaxed, they've been on campus a few times, they see what we have, they've met the instructors, so it's a great recruiting tool for us.
LINCOLN  Nebraska's corrections department is still struggling to hire and retain prison employees but has seen improvements in the last four months, the department director said Monday.

Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes made his comments during a budget hearing with lawmakers. His testimony followed a prisoner uprising Thursday that left two inmates dead at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, which has more than 50 job vacancies. The entire department has 157 job openings.

Corrections officials have said the prison was adequately staffed during the riot. But union officials say prison workers are frequently asked to work overtime because of employee turnover and unfilled jobs, which drains their morale.

"We've still got challenges in hiring at Tecumseh," Frakes told members of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee.

The prison is located in Tecumseh in rural southeast Nebraska, more than an hour's drive from Lincoln and Omaha, and houses some of the state's most high-risk inmates.

Authorities on Monday were still investigating the riot but offered few new details. The incident began around 1 p.m. Thursday when roughly 40 inmates refused to return to their cells in a maximum-security unit. Frakes said staff members fled after they were threatened and isolated the inmates to half of one unit.

In May 2015, a much larger riot involving more than 100 inmates and multiple cellblocks resulted in the murder of two other inmates serving time at Tecumseh for sex crimes.

The two inmates killed on Thursday were identified Friday as 39-year-old Damon Fitzgerald and 31-year-old Michael Galindo. Police officials didn't say how or why they perished. Prisoners also damaged toilets, windows, doors and ceiling tiles in the unit, but Frakes said it wasn't extensive.

Frakes said Monday that he expects to have an outside independent investigation completed by June 1. The Nebraska State Patrol is looking into the criminal acts committed, and the National Institute of Corrections is reviewing how the incident was handled.

The department's budget request includes a $95 million funding increase to hire more officers at Tecumseh and the other prisons as well as build a new treatment center to ease overcrowding.

Frakes said annual turnover rates for the entire corrections system has fallen from 32 percent to 26 percent over the last four months, but he wants to see an even lower rate.

The department has also expanded programs to deter violence, substance abuse and other common problems, Frakes said.

"We've improved the quality of life significantly at (Tecumseh) in the last two years, but it's a work in progress," he said.

The struggle to fill prison jobs will likely continue unless corrections officials address complaints about pay and reimbursement for senior employees, said Mike Marvin, who leads the union that represents state corrections workers.

"Our problem is an inability to retain people," Marvin said.

Frakes also announced Monday that the department could get a $585,000 donation from the York Community Foundation to provide parenting services at the Nebraska Correctional Center of Women. The money will help pay for a new building to providing expanded programming to inmates.
Hu Limei (second from left) poses for a photo at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, where she cooked three dinners as a guest chef, on March 2, 2017. [Photo by Jiang Wanjuan/chinadaily.com.cn]

As we celebrate International Women's Day, let's take the time to appreciate women who strive to break the glass ceiling in predominantly male industries and prove that they are equally capable.

One such woman is 76-year-old retired chef Hu Limei, one of the very first generation of professional chefs in new China. She was the executive chef at Shanghai's oldest hotel, the celebrated Park Hotel, in the 1980s, and served many big names, including former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin.

Hu has spent most of her life in Shanghai, but she is a master in imperial-style Beijing cuisine. Although retired, she is still active and looks out for opportunities to interact with people who love food.

We caught up with her last week as she visited Beijing for the "China Master Chef Banquet" at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, where she prepared dinners for 50 people three nights in a row as a guest chef.

Most women cook at home but most professional chefs are men. Why is that?

It's challenging for a woman to establish herself in the male-dominated kitchen. First, you need to have stamina and good physical condition. Chefs work hard and long hours. Then, most chefs prefer male over female apprentices and colleagues as they think men are less distracted from family life and children than women.

How can a female chef earn respect from her male counterparts?

If you want others to appreciate your work, you need to earn their respect. When there are difficult or menial jobs in the kitchen, you rush to do them. You do everything that a male chef does, and you do it better than them.

What is the most important thing other than working hard?

Use your brain.

You watch and learn how to best coordinate not only with your supervisor, but also with other chefs in the kitchen.

When I started my career, I taught myself Shandong dialect in order to better communicate with my Shandong master. I am from Ningbo and we worked in Shanghai. In a few months, I could speak Shandong dialect better than his son, who grew up in Shanghai.

If you want to do better than others, then you go that extra mile.

What's most people's reaction when they discover that you were a chef?

Usually they were very surprised and many would tell me that I looked like a teacher.

You have a big and happy family. How did you balance your career and life as a wife and mother when you had to compete with the men in the kitchen?

I was passionate about my job, so I wouldn't easily be distracted by other things, but that didn't mean I had to ignore my husband and family. My husband was very helpful. I am very grateful for the support of family.

What do you cook these days?

Since I am still able to cook and get around, I feel happy to be able to share what I have learnt in my life. I join cooking events now and again. Sometimes I tell stories behind the food to the customers and they love it, which makes my happy, too. What's more important than being happy for an old person?

Is there any advantage of being a female chef?

Women pay more attention to details, and wouldn't mind working harder and spending more time to perfect things.

What were the happiest moments for you as a chef?

To see my customers finish everything i've made for them.

Imagine you are a male, how would you have done your job differently?

As a man I certainly would be physically stronger but I might not have the same spirit to prove myself to be able to do as well and even better than men.

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LINCOLN  Nebraska lawmakers have advanced a bill that would require insurers to treat telehealth services the same as in-person services for coverage purposes.

Senators gave the measure first-round approval on Monday with a 34-0 vote.

Telehealth services allow doctors and patients to connect remotely through the internet or by phone. Many doctors have already embraced the technology, but some have been reluctant because they don't know whether insurers will reimburse them.

Supporters say the legislation extends a requirement to private insurers that's already in place for Medicaid. Advocates for an insurance group say most carriers have been looking to provide the coverage anyway.

Two more votes are required before the legislation goes to Gov. Pete Ricketts.
It was nearly 100 years ago since the last time a total solar eclipse passed over Gage County and it could be several hundred years until the next one.

Lucky for Gage County, theres a total solar eclipse passing over Beatrice and Gage County this summer, and Beatrice Chamber of Commerce executive director Lora Young and Homestead National Monument superintendent Mark Engler spoke about it Monday at the Beatrice City Council meeting.

Total eclipses are a fairly rare event, Young said, but an eclipse passing over Gage County is even more rare. On Aug. 21, 2017, right around 11:30 a.m., the moon will start its pass in front of the sun. The shadow of the moon will start spreading before finally blotting out all but the surrounding corona of the sun at 10 seconds after 1:02 p.m. and will plunge Gage County into darkness for around 160 seconds.

The last time an eclipse like this was visible in the United States, World War I was raging, so, for most people, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. For that reason, Young said, people from around the country and around the world will flow into the area.

Young said shed been in contact with a couple from Inverness, Scotland who are planning to come in for the eclipse. A Beatrice family is hosting a group of people from Japan, who are flying in specifically for the eclipse. She said she also knew of people from England and Germany planning to make the trip as well.

Mark and I have been working on this for a couple of years now, Young said, so it's going to happen. The biggest question we get asked is how many people are going to show up. I don't know, and I'm at the point where I don't even want to give a guess anymore.

Their best estimate is thousands, she said, though exactly how many is unclear. A Facebook invitation from the chamber received more than 300 yes, Im coming clicks and 22,400 yes, Im interested clicks, Young said, but the invitation reached more than 106,000 people.

With visitors from across the globe streaming into Beatrice and Gage County, she told the city council, its time to put on our best face possible for their arrival. One problem they foresaw was something possibly never faced by Beatrice before, traffic jams.

Thousands of people coming to town means thousands of cars and that means parking will be at a premium, Engler said. Theyre planning to park as many cars as possible at the Gage County fairgrounds and busing visitors to the monument.

The hot spot in town, he said, will probably be Homestead National Monument. With its prime viewing area, numerous events and even NASA scientists on site, theyre expecting to draw a large crowd.

Currently, the only event planned by the chamber is a couple of movie nights at the fairgrounds. The 1950's versions of The Blob and Invasion of the Body Snatchers will be shown Friday and Saturday nights, Young said, as something quirky and fun as a way to keep visitors in town. There are plans to ask downtown businesses and restaurants to remain open on Friday and Saturday evenings as well, she said.

Young and Engler said one of the most important components for a successful eclipse is making sure people know how to protect their eyes. The chamber purchased 26,000 pairs of glasses specifically made to watch an eclipse and are available to buy at their office for $1 a pair.

If people watch the eclipse without proper eyewear, she said, it can lead to blindness and eye damage, because its still looking directly at the sun.

Homestead National Monument will be leading a course in eclipse photography in early August, Engler said, because trying to do so without proper lenses and filters can lead to ultraviolet light damaging electronics.

You can ruin your cell phones by trying to take pictures, Young said. It can probably ruin cameras as well. It's not one of those things you can take a lot of pictures of without the right equipment.

About a week after the eclipse, Young said, shed like to put together a time capsule. People who witnessed the 1918 eclipse didnt commemorate the occasion, but this time, she said, it would be nice to leave something for the next people.

Hopefully we can find a place that will be safe for hundreds of years, Young said. It may never get opened, but I have somebody that said they can make something for us that can last that long.

Mayor Stan Wirth thanked Young and Engler for their work and promised the support of the city and the police department to make the event a success. Wirth also said special eclipse welcome signs will be placed out before the event.

But the eclipse is more than just a special occasion, Young said, its a way for Beatrice and Gage County to show off what they have to offer.

I think it's an opportunity for our guests to see what a great place we have here, Young said. Because you never know who might decide to move here, invest here and be part of our community.
WASHINGTON D.C. The top Republican on the House intelligence committee said he has not seen any evidence to back President Donald Trump's claim that the Obama administration wiretapped him during the 2016 campaign and suggested the news media were taking the president's weekend tweets too literally.

"The president is a neophyte to politics  he's been doing this a little over a year," Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told reporters Tuesday. "I think a lot of the things he says, I think you guys sometimes take literally."

On Saturday, Trump tweeted: "Is it legal for a sitting President to be 'wire tapping' a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!" He followed up with: "How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!"

Top former Obama administration officials have refuted Trump's claims. Trump asked Nunes' committee and the other congressional committees investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election to look into this matter.

Nunes, who was a member of Trump's transition team, said whether the Obama administration had secret warrants to listen to Trump or his associates during the campaign would have been part of his committee's investigation regardless.

Nunes also said the first public hearing of its investigation would be held March 20. And the initial invite list includes the directors of the FBI and National Security Agency as well as former top Obama administration intelligence officials and two cyber security experts.

The committee has the power to subpoena officials to testify, but Nunes did not indicate that the committee had plans to do so and said he hoped they would come freely.

The ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he planned to ask FBI Director James Comey directly about the matter at the hearing, which is scheduled on the first day of a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch.
A deadly incident at the states maximum security prison in Tecumseh last week has once again put a public focus on the important work of reforming the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS). In my first two years as Governor, corrections reform has been a top priority to ensure we are protecting public safety. Working with the Legislature and Courts, we have begun to address challenges with our prison population, successfully lobbied for additional investments, improved staffing and recruitment, expanded programming opportunities, and assessed security needs.

One of the first areas we worked to address during my first legislative session as Governor is our prison population. Nebraskas prisons have been full for decades. Governors and Legislatures since at least the 1980s have worked to address this challenge. In 2015, the Legislature made changes to the states sentencing laws to better utilize parole and supervised release for non-violent criminals. Instead of growing, the states prison population has started to decline falling from 5,392 in May 2015 to 5,236 last month as changes take effect.

In the last two years, NDCS Director Scott Frakes and I have successfully worked with the Legislature to secure new investments in NDCS. In 2015, we worked with the Legislature to secure an additional $37 million over two years for the agency to improve operations, hire additional behavioral health staff, and expand security staffing. In 2016, the Legislature and I agreed upon an additional $26 million to expand existing prison facilities, which will allow for the addition of 148 more beds as well as much-needed programming space.

While the $26 million expansion is built, NDCS is working in other areas to improve their facilities. A 100-bed temporary unit will help alleviate stress on our system while the expansion is under construction. Director Frakes has been working to establish mission specific housing, and is advocating for another $75 million investment in housing to help deliver better programming for elderly inmates and those with behavioral health needs.

Last summer, Director Frakes and the Council of State Governments unveiled an analysis of programming in NDCS facilities. Good news: Our corrections system provides quality programming. The final analysis recommended re-sequencing existing programming and better utilizing staff to deliver programming. Additionally, my administration has worked with non-profits to expand privately funded programming opportunities including a new program to develop entrepreneurial skills as well as faith-based programs.

Recruitment and retention of staffing has also been a focus for Director Frakes. Last year, the Legislature provided $1.5 million to assist the agency with developing new retention strategies which include paying bonuses and work-life balance initiatives. Director Frakes and I have advocated for moving to 12-hour shifts for corrections officers. Additionally, Director Frakes and I have worked to improve employee pay by negotiating pay raises with the states labor union for our corrections officers. We are now working with the Legislature to fund those increases in the upcoming budget.

Finally, Director Frakes has worked to improve the security of NDCS facilities. Last year, he worked with his wardens to conducted a system wide audit of facility security. The Legislature invested an additional $5 million in security staffing the last two years, and we have requested additional funding to improve security in my budget request under consideration by the Legislature.

The problems in corrections did not occur overnight, and they wont be solved overnight. It has taken a multi-year focus from all three branches of state government, and my office continues to prioritize reform.

The next critical step for NDCS is working with the Legislature to secure the funding needed for their budget request. As I mentioned earlier, our request includes expanding programming space and beds for inmates seeking behavioral health treatment, improving facility security, and securing additional funds for job training for inmates. Properly addressing mental health is key to successful reentry and reducing the recidivism rate. Over ninety percent of the people who enter our corrections system eventually return to our communities.

Corrections will continue to have challenges even as reform progresses. The people we house in our prisons are there because they broke the law. Nebraska is not the only state that faces these challenges. In the last several months, prisons in Florida, Michigan, Massachusetts, California, and Delaware have grappled with prison disturbances.

In this legislative session and beyond, my administration will keep our focus on transforming NDCS. This transformation matters for Nebraska because it will help to better protect public safety and help the Nebraskans leaving our prison system become a part of growing our state. If you have comments on the direction of reform, or thoughts on any other issues, feel free to contact my office at pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov<mailto:pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov> or by calling 402-471-2244.
Four years ago, federal regulators passed rules designed to reduce overdraft fees. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created under the Dodd-Frank Act, is still finding issues with the high fees banks charge customers for overdrawing their accounts.

On Thursday, the agency released a report saying bank customers, especially young adults, continue piling up overdraft fees. The report also found most debit card overdraft charges, which average $34 each, involve transactions of $24 or less and are paid back within 3 days.

If a consumer were to get a loan on these terms, that would equate to an annual percentage rate of over 17,000 percent, said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

Regulators and consumer advocates have long called overdraft charges expensive debt that most often hurt consumers of low income. Many customers who have accumulated hundreds or thousands of dollars in overdraft fees have dropped out of the banking system completely.

In 2010, federal regulators began requiring banks to obtain a customers consent before charging fees for allowing overdrafts of debit card purchases and ATM withdraws. A previous CFPB study found that up to 40% of new customers at some banks choose to accept overdrafts.

The CFPB found that 1 in 5 customers who opt in for overdrafting overdraft their account over 10 times per year and pay seven times more in fees than customers who do not. Heavy overdrafters face $900 in additional charges per year, according to the 2013 report.

While some banks have stopped overdrafts, such as Bank of America, and instead just deny purchases if customers do not have sufficient funds, other banks have put in place voluntary limits on the number of overdrafts that may be charged in a single day. Citigroup does not charge overdraft fees for debit transactions or ATM transactions.

The CFPB is now studying what bank customers are told when they opt in for these fees. The agency is considering new regulations to improve consumer awareness about these fees and restrict how banks may debit transactions and charge fees.

In 2013, banks and credit unions made $31.9 billion in overdraft fees, according to research firm Moebs Services. Large banks collect most of these overdraft fees, although small banks, which are more dependent on fees, collect between 5 and 15% of this amount.

New regulation may change the process by which customers opt in to overdrafts, as consumer groups say consumers are often confused about whether or not they have opted in. Legislation may also address the order in which transactions are debited from a customers account. A court case against Wells Fargo found the bank manipulated transaction order to maximize overdraft fees.
A new Mustang Hybrid is one of the new electric cars in the near future from the Ford Motor Co. over the next five years.

Ford Motor Co. plans to bring 13 new electrified vehicles to the market over the next five years and a Mustang Hybrid might be the most difficult one to sell buyers on.

At the 2017 Detroit auto show, company officials acknowledged that their fans are their most passionate and quick to voice their opinion. They said that even minor tweaks are not liked by Mustang enthusiasts.

While enthusiasts crave the exhaust of the V-8 engine in their pony cars, executives said they are sure that their fans will accept the new powertrain.

I think weve proven if you can deliver what theyre really buying the Mustang for  affordable performance  theyre willing to accept that, Raj Nair, Fords development chief, said. As we continue to modernize the vehicle, as long as we stay true to why theyre buying the Mustang to begin with, I think well do right by them, Nair said.

Ford has promised to keep that V-8 power, even in the new hybrid model. Executives believe that the cars performance will actually improve. This improvement will come thanks to a more low-end torque enabled by an electric motor.

Ford officials accredited companies like Tesla with helping condition the public to view the electrified cars as a more environmentally friendly technology.

The world has figured out a way to take that technology and use it for performance, said Mark Schaller, Mustangs marketing manager. That will be the way we use that technology for this car. It will be a fun-to-drive, performance-oriented car. Its not meant to be a hyper-miler car; Mustang is all about having fun while you drive.

Moray Callum, Fords chief designer, said finding somewhere to store the batteries, electric motor and other additions to the powertrain shouldnt compromise the cars memorable design.

I think we understand well enough that the design of the Mustang is pretty important, he said. I dont think Raj is going to ask me to add an electric trailer behind the car; we know the Mustang customer and what they will accept.

The new car will be assembled at the Flat Rock (Mich.) Assembly Plant and will debut first in North America in 2020.

Another electric car that Ford has announced it plans to roll out is a hybrid version of the popular F-150 pickup.
State of the Blog

I'm not keeping up the blog like I used to. Posts will be here and there, as the mood strikes. Most of what I have to say is in my book. Thank you for reading.


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Contact: Kris Bowen

Kris Bowen 252-975- 4647, ext. 7

WASHINGTON, NC Many children lack books, and without books to read, literacy suffers. When literacy suffers, education and opportunities decline. In celebration of children's author Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2, Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children is collecting books to place in the hands of children in Beaufort and Hyde Counties. The annual drive relies on community partners in the area. At Beaufort County Community College, books were collected by the TRIO program, which provides support services for students who are first-generation college students.TRIO collected ten boxes of books or approximately 300 books from around BCCC's campus.Donated books will be located in Reach Out and Read clinics and in children's book boxes at summer feeding program sites, health departments, departments of social services, emergency rooms and urgent care facilities, dental offices, eye care clinics, little libraries, the women's shelter, Coastal Pregnancy Center, and local businesses such as hair salons, pharmacies, restaurants, veterinary office, a fitness centers and convenience stores.said Lisa Woolard, executive director of Beaufort-Hyde Partnership for Children.First-generation college students, low-income students and students with disabilities are eligible to participate in TRIO. Participants receive academic tutoring; academic guidance; assistance with information on financial aid programs, resources for locating public and private scholarships; education or counseling services designed to improve financial and economic literacy and assistance with transferring and transitioning to four-year institutions. TRIO/Student Support Services also provides individualized and group career preparation and development; cultural enrichment activities, and leadership development opportunities.
HA NOI  Reforms in taxation procedures have elicited increased satisfaction from enterprises over the last two years, but they continue to expect further simplification, a survey by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has found.

The survey, which received nearly 3,500 responses, found 75 per cent of the firms were satisfied with tax reforms in 2016, four percentage points higher than 2014, but only eight per cent evaluated the tax procedures to be simple.

Releasing the survey results yesterday, VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said: There is significant room to hasten tax reforms.

He said tax authorities must make greater efforts to create favourable conditions for business development and realizing the Governments goal of doubling the number of efficient firms to one million by 2020.

au Anh Tuan, head of the VCCIs Legal Department, said the survey showed that 41 per cent of the firms still felt burdened by administrative procedures. They found the forms being changed too often, that the procedures continued to be time-consuming and cumbersome, demanding too much paperwork, and instructions were inadequate.

He expressed concern that 34 per cent of the firms reported paying informal charges, two per cent higher than in 2014. Furthermore, 30 per cent said yes when asked whether they felt discriminated against if they did not pay the informal charges.

The survey also revealed that large firms tended to be inspected for tax compliance more regularly than smaller ones, Tuan said.

Among firms with annual revenues of more than VN100 billion, 74 per cent received inspector teams frequently in the past year. This fell to 32 per cent for firms with less revenues.

Tuan said this might discourage firms from expanding their operations.

He also said that tax policies were being changed too many times within a year, causing difficulties for businesses.

Tax authorities must hasten the simplification of tax procedures and promote the application of information technology in tax filing, payment and management, Tuan said. Solutions must also be found to prevent informal charges, he added.

Greater efforts are required, Minister of Finance inh Tien Dung said at the conference yesterday.

The tax procedures must be further simplified, application of e-tax system hastened and risk management deployed in inspections to avoid troubling firms, Dung said.

According to Loc, tax reforms are heading in the right direction but businesses expect them to move faster.

The survey found 81 per cent of firms saying further simplification in tax procedures was needed, 60 per cent saying there must be greater transparency and 43 per cent saying the attitude of tax officials should improve.

Statistics compiled by the Finance Ministry show that the time taken to complete all procedures and pay taxes has been cut by 420 hours in 2013 to the current 117 hours.

Almost all businesses, 99 per cent, are making their tax declarations online and 96 per cent have registered to make e-tax payments, according to the Ministry.

Tax refunds still a problem

The countrys tax administration has undergone many reforms but getting refunds remains a challenge for businesses, a senior HCM City leader has admitted.

Speaking at a meeting on Tax administrative reform and enterprise support last Friday, Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, chairwoman of the city Peoples Council, said, Tax refunds need to be timely and fair to enterprises.

Chu Tien Dung, chairman of the HCM City Enterprise Association, said the recent reforms in tax administration, especially the automatic tax registration and payment, save companies a lot of expenses and time.

However, tax policies change frequently and enterprises cannot keep track and often make mistakes, and are fined, Nguoi Lao ong (Labourers) newspaper quoted him as saying.

He said tax authorities should know which businesses deliberately file incorrect returns and which ones are merely ignorant.

Tax agencies pay tax refunds very late and it affects businesses.

Enterprises are fined if they pay tax late but tax offices face no penalty if they make tax refunds late.

The law stipulates that the refunds should be made in six to 60 days.

Truong Lam Danh, head of the city Peoples Councils legal department, said: But in fact enterprises never get tax refunds within this time.

Vuong Chi Cuong, director of Tuong Phat Garment and Textile, said his company exports goods to Cambodia. The tax authorities demand proof from customs at border gates that his companys goods have crossed over into Cambodia, and this delays its tax refunds, he said.

Other companies complained that during exports sometimes goods get damaged and buyers pay lower prices. They then have to file amended tax returns, but tax officials refuse to accept them, and refunds are delayed.

Enterprises try to take advantage of all the financial resources they have and tax refunds are an important one for them, Nguyen ang Hien, director of Tan Quang Minh Trade and Production Company, said.

Tran Ngoc Tam, head of the city tax department, said: Tax refunds are delayed because many enterprises want tax officials to verify their accounts.

Since early March the tax department has been making electronic tax refunds and hope to reduce the time.

Tam instructed the department to speed up work to release tax refunds to enterprises.

Tran Vinh Tuyen, deputy chairman of the city Peoples Committee, said the city Party Committee has a programme to oversee tax administration to stop corruption, he revealed.

The police are investigating a tax fraud involving VN 8 trillion (US$355 million) abetted by tax officials. Therefore, it is essential to keep an eye on tax officials.  VNS
Bo Xuan Hiep

AK LAK  A strategic agreement to develop the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand is expected to revive the countrys coffee industry, which needs to replace thousands of old, unproductive trees on farms in the Central Highlands province of ak Lak.

The agreement between Binh ien Fertilizer Joint-Stock Company and Vinacafe Bien Hoa Joint-Stock Company, a member of the Masan Group Corp, was signed on Monday in the province in the run-up to the 6th Coffee Festival that will kick off in Buon Ma Thuot City this weekend.

It is expected to help local authorities create a high-quality, productive coffee-growing area in the provinces Ea Tu Commune.

Under the programme, cutting-edge technologies will be used in pilot production models, while small farming households will be consolidated into a centralised farming area to improve coffee productivity in six villages and six hamlets in Ea Tu Commune.

Huynh Quoc Thich, deputy director of the provinces Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that coffee trees had been cultivated in ak Lak Province for the last 100 years.

Most of the trees are more than 20 years old and produce low yields. The average life span for coffee trees is between 20 and 30 years.

Between 140,000ha and 160,000ha of trees need to be replaced in the next five to 10 years, a big challenge for the industry, Thich said.

The industry is also facing other problems, including small-scale production, poor quality control, and outdated processing technologies.

Ten years ago, coffee brought a prosperous life to millions of farmers in the province, but in recent years the productivity and quality of coffee beans have declined.

Y Dran Bya, 51, of Ko Tam Hamlet in Ea Tu Commune, who owns 0.9ha of coffee trees, told Viet Nam News that most of his coffee trees were planted in 1972.

The yields have dropped to only 1.3-1.5 tonnes a year, compared to five to seven tonnes a year a decade ago, he said.

Coffee trees more than 20 years old account for 23 per cent of the area, and trees 15-20 years old for nearly 35 per cent, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

More than 92 per cent of the coffee trees have not adapted well to disease or to climate changes.

In addition, intensive farming and improper use of fertilisers as well as pesticides have seriously affected soil quality in the province. Many farmers often water trees excessively, washing away nutrients needed for the plants.

The two companies that signed the agreement said they planned to work with the provinces Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Agriculture Extension Centre.

The two firms have been cooperating with the Central Highlands Agro-Forestry Scientific and Technical Institute to create linkages among farmers, scientists, businesses and the state in an aim to improve the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand.

Pham Quang Vu, chairman of the board of directors of Vinacafe BH JSC, said, This programme will improve the value of Buon Ma Thuot coffee beans, known as the pearl of Ban Me.

The deputy general director of Binh ien Fertiliser JSC, Vo Van Phu, said the companies were committed to placing farmer benefits as their top priority.

Were willing to work with farmers on the challenging path ahead, he added.

Over the past 10 years, the country has exported an annual 1.2-1.5 million tonnes of coffee.

Viet Nam ranks second in the world for coffee exports, following Brazil.

The Vinacafe Bien Hoa Joint-Stock Company manufactures and distributes a range of beverage products, including instant coffee, instant cereal and bottled beverages.

The signing ceremony was part of a press conference to announce the 6th Coffee Festival in Buon Ma Thuot City in the province this weekend.

The biennial festival, with the theme Quintessence Convergence  Identity Promotion  Connecting for Development, hopes to attract record attendance and showcase the areas economic potential.

This year, the event will host more activities, including a gong festival and conference on investment promotion for the Central Highlands region.  VNS
HA NOI  The Airport Corporation of Viet Nam (ACV), the largest enterprise in the domestic transport sector, has proposed an investment plan of VN31 trillion (US$1.36 billion) for the period between 2016 and 2020.

The firm, which manages 22 of the countrys international and domestic airports, said it will prioritise investment resources for terminals with high passenger growth, which have a potential of developing the countrys economics and tourism and significance in national security and defence.

ACV will focus on investment projects to improve road system access to airports, and equipment systems at HCM Citys Tan Son Nhat, a Nang and Ha Nois Noi Bai airports. The plan also aims at expanding parking spaces at Tan Son Nhat, a Nang, and Noi Bai, and other airports. The expansion of passenger terminals, enlarging aircraft parking areas and upgrading the runways at Phu Quoc airport in Kien Giang Province are also included in the plan.

ACVs Deputy General Director o Tat Binh, quoted in Vneconomy.vn, said that the corporation has submitted its investment scheme to the Ministry of Transport, and was awaiting implementation permission from the Prime Minister. In principle, the investment capital for flight-related facilities will be wholly funded by the State budget.

By the middle of 2016, ACV had asked the ministry to consider adjusting the rates for some aviation services, which apply to domestic flight routes at seven airports, including Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, a Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, Vinh, Phu Bai from January 1, 2017. However, the proposal has not been accepted by the ministry, yet.

Viet Nam News sought comment on the plan from ACV, but was unable to contact the agency.  VNS
Viet Nam and Australia two-way trade reached US$5.26 billion in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 6.5 per cent.  Photo vietnamtradeoffice.net

HA NOI  The opportunities for Viet Nam to tap the Australian market are huge if businesses create competitive products up to international standards, experts have said.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Viet Nam and Australia enjoy favourable conditions to boost economic and trade ties.

Two-way trade reached US$5.26 billion in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 6.5 per cent.

The Vietnamese trade office in Australia said Viet Nam posted a trade surplus of about US$480 million in 2016.

Growth was seen in cameras and spare parts, iron and steel products, apparel and footwear materials, computers, electronic products and components, and interior decoration.

Australia has demand for Vietnamese staples such as garment-textiles, footwear, seafood, and timber products.

It also imports Vietnamese lychees, which have enjoyed a surge in export turnover over the past two years.

The Vietnamese trade office in Australia noted that Australian consumers are open to imported goods and they care about quality, appearance and price.

The most urgent thing to do is to popularise Vietnamese products and connect businesses with the market.

Australian importers do not accept products which fail to meet their quality standards and they attach great importance to long-term business partnerships.

Robert Chua, an Australian market consultant, said import demand in Australia is huge but Vietnamese products are not strong enough to dominate the market.

In fact, Australia imports various products from Asia-Pacific countries, including Viet Nam, especially footwear and garment-textiles.

Therefore, it is essential to improve the quality management of manufacturing factories and abide by global criteria on plant protection drugs, dyes and food additives, experts suggested.

Businesses could invite quality control experts and skilled workers from Australia to work in Viet Nam to popularise locally-made products, they advised.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh called on the two sides to exert efforts to drive bilateral trade forward, on par with their economic potential and comprehensive partnership.

The enforcement of the free trade agreement between ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand has helped increase Viet Nam-Australia trade ties, creating a significant milestone in the two countries relationship, he added.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will entrust its Import-Export Department to address difficulties via a hotline and simplify administrative procedures as well as promulgate documents to highlight opportunities and challenges from free trade agreements for businesses to help them boost exports, he said.

Since Viet Nam and Australia normalised relations in 1973, bilateral ties have been reinforced by external affairs, trade, and economy.

Bilateral rapport has developed since the two nations set up a comprehensive partnership in 2009, especially in economy and trade.  VNS
HCM CITY  Nearly 160 new books by international and Vietnamese authors will be released this month as part of the Thang 3 Sach Tre (Youth Books for March) programme.

The event is being held by the Tre (Youth) Publishing House and other 49 publishers and bookstores in Viet Nam.

The publications include novels by young Vietnamese writers, including Chuyen Tau Nhat Thuc (Train in Eclipse) by inh Phuong, Nhan Giang Nam Nghieng (Sloping World) by inh Hang, and Bua oi Lac Phan (Flavourful Life) by Ka Binh Phong.

Truong An is presenting his debut novel Ngoai Bo ong La Mat Troi (Beyond the East is the Sun), a chronicle of the life of Vietnamese royalty in the 19th century. It won praise from veteran authors and critics.

The picture version for the second book from the Harry Potter series will also be released.

As part of book month, talks with writers and book introductions will be featured at the pedestrian-only Book Street in District 1.

The Tre Publishing House will host a play based on best-selling author Nguyen Nhat Anhs Chuyen Xu Langbiang on the occasion of the release of its reprint.

The play is about two teenagers and their adventure to a witches land called Langbiang. It will be staged by the Tuoi Ngoc (Childhood) drama troupe, which has performed plays for children over the last 20 years.

The play will take place on March 11 on Book Street.

Nguyen Minh Nhut, director of the publishing house, said it had made an effort to release new books, especially those by young Vietnamese writers.

As many as 330 reprinted editions of famous local and foreign writers have been released for the occasion, he said.

As part of the programme, the publishing house will offer a 20 per cent discount on all of its titles at bookstores nationwide.

Rare and old books

Thousands of rare and old books are now on display at the Day of Old Books Fair at the September 23 Park in District 1.

The three-day fair includes 20 stalls of secondhand books from bookstores.

Vietnamese poetry books and novels, history books and foreign literary works are featured, as well as exhibitions on southern Vietnamese literary works in the 1930-1945 period.

Three talks by booksellers, collectors and writers are also being held.

All books at the event are being sold at a 50 per cent discount.  VNS
HA NOI  Contemporary artists from South Korea and Viet Nam are presenting their work in different materials at an exhibition in Ha Noi.

The exhibition entitled Undefined Boundary is being held at the Korean Cultural Centre and Heritage Space. The artists are Seulki Ki, Heaven Baek, Woosung Lee, Woosung Lee, Uu am Tran Nguyen, Phi Phi Oanh, Bui Cong Khanh and Lai Dieu Ha.

The art works take various forms such as painting, photography, installation and video centred on the theme of boundary.

"The Korean artists introduce the current state of Korea from their own perspective, invoking the hidden boundaries from the corners of Korean society," said Hye Young Kim, one of the curators of the exhibition

Ki dismantles the audiences visual and perceptual memories and experiences by framing familiar places in two dimensional planes of photography, while Baek portrays the invisible boundaries that stand among the social classes and groups.

Lee demonstrates expresses people with vivacious colours yet in a serious manner and exhibits his productions in public places. Jo addresses the issue of urban redevelopment by paying attention to the naratives of individuals situated in insecure circumstances in a society where community comes first.

"Through their own art, the artists have pointed out and evoked possibilities of connection, cognition, understanding and discovery of things unseen or un-thought," said Nguyen Anh Tuan, another exhibition curator.

Using a distinctly designed technology system, License 2 Draw Laser Target Shooting by Uu am Tran Nguyen offers viewers the ability to co-create and interact with art in the present, ignoring time and spatial boundaries.

Oanhs work is a sculptural light installation consisting of a projection of miniature lacquer skins onto a translucent silk screen, whereas Ha goes beyond traditional plastic art limits by using organic materials, shifting from being a consumer good to art.

Khanh reproduces his work entitled White Maze with ceramics. White Maze is a replication of a city in war zones from a birds eye view, the artist poses questions about the undefined or unstable state of human shelters.

The exhibition is an initiative under the programme NEXT Expert Training of Korea Arts Management Service and is co-hosted by cultural centre in Viet Nam and Korea Arts Management Service.

Roundtables will be held on March 16 and 17 with professionals of visual arts from South Korea and Viet Nam to discuss each countrys art scenes. The exhibition runs until March 31 at 49 Nguyen Du Street and Dolphin Plaza, 28 Tran Binh Street, Ha Noi.  VNS
HA NOI  To celebrate International Womens Day, the Swedish Embassy in Viet Nam, the Viet Nam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnamese Womens Museum have jointly organised a photo contest on gender equality in Vietnamese families.

The contest follows the success of the previous one, Vietnamese Dads, which was held last year. It is an opportunity for the two countries to share experiences with gender equality.

The organisers expect to promote gender equality in families and argue for equality in child care, housework, careers and societal contributions .

Sweden is one of the world leaders in gender equality, but I believe that there are still many things for us to learn to promote feminism. Therefore, I look forward to seeing beautiful photos and learning more about gender equality through images captured by Vietnamese photographers, said Swedish ambassador Pereric Hogberg.

Following the success of the previous photo contest, Vietnamese Dads, we want to continue to invite both professional and unprofessional photographers nationwide to continue down that road, said Nguyen Phuong Hoa, vice director of International Cooperation Department, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Swedens ambassador to Viet Nam, Pereric Hogberg, addresses the March 6 launch of the photo contest on Vietnamnese gender equality.  VNS Photo Luong Thu Huong

This time, we have expanded the theme and hope to receive truthful and moving works that reflect different viewpoints towards gender equality among mothers and fathers and other members in Vietnamese families, she added.

The director of the Institute for Social Development Studies, Khuat Thu Hong, said he highly appreciates the photo contest and considers it a practical activity to encourage equal work among family members.

Sustainable gender equality has to originate from families in which all members share responsibilities and support each other so that everyone has equal opportunities to learn and pursue their career. Equality is the foundation for a happy family, she said.

Over 30 photos will be selected and displayed at an exhibition. The winning and runner-up prizes will be decided by the jury, while the third place will go to the photo with most likes on the Embassy of Sweden in Viet Nam Facebook page.

The photo contest will receive entries from March 8 till May 15. Participants can submit their entries via post office or email.  VNS
Barbara Trebitsch, former head of Domus Academy in Milan, a leading school in design, fashion and architecture, is currently Italys ambassador of design. Culture Vulture caught up with her when she attended the first Italian Design Day to be held in Viet Nam, with exhibitions and workshops held in Ha Noi and HCM City.

What is the significance of this event?

As you know, Italian brands are famous worldwide in the field of design. I know no other country has organised a similar event to introduce its design brands in other country to create exchange opportunities. Designing, in this context, includes both tangible and intangible notions: concrete products and creative ideas.

Though Italian design industry has a long history, it requires frequent exchanges between contemporary experts in the field to further develop it. Exchanges are not limited to within the country. We seek exchanges with other countries, too.

Im a fashion trainer, but I come here not to teach but to exchange.

I hope to discuss ideas not only related to the fashion field, but also ways of thinking, the philosophy of Italian people.

Why Italian Design stands out?

This year, at 100 locations around the world, 100 ambassadors of Italian culture (designers, entrepreneurs, journalists and critics, as well as communicators and teachers) are participating in discussions on unique aspects  both material and intangible  of Italian design that have retained their distinctive features through the centuries despite a major overhaul in communication and mobility systems. Participants have highlighted creativity and originality, top-quality materials, and superb construction as well as production processes that respect the environment, workers and end users, as also highest quality packaging and advertising.

As an ambassador of Italian design, what is your mission?

As you know, this year, 100 ambassadors have been sent by the Italian government to 100 locations around the world with different duties. My mission here includes introducing Italian fashion, showing how Italian fashion has conquered the whole world. I will also meet with Vietnamese designers, seeking further co-operation between the two nations.

What did you think about Viet Nam before the trip, and after arriving here?

Since I just landed yesterday, I have not had much time to explore, besides taking a walk around the lake and the temple.

I am looking forward to seeing more of Ha Noi before leaving  museums, your shops, the Old Quarter, etc.

Before arriving in Viet Nam I already had an idea of the country, the beauty of nature here, your roots and the cultural richness, as well as the developing fashion industry.

I have not changed my mind. In fact the meetings have reinforced the beliefs.

After seeing people on the streets and meeting Vietnamese designers, what do you think about Vietnamese fashion?

To be honest, I have not had the opportunity yet to experience the streets of Ha Noi, although I would love to. Also, I have not yet visited the boutiques of your designers. However, in meeting and talking with them, Ive realised there is great passion and elegance in their work. They are sophisticated and willing to do more to enter the international arena.

I think the Vietnamese design industry has a lot of potential. The main thing is that Vietnamese designers should move away from the traditional way of thinking.

Italians, like the Vietnamese, take great care of their appearance whenever they go out.

My mom, for example always takes a second glance to check whether her shoes match her bag and clothes. She wants to look good in others eyes.

Italians are very critical, never content with what they have, which is a strong point in their designing outlook.

What do you think about the possibility of introducing Vietnamese fashion in Italy or other parts of Europe?

European consumers tend to prefer typical products from foreign countries, which they can adapt according to their personal style.

I think your traditional ao dai can be a point to start with. But your designers should find a way to adapt the ao dai to modern living.

For example, you can keep the femininity of the ao dai intact in different ways.

Will you follow-up on further co-operation between Italian and Vietnamese designers after the trip?

I truly hope so, since we did discuss today different ways of doing this. I would also like to thank the Italian Embassy in Ha Noi for creating this opportunity and for supporting new means of co-operation between the creative industries in our countries.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnamese writer Nguyen Dus classic Tale of Kieu will be performed at the Viet Nam National Drama Theater until March 10 to celebrate International Womens Day, which falls today.

The theatre, located at 1 Trang Tien Street, is staging the play from March 1-10 at 8pm.

National symbol: The image of lotus-national flower of Viet Nam is present in the play from the beginning to the end. It represents different steps in the life of a person: first it opens, then fully flourishes and finally dies out. But it also represents the beauty, the sacrifices for the love and the life.  VNS Photo Bach Lien

The play - directed by Peoples Artist Anh Tu - tells the Tale of Kieu in a new way, combining singing, dancing and body art. However, he respects the storys original content: the injustice of Vietnamese feudal society and the emotional suffering of people, especially women. The work, which debuted November of last year, celebrates kindness, filial piety, and loyalty.

The Tale of Kieu, an epic poem written by Nguyen Du (17651820), is widely regarded as the most significant work of Vietnamese literature. It depicts the arduous life of Thuy Kieu, a beautiful and talented young woman who had to sell herself into prostitution to save her father from prison. Nguyen Du overcame harsh social prejudice to praise Kieus physical and soulful beauty, as well as her talents and personality.VNS
President Trump scares academe. Many feel threatened, under siege, rejected, aghast. Eric Klineberg, professor of sociology at New York University, summed up this anxiety a few days after the election:Trump's victory, he adds, isWe now live in a "post-truth era."That last reference, of course, is to what many of Trump's critics say is his common distortion of reality, flagrant lies, and preference for " alternative facts ." It is also a reference to what Klineberg calls his "disdain for academic norms and values."Yet what's lost amid all the lamenting is that academe has been shredding many of those norms and values for some time. Except perhaps in the hard sciences, it has by and large rejected the idea that objective truth exists or that obtaining wisdom might be possible; it maintains that things such as human nature, psychology, and gender identity are social constructs; it asserts that language is self-referential and hegemonic, merely reflecting the interests and values of society's powerful and elite; and it embraces moral, epistemological, and cultural relativism. In short, it embodies postmodernism This ideology helped pave the way for Trump.I'm not saying that academe is directly responsible for his election, but that it shares many of the characteristics that it criticizes the president for: abandoning universal reason; rejecting common values; seeing language primarily as a tool of manipulation; and eschewing tradition, to give a few examples.As a result, academe has lost the high ground to present its "norms and values" as an alternative to what it portrays as the nihilism of the nascent Trump administration. Its denunciations ring hollow.I witnessed this firsthand at a conference I recently attended. The feelings of dejection and dismay were palpable. There was much commiserating and disbelief. During the plenary session, the moderator and panelists felt a need to reassure the audience-and themselves, I suppose. They were defensive, reactionary, and, at times, preachy. They called for soul-searching-"Where do we belong?"-and for getting to the root of campus-climate issues. It is time, said one panelist, for the "acknowledgement of racism" inherent in the structure of higher education.There were additional calls for action: academics should learn to communicate their ideas to the broader public; help students become better media consumers; and teach more critical thinking and civics. Also raised were the lack of civility in public discourse and the need for common ground in these fractious times.To that end, the moderator called for restoring non-negotiable principles, and quoted the last paragraph of Lincoln's first inaugural address where he reminded both Northerners and Southerners of the common values they shared and would reclaim once they were "touched...by the better angels of our nature."Not mentioned was that those values includedas well as Lincoln's fundamental belief in the founding principles of the nation, the Constitution, and "universal law."I'm not impugning the moderator's sincerity in quoting Lincoln. Rather, I find it an interesting choice, given that the things in which Lincoln found common ground-patriotism, the justness of America's system of government, its "favored" status, Christianity, even religion itself-are anathema to many in academe.Lincoln knew that American democracy wasn't perfect. But he did not work from the premise that it was fundamentally flawed or that the founders created a system of government that was inherently racist or designed primarily to protect the interests and values of the wealthy and the politically and socially elite.His faith in the core principles and values of American democracy was his starting a point-his non-negotiable premise for common understanding and the basis for discourse through which people, though impassioned, could speak to each other and engage in genuine dialogue. He believed in words and the power of language, not as a tool of manipulation, but as a means through which people could reach a common understanding, cultivate civility, and shape a shared identity.Academe has largely given up on such things. For decades it has been turning out students who are ignorant of tradition and the knowledge that has been learned and accumulated over time. Too many leave colleges and universities not only ignorant (if not outright disdainful) of U.S. history and the Western tradition, but also ignorant of the reasons for the values they proclaim, such as toleration, diversity, human rights, and freedom of speech.They believe those values are important, but they do not know why they are important, why they developed, why they might be different or the same, and in what respects. They possess not knowledge but assumptions, dogmas, or opinions at best. They lack the wherewithal to reach common ground.This great failure, not only of higher education, but of education at all levels in American society, best explains the election of Trump.For too long academe has been smug about its own assumptions, dogmas, and opinions. It has been unwilling to seek common ground with those with whom it has disagreed.Now, when everything it claims to stand for is being repudiated, threatened, even undermined, it can only struggle to figure out where it belongs.Unfortunately, when you start soul-searching in the midst of uncertainty, where you belong is likely to be determined for you.
HCM CITY  Designer Nguyen Cong Tris latest collection, called Haute Couture No:10, will be shown during Tokyo Fashion Week 2017 at the Shibuya Hikarie Hall A on March 21.

The collection features dozens of designs in Vietnamese silk and lace.

A group of Vietnamese and Japanese fashion models, including top model Thanh Hang of HCM City, will appear on the catwalk.

The six-day event will feature the latest collections by veteran and young designers in Japan and other countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and the UK.

Fashion brand names such as Aula, Chika Kisada, Hare and Hyke will also be displayed.

Tri, a member of the Asian Couture Federation (ACF), impressed audiences after showing his collection, Lua, at Tokyo Fashion Week 2016.

His collection included 41 designs in Lanh My A, a rare traditional silk made by artisans living in the southern province of An Giang.

Born in a Nang, Tri graduated from the HCM City University of Architectures industrial arts faculty in 2001.

He rose to fame at school after his collection won second prize at the 2001 Asian Young Fashion Designers Contest, organised by the Textile and Fashion Federation of Singapore and the Singapore Trade Development Board.

Singaporean designer, Hwang K Mi, won the contest while Thai designer, Chatree Thengha, claimed third prize.

Tri has attended leading fashion events at home and abroad, including Viet Nam Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and the Origin Passion and Belief Fair in Vicenza, Italy.

He has also been a judge in the Vietnamese versions of international TV reality shows like Project Runway and So You Think You Can Dance.

He has a staff of more than 50, including sellers and seamstresses who work for his two shops in districts 1 and 3.

His shops have about 60 designs and accessories each, with a new collection each year. His elegant and eye-catching pieces, using high-quality silk, cotton and wool, are considered glamourous.

"My way is to adopt global styles but in an individual manner," said the 39-year-old. VNS
HA NOI Vietnamese and Indian tourism enterprises met in Ha Noi at a conference on Tuesday to enhance co-operation in the field.

The conference is part of events to celebrate 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Addressing the conference, Pavathaneni Harish, Indian ambassador to Viet Nam noted that Viet Nam had become a more popular destination for Indian tourists while India wanted to attract more Vietnamese visitors.

The two countries share various similarities in culture and have supported each other much in the process of fighting for independence and building up the country, he said.

Its time for us to promote partnership relations to develop tourism, he added.

The Indian government has approved the use of e-visas for many countries, including Viet Nam. The ambassador hoped with the convenient visa procedure, more Vietnamese people will visit India.

According to Indias Tourism Ministry, in the past few years, the number of visitors from India to Viet Nam has considerably increased, from 33,000 in 2010 to 85,000 in 2016, an average increase of 17 per cent per year, he said.

In 2016 alone, the number of Indian tourists to Viet Nam increased 30 per cent against 2015.

However, in 2016, the number of Indian tourists to Viet Nam accounted for only 3 per cent of the total two million Indian tourists to ASEAN countries, the ambassador said.

The number is small while Viet Nam is rich in tourism potential, said Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy director of Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Thats why we should enhance our co-operation in tourism.

In order to attract more Indian tourists, Viet Nam has conducted various promotional activities in India in recent years, she said, Market research activities in India have been focused; promotional plans have been deployed in various forms; fairs and exhibitions, tours for press agencies and tourism companies have been organised, as have roadshows and co-operation conferences in aviation and cinema. The VNAT has received film crews to Viet Nam, exchanged delegations to share experiences in making new tourism products.

In the near future, besides traditional promotion channels, the VNAT will promote e-marketing, develop co-operation with airlines to open new direct flights and hold exchanges between tourism enterprises, filmmakers and media firms of the two countries, she said.

At the same event, the VNAT advertised tourism sites to Indian tourism firms while some Indian travel agencies also presented their facilities.

Anuj Kumar, managing director of Magadh Travels & Tours Pvt Ltd told Viet Nam News that his company brings Vietnamese on Buddhist pilgrimage tours to India and Nepal.

For the past one or two years, demand for visiting Viet Nam has increased among Indian people, he said, They mostly choose to visit HCM City and Ha Long Bay. We are introducing them to new products.

He added that the number of guests from Viet Nam to India is about 20,000 a year.

Flight connectivity is a big problem at the moment, he said.

Amit Singh, director of sales at Shashi Travels & Tours Pvt. Ltd, said his company was proud to be the first Indian tourism company in the Ha Noi market and is happy to see more and more companies enter.

The company has offered hotels and transportation inside India and international charter flights.

We are trying out best at this event to set up more co-operation, he said.  VNS
Local authorities must be held accountable to the Government if they allow rampant crime in their jurisdictions, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said yesterday.  Photo vnexpress.net

HA NOI  Local authorities must be held accountable to the Government if they allow rampant crime in their jurisdictions, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said yesterday.

Binh, who is also head of the National Steering Committee for Crime Prevention and Combat, also known as Committee 138, issued his warning at a national tele-conference from Ha Noi on boosting implementation of a national crime prevention programme.

The Deputy PM criticised neglect and irresponsibility among some local leaders who have failed to direct, supervise and inspect law enforcement. He said surging crime in some areas was proof of weak and ineffective management.

A report released at the conference said last year a total of more than 54,500 cases of criminal violations were recorded, a decrease of 4.4 per cent over the previous year.

However, despite a decrease in the number of criminal cases, an increase in complicated and large-scale organised crime had become a new challenge for law enforcement across the country.

According to Lieutenant General o Kim Tuyen, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Public Securitys Police Department, said the number of criminal gangs, many of them extremely dangerous to society, had grown.

Killings occurred more often and with unimaginable cruelty, said Tuyen, pointing to a continual surge in the number of crimes by drug addicts.

Drug smuggling also proved a big challenge for police in the last year, Tuyen said.

He said economic crimes and corruption had become more sophisticated and occurred in many sectors, with financial crimes posing serious threats to the banking system.

During the year, competent forces solved 42,558 criminal cases, arresting 80,210 suspects. The forces also brought to light 16,823 economic crimes and 244 corruption cases, investigated 669 hi-tech crimes and handled 17,622 violations of environmental laws. A total of 18,742 drug crimes and 234 cases of human trafficking were uncovered.

Deputy Minister of Defence Senior Lieutenant General Le Chiem said drug syndicates mainly operate in areas bordering Laos, Cambodia and China.

Meanwhile, Tuyen said that despite a 6-per cent decline in the number of human trafficking cases, the number of victims increased by 12 per cent. Areas bordering China reported the largest number of human trafficking cases.

Binh stressed the need to combat organised crime, including the surge in dangerous trans-national crime and gang activity.

Binh also said drug addicts should be carefully supervised because they were among the most likely to commit crimes to feed their habits. The Deputy PM asked the Ministry of Health to concentrate more on research for medicines to control and prevent addictions.

Commenting on a report released at the conference saying that about 300,000 addicts nationwide are undergoing drug rehabilitation programmes, Binh said that was a huge number, and called for the MoH to intensify efforts to undertake special health care programmes for such people.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam will strongly support the activities of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said as he welcomed its president Jin Liqun in Ha Noi.

The co-operation with AIIB "is important to Viet Nam, and it will continue collaborating with the bank as a trustworthy and responsible partner", Phuc said on Tuesday.

The State Bank of Viet Nam, the countrys representative at international financial and monetary organisations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund, will also take charge of the countrys obligations to and activities with AIIB.

Viet Nam is opting for both Official Development Assistance (ODA) and commercial loans to develop infrastructure, while keeping public debt within limits. "In this situation, AIIBs low-interest loans, which dont require government guarantee, are valuable to the country", the PM said.

The state hoped that apart from aiding the public sector, AIIB would also support the private sector in infrastructure projects, Phuc said, adding that with mutual understanding and common effort, AIIB would be able to benefit the course of development in Viet Nam.

"The bank not only offers loans but also brings modern, environment-friendly technology and jobs to the country", he said.

At the meeting, AIIB president Jin said his bank was keen to enable local development.

AIIB could give the country loans at concessional terms, which were good for economic development, he said.

The bank "will offer loans without government guarantee for the private sector too as the country has the trust of the international community", he said, suggesting that the government support AIIBs loans to the private sector with macro-economic stability and a stable legal system.

"If Viet Nam pays attention to infrastructure development, it will see greater socio-economic achievements in the coming years", he said.  VNS
HA NOI  Quite a few Vietnamese companies are taking advantage of sand dredging privileges authorised by the Government to rake in huge illegal profits, according to an expose by the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The investigative series, entitled Tracing Vietnamese sand drain to Singapore, reported that at the end of 2009, the Vietnamese Government banned sand exports but in 2013 the regulation was loosened, allowing a list of enterprises to export saline sand dredged from the river and sea beds of their own projects to recoup their investments.

The decision created favourable conditions for sand to be shipped in large quantities to the city-state of Singapore.

Authorities covered up, protected illegal sand miners: Deputy PM Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh yesterday admitted that some local authorities covered up for or even offered immunity to illegal sand miners. During a Governmental meeting yesterday evening, Binh believed that the prolonged illegal sand mining on the national scale  even right in front of the eyes of the authorities  was mainly due to the fact that the local administrations loosened their management, covered up and offered protection to those miners. The Deputy PMs statement came a few days after an investigative series by the Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper revealed how sand in Viet Nam was illegally exploited, transported and sold to Singapore. A report by the Government Office showed that there were up to thousands of miners on hundreds of ships every night illegally exploiting sand along several river routes including the Hong (Red), a, Lo and Cau rivers in the north and Sai Gon and ong Nai rivers down in the south. The sand lost per night could reach up to tens of thousands of cubic metres. To tackle the prolonged issue, Binh said that local authorities and its leaders should be subject to strict penalties if violations in sand mining management were detected. In case officials are found to have covered up for or offered protection to the miners, they will be handled strictly by the law, he said. The Deputy PM also asked for more intense inspections over sand mining in the future, with a police campaign against illegal mining taking place from March 15 to June 1.  VNS

According to the paper, although the companies asked for dredging permission for sand export, they did not dredge the sand themselves, selling the rights to other companies for handsome profits.

On October 1, 2014, the Ha Noi-based Green Environment Development Company signed a contract to sell one million cubic metres of sand to Hai Duong KG, based in the southern province of Kien Giang, for VN31,500 (US$1.4) per cubic metre. The total contract was worth VN31.5 billion ($1.4 million). The sand was dredged during a project to improve the eco-system in Thuy Trieu Lagoon in Cam Ranh City of central Khanh Hoa Province.

Sai Gon-Ha Noi Company sold 1 million cubic metres of the sand to Hai Duong KG at VN31,500 per cubic metre, and later signed contracts to export another million to Singapores TNS Resources.At the same time, the Khanh Hoa administration granted the Sai Gon-Ha Noi Investment Construction and Mining Minerals Joint Stock Company permission to export 2.8 million cubic metres of saline sand from a dredging project on the Tac River.

In January 2015, Hai Duong KG also purchased another dredging project with the right to export 1 million cubic metres of sand, from Hai Viet Company located in the northern province of Nam inh.

The Kien Giang company paid Hai Viet VN21,000 per cubic metre for the right to export the sand.

Even though Hai Duong KG has bought saline sand from three different projects at prices ranging from VN21,000 to VN31,500, the company declared to customs that the resource was exported at much lower prices.

For instance, in October and November 2015, Hai Duong KG exported 109,000 cu.m of sand to JIA DA Investment & Construction at only $1 per cu.m.

By declaring the export price at only $1, Hai Duong KG paid export duty of only VN6,690 (30 cents) per cubic metre, significantly lower than the VN26,760 ($1.2) that would have been charged for the real contract price of $4 per cu.m.

Land reclamation project

According to data obtained by Tuoi Tre, from January 1 to February 23 this year, 40 ships departed from Viet Nam to Singapore carrying 905,000 cubic metres of sand.

uc Long Company exported the highest amount, weighing more than 600,000 cubic metres in total. Cai Mep Company ranked second with 369,000 cubic metres of sand.

The majority of sand dredging projects for export to Singapore are in the provinces of central Viet Nam, including Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Ha Tinh, Quang Nam, Binh inh, Thua Thien-Hue, Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan.

Eight projects are being conducted in Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces by the Green Environment Development Company, Sai Gon-Ha Noi Investment Construction and Mining Minerals Joint Stock Company, and Cai Mep Investment Joint Stock Company.

The sand is transported across the sea to Tekong Island to the northeast of Singapore and Changi Villa, close to Changi Airport.

According to a Singaporean enterprise which imports sand, for the past decade the city-state has been working on a $6.5 billion land reclamation project meant to expand the area of Tekong Island from 657 to 3,310 hectares. This company has imported sand from Viet Nam and several other countries to serve the project since 2009.

Losses for residents

In Van Ninh District of central Khanh Hoa Province, where a dredging project of Van Phong Bay was approved and the Phuc Son Company was allowed to export over 7 million cubic metres of exploited sand, all activities have stopped since 2016 due to strong opposition from local residents.

Hundreds of residents in ong Nam and ong Bac hamlets earn their living from lobster breeding in the ai Lanh sea area. The dredging activity has turned the water muddy and red. Lobsters died or moved to other places, said one resident, Le Minh Thuong.

"The sea lobsters have declined by half since the sand has been exploited. Not only myself but all fishermen lost their living," Ho Tan Phu, another local lobster-catcher, told the paper.

In Phu Yen Province, the Tien Chau port sand dredging project has caused severe erosion. The walls of some houses there reportedly cracked, while whole floors sank by nearly one metre.

They sent six to seven sand dredging barges in several months, only 150m from my house. Being worried that land and houses would collapse into the sea, local residents were fiercely opposed and the operation stopped. I heard that they were about to start again, said Nguyen Hieu, another area resident.  VNS
Thu Hang

HCM CITY A 70-year-old Japanese tourist was admitted to Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City on Lunar New Years Eve with a sudden onset of severe chest pain.

Mikochi had chest pain and passed out just as his flight was arriving at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

He was sent to an international clinic for immediate resuscitative efforts and transferred to Cho Ray Hospitals emergency department due to his critical condition.

He was diagnosed with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection, which requires early treatment for survival, Nguyen Thai An, head of the cardiac surgery department, said.

Trauma red alert Quy Trinh Bao ong o, the highest level, was activated and an operating room was readied within 60 minutes, he said.

Administrative procedures were skipped to carry out the life-saving surgery immediately, he said.

All the members of the hospitals rapid response team were present in the surgery room though it was New Years Eve.

In the event, the surgical intervention saved the patients life. He was discharged six days later in stable condition.

Truong The Hiep, deputy head of the hospitals emergency department, said it receives an average of 350 patients every day, most of them with multiple injuries.

A third of them need emergency surgical intervention, he said.

In some cases doctors have to provide cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and perform surgery at the emergency departments surgery room since any delay could be fatal, he said.

The hospitals rapid response system helps save dozens of critically ill patients every year.

Since paediatrics trauma alert red was initiated in 2008, doctors at the HCM City Paediatrics No.1 Hospital have performed around 20 emergency surgeries required upon its activation.

Inter-hospital alert

Last September Nguyen Thi Hieu Thao, 20, of Hoc Mon District suddenly developed severe eclampsia when she was nine months pregnant and was admitted to Thong Nhat Hospital for emergency attention.

She was in a coma, her blood pressure was a high 210/120 mm Hg. She later went into cardiac and respiratory arrest.

Doctors provided cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and called Hung Vuong Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospitals emergency response team for immediate surgical intervention.

Hung Vuongs rapid response team of obstetricians, medical assistants and nurses performed a caesarean section to deliver the baby within 20 minutes of the activation of the alert.

Thao and her 3.4kg boy soon became stable and were discharged a one week later.

Nguyen Thi Le, Thaos mother, said, overwhelmed: It was like a miracle. I almost passed out. I thought my daughter would die.

The doctors were so good they could save the life of mother and son.

As soon as we receive an alert call, we have to act rapidly and concentrate intensely, Nguyen Thi Anh Phuong, deputy head of Hung Vuong Hospitals obstetrics department, said.

The goal is to save the patients life.

Phuong has twice been on the rapid response team to provide emergency out-of-hospital surgical care.

The successful operation on Thao was attributed to close co-ordination between doctors at the two hospitals and the activation of the alert, which circumvents procedures and facilitates immediate surgery.

It was one of six out-of-hospital surgeries performed since the city Department of Health introduced the inter-hospital alert last year.

City-wide expansion

Tang Chi Thuong, deputy director of the department, said the inter-hospital alert for rapid response emergencies is a life-saving measure for critically ill patients who would otherwise die on the way to hospital.

Co-ordinated action by multi-disciplinary physicians and hospitals are crucial to successful emergency life-saving surgical intervention.

The department has recommended implementation of hospital-wide and inter-hospital alerts across the city to improve survival rates.

Cho Ray Hospital plans to set up surgery rooms in various departments to simplify the process for emergency surgeries, Pham The Viet, head of the hospitals general planning department, said.

The number of patients admitted to Cho Ray Hospital with life-threatening conditions has soared in the past few years, he said.

Last year there were 15 cases that triggered trauma alert red, and doctors managed to save 10 of the patients.

In the first two months of this year there have already been eight, Viet said.

The activation of hospital-wide alerts should also be standardised with an integrated set of co-ordinated actions so that it can operate smoothly and effectively, he added. VNS
The individual prize at the Kovalevskaya Awards 2016 went to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Kim Phi Phung (second from left), a lecturer from the University of Natural Sciences under the Viet Nam National University in HCM City.  Photo kinhtedothi.vn

HA NOI  The individual prize at the Kovalevskaya Awards 2016 went to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Kim Phi Phung, a lecturer from the University of Natural Sciences under the Viet Nam National University in HCM City.

During an award ceremony organised yesterday in Ha Noi and broadcast live on VTV, the 60-year-old woman was honoured on stage along with another five female scientists who shared the collective award.

The Kovalevskaya Awards is an annual ceremony honouring the most outstanding female scientists who have gained remarkable achievements in research and the application of science.

Phung is a leading specialist with numerous research studies in the chemical-pharmaceutical field, including studies into many diseases, including cervical cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimers.

The lecturer expressed her happiness at receiving the prize, saying that she has had a passion for research since she was a student.

Five female staff from the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology won the collective Kovalevskaya Award for their project on nano-technology applied in agricultural production and health care.

They are Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Kim Anh; Associate Prof. Dr. Pham Thu Nga; Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Phuong Tung; Associate Prof. Dr. Vu Thi Bich; and Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Hong Nhung.

On behalf of her team, Nga highlighted the significance of the prize to scientists, saying that it encourages young scientists to continue their work.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who attended the ceremony yesterday, congratulated the award winners, hoping that Vietnamese women could achieve a bigger role in society, for example, accounting for 35 per cent of managerial positions in small and medium sized enterprises.

The prestigious Kovalevskaya prize is named after the Russian female mathematician, Sofia Kovalevskaya, and is awarded by the fund of the same name. The fund operates in eight countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.  VNS
HA NOI  The rate of children suffering from gastric disease is growing due to schooling pressure and inappropriate food, health experts have said.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Ut from the Digestive Disease Department at the National Paediatrics Hospital, said HP bacteria is one of the main causes of gastric disease in children.

Ha, an eight-year-old child from Ha Nois Soc Son District, kept complaining of stomach aches and was gaining weight. When the pains became more serious and were accompanied by vomitting, her parents took her to the hospital.

She was diagnosed with inflammation of the stomachs mucous membrane caused by the Helicobacter pylori (HP) bacteria.

Doctors advise children not to share their bowl and spoon with gastric disease patients as they could catch HP bacteria.

Nhi, a six-year-old girl of the capitals ong a District, also suffered from stomach aches.

Her parents said that she had regular meals, eating one bowl of rice each day, and several snacks such as milk, yoghurt and fruit. But she watched TV or played with a smart phone while eating, otherwise she would refuse to eat.

To prevent the diseases, parents should not let their children watch computer, TV, smart phone, or sing and dance while eating, said Associate Professor Nguyen Tien Dung of the Paediatrics Department at Bach Mai Hospital.

He said the rate of children suffering from gastric disease is growing. Recently, a ten-year-old patient was hospitalised for emergency care with an inflammation leading to digestive bleeding.

Statistics of the National Paediatrics Hospital show that as many as 76 per cent of children between the age of four and nine complaining of stomach aches require edoscopic digestive diagnosis.

In addition, many families let their children watch TV, or play with Ipads and smart phones while eating, affecting digestion. Some fast food such as sausages also affect childrens digestive system, she said.

Dung warned that if gastric disease in children was not treated in time and properly, they could lead to dangerous problems such as digestive bleeding and even stomach cancer.

The expert also said that children between the age of 10 and 16 suffer from gastric disease more than younger children because they have a lot of schooling pressure. He advised parents not to pressure their children and mae them worry that they are not as good as their friends.

Pressure greatly affects childrens psychology and also leads to gastric disease, according to Dung.  VNS
HA GIANG  The Peoples Court of the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Tuesday sentenced a Cambodian national to 25 years in prison for murder and illegal storage and use of a military weapon.

Lay Bun Thy, 53, a former Lieutenant Colonel and deputy head of the police post at Cambodias Phnom Den International Border Gate, got 20 years in prison for murder and another five years for the weapons charge.

According to the indictment, at about 6pm on July 16, 2016, Lay Bun Thy and six Vietnamese nationals went to a restaurant named Huong Xua in Tinh Bien Town of Tinh Bien District, An Giang Province, to drink.

Pham Van Quang and Le Van uoc, along with five other people, also entered the restaurant and sat opposite.

At about 8pm, Quang and uoc invited Thy to drink with them but Thy refused, leading to an argument.

After Quang and uoc returned to their table, Thy heard a conversation between Quang and uoc, from which he assumed Quang had been behind an earlier attack on him.

Thy returned to his home, about 40 metres from the restaurant, to retrieve a K59 pistol and then returned to the restaurant.

At the restaurant, Thy asked Quang several times whether he had assaulted him earlier and when he said yes he fired two shots at Quang, wounding his mouth.

uoc, who was sitting beside Quang, stood up and Thy shot uoc in the forehead and back as he thought uoc intended to attack him.

uoc died on the way to hospital while Quang was seriously injured and hospitalised.

At about 5.30am of July 17, 2016 Thy turned himself into Tinh Bien district police.

According to the verdict, Thy will have to give VN242 million (over US$10,600) in compensation to uocs family and pay alimony to his children until they reach 18.  VNS
Pledges to this year's 'Music for Miracles' Radiothon on 107.9 WNCT bring the total raised through this event's 20 year history to more than $3.3 million

Contact: Amy Holcombe

Amy Holcombe amy.holcombe@vidanthealth.com

GREENVILLE Listeners from all over the east phoned in their support for children pledging $71,033 during the 20th annual "Music for Miracles" radiothon on 107.9 WNCT.Those pledges bring all-time giving for the event to more than $3.3 million. One hundred percent of the funds raised through Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals events such as this directly supports programs and services at James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital at Vidant Medical Center and the 29 counties it serves.said Rhonda James, director, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.James said.Several of this year's Miracle Children, including 2017 poster child, Wyatt "the Warrior" Garab, and his parents Courtney and Grant Garab of Onslow County joined on-air personalities March 2-3 to share with the listeners the difference donations make in a child's life.In addition to Wyatt, the other 2017 Miracle Children visited during the event to share their incredible stories as well including, Braxton Manning, 1, of Carteret County; Rhettec Galaska, 11, of Pitt County; Jeremiah Seaberry, 11, of Wayne County; along with Sierra Scott, 12, of Martin County. To help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event, several past miracle children also came out to update listeners on how they are doing.Helping to answer phones were more than 50 volunteers, including employees of Vidant Medical Center and volunteers from various church and civic groups. Many local restaurants and businesses donated meals and refreshments.Children's Miracle Network Hospitals is a fund-raising program of the Vidant Health Foundation.
WASHINGTON  The CIA can turn your TV into a listening device, bypass popular encryption apps, and possibly control your car, according to a trove of alleged documents from the US spy agency released on Tuesday by WikiLeaks.

The group posted nearly 9,000 documents it said were leaked from the Central Intelligence Agency, in what it described as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence materials.

WikiLeaks claimed that a vast trove of CIA documents, hacking tools and code representing "the majority of its hacking arsenal" were leaked within the cyber security community -- and that it had received, and released, a part of them.

"This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA," it said, warning of a risk of cyber weapons proliferation.

Neither the CIA nor the White House would say if the documents were genuine.

If corroborated, the leak could represent a huge new embarrassment to US intelligence, adding to Edward Snowdens 2013 expose of National Security Agency spying on Americans communications, and the arrest last year of an NSA official for removing massive amounts of top-secret material to his home over 20 years.

WikiLeaks said the data shows that the CIA is now rivaling the NSA, the US governments main electronic spying body, in cyber warfare, but with less oversight.

Bypassing encryption

The archive shows the CIA exploiting weaknesses it discovers in hardware and software systems, including those made by US companies -- without letting anyone know about the flaws in question.

Documents show the CIA has produced more than 1,000 malware systems -- viruses, trojans and other software that can infiltrate and take control of personal electronics, WikiLeaks noted.

These hacking tools have targeted iPhones, Android systems such as the personal phone reportedly still used by President Donald Trump, popular Microsoft software, and Samsung smart TVs, which can be transformed into covert microphones, according to WikiLeaks.

The agency has also examined hacking into the electronic control systems on cars and trucks, potentially enabling it to control them remotely.

By infecting and effectively taking over the software of smartphones, WikiLeaks said, the CIA can get around the encryption technologies of popular apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, and Confide by collecting communications before they are encrypted.

Looks authentic

The CIA would neither confirm nor deny the documents were genuine.

"We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," said spokesman Jonathan Liu in an email.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined to comment, saying "Thats something that has not been fully evaluated."

But Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representativess Intelligence Committee, said the disclosures "appear to be very, very serious."

"We are very concerned," he said.

The documents allegedly come from the CIAs Center for Cyber Intelligence, which operates both from its Langley, Virginia, headquarters near Washington, and from an office in the US consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, according to WikiLeaks.

"The archive appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive," the group said.

Snowden, who was a contract employee for the NSA before he stole and leaked secret materials, said via Twitter that the document trove "looks authentic".  AFP
EVANSDALE  Two people were injured in a one-vehicle crash on Interstate 380 in Evansdale on Tuesday morning.

Authorities said the driver, 25-year-old Aja Bennett of Waterloo, was able to exit the wrecked vehicle on her own, and crews with Waterloo Fire Rescue had to cut off the vehicles roof to remove the passenger, Antonio Harris, 27, also of Waterloo, according to the Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office.

Harris and Bennett were taken to Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, and their conditions werent available.

The crash happened shortly before 6:30 a.m. Tuesday near mile marker 68 when the southbound passenger car left the roadway, rolled and traveled down a hill before crashing into a chain link fence and coming to a rest on the bike path near River Road.

Shooting injures one in Waterloo

WATERLOO  One person was injured in a Tuesday morning shooting in Waterloo.

Details werent available, but police and paramedics were called to the area of Western and West Fourth streets shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Authorities found one man with an injury to his hip area, police said. His identity and condition werent immediately available, but police said he was conscious and alert. Paramedics with Waterloo Fire Rescue took him to UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital where he underwent surgery, said Capt. David Mohlis with the Waterloo Police Department.

About a block away, Waterloo police detained one man in the area of Locust and West Third streets. Nearby, they found a pistol hidden in a mailbox.

In all, four people were detained for questioning, but no charges have been filed, Mohlis said.

Guilty verdict

in threats trial

WAVERLY  A jury has found a Waverly man accused of threatening county employees guilty of a lesser charge.

Edward John White, 73, had been charged with first-degree harassment after authorities said he told workers at the Bremer County Treasurers Office on Aug. 25 if he had a gun, hed shoot them.

Trial began March 2, and jurors found him guilty of the lesser offense of third-degree harassment, which is a simple misdemeanor, according to court officials. Sentencing will be in April.

Before the trial, prosecutors had asked to bar any evidence about Whites taxes and the increase in his property taxes. The defense argued his taxes were relevant to Whites state of mind at the time of the incident. Whites attorney also noted in court records White didnt actually own a firearm.
CEDAR FALLS  A Waterloo man is now facing federal charges in connection with a shooting during a dance at a church building in January.

A Waterloo police officer assigned to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms task force filed a criminal complaint seeking to charge Darius Devon Nickelous, 22, with one count of felon in possession of a firearm. The complaint was filed Feb. 24 in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

According to court records, someone pulled a gun and started firing following a fight at the Wesley Foundation Church on College Street around 11:50 p.m. Jan. 14. No injuries were reported.

Witnesses reported seeing Nickelous fleeing the building with a handgun, and Cedar Falls police noticed him about two blocks away ducking near a vehicle and discarding something. Officers detained Nickelous and found a .38-calbier revolver with five spent casings near the vehicle.

Nickelous was initially arrested on state charges following the shooting.

Court records allege Nickelous is a member of the Young Money neighborhood gang and had been charged with a drug felony in 2013. He had been granted a deferred judgment in the case, which would have removed the charge from his record after probation, but the deferred judgment was revoked in 2014, records state.

Also arrested on state charges in the case was Corion Pursley, 22, of Cedar Rapids.
Details werent available, but the chase started around 4 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Shaulis Road south of Waterloo when a trooper with the Iowa State Patrol attempted to pull over the motorcycle. The driver refused to stop, and officers from Waterloo and Cedar Falls joined the pursuit, which took Highway 218, Highway 63, Ridgeway Avenue, Greenhill Road and University Avenue.
TAMA  A judge has granted a change of venue for a former Tama man facing murder charges in connection with a cold case homicide.

Public Defender Scott Hunter argued his client, 50-year-old Tait Otis Purk, cant receive a fair trial in Tama County.

Due to numerous factors, such a degree of prejudice exits in Tama County there is a substantial likelihood a fair and impartial trial cannot be preserved with a jury selected from Tama County, Hunter argued in a January court filing.

Prosecutors agreed, and on Tuesday following a phone hearing, District Court Judge Mitchell Turner ordered the trial be moved to Marengo, in Iowa County.

The trial is currently scheduled for May 1.

Purk, 50, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his financee, Cora Okonski.

Okonski was 23 when she disappeared April 16, 2000. At the time, Purk told investigators she had left to buy cigarettes and never returned. He reported her missing two days later.

Court records show Purk had been arrested for allegedly assaulting Okonski in 1999, but the charge was dropped before she disappeared.

After the disappearance, Purk was indicted on federal methamphetamine and firearm charges, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In November 2016 the Iowa Department of Investigation said it classified Okonskis disappearance as a homicide. A month later, authorities arrested Purk for murder.
Grover Norquist is using his considerable influence to push North Carolina lawmakers toward reforming restrictive laws governing craft beer.Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, is calling for an end to the state'sNorquist in 1985 founded ATR, which promotes a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower.He sent letters to the state's 170 legislators in support of Craft Freedom, a recent news release says.Brewers around the state, some 180 of them, hope to even the proverbial playing field with wholesalers, a movement - craftfreedom.org - with a goal of eliminating a state law requiring brewers to procure a distributor once their beer output reaches 25,000 barrels.ATR's entry into the Craft Freedom fight - joining the John Locke Foundation, the Civitas Institute, and the National Federation of Independent Business - marks the fourth nonprofit, free-market organization to support raising or eliminating the state's archaic limit on brewery self-distribution, a needless regulation that hurts entrepreneurs and impedes investment, hiring, and economic growth across North Carolina, the release says.Norquist calls North Carolina's brewery self-distribution limit aHe compares the law to Obamacare, noting "the arcane law barring self-distribution for breweries beyond a certain size is a state-created disincentive on business growth and the new hiring that comes with it."Allowing this protectionist, anti-consumer restriction on craft brewery self-distribution to stand would be both indefensible and completely uncharacteristic of the legislature."Craft Freedom spokesman John Marrino of The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery in Charlotte says in the release. recent survey of 800 likely voters , prepared for Craft Freedom by Strategic Partners Solutions and overseen by Republican political consultant Paul Shumaker, finds the more voters learn about the impact of the production cap on North Carolina breweries, support for the production cap nearly completely vanishes. That goes for people who voted for President Trump or his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.says the survey, "support for the cap diminishes to 1.6 percent" - two Republicans, three unaffiliated voters and eight Democrats from the 800 voters surveyed.The N.C. Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association will continue to push back. The wholesalers say the current arrangement works well, and removing the cap would provide a competitive advantage to a small group of North Carolina breweries to the disadvantage of everyone else, including other small breweries that appreciate the convenience of having a larger company handle direct sales and marketing.State Rep. Michael Speciale , R-Craven, has filed a bill that would increase the amount of beer smaller craft breweries could brew and sell without having to contract with a wholesale distributor.House Bill 67 would increase the cap from 25,000 barrels per year to 100,000 barrels per year. A barrel of beer is 31 gallons.At least three North Carolina craft breweries - Red Oak in Whitsett, and Olde Meck and NoDa in Charlotte - are approaching the 25,000-barrel threshold. The brewers, Carolina Journal reported , want to continue control over their distribution and plan to halt growth if the law isn't changed.
OSAGE -- An Osage film producer was sentenced Tuesday to three and a half months in jail for assaulting a 17-year-old female actress and showing her nude photographs.

Scott Robert Thompson, 55, Mondovi, Wis., was charged in October 2016 with two misdemeanors, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and dissemination and exhibition of obscene material to a minor.

He pleaded guilty in Mitchell County District Court in February to a lesser misdemeanor charge, simple assault, and the original count of dissemination of obscene material.

Judge DeDra Schroeder on Tuesday sentenced Thompson to 14 days in jail for the simple assault and 180 days in jail, with 90 days suspended, for dissemination of obscene material. The sentences are to run consecutively.

Thompson was fined $1,940 and ordered to pay an unspecified amount of victim restitution. He was also sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.

Investigation began in August 2015 after a report was made to the Cedar Rapids Police Department about a sexual abuse that occurred in Osage on Aug. 6, 2015.

The abuse involved a 17-year-old actress starring in one of Thompson's film productions, according to a statement from the Osage Police Department. Thompson owns and operates My Town Pictures, an independent film production company with an office in Osage.

The teen had auditioned for and received a leading role in June 2015 in a web series being produced by Thompson, according to court documents.

She regularly traveled from Cedar Rapids to Osage in July and August 2015 to take part in acting classes and shoot film for the series.

Near the end of July or early August 2015, court documents indicate the teen received a text message from Thompson, telling her he had received an email from a woman he had filmed with before.

The woman had supposedly sent nude photos of herself to Thompson, which he showed the teen Aug. 1 or 2, 2015, at his office in Osage. Court documents say the photos show the woman posing fully nude and in various states of undress.

Thompson later rented a single-bed room at the Super 8 motel in Osage where he inappropriately touched the girl.
HAWKEYE  A Clermont man has been arrested for allegedly attacking a woman while working on an apartment in Hawkeye last week.

Fayette County sheriff's deputies arrested 27-year-old Spenser Kedrick Bilden on Tuesday for assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse causing injury, a felony, and indecent exposure, a misdemeanor. Bond was set at $20,000.

According to court records, Bilden had been hired to install locks and make repairs at an apartment on March 1, and he allegedly solicited sexual favors from a woman at the building. He allegedly pulled his genitals from his pants and asked her if she thought he was circumcised, and he allegedly pushed her to the ground and pulled at her clothing.

The woman was injured but fought him off, and he left, declaring that he was the one who installed the locks, court records state.

According to the sheriffs office, evidence was collected from the scene and sent to the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation labs for further testing.
DES MOINES  A joint meeting of Iowa House committees that deal with taxes and spending might be the starting point for a review of tax credits, their value and effectiveness.

Given the current fiscal situation, we need to consider the scope and duration and the generosity of tax credits, House Ways and Means Chairman Guy Vander Linden, R-Oskaloosa, said Wednesday after the Legislative Services Agency presented a 50-minute catalog of tax credits.

The LSA tracks $427 million in contingent liabilities tax credits, another $103 million in state individual income tax credits, $74 million paid directly from the general fund and $562 million in property tax credits and exemptions.

Vander Linden wants lawmakers to look at whether the credits are doing what they were intended to do.

In a lot of cases, it is difficult to determine, he said. Some previous Legislature put them in place. I hope we can go back and say it was a good idea or, maybe, its no longer a good idea or its a bad idea. Were going to re-evaluate it.

It wont be easy, however, and Vander Linden isnt sure lawmakers will be able to answer those questions about every tax credit.

Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, is ready to give it a go. In particular, the ranking Democrat on Ways and Means wants to look at corporate giveaways and, frankly, things that are plain ineffective.

I think we agree that at some point in time we have to stop writing checks to companies until we see exactly what they are bringing back to Iowa, Jacoby said.

Vander Linden and Jacoby agreed that the businesses and individuals using those tax credits are likely to want them continued.

One of the things were going to find out pretty quickly if we get serious about looking at tax credits is whos getting them, because they will show up, Vander Linden said.

People will start thinking Uh-oh, that means me. I need to get up there and talk to people and at least express the value in those credits, Jacoby added.

Both lawmakers indicated everything would be on the table if they start to evaluate tax credits. However, popular support for some may make them less vulnerable to change.

The states largest tax break is the $71 million Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit for low- and moderate-income workers intended to encourage employment.

I doubt we would scale that one back, but its a big one, Vander Linden said. He doubts Democrats would go for a reduction in that and Im not sure Republicans would go along, either.

Jacoby would like to see an evaluation of credits to large companies, such as the $57 million Research Activities Tax Credit available to taxpayers who increase research activities in Iowa. But he doesnt want to stop there.

Being from Coralville, I want to evaluate TIF districts, Jacoby said. I want to see if tax increment financing is truly working. Are we generating the state income tax and sales tax what offsets the cities and counties holding on to those tax receipts?

Coralville has made extensive use of TIF to fuel development of Iowa River Landing.

Vander Linden said hes hopeful lawmakers will tackle tax reform this year, but acknowledged that likely will depend on what the Revenue Estimating Conference reports when it meets next week.

Well go forward based on what that looks like, he said.
URBANDALE  Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowas governor-in-waiting, assured a conservative group Wednesday that income tax relief is on the way but might not arrive this year.

Pressed for details by the Westside Conservative Club, Reynolds said she and Gov. Terry Branstad have been looking at various computer runs designed to make the states complex individual and corporate income taxes simpler and flatter, but the states uncertain economic situation  especially the farm sector  has slowed the timetable.

There are a lot of different scenarios that were looking at. How we get the biggest bang for the buck, but have it impact all Iowans in a positive way, and so were going to continue to run the numbers and you will see something with that. You will, she told the breakfast gathering. It continues to be a priority.

Reynolds is slated to become Iowas governor once Branstad is confirmed as President Donald Trumps choice to become U.S. ambassador to China.

She said that so far, Republicans working with state Department of Revenue tax specialists have been unable to make the numbers work, but the process is ongoing to assemble a comprehensive tax change package.

Creating a more competitive tax structure is critical to attracting and keeping Iowa businesses and workers needed to grow the states economy, Reynolds said, but the plan must be sustainable while maintaining commitments to education, Medicaid managed care and other priorities.

Honestly, the budget has really made it tough, said Reynolds, who conceded state agencies may be bracing for yet more reductions if revenue estimators downgrade current fiscal year projections when they meet next week.

So maybe we put the legislation in place and we phase it in over a couple of years, she told the Urbandale group. If we dont get it done this year, its going to continue to be a focus. We have to do it because thats what is going to continue to make us competitive.

Sen. Randy Feenstra, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said he expects income tax legislation to surface later this month that proposes a comprehensive rewrite to be phased in over multiple years.

Our system is the most complex in the nation and it takes time to unwind all of that. It will be changed over a three, four, five-year period, he said.

The GOP plan would shrink the income tax brackets from nine to a number yet to be finalized, revamp tax credits and deductions and deliver relief in an overall amount yet to be determined.

To make sure there are reductions, you have to take into account all of the credits and deductions and if you start removing some of those, to make sure that people dont see an increase in their taxes and yet see a net decrease. Thats the complexity of it and thats why it takes time, he said. The key for us is tax reduction, simplification and tax equality across the board.
WATERLOO  Mayor Quentin Hart unveiled a budget plan Tuesday to knock a penny off the citys tax rate.

The proposal includes spending cuts but avoids layoffs, while appearing to roll the dice in some cases by boosting revenue estimates and lowering certain costs for items like outside legal services and fuel for police cars.

The mayor and I have met with all the departments, some of them multiple times, said Chief Financial Officer Michelle Weidner. We worked hard to try to come up with a budget that will be acceptable to everyone in terms of both the taxes paid by individuals and the services provided by the city.

Hart said he took some suggestions from department heads but also folded in proposals from divergent views of City Council members hoping to find some intermediary place to meet.

Taking a look at the councils suggestions I tried to find some room in between what people wanted to see, Hart said. Almost every department is impacted in some way or another.

The City Council is scheduled to hold a budget hearing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday on a published proposal boosting the citys property tax rate from $17.60 to nearly $18 per $1,000 of taxable property value July 1.

The $893,000 in cuts identified in Harts plan would lower that rate to $17.59 per $1,000.

Councilman Steve Schmitt, who had been pushing for deeper spending cuts, said he was pleased with the proposal but stopped short of endorsing it just yet.

This is what I think we call compromise, Schmitt said. Im real glad to see that.

Harts proposal maintains current police and fire staffing levels but calls for a six-month delay in filling a position in each department to save a combined $88,000. Several other vacant positions in finance, leisure services and the library would be delayed or not filled at all.

The plan includes a 5 percent cut in overtime across all property tax-supported departments; cuts $35,000 in city travel; and reduces expense items across many departments.

Major line item changes include cutting $175,000 from workers compensation claims; $60,000 in outside legal services; $44,750 in parking maintenance; and $20,000 in police fuel. Projected revenue hikes include $70,000 more from the sale of city property.

While Weidner said staff was confident those new targets were achievable, the city would need to adjust the budget or rely on cash reserves if those goals proved elusive.

A slight reduction in the property tax rate would essentially freeze the citys share of taxes on commercial and industrial property while causing about a 2.3 percent increase in residential tax bills.

A state order boosted the percentage of a homes assessed value available for taxation from 55.6 percent this year to 56.9 percent next year. Commercial and industrial property is taxed based on 90 percent of the value, which isnt changing next year.
WATERLOO  The Friends of the Grout Historic Houses will host a St. Patricks brunch from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 19 at the Snowden House, 306 Washington St.

The menu will include baked ham, egg strata, assorted sweet pastries, fruit cups and coffee. Complimentary champagne and sparkling cider also will be provided.

The cost for all ages is $12. Tickets may be purchased at the Grout Museum, 503 South St, 234.6357, at www.gmdistrict.org/brunch2017 or at the door.

Proceeds from this event will benefit the Friends of the Grout Historic Houses.
Teachers union

RUTH deKOK

SEATTLE  Hello, Waterloo. I taught for Area Education Agency 7 and the Waterloo schools for 31 years. I loved teaching there. I did not mind working 60 hours a week (many of those hours in my own time) because I loved seeing the progress of the students, and I knew Iowa had a strong teachers union that would always support me.

I knew I would have 25 minutes of lunch and at least 25 minutes of planning a day. I knew the union would assist me with medical benefits and any issues with administration or parents. I knew I was not alone. I knew I was not teaching for the income, I knew I was not teaching for any accolades. I knew I was teaching for the children ... and I loved it.

I was disheartened when the state of Iowa decided to take away Iowa teachers bargaining power. I cant imagine how disavowed the teachers of Iowa feel. I just cant believe it. I live in Washington now, but I am here thinking about the teachers of Iowa and telling you how I just feel so sad for you all. I cant imagine how you feel.

New high school

JEFFERSON ROBERTS

CEDAR FALLS  I am a seventh-grader at Holmes Jr. High and am concerned by the state of the high school. I have found two reasons why a new one should be built. The high school is not fully air-conditioned. If it gets too hot, school is canceled. Students cant learn if theyre not in school. The second reason is there arent enough classrooms; the classrooms are crowded. When the classes are large, teachers cant help students with their individual needs as well as they could with fewer students.

Some people dont want a new school because taxes will increase or they think we dont need it. If a new school is built, property values will likely increase. And if you still think a new school isnt needed, you should go visit the old one on a hot day; that might change your mind.

Gun violence

JEREMY HOLMES

WATERLOO  I am writing this because I am concerned about the possibility of the stand your ground bill SF25 and HSB133 becoming law in Iowa. I have been the victim of gun violence in the past, and I can assure you its not a pleasant experience.

I dont want to see the stand your ground bill SF25 or HSB133 become Iowa law. If passed, it would allow a person to use deadly force if they feel their life is threatened. I believe it will cause problems. Death by guns will double in Iowa if this law passes.

We the people of Iowa dont want the problems Florida has because of their ridiculous stand your ground law. We dont need more people with the mentality of George Zimmerman running around with a gun, especially in Iowa.

Cost of pills

JEROME BRONNER

WATERLOO  Sam Sneed of Greene hit the nail right on the head in his letter March 2 about Obamacare and the cost of drugs. I was recently in a Waterloo hospital and my insurance company would not pay for the medications I received from the hospital  none of them.

One capsule you put in an inhaler they charged me $97.15, and I can buy 30 in a box for $8. That was for one capsule. The other pills averaged from $1.15-$1.60 a pill to $11.15 a pill.

Somebody is making a wad of money.
By The Associated Press Mar. 06, 2017 | 11:37 PM | FRANKFORT, KY

Daleon Rice shot Ernie twice, right in front of a police officer, but he won't serve a day in prison for the crime.

That's because the German Shepherd police dog recovered and returned to work. Under Kentucky law, assaulting a police dog is only a felony if the dog dies or can't resume his duties. Otherwise, it's a misdemeanor, often with no jail time.

Rice would end up being sentenced to a 40-year prison sentence on other charges, but it irked Officer Mike Lusardi and Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders that Ernie's assault would go unpunished. They lobbied the state legislature to change the law.

The state Senate gave the bill final approval Monday and sent it to Republican Gov. Matt Bevin for his signature.
Despite the North Carolina legislature and other federal obstacles standing in the way, Gov. Roy Cooper is relentless in attempts to expand Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health services at no cost to low-income children, parents, pregnant women, aged, blind, and disabled. In his proposed 2017-19 budget released , the first recommended change listed under the Division of Medical Assistance section would make room for an additional 624,000 adults.It's been consistently reported that expanding Medicaid, Obamacare-style, would cost North Carolina $6 billion over the next 10 years. So how exactly will this be paid for, now that expansion states are required to cover 5 percent of the cost in 2017? The budget line item description cites thatRather, the statement goes on to sayIn plain speak, this means North Carolina hospitals will initially foot the Medicaid bill, and then get their money back.But before exploring how this creative financing scheme works within Medicaid, it's important to understand the program's financial design:Since the early days of Medicaid, Washington has shouldered a large portion of each state's total program spending. In North Carolina's case, the federal government has historically paid for two-thirds of the state's $14 billion program that covers more than 1.9 million lives. The lower the state's per-capita income, the higher the federal Medicaid "match rate," and vice versa. For example, a state with a 50 percent match rate would receive $1 federal dollar for every $1 state dollar spent on the program. North Carolina's overall match rate for non-expansion enrollees is 66.88 percent , meaning that every state dollar spent pulls down an additional $2.02 from the federal government.Because most state Medicaid expenditures trigger federal funds, legislators and health systems have devised clever strategies that ease the use of state funds while maximizing federal money."Provider contributions," also known as provider assessments, is a classic example that dates back to the mid-1980s. Medicaid providers such as hospitals volunteer to be assessed, or taxed, by the state. In return, the state disburses this revenue back to hospitals and other health facilities, all the while pulling down federal match money.It took some time for federal regulators to recognize this financing game, but in 1991 the Medicaid Voluntary Contribution and Provider-Specific Tax Amendment placed restrictions on states that prevented them from running up Medicaid's bottom line. Today, if states place assessments on health care entities to help pay for Medicaid programs, the fee must not exceed 6 percent of net patient revenue - which explains the reason why Cooper's budget notes that provider assessments fall within "federal limits."Can one really blame hospitals and other health-care facilities for playing this assessment game? Those that are largely dependent on Medicare and Medicaid funds really have no choice but to be active players, given that public health insurance pays well under commercial payer rates. And Cooper isn't the first governor to pitch using provider assessments as a way to pay for a state's cost of Obamacare's Medicaid expansion.Yet a growing number in Washington see Medicaid's financial design as a serious flaw, which could put Cooper's method to pay for the expansion population on precarious footing The use of provider assessments could fall by the wayside if the GOP in Congress ends up restructuring how the federal government provides aid for state Medicaid programs. Over the course of many presidential administrations, lawmakers have debated the idea of reforming Medicaid with either block grants or capped funds per enrollee. House Speaker Paul Ryan's health reform conversation starter, "A Better Way," proposes for states to be able to choose between the two options. Meanwhile, within a week's time of Cooper releasing his proposed biennium budget, Politico leaked a draft Obamacare repeal bill that sets to re-engineer federal Medicaid funding with per-capita block grants.It remains a big unknown as to what benefits and services would apply to limited per-capita Medicaid funding and whether it would dissolve the ability for states to engage in provider assessments. Even if Medicaid's financial structure remains an open-ended tab, North Carolina could still face severe fiscal consequences and human costs under an expansion since the leaked repeal bill calls for states to bear a much larger share of their Medicaid expansion cost beginning in 2020 Stay tuned for what could end up being a monumental week in health care, as the House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to deliver feedback on the bill that not only repeals and replaces the federal health law but also seeks Medicaid reconstruction - one of the key sticking points that will take the longest time to reach a majority agreement.
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Farewell to February, with its' paper lace, hearts and best chances of snow on the rabbit patch. February this year , woke the cherry and peach trees. Hyacinths and daffodils, bluebirds and mockingbirds-all roused for the warmest February, I have ever known.The birthday party for Mama was nothing short of a grand occasion. My Aunt Christine-Mamas' sister came. Cousins, first, second, third and fourth all joined in the affair, as well as the usual crowd. Mama had a corsage and wore it proudly, on her day. All of the details came together-and at last the secrets whispered for weeks, were revealed. My sisters and I gave her a music box, with a pretty verse about motherhood, engraved on the top. We chose, the song we first remembered her singing to us-the universal song of children everywhere-"You are my Sunshine". Of course, Mama cried and had barely composed herself, when we presented a small box, with a necklace inside. It was a filigree heart and inside were little gemstones that represented, her grandmother, mother , herself and her daughters. We also gave her a scrapbook with pictures and handwritten notes of favorite memories and birthday wishes. We showed it to her, but thought it best, that she wait to read it as she was having a difficult time, keeping her tears at bay.My cousin, Chris and I grew up like brother and sister. While, everyone had cake and ice cream, the two of us recalled long ago memories of running in pastures and woods. We grew up alittle wild and completely unencumbered in childhood. We worked too, but the farm chores were often pleasant. Chris did recall, that the sound of a goat in distress, was not something that he remembered fondly. Of course, a goat was most likely to have his horns caught up in a fence, in the furthest corner of the pasture. Somehow, Pop had designated Chris as the child responsible for goat rescue. I am sure that Chris "made himself scarce" when he heard the dreaded and familiar noise of a crying goat, but Pop was louder than any goat and a force to be reckoned with. Chris came down from trees, out from under barns and up from ditches, when Pop called out "Chris, go help that goat, NOW!!!" I told Chris, it has been a long while, since a child has heard that command!-and we laughed, about that.Time is a peculiar thing, a complexity, of sorts. When you are a child, seasons seem endless. From one Christmas to the next is a very long time. Days are as slow as "molasses in January" in a school year- when you are young. We grow up and raise our children, and it seems we are in a permanent state. . . til they grow up. Only then, do we take account, that years turned into decades-and it seems "in a twinkling". There is simply no explanation how twenty years seem to " slip by".Truly, we ought not to "squander time". I say this whole- heartedly and often . There is so much beauty for us to behold and it reveals itself in many forms. Surely, there is more to life, than "just keeping the electricity bill paid." -I often say. And so, I look for redbirds and blossoms in spring, without regrets. I recite Housman's "Lovliest of Trees"-and vow to be mindful, again- for I declare, it was not that long ago, that our mother sang "You are my Sunshine" to us as we hung clothes on the line, or snapped beans in the afternoon. It was just a while back, that my cousin, Gena, was "the prettiest little baby" and needed to be held tightly, in the front porch swing at Pop and Grandmas' house.I have been driving my "new car" to work, the last few days. There are so many bradford pears along the way, covered in white blossoms, it reminds me of a huge wedding! The winter wheat bears the frosty mornings like a champion. In the afternoon, the fields shine like emeralds. Of course, like Mama, I shed tears of joy, because, I too, feel so loved."If of thy mortal goods, thou are bereft, and from thy slender store, two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one, and with the dole, Buy hyacinths, to feed the soul. - John Greenleaf Whittier
A man was sentenced Monday for repeated violations of an order of protection.

Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael Moses sentenced 32-year-old Christopher John Burrington to eight years with the Montana Department of Corrections. Moses suspended six of those years and ordered Burrington pay $1,644 in restitution to his victim.

Burrington was charged with eight felonies over the course of 2016. Prosecutors reduced his charges as part of a plea agreement. Burrington was ultimately convicted of two counts of violating an order of protection, burglary and felony theft.

A woman obtained an order of protection against Burrington on Dec. 15, 2015, court records show. The order prohibited Burrington from going within 1,500 feet of the woman's Howard Avenue home. He violated that order multiple times throughout 2016.

In a victim impact statement, Burrington's victim said she had hope for him in the future, Moses said. The victim did voice concerns about Burrington's actions in 2016 and her safety. Burrington's actions showed a complete lack of respect for the victim, Moses said.

Burrington apologized to all the victims of his crimes.
Joint medical exercise hits the beach

More than 250 military medics from 12 units across the country converged at the 920th Rescue Wing for a joint medical exercise February 27 through March 5 to hone their capabilities for real-world wartime emergencies.



The 920th Aeromedical Staging Squadron hosted the fifth annual MEDBEACH, a joint service exercise, to prepare military medical personnel for deployments by offering realistic hands-on scenarios one could encounter during combat. The exercise also provided 920th RQW reservists an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with their active duty Air Force, Air and Army National Guard and civilian counterparts.



This exercise reinforces the total-force concept between services and within our own unit, said Maj. Stephen Grant, the 920th RQW ASTS training coordinator and a Jacksonville, Florida, native. We try to mimic the most realistic situations possible during the exercise so our troops can walk into a deployment confident in their own skills, and the skills of those deployed with them.



MEDBEACH 2017 is designed not only to provide realistic training, but to do it on a budget that saves taxpayers up to $2 million by having military train military. Cost-saving comes naturally to this exercise because one weekend of intense training fulfills several annual training requirements which normally require Airmen to travel to different locations at different times throughout the year. This years participants will receive up to 60 hours of combat readiness medical evacuation credit and full-scale exercise credit.



Medics from the 45th Space Wing also participated in the simulated wartime training.



We dont have medical deployments here; we run a clinic, said Col. Julie Stola, the 45th Medical Group commander. From the active duty perspective, the reservists do their jobs all the time. This is why we rely on the total-force adage.



Grant echoed the importance of the total-force concept of the different components working together.



The working relationship among the 45th SW and 920th RQW is imperative, so its a no-brainer that we should also train together, Grant said.



The work-together, train-together sentiment was the thread that wound its way through the entire exercise.



An C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and an Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter transported battlefield-injured service members.



Utilized in this year's exercise, was a state-of-the-art machine called the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation machine, more commonly referred to as ECMO, and with it came a specialized team from the San Antonio Military Medical Center in Texas.



This machine is amazing, Grant said. It takes a patient that would otherwise die from significant trauma to the lungs due to a blast, infections, etc., and allows the lungs to rest by circulating blood through an artificial lung and back into the bloodstream.



Its a cradle-to-grave technology because the machine can save a life at any age, Grant said.



The MEDBEACH coordinator noted that the exercises hands-on nature is what makes it so valuable.



These exercises require out-of-box thinking and the ability to work under pressure, Grant said, just as they would face downrange.



The steps taken during wartime injuries are clear, but not always concise. From the time of injury, its a rush to get that patient off the battlefield and to the care they desperately need.



The minute a service member is injured, first aid is administered on site, while a call for help is dispatched to the nearest rescue facility. Then, a recovery unit is sent to pick up the patient  usually a rescue helicopter  and take them to the closest combat hospital where they are handed to medics to determine their needs. Depending on that outcome, they are treated and either sent back to the United States for continuing care, or back to duty.



Combat survival rate is more than 90 percent due to an efficient patient-movement system, Grant said. But due to fiscal constraints and limited manpower, it can be a challenge to keep medical Airmen trained on the latest and greatest.



We have a lot of corporate knowledge here, and a lot of Airmen who have never deployed, said Lt. Col. Corey Anderson, the 920th ASTS commander. These are the most realistic scenarios most of them will see before an actual deployment. Im impressed at how well we make realistic training for our members here. Its exciting to be able to provide these realistic training opportunities to our Airmen.


Mar 8, 2017 | By Tess

Today, on International Women's Day 2017, women from all walks of life are celebrating their achievements, both individual and collective, and recognizing the ongoing equality struggles that women all over the world are still facing. Today, many women will take to the streets to make this recognition public and to break down barriers that continue to exist socially, politically, and professionally.

We at 3Ders want to highlight and celebrate some of the women who have made an impact within the 3D printing industry (a still male-dominated field), and who have not only contributed to the advancement of the technology, but who have helped to challenge gender barriers in the tech field. From scientists, to company founders, to makers and engineers, to designers, women have played a crucial role in the proliferation of 3D printing across a number of industries. To recognize some of these inspiring women, we've compiled a (non-exhaustive) list of influential women in the industry:

Influential woman in 3D printing #1: Neri Oxman

It is not by chance that Israeli designer and architect Neri Oxman is at the top of our list of women in 3D printing as she has been responsible for some amazing advancements within the field of ecological architecture. Oxman, who is a professor at the MIT Media Lab, has been using 3D printing to usher in and introduce a new architectural philosophy that is inspired by nature and material ecology. Recently, at this years World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, Oxman even predicted that 3D printing would be responsible for a fourth industrial revolution not focused on exploitation and profit, but on humanity and ecological creation.

Influential woman in 3D printing #2: Jennifer A. Lewis

Dr. Jennifer A. Lewis, a professor at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, is also the co-founder of Voxel8, a startup that has begun to commercialize the 3D printing of functional materials, such as wires, embedded conductors, and batteries into the normal matrix materials of 3D printing. Lewis and her team of researchers have been responsible for making some big advancements in the field of multi-material 3D printing, having successfully 3D printed conductive inks, lightweight composites, lithium ion microbatteries, and embedded sensors in stretchable matrices. Lewis has also worked within the field of 4D printed structures, and has helped to develop quick changing multi-material printheads.

Influential woman in 3D printing #3: Grace Choi

Grace Choi, a graduate from Harvard Business School and the founder of the worlds first makeup 3D printer Mink, is another inspiring and successful female figure in the world of 3D printing. Her makeup 3D printer was first presented at Techcrunch Disrupt in 2014 and provoked much interest in both the maker community and mainstream news. Mink, which is capable of 3D printing custom colored makeup from colors selected by you on a desktop computer, even shocked the makeup industry through its capability to create any color on demand.

Influential woman in 3D printing #4: Caroline Walerud

25-year-old Caroline Walerud was recently added to Forbes renowned 30 under 30 for her innovative work developing 3D foot scanners and has also made it onto our list of inspiring women for her dedication to 3D scanning technologies and innovations. Walerud is the co-founder of Stockholm-based startup Volumental, which is using 3D scanning technologies to find the perfect fit for shoe-shoppers. Excitingly, the company recently made a deal with U.S. retailer Nordstrom to implement their 3D foot scanning system, and will soon branch out into their second phase of 3D facial scanning for opticians and eyewear brands.

Influential woman in 3D printing #5: Ann Marie Shillito

In 2007, contemporary designer/maker Ann Marie Shillito co-founded the Scotland-based 3D software development company Anarkik3D. Since then, Anarkik3D has been a useful platform for designers unaccustomed to using CAD technologies to work with 3D modeling. Created by and for designers, Shillitos company has incorporated touch and tactility into 3D modeling through their signature haptic 3D mouse, making for a unique and innovative 3D design experience.

Influential woman in 3D printing #6: Nora Toure

Not only has Nora Toure had a successful career in the 3D printing industry working as Sales Manager for online 3D printing service Sculpteo, but she is also the founder of Women in 3D Printing, a progressive blog that highlights influential women within the 3D printing world all year round. Along with a team of four other women, Toure conducts interviews and writes profiles on women within the industry, effectively showcasing how crucial women are to the continued development of 3D printing technologies.

Influential woman in 3D printing #7: Kerry Hogarth

In 2012, Kerry Hogarth founded 3D Printshow with the aim of showcasing innovation within the 3D printing world and introducing the technology to other industries, such as the healthcare, aerospace, and automotive industries. Since its founding, Hogarths 3D Printshow has been recognized as the worlds first fully interactive 3D printing show and has gone on to host some of the most renowned events in the 3D printing world by bringing together the most innovative names of the industry with individual creatives using 3D printing. Though Hogarth sold part of her company to Tarsus PLC in 2014, she continues to work on spreading the potentials of 3D printing with 3D Printshow.

Influential woman in 3D printing #8: Cherie Stamm

Cherie Stamm, another influential woman in 3D printing, is the co-founder of Norwegian 3D software development company Uformia. With a background in IT technologies and digital processes, with a special interest in 3D modeling and printing, Stamm and her team have successfully created a volumetric 3D modeling software that is built to prioritize parametric 3D fabrication instead of just visualization. Not only that, Stamm has built her company around a humanitarian and ecological ethos focused on community development and open source innovation.

Influential woman in 3D printing #9: Stefanie Mueller

Stefanie Mueller was sure to make it onto our list of influential women in the industry as we have followed her various and impressive engineering projects over the past two years. Mueller is a PhD student in the Human Computer Interaction Group at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute in Germany, and has helped to create a number of notable projects in her time there, such at the LaserStacker, a 3D laser cutter; the Protopiper, a sort of large-scale 3D printing pen; a 3D patching system; Scotty, a conceptual teleporting 3D printer; Platener, a 3D software that uses both 3D printing and laser cutting; WirePrint, a generative software that speeds up prototyping; and faBrickator, a software that legofies your design.

Influential woman in 3D printing #10: Jessica Rosenkrantz

Jessica Rosenkrantz is one half of generative design studio Nervous System, which you may know from its amazing Kinematic designs. Along with her partner Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, Rosenkrantz has been integrating new technologies such as 3D printing, generative systems, and webGL, into unconventional design projects since 2007. Nervous Systems 3D printed kinematic flowing dress design, as well as their more recent 3D printed petal dress have provided a unique model for 3D printing a whole garment on a relatively small 3D printer. Rosenkrantz, a graduate in architecture and biology from MIT never ceases to inspire us through her uncanny ability to combine generative design, innovative materials, and 3D printing to create stunning works of fashion art. In fact, Nervous Systems 3D printed dresses are even featured at renowned art museums such as the MoMA and the MFA Boston.

Influential woman in 3D printing #11: Iris van Herpen

Of course we had to include Iris van Herpen on our list of innovative women within the field of 3D printing as the Dutch designer was the first to ever send a 3D printed fashion piece down the runway in 2010. Since the debut of that first piece, Crystallization, van Herpen has forged on into the world of 3D printed fashions making some of the most conceptually intricate and physically beautiful 3D printed garments weve ever seen. A pioneer of 3D printed fashion, van Herpen has been an inspiration to innovative fashion designers everywhere.

Influential woman in 3D printing #12: Danit Peleg

Israeli fashion designer Danit Peleg has also been a big inspiration to us at 3Ders, and we are sure many other designers and makers out there can say the same. The fashion design student made a name for herself last year when she designed and created an entire ready-to-wear collection on a desktop 3D printer. Not only did the additively manufactured garments turn out stunningly, but the collection was Pelegs first 3D printed endeavour. Now, after the success of her stylish and accessible 3D printed garments, Peleg works as a technology advisor for designers and fashion houses.

Influential woman in 3D printing #13: Megumi Igarashi

Sometimes the most innovative and inspirational people are those who cause some controversy, which is exactly the case with Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi who 3D scanned and printed a sculpture of her own vagina. While the piece may have provoked interest almost anywhere, Igarashi was actually arrested for her 3D printed vagina as Japanese officials claimed she was illegally spreading obscenity. Now, two years after her initial arrest, Igarashi is still entangled in court processes and is being fined thousands of dollars, but has continued to create her progressive 3D printed artworks despite this. You go Rokude Nashiko! (Japanese for bad girl).

Influential woman in 3D printing #14: Anouk Wipprecht

Dutch designer Anouk Wipprecht is one of the leading forces in the field of Fashion-Tech, which seeks to combine fashion with engineering, science, and interactive user experience. The designer has not only forged an impressive path into the future of smart wearables, but has consistently used 3D printing technologies to do so. From her 3D printed Smoke Dress which was unveiled in 2013, to her 3D printed robotic Spider Dress, Anouk Wipprecht has truly brought fashion into the future with wearables that not only look amazing, but respond and react to their wearer and their environment.

Influential woman in 3D printing #15: Ping Fu

Ping Fu is the definition of a powerful tech entrepreneur, and is definitely one of the most inspirational women in 3D printing today. Fu is the co-founder of 3D software development company Geomagic, where she served as CEO until the company was acquired by 3D Systems in 2013. At that point, Fu rose to the occasion, and became Vice President and Chief Entrepreneur Officer at 3D Systems, one of the leading 3D printer companies in the world. Fu has been honored with several awards, including being named Inc. magazine's 2005 "Entrepreneur of the Year."

What's even more incredible, is that Ping Fu's massive influence in the tech world goes beyond 3D printing: In the early 1990s, while working at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), she helped initiate Mosaican early web browser that helped popularize the World Wide Web as we know it today.

Influential woman in 3D printing #16: Cathy Lewis

3D Systems is one of the leading industrial 3D printer manufacturers in the world, thanks in large part to the business savvy of our next influential woman in 3D printing: Cathy Lewis. As Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Lewis is responsible for all marketing strategies and functions, including global branding, multi-channel marketing, and the positioning and marketing of the company's leadership and product services. Before joining 3D Systems, Lewis spent more than ten years at Xerox in a number of executive marketing and sales management positions. She then became CEO of Desktop Factory, a 3D printer startup that was acquired by 3D Systems in 2009. The rest, as they say, is history.

Influential woman in 3D printing #17: Marleen Vogelaar

Way back in 2007, Marleen Vogelaar, Peter Weijmarshausen and Robert Schouwenburg founded a small spin-off of Royal Philips Electronics, called Shapeways. Flash-forward almost a decade, and Shapeways is one of the leading 3D printing services and marketplaces worldwide. As COO/CFO of the company, Vogelaar was in charge of overseeing production both in New York City and the Netherlands, and although she resigned in 2014 to pursue new areas of work, her overarching vision as one of the lead founders had a lasting effect on Shapeways, and on the 3D printing industry as a whole.

Influential woman in 3D printing #18: Suz Somersall

Suz Somersall is notable for her passion for promoting STEAM educationthat is, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, incredibly important areas of study that, unfortunately, young girls are often discouraged from pursuing. Recently, we wrote about Suz Somersall and her project KiraKira, which is using 3D printing and jewelry design tutorials to get young girls interested in engineering and new technologies. Somersall, an industrial designer herself, saw the importance of shrinking the gender gap in such fields as engineering, and is working to inspire the next generation of women to become active makers and innovators.

Influential woman in 3D printing #19: Barbara Hanna

Barbara Hanna has a PhD in Computer Vision and is co-founder of both Neuromatters and 3D printing startup, Cyant. Hanna is passionate about fostering engagement, creativity, and real-world problem solving using both Arts and Technology. Lately, that passion has turned towards 3D printing technology. Cyant is a creative project that teaches children STEAM concepts by allowing them to turn their drawings into 3D printed objects. It's a fun and hands-on experience that combines creativity with the technological skills they'll need for the future.

Influential woman in 3D printing #20: Gina Hauge

As the creator of OctoPrint, one of the most versatile and popular 3D printer hosts, Gina Hauge is undoubtedly on our list of influential women in the 3D printing industry. The German developer created the 3D printer host web interface in 2012 and has since maintained OctoPrint as a free and open source tool for makers everywhere. OctoPrint, for those unfamiliar, allows makers to wirelessly connect their 3D printers through a Raspberry Pi in order to easily monitor and control their prints remotely. According to Hauge, the monthly download rates for OctoPrint are in the thousands.

Influential woman in 3D printing #21: Mary Huang

In 2011, NY-based designer and technologist Mary Huang founded Continuum, a design studio that has become known for its innovative and stunning tech fashion pieces, including the N12 3D printed bikini, as well as ShoeKit, an open source DIY shoe-making kit that uses 3D printing. In founding and running Continuum, Huang, who studied design and media arts at UCLA and interaction design at CIID, has established herself as a pioneer of tech oriented fashion, and as a notable woman within the field of additive manufacturing.

Influential woman in 3D printing #22: Kegan Schouwenburg

Kegan Schouwenburg made her debut in the 3D printing world at 3D printing company Shapeways, where she worked for many years. Since then, the young entrepreneur has gone on to found her very own company, SOLS, which our readers may already know as a manufacturer of custom 3D printed insoles. Schouwenburg currently sits as CEO of the New York based 3D printing startup and is an inspiration to young industrial designers everywhere. What we particularly appreciate about Kegan Schouwenburg is not only her achievements within the field of 3D printing, but also her candidness about what is it like to run a business in the industry as a woman.

On February 22, 2017, footwear specialist Aetrex acuqires SOLS Systems. The SOLS team will begin integrating its product line immediately, and is expected to work with Aetrex's engineers on the newly launched Albert 3D foot scanner.

Influential woman in 3D printing #23: Joan Horvath

Joan Horvath, aka the 3D Printing Evangelist, is the co-founder of Nonscriptum LLC, a 3D printing consulting firm that has helped many businesses and educational institutions to integrate additive manufacturing technologies in a strategic and beneficial way. Not only that, however, Horvath also has sixteen years under her belt, working for NASAs Jet Propulsion Lab on such programs as the Magellan spacecraft to Venus, and the TOPEX/Poseidon oceanography spacecraft. Clearly a boon to the aerospace and 3D printing industries, Joan Horvath has also made her knowledge and experiences accessible to makers everywhere through her many 3D printing books, as well as her blog, which is self-described as being made up of Occasional musings about the intersection of education, science and the maker movement.

Influential woman in 3D printing #24: Karolina Boadz

Karolina Boadz is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Zortrax, the Polish 3D printing company responsible for such systems as the M200 3D printer and the recently unveiled M300 3D printer. Boadz, who has held her position at Zortrax since 2014, has seen the company through significant growth (including a 350% increase in filament sales earlier this year, and reaching 100k likes on Facebook) and has been a crucial player in keeping Zortraxs brand reliable and trusted amongst its clientele.

Influential woman in 3D printing #25: Julielynn Wong

Harvard educated public health physician Julielynn Wong is on our list of influential women in 3D printing because of her company 3D4MD, which she founded in 2011. The company, which manufactures and develops 3D printed medical devices and supplies, is specially aimed at helping remote and marginalized locations. As the company states on its website, 3D4MD is committed to bringing quality healthcare services to people regardless of their race, national origin, religion or political affiliation. For instance, Julielynn is responsible for designing a solar-powered mobile 3D printing system which is meant to be deployed in remote areas for the on site manufacturing of supplies. In addition to her duties for 3D4MD, Wong has contributed to the 3D printing community extensively through lectures, and more.

Influential woman in 3D printing #26: Limor LadyAda Fried

While many makers will know and likely have used Adafruit hardware, most will also likely know that the prolific open-source hardware company was founded by a woman, Limor Fried, also known by her moniker ladyada. Fried, an electrical engineer, is highly accomplished in the field of open-source hardware, being recognized for a number of achievements, including being the first female engineer to be featured on Wireds cover page, being awarded the Pioneer Award by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 2009, the Most Influential Women in Technology award by Fast Company magazine in 2011, and the Entrepreneur of the Year by Entrepreneur in 2012. Under Limor Fried ownership, Adafruit has been proudly maintained as a 100% woman owned company.

Influential woman in 3D printing #27: Melissa Ng

Many of our readers will be familiar with 3D designer Melissa Ng, whose awesome cosplay designs for her design studio Lumecluster have wowed the maker community. Not only is Melissa a creative fantasy 3D designer, but she has also dedicated much of her work to supporting females within 3D design and cosplaying communities. For instance, she 3D printed stunning Dream Regalia armor for female geek activist Felicia Day, and proved to skeptics that womens cosplay armor could be practical as well as beautiful with her 3D printed Sovereign Armor. Melissa Ng is a self-taught New York based artist. In addition to 3D printed armor, she also makes intricately designed 3D printed masks, jewelry, and art.

Influential woman in 3D printing #28: Eva Wolf

Eva Wolf is the co-founder of Airwolf 3D, a California-based 3D printer, software, and 3D printing materials manufacturer. Eva, who founded the well established company in 2012 with her husband Erick Wolf, has helped the company to expand its reach by reaching out to new investors and partners, as well as by building on Airwolf 3Ds internal infrastructure and external distribution. Notably, Airwolf 3D has taken a particularly inspiring approach towards STEM education, by developing specialized drone building kits for schools, as well as by donating a number of their AXIOM 3D printers to schools (despite a number of them being stolen).

Influential woman in 3D printing #29: Virginia San Fratello

Virginia San Fratello is one of the co-founders of Rael San Fratello, an innovative architecture design studio, and Emerging Objects, which has explored the use of some truly boundary pushing 3D printing building materials, such as salt, tea, and even rubber tire. San Fratello, who currently holds the position of Assistant Professor in Art & Design at the San Jose State University, has focused her inspiring work on the intersection of the digital, ecological, and design in architecture. Both Rael San Fratello and Emerging Objects were also co-founded by Ronald Rael, San Fratellos partner.

Influential woman in 3D printing #30: Sherry Huss

The co-creator of Maker Faire, one of the largest show-and-tell events for the large maker community, Sherry Huss just had to be on our list of influential women in the 3D printing industry. Not only the co-creator of the event serieswhich just wrapped up its 2016 edition in New York Huss is also the Vice President of Maker Media, which many makers will know is one of the leading global platforms dedicated to connecting makers with each other.

Influential woman in 3D printing #31: Michelle Mihevc

MIchelle Mihevc is the co-founder and CEO of California-based advanced technology company FATHOM. The company, which has many 3D printing and digital manufacturing systems (including the U.S.s first Nano Dimension DragonFly 2020 3D printer) uses its expertise in additive manufacturing technologies to help business integrate them more efficiently into their processes. Mihevc was notably recognized as one of the Bay Areas 2016 Most Influential Women in Business by the San Francisco Business Times.

Influential woman in 3D printing #32: Xinhua Wu

Xinhua Wu has an illustrious career within the field of additive manufacturing as she not only serves as Director for the Monash Centre for Additive Manufacturing at the University of Monash in Australia, but also teaches there as a professor in Materials Science and Engineering. Notably, Wu led a team of researchers from the Monash Centre for Additive Manufacturing that last year successfully 3D printed a jet engine. The 3D printed engine will reportedly undergo tests within the next couple years. Wu has also dedicated much of her own research to the advancement of laser additive manufacturing.

Influential woman in 3D printing #33: Katie Weimer

Katie Weimar is another woman who plays a crucial role in the 3D printing industry as she currently holds the position of Vice President of Medical Devices Healthcare at 3D printing giant 3D Systems. Weimer got her start in the industry working as senior manager of Medical Modeling, a manufacturer of custom 3D printed medical devices. When Medical Modeling was acquired by 3D Systems in 2013, Weimer was brought on, and has since used her expertise in 3D printing and medical devices to further research and advancements in the field.

Influential woman in 3D printing #34: Bathsheba Grossman

Sculptor Bathsheba Grossman is on our list of influential women in the industry as she was a pioneer for the use of 3D modeling and 3D printing in sculpture and jewelry design. Her pieces, often inspired by mathematical patterns and made from 3D printed steel, are internationally renowned and have been featured in a number of gallery exhibitions, as well as in the New York Times. Grossman also sells her smaller pieces, such as the stunning Borromean Rings Pendant, or the Klein Bottle pendant on her Shapeways page.

Influential woman in 3D printing #35: Liza Wallach Kloski

Liza Wallach Kloski is the co-founder of HoneyPoint3D, an online platform geared towards 3D printing education. The business, which started out in 2013 as a small 3D printing retail brand in Oakland Hills, California, has since organically transitioned into a predominantly web-based business, which offers a number of classes and workshops for 3D printing. Liza, who runs the business with her husband Nick, previously ran her own jewelry company, before being introduced to 3D printing technologies. With HoneyPoint3D, she is aiming to educate all ranges of people, about the potentials of additive manufacturing.

Influential woman in 3D printing #36: Lisa Federici

San Francisco-based Lisa Federici has been acting CEO of Scansite3D, one of the leading 3D scanning services, since 1994. The business, which has grown immeasurably under Federicis leadership, has a loyal and established clientele which include such organizations and companies as Boeing, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NASA, Richard MacDonald Studio, NIKE, Hyundai, Warner Bros, and the Smithsonian. For over two decades, Scansite3D has served as a reliable 3D scanning service, which keeps up with the most state-of-the-art scanning equipment. Notably, Federici has also been a strong proponent for the idea that women can be moms, entrepreneurs, wives, employees, and more all at once.

Influential woman in 3D printing #37: Njideka Harry

Njideka Harry, for those unfamiliar, is the founder, president and CEO of Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF), an international non-profit organization that is geared towards introducing young generations from low income communities in the United States and from rural areas in developing nations to new technologies, such as 3D printing. Notably, Njideka Harry has led forwards 3D Africa, a YTF effort that offers software development, mobile application, and 3D modeling training to young unemployed engineers in African nations so that they can monetize their skills more efficiently. Harry was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and obtained her BBA at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She was also accepted as a post graduate fellow in the Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship at Stanford University.

Influential woman in 3D printing #38: Vaiva Kalnikaite

Vaiva Kalnikaite is the founder and creative director of Cambridge, UK-based design studio Dovetailed. If the name sounds familiar, it is because Dovetailed has introduced some truly innovative projects, such as the Nufood 3D food printer, which is capable of 3D printing edibles out of liquid flavor drops. Other projects developed by Dovetailed include the Canary Hat, which was commissioned by the V&A, and which through a special 3D printed feather sensor is capable of telling the wearer when they are in proximity to a CCTV camera, as well as a 3D printed milk carton equipped with a camera that broadcasts your fridge to your neighbours (to encourage sharing food and reducing waste). As the 3D printing innovator has said, she is continually interested in creating technologies for self-quantification, behavioural change, internet of things, wearables, and creative dining.

Influential woman in 3D printing #39: Leila Ladani

While you may not have heard of Leila Ladani, the Iranian-American woman is certainly a force to reckoned within the field of 3D printing. An expert in additive manufacturing and nanomaterial and micro/nanoelectronics, Ladani has worked and researched for such illustrious agencies as NASA, the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Research Institute. Currently, Leila Ladani also holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut, itself one of the leading educational investors in 3D printing research and equipment.

Influential woman in 3D printing #40: Louise Driggers

While Louise Driggers, aka Loubie has not founded her own company, she has made it onto our list for an equally notable reason. The talented 3D designer, whose 3D models on Thingiverse have been immensely popular, was embroiled in a 3D printing scandal which rallied the maker community together and ultimately drew attention to intellectual property rights surrounding 3D models. In short, Driggers posted a symbolic sad face 3D model to protest an eBay store that was selling peoples free designs, including her own, as 3D printed models. In the end, the makers won, as the eBay store removed the open-source models, and the event marks a milestone for the discourse surrounding intellectual property rights for digital 3D models.

Influential woman in 3D printing #41: Alice Taylor

Alice Taylor is the founder and CEO of MakieLab, an online toy platform that allows customers to design their very own 3D printed dolls. The UK based company, one of the first companies to retail 3D printed toys, has seen immense success over the past couple years, with partnerships with Disney and an upcoming expansion into the United States. Not only are Makie dolls awesome because they are 3D printed, but Alice Taylor has introduced a new level of customization to dolls and toys as clients can decide on their dolls look and features, from eye color, hair style, and even such distinguishing features as birthmarks, disabilities, etc. In this sense, Taylor is an inspiration as well as influential as she has used 3D printing to make toys more inclusive to all. In Feb., 2017, MakieLab has reportedly been acquired by Disney.

Influential woman in 3D printing #42: Jenny Wu

Jenny Wu, the founder of architecture and design firm Oyler Wu Collaborative, is also the founder of one of our favorite 3D printed jewelry lines, LACE. Wus jewelry is inspired by her architectural expertise, and reflects the increasing intersections between design and technology in wearables. The pieces, available through LACEs online shop, often feature complex interlocking shapes, which while stunning to observe, are also a testament to the designers talent and artistry. In this way, Jenny Wu is another woman who is pushing the boundaries of what 3D printing can do and what it can mean in our lives.

Influential woman in 3D printing #43: Naomi Wu

Naomi Wu, better known as Sexy Cyborg, is a creative maker that has gained immense popularity within the maker community for her provocative 3D printed wearables. Her creations include a 3D printed underlit LED skirt, 3D printed shoes equipped with a penetration test kit, a 3D printed nano drone wrist mount, a 3D printed LCD shutter crop top, and more. Though Wu may initially grab attention for her "sexy" persona, the creativity and talent that go into her projects are notable. On her Thingiverse page, Wu modestly credits herself as a novice maker, though it seems her original projects and her executions of them are a bit beyond that. As always, we can't wait to see what Naomi "Sexy Cyborg" Wu comes up with next.

Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg of women in 3D printing, as females increasingly fill crucial roles in the fields of education, technology, engineering, and more. Almost everyday we hear about inspiring and innovative projects within the 3D printing industry which are led and spearheaded by creative and ambitious women. To the women who are featured on our list: we cant wait to see whats next!

Posted in 3D Printer Company

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Jazmin wrote at 3/15/2017 5:09:18 PM:Love this! But Anja van West definitely deserves a place on this list, too! :)Andre' wrote at 3/14/2017 9:00:59 AM:GDay 3Ders Team, Great to see you have now included Naomi Wu. Awesome respect your way & for the Holy Grail of 3D Printing Info Sites. Love your work :)Johanne Monteiro Correia Galindo wrote at 3/9/2017 5:10:25 PM:The #43 is with wrong name.




Mar 8, 2017 | By Julia

China has further strengthened its friendship with Mauritius  this time, via 3D printing. The Chinese national government recently announced a generous donation of 23 3D printers, 12 3D scanners, and 300 3D printing filaments to the government of Mauritius, in an outward gesture of building on the two countries existing friendship.

The full gifted package, which included South Chinas Shenzen Aurora desktop 3D printers, was officially handed over the afternoon of March 6th, passing from the hands of the Chinese Ambassador to Mauritius, Mr. Li Li, to the Mauritius Prime Minister, Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. The ceremony took place at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis.

The sizeable donation follows the groundwork already laid out by recent friendly initiatives such as the opening of the Confucius Institute at the University of Mauritius: A Gateway to China in December of last year. Diplomatic ties between the two nations, however, stretch as far back as 1972, a point which both politicians underscored at the ceremony.

In his official address, Mr. Jugnauth expressed his deep gratitude towards the Chinese Government for demonstrating its continued support towards the economic and technological development of the nation of Mauritius. The East African Prime Minister stated that the donation will be put towards information and communication technology purposes in various state departments, which he sees as another step towards reinforcing the two countries amicable relationship.

The gesture bears testimony to the longstanding relations between the two countries, he noted, which must be nurtured. China and Mauritius ongoing partnership has already seen the donation of semi-low floor buses, a new Terminal at the SSRI airport, the Bagatelle Dam project, and an Olympic stadium by the Peoples Republic of China to the East African country.

At the ceremony Ambassador Li Li also spoke of the long-lasting friendship between the two countries, which he agreed has strengthened with time. This new donation, he said, reflects Chinas commitment to aiding Mauritius in its developmental phase.

The 3D printers, scanners, and filaments will be dispersed among 12 of Mauritius most eminent institutions: University of Mauritius; University of Technology Mauritius; Mauritius Institute of Training and Development; School of Polytechnics; University of Mascareignes; Open University of Mauritius; Ministry of Health and Quality of Life; Ministry of Housing and Lands; Central Information Systems Division; Technopoles; Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority; and MyBiz.

How these institutions intend to implement the new technology remains to be seen. We can be sure, however, that Mauritius will remain faithful to China for some time to come, a bond that is likely to continue benefitting the African nation well into the future.

Posted in 3D Printer

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Mar 8, 2017 | By Benedict

Visitors to this weeks CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE 2017 construction expo have been able to witness Project AME (Additive Manufactured Excavator), the worlds first 3D printed excavator, which was developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Those who like to keep up with construction-related 3D printing news may well have heard of Project AME. Back in June of last year, we reported that a team of talented students from the University of Illinois had won a competition to design the cab (the section where the driver sits) of a 3D printed excavator, which was already under development in preparation for this years CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE (International Fluid Power Exposition). A few months later, ORNL was so satisfied with AME (and its student-designed, 3D printed cab), it suggested it could be used to build a colony on Mars. The completed 3D printed excavator has now been shown to the general public for the first time at CONEXPO-CON/AGG, an international construction trade show taking place in Las Vegas.

Project AME was developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratorys Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Knoxville, Tennessee. It consists of three major components: First, there is the 3D printed cab where the operator sits, designed by students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Using the Cincinnati Incorporated Big Area Additive Manufacturing system at ORNL, the cab was printed in just five hours with carbon fiber reinforced ABS plastic. Secondly, there is the stick or boom (a large hydraulically articulated arm) of the excavator, which is seven feet long and weighs 400 lbs. It was printed entirely in low-cost steel on the Wolf Robotics Wolf Pack printer in only five days. Lastly comes the 13 lb aluminum heat exchanger, which was 3D printed entirely on the Concept Laser X-line 1000 powder bed 3D printer.

The idea for AME, the 3D printed excavator, came about when members of the CCEFP (Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power) visited ORNL in 2014 and saw a 3D printed car on display. Inspired by that feat of engineering, the CCEFP members discussed the possibility of using additive manufacturing for their own project in the fluid power and mobile equipment industry. The idea for AME was thus born. ORNL worked with numerous partners in industry, government, and academia to bring the project to fruition, while a consortium of research teams that are part of the CCEFP contributed additional design and engineering work for the project.

The 3D printed excavator is designed to show how multiple 3D printing processes, plastic and metal, can be used in conjunction to produce high-quality machinery for the construction sector. But the machine is no mere concept: the machine could be seen digging up dirt at the expo yesterday morning, and will continue to do so throughout the event. The beauty of a project of this size and scope is that it brings together many intelligent people to work on a number of challenges while accomplishing a common goal, commented Lonnie Love, leader of ORNLs Manufacturing Systems Research Group.

Over the next several days, you will see that CONEXPO-CON/AGG will provide attendees access to the newest products from every major category, including asphalt, aggregates, concrete, earthmoving, lifting, mining, and utilities, added Rich Goldsbury, 2017 CONEXPO-CON/AGG chairman and President of Bobcat/Doosan North America and Oceana. And there is no better example of putting our imaginations to work and seeing what is on the horizon for the construction industry than what you will see and more importantly, what you will experience right here, right now.

The 3D printed excavator was developed jointly by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), National Fluid Power Association (NFPA), Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project was funded by DOEs Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Mar 8, 2017 | By Tess

When most people think of the Netherlands, images of clogs, bikes, and tulips tend to come to mind. The way things are going, however, we wouldnt be surprised if 3D printing soon entered that list. The Netherlands, a small but influential nation, has turned out some of the most innovative and inspiring 3D printing technologies and companies that we know of, from open-source 3D printer company Ultimaker, to filament brand ColorFabb, to 3D Hubs, to the 3D Print Canal House.

3D Print Canal House visualization

If those names (and trust me, there are many more) havent already convinced you, a recent report has shown that the Dutch 3D printing industry is expected to reach about 120 million euros in 2017. The report, conducted jointly by Dutch bank ABN AMRO and consulting firm Berenschot, estimates that the Dutch 3D printing market was worth about 100 million euros in 2016 and will continue to grow significantly over the next year (by about 20 million).

The report highlights a number of growth areas within the Dutch additive manufacturing market, including desktop 3D printers and industrial-grade metal 3D printers. According to the document, the desktop 3D printer market in the Netherlands is expected to grow to about 3 million in 2017, largely due to the creation of more advanced models with dual extrusion, better accuracy, bigger print volumes, and a growing range of 3D printable materials.

The report also attributes the potential growth to the increasing integration of 3D printing technologies in the education sector. Notable Dutch desktop 3D printer manufacturers include Ultimaker, Builder 3D, Felix, Leapfrog, Nectar, Opiliones, Atum3D and dddrop.

Three notable Dutch 3D printing companies: Ultimaker, ColorFabb, 3D Hubs

According to the report, the professional metal 3D printer market will see even more significant growth, especially with the launch of the Netherlands first metal 3D printer, the MetalFab1 by Additive Industries.

With the introduction of the MetalFab1 by Additive Industries, the very first Dutch metal 3D printer was created, commented David Kemps, Sector Banker Industry at ABN AMRO In the Netherlands. Metal printers are mostly used in the medical and dental sectors. Selling the printers to schools, fablabs and knowledge institutions is good for the adaptation of 3D printing.

On a global scale, the market for professional 3D printers has grown significantly in recent years, even seeing a 47% increase between 2014 and 2015. The increase in metal 3D printing tech can be attributed to companies such as DMG Mori, Trumpf, and the aforementioned Additive Industries, which have added metal 3D printing technology to their offerings. There is little indication that this growth will subside in coming years.

The Netherlands, which is an undeniable leader in 3D printing, will have to work hard to maintain its position as the technology becomes increasingly popular across the world. As Onno Ponfoort, Practice Leader 3D printing at Berenschot, said: The Netherlands is in the lead group now. To ensure that we keep this lead, we need significant investments, for example in education. We also have a need for larger, industry-specific service providers in 3D printing.

Posted in Statistics

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A man found wedged on his side under a bridge and above the water of a drainage ditch was rescued Tuesday night by the Billings Fire Department.

The man, who is believed to be a transient, was walking near a bridge crossing the drainage ditch behind the Best Western Hotel at 4915 Southgate Drive and fell in, Battalion Chief Dave Gilbert said.

Someone saw him fall in and called for help. Gilbert did not know what caused the man to fall.

The Billings Police Department arrived and then requested the assistance of the fire department for a rescue, Gilbert said.

Billings firefighters were contacted at about 6:10 p.m. and arrived to find the man on his side with his face toward the water, wedged between a culvert pipe and a bridge abutment, leaving him stuck suspended above water that Gilbert estimated was roughly 2 feet deep.

The man was put on a backboard, then into a basket attached to rope and carried up the side of the ditch, Gilbert said.

The man's injuries did not appear life-threatening, and he was partially conscious during the rescue, Gilbert said.

The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment, he said.
Laura Spinney in Nature:

Strange things have been happening in the news lately. Already this year, members of US President Donald Trump's administration have alluded to a 'Bowling Green massacre' and terror attacks in Sweden and Atlanta, Georgia, that never happened. The misinformation was swiftly corrected, but some historical myths have proved difficult to erase. Since at least 2010, for example, an online community has shared the apparently unshakeable recollection of Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, despite the fact that he lived until 2013, leaving prison in 1990 and going on to serve as South Africa's first black president. Memory is notoriously fallible, but some experts worry that a new phenomenon is emerging. Memories are shared among groups in novel ways through sites such as Facebook and Instagram, blurring the line between individual and collective memories, says psychologist Daniel Schacter, who studies memory at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The development of Internet-based misinformation, such as recently well-publicized fake news sites, has the potential to distort individual and collective memories in disturbing ways.

Collective memories form the basis of history, and people's understanding of history shapes how they think about the future. The fictitious terrorist attacks, for example, were cited to justify a travel ban on the citizens of seven countries of concern. Although history has frequently been interpreted for political ends, psychologists are now investigating the fundamental processes by which collective memories form, to understand what makes them vulnerable to distortion. They show that social networks powerfully shape memory, and that people need little prompting to conform to a majority recollection  even if it is wrong. Not all the findings are gloomy, however. Research is pointing to ways of dislodging false memories or preventing them from forming in the first place.

More here.
William Deresiewicz in The American Scholar:

Let us eschew the familiar examples: the disinvited speakers, the Title IX tribunals, the safe zones stocked with Play-Doh, the crusades against banh mi. The flesh-eating bacterium of political correctness, which feeds preferentially on brain tissue, and which has become endemic on elite college campuses, reveals its true virulence not in the sorts of high-profile outbreaks that reach the national consciousness, but in the myriad of ordinary casesthe everyday business-as-usual at institutions around the countrythat are rarely even talked about.

A clarification, before I continue (since deliberate misconstrual is itself a tactic of the phenomenon in question). By political correctness, I do not mean the term as it has come to be employed on the rightthat is, the expectation of adherence to the norms of basic decency, like refraining from derogatory epithets. I mean its older, intramural denotation: the persistent attempt to suppress the expression of unwelcome beliefs and ideas.

I recently spent a semester at Scripps, a selective womens college in Southern California. I had one student, from a Chinese-American family, who informed me that the first thing she learned when she got to college was to keep quiet about her Christian faith and her non-feminist views about marriage. I had another student, a self-described strong feminist, who told me that she tends to keep quiet about everything, because she never knows when she might say something that youre not supposed to. I had a third student, a junior, who wrote about a friend whom she had known since the beginning of college and who, shed just discovered, went to church every Sunday. My student hadnt even been aware that her friend was religious. When she asked her why she had concealed this essential fact about herself, her friend replied, Because I dont feel comfortable being out as a religious person here.

More here.
Ten years ago, if you asked to speak to the sommelier of a restaurant, it's likely an older gentleman would make his way to your table to discuss varietals. In recent years, however, women have succeeded in disrupting the traditionally male-dominated industry.

While women still only make up about 15 percent of all master sommeliers, in the Bay Area, enterprising women with a passion for good wine are making a name for themselves and changing the face of the industry. We sat down with some of the most powerful women in the local wine world.

Shelley Lindgren, A16 and SPQR

Shelley Lindgren (pictured above), owner and wine director at A16 and SPQR, has hospitality in her blood. When I was young, my role was to make sure that everyone in the family was happy, and I was always the cook," she recalled.

Since her humble beginnings, Lindgren has racked up an impressive amount of accolades: she is a James Beard Award nominee, winner of Gourmet's 2009 Sommelier Award, and her cookbook, A16, was named Food + Wine's Cookbook of the Year and won a Julia Child / IACP award.

Known for her selections of Italian wines made with lesser-known grapes, Lindgren travels to Italy twice a year where she always favors a glass of Cesanese from Campania. You can drink Cesanese with everything," she says. "It's like wearing a black dressyou always look amazing."

Parting words:

"It's necessary to keep moving forward and keep believing in your own dream and in your own skills. To accomplish that takes time."

Emily Wines, Senior Director of National Beverage Programs at Kimpton Hotels

Emily Wines (yes, that is her real name) originally wanted to be an artist, but it was the experience of working in a restaurant to support her artistic lifestyle, that led her to her true passion: wine. Today, she's one of just 135 master sommeliers in the world.

As a beverage executive at Kimpton Hotels, Wines has a room in downtown San Francisco filled with bottles of wine from around the world. Her favorite? At home we drink a lot of Champagne like the Ruinart, or the Gruner Veltliner, dry Riesling, Nebbiolo, and Pinot Noir. I tend to prefer lower alcohol wine so I can drink more."

Parting words:

Wine is a cultural business and working in the industry, as a sommelier, you have the opportunity to travel, know, and meet wine makers and discover that everything they produce is coming out of their own culture. That is very special to me."

Petra Polakovicova, Wine Director at Epic Steak

Polakovicova discovered her talent for wine tasting when she moved to San Francisco from Slovakia 20 years ago. Now the Wine Director at EPIC Steak, she thanks her mother for instilling her with a sense of hospitality. "We used to always have a lot of people over at the house, and she taught me how to take care of them, make sure they were always happy, and cheer them up." These days, her cabinet is stocked with Gruner Veltliner and Mont Brut Champagne - perfect for entertaining.

Parting words:

I love to translate wine into real life. Nebbiolo is an elegant and beautiful woman but when you taste it, you discover that it is also very powerful. Like Angelina Jolie."

Haley Guild Moore, Director of Wine and Spirits at The Stock and Bones Company

Haley Guild always knew she would end up in hospitality, but it was a year spent working at A Cote in Oakland, under wine director Jeff Berlin, that taught her to love wine. He was always able to make you envision the villages and landscapes where the wine was produced. The more I listened to him, the more I wanted to be like him."

In 2012, Moore joined The Stock and Bones Company as the Wine & Spirits Director overseeing all five restaurants: Town Hall, Salt House, Anchor & Hope, Irving St. Kitchen, and Corners. Her favorite wines to serve? Occhipinti Frappato produced by the Sicilian Arianna Occhipinti, Morgon by Lapierre and Foillard producers, and Bruno De Concilliis, a producer from the Campania region in Italy.

Parting words

"Wine has a magic power to connect people from all around the world. Drinking wine is a trip in itself."

Chaylee Priete, Wine Director at Slanted Door



Chaylee Priete started her career at a bar in Atlanta where her boss told her she had a good nose for wine. Since then, her wine choices have always been very eco-conscious. I like to choose producers that are ecologically responsible and care for the environment." As a working mom with a set of twins at home, Priete is no stranger to a hectic schedule. Currently, I'm writing five wine list and raising children. My dream is to have a bottle shop where my kids can run around and help out."

Parting words:

What I like the most about this industry is that it is very creative and precise. There's a story behind each bottle."

Bianca Jimenez Rivera, Sommelier at SPQR

Bianca Jimenez Rivera worked in bars and restaurant around San Francisco before becoming the sommelier at SPQR, where she works under mentor Shelley Lindgren. Shelley is very passionate and her knowledge is huge," Jimenez Rivera said. "She always pushes us to take this wine journey as a spiritual and personal growth because of the opportunity to get in touch with different cultures." When she's not at the restaurant, her favorite pairing is roasted chicken with Calabretta, Etna Rosso. Sounds delicious.

Parting words:

"This job is very demanding because it requires you to work every single evening. If you don't see the beauty in welcoming people and sharing with them your passion for wine and food, then it's not for you."
Everyone around here knows about Mavericks, the big wave surfer destination just outside of Half Moon Bay; and Titans of Mavericks, the invitation-only daddy of all surfing competitions. But did you know the prestigious contest was once called Men Who Ride Mountains? Since then, "men" and "titans" have been basically interchangeable...until now.

In October 2016, a big barrier fell as Titans of Mavericks, one of the world's premier big wave contests held in Half Moon Bay, announced that it would add a women's heat for the first time in its 17-year history."It's really exciting," said Bianca Valenti, a local surfer who campaigned for the change. "It's super important for the progression of the sport."



Despite the competition being cancelled this year due to financial difficulties, here are three local women who could make history in the near future.

(Bianca Valenti, Courtesy of Movemeant)





Bianca Valenti



Valenti, 29, became the first woman to win a Big Wave Tour competition when she took first place in the Dive N' Surf Oregon Pro in 2014. The SoCal native now lives in SF and trains at Ocean Beach and Mavericks. I'd be beyond ecstatic to get an invite [to Mavericks]. I love competing. The motivation it gives youI love that, and I know other women do too."





(Savannah Shaughnessy, Courtesy of surfline.com)





Savannah Shaughnessy

Shaughnessy is among the few women who can say they've been directly involved with Mavericksin the past as a judge, and this year, as an alternate along with her brother, Patrick Shaughnessy. She's also taken her fair share of beatings at the legendary surf spot (which you can watch, here). It would be an absolute dream come true to surf in the event with my brother," Shaughnessy, currently recovering from a knee injury. I think if I work really hard, I can be in the event. If I don't [get invited], it won't be for lack of effort or heart."





Dr. Sarah Gerhardt

Santa Cruz scientist Sarah Gerhardt is credited as the first women to ever surf Mavericks. Footage of her catching a monster wave in 1999 put her on the map and in surf magazines everywhere. She surfs Mavericks regularly, and competed there in 2014 at WickrX Super Sessions, alongside Shaughnessy and Valenti. Gerhardt too home the title of Surfer's Choice.
Spirit Works, Sonoma's grain-to-glass distillery known for their classic gins and vodka, has officially added whiskey to its repertoire.

Head distiller Ashby Marshall and her all-female team of spirit connoisseurs have had their eye on whiskey since the distillery was founded in 2012. Their first batch, which came out in December 2015, aged for over two years.

It's been so long," said distiller Lauren Patz. "It was magical when we were finally able to bring it out."

Their inaugural straight rye whiskey, aged in American White Oak barrels, is filled with complex flavors: hints of baked apples, aromatic spices, and a slightly sweet finish that makes it an instant classic for the holiday season.

Also out is a 100-percent Straight Wheat Whiskey made from 100% California grown, organic, Hard Red Winter Wheat (the same wheat that goes into their signature gins and vodka bottles).

We knew what wheat had to offercaramel, vanilla, and butterscotch flavors," said Patz. But there's a not a lot of 100-percent wheat whiskeys out there."

Both bottles will be available for purchase starting Tuesday, but if you're in the mood for a day trip, you can already try a sip the whiskeys in the distillery's tasting room in Sebastopol.

Lauren Patz and Ashby Marshall (Photo by Jeff Bartee)

Spirit Works is one of only a few distilleries with an all-female production team. Hiring all women was never intentional, but production associate Nikki Lucas says she thinks it really makes a difference.

Lucas' favorite part about working at Spirit Works is being surrounded by people who are passionate about learning and experimenting. The distillery is littered with their monthly projects: spirits aging in different types of barrels, a whiskey made out of a special hybrid grain grown in Healdsburg, a handmade chandelier in the shape of an ethanol molecule with juniper-filled crystal orbs for carbon atoms. From the entrance, you can hear music playing, part of an experiment in which the discographies of different artists are being pumped into different barrels of whiskey. One whiskey blend is listening to Bay Area locals Devil Makes Three, another to The Nutcracker performed by the SF Symphony, still others are tuning in to Santigold, Daft Punk, and Led Zeppelin.

Barrels listening to artists ranging from Led Zeppelin to Santigold. (Photo by R. A. Schuetz)

The idea is that the sound vibrations will allow the whiskey more inhalation and exhalation from the wood," said Patz. We were tasting these two Devil Make Three barrels, and instantly you could smell the difference. The waft was so different in terms of aromatics."



Adventurous tasters CAN experience the fruits of some of these side projects in Spirit Works' tasting room. // Spirit Works: 6970 McKinley Street #100, Sebastopol, spiritworksdistillery.com
After 10 years of community effort and $3.8 million in renovations, San Francisco's oldest park is ready to reveal its ultra-modern new upgrades.

South Park, located off 2nd Street in SoMa and famous for having Cate Blanchett sob on one of its benches in Blue Jasmine, now boasts completely new landscaping, a state-of-the-art children's play area, an accessible walkway, performance stages, and more. Designed by San Francisco-based Fletcher Studio, the new park was finally ready for its close up as SF Rec & Park celebrated the re-opening with a picnic and ribbon cutting on Tuesday afternoon.

"Neighborhoods simply aren't complete without open, accessible, green space for everyone to enjoy from our families and residents to the people who make San Francisco work every day. This park has been a long time in coming to fruition and would not have been possible without the commitment and persistence of so many," said Supervisor Jane Kim.

South Park was considered fashionably upscale when it was built in 1854 to reflect the picturesque strolling parks found in London. The neighborhood was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, and it wasn't until the early 1980s, when neighbors formed the South Park Improvement Association, that efforts began to renovating the aging public park.

Check out photos from the new park in the slideshow below.




This isn't surprising, considering that only 16 percent of Americans ages 20 to 69 who could benefit from a hearing aid actually use one, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Cost could be a big reason for this, the magazine notes. The National Academy of Sciences reports that hearing aids cost an average $4,700 per pair in 2013 and can climb to almost twice that price. Plus, hearing aids are usually not covered by health insurance or Medicare.

This is where OTC hearing helpers  also called PSAPs, for personal sound amplification products  come in. They cost a fraction of the price of an average hearing aid. But do they really work? The magazine had three of its employees with mild to moderate hearing loss try four devices priced from $20 to $350, wearing them for three to seven days to see how well they could help with hearing in a noisy environment. CR's audio labs also tested the devices for amplification, batteries, microphone function and sound distortion.

The most important finding: Pinching pennies can hurt you. The two lowest-priced devices  the Bell & Howell Silver Sonic XL ($20) and the MSA 30X ($30)  were found not only inadequate, but also potentially dangerous. Both overamplified sharp noises, like a siren, to the point where hearing damage could occur. A hearing-aid researcher who assessed the devices recommended avoiding those under $50. "They don't seem to help much, if at all, and could actually further diminish your ability to hear," the magazine reported.

The two PSAPs that fared better were the SoundWorld Solutions C550+ ($350) and the Etymotic Bean ($214 each, $399 for a pair). CR reported on the pros and cons of each device, offering overall "device advice" for each one. In general, these two seem useful for people with mild to moderate loss, with the Etymotic Bean helpful for those with hearing loss in the higher frequencies rather than the lower. For complete details, click here.

If your hearing loss is serious enough to warrant a hearing aid, the article offered some suggestions for ways to pay less, including these:
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A man suspected of stealing a car on the West End of Billings on Tuesday afternoon was arrested with the help of a police dog after he was found hiding in the attic of a garage.

Laurel resident David D. Roundy, 40, was arrested by the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, said YCSO Lt. Kevin Cunningham.

At about 3 p.m. the sheriff's office was contacted about a burglary in progress near the 6400 block of Bear Paw Drive South, Cunningham said.

A homeowner saw Roundy in their garage and chased him. Roundy escaped in a stolen vehicle that later was found abandoned in a field near South 51st Street West, Cunningham said. It appeared the vehicle had been driven through a fence.

Roundy was wearing an ankle monitor, Cunningham said. A nearby homeowner contacted law enforcement after noticing their garage door, which typically was open, had been closed.

Upon entering the garage, a chair with fresh footprints was seen positioned below an attic crawl space opening near which insulation was disturbed, Cunningham said.

After law enforcement determined Roundy was hiding in the crawl space, Roundy refused to identify himself or comply with orders from law enforcement, so a Billings Police Department K-9 unit was brought out.

The dog was sent into the attic, where Roundy began fighting with it. Two more deputies were then sent up into the attic, Cunningham said.

During the struggle the ceiling partially collapsed. Roundy was then brought down and apprehended. He had superficial injuries, including a dog bite, Cunningham said.

Roundy was arrested at about 4 p.m.

The Montana Highway Patrol assisted in the effort.

Roundy was booked into the Yellowstone County Detention Facility for burglary and contempt of court and could face numerous other charges, Cunningham said.
Montana State University Billings has narrowed the field to two candidates for the top library position.

Sarah North and Darlene Hert will make their cases to become MSUB's director of library services at an open meeting March 15, the university announced Wednesday.

The previous library director, Brent Roberts, left in September to take another position at Longwood University in Virginia. Reference and assessment librarian Megan Thomas was named to the interim director position.

North currently works as the assistant library director as Casper College in Wyoming. She was previously an interim library director and full-time librarian at the College of Western Idaho in Nampa, Idaho.

Her education includes a bachelor's degree in foreign language and literature and a master's degree in library and information studies, according to MSUB.

Hert has been the technical and access services librarian and City College librarian for MSUB since 2008. Prior to that she worked in the MSUB library as an acquisitions and access technician. Her career stretches back to the days of Eastern Montana College, where she was a cataloging technician for the library.

Her education includes a bachelor's in business administration and a master's degree in library science.

North will give a presentation at 11 a.m. on March 15 in library room 302. Hert will present at 2 p.m. on March 20 in the liberal arts building room 205.
Get key Market Research Reports and Insightful Company Profiles

This report studies Wireless Charging Coil in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

The study report explains about international market of Wireless Charging Coil in, particularly in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, emphases on best makers in worldwide market, with manufacture, rate, income, and market segment. These manufacturers include Abracon, Molex, Wurth Electronics, Panasonic Electronic Components, Vishay, KIMCHEN COIL, Hartai Technology, TDK Corporation, Laird Technologies, ZYCOIL Electronic., Ltd, and WiQi Wireless.

Wireless charging can be well-defined as charging of all electronic instruments battery deprived of any cords and cables set up. This concept of wireless charging was presented by Nikola Tesla in 1899. This ancient time knowledge, turns out to be popular, in consumer electronics goods particularly smartphones and tablets. Wireless charging utilizes the theory of electromagnetic field for broadcast of energy amongst two objects. Energy is directed to an electrical instrument by inductive connector, which uses the power to charge the batteries of electronic instruments.

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Increasing call for smartphone is the main motivator of the progress of the market, mainly in nations like India, China, South Korea, and Asia Pacific. Wireless charging market segment is estimated to develop at a double digit CAGR from 2016 to 2021. Increase in web network, digitization, and progress in infrastructure has prompted progress. Removal of cables offers clutter-free charging, that has boosted consumption. Request through the automobile segment because of increasing electric vehicle trades, is also a key motivator.

Implementation of Qi knowledge and standards, has added the capability to charge instruments at small spaces more powerfully. Guidelines have been given out regarding allowable range to regulate the magnitude of humanoid contact to radio frequencies. In the U.S., wireless charging products required to be confirmed for electromagnetic emanations and false release underneath EU EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) Directive.

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The wireless charger international market is at its early stages. Decrease in power and power ingestion is expected to motivate the market. The possible tasks are the deficiency of ideals, and interoperability. Productivity of wireless charging is not alike as relate to wired charging. The Qi Standard was recognized by Wireless Power Group for interoperability. Wireless charging is sectioned on the source of applications that comprises smartphones and other consumer electronic instruments, manufacturing division, defense services, medicinal and electric vehicles between others.

Electric vehicle market has great prospective for wireless charging devices. These vehicles would be charge by means of copper coils fitted below the vehicle and the coils positioned in the commercial and domestic space. Therefore, it will not require any separate plug-in stations. In 2011, the defense and the medicinal instruments pays a negligible proportion to the wireless charging market and are expected to increase at sluggish proportion by 2019.

The segmentation of the market by Region includes North America, Europe, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. Greater customer preference to expend on these instruments owing to better mark of technical responsiveness and progressions will demonstrate favorable for regional industry growth. Considerable technological spread through application sections is likewise a main development motivator. R&D creativities have directed to main innovations through end-use manufacturing, like in powering entrenched pacemakers and neurotransmitters. Wireless charging market is divided on the basis of geography like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Rest of World (RoW).

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 Global Wearable Camera Market Research Report 2021  http://www.hexareports.com/report/global-wearable-camera-2021

 Global Immersive Simulator Market Research Report  http://www.hexareports.com/report/global-immersive-simulator-market-research-report-2016

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Van Eck Corporation Increases Holding

Perth, Mar 8, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cardinal Resources Limited ( ASX:CDV ) ( CRDNF:OTCMKTS ) ("Cardinal" "the Company") is pleased to announce that Van Eck Corporation ("Van Eck") from New York, USA has increased its holding in Cardinal.



Van Eck held an equity position of 6.32% and has now increased its holding to 7.42% buying on market since Cardinal's recent "Interim Metallurgical Update" was announced on the ASX platform.



Archie Koimtsidis, CEO/MD of Cardinal, said:



"We are very pleased with Van Eck's continued support in Cardinal as a key institutional investor and a substantial shareholder of the Company.



"In particular, we would also like to thank their Technical Team and most Senior Management.



"Their shareholding supports the tremendous potential of our Namdini Project."





About Cardinal Resources Ltd





Cardinal Resources Ltd (ASX:CDV) (TSE:CDV) (OTCMKTS:CRDNF) is a West African gold exploration and development Company that holds interests in tenements within Ghana, West Africa.

The Company is focused on the development of the Namdini Project with a gold Ore Reserve of 5.1Moz (0.4 Moz Proved and 4.7 Moz Probable) and a soon to be completed Feasibility Study.

Exploration programmes are also underway at the Company's Bolgatanga (Northern Ghana) and Subranum (Southern Ghana) Projects.

Cardinal confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in its announcement of the Ore Reserve of 3 April 2019. All material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning this estimate continue to apply and have not materially changed.
I grew up along the edges of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. The history of this place coursed through my upbringing and forms a crucial part of who I am as an Apsaalooke (Crow) person. I often lead tours there now and relate the story of the battle that occurred in 1876 between Custer's 7th Cavalry and Plains Indian warriors. Theres no doubt that this battle was a defining event in the history of our country and our state.

About 321,000 people visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in 2015. According to the National Park Service, those visitors spent an estimated $18.2 million in local gateway regions, supporting more than 300 jobs in the area and accounting for $23.6 million in economic output. While the location is beautiful, Im quite confident that few of those visitors came to the Little Bighorn for the scenery. They came because the monument, like so many other national monuments, tells the story of who are and where we come from  as Native Americans, as European Americans, as Montanans.

National monuments have been made possible almost always through the Antiquities Act, a few times by Congress. A central pillar of Theodore Roosevelts legacy, the Antiquities Act gives U.S. presidents the authority to create national monuments  that is, to set aside and safeguard public lands with significant natural, cultural, historical, and scientific value. In the past 110 years, 16 presidents  eight Democrats and eight Republicans  have used the Antiquities Act to designate around 130 national monuments.

Our new secretary of the Interior and a self-proclaimed Roosevelt conservationist, Ryan Zinke said during his confirmation hearing that one of his first orders of business will be to visit our nations newest national monument, Bears Ears. Hell do so at the behest of Utahs congressional delegation and governor, all of whom are gunning to have the designation revoked, as well as to dispose of our public lands entirely.

Bears Ears contains one of the greatest concentrations of archaeological sites in the world. Located in southern Utahs canyon country, Bears Ears is spectacularly scenic. But, like the Little Bighorn, its also extraordinarily historical and even sacred. Contrary to the false rhetoric of Utahs political leaders, its designation occurred as a result of a groundswell among tribal members and leaders in the area who, for decades, could do little but stand by as pot hunters, looters, and grave robbers desecrated and plundered ruins and artifacts that constitute their heritage. If any place ever fit the need for and purpose of protection through the Antiquities Act, Bears Ears is it.

As an educator and Crow tribal member, Im calling on Secretary Zinke to respect the designation of Bear Ears. Revoking or reducing Bears Ears would set a precedent that would have destructive repercussions well beyond Utah and put other national monuments at risk, including those in Montana. It would mean caving to and emboldening Utah Rep. Rob Bishop and other anti-public land extremists who have asked President Trump to revoke or shrink all Clinton and Obama-era monuments and who are currently sponsoring legislation that would gut the Antiquities Act.

Sadly, Sen. Steve Daines is one of those sponsors, in spite of the fact that 77 percent of Montanans support national monuments, as shown by Colorado Colleges 2017 Conservation in the West Poll.

The Antiquities Act is one of the best tools we have for preserving, protecting, and perpetuating the heritage we share as Montanans and Americans. Lets honor that heritage by first honoring the use of the Antiquities Act in protecting Bear Ears.
Alamo Wing supports NATO mission

U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, four Army vehicles, support equipment and Soldiers from the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Ft. Drum, N.Y., were delivered Feb. 28 and March 3, by an Air Mobility Command tasked C-5M Super Galaxy flown by the U.S. Air Force Reserve Commands 68th Airlift Squadron to Riga, Latvia in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve.



OAR demonstrates the United States commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Baltic region, while providing reassurance to NATO allies and regional partners. Through multinational training and exercises, the operation highlights the flexibility of U.S. ground and air forces to rapidly respond to contingencies alongside regional partners.



One of the largest aircraft in the world and the largest aircraft in the Air Force inventory, the C-5M is capable of carrying six Apache helicopters, two M1A Abrams tanks or 250,000 pounds of relief supplies. The 433rd Airlift Wing assigned C-5M Super Galaxy moved 167 tons of cargo and 63 passengers to Latvia.



The C-5Ms ability to airlift Army assets is vital to mission success.



It is critical, one thing we are trying to demonstrate is speed of assembly, said Army Maj. Nathan Colvin, officer in charge of Task Force Baltic Phoenix.



From the time the first C-5 (M) left Ft. Drum, we were able to rapidly assemble our helicopters and conduct an air assault training mission with Latvian forces on the ground, he said.



On such a long mission, where the aircrew amassed 46 flight hours, a good attitude is key.



Flying these missions is very diverse. What I tell new guys is stay flexible, expect the unexpected and keep a positive attitude, Master Sgt. Eric Mungia, a 68th Airlift Squadron loadmaster said. Sometimes you work in cold or hot weather, sandstorms, or humidity like Hawaii. You just have to stay flexible.



Thats just the way it works flying on the C-5, Mungia said.



The worldwide mission and the Airmens capabilities were enhanced according to Capt. Michael Raggio, 68th AS pilot and aircraft commander for the mission. It has been a very demanding mission as far as the uploads and odd hours of the mission, he said.



Flexibility is a key trait for airlift crews, as the Reservists were tasked with an additional mission after making two round-trips between Ft. Drum and Latvia. The second mission involved taking Air Force personnel and a vehicle from Riga to their home base in Ramstein Air Base, Germany.



It was an add-on mission, it was a good opportunity to pick up some cargo and bolster our presence in Europe, Raggio said.



The extra mission was an opportunity to excel for the San Antonio-based Reservists. The extra mission to Ramstein was something we learned from, and it makes you better as an aircrew member dealing with those differences. It makes you better as an individual and aircrew member, Mungia said.



U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Air Force Reserve Command and Air Mobility Command directly support the joint and multi-national warfighting environment with air superiority, direct air operations, global air transportation and capabilities that are essential to supporting the warfighters on the ground.



This mission has been very rewarding at the same time being able to help out and reaffirm our NATO allies and work with our Army partners, Raggio said.



The Air Forces strategic airlift capability provides global air transportation and enables Eucom to move the helicopters from their home stations rapidly.



They (Reserve air crew) have been nothing but great to work with, Colvin said. Despite any kind of adversity thrown their way, whether it be maintenance or the weather or uncertainty with an airfield they may unfamiliar with, they have responded by making sure everything is taken care of to meet mission and make sure we are successful as a joint partner



Portions of the brigade arrived in Europe via ship at Bremerhaven, Germany, in mid-January. Its operations will include medical transport missions, training, exercise support and various aviation operations throughout Europe to improve interoperability and strengthen relationships with NATO allies, Eucom officials said.



When the mission happens in real life, we are not going to be able to choose the time and the place. It is good to know we can count on our Air Force partners to be there with us anytime, anywhere to get the job done, Colvin said.



Working in below freezing weather on an unfamiliar airfield is a skill building opportunity. It makes you better because you always learn from it, it is always an experience from the pilots to the crew chiefs on how you could do things better, Mungia said.



Overall the mission was a success. We got the cargo there in a timely manner, and we were able to support Operation Atlantic Resolve, he said.



This airlift improved our interoperability and readiness with our host nation and other NATO partners, Colvin said.



More training opportunities are slated in 2017 as Operation Atlantic Resolve will remain in place as long as the need exists to reassure U.S. allies and deter adversaries from regional aggression.


Military retirees seeking to enter civil service in the Defense Department now require a waiver if they are within 180 days following their official date of retirement.The new DOD requirement took effect Dec. 23, 2016, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of fiscal year 2017. However, personnel who fall under a special salary rate table, such as air traffic controllers and information technology managers, are exempt from the 180-day requirement.Enacted in 1964, the 180-day policy was waived after a state of national emergency was declared Sept. 14, 2001. After that, the Air Force had the flexibility to appoint retired military members within 180 days of retirement without needing to first seek a waiver.The Air Force is committed to sustaining and supporting a diverse civilian workforce, said Sandy Pyott, the Civilian Force Management branch chief. We recognize the virtues that retirees, veterans and career civil servants bring to the table and how working together we can continue to be a world-class organization.This policy applies to all non-appropriated and appropriated fund civilian positions in the competitive and excepted service, senior executive service and senior level positions, and scientific and professional positions. The policy also includes all permanent, temporary, term, part-time, flexible and intermittent positions.Waivers may be submitted when it is determined that the retired military member is more highly qualified than the other candidates on the referral certificate. Members who are separating from the military and are not entitled to receive retirement pay from the armed services are not impacted by the 180-day wait period. Positions that fall under the special salary rate table are also exempt from the policy.For more information, select Any from the dropdown menu onand search 180 day. Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by
The inaugural Enlisted Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot Selection Board has chosen 30 enlisted Airmen to fill fiscal year 2017/2018 training slots as a part of the deliberate approach to enhance the Air Forces Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance mission.The historic enlisted RPA pilot selection board convened at the Air Force Personnel Center Feb. 6-8 and selected two senior master sergeants, five master sergeants, nine technical sergeants, 14 staff sergeants and five alternates from about 200 active duty enlisted applicants from various Air Force Specialty Codes. These 30 Airmen join the Enlisted RPA Pilot program along with the 12 other Airmen from the Enlisted Pilot Initial Class , four of whom started training in October 2016. The Air Force plans for the number of enlisted RPA pilots to grow to 100 within four years.To be considered for the selection board, Airmen had to hold a rank from staff sergeant through senior master sergeant and have six years of retainability from course graduation date. They were also required to complete the application, an Air Force initial flying class II physical examination plus a pilot qualification test, which is key in measuring aptitude for success in RPA pilot training.The selection board process mirrors that of the undergraduate flying training program as closely as possible, said Senior Master Sgt. Dave Desilets, the Career Enlisted Aviator Assignments manager. The board uses the whole person concept to evaluate candidates.Candidates were evaluated based on their entire military personnel record and pilot candidate selection method, or PCSM, test score. The average PCSM score for those selected was 73 with overall select scores ranging from 55 to 96. Airmen who had already amassed off-duty flying hours were also able to apply that experience toward their PCSM, which Desilets said is the same scoring system used to select Air Force officer pilots.Expanding opportunities in the RPA program is one of many ways the Air Force is tapping into the talent of its skilled, diverse and innovative enlisted force. Originally open to just career enlisted aviators, the Air Force opened the program to all enlisted AFSCs in August 2016 to allow more active duty Airmen to apply.This gives Airmen an opportunity to excel in a new way, Desilets said. We have an incredibly talented pool of enlisted Airmen, and we're confident that this rigorous selection process yielded excellent enlisted aircrew who will continue to provide combatant commanders with the ISR they need to win today's fight.The Air Force has plans to integrate enlisted pilots into RQ-4 Global Hawk flying operations, with the first two board-selected Airmen slated to begin Initial Flight Training at Pueblo Memorial Airport in Pueblo, Colorado, in April. The remaining EPIC and board-selected students are lined up to attend training throughout 2017 as training slots become available.After IFT completion, students will progress through the RPA Instrument Qualification Course and RPA Fundamentals Course at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph and the Basic Qualification Training at Beale Air Force Base, California. The entire program spans almost a full year. The first two EPIC students are scheduled to graduate and receive their pilot wings in May.This proactive step will make the most of the capabilities of our enlisted force to provide options that build a more agile ISR force in the future, placing highly capable enlisted forces in a position to support the future threat environment," Desilets said.The call for nominations for the 2018 Enlisted RPA Pilot selection board is scheduled for April.The selection list has posted to myPers. To view the list, or for more information on the enlisted RPA pilot selection process, visit the active duty enlisted Retraining page, or select Any from the dropdown menu and search Enlisted RPA. Additional information is also available on theFor more information about Air Force personnel programs, go to. Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by
Still in the 21st century, some parts of India are yet to respect girl child. Yet, we are living in a male chauvinist country. Female foetus is aborted before birth or if she any how manages to take birth then evil waits for her to grow and get raped, molested and murdered. Two days back, in Sangli district of Maharashtra, a homoeopathic doctor was arrested from Belgaum, Karnataka, in connection with an abortion racket case. Nineteen aborted female foetuses were found dumped near a stream at a village. Many places new-born baby girls have been thrown into rubbish dumps to be gnawed by rats; or given an overdose of drugs, sometimes opium. Education and wealth has only meant that richer families now go in for in-vitro sex selection, and choose boys.

Every day, many rape and molestation cases are registering in our country. Some are even registered against the priest in the church, maulana in madrassas and pandit in temples. Even we have seen that the one we give high values and regards  Godmenthey are involved in this epidemic. Initially, we get surprised and condemn the incident but later some interval of time we forget everything. The real culprit for this is our legal system. This beasts lawyers find out some ways to secure bail and he wont lose anything for killing the woman except attending court hearings once or twice a year. For hearings too, he can get exemptions if he is influential. This is what is happening in all rape and molestation cases. We lack sensitivity towards such incidences. On the occasion of International Womens Day, many messages and wishes are circulated all over but with a pinch of womanhood. I need to confess that still this society is not safe for children, where kids are picked up and sold by our very own politicians, whos election campaign was Beti Bachao (save Daughters). Whenever some disaster happens towards girls, many political leaders escape by giving various reasons for why rape happens but no one understand its girls life and dignity is at risk and here verbal talks are not enough. With great faith, people elected PM Modi and BJP government to power, but nothing has changed, so far. Every day, newspapers are grabbing the headlines of brutal assaults on girls.

In a society where economics and hunger drive most decisions, the girl child becomes a dispensable commodity. In the long run, it is still believed, she will provide the family little financial gain  not only will she go away and live with another family after her marriage, an often ill-affordable dowry will have to be gathered for her. Despite the growing GDP and modernity, India still have a spiralling rate of honour killings, dowry deaths, acid attacks, and trafficking  and why do these crimes go unpunished, including the horrific offence of female infanticide? Vast majority of women are divided by caste, class, region, language, religion, even dress, and by illiteracy and poverty. And while strong Indian women have struggled to create a social consciousness about individual rights, India still needs a charismatic female civil leader or politician who will address these terrifying inequities, and turn its women into a force to reckon with.

The political class does not recognise how much women can contribute to development. The womens representation bill, which would ensure that one-third of parliamentarians are women, has been delayed for decades. Even though four powerful women lead their own parties  Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj(sort of), Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati  no gender equality exists within their party ranks either. The breakdown of law and order from increasing corruption can only mean things will become even more difficult for women in India. The reality is that they are beginning to raise their voices. The tragedy is that no one is listening.

After the declaration of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election results, women politicians have started receiving obscene messages on their mobile phones. Congress MLA Varsha Gaikwad has become the latest victim of lewd messages after Shiv Sena spokesperson Dr. Neelam Gorhe and BJP spokesperson Shaina NC had complained about receiving such messages. Thus, a question which arises here is women leaders being targeted in politics? Who is responsible for committing this offence? Sending obscene messages is punishable under the IT act. When these so called powerful mid-age women are suffering with harassment, you can imagine the plight of a common woman. Many times, they dont even report whatever wrong happens to them, because there is no guarantee of justice.

In the days since that attack, such outbursts from men and women alike have become common. And they have been part of a much broader collection of discussion and debates about womens safety. There are several concurrent threads to these debates: How can we teach our men to respect women better? Is violence against women an expression of social faults, if so which ones? How can these faults be alleviated? How does the portrayal of women, womens issues and violence against women in mass media play a role in making things better or worse? Should minors involved in sex crimes be treated as adults? What can we do to make our neighbourhoods safer? More recently, there has been substantial debate on the trivializing of the idea of rape in the form of jokes and in other contexts not directly related to sex crimes.

Let us take the case of Mumbai, arguably Indias most commercially important metropolis. The government has sanctioned police strength of approximately 45,000 officers. Around 3,000 of these posts are currently vacant. The effective number of police on the streets is even lower.

It is in common knowledge that Indian judiciary have millions of cases pending at any given point of time. Yet another Right to Information request, filed by the same applicant in June, found 49,170 cases of crimes against women pending in courts across the state of Maharashtra (Mumbai is its capital). This number has increased by 40% between 2008 and 2012. Of the 14,414 rape cases tried in Maharashtra last year, 13,388 remain pending. Political system has no will to address such serious issues, they just use these incidences to their political advantages saying police is overburdened, and judiciary is overloaded. Who will do justice?

Just by celebrating International Womens Day, how one can assure her safety and better future here?

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
An explosion and gunfire has been reported at Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

A doctor from the hospital said that a blast occurred at the entrance gate of the hospital and the attackers then entered inside the building.

However, no insurgent group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault on the hospital, but it comes as the Taliban ramp up attacks even before the start of their annual spring offensive. No casualties were immediately reported but medical staff trapped in the facility posted desperate messages for help on social media.

A security official said the attack began with an explosion at the rear of the 400-bed hospital and three to five attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades entered the complex.

He said they had taken position on the third and fourth floors of the hospital and were engaging Special Forces units which had been sent to the scene.

The attack on the hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified US embassy, underlines warnings by government officials that high profile attacks in Kabul are likely to escalate this year as the Taliban step up their insurgency.

One worker at the hospital, Abdul Qadir, told that he saw one gunman, dressed in a white doctors coat, take out a concealed AK-47 assault rifle and open fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker.

In the second attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The growing violence underscores rising insecurity in Afghanistan over the resurgent Taliban.

The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the governments repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent ghost soldiers on the payrolls, have been struggling to rein in the Taliban since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

The NATO-led Resolute Support Mission In Afghanistan reaffirmed support to the Afghan security institutions following a deadly attack on a military hospital in capital Kabul.

We are aware of the report of Kabul hospital attack & are monitoring the situation. We stand ready to assist Afghan security services, the alliance said in a Twitter post.

The alliance went on to say Once again insurgents show complete disrespect for humanity by attacking a hospital. We stand with Afghan people against terrorism.

The attack on the Charsad Bester Military hospital is reprehensible and we condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms, the alliance added.
China on Wednesday claimed that the South China Sea dispute has calmed down and said it will not allow the hard-won stability of the region to be disturbed again by outside forces.

Foreign Minister Wang Yis annual press conference was dominated by a host of issues, including the crisis in the Korean Peninsula and Chinas relations with the US after President Donald Trumps election.

Talking about the South China Sea dispute, Wang said the issue has calmed down and warned that China will never allow the stability of the region to be disturbed again.

China will never allow hard-won stability in the South China Sea, (SCS) to be disturbed or undermined again, Wang said as Trump administration deployed an aircraft carrier in the disputed region to assert freedom of navigation.

In his media interaction, Wang took questions on Chinas ties with all major countries.

On the SCS, Wang said, at this moment, if someone should try to make waves and stir trouble, they will have no support and face common opposition of the entire region.

Last year, China waged a major international campaign to ward off the impact of the international tribunal which struck down Beijings claim over almost all of the SCS in response to a petition from the Philippines.

But the situation changed to Beijings favour after the election of Rodrigo Duterte as President of Philippines who in a U-turn moved closer to China and agreed to set the SCS dispute aside in lieu of heavy Chinese investments.

Wang said since Duterte came to office, he has handled the SCS issue properly and actively improved the Philippines relations with China, Wang said.

The Philippines has extended a hand of goodwill, so China of course will embrace it with open arms of cooperation. China and the Philippines are making up the lost time. The potential of bilateral cooperation is rapidly growing, he said.
A Wyoming man pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of second-degree murder and other crimes for shooting a couple and wounding their daughter when the family tried to help him along a road on Montana's Crow Indian Reservation.

Jesus Deniz Mendoza, 19, faces life in prison under an agreement reached last month with federal prosecutors in which he acknowledged killing Jason and Tana Shane and wounding their daughter in July 2015. Mendoza was 18 at the time.

"I was pulled over by the side of the road and some Native Americans came and assisted me," Mendoza testified Tuesday. "I knowingly shot them, got in their car and drove away."

Mendoza also acknowledged that he returned later in the Shanes' car and shot at three people who had responded to the initial gunshots and the daughter's calls for help.

He offered no motive but told FBI agents after his arrest that he shot the victims because he was "getting tired of waiting around and because the daughter laughed at him," according to court documents.

Assistant Federal Defender David Merchant II, Mendoza's attorney, denied prosecutors' claims that Mendoza asked the Shanes for money when they tried to help him and the family said they did not have any.

Merchant has said his client had schizophrenia, depression and other mental illnesses and had ingested a "considerable amount" of the synthetic drug spice before his arrest. Further specifics on when he took the drug have not been revealed.

Prior to the plea agreement, Merchant unsuccessfully sought to have Mendoza declared mentally incompetent. The defense attorney later said Mendoza would use an insanity defense if the case went to trial.

Under questioning from U.S. District Judge Susan Watters, Mendoza said he has been taking daily doses of the prescribed medication Seroquel. That's an antidepressant used for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental conditions, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Mendoza is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Mexico, Merchant said. He moved to the U.S. as a child and testified that prior to his arrest, he had worked as a field laborer and grocery store bagger.

Watters has the final decision on sentencing, set for Aug. 10. There is no parole in the federal criminal justice system.

Mendoza faces a separate accusation of attempted second-degree murder in Wyoming, where authorities say he shot a man at a campground near a small town during a 2013 robbery attempt. That case is pending.
Suspended Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba and four others  who had been earlier convicted on charges of having Maoist links  were on Tuesday sentenced to undergo life imprisonment by the Sessions Court here, officials said.

The wheelchair-bound English teacher of Ram Lal Anand College in Delhi, Saibaba, 47, was arrested from the capital in May 2014 by Maharashtras Anti-Naxal Operations (ANO) unit.

Earlier, Saibaba, with 90 percent disability, was lodged in Nagpur jail but got bail from the Supreme Court on medical grounds in April 2016 which also exempted him from personal appearance in view of his deteriorating health.

Another convict was awarded a 10-year jail term by Additional Sessions Judge Suryakant S. Shinde.

All the accused have been convicted under the UAPA Sections 13, 18, 20, 38 and 39 pertaining to conspiracy, having links with terrorist groups and supporting the outlawed Maoists.

The others convicted are Jawaharlal Nehru University student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi (both nabbed in 2013), Mahesh Tirki, Pandu Narote (all sentence to life) and Vijay Tirki, who will serve a 10-year term.

The ANO said they found incriminating documents, pen drives, memory cards and CDs which contained vital information about the banned Maoist groups.

The prosecution contended that Mishra, Tirki and Narote went into the deep forests of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra to meet Narmada Akka, a top Maoist commander, who handed over Rs 500,000, which was delivered to Saibaba to propagate Maoist ideology in the urban setting.

Public Prosecutor Prashant Satgianathan produced 23 witnesses and 41 articles, including data retrieved from hard disks found at Saibabas residence.

Satgianathan said that in 2012, Saibaba and others had participated in a conference of the Revolutionery Democratic Front, a Maoist frontal group which is banned in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

In his speech as deputy joint secretary, Saibaba had said that Naxalism was the only route and denounced the democratic system.

The videos of his speeches were played in the court and the prosecution said Saibaba was in contact with Maoist groups in neighbouring countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Source: Agencies
Saffron brigade Ranaragini requested the police to block Varmas twitter account permanently and arrest him immediately.

Bollywood film director Ram Gopal Varma has always grabbed headlines for his controversial tweets on social networking sites. This time too the scenario was no different as Varma received flak for the comments posted by him against Sunny Leone on social media. Ranaragini, the Womens Branch of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has come forward to file a complaint against Varma for the provocative tweet on the occasion of International Womens Day. The outfit said that Varma is indulging in these acts to gain cheap publicity.

In his tweet Varma posted, The pleasure, which Sunny Leone gives to men should be given by all women to the men.

I wish all the women in the world give men as much happiness as Sunny Leone gives  Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) March 8, 2017

Even netizens too criticised Varma for the statements made by him and demanded an apology from him. Vishakha Mhambrey of Ranaragini, a womens branch of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti has lodged a complaint with the Mapusa Police Station in Goa, in presence of women from various organisation against Verma.

Through this objectionable tweet Ram Gopal Varma has insulted womens prestige in the society. Varma is a distortion himself for the entire human race. Entire film industry should boycott him. Similarly, to teach a lesson to such a distorted film producer and uphold the respect for women, the films made by him should be boycotted. This appeal is being made by Ranaragini, said Vishakha Mhambrey.

Since the comment is posted on internet tweet and is open to all it is also an independent act to harm ordinary women and defame them. Thus offence is committed under cyber crimes against women, added Vishakha.

She urged the police to register an offence against Varma under Cyber law for victimisation of women under section 292 of the Indian Penal Code. She also requested the police to block Varmas twitter account permanently.

Pratiksha Korgaonkar, State Organiser of Ranaragini said, Ram Gopal Varma should tender public apology to all women for his hateful statement. Otherwise the Ranaragini will take to streets against him. Varma identifies only Sunny Leone among all women. However, time has come to show him that the same woman can transform herself in a warrior woman like Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi.

Actor Sunny Leone  who was mentioned in RGVs tweet nonetheless remained unaffected by the tweet and replied with a smiley.

Later Ram Gopal Varma issued a clarification on twitter and said, All you illiterates who didnt understand my earlier two tweets on Sunny Leone. Atleast go through dictionary unless you are uneducated for that too. Sunny doesnt have millions following because of her body as 1000s of women have great bodies. Her greatness is in standing by her pride. People criticising my tweets are hypocrites.
It is indeed a great misfortune that Indians living in US are facing music and hate killings are on the rise. After the murder of the techie and an attack on businessman now a Sikh has been shot and the series of hate killings raise the doubt that whether such acts are just to evacuate Indians residing in that country or driven by the hate against the new President, who is showing some soft corner for Indians staying there for a very long time.

This is a serious case of worry as more and more people are applying for H1B1 Visa and passport to go abroad in the hope of getting better job opportunities and higher studies. Most of the crime is taking place at night and the security lapse put the Indians on the toes from the masked white men, who go berserk in an act of cruelty for personal gain and creating hate. How long the Indian Foreign Ministry will wait and watch before taking a step and plunge into action in a most suitable way and find an amicable solution to the pressing problem. Go back to your country slogan should stop and the Indians should reside peacefully and safely there.

The series of hate crimes against Indians in the United States seems to have risen in the last week.

1. Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed and Alok Madasani was injured as Adam Purinton shot them in Olathe city, Kansas in Midwestern U.S. on February 22.

2. A 43-year-old Indian-origin store owner, Harnish Patel was shot dead outside his home in Lancaster County, South Carolina on March 2.

3. A 39-year-old Sikh man named Deep Rai was injured on March 3 when an unidentified person shot him outside his home in the city of Kent.

4. An Indian-origin girl was racially abused on a train by an African-American man in New York on February 23.

Thus the security of the people visiting US is under threat and people will be under double minds before applying for Visa. It is indeed testing time.

Mahatma Gandhi had to undergo racial discrimination, during his stay in South Africa. It is better for the immigrant Indians to avoid unnecessary talks with the Americans there. If they indulge in heated exchange of words, it leads them to reply with their revolver angrily. It is spreading like wild fire and the evil effects of right-wing nationalism is going to the roots. We have our own share of it here in India. Mutual respect for each other should over-ride all our political and ideological beliefs. Care should be taken not to get carried away by the sweet but poisonous words of our political masters and to exercise our voting rights diligently.

It is rather perplexing when we think that only Indians are being targeted with racial abuses and attacks. What about other Asians who are all from South Asia and more or less look alike and dress alike. Why they are not being attacked and abused? I do not think so. America is after all not just Whites. It is a huge melting pot in which immigrants from every nook and corner of the Globe have settled down either permanently or with a Green Card or a valid Visa, although there are nearly a million folks there who have been staying illegally. If Indians are the most attractive to hate mongers for attacking perhaps there is more than meets the eye. Post Trump, latent hate against the most prosperous immigrant community is coming out in the open and leaders of the Indian community who supported him were not expecting this.

Jayanthy Subramaniam

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
India will invest USD 140 billion to modernise its rail network over the next five years and is in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has said.

Of the USD 140 billion we will be investing over the next five years, the majority will go towards Indias modernisation efforts, the introduction of new technologies, and increasing capacities, Prabhu said.

He said his office has been in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds this week, Gulf News quoted him as saying. We have requested that the government of the UAE look at the huge potential for investment that lies in Indian infrastructure, particularly in the railways.

They are very keen to know more about this, Prabhu said. Weve had good meetings with Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Prabhu said, adding that he hoped these issues would progress over the course of 2017.

According to a statement released by the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, Prabhu visted the UAE from March 5-7, on the invitation of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE.

The Minister toured Masdar City and met with the senior management of Masdar, where they discussed possible cooperation in efforts by the Indian Railways to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Prabhu said his ministry had an appetite for several tens of billions of dollars, stating that whatever was made available, India would take. ADIA is the third largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, holding approximately USD 92 billion in assets.

In January 2017, Prime Minster Narendra Modi had said his government was in mission mode when it came to rejuvenating the railways in India. Prabhu confirmed that the government of India has already raised as much as USD 65 billion, to be spent over the next two years.

He stated that India has allocated as much as USD 16 billion for safety measures, and USD 7 billion for energy efficiency. New projects in the pipeline for the country also include a high-speed railway from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, in collaboration with the Japanese government, the conversion of two of Indias busiest routes, Mumbai to Delhi and Mumbai to Calcutta, in to medium-speed corridors, and an increase in the electrification of the countrys tracks by more in the next five years than the last few decades combined, Prabhu said.
The father of the slain Saifullah, who is suspected as an ISIS terrorist killed by an anti-terror operation in Thakurganj at Lucknow on last Tuesday night, was refused to take his traitor sons body. Sartaj lives in Kanpur.

Sartaj said, This was not in countrys interest. We will not accept the body of a traitor.

Two-and-a-half months ago, he left home after I beat him up for not working. He called last Monday and told us that he was going to Saudi, he added, recounting the last conversation with his son.

One of the relatives of Saifullah, said that everybody was shocked by his actions. He informed the media that Saifullah was well behaved and performed Namaaz 5 times a day. Such an action was not expected from him, he added.

According to police, six pistols of different make, two wireless sets, alarm clocks, steel pipes, an IS flag, two laptops, videos of how to make bombs, four knives, two passports and 600-plus live cartridges were recovered from the site.

Intelligence agencies from two other states had tipped off the UP police of the likely presence of terror suspects in Lucknow, Kanpur and Etawah after an explosion took place in a train in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

For 12 hours, commandos tried to capture him alive- they used chilli grenades smoke him out of the house, organised for his brother to talk him on the phone. But Saifullah refused to surrender, telling his sibling that he was seeking martyrdom.

The house he was killed in was rented a few months ago from a man who works in Saudi Arabia, said sources.

He belonged to an ISIS module that was preparing to conduct a massive attack on a Sufi Shrine in Uttar Pradeshs Barabanki.

The men carried out an explosion on an Ujjain bound train yesterday as a practice for the attack on the Sufi shrine.

Following the blast, three suspects were arrested from Madhya Pradesh after they were captured in CCTV footage, and were questioned.

During the interrogation, the men revealed that they were part of a terror group consisting nine men, all from Lucknow and Kanpur, and had pledged their allegiance to ISIS.

The leader of the gang Atif Muzzaffar was among those arrested.

Further questioning revealed that the module had rented a home in Thakurganj area near Lucknow.

Based on the tip-off, the Anti-Terror Squad arrested two more men from Kanpur and trapped Saifullah, at the Thakurganj residence.

Though several Indians, mostly from the southern state of Kerala, are suspected to have joined the Islamic State in Syria, it is the first time security forces are linking a home-grown militant to the outfit, which has overran large parts of Syria and Iraq in its quest to establish a caliphate under strict Islamic laws.
In the last four months of demonetization, people have faced a lot of hardships. They could not even withdraw their own money from banks and ATMs. All thanks to our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and his mesmerizing talks. He promised Achche Din for us, but the good days are yet to arrive. The Achche Din are only for him because he keeps enjoying himself by going abroad every now and then on the common mans hard-earned money which they pay to the government in the form of taxes.



(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Jaipur on Wednesday acquitted Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak Swami Aseemanand and convicted three persons in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case.

Six others were also given clean chit in the case. The three found guilty by the NIA court are Bhavesh, Devendra Gupta and Sunil Joshi. Of them, Joshi was murdered in December 2007. The court imposed a fine of Rs. 1 lakh each on Bhavesh and Devendra.

Patel and Gupta have been found guilty under section 120 (B) and 295 of IPC and section 34 of the explosive act. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced by the court on March 16.

The blast on October 11, 2007 in the Dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti at the time of roza iftaar had left three pilgrims dead and 15 injured. The dargah was packed to capacity with about 5,000 devotees when the blast occurred. The blast was caused allegedly to stir communal disharmony, insult the religious feelings and incite riots during the month of Ramzan.

Investigation revealed the alleged involvement of saffron groups in the explosion, with several names also cropping up as accused in the Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad and the Samjhauta Express blast.

Swami Aseemanands confession in the case before a Metropolitan Magistrate at the Tis Hazari courts in Delhi made headlines in December 2010. He stated that he and other activists were involved in bombing various places of worship across the country for taking revenge against the terror acts of Muslims.

The judge had twice deferred judgment in the case, saying it was a voluminous matter and he required more time for studying the documents submitted by the prosecution and the defence.

Six other accused, Swami Aseemanand, Harshad Solanki, Lokesh Sharma, Mehul Kumar, Mukesh Vasani and Bharat Bhai were acquitted of all charges.

The Rajasthan Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) filed a chargesheet against three accused persons on October 20, 2010 before the chief judicial magistrate court in Ajmer. But, later, the NIA took over the investigation from Rajasthan ATS on April 1, 2011.
The UN human rights chief took aim at US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying the country needed better leadership to meet grave challenges like surging xenophobia and religious discrimination.

I am concerned by the new administrations handling of a number of human rights issues, Zeid bin Raad Zeid al-Hussein told the main annual session of the UN rights council, in his latest swipe at the new US leader.

Greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities, he added.

Zeid warned that Washingtons vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims as well as false claims about higher crime rates among migrants fuel xenophobic abuses.

And, taking direct aim at Trump personally, Zeid said he was dismayed at attempts by the president to intimidate or undermine journalists and judges.

Major media organisations, as well as press freedom groups, have accused Trump of threatening reporters in an unprecedented manner for a president, including by referring to the media as the enemy of the people.

Zeid had been the first top UN figure to speak out against Trumps initial travel ban and on Wednesday blasted a revised executive order that bars entry of people from six mainly Muslim countries.

The rights chief said the measure raised the risk of potentially illegal deportations.

Expedited deportations could amount to collective expulsions and refoulement, in breach of international law, Zeid said, stressing his concern about its impact on children and families torn apart.
Shiv Senas Vishwanath Mahadeshwar was formally elected as BMC new mayor on Wednesday.

Mahadeshwar received 171 votes with 218 out of 227 corporators participating in the voting procedure with the help of BJP. Sixteen corporators abstained from voting while eight corporators were absent from the meeting and one was not present inside the civic hall at the time of voting.

Shiv Sena has 84 corporators of its own and was supported by five independents. The BJP has 82 corporators in the house. This adds up to 171. The MNS has seven corporators who abstained, while the NCPs nine and the SPs two corporators remained neutral.

Mahadeshwar, a three-time corporator from Bandra was the Principal of Raje Sambhaji Junior college. He has been a member of the education committee in one of his earlier terms.

His last term had ended abruptly after an intense court battle over the validity of his caste certificate. This time he has won from a non-reserved ward.

However, controversies are still looming large. At least two petitions have been filed against him by opposition candidates. One petition raises fingers that he is a beneficiary of the corporation, as his junior college received funds from the corporations education department. The other petition has raised questions on his residence that is claimed to be a rented property.

Shiv Senas Hemangi Worlikar was elected as the deputy mayor of the city. This is the first time that both the posts have gone to the Shiv Sena, which has won the mayors crown for the fifth term in row.

Despite a show of unison, the tension was palpable between the BJP and the Shiv Sena corporators.
BOZEMAN  Montana State University officials say record-high enrollment shows the campus needs upgrades that are currently being debated in the state Legislature.

MSU spokesman and lobbyist Tracy Ellig said Monday that with nearly 600 more students on campus this spring than last, MSU needs the renovations to Romney Hall that would add more classrooms.

MSU has asked lawmakers to approve $28 million to renovate Romney Hall, a historic gym building in the center of campus. The past two requests have been denied. Lawmakers are still considering a budget package that would include funds for the renovation.

MSU's spring enrollment was up 4.84 percent compared to spring 2016. Overall, spring enrollment has grown by 21.4 percent since 2011.
via GIPHY

NOTE: When you read the word "debunk" you know you've stumbled across an article about vaccines and autism.



By Anne Dachel



I've long said this about Andy Wakefield: THE MEDIA ENDLESSLY TALKS ABOUT HIM.......AND NO ONE WILL TALK TO HIM.

Andy has told me a number of times that no one in the media will interview him.

They have a carefully scripted way of presenting this. Robert Kennedy, Jr. is to be handled the same way Wakefield is, that is as a dangerous purveyor of fraudulent claims about vaccines. There is no need to listen to a word they have to say.

This is phony journalism. Since when do reporters NOT WANT TO TALK TO THE MAJOR PLAYERS IN ANY CONTROVERSY?

WHY DON'T WE HEAR DIRECTLY FROM ROBERT KENNEDY? WHY DOESN'T ANYONE TALK TO ANDREW WAKEFIELD?

WHAT ARE THEY AFRAID THEY MIGHT SAY?

Here at the Pacific Standard, the message is: Robert Kennedy is totally off the mark. His views aren't even worthy of consideration. They're dismissed as "myths" and "folklore."

So why doesn't David Perry confront Kennedy with his charges against him? Why doesn't he talk to Kennedy so he can quote him first-hand? What does he think a reporter's job is all about?

Instead Perry interviews an English professor who compares the link between vaccines and autism to folklore.

Of course, Perry starts out denying ANY increase in autism. "... there is no autism epidemic, or that the increase, as recently explained by NOS Magazine, is due to changes in how we diagnose the condition." Kennedy's $100,000 challenge as phony.

(And my personal challenge to Perry: If there's been no real increase in autism, please show me the 40, 60, and 80 year olds who look and act like our kids on the spectrum.)

March 6, 2017, Pacific Standard: How to Debunk Myths About Autism

An interview with Andrea Kitta about anti-vaccination, fake news, and the academic discipline thats seen it all before.

By David Perry

Beyond the White House, alarmism over vaccines has wealthy and powerful proponents. It used to be Jenny McCarthy leading the Hollywood antivax league, but now Robert de Niro has taken the spotlight. He and Kennedy recently offered $100,000 to anyone who could prove vaccine safety to their satisfaction (which will never happen). No matter how many studies prove otherwise, and like so many other issues for which there is scientific consensus (global warming, evolution, etc.), anti-vaccine hysteria feels impervious to facts.
I started reading your Ebola book last night. Wow, you have evolved a lot in your thinking on vaccines in a VERY short period, based on your definition of antivaxxers at bottom of 206, top of 207. Have you written up how your views evolved so quickly? It might be a helpful roadmap towards turning others around. Was this all in connection with the autism book, or did your views changing precede that book?

We invite you to visit IPAK and read about the CDC Accountability Project. " The Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge is a not-for-profit organization* which exists to perform scientific research in the public interest. We use the principles and practices of scientific research to help individual researchers, research teams, consortia, and companies push their project through roadblocks, or map their way around them via evidence-based alternatives." ### WHILE RETURNING from the United Nations building where I heard NYU Professor Mary Holland (School of Law) nail the issues of constitutional and international law on the right to informed consent to the floor, to a standing ovation. To my delight, I received an email from Mary, which read, in part:

We're running a "best of"post from James Lyons-Weiler in advance of tomorrow night's free lecture at NYU. We encourage locals to attend if possible. Thursday, 3/9, NYU Law, Vanderbilt Hall Room 201, 40 Washington Square, NYC.

Looking at my book this morning, I turned to page 206, with trepidation, to find the younger, knowing me, trying to save the world by chiding and deriding people whom I have come to learn much more about in the past two years:

Again and again with Ebola we see, from Guinea to the US, societies struggling with the ethical problem of the needs (and wants) of a few vs. the safety (and lives) on the many.

Ok, thats not too bad. A bit uppity, but I cannot disagree. But it gets worse.

With over 100 cases confirmed, the US is, at the time of this writing, at high risk of an epidemic of measles because the herd immunity is lacking due to a dogmatic antivaccination movement.

I warned you.

Deplorably, I continue:

The efficacy of the measles vaccine in protecting children against terrible diseases should be reason enough for parents to insist on vaccinating their children, but the so-called anti-vaxxers (people who believe vaccines place their children at risk of developing autism) fail to consider the greater good: They put others at risk by not participating in national programs for the greater good.

I really do not like my former self. Naturally, I continue, because I knew SO much before I actually looked into the studies and the data:

This perspective is more than mere 20:20 hindsight; such occurrences of cultural and institutional amnesia are certain to recur as our society becomes more reliant and trusting in technology, and we forget to respect the awesome power of biology and Nature.

I really dont know this guy, I swear.

Mary Holland will certainly be remembered as one of the most staunch defenders of human rights, well, in the history of abuses in medicine. So back to Marys question:

Have you written up how your views evolved so quickly? It might be a helpful roadmap towards turning others around. Was this all in connection with the autism book, or did your views changing precede that book?

Heres how and why my views have changed. First, I was really rather upset about the fact that CDC Director Thomas Freiden stated in his testimony to Congress that there were no mutations in the Ebolavirus that was driving the epidemic. I was upset because I had the 396 mutations on my laptop at the very moment he testified to Congress. I capture that moment in Ebola. My anger at the CDC increased when I attended a secret White House conference call, held by the Ebola Czar, in which I asked about the 396 mutations  whether they influenced the ability of tests to detect Ebola, or altered its virulence or transmissibility. In that call, the entire scientific community was lied to again by a CDC Scientist who claimed that the virus was 99.9999% identical to the strain from Zaire in 1995, which was not true at all. I capture both of those events in Ebola, as well as how the White House then asked the Associated Press to stop covering potential cases of Ebola in the US. I even ask in that book whether that was fascism.

Fast forward a couple of months to where I had decided to write Cures vs. Profits. I felt that we had bungled our response to Ebola so badly that I wanted to cheer myself up and write a book on the successes in biomedical research. Having participated in so many studies over the past two decades, I knew of many reasons that the public should continue to support biomedical research, and I was going to share all that I knew, and discover more. The first two chapters deal with the bad stuff  the doctors who cheat at medicare fraud, which robs other patients of needed funds for real medicine  and the biomedical researchers who cheat at their research studies.

I wrote my chapters out on grapefruit, on cancer vaccines, on prostate cancer robotic surgery, and then something happened: I wrote a chapter on ADHD overdiagnosis. I tell the story of the destruction of a promising career of Dr. Gretchen Watson. Pharma sent a Key Opinion Leader to EVMS to debate her over her study, and the next day she was told her case load was canceled, that her colleagues were told that she no longer worked at EVMS, and that she was to expected to resign. She refused, and won an appeal to HR. But then someone floated a rumor that she manipulated her data in the 1996 study showing overdiagnosis.

The investigation revealed no flaw  well, a typo in an appendix  but the damage to her career was done. The good news is that Dr. Watson has decided to write of book of her own after reading my chapter on ADHD. She now also serves on the Board at IPAK.

When I finished writing the rest of Cures, including chapters on the history of hormone receptor status in breast cancer, chemosensitivity assays, characteristics of good research scientists, and cancer vaccines, I found the book missing something.

So I decided to write a chapter on Vaccines.

Ill let the chapter on vaccines speak for itself- it begins with tales of how wonderful vaccines are, how they save lives. I went back to review the autism/vaccine link, fully expecting to review the Andrew Wakefield issue briefly, how his claims that MMR were linked to vaccines. I read the retracted study.

I found that Andrew Wakefield never claimed that the MMR might cause autism. Instead, I found the study to suggest that it was a question worth looking into.

My digging around then led to my discovery of reports that someone at CDC had revealed that CDC had manipulated data on the studies designed to disprove Wakefield by omitting results with a positive association.

The more I dug into the issue, and then into the literature, the more I found the science of vaccines falling far short of the science needed to insure public health via any medical procedure given to millions. And this is where I leave the issue in Cures. I added an addendum that reviews four open controversies in vaccines that cause me to question whether vaccines can be called an unmitigated success in translational research.

In retrospect, I see that position as something of an understatement.

My understanding of vaccines was (obviously) limited, and I needed to grasp the risks involved. I needed resolution. So after I completed Cures, I began writing about what I had learned. I spoke with people with an open mind. I started to listen not only to what these evil, selfish anti-vaxxers had to say, I started to really think about the consequences of the additives. I began to question the over-arching claims of safety.

And via some new contacts, I made connection with Tony Lyons of Skyhorse Publishing. After a few chats, he, Louis Conte and I agreed that I should write a book on the Genetics of Autism. (I love Louis  and knowing what I know of him now, my bet is that he thought I was a good prospect  but somehow I can hear him telling Tony that Jack has a way to go, but I think hell get there. Thank you Louis for the confidence.

So in I dove, into 3,000 research articles on autism. Not on vaccines  on autism. I wanted to know if the basic science could in any way reasonably support a hypothesis that vaccines or their additives cause autism. The answer is a resounding Yes, yes, and yes. Other articles in this blog will give you an idea of some of the evidence that exists on the role of chronic microglial activation and autism, for example.

To the readers of Ebola who feel confused or hurt by my, and others ignorance, please remember that there is a Great Unknowing, even among professionals. Think about it  all Anti-vaxxers with vaccine-injured children were once pro-vaccine. As I advised some 500 participants at the VIALs Health Summit in Atlanta, GA, do not argue with them  educate them. Your anger and frustration is warranted, but help them move from ignorance to awareness and understanding.
HELENA  Patients considered among the most dangerous at the states publicly run mental hospital were sometimes in the vicinity of people who have developmental disabilities, resulting in assaults on those the facilitys staff viewed as vulnerable.

A recently released federal inspection details why the Montana State Hospital at Warm Springs, which is home to civilly and criminally committed patients with mental illness, was at risk of losing its federal certification for 12 days in January.

Documents from the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which certifies parts of the hospital, say chronic, pervasive staff shortages led to the attacks. They also highlight many ways the facility did not eliminate risks for suicidal people, such as leaving out towels that could be used as ligatures. After the inspection, CMS issued an "immediate jeopardy" notification warning of the potential loss of certification.

The hospital made required corrections laid out by CMS quickly enough not to lose its certification. More nurses were hired, existing staff was paid overtime to cover shifts and changes were made to remove suicide risks.

The facility, which cannot cap its own census because some patients are criminally committed, has struggled with overcrowding. The opening of a new forensic facility last year has helped relieve the problem, but staffing has continued to be a struggle, documented as far back as 2014 in several reports by the Mental Disabilities Board of Visitors, which cite "chronic staffing issues."

In addition to the January inspection, a December visit by surveyors showed many of the same concerns about staffing levels that led to the "immediate jeopardy" notice. In that review, 32 out of the hospital's 127 patients were being treated by a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist with no physician input into their care.

The state hospital, often referred as Warm Springs for the unincorporated community where it's located, sits just off Interstate 90 between the towns of Anaconda and Deer Lodge, from which the hospital draws much of its staff. Hot water comes out of a 40-foot-tall mound behind the campus, thought centuries ago to be curative.

It is operated by the Addictive and Mental Services Division of the Department of Public Health and Human Services and has been a home in some form for the mentally ill since the 1870s.

The parts of the hospital that receive federal reimbursement for services are subject to inspection from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. In fiscal year 2016, the hospital was reimbursed about $5.8 million by Medicare and $541,000 from Medicaid, making up about 15 percent of the hospitals $40 million budget that year. In fiscal year 2017, the hospital's budget was $44.2 million.

January inspection

In January, surveyors who reviewed hospital records found numerous patient-to-patient verbal and physical assaults on the E wing, which contains a mix of space that is inspected and certified by the federal government and areas that were removed from federal oversight in 2013.

The wing was prone to violence because it contained developmentally disabled patients as well as patients held in isolation in the Intensive Treatment Unit. At a hearing on an unrelated lawsuit last year, state doctors said two patients in the Intensive Treatment Unit were among the most dangerous people in Montana.

The report says some of the patients with developmental disabilities came to Warm Springs after the closure of another state-run facility, possibly the Montana Developmental Center in Boulder. Jon Ebelt, a spokesman for the health department, said he couldn't confirm where patients were from because of privacy issues.

The patients viewed as dangerous were allowed to mix with vulnerable ones, often in the wing's day room, because the hospital didnt have enough staff to cover both units separately.

One employee told surveyors the Intensive Treatment Unit lacked its own dedicated staff and that E unit staff was responsible for them. Supervision of the Intensive Treatment Unit was seen as an extra load for the E unit staff, another employee told surveyors. Two staff members who are not identified in the report told surveyors, Oh yeah, the patients from the ITU can get aggressive with patients on the E unit.

Another said patients had greater opportunity to assault and harass one another because of staffing shortages.

The report shows at least four instances of patient abuse between October and January on E unit. All abuse was instigated by Intensive Treatment Unit patients. Assaults included a patient struck in the back of a head and another punched while standing at the nurse's station.

On a day surveyors visited in January, they found no psych techs, or hospital employees without specific medical training who work with patients, available for the supervision of five patients in the Intensive Treatment Unit and 21 patients on the E unit. Surveyors also documented shifts in which only one registered nurse was working instead of the recommended two and instances where even though there were enough psych techs on duty, they were assigned to one-on-one patient coverage, leaving a shortage for general patient observation.

Other units of the hospital were also found to have staffing shortages.

Facility response

As a result of the January survey and to remove the immediate jeopardy, the hospital permanently shut down the Intensive Treatment Unit and moved all patients to another part of the hospital. Four patients were on the unit at the time, and they were moved to other areas of the hospital. The facility has observation rooms on each of the treatment units to monitor patients in isolation.

The Intensive Treatment Unit was created in 2013, after years of federal surveyors documenting the state failing to meet requirements for the care of people held in isolation. The five-bed unit was decertified, meaning it was no longer subject to federal inspection, only reviews by the state.

Also in its response to get re-certified, the hospital said it would increase staffing levels and have nurses services 24 hours a day, seven days a week with at least one registered nurse working at all times on each of the four certified units.

Ebelt said Wednesday the hospital has hired two full-time registered nurses and eight traveling agency nurses and paid employees overtime as necessary to improve staffing levels. An additional 24 psych techs were hired in January.

In a report dated Feb. 28, the hospital said it had hired one full-time registered nurse and 18 psych techs. Nine nurses from traveling nurse agencies came in February and the hospital has reached out to three agencies to ask for more.

Ebelt said the hospital has 36 full-time registered nurses, two per diem nurses, 29 nurses from traveling agencies and 28 licensed practical nurses. A 2006 Board report shows the hospital had 42.75 full-time registered psychiatric nurses and 33 licensed practical nurses. The average daily census in 2016 was 245.

The health department is also working to "identify new, creative ways to recruit and retain" employees and coordinate with the Department of Labor to "maximize new hiring possibilities."

Facility safety

The survey also shows the facility had many places where patients who were suicidal could have hanged or otherwise harmed themselves. Inspectors documented eight patients out of 38 sampled who either had past suicide attempts or talked of suicide and had access to places in the hospital where they were unsupervised and in danger.

Shower knobs, hooks, faucets and door knobs could be used as anchor points for hanging, with fixtures extending far enough from the wall and high enough to hang from. Towels that could be used as ligatures were left on bathroom floors. Mirrors could be broken and used for patients to cut themselves. Bathroom doors locked from the inside. Patient room doors open inward, with door stops on the outside, but rooms at the end of each unit could not been seen from the control room.

These types of problems were found on all certified units, including A, B and E. They were also found in Spratt building, the activities building, the recreation therapy area and chapel.

One patient discussed in the report had recently attempted suicide in his bedroom. He had barricaded himself and his roommate alerted staff that he could not open the bedroom door. Once staff were able to enter the room they found the man lying on the floor with his belt next to him. It was believed he tried to hang himself from the bedroom door. The patient was considered a level green, meaning he was on hourly checks.

On Jan. 16 an architect for a private firm, as well as division administrator Zoe Barnard, hospital CEO Jay Pottinger, maintenance manager Alan Glueckert, director of clinical operations Sherri Bell and Tracey Thun, chief financial officer and director of support services, toured the hospital and identified things that could be fixed immediately.

A bathtub determined to be a hazard was shut down, and maintenance staff removed all mirrors in areas patients use. They also removed door stops, coat hooks and hangers in patient areas.

Staff will now monitor, open and lock bathrooms as needed to reduce and remove risk to patients and make five-minute checks until door locks, shower heads, vents, mirrors, sinks, faucets and hooks are replaced.

Patients in their rooms will be checked on every seven to 10 minutes until mirrors, door handles and door stops are removed or replaced.

Because of the magnitude of other facility changes needed, the hospitals governing body decided to put the rest of the work out to bid. While that process plays out, the hospital will keep extra staff to monitor areas until they come into compliance.

The hospital also had training from Jan. 17-20 in addition to ongoing training to educate staff about monitoring requirements on certified units and re-upped efforts on staff training generally on safety issues

The safety officer will audit and monitor two certified units each week to measure compliance of the immediate actions the hospital promised to take.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 61F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.
Residents of the Bismarck school district approved a $57.5 million bond issue to expand and renovate all three middle schools and two high schools.

The bond passed Tuesday with 85 percent of voters in favor of it. Of the 8,295 people who voted, 7,058 people were in favor of the bond while 1,237 people voted against it.

"I'm very thankful, and I don't take lightly the investment that the community has made in its schools. That's no small thing to us," Superintendent Tamara Uselman said Tuesday night as the early results started coming in.

The bond issue will be used for additional classroom space at Wachter Middle School, Simle Middle School and Horizon Middle School. It would also add a 650-seat auditorium and third gym court at Bismarck High School, as well as construct more classrooms at Century High School.

Bismarck Public Schools, the largest school district in North Dakota, is expected to grow by 1,900 more students by 2021  with 1,500 at the middle schools and high schools.

The previous bond issue in 2012 also passed with 85 percent voting in favor of it. The record $86.5 million bond was used to build Legacy High School, Lincoln Elementary School and Liberty Elementary School.

This year's election saw a lower voter turnout than in 2012, which had more than 13,800 people vote.

"I feel OK about (voter turnout), that's a good number. The voter turnout was higher in 2012, but I don't think anyone can complain about an over 8,000 voter turnout," Uselman said.

After the polls closed at 7 p.m., ballots were counted at each of the schools, which served as polling locations. The ballots were sealed, put into locked ballot boxes and brought to the Hughes Educational Center, where the total number of votes was determined at about 8:45 p.m.

Proponents of the bond cheered as they watched the election results come in. Lawrence King, former president of the Bismarck School Board, served as a member of a "say yes" committee, which advocated for the bond.

"This is rewarding to see," he said, pointing to a projector screen that kept updating as the votes came in.

Last year, the school board convened a 75-member community task force to review space options at the middle schools. Eventually, they decided additions would be better rather than building a new school.

Matt Sagsveen, president of the school board, said the election results "validate" the work of that committee and the school district.

"I don't take any pleasure in spending taxpayers' dollars, but what I appreciate is that the voters validated the process the committee used to identify expansion options," Sagsveen said.

Uselman said the school district will call for construction bids within the next 21 days, as per state law. Construction is slated to be completed at the middle schools by fall 2018, and most high school projects will be completed by the following school year.

View the election results here.
ISIS Tunnels Uncover Assyrian Winged Bulls in Mosul

Tunnels dug beneath hill housing tomb of Prophet Jonah. (AFP) -- Crawl through a labyrinth of narrow tunnels in near total darkness and suddenly they appear: two great winged bulls dating from the Assyrian empire found intact under the ground of Mosul. But as fighting rages to evict the Islamic State (IS) group from the main city in northern Iraq, it will be a race against time to save the archaeological treasures uncovered in the tunnels. The jihadists dug the network of tunnels to plunder artefacts under a hill reputedly housing the tomb of the Prophet Jonah, the Nabi Yunus shrine which they dynamited in July 2014. "We fear it could all collapse at any time," entombing the treasures, said Layla Salih who is in charge of antiquities for Nineveh province. "There are cave-ins in the tunnels every day." Iraqi authorities discovered the underground labyrinth, from which IS plundered to sell on the black market, after they recaptured east Mosul at the end of January. Miraculously, several choice pieces survived the looting and appear as the crouched visitor winds through the maze of tunnels with its scent of damp clay. A member of the Iraqi troops stands next to archeological findings inside an underground tunnel in east Mosul. (ARIS MESSINIS / AFP) Salih said the artefacts date back to the eighth century BC in the Assyrian period and hail from the palace of King Esarhaddon whose existence in the area was known to Iraqi archaeologists. Two mural sculptures in white marble show the winged bulls with only the sides and feet showing. The tunnels lead to bas-reliefs with inscriptions in cuneiform alphabet and two mural sculptures of four women's faces from the front. "These finds are very important. They teach us more about Assyrian art. In general, their sculptures show people in profile, whereas here we have women face on," said Salih. The impressive maze of tunnels dug by the jihadists to carry out archaeological excavations is located in the heart of the hill that houses the tomb of the Prophet Jonah. (ARIS MESSINIS / AFP) She said IS had not been able to extract many of the treasures for fear of the hill collapsing altogether but other removable artifacts, especially pottery, were certainly plundered. Iraqi authorities found 107 items of pottery in a house east of Mosul that were in good condition and most likely exhumed from the tunnels of Nabi Yunus. Picture of desolation After their capture of swathes of Iraqi territory to the north and west of Baghdad in 2014, the jihadists carried out a widespread campaign of destruction of archaeological and religious sites. Many shocking scenes were filmed and posted on the internet, such as the destruction of Nimrud, jewel of the Assyrian empire founded in the 13th century BC, with a bulldozer, pickaxes and explosives. The hilltop of Nabi Yunus is a picture of desolation, the once elegant Jonah's tomb reduced to a ruin of smashed and twisted columns. In the Mosul region alone, "at least 66 archaeological sites have been destroyed, some of them transformed into parking lots. Muslim and Christian places of worship have suffered massive destruction, thousands of manuscripts have disappeared", Iraq's Deputy Culture Minister Qais Rashid told a UNESCO-organised conference in Paris last month. Salim Khalaf, a ministry official, said at the forum that more than 700 archaeological items had been exhumed from the tunnels of Nabi Yunus and sold on the black market. The priority at the site is to carry out studies on how to stabilise the tunnels and save the hill from collapse, explained Salih. "The security situation in the eastern sector of Mosul is still unstable. There's fear of (IS) drones and terrorist attacks," she said. "We need foreign expertise, but to have that, security must be improved." As if to underline her point, columns of black smoke wafted into the sky over west Mosul as Iraqi forces kept up their anti-IS assault with shelling and air strikes.
Mosul Museum: A Prime Target for Jihadists

Mosul (AFP) -- The Mosul museum that Iraqi security forces have now recaptured from the Islamic State group housed ancient works of art that made it a prime target for the jihadists. Founded in 1952, the museum was the second largest in Iraq, had four halls and was set to reopen in 2014 after rebuilding work made necessary by looting after the US-led invasion in 2003. Before the first Gulf War (1990-1991), the museum housed more than 1,000 objects, according to Lamia Gailani, research associate at the Department of the Languages and Cultures of Near and Middle East at SOAS University of London. Among the priceless artefacts were many that dated to the Assyrian and Hellenistic periods. The Mosul region was home to a mosaic of minorities, including the Assyrian Christians who consider themselves to be the region's indigenous people. Before IS arrived, many portable antiquities had already been transferred to the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad, but heavy immovable statues and wall reliefs remained behind. In June 2014, IS fighters overran Mosul and set about selling or destroying works that they claimed violated Islamic tenets against idolatry. The jihadists videoed themselves smashing priceless artefacts to feed the group's propaganda machine. Footage released in February 2015 showed militants knocking statues from their plinths and smashing them, although clouds of white dust indicated that some were simply plaster copies. However, experts estimated that around 90 works were destroyed, most of them originals. Jihadists also scaled a monumental granite Assyrian winged bull at the nearby Nergal Gate, which was almost 3,000 years old, and relentlessly attacked it with pneumatic drills. Their rampage was compared to the Taliban's 2001 dynamiting of the famed Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. Recommended By Colombia Mosul museum initially consisted of three main exhibition spaces, according to UNESCO. The Assyrian Gallery displayed objects, many of which were stone originals, from the ninth to the sixth centuries BC. The Hatra Gallery documented a caravan city that blossomed in the first century BC and the first century AD, and contained stone statues of the city's citizens and kings. The Islamic Gallery did not appear in the IS video, and the fate of original stone antiquities it contained is not yet clear.
Assyrian Genocide Documentary to Be Aired in Cyprus

Stockholm (AINA) -- Cypriotic state broadcaster CYBY has announced it will air the documentary film "Seyfo 1915 - The Assyrian Genocide" on March 8 on the RIK2 channel. The documentary had its premiere in 2015, marking the centennial commemoration of the Assyrian genocide. The film sparked headlines in 2016 when it was revealed the Turkish embassy in Sweden had tried to persuade Swedish channel TV4 not to air it (AINA 2016-04-26). The official Turkish policy is built on denial of genocide claims by Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks.

The documentary was directed by Assyrian filmmaker Aziz Said of Germany and produced by the Assyrian Federation of Sweden; it has been screened in theaters across Europe, raising awareness about the Assyrian genocide.
The state Senate will be considering a resolution that would call for a study of the impacts of Marsy's Law in North Dakota.

Senate Judiciary Committee members unanimously issued a do-pass recommendation on Wednesday for House Concurrent Resolution 3003 in a minutes-long hearing on the constitutional measure supporting victim's rights.

It requires a study of Marsys Law and its impacts, HCR3003 primary sponsor Rep. Lawrence Klemin, R-Bismarck, said.

HCR3003 doesnt require, but calls for, the consideration of studying the impact of Measure 3, also known as Marsys Law. Sixty-two percent of voters approved the measure in November.

Parts of the law may need to eventually be sorted out in the courts if its found that any conflict occurs between the rights of victims and the accused, according to Klemin.

Proponents of Marsys Law successfully argued last election that it would allow victims rights to be on the same level as the accused, rather than just in statute.

It includes provisions allowing for notification of hearings in the judicial process and notification if the accused person escapes custody. It also calls for taking victims and their familys welfare into consideration when setting bail for accused criminals.

Opponents argued last year that it could negatively impact cases because it allows victims to refuse an interview and deposition. By potentially not getting as much evidence and information earlier in the process, opponents argued it could lead to more cases going to trial that otherwise would result in plea agreements, therefore increasing workloads.

California businessman Henry Nicholas was the main proponent of Marsys Law, bankrolling it to the tune of more than $1 million. Nicholas efforts to pass Marsys Law came following the death of Marsalee Marsy Nicholas, who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in California in 1983.

Marsys Law also passed in South Dakota and Montana in November.

HCR3003 was adopted in the House in January.
March 7, 2017

The City of the Dead, which is located below the Mokattam Hills in southeastern Cairo, has become a gallery with colorful graffiti adorning its pale walls.

The graffiti was a part of a project called "Outside In: The Art of Inclusion  A Place for Arts and Culture in Cairo's City of the Dead. Archinos Architecture implemented the project in cooperation with the Polish Embassy in Cairo between August 2015 and December 2016. The project was funded by the European Union.

Two Polish artists were invited to paint cheerful graffiti on the walls of the area to let its residents feel surrounded by the arts. This neighborhood is home to hundreds of thousands of Egypt's poor.

Lukasz Zasadni, one of the two Polish graffiti artists who participated in the project, told Al-Monitor, "Me and some residents of the neighborhood together selected the best places in which I painted my graffiti. I told them that I needed a visible place to paint my graffiti on, and we walked around the alleys and they showed me the better places. The following days after receiving the permission, I painted them."

Zasadni is also known as Franek Mysza, the name of the famous mouse he has been painting for 12 years. He said that the message of painting a mouse is to give a smile to people and to cheer them.

"Wherever the people go, they see them just smile. So the day becomes better," he said.

On one graffiti-filled wall, the brown-colored mouse with its big ears and green eyes is shown putting a leash on a black Pharaonic cat. The cat, which was painted by Arthur Chaupka, the other Polish graffiti artist, is a revered animal and was important to Egyptian society and religion in ancient times. Cats received the same mummification after death as humans. The two artists were aware of the Egyptian cultural heritage when they painted their graffiti.

"People quickly understood the message, and they really liked our idea to paint the mouse with a cat. It is known that in Egypt, they all love cats," Zasadni said about the feedback of the residents. "The kids were so delighted."

At a narrow alley, a man is holding his cellphone to take a photo for his son who stands happily beside a painting of the smiling Franek Mysza.

"I have never seen such a beautiful thing before," said Hajj Ahmed, one of the residents. "It gives life to our neighborhood."

The City of the Dead area dates back to the seventh century during the Muslim conquest of Egypt. During that time, Islamic Cmdr. Amr Ibn Al-Aas founded Al-Fustat as the first capital in Egypt and built his family's necropolis at the foot of the Mokattam Hills. The number of the Islamic cemeteries increased through history in this neighborhood, which has been a mecca for Muslim pilgrims who seek blessings. Many people there believe that living beside the shrine is a blessing that will bring a divine reward.

In the 1960s, there was a massive rural migration due to the rapid urbanization in and around the Egyptian capital, so the cemeteries have become shelters to many homeless people. Following the huge earthquake that hit Cairo in 1992, many people were forced to move into family tombs, and that added to the number of the people already there.

Living conditions in this area improved during Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, as many cemeteries received running water and electricity. In addition to that, some parts now have apartment blocks, two schools, a medical center and a post office.

The graffiti project also included the conservation of the grand reception hall of Mamluk Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay's funerary complex. This highly decorated, domed mausoleum, one of the most impressive monuments in the City of the Dead, was built by Qaytbay, who ruled from 1468 to 1496. This reception hall will be used as a cultural hub to serve the City of the Dead's living community.

Polish architect Agnieszka Dobrowolska, the founder of Archinos Architecture, said a number of cultural events have been organized in the neighborhood in which artists held workshops for the children and young people as well.

"What we want to do is to bring together the old heritage, the traditions of this particular place, with creative contemporary art and with various cultural events to promote diversity. Old meets new, death and life come together in the City of the Dead, where we can exchange ideas and culture between East and West," Dobrowolska told Reuters.
March 8, 2017

In February, Iran hosted an international auto show for the first time in 11 years. Some two dozen European, Asian and Iranian brands, including Irans longtime French partners Renault and Peugeot, took part in the Feb. 14-18 event. Many experts saw the exhibition, which was organized by Iranian and Chinese companies, as an invitation to both global carmakers looking for new markets and Iranian consumers looking for new global brands.

The Tehran Auto Show took place immediately after a two-day automotive conference at Tehrans Milad Tower, where 400 global manufacturers of cars and car parts gathered to discuss new ways of cooperation. Iranian companies and foreign firms made at least six agreements on the sidelines of the conference, Aftab News reported.

Tehran Auto Show participants included BMW, Scania, KIA, Hyundai, Brilliance and even a Russian brand  UAZ. The latter displayed three models of vehicles and had obviously redesigned its vehicles for Iranian roads and weather conditions. This is the first time in more than a decade, after the Russian GAZelle van, that Russian vehicles are entering the Iranian market.

Saeid Zarepour, the CEO of Tavan Khodro Group, which has entered into a joint venture with UAZ, expressed confidence that the UAZ models will find their place among Iranian consumers when the vehicles arrive in the country in April. He told Al-Monitor that Iranian firms supply 40% of the parts used in the vehicles. He said that providing extensive after-sales service will be a priority for the Russian brand, which he believes is a staunch competitor to Chinese carmakers.

London Taxi, the producer of the most expensive professional taxi cabs in the world, also participated in the Tehran Auto Show, as its managers seek a way into the booming Iranian market. The British company partnered with Chinese Brilliance, which is already registered in the northwestern Aras Free Trade Zone. Alex Luo, a manager at London Taxi, told Al-Monitor that the company is negotiating with Iranian officials to enter mainland Iran. He hopes the black cabs will be welcomed in well-off areas in major Iranian cities.

Many other brands are preparing to grab a share of Irans 80-million-strong consumer market. However, the government is enforcing the condition that no intermediary company can be involved in joint ventures and that the manufacturer must prioritize providing proper after-sales service.

Irans struggle to form a regional automotive hub has so far failed. Indeed, the Iranian industry has yet to fill a distinct role in the domestic market, let alone in neighboring ones. Crippling sanctions, mismanagement and excessive profiteering by some stakeholders involved in the industry were blamed for the failures in the past decade. Now, the government insists it will hit industry targets by producing quality cars for export to regional markets.

On Jan. 18, the semi-official Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported that at least 11 Iranian car models barely meet the minimum of quality standards. Iran's minister of industry, mine and trade, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, said Feb. 4 that his ministry is preparing to increase the number of standards for domestic carmakers to follow from 50 to 83. He said that nonstandard car platforms will have to be phased out. The move, if implemented, would impose substantial costs on the industry, raising the already high prices of Iranian-made vehicles to unaffordable levels.

Iranian consumers should expect higher prices if they demand quality, Nematzadeh is quoted as saying by the Young Journalists Club. Trying to justify the likely price hike, the minister pointed to the correlation between quality and cost everywhere in the world, saying, Our objective is to have a minimum price increase, but if safety standards improve, prices will increase accordingly.

The announcement of potentially higher prices is disappointing, as Iranian consumers already complain about unreasonably high prices. Hundreds of thousands of low-quality domestic cars are sold every year, largely thanks to high import tariffs that make imported vehicles unaffordable for the average wage earner. The recent decision to improve quality will not, however, solve the issues faced by many Iranian consumers. Instead, the policy is widely believed to be aimed at turning the country into a regional car manufacturing hub  but at what price?

The higher standards vowed by Nematzadeh need new car platforms, which the government expects to design in collaboration with European manufacturers. Such an optimistic desire seems to be a sheer joke, an Iranian industrialist, who recently entered a joint venture with a foreign carmaker, told Al-Monitor at the auto show.

Designing a car platform [requires] extensive knowledge in various industrial fields that no country would easily give us, and designing platforms applying local expertise is a sheer joke, said the industrialist, who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. He said he believes Iran can remain an assembling hub, with platforms designed by global brands and with domestic suppliers producing nonessential parts. Indeed, given the bumpy road ahead for the Iranian auto industry, the government seems to have already given up on the idea of designing car platforms, letting a considerable number of joint ventures form instead.

Iran ambitiously seeks to hit a production target of 3 million cars per year by 2025, up from an estimated 1.3 million cars in the current Iranian fiscal year running to March 20. Even if the platforms are not Iranian-designed, the auto industrys share of Irans gross domestic product should be growing  the key goal of the government. Out of the 3 million vehicle target production, a large portion is projected to be exported to countries that do not care much for quality. As such, regional consumers of Iranian-manufactured cars will be the major winner of Irans attempts to produce quality cars. In this equation, it appears Iranian consumers will end up having to pay ever higher prices if they desire better quality, domestically made vehicles.
March 7, 2017

Irans moderate President Hassan Rouhani has conclusively put an end to talk of whether he will seek re-election. In the past months, rumors were circulating in political circles and social networks about Rouhanis unwillingness to run in the May 19 presidential elections. This rumored unwillingness wasnt due to his reluctance to seek a second term, but rather over rising pressure from hard-liners and related reports of his possible disqualification by the conservative-dominated Guardian Council, which is tasked with vetting candidates.

On March 6, news surfaced that Rouhani formed his campaign headquarters. Reports say the campaign will be headed by prominent Reformist figure Mohammad Ali Najafi and moderate Mohammad Shariatmadari.

Najafi, 65, who has been appointed as the head of Rouhanis campaign think tank, is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has held important positions over the past three decades. He was a leading figure in opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavis campaign for the 2009 presidential elections. Since 2012, Mousavi has been under house arrest following the unrest that emerged following the 2009 vote. Shariatmadari, who has been appointed as the head of the central headquarters of Rouhanis campaign, is now the vice president for executive affairs and has been a member of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, the latter directly appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Rouhanis decision to announce the formation of a formal campaign headquarters is meaningful as it comes following rumors circulated by hard-liners that he will abstain from running over the chance that the Guardian Council may disqualify him. The move thus suggests that Rouhani is determined to get re-elected and that his candidacys approval by the Guardian Council is certain.

Meanwhile, Reformists have suggested to Rouhani that he nominate a number of members of their camp as presidential candidates in an effort to help him campaign  including during the televised presidential debates. Based on this approach, all such Reformist candidates will withdraw in the last minute in favor of Rouhani. However, this idea hasnt been met with a positive response from the president and his advisers. Najafi recently said that he was not in agreement with this plan. On March 1, Najafi told reporters, The candidates are only seeking to undermine the [current] government, but I believe that Mr. Rouhani is able to respond to all the criticisms all by himself. In fact, one warrior is better than 1,000 soldiers. He continued, I think Mr. Rouhani is also of the same opinion.

In this vein, on March 6, Abdollah Naseri, a member of the Advisory Council of Reformists, told Entekhab news site that following talks with Rouhani, the decision about whether to nominate other Reformist figures as fellow candidates is up to Rouhani himself. Naseri added that Rouhani has made no decision about such a plan.

However, Naseri also said that he has been one of those opposed to such an idea, opining that the nomination of lesser-known figures to assist Rouhani would be beneath the president.

Separately, Mohsen Safai Farahani, a Reformist figure, notably told Khabar Online on March 6 that the presence of Reformist candidates other than Rouhani would be useful as the camp can then be assured of having a candidate in the race, in the case of Rouhanis disqualification by the Guardian Council.
March 7, 2017

Key senators say they're getting closer to unveiling bipartisan Iran sanctions legislation in the wake of repeated ballistic missile launches.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., indicated March 6 that the panel was getting closer to an agreement after months of internal negotiations with Democrats, including ranking member Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., both of whom voted against the deal. Democrats, however, made clear that the price of their support will be a tacit acknowledgment that President Barack Obama's nuclear pact should be given a chance to work.

Whatever the committee comes up with, Cardin told Al-Monitor, "It can't be a credible argument that it violates the Iran nuclear deal."

He said, "We want to make sure that it doesn't violate the Iran nuclear agreement and we're trying to tailor it to Iran's current nefarious actions. So we're working on something. We're not quite there yet."

Corker suggested that a compromise was at hand in a statement after Iran test-fired two more missiles over the weekend. This would be the first congressional action on Iran since the renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act in December.

"These provocative tests are just the latest example of Irans dangerous actions that demand a coordinated, multifaceted response from the United States, Corker wrote. The administration has already begun to push back in the way that we should, and I look forward to working with them as we prepare to introduce bipartisan legislation to deter Irans threatening behavior on all fronts.

Corker declined to comment further March 7.

The chairman of the committee's Middle East panel, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said the weekend's missile tests provide an extra impetus for Congress to act.

"We've been discussing Iran for a long time," Risch said. "Anything they do that violates a UN resolution probably increases the likelihood of action by this body."

Asked if the committee was getting closer to releasing legislation, Menendez said he believed so.

"Some of the areas are pretty well determined  destabilization of the region, terrorism, continuous deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles, those are some of the ones where I think we can see some common ground," he told Al-Monitor. "Iran needs to know that notwithstanding the nuclear agreement, that their violations of international order rules  have consequences."

Menendez signed on to legislation with Corker last summer that would have imposed mandatory sanctions on entities involved in the missile program, but the bill didn't get much traction when Cardin declined to get on board. At the time, Cardin sought to add provisions seeking stepped-up enforcement of the nuclear deal, an effort that he called an "area of contention" that was rebuffed by Republicans.

This year may well prove more productive. Last month, Corker and Cardin joined forces on a bipartisan letter signed by 20 senators urging President Donald Trump to sanction Iran over its missile launches.

"Iranian leaders must feel sufficient pressure to cease deeply destabilizing activities, from sponsoring terrorist groups to continued testing of ballistic missiles," they wrote. "Full enforcement of existing sanctions and the imposition of additional sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program are necessary."
March 8, 2017

The mayor of the Palestinian town of Jatt in Israel is caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, the last thing a Palestinian patriot and representative of a nationalist community wants is to take down a street sign bearing the name of Yasser Arafat. On the other hand, the local official has to respect the law and the order by the Israeli minister of interior that requires governmental approval prior to posting any street sign.

In a phone interview with Al-Monitor, Mayor Muhammad Taher Wattad said the street sign has been up since 2008 when the town of Jatt merged with the nearby town of Baqa al-Gharbiya. The twin towns were under the direction of a government-appointed committee headed by Yacov Valed, an Israeli Jew, Wattad said.

Wattad insists on the right of his town to name the street after the popular Palestinian leader. Yasser Arafat is not only a Palestinian symbol, he is the father to all Palestinians. He sacrificed his life and died as a martyr of Palestine, but for us as a legal entity, we must respect the law.

Wattad, who is a lawyer by profession, said that the town council was surprised the street sign was never approved by the Ministry of Interior. The current council met March 5 and decided to temporarily bring down the sign and then make an official request for approval. If the Ministry of Interior fails to agree, we will take the case all the way to the Israeli High Court.

According to Wattad, the Arafat street sign was discovered by accident March 3 by an Israeli soldier who was lost. The soldier was using the popular mobile software Waze when he noticed the name of Yasser Arafat Street. He published a story on social media and the story went viral. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the issue at the beginning of the March 5 Cabinet meeting. We cannot allow streets in the State of Israel to be named after Yasser Arafat and Haj Amin al-Husseini and others. We will make the arrangements, including new legislation if need be, so that this does not happen here." Husseini was the mufti of Jerusalem and the leader of the Palestinian national movement prior to the establishment of the State of Israel.

Ayman Odeh, the head of the Arab Joint List coalition in the Israeli parliament, described Arafat as a Palestinian symbol, telling journalists March 6, He is a leader of the national liberation movement and he chose peace and negotiations and he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking on Shams Radio in Nazareth March 5, Odeh said Arafat was a leader of the Palestinian national movement. Arafat symbolized the struggle for justice. He resisted occupation and injustice, yet he held the olive branch and the peace of the brave. It is natural that we call our streets with his name, he told the radio station. Odeh said the minister of interior must retract his decision and stop the witch hunt against naming our streets with national names.

Botrus Mansour, the principal of the Baptist School in Nazareth and a member of the Israeli Bar Association, told Al-Monitor that Arafat made peace with Israel. Arafat is of course a symbol of the Palestinian people, he made peace with Israel. The peace process stopped for different reasons, but he is not considered an enemy.

Mansour added that the initial Israeli order was procedural, but that the decision to force the town to bring down the name sign is likely to be in a sensitive position once the courts look into it. I think the Israeli High Court will have a difficult time rejecting the decision to name a street on Arafats name.

The case of the 400-meter-long (one-quarter of a mile) street in the small village of Jatt, which is near the West Bank border, is a reflection of the continued failure of Israel and its leaders to understand their own nationals. Palestinians in Israel are loyal citizens, they have a clear and unambiguous political affiliation and a sense of brotherhood to their co-nationalists literally a few kilometers away. And unlike many Israeli Jews who immigrated to become citizens, the 20% Arab population of Israel today never left their homes when Israel was established. Accepting and legitimizing Palestinian citizens of Israel is the first step in responding to their decadeslong fight against discrimination and struggle for equal civil rights.
March 7, 2017

WASHINGTON  As media reports, congressional committees and the FBI scrutinize possible ties between Trump associates and the Russian government during the 2016 US election campaign, are prospects for US-Russia cooperation in the fight against the so-called Islamic State (IS) and in Syria on hold? The US domestic political environment may be constraining and slowing Trumps ability to maneuver, but there are signs both sides are still interested in pursuing such cooperation, diplomatic observers said.

Both sides are interested in exploring cooperating in Syria, but there certainly are political constraints, there is no question, Paul Saunders, the executive director of the Center for the National Interest, told Al-Monitor March 6.

On the US side, obviously we have our political environment here, and the Russians are well aware of the environment here, said Saunders, who served as a senior Russia adviser at the State Department during the George W. Bush administration. And that has led Russian officials to wonder what the Trump administration may be in a position to do.

I think it is clear there is this political constraint, Saunders said. At the same time, I would say the president [Trump] knows how to act in ways to change the narrative.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov on March 6 blamed US hysteria about Russia for inhibiting discussions on improved bilateral ties. And March 7 discussions between the top military officers from the United States, Russia and Turkey held in Antalya, Turkey, were officially about the need to de-conflict military operations between the three nations and their Syrian proxies in the increasingly crowded battlespace near Manbij and al-Bab in northern Syria, officials said.

US, Russia hold second round of high-level military contacts

The Department of Defense News reporter traveling with Dunford reported March 7 that in their meeting, US Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Russian army Gen. Valery Gerasimov and Turkish army Gen. Hulusi Akar are looking to enhance senior-level communications and operational deconfliction of military operations in Syria. The report also said, It is a measure of the success that forces are having in countering the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that the conversation is necessary, officials said, adding that operations in Manbij and Bab in northern Syria have created a crowded battlespace.

The Antalya discussions mark the second meeting between Dunford and Gerasimov since Trump took office, following their Feb. 16 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. They come a week after US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis delivered recommendations on a strategy to defeat IS to the White House, where they were reported to be under further interagency consultation.

Despite the resumption of high-level US-Russia military consultations, which were broken off after Russias invasion of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the Kremlin expressed regret at what it called US media hysteria about alleged Russia interference in the 2016 US presidential election and scrutiny of possible ties with the Trump campaign, and said it is damaging for US-Russian relations.

"The only thing I can tell you is that all this  hysteria in official Washington and hysteria in American media, this is doing lots of harm to the future of our bilateral relations, Kremlin spokesman Peskov told CNN March 6.

"For us, we are interested in having a predictable partner  for the dialogue," Peskov said. "And now when we unfortunately don't have a comfortable environment for our dialogue, of course it is a great pity.

US President Donald Trump, taking to Twitter on March 7, blamed the alleged weakness of his predecessor for Russian aggressiveness and the deterioration in US-Russian ties.

For eight years Russia ran over President [Barack] Obama, got stronger and stronger, picked-off Crimea and added missiles, Trump tweeted. Weak!

Russia is aware the US political environment is making it harder for Trump to make a deal with Russia, but there are signs both sides are still interested in cooperating in Syria and against IS, said Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at the Kennan Institute.

I suspect Russian expectations have been moderated substantially on how quickly this [Trump] administration can move  to cooperate with them in Syria, Kofman told Al-Monitor.

And no doubt they suspect that any arrangement with the US will not come quickly, Kofman said. They were likely unrealistic in thinking that, within a month or two, the Trump administration would already be taking steps to set up some kind of collaboration on Syria. The politics in the US are shaping up such that it is not really possible for the administration right now.

But it is clear in my view they [the Trump administration] still intend to do it, Kofman said. It strikes me that they want to expand military effort versus [IS] in a way that leverages US special forces and air power. But what they dont want is a large conventional footprint. So they would probably look to Russia to increase its air campaign and aim it at [IS].

Russians could signal US by increasing their targeting of IS

In recent weeks, Syrian regime forces with Russian support are themselves striking to take more territory from IS  for instance, near al-Bab  if anything, to cut off the Turks, Kofman said.

The problem is not coordination, Kofman said. The problem is a public deal. Because what Russia would like is a deal, meaning military-to-military collaboration.

Kofman predicted we are likely to see more US-Russian military-to-military coordination in Syria in the coming weeks. Eventually they will slow-roll it and get it to a place where they try to do some kind of meeting with the Russians. But as I said, it is probably going to happen a lot slower than the Russians had hoped.

With so many Marines and senior military officers in top levels of the US national security structure  retired four-star Marine Gen. Mattis as secretary of defense, four-star Marine Gen. Dunford as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army three-star Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as national security adviser and so on, and the State Department so far fairly sidelined in the Trump administration  the ability to make decisions on such cooperation may not require wide interagency deliberations, said a source speaking not for attribution.

US-Russia deconfliction channel could allow greater coordination

Saunders agrees there are creative ways the United States and Russia could increase cooperation even in this fraught political environment, particularly using military-to-military de-confliction channels. If Russia started increasing its targeting of IS in Syria versus the moderate rebels, that would be noticed by the United States, he suggested.

I dont think it is prohibitively difficult.  If the US government and the Russian government want to do something, there are things they could do, particularly if they are creative, he said. There are some things they could do without actually coordinating that closely.

The Russian government could change the targeting of its airstrikes in Syria to [target IS], Saunders said. To some degree, that would be sufficient to be noticed in the US. And certainly, that could create an opening for Washington to talk to them.

The border between de-confliction and coordination is fuzzy and probably porous, Saunders added. It is a blurry distinction. That kind of [military-to-military] contact can be more frequent and can be at a higher level. There can be more information shared by one side or the other. It could be less a warning away from particular areas and more about some kind of division of labor.

There are a number of things that could happen in that context that one would not necessarily notice until things started happening on the ground, particularly in a slow and gradual way might not be noticed immediately.  If there was some kind of cooperation in Syria that was viewed as a success by the [US] administration, then I think that could help to facilitate contacts on other issues, no question, Saunders said.

Does he see signs that is already happening?

I think it is too early to tell, Saunders said.

European allies warn against a "grand bargain"

Senior European officials, in Washington last week for consultations with the Trump administration, said they share the Trump administrations desire to have better relations with Russia. But they counseled against the United States trying to strike a grand bargain with Russia, but rather deal with each issue (Syria, Ukraine, cyber, arms control, etc.) in a more compartmentalized fashion.

Our message is pretty clear to the US administration: As Europeans, good relations with Russia are needed, one of the two senior European officials, speaking not for attribution, told journalists in Washington March 2. Engagement is needed. But we need to be realistic. The notion of a transactional approach, a grand bargain, doesnt fly. We need to address each issue on its own merit.

If Europe and the US [work together], we could achieve good results, on Ukraine, Syria, on cyberdefense, the European official said. We leave this town pretty optimistic; we will cooperate again on these issues.

It is too early to see the contours of [the Trump administrations] possible Russia policy, a second senior European official said. Its review is not complete. We cannot be certain of what the policy of the US will look like.

Of a possible US-Russia deal, how the deal is oriented is the whole thing, the second senior European official said. Syria to Ukraine. We want to engage the Russians within the confines of those files.

If there are, say, six contentious issues to negotiate with Russia, if the United States or Europe tries to strike a grand bargain and deal with all of them at once, you will get only concessions on three, he warned.

Russia sees the United States and Europe in enemy terms, the second senior European official said. They are more critical than you can imagine.  The Russians never thought there was a credible, great opportunity of entering a completely new relationship with the Trump administration. However, they would have taken it if it came their way. They play with it, as of now.

On Syria, It is not clear what the [Trump] administration policy will be, the first senior European diplomat said. We made the point that [fighting] terrorism is our priority. If we want good, sustainable results, we need a political transition, a political solution. Otherwise, the terrorism groups will continue.  We need to push for a [Syria] political solution.  We need to re-energize this process [to find] a compromise.
March 7, 2017

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans antipathy for the West has boiled over again. He is back to hurling furious insults at various European countries  mainly Germany, the principal target of his current fury.

At issue this time is the refusal by local German authorities to allow Turkish ministers to hold political rallies in their districts, which have large Turkish communities, in support of amendments to the Turkish Constitution that would give Erdogan extraordinary powers and make him Turkeys sole leader.

A referendum on the topic is to be held April 16, and the support of millions of Turks in Europe who are eligible to vote could be crucial.

Ankara is also angry with many other European countries, saying they are soft on political activities on their soil by groups affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and lenient toward asylum-seeking supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the Islamic cleric accused of masterminding the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Citing security concerns, local officials in the town of Gaggenau in Baden-Wurttemberg revoked permission last week for Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag to address a crowd of Turks there. A few days later, local officials in Cologne did the same for Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also came out last week against such rallies being held in the Netherlands. We believe that the Dutch public space is not the place for political campaigns of other countries, Rutte posted on Facebook.

Austria, the European Union member state that is working hard to halt the EUs membership talks with Turkey, did not waste the opportunity either. Chancellor Christian Kern called for an EU-wide ban on all campaigns by Turkish politicians.

Ankaras response was fast and furious. Canceling his trip to Germany, Bozdag said he did not believe Berlins claim that the central government had nothing to do with the ban in Gaggenau. What was done to us is a fascist practice. Their past illness has resurfaced, Bozdag said.

In his response to Rutte, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused the Dutch government of "surrendering to Geert Wilders, the fanatically anti-Islamic leader of the far-right Party for Freedom in the Netherlands.

Turkey's EU minister, Omer Celik, accused Kern of using the language of European racists, and said this was a violation of EU principles, adding that the EU must act against such governments.

The angriest response, though, colored with a characterization aimed at hitting Germany where it hurts  and which under normal circumstances would have burned bridges between the two countries  came from Erdogan.

I thought Nazism had ended in Germany, but we see it still continues, Erdogan told his supporters in Istanbul over the weekend. They think it was Tayyip Erdogan who was going to Germany. If I want to I will go tomorrow, and if they dont let me in or if they prevent me from speaking there, I will stir up the world, Erdogan said threateningly.

Unlike the Netherlands and Austria, though, Germany  undoubtedly due to the millions of Turks it hosts and its long-standing economic and political ties with Turkey  is trying to avoid a crisis with Turkey.

In an article for Bild Am Sonntag newspaper, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the two counties were passing through a difficult moment but argued that the friendship between them was strong enough to overcome current difficulties.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Merkel held a phone conversation March 4 to defuse the crisis and agreed that Cavusoglu and Gabriel should meet this week to try to iron out differences.

Merkel did not let Erdogans Nazi jibe go without a response, though, saying there was "absolutely no justification" for such a comment. She said such comments trivialized the unfathomable suffering of those affected by Nazi crimes against humanity.

Merkel nevertheless said Germany would continue to allow Turkish politicians to campaign in Germany, provided their visits were announced in a transparent and timely fashion and respected German laws.

The anger on the Turkish side, however, does not appear set to abate anytime soon. Concerned about a public backlash, even Deniz Baykal  a veteran deputy from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)  canceled a trip to Germany where he was going to speak against the proposed changes to the Turkish Constitution.

Erdogan and members of the government are also underlining the fact that while legitimate Turkish politicians are being prevented from speaking in Europe, the leaders of the PKK are allowed by many EU countries, including Germany, to address their supporters in Europe via satellite.

Erdogan went so far last week as to say that Germany should be tried for aiding and abetting terrorism.

Ilnur Cevik, who advises Erdogan on foreign policy matters, said Germany is trying to influence the course of the constitutional referendum. Fethullah Gulens bandits and PKK terrorists have joined forces to influence German politicians and are using politicians who sympathize with these groups to undermine the referendum, Cevik said.

According to a European diplomat, the root of the problem is in Turkey. There is a bitter irony here. Erdogan  who is also promising to reinstate the death penalty  is accusing European governments of being undemocratic because he is not allowed to campaign in Europe for constitutional changes that will undermine Turkeys already brittle democracy, the diplomat told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Turkey, believes that Ankaras foreign policy continues to be determined by domestic priorities.

Ankaras foreign military operations and postures  and deliberate backtracking on progress toward EU membership are only parts of an internal power drive, Pierini argued in a recent article for Carnegie Europe, where he is a visiting scholar focusing on EU-Turkey ties.

The continuing deterioration of relations between Turkey and Europe also belies Yildirims promise after he came to power in May 2016 to increase the number of Turkeys friends and reduce the number of its enemies.

Erdogans political ambitions appear to have trumped Yildirims promise.

Turkeys strained ties are not limited to Europe. Ankara has serious problems with countries in its region too, most notably Iran and Iraq, largely due to a sectarian rivalry along the Sunni-Shiite fault line. Ankaras ties with Egypt remain in the doldrums because of Erdogans support for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

Doubts are also increasing in Ankara about Russian and US plans for the future of Syria, which seem to include giving the Kurds, which Turkey says are linked to the PKK, political representation in any final settlement.

Erdogan and the AKP government are clearly being driven by what appears to be a desperate need to get a "yes" vote in the upcoming referendum. Wagging the finger at the West and standing up to Shiite powers and politicians in the Middle East goes down well with the Islamist and nationalist electorate in Turkey.

Lacking the capacity to steer the course of events in Europe or the region, though, Turkey appears to be courting a new bout of international isolationism as Erdogans personal agenda continues to drive his political choices at home and abroad. His angry approach is also raising concerns about the style of his executive presidency should he get his way in the April 16 referendum.
March 7, 2017

Turkey, which has developed rather odd relationships with some of its neighbors in recent years because of its reckless foreign policy, has begun treating Kurdish notables coming from Iraqi Kurdistan as official leaders.

According to former Turkish Consul-General at Erbil Aydin Selcen, when Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani used to come to Turkey, he was received in Istanbul and not in Ankara, the capital. The meetings were not held in palaces but at less-impressive locations. The Kurdistan flag was never displayed. Meetings were held in Arabic, not Kurdish. To give the impression that the meetings were unofficial, nobody wore ties. In short, everything was done to prevent the meetings from being interpreted as recognition of Kurdistan.

Nowadays, Barzani is received as a reputable state leader and the Kurdistan flag is hoisted next to the Turkish flag. During his latest visit Feb. 27, the official reception menu in Ankara was printed in Kurdish. While Turkey adheres to combative relations with Kurds inside and outside the country, relations with Barzani are based on economic interests such as oil and Turkeys design to use Kurds against Kurds.

For a while now, Barzani has been goaded into a policy of balancing Rojavas leading political party, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and its military arm, the People's Protection Units (YPG), with Syria's pro-Barzani Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the peshmerga of Rojava (officially the Democratic Federal System of Northern Syria). In Iraq, Turkey expects Barzani to oust the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from Sinjar. Turkey fears the PKK will turn Sinjar into an operations base to facilitate access between Syria and Iraq.

Following Barzanis latest visit to Turkey, Syrian Kurds organized by Barzanis Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) under the name of Roj peshmergas were sent to Sinjar March 2. The Yazidis' Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) in Iraq, trained by the PKK, did not allow them to enter. Clashes erupted and there were casualties on both sides.

According to information provided to Al-Monitor by journalist Ali Dagli, who was in Sinjar, tension broke out when front-loaders sent by Roj peshmergas started digging trenches between Hanesor and Sinune. A group of local women tried to stop the machinery. The angry women said they dont trust the peshmerga and asked why they were digging in places where the Islamic State (IS) no longer existed. Why didn't they instead go to the front lines to fight for Mosul, they asked.

On March 3, tension turned to clashes. A cease-fire was arranged within hours, but tension persists. During the cease-fire, the peshmerga brought more vehicles and increased their strength to about 500 fighters. The YBS interpreted the reinforcements as preparation for battle and told the Roj peshmergas they wouldn't be allowed passage. Roj peshmergas want to capture Hanesor, make it a base for themselves, and sever the connection between Sinjar and the Rojava border, Dagli said.

In Sinjar's town center and in Sinune, the YBS maintains checkpoints just as Iraqi peshmerga forces do. The YBS controls Hanesor. Between Sinjar and Sinune, there is a small Iraqi police presence and two battalions of Shiite militia (Popular Mobilization Units) near the Arab village of Madiba. There are around 100-130 fighters of the PKKs Peoples Defense Forces (HPG) to support the YBS in Sinjar. The road to Hanesor is important for providing a connection between Sinjar and Rojava territory.

Local sources believe that within the Roj peshmergas there are both Iraqi peshmerga forces and Turkish intelligence personnel. Renowned Yazidi sociologist Azad Baris blamed both the KDP and the PKK for exploiting the fragile situation.

Many Yazidis are grateful to the YPG and the HPG. Many dont trust the KDP anymore after what happened in 2014," when thousands of Yazidis were massacred by IS after the KDP allegedly abandoned them. "Yazidis are also uneasy with the Sunni leanings of peshmerga. But some of them cooperate with the KDP for monetary or political reasons. Moreover, there is a Yazidi unit under Qasim Shesho that is backed by the KDP. They incite the YBS by asking what Turkeys Kurds are doing in Sinjar. The ratio of non-Yazidis in the YBS is not more than 5%, Baris told Al-Monitor.

He added, Some of them have come from places such as Hanover, Germany, but they are originally from Sinjar. In 2014, hundreds of Yazidis returned to Sinjar to defend their homeland and joined the self-defense forces. You cant simply dislodge and send them away now. Some of them hail from Sheyhanli of south Kurdistan. The Iraqi central government recognized them as a legal force and began paying them salaries. There are now about 3,500. Every Yazidi has the right to defend his land. The question is with those assisting the self-defense forces  the pro-Apo [imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan] elements. Their opponents say there is no place for pro-Apo ideology on this land.

Barzani frequently declares that he wont allow infighting among the Kurds. Sending Roj peshmergas instead of Iraqi peshmerga forces to Sinjar inevitably led to hostilities between pro-Apo Yazidis and Syrian Kurds. Some say Barzani, using this tactic, can claim he has kept his word on preventing internecine clashes while preventing his KDP from getting involved. But Roj peshmergas are not denying that they get their orders directly from Barzani and the Peshmerga General Command.

Baris said this situation  the KDP-supported Yazidis challenging PKK-oriented Yazidis and the PKK  is based on two main strategies: First of all, there is the obvious tactic of instigating the local people to fight each other. The KDP has never really adopted the Yazidis because of their faith. Yazidis never feel safe. If Yazidis are split, then the KDPs domination will be easier. Second, they are using the foreign Kurds of Syria to hit at other foreign Kurds from Turkey. They keep saying the YBS is a foreign force. I dont want to dismiss the charges that Turkey has been influential, but keep in mind, whether Turkey wants it or not, Barzanis intolerance is not limited to the PKK presence. He is also against the Yazidis' defending themselves and their aspiration for an autonomous structure. The KDP has never shared any of our pains and casualties and has never listened to any of our pleas. Even today they dont listen to us. Anyone who prefers brutal hordes such as IS to Kurds and Yazidis and attacks our homeland will always be cursed by Yazidis.

In 2014, when the PKK assumed the protection of the Yazidis after KDP peshmerga forces withdrew from the battlefield against IS, the pro-Apo ideology suddenly became the most prominent military and political entity of the area. The PKKs military wing, the HPG, by blocking IS at Sinjar Mountain, and the YPG, by opening a corridor from Syria to Sinjar, practically saved the Yazidis. While the KDP couldnt recover from its loss of credibility, the HPG organized the Yazidis and helped them set up the YBS. Although peshmerga forces eventually returned and lost hundreds of their fighters battling IS, Yazidis still stayed loyal to the PKK.

As for Turkeys relevance in developments in Sinjar, the pro-PKK media keeps saying the attack against Sinjar was guided by Turkey and the Roj peshmergas who, they say, were actually members of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization.

Persistent declarations by Turkish leaders that Sinjar can't be allowed to become a second Qandil  the main Kurdish headquarters in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq  are naturally cited as confirming Turkey's role.

According to high-level diplomatic sources talking to Turkish media, Ankara continues to cooperate with Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan's capital) against the PKK presence in Sinjar and in Makhmour, Iraq, and Turkey will intervene when the day comes. When the Mosul operation is concluded, then peshmerga forces will be able to transfer fighters to Sinjar and Makhmour. Should the Kurdish government want its help, Turkey will set up training bases around Kirkuk and in some northern areas.

In December, Turkeys Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak declared, We will never allow a new Qandil to emerge at Sinjar. Our biggest hope is for Barzani to succeed, but if that doesnt happen we will do whatever is necessary with the Turkish army.

Military action against Sinjar wouldn't be easy because the town lacks defined boundaries in military terms and could trigger even worse, bloodier strife between the Kurds. The Baghdad government would also see such action as an attack.

The United States and Russia dont want the Kurds to fight each other, at least as long as the IS threat exists. The cease-fire at Sinjar was arranged by the United States. Iraq's central government is unhappy with Kurdish aspirations to take over more disputed territory, hence its support for the YBS. Baghdad, which had cut off the salaries of Yazidi forces last year, has resumed payments because of protests by Turkey, which didnt want Yazidis to be dependent on the PKK.

Yazidi agony over the massacres suffered and the sale of Yazidi women in slave markets is resonating worldwide, and the first European assistance to the YBS is trickling in. One European Union member country sent the Yazidi self-defense forces 5,000 military uniforms. It's not going to be easy to end the conflict between the PKK and the KDP. For many people, avoiding bloodshed will be considered a sufficient success story.
March 8, 2017

Turkey continues to maintain its official silence over the decision made public March 7 to order Oregon-based Mercy Corps, one of the biggest humanitarian relief organizations delivering aid to Syria, to shutter its Turkish operations.

Our hearts are broken by this turn of events, which comes after five years of cooperation with the government of Turkey and other partners, Mercy Corps Director of Media Relations Christine Bragale said in a statement.

But few in the Western aid community are surprised; some see the move as part of a broader campaign to pressure Western governments and aid agencies, among other things, over their purported support for a Syrian Kurdish group that Turkey views as terrorists.

Viewed in this context, the targeting of Mercy Corps  which is one of the most effective aid outfits inside Syria, reaching nearly half a million people per month  is obvious. For one, its American. Turkey is furious with the United States over its continued alliance with the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in the ongoing campaign against the Islamic State. This is because of the YPGs ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting for autonomy inside Turkey. Thus, Turkey wants international aid agencies to stop coordinating with the YPG as well.

Shutting down Mercy Corps may also be an unsubtle way of advertising the logistical nightmare the United States would face should it ignore Turkeys demands to ditch the alliance with the YPG and get more deeply involved in governance in areas controlled by the YPG. Turkeys long border with Syria renders its cooperation critical. Mark Toner, the acting State Department spokesman, said it was aware of Mercy Corps situation. We have informed the government of Turkey of our concerns regarding Mercy Corps [program] closure and the impact it will have on their ability to provide critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations, he said.

For some time now, pro-government Turkish newspapers have been spouting conspiracies about international aid agencies operating along the Turkish-Syrian border. They claim that much of the help is going to Syrian Kurds in Afrin, a YPG-run enclave that is overwhelmed with internally displaced Arabs.

Ersin Ramoglu, a columnist for the daily Sabah, has led the charge saying aid agencies had delivered $1 million to the YPG through couriers and had acted with Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric who is accused of masterminding the failed coup on July 15, 2016.

Our southern provinces are teeming with spies. American and German foundations are at the fore, he said in a recent rant. They are very sly. They mingle with us under the guise of humanitarian aid. That isnt all. Ramoglu reckons the true purpose of the US agencies is to set the stage for civil war in Turkey and to tamper with Syrias demographics [in favor of the Kurds].

In a related development, Hamza Ulucay, a highly respected translator for the US Consulate in the southern province of Adana, was arrested and formally charged March 7 with being a member of the PKK, which is on the US list of terrorist organizations.

Apparently during his 36 years of service at the mission, nobody noticed. The consulate whose remit includes monitoring developments in the mainly Kurdish southeast region is a favorite bugbear of the Turkish press.

Turkeys paranoia about foreigners is nothing new and harks back to the last days of the Ottomans when the British, French, Italians and Greeks set up mandates in assorted corners of their crumbling empire. Then Mustafa Kemal Ataturk came to the rescue, overthrew the sultan and rewrote the terms of peace. This jealous protection of its sovereignty informs the governments refusal, for instance, to let the United Nations take charge of the nearly 3 million Syrian and other refugees sheltering in Turkey and to grant them formal refugee status.

A Western aid official working on the Turkish-Syrian border lamented colleagues tone-deaf approach. INGOs [international nongovernmental organizations] for the most part have largely ignored the reality of what it is to operate in a country with a strong state. Knowing how to engage, develop messaging for Turkish audiences was largely ignored or not prioritized, the official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

The aid worker cautioned, however, Shuttering INGOs is shortsighted for a Syria response. Working in rebel-held northwestern Syria, they do provide a lifeline to civilians. And if more INGOs are shut down in quick succession, who will step in to fill the vacuum? Has the Turkish government done any contingency planning? the official asked.
Legislative studies often seem like a way to avoid a decision or kill a bill without voting it down. However, there are times when they can be useful.

Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, proposed a study of the Life Skills and Transition Center in Grafton, and the Tribune Editorial Board thought it was a good idea. Unfortunately, the Senate thought otherwise and rejected the measure.

Some question whether the Grafton facility is the best way to provide services to people with disabilities. The center has a budget of about $60 million and employs around 365 people. In January there were 57 adults and 19 youth at Grafton.

Some advocates for those with disabilities argue Grafton should be closed and the money used to provide community-based services. Theres a belief among some advocates that we shouldnt be institutionalizing any of our citizens.

Poolman said Senate Concurrent Resolution 4013 would have allowed legislators to study the issue for two years and come back to the next session with legislation. This topic is perfect for a study  its complicated, very personal to many and shouldnt be rushed. While the budget and number of employees to work with 76 people may seem high, its always going to take more than one-on-one assistance for those served at Grafton.

In December, the Tribune did a series of stories related to the Life Skills and Transition Center. There were success stories and cases where people would need care for the rest of their lives. What worked for some didnt work for others.

Poolman has a son with autism so she knows about the services available and the time involved.The proposed study was the result of feedback from statewide disability advocates.

It would be naive to say funding shouldnt be a factor in the conclusions if a study was conducted. Finding the appropriate budget to provide the best services possible should be one of the goals. However, whether one area of the state loses or gains jobs shouldnt determine any conclusions. The study would have been about finding the best way to provide care and services. It appears concerns over Grafton losing jobs influenced the vote over the resolution. That was a mistake.

North Dakota has improved its care of those with disabilities since a lawsuit was filed in 1980 over the institutionalizing of citizens. A lot has changed since then, but more improvements are possible. The state needs to continue to review how we care for those with disabilities. Rejecting Senate Concurrent Resolution 4013 was a missed opportunity.

For those who want to review the Tribune series of stories, go to http://bismarcktribune.com/transition/ to view The Bismarck Tribune series, Life in Transition.
By Dr. Herbert Chen

This story appears in Birmingham magazine's March 2017 issue.

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When I first got the call to move to Birmingham for work, I had no doubt I would love the job. What I didn't know, however, was how quickly I would fall in love with my new hometown.

As surgeon in chief at UAB Hospital and Health System, I get to work with some of the state's--and nation's--most impressive academics who are leading the way in medical research, right here in Birmingham. Not many people know just how extensive UAB's medical programs are. Ranked among the best medical

centers in the nation, UAB serves countless individuals from Alabama, the nation, and from around the globe. By working endlessly to drive clinical program specialization and expansion, I believe we're building a program primed for success.

Almost every day, we're recruiting physicians from areas far and wide to come to Birmingham. As a native of Wisconsin, I'm just one of the many

transplants who now fondly calls Birmingham home. Just the other day, I met with a candidate who said he was blown away by the city's scenic landscape and our lively downtown shops and restaurants. This reaction doesn't come as a surprise to me, as my adoptive hometown has shattered every stereotype I previously had. Birmingham has lived in the shadows of its past for too long, and I believe the city is now growing into its well-deserved identity as an inclusive place where people from all walks of life can flourish.

Unlike our larger sister cities in the Southeast, Birmingham still has that small-town charm that simply can't be beat. Because my job requires substantial recruiting, many of my days are bookended by introducing potential staff members to Birmingham. In no time, I can swing by my home in Mountain Brook, and then be downtown in a matter of moments, to show off the best of what the Magic City has to offer.

Even though Birmingham's reputation is on an undeniable upswing, we still get mislabeled too often. For anyone who still believes we're not a city to be reckoned with, I encourage them to hear the Alabama Symphony serenade a crowd, or dine at any one of our downtown restaurants led by renowned chefs who have been recognized nationally for their must-have dishes.

Some people ask me, "Why Birmingham?" My response to this is always, "Of course Birmingham!" Aside from offering top-notch career opportunities, the Magic City boasts a lively culture that can quickly make any outsider feel right at home. This city already has left a lasting impression on my family and countless others, and I can't wait to see how Birmingham continues to grow and impress all those who witness a bit of its magic.
A record-setting 128 employers will be on hand this Friday for a free public job fair hosted by Alabama State University.

The event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at ASU's Dunn-Oliver Acadome in Montgomery. Jeremy Hodge, director of ASU's Office of Career Services, said both regular professional jobs and education/teaching positions will be available.

"They all are hiring," Hodge said. "Alabama State has 128 companies or government entities that will be in one place, at the same time, to hire employees. We've got them here and it is now up to our students and the public to convince them that 'they' are the best person to hire."

The State of Alabama, Verizon Wireless, Waffle House, Kia Motor Manufacturing, HealthSouth, PeaceCorps, Regions Bank, Walmart and several other organizations will be screening, interviewing and hiring local residents and ASU students who attend the event.

ASU provides the following tips for success:

Review the list of companies and target and research those that may be of interest to you. Dress professionally. You will not be allowed into the career fair if you are not dressed properly. No sneakers, low cut shirts, short skirts, flip flops or unprofessional attire. Always ask for a business card from those you give a resume to and send a thank you email or letter following the event.

For more details, contact Hodge at 334-229-4156.
new Kingston fire station.JPG

Rendering of the new and expanded fire station to be constructed in the Kingston neighborhood of Birmingham. (City of Birmingham).

Here are the top stories in Alabama business for Tuesday, March 7, 2017:

The Salvation Army thrift store in Madison is offering discounts this month as it prepares to close down at the end of March. The 385 Hughes Road business between Burger King and Gates Cleaners will shutter March 31 after more than three years in operation.

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Appliance and electronics retailer HHGregg has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It comes just a week after the Indianapolis-based retailer announced it would close 88 stores, including two in Alabama.

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Georgia-Pacific's Brawny brand is replacing the Brawny man with a Brawny woman for women's history month, calling it the #StrengthHasNoGender campaign. As part of the campaign, Georgia-Pacific will also give a $75,000 donation to Girls Inc.

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The Pentagon blocked the publication of damaging information regarding extensive cost overruns of two Littoral Combat Ships, according to a newly released government report.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture officials say what could have been a major bird flu outbreak at the Tennessee border with Alabama may have been contained due to quick action.

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RadioShack is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy for the second time in two years. RadioShack's parent company, General Wireless Operations, is in the process of closing an additional 200 stores as part of the restructuring.

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Follow all of Alabama's business news here anytime.
More than 62,000 heroes across North Dakota put in long hours every day. They are helping give baths, dispense medications, prepare meals, pay bills, provide transportation and much more.

They are family caregivers.

By helping with these time-consuming chores, their loved ones are able to remain living in their own homes and communities rather than a costly nursing home.

More and more, family caregivers are performing medical or nursing tasks at home after a loved one is discharged from the hospital. Often they receive little or no training on how to do these critical tasks.

AARP North Dakota is asking lawmakers to pass legislation that could reduce hospital readmissions by ensuring family caregivers know how to perform the follow-up medical and nursing tasks a patient will need at home.

Under the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act (Senate Bill 2215), hospitals would ask each patient to designate a family caregiver, who would be notified if the patient is to be moved or discharged. In addition, hospital staff would show caregivers how to perform follow-up tasks, such as managing medications or dressing wounds.

More than 30 states already have such laws on the books.

In a December telephone survey of 1,000 North Dakotans age 45 and older, we learned that 61 percent of caregivers perform medical or nursing tasks for their loved ones. Yet, one-third of these caregivers were not provided with any instruction or demonstration for those medical tasks. That's why the CARE Act is so important.

North Dakota senators passed Senate Bill 2215. Now, members of the House of Representatives can do the right thing, too. Contact your representatives in the House and ask them to support Senate Bill 2215.

Mike Chaussee, Bismarck
As the war in Syria pushes into its seventh year, Syrian children are grappling with a growing mental health crisis as poor funding leaves trauma-related issues often unaddressed.

From the moment 10-year-old Noor walked into the room, the heaviness of her heartache engulfed all of us. Even when she smiles, her eyes show a sadness that seems endless. Theres a good reason for that.

A year ago, she watched fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) group kill her father.

Noor, along with her mother and two sisters, thought that they too would be killed and that the eldest sister would be kidnapped and taken as a kind of prize by the fighters.

After my father was slaughtered, we couldnt stay in Syria. We were forced to leave and come to Turkey, says Noor.

We were warned not to ask Noor about the familys horrific encounter with ISIL, as recalling the memory for anyone, let alone a child, is traumatic.

Noor has nightmares and is depressed. Although she and her family are safely out of the wartorn Aleppo, the memories of the daily fear of dying linger.

We thought that the airplanes would bomb our homes. We were hiding under the stairs. We didnt leave the house. Me and my sister would make a tent with the pillows.

Sadly, Noor is one of millions of Syrian children who have been surrounded by death and violence and have faced the deprivation and fear that result from being forced to flee their homes and country.

This week, Save the Children released a report warning that Syrian children are grappling with a growing mental health crisis. The global charity provides mental health and psychosocial support to children living in Syria, as well as countries that host Syrian refugee populations.

Children are soiling themselves when they hear a loud noise. They are terrified to play outside, afraid to go to school even though they are worried their futures will be ruined without an education. This is a tragedy that must be stopped, says CEO Kevin Watkins.

We met Noor at the Al Sham Association in Gaziantep, Turkey. The association provides shelter, educational and recreational programs to orphans who lost their fathers. They also facilitate job training for the mothers.

The staff at Al Sham say that 40 percent of the children they work with  including Noor  are in desperate need of long-term, extensive mental health treatment. It is treatment the association has neither the funds nor the expertise to provide.

We dont have a permanent program with psychologists. They do two sessions maximum three. We havent found doctors with the expertise to help the orphans. So, we depend on ourselves and make training courses with the mothers to help them deal with their children, says Ekhlas, a staff member.

And without proper funding, children like Noor will continue to suffer. The staff is worried about her. They say her mother is also grappling with the trauma of war, which is likely to make it even harder for Noor to get the support she needs at home.

Noor told us how sad she is to be away from her country and her family and friends. But shes luckier than those left behind. Inside Syria, the healthcare system has collapsed. Doctors and nurses have fled the country, making it even more difficult for children to access basic healthcare, let alone mental health services.

We are failing children inside Syria, some of whom are being left to cope with harrowing experiences  from witnessing their parents killed in front of them to the horrors of life under siege  without proper support, says Save the Childrens Dr. Marcia Brophy.

We risk condemning a generation of children to a lifetime of mental and physical health problems  we need to ensure that children who have already lost six years of their lives to war dont have to lose their whole future as well.

Organizations assisting Syrians are in desperate need of funds. But with the need so great for basics such as food and shelter, mental health care for children like Noor is not likely to be a priority.

Noor means light in Arabic. One hopes that somehow, shell get the treatment she so desperately needs and that one day a lightness of spirit, that flash of joy we caught glimpses of when she remembered her father, will be what one notices when she enters the room.
Haitian migrants trying to reach the US say Mexico has offered them what the US will not: refuge.

Tijuana, Mexico  Mexico has stepped in to offer Haitian migrants  escapees from natural disaster  what the United States and other more wealthy countries will not: Refuge.

Outside a string of businesses in the city centre, a young man walks with purpose to his new job. He is from Haiti , like many who came during the Trump campaign and after Hurricane Matthew , which claimed well over 1,000 lives in the country late last year.

Mexico offered us [Haitian refugees] to stay here, even though the US is much more rich, culturally and economically  but they dont want to. We suffered chaos in our country after the devastating earthquake [in 2010]. Mexico allowed us in to work to help our families. The US just wants to deport us, said the man, who asked to be called Wesley so that his interview would not affect his residency status.

In Tijuana, Wesley has a job and a shared apartment. Mexicans accept us as humans  even with our differences, he said. The US should learn from Mexico how to have a heart.

He started his journey like many Haitians  in Brazil , smuggling himself through an impossible route. In some cases Haitians travel through nine or 10 countries. Wesley spent about $5,000 on his journey. Its a lot of money. But we want a better life, he said.

In the jungles of Colombia , many refugees such as Wesley have seen dead Haitians  men and women  who had tried to cross. It causes great pain to see those who died.

Wesley spoke to Al Jazeera in French. For many Haitians, French is the only language, other than their native Haitian Creole, that they speak. So coming to Mexico or the US means not only an arduous journey but a language barrier. Wesley is now learning Spanish.

READ MORE: How Trumps immigration policies could cost the economy

There are about 3,000 to 3,500 Haitians in Tijuana alone  and another 1,000 to 1,500 in Mexicali, another border town 200 kilometres east, estimates Hugo Castro, the director of Border Angels, an organisation that delivers resources to migrants attempting to reach, or who have been deported from, the US. Some came after the hurricane in September and October 2016, but most came, he says, in April and May during Trumps election campaign.

Its no coincidence it happened as Trumps chances increased, Castro said. Its the Trump effect.

 People gave up everything with their lives

Cecilef, 32, is planning on making the trek to the US, although she is earning a decent living in Mexico  for $2 a plate, she sells traditional Haitian food to migrants on the street outside a shelter in the Northern Zone with a strict zero-drugs and alcohol policy.

The food cart has become popular with non-Haitians as well, she says. A cluster of people rejected from the shelter are camped out across the street. They do feel better [when they eat Haitian food], she told Al Jazeera in Creole.

Across town, in the middle of Canon del Alacran, or Scorpion Canyon, there is a large church that is home to more than 400 people from Haiti, about 60 of whom are children.

The church  the Temple of Jesus Ambassadors  is not accessible by car. One must walk across wooden planks over a ravine and then up a dirt path that becomes dangerous to traverse in the rainy season, locals say.

The men sleep in the large main hall at the front of the building, the women and children sleep at the back towards the kitchen, where there are large vats of water. The city only recently gave this area running water, after Castros Border Angels and others expressed outrage at the treatment of the new arrivals.

And still, resources here are scarce. The vats in the kitchen space are marked in Creole, Dio pou lave (washing water) and Dio pou bwe (drinking water).

It costs $200 a day to feed everyone here, Castro estimates  a small sum considering the number of people it sustains, but an extraordinary amount of money for Tijuana philanthropists.

One of the young men staying in the church, who asked to be called James, hopes to cross over to the US, but he has been cautioned against it by friends who were deported back to Haiti.

I have friends who have been deported. They were sent back, he said  the friends contacted people in the shelter with mobile phones via WhatsApp.

These friends got deported on the trip [to the US], and they become like crazy people. They lose their memory, James said.

We are creating a lost generation among Haitians. People gave up everything with their lives and their little resources, said another man who asked to be called George and was sitting with James in the church-shelters kitchen area.

When they are deported, they have to start from zero. Everything is finished, James said.

Imagine that you take that kind of long road, and you spent everything to go to the US, and once you get there, you are expelled. Maybe you had a family and people counting on you. And you have nothing to show for it. You can imagine what happens to you in that situation, James added. He cant count how many people back in Haiti are depending on his successful arrival in the US, he said.

James will cross  obtain the money necessary to do so from relatives  and make the dangerous journey with the coyotes , if he must, he explained.

The wall will bring more death

Coyotes have become increasingly unscrupulous in recent years.

Now, there are no more ethical coyotes, a person with intimate knowledge of the border-crossing industry told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, to avoid the kind of violence for which the smugglers are now known.

Glossary Coyotes: The smugglers that help undocumented immigrants cross the border between Mexico and the US. US Customs and Border Patrol: The largest federal law enforcement agency of the US department of homeland security. It is charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties and enforcing US immigration and customs law. Vigilantes: Individuals who take the law into their own hands and act violently without lawful procedures against those whom they feel have disobeyed the laws of society. Migrants: Individuals who move around from place to place for seasonal work. Donald Trump, however, is focusing more on undocumented migrants  those migrants entering the US without the correct legal documentation. Shelters: Shelters provide accommodation for those in need. While there were existing shelters on both sides of the border, these have recently become over-crowded after the signing of the Executive Policy on Immigration.

Once seen as vigilantes circumventing what are regarded as racist and class-based immigration policies, nowadays, many coyotes who turn back still demand to be paid as much as $10,000  a number that has steadily increased since the 1980s, when it would cost only $300. Sometimes they hold the migrants captive until they are paid.

Still, the person said, the coyotes represent to many a singular chance  particularly amid calls to bolster the barriers  of a better life. For many migrants, they are revered in the same way that many Mexicans revere the murderous and philanthropic drug lord El Chapo.

The line between what is good and bad is so tiny; it depends on your perspective, the source said.

With the panic over Trumps tightening of controls, the person said coyotes are still going to find a way. The only difference is that more people will be willing to risk great dangers to end up in the US. More people are going to die, they said.

US and Mexican authorities have in recent months found several cross-border drug tunnels. Mexican-American comedian George Lopez has joked that Trumps wall will do nothing, because: We got tunnels! But those tunnels dont transport humans, the source said, only drugs.

How many pounds does a person weigh? 150 pounds? Its more profitable to bring in 150 pounds of cocaine.

The source said that the wall will act as a boon to narcotics traffickers who have been competing with their counterparts in the US.

The wall will bring more death. Is it going to be safer? It depends on your perspective. The wall may keep some migrants out, but only time will tell how many more will die taking desperate measures to find workarounds.

The trek across the border is especially difficult for some of the most vulnerable migrants.

PART 1: How Trumps wall is affecting those at the borders

Their prospects are often no better if they attempt to enter the US without the help of smugglers.

George said that he and his pregnant wife went to the US border  as opposed to sneaking into the country  months before Trumps election. Border Patrol let her in but turned George away. George does not speak English and was unaware of what was happening.

There is no way to express what it feels like to see your wife on the other side, he said.

He has relatives in the US and his wife will soon give birth. I wont see my baby when its born, he said. Under the administration of former US President Barack Obama, pregnant women were sometimes accepted into the US, but now they, too, are being deported, George said.

Georges eyes water, but he does not cry. The Haitian revolution that began in 1791 was a slave rebellion that not only granted the country independence from France but made it the first majority-black republic in the world. For him, Haitis is a history of resilience that inspires.

We have to fight, James said.

Thats our culture, George agreed.

This is the second story in a five-part series looking at the US-Mexico wall and the people who live alongside it. If you want to follow this story, please enter your email here
Women in Gaza are stepping up as family breadwinners, breaking cultural norms as they strive to make ends meet.

Gaza Strip  At 42 percent, Gaza has the worlds highest unemployment rate  and while the rate of women in the workforce is only 15 percent, compared to 71 percent of men, many of them are trying to close the gap.

More and more women are breaking societal norms and working in jobs that have been traditionally reserved for men as they step up to serve as their familys breadwinners. Al Jazeera spoke with three women about how their non-traditional jobs have changed their lives.

Gazas female bus driver

The children first called her Uncle Salwa.

The kids thought only men drive cars, Salwa Srour told Al Jazeera. I broke the traditions. Im the first lady in the Gaza Strip that drives a bus.

Srour sets out at 6:30 every morning in her 1989 Volkswagen minibus, circling around Gaza City to pick up each child and drive them to the kindergarten class that she opened in 2005 with her sister, Sajda.

Initially, they hired male bus drivers, but Srour decided to take over the job after hearing parents complaints about drivers being impatient with the children or showing up late.

We would call him, but there would always be excuses. He would always say, Im on my way, but the kids would be waiting and there would still be no bus, Srour explained.

When the parents started calling her to ask why their kids were not home yet, Srour decided to take matters into her own hands and drive the children to kindergarten herself.





Srour has been driving children to school for five years now. Class starts from the moment they enter the school bus and begin learning new words in English. Stepping on to the bus, the children greet Srour with Good morning as they each pull out a shekel from their pocket.

Zain, go back, Srour tells a four-year-old in English, indicating the back of the bus.

Go back! Go back! the kids repeat in unison as Zain makes his way towards the back seat.

Srour has been passionate about driving since her high-school days, recalling with a laugh how she used to sneak out and drive her grandmothers car around Gaza at the age of 16.

After graduating from high school, she immediately insisted on getting her drivers licence, at a time when few women were doing so.

Its really weird for people to see a woman driver, but after hearing my story, they started to encourage me, Srour said.

The fisherwoman of Gaza

Every day you go out, youre not sure if youll come back, Madleen Kullab said as she looked out to the sea from Gazas port. Its a difficult situation. When we approach the fifth mile, we start getting shot at. There are a lot of risks, but I do it because I have to.

It has been nearly a decade since 22-year-old Kullab took over her fathers role as a fisherman and the familys breadwinner, after her father was diagnosed with myeletis, an inflammation of the spinal cord, leaving him disabled.

Kullab and her two younger brothers set out early in the morning, between 3am and 5am, or at sunset to cast their nets. She typically catches sardines.

Youll catch whatever youre meant to catch, Kullab, Gazas only female fisher, told Al Jazeera.

The job mostly depends on luck, as Israel has restricted Gazas fishers to a six-nautical-mile limit  less than a third of the fishing area allocated under the Oslo agreements. There simply are not enough fish in the restricted area; the catch is often meagre, and Kullab sometimes goes for days without catching anything. For a better-quality haul, they would need to sail out at least 10 miles.

As she walks along the dock, tiny sardines litter the ground as fishermen sort their morning loads in crates. The harbour is full of boats resting under cloudy skies.

Gazas worsening economic situation has hit the fishing industry hard, with the number of working fishermen dropping from 10,000 in 2000 to 4,000 last year. Fishers typically live on loans for the whole year, including Kullab, who does not fish during winter. The sea is especially rough in winter and the waves can get too high for her modest wooden boat. Even when she does fish, her daily catch earns her only 10 shekels ($2.60).

I by Madleen

 Anything is better than fishing, even if its just for 10 shekels.]

The business has become too deadly, she says, and she is looking for a way out, attending college in hopes of becoming a secretary.

I get shot at every time I go out [into the sea]  Anything is better than fishing, even if its just for 10 shekels, Kullab said, recalling the time she witnessed 17-year-old Mohammad Mansour Baker shot and killed while he was fishing with his brothers.

There were more than 10 boats. We were only three miles out when the Israeli ships started shooting without any reason, targeting us, she said. Mohammad was shot at the side of his stomach; the bullet came out from his back and he died on the spot.

Gazas female blacksmith

Underneath a makeshift tent on a sandy street three kilometres from Gazas port, Ayesha Ibrahim, 37, and her 15-year-old daughter take turns pounding hot iron with heavy hammers. Another daughter pumps a bag that throws puffs of oxygen into the small fire, where they heat the rods.

This is how Ibrahim, Gazas only female blacksmith, helps provide for her seven children. For the past 20 years, she and her husband have been collecting pieces of metal from the streets and from destroyed houses and shaping them into axes, knives, cooking grates, metal anchors and other items, which they sell at the market.

It takes about three days to make one item; shaping the iron with a heavy hammer requires time and patience. One piece usually sells for about six shekels ($1.60) at the market, and they earn 10 to 20 shekels a day.

Sparks fly as Ibrahim pounds the burning iron. Her hands are swollen and her back is in pain; it is a tough job, especially as she is eight months pregnant.

The most difficult part is that we dont have a place of our own to work. Everyone that passes by has to look, Ibrahim said.

Her husband takes medication for his nerves after being injured one evening when a 150kg piece of iron fell on his hand.

It was a terrible night. We couldnt afford to call an ambulance; thankfully, a man from the street offered help and took him in his car, Ibrahim said. At the hospital, they told him to stay for the night; they were afraid his injury might get infected, but we had no money to pay for the overnight stay, so he came right back.

It is a struggle every day to put food on the table. Although more than half of Gazas population relies on United Nations food aid, Ibrahims family does not qualify because they cannot prove they are refugees, she said.

Ibrahim, whose father was also a blacksmith, spent her childhood selling his items at the market. She got married when she was 15. Today, her family lives off loans, and their landlord allows them to stay in his apartment free of charge. Owning a space of their own remains a distant dream.

Our conditions are very harsh, very tough  but I have no choice but to continue working for my children, Ibrahim said. I dont want my children to be like me in any way and to work like I did when I was young. I want a better future for them.
Legal changes have shielded Israel from paying compensation to families of killed or injured Palestinians, report finds.

Nazareth  Israel has given itself almost complete immunity from paying compensation in cases where its soldiers have killed, injured or disabled Palestinian civilians, an Israeli human rights group has warned.

In a report released on Wednesday, entitled Getting Off Scot-Free, BTselem said that Israel had violated its obligations under international law by denying many thousands of Palestinians redress in Israeli civil courts.

The report said that changes to Israeli law over the past 15 years meant that Israeli authorities were now almost never liable for awarding compensation, even in non-combat situations. That also included cases where soldiers had engaged in patently criminal behaviour against Palestinians, such as physical assault or looting.

BTselem stressed that the report did not deal with the issue of Israels responsibility for deaths, injuries and damage to property during warfare. International law includes an exemption for compensation, even for civilians, when casualties are the result of hostilities, such as Israels repeated large-scale operations in Gaza.

OPINION: How impunity defines Israel and victimises Palestinians

But the group said that Israel had extended the scope of its dispensation to cover routine procedures, especially in the occupied West Bank, where soldiers regularly conduct policing operations, arrest raids and security checks.

As a result, said BTselem, thousands of Palestinians had been left not only physically harmed, but with inadequate care and rehabilitation. Their families had often accrued large debts they struggled to pay off.

Data from Israels defence ministry shows that Palestinians have all but stopped filing claims for compensation because they understand it is a futile exercise, Amit Gilutz, a spokesman for BTselem, told Al Jazeera.

He said that there had been a 95 percent drop in Palestinians applying for compensation compared with the number of claims two decades ago.

In the 1990s, before the changes started taking effect, the report observed, thousands of Palestinians filed suits after they were harmed by unlawful gunfire, extreme violence from soldiers, torture during interrogation, destruction of property or delayed blasts from unexploded ordnance.









Today, even in the tiny number of cases where Palestinians have been compensated, they received pitiful amounts compared with the sums awarded 20 years ago.

The report noted that from the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000 until late last year, Israel killed more than 4,850 Palestinians who were not taking part in hostilities, a third of them children. Many thousands more were seriously wounded, while Israel demolished thousands of homes and wrecked large areas of farmland.

But a series of legal amendments now guaranteed a nearly blanket exemption from the obligation to pay compensation for this harm, the report concluded. It said that Palestinians were offered no more than the illusion of redress, even in cases of damage unrelated to combat.

Israel now treats compensation as an exceptional act of charity rather than an obligation under international law, Gilutz said. That has terrible consequences for injured Palestinians in terms of their ability to seek proper care and their quality of life.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) covers hospital treatment and the immediate medical bills of Palestinians injured by Israeli actions. But BTselem rejected claims made by Israel that the PA should also issue compensation.

READ MORE: Report slams Israels military law enforcement system

The report said that Israels continuing belligerent occupation, and the PAs lack of control over territory, borders and resources, made Israel responsible for helping the victims families.

Last year, BTselem issued a report accusing the Israeli military prosecution system of whitewashing the armys crimes by failing to seriously investigate Israeli soldiers actions.

The group said that Israels immunity from paying compensation  combined with its soldiers legal impunity for committing crimes  removed any pressure on Israeli forces to behave carefully when dealing with the civilian Palestinian population in the occupied territories. The road to harsh violations of human rights lies wide open, it warned.

BTselem noted that the Jerusalem district court rejected a damages claim last month from the family of Mustafa al-Tamimi, who was killed during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh in late 2011, when a soldier fired a tear gas canister directly at him. Three years ago, military prosecutors closed an investigation into the shooting without taking action.

The Jerusalem judge ruled that Tamimi had died during warfare activity and ordered the family to pay some $16,000 to cover the states costs.

No amount of money is going to give me back the legs that the Israeli soldiers took from me. by Ata Sabah, Palestinian victim

Both the Israeli military and the defence ministry were unavailable to respond to Al Jazeeras request for comment.

The report includes testimonies from Palestinian civilians, including children, severely injured by Israeli soldiers. The families often have to foot large medical bills, shoulder round-the-clock care for victims, and pay to make alterations to their homes to cope with disabilities.

The testimonies highlighted that in many cases, injuries were caused by Israeli soldiers shooting recklessly or maliciously into civilian areas during routine policing operations.

Basmah Mansur, 48, a mother of 10, has been severely disabled for the past 13 years, after she was shot in the face in her home in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. Israeli soldiers fired through her window as she was making lunch for her children, during a raid to arrest her husband.

She was paralysed for many months. Today, more than a decade on, she can move and talk only with difficulty, and suffers severe headaches from the bullet fragments lodged in her head.

I cant shower independently or change clothes. I cant even put on my head scarf alone. Nothing in my body works properly  not my legs, my hands, my mouth, or my eyes, she said.

INTERACTIVE: Broken homes  A record year of Israeli home demolitions

She had to end physiotherapy many years ago after the PA stopped paying for it, and Israels draconian rules made her ineligible for help. For many years, she was left to cope largely on her own with young children.

All I could do was watch them until one of my neighbours came and made them breakfast, fed me, and helped with the chores, she said. Thats how its been ever since. If one of the neighbours doesnt come by, were stuck without food until the girls get home from school.

Now that her children are older, they do most of the housework, including two married daughters who bathe and dress her each day.

The soldiers ruined my life and turned it into a living hell, Mansur said. I feel like theres a fire burning inside me when I see that my children need me and I cant help them and support them.

Ata Sabah, 16, from Al Jalazoun refugee camp, near Ramallah in the West Bank, has been paralysed from the waist down since he was shot in the stomach by soldiers near his school at the age of 12.

He has a wheelchair donated by a German company, but the family has struggled to cover other bills. Sabah needs a taxi each day to take him to a school that can cope with his mobility problems. An elevator has had to be installed in the familys home at a cost of $10,500, and medication Sabah will need for the rest of his life sets the family back $260 a month.

Sabah told Al Jazeera that his circumstances had improved only thanks to donations from extended family, friends and neighbours.

I want one day to be a lawyer who can fight to bring justice to the victims of crimes like the one that was done to me, he said, noting that while compensation would relieve the constant financial strain on the family, no amount of money is going to give me back the legs that the Israeli soldiers took from me.

OPINION: Israel-Palestine  A way to end the occupation

The sums needed by families such as Sabbahs are considered astronomical in communities where unemployment is rampant and average salaries can be as low as $250 a month.

These families often end up depending on the support and charity of neighbours, Iyad Hadad, a field researcher for BTselem, told Al Jazeera. Life becomes a permanent struggle for them.





The PA can rarely afford to help the families, beyond immediate medical costs. The largely aid-dependent PA is reported to be in dire financial trouble, as international assistance dries up.

Last year, Rami Hamdallah, the Palestinian prime minister, said that aid had dropped by 70 percent over the preceding four years. The PAs development budget, which funds education and health, had suffered as a result.

The problem was further exacerbated in late January, when US President Donald Trumps new administration froze more than $220m in aid to the PA approved by his predecessor, Barack Obama. The funds included $25m to support Palestinian healthcare services.

Musab Sarhaneh, another of the victims documented by BTselem, was six when he was hit in the face four years ago by a bullet fired by Israeli soldiers. At the time he was walking with his mother, Hiyam, through Fawwar refugee camp, near Hebron. He lost his right eye and needs an expensive implant that has to be changed every two years.

Musabs poor eyesight has left him vulnerable in the camp, Hiyam said. In the past few weeks he stumbled and fell twice while he was outside in the dark. He broke his right arm and its in a cast  My son was robbed of a happy childhood and I was robbed as a mother.
Sexual assault of schoolgirls is commonplace on Japans public transportation, but now more girls are speaking out.

Additional reporting by Shiori Ito.

Tokyo, Japan  Tamaka Ogawa was about 10 years old when she was sexually assaulted for the first time. It was a public holiday and she was on the subway. A man standing behind her pulled down the band of her culottes and underwear, touched her bare bottom, then pressed himself against her. She recalls feeling shocked and physically sickened. When she reached home, she repeatedly washed the spot where he had pressed himself against her, although she was conscious of not spending too long in the toilet, in case her family noticed that something was wrong.

Some years later, on her first day of senior high school, she was groped on the commute home. After that, the groping and sexual assaults  men would often stick their hands inside her underwear  became a regular occurrence as she made her way to or from school in her uniform. Each time, she would run away, unsure of what to do.

I thought of myself as a child, she reflects. I could not understand that adults were excited by touching me.



It would be improper to express anger towards an adult, she thought, and she worried about attracting attention. Besides, her parents had never spoken to her about such things and how she ought to handle them.

She recalls one incident particularly clearly. She was about 15 and on her way to school. A man began to touch her, putting his hand inside her underwear. He was aggressive and it hurt, she remembers. When the train stopped, she got off. But he grabbed her hand and told her: Follow me. Ogawa ran away. She believes that people saw what was going on, but nobody helped.

She felt ashamed and complicit, she says.

He seems to have thought that I was pleased with his act, the now 36-year-old reflects.

When I was in high school, every [girl] was a victim, says Ogawa. [We] didnt think we could do anything about it.

Today, Ogawa, a writer and cofounder of Press Labo, a small digital content production company in Shimokitazawa, an inner-city Tokyo neighbourhood, often writes about Japans gender inequality and sexual violence issues.

In 2015, she began writing about the countrys long-standing problem with groping  or chikan, in Japanese  often experienced by schoolgirls on public transportation. Many victims stay silent, unable to talk about their experiences in a society which, by many accounts, trivialises this phenomenon.

But, in the past two years, that has begun to change as more people speak up against it.





An intervention

Yayoi Matsunaga is one of those people.

One morning in late January, the 51-year-old arrived at a coffee shop in the bustling neighbourhood of Shibuya with a suitcase of badges.

The round badges, designed to deter gropers, feature illustrations such as a schoolgirl peering angrily from between her legs, or a crowd of stern-looking rabbits and include the messages, Groping is a crime and Dont do it. Each comes with a leaflet instructing the wearer to clearly display the badges on their bags, to stand confidently and to be vigilant.

Matsunaga began her Osaka-based organisation, Groping Prevention Activities Centre, in 2015 after her friends daughter was regularly molested while taking the train to school.

Takako Tonooka, the pseudonym she has used in interviews with the Japan Times, confided in her mother, and the two tried various solutions to stop the attacks. They bought a stuffed toy which says Dont do it when pulled. They spoke to the police and the railway authorities, who said they would act if it was the same perpetrator  but it never was. Tonooka even wore her school skirt shorter and found that she was harassed less.

Matsunaga says trains display posters telling groping victims to be brave and to speak up. Tonooka started practising saying Stop it and No at home. She began to confront offenders, who would then angrily deny touching her. Onlookers did not help. Eventually, she and her mother created a label to attach to her bag, which says, Groping is a crime. Im not going to give up and features a picture of policemen catching perpetrators. It worked.

But the label made Tonooka self-conscious, and Matsunaga says boys teased her.

Matsunaga decided that Tonooka should not have to fight on her own, so she came up with an idea to involve others by crowdsourcing ideas for anti-groping badges.

High school girls are really into this kawaii culture so they had to be cute, she says.

In November 2015 she launched a crowdfunding campaign that attracted 334 donors and raised 2.12 million yen (about $19,000). Then, she ran a badge design crowdsourcing contest.

High school pupils, art school students, and freelance designers  many telling her it was the first time theyd thought about the issue  submitted 441 designs from which Matsunaga selected five. Her organisation gave away about 500 and three police stations handed out more. She now sells them online, for 410 yen ($3.70) each. From March, 11 department stores will stock them and shes aiming to secure more distributors near train stations.

Apart from making the badges more widely available, Matsunaga also wants offenders to see them and think: The world is changing, some people have started talking about it.

By involving students, Matsunaga believes shes encouraging them to talk about this issue from a young age.

The badges have had a direct effect. Data collected from 70 students at a high school in Saitama prefecture, just north of Tokyo, between April and December 2016, showed that 61.4 percent of respondents said they had not been touched since using the badges, while 4.3 percent reported no change.

Railway police have also started holding awareness-raising lectures with high schools which have enabled students to feel more comfortable speaking about the issue, Matsunga says.

In Ogawas opinion, the badges are an important intervention because they do not label anyone a victim or perpetrator, and they prompt discussion. You need courage to wear these badges, she says. [Theyre] cute but the message is strong.

What people mean when they say groping

Despite such initiatives, experts say Japanese society remains willfully oblivious or unaware of how widespread this problem is and how often girls are assaulted.

Hiroko Goto, a feminist, professor of criminal law at Chiba University and vice president of Japan-headquartered NGO Human Rights Now, believes many people do not consider groping to be a crime. [For] society at large, its not a big problem; thats the kind of double standard [between] the victims viewpoint and the social viewpoint.

In Ogawas opinion, society normalises groping as something that just happens.

There are no accurate figures on the number of victims; only a fraction are believed to report incidents.

One key problem when it comes to talking about groping is that people have very different ideas about what that entails; the term itself fails to adequately describe the range of violations. The widely held assumption is that groping is non-consensual touching over clothing, something deemed a minor crime and punishable under Japans prefecture-level Anti-Nuisance Ordinance. Under the ordinance, the sentence is usually six months in jail or a 500,000 yen ($4,500) fine.

I hear many girls telling me that they have experienced mens hands under their skirt, and the gropers fingers in their vagina, Matsunaga says. It is rape.

Men ejaculated on Ogawas friends. Often, she says, the perpetrators put their hands inside her underwear. Many times, the abuse involved being penetrated by mens fingers.

Police officers usually decide whether more serious groping-related cases, where the violations include penetration, should be filed under Article 176 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But just a tiny proportion of the total reported cases get filed under this article. Article 177, which pertains to rape, carries harsher penalties, but its legal definition is extremely narrow and only considers rape to be forced sexual intercourse.

According to Ogawa, groping-related violations are too often downplayed by society as a nuisance. It was only when she started writing about these crimes, she says, that she discovered that what she had experienced was sexual assault. What was shocking me the most is that I didnt realise that I was experiencing indecent assault, Ogawa says.

Japanese society focuses on telling women to be careful, how to dress and to travel in women-only carriages  which are mainly available during peak hours on weekday mornings  Ogawa says. They are telling women to protect themselves, to be careful, but no one tells the men not to do it, she says.

Even the rail authorities anti-groping posters are too cute and miss the point, Ogawa argues.

They dont talk to the perpetrators. I wish there would be posters saying, If you want to grope, you need to see a doctor, she says. Ogawa would also like to see more CCTV cameras installed on trains, something she believes Japan can do as it shores up surveillance for the 2020 Olympics.

Ogawa believes that a collective understanding of what actually happens on public transport is crucial. But for that to happen, more victims must speak up. I think if women dont talk about what is happening, then it will be always invisible, she says.

False accusations

Convincing society that theres a problem is further complicated by a dominant narrative about men being falsely accused. Ogawa and others who write about sexual violence say much of the online backlash they receive comes from men who say this is the real problem.

If we talk about sexual violence, especially if the topic is about groping, the main  concern is about false accusation, Ogawa says.

The media always blames  the victims, explains Goto, who points to the fact that Japans mainstream and social media is male-dominated.

The media [is] overly focused on this topic [of false accusations], says Ogawa  who believes that false accusations and convictions are rare as compared to actual instances of sexual assault.

She points to the widely reported story of Koji Yatabe, whom a district court found guilty of forcing a young girl to touch his penis in 2000. Yatabe, who fought his conviction and eventually had it overturned by a high court judge, co-wrote a book with his wife about his case. That was then turned into a film called I Just Didnt Do It.

Ogawa believes the media over-reported Yatabes side of the story, instilling fear about false accusations and creating a distraction from the problem of sexual violence. Worse, she says, it discouraged victims from being able to talk about it [groping]  and thats a problem.

That absence of victims perspectives, is why Aiko Tabusa, a non-fiction manga artist, started blogging about groping in 2011. There was either groping porn or innocent gropers stories, the 38-year-old explains.

She is currently working on a manga book about groping on trains, an idea she tried to pursue six years ago with three publishers, who all turned her down.

They were like, Whos going to read that? Theres no demand, Tabusa recalls. For me, groping was like a daily life story.

WATCH: Off the Rails  A Journey Through Japan

Patriarchy

Many Japanese women say they stopped experiencing groping when they graduated from high school and no longer wore school uniforms.

[It] never happened [again] since I took off my uniform, says 20-year-old Kotomi Araki, an economics undergraduate student and waitress, who says she was groped on crowded trains throughout high school.

When asked about the perception of schoolgirls, Araki and others refer to the archetype of Lolita.

According to Goto, this idea is borrowed from the Russian American novelist Vladimir Nabokov, but in Japan is largely understood as a young girl who is the image of obedience, subservience, and is reinforced in widely read manga.

Japanese society is highly patriarchal, says Goto, explaining that this has roots in the Confucian ideals which originated in China and became widespread after the end of the Meiji imperial era in 1912. [Theres a] strong belief men should be superior to women.

Pre-modern Japan was traditionally less patriarchal, according to Emiko Ochiai, a sociologist and historian at Kyoto University. In the ancient period, Japan had female kings, but it became rare in the later period. In the medieval period, there were female warriors or generals, Ochiai says.

Confucianism influenced the declining status of women in [Japan], she says. That ideology was spread by popular stories and dramas and was reinforced in the process of modernisation under the impact from the West.

Today, To be a woman is a caste in this society, Ochiai says. You cannot get out of that destiny. [Only] if you are very successful in education and business, you can be a man.

But from the womens movement in the 1970s to, more recently, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes agenda to boost womens participation in the workforce as part of an economic growth plan, mens power has been challenged, according to Goto.

One reason to do groping is to show their power to women and the younger girls, Goto says. She believes offenders carefully target vulnerable-looking schoolgirls. She worries that as older schoolgirls begin to speak up, perpetrators will begin to target even younger girls.

Ogawa says many people believe men target schoolgirls because they are child molesters. I think thats true, too, she says. But she also believes: People want to target these kids and girls because they havent been touched; because no one has conquered them.

Sociologist Kazue Muta agrees. Some men are aroused by schoolgirls because they represent innocent and pure figures, to whom patriarchy should prohibit sexual access, says Muta, a professor of sociology and gender studies at Osaka University, over email.

However, the offenders are not always or necessarily sexually driven; rather, what drives them is the desire to control and dominate a target. The more she seems embarrassed, troubled, or perplexed, the [more the] offender would be satisfied, because it means he is controlling and dominating her. Schoolgirls are young and oftentimes docile and obedient to grown-up men, Muta adds.

Schoolgirls

This sexualisation of schoolgirls extends to themed bars in red-light districts and exploitative JK cafes (JK stands for joshi kosei or high school girl) where adult men pay to chat to teenage girls, have their fortunes told or have their ears cleaned. Manga pornography depicting schoolgirls is also widely and openly available. It was only in 2014 that Japan criminalised the possession of child pornography.

Within walking distance of Ikebukuro train station, among the lanes of restaurants, are a number of mostly unsigned JK cafes. One innocuous-looking sandwich board with pink bubble font, lists, with blue heart bullet points, the range of available services. There are also themed bars for male-only customers who pay about $200 an hour to grope the women working there.

One 38-year-old man, who declined to give his name, explains that he has been to these bars in Ikebukuro  paying 15,000 yen ($133) to enter  including a bar furnished to look like the inside of a subway carriage. Customers choose what kind of woman theyd like to grope  often, the choice is between someone dressed up like a schoolgirl or an office worker. He says he believes the women working there are over the age of 18.

They [Japanese men] love cute, pure, young; thats what [they] find sexually attractive, he says.

I just go there to have fun, he adds. In his opinion, these bars can prevent someone from groping in public.

Akira Wada, who spoke to Al Jazeera under a pseudonym, said he goes to these bars out of curiosity and has never groped anyone in public. The first bar he visited was high school-themed and while the 35-year-old says hes not into uniforms, he says he likes young women. His company dinners sometimes end up at these bars.

Hes terrified, however, of being falsely accused of groping in public and says he always takes the precaution of finding a seat on the train. He says even if his bag accidentally bumps into a girl, hes worried about being accused of touching her. In the packed train car, anyone can be [a] victim or perpetrator, he says.

In his opinion, men who grope on trains are motivated both by the public nature of the act and the fact that it is non-consensual.

Matsunaga worries such bars could condone this behaviour in public.

I wish groping bars would say: This is something you cant do outside, Ogawa says.

Groping and rape are categories in Japanese pornography, says Ogawa, who adds that if she speaks out against rape or groping, commenters tell her she does not understand sex. People mix up these things, she explains.

When women talk about sex in Japan, she says, furrowing her brow, we either get attention from perverts or people who are against sex. For the next 30 years, I feel like I have to keep saying sex and sexual violence are two different things, she adds.

Dissuaded from reporting

For older women whove experienced sexual assault, speaking out is just as hard.

Last year, Japans labour ministry released findings from an unprecedented study, in which, of nearly 10,000 female respondents aged 25 to 44, almost one-third of women said they had been sexually harassed at work, with inappropriate touching being one of the most common problems. Fewer than 40 percent of women took action.

A 52-year-old woman, who did not want to disclose her name or workplace, explained that she was recently sexually assaulted by someone, whose face she did not see, at her workplace in Tokyo. When she reported the incident to her employers, she says they were sympathetic but deterred her from going to the police, telling her to think about the companys reputation and the trauma she would have to relive. She felt they simply did not want any trouble for the company.

But she also did not want to go to the police and does not want anyone to know. I cant talk about this  to anyone, she says.

Its shameful, she adds. I thought, if I just forget, I can go back to a normal life.

ALSO READ: A lesson from Americas Japanese internment camps

Speaking up

Tabusa, the manga artist, is heartened that the problem is increasingly being talked about, but says, I dont think theres enough discussion yet.

It needs to be taken seriously and more people need to be aware because the groping victims are often children, she says.

Women also make light of the issue, she reflects. People just think this happens every day, so they have to laugh about it.

Society also conflates groping with desirability. I feel like people have this mindset that, if you are an old lady, you should appreciate that men still look at you like that or want to grope you, she says.

When it comes to groping and sexual assault, Ogawa and Tabusa believe a real cultural shift will only come when more victims speak out.

First of all, women have to talk about their experience and speak up, Ogawa says.

But at every turn, society tries to stop them.

The reason they cant say [anything] is because theyre ashamed, Ogawa says. And sometimes, if they talk about it, some people think they are just bragging: Ive been groped.

Theyre told its their fault, Ogawa says, theyre accused of looking for sympathy, or, simply silenced by the words: It happens to everyone.
Humanitarian workers have to balance the risks they are facing with the life-saving impact of their humanitarian work.

Dominik Stillhart is director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Names youve never heard. Places youve never been. Murders that probably passed you by. Six bodies, riddled with bullets, stuffed in a Land Cruiser, left abandoned in a dry, barren valley in northern Afghanistan.

They were staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and had been delivering winter food for the goats and sheep owned by local people.

It happened four weeks ago. We dont know who did it, nor why. Two staff members were also abducted.

An event terrible in itself. But not a unique event. In recent months, from Afghanistan to South Sudan, from Yemen to Syria; humanitarian and health workers, hospitals, clinics and aid convoys, from many different organisations, have all been hit.

No longer sacrosanct

But why is this happening? Has something changed? If so, what can be done about it?

A week after the killings, I flew into Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, a few hours drive from where the killings took place, to visit the victims families.

At each home, we were greeted with green tea and hospitality that was both humbling and generous. Twenty-four children no longer had fathers.

The father of one of the victims had not slept for two days.Its not right, he said. My only wish in life was to die before my son.

We hugged, long and intensely. I felt like I was touching the pain that had invaded him. What words could I offer?

At each house we visited, there was the same question: Why? They were just doing their job, trying to help other people who were in desperate need.

As director of global operations for the ICRC, its my job, along with my colleagues, to make difficult decisions on a daily basis. We have to balance the risks facing our staff with the life-saving impact of our humanitarian work.

Were making these decisions in an ever more unpredictable international environment. The dynamics we are operating in appear to be changing.

Firstly, there seems to be an increasing belief by armed groups and some states that health and humanitarian workers are not as sacrosanct as they once were.

It's vital that we remember what unites us all - not what divides us. It's vital that we recognise the good in others. And value it for what it is. by

Theres no doubt that international humanitarian law (IHL), which protects such people, remains as vital and as important as ever.

But we cannot shirk from the fact that it is being challenged. We are not just more aware of violations of IHL, because of faster communications, but there is a disturbing drift towards ambivalence when it comes to humanitarian law.

Secondly, conflicts around the world are becoming more interconnected, more complex. Layer upon layer of motive and ambition. Official armies, proxy armies, armed groups, drones and cyberwarfare: all engaged in one conflict or another.

Whos pulling whose strings? Huge grey areas have emerged and, with them, a diffusion of responsibility. Who is responsible for what? Its become easier to hide in the margins of responsibility  with all that that entails.

OPINION: Time for an aid revolution for Syrians and others

Today, it is perhaps not as easy, as it once was, to identify the perpetrators.

Thirdly, and perhaps an inevitable consequence of the former, there have been attempts to simplify what is, innately, complex. To cast things in black and white; to cast good guys and bad guys; like some global theatre of the macabre. Not that this is theatre.

As issues and conflicts become more complex, there are those who become trapped in the idea of over-simplifying. There is the idea of us and of them. The result is even greater division, greater polarisation.

But, as we all know, life is not that simple. There are many shades of grey between right and wrong. If you lose the nuance, you can miss the essence.

Why does it matter?

So what to do in this environment of growing mistrust and mutual suspicion? At such times, its vital that we remember what unites us all  not what divides us. Its vital that we recognise the good in others. And value it for what it is.

Under the most tragic of circumstances, that is what I witnessed in northern Afghanistan. The six people who died, Murtaza, Shah Agha, Maqsoud, Khalid Jan, Rasoul and Najibullah, had spent years of their lives, taking risks, working in one of the most inhospitable and dangerous places on Earth. Trying to help others.

Like the Red Cross volunteer in the Philippines, helping victims of a typhoon; the Syrian Red Crescent volunteer delivering food to a besieged area; the Afghan ICRC worker taking animal feed to a village; all are driven by qualities of generosity, selflessness and common humanity  wonderful qualities that, in an often brutal world, should be cherished and nurtured.

So, to those who target people trying to help others: please refrain. To those who seek to simplify: be careful. To those trying to create divisions: beware the consequences.

Let us not lose the ideals that my six colleagues so patently represented. Let us not lose the spirit that they so clearly exhibited. Whatever the provocation.

Why do their deaths matter to you and me? Because, at the end of the day, they speak to us of our own humanity.

Dominik Stillhart is director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Agency allegedly produced more than 1,000 malware systems to infiltrate and take control of targeted electronics.

Apple and Samsung have vowed to quickly fix any vulnerabilities in their products following WikiLeaks disclosure of an alleged CIA hacking arsenal capable of breaking into iPhones and other devices.

The archive claims to show the CIA exploiting weaknesses it discovers in hardware and software systems  without informing manufacturers of the flaws in question.

While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities, Apple said in a statement.

We always urge customers to download the latest iOS to make sure they have the most recent security updates.





Samsung offered a similar response.

Protecting consumers privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung, a statement from the South Korean electronics giant said.

We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter.

WikiLeaks claims the documents it released on Tuesday are part of a vast trove of leaked CIA documents, tools and code representing the majority of its hacking arsenal.

The CIA would neither confirm nor deny the documents were genuine.

However, the American public should be deeply troubled by any WikiLeaks disclosure designed to damage the Intelligence Communitys ability to protect America against terrorists and other adversaries, a CIA spokesman said in a statement.

Such disclosures not only jeopardise US personnel and operations, but also equip our adversaries with tools and information to do us harm.

According to the documents, the CIA has produced more than 1,000 malware systems  viruses, trojans, and other software  that can infiltrate and take control of target electronics.

US intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Wednesday they have been aware since the end of last year of a security breach at the CIA and were focusing on contractors as the likeliest source of documents being passed on to WikiLeaks.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency they believed the documents were authentic.

WikiLeaks exposes alleged CIA hacking programme

The White House said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was extremely concerned about a CIA security breach.

Anybody who leaks classified information will be held to the highest degree of law, spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.

One official with knowledge of the investigation said companies that are contractors for the CIA have been checking to see which of their employees had access to the material that WikiLeaks published.

In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutors office said it would review the WikiLeaks documents because some suggested the CIA ran a hacking hub from the US consulate in Frankfurt.

Were looking at it very carefully, said a spokesman for the federal prosecutors office. We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators.
China calls for suspension of North Koreas nuclear and missile activities in exchange for halt of S Korea-US war games.

China has called on North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military war games, to avoid what it called a head-on collision.

To defuse the looming crisis on the [Korean] peninsula, China proposes that as a first step, the DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] may suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the halt of the large-scale US-ROK exercises, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday, using the acronyms for the two Koreas.

He also said South Korea is making a mistake in deploying the US anti-missile defence system THAAD, which he said undermined Chinas security.

READ MORE: Seoul says North Korea carried out missile tests

The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming towards each other with neither side willing to give way, Wang said at a news conference on the sidelines of Chinas annual parliament session.

The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains.

Al Jazeeras Scott Heidler, reporting from Beijing, said the proposals Wang made are very difficult to implement.

A cascade of events has led to a dramatic increase in tensions in northeast Asia.

Pyongyang blasted at least four missiles across the ocean towards Japan on Monday, three of them splashing down into waters within Japans Exclusive Economic Zone.

Suspension for suspension

Seoul and Washington have begun annual joint military exercises that always infuriate Pyongyang, and the US has said it has started deploying an anti-missile system directed at North Korea, but which Beijing has taken as a threat to its own defence interests.

This suspension for suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table, Wang said of his proposal.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week to discuss the two countries relationship.

In his news conference on Wednesday, Wang said that he hopes that China and the US can truly rise up over the old ideas, open up new horizons and build a new mature and robust relationship, so that we can put the minds of our two people and the whole world at ease.

He said the relationship beween China and the US is on a positive track.

Meanwhile in Seoul, Se-Woong Koo, a security and political expert, told Al Jazeera that South Koreans themselves are divided about the deployment of the US missiles, with conservatives supporting it.

He said that South Korea could pay the price in terms of business and tourism with China, after deciding to deploy the US missiles.
At least 21 girls found dead after fire apparently started in protest against alleged abuse at care home in Guatemala.

Three days of national mourning have been declared in Guatemala, after 21 girls were killed in a fire, apparently started in protest against abuse at a crowded childrens care home.

A crowd of relatives, many of them wailing with grief, continue to gather late on Wednesday (local time) outside the Virgen de Asuncion home, in the municipality of San Jose Pinula, some 25km southwest of the capital Guatemala City.

Al Jazeeras David Mercer, reporting from San Jose Pinula, said an investigation is under way, to determine what caused the fire.

Our correspondent also reported that the surviving children were being transferred to other care centres and orphanages.

READ MORE: People-power and the Guatemalan Spring

The head of Guatemalas social welfare agency, Carlos Rodas, said youths at the shelter started rioting on Tuesday in an effort to escape.

Complaints about abuse and living conditions at the overcrowded shelter have been frequent.

Then on Wednesday, about 9am, Some of the adolescents lit their mattresses on fire, Rodas said. We dont shirk responsibility, we accept it, but we cant get those lives back.

Julia Barrera, spokeswoman for the prosecutors office, said at least 21 children and teenagers perished.

Two hospitals said they received 41 injured girls between the ages of 13 and 17, many with second- and third-degree burns. Some of the injured had life-threatening burns.

This is a painful situation, Nery Ramos, the head of Guatemalas national police, said at the scene of the fire.

Riot police had been sent in to quell unrest over the crowded living conditions at the home, which was created to house children who were victims of abuse, homelessness or who had completed sentences at youth detention centres and had nowhere else to go.

Some 40 residents escaped but were recaptured and isolated, Ramos said.

UNICEF and the prosecutor for human rights called for the homes closure last year after complaints of overcrowding along with physical and sexual abuse.

On Wednesday, UNICEF representatives were present as the police started the investigation, Al Jazeeras correspondent said.

Guatemalan media reported that more than 500 people were crammed into the shelter designed to house 400.

Immediate closure

The facility has previously been the target of multiple complaints alleging abuse, and several children have run away.

Guatemalas prosecutor for upholding childrens rights, Hilda Morales, told reporters she was requesting that the shelter be closed due to welfare authorities inability to manage it.

We are going to ask for the immediate closure of the centre, and attribute administrative and criminal responsibility against those in charge of the centre for not fulfilling their duty, she said.

She noted that last year the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had found in favour of several adolescents who had alleged maltreatment and sexual abuse in the shelter.

She stressed that those sent to the centre should receive better protection than in their families where they were abused.

Another prosecutor tasked with protecting children in the country, Harold Flores, told Emisoras Unidas that since last year complaints had surged against the shelter over minors running away to escape alleged sexual abuse there.

He said an investigation had been started to find the reasons and those responsible for Wednesdays tragedy.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeeras Mercer reported that critics are accusing the government of not doing enough to address the complain of the residents of the care home.
Hawaii to seek temporary restraining order on US presidents order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority nations.

The state of Hawaii has said in a court motion that it plans to seek a temporary restraining order on Wednesday against President Donald Trumps new executive order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority countries.

The Trump administration this week issued the revised immigration order replacing an earlier, more sweeping one which had been blocked in court.

The new measure prevents citizens of Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from obtaining US visas for at least 90 days. It also suspends the refugee resettlement process for 120 days.

The federal judge who blocked the first ban was persuaded by the argument of two state attorneys general that it was causing irreparable harm.

It is less clear those arguments would prevail the next time around.

We are carefully reviewing the new executive order to determine its impacts on Washington state and our next legal steps, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Monday.

Immigration advocates said the new ban still discriminated against Muslims and failed to address some of their concerns with the previous directive.

Noor Zafar, a lawyer with expertise in abusive immigration practices at the Centre for Constitutional Rights, New York, said the new executive order is still a ban designed to keep Muslims out of this country.

The Trump administration tweaked the language to take out some of the most blatantly unconstitutional provisions, such as the provision barring green card holders, she said.

The discrimination and the anti-Muslim bias is still there and thats evident by statements President Trump and officials from his administration have have made.

Camille Mackler, director of legal initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition, called Trumps new order a backdoor Muslim ban.

We still think its as problematic as the first travel ban, she said.

It didnt happen in a vacuum, it happened within the context of the comments that have been made before and since the election, this sort of broader war on immigrants that the Trump administration is fighting.

The next wave of legal challenges will have to directly confront the question of whether the immigration order constitutes a Muslim ban, an issue that the courts have so far set aside.

While the White House may have made changes to the ban, the intent to discriminate against Muslims remains, said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLUs Immigrant Rights Project, said Trump has recommitted himself to religious discrimination, and he can expect continued disapproval from both the courts and the people.

Legal experts said it would, however, be harder to challenge because it affects fewer people living in the United States and allows more exemptions to protect them.

The clear intent is to convince the courts that the ban is the result of careful deliberation rather than religious animus, said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center for Justices Liberty and National Security Program.

But the tactical tweaks in this latest edition cannot rescue the orders constitutionality, she said.

Underneath the softened rhetoric and other adjustments lies the same poisonous policy: an effort to restrict Muslims entry into the US.
UN treaty posts website notice saying that the South African government will no longer pursue ICC withdrawal.

South Africas withdrawal from the International Criminal Court has been revoked, the United Nations secretary-general says.

A notice, dated Tuesday, on the UN treaty website said the move came after a South African court ruled last month that the countrys decision to withdraw without parliaments approval was unconstitutional.

South Africa shocked the international community last year when it informed the UN chief it would withdraw from the court that pursues cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Withdrawal comes a year after notification.

South Africas main opposition party challenged the withdrawal in court, saying it was illegal because parliament was not consulted.

READ MORE: Court rules ICC withdrawal plan unconstitutional

South Africa does not want to be lumped together with pariah states who have no respect for human rights, the Democratic Alliance said after the court decision.

Three African countries last year made moves to leave the ICC, speaking fears of an African exodus. Only Burundi remains on a path to withdrawal.

The Gambia under new President Adama Barrow also has revoked its withdrawal.

Some African countries have argued that the court has unfairly targeted their continent and have instead advocated strengthening their own institutions to deal with threats to human rights.

All but one of the courts full-scale investigations are in Africa, though the majority were referred to the court by the African countries themselves and two by the UN Security Council.

South Africas withdrawal announcement had followed a 2015 dispute over a visit by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.

READ MORE: African leaders and the bias of international justice

Bashir was allowed to leave South Africa even though a local court ordered authorities to arrest him.

Under the Rome Statute, signatory countries have a legal obligation to arrest anyone sought by the ICC.

South Africa has said the treaty contradicts its diplomatic immunity law and prevents the country from acting as a regional peacemaker, a role that could require it to host adversaries on its own soil.

The court based in The Hague, Netherlands, has more than 120 member states.

Backers of the court had been dismayed by South Africas move to withdraw, especially after former President Nelson Mandela had been a strong advocate for the courts creation.
Union officials say they will wait for the conclusion of court-supervised resolution of the three month-long dispute.

Kenyas public sector doctors, who have been on strike for more than three months, have said they will defy a government order to resume work and will wait for the conclusion of a court-supervised resolution of the dispute.

The medical staff downed their tools in December demanding better pay and working conditions, putting pressure on President Uhuru Kenyattas government ahead of an election in August.

While all doctors have been ready to resume duty, doing so under threats, intimidation and show of disrespect is tantamount to career suicide, the doctors union, KMPDU, said on Twitter on Wednesday.

READ MORE: In Kenya, doctors strike leaves a nation ailing

KMPDU, which has about 5,000 members, wants authorities to implement a deal agreed in 2013 to give them a 150 to 180 percent pay rise.





That agreement also called for a review of working conditions, job structures and criteria for promotions and address under-staffing in state hospitals.

The lengthy standoff between the doctors and the government has seen some union officials serve short jail terms after being found guilty of contempt of court in relation to the strike.

Months of negotiations between the two sides have not borne fruit, however, and on Tuesday the government said it had terminated those talks after accusing the union of inflexibility in negotiations and rejecting a 50 percent pay rise offer.

Doctors were also ordered to resume work.

A furious Kenyatta on Tuesday lambasted the doctors, accusing them of blackmail.

We will not succumb to threats and intimidation. Do these doctors think we are that stupid? We have offered you better salaries than those in private hospitals! he said at a joint press conference with the Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya.

A Kenyan court which declared the strike illegal appointed church leaders to mediate after several other mediators failed. However, even they failed to make headway after the union on Tuesday rejected a 50 percent salary increase and improved risk allowance.

The previous offer had been 40 percent.

In a series of tweets, KMPDU on Wednesday said its members would only return to duty after signing an agreement with the government as was guided by the court of appeal under the mediation of religious leaders.

The court of appeal ordered the parties to appear in court on Monday to report on the progress of the talks.

University lecturers also went on strike in January, a double blow to Kenyattas government just five months before general elections.
On Monday, President Trump signed a new executive order barring refugees from six majority-Muslim nations that have strong ties to terrorism. This executive order differs from the last one by removing Iraq from the ban and eliminating the preferential option for the areas persecuted Christian minority. Regardless of whether one sees this as a violation of Christian charity or a prudentially wise decision to stem potential sources of terror, one fact remains: The entire debate over Middle Eastern refugees has centered around what the government should be doing. Lost is the role of individual philanthropy, church and charitable initiatives, and ways to serve the majority of displaced persons who do not wish to leave their homes.

Fr. Peter Farrington, a Coptic priest who has a deep familiarity with the region, writes about The missing element in the Middle Eastern refugee debate: private philanthropy in his newest essay for Religion & Liberty Transatlantic. Fr. Farrington notes both that private charity produces better results for less money and that the U.S. dollar stretches further in the Mideast than in the West:

For any given amount of state aid  or private charity  much more could be done for many more refugees in the Middle East, than could be achieved by spending the same sums on relocating a relatively small number of migrants. A report produced by War Child, a charity that serves child refugees in the Middle East, calculates that it costs 10 times more to support a refugee in the West than in the region (approximately $3,000 a year, compared to $30,000 to resettle refugees in Germany or other European nations). Another report from November 2015 concluded that a relocated Syrian migrant requires an average funding of $64,370 for the first five years of relocation to the USA, while the UNHCR estimates that funding of $5,285 is required to support a refugee in the region over the same five-year period. The UNHCR is currently seeking to plug a $2.5 billion funding gap in its efforts to provide for four million Syrian refugees in the Middle East. This is what it would cost to relocate approximately 39,000 Syrians, and cover their costs in the United States. Save the Children, one of the largest charities working in the region, is able to provide a shelter kit, including tent and sleeping bags, to provide warm temporary accommodation for a refugee family for only $120. It is reasonable to compare the outcome for one refugee relocated to the USA, and supported for five years, with the possibility of providing shelter for more than 500 refugee families in the Middle East. (Emphasis added.)

Stephen Herreid has noted that the Catholic hierarchy in the Mideast actively opposes a policy of mass Christian emigration to the West, which they believe will leave the remaining Christian population  by definition, those with the least resources  more vulnerable to jihadist attempts at liquidation. Fr. Farrington takes up this aspect, as well:

The Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo, Jean-Clement Jeanbart, addressed a well-meaning Canadian audience, saying, Were not happy when we see the Canadian government moving refugees and facilitating their integration. It hurts us. A lot. What he did request was greater levels of aid to the churches caring for the displaced in the Middle East. The Maronite Syrian bishop, Elias Sleman, considering the situation of his community, says, We are strong in our faith, rooted in our history. We have been here for 2,000 years. We refuse to go! He asks for Western support that would allow those who might otherwise become migrants to stay in the region and be able to support themselves. Even those who support giving Christians priority in immigration, such as Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil in Iraq, continue to ask for support for the services their own Christian communities are providing refugees, saying, My archdiocese hosts the largest community of displaced Christians in my country, and since 2014, we have received no money from the United States government and no money from the UN.

The significant benefits that citizens of the West could render to refugees of all religious backgrounds independent of government action has not penetrated public consciousness on this issue. Meanwhile, in the UK, levels of individual charitable giving are declining, Fr. Farrington writes.

The reasons many in the West refer all vexing problems first to the government for resolution are many faceted. But Fr. Farringtons conclusion dovetails with a new study released by Bowdoin psychology professor Zachary Rothschild and University of Southern Mississippi psychology professor Lucas A. Keefer explaining that moral outrage is self-serving. Those who believe they are morally culpable for causing suffering to another person feel better if that guilt is transferred, scapegoat-like, to another person or entity. The desire to do something is as psychologically valuable as actually doing anything of use. Fr. Farrington explains how we can be found not merely hearers, but doers of the Word, in his latest essay.

You can read Fr. Farringtons complete essay here.

(Photo credit: Alisdare Hickson. This photo has been cropped. CC BY-SA 2.0.)
Moroccan police say a suspect has been arrested after member of Constitutional Union party is slain near his home.

Abdellatif Merdas, a Moroccan member of parliament, has been shot dead in Casablanca, according to police.

The 53-year-old, a politician with the liberal Constitutional Union party, was gunned down late on Tuesday near his home in the well-off southern district of Californie.

His assassins fled the scene, but police said on Wednesday they had arrested a 27-year-old man suspected of links to the assault.

A raid on the suspects home came up with two shotguns similar to the one used in the attack, police said.

The assault is believed to be criminally motivated.

Initial investigations suggest that the suspect had previously threatened Merdas with death owing to alleged personal differences, police said.

Merdas, who represented the Ben Ahmed district 60km south of the coastal city of Casablanca, was in his official car when he was hit three times by shotgun fire, private news websites reported.

Hit in the head, he succumbed to his wounds shortly afterwards.

Local news websites showed photos of the scene and a car with broken windows, surrounded by police officers.

They said one or more attackers fled in a foreign-registered vehicle.
Thieves posing as police allegedly intercepted security guards as they were transporting money to a waiting aircraft.

South African police launched an investigation on Wednesday into an armed robbery at the main international airport in the city of Johannesburg.

Officials said the heist took place on Tuesday evening at O R Tambo International Airport and that it was unknown what, if anything, was taken.

Some police officials, however, have said the robbers stole an undisclosed amount of money.

Authorities were investigating the alleged use of a vehicle with police markings in the robbery, according to Jacaranda FM, a local radio station.

That is a subject of police investigation, to determine whether or not the car used belongs to the police or not, police Colonel Athlenda Mathe said in a radio interview.

The Democratic Alliance, South Africas main opposition party, said it would ask a police watchdog agency to investigate whether police members or assets were used in the heist.

The episode could point to the involvement of corrupt cops, the party said in a statement. It also said it would question the police and transport ministers about security at South African airports.

A company that tries to counter organised crime in the banking industry said it was deeply concerned by the boldness of the criminals as well as their ability to gain access to a secure area.

It is evident that the heist was executed using accurate information, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre said in a statement.

This incident exacerbates an already dire situation of attacks on cash in transit vehicles and staff.

Johannesburgs central airport is no stranger to large-scale heists.

According to local reports, in 2006 an estimated $7.67m was stolen from an international aircraft at the same airport.

A similar incident took place in 2014, when armed men took over a vehicle transporting millions of dollars in cash  US dollars, euros and pounds.
Move comes after insurgents released 125 soldiers who fought in Darfur conflict that killed 300,000 people since 2003.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday pardoned 259 rebels captured in fighting with government forces, including dozens who had been sentenced to death.

Bashirs order came three days after a prominent insurgent group freed dozens of prisoners, mostly soldiers, it had captured in fighting with government forces.

The decision to pardon 259 rebels aims at preparing the environment for achieving lasting peace in the country, Bashirs office said in a statement.

Those pardoned include 66 rebels who had been sentenced to death.

Sudan: Blame traded over civilian deaths in Darfur





Of the 259 rebels to be released now, dozens were captured in 2015 after fierce fighting in war-torn South Darfur between government forces and rebels.

Although the presidency did not specify which group these rebels belonged to, government forces in 2015 fought pitched battles with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in South Darfur.

Forty-four rebels also among those pardoned were captured in the city of Omdurman in 2008 after similar clashes between government forces and JEM fighters.

The decision to pardon is a progressive step and would help in the ceasing of hostilities, Nur Ahmed al-Nur, editor-in-chief of Assayha newspaper, told AFP news agency.

On Sunday, another prominent rebel group, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), freed at least 125 prisoners, mostly soldiers.

The prisoners had been captured in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, where the SPLM-N has been fighting government forces for years.

Sudanese rebel group releases 127 prisoners

The conflict in Darfur, a region the size of France, erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashirs Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, accusing it of marginalising the region economically and politically.

At least 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur and another 2.5 million displaced since the conflict erupted, the United Nations says.

In 2011, similar rebellions against Bashirs regime also broke out in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

Khartoum announced a unilateral ceasefire in June 2016 in all three conflict zones, which it extended by six months in January.

Bashir, who has ruled Sudan for nearly three decades, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur. He steadfastly denies the charge.
Suicide bomb explosions target wedding ceremony in a village near the Iraqi city of Tikrit, officials say.

At least 26 people have been killed in suicide bomb explosions at a wedding party in a village near the Iraqi city of Tikrit, medical and security sources have told Al Jazeera.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesdays attack in Hajjaj village, located 20km north of Tikrit.

Security forces cordoned off the area and imposed a wider curfew for fear of more attackers.

A police source told Reuters that two blasts hit the wedding and two more targeted security forces at the scene shortly afterwards. There were ongoing clashes between security forces and fighters in the area, he said.

Iraqi security forces retook Tikrit from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant  ISIL, also known as ISIS  in April 2015.

In November, ISIL bomb attacks hit Tikrit, north of the capital, Baghdad, in an apparent diversionary assault as Iraqi forces drove back the armed groups fighters in their stronghold of Mosul.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley calls Kim Jong-un arrogant and not a rational person.

The United States has said all options are on the table to deal with North Korea.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley also denounced North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after the United Nations Security Council discussed Pyongyangs launch of four ballistic missiles on Monday.

We are not dealing with a rational person, said Haley. It is an unbelievable, irresponsible arrogance that we are seeing coming out of Kim Jong-un at this time.





She said the administration of US President Donald Trump was re-evaluating how it would handle North Korea and that all options were on the table.

We are making those decisions now and we will act accordingly, Haley said.

North Korea fired the missiles into the sea off Japans coast in response to the annual US-South Korea military drills, which Pyongyang sees as preparation for war.

According to the Kyodo News Agency, one of the missiles fell closer than ever before from the Japanese coast, around 200km northwest of the countrys Noto Peninsula.

Al Jazeeras Mike Hanna, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said it doesnt appear there was that much movement in the closed-door Security Council emergency meeting called by the US, Japan and South Korea.

All parties came out and insisted that the sanctions already in place against North Korea must be fully enforced, the argument being that there is still some leeway with the enforcement of these sanctions, he said.

Pyongyang has fired dozens of missiles and conducted two of its five nuclear tests in the past year in defiance of UN resolutions.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday the tests by the North and the joint drills across the border in South Korea were causing tension to increase like two accelerating trains coming toward each other. He suggested a dual suspension to allow all sides to return to negotiations.

We have to see some sort of positive action taken by North Korea before we can ever take them seriously, Haley said when asked about Beijings proposal.

She said the drills had been held annually for 40 years and North Korea was always notified.

The US military on Tuesday started to deploy the first elements of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea, which China opposes.

Diplomats said China raised the THAAD deployment during Wednesdays closed-door UN meeting.

North Koreas foreign ministry spokesman categorically rejected a Security Council statement that labelled what he called its routine ballistic missile a threat.

The spokesman reiterated that the US-South Korean exercises are pushing the situation to the brink of a nuclear war and the North was responding with the self-defensive right of a sovereign state.
A quick look at how International Womens Day is being marked around the world.

From economic strikes to street protests, women worldwide are drawing attention to gender inequality on International Womens Day.





Under the theme Be Bold For Change, organisers of the day are calling on individuals to take groundbreaking action to build a more gender-inclusive world.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein said the womens movement has brought about major change, but in many countries challenges remain.

In too many countries, we are now seeing a backlash against womens rights, a backlash that hurts us all, al-Hussein said in a statement .

This year, the day has taken on a political tone, with a major focus on labour.

Heres a look at how the day is being marked around the world:

A Day Without Women

Womens day strikes, or what is being called A Day Without Women, and other actions have been planned in more than 40 countries on Wednesday.

Organisers have urged women to take a day off work or school to call attention to the economic bias faced by women.

WATCH: The effectiveness of general strikes

They acknowledged many will not be able to participate in the strike for financial or practical reasons.

Many women in our most vulnerable communities will not have the ability to join the strike, due to economic insecurity. We strike for them, organisers said and encouraged women who could not strike to wear something red in a show of solidarity.

Gender equality still not a reality in Australia

In addition to a number of marches and events taking place across Australia, the countrys sex discrimination commissioner has issued a critical report highlighting gender inequality in the country.





Kate Jenkins warned that Australia still has a long way to go to achieve gender parity.

While there have been substantial gains in equality under the law, one of the key findings of these consultations is that we do not have equality of outcomes, Jenkins said.

The report, which includes interviews with more than 1,000 women, found three key areas for improvement including, economic security, leadership positions and violence against women.

Women in Africa face daunting challenges

While African women have made significant progress in recent years, they continue to face daunting challenges with high rates of sexual violence, maternal mortality and HIV infections, a report , released on the eve of International Womens Day, said.

The joint report by the United Nations and the African Union found that in every country on the continent women are denied full enjoyment of their rights.

INTERACTIVE: Women leaders around the world

Among the signs of progress mentioned was that female participation in many African legislatures is higher than in the UK and US.

Centre to protect Afghan women journalists

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has opened Afghanistans first centre to protect female journalists on Wednesday.

The centres head, journalist Farida Nikzad, said its goal is to protect, defend and assist women in the field.

We want to support women journalists, both in war zones and within the news organisations for which they work, to defend both their rights and their physical safety. To that end, we need the government and media owners to commit to do their part in what is a key battle for Afghan society, Nikzad said.

Afghanistan is ranked 120th out of 180 countries in the organisations 2016 World Press Freedom Index .

Latin America takes on femicide

Rallies under the banner Ni Una Menos (or Not One Less) have been planned across Latin America to demand respect for womens rights and a stronger stance against femicide in the region.

In Brazil, the main Rio de Janeiro airport will temporarily change its name to honour Maria da Penha, a prominent activist against domestic violence.

OPINION: Not one woman less!

Penha was shot and electrocuted by her husband in 1983. She has since been at the forefront of the fight for justice for domestic violence victims.

A study last year found that more than 4,700 women were murdered in 2014, up 11.6 percent from a decade earlier.

Call to celebrate men stirs controversy in Canada

On the eve of International Womens Day, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, stirred controversy after suggesting men should be celebrated as well.

Gregoire Trudeau posted an Instagram photo with her husband and encouraged women to mark International Womens Day by sharing a photo of their male ally to celebrate the boys and men in their lives.

While some praised Gregoire Trudeaus post, others offered strong criticism, including Conservative MP Michelle Rempel.

I've never had to have my hand held. #equalitymatters pic.twitter.com/z46NCZcZ4Z  Michelle Rempel Garner (@MichelleRempel) March 7, 2017

Responding to the debate, Gregoire Trudeau said, now, we are having a conversation.
Women urged to stay away from work, or wear red if they cannot, to highlight their role in US economy and society.

American women demonstrating how vital women are to the US economy have stayed home from work, joined rallies or wore red, as International Womens Day was observed with a multitude of events around the world.

The Day Without a Woman protest in the US was promoted by organisers of the vast womens marches that drew more than 1 million Americans the day after President Donald Trumps inauguration.

The turnout this time was much smaller, with crowds in many places numbering in the hundreds. There were no immediate estimates of how many women heeded the call to skip work some schools were closed as not enough staff would turn up for work.

Many seized the opportunity to protest against Trump and his policies concerning women.

I believe now more than ever its important to stand up for womens reproductive rights, LGBTQ, the environment, a young woman who left her retail job to join a protest in New York, told Al Jazeera. With this administration we have to take our rights seriously and make sure everyone is heard and represented.

An older man also said he came out because of Trump.

I think he discriminates against women, has no respect for women and thats why I want to be here. For women.

OPINION: Sexy veils, running shoes and missing feminisms

A crowd of about 1,000 people, the vast majority of them women, gathered on New Yorks Fifth Avenue in the shadow of Trump Tower. Women wore red and waved signs reading Nevertheless she persisted, Misogyny out of the White House now and Resist like a girl.

At least 13 protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct after sitting in the street near the Trump Hotel, disrupting traffic.

Some of the main organisers of the Womens March  Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Carmen Perez and Bob Bland  were among those arrested.

Elsewhere in the city, a statue of a fearless-looking girl was placed in front of Wall Streets famous charging bull sculpture. The girl appeared to be staring down the animal. A plaque at her feet read: Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.

State Street Global Advisors, the firm behind the statue, said it was a way of calling attention to the lack of gender diversity on corporate boards and the pay gap of women working in financial services.

The nation-wide event was inspired in part by the Day Without an Immigrant protest held last month.

School in such places as Prince Georges County, Maryland; Alexandria, Virginia; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, cancelled classes after hundreds of teachers and other employees let it be known they would be out.

In Providence, Rhode Island, the municipal court closed for lack of staff members.

In Washington, DC, more than 20 Democratic female representatives walked out of the Capitol to address a cheering crowd of several hundred people.

Dressed in red, the lawmakers criticised efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi encouraged more women to go into politics, saying, You have marched for progress. Now you must run for office.

What are you doing for #DayWithoutAWoman?  AJ+ (@ajplus) March 8, 2017

In front of the White House, dozens protested against a US policy that bans international NGOs from providing abortion services or offering information about abortions if they receive US funding.

Trump imposed what critics call the global gag rule in an executive order he signed just after taking office.

Protest for the privileged?

Some criticised the Day Without a Woman strike, warning that many women cannot afford to miss work or find child care.

Organisers asked those unable to skip work to wear red in solidarity.

Its almost impossible for a single mother, a low-income worker, a minimum-wage earner to take the day off, Sarah Sophie Flicker, a protest organiser in New York, told Al Jazeera. Everyone here stands in solidarity with women who cant strike.

As part of the protest, women were also urged to refrain from shopping.

OPINION: Women of the world, unite!

A few hundred people gathered on the lawn outside Los Angeles City Hall to rally for womens rights.

Hundreds of women dressed in red and holding signs with photos of their local lawmakers gathered at the Utah Capitol to remind legislators they are closely watching how they handle womens issues.

In Denver, several hundred people marched silently around the state Capitol.

Kelly Warren brought her daughters, ages 3 and 12.

We wanted to represent every marginalised woman whose voice doesnt count as much as a mans, Warren, a sales associate in the male-dominated construction industry, told AFP.

Trump took to Twitter to salute the critical role of women in the US and around the world. He tweeted that he has tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy.

The White House said none of its female staff members skipped work in support of International Womens Day.

Women make up more than 47 percent of the US workforce and are dominant among registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists, according to the census.

They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, and the same with lawyers and judges. Women also account for 55 percent of all college students.

At the same time, American women earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data.
Jessica Neuwirth

Jessica Neuwirth is the founder of Donor Direct Action, an international women's organisation, which partners with visionary front-line women's groups... more around the world.
Ten years ago, in November 2006, Al Jazeera English was launched. To mark that anniversary, we have created REWIND, which updates some of the channels most memorable and award-winning documentaries of the past decade. We find out what happened to some of the characters in those films and ask how the stories have developed in the years since our cameras left.

On a journey to the heart of the Ebola epidemic in 2014, award-winning journalist Sorious Samura followed Liberias poorly paid and ill-equipped health workers as they risked their lives to treat the infected and recover the bodies of the dead.

Working alongside Liberian investigative reporter Mae Azango and producer Clive Patterson, Sorious filmed with a Red Cross body-collection team travelling around Monrovia, Liberias capital, picking up the contagious corpses of the deceased. Several of their workers paid with their lives, but the work was vital in keeping the spread of infection under control.

Sorious also encountered deep anger among Liberian health workers. Infuriated by their pay and conditions, they were suspicious that government corruption was preventing the distribution of money donated by the international community.

This film offers an insight into what it is like to live in a society gripped by dread of contagion and mistrust of the authorities, a place where no one shakes hands any more, where a mother will think twice before picking up a sick child.

But it also shows how ordinary people made the most extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of their community  and indeed the rest of us.

Liberian nurse Salome Karwah was one of the health workers featured in the film. A symbol of strength and humanity, she used her experience to help others after surviving Ebola herself.

But last month, Karwah died in Monrovia after giving birth to a son because health workers were reluctant to treat an Ebola survivor once complications developed. Her husband blames the stigma attached to the deadly virus for her death.

Sorious Samura tells REWIND that her death could have been prevented through proper education.

This is the time that I would love the WHO [World Health Organization] to ask questions, to hold the government to account, to ask [Liberian president Ellen] Johnson Sirleaf, what have you done to educate the Ministry of Health?  I think now we have left too early, he says.
A look at the information wars waged by Israel and its supporters to win the hearts and minds of the American people.

A film by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp

Narrator : Roger Waters

Executive Producer : Sut Jhally

Associate Producer: George Matta

The 2014 war on Gaza saw the Israeli military launch a devastating attack on the Gaza Strip. Over the course of 51 days, Israel dropped nearly 20,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians, wounding tens of thousands and obliterating countless homes. The overwhelming majority of the casualties were civilians.

The attacks sparked mass protests around the world, including a thousands-strong march in Tel Avivs Rabin Square, with a clear divide between anti-war and rightist protesters. However, the American reaction held firm in its support for Israel, in spite of the atrocities taking place on the ground. A CNN/ORC poll conducted in July of 2014 showed that only four in 10 Americans believed that Israel was using too much force against the population of Gaza. The same poll showed that 12 percent of respondents believed Israel was not using enough force.

READ MORE  The uneven alliance: How America became pro-Israel

What we've seen is another kind of occupation  an occupation of American media and the American mind by a pro-Israel narrative that's deflected attention away from what virtually everyone recognises as the best way to resolve this conflict: end the occupation and the settlements so that Palestinians can finally have a state of their own. by Sut Jhally, professor of communication, University of Massachusetts

However shocking, the unrelenting American support for Israel was nothing new. The Israeli perspective dominates the American media and pro-Israel talking points are repeated by the highest government officials and recycled endlessly by the media. How, if at all, can propaganda be uncovered if the mainstream point of view is so dominant?

Zionism, born in the late 1800s, saw the idea of Jewish entitlement to Palestine come to fruition. From an estimated 7 percent, the Jewish population of Palestine grew exponentially to a third of the total population by 1947. The events of World War II and the Holocaust contributed to the number of Jewish settlers arriving in Palestine. It was then that the British colonial government handed matters over to the newly formed United Nations.

UN Resolution 181 awarded the smaller Jewish community a significantly larger percentage of historic Palestine than its Arab population  56 percent to Palestines 44, respectively. Arab leaders rejected the proposal but their protests went unheard as Zionist leaders declared Israel a state under the new UN borders, triggering the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948. A crushing defeat of the military coalition of Arab states  including Jordan (then known as TransJordan), Egypt and Lebanon  saw Israel take control of 78 percent of historic Palestine by the time armistice was declared in 1949.

In 1967, the Six-Day War would see Israel defeat much stronger Arab armies, once again. The state would lay claim to whatever remained of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. In spite of the UN Security Council passing Resolution 242  a call for Israel to withdraw its armed forces as per international law forbidding the takeover of territory by war  American public opinion of Israeli actions did not waver.

The 1982 invasion of Lebanon, however, saw a change in the favoured tides for Israel. As images of the Sabra and Shatila massacre flooded into American news media, Israel suddenly needed to defend itself. The war in Lebanon would trigger the need for an official public relations strategy, known in Hebrew as Hasbara. The basic strategy would be to push back with footage of Palestinians fighting against the occupation, highlighting Israels role as underdog and victim.

However, with the internet and the rise of social media news, the Israeli government and pro-Israel groups have had a harder time managing American perceptions of the conflict. How can these changes  if any  be sustained in the long-term and will the US government ever manage its media support for Israels position in conflict?

For more on the film: http://mediaed.org/occupationmovie/
In a new article from West Michigan Christian News, Paul R. Kopenkoskey covers a recent Acton Lecture Series event. The lecture featured, Anne Rathbone Bradley, vice president of economic initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics. Titled, Finding your purpose: Why Christians must support economic freedom, it looked at the virtues of the free market in achieving prosperity. Bradley, a strong proponent of biblical approaches towards achieving human flourishing, spoke of a position rooted in biblical principles in support of the virtues of the free market.

As Kopenkoskey notes, Bradley painted a stunning picture of the benefits of the free market in comparison to more regulated markets (most notably, Russia) by articulating the surprise of the former President of Russia on a simple, but fundamental difference between the two types of economies (on Yeltsins initial visit to a grocery store in the U.S.):

Hes depressed and overwhelmed by what he sees, said Rathbone Bradley. He (Yeltsin) cannot believe that ordinary people, in a mild mannered way, are pushing grocery carts in an air conditioned, well lit grocery store, continued Rathbone Bradley. There are no fistfights. Nobodys pushing each other. Hes in awe of the grocery store. (Yeltsin) said if the Russian people knew of this they would surely revolt.

As Bradley explained, Yeltsin was in awe of what the United States has achieved for its people. We have markets that are more technologically advanced and hold a greater variety of food options than anything Russians could dream of. Additionally, Kopenkoskey lists some of the benefits of the free market:

The benefits of economic freedom become evident other ways as well: life expectancy increases, infant mortality drops, environmental standards improve and literacy rate rise. When you look at the most free societies, less than two percent lives in extreme poverty but when you look at the least free societies, 30 percent live in extreme poverty. Which society do you want to live in? My suspicions are we all want to live in a society where we have a very low chance of being poor. It convinced Boris Yeltsin, who embraced the higher standard of living Americans enjoyed. It made him more of an advocate of economic freedom, said Rathbone Bradley. We get to do that every day because we live in a society of economic freedom.

To read the full article by Kopenkoskey click here. A video of this lecture will be available online soon.
Two UF students were killed in a four-vehicle accident Sunday in Okeechobee, Florida, after leaving the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival on Sunday, Florida Highway Patrol said.

They have been identified as 20-year-old Caroline Celeste Alfano, a UF architecture junior from Boca Raton, Florida, and Nicole Scherten, a German exchange student studying in the UF College of Arts and Sciences, UF spokesman John Hines said.

After leaving the music festival, Alfano and Scherten were rear-ended at a stop sign while inside Alfanos 2015 Honda CR-V, according to an FHP press release.

The collision, which happened at about 4:16 p.m. at the corner of Southeast 128th Avenue and State Road 710, caused Alfanos car to crash into the vehicle in front of her, which then struck the one in front of it, FHP Sgt. Mark Wysocky said.

Scherten was pronounced dead on the scene. Alfano was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, where she was pronounced dead at about 11:03 p.m., according to FHP.

UF President Kent Fuchs addressed the deaths on Tuesday via Twitter, writing, Just learned two wonderful UF students died in a car accident driving home to S FL for Spring Break. We miss and love you all. Pls be safe.

An alcohol test is pending for Joseph David Lagrego, the 22-year-old driver of the 2008 Nissan Altima that struck Alfanos car, according to FHP.

He was also taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center, where he is being treated for serious injuries. The occupants of the other cars involved were not injured, Wysocky said.

Sara Horning, a UF public relations senior who attended the music festival with Alfano, said Alfano left the festival a day early to spend time with her family in Boca Raton, Florida.

Scherten was excited to meet them, Horning said.

About 45 minutes after Horning said goodbye to Alfano, the accident happened.

Alfano was the historian for UF NaviGators International, a sister of UFs chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma and a lifeguard at UFs RecSports, Horning said

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Horning didnt know until a friend texted her 24 hours later asking about Alfano. When she called Alfanos roommate, Meghan Mapes, Horning heard the news.

(Caroline was) really close with her parents, and she was excited to leave, the 21-year-old said.

Alfanos wake will be held at Babione Funeral Home on Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and her service will be at Our Lady of Lourdes at 10 a.m. Saturday, according to a Facebook page.

Chimay Anumba, the dean of the College of Design, Construction and Planning, sent an email to architecture students Tuesday and said UF will hold a memorial service after Spring Break.

The loss of one (of) our students is never easy to accept, he said.

Horning said she will be at the service Saturday to honor the loss of her friend.

It doesnt even feel real, Horning said. It breaks my heart.

@mkornfield

mkornfield@alligator.org

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Alfano was a UF junior and that her middle name is Celeste.
Updated: On Sunday evening, UF Student Body President-elect Smith Meyers issued a statement to the Alligator regarding his arrest in Key West over Spring Break. We've published it below in its entirety:

"Hello Gators,

Early in the morning on Tuesday, March 7th, I was involved in an incident with the local police while on Spring Break in Key West. Even though the case is still under review, as the Student Body President-Elect of the University of Florida, I am called to a higher standard. Though imperfect and human, the office I was elected to calls me to be an example to all those I represent. I failed in doing this and offer my sincere apologies to everyone affected by my actions and to all Gators for representing UF in such a negative light. While I am so appreciative of the love and support I have received from everyone during this time, I also recognize that I have let a lot of people down and must work to earn back the trust of those around me. As many people know, I ran on the motto, character that counts. This incident, while out of character, undoubtedly contradicts that motto. However, I remain committed to good character and will work to prove it throughout my term. I am fully cooperating with law enforcement to resolve this incident and will be as transparent as possible as this case continues."

Original story below:

UFs newly elected Student Body president was arrested Tuesday in Key West, Florida, after police said he drunkenly knocked over two Harley-Davidson motorcycles while on Spring Break.

William Smith Meyers, 22, was observed by a witness at about 2 a.m. Tuesday getting on several parked motorcycles in the 400 block of William Street and attempting to turn them on, according to a Monroe County arrest report.

When they wouldnt start, Meyers got upset and knocked them down onto the roadway, according to the report.

The right-side handlebars of both motorcycles were damaged, and the saddlebags of one motorcycle were scratched, according to the report.

When officers with the Key West Police Department arrived, Meyers was not making sense and appeared to be drunk. The arresting officer wrote, Meyers was so intoxicated that he did not even recall coming down to Key West for spring break vacation," according to the report.

Asked about knocking down the motorcycles, he told an officer that people dont know how to ride their bikes, according to the report.

Police arrested Meyers on a charge of criminal mischief and took him to the Monroe County Detention Center, according to the report.

He was released Tuesday afternoon with a $328 bond, according to the jail.

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Despite being reportedly drunk in public, Meyers was not arrested on an alcohol-related charge. In an interview with the Gainesville Sun, Key West Police spokesperson Alyson Crean said officers in the island city try to exercise discretion when considering charges against college students who visit for Spring Break.

"We don't want to ruin this kid's life for knocking over a couple of bikes," Crean told the Sun.

When contacted on Wednesday, UF President Kent Fuchs declined to comment on Meyers' arrest.

Meyers was elected to be the next Student Body President on Feb. 22, when he ran with Impact Party unopposed. His executive ticket ran under the tagline, Character that counts.

Previously, Meyers was the Student Senate president, elected unanimously Oct. 4, and ended his term Feb. 28, according to Alligator archives.

The UF food and resource economics senior is also a member of UFs chapter of Alpha Tau Omega.

Meyers and Impact spokesperson Janae Moodie could not be immediately reached for comment.

@paigexfry

pfry@alligator.org










English News China to send Chang'e-5 lunar probe into space in 2017

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 8 Mars 2017



The launch of Chang'e-5 is a crucial step for China's three-step lunar exploration mission. According to the schedule, the Chang'e-1 launched in October 2007 aimed to achieve a desired orbit around the moon, while the second-phased mission, fulfilled by Chang'e-2 and 3, was designed to make soft-landing on the moon and accurately survey the landforms at the landing site. The task in phase 3 is to automatically take back lunar samples.

By Meng Xiangfu and Feng Hua from People's Daily China is expected to send lunar probe Chang'e-5 to land on the moon and return with lunar samples within this year, according to the latest information from the country's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.



The preparation is underway smoothly, and the craft is expected to be on standby in August, said Hu Hao, chief designer of the Chinas Lunar Exploration Program's sample return phase, adding that the probe is now under tests after the final assembly.

"The launch is one of Chinas most complicated and difficult space missions," Hu told the People's Daily, explaining that the program's third phase will be more difficult as many breakthroughs must be made in key technologies.

For instance, techniques like moon surface takeoff, sampling encapsulation, rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit and high-speed earth reentry are all new challenges to the country, he added.

The launch of Chang'e-5 is a crucial step for China's three-step lunar exploration mission. According to the schedule, the Chang'e-1 launched in October 2007 aimed to achieve a desired orbit around the moon, while the second-phased mission, fulfilled by Chang'e-2 and 3, was designed to make soft-landing on the moon and accurately survey the landforms at the landing site. The task in phase 3 is to automatically take back lunar samples.

Chang'e-5 is tasked to complete the last step of the three phases -- sampling on the moon surface and return to the earth with the samples.

According to Hu, the craft will stay in the space for about a month, with its flight divided into 11 phases including launching, earth-moon trajectory, final braking, circular orbit around the moon, landing, sampling, ascending, rendezvous and docking, sample transfer, round-trip, moon-earth transition, reentry and recovery.

Chang'e-5, Hu said, is comprised of five major systems including probe, carrier rocket, launching site, controlling and recovery. The probe will be launched by Long March-5 carrier rocket at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in South China's Hainan island, he added.



Pics

Robotic lander of Chang'e-3 takes photo of the lunar rover "Jade Rabbit". (File photo)



Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's Beidou reaches world-leading level: white paper Silk Road e-commerce promotes trade among Belt and Road countries Irrigation project in Jiangsu gets world heritage designation Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News China to send Mars probe into space in 2020

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 8 Mars 2017



China's first Mars mission is poised to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies like orbiting, landing and deploying a rover. The mission plans to, by making an all-round exploration and high-precision scientific probes in limited area, study the inner structure, surface, atmosphere, and ambient space environment of the red planet, and as a result give insight into the origin and evolution of the solar system, information about extraterrestrial life and other big scientific challenges.

By Fu Wen, Liu Junguo from Peoples Daily China will send a spacecraft to orbit Mars, make a landing, and deploy a rover in July or August 2020, Wan Weixing, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Peoples Daily on Monday.



The lander will tough down the northern hemisphere of Mars where the rover will explore the surface after a journey of around seven months, and send the collected data back in 2021, said Wan, also chief scientist of China's Mars exploration program.



The designed life expectancy of the probe is one Martian year, or nearly two years on Earth, he disclosed when reviewing the government work report at the ongoing two sessions, namely the annual meetings of the National Peoples Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.



The task is now proceeding smoothly, the chief scientist said, explaining that feasibility studies, scientific goals, basic working plans have been completed before the mission plan was officially approved in early 2016.



So far, preparation works on satellite probes, ground data application, rocket launches, monitoring and control systems have been started, and some solutions have been primarily confirmed after initial design, optimization and rounds of tests, he continued.



China's first Mars mission is poised to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies like orbiting, landing and deploying a rover.



The mission plans to, by making an all-round exploration and high-precision scientific probes in limited area, study the inner structure, surface, atmosphere, and ambient space environment of the red planet, and as a result give insight into the origin and evolution of the solar system, information about extraterrestrial life and other big scientific challenges.



Mars is always the human beings first destination chosen for deep-space exploration, with a shorter distance to Earth than its peers in solar system, shares similar national environment with the plant the human beings are now living.



The orbits of Earth and Mars only align for an optimal launch every 26 months, and the window only lasts a few weeks, which means that there are only three launch windows before the arrival of the expected timetable of 2020.



Photo taken shows the concept portraying what the Mars rover and lander would look like. (Photo source: clep.org.cn)



Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's Beidou reaches world-leading level: white paper Silk Road e-commerce promotes trade among Belt and Road countries Irrigation project in Jiangsu gets world heritage designation Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News Xi Jinping urges more trust to intellectuals

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 8 Mars 2017



The Thousand Talents Program is one of those programs launched by China to lure talents back.

Launched in 2012, the 10-year plan aimed to select a batch of elites and skilled researchers in natural science, engineering technology, philosophy of the social sciences, and other sectors.

By Zhao Cheng from Peoples Daily Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the authorities to give more trust to intellectuals, requiring policymakers to seek more advice from the latter when making big decisions, and be more tolerant on their dissenting voices.



Xi made the remarks when joining a panel discussion with political advisors to the fifth session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) last Saturday.



Officials at all levels should master the skill to communicate with intellectuals, and act as the latters friends, Xi told the CPPCC members.



A favorable environment that honors knowledge and intellectuals should be created, Xi said, adding that authorities must create better conditions for their studies and start-ups, speed up the mechanism-building and follow the work features of intellectuals so that they can fully unleash their talent.



Stressing the importance of more trust on talents, Xi required the officials to seek their advice on key work agendas and big decisions.



All the suggestions or criticism from the intellectuals with a good intention should be accepted, the president stressed, adding that we can take those correct advises, but be more inclusive and tolerant towards prejudiced and incorrect voices.



Intellectuals have been high on Xis agenda. In a symposium held last April in Hefei, Anhui province, Xi requested governments at all levels to fully trust the intellectuals and reduce interference into their innovative work, so that they can concentrate on their duties.



China has taken a series of talent introducing measures to build a talent system with global competence in recent years.



The Thousand Talents Program is one of those programs launched by China to lure talents back.

Launched in 2012, the 10-year plan aimed to select a batch of elites and skilled researchers in natural science, engineering technology, philosophy of the social sciences, and other sectors.



A recently-released report showed that over the past five years, more Chinese students chose to return to their homeland for career development after completing their overseas studies. Ten years ago, only one third of those students returned China, while the number now increases to 80 percent.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's Beidou reaches world-leading level: white paper Silk Road e-commerce promotes trade among Belt and Road countries Irrigation project in Jiangsu gets world heritage designation Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
Isaiah ThomasPatriot Printer

A Dramatic Presentation for All Audiences

Immerse your students or group in historic primary source materials with a dynamic theatrical presentation about Isaiah Thomas (17491831), a printer who was instrumental in starting the American Revolution and then, as the foremost publisher in the Early Republic, created a uniquely American literature and culture.

In Isaiah ThomasPatriot Printer a professional actor, wearing a costume and wig, comes directly into your classroom or performance space and impersonates Isaiah Thomas. In an interactive presentation, Thomas tells his own life story and the history of our nation's founding through selected documents that the real Thomas either created or collected. Hear him tell about protesting the Stamp Act, printing the first eyewitness account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and how he was the first person to give a public reading of the Declaration of Independence in New England.

Thomas's story resonates with audiences of all ages and is perfect for school presentations, historical societies, cultural organizations, senior centers, scout groups, and more.

The Online Curriculum Guide for School Groups

All the historic documents and graphic images described in the theatrical presentation are contained in the online curriculum guide and come from the collections of the American Antiquarian Society (AAS). Your students can explore them on their own through the included facsimiles and lesson plans developed by classroom teachers.

Isaiah ThomasPatriot Printer encourages students to use their research, investigative learning, and critical thinking skills. The program also engages students who may have problems reading and learning in traditional ways through the excitement of a live theatrical presentation and by the variety of learning activities included in the online curriculum guide.

Isaiah ThomasPatriot Printer adheres to the National Standards for History, the Curriculum Standards for Social Studies developed by the National Council for Social Studies, and to the history and social science curriculum frameworks and standards for the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York.

Topics addressed in Isaiah ThomasPatriot Printer :

The American Revolution

Events leading up to the American Revolution

The beginning and early battles of the war

The War of 1812

The Early National Period

Early American Printing and Publishing

Early American Literature

The Rise of the Market Economy

The Transportation Revolution

Booking and Fees

Fee:

$400 (additional travel expenses may apply to performances outside of Central Massachusetts)

For further information or to book a performance contact:

Kayla Hopper, Director of Outreach

Phone: 508-471-2129

E-mail: khopper@mwa.org
Americans of African descent voted overwhelmingly Republican from the end of the Civil War to the 1930s, but they became almost totally Democrat by the 1970s. No single event brought about this tectonic shift, but the change in black voting patterns began with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During the Depression, Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) gave starving men work, food, and shelter. My father, a black American, lived and worked in a CCC camp for six months and he was forever grateful.

As a result, he became a passionate Democrat and disdained the Republican Party as the exclusive club of the heartless rich. When Truman became president, he ended racial segregation in the military, furthering the image of Democrats as the party of compassion and justice.

Then came John Kennedy, the inspiring symbol of the future. His famous call to Coretta Scott King while her husband was held in a Georgia jail created an emotional bond with black voters. Most historians agree that Pres. Kennedy was reticent at best, fearing that he would alienate Southern Democrats. Nevertheless, he made the call and reinforced the idea that Democrats care and Republicans do not. That single gesture caused Martin Luther King, Sr. ("Daddy King") to switch his support from Nixon to Kennedy, and many black voters did the same.

After the Kennedy assassination, Lyndon Johnson  the former segregationist known to use the N-word in private  became the public champion of Civil Rights.

The last Republican to receive a significant percentage of the black vote was Richard Nixon with 32%. It was the dying gasp of a century-long love affair between black voters and the GOP. They have now been estranged for half a century.

How did Republicans allow a constituency once firmly in their camp to make a wholesale exodus? Or to put it another way, how did Democrats wrench the black vote from the GOP's grasp?

A common misperception held by black voters today is that as the Democratic Party became more sensitive to the needs of black citizens, Dixiecrats switched to the Republican Party. In other words, the parties reversed roles. While it is true that many Southern whites became Republicans, there were other political re-alignments that disprove the role reversal theory.

As Northeastern Democrats embraced Civil Rights, they were also adopting abortion as a central tenet. Furthermore, the Democratic Party supported the 1962 and 1963 Supreme Court decisions that ruled in Engle v. Vitale, School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, and Murray v. Curlett that prayer and Bible-reading in public schools violate the First Amendment. Republicans were opposed.

In 1982, Ronald Reagan proposed a constitutional amendment to restore prayer to schools. That issue solidified the platforms and images of the two parties  the Democrats as secular liberals, the Republicans as evangelical conservatives. As secularism and identity politics became more influential among Democrats, they lurched to the far left. As evangelicals became more powerful in Republican ranks, the party became more decidedly Christian. However, the GOP never became the party of segregationists, as is wrongly thought. It became the party for people of faith, and I, a black American, was one of the people who left the Democratic Party to become a Republican in the early eighties.

The more Republicans took on a religious persona, the more the Democrats shunned religion. No one will ever forget the infamous moment when Democrats at their 2012 national convention took God out of their platform, and then clumsily and over objections tried to put Him back. It was telling.

The Democratic Party brand as champion for black civil rights has also been weakened by the creation of new classes of "victims"  gays, illegal immigrants, Muslims, transgenders, and the list goes on and on. The problems of the inner city are complex and horrifying, but fighting to allow the Caitlyn Jenners of the world to "be who they were meant to be" and use the bathroom of their choice makes for a simpler, more hip rallying cry. The only message Democrats have had to the black community for the last forty years boils down to "Republicans are racists. Vote Democrat."

In truth, black voters no longer have a political home. Democrats take them for granted, and Republicans consider them unreachable. Suddenly appears Donald J. Trump, a white New York billionaire-turned-Republican politician, directly appealing to black citizens and expecting to get their votes.

"What the hell have you got to lose?" he asked again and again on the campaign trail. He repeatedly promised to do something about the crime and violence plaguing the inner cities. He has committed to give children of poor black parents an opportunity for a quality education through school choice. The election results showed that 13% of black men voted for him, a staggeringly high number in light of recent voting history.

Are we witnessing an anomaly, or is this the beginning of another seismic shift in the black vote like what took place from Roosevelt to Johnson? The jury is still out, but if President Trump delivers on his promises of jobs, education, and safe streets, he may separate black voters from the Democrat coalition and bring them back to their original home in the Party of Lincoln.
In 1964, Fact Magazine produced a special issue entitled "The Unconscious of a Conservative: A Special Issue on the Mind of Barry Goldwater," specifically addressing the mental health of then-Republican presidential candidate Sen. Barry Goldwater. As would be expected, the magazine did not pronounce Goldwater with a clean bill of mental health. Rather, it essentially pronounced him unfit for office and speculated into the inner workings of his mind. Goldwater sued the editor of the magazine for libel and was awarded $75,000.

In response to this incident, in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) produced a code of ethics specifically applicable to psychiatrists that contained a provision that is now widely known as the Goldwater Rule. This rule states that it is unethical for a psychiatrist to speculate about the mental health of a public figure unless the psychiatrist has examined the public figure personally and has permission from the public figure to share his opinions. The rule reads:

On occasion psychiatrists are asked for an opinion about an individual who is in the light of public attention or who has disclosed information about himself/herself through public media. In such circumstances, a psychiatrist may share with the public his or her expertise about psychiatric issues in general. However, it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement.

This rule remains in effect today.



The rule technically applies only to psychiatrists who are members of the APA, but by convention it has applied to all psychiatrists and to mental health professionals in general. While not formally codified, the general sentiment also conventionally applies to all physicians and health care professionals in general with regard to all medical conditions, not just mental health conditions, although mental health conditions are often understandably more sensitive.

There was a lot of speculation during the campaign about Hillary Clinton's medical condition, some of it coming from professional sources and not just armchair diagnosticians, and I was not comfortable with that, either, even though I was not a Hillary supporter. I had a few people who know I am a physician asked me what I thought was wrong with Hillary after her much publicized collapsing episodes, but I refrained from making any statement publicly.

Non-mental health medical professionals can perhaps be forgiven for their oversight, because the rule is not emphasized as greatly outside mental health circles, although it seems to conform to an intuitive sense of propriety even without a formal rule. But mental health professionals have no such excuse, because the Goldwater Rule is not an obscure guideline in our circles.

The existence of the Goldwater Rule notwithstanding, the candidacy and election of Donald Trump has brought out the crazy (in the non-professional sense, of course) in some of my fellow mental health professionals, and I have been alarmed by the blatant flouting of the Goldwater Rule that I have observed.



Most conspicuous, perhaps, is Dr. John Gartner, a psychologist, who, in addition to his private practice in psychotherapy, speaking, and consulting, bills himself as a psycho-journalist, a term he coined "for his innovative method of combining investigative journalism with psychological expertise." He even wrote a "psychological biography" of Bill Clinton.

Dr. Gartner has been vocal in his public speculations about Donald Trump's mental health and has even started a Change.org petition, and encouraged other mental health professionals to sign it, asserting that President Trump is mentally ill and should be removed from office under the provisions of the 25th Amendment. The petition reads as follows:

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 4 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."

This is not just violating the Goldwater Rule; this is throwing it on the ground and trampling all over it and encouraging others to do so as well. As of the time of this writing, 29,542 have overstepped their ethical bounds, assuming they are all actually mental health professionals, and signed the petition. I tweeted my concerns about the Goldwater Rule to Dr. Gartner, but he did not reply.

Dr. Gartner might object that he is not covered by the Goldwater Rule because he is a Ph.D. psychologist, and he would be technically correct, but the Goldwater Rule has traditionally been applied to other mental health professionals in the same way it has traditionally been applied to psychiatrists who aren't dues-paying members of the APA. Most mental health professionals are not psychiatrists, and most psychiatrists are not members of the APA, so technically, the Goldwater Rule applies to only a minority of a minority of mental health professionals.

But is this really the way we want to apply ethical rules?



It should be noted that speculating about the mental health of high-profile political figures is not confined to the left. People on the right speculated about Barack Obama and Bill Clinton's mental health and the mental health of liberals in general (see second review). Some amount of this is likely the inevitable product of our modern culture, which is both highly polemicized and highly psychologized. In addition, the internet allows everyone to become an expert in his own mind, and blogs and social media give people a platform to let the world know what they think on any given matter. However, the speculations about Clinton's and Obama's mental health seemed more confined to non-professionals engaging in armchair diagnosing, which is tacky but not ethically prohibited. I do not recall a significant organized effort by mental health professionals to label Clinton or Obama mentally ill and invoke the 25th Amendment.



While both sides can play this game, attempts to portray politicians as mentally ill should especially concern conservatives, because the mental health professions trend liberal. As an openly and vocally conservative psychiatrist, I know this all too well. While I was insulated from this reality to some degree in my training, since I did my psychiatric residency in the Air Force, it is a dynamic that has certainly not been lost on me since leaving the Air Force and joining the "real world."

This tendency toward liberalism is evident among rank-and-file mental health workers but is likely worse among academic mental health professionals who are more likely to be called upon to speculate publicly about the mental health of political figures. The liberal media are also more likely to countenance questions about the mental well-being of conservative politicians. With the media's undisguised hostility to Trump throughout the campaign and since his election and its willingness to openly advocate for its anti-Trump agenda, it is no longer credible to claim that the press is just a disinterested third party in these matters.

The left also has a disturbing history of attempting to use psychology to smear its opponents on the right. A notorious example is the 1950 publication of The Authoritarian Personality, which essentially attempted to demonstrate that everyone who isn't a leftist is an incipient fascist. The first author of The Authoritarian Personality was Theodor Adorno, who wasn't a trained mental health professional or psychometrician. He was a philosopher and a composer who was perhaps best known as a music critic before the publication of The Authoritarian Personality. Notably, Adorno was a member of the Frankfurt School, which arguably brought us the phenomenon of Cultural Marxism. The publication of The Authoritarian Personality is perhaps ground zero in its genesis.



So again, while both sides can and do call the other side crazy, because of the nature of the mental health professions and the existence of a hostile media willing to amplify the left's narrative, dueling charges of crazy are a numbers game that it would be unwise for the right to play. The right, and civil discourse, for that matter, would be better served by a renewed respect for the wisdom of the Goldwater Rule and holding leftist mental health professionals accountable to it.
Among many of Donald Trumps campaign promises was a plan to reform a chaotic immigration system with better methods of vetting immigrants. Those who do not support the U.S. Constitution, American values or who desire to bring violence to our shores through terrorism would be screened out. Trump released his initial executive order on Jan. 27 called Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.

Predictably, an activist judiciary tried to stop the order. First a U.S. District Court Judge in Seattle, then the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This week he released version two. More about that in a bit.

Since fake news has been a popular theme within the mainstream media, lets see if fake news applies to Trumps first executive order. The New York Times, in a Jan. 28 editorial, ran a headline, Donald Trumps Muslim Ban Is Cowardly and Dangerous. The Washington Post, on Feb. 28, ran a similar headline, Trumps Muslim ban is about to make a comeback. The Guardian, a British version of the two above newspapers, had a Jan. 31 headline, Is this a Muslim ban?

Guess the news is settled that Trumps executive order is a Muslim ban. Or is it? I found the actual executive order on the White House web site and read it. I did not see the word Muslim once in the text of the order.

So why did these papers of record, paragons of honest journalism, call the executive order a Muslim ban? The order stipulated a 90-day pause in immigration from seven specific countries. Not a ban, just a temporary pause. These seven countries happen to be Muslim majority countries, so to the always-accurate big media, this must be a Muslim ban.

Not explained is the fact that many other countries are majority Muslim and not on the list. Indonesia is 87 percent Muslim, Pakistan 96 percent, Turkey 98 percent and Saudi Arabia almost 100 percent. If Trumps executive order was a Muslim ban, why werent these and many other countries included in the list?

And where did this list of targeted countries come from? Is it a creation of the vast right conspiracy? Or from White Supremacist Steve Bannon? Was this Trumps idea during a late-night tweeting session? No. Actually, these seven were labeled as countries of concern by the Department of Homeland Security in 2015-16 through the visa waiver program. Back when Barack Obama was president running the show and Trump was campaigning against Little Marco and Crooked Hillary.

Trumps initial executive order applied only to these countries of concern for the simple reason that it is not possible to perform background checks or vet immigrants from these countries. These countries have chaotic governments unable to supply their residents with the equivalent of an FBI background check that Americans would need to emigrate to most other countries.

The executive order stipulated that the various agencies responsible for immigration take a breather and figure out how to determine which immigrants are a threat to the U.S. Or directly from the order a mandate that, Procedures are adequate to ensure the security and welfare of the United States.

Not a Muslim ban. Instead, bolstering Obamas visa waiver program. Same countries. Same concerns. But trying to get it right. Think San Bernardino, Mall of America, Orlando. Not to mention Europe. Would these have been prevented? Who knows? Why not at least try?

Now to the new and improved executive order issued this week. The fake-news media still didnt get it right. The Hill calls it, Muslim ban 2.0. The New York Times says, Trumps New Muslim Ban Is Still Illegal. Twitter, as expected, is exploding with the Muslim Ban meme. Yet the new executive order, just like the original one, doesnt contain the word Muslim.

The updated executive order seeks to identify those who support violent extremism, subjecting them to further vetting and scrutiny. Radical Muslims support violent extremism, but so do some conservatives, according to the New York Times which claimed, The main terrorist threat in the United States is not from violent Muslim extremists, but from right-wing extremists. Meaning that this executive order is as much a Muslim ban as it is a Republican ban.

What else is new in version 2.0? Iraq is now off the list of seven countries of concern. Why? Because Iraq is working with the U.S. in fighting ISIS and they have a functional enough government to assist in vetting immigrants to the U.S. Green card holders are also excluded from version 2.0 of the executive order.

The future of Trumps new order is uncertain. The activist courts will surely get involved and try to block it. The media and their Democratic Party allies will howl in protest, led by whiner-in-chief Senator Chuck Schumer. The usual rent-a-mob insta-protests will play out in a city near you.

Despite that, a majority of Americans will more than likely support the new immigration order just as they did the original one last month. President Trump is keeping his campaign promises. And thats what has the media and the left so upset.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, MPS, a Denver based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
The long national health care nightmare is over. As promised for years by congressional Republicans and by President Donald Trump, Obamacare is in its final season. No next season. Only reruns playing on a continuous loop in the future Obama Presidential Library.

On Monday, the House of Representatives released the long anticipated Obamacare repeal and replacement bill. Let's take a look at a few of the key provisions. Is this the replacement that we have been waiting for, or is it an early April Fool's joke?

The House bill kicks the knees out from Obamacare  specifically, subsidies to purchase insurance, Medicaid expansion, and mandates that everyone purchase health care insurance or else. That's the repeal. Not a total repeal, but good start.

What about replacement? The crux of the House plan is a refundable tax credit ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 a year  less for younger individuals, more for older people who by virtue of their age must pay more for insurance.

Young invincible millennials, in good health and not engaging in risky activities, may choose to play the odds. They can bank their tax credit and pay out of pocket for the occasional trip to the doctor without inviting the attention of the IRS and associated penalties.

The tax credits could be used by lower-income individuals and families to purchase insurance they might have lost due to the scaled back Medicaid expansion. Insurance products should become more competitive if, as promised by President Trump, they become available across state lines and without requirements that individuals purchase insurance they don't want or need.

A popular provision maintained in the House bill is protection for those with pre-existing conditions who might otherwise be denied coverage  at least if they maintain continuous coverage without letting their policy lapse.

It's a good start  but what are the pitfalls?

Fewer people will be covered. But that is the tradeoff for not being forced to buy insurance. Tax credits to purchase private insurance will mitigate much of the lost coverage. The Medicaid expansion repeal won't kick in until 2020, giving people several years to explore other insurance options.

If fewer are covered, this will also be turned against Republicans, painting them as uncaring, cruel, mean-spirited, and the usual other epithets.

The tax credit will be considered another new entitlement and many fiscally conservative congressmen and senators will balk at this, perhaps even voting against it. A day after the announcement, conservative political groups like Heritage Action, Freedom Works, and Club for Growth are lining up to criticize the bill.

Remember: this is only the House bill. The Senate will have their own version, perhaps very different from the House bill. Physician and senator Rand Paul has his own plan, which may not easily reconcile with the House bill. Both houses of Congress need to agree on and pass a final bill before it makes it to the president to be signed into law.

What if Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell forces an immediate vote on the House bill in the Senate, before thoughtful review and analysis? Remember when Democrats forced through Obamacare that way? How did that work out?

What might the Senate do? If enough GOP senators defect and vote no, the bill dies. This would be the appropriate ending for a lousy bill. Suppose Senate Democrats get mischievous. Recognizing that it's a bad bill, what if a handful of Democrats vote to pass it, saddling the Republicans with Obamacare version 2.0, then beating them over the head with it during the 2018 midterm elections?

There are also the numbers and myriad other details. The Congressional Budget Office needs to score the bill. What if it costs as much as Obamacare and insures fewer individuals and families? Some replacement. From bad to worse. The left will have a heyday with that.

Republicans don't want a repeat of Nancy Pelosi's "you have to pass the bill to find out what's in it." Obamacare was one of the primary reasons Democrats lost 1,200 elected seats in the past eight years. If the GOP rushes through and passes a bad bill, it could suffer a similar fate.

Most likely, Democrats will oppose it just because. Given how unhinged Democrats have become over anything and everything Trump, I suspect they would even oppose Bernie Sanders's plan, a complete government takeover of health care, if it were proposed by President Trump. Expect grandstanding by Democrats. The evening news will feature stories of the chronically ill losing their medical care and Granny being pushed off a cliff by Paul Ryan. Hollywood will be active in its opposition, with TV medical shows highlighting people dying due to the Republican health care plan.

Then there is President Trump. Will he sign a bad bill that doesn't reconcile with his campaign promises? Thus far, Trump has been doing exactly what he promised. Health care reform is unlikely to be an exception.

I won't join in the chorus of immediately throwing cold water on the House bill. This is but a first step on a long promised journey to repeal and replace a flawed and floundering mess called Obamacare. If the legislative process plays out as it is supposed to (not holding my breath), with Senate and presidential input, the final bill may be very different from and far better than the House bill released this week. Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS, is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
As Easter approaches, who could imagine the holiday without Cadburys creme eggs (under the original recipe, at least)? Appropriately, the founding of Cadburys, whose invention has become a holiday staple on both sides of the Atlantic, grew directly out of its founders Christian faith. Its success, and that of many other firms established by Quakers, demonstrates that the conversation between economics and religion must be a two-way communication, according to a new article posted by Rev. Dr. Richard Turnbull, the director of the Centre for Enterprise, Markets, and Ethics (CEME). He notes:

The Quakers represented, in 1850, no more than one half a percent of the population. Thus it is even more extraordinary just how many of our household names had Quaker origins  not least in financial services  Barclays, Lloyds, Friends Provident, Cadbury, Rowntree, Clarks (as in shoes), Huntley and Palmer (biscuits).

This Quaker ingenuity may be lost on an American audience, where representatives of the denominations most conspicuous public face, the American Friends Service Committee, define capitalism as a form of structural violence and victory as getting a government to do something it hasnt done before. Even the two U.S. presidents who were Quakers  Republicans Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon  pursued policies not entirely amenable to the free market. Rev. Dr. Turnbull describes how the Quakers Christian faith and unique circumstances combined to produce a successful and entrepreneurial culture:

The Quakers  among others  had by 1800 faced around 150 years of oppression, crucially including exclusion from the Universities. Hence many Quakers turned their minds to business. This persecution made them close-knit communities and it was within this setting that apprenticeships were developed, trust and confidence built as the major families all knew each other, with dishonesty and especially bankruptcy viewed in highly negative terms due to the impact on Quaker reputation. A strong culture which enhanced positive behaviour of honesty and integrity (quality products at fixed prices) and discouraged negative behaviour.  Their moral codes included injunctions against overtrading, honesty, payment of debts, caution over indebtedness, transparent and accurate accounts and understanding of the business. These principles derive from the Quaker Advices and Queries on trade issued between 1675 and 1793. Many Quakers became wealthy, but often had to endure the long and patient wait of the entrepreneur for success.

Since these firms often risked family assets and employed family members or close acquaintances, they produced an ethical business culture built upon principles that Rev. Dr. Turnbull commends to modern-day owners and managers alike.

You can read his full article, What is the purpose of a company? here. For more information on how the Quaker view of economics changed so radically, see The political ideology of unprogrammed Quakers (Religion & Liberty, Vol. 13, no. 1, by Jack P. Powelson).

(Photo credit: Mike Mozart. CC BY 2.0.)
Here's a prediction: it will be proven true that the U.S. government under Obama illegally spied on the opposition party through Trump Tower communications intercepts in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 presidential election.

Here's another prediction: Obama himself will get away with it because, to quote another lying politician, "it depends on what the meaning of 'is' is." Absurd, but apparently acceptable in 2017 America.

If you read the surveillance denials by Obama and his cohorts, you will find them to be highly parsed and full of loopholes:

A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice. As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any US citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.

Notice the caveats: "ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice ... neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance ..."

Were the phony Russian collusion allegations part of an independent investigation led by DOJ? No. And Obama and other White House officials may not have "ordered" the phone intercepts, but one can easily see the former president "requesting" surveillance. Remember: "you can keep your doctor and you can keep your plan."

Lying has become the new normal in America. The more absurd the lie, the better.

One of the most egregious recent examples of outright lies by Deep State officials was during the 2012 campaign, when Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) claimed that Republican Nominee Mitt Romney had not paid his taxes. Two years later, Reid admitted he's made everything up, with the following justification:

"He didn't win, did he?"

Democrats, aided and abetted by their cohorts in the Fake News Media and #NeverTrump eRepublicans, tried to reprise their Big Lie tactics with a series of phony "bimbo eruptions" and, most recently, with the completely unsubstantiated canard that Trump had somehow colluded with the Russians to defeat Hillary Clinton. Yet when President Trump fired back, charging Obama with unlawful surveillance (an allegation backed by a great deal of circumstantial evidence), the Crooked Media dismissed the story as "unsubstantiated."

Other examples of government attempts to make people believe the absurd include:

Transgender bathrooms and the absolute fiction that one's sex is based not on chromosomes, but on what a mentally ill person believes his sex to be.

Global warming, now morphed to "climate change" (because who can deny that the weather changes from minute to minute?), supported by cooked books and phony studies.

Calls for open borders and Muslim immigration even though Islamic terrorists are murdering innocent people in the United States and around the globe, especially in Europe.

The U.S. unemployment rate, purported to be 4.8 percent in January 2017. But how can this be? Our population is 320 million, with 98 million unemployed. Simple division would indicate an unemployment rate of nearly 31 percent, and that number increases to more than 40 percent when you back out housewives, the elderly, and children. The government definition of unemployment is another absurdity.

The goal of the left and their Deep-State-establishment-Republican fellow travelers is  through "narratives"  to condition the American people to accept absurdities as truths so we will ignore the absolute mess elected officials from both parties have made of our country over the last several decades. "Narrative" is Deep State-speak for "lies." The goal is to keep the establishment in power so that they, the elites, can continue feeding at the public trough, becoming wealthy at the expense of the people.

This is precisely why we must drain the swamp.
Well, who is going ballistic over President Trump? Who else but Raul, the younger Castro down in Cuba?

This is from a report by TeleSur, a South American news agency:

Cuban President Raul Castro said Sunday that the proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to build a wall on the Mexican border is "irrational" and affects all Latin America. "The wall that is intended to be build on the northern border of Mexico is an expression of irrationality," said the Cuban leader in Caracas at the 14th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Trade Treaty of the Peoples, also known as ALBA-TCP, adding that it is "not only against this brother country but against our entire region." "We express the solidarity of Cuba with the Mexican people and government," he continued, adding that his country is not blind to the causes that affect Latin America. During the meeting, Raul Castro said that "poverty, catastrophe and migrants are not contained by walls, but with cooperation, understanding and peace."

Castro then unleashed more attacks on President Trump by saying the new administration plans to violate environmental agreements to benefit large corporations. He closed by expressing his support for leftist regimes in the region and remember Hugo Chavez on the fourth anniversary of his death. As mentioned above, he expressed solidarity with Mexico but did not comment on the 91 Cubans recently sent back to the island.

So "que pasa," as Cubans would say? What's going on?

First, Cuba's economy is hurting badly, as was reported at the end of 2016:

Cuba publishes few credible economic statistics, but experts expect the country to end this year with gross domestic product growth of 1 percent or less. It maintained a rate close to 3 percent from 2011-2015. One bright spot is tourism, booming since Obama and Castro's Dec. 17, 2014, detente announcement set off a surge in overall visitor numbers, up more than 15 percent in 2015 and again this year. "I've never seen as many tourists as I have this year," said Magalys Pupo, a street-corner pastry vendor in Old Havana. "They're everywhere and they're the income that we need in this country." The slowness of macroeconomic growth despite a surge of interest in foreign investment and the greatest tourism boom in decades attests to both long-term mismanagement of the Cuban economy and the depth of the crisis in other sectors, particularly aid from Venezuelan in the form of deeply subsidized oil. Analysts believe that as Venezuela's Cuba-inspired socialist economy has disintegrated, exports to Cuba has dropped from 115,000 barrels daily in 2008 to 90,000 in recent years to 40,000 a day over the last few months.

Second, it does appear that the Trump administration is going to take a second look at the U.S.-Cuba deal.

President Trump has two reasons to review the situation:

a) The Cuban vote in Florida got him the 27 electoral votes.

b) What exactly has the U.S. gotten out of this deal? Not much.

So I think Raul Castro is starting to get the message that elections have consequences. And frankly, there are lots of us Cuban-Americans in the U.S. who are happy with this particular consequence.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
If you want to know what a $280,000 investment will buy your son or daughter at an elite liberal arts college, then you can study the behavior of the intolerant leftist monsters at Middlebury College last week. Invited speaker Charles Murray, author of many books, including Coming Apart, which explained and predicted the Trump phenomenon six years ago, and his faculty colleague were shouted down, assaulted, and threatened by the students who felt "marginalized" and under attack from his many books they had not read. They were encouraged in their "behavior" by many faculty and alumni. Until this week, I thought being marginalized at Middlebury meant being relegated to the slalom event on the ski team.

Will this be a turning point in how administrators deal with their adolescent fascists? How many Middlebury students do you expect to be suspended or expelled? Please stop laughing.

Charles Lipson, of the University of Chicago:

Middlebury's administration, to its credit, stood up for free speech. Warned that serious protests were coming, they refused to cancel the talk. Now, those same administrators must decide how to punish the disruptive protesters. The easy path is the timid one, reiterating the university's principles and giving the ringleaders a slap on the wrist. A weak response like that will not defend the college's academic values or deter future disruptions. Doing that requires sterner action. Students who came into the lecture hall and actively blocked the speech should have the remainder of the year at home to contemplate what education, free discourse, and ordered liberty mean. Those who came from other cities to impede the speech should be legally prohibited from reentering the campus. If students or outsiders acted violently, they should be prosecuted. To show that Middlebury College will not be coerced, it ought to invite another serious, controversial conservative to speak on campus, someone like Daniel Pipes or Christina Hoff Sommers, who has important things to say that students are unlikely to hear in class. Go crazy: have two conservatives on campus this year!

Two Middlebury professors align with the University of Chicago on the need for free speech on campus.

Roger Kimball:

Future historians of the liberal arts in American academic life will be able to pinpoint the time and place of its death with remarkable accuracy. The fatal blow was delivered Thursday night, March 2, at Wilson Hall, Middlebury College, Vermont. The victim struggled manfully, but finally expired outside the McCullough Student Center an hour or so later. It was there that liberal fascism  that witch's brew of identity politics, political correctness, and what I've called the weaponization of victimhood  finally erupted with definitive virulence. ... Quite apart from the mindless vituperation of the student totalitarians, the performance of Middlebury President Laurie L. Patton, who briefly addressed the crowd before Murray rose to speak, was an emetic specimen of self-congratulatory virtue signaling. "I would regret it terribly," she said, if her presence in the hall were regarded as "an endorsement of Mr. Murray's research." Certainly not! In case there were any doubts, the President of Middlebury announced that she "profoundly disagrees with many of Mr. Murray's views." Applause from the audience (but not as enthusiastic as the applause that greeted her announcement of another forthcoming speaker: Edward Snowden).

Let no one accuse me of not providing equal time to the marginalized. Rather than acknowledge that their behavior disgraced them and their school, the leftist students at Middlebury use their alternative paper to claim to be "victims." Fascists thugs as victims: now, that is new.

Here is the theme for this student paper:

... a student-run publication that seeks to provide space for voices that are not being heard on our campus. we are grounded by politics that are radical, anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-classist, anti-homophobic, anti-ableist, and anti-transphobic (against all forms of oppression) and that reject the structural neo-liberal paradigm that characterizes middlebury college and its official publications

This viewpoint is not very different from that of the Democratic National Committee under Tom Perez and Keith Ellison or any recent Democratic Party platform. Without the identity politics, the platform might be a page or two.
One of the secrets of Washington is that members of Congress do no work on the people's business. I mean this literally.

They work hard at getting re-elected (no sarcasm). And it is hard and time-consuming work. You can dress it up as dinners and champagne, but anybody who has been a road warrior knows that it leaves you wrung out at the end of the day.

This was OK when we had the Founders' America  a limited government of enumerated powers. Then there were few issues. Important issues, but few. There was less politicking because the distance between government and constituencies was much greater.

But with the administrative state, Congress is called upon to settle detailed problems. Members hand that off as much as they can to the bureaucracy, resulting in an unlimited government of undefined powers, but they still run up against the hard edge of details more frequently than they would like to.

This accounts for absolutely no work being done on a successor bill to Obamacare in the last seven years (meant figuratively, but correctly). A few notes here and there. Some wish lists. But no confronting the enormous problem generated by Obamacare taking over the medical system.

Alas, once this is done, there is no going back to the status quo ante. There is a ratchet in entitlements that the liberals well know and use. Now that, for instance, pre-existing conditions are covered  and I get the desire for that  there is no reason for anybody to buy insurance. Get it when they roll you in on a gurney.

That is the reason for the mandate. Obama is a multiple personality. However, one of those personalities  let's say 20% of the time  is the president of the United States in recognizable form. It was in that mode that he rammed through the mandate.

There basically is no alternative to it. There is no point in ranting about the free market because there is not a free market in medicine. Depending on circumstances, the customer is happy with a secondary car  a used car  if that fits his means. But who is going to raise his hand to give up the heart operation or to get a second-rate one? Nobody.

The great sin was opening this Pandora's box by taking over the medical system. But if you do that, the mandate is critical. That is only one problem with "repealing" Obamacare. At the least, doing so requires hard, hard work; long, long hours; false trails; dead ends. Nobody in Washington among elected officials will do that kind of work. Heck, they won't even read the bills when somebody else does it! Lobbyists, or more correctly, lobbying organizations will do it, which is why they are so central, and, yes, so critical to the process.

It is no surprise that today's bill is a camel  and a camel that will not be able to cross the desert.
Remember when Nancy Pelosi said we must pass Obama Care to see what was in it? We also remember that she and hers said Obamacare would lower the deficit and everyone would be able to keep their doctors and policies if they liked them and the whole thing would lower premiums. Those were all obvious and known lies when they were told, and the media just went along. (The media still reports CBO numbers as if they are gospel). Anyone who disagreed with Democrats in 2009 was told by the media that they didnt know what they were talking about.

When President Obama signed the ACA on March 23, 2010, he said it would cost $940 billion over its first ten years (FY2010- FY 2019). The CBO made that estimate in its analysis completed March 18, 2010. A few days later the CBO lowered its cost projection to $938 billion based on a more detailed analysis. (CBO was so good they could adjust by $2 billion over 10 years.)

In March 2012, the CBO updated its Obamacare cost estimate to $1.76 trillion.

In 2014, CBO upped the cost to over $2 trillion while the number people covered is lower than anyone estimated.

The CBO estimates were off over 100% in four years. Why are their projections considered accurate on anything?

I heard that Nancy Pelosi is complaining that we dont see the cost of the new Republican proposal.

Does anyone remember Obama coming to Congress to ask for almost $1 trillion in additional appropriations in the last seven years to cover the shortfall? Did he ask for permission to transfer other funds to pay for it? Did Pelosi and Reid go to the floor and ask for the additional money and offer to pay for it with offsetting cuts or higher taxes? Does anyone remember the media ever asking any questions as to how the known shortfall was paid for? I am pretty sure none of those things ever happened.

Maybe the media should ask Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Dick Durbin along with the medias favorite Republicans, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Lindsay Graham and Sen. Susan Collins how the almost-one trillion shortfall (so far) has been paid for. My guess is not one of them will be willing to talk about it and most might not even understand the question. Of course most of the media doesnt know or care about the Trillion shortfall either so they certainly wont ask the question. After all someone who knows Trump may have talked or shook hands with a Russian last year and that is much more important than a President inappropriately diverting a trillion dollars.

President Obama also said in September 2009 that 30 million Americans couldnt get health care, which is why we needed Obamacare. Today the number is around 28 million so why does everyone repeat the made-up number that an additional 20 million are covered?

I will make the projection that the new Republican deal will lower the deficit. I pulled the number out of a hat in the way CBO does. We dont have to worry about the number being off because the media will just let Trump divert money to pay for it the way they let Obama, wont they?

Why does anyone believe that the government that is off more than 100% in four years on an entitlement program can estimate within one degree on temperatures and can control sea levels and storms if we just give them trillions of dollars? They promise?

The truth is Democrats and the media want more power and money for the government and Trump along with the Republicans are making an effort to give the power back to the people. They are taking away the individual and employer mandate and they are giving freedom of choice on what kind of policy people and companies can buy. It is a good start. Nothing is perfect but Obamacare is a disaster cascading towards Armageddon.

Why would anyone believe what Pelosi or any Democrat says on the Obamacare replacement when they lied so much on Obamacare itself?

Isnt it interesting that Obama ran up around $10 trillion in debt in eight years while pretending that he was lowering the deficit each year? Is it possible that some of the additional debt could be associated with the massive shortfall on Obamacare that does not appear to have ever gone through the normal budget process? It wouldnt have been convenient for the public to see the actual cost of Obama Care so it was hidden. The media, who has shown a remarkable lack of curiosity about anything Obama did, was a willing participant in the cover up because they knew and didnt report on the shortfall.

But someone who knew Trump may have talked to a Russian last year and Kelly Conway had her feet on a couch! Now that is important but not a trillion in diverted cash.
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March 07, 2017

ISIS Tells Supporters to Dress Up Like Jews, Carry Out Attacks



The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is encouraging its supporters to carry out terror attacks against Western Jewish communities. According to the U.K.-based newspaper, Daily Mail, ISIS members in an online jihadi chat room forum discussed disguising themselves as Jews prior to attacking.

The messages first appeared on an ISIS-affiliated Telegram Channel called Lone Mujahid (Holy Warrior), which is often used by the terrorist group to disseminate messages. The Jerusalem Post, which highlighted the Daily Mails report, noted:

The full post read: If youre still in the west! Dress up like a Jews! Got to your nearest Jewish area! Make sure you have plenty of weapons under your coat! and then urged followers to unleash the pain of Muslims on the potential victims.?

A subsequent message provided a list of Jewish communities in Britain and included an image of Amedy Coulibaly, an Islamist who, in January 2015, committed a terrorist attack on a Kosher supermarket in a Paris suburb. A post accompanying Coulibalys image, exhorted: Take the brothers example and terrorize the Yahood [Jew].?

As CAMERA has noted (see, for example Poll: Majority in France Believe Jews Responsible for Antisemitism,? Feb. 12, 2016) anti-Jewish violence has risen sharply in Europe, with many attacks being perpetrated by Islamists. More recently, in February 2017, two men, who were described as being of North African origin,? attacked two Jewish brothers in a Paris suburb. The attackers shouted, Dirty Jews, youre going to die,? before using a saw to cut off the finger of one of the brothers (Jews in France: Anti-Semitic Attack Saws Mans Finger Off As Attackers Yell Dirty Jews,? International Business Times, Feb. 24, 2017).

On March 1, 2017, the United Kingdoms Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, told Britains Jewish community leaders that jihadists were targeting Jews in Europe and the U.K. Rudd noted, Daesh [ISIS] literature continues to identify the Jewish community as a desirable and legitimate target (ISIS Plotting Attacks on UK Jewish Community,? Express, March 4, 2017).?

Although media outlets outside the U.S. reported the Islamic States recent plots, many American newspapers failed to provide coverage. A Lexis-Nexis search of major U.S. journals, including The Washington Post, USA Today and The Baltimore Sun, among others, showed no mention of ISISs threats.

Posted by SD at March 7, 2017 04:23 PM

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It is with shock and disbelief that I received the news of the passing of President Rene Garcia Preval. When I last saw my dear friend and brother as we met in Santiago, Cuba, to bid a final farewell to the incomparable Fidel Castro, he appeared to be enjoying good health, full of energy and buoyant as ever. Suddenly, he has been taken from his beloved family and the people he so long and faithfully served to join the martyrs who have gone before.

Rene Preval served as Prime Minister for a short period under President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He was elected and served The Republic of Haiti, as President from 1996 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2011.

It was during his first period of Presidential tenure and my incumbency as Chairman of the Caribbean Community that the first decisive steps were taken to bring Haiti into the fold of Caribbean Nations and thereby end its hemispheric isolation.

As the Communitys Special Representative after the devastating earthquake of January 2010 and in response to his invitation to serve as his Presidential Emissary, we became engaged in the struggle to deliver and rebuild from the ruins of that disaster.

From those rare vantage points and in the extraordinary circumstances, I saw at first hand Prevals deep and abiding love for his country and the Haitian people. He was determined to maintain the sovereignty of the oldest black Independent country in this Western Hemisphere, to work assiduously to protect its Constitution and to promote a democratic tradition for the orderly transition of political power in a nation previously shackled by despotic rule.

These were not easy objectives especially in the closing years, as the internal and external pressures were severe. Rene Preval persevered and succeeded. History will accord him that special place deserved by the only Haitian Head of State democratically elected to have served two full terms of office and pass the baton twice to a successor duly chosen by its people.

The Republic of Haiti and, indeed, the Caribbean owe him a tremendous debt.

I convey my sincere condolence to his dear widow, Elisabeth, his family and the Government and people of Haiti.

P. J. Patterson, ON, OCC

March 7. 2017
The Department of Disaster Management is officially launching the CAPiT Anguilla Warning System Application for iOS and Android phones today March 7th 2017. The CAPiT acronym Consistently Alerting People in Time accurately describes the intention of the smartphone app, the latest addition to the Anguilla Warning System.

Once an individual downloads the CAPiT mobile app free of cost from the Google Play Store or the Apple App store and installs it onto their smartphone, alerts from the Anguilla Warning System will come directly to their mobiles offering 24 hour access to critical potentially lifesaving information.

The smartphone application which was developed to replace the obsolete Blackberry application developed by the Department in 2010 is fast and reliable and provides access to currently active alerts as well as an archive of previous alerts. Director of Disaster Management Ms. Melissa Meade stated:

It is my desire that every citizen of Anguilla downloads and installs the app on their smartphone. The app is a direct and personal means for the delivery of alert information and allows the Anguilla Warning System to be available to each individual on a 24 hour basis as we have become a people who are hardly ever separated from our smartphones.

The Department continues to visit radio stations to talk about the warning system and the app and will be engaging in several other outreach activities over the coming weeks in order to achieve its goal of 100 percent smartphone penetration.

The Department would like to thank all of our partners who have contributed to these activities including Digicel, FLOW, DITES, Rons Sign Shop and Hi-Tek graphics.

The app can be found in the Google Play and Apple App stores using the description CAPiT Anguilla or CAPCAP in the case of the Apple App store. Alternately, persons can visit http://ddmaxa.org/capit.htm directly from their smartphones in order to download the app.
MOSS POINT, Miss. - The Moss Point Police Department has new leadership as the Board of Alderman in a 6-1 vote at Tuesday's meeting decided to name Calvin Hutchins the River City's next police chief, Ward 6 Alderman Wayne Lennep confirmed to the Mississippi Press.

Per Lennep, the aldermen met and narrowed the list down from a total of eight applicants. Eight were narrowed to three, and from those three, Hutchins was chosen. The lone nay vote came from Ward 4 Alderwoman Shirley Chambers.

In 2014, after then-police chief Keith Davis vacated the post to become the chief of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Marine Patrol, Hutchins was originally named as Davis's replacement in a 4-3 vote until Mayor Billy Broomfield vetoed the vote.

Broomfield said Hutchins did not have the requisite amount of administrative experience. After discussion, including legal advice that supported Broomfield's decision, the board voted unanimously to appoint former chief Art McClung to the position in January 2015

McClung ran into trouble in September 2016 after an incident, first reported by the Biloxi Sun Herald, that he had been pulled over by Pascagoula police after allegedly driving 109 mph on U.S. 90 between the Gautier bridge and the Pascagoula bridge in his city-assigned police SUV.

The Board of Aldermen then decided to suspend McClung without pay and he was later fired. At that time, Deputy Chief Brandon Ashley moved into the interim role.

With municipal elections right around the bend, the Board of Alderman decided to advertise for a new police chief with the potential of a new administration being ushered into City Hall. Ashley declined to apply for the position for that reason alone.

"I did not apply now because of the upcoming city elections and the uncertainty that brings," Ashley said in January.

With the appointment of Hutchins, Ashley is, slated to return to his role as Deputy Chief.

Hutchins is a Moss Point graduate has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement and served as the sergeant of criminal investigations with the Pascagoula Police Department.

The City of Moss Point is now on its third police chief since 2014 and its seventh since 2000.
Lincoln Universitys student union awards itself a super-injunction against free speech

Is irony dead? Lincoln Universitys Student Conservative Society has been banned from using official social media accounts because it posted Spikeds news that the Student Union is very intolerant to free speech.

Upset at being branded intolerant and censorious, the student union banned the people who said they were. Talking about censorship has been censored. Lincoln Universitys student union has awarded itself a super-injunction against free speech.

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney calls the ban intolerant, illiberal and totalitarian.

Spiked notes:

According to a statement from the society, this was due to an anonymous complaint over two tweets. The first, in relation to freedom of speech, linking an article from spiked, and the second was in relation to an SU questionnaire that had to be completed before voting in recent SU elections. After reading spikeds Free Speech University Rankings (FSUR), the society decided to publicise the fact that Lincoln Students Union had received a Red ranking. Screenshots of the offending tweet, seen by spiked, show a picture of Lincolns ranking page, alongside emojis with their mouths zipped shut.

The SUs action is so stupid, you wonder how its absolutists function in every day life? When confronted with such slack-jawed, mentally negligible dumb-arness the temptation must be to do things just because they upset these twerps. Too easy, of course. The challenge is to find the most ludicrous thing and run with that.

Suggestions to the usual address.

Paul Sorene

Posted: 8th, March 2017 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, March 8 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Wednesday that his government was doing its bit to tackle Italy's structural economic weakness and would not accept lectures at the EU level. "The government's activity is concentrated on a series of measures, from immigration to the civil service, criminal justice, urban safety, a law on poverty and a law on competition," Gentiloni told the Senate ahead of this week's European Union summit. "We are top of the class and we don't accept lessons. We are working for the common interest".

Gentiloni said that his government was in favour of a European Union that moves forward on integration at various speeds. "We are in favour of considering the path of integration with differentiated levels," Gentiloni told the Senate as he reported to parliament before this week's EU summit. "This is an acknowledgment of the state of things. Europe must move towards greater integration. This prospect is very difficult to achieve in a Europe of 28 States".


(ANSA) - Rome, March 8 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Wednesday that his government was doing its bit to tackle Italy's structural economic weakness and would not accept lectures at the EU level. "The government's activity is concentrated on a series of measures, from immigration to the civil service, criminal justice, urban safety, a law on poverty and a law on competition," Gentiloni told the Senate ahead of this week's European Union summit. "I challenge anyone to point to another parliament in Europe that is working on a package of reforms like those in Italy. "We are top of the class and we don't accept lessons. We are working for the common interest...

"It should be clear in Brussels right away that, not only have the reforms not stopped, they have not slowed in the slightest". Former foreign minister Gentiloni took over as premier in December when his Democratic Party (PD) colleague Matteo Renzi quit after his flagship Constitutional reform was rejected in a referendum. Gentiloni on Wednesday reiterated that Italy found it unacceptable that the European Union is strict when it comes to applying budget rules but lax on implementing commitments to share the burden of the asylum seeker crisis. Gentiloni told the Senate Rome would not accept EU rigidity that went down to decimals of a percentage point on budget rules while there was "distracted rigidity" on migration issues. He added added that solidarity on asylum seekers was a EU decision, not an Italian "demand". The Italian government is currently working to deliver a budget deficit adjustment of 0.2% of GDP to stop the European Commission opening infringement procedures. Gentiloni added that his government was in favour of a European Union that moves forward on integration at various speeds. "We are in favour of considering the path of integration with differentiated levels," Gentiloni told the Senate as he reported to parliament before this week's EU summit. "This is an acknowledgment of the state of things. Europe must move towards greater integration. This prospect is very difficult to achieve in a Europe of 28 States".


(ANSA) - Rome, March 8 - A multi-speed Europe should not be seen as a "gigantic plot against Italy", Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Wednesday. "Italy is among the countries promoting this scheme and without Britain it will be one of the absolute protagonists of this process," he told the House in a pre-EU summit briefing. "It is not a decision to take tomorrow, it is a potential response to the risk of an impasse".

Italy is respecting EU budget rules and "pretending they don't exist would be superficial, but giving up on changing (EU) policies would be giving up on Italy's role," Gentiloni told the House, stressing that "we want a Europe that doesn't depress still-slow growth but encourages it: and this will be our battle, it will be the commitment in the DEF (economic planning blueprint), and of our national reform plan".

Italy is backing former Polish premier Donald Tusk to be re-elected European Council President, Gentiloni added in his briefing to the House.

He said the re-election of Tusk, "the most supported solution", would be discussed "at a more national than European level" at Friday's EU summit in Brussels.


(ANSA) - Palermo, March 7 - Former Palermo prosecutor Antonio Ingroia is under investigation for suspected misappropriation, judicial sources said Tuesday. Ingroia, now head of the Sicilia e-Servizi (Sicily and e-Services) company, was questioned this morning, they said.

He is suspected of unduly receiving a series of reimbursements for trips as head of the regional company. Ingroia is also being probed for the severance payment he got when he left the judiciary. Ingroia responded to the news by saying "these are all old facts, already cleared up".

He also claimed that the possible charges were being laid under a "law that has since been abrogated".

Ingroia, 57, made an unsuccessful foray into politics at the head of a small leftist group after leaving the judiciary. A former head of a UN probe into Guatemala narco-trafficking, he has written for the Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper. He also clashed with former president Giorgio Napolitano over wiretaps of conversations with former interior minister Nicola Mancino in a trial into alleged negotiations with the Mafia to stop an early 1990s bombing campaign.

He is currently writing a book about that trial, where the incriminated wiretaps were destroyed.

Ingroia was appointed head of Sicilia e-Servizi in July 2013, a month after making his farewell to the judiciary.

The agency is in charge of digitizing files.

The appointment comes on the heels of a controversy when he decided to run for office in December 2012.

After his disappointing foray into politics in February 2013 general elections, Ingroia clashed with the judiciary's self-governing body, the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM), in April following its decision to appoint him as deputy prosecutor in Aosta.

The surrounding region, Val d'Aosta, is the only one in which Ingroia did not stand for elected office with his left-wing Civil Revolution party.

Ingroia said at the time the CSM's decision to post him in Aosta was a 'punishment' for entering politics, and he later stepped down.

In June 2013 Ingroia said leaving his work as a prosecutor was a "much-suffered and difficult decision", adding however that he could not continue to "suffer discrimination from politicians in the CSM".


(ANSA) - Rome, March 8 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Wednesday that his government was doing its bit to tackle Italy's structural economic weakness and would not accept lectures at the EU level. He also called on the European Union to take action to tackle the asylum-seeker crisis, stressing that it cannot hope for Merlin to solve it for the bloc.

"The government's activity is concentrated on a series of measures, from immigration to the civil service, criminal justice, urban safety, a law on poverty and a law on competition," Gentiloni told the Senate ahead of this week's European Union summit. "I challenge anyone to point to another parliament in Europe that is working on a package of reforms like those in Italy. "We are top of the class and we don't accept lessons. We are working for the common interest...

"It should be clear in Brussels right away that, not only have the reforms not stopped, they have not slowed in the slightest". Former foreign minister Gentiloni took over as premier in December when his Democratic Party (PD) colleague Matteo Renzi quit after his flagship Constitutional reform was rejected in a referendum. Gentiloni reiterated that Italy found it unacceptable that the European Union is strict when it comes to applying budget rules but lax on implementing commitments to share the burden of the asylum seeker crisis. "Not even Merlin the wizard would be able to make the immigration problem disappear," he said. "But it is possible to substitute illegal, deadly migration with (legal) flows and channels for migrants," he added. "This is the aim of the EU and I hope that Brussels takes steps forward to help the cutting-edge work of Italy" Gentiloni told the Senate Rome would not accept EU rigidity that went down to decimals of a percentage point on budget rules while there was "distracted rigidity" on migration issues. He added added that solidarity on asylum seekers was a EU decision, not an Italian "demand". The Italian government is currently working to deliver a budget deficit adjustment of 0.2% of GDP to stop the European Commission opening infringement procedures. Gentiloni added that his government was in favour of a European Union that moves forward on integration at various speeds. "We are in favour of considering the path of integration with differentiated levels," Gentiloni told the Senate as he reported to parliament before this week's EU summit. "This is an acknowledgment of the state of things. Europe must move towards greater integration. This prospect is very difficult to achieve in a Europe of 28 States".


(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MARCH 8 - The number of migrants coming to Tunisia from Libya has risen steadily in 2017. Many migrants have been left with no other option than to enter Tunisia in order to flee Libya in search of security and possibly a return to their countries of origin. A statement issued by the International Organization for migration (IOM) in Tunisia notes that since the beginning of 2017, 128 migrants ''stuck'' in Tunisia have been able to return home thanks to an assisted volunteer repatriation program, and another 100 will be returned home in the next few weeks. The program is funded by the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and the European Union's Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa. (ANSAmed).


BILOXI, Mississippi -- A charter bus carrying dozens of tourists to Mississippi casinos was stuck on railroad tracks for about five minutes before a freight train barreled into it, sending frantic passengers in all directions, witnesses and authorities said.

Four people were killed Tuesday and 40 were hurt, including seven critically. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Witnesses said some of the tourists from Texas were getting off the bus as the driver tried to move it, and at least one person was shoved under the bus when the train hit, said Mark Robinson, a Biloxi native, who witnessed the crash.

Body parts were "thrown everywhere," Robinson told WLOX-TV .

The CSX Transportation locomotive pushed the bus about 300 feet before coming to a stop with the mangled bus still straddling the tracks. Authorities said it took more than an hour to get everyone aboard the bus out of the wreckage. Two people had to be removed with metal-cutting equipment.

Robinson said he thinks the train track, which is on an embankment, poses safety issues.

"It's too steep there," he said.

There have been 16 accidents at the crossing over the past four decades, federal records showed. The crossing has a sign warning drivers that it has a low-ground clearance as well as a bell, lights and crossing arms.

Jim DeLaCruz, a passenger who was in the back of the bus with his wife, told The Sun Herald that they were trying to get off the bus when it was hit.

"The bus tried to clear the tracks and got stuck right in the middle and it couldn't budge, and the train just kept coming and kept coming," he said.

Police Chief John Miller said he wasn't sure why the bus couldn't move. Miller said the Echo Transportation bus had come from Austin, Texas, carrying passengers to one of Biloxi's eight casinos.

The weeklong trip started Sunday and was organized by a senior citizens' center in Bastrop, Texas, about 30 miles east of Austin. They were also supposed to visit New Orleans and then return home Saturday, according to a flier about the tour posted by Texas media.

The names of the dead were not immediately released but a Texas school district confirmed that two former administrators with the district were killed. Ken and Peggy Hoffman were retired from the Lockhart school district south of Austin, according to Christina Courson, a district spokeswoman.

Ken Hoffman worked for the district for decades and had served as an assistant superintendent. His wife was an elementary school principal, the spokeswoman said. The couple has a daughter and three grandchildren who now teach in the district.

Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said rescuers needed about an hour to clear everyone from the wreckage. A nearby car was used as a stepladder after the crash to get people off the bus, and emergency workers pulled passengers through windows.

Vincent Creel, the city spokesman, said 48 passengers and the driver were on the bus.

The train was headed from New Orleans to Mobile at the time of the crash, said CSX spokesman Gary Sease. He said the train crew was not injured. The single track is the CSX mainline along the Gulf Coast, passing through densely populated areas of southern Mississippi.

Federal Railroad Agency records show 10 trains a day typically use the track, with a maximum speed of 45 mph. Records show there have been 16 accidents at the crossing since 1976.

Accidents in 1983 and 2003 each involved a fatality.

In January, a Pepsi delivery driver's tractor-trailer became struck at the same crossing in January, the city said in a statement at the time. The driver bailed out and ran down the road to warn the engineer of an approaching freight train, but the train still plowed into the stranded semi and pushed it about 70 to 80 feet before stopping, the statement said. No one was hurt.

The bus was marked as belonging to Echo Transportation, which Texas corporate records show is a unit of a company called TBL Group, based in Grand Prairie, near Dallas.

"We can't confirm anything at this point," said Elisa Fox, a lawyer for the bus company. "We're trying to mobilize to assess the situation."

The Federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
117 Migrants rescued in Ionian Sea Maltese cargo ship saves stranded group off Paxos island

(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, 08 MAR - A Maltese freighter has come to the rescue of a group of 117 migrants in the Ionian Sea after a smuggling boat carrying them foundered.



The crew of the commercial cargo vessel helped the migrants, all of whom are from Pakistan, after their boat - which had a broken rudder - ran into trouble some 32 nautical miles west of Paxos on Tuesday night.



The ship arrived at the Port of Patra on Wednesday morning and all of the migrants were then transferred to the refugee reception center there and according to local reports all "were in good health." NO WOMEN AND CHILDREN Local authorities, including the Greek Red Cross were on hand to provide food and water for the group, among which there were no women and children.



Medical checks will be carried out on all of the group before they are transferred elsewhere.



This latest incidents highlights a renewed smaller flow of migrants and refugees trying to enter Greece in the islands of the Aegean Sea in the last 48 hours.



From Monday up to Wednesday a group of 13 arrived in Lesvos, 21 in Chios and 41 in Samos.



(ANSAmed)
TUNIS - The number of migrants coming to Tunisia from Libya has risen steadily in 2017. Many migrants have been left with no other option than to enter Tunisia in order to flee Libya in search of security and possibly a return to their countries of origin. A statement issued by the International Organization for migration (IOM) in Tunisia notes that since the beginning of 2017, 128 migrants ''stuck'' in Tunisia have been able to return home thanks to an assisted volunteer repatriation program, and another 100 will be returned home in the next few weeks. The program is funded by the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and the European Union's Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa.
Syrian refugee families arrive in Italy from Jordan, CEI Hosted by Manfredonia diocese and S. Giovanni Rotondo friars

(ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 8 - Two Syrian families arrived on Wednesday in Italy from Jordan's Za'atari camp as part of the first resettlement phase financed by the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) through tax donations from the '8x1000' fund. The Italian branch of Caritas is also participating as part of a resettlement program managed by the interior ministry. The first two families will be followed in the coming weeks by five other families (beneficiaries total) that include at least one family member suffered by serious illnesses and in need of specialized treatment. The Manfredonia diocese and the Capuchin friars of San Giovanni Rotondo will be hosting them.



''We are pleased to begin this path alongside our Syrian brethren, who are suffering so much in their war-racked country and many of whom have been welcomed into refugee camps in Jordan,'' said Father Francesco Soddu, head of the Italian branch of Caritas. He added that ''the operation was made possible in part through the commitment and collaboration of the institutions, the interior and foreign ministries and international organizations (UNHCR and IOM) that facilitated their transfer to Italy. (ANSAmed)
Italy reforming, won't take lessons at EU level, Gentiloni Challenge anyone to say executive not committed - premier

(ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 8 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Wednesday that his government was doing its bit to tackle Italy's structural economic weakness and would not accept lectures at the EU level. "The government's activity is concentrated on a series of measures, from immigration to the civil service, criminal justice, urban safety, a law on poverty and a law on competition," Gentiloni told the Senate ahead of this week's European Union summit. "I challenge anyone to point to another parliament in Europe that is working on a package of reforms like those in Italy. "We are top of the class and we don't accept lessons. We are working for the common interest...



"It should be clear in Brussels right away that, not only have the reforms not stopped, they have not slowed in the slightest". Former foreign minister Gentiloni took over as premier in December when his Democratic Party (PD) colleague Matteo Renzi quit after his flagship Constitutional reform was rejected in a referendum. Gentiloni on Wednesday reiterated that Italy found it unacceptable that the European Union is strict when it comes to applying budget rules but lax on implementing commitments to share the burden of the asylum seeker crisis. Gentiloni told the Senate Rome would not accept EU rigidity that went down to decimals of a percentage point on budget rules while there was "distracted rigidity" on migration issues. He added added that solidarity on asylum seekers was a EU decision, not an Italian "demand". The Italian government is currently working to deliver a budget deficit adjustment of 0.2% of GDP to stop the European Commission opening infringement procedures. Gentiloni added that his government was in favour of a European Union that moves forward on integration at various speeds. "We are in favour of considering the path of integration with differentiated levels," Gentiloni told the Senate as he reported to parliament before this week's EU summit. "This is an acknowledgment of the state of things. Europe must move towards greater integration. This prospect is very difficult to achieve in a Europe of 28 States".(ANSAmed).




Three rhinos are poached every day for their horns. Above, armed game wardens watch over an endangered northern white rhino at a nature conservancy in Kenya. Photo by Alamy

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Its an alarming and revealing photo  a group of four game wardens in Kenya, guns in hand, surrounding a large adult male northern white rhino. That picture tells two stories: one revealing human avarice, but the other reminding us of human grace and resolve to stop the savage, serial killing of one of the rarest large mammals in the world.

Now, the story of avarice has revealed itself in a new, shocking way. This week, poachers slipped into the rhino enclosure at Thoiry Zoological Park outside Paris, shot the animal multiple times in the head, and made off with one of his horns. The field of battle has now expanded to captive zoo animals who had previously been viewed as safely ensconced behind the walls and bars of their enclosures.

Just two weeks ago, poachers intent on making a profit broke into the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage in South Africa. They took the tiny, soft horns from two baby rhinos after killing one and injuring the other so badly, she had to be euthanized later. The poachers also robbed and savagely attacked the rhinos caretakers.

We know these people have no decency. We must wonder now, do they also have no limits?

Last year, more than 1,000 rhinos fell victim to poachers in South Africa, where a majority of the worlds rhinos live. Three rhinos are poached every day for their horns. Only about 29,000 rhinos, of all five species, remain in the wild.

The international trade in horns is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and last year France banned the sale of raw rhino horn and elephant ivory.

But of all places, South Africa is backtracking and breaking the global consensus on whats needed to save the rhinos. Just last month, the country proposed regulations that would legitimize and regularize domestic trade inand, under certain circumstances, export ofrhinoceros horn. That move would give poachers even more incentive to do their killing, using the legal trade as a cloak for their poaching activities. Authorities would have before them the seemingly impossible task of being able to discern between legal and illegal horn in a country where rampant corruption has been cited by wildlife officers as a serious threat to their ability to do their job.

Were fighting that proposal, but we are also working to slash demand in Vietnam, where horns have been prized by some for their purported medicinal value. Since 2013, Humane Society International has worked with the government of Vietnam on a national campaign to reduce demand for rhino horn. Our campaign has reached an estimated 35 million people, or about one-third of the national population. Tens of millions of people in Vietnam have seen our childrens book and cartoon called Im a Little Rhino. Our campaign has been a big part of the explanation for the reduction in demand in the country. There are indications that the price of rhino horn has fallen very recently in Vietnam.

In Europe, Europol, the EU Agency that assists member states in fighting serious international crime and terrorism, and its member states will soon discuss the 2017 Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessments (SOCTA). HSI is pushing for wildlife trafficking to be a priority issue for EU governments and their agencies. They should treat wildlife trafficking as a serious crime as identified under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

Stateside, The HSUS is working to crack down on trafficking in wildlife products, including rhino horn, by banning their sale. A recent case shows the urgency of the fight here: a Beverly Hills auctioneer and reality TV star was indicted in Manhattan for allegedly conspiring to smuggle rhino horns in a years-long trafficking scheme. According to the indictment, as reported by NBC, Jacob Chait and his co-conspirators allegedly were involved in the dealing, or attempted dealing, of at least 15 rhino horns worth about $2.4 million between 2009 and 2012. In one case, Chait allegedly smuggled two endangered black rhino horns to China in his luggage.

This year, California, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington have adopted measures to ban trade in rhino horn and elephant ivory. Legislation is pending in numerous other states, including Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Nevada.

The killing of the rhino in a zoo near Paris is a reminder that we must redouble our efforts to curb a barbaric trade. Well be pressing on all fronts to defend the rhinos, and to bring the perpetrators of cruelty to wildlife to justice.
However, acquisition plans within the region, which has the worlds second-highest regional new purchase rate are 8 percent lower than last years survey results, according to the Outlook report.

The Outlook says within MEA, close to 80 percent of planned new helicopter purchases are intermediate and medium twin-engine models with light single-engine models ranked the second-highest by operators.

The annual Outlook report  the 19th in the series  says the helicopter industry at large is being cautious about near-term purchases due to a slow global economic growth environment and volatility in oil and gas-related markets. The Outlook forecasts 3,900 to 4,400 civilian-use helicopters will be delivered worldwide from 2017 to 2021, roughly 400 helicopters lower than the 2016 five-year forecast.

The current global economic situation is causing fleet managers to evaluate new helicopter purchases closely, and thats why were seeing a more cautious five-year demand projection compared with previous years, said Ben Driggs, President, Americas, Honeywell Aerospace. However, Driggs says that Honeywell is well-placed to help operators handle the vagaries of the slow growth economy. Honeywell is well-positioned to help operators keep current fleets lasting longer with aftermarket upgrades and repairs, he added.

This years Outlook surveyed more than 1,000 chief pilots and flight department managers of companies operating 3,746 turbine and 362 piston helicopters worldwide, excluding large fleet or mega operators, which were addressed separately. The Outlook also absorbed input from large oil and gas support, emergency medical service fleet operators and individual flight departments.
The 737 MAX 9 is the second member of Boeing's industry leading 737 MAX family, with a maximum capacity of 220 passengers and a range of 3,515 nautical miles.



The airplane now begins system checks, fueling and engine runs on the flight line. Once completed, the airplane will begin flight testing in the coming weeks  the final phase of verification of the operational characteristics and overall performance of a new airplane.



"The 737 MAX team continues to do a fantastic job getting us to these important milestones right on schedule," said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager of the 737 MAX program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Our primary focus is delivering an aircraft that has the legendary reliability our 737 customers depend on, plus the optimized flexibility and range capability they desire."



The 737 MAX 9 is scheduled to enter service in 2018. The 737 MAX 8 is on track to deliver to customers in the second quarter of 2017.
With the first flight scheduled for the coming months, the jet is expected to enter into service in the first half of 2019.

The E195-E2 has the potential to significantly change the fleet profile of airlines around the world. With a 20% lower cost per trip and a cost per seat similar to larger aircraft, the E195-E2 becomes the ideal aircraft for regional business growth as well as low-cost business plans and complementing existing mainline fleets said John Slattery, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation.

The E195-E2 has three additional rows of seats, when compared to the current generation E195, and it can be configured with 120 seats in two classes of service, or up to 146 in a single class. The aircraft also has a significant increase in range of 450 nautical miles, which allows trips of up to 2,450 nautical miles.

The aircraft has a dedicated wing, with the highest aspect ratio among single-aisle jets, increasing fuel efficiency. In addition to a more balanced specification, Embraer applied over 17 million hours of flight experience on today's E-Jet fleet of over 1,300 units to come up with the optimal E2 design. For example, being designed with an intelligent combination of materials, the E195-E2 can carry 10% more passengers than a direct competitor and still have the same weight.

We introduced in the proven E-Jets platform all new technologies that would add value to customers. One example is the fourth generation of fly-by-wire, which allowed a 20% reduction of the empennage area, minimising drag and weight, explained Luis Carlos Affonso, COO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. The airplane will save up to 24% in fuel and 20% in maintenance costs per seat, when compared to the current E195. A portion of these savings will be achieved with the new engine technology, but the greatest competitive advantage of the E195-E2 lies in the optimization of its structure and of its various systems.

Embraer will use two aircraft for the E195-E2 certification campaign. The first prototype will be used for the aerodynamic and performance tests. The second prototype, which will also make its inaugural flight by the end of this year, will be used for the validation of maintenance tasks and of the interior.




Sheikh Ahmed said: Emirates Group is an equal opportunity employer, supporting Dubai and the UAEs goal to encourage and enable women to actively participate in value creation for the economy and society. We are proud that so many more women are making their mark in the aviation and travel services industry in a myriad of roles  whether as pilots, cabin crew, engineers, on the ramp, at the airport or in our offices. They bring unique perspectives, and add resilience to our business. Id like to wish all our female staff a happy International Womens Day, and thank them for their continued commitment.



Emirates and dnata collectively employ over 100,000 staff around the globe, with women representing 44% of the workforce. Across the Groups varied business divisions, women perform roles that span customer services, flight and ramp operations, technical services, security, logistics, catering, corporate functions, and more. Over the past decade, the number of women in the Groups total workforce have grown by 156%. Today Emirates and dnata employ more than 29,400 women from over 154 nationalities, and over 20% of supervisory and managerial staff are women.




The visit was part of Etihad Aviation Groups (EAG) activities to mark International Womens Day, recognised internationally on 8 March each year to celebrate the achievements of women. This years theme is Be Bold for Change.



Dr. Sheikha Shamma Al Nahyan was taken on a tour of the GBSS centre by Saada Al Taei, Senior Manager  Service Delivery. The visit concluded in a majlis area where Her Highness spoke to some of the staff and met other members of EAG.



The GBSS is a great example of how a company can empower women, said H.H. Dr. Sheikha Shamma Al Nahyan. The facility offers a wide range of training and career development opportunities in the community of Al Ain. It was refreshing to see such a high percentage of female staff who have become role models for Emirati women in the workforce. I am proud of the womens contribution to society and their efforts to develop their careers, added H.H. Dr. Sheikha Shamma Al Nahyan.



The GBSS is a dedicated revenue accounting centre of excellence and was officially opened in March of last year. It was set up to engage the local Emirati workforce, particularly women, who make up 95% of the staff.



Hareb Almuhairy, senior vice president, corporate and international affairs at Etihad Aviation Group, said: We are honoured that H.H. Dr. Sheikha Shamma Al Nahyan has taken the time to visit the GBSS and see first-hand the impressive work of staff. Their contribution is very important to the efficiency of Etihad Airways, our equity partners and right across EAG, while the centre brings long term economic benefits to Al Ain and the wider emirate of Abu Dhabi.



A total of 280 women work at the GBSS, which follows existing programmes to attract UAE nationals, such as cadet pilots, engineers, graduate managers and the all-female Al Ain Contact Centre.



Amna al Ameri, who joined GBSS as a Business Partner, said she was attracted to Etihad because of the importance it places on empowerment. Etihad Airways is one of the top aviation companies in the world. Its initiatives to develop employees captured my attention. These opportunities are rare and I find myself very lucky to be working for a global company in my hometown.



EAG employs 9,752 women across 126 nationalities, representing 36% of the overall 26,762 staff. UAE nationals represent the largest female group with 1,542 women, followed by 918 women from India, 792 from the Philippines, 587 Romanian and 579 hailing from the UK. Other prominent female nationalities are Moroccans, Serbians, Ukrainians, Australians and Italians. Amongst the women furthest from their home countries are eight Mexicans, 106 Brazilians and one from the tiny South Pacific island of Tonga, 14,938 kilometres from EAGS home of Abu Dhabi.



The vast majority of female employees work for Etihad Airways based in the UAE. However, the women are spread far and wide in terms of departments and locations. Female staff can be found amongst the flight deck crew, cabin crew, at Etihad Airways Engineering, Etihad Cargo, Etihad Global Loyalty Company and Etihad Airport
Captain Isabel Gonzalez from Spain and First Officer Vaidehi Chavhan from India were joined by Cabin Crew from Korea, Moldova, Morocco, Tunisia and Zimbabwe in welcoming Flydubais passengers on board this special flight celebrating women in aviation.

A group of Flydubais female employees from across different departments welcomed the flight crew upon their return to the companys headquarters in Dubai: leading women from the airlines Commercial, Commercial Systems, Engineering, Flight Operations, Human Resources, Inflight Services, Legal, Maintenance, Materials, Network Control, Network Planning, Revenue Management where represented.

We celebrate women empowerment every day at Flydubai and I am proud of all of our more than 1,400 female professionals who contribute to the growth and success of the airline. International Womens Day is a great occasion to thank the female workforce in the airline for their hard work and dedication, said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO at Flydubai.

More than a third of the 3,770 employees at Flydubai are female with more than 1,000 female Cabin Crew members and more than 30 female Captains and First Officers.
Aircraft displaying at Novembers MEBAA show had the chance to experience Jetex Flight Supports capabilities first hand.

The company was the official FBO and handler for the business aviation show, and provided full flight support services for business aviation flights through its newly built FBO terminal at the Aviation District in Dubai South.

The operator also provided bespoke FBO facilities for passengers and crew, in addition to customs and immigration services, visa arrangements, aircraft parking, and coordination of aircraft display areas at the show.

We were thankful to the organiser, F&E Aerospace, and MEBAA, for this opportunity to further strengthen our reputation as one of the leading general aviation service providers across the Middle East, said Adel Mardini, CEO and president.

Our skilled and friendly team of groundhandlers and customer service professionals is dedicated to ensuring the best possible personalised services for all our valued clients.

F&E said the agreement was testament to the quality standards that Jetex offers its clients.

Dubai has a special place in Jetexs heart as the company was launched at the Dubai Airshow in 2005. It then went on to establish its first FBO in Paris in 2009.

Since then, it has opened 30 locations throughout the world and currently employs more than 300 members of staff.

It opened its facility at DWC at the 2013 Dubai Air Show and became the first international standard of business aircraft handling (IS-BAH)-certified FBO in Dubai.

Mardini said: DWC marks Dubais development as one of the worlds leading aviation hubs. It made absolute sense for us to be present here and this general aviation terminal sets a new standard of excellence for our global customers.

The facility is part of the Dubai South VIP Terminal that also includes the first presence in Dubai for Abu Dhabi-based charter operator and maintenance provider Falcon Aviation Services. The central terminal lounge is hailed by the Jetex founder as a showpiece which he said is radically different to anything else on the market.

Jetex provides exceptional FBOs, aircraft fuelling, groundhandling and global trip planning services, said Mardini, adding that the 1,500sqm facility is the biggest in the region and, were pretty sure, the world.

In addition to the largest FBO lounge in the world, there is also 50,000sqm of dedicated ramp parking space.

A state-of-the-art 5,000sqm hangar facility, currently under construction, will be available for aircraft storage and maintenance in 2017.

Mardinis ambitions continue: We would like two more in Europe and are looking at Asia and Saudi Arabia. We are targeting 30 FBOs by the end of the decade. However, our aim is not to be the biggest, but the best.The design of Jetexs Al Matoum lounge is inspired by upmarket international hotels, said Mardini, rather than the more traditional Arabian-influenced decor favoured by many FBOs in the region.

Aircraft operators that missed the chance to experience the Jetex service at MEBAA will get another opportunity in November.

Adel Mardini, CEO and president




UPDATED

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos may not yet have announced who will serve in top positions at the Education Department during her tenurebut Democrats are already saying they want hearings on any nominees for those spots.

In a March 7 letter, seven Democratic senators on the Senate education committee formally asked Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate education committee, for hearings on nominees to critical positions at the department . The senators dont list all the positions for which theyd like hearings on the respective nominees. But in their letter, they note that the committee has previously held hearings on several high-profile political appointees, including those for assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education and the assistant secretary for civil rights.

In the letter, the senators were also blunt about their view that DeVos lacked significant experience in higher education policy specificallyfor example, they cite her response to senators questions about postsecondary finance that individuals with whom I work in the department will ensure that federal monies are used properly and appropriately.

Given these responses, we have an obligation to question the individuals with whom Secretary DeVos will work in the Department and whom she admittedly expects to rely upon to protect the integrity of our higher education system, the senators wrote.

The Trump administration has not yet nominated people to the positions the letter singles out.

The letter was signed by Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. (Sanders is officially an independent but caucuses with Democrats.) During DeVos January hearing before the committee, Sanders and Warren in particular pressed DeVos about her views on issues like college affordability and student loans.

In response, an aide to Alexander said in a statement that, Once the nominations are made, Sen. Alexander will confer with Sen. Murray and announce an appropriate process to ensure that the Secretary has the staff in place in a timely way to serve the nations students.

The letters ask may be a tough one, though. The fight over DeVos confirmation was easily the most rancorous of any nominee for education secretary. And its worth noting that Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the education committee, didnt sign the letter. An aide to Murray told us that while she is pleased and supportive of these efforts by her colleagues, Murray doesnt normally sign on to letters to Alexander.

Read the full letter below:

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Business aviation has an excellent opportunity to showcase its value, flexibility and convenience to familiar and new clients during FIFA World Cup
The Senate voted 59 to 40 on Wednesday to overturn regulations governing teacher-preparation programs that were approved by the Obama administration late last year.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., introduced the measure blocking the rules late last week. Senate Joint Resolution 26 had nine other Republican co-sponors, including Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate education committee. The House also voted last month to block the rules, approving a resolution introduced by Kentucky Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie, and President Donald Trump is widely expected to back the move.

This regulation actually makes the assumption that bureaucrats in Washington are competent to micromanage teacher-training programs in America. Thats what this regulation ultimately does, and its absurd, Sasse said on the Senate floor before the vote.

However, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the education committee, said the rules would ensure that prospective teachers have more and better information about teacher-training programs. She also said the rules would protect teacher preparation from the as-yet unknown approach that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos would take. (Murray led the opposition to DeVos in the Senate before DeVos was confirmed.)

It helps to improve teacher-preparation program accountability, Murray said on the floor about the rules.

The Education Department finalized the rules after a lengthy process, and changed how colleges and universities must judge the effectiveness of their programs that prepare teachers for classrooms. Among other things, these rules would require programs to include data on how many of their graduates get jobs in high-needs schools, how long their graduates stay in the teaching profession, and their impact on student-learning outcomes.

Although the rules gave teacher-prep programs some flexibility on how to judge student learning , they got criticism, and not just from congressional Republicans. Last October, National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, for example, lambasted the idea that one could draw a straight line between a graduate school of education and a students learning outcomes.

Last month when speaking on the House floor, Guthrie argued that lawmakers should wait until they address the Higher Education Act to make changes to teacher-preparation regulations.

Republicans are also seeking to overturn accountability rules for the Every Student Succeeds Act that were also finalized in 2016 by Obamas Education Department. That measure is sponsored by Alexander. A vote on that measure is expected soon. The House voted to overturn the ESSA accountability rules, through a measure originally introduced by Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. As of 09:30, March 8, clear weather is reported across all highways and roads of interstate or republican significance. All of the abovementioned highways/roads are open for traffic, the ministry of transportation, communication and IT told ARMENPRESS.
PARIS, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. In the sidelines of the official visit to France President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the correspondent of Armenpress reports from Paris that following the meeting the President of Armenia and Paris Mayor gave speeches in front of the Armenian community in Paris at the "Banquet Hall" of Paris municipality.

Its a pleasure for me to again visit Paris  a city which encountered numerous waves during its history but never sank, instead, continued to flourish eternally remaining a unique cradle of civilization. Its said that just walking in Paris one learns about history, beauty and the meaning of life, President of Armenia said.

According to the President of Armenia, its also thanks to Anne Hidalgo that decentralized cooperation, particularly with Paris, takes a significant share of the Armenian-French cooperation agenda. I greatly appreciate the fact that you stand with us in crucial moments for us, I mean your visits to Yerevan during the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the festive events marking the 2798th anniversary of Armenia. An of course, Mrs. Hidalgo, we will be happy if you visit Yerevan next year in the period when we will celebrate the 2800th anniversary of our capital city, the capital of all Armenians, addressing Paris Mayor, President Sargsyan said, adding that he is extremely happy for Yerevan and Paris are sister cities and cooperation between them strengthens day by day.

I would like to specially focus on our activities in the sidelines of the Association of Francophone Mayors. Thank to this cooperation favorable conditions have been established in a number of schools in Yerevan for advanced study of French, as well as music, art centers and libraries have been renovated and refurbished. The city with most libraries in the world is exemplary for us. As a result of this partnership the French breath is more palpable in our capital. I hope the projects underway will also be a success and a House of Armenia will be established in Paris and House of France in Yerevan which will help Armenian and French people to feel like at home in the capitals of one another, President Sargsyan stated.

According to the Armenian president, just being in Paris one can understand why dozens of thousands of Armenian genocide survivals gave preference to France. Even trading is a culture here, while culture is a lifestyle. Those people came to you and thanks to your hospitability they became law-abiding citizens of France, respected and demanded specialists, President Sargsyan said, and addressing to his compatriots in the hall, added, It can be confidently stated that you have had you contribution to the development of French culture and economy. Adopting the best French practice, you enriched it with unique Armenian colors, the Armenian president said, adding that they make Armenia more powerful, more widely recognized. Be sure, you are always welcome in Armenia as a friend, partner, tourist and an inseparable part of the Armenian people. You are welcome in Armenia to share both your achievements and hardships, Serzh Sargsyan underlined, bringing the example of thousands of Syrian-Armenians who have found shelter in Armenia amid the Syrian crisis.

Concluding his speech, the President of the Republic of Armenia once again thanked Anne Hidalgo for her personal contribution in deepening relations between Yerevan and Paris. It was by you decision that in 2015 the lights of the Eiffel tower were switched off as a sign of respect towards the memory of the Armenian genocide victims. Let these lights always remain on as a sign of externalization of Armenian-French friendship. I am very grateful, President Serzh Sargsyan concluded.
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The Latest on wildfires burning across the countrys midsection (all times Mountain):

6:30 p.m.

Officials say one of three wildfires in the Texas Panhandle is now 100 percent contained.

The Texas A&M Forest Service says a fire measuring about 46 square miles near Amarillo was fully contained by late Tuesday afternoon.

Another fire thats burned more than 492 square miles in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border is 50 percent contained. Its destroyed two homes.

A third wildfire south in Gray County and measuring nearly 145 square miles is 25 percent contained.

Phillip Truitt, a spokesman for the Texas A&M Forest Service, says his agency has confirmed three firefighters were injured battling the blazes. All have been released from hospitals.

Truitt says the death toll in Texas remains at four: three deaths in Gray County and one in Hemphill County.

1 p.m.

Officials say the largest of three wildfires in the Texas Panhandle is now 50 percent contained.

The Texas A&M Forest Service said earlier Tuesday that the fire in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border was only about 5 percent contained. But it says firefighters have since broadened their containment, aided in part by weaker winds.

Fire officials say the wildfire is much larger than originally thought. They say its burned about 460 square miles, up from earlier estimates of 156 square miles.

Its one of the three wildfires in the Panhandle, with one just south in Gray County and another to the west near Amarillo. Wildfires are also burning in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

11:50 a.m.

Authorities say one of the three wildfires in the Texas Panhandle is about three times larger than they had thought.

Phillip Truitt, a spokesman for the Texas A&M Forest Service, says the fire in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border has burned about 460 square miles of land, not the 156 square miles officials estimated earlier Tuesday.

He says authorities were finally able to fly over the area to get a more accurate sense of the damage.

The fire is only about 5 percent contained but the winds have died down since Monday.

Local officials estimate that a separate fire to the south has burned about 100,000 acres, or roughly 156 square miles. But Truitt says the state Forest Service hasnt yet given its own assessment.

A third, smaller fire near Amarillo was about 75 percent contained.

Authorities say four people have died in the two larger wildfires.

10:40 a.m.

Authorities say wildfires in the Texas Panhandle have claimed another life, bringing the four-state death count from wildfires to five.

Hemphill County Judge George Briant said Tuesday that the fourth death in the Texas Panhandle was caused by a blaze near the Oklahoma border that has burned 156 square miles of land. That fire was only about 5 percent contained Tuesday morning.

Authorities said earlier Tuesday that three ranch hands were killed by another fire in the Panhandle. Gray County emergency management coordinator Sandi Martin identified the three as Emmert Sloan, Cody Crockett and Sydney Wallace. She says Crockett and Wallace were in their early 20s and Sloans age was not known.

The fifth death was that of an Oklahoma truck driver who was killed by smoke inhalation on a highway in southern Kansas.

The fires in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado have driven thousands of people from their homes and scorched hundreds of square miles of land.
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The body of a Roswell woman was found Monday morning along U.S. 285 north of Roswell, and the New Mexico State Police are investigating the case as a homicide.

New Mexico Department of Transportation workers discovered the body of 49-year-old Maria Elena Aragon of Roswell near mile marker 167 on U.S. 285 around 9:30 a.m. Monday.

The NMSP say Aragon was reported missing to the Roswell Police Department Sunday.

No additional details are available at this time, and the investigation into the case is ongoing.

Aragon is the second murder victim to be found along a roadway in Southeast New Mexico this week, as the body of Danny Mendes, 49, of Roswell was discovered Sunday at the intersection of Haystack and Four Dinkus roads just south of Artesia.
Boston charter schools this year received more than double the number of applications than last year under a new online enrollment system that allows parents to apply to multiple schools at once.

A total of 35,000 applications were submitted for the upcoming school yearup from about 13,000 last yearfor 25 charter campuses, according to the Massachusetts Public Charter School Association, which oversees the online system.

Those applications came from about 9,200 students, most of whom are applying to three or four schools each for the 2017-18 school year.

The spike in applications likely will decrease childrens chances for coveted spaces: Only about 2,100 spots are available in those charters. Many families will find out if their children will be enrolled when the citys charters hold lotteries on Wednesday.

The Boston charter application numbers were released four months after Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly defeated a ballot measure that would have lifted the cap on the states charter schools and created more charter seats.

These numbers show a continued high demand for charter schools that has increased since the ballot question, said Marc Kenen, the associations executive director, to Education Week. So, we think this demonstrates that theres still a need for more charter schools in Massachusetts.

Denen believes the publicity surrounding the ballot measure helped spark interest in charter schools, resulting in more requests. Plus, the new enrollment system made it easier for parents to try for more charter schools.

Under the new system, parents submitted a single application online and checked boxes for the charter schools where they wish to enroll their children. Previously, parents had to submit individual online or paper applications for each school.

How common are single-enrollment systems in districts with lots of school choice?

Bostons new system comes as cities across the country are trying to make it simpler for parents to apply to multiple schools at the same time .

Already, Denver, the District of Columbia, Newark, N.J., and New Orleans have single-enrollment systems where parents can apply to both charter and district schools. The idea, too, has been discussed in Boston, but so far only charter schools are running their own system.

In Oakland, Calif., parents soon will be able to use the same online platform to select schools, but the applications will be different for district and charter campuses under the Oakland School Finder .

A new enrollment tool in Detroit, a joint effort by charters and the district, has been shelved as 25 Detroit schools face possible closures, according to a Feb. 16 story by Erin Einhorn in Chalkbeat Detroit.

Bostons new charter application system is operated by SchoolMint , an enrollment platform that has worked with more than 3,000 schools worldwide since starting in 2013, according to its website. For its New York charter system last year, about 134,000 applications were submitted for 200 charters, up 21 percent increase from the previous year, according to the associations press release.
These pointillist creations of early modern humans were recently discovered when scientists revisited Abri Cellier, a cave site in Frances Vezere Valley. There, they found 16 limestone tablets left behind by a previous excavation. Images of what appear to be animals, including a woolly mammoth, were formed by a series of punctured dots and, in some cases, carved connecting lines. Combined with previous images from nearby caves in France and Spain, the tablets suggest an early form of pointillism, and a very early point on art historys timeline.
Campus speaker invitations and disinvitations reflect a curious paradox. On one hand, theres clearly a market for speakers for bestselling authors like Murray and Milo Yiannopoulos, the former Breitbart writer and prolific campus provocateur. On the other hand, Murray was met with disinvitation attempts in 2014 and 2016 before he was shouted down last week at Middlebury, reflecting student awareness that the work for which Murray is best known1994s The Bell Curve, which was excerpted in the New Republic alongside criticism of ithas been largely discredited among social scientists.
As states revamp the systems they use to evaluate schools, at least five are considering using the arts as a measure of school quality.

The Every Student Succeeds Act opened the doors for states to rethink how they evaluated schools quality . In addition to measures like English-language proficiency, graduation rates, and scores on standardized achievement tests, which are commonly used in current accountability systems, states are required to include one additional indicator of school quality in their system. That could include social-emotional indicators or access to certain courses including the arts.

New Jersey was the first state to include arts in its accountability system. The state added student enrollment in arts classes as a measure on school report cards in 2014, before ESSA was finalized.

In an email, Dale Schmid, the states content coordinator for visual and performing arts, said, I think its important to note that soon after the arts were included in the state accountability plan, school principals began to tout the strength of their districts arts programsIN WRITING and in the press! He said that was evidence of the significance and impact of the new regulation.

Connecticut also includes arts access as part of its Next Generation Accountability System  for schools.

Now, several additional states have considered adding arts access to their accountability systems, according to Lynn Tuttle, the content and policy director at the National Association for Music Education. In Colorado, the idea has been proposed in the states legislature via a bill called Rewarding Access to Arts Education in Public Schools  that recently passed in a Senate committee. In Arizona, the states board is considering including arts in a new grading system for schools. Delaware , Michigan, and Massachusetts have included arts in drafts of their state plans for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act.

It looks really different state to state, Tuttle said. Connecticut and New Jersey, for instance, measure how many students have access to and are participating in arts classes; Arizona would allow states to get bonus points on a state report card that ranks schools on a scale of A-F for arts programs, Tuttle said. The Colorado bill would create an additional performance indicator on its school quality system gauging how schools provide access to the arts.

Tuttle said the inclusion of arts in such plans is significant: Whats measured gets taught.

More states are collecting data on access to and participation in arts classes . Provisions like these would likely accelerate those efforts.

However, the future for states accountability plans is uncertain: Republicans in both houses of Congress have introduced measures that would do away with regulations developed during the Obama administration to guide states accountability systems. For more on that, check out my colleague Andrew Ujifusas reporting on the Politics K-12 blog .

Related stories:
Tweens, teens, and young adults consume a wide range of news, often as a byproduct of their frequent use of the mobile devices and social media applications they carry around in their pockets.

But they view much of the news they encounter as biased and unreflective of their own experiences. They struggle to identify fake news. And what they see and read often makes them feel afraid, angry, and depressed.

It all contributes to a profound sense of mistrust, as well as a growing need for new strategies to help youth navigate a shifting media landscape, according to two recently released research studies on children and the news.

Young people dont follow the news as much as it follows them, concluded the New York-based research institute Data & Society in a report released last month.

That means a swirling stew of content from a hodgepodge of sources, often delivered via Facebook feeds or messaging apps. Opaque algorithms act as gatekeepers, determining what news teens and young adults will actually see. To cope, Data & Society found, young people rely on networked strategies, consulting multiple sources in an attempt to corroborate the stories that matter to them.

Family, friends, and teachers still play a major role in that process for younger teens, according to San Francisco-based nonprofit Common Sense Media. In a newly released study, 66 percent of the children surveyed by the group said they trust a lot of the news they receive from their family, compared with 25 percent who said they trust news organizations.

Even so, distinguishing credible content remains a challenge, Common Sense found: Just 44 percent of the children surveyed agreed they can tell fake news stories from real news stories.

It all adds up to a major challenge for parents and teachers, Michael Robb, the groups director of research, said in an interview.

To the extent we want kids to be good citizens, we want them to be able to think critically about whatever information theyre getting, he said. Teachers in the classroom have a responsibility to helping teach those skills.

Following are summaries of the two new research studies.



(Common Sense Media, March 2017)

In January, Common Sense Media conducted a nationally representative survey of 853 tweens (10-12 year-olds) and teens (13-18 year-olds). Heres what they found:

Children often receive news information from their families, friends, and teachers : 63 percent of the tweens and teens surveyed said they had gotten the previous days news from those sources, compared with 38 percent who said they got their news from a social-networking site; 37 percent received their news from television; and 8 percent got their news from a newspaper. Childrens news consumption is being filtered through the adults in their lives, who have their own biases, interpretations, and background knowledge, said Robb, the research director. That places a target on parents, in terms of how they consume and discuss the news.

Still, childrenespecially teensprefer to get their news via social media: 27 percent of all children surveyed, and 34 percent of teens, reported that social media is where they want to get their news (more than any other source.) More than half of the children surveyed use Facebook, and 76 percent of those young people get news and headlines via the social-networking site.

27 percent of all children surveyed, and 34 percent of teens, reported that social media is where they want to get their news (more than any other source.) More than half of the children surveyed use Facebook, and 76 percent of those young people get news and headlines via the social-networking site. Fake news is a big problem: Made-up news stories emerged as a huge topic of concern during the recent presidential election. Fewer than half of all children Common Sense surveyed expressed confidence in their abilities to identify such content. The findings were even worse for 10-12 year-olds and for girls. But just because young people struggle to determine if content is credible doesnt mean they wont share it: 70 percent of all respondents said they had forwarded an online news story during the previous six months, and nearly a third of those children said they later found out a story they had shared was inaccurate.

Made-up news stories emerged as a huge topic of concern during the recent presidential election. Fewer than half of all children Common Sense surveyed expressed confidence in their abilities to identify such content. The findings were even worse for 10-12 year-olds and for girls. But just because young people struggle to determine if content is credible doesnt mean they wont share it: 70 percent of all respondents said they had forwarded an online news story during the previous six months, and nearly a third of those children said they later found out a story they had shared was inaccurate. But fake news is far from the only problem: More than two-thirds of children felt the news media has no idea about the experiences of people their age. Just 34 percent agreed that the news media treats men and women equally, and just 29 percent agreed that the news media treats people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds equally. And while 70 percent of children surveyed said that consuming news makes them feel smart, 43 percent said news makes them feel depressed or sad, 42 percent said it makes them feel angry, and 36 percent said it makes them feel afraid.



(Data & Society, February 2017)

The journalism industry is changing dramatically, the publics trust in journalistic institutions is eroding rapidly, and young people are on the front lines of all the change, concluded researchers from Data & Society after conducting focus groups with 52 teens and young adults in Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Because social media plays such a significant role in disseminating news for these youth, it was clear that they are regularly exposed to a range of content of varying quality that they must rapidly learn to assess, the report states.

Facebook is a huge source of news (and newspapers are something you find at grandmas.) Young people highly value user-generated content, such as livestreamed video. Such modern factors as mobile-friendliness and content load-time influence their perceptions of credibility. The reputations of an author and the person sharing news often matter more than who produced the content.

Perhaps most interesting, though, was what Data & Society found about how teens and young adults seek to assess the credibility of news. If a story on social media resonates, theyll consult other sources, with TV networks such as CNN frequently serving as the final arbiter of whether a story is legitimate.

Many teens and young adults in our focus groups expressed a lack of trust in the accuracy of news media and a feeling that they must rely on a system of distributed trust across multiple people and sources in order to feel confident about certain stories, the report concludes.

See also:


Malaysia: Exports in January register strong growth

Malaysias exports in January accelerated from the previous month due to high shipments and strong demand from China. Exports rose 13.6 percent with a value of US$15.76 million from a year earlier, according to the Department of Statistics. Analysts say that global trade is also strengthening, with demand for manufactured products from China, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and South Korea. Electrical and electronic goods, which account for more than one third of Malaysias exports, increased 11.4 percent from a year earlier, while palm oil and palm based products climbed 23 percent.

Exports to China, Malaysias largest trading partner, increased to 31.6 percent year-on-year in January, followed by 18.8 percent to Singapore. Analysts believe that demand for electronics will lessen in the second half of the year, slowing the countrys growth. However, the countrys central, Bank Negara Malaysia, stated that it expects stronger exports and steady domestic demand to keep up with economic growth.

RELATED: Pre-Investment and Market Entry Advisory from Dezan Shira & Associates

Indonesia and Saudi Arabia sign cooperation agreements

The governments of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia signed 11 cooperation agreements, ranging from trade to aviation. Officials have said that Indonesia wants to step up trade cooperation with Saudi Arabia through either a preferential trading area (PTA) or a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA). Indonesia also wants Saudi Arabias backing to do a joint feasibility study in the framework of Indonesia-GCC cooperation.

Indonesias trade with Saudi Arabia totaled US$4.06 billion in 2016. The latter is Indonesias largest export destination in the Middle East, equaling US$1.33 billion; Indonesias imports from Saudi Arabia stood at US$2.73 billion. The agreements come during Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Sauds visit to Indonesia, the first visit to Indonesia by a Saudi monarch in 47 years.

Philippines: No blacklisting despite perceived deficiency in AML/CFT compliance

The Philippines was saved from a possible blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body that monitors compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and countering financing of terrorism (CFT) measures, despite being the site for a cyber-heist a year ago. The Philippines was not included in a list of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies but have developed action plans during an ongoing review of compliance with AML/CFT. The list was released on February 24.

Previously, he Philippines was included in a grey list in 2010 after the government failed to address deficiencies in its action plan. It was subsequently upgraded from the grey list in June 2012 after positive initiatives by the government to be more transparent. In June 2013, the country was removed from the FATFs ongoing AML/CFT process.

The government passed the Republic Act 10167 and 10168, which criminalizes terrorist financing and added new crimes to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA); however the ruling left out casinos among those organizations required to report to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). Philippines central Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has been attempting to amend the AMLA to include casinos, money services business, precious stones dealers, jewels and metals, and real estate developers, among others, in the list of monitored institutions.



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Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN 2017 introduces the fundamentals of investing in the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, concentrating on economics, trade, corporate establishment, and taxation. We also include the latest development news for each country, with the intent to provide an executive assessment of the varying component parts of ASEAN, assessing each member state and providing the most up-to-date economic and demographic data on each.

Human Resources in ASEAN

In this issue of ASEAN Briefing, we discuss the prevailing structure of ASEANs labor markets and outline key considerations regarding wages and compliance at all levels of the value chain. We highlight comparative sentiment on labor markets within the region, showcase differences in cost and compliance between markets, and provide insight on the state of statutory social insurance obligations throughout the bloc.
BSNL and MTNL have a market share of about nine per cent of the total wireless subscriber base of 1.12 billion.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has operations in the entire country, except Delhi and Mumbai. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The government is once again looking at proposal to merge two state-owned telecom operators  BSNL and MTNL.

Top officials in the telecom department have recently discussed the possibility of merging the two telecom operators, which are making losses.

Among various possibilities being discussed is BSNL picking up mobile operations of MTNL in Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad, where it is already offering landline and broadband services. Other possibility being explored is BSNLs acquiring MTNLs mobile operations in Delhi and Mumbai.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has operations in Delhi and Mumbai. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has operations in the entire country, except Delhi and Mumbai. HR issues like staff salary and union opposition is among the challenges for the merger of the two firms.

BSNL and MTNL have a market share of about nine per cent of the total wireless subscriber base of 1.12 billion.

The idea of merging the two firms was first mooted years ago by the then telecom minister Pramod Majahan and has been deliberated upon a few times since then. The idea was also discussed during UPA-II regime.

The merger will be a positive for MTNL which has been making losses for many years now. The total debt of MTNL reached Rs 19,418.23 crore at the end of December 31, 2016, from Rs 11,542.3 crore in 2012-13, according to official data. In 2015-16, MTNL reported total annual revenue of Rs 3,197.41 crore and net loss of Rs 2,005.72 crore.

The losses of BSNL have narrowed, however, to Rs 4,890 crore for the nine month period of the current fiscal, from Rs 6,121 crore in the year-ago period. It posted 5.8 per cent increase in income from services at Rs 19,379.6 crore during the period under review.
India are in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds to make investment for Indian railway.

Dubai: India will invest USD 140 billion to modernise its rail network over the next five years and is in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has said.

"Of the USD 140 billion we will be investing over the next five years, the majority will go towards India's modernisation efforts, the introduction of new technologies, and increasing capacities," Prabhu said.

He said his office has been in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds this week, Gulf News quoted him as saying. "We have requested that the government of the UAE look at the huge potential for investment that lies in Indian infrastructure, particularly in the railways.

They are very keen to know more about this," Prabhu said. "We've had good meetings with Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)," Prabhu said, adding that he hoped these issues would progress over the course of 2017.

According to a statement released by the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, Prabhu visted the UAE from March 5-7, on the invitation of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE.

The Minister toured Masdar City and met with the senior management of Masdar, where they discussed possible cooperation in efforts by the Indian Railways to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Prabhu said his ministry had an appetite for "several tens of billions of dollars," stating that whatever was made available, India would take. ADIA is the third largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, holding approximately USD 92 billion in assets.

In January 2017, Prime Minster Narendra Modi had said his government was in "mission mode" when it came to rejuvenating the railways in India. Prabhu confirmed that the government of India has already raised as much as USD 65 billion, to be spent over the next two years.

He stated that India has allocated as much as USD 16 billion for safety measures, and USD 7 billion for energy efficiency. New projects in the pipeline for the country also include a high-speed railway from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, in collaboration with the Japanese government, the conversion of two of India?s busiest routes, Mumbai to Delhi and Mumbai to Calcutta, in to medium-speed corridors, and an increase in the electrification of the country's tracks "by more in the next five years than the last few decades combined," Prabhu said.

"It's been a very good visit to the UAE, and I've had interesting, fruitful meetings with the leaders of this country," he said. Prabhu also had discussions with the Indian community and prominent Indian businessmen in both, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In January 2017, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, conducted a state visit to India, where he was Chief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations.
Over 15 per cent of Indian billionaires are from pharma, followed by manufacturing.

Mumbai: The pharmaceutical sector has produced the most number of ultra high net-worth individuals in India, accounting for almost 16 per cent of the total 132 wealthy Indians featured in the latest Hurun Global Rich List India report.

According to Hurun, there are 132 Indians enjoying a minimum networth of $1 billion and above. Out of this, 21 billionaires are from the pharma sector. Dilip Shanghvi, the founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals, is the third most richest Indian after Mukesh Ambani and London based S.P. Hinduja & family.

Mr Shanghvi with a net worth of Rs 99,000 crore is the biggest pharma billionaire followed by Cyrus Poonawalla (Rs 75,400 crore), the chairman of Serum Institute of India, one of the worlds largest vaccine manufacturers.

The manufacturing sector turned out to be the second biggest contributor of dollar billionaires from India followed by technology, media and telecommunication (TMT) sector. While both the sectors have 13 billionaires each, manufacturing scored over TMT in terms of the value of total net-worth.

When it comes to generating wealth, women are not far behind their male counterparts. There are 9 women billionaires from India with Savitri Jindal topping the list with Rs 31,500 crore.

The report pointed out that the combined wealth of 132 Indian billionaires increased to Rs 26.90 lakh crore, up 16 per cent from last year. There were also 27 new dollar billionaires from India. With a net worth of Rs 24,900 crore, Acharya Balakrishna of Patanjali Ayurveda, tops the list followed by Nadir Godrej and Smitha V Crishna.

Due to the governments policy shift towards a cashless economy, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm with a net worth of Rs 10,300 crore is now the 79th richest Indian. Divyank Turakhia of Directi who successfully sold his company media.net to Miteno, a Chinese conglomerate at a valuation of $1 billion is the 99th richest dollar billionaire in India.
Earlier RGV had stated that he wishes it to be celebrated as a Men's Day.

Mumbai: Ram Gopal Verma started off his day being his usual self, trying to rile up a few on Twitter, with his crass, distasteful sense of humour.

However his Womens Day tweet involving Sunny Leone had instantly been called out for its blatant sexism by Twitterati, so much so that the tweet has now landed him in legal trouble.

A complaint has been filed against RGV by activist Vishaka Mhambre in Goa against the tweet, according to ANI.

Earlier RGV had stated that he wishes it to be celebrated as a Men's Day.

He also said that every woman should know how to keep men happy just like Sunny Leone. This tweet, as expected, did not go down well with the Twitterati even going to the extreme extent of suggesting that he must say this to his mother and daughters as well.
The report revealed that police tried to negotiate with one of the militants for long, and even got his brother on the phone.

Uttar Pradesh Anti Terror Squad personnel take positions during their operation against a suspected terrorist holed up inside a building in the Thakurganj area of Lucknow on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: A group of five ISIS sympathisers, who were arrested from various parts of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, was preparing to launch a massive terror attack on a Sufi shrine in the states Barabanki area within the span of a month, reports said.

According to a report in NDTV, the men also carried out an explosion on an Ujjain bound train on Tuesday as a practice for the attack on the Sufi shrine.

Following the blast, three suspects were arrested from Madhya Pradesh after they were captured in CCTV footage, and were questioned.

During the interrogation, the men revealed that they were part of a terror module consisting nine men, all from Lucknow and Kanpur, and had pledged their allegiance to ISIS.

The leader of the gang Atif Muzzaffar was among those arrested.

Further questioning revealed that the module had rented a home in Thakurganj area near Lucknow.

Based on the tip-off, the Anti-Terror Squad arrested two more men from Kanpur and trapped another militant Saifullah, at the Thakurganj residence. The group had reportedly rented the residence six months ago from a man called Badshah, working in Saudi Arabia.

The report revealed that the police tried to negotiate with Saifullah for long, and even got his brother Khalid on the phone.

The cops dialled Khalid and slid the phone under the door to Saifullah. When Khalid broke down and asked his brother to surrender, he was told, I won't, I want martyrdom.

ISIS Khorasan module terror suspect who was gunned down in Thakurganj. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

After a long stand-off of 12 hours, the ATS finally tried to breach the house by drilling holes into the wall. Saifullah was eventually killed.

"Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilli bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out," said Aseem Arun, a senior officer of the anti-terror squad was quoted as saying.

A cache of ammunition including eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train time table were found along with the body.
Are we living in Vedic times? If a minister herself thinks like this we dont need men in country to order fatwas: NSUI chief Amrita.

New Delhi: Days after Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi announced launching an app to take those to task who trolled women, she fell prey to social media users for favouring curfew for hormonally challenged girls.

Calling her statement regressive, Twitterati expressed shock over the statement that came just ahead of International Womens Day. In an interview to a news channel, Ms Gandhi had stated, As a parent whos sending a daughter to a college - or a son - I would expect her and him to be protected. And perhaps one of the protections is against themselves. When you are 16 or 17 you are also hormonally very challenged. So to protect you from your own hormonal outbursts, perhaps a lakshman rekha is drawn. It really is for your own safety, she said, while responding to why girls hostels should have an early curfew and not boys?

While the ministry officials claimed that the statement had been blown out of proportion, she was criticised for her statement on social media.

Are we living in Vedic times? If a minister herself thinks like this we dont need men in country to order fatwas, said NSUI chief Amrita Dhawan.

She also received flak for her comments about Biharis. In reply to a question on why cant security be strengthened instead of imposing curfews, she had said, No, not by two Bihari gentlemen at gate with dandas (sticks). Twitter users hit out at her for regionalism and for stereotyping Biharis as guards.
Earlier, the terror suspect who was gunned down in Lucknow was reported to belong to the ISIS Khorasan module.

The police recovered eight pistols, three passports, more than 600 cartridges, bomb-making instruments, timers, wires, compass etc. (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow: After successfully gunning down ISIS terror accused Saifullah, Additional Director General of the Uttar Pradesh Police (ADG UP) Daljeet Chaudhary on Wednesday said the youth was self-radicalised and was influenced by 'literature'.

"These days, people self-radicalise themselves. They read their literature and come under its influence. Also, they follow social media for the same," Chaudhary told the media here.

The police recovered eight pistols, three passports, more than 600 cartridges, bomb-making instruments, timers, wires, compass etc.

"45 grams gold and foreign currency was also recovered," he said.

"The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) accompanied by civil police completed the operation. When we reached the spot, the self-proclaimed, self-radicalised ISIS youth locked himself up inside the building and started talking about martyrdom," he said.

"We tried to convince him to come out but he kept firing at us. Tear-gas shells were thrown at him. He died in an exchange of fire between him and the police," he further said.

The ADG also informed that the four youths, who were living in the building, were the ones responsible for the IED blast that took place on Tuesday in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train.

"4 were living there. They only did the IED blast in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train," he said.

"The police have arrested the three terrorists named mastermind Atif Muzaffar and Md. Danish - both residents of Kanpur - and Syed Meer Hussain," he added.

The cops have also claimed that the accused were a part of ISIS Khorasan module, a terror outfit associated with Al Qaeda.

However, Chaudhary denied having any evidence of ISIS link with the incident.
Chance the Rapper pledged to donate $1 million to Chicago Public Schools on Monday and urged others to d onate to the school system.

The donation came after the Grammy-winning musician met with Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner about funding Chicago public schools and left frustrated by the governors vague answers.

Chicago public schools officials have said that they will be forced to make drastic cutsincluding possibly ending the school year early and cutting some summer school programsif they do no get significant financial assistance from the state. The district has already frozen discretionary funds to school principals and implemented furlough days to save money.

The district had been counting on $215 million in state assistance in a large part to help with its pension obligations, but Gov. Rauner vetoed a bill that would have provided the funds in December. Rauners office has said that the money was supposed to be part of a larger state pension overhaul.

Since then, the district has sued the state, Rauner, and the state Board of Education alleging that the way the state funds its schools discriminates against Chicagos predominantly Hispanic and black students.

Chance, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, attended the citys public schools.

In a live stream of the press conference on Monday, Chance urged private businesses to donate to the schools. He pledged to give $10,000 for every $100,000 donated to support arts programs.

The check that I donated is a call to action, he said. Im challenging major companies and corporations in Chicago and all across the U.S. to donate and to take action.

Since Rauners meeting with the rapper, the governors office has floated two proposals to help the citys schools. He called for adding the districts requests to pension discussions in Springfield, the state capitol. He also proposed enacting legislation that would allow the city to transfer $215 million in TIF funds (Tax Increment Financinga special financing tax to promote economic development) to the school district this year and making changes to the TIF program to allow the city to use TIF funds for education in the future.
The agriculture ministry also said that one per cent of jobs would be reserved for women in Krishi Vigyan Kendras from now on.

New Delhi: Reaching out on the international womens day, President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke against gender biases in society and said that boys and girls should get equal access to education. The Centre also announced a slew of measures like earmarking 30 per cent funds for women in schemes meant for farmers, and celebrating October 15 as the women farmers day.

The agriculture ministry also said that one per cent of jobs would be reserved for women in Krishi Vigyan Kendras from now on. Mr Mukherjee lamented the rise in crimes against women and said it was inexcusable that they do not feel as secure and safe as they should in the country.

Giving away the Nari Shakti (Women Power) awards at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, he said: The government is equally concerned at the rising rate of violent crimes against women. It is inexcusable that women in India do not feel as secure and safe as they should. Gender biases have no place in modern India where inclusive development is a key objective.

The Prime Minister condemned female foeticide and said that villages with women sarpanchs can play key role and show the way in ending female foeticide.

A discriminatory mindset cannot be accepted. We are seeing how girls are shining in the board exams and so many other areas, Mr Modi said, adding boys and girls both should get equal access to education.

On the special schemes announced for women, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said that out of Indias 1.2 billion population, 70 percent resides in rural areas.

Women play an important role in sowing and harvesting process and in the aftermath scenario as well. Only about 20,014 cooperatives are run by women out of the 8 lakh cooperatives in the country. Since, 2013-14, states and implementing agencies have been advised to utilise 10 to 20 per cent of the funds for the livestock owned by women under the existing Centrally Sponsored/Central Sector Schemes for the empowerment of them, he said.
The IG ATS Aseem Arun confirmed that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the ISIS.

Lucknow: A suspected terrorist was killed in the wee hours of Wednesday after 12 hours of anti-terror operation, police said, refuting as "false" earlier reports of two terror suspects holed up in a house in the outskirts of Lucknow.

The anti-terror operation ended after nearly 12 hours. "After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said. "At one point of time it appeared that more than one person was holed up inside the house," he said.

Chaudhary said that the operation "stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place." The IG ATS Aseem Arun confirmed that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the ISIS.

"The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation," Arun said.

Anti-terror operations were carried out to get hold of terrorists, suspected to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh yesterday in which at least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously.

Speaking to the media after the anti-terror operation was over, Arun said, "Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out."

The ATS commandos then stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist), Arun said, adding "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandos, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandos. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead."

The police believed that he might have been involved in a train blast in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh yesterday. An ISIS flag was recovered from the house and the bomb used in the blast was allegedly assembled in the same house.

"The police tried to negotiate with the suspect to get him to surrender. Chilli bombs were used to draw him out, but nothing worked," Arun said.

Eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train time table were found along with the body.

"The danger was grave, but we managed to avert it... Had we caught him alive, we would have extracted more information, but we had no choice," Arun added.

The commandos also saw a wire wrapped around the stomach of the terror suspect, Arun said. "We suspect that it could possibly be an explosive. Hence, the Bomb Disposal Squad has been called to clear the room first. After this the investigations would commence," he said.

On earlier reports of two terrorists being holed up in the house, the IG ATS, said, "Since we were using the tube cameras to ascertain the details (of the suspected terrorists), the image was not very clear, and it appeared that there may be two terrorists holed up in the house. But, when the search and clear operations were carried out, only one dead body was found."

Asked to comment on the possible terror linkage of the slain terrorist, Arun said that this would be answered during the course of investigation.
Saifullah, one of the suspects of Ujjain train blast, was killed Wednesday morning by the Anti-Terror Squad after a 12-hour-long operation.

New Delhi: Father of ISIS suspect Saifullah, who was killed in an encounter in Lucknows Thakurganj earlier this morning, has refused to accept his body, claiming that it was not in the countrys interest.

Speaking to ANI, Saifullahs father Sartaj said, This was not in country's interest. We will not accept the body of an anti-national.

"Two-and-a-half months ago, he left home after I beat him up for not working. He called last Monday and told us that he was going to Saudi," he added, recounting the last conversation with his son.

Saifullah was killed earlier this morning by the Anti-Terror Squad after a 12-hour-long operation.

The home ministry on Wednesday said that the probe into the encounter is likely to be handed over to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). The decision was made after the ministry had leads that there might be a larger conspiracy afoot, with more people in different locations having links with Saifullah.

He belonged to an ISIS module that was preparing to conduct a massive attack on a Sufi Shrine in Uttar Pradeshs Barabanki.

The men carried out an explosion on an Ujjain bound train on Tuesday as a practice for the attack on the Sufi shrine.

Following the blast, three suspects were arrested from Madhya Pradesh after they were captured in CCTV footage, and were questioned.

During the interrogation, the men revealed that they were part of a terror group consisting nine men, all from Lucknow and Kanpur, and had pledged their allegiance to ISIS.

The leader of the gang Atif Muzzaffar was among those arrested.

Further questioning revealed that the module had rented a home in Thakurganj area near Lucknow.

Based on the tip-off, the Anti-Terror Squad arrested two more men from Kanpur and trapped Saifullah, at the Thakurganj residence. The group had reportedly rented the residence six months ago from a man called Badshah, working in Saudi Arabia.

The report revealed that the police tried to negotiate with Saifullah for long, and even got his brother Khalid on the phone.

The cops dialled Khalid and slid the phone under the door to Saifullah. When Khalid broke down and asked his brother to surrender, he was told, I won't, I want martyrdom.

After a long stand-off of 12 hours, the ATS finally tried to breach the house by drilling holes into the wall.

The ATS commandos then stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist). "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandos, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandos. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead," IG ATS Aseem Arun said.

"Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chili bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out," Arun said.

A cache of ammunitions including eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train time table were found along with the body.
The Prime Minister will address a conclave of women sarpanchs in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

New Delhi: On the occasion of International Women's Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday saluted the indomitable spirit, determination and dedication of women power.

"Saluting the indomitable spirit, determination & dedication of Nari Shakti on International Women's Day. GoI's various initiatives seek to facilitate economic empowerment, self-reliance & social equality as far as Nari Shakti is concerned," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

The Prime Minister will address a conclave of women sarpanchs in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Women sarpanch from different parts of the country will attend the event, which has been jointly organised by the Centre and the Rural Development Department of Gujarat Government.
Targeting Modi over the recent killings of Indian-origin people in the US, the Congress VP asked why the PM was silent on the issue.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addressing an election rally for the last phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Setting the tone for the Congress campaign for the upcoming civic polls in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for their "politics of making false promises".

Addressing a convention of Congress workers in New Delhi, Gandhi accused Modi and Kejriwal of running "individual-centric" governments and "causing losses" to the country and Delhi respectively through their governance.

Attacking Kejriwal, Gandhi dubbed him as the "king" who calls shots only in the AAP.

He promised that the "voices of the people of Delhi" will be heard in civic bodies when his Congress comes to power there. The civic boy polls are likely to be held in April.

Gandhi took on the two leaders over the issue of combating corruption and asked the Prime Minister to first end corruption in the three corporations being ruled by the BJP.

Targeting Modi over the recent killings of Indians and Indian-origin people in the US, the Congress vice president asked why the Prime Minister was silent on the issue.

Rahul alleged that Modi was "scared" to speak up to the superpower on the issue.

"Both Modi and Kejriwal engage in politics of making false promises. They have caused loss to the country and Delhi respectively (by their individual-centric governance). They have wasted the country's time," Gandhi said, as he listed poll promises Modi and Kejriwal made ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha and 2015 Delhi assembly polls respectively.

Reiterating his recent "Ganga" barb against Modi, Gandhi said Modi had in the run up to the last general polls promised that he would clean Ganga, Varanasi, construct ring road, offer free internet, solar lights, build Bhojpuri film city and generate employment "if elected as PM".

"Banaras (Varanasi) has made up its mind...Banaras has understood that Modi had lied to its people two-and-a-half years ago. No matter how many visits he makes to the city, the people of Banaras are going to defeat Narendra Modi and BJP in the assembly polls there. This is the truth," Gandhi said.

The Congress leader charged Modi with not keeping the "promise made to youngsters" on generating two crore jobs a year.

"Modi talked about giving jobs...when we asked about it in Parliament, a BJP minister said only one lakh jobs created last year, while this year not a single job has been created...One person cannot change the entire country," he said, taking a dig at Modi.

Similarly, Gandhi alleged Kejriwal thinks that he can "single-handedly" change Delhi.

"I want to ask what has Kejriwal government done for sanitation workers, street vendors? What has he done for contractual staff in the Delhi government? When slums were being bulldozed in Delhi, you saw me and (Delhi Congress chief Ajay) Maken there, and not Kejriwal," Gandhi said.
Snehal Ambedkar, the current mayor, held the election contested by Sena's Mahadeshwar against Congress Vitthal Lokare.

Mumbai: Vishwanath Mahadeshwar of Shiv Sena on Wednesday won the mayoral election in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the vote was conducted by show of hands, with Sena getting the support of the BJP.

Snehal Ambedkar, the current mayor, held the election contested by Sena's Mahadeshwar against Congress Vitthal Lokare.

Shiv Sena's victory was anticipated, and the party workers had begun celebrating outside the BMC office before the election was concluded.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's seven corporators were absent from the Corporation Hall.

The vote breakdown will be provided once the corporators put down their votes in writing.

In the municipal elections conducted in February, Shiv Sena won 84 of the 227 seats, while the BJP finished a close second with 82.
A total of 40 constituencies spread over seven districts of eastern region of Uttar Pradesh will vote under the seventh phase.

Voters stand in queue to cast their votes at a polling station during the sixth phase of the state assembly election in Gorakhpur. (Photo: AP)

Lucknow/Imphal: Voting for the last phase covering 40 seats in Uttar Pradesh and 22 Assembly constituencies in Manipur began on Wednesday, with all eyes on the Prime Minister's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

Uttar Pradesh

Around 60.03% percent of voter turnout was recorded in Uttar Pradesh till 5 pm.

Prominent candidates who are in fray include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari brother of Mukhtar Ansari and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

A total of 1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres to decide fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus. Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling is going on in this phase. Tight security has been put in place in these seven districts.

Polling will be held between 7 am to 5 pm in all constituencies, except the Naxal-hit Duddhi, Robertsganj and Chakia seats, where polling will end at 4 pm.

Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

The BJP is contesting 32 seats and its allies - the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party - are contesting on 4 seats each.

The BSP has fielded its nominees for all seats. While the SP is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in race for the remaining seats.

In the 2012 state Assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.

In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Cong (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) are in the fray.

While the maximum number of 24 candidates are from Varanasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates are contesting from Kerakat (SC).

The turnout on these seats in 2012 was 57.92 per cent in 2012 Assembly polls.

Manipur

Manipur recorded a high voter turnout of 86 percent till 5 pm on Wednesday. Polling is being held in 22 seats in the second and final phase of the state Assembly election.

State Chief Electoral officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan said the percentage was expected to go up as long queues were still visible outside several polling booths.

"We are waiting for the final figures," he said.

The CEO said, polling was peaceful except a few incidents of violence outside polling booths in Tamenglong Assembly segment.

Some cases of causing damage to the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were reported in Chandel Assembly segment. The EVMs were replaced within a short time, he added.

The 22 Assembly segments, where polling is being held, are spread over the valley district of Thoubal and the hill districts of Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati.

A huge voter turnout of 84 percent was recorded in the first phase of polling to the 60-member Assembly on March 4.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged the citizens of Uttar Pradesh and Manipur to turn out in large number and vote in the last phase of state Assembly elections. The Prime Minister took to his twitter handle to reach to the masses.
The post was about a train journey where the Muslim woman had trouble positioning her wheelchair.

London: Islamophobia, racism and hate crimes are on the rise around the world and are a concern for US with Indians and Muslims being targeted. While women in hijab have been targeted, a Sikh man was shot after an Indian techie was shot dead in a tragic incident.

But times of crisis also work to bring people together for helping each other as a commuter in UK realised when he saw a Sikh man help a Wheelchair bound Muslim woman. He wrote in a Facebook post that the womans wheelchair wasnt positioned correctly and thats why it would move back and forth when the train jolted.

The Sikh man positioned it properly and tried to apply brakes which didnt work properly, and so he held the womans wheelchair for the rest of the journey.

The heartening post has gone viral on social media and signifies how people help each other beyond religious differences along with making a point about treatment of disabled people.
Delhi has not been known to be a city friendly to its women. But stories like these give hope.

Traffic queen rules roads

Dorris Francis

Traffic volunteer at Ghaziabad

In November 2009, during an auto ride from Delhi to Ghaziabad, Dorris Francis and her family met with an accident. While she and her husband survived, her 21-year-old daughter Nikki succumbed to injuries in 2010.

Months later, 57-year-old Francis took up the post of a traffic volunteer at the busy Aitbar Pushta intersection on the Delhi Ghaziabad border, where the accident had happened, so that no one else suffers the same tragedy.

I initially had to face abuses and resistance from people passing from the route and sometimes even from traffic cops, she said. But her zeal has now made her a known face there and she is fondly called the traffic queen.

She is among the 30 people being awarded by the DCW on the occasion of International Womens Day on Wednesday for their courage or for their efforts towards the cause of women empowerment. Dorris is also approached by locals in her locality for any work which involves police cooperation.

During a recent march to a police station over a murder in the locality, she experienced some problem and visited a doctor and was diagnosed with cancer. But help poured in from various quarters and she is currently recovering. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi sanctioned a sum of Rs 3 lakh to her family in order to help her meet the expenses incurred on her treatment.

Francis has a packed day on Wednesday on Womens Day. Apart from being felicitated by the DCW, she will also get awards from the Ghaziabad authorities and a programme has been organised by her neighbours to honour her efforts.

Childrens guardian angel

Zaheer Khan

Anti child-traficking activist

On June 8, 2016, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) received an anonymous call, alerting the commission about the planned marriage of a 13-year-old girl by her step-mother in Kusht Ashram of Tahirpur area. The call was placed by Khan, who lived in the same colony, and had earlier tried to reason with the step-mother to not marry off the daughter.

Khan had come to know that it was actually a case of trafficking and that the woman is marrying the daughter to a 40-year-old man for money.

I initially informed the police and told them not to reveal my name but the constable who came to the locality did nothing and instead told everyone that I was the one to make a complaint, he said.

After the woman came to know about Khan, he received various death threats from those involved in trafficking ring but. But it didnt deter him from saving the girl and he called DCWs helpline which reached the location and was able to stop the marriage.

Recalling a similar incident in the past, Khan admits that he wasnt as courageous before.

Around three years ago, he had come across another such case of a young girl being trafficked. He had informed the police but in vain. Since he was afraid of the consequences if the people involved came to know about his complaint, he didnt take it further. Even though he regrets it now, he says the DCWs timely intervention has boosted his confidence and he wont think twice again if he comes across any such case in future. The girl is currently living in a home, set up women and child development department, and pursuing her studies.

11-yr-old champion for toilets

Suchitra

Anti-open defecation activist

From her house in the Kamarahalli village in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar in Karnataka, 11-year-old Suchitra would see her classmates run to school almost an hour before assembly was scheduled to begin. They were not motivated by midday meal or special classes or that extra glass of milk but were going early to use the toilets.

Although she had a toilet in her home, she was disturbed by the fact that her friends had to defecate in the open. She spoke about this problem to then CEO of Chamarajanagar Zila Panchayat, Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, who made Suchitra the face of a project aimed at reaching out to every girl child in the district and take on issues such as child marriage and access to hygienic toilets.

At the tender age of 11, Suchitra took up the issue during a visit by a team of Chamarajnagar zila panchayat to her village. The team was starting a campaign called Usha (Understand Sensitise Help Achieve), aimed at reaching out to every girl child in the district and take on issues such as child marriage and access to hygienic toilets.

Impressed by her empathy towards her friends, the then CEO of zila panchayat, Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, made Suchitra the face of the campaign, following which the young girl personally convinced 20 families in her village to construct toilets, often roping in local officials.

Soon, the campaign began to gain momentum. Children told their parents that they would not go to school until they agreed to construct a toilet. In the two months between November 25, 2016 and January 24 this year, students, school teachers and elected representatives of 130 gram panchayats, along with the district administration, constructed 9,403 toilets and began work on another 9,000 under the Swachchh Bharat Mission.

Suchitra and the USHA project on Wednesday are being awarded by the DCW for their work on the occasion of International Womens Day.

Kicking off fear with judo

Ritu Arya

Martial arts expert

Ritu Arya, a mother to a 22-year-old son, believes that change begins at home. An iron-willed woman, Ritu has taken the bulls by its horns a number of times. A martial art performer and a black belt in Judo, Ms Arya believes that the time has changed. We should stop inculcating dos and donts in our daughters. But, now the time is to teach and treat the sons right. I make sure that my son respects women, said Ms Arya, a homemaker.

On January 12, Ritu was walking home when two bike-borne youth, unaware about their fate, had dared to mess around with the woman in broad daylight and attempted to snatch her bag near K.N. Katju Marg in Rohini Sector 16. Little did they know that they will have to taste dust soon.

As Ms Arya was walking down the street, the two snatched her purse. But, the woman held on to her purse, turned around, and kicked the bike with all her might. As a result, the duo lost balance and fell onto the ground along with Ms Arya.

When one of the snatchers, on seeing Ms Arya lying on the ground, came back to take the bike, Ritu caught him by collar and slapped him.

Despite using all his strength, the attacker had to surrender to the woman who didnt release him until the time onlookers called the police.

As the cops came, the snatcher was handed over to the police. This is not the lone incident Ms Arya has faced. The Delhi Commission for Women will be awarding Ritu Arya this International Womens Day as Ritu has helped many women to fight against eve teasers.

Breaking Barriers

Pinjra Tod, a Delhi based campaign group, says that even though things havent changed drastically for women in recent times, but progress is happening slowly.

The group wants hostel and paying guest (PG) accommodation regulations to be less regressive and restrictive for women students.

Things havent changed drastically, but I think we are on that trajectory now. Even in media, these issues have come up as legitimate issues, which is good. People are talking about it, administration is feeling the pressure, members living in hostels are finding that moral policing or any other kind of harassment is lesser because the effort is collectivised, said Devangana Kalita, one of the founding members of Pinjra Tod  break the hostel locks.

However, the struggle is huge and there is still a long way to go, admits Kalita. It starts from our families to state structure who all want to control women voices, women mobility or sexuality, she said.

The students have also planned a demonstration for Wednesday outside UGC headquarters on non-implementation of a circular, which says that discriminatory rules in the name of safety cannot be imposed on womens mobility and there should be sexual complaints cell, etc. But most colleges have not followed the directives.

Reaching new heights

Pallavi Fauzdar

Female biker

Her love for biking remained undeterred by the strange looks she received from the people around her and for her passion she is about to receive a prestigious award on the International Womens Day this Wednesday.

Women empowerment is im-perative for the progr-ess and prosperity of the country as this country has had a glorious past led by female protagonists such as Rani Laxmi Bai, said the 37-year-old mother of two, Pallavi Fauzdar.

She has been selected for the honour for her achievement of becoming the first woman to cross eight mountain passes at heights of over 5,000 metre in a single journey. She has also made it to the Limca Book of Records for her feat.

Ms Fauzdar was born in Agra and spent her childhood here. My father used to ride the bike while I sat on the tank and pretended driving it. When I grew up, I asked for the bike and my father gave me the keys as he treated all of his children equally. My brothers were also very supportive of my passion for bikes, she said.

Ms Fauzdar will be one of the eight women from across the country to be honoured with the Nari Shakti Award by the ministry of women and child development.

on International Womens Day. She will receive the award from President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

During her journey from New Delhi to many Himalayan passes, she explored several cities and met a lot of people on the way. I get a lot of support from all of the cities I pass through and I never experienced any safety issues during the journey. We have to come out of the stereotype approaches and give freedom to girls. We should let them dream and achieve big goals, she said.

Ms Faujdar is associated with an NGO that works for the empowerment of women and girls in the city. When I am in the city, I also give time to an NGO that campaigns for womens nourishment, medical attention, and education. I also support the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign, she said.

She is also the first female rider to reach Deo Tal Lake which is located at 17,950 ft above sea level and is one of the worlds highest motorable points.

(Compiled by Shagun Kapil, Shweta Singh and Saurabh Trivedi)
The motion of thanks, moved by tourism minister Kapil Mishra on Monday, was passed with voice votes.

New Delhi: Daring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to compare the work done by his government to the BJP-ruled states, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday alleged that political parties, including the Congress, BJP, SP and NCP have come together to destroy the AAP. It is for the first time Mr Kejriwal attacked political parties other than the BJP and Congress as the AAP seeks to expand to other states.

Participating in a discussion on the motion of thanks to the L-Gs address in Delhi Assembly, Mr Kejriwal also attacked the BJP-led civic bodies and challenged them to list even a single work they have done in the last 10 years. The motion of thanks, moved by tourism minister Kapil Mishra on Monday, was passed with voice votes.

We are new to politics, but with our two-year experience, we can say that they all (political parties) are hand in glove... The SP, BSP, Sharad Pawar (who heads NCP), Congress and the BJP were like a family. They are pained to see how we (AAP) have come to power. They want to destroy us. In the last three years, not a single village head of the Congress has been arrested in a corruption, even though our 20 MLAs have been arrested so far, Mr Kejriwal said.

He asked how much development works have been done by BJP-ruled states Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and dared their chief ministers to compare their performance to that of the AAP government.

Mr Kejriwal said that any government can praise its own work and lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal also praised the Delhi governments work during his speech. The real praise is when a person walking on the streets praises you. Power and water bills in Delhi have significantly come down. Free medicines, mohalla clinics are in Delhi. Real certificate is when common man praises.

The BJP has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for 10-12 years. I challenge its CM to list at least five works he has done in his state. I also challenge Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan governments to show five works. I dont blame you (BJP CMs), even (PM Narendra) Modiji doesnt know what he has done, he said.

He alleged that the PM has unleashed the I-T department on the AAP and the department is harassing donors of his party. I have never seen such politicisation of the Income-Tax department. It has been threatening donors not to donate money for the AAP, he said.

He said that the biggest achievement of his government has been that the power tariff has not increased in the last two years. Slamming his critics, he said that the governance should be learnt from his government which has built 8,000 classrooms. Taking a jibe on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CM said that the Delhi CM doesnt roam the world but the teachers for training.

They used to tell us we do not know governance, they should learn from us, Mr Kejriwal said. We have built eight thousand classrooms. Other states including Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh or the MCDs havent constructed a single school, he said. We have a Prime Minister who has toured around the world but the demonetisation has been ridiculed.

Our mohalla clinics project has been praised by Kofi Annan. We have made the odd even scheme successful. We have built 106 mohalla clinics, which the Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh governments would not have been able to build in these many years. We have constructed five flyovers in just one-and-a-half years. BJP ruled corporation is constructing a flyover on Rani Jhansi road, the progress on which has not even reached half, he said.

Replying to a discussion on the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijals address to the House on Monday, the CM said that the Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta could only find faults in the speech. BJPs President Amit Shah had slammed us saying that this was just a rhetoric we had adopted before the election. Others can term our promises as a rhetoric, but for us it is no less than holy books such as Geeta and Bible. This is the true development as people are talking about it. Ask people what the Corporation has done in ten years in retrospect to the works of the Delhi Government in the last two years, he said.
Two of the three seats in the hotly-contested Los Angeles school board elections are heading for May runoffs, including the seat held by current board president Steve Zimmer.

Zimmer, who got 47.49 percent of the vote in his District 4 race, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerks office, is expected to face Nick Melvion in a runoff. Melvion, who is backed by charter school advocates, received 31.22 percent of the ballots cast, according to preliminary results from the county clerks office.

Charter school growth is a key issue in Los Angeles, where about 16 percent of students attend charters, according to the Los Angeles Times.

According to the Los Angeles Times, by March 5 the United Teachers Los Angeles had spent about $1.8 million on the election, with the majority of the money going to Zimmers contest. Groups supporting pro-charter candidates were expected to spend about $3 million on the three races.

Former Los Angeles mayor Richard Riordan donated $1 million to the campaign to defeat Zimmer and $1 million to the California Charter Schools Association, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A runoff between the two top candidates is triggered if no one clears the 50 percent mark.

A six-way race in District 6, which featured no incumbent, is also headed for a runoff. Kelly Fitzpatrick-Gonez, who teaches at a charter school and was backed by charter school advocates, was ahead with 36.13 percent of the vote. Gonez will likely face Imelda Padilla, a community organizer who was supported by the districts teachers union and came in second in Tuesdays poll, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Monica Garcia, who has been the on school board since 2006, was re-elected with 57. 72 percent of the vote, according to the county clerks office.


Dr Khidrapure spoke out against infanticide when felicitated three months ago.

Mumbai: Homeopathic doctor Babasaheb Khidrapure (35), who allegedly illegally aborted female foetuses, 19 of which were found on Sunday near his privately run Bharati Hospital in Sangli, was arrested on Tuesday from Belgaum by the Sangli police.

He was produced in a local court on Tuesday and remanded in police custody till March 17.

Three months ago, Khidrapure was felicitated by the local civic body for his work as a doctor for poor patients, according to zilla parishad member Raju Mali. According to police sources, Khidrapure was administering prenatal sex determination tests and carrying out unlawful abortions at his clinic for the past five years.

The abortions were carried out at Bharati Hospita

The probe against the doctor began after the death of pregnant woman, Swati Jamdade (26), at his hospital last week while undergoing abortion. Acting on a complaint from the deceased womans father, Sunil Jadhav, the police began its probe, arresting her husband, and the doctor on Monday at 4 am. Police said he destroyed the sonography machine and his abortion kits.

Expressing shock over Khidrapures illegal activities, Mr Mali said,  He was felicitated for helping poor patients. In his acceptance speech he mentioned that he was against female infanticide.

Sangli deputy superintendent of police Dhiral Patil, while talking to The Asian Age, confirmed Khidrapures arrest and said, On receiving a tip off we came to know he was hiding in Belgaum. During a probe we discovered his sonography machines and operation kits, which were hidden at the rear of a farm.

Eight-week-old foetuses were destroyed with acid, while the older ones were buried in the farm at the rear of the hospital. The hospital is around 7 km from the Karnataka border, and has two hidden basement rooms where pregnancies were terminated in advanced stages. At one end of the room is a fridge stocked with abortion drugs. There is an opening that led out of the building to a drain where blue plastic bags, half-destroyed medicine bottles and charred bio-medical waste was found, the police said.

An initial stage of investigations indicated Khidrapure ran a well-oiled illegal abortion racket in the area, from which he made a decent amount of money. He was charging Rs 25,000 for pre-natal tests, and Rs 40,000 and Rs 10,000 for illegal abortion and medicines respectively, said Mr Patil. There is a possibility that thousands abortions been performed in the hospital on patients from Bijapur, Miraj and Shirawal, he added. Neither is the hospital registered under the Nursing Home Act, nor are homoeopaths allowed to carry out abortions under Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines.
The MLAs of the NCP, the BJP and the MNS backed the bill, which allows an amendment to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act.

Mumbai: The BJP-led Maharashtra Government on Tuesday approved a bill in the Legislative Assembly, paving the way for construction of late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's memorial in the Mayor's bungalow in Shivaji Park in Mumbai.

The bill was approved in the absence of Sena ministers and MLAs.

Chandrakant Sonawane and Rajabhau Vaze were only two legislators of the Sena who were present in the House to support the bill when it was presented late evening.

The MLAs of the NCP, the BJP and the MNS backed the bill, which allows an amendment to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act.

The bill was presented by the Minister of State for Urban Development Ranjit Patil.

With the amendment to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the BMC Commissioner is authorised to grant lease of the property along with the structures, with the sanction of the civic body and approval of the state government.

The lease of the property is for construction of Thackeray's memorial, which will be called as the "Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak".

A society for the purpose will be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

The rent for the lease of property will be lesser than the market value of the premium as may be decided by the state government.

The Mayor's residence will be subsequently shifted to Byculla in South Mumbai.

Taking a dig, the NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil said the bill was being presented in absence of Sena ministers.

"You (BJP) wanted to control Mumbai, but have surrendered to Sena. The BJP has unilaterally given the city in hands of Sena after shouting for transparency. How will appointing the Upa-Lokayukta for Mumbai will bring transparency?" he asked.

His colleague Jayant Patil said the bill was deliberately presented late in the evening when the Sena ministers were absent.

"The BJP took many goons in the party to defeat Sena but in vain. Now they have not even taken into consideration the Sena before presenting the bill," he said.

Supporting the bill, the NCP leader said the memorial should be completed in a stipulated period.

The Mayor should be given another bungalow as the memorial will be housed in the existing one, he demanded.

BJP MLA Raj Purohit also supported the bill.

The Sena MLAs present in the House also welcomed the bill.

MNS MLA Sharad Sonawane also supported the bill after which it was approved.
The victim was stabbed multiple times with a sharp object by the accused.

Thane: A 23-year-old youth was allegedly stabbed to death by a man in Kalyan here after an altercation, police said on Wednesday.

The mishap took place on Tuesday night when a group of youngsters were returning home on their motorcycles after attending a birthday party in Kalyan. One of the bikes collided head-on with another two-wheeler coming from the opposite direction, Inspector D S Suryavanshi of Bazarpeth police station said.

"Soon after the mishap, the two drivers and others present at the spot engaged in a scuffle. The bike owner, who was driving from the opposite side agreed to compensate for the damage and asked victim Sandeep Hire to accompany him, so that he can pay him," the officer said.

According to the complaint filed by one of the friends of the victim, others also followed the accused, identified as Amol Jadhav from Kongon here, on their motorcycles.

The complainant said he could not follow his friend as brake of his bike failed. He then stopped at a spot and tried to call Sandeep but could not get through him. It was only when he reached near Durgadi Fort area, he saw Sandeep being taken by other boys to a hospital, Suryavanshi said.

Sandeep was later referred to another hospital as he was critical, but succumbed to injuries before being admitted, the complainant said.

The victim was stabbed by a sharp object multiple times by Jadhav, the inspector said, adding that the accused has been booked under IPC section 302 (murder) and further probe into the matter was on.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar asked the BJP government to recall how its ministers, while in Opposition would raise farmers' woes.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was on Wednesday adjourned for the day without transacting any business after it witnessed noisy scenes as Shiv Sena legislators joined Opposition Congress and NCP to demand loan waiver for distressed farmers.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, Leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil through an adjournment notice highlighted the plight of farmers across the state after consecutive droughts and said there was no alternative other than granting them a loan waiver.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar asked the BJP government to recall how its ministers, while in Opposition would raise farmers' woes.

"When industries are given loan waivers, why is the government not doing the same to farmers," he asked.

Subsequently, Opposition members entered the well of the House and began shouting slogans. They were later joined in the protest by Shiv Sena legislators. However, they were not seen sloganeering.

As noisy scenes ruled the House, it was adjourned first for 15 minutes by Speaker Haribhau Bagde and then for the second time till the end of the Question Hour.

When the House resumed, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde said the government was pro-farmer and wanted them to be debt-free.

Agriculture Minister Pandurang Phundkar said the Opposition's demand was "unrealistic".

"We have never opposed the demand for loan waiver. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already said loan waiver to farmers will be considered at an appropriate time. We want the farmers to be efficient in terms of agriculture production and then consider the loan waiver demand, he said.

As Opposition members remained firm on their demand and continued with their slogan shouting, presiding officer Sudhakar Deshmukh (of the BJP) adjourned the House for the day.

Sena had made a representation to the Chief Minister demanding loan waiver for farmers amidst heated and acrimonious campaign for the recent civic polls.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had even said that if their demand is accepted, his party would extend support to the BJP for the rest of the five-year term.

Congress, also in a representation to the CM on the issue, had earlier said that ever since the BJP government came to power, the condition of farmers has deteriorated and there has been a rise in farmer suicides in the last two years.
Palaniyandy, whose home town is Sathiyamangalam in Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu, lived in Singapore with his wife and children.

Mumbai: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers on March 6 intercepted a man who tried to smuggle 12 gold bars into the country, at Mumbai Airport. He had tied the gold bars to his heels with the help of adhesive and two socks. A case has been registered against the alleged smuggler, Thiruppathy Palaniyandy. Palaniyandy, an architectural supervisor by profession, had acquired the gold from Singapore, where is was employed, and was supposed to deliver it to someone in Mumbai.

Palaniyandy, whose home town is Sathiyamangalam in Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu, had arrived from Singapore by Air India flight AI 343. The gold bars seized from him weighed around 100 grams each.

An AIU official informed The Asian Age that Palaniyandy earns Rs 150000 per month. He admitted that the gold he was carrying belonged to a person named Mr Muru of Singapore and he was going to hand it over to someone in Mumbai.

For delivering the gold bars to a person in Mumbai, Palaniyandy was promised Rs 40,000 and free airline tickets. The passenger, who is settled in Singapore with his wife and two children, had earlier smuggled gold twice and allegedly found it to be an easy way to earn money.

According to AIU officials, he pleaded with them to not inform his family about the smuggling incident, as they knew nothing about his illegal activities.
Pawar has served as chief minister of Maharashtra from 1988 to 1991 and from 1993 to 1995.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra legislature during the ongoing budget session on March 16 will bring in a congratulatory resolution for late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her birth centenary year, for NCP chief Sharad Pawar on completion of half-a-century in politics, and for PWP MLA Ganpatrao Deshmukh on completion of 50 years in the legislature.

The decision to bring in the resolution congratulating the three veterans was taken in the business advisory meeting of the BJP-led state government. Parliamentary affairs minister Vinod Tawde told The Asian Age, The business advisory committee has decided to move the resolution for the three leaders for their political contribution.

Congress welcomed the move with the partys Mumbai president Sanjay Nirupam saying, Indira Gandhi was no doubt a powerful leader of the country. The entire nation is celebrating the birth centenary year for her. It is good if the Maharashtra government is also going to pay respect to her in the Assembly.

Pawar has served as chief minister of Maharashtra from 1988 to 1991 and from 1993 to 1995. He was recently felicitated for his political contribution and completion of 50 years in the field. Deshmukh is the seniormost leader of the Assembly and has been elected 11 times from the Sangola constituency in Solapur district.
Thomas spends eight hours a day in the sewing room, mostly concentrating on embroidery.

Panama's Chancellor and Vice President, Isabel de Saint Malo, the deputy minister of Finance, Eyda Varela Chinchilla; Deputy Minister of Social Development, Michelle Muschett; the director of the Ampyme, Maria Celia Dopeso; and Environment Minister Mirei Endara attend the Day of Panama 2016 celebrationsin costumes created by the group of women prisoners. (Photo: Twitter)

Panama City: In a small room in a prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Kathia Thomas carefully presses the screen on a digital sewing machine to choose the colors and embroidery on her next item of clothing.

Surrounded by other women, and by threads, patterns and a few religious images, Thomas, a 43-year-old mother of five children, is preparing the next collection behind bars. She is part of IntegrArte, a brand of clothes, accessories and decorative objects -- all made by inmates.

Thomas spends eight hours a day in the sewing room, mostly concentrating on embroidery. It goes toward reducing her three-year sentence for dealing drugs.

The Cecilia Orillac de Chiari penitentiary where she is kept holds 800 female prisoners, living in houses that feature kitchens, laundries, washrooms and dormitories.

"The problem inside is that it triggers many things. That's why you always need something to do to keep the mind occupied," she said.

"Making clothes frees you," she added.

A way to feel 'normal'

Twenty-five women work for IntegrArte in the prison, while another 50 receive sewing lessons.

So far, the brand has brought out one collection, called Paraiso Etnico (Ethnic Paradise) which combines styles from the 1970s and 1980s with traditional handiwork typical to Panama.

"I love making clothes because it's a way for me to feel totally normal," said a Colombian inmate, Claudia Luna, although she added that in prison "we lack a lot of material and work basically with our fingers, with whatever we have around."

In all, four penitentiaries in Panama offer the same sort of social reinsertion work program, which is backed by the United Nations and which shaves time off sentences. Some 100 inmates take part.

In the Cecilia Orillac de Chiari facility, women produce clothes, hats, necklaces and purses. In the other three prisons, men work on household items and handicrafts.

Panama's vice president, Isabel de Saint Malo, said the involvement of the women in an economic activity was "fundamental to the efforts toward equal opportunities for men and for women."

'Model' prisoners

The IntegrArte brand has been registered by the government, but a couple more steps are needed before it enters the market.

In the meantime, several ministers -- including De Saint Malo -- have been wearing its clothes, including those made by Luna, who is also locked up for drug trafficking.

"Dressing a vice president is the biggest thing I have ever done. Outside I would never thought that I would get to know a person like that," Luna said.

Hania Fonseca, the manager of IntegrArte, said: "Each item that we put out carries with it the history of the person who made it."

Locked away, the prisoners cannot hire models to try on their garb, so they do their own runway shows.

In a small yard, several inmates, wearing makeup and carefully coiffed, try on different pieces and designs.

Some of them used to be among the more rebellious, "climbing on roofs and inciting strikes," explained the prison's director, Lizeth Berrocal.

Now, they've become "model" prisoners, focusing on fashion in the hopes of launching catwalk careers once they get released.

"This is an opportunity for someone locked up to show that they can become different, they can change and become better," said one of them, Teresa Santamaria, sporting an embroidered white top.

Another inmate, Stefani Edwards, sashayed down the improvised runway to show off a colorful Afro-Caribbean dress.

"Modeling was always my dream. But I never had the financial or family backing," she said. "I think when I get out of here that will be my goal."

Other inmates said the clothes-making and the modeling made them discover skills they never knew they had.

They also believed that giving themselves over to fashion allowed them to escape, for periods at a time, from the tough reality of living behind bars.

Thomas, behind her digital sewing machine, said: "There are women who -- more than a gift or punishment -- just need to have someone listen to them. Here, there are no bad women."
The 36-year-old woman who was 500 kilos when she came to Mumbai now weighs 380 kilos after the bariatric procedure

The woman is currently undergoing a procedure that will help her reduce 200 kilos over the next six months. (Photo: Facebook/Dr.Facebook/Dr Muffazal Lakdawala) )

Egyptian woman Eman Ahmed has reportedly lost 120 kilos in the last one month. The worlds heaviest woman who came to Mumbai last in February for treatment to Saifee hospital has shown rapid weight loss in the ongoing surgery.

According to the media report, the 36-year-old woman who was 500 kilos when she came to Mumbai now weighs 380 kilos after the bariatric procedure. The woman is currently undergoing a procedure that will help her reduce 200 kilos over the next six months.

The woman who is being treated by Dr Muffazal Lakdawala at the hospital came to Mumbai after being immobile for almost 25 years in her house in Alexandria. She was transported in a specially designed aircraft so that she could receive treatment at the hospital in Mumbai which is now turning out to be a huge success.
It was hardly a democratic institution, but its relations with the palace were nonetheless fraught.

What eventually became known as International Womens Day was something of a novelty 100 years ago today, when female workers took to the streets of Petrograd to voice their demands for bread and peace, prompting working men to follow suit.

None of the instigators knew they were sparking a revolution. Within days, the tsar of all the Russias abdicated. The nations absolutist monarchy came to a sudden end. A provisional government was put in place, but it was obliged to share power with the already established Soviets of Soldiers and Workers Deputies.

There was some crossover between the two institutions. Alexander Kerensky, for instance, who became justice minister and eventually led the provisional government was also a social revolutionary deputy in the Petrograd soviet. The post-tsarist administration diverged sharply from the popular will in deciding to persist with Russias role in the First World War. Bread, however, could not be won without peace. And before long it became obvious that the primary group of deputies in the Soviet who were unequivocally demanding an end to Russias role in the war belonged to the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party.

The war had not been going well for Russia. By desperately seeking to cast himself as a warrior-king, Tsar Nicholas II only served to provide further evidence of his widely catalogued weaknesses.

By many accounts, Nicky  as he was known to his royal cousins in Germany and England  was a reluctant emperor, well aware of his inadequacies in the autocratic role. That did not, however, incline him towards meaningful reforms. In 1905, in the wake of a revolutionary upsurge following a defeat against Japan, he had acceded, against his better judgment, to the demand for an assembly known as the Duma.

It was hardly a democratic institution, but its relations with the palace were nonetheless fraught. St Petersburg was rechristened as Petrograd at the outset of the war because the original nomenclature seemed too German, but Nicholas could do little about the fact that his wife was also of German origin. It wasnt just her ethnicity though that earned the empress the growing mistrust of her subjects, but the fact that she was completely under the spell of a self-ordained and inordinately lecherous holy man by the name of Grigori Rasputin.

The mad monk, as he became known, claimed to be the sole individual capable of curing the tsarinas only sons haemophilia. He also came to exercise considerable control over affairs of state, making his wishes known to the tsar via his wife. In 1916 alone, according to a recent account by Christopher Danziger in Oxford Today, He was responsible for dismissing four Prime Ministers, five ministers of the interior, three foreign ministers, three war ministers, three ministers of transport, and four ministers of agriculture.

When Prince Felix Yusupov  one of Russias richest men, who had inherited his title via his mother from Tatar ancestors generously rewarded for converting from Islam  masterminded Rasputins assassination at the end of that year (when a massive dose of poison failed to have any discernible effect, the monk apparently survived a shooting and had to be drowned), it was with the express purpose of preserving the monarchy. Subsequently asked whether his action had in fact precipitated the overthrow of the tsars, Yusupov reportedly responded: The revolution happened because I didnt kill him in time to stop it.

There may be something in that, but the consequences of the revolution were also hard to handle for the disparate successor regime, which found itself increasingly at odds with the restive Soviets, who were beginning to spring up across the vast country. Bolshevik deputies commanded a relatively inconsequential minority in the Petrograd soviet at the time. Many of their leaders were in exile. Their most notable theoretician, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, had been caught on the hop, as in 1905, this time in Zurich.

As soon as he received news of events in Petrograd, the man better known as Lenin began plotting his return to Russia across war-driven Europe. In far away New York, another revolutionary refugee, the recently arrived Lev Davidovich Bronstein, aka Leon Trotsky, began soliciting contributions to fund his passage to Russia. Both of them were instrumental in the events that subsequently unfolded that year, culminating in the truly earth-shaking October Revolution.

The February Revolution (thus known because Russia at the time followed the Julian calendar) tends to be looked upon as merely the prologue to that momentous year, but it was a crucial watershed  spearheaded by a largely female vanguard.

By arrangement with Dawn
Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and Alok Madasani, another Indian of the same age, injured in a shooting by navy veteran Adam Purinton.

In this undated photo provided by Kranti Shalia, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, right, poses for photo with his wife Sunayana Dumala in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Photo: AP)

Washington: Kansas Governor San Brownback has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing "profound regret" at the terrible act of violence against the Indian nationals last month and said that acts of hate and intolerance have no place in his state.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and Alok Madasani, another Indian of the same age, injured in a shooting by navy veteran Adam Purinton, who yelled "terrorist" and "get out of my country" before opening fire on them in Kansas last month.

The Kansas incident and the two hate crime incidents against Indians and Indian-Americans since then has sent shock waves among the large Indian community in the US.

"As Governor of the State of Kansas, I would like to express my deep sadness and profound regret at the terrible act of violence committed against Srinu Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani. The people of Kansas share in my shock and horror.

Words cannot express the sorrow that we feel for Srinu's wife, Sunayana, and his family in Hyderabad," Brownback wrote.

"In the time since Srinu's death, we have reflected on his life, and the words I have heard most often to describe him are that he was courageous, and that he loved his family, and that he respected elders. We strive to live in Srinu s example of courage and love and respect," he wrote in the letter dated March 3, a copy of which has been seen by PTI.

Brownback wrote that Kansans have been awed by Sunayana's grace and determination.

Her indomitable spirit has moved the entire community and they pray for her comfort and peace in this time of grief.

Telling the Prime Minister that open arms of friendship are the very hallmarks of being a Kansan, the Governor said Srinu embodied the essence of what it means to be a Kansan.

"His friends describe him as charming, caring and loving.

He brought with him his immense talents and education and passion. His story is similar to the thousands of Indian diaspora who have called Kansas home over generations," he wrote.

"They have enjoyed tremendous success through their ingenuity, hard work, and determination. Our state has thrived because of their contributions," Brownback wrote, adding that he would like to personally welcome Indians to his state.

"Before they moved here, Sunayana said: 'Kansas was (the) instant choice.' We are humbled that this was the case. I would like to personally welcome Indians to Kansas, and assure them that Kansas is a welcoming, hospitable place," he said.

Noting that Sunayana also spoke about being without her family in Kansas, Brownback wrote in the letter that it is their solemn hope that the community in Olathe and all of Kansas may nourish and love her in the difficult months ahead.

"Acts of hate and intolerance have no place in Kansas.

Since our founding, Kansas have fought against injustice and senseless hatred. We are recommitted daily to protecting our family, our neighbors, our guests. We find wisdom and peace in the Sanskrit mantra 'Satyameva Jayate'," Brownback said.

The Governor had met the Indian Consul General Dr Anupam Ray in Topeka and expressed his sincere condolences and reiterated his strong commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment in Kansas.
A growing cadre of public policy researchers and lawmakers agree that school discipline rates remain high for black and Hispanic students, and those with disabilities, but a new study from the University of California takes it a step further by connecting suspension rates to major economic impacts.

Researchers found that suspensions lead to lower graduation rates, which in turn leads to lower tax revenue and higher taxpayer costs for criminal justice and social services. The researchers followed a single cohort of California 10th grade students through high school for three years and found that those who were suspended had only a 60 percent graduation ratecompared to an 83 percent graduation rate for students who were not suspended.

The result: An economic loss of $2.7 billion over the lifetime of that single cohort of dropouts who left school because they were suspended, researchers found.

The study"The Hidden Cost of Californias Harsh School Discipline: And the Localized Economic Benefits From Suspending Fewer High School Students "calculates the financial consequences of suspending students in each California school district with more than 100 students, and for the state as a whole. The study was done by Russell W. Rumberger, the director of the California Dropout Research Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Daniel J. Losen, the director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Heres the breakdown of Rumberger and Losens $2.7 billion finding:



$809 million in direct costs to taxpayers for dropouts use of the criminal justice system and paying fewer taxes

$1.9 billion in social costs, such as decreased productivity in the workforce and higher health care expenses

In the cohort of 10th graders they analyed and after controlling for other predictors of dropping out, the researchers found that 4,621 students dropped out of school because they were suspended. Just one of those non-graduates generates $579,820 in economic losses over their lifetime, Rumberger and Losen found. In Californias largest districtLos Angeles Unifiedthey estimated economic losses due to suspensions to be nearly $150 million.

Its tragic, its bad economics, and its entirely avoidable, Rumberger said in a press release accompanying the studys release.

Much of the school discipline debateignited by a 2011 study in Texas that found students who are black, Latino, have special needs, and/or identify as LGBT are suspended at disproportionately high ratesstill centers around race, which figured into the UC study on California students. For example, 29.2 percent of black students in the 10th grade cohort were suspended, more than twice the statewide average of 14.9 percent.

The UC researchers used California Department of Education data from the 2011-12 school year, constructing a three-year longitudinal file that took out students who left the school systems for valid reasons such as death or transferring to private school.

Researchers acknowledge there were some limitations and stress the report is not a cost-benefit analysis in the tradeoffs of suspending or not suspending students, but overall their analysis should dispel the common misconception that suspensions are cost-free responses to misbehavior.

The research was funded through a grant from The California Endowment, with assistance from Clive Belfield and Atlantic Philanthropies. The data set for each California school district with over 100 students, and a state aggregate, can be downloaded here .

Rumberger and Losen noted that Californias suspension rates overall have declined in the past three years. Losen praised the state for designating school discipline as one of the key accountability factors it will use to meet federal requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and bolstering its commitment to evidence-based alternatives to suspensions, such as restorative justice and Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, or PBIS.

Still, the researchers said suspensions are still overused in California and that district leaders and educators must do more to further reduce them, especially for special education students, blacks, and Hispanics.

It is imperative to address, Rumberger said.

Photo: Screenshot of UC study chart
Unlike his election rhetoric, Trump was more nuanced and gave some explanations of what he planned to do.

After enduring an avalanche of scathing critique: the bull in the China shop, the elephant in the room, the President out of control, etc., President Donald Trump delivered his maiden address to the joint session of the US Congress on March 1, which has been described by the New York Times, a known critic as the most presidential speech he has ever given. And the Washington Post, which hasnt spared him either, grudgingly acknowledged, this may have been the best speech Trump has given since he entered politics in June 2015 and people rooting for his imminent demise may be disappointed. These two comments speak a lot about Mr Trumps evolving presidency.

Invoking the ideal of one nation, one people and one destiny, he sent out the message of national unity and strength. Talking of the renewal of American spirit, American greatness, optimism, national pride and promising impossible dreams firmly within peoples grasp, Mr Trump conjured up an inspiring presidential vision: From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by fears inspired by the future, not bound by the failures of the past and guided by our vision, not blinded by our doubts.

To sceptics who apprehend an inward looking US under him, Mr Trump had a message: Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead. All the nations of the world  friends or foes  will find that America is strong... While expressing strong support to Nato and stressing that the US foreign policy calls for a direct, robust and meaningful engagement with the world, he reiterated his earlier view that Nato and other allies must take a direct and meaningful role in both strategic and military operations, and pay their fair share of the cost. Admitting that America is better off, when there is less conflict  not more he laid down his priority: my job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the US.

America First seems the buzz word as he decides to withdraw from the job killing Trans-Pacific Partnership, blames North American Free Trade Agreement for the loss of one fourth of American manufacturing jobs and promises to build a beautiful wall, stop drugs from pouring in, dismantle the criminal cartel and reduce violent crime.

Unlike his election rhetoric, Mr Trump was more nuanced and gave some explanations of what he planned to do. Recommending repealing of the Obamacare, he pointed out, The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health insurance, and that is what we will do.

America must put its own citizens first because only then, can we make America great again, must have been music to the ears of his middle class supporters. Referring to dying industries, export of jobs and wealth to foreign countries and spending $6 trillion in West Asia, he promised an investment of $1 trillion in infrastructure sector financed through both public and private capital guided by buy American and hire American, which will create millions of jobs. Claiming to have placed freeze on non-military and non-essential Federal workers, begun to drain the swamp of government corruption, created a deregulation task force inside every government agency, he promised to restart the engine of the American economy  making it easier to do business in the US and much harder for companies to leave. Referring to Americas global trade deficit of $600 billion, Mr Trump promised tax reduction maintaining that, We must create level playing field for American companies.

He tried to offer a context to his immigration policy claiming that 94 million Americans are out of labour force, over 43 million people are now living in poverty, and over 43 million Americans are on food stamps. Like an Indian rope trick magician he assured  every problem can be solved and promised to bring back millions of jobs.

Though the blanket ban on seven Muslim-majority countries (stopped by the courts) was roundly criticised in America and abroad, very few could disagree when he claimed that it was reckless to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur and we cant allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists. His emphasis: our obligation is to serve, protect, and defend the citizens of the US and to protect our nation from radical Islamic terrorism resonates with most Americans.

Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotlas killing in Kansas has caused considerable anxiety and concerns among Indian Americans, specially among the recent arrivals. The issue of their security, H1B visa, hike in visa fee, greater market access, joint defence production in India and Narendra Modis visit to the US might have figured in foreign secretary S. Jaishankar discussion in Washington. Some see a silver lining for India in Mr Trumps preference for merit-based visa system. Barring cooks and chauffeurs, most of Indian visa applicants, are not lower skilled immigrants. Besides, it shouldnt be too difficult for Indian IT giants: TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL to upgrade the skills of their employees so that merit-based visa system wont be an insurmountable obstacle for their entry in the US.

Vowing to defend the US from radical Islamic terror he revealed that the department of defence was developing a plan to demolish and destroy the ISIS network.

Going by the conventional wisdom, Mr Modi and Mr Trump should hit off well and develop a personal chemistry. Both are strong, nationalistic and proud leaders who exude confidence, energy and dynamism and unfold an inspiring vision for their respective country: make it great again! Mr Trump, the first US businessman President and Mr Modi Indias shrewdest politician with Guajarati business acumen in his veins, should be able to strike win-win deals for both sides in spite of serious differences on certain economic and strategic issues. Mr Trump should live up to his assertion that he will be Indias best friend in the White House. He cant find a more reliable strategic partner than Mr Modi.

Coming on the heels of Michael Flynns exit, attorney general Jefferson Sessions seems on a slippery road with unforeseen consequences.

Mr Trump must unequivocally condemn the violent attacks on innocent people and order stern action against the perpetrators lest the whole fabric of multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, pluralistic American society is destroyed.

The writer is a former ambassador
Tillerson arrives in Tokyo on March 15; heads to Seoul on March 17, and on to Beijing on March 18.

Washington: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit South Korea, Japan and China, the State Department announced, just a day after North Korea launched

ballistic missiles close to ally Japan.

On his first visit to the region as top US diplomat, March 15-19, Tillerson will speak with authorities after the tests, which were followed by Washington's deployment of an

advanced missile defense system in South Korea.

"In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing

nuclear and missile threat from the DPRK, and reaffirm the Administration's commitment to further broaden and enhance US economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region," spokesman Mark Toner said.

Tillerson arrives in Tokyo on March 15; heads to Seoul on March 17, and on to Beijing on March 18. The US Pacific Command said Monday that the Americans had begun deploying the THAAD system to South Korea, which is designed to defend the US ally from a North Korean attack.

China responded that it was "firmly opposed" to the deployment and vowed to "resolutely take necessary measures" to defend its security interests. China, a permanent council member and Pyongyang's main ally, has argued that deployment of the THAAD would further destabilise the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Meanwhile, China today called on North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military wargames, to avoid what it called a "head-on collision."
This latest development comes as North Korea has repeatedly denied any involvement in Jong Nam's murder.

New York: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has blamed North Korea for the killing of Kim Jong Un's estranged half brother Kim Jong Nam.

This latest development comes as North Korea has repeatedly denied any involvement in Jong Nam's murder.

"What we are facing now is the result of their action in assassinating their own citizen in Malaysia, on Malaysian soil, using a strictly banned chemical weapon," the Bernama news agency quoted Najib, as saying on Wednesday.

Both countries are currently engaged in a diplomatic row as Malaysia banned North Korean citizens from leaving after Pyongyang temporarily banned Malaysians from leaving the country.

Kim Jong-nam, was poisoned on February 13 with deadly nerve agent VX. North Korea has repeatedly disparaged the murder investigation, accusing Malaysia of conniving with its enemies.

Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for the assassination, and Kuala Lumpur has sought several North Koreans for questioning, although the only one it arrested was released for lack of evidence.

So far, two women - one Indonesian and one Vietnamese - have been detained, along with a North Korean man. Seven other North Koreans have been named as suspects or are wanted for questioning.
The schools - predominantly those for girls - were targetted by militants from 2008 to 20011 in the region.

More than 150 people -- mostly students -- perished when heavily-armed men raced through the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014, firing indiscriminately

Islamabad: As many as 179 militancy-hit schools - predominantly those for girls - have been rebuilt in different districts of Pakistans Malakand Division, one of the most affected areas during the Taliban militancy.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority has rebuilt 179 out of 182 militancy-hit schools in Malakand Division, The Express Tribune reported. The schools - predominantly those for girls - were targetted by militants from 2008 to 20011 in the region.

The Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority, a supporting organisation of PDMA, started reconstruction work with financial support of US Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2009 and have so far managed to rebuild 179 out of 182 schools in different districts for both male and female students, the paper said.

Citing the PDMA documents, it said a total of 134 schools were destroyed in Swat, 21 in Lower Dir, 7 in Bunner and the remaining in Upper Dir and other areas of the Malakand Division. Out of these schools, 108 were rebuilt under USAID-KP reconstruction programme, according to the documents.

Similarly, around 47 schools were reconstructed under a UAE assistance programme, 12 under a chief ministers special package, while another 12 were restructured with the support of different non-profit organisations, it said.

PDMA Media Coordinator Taimur Ali said that work on 179 schools had been completed and they were handed over to the provincial government. However, he said construction work was underway on remaining 60 militancy and flood-hit schools under USAID assistance which will complete by June this year.

Pakistan army launched an operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in the tribal regions and bring an end to an insurgency that has killed thousands of people since 2004.
by Christopher Sharma

The victims are sold for organs or as sex slaves for militant Islamists. Women from Nepals Tamang, Rai Thakuri ethnic groups are particularly at risk because of their "fair and beautiful" skin. The government's work is affected by the problems links to organised crime. Various womens groups organised activities and events to mark the day.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - In order for International Women's Day to be really meaningful, the exploitation and trafficking of women must end, this according to several Nepali Catholic women's rights advocates.

They note that more and more Nepali women are exploited as sex slaves and in organ trafficking. The National Human Rights Commission has reported in fact that at least 16,000 women have been rescued from trafficking in the last 16 years, while 13,000 were trafficked in a number of countries.

"Women trafficking has changed," said Chandrasekhar Aadikari, a journalist who reports on women. "Before women were sold in India and China as prostitutes, but today hundreds of Nepali women are used by Islamist militants as 'comfort women' or human shields.

"According to media reports, 300 women are serving as sex slaves in Syria alone, mostly from ethnic minorities such as the Tamang, Rai, or Thakuri who are at risk because of their "fair and beautiful skin.

Indeed, because of their skin complexion Nepali women have become victims of this traffic, said National Women Commission President Shesh Chandtara. "Their fair skin is loved by many around the world, she explained, people who are eager for skin surgery."

However, for Sujata Rai, a Catholic activist, for women There are several other problems including domestic violence, superstitious traditional practices and unemployment among others.

It is especially "intolerable" that whilst the world marks International Women's Day, thousands are condemned to a hellish life in prostitution dens. Only when all this is ended can this day be one of joy.

For another activist, Renu Rajvandari, the role played by religion is important. If Catholic teachings are good for the family, Islam and Hinduism, with their oppressive traditions, are a problem.

Meanwhile, the government is doing everything possible, said Minister of Women, Children, and Social Welfare Kumar Khadka, but solving the problem requires time, the more so given its links to organised crime.

We understand the situation, he noted. Only few elite women are celebrating this day. Thousands more are crying and suffering whilst we celebrate this day. Collective efforts are needed to solve the problem.

According Bishnu Lamsal, chief secretary at the same ministry, "We have legal instruments against such trafficking but it is hard to put them into practice because of low awareness."

Many womens rights groups are marking the day through various activities and events. For its part, the Government of Nepal has declared it a public holiday.
For over two months the city has been in the grip of a water emergency. The jihadi militias had cut all supply sources. The next army objective is the military airport of Jarrah. Russia, Turkey and the United States meet to coordinate attacks against Daesh. Ghouta ceasefire comes into force.

Aleppo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Syrian government forces have recaptured a water pumping station of strategic importance for Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an NGO based in London, with a network of informants on the ground reports that the area had been without water supplies for almost two months. Islamic State (IS) militias in fact had cut off sources of supply.

The supply of water, in addition to electricity, is one of the most serious problems faced by the local population. AsiaNews sources in the area, such as the Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo of the Latins, Msgr. Georges Abou Khazen and the parish priest of the Latin parish Fr. Ibrahim Alsabagh, spoke of "a dramatic situation".

In a statement the Observatory explains that the Damascus army "has regained the area of Al-Khafsa", on the outskirts of Aleppo, taking control "of a water pumping station".

The Daesh militiamen [Arabic acronym for the IS] have fled from the advance of Syrian troops, backed by Russian air raids.



The official State news agency Sana, citing a military source, said that "dozens" of jihadists were killed in the operation.



Aleppo was once the second largest city of Syria, as well as the economic and commercial capital of the country. Since the beginning of the war it was divided into two sectors, the West controlled by the government and the area east in rebel hands. Last December, just before Christmas, opposition fighters and militias brokered a ceasefire, withdrawing from the city that is now under full government control.



However, fighting continues in the province of Aleppo with heavy air strikes and raids. According to the United Nations over 26 thousand people have fled the area since last February 25. The next objective of the regular forces is the recapture of the military airport Jarrah; the Islamic state had taken it over in January 2014, after the rebels had wrested it from the government in February 2013.

Meanwhile, senior Russian, Turkish and US military officials met yesterday in Turkey, to coordinate most of the military operations on the Syrian territory. The tripartite meeting focused on how to "avoid confrontations" between the various actors involved in the fight against the Islamic State and other jihadist groups, while supporting opposing factions in the context of the conflict.



Meanwhile Russia has announced a two-week ceasefire in eastern Ghouta sector, the last opposition stronghold near Damascus. The area has been the scene of intensive fighting in recent months and is the general Islamic Army headquarters (Jaysh al-Islam), one of the major rebel groups.
Most companies favour male employees. Discrimination also affects online job platforms, this according to 22 per cent of women applicants. Women have fewer opportunities for career development and promotion.

Beijing (AsiaNews/CLB)  More and more Chinese women are ready to take action against discrimination and gender bias in the workplace.

The rising number of gender discrimination cases prompted Chinas Supreme Court to hold a briefing last August.

Guo Feng, deputy-director of the Research Office of the Supreme People's Court of China, said that both individuals and groups of corporations assume civil liabilities for gender equality among workplaces in China.

Speaking about a verdict, the senior judge noted that it not only protects workers on the job market, but also sends a warning to corporations not to break the laws on gender equality.

Guo also explained that most companies are in favour of hiring male employees based on concerns over physical differences between men and women, or worries that women will be less able to fulfil their job responsibilities during their period.

Hence, some companies have become accustomed to using perfunctory reasons to avoid accusations of gender discrimination in rejecting women's job applications.

Incidents of this kind have also been reported with respect to Zhaopin, Chinas biggest online employment platform. Despite its commitment to equality, many of its job postings are for men only.

On Monday, Zhaopin confirmed this when it released a new report documenting gender discrimination in employment and advancement in the workplace.

Its 2017 Report on the Current Situation of Chinese Women in the Workplace collected responses from over 128,500 workers on questions ranging from employment opportunities to career development.

According to the study, 22 per cent of women report severe or very severe discrimination when seeking employment, whilst only 14 per cent of men raised the issue.

Employers across China often state a gender preference in job postings, even indirectly, like when women are asked about family planning when applying for jobs.

The study found that white-collar, college-educated female job hunters like Xiao Zhou don't seem to have an advantage.

Compared to men, higher-level graduates are more than twice as likely to be discriminated against when they apply for jobs, with 43 per cent of female graduates encountering severe discrimination.

A separate 2015 survey [5] by the All-China Federation of Women showed that 87 per cent of women graduates experience some kind of employment discrimination, with the vast majority citing unfair preference for men as the cause.

The odds are also stacked against women when it comes to career development and promotion opportunities. About 72 per cent of Zhaopin survey participants had men as supervisors.

The relative absence of women supervisors is directly linked to discrimination in promotions, with 25 per cent of women experiencing severe or very severe discrimination in promotions, compared with 18 per cent of men.

Despite the statistical evidence, often women have a hard time proving their claims in the legal system, since gender disparities are often subtle and hard to substantiate in courtrooms.
by Kamran Chaudhry

Muhammad Iqbal is suing his former employer who exploited him for little money. In Pakistan, 2.3 million people work in slave-like conditions. It is common practice to pay off parents debt with child labour. About 65 per cent of bonded labourers are Christian.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Muhammad Iqbal works at a brick kiln, for little money, like many others. When he asked to be paid a fair wage, his employer first threatened him and then forced him to quit. As a result, he was put under virtual house arrest at his home in Lahore.

His life changed last year, when he took part in an awareness seminar, which gave him the strength to rebel. "For years I was paid 500 rupees (US$ 5,00) for making 1,000 bricks, he told AsiaNews. Even with the help of my children, I spent the whole day working in the mud. After attending an awareness seminar last year, I asked for the payment (962 rupees) set by the Punjab government."

His employer did not like it. "I started getting threats. The entrance to our colony was closed at dusk and workers of the kiln owner used to stand in front of our house. He objected to the education of my children. After a heated argument, I left the kiln".

Iqbals story was presented at a press conference held yesterday at the Lahore Press Club. He and three other workers from the kiln situated in Mominpura, a Lahore suburb, are suing the kiln owner. His children now go to school whilst Iqbal works as a day labourer at construction sites.

His story is like that of many others in some of the 10,000 brick kilns that operate in Punjab province.

According to the Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLFP), 2.3 million bonded labourers  men, women. and children  work in these kilns. Pakistan is ranked third in the Global Slavery Index  with 2.13 million people living in bondage, behind only India and China.

The problem is widespread, especially in Punjab and Sindh, where modern forms of slavery exist. One of these is peshgi, a system of bonded money advance, whereby a family member borrows money from an employer who requires debt payment through the labour of a child.

In Punjab a series of labour laws punish in principle such coercive practices. They include the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Rules 1995 and the Punjab Prohibition of Child Labour at Brick Kilns, signed last year to protect children.

Activists and groups complain however that these legislative and regulatory instruments are largely ignored. BLLFP programme manager Mahar Safdar Ali noted that "65 per cent of bonded labourers are Christian. Kiln owners prefer to hire non-Muslims, knowing that they are deprived of legal, educational and health opportunities. This neglected class [of people] is ideal for cheap labour."

Yesterday, the press conference also highlighted the case of three jailed Christian kiln workers who were tortured. Last October, Salim Masih, Farooq Masih and Asif Masih complained to police that their employer had underpaid. The latter reacted by accusing them of theft.

Last week, police in Pattoki, Kasur district, "seized them by force at their homes, but so far they have not been charged in court. Instead, they are under pressure to withdraw their complaint.

The owners of the brick kiln have strong links with the Labour and Justice Ministries. None of them has ever been punished".
The extremist called Saifulllah was hiding in an apartment in Lucknow. He was the head of a group of radicalized Muslims in India. Arrested eight others. The group has planned the bomb attack yesterday on a train in Madhya Pradesh, that left 10 wounded.

Lucknow (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Uttar Pradesh counterterrorism police have hunted down and killed the leader of a cell affiliated to the Islamic State that yesterday conducted the first Caliphate bombing on Indian soil.

The man, identified by the name of Saifullah, was hiding in an apartment in Lucknow. Searches had begun immediately after the explosion of a bomb on Ujjain-Bhopal train in Jabri station (in Madhya Pradesh), which resulted in injuries to 10 people. The police attempted to make him surrender through the mediation of his brother, but the terrorist replied: "I will not, I want martyrdom."

The anti-terrorism squad operation lasted about 12 hours and ended today at dawn. Officers found the train journey timetable and plans as well as material to assemble a bomb in the apartment yesterday. From initial investigations, it appears that the apartment had been rented about six months ago by Badshah, a man who works in Saudi Arabia. He told neighbors that he had let the apartment to his students friends.

There links between the cell and the jihadist groups are not yet clear, or if they have received funding and training from abroad. In any case, that this is the first episode ever undertaken in India by Isis members. In recent months, the police managed to foil several plans throughout the country and even arrest some extremists who were preparing to carry out attacks.
by Bodi Jiao

Beijing (AsiaNews) - "Lent is a time of fasting, prayer, penance, but above all it is the time to care for those suffering around us, especially those who hunger and thirst for God, said Fr. Zhu introducing the Lenten program for his parish in Changshu, in the Diocese of Suzhou (Jiangsu) on Ash Wednesday. Fr. Zhu also recalled the message that Pope Francis sent to all Catholics in the world to mark the Lenten season.



Chinese Catholics practice a rather traditional faith and the period of Lent is dedicated to interior conversion, contemplation of the passion of Jesus (Way of the Cross), fasting and works of charity. But these last two aspects are characterized by witness and mission, given that there is an increasingly strong desire for spirituality and to find God in China. This is due to the materialism and consumerism that dominates society, as well as the ideological crisis in the Communist Party, that drives people to find new points of reference in their lives.



As a result of this, many parishes offer catechism classes that prepare dozens of catechumens for baptism at the Easter Vigil, and ahead of this Christian faithful are invited to rediscover their faith and communicate it to their friends. For this in many parishes during Lent we organize courses to study and deepen their knowledge of the Bible.



The parish of Yixingbu (diocese of Tianjin), for example, and that of the cathedral take courses on Bible reading. The same happens in the parishes of LiuJiazhuang and Nandubi (diocese of Hongdong, Shanxi).



A Dalian (Liaoning), there is even an elaborate program for spiritual formation, with courses in theology and ethics throughout the entire year.



In the diocese of Beijing, Yongning, Fr. Zhang Tianlu has gone to great lengths to propose a liturgical gesture and a gesture of charity. Thus, every Friday during Lent at 17:30 there is the Way of the Cross, but the faithful are encouraged to carry out a gesture of charity by visiting the poor, sick, etc on the same day.



In Tongzhou (Beijing diocese), Fr. John Yu Taiyong has a weekly plan: Bible study on Monday; an hour of adoration every Thursday; Taize Youth Prayer on Friday. In addition, every day he encourages visits to orphanages to homes for the elderly and children, as well as fasting, pilgrimages and collecting donations for the poor.
As the first deadline for the Every Student Succeeds Act arrives, there have been sharp disagreements between advocacy groups and state-level politicians on key policy decisions.

Peter Zamora, director of federal relations for the Council of Chief State School Officers, reached out to me to provide some clarification on State Education Agencies authority in the coming months.

ESSA in several key areas requires stakeholder input through timely and meaningful engagement. Indeed, early on in the ESSA-planning process, many state superintendents traversed their states, engaging with parents, teachers, and administrators in hours-long town hall meetings. Governors get 30 days to review ESSA plans before their submission to the U.S. Department of Education.

But as departments have begun to release first, second, and third drafts of accountability plans to gather more feedback, constituents are inevitably split on policy decisions regarding statewide goals , testing and accountability systems .

For example, Elsie Arntzen, Montanas new Republican superintendent, wants to rescind her predecessors accountability plan after it was turned into the federal government shortly before the end of state chief Denise Juneaus tenure.

Chris Reykdal, Washingtons recently elected superintendent, wants to take from the state board and place under the his offices and the legislatures control several key decisions regarding the states accountability system.

A panel appointed by Louisiana Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards is pushing for a separate accountability system from the one state Superintendent John White has created. Panel members recently voted to delay the time the plan is turned into the federal government.

At the end of the day, Zamora said, state education departments have the final say over accountability plans.

Consultation is not the same as approval, Zamora said.

Since the creation of Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965, SEAs have been in charge of distributing federal dollars to local education agencies, or school districts.

Under ESSA, governors can sign off on accountability plans at the end of their 30 days of review to show the federal government that the plan has their endorsement, but a signature is not necessary, Zamora said.

Louisiana superintendents, for example, could create their own accountability system, as they say theyd like to do , but its the SEAs accountability system that dictates how federal dollars are distributed, Zamora said.

And Montanas and Washingtons sitting superintendents have the final say over their state plans.

Its the SEA thats on the hook for compliance, Zamora said.

That doesnt mean department officials are free to do whatever they want. Most are overseen by a board, and state boards of education in recent years have been quick to fire state superintendents. Many states legislatures also have specified education policy as is the case in West Virginia and Kentucky this year where its the legislatures education committees that have taken control of the states ESSA plans.

As I wrote earlier last month, the National Conference of State Legislatures is urging state officials to make sure any major changes in state ESSA accountability plans align with state policy.

Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics.
by Nirmala Carvalho

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - "It was through the example of our mother, we always remember God's presence, creating an atmosphere of prayer in our house and weaving ties with other priests, we heard our call to religious life " says Msgr. John Rodrigues, rector of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount in Bandra (Mumbai).

On International Women's Day, which falls today, he recalls his mother Corinne, who died in 2000. She was a great example of Christian mercy for the Archdiocese of Mumbai, promoting various charities. One of these is "Hope and Life Movement," a support group for widows. Even Corinne was a widow, but suffering for the loss of her beloved husband did not stop her from transmitting the values of the Gospel and the love of the Lord, so much so that her three sons have taken vows.



Corinne Rodrigues was the mother of Fr. Savio, pastor of Mumbai, Fr. Luke SJ, Vice Provincial of the Jesuits in Mumbai, and Msgr. John. Her sons remember her as an "extraordinary woman of great faith and grace, whose life has been devoted to the service of others, first as a teacher, then as a wife, mother and widow."



Fr. Savio says: "My parents loved each other so much and were active in the parish. In the sixties they entered the Christian Family Movement [network of Catholic families and parishes, born in the United States - ed.] In 1973 they participated in the first Marriage Encounter [retreat for married couples, ed], then they were chosen as leaders of the group of couples. In the following years they are also employed to select other participating couples. " Despite the early death of his father Stanley, the priest continues, "my mother continued to promote the ideals and values that both appreciated. She also made many sacrifices and taught us to do the same. " Fr Savio reports that "her sensitivity and ability to reach those in need was great. She visited the sick in hospital, bought groceries for people forced into the house, she looked after the children, organizing programs and jobs for widows. Her generosity and her zeal were stimulating and motivating. "



In 1985 Corinne founded the Hope and Life Movement on the initiative of the Archdiocese of Mumbai. From the first seminar, attended by 10 widows, the movement now has various groups in different parishes of the city. Under her leadership the social work in favor of single women has also been extended to other sectors of society: since 1993 its members visit the elderly, give support to the families of victims of the 1993 massacres, reconstruct the houses of widows in distress.



In 2015, during the 30th anniversary celebrations of the movement, Msgr. John Rodrigues said that to his mother, "Jesus was the supreme husband, the rock that guides us in giving comfort in times of trial, pains and sufferings". His strength, he concludes, "was in prayer. In our family's time of prayer it was very important. We recite the Rosary in the family and in the community. It was thanks to the encouragement of my parents that we all, as a family, have given to the Church. "
According to the Islamic Republic, the US lawyers legal case is "completely unfair". The goal is to use the money to compensate 9/11 victims, including US$ 1.6 billion held in a Luxembourg bank. For Irans deputy foreign minister, the action is unfair and baseless.

Tehran (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Iran said Tuesday it was "completely unfair" for US lawyers backed by their government to try to seize its frozen foreign assets as compensation for the victims of 9/11 attack. This is based on a controversial law passed by Congress that has also caused anger in Saudi Arabia.

In 2012, a New York judge ordered Iran to pay US$ 7 billion in damages to the families and estates of victims from the 2001 attacks. Although 15 of the 19 attackers were Saudis, he argued that Iran had aided al-Qaida by allowing the group's members to travel through its territory.

Since Iran has rejected the accusation and has refused to pay the money, the lawyers are now trying to access US$ 1.6 billion of Iranian money held in a Luxembourg bank.

"Some opponents of the Islamic republic of Iran . . . have tried to broaden a US domestic law -- which is completely unfair and baseless -- to apply outside America," said deputy foreign minister Majid Takht Ravanchi, the IRNA news agency reported.

After years of embargo, Iran won a partial easing of Western economic sanctions in exchange for the agreement reached in July 2015 on its controversial atomic programme. Tehran considers it civilian in nature, but the United States and Israel fear it can be weaponised.

At the same time, Washington has maintained a range of sanctions because Tehran's ballistic missile programme and its military support for Shia movements in the Middle East.

Some of the billions of dollars in Iranian assets were frozen during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Irans last shah. The Islamic Republic wants them back.

Washington recently blocked the use of US dollars in bank transactions, stopping economic agreements after the nuclear deal. Tehran responded by going to the International Court of Justice, accusing the US of seizing almost two billion dollars.

Washington continues to classify the Islamic Republic as a "sponsor" of state terrorism. Whilst former US President Barack Obama tried to mend relations, the election of Donald Trump has led to escalating tensions.

Some of Iran's frozen assets could be used in compensation cases, not just for the 2001 attacks but also for the bombing of a US Marines barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 241 American personnel.

The US Supreme Court ruled last year that US$ 2.1 billion frozen in a Citibank account in New York should be given to the US victims of the 1983 bombing.
The Chinese foreign minister calls on Pyongyang to stop its nuclear program and US-Seoul to cancel the military exercises. "Two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way". Beijing fears Thaad radar could be used for espionage. Boycott of Korean goods. Korean Church against Thaad because it is dragging the peninsula into a "new Cold War".

Beijing (AsiaNews) - The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi today reiterated his nations firm opposition to the deployment of the Thaad anti-missile system in South Korea, saying that it is a mistake and threatens Seouls own security.

In a press conference on the margins of the current National Peoples Congress in the Chinese capital, Wang Yi pointed out that the deployment of the system is the biggest problem in the relations between China and South Korea.

Yesterday, the South Korean Ministry of Defense and the US command of the Korean Forces said they had brought some missile launchers and other elements of Thaad to the US base in Osan, 70 km south of Seoul, to begin the official deployment of the system.



The Thaad is designed to intercept short and medium range missiles, in a radius of 3 thousand kilometers at an altitude of 40-150 km.

A battery of Thaad (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) consists of six launchers mounted on trucks, 48 interceptors (eight for each ramp), a focus control, a communication unit and a powerful radar (AN / TPY-2) . In the past, Beijing has expressed its opposition because it states that the radar is so powerful it can be used to spy on signals from China. But Seoul and Washington have always reiterated that the system is merely defensive and poses no threat to other countries in the region. Since the US and South Korea decided to launch the Thaad, China has implemented a boycott of Korean goods.



According to Korean military sources, the first powerful Thaad radar will be delivered this month and will go into operation by April.



Referring to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Wang said that it is necessary on the one hand that Pyongyang stop its nuclear program and on the other that Washington and Seoul cancel their military exercises which are currently underway, which North Korea interprets as a preparation for invasion of its territory. Three days ago, Pyongyang fired four ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan in protest.



The situation on the Korean peninsula - said Wang - is like "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way."



The Korean Catholic Church has long been opposed to the installation of Thaad. In a paper published last July, they claim to fear that the peninsula can become "the center of a new Cold War", reducing the chances of reconciliation between the two Koreas and development of the entire population.
A bevy of Asian designers, with huge fan bases, will highlight the Vancouver Fashion Week extravaganza that opens next week.

The selected designers will give a sneak peek at their latest and greatest designs, as to deliver a spectacular jaw-dropping show, said the shows founder Jamal Abdourahman, Western Canadas unsung hero of fashion.

These designers have their own unique and distinctly captivating look, said Abdourahman, who started Vancouver Fashion week in 2011. Entering its 18th year and 29th season VFW is now the longest running fashion show in Canada attracting major media from around the world, including the likes of Marie Claire, CNN and Vogue.

This years seven- day event is being held from 20th March to 26th March 2017 at the Chinese International Cultural Centre in Vancouver.

We continue to build our international presence through global media coverage and this allows excellent exposure for supporting designers and partners, said Abdourahman, who has been tapped to orchestrate a similar show in New York.

Here is a sneak peek of designers spanning from arious parts of Asia who will be showcasing their stunning pieces at Vancouver Fashion Week, the West Coast's most prestigious industry event.

JAPAN - MACHIO MIZUMACHI pops onto the VFW stage with an attention-grabbing collection that will delight and wow anyone who sees it. The designs express a mix of street styles and influences, used as inspiration while creating. Machio Mizumachi makes use of a peculiar sense of color, and focuses on the deconstruction and reconstruction of clothing in this line.

The collection shown explores this Reconstruction and Deconstruction of both popular and local styles unique to Osaka. Pieces are harmoniously coordinated while also being given an eccentric sense of color. The clothing styles presented fluctuate between current fashions and unusual tastes, drawing inspiration from a past generation of strength during the 80s, and 90s.

JAPAN  WILDFRAULEIN71 is set to stop the show, with a surreal line that is based on the keyword: unrealistic-reality. Inspired by different feelings we have which are continuously connected to what we are wearing. Unrealistic-reality is whom we want to be, elegant, transient, strong, beautiful, dangerous. Self-taught designer Roop, works to show these elements using Japanese influences, as well as through his production and style. As a designer, he is inspired by vintage/antique clothing from all over the world, showing these values in all of his pieces to give them a sophisticated and timeless look.

TAIWAN  TSUNG YU CHAN presents us with a variation of coutures, spanning from Europe to Asia. In a collection that reflects the status of the human mind via the mediums of poetry and modern menswear. Inspiration for the  line is drawn from photography of riots, using a mix of rioter and military style in the collection. Tsung Yu Chan utilizes 100% natural fabrics in his designs, mixed with modern Taiwanese technological fabrics, traditional Asian embroidery skill, and digital prints as well. Through his exploration of cultures, his aim is to combine traditional Taiwanese and modern technique to create a brand new style, one which focuses on poetry and life experiences as well.

KOREA - HANGJUN JO graduated from The Glasgow School of Art with a BA in Fashion esign, resulting in a specialization in womenswear. His tasteful sense of colour, print creation and structural comprehension translate into contemporary casualwear with elegance and masculinity. Hangjuns artistic background encourage interesting prints and cuts, which allow a unique and detailed result. The designer will be launching his independent label, l HANGJUN JO.

KOREA - ALOGON is a designer label producing new designs with a focus directed towards mood, artistic sensitivity, freedom, and ingenious creativity. Many of todays designers reside within the world of minimalism, following a prescribed and generally accepted path that is culturally suggested by years of tradition. Alogon however, breaks away from the traditional market so as to be recognised as an individual production system, by experimenting and developing countless silhouettes, while making use of new materials, and exquisite, sophisticated detail in all of their creations.

PHILLIPINES - PAGTANOM Fall-Winter 2017 is a tribute which showcases one of many rituals that shapes Philippine farming. Pagtanom (transplanting) is one of the rituals done one month after the act of pagsabod (sowing). This season, we interpret and pay homage to one of the many processes that are necessary for Filipino farmers, and their labor of love. The collection implements the usage of pure Philippine cotton, woven by Bontoc weavers from Baguio City, and pina shifu crafted in Kalibo, Aklan. The collection features hand embroidered prayers by rice planters for their seedlings to grow luxuriantly, as well as including the early Filipino farmers helper and patron  the stars and the moon  into the design. Each piece is a page of culture immortalized in fabric and pays a romantic reverence to creative Filipino artisanship in a contemporary lifestyle.

JAPAN  STUDIO MEMBRANE kicks off the Fall/Winter season with a bang at VFW, showcasing their highly innovative and cutting-edge fashions, which define a clear relationship

between the body and its environments. In his collection, titled 'Will to Walk,' STUDIO MEMBRANE designer Hiroaki Tanaka aims to inspire a feeling of power through his wearable pieces as they change color while walking. His main material, canvas, is not a traditional cloth used for oil paintings, but instead consists of disposed material such as used cloth, which also helps to express his theme of regenerating the body.
Guest Commentary

By Rich Coleman

The recent Metro Vancouver Regional Homelessness Task Force Report highlights the complexity of homelessness and reminds us that partnerships are key to addressing the issue in British Columbia.

Together with the federal government and our community partners, the Province invested more than $375 million in Metro Vancouver last year to provide affordable housing and rent supplements to help more than 61,000 individuals and families.

This includes more than $138 million for emergency shelters and housing for those who are homeless.

We have outreach teams across the region, connecting homeless people with housing, as well as the services to help them stabilize their lives, such as accessing mental health and addictions services, making medical appointments, and even basic literacy skills that most of us take for granted.

But addressing homelessness directly is only part of the equation, something the report fails to recognize.

We also need to prevent homelessness by increasing housing supply  creating affordable rental units and facilitating home ownership for low- and middle-income British Columbians. The provincial government has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to create 13,500 units in Metro Vancouver since 2001.

And in the last six months, the Province has committed $920 million in additional funding to construct and renovate close to 5,300 units of affordable rental housing throughout the Province  $131 million of that has already been allocated to projects that will create 1,750 new, affordable rental units in Metro Vancouver.

Its also why weve created the new BC HOME Partnership Program to assist an estimated 42,000 families purchase their first home.

The Province cannot do it alone. We need assistance from the Metro Vancouver mayors, who can expedite development approvals for supportive and rental housing. They can use their land-use tools and zoning to create higher densities and pre-zone land to expedite affordable rental housing.

And they can continue to partner with the Province by identifying and providing municipal land for supportive housing. We need their assistance, not just their recriminations.

Unfortunately, the mayors chose to present their report politically, immediately prior to a provincial election. It seems they care more about grabbing headlines, rather than helping British Columbians step out of homelessness, avoid becoming homeless, rent an affordable home or buy their first home.

Making sure everyone has access to safe, affordable housing is a shared responsibility between all levels of government and the community itself.

We are doing our part and encourage Metro Vancouvers mayors to continue to partner with us and do theirs.

Rich Colemen is B.C.s Minister of Natural Gas Development and Minister Responsible for Housing
Surrey Philippine Independence Day Society (SPIDS) and its President and Founding Director Narima Dela Cruz were two of the 22 non-profit organizations and community leaders recognized by the Surrey Cares Community Foundation February 28 at the Sheraton Guildford Hotel.

Dela Cruz was humbled to be among the many leaders, non-profits, and charities in the community. She was grateful of having her and her SPIDS group being recognized and appreciated. She was one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award recipients in 2012 and was given the Realtors Care Award by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and B.C. Real Estate Association. Last year, she was named one of four from BC and only 18 nominees all over Canada to the first ever National Realtors Care Award by the Canadian Realtors Association.

Dela Cruz is a volunteer for various other non-profit organizations including SUCCESS, Surrey Food Bank, Canadian Cancer Society of BC, BC Transplant Society, and Canadian Red Cross. From 2009 to 2013, she helped fundraise more than $178,000 in three big fundraising events. The funds went towards CRCs disaster relief around the world. A language translator and interpreter for OPTIONS Surrey, she served at her children schools PAC for many years and was a school representative to the District PAC in Surrey.

SPIDS is an organization of Filipino Canadians that holds the annual Philippine Independence Day in Surrey. The ninth year celebration will be held June 10, Saturday from 9am to 4pm at the Bridgeview Park Community Centre in Surrey.

Surrey Cares Serving with Distinction Awards celebrates the achievements of the non-profits and charities. Surrey Cares Community Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable organization that provides funding, financial administration and research for its community.
Commentary

By Fred Maroun

New Canadian Media

Kellie Leitch is one of the candidates seeking the leadership of Canadas Conservative party, and she attracted much attention with her proposal for screening immigrants, refugees, and visitors, for anti-Canadian values. There are two parts to Leitchs proposal.

First, there is the concept of Canadian values then there is the screening.

Leitch is simply advancing widely accepted principles. She lists six values, which belong in three categories:

 Nice-sounding but unenforceable character traits: helping others, hard work, and generosity.

 Freedom and tolerance, which she elaborates to mean equality of men and women, freedom of religion, and equality of all under the law. These values are already covered in further details in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is part of our constitution.

 Equal opportunity, less a moral value than a political belief because it affects the functioning of government rather than the actions of individuals.

Canadian values are not a Conservative or even a Liberal idea even though we owe our charter to former Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The term Canadian values is not widely used, yet the values are widely accepted by Canadians and even enshrined in our constitution.

On this basis, Leitchs proposal should not be controversial, but it has become a lightning rod because there is the suspicion that it targets Muslims.

If Canadian values are seen to be hostile to Islam, it is because they are, at least when it comes to Islam as practised today by the vast majority of Muslim-majority countries. Those countries have no democratic freedoms, lesser rights for women and some ethnic groups, limited freedom of religion, and limited legal rights for non-citizens.

Islam is often used as justification for terrorism and other forms of violence in many parts of the world.

It is natural to be concerned about whether Muslims who come to Canada will negatively affect our values in the long term by adopting some of the same practices used in their countries of origin. This fear exists among much of the population of the Western world, including Canada, yet few mainstream politicians dare raise it or, even less, propose solutions.

Although Leitch does not state it, it is clear that her proposal is a way of addressing the fear of Islam. Her refusal to make the connection may be an attempt to avoid being labelled anti-Muslim. Leitch insists that her proposal is not anti-Muslim, and she is correct. Leitch is addressing legitimate fears of Islam in a positive way, by promoting Canadian values, which are consistent with the values of many individual Muslims, and not in a negative way, which would be to single out Islam as U.S. President Donald Trump has done through his recent executive order.

Our charter contradicts some of the widely practised Muslim principles, but it also contradicts some Christian and Jewish principles. For example, some Christian and Jewish denominations do not support gender equality.

If our Charter, and by extension our Canadian values, were anti-Muslim then they would also have to be considered anti-Christian and anti-Jewish, which is not the case. The Canadian Charter explicitly protects freedom of religion, while it expects Canadians to abide by our Canadian values. This is a recognition that individuals can think for themselves and can believe in a faith without blindly applying each of its stated principles.

In this light, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is Pierre Trudeaus son, should be even moral vocal than Leitch in promoting Canadian values, but instead, he is choosing to support a motion that condemns Islamophobia. Muslims and all other minorities must be protected against discrimination and violence, but politicians are hypocritical when they pretend that Islam is not a legitimate concern for many Canadians.

Canadian values should be a source of pride, not a source of partisan debate. If newcomers to Canada can be screened to protect our values, such a policy should be welcomed by everyone, including by Muslims who are here to escape the tyrannical regimes of their countries of origin.

Leitchs proposal is still at a very early stage, and there are valid questions on how it would be implemented to avoid discrimination on the basis of religion. It is on such practical aspects that the debate should center. It may turn out that her proposal is not feasible, but it does not necessarily follow that this is a needless debate.

Fred Maroun is a Canadian of Arab origin. He lived in Lebanon until 1984, including during 10 years of civil war. He regularly blogs for the Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel.

This piece was originally appeared in New Canadian Media.

See http://www.newcanadianmedia.ca/component/k2/40653-yes-canadian-values-contradict-some-religious-beliefs
By Catherine Sas, Q.C,

Special to The Post

On January 1, 2015 Canada's immigration program was transformed with the introduction of the Express Entry program which restricts applicants to only those selected by the government and offered an "Invitation to Apply" (ITA).

The selection process is based upon an applicant's Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) which allocates points for education, English or French language proficiency, Canadian and foreign work experience as well as that of their spouse.

By setting the CRS points necessary to issue ITA's, the government can manage their immigration inventory and their processing timelines.

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), releases regular Ministerial Instructions (MI's) setting the CRS scores and number of applications to be issued ITA's.

Let's take a look at the past two years and how the Express Entry Invitation process is evolving in 2017.

In our recent blog post of January 18, 2017, we looked closely at the CRS points and number of ITAs offered for the 50 MIs offered in 2015 and 2016 See www.canadian-visa-lawyer.com/canadas-express-entry-immigration-program-two-years-in-review-and-what-lies-ahead-for-2017.

2015 saw 23 rounds of MI's offered with CRS points starting at 886 to be issued an ITA.

Of the 23 MIs, five rounds were issued for CRS point scores of over 700 or 800 points with the remaining 18 rounds being offered ITAs with CRS points in the range of 450 - 489 points.

In 2017 there were 27 rounds of MI's with only three sets of ITAs being offered for CRS point scores of over 500 points and the remaining 24 rounds of ITAs being offered for ITAs with CRS points in the range of 453 - 497. In both years, no ITA had been offered for an applicant with a CRS point score below 450. While the CRS scores for an ITA were moving steadily downward, 450 points was the barrier threshold.

In recent weeks however, the Minister of IRCC has finally issued ITA's below the 450 point mark. The most recent MI's for 2017 are set out below:

Ministerial Instructions Date Issued CRS Points offered Invitations Offered MI #51 January 4 468 2902 MI #52 January 11 459 3334 MI #53 January 25 453 3508 MI #54 February 8 447 3644 MI #55 February 22 441 3611 MI #56 March 1 434 3884

As the above figures demonstrate, so far in 2017, IRCC has issued ITAs for steadily reduced CRS point scores. IRCC officials have indicated that this trend will continue.

In the 2015 Express Entry annual report (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/reports/ee-year-end-2015.asp ) detailed figures were provided regarding the CRS points scores for all of the applicants in the Express Entry selection pool.

Not surprisingly, the largest number of applicants registered were with scores between 300 to 450 points.

This new trend of reducing CRS point scores for ITAs is positive news for anxious applicants seeking to apply for Permanent Residence to Canada. Applicants with CRS points of 400 and above should be ready with all the necessary documentation to be able to submit a Permanent residence application. Once you receive an ITA you only have 90 days to file a complete application.

Express Entry is a very unforgiving system and if any document is missing your application will be refused and you will need to re-enter the Express Entry pool!

Catherine Sas, Q.C. has over 25 years of legal experience. She provides a full range of immigration services and is a leading immigration practitioner (Lexpert, Whos Who Legal, Best Lawyers in Canada). Go to www.canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email casas@shaw.ca.
A Roundup Of Everything Happening On International Women's Day

Trending News: Everything You Need To Know About International Women's Day

Long Story Short

Wednesday, March 8 is International Womens Day, and celebrations/marches/demonstrations are being marked across the world. Coinciding with that is the #DayWithoutWoman hashtag, a one-day strike urging women take the day off work. Heres a quick peek at some of the stuff you might have missed.

Long Story

The Day Without A Woman demonstration is meant to highlight both womens contributions to economies everywhere and the ongoing, everyday struggles women around the world are faced with every day, from low-level sexual harassment on the streets to glass ceilings and unequal pay at work to lack of affordable child care.

Following on the heels of the Day Without Immigrants last month, this event is getting a lot of high-profile support and attention. Some of it is positive, some of it isnt and some of it is weird.

Rallies and actions are being held in cities all over the world. And sometimes, symbolism is being seen in places where it might not have been intended, such as the Statue of Liberty going dark for an hour Tuesday night.

The National Parks Service, which administers the Statue, said the blackout, which began just before 11 p.m., was the result of work to a back-up emergency generator on Liberty Island. Nevertheless, Twitter users had their take on the outage.

Thank you Lady Liberty for standing with the resistance and going dark for #DayWithoutAWoman ? ?: @randybals #StatueOfLiberty pic.twitter.com/D0JG9MmSRj  Women's March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017

The lights are out at the Statue of Liberty...that's ONE MORE woman America CANNOT do without. #adaywithoutwomen #LightsOut  Girls Really Rule. (@girlsreallyrule) March 8, 2017

When the lights came back on, the Statue of Liberty had a "Nevertheless, she persisted" tattoo on her forearm.  Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) March 8, 2017

Apparently the Statue of Liberty lights went out due to a power failure. But I would argue women are also protesting due to a power failure.  Aparna Nancherla (@aparnapkin) March 8, 2017

On Wall Street, facing down the bold bull meant to symbolize the resilience of the American economy but has come to represent the hard-charging, take-no-prisoners, alpha-male-ness of the high finance world, a statue dubbed Fearless Girl facing it down was erected there on Tuesday. Its a powerful statement, created by an ad agency on behalf of investment group State Street Global Advisors as a call to make women more visible on corporate boards.

Actress Emma Watson, no stranger to feminist controversy herself, spent the night hiding feminist books all over New York subways.

From midnight NYC time, book fairies around the WORLD will start hiding feminist books to mark #IWD #IWDoursharedshelf @the_bookfairies ?  Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) March 8, 2017

And Googles daily Doodle features well- and lesser-known female pioneers, such as Frida Kahlo, Ida B. Wells and Miriam Makeba.

Less glamorously but probably more importantly, at least three school districts across the country are closing for the day, in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

Elected male leaders looking to cash in on the event are having some trouble though. President Donald Trump, he of the Tic-Tacs and the grabbing of pussies, went on Twitter to express his support.

I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

On International Women's Day, join me in honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

According to the Trump Twitter Archive, those tweets were sent from an iPhone, not an Android  meaning that they weren't tweeted by the president himself, but by a staffer. Nevertheless, reaction was swift and predictable terrible.

@realDonaldTrump by grabbing the genitalia of female strangers  Matt Haig (@matthaig1) March 8, 2017

@realDonaldTrump and grab them by the blood coming out of their whatever  a-? (@YGalanter) March 8, 2017

@realDonaldTrump Here's a thought: honor them with policy, not meaningless tweets  Maria (@MariaMelee) March 8, 2017

@realDonaldTrump You honoring women is like Michael Vick honoring dogs.  Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) March 8, 2017

Even supposedly feminist nice guy leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife put their foot in it with this ill-thought out Instagram.

This all-caps rage answer kind of sums up everything that might be considered wrong-headed about it, and why even supposed feminist allies need to resist the urge to make this day, of all days, about themselves.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Guys, can you pay attention to some of the stuff thats going on today?

Drop This Fact

On average, women working full time earn about 80% of what men do.
Shrinking enrollment at traditional public schools is assumed to be largely the result of the growth of charter schools. Although their proliferation is indeed a factor, there is a more fundamental reason that is rarely discussed (The Number of Children in L.A. Is Shrinking - Which Could Be a Disaster , LAWeekly, Mar. 2).

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second largest, serves as an example. Between 1980 and 2000, student enrollment skyrocketed from about 500,000 to more than 700,000. Classrooms were so overcrowded that the district moved to year-round operation, bused students to less crowded schools, hired hundreds of teachers, and erected hundreds of bungalows on playgrounds. I saw that when I was teaching in the district. The subsequent conversion of the famed Ambassador Hotel into the Robert Kennedy School at a cost of $578 million was a symbol of the need for space, becoming the most expensive public school in the nation.

At its peak in 2004, student enrollment stood at just under 750,000. But then something happened that had little to do with the introduction of charter schools. Fewer children were being born, and many parents who decided to have children decided to leave Los Angeles because of the extravagant cost of living. For example, a modest one-bedroom apartment on the coveted West Side now rents for $1,800 a month. In adjacent Santa Monica, which is not part of the LAUSD, similar apartments rent for $2,000.

Because school districts in California receive money from the state based on a formula that depends in part on enrollment, fewer students mean less money. From a peak of just under 750,000, enrollment in the LAUSD is now about 514,000.

The declining birth rate is not peculiar to California. It is happening in every state in the country. The difference is the rate at which the decline is occuring. Ive seen the change in Los Angeles because Ive lived for 46 years in the same house that is located near several elementary, middle and high schools in the LAUSD.

More than 100,000 students - about one in six of all LAUSD students - attend independent charter schools, which account for nearly half of the districts enrollment loss. But the total number of students served by both traditional public schools and charter schools has also dropped. Thats an important point overlooked in the discussion about the growth of charter schools, which is assumed to be overwhelmingly the result of the poor reputation of traditional public schools.

If what is happening in Los Angeles is also happening across the country, albeit at different rates, then the debate needs to be redefined to include demographic changes. Failure to do so provides a distorted picture of the educational landscape.
Buderim celebrates all types of gingers





The Buderim Ginger Pride Rally is coming to Melbourne.

The Queensland based company is bringing its top marketing event to the centre of Melbourne.

Victoria is the location of Australias biggest market for ginger, possibly because the ethnic diversity is driving demand in southern states.

In a quirky marketing move, Australias Buderim Ginger, launched its inaugural Ginger Pride Rally in 2016, encouraging redheads to come together in Melbourne and celebrate their hair colour.

The 2016 rally drew more than 1, 000 attendees, leading Buderim to organise a new rally for 29 April 2017 at Federation Square.

This years rally begins at 11:00am and will feature a march through the streets of Melbourne, free Buderim ginger beer, games, a kids activity zone and performances.

Chief Executive Officer of Buderim Ginger, Roger Masters, said the rally will now become a yearly tradition, providing those with red hair some much-needed recognition.

This year will be even gingerier than last, with a range of new additions and activities for every attendee to enjoy, Masters said.

Fundraising will be part of the event with 50 per cent of funds raised going to The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, a charity which advocates for the safety of children.

Related articles
Pizza Hut shoe launched, includes ordering features





Watch out Dominos, Pizza Hut is also moving into online technologies  at least in North America for now.

Available in the US only, Pizza Hut has launched 64 pairs of shoes which include a button that allows customers to order a pizza.

The shoe uses Bluetooth to connect with Pizza Huts online ordering system and lets the store know exactly where to deliver the pizza.

It is expected all 64 pairs of the shoes will be distributed to celebrities and athletes only as part of a promotional campaign for Pizza Hut.

The shoes were designed in conjunction with creative agency, Droga5 and shoe maker, Dominic Chambrone.

Back in Australia, Dominos continues to invest in innovation, releasing virtual assistant technology to help customers order.

Related articles
Chapman Tripp has advised New Zealands Hawkins on its acquisition by Australias Downer EDI, as the construction industry sees further consolidation.Downer, an ASX and NZX dual-listed company, is acquiring the construction, infrastructure, and project management businesses of Hawkins, NZs second-largest construction firm, from the McConnell family. The deal, which was announced to the ASX and NZX Wednesday, is expected to be completed on 31 March. Financial details of the deal were undisclosed.Chapman Tripp partner John Strowger, assisted by senior associate Lauren Curtayne, advised Hawkins, which will continue to operate under its own brand.Hawkins has a number of large projects underway, including the SH16 Lincoln to Westgate upgrade, the construction of Aucklands Park Hyatt Hotel and the Pier B Extension at Auckland Airport, which complements the significant pipeline of projects under Downers belt, Strowger said.Downer EDI is an Australasian non-residential construction company that provides rail, mining, utilities, and transport services, as well as technology and communications services. Hawkins specialises in the design and construction delivery of buildings and infrastructure.Downer CEO Grant Fenn said the acquisition, expected to be earnings accretive in its first year, will strengthen the companys engineering, construction, and maintenance capabilities while providing a platform for growth.It is estimated that over NZ$50bn will be invested in non-residential construction in New Zealand over the next five years, Fenn said.Last year in NZ, Fletcher Building recently acquired rival Higgins Group for NZ$303m.
What Are the Criminal Penalties for Accidentally Shooting Someone?

Shootings are an all-too-frequent occurrence in the USA. With the number unintentional shootings averaging about 2,000+ per year and continually on the rise, many folks might be wondering: what's the criminal charge and penalty for accidentally shooting someone?

Whether a person was cleaning their gun, dropped their gun, or claiming the gun malfunctioned or just went off, if someone gets hit with the bullet, criminal charges are likely to follow. Not everyone gets so lucky as to have the shooting victim apologize to them. In fact, it is much more likely that an accidental shooting will result in serious criminal charges.

Manslaughter, A.K.A. Criminally Negligent Homicide

When a person unintentionally kills another, whether or not a gun was used, they can be charged with manslaughter, which is a felony. Manslaughter is frequently referred to as criminally negligent homicide, as that name more closely mirrors the elements of a manslaughter charge. To be found guilty of manslaughter, a person has to die as a result of a defendant's inherently dangerous actions or actions taken with reckless disregard.

Typical penalties for a manslaughter conviction include at least one year in jail, and can be much worse if the conduct that led to the death merit such. For example, a repeat drunk driver that causes a death is likely to face a harsher sentence than a recently victimized elderly man who, instinctively, accidentally shoots someone they believe to be a robber.

Non-Lethal Shootings

If a non-fatal, accidental shooting occurs, criminal charges can still be brought. Generally, causing harm to another, even if unintentional, can still be illegal. Unfortunately, however, there are some states, like Florida, where even lethal accidental shootings can go unpunished, if the conduct does not rise to the level of recklessness (which for the Sunshine state is much higher than you'd expect). Alternatively, in Virginia, just the reckless handling of a firearm leading to injury can be charged as felony punishable by up to 5 years.

In addition to the numerous specific state and local laws that regulate improper and accidental discharges of guns, criminal negligence charges are likely appropriate in an accidental shooting case. Unless the defendant is a repeat offender, or there are additional criminal charges, which could include other firearms charges, or assault, generally, criminal negligence, and other charges for accidentally shooting, but not killing, will be misdemeanor charges, punishable by not more than one year in jail.

Related Resources:
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By Stuart Khan, Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering, UNSW

In late January this year, a group of mainly US-based Reddit users were discussing a recent report that all references to climate change have been deleted from the White House website. One user on the forum responded with the suggestion:

There needs to be a Scientists March on Washington.

And thus the seed of a global movement was planted. Within hours, a proposed March for Science in Washington DC had a website, a Facebook page and a Twitter handle.

Within a few days, sister march sites began to appear from across the United States and around the world.

A diverse group of individuals initiated social media sites in cities throughout Australia. These included a university professor in Brisbane, a year 12 high school student in Western Sydney, a number of current postgraduate students in Adelaide, Perth and Townsville, and a recent PhD graduate in Canberra.

It occurred to me and others that it might be helpful to establish links between these disparate and diverse groups. Doing so would facilitate cooperation, hopefully leading to improved planning and a united voice.

By bringing together each of the groups planning March for Science events around Australia, we established March for Science Australia, which now has its own website, Facebook page and Twitter handle.

We are now working cooperatively to organise rallies in support of science in cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Townsville, Hobart and Launceston. The list is growing quickly with local groups in more cities organising every week.

Guided by science

As stated on our website, the March for Science celebrates the public discovery, distribution and understanding of scientific knowledge as crucial to the freedom, success, health and safety of life on this planet.

We are a nonpartisan group, marching to demand action in areas of literacy, communication, policy and investment.

Universal Literacy: A well-informed community is essential to a free and successful society. We support education to promote broad public knowledge and discussion of scientific work. As professionals, parents and community-engaged volunteers, we enthusiastically contribute our time and expertise to helping children and students of all ages engage with the physical universe and biological world.

Open Communication: Publicly-funded scientists have a responsibility to communicate their research and public outreach and accessibility of scientific knowledge should be encouraged. Communication of scientific findings and their implications must not be suppressed.

Informed Policy: Public policy should be guided by peer-reviewed evidence and scientific consensus. Public policy must enable scientists to communicate their publicly-funded research results, and must support literacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Stable Investment: A long-term, strategic approach to investment in scientific research and development is essential for driving true innovation. Government commitment to stable science funding policy will deliver solutions to complex challenges, promoting prosperity for all.

These are the core principles for which we march. A range of recent events have fuelled a sense of timeliness in the need to better promote the value of these principles in Australia.

In 2015, Commonwealth government funding for research and development dropped to the lowest it had ever been at just 0.4% of GDP. This placed Australia near the bottom of a list of 18 OECD countries, behind Portugal, Russia and Greece, but ahead of just Slovakia and Spain.

The abolition of key science-focused national bodies, including the Climate Commission in 2013 and the National Water Commission in 2014 were widely taken as a sign that the Australian government was no longer so interested to receive expert science-based advice on these issues.

Cuts to key climate science research programs at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) soon followed.

In efforts to publicly justify these cuts, CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall characterised internationally respected Australian scientists, who opposed them, as the climate lobby, stating in fact it almost sounds more like religion than science to me  a statement for which he subsequently apologised.

Such belittling and ridicule of Australian science and scientists does our society no favours. Research from the Australian National University in 2014 showed that when asked unprompted, Australians identified friends and family (12%) and CSIRO (also 12%) as the most commonly mentioned trusted sources of accurate information about science. A considerable number of the respondents (30%) either did not know who to trust (21%) or did not trust anyone (9%).









Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA





Failure to effectively promote trust in science and our scientific institutions may explain many of the gaps that exist between available scientific evidence and public attitudes.

One example is the gap between scientific findings on the safe use of genetically modified crops for food and public acceptance of these findings. A recent Australian study revealed that attitudes toward genetically modified organisms for food were significantly associated with trust in scientists and regulatory agencies.

Similar discrepancies between scientific evidence and public acceptance exist in Australia for the safety of drinking water fluoridation, the safety of community vaccination programs and the safety and other impacts of wind turbines.

There also appears to be an unwillingness to adopt science and evidence in the development of some areas of public policy in Australia. The most glaring and high profile example is the urgency with which societies must reduce fossil fuel combustion, thus reducing atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide to limit global climate change.

Statements such as those by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott that the climate change argument is absolute crap and the promotion of fossil fuels as good for humanity reveal the lack of appreciation that some of our most high profile political leaders hold for this urgency.

This attitude may be contributing to the Australian governments pursuit of new coal mines and coal-fired power stations, and lack of enthusiasm for the development of cleaner energy sources.

Global cause

A greater appreciation for the benefits and opportunities of science could come from improved scientific literacy among Australian primary and high school students.

Unfortunately, the evidence is for a continuing long-term decline in science and mathematics enrolments in Australian high schools. Challenges for science in Australian primary schools are considerable, with only around 50% of primary school teachers having received training in teaching methods for science.

There is compelling evidence for the need to improve the standing of science in Australian society. However, the March for Science is a global movement and it has clearly been triggered by recent activities in the US.

Whether were taking a stand for science in Australia or science in the US, these are essentially the same thing. Science is a global pursuit of knowledge with high degrees of collaboration between countries. Research findings from different research teams build upon one another to continuously grow the global knowledge base.

When Australian climate science was observed to be suffering during CSIRO funding cuts, US scientists were quick to defend the work undertaken by their Australian colleagues. A leading scientist from NASA appealed to CSIRO to abandon any plans to cut a key monitoring program, arguing that it would undermine Australia and the worlds ability to monitor and predict climate change.

We live in a world where our major challenges are of a global nature, and science that offers our best opportunity to meet those challenges is equally global in its importance.

It is for all of these reasons that I have chosen to volunteer my time to help organise opportunities for Australians to March in support of Science. I hope you will join me and many others as we do so on April 22.

Stuart Khan receives funding from numerous Australian government and industry agencies including the Australian Research Council (ARC) and Water Research Australia (WRA). He has previously received funding from the National Water Commission. He is affiliated with March for Science Australia as a volunteer organiser of events in Sydney and other Australian cities. He is an employee of the University of New South Wales.

Originally published in The Conversation.
Australia is well known for its great lifestyle with expat families often praising the work-life balance that they find when they move to the country.Now the Government is set to make it easier for families where both parents work with new legislation to make the Australian child care system more affordable, flexible and accessible.A new Bill creates what is called the Jobs for Families package, described as the most significant reform to the early education and care system in 40 years.The aim is to give around one million Australian families relief from out of pocket child care cost pressures and provide more children with the opportunity to benefit from early education.'The package of measures creates a better environment for Australian parents who want to work or work more. Support will target those who work the most and earn the least,' said Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education and Training.Under the reforms a working family earning $60,000 a year will pay around $15 per day for child care. And the current cap on the $7,500 Child Care Rebate will be removed, which officials say means there will be more incentive for parents who want to enter the workforce or work more.'The Jobs for Families child care package is designed to put downward pressure on increases through our hourly rate cap, increases workforce involvement for 230,000 families and ensures the most vulnerable children get the best start in life,' said Christian Porter, Minister for Social Services.The package of reforms will also increase fortnightly payments to people who receive Family Tax Benefit Part A by up to an additional $20 per fortnight per child up to 19 years of age, expected to help 1.2 million families and helping parents in managing the day to day living expenses of their 2.2 million children.At the same time Government provided parental leave pay will be increased from 18 weeks to 20 weeks, providing an extra two weeks leave for almost 100,000 low income families.'This is great news for the more than 50 per cent of eligible low-income mothers whose employers do not provide their own paid parental leave,' Porter added.To ensure fairness in the system, mothers receiving paid parental leave from their employers will have access to Government-funded PPL up to a combined total of 20 weeks which Porter said is important to ensure that taxpayer funded paid parental leave is sustainable into the future for mothers whose employers do not offer sufficient paid parental leave.
Foreigners who have breached the rules in Australia over ownership of property are being forced to sell the homes concerned.Another 15 sales, adding to the overall tally which is now at 61 with a combined value of $107 million, have been announced by Treasurer Scott Morrison under the rules of the foreign investment framework.The 15 latest properties are located in Victoria and Queensland, with a combined purchase price of more than $14 million. The foreign owners come from a range of countries including China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Germany.'The Government is committed to enforcing our rules so that foreign nationals illegally holding Australian property are identified and their illegal holdings relinquished,' said Morrison.A further 36 foreign nationals have sold properties during the course of Australian Taxation Office (ATO) investigations, showing improved compliance with the rules and a strengthening of the enforcement programme.The foreign nationals in the latest group of forced sales bought the properties without the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and in some cases held multiple established properties in breach of the rules.The ATO identified these breaches through data matching programmes as well as using information provided by the public and has so far detected more than 570 foreign nationals who have breached the rules.This has resulted in forced sales, self-disposals, variations to previously approved FIRB applications and retrospective approvals with strict conditions. Morrison stressed that breaches of these conditions will result in civil penalties or criminal prosecution.Under the Government's enhanced penalty regime the ATO has issued 388 penalty notices to foreign nationals in breach of the rules, attracting penalties of more than $2 million. Penalty notices have been issued to people who have failed to obtain FIRB approval before buying property as well as for breaching a condition of previously approved applications.Another aspect of the foreign investment reforms announced by the Government was the introduction of fees for applications to the FIRB to ensure Australian taxpayers no longer foot the bill for screening foreign investment applications. Since introducing the new fees on 01 December 2015 more than $140 million has been collected to assist with this important program of work.Meanwhile, officials in Australia have been discussing the possibility of creating a US style Homeland Security Department that would see the current immigration department have a much increased role.At the same time as Donald Trump is reported to want to introduce an Australian-style points system for visa applicants, officials at the highest level in Australia want to emulate the US. Secretary of the Department for Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) Michael Pezzullo and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton are both reported to be keen on the change.The enlarged department would be built on the existing Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which already includes the Australian Border Force.
What type of visa?



If you use that website as a reference you may have to show that you're the only one who can do that.
Hi all,



I know there is always a chance of a tourist/visitor visa not being approved while waiting for a PMV decision, but I was wondering if it necessary to have sufficient funds in your bank?



Would it increase the chances of getting it approved if we did, and how much would be enough for a possible 6 month visa?



Thanks
Next-gen CR-V likely to come with a 1.6-litre diesel engine along with the 2.4-litre petrol.

Honda is expected to bring the fifth-generation CR-V to India later this year. The big news, however, is that Honda may finally give it a diesel engine.

Honda has steadfastly refused to give the CR-V a diesel engine due to concerns about fuel quality. However, better fuel is already being made available in India thanks to the BS-VI emission norms that will come into effect in 2020. This probably has given the manufacturer the confidence to consider fitting the crossover with a diesel engine.

The CR-V diesel in question is the recently unveiled model that comes with a 1.6-litre i-DTEC unit good for 158hp at 4,000rpm and 350Nm of torque at 2,000rpm. This motor will be mated to an all-new ZF nine-speed automatic gearbox. Honda will also offer a 2.4-litre petrol motor.

Honda also showcased an ASEAN-spec CR-V recently. The crossover for these markets will get a seven-seat layout as opposed to the five-seat configuration seen on its North American counterpart. The ASEAN-spec CR-V is likely to debut in Thailand soon.

In a Honda first, the new CR-V gets an automatic shutter grille that reduces aerodynamic drag. On the inside, it is equipped with a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The cabin is also finished in high-quality, soft-touch materials.

The introduction of a diesel engine will add to the CR-V's appeal and will help it compete better with the likes of the Hyundai Tucson, the upcoming Jeep Compass, as well as the Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour.



New Honda CR-V image gallery
Company heads believe diesel may have a crucial role in the near term, but beyond 2020, electric cars will prove to be cheaper.

Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi alliance chairman Carlos Ghosn and Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson have expressed doubt over the long-term future of diesel engines.

"Europe had legislation that allowed NOx levels of diesel engines to be high, but it is safe to say those days are over," Samuelsson said at the Geneva motor show. "We have to make a diesel engine with the same NOx as a petrol engine, and while that can be done, it will be more expensive, which is why in the long term it's a negative thing."

The use of diesel in Europe is projected to go down and it is going down. The only question is how fast and in which segment because the speed of decline is different for each segment. The decline in the D- (large), C- (medium) and SUV segment is not the same as B- (small) segment where you are going to see a lot of carmakers get out of diesel in the lower segment, Ghosn said addressing reporters at the motor show.

The carmaker is assessing the situation on a monthly basis, analysing data from the market, examining customer orders and looking at the restrictions on emissions. We are trying to evaluate how much additional costs are going to come to diesel because they are going to add to its decline, Ghosn added.

The situation is similar in India, where the governments decision to advance implementation of BS-VI emission standards by three years to 2020 is likely to weigh on the demand for diesel vehicles due to the higher costs involved. In fact, the popularity of diesel vehicles has already worn out as it has been under attack ever since the Supreme Courts ban. The share of diesel among the total sales of passenger vehicles in January 2017 declined to 39 percent from 43 percent, while that of petrol increased to 61 percent from 57 percent.

Internationally, diesel will have a crucial role in the short term to cope with the CO2 requirements, Samuelsson conceded. Until 2020, diesel will continue to have a very important part to play. After that twin-engine (hybrid) and all-electric cars will become more favourable cost-wise, and when the requirement comes down below 95g/km, I am quite sure the diesel engine cannot help us."

Instead, he sees the future as increasingly electrified. "We will introduce our first all-electric car in 2019," he said, "and by 2025 I can see us offering a pure electric model in all of our ranges."

However, Samuelsson has no plans to create a bespoke electric vehicle architecture, as the two platforms upon which all Volvos will be based by the end of this year were always engineered with electric applications in mind. Samuelsson refused to be drawn on which model would be first to be electrified or what its likely performance and range might be.

With inputs from Andrew Frankel

Also read

Tata Nano inspired the Kwid, says Carlos Ghosn

SCOOP! Mitsubishi to massively step up the pace in India

Interview with Carlos Ghosn, Chairman, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi
With the acquisition by Renault-Nissan, Mitsubishis India plans get a boost with access to resources and the low-cost CMF-A platform.

After 20 years of a sideline performance, Mitsubishi seems all set to play in the big league thanks to its recent acquisition by Renault-Nissan. Mitsubishis presence in India had so far been limited to only a product-by-product technical collaboration with Hindustan Motors (HM), where HM either imported or built and sold specific models like the Pajero, Outlander and the Lancer which did find a good market. The model-specific technical collaboration meant that updates and new-generation models were not automatically on the radar, and the partnership never benefited from the strategy like a full local presence would have.

However, with this acquisition of Mitsubishi, this is set to change. When asked if Mitsubishi would now re-evaluate its India operations, alliance boss Carlos Ghosn said, Without any doubt, India is a very big future market for any carmaker and for Mitsubishi in particular.

But dont expect these changes soon as Mitsubishi has a lot on its plate globally and the management will have to prioritise tasks. Also for India, new products would need to be engineered on the alliance platform to justify costs.

Interestingly, Ghosn also confirmed that the CMF-A platform that underpins Renaults most successful car in India, the Kwid will also be available to Mitsubishi. Today you are having a Renault product (on the CMF-A platform), tomorrow you are going to have a Nissan product, but this platform will be open to Mitsubishi, he said.

What will also be interesting to see is which Mitsubishi products will make it to India, apart from the alliance models. The Lancer, which found success in India and built a strong brand value and fan base, could be a compelling choice as would some of the SUVs given the rising popularity of these vehicles in India.

Also read

Tata Nano inspired the Kwid, says Carlos Ghosn

Renault, Volvo say future of diesel uncertain

Interview with Carlos Ghosn, Chairman, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi
The 55th Infantry Battalion (IB-55) confiscated our lands in 2000. Hotels are being built on these lands for business purpose now. We are protesting because we want our lands back, said Ko Soe Moe from Zee Phyu Kone Ward in Ngapali.

According to him, the Burmese government and the Burma Army have confiscated over 100 acres of lands from over 60 farmers in Ngapali Beach to carry out governmnet projects but hotels have been built on these lands now.

According to the protestors, Major Tint Sann (retired) confiscated 48 acres of land in Daung Thauk Taung, UG Company confiscated 58 acres of land in Sin Kyat, Daw Marlar Tint, wife of Major General Khin Maung Than (retired), confiscated 8.89 acres of land in Nat Mauk Taung, U Phyo Hla Wai confiscated 7.50 acres of land in War Taung Kwin Village, IB-55 of the Burma Army confiscated the lands near the Ngapali Beach, where Hotel Hilton, In the Rose, Max Myanmar, and Amazing Hotel have been built now.

We have submitted appeals to the President and the [Arakan] State Chief Minister more than ten times now. They still have not solved the issues so we have to hold the protest, Ko Soe Moe added.

The protestors marched from Ngapali to Doe Taung, which is at the entrance of Thandwe, at 1PM and continued to march to Thandwe.
Photo courtesy of GPS Insight

GPS Insight took home three awards for customer service at the 11th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service on Feb. 24. GPS Insight won the Peoples Choice Stevie Award for Favorite Customer Service, Bronze for Customer Service Department of the Year, and Bronze for Font-Line Customer Service Team of the Year.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service honors customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals. The Stevie Awards organizes several leading business awards programs, including the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards.

More than 2,300 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this years competition, an increase of 10% over 2016. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 77 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges.

Jake Stover, operations manager at GPS Insight, stated, I am very thankful and proud of the impeccable customer service that each of our employees provide on our Technical Support and Account Management teams. Their hard work and dedication won GPS Insight these awards.

The GPS Insight Customer Service Department, which consists of Technical Support and Account Management, continued to make significant improvements in response times and customer satisfaction, while developing new processes and bolstering the departments staff to ensure that both existing and new customers alike share the same customer experience, a devotion to professionalism, commitment, and proficiency.

The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service continues to be among the most competitive and fastest-growing of our awards programs, said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of the Stevie Awards. The growth of the program illustrates the importance of the functions highlighted  sales, business development, and customer service  to successful enterprises of all types, and how integral recognition in these domains are to building and maintaining corporate reputations.
The lawsuit is involving toll fees that were charged to Hertz customers when crossing San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Photo via Wikimedia/Rich Niewiroski Jr., www.projectrich.com/gallery



City Attorney Dennis Herrera has sued the Hertz Corp. and its business partner American Traffic Solutions Inc. for misleading customers and engaging in unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices, according to a report by the City Attorney of San Francisco website.

The lawsuit alleges that the car rental company was charging steep toll fees to rental car customers who crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. According to the lawsuit that Herrera filed on March 1 in San Francisco Superior Court (People of the State of California v. The Hertz Corporation), Hertz fraudulently induced its customers to purchase an optional tool service called PlatePass for crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

On other California toll bridges, PlatePass is a service that permits Hertz customers to bypass cash toll lanes and use the electronic FasTrak lanes without having to create a FasTrak account.

But on the Golden Gate Bridge, which went cashless four years ago, Hertz customers allegedly neither choose the service nor receive sufficient notice to avoid it, according to the report.

By driving over the Golden Gate Bridge one time, Hertz customers were charged not only the undiscounted toll rate of $7.50 but also up to $24.75 in extra fees, says the report. That means that many customers paid a $32.35 bill to cross the bridge once, which is more than four times the toll rate.

Additionally, Hertz allegedly doesnt charge and disclose these fees on the receipt it provides to customers at checkout. According to the report, Hertz supposedly provides its customers personal credit card information to a third party who slips in the charge later.

The lawsuit alleges that the Hertz Corp. and American Traffic Solutions Inc. engage in false advertising and unlawful business practices in violation of several state and federal consumer protection laws.

Herreras lawsuit seeks a court order halting these deceptive practices, restitution (with interest) to victims, and civil penalties of up to $2,500 against each defendant for each unlawful act.
Schalberg's first new operator class of 2017 graduates included (l to r) Saul Garcia, Oliver Nevarez, Larry Fishman, John Speranza, and Ryan McFadden. Photo courtesy of Jim Schalberg

Starting this year, Jim Schalberg Auto Rental Solutions' new operator classes include the CIRAS certification as a rental car professional. Attendees spend two full days in class to earn the certification.

In January, the five graduates who also earned their CIRAS certifications included Saul Garcia, Oliver Nevarez, Larry Fishman, John Speranza, and Ryan McFadden.

Garcia and Nevarez are partners in a used car operation in Calexico, Calif. They are adding rentals to their operation and are looking to buy newer cars, run them for a year, and then move them to their front line.

Fishman and Speranza are looking to not write checks to another company for their customers in the body shop. Adding rentals will help him capture that revenue in the shop as well as give them the flexibility to have customers leave their cars at the shop.

McFadden owns multiple storage unit properties and has already bought several 10-foot and 14-foot trucks. In the class, we showed him the value of after-sale products in rentals from boxes to tape to a grocery list of items the renting public needs.

Once a month, the new operator class is offered at Schalberg headquarters in South Carolina.
Nexus and Pixel devices running on Android 7.1.1 can now download the recent March security patch for Android devices. Other Android-powered devices can also get the latest patch. It fixes 60 major issues but lacks in any significant new features.

According to Google, two are security patch level strings. The security patch dated 2017-03-01 fixes 21 issues, while there are 39 in the 2017-03-05 build.

These provide "Android partners with the flexibility to more quickly fix a subset of vulnerabilities that are similar across all Android devices," reports 9To5Google. Google devices will receive the 2017-03-05 patch, whereas devices from other manufacturers will also feature OEM-specific fixes.

Alongside the March security patch, Google has also published factory images and full OTA images for supported Nexus and Pixel devices. Google Pixel C running on Android 7.1.1 can download the N4F26T build (Factory Image; OTA), while Google Pixel devices can get the NOF27B and NOF27C (Rogers) builds (Factory Image (2); OTA (2)).

For Pixel XL devices, they can download NOF27B and NOF27C (Rogers) (Factory Image (2); OTA (2)). Nexus 5X and 6P can get the N4F26T build, with 6P also getting NUF26N (Verizon). And Nexus 6 can get NBD92D (ATT, 7.0.0), NBD92E (7.0.0), and N6F26U (7.1.1).

In other Android news, VentureBeat got hold of information regarding the next dessert-themed Android OS. According to the report, Google is expected to reveal Android O during the tech giant's I/O developer conference this May. At the heels of the reveal, they will release the new Android update in the fall following multiple developer previews.

There are 3 features that could help Google catch up with Apple, who has been busy rolling out upgrades of its iOS apps mated with AI. First of the features is called Copy Less and is reported to allow your Android device to detect automatically relevant information you would want to copy from a source when you're sending a text or an email.

Second is the taken from Apple's book, which is the ability to tap on an address in a message and have Google Maps automatically open and point you to that location. Third could be the finger gestures.

While these features haven't been confirmed by Google as of this writing, it is safe to say that we should wait until Android O's official unveiling before we take anything into consideration. In the meantime, go ahead and download the security patches for your Android devices. We'll keep you updated for more information on the latest news on Android 8.0.
Maungdaw District Administration U Ye Htut told Narinjara News that students and parents will not need to worry about their security during the exam period in Maungdaw District.

We have arranged security for all schools that has been selected as exam centres. Security will be used in delivering the question papers to each exam centre and bringing the answer papers to submit to respective education officers. We have already made arrangements with the local police and border guard police. The number of police officers will be increased in needed areas. Security has been arranged for everything including the location and path, said the district administrator.

There are 11 exam centres in Maungdaw District  six exam centres in Buthidaung Township and five exam centres in Maungdaw Township. A total of 2,052 students will sit for the exam in Maungdaw Township while a total of 1,889 students (1,269 male, 620 female) will sit for the exam in Buthidaung Township.

Maungdaw District Education Officer U Ohn Myint also told Narinjara News that the local police have taken security measures for all 11 exam centres.

Our district administrator has assigned the border guard police to each township. Supervising teams have been formed for each township department, said the district education officer.

Buthidaung Township Education Officer U Nyunt Pe told Narinjara News that the township general administrator has arranged tight security in Buthidaung and a meeting on security was held at 10 am on 6 March.

Nan Tar Taung Sayadaw from Nan Tar Taung Monastic School in Maungdaw Township told Narinjara News that the police and government officials from Taung Pyo Lat Wel Township are taking security measures for 130 students from the monastic school, who will be sitting for the matriculation exam.
No one was injured when a U.S. Air Force A-29 Super Tucano crashed in suburban Georgia earlier this week. Air Force Public Affairs officials said both pilots safely ejected and were released from Clinch Memorial Hospital after evaluation. The single-engine turboprop attack aircraft was operated by the 81st Fighter Squadron at Moody Air Force Base to support training operations for the Afghan Air Force. The U.S. Air Force, which does not fly the A-29 in combat, uses the plane to provides close air support training to Afghan pilots who fly the A-29 for counter-insurgency operations. The Air Force has reported that the aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed, but details on the reason for the crash will likely not be released for several months after an investigation has been completed. Before taking on its current training mission, the 81st Fighter Squadron flew the A-10 Thunderbolt.

The Air Force is reportedly considering the acquisition of a light-attack aircraft fleet to provide close air support in uncontested environments at lower cost than the services jet-powered fleet. The A-29 Super Tucano, designed by Embraer in Brazil but manufactured by Sierra Nevada in the United States, would be one of the leading candidates for the role along with Beechcrafts AT-6 and the IOMAX Archangel.

Photo credit: Valdosta Today
Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov, who last year flew around the world solo in a gas balloon, setting a new speed record, now is working on a plan to build the biggest-ever hot-air balloon and fly it to a record-setting altitude of 82,000 feet. The balloon envelope, to be built by Cameron Balloons in the United Kingdom, will have a capacity of about 3.5 million cubic feet and stand more than 220 feet high. The current altitude record for hot-air balloons is 68,986 feet, also set by a Cameron balloon, flown by Indian businessman Vijaypat Singhania in 2005. Konyukhov has said he hopes to fly even higher, to 100,000 feet or more, to glimpse the blackness of space. No date has been set for the attempt, but Konyukhov has said he hopes to fly later this year.

The launch will take place from the new Vostochny spaceport, known as the Cosmodrome, which is under construction in eastern Russia. Balloons have flown to the edge of space before, but they are gas balloons, using a lighter-than-air gas such as helium in a sealed envelope. Hot-air balloons require an open envelope with an outside source of heat to provide lift. Konyukhov also set a new record for duration of flight in a hot-air balloon last month, with fellow pilot Ivan Menyayalo, spending more than 55 hours aloft. They beat a record of 50 hours and 38 minutes that had stood since 1997.
Senator Charles Schumer, of New York, called on the NTSB this week to investigate general aviation safety and determine whether additional steps are necessary to help ensure safe skies. Schumer cited crashes last week in New Jersey and Long Island, and said at least 18 other small planes crashed in New York over the last year, including 10 on Long Island alone. Its high time for the NTSB to see why these plane crashes are happening at such an alarming rate, said Schumer. Safety is our number one priority and an NTSB investigation could reveal new clues that make our skies safer. In addition to its case-by-case investigations, the NTSB should launch a more comprehensive investigation that might connect the dots on a larger trend.

The NTSB does analyze general aviation issues as part of its most-wanted-list for safety improvements, which has for several years focused on accidents caused by loss of control. Nearly half of all general aviation accidents are caused by loss of control in flight, the NTSB said last year. To prevent unintended departures from flight and better manage stalls, pilots need more training and a better awareness of the technologies that can help prevent these tragedies. In his letter to NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart, Schumer wrote, I strongly urge you not just to conduct yet another investigation following the recent crash in Southampton, N.Y., but to also undertake a comprehensive and system-wide review to understand why these accidents are happening and what can be done in order to decrease the occurrences. The number of airplane crashes across the system must be reduced.

NTSB spokesperson Terry Williams told AVweb on Wednesday that the NTSB will have an update on Senator Schumers letter in the near future.
When I was preparing this weeks Question of the Week, I was up to the third question when I realized that blood cheering for errant drone pilots to be jailed is not a good thing. In fact, its a distinctly bad thing, absent any malicious intent or egregious negligence.

To review, this concerns the story we ran last week describing the fate of drone operator Paul Skinner, who was sentenced to 30 days in jail after he lost control of his DJI quad while filming a parade in Seattle, possibly due to an electronics failure. I wasnt able to get the court record but I did exchange email with Skinners attorney, Jeffrey Kradel. As we reported, Skinners drone struck a building and plummeted to the ground, injuring two people. One woman sustained a concussion.

According to a court sentencing memorandum, Skinner fessed up to the accident and attempted to make contact and restitution with the victims. During the trial, the judge recognized that the incident was an accident and that there was no criminal intent. He assigned the jail time simply because the prosecutor asked for it. (Full disclosure: Skinner had done time following a heroin addiction, but had evidently righted himself and was leading a productive life.)

From a distance, I cant tell if Skinner acted negligently and Kradel declined to comment on the details. He did say that he had worked out a diversion agreement that wouldnt have required a trialor a convictionbut the city attorney refused to accept it against the recommendation of the citys criminal division supervisor.

Instead, the city brought in an expert witness to explain that flying drones anywhere in a cityscape is irresponsible because of GPS interference potential. That in itself is a dubious claim, given that this technology has been and is widely deployed everywhere, including in cities.

Is this outcome in the public interest? Let me put the shoe on the other foot for a moment. If pilots crash their airplanes, should they routinely be exposed to criminal charges? For the record, there is no consistent pattern of that in the U.S., even in cases of demonstrated negligence in which innocent bystanders are killed. Would we, as pilots, want to make it that way? I think I know the answer. So why should it be any different for drone operators, who are merely airmen of another stripe?

I think I know the answer to that, too. Its mostly due to fear and resentment. Fear that remote-piloted technology endangers aircraft and bystanders and resentment that drone operators dont have to slog through the same hoops, regulations and expense that us real pilots do. I get that, but the reality is that automated/remote piloted flight is here and more of it is coming. A lot more. It has and will displace manned flight.

As with any new technology, the collateral elements havent kept up. Regulations are behind, enforcement is flummoxed and the market is in turmoil on how to use these machines efficiently, safely or at all. Just as when aviation inserted itself into the industrial world more than a century ago, there will be missteps, accidents and even deaths as this new technology finds it feet. Reacting to it by criminalizing accidentsagain, absent ill intent or gross negligencestrikes me as profoundly shortsighted. At some point in the distant future, we will reach balance and understanding of how this new machinery fits into modern life and we can only hope the fear recedes. In the meantime, buckle up. Its gonna be a rough ride.

And as with aviation, there truly are risks and like it or not, people on the ground not even involved with the activity are exposed. Thats life in a modern industrial society and why the FAA cant protect against a Skyhawk crashing through Grandmas picture window. Its the price of progress. If theres such a thing as a fundamental right not to be struck by flying objects, good luck getting any entity to guarantee it.

Whats to be done? Generally, when it comes to enforcing anything to do with things that fly, local jurisdictions defer to the FAA, who is supposed to know about such things. Local jurisdictions often do not and have a dogs breakfast of statutes they might apply, probably at the whim of political winds.The FAA has a menu of civil penalties from which to choose and hefty fines well publicized ought to provide a more just deterrent than time in the slammer. And the U.S. tort system isnt exactly lacking in opportunities for an aggrieved plaintiff. That said, I can imagine circumstances in which errant drone operation could rise to the level of a criminal complaint. I just think this isnt one of them.
Prime Minister Karen Karapetian reaffirmed his pledges to implement serious reforms and attract large-scale investments in Armenias economy as he campaigned for the ruling Republican Party (HHK) in the Armavir province on Wednesday.

Karapetian toured small towns and villages in the largely agricultural area west of Yerevan, urging local residents to vote for the HHK in the April 2 parliamentary elections. It was the former business executives first-ever election campaign trip.

We all dont like the existing situation, he told voters in the town of Echmiadzin. We have to change many, many things.

Armenia has fantastic potential for development and it will take terribly hard work to realize it, he said. Some time later, we will have a country which we will be proud of, declared the premier.

In that context, Karapetian reiterated that his government has approved and identified sources of funding for around 350 nationwide investment projects worth a combined $3.2 billion. He said at least $850 million of that money should be invested this year. Armavir alone will likely absorb $85 million in investments and get 3,500 new jobs as a result, he added.

The government has yet to specify the sources of those investments in businesses and public infrastructure. It has said only that the projects have been proposed by private firms, various government ministries and local communities. With Armenias entire state budget for 2017 equivalent to less than $3 billion, the bulk of the promised investments would presumably come from private and foreign sources.

Karapetian has repeatedly pledged to improve the countrys business environment ever since he was appointed as prime minister in September last year.

Some Armavir residents complained to Karapetian about lingering hardship. One elderly man said he has trouble living off a monthly state pension of 68,000 drams ($140). Karapetian told him that while he cannot promise to raise pensions this year he believes that the socioeconomic situation will improve in the near future.

Karapetian also struck an optimistic note we met with voters in a cold conference hall in another provincial town, Metsamor. He joked about the lack of winter heating in a community which is home to a Soviet-built nuclear power plant generating more than one-third of Armenias electricity.

Just smile, everything will be alright, he told RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) after the meeting when asked whether Metsamor voters will back the HHK in the polls.

Karapetian was appointed the HHKs first deputy chairman earlier this year. HHK representatives have said that he will play a more active role than President Serzh Sarkisian in the ruling partys election campaign.
8 March 2017 10:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The forthcoming 5th Global Baku Forum just like in the previous years will be a great success, Levente Kozma, the former Hungarian senior foreign policy advisor, told Trend on March 7.

The 5th Global Baku Forum titled Future of foreign relations: Power and interests will be held Mar. 16-17, 2017. The forum is organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center with the support of the Azerbaijani State Committee on Work with Diaspora.

Political leaders, scholars and leading experts in global politics will be brought together by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center to assess the current state of affairs in the world and the most pressing threats to peace and international security, Kozma said.

I am very much looking forward to this game-changing event in Baku and to participate in the debate of the current trends in international relations and different kinds of security issues, he added.

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8 March 2017 10:25 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Mehriban Aliyeva carries out multifaceted activity and one of the areas of this activity is her work as an MP, said Ogtay Asadov, speaker of Azerbaijans parliament.

Mrs. Aliyeva has always attached importance to development of the parliament culture, participated in the development of legislative framework and put forward a number of legislative initiatives, Asadov told the Parliaments plenary session March 7.

Asadov reminded that Mehriban Aliyeva was the initiator of four amnesty acts, through which tens of thousands of people were freed.

Mehriban Aliyeva makes a significant contribution to the development of the parliaments international relations, worthily represents the Azerbaijani people on international arena and brings the truth about the Azerbaijani people to the world community, he said.

He noted that Mehriban Aliyeva is also well-known for her social and charitable activities.

Asadov said appointment of Mehriban Aliyeva as the first vice-president will bring a new wind to Azerbaijans socio-political life.

On behalf of the Parliament, I congratulate Mehriban Aliyeva and wish her success.

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8 March 2017 12:39 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva conducts a fair, consistent and principled fight for the restoration of Azerbaijans territorial integrity, said Azerbaijani MP Azay Guliyev.

He was addressing a plenary session of the Azerbaijani Parliament (Milli Majlis) on March 7.

Guliyev warmly congratulated Mehriban Aliyeva on her appointment as first vice-president and wished her success in such an important and responsible position.

He said it is no coincidence that Mehriban Aliyevas appointment was approved both by Azerbaijani citizens and the international community  she earned great respect in Azerbaijan as well as abroad by her socio-political and international activities.

Azay Guliyev also reminded that thanks to Mehriban Aliyeva, ancient art of mugham is now experiencing revival and is being protected by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the oral heritage of humanity.

He expressed deep gratitude to First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for what she has done for Azerbaijan and for her tireless work in the name of Azerbaijan and the Az

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8 March 2017 14:43 (UTC+04:00)

An open and frank discussion on the state of EU-Azerbaijan relations was held in the European Parliament on Tuesday, 7 March, Azertac reported.

The event was attended by Azerbaijan government officials, MPs and civil society members, and Members of the European Parliament, representatives of European institutions, think tank and civil society representatives and others.

The event entitled "EU-Azerbaijan relations: taking the relationship to a higher level" was hosted by Heidi Hautala MEP (Greens) and Andrejs Mamikins MEP (Socialists and Democrats) and organised by the European Policy Centre and LINKS (Dialogue, Analysis and Research).

Various Azerbaijani speakers spoke about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. MP Fuad Muradov said that various MEPs and European entities were violating Azerbaijani laws by visiting Nagorno-Karabakh or engaging in economic activity in the territory. He said that this was a painful matter for Azerbaijan and urged the European Parliament to deal with the issue.

The discussion was held in a friendly and amicable atmosphere and many speakers commended the fact that issues were now being discussed openly and in a manner of equal and mutual respect.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammadguliyev in his speech reiterated that Azerbaijan is ready for continued, enhanced, and inclusive co-operation with the EU based on mutual interest and joint ownership. He said that the conference was very timely, coming at a time when the two sides embarked on a negotiating a new strategic agreement between them. The Deputy Foreign Minister said that Azerbaijan was entering the negotiations with a belief that the new agreement will provide a strong basis for EU-Azerbaijan co-operation, which are already very strong.

The Deputy Foreign Minister said that the new agreement will have three main blocks: political and security; trade and investment; and sectorial areas, including economic and humanitarian. The Deputy Foreign Minister said the Government of Azerbaijan wanted to focus on the first block. He said that Azerbaijan had already made its ideas known to the EU, and was awaiting now the response of the EU. He called for a timely process of negotiations.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mammadguliyev spoke at length on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Azerbaijan's vision for resolving the conflict. The speaker said that the Azerbaijan government has concerns regarding illegal economic activity in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the participation of European entities in such activity. He said that the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry had made representation to the EU on these issues.

He said Azerbaijan was actively taking steps to make the situation better for civil society in the country, and Azerbaijan is aware of the EU's interest in these areas.

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Snuggie, a specialist warming item designed to allow docile and nearly immobile United States citizens to consume chips while bundled in a blanket and watching Oprah, sued the US government and won. Seems the feds wanted to designate the Snuggie as "apparel" because it reminds them of priest's robes, and shockingly tax it more than a mere "blanket."

Via WaPo:

That was enough to convince the Hawthorne, N.Y.-based Allstar Marketing Group, which makes the Snuggie, to take the U.S. government to the United States Court of International Trade for categorizing the Snuggie as apparel, similar to a "priestly garment." The judge sided with Snuggie last month, saying that the product was a blanket, not clothing, in part due to its lack of closures in the back. Allstar Marketing declined to comment on the case.

The Snuggie case and others like it show how companies may go to great lengths to avoid the barriers governments impose on imported products. President Trump has argued for even stiffer tariffs on products from countries that refuse to negotiate better terms of trade with the United States, like Mexico and China. He has also backed away from free trade deals that would slash tariffs among many countries, and expressed a desire for negotiating deals with countries one-on-one.
8 March 2017 11:38 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

An Iranian flotilla, named the "4th Fleet for Peace and Friendship", has embarked on a trip to Russia, IRNA news agency reported March 7.



The flotilla would be the third Iranian naval fleet to visit Russia, heading to Makhachkala, the capital city of the Republic of Dagestan.



Ahmad Reza Baqeri, a navy official, said that the fleets voyage will take a week and it will stay and Makhachkala for three days.



He added the voyage is taking place upon invitation by Russian navy officials. According to Baqeri, the flotilla includes Damavand destroyer and Derafsh missile boat.



Russia has so far dispatched naval fleets to Iran four times since 2007.

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8 March 2017 12:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Japan has allocated grants worth $551,100 to Uzbekistan for the implementation of eight social projects, the Japanese embassy said March 7.

The grants are allocated through the Japanese governmental program "Official Development Assistance" (ODA), the embassy said.

Uzbek Deputy Minister of Healthcare Elmira Basitkhanova, the countrys First Deputy Minister of Public Education Bakhtiyor Daniyarov and Japanese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Nobuaki Ito signed the grant contracts March 7.

Japan is one of the biggest investors in the Uzbek economy. In total, Japan allocated more than $4.1 billion to Uzbekistan. Thirteen representative offices of Japanese companies and 10 joint ventures successfully operate in Uzbekistan.

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8 March 2017 13:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz will pay a working visit to Turkey in April, Turkish media reported March 7.

According to the message, as part of his visit Steinitz will participate in the meeting of the Atlantic Councils eighth annual Istanbul Summit scheduled for April 6-7.

The bilateral meetings are expected to be held with Turkish officials during the Israeli ministers visit, the message said.

According to the message, the energy cooperation issues and the export of Israeli gas to Turkey will be discussed at the meetings.

Earlier, Steinitz said that Israel may join the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP) to export its gas to Europe.

According to the BP report, the proven gas reserves reached 0.2 trillion cubic meters in Israel as of late 2015 and gas consumption amounted to 8.4 billion cubic meters within the country in 2016.

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8 March 2017 13:14 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced on Tuesday that the US court ruling is contrary to international law and lacks power of enforcement in Luxemburg, IRNA reported.

Director General of the Legal Affairs Department in the CBI Ardeshir Fereydouni commented on the US efforts to confiscate $1.6 billion of Iran's assets in Luxemburg and said it is contrary to law and international treaties, lacking power of enforcement there.

Fereydouni made the remark in reaction to a report posted on New York Times that $1.6 billion of the CBI assets was to be confiscated in Luxemburg by a court.

He said following issuance of absentee ballot, the so-called anti-terrorist ruling, by courts of the country against the Islamic Republic of Iran, certain American plaintiffs have turned to recognize and enforce the rules in various countries.

So, they ask many courts in the world countries to recognize and enforce the rulings.

He added that one of the countries, the plaintiffs have asked to confiscate assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran CBI, is Luxemburg where the CBI assets used to be kept in the countrys financial institutions since long ago.

He added that confiscation does not mean withdrawal from the same properties and accounts, rather the Luxemburg court is now busy verifying the case and addressing the question whether the ruling issued by the US court can be recognized and enforced in Luxemburg also.

Absolutely, as long as the investigations are not complete and the court ruling has not been issued, Irans assets in Luxemburg cannot be accessed or withdrawn in favor of the plaintiffs.

The CBI attorneys in coordination with the International Legal Affairs Center of the Presidential Office had presented their defense in connection with the case.

The CBI announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly protested such an issue and similar cases and registered its complaint against the US officially in the International Court of Justice, asking the Court to announce illegality of the issued rulings and mandate the US to end such a trend.

He said the Islamic Republic of Iran has also asked make up for losses in connection with previous cases when the US issued unjust and unfair rulings against Irans assets.

He emphasized that the case is not at all something new and the report dates back months ago, released newly in New York Times with an aim to raise hue and cry against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Deputy Foreign Minister for Euro-American Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, on Tuesday morning commented on blockade of Irans $1.6 billion assets in Luxemburg and said the money belongs to the CBI, being in Europe at the time of sanctions and inaccessible due to sanctions.

Within the period prior to the JCPOA talks, those being active against Iran, tried inside and outside the US to generalize the approval beyond the US, where it was enforced but is in our opinion totally unfair and baseless.

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8 March 2017 15:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday one of the rights restored to the Iranian nation following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was the right to produce and export oil with no limit, IRNA reported.

Under the pre-JCPOA sanctions against Iran, we were obliged to sell our oil only to certain countries with a specific quota, but today we have the choice to sell our oil to any country that is to buy it, said the President while addressing a group of the Iranian lawyers during a ceremony to mark the 64th anniversary of establishment of Irans Bar Association.

We were forced to receive our oil money under specific conditions; some portion in certain currencies and some in the national currency of the purchasing country. Today we are no longer obliged to do so. The Iranian nation has regained its right to get its oil money in any way it wishes, said the President.

Noting that Iran has currently doubled its oil production and exports comparing the pre-JCPOA era, President Rouhani said that Irans share in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been taken by other countries when the Iranian nations right was taken away in the wake of oppressive sanctions against the country.

Today the right has been restored to the nation, President Rouhani said, adding that he is thankful to the countrys oil officials that defended the Iranians rights at OPEC in an appropriate way through their oil diplomacy.

Responding to those who complain about the outcomes of the landmark nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and the world six major powers (the US, Britain, Russia, France and China plus Germany), President Rouhani said, The outcomes of the JCPOA are that we are free today to produce and export oil, purchase whatever we need from any country, do our international business through banking system, export our petrochemical products as well as precious metals and have free transport and shipping.

These were the rights of the Iranian nation, said the President stressing that rights should be restored only by legal experts and lawyers.

A nation needs prominent and well-experienced lawyers, if it wants to feel security in its social rights, said the President.

He added that lawyers should have independence in their job as much as a judge does.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
In January, the Russian Duma passed a law decriminalizing wife-beating, and so to celebrate International Women's Day, the Russian Socialist Movement snuck fake ads into the St Petersburg subway system highlighting violence and discrimination against women in Russia.

"Instead of creating crisis centers and shelters, or introducing protection mechanisms like restraining orders, the state recently decriminalized domestic violence," the activists write online.

One of their "advertisements" displayed in the St. Petersburg subway featured a woman hiding behind a bouquet of roses. In the image, she has a black eye and the caption reads, "Flowers are done to death!" In Russian, the phrase plays on the word izbito, which means both "overdone" and, literally, "beaten up."

The socialists' posters also took aim at discrimination in the workplace, where Russian women earn roughly 30 percent less than men, and women remain legally barred from more than 450 professions  including, for example, subway engine driver. In this spirit, another poster showed a woman measuring her waist, along with the slogan "Loose some weight! Be tiny like your salary."
Masha Gessen has impeccable credentials as a Putin critic  you may remember her from her instant classic Autocracy: Rules for Survival, but you may not know that the Jewish lesbian mother of three fled Russia in 2013 to escape the country's Putin-fueled, ultra-violent anti-LGBT movement  and so when she tells us that the conspiracy theories about Trump and Putin are problematic, it's worth listening.

Gessen documents the thinness of the theories linking Russia and Trump: it's true that Trump's cabinet of robber-barons has lots of dealings with Russians, but that's because every billionaire is in bed with every autocrat  dictators from Belarus to Azerbaijan to Turkey to Syria and Saudi Arabia. But developing this into a conspiracy theory about Russia secretly running the Trump campaign is a mirror image of the Russian xenophobic practice of claiming that the US is secretly operating Russia's opposition. The parallels are strong: for example, the unsubstantiated claim that the Russian ambassador to the USA is a "spymaster" is the mirror-image of the Russian claim that Obama's ambassador in Moscow was actually a spy.

The major source of allegations of Russian involvement in the Trump administration is unnamed sources in the US spy agency, who, like their Russian counterparts, are sunk deep in xenophobia and paranoia. They may hate Trump, and you may hate Trump, but that doesn't mean you're on the same side as them, or that they have your best interests at heart.

Making the anti-Trump campaign about Russia is politically useful, because (for now), it's a game the Republicans will play along with. Republicans will forgive Trump's cabinet appointees for perjuring themselves and being incompetent, but not for lying about Russia.

As useful as that is, the real problem of the Russia theories is that they focus the criticism of Trump in xenophobic claims of the other, rather than on the real, undeniable evils of the Trump administration. The debate centers around whether Russia influenced the Muslim Ban, rather than the injustice of the Muslim Ban.

Eventually, the GOP will stop worrying about being punished by voters for being soft on Russia, and the tactic will die  and we'll still be fighting the Muslim Ban and all the other shitty policies of trumpism.



The unrelenting focus on Russia has yielded an unexpected positive result, however. Following Flynn's resignation, Trump designated Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, a thoughtful and highly respected military strategist, as his national security adviser. And Fiona Hill, probably the most knowledgeable American scholar of Putin's Russia, is expected to take charge of Russia policy at the National Security Council. Hill has been a consistent and perceptive critic of Putin, and a proponent of maintaining sanctions imposed by the United States following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Both of these appointmentsand the fact that sanctions remain in place six weeks into Trump's fast-moving presidencycontradict the "Putin's puppet" narrative (as does the fact that Russian domestic propaganda has already turned against Trump). But such is the nature of conspiracy thinking that facts can do nothing to change it. Imagine if the same kind of attention could be trained and sustained on other issueslike it has been on the Muslim travel ban. It would not get rid of Trump, but it might mitigate the damage he is causing. Trump is doing nothing less than destroying American democratic institutions and principles by turning the presidency into a profit-making machine for his family, by poisoning political culture with hateful, mendacious, and subliterate rhetoric, by undermining the public sphere with attacks on the press and protesters, and by beginning the real work of dismantling every part of the federal government that exists for any purpose other than waging war. Russiagate is helping himboth by distracting from real, documentable, and documented issues, and by promoting a xenophobic conspiracy theory in the cause of removing a xenophobic conspiracy theorist from office.



Russia: The Conspiracy Trap [Masha Gessen/New York Review of Books]
Dozens of medical marijuana supporters had their say Tuesday night in front of the Hillsborough County commission.

Public hearing on medical marijuana implementation

New medical marijuana dispensary opened in Tampa in Jan, ahead of moratorium

And the county's lawmakers apparently were listening.

Commissioners approved an ordinance to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in unincorporated Hillsborough County - with a few caveats.

Hillsborough County commissioners did set guidelines about where the facilities can be and how they will be run. The commission did vote down part of the ordinance that would have limited dispensaries to just 13 in the county.

Commissioners had previously put a moratorium in place so the county could develop zoning and development standards for medical marijuana dispensing facilities. The moratorium expires April 4.

Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health and the state Legislature continue to debate how to implement medical marijuana expansion. When the state does approve a plan, local dispensaries will have to abide by whatever new rules are in place.

Here's what commissioners approved:

Medical marijuana dispensaries in the county will have to be at least 750 feet from churches, schools, day cares, parks and residential areas.



Areas must be zoned commercial/manufacturing.

Background checks will be required for operators and security will need to be in place.

Also, no alcohol sales or marijuana consumption will be allowed on the dispensary property.

Currently, Hillsborough County is home to only two dispensaries - they were approved before the moratorium was put in place.

Officials have said the idea behind the moratoriums was to review the issues, not to abolish, the measure put in place by voters with Amendment 2. Florida voters approved the measure in November with 71 percent of the vote.

Hillsborough County likely will see more dispensaries pop up once the moratorium ends in April.
Today is International Womens Day, a global day to honor and celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political accomplishments of women. Observed since the early 1900s, it marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality. This years campaign theme, #BeBoldForChange, implores us to help build a more inclusive, gender-equal world. It also coincides with the Day Without a Woman general strike, organized to bring attention to the inequalities women still face, including lower wages, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity. Women in thirty-five countries are participating in the strike.

We at Beacon Press publish works by and about women who have envisioned a better world and rose up to make it a reality, books that highlight the contributions women have made throughout history and today. In solidarity with the strike and the movement, were offering the following list of titles from our catalog. This list is by no means exhaustive. Make sure to check out all our other titles in Feminism and Gender.

Beyond the Miracle Worker: The Remarkable Life of Anne Sullivan Macy and Her Extraordinary Friendship with Helen Keller

Kim E. Nielsen

This is the first ever biography to unearth the fascinating relationship between Anne Sullivan Macy and Helen Keller.

Caged Eyes: An Air Force Cadets Story of Rape and Resilience

Lynn K. Hall



Lynn K. Hall gives us an insiders account of misogyny and rape in the US military and her extraordinary path to recovery and activism.

Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods

Christine Byl

This is Christine Byls lively and lyrical account of her unlikely apprenticeship on a national-park trail crew and what she discovers about nature, gender, and the value of hard work.

Faith Ed: Teaching about Religion in an Age of Intolerance

Linda K. Wertheimer

Veteran education journalist Linda K. Wertheimer takes us on a cross-country trip to look at the debate over religion in the public school system.

Household Workers Unite: The Untold Story of African American Women Who Built a Movement

Premilla Nadasen

Telling the stories of African American domestic workers, scholar and activist Premilla Nadasen resurrects the little-known history of domestic worker activism in the 1960s and 1970s, offering new perspectives on race, labor, feminism, and organizing.

In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate

Nancy Gertner

Human Rights Hero Judge Nancy Gertner looks back on her illustrious career litigating groundbreaking cases when she was one of few women in a stubbornly male profession.

Kindred

Octavia E. Butler

Novelist and MacArthur Fellow Octavia E. Butler was the first African American woman to make a name for herself in the field of science fiction. Kindred, her time-travel classic about confronting the visceral realities of slavery, was the novel that put her on the map.

Like One of the Family: Conversations from a Domestics Life

Alice Childress

Featuring a foreword by bestselling author Roxane Gay, Alice Childresss classic novel is an incisive portrait of working-class African American women in 1950s Harlem

The Lonely Solder: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq

Helen Benedict

Helen Benedicts The Lonely Soldierthe inspiration for the documentary The Invisible Warvividly tells the stories of five women who fought in Iraq between 2003 and 2006, and of the challenges they faced while fighting a war painfully alone.

Morning Haiku

Sonia Sanchez

This volume by much-loved poet and leading writer of the Black Arts Movement Sonia Sanchez is a collection of haiku that commemorates the lives of revered African American figures in the worlds of music, literature, art, and activism.

The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys Club

Eileen Pollack

Eileen Pollack was one of Yales first two women to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. This book is a bracingly honest exploration of why there are still so few women in the hard sciences, mathematics, engineering, and computer science.

Powered By Girl: A Field Guide for Supporting Youth Activists

Lyn Mikel Brown

Drawing from a diverse collection of interviews with women and girl activists, professor of education Lyn Mikel Brown explores how girls have embraced activism and provides a guide for adults who want to support their organizing.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

Jeanne Theoharis

Professor of Political Science Jeanne Theoharis examines Rosa Parkss six decades of activism in this definitive political biography, challenging perceptions of her as an accidental actor in the civil rights movement.

Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race, and Finding Home

Anita Hill

From the heroic lawyer who spoke out against Clarence Thomas in the historic confirmation hearings, Anita Hill details how the current housing crisis imperils every Americans ability to achieve the American Dream.

Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to SlutWalk

Melinda Chateauvert

Activist and university professor Melinda Chateauvert traces the provocative history that reveals how sex workers have been at the vanguard of social justice movements for the past fifty years while building a movement of their own that challenges ideas about labor, sexuality, feminism, and freedom.

Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Gayle F. Wald

Professor Gayle F. Wald tells the untold story of the flamboyant musical prodigy Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Americas first rock guitar diva who paved the path for Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Eric Clapton, and Etta James.

Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty

Annelise Orleck

Professor of history and womens and gender studies Annelise Orleck tells the inspirational and little-known story of how welfare mothers in Las Vegas, Americas Sin City, built one of this countrys most successful anti-poverty programsfrom the ground up.
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As he entered the Harris County 185th Criminal Court accompanied by the rhythmic clanging of his handcuffs on Wednesday, a disheveled Shannon Miles, 32, stood competent for the first time since being accused of the 2015 killing of a Harris County sheriff's deputy.

Now declared competent by Judge Susan Brown after months of evaluation, Miles was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty to the murder of Darren Goforth.

Miles is accused of gunning down Goforth on Aug. 28, 2015 at a northwest Harris County gas station, while the deputy filled up his police cruiser. Miles allegedly ran up behind Goforth, put a gun to his head and fired. After Goforth fell, Miles allegedly the stood over him and emptied his pistol.

Goforth was in uniform when he died.

The arraignment and not guilty plea ends a more than yearlong process of evaluations and hearings to explore and help restore Miles' mental health, which prevented the trial from proceeding.

It wasnt until Miles began taking medication for diagnosed mental illnesses that he regained competency, said Miles attorney, Anthony Osso.

Now we can proceed with trial, he said.

Miles was arrested shortly after Goforth's murder in northwest Harris County but was initially found incompetent to stand trial.

He was then sent to a North Texas State Hospital in Vernon for treatment and has remained under constant review by the courts since.

Days after Goforth's death, then Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman tied the shooting to the ongoing national debate about police violence. He called out, and criticized, the Black Lives Matter movement, prompting backlash from student activists who said Hickman drew an unfair connection between Goforth's death and the movement.

Goforth's death also spurred a campaign launched by police officers, local leaders and clergy meant to improve understanding between law enforcement and the community; in the weeks after Goforth's death, campaign organizers handed out thousands of wristbands inscribed with the phrase Pray for Police.

Miles and his attorney entered a plea Wednesday of not guilty in front of the judge.
Total compensation for middle market CFOs is decreasing, on average, while compensation for those at larger companies is on the rise.

Here are 10 findings on CFO compensation.

1. Middle market healthcare CFO compensation fell to $1.7 million in 2015, down 5 percent from the year prior, according to a BDO survey.

2. The BDO survey examined CEO and CFO compensation trends in publicly traded companies with annual revenues from $100 million to $3 billion in the energy, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, retail and technology industries; and publicly traded companies with assets ranging from $100 million to $6 billion in the banking and financial services industries. Across all industries examined, total CFO compensation averaged about 38 percent of total CEO pay.

3. Seventy-seven percent of CFOs received a salary increase in 2015, according to a 2016 Compensation Advisory Partners report. CAP's analysis was based on a sample of 100 companies with median revenues of $13 billion. In 2014, 72 percent of CFOs received a salary increase.

4. The median salary increase for healthcare CFOs was 3.1 percent in 2015  the same as the year prior, according to CAP.

5. In 2015, the median increase in total direct compensation  cash plus equity  for CFOs at all companies examined for the CAP report was 1.4 percent. That's down from a median increase of 2.2 percent in 2014. "The lower increases in total compensation for 2014-2015 are partially a result of no increase in bonuses, at median, and only slightly higher single digit increase in long-term incentives," according to CAP.

6. The median total compensation increase for CFOs of healthcare companies examined for the CAP report was 8.8 percent in 2015, compared to a median increase of 7.1 percent the year prior.

7. Performance plans made up about 52 percent of CFOs' long-term incentive awards on average in 2015. That's down slightly from 56 percent the year prior, according to CAP.

8. Total cash compensation for medical group CFOs increased 3.6 percent from 2014 to 2016, according to a survey conducted by the American Medical Group Association.

9. Between 2015 and 2016, medical group CFO pay grew 11.8 percent, according to the AMGA survey. However, AMGA attributed this to a reporting change  the 2016 report only includes data on CFOs, leaving out information on vice president of finance positions that was previously included.

10. Average total cash compensation for medical group CFOs was $308,624 in 2016, according to the AMGA survey.

More articles on compensation issues:

Healthcare CEOs dominate WSJ's list of highest paid employees at nonprofits

No pay raises for top CHS executives in 2017

10 states with highest & lowest physician assistant salary
Texas state legislators floated the idea of using $1.4 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund to fill gaps for health and human services programs, The Texas Tribune reports.

State Rep. John Zerwas, MD, (R-Richmond), proposed tapping into the state's $10 billion Economic Stabilization Fund to pay for renovations at state mental health hospitals and living centers for disabled individuals. The proposal specifically allocates $50 million to expand bed capacity at the state's mental health hospitals and mental health community hospitals, according to the report.

The proposal would also partly retract a contested decision in 2015 to cut $350 million in funding to a disabled children's therapy program.



In addition to health services, Rep. Zerwas proposed using part of the $1.4 billion toward raises for Child Protective Services employees, according to the report.

"Using a small portion of the Economic Stabilization Fund, combined with spending reductions, is the responsible way for us to close out the current budget cycle and respond to the slowdown in our economy," said Rep. Zerwas in a statement to The Texas Tribune.



The proposals are part of a supplemental budget to address holes left in the state's 2015 budget.
Sayre (Okla.) Community Hospital hired Landon Hise to serve as CEO, effective March 27, 2017, according to a Cheyenne Star report.

Here are four takeaways:

1. Mr. Hise is currently CEO of Cordell Memorial Hospital in New Cordell, Okla.

2. Sayre Memorial Hospital was shuttered due to financial troubles in February 2016.

3. In January 2017, Sayre Memorial Hospital Authority finalized the sale of the hospital to Healthcare Properties Transaction Group of Oklahoma.

4. Under the deal, the hospital reopened.

More healthcare executive moves:

Heath Evans is South Georgia Medical Center's interim CEO: 4 points

PinnacleHealth names Philip Guarneschelli CEO: 5 notes

Methodist Hospital CEO Gary Colberg resigns 11 months into tenure
In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, Becker's Hospital Review asked women in the healthcare industry to share their insights on leadership.

Here are seven women who offered words of advice for healthcare leaders.

If you'd like to share additional leadership advice, please email Morgan Haefner at mhaefner@beckershealthcare.com or Mackenzie Bean at mbean@beckershealthcare.com.

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Nancy Howell Agee, RN, president and CEO of Carilion Clinic (Roanoke, Va.).

"It is important to not shy away from new opportunity  even when something extends past your comfort zone. It's in these situations when you grow the most professionally. If you're looking to explore leadership roles and earn a seat at the table, I'd encourage you to stand up and say, 'I can make a difference.'"

Stephanie Beauton, off shift clinical executive administrator at Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital and Northeast Medical Group operations manager for New Haven County.

"Each of us, no matter our gender, age or nationality, bring unique qualities to the table. It is important to get to know your unique identifiers as a person and use those strengths to your benefit. None of us are given directions or a book on how to be successful. We all create our own meaning for it. I live my life trying to make the best out of my own strengths and developing the strengths of those around me. If your presence adds value to others, that impact is a lifelong result."

Ceci Connolly, CEO of Alliance of Community Health Plans, a national organization of 20 health organizations (Washington, D.C.).

"My leadership motto is: 'Think big, start small, act fast.' Add to that: 'Be true to yourself. Be a good listener. Maintain a thick skin. Everything else will follow.'"

Chrissy Manning, practice administrator in the department of orthopedic surgery at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center (New York City).

"A powerful woman I admire, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, said: 'Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.' I try to live by these words. Doctors should be freed up to practice more medicine and less business during the working day, and it's my responsibility to divide responsibilities among my staff to reach this goal. By helping our doctors, I ultimately help patients receive better care  and that's why being a leader in this industry is so rewarding."

Trish O'Keefe, PhD, RN, president of Morristown (N.J.) Medical Center at Atlantic Health System.

"Resiliency, or the art of 'bouncing back,' is the cornerstone on which I've built my professional career. Resiliency taught me strength in times of transition, gave me serenity during times of change and also reminded me to use quieter times to recharge. It is like the analogy of a rubber band  the pinnacle of resilience. It stretches when it needs to, sometimes to nearly the point of breaking, but goes back to a neutral state when not under stress. It's strong, durable, time-tested and something which we have relied on for years."

Sally Poblete, founder and CEO of Wellthie, an e-commerce platform for health plans (New York City).

"In healthcare and technology  where the percentage of women in leadership roles is extraordinarily low  advancing the careers of other females in the industry through mentorship and advocacy has been a very rewarding endeavor. Our younger generation needs to be encouraged to take risks, embrace change, project confidence and get their strong voices heard. And it's imperative we encourage more diversity and provide more opportunities for women to succeed."

Julie Silver, MD, associate professor and associate chair for strategic initiatives in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School (Boston).

"One of the things that I hear from women is that leaning in can be painful and is not always well received. For physicians and other healthcare professionals that have high burnout rates and may already feel demoralized, leaning in might inadvertently cause them more distress. So, I teach women about a strategy that I call 'lean around and up' in which they can leverage their vast networks and get support from unexpected sources to advance in new ways. I always tell them that leaning in can be good and choosing the right times to lean in makes sense. Sometimes, though, leaning around and up will complement the lean in strategy and provide you with more support and less psychological distress."

More articles on leadership:

Banner Health issues another round of layoffs as it restructures operations

Trump backs Republican ACA replacement plan

Minnesota Hospital Association names Mille Lacs Health System CEO to board
Phoenix-based Banner Health is laying off more employees, including its top public relations executive, as it restructures operations, according to the Phoenix Business Journal.

Banner first announced its restructuring efforts in February. The system said it wants to become more consumer-focused through the restructuring process, which involves changes to its leadership structure. In February, Banner eliminated some leadership positions.

This week, Banner issued a second round of layoffs, which includes the system's vice president of public relations Bill Byron, according to the report.

Because some of the employees affected by the layoffs may fill other positions within the system, it isn't possible to know the exact number of employees impacted by the job cuts, Jennifer Ruble, senior director of public relations at Banner, told the Phoenix Business Journal.

More articles on leadership and management:

GOP health bill is out: 10 things to know this morning

Becker's Speaker Series: 4 questions with Advocate Health Care Vice President of Clinical Information, Anupam Goel

Job cuts coming to Jersey City Medical Center
The Federation of American Hospitals said it has "significant concerns" with Republicans' ACA replacement legislation, according to a letter the agency sent to Congress Tuesday.

Here are three things to know about FAH's response.



1. FAH, which represents more than 1,000 for-profit hospitals and health systems in the U.S., said it considered the American Health Care Act as currently drafted and without examining the economic analysis of the plan provided by the Congressional Budget Office or projections regarding how cost and coverage may be affected.



2. The agency outlined its position on the ACHA to Congress in five points.

FAH said the legislation should retain "sufficient coverage levels for Americans to meet their medical and behavioral health needs" as outlined in previous healthcare legislation.





According to the FAH, "Medicaid structural and financing reforms should not be used as a vehicle to reduce federal funding support." Instead, the association said Medicaid reform should give states flexibility over covering their low-income residents.





Provisions to the individual insurance market should ensure low- and middle-income Americans can get "sufficient assistance" to buy health plans.





The federation said cuts to Medicare "through arbitrary and permanent 'productivity adjustments' should be rolled back and recalibrated to reductions in coverage. These cuts are tantamount to the taxes that the AHCA fully eliminates, and should be treated in a like manner since they were both imposed for the sole purpose of funding a coverage expansion."





The agency said Congress must maintain a strong employer-based insurance market.

3. Additionally, FAH said it is open to collaborating with Congress to write legislation integrating these points. FAH said if the replacement law does not consider the agency's position, the bill "may threaten our ability to ensure that Americans are provided with the health coverage and access to care they need and deserve, and that hospitals  are there to deliver it."
President Donald Trump has endorsed the "American Health Care Act," the ACA replacement plan that House Republicans unveiled March 6, reports Reuters.

President Trump said the proposed replacement bill is open to negotiation and added that he is working on a method to lower drug prices, according to the report.

The bill marks a significant step toward fulfilling congressional Republicans' vow to repeal and replace the ACA. However, the GOP faces pressure from Democrats and within their own party not to completely destabilize the U.S. healthcare system and to protect coverage for the millions of people who gained it under former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.

The ACA allowed about 20 million previously uninsured Americans to gain healthcare coverage since its inception, particularly through Medicaid expansion. Governors in states that expanded Medicaid  even Republicans  have opposed replacement plans that would roll back expansion, according to the report.

On the other hand, some conservative Republican lawmakers complained the House bill didn't go far enough, with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul calling it "ObamaCare Lite" in a tweet, according to the report.

President Trump took to Twitter on the bill as well, calling the draft "our wonderful new Healthcare Bill" and stating that it is "now out for review and negotiation," according to Reuters.
While female emergency medicine residents score slightly higher than males across a majority of evaluations during the first year of residency, by residency's end, their male counterparts score higher across all evaluations, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

To assess the possible role of implicit gender bias in medical training programs, researchers examined 33,456 competency evaluations of 359 emergency medicine residents conducted by 285 faculty members working at eight community and academic emergency medicine training programs across the country.

Researchers found females outperformed their male counterparts during the first year of residency in 15 of 23 performance areas assessed  scores were notably higher in accountability, multitasking and diagnosis. However, by the end of the third year and final year of residency, males on average received higher scores in all 23 categories of evaluation. Additionally, male residents had a 13 percent higher rate of milestone achievement by graduation, which amounts to approximately three to four months of additional training.

"We are concerned that the disparity we discovered in evaluations may point to an implicit bias ... rather than a deficit in specific skills or knowledge," said Daniel O'Connor, study co-author and a student in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The study's authors concluded further studies are needed to better understand the potential role of gender bias in medical training.

More articles on physician issues:

Why NewYork-Presbyterian cannot select cardiothoracic residents this Match Day

65% of patients see physicians who've accepted money from drug, device industry

Dr. Thomas E. Starzi, first surgeon to perform liver transplant, dies at 90
Physicians practicing in Alaska, Iowa and Kansas have the highest salaries in the U.S. on average, a recent 24/7 Wall St. study found.

For the study, researchers looked at the 2015 average annual salary of family and general practitioners on a state-by-state basis, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment Statistics survey.

Here are five things to know from the 24/7 Wall St. study.

1. Alaska topped the list with an average physician salary of $235,600.

2. Other states in the top five are Iowa ($234,600), Kansas ($228,590), Hawaii ($228,220) and Mississippi ($223,250).

3. At the bottom of the list is Oklahoma, with an average physician salary of $144,100.

4. Other states in the bottom five are Missouri ($155,480), Nevada ($160,070), West Virginia ($164,420) and Delaware ($164,980).

5. 24/7 Wall St. noted in its report that the medical student population in a state can partly contribute to a lower average physician salary there, as physician demand may be lower.
Physicians from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  countries targeted in President Donald Trump's travel ban  play a significant role in U.S. healthcare, according to research by graduate students in economics at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both based in Cambridge, Mass.

The study, published in a Health Affairs blog, examined the effect of the travel ban on the U.S. physician workforce as well as patients. For the study, researchers used data from Doximity, an online physician network.

Here are seven things to know.

1. More than 7,000 physicians trained in Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen work in the U.S., according to researchers.

2. Physicians trained in these countries provide 14 million appointments annually in this nation.

3. Most of these physicians work in the country's Rust Belt and Appalachian areas.

4. Researchers said the physicians see many patients in Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, Indiana and Kentucky. Specifically, they found physicians trained in the six targeted countries provide 1.2 million appointments annually in Michigan; 880,000 in Ohio; 700,000 in Pennsylvania; and 210,000 in West Virginia.

5. The U.S. cities with the most physicians from countries included in the travel ban are Detroit, Toledo, Ohio, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio.

6. Researchers said physicians in the six countries targeted by the travel ban also provide 2.3 million patient visits in communities that are short on physicians.

"They work in these areas at the same rate as American-trained doctors. Our analysis suggests that physicians entering from these countries do not cluster preferentially into the major metropolitan areas, but rather are situated on the front lines of medical need," they added.

7. Physician practice areas most affected by the travel ban include cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, pathology and internal medicine, according to the study.

"In remote areas, a single cardiologist or neurologist can be responsible for management of life-threatening conditions for hundreds of individuals. Given the shortages of specialists in these areas, their departure can have deleterious consequences for the management of these conditions," researchers said.
The following is a roundup of recent events pertaining to hospital-union relationships, including strikes, legal battles, rallies and new contract agreements. All events were reported since Feb. 6.

1. Workers' vote to unionize stands after Queen of the Valley Medical Center loses second appeal

Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, Calif., lost its second appeal over a union vote that took place last fall. The union vote involved more than 400 service and technical workers who decided by a margin of approximately 3-to-2 to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers.

2. Union nurses accuse Baystate Health of illegal bargaining practices

Registered nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, Mass., filed six federal unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the hospital's owner, Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health, of engaging in illegal bargaining practices.

3. Nurse strike begins at Delaware County Memorial Hospital

Nurses and technicians at Drexel Hill, Pa.-based Delaware County Memorial Hospital began a planned two-day strike Sunday amid contract negotiations.

4. California Nurses Association adds 550 members from Kaiser Permanente

The California Nurses Association added about 550 registered nurses from 21 Kaiser Permanente hospitals across northern and central California.

5. Kenmore Mercy labor deal receives green light

A union representing registered nurses at Kenmore Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., ratified a new three-year contract agreement with management. The nurses are represented by Communications Workers of America Local 1133.

6. Nurses at Kaiser Permanente's Los Angeles Medical Center approve labor deal

Registered nurses at Kaiser Permanente's Los Angeles Medical Center approved a collective bargaining agreement with hospital management. The contract covers some 1,300 RNs and includes major economic improvements, protection of health coverage and their pensions, along with patient care contract protections, said the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, which represents the workers.

7. Morton Hospital reaches 3-year labor deal with workers, averts strike

Healthcare workers and administrators at Steward Health Care System's Morton Hospital in Taunton, Mass., reached a three-year contract. The contract, which averts a potential one-day nurse strike, covers 350 union employees.

8. Hundreds of Providence Saint John's Health Center workers vote in favor of unionization

Healthcare workers at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., voted to join SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West. The vote applies to a wide array of job classifications at the hospital, including nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses, respiratory therapists and pharmacy technicians.

9. Catskill Regional Medical Center employees protest over alleged understaffing

Healthcare workers at Catskill Regional Medical Center in Harris, N.Y., protested over staffing. The workers, including technicians and assistants, are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.

10. Nurses at Essentia Health-Northern Pines authorize strike

Nurses at Essentia Health-Northern Pines in Aurora, Minn., authorized a strike. The strike authorization came after AFSCME Local 2780 voted to reject a proposal calling for removal of a successorship clause.

11. New contract for Cooley nurses features anti-discrimination protections

Nurses at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass., ratified a new union contract with workplace violence protections and gender identity anti-discrimination language.

12. UPMC Altoona nurses ratify labor deal with overwhelming majority

Registered nurses at UPMC Altoona (Pa.) ratified a new three-year contract with the hospital. The nurses are represented by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania.
Drug overdose deaths in West Virginia have overwhelmed the state's indigent burial program for the fifth consecutive year, according to The Washington Post.

The burial program allots $2 million annually for funeral assistance to families who cannot afford to bury their loved ones. The program provides an average of $1,250 per burial.

Allison Adler, a spokesperson for state Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Bill Crouch, told the Post in the current fiscal year "1,508 burials have been submitted for payment through the indigent burial program. There are funds remaining for 63 burials."

In fiscal year 2014, the program was completely depleted of funds by June. In 2015, the funds were gone by March. Drug overdose deaths for West Virginia in 2015 occurred at a rate of 41.5 cases per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the nation, according to the Post.

"I've heard from several funeral directors that the majority of [overdose deaths they deal with] are addressed via the indigent burial program," Robert Kimes of the West Virginia Funeral Directors Association told the Post.

Mr. Kimes went on to state that most overdoses occur among young people with limited resources, lamenting the young age of the overdose victims.

From 2007 to 2012, more than 1,700 West Virginians fatally overdosed on hydrocodone and oxycodone alone. During the same time period, drug companies poured these two drugs into the state. The widespread distribution amounted to 433 pain pills for every man, woman and child in West Virginia, according to a Charleston Gazette-Mail investigation. In February, the state's health department distributed more than 8,000 rescue kits equipped with two doses of the opioid anti-overdose drug to state treatment programs.

Note: This story has been updated to add context to statements from quoted parties.

More articles on opioids:

Healthcare consumers' concerns over narcotic risk is growing, survey finds

Boston Medical Center receives $25M to launch opioid abuse treatment center

Study: Only 35% of patients taking opioids are concerned about addiction risks
Boston Scientific was an opponent of the medical device tax implemented in 2013 and recently highlighted the company's success since the tax was suspended last year, according to Boston Business Journal.

Here are five things to know:

1. Boston Scientific strongly lobbied against the tax in 2013, citing a potential correlated loss of U.S. jobs.

2. CEO Michael Mahoney claimed the 2013 tax eliminated up to 1,000 company jobs. The company reported paying roughly $75 million a year for the tax while it was in effect.

3. Boston Scientific took advantage of the device tax suspension, adding 2,000 employees over 2016 and investing in research and development, engineering, collaborations and targeted hiring.

4. The tax aimed to help cover the cost of expanding healthcare coverage.

5. Medical device companies lost over 28,000 jobs between 2013 and 2015 and it's speculated that eliminating the tax could create or save 53,000 global medical device jobs.

More device articles:

LinkSpine hires Tom McLeer as VP of sales and marketing: 5 notes



FDA clears Stryker's AVAflex Vertebral Balloon System: 5 highlights



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SI-Bone, a medical device company based in San Jose, Calif., announced its plans for the SI Joint Women's Health Initiative.

Here are four things to know:

1. The SI Joint Women's Health Initiative raises awareness about SI joint disorders in women and is made up of orthopedic spine surgeons, neurospine surgeons and various healthcare providers.

2. Studies show that the SI joint causes 15 percent to 30 percent of all lower back pain. Two-thirds of those suffering from SI joint disorders are women, as anatomic and physiologic gender differences make them more susceptible to the disorder.

3. The SI Joint Women's Health Initiative will officially launch at the upcoming American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2017 annual meeting in San Diego.

4. Si-Bone's iFuse Implant System, a triangular minimally invasive surgical device used for sacroiliac joint disorder-related fusions, was recently distributed and used successfully.

More device articles:

LinkSpine hires Tom McLeer as VP of sales and marketing: 5 notes

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Intellijoint receives FDA clearance for direct anterior approach device  4 details




Republicans released their ACA replacement  the American Health Care Act.

The legislation would reverse course for several aspects of the ACA, including eliminating the individual mandate, ending Medicaid expansion in 2020 and restructuring tax credits to include a credit that would help Americans purchase health insurance.

How could the healthcare changes affect small businesses? Here are three key aspects for small business leaders:

 The AHCA eliminates the cap on the exemption tax for employer-sponsored insurance, so small businesses will no longer have a penalty if they don't offer health insurance coverage to employees.

 The Cadillac Tax will be delayed on costly health plans from implementation in 2020 to 2025.

 The ACA's provisions on pre-existing conditions would remain intact and adults would be allowed to stay on their parents' insurance up to age 26.

John Arensmeyer, CEO of the Small Business Majority, responded.

"Repealing various aspects of the Affordable Care Act and scaling back provisions like tax credits and Medicaid expansion will do little more than create instability in the insurance market," he said. "This instability will ultimately hurt small business owners by making insurance less affordable, which will make it more difficult for America's small business community to access healthcare."

He advocated for keeping the ACA intact and finding ways to improve it.

"Small employers don't want or need another healthcare overhaul; they need quality, affordable insurance for themselves and their employees so that they can focus on running their businesses," he said.

However, not all aspects of an ACA repeal are negative for all small businesses.

An article published in Forbes examines how the ACA repeal could affect small businesses, noting that the health insurance market became more standardized under the ACA. The risk was pooled together as more businesses sought coverage to avoid penalties; as a result, businesses with employees who had fewer healthcare needs saw costs go up. With a repeal, small businesses with healthy employees could see costs go down.

The article also notes that in December, Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act which allows small businesses with 50-plus employees to pay for their employees' insurance costs with Health Reimbursement Arrangements. In some situations, HRAs can be a less expensive way for companies to pay for healthcare and it's a tax-favored account. ACA repeal could make HRAs more attractive to small businesses.
More than 120 Maryland primary care providers created the Chesapeake Independent Physician Association.

Here are five things to know:

1. The physicians partnered with Universal American Corp.'s Collaborative Health Systems in White Plains, N.Y., to create the IPA.

2. Joining forces in hopes of enhancing patient care, decreasing healthcare costs and preparing for payment reform, the physicians will lead the Chesapeake IPA.

3. Universal American is equipped with more than 15 years of experience collaborating with primary care physicians on Medicare risk-based contracts.

4. Collaborative Health Systems will provide the Chesapeake IPA participants with risk-contracting and management support as well as population health capabilities.

5. Participating IPA providers pay $1 in membership cost for the first year, with a 90-day notice to leave without facing any penalty. The providers have the option to opt in for fee-for-service and value-based IPA-negotiated payer contracts. Providers may also purchase a membership in the IPA, becoming co-owners.
Health and Human Services Secretary and orthopedic surgeon Tom Price, MD, commented on the GOP's ACA replacement bill  the American Health Care Act.

Here are issues Sec. Price discussed:

1. Sec. Price called the repeal bill a "work in progress" and hinted the document would undergo various changes before being finalized, according to the Washington Examiner.

2. While many conservative lawmakers were upset the bill kept pieces of the ACA infrastructure in place and Democrats criticized its neglect of low-income citizens, Sec. Price called the bill a "step" in the process.

3. The former Georgia Congressman explained the three phases of the healthcare reform plan, according to Real Clear Politics. He said, "One is the bill that was introduced last evening in the House of Representatives... Second are all the regulatory modifications and changes that can be put into place And then there's other legislation that will need to be addressed that can't be done through the reconciliation process."

4. When asked to reflect on whether the bill met President Trump's stated goal of providing "insurance for everybody," Sec. Price shifted the conversation to the ACA's impact on rising premiums and deductibles, according to ABC News.

5. Regarding the bill's name, Sec. Price said he prefers "PatientCare" to "TrumpCare."

More practice management articles:

AMA rejects AHCA: 5 things to know



120 Maryland primary care physicians create Independent Physician Association: 5 things to know



Dr. Stuart Weinstein: 8 core leadership concepts




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There was a 21% rise in customers changing electricity suppliers in February from the month before, as households face energy price rises

More than 415,000 consumers switched electricity supplier in February - a 21% increase on the month before, figures show.

The number is the highest for February in the past three years and comes as households face a spate of energy price rises.

There was also an increase in the number of customers switching from larger to small and mid-tier suppliers, with 110,000 or 27% of switches following this path, trade body Energy UK said.

Lawrence Slade, chief executive of Energy UK, said: "These ever-increasing switching numbers, alongside twice the number of existing customers making a tariff change with their existing supplier, demonstrate that competition is working for more and more consumers.

"If customers are unsure if they are on the best deal, check either by speaking to their current supplier or one of the 50 suppliers active in the market."

Npower, EDF and Scottish Power are among those to have ramped up bills, with many blaming rising wholesale costs.

Co-operative Energy announced it would increase the cost of its standard variable tariff by an average of 5%, a change that will affect around 96,000 customers when it comes in from April 1.

E.On is to increase its standard variable dual fuel prices by an average of 8.8% from April 26.

Figures released last month by regulator Ofgem showed switching has surged to a six-year high as householders increasingly shop around for better deals on gas and electricity.

Customers swapped their energy providers 7.7 million times last year, a rise of 1.7 million, almost 30%, on 2015.
More than 800 jobs around the UK have been lost after the owner of 34 Budgens stores collapsed into administration.

Food Retailer Group, an arm of business restructuring specialists Hilco Capital, appointed PwC as administrator last month, but the accountancy firm failed to find a buyer for the group.

A total of 815 staff have begun the redundancy process.

There are no Budgens stores in Northern Ireland, though the chain was owned by Centra and Mace parent company Musgrave until 2015.

Mike Denny, joint administrator at PwC, said: "Unfortunately, we have been unable to find a buyer and it is not commercially viable to continue trading the stores.

"We are working closely with the Co-op, Usdaw and the relevant government agencies to ensure that all employees receive the maximum levels of practical and financial support through the redundancy process."

Food Retailer Group bought the stores from the Co-operative Group in July.
The Bank of England's newly appointed deputy governor is facing calls to resign after breaking the Bank's code of conduct by failing to declare that her brother worked for Barclays.

In a letter to the Treasury Select Committee, Charlotte Hogg apologised for not formally disclosing that her brother, Quintin, was Barclays' group strategy director, which could conflict with her work on the Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC).

The correspondence was made public during a committee session with the chairman and the deputy chairman of the Court of the Bank of England, where it was revealed Ms Hogg had not declared the family link on a number of occasions since joining the Bank as chief operating officer in 2013.

It included not stating her brother's position when she recently applied to the Treasury to become a deputy governor at the Bank.

It comes after Ms Hogg, who has been touted as a possible successor to Bank governor Mark Carney, told the Treasury committee at a hearing last week that she always declared areas of conflicts of interest and was compliant with all of the Bank's codes of conduct because she helped to write them.

The findings have prompted Treasury committee member John Mann to demand she steps down.

"It is simply incredible that such a senior person at the Bank of England has behaved in this manner," Mr Mann stressed.

"Last week, Charlotte Hogg proudly told this committee that she actually wrote the Bank's code of conduct, which she has now admitted to repeatedly breaking.

"Not only has she compromised her current position and the Bank of England itself but, more importantly, she has failed under the key principles of the Nolan standards in public life, and she has no excuse for doing so.

"This is simply a question about standards in public life and, in this regard, she has failed and must resign," Mr Mann added.

Ms Hogg took up the role as deputy governor for markets and banking at the beginning of March, overseeing the Bank's balance sheet and sitting on the Monetary Policy Committee, the Financial Policy Committee, the PRC and the Court of the Bank of England.

The PRC has direct responsibility for regulating banks, including Barclays.
BT is recruiting more than 100 new apprentices and graduates in Northern Ireland. Mairead Meyer, BT managing director of networks in Northern Ireland, was joined by BT networks apprentices Jonny Hunter and Matthew Morrow as well as recent apprentice Scott Gilmore (left)

Telecommunications giant BT has said its is employing on 100 new apprentices and graduates in Northern Ireland.

The company, which has around 5,000 staff here, said the move was part of a drive to equip young people for a changing job market and to fulfil BT's future tech requirements.

Most of the apprentice posts are in engineering, while a small number of apprentice roles and the graduate roles are in customer service, software development, fleet management and supply chain management.

The jobs will be spread across the province from Belfast to Londonderry and Enniskillen.

BT's announcement comes as the UK marks National Apprentice Week, while in his Budget today, the Chancellor is expected to announce a new educational qualification for technical skills, the T-level.

Mairead Meyer, BT managing director of networks in Northern Ireland, said the company was looking ahead to its requirements for the future when fifth generation mobile networks are the norm.

"We are also preparing for future technologies, including 5G, and so we want to recruit the very best," she said.

"Our apprenticeship roles will offer people the hands on experience they need to succeed.

"Young people today need three key skills - literacy, numeracy and tech know-how.

"BT is investing in the next generation, helping to train primary school teachers to teach computer science and recruiting large numbers of apprentices.

"This is the right thing for us to do if Northern Ireland is to remain a digital leader."

According to a report by Regeneris Consulting, BT supports around 5,440 jobs through direct employment, spending with contractors and suppliers and the spending of employees.

Last year, it took on around 80 new engineers.

The report by Regeneris Consulting said it added 470m to the Northern Ireland economy over the last year through direct and indirect employment.

Meanwhile, as part of National Apprentice Week, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is calling on a new Executive to tackle funding for apprenticeships.

A new apprenticeship levy set at 0.5% of a company's pay bill, where it is over 3m, is to be introduced next month without any clear guidelines.

ICE regional director Richard Kirk said: "The incoming Executive must immediately clarify and ensure the future funding of apprenticeships, as the levy is commencing next month with no set plan for implementation. Northern Ireland stands to lose 5m from the block grant in 2017-18 as a result of the levy, and the Executive needs to offset that loss by securing investment in apprenticeships.

"Funding apprenticeships will stimulate the economy by creating jobs for our people and meeting the demand needed to deliver our necessary infrastructure projects.

"It will also ensure that businesses affected by the apprenticeship levy will ultimately see a return benefit from their payments."

He said Northern Ireland also faced a shortage of skills in science, technology, education and maths, which could be addressed through apprenticeships with the Executive's help.

"Apprenticeships will play a vital role in ensuring we have a skilled, modern and dynamic workforce to drive our economy forward and keep Northern Ireland competitive," he added.
Workers in the City of London

Demand for staff has increased, but businesses are finding it difficult to recruit for permanent jobs, according to a report.

Vacancies rose last month, with demand for workers in private firms stronger than in the public sector, said the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

The availability of candidates to fill permanent and short-term vacancies fell sharply in February.

REC chief executive Kevin Green said: "Although permanent placements have hit a 12-month high, businesses across the UK are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit for permanent roles.

"The big question still remains about how employers will fill their vacancies.

"The Chancellor is expected to announce a boost for vocational training in today's budget and this is very welcome.

"However, it won't solve the immediate need for people to fill jobs.

"We're already seeing acute staff shortages in a variety of sectors, from healthcare to engineering.

"This is likely to get worse, especially if the Government continues to refuse the rights of EU citizens living in the UK post-Brexit."
The UK was third overall in the ranking

The UK has retained its spot as third best country in the world despite anxieties over Brexit, a global survey suggests.

Switzerland took first place followed by Canada and the UK, the survey by US News & World Report, Y&R's BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania shows.

The UK's ranking is based on nine sub-categories in which the country ranks fourth for Entrepreneurship and Power, and fifth for Cultural Influence. It also came second in the list of countries offering the best education, beaten only by Canada.

Part of the Power ranking includes a high score for "strong international alliances" - despite the UK's vote to leave the European Union last June.

The UK's country profile reads: "The year 2017 ushered in anxiety about the country's role on the global stage, due to the public voting in the summer of 2016 to leave the European Union.

"The vote raises questions about the European Union, as well as the policies supporting the eurozone."

The profile goes on to describe the UK as a " highly developed nation" that exerts "considerable international economic, political, scientific and cultural influence" upon the global stage.

The UK was third overall in 2016 and "continues to be at the scientific and technological fore", the profile continues, with scientist Professor Stephen Hawking and inventor of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee cited as examples of innovative British thinking.

Playwright William Shakespeare is also singled out as "one of the greatest writers in the history of English literature".

More than 21,000 people in 36 countries across the world were polled in the weeks following the 2016 US presidential election.

The US dropped three places to seventh overall, with more than 70 % of respondents saying they had lost some degree of respect for America following the election campaign.

The findings come as International Women's Day is celebrated, with Sweden, Denmark and Norway being voted the top three places for a woma n followed by the Netherlands and Canada. The UK ranks 12th in the list.

The top 10 best countries overall are:

1. Switzerland

2. Canada

3. United Kingdom

4. Germany

5. Japan

6. Sweden

7. United States

8. Australia

9. France

10. Norway
Ulster Bank is expected to announce up to 10 branch closures in Northern Ireland within the next fortnight.

It is understood a review of the bank's branch network is under way, and that an announcement is due on cutbacks.

It currently has around 65 branches across Northern Ireland. In the Republic, it has also been reported that Ulster Bank is planning to close branches in its network amid a restructuring of the business.

No one from Ulster Bank was available for comment.

In 2014, Ulster Bank announced it was cutting 10 of its branches, bringing the number from 75 to 65.

In April last year it announced it was cutting 50 jobs across Northern Ireland, and shutting some branches on Saturdays.

Just last month First Trust revealed it is shutting half of its branch network here.

It is understood around 130 staff are facing voluntary redundancy after it announced it was closing 15 branches.

And the latest financial results for First Trust in Northern Ireland - released a week after the cuts were revealed - showed that it made pre-tax profits of 54m, up 15%.

It prompted Larry Broderick, general secretary of the Financial Services Union (FSU), to say that the "rationale for closures has to be re-examined in light of these very positive figures."

During an Assembly debate last year, Northern Ireland banks were accused of "abandoning customers" in favour of chasing profit, following closures in rural areas.

Almost 100 bank branches here have closed within the last four years.

Following the First Trust branch cuts, there were also calls for Stormont to look towards EU legislation to ensure "sufficient banking services" remain across Northern Ireland.

Andrew Webb of Webb Advisory said a mechanism does exist through EU legislation that "permits government support for 'services of general economic interest".

"Through this, the Post Office is supported by government to maintain a bigger branch network than it might otherwise justify on a purely commercial basis," Mr Webb said.

"One of the conditions that the Post Office signed up to is the provision of basic banking services. Any job loss announcement is a shame, but there is a sense of unfortunate inevitability about bank branch closures.

"We do face a conundrum with banking - we have very obviously shifted our banking habits away from using branches, but then rail against branch closures.

"Simply, if we don't use them, we will lose them. That said, I don't think it is inevitable that we move to a branchless society, but branches do need to find a way to be relevant."

Responding to the branch cut announcement last month, head of First Trust Des Moore said the bank has seen a 40% decline in branch usage in the last seven years, with mobile banking up 117% in the last two years.

The bank is investing 10m towards new business centres, including one at University Road in south Belfast.

It has also agreed a partnership with the Post Office, which will allow customers to bank in any of their outlets.
Emma Watson has hidden books in public places around the world

Emma Watson has surprised fans by hiding novels around the world to mark International Women's Day.

The Harry Potter actress and her "book fairies" have been dropping off copies of works by feminist authors including Gloria Steinem, Caitlin Moran and Maya Angelou in public places in countries across the globe.

Watson, 26, has penned a personal note in the novels, which she selected for her book club Our Shared Shelf.

She wrote on Twitter: "From midnight NYC time, book fairies around the WORLD will start hiding feminist books to mark #IWD #IWDoursharedshelf @the_bookfairies."

So far people have reported finding books at places including the British Library, the Crossbones Graveyard, in south London, and the Orto Botanico in Milan.

One person tweeted: "Found some treasure at the crossbones graveyard from a book fairy!! And on #InternationalWomensDay aswell!! #bookfairies."

Another, who found a book hidden in Taiwan, said: "Thrilled to find this nugget in Taipei MRT! Can't wait to dig into it!"

Moran's book How To Be A Woman is among those being squirrelled away in secret places.

"Emma Watson's international Hidden Books Give-away for #InternationalWomensDay is just ... so magic," she tweeted.

The mission got started as part of the Books On The Underground movement, which sees "book fairies" leaving their favourite reads at Tube stations for commuters to find and enjoy. The idea is that the books are then returned to the Underground for more readers to pick up.

The concept has spread to more than 20 other countries.

Watson - who launched her book club in 2016 - has worked with the organisation before.

In November, she dashed around Tube stations in London hiding copies of Angelou's Mom & Me & Mom, which was that month's pick for her club.

The actress is known for her feminist stance but last week was forced to speak out after critics claimed her decision to pose topless was hypocritical.

The Beauty And The Beast actress triggered a backlash when she was photographed for Vanity Fair magazine wearing a jacket with nothing underneath, with some commentators accusing her of being anti-feminist.

But she told the BBC: "Feminism is about giving women choice, feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women. It's about freedom, it's about liberation, it's about equality."

Watson went on: "I really don't know what my tits have to do with it."
Move over Jamie Dornan... the heartthrob actor from Holywood is vying for the limelight with his musician and composer wife, Amelia Warner, who is moving into movie scores.

The English musician Amelia Warner has been somewhat overshadowed lately by her husband, the Holywood-born Fifty Shades actor, Jamie Dornan.

He recently dispelled "disgusting" rumours that his marriage was on the rocks after erotic sex sessions with Dakota Johnson in the film Fifty Shades Darker. But Warner (34), who has been with Dornan, also 34, since 2010, and has two young daughters, Dulcie (3) and Elva (10 months), with him, says all the media coverage is overblown and they still manage to enjoy a low-profile existence.

"It doesn't impact our life much in a day-to-day way," says Warner, originally from Merseyside, who has reinvented herself as a neo-classical composer. She has since scored the music for the upcoming film, Mary Shelley, which stars Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth. "Nothing has really changed in our lives since Fifty Shades. The biggest change for us was having kids. We now live in the Cotswolds, rather than London. We are very removed from all the hype. I don't see that stuff in the papers," says Warner.

While the Fifty Shades movies catapulted Jamie to global super stardom, he has also played serial killer Paul Spector in Allan Cubitt's TV crime drama The Fall, which was set here in Northern Ireland, and also starred Gillian Anderson as DSI Stella Gibson.

He has since established his acting credits and is a red carpet regular at all the world's biggest award ceremonies. Warner, who has just returned from attending the Oscars with Dornan - a "fun escape", she calls it - shrugs off all the Fifty Shades Darker gossip in the media as "smoke and mirrors".

Although she hasn't watched any of the films in the franchise, because of the graphic scenes he and Johnson appear in, she doesn't rule it out. "I haven't seen them but it's not to say I won't," she says.

But while Dornan has been busy playing Christian Grey, Warner has been finding her true niche in the music world. "It's hard to navigate my career around it, and I don't want to exploit the situation, but I'm trying to find my way," she says. "My way so far has been to be silent as I haven't done any press for anything since Fifty Shades of Grey happened, but I now have pressure to promote my work."

She has just released the first track from her new EP, Visitors, which has been produced by Fyfe Dangerfield of Guillemots fame. The song Eve is the first of seven new works, each based on a fictional female character, including Heidi, Frances, Mary, Rebecca, Sarah and Dawn, with one track released per month.

Warner plays both piano and organ on Visitors, which is also scored for violin, viola, cello, and double bass. "Visitors is about an imaginary house where all these women once lived," she explains, "the energy left there after they have gone. I wanted it to sound like music upstairs floating down a stairwell."

Warner is no stranger to press attention, despite having a fear of the limelight. Aged 18, she starred in 2001 as the title character in the BBC period drama, Lorna Doone. Then, a year later, she married actor Colin Farrell in a non-legal ceremony on a Tahitian beach, but it ended four months later. Soon, she ditched acting for singing, under the name of Slow Moving Millie, releasing cover versions of Eighties hits. Her cover of The Smiths' Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want was used by John Lewis for their 2001 Christmas advert.

"But I'm terrified of performing," she tells me. "Singing didn't come naturally. I was feeling unsure about what to do when I met Jamie. Then we had our first daughter. I took a year off. Once you have a baby, it slightly changes your perception. I knew I wanted to be in music but I wanted to be happy."

She decided to try her luck at scoring music for films, composing for her first film project, Mum's List (2016), starring Rafe Spall and Emilia Fox. She also worked with producer Dangerfield on her first EP, Arms, which was released last April. "Arms is mainly piano and strings based with some synths and atmospherics," she explains. "But I'd say Visitors is more stripped back and minimal in style."

Now, Warner is looking forward to spending some time with her two children, having spent the past four months composing the Mary Shelley film soundtrack. "It's full-on. It feels like it should be a team, but it's just one person most of the time," she says about her work.

"I gave an otherworldly element to it. They didn't want it to be too staid, but for it to have a contemporary feel, just like the film has."

For Warner, it has been all about "finding the right fit" with her music. "I can do what I do anywhere - even when we have to travel for Jamie's films. I can still work. The children are so little, they don't really know where they are, so travelling with them isn't a problem. They are so flexible at that age. They are just happy to be with us."

Warner has used her experience in films both on and off screen in her new EP, Visitors.

"I love story-telling and responding musically to visual images. I had a vision of the big old house and a clear idea of each of these women, and I enjoyed crafting their individual tales and telling their stories and representing their characters through music."
Robina Ellis, the widow of legendary east Belfast actor Jimmy Ellis, marks the third anniversary of his death today by unveiling a new bridge named in his memory at Connswater Community Greenway. She talks to Lee Henry about Jimmy's life and how losing his two sons in tragic circumstances left him broken.

The late, great actor-cum-renaissance man Jimmy Ellis was undoubtedly best known to millions around the UK and Ireland as PC Bert Lynch, zealous linchpin of seminal mid-century crime series Z Cars, one of the BBC's most successful ever.

As the only actor to appear in every episode - 803 over a 16-year period - Ellis became synonymous with the show, celebrated by critics and audiences alike as much for the ground-breaking use of his natural Northern Irish accent as for his sharp-tongued portrayal of a no-nonsense cop on the beat.

Robina Murphy met Ellis at the height of his fame, at the beginning of the Seventies, long after Ellis had left his native Belfast behind to seek out fame, fortune or a steady income as an actor across the water. Their eyes first met in the smoky environs of the BBC Television Centre Club, but it wasn't love at first sight.

"I was working as a secretary at the BBC at the time, studying to move up to PA, to what they used to call a 'continuity girl' back then," recalls Robina (70), originally from the village of Collingham in Lancashire.

"Jimmy knew that I was set to get the job on Z Cars, ensuring that the actors and props and things were kept in sequence while filming, but I wasn't yet aware. With that knowledge, he asked me for a drink but I declined the offer. I was going out with someone at the time. Oh dear."

Not to be deterred, Jimmy waited patiently for his next opportunity. He had divorced from his first wife Beth - with whom he had three children, Amanda, Adam and Hugo - some years previous, in 1966, so he was free to pursue her. Robina was 26, stylish and clearly very pretty. The Belfast charmer in him knew what to do.

"Jimmy was set to perform in a midnight charity special of a Terence Rattigan play," Robina remembers, "and because the police costume he was to wear was an exact replica of a real policeman's uniform, it couldn't leave the BBC. They had to have a dresser present but none volunteered as the play began at midnight and finished at 3am, so the conscientious secretary in me offered to fill the role.

"I said to Jimmy and the director that I would set my alarm, go home to bed and come back to pick up the costume at 3am, but Jimmy wouldn't hear of it. 'You're staying and you're coming out for dinner with me', he said. The rest is history."

The pair officially began courting two months later, on January 10, 1972 and married four years later, settling in Chiswick, at the time considered a leafy, somewhat removed suburb of west London, "perfect in which to raise a little boy". Their only child, Toto, was born there in 1981.

Life with Jimmy was "flabbergasting and peculiar but exciting for a country girl like me", says Robina, mainly due to the incredible success of Z Cars. For a time, at least, Jimmy Ellis was, in essence, the fifth Beatle, a more attainable but no less charismatic competitor to fellow Belfast boy George Best in that regard.

"So many millions of viewers watched Z Cars every week - there was no record and watch back later function then - so Jimmy really was known to millions, recognised by everyone," she explains. "He couldn't walk the streets without being stopped for an autograph. He didn't even have to open his mouth. He was just so loved."

Nowhere more so than in his beloved home city, capital of Northern Ireland. Jimmy, a very proud Belfast boy, rarely stayed away for long, and Robina quickly fell in love with his east Belfast neighbourhood too, always keen to learn about the big-name artists who came from the same area - CS Lewis, Van Morrison, Sam Thompson et al - about whom Jimmy knew so much.

"When we travelled over to Belfast, he would have trails and trails of little old ladies and younger ladies following him down the street," she says.

"It was awkward sometimes when we were trying to have a romantic meal, but Jimmy always said that he didn't go into showbusiness to be unknown, so it was just part and parcel. Like many people in Belfast, he loved to talk, so he was never uncomfortable with the attention."

Z Cars came to an end in 1976, but Jimmy and Robina had their hands full with work, life and Toto, officially named Matthew William Joseph. With his parents "being a bit theatrical", however, and with lots of creative influences present in the Ellis household - from The Wizard of Oz to Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile - the unusual nickname stuck.

Over the following number of years, Jimmy continued to work, appearing alongside a young Kenneth Branagh in Graham Reid's The Billy Plays on BBC TV and making further television appearances in everything from Doctor Who to Only Fools and Horses by way of the stage, to which he regularly returned. "But he was much more than merely an actor," adds Robina. "Particularly in later life."

During an acting trip to Romania, for instance, Jimmy discovered an indigenous poet and set about translating his texts. He did so by referring to the patchy Latin he had learned while attending Methodist College in Belfast and siphoning it through an Italian dictionary. He found "great pleasure" in history, philosophy and music, and also composed original pieces on his piano at home.

But there was also tragedy in Ellis's life. His first son, Adam, was murdered in 1998 while fishing at the Grand Union Canal in London (his murderer was later given a life sentence), and in 2011 his second son, Hugo, died by suicide. Robina was at home in Collingham, to which the family had debunked in the Nineties, when news of Hugo's death broke.

"Jimmy literally physically crumbled when I told him. It was just awful," she says. "But in his heart he knew, because Hugo had been missing for 48 hours and had been suffering with depression. Thankfully, even by the time of Adam's death, Jimmy had become very close again with all of his children and his first wife, so there was great support there.

"Jimmy tried very hard when he had his first family. He was young and incredibly busy at the time, trying to earn a living and make a name for himself, and sadly it just didn't work out for everyone.

"But he found great joy in Toto and not a day went by that he didn't say how lucky we both were to have Toto and his other children in our lives."

Always a relatively healthy, active and hard-working man, in 2000, aged 69, Jimmy suffered a near fatal heart attack, and two minor strokes followed in 2003 and 2005. He survived them all but was deemed to have had a nervous breakdown in 2007, which was subsequently diagnosed as bipolar disorder.

"It took a long time for the doctors to come to that conclusion," says Robina, "and for Jimmy to settle on the correct course of medication for him, but it was debilitating. Jimmy always believed that it was brought on partly by the London bombings on July 7, 2005, which killed 52 people.

"He had been rehearsing in our London flat alone and travelling into the city on the Tube. When he arrived in the city that afternoon, all of the stations were closed. He wasn't directly involved in the bombings in that sense, but the experience did have a huge impact on him."

Regrettably, Jimmy passed away from another stroke on March 8, 2014, aged 82, and on the third anniversary of his passing Robina finds herself again in Belfast, this time to open a new bridge dedicated in honour of her late husband and located in the newly rejuvenated greenway at Connswater.

"It will be a great honour, particularly as the dedication was voted for by the Northern Irish public by way of BBC Radio Ulster," adds Robina. "If Jimmy had been alive, he would have been thrilled. His father, also James Ellis, was a shipyard worker, and his name is also on the plaque."

The docks and the great cranes of Harland & Wolff are, of course, within view of the Connswater Greenway, and they played a singular part in Jimmy's career. The shipyards and the sectarianism prevalent there in the Sixties, after all, were the subject of the play that made his name in Northern Ireland, Sam Thompson's Over the Bridge, which Jimmy first directed at the Empire Music Hall in 1960.

A new film, Two Angry Men, about Ellis and Thompson's eventful struggle to have the controversial play staged in Belfast, despite establishment interference from all angles, will air on BBC Two NI this coming Sunday at 10.10pm.

Written and directed by Toto Ellis, it brings Jimmy's story "full circle", says Robina, who will subsequently travel to Rome and various other cities with Toto as the film makes the festival circuit.

"It's spectacular, this wonderful film and the bridge named in his honour. Jimmy really did wear his fame so lightly, he was just so humble a man that he would not have believed what is happening. And with the anniversary of his death today, it's all been a huge comfort to Toto and I," concludes Robina. "To keep Jimmy's legacy alive is just fantastic."
Victoria Beckham has created a line of children's and women's clothes for American retailer Target

Victoria Beckham has revealed her five-year-old daughter Harper inspired her latest fashion collection.

The Spice Girl-turned-designer has created a line of children's and women's clothes for American retailer Target.

She told US magazine InStyle: "You really get a sense of the relationship between Harper and me.

"This is fun, easy, cute, all of those things. Very honest.

"Very me."

Beckham - who also has three sons with her husband David - appears on the cover of the magazine's April issue and is pictured inside, posing with a group of child models.

The star unveiled her first range in 2008 and is now feted for her fashion skills.

"I've got a pretty thick skin," said the 42-year-old. "It could have been worse. They could have said, 'We thought it was going to be rubbish, and it is.'

"Instead, they thought it was really good and I look at that as a positive. I look at everything as a positive, to be honest with you."

Beckham has even won praise from top designer Tom Ford.

"I'm really proud of what I achieved with the Spice Girls, but I'm also proud of everything I have done with my brand," she said.

"So that meant a lot to me, you know? That's Tom Ford saying 'We look at you as a credible designer', which was very cool."

The star also talked about how she and her famous family live their lives in the spotlight, saying people "would really be surprised at how we try to avoid too much attention".

"But there are certain places where you cannot avoid being photographed. It is what it is," she said.

"I've had this since I was 18 years old."
It's no secret it takes hours of preening with an army of stylists, make-up artists and hair pros to get an A-lister red carpet-ready.

Now, we can't provide your own 'glam squad', but what we can give you is the inside scoop from the industry's best beauty bods on how to recreate awards season's most stunning looks, from Emma Stone's perfect red lip at the Oscars, to Claire Foy's ethereal updo at the Golden Globes.

"Emma Stone's Oscars look was all about 1930s Hollywood glamour," says Rachel Goodwin, NARS director of pro artistry and red carpet.

Goodwin started with a matte complexion, adding a rosy glow on the cheeks with a new liquid version of the brand's famous Orgasm blush, which won't be in stores until June.

On the Best Actress winner's lips, Goodwin used Audacious lipstick in Mona, which has lead to a total sell-out of the deep red shade - but don't worry, NARS is rushing to get it back on shelves in April.

Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint, 30 (www.narscosmetics.co.uk)

Nars Orgasm Liquid Blush, 23 (available June; www.narscosmetics.co.uk)

Nars Audacious Lipstick in Mona, 25 (www.narscosmetics.co.uk)

Charles Worthington brand ambassador Ken O'Rourke used a 'rope braiding' technique he dreamt up on New Year's Eve to style Amy Adams' auburn locks for the Baftas.

To recreate the look, prep hair with Blow Dry Primer, then pull it back into a sleek ponytail at the crown and secure with elastic.

Split the ponytail into two, twist the hair of one section in on itself, then twist both sections together and secure with another elastic.

Secure the 'twisted rope' with grips all the way down to the nape of the neck, then finish with a generous spritz of All Over Gloss Spray.

Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Express Blow Dry Primer, 6.99, Boots (www.boots.com)

Charles Worthington Diamond Shine All Over Gloss Spray, 6.99, Boots (www.boots.com)

Matching your outfit with your lippy doesn't always work, but Holly Willoughby's pink pout and pastel dress combo at the National Television Awards was spot on.

According to Holly's make-up artist Patsy O'Neill, the mid-pink shade is Tulip Tide from Burt's Bees' new range, which combines creamy colour with the moisturising effects of a balm.

Burt's Bees Lipstick in Tulip Tide, 9.99 (www.burtsbees.co.uk)

Clutching a microphone on stage all night, Brit Awards presenter Emma Willis had to make sure her nails were nothing short of flawless.

Celebrity manicurist Kimberley Nkosi gave Emma a gel manicure the night before, using Orly Head in the Clouds, a pale pink.

If you haven't got a UV lamp at home, the brand new shade is also available as a lacquer.

Orly Head in the Clouds, 11 (Graftons.co.uk)

With her midnight blue velvet dress slit to the thigh, US actress Taraji P Henson wanted to make sure her pins were looking perfect on Oscars night, reveals St Tropez's Ashunta Sheriff.

Sheriff enhanced Taraji's natural complexion by using a mitt to sweep a layer of Self Tan Luxe Dry Oil over the body, following it up with a Instant Tan Finishing Gloss on the arms, legs and decolletage, right before she hit the red carpet.

St Tropez Self Tan Luxe Dry Oil, 25 (www.sttropeztan.co.uk)

St Tropez Instant Tan Finishing Gloss, 12 (www.sttropeztan.co.uk)

"Effortless elegance," is how Jillian Halouska, hair stylist for Show Beauty, described Claire Foy's swept-up Golden Globes style.

To recreate the look, wash then rough dry hair (no brush needed) to create movement.

Spritz Sheer Thermal Protect from root to tip and wrap one-inch sections of hair around a three-quarter-inch curling iron, then pull the hair downwards to loosen the curl.

Next, spray Premiere Dry Shampoo on the roots to create grip, then starting at the nape of the neck, take small sections of hair and pin to the opposite side.

Moving upwards, continue pinning in a criss-cross pattern, leaving out a few front and side pieces.

Gently sweep the remaining hair back and fix into place with hair spray.

Show Beauty Sheer Thermal Protect, 35 (www.lookfantastic.com)

Show Beauty Premiere Dry Shampoo, 30 (www.lookfantastic.com)

Model Taylor Hill was paying her dues as Lancome Ambassador at the Baftas, so of course her make-up was stunning.

Make-up artist Charlotte Wood created a smouldering eye look by layering smoky brown shades from the Hypnose Palette in Brun Adore, with a thick feline flick of Grandiose Liner.

She lined Taylor's waterline with Khol Hypnose pencil and finished with lots of mascara.
Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web
The PSNI will mount a major security operation at Belfast City Hall tonight as dissident republicans gather to protest against a police officer addressing a meeting on cyber safety. Stock image

The PSNI will mount a major security operation at Belfast City Hall tonight as dissident republicans gather to protest against a police officer addressing a meeting on cyber safety.

Heavily armed members of the Tactical Support Group (TSG) will surround the building before 5pm as other officers take up positions inside City Hall.

The protest has been organised by dissident republican party Saoradh, whose members are expected to try and gain access to the event, at which a police officer will address parents on how to better protect their children from online dangers including cyberbullying, sexting, social media risks, gaming and online grooming.

Advertising its protest, Saoradh said its supporters would be "attempting to gain entry to (the meeting) in order to highlight the PSNI's continuing psychological abuse of children via stop and searches, home invasions and threats to parents' lives".

It is understood that loyalist flag protesters plan to stage a counter-demonstration at City Hall.

Security arrangements were discussed at a meeting in Tennent Street PSNI station yesterday, attended by Belfast City Council's security manager, John Terrett.

An internal memo circulating around City Hall, which has been obtained by the Belfast Telegraph, said: "It is believed that both groups (republicans and loyalists) will initially make their way to the cobbled area outside the front gates.

"Both groups may then move to the back gate of City Hall. There will be a significant PSNI public order operation in place for these protests."

The memo continues: "Neighbourhood officers will be inside City Hall and TSG units will be in position in the vicinity of the building.

"Silver Control (police) will be overseeing the event.

"Additional Belfast City Council security will be deployed inside City Hall.

"The event is a ticket-only event, however it is not known if any members of the protest groups have obtained tickets - this, however, remains a possibility."

The memo states that all attending the meeting will be screened at the back gate and main staircase before being registered by event organisers at the Rotunda.

Around 230 people are expected at the meeting.

The memo states that the security operation will begin at 5pm and that the council's security team will "work closely with PSNI and organisers to ensure that the event passes off with the minimum disruption".
The handling of the unveiling of a memorial to the thousands of British soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan has been criticised as "crass" by a Northern Ireland military widow.

Brenda Hale (48) said she was "floored" to hear the event in London this week, to be attended by the Queen, was not open to all close family members of those servicemen and women who died in the conflicts.

The Iraq Afghanistan memorial will be dedicated at a service attended by 2,500 people, including civil servants and politicians, as well as veterans and relatives of those who lost loved ones.

Mrs Hale, whose husband Captain Mark Hale was killed in Afghanistan in 2009, accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of failing to understand the plight of the bereaved.

She said: "If it is the case that the charities have been left to decide who is to attend and who isn't, that is completely crass. For that to happen, it speaks volumes that the MoD, despite the conflicts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and despite the number of families falling through the net, they still haven't got their act together and they still don't understand what it is like to be the family left behind, the family that has to go on alone."

Mrs Hale, who said she did not receive an invite for Thursday's unveiling, insisted all families of dead service personnel should have been given the option to attend, or arrangements made for them to see the service.

She said: "Every bereaved family should be invited and whether they can fit them in or not is neither here nor there.

"The bereaved families should be recognised because they are still living that war. They (the MoD) need to step up and honour those men and women who died, but also honour their families because we are still living with that loss."

Mrs Hale, who lost her seat as a DUP MLA in last week's election, entered politics to campaign for better treatment of soldiers and their families.

Another widow, Wendy Rayner from Bradford, said she had spoken to a number of people who were "upset - they feel they have been forgotten".

Her husband Sergeant Peter Rayner was killed by an improvised explosive device during a routine patrol in Afghanistan in 2010.

The MoD said the memorial will represent the more than 300,000 people who served in the conflicts between 1990 and 2015 and those who supported their efforts from the UK, not just those who died.

"Given the significant scale and 25-year period being recognised, attendance at Thursday's unveiling must be representative in nature," a statement read.

"It is right that each of those groups commemorated is represented - including current serving personnel, bereaved families, veterans, gallantry award winners, charities and the many civilian organisations that played a role.

"To ensure each group is represented, charities and groups representing the bereaved were asked to suggest attendees, and we look forward to welcoming them on Thursday."
Scene of the incident on Wednesday morning.

Scene of the incident on Wednesday morning.

Scene of the incident on Wednesday morning.

A car has been set on fire outside a Belfast nightclub.

It happened at around 3.30am on Wednesday at Bradbury Place in the south of the city.

A nearby shop front was scorch damaged in the blaze, police said.

The road had to be closed during the morning commute because of the damage caused and to allow for the clean-up.

Inspector James Ellson said: At this stage we believe that the vehicle was deliberately set on fire. Investigations into a motive are ongoing.

We are appealing for anyone with information who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the area to contact Police at Musgrave on 101 quoting reference number 78 of the 8/3/17."
Gas supplier Firmus has announced a 12.2% price hike for its 80,000 customers here - the second energy giant to bump up bills in five days. Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Gas supplier Firmus has announced a 12.2% price hike for its Northern Ireland 80,000 customers - the second energy giant to bump up bills in five days.

The firm said it would add 1.18 per week to customers' accounts, amounting to an extra 61 per year.

The company blamed the price rise, which it said was its first in three years, on the soaring cost of wholesale gas - a trend that has also brought increases to oil and petrol.

SSE Airtricity last week announced price increases of 7.6% from the end of this month.

Firmus supplies gas to towns and villages around Northern Ireland and is a challenger in the greater Belfast area.

It made its first inroads into the market with the so-called '10 towns' at the heart of its licensed area. And Antrim, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Coleraine, Craigavon (including Lurgan and Portadown), Limavady, Londonderry and Newry will be hit with the rise from the end of this month.

In greater Belfast the firm has 50,000 customers, compared to 140,000 for SSE Airtricity. These customers will face the increase from April 7.

Firmus Energy managing director Michael Scott said: "We understand the importance of price stability for customers and apologise for having to increase prices.

"Over the past three years we have been able to reduce or maintain our prices.

"We appreciate that this is not good news for customers. However, this tariff change is driven by the rising wholesale natural gas commodity market."

The price increase was announced following a formal tariff review process that involved the energy company, the Utility Regulator, the Department for the Economy and watchdog the Consumer Council.

Firmus has been part of Icon Infrastructure since it was sold by Bord Gais in the Republic three years ago.

Kevin Shiels, from the Utility Regulator, said: "The main reason for this tariff change is due to the increase in international wholesale energy costs.

"The increase in international wholesale energy costs has also affected the price of petrol and home heating oil.

"We will continue to monitor Firmus Energy's costs and, should wholesale gas costs or other cost elements decrease, we will act as soon as possible to ensure that this reduction is reflected in consumer bills."
A Belfast man facing charges arising from a stabbing in the west of the city was refused bail on Wednesday to attend his nephew's christening in the role of Godfather.

In application for compassionate bail made on behalf of Gareth Donnan to allow him to attend the church service and stand for his nephew as Godfather was refused after a Crown Court judge was informed of multiple breaches after he was granted bail last summer.

Barrister Luke Curran, acting on behalf of Donnan, asked that his client be granted compassionate bail for several hours this Sunday to allow him both to attend the religious service in Whiterock and family meal in licenced premises after the christening.

Mr Curran told Belfast Crown Court that while he acknowledged there were breaches of bail the last time Donnan was granted full bail, he was granted compassionate bail earlier this year to allow him to visit his daughter in hospital.

Pointing out there were "absolutely no difficulties" regarding that compassionate bail, Mr Curran urged Judge McCaffrey to grant bail this weekend to allow Donnan - whose address was given as formerly of Harrowgate Street - to fulfil his role as Godfather to his brother's son.

The application was opposed by the Crown, with a prosecutor revealing that when Donnan was granted full bail last summer, there were several breaches.

The prosecutor also revealed that Donnan is due to be arraigned next week on five charges arising from an incident in west Belfast last April, during which a 51-year old man was stabbed. The charges Donnan faces including wounding with intent and possessing both a hammer and a pair of scissors with intent to commit grievous bodily harm.

Branding last year's incident as "nasty", the prosecutor said there was a "break-in at a house where a stabbing took place, and there were weapons present".

He also spoke of a series of breaches of bail which occurred after Donnan was released on High Court bail last summer.

The court was told that when bail was granted last June, a number of stringent conditions were put in place. These including Donnan living with his father at Harrowgate Street, observing a 9pm to 9am curfew, reporting to police three times a week and having no contact with either the injured party or any of his family.

Outlining the Crown's opposition to bail, the prosecuting barrister said Donnan's multiple breaches included:

Leaving his bail address on August 16 last year and never returning

Contacting the injured party's daughter in November 2016

Breaching his curfew on four occasions over a ten-day period last August

Failing to sign with police from August 24 last year, onwards.

The prosecutor also revealed Donnan "came into the hands of police as a result of further offending last November ... that led to him being remanded in custody".

The prosecutor concluded by telling the Judge that while the Crown acknowledged there were no incidents when Donnan was granted bail to visit his daughter in hospital, this application was opposed.

"It's up to how much confidence the courts can have, given that series of events," he said.

After listening to submissions from both the Crown and defence, Judge McCaffrey said that while she might have been inclined to this application based on his compliance during the last compassionate bail, she was refusing it due to the "saga in relation to the previous breaches".

Judge McCaffrey added: "I am afraid he is going to have to get a proxy to stand in his place as far as the Godfather role is concerned."
The family of Jack Glenn has appealed for volunteers to help them extend the search for his body along the banks of the River Foyle.

The 23-year-old was spotted entering the water on February 2 and, since then, hundreds of people answered the family's plea for help in the search.

Despite this, Jack's body has yet to be found and the family has now renewed the appeal to include areas like Donnybrewer, Eglinton, Ballykelly and Magilligan, as well as Prehen and Newbuildings.

Jack's uncle, Wayne Glenn, who set up the social media page GetJackBack, said even one hour's help would be deeply appreciated by the whole family.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, he explained: "His parents Colin and Hester are really struggling to cope at the minute, as is Jack's sister, Katie ... in fact, we are all feeling the loss.

"We have no foundation for extending the search to along the lough shore but we want to try every single thing we can, which is why we are asking again for people's help," he added.

"There is more daylight now and, if people could come out and search the areas we haven't covered before, for even one hour, we would be so appreciative."

Mr Glenn said: "We are also asking people living in the Donegal side of the Lough to help too, people living in areas like Greencastle, Redcastle and Moville."

While volunteers comb the river banks on a daily basis, water searches led by Foyle Search and Rescue have continued unabated since Jack went missing over a month ago, enhanced every weekend by search organisations from across Northern Ireland and the Republic.

One of the major difficulties hampering efforts to find Jack's remains is the river itself.

The Foyle is the fastest flowing river of its size in Europe, and it also reaches depths of up to 22 metres close to the Foyle Bridge where Jack was last seen alive.

Anyone who would like to help the search is asked to contact Wayne Glenn through the GetJackBack Facebook page.
Online threats against former Ulster Unionist MLA Jenny Palmer have been condemned across the political spectrum as "cowardly intimidation".

Mrs Palmer received a series of abusive messages on her Facebook account from a man claiming to be a former UDR member.

Last week she lost her seat in Lagan Valley, while the SDLP's Pat Catney was elected.

The DUP's Brenda Hale also lost her seat, leaving the constituency with two DUP seats and one for the UUP, Alliance and SDLP.

Mrs Palmer said the comments left her feeling "vulnerable".

She added that she had informed the police, and refused to be intimidated by the abuse.

"I have no intention of deserting the people of Lagan Valley. There is still much work to be done," she said.

The rants directed at her on the Facebook page warn her and her councillor husband John to leave the area.

Written in near-illiterate English, one of the messages says that life at her home in the Hillsborough area "might end".

It also describes her as a "Lundy".

Former DUP MLA Jonathan Craig, who lost his seat in Lagan Valley in 2016, voiced his support on Facebook, saying his staff had been threatened with parcel bombs in the past.

"It is a difficult time for anyone when they lose their job, it is no different for a politician," he wrote.

"I know personally how Jenny Palmer feels at present - it was my turn 10 months ago and it is not a pleasant experience. You have very difficult problems to deal with ie losing staff, winding up the work you have been involved in and closing your office.

"No one either needs or deserves threats of any kind against them, it is reprehensible, wrong and illegal.

"I recall the time I was informed that I and my staff were in danger of receiving parcel bombs due to my membership of the Policing Board.

"It was a very stressful time for all concerned.

"My thoughts are with Jenny and John, who I still hold in high regard."

Adding his support, UUP MP Danny Kinahan branded the abuse "cowardly intimidation".

"The comments made against Jenny and her husband on social media are beneath contempt and I unreservedly condemn them. I can assure John and Jenny of our full support," he said.

Lagan Valley Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn said the "vile threats" could not be tolerated.

"No one should have to put up with online trolling and abuse," he said.

"Jenny stood for re-election on a peaceful platform, while those behind these messages only aim to distract from our democratic process."

The incident is just the latest example of threats and trolling of politicians around the election period.

In January a police inquiry was launched after online death threats were made against the DUP leader Arlene Foster. Former Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness called the threats "shameful".

In February pregnant North Belfast SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon was targeted when loyalists mailed a bullet to her in the post.

Her party colleague Daniel McCrossan MLA also complained of threatening behaviour towards him and a female party volunteer while out canvassing.

On Sunday Alliance leader Naomi Long blocked a Facebook user who had repeatedly insulted her appearance.

"I rarely block anyone on my page, but I'll make an exception in this case," she wrote. "I'm a public representative, not a punch bag for the terminally obnoxious."

The DUP's Emma Little Pengelly, who lost her seat in South Belfast, also complained about online abuse and has locked her Twitter account.

"The Twitter trolling has increased since the election," she said. "I was calling people out on that and I won't be facilitating that kind of thing on my Twitter any further."
A screen shot of the memo sent to councillors by email.

The Strike4Choice rally called for the end of Northern Ireland "outdated" abortion laws.

The Strike4Choice rally called for the end of Northern Ireland "outdated" abortion laws.

A Green Party councillor has told of her shock after Belfast City Council mistakenly described those behind a pro-choice abortion rally at city hall as a "dissident republican group".

The description was made in error by a staff member in an email sent out to councillors on Wednesday morning.

At noon Strike4Choice held a protest at the gates of city hall. It called for supporters to ditch work and join its call to end Northern Ireland's "outdated" abortion laws.

In an email sent out to councillors under the subject of 'protests at city hall - cyber crime - on line safety event - Wednesday March 8' the staff member provided an update on a security briefing with police.

The email said: "A PSNI officer will be one of the main speakers at this event and this has resulted in Dissident Republican groups (Strike for Choice and SOARDH) notifying their intention to protest at Belfast City Hall."

The PSNI is expected to mount a major security operation at Belfast City Hall on Wednesday night as dissident republicans gather to protest against a police officer addressing a meeting on cyber safety.

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Belfast City Council has since apologised to Strike4Choice for any offence caused by their mistake.

A spokesman said: "An internal memo on a potential protest at City Hall inadvertently mentioned a group who were due to take part in a different protest on the same day at a different time.

"Belfast City Council unreservedly apologises to Strike for Choice for any offence caused by this error."

Expand Expand Previous Next Close A screen shot of the memo sent to councillors by email. Georgina Milne / Facebook

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Whatsapp A screen shot of the memo sent to councillors by email.

Green Party councillor Georgina Milne was among those to receive the email.

"I am a supporter of Strike4Choice," she said.

Strike4Choice has absolutely nothing to do with dissident republicanism. Rather, the protest at Belfast City Hall challenged the criminalisation of women through archaic abortion laws.

I am shocked that Belfast City Council got this so wrong. It shows a serious lack of awareness and understanding of current issues and non-violent protest movements.

I was particularly galled to receive the memo by email on International Womens Day."

She added: I call on Belfast City Council to explain their position as soon as possible. I will also raise the matter at the next Belfast City Council meeting and would expect a full explanation as soon as possible.

Strike4Choice organiser Kellie McConnell said the lunchtime protest was a great success with around 400 people attending.

"It was a good turn out, the weather held off. We had great speakers and a terrific samba band."

She added: "We assume this was an error made by the council, mistaking Strike4Choice with another group.

"We are much more concerned about that fact that we don't have access to free, safe and legal abortion in Northern Ireland. It still happens, but we either have to travel to another country out of pocket, or we face prosecution for taking safe but illegal pills.

"Strike4Choice is a grassroots organisation to draw attention to the severe lack of reproductive healthcare in Northern Ireland, and to demand reform to our outdated and tyrannical abortion laws. We stand in solidarity with Strike4Repeal actions in Ireland, and around the world.

"We did inform Belfast City Centre PSNI ahead of the event of our intent to protest our politicians' lack of action to provide women's human rights."
A columnist for the Times of London has come under fire after suggesting that Ireland is not a real country.

In her comment piece for Tuesday's edition Melanie Philips talks about moves by republicans in Northern Ireland and nationalists in Scotland to seek independence from the UK.

Under the headline 'Britain is the authentic nation in this battle' she describes Scotland and Northern Ireland as "the most troublesome bits of the United Kingdom".

However, it is her comments about the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland that have sparked the biggest reaction online.

Ms Philips writes that unionists in Northern Ireland are "not British".

She continues: "They're the bit that got tacked on to Great Britain to make the UK.

"Does that mean Westminster should tear up the Good Friday agreement and bid farewell to Northern Ireland. No, because it has an obligation to the unionists; and because the claim to unite Ireland is tenuous since Ireland itself has a tenuous claim to nationhood, having seceded from Britain as the Irish Free State in 1922."

The column has caused a big reaction online with many taking to Twitter to lambaste the writer.

Irish ambassador to the UK Daniel Mulhall wrote: "As Ambassador I cannot ignore @MelanieLatest's outlandish claim @thetimes that Irish nationhood is 'tenuous'. 100 years of independence.

"Irish nationhood based on strong sense of identity, distinctive culture & shared values and interests. Nothing 'tenuous'."

Another tweeter wrote: "That awkward moment when other countries find out about Melanie Philips."

Independent.ie has attempted to contact Ms Philips for a comment.

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A heartbroken mum yesterday pleaded with young people to stay away from drugs a year after her beloved daughter was killed by cocaine and ecstasy.

Caitlin McVeigh-Conlon, who had a six-month-old daughter, was just 18 when she accidentally overdosed at her home in west Belfast.

Speaking yesterday after the inquest into her daughter's death, devastated mum Paula Conlon said: "This was so out of character for Caitlin. I didn't even know she knew about drugs like this and I can only imagine that this was the first time she'd used them.

"It's unbelievable that this is how things turned out for her because she had so much going for her.

"She adored her little girl, she couldn't be without her and she was such a good wee mummy. She'd never have left her.

"Things like this are so dangerous that even if you take them as a one-off or even just once in a while, this is what can happen.

"I'm left without my beautiful daughter and my granddaughter is left without her mummy.

"It's not something to mess about with and I would beg people not to try them because you never know what will happen."

Ms McVeigh-Conlon spent the night before she died with her mum and partner Dylan Conlon at the house she had just moved into with her young daughter, the inquest heard. With her granddaughter safely asleep in bed, Ms Conlon (43) left her daughter's house at midnight while Ms McVeigh-Conlon's partner stayed and her older brother, Ryan Conlon, arrived later with a friend.

It was not until late the next afternoon, at almost 5pm on February 28 last year, that Dylan Conlon called 999. Friends wept as the distressing phonecall was played at the inquest.

Sadly, by the time paramedics arrived, it was too late and the business studies and childcare student had passed away.

Coroner Joe McCrisken said while there was confusion over the exact time of Ms McVeigh-Conlon's death, he believed it was likely she had died between 5am and 9am that morning.

His judgement was based on evidence given by medical and scientific experts.

Ms McVeigh-Conlon's partner was asked to attend the inquest, but did not turn up.

Mr McCrisken said he had powers to impose a fine of up to 1,000 for failing to attend an inquest and that it was something he intended to pursue in this case.

He said he would also explore other possibilities as giving evidence at an inquest was not optional.
Young people planning to visit the Holylands area of Belfast on St Patrick's Day have been warned to be careful after a serious sexual assault in the University Street area

Young people planning to visit the Holylands area of Belfast on St Patrick's Day have been warned to be careful after a serious sexual assault in the University Street area.

Detectives from the PSNI's rape crime unit appealed for information following the attack on a woman in her 20s.

It happened in the doorway of commercial premises at around 12.40am on Tuesday March 7.

A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of rape. He was later released pending further investigation.

Green Party MLA Clare Bailey, who opened her constituency office in University Street last November, described the attack as "horrific."

Before her election, Ms Bailey worked with Nexus NI, which offers counselling and support to survivors of sexual abuse.

"I'm always shocked when I hear about incidents like this," she said. "But I know that this type of thing does happen in this area. I would like to put out a warning to everyone in the area to look after themselves and keep themselves safe.

"A lot of people come to the Holylands area on St Patrick's' Day and we often look at the students and people who descend on the area and sometimes don't look at the impact of what they are getting into. Crimes such as sexual assault and burglaries occur frequently in that area.

"This is a timely reminder to people to look after themselves. This area has a high crime rate and anyone who is thinking of coming into the area to party should think about that."

Ms Bailey said she felt that the emphasis on students' bad behaviour could lead to more serious crimes in the area being overshadowed.

"Drunkenness distracts from incidents such as serious sexual assaults," she added.

"There are a lot of students and a transient community here - there's a large volume of people passing through.

"We must ensure our streets are safe, and a joined-up approach must be taken, particularly in south Belfast, where a number of incidents have taken place over recent years."

Ms Bailey also called on Belfast City Council to do more to improve security in the Holylands area through the installation of CCTV cameras.

"There used to be two CCTV cameras in the Holylands area, but the council took them down as they said they weren't effective in catching people, and they were never replaced," she said.

"I would be calling for the cameras to be re-installed."

A spokeswoman for Belfast City Council said that in January 2016 it agreed to "the closure of the CCTV, but with the support of ongoing mobile CCTV".

"This was due to costs associated with maintaining and upgrading the system with the support of partners involved in the launch of the pilot scheme," she added.
Sinn Fein has been told to stop "jack-booting" its way through negotiations to restore Stormont.

Ahead of the first day of anticipated inter-party negotiations today, East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson pledged his party would put a halt to Sinn Fein's demands.

"We cannot change this election result, but we can stop Sinn Fein jack-booting its way through these talks and will do so," Mr Wilson vowed.

As talks between the five main parties and Secretary of State James Brokenshire continued yesterday, it was confirmed Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan would join negotiations today after returning from abroad.

After his second meeting - which Sinn Fein said was "relatively short" - in two days with Mr Brokenshire, Gerry Adams repeated his warning that Westminster was in danger of repeating the mistakes of the past and failing to implement agreements.

One issue raised was Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan's request for money to be set aside for legacy inquests, with some families waiting for more than 40 years for answers.

Mr Adams said: "Yesterday he (Mr Brokenshire) said he would reflect on that, and it was clear that if he had reflected he had come to no good conclusion."

Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill, meanwhile, accused Mr Brokenshire of "waffle".

"We needed a fundamental change in approach from the British Government - we made that very clear to James Brokenshire today," she said.

"All he did was waffle, waffle and more waffle in relation to how we are going to go forward and give families what they need, which is access to due process as per the request of the Lord Chief Justice.

"We called the meeting to an end because we had more waffle. We called the meeting short and asked him to go and reflect on that."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, however, said the "mood music" around the talks was better than during the election campaign.

Meanwhile, DUP MLAs cheered yesterday as they appeared en masse in the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings following a party meeting.

Arlene Foster said she was delighted with the backing she had received.

"We had a full and open discussion around the campaign and I am delighted with the support I have had from all my colleagues," she added.

Mrs Foster also stressed that she was looking forward to going into the negotiations to "get a good deal, not just for unionism but for all the people of Northern Ireland".

"We are focused on the restoration of devolution and making sure that we have that stability for the people of Northern Ireland," she said.

Mr Brokenshire, in a brief statement, said he was "just getting on with the talks and discussions".

One potential early roadblock was avoided yesterday when it was announced that MLAs at next Monday's initial Assembly meeting would not attempt to elect a Speaker.

Instead, that has been put back until Monday March 27 - the same day the parties are expected to try and appoint ministers to a new Executive.

There has been no agreement between Sinn Fein and the DUP over who might take up the Speaker's role and so far no names have been mentioned.

The former Speaker, Robin Newton of the DUP, ended the term in controversy when he gave the go-ahead to then First Minister Arlene Foster to make a statement on the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme even though then Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness had withdrawn permission for her to do so.

TUV leader Jim Allister said Assembly rules were being "bent" by the postponement, which was agreed at a meeting of party chief whips.

Green Party MLA Steven Agnew called for patience on all sides during the negotiations, which are expected to be tough.

"Parties should be given as much time as possible to find a way forward and thrash out the issues that have blighted the relationship between the traditional parties," he said.

"I think the mood has been businesslike - there is a sense of the urgency of what is at hand here and getting back into devolved government at the earliest possible opportunity."
A quarter of Allied Irish Banks is to be sold off by the Government

Ordinary punters will be able to buy shares in a bailed-out bank when it is offered on the London and Dublin stock markets in the next year.

A quarter of Allied Irish Banks is to be sold off by the Government in the second half of this year or the first half of next year.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan updated cabinet colleagues in Dublin on the planned sale as he looks to recoup as much of the 20.8 billion euro of taxpayers' money that was pumped in at the height of the banking and economic collapse.

The State owns 99% of the bank, which last week reported pre-tax profits of 1.7 billion euro for last year and a 250m euro dividend being paid, the first by the bank in nine years.

In a statement on the sale the Department of Finance said substantial progress was being made on the sale, which could take place any time between now and July 2018 depending on market conditions.

It said "a potential retail offer" was being considered to give "individuals the opportunity to participate in an IPO (Initial Public Offering) at the same price as institutional investors".

It is likely brokers will be lined up for investors and a minimum investment level is being considered but no incentives.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Davy and Deutsche Bank have been hired to assist on the sale and ultimately market and distribute the State's shares to investors once a decision to proceed with a sale is taken.
Smoke damaged vent at the apartment where a woman and two children died in a fire ,on Kilcronan Avenue in Clondalkin . Pic: Frank Mc Grath

Flowers are left at the scene of an apartment fire in Dublin which claimed the lives of a woman and two children. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire

A pregnant mother, her daughter and two other children have died in an apartment fire in Ireland.

The woman, aged 27 and understood to be several months pregnant, was living with her two-year-old daughter in Clondalkin, west Dublin, in a complex operated by a charity which helps victims of domestic violence.

Another woman who was staying in the apartment with her was fighting for her life in hospital, while her three-year-old daughter and four-year-old son died.

The boy was rushed with her to Our Lady's Hospital, Crumlin, in Dublin where they were both treated for several hours before he died.

While the cause of the blaze is not being treated as suspicious, gardai said investigations were continuing into how it started and they were keeping an "open mind".

The initial focus was on an electrical fault in the apartment.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins led messages of sympathy as he held an event to mark International Women's Day.

"I do want to express my sympathy to all of those affected by the tragedy in Clondalkin. The women involved would have been represented here today. All of our hearts must go out to these women and children," he said.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Children's Minister Katherine Zappone also extended condolences.

The alarm was raised at about 2.30am, with several 999 calls being made to emergency services and crews on scene within five minutes.

The apartment was fitted with a working fire alarm that was set off by the blaze.

The Sonas organisation, which supports domestic violence victims and provides secure accommodation for up to two years after women move on from refuges, has four apartments and six houses in the Cluainin Cronan complex.

Fiona Ryan, chief executive of the charity, said it had been left absolutely devastated by the tragedy.

"Our sympathies and condolences are with the relatives and friends of the deceased and all those impacted by this awful tragedy," she said.

Ms Ryan said the charity was liaising with gardai and fire chiefs investigating the circumstances of the fire.

"We are currently supporting other families in the apartment complex including those unable to return to their homes because of fire damage, for whom we are sourcing alternative accommodation," she said.

Dublin Fire Brigade said its rescue teams took the two women and three children from the first-floor apartment and p aramedics treated them in the grounds of the complex.

Despite resuscitation efforts, the 27-year-old woman and the two girls were pronounced dead at Tallaght Hospital.

It is understood that another seven residents were evacuated from the block where the fire started.

Gardai appealed for witnesses to come forward as technical examinations continue to determine the cause of the fire.

Eoin O Broin, Sinn Fein TD in Dublin Mid-West and an elected representative in the Clondalkin area for many years, said his thoughts were with those directly affected and that local people were numbed by the tragedy.

"The community here in Kilcronan is resilient and will come together to comfort those who have lost loved ones in this fire," he said.
Conservative former Cabinet minister Lord Heseltine has been sacked as a government adviser after rebelling over Brexit.

Former cabinet minister Lord Heseltine said he has never met Theresa May, after being sacked as a Government adviser for rebelling over Brexit.

The defiant Tory grandee was fired after he backed demands in the House of Lords for a "meaningful" vote on the final exit deal, and said he was sorry the Government would lose his expertise.

The peer said had been working for the Government three to four days a week for the last six years, but that he had "no relationship" with the Prime Minister, was sacked by the chief whip in the Lords, and has still not heard from Number 10.

But the Prime Minister's official spokesman said he understood that Mrs May had in fact met Lord Heseltine, though he did not make clear whether this was since she entered Number 10.

Lord Heseltine said he was forced to abandon dinner with his wife to receive his marching orders from chief whip Lord Taylor of Holbeach after Tuesday's vote and debate on the Brexit Bill, in which he warned that quitting the European Union was the "most momentous peacetime decision of our time".

The former deputy prime minister said he knew there could be consequences if he rebelled, but he was not warned that he could lose his roles advising the Government on a number of areas, including its industrial strategy.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, he went on: "I heard nothing from Number 10, I've had no relationship with Number 10 since the new Prime Minister (Mrs May).

"But I'm not complaining, I was getting on with the job that I was doing."

He refused to comment on suggestions that his sacking was designed to intimidate Tory MPs who are considering rebelling when the "meaningful vote" amendment comes back to the Commons, expected on Monday.

"I've never met Theresa May and so I can't make a judgment.

"She's doing very well in the post, public opinion approves of what she is doing, and so I'm not going to get involved in a sort of tit-tat of personalities," he said.

"My preoccupation has been from the very beginning that I believe that the referendum result is the most disastrous peacetime result that we've seen in this country."

After being sacked, he told the Press Association on Tuesday: "This is entirely the right of the Prime Minister and I'm sorry that the expertise which I have put at the Government's disposal over the last six years has now come to an end.

"However, in the last resort, I believe, as I said in the House of Lords, the future of this country is inextricably interwoven with our European friends.

"It's the duty of Parliament to assert its sovereignty in determining the legacy we leave to new generations of young people."

He was one of 366 peers who inflicted a second defeat on the Government's Brexit Bill.

Asked why she felt it necessary to sack him from his unpaid role, Mrs May's spokesman said: "The Government has a clearly stated, consistent position that the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill should be passed without amendment.

"It is a Bill with a simple purpose, to give the Government the power to trigger Article 50.

"Lord Heseltine, who held a number of official Government advisory positions, voted against the official position of the Government.

"The chief whip in the House of Lords therefore asked him to stand down from these roles.

"The Government would like to warmly thank Lord Heseltine for his service."

A Number 10 source rejected the suggestion Lord Heseltine's sacking was a warning to Tory MPs who were thinking about backing peers' demands for a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal.

If the Lords' amendment to that effect is backed by the Commons it will be written into law in the European Union (Notification Of Withdrawal) Bill.

But following the vote on Tuesday, Brexit Secretary David Davis said the Government was intending to overturn the result.

He said: "It is clear that some in the Lords would seek to frustrate that process, and it is the Government's intention to ensure that does not happen.

"We will now aim to overturn these amendments in the House of Commons."

Lord Heseltine was asked to help the Government with plans to restore deprived estates under David Cameron, and was also involved with developing proposals for east London's future with George Osborne.

As well as advise on Swansea's city deal, he has also worked with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and has been a national infrastructure commissioner.
At least 19 people have been found dead at the scene of a fire in a troubled orphanage near Guatemala City

At least 19 people have been found dead at the scene of a fire in a shelter for children near Guatemala City, officials said.

A spokesman for Guatemala's volunteer fire departments, Mario Cruz, said that firefighters were still extinguishing parts of the blaze.

But he said that so far 19 bodies have been found and about two dozen people were being treated for injuries.

The national police department said a total of 38 people had been injured, while the country's health ministry said that 14 were in a serious condition with severe burns.

Dr Carlos Soto, the director of the Roosevelt Hospital where some were being treated, said the most severe cases, all apparently girls, had suffered life-threatening burns.

The shelter has been criticised for overcrowding, alleged abuse and escapes in the past.

The prosecutor for children's rights, Abner Paredes, said initial reports suggested the blaze started when some began setting fire to mattresses in the shelter, known as the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home.

There were reports of escape attempts on Tuesday at the shelter, which was created to house children who were victims of abuse, homelessness or who had completed sentences at youth detention centres and had nowhere else to go.

While the shelter was built to house 500 children and adolescents, it held an estimated 800 at the time of the fire.

AP
Donald Trump's travel order bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Hawaii has filed an amended federal lawsuit challenging US President Donald Trump's revised travel ban.

The state filed the suit on Tuesday night with updates on its existing challenge to Mr Trump's previous order.

It said the order will harm the Muslim population of Hawaii.

The new order, announced on Monday, bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuts down America's refugee programme, affecting would-be visitors and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.

Hawaii's lawsuit says it is suing to protect its residents, businesses and schools, as well as its "sovereignty against illegal actions of President Donald J Trump and the federal government".

Hawaii's lawsuit had been on hold while a nationwide injunction on the initial ban remained in place.

A federal judge in Honolulu allowed the amended lawsuit.

US district judge Derrick Watson granted the state's request to continue with the case and set a hearing for March 15 - the day before Mr Trump's revised ban is due to go into effect.
Nato and the US warned they could scale back co-operation with Kosovo's security services if the government goes ahead with plans to transform its lightly armed security force into an army without the required constitutional changes.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said he told Kosovo's leaders that "unilateral steps such as these are unhelpful".

He warned that if Kosovo goes ahead as planned "Nato will have to review its level of commitment, particularly in terms of capacity-building".

A US embassy statement said "adoption of the current proposed law would force us to re-evaluate our bilateral co-operation with and long-standing assistance to Kosovo's security forces".

The move must be carried out through an "inclusive and representative political process", the statement added.

On Tuesday, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci sent a draft law to parliament asking approval to form a regular army.

The move was immediately denounced by Serbian leaders, who refuse to recognise Kosovo's independence and said they will use all political means available to prevent the formation of an army.

"There is no turning back. The KSF (Kosovo Security Force) will be transformed into Kosovo's army," Mr Thaci said on Wednesday. "Western Balkans is endangered from the Russian military bases in Serbia, from Russia's MIG jets in Serbia and from the Russian military exercises in Serbia."

He added later: "I expect that Nato is aware of such concrete threats."

Constitutional amendments would require voting approval from the ethnic minorities at Kosovo's parliament. Serbia in effect holds a key say through Kosovo Serbs on whether the required constitutional changes can happen.

Mr Thaci said Kosovo cannot "co-ordinate with Serbia" on its own affairs and that "Belgrade cannot decide for Kosovo".

"Nato and our international partners should assist Kosovo during this transformation and never think of punishing it simply because Serbia is not convinced that Kosovo should found its own army," he said.

Serbia's Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vucic, said he expects "help and support" from the European Union, the United States and Russia over Kosovo's plan.

Mr Vucic said the move was against the UN resolution that ended the war in Kosovo in 1999, and even against Kosovo's own constitution, which Serbia does not recognise.

Mr Thaci said he asked Mr Vucic in a telephone call on Tuesday to tell ethnic Serb minority politicians to return to the parliament to vote for a number of projects including the creation of the new army, and made clear to the Serb prime minister that the army would never be a "threat for Serbia or any other country".

"The response was disappointing," he said.

Both the US and Nato are key Kosovo allies and have been helping to build up Kosovo's security force.

Relations between Kosovo and Serbia have been tense recently and the move is likely to make things worse.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008. The move has been recognised by 114 countries but not Belgrade.

AP
Ulster unionism has its roots in the mantra 'United We Stand: Divided We Fall.' And it was a mantra that held unionism - although there were always dissident voices - together until the mid-1960s.

It began to fracture at that point because individuals, groups, factions and offshoots argued their voices and concerns weren't penetrating the "thick brick walls of big-house unionism".

That fracturing worsened when Stormont was closed and terrorism became part of our everyday lives. Since then, we have seen Vanguard, DUP, UUP, UPNI, PUP, NIUP, UUAP, UUUP, UUUC UKUP, UDP, TUV, UKIP, UCUNF, UUUM, NI Conservatives, WBLC (and that's just off the top of my head), plus a boat-load of ginger groups and one-man-bands.

Now and then the electoral consequences of their divisions - usually why they acknowledge that vote splintering costs them seats - forces them into temporary coalitions and pacts.

The United Ulster Unionist Council was set up in 1974 to fight the Sunningdale Agreement.

An election pact was agreed in 1986 to contest the 15 by-elections forced by reaction to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

In 2013, Mike Nesbitt and Peter Robinson jointly created a Unionist Forum to "get control" of the fall out from the flags protest. Another pact was reached in 2015 to "secure the maximum number of pro-Union seats" at Westminster, as well as wresting East Belfast back from Naomi Long.

Now, in response to the shock of losing their overall majority in the Assembly (the first time since 1921), Arlene Foster has suggested "a renewed attempt to create unionist unity where the parties would come together".

"Failing that, we need to agree transfer pacts where unionists transfer down the ballot paper to each other," she said.

It's an argument that will appeal to large swathes of unionism - even some small-u elements - who have had fear of 'them'uns' drilled into their psyche by the relentless negativity of unionist spokespeople (not all of them in the DUP).

It may also appeal to key figures within the UUP who, looking at the Assembly election, may conclude that they need a pact if they are to retain South Antrim and Fermanagh-South Tyrone.

With the PUP and TUV losing votes and Ukip barely registering, it's likely that some of their main figures will be tempted by a unity vehicle.

The problem with unionist unity is that it tends to fall apart fairly quickly afterwards.

The 2013 Unionist Forum imploded. The 2015 pact (which also embraced the smaller parties; albeit not formally) was followed by a return to the usual old ding-dong. And it falls apart because: a) there's little evidence that it fully maximizes the pro-Union vote; and b) it tends to focus on the short-term rather than the grander, over-arching ambition of promoting an inclusive, positive, confident unionism.

In September 2012, Peter Robinson talked about the creation of a Council For The Union to bring together all elements within the pro-Union community in preparation for Northern Ireland's centenary in 2021.

The idea was to promote a new perspective on unionism and Northern Ireland, a perspective that would unite big-U and small-u, as well as opening the door to small-n nationalists and constitutional agnostics who seemed happy enough to remain in the UK.

I have no difficulty with that, but I do have difficulty with a unity based on electoral fear and raising the drawbridges.

My unionism is inclusive and not afraid of promoting the equality of citizenship and multiculturalism that underpins pan-UK unionism. In other words, a unionism that promotes 'a place apart' values and unimaginative insularity is anathema to me.

It's okay not to like Sinn Fein's all-Ireland agenda and unity project, but circling the wagons and joining hands around the electoral campfire is not much of a response to Sinn Fein.

It's simply sending the message - mostly to potential voters and supporters - that you haven't a clue what else to do.

Unionism will not survive on headcounts alone.

It needs a vibrant counter-narrative to Irish nationalism and an argument more coherent and more convincing than, 'Look out! Gerry's behind you'.

Put bluntly: what does it actually mean to be a unionist in Northern Ireland four years before the 2021 centenary?
The recent election was an electoral revolution. The fact that we now have an Assembly in which there are 40 unionists, 39 nationalists and 11 'Others' means that, for the first time in the existence of Northern Ireland, there is not a unionist majority at Stormont.

This is an extraordinary new set of circumstances for all of us, with profound implications not just for the Assembly, but for our wider politics.

It is a huge political and psychological blow for the DUP and unionism at large. It radically alters the landscape for the foreseeable future.

Given the dynamics of the demographic inevitability of the increase of the Catholic/nationalist population and the relative decline in the Protestant/unionist population that has been under way for quite some time, the conventional wisdom was that this stage of political balance would probably not be reached for another 10 to 20 years.

Therefore, this is a premature and unexpected development unseen by most, but it fundamentally changes the dynamic.

At this moment in time the DUP may believe that it has a serious problem to resolve as to whether Arlene Foster leads it (or not) after the worst election result for unionism since the foundation of the state.

Of course, the leadership issue is important and crucial, as is the related question of the formation of a new Executive.

But there is a much more fundamental issue facing the DUP and looming large in the political background.

The real issue now for the DUP is what does the leading party of unionism do to face the challenge of the new realities and the very existence of the entity that we know as Northern Ireland? With no majority in the Assembly, where now for unionism?

The explanation for the Sinn Fein landslide that hit the ballot boxes on Thursday last was the appallingly insensitive leadership of Foster. Having triumphantly led the DUP to a solid victory in last May's elections, she squandered it 10 months later through her antagonistic and dismissive attitude to the nationalist community.

Her belittling remarks regarding the Irish language were seen as a contemptuous attack on the integrity of the nationalist community. It wasn't simply that she didn't understand the value placed on the language, but was seen as being gratuitously offensive to people's sense of Irishness.

While the majority of nationalist people don't speak Irish, nonetheless they see it as a cultural legacy that enriches their lives.

If the Queen could make a friendly gesture by speaking Irish, why couldn't our First Minister make a similar gesture?

Clearly, she failed to try to make any effort to understand the feelings of the nationalist community. Eventually nationalist people lost patience with the begrudging First Minister and her party.

The loss of 10 seats and a unionist majority in the Assembly lies fairly and squarely at Foster's feet. Her reluctance to be generous in spirit is at the heart of her failure. As David McIlveen said, Foster "awakened a sleeping giant".

Now the DUP is faced with dealing with the aftermath of a disastrous election campaign that has created a new and politically challenging context. It is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to face a new and hugely uncertain and dangerous future.

To date DUP thinking has been short-term and short-sighted; tactical rather than strategic. No one seriously thought about coping with the inevitably declining political majority within and without the Assembly. No thought was ever given to managing such an inevitable process.

It probably thought it would never happen or that, like climate change, it never existed. It was in denial. There was no foresight within the unionist leadership.

Whatever about before, short-term thinking is no longer a viable proposition for unionism. There needs to be a radical rethink among unionists to deal with the new reality.

Strangely, the only DUP politician expressing some innovative thought has been Ian Paisley MP, who is urging unionists to be more accommodating.

The type of vibrant, cross-community partnership proposed by Mike Nesbitt and supported by Colum Eastwood has been largely rejected by the electorate - the people, very sadly, preferring to vote for their larger and seemingly stronger sectarian protectors, who will simply guarantee continued polarisation.

Attempts at building a genuine, cross-community partnership have repeatedly failed largely due to unionists' reluctance to embrace the process.

Bar a miracle, the most probable outcome of this election is a prolonged stalemate and more polarisation, with a triumphalist and powerful Sinn Fein refusing to agree to an Executive unless its demands are fully met by a very wounded and humiliated DUP.

The likely outcome of all of this is an indefinite period of direct rule from London.
Bangladesh police said Tuesday they had arrested three people in connection with a brazen attempt by Islamic militants to free the country's most-wanted militant leader from death row and an attack on a police checkpoint this week.



They hurled a petrol bomb on a prison van carrying Mufti Abdul Hannan, the founder of banned militant group Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) near Collegegate in the Tongi industrial area on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka on Monday, police said.



"Police on duty arrested one youth who threw Molotov bombs on the prison van," said the officer-in-charge of Tongi police station, Md Feroz Talukder.



The vehicle was able to return to prison even though several bombs went off.



"Police recovered one bag full of Molotov bombs from the youth," Md Feroz said.



The youth was a former student at an Islamic boarding school, Agence France-Presse quoted police as saying.



Hannan, who had been condemned to the gallows over an attempted assassination of the British High Commissioner in 2004, was among 19 prisoners in the van when it came under attack, Md. Feroz said.



Bangladesh's apex court, which has upheld the death sentence on Hannan, is expected to hear an appeal for review of the capital punishment soon.



Bangladesh had banned HuJI in 2005.



"The militant outfit has been weakened due to recent police operations. But the militants would try to get their leader back from the police with the hope for a new jihad," Mahfuzul Haque Marzan, a professor of criminology at Dhaka University, told BenarNews.



Police also said they arrested two suspected militants over an attack at a police checkpoint in the eastern sub-district of Chandina, in Comilla district, on Tuesday.



The suspects stormed out of a Chittagong-bound bus undergoing a security check and hurled petrol bombs when pursued by police, according to police sub-inspector Monirul Islam.



Police shot and captured one suspect while the other man, who was armed with a knife, was apprehended by local residents.



Bangladesh has seen an increase in Islamic militancy in recent years. The Islamic State and al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government has blamed local militant groups for the violence.



Bangladeshi government officials say home-grown militant groups were behind a spate of deadly attacks against secular writers and religious minorities as well as an attack on a cafe in Dhaka last year. It was the countrys deadliest ever terrorist act but was claimed by Islamic State.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and their staffs pray at the Grand Mosque of Istiqlal in Jakarta, March 2, 2017.

Saudi Arabias puritanical brand of Islam  Salafism  has come under scrutiny in Indonesia as the ruler of the oil rich kingdom made a state visit to Jakarta last week.

Religious and rights groups have questioned whether Salafism has fueled violence and intolerance in Indonesia, a sprawling and diverse country where Islam took root in cultures shaped by Hinduism, Buddhism and animism.

Salafism is a Sunni Muslim movement that embraces a literal interpretation of the Quran and a return to the traditions of the era of the Prophet Muhammad.

The movements belief is dangerous and being exported into Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim nation, through educational aid by Saudi Arabia, said Ali Munhanif, a senior researcher at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta.

The movement emulates life in the early Muslim era and leads to anti-modernism, and opposition to the development of society. Anything else is considered un-Islamic. That kind of idea is dangerous, Ali told BenarNews.

Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries have been providing scholarships for Indonesians to study there with the hope that they will bring these concepts home, he said.

Public relations

The official Wahhabi religion of Saudi Arabia is based on certain segments of Salafism, and reports have claimed that Wahhabism has fueled global extremism and contributed to terrorism.

The visit by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud to Indonesia may be an attempt by Saudi Arabia to allay these fears, some reports suggested.

Now that Wahhabism has been linked with radicalism and even terrorism, the Saudi government has stepped up its campaign to counter that perception and the state visit of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Indonesia, where religious conservatism has gained ground alongside frequent terrorist attacks, was part of the public relations campaign, the Jakarta Post daily said in a report at the end of the state visit on Friday.

The King, who is holidaying in Bali, called for a united front to deal with what he termed a clash of civilizations and terrorism in a speech to Indonesian lawmakers last week.

The challenges that the Muslim community and the world in general faces, like terrorism and the clash of civilizations and the lack of respect for a countrys sovereignty, require us to unite in dealing with these challenges, the monarch said, according to the Jakarta Post.

King Salman also met with leaders of Indonesias major Islamic organizations and promoted a tolerant version of Islam as the key in the fight against terrorism and radicalism, the paper said.

Secular Indonesia has grown increasingly concerned about security after suffering a series of terrorist attacks in the past 15 years, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Last year, a terror raid in Jakarta claimed by the Islamic State left four attackers and four civilians dead.

Azyumardi Azra, Muslim scholar and former rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta, said some examples of Salafi or Wahhabi influence in Indonesia include Jemaah Islamiyah, the group that mounted the Bali bomb attacks, and Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, the group led by jailed cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

He also said that one goal of Salafism propagated by Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia is to offset the spread of Shia Islam. Shia Muslims are in the majority in Saudi Arabias arch rival Iran, as well as Iraq, among other countries.

Human rights groups have expressed concern over the calls by some conservative clerics in Indonesia for the persecution of minority Shias and Ahmadiyya members.

Tuition-free

Since 1980, Saudi Arabia has devoted millions of dollars to exporting Salafism to Indonesia, according to a recent report in The Atlantic Monthly, an American magazine.

It has built more than 150 mosques, as well as several Arabic language institutes and a free university in Jakarta, and sent a steady supply of preachers, teachers and textbooks to more than 100 boarding schools, the report said.

There were 900 Indonesian students in 10 universities across the kingdom as of 2016, according to the Association of Indonesian Scholars in Saudi Arabia.

Many more Indonesians get scholarships to study in Australia, the United States and European countries, according to Abdul Mukti, Secretary of Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in Indonesia.

Graduates of Saudi state universities dont necessarily become the followers of Salafism. Its usually the graduates of non-formal or private education institutions that do, Abdul told BenarNews.

One bastion of Saudi influence in Indonesia is the tuition-free Institute for the Study of Islam and Arabic (LIPIA), a branch of a Saudi university that opened in South Jakarta in 1980. The curriculum is entirely in Arabic; male and female students are segregated.

Alumni of the school include Habib Rizieq, head of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which has been at the forefront of attempts to oust the ethnic Chinese governor of Jakarta on allegations he blasphemed against Islam.

Another is Laskar Jihad founder Jafar Umar Thalib. Disbanded in 2002, Laskar Jihad recruited Muslims to fight Christians in Ambon, where some 5,000 people were killed and more than 700,000 displaced in communal violence between 1999 and 2002.

In check?

Despite the concerns over Salafism, Saudi Arabia is expected to forge ahead with its campaign to spread its version of Islam as it plans to open new campuses of LIPIA in Makassar, Surabaya and Medan, the Jakarta Post reported.

Meanwhile, Indonesias moderate Muslims are hoping the countrys mainstream Islamic organizations can keep a check on Salafism.

The movement is not so compatible with Indonesias multicultural society, said Ali, the researcher.

The role of Nahdlatul Ulama in supporting the nations independence was so strong, and Muhammadiyah too, in modernizing Islam, he said, referring to the two biggest groups that collectively claim tens of millions of members.

Scholar Azyumardi agreed, adding that it was important for the government to encourage both organizations role to be in line with the governments goal of developing a multicultural society and maintaining religious tolerance.

They are too big to fail. I dont see the worst scenario [of the rising influence of Salafism], he said. but it calls for vigilance and consolidation among moderate organizations.

But Indonesia has a new mass religious organization, Wahdah Islamiyah, which follows Salafi practices and has branches in every province and more than 174 schools.

It was founded in 1988 by students in Makassar who severed links with Muhammadiyah because of its adoption of Pancasila as a founding principle, according to Chris Chapin, a researcher with the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies. Pancasila, Indonesias state philosophy, emphasizes national unity and pluralism.
North Korean Embassy official Kim Yu Song looks on from behind police tape blocking the entrance to the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, March 7, 2017.

North Korea announced Tuesday it was barring Malaysians from exiting its territory and Malaysia reciprocated with a similar ban on North Korean visitors, as the two nations sharply escalated a feud following the murder of Kim Jong Uns half-brother.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who convened an emergency session of the National Security Council after flying home from a Jakarta summit of Indian Ocean states, condemned North Koreas move and likened it to holding his countrymen as prisoners.

This abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage, is in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms, Najib said in a statement Tuesday.

As a peace-loving nation, Malaysia is committed to maintaining friendly relations with all countries. However, protecting our citizens is my first priority, and we will not hesitate to take all measures necessary when they are threatened, he said.

The prime minister said he had instructed Malaysias police chief to block all North Korean citizens in Malaysia from leaving the country until we are assured of the safety and security of all Malaysians in North Korea.

The prime minister also called on North Korea to allow Malaysian citizens to leave that country and avoid any further escalation.

The Malaysian police followed suit by mounting a barricade in the street in front of North Koreas embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and sealing the gate to the diplomatic mission with yellow Do Not Cross tape.

Heightened tensions

Tuesdays dramatic turn of events followed Malaysias expulsion of the North Korean ambassador.

The two countries had enjoyed long-standing diplomatic relations until the row erupted last month. Malaysia was among a handful of countries that maintained ties with Pyongyang, which has been under international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program. On Monday, Malaysia joined a chorus of international condemnation over North Koreas launch of four ballistic missiles.

That same evening, North Korean Ambassador Kang Chol left Malaysia after Malaysian officials had declared him persona non grata for publicly criticizing a local probe into the Feb. 13 assassination of Kim Jong Nam at a Kuala Lumpur area airport, and because North Korea had not apologized for the envoys outbursts.

Soon after, Pyongyang fired back by declaring Malaysias ambassador to North Korea officially unwelcome. On Tuesday, the regime under dictator Kim Jong Un announced it was preventing Malaysian citizens from leaving North Korea.

Pyongyangs foreign ministry notified the Malaysian embassy that the exit ban would stay in effect until the safety of the diplomats and citizens of the DPRK in Malaysia is fully guaranteed through the fair settlement of the case that occurred in Malaysia, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.

An official at Malaysias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 11 Malaysian citizens are in North Korea, including three staffers at the embassy, two who work there for the U.N. World Food Program, and their families.

All 11 of them are currently safe. This is all I can say at the moment, Reezal Merican Naina Merican, Malaysias deputy foreign minister, said Tuesday on national television.

We have no tourists, no students there. At the moment, the foreign ministry is in touch with them.

Not hurrying the probe

Before he was kicked out, the North Korean envoy had appeared twice before the medias cameras to criticize the integrity and neutrality of the Malaysian investigation into the fatal poisoning of Kim Jong Nam with a banned nerve agent, as local police have ruled.

Ambassador Kang was also angry because Malaysia had refused a North Korean request to turn over Kims body without a post-mortem and not without his next-of-kin coming forward to claim the body and provide a DNA sample.

So far, no one has come forward. Last week, a high-level delegation from North Korea arrived in Malaysia to hold discussions with local officials over taking custody of his remains.

Malaysian officials have not commented about such negotiations. They are waiting for Kims next-of-kin to come forward and give DNA needed for a positive identification of the body, Police Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar said Tuesday.

We are confident of getting a DNA sample, Khalid told a news conference Tuesday in George Town, Penang state, where he was taking part in a regional meeting on international narcotics enforcement.

It would be soon. For security reasons, we cannot tell you, he said, adding, We will have to give them [the family] some time. We are not hurrying the probe. But we will only settle for the DNA sample.

Malaysian authorities, meanwhile, have two women in custody, an Indonesian and Vietnamese who have been charged with murder as Kims suspected assassins.

Police also identified seven North Koreans as being wanted for questioning in the case, including the second secretary at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur and an employee at Air Koryo, North Koreas state-run airline.

These two men and a third North Korean suspect are thought to be hiding out inside the embassy, and officers were standing watch outside the embassy for them to come out, the police chief said.

We will wait, even if it takes five years, Khalid said.

Meanwhile, four of the seven North Koreans left Malaysia on the day of Kims murder and an eighth North Korean, a trained chemist who was arrested as a suspect in the case, was deported last week after police released him because of a lack of evidence.
Thai human rights activists Anchana Heemmina (wearing a hijab), Pornpen Khongkachonkiet (fourth from left) and Somchai Hom-la-or (fifth from left) participate in a press conference at a hotel in Bangkok after the military announced it was withdrawing a criminal defamation case against the three, March 7, 2017.

Thailands army Tuesday dropped criminal defamation charges against three human rights activists linked to a report that alleged systematic torture of insurgents in the custody of security forces in the Thai Deep South.

A spokesman for the regional command (ISOC 4) that covers the southern border zone said the three activists would not face trial for defaming the military and for committing computer crimes, as alleged in a complaint brought against them in May 2016.

We filed the complaint because we wanted an option to join them in a co-investigation on the claimed torture. We will withdraw the case today. We have no intention to just win the case and punish them through prosecution, ISOC 4 spokesman Col. Pramote Prom-in told reporters Tuesday at a hotel in Bangkok.

The complaint had named Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, director of the Cross-Cultural Foundation (CrCF); Somchai Hom-la-or, an adviser to CrCF; and Anchana Heemmina, who is with the Duay Jai (With Heart) Group, as targets of a criminal defamation suit.

Pornpen confirmed to BenarNews that ISOC4 had withdrawn all charges against her and the other activists.

In July, the three had appeared before police in Pattani, one of the provinces in the Deep South, to answer to charges of defaming the security services and violating Thailands Computer Crimes Act through the online publication of the report, Torture and Ill Treatment in the Deep South Documented in 2014-2015, released five months earlier.

The 49-page report co-published by CrCF, Duay Jai and a third local NGO, the Pattani Human Rights Organization (HAP), detailed allegations of torture of suspected insurgents in custody between 2004 and 2015.

The report cited accounts by 54 people ranging in age from 19 to 48 who alleged they had been subjected to physical torture, psychological torture or other inhumane treatment while incarcerated in the Deep South. Physical torture included water boarding, electrocution and sexual assault.

All the detainees were Muslim or Malay-speaking locals from the region, where violence associated with a separatist insurgency has claimed nearly 7,000 lives since 2004.

Positive outcome

Pramote said both sides agreed to three proposals: setting up a joint committee to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in the Deep South; establishing a mechanism to prevent such abuses; and establishing a mechanism for all stakeholders to agree to the contents of human rights reports about the Deep South.

The human rights organizations must work with the ISOC to achieve peace in the Deep South, Pramote said.

Those organizations expect to play a positive role in the process.

We NGOs will play a role like a bridge between suffering people and the government to solve violence against human rights, Anchana told BenarNews after the news conference. We also insist that we will be documenting, fact-finding and reporting comprehensive and more detailed accounts from all stakeholders.

International support

The withdrawal drew praise from Amnesty International and the United Nations Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia.

We commend the military authorities for their decision to drop the case against these brave activists, said Josef Benedict, Amnesty Internationals deputy director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

This case is emblematic of how criminal defamation provisions and other repressive laws have been used to target activists peacefully exercising their rights in Thailand. To prevent further such injustices, the authorities should reform or repeal repressive laws and bring them into line with the countrys international obligations.

Laurent Meillan, acting regional representative of the U.N. Human Rights Office, also welcomed the move.

Todays developments are very positive, and we encourage the Government of Thailand to take additional steps to strengthen measures to protect activists carrying out human rights reporting and monitoring, Meillan said.

Our office supports todays plans to establish mechanisms whereby the military, activists and other concerned stakeholders will come together to review and investigate allegations of human rights violations in the south. We stand ready to provide technical advice in this process.
A bid from Pulte Homes to rezone and add 465 residences and possibly a school near Sandy Run Creek on Jedburg Road wasn't met with open arms at a Oct. 26 community meeting on the part of local homeowners seeking to preserve the area's rural characteristics. Read moreJedburg Road residents tell Pulte Homes: 'Keep it rural'
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Von: By CHRISTIAN STENZEL

Opel was overtook by the french Groupe PSA at monday for 2,2 billion dollars. In an exclusive interview with BILD the Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann (55) talks about worried Opel employees, but also about the opportunities up to come.

BILD: Bonjour, Mr. Neumann, are you busy practicing your French?

Karl-Thomas Neumann: (laughs) No, although thats not a bad idea. But I speak English with the head of PSA, Carlos Tavares, whom Ive known for a long time and regard very highly.

Is the French takeover good or bad news for Opel employees?

Neumann: I understand every Opel workers worries. Even though we are now facing changes, the merger is good news. What matters is that Opels future is bright. It is increasingly important to be highly efficient, to reduce development expenses and to share the manufacturing architectures of various models. We did this with GM, but it holds even more so now with PSA  who, of course, are much more focussed on the European market.

Auch interessant

French cars dont exactly have a great reputation world-wide 

Neumann: Thats misleading. Over the last few years, PSA has changed enormously and has introduced strong technologies. We have already developed three cars together. The first result of this alliance is the Crossland X, which we have now introduced. The reactions have been more than positive. As a consequence, there could not have been a better partner for us.

And how much of its soul did Opel have to sacrifice for that?

Neumann: None at all! PSA doesnt want to blur the brands; it wants to strengthen them. The French brands have their own special character, and we have ours. Opel should maintain its German identity. Opel will remain German!

How safe are Opel employees jobs?

Neumann: We have a new owner who isnt investing in us in order to shrink us, but because it believes in our joint success. PSA has guaranteed that it will carry over any agreed wages currently in place at Opel. These agreements will remain valid until 2020 and, partly, even beyond. So everything will stay the same. Genuine long-term guarantees will only be possible if we remain economically successful. Now we have the cars we need in order to be economically successful and to get back in the black. The PSA merger will help us with that.

When two companies merge, factories can easily become redundant and ultimately be shut down.

Neumann: Of course we will be compared with PSA very closely. But let me just give you one example: our factory in Eisenach has just been tasked in 2019 with building the new generation of the Opel Mokka, one of our best cars. Nobody is challenging this. All of the cars weve announced will also be built  including new electric cars. Last year, we have hired 2,500 employees, including 340 engineers alone. We want to grow in order to run our factories at full capacity and to be economically successful. Success will then enable us to maintain our capacities.

Opel and GM had a shared history that lasted 88 years but was not always easy. Are you also a bit relieved to be rid of the mother from the US?

Neumann: (laughs) Maybe its a bit like a marriage

Youve become estranged?

Neumann: Well, no. We will miss GM. And we will remain connected in many areas, for instance with regards to IT and future technologies. On the other hand, we will be free of certain constraints in the future. For example, we will have access to markets that were previously closed to us.

Lesen Sie auch

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What are the new markets that you now want to conquer? China?

Neumann: Its still too early for that, since new markets also mean new investments. Opel must first be sustainably in the black.

General Motors CEO, Mary Barra, is a consultant to US President Donald Trump. As is well known, his slogan is America first. Was Barra guided by this slogan when she sold Opel?

Neumann: In the end, youll have to ask her, but I dont think so. This is not how she tends to think.

Allegedly, Mary Barra informed you quite late about the Opel sale, even though you have a good relationship. Did that disappoint you?

Neumann: Certain things are decided the way they are decided. You have to be able to deal with that. But this is not about personal sensibilities. I am looking forward. This merger is, by the way, part of a disruptive development in the car industry. We are only the tip of the iceberg. More will happen. It is becoming increasingly difficult to earn money with cars in the volume segment, because the legal requirements are rising, but the customers willingness to pay more is not.

The election campaign has started, and political Berlin has  with much media attention  engaged in the debate about the Opel sale. Were the contributions by several ministries and the Chancellery helpful?

Neumann: I would say that, after the initial bit of excitement, there was a very considerate, honest, and straightforward reaction from Berlin  i.e. that Opel and PSA can become a European champion. My impression is that we have the support of the Federal Government if we need it.

In Great Britain, Opel is called Vauxhall. How does Brexit concern you?

Neumann: What primarily concerns us is the currency. We do have two factories on the island, but we import 80 percent of the cars from continental Europe. Since the value of the Pound has dropped by 20 percent last year, we also earn 20 percent less. However, we dont have this margin, so we had to increase our prices. This is not exactly helpful when you are a volume manufacturer.

You have succeeded in freeing Opel of its old-fashioned image, for example with your campaign Umparken im Kopf (Reparking in your Head). Opel is suddenly hip. Whats next?

Neumann: We wanted people to see Opel through different eyes. But we do not want to stop there. Something has to happen. What Opel stands for must become even clearer.

Do you already have some ideas?

Neumann: (laughs) Yes, wait and see.
The dramatic liberation of the ISIS stronghold

Von: By PAUL RONZHEIMER and CLAAS WEINMANN

Mosul  The boy holds on to the wooden stick with the white flag as if it were the last bit of hope that he has left. This hope is that, finally, there will be peace  and that he will survive.

Bashar (13) and his sister Rana (5) run through the streets of Mosul, the embattled (former) ISIS stronghold. They always carry the white flag with them. War rages all around them. Iraqi soldiers fire their artillery alongside US troops. Not far away, the grenades of ISIS hit the ground. There is also the thundering of fighter jets and smoke in the sky. The bodies of ISIS fighters lie on the streets.

For Bashar and Rana, this is no longer a shocking sight. They have experienced worse.

It was only four days ago that they managed to flee with their family from the ISIS-controlled part of the city to an area controlled by the Iraqi army.

Bashar: Snipers shot at me, because they had seen the white flag. They are killing people who want to flee from the war.

The family had been living under the terror reign of ISIS for almost three years, as did millions of others. Bashar: I saw them decapitating people here on the public squares. Some of them were only killed because they had watched TV or owned a mobile phone. The situation was gruesome in general, there was hardly anything to eat in the past few weeks.

Auch interessant

More than 700 000 people are still trapped in the part of the city controlled by ISIS. Every day, thousands try to flee under extreme conditions, including many women, children, and wheelchair users.

After conquering the eastern part of the city, the Iraqi army is now moving further west. However, this offensive will not be over anytime soon.

Iraqi general Fadhil Barwary (53): The streets are narrow here; we are only making slow progress. ISIS does not care about how many people are dying. But we want to avoid the deaths of civilians. However, again and again, there are civilian victims.

This is unpredictable urban warfare on the streets. At the exact spot where we met Bashar with his white flag at noon, an Iraqi solider is heavily wounded two hours later. He is hit by a sniper. Soon after, a suicide bomber explodes a mere 1.5 kilometres away.

The problem for the Iraqi army is the following: even if the soldiers conquer a part of the city, there is always the danger that ISIS fighters are hiding in the houses or coming out of tunnels. There is no safety anywhere.

ISIS employs all the weapons that they have. In addition to snipers, suicide bombers, and booby traps, they also use self-made drones equipped with bombs. Iraqi soldiers recently even found a puppy with an explosive belt 

Mosul used to be the stronghold of ISIS. Hundreds of thousands of people used to sympathize with the terrorists. A number of fighters mingled with the refugees, shaving their beards and disappearing into the crowds.

At a distance from the frontline, men, women, and children are separated from each other and interrogated individually. Of course we cannot catch all of them, one Iraqi soldier comments.

Nobody knows exactly how long it will take to completely free Mosul. Some estimates say early May, others September. The question that also worries the soldiers is: what will happen afterwards?

There are already conflicts between PKK and the Kurdish autonomous government. Iran heavily influences the course of the war and the political developments via its Shiite militia.

The people who have just fled ISIS are already worried about the next war 

PS: Sind Sie bei Facebook? Werden Sie Fan von BILD.de-Politik!
For Immediate Release, March 8, 2017 Contact: Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-4905, kfried@fwwatch.org

Hannah Connor, Center for Biological Diversity, (202) 681-1676, hconnor@biologicaldiversity.org Dozens of Advocacy Groups Challenge EPA on Factory Farm Pollution Rural Communities Demand Clean Water, Not Environmental Rollbacks WASHINGTON While the Trump administration orders the Environmental Protection Agency to do less to protect Americans from dirty air and water, and Congress threatens to dismantle the agency altogether, Food & Water Watch, the Center for Biological Diversity, and 33 community and advocacy organizations are demanding that the EPA do more to protect communities from factory farms. The groups filed a legal petition today with the EPA citing its duty under the law to hold concentrated animal feeding operations accountable for their water pollution, which threatens public health and the environment. The petition asks the EPA to overhaul its regulations for how these operations are regulated under the federal Clean Water Act, noting that current rules fail to prevent pollution and protect communities. This petition paves the way for EPA to finally regulate CAFOs as required under the Clean Water Act, and explains that allowing CAFO pollution to continue unabated by maintaining the woefully inadequate status quo would violate federal law, said Wenonah Hauter, executive director at Food & Water Watch. Pruitt's record as Oklahoma attorney general shows that he's only looking out for industry interests  including the interests of polluting factory farms. But the EPA is legally bound to protect communities from pollution, and we intend to hold the agency accountable for doing its job. Clean water advocates have experienced the weak record of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on concentrated animal feeding operation pollution in Oklahoma. I have seen beautiful rivers turn green as a result of runoff from CAFOs, said Earl Hatley, Oklahoma's Grand Riverkeeper. We clearly need stronger protections, because poultry waste is polluting Oklahoma's rivers, streams and lakes. Concentrated animal feeding operations are large-scale, industrial factory farms. Most livestock in the United States are raised in these industrial operations, which can confine thousands, or even millions, of animals and their waste. The vast quantities of manure generated from concentrated animal feeding operations are typically disposed of, virtually untreated, on cropland, where it can seep or run off to pollute waterways and drinking water sources. Every single American  including those who live around massive animal production facilities  is entitled to clean water, said Hannah Connor, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. This petition urges the EPA to safeguard public health and the environment by addressing discharges of dangerous pollutants like E. coli and Salmonella into the waterways on which we all depend. We are simply asking EPA to close loopholes and clarify existing Clean Water Act requirements, so that the agency can properly do its job and keep big animal feeding operations from polluting our nation's waters, said Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project and former head of the EPA's Office of Civil Enforcement. The Clean Water Act requirements set out by Congress are simple, but the application to factory farms has been a needlessly complex saga. The changes we seek will give us clear rules and cleaner water. For more than 40 years, the Clean Water Act has defined concentrated animal feeding operations as point sources of pollution, meaning that discharging CAFOs must have Clean Water Act permits. These permits are supposed to require strict pollution controls, as well as monitoring and reporting of pollution discharges. But because of weak EPA regulations, only a fraction of these operations have permits, and the permits that do exist are ineffective. The EPA's failed approach has led to widespread, unchecked factory farm pollution in waterways and communities across the United States. Currently, despite the agency's duty to hold this industry accountable and protect rural communities' public health, EPA does not even know how many concentrated animal feeding operations exist or how many are polluting illegally. From acrid odors to polluted waterways, factory farms in North Carolina are directly harming some of our state's most vulnerable populations, particularly low-income communities and communities of color, said Naeema Muhammad, co-director and community organizer at the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network. That's why we're standing with other organizations from around the U.S. who care about social justice to demand that Scott Pruitt's EPA take action to ensure that regulations for factory farms protect the interests of all communities, not Big Ag. Even in Wisconsin, where all CAFOs are required to have Clean Water Act permits, water contamination from mega-dairies is a widespread and growing threat to public health. Permits based on EPA's weak regulations are clearly inadequate to protect rural communities and waterways, said Lynn Utesch, co-founder of Kewaunee CARES. The petition asks the EPA to remove loopholes that have enabled CAFOs to avoid permitting especially the agency's overbroad interpretation of the agricultural stormwater exemption, which has swallowed the rule that CAFOs are point sources that require permits to discharge pollution. It also asks the EPA to require large corporate integrators that control CAFO practices to obtain permits, instead of just their contract producers, who currently bear the burden of following permits and managing waste. The petition further asks the EPA to strengthen permits in several ways, including: requiring pollution monitoring and reporting, as is required of virtually all other industries; restricting waste disposal in order to better protect water quality; and regulating CAFO discharges of a wider range of pollutants than permits currently address, including the heavy metals and pharmaceuticals found in industrial livestock waste. Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) supports the legal petition to the United States Environmental Protection Agency drafted by Food & Water Watch, said Bill Stowe, CEO and general manager of the Des Moines Water Works. Iowa is home to 21 million hogs; in fact, more than 1,800 animal feeding operations are located in the two watersheds from which DMWW draws its source water. Lenient laws and regulations have made Iowa a haven for corporate polluters. We join Food & Water Watch in calling upon the EPA to hold these polluters accountable by increased oversight and stronger permitting standards. The petitioners include: Food & Water Watch, Arkansas Rights Koalition, Assateague Coastal Trust (Maryland), Association of Irritated Residents (California), Buffalo River Watershed Alliance (Arkansas), Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Concerned Citizens Against Industrial CAFOs (Maryland), Dakota Rural Action (South Dakota), Dallas County Farmers and Neighbors (Iowa), Des Moines Water Works (Iowa), Dodge County Concerned Citizens (Minnesota), Don't Waste Arizona, the Environmental Integrity Project, Grand Riverkeeper (Oklahoma), Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards (Illinois), Illinois Citizens for Clean Air & Water, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Interfaith Worker Justice (New Mexico), Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors (Iowa), Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Kewaunee Citizens Advocating Responsible Environmental Stewardship (Wisconsin), Land Stewardship Project (Minnesota), Midwest Environmental Advocates (Wisconsin), Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Moms Across America Eastern Shore Chapter (Maryland), Montgomery Township Friends of Family Farms (Pennsylvania), North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, Ozark River Stewards (Arkansas), Patuxent Riverkeeper (Maryland), Poweshiek Community Action to Restore Environmental Stewardship (Iowa), Preserve Our Shore Accomack County (Virginia), and Rio Valle Concerned Citizens (New Mexico).
It can be tough to be a vegetarian. You have to work harder than everyone else to make sure youre getting all the nutrients your body needs. So, when its time to take a
SENEGAL, Dakar  To strengthen its digital capabilities in Africa, Dentsu Aegis Network Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) has announced the addition of People Input, a digital agency in French speaking Africa, to its affiliate agency network in the West and Central Africa region.

Dawn Rowlands

Dentsu Aegis Network Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) is part of the global media group that specialises in media, digital and creative communications, spanning Southern Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania; with owned businesses, affiliates and affiliate partnerships in another 32 markets across SSA.

People Input is the fastest growing digital agency in francophone Africa and operates from three offices within the West and Central African region being Senegal, Cote dIvoire and Cameroon. People Inputs wide range of digital services has received multiple industry accolades in the region, including the 2016 Best Digital Agency in Senegal, 2016 Outstanding Enterprise Solution in West Africa, 2013 Best ICT company in Senegal and 2012 IT WAEMU Award. People Inputs says its backbone is its people, and it has 60 young African and digital enthusiasts part of their team.

Digital expertise

Its digital expertise includes: digital strategy, creative design, both online and print, social media marketing and web and mobile app development. This partnership supports Dentsu Aegis Networks strategy of being a 100% digital economy business by 2020, and positions them as the leading communications network in West and Central Africa.

We are very excited and proud to be affiliated to People Input. This affiliation gives us the opportunity to further realise our vision of being the top league of brand builders in Africa and innovate the way brands are built in Africa, Dentsu Aegis Network Sub Saharan Africa CEO, Dawn Rowlands said.

We have been impressed by the outstanding work People Input continues to deliver for their clients. Digital transformation means that we can change the way that people experience brands like never before. The next five years are going to be a constant state of change, data is becoming a new currency and companies need to be agile or they will be left behind. The digital economy will be the biggest driver of brands growth.

People Input general manager, Serigne Barro, added: The communication business has changed considerably. The challenge today is to devise a coherent multi-layered and multi-channel strategy that makes a real impact on our clients activities and is still rooted in the African cultures that our teams come from.

This partnership enables us to offer what the market expects: a local agency of international standard with proven expertise in a 360 approach to communication and a firm grasp of the cultural and sociological realities in each of our countries. With Dentsu Aegis Network we share the same vision and the same dynamic: we believe in Africas digital emergence and wish to develop it by supporting our customers digital transformation.

This affiliation marks step-change for Dentsu Aegis Network SSA, providing immediate scale, talent and new capability in the digital arena in West and Central Africa.
SHANGHAI: Alibaba's founder Jack Ma urged stronger penalties for selling counterfeits on Tuesday in an open letter arguing that "outdated and unrealistic" laws and regulations "encourage" selling and making of fake products.

Alibaba has come under fire in recent years for the ease at which knock-off goods are available to consumers on its online Taobao marketplace, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the domestic consumer-to-consumer market.

"Outdated and unrealistic" laws and regulations have led to few convictions for counterfeit cases, Ma wrote in a letter on his official social media account.

The lack of strict laws "will only encourage more people to engage in the act of making and selling fakes", he said, addressing delegates of China's rubber-stamp legislature, which is gathered in Beijing for its annual parliamentary session.

China's factories have traditionally churned out products for branded companies at low cost, but with the rise of e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, they are increasingly finding opportunities to market their own goods directly to consumers online.

Late last year the office of the US Trade Representative put Alibaba's massive online sales portal Taobao on its annual blacklist, saying the site was not doing enough to curb sales of fake and pirated goods.

Alibaba later filed a lawsuit against two vendors for allegedly selling counterfeit Swarovski watches.

"Selling and making fakes is by its nature an act of theft. The right and wrong judgement on thieves has been clear for a long time, but the theft of intellectual property rights still lacks common social consensus," Ma said in the open letter.

He said only a tenth of about 4,500 cases Alibaba reported to the police were prosecuted in 2016.

Source: AFP
An offshore transaction for cereal and juice manufacturer Pioneer Foods may be on the cards as the group seeks to strengthen its core markets to gain market share.

Phil Roux

Pioneer Foods released a cautionary update on Tuesday warning the market of a material transaction, but CEO Phil Roux remained tight-lipped about the details of the deal.

"Whatever we are doing will strengthen our core markets and that's as far as I'm prepared to say, otherwise people speculate too much," said Roux. He said the group was still in discussions and that the deal was expected to be completed soon.

"Should the transaction be approved by the board then a firm intention will come out with all the details in the next two weeks or so," said Roux.

Some industry pundits have speculated that the transaction may involve a deal in Europe. Anthony Clark, an equity analyst at Vunani Securities, said Pioneer had been looking at the Eastern European market, specifically Poland, which has similar trading and living standards measure (LSM) characteristics to SA and could be a base to expand into other regional markets.

"The Eastern European segment of the food manufacturing sector is like SA, you've got a population which has great disparities, you've got a large lower middle class and you've got a very rich top class."

Clark said the costs of operating in Eastern Europe were substantially lower than in Germany, France and the UK. "As such there will be greater scope in building a regional presence and if you are going into Europe ... you are going up against massive global brands."

Clark said that Pioneer Foods would be happy to spend the R4bn it had as "easy cash kitty" on a transaction given its cash resources and its available debt. "Anything above that would be an equity placement, which I don't think it would do."

But Roux dismissed this as speculation, saying "the construct of the transaction doesn't necessarily mean that at all, it might be very different to that".

Sumil Seeraj, an equity analyst at SBG Securities, said: "What we don't know is if Pioneer is looking to merge with a company or acquire a company, or whether a company is looking to buy Pioneer." Seeraj said when it came to the R4bn cash that the company had on hand, "there are other ways of facilitating a deal. They could do a share swap, where they issue more shares."

Pioneer bought UK-based Streamfoods for 7.5m in August 2016, which was followed by a 49.89% stake in Weetabix East Africa in November.

Pioneer owns brands such as Sasko, Weet-Bix, Ceres, LiquiFruit and Bokomo.

Seeraj said considering the share price of Pioneer, the group has held up well.

Source: Business Day
Mastercard has released the results of its inaugural Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), which indicates that South African women's full potential as entrepreneurs is yet to be unleashed. Uganda (34.8%) and Botswana (34.6%) rank first and second in the world with the highest percentages of women entrepreneurs, driven mostly by necessity as opposed to being inspired by business opportunities.

Galina Peshkova via 123RF

The index uses three components, made up of 12 indicators and 25 sub-indicators, to look at how 54 economies, representing 78.6% of the worlds female labour force, differ in terms of the level of Womens Advancement Outcomes, Knowledge Assets & Financial Access and Supporting Entrepreneurial Factors. The survey was run across Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, North America, Latin America and Europe.

Other developing countries, such as Russia, Bangladesh, China and Vietnam are also in the top 10. New Zealand (third) and Australia (fifth) are the developed countries with highest rates of female business owners.

South Africa not high enough

South Africa ranks 21st (64.4) on the Index, which tracks female entrepreneurs ability to capitalise on opportunities granted through various supporting conditions within their local environments. Despite a healthy MIWE score, women account for only 19.1% of business owners in South Africa (rank 44), indicating that womens progress in entrepreneurship has been disappointingly low compared to its global counterparts.

South Africas resourceful women are one of its biggest assets, yet it is evident that South African womens full potential and value as entrepreneurs and business owners is yet to be unleashed, says Mark Elliott, division president, Mastercard South Africa. We must accelerate our efforts to dismantle the structural obstacles and biases that impede female entrepreneurship so that women can play an enlarged role in South Africas economic growth story.

Looking at the Indices three components, South Africa has an average Womens Advancement Outcome score of 52.7 (rank 27), indicating that womens progress and degree of marginalisation economically and professionally as business leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and labour force participants is on par with its global counterparts.

Gender inequality towards women remains in the workplace, particularly in the areas of leadership, with three women business leaders for every 10 business leaders. This is mirrored by a low labour force participation rate, with only 46.3% of women compared to 60.6% for men in South Africas workforce, and a low rate of womens entrepreneurial activity, with only seven% of working age women in the labour force engaged in early-stage entrepreneurial activities compared to 11.6% for men.

The research shows that women in South Africa excel in the Knowledge Assets & Financial Access Component (81.9, rank 3), which gauges womens progress and degree of marginalisation as financial customers and academically in terms of tertiary education enrollment. Not only are they as well-educated as their male counterparts in tertiary education, they have good access to financial services, and Small Medium Enterprise (SME) support.

Despite this, womens progress and growth in the business world has been severely undermined by a low perception of business opportunities and poor self-confidence, which are further compounded by a high level of business discontinuance, effectively feeding the already high fear of failure.

We observe that indicators such as SME support and financial inclusion are important in supporting womens entrepreneurship in South Africa, but are not necessarily the drivers of womens advancement as business owners. An accelerated and concerted focus on improving business skills, funding and business opportunities while reducing deterrents such as crime will be key in pushing South African womens progress in the business world, says Elliott.

The Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions Component benchmarks how supportive entrepreneurial conditions are enablers or constraints of women business ownership and here, South Africa ranks 31st with a score of 62.7. While South Africa performs well for quality of governance and moderately for ease of doing business, it scores slightly lower for cultural perceptions of women entrepreneurs.

While South Africa has made some solid progress in creating supportive conditions for women entrepreneurs, more must be done to ensure women fully harness these opportunities. It is vital that the public and private sector work together with development organisations to support South African women in fulfilling their potential as business owners and innovators. When that happens, the whole of society will benefit, says Elliott.

World leaders

Overall, developed markets top the index, led by New Zealand (74.4, 1st), Canada (72.4, 2nd) and the United States (69.9, 3rd). These countries have the strongest conditions that support women business ownership, such as robust small- and mid-sized business communities, a high quality of governance and ease of doing business.

Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs  Top 10 markets with the strongest supporting conditions and opportunities for women to thrive as entrepreneurs

1. New Zealand  74.4

2. Canada  72.4

3. US  69.9

4. Sweden  69.6

5. Singapore  69.5

6. Belgium  69.0

7. Australia  68.5

8. Philippines  68.4

9. UK  67.9

10. Thailand  67.5

Women business owners as a percentage of all business owners  Top 10 markets

1. Uganda  34.8%

2. Botswana  34.6%

3. New Zealand  33.3%

4. Russia  32.6%

5. Austria  32.4%

6. Bangladesh  31.6%

7. Vietnam  31.4%

8. China  30.9%

9. Spain  30.8%

10. US  30.7%

Methodology

The Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs tracks female entrepreneurs ability to capitalise on opportunities granted through various supporting conditions within their local environments and is the weighted sum of three components:

1. Womens Advancement Outcomes (degree of bias against women as workforce participants, political and business leaders, as well as the financial strength and entrepreneurial inclination of women)

2. Knowledge Assets and Financial Assets (degree of access women have to basic financial services, advanced knowledge assets and support for small and medium enterprises)

3. Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions (overall perceptions on the ease on conducting business locally, quality of local governance, womens perception of safety levels and cultural perception of womens household financial influence)

To download the full report, go to http://mstr.cd/2mgm2Rm.
Gauteng finance MEC Barbara Creecy tabled a R108bn budget for the province, which included R10bn added to the baseline of departments to meet increased demand.

Gauteng is the largest contributor to the country's economy and accounts for 35% of SA's gross domestic product (GDP).

The main priorities for the provincial government were education, health and infrastructure.

The largest amount - R40,8bn - was allocated to the education department. This was up from R39,5bn.

The budget for the province's public health system also increased, from R37,6bn in 2016-17 to R40,2bn in 2017-18.

"Improving the health of our citizens and restoring public confidence in our public health system is a major priority for this year," she said.

Over the medium term, R893,8m has been allocated to support mental health patients.

Gauteng spent about R700m in the last medium term.

This follows the death of more than 100 psychiatric patients who were moved from Life Esidimeni facilities to unlicensed nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).

Creecy said the provincial treasury was committed to supporting the health department in implementing the recommendations of the health ombudsman's report on the tragedy.

"When the alternative dispute resolution process is complete, we will appropriate any necessary resources for the families of the victims of the Life Esidimeni tragedy from the provincial revenue fund," she said.

Shovel ready

Over the 2017 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), Gauteng reserved R44,4bn for infrastructure spending.

Creecy said R31,9bn had been set aside for what she called "shovel ready" projects while R12,5bn was in a reserve for when projects became ready.

"Our purpose in doing this " is to incentivise sound infrastructure planning practices," she said.

All projects that were "shovel ready" were part of departmental baselines.

Departments that presented additional projects that were ready to roll out, in the course of the financial year or in future financial years, would be allocated more money.

"During the tabling of the adjustment budget I shared with this house our commitment to eliminating wasteful expenditure in infrastructure, which generally emanates from poor planning and management".

"Our new approach to funding infrastructure projects is intended to make this commitment a reality," Creecy said.

The MEC said in order to save costs, the provincial government cut back on noncore expenses, such as catering, corporate branding, accommodation and travel, and managed to save R414m.

Last year, Gauteng saved R386m in fruitless and wasteful expenditure by reducing interest paid on overdue accounts.
Next time you take a stroll along your favourite isolated beach, far from any city, take a moment to look down at the high tide mark. You'll almost certainly see small plastic particles dotted along your route.

These are microplastics. Theyre less than 5mm in size and, for a long time, were only found in industrialised, highly populated areas.

Sadly for our oceans, things are changing. In our recent study of South Africas coastline, we compared popular beaches in built-up areas with more remote beaches. The aim was to see which were more contaminated with microplastics. Contamination levels were similar along the sparsely populated west coast, for example in places like Port Nolloth and Paternoster, and the more populated east coast at Salt Rock, and Port Edward. The majority of this contamination are plastic fibres potentially released during a washing machine cycle.

Microplastic pollution is a global phenomenon. Particles are found in deep sea sediment, Arctic sea ice and islands far from civilisation. Marine life of all sizes from zooplankton to whales are affected by this pollution. Ingestion of these non-biodegradeable particles reduces an organisms ability to consume its natural prey. There also concerns about apparent toxicity. So, theres major ecological interest around the increase of the particles as marine life suffer.

Where do they come from

The composition of microplastics are common throughout the world. Nurdles  small plastic pellets  microbeads, plastic fragments and microfibres make up the overall burden. Some areas have a higher concentration of a certain type indicating where they come from. For example, harbours have more pellets because they tend to be surrounded by factories. Waterways near populated cities may have more microbeads and microfibres as they are used and produced by consumers. Fragments may be high on polluted beaches far from populated areas since it takes some time for larger items to break down.

Industrial pellets or nurdles are used to manufacture larger plastic items. They may be introduced into nearby ecosystems through accidental losses or spillage occurring mainly during their manufacture and transportation. These pellets have a high affinity for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP), meaning that POPs attach to the surface of the pellets, typically found at low levels in sea water. This creates a pathway for an increased concentration of toxins entering the food-web as a result of pellet ingestion.

Microbeads are often incorporated in a number of household products, like facewashes, hand and body scrubs and toothpastes. These microplastics enter wastewater treatment facilities, after being washed down the drain, and are subsequently released into nearby environments. They contain POPs similar to industrial nurdles, but also provide the ideal surface for bacteria to colonise.

Microplastics collected from an urban river in Chicago, Illinois, USA hosted a high concentration of pathogenic taxa known to cause human gastrointestinal infections. Out of concern for the freshwater and marine ecosystem the initiative Beat the Microbead was formed. It informs consumers about which products are safe to use and which to stay away from.

A number of countries, among them the United Kingdom and Canada, are moving to ban the use of microbeads in cosmetics.

Holly Nel

Another problem

But tiny plastic particles arent the only problem. Secondary microplastics originate from the fragmentation of larger plastic items like plastic bottles, shopping bags, polystyrene cups and containers. These are often the most common type of plastic pollution in the marine environment. Larger plastic items enter the marine environment and undergo both chemical  photo-degradation from sunlight  and mechanical breakdown from repeated exposure to light and waves. The items degrades into smaller and smaller pieces.

Microplastic fragments may cause physical damage to various marine organisms who ingest them. Some marine creatures gill structures are damaged and their digestive tracts clogged. The fragments they ingest may also contain harmful additives known as plasticisers. They are also known as endocrine disruptors.

The entry of these particles into marine ecosystems can be reduced by beach clean-up programmes and the reduction of single use plastics. A recent movement to clean up Versova beach in Mumbai, which had so much litter the sand couldnt be seen, resulted in 1,740 tons of waste being removed.

But studies have suggested that it may be what South Africans are wearing thats polluting the beaches along the coast. Synthetic garments made of polyester blends and carpeting, may breakdown during the washing process releasing small microfibres into waterways, eventually entering the marine environment.

T-shirts, shorts, jeans and jerseys are a few examples of clothing made using polyester. Estimates suggest that the production of this plastic fibre has grown significantly and will continue to do so. Microfibres pose similar dangers to plastics like entanglement. This causes unnatural movement of smaller organisms and makes them more vulnerable to predators. Fibres may also link, forming clumps that block an organisms intestinal tract and cause it to starve.

Between 80 to 90% of the microplastics contaminating many beaches are microfibres. There are estimates that a single item of clothing may release over 2000 microfibres per wash.

These numbers add up in a household of four, five or six. The particles in question are so small theyre not all captured by traditional wastewater treatment facilities. Even if they are removed and concentrated in the sludge, this sludge is often applied to agricultural areas. Rainfall then causes the particles to flow into nearby rivers and estuaries and into marine ecosystems.

Compacting the problem

There are ways that this problem can be managed better. These include:

1. Improving the design of synthetic materials, resulting in higher durability with less shedding of fibres.

2. Improving capture of fibres at source, like additional filters on washing machine outlets.

3. Improve wastewater treatment facility infrastructure.

4. Purchase less synthetic garments and invest in a few good quality items made from natural materials.

5. Reduce the unnecessary washing of garments.

6. Upcycle plastic waste into innovative products, like turning old t-shirts into bags.

Laws dont change until people pressure politicians to change them. For starters, its up to consumers to become more conscious of their plastic footprint. By reducing microplastics and microfibres entering terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, well be better able to maintain resources that humans all over the globe depend on.


The CEO SleepOut Trust has provided an outline of the legacy projects created out of funds from The 2016 CEO SleepOut by the appointed beneficiary partners.

The Sun International CEO SleepOut, driven by social enterprise The Philanthropic Collection, sees business leaders spend a night on the streets, raising funds and gaining empathy for the homeless. The CEO SleepOut is the main fundraising event presented by the SleepOut Movement, which is sustained through projects throughout the year. Since its inception in 2015, it has awarded over R34m to beneficiary partners, selected because of their work within one, or more, of the five pillars required to integrate vulnerable communities back into society; shelter, healthcare, education, nutrition, and community.

In 2016, the focus was on education, as a vital means to eradicating homelessness for future generations. R20,198,982 (as audited by BDO) was collected through the 2016 event. The primary beneficiary partners, The ASHA Trust, Columba Leadership, and The Steve Biko Foundation  all of which focus on education and early childhood development  were awarded donations of R3m each in December 2016.

Satellite and secondary beneficiaries, which include all the beneficiaries from the School and Sympathy SleepOut events, the Empathy 1World book launch, and other non-financial beneficiaries of The 2016 CEO SleepOut event, received goods valued at R3.78m.

The remaining funds were used in costs of the CEO SleepOut Movement, including ongoing accountability of beneficiary allocation and spend, with a portion set aside for the 2016/2017 projects, and sustainability of the CEO SleepOut Movement which, in 2016, has a social return on investment exceeding 1:4.

Where the 2016 funds will go:

Funds awarded by The 2016 CEO SleepOut are to be used in specific legacy projects, outlined by the primary beneficiary partners.

The ASHA Trust

The ASHA Trust provides relevant training and mentoring that empowers informal creche owners and ECD practitioners to provide safe and stimulating places of care.

Allocation of funds: Funds will be used to facilitate the following four projects that will build organisational capacity and financial sustainability:

Organisational capacity building: R540,000

The ASHA Trust works with women in poorer townships, to develop their knowledge and skills to be able to deliver quality early childhood care and to run sustainable early childhood development (ECD) centres.

As most existing training materials are inaccessible for many of these women, the organisation has developed its own effective training continuum and manuals in line with the requirements of the ETDP SETA. ASHA will now be working more closely with the SETA to develop a new entry-level, ECD national curriculum. An additional senior staff member will be recruited to take this project forward.

New training programmes: R750,000

Work was done in 2014 on ASHAs existing training programmes that met the entry level ECD practitioner training curricula of the time. The content of these will be used as reference for a materials development project to bring ASHAs manuals in line with the new QCTO ECD qualification.

Geographical expansion: R366,986 (North West) and R593,000 (Western Cape)

ASHA currently operates in only Gauteng and Mpumalanga. In order to have a greater influence in improving practice at ECD sites, the organisation aims to establish a national footprint. During 2017 ASHA will consolidate its position in Mpumalanga, and expand into two more provinces; North West in the Meriting district, and the winelands of the Western Cape.

North West: The plan is to establish an initial project with 2030 creches while seeking additional funding to extend the programme to other areas.

Western Cape ASHA: 23 ECD sites have been identified which cater for approximately 700 children between the ages of 06 years.

Sustainability Fund: R750,000 to existing Sustainability Fund

There exists a ring-fenced sustainability fund for ASHA Trust, separate to all operating activities and expenses.

This fund exists to:

Build an income stream from the fund that can run ASHAs operations, removing, or at least lessening, reliance upon donors.

Be a source of savings to ensure sustainability of the organisation in the unlikely event of it being financially overwhelmed by an unforeseen event.

Columba Leadership

Columba Leadership offers a values-based leadership programme in secondary schools that catalyses a movement of engaged young leaders, transforming learners from economically disadvantaged areas into responsible, socially conscious leaders and employable, enterprising young people.

Allocation of funds:

Leadership programmes: R300,000 per school (R900,000 for three schools)*

Columba Leadership will use the funds to commit to executing its Leadership Programme in three schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal over three years. Two of these academies will be run in February 2017.

(*Inflated at 6% pa for illustrative purposes: approx. R2.88m for three schools for three years.)

Dedicated Training Facility: R120,000

R120,000 will contribute to the building of a dedicated residential facility, for Columba Leadership to host the residential component of their leadership programme, at the Nirox Sculpture Park.

The leadership residency will provide:

Six days of value driven experiential learning with Columba Leadership, within the beauty of the park with access to nature as well as to artists.

Leadership programmes to 700 learners, including 200 educators, from 45 schools in Gauteng per year.

The Steve Biko Foundation

The Steve Biko Foundation (SBF) is a community development organisation inspired by the legacy of the late anti-apartheid activist. Its vision is to be the premier independent promoter of the values that Steve Biko lived and died for: restoring people to their true humanity. Recognising the link between economic realities and human dignity, SBF seeks to empower individuals and communities through education and training initiatives in order to develop sustainable livelihoods.

Allocation of funds:

Funds will be used to facilitate the following four programmes at the Steve Biko Centre in the King Williams Town region of the Eastern Cape:

Youth Dialogues: R140,000

During 2017, the foundation will conduct a series of five Youth Dialogues focusing on local and global socio-economic issues. There will be approximately 500 Youth Dialogue participants and 300,000 youths reached through broadcast.

Abelusi Arts & Culture Training: R129,500

Steve Biko Foundation Performing Arts Corps  Abelusi

Abelusi Performing Arts Corps was founded in 2010. Through experiential learning and traditional training methods, the intervention targets out-of-school youth in King Williams Town, offering young, emerging artists exposure to global trends as well as the core skills required to be self-reliant practitioners. A portion of funds will be allocated toward accrediting the Abelusi curriculum.

Abelusi Community Outreach

A vibrant outreach program that utilises the foundations original productions, Abelusis facilitation skills and educational materials support learning in classrooms, community groups and institutions such as correctional facilities. Ten Abelusi will be trained and 3,000 community members will benefit from training and performances.

The Business Incubator, Enterprise Development Training: R592,000

Funds from the 2016 CEO SleepOut will also support The Business Incubator (TBI), which addresses the needs of small, micro and medium enterprises as well as those of aspiring entrepreneurs, by offering advisory services, company registrations, access to information via a designated computer lab, and training and skills development. Approximately 1,500 people will be served by The Business Incubator.

Education through the Library and Educational Resources Centre: R700,000

The 2016 CEO SleepOut funds will also support the Library and Educational Resources Centre (LERC), which is designed to promote a culture of life-long learning. The specific components that will be supported are: The Main Library and Archive; The Community Media Centre; The Satellite Community Learning Centre.

The remaining R273,000 will be used for administration costs.
A court bid to muzzle a UK man behind an online campaign to shut the controversial Shongweni landfill site remains in limbo, with argument over whether the Durban High Court has jurisdiction.

During a brief appearance yesterday, 7 March, attorneys for site owners EnviroServ and online activist Jeremy Everitt agreed to appear again next week to argue "preliminary issues".

The waste management company is attempting to interdict Everitt, who lives in London but owns a property in Shongweni, from "disseminating, dispatching or publishing any malicious, untrue, false or defamatory statements or material regarding [EnviroServ's] business, which it conducts at its Shongweni landfill".

Everitt is understood to have used information posted on Upper Highway Air nonprofit organisation's social media to hundreds of EnviroServ's stakeholders and clients.

A foul odour, the source of complaints in the Upper Highway area west of Durban, emanates from its controversial landfill site.

The company contends it has lost two long-time customers as a result of Everitt's statements.

Since Everitt is not in South Africa, he maintains that EnviroServ's litigation was "fatally defective".

"In my submission, both the main application and the ancillary urgent application are fatally defective for a lack [of] court authority to serve papers upon me outside of South Africa," he said in court papers.

He also insists that the matter is not urgent. Everitt and EnviroServ will be back in court on Thursday next week.
Afgri is seeking to acquire the South African portion of Bank of Athens. The deal would give Afgri, which has long been a financier of farmers in partnership with the Land Bank, a banking licence.

Afgri CEO Chris Venter said the 94-year-old business was constantly evolving and looking at ways to better service its customers. The group has a partnership with the Land Bank called Unigro, which offers loans and crop insurance to farmers. Afgri also has a subsidiary called GroCapital Financial Services, whose services include trading futures contracts for farmers.

"Since the early 2000s we have aggressively expanded our financial services offering. We manage a R12bn debtors' book through Unigro and GroCapital. The move reiterates the core focus of the group which is to ensure food security across the continent. We will be better placed to help our customer base grow their business. The management team at the bank will be staying," said Venter. Afgri will gain the right to accept deposits, something its existing relationship with the Land Bank does not provide.

Venter would not disclose the value of the deal. "That's one of the benefits of being unlisted." Afgri delisted from the JSE in April 2014. Its shareholders include Fairfax, the Public Investment Corporation, empowerment consortium Bafepi Agri and management.

Venter said the deal had the backing of the group's shareholders. "We still need the necessary approvals from the South African Reserve Bank and all relevant authorities. I would hope the deal would be done later this year, but it is difficult to provide a timeline. This is a journey about which we are excited. We hope we can conclude the deal as soon as possible."

The South African Bank of Athens provides business banking services to medium-sized local businesses, as well as niche transactional banking to the broader market. With Robert Laing

Source: Business Day
Now in its eighth year, the IT Leaders Africa Summit will take place from 15-16 March 2017 at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town.

The 2017 edition of the summit will host a number of industry experts as well as top IT solution providers who will be presenting on the current trends affecting African IT executives.

Recent years have seen IT leaders moving away from the tech-heavy role and taking up a place in developing business strategies alongside other executives, essentially approaching enterprise IT from a business point of view and establishing themselves as the most effective person to lead IT transformation.

The strategic decision to bring the event to Cape Town has yielded positive results and a high level of interest across industries in Africa. Attendance is already up by 42%. There is a lot of interest this year and Kinetic is committed to strengthening the industry across the African continent through our involvement as a key information provider and business facilitator, says Terence Southam, co-founder ad managing director of Kinetic.

"The anatomy of a cyber attack"

This year, the summit will host lead sponsor, Mimecasts The Anatomy of the Cyber-attack. This session takes place on day one and will look into topics such as social engineering, the legal implications of a data breach and POPI.

The summit features over 40 speakers, 20+ keynotes, panel discussions, and numerous educational workshop sessions that are hosted by leading IT solution providers from around the world.

This years agenda will delve into topics including strategy in a constantly changing landscape, the human element surrounding the role of the CIO and customer and employee engagement, as well as value-driven IT and how to extract all forms of value from various endeavours.
MyBroadband has launched the first edition of the, which aims to be the premium business IT print publication in South Africa.

MyBroadband Magazine 2017 Q1 cover

The magazine is sent to thousands of IT decision makers across South Africa, and is also distributed to airport lounges, company waiting areas, hotels, office suites, and retail outlets.

The magazine covers hardware, telecoms, general IT, security, cloud, IoT, networking, broadband, and more.

Our first edition is a massive success, says Kevin Lancaster, MyBroadband Magazine Editor.

In fact, the demand was so high that we had to increase our planned print run from 5,000 copies to 11,000. We also increased our page count to 72 pages.

This shows the high demand for a top-quality business IT publication in South Africa.

The content is focused on ICT products, solutions, trends, and insights which affect SMMEs and corporates, maintaining the high-quality content that MyBroadband.co.za readers have come to expect.

The magazine provides exposure to South Africa's top executives and IT professionals, says Cara Muller, MyBroadband Magazine Sales and Marketing Director.

We already have many great companies who we'd like to thank for partnering with us, and due to this success, we are offering great deals on our next issue.

Click here to view the magazine online, and for more information.




Government has contributed over R4 billion towards covering university fee increases, says Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande.

Minister Nzimande said government contributed the amount towards the 0% fee increase for the 2016 academic year as a result of FeesMustFall protests, as well as the fee increases of up to a cap of 8% for students from families with an income of up to R600,000.

An amount of R1.935 billion was allocated and paid to universities towards the 2016 0% fee increase, while R2.460 billion was contributed to cover fee increases up to a cap of 8% for students from families with an income of up to R600,000 for the 2017 academic year.

This was not a 0% increase. These funds are not in the departments budget baseline but they have been reprioritised from the National Skills Fund (NSF), Minister Nzimande said in a statement.

Upfront payments

The Minister said upfront payments to universities amounting to R1.045 billion will be transferred in three equal payments before 31 March 2017.

This amount is equal to 50% of the upfront payments that universities received in January 2016 for the 0% fee increase allocation. The balance of the allocation will be paid to universities once the process of identifying missing middle students has been finalised with universities.

The transfer of the balance of the funding will only be done upon the receipt of the database of the poor and missing middle cohort, as agreed with the universities, the Minister said.

He said all amounts indicated for each university for damages caused by protesting students and the 0% fee increase for 2016 have been transferred.

For the fee increases for students from a family with an income of up to R600,000 for the 2017 academic year, R352.652 million was released at the end of January 2017, and the other two equal tranches will be released at the end of February and March 2017.

The balance of the allocation will be paid to universities once the process to identify missing middle students has been finalised as per the process map and the quantum of funding per university is officially communicated to the department.
The Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry is booming in Africa, with countries investing millions of dollars in constructing or renovating existing conference facilities. This is largely influenced by the recognition of the continent as a preferred tourist destination, not only for leisure but also for business.

The just concluded Meetings Africa Conference that brought together business events representatives from across Africa, is a stamp on the continent as the best place to hold conferences and meetings in 2017. Here are five of Africas best conference centers for your next event, both international and domestic (in no particular order).

Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC)  Kenya

Image by Nick Fox

Located in Kenyas capital city, Nairobi, KICC has a capacity of 5,000 delegates. Nairobi was voted Africa's leading Meetings & Conference Destination at the World Travel Awards 2016.

In 2014, the Kenyan government announced the construction of the largest convention center in Africa, the Bomas International Conference, and Exhibitions Centre at a cost of approximately $561million. With a 10,000-delegate capacity and 15,000 capacity exhibition space, the center will boost Kenyas efforts in becoming Africas leading conference tourism destination

Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Center, Kigali - Rwanda

While this is not purely a conference center on its own, the Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Center, Kigali is creating a buzz in Rwandas conference tourism, hosting major international events. The state-of-the-art auditorium that can accommodate more than 2,500 delegates and is only a five-kilometer drive from the Kigali International Airport. Luxury accommodation is available at the hotel, a great convenience for guests during events/conferences.

Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg - South Africa

Whether a mini business meeting with a small delegation, or a 4,500 guests conference, Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg is the ultimate destination. It has ample exhibition space of 11,000 square meters on two levels, making it a preference for all kinds of events.

ECA Conference Center, Addis Ababa  Ethiopia

Referred to as Africa's political capital, Addis Ababa is the home of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Conference Center. It is convenient for leaders holding strategic meetings, especially concerning Africa. ECA is a hi-tech and well-secured conference center with a touch of Ethiopias renowned architecture. Its situated next to the Africa Hall and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) offices in Ethiopias capital.

The Palmeraie International Conference Centre  Morocco

Image: Palmeraie Resorts

If you are the adventurous kind looking for a sense of aesthetic appeal to your conferences or meetings, then the Palmeraie Conference Center in Morocco is your best conference destination. Housed in a new-generation palace in the heart of the Palmeraie area in Marrakech, the center is intricately constructed in a unique style that blends perfectly with its modern technological installations. It can accommodate approximately 1,500 delegates.
Following the Finance Minister's February Budget Speech, SMEs are optimistic that 2017 will be a better year for them than 2016, but technical and financial support alone is not enough to ensure sustainable success, argues a branding expert from the UCT Graduate School of Business.

Despite an optimistic outlook for small and medium enterprises this year, experts have warned that entrepreneurs cannot afford simple mistakes if they are to get ahead in tough local conditions.

The recent Business Partners Limited SME Index noted a definite upswing in expectations for SMEs this year, with 77% of South African small business owners expecting 2017 to be a good year, and all seven of the surveys broader confidence indicators reporting improvements compared to the previous quarter.

But, says branding and business expert Raymond van Niekerk, many SMEs are still vulnerable to common branding and marketing errors that can cost them the success of their business.

Van Niekerk, formerly Global Head of Marketing for Investec and course convenor of the Brand Creation for New Ventures programme at the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB), says: Some of the most common errors made by new businesses are avoidable marketing and branding errors.

One reads about the spectacular failures of larger businesses, but far more common are the sum of several small, daily errors like not taking the time to make sure their business and product offer reflects their culture, values, brand identity and business purpose, that ultimately cost the life of what could have been a very successful venture.

According to the most recent data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the failure rate of South African SMEs is alarmingly high and in 2016, was greater than the established business rate, which means that the country is effectively going backwards in terms of entrepreneurial activity. South Africans also report a high fear of failure when it comes to entrepreneurship.

This needs to change, says Mike Herrington, Executive Director of GEM. In South Africa, the success of SMEs has a potentially significant effect on economic growth and job creation that cannot be ignored.

There are some 2,8 million diverse SMEs in South Africa, and according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, they account for a contribution to GDP of 52% to 57% and 60% of employment. Other estimates, although more conservative, put the contribution to GDP at around 34%, but add that SMEs account for over 90% of formalised businesses. GEM calculates the contribution of SMEs at 36%.

Ahead of the Budget Speech, there were calls for tax relief and other legislative support for SMEs, but Van Niekerk says beyond structural and financial support, an underrated but important factor for entrepreneurial success is understanding branding and its impact.

Many entrepreneurs are intuitive marketers to some extent, but that doesnt mean they can distinguish between good and bad advice, or that they cant be taken advantage of, he says.

Additionally, they might not know what the most important aspects of branding or marketing are. Naming the business, for example, is often given inadequate attention, Van Niekerk says. Its often treated as an afterthought  but its the first impression clients get of a business.

Van Niekerk believes offering entrepreneurs, start-ups and NGOs the branding know-how they need to succeed will help inspire confidence.

Understanding branding basics helps business owners understand their purpose more clearly, but it also helps them to run their business better when they understand that the branding process starts within the business, he says. If you have unhappy customers, thats a branding problem. But if you have unhappy staff, that is also a branding problem.

In 2016, SME South Africa listed a number of start-ups to watch in the coming year. Among them was SweepSouth, the cleaning service that has since then become a household name for the simplicity of its online service. Also on the list was TaxTim, the online tax consulting assistant that has similarly gained traction over the past year.

According to Van Niekerk, what sets such successful start-ups like this apart is a clarity of purpose that makes branding much easier. If you understand the why of your business  why you are doing what you are doing  then your naming, your logo, your media choices, everything will become much simpler and you can avoid falling into common traps, he says.

Raymond van Niekerk teaches the Brand Creation for New Ventures programme at the GSB which runs in Johannesburg and Cape Town. For more information on the course, please contact 0860 UCT GSB or email az.ca.tcu.bsg@decexe.




This #BrandManagerMonth, we find out what's really going on behind the selfie with mostly-technophile Giles Shepherd, group CEO of The Brand Alive Group.

Shepherd says: "It's all about the balance."

1. Where do you live, work and play?

Shepherd: Live in Fourways, Johannesburg, work in many places around the world  headquartered in Johannesburg, but wherever Im needed  and I always blend play with working and living, so the same places!

2. Whats your claim to fame?

Shepherd: Professionally the development of many top, international brands. Personally, I was once a competition skydiver, did the Camel Cape to Cairo and climbed Kilimanjaro.

3. Describe your career so far.

Shepherd: From being a photocopier sales rep through television, journalism, publishing, radio broadcasting, and advertising to specialist brand strategy, design and film-making. A wild, wild ride!

4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.

Shepherd: My kids (who can simultaneously become my least favourite things  but thats teenagers for you), gin, wine, preparing and enjoying great and interesting food, my home, cars, my career and living in South Africa.

5. What do you love about your industry?

Shepherd: Its all about the constant attention on staying relevant, so by its nature reinvents itself frequently. That means it never gets tired or dull  theres always new stuff to learn.

6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.

Shepherd: Always good coffee at the start, always a GnT at the end. Everything in between is unexpected!

7. What are the tools of your trade?

Shepherd: My MacBook and my gift of the gab!

8. Who is getting it right in your industry?

Shepherd: A brand that is getting it bang-on is NetFlorist. Their messaging is relevant, compelling, memorable and enjoyable. They are doing a great job of combining simplicity and consistency, and their brand extensions work excellently. Over and above this, the experience of the brand (certainly mine and many people I have spoken to) aligns brilliantly with the promise.

9. List a few pain points the industry can improve on.

Shepherd: Creating a real and meaningful industry body that is genuinely interested in working together to create knowledge and value, and to advance overall perception of the discipline.

10. What are you working on right now?

Shepherd: Apart from a brilliant collection of very forward-thinking and brave clients around the world, Im still trying to complete a book called The Restaurant Toilet  a collection of thoughts about considering every facet of the brand experience.

11. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself.

Shepherd: Big data is a current buzzword, and like all of them, makes its users feel intelligent and informed. Very few people can actually give you a meaningful explanation! Authenticity is the one I like best right now, because people want authentic brands and real experiences.

12. Where and when do you have your best ideas?

Shepherd: In the shower in the morning.

13. Whats your secret talent/party trick?

Shepherd: I can sing all the words to the 1980s Kellerprinz ad and all the words to the Cheers theme.

14. Are you a technophobe or a technophile?

Shepherd: Technophile, unless you are asking my know-it-all kids, in which case Im a dinosaur!

15. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone?

Shepherd: About 100 selfies of my son  who doesnt want to consume his own memory, and is too lazy to delete the ones he takes on mine  an enviable collection of great music, and some extremely hard-to-get cell phone numbers (including some eye-popping ones!)

Simple as that. Be sure to follow both Brand Alive Group and Brand Film Co on Facebook and follow Shepherd on Twitter or email him on moc.puorgeviladnarb@ofni.

*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.
DAKAR, Senegal - Chris Cox, chief product officer at Facebook, wrapped up his visit to West Africa last week and will be taking feedback and inspiration from the developer and content creator communities back to California following his visits to Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.

Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) in Accra, Ghana

Cox was in West Africa to find out how the regions creatives, developers and entrepreneurs are using Facebook and Instagram to bring their passions to life.

Its been an inspiring week meeting with some of the top artists, publishers, entrepreneurs, developers, and social media stars across the region. This is a region that creates some of the most interesting cultures in the world  from food, to fashion, to music, to art.

They are at the leading edge of using mobile technology to build communities in their cities, countries, and around the region, and in solving local problems with local solutions. We left inspired, and with insights on the real challenges we have to improve our services -- from internet connectivity to more regional support and tools, Cox said.

Cox started his trip with Femi Kuti live on stage at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos. Cox, who is an accomplished pianist, was invited to play live on stage with Kuti, an experience he will never forget. As he explained: It was an honour to play live with one of my musical heroes. The Shrine is one of the great institutions in music history and in the political history of the region. It was also the first time a concert has been live broadcast on Facebook from The Shrine.

Femis team was inspired by how many folks around the city, the region, and the world wanted to tune in, and we were too. We were surprised by how many Nigerians told us how exciting it was to see a concert from there. We think theres a great opportunity for Live to give the whole world a window into some of these gems of local culture.

Social Media Week: Lagos

Whilst he was in Nigeria he spoke at Social Media Week Lagos  the regions premier new media and social media conference  and Cox highlighted Nigerias status as a hub for innovation and creativity because of its fast-growing mobile technology sector and its vibrant film and music industries.

He focused on how the world is moving to digital video, with formats such as virtual reality, Live video broadcast and 360 video giving people new ways to tell their stories.

Cox then travelled to Ghana where he visited the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) in Accra, Ghana. MEST, a start-up-school and incubator in Ghana, brings in some of the top aspiring tech entrepreneurs and engineers from around the continent to develop their businesses. During his visit Cox met the team from Asoriba, a software for church. He talked with the founders of Asorbia about how technology can be used to strengthen communities.

Later in Ghana he witnessed the force of Ghanas creative talent in an event at ANO Gallery, which was co-hosted by ANO Gallery and Bless The Mic. During the event, some of Ghana's top talent spoke about how they have used technology to tell their stories and grow their audiences.

Ghanaian musician M.anifest said, We have some really compelling stories to share in Ghana, not just with other Ghanaians but with audiences around the world. The remarkable thing about Facebook is that it gives us cutting-edge and exciting new ways to connect with people and to tell our stories ourselves and in our own way.

The last stop of the trip was Senegal where Cox attended a 'Stories of Senegal' event, designed to lift the lid on the stories, cultures and talent in Senegal. During the event, top Dakar chef Corinne Erambert of Les Atelier De Corrine gave Chris Cox a crash course in local Senegalese cooking, teaching him how to make local dish, couscous rice. The event was live streamed on Facebook.

For the final stop of his visit to West Africa, Cox attended an event with local tech entrepreneurs where he took part in a discussion about building tech products in Francophone Africa.

Concluded Cox: It was exciting and inspiring to see how technology is giving entrepreneurs and content creators across West Africa new opportunities to reach their audiences. I felt privileged to see how developers, content creators and entrepreneurs are using Facebook and Instagram to help solve local problems or tell local stories.
News / Africa

by news24

A total of R24 million was stolen from a plane at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday evening, sources told News24.After the SAA flight landed, people in a marked police vehicle intercepted the money. A white Mercedes-Benz is believed to have been used in the operation.Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said a high-level investigation, involving all law enforcement agencies, was underway. He declined to divulge further information.Airports Company South Africa spokesperson Trevor Jones said there had been a robbery, but he could not confirm the amount of money stolen.Flights were unaffected. Read more here.Jones denied that R24 million has been stolen, saying that facts had not been determined yet.The presence of marked police vehicles at the robbery, suggests that either police were involved or there is a new gang using police equipment.This is not a new phenomenon and the airport appears to be a place where "police-linked" crimes have taken place in the past.IPID head Robert McBride told Parliament last month that one of the cases they were investigating involved SAPS and Hawks members shooting at each other, in what appeared to have been be a fight over drugs at OR Tambo International Airport last year.McBride said police officials were killing each other in order to get their hands on confiscated drugs. He said they were illegally shifting quantities of drugs through domestic arrivals.A few weeks later, head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza, dismissed the claims. He told MPs he did not know what McBride's motive was to say there was a drug fight between the police and Hawks.He said his members were involved in operations at all major international airports, to deal with drug smuggling, but not in a fight with SAPS members over drugs."What I can confirm is that we are having Hawks members at OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town Airport and King Shaka Airport," he said.Hawks members at the international airports were cracking down on drug smuggling, he said.Police officers assisting gangs in robberies is nothing new. In 2014, police vehicles were being used to hijack trucks carrying cigarettes, IOL reported.The robbery is not the first at OR Tambo. In the second half of 2001, at the then-named Johannesburg International Airport, $6,5 million was stolen from a Swissair cargo plane, and almost $10 million from a KLM cargo plane.According to The Times, there had been robberies in the cargo hold much more recently.In October last year, the paper reported that armed robbers posing as police entered the AFS Cargo warehouse at the airport, making off with over a ton of cellphones and laptop computers. This was allegedly not an isolated incident."Swissport Cargo has been hit three times, Menzies cargo twice and a number of smaller freight handlers have been targeted since May. Sources say the same modus operandi is used," The Times reported.
Analysis by Hitwise of an online pool of 3 million UK users shows a significant rise in the number of people in the UK using YouTube to research holiday destinations.

TripAdvisor, Skyscanner and Trivago, and other such sites, have seen an average increase of 51% in traffic from YouTube over the past three years.TripAdvisor drives the most traffic from YouTube, followed by booking.com.

The analysis also found that searches on YouTube involve much shorter keyword terms than on search engines.

The Hitwise research has shown that video and social content is a successful platform for marketers to better understand their audiences online behaviour, says.Hitwise managing director Nigel Wilson.

The increase in traffic to sites such as Skyscanner and Booking.com is a great example of the importance for marketers in the travel sector to understand the data informing their content programmes and to successfully capture their online audiences.

To this end, Hitwise recommends travel companies track video searches to identify emerging destinations.

The report, Travel in 2017: A Digital Marketing Perspective, found that Iceland was the destination with the biggest increase in searches YoY  up 118%  followed by Vietnam (75%) and Sri Lanka (72%).
News / National

by Staff reporter

MDC deputy president Thokozani Khupe has expressed disgust at the frustrating moves made by government officials when she tried to donate to floods victims in Sipepa, Tsholothso.The former deputy premier said she was made to wait a long time, "pushed back and forth," before she was allowed to make her donation on Saturday."When we arrived at Sipepa Hospital, it took us more than an hour to donate our food and other necessities," Khupe told the Daily News."We were told to go through the DA (district administrator)'s office or the Resident minister," she said, adding that "we almost came back with our donations".Khupe said "the sad reality is they are politicising a humanitarian situation. People must be above politics when dealing with such issues", further claiming that "one of the police officers was even wearing a Zanu-PF T-shirt".Tsholotsho villagers were left in dire straits after Cyclone Dineo-induced floods ravaged the area, destroying homes and crops.Government has since appealed for international assistance to help provide food, temporary shelter and clothing for the more than 1 500 people affected.At least 240 people have been killed, 128 people injured, while about 1 576 others remain marooned following the floods, according to Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere.Khupe, accompanied by MDC MPs Ruth Labode and Nomvula Mguni, donated blankets, maize-meal, cooking oil and salt.She said "the situation is dire and urgent attention is required to restore the lives of the affected"."Government must learn to learn from previous experience. We had a similar problem in 2001 and this time around government was supposed to be more than ready to deal with the situation," Khupe said.And in a rare show of support, Tsholotsho North Zanu-PF legislator Jonathan Moyo thanked her for the donation."Thank you . . . Khupe for your donation," he tweeted.
News / National

by Staff reporter

KARIBA Dam water levels remain critically low as its catchment area did not receive significant inflows this year, keeping power supplies from Zimbabwe's main electricity source in a precarious state, the energy minister has said.According to the Fingaz , the Energy and Power Development minister, Samuel Undenge told journalists in Bulawayo last week on the sidelines of a regional energy conference that the country was not yet out of the woods."As you aware, last year we were producing at an average of 285MW and the Zambezi River Authority, which administers the Kariba dam, has increased our allocation of water from 20 billion to 30 billion. We are now producing 380MW and in other words we have moved from 285MW to 380MW which is 50,6 percent of the generation capacity," Undenge said."So we are not yet out of the woods. But we have had that increased generation. It's better, instead of going further down, we are now regaining what we had lost."Permanent secretary in the Energy Ministry, Partson Mbiriri, said 45 percent of the water that comes into Lake Kariba comes from the northern catchment which is Zambia, Angola and DRC but those areas did not receive much rains compared to Zimbabwe.Undenge said when the Kariba dam is full, it holds 161 billion cubic metres of water, but out of the 161 billion cubic metres of water, only 65 billion cubic metres of water are available for power generation."So we still need, perhaps, another year or two of very good rains for the dam to fill up. Statistically, Zimbabwe contributes 15 percent of the water inflows into the Kariba Dam and Zambia contributes 42.5 percent of the water inflows into the Kariba Dam. So much of the catchment area of the Kariba Dam, the Zambezi River, is in Zambia," he said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The South African Ministry of Home Affairs will next week on 17 and 18 March hold an international migration meeting to seek ways of aligning foreign migration permits.In an interview, Zimbabwe's Consul General in South Africa, Mr Henry Batiraishe Mukonoweshuro said the alignment process will be done through a white paper that will be the outcome of the international migration meeting to be held in Sandton, Pretoria.Mr Mukonoweshuro said the alignment should allow those living in South Africa under special permits to obtain regular permits.He added that those on special permits who wish to migrate to other permits like the special skills permit can do so through the offices in Bulawayo and Harare and that they do not need to leave their passports there."They can just apply using certified copies of their documents and return to their working stations back in South Africa without leaving their passports," Mr Mukonoweshuro said.Turning to the xenophobic attacks that rocked the Southern African country in the past few weeks, Mr Mukonoweshuro said the situation has calmed down a bit following the intervention by President Jacob Zuma and his government.President Zuma assured foreigners that people won't be allowed to take things in their own hands to perpetrate xenophobia.
Four members of the Rakhine State Hluttaw debated the proposal, and then parliament decided unanimously [to support it], said U Tun Thar Sein, an Arakan National Party member who put forward the suggestion on February 20.

Work on the Mrauk-U airport began in 2015, but was suspended the following year due to budgetary restrictions and the length of time it would take to complete construction if solely funded by the government. Earlier this year, the state government expressed interest in having a private sponsor take on the project.

State planning and finance minister U Kyaw Aye Thein told The Myanmar Times last week that the state government would invite tenders for the airport construction.

MP U Tun Thar Sein said that after the March 6 state-level endorsement, the proposal for restarting the airport will be forwarded to Union parliament.

My part is complete. Now the Union parliament has to do its part, he told Narinjara News.

MPs hope the airport will boost tourism to the historic archaeological zone. More than a thousand temples and pagodas are interspersed throughout the ancient capital, which is bidding for UNESCO world heritage status.

Translated by Zin Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron for BNI
Four journalists were killed in Myanmar since last years military coup, and five others were killed before the putsch dating back to 1999, with the...
Opinion / Columnist

Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades and Co-patriots, Mthwakazi Republic Party is a political Party that is not tribal but is rather fighting tribalism. The party seeks political solution, Mthwakazi needs it's independence from Zimbabwe. We have experienced brutality from Zimbabwe government, economically, educationally, culturally marginalization and above all we have lost UBUNTU Bethu. The Zimbabwe government committed Gukurahundi genocide that killed over 50 000 of our people.Today people are subjected to SHONA against their will, most civil servants don't speak local languages, even court interpreters have miss interpreted our languages namely IsiTonga, Venda,Nyanja, Nambiya, Khalanga to name a few. It is all because of this language that is projected to Mthwakazi Nation.Remember there was radio Mthwakazi at Montrose in Bulawayo, where is it today? We had everything that is needed by a nation but today we are just people with no identity all this because of Zimbabwe. The roads that were left by the then Rhodesia have now turned to be our Death Roads, Schools left by Smith Regime some have been turned to death traps to the people of Mthwakazi and almost all the infrastructure left by Smith regime is now absolute and dilapidated.There is nothing that one can point which the government of Zimbabwe brought to Mthwakazi. NUST university it's another project to extend their Grand Plan ISISHONA. How many schools in Mthwakazi are equipped with Laboratory Kits? yet they open Nust in Mthwakazi without the tools our children can never be there at all. Mhlahladlela have been turned to be like uMkambo WamaShona. Plumtree my home town where the songs of the late Solomon Sikhuza should be playing day in and out its now dominated by Simon Chibetu,I doubt they play Lovemore Majayivana song "Lelilizwe alilamali".which is true alilamali.Gwanda was named as Matabeleland South provincial Head Quaters But is that true "Ama Shona yiwo avula amagedi? Let's fight for our rights let's fight for Mthwakazi restoration,lets not forget that we have a bigger Picture than Tribalism our goal is Restoration of MthwakaziOur problems are man made was closely looking at Acholi people of Northern Uganda.I got to understand that their plight was and is similar to Mthwakazi people.Museveni killed them in a genocidal manner.He is behind LRM as they wanted to defend themselves against atrocities of Museveni gukurhahundi army.The LRM of Joseph Khonyi turned against their own people and supported their oppressor Museveni. Museveni then enticed the West to look at LRM as bad and clueless people with no good reason to pick up arms.the West bought into this.When Mugabe faked dissidents to pick up arms and when he killed the tourists he quickly ran to the West and labelled us as terrorists dissidents bent on killing innocent people.The west bought this.I wondered why Trump singled out Mugabe and Museveni for smashing. These two are not the only dictators in Africa but they have used similar tactics to try and anihilate a people for selfish reasons for staying in power forever and establish one party states.Mugabe and Museveni must go.This is very painful to some of us and our people. Our identity has been taken away completely what are our children learning now at SCHOOL? How can MTHWAKAZI kids be taught in Shona ...what cultural values are they embracing? Tramp says America to Americans .MTHWAKAZI to MTHWAKAZIANS finish and Klaar.Siyiziphepheli nje all over we see that video "Nkomo must die" what the hell is that? bafowethu angeke phela...enough is enough.
9 Women's Strikes That Came Before A Day Without A Woman

Today, on International Women's Day, women in the United States are participating in a general strike called A Day Without A Woman, planned by the organizers of the Women's March. On its website, the organizers say: "Let's raise our voices together again, to say that women's rights are human rights, regardless of a woman's race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, sexual identity, gender expression, economic status, age or disability."

Inspired by recent immigrant-led strikes in the United States such as the Bodega Strike and A Day Without Immigrants, A Day Without A Woman is also an entry into a long history of women's labor strikes around the world. Here are a few you should know about, in chronological order:

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1. the Dover Women's Strike of 1828

via Fosters.com



In the first recorded women's strike in American history, about 400 out of 800 women working at a cotton factory in Dover, New Hampshire went on strike over harsh new rules that lowered wages, imposed a fine for lateness, prohibited unions, and banned talking during work hours.



For more, read 'All-women strike in Dover still a mystery' at fosters.com

2. Washerwoman's Strike of 1881

via ALFCIO.org



In 1881, black working women in Atlanta, Georgia went on strike for higher pay. The strike began with 20 black laundresses, who formed a group called the Washing Society and established a uniform fair wage. Through canvassing, they brought in more laundresses  including some of the few white laundresses working in Atlanta, making this one of the first interracial protest movements  and grew to include cooks, maids, nurses, hotel workers, and other laborers as well. In three weeks, their numbers grew to over 3,000. Though the city pushed back, the women's numbers were too strong and they succeeded, which meant higher wages for women laborers in the whole city.



For more information, read 'Atlanta Washerwoman's Strike' at ALFCIO.org.

3. The New York Shirtwaist Strike of 1909



via Wikimedia Commons



In 1909, more than 20,000 young, working-class Jewish women in New York launched an eleven-week general strike in the shirtwaist industry, asking for shorter hours, better wages, and safer working conditions. At the time, it was the largest women's strike in history. Though they won only some of their demands, they sparked a movement that made the garment industry one of the best-organized trades.



For more information, read: 'The Uprising Of 20,000' at JWA.org.

4. Pecan Strike of 1938



via Institute of Texan Cultures

In the 1930s, pecan companies in San Antonio employed Mexican American women to do the pecan-shelling work by hand in poor conditions. In 1938, 21-year-old activist Emma Tenayuca led a strike of 12,000 women who walked off the job. They were joined by another 6,000-8,000 workers, and hundreds  including Tenayuca  were gassed and arrested by police. After 37 days, the strike ended and workers achieved a higher wage."What started out as an organization for equal wages turned into a mass movement against starvation, for civil rights, for a minimum-wage law," Tenayuca later said. This strike is credited with sparking the Mexican American social justice movement.



For more information, read 'Pecan Shellers' Strike Sparked Hispanic Workers' Movement' at APWU.org.

5. Women Strike for Peace, 1961

via Wikimedia Commons



In 1961, about 50,000 women marched in 60 cities to protest against nuclear weapons, making this the largest women's peace protest of the century. Consisting mostly of mothers, and led by Bella Abzug and Dagmar Wilson, the strike also included actions such as petitions and letter writing campaigns. It is credited with bringing down the House Un-American Activities Committee and helping push the United States and the Soviet Union into signing a nuclear test-ban treaty.

For more, read 'Women strike for peace' at jwa.org.



fon6. Women's Strike For Equality, 1970

via New York Historical Society

In 1970, 50,000 feminists marched in New York, blocking traffic; they were joined by similar marches around the country. Sponsored by the National Organization For Women and led by Betty Friedan, the Women's Strike For Equality was organized as an action to show the American media the power of the feminist movement; they marched for three reasons: free abortion on demand, equal opportunity in employment and education, and the establishment of 24/7 childcare centers. Though none of these demands were met immediately, the march helped propel forward action that led to the passing of Title IX in 1972, laws against workplace sexual harassment, and more.

For more, read 'The Day Women Went On Strike' at time.com

7. 1975 Icelandic Women's Strike

via Women's History Archives

In 1975, Icelandic women went on strike for equal pay. 90% of women did not go to work or do any housework or child-rearing work, and 25,000 women gathered in Reykjavik for a rally. Basically the whole country was forced to shut down  newspapers couldn't print anything, airlines had to cancel flights, schools had to close. The strike led to a law that guaranteed equal rights for men and women  on paper, if not in reality. Every few years, Icelandic women recreate the strike, leaving work early to demonstrate the wage gap. In 2016, they stopped work at 2:38pm.

For more, read 'The Day Iceland's Women Went On Strike' at bbc.com and 'Iceland's women leave work at 2:38pm to protest gender pay gap' at independent.co.uk

8. Black Monday, 2016

via Wikimedia Commons

Last year, in Poland, women around the country held a strike, wore black, and marched in protest of a proposed absolute ban on abortion (Poland already had rigid abortion laws; abortion is illegal except in cases of rape, incest, danger to the mother's life, or irreparable damage to the fetus). Women boycotted work and school in 60 cities, holding strikes, marches, blood donation drives and readings. Their strike succeeded, and the proposed ban was voted down.



For more, read 'Poland votes down extreme abortion ban after thousands of women go on strike' at vox.com.

9. #Strike4Repeal in Ireland, 2017

via Twitter/@YvieLFN

While #ADayWithoutAWoman takes place in the US today, across the pond Irish women are fighting for abortion rights. Abortion is illegal in Ireland, which means Irish women have to flee the country to have an abortion in the UK, or seek an illegal and potentially dangerous one in their own country. Women in Ireland have died because they're not able to receive lifesaving abortion services, including, notably, Savita Halappanavar in 2012.



For more, read 'Irish women go on strike over abortion ban' at independent.co.uk.

And for even more information about women's strikes in history, read 'Shut Down The Mills: Women, The Modern Strike, And Revolution' at publici.umic.org and 'Women In Labor History Timeline' at AFSCME.org.

More from BUST

6 Creative Women's Rebellions That Worked

Can't Take Off Work? 7 Actions For A Day Without A Woman

Women-Owned Businesses To Support Every Day

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Erika W. Smith is BUST's digital editorial director. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @erikawynn and email her at erikawsmith@bust.com.
Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

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..thetower.org..Issue 48-March '17..Much has been made in recent months of President Donald Trumps pledge to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and its possible repercussions. The public conversation has generally concentrated on the potential diplomatic and political fallout, especially the possibility of a new outbreak of Palestinian violence. Lost in all the controversy, however, is the fact that the U.S. is one of nine countries that already has aembassy in Jerusalem. But these are all embassies to the Palestinians, not Israel.The U.S. embassy in Israel is located in Tel Aviv, but much less well known is that the U.S. consulate-general sits in Jerusalem, just around the corner from the Prime Ministers residenceand it handles diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority. It is one of nine consulates-general in Jerusalem, all of which serve the same purpose. Five of themthe UK, Turkey, Belgium, Spain and Swedenare in eastern Jerusalem. The consulates-general of the US, France, Italy, and Greece are in western Jerusalem. The European Union also has a representative office in eastern Jerusalem, and the Holy See has an Apostolic Nunciature there, alongside the Palestinian offices of several international agencies.
The Tennessee Board of Nursing has placed Chattanooga States Tennessee College of Applied Technology Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) diploma program on a one-year suspension as a result of not meeting the boards minimum LPN licensure exam pass rate.



The Board of Nursing requires LPN training programs to ensure that at least 85 percent of their graduates pass the National Council Licensure Examination for LPNs on their first attempt. TCAT-Chattanoogas NCLEX pass rate was 78 percent in 2014, 83 percent in 2015 and 78 percent in 2016. The suspension follows two years of probation for the program. This decision will not impact the Registered Nursing (RN) A.A.S. degree program at Chattanooga State, which currently has a 98 percent pass rate based on 2016 scores.

The suspension means that current LPN students will be allowed to finish the program and graduate, but no new students will be admitted until the suspension is lifted. The Board of Nursing will review the programs progress at its February 2018 meeting in consideration of lifting this suspension.



TCAT-Chattanooga leaders are exploring a partnership with TCAT-Shelbyville to provide LPN training on Chattanooga States campus during this interim. By establishing this agreement, local students may have the option to pursue this high demand career.

"Although we are disappointed, said Chattanooga State Interim President Debbie Adams, we have already taken steps to improve results by strengthening admissions standards and reducing class size for more individualized instruction. We are evaluating the instruction while continuing to look for additional ways to improve the program, and by implementing these improvements, we intend to return to our long history of providing successful graduates to meet the demands of our local workforce.




BEIJING (PTI): China has hiked its military spending by seven per cent to US$ 152 billion, about three times higher than that of India, as Beijing braced for countering America's push into the disputed South China Sea.



After skipping the customary mention of the figures of defence spending in the work report submitted by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to lawmakers on Sunday, state-run Xinhua news agency on Monday announced that the military budget for this year stands at 1.04 trillion yuan (US$ 152 billion).



China's defence budget for 2017 will grow seven per cent from the actual figure in 2016, Xinhua quoted an official with Ministry of Finance as saying on Monday.



"The country's military spending this year will stand at 1.04 trillion yuan (about US$ 152 billion) with 1.02 trillion yuan from the central budget," the Xinhua report said.



This is the first time that China's military spending crossed a trillion yuan.



Last year China's military spending was 954.35 billion yuan, a 7.6 per cent increase from 2015.



China's defence budget is about three times higher than India's US$ 53.5 billion.



There was no explanation about why the amount of the annual defence spending was not mentioned in Li's annual work report to the National People's Congress (NPC) on Monday.



On March 4, NPC spokesperson Fu Ying said China's defence budget will be increased by seven per cent accounting for 1.3 per cent of the country's GDP, compared with NATO members' pledge to dedicate at least two per cent of GDP to defence.



"You should ask them what their intentions are," Fu told reporters, adding that China has "never inflicted harm on other countries."



Chinese officials defended the seven per cent hike this year, saying it is still smaller than the 10 per cent increase proposed by President Donald Trump to America's defence budget to take it to about USD 654 billion, the highest in the world.



Much of China's budget this year is expected to go for the development of Navy as Beijing looks to expand its influence beyond its shores.



China currently has one aircraft carrier and is building another with a third in the planning stage to match the growing strength of the US navy in hot-spots like the South China Sea.



The China-US military tensions are on the rise since former American President Barack Obama adopted the 'US pivot to Asia', committing large number of US military forces to be deployed in the Asia Pacific to counter China's growing military might.



After his election, Trump has sent an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea to assert the freedom of navigation in the area claimed by China.



Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claim over the South China Sea.



China's military experts say much of the defence expenditure will go for the Navy to safeguard the country's fast expanding overseas interests and is a response to the unstable security situation in the Asia-Pacific region.



Chu Yin, associate professor at the University of International Relations, said, China's rapid military development is a recurrent trend with the country's rising economic power and is entirely legitimate and reasonable.



"It doesn't need Trump as an excuse," he told state-run Global Times earlier.



"How can China protect millions of overseas Chinese and huge amounts of overseas investment and projects worth billions of US dollars without a powerful navy?" Chu asked.



As per China National Tourism Administration figures, since 2015, Chinese citizens made more than 120 million overseas trips annually.



Additionally, China is currently the world's largest trading nation, so the country is heavily reliant on free trade, and the world also needs to trade with China, Chu said.



Quoting China National Radio, the Global Times report said China's overseas investment in 2016 has reached US$ 221 billion, surging 246 per cent compared with 2015.



"So the Chinese navy has to gain enough ability to protect those key trade routes around the globe," Chu said.



Song Zhongping, a military expert who used to serve in the Second Artillery Corps (now called the Rocket Force) said, "Honestly, the Chinese military hasn't met some of those standards yet, and that's why we have military reform and the budget for national defence will continue to rise."



"For example, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, as part of the 'One Belt and One Road' initiative, requires a large and advanced navy, because this 'Road' covers the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean," Song said.



Yin Zhuo, a rear admiral and a senior researcher at the PLA Navy Equipment Research Centre told China Central Television that in order to protect China's sovereignty and national interests, the PLA Navy at least needs five to six aircraft carriers to maintain presence in specific regions.



An anonymous PLA Air Force officer told the Global Times, "due to 'the US pivot to Asia' strategy since the Obama era, the possibility of military conflict is increasing in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan Straits, and East and South China seas, so there is no reason for us not to increase the defence budget".




A file photo.

BEIJING (PTI): China is planning to put up to 8 latest navigation satellites into space this year as part of its plan to form an orbiting network and offer worldwide navigation services by 2020.



Compared to earlier generation products, the BeiDou-3 is able to cover a wider range and has a longer lifespan of 12 years, Bao Weimin, an official with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.



It is part of a plan to put 35 BeiDou satellites into space to form an orbiting satellite network and offer worldwide navigation services by 2020, Yang Yuanxi, deputy chief designer of the BeiDou satellite navigation system, told official media.



Named after the Chinese name for the Big Dipper constellation, the BeiDou system is designed to offer an alternative to America's Global Positioning System (GPS).



A government white paper published in December said China expects to provide basic services to limited the number of clients in 2018 and expand to all clients with more accurate and reliable services through better ground and satellite-based systems by 2020.



China has already sent 22 BeiDou satellites into space.



Yang said the launches this year will feature two satellites on a single carrier rocket.






SEOUL (AP): China on Tuesday said it will take unspecified measures against a US missile system being deployed in S Korea, and warned that Washington and Seoul will bear the consequences.



A Foreign Ministry spokesman said at a regular briefing that China "firmly opposes" the deployment of the missile defence system, after US missile launchers and other equipment needed for it arrived in South Korea.



Geng Shuang said China will "definitely be taking necessary measures to safeguard our own security interest."



Geng added that "all consequences" resulting from that will be borne by the US and South Korea.



The equipment arrived on Tuesday, a day after North Korea test-launched four ballistic missiles into the ocean near Japan.




A file photo of THAAD missile defence system's test launch.

WASHINGTON (AFP): The US military has begun deploying an anti-ballistic missile defense system to South Korea, following a string of missile tests by North Korea, the US Pacific Command said.



The announcement came after nuclear-armed North Korea on Monday launched four missiles which it said was part of training for a strike on US bases in Japan. Three of the missiles came down provocatively close to Japan.



Deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system "contributes to a layered missile defense system and enhances the US-ROK Alliance's defense against North Korean missile threats," the Pacific Command said in a statement on Tuesday.



"North Korea's accelerating program of nuclear weapons tests and ballistic missile launches constitute a threat to international peace and security, and are in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions."



South Korea and the United States agreed last year to install the THAAD system, which China has repeatedly denounced as a threat to its security.



The statement from the Pacific Command, which oversees US military operations in the Asia-Pacific, pointed out that the system is "a strictly defensive capability and it poses no threat to other countries in the region."



The system is meant to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight.


The Center for Mindful Living will host Dr. Terry Gordon as the keynote speaker for Catalyst, an inaugural fundraising event, on April 26 at 5:30 p.m. at Stratton Hall.

The evening will begin with heavy hors doeuvres and cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Dr. Gordon, a renowned cardiologist and author of No Storm Lasts Forever, will speak beginning at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $75.

Dr. Gordon exemplifies adversity as a catalyst for positive change, said Elizabeth Kabalka, director of the Center for Mindful Living. We are bringing this event to the greater Chattanooga community to help create an awareness and openness that health and well-being can be a catalyst for positive change."

Dr. Gordon completed his Invasive Cardiology Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, and following the tragic death of a local high school athlete from sudden cardiac arrest, he was inspired to spearhead an initiative in Ohio to place Automated External Defibrillators in every school.

The Center for Mindful Living's mission is to empower people to decrease their stress and increase their well-being. It is at 400 E Main St., Suite 150. For more information call 486-1279 or go to www.CenterMindfulLiving.org.






Movement Mortgage, LLC announced that Loan Officer Christina Lane received the Chattanooga Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Banker of the Year award for the highest volume of loans closed in 2016.

With more than 15 years of mortgage industry experience, Mrs. Lane specializes in assisting homebuyers in the Chattanooga and North Georgia areas. In 2016, Mrs. Lane closed over $37 million in volume over the course of 204 units.

In addition to her career with Movement Mortgage, Mrs. Lane is a proud wife and mother to three daughters.

Movement Mortgage has been recognized as the fastest-growing private mortgage bank in the U.S., powered by its innovative process and culture. Movement believes real estate is a local business driven by individual agents and their local sphere of influence. The company has rapidly expanded nationwide by committing to upfront underwriting, seven-day processing on most of its loans and investing millions of dollars back into communities through its nonprofit foundation.
The Lee University Department of History, Political Science, and Humanities has added two new majors under the oversight of Political Science: Public Administration and International Studies.

Public Administration will equip students to work in state and local politics by training them on economic, business, and communications skills and offering a political science foundation. International Studies will help prepare students for international-oriented professions, allowing students to choose a specific country or world region and a global issue pertaining to that culture to study and provide an interdisciplinary foundation.

According to Dr. Ana Shippey, assistant professor of political science at Lee, both majors will provide students specific training for careers that have recently become high in demand. The courses are meant to prepare students and build a competitive skill that will enhance their career pursuits.

Whether at the local and state level through public administration, or internationally through international studies, the two new majors aim to equip students to make a difference in our local communities and in the world through responsible and redemptive Christian stewardship, said Dr. Shippey.

Though both majors do not become official until fall 2017, students can take classes now to be credited toward the new majors. Each major was also developed to make it possible to double-major due to overlapping course requirements.

In order to create cultural involvement with the international studies major, Dr. Shippey is currently building relationships in several countries in order to offer students future opportunities to do semester or year-long study abroad trips and internships in the country of their choosing.

For more information about the public administration or international studies majors, contact Dr. Shippey at aalves@leeuniversity.edu, Dr. Stephen Swindle at sswindle@leeuniversity.edu, or Dr. Thomas Pope at thomaspope@leeuniversity.edu.
An estranged Irish couple have settled a dispute over a 500,000 (577k) holiday home in rural Ireland after staging a "Titanic" divorce court battle, a judge has been told.

Margie Hanley, 56, and estranged husband Michael, 60, who lived together in Wentworth, Surrey, both wanted the house they jointly own in the village of Cornamona, County Galway.
Update 10.28am: The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is calling on the Government to tackle our gender pay gap.

It comes as new figures from the EU Commission show that Ireland has failed to close the pay gap in recent years.

Congress equality officer David Joyce says there are plenty of things we could do.

We could, for example, make pay gap reporting compulsory, for large employers, have mandatory action plans to close the gap, and sanctions for those who refuse to comply, he said.

But really, I suppose, right across Europe, is a pay rise for everyone, but for women in particular.

Earlier:

A series of high profile events has been organised to mark International Women's Day today.

The 7th World Congress on Women's Mental Health is being held in Dublin and the Irish Cancer Society is highlighting the women fighting the disease,

A number of events are also being held to protest at Ireland's abortion laws, including a march through Dublin city this evening.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is calling for a series of new and concrete measures to tackle what it says is the ongoing gender pay gap.

Irish women want to achieve work-life balance this international women's day, according to a new survey.

The research has found women are twice as likely to have experienced sexism in the workplace, while only 35% believe there is gender balance when it comes to pay.

The study, by Evoke.ie and communications firm MediaCom, also found the sexes agree that most advertising reinforces gender stereotypes.

We found that for women overall, the main challenge that theyre facing in 2017 is really getting a work-life balance, said Vicky Shekleton of MediaCom.

For women 18-34, at the very top of their agenda is repealing the 8th Amendment.

Its been on a lot of peoples minds last year, theres been a huge amount of marches around the Repeal movement, so this is certainly the top challenge facing younger women in 2017.

The Pro Life Campaign will also hold an awareness event today in Dublin's city centre to mark International Womens Day.

The event will take place outside the Central Bank on Dame Street at 1.15pm.

Commenting on the event, a spokesperson for the Pro Life Campaign said: International Womens Day should be a day for making space to listen to the voices of women from different perspectives. Take the abortion issue, for example.

There are many women who are very thankful that the Eighth Amendment was there and say that they owe the life of their child to this life-saving provision. We will highlight some of these stories at our event today.
Irish Water has pleaded guilty to breaking environmental laws following the discovery of sewage pollution at treatment plants in Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Cork, writes Tom Tuite.

The company, which is being prosecuted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court on Wednesday to 11 charges under Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) regulations. Irish Water had been prosecuted twice previously by the EPA and the court could hand down fines of up to 5,000 per offence, Judge John Brennan noted.

He adjourned the case for two weeks to consider what sanction he will impose.

Prosecuting solicitor Maeve Larkin said the EPA was proceeding with three charges in connection with a waste water treatment plant in Athenry, Co. Galway. This facility takes in waste water for treatment and then discharges clean water into the Clarinbridge River.

It failed to complete required upgrades by the end of 2015 and had released water with excessive pollutants into the river and failed to report an incident. EPA inspector Una OCallaghan said Irish Water had indicated to Irish Water that the required work to reduce ammonia and phosphorus in water had to be done by the third quarter of 2015.

Irish Water told the EPA it would comply by April 2016, then moved the date back to the second half of 2017 and Irish Water now says the upgrading work will not start until 2018 and is not expected to be completed until the following year.

Tests of the discharge showed excessive emissions of ammonia, which can kill fish, as well as phosphorus, which can be a risk to the aquatic environment, the court was told.

The EPA inspector agreed with Ms Larkin that from July 20, 2105 until August 2016 there were 11 occasions when pollutant levels breached regulation limits. Judge John Brennan heard that ammonia levels varied between 10 and 73 times the limit. During the same period phosphorus levels were between four and 23 times the limit.

Irish Water failed to notify the EPA about a mechanical failure led to a breakdown at the plant on May 4 last year when 40 per cent of the waste water taken in court not be treated.

The EPA inspector agreed with defence counsel Eoghan Cole that there was no risk to public health, fish kill at this site or need to carry out an acute clean up. Due to lack of procedures in place staff did not notify the EPA, he said, adding that a training programme has been rolled out for them.

Mr Cole asked the court to note that Irish Water intend carry to out a 5m upgrade at the Athenry plant.

The next case involving four charges related to sewage overflowing at three waste water pump stations in Balbriggan, in north Co. Dublin last year. These led to a minor fish kill in a local river last May and Skerries beach being closed for the June bank holiday weekend last year.

The EPA learned about the beach closure from media reports and it had not been reported to them by Irish Water as required, said EPA inspector Brendan Kissane.

Do not swim notices had to be put up, he told the court.

On May 17 last, the Dublin Road pump station also overflowed onto the road and into the Bracken river resulting in five dead fish. Irish Water had taken over two of the pump stations from local authorities in 2014 but the third only became operational in 2015 when they were in control.

The EPA official agreed with Mr Cole that Irish Water was co-operative.

Judge Brennan was told the next case related to two offences at a waste water treatment plant in Botherbue, in Co. Cork. EPA inspector Patrick Chang said upgrade work was required by EPA to be completed by the end of 2014 but it is not going to happen until 2019.

Discharges to the Brogeen River, which leads to a tributary of the Blackwater, contained pollutants which were a toxic to fish and could affect salmon reproduction. However, he agreed with defence counsel that there was not danger to public health and significant upgrades are planned.

Ms Larkin said the last case related to two offences at Dromcolliher, Co. Limerick, at a 1940s built water treatment plant. The charges were for not commencing the first phase of urgently needed upgrade work by a Dec. 31, 2015 deadline and discharging water with excessive pollutants, said EPA inspector John Feehan. The first phase of the upgrades will not be completed until 2018, the court heard.

It is now trying to deal with seven times the amount of water it was designed to handle, the court heard.

Prior to Irish Water taking control of the facility in 2014 the Department of Environment had set aside the funds for the work.

Judge Brennan also noted that Irish Water was co-operative with the EPA and will pay prosecutions costs. The guilty plea meant a trial as long as a tribunal had been avoided, he remarked.
A 15th anniversary 4K restoration of the haunting Donnie Darko, two films introduced by acclaimed Chattanooga artist Wayne White, a live-scored silent era classic, and an appearance by Phish bass player/filmmaker Mike Gordon highlight the second wave of programming announced by the Chattanooga Film Festival, which runs April 6-9.

Here are the films and their reviews:

CFF will salute film music with the silent sci-fi classic Our Heavenly Bodies being live-scored by Coupler, and the documentary SCORE: A Film Music Documentary.

Mr. White will introduce one of his favorite all-time films, Preston Sturges comedy classic Sullivans Travels. In addition, hell introduce a free screening of the 2012 documentary about his life and work, Beauty is Embarrassing. CFF is working with Shaking Ray Levi Society, as well as River City Company, who is co-presenting this event in the Neural Alley passageway, lending just a bit more fun to this already-inspiring and entertaining doc, said officials.

Also, in the second wave are Cheap Thrills filmmaker Evan Katzs masterful new crime thriller Small Crimes (featuring Game of Thrones Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Sundance Grand Jury Prize 2017 winner Macon Blair), Oscar-nominated family film My Life As a Zucchini, and the powerful documentary Whose Streets?, which offers up an unflinching look at how the killing of 18-year-old Mike Brown inspired a community to fight back and sparked a global movement.

CFF favorite Mark Covino (A Band Called Death) will be back with his second documentary, The Crest. This documentary is a touching story about discovering and celebrating ones cultural heritage, a subject that is sure to resonate with many.

Always fans of celebrating the anniversary of classic independent films, CFF will feature a trio of birthday screenings for the legendary cult classics Hatchet and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. Filmmakers Adam Green and Joe Lynch will be on hand to host and will also be recording a live episode of their popular The Movie Crypt Podcast.

In the closing night spot CFF will present a gorgeously restored presentation of the haunting indie classic Donnie Darko, complete with a new documentary on the film by Daniel Griffith Deus Ex Machina: The Philosophy Of Donnie Darko.

CFF has also packed the 2017 edition with an incredible selection of short films and their filmmakers. A highlight will be Phish bass player Mike Gordon, who will be on hand to present a screening of a new film Doll Power that his nine-year-old daughter Tessa co-wrote.

Never ones to make an announcement without offering its attendees an unprecedented amount of bang for their buck, CFF also revealed details of their Uwe Boll All Nite Stroll, a pub crawl in the honor of the attending and soon-to-retire cult filmmaker Uwe Boll that features stops at local staples JJs, The Bitter Alibi and The Coin-Op and will be preceded by a career spanning chat between Dr. Boll and CFF patron saint/resident film historian Joe Bob Briggs.

Second Wave of Films:

Our Heavenly Bodies / Director Hanns Walter Kornblum

With Live Score by Coupler

In 1925, German director Hanns Walter Kornblum wanted to create a film unlike any before it, a summation of all the astronomical knowledge available at the time and a dreamy investigation of what wonders might await humanity at the advent of space travel. One of the silent eras most gorgeous visionary films together with an electrifying live score provided by Coupler, a Nashville-based band founded by Ryan Norris (Lambchop) that describes itself as an exploration of the intersections of man and machine, live and recorded, composed and improvised, stasis and flux.

SCORE: A Film Music Documentary / Director: Matt Schrader

Q&A with Chattanooga Symphony Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt

What makes a score unforgettable? SCORE: A Film Music Documentary, will tell you. The film shows how painstaking the process of writing any score, let alone a memorable one, can be, and features interviews with many of the worlds finest film score composers, including John Williams (Star Wars, Jaws, Indiana Jones), Danny Elman (Batman, Spider-Man) and Hans Zimmer (Driving Miss Daisy, Rain Man, Pirates of the Caribbean).

Trailer

Small Crimes / Director: E.L. Katz

Q&A with E.L. Katz

A disgraced former cop, fresh off a six-year prison sentence for attempted murder - returns home looking for redemption but winds up trapped in the mess he left behind. Filmmaker Evan Katzs modern classic Cheap Thrills blew audiences away at CFF three years ago and this year were honored to present his latest with Evan in attendance for a post screening Q&A. Dont sleep on this one.

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End / Director: Joe Lynch

Q&A with Joe Lynch

A group of reality show contestants find themselves fighting for their survival against a family of hideously deformed inbred cannibals who plan to ruthlessly butcher them all in filmmaker Joe Lynchs crowd pleasing cult classic. CFF is proud to have Joe in attendance to celebrate the 10th birthday of this backwoods genre gem.

Trailer

Hatchet / Director: Adam Green

Q&A with Adam Green

When a group of tourists on a New Orleans haunted swamp tour find themselves stranded in the wilderness, their evening of fun and spooks turns into a horrific nightmare. Adam Greens love letter to classic slasher cinema is now a classic itself and along with his Movie Crypt podcast co-host Joe Lynch Adam is on hand to celebrate the 10th of this blood splattered, comedy/horror classic.

Trailer

Sullivans Travels / Director: Preston Sturges

With Introduction by Wayne White

Tired of churning out lightweight comedies, Hollywood director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) decides to make O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a serious, socially responsible film about human suffering. After his producers point out that he knows nothing of hardship, Sullivan, disguised as a hobo, hits the road. En route to enlightenment, he encounters a lovely but no-nonsense young woman (Veronica Lake)and more trouble than he ever dreamed of. This comic masterpiece by director Preston Sturges is among the finest Hollywood satires, and a high-water mark in the career of one of the industrys most revered funnymen.

Trailer

The Crest / Director: Mark Covino

Q&A following with Mark Covino

At CFF we love filmmaker Mark Covino, and since his debut feature, the life-altering, rad A Band Called Death screened with us several years ago, Mark has been kind enough to come to our festival and teach documentary filmmaking. Now hes given us another gift in the form of his latest work, The Crest. On the surface, the film is a gorgeously shot and edited surf documentary, but a closer look reveals a timely tale of family, of immigration, and the importance of preserving traditions and cultures.

Trailer

A Dark Song / Director: Liam Gavin

A grieving woman with many secrets rents a secluded home and hires an occult scholar to help her perform a black magic ritual. The ritual will take six months to complete. During that time, and with only a circle of salt around the house to protect them, the pair cannot leave the house or risk the ritual not working. This stunning Irish supernatural drama knocked us flat and has without question the biggest jaw drop of an ending of any film at CFF 2017.

Trailer

Whose Streets? / Director: Sabaah Folayan

The activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice bring you a documentary about the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and then left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis County. Grief, long-standing tension, and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. In the days that follow, artists, musicians, teachers and parents turn into freedom fighters, standing on the front lines to demand justice.

Beauty is Embarrassing / Director: Neil Berkeley

Intro and Q&A by Wayne White

Beauty Is Embarrassing is a funny, irreverent, joyful and inspiring documentary featuring the life and current times of one of Americas most important artists, Chattanoogas own Wayne White, whose multi-faceted talents are on display at Wayne-O-Rama. Wayne will be on hand to introduce this film and do a post-film Q&A.

***This is a free event that will be shown at Neural Alley  Passageways in partnership with River City Company, Wayne-O-Rama and generously sponsored by Maclellan Apartments.

Trailer

Automatic at Sea / Director: Matthew Lessner

Eve, a young Swedish traveler, finds herself stranded on a private island with Peter, a wealthy heir whom she hardly knows. While waiting for other guests to arrive, Eve becomes trapped in an unstable reality punctuated by feverish visions, dimensional shifting and secret pizza. How can she escape if she's not even sure she's there?

My Life as a Zucchini / Director: Claude Barras

After his mothers sudden death, Zucchini is befriended by a police officer, Raymond, who accompanies him to his new foster home, filled with other orphans his age. At first he struggles to find his place in this at times strange and hostile environment. But with Raymonds help and his newfound friends, Zucchini eventually learns to trust and love, as he searches for a new family of his own.

Trailer

Lost in Paris / Directors: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon

Fiona visits Paris for the first time to assist her myopic Aunt Martha. Catastrophes ensue, mainly involving Dom, a homeless man who has yet to have an emotion or thought he was afraid of expressing. This crowd pleasing comedy looks and feels like a classic screwball picture and gave us some serious warm fuzzies.

24x36 / Director: Kevin Burke

A documentary that explores the birth, death and resurrection of illustrated movie poster art. Through interviews with a number of key art personalities from the past 4 decades  2436 aims to answer the question  What happened to the illustrated movie poster? Where did it disappear to, and why?

Trailer

Lake Bodom / Director: Taneli Mustonen

Every camper's worst nightmare came true at Lake Bodom in 1960 when four teenagers were stabbed to death while sleeping in their tent. The Hollywood Reporter called this a superior Finnish slasher movie and we couldnt agree more from its eerie atmosphere to its based in fact creepy as hell script Lake Bodom is a must see for thrill seeking cinephiles attending CFF this year.

Trailer

Donnie Darko / Director: Richard Kelly

Deus Ex Machine: The Philosophy of Donnie Darko / Director: Daniel Griffith

Daniel Griffith in attendance

The 15th Anniversary 4k Restoration along with new documentary about the classic film Deus Ex Machine: The Philosophy of Donnie Darko. Also an evil Easter Bunny photo booth in the CFF tent will help us celebrate this honest-to-god contemporary classic.

Trailer (Donnie Darko)

VIP badges and daily passes are now available at www.chattfilmfest.org. Individual tickets will be available closer to the festival. For the most up to date information, visit the official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/chattanoogafilmfestival
Update 10.30pm: Cork woman Vera Twomey, who walked from her home to the Dail, has had a four-hour meeting with the Health Minister Simon Harris.

Vera is campaigning to get a medicinal cannabis treatment for her daughter.

She has described tonight's meeting as "positive".

She said her daughter Ava has a number of new options in her meeting with Mr Harris.

She said it was the "most progressive" to date, and she is hoping Ava can start treatment within two weeks.

Update 3.25pm:Cork woman Vera Twomey has arrived at the Dail with 200 supporters after walking from Cork to Dublin to demand access to medicinal cannabis for her daughter.

Supporters chanted "Let her in" on arrival at the gates to Leinster House.

#Veratwomey great crowd going up dame st now. An amazing woman. pic.twitter.com/6aWoseLHw6  Andrew Behan (@AndrewJBehan) March 7, 2017

Vera had to complete the final part of her journey in a wheelchair because of a knee injury she sustained halfway through the 260 kilometre journey.

Her supporters were in jubilant mood as they arrived at Kildare Street in Dublin city centre.

UPDATE 9am: A woman who is walking from Cork to Dublin to raise awareness for her sick daughter has said meeting the Health Minister is a waste of time

Vera Twomey began the 260km trek last Monday in protest against a decision to restrict her 7 year old daughter Ava - who has a rare form of epilepsy - from accessing cannabis based medication.

Simon Harris has said he is available to meet with Vera Twomey when she arrives outside the Dail today and further consultation with Ava's consultant can be arranged.

But Mrs Twomey has said that is not enough.

"It's a waste of time because the neurologist isn't going to be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis..."

"There's no point in going to meet her because she can't prescribe it until the law is changed."

EarlierThe Joint Committee on Health has brought forward to today its meeting with the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) to discuss its scientific report on medicinal cannabis, writes Eoin English of the Irish Examiner

The meeting will begin at noon as Cork mother Vera Twomey, who is campaigning for new laws to allow her sick daughter, Ava, get access to medicinal cannabis, is due to arrive at Leinster House after spending a week walking from Cork to Dublin.

Ava, seven, has Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy which causes violent and severe seizures. Ms Twomey believes medicinal cannabis will help control the seizures.

However, the familys request for medicinal cannabis under a special licence pending the establishment of a compassionate access programme was rejected because it was not supported by medical consultants.

Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, moved last night to clarify the advice given to the Minister for Health in relation to the use of cannabis for medical purposes.

He said a process is underway to establish an access programme for cannabis-based treatments - the first of its kind in Ireland.

Dr Holohan said that while the programme is being established, the minister can provide a licence for access to cannabis for medical purposes in individual cases.

The granting of a licence must, however, be premised on an appropriate application being submitted to the Department of Health, which is endorsed by a consultant who is responsible for the management of the patient and who is prepared to monitor the effects of the treatment over time, he said.

Therefore, it is crucial that the granting of any such licence takes due care and consideration of the potential unintended consequences associated with the prescription of cannabis, a schedule one controlled drug, for medical purposes, and that its use is endorsed by a consultant who is familiar with and responsible for the care of the individual for whom the licence application is being made.

However, Ms Twomey said the law needs to change to allow her consultants sign their application.

Despite suffering from tonsillitis and a knee injury which has confined her to a wheelchair since the weekend, Ms Twomey said that she is determined to finish her 280km protest march outside the Dail today.

She vowed last night to remain camped outside Leinster House until she gets access to medicinal cannabis to treat her daughters seizures.

Health Minister Simon Harris welcomed news last night that the health committee meeting, which had been due to take place next month, has been brought forward to today.

Committee chairman Michael Harty said: The minister asked for the views of the HPRA on recent developments in the use of cannabis for medical purposes from a scientific standpoint, and I hope it will assist him in considering these policy decisions in making medicinal cannabis products available for the three clinical circumstances identified in the report.

In particular, can such products be made available under ministerial licence or will legislative changes be required?

This story first appeared in the Irish Examiner
The Brexit vote has sparked renewed interest in Michael Flatleys mansion, which is on the market for 20m, writes Eoin English.

Rena OKelly, the agent handing the sale of luxurious Castlehyde House near Fermoy, Co Cork, said several prospective buyers, including from the US, have viewed the magnificent property overlooking the River Blackwater in recent months.

It is a restricted end of the market anyway and there has been uncertainty in the market for the last 18 months or so, said Ms OKelly. But I think, post-Brexit, there is more certainty and we have seen that as interest in the property continues.

The Lord of the Dance star announced his intention to sell his beloved Cork retreat, set on a 150-acre private estate just outside Fermoy, more than two years ago.

Built in the Palladian style to the design of the elder Abraham Hargrave, Castlehyde was completed for John Hyde around 1801 and is the ancestral home of the first Irish president, Douglas Hyde.

Castlehyde comprises 12 bedrooms, a cinema, spa and pool, two wine cellars, a whiskey room, a formal dining room, tennis court, gym, dance rehearsal space, a two-storey library, and a bar.

Flatley bought the near derelict property for some 3m in 1999 at a time when it was considered beyond repair. Despite some advice to level the house and rebuild, Flatley spent the next four years, and around 50m of his own personal fortune, on a painstaking restoration, from the basement up.

The 35,000 sq ft four-storey property now boasts six themed bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, up to six more modest bedrooms, a 20-seat cinema, spa and pool, two climate-controlled wine cellars, whiskey room, formal dining room, tennis court, gym, dance rehearsal room, two-storey library panelled in American walnut, and a bar where Flatley has fond memories of evenings spent supping pints with his brother and late father, Michael James. The new owner will also have fishing rights for the Blackwaters famed salmon fishery.

The entrance hall, which extends the length of the house, doubles as a banquet hall and can accommodate 300 guests. It includes two original fireplaces, gilded Corinthian columns, and ceiling mouldings decorated in 24-carat gold.

It is today regarded as one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the south-west and one of the finest structural restorations of a historic Irish home.

Michael Flatley said the decision to put Castlehyde on the market was one of the toughest he had ever made, but was influenced by the death of his father and a robbery at the house.

Flatley spotted the mansion during a helicopter flight to scout for property in West Cork and decided almost immediately to buy it.

The house was the venue for his marriage to Niamh OBrien in 2006. Cliff Richard, Maureen OHara, George Hamilton, Michael Jackson, and the Chieftains have been guests there.

In 2015, Flatley said his decision to sell Castlehyde was one of the toughest he had ever made. The death of his father a year earlier, and a robbery at the house in January 2014, which took place while Flatley, his wife, and son Michael St James were in the house, were all factors in his decision to sell.

The sale is being handled by Frank Knight and joint agents Goffs.

This story first appeared in the

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The Sligo-based Coast Guard helicopter airlifted a crewman from a Russian fishing vessel some 180 miles North West of Erris Head Co Mayo this morning.

The operation was coordinated by the Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Centre in Malin Head.

Owing to the distance involved, communication support, known as 'Top Cover', was provided by a second Coast Guard helicopter.

Both helicopters refuelled at Blacksod prior to travelling to the scene.

The Russian crewman was airlifted at 4.30am and transferred to Sligo University Hospital where he was admitted shortly before 6am.

Coastguard spokesman Gerard O'Flynn says the ship was 180 miles out to sea - which is near the limits of their capabilities: The helicopters would have fueled in black sod on the Mayo coast prior to heading out so, thus ensuring that they had their maximum endurance on scene.

So the key point is once you hit 200 miles you pretty well on maximum range in terms of having sufficent time to conduct an operation once you get ot the actual ship with the casuality.
Canadian rock star Bryan Adams has confirmed that he will be returning to Cork to play Live at the Marquee in the summer.

Adams will play the venue on Leeside as part of his Get Up tour on July 11.
Melania Trump is hosting a lunch on International Women's Day on what is her first solo White House event as first lady.

The UN-designated day commemorates the push for women's rights.

Women across the US are observing the occasion by taking a day off work, as well as attending rallies.

At the White House, the first lady welcomed about 50 women seated at tables adorned with floral centrepieces.

Attendees included her daughter-in-law, Ivanka Trump, and vice president Mike Pence's wife, Karen.

In Japan, some 200 women gathered for a march to mark International Women's Day in Tokyo, protesting against low wages, long hours and other obstacles that make their lives difficult.

Participants, many of them members of women's groups and labour unions, chanted "It's hard to be a woman, and our patience is running out", and held up banners saying "Let's change our future".

Japan lags behind most other industrial countries in women's participation and advancement in business, academics and politics.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "womenomics" policy aims to put more women to work to counter a chronically low birth rate and shrinking work force, but a business culture in which long hours are routine makes it more difficult for women to get ahead.

Meanwhile, the president of the European Parliament has used the occasion to promise that a Polish politician will be punished for the crude, sexist comments he made last week.

EU parliament President Antonio Tajani said that he intends to bring a "swift conclusion" to the probe into the remarks of Janusz Korwin-Mikke at the legislature and promised "a penalty commensurate with the gravity of the offence".

Mr Korwin-Mikke, a radical right-winger who leads a marginal party, said during a debate on the pay gap between men and women: "Of course women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent. They must earn less, that's all."

He could face sanctions such as a reprimand, a fine or a temporary suspension.

And scores of women working in the childcare industry in Australia walked off the job early to protest against what they deem to be inadequate pay rates.

The United Voice union, which represents the workers, said more than 1,000 at childcare centres in every state and territory in Australia stopped working at 3:20pm on Wednesday to call attention to wage disparities felt throughout an industry where the vast majority of workers are women.

"3:20 represents the time that Australian women ostensibly start working for free in comparison to men if you take into account the gender pay gap," said Helen Gibbons, the union's assistant national secretary.

"We know that this has traditionally been seen as women's work," Ms Gibbons said.

"It's 2017 and this is not OK to continue. The people who work in this sector demand equal pay."

In Italy, hundreds of women, with some men too, set off in a march from Rome's Colosseum to demand more respect.

Wearing pink wigs, scarves or headbands, they gathered on Wednesday evening by the ancient Rome arena. Among their demands: equal pay for the same work men do, and more executive positions in the corporate world.

Statistics show less than half of Italian women work. Many say they are forced to stay at home with small children because of a shortage of affordable day care, including public nurseries.

Meanwhile, the Swedish women's football team marked International Women's Day by replacing the names on the backs of their jerseys with tweets from Swedish women "who have struggled to gain ground in their respective fields".

The team that grabbed silver at the 2016 Olympics wore the blue and yellow jerseys with tweets by leading Swedes - including singer Zara Larsson - instead of the players' names at an Algarve Cup 2017 tournament in Portugal.

Swedish Football Association spokesman Niklas Bodell said the initiative "is first and foremost about showing the power in togetherness".

AP
Hawaii plans to challenge US President Donald Trump's revised travel ban, Attorney General Doug Chin has said.

The state wants to amend its existing lawsuit challenging Mr Trump's previous order to contest the revised one, according to a motion filed in federal court in Honolulu.

The new order bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuts down America's refugee programme, affecting would-be visitors and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.

Hawaii's lawsuit had been on hold while a nationwide injunction on the initial ban remained in place.

This is the second time Hawaii has asked a judge to lift the stay in order to file an amended lawsuit.

Last month, US District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu allowed the state to file an amended lawsuit adding the Muslim Association of Hawaii's imam as a plaintiff.

The mother-in-law of Imam Ismail Elshikh is a Syrian national living in Syria, according to the lawsuit that details the effect the ban would have had on Mr Elshikh's family and others in Hawaii.

According to the motion, attorneys for the government had no position on the request to file another amended lawsuit.

Hawaii plans to file its amended lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order on Wednesday.

Tuesday's motion proposes a hearing on March 15, a day before the revised ban goes into effect.

Hawaii has hired a Washington DC law firm to help. Josh Wisch, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said last month the firm is giving the state a 50% discount.

"This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0," Mr Chin said on Monday.

"Under the pretence of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees. It leaves the door open for even further restrictions."
A man claiming to be the son of the slain half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in a YouTube video saying he is safely with his mother and sister.

Kim Jong Nam was killed by two women who rubbed a prohibited nerve agent on his face at an airport in Malaysia on February 13, according to Malaysian police.

Kim Jong Un was widely suspected to be behind his brother's murder to eliminate a potential challenger to his rule.

Subsequently, there have been worries about the safety of Kim Jong Nam's son Kim Han Sol, who described his uncle Kim Jong Un as a "dictator" during a rare 2012 interview with Finnish television.

"My name is Kim Han Sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family," the man says in English in the 40-second YouTube clip uploaded on Wednesday.

"My father has been killed a few days ago. I'm currently with my mother and my sister. ... We hope this gets better soon."

An official at South Korea's National Intelligence Service said the NIS had determined that the man in the video is Kim Han Sol.

NIS officials gave the same confirmation to the office of a politician who sits on South Korea's intelligence committee without saying how it reached such a conclusion, according to an aide.

The NIS has a spotty record on reporting developments in North Korea. But a private voice analysis institute in Seoul said there was a "high probability" that Kim Han Sol in the 2012 interview, which can also be found on YouTube, and the man in the latest video clip were the same speaker.

"It's right to determine they are the same person," said Lee Cheul-houng, head of the Transcription Analysis Laboratory.

The man in the latest video does not talk about the whereabouts of his family or how they were being protected.

The video was posted on the YouTube channel of Cheollima Civil Defence, which describes itself as a group helping North Korean defectors.

The group said on its website that it responded to an "emergency request" last month by three members of Kim Jong Nam's family and relocated them to safety.

The group expressed gratitude to the Netherlands, China, the United States and a "fourth government to remain unnamed" for providing assistance in protecting the three.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said it had no knowledge of the Cheollima group.

Malaysia has never directly accused North Korea of killing Kim Jong Nam, though it is searching for seven North Korean suspects over the case.

North Korea has denied any responsibility and accused South Korea of being behind the accusation.

The investigation into Kim's death has created a diplomatic battle between Malaysia and North Korea, which have banned each other's citizens from leaving their respective countries.

- AP
A policeman who stole 10 ancient gold coins that he found with a metal detector has been jailed for 16 months.

David Cockle, 50, found the Merovingian Tremissis coins in a field in west Norfolk and sold them to a dealer for 15,000.

He had entered into a contract with the landowner to split the proceeds of any find 50:50, but failed to tell the landowner of his discovery.

He also failed to tell the coroner, instead selling the coins in three smaller batches to disguise the fact they were treasure trove.

Another metal detectorist had discovered 35 Merovingian coins at the same site and declared them honestly.

Had Cockle done the same, the discovery would have been the largest find of Merovingian coins in the UK - surpassing the discovery of 37 such coins at Sutton Hoo in the last century, Ipswich Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

Cockle, formerly of Stoke Road, Wereham, Norfolk and now of Carroll Close, Leigh, Greater Manchester, admitted theft at an earlier hearing. Three counts of converting criminal property will lie on file.

Judge Rupert Overbury, sentencing at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday, said Cockle had more than 30 years of experience as a metal detectorist and knew the legal process he should have followed to declare the find.

He added that the coins were "extremely rare", from the Anglo Saxon period which was "relatively poorly understood" and that some of the coins had never been recovered.

He told Cockle: "The motivation for your dishonest behaviour was pure greed."

Cockle was jailed for 16 months and banned from metal detecting for five years.

Under the five-year criminal behaviour order, he is also banned from owning metal detecting equipment and from entering into agreements with landowners to use their land for metal detecting. He faces five years in jail if he breaches the order.

Cockle was dismissed from Norfolk Police for gross misconduct in February as a result of his actions.

Gerard Pounder, prosecuting, said Cockle had lied about where the coins were found and registered them as being discovered at different sites around the country including Boston, Lincolnshire, Grays, Essex and another near Norwich.

He said the coins had a high gold purity, and that Cockle sold the 10 coins for 1,500 each in smaller parcels of two, three and five coins to claim they were not a hoard.

Nick Bonehill, mitigating, said Cockle was of previous good character, had a successful career in finance before he joined the police and could no longer work in either sector as a result of the dishonesty conviction.

Cockle had split from his wife, who also worked for Norfolk Police, in 2012.

The court heard he was motivated by his ex-wife's demands for a 10,000 divorce settlement, but Judge Overbury noted that Cockle had also suffered gambling losses.

The coin dealer, who had bought the items in good faith, was left out of pocket by Cockle's actions, the court heard.

A proceeds of crime hearing will take place at a later date.

Cockle, who wore a suit and tie, appeared emotionless as he was led down to the cells.
Nearly 100 early childcare workers walked off the job in Canberra on Wednesday at 3:20pm as part of a national action over gender pay inequality and a lack of funding for the industry.

The 3:20pm walk off on International Women's Day symbolised the time of day women in the industry, who dominate 97 per cent of the childcare workforce, began to work for free in comparison to similarly qualified men.

Canberra's childcare workers walked off the job and did a 'honkathon' on Commonwealth Avenue. Credit:Jamila Toderas

The workers took part in a 'honkathon' on Commonwealth Avenue to raise awareness and support from passing motorists.

Early Childhood Australia chief executive Samantha Page said she hoped the Fair Work Commission would recognise wages in the sector were too low because of gender equity.
A quick visit after work to an exhibition at the National Museum of Australia will have Canberra librarian Heather Jamieson jetting off on the trip of a lifetime.

Ms Jamieson was the lucky winner of a competition held in conjunction with the National Museum's wildly popular exhibition A History of the World in 100 Objects from the collection of the British Museum.

The National Museum of Australia's Mike Pickering with competition winner Heather Jamieson who will be enjoying her first visit to London. Credit:Megan Doherty

The competition had 32,000 entries, with people who visited the exhibition eligible to enter.

And little wonder as the prize was a trip for two to London including accommodation and an exclusive curator-led tour of the British Museum.
He's previously used the 'Buy Swap Sell - Canberra and Queanbeyan' Facebook group to buy bedside tables and stools, but a single post on Tuesday night may have landed Canberra man Anthony Symes the woman of his dreams.

With less a month to go until a double pass to the National Zoo and Aquarium (a gift from friends) expires, Anthony pulled out a selfie from his small pile ("I hate being in front of the camera") and posted a "simple and straight to the point" update in the Buy Swap Sell group on Tuesday night.

Anthony Symes now has 120 potential dates to take to the zoo. Credit:Jay Cronan

The post, titled 'Free ticket to the zoo - with a catch', has so far attracted 1800 reactions, and has been shared more than 150 times.

But the best part is Anthony now has 120 direct messages in his Facebook inbox - all women hoping to be potential partners for the zoo date.
Gowrie Primary School principal Gareth Richards didn't just want to bring a tired wall back to life when he commissioned local street artist Geoff Filmer to paint a mural - he wanted it to illustrate the philosophy of his school.

The splashes of blue signify inclusiveness, while the plane jetting upwards shows the positive trajectory of his students. Everyone counts at Gowrie Primary School, and it's this attitude that Mr Richards credits for the school's NAPLAN results.

Grade 6 Gowrie Primary School students Riley Williams, Lewis Weickhardt, Paige Howie and Chloe Rowe. Credit:Jay Cronan

Gowrie Primary School has been recognised by the Australian Curriculum, Reporting and Assessment Authority as making positive gains for its students as they progress from years three to five in reading and numeracy.

"The philosophy that drives me is around student engagement and relationships," Mr Richards said.
Lawyers for the elusive Clive Mensink should try asking his new girlfriend, or his uncle Clive Palmer, where in the world he might be, a Federal Court judge has suggested.

Clive Mensink, who's been overseas since June last year, has been ordered to face the court on March 27, to be questioned over the collapse of his uncle's nickel business.

Clive Mensink has so far failed to comply with two court summonses to return to Australia, to be asked about the collapse of Queensland Nickel.

The lawyers told the court they are not aware if anyone had tried calling Mr Palmer or Mr Mensink's post-divorce love interest about his whereabouts, to which Justice John Dowsett replied: "There are two obvious lines of inquiry, I would have thought."

Lawyers for Mr Palmer's globe-trotting nephew have asked the Federal Court to set aside orders requiring him to return to Australia to be grilled about the collapse of Queensland Nickel.
It is no surprise that Pauline Hanson came out against vaccines. The tell is there in her language if you listen closely enough.

She wasn't saying that vaccines caused autism, she reassured the ABC's Barrie Cassidy on Sunday, just that parents had concerns and rights. After all it's not a dictatorship. And finally, "I advise parents to go out and do their own research with regards to this."

This is the giveaway, this elevation of a little gritty private research over the expertise of scientists leading their fields around the world.

It is tempting to think that Hanson is simply regurgitating the language of Donald Trump, whose victory Hanson has celebrated, but there is more to it than that.
Australia's original climate change-focused think-tank and lobby group will shut after it failed to replace the multi-million-dollar bequest it relied on.

The Climate Institute, known for its research and leading role in public debate since being set up in 2005, will close in June.

It comes 18 months after the institute called for public donations to offset the lapsing of the foundational support set up by Rupert Murdoch's niece, Eve Kantor, and her husband, farmer Mark Wootton.

Mr Wootton, also the institute's chairman, said he was proud that the institute had built understanding of a complex issue during a tumultuous time in Australian public life.
Declaring that Australia is in the midst of an energy crisis, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he will call together the chief executives of east coast gas companies to address the threat to their customers.

Mr Turnbull told delegates to a conference hosted by The Australian Financial Review that he was concerned by Wednesday's report by the Australian Energy Market Operator warning of blackouts unless something was done to secure gas supplies.

He said Australian businesses had lost the international advantage they once had of access to cheap and reliable energy.

Mr Turnbull also criticised state governments for hampering onshore gas exploration and development. "We are facing an energy crisis in Australia because of these restrictions on gas," he said.
Supt. Johnson Weakens Use Of Force Limitations For Chicago Police

By Stephen Gossett in News on Mar 7, 2017 10:32PM

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is walking back some of the language that heavily stressed de-escalation in a previous draft revision of the department's use-of-force policy.

Under a draft revision that was released in Octoberless than three months after the fatal police-involved shooting of unarmed Paul O'Nealofficers would have been required to use only the least amount of force required in a confrontation. But the latest revision, which was released on Monday, now states that officers may only use force that is "objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportional" and "only the amount... required under the circumstances."

Also, whereas the previous proposal stressed de-escalation, the new revision states that such techniques should be applied when "safe and feasible" given the "totality" the circumstance.

The latest draft also loosens language about an officer's duty to intervene if another officer is violating use-of-force policy and appears to soften a previously proposed requirement for officers with medical training to provide care in instances where force was used.

Dean Angelo, president of the police union, told Chicagoist that he supports the use-of-force changes and said they reflect the wishes and concerns of rank-and-file police officers who thought the previous language was potentially dangerous in its vagueness. It's nice to see it trimmed down and [lose] some of the language we believe was not forwarded by police[language that was] more about community or politics. And officers will have a little bit more idea about what they should or should not be doing."

"I need to make sure our officers go home," Angelo told Chicagoist. "I dont care what the activist says, or what the ACLU says. We know when to display and when to holster, and were the best at determining those. " Angelo said that he believes that previous language reflected external political pressure but declined to say what persons or groups may have been responsible in this specific instance.

The Law Officer blog argued that the new language more closely aligns with Supreme Court rulings.

Civil-rights advocates however argue that de-escalation techniques remain vital for police reform in Chicago. Still, actual enforcement of the policy is far more important than the precise phrasing, according to Alan Mills, Executive Director at Uptown People's Law Center. "The detailed wording is not nearly as important as the way it's enforced... We've seen officers violate use-of-force and nothing happens," Mills told Chicagoist. "How do we approach this in the first place so that we don't get into a situation [where de-escalation is required?" Mills said that a robust civilian oversight agency with the power to regularly impose necessary sanctions is most key.

The walk-backs may be reflective of the new climate at the Department of Justice, which has telegraphed a reluctance to federally impose recommendations for reform made by its previous administration, said Ed Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

"I fear this is a reflection of the pressure being off CPD because they know they aren't going to sign a consent decree [to legally enforce the DOJ's recommendations]," Yohnka told Chicagoist.

He echoed Mills' sentiment that such a remedy would then have to happen closer to home. "Frankly, it's going to have to be done locallywhether that's a lawsuit seeking a consent decree, or the City Council taking action, somebody's really going to have to do something."

This post has been updated.
As a teenager, Kelly Cartwright dreamed of playing netball for Australia, but a niggling pain in her knee forced her to give up her favourite sport.

"The doctors kept telling me it was growing pains and it would just go away," she said. "It wasn't until two years later that I went to get a scan and they found a lump."

Cartwright had a synovial sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that forms in soft tissue. "My mum and dad and I were asking my doctor questions he couldn't answer, because he'd never seen anything like it," she said. There was little the doctors could do: "Basically amputation was my only chance of survival."

At the age of 15 she had her right leg amputated above the knee. She went on to compete as a Paralympian in Beijing and London, winning gold in the long jump and silver in the 100 metres in 2012.
A never-released police review into the brutal murder of a Queensland schoolgirl has been uncovered, revealing a critical link to the man acquitted of her murder.

Leanne Holland disappeared from her Goodna home, south-west of Brisbane, on September 23, 1991, and her battered body was found in nearby bushland three months later.

Graham Stafford, who has always maintained his innocence, spent nearly 15 years behind bars for the 12-year-old's murder but the conviction was quashed in 2009.

Police began delving back into the case just six months later but in 2014, then attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie confirmed there would not be a retrial.
Mia underwent keyhole surgery to remove the abnormal areas and, thanks to an early diagnosis, did not require chemotherapy or radiation therapy, however "if it does come back that is the pathway I have to go down," she said. As a result of the surgery, which included the removal of her lymph nodes, Mia was diagnosed with a condition called lymphedema, a failure of the lymphatic system that results in excessive fluid build-up in the lower half of her body. Determined to take control of her situation, Mia sought out ways to improve and manage the incurable condition that left her feeling uncomfortable and swollen. "I was measured for (compression) stockings when I was going through treatment ... however the gear I had been suggested to wear was a mismatch of different things for over my pelvis and abdomen," she said. She turned to staff at Medical Accessories at Milton who helped her custom-design a pair of compression stockings and pants that made her feel good.

"I actually showed them what I was wearing every day and they came up with ideas to put something together and I was able to say what I was comfortable with, what I thought would work and how we could implement better compression," she said. Mia changed the colour of her compression stockings and added lace to her pants to make herself feel more feminine. "I felt I was doing something and something was working, it was making a huge difference to my life, to what I could wear while I was still wearing clothes that covered up, I just felt better," she said. "With the rose-coloured compression stockings I could actually wear dresses and that was so important to me because I could wear pretty things.

"Bright colours make me smile and make the people around me smile, it makes me feel good and I was just putting things in place to do that - I can tell you now - the black dog was nipping at my heels." As Mia was battling with lymphedema, her lifelong friend Chris was diagnosed with advanced endometrial cancer, and the two women relied on laughter and lipstick to get through the tough times. "I was wearing bright clothes ... before Chris, but once she got diagnosed, I pushed it even harder because life became much shorter for her," she said. "We had this little thing called FOC, F--- off Cancer, that was our mantra. "We laughed about where we were, we cried, we both had swollen sore bits, what else do you but laugh."

Chris died in 2016, however Mia has continued using humour to get women talking about gynecological cancer. "It comes down to taking the pink bits out of the box, and getting women to start talking, if I can make people laugh about it and still get the message across, it is a great effort," she said. "If there are any lumps or bumps that aren't right, go and talk to your doctor - gynaecological cancer is in the box, nobody talks about the pink bits in the box." Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer Director of research Professor Andreas Obermair holds admiration for Mia for having the courage to tell people she had vaginal cancer. "Normally we see that women are quite reserved talking about gynaecological health issues and so she breaks with the ranks there and I think she does women who are affected by gynaecological cancer a massive service," he said.

"I am not exactly sure why this is the case but what we observe is that there seems to be a stigma around gynaecological cancer." The gynaecological oncologist said these specific cancers - including vulvar, cervical, vaginal, ovarian - are often not talked about as frequently as other cancers. "When I speak to patients with ovarian cancer, they say how could this be, I have already had a pap smear," he said. "It would be safe to conclude that there is a lack of information about what a pap smear does, doesn't do, how, where ovarian cancer develops etc." Mia is participating in a beach volleyball tournament hosted by Cherish Women's Cancer Foundation on Friday March 17 to raise funds for research into gynaecological cancer. Visit cherish.org.au to find out more.
Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has sought to assure tourists the state is still a safe place to visit, in the wake of the "absolutely horrific" alleged rape and assault of a British backpacker.

The 22-year-old was allegedly held captive on a 1600-kilometre road trip across Queensland after a new relationship "turned sour".

Her plight was only discovered when police found her on Sunday, distressed and badly injured, behind the wheel of a four-wheel-drive in outback Mitchell, with her abuser allegedly hiding behind a mattress in the back.

The car was pulled over after a worker at a service station in the town noticed something wrong and called police following a fuel drive-off.
The Venture has long argued for schools to teach entrepreneurship so that young people have the option of creating rather than only applying for jobs. But there is a bigger prize: teaching basic, self-employment skills to every student.

Global trends in self-employment are staggering. By 2020, more than 40 per cent of the US workforce will be contingent workers  freelancers, temps, part-time workers, contractors and other specialists  predicts the Intuit 2020 Report.

How will 40 per cent of the workforce learn to run a business? Credit:Matt Cardy

Not all will run a business, but it is a safe bet that self-employment rates will keep rising. More workers, in one form or another, will become their own businesses as companies shift employment risk to individuals in the on-demand economy.

Most contingent workers are not entrepreneurs who conceive and launch high-growth ventures. Nor are they traditional small businesses with shopfronts and employees. Often, they are micro, home-based ventures providing income through self-employment.
Next time your child builds a sand castle at the beach, don't dismiss it as idle play. The kid could make a career out of it, and Dennis Massoud is living proof.

Massoud, from Noosa Heads in Queensland, has overcome serious disability to travel the world for 30 years sand sculpting everything from dolphins at Rye beach carnival to giant kangaroos at festivals in southern China.

Sand sculptor Dennis Massoud with his tribute to Dame Edna Everage. Credit:Justin McManus

The job got a little crazy in Abu Dhabi six years ago, when a sheikh gave Massoud free accommodation in a $US13,000 a night suite, with personal chauffeur and butler, in the eight star Emirates Palace Hotel

Massoud was paid $US2000 a day to sculpt forts in front of the hotel and do workshops for wealthy children at a beach for two weeks.
Philadelphia: On Saturday morning, as reporters scrambled to find sources for US President Donald Trump's allegation that his predecessor had wiretapped Trump Tower during the election, it seemed all roads were leading to Mark Levin of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.

"It began," The New York Times reported Sunday, "as a conspiratorial rant on conservative talk radio".

Levin, a Philadelphia-born, radio host with an enormous following, had spent much of his Thursday show alleging that the Obama administration had surveilled Trump and his associates during the campaign. The far-right website Breitbart News - where Trump adviser Stephen Bannon previously served as editor-in-chief - picked the story up a day later. That story reportedly circulated around the White House, and on Saturday Trump started tweeting.

Since the President's explosive tweets, and the media frenzy that followed, Levin has contended that his assertions were based on reporting by the mainstream media - and that he just connected the dots. (An Obama spokesman denied the allegations, and fact-checkers have reported that the evidence cited by Breitbart and others in the conservative sphere is sketchy at best.)
The defence team for Byron Bay woman Sara Connor has mounted an impassioned last ditch defence arguing that the prosecutors' demand for eight years' jail was "1000 per cent not fair".

Ms Connor has just days until she learns her fate, with judges to sentence her next Monday over the alleged fatal group assault of Bali police officer Wayan Sudarsa on a Kuta beach last August.

Prosecutors requested that Ms Connor, 46, serve the same jail sentence as her British DJ boyfriend, David Taylor, even though the couple testified that she had nothing to do with the police officer's death.

Mr Taylor, 34, has admitted to bashing Mr Sudarsa with weapons including a Bintang beer bottle in what he says was self-defence, but Ms Connor insists that her only role was to try to break up the brawl.
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Police are still looking for a Bristol junior doctor and talented violinist, who disappeared nearly two weeks ago.

Dr Lauren Phillips was last seen on Thursday, February 23 and has not been seen since.

She failed to turn up to work at Southmead Hospital on Sunday, February 26 and two days later the 26-year-olds car was found abandoned in the seaside village of Woolacombe, North Devon - more than 100 miles from her Bristol home.

Police have since been hunting for clues about Miss Phillips disappearance and have twice made appeals for anyone with information about her whereabouts.

Miss Phillips is a violinist with the Bristol Symphony Orchestra and has performed with a number of UK ensembles including the Haffner Orchestra, based in Lancaster.

North Bristol NHS Trust, runs Southmead Hospital, where she worked.

Deputy Medical Director, Monica Baird said: We can confirm Lauren Phillips is a valued member of our medical staff and we are supporting the police in their efforts to locate her.

We urge anyone who has any information about Lauren to contact the police.

Officers have been combing the beach in North Devon in the search for Miss Phillips, but no clues have yet been found.

Devon and Cornwall Police assisted by HM Coastguard, the RNLI and the National Police Air Service have all been helping in the search.

Police are appealing for surfers and ramblers to come forward with any information or sightings of Miss Phillips.

Detective Inspector Mark Langdon said on Tuesday, March 8: We continue to do everything we can to find Lauren and were making sure her family are regularly updated about our investigation.

As Laurens car was found in Woolacombe our focus has been on the North Devon area and so were directing our appeal at any surfers or ramblers who may have passed through the area in the past fortnight.

Have you seen a woman matching Laurens description? Have you seen any of the items of clothing she is thought to have been wearing when she went missing?

Any information, no matter how insignificant you might think it is, could prove to be vital so please dont hesitate to get in touch.

Lauren is described as white, 5ft 5ins tall, of slim build with brown eyes. She has long dark brown hair which is usually straightened but which is naturally curly.

It is thought she may be wearing a dark brown waxed cotton mid-length coat with cream wool-lined hood and a long cream woollen cardigan which has orange and blue detail.

She could also be wearing Converse trainers along with cream gloves with pink hearts on and a beige woollen hat which has a purple flower on the side.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Avon and Somerset Police via 101 providing the call handler with the reference 5217045398.
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A pensioner aged 92 was injured by burglars who conned their way into his home.

The pair stole cash and money from the man and his 82-year-old wife in Staple Hill earlier today after claiming to be checking the water supply.

Police are appealing for information about the thieves and are urging people to be vigilant after the incident, which happened at about 10.40am today.

An Avon and Somerset force spokesperson said that a man called at the couple's home and was allowed inside, persuading the 82-year-old woman to leave the door unlocked.

After the first man left and the woman was locking the door, a second man came down her stairs.

Her 92-year-old husband then came to help but was injured as the man forced his way out of their home.

He was pushed away and suffered a cut to the hand before the second man escaped.

The thieves had taken a wallet containing cash and bank cards.

One of the suspects was white, aged 40 to 50 with a grey beard or heavy stubble and had a strong Irish accent.

The other was also white, in his 20s, about 5ft 9in tall and stocky. He was wearing a dark hooded top.

Investigating officer PC Mark Lockyer said: "This is a nasty incident, which has left an 92-year-old gentleman and his wife in a very distressed state.

"I'd ask anyone who has had someone matching the description of these suspects call on their home, or who has any other information which could help our investigation, to contact us straight away."

Anyone who can help is asked to get in touch online or by calling 101, quoting crime reference number 5217 050 522.

Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Warning to residents

PC: Lockyer said: "I'd urge anyone who has an unexpected caller to use a door chain and ask to see identification. If you're in any doubt, keep them out.

"Genuine utility company staff will be happy to wait or to call back while you check they are legitimate by calling their company using the number in the phone book or on your bill.

"If you or someone you care about is concerned about doorstep crime, it's worth signing up for the password schemes run by most of the gas, electricity and water companies.

"If an unexpected caller has left you feeling alarmed or intimidated, please call 999 straight away."
Photos: Protesters Denounce Trump On Travel Ban, Police Abuse & Treatment Of Women

By aaroncynic in News on Mar 8, 2017 6:00AM



Hundreds of people turned up for demonstrations to denounce President Donald Trump and several of his administrations key policies in Federal Plaza Tuesday evening, including the recent updated travel ban, policing policies, and the treatment of women.

Women and their allies are calling attention to the fact that Trumps personal treatment of womenincluding his now well-known conversation bragging about groping women and his use of sweatshop labor, a highly exploited majority-female workforce, in his own apparel linepales in comparison to the destructive impact that his pro-corporate, nationalistic agenda has on the lives of women in the U.S. and abroad, the group Fair Economy Illinois said in a press release.

The group assembled in the late afternoon at Federal Plaza in what was the latest of many Resist Trump Tuesday actions that have taken place since his inauguration and later marched through the Loop. Organizers highlighted the struggles of women worldwide, particularly those in low wage jobs, a day ahead of International Womens Day marches and strikes planned for Wednesday.



Wages have stagnated worldwide, economies have been crippled, and women of color have been disproportionately harmed by this crisis, said Anjali Dhillon.

While those demonstrators marched through the Loop, a second group gathered in the plaza, and later marched to Trump Tower, to protest Trumps executive orders on travel for immigrants and refugees, policing, and appointment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Trump administration is hell bent on usurping whatever democratic rights we have left in this country and taking them away, said Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

Trump has been signing executive orders attacking our communities, said Hatem Abudayyeh of the Arab American Action Network. This is not just an issue of Muslims or Arab from those countries that are effected. This is an issue of white supremacists in the White House that are attacking all of our communities.

Many marginalized communities and civil rights groups are concerned that with Jeff Sessions at the helm of the Department of Justice, not only will the policing reforms regarding misconduct recommended by the Obama administration go unimplemented and ignored, but misconductparticularly towards those communities along with dissenters will increase.





"How is it the DOJ can release a report where they detail violations of our civil rights but do nothing about it?" #RESISTDOJmar7 pic.twitter.com/OexKAikIhE  Aaron Cynic (@aaroncynic) March 7, 2017





"Who was there to protect my constitutional rights?" Says Mark Clements, survivor of police torture #RESISTDOJmar7 Chicago pic.twitter.com/SV4dibvmKG  Aaron Cynic (@aaroncynic) March 7, 2017

With free rein from Trump's recent executive order, we can expect Sessions to execute this new edict in the most racist unconstitutional and oppressive manner, to unleash even more state violence against dissent, and to criminalize the Black Lives Matter movement, the Indigenous Peoples' movement at Standing Rock, the struggle for Immigrant rights and all progressive people's movements, CAARPR said in a statement.

The Chicago Police Department in fact, released a new draft of its use-of-force policy Monday that walked back language stressing de-escalation.

"I fear this is a reflection of the pressure being off CPD because they know they aren't going to sign a consent decree [to legally enforce the DOJ's recommendations]," Ed Yohnka of the Illinois ACLU told Chicagoist on Tuesday.


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When in doubt, let a Pulitzer Prize and Polk Award winner explain it all to you.

Proving once again that the most intelligent and exhilarating interviews are not being conducted on National Public Radio or the New York Times Daily podcast, this weeks Brooklyn Paper Radio featured a spirited 50-minute discussion with award-dominating national reporter Alec MacGillis of ProPublica  and it was one that the former Brooklyn Paper reporter wont soon forget.

You guys are really good at interviewing, MacGillis told co-hosts Gersh Kuntzman of the Daily News and Vince DiMiceli of Brooklyn Paper afterwards. Seriously, this was one of the most enjoyable and dynamic interviews Ive ever done.

Eat your heart out, Frontline.

MacGilliss praise came after Kuntzman and DiMiceli broke with Brooklyn Paper Radio convention to grill MacGillis on national topics such as Donald Trump, the decay of our cities, the decline of regional media and, of course, Kuntzman and DiMicelis work as professional standard-bearers.

In the broad-ranging interview, MacGillis:

 Lamented how President Trumps increasingly dark Twitter feed has altered the media landscape forever.

Trump is massively consequential and unlike anything weve ever had before in this incredibly powerful position, said MacGillis, who started his career at a tiny weekly in rural Connecticut before joining The Brooklyn Paper and, after a year of mentoring, going onto the Baltimore Sun, a Pulitzer-winning stint at the Washington Post, The New Republic, and, now, ProPublica.

But I worry that were just missing a lot by covering him so exclusively. I worry that a lot of stuff is going uncovered. Yes, I believe that tweets like his recent ones about President Obama tapping the phones at Trump Tower need to be covered and debunked. They go out to his millions of followers, so you cant ignore them.

 Disagreed with Kuntzmans seminal Daily News column pointing out Trumps larger pernicious media strategy

Im not sure theres a grand strategy, MacGillis said, but rather a compulsion on his part.

 Dubbed a great question Kuntzmans query about why residents of the heartland  about whom MacGillis has written extensively  allows itself to be fooled into thinking basic American values of fairness, the contributions of immigrants and the importance of environmental protection are negotiable.

It goes to the decline of media around the country, he said. In a lot of these places there is no local paper and people rely on their Facebook feed or a conservative bubble. I met people who, even as they were telling me why they were voting for Trump, kept apologizing for being uninformed on the issues.

 Revealed why so many areas that voted for Barack Obama twice swung to Trump in 2016  sometimes by as much as 20 percent.

Its terrible out there, he said. The great overlooked story of our time was regional inequality. Its not just about places that have been poor for generations, but cities that used to be well-to-do, but are slipping down the scale, like Dayton, Ohio, where I spent a lot of time.

 Blamed capitalism, basically.

The effect of NAFTA has been overstated, but letting China into the WTO in 2000, as Bill Clinton did, had a really big impact on manufacturing, he said. We havent done enough to deal with the fallout, even if you think this is something that should be happening because of free markets and cheaper consumer goods. Industries used to be spread all over the country. Think about retail. You had big chains, small chains, mom and pop chains, and now you have one company  Amazon  based in Seattle, where all the wealth flows. That company has more money than god. Their headquarters has a biosphere in it! Same thing with media. Media money used to be spread all over the country, but all digital ad revenue is all gobbled up by Facebook and Google.

 Credited Kuntzman and DiMiceli  more accurately, DiMiceli  for doing the most important work on the planet.

If you dont have local media, with local reporters you see at the courthouse, at City Hall, at the school board, the face of the media becomes Wolf [Blitzer] and Bill OReilly instead of the handsome and talented Vince DiMiceli you see at Community Board 2.

For the record, DiMiceli mostly covered Community Board 10, but hasnt done so personally in more than a decade.

Still, Kuntzman said, shouldnt we feel bad that were not covering Trump and winning Pulitzers?

Not at all, MacGillis said. My goodness! Evertything Ive been saying is about how much your work matters, for the profession, but also the civic fabric of this country. It is so so important. I am terrified if that disappears.

Towards the end of the spirited interview, DiMiceli did what he always does and harkened back to his glory days, specifically a fabled softball game against MacGillis in which DiMiceli went 5-for-5 with two homers, including one that MacGillis had to retrieve from some distant woods.

I remember that well, Vince, he said.

How can he forget? And you wont forget this unforgetable episode of Brooklyns most-beloved podcast.

And seen: Here's a front page dominated by strapping young reporter Alec MacGillis. Design225+
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This corner just isnt cutting it!

The city must create a curb cut at the popular Washington Park and DeKalb Avenue entrance to Fort Greene Park, so folks who have trouble getting around can access the green space without having to trek down the block, locals are demanding.

Its a spot in the community that people use, said Anne-Elizabeth Straub, a Fort Greene resident who uses a wheelchair. Its not just wheelchairs, people with baby carriages, people with any kind of walkers.

Straub currently has to travel down the block to South Elliot Place to get on the pathway. She shops at the farmers market there every week, and must either take the winding route or risk messing up her wheelchair by backing over the raised sidewalk entry  which she says has already banged up her ride enough over the years.

Its hard enough as it is and I dont need to put it through any more, she said.

Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the city has to install curb cuts at crosswalks when installing new sidewalks or fixing old ones, but its possible the pavement at this corner predates the 1990 act, according to a disability-rights advocate. Still, she says, theres clearly a need for easier access, so officials should take a serious look at it either way.

I would certainly hope the city would pay attention to missing curb cuts in a very public area with lots of activity when there are two adjacent walkways, said Elizabeth Grossman, an attorney with advocacy group Disability Rights New York.

Straub and a sympathetic stall-holder at the green market submitted a formal request to the Department of Transportation to carve out a ramp in July, and the agency has since put it on a list for possible inclusion, according to the local community board district manager Rob Perris.

But the Transportation Department says there are unique difficulties with chopping into this particular sidewalk  for one, its made with octagon brick pavers rather than plain old concrete, and secondly, it is part of the Fort Greene Historic District, so any changes there require the Landmarks Preservation Commissions approval.

Straubs market pal says reps at the agency have also previously told him it would also be tricky because of pipes under the ground there.

But at least theyre now aware of the problem, he says.

The city is often too important or too big to notice things like that, but in this case theyve been informed, said Ed Goldman, who often sees people struggling with the curb when manning a stall for his activist group Fort Greene Peace. with Ruth Brown
Treasurer Seeks Clarification On 'Vague' Marijuana Policy From Trump Administration

By Stephen Gossett in News on Mar 8, 2017 6:00PM



Photo via Teri Virbickis on Shutterstock

Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs sent a letter on Monday asking the Trump administration to clarify its stance on medical marijuana.

The letter from Frerichs specifically references a comment by Sean Spicer on Feb. 23, when the White House spokesperson said he expects "greater enforcement" of federal laws that restrict marijuana use.

"Medical marijuana is not for everyone," Frerichs wrote. "If the Trump administration seeks greater enforcement, then it should clearly define what this means so hard-working people in Illinois can make informed decisions."

"Vague statements undermining medical marijuana violate commonsense and only serve to hurt the people who have pursued this treatment as a last resort," Frerichs added.

Spicer's comments last month prompted plans for a mass smoke out at the Capitol from pro-normalization/legalization activists.

Spicer last month did state that "theres two distinct issues here: medical marijuana and recreational marijuana."

Spicer said in February, according to Vox:



"I think medical marijuana, Ive said before, that the president understands the pain and suffering that many people go through, who are facing especially terminal diseases, and the comfort that some of these drugs, including medical marijuana, can bring to them... Theres a big difference between that and recreational marijuana. And I think that when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people. Theres still a federal law that we need to abide by when it comes to recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature."

But after previously sending a letter, in January, asking for clarification following Attorney General then-nominee Jeff Sessions' characterization of marijuana as "dangerous" and not receiving a reply, Frerichs is looking to shore up any doubt.

The state Treasurer argued that "greater enforcement" could result in closures of banks that work with medical-marijuana clients and could harm "legal cultivators, wholesalers and retailers" in Illinois. He said it is also unclear what legal trouble a doctor who prescribes medical marijuana could face if the administration were to chose a strict path.

After some initial opposition to expansion, Gov. Rauner agreed to a compromise last year that extends the state's Medical Cannabis Pilot Program to July 1, 2020. PTSD and terminal illness are among the program's qualifying conditions.
Yardley Friends Meeting at 65 N. Main Street in Yardley will host the documentary Organic Roots on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m. Join director Al Johnson for a showing of this film followed by a discussion of the last 50 years of this movement. Organic foods are part of our life today and a tool in our concern for...
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In November, there are hundreds of new and returning TV showsit can be overwhelming to try and choose what to watch. That's why we've selected some of the best options...
Jackie Chan recalled the moment he received the Academy Honorary Award for his lifelong effort to persist in making movies in his own comic-action style.

Chan, a CPPCC National Committee member, was attending a news conference on culture for the fifth session of the 12th CPPCC National Committee during the two sessions in Beijing on Tuesday.

"I used to act in roles that I was not suitable for in Hollywood. Now, after 30 years, I see China's development, I see China's big film market, and I see every important thing happening here. I know it's not me who earns respect, it's the country, and its 1.4 billion people who back me up," he said.

A household name in China, Chan is considering how to combine more cultural elements with his kung fu movies, adding that he attends formal events only in Tang suits, which signals his identity as Chinese.

"As more international filmmakers come to China to cooperate, we're offered an opportunity to gain more global appeal for our cultural products, including films," he added.

Chan's confidence with what's Chinese is echoed by a recent nationwide passion toward learning and revaluing treasures from traditional culture, noted China Central Television hostess Hai Xia, who also attended the news conference.

Several television shows have added fuel to that trend, Hai said.

Moreover, calligraphy, which the Chinese have been practicing for thousands of years, is becoming more popular at Chinese schools, and CPPCC member Su Shishu is advocating to include the art into the school curriculum.

"The problem is that we don't have enough teachers," Su said.

Meanwhile, writer Feng Jicai, also a CPPCC member, has been making efforts since 2012 to save traditional villages, 4,153 of which were selected and enlisted by the architecture authority as representative ones.

"Many people have left villages for cities. The problem is how to keep them, and help them get richer by not hurting the old architecture and customs of the traditional villages," Feng said. "The villages carry with them the country's memories, values and cultural genes."

"Traditional culture is what brings happiness and peace," Feng said, adding that the country has 1,372 performances, practices, costumes and skills listed as intangible cultural heritage at the national level, which is a great treasure for younger generations.

Liu Changle, president of Phoenix Television, shared his views on the elements that attract a global audience: the beautiful, the true and the things full of Chinese features. He cited the successful acceptance of the song Jasmine Flower in the West as an example.

"The world awaits new Chinese stories, and I suppose our anti-corruption campaign is a good one among the many," Liu said.
Most stars from The Bachelor franchise get a boost in their careers after appearing on the reality TV dating show but thats not the case for Taylor Nolan, who had to put her mental-health practice on hold due to the backlash shes still facing from her drama with season 21 villain Corinne Olympios.

The Bachelor: The Women Tell All Recap: Do Corinne and Taylor Bury the Hatchet?>>>

Right now, Im dealing with a lot emotionally and logistically, with balancing a lot of opportunities coming up, Nolan admitted to Us Weekly.

So for me the timing isnt really great right now to be seeing clients, but it also is very tricky to navigate having a private practice and being someone who was just publicly out on television, Nolan added. You know, Ive gotten a lot of requests for clients who want to start seeing me, but unfortunately Im not able to do that currently.

Taylor called out Corinne on The Bachelor, saying she doesnt believe Corinne has the emotional intelligence to be in a committed relationship with Nick. Bachelor Nation eventually called out Taylor for being condescending.

She was very much doing her own thing and only focusing on herself, which is a good thing to do in that experience, but you also cant ignore the fact that there are a bunch of other girls who youre living with and who youre sharing the experience with, Nolan said of her issue with Corinne. In the level of awareness and being able to be able to pick up on other peoples emotional states and perspectives, I think [her actions] showed her maturity and emotional intelligence.

Why Taylor  Not Corinne  Is the Real Villain of The Bachelor Season 21>>>

The mental health counselor is looking forward to resuming her career eventually though its difficult knowing that there are close-minded people who refuse to seek counseling from someone who was on The Bachelor.

Going on reality TV is just another experience of life, and its an opportunity to have a peek into a different world and to explore that and be curious about it, and I think thats a positive thing, said Nolan, who graduated from Johns Hopkins University.

I think also taking every opportunity and experience as an opportunity to learn is really important, and thats kind of what I did here, she continued. It was definitely an experience of pushing myself [to be vulnerable], and thats a problem that we all struggle with at some point or another in our lives, so if anything, I think this experience going forward would make me a stronger counselor.

Do you feel bad for Taylor?

The Bachelor season 21 finale airs Monday, March 13 at 8/7c on ABC. Want more news? Like our Facebook page!

(Image courtesy of ABC)
Higher taxes, trash pickup? Many special questions await voters Nov. 8

They're sometimes easy to miss, but many South Jersey communities have special questions before voters on their Nov. 8 ballots.
A total of 43 former officials suspected of corruption were brought back from more than 19 countries and regions to face justice in the first 11 months of last year, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate. [Photo / Xinhua]

A total of 43 former officials suspected of corruption were brought back from more than 19 countries and regions to face justice in the first 11 months of last year, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

National prosecutors also confiscated about 548 million yuan ($79.5 million) of illegal assets, said Song Hansong, a senior official with the SPP's Anti-Corruption and Bribery Bureau.

Among the 43 fugitives, 11 were repatriated and the others were persuaded to return to confess to their crimes, Song told China Daily.

The charges mainly involved corruption, bribery and embezzlement, with a total of 16 of them returning from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, he said.

Since 2016, as part of a national anti-corruption campaign, the SPP has conducted a special action targeting corrupt officials who are still at large abroad.

"We've strengthened law enforcement cooperation with overseas counterparts, especially those in Western countries, to share intelligence and conduct joint investigations," Song said, adding that intensified cooperation has been effective.

In September, Jiang Qian, a former senior executive with State-owned Wuhan Urban Drainage Development Ltd in Hubei province, returned from Canada to confess to his crimes.

Jiang, who fled to Canada in 2011, was accused of abusing his power and of corruption. After he left the country, the prosecuting department in Hubei launched a probe into Jiang, beginning procedures to confiscate his illegal funds left in China and seeking assistance from Canada.

In December 2015, a local court in Wuhan ruled to confiscate Jiang's ill-gotten assets worth 14 million yuan, and Jiang is currently awaiting trial.

According to the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection, the top anti-graft watchdog, China will start a new round of action in April to continue its hunt for corrupt officials and economic fugitives.

As part of the action, national prosecutors will deepen judicial cooperation with the international community, especially Western countries, to locate and recover illicitly acquired assets and capture fugitives. Taking measures to prevent corrupt officials from fleeing China will also be a priority this year, according to the SPP.

"Uncovering ill-gotten funds involves presenting solid evidence to our foreign counterparts when asking them to assist in discovering, freezing and confiscating dirty money," said Huang Feng, a professor of international criminal law at Beijing Normal University.
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Mercedes-Benz Financial, the vehicle financing arm of German luxury car maker Daimler, is expanding the business on the growing popularity of its parents luxury car business in India. Mercedes emerged as the countrys biggest luxury car player in 2015 and retained the position in calendar year 2016.
On May 1, US-based car maker General Motors Indian subsidiary would sell its Halol (Gujarat) units assets to Chinas Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) for an undisclosed sum but sans the 625 workers there.
Under pressure from President Donald Trumps administration, Indian outsourcing firms are working behind the scenes to prevent potential immigration curbs in the US, their most important market.
After two days protest, a section of drivers of cab aggregators and Uber marched to the Transport Commissioners office in Chennai to submit their demands. Around 60 drivers were present but they were stopped by the police. The representatives of the unions were allowed to meet the Joint Commissioner. One demand was fixing the standard meter cost for trips at Rs 100 for the first four kilometres and Rs 17 for every one kilometre thereafter for five-seater cars. For Sedans, the tariff has to be Rs 19 for every additional kilometre. For SUVs, they want the price to be fixed at Rs 150 for the first 4 kilometres and Rs 22 for every additional kilometre. The other demand s include a Rs 2 waiting charge for every minute and 25 per cent extra charge during night times.
A suspected terrorist believed to be part of a group that was planning a major terror attack in Uttar Pradesh was killed early Wednesday morning after nearly 12 hours of anti-terror operation in Lucknow. According to police sources, the target of the operation was a house in Haji Ali Colony in Thakurganj, on the outskirts of Lucknow. The standoff began early Tuesday evening, hours after at least ten people were injured in a blast on the Ujjain Express.

Previously there were reports of two terrorists being holed up in the room, however, as it turned out, only one suspect was found dead along with weapons.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary said that the operation "stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place."

The IG ATS Aseem Arun confirmed that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the ISIS.

ALSO READ: ATS guns down IS suspect in Lucknow after 11-hour operation "The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation," Arun said.

Anti-terror operations were carried out to get hold of terrorists, suspected to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh yesterday in which at least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously.

Speaking to the media after the anti-terror operation was over, Arun said, "Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out."

Here is all you need to know about the Lucknow siege

The operation and the blast both came a day before today's seventh phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh

Timeline of events

* ATS IG Asim Arun confirms that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the ISIS

* Siege ends around 3 am on Wednesday. Militant is killed.

* Firing intensified towards the end of Tuesday when he refused to surrender. Earlier the police using chilli bombs and stun grenades to flush out the militant

* The UP Additional Director General of Police revealed they had made Saiful speak to his brother in order to convince him to surrender, reports India Today

* Lucknow siege went on for 12 hours.

* Early Tuesday evening, Uttar Pradesh Police carries out raids, arresting two men in Kanpur and one from Etawah. The third raid targets the Thakuganj, Lucknow home

* At 1.30 pm, a bus is intercepted near Pipariya in Madhya Pradesh's Hoshangabad district, 145 kilometres east of Bhopal. Three people are detained in connection with the morning's train blast.

* At around 9 am on Tuesday, March 7, a blast takes place in a compartment of the Bhopal-Ujjain Express, near Bhopal.

ISIS shadow falls on the Indian soil

Had the terror plot succeeded, this would have been ISIS' first attack on the Indian soil. Last month, a youth from Kerala, believed to have joined the ISIS had been killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan. The message was received by a distant relative of Hafesudheen Theke Koleth in Kasaragod, Kerala, who was from the missing 21-member group who have left the nation.

The Investigation Agency (NIA), which is already probing the ISIS nexus in Kasaragod, had been informed of this development.

ISIS targets educated Indians

Investigation Agency (NIA) data revealed that Islamic State was recruiting educated Indian youth to join them in terror activities.

Breaking the myth that radicalised youth are mostly impoverished illiterates, NIA officials said they were shocked to learn that all the arrested persons were educated and were radicalised by the recruiters of the network that has established an Islamic caliphate in its governed parts of Syria and Iraq.

The NIA data said 20 of the arrested Islamic State supporters were graduates and some even had degrees in technology or engineering.

Twelve had diplomas, four had attended school up to Class 12 and 13 were matriculates. Three even held post graduate degrees.

Eighty per cent arrested IS accused had formal schooling while 20% went to madrasa, according to the data analysis.

Nine of the arrested suspects belonged to the upper income group, 30 were from middle income group and 13 from the lower income group.

The counter-terror agency said it had filed charges and supplementary charges in six of the 12 Islamic State cases referred to it by the central government last year. It said the agency was still searching for 35 identified absconding suspects.

The agency officials said investigation was on in eight cases.

According to the data, 12 of the arrested were from Maharashtra, 10 from Hyderabad, 11 from Kerala, five from Karnataka and West Bengal each, four from Uttar Pradesh, two from Rajasthan, three from Tamil Nadu and one each from Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

It further said 50% of the arrested IS sympathisers followed Ahle Hadith -- a puritannic Islamic school of thought, 30% Tablighi Jamat -- a worldwide movement to preach fundamentals of Islam, and 20% Deobandi -- the puritanical, revivalist Sunni Muslim movement that began in north India in 1867 and now carries a huge influence in Bangladesh, Pakistan and also parts of the United Kingdom. The data said 15% recruits were converts from Christianity or Hinduism.
Axis Bank is back with the tenth edition of its Axis Bank Young Bankers (ABYB) program. A one year, full time residential program, ABYB program is an endeavour by Axis Bank to nurture a talent pool of young bankers by equipping graduates with necessary domain expertise and skill set in the field of banking. The program will be conducted at two training campuses, Manipal Global Education in Bangalore and Amity Global Business School in Noida. Last date to register for the program is March 19, 2016.
The hunt for the elusive driver, who killed a 17-year-old boy in a hit and run incident in outer Delhi's Paschim Vihar area, is on, police said on Monday.

Two days after a scooter rider was allegedly killed by a speeding car, police are still looking for the accused driver, a senior police officer said.

The grill and logo of the vehicle were found on the spot and police are hunting for the accused driver on the available clues, he said.

Police are questioning workshop owners in the area and representatives of Mercedes repair shops in Delhi to know whether a car had come for repair in the last couple of days, he said.

The registration number of the vehicle was not captured in the CCTV footage which has made the job of investigating officers difficult, he added.

Atul Arora was returning home on a scooter from a religious function at an ashram near his Paschim Vihar home when a Mercedes rammed into his vehicle causing his death.
Suspended Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba and four others - who had been earlier convicted on charges of having Maoist links - were on Tuesday sentenced to undergo life imprisonment by the Sessions Court here, officials said.

The wheelchair-bound English teacher of Ram Lal Anand College in Delhi, Saibaba, 47, was arrested from the capital in May 2014 by Maharashtra's Anti-Naxal Operations (ANO) unit.

Earlier, Saibaba, with 90 percent disability, was lodged in Nagpur jail but got bail from the Supreme Court on medical grounds in April 2016 which also exempted him from personal appearance in view of his deteriorating health.

Another convict was awarded a 10-year jail term by Additional Sessions Judge Suryakant S. Shinde.

All the accused have been convicted under the UAPA Sections 13, 18, 20, 38 and 39 pertaining to conspiracy, having links with terrorist groups and supporting the outlawed Maoists.

The others convicted are Jawaharlal Nehru University student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi (both nabbed in 2013), Mahesh Tirki, Pandu Narote (all sentence to life) and Vijay Tirki, who will serve a 10-year term.

The ANO said they found incriminating documents, pen drives, memory cards and CDs which contained vital information about the banned Maoist groups.

The prosecution contended that Mishra, Tirki and Narote went into the deep forests of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra to meet Narmada Akka, a top Maoist commander, who handed over Rs 500,000, which was delivered to Saibaba to propagate Maoist ideology in the urban setting.

Public Prosecutor Prashant Satgianathan produced 23 witnesses and 41 articles, including data retrieved from hard disks found at Saibaba's residence.

Satgianathan said that in 2012, Saibaba and others had participated in a conference of the Revolutionery Democratic Front, a Maoist frontal group which is banned in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

In his speech as deputy joint secretary, Saibaba had said that Naxalism was the only route and denounced the democratic system.

The videos of his speeches were played in the court and the prosecution said Saibaba was in contact with Maoist groups in neighbouring countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.



ABVP hails verdict:

RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Tuesday welcomed the life-imprisonment sentence awarded to DU professor G.N. Saibaba, saying the latter played a big role in spreading Maoism in urban areas.

"Saibaba was instrumental in spreading the ideology of Mao in urban areas. It has been proven by the court that he was in touch with the Maoists hiding in jungles and used to work for them from the city. He worked as a mediator for them on a and international level both," ABVP said in a statement.

It alleged that Saibaba spread the ideology and aided recruitment of Maoists in many universities of the country, including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Delhi University (DU). His state of disability also worked in his favour to garner sympathy, it said.

"People who raised anti- slogans in Ramjas College were the gang members of the very Saibaba. Even after his arrest many left-groups campaigned for his release, student associations like AISA, SFI, and DSU are these groups," the right-wing student party said.

It also mentioned that one of the convicts along with Saibaba, Hem Mishra, was a JNU student and a member of Democratic Students Union (DSU).
With a net worth of $1.9 billion, Biocons Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the sole Indian in the self-made women billionaires across the globe and ranks at 36th position out of a total 88, according to the latest Hurun Global Self-Made Women Billionaires List.
Suspended Delhi University Professor G N and four others were on Tuesday sentenced to undergo life imprisonment by a Maharashtra court for their links with Maoists.

The Gadchiroli Sessions Court also handed out 10-year jail term to their sixth accomplice.

The wheelchair-bound English teacher of Ram Lal Anand College in Delhi, Saibaba, 47, with 90 per cent disability, was arrested in May 2014 from his home in the capital by Maharashtra Police's Anti-Naxal Operations (ANO) unit.

The court noted that the accused had conspired "to create violence, cause public disorder and spread disaffection towards the central government and the state government".

"In pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy, the accused were found in possession of printed Naxal literature" that was to be circulated "amongst the members of banned CPI-Maoist and its frontal organisation (Revolutionary Democratic Front) RDF and other persons for creating violence and causing public disorder".

Judge S S Shinde convicted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and found him and his associates guilty of conspiring and being a member of the terrorist outfit, as well as of offences relating to support given to the Left extremism rebels.

was in April last year granted bail by the Supreme Court and exempted from personal appearance on the grounds of his deteriorating health.

Besides the DU teacher, the court also sentenced to life Jawaharlal Nehru University student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi, Mahesh Tirki, and Pandu Narote. Vijay Tirki will serve a 10-year term.

Saibaba came under police scanner after the JNU student confessed to the police that he was acting as a courier between the professor and Maoist leaders, including Puppalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy.

The prosecution contended that Mishra, Tirki and Narote went into the deep forests of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra to meet Narmada Akka, a top Maoist commander, who handed over Rs 500,000 to be delivered to Saibaba to propagate Maoist ideology in the urban setting.

Public prosecutor Prashant Satgianathan presented 23 witnesses and 41 articles, including data retrieved from hard disks found at Saibaba's residence.

Satgianathan said in 2012, Saibaba and others had participated in a conference of the RDF that is outlawed in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

In his speech as deputy joint secretary, Saibaba had said that Maoism was the only route and denounced the democratic system.

The videos of his speeches were played in the court and the prosecution said Saibaba was in contact with Maoist groups in neighbouring countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Saibaba's wife expressed shock over the court verdict and accused the central government of following an RSS agenda in pressurising the judiciary for a favourable outcome.

"This judgement is shocking. In the history of Maharashtra, this is the first case in which all the persons chargesheeted were convicted in all the sections with life imprisonment," Vasanta Kumari said in a statement.

She said she would fight for her husband's freedom in the higher courts and urged the civil society members to condemn the "undemocratic character of the government".

The RSS' student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) welcomed the court verdict sentencing to life imprisonment Saibaba who spread Maoism in urban areas.

"Saibaba was instrumental in spreading the ideology of Mao in urban areas. It has been proven by the court that he was in touch with the Maoists hiding in jungles, and used to work for them from the city. He worked as a mediator for them on a and international level both," ABVP said in a statement.
Captain Trisha Mohan might be the only woman to fly the jumbo Boeing 747 aircraft, but she still finds it funny when the air traffic control calls her  sir.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to release funds for fencing India-Bangladesh border to check cross-border influx of illegal Bangladesh nationals into Assam, saying the task has to be completed soon.

A bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R F Nariman perused the Centre's status report on the progress made in the works relating to securing and fencing the international border and said the Madhukar Gupta committee would "oversee and supervise" it.

"Without going into the merits of the submissions, we are of the view that the task of border fencing and physical manning of the border (where fencing could not be done) has to undertaken and concluded," the bench said.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) P S Patwalia, appearing for the Centre, said some tenders have been finalised and work orders issued to successful bidders to undertake the exercise of border fencing.

He also apprised the court that in some cases, the process of re-tendering have been initiated and effort was on to acquire land.

Assam government has sought Rs 2.96 crore for acquiring land to be used for creating infrastructure to secure the border, Patwalia said.

On the issue of releasing funds, the ASG said the Expenditure and Finance Committee would meet on March 10 to decide the issue, which would be attended by the Home Secretary also.

The apex court also made clear that the updation of the Register of Citizens (NRC) to identify original residents of Assam would continue under state coordinator Prateek Hajela, who said the task was tedious and taking time.

"We are making it very, very clear (to the state) that whatever manpower they (Hajela committee) want, has to be given. We want this work to be done quickly," the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing on April 19.

It was hearing the pleas of Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, Assam Public Works and All Assam Ahom Association filed in the aftermath of large-scale riots in 2012 and 2014 resulting in the death of a large number of persons.

It was alleged that sovereignty and integrity of India was at stake as a massive influx of illegal migrants from the neighbouring country has affected the "core constitutional values".

Earlier, the bench had passed a slew of directions, including an order to the Centre to complete the fencing work along the to check cross-border influx of illegal Bangladesh nationals into Assam and streamline the process to deport them back.

The bench had decided to keep monitoring the implementation of its directions.

The apex court had also laid down a time-table for updating of the Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam so that the entire updated register is published by the end of January, 2016.

It had earlier appointed a panel of three former High Court judges, headed by Justice Aftab H Saikia, to monitor the NRC updation.

The apex court had also asked NRC to consider the request for registration by persons in Assam who were not residents of the state till March 24, 1971, if they provide proof of their citizenship of other Indian states.

In December 2014, the apex court had referred to a larger bench the issue of constitutional validity of section 6A of the Citizenship Act with regard to the cut-off date for awarding citizenship to the migrants.

It had asked the Centre to detect and deport all illegal migrants who have come to Assam after March 25, 1971 and hold discussions with the Bangladesh government to ensure that illegal migrants are sent back.

It had ruled that the foreigners, who came to India between January 1, 1966 to March 24, 1971, be awarded citizenship according to law.
The H1-B visa issue might see another twist. The Donald Trump Administration has sought 60 days to respond to a court case that challenges the decision of the previous Obama Administration to authorise spouses of H-1B holders to work in the US, accordig to a Times of India report.
The Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday handed over to the Army two Pakistani youths whom it had arrested in connection with last year's terror attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri that had killed 19 soldiers.

An NIA spokesperson said they have handed over Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed to the army's 16 Corps headquarters in Jammu and they will be sent back home.

The spokesperson added that the NIA's probe "revealed that the two suspects had crossed over to the Indian side after altercation with their parents due to pressure of studies".

"Evidence collected in the form of statements, technical analysis of their mobile phones, seized GPS devices and other circumstantial evidence collected by the NIA did not reveal any linkage of the suspects with the Uri attackers," the spokesperson added.

It was initially suspected that the two youths acted as guides for the Uri attackers.

On September 18 last year, four heavily armed militants had stormed the Uri army base camp in Jammu and Kashmir killing 19 soldiers and injuring few others.

The NIA had taken over the investigation in the case from the state Police.

The two youths were arrested by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Army in a joint operation at Angoor Post at Gavalata village in Uri when they were trying to infiltrate into India.

They were also brought to the NIA headquarters here for detailed interrogation.

The NIA has claimed that terror group Laskar-e-Taiba was behind the Uri terror attack.

The spokesperson added that "further investigation is continuing in the case".
Current opinion polls indicate Schulz is more popular than Angela Merkel.

If there is any EU country where stability is taken for granted and future perspectives are optimistic, this surely will be Germany. After 12 years at the helm as chancellor by conservative leader Angela Merkel, however, some Germans are no longer averse to political change.

The next election ("Bundestagwahl") has been set for September 24. Until recently the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister Christian Social Union (CSU) had been seen as favorites to continue their political dominance. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) - although part of a grand coalition in the last four years - had been regarded as obsolete to offer an effective challenge.

Former leader of SPD, and current Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, acknowledged the risk of another lost election, hence, he decided to step down in favor of Martin Schulz, former president of the European Parliament, who has brought about a wave of enthusiasm among disenchanted voters of the center-left political spectrum, who, for the moment, like what they see.

Current opinion polls indicate Schulz is more popular than Angela Merkel. More importantly, the SPD has gone beyond 30 percent threshold for potential votes in all surveys while its percentage under Gabriel had been less than 25 percent. All of this suggests, the result of the September 24 election is more open than in the pre-Schulz period.

Hence, a growing number of analysts and journalists are beginning to talk of a "Schulz effect" in German politics. Traditionally, German politicians holding top EU jobs are considered "politically dead" in their own country. Indeed, this had also been the case with Schulz in the past.

In the European election of May 2014, he faced Jean Claude Juncker for the position of president of the European Commission. Yet, he failed to inspire German citizens despite their common nationality.

Although it's the same Schulz, the situation three years later differs for one main reason. Chancellor Merkel has caused some unhappiness with her "open door" policy on refugees. Recent terrorist attacks in some German cities - especially the Christmas market attack in Berlin - has increased a sense of unsafety and xenophobia.

As a result, Merkel is no longer portrayed as the incomparable national leader. Her image, indeed, is slipping. The general criticism of her, starting from her management of the refugee crisis, is also expanding into other aspects of politics so that some voters are keen to find an alternative.

This explains the rise of small parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AFD) and the Liberals (FDP) irrespective of their political orientation or extreme character. And it now explains the rise of SPD, boosted by the leadership change.

Martin Schulz is a very experienced and smart politician. He knows that SPD will not preserve its current high percentage if he does not persuade public opinion that he can implement a new political program. Supporting the grand coalition, the party has agreed with the CDU and CSU on almost all of critical political decision. So, it now needs to find some departure points.

As President of the European Parliament, Schulz stood beside Merkel on various fronts, including the refugee crisis! His only disagreement was on dealing with the European economic crisis, where he is more open to the "mutualization of debt" proposal, which is an anathema to conservatives.

However, he will possibly bury this issue during the pre-election campaign due to its sensitivity for the German audience and a possible political cost for himself. Instead, he seeks to draw a line between himself and his predecessor by moving the SPD more towards the Left.

In a recent important speech, he distanced "himself" from Gerhard Schroeder's "Agenda 2010." This concept set the basis for the reform of the German social security system and the labor market and, ultimately, the country's economic progress and growth.

By promising "social justice," Schulz can certainly give a new political direction to his party. He has also showing willing on a future political coalition between the SPD, the Greens and the Left, as is currently happening at the regional level in Berlin and Thuringia, even if the CDU and CSU win the September election.

Nevertheless, a problem for Schulz is that September 24 is a long way off. His economic agenda may sound attractive, but is already being picked apart by serious scholars as a threat to the national economy.

And Germany is a country where the rational elements in economics and politics have so far not given way to the populism and the illusions seen in other European countries. It is the efficiency and sustainability that matter more than mere words or pre-election promises.

George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
As the high-skilled Indian IT workers brace for tough legislation for H1B visa-holders at Donald Trump's regime in the US, revoking work authorisation for their spouses may impact availability talent there, say analysts.

Trump Administration has sought 60 days to respond to a court case that challenges the decision of the previous Obama Administration to authorise spouses of H1B holders, who are awaiting green card, to work in the US.
founders Sachin and Binny Bansal, who earned dollar billionaire status last year and whose wealth has fallen with successive markdowns of their firms valuation, are among the 31 Indian billionaires who are out of the Hurun Global Rich  Indian billionaires report.

Eleven of the 31 have lost their billionaire status since demonetisation. Prominent among them are Gautam Thapar of Crompton Greaves, Nilima Motaparti of Divis Labs, Prathap C Reddy & family of Apollo Hospitals, and Nandan Nilekani, an Infosys shareholder. This list is exclusively based on the share price performance of companies after demonetisation.

However, many billionaires have seen their wealth soaring. The cumulative wealth of 132 Indian or Indian-origin billionaires is estimated to have increased to $392 billion, up 16 per cent from last year, says the report.

Twenty-seven billionaires have been added to the list this year. Of the 27 entrants, Acharya Balakrishna of Patanjali Ayurved leads the pack with wealth of $3.6 billion, followed by Nadir B Godrej and Smitha V Crishna. Patym founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma also lands on the list with $1.5 billion, though his wealth is likely to be revised upwards with Reliance Capital selling its nearly one per cent stake to Alibaba at $41 million.

Others who have seen their wealth declining after demonetisation are Salil Singhal & family of PI Industries, Chirayu R Amin & family of Alembic Pharma, B L Taparia & family of Supreme Industries, Habil Khorakiwala of Wockhardt, Prakash Chauhan & family of Parle Agro Food, Prithviraj Kothari of RiddiSiddhi Bullions, and Devendra Kumar Jain of Gujarat Fluorochemicals. Mukesh Ambani retains his position as the richest Indian, with estimated wealth of $26 billion. Ambani ranks 28 on Huruns Global Rich list, the only Indian in the top 50.

Sun Pharma head Dilip Shanghvi ranked third on the list, with $14 billion. He ranks 74 on Huruns global list of billionaires.

Divyank Turakhia is the youngest billionaire on the list, with wealth of $1.2 billion. Turakhia, aged 35, sold his company Media.net to a Chinese conglomerate at a valuation of $1 billion.

The pharmaceuticals sector leads the rich list with 21 billionaires, followed by manufacturing, technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) with 13 each. But the average wealth of billionaires in the pharmaceutical sector is lower at $3.1 billion, compared to $4.6 billion of those from the TMT sector.

Only nine individuals on the list are from the real estate sector, reflecting its sagging fortunes. Jitendra Virwani of Embassy Property Development is the new billionaire entrant to the list, with wealth of $1.29 billion.

Mumbai is home to the highest number of billionaires, 42, followed by Delhi at 21. Ahmedabad bagged third place with nine, while Bengaluru lost eight.

With five billionaires, the Godrej Group contributes the highest number of billionaires, followed by Hero Honda and Asian Paints with three each.
Major fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) players will soon be able to sell their products via 250,000 common service centres spread across rural India, with the government facilitating the move in view of an ever-increasing demand for such items in villages.
Angel investors and venture capital funds are chasing Indian deep technology startups because of their potential to scale up rapidly and be able to offer an opportunity for early exit.
The central government and regulators have stepped up engagement with foreign investors, for enabling home companies to raise funds from the international market, said senior executives of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in an interaction with Business Standard.
The second part of the Parliaments Budget session, starting on Thursday, is expected to begin on a sombre note. Fireworks might follow, as both the ruling and opposition benches are awaiting the Assembly poll results in five states on Saturday.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the poor supported the note ban because of a widespread perception that the rich evaded taxes and this was an effort to redistribute wealth.
While negotiations on the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement recently broke a deadlock, India is now under pressure to update its offers on tariff reduction on goods and services trade before the next meet.
A deal to build six Westinghouse nuclear reactors in India is still alive, but to be viable must be ring-fenced from a financial crisis at the US reactor maker and its Japanese parent Corp, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Westinghouse would only provide reactors for the six AP1000 units to be built in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It would not carry out civil engineering work to build the entire project - an approach that led to cost overruns at its projects in the United States.

last month booked a $6.3 billion charge arising from those overruns, forcing it to put its core flash-memory chip business up for sale and pull out of building nuclear power plants abroad.

Despite the financial crisis, Westinghouse CEO Jose Gutierrez flew in to India last week for talks with state-run National Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy that reports to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said two people who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We still have daily meetings and things are going to plan,"said one, echoing comments to Reuters on Feb. 17 by India's atomic energy secretary Sekhar Basu.

Westinghouse and NPCIL did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment.



US-India Nuclear Cooperation

Modi and former U.S. President Barack Obama made finalising the multi-billion-dollar reactor deal by mid-2017 the centrepiece of their Washington summit last June. That deadline will probably slip but, in an industry inured to lengthy talks, some participants now suggest a final agreement would still be possible by the end of this year.

Closing the deal would crown a U.S.-India civil nuclear accord championed by George W. Bush that had been slow to advance because of teething troubles over liability in the event of a nuclear accident.

Now, existential doubts over the viability of nuclear power at a global level threaten Modi's ambitious goal of tripling India's nuclear capacity by 2024 to wean Asia's third-largest economy off polluting fossil fuels like coal.

has asked a Japanese law firm to estimate the potential financial impact if Westinghouse files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from creditors and allow it to continue operating.

Indian engineering group Larsen & Toubro, a potential partner that has signed a memorandum of understanding with Westinghouse to supply nuclear plant elements and do civil works, still views the India project as viable.

"As long as the guarantees are in place, I see no reason why this won't go ahead," Shailendra Roy, head of L&T's power business, told Reuters, without elaborating on the nature of any such guarantees.

"I don't think the financial crisis at Westinghouse will affect the execution of the project," he added. "The project is on, it is viable and that is what the government has intimated to us."



"Safest and most economical"

Westinghouse advertises its AP1000 pressurised water reactor, with a generation capacity of 1,110 megawatts, as "the safest and most economical nuclear power plant available".

Yet it was the same reactor that was the source of its financial problems in the United States, and construction of a fleet of AP1000s in China has also faced delays.

Critical to managing costs is ensuring that any overruns on the construction side of the project would be borne by contractors and not Westinghouse, as is the norm in India, one of the sources said.

And, while technical negotiations have reached an advanced stage, more work is needed on the commercial side of the deal that would include financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

U.S. ExIm, though, has lacked a quorum on its board of directors, preventing it from issuing loans over $10 million, and the attitude of new President Donald Trump's administration to the India reactor deal remains unclear.

Those are grounds enough for scepticism, say some nuclear industry experts and sources in India.

"I doubt that NPCIL will finalise a deal until there is clarity about Toshiba's exit, and who the new project manager would be," said Rakesh Sood, a former disarmament negotiator and now a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.
The European Commission released a white paper about the future of Europe last week, through which it aims to trigger a full range of bottom-up debates on social, defense, finance and monetary issues that will define the 28-member bloc's destiny after the United Kingdom leaves it.

The white paper, in which the commission has mapped out five future scenarios for the 60-year-old union, came after EC President Jean-Claude Juncker stressed during his annual state of the union address in September that the European Union was having "existential crises". Juncker will sum up a new policy portfolio in his address in September after the half-year debates have ended.

To achieve this, the EC has set a very clear timetable for the various debates, while elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany, which, dangerously, could result in far-right or populist leaders forming governments, will take place on another track in the coming months. Thus the debates could lead to a decision to either widely consolidate the union, or make it focus only on foreign policy, defense measures and fiscal and monetary regulations.

Basically, the EU has its "constitutional weapon", the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force in late 2009, at hand to unite the bloc. In a way, the future nature of Europe was already agreed upon when the EU member states inked the treaty. But to turn this into reality, the EU has strengthened its financial and banking firewalls during the financial and sovereignty crises of recent years.

Now, the EU's most important role is to find solutions to key questions: Does it want to create better living conditions for young Europeans, whose interests in the EU are fading? Does it want to channel more resources and military capability into the defense sector to safeguard the union's borders? And, does it want to bring the single market closer?

In fact, the Lisbon Treaty has already set the directions, and the answers are surely "yes" to each question. And the debates triggered last week are likely misleading the public, which could think the EU's leaders are lost in implementing the treaty.

European Council President Donald Tusk claims the EU is faced with tremendous "external dangers" after Juncker talked about the "existential crises" last September. Ordinary Europeans already knew the situation and are desperately keen to know the solutions and the timetable ahead, instead of being presented with options to choose from.

In normal times, the EU could have applied this kind of bottom-up approach to "focus minds and find new answers to an old question: What future do we want for ourselves, for our children and for our union?" as Juncker has asked in the white paper.

Now, the situation is critical, both socially and politically in the EU.

To deal with such urgent challenges, swift action, courage, determination and effective leadership are all badly needed, and lengthy debates could erode confidence and trust, meaning the best time to solve the problems could be lost.

The EU had similarly bad experiences when dealing with the financial crisis. The time-consuming debates at the time, and the general elections at the member-state level and corresponding leadership shifts made it difficult to unite and find solutions in a timely fashion. Besides, it took longer than expected to set up firewalls and regulations to strengthen the economic union.

While dealing with social and security challenges, such pitfalls should be avoided.

This year, the UK's departure from the EU, the general elections in some major countries, and the challenges from migration and terrorism will all add a lot of uncertainty and disruption to the market.

These will affect the confidence of the public toward the union. So the EU leaders should seek to inject confidence and courage into the public, which can be done by offering solutions, not scenario analyses.

The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau.
India's pensions regulator in India has allowed members of the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) option to move their retirement savings to the National Pension System (NPS) giving effect to a proposal mooted by the government two years ago in the Union Budget for 2015-16, an offcial statement said on Tuesday.

"With the NPS gaining momentum vis-a-vis other retirement products and a number of queries being raised on the transfer of amounts from recognised Provident/Superannuation Funds to NPS, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has clarified the process through a circular dated March 6, 2017," a Finance Ministry statement here said.

As the rules, a member looking to transfer funds from EPF to NPS must have an active NPS Tier-I account, which can be opened either through the employer where NPS is implemented or online through eNPS on the NPS Trust website.

The amount transferred from a recognised Provident Fund or superannuation fund to NPS would not be treated as income of the current year and, as such, would not be taxable.

"Further, the transferred recognised Provident Fund/Superannuation Fund will not be treated as contribution of the current year by employee/employer and accordingly the subscriber would not make Income Tax claim of contribution for this transferred amount," the statement said. How to go about it

The subscriber must approach the concerned PF office where their account is, through her or his employer and request to transfer their savings to an NPS account.

"The recognised Provident Fund/Superannuation Fund Trust may initiate transfer of the Fund as per the provisions of the Trust Deed read with the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961," it added.

In case of a government or private sector employee, the employee should request the recognised provident or superannuation fund to issue a letter to his present employer mentioning that the amount was being transferred from the recognised fund to the NPS Tier I account of the employee. This should be recorded by the present employer or POP as the case may be, while uploading the amount.
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the outcomes of the First Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Leaders' Summit were satisfying. He was addressing the Media onboard Air India One Special Aircraft while returning back from Jakarta, Indonesia after participating in the Summit, on March 07, 2017. .

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Responding to a question on Association's view on terrorism, the Vice President said that the Summit adopted the Declaration on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism which is a synthesis of the views the region has on the matter. He further said that there is no divergence that violence in any form is an undesirable thing for civilized life and people are beginning to realize that violence has to be resisted. The view that anybody can get away by promoting terrorism is getting increasingly sidelined, he added. .

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Responding to a question on the alleged shooting of an Indian fisherman by the Sri Lankan Navy, the Vice President said that he had taken up the matter with the President of Sri Lanka when he met him on the side-lines of the Summit. He further informed that the Sri Lankan President had told him that he had spoken to the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy who had told him that no such incident had occurred form the Sri Lankan side. The Sri Lankan President has ordered a full and complete enquiry into the matter, he added. .

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Responding to a question on the existence of the IORA, the Vice President said that a renewed focus on the Indian Ocean Rim had commenced at the Bengaluru meeting in 2011 and Indonesia was taking the initiative forward along the core areas that were identified earlier. There is a new thrust to the Association's activity now and it is an identified body with 21 participating countries, he added. .

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On the Indian proposal for setting up an IORA Centre of Excellence (ICE), the Vice President said that all member States are doing extensive work on matters related to maritime issues and interests. He further said that, the first exercise would be to pool the knowledge. India has the expertise and willingness to lead this effort, which will be an online setup and anybody can access it and give input to it, he added. .

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Responding to a question on increasing exports to Indonesia, the Vice President said that this issue was also discussed with the Indonesian President and there is renewed interest in expanding our trade ties. There has been considerable progress in two areas, namely acquisition of defence equipment and in the pharmaceuticals sector, he added. .

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PM addresses Swachh Shakti 2017 A Convention of Women Sarpanches at Gandhinagar

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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today addressed Swachh Shakti 2017 A Convention of Women Sarpanches, at Gandhinagar. .

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He said that this event is an occasion to honour Sarpanches who have contributed immensely to the movement towards a Clean India. He said that in 2019, we will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who, he recalled, had stated that cleanliness is even more important than political freedom. .

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He urged the gathering to maintain the momentum which has been generated towards cleanliness. The Prime Minister asserted that Swachhata, or cleanliness, has to be become our habit. He said the poor gain the most when we achieve cleanliness and eliminate dirt. .

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The Prime Minister said that the women who were being honoured today have shattered many myths, and have shown how a positive change has begun in rural India. .

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Shri Narendra Modi asserted that he can see the determination to make a positive difference when he meets women Sarpanches, who, he added, wish to bring about a qualitative change. .

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Talking about the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' initiative, he said that villages with women Sarpanches can play a key role in the drive to end female foeticide. .

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The Prime Minister said that a discriminatory mindset cannot be accepted, and both boys and girls should get equal access to education. .

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Speaking on the theme of technology, the Prime Minister said that it can bring about a phenomenal change to our villages. .

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Congratulating the award winners, the Prime Minister said that they inspire the entire nation. .

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President of India congratulates IISc, Bangalore for figuring in top 10 institutions in the 'Best Small Universities' category of the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings 2017 .

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee congratulated Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore for figuring in the list of top 10 institutions in the 'Best Small Universities' category of the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings 2017. .

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In a message to Prof. Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc, Bangalore, the President has said Please accept my hearty congratulations on your Institute having entered into the list of top 10 institutions in the 'Best Small Universities' category of the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings 2017. .

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Kindly convey my sincere compliments to the entire faculty, staff and students of your esteemed Institute for having responded to my repeated calls to strive to be amongst the top Institutions of higher learning in the world. This achievement reiterates my firm belief that Indian Institutions are not lacking in merit and can be amongst the best in the world. .

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I am confident your Institution will continue to strive and achieve greater and greater heights in the future". .

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A one day Conference on India - Poland Bilateral Cooperation in Agriculture & Allied Sectors was held on 8th March 2017, at NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. The conference was co-chaired by Dr. S. K. Pattanayak, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Famers Welfare and Ms. Ewa Lech, Honble Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Poland. .

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Shri Jalaj Srivastava, Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare in his welcome address underscored the importance of this bilateral conference, which offers a highly effective platform to conduct fruitful exchanges on topics of common interest between the two countries. .

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While addressing the Conference Shri Vinay Mathur, Deputy Secretary General, FICCI informed that India and Poland share some similarities and both the countries have tremendous opportunities for the agriculture trade. .

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Mr. Tomasz Lukaszuk, H.E. Ambassador of the Republic of Poland focused on the issue of phytosanitary regulations governing the export of Polish apples to India. He said that he would like to see an intensification of agricultural trade between the two countries. .

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Ms. Ewa Lech, Honble Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Poland said that using Polish technologies to enhance food processing capacity in India could be a win-win formula for companies on both sides. She emphasized that food produced in Poland is safe, healthy and of the highest quality. Polish food producers use only one third of the amount of fertilizers used elsewhere within the EU. About 75 per cent of the agricultural and food exports are absorbed by the very demanding European market. This conference would bring out clear understanding of the rules and regulations which would be very much helpful promoting trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. .

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Dr. S. K. Pattanayak, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Famers Welfare in his inaugural address said that India and Poland share a long-standing friendly relationship, marked by high level political contacts, vibrant economic engagement and a strong partnership in the field of agriculture and allied sectors. The Union Cabinet has already approved signing of agreement between India and Poland on cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors. The agreement is likely to be signed in April 2017. The agreement covers exchange of information between the two countries on various aspects of agriculture and allied sectors including agri food trade, plant health and phytosanitary regulations as per international trade requirements, participation in fairs, exhibitions, seminars related to agriculture and agri-food processing etc. .

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The conference was attended by Government Officers, Scientists and Industry representatives of both the countries. The conference apprised both sides on the latest developments of their activities in the field of Seed, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Plant Protection, Mechanization, food processing and allied agriculture sector. Finally, both the sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintain close contacts through the established channels. Both sides will continue to foster cooperation in priority fields of mutual interest. .

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Polish officials and business delegation held a meeting with members of the Forum of Indian agriculture industries and during the meeting; the Indian partners expressed their interest in purchasing of Polish products and transfer of Polish technologies for agricultural and food processing industry. .

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Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Vijay Goel has stated that work on Ken Betwa link project will begin by the middle of this year. Chairing the twelfth meeting of the Special Committee for Inter linking of river held in New Delhi today Shri Goel said though deliberation on river linking project were going on in our country for many years, it is going to take real shape now only. .

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Shri Goel said that his Ministry has identified five priority links for taking up the work of inter liking of rivers. He said all most all clearances have been obtained for Ken Betwa link. The Minister said all Inter linking projects should be completed in the time bound manner. .

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The meeting confirmed the minutes of the 11th meeting of the Special Committee for Inter-linking of Rivers held on November 09, 2016 at New Delhi. It also reviewed the follow-up action on the decisions taken during the last meeting. The other issues taken up included Ken-Betwa Link Project Phase-I-Status of various statutory clearances, Ken-Betwa Link Project Phase II Present status of DPR, Damanganga-Pinjal and Par-Tapi-Narmada Link Projects Present status of DPRs System Simulation Studies of Mahanadi-Godavari, Surplus Water in River Basin for Interlinking of Rivers, Status of Intra-State link proposals, Restructuring of National Water Development Agency. .

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Union Cabinet in its meeting held on July 24, 2014 approved the constitution of the Special Committee on ILR. Accordingly, Special Committee on ILR was constituted vide order dated September 23, 2014. The first meeting of the committee was held on October 17, 2014. The committee, after considering the views of all the stakeholders, is proceeding ahead to expedite the objectives of the interlinking of rivers as per terms of reference. Vigorous efforts have been made for generating consensus with development of alternative plans and also setting out road maps for implementation of projects. .

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On March 8 women around the world will be abstaining from work and rallying in the streets as part of the Womens Strike, with the aim of starting an  feminist movement that challenges the sexual, physical and economic exploitation of women. The organizers of the wildly successful Womens March have thrown their support behind the strike, and there are more than 40 rallies, walkouts and events planned across the United States that are affiliated with the demonstration.
Donald Trumps remarkable attacks on his own intelligence community may seem shocking to the casual observer  but they are not without precedent. History is littered with the debris of this delicate and all too often abusive relationship. Whether its dirty tricks to undermine a bolshevik Harold Wilson or Ivy League liberals smearing Richard Nixon, its clear that the spies do not always love their leaders.
After seven years of waiting longingly to annul President Barack Obamas signature health care law, Republican leaders on Tuesday faced a sudden revolt from the right that threatened their proposal to remake the American health care system.
Mexico has objected to the United States about a potential plan to separate immigrant children from their parents if they try to illegally enter the US, an official has said.

If the United States pursues that idea, "many families" will suffer an "irreversible damage," said Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said at a news conference yesterday.

"We immediately made known to the (US) Department of Homeland Security our grave concern if that were to happen," he said.

"We hope that the opinion of the Mexican government will be taken into consideration when the final decision by the US government is made about this possibility, which was announced in a worrying manner," he said.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly said Monday that the department was weighing an initiative that would split children from their parents if they were caught trying to enter the United States illegally.

"I would do almost anything to deter the people from Central America to getting on this very, very dangerous network that brings them up through Mexico into the United States," Kelly said in a CNN television interview.

"We have tremendous experience in dealing with unaccompanied minors," he said, noting the DHS turns them over to the Health and Human Services department, which puts the children in foster care or links them with parents or family members in the United States.

Kelly is one of the most fervent supporters of US President Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies.

Trump, who took office on January 20, ran on a platform arguing that mass immigration by unskilled workers costs US taxpayers billions of dollars and depresses wages and job opportunities.

The Republican businessman-turned-president vowed to build a wall on the US southern border with Mexico to stem illegal immigration and keep out migrants he branded drug-dealers, murderers and rapists.

Federal agents in recent weeks have launched sweeps across the country to round up undocumented immigrants.

On Monday, Trump signed a revised ban on refugees and on travellers from six Muslim-majority nations, effective March 16.

With his first executive order rejected by federal courts, the new, scaled-back order freezes refugee admissions for 120 days and halts new visas for Syrians, Iranians, Libyans, Somalis, Yemenis and Sudanese citizens for 90 days.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Russia and meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on March 10, the presidency announced in a statement Tuesday.

The sixth High-Level Cooperation Council meeting in Moscow will be attended by Erdogan and Putin, and include government ministers from both sides.

The two leaders will exchange views on regional and international issues, particularly Syrian issue, said the statement.

"Several agreements will be signed during the visit, which is expected to contribute to the development of Turkish-Russian relations," it added.

The last meeting of two leaders was held last August.

Strains have been eased between Turkey and Russia, as the two sides began a reconciliation process in 2016 following Turkey's apology for downing a Russian jet on the Syrian-Turkish border.
A total of 19,384 and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017 till March 5, 80 per cent of whom arrived in Italy, the Organisation for Migration said on Tuesday.

While overall arrivals this year have fallen from 138,524 during the same period of 2016, the number of people reaching Italy soared, IOM said.

A total 15,844 and refugees landed in Italy till March 5, it said, citing Interior Ministry data. This figure compared with 9,101 arrivals during the same period last year, it said.

On March 5 alone, some 1,442 were brought ashore by Italian coastguard and two charity vessels, IOM reported.

The number of deaths also climbed to 521 till March 5 compared to 471 in the same period of 2016, IOM reported.
Electronics Co. is planning a major investment to expand its U.S. production facilities, according to people familiar with the matter, with at least five states in discussions.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has suffered a second bill defeat in the House of Lords as peers, backed by 366 votes to 268, called for a "meaningful" parliamentary vote on the final terms of the withdrawal.

After a three-hour debate yesterday, for the second time in a week, Lords amended the legislation that will authorise May to notify the European Union (EU) of the UK's intention to leave and pave the way for official talks to begin.

Ministers said that it was "disappointing" and that they would seek to overturn the move when the bill returns to the House of Commons.

On March 1, May suffered her first parliamentary defeat over after the House of Lords voted in favour of an amendment to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK after the country leaves the bloc.

The latest defeat has dashed May's hopes, who was confident of the passage of the bill in time to meet her deadline of triggering Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which begins the two-year withdrawal process, by the end of March.

The turnout in the Lords for the vote was the largest since 1831, according to Parliament's website.
Donald Trumps presidency is well underway, but many observers are still trying to understand how he won the office in the first place. Plenty of explanations are circulating, from Hillary Clintons weaknesses as a candidate to pervasive sexism and class disenfranchisement in the Rust Belt. But whatever the truth, those who worked tirelessly on behalf of Trump have got what they were after.A small subset of these campaigners is worth special attention. Not so much because of their political convictions but because of their unrestrained fervour to fulfil an ancient Egyptian prophecy involving Trump, a cartoon frog, and an online counterculture.

The story starts with the infamous online image board 4chan, which has been a weather-vane of internet subculture since its conception in 2003. 4chan is divided into sub-forums about topics ranging from video games and anime to . Users communicate largely through memes  images somehow grounded in pop culture and featuring a recurring character, figure or phrase. Around 2010, 4chan users began posting and reposting the image of a cartoon frog, Pepe. By 2015, his wrinkly, wide-eyed face had become a staple meme within the community.
President Donald Trump and his top health official praised the new House Republican health care legislation on Monday, even as surging conservative opposition complicated party leaders' drive to sell the proposal to rank-and-file lawmakers and the public.

Trump's morning tweet lauding "our wonderful new Healthcare Bill" kicked off the day. Shortly afterward, Health Secretary Tom Price wrote to the chairmen of the two House committees that wrote the measures, saying "they align with the President's goal of rescuing Americans from the failures of the Affordable Care Act", former President Barack Obama's prized 2010 law.





Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. is a complete and total disaster - is imploding fast!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2017

Yet by lunchtime, conservative lawmakers and others were blasting the bill, underscoring the challenge Republicans face in pushing one of their top priorities to passage.

The legislation would primarily affect some 20 million people who purchase their own private health plans directly from an insurer and the more than 70 million covered by Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people.

In the first official though partial measurement to emerge of the bill's financial impact, Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimated it would cut more than 20 taxes imposed by Obama's law at a cost of nearly $600 billion over a decade. The bulk of the savings would go to the wealthy.

The estimate did not include the cost of tax credits the measure proposes to help people buy coverage. Republicans say they've not yet received an estimate of the bill's overall cost or the number of people it would cover from the Congressional Budget Office.

"What did was make insurance affordable but care impossible to actually afford," White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said on NBC's "Today Show." ''The deductibles were simply too high. So people could say they have coverage but they couldn't actually get the medical care they needed when they get sick."

"Obamacare" plans did typically come with high deductibles, but the law also provided cost-sharing subsidies to people with modest incomes. Those subsidies will be eliminated under the Republican plan, and it's unclear how high the deductibles would be under the new approach.

House committees planned to begin voting on the legislation Wednesday, launching what could be the year's defining battle in Congress and capping seven years of GOP vows to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Before prevailing, leaders will have to heal internal divisions.

In his letter, Price commended GOP plans to provide millions of Americans with a refundable tax credit  meaning even people without tax liability would receive the assistance. Congressional conservatives have opposed a refundable credit, saying it would create a new entitlement program the government cannot afford.
As one of four presidents at Thailands biggest lender, Kasikornbank Pcl, Kattiya Indaravijaya often conducts interviews for senior positions. The job candidates are impressive. And almost always, theyre women.
claims Samsung smart TVs are among the CIA's weapons for surveillance.

claims the CIA worked with UK Intelligence officials to turn microphones in TVs into listening devices.

Samsung smart TVs have microphones so viewers can make voice commands, such as requests for movie recommendations.

The commands typically aren't transmitted outside the home unless users activate the feature. If the TV is off, there's no listening being done.

But claims that documents it obtained show that through a program called Weeping Angel, the target TV appears to be off when it is actually on and listening.

WikiLeaks says the audio goes to a covert CIA server rather than a party authorised by Samsung. In such cases, audio isn't limited to TV commands but could include everyday conversations.
The central government is planning to write to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for faster approvals of offer documents to meet its objective of time-bound listing of public sector undertakings (PSUs). On an average, Sebi takes a little over two months to clear initial public offer (IPO) documents. The centre wants PSU IPOs to be cleared within a month.
Gujarat Flurochemicals has surged 9% to Rs 577 on BSE on the back of heavy volumes after the company said Inox Group has agreed to sell its operating wind farms to Leap Green Energy for an undisclosed price.
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The heads of state or government of European Union (EU) countries are to meet for a two-day summit on Thursday and Friday in a bid to find a common position for the most pressing issues and for the future of the European project.

The EU faces increasing political uncertainties, as Britain is preparing to trigger Article 50 later this month, which will begin the process of Brexit talks, and populist parties are gaining ground in election campaigns ahead of elections in the Netherlands this month, followed by France in April and May, and then Germany.

It will be the last EU summit before crucial parliamentary elections in the Netherlands where far-right politician Geert Wilders' eurosceptic Party for Freedom (PVV) is expected to do well.

Wilders' party, which advocates Dutch withdrawal from the EU, has been consistently high in opinion polls for months.

FUTURE OF EU

The summit comes just ahead of the symbolically-important 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaty, when the EU is to present its plans for reforming the bloc.

The debate on which path the EU should follow after Brexit will come under the spotlight when EU heads of state and government gather on Thursday and Friday.

The summit will give leaders a first chance to debate the European Commission's Future of Europe White Paper, unveiled last week by its president Jean-Claude Juncker.

The five possible paths for the EU without Britain outlined by the European Commission range from shrinking the scope of areas of cooperation among member states or maintaining the status quo to a more ambitious scenario of taking steps towards a federalist EU.

The White Paper has met with mixed reflections, as some political leaders criticized it for not picking a clear preferred path or providing concrete examples.

"We are disappointed with the European Commission White Paper. We consider it a mistake to simply present five possible scenarios for the future of the European Union, instead of singling out a strong and comprehensive choice to fortify ourselves against the current storm we are facing," Gianni Pittella, leader of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament said.

Responding to the big questions on the future of Europe, the heads of continental Europe's biggest economies -- Germany, France, Italy and Spain -- have endorsed the vision of a multi-speed Europe ahead of the summit.

The leaders of the big four governments in the EU27 gathered at the Palace of Versailles on Monday, and agreed that some EU countries could deepen integration faster than others.

"We should have the courage to allow some countries to move ahead, to advance more quickly than others. Cooperation can be kept open to those that have fallen behind," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

The multi-speed Europe concept has been debated for years in European political circles, but some governments, especially in the bloc's eastern part, fear this could deepen divisions to their disadvantage.

TUSK'S JOB ROW

The election of the European Council President for the next term is expected to be one of the key decisions taken at this week's EU summit in Brussels.

The incumbent is former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk whose 30-month term is due to end on May 31.

Most EU leaders reportedly support Tusk's re-election but Tusk's home country Poland, with support from Hungary, has proposed Polish European Parliamentarian Jacek Saryusz-Wolski for the position instead.

Ahead of the meeting, a bitter war of words has broken out on the appointment of the council president for the period from June 1, 2017 to Nov. 30, 2019.

Poland's ruling Law and Justice party last week barred the Polish government from backing Tusk's candidacy, after the party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski called Tusk a "German candidate".

Meanwhile, Saryusz-Wolski, who is also from Tusk's Civic Platform party of the European People's Party (EPP), took the unusual step of accepting the nomination of Poland's ruling party to run against Tusk.

But his acceptance of the nomination has caused bitterness in the EPP group. Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP, said: "Tusk is the only EPP candidate for President of European Council. He enjoys unanimous support from the entire party."

Malta, which currently holds the council's rotating six-month presidency, will oversee the process of choosing the council chair.

PRESSING ISSUES

For others, though, the priority this week for EU leaders should be focusing on tackling the EU's much-vaunted ills.

EU priority measures for growth, the single market strategy, including digital markets, and external and internal security are among the topics to be debated by EU leaders at the two-day summit.

Other key topics for discussion will be migration, security and defense, with EU defense ministers this week taking another step towards the creation of what some have dubbed an EU army.

Leaders are also expected to give the green light to the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, another move condemned by eurosceptics like Wilders.
Faced with deficit in supplies, the is no position to meet the requirement for packaging of pulses under the Government of India's Price Stabilization Fund Scheme.

A representation was made through National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed) for procurement of pulses under this scheme.
As the world celebrates International Women's Day on Wednesday, it is inspiring to read about women who lead by example.

Nanammal, a 98-year-old granny in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district, is an inspiration for youngsters to lead an active, healthy lifestyle by practicing Yoga.

The nonagenarian, who has been practicing the ancient discipline since the age of five, boasts of almost a hundred students from all age groups, who come to her home to learn Yoga.

A mother of two sons and three daughters, Nanammal is fit and healthy even at this age and wakes up every day at 5 a.m. to practice Yoga.

The nonagenarian credits the ancient practice for longevity of her life and says maintaining a routine is necessary.

"I can't say what the merits of doing Yoga are, but if one practices it I can say that one can lead a healthy life. But they should continue practicing it. I gave birth to five children and they have also been practicing Yoga and teaching others too," Nanammal told ANI.

The woman claims to have mastered more than 50 kinds of asanas.

One of her students, Keerthana, said that she took up Yoga after she met Nanammal an-year ago.

"Earlier I did not have any confidence in Yoga and only after seeing this grandma doing Yoga at 97 years I met her. Before taking up Yoga, I had some health problems too. Now my entire family practices the ancient discipline. The only motivation is that if at this age this grandma can practice Yoga then why not us. That is how my family was attracted to Yoga," said Keerthana.

Nanammal comes from a family that has been practicing this ancient physical and spiritual discipline for generations. She learnt the discipline from her grandfather. Her five children also practice and teach yoga.

While a determined Nanammal continues to teach Yoga to students, she is an inspiration for men and women, old and young alike.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday said it will investigate the Bhosari land scam complaint filed against BJP leader Eknath Khadse.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court directed the Government of Maharashtra to inform it about action taken on allegations against Khadse.

The government sought a week's time to file a compliance report, but the bench rejected it, saying this was the last chance being given to the state government to inform the court on the matter.

This is the second time that the court has rapped the government for delaying the probe.

On January 24, the court had asked government to file a compliance report within a few days.

The judges had earlier refused to accept the state's submission that it could not initiate a probe by the police as all documents pertaining to the case were with the judicial committee that has been set up to look into the allegations.

The plea was filed by Pune-based activist Hemant Gavande, alleging, that Khadse, misused his position as revenue minister and had purchased a three-acre plot in an industrial zone at Bhosari near Pune in the name of a relative for Rs 3.75 crore against a market price of Rs. 40 crore.

Khadse had stepped down last June following the allegations.

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In a major relief for Swami Aseemanand, a special Investigation Court (NIA) on Wednesday acquitted him in connection with the 2007 Ajmer blast case.

Aseemanand was accused in the Ajmer blast case as per the NIA's chargesheet filed in 2007.

The agency accused Aseemamand of hatching the conspiracy of bombing Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti shrine, thereby killing three people and injuring 17 others.

The hearing into the matter was postponed multiple times as the witnesses made applications delaying their appearance before the court, citing threat to their lives among other reasons.

The investigation in the matter was later handed over to the ATS (Anti-Terrorism Squad) in November 2007.

Later in December 2010, the court chief judicial magistrate court permitted the Investigation Agency to interrogate accused.

After the change of government at the Centre in 2014, the case was moved in a fast-track court.

Aseemanand is an accused in several other cases of including that of blast at Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid in 2007 and the explosion in the same year on the Samjhauta Express train in which led to killing of 70 passengers on the train running between India and Pakistan.

He was jailed in 2010 after allegedly admitting to his involvement in the terror attack on the train.

Aseemanand later said he had been tortured and made to give a false statement.

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Four Maoists were on Wednesday killed in a fierce gun-battle with the security forces of CoBRA 205 battalion in Bihar's Nawada.

The encounter took place in the forest area of village Thamkola.

Three of the four Maoists killed have been identified as Anil Yadav, Rajesh Ravidas and Chandan Nepali, all belonging to maoist Pradyuman Sharma's (State Committee Member) group.

While Yadav was a Zonal Committee Member, Ravidas was a Sub-Zonal Committee Member and Nepali was an armed cadre of Magadh Zone.

One AK-47, one SLR and two Insas rifles have been recovered from the slain Maoists.

The Maoists are believed to have participated in the Goh town police camp attack on July 17, 2013 in Aurangabad where three Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) jawans were killed besides two civilians.

According to the reports, as the operation still continues, some more Maoists of the group are critically injured.

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Appreciating the verdict given to Delhi University professor G N Saibaba for his links with Maoists, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday said that nobody has the right to support terrorism and naxalism, assuring that due punishment will follow irrespective of the position he or she holds.

"The court has done their work; he has been punished for what he has done. In this country irrespective of the position they hold the Indian law doesn't give any one right to support terrorism and naxalism," said BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain.

Hussain further told ANI that the verdict is a message to other that not corrects to support the one who kills innocent people.

Earlier on Tuesday, Saibaba was awarded life imprisonment along with five others for his alleged links with Maoists under the Unlawful Prevention of Atrocities Act (UAPA), by a court in Maharashtra.

Along with Saibaba, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi and three others were also convicted.

In November 2016, final arguments had commenced in the predilection of the DU professor and the others at the Gadchiroli Sessions Court.

He was arrested soon after a JNU student Hemant Mishra, revealed secrets during interrogation that he was acting as a link between the DU professor and Maoists in the Abujmad Forests of Chhattisgarh.

However, in March 2016, a Supreme Court bench of Justice JS Khehar and Justice Nagappan, acting on a special leave petition, that challenged the rejection of the bail application of Saibaba by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay HC, granted bail to the professor on health grounds.

The court found Saibaba and five others guilty of waging a war against India.

The wheelchair-bound professor is 90 percent disabled and was paralysed from the waist-downwards after contracting polio in his childhood.

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A Delhi Court on Wednesday completed its scrutiny of documents related to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's LIC agent Anand Chauhan in a money laundering case.

Chauhan has moved several miscellaneous applications on which a reply has been sought from the Tihar Jail authorities.

The next hearing in the matter will take place on April 11.

Chauhan was arrested in July last year in Chandigarh by the Enforcement Directorate under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for not cooperating with the agency.

The Enforcement Directorate had in September last year filed a chargesheet against Chauhan in a money laundering case involving the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister besides others.

He was instrumental in investing Rs. five crore in LIC polices in the name of Singh's family including his wife and children.

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International Women's Day celebrations were held at the Research Centre Imarat by Mahila Unleashing Dynamism in Research Areas (MUDRA) in Hyderabad on Wednesday where more than 300 women scientists took part in the program.

Union Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre, Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao and other dignitaries from the defence attended the event.

Dr. Tessy Thomas, chairperson of MUDRA, inaugurated the event. A book was also launched at the event.

Bhamre said, "Due to women participation in work and education, India has become one of the strongest countries in the world. Women scientists of our country play a major role in science and technology, an important contributor for development."

Meanwhile, Rao said, "My mother has made me what I am as an individual and the credit also goes to my sister, wife and daughter. I agree with all the mainstream terminology used for women and also they are worshipped in India. But I feel women in our country today want to be treated with respect more than being worshipped.

He further said real issues pertaining to women should be addressed.

A panel discussion on challenges faced by women in Research areas was also conducted.

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Credit rating agency ICRA has said that the Indian Aviation Industry is likely to report 22 to 23 percent passenger traffic growth in FY2017 supported by ongoing low airfare regime says ICRA in its report.

The airlines are maintaining healthy PLFs backed by low airfares. However, since the ATF prices have been on an uptrend during the year, the impact on profitability of the airlines during Q4 FY2017 is inevitable as average ATF prices during the quarter are 37.9 percent higher YoY, while the yields continue to remain under pressure.

As per ICRA estimates, the fuel cost per ASKM (CASK) of the domestic aviation industry increased to Rs. 1.16 in January 2017 from a low of Rs. 0.82 in February 2016, and the same is expected to increase further in February and March 2017.

"The Indian Aviation industry has reported YoY passenger traffic growth of 23.2 percent during 10m FY2017 period and the industry is heading towards completing one of the best years in terms of passenger traffic growth. The domestic passenger growth for last five years stood at 12.9 percent, 5.3 percent, 4.6 percent, 15.5 percent and 22.1 percent and the industry is likely to surpass the last year growth rate, notably on a higher base. The traffic growth performance has also been one of the best amongst other key aviation markets in the world," said AVP and Associate Head Corporate Sector ratings ICRA, Anand Kulkarni.

The domestic passenger traffic growth during the month of January 2017 stood healthy at 25.3 percent. The YoY traffic growth on international routes for the industry was moderate at 8.8 percent; however, the Indian carriers outperformed the industry growth, with 17.8 percent YoY growth in traffic.

The year started with low aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices regime carried forward from the previous fiscal, which had provided room for the airlines to reduce airfares. The lower airfares were also a result of increasing competitive intensity due to addition of new players and expansion of capacities by incumbents as well as new entrants. The domestic industry capacity (measured in available seat kilometers - ASKMs) reported 20.6 percent YoY growth during 10m FY2017 as per ICRA estimate. Except Air Costa and Air Pegasus (which halted operations since August 2016), all the airlines reported capacity growth during the year. Further, outstanding order backlog of various Indian airlines underlines healthy future capacity addition.

Backed by competitive pricing, the industry reported stellar passenger load factor (PLF) of 84.4 percent during 10m FY2017, which is also one of the best amongst the key markets in the world. The PLF stood at 88.3 percent during January 2017.

In the domestic market, Indigo continued to enjoy the leadership position with a market share of 40.1 percent during 10m FY2017 and is on the path to complete successive fifth year of leadership position as well as achieve ~40 percent market share by any carrier for the first time during the last eight fiscal years. Other key players like Jet Group and Air India Group continue to concede market shares, while the new airlines, Vistara and AirAsia, reported gradual expansion in their market shares to 2.7 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, during 10m FY2017.

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Iraqi forces freed three neighborhoods from Islamic State (IS) militants on Tuesday after recapturing some main government buildings in the old city center of western side of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.

The federal police and interior ministry special forces, known as Rapid Response, completely liberated the neighborhoods of Dawassa and Dandan in central Mosul and raised the Iraqi flag on its buildings after heavy clashes against IS militants during the day, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, from the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.

The troops also made a new progress in the neighborhoods of Nabi Sheath and Ugaidat in the old city center, sparking heavy clashes with IS militants, the statement said.

The battles in Mosul's old city center left dozens of IS militants killed and five car bombs destroyed, along with destroying six IS vehicles, according to the statement.

Earlier in the day, Yarallah said the troops fought fierce overnight clashes and freed large parts of the two neighborhoods, including the old government complex, museum, court buildings and Nineveh's provincial police command in Dawassa neighborhood.

In the morning, the troops captured the foot of a strategic bridge across the Tigris River, known as al-Hurriyah Bridge, and the adjacent municipality building, as well as the building of the central bank, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Also in the day, the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) completely freed the neighborhood of Tel al-Rumman and continued fighting in the nearby Mansour neighborhood in the southwestern part of Mosul's western side, the JOC statement said.

Meanwhile, the CTS special forces initiated a progress in the neighborhoods of Mualmeen and Shuhadaa amid heavy clashes against IS militants, as the troops are pushing deeper toward the central part of Mosul's western side, locally known as the right bank of Tigris River, which bisects the city.

The battles in southwestern part of the western side of Mosul resulted in the killing of many IS militants and the destruction of four car bombs and 25 explosive devices planted by IS militants, according to the statement.

Near Mosul, the army's 9th armored Division and the Shiite paramilitary Hashd Shaabi unit continued clearing the villages from roadside bombs and booby-trapped houses in Tulul Attshana in west of Mosul, the statement said.

The troops also freed the village of Thaljah from IS militants near Badush area, which located on the main road between Mosul and the IS-held town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul.

The presence of armored division and the Hashd Shaabi is aimed at surrounding Mosul from the west to cut off the escape route from Mosul and the neighboring Syria.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul to visit the security forces and meet with top military commanders, just hours after the troops recaptured the main government complex in the old Mosul city center.

"They (IS militants) have two choices, either they surrender and we promise they will have fair trial and the other choice they will be killed," Abadi told reporters in Mosul as he was wearing the black uniform of the CTS forces. "Some (of IS militants) are escaping but even the escape path is closed and they have no hope, that's why they should surrender."

On Feb. 19, Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, announced the start of an offensive to drive extremist militants out of the western side of Mosul.

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 IS militants.

However, the western part of Mosul, with its narrow streets and a population of between 750,000 and 800,000, appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces.

Mosul, 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
IvyCamp, an initiative of IvyCap Ventures and NASSCOM 10000 StartUps under the aegis of CoE-IoT (Centre of Excellence in Internet of Things) have announced their third season of Rendezvous IoT (RIOT-3), supported by the Government of Maharashtra and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.

The event which focuses on IOT, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, VR and Hardware Space startups, will enable them to connect with corporate for potential orders, synergy, acquisition, acquihiring, funding and the likes.

For corporate, it is an opportunity to tap into startups to identify solutions that could address their problems.

The event is to be held on the 10th at the 91 Spring Board office in Mumbai.

The earlier editions of the event, RIOT-1 and RIOT-2 witnessed hundreds of startups and investors participating in the event. The total amount of funding awarded has been over Rs 7.5 crores across both the editions.

The earlier editions also saw participation from large corporates such as Tech Mahindra, TATA, Reliance, etc. Indian and foreign Government agencies such as Smart Cities Commission and Government of New South Wales and Government of Ecuador also participated in the event.

The NASSCOM and IvyCamp's alliance will look at developing strategies

and initiatives to bolster the IOT movement in Indian StartUp Ecosystem including cultivating innovation, educating the investment community and fostering partnerships between industry and the startups.

Speaking on this occasion, Anju Gupta, President and co-Founder - IvyCamp said, "IoT/AI/VR/Machine Learning is a massively untapped opportunity and market in India and Globally. Our Partnership with NASSCOM and activities like RIOT are focused on providing the focused support and connects that startups in these areas need. RIOT 1 and RIOT 2 connected startups with technical experts and investors. RIOT 3 is focused on the third much needed critical pillar of corporate, which can provide the real world application, market, and resources. This corporate- startup connection is also vital to educate our innovators on the real world problems corporate are trying to address - and through this, bring more practically driven innovation into our startup ecosystem."

Research by McKinsey Global Institute estimates the impact of the Internet of Things on the global economy will be USD 6.2T by 2025. NASSCOM and Deloitte recently pegged the IoT market in India at USD 5.6B in 2016, growing to over USD 15B by 2020.

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Expressing regret at the alleged racial attack in Kansas, United States, Governor Sam Brownback on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier on March 4, Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, on a visit to the United States, expressed confidence about President Donald Trump administration's endeavour to bring the perpetrator of the Kansas shooting to justice.

"It is a very tragic event which took place in Kansas, which obviously featured in many of our discussions. What we heard from very high levels, cabinet levels, was that one, we should regard this as an act of an individual, two, the American justice system was at work to bring the perpetrator of this act to justice. It is being prosecuted as a hate crime," Jaishankar said during a media conference at the Indian Embassy in Washington.

Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot to death in Kansas in an alleged racial attack, after the gunman was heard shouting "get out of my country".

According to local media, the gunman, Adam Purinton, 51 who is a Navy veteran was arrested after fleeing the spot of incident, after he allegedly blasted off several rounds on Thursday.

The Police say Purinton shot and killed Kuchibhotla, an engineer at GPS maker Garmin International and wounded his colleague Alok Madasani.

He was reportedly taken into custody by the police at Applebee's in Clinton, Missouri, about 82 miles southeast of Olathe.

Purinton was working as a desktop support specialist for an information technology company in the Kansas City area.

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The father of Saifullah, the slain ISIS terror accused, has refused to accept his son's body, alleging foul play in the encounter carried out by Uttar Pradesh police and the Anti-Terrorism Squad on Tuesday.

"Two and half months back he (Saifullah) left home after I hit him for not working. He called last Monday saying he's going to Saudi. I don't believe any of these accusations, they are all false. Saifullah was a well-behaved person; he performed namaz five times a day. We did not expect this," said Sartaj, Saifulla's father.

Meanwhile, the father of terror suspect Imran and Faisal, who were arrested in Kanpur today also, denied the charges against them.

"Faisal took care of a shop and Imran is married, has a daughter too. Danish is also my son, he had left home as I scolded him for not working," he said.

The operation was carried out by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) who had also made Saifullah speak to his brother, over the phone and asked him to surrender.

The cops tried to smoke him out by fire tear gas and chilli bombs inside the house but this didn't materialise. After which the cops claim to have taken the drastic step of killing him.

The cops have found several arms and ammunitions, pistols, some papers, ISIS flag and many other materials from the spot. The cops have also claimed that the accused were a part of ISIS Khorasan module, a terror outfit associated with Al Qaeda.

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Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that it executed 'five hardcore terrorists' belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Pakistan daily Express Tribune quoted a release by the government's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), stating that the terrorists, tried by the military courts, admitted to their crimes.

The military courts were set up under the 21st constitutional amendment after the 2014 Peshawar attack, which left over 150 people, mostly children, dead.

Those who were executed include Shoukat Ali, involved in attacking of law enforcement agencies. He was tried on five charges and awarded the death sentence.

Imdadullah was involved in destruction of an educational institution in district Buner of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and attack on LEAs, which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers.

Whereas Sabir Shah, Khandan and Anwar Ali were involved in attacking the armed forces, which killed and injured soldiers.

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Pakistan's Senate has been told that 84 percent of the country's population does not have access to safe drinking water.

According to a study prepared by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), only 72 percent of the nation's water supply schemes were found to be functional and 84 percent of those are supplying water not fit for consumption.

The Dawn quoted Science and Technology Minister Rana Tanvir Hussain, as saying that this alarming statistic existed in a country where commercial banks have posted windfall profits in excess of Rs.475 billion since 2014.

The PCRWR report further reveals that 14 percent of the water supply sources in Sindh and Punjab are heavily contaminated with arsenic, well above the permissible limit of 50 parts per billion.

Mr. Hussain revealed that Rs. 279 million had been spent on the Provision of Safe Drinking Water project since 2013.

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The Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, has told ambassador-designate to the United States and former foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary that Pakistan attaches immense importance to its relations with United States and wants to further reinforce them through intensified parliamentary and trade ties.

He said this here on Wednesday, reports Radio Pakistan.

He asked Chaudhary to utilize his diplomatic expertise to further improve bilateral relations between the two countries.

Chaudhary assured that he would make all efforts to further strengthen the relations between two nations.

According to a Heritage Foundation study, relations between the United States and Pakistan have ebbed and flowed over the last decade.

Tensions peaked following the May 2, 2011 U.S. raid that eliminated Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, and the relationship hit its post-9/11 nadir in November of that year, when Pakistan cut off U.S. supply lines into Afghanistan after a NATO strike killed over two dozen Pakistani troops stationed along the Afghan border.

U.S.-Pakistan ties have improved somewhat since then.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and then Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif made separate visits to Washington in 2015, during which leaders of the two countries expressed commitment to an enduring partnership.

The United States also continues to provide substantial economic and military assistance to Pakistan.

In fiscal 2015, the U.S. gave USD 371 million in security-related assistance and USD 468 million in economic-related aid for Pakistan.

An additional USD 1 billion was authorized for Coalition Support Fund (CSF) reimbursements (payments for Pakistani military deployments and operations along the border with Afghanistan), although $300 million of CSF funding was withheld because of Pakistan's failure to meet legislative conditions on the aid.

Still, U.S. and Pakistani goals in South Asia remain far from aligned.

At stake in the region are some of America's most vital national security interests including: ensuring that neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan serves as a safe haven for global terrorists; keeping Pakistan's nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists; and preventing war between India and Pakistan that could potentially go nuclear.

The global terrorist threat emanating from Pakistan remains a major U.S. national security concern as a multitude of different extremist groups with varying degrees of ties to al-Qaeda continue to operate in and from Pakistan.

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On the occasion of International Women's Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday saluted the indomitable spirit, determination and dedication of women power.

"Saluting the indomitable spirit, determination & dedication of Nari Shakti on International Women's Day. GoI's various initiatives seek to facilitate economic empowerment, self-reliance & social equality as far as Nari Shakti is concerned," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

The Prime Minister will address a conclave of women sarpanchs in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Women sarpanch from different parts of the country will attend the event, which has been jointly organised by the Centre and the Rural Development Department of Gujarat Government.

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World No. 1 Serena Williams has withdrawn her name from the upcoming WTA tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami because of a knee injury.

"Sadly, I have to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open," Serena, who won an Open era record 23rd Grand Slam at the Australian Open earlier this year, was quoted as saying in a statement issued by BNP Paribas Open organisers in California.

"I have not been able to train due to my knees and am disappointed I cannot be there. I will keep moving forward and continue to be positive. I look forward to being back as soon as I can."

Serena's withdrawal means Angelique Kerber will take over the numero one ranking at the conclusion of the BNP Paribas Open, which ends on March 19, reports Sport24.

Serena last year finished runner-up in the Indian Wells final, a tournament she only started playing again in 2015 after a 13-year boycott.

The 35-year-old in January registered a record-setting 23rd Grand Slam women's singles title in the Open era, defeating her sister Venus Williams in straight sets in Australian Open's finals.

Serena defeated Venus 6-4, 6-4 victory in what could rather be said as a one-sided contest at Rod Laver Arena.

She also became the first player to win the Australian Open without dropping a set since Maria Sharapova in 2008.

With the win, Serena surpassed Steffi Graf's tally of 22, thus becoming the most successful women's player in the Open era; only Margaret Court, with 24 titles across the amateur and Open eras, has more.

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Furious over the killing of an Indian fisherman by the Sri Lankan Navy, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working president M.K. Stalin on Wednesday dubbed the episode as 'grave human rights violation'.

Urging for a strong action to be taken against the concerned authorities, Stalin requested the External Affairs Ministry to intervene immediately. He suggested that the Lankan envoy should be summoned and warned of dire consequences if such atrocities and killings continue.

Dubbing the Sri Lankan Navy's breach a blatant and barbaric violation of agreements reached after international talks, Stalin said there is a strong feeling and displeasure that the Centre has miserably failed in protecting the lives of innocent fishermen despite serious rounds of discussion.

"The horrible part of the whole unlawful and unwarranted act is that the Government of Sri Lanka is in denial mode on this cold-blooded murder and even refused to take responsibility," Stalin stated in a letter addressed to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

"This monstrous act of killing by the Sri Lankan Navy has sent shock waves among the fishermen in the state and uncontrollable anger is sweeping across the state," the letter further read.

Stalin had yesterday requested the Central Government to react strongly to this problem.

"The Central Government cannot be a mute spectator. It should take up this issue with Indian ambassador in Sri Lanka or the High Commission of Sri Lanka in India," Stalin said in a statement.

Stalin's remark came after an Indian fisherman was killed by the Sri Lankan Navy.

Meanwhile, the Thamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi Party workers climbed a tower in protest against the Lankan Navy in Rameswaram.

The deceased has been identified as 22-year-old Pricho.

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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be on a four day visit to Japan, South Korea and China beginning March 15.

It will be Tillerson's first visit as Secretary of State to the East Asia and Pacific region.

In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from the North Korea and reaffirm the Administration's commitment to further broaden and enhance U.S. economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Secretary will arrive in Tokyo on March 15, continue on to Seoul on March 17, and travel to Beijing on March 18.

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Top commanders of Turkey, the United States and Russia met in southern Antalya province of Turkey on Tuesday and discussed deconfliction measures for their military operations against terror groups in Syria.

Parties discussed regional security issues in Syria and Iraq, latest situation in fight against terror organizations primarily in Syria, said a statement issued by Turkish Armed Forces after the meeting.

In a bid for more efficient struggle against all terror organizations, they also discussed extra measures to avoid unwanted incidents among three countries, said the statement.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said Tuesday the Antalya meeting is aiming at coordination among militaries of the three countries in Syria.

"If coordination cannot be achieved, there is risk of a conflict that we do not desire," Yildirim said at a press conference with his Jordanian counterpart.
Alleging lack of irrigation facilities and development, the farmers on Wednesday boycott voting in the seventh phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly segment.

The polling for the seventh and final phase of the assembly elections began at 7 a.m. today for 40 assembly constituencies. Over 26 percent votes have been polled till 12 noon.

A total of 535 candidates, including 51 women, are in the fray in these assembly seats spread across seven districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Over 1.41 crore voters including 76.87 lakh men and 64.99 lakh women are eligible to exercise their franchise in the seventh and last phase of the assembly elections.

As many as 8,682 polling stations with 14,458 polling booths have been set up.

The counting of votes will take place on March 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Faisal Awan and Ahsan Khursheed, arrested by the Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the terror attack at Uri Brigade headquarters on September 18 last year, were today released as no evidence was found against the duo.

The NIA handed them over to the Army's 16 Corps headquarters for sending them back to Pakistani authorities.

An investigation carried out by the NIA revealed that the two suspects had crossed over to the Indian side after altercation with their parents due to pressure of studies.

Evidence collected in the form of statements, technical analysis of their mobile phones, seized GPS devices and other circumstantial evidence collected by the investigation agency did not reveal any linkage of the suspects with the Uri attackers.

Further investigation is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Supporting Muslim girl Suhana Syeed who was trolled on the social media for singing a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada singing reality show, women activist Brinda Adige on Wednesday said the former is actually unifying different religions together and added radical men are, therefore, jealous.

"She should continue to showcase her talent and because she is breaking a path, the people are jealous especially the radical men in Islam. She should not be bothered by them," Adige told ANI.

She further said that the people, who are condemning and trolling her on the social media, need to understand Islam is a beautiful religion.

"She is actually unifying different religions together. Why would the radical men speak ill of her? They must not use religion to subjugate anybody," Adige asserted.

She further said all people trolling Suhana on the social media should be booked for stalking.

"Why can't they look at her as an independent person and not only as a 'woman'? Why can't they follow Islam as Islam teaches them to be, to be peaceful, peace loving and respectful to women?" she asked.

She emphasized the United Nation's slogan this year is "be bold for a change".

"I am very happy that this girl has portrayed her talent, her talent of music and her talent to sing. This should be appreciated by everybody," she said.

Suhana Sayeed sang a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada singing reality show where her performance was much appreciated by the judges.

Kannada music director Arjun Janya said she stood as a symbol of unity and showed to the world how all religions can remain in peace and harmony through music.

However, a Facebook page called Mangalore Muslims began trolling her and called her a disgrace to the community. They said she has tarnished the Muslim community by singing before men.

"You have not achieved a great feat. People who learn the Quran in 6 months are the real achievers. Your parents will not go to heaven (Jannat) as you have exposed your beauty to other men. Stop wearing the pardah as you don't how to respect it," read a comment on the page.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on Wednesday arrested one person with 200 grams of heroin-like powder from West Bengal's Murshidabad district, a BSF official said.

Acting on a tip-off on narcotics smuggling, the BSF intensified checking at the India-Bangladesh border near Murshidabad district's Lalwangola outpost, and detained an elderly person with irrigation pipes on Wednesday.

"Kalam Seikh (65), a resident of Char Lalwangola village, was apprehended by the BSF while on his way to a field near the international border. About 200 grams of heroin-like powder was seized from him," BSF Deputy Inspector General R.P.S. Jaiswal (South Bengal Frontier), said in a release.

"The arrested person was handed over to the nearby Bhagawangola police station, along with the seized item, for further investigation," the officer said.

"The South Bengal Frontier of Border Security Force has seized more than 14 kg narcotics and arrested seven smugglers so far in 2017," he added.

--IANS

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At least three persons were killed and 66 injured when three explosions rocked a military hospital here on Wednesday. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack.

The first blast took place around 9 a.m. at the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in Wazir Akbar Khan area, where several government agencies and embassies are located.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the main gate of the hospital. Later, four more attackers entered the hospital premises and then another blast took place.

The third bombing came around 10.45 a.m. when army helicopters were hovering over the building.

At least five suicide bombers were involved in the attack. One terrorist was killed in the bombing and two others were shot dead by security forces.

The IS claimed responsibility of the attack on its Amaq news agency, BBC reported.

Clashes are going on between security forces and the attackers in the hospital's building, Tolo News quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi as saying.

At least three bodies and 54 wounded were taken to Wazi Akbar Khan Hospital and 12 other injured were taken to Emergency Hospital in Kabul, the Health Ministry said.

President Ashraf Ghani said the attack "trampled all human values".

"In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan," Ghani said as per the BBC.

"I saw one of the suicide bombers who wore the doctors' uniform and opened fire. I managed to escape from the area," a doctor told TOLO News.

Another hospital staff member wrote on Facebook: "Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us."

Afghanistan's Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the attack and vowed to "avenge the blood of our people".

Meanwhile, the NATO-led Resolute Support coalition forces said they "stand ready to assist Afghan security services".

The 400-bed hospital, which is located in the diplomatic district near the US embassy, is the main and largest army hospital in the country.

--IANS

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At least 30 persons were killed and 70 injured when three explosions rocked a military hospital here on Wednesday, media reports said.

The deaths in the attack on Sardar Daud Khan Hospital, a health facility for wounded army soldiers, has gone up to 30 while at least 70 others were wounded, Tolo News quoted sources in the Ministry of Defense.

The attack ended around 4 p.m. (local time) after the three attackers were gunned down by security forces.

While the Taliban denied any involvement, the IS claimed responsibility for the attack.

The first blast took place around 9 a.m. at the military hospital in Wazir Akbar Khan area, where several government agencies and embassies are located.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the main gate of the hospital. Later, four more attackers entered the hospital premises and then another blast took place.

The third bombing came around 10.45 a.m. when army helicopters were hovering over the building.

At least five suicide bombers were involved in the attack. One terrorist was killed in the bombing and two others were shot dead by security forces.

President Ashraf Ghani said the attack "trampled all human values".

"In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan," Ghani said, the BBC reported.

"I saw one of the suicide bombers who wore the doctors' uniform and opened fire. I managed to escape from the area," a doctor told Tolo News.

Afghanistan's Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the attack and vowed to "avenge the blood of our people".

Meanwhile, the NATO-led Resolute Support coalition forces said they "stand ready to assist Afghan security services".

The 400-bed hospital, which is located in the diplomatic district near the US embassy, is the main and largest army hospital in the country.

--IANS

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In a major embarrassment for the ruling BJP, the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it will probe charges pertaining to a Pune land deal against its senior leader and former minister Eknath Khadse and his family.

Khadse, the de facto No 2 in the state cabinet after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, was forced to resign on June 4, 2016 following charges of corruption and alleged links with absconder mafia don Dawood Ibrahim.

During the course of hearing on a PIL filed by anti-corruption activist Hemant Gavande, a division bench of Justice R. V. More and Justice Revati Mohite-Dere, government counsel Nitin Pradhan informed the court about the proposed ACB investigation.

"The investigations into the case against Khadse and his family will be transferred to the ACB. An FIR would be launched against the accused persons," he said.

Pradhan added that the case filed by the Pune police would be transferred to the ACB which probes cases related to the Prevention of Corruption Act and the court directed that it should be supervised by an officer not below the rank of an Additional Director General of Police, ACB.

"The ACB should carry out the probe expeditiously and independently. It should not let the previous findings of the Pune police and the judicial commission affect its investigations," the court said.

At an earlier hearing, the court had expressed displeasure over the manner in which the investigations were conducted and said that if the government was unwilling to transfer the case to the ACB, it would pass appropriate orders.

According to Gavande's PIL, during his tenure as Revenue Minister, Khadse had purchased a prime three-acre plot of land at Bhosari in Pune owned by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation in the name of his relatives.

He reportedly paid Rs3.75 crore for the plot worth around Rs 40 crore at market rates and registered it in the name of his wife and son-in-law. But Khadse stoutly denied all allegations.

Following an uproar and agitation by the former Aam Aadmi Party activist Anjali Damania, Fadnavis had later appointed a judicial probe headed by retired Bombay HC judge, Justice Dinkar Zoting.

The high court has placed the matter for further hearing on April 3 and directed the ACB to inform it of the progress into the investigations then.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The father of suspected Islamic State operative Saifullah, who was killed in an anti-terror operation in Lucknow early on Wednesday, has refused to take the body of a "traitor".

Sartaj, father of told reporters, that his son had left home around two and a half months back after being scolded for not working. He said he had hit his son a day before he left home. had contacted his family on Monday last week and told them he was going to Saudi Arabia for a job.

"What he has done is not in national interest. We will not the take the dead body of such traitor," Sartaj told reporters.

"A traitor cannot be my son. We are Indians, we were born in India, our forefathers have been born in India. One who works against this country is not my son," he said.

"I used to tell him to find some employment, but he would not listen to me. I used to be angry with him, scolded him many times," he said.

"Around two and a half months back, I slapped him for this. Next day I went to work, when I came back I got to know he has left," he said.

Asked if had contacted his family after leaving home, Sartaj said: "He called on last Monday, and said he has got visa to go to Saudi. I said it is your wish," he added.

The suspected Islamic State operative was killed in an anti-terror operation in Lucknow early on Wednesday.

According to police, six pistols of different make, two wireless sets, alarm clocks, steel pipes, an IS flag, two laptops, videos of how to make bombs, four knives, two passports and 600-plus live cartridges were recovered from the site.

His elder brother Khalid said that Saifullah had told the family that he was going to Mumbai to get a visa for Saudi Arabia, where he wanted to go and get some experience in the leather industry.

He had taken the Aadhar card, passport and other papers before leaving three months back, the elder brother told reporters, adding that he did not answer calls thereafter and his mobile phone was usually switched off. He had studied accounts and was a deeply religious youth who offered namaaz five times every day.

Saifullah had rented a room in a five-room house in Haji colony in Thakurganj area of the state capital. He was living there for the past three months along with two other friends, who are now at large, police told IANS.

The four-year-old house belongs to some Badshah Khan and is looked after by caretaker Abdul Qayyum who lived in the same house with his family.

Qayyum, a madarsa teacher, had fixed the rent at Rs 3,000 after approval from the landlord, the care taker told the police. After police raided the hideout on Tuesday evening, the terror suspect opened fire on the police and refused to surrender despite repeated warnings. Police officials said they tried to neutralise the IS operative and catch him alive but that was not to be.

A National Investigative Agency (NIA) team arrived earlier in the day to take the probe forward. The NIA will look into the items recovered from slain Saifullah's hideout, where he was killed by the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorism Squad in an 11-hour-long gunfight.
A court here on Wednesday acquitted RSS leader Swami Aseemanand and six others in the Ajmer Sharif Dargah blast case of 2007 while convicting three other accused.

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court convicted Bhavesh Patel, Devendra Gupta and Sunil Joshi (now dead) and fixed March 16 for pronouncement of the sentence.

"The judge has convicted Bhavesh Bhai Patel, Devendra Gupta and Sunil Joshi in the case. Sunil Joshi has already died," Jagdish Rana, advocate for Swami Aseemanand, told IANS, adding that all others have been acquitted.

The court has found three guilty under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code, various sections of Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

"The judge will pronounce its judgment after hearing my arguments on March 16," said Public Prosecutor Ashwani Kumar Sharma.

Three of the total 13 accused are still missing and on the run.

Three persons were killed and at least 15 others injured when a bomb exploded around 6.15 p.m. on October 11, 2007, inside the premises of the shrine of Sufi saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti.

Initially, police had blamed Islamic terror groups for the blast, but later a confession by Aseemanand shifted the focus of the probe towards Hindutva groups.

According to the NIA chargesheet, Aseemanand, Gupta, Chandrashekhar Leve, Mukesh Vasani, Bharat Mohan Rateshwar, Lokesh Sharma, Harshad Solanki, Patel, Sunil Joshi and others were accused of planting and exploding bombs inside the Ajmer shrine and murder.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Assam government on Wednesday set up a one-man inquiry commission to probe the violence in Silapathar two days ago where protesters led by a Bengali group demanding citizenship for Hindu Bangladeshis vandalised an All Assam Students Union office.

Meanwhile, Assam's prominent students' body, All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) has dared Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and the BJP-led government in Dispur to prove their sincerity and commitment by arresting Subodh Biswas, the president of Nikhil Bharat Bengali Udbastu Samanvay Samiti (NBBUSS) within 12 hours time, over the violence.

The NBBUSS is spearheading a movement for granting citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis by amending the Citizenship Act.

Assam police had on Tuesday evening issued a wanted notice against Biswas for his alleged role in instigating the mob to ransack and vandalize the an office of the Aasu at Silapathar town in Assam's Dhemaji district on Monday.

The Assam government had already instituted a probe to be headed by Additional Chief Secretary VB Pyarelal and submit the report within 30 days time. The police had arrested nine persons for their alleged role in attacking and vandalizing the Aasu office and also to attack the security forces during the violence.

"Why is it taking so long to arrest Biswas? How can he escape from Silapathar so easily? The BJP-led Assam government often talks about protecting the land culture and identity of the people of Assam. It is high time the government should prove its sincerity by arresting Biswas," said Aasu general secretary, Lurinjyoti Gogoi while talking to the media on Wednesday.

The prominent students' body today organized a peaceful protest meeting in Dhemaji, which was attended by the leaders of 19 civil society groups and several other community organizations, who had extended their support to the Aasu.

The Assam government on Wednesday issued a notification regarding the institution of the one-man inquiry commission to probe the circumstances leading to the violence in Silapathar on Monday and said that the committee will ascertain the facts and circumstances leading to the said incidence of violence.

"With due regard to the facts ascertained, the Committee will also ascertain whether any individual or organisation is involved in the violence, if so, will fix responsibility. It will also inquire whether this incidence was a part of larger conspiracy to disturb peace and tranquility in the state and to cause disaffection amongst different sections of the society," a statement issued by the Assam government said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit also expressed grave concern over the vandalism incident and termed it an act of cowardice. He also said the perpetrators will be dealt with sternly as per the established law and nobody would go scot free.

At the same time, Purohit appealed to everybody not to take law in their hands and display absolute restraint. He also urged upon all to maintain peace and harmony to strengthen Assam's pride of being a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious society.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed on Tuesday a recent U.S. report skeptical toward the legitimacy of the Islamic republic's elections, reported Press TV on Tuesday.

"Elections in Iran are free, clean, competitive and democratic," Rouhani said in response to the human rights report issued by the U.S. Department of State which questioned the Islamic republic's electoral process.

"I think those critical of elections in Iran need to consider the recent presidential elections in the United States and the problems they faced," he was quoted as saying.

Rouhani's comments regarding the U.S. presidential elections referring to the ongoing protests against Donald Trump's election as the new President of the United States.

The U.S. Department of State's human rights report concerning Iran implied there were "severe restrictions on civil liberties" including freedom of speech, congregations, elections, religious expression and freedom of the press in the Islamic republic in 2016.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi also dismissed the U.S. report, adding "due to its appalling and somber human rights record, whether domestically or internationally, the U.S. government is in no position to comment on the state of human rights in other countries."

Qasemi said no existing international organization nor law authorizes the U.S. government to unilaterally critique human rights statuses worldwide on political grounds.
A court here on Wednesday acquitted RSS leader Swami Aseemanand and five others in the Ajmer Shrif Dargah blast of 2007.

The National Investigation Agency court convicted Bhavesh Patel, Devendra Gupta and Sunil Joshi (now dead).

Three persons were killed and at least 15 others injured when a bomb exploded at around 6.15 p.m. on October 11, 2007 inside the premises of the shrine of Sufi Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti.

Initially, police had blamed Islamic terror groups for the blast, but later a confession by Aseemanand shifted the focus of the probe towards Hindutva groups.

Hearing in this case was completed in the first week of January in which 149 witnesses were examined and 451 documents were produced before the court. The court was due to announce the verdict on February 25 but had postponed it to March 8.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Attacks on Indians in the US and the anti-terror operation in Lucknow will be raised in Parliament on the first day of the second-half of Budget Session starting on Thursday, the Congress said on Wednesday.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told IANS that on Thursday, the party will raise the issues of attack on Indians in the US and the anti-terror operation of Lucknow, in which a youth was killed, as well as the bomb blast in a train near Bhopal.

"On Thursday, these two issues will be raised. We will decide on other issues to be raised in rest of the session later," Kharge told IANS.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to make a statement on both issues on Thursday, according to informed sources in the Home Ministry.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said that the government is prepared to take up any discussion opposition parties want.

"The government is prepared to discuss all issues raised by the opposition subject to permission of the presiding officers," Naqvi said.

The minister told IANS that pending bills, including the ones relating to Goods and Services Tax and Enemy Property, are among those on the government's agenda.

"There are 20 new bills on the agenda of the government," Naqvi told IANS.

Leaders from different parties felt that the mood of the session will depend on the results of assembly elections in five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur.

Asked about it, Naqvi did not deny the possible impact of the results of assembly polls to five states on the session.
China on Wednesday proposed that North Korea suspend its tests of missile and nuclear technology to "defuse a looming crisis".

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the US and South Korea could halt annual joint military drills, which consistently infuriate North Korea, if Pyongyang suspended its ballistic missile tests, BBC reported.

The appeal comes after North Korea test-launched four missiles on Monday, breaking international sanctions.

In response, the US began rolling out a missile defence system in South Korea.

Speaking on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary meeting, Wang said the Korean Peninsula was like "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way".

"Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" he asked.

A mutual halt of military operations would be the first step towards easing tensions and reopening negotiations, he said.

Three of the North Korean missiles came down inside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Monday, prompting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump to say the region had entered "a new stage of threat".

The UN Security Council in a statement strongly condemned the launch, calling it a grave violation of North Korea's international obligations, which risked destabilising the region.

According to the BBC, the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system (Thaad) is designed to protect South Korea, and US troops based there, from North Korean missile attacks.

The first elements of it were moved into place on Tuesday, hours after the North's latest launch.

The Thaad deployment, originally agreed under the Obama administration, is controversial.

South Koreans living in areas which will host defence batteries are concerned they could become targets.

China has said its radar capabilities go far beyond what is required for defence and represents an encroachment of US military power and that it will "resolutely take necessary measures to defend our own security interest".

In a State Department news briefing on Tuesday, spokesman Mark Toner repeated US reassurances to China.

He said the US had been "very clear in our conversations with China that this is not meant to be a threat, and is not a threat, to them or any other power in the region".

Toner said North Korea would be discussed next week when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes his first official visit to South Korea, Japan and China.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, terming him a "liar" who had promised Bihar a "fakeage" not package, after an RTI query revealed that the bounty of Rs 1.25 lakh crore announced by Modi during a poll campaign for the October 2015 assembly elections was still awaited.

Bihar's ruling Grand Alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal-United and Congress made the most of the revelation to target the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government and the opposition BJP in the state.

The Grand Alliance leaders say this has also put a big question mark on the series of promises made by Modi and BJP during the ongoing assembly polls in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

Mumbai RTI activist Anil Galgali filed the query with the Union Finance Ministry in December 2016 seeking details of Modi's assurances on massive financial aid or development packages to various states.

He also sought details of the action taken on the financial packages to various states.

However, Deputy Director in Finance Ministry Anand Parmar, while declining to provide a direct reply to the Right To Information query, made the position clear in a roundabout manner.

"About the Rs 125,003 crore special package for Bihar, announced by PM for August 18, 2015 Parmar's terse reply said that 'the projects/works will be completed in a phased manner' though not a paisa has been released till date," Galgali said.

"It is a shame that assurances to Bihar given by none other than the country's Prime Minister have failed with no action in the matter since one-and-half years," Galgali said.

While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is yet to say anything on the matter, Lalu in his inimitable rustic style also advised Modi that a person sitting on the top constitutional post of Prime Minister should not "utter lies like this".

Lalu in a tweet, with a photograph of Modi, posted: "The liar - a fakeage Sardar. He did not announce a package, only fakeage. Package.. package-fakeage."

In another tweet, Lalu said "this PM has been chanting 'Satyamev Jayate', he should not tell lies. Inki baton par yakin karna khudkushi karne saman hai (believing in his words is like committing suicide)," he posted.

Lalu also said that Modi had promised to made Varanasi into Koyoto in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but nearly three years later, he has been exposed and proved that his words and promises were a "bundle of lies".

"Now PM Modi should explain to the people how he will do penance for his unfulfilled promises and his lies to the people. Whether he will do it in water cupped in his hands, the river Ganga or in the sea -- 'Chullu bhar pani mein, Ganga maiya mein ya phir Samudra mein'."

Senior JD-U leader and party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said it has again vindicated our stand that special packages announced by Modi are merely a "jumla" nothing more. "Modi only announced a jumla to fool the people," Kumar said.

Another senior JD-U leader, Shayam Razak, said the revelation through RTI has made it clear that announcement of a special package was meant only for votes like what Modi has done in campaigning for the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Congress state president Ashok Choudhary, also the Bihar Education Minister, said the Prime Minister should keep in mind to fulfill promises made to the people. "The Congress party had doubted Modi's special package announcement for Bihar at the time. He has a habit to make promises, not to fulfill them," he said.

BJP leaders in the state are reluctant to speak on the issue. Some of them downplayed the issue saying that only national leaders will be able to say anything on it.

BJP leaders had celebrated the announcement by Modi on the streets and praised him for it.

Galgali also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has been making big announcements even for Uttar Pradesh, where the seventh and last phase of assembly elections are being held on Wednesday.

"So many 'jumlas' have been shown to the 125 crore Indian population by the ruling BJP. But, the government's own figures belie their tall claims, so how can they be taken seriously," Galgali wondered.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Britain's former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine has been sacked as a government adviser after rebelling over Brexit in the House of Lords.

Lord Heseltine on Tuesday backed the demand for a parliamentary vote on the final deal to be written into Brexit legislation and was hours later fired from five government advisory roles he had held, BBC reported.

According to him, he accepted Number 10's right to sack him but "sometimes there are issues which transcend party politics".

"I have never met (Prime Minister) Theresa May. So I can't make a judgement. She's doing very well in the polls... the public approve of what she's doing," he said after being discharged from the roles.

Lord Heseltine, who campaigned to remain in the EU, told the Lords that the UK was facing "the most momentous peacetime decision of our time".

He told the BBC that May was "exercising her perfectly legitimate right to get rid of opposition in any way she finds appropriate".

"I have been hugely proud of the work I have done for (former Prime Minister) David Cameron and now for this Prime Minister, and if they don't want me to go on, they must sack me."

"Every Conservative Prime Minister I worked for has told me, including (May) before the referendum, that we were essentially seeking British self-interest in Europe."

"It's not perfect but it's much better than anything that happened before the Second World War," he said.

The 83-year-old -- who dramatically walked out of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's cabinet during a row over Westland helicopters in 1986 -- served as a minister in both her and John Major's Conservative governments in the 1980s and 1990s.

In a statement, the government said it had "a clearly stated and consistent position" that the Brexit bill should be passed without amendment.

The chief whip in the Lords asked Lord Heseltine to stand down because he voted against the government's official position, it said.

"The government would like to warmly thank Lord Heseltine for his service," the statement said.

When the bill returns to the Commons next week, ministers will have some persuading to do to reverse the Lords changes, but May remains on course to trigger Article 50 and begin Brexit negotiations before the end of this month.

Peers voted by 366 votes to 268 in favour of an amendment to the bill to have a "meaningful" parliamentary vote on the final terms of the Brexit deal.

It was the second defeat for the bill in the Lords -- the previous one was on the issue of guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens.

May has said she wants to trigger Article 50 by the end of March but the Commons is unlikely to have an opportunity to consider the changes made by the Lords until the middle of next week because four days have been set aside for debate on the budget.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Acclaimed filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Srijit Mukherji on Wednesday said they were "pleasantly surprised" when the censor board allowed some words to be retained in the forthcoming film "Begum Jaan" which otherwise would have been a strict no-no.

There were a couple of abuses that were sanitised and that was because of the censor code (rules), Mukherji and Bhatt told select mediapersons in a chat here ahead of the launch of the trailer on March 14.

"In fact, they had gone against the code for various words and they allowed them. They said the film has forced us to contextualise those words which otherwise would have been a strict no-no," Mukherji said when asked on the film facing any issues with the censor board. He said it was a "reasonable" act on the censor's part.

Produced by Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, the film is helmed by National Award winner Srijit Mukherji.

Set against the backdrop of Partition, the high-voltage drama, a Hindi adaptation of Mukherji's stellar Bengali offering "Rajkahini", is a story of survivors who defy nations to save their homes.

Vidya Balan plays the title role of the madam of a brothel in the film.

The film also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Ila Arun, Gauahar Khan, Pallavi Sharda, Rajit Kapoor, Ashish Vidyarthi, Vivek Mushran, Chunky Pandey, Poonam Singh Rajput, Ridheema Tiwari, Flora Saini, Priyanka Setia, Mishti Chakraborty, Sumit Nijhawan, Pitobash and Rajesh Sharma.

Bhatt dubbed it as a "very human response" to allow certain words and noted they were "awestruck by the pure heat of the narrative" of "Begum Jaan".

"Their entire physical demeanour was that of being humbled. I felt that they felt inadequate, they were reined by code. Had it not been for what was enshrined in the code, they would have perhaps allowed us a field day," Bhatt said.

Asked on whether the code needs to be changed, Bhatt said the "bars are a little broader but we are still within that prison".

"Begum Jaan" is slated to release on April 14.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China will never allow hard-won stability in the South China Sea to be disturbed or undermined again, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.

The situation in the South China Sea has calmed down visibly due to the joint efforts of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries, Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying.

He said the stability in the South China Sea is a blessing to the region and the world.

"If someone should try to make waves and stir trouble, they will have no support and face common opposition of the entire region."

According to Wang, China would like to see more maritime cooperation and greater trust between different parties.

"Even between China and the US, if we change our mindset, the vast ocean will become a broad stage of cooperation," he said.

The Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea is being implemented in a full and effective way, and the concerned parties are returning to the right track of settling their disputes through dialogue and consultation, he said.

China and the Asean are advancing the consultation on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) to work out common regional rules.

Wang said China, the US and Russia should work together and pursue win-win outcomes. In the new era, the China-US-Russia relations should not be a "seesaw" game.

The three countries should work with, rather than against, one another and pursue win-win, rather than zero-sum, outcomes, Wang said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian Coast Guard on Wednesday apprehended two Sri Lankan fishing boats in Indian waters, a day after a 21-year-old fisherman from Tamil Nadu was shot dead in Sri Lankan waters.

The Coast Guard said their ship 'Arnvesh' apprehended the two Sri Lankan fishing boats -- Manoj and Kalanaputha-03 -- during surveillance four miles inside Indian waters.

Both boats had five crew members each.

The Sri Lankan boats were around 50 miles southeast of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu.

"The boats were escorted to Karaikal and were handed over to the Coastal Security Group," the Coast Guard said.

A day earlier, a 21-year-old fisherman from Tamil Nadu was shot dead in Sri Lankan waters on Tuesday, but Colombo insisted the Sri Lankan Navy was not involved in the snooting.

Six fishermen from Thangachimadam in Ramanathapuram district were fishing near the Katchatheevu islet in the narrow sea dividing the two countries when they were fired at on Monday night, Indian officials said.

One fisherman, K. Britjo, was killed, and another was injured. The injured fisherman has been admitted in a hospital in Tamil Nadu. The others escaped without injuries.

Colombo has promised a thorough probe into the attack.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senior Shiv Sena leader and former college Principal Vishwanath P. Mahadeshwar was on Wednesday elected the Mayor of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country's biggest and the richest civic body, officials here said.

Mahadeshwar, 56, is a three-time municipal corporator from Bandra.

With his election, the Shiv Sena's hold over the Mayor's post continues for the fifth consecutive term.

A former Principal of Raje Sambhaji Vidyalaya and Junior College in Santacruz East, he sailed through the house vote easily on Wednesday afternoon, as members of the Sena's former ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) voted in his favour while opposition Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS's) seven corporators stayed away.

Present during the election were outgoing Mayor Snehal Ambekar, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and other senior leaders and officials.

The election came four days after the BJP abruptly withdrew from the mayoral race and decided to keep away from any other post like Deputy Mayor, or other major committees or sit in the opposition in the 227-strong house.

The elections last month threw a sharply fractured verdict, with the Shiv Sena emerging as the single largest party with 84 corporators, the BJP second with 82. The Congress won 31 seats, NCP nine, the Mahar ashtra Navnirman Sena seven, Samajwadi Party six, AIMIM two, Akhil Bharatiya Sena just one, and Independents five seats.
Asking the Central government to complete soon the fencing of the India-Bangladesh border, where it has not been done, to check illegal immigration from Bangladesh into Assam, the Supreme Court on Wednesday also directed it to release funds for it.

A bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R.F. Nariman was told by the central government that on March 10, the Expenditure and Finance Committee would have a meeting, which would also be attended by Home Secretary, to decide the issue of releasing funds.

The court took into note a status report filed by the central government on the progress made relating to securing and fencing the international border.

Additional Solicitor General P.S. Patwalia told the court that government had finalised some tenders and work orders issued to successful bidders for fencing. The process of re-tendering (in some cases) have been started, he added.

He said that government is making effort to acquire land, to be used for creating infrastructure to secure the border and Assam government has asked for Rs 2.96 crore for land.

The court was hearing a batch of pleas filed by Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha, Assam Public Works and All Assam Ahom Association against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh to Assam.

The apex court had on December 17, 2014, passed a string of directions, including an order to the government to complete fencing work along India-Bangladesh border within three months to check illegal cross-border influx of Bangladesh nationals into Assam and streamline the process to deport them back.

--IANS

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On Febuary 23, Mr. Michael Moller, Director-General of United Nations Office at Geneva, met up with the representatives of social organizations at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, which includes Amity Foundation. The Chairman of Amity International Liaison Office in Geneva, Ms. Xie Ying, attended the meeting in behalf of the Foundation.

The Amity Foundation was granted special consultative status by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations in August 2014.

As a civil servant with over 35 years of experience as an international civil servant in the UN, Moller started work in Geneva UNOG Office in 2013.

As we all know, the three main themes of the United Nations are peace, rights and people's livelihood and Geneva is famous for its work for world peace as a neutral nation. Moller highlighted the relationship between development and peace, using the word "prevention" as a key word, and responded to the participants' questions about development, peace and human rights.

He hopes that social organizations explore preventive, integrated, innovative, strategic and systematic programs to address the root causes of conflict and disaster within the framework of sustainable development and actively build new partnerships cross sectors. He also said that abilities, technology and experience are not enough to make a global impact and stressed that convergence of doers, knowledge and resources are highly needed.

The meeting brought in a large audience and the number of representatives from social organizations being part of the United Nations Economic and Social Council increased by 10% over last year.

Attendees actively joined the discussions. Some put forward ideas on how to balance the security and the values of transparency in Geneva, since the Director-General proposed to strengthen the security of the Palace of Nations. Some also brought up the topic of environment protection, claiming that animals also have right to survival and development. Mr. Moller also responded to questions and led the discussion on the issues of concern.

Translated By Alvin Zhou
Marked by caustic, high decibel campaigning, which saw the political discourse plumbing to low levels at times, the long-drawn polling process in the most populous and politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh came to an end on Wednesday.

With an overall voting percentage of 61 per cent across its seven phases for the 403 assembly seats, slightly higher than the 59.5 per cent registered in the 2012 assembly elections, the last phase saw heavy balloting in all the 40 seats spread across seven districts in the Poorvanchal region.

The last round brought the curtains down on one of the most closely contested, and staggered poll process in recent times. All parties tried to give their best to win over the electorate.

Caught in a bitter family feud and power struggle in the ruling Samajwadi Party, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav took over the party's reins by knocking out his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Yadav and later aligning with Congress.

The party contested on 298 seats. Akhilesh's wife Dimple, who is a lawmaker from Kannauj, actively campaigned while Mulayam Singh chose to campaign only for friend Parasnath Yadav, brother Shivpal Yadav and daughter-in-law Aparna.

Akhilesh Yadav claims that they will form the next government with even a better mandate than last time, when it won 224 seats.

The Congress, which took out a long 'kisan yatra' from Deoria to Delhi, which became infamous for locals taking away the cots during the 'khaat sabhaas', had slammed the SP, BSP and BJP government by saying "27 saal, UP behaal". The party came down from the high pedestal to enter into an alliance with the SP and they got 105 seats to contest after a hard bargain.

Many feel the Congress, with a non-existent organisational structure, got a good deal. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addressed many rallies during the polls and even held four roadshows with Akhilesh Yadav. He addressed two pressers with the UP Chief Minister but the last one, two days before the final phase, was called off without any explanation offered.

Though Congress put the name of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in its star campaigner list, she campaigned only in Rae Bareli. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, due to ill health, did not campaign and just sent a letter and later a video urging voters in the Gandhi pocketborough of Amethi and Rae Bareli to vote for the party.

The BJP put up its might into the elections with Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding two roadshows, taking the rounds of various temples and ashrams and addressing 23 rallies - his highest so far for any state assembly elections.

BJP president Amit Shah also addressed 200 big and small rallies with the state functionaries also chipping in with hundreds of rallies, churning the entire state. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP, was active too and its cadres were pitching in for a BJP victory.

In the run up, several thousand km were traversed by state leaders through 'parivartan yatras' which covered the entire state and many 'MBC and OBC conventions'.

Handed a duck in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati too fought the assembly elections with elan, addressing more than 50 rallies and appealing to the Dalit voter base to ensure that she romped home to power this time.

Aware that the colossal monuments and parks she made in her 2007-2012 regime had cost her a big loss, Mayawati promised not to make these anymore and her campaign revolved around the poor law and order in the state. The Dalit leader promised the return of the rule of law in Uttar Pradesh and also slammed Prime Minister Modi for what she claimed was "fooling people through speeches".

While there is no dearth of issues for a large state like Uttar Pradesh, by the end of the second phase, the polity and the electorate appeared largely split on community lines as polarisation crept in. The statement on 'shamshaan-kabristaan' and 'Holi-Ramzaan' by Modi added fuel to the fire. Sustained barbs from the likes of senior SP leader and state cabinet minister Azam Khan, Lok Sabha members of the BJP Yogi Adityanath and Sakshi Maharaj vitiated the atmosphere even further.

Akhilesh Yadav added to the verbal exchanges with his 'gadha' (ass) jibe and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who campaigned for SP-Congress candidates at some places, called the Prime Minister a 'hijra' (eunuch) and Amit Shah a 'genda' (rhinoceros). Shah returned the fire by exhorting people to get rid of KaSaB (Congress, SP and BSP).

In the last few legs of polling, UP's powerful and tainted Minister Gayatri Prajapati became the centre point of after the Supreme Court ordered the state police to lodge an FIR against him in a gang rape case.

The Minister who is contesting from Amethi on a SP ticket was riled by opposition as a "glaring example of kaam bolta hai of the Akhilesh government". He has yet not been arrested despite a non bailable warrant against him for the last many days.

A large section of the 14.05 crore voters in Uttar Pradesh cast their votes during polling on February 11, 15, 19, 23, 27 and March 4 and 8. The results are just two days away now.

(Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A BJP MLA in Bihar on Wednesday demanded the dismissal of Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha from the Central Cabinet for what he said was repeated criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Varanasi.

Kushwaha is President of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, an ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre and in Bihar. He hails from Bihar and belongs to an agrarian caste Koeri, an Other Backward Caste.

"I demand the dismissal of Upendra Kushwaha from Modi's Cabinet for playing like the opposition," BJP MLA Gyanendra Singh Gyanu told the media here.

Gyanu said Kushwaha's action of criticising Modi's roadshow on Saturday and Sunday was part of his game to weaken the NDA.

"The party national leadership should remove him from the NDA as well," the BJP leader said.

Kushwaha had questioned Modi's roadshow, saying it was not appropriate for the high office he held and he should address rallies only.

"I will like to tell my friends in the BJP that it is not appropriate for a Prime Minister to hold a roadshow. It is proper for a PM to hold rallies but not a roadshow," Kushwaha said in a statement.

According to senior BJP leaders here, Kushwaha's criticism of Modi's roadshow has embarrassed the party.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Patna, March 8 IANS) Tetri Devi and her co-villager Sugia Devi in a flood-prone village in impoverished Koshi region of Bihar have been working and earning as farm labourer to fulfil the needs of their family, like millions of other women across the state. But, they are yet to feel empowered.

Both Tetri and Sugia symbolise increasing women's participation in the workforce towards achieving women's empowerment and gender equality. The process of empowerment, however, is not this simple.

According to a latest research paper, based on data collected from 32 villages in 11 districts of Bihar located in the Koshi and the Gandaki river basins, sharp fluctuations are evident in female work participation rates (WPRs), unlike male WPRs, which remain constant across study villages.

This is attributed to circumstantial factors, such as exposure to natural calamities, cultivation pattern, male out-migration and the compulsion of women to fulfil household labour requirements demanded on different occasions.

As women step into economic activities outside households, greater work participation seems expected of them with their elevation to the status of "main" workers from "marginal" ones.

However, the report says, greater work participation for women here often means greater engagement in agricultural labour.

"An analysis of data from 32 villages in the Koshi basin shows nearly 69 per cent of female workers in these villages are agricultural labourers. A miniscule proportion of Female-Headed Households (FHHs) are cultivators on their own land," according to Neetu Choudhary and Pranita Bhushan Udas, the researchers who conducted the study jointly.

Choudhary is Assistant Professor at the Patna-based A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies and Udas is Gender, Water and Adaptation Specialist in the Livelihoods Theme, at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD.

"However, since only a very small proportion of FHHs own cultivable land, a majority of them, are compelled to work as casual labourers. Moreover, landlessness is linked to limited employment options for FHHs -- primarily confined to agricultural casual labour and domestic labour," the research paper said.

According to the researchers, remittances from male out-migrants account for almost 50 per cent of the annual income of FHHs, substantiating their dependence on migration as a livelihood option. Agriculture and casual labour wages account for 25 per cent of the annual income of FHHs, and are the second most important source of income, they say.

"This is reflective of the precarious circumstances amidst which rural out-migration takes place. For the female (heads), who remain in villages, the nature and remuneration of their work reflects their vulnerable position, as their engagement is an outcome of the immediate need to fulfil food security for women, children and the elderly, who have remain behind in the absence of their husbands," say Choudhary and Udas in the report.

In some households in villages in the Gandaki river basin, the workload for women has increased also because their husbands have returned home with disabilities after having gotten into accidents while working in factories and performing challenging labour work in other states, they point out.

Incidences where young sons have died while working outside their village also force women in the family to get into labour work.

According to the researchers, the villages studied show an increase in the number of de facto female-headed households as a result of male migration for employment. "Work destinations for these men include other parts of India where they work as labourers. Male absenteeism, applicable to individuals as young as 12 years old, for a minimum 6-12 months a year applies to almost all the households in these villages."

Male members of the family move out to other Indian states searching for better financial return, so that their families' food and shelter needs are met. Other expenses include health costs, and dowry and marriage expenses.

Migrant households are also burdened by high amounts of loan, which means families are trapped in a vicious cycle of vulnerabilities and poverty. Gendered hierarchy is sharp in these communities. Women are responsible for household and domestic work, and men for outside work and for earning cash incomes for their families, says the paper.

"The high fertility rate and interest in having children, especially male children, prevalent among couples who are landless, or marginal landowners, is driven by the hope that a male child is able to work outside the house and earn an income to support the family. Women in these villages are increasingly being left behind to take care of household as well as outdoor, laborious work," reads the research paper.

The level of food security in FHHs brings to light a better understanding of the participation of women in work in these villages. FHHs are more vulnerable to food insecurity and face relatively greater spells and extents of food shortage and inadequacy -- 30 per cent of FHHs face food shortage as compared to 19.8 per cent of MHHs.

"Such shortage and insecurities emerge from disparities related to land ownership and farming. Most MHHs own land, and products farmed on their land meet their food requirements," Choudhary and Udas point out.

They observe that even among FHHs, a majority of those facing food shortage belong to socially backward communities.

"What is remarkable is the difference between FHHs, which own land and those which don't. A livelihood based on agriculture ensures relatively stable access to food security for FHHs, whereas a livelihood based on wages earned as agricultural labourers does not."

"Women's bargaining powers as agricultural labourers may have increased to some extent due to male out-migration, but this is not the same for those women whose participation in the labour force emerges from the immediate need to meet food security.

"Overall, working hours for women (in paid and unpaid activities) in such households exceed those of their men counterparts," the paper underlines.

Although increased work participation in general is perceived to indicate women's economic empowerment, the question to be asked is for whom? Women's engagement in the market due to compulsion for food security rather than as a result of their choice will lead to less possibilities for them to negotiate in the market, making them more vulnerable than empowered.

Households in flood-prone villages along the Gandak river are also burdened by loans, particularly in households that have several daughters. The dowry system prevalent in the region is a major contributing factor.

"Even in a changing context, persisting gender discriminatory practices are hardly challenged. Women's work participation through economic empowerment in these villages requires critical analysis to address structural inequalities persisting from both unequal land ownership and associated capacities.

"The dominant equation, where an increase in women's participation in work and women's empowerment are seen being complementary and fully conducive to achieving national and international gender equity goals also requires critical analysis," the researchers note.

(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Facebook will be questioned by a powerful group of British parliamentarians over its failure to remove sexualised images of children following a BBC investigation, a report said.

The Culture, and Sport Select Committee that was already planning to question Facebook executives after Easter as part of its fake news inquiry, will now expand the investigation to include the social network's moderation policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

The BBC investigation had revealed that of the 100 images and posts it flagged using Facebook's tools, just 18 were deemed by moderators to breach Facebook's guidelines, which explicitly bar sexualised images of children.

The posts reported included items found in groups specifically aimed at men with an interest in child sexual abuse images and stolen images of real children with obscene comments beneath them.

When the BBC provided examples of the images to Facebook, the social network reported them to the police.

The committee's chair, Damian Collins, had earlier on Tuesday described the company's response to the investigation as "extraordinary".

After asking the BBC for examples of posts that had not been removed, Facebook contacted a senior executive at the corporation to say it would not do an interview and would be reporting both the content and the investigating team to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), which is part of the National Crime Agency.

Angus Crawford, who led the BBC investigation, said the team had been surprised the images were passed to Ceop, given that Facebook's moderators had failed to remove them.

"We didn't believe the content was illegal. We were further convinced the content wasn't illegal when we reported the content to Facebook when their own moderators said it did not breach community guidelines," Crawford said in a Facebook Live stream on Tuesday.

"Which way do they want it? That it's illegal and their moderation isn't working or actually it's perfectly legal content, but they didn't want to do an interview?", the Guardian quoted Crawford.

In a statement released earlier on Tuesday after the BBC had published its story, Facebook UK's Policy Director, Simon Milner, said the social network had followed "our industry's standard practice" in reporting the images.

"It is against the law for anyone to distribute images of child exploitation...This matter is now in the hands of the authorities," the statement said adding that they continue to improve their "reporting and take-down measures."

Much of the social firm's moderation is outsourced to contractors who deal with huge numbers of posts each day, though more serious issues are dealt with by in-house teams.

Facebook was not able to say whether it directly employed the moderators who had decided not to remove the posts, the Guardian said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Both the Congress and the BJP on Wednesday claimed victory with a comfortable majority ahead of the counting of votes in the February 4 state assembly polls.

Both parties held review meetings with their respective candidates and polling agents, prepping them for counting day on Saturday.

"We are expecting 23 to 25 seats. We should have the majority this time. I know that many, including some of our senior leaders, were saying that the Congress will not get more than three seats. The situation is now from minus to plus," state Congress President Luizinho Faleiro told reporters here.

Faleiro also said that the Congress was open to support from leaders of other political parties and independent candidates.

"As I said before, if any other candidate believes in the Congress ideology, programme and manifesto, they're free to support us," Faleiro said.

State Bharatiya Janata Party president Vinay Tendulkar also expressed confidence about winning the assembly elections.

After conducting a meeting with party leaders and candidates, Tendulkar told reporters in Panaji that the ruling party would win 22-23 seats in the 40-member Goa legislative assembly.

"The BJP is sure to win 22-23 seats when results are declared on March 11," Tendulkar said.

When asked whether current Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar would be anointed to the post once again if the party wins the polls, Tendulkar said: "That is up to the party MLAs and the Parliamentary board".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
American actor Justin Hartley says he is a little upset with the writers of TV series "This Is Us" for not giving him a nude scene yet.

Hartley spoke about the show on talk show "The Talk" on Monday, reports people.com.

Asked if a nude scene has been presented to him yet, Hartley said: "You know, the thing about it is - no, I'm a little upset about it."

Hartley, 40, joked, "I mean, what does that say? Am I losing it?"

"This Is Us", which also features Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K Brow and Chrissy Metz, revolves around the lives of a group of people with the same birthday, including Jack (Ventimiglia), whose wife, Rebecca (Moore), is expecting triplets in Pittsburgh.

The triplets are; Kevin (Hartley), a handsome television actor growing bored of his fly bachelor lifestyle, Kate (Metz), his funny and sweet heavyset twin, and Randall (K Brow), a big shot commodities trader in search of his biological father.

Hartley, who is father to adolescent daughter Isabella Justice off screen, is fine leaving nudity to his co-star Ventimiglia. Ventimiglia bore his bare buns for audiences to see in one of the episodes of the show, which airs in India on Star World Premiere HD.

Hartley said: "I just leave that (nudity) to him. He's very good at that."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's gold market, facing short-term headwinds following the demonetisation and introduction of excise duty, will recover on the back of gold demand, which is expected to be around 650-750 tonnes in 2017, a World Gold Council (WGC) report said on Wednesday.

"India's gold demand has fallen sharply in the past, but has then recovered. Previous attempts by the authorities to clamp down on gold have failed: Gold is too intimately ingrained in Indian society. On balance, while demand is likely to improve, our view for 2017 is cautious: we expect consumers to buy between 650 tonnes and 750 tonnes," the report said.

Over time, the council anticipated that economic growth and greater transparency within India's gold market would push demand higher and by 2020, it sees Indian consumers buying between 850 tonnes and 950 tonnes.

According to the WGC, India's gold industry suffered last year. In the first half, the one per cent excise duty on jewellery manufacturing prompted a 42-day strike and the income disclosure scheme disrupted the black market -- fearing a backlash from tax officials, some consumers postponed buying gold.

"...the shock demonetisation initiative caused a liquidity squeeze that affected the entire economy. These policies, combined with fragile rural sentiment and a soaring gold price, pushed gold demand to its lowest level since 2009," the report pointed out.

It said that the ban on cash transactions over Rs 3 lakh from April 2017 could hurt rural Indian demand.

The proposed Goods and Services Tax also could adversely affect the industry in the short term, the WGC said but added that a uniform indirect tax regime will bring transparency in gold's value chain.

"GST will streamline India's Byzantine tax structure which, as well as boosting the economy, promises to make gold's value chain more transparent," it added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An industrial park exclusively for women entrepreneurs was unveiled here on the occasion of International Women's Day on Wednesday.

Telangana's Industries and Commerce Minister K. T. Rama Rao unveiled FICCI Ladies Organisation(FLO) Women Green Industrial Park at a function held at Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) office.

The minister handed over sanction proceedings of allotment of land for FLO Women Green Industrial Park to its chairperson Padma Rajgopal.

The TSIIC allocated FLO the 50 acres of land at Sultanpur, Patancheru on the city outskirts at a cost of Rs 45 lakh per acre. The FLO will develop its first women entrepreneurs' park in the country.

The FLO members, who have minimum 51 per cent share in partnerships/pvt ltd companies, will be allocated the land to establish the units.

The TSIIC will provide infrastructure facilities like roads, power, water, and drainage, dedicated industrial substation, common facilities, storm water, rain water harvesting facilities and green belts, etc.

In his address, Rama Rao said women entrepreneurs were much better in execution and in getting things done.

FLO chairperson Padma Rajgopal thanked the VC and MD of TSIIC, Narsimha Reddy and Rama Rao for allotting the land.

"It is a real gift of empowerment to us women today, and we are glad that you have chosen this International Women's Day to announce it," she said.

FLO sought various benefits including investment subsidy of 25 per cent on fixed capital with a maximum cap of Rs 30 lakh to all units; 50 per cent subsidy on expenses incurred for ISO and other quality certifications.

It also requested for special allocation of 5 acres of land on lease to develop, build and operate a Centre of Excellence for Skill Development for women from weaker and under-privileged sections of the society.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Iran on Wednesday said the country will counter the US visa ban against Iranians, a media report said.

"Our earlier countermeasure against Trump's order (to stop visa issuance for Iranians) is still in place," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi said, adding that "there is no need for a new decision", Xinhua news agency reported.

On January 27, Trump issued an executive order for a 90-day ban on the entry visa issuance for seven Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and north Africa -- Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen. However, it was halted later by a federal court.

On January 31, Iran said that it had stopped granting visas to US citizens in response to Washington's travel ban.

On Monday, the White House revised the earlier executive order and signed a new order that excludes Iraqi citizens, but keeps the visa applicants from six other countries, still targeting Iranians. The order is to be put into effect on March 16.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A suspected Islamic State operative was killed in an anti-terror operation here early on Wednesday and hours later, a National Investigative Agency (NIA) team arrived to take the probe forward.

The NIA will look into the items recovered from slain Saifullah's hideout in Haji colony in Thakurganj area, where he was killed by the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorism Squad in a 11-hour-long gunfight.

According to police, six pistols of different make, two wireless sets, alarm clocks, steel pipes, an IS flag, two laptops, videos of how to make bombs, four knives, two passports and 600-plus live cartridges were recovered from the site.

"We tried our best to capture him alive but were left with no other option," Inspector General (Special Task Force) Aseem Arun told the media while narrating the details of the incident.

Intelligence agencies from two other states had tipped off the police of the likely presence of terror suspects in Lucknow, Kanpur and Etawah after an explosion took place in a train in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

The gun battle broke out around 4 p.m. on Tuesday in Lucknow and continued for over 11 hours, concluding early on Wednesday.

Two persons were arrested from Lakhna in Etawah, three from Kanpur and one was holed up in Lucknow, Arun said.

Saifullah opened fire when the police reached the hideout to nab him.

Faisal, a suspect, was arrested from Tiwaripur area in Kanpur and his elder brother Imran was arrested from Unnao. They are currently being interrogated by the ATS.

Two others detained by the ATS in Kanpur were set free by a mob.

--IANS

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With the resurgence of the citys paying homage to its roots, a Chippewa Falls resident noticed one aspect of recognition was being missed.

Scott Sullivan, a Chippewa Falls native, proposed a living military veterans memorial to honor veterans in the city.

The older you get, the more you realize how important veterans are to their communities and how important it is to honor them, Sullivan said. There are a lot of great military folks no one knows about because the good ones dont always come back, or arent looking for recognition.

Sullivan himself found that out when he found a photo in his grandmas scrapbook of his own uncle, Dennis, who was a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force.

The memorial he proposed includes two phases, the first of which would dedicate local bridges to veterans with a simple sign indicating the name and the veterans position and create plaques that could go in a park with a brief history of the veterans service and biography.

A second phase would include the living memorial, honoring the number of veterans from Chippewa Falls who served, were killed in action, received medals or honors. The idea is to honor those who served with simple, meaningful recognition.

A living memorial means it needs to go on long after were all dead, Sullivan said. Hopefully no future conflicts but if there are this could be easily added on to.

He estimates the project could cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000, but there will be no cost to taxpayers or the city. Sullivan said he and other interested parties will be covering the costs.

He proposed the memorial to go in Allen Park, to help serve as an entrance to the city. Ultimately, that would be up to the city council, if they choose to approve the project, which they will take up at a future meeting.

SEH proposes funding

Council approved Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc., the company who is completing the Chippewa Riverfront, to complete a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Grant for potential funding for the parks proposed restroom facility.

Jayson Smith, city planner, said the restrooms would be an eligible expense for the DNRs Stewardship Program, which would cover 50 percent of the costs if the city receives the grant.

Its not going to be inexpensive, thats a pretty sizeable building thats going to be built, Smith said.

Smith estimates the bathrooms could cost around $400,000, of which the grant would match half.

The restrooms are part of the second phase of the park, which is being funded through donations from the Current Campaign. With a goal of raising $2 million, Smith said they are just over $1.7 million currently.

Getting a $200,000 grant for this project would put us over the top, he said.

The city would have to pay a total of $6,000 to SEH if the grant is approved.

Lake Wissota Business Park

The Council also approved two resolutions to discontinue a portion of Lakeland Drive and Lake Wissota Drive, both in the Lake Wissota Business Park.

The resolutions regard two portions of roads Hoffman said were never built. It allows the city to revert it to open lots, in preparation for a potential future development in the park.

Things change, needs change, Hoffman said.

Council held another meeting in closed session Tuesday night to discuss tax increment financing district 14 to create a developers agreement.

Resolutions for portions of both streets were approved unanimously.
Jammu and Kashmir's Director General of Police S.P. Vaid on Wednesday warned militants to leave families of policemen out of conflict.

"This is between police and militants and families should not be brought into this conflict," he told TV channel NDTV in a response to the ransacking of a senior police officer's house by militants in Shopian district last week and threats to his family members.

He wondered what would be the reaction of militants if police started threatening and intimidating their families.

"If the police start doing this, what will happen to their families?" he asked.

A group of heavily-armed militants had entered the house of the police officer in Shopian and after ransacking it, warned the family members of serious consequences if the officer did not quit his job.

Militant groups have been issuing threats to policemen in not to associate with anti-militancy operations in the past, but the Shopian incident is the first of its kind.

Sources said the militants had justified ransacking by telling the officer's family that the security forces also did the same to those families who gave shelter to militants in the state.

--IANS

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The son of Kim Jong-nam, the slain half brother of North Korea's leader, has emerged on YouTube amid concerns about of his family's safety, Yonhap news agency reported.

"My name is Kim Han-sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family," he said in English in an online video clip loaded on Tuesday, suggesting he is a descendant of North Korea's family that has ruled North Korea for three generations.

"My father was killed a few days ago," he added.

In the 40-second video, Kim said he was currently with his mother and sister, expressing hope that the situation would get better soon.

He showed his official passport to reveal his identity, but the video did not disclose the details of the passport.

South Korea's intelligence authorities confirmed that the man in the footage is Kim Han-sol.

The video was reportedly made days after Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of the North's ruler Kim Jong-un, was assassinated at an airport in Malaysia.

Kim was killed on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur Airport after two women allegedly smeared the banned chemical weapon VX nerve agent on his face.

Following the incident, the whereabouts of Kim's family members have not been known amid speculation that they may be staying somewhere in Macau under China's protection.

North Korea accused Malaysia of colluding with South Korea to manipulate its probe into the case. Pyongyang claimed that the dead man is Kim Chol, the name on a passport held by Kim Jong-nam.

Malaysian police earlier said that Kim Jong-nam's next of kin should come forward to identify and claim his body but no family members have shown up.

--IANS

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Thalaiyuthu panchayat, Tirunelveli district (Tamil Nadu): P. Krishnaveni remembers the night of 13 June, 2011, clear as day. Barely 200 m from her home of 15 years, in front of a local temple, she lay in a pool of her blood.

It was 10 pm, when her husband and two teenage daughters found her and screamed for help. No one came. When they finally lifted her into an auto-rickshaw, two fingers -- one each hacked from her left and right hands -- dropped to the floor. Her right ear was also severed.

The trauma of that day lives with Krishnaveni, but it made her more determined than ever.

"I don't know how I am alive after that attack," Krishnaveni, 42, told IndiaSpend. "It is a miracle. Maybe because I am a very adamant and courageous person."

Thin and ramrod-erect, Krishnaveni, a Dalit, is known for her steeliness and confidence in her home village here at India's southern end.

As president of Thalaiyuthiu panchayat between 2006 and 2011, Krishnaveni -- once called "troublesome" -- challenged and overcame caste prejudice, and fought a culture of patriarchy and a cement company that wanted village land. She confiscated commons that had been encroached by higher castes and tried to build toilets for village women on that land (the cause of the attack); she sat on the president's chair in the panchayat office when her colleagues expected her -- as a Dalit -- not to; and to protest the discrimination she faced, unfurled a black flag instead of the tricolour on Independence Day, 2007.

Krishnaveni's story is particularly striking, but there are many women who have emerged from the shadow of men and are carving a singular path as local leaders.

60% of women panchayat leaders now work independently, our study reveals

Krishnaveni is one of 40 past and current women panchayat, or village council, leaders who are the focus of an ongoing IndiaSpend study in six Tamil Nadu districts -- Sivagangai and Tirunelveli in the south, Dindigul in the centre, Nagapattinam in the east, and Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri in the northwest of the state-analysing how the decisions made by female village leaders might be different from men.

After personal interviews over 1.5 months, and an analysis of the accounts of 43 panchayats of Devakottai block on Sivagangai district, this is what we found:

* Nearly 60 per cent of women panchayat leaders (19 of 32) functioned independently, without male interference or support. These women had at their fingertips knowledge of panchayat accounts and government programmes executed through panchayats. Two were not allowed to function independently, but they were familiar with the accounts and programmes

* Women panchayat leaders in Tamil Nadu invest 48 per cent more money than male counterparts in building roads and improving access.

* In water-scarce Sivagangai, although male and female leaders spend equal amounts on water infrastructure, such as borewells and pipelines, women leaders invested more money in sophisticated water systems to ensure pure water for their constituents.

* While women tend to spend more on improving infrastructure, men tend to invest more (1.5 times) in regular maintenance, such as repair of water and street lights (men spent up to six times more on installing lights).

Tamil Nadu now has India's lowest fertility rate-lower than Australia, Finland and Belgium-second best infant mortality and maternal mortality rate, and records among the lowest crime rates against women and children, as IndiaSpend reported in December 2016, but caste discrimination is entrenched and women in rural public office still face resistance from men. But the rise of women panchayat leaders indicates the benefits that reservation for women bring.

Dalit women, the power of the collector and the powerlessness of panchayats

Dalit women presidents face particular difficulties. One of the tools for harassment is Section 205 of the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, which allows the district collector to dismiss elected panchayat presidents.

Women appear to be disproportionately affected. In the five years to 2016, 42.5 per cent of panchayat presidents dismissed were women, according to data we obtained from the directorate of panchayat and rural development; 30 per cent of these were Dalit women.

There are other problems: Limited powers and money given to panchayats.

Tamil Nadu devolves 10 per cent of state revenue as State Finance Commission Grants to panchayats.

But there are no devolved powers governing village-level institutions, such as health centres and schools, which are controlled by the respective state-government departments.

Most state grants are enough for only routine maintenance. An RO water system, for instance, costs upwards of Rs 600,000, or 60 per cent of the annual budget for a panchayat with a population of 2,000 in remote, interior regions. Panchayats raise money through professional and house taxes, which are a fraction of those paid to urban local bodies.

The biggest disadvantage for a woman panchayat leader is the absence of a regular salary. Panchayat presidents only get a travel allowance of Rs 1,500 a month, most of which is used to reach regular meetings at the block and district level. Many spend their own money, but this is particularly difficult for women, since they do not, usually, control family finances.

Yet, the women do not back off.

A growing political consciousness: 30 per cent will stand for re-election in 2017

Women panchayat leaders in Tamil Nadu, over the last 25 years, exhibit a growing political consciousness.

Even though the panchayat president is a non-party position, 43 per cent women in the study belonged to a political party, mainly the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). In 1996, Tamil Nadu was the first state to reserve a panchayat seat for women for 10 years instead of five, as other states do.

As many as 30 per cent of the women we interviewed said they would stand for re-election in the upcoming panchayat elections in April 2017, even if they did not represent a seat reserved for women.

Back in Thalaiyuthu, Krishnaveni appeared to have gained acceptance across castes and communities.

When she lay in the hospital in Tirunelveli, Konar youth donated blood. The village folk said they appreciated her work and the acknowledged the harassment she faced. Her greatest support comes from women ward members.

"Earlier, I used to give her a tough time too, after listening to the Muslim men," confessed Mohammeda, a Muslim ward member. "But when I realised that she was being harassed unnecessarily by the men, I started to support her."

It's been six years since her attack, many of her wounds have physically healed, although there are deep scars on her neck and hands. Her hair has grown back. But she still finds it difficult to sit for long periods with her legs folded.

Today, Krishnaveni lives among her very attackers, a couple of houses away. "I feel enraged everytime I see them," she said. "Sometimes, I just want to go out and kill them all. I have gone through so much because of them."

Krishnaveni stood for re-election in 2011 and lost. What, we asked her, really hinders women in

"Anatthikam," she said. Patriarchy.

(This is the first of a four-part series. Next: Illiterate, married at 11, mother At 12, panchayat President at 30)

(In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform. Bhanupriya Rao is a co-creator of GenderinPolitics, a project which tracks women's representation and political participation in India at all levels of governance. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. Feedback at respond@indiaspend.org)

--IANS/IndiaSpend

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Alankrita Shrivastavas "Lipstick Under My Burkha", which is not getting a certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in India, will be the opening movie at the 15th edition of Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA).

The festival will be held from April 5-9 in Los Angeles.

Revolving around four women -- a burqa-clad college girl, a young beautician, a mother of three and a 55-year-old widow who rediscovers her sexuality -- "Lipstick Under My Burkha" features actors like Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma and Aahana Kumra.

"As India's diverse array of talented filmmakers continues to be recognized around the world for their compelling and daring work, IFFLA is extremely proud to collect the best films from emerging voices and experienced masters and present them to Los Angeles," said Mike Dougherty, Director of Programming, in a statement.

"Lipstick Under My Burkha" has been deemed too "lady oriented" in content and according to the censor board, it is laced with sexual scenes and abusive words. But this is also a film that won a gender equality award at the Mumbai film fest last year, and recently won the Audience Award at the Glasgow Film Festival.

IIFLA, which will conclude with Shubhashish Bhutiani's directorial "Hotel Salvation", will also features documentaries like "The Cinema Travelers", "Machines" and "An Insignificant Man". There will also be 10 short films in nine languages including Gurvinder Singh's "Infiltrator", Amar Kaushik's "Aaba" and Sonejuhi Sinha's "Miles of Sand".

Films by debuting directors like Konkona Sen Sharma's "A Death in The Gunj", Ananya Kasaravalli's "The Chronicles Of Hari" and Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy's "Billion Colour Story" will also be showcased.

A host of filmmakers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who will make US premiere of his film "Once Again" in Malayalam, will attend the fest. Suman Mukhopadhyay will be making a North American premiere of his Bengali film "Incomplete".

--IANS

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The Madhesi Morcha, an alliance of seven political parties from the Terai region, protesting against the Constitution of Nepal since 2015, has threatened to withdraw its support to the Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'-led government if its demands are not addressed in the next seven days.

Top leaders of the Morcha on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Prachanda and handed over a memorandum.

During the formation of Prachanda-led government in August last year, the Morcha had extended its support after reaching a three-point agreement that mostly related to the constitutional amendment process to make the statute more inclusive and Madhes-friendly.

The ultimatum came three days after three Madhesi Morcha cadres were killed by the security men during a fierce clash in Saptari district after a mass gathering.

The Morcha and main opposition CPN-UML have been at war since the promulgation of Nepal's new Constitution, as the UML leadership accused the Morcha of being a pawn of foreign powers and has been opposing its demand for constitutional amendments.

In the ultimatum letter handed over to the Prime Minister, the Morcha leadership has demanded withdrawal of local elections proposed for May 14, assurance on the constitutional amendment process, keeping the local government within the provincial jurisdiction, and implementing the three-point agreement reached at the time of formation of the government.

Sadbhawana Party Co-Chairman Laxman Lal Karna said the demands include declaring the cadres killed during Saptari's incident as martyrs, besides payment of compensation to their kin. The Morcha has also demanded formation of a high-level commission to carry out an investigation into the incident.

The Prime Minister's Chief Political Advisor Chakrapani Khanal shared that Prachanda has received the Morcha's demands, and added that the Prime Minister assured the leaders that he would hold discussions with the ruling parties and the opposition before taking steps to address it.

(Anil Giri can be contacted at girianil@gmail.com)

--IANS

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Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Wednesday said his country currently has no plan to cut diplomatic ties with North Korea.

The Malaysian government still needs a channel to talk and negotiate with North Korea, Xinhua news agency quoted Razak as telling the parliament.

According to him, the current priority is the safety of Malaysians in North Korea.

"We received information that they are allowed to live their lives as usual. They are not confined, can get out, and do normal business. So there is no concern over their safety," the Prime Minister said.

Razak said the travel ban on North Korean citizens in Malaysia would stay while the government was "carefully studying what is Pyongyang's (demands) actually".

He made the remarks after chairing a National Security Council on Tuesday evening during which the Prime mInister was briefed about the situation.

In a strong worded statement, Razak accused North Korea of taking Malaysian citizens hostages and called for their immediate release.

Malaysia and North Korea used to enjoy relatively cordial relations until the death of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, at the Kuala Lumpur airport.

The ensuing investigation implicated several North Korean nationals, including a second secretary of North Korea's embassy in Malaysia and an employee from the communist nation's national carrier Air Koryo.

Malaysian police said Kim was poisoned by a lethal chemical called VX nerve agent.

While North Korea demanded the return of the body, the Malaysian police insisted the next-of-kin come for DNA profiling.

Razak said police needed to find the cause of the death of Kim.

"When a murder is committed, especially when a chemical weapon is used, we have to protect the interests of the nation," he said.

Ties between Malaysia and North Korea strained after both sides issued a travel ban on each other's citizens.

--IANS

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Meghalaya opposition National People's Party legislator James Sangma on Wednesday slammed comments by Home Minister Donkupar Roy on the increasing crime against women and children in the state.

On Tuesday, while replying to a special motion on the increasing atrocities against women and children in the assembly, Roy had said that being the Home Minister of the state did not mean that he was a "watchdog", and went on to add that crime could happen anywhere, anytime and no one could prevent it.

"I am disappointed (to hear the remarks). I always thought that when one becomes the Home Minister, you take over the responsibility of safety and security of the citizens of the state," Sangma said.

Sangma, participating in a discussion on the amendment to the motion of thanks to the Governor's address in the assembly, said, "It was a sad day for Meghalaya when the Home Minister says that he is not responsible."

"It is going to be remembered in the future that the government shrugged off its responsibilities. It is time to own up to the responsibility and to act against crime against women and children. We have become very cold and everything is becoming a mere statistic," the NPP legislator said.

Expressing concern over the delay of the government in releasing rehabilitation packages for the militants of various disbanded insurgent groups in Garo Hills, Sangma said, "These people (militants) will not be satisfied by mere lip service and there will come a point when they may go back to what they did before packing up arms."

Participating in the discussion, opposition Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit lashed out at the ruling Congress-led government for its failure to fix unemployment in the state.

"I am surprised that there was no mention about the unemployment problem in the Governor's address, which has become serious in our State," he said.

Basiawmoit also criticised the government for its failure to construct a permanent assembly building after its original home -- a 125-year-old Burmese teak building -- was reduced to ashes on January 10, 2001.

"It is very unfortunate that even after 16 years the state is yet to have its own assembly building and occupies a temporary building. We cannot compare with the recently bifurcated State of Andhra Pradesh, which has inaugurated its own assembly building in a span of just two years of its existence as a state," the HSPDP legislator said.

--IANS

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Opposition legislators in Meghalaya on Wednesday questioned the government over the collection of road tax on the incomplete Jorabat-Umiam Expressway, in violation of the Supreme Court ruling.

The Jorabat-Umiam Expressway, which is also known as National Highway-40, is the lifeline for Mizoram, Tripura and parts of Manipur and Barak Valley of Assam.

Raising the issue during the Question Hour, opposition National People's Party (NPP) legislator James K. Sangma attacked the state government for violating the Supreme Court ruling that toll should not be collected on the highway as it is incomplete and in a dilapidated condition.

Commuters on the expressway have been paying road tax for the past two years.

However, Public Works Department (Roads) Minister Martin M. Danggo informed the assembly that the toll was being collected only for the completed stretch of 56.56 km of the toal 61.80 km of the four-lane road.

Danggo said that the construction of the bypass at Umsning would be completed by June this year.

Supporting the NPP legislator, opposition Independent legislator, Saleng A. Sangma informed the assembly that the Supreme Court in its order of August 27, 2015, had noted that the National Highways Authority of India and concessionaires cannot collect toll from commuters if the road is in bad shape.

--IANS

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Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India is expecting to clock "significantly over 10 percent growth" in sales in the current year, a company official said on Wednesday.

"We are hoping to clock significantly over 10 percent growth in sales in 2017. January and February sales have already increased over the corresponding month last year.

"2016 brought some challenges for us with diesel car ban in Delhi and demonetisation also had short term impact on sales. Despite all these, we sold 13,231 cars in India in the last year, maintaining the sales volume of the previous year," said car maker's VP (sales and marketing) Michael Jopp.

He also said that considering the challenges that the car maker had faced in 2016, it did well. However, the sales volume in the last year declined by 1.8 percent compared to sales in the previous year.

Jopp said demonetisation had impacted its sales in the month of November but later it bounced back. "November sales were bad as the demonetisation created uncertainty in the market. The period was not that long and in December, we saw bounce back, otherwise, we would not be able to sell excess of 13,000 cars," he said.

In the luxury segment, the German car maker has a market share about 45 percent.

"We have been the number one in the (luxury) segment and expanded our margin by more than 40 percent over the next largest competitor in the segment in the last year," Jopp said, adding that aggressive product expansions, offering petrol and diesel variant across models, widening of the network contributed to the robust sales in the last year.

"Currently, the car maker has about 89 outlets across 41 cities," he said at the launch of new E-Class sedan here.

According to company official, the E-class sedan which is the India's highest selling luxury car comprises of about 34 percent of the total cars sold by it in India till date.

"We have received more than 500 bookings for the new car within a week," he said.

On the impact of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, Jopp said: "In the GST regime, we are likely to fall in the highest bracket (of GST rates). We urged for lower tax for our cars. At this point of time, it is speculation unless the final rates are announced."

"We hope the GST will be implemented in July and it is likely to create some uncertainty in the market but hopefully, it (uncertainty) will be removed as quickly as possible," he added.

--IANS

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Nineteen years ago, Sonal Sharma's two-year-old daughter Gungun was diagnosed with blood cancer and treated for over two years at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

After the ordeal, Sharma's husband Anurag told her that at that stage they could simply go home and thank God for giving them their daughter back, or resolve to stay with other parents like them. The couple chose the latter option.

It was then that Sharma resolved to share the burden of other mothers, like her, in helping their children fight cancer.

"During the course of my daughter's treatment, I could not find even one parent who could hold my hand, and assure that everything would be fine," said Sharma.

Sharma co-founded NGO Cankids Kidscan with Poonam Bagai, a former bureaucrat and a cancer survivor herself, in January 2004 under the umbrella of the Indian Cancer Society.

It was on International Women's Day in March that year that Sharma proposed the creation of a Parent Support Group (PSG) - parents helping parents - for emotional support, guidance, showing the way in hospitals and holding the hand of another.

Rekha, who's son Anuj was also treated at AIIMS, and Shiela, who's son Yash was treated at the same time as Gungun but succumbed to the disease, were the first members of the PSG, recalled Sharma.

Both of them had limited education but had huge amounts of compassion and commitment, she said.

"Not only was I able to hold out a helping hand myself, I also led others to do that. Cankids PSG was a vehicle that enabled us to channelise the emotions of our own journeys and walk with other mothers through their journeys," she said.

"Our aim was to help mothers double up as social workers. They have their own experience, they know the hospital and its facilities and how to use the resources available. We train them and empower them with counselling and listening skills," said Sharma.

"We reimburse them for their transport and out of pocket expenses and as they learn and are able to give more time they progress to becoming employees of Cankids and members of the Social Support Team as patient navigators."

"Today we have 320 members across the country," said Sucheta Sohal, programme manager and mother of 10-year-old Pratik who completed his cancer treatment last year.

"A whopping 95 percent of this group are women," said Sharma.

Doctor Amita Mahajan, senior paediatric oncologist, and Pratik's treating doctor, said: "I encouraged Sucheta to join Cankids and the PSG. It is the mothers who stay with the children through the long cancer treatment. They are the most affected, they need the maximum help."

"I have seen Sonal and her team build up the group. Sucheta wanted to do something to give back to the cause and is already a strong professional woman," said Mahajan.

On the International Women's Day Mar 8, Cankids PSG was rechristened as "Path Pradarshak Parivarik Sahayak Group - P3SG" and all its members were honoured.

Usha Rani, 60, an unlettered woman, is one of the PSG volunteers who was rewarded.

"I never imagined that I will need to go to a hospital, stand in a line, and get my daughter treated alone, without any support," she said.

Usha Rani's daughter Neha was diagnosed with cancer in 2005. During the course of her treatment, CanKids helped the family in getting expensive medicines and other treatment support.

After Neha lost the battle against cancer, Usha Rani emerged from the low, to give back, and work for other children with cancer.

Now, Usha Rani works continuously without a break, running from one hospital to another, and acting as back-up for many people.

"I have acquired such confidence. I am able to talk to anyone - form the senior doctors to the cleaners. They respect us for where we come from and what we are doing," said Usha Rani.

Cankids Chairman Poonam Bagai said: "The Cankids PSG model is a low-cost strategy?.

?We try to add two PSG members for every one social worker in each of our team in a hospital."

Kapil Chawla, Cancer Survivor and Advocacy Officer of Cankids, said: "A PSG gives hope to mothers that their child can be cured and helps members of the group earn a livelihood."

Cankids Kidscan is a national society which works for children with cancer through 45 centres spread across the country. It helps bridge the gap between needy cancer patients and paediatric cancer units and extends financial support.

Cancer kills as many as 264 children per week in the country. As many as 13,726 deaths due to childhood cancer occurred in India in 2010, out of which is 0.7 percent of deaths were among those aged 1 month to 14 years.

(Anjali Madan can be contacted at anjalimadan79@gmail.com)

--IANS

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Kim Davis is the Focus of Oral Arguments Today

Contact: Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Media@LC.org; Press Kit



CINCINNATI, Ohio, March 8, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Today Liberty Counsel will present oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit urging against the reinstatement of Ermold v. Davis. This case was dismissed with two other marriage license lawsuits that were filed against Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis in 2015, including Miller v. Davis, which led to Davis spending six days in jail as a prisoner of conscience. The dismissal delivered Davis a decisive victory in her fight for religious freedom. But eighteen months after Davis's time in jailand with a marriage license already in handthese plaintiffs are still attempting to punish Davis for living out her faith.

Two years ago, David Ermold and other plaintiffs sued Davis when she refused to violate her conscience by adding her name and authority to marriage licenses being issued to same-sex couples. After her time in jail, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed an executive order creating a new marriage license form that does not require a county clerk's name and title. The Kentucky General Assembly unanimously made Governor Bevin's accommodation permanent in the Kentucky statutes. Then the trial court dismissed all three 2015 marriage license cases in their entirety, finding nothing left for the court to decide. Today's argument is regarding the Ermold plaintiffs' appeal of that dismissal last year.

Two days ago, on March 6, Judge Edward Atkins issued an order denying the outrageous request of the Miller v. Davis plaintiffs for $231,000 in attorney's fees from Davis. The judge ruled that they were not the "prevailing parties" and were not entitled to any money from Davis.

"The Ermold plaintiffs are not satisfied with the marriage license they received while Kim Davis was in jail," said Roger Gannam, Liberty Counsel's Assistant Vice President of Legal Affairs. "Their vain claims for money and attention were rightfully dismissed," Gannam continued, "and the court should deny their vindictive attempt to take away the religious liberty victory Kim Davis secured for all Americans who want to perform public service without giving up their constitutional rights."
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of IANS Executive Editor Arvind Padmanabhan, describing it as a "huge loss to the fraternity".

"Saddened by the sudden and untimely demise of veteran and seasoned journalist Arvind Padmanabhan. Huge loss to the fraternity. May God give strength to his family," Naidu tweeted.

Padmanabhan died of cardiac arrest here early on Wednesday at the Holy Family Hospital. He would have turned 50 next month.

He is survived by his mother Shanta, wife Ponna and daughter Tara.

His father was the late G. Padmanabhan, who worked for many years with the Press Institute of India and the Indian & Eastern Newspapers Society (IENS, now INS).

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bringing more Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) online can increase their contribution to India's GDP by 10 percentage points, taking it up to 46-48 per cent by 2020, according to findings of a joint Google-KPMG study shared on Wednesday.

The study said 68 per cent of the 51 million Indian SMBs are offline. Only 32 per cent have web presence of any sort.

SMBs will be key driver of India's economic growth, currently accounting for 37 per cent of the GDP and employing 120 million people, it said.

It also revealed that going digital can double the profits of SMBs compared to those offline. Likewise, digitally-engaged businesses are able to grow their customer base significantly, with 52 per cent catering to customers beyond their home city versus only 29 per cent offline SMBs.

The findings of the study, titled "Impact of Internet and Digitization on SMBs in India", were shared by Google at first "Digital Unlocked" training held for local small and medium businesses here.

The search engine giant showcased a range of its programmes and products to enable Indian SMBs leverage the power of technology.

Rajan Anandan, Google's Vice President, India and South East Asia, said with 400 million internet users, India is the second largest internet community in the world while the US is a distant third with 300 million.

Over 300 million Indians access internet over smartphones.

He noted that internet eco-system witnessed dramatic change in last 8-10 months with the country moving from slow to high speed connectivity.

Rajan said the incredible growth is bringing huge opportunities to Indian consumers and businesses and the long-term prospects look exciting.

He said that Google's mission in India is that "internet for every Indian". It will be focused on getting next billion users online.

The company has identified barriers and addressing them to ensure internet access to every Indian. It has taken several initiatives, like high-speed WiFi at railway stations.

Kevin O'Kane, Managing Director, Google Marketing Solutions, Google Asia Pacific, said for SMBs, technology can be a powerful enabler to build their voices online, make them discoverable by users and provide insights that lead to real business results.

Digital Unlocked is an online and offline and mobile training programme to empower SMBs with digital skills. The offline training is conducted in partnership with Ficci and over next three years, 5,000 workshops will be held across 40 Indian cities.

The online training comprises a set of 90 self-paced video tutorials, curated specifically for India, and is available free of charge at g.co/digitalunlocked. The trainings are certified by Google, Indian School of Business and Ficci.

Since its launch in January this year, Google has hosted Digital Unlocked workshops in five Indian cities and trained over 4,000 businesses.

Kevin said Google recently launched "Primer", a free mobile app to teach digital marketing skills. It also works offline and is available in English and Hindi. It will soon be available in Tamil, Telugu and Marathi languages. In the last two months, Primer has been downloaded over 550,000 times.

Google also previewed "My Business Website", aimed at equipping SMBs with a simple way to create free mobile-optimised website.

It also announced the launch of "SMB Heroes", a nationwide programme designed to recognise and celebrate SMBs that have embraced digital to grow their businesses.

SMBs can submit their nominations till April 24 on SMB Heroes website for their categories -- business innovation through digital, impacting change through digital and woman business leader.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attended the 116th meeting of the Somnath Temple trust at Somnath in Gujarat, official sources said.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister suggested that the temple precincts be upgraded to provide drinking water and other civic amenities apart from ensuring greenry.

Somnath Temple, one of the leading temples of India, is situated at Prabhas Patan near Veraval in the Gir Somnath district of Gujarat.

Modi also suggested to the trust to make efforts to make Veraval and Prabhas Patan towns cashless and organise special 'mahotsavas' (festivals) across major cities in the country.

The temple trustees decided to let former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel be its chairman for the current year.

It is the first time since 1978 when a serving Prime Minister has attended the trust meeting. The then Prime Minister Morarji Desai was a member of the Somnath Trust.

Wednesday's meeting was attended by veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani, BJP President Amit Shah, Keshubhai Patel, P.K. Laheri, J.D. Parmar and Harsh Neotia.

--IANS

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A polling official, wounded in a bomb blast near the India-Myarnmar border in Manipur's Kamjong district, died on Wednesday.

K. Raikalung, a teacher, was injured in Tuesday's bomb explosion near Ashang Khullen village. The government has given an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the bereaved family.

A 31 Assam Rifles' trooper was wounded when a bomb was hurled by miscreants on Tuesday evening in Aishi village of the same district.

The injured trooper was part of a road-opening party. He is now admitted at the Army Hospital in Leimakhong here.

No underground outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The police said security personnel retaliated after both the incidents, but the unidentified militants escaped in the high mountains.

Highly-placed sources said the objective of the blasts was to kill security personnel and snatch their weapons.

--IANS

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Pradeep Nair, who previously headed then US President Bill Clinton's Climate Initiative in India, was on Wednesday named The Ford Foundation regional director for its office serving India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

"A seasoned public and private sector leader, Nair brings deep regional expertise and more than 20 years of experience building partnerships among government, corporate, philanthropic, and civil society partners in the dynamic South Asia region," a Ford Foundation statement said.

Nair will guide the foundation's operations in New Delhi with a staff of more than 30. "Following a period of renewal, he assumes leadership over a revised program focus that represents a fresh start for the foundation and its recently registered branch office," the statement added.

Nair's global experience and leadership "and his expertise in building partnerships in the region will be a great asset as our work in South Asia enters a new chapter," said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation.

Nair joins the Ford Foundation with an impressive record of guiding the growth and development of regional institutions. As India country director of the US-based Institute for Sustainable Communities, he established the organisation's India office and was instrumental in forming strong relationships with the Indian government, the private sector and NGO communities across Asia.

As head of Clinton's Climate Initiative in India, Nair "helped to grow the regional chapter of the global cities network, chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He also helped to foster the first investments in clean energy by India's large state governments, and advised national government agencies on key health and environmental policies. The success of this work was highlighted by President Clinton at the United Nation", the statement said.

Nair has taught development project financing at business schools in India and mentored entrepreneurs in engineering colleges. He most recently served as programme director of the US-based Volcker Alliance, where he played a critical role in shaping the organisation's mission and drove partnerships with government to improve public sector effectiveness.

Nair holds an MBA in finance from Karnataka University, an engineering degree in electronics from Bharathiar University, and has also studied filmmaking. He began his career with the management consulting firm Deloitte in Silicon Valley.

--IANS

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President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday congratulated the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, for figuring in the list of top 10 institutions in the "Best Small Universities" category of the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings 2017.

In a message to Professor Anurag Kumar, Director, IISc-Bangalore, the President said: "Please accept my hearty congratulations on your Institute having entered into the list of top 10 institutions in the 'Best Small Universities' category of the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings 2017."

"Kindly convey my sincere compliments to the entire faculty, staff and students of your esteemed Institute for having responded to my repeated calls to strive to be amongst the top institutions of higher learning in the world," he added.

Mukherjee said that the achievement reaffirmed his belief that Indian institutions are not lacking in merit and can be amongst the best in the world.

"I am confident your institution will continue to strive and achieve greater and greater heights in the future," he said.

--IANS

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President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for gender equality and equal opportunities for women as International Women's Day was celebrated across India on Wednesday.

The President presented Nari Shakti Puruskars for the year 2016, and said it is inexcusable that women in India do not feel as secure and safe as they should.

"Government is equally concerned at the rising rate of violent crimes against women," he said.

"It is inexcusable that women in India do not feel as secure and safe as they should. Gender biases have no place in modern India where inclusive development is a key objective," the President said, pitching for early sensitisation of youth in schools and institutions.

"A greater emphasis on early sensitisation of children and youth in schools and institutions of higher learning would help inculcate due respect for the female gender. This should be taken up through appropriate measures in our rural and urban populations and through well-conceived and coherent government programmes," he added.

Mukherjee said that on the International Women's Day, it is "important to reiterate that every girl child and woman in our country should be assured that Government of India is fully committed to providing her an enabling environment that affords equal opportunity".

Prime Minister Modi also lauded woman power, and said: "Saluting the indomitable spirit, determination and dedication of Nari Shakti on International Women's Day."

Later, at a conclave of women village heads in Gandhinagar, the Prime Minister said gender discrimination should not be accepted.

"A discriminatory mindset cannot be accepted. We are seeing how girls are shining in the board exams and in so many other areas," he said.

At the same event, however, a woman was dragged out of the event venue by women SPG commandos when, protesting against the prevailing situation of women, she tried to reach the podium where the Prime Minister and others were sitting.

Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, meanwhile, had a different suggestion.

At an award function to celebrate International Women's Day, she suggested to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that there should be one day dedicated to men.

"The Delhi Chief Minister has taken so many initiatives. He should now start a men's day in the state," she said at Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Annual Awards, where Kejriwal was present.

Kejriwal had earlier on Wednesday advised Modi to unfollow those who threaten and abuse women on social media.

"Happy Women's Day to all. On this day, I urge the Prime Minister to unfollow all those who abuse and threaten women and (urge) take strong action against them," Kejriwal said in a tweet on Wednesday morning.

Maneka Gandhi also urged the women in the country to join the WCD Ministry's "I am equal" campaign on Twitter.

"We should start by saying -- I am equal -- and I am sure there will be equality one day," she said.

--IANS

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Mumbai motorwoman Mumtaz M. Kazi, who shot to fame as Asias first diesel engine driver three years ago, was among the seven top women from different fields honoured with this years "Nari Shakti Award" by President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday.

Kazi, 45, who has been driving different types of trains, is presently a motorwoman piloting suburban locals trains of Central Railway on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus-Thane section - which is also India's first and most congested railway route now.

Hailing from an orthodox Muslim family, she has been a train engine driver since nearly 25 years now, inspiring millions of women in the country, said a CR official.

However, the going was not easy for the girl who passed out in 1989 from the Seth Anandilal Podar High School, Santacruz suburb, and applied for a railway job.

The first person to resist was none other than her father, Allarakhu Ismail Kathawala, a senior railway employee, but some family friends and rail officials convinced him to let Mumtaz pursue her unusual dream.

She went onto earn accolades for her achievements and her family, earning awards and honours from all over the country and today her entire family is extremely proud of her.

Married to an electrical engineer, Maqsood Kazi of Nandurbar, Mumtaz lives in Sion with her family comprising 14-year-old son Tausif and 11-year-son daughter Fateen who study at the nearby Our Lady of Good Counsel High School.

--IANS

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Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput on Tuesday rubbished rumours that his upcoming film "Raabta" is "visually" inspired in parts by Hollywood blockbuster "300".

At the launch of a new campaign, "Behtar India" by NDTV and DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance, the actor who plays the lead in the romantic drama said, "No it isn't inspired."

Industry hearsay is that Dinesh Vijan's "Raabta" that travels between two eras seeks inspiration from Hollywood fantasy war drama "300".

"I do films because I love acting. You put me on stage and give me just Rs 500 I would love to act. Even if I can't do theatre I can gladly do short films. Acting is something else for me," the "Kai Po Che!" actor said about his passion for acting.

Brand ambassador, Sushant Singh Rajput also spoke about "Behtar India" Campaign that aims at mobilising students, ordinary citizens and corporates to join a nationwide movement that focuses on health, hygiene, and environment.

"When you become a popular face and people start giving attention on what you say or do then it is important to do things that you are convinced with. That's why I am associated with this campaign. I think this is high time for all of us to understand how important it is," he stated.

"Raabta" also stars Kriti Sanon in the lead role and it's scheduled to release on June 9.

--IANS

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Uphaar theatre owner Gopal Ansal, who was asked to surrender to undergo the remaining part of his sentence for the 1997 fire tragedy, failed to get any relief from the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi refused to extend the date for surrender and posted the matter for Thursday. Gopal Ansal was to surrender by March 9 to serve the remaining seven months in jail as he has been in prison for four months previously.

Gopal Ansal is the co-accused along with his brother Sushil Ansal in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy case of 1997 in which 59 persons were killed.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani requested the court to postpone the hearing in the case after the nine-day Holi break and till then Gopal Ansal's surrender date be extended.

The bench denied Jethmalai's request, and said the matter would be heard on Thursday.

Arguing that he does not want to undergo the remaining part of his one-year sentence, Gopal Ansal had moved the court seeking parity with elder brother Sushil Ansal, who was let off with the sentence he has already served.

Senior advocate K.T.S. Tulsi, appearing for the Association for Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), opposed Gopal Ansal's plea. The lawyer said review pleas of the CBI and the association have already been decided and there cannot be a review of the review judgement.

The apex court on February 9 sentenced the builder to one year in jail. He said the court could not deny him the same relief extended to Sushil Ansal because his medical condition too was equally precarious.

Sushil Ansal's age and ailments were taken into consideration while not sending him to prison. Gopal Ansal sought modification of the order which asked him to serve the remaining sentence, citing his hearing impairment due to which he claimed he has fainted several times.

Expressing "genuine remorse" for those who died in the "unfortunate tragedy", Gopal Ansal contended that he had borne the punishment more than he deserved.

The court had said that since Gopal Ansal, 69, did not suffer any age-related complications, as was the case with Sushil Ansal, 77, there could be no principle of parity and he must spend one year in prison.

The Ansals, who co-owned the Uphaar cinema in south Delhi, were held guilty of "criminal negligence" but escaped jail terms beyond a few months after the top court's 2015 order.

A huge fire broke out at Uphaar when Hindi movie "Border" was being screened on June 13, 1997. Trapped inside, 59 persons died of asphyxia and over 100 were injured in a stampede.

--IANS

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Judicial Watch Sues CIA for Unclassified 2015 Report Assessing Russia's Interference in Foreign Elections Contact: Brandon Cockerham, Judicial Watch , 202-646-5172



Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit for the report after the CIA failed to respond to a December 14, 2016, FOIA request. The agency's response was due by January 24, 2017 at the latest.



On December 13, 2016, WASHINGTON, March 8, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) seeking an unclassified report assessing Russia's interference in foreign elections ( Judicial Watch v. Central Intelligence Agency (No. 1:17-cv-00414)). The lawsuit follows on the heels of a separate Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit for documents about the Obama administration's surveillance and related leaks of top Trump associate and former national security adviser Gen. Mike Flynn.Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit for the report after the CIA failed to respond to a December 14, 2016, FOIA request. The agency's response was due by January 24, 2017 at the latest.On December 13, 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that since 2015 Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, "has been pushing for the unclassified version of a report assessing Moscow's interference in foreign elections, particularly across Europe." The Wall Street Journal further reports: The White House already released a classified version of the assessment but Mr. Turner has been pushing for the unclassified version, which would be releasable to the public, he said. Mr. Turner sent the White House a letter  demanding for the unclassified version of the report.



"The fact that the administration is picking and choosing the information it releases and who they release it to ought to give everybody concern that the administration is manipulating this," he said.



The report is critical for a better understanding of what Moscow is up to in elections overseas, he said. Mr. Turner said the Obama administration is cherry picking what it releases.



"The illegal secrecy on the Obama administration's anti-Trump Russia 'investigations' must end," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "This report about Russia's influence operations in Europe must not be helpful to the Obama's anti-Trump Russia narrative  otherwise we wouldn't have to sue in federal court to get it." MORE: MORE: www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-sues-cia-unclassified-2015-report-assessing-russias-interference-foreign-elections

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US Senator Tim Kaine's 24-year-old son was one of the five people arrested for protesting against US President Donald Trump in Minnesota, a media report said on Wednesday.

According to a report in Pioneer Press, Linwood Michael Kaine, Tim Kaine's youngest son, was released on Tuesday from the Ramsey County Jail where he was kept after he was arrested on Saturday.

The group allegedly invaded a pro-Trump demonstration at the Minnesota state capitol. The group set off a smoke bomb, blew air horns, chanted and whistled. The five were arrested on suspicion of second-degree rioting.

Linwood Kaine said that an officer chased him down but was unsuccessful. He was later sprayed with a chemical irritant and struck by an officer's knee before finally being apprehended and arrested.

The senator later issued a statement: "We love that our children have their own views and concerns about current political issues. They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully."

Tim Kaine served as Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 presidential election, chosen for his moderate appeal and experience as Virginia's governor, lieutenant governor and mayor of Richmond, Virginia.

--IANS

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Senior Shiv Sena leader and former college Principal Vishwanath P. Mahadeshwar was on Wednesday elected the 76th Mayor of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, the country's biggest and the richest civic body.

He defeated his lone opponent, Congresss' Vithhal Lokare, by bagging 171 votes against his rival's 31 in the 227-member BMC house.

A former principal of Raje Sambhaji Vidyalaya and Junior College in Santacruz East, Mahadeshwar, 56, is a three-time municipal corporator from Bandra.

With his election, the Shiv Sena's hold over the Mayor's post continues for the fifth consecutive term.

Earlier on WEdnesday afternoon, Mahadeshwar secured the vote easily, as members of the Sena's former ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) voted in his favour.

However, the opposition Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's seven corporators remained absent from the house and Samajwadi Party's six corporators were present but abstained from voting.

Earlier efforts by the opposition to unite with a common agenda of defeating the BJP failed to materialise following Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' announcement four days ago that he was withdrawing his party from the mayoral race.

Present during the election were outgoing Mayor Snehal Ambekar, as well as Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and other senior leaders and officials.

The voting was preceeded by a massive show of strength, singing, dancing and music by the Shiv Sena activists outside the BMC headquarters in south Mumbai, but inside the house, the party voice was drowned by BJP corporators' thunderous chants of "Modi, Modi".

Four days back, the BJP abruptly withdrew from the mayoral race and decided to keep away from any other post like Deputy Mayor, or other major committees or sit in the opposition in the BMC.

The BMC elections last month threw a sharply fractured verdict, with the Shiv Sena emerging as the single largest party with 84 corporators, followed closely by the BJP second with 82. The Congress won 31 seats, NCP nine, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena seven, Samajwadi Party six, AIMIM two, Akhil Bharatiya Sena just one, and Independents five seats.

--IANS

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Never let anyone tell you who you can be, actress Priyanka Chopra told all the girls around the world on the occasion of International Women's Day on Wednesday.

"The one big message I give young girls all around the world and especially young girls in India is? never let anyone tell you who you can be. And what you need to be. And who you should be," Priyanka said.

The former Miss World, who has been roped in as the global ambassador of hair care brand Pantene, sent out the message through a special video for the brand on Wednesday, read a statement.

Priyanka, who is earning recognition for her work internationally courtesy her American show "Quantico", added that "for centuries girls have been told how they need to act, what they need to wear and what they need to dress like" and it is time for girls to take their own calls.

"You decide. You figure your future. You decide what is important for you in life," she added.

Actress Nimrat Kaur also had a message when she quoted poet Maya Angelo and said: "You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise."

With the message, she put out her first look as an Army officer in Ekta Kapoor's new web series for digital app ALT Balaji.

--IANS

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A Thai teenager, who came to take admission in a local school, died while two of his fellow applicants fell seriously ill after food poisoning in West Bengal's Darjeeling district on Wednesday, police said.

According to sources, the Thai nationals were staying with their respective families at the Cochrane Resort in West Bengal's hill station Kurseong since Tuesday.

"Koetsirikuwong, 15, suddenly fell ill on Wednesday possibly from food poisoning. The youth was taken to Kurseong hospital where he was declared dead," said Asit Biswas, Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) of Darjeeling district.

"Two more Thai boys named Archavapong Artaumbauy, 14 and Pakin Tsantsirametkakul, 14, who were staying in the same resort, also fell ill," the officer said.

Police said they have started a case of unnatural death after the incident.

"The body of the deceased has been sent to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri for the autopsy," police said.

--IANS

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Sirshendu PanthBureau Chief, IANS, Kolkata.

Indo-Asian News Service

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US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to discuss areas of mutual interests between the two countries, a media report said on Wednesday.

A White House statement said the two leaders discussed a range of issues like bilateral trade, investments and counter-terrorism on Tuesday evening, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two leaders discussed economic partnership and mutual dedication to overcome terrorism and other regional security challenges through close cooperation, according to the statement.

"President Trump expressed appreciation for Kenya's significant contributions to the African Union Mission in Somalia and recognised Kenyan troops' sacrifices in the fight against al-Shabaab," it said.

The two leaders also discussed ways to boost bilateral trade and investments in Kenya and the broader East Africa regional situation, it added.

--IANS

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At least two persons were killed and 23 injured when three explosions rocked a military hospital here on Wednesday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

The first blast took place around 9 a.m at the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in Wazir Akbar Khan area, where several government agencies and embassies are located, and was followed by another.

The third bombing came around 10.45 a.m. when army helicopters were hovering over the building.

At least five suicide bombers were involved in the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.

The IS claimed responsibility of the attack on its Amaq news agency, Tolo News reported.

President Ashraf Ghani said the attack "trampled all human values".

"In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan," Ghani said as per the BBC.

"I saw one of the suicide bombers who wore the doctors' uniform and opened fire. I managed to escape from the area," a doctor told TOLO News.

Another hospital staff member wrote on Facebook: "Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us."

Afghanistan's Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the attack and vowed to "avenge the blood of our people".

The injured were admitted to Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, Khaama Press quoted Ismahil Kawosi, a Health Ministry spokesman, as saying.

Afghan Crisis Respond Unit (CRU) forces were at the site and still engaged with the attackers, a security source said.

Meanwhile, the NATO-led Resolute Support coalition forces said they "stand ready to assist Afghan security services".

The 400-bed hospital, which is located in the diplomatic district near the US embassy, is the main and largest army hospital in the country.

--IANS

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At least two persons were killed and 12 injured when three explosions rocked a military hospital here on Wednesday.

The blast took place around 9 a.m at the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in Wazir Akbar Khan area, where several government agencies and embassies are located. It was followed by another explosion.

The third bombing came around 10.45 a.m. when army helicopters were hovering over the building.

At least five suicide bombers were involved in the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I saw one of the suicide bombers who wore the doctors' uniform and opened fire. I managed to escape from the area," a doctor told TOLO News.

The injured were admitted to Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, Khaama Press quoted Ismahil Kawosi, a Health Ministry spokesman, as saying.

Afghan Crisis Respond Unit (CRU) forces were at the site and still engaged with the attackers, a security source said.

Meanwhile, the NATO-led Resolute Support coalition forces said they "stand ready to assist Afghan security services".

The 400-bed hospital, which is located in the diplomatic district near the US embassy, is the main and largest army hospital in the country.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

--IANS

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Veteran journalist Arvind Padmanabhan, an Executive Editor at IANS, died of cardiac arrest here early on Wednesday.

Padmanabhan, who would have turned 50 next month, breathed his last at the Holy Family Hospital.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu said he was "saddened by the sudden and untimely demise of veteran and seasoned journalist Arvind Padmanabhan".

Naidu tweeted that it was a "huge loss to the fraternity".

Padmanabhan is survived by his mother Shanta, wife Ponna and daughter Tara.

His father was the late G. Padmanabhan, who worked for many years with the Press Institute of India and the Indian & Eastern Newspapers Society (IENS, now INS).

Arvind Padmanabhan was born in 1967 at Tirunelveli, Tamul Nadu.

He was widely admired in the journalistic community for the thoroughness he displayed in reporting, writing and editing.

Padmanabhan had a long inning at IANS, joining the India Abroad newspaper that was then part of the wire service in 1999 as in-charge of its Business Section.

He steadily took on greater responsibilities in the news agency, first assuming charge of the Business Bureau of the wire service and subsequently rising to become, first, the Business Editor of IANS and then the Bureau Chief.

He was soon elevated as the Executive Editor and headed the business and economy team.

He was earlier with the PTI, The Times of India and TV18.

Padmanabhan till the end remained a simple and unassuming person and always a friend to his juniors.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Veteran journalist Arvind Padmanabhan, Executive Editor at IANS, died of cardiac arrest here early on Wednesday.

Padmanabhan, who would have turned 50 next month, breathed his last at the Holy Family Hospital.

He was cremated in the evening at Sheikh Sarai cremation ground in the presence of family members and a large number of friends and persons.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu said he was "saddened by the sudden and untimely demise of veteran and seasoned journalist Arvind Padmanabhan".

Naidu tweeted that it was a "huge loss to the fraternity".

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore also paid his tributes to Padmanabhan.

"Shocked and saddened by the demise of IANS executive editor & veteran journalist Arvind Padmanabhan. May God grant strength to the family," Rathore said in his tweet.

Padmanabhan is survived by his mother Shanta, wife Ponna and daughter Tara.

His father was the late G. Padmanabhan, who worked for many years with the Press Institute of India and the Indian & Eastern Newspapers Society (IENS, now INS).

Arvind Padmanabhan was born in 1967 at Tirunelveli, Tamul Nadu.

He was widely admired in the journalistic community for the thoroughness he displayed in reporting, writing and editing.

Padmanabhan had a long inning at IANS, joining the India Abroad newspaper that was then part of the wire service in 1999 as in-charge of its Business Section.

He steadily took on greater responsibilities in the news agency, first assuming charge of the Business Bureau of the wire service and subsequently rising to become, first, the Business Editor of IANS and then the Bureau Chief.

He was soon elevated as the Executive Editor and headed the business and economy team.

He was earlier with the PTI, The Times of India and TV18.

Padmanabhan till the end remained a simple and unassuming person and always a friend to his juniors.

Frank Noronha, Principal Director General of Press Information Bureau, also paid his tribute to Padmanabhan.

"Condole the untimely passing away of Arvind Padmanabhan, seasoned journalist. May God give his family the strength to"bear this great loss," Noronha said in a tweet.

--IANS

sar-ps/vd/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rome, March 8 (IANS/AKI) Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday deplored violence against women calling it a "scourge that can corrode countries and societies from within".

"Racism, crime, marginalisation, poverty, sexual and domestic violence are scourges that can corrode countries and societies from within," Mattarella said in an address to mark International Women's Day.

"They represent a threat to peace.

"We need peace in our streets, our neighbourhoods, our schools and indeed in our institutions," he added.

His remarks came as Italian trade unions called a general strike on Wednesday in protest at violence and discrimination towards women including low pay and scant childcare.

"Women's employment, population growth and the education of children are crucial for a society and its economic growth," Mattarella said.

The state must ensure women are able to successfully combine a career with raising a family,

he said, urging men to take a step back and to "listen to women more".

"We should be able to take a fresh look at ourselves and to set aside our preconceptions," Mattarella underlined.

--IANS/AKI

vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Malteser International Americas to Lead Panel on Global Refugee Crisis at the United Nations



NEW YORK, March 7, 2017 /



The panel entitled, "Women Caught in the Global Refugee Crisis: Finding Hope and Opportunity in Despair" will take place at the Ex-Press Bar at the UN (3rd Flr. NW corner of the General Assembly Building), and is scheduled during the UN 61st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.



Heading up the panel are: Ravi Tripptrap, Executive Director, Malteser International Americas; Ninette Kelley, Director of the New York Office, United Nations High Commission on Refugees; H.E. Mr. Odo Tevi, Ambassador of Vanuatu to the United Nations; James Wiley, COO, Counter Human Trafficking Compliance Solutions; and Amal, a female refugee.



These global humanitarian leaders will offer a hard look into the world of female refugees, present their experience empowering refugee women, and sharing their global relief efforts and solutions, which lead to opportunity and hope for women in countries most challenged with refugees and internally displaced people (IDP).



Malteser International's empowering Cash-for-Work program in Middle Eastern Refugee Camps will be highlighted. The program offers trainings and cash-for-work for unskilled females, while offering renewed stability, better livelihoods and stronger family structure.



"Each woman in a refugee camp has a deeply personal story, which is oftentimes accompanied by unconscionable tragedy. Many have lost children and family members. The lives of these mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives are filled with anguish, and their dignity has been stripped from them. Malteser International's Cash-for-Work program empowers women and offers them a life-saving opportunity to create stability and normalcy for themselves --and their families-- within the camps," said Ravi Tripptrap, Executive Director, Malteser International Americas.



The panel is open to public, and interested attendees must RSVP ASAP, or by March 17th, and include their full name, contact information, and confirmation of attendance in an email to:

Share Tweet Contact: Jill Watson, 305-448-5111NEW YORK, March 7, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- On International Women's Day, Malteser International Americas, an affiliate of Malteser International, the humanitarian relief agency of the Order of Malta, today announced that it will lead a side-panel at the United Nations (UN) on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., centered on helping women to find hope and opportunity in the midst of the global refugee crisis.The panel entitled, "Women Caught in the Global Refugee Crisis: Finding Hope and Opportunity in Despair" will take place at the Ex-Press Bar at the UN (3rd Flr. NW corner of the General Assembly Building), and is scheduled during the UN 61st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.Heading up the panel are: Ravi Tripptrap, Executive Director, Malteser International Americas; Ninette Kelley, Director of the New York Office, United Nations High Commission on Refugees; H.E. Mr. Odo Tevi, Ambassador of Vanuatu to the United Nations; James Wiley, COO, Counter Human Trafficking Compliance Solutions; and Amal, a female refugee.These global humanitarian leaders will offer a hard look into the world of female refugees, present their experience empowering refugee women, and sharing their global relief efforts and solutions, which lead to opportunity and hope for women in countries most challenged with refugees and internally displaced people (IDP).Malteser International's empowering Cash-for-Work program in Middle Eastern Refugee Camps will be highlighted. The program offers trainings and cash-for-work for unskilled females, while offering renewed stability, better livelihoods and stronger family structure."Each woman in a refugee camp has a deeply personal story, which is oftentimes accompanied by unconscionable tragedy. Many have lost children and family members. The lives of these mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives are filled with anguish, and their dignity has been stripped from them. Malteser International's Cash-for-Work program empowers women and offers them a life-saving opportunity to create stability and normalcy for themselves --and their families-- within the camps," said Ravi Tripptrap, Executive Director, Malteser International Americas.The panel is open to public, and interested attendees must RSVP ASAP, or by March 17th, and include their full name, contact information, and confirmation of attendance in an email to: contact@malteser-international.org . Registration/sign-up for this event is required due to limited seating capacity.
A young woman from Uttar Pradesh was gagged and whisked away by police when she raised slogans near the podium where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing a gathering of women panchayat members on International Women's Day here on Wednesday.

Hours earlier, two gangrape victims and an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activist were taken into preventive custody by the Gujarat Police before they could make a representation before the Prime <inister, even as a group of women Congress members were detained at the party office that was cordoned off.

At the women sarpanches convention at Mahatma Gandhi Mandir in Gandhinagar, Shalini Singh, an elected sarpanch from Uttar Pradesh's Thora village of Gautam Buddha Nagar district was dragged out of the auditorium by security personnel who covered her mouth to prevent her from talking.

She later told reporters that she was seeking the Prime Minister's intervention about development in her village which was being ignored.

"I just wanted to personally put forth demands before the PM as neither the state government nor the central government has been heeding to our request for the last two years," said Shalini Singh, who has an MA and B.Ed degrees.

At the function to felicitate woman sarpanches for implementing cleanliness drive in their respective villages, Modi called upon them to work on the issues of education, female foeticide, gender equity, other than cleanliness drive.

He said that the era of husbands of female sarpanches dominating polity in the rural India was on decline as women were getting educated and empowered. Over 6000 women sarpanches from across the country attended the event.

Earlier in the day, AAP's woman volunteer Vandana Patel, who has been carrying out a campaign against what she describes as increasing cases of atrocities against women in Gujarat, had planned to take along with her the victims of Naliya and Mandvi gang rape cases of Kutch district, allegedly involving some office-bearers of Kutch district BJP to make representation to the Prime Minister.

All three were taken into preventive detention by police before they could reach the venue.

The victim of the Naliya gang rape was rounded up by the police when she was trying to board an Ahmedabad-bound state transport bus from Bhuj, Kutch's district headquarters.

While Patel was detained by before she could reach the venue, the woman sarpanch of Mandvi, who is also a victim of gang rape, managed to address a press conference at Bopal in Ahmedabad. However, she too was taken away by police to an undisclosed location.

--IANS

desai/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A large crowd of protesters of a Left-wing feminist group marched in this Philippine capital city on Wednesday on the occasion of the International Women's Day and burnt the US flag with President Donald Trump's face printed on it.

About 200 people, mostly women, gathered here and headed for the US Embassy in a march organised by the Gabriela group, Efe news reported.

Some carried a wide American flag, supported by poles, on which US President Donald Trump's face was printed along with the phrase "Liberalisation, deregulation, privatization". They later burned the flag.

Their targeting of the US Embassy was motivated by opposition to Trump's controversial policies on immigration, which some of the protesters said affects Filipino women and mothers living in the US, and also makes it harder for people to visit family in that country.

Many protesters carried signs and placards with messages denouncing neo-liberalism and imperialism which included "#WomenStrike".

A few marchers wore purple face masks, symbolising civilians killed in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's ongoing campaign against drug users and dealers.

The Gabriela protest was one of several rallies planned on Wednesday in support of women's day, with the day's public gatherings culminating in a large march on the Malacanang Palace, the official residence of Duterte.

--IANS

in/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Salaried employees in the private sector may soon be able to enjoy up to Rs 20 lakh tax-free gratuity. The Labour Ministry has proposed an amendment to Payment of Gratuity Act following a meeting with the central trade unions. The amendment is likely to be passed by the government by April. This proposal will bring private-sector employees at par with those in the government and public sector undertakings. Increasing the tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh was one of the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi presented its third Budget on Wednesday with an eye on upcoming municipal elections. The state government did not introduce any tax for the third year in a row and reduced taxes on sanitary napkins, plywood, granite and other stones.
In a renewed show of bonhomie after the bitter fight, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday voted for Shiv Sena nominee Vishwanath Mahadeshwar as Mumbai mayor and Hemangi Waralikar as deputy mayor. Mahadeshwar, who is the 76th mayor of the city, got 171 votes. He defeated Congress nominee Vithal Lokare, who anyway had very little chances of winning, as his party won only 31 out of 227 seats in the BMC elections. The Samajwadi Party with six corporators, NCP with nine and MIM with one corporator abstained from voting while the MNS' seven corporators chose to remain absent.
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was on Wednesday adjourned for the day without transacting any business after it witnessed noisy scenes as Shiv Sena legislators joined Opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to demand loan waiver for distressed farmers.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, Leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil through an adjournment notice highlighted the plight of farmers across the state after consecutive droughts and said there was no alternative other than granting them a loan waiver.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar asked the BJP government to recall how its ministers, while in Opposition would raise farmers' woes.

"When industries are given loan waivers, why is the government not doing the same to farmers," he asked.

Subsequently, Opposition members entered the well of the House and began shouting slogans. They were later joined in the protest by Shiv Sena legislators. However, they were not seen sloganeering.

As noisy scenes ruled the House, it was adjourned first for 15 minutes by Speaker Haribhau Bagde and then for the second time till the end of the Question Hour.

When the House resumed, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde said the government was pro-farmer and wanted them to be debt-free.

Agriculture Minister Pandurang Phundkar said the Opposition's demand was "unrealistic".

"We have never opposed the demand for loan waiver. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already said loan waiver to farmers will be considered at an appropriate time. We want the farmers to be efficient in terms of agriculture production and then consider the loan waiver demand," he said.

As Opposition members remained firm on their demand and continued with their slogan shouting, presiding officer Sudhakar Deshmukh (of the BJP) adjourned the House for the day.

Sena had made a representation to the chief minister demanding loan waiver for farmers amidst heated and acrimonious campaign for the recent civic polls.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had even said that if their demand is accepted, his party would extend support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the rest of the five-year term.

Congress, also in a representation to the chief minister on the issue, had earlier said that ever since the BJP government came to power, the condition of farmers has deteriorated and there has been a rise in farmer suicides in the last two years.

Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly after it was adjourned for the day, Vikhe Patil demanded that the state government bring a one line resolution in the Lower House tomorrow that it will make a provision for loan waiver to farmers in the state Budget to be presented on March 18.

He said the Opposition will not allow smooth functioning of the House unless the government makes a commitment to announce a loan waiver in the Budget which will be presented by Sudhir Mungantiwar.

He charged that the government has lost the trust of the people as well as its allies like the Shiv Sena.

"Shiv Sena joined us in the demand for loan waiver in the Lower House. We are amazed that the government says it will announce a loan waiver at an appropriate time. What time can be more appropriate than this time when the farmers are distressed due to three years of consecutive drought, unseasonal rains and lack of good support price for their crop," he asked.

"Is Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis waiting for more farmers to commit suicide. Since January this year, 262 farmers have committed suicide. Similarly, 9000 farmers have committed suicide in the last two and half years," he claimed.

Vikhe Patil said the Opposition had demanded in the House that the day's business be set aside and the decision of loan waiver be taken by the government to provide relief to farmers.

"We had met the Governor before the start of the Budget session requesting that he issue directions to the government to provide relief to the farmers. We wanted the issue to be highlighted in the Governor's address to the Legislature on the first day of the session. But unfortunately farmers' welfare is not on the priority list of the government," he alleged.

On Sena joining the Opposition in the House, he said if Sena leaders were honest, they should submit their resignations to the Speaker, as BJP has not met the loan waiver demand.

Earlier, before the Assembly began, Congress and NCP members were seen protesting outside the House demanding immediate loan waiver for farmers. The agitation was led by Vikhe Patil, Ajit Pawar, NCP's Leader of Opposition in Upper House, Dhananjay Munde and Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad.

The leaders protested in the Assembly premises holding placards with demands highlighting farmer issues.
Ten Sri Lankan fishermen have been arrested by the Indian Coast Guard for allegedly fishing in Indian territorial waters, a fisheries official said today.

The fishermen hailing from Neduntheevu in the Palk Strait were detained late last night, Nagapattinam Joint Director of Fisheries Amala Xavier said.

They were brought to Nagapattinam by the Coast Guard personnel and later taken to nearby Karaikal this morning, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two people were killed today in bombardment of a Syrian rebel bastion near Damascus, a monitor said, less than 24 hours after Russia announced a freeze in fighting there.

"A young man and a woman were killed in air strikes on Douma," the largest town in the Eastern Ghouta region, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Raids also hit the town of Arbin, and regime artillery hit Harasta, leaving nearly two dozen people wounded in Eastern Ghouta.

"These are the first air strikes since the truce was announced" on Tuesday afternoon, Abdel Rahman said.

An AFP correspondent in Douma told AFP that a warplane had struck the town and that residents who were outside had rushed back into their homes.

"The situation is tragic -- the heavy shelling is ongoing," said Zeina, a resident of Douma who spoke to AFP via the internet.

Russia's defence ministry on Tuesday declared a two-week "regime of silence" in Eastern Ghouta, the last opposition stronghold near the Syrian capital.

Hamza Bayraqdar, a spokesman for the Army of Islam, told AFP on Tuesday that the faction had not been notified about the ceasefire, but would not "reject any agreement to stop the bloodshed and suffering of our people".

And senior Army of Islam official Mohammad Alloush lambasted regime ally Moscow on Wednesday after the strikes.

"Russia's announcement of a cessation of hostilities in Eastern Ghouta is a political announcement -- militarily, it's not being executed," he told AFP.

"Russia wants to present itself as neutral and a sponsor of a political solution (to the Syrian conflict), but on the ground it's a different case," he said.

"This announcement came late. It was supposed to be announced on March 5, but the regime didn't commit to it. Even with this announcement, there is no agreement from the regime on a freeze."



Eastern Ghouta has been under a devastating government siege since 2012, but has also been the target of a blistering regime offensive in recent months.

It is the last remaining opposition stronghold near Damascus, where a string of local "reconciliation deals" have seen villages and towns brought back under the control of President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Russia and rebel backer Turkey sponsored a nationwide truce between Assad's forces and opposition fighters in December, but fighting has continued across swathes of Syria.

More than 310,000 have been killed since Syria's conflict began in March 2011.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four registry clerks have been suspended for registration of properties in unauthorised colonies in an illegal manner.

Besides, an inquiry against a Tehsildar and three Naib Tehsildars has also been recommended by the Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad, Sameer Pal Srow.

Stating this here today, a spokesman of the district administration said the deputy commissioner had received information that registration of properties in unauthorised colonies was being carried out by charging a fee.

The deputy commissioner carried out an investigation at his level and found out certain irregularities in Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Tigaon and Mohana tehsils.

Taking serious note of the matter, Srow suspended four registry clerks -- Khemchand Chugh of Faridabad, Prakash Chander of Ballabhgarh, Kamal of Tigaon and Gyanendra of Mohna -- with immediate effect.

Chargesheets have also been issued to them, said the spokesman.

The deputy commissioner has also recommended an inquiry to the state government against a Tehsildar and three Naib Tehsildars of these tehsils, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nearly 5,000 women in Pakistan are killed annually mostly for reasons linked to social issues of "honour and harassment", a women rights activist has said.

"On an average, 5,000 women are murdered every year compared to 1,442 men. While the male casualties are primarily related to terrorism, the women's killings are mostly linked to social issues of honour and harassment," rights activist Sarwar Bari said here yesterday.

Speaking at a consultation workshop, 'Making workplace safe for women', on the eve of the International Women's Day, Bari said Pakistan has deviated from the vision of its founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah as political parties never dared to stand against so-called religious scholars who have been opposing pro-women laws in the country.

Bari said that in 1928, women of the subcontinent held a demonstration against early marriages. Jinnah reached the spot to express solidarity with the protesters, he said.

"Today religious scholars resist all kinds of legislation in favour of women which is a deviation from the vision of the Quaid (Jinnah). Last year, the Punjab government passed a women protection bill but the religious parties did not accept it," he added.

Hundreds of women are killed every year in Pakistan often by their family members on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour.

Pakistan's National Assembly in October last year passed a much-anticipated new law that mandates a minimum 25-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of carrying out an honour killing, and prohibits families of victims from forgiving the killer, a common occurrence in these tragic crimes.

At least 40 clerics of the Barelvi school of thought in Pakistan on June 12 last year issued a fatwa against honour killing, declaring it 'un-Islamic and unpardonable sin'.

The clerics under the banner of Sunni Itehad Council said that honour killing is kufr (infidelity).

The Conservative Council of Islamic Ideology - an Islamic body that enjoys constitutional status and gives non-binding proposals to Parliament to make laws according to Islam - last year declared killing of women in the name of "honour" as un-Islamic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dread-headed Musician Turned Pastor Returns to New Jersey to Speak to Youth, March 31



OLD BRIDGE, N.J., March 7, 2017 /



The two day outreach is called the "Vertical Identity Conference" and will be comprised of worship, break-out sessions, Q&A, and guest speakers who will be talking about issues such as relationships, identity, worship, and the freedom to be what one was created to be.



Daniel Fusco, born and raised in central New Jersey, doesn't typically fit the stereotype of what one might expect of a pastor. A professional Jazz musician with dreadlocks down to his waist, Daniel became a follower of Jesus during his senior semester at Rutgers University. He would later return to plant a church near Rutgers, as well as two other churches in California before taking over a 6,000 congregant mega-church in Vancouver, Washington. Pastor Daniel desires to show others how Jesus meets people in the midst of their messy lives and on March 31st, it will be his first opportunity at Calvary Chapel Old Bridge to do just that.



"The tagline for this conference is 'Who you are is more than who you're with.'" said Youth Pastor Alan Kahn. "This outreach is for people in our culture who are looking for a human relationship to complete them. Instead, we hope that people will find their identity in Christ."



Further details about this outreach can be found at

Share Tweet Contact: Alan Kahn, Calvary Chapel Old Bridge , 732-479-0604, alan@ccob.org OLD BRIDGE, N.J., March 7, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Pastor Daniel Fusco of Crossroads Community Church in Washington will be speaking at a two day youth conference for those in their twenties and teens on Friday, March 31st at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 1st at 8:00 a.m. at Calvary Chapel Old Bridge in central New Jersey.The two day outreach is called the "Vertical Identity Conference" and will be comprised of worship, break-out sessions, Q&A, and guest speakers who will be talking about issues such as relationships, identity, worship, and the freedom to be what one was created to be.Daniel Fusco, born and raised in central New Jersey, doesn't typically fit the stereotype of what one might expect of a pastor. A professional Jazz musician with dreadlocks down to his waist, Daniel became a follower of Jesus during his senior semester at Rutgers University. He would later return to plant a church near Rutgers, as well as two other churches in California before taking over a 6,000 congregant mega-church in Vancouver, Washington. Pastor Daniel desires to show others how Jesus meets people in the midst of their messy lives and on March 31st, it will be his first opportunity at Calvary Chapel Old Bridge to do just that."The tagline for this conference is 'Who you are is more than who you're with.'" said Youth Pastor Alan Kahn. "This outreach is for people in our culture who are looking for a human relationship to complete them. Instead, we hope that people will find their identity in Christ."Further details about this outreach can be found at tiny.cc/verticalidentity or by emailing Pastor Alan Kahn at alan@ccob.org . The hashtag is #VerticalIdentity
: A total of 7327 candidates all over the state were today exempted from writing the Tamil language paper, complying with the Madras High Court order.

"As per the orders of the High Court, the Tamil Nadu Education Department exempted 7,327 candidates from writing the Tamil language paper in the 10th standard examination," Education Minister K A Sengottiyan told reporters here.

Yesterday, the Court had directed educational authorities to exempt students of linguistic minority schools from writing the Tamil Language paper, those who applied individually or through managements of schools,



The bench issued the direction on petitions by Linguistic Minority Schools Managements and individual students.

The Minister was speaking after visiting Government Girls HSS, Erode, along with District Collector Dr S Prabakar, for an inspection.

He greeted all the girl students and also other women on the occassion of World Women's Day today.

The Minister said a total of 10,33,908 were appearing for the 10th standard examination in 3,371 centers across Tamil Nadu today.

Strict vigil was being maintained at all centres, where sufficient number of invigilators have been posted and flying squads had been formed to avert malpractices, he said.

To a question, he said government was strictly following the two language formula and three language formula and added that studying Sanskrit was the union government's policy and not that of the state.

He also said that government would soon bring about some reforms in school education.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"A traitor cannot be my son, straight and simple," said Sartaj, the father of suspected ISIS terrorist Saifullah who was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police today.

Sartaj refused to take the body of his slain son, saying, "A traitor cannot be related to me, let alone be my son."



Saifullah was killed in Lucknow this morning in an exchange of fire with the police after a 12-hour stand-off. He was suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said.

Speaking to reporters, Sartaj emphasised, "We are Indian citizens. I was born here, my ancestors were born here."



He said he had heard this morning about the death of his son in the encounter.

Sartaj said Saifullah had left home about two-and-a-half months back after he beat him up for not finding work and not listening to him.

"On Monday, I got a call from Saifullah, who told me that he had got a visa to visit Saudi (Arabia) and he was preparing to go there. I told him go ahead," the father said.

Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said Saifullah's family was contacted but they refused to take the body.

He added that the police may again make an attempt to convince the family about it.

Meanwhile, the father of two other men, who have been arrested on terror-related charges, has claimed that they were innocent and has sought a fair probe.

(Reopen DEL32)



Saifullah's neighbour Mehboob Ali said the slain suspected terrorist always kept to himself.

"The door was always kept closed, and he never spoke to anyone," said Ali whose pregnant wife and three children were evacuated from the building by the police during the encounter.

"We never really spoke to him. I used to go for work at 5 in the morning and would return home late at night. We never interacted," he said in Lucknow.

Ali said he was at work when the encounter took place and rushed home when he got to know about it.
On International Women's Day today, the Congress urged the central government to abolish tax on sanitary napkins and keep it out of the purview of the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Congress leader and Silchar MP Sushmita Dev, in a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has said that sanitary napkins are "unfairly taxed" by deeming it as a luxury product and not as a necessity to safeguard health.

She has said that the product is taxed up to 14.5 per cent based on the state one lives in and after the the GST it will be taxed at 12 per cent.

"We would request Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to consider our party MP Sushmita Dev's proposal. The Congress party fully endorses what she has requested," Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi told reporters.

She said that although the matter seems insignificant in appearance it will address the key issues of affordability, hygiene and environment.

She said more and more women, especially in rural areas, should be encouraged to use sanitary napkins and by taxing them one ends up reducing that space for them.

In her letter to Jaitley, Dev said condoms and contraceptives are tax-free in India as they are recognised as a necessity to safeguard health and life.

"In the light of this observation, we need to view sanitary napkins through the same lens and ensure that women are not taxed unfairly on virtue of a natural bodily process.

"The commodity is not an option but a necessity, hence I hope you will look into this matter and do the needful," Dev said.

She also called for adopting an innovative approach by granting environment friendly and reusable cloth sanitary napkins tax free and imposing a minimal tax on disposable sanitary napkins to dissuade its use on large scale in order to safeguard environment.

Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today greeted women on the occasion of International Women's Day and wished for their bright future.

In a statement, she said the woman force has always contributed positively for India's progress.

"It is now our collective responsibility to create a society free from any fears and ensure their self-reliance," Gandhi said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Describing art as the "highest form of human activity", distinguished sculptor Anish Kapoor contended that artists and art organisations need to be unapologetic about what art can do.

He noted the importance of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) in this regard.

"The fact is, art is a little esoteric and it is a bit complicated to understand language in which it is spoken. But the only way you can learn the language, like any other, is to have contact with it."



"What the Biennale is doing is so important since many of the visitors here would not have been to an art exhibition before. It has a huge social agenda as well as an artistic one," Kapoor said.

The hugely influential Mumbai-born British artist was on a private visit over the past few days to the ongoing third edition of India's only Biennale - his first time back since participating as an artist in KMB 2014.

He took tours of the venues in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry.

Noting that India had a "poor history of making contemporary culture available and accessible to the people", he said "The great thing about the Biennale is that it is not a museum space. Art has a different ethos. It has other ambitions."



It is wonderful to see an art event of international standard with interesting ambitions regarding the local population and their participation," he said.

This was important, Kapoor said, because with a history of involvement comes a culture of inquiry.

"We have to encourage that because we want creative citizens, not passive ones. I hope the Biennale will give rise to a new generation, or generations, of artists who will remember having seen something here that surprised them and take the risk of getting into art," he said.

"Art is a risk - an economic risk, even a social and aesthetic risk. It falls on the Kochi Biennale Foundation and cultural organisations to support and celebrate that spirit of risk-taking, the excitement of possibility and encourage activities on an even bigger-scale," Kapoor said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two suspected terrorists arrested from here and the neighbouring Unnao were today taken to Lucknow by a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad for further questioning.

Searches are also underway for nabbing other terror suspects here.

Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said a team of UP ATS left from here to Lucknow with the two terror suspects at around 3 AM today for further questioning.

Last evening, a team of UP ATS had arrested Mohammed Faisal Khan from Jajamau and his brother Mohammed Imran from a leather factory in nearby Unnao.

Police had also apprehended one Shakeel alias Ajgar from the Rehmani market here but he escaped after the shopkeepers there started protesting. Searches are also underway out to arrest him.

Verma said the police is looking for some more terror suspects, however, he refused to disclose more details about them and whether they were involved in the the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast.

Police sources said the ATS team has questioned the suspect's family and their neighbours.

Zaki Ahmed, IG, Kanpur said after their arrest searches are being carried out at railways station, bus stops and other crowded places. A checking drive is also underway at the Kanpur railway station and bus stop.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit today expressed concern over the attack and ransacking of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) office at Silapathar in Assam's Dhemaji district and condemned it.

"Ransacking the AASU Office in Silapathar is an act of cowardice. I condemn the act," the governor said in a statement here.

The perpetrators of the incident will be dealt with sternly according to the law of the land and nobody would be allowed to go scot-free, he added.

The governor appealed to the people not to take law into their hands and display absolute restraint. He also urged upon all to maintain peace and harmony to strengthen Assam's pride of being a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious society.

Members and supporters of Nikhil Bharat Bengali Udbastu Samanvay Rakhi Samiti (NiBBUSS) had on Monday last organised a meeting at Silapathar demanding Indian citizenship for Hindu migrants from Bangladesh.

After the meeting the NiBBUSS members took out a procession and then attacked an AASU office by the side of National Highway 15(B), vandalised it and injured three of its members.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered an inquiry by Additional Chief Seretary V B Pyarelal. The report would be submitted in a month.

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Bayern Munich condemned Arsene Wenger to more humiliation as 10-man Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League with a crushing 5-1 defeat amid furious protests against the beleaguered Gunners boss on Tuesday.

Aiming to stage an incredible recovery from a 5-1 first leg deficit, Wenger's side briefly looked capable of a famous escape act when Theo Walcott opened the scoring in the first half at the Emirates Stadium.

But any hopes Wenger's recent problems would be erased in historic fashion were brutally dashed by Robert Lewandowski's second half penalty and Laurent Koscielny's dismissal for conceding that spot-kick.

Wenger cut a forlorn figure as Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa netted before Arturo Vidal's double fired Bayern into the quarter-finals with a 10-2 aggregate victory.

It was the first time Arsenal had conceded five at the Emirates and by the closing stages, there was a funereal atmosphere on an evening that started with Arsenal fans staging a protest march calling for Wenger to quit and ended with a chorus of boos and banners held up proclaiming: "Enough is enough - Wenger out".

It was yet another chastening experience in the Champions League for Wenger, who has now seen Arsenal eliminated in the last 16 for seven successive seasons.

With their Premier League title hopes in tatters and even a top four finish far from guaranteed, Wenger's 184th Champions League match as Arsenal boss may well prove to be his last as speculation grows that he will terminate his 21-year reign at the end of a wretched season.

Blaming Greek referee Tasos Sidiropoulos for Arsenal's demise, Wenger ranted: "The penalty and red card are absolutely unexplainable and scandalous.

"It's irresponsible from the referee. It leaves me very angry and very frustrated."



Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti added: "It was a strange game, honestly the result doesn't reflect what happened on the pitch.

"The penalty took all the pressure out for us."



Arsenal would have to make history to go through as no team in the Champions League era had overturned a four-goal deficit and many Gunners fans gave them no chance judging by the swathes of empty red seats around the Emirates.

Even the stay-aways wouldn't have predicted such an embarrassing loss when Walcott struck in the 20th minute.

Taking possession wide on the right flank, Walcott advanced unchecked by the ponderous Bayern defence and, from an acute angle, he unloaded a powerful strike that flashed over Manuel Neuer's unconvincing attempted save and into the roof of the net.

Walcott had a penalty appeal turned down after Xabi Alonso caught the winger and he was close to a second goal when he surged onto Shkodran Mustafi's pass before firing into the side-netting.

But Giroud, unmarked eight yards out, wastefully headed over from Aaron Ramsey's cross early in the second half, and that would prove Arsenal's final chance.

When Lewandowski got behind Koscielny in the 55th minute, the Arsenal defender's panicked response was to trip the Pole, conceding a penalty and earning himself a red card.

Lewandowski picked himself up to send David Ospina the wrong way with a clinical spot-kick and the Emirates immediately fell into anarchy.

Faced with an inevitable exit, Wenger retreated to the dug out as insults rained down on him from frustrated fans, and his players waved the white flag as well.

Bayern's second goal in the 68th minute came about after Alexis Sanchez was caught in possession on the edge of his own penalty area, with Robben gleefully picking the Chilean's pocket before slotting past Ospina.

That opened the floodgates and Costa curled home in the 78th minute before Vidal punished woeful defending to make it four two minutes later.

With Arsenal's players just waiting to be put out of their misery, Vidal waltzed through to make it five in the 85th minute and Wenger's agony was complete.

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Actress Vidya Balan was today presented an award by a Hindi daily on the occasion of the International Women's Day.

Speaking on the occasion coinciding with the first poster launch of her upcoming Hindi movie "Begum Jaan" directed by Srijit Mukherjee, the actress said that the movie was a "labour of love".

Talking to the media about Begum Jaan, she said," Only Kolkata can be the womb for such a film which resonates with Srijit Mukherjee brand of film-making. I have always appreciated the works of directors from Kolkata and the city is my second home," Vidya said.

"Every time I visit the ciy I make it a point to offer obeisance to the deity in Kalighat," she said adding "Kolkata has always offered me the best of opportunities," she said recalling her previous projects in which the city plays an integral part.

Producer of Begum Jaan Mahesh Bhatt and director Srijit Mukherjee were present on the occasion.

Srijit Mukherjee agreed to Vidya's remark that Begum Jaan, a woman-centric film, could not have its poster launch anywhere but Kolkata.

"I originated from the womb of this city. My first Bengali film 'Autograph' was born out of the womb of this city and how could Begum Jaan be different?" he wondered.

"This is also because this city takes care of its women and gives them the due pride of place. And we can mark the city as the first one to celebrate a woman-centric film," he said.

Vidya was presented the Special "Aparajita 17" award on the occasion of the International Women's Day by a city-based Hindi daily.

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The BJP today hailed security agencies after a suspected ISIS terrorist was gunned down by the UP Police in Lucknow, saying the operation was an example of various police organisations working in tandem against terrorism.

It also accused opposition parties of doing politics over the incident and said they should draw a lesson from how several central and state police agencies worked together to carry out the operation.

"We hail security agencies for the operation. Terror group ISIS poses a potent threat to India and our agencies have again underlined their resolve to finish it. It is unfortunate that some political parties are doing politics over it," BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

Noting that the NIA, a central agency, besides Telangana and Madhya Pradesh police coordinated with each other in the operation, he claimed that it was an example of "Team India" spirit which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often spoken about.

The suspected terrorist, Saifullah, was killed today after 12 hours of operation in Lucknow. He is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said.

Two suspected terrorists arrested from Kanpur and Unnao were taken to Lucknow by a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad for further questioning.

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The CBI today arrested S Gopala Krishna Murthy, superintendent of central excise posted in Hyderabad, for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 10 lakh for favouring a company.

Murthy had conducted an inspection of a company K M Plastics on March 1, 2017 during which he had flagged several irregularities, the agency said.

He had allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh as illegal gratification from its owner Jagdish Prasad to favour the company in his report and cover up the irregularities, the CBI has alleged in its FIR.

While the first instalment of Rs six lakh was delivered to Murthy, the second instalment of Rs four lakh was being "delivered today afternoon" when the CBI team carried out a surprise raid and arrested Murthy, the agency said in a statement.

A case has been registered under graft charges, it said.

"Searches were conducted at the official and residential premises of the accused which led to recovery of Rs 5.6 lakh (approx.) along with several other incriminating documents," CBI Spokesperson R K Gaur said here.

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Eyes have been on North Korea with renewed vigor these last several weeks after Kim Jong-nam, estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was mysteriously murdered in Malaysia. Tension has been rising between North and South Korea after South Korea agreed to host a U.S. missile defense system. Additionally, the Chinese government, in what appears to be an effort to save face with North Korea, has expelled dozens of missionaries from the northeast corner of its country.

Pastor Kim Hee-Tae told AFP, Chinese authorities raided the homes of the missionaries, citing a problem with their visas, and told them to leave. The Straits Times is reporting around 170 South Koreans70 of whom were missionaries and their family memberswere forced out between January 10 and February 10, 2017.

Jeon Ho Jung, spokesperson for the Korea World Missions Association, calls the raids unprecedented considering the number of people being expelled.

Some of the expelled missionaries are of Korean descent and have been serving refugees from across the border in North Korea. Although the details are hazy, a South Korean official has confirmed that at least one of the missionaries was arrested in China for immigration violations. Additionally, we know of another four missionaries who were apprehended by Chinese police thanks to an anonymous missionary in Seoul who spoke to Reuters.

Relations between North and South Korea grew increasingly strained after Seoul agreed to host the U.S. militarys Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in 2016. China is upset by the agreement and fears the THAADs radar will be able to penetrate Chinese borders and reveal its missile capabilities.

In another act of passive aggression, China slapped new sanctions on Korean celebrities performing in its country and more stringent customs rules for Korean products. To add insult to injury, the Lotte Group (a South Korean company) says it was forced to stop construction on a multi-billion dollar theme park it is working on in China after authorities conducted a safety inspection.

Pastor Kim believes at least 40 refugees from North Korea have been sent back across the border as a result of the raids.
China today claimed that the South China Sea dispute has "calmed down" and said it will not allow the "hard-won" stability of the region to be "disturbed" again by outside forces.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's annual press conference was dominated by a host of issues, including the crisis in the Korean Peninsula and China's relations with the US after President Donald Trump's election.

Talking about the South China Sea dispute, Wang said the issue has "calmed down" and warned that China will never allow the stability of the region to be disturbed again.

"China will never allow hard-won stability in the South China Sea, (SCS) to be disturbed or undermined again," Wang said as Trump administration deployed an aircraft carrier in the disputed region to assert freedom of navigation.

In his media interaction, Wang took questions on China's ties with all major countries.

On the SCS, Wang said, "at this moment, if someone should try to make waves and stir trouble, they will have no support and face common opposition of the entire region".

Last year, China waged a major international campaign to ward off the impact of the international tribunal which struck down Beijing's claim over almost all of the SCS in response to a petition from the Philippines.

But the situation changed to Beijing's favour after the election of Rodrigo Duterte as President of Philippines who in a U-turn moved closer to China and agreed to set the SCS dispute aside in lieu of heavy Chinese investments.

Wang said since Duterte came to office, he has handled the SCS issue properly and actively improved the Philippines' relations with China, Wang said.

"The Philippines has extended a hand of goodwill, so China of course will embrace it with open arms of cooperation. China and the Philippines are making up the lost time. The potential of bilateral cooperation is rapidly growing," he said.

In less than six months since October last year, there have been about 1,000 new tourist groups from China to the Philippines, and China has imported more than 200,000 tonnes of tropical fruits from the Philippines, he said.

Cooperation on infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and dams, is being actively discussed, with some becoming operational this year, Wang said.

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The Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra government to take fresh look at a scheme for giving compensation to sexual assault and acid attack victims, saying it lack empathy and is "insulting and shameful".

"We are not happy with this Manodhairya scheme. It is insulting, inhuman and shameful. There has been no application of mind while formulating this scheme.

"It is just an empty formality. This is a very sorry state of affairs," a division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice G S Kulkarni said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by a 14-year-old girl, who claims to be a victim of rape, seeking compensation of Rs three lakh under the scheme.

The girl was given Rs two lakh by the government after the petition was filed in October last year.

"Look at the state of Goa. It gives Rs 10 lakh compensation. We expect Maharashtra to also be progressive and positive.

"We direct our order and all other relevant judgments passed by the Supreme Court in the past on this issue to be placed before the state chief secretary so that he can make some progress and take some laudable decision in the matter within four weeks," the court noted.

Under the scheme launched in October 2013, the state government gives a compensation of up to Rs three lakh to victims of rape and other crimes against women.

Apart from the monetary compensation, the government also provides counselling to the victim and vocational or educational training if required.

During the hearing, the bench was informed by the state government that the scheme has two categories -- the first for rape and sexual assault victims and the second for acid attack victims. Rs two lakh is given to victims of the first category and Rs three lakh for the second category.

The court said the clauses have been framed with no application of mind and these lack empathy towards the victims.

"What about child victims? Is Rs two lakh enough for them? In a place like Bombay what will a child do with Rs two lakh. They will not even get proper education," it said.

"Nowadays even Rs three lakh is nothing. The state government has money for everything except this. It is insulting to go take this measly compensation. The government is not bothered only. You (government) are making the victims' lives so miserable that they do not even feel like pursuing the matter," Justice Chellur said.

"Today is Women's Day. At least from today start doing something constructive. The attitude of the government towards women and children will shape the manner in which the citizens see them. Your (government) attitude should speak volumes," the court said.

The court asked if the government was giving publicity to



the scheme so that more people become aware of it.

"Are the police informing the victims at the time of recording their statement about the scheme?" Justice Kulkarni said



To this, Chief Justice Chellur remarked, "First the police need to speak politely to the victims. Such cases should be handled by women officers."



The court noted that under the scheme, in the case of acid attacks if the victim suffers injuries on her face then compensation of Rs three lakh is given, but if the injuries are in any other part of the body and not face then only a sum of Rs 50,000 is given.

"What is this ? Complete non-application of mind. What if a girl suffers injuries to her limbs and is not able to use her hands or not walk...Is Rs 50,000 enough for her? The government is bothered only about the face," the court said.

"Similarly in cases of child victims, the government has to think about the entire life of the child," the bench said.

The court also noted that till date in no case the government has handed over Rs one lakh to a victim within 15 days of registration of the FIR as provided in the scheme.
Opposition Congress and BJP today demanded a judicial inquiry into all farmer suicides in Odisha, including the recent ones reported from Bargarh and Nabarangpur districts.

While Odisha PCC Kurushak cell submitted a memorandum to Governor S C Jamir on the demand, BJP vice-president Samir Mohanty alleged that the state has been covering up such incidents.

"We demand Rs 10 lakh compensation to the family members of farmers who committed suicide due to crop loss or debt burden," said OPCC's Krushak Cell president Amiya Patnaik.

Accusing the ruling BJD of adopting an "insensitive" attitude towards farmers' plight, Mohanty said "BJP is with the farmers of Odisha and we want a judicial probe into the suicide allegations that have come up from different parts of the state."



The party claimed that as many 174 farmers have committed suicide due to crop loss and debt burden.

On the recent death of a farmer in Bargarh district, Mohanty said the collector had prepared a report without visiting the agriculture field and village of the deceased.

The farmer's family has rejected the state government's inquiry report which said he had taken his life due to family quarrel and not due to crop loss and debt burden.

Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy, in statement in the assembly on March 4 had said the dead farmer's agricultural field had enough water.

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Gold worth Rs 50 lakh has been seized by the customs officials at international airport here.

About 1.7 kgs of gold was seized in three incidents reported in the past two days.

In first case, a passenger was intercepted after his arrival from Bangkok. He was allegedly found carrying 435 gms of gold by hiding it inside leather sandals worn by him, a press release issued today by the customs said.

The accused hails from Punjab.

In another instance, two passengers, including a Thai national, were stopped for checking by the customs. They were allegedly carrying 'Kadas' (gold bangles) made of the yellow metal, it said.

The gold bangles, weighing 532 grams, were seized, the release said.

The customs officials also recovered 700 gms of gold from a passenger who had come from Dubai. The accused had concealed gold in rectum, it said.

In all these cases, gold items valuing about Rs 50 lakh have been seized.

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The government's top brass, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other senior ministers, will brainstorm tomorrow to chalk out a plan to promote electric vehicles in the country.

The high-powered meeting, to be attended by Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Heavy Industry Minister Anant Geete, comes ahead of the nation-wide rollout of the FAME India scheme under which incentives will be provided to electric and hybrid vehicles.

The scheme that was running in pilot phase till now will be formally launched on April 1. To promote eco-friendly vehicles, the government has been offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs 29,000 for bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars under the scheme in pilot mode.

Once the scheme acquires full steam, it could help save fuel worth Rs 60,000 crore annually, Geete had said earlier.

At the meeting, Power, Coal, Mines and New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal will make a presentation explaining the various aspects related to the increased use of electric vehicles including rise in power consumption, impact on the environment and how economies of scale can make it viable for India, sources told PTI.

NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya and representatives from ministries like Railways will also be present in the meeting to provide inputs on the means to increase the adoption of electric vehicles, sources said.

The Department of Heavy Industry is the nodal agency for implementing the FAME India scheme.

According to experts, several factors including higher cost of vehicles, power outages, lack of charging infrastructure and dearth of facilities for eco-friendly disposal of batteries to curb pollution are among the factors inhibiting consumers from buying electric vehicles in India.

FAME India - Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India - is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. In Budget 2017-18, Rs 175 crore has been earmarked for the scheme as against the revised and budget estimates of Rs 122.90 crore for the current financial year.

However, experts believe that the provision of funds is insufficient to incentivise the use of electric vehicles.

The Heavy Industries Ministry had estimated a total requirement of about Rs 14,000 crore for the programme.

In 2013, the UPA government had also launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020. It aimed to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country.

It had set an ambitious target to achieve sales of 6-7 million hybrid and electric vehicles year-on-year from 2020 onwards. The government has been keen to provide fiscal and monetary incentives to kickstart this nascent technology and boost sales of electric and hybrid vehicles.

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A group of feminist activists was detained in Moscow today -- International Women's Day -- after protesting inside the tightly guarded Kremlin with banners calling for an end to male rule.

Seven people were detained including two journalists and taken to a police station for questioning, wrote OVD Info, a website that monitors the detention of activists.

The Novaya Gazeta opposition newspaper, whose journalists witnessed the demonstration, published a photograph of two protesters standing on a balcony of one of the Kremlin towers holding smoke flares and a banner saying "Feminism is our national idea".

The protesters were able to sneak slogans written on skirts and scarves through the tight security, the paper reported.

Police later released the protesters without charge, activist Yelena Tishchenko told the Echo of Moscow radio station.

One of the participants, performance artist Yekaterina Nenasheva, posted a video on Facebook showing activists standing on top of an artificial grotto in a park by the Kremlin walls.

They are holding smoke flares and a banner saying "Men have been in power 200 years, down with them!" -- a reference to Russia's last female ruler was Catherine the Great, who died in 1796.

"The Moscow and St Petersburg feminists who seized the Kremlin congratulate you on March 8," Nenasheva wrote in her Facebook message.

Six activists in total took part, holding up banners with slogans including "A woman for president", "All power to women" and "Men - get out of the Kremlin", Novaya Gazeta reported.

The protest resembled those by feminist punk group Pussy Riot, who in 2012 lit flares and sang a song about President Vladimir Putin on a platform on Red Square.

Frontwoman Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and fellow member Maria Alyokhina were sentenced to two years in prison in 2012 for performing an anti-Putin anthem on the altar of a Moscow church.

March 8 is a public holiday in Russia but is mainly celebrated by giving flowers and chocolates to women rather than stressing the need for gender equality.

In a video address to the nation's women, Putin said that he and other men "will do all we can so that our beloved women are lavished with care and attention and smile more often".

To celebrate Wednesday's holiday, the authorities projected an image onto the Kremlin walls of a map of Russia made of flowers with the message: "For you, our beloved ones.

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After launching 'Digital Unlocked', a training programme to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) go digital, Google India today announced the launch of 'SMB Heroes', a nation-wide programme designed to recognise SMBs that have embraced digital platform to grow their business.

A nation-wide programme 'SMB Heroes' will comprise three categories -- Business Innovation through Digital, Impacting Change through Digital and Woman Business Leader, Kevin O'Kane, Managing Director, Google Marketing Solutions- Asia Pacific, told reporters here.

Google today launched 'Digital Unlocked' programme here. Since its launch in January this year, Google has hosted 'Digital Unlocked' workshops in five cities across the country and trained over 4,000 businesses across the offline and online training.

Starting today businesses from across the country can submit their nominations on the SMB Heroes website g.Co/smbheroes.

The last date for entries is April 24. "One winner from each category will be shortlisted for five major zones, culminating in a national final in Delhi later this year," Kevin said.

Citing a joint research study by Google-KPMG, Google (India and South-East Asia) Vice President Rajan Anandan, said, 68 per cent of the 51 million Indian SMBs are offline.

"A large number 35 per cent of small businesses are not aware of the benefits and 31 per cent cited lack of technical skills for the reasons that they are not on internet. At Google we want to address these barriers," Rajan said.

"We will be investing heavily in helping SMBs to benefit from digital technology," he said.

SMBs contribute 37 per cent to India's GDP and employ 120 million people. Today, there are only 32 per cent of small businesses in India that have any sort of web presence, said Rajan.

Digital Unlocked, will empower SMBs with essential digital skills to help them get online and start using the internet to grow their business.

The programme is built across the different formats of online, offline and mobile. "The offline training is being conducted in partnership with FICCI and over the next three years, 5,000 workshops will be held across 40 Indian cities," Rajan said.

Quoting the report, he said rising Internet penetration and greater uptake for digital by SMBs could help increase their contribution to India's GDP by 10 percentage points, taking it up to 46-48 per cent by 2020.

"SMBs that leverage digital platform grow revenues fast compared to offline SMBs," he added.

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French home appliances maker Groupe SEB plans to launch its range of products, including cookware and home care under the Tefal brand, in over 60 cities in India by next year.

The company, which acquired Indian brand Maharaja Whiteline in 2014, today launched products across segments such as linen care, air purifiers and cookware.

The Tefal brand of products were launched in Delhi and the company plans to cover other major metro cities by next month.

"We want to limit ourselves to 10-12 cities initially and it will take time to go to non-metro cities, after all we have limited resources which needs to be prioritised and by next year we will launch in about 60-70 cities," Groupe SEB India CEO Sunil Wadhwa told PTI.

He, however, did not comment on revenue target saying "we can disclose that only after our EGM".

Commenting on domestic manufacturing of Tafel products, he said the company would manufacture few products at its plant in Himachal Pradesh and will import few from its factories in France and Vietnam, depending upon the needs.

It has a manufacturing unit at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.

"We need to compete in the market so we will not let the import cost come down to the consumer," he added.

The company which already has presence in India after the acquisition of Maharaja Whiteline, considers Phillips as a competition in the electrical segment.

"In electricals, we consider Phillips as a serious competition in India and in other segments such as cookware I think we have the best of figures but the nearest competitor would be Prestige," Wadhwa said at the post launch interaction.

Regarding pricing of the products launched today, he said "our prices will be very near to our competitors, might be 2 or 4 per cent up and down".

With regard to distribution strategy, he said, "Single brand retail is not possible so we will wait for government policies to change".

As of now we will rely on traditional and modern trade, in addition to e-commerce, he added.

Groupe SEB has gained traction in the juicer, mixer grinder segment with the Maharaja brand and has brands such as Moulinex, Rowenta and Tefal under its portfolio.

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Gunmen stormed a military hospital in Afghanistan's capital today, killing at least four people and wounding more than 60, setting off clashes with security forces that were still underway hours later.

Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said an unknown number of gunmen entered the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital after an explosion and gunfire. The 400-bed military hospital is located near two civilian hospitals in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul, which is also home to several embassies.

Health Ministry spokesman Ismail Kawasi said at least three bodies of civilians and more than 60 wounded people had been brought to nearby hospitals, adding that the toll was likely to rise as ambulances were still at the scene.

Waziri said Afghan forces had battled the attackers floor by floor, and were carrying out a clearing operation on the 6th and 8th floors of the complex.

He said a suicide bomber had detonated his payload and another attacker was shot dead, and that one member of the security forces was killed and three others wounded.

Afghan helicopters circled over the area, which was surrounded by security forces.

Abdul Qadir, a hospital worker who witnessed the attack, said an attacker in a white coat shot at him and his colleagues. He added that there were seven patients prepared for surgery at the operation theater where he works at the time of the attack.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack during an address in honor of International Women's Day, calling it "an attack on all Afghan people and all Afghan women."



The assault on the hospital came exactly a week after the Taliban launched a complex attack in Kabul targeting security forces that killed at least 22 people and set off clashes that lasted several hours.

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Pakistan today said the global nuclear watchdog IAEA has approved its application of safeguards for two under construction nuclear plant units being set up in Karachi with China's assistance.

"(The) IAEA Board of Governors today approved Pakistan's request for the application of Safeguards for Nuclear Power Plant Units K-2 & K-3," Pakistan's Foreign Office said.

"These two units are pressurised water reactors of 1100 MW each and are being acquired from the People's Republic of China," it said in a statement.

The K2 and K3 plants of 1,100 MW each are being set up in Karachi with Chinese assistance.

Both the units are being set up under the guidance of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Foreign Office said the civil nuclear power generation was an important component of Pakistan's energy security policy and a vital developmental imperative.

It said these power plants will serve as important vehicle to help meet Pakistan's increasing energy needs and support sustained economic growth and industrial development.

The statement claimed that Pakistan has the rare distinction of keeping all its civilian nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards, signifying its commitment to global objectives of non-proliferation.

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Anna Hayford, wife of Jack Hayford and ordained minister, lost her battle with cancer today, March 8, 2017. Hayford was 83 years old and leaves behind an incredible 60-year legacy of ministry.

Almost a year ago, Hayford was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. During this time, her family sought the Lords healing and the best medical care.

Hayford was an ordained Foursquare minister and served alongside Jack while also raising four children. The couple met at L.I.F.E. Bible College in California, then went on to serve together in youth ministry in the midwest. They planted a church in Indiana, then moved back to California where Jack worked as Foursquares national youth director. In 1969, the couple took a pastoring position at the First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys, California. This congregation grew to 12,000 members at one point and was re-named Church on the Way.

Known for being down-to-earth and positive, Hayford once said, Living is a lot easier when youre truthful about who you are and where youve come from instead of trying to put on a facade. A press release from the church says, We are all, family and friends alike, grateful to God for the time He has allowed us to enjoy the wonderful gift of Anna Hayford.

An article on Foursquare News draws attention to Hayfords keen spiritual insights that encouraged many over the years. The article recognizes Hayford wasnt as recognizable as Pastor Jack, but was a huge part of multiplying his ministry.

Hayfords grandson Mark Hayford wrote a short but stirring tribute to his grandmother on his Facebook page, calling it fitting that she passed on International Womens Day.

Hayford is survived by her husband of 62 years, and her four children, Rebecca Bauer, Jack III, Mark and Christa Andersen, along with 11 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and four more on the way. Hayfords service will be held on March 18, 2017 at The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California.
Come polls and many jail birds land in the poll arena in Uttar Pradesh.

While there are many muscleman who are trying their luck in the ongoing state polls from behind the bars, there are others who are supporting their kin from behind the prison walls.

Mafia Mukhtar Ansari, a four-time MLA from Mau Sadar, tops the chart in the league. He is contesting polls from the Mau seat against Alka Rai (BJP), whose husband Krishnanad Rai was killed allegedly by Mukhtar.

Not only Mukhtar, his son Abbas and brother Sigbathullah Ansari are also in the fray from Ghosi and Mohammadabad seats and the don himself is trying his best to ensure they emerge victorious after he was denied parole by the court.

Aman Mani Tripathi lodged in Dasna jail (Ghaziabad) in connection with the murder case of his wife Sara is contesting as an independent candidate from Nautanwa seat (Mahrajganj) His father Amar Mani Tripahti and mother are also in jail in connection with the poetess Madhumita Shukla murder case.

His campaign was managed by siters Tanushri and Alankrita, who left no stone unturned to ensure victory of their brother.

Another candidate, Shyam Narain Singh alias Vineet Singh who is lodged in Ranchi jail in connection with a kidnapping case, is in the fray from Sayedraza seat in Chandauli on a BSP ticket.

For Vineet his family is campaigning while he is managing things from jail.

There are some like Sanjeev Maheswari, who is lodged in Mainpuri district jail and is facing several cases including that of murder. They are not in the fray directly but are very much in the poll arena.

Sanjeev managed to get a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket for his wife Payal Maheshwari from Muzaffarnagar and kept an eye on her campaigning.

Another accused in the Krisnhnand Rai murder case, Prem Singh alias Munna Bajrangi is in Jhansi jail but his wife Seema is contesting from Madiyahun seat in Jaunpur on Apna Dal (Krishna Patel faction) ticket.

Munna is lodged in Jhansi district jail and faces trial in eight criminal cases.

Former BJP MLA Udaybhan Karwariya lodged in Mirzapur jail is managing the poll campaign of his wife Neelam Karwariya contesting from Meja seat in Allahabad on a BJP ticket.

Some other known musclemen have also fielded their wards in thse assembly polls.

While in Raebareli, five-time MLA and muscleman Akhilesh Pratap Singh's daughter Aditi Singh is trying her luck, another mafia-turned-politician Rizwan Zaheer's daughter Zeba Rizwan is contesting for the first time from Tulsipur Assembly constituency in Balrampur.

According to an analysis of self-sworn affidavits of the total 4,823 candidates in this election (out of the 4,853 overall in the fray) by the Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 859 have disclosed criminal cases against them (18 per cent) and further 704 have serious criminal cases (15 per cent) pending against them.
Union minister Subhash Bhamre today said India has been dealing with terror attacks for long and is capable of tackling incidents like the one in Lucknow where a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed.

The terror suspect, Saifullah, was killed in Lucknow today after 12 hours of anti-terror operation to capture him alive. He is suspected to be linked with the blast in Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said.

"We have been dealing with terrorist activities and all our agencies are very alert. We are capable of tackling these," Bhamre, who is the Minister of State for Defence, told PTI here.

On the killing of a suspected ISIS terrorist in Lucknow, Bhamre said terror, including the ISIS, is a global phenomenon and this "menace" is to be tackled unitedly.

"The whole world is facing this threat. We need to unitedly fight against terrorism...Terrorist menace (is) all over the world. It is not India (that) is facing alone. It is a global phenomenon," he said.

"The world is realising this important issue. Tackling terrorism is a global phenomenon and we need to tackle it unitedly," Bhamre said.

The Union government and its agencies are alert to deal with the threats, he said.

"Government of India is well concerned about this. All our agencies are very alert and that is why we could get all these inputs and we could tackle it," he said.

The Union minister was speaking on the sidelines of a Women's Day event here.

(Reopens BOM 6)



Bhamre, who was the chief guest at the International Women's Day celebration by DRDO Women's Forum (DWF) at RCI Auditorium here, said in his speech that women scientists have put their best foot forward in prestigious national scientific projects such as 'Mangalyaan', 'Chandrayaan', Ballistic Missile Defence and Light Combat Aircraft.

Hailing the role of modern women, he said society has reached newer heights of achievement because of them.

He praised Sasikala Sinha, the project director of Endo-atmospheric interceptor missile, for its recent successful test-firing.

Praising the role of women, especially Defence scientists, Bhamre said the country is proud of their achievements and that it looked forward to their immense contribution in future.

Telangana IT and Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao said society should stop seeing women in supportive roles and let them realise their individual potential.

Lt Gen Satish Dua, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri and S Christopher, Chairman DRDO spoke on the occasion.
Lawmakers from India and Pakistan agreed that technology can play an important role in fighting corruption and improving governance in the two countries.

They came together for a discussion on lessons on technology for better governance in Dubai yesterday.

"Participants underscored that technology has immense potential to improve governance in Pakistan and India. They recognised that while tremendous strides have been made across Pakistan and India in using technology for improved governance, there exists a lot of room for sharing of good practices between the two countries," according to a statement released after the dialogue.

They said governments while trying to improve the quality of life of their citizens must also maintain the security of data and privacy of citizens.

"The governments must actively encourage individuals, businesses and NGOs to come up with initiatives and interfaces that improve administration and service delivery," it said.

Lawmakers from Pakistan's Sindh and Punjab provinces joined Indian counterparts from Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat during the dialogue. Former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and another MP Dushyant Chautala were among the prominent faces in the Indian delegation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India will invest $140 billion to modernise its over the next five years and is in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has said.

"Of the $140 billion we will be investing over the next five years, the majority will go towards India's modernisation efforts, the introduction of new technologies, and increasing capacities," Prabhu said.

He said his office has been in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds this week, Gulf quoted him as saying.

"We have requested that the government of the UAE look at the huge potential for investment that lies in Indian infrastructure, particularly in the railways. They are very keen to know more about this," Prabhu said.

"We've had good meetings with Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)," Prabhu said, adding that he hoped these issues would progress over the course of 2017.

According to a statement released by the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, Prabhu visted the UAE from March 5-7, on the invitation of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE.

The Minister toured Masdar City and met with the senior management of Masdar, where they discussed possible cooperation in efforts by the Indian Railways to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Prabhu said his ministry had an appetite for "several tens of billions of dollars," stating that whatever was made available, India would take.

ADIA is the third largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, holding approximately $92 billion in assets.

In January 2017, Prime Minster Narendra Modi had said his government was in "mission mode" when it came to rejuvenating the railways in India.

Prabhu confirmed that the government of India has already raised as much as $65 billion, to be spent over the next two years.

He stated that India has allocated as much as $16 billion for safety measures, and $7 billion for energy efficiency.

New projects in the pipeline for the country also include a high-speed railway from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, in collaboration with the Japanese government, the conversion of two of India's busiest routes, Mumbai to Delhi and Mumbai to Calcutta, in to medium-speed corridors, and an increase in the electrification of the country's tracks "by more in the next five years than the last few decades combined," Prabhu said.

"It's been a very good visit to the UAE, and I've had interesting, fruitful meetings with the leaders of this country," he said.

Prabhu also had discussions with the Indian community and prominent Indian businessmen in both, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In January 2017, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, conducted a state visit to India, where he was Chief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations.
A 42-year-old Indian in the US has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for plotting terror attacks in Indiaby providing material support and resources to the Khalistan movement.

Balwinder Singh was a member of two terrorist groups and provided material support to "intimidate" the Indian government and harm persons who were not supporting the terrorism groups' cause, said US Attorney Daniel Bogden for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C Rouse for the FBI's Las Vegas Division.

Singh was sentenced yesterday by US District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno to 180 months in prison, Bogden said.

"This case is an example of multi-law enforcement agencies working collaboratively together to protect the United States and our foreign allies from a terrorist act," Bogden added.

Singh, who also went by the alias Jhaji and Baljit Singh is a citizen of India and a permanent US resident. He had pleaded guilty in November last year.

According to court documents, between September and December 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India as part of the Khalistan movement to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region.

Singh agreed to provide "material support" by helping facilitate a co-conspirator's travel to and within South Asia, to provide necessary funding and to provide materials necessary to carry out the attack, the court documents said.

On occasions, Singh travelled from Reno to California to meet a co-conspirator in person.

In October 2013, Singh and his co-conspirators agreed that one of them would travel to India and carry out a terror attack - likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian governmental official. The final target was to be determined after the co-conspirator arrived in South Asia.

In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles and a laptop computer and provided these items to a co-conspirator who was going to carry out the planned terror attack., the documents said.

The co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok in December 2013 in order to carry out the terror attack but US law enforcement prevented the co-conspirator from boarding that flight, thwarting the planned terror attack, it said.

After these events, Singh and his co-conspirators continued to discuss and plan the terror attack in India until Singh's arrest in December 2013, the court documents said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
World number one Serena Williams has pulled out of upcoming WTA tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami because of a knee injury, organisers said on Tuesday.

A statement issued by BNP Paribas Open organisers in California quoted Williams as saying she was withdrawing because of a problem with her left knee.

"Sadly, I have to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open," Williams said.

"I have not been able to train due to my knees and am disappointed I cannot be there. I will keep moving forward and continue to be positive. I look forward to being back as soon as I can."



Organisers of this week's event in Indian Wells, which gets under way on Friday, said a revised draw would be issued later.

Williams's withdrawal means Germany's world number two Angelique Kerber will take over the world number one ranking at the conclusion of the BNP Paribas Open, which ends on March 19.

Williams, 35, has not played since defeating sister Venus in the final of the Australian Open in January to clinch a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.

The American star finished runner-up in the Indian Wells final last year, a tournament she only started playing again in 2015 after a 13-year boycott.

Williams has long been a staple at the Miami Open, winning the tournament a record eight times with her most recent victory coming in 2015. This year's tournament runs from March 21 to April 2.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A senior official in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards today accused the United States of provoking tensions after two separate incidents in the Gulf last week.

"A US Navy ship crossing the Strait of Hormuz changed its international route and approached to within 550 metres of Revolutionary Guards' boats in an unprofessional way," Mehdi Hashemi told the Guard's website Sepahnews.

He said actions by the United States and the United Kingdom in recent days showed they have "harmful, illegitimate and provocative objectives".

"Not only do they not want stability and security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, but they seek to create tensions and a crisis," he said.

The Pentagon on Monday blasted the "unprofessional" behaviour of the Iranian navy.

It said an Iranian frigate last Thursday came within 150 yards (metres) of the civilian-crewed USNS Invincible.

Then on Saturday, a number of small assault craft came within 350 yards of the Invincible and other ships.

In both cases, the US ship had to change course to avoid a collision, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

Davis accused Iranian forces of "a combination of unsafe or unprofessional behaviour" and warned that such incidents could cause a miscalculation or an accidental provocation.

He said Iranian actions in the crowded waters of the Gulf had been improving of late.

The Pentagon has previously voiced concern over a string of high-profile incidents in waters off Iran.

It has accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of conducting risky manoeuvres around US vessels, including some where the Americans have had to fire warning shots.

The USNS Invincible is equipped with powerful radar equipment to track ballistic missile trajectories.

The prefix "USNS" means the ship belongs to the US Navy but is unarmed or only lightly armed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Insurance regulator Irdai has cleared different levels of licences to a host of new players in the insurance industry in non-life and reinsurance spaces in its recently held board meeting.

However, not a single licence was cleared by the insurance regulator for any player on life space as it didn't receive any such application this time.

Insurance and reinsurance companies promoted by billionaire investors like Warren Buffet and Narayana Murthy have been given regulatory clearances by the Irdai for their Indian foray, industry sources told PTI here today.

Gen Re, one of the reinsurance multinational companies, promoted by Warren Buffet has received second level of regulatory clearances or R2, while Acko General Insurance, a domestic firm backed by Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, has received preliminary licence to set up their operations in the country, the sources added.

Irdai in its board meeting held on March 3 has cleared different level of regulatory clearances to the new companies intending to enter country's insurance industry.

Domestic firms like Dewan and Edelweiss have also been given second level of regulatory clearances or R2. However, they will be able to kick off their operations in the country on receiving the final approval or R3 licence only.

However, not a single licence was cleared by the insurance regulator on life insurance space for a simple reason that it didn't receive any such application from the industry which was not only having a long gestation period, but also huge capital-intensive one.

Buffet's Gen Re is likely to join other global top reinsurers like Munich Re, Swiss Re, Lloyd's, SCOR, RGA and XL Catlin to kickstart its direct operations in the country in form of a branch.

Gen Re has an exposure for the Indian market in terms of life and health business on an offshore basis and has service company in the country since 2006.

The global reinsurer is expecting to receive the final regulatory licence-R3-soon and is eyeing for April 1 renewal for starting its business.

Acko General Insurance was registered on November 3. Three directors were mentioned by the company in a filing at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, including Varun Dua, Ruchi Deepak and Deepak Angrula.

Lombard, one of the subsidiaries of Fairfax Financials which is owned by Canada based Indian billionaire Prem Watsa is already having an existing joint venture-ICICI Lombard General Insurance in the country where Lombard holds 36 per cent in the joint venture.

Irdai has also given its preliminary licence to Fairfax for its second joint venture with another Indian company, Oben Insurance with some rider.

At present, there are 24 players on the life insurance space which include LIC and 30 players on the non-life insurance space which include four state-owned, two specialised and six stand-alone health insurers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
San Brownback has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing "profound regret" at the terrible act of violence against the Indian nationals last month and said that acts of hate and intolerance have no place in his state.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and Alok Madasani, another Indian of the same age, injured in a shooting by navy veteran Adam Purinton, who yelled "terrorist" and "get out of my country" before opening fire on them in Kansas last month.

The Kansas incident and the two hate crime incidents against Indians and Indian-Americans since then has sent shock waves among the large Indian community in the US.

"As Governor of the State of Kansas, I would like to express my deep sadness and profound regret at the terrible act of violence committed against Srinu Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani. The people of Kansas share in my shock and horror. Words cannot express the sorrow that we feel for Srinu's wife, Sunayana, and his family in Hyderabad," Brownback wrote.

"In the time since Srinu's death, we have reflected on his life, and the words I have heard most often to describe him are that he was courageous, and that he loved his family, and that he respected elders. We strive to live in Srinu's example of courage and love and respect," he wrote in the letter dated March 3, a copy of which has been seen by PTI.

Brownback wrote that Kansans have been awed by Sunayana's grace and determination.

Her indomitable spirit has moved the entire community and they pray for her comfort and peace in this time of grief.

Telling the Prime Minister that open arms of friendship are the very hallmarks of being a Kansan, the Governor said Srinu embodied the essence of what it means to be a Kansan.

"His friends describe him as charming, caring and loving. He brought with him his immense talents and education and passion. His story is similar to the thousands of Indian diaspora who have called Kansas home over generations," he wrote.

"They have enjoyed tremendous success through their ingenuity, hard work, and determination. Our state has thrived because of their contributions," Brownback wrote, adding that he would like to personally welcome Indians to his state.

"Before they moved here, Sunayana said: 'Kansas was (the) instant choice.' We are humbled that this was the case. I would like to personally welcome Indians to Kansas, and assure them that Kansas is a welcoming, hospitable place," he said.

Noting that Sunayana also spoke about being without her family in Kansas, Brownback wrote in the letter that it is their solemn hope that the community in Olathe and all of Kansas may nourish and love her in the difficult months ahead.

"Acts of hate and intolerance have no place in Kansas. Since our founding, Kansas have fought against injustice and senseless hatred. We are recommitted daily to protecting our family, our neighbors, our guests. We find wisdom and peace in the Sanskrit mantra 'Satyameva Jayate'," Brownback said.

The Governor had met the Indian Consul General Dr Anupam Ray in Topeka and expressed his sincere condolences and reiterated his strong commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment in Kansas.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today assured the parents of Jishnu Pranoy, who had recently committed suicide, that the government has taken all necessary steps as per law in the case relating to his death.

The government would take all possible steps to bring the guilty to book, the Chief Minister said.

The parents of 18-year-old Jishnu, a first year engineering student, met Vijayan at his chamber this evening seeking his help for getting justice for their son.

Later talking to reporters, Mahija, Jishnu's mother said they had been assured all help by the government.

They alleged that the management of the Pambady Nehru Engineering college, where Jishnu was a first year BTech student, had allegedly destroyed evidences after the incident in January.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Why Christians Need to Speak Up About the International Day of the...

Today, March 8th, is International Womens Day. Its a day to globally celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future.

Im assuming that many in America have not heard of this day. I hadnt either until a group of women from a church I was working with in Uganda went to celebrate it. I learned it was a day to celebrate women and the beautiful things they contribute to the world. Its a day for equality, love, and justice. Things that, I think, the Church should be all about.

So this Womens Day I am opening up the conversation to the Church, if you believe in the following things, you should be talking about #womensday too.

So without further ado, these are the reasons Christians should be talking about womens day.

1. Because inequality exists.

Most of you have heard of Malala Yousafzai, the young girl who was shot in the face by the Taliban because she fought for her right to an education.

The Taliban had banned education for girls in her region of Northwest Pakistan, so Malala spoke out against the Taliban and in favor of girls education in her region. One morning while boarding a school bus, a gunman asked her name and proceeded to shoot the 15-year-old girl in the face three times. She survived and lived to tell her story, going on to write a book promoting girls education. Malala later said, Extremists have shown what frightens them most: A girl with a book.

In many cultures worldwide, girls are discouraged or even banned from getting an education. Two-thirds of the worlds uneducated children are girls. According to Educatinggirlsmatters.org,

Numerous studies have demonstrated that educating women and girls is the single most effective strategy to ensure the well-being and health of children, and the long-term success of developing economies.

There are compelling benefits associated with girls education:

Reduction of child and maternal mortality

Improvement of child nutrition and health

Lower birth rates

Enhancement of womens domestic role and their political participation

Improvement of the economic productivity and growth

Protection of girls from HIV/AIDS, abuse and exploitation

Inequality still exists folks. Ive seen it firsthand in numerous countries and cultures. The more we talk about it, the more we can do about it.

2. Because sub-human views of women are socially acceptable in some cultures.

Worldwide, rape is a very real threat. It is estimated that in the United States, one in five women will be raped during their lifetime. One in five, and this is coming from a country where equality is meant to be valued above all else.

Statistics in other countries are a lot harder to come by because rape is underreported, if reported at all. Many victims worldwide face death, violence, or ostracism if they speak out, so they keep quiet. There is one rape, however, that most people have heard about.

On December 6th, in New Delhi, India, a 23-year-old student was gang-raped on a public bus after the assailants had beat her male friend. She later died of horrific internal injuries. The story caused international outrage and many began to protest rape.

However, rape is only a symptom of a much more pervasive problem. In this case, the rape was committed because women are not seen as equals in Indian culture.

The rapist himself said, A decent girl wont roam around at nine oclock at night. A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20% of girls are good.

Because the student was not doing housework or housekeeping, he saw rape as a justifiable action.

Women must be seen as equals or rape and violence will continue to be a reasonable response to women who are not behaving as they should.

3. Because women are valuable, contributing members of society and were created in Gods image.

Think of the Bible without Esther, or the Virgin Mary, or Mary Magdalene. Without Esther the Jewish race would have been killed in a mass genocide. Without the Virgin Mary we would not have Jesus Christ, our savior. Without Mary Magdalene the disciples may have never known that Christ had risen.

Or what about women and what they have contributed to the modern church? Mother Theresa showed us how powerful and self-sacrificing love is. Heidi Baker showed us that our God is still capable of modern miracles. And Kim Walker-Smith is leading a new generation into deeper levels of worship.

And even if none of these women did a thing for God or his people, they were created in the image of God and should be valued as such. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

Simply because women were created in the image of God, they should be valued and celebrated. It is time for the church, the whole church, to see the value of women. And celebrating days like Womens Day is a good start.

4. Because talking about it changes things. Women are making progress globally.

There is good news for women globally, the more people talk about the issues that women are battling today, the more change we see. According to UN Women Website, we have seen great improvement in the following areas.

1) Education: Since 1995, weve reached a point where girls and boys worldwide are enrolling in primary school at almost equal rates. That is a huge step forward. The next step is secondary school, where the gender gap widens again.

2) Maternal Mortality: In the last 25 years, maternal mortality has dropped by 45%, which means that half of the women who survive childbirth today wouldnt have made it in a different time. But theres still more work to do  800 women a day die from basic pregnancy complications, mostly in the developing world.

3) Water access: Water is an important issue for women, since in many developing countries girls are responsible for fetching water, a task so time-consuming and difficult that it can keep them out of school or put them in danger of being attacked. Between 1990 and 2010, 2 billion people gained access to clean drinking water, relieving the burden of water-fetching from girls. Still, in Sub-Saharan Africa, women spend 16 million hours for day getting water.

4) Leadership: Since 1995, the number of women serving in legislatures has nearly doubled  but that still only translates to 22% of politicians worldwide.

The conversation is changing things, and even though we still have a long way to go, there have been great advances in education and health since 1995. It shows us that progress is possible, and that we can make a difference in this world.

5. Because, as the Church, we are called to be agents of social change.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Isaiah 61:1)

We are called to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to proclaim freedom to the captives. Fortunately, the equality of women has shown to influence greatly all of the above areas. When girls and women are educated, the whole economy boosts, making poverty less of a threat. If women are viewed as equals, the threat of violence towards them greatly decreases. And if women were educating they would be far less likely to enter into sex trafficking.

There are thousands of women still living in the bondage of sex trafficking, Ive met them personally, and we, as the Church, are called to release them from their chains.

God has chosen his Church to be his agents of change, we are his hands and his feet. And if we are ignoring the threats that face women on a global scale, we arent doing a very good job.

6. Because of your mother, sister, friend, grandmother, girlfriend, wife, or daughter.

If none of the above reasons have persuaded you to take a stance for the equality of women on Womens Day, then perhaps this reason will. Womens Day matters because of your mother, sister, grandmother, girlfriend, friend, wife, or daughter and the better world it creates for them.

Its a day that celebrates contributions that women have made around the world and strives to make it a place where women can continue to be valuable members of society. It promotes the education, safety, and equality of women that you know and love.

When you raise your voice in favor of a day that celebrates these things, envision your loved ones face and realize that you are making the world a better place for her.

The theme of this years womens day is make it happen, so lets take it a step further than just talking about it and do something about it.

There are many ways you can get involved, you can share this article or share the story of a woman who impacted you. You can contribute to womens education in Afghanistan, or to International Justice Mission who works tirelessly to abolish slavery for men and women. You can volunteer at a local womens shelter or go global with programs like The World Race. I dont care what you do, just do something.

The point is that we can make the world a better place for women, but it all starts with a conversation. Thats why Christians and really everyone should be talking about #womensday today.

So, Church, lets get talking.

***

This article originally appeared at PaintedOrange.org.
Steel magnate Lakshmi Niwas Mittal would attend the inauguration of St Xavier's University at New Town on July eight this year in which West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee would also be present.

Announcing this here today, university Vice-chancellor Felix Raj said that Mittal, a former student of St Xavier's College, had consented to be



present at the inauguration of the university.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee would also be present, he said.

To start with the university would offer courses in B.Com, BBA, English honours and MSW.

In the subsequent year, the university would start MBA course, he said.

West Bengal would be the second place in India to have a Jesuit university, the first being Bhubaneshwar.

He said that first phase of the infrastructure was fully complete and work was going on for the remaining phase.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Lahore High Court chief justice has changed the bench hearing the petition filed by Jamaat-ud- Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and four otherschallenging their house arrest under the anti-terrorism act, a court official said today.

A two-member bench headed by JusticeSyed Kazim Raza Shamsi will now hear Saeed's petition.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah changed the two-member bench headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan. Justice Khan had held the last hearing in the case on February 22.

"The hearing scheduled for March 7 (yesterday)could not be held because of the change of bench," acourt official told PTI.

He termed thechange of bench in Saeed's case as a "routine matter". The official said the next date of hearing will be fixed by the court by tomorrow.

In the last hearing, the court had served a notice on the Punjab government seeking a reply on Saeed's petition by March 7.

Mumbai attack mastermind Saeed, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid, Qazi Kashif Hussain and Abdullah Ubaid have filed the petition in the Lahore High Court and challenged their detention through senior advocate A K Dogar.

The government on January 30 had put Saeed and the four leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat (FIF) under house arrest in Lahore under the country's anti- terrorism act.

In their petition, Saeed and the four others had said the government in light of interior ministry's order detained them for a period of 90 days, with effect from January 30, in exercise of powers under the Anti Terrorism Act.

They requested the court to declare the government order malafide, without jurisdiction and one that voids the fundamental right to their life and liberty.

The names of Saeed and 37 other JuD and FIF leaders had earlier also been placed on the Exit Control List, barring them from leaving the country.

Earlier, the Lahore High Court had dismissed a petition filed by a senior advocate Erum Sajjad Gull on 'technical' grounds, observing that the petitioner had not furnished the impugned notification of Saeed's detention.

Saeed was also put under house arrest after the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, but he was freed by a court in 2009.

Saeed also carries a reward of USD 10 million announced by the US for his role in terror activities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The investigation into the encounter in Lucknow, where a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed, is likely to be handed over to the NIA, a senior Home Ministry official said on Wednesday.

In all likelihood, the Lucknow case will be given to the Investigation Agency for probe, the official said.

The move came after the Home Ministry officials got the hint that there maybe a much larger conspiracy and more people in multiple locations might have links with Saifullah, who was killed in the encounter.

The suspected ISIS terrorist was killed in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow early today after a 12-hour long operation.

Saifullah is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, police said.

An NIA team has reached Bhopal to look into the suspected terror attack.
An educationist today alleged a medical trust of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had received Rs 2 crore in donation from controversial preacher Zakir Naik's now proscribed NGO Islamic Research Foundation.

Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, is the vice-chairman of Pravara Medical Trust (PMT).

Interestingly, the allegation was made by his elder brother cum educationist Ashok Vikhe Patil.

"Zakir Naik's IRF has given donation of Rs two core to Pravara Medical Trust and this fact came to the fore during the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

"Giving donation is not illegal, but it is up to the recipient's conscience whether to accept it or not," Ashok said while addressing a press conference at Vikhe Patil School here.

Meanwhile, Radhakrishna has admitted that a medical college run by his Trust had received "some funds" from Naik's IRF, which is currently banned under the UAPA Act.

"I am one of the trustees and my (another) brother Rajendra looks after the daily functioning of the Trust. He (Rajendra) told me today that IRF was one of the trusts that had given some funds to PMT. And it was for social cause, which we have utilised accordingly. Our education and other facilities to students are subsidised and like other funds, IRF's funds were also utilised for the same cause," he told PTI in Mumbai.

Radhakrishna said the PMT had all receipts of the funds received and have paid due taxes. "We can produce (receipts) if demanded," he said.

On the allegations, Radhakrishna said, "I am a bit hurt with my brother Ashok's statements against me and the organisation. I don't want to say more about the issue, as it is a bit personal matter as well."



Naik, the controversial Islamic preacher and tele-Evangelist, is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering.

The Centre had last November banned his Mumbai-based NGO for five years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Yesterday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had served a notice to Naik, currently abroad, asking him to join investigation under UAPA at its headquarters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Maldives government today denied it was selling a cluster of small islands to Saudi Arabia, following opposition protests against such a deal, but said it was seeking foreign investment to develop the area.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had accused the government of President Abdulla Yameen of ceding control of the inhabited atoll of Faafu to Saudi Arabia, whose king is due to visit the country.

MDP sources said police had blocked dozens of locals from protesting following reports the land would be sold, and made a handful of arrests.

But the government, which in 2015 lifted a ban on foreign ownership of land, denied any such sale had taken place.

In a statement it said it was working with "a range of international investors" to develop Faafu and the rest of the country and wanted to construct apartments, tourist resorts and airports.

"The administration categorically rebuts allegations that the atoll has been 'sold off' to a foreign entity," it said.

Saudi King Salman is on a three-week Asian tour and is expected to visit the Maldives -- home to 340,000 Sunni Muslims -- next week.

The Indian Ocean island nation is a popular upmarket holiday destination but its image has been hit by political unrest in recent years.

Opposition leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed is currently living in exile in London after he was jailed on terror-related charges widely criticised as politically motivated.

The low-lying islands are also threatened by rising sea levels and the United Nations has warned the country could be underwater by 2100.

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A 55-year-old man was crushed to death after he came under a Delhi Metro train today.

Officials said the incident occurred at the Janakpuri West station at about 10:40 AM when the man, identified as Narender Singh (55), fell on the track when a train was rolling in at platform number 1.

They said Singh was crushed under the train and was killed on the spot.

However, they said it is not clear if it was a suicide bid or the man fainted and accidentally fell on the track.

The CISF and the Delhi Metro authorities rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival, they added.

The police is probing the incident, they said.

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A medium danger avalanche warning was issued today for some avalanche-prone areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir, advising people not to venture into these regions over the next 24 hours.

The advisory was issued by the Chandigarh-based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The warning would be valid for the next 24 hours starting at 5 PM today, the SASE advisory said here.

"Medium danger avalanche warning exists for avalanche prone slopes in Kupwara, Bandipora, Anantnag, Baramula, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Badgam, Poonch, Rajouri, Ramban, Riasi, Doda, Kishtwar and Kargil districts of Jammu and Kashmir," it said.

The medium danger avalanche warning also exists for avalanche prone slopes of Kullu, Chamba, Lahul & Spiti, Sirmaur, Shimla and Kinnaur districts of Himachal Pradesh, the advisory further said.

Fresh snowfall was witnessed in Banihal (14 cm), Gulmarg (21 cm), Haddan Taj (35 cm), Neelam (26), Kanzalwan (31) and Pharkian (15 cm), among other areas in J&K.

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Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today pitched for political unity to combat terrorism in the backdrop of the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast in Madhya Pradesh.

"In these times we have to stay united and fight such forces, irrespective of who is at the centre of power," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

The Urban Development Minister was responding to questions on the encounter by Uttar Pradesh Police in Lucknow yesterday to nab the suspects linked with the train blast.

Ten people were injured, three of them seriously, in an IED blast on a passenger train near Jabdi station in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, in what is suspected to be a terror attack. The National Investigation Agency has initiated its probe into the incident.

Naidu said nobody should encourage cross-border terrorism and separatist forces.

In an apparent reference to Pakistan, he said, "Such tricks are being used by our neighbours and also other terrorist organisations across the globe to disturb a country's stability and peace.

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A Nepali film director, based here, was today sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment by a special court for sexually assaulting a minor girl about three years back.

Bharat Chhetri alias Badal (34) was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 by special judge Anupam Mukherjee.

The judge also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on Chhetri, the director of Nepali film 'Bhagya Vidata', failing which he would have to serve an additional jail term of six months.

The incident took place in 2014.

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At the 2017 ProCigar Festival in the Dominican Republic, La Aurora Cigars unveiled a new line known as the La Aurora ADN Dominicano. This release incorporates a tobacco known as Andullo into the blend.

Andullo tobacco undergoes a very different curing process than traditional cigar tobacco leaves. This involves putting tobacco leaves in palm seed pods. The pods are then wrapped in rope causing the andullo tobacco to compress into a thick bar almost looking like a roll of salami. Working with Andullo is not a new concept for La Aurora as they have done releases for Ventura Cigar Company and Total Flame utilizing that tobacco.

ADN Dominicano stands for Dominican DNA. While Andullo isnt very common in a premium hand-made cigar, the use of Andullo tobacco is an old Dominican process and the company pays homage to that process with he ADN Dominicano release.

The blend itself is a multi-national one and is finished with a Dominican wrapper from the Cibao Valley. The cigars is being released in four sizes.

The La Aurora ADN Dominicano expected to be released widespread in the U.S. market later this year.

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Dominican (Cibao Valley)

Binder: Cameroon

Filler: Dominican (Cibao Valley), Pennsylvania, Nicaragua, Andullo.

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic (La Aurora SA)

Vitolas Available

Robusto: 5 x 50

Toro: 5 3/4 x 54

Churchill: 7 x 47

Gran Toro: 6 x 58

Photo Credit: La Aurora
A team of federal probe agency NIA today reached Bhopal to look into the train blast case in Madhya Pradesh, suspected to be a terror attack.

The officials of National Investigation Agency (NIA) may visit the site of the blast near Jabri railway station under Shajapur district, about 60 kms from Bhopal, official sources said.

They said the NIA officials will interact with Madhya Pradesh police personnel and verify leads available with them to ascertain whether the explosion was a terror attack.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh had yesterday said that the initial investigation suggested the blast was a terror attack and investigation was underway to unravel the conspiracy behind the incident.

At least ten people were injured, three of them seriously, in the blast on Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train.

Madhya Pradesh Inspector General (Intelligence) Makrand Deoskar had said the blast was carried out "by planting an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)".

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Delhi College of Arts and Commerce has cancelled a programme of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy scheduled for tomorrow, days after it had postponed an event featuring Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav.

Members of the organising committee claimed that the programme has been cancelled as the "authorities did not find the atmosphere to be appropriate for conducting such an event".

The college principal, however, maintained that he was "not kept in the loop about the invitation to Swamy" and no permission was sought for the event.

Swamy was slated to participate in an interactive session on 'Journalism on Trial?', being organised by the college's journalism department as part of its annual fest 'Scoop'.

The posters of the event had been put up across the campus and on social media since last week.

"We were told that we can't hold the event as the atmosphere is not appropriate for such an event on the campus. When we protested, we were told that we won't be allowed to use the auditorium," a member of the organising committee said on the condition of anonymity.

College principal Rajiv Chopra defended the decision saying, "I was not kept in the loop about the invitation to Swamy."



"The college authorities did not extend any invite to Swamy. The invitation was given by students and no permission was taken from me to hold such an event," he said, adding, "We have received communications from Delhi University to maintain peace and harmony in the college."



The cancellation comes against the backdrop of the recent violence in Ramjas College where the RSS-backed ABVP and the CPI(ML)-affiliated AISA clashed over the withdrawal of a seminar invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid.

The students also alleged that the release of a journal 'Critique', which was to be unveiled by Swamy at tomorrow's event, has also been scrapped.

"We have been told that we can't publish the journal as it has articles on the Ramjas incident and the content need to be vetted by the principal. We are now planning to publish the journal with an alternative name 'Yatharth'," the editor of the student newspaper said.

The college had last week postponed an event where Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav was scheduled to address.

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A 22-year-old college student was killed and his two friends were injured in a bomb explosion on a road at Paharpur in Malda district, police said today.

The bomb exploded when Joy Pandey, 3rd year student of a local college, and his two friends were walking on a road in Chanchol police station area late last night, Sub-divisional Police Officer Sajal Biswas said.

The injured were hospitalised.

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A suspected terrorist was killed in the wee hours today after 12 hours of anti-terror operation, police said, refuting as "false" earlier reports of two terror suspects holed up in a house in the outskirts of Lucknow.

The anti-terror operation ended after nearly 12 hours.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

"At one point of time it appeared that more than one person was holed up inside the house," he said.

Chaudhary said that the operation "stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place."



The IG ATS Aseem Arun confirmed that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the ISIS.

"The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation," Arun said.

Anti-terror operations were carried out to get hold of terrorists, suspected to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh yesterday in which at least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously.

Speaking to the media after the anti-terror operation was over, Arun said, "Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out."



The ATS commandos then stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist), Arun said, adding "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandos, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandos. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead."



"One pistol, revolver, knife and ammunition have been recovered," he said.

The commandos also saw a wire wrapped around the stomach of the terror suspect, Arun said.

"We suspect that it could possibly be an explosive. Hence, the Bomb Disposal Squad has been called to clear the room first. After this the investigations would commence," he said.

On earlier reports of two terrorists being holed up in the house, the IG ATS, said, "Since we were using the tube cameras to ascertain the details (of the suspected terrorists), the image was not very clear, and it appeared that there may be two terrorists holed up in the house. But, when the search and clear operations were carried out, only one dead body was found."



Asked to comment on the possible terror linkage of the slain terrorist, Arun said that this would be answered during the course of investigation.

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The government has voiced concern over the tardy progress in setting up of medical colleges in the country with only five of the proposed 58 colleges coming up in the last three years.

In a recent meeting, the Union Health Ministry has directed 19 states and a Union territory, where these medical colleges will come up, to expedite the work.

The Centre had in 2014 announced its plans to set up 58 government medical colleges in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Bihar by December 2018.

"These 58 colleges are being set up in northern and northeastern states which have inadequate number of government medical colleges despite some of the states being densely populated.

"There are only 16 government medical colleges in a geographically large state like Uttar Pradesh while states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have only eight and six colleges, respectively," a health ministry official said.

Northeastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tripura have 2, 1, 1 and 2 government medical colleges, respectively.

"It is a matter of concern that only five of the planned 58 medical colleges have come up so far. Of these, two are in Chhattisgarh and one each in Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands," the official said.

The Centre has already released Rs 1,500 crore fund of the total allocation of Rs 7,500 crore.

"The ministry reviewed the progress of construction of the colleges in a meeting held last month. In around 10-12 cases, the ground work has not yet started while construction of around 30 medical institutes are in different phases," the official said.

According to the official, southern states have more government medical colleges than northern parts of India, with Tamil Nadu topping the list with 24 medical colleges, followed by Karnataka 18, Andhra Pradesh 12 and Kerala nine colleges. Maharashtra has 22 medical colleges.

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OPEC compliance with oil output reductions has exceeded the target because of higher Saudi cuts, said Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouk, head of a committee overseeing the decreases, on Wednesday.

Non-OPEC compliance, however, has so far been modest, the minister told reporters outside parliament.

Under a deal signed last year, OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed to reduce output by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) as part of a concerted effort to curb a global oil glut.

"OPEC's compliance with the cuts has been excellent in February," said Marzouk, adding that it exceeded the target of 1.2 million bpd.

"Saudi Arabia reduced its production higher than its share," to boost confidence in OPEC's move, the Kuwaiti minister said.

He said that non-OPEC compliance was between 50 per cent and 60 per cent.

Independent oil producers agreed to cut their production by 558,000 bpd, of which Russia pledged to reduce 300,000 bpd.

Marzouk said the OPEC and non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee will meet in Kuwait on March 26 to assess compliance.

Energy and oil ministers of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Oman and Algeria in addition to the OPEC secretary general are scheduled to attend.

Russia has said it will fully comply with the agreed cut by the end of April.

Oil prices are now up to 20 per cent higher than they were three months ago.
Over 13 per cent votes were polled in the first three hours of the seventh and last phase of Uttar Pradesh elections today in 40 Assembly seats spread over seven districts.

Polling started amidst tight security arrangements this morning with all eyes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

"Over 13 per cent votes were polled till 10 AM. The polling is going on peacefully," office of UP Chief Electoral Officer said here.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus.

Tight security has been put in place in these seven districts.

Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling is going on in this phase.

Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

Polling will be held between 5 PM in all constituencies, except the Naxal-hit Duddhi, Robertsganj and Chakia seats, where polling will end at 4 PM.

1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres to decide fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

The BJP is contesting 32 seats and its allies - the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party - are contesting on 4 seats each.

The BSP has fielded its nominees for all seats.

While the SP is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in race for the remaining seats.

In the 2012 state Assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.

In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Cong (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) are in the fray.

While the maximum number of 24 candidates are fromVaranasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates are contesting from Kerakat (SC).

Prominent candidates who are in fray include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari, and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

The turnout on these seats in 2012 was 57.92 per cent in 2012 Assembly polls.

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Over 19,000 people have been arrested in China in 2016 for committing telecom frauds, officials said today.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) increased efforts to crack down on telecom and Internet frauds and supervised the handling of 62 major fraud cases last year, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

Chinese police arrested 19,345 suspects for telecom frauds last year, according to the SPP.

One case reportedly led to the death of Xu Yuyu, an 18-year-old high school graduate from Linyi City in east China's Shandong Province. Xu was reported to have lost USD 1,400 meant for university tuition fees to fraudsters, the SPP said.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) destroyed a transnational telecom fraud gang in Cambodia, catching 39 suspects and paying compensation of more than 360,000 yuan (USD 52000) to 21 victims.

Telecom-based fraud, in which suspects cheat people through telecommunication channels, is a growing crime in China.

The frauds are also in the name of charity or disaster-relief money Trojan programmes and phishing websites, the report had said.

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Pakistan security forces today killed 10 Taliban militants in the restive northwest tribal region amid a nationwide offensive against terrorists following a string of attacks in the country.

The clash occurred in the mountainous region of Swat district where yesterday five militants and two army personnel were killed in a gun battle.

"Those killed were part of Taliban and were planning to carry out attacks in the district," a security official said.

Another official said the dead bodies of the militants were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Swabi for identification.

Pakistan launched operation 'Radd-ul-Fasaad' -- an Arabic word which translates roughly to 'elimination of discord' -- last month after militants killed more than 125 people in a fresh wave of attacks.

The operations are being carried out on the basis of intelligence and target not only the militants but also their handlers, financiers and supporters.

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BJP leader Chandrakant Patil today appealed to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to join hands in various Zilla Parishads, elections for which were held last month, to form a ruling coalition.

"I would like to make an official request to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to join hands with BJP to form a ruling front in the Zilla Parishads," Patil, who is revenue minister, said while speaking to reporters outside the Vidhan Bhavan.

Patil's appeal to the Sena chief comes after BJP corporators extended support to Shiv Sena candidate Vishwanath Mahadeshwar today during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.

"From day one, I was in favour of BJP and Shiv Sena joining hands. The way we have supported Shiv Sena's mayor candidate, I hope Sena will reciprocate in the same manner and support BJP to come to power in Zilla Parishads," Patil said.

Zilla Parishads in Kolhapur, Sangli and Jalgaon are the key ones where BJP can form a ruling front.

Both BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the recently held elections for municipal corporations and Zilla Parishads independently.

Patil said, Shiv Sena's support to BJP to gain power in ZP will benefit both the parties.

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One of the highlights of the recent XIX Habano Festival held in Cuba was the unveiling of what Habanos S.A. describes as its most premium Montecristo brand, the new Montecristo Linea 1935.

The name Montecristo Linea 1935 translates to 1935 line and it pays homage to the year the Montecristo brand was formed. There will be three sizes: Maltes (6 x 53), Dumas (5 1/8 x 49), and Leyenda (6 1/2 x 55). The Maltes and Dumas vitolas introduce new sizes to the Habanos portfolio while the Leyenda was the size that was used on the limited edition Montecristo 80 Aniversario that was unveiled back in 2015.

In a press release announcing the Montecristo Linea 1935 Inocente Nunez Blanco, Co-President of Habanos, S.A. commented, Among the proposals for this year, we will like to stand out the new Linea 1935 of Montecristo launch. This is the reference brand of the Habanos, and the launch of the new Linea 1935 is both a pride and a responsibility. This is the most premium Montecristo proposal, with an innovative and exclusive presentation and three new vitolas in the brands portfolio that, for the first time, will have a full strength flavour. We are really excited with this new release.

The XIX Habano Festival took place February 27  March 3, 2017 in Cuba.

Photo Credit: Habanos SA
The AAP government has set a target of ensuring piped water supply in entire Delhi by the end of 2017 in its budget presented today in the Assembly.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia presenting the budget said the government has resolved to provide piped water supply in all the authorised, unauthorised colonies and JJ clusters by the end of 2017.

He said Rs 2,107.9 crore has been allocated for water supply and cleanliness in the fiscal 2017-18.

As per Economic Survey of Delhi (2016-17), 81 per cent of the households have access to piped water supply.

As per 2011 census, there are 33.41 lakh households in Delhi of which 27.16 lakh households are getting supply of water through pipelines.

The budget highlighted the government's focus areas of providing improved water supply and quality besides reaching to new areas through water pipeline.

Sisodia said last year was historical in developing infrastructure for water supply as 309 unauthorised colonies were provided water pipelines since the government came to power in Delhi.

So far 1,200 unauthorised colonies have access to piped water supply. Further 200 will be brought under piped water supply system, the budget statement said.

The government has also proposed to take a big step towards



water quality and continue with modernisation of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) workshops.

DJB is working for round the clock water supply with emphasis to provide clean drinking water through taps. This scheme will launched in some colonies this year and will be extended to cover the whole city, it said.

The water supply network is being modified and the supply system of the city is being evaluated under the 'walk the line' programme. It will help preparing a database on shortcomings of the network.

The government will continue the scheme of free 20 KL water consumption. Under the scheme 12.50 lakh consumers have received zero water bills even as DJB has earned a profit of Rs 178 crore.

The distribution network has been strengthened with replacement of 70 km long damaged and clogged water lines. 250 new steel tankers have been procured boosting DJB tanker fleet to 7,000.

DJB has planned for increased number of e-Pyau at public places with the help of corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments.

The budget also mentioned the government's emphasis on rain water harvesting as Delhi depends on other states for its requirements. Total 20 MGD water production will be increased through eco-friendly methods in 2017-18.

DJB has launched a rainwater harvesting project in Burari and efforts are being made to increase water production with other means including installing of 92 tubewells, resotring of 100 old tubewells.

The government will prepare a work plan to revive old water tanks and ponds. The underground water reservoirs in karala, Maongolpuri and Mongolpur Kaan will be started this year.

The government is setting up a 70 MGD sewage water treatment plant near Coronation Pillar which will the the lowest in terms of cost in the country, Sisodia said.

Sewarage treatment plants at Dill Gate(15 MGD) and Yamuna Vihar (25 MGD) have been started while work has been awarded for 315 MLD sewage treatment plant which will be completed in two years, he said.

All the old STPs will be rehabilitated to increase the quality standard of treated effluents up to BOD less than 10 ppm.

The government has hired an Israeli firm for consultancy regarding modification of supplementary drains. A pilot project for desilting and uplifting of 8.5 km range from Mukarba Chowk to Wazirabad will be taken up this year.

The project for laying of interceptor sewers along three major drains -- Najafgarh, Supplemenatary and Shahdara -- will be completed soon. It will be a milestone for cleaning and beautification of Yamuna. This model will be followed for cleaning major drains in Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced a scheme for giving loans up to Rs 1 crore to small and marginal fishermen for buying modern boats so that they can venture into the deep sea for a better catch.

"We are bringing a scheme for poor fishermen, who cannot go deep into the sea due to the small boats they own and cannot catch enough fish," he said at a public meeting at Diu in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu.

"Under the scheme, the draft of which is almost ready and which will be implemented all over the country, we will ask poor fishermen to form a group in their villages. The group will be given a loan up to Rs 1 crore under the MUDRA scheme. The Centre will contribute 50 per cent of funds," Modi said.

"They (group) will be given big fishing boats which can go beyond 12 nautical miles, where catch is available in large numbers. Small fishermen, instead of fishing alone, can be part of such groups and share profits," he said.

The Prime Minister said people having suggestions to improve the scheme could convey them to the administration of Daman and Diu.

"We have taken various steps to develop the coastal region of the country. We have started the Sagarmala project under which we will invest Rs 8 lakh crore," Modi said at a public meeting at Diu, situated on the sea coast.

Visiting the coastal district on the International Women's day, the Prime Minister said he was glad that Diu did not have a skewed sex-ratio like elsewhere in India.

"Today, if we have to give a message on saving the girl child, this is the right place. I am fortunate to address the people of Diu today on the International Women's Day,"he said.

"In the entire country, there is a vast difference between the numbers of men and women. Somewhere, only 800 girls are born per 1000 boys, while somewhere it is 850 or 875 at some other place... Which has created an imbalance in the society," Modi said.

A campaign is being launched under the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme in the entire country but this is a different place as sex ratio is in favour of women here. As against 1,000 men there are 1040 women, Modi said.

Modi said many girls drop out of school due to lack of



toilet facilities.

"To improve this situation, we started a movement in Gujarat to build toilets in schools and it was a success. Now, we are replicating it across the country. As a result, construction of separate toilets for girls in schools has begun. Now most schools have such facilities," he said.

"Though it was not a difficult task, it was somehow not initiated even after so many years of Independence," Modi said taking a dig at the previous Congress governments.

He said the Congress dispensation headed by Indira Gandhi nationalised banks in the country, saying "banks must serve the poor".

"But even after so many years, have you seen any poor standing on the threshold of a bank? Were poor citizens able to open bank accounts," he asked.

The Prime Minister said his NDA government started 'Jan Dhan Yojna' "to change this scenario and enabled opening crores of bank accounts".

"We compelled banks to serve the poor. Now, 21 crore poor citizens have Ru-Pay ATM card, a facility which was earlier restricted to the rich only," he said.

To boost religious tourism, Modi also announced construction of a bridge connecting Dwarka in Gujarat with Bet Dwarka, an island in the Arabian sea.

"One of our projects is to build an iconic bridge between Dwarka and Bet Dwarka at a cost of Rs 500 crore. Design of the bridge is currently being finalised. We intend to do ground breaking ceremony for this project in near future," the PM added.

He also praised the Union territory for producing 10 MW of solar power against its electricity consumption oft 9 MW.

Addressing a gathering at the courtyard of Somnath temple in Gujarat earlier in the day, Modi recalled his recent visit to his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi and said he was fortunate to have received the blessings of both Kashi Vishwanath and Somnath Mahadev.

"Day before yesterday, I received the blessings of Vishwanath and today, I bowed down at the feet of Somnath. I am fortunate to have the blessings of both Somnath Mahadev and of Kashi Vishwanath," he said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today proposed to set up a Chittorgarh Fort Development Authority for systematic development of the historic fort.

In her budget speech, Raje said the state government with the nod of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will set up the authority for development of the fort which, she termed as "the icon of Mewar's glorious history".

Chittorgarh is among the six majestic forts of the desert state which has the UNESCO World Heritage Site tag.

The state also boasts of historic Rani Padmavati palace which was recently vandalised by Karni Sena activists, who objected to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming film "Padmavati" accusing him of distorting the image of legendary 13th-14th century Indian queen in his film.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former prime minister and JDS chief H D Deve Gowda today said regional parties do not have the strength to stop BJP's political growth as they lack unity.

He also said if BJP manages to win Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections on its own, the party will next focus on southern India, starting from Karnataka.

"The point is today, what next? There is no oppositionin Parliament, Congress is not a recognised oppositionparty... The political situation in the country today is- BJPis strongly progressing," he told reporters here.

"If at all on March 11 BJP comes to power on its own (in Uttar Pradesh), the regional parties as of todaydon't have the strength to stop BJP," Gowda said.

"I don't know what willhappen in the future; at present there is no unity amongregional parties," he said.

Gowda was interacting with mediapersons after receivingthe Press Club of Bangalore's 'Man of the Year' award here.

He said BJP has already made some headway in Kerala and also increased their vote share in Tamil Nadu.

"In Karnataka, which they say is their gateway for the south, the gate isslightly shut right now. They will use their full force to open it completely," Gowda said.

"Their entire focus will turn towards Karnataka, to come to power once again in the state," he added.

Assembly polls in Karnataka are likely to take place in early 2018.

Gowda said BJP is a strong party with 282 seats in the Lok Sabha and it was in a position where none could try to destabilise it.

"The role of a regional party is in a difficultsituation. To what extent they will try to rise to the occasion to protect democratic system is to be seen," he said.

Gowda said Narendra Modi was first projected forthe Prime Minister's post by "corporate houses and both RSS and BJP only consented to it at the later stages".

BJP is today run only by "twinbrothers" - Prime Minister Modi and Party President Amit Shah - and others do not have any role there, he claimed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Naam Tamilar Katchi (NMK) today accused the Centre of not taking any steps to prevent the recurring attacks by Sri Lankan Navy on Tamil Nadu fishermen.

The Centre acted swiftly in the matter of Kerala fishermen being killed by Italian marines. However, there was no such initiative with regard to the fishermen from Tamil Nadu, NMK Organiser Seeman told reporters here.

He was reacting to the killing of a 22-year old fishermen allegedly in firing by Sri Lankan Navy.

Both the Congress and BJP have the same yardstick as far as Tamil Nadu was concerned, particularly, the fishermen issue, he charged.

He alleged both the Centre and successive governments in the state had not shown any interest in solving the problem faced by the fishermen.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) today announced the appointment of Sonal Shrivastava as its Deputy Chief Finance Officer.

Former CFO of Lafarge India, Shrivastava, has joined Hindustan Zinc as Deputy Chief Finance Officer (CFO), the company said in a statement.

Hindustan Zinc has also appointed Pankaj Kumar as the new Chief Operating Officer (Smelters) subsequent to the movement of Vikas Sharma in an elevated role as CEO of Balco, it said.

"Hindustan Zinc...Has recently appointed a Deputy Chief Finance Officer and Chief Operating Officer to support the growing expansions of its operations," the company statement said.

Hindustan Zinc CEO Sunil Duggal told PTI that since the company's mining and smelting operations are expanding, these positions will further strengthen the top-line management.

The rich experience of (Pankaj) Kumar will bring technical experience, knowledge and perspective and will further drive continuous improvement at smelters and Shrivastava will further strengthen the finance function through leveraging best practices and her global experience.

Both these senior level positions will be part of the Executive Committee of the company.

A chemical engineer from BIT Sindri and Masters in Management Studies from JBIMS Mumbai, Shrivastava brings with her rich professional experience covering finance and control, compliance, purchase, legal, audit, M&A, capital market fund raising, strategy & business development, direct and indirect tax, shared services and IT.

Kumar is a BTech from IIT Kharagpur and PGDBM from XLRI Jamshedpur. In his earlier stints, he has worked with Tata Steel, Mittal Steel, Sterlite Copper and Adani Ports.

Hindustan Zinc is on expansion mode with a target to achieve 1.2 million tonnes of metal production and 1,000 tonnes of silver in the near future. The company has also plans to enter into the solar project with production of 115 MW of solar power.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lanka and India today agreed to release the fishermen held in each other's custody after a high-level discussion between the two sides here following the killing of an Indian fisherman, a top government source said.

Lanka would release 85 Indian fishermen, the source said, adding that India would free at least 19 Lankan fishermen.

"This move is being made to defuse the current tensions," the source added.

It was a reference to the current controversy where the Sri Lankan Navy has been accused of opening fire on Indian fishermen and killing one of them.

The Lankan navy, however, denied the allegation, saying it does not open fire at poaching fishermen and only arrests them.

Sri Lanka has said it ordered an investigation into the incident and wanted to ensure that such incidents would not hamper the good relations between the two countries.

Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said he had spoken with Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu on the situation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scores of students today staged a protest outside Women and Child Development Ministry objecting to statement by Union Minister Maneka Gandhi advocating early hostel curfew to protect girls from "hormonal outburst".

Demanding an apology from Gandhi, students from varsities across the national capital shouted slogans such as "hormonal outburst hokey rahega" and "lakshman rekha ki sarkar, nahi chalegi abki baar".

The Union Minister had earlier this week made the statement in an interview to a TV channel equating hostel curfews with "lakshman rekha".

"When you are 16 or 17 you are also hormonally very challenged. So to protect you from your own hormonal outbursts, perhaps a lakshman rekha is drawn. It really is for your own safety," she had said.

Arguing that women's safety cannot be ensured by "two gentlemen at gate with sticks", one of the protesting students said, "What the minister had said was not just violative of constitutional rights of all women students, but also disrespectful of people coming from particular regions of the country."



"We have been struggling against hostel curfew hours for the last two years and such a patriarchal statement by the minister is completely atrocious and unacceptable," said Devangana Kalita, a representative of 'Pinjra Tod', a student campaign demanding no gender-discriminatory accommodations for women students.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
UK Prime Minister Theresa May suffered her second Brexit defeat in a week after the Parliaments's upper house voted to authorise lawmakers to veto the final outcome of her EU talks, putting her under more pressure to meet the March-end deadline to start the withdrawal process.

After a three-hour debate, the House of Lords voted 366 to 268 to back calls for a "meaningful vote" on the final terms of withdrawal from the 28-member European Union.

Peers yesterday amended the legislation that will authorise May to notify the EU of the UK's intention to leave and pave the way for official Brexit talks to begin.

Ministers said the amendment was "disappointing" and they would seek to overturn the move when the bill returns to the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the parliament.

On March 1, May suffered her first parliamentary defeat over Brexit after the House of Lords voted in favour of an amendment to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK after the country leaves the single market.

The latest defeat has dashed May's hopes, who was confident of passage of the bill in time to meet her deadline of triggering Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which begins the two-year withdrawal process, by the end of March.

The turnout in the Lords for the vote was the largest since 1831, according to Parliament's website.

The bill is expected to the Commons return on March 13. May's Conservative Party has a majority in the lower chamber, but not the Lords.

This back-and-forth threatens the Article 50 deadline.

May has previously agreed to give the parliament a vote on her Brexit deal, but on a "take-it-or-leave-it" basis. That means if lawmakers dismiss May's divorce agreement with EU, the UK could be out of the trading bloc without any deal in place.

(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 said that her government had to take loan to repay huge debts taken by the previous Left Front government.

Banerjee made the statement in the state Assembly in reply to a comment by CPIM member Tanmay Bhattacharya that TMC government had taken loan to the tune of Rs 1.33 lakh crore.

When the CPIM member said that the TMC government should consider increasing old age pension and allowances for widows before considering any hike in the allowances of MLAs, Banerjee said she was stunned to hear this.

The chief minister said that allowances for the MLAs are the lowest in the state and it was his party members who had asked for increase. Now he was making so much noise, she said.

She informed the house that her government has to pay Rs 40,000 crore this year to repay the debt taken by the previous LF government.

Earlier, Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said that 49,687 widows and 44,244 people with physical disabilities were being given allownaces while 83,738 people were getting old age pensions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Connecticut Shade grown tobacco is one of the most popular type of tobacco lead used on cigars. It is not only grown in the State of Connecticut, but the seeds are used to grow the crop in many other regions and foreign countries. Now three Connecticut lawmakers want to ensure that there is no confusion between the home grown Connecticut Shade tobacco leaf and Connecticut Shade tobacco not grown in the State. This past week Senator Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), U.S. Representative John Larson (D-Connecticut), and U.S. Representative Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut) have written the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent labeling foreign-grown and out of state grown Connecticut Shade tobacco as Connecticut.

In a press release by Senator Murphys office, this action comes as a result of hearing from constituents and farmers in the State of Connecticut. The lawmakers state point out that while both Connecticut Shade tobacco is grown in Connecticut as well as other regions, the conditions of the climate and the soil can yield a different crop of tobacco, and they want no confusion of what the final tobacco type it is. In other words, the lawmakers dont want Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut Shade tobacco to be labeled as Connecticut Shade  they want that distinction for only the tobacco grown in Connecticut.

In the letter, the three lawmakers state:

We write to you today after hearing concerns from our constituents regarding the mislabeling of foreign cigar products. Connecticut shade tobacco seeds are now not only grown in Connecticut and other areas of the Northeast, but also in Ecuador and other parts of Central and Latin America.The uniqueness of Connecticut shade tobacco is due to the specific environment in which it is grown. Given existing authorities and the responsibilities of your agencies, we urge you to investigate the misbranding of Connecticut shade tobacco products and take action to curb this deceptive practice. While there are myriad challenges facing farmers, being undercut by foreign growers is a clear threat to the long-term viability of the Connecticut shade tobacco industry.

The lawmakers cite that the FTC has the authority under 15 U.S. Code  45 to prevent unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. In addition, the lawmakers also cite that Section 903 of the Tobacco Control Act states a tobacco product can be deemed misbranded if its advertising is false or misleading.

The full text of the letter can be found here.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has asked Berlin not to preach about democracy and human rights amid a mounting row sparked by Germany's refusal to allow meetings aimed at gathering votes to extend the Turkish president's powers.

"Please, don't give us lessons in human rights and democracy," the minister yesterday said, as he spoke to a crowd of some 200 Turkish government supporters gathered at the residence of their country's consul in the northern city of Hamburg.

The comments came after German local authorities banned rallies that Turkish officials were due to address to raise support among expatriate voters for a referendum in April on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers.

"Germany must not intervene in our elections and our referendum," he said. "Those who want to say 'Yes' in the referendum are being blocked and that is not right."



Local authorities had called off a rally in Hamburg where Cavusoglu was due to speak, citing fire safety concerns.

Police said about 250 opponents of Erdogan gathered near the consulate, some of them brandishing signs that read "Dictator Erdogan -- Hayir," meaning "No" in Turkish.

Cavusoglu said he would meet today with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, whom he called a "friend", at a breakfast in Berlin and visit a tourism fair.

Tensions have been rocketing between NATO allies Turkey and Germany over the past week after the cancellation of several rallies where Turkish cabinet ministers were due to whip up support for a "yes" vote in the April 16 referendum.

Erdogan escalated the crisis over theweekend, likening the cancellations to "Nazi practices," drawing a sharp response from Berlin.

He also warned Germany not to block him from making an appearance if he wished.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's office firmly rejected the Nazi jibe as "absurd and out of place".

Cavusoglu said the rally cancellations were "unacceptable" and reminiscent of practices in the run-up to World War II.

He criticised Germany and several other European countries including the Netherlands, where politicians including Prime Minister Mark Rutte have condemned Cavusoglu's plans to attend a similar rally in Rotterdam.

"We are in a state of great fear," Cavusoglu said. "If we cannot stop the advance of racist parties, Europe will head (back) to the pre-World War II period."



European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday condemned Erdogan's "Nazi" comments in an interview with Luxembourg's RTL television.

"I am surprised by what I hear from Turkey. When the Turkish president and his foreign minister say that today's Germany is worse than Nazi Germany, I can't accept it," the former Luxembourg prime minister said.

"Our parents and grandparents lived through the Nazi occupation," said Juncker, who was born in 1954.

Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik spoke yesterday with Michael Roth, state secretary at Germany's foreign ministry, sources in Celick's ministry said.

Cavusoglu accused countries "which we deem as friends" of openly taking sides, slamming it "unacceptable" and "embarrassing".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three members of a gang of six have been arrested in connection with the loot of a truck laden with 400 bags of milk powder worth lakhs of rupees, police said today.

Three persons were arrested yesterday, SP Ajay Pal Sharma said, adding 264 bags of milk powder were recovered from their possession.

The remaining three members of the gang are on the run, he said.

The truck was looted by armed assailants on Delhi-Yamunotri Highway in neighbouring Shamli district on February 28.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit South Korea, Japan and China, the State Department announced, just a day after North Korea launched ballistic missiles close to ally Japan.

On his first visit to the region as top US diplomat, March 15-19, Tillerson will speak with authorities after the tests, which were followed by Washington's deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea.

"In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from the DPRK, and reaffirm the Administration's commitment to further broaden and enhance US economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region," spokesman Mark Toner said.

Tillerson arrives in Tokyo on March 15; heads to Seoul on March 17, and on to Beijing on March 18.

The US Pacific Command said Monday that the Americans had begun deploying the THAAD system to South Korea, which is designed to defend the US ally from a North Korean attack.

China responded that it was "firmly opposed" to the deployment and vowed to "resolutely take necessary measures" to defend its security interests.

China, a permanent council member and Pyongyang's main ally, has argued that deployment of the THAAD would further destabilise the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Meanwhile, China today called on North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military wargames, to avoid what it called a "head-on collision.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Ambassador Nikki Haley has discussed reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations during her first meeting with the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations.

Haley yesterday tweeted after her talks with Ambassador Riyad Mansour that the Palestinians should "meet with Israel in direct negotiations rather than looking to the UN to deliver results that can only be achieved through the two parties."



Mansour told AFP that during the 45-minute meeting Haley "raised the desire to see the two parties engaging in negotiations" and indicated that the United States was considering a fresh bid to revive talks.

"I don't know at what level they want to do that, but once we receive a request to that effect, we will respond to it accordingly," he said.

The Middle East peace process has been comatose since former US secretary of state John Kerry's efforts to broker a deal collapsed in April 2014.

France stepped in and organized an international conference in January intended to lay the groundwork for a return to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, but there has been little headway.

"The US is committed to supporting a true peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," Haley said on Twitter.

Mansour described his meeting with Haley as "cordial" and said they agreed to continue discussions.

The US ambassador earlier this month rejected suggestions that the new administration was abandoning the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"We absolutely support a two-state solution, but we are thinking out of the box as well," Haley said.

The UN Security Council will discuss the Middle East peace process on March 24 and hear a first report on whether Israel is complying with a new UN resolution demanding an end to the building of settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

The resolution was adopted after the former US administration did not resort to its veto and instead abstained, allowing the measure to pass.

Haley has fiercely criticized the former administration for failing to use its veto to defend Israel and has dismissed the resolution as a "terrible mistake.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five mosques in the US have received intimidating messages, including a bomb threat and one saying "death is waiting for you and your kind", prompting calls for increasing security at Muslim facilities.

A mosque in Lexington, Kentucky, stepped up security following a bomb threat it received this weekend.

The bomb threat against Lexington's Masjid Bilal was received through the mail on Saturday from Sheffield, England, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a Facebook post.

The letter contained a green index card wrapped in a blank sheet of paper with the words, "An explosive device will be placed at your mosque very soon!" written on it.

The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on leaders of local mosques to improve their security measures after four mosques were threatened.

One mosque received a message threatening "death for you and your kind" from a self-declared "Muslim slayer", Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell was quoted as saying by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Three other mosques received identical emails threatening widespread attacks against American Muslims on March 15, Mitchell said.

The Greenview Madani Center, a mosque in Lawrenceville, recently received a mailed handwritten letter from a 'Muslim slayer' with the message, "Death is waiting for you and your kind," along with a crudely drawn picture of a decapitated person. The mosque alerted local law enforcement about the letter.

Masjid Omar bin Abdul Aziz in Norcross, Al-Farooq Masjid and another Atlanta-area mosque received a threatening email on February 18.

The emails, with the subject line "your one warning," stated in part, "...Muslims, Mexicans, blacks will (be) hunted nationwide until (they) are dead and gone... Plan to run or die, this is a kindness that we give you all warning, take it and go."



"While the perpetrators are being sought, mosque leaders should do all they can to protect their houses of worship by working with local law enforcement authorities, installing security cameras and employing security officers during the daily prayers," Mitchell said.

Also recently, two mosques in the US state of Maryland received threatening letters calling for the 'slaughter of Muslims'. Two Islamic centres in Silver Spring, Maryland, received the violent threats by mail.

The mosque incidents come amid a wave of bomb threats to Jewish community centres in New York, Michigan, New Jersey and other states.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Metals and mining conglomerate Vedanta today said it is aiming to increase the representation of women on its board to 33 per cent by 2020.

The company pledges to raise women board representation to 33 per cent by 2020, the global natural resources firm said in a statement.

"Hiring women far outpaces that of just diversity and gender inclusion. Women bring unique insights irrespective of the sector. Vedanta has taken the lead in ensuring that women constitute a sizable number of our workforce. These will only increase in the years to come," Vedanta Head Group HR Suresh Bose said.

A signatory of the United Nations' Women's Empowerment Principles (WEP)- 'Equality Means Business', Vedanta practises and promotes equal employment opportunities, the company said.

To mark International Women's Day, the company reached out to the communities, along with celebrating the women workforce across locations.

Vedanta's Sterlite Copper operations in Tuticorin honoured women achievers, while their 'Sakhi' project, a flagship women empowerment initiative achieved formation of 1,056 self-help groups covering 15,251 rural women from Tuticorin.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Panchayat and Rural Development minister Subrata Mukherjee today welcomed the latest decision of the Centre not to deprive children, without Aadhaar cards, benefits of Mid-Day Meal and said good sense had prevailed at long last.

"Despite being late in arriving at the decision, it appears good sense has finally prevailed on the Centre," Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of the International Women's Day celebrations by Panchayats and Rural Development department here.

He was asked to comment on the statement issued by the Cabinet Secretariat yesterday not to deprive beneficiaries of certain programmes for want of Aadhaar card till Aadhaar number is assigned to the concerned persons.

The cabinet statement read, "In case of Mid-Day Meal scheme and under the Integrated Child Development Scheme, the schools and Anganwadis have been asked to collect the Aadhaar number of the children beneficiaries and in case a child does not have Aadhaar, the school or ICDS functionary will be required to provide enrolment facilities to a child and till Aadhaar number is assigned, the benefits will continue."



"It is good that the step to make Aadhaar mandatory immediately has been withdrawn. Food should not have been snatched away from the children in schools in the first place," Mukherjee said.

West Bengal Chief Minister



Mamata Banerjee had on



Saturday condemned the Centre's decision to make Aadhaar cards mandatory for availing the midday meal scheme and accused it of snatching the rights of the poor.

"Now even infants (0-5 years) will need Aadhaar cards? Aadhaar card for mid-day meals and ICDS? Shocking! 100 Days Work also not spared. Instead of helping the poorest of the poor, the downtrodden and our favorite children, why are their rights being snatched away?," Banerjee had said in her tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Crews grappling with vexing wildfires that have charred hundreds of square miles of land in four states and killed six people soon may get a bit of a break: Winds are forecast to ease from the gusts that whipped the flames.

Bill Bunting, forecast operations chief for the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center, said Tuesday the powerful wind gusts that fanned the wildfires in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas should diminish to about 10 to 20 mph yesterday. He said temperatures should top in the 70s, with afternoon humidity low.

"These conditions will make it somewhat easier for firefighting efforts, but far from perfect. The fires still will be moving," Bunting told The Associated Press. "The ideal situation is that it would turn cold and rain, and unfortunately that's not going to happen."



In addition to those four states, conditions were ripe for fires in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. That followed powerful thunderstorms that moved through the middle of the country overnight, spawning dozens of suspected tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.

Kansas wildfires have burned about 625 square miles of land and killed one person. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Corey Holt, of Oklahoma City, died Monday when his tractor-trailer jackknifed as he tried to back up because of poor visibility on a Kansas highway, and he succumbed to smoke after getting out of his vehicle.

Two SUVs crashed into the truck, injuring six people, state trooper Michael Racy said. Most of the state's charred land is in Clark County, where 30 structures were damaged, said Allison Kuhns, a county emergency management office spokeswoman.

About half of those structures are near Englewood, one of two communities evacuated. Kuhns said there also have been significant cattle losses as entire ranches were engulfed.

That fire started in Oklahoma, where it burned an estimated 390 square miles in Beaver County. Officials say a separate blaze scorched more than 155 square miles of land in neighboring Harper County, Oklahoma, and was a factor in the death of a woman who had a heart attack while trying to keep her farm near Buffalo from burning.

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A woman allegedly making money by bailing out criminals from local courts and impersonating a government servant, was arrested on court order.

A Mizoram Excise and Narcotics department spokesman today said the 36-year-old woman, a resident of Aizawl and unemployed, was allegedly impersonating another woman who was a clerk at the state sericulture department.

She had bailed out an accused in a narcotic case on March 16, 2015. The man was arrested for allegedly possessing 29 gm of heroin.

She was arrested after she failed to produce the accused in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act special court and for failure to pay the bail bond of Rs one lakh.

The special court judge also sentenced her to two months imprisonment, the statement by the spokesman said.

There are many people earning money by bailing out criminals in courts which resulted in absconding by many offenders, it added.

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The SSB women personnel on the frontiers have got much-needed gender-friendly facilities with the border-guarding force providing them with private barrack cubicles and sanitary pad incinerators for the first time.

As part of the initiative to ensure better working conditions for the female staffers, the paramilitary force has also ordered procurement of suitable and body-fit size protectors, bullet-proof vests, helmets, shoes and raincoats for women troops on combat duties.

The Sashastra Seema Bal, guarding the Indo-Nepal and the Indo-Bhutan borders on the country's east, has also modified toilets in the border areas to ensure privacy for women, who often work odd hours due to the nature of their duties.

"We have created some separate living blocks for women troopers in the barracks at their place of posting in the border areas," Archana Ramasundaram, Director General, SSB, told PTI.

The paramilitary force has been working on the idea for about a year, said the DG, adding the gender-friendly infrastructure is now getting in place for the first time.

"At all the locations where women are posted or deployed, sanitary napkin dispensers and incinerators have been installed," she said.

This is for the first time a paramilitary force has created such separate facilities for its women personnel deployed in the far-flung frontier areas.

Ramasundaram, the first woman chief of a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) or paramilitary, added their focus is now to get separate toilets for women at these locations and it will be done in the future.

At the jawan barracks in border areas, a senior SSB officer said, separate entries have already been created for female personnel as they are co-deployed with their men colleagues.

"A washing machine has been provided in every unit accommodation of women personnel and pulley-based drying racks have been installed so that the women can easily dry their intimate and other clothings in the barrack area," the officer added.

The about 70,000-personnel strong force has also procured ladders to be fitted in heavy troop carrier vehicles and trucks so that women personnel can easily climb up and down easily as and when required.

As it was difficult to get sanitary pads in the area of deployment, the force has installed dispensers, replenished every few weeks, and incinerators as sweepers would desist from picking up the used ones, the officer added.

The force has also got the Union Home Ministry's sanctions to have special buses having in-built toilets for exclusive use by women personnel on duty, the officer said.

(Reopesn DEL 41)



The SSB DG added the force will be recruit more women personnel to achieve the target of 15 per cent women strength, as per government directions.

The (SSB), in 2007, was the first paramilitary force to recruit women in combat ranks as constables and has close to 1,200 women personnel in the 'khaki' at present.

A national survey conducted among the serving women security personnel last year had found that they are grappling with issues like lack of basic amenities-- including toilets, uncomfortable duty gear, and privacy.

The survey, conducted by 1990-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer Renuka Mishra, had also found that women personnel opted to go thirsty for long hours as they feared if they needed to relieve themselves they would hardly find any toilets around.

The survey also pointed that the bullet-proof or body protection vests provided to the women personnel were so heavy and tight they cause breathlessness, as they are made as per the physical requirements of a male body.

It also said that it was hard for them to find a proper place to wash their clothes and dry undergarments while on job.
The Illusione Garagiste is a new offering that made its debut at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show. The Garagiste was part of a major product expansion by Dion Giolitos Illusione brand. In terms of the cigar name, it has ties to the wine industry. A Garagiste refers to a group of winemakers who are somewhat considered renegades. In a way, the Garagiste is a little bit of a renegade blend for Illusione as it incorporates an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper  the first Illusione cigar to use such a blend. Recently Ive had an opportunity to smoke the Illusione Garagiste in the Robusto size. Overall I found this renegade foray into Ecuadorian Habano to be a big positive for Giolito as the Garagiste Robusto is an excellent release.

Giolito has also recently celebrated his ten years with his Illusione brand (and released the Haut 10 as a cigar to commemorate that milestone). During the past decade, Giolito has partnered with Casa Fernandez to handle production for his cigars. Over the years, Casa Fernandezs production has focused primarily working with three wrappers with two of them being Nicaraguan Corojo and Nicaraguan Criollo grown on their Aganorsa farms. The third wrapper is a sourced San Andres wrapper used for maduros. Last year, Casa Fernandez unveiled several cigars with Ecuadorian Habano and Ecuadorian Connecticut wrappers. Giolito has followed suit  utilizing the Habano for Garagiste and Connecticut Shade for Illusione Rothchildes CT and Gigantes CT releases.

Without further ado, lets take a closer look at the Illusione Garagiste Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

In addition to the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, the blend focuses on two tobaccos  Viso Corojo and Viso Criollo from a specific farm in the Aganorsa fields. The cigar is produced at Casa Fernandezs TABSA factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaragua

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A  TABSA)

Vitolas Available

The Illusione Garagiste is available in four sizes  each packaged in 20 count boxes..

Short Robusto: 4 1/4 x 48

Robusto: 5 x 50

Toro: 6 x 52

Gordo: 6 x 56

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper of the Illusione Garagiste Robusto has a medium to dark colored brown wrapper with a slight colorado tint to it. There is also some oil on the surface of the wrapper. On the surface of the wrapper, there are some thin visible veins and thin visible wrapper seams.

The band is a new design for Illusione, but it keeps to a simpler design approach that has been a staple of for Illusione products.The band also is a medium to brown color to it and features a white pinstripe across both the top and bottom. All of the font is white in color. The text ILLUSIONE GARAGISTE is on the center of the band. The left side of the band has the text MADE IN NICARAGUA while the right side has the Garagiste logo.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As I typically do, I commenced my cigar experience by using a straight cut to remove the cap of the Illusione Garagiste Robusto. Once the cap was clipped, I moved on to the pre-light draw stage. The cold draw delivered a mix of natural tobacco, subtle raisin notes, and wood. Overall I considered the pre-light draw of the cigar to be satisfactory. At this point I was ready to light up the Illusione Garagiste and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Illusione Garagiste Robusto delivered a mix of raisin and earth notes. There were also some natural tobacco and wood notes in the background. I picked up a slight white pepper bite on the tongue as well. A lot of times, I feel raisin can be a sign of a young cigar, but with the Garagiste Robusto, this was not the case as there was a nice sweetness present.

During the second third, the earth notes moved into the forefront. The raisin sweetness diminished and joined the natural tobacco in the background. I also found a slight increase in the pepper spice as well.

The flavor profile of the Illusione Garagiste Robusto remained similar in the last third as the previous third. The earth notes were still primary and now the pepper was a close secondary note. The sweetness from the raisin and natural tobacco remained on the subtle side. When the Garagiste Robusto came to a close, the resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

From a burn standpoint, the Illusione Garagiste Robusto scored quite well. The cigar maintained a straight burn path from start to finish and never was in danger of tunneling and canoeing. There was a little jaggedness on the actual burn line, but this was more cosmetic as opposed to problematic. The resulting ash was not he firm side and had a nice salt and pepper color to it. Meanwhile the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

The draw of the Garagiste Robusto also performed quite well. It was not too loose, nor too tight. This was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavors from.

Strength and Body

The strength and the body both started in the medium range. The body increased slowly and gradually, but doesnt quite get out of the medium range. As for the strength, it remains mostly constant through the first two thirds. Toward the end of the second third, there is a rapid spike in the strength  resulting in an acceleration into medium to full territory. During the last third, there still continued to be some gradual building of the strength, but it remains medium to full.

As for strength versus body, I would say the body had a slight edge during the first two thirds, but following the spike in strength, the strength takes over during the last third.

Final Thoughts

Overall I was pleased with Giolitos foray into the world of Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. While there was a kick in nicotine in the last third, I found the flavors still remained medium-bodied and it worked quite well with the notes this cigar produced. I am curious to see how this cigar will respond to longer term aging. Its a cigar I would recommend to a seasoned cigar enthusiast. Id also encourage the novice to smoke this cigar. As for myself, this is a cigar I would certainly smoke again  and its worthy of a box split.

Summary

Key Flavors: Earth, Raisin, White Pepper, Natural Tobacco

Burn: Excellent

Draw: Excellent

Complexity: Medium

Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Last Third)

Body: Medium

Finish: Excellent

Rating

Assessment: 3.5-Box Split

Score: 91

References

News: Illusione Garagiste Makes Debut at 2016 IPCPR

Price: $8.95

Source: Purchased

Brand Reference: Illusione
A unique new dance venue in the UK, consisting of a solid wood cabin that has capacity of six partygoers and one DJ, has set the Guinness World Record for the smallest mobile nightclub.

Measuring just 2.01 metre high, 0.92 metre wide and 1.53 metre deep, "Club 28" is opened its doors at the Rotherham Carnival in the UK in September last year.

The venue contains a professional quality sound system with two turntables, a usable dance floor, dynamic lighting and has door staff outside.

In order to achieve the record, the club had to be open to the general public and charge an admission fee - which was 50 pence per person at the Rotherham Carnival.

Two DJs headlined at the minuscule venue during the carnival, entertaining guests with a mixture of house and chart music.

Since the record attempt, the exterior of what the creators calls a 'revamped musical shed', has been redesigned by street artist Marcus Method.

"It's amazing to get a world record and definitely a tick off the bucket list," said Gerard Jenkins-Omar, Creative Director at Enter Media UK, who created the nightclub along with Stephen Robson.

"It's a bit of fun and brings a smile to the faces of people who see it and dance in it," Jenkins-Omar said.

Previously the world's smallest nightclub was "Rumours", a box measuring 2.10 m high, 1.17 m wide and 1.78 m deep.

It was was presented at the Liverpool Bold Street Festival in the UK on 26 September 2010.
By Liz Hampton and Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Tuesday that oil market fundamentals were improving after an agreement struck with top oil producers to curb supply and end a two-year glut took effect.

The kingdom led a pact between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers, including Russia, Mexico and Kazakhstan, to cut global crude output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1, and bring supply closer to demand.

Saudi Arabia had cut beyond what it had pledged in the agreement and brought the kingdom's output below 10 million bpd, he said. Suppliers participating in the curbs have cut more than 1.5 million bpd, he said, exceeding what he called the market's low expectations.

Global oil demand would grow by 1.5 million bpd in 2017, and increased output from the United States, Brazil and Canada would be more than offset by natural declines in aging fields, he said.

"There is... cause for cautious optimism as we see the 'green shoots' of the recovery," Falih told energy executives and oil officials gathered at the CERAWeek industry conference in the U.S. energy capital of Houston.

Benchmark Brent crude futures closed at $55.92 a barrel on Tuesday, and are up more than 10 percent since the output curb deal was struck in November.

Still, he cautioned against any "irrational exuberance" among investors.

"We should not get ahead of the market," he said.

Oil inventories worldwide had fallen "slower than I thought," in the first two months of the year, Falih told energy executives and oil officials gathered at the CERAWeek industry conference in Houston.

Inventories in developed countries remain about 300 million barrels above the norm, he said.

It was premature to consider whether the cuts should be continued into the second half of the year, he said. Those discussions would be held in May, when OPEC next meets, he added.

In a joint conference later on Tuesday, Falih, Russian Oil Minister Alexander Novak, Mexican Deputy Secretary of Energy Aldo Flores, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi and OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo, said they were happy with the results of the agreement.

Russia was fully committed to the agreement and called on all countries to comply 100 percent with their agreed reductions in production, Novak said.

Greater price arbitrage between east and west oil markets that "indicate the cuts are biting," Falih said. U.S. crude cargoes have increasingly flowed to Asian buyers as the market has tightened.

NO FREE RIDE

Addressing many top executives of U.S. shale-producing firms that Saudi Arabia targeted in a two-year price war aimed to drive many of them out of business, Falih warned there would be "no free rides" for non-OPEC producers.

OPEC would not let rival producers take advantage of the cuts and the resulting rise in oil prices to underwrite their own production investments, he said.

OPEC has moved to bring U.S. shale producers and hedge funds into widening talks about how best to tame a global oil glut. The group held unprecedented talks with fund executives and shale producers while in Houston for the conference, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia does not want OPEC to intervene in the oil market to address long-term structural shifts, but to address "short-term aberrations," he said.

While Saudi Arabia welcomed increased output from shale producers to help meet rising demand, he cautioned that a fast-response from shale could be discouraging investment in multi-year, long-term projects in other oil sources.

Falih said he was concerned investment in those projects was falling behind what was needed to meet future demand increases. Demand continued to grow in the developing world and predictions that the world would soon reach peak demand were "misguided" and not helping encourage investment, he said.

The market could absorb between 3 million and 5 million bpd of new oil over time because demand is improving, he told CNBC. He did not specify over what period.

WORKING WITH THE U.S.

He praised the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for its focus on energy issues, citing its "pro-business and pro-petroleum" policies.

"We look forward to working with the new administration," he said.

Saudi investment in the United States is vast, and Saudi efforts to reduce global oil market volatility were of direct benefit to the U.S. oil industry, he said.

Falih, who is also chairman of Saudi Aramco, said the initial public offering of the national oil company remains on track and "we expect it to take place in 2018."

The IPO could value the world's largest oil and gas company at between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion, analysts have estimated.

The company's reserves had been partially audited ahead of the IPO and so far were bigger than those booked, he said.

(For more coverage of the CERAWeek conference see)

(Writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Simon Webb and Lisa Shumaker)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A week back Samsung initiated the registration process for early access to its mobile payment service in India. And this week, the service has been officially launched for the users who registered for early access program to use services.
Commercial Feature is a Business Standard Digital Marketing Initiative.

The Editorial/Content team at Business Standard has not contributed to writing or editing these articles.

For further information, please write to assist@bsmail.in
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Digital Editor
A Harvard University student has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi objecting to his recent jibe at the renowned US varsity, and said "mocking" economists and credible academic institutions will only "isolate" India from the world.

The letter from Prateek Kanwal, who hails from Chandigarh and is pursuing a Master's Degree course in public policy at Harvard University, has been released online and has gone viral.

He said that when Modi made these remarks at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh last week, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan was addressing the students at Harvard University and "he specifically asked the university and the students to collaborate with your government".

He said the Prime Minister's remarks will push away Indians like him who wish to return to their country after studying abroad.

Armed with the latest GDP figures, Modi had last week mocked economists and made a veiled attack on his predecessor Manmohan Singh who had said the Centre's demonetisation decision would lead to a low growth rate.

"Big scholars, some from Harvard, some from Oxford...some said there will be a drop of 2 per cent in the GDP, others said 4 per cent drop (after demonetisation)... But the country has seen what the people from Harvard think and what hard working people think," he had said.

In his letter, Kanwal said, "To develop a country as diverse as India, you will need the help of people who bring a different perspective to the table. Mocking economists and credible academic institutions will only isolate us from the world."

Calling himself, a "hardworking nationalist", the student said, "We are trained in the 'evidence-based learning' approach, which helps in designing and implementing policies effectively so that disasters such as demonetisation can be avoided."

"While you were making these remarks in Uttar Pradesh, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan was addressing us at Harvard and he specifically asked the university and the students to collaborate with your government," he said.

Kanwal also claimed that Harvard alumni hold important positions in the Modi Cabinet as well as the Prime Minister's Office.
Even as the uncertainty over the H1-B visa persists, there could be more bad news waiting for Indians working in America as the Trump administration now seeks a 60-day freeze on employment authorisation for H-4 visa-holders that allows spouses of H-1B visa-holders to work in the US.



The move will affect at least thousands of Indian who are living there in the US on H-4 visa.

Develoment comes barely a week after the US assured India that the H1-B visas issue was not a priority for it and would be part of the larger immigration reforms package. Ever since Donald Trump took over as US president he wanted to cut down the numbers of immigrant labour in the country as his entire election campaign revolved around "Buy American. Hire American".

ALSO READ: D-Mart IPO hits market today: What brokerages have to say



The Times of India on Wednesday reported that the Trump administration's Department of Justice has filed a brief in the Washington DC court of appeals seeking a 60-day freeze in a case involving employment permission for H-4 visa-holders, who are primarily dependent spouses of H-1B visa-holders.

Earlier in 2015, former US President Barack Obama had issued a rule through the department of homeland security allowing eligible spouses to be employed while the H-1B visa-holder awaits the receipt of his/her lawful permanent residency card (green card).



Thousands of Indian spouses (holding H-4 visa) come in this category.

Soon after the rule was issued, a group called Save Jobs USA filed a lawsuit, but a district court ruled that it had no locus standi to sue and upheld the Obama administration's rule, the report said.

ALSO READ: UP Elections 2017: 5 key management lessons from Modi, Amit Shah's poll campaign



However, after Donald Trump took over, Save Jobs USA again filed its initial brief and found immediate support from the DOJ, which filed a document on February 1, 2017 titled "Consent motion to hold proceedings in abeyance for 60 days".

It has sought 60 days to respond to the case that challenges the decision of the previous Obama Administration to authorise spouses of H1B visa holders to work in the US.

Reacting to the Trump administration's latest move, Immigration Voice on Tuesday said that this is "especially concerning" because Attorney General Jeff Sessions, when he was a US Senator, called the H-4 Rule a "change (in) immigration law in a way that hurts American workers."

Immigration Voice also announced to intervene in the Save Jobs lawsuit arguing that this was the "only option" to protect the rights of its members and their families, including children who are US citizens.

ALSO READ: Flipkart's devaluation puts founders Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal out of billionaire list



"There is nothing for the Department of Justice attorneys to confer with their leadership about given the District Court's clear decision stating that this case had no basis for ever being filed," said Aman Kapoor co-founder and president of Immigration Voice.

Last week, the US had assured India that the H-1B visas issue was not a priority for it and would be part of the larger immigration reforms package.

The US said it to the visiting Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, who were in America meeting top officials of the Trump administration and the Congressional leadership.
Vodafone

Vodafone is offering an additional 2GB data to its women post-paid customers in Delhi NCR for free as a gift on the occasion of International Women's Day.

"This offer reiterates our efforts to enable women to do more and achieve more in life. I urge all our women Red Post-Paid customers to experience the digital life on our network," Vodafone India, Delhi-NCR Business head, Alok Verma said in a statement.

The offer is valid only for a day and comes with no restrictions on the 2GB data usage. The data benefit will be automatically credited to the user's account and notified through an SMS.

Flipkart

Flipkart is celebrating women's day with special offers through the month. Every item in women's fashion is on sale today apart from daily flash sales between 12 PM to 4 PM all month long. Dresses , women shoes, watches are available online on women's day special offers & discounts. There is also a 'Freebie Contest' where users need to answer the question 'What makes a woman special?' to win freebies. Flipkart is also offering the 'Top Spender Of The Day' a 2N/3D trip to Goa for 2 people.

SpiceJet

The airline will be offering women travelling alone free upgrade to SpiceMAX on March 8. Under the SpiceMAX offer, the airline provides seats with more legroom and priority check-in at dedicated counters at major airports. From March 8, the airline will reserve its 4th row exclusively for women and in the case of a full flight, the aisle and middle seats will be assigned to women on a first-come, first-served basis. The airline will also be offering complimentary hot beverages and cookies, among other freebies to women passengers on its Boeing 737 flights.

Meru Cabs

Meru Cabs is launching a new feature on Women's day called 'Ride Planner' that will benefit expectant mothers in the metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. "We understand that travelling during pregnancy can be a difficult task as public transport options are not the most sensitive or convenient ways of commuting. Meru's Ride Planner will help reduce anxiety by allowing them to book cabs to and fro from their workplace and for other commitments, up to 2 weeks in advance at a single go," said Nilesh Sangoi, CEO, Meru.

Paytm

Paytm is offering upto 70 per cent discount and an additional 50 per cent cashback on home appliances, kitchen ware and clothing exclusively on Big Bazaar's Women's Shopping Day. Other offers include 50 per cent cashback on dress material and up to 20 per cent cash back on digital gift cards. Other e-commerce websites like Jabong, ShopClues and Amazon.in are also offering deals and discounts to mark International Women's day.




Cloud Communications

This week I was on a webinar with a data center company. The presenter in just 30 minutes listed seven different services the company offers beyond colocation. Seven in 30 minutes; that does nothing but cause confusion.

It would take 30 minutes just to explain any one of these services  DraaS, cybersecurity, data protection, and backup. To list them all is a waste of time, but it is what the vendors do. Puke it all out as if they get points for mentioning as much as they can.

It is an ineffective way to present, but then most presenters dont care about the audience. They are there for themselves alone. This is why cloud isnt gaining traction in the channel.

Cloud and managed services need to be sold like pharmaceuticals. It requires education, education, and more education. When a doctor is used to prescribing one drug in which he has years of confidence, to get him to switch to your drug is a process, an education process. The new drug has to be shown to be effective and safe. Usually the drug has a very specific indication for usage. In other words, DRaaS isnt for everyone. There must be some indicator or pain point that signals to the seller that DRaaS would be a fit.

Next, the pharmaceutical rep has to provide studies, and present lunch and learns, around one single drug  not the entire catalog. In that presentation, the drug will be described and compared. Studies will be summarized to showcase efficiency and safety (or at least what side effects to expect). Then the rep will have to explain why this new drug should replace the old one. That will be the value statement. Is it safer? Is it cheaper? Does it have fewer side effects, or does it work better?

Now compare that to cloud presentations, that nebulous world of IT that begins with no one being able to define what cloud is. Then the services get listed, all ending in aaS  IaaS, PaaS, SaaS (News - Alert), DRaaS, et al. These services have specific buyers. It isnt like everyone is buying DRaaS or PaaS. But the vendors are very unclear about who the buyer is, why they buy, and what the trigger is. Some of that is due to a lack of internal data. Some of it is due to the fact that any sale will do. Like they were Amazon.

We are starting to see this in SD-WAN as well. It is like cough syrup  available at any store for anyone to purchase. Except that people only buy cough syrup when they have a cough, a bad cough (and want to avoid a doctor or a missed day at work). See how that starts to get clearer as you look at who is buying and why?

Having a bunch of features and technology is fine, but people dont buy tech. They didnt buy the iPhone (News - Alert) because it was high tech. They bought it because it was cool and the story they tell themselves about who owns an iPhone.

There needs to be a story around these services, especially DRaaS, because as far as I can tell even folks that lived through Katrina in New Orleans dont worry about disaster recovery so much. They will buy a redundant broadband circuit and an external hard drive, but thats about it.

There will be more cloud noise in 2017. I dread it. I dread sitting through more webinars where they puke their catalog at me as if that would mean anything. As if now that I know you have seven or 30 different services, you will become my preferred vendor  or I am going to align my business around yours. There will be more sessions about cloud without anything concrete to back that up like data on buyers, business impact, and user adoption. All they can say is that CAGR is increasing. Everyone is doing it, why not you?

When you think about the top cloud providers in each space  Amazon AWS in compute as a service; Microsoft (News - Alert) Office 365 with Skype4B; Salesforce CRM  what do they have in common? They have one core product that they market like crazy.

In 2017, cloud services providers and MSPs will need to be like pharmaceutical reps. Companies will need to be more like the Big 3: one core service that is marketed well. You dont grow from $4 billion of annual revenue in 2013 to $12 billion in 2016 without focus, clarity, and marketing.

Peter Radizeski is president of Tampa, Fla.-based telecommunications consulting firm RAD-INFO Inc.

Edited by Alicia Young
Every Saturday morning, scores of young men-mostly graduates-throng the main office of Utkarsh Micro Finance in the heart of Varanasi. Many travel from towns and villages nearly 100 kilometers away for the weekly round of direct walk-in interviews at the barely seven-year old microfinance company. The selected young men are trained to be loan evaluators - those who identify people in need of a loan and have a viable business case to repay later. Despite the low entry barrier, a fresher can earn Rs12,000 a month with incentives.

An indicator of unemployment levels in Uttar Pradesh is that last year, the state government received 23 lakh applications - including 150,000 graduates, 25,000 post graduates and 250 doctorates - for 368 posts of peons in the secretariat. Utkarsh's core business is providing loans to small entrepreneurs left untouched by formal banking systems. It caters to people who have credit needs of between Rs 6,000 to Rs 3 lakh and, ironically, are deemed too big for microfinance firms or too small for a bank. Utkarsh addresses those that fall under this blind spot. With a client base of 1.2 million, 371 branches across 10 states and a loan portfolio of more than Rs 1,700 crore, it is now one of the bigger non banking financial companies in India.

Humble Origin

The genesis of the company can be traced back to its founder Govind Singh's humble origins. Singh-with stints at ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and Bank Internasional of Indonesia-is from a village 40 kilometres from Corbett National Park. His long career in banking, coupled with the urge to do something of his own led to the formation of the company.

"I always wanted to do something of my own. In 1983, when I was a first year student at Kirori Mal College in Delhi, I sold fire crackers on the footpath of Chandni Chowk for four days and earned Rs400," says Singh. "The two things that attracted me was the viability of the business and the social aspect of offering loans to those who are outside the ambit of formal banking." In the second half of 2009, Utkarsh came into existence with four branches in Varanasi.

Soon after Utkarsh was set up, the microfinance industry faced trouble. Suddenly, it was not an exciting business, yet Utkarsh survived because it was small. "Then, our loan portfolio was close to Rs32 crore and we had 49 branches. What helped us was that we were not very big. If we had a portfolio of say Rs100 crore or more, it would have been difficult to hold on to that level and the fall in disbursements may have been demotivating," says Singh. "Also, fortunately, we had broken even in 11 months. So month-on-month we were not into losses." Utkarsh used the opportunity to review and fine tune processes. "Our process is our greatest strength. We have never cut anybody's incentive and have never pressurised employees for fresh business."

The lull did not last long. From April 2011, money began flowing into the sector and things started looking up. In June 2011, Utkarsh had an equity round and since then it has always registered a steady growth month-on-month.

Social upliftment

Phoolpatti Devi, 32, living on the outskirts of Varanasi first took a Rs10,000 loan from Utkarsh a few years back to open a ration shop and to help her husband in his fast food business. The loan, the domestic help claims, helped raise the daily income of the combined family nearly five-fold. After repaying the loan, she has taken up another loan of Rs12,000 for further expanding her business. The most obvious sign of her growing prosperity are her kids who now attend a local convent school, instead of a government school that they used to attend three years back. "We have policy of not giving additional loans to the same person unless the previous loan is fully repaid. A large number of clients have come in for second and even third round of funding," Singh says. "We are very careful with high ticket sizes. Those are not the kind of people we want as clients. The rate of interest has also come down from 31 to 24 per cent."

Full-fledged banking beckons

On September 15, 2015, the Reserve Bank of India granted an inprinciple license for small finance bank to Utkarsh Micro Finance paving the way for Singh to realise his dream of having a full-fledged bank of his own. The license would enable Utkarsh to tap into public deposit funds while giving it freedom to offer more products to customers including housing loans and insurance. "A banker's dream is to build a full fledged bank. As an MFI (micro finance institution) you can definitely do something but if you want to cater to the entire universe then you need a banking license," says Singh. "The license will ensure we will have a broad based-product, services and client base. But our geographical base will largely be the same-eastern UP and Bihar."

But with inside knowledge of the system, the enormity and complexity of the looming challenge is not lost on Singh. Opening even a small bank is hugely capital intensive. While a microfinance branch can be opened up with a capital outlay of just Rs60-65,000, a bank branch would require at least Rs30-50 lakh. Utkarsh also needed to reorganise its investors shareholding to comply with the cap of 49 per cent for foreign investors in a private sector bank. It recently raised Rs395 crore from institutional investors including HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd, HDFC Ergo General Insurance Co. Ltd and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Subseq-uently, share of its domestic investors rose to 51.5 per cent. With a corpus of around Rs650 crore, Singh says Utkarsh has enough funds.

"The requirement was to increase the number of domestic investors. So we have got the RBI approval for investment from the new investors," Singh says. "Bringing in investors has never been a problem. In fact in the past we have said no to some investors because we were not convinced that our thoughts matched on social sector lending."While the company was gearing up for its banking stint, it was not prepared for the demonetisation exercise initiated by the government on November 8. The microfinance sector operates almost entirely on cash and its clientele is typically one that is impacted most by any cash crunch. The impact on Utkarsh's core microfinance business was also severe but it did not let that impact its banking foray. The company launched its first five bank branches under the name Utkarsh Small Finance Bank in the last week of January. By April 2018, it plans to add another 134 branches and 150 ATMs. "Within the next 4-5 years, we would have scaled enough to merit an IPO," he sums up.

@sumantbanerji
Until a couple of years ago, a few multinational companies were selling hi-tech sugar harvesting machines in India for over Rs1 crore. While the machines were a big relief for the labour shortage plagued sugarcane grower community, affordability was an issue. Also, the hi-tech machines did not suit the requirements of Indian farmers. After sales service too was a problem. That was when Rajkot-based farm machinery maker Tirth Agro Technology came out with an Indianised, less tech-intensive and rugged version of sugarcane harvesters. The machine was priced at about Rs85 lakh. Soon the company was able to kill the monopoly of multinationals in the market. So far, the company has sold over 200 such machines across India.

Indeed, Tirth Agro sells many variants of mechanised farm equipment across the crop cycle from seed preparation, sowing and planting, crop management to harvesting and crop residue management under its brand name, 'Shaktiman'. It is the winner of Business Todays 'Best SME award' in the agriculture and allied sector. "Very often farmers are only comfortable with rugged machines that suit Indian conditions. So, first we develop a machine and then extensively sell the concept to farmers through demonstrations. That is how we create a market for our machines", says Ashwin Gohil, Chairman of Tirth Agro Technology, set up in 1997 by late Ladhubhai Gohil, a farmer from Halvad in Surendranagar district of Gujarat.

From trading of farm implements, the 100 per cent Gohil family-owned Tirth Agro progressed to become an organised manufacturer of tractor drawn and self propelled farm machinery. With 650 dealers and 50 distributors across India, it has a good share of the organised agricultural machinery market. The company's products are exported to 60 countries and its claims to be the largest rotary tiller manufacturer in the world.

Tirth Agro invests 5 per cent of its revenues every year in R&D, says the chairman. It introduces three-four new products every year. Farmers are brought to the factory premises to test the machines at a 100-acre farm owned by the Gohils. "Our manufacturing facility is spread over 60,000 square feet and has the capacity to produce 125,000 tillers a year," says Ashwin Gohil, who is supported by his brother and Managing Director Hasmukh Gohil. In 2015/16, the unlisted company has disclosed that it has posted a turnover of Rs561.7 crore and Profit After tax (PAT) of Rs24.9 crore.

Aswin Gohil says the company will more or less mirror its performance last fiscal -- expanding revenues at over 10 per cent -- in 2016/17 as Tamil Nadu, one of its major markets has been facing severe drought, though it has done good business in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The company hopes to grow over 20 per cent next year if the government's plans to promote agriculture with new schemes take shape by then. Agriculture mechanisation in India is just 2 per cent of the area, compared to 30 per cent in the developed world. So, farm machinery has not developed as a large scale industry in India and is not more than a Rs4,000 crore sector, but is growing at 10-15 per cent annually, says Ashwin Gohil.

Brijen Sampat, Advisor to Tirth Agro, notes that mechanisation is the only option for India as availability of labour for working in open fields is coming down every year. "Affordability is an issue for farmers, though government subsidies and initiatives of farmer co-operatives help to promote mechanisation of agriculture. Investments of Rs1 lakh plus in a rotary tiller can be recovered within three years with improved productivity," says Sampat.

Ashwin Gohil asserts that that the business has huge potential. About 6.5 lakh tractors are sold in India every year but only 1.5 lakh of them are fitted with agricultural machinery. Similarly, the company's products are getting acceptability in emerging markets.

While exports currently constitute only about 20 per cent, the share is rising every year. "We have created capacities that can generate over Rs2,000 crore of revenue a year and hope to achieve that in the coming 4-5 years", says Gohil.



@pb_pbjayan
While many large companies are looking at India as the next big market for growth, Vaibhav Global, the Jaipur-based electronic retailer of discounted fashion jewellery, has focused on the developed retail markets of the US and the UK. The rationale of Sunil Agarwal, Vaibhav Global electronic retailer fashion jewellery retail market US UK, founder CMD, is simple. "India isn't a profitable market yet. We don't want to burn money like other players." He is always on the prowl for opportunities. "We are never first movers but fast followers." This prudence and business acumen has enabled this first generation entrepreneur to grow the company he founded in 1980 into a global player with consolidated revenues of Rs1,276 crore in 2015/16 and offices in the US and the UK. Over the last three years, the company has been growing at a CAGR of 12.6 per cent. Much of the company's revenues (70 per cent) comes from sales through its television shopping platforms - Shop LC in the US and The Jewellery Channel (TJC) in the UK - while 20 per cent comes from its e-commerce websites, informs Agrawal. The remaining 10 per cent comes from B2B clients. It makes, on an average, 300,000 pieces of jewellery in India every month for its subsidiaries in other countries. Last year, it invested $4 million in its Jaipur unit to expand capacity to 500,000 units per month.

Agrawal's business journey is a gradual success story. Coming from a middle class family, he learnt the ropes of the gemstone business at his friend's export factory during a six month internship. He subsequently started supplying gemstones to jewellery manufacturers and stone dealers in Hong Kong. That helped him understand the $2 billion fashion jewellery and accessories market in the US, dominated by television shopping channels. He went on to foray into manufacturing and claims to have been the first to establish his own mechanised gemstone manufacturing unit in Jaipur where the industry was largely handmade. However, in the 1990s the perception globally was that gemstones from Indian manufacturers were poor in quality, hurting the business prospects of Vaibhav. Changing that perception took time. Agrawal invited potential clients to visit his facility in Jaipur and test the products. "We were the first ones from India who started supplying mass merchandise stones to the US and the UK," claims Agrawal. The next step was to venture into jewellery making and supply directly to television home shopping channels such as QVC in the US.

Vaibhav Global went public in 1996 to raise funds for expanding its production capacity. But selling to large buyers doesn't give any pricing power to the manufacturer. So Agrawal decided to create a B2C company and reach consumers directly. "The idea from the beginning was to cut layers for better margins and long term value for shareholders."

The company acquired STS Group to have an established retail chain of 19 outlets for its products by 2007 at tourist locations in the Caribbean, Alaska and Mexico. Warburg Pincus invested $47 million in the company for a 27 per cent stake in Vaibhav. The additional funds led the company to start its own television shopping channels in the UK, Germany and the US over three years.

However, the fast paced growth came to a halt when the recession hit the world in 2008. "We had four startups in our company - the TV channel in Germany, the US and the UK and the retail stores chain - and all of them were losing money as they had not reached critical mass," says Agrawal. "Deciding which ones to shut down was the toughest decision of my life." He eventually sold the televison channel in Germany and the retail chain which led to laying off of thousands of employees across the globe. Agrawal was also contemplating selling the US channel when a change in business model began to pay off. The company began to focus on mass market products, after observing that its annual sales in UK were a big hit, by lowering the price point to $18-20 per piece for its jewellery from the earlier average of $100, thus generating volumes.

The company largely focuses on its house brands. "We have developed seven jewellery brands. Rest are from designers who sell their branded products on our TV channels and websites but we manufacture for them. That's our USP," says Agrawal. Group CFO, Puru Aggarwal, says that for jewellery the company has a margin of around 60 per cent. Vaibhav Global expanded its product portfolio in 2014 to include lifestyle products such as bed sheets, perfumes and beauty products.

Over the past two years, the focus has been on developing its e-commerce business and launching mobile apps for shopping, digitising its television channels and having customer-friendly payment initiatives in a lacklustre business environment. It recently started offering EMI solutions and quicker shipping alternatives to their customers. Irrespective of business cycles, Vaibhav has found its feet.

So, what keeps Agrawal going? A daily one hour of yoga and meditation keeps him charged up for the rough and tumble of business after 36 years, he sums up.



@sonalkhetarpal7
Quote

"If there were ever to be another Ajit and you could swap me for him, don't hesitate.Make the trade!"

Warren Buffett talking about Ajit Jain, widely believed to be a strong contender to succeed the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway, in his annual letter to shareholders. Jain runs Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, the largest contributor to Berkshire's value.

Wockhardt FDA trouble

Wockhardt shares fell as much as 5 per cent on March 2 after the company said the US Food and Drug Administration had issued a warning letter to its step-down subsidiary Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals Inc. The company did not give the reasons for the warning.

Taj Setback

In a setback to the Taj Group of Hotels, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation Ltd (nmdc)has decided to go ahead with an open auction of its hotel on Mansingh Road in the heart of Delhi. The property, whose lease has expired, is currently managed by Indian Hotels Company. The Taj Group has already challenged the auction in the Supreme Court. In the last hearing, the court had asked the NDMC to reconsider its decision.

Rs 47,342.8 crore

This is the rise in the market value of RIL between February 21, when it announced a tariff plan for Jio services, and March 1. Its market cap has now crossed the Rs 4 lakh crore mark.

Taj-Docomo Resolution

Tata Sons and NTT Docomo are close to resolving their two-year-old dispute over the $1.17 billion due to the Japanese company for exiting Tata Teleservices. The two have proposed a resolution to the Delhi High Court and filed a joint petition in the court that they will not oppose the Reserve Bank of India's intervention, leaving the resolution in the hands of the court.

Infy may line up for buyback

After Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys may also announce a share buyback, its first ever. The company has sought shareholders' approval to revise its Articles of Association to possibly include a provision for a buyback.
Airline stocks closed higher on Wednesday after the Delhi government cut aviation turbine fuel (ATF) rates to a meagre 1 percent from 25 percent.

The announcement was made in AAP government's third budget today since coming to power in 2015.

Sisodia said the tax cut on jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF) will be for all flights under the regional connectivity routes.

While Jet Airways stock rose 3.07 percent, SpiceJet stock closed 2.86 percent higher on the BSE.

InterGlobe Aviation, parent of IndiGo, also surged 2.26 percent on the BSE.

The move is likley to result in air fares getting cheaper.

Indian aviation market is the 9th largest aviation market of the world.

Aviation turbine fuel accounts for about 45 percent of operating costs of airlines.

In the third quarter of current fiscal, earnings of the air carriers showed that the sector is going downhill due to rise in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, intensifying competition, and falling yields. In fact, most players were able to post profits only due to income from non-core areas, that is, activities other than selling tickets.

Market leader IndiGo, with 39.3 per cent passenger traffic share in 2016, reported a 26 per cent drop in net profit in the third quarter of 2016/17 compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. Revenues grew 16 per cent during the period.

Jet Airways, the second-largest player in terms of market share, reported a 69.5 per cent decline in (standalone) net profit; revenues grew just 0.6 per cent. Gurgaon-based SpiceJet reported a 24.5 per cent drop in net profit and 12.5 per cent increase in revenues.
Founded by Dabur promoters Dr. Anand Burman, Gaurav Burman and US-based Dr Bruce J. Bauer four years ago, Berkeley HealthEDU (BHE) provides simulation-based interactive training for doctors, nurses and other paramedical professionals. In an interview with Business Today's Joe C Mathew, Dr Bauer, chairman of BHE, talks about the relevance of such training modules in Indian healthcare space.

Here are excerpts from the interview.

BT: How promising is your business model?

Dr Bauer: When we started the company, the premise was that hospitals were struggling to find competent nurses and paramedics. Most of them were freshers from nursing schools and they needed additional training to work in top level hospitals. It was done by the hospitals themselves. Our theory was that hospitals are really great for delivering care, but training is secondary for them, so somebody needs to help them do that. We had a company in the US (Dr Bauer had been running a similar company, Boston Reed, in the US, though he divested his stake recently), but when we came here, we learned that the exact training proposition that was successful in the US will not work here. They were similar and related, but the needs were distinct. For instance, there is no compulsory continuing medical education (CME) requirement here. We were drawing students from allied positions there, here they are fresh. We modified our strategy to suit Indian conditions.

BT: You mean to say there is a fundamental problem with India's nursing and paramedical education?



Dr Bauer: There are new nursing schools opening in India all the time. It is challenging for them to get the kind of exposure that their students need to work in hospitals. We can help accelerate their skilling process. That's what we do.

BT: But Indian nurses are finding jobs in developed countries without such skill development programmes?

Dr Bauer: That is because they have picked up the skills on the job. They spend two or three years on the job getting that level of proficiency. We can accelerate that. There is a huge shortage of nurses in India. So there is no demand or need for nurses to acquire extra knowledge on their own. Hence, hospitals spend six to eight months preparing freshers for the job today. We can do that job for the hospitals by training them. We train them how to work effectively in a team, and raise the levels of professionalism. New hospitals, when they are launched, like to engage with us today.

BT: Does it make economic sense for hospitals to get this outsourced?

Dr Bauer: It will be less expensive for hospitals to do it through us. Eighty per cent of our job is onsite. We have worked with over 75 hospitals in the country.

BT: How much do you charge?

Dr Bauer: It can start from Rs 2,000 a day for a basic life saving programme. A 15 day programme can be Rs 25,000. It depends on the specialization and duration of the programme. Sometimes the hospitals pay a portion of it, and asks the nurses to pay the rest. Sometimes, if the nurse leaves early after getting the training, she may have to pay a part of the fee. So it varies with hospitals. The two biggest problems hospitals face is finding nurses, and retaining them. Right now the turnover (attrition rate) in India is 40 to 60 per cent. Which means you need an organization to train them continuously. So we are trying to help them on both fronts.

BT: How do you do that?

Dr Bauer: We are coming up with some products that will help the hospitals HR department to find the right talent. Our vision is that Berkeley Health EDU certificate should become the gold standard for healthcare employment. The hospitals can look at that candidate with a higher degree of confidence. Next task is to reduce the attrition rates. We make the employees more engaged, and committed.



BT: Are you partnering with government in its skill development programmes?

Dr Bauer: We are a NSDC (National Skill Development Council) partner. We are planning basic training programmes through such partnerships too. That's on our radar.
Globally, the issue of corporations shifting their profits to low-tax regimes has assumed significance, with countries making all-out efforts to check these practices. Leading on this front are the OECD and G20 countries that have devised a set of rules (BEPS Action Plan) to check this practice. Business Today caught up with Jane McCormick, global head of tax at KPMG in the UK, and discussed how BEPS is shaping the global tax regime, the challenges of taxing a digital economy and the impact of indirect taxes. Edited excerpts:



How base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) shaping the global tax regime?

One of the action plans that has been universally adopted is the country-by-county reporting and transfer pricing related to master file. I think that's the new world we are living in, with much more transparency, and tax authorities around the world are having a better picture of what the overall tax position of the group looks like rather than focussing on one country. It is important to have a bigger picture to assess the risk.

However, the flip side of this is a concern that with all the additional information, tax authorities across the world will start to suck additional profit into their own jurisdiction.

Although there are divergent views, we all agreed that post-BEPS you should be taxing the profit where the economic activity giving rise to that profit is located. The idea sounds great, but the problem comes when we start thinking where that could be. In the complex, globally integrated supply chain, it will be quite a difficult task to assess.

We are already seeing that different countries are taking different views on where they think the profit is. So, although we may have high-level agreement, we don't have an agreement on the next level down.



There is a concern among international businesses that there may be an increase in disputes in transfer pricing cases.

What are the challenges you see due to these divergent views?

The obvious risk is double taxation. You are already seeing that the effective tax rates of multinationals are higher than the domestic rates. If you add up all the domestic rates and expect a number, they are paying more than that because they are effectively being taxed twice on the same profit in different jurisdictions.

When that happens, there is some mechanism to address such issues through mutual agreements between two jurisdictions, but that is not the perfect system and often some corporations have to concede because the practical difficulties of having these negotiations are too great.

Have tax authorities become more aggressive post-BEPS?

I think they have become more aggressive and that's because of two reasons--partly because of the big global discussion on corporations moving profits to low-tax regimes and partly because every country in the world is looking at fiscal deficit and there is a need to collect tax.

In India, one of the big debates over the years has been tax terrorism. Do you think a similar situation may arise as we start adopting BEPS action plans?

I hope it's not so because having a lot of tax disputes is not a good thing for anyone. It requires time and resources of the government as well as of the companies.

So (tax authorities should be) trying to get the (mutual) agreement upfront... Businesses are happy to pay tax once and more than anything else, they want certainty. So, (the efforts should be to) try and find some mechanism to provide better information to tax authorities so that they can judge things and reach conclusions more easily. Also, (try to find) some mechanism for better risk assessment. Tax authorities should focus on whether there is risk rather than a lot of inquiries, where there isn't one.

And also, better mechanism to resolve disputes when they arrive.

There are concerns among companies about the safety of data shared under country-by-country reporting. How real are these concerns?

The issue is this: The country-by-country reporting (CBCR) is there to serve a special purpose--the risk assessment. By allowing tax authorities to apply the criteria of how profit matched with headcount, you get an indication if something is out of line, if the substance is not in line with the tax. So, it is just a risk assessment tool, which does not give all the right answers.

There is a concern that people will take CBCR, and say, the profit doesn't align with the headcount. So all I need to do is reassign the profit associated with the headcount. And that's the answer and I would assess that number. There could be all sorts of reasons why that's not the right approach. So, there's a bit of concern that some people will do that.

There's also a debate, especially in Europe, on whether the CBCR report should be made public and the European Union is consulting whether the information should be made public. So the concern that people have about making the information public is that the information in CBCR is for tax authorities to see and not for the layman reader.

What are the challenges of taxing the digital economy?

It's a huge issue. One of the action plans of BEPS deals with this, but it never went anywhere. It is like saying it is too difficult. It goes back to this issue where economic activities are giving rise to profit.

In a digital economy, you start to think whether the corporation tax is the right tax. There is a good view that the corporation tax is a tax for the old-world economy where a company was located in a country, the whole supply chain sat in the country, and it manufactured, sold and got financed from the banks in the same country, making it relatively easier to get taxed in such a country.

As the world becomes more complex and the supply chain gets more broken down, the corporation tax is becoming more difficult to administer. You must have seen a trend globally, the corporate tax rates are coming down and are becoming a smaller percentage of the total tax collection. More and more taxes are collected through other means, especially indirect taxes (GST, VAT).

If you look at the digital economy, these taxes (indirect taxes) look more suitable. For instance, you can have destination-based taxes in a digital environment where the services are consumed. This you can't do with corporation tax.

So personally I think, although it is going to take some time for the world to go on that route, digital economy will lead us to greater reliance on indirect taxes.



But indirect taxes are considered regressive as they do not distinguish between the rich and the poor. What do you think?

Indirect taxes are more progressive than people think. The real issue here is how you make indirect taxes more progressive. There are ways you can do it. The governments can work out a minimum standard of living people ought to have and then exempt those goods and services (required for that living standard) from indirect taxes. In many countries, basic goods like food items and children's clothes are not taxed, which means the poor surviving on these basic goods and services pay lower taxes.
A number of events are taking place across the country today to celebrate National Women's Day 2017.

Dell EMC today opened the doors at its Limerick Campus to members of the Mid-West business and education community to celebrate International Womens Day and Engineers Week 2017. The event was hosted by Dell EMC in collaboration with University of Limerick and supported by Johnson & Johnson, and explored the challenge of Changing Mindsets in the working world.

Just over 200 people from the Mid-West community from business and education attended the event. At Dell EMC campuses in Cork and Dublin smaller celebrations for International Womens Day were held both focused on highlighting diversity across all areas of the business.

Facebook International Headquarters in Dublin will host two Live conversations as part of the 24 consecutive hours of female business owners, entrepreneurs, policy makers, NGOs and leaders around the world using Facebook Live to share inspiration, impart knowledge and discuss topics of women in business.



Vodafone are currently running a week-long programme of activities to celebrate International Womens Day which includes workshops and seminars, with leading female speakers invited to share their expertise and insights.

As part of its global programme of activity connected with International Womens Day, Vodafone will also provide mobile devices to women in developing economies, providing them with increased connectivity to many areas of daily life, from education and healthcare to business creation.



Baileys and Diageo held a lunchtime panel discussion last week in advance of International Womens Day (IWD) 2017 in Fallon & Byrne, Dublin. The theme of the discussion#BeBoldForChange focused on what actions are required to accelerate gender parity in Ireland and brought together an expert, all-female panel of speakers, representing a variety of industries, from the corporate to the creative, to share their stories and recount moments when they were bold for change.



Speaking today, the Senior Manager of the PwC Global Diversity & Inclusion Programme, Aoife Flood commented, "In todays highly competitive job market, it is incumbent on every organisation to revisit its policies and processes to make sure they are meeting the needs of the modern workforce, in particular the woman of today who is truly a trailblazer."

She added, "Women today are looking for much more from their careers than previous generations  and organisations need to keep up if they are to secure the talent they need to grow their business.



Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
Ireland's permanent tsb (PTSB) will target a resumption of dividend payments from 2019 after it reported a rise in full year pre-exceptional profits on Wednesday due to improved lending and writebacks of bad debts.

Ireland's recovering banking sector, which required the most expensive state rescue in the euro zone following a property crash a decade ago, has recently begun to pass another milestone as profitable lenders return cash to shareholders.

State-owned Allied Irish Banks last week became the first domestic-owned bank to announce a resumption of dividends. Royal Bank of Scotland's Irish unit Ulster Bank has also recommenced payments to its parent group and Bank of Ireland plans to do so next year.

PTSB, the smallest of Ireland's three remaining domestically owned lenders, completed a deleveraging programme required under its state bailout last year and has always been a couple of years behind its rivals as result, CEO Jeremy Masding said.

"Given the recent uncertainties created by the regulatory environment, in particular, in relation to the treatment of NPLs (non performing loans) and RWA (risk-weighted asset) intensity, we will not be able to meet the target of a dividend from 2017 earnings," the bank said in a statement.

"We remain committed to returning capital to shareholders and are guiding to dividend payments from 2018 earnings, in 2019."

The 75% state-owned mortgage lender posted a pre-exceptional profit of 188 million euros, up from 26 million euros a year ago, just over a third of which was generated by clawing back money put aside for bad loans.

Mortgage lending grew 14% year-on-year, just below the industry average but up from a disappointing growth of 2% during 2015 and Masding said the trends he was seeing were "really positive".

Its stock of non performing loans fell by 11% year-on-year to 5.9 billion euros. It said given the high regulatory focus on bad loans across the euro zone, the bank would examine ways of refreshing its strategy in 2017 including holding, selling or declaring that loans are unlikely to be collected.

"2016 has proved a pivotal year for permanent tsb," Davy Stockbrokers wrote in a note. "With a refocus on its Irish franchise delivering a much-improved underlying trading performance, this leaves the bank well placed to pursue its sustainable commercial and profitable growth ambition. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
O.C.E. Technology have today announced that they are introducing their new range of satellite subsystems to the growing European commercial space market.

The company made the announcement at the 2017 Paris Space Week exhibition, which commenced today and which is Europes premier B2B space event dedicated to launch vehicles, satellites and space related technologies.



O.C.E. Technology, headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, develops software for technical applications and supplies radiation-hardened chip-level components targeted primarily at the space and high-reliability sectors.



The O.C.E. Technology subsystems are derived from those in use in the Chinese space programme and have been operational on Chinese satellites over the past 20 years. The company is currently working with European customers to customise the products for the fast growing commercial satellite market.



CEO of O.C.E. Technology, Barry Kavanagh says, "Our new satellite subsystems are providing cost-effective and proven building blocks to low orbit satellite builders with a make-or-buy decision. Its great that the satellite subsystems already have many flying years on the Chinese space programme thus making it easier for us to sell into the European space companies."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
President Donald Trump plans to meet with a group of infrastructure business leaders at the White House on Wednesday, a person briefed on the meeting said.

During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would push for a $1 trillion infrastructure program to rebuild roads, bridges, airports and other public works projects.

The lunch meeting is set to include real estate, management consulting, private equity and other business leaders, along with at least one environmental group, a person briefed on the matter said.

Last month, Trump touted the plan in an address to Congress.

"The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding," Trump said.

"To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States - financed through both public and private capital - creating millions of new jobs."

The American Society of Civil Engineers has graded U.S. infrastructure at D+ and estimated the country needs to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told Fox News last month that the needs for infrastructure are so great the federal government cannot shoulder all the costs.

"Public private partnerships are a very important part of a new way of financing our roads and bridges that are in disrepair and our very dangerous," Chao said.

In January, Trump signed an executive order aimed at expediting environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects, especially high priority projects "such as improving the U.S. electric grid and telecommunications systems and repairing and upgrading critical port facilities, airports, pipelines, bridges, and highways." (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie

About us
Hyde Park resident Linda Roberts played a key role in establishing the Sew 'N Sews, a volunteer group that meets weekly to make reusable sanitary napkins for Ugandan schoolgirls.

Every Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., eight to 10 Cache Valley women meet in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church of Logan. They call themselves the Sew N Sews, and their sewing machines hum with definite purpose.

Each woman in the room has a designated job. Linda Bettinger is the cutter. Dee Logterman irons fabric. Jane DeByle affixes snaps and facilities quality control. Together, the group will produce 500-600 reusable sanitary napkins this year. Most of the pads will benefit girls in Uganda.

The Sew N Sews have been sending pads to Uganda for going on seven years. The project began when Linda Roberts, a retired nurse practitioner, learned while traveling to Uganda that many girls in the East African nation cant attend school during their menstrual periods because they dont have access to protection.

You know, month by month, those days would add up and theyd get further and further behind, said Roberts. We started this project so that we could help Ugandan schoolgirls stay in school all month long and get as much out of their education as possible.

Too often, she explained, the girlsmany of them being raised in orphanagesbecome increasingly discouraged and drop out of school. From there, they become more vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies and lifelong poverty.

We know from research that one of the mainstays of third world economies is the education of their girls and women, said Roberts, so the longer they stay in school and the more education they get, the better their lives are, their families lives are, and it really extends into the stability in their countries.

When Roberts and DeByle, a retired special education teacher, traveled to Uganda in 2011 to deliver the Sew N Sews first 100 pads, DeByle said the girls who received them at first cried and danced with joyuntil they realized that the pads didnt come with knickers, or underwear, which is difficult to obtain in rural Uganda. In response, the Sew N Sews began to create hygiene bags to accompany the pads, with each kit containing four pair of knickers, three pad covers, nine to 12 pads, two one-gallon Ziploc bags (for wash water) and a bar of laundry soap.

The Sew N Sews travel to Uganda with a humanitarian organization called <a href=http://seeeme.org/>SEEEME</a> (Sustainable Education, Economics and Engineering), founded in 2009 by Dr. Willam Grenney, a retired professor of Civil Engineering at Utah State University. As they teach seminars in rural villages, the group discusses feminine hygiene, how the menstrual cycle works and family planning. While the intention is to help reduce birthrates, Roberts said, the subject is sensitive because of a strong Catholic influence in Uganda, which frowns on contraception.

Ultimately, said DeByle, the Sew N Sews want to help the women and girls they serve achieve self-sufficiency. When they travel to Uganda, they try to visit the same villages each year, and before they leave, they create opportunities for residents to learn to make their own pads and maybe even develop small businesses. The Sew N Sews raise funds and seek donations each year to develop business starter kits to share with the villagers. These include treadle sewing machines, fabric, pins, scissors and step-by-step instructions for making reusable sanitary pads.

In addition to their ongoing efforts in Uganda, the Sew N Sews also donate pads to the Cache Community Food Pantry and to several homeless shelters in Salt Lake City. Hoping to help both locally and abroad, they are driven to serve and have developed strong friendships.

I do this because I was in education for 42 years and a teacher and administrator, said Logterman. It is so important to me to know that girls in other countries have the kind of opportunities that children here have. I put in the time just to make that happen for them, and getting together with these people is also a lot of fun. We really enjoy each others company.

The Sew N Sews welcome donations of funds, Velcro strips, thread, straight pins, hand sewing needles, fabric scissors, tape measures, pin cushions and reading glasses (+1.5 and +2.5 strengths). More information about the group is available from Linda Roberts at 435-770-7453.

<hr />

jennifer@cvradio.com
This is a key housing market to follow since Phoenix saw a large bubble and bust, followed by strong investor buying.



The Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) reports (table below):



1) Overall sales in February were up 12.6% year-over-year.



2) Cash Sales (frequently investors) were down to 25.9% of total sales.



3) Active inventory is now down 10.8% year-over-year.



More inventory (a theme in most of 2014) - and less investor buying - suggested price increases would slow sharply in 2014. And prices increases did slow in 2014, only increasing 2.4% according to Case-Shiller.



In 2015, with falling inventory, prices increased a little faster. Prices were up 6.3% in 2015 according to Case-Shiller.



With flat inventory in 2016, prices were up 4.8%.



This is the fourth consecutive month with a YoY decrease in inventory following eight months with YoY increases. This is a key change in trend - something to watch.





February Residential Sales and Inventory, Greater Phoenix Area, ARMLS Sales YoY

Change

Sales Cash

Sales Percent

Cash Active

Inventory YoY

Change

Inventory Feb-2008 3,445 --- 650 18.9% 57,3051 --- Feb-2009 5,477 59.0% 2,188 39.9% 52,013 -9.2% Feb-2010 6,595 20.4% 2,997 45.4% 42,388 -18.5% Feb-2011 7,171 8.7% 3,776 52.7% 40,666 -4.1% Feb-2012 7,249 1.1% 3,616 49.9% 23,736 -41.6% Feb-2013 6,618 -8.7% 3,053 46.1% 21,718 -8.5% Feb-2014 5,476 -17.3% 1,939 35.4% 29,899 37.7% Feb-2015 5,970 9.0% 1,784 29.9% 27,382 -8.4% Feb-2016 5,816 -2.6% 1,688 29.0% 27,202 -0.7% Feb-2017 6,547 12.6% 1,696 25.9% 24,275 -10.8% 1 February 2008 probably included pending listings
#Bring Back Our Internet Archives

In a statement on the use of internet and cellphone services in Africa published on Tuesday, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation noted that there has been a significant progress in almost all countries in Africa.

The African foundation which shares the belief that governance and leadership lie at the heart of any tangible and shared improvement in the quality of life of African citizens however said it was concerned about the prolonged internet blockade in the North the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon.

The Foundation that follows with attention the development of internet and mobile services on the African continent said such blockades have potential devastating consequences for economy, education and health, and prevent citizens to access news and to engage socially.

We hope that the government of Cameroon, and others will share our concern and facilitate the access of internet and mobile phone services to all its citizens, Mo Ibrahim urged in the statement.

The Mo Ibrahim statement coincided with the Prime Ministers visit to the North West region in an attempt to negotiate the resumption of classes.

At a stakeholders meeting in Bamenda on Monday, North Westerners told PM Yang that schools will only re-open if detained strike leaders are released, internet restored and the region demilitarised.

One of the speakers at the meeting, Hon Wilfred Fusi Naamukong told the PM and his entourage that the state hasnt yet given a statement to apologise for the massive killings orchestrated by armed government troops on unarmed civilians carrying out peaceful protests.

Our detainees because of these grievances that the president himself has acknowledged should be freed and our internet restored, the peoples representative told the government envoys as an obligation for school resumption in the region.

In response, the Head of Government urged the population of his native region not to sacrifice the education of their children for whatever grievances.

The greatest empowerment you can ever have is education. Dont give it away for anything even if you are angry and you dont eat. Even if you cannot go out to see your friends and drink a beer, do not sacrifice on education; thats a wrong place to go. It is an embarrassment to the international scene, the Prime Minister said calling on parents in the region to accompany their kids to school latest Tuesday March 7.

However, the plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears as schools are yet to resume in the region.
Cavaye (a gauche), Niat Njifenji (centre) et Paul Biya Archives

Panic has allegedly gripped the President of The Senate and Speaker of the National Assembly as the first ordinary session of parliament for the 2017 legislative year is due to open on Monday.

After three months of parliamentary recess, legislators from the nooks and crannies of the country are expected in Yaounde on Monday 13 March for the first ordinary session of parliament for the 2017 legislative year.

According to two separate bureau orders signed on Tuesday 7 March by the Speaker of the National Assembly and the President of The Senate, the Lower House will convene at 1pm at the Ngoa-Ekelle glass house while members of the Upper House will sit at 4pm at their temporary Yaounde conference center meeting place.

With the first session of each legislative year traditionally devoted to the renewal of bureaus, there are already allegations that President Paul Biya is contemplating dropping one of the Francophone heads of the two legislative institutions for an Anglophone.

Theres an unwritten law in the country which stipulates that when the Head of State is a Francophone, the second in command must be an Anglophone.

The Speaker (president) of the National Assembly, Rt Hon Cavaye Yeguie Djibril has been at the helm of the lawmaking institution since 1992.

The leading member of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), enjoyed the position and benefits of the second personality in the country until the senate was put in place about four years ago.

The Senate was created following an amendment to the 1996 constitution but President Paul Biya kept the power to convene the Electoral College close to his chest.

The maiden elections to the Upper House were held in April 2013 and Senator Marcel Niat Njifenji was elected the first president of the house in June of same year.

The Francophone senator has since been re-elected to the post that makes him second personality according to state protocol, and constitutional successor to the President of the Republic in case of a vacancy in the latter office.

With the recent Anglophone uprising in the country and reports that the Head of State is gradually yielding to the demands of the minority English speakers, sources say one of the two personalities above would be replaced by an Anglophone during the elective parliamentary session due to open on Monday.

Who therefore will President Biya sacrifice, Hon Cavaye Yeguie Djibril or Senator Marcel Niat Njifenji? I rest my case.

It is worth noting that should President Biya fire one of the Francophone personalities above, Anglophones might also have to sacrifice the Prime Ministry which they have also occupied since 1992.
Women's day Wilson Musa

Hundredths gathered at the Commercial Avenue in Bamenda, North West region to commemorate the 32nd International Womens day amidst ghost town that was being observed by the population. The majority of women who answered present did that under the banners of several delegations in the region.

Unlike previous years when animators of Womens day who are commonly called Buyam Sellams, this years Womens day lacked the fanfare that usually accompany it. Most of the women who took part in the parade were under the banner of regional delegations. Few associations took part in this years celebration.

However the Governor of the North West region Adolphe LELE LAfrique said he was satisfied with the turn out especially as messages had been circulated calling for boycott in the two English speaking regions. He congratulated women who showed up saying it was a wonderful move.

Some women who took part in the parade were transported back to their destinations in military trucks.

The situation in Buea was not different, turnout was low compared to previous years but like his North West counterpart, Bernard Okalia Bilai congratulated the women who showed up for the celebration saying that they also have to play a key role in maintaining peace during this period of crisis. He urged women to send their children to school by also convincing their husbands to see the need for educating their children.

By Wilson MUSA
Eric Lazare Ndoumbe, new Mutengene Police Boss Musa Wilson

The South West Delegate General for National Security Ngenga Jean Marie had enjoined the new Mutengene Police Commissioner to be vigilant, tactical and demonstrate a sense of understanding in handling the town located in Tiko sub division, Fako division.

He made the call Tuesday March 7, 2017 during the installation ceremony of Lazare Ndoumbe as new Police Commissioner in Mutengene.

The regional boss said Mutengene is a town with social complexity with acts of vandalism, banditry, harassments which must be handled with iron hands but tactically because according to him, the people of that area are unpredictable.

Eric Lazare Ndoumbe replaces Ali Pierre who was sacked by a presidential decree on March 3, 2017 days after the incident which took place in Mutengene on night of February 22 to 23. Some unidentified men estimated at over 100 stormed the premises of the Police station set prisoners free and vandalized the office of Commissioner, they later placed the corpse of one of theirs believed to have been killed by police.

The men also burnt part of Government Bilingual High School in Mutengene demanding answers from the police after a 36 year old man died in unclear circumstances.

The people of Mutengene want the new Police boss to stop rampant theft and harassment in the area which is noted for high rate of theft and insecurity.

Before his appointment, Eric Lazare Ndoumbe was the chief of General Investigation at the regional delegation for National Security for the South West. He has also served as interim commissioner of Muea.

He is well abreast with the town given that he once was part of it before his transfer to Buea.

By Wilson MUSA
| BY Lynchy |

Early indications suggest there are hundreds of Aussies and Kiwis (including expats) going to Cannes this year  and delegate numbers worldwide are expected to be up from last year with more seminars and events at Cannes 2017 than ever before.

Campaign Brief, with the generous support of Sydney-Auckland-Los Angeles based production company Photoplay and boutique Design and VFX house Fin, based in Sydney and Shanghai, will be hosting our annual Welcome Cocktail Party for the Aussie and Kiwi delegates on Monday 19 June from 5.30pm. Venue TBA.

Special guests include many of the Australian jurors and several prominent creative directors from around the world. If you are an Aussie or Kiwi (or an expat) going to Cannes, let Lynchy know now to secure your ticket: michael@campaignbrief.com

***

LBB & Friends are back on the beach for Cannes 2017  and LBB member agencies + production companies from Australia and NZ* are invited

Every year Little Black Book hosts one of the most fun, relaxed, and productive events at the Cannes Lions  the LBB & Friends Beach, opposite the Miramar on La Croisette. And youre invited to hang out there from Tuesday thru to Saturday if you work for a LBB member agency or production company in Australia or New Zealand*.

For some of you it has become your annual home and sanctuary for the week, the physical embodiment of LBBonline. A real community, getting together to share ideas and forge new partnerships. This is its seventh year, and each time it has been bigger and better, with an amazing line-up of co-hosts who make it a diverse and interactive experience for everyone. From Tuesday to Saturday of Cannes week there is a daily free happy hour, as well as massages, musical guests, and goodie bags stuffed with treats from all of your hosts. But mostly it is a lovely free space in which to unwind, take a meeting, or just enjoy the sun on a lounger.

LBB member agencies In Australasia

BMF, BWM Dentsu, Clemenger BBDO, Colenso BBDO, Core, Cummins & Partners, DDB, Disciple, The Hallway, Havas, Host, Innocean, J Walter Thompson, KWP!, Leo Burnett, Marcel, Matterhorn, M&C Saatchi, McCann, The Monkeys, Naked, Ogilvy, Reborn, The Royals,Rumble Creative, Saatchi & Saatchi, Special Group, Sugar&Partners, 303 Mullen Lowe, TBWA, VCCP, VML, WiTH Collective, Yolo, Zoo Group.

LBB member production companies In Australasia

Admusic.tv, Airbag, Alt.VFX, Curious, Cutting Edge, Eight, Engine, Exit Films, Film Construction, Filmgraphics, Fin Design + Effects, Flying Fish, Goodoil, Heckler, Infinity Squared, Jungle, Mighty Nice, Moth Projects, The Otto Empire, Passion Pictures, Photoplay, Plaza Films, Red Engine, Revolver, Robbers Dog, Rumble Studios, Scoundrel, The Sweet Shop, Tazer, Uncanny Valley, XYZ Studios.

For LBB membership enquiries or to place your name on the VIP Cannes Beach list contact: michael@campaignbrief.com

FAQ About LBB & Friends Beach

Who is invited to LBB & Friends Beach?

The Friends, our co-hosts and sponsors will all be on the beach and will be inviting their clients from all over the world;

Bronze and Silver company members of LBBOnline will each receive a set number of wristbands for the beach in 2017. This includes most agency networks. If you are not sure whether your company has a membership, contact michael@campaignbrief.com to find out. This is the best way to make sure that members of your team can represent your company on the beach;

Our LBB/LAB clients will be invited;

Jury members, and other celebrated guests.

How can I collect my wristbands?

Wristbands can be collected on the beach between set times from Tuesday through Friday. Times TBA.

They will also be available on the Monday afternoon/evening in Cannes, from the beach. Times TBA

We will also have some days when they can be collected from our office in London prior to the festival. Dates and times TBA.

If you are an LBB/Lab client, or an LBB Silver or Bronze member that will be active for June, then we can arrange to post you your wristbands in advance.

How can we become sponsors of the LBB & Friends Beach?

Contact michael@campaignbrief.com for details.

Can I reserve a table on the beach for lunch and meetings?

Only sponsors can reserve tables in the beach restaurant.

Can I reserve loungers on the beach?

These are available on a first come, first served basis each day.

Are towels available on the beach?

Yes. One of our sponsors, the London International Awards, are providing towels free of charge, while supplies last. You can come and use one, then take it home with you. Once these have run out, the beach restaurant can rent them to you for the day for a charge.

Can I order food and drink on the beach?

Yes. There is fabulous wait staff on the beach. The head chef designs a special menu for our beach that includes French classics, light dishes and a big burger and fries. Try the creamy truffle pasta. It will put you to rights. The restaurant opens for lunch and stops serving before Happy Hour at 4. The restaurant area will be closed for lunch orders on Friday as we will be hosting our lunch for the sponsors that day but you can still order food on the beach.

Can I bring a large group down with me to the beach?

Only if they all have wristbands, or are on the RSVP list at the door.

What do I do if I get invited to the LBB & Friends Beach?

In the invitation, there will be a link for you to RSVP. You MUST RSVP in order to be on the list at the door. We will only have one list on the door and that is the people who have RSVPed for the event.

Can I swim?

Wed be insulted if you didnt! And there are watersports for hire from the end of the pontoon. Dont forget your inflatable swan.

Do I need to keep my wristband on?

Yes. Without a wristband, you will be asked to leave and you will not be served at the Happy Hour bars. Were pretty nice but we can get a little tetchy when were hot and tired

What is the dress code?

Clothing is required.

Will there be music?
| BY Ricki Green |

Droga5 New Yorks latest work asks the world to support the 130 million girls who are denied a proper education globally. Its directed and animated by Lucinda Schreiber who is represented by Photoplay Films in Australia & New Zealand.

Globally, 130 million girls are not in school, and because poverty is sexist, girls in the poorest countries are less likely to receive an education than boys. This means a generation of adolescent girls is being denied the education they need to get a job, broaden their opportunities, and break the cycle of poverty. A girl with an education can change the world.

Today ONE launches #GirlsCount, a bold digital campaign to demonstrate the scale of the crisis and demand education for all girls.

#GirlsCount features citizens from every walk of life joining forces by filming themselves counting a number between one and 130 million out loud. One film to represent every girl denied an education.

International supporters are joining the count in solidarity, including: Malala Yousafzai, Sheryl Sandberg, Angelique Kidjo, Bono and David Oyelowo, as well as Emmanuelle Chriqui, Tom Brady, Giselle Bundchen, Michael Sheen, Chelsea Handler, Tracee Ellis Ross and Charlize Theron.

ONE plans to combine the videos into the worlds longest ever film to urge world leaders to take the action needed to ensure every girl receives a quality education.

Says Sheryl Sandberg, CCO, Facebook: 130 million girls around the world are out of school. One of the challenges in effectively addressing this global crisis is conveying its staggering scale. 130 million girls are being denied the basic human right of an education  the domino effect of which none of us can afford to ignore. I joined the count at ONE.org choosing number five because thats the age millions of girls around the world should be walking into a classroom for the first time. Far too many of them will never get that chance, unless we demand world leaders act.

The ONE Campaigns Roxane Philson: Its a global crisis that 130 million girls are not in school. It costs less than a loaf of bread to send a girl in one of the worlds poorest countries to school each day  a small investment that could save more than a million lives and add more than $100 billion dollars to the global economy every year. #GirlsCount is uniting people to make the scale of this crisis clear and to call on leaders to do more.

People who want help change the lives of millions of girls around the world can join the campaign by counting a number and posting the video or picture online here. The campaign was created by Droga5 New York.

ONE is launching the action ahead of International Womens Day on 8 March, alongside a report that shows how getting more girls in school could save more than a million lives and add more than $100 billion dollars a year to the global economy.
| BY Ricki Green |

Australian experience agency George P. Johnson Australia (GPJ Australia) has announces the appointment of Will Halliday as head of strategy.

Halliday (pictured left with GPJ Australia MD Caleb Bush) has a distinguished international career spanning 20 years in strategy, innovation and creativity for many of the worlds biggest brands. Will has held senior roles with leading experience and marketing agencies including Imagination, Wunderman and Host, and management consulting groups, Accenture and PWC.

He joins GPJ from Imagination, where he was head of strategy. Previous roles include head of strategic planning at MercerBell and director of strategic planning (Asia) at Wunderman.

Says Caleb Bush, managing director, GPJ Australia: Will excels in the nexus between strategy, creativity and technology. His depth of strategic experience driving business results and building lasting customer relationships for clients will be an invaluable addition to our business, as we take our future-focused, ideas-led experience agency to the next level.
Those terms were that Al-Harazi would buy new furniture for the house, return jewellery he had taken from his wife and would not shout at her or cause more trouble.
At trial, the prosecution had argued the pair intended to peddle 49 grams of cocaine seized to buyers in Canberra, while defence lawyers said they were drug-addicted young men and every gram they got hold of went "straight up their noses".



There was no dispute about any elements of the drug importation charge faced by the men.



But there was a defence available to the pair if it was proved the men neither intended to sell the drug, nor believed the other was going to sell it.



Federal prosecutor Robert Barry told the court the cocaine, which had an estimated maximum street value of $21,000, was of a significantly higher purity than that of cocaine generally sold in the ACT and would have been sold for $250 to $350 per gram.



He argued that would have been a powerful incentive for the men to buy it cheaply overseas, import it and sell it.



But Johnston's barrister Steven Whybrow said thousands of text messages and phone intercepts used as evidence revealed no evidence of the alleged drug deal.



"He was a terrible coke addict, frankly. Every gram of cocaine that comes in was going straight up their noses.



"They were chipping in, equal shares. They were going to party, they weren't going to sell it."



McCauley's barrister James Lawton told the jury the defendants were "amateur" sellers of cocaine and the purchase had been a group buy.



In sentencing the men in court on Wednesday, Justice Hilary Penfold said the evidence showed while Mr Johnstone was the driving force behind the enterprise, Mr McCauley was "clearly an enthusiastic participant".
The agreement, signed by Zain Bahrains regulatory, wholesales & roaming director, Ali Mustafa, and Rapid Telecoms chairman, Shaikh Hamad bin Khalid Al Khalifa, will enable the operators to provide innovative international connectivity solutions particularly to the under-tapped enterprise segment and enhance the international connectivity of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Ali Mustafa explained that in todays vastly evolving telecommunication markets building strategic partnerships enables us to provide innovative and reliable solutions to our customers.

This partnership will further enhance our capability in providing B2B full innovative turnkey solutions on resilient international connectivity to the enterprise customers, he added.

Shaikh Hamad bin Khalid Al Khalifa stressed the importance of forming strategic partnerships with leading telecom providers in Bahrain and the region, like Zain. He said, We have mutual plans to utilise the facilities, platforms and expertise of both companies to provide customers in Bahrain with innovative solutions that meet their business needs. In addition, we have set out strategies to enhance our regional and international reach through direct cooperation with our partners.

Rapid Telecoms new management team plans to position the company alongside leading regional and international telecom providers. Through this new partnership with Zain, we look forward to expanding our horizons and pursuing new opportunities to better serve our customers in a very cost effective and efficient manner, he added.
The company will pay the US a criminal and civil penalty of $892 million, plus another $300 million as a suspended sentence, a total of almost $1.2 billion.

This is 8% of ZTEs annual revenue on the figures for 2016, released today. The company reported revenue of $14.6 billion, 1.04% up on 2015, but a total loss of $111 million,

Without the fine, which still needs final approval in the US courts, ZTE would have reported a year-on-year increase in total profit of 25.82%, and net profit up by 19.24%, said the company this morning.

ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company, said Zhao Xianming, who was appointed chairman and CEO following the scandal, which erupted in March 2016 when the US government revealed that the previous management had set up shadow companies through which to deliver kit to Iran.

These exports breached US law, as ZTE incorporated hardware and software from US companies such as Microsoft and Qualcomm. ZTEs licences from those companies specifically banned re-export to countries subject to a US embargo, including Iran.

The US could have banned ZTE permanently from using any US-owned hardware and software, a move that would have crippled it as a maker of telecoms network equipment and handsets.

As it is, conditions will remain until the settlement has court approval and ZTE has officially pleaded guilty to the charges. The US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), part of the Department of Commerce, will then have to lift the sanctions.

It was the BIS that revealed the documents it had obtained about ZTEs conspiracy. One was titled: Report Regarding Comprehensive Reorganization and the Standardization of the Company Export Control Related Matters; the other was: Proposal for Import and Export Control Risk Avoidance.

The first of these, dated August 2011, signed by then CEO Shi Lirong and three other executives, and marked ZTE Confidential, started: As our overseas businesses have grown rapidly in recent years, so have US export control risks. It continued: Currently our company has ongoing projects in all five major embargoed countries, Iran, Sudan, North Korea, Syria and Cuba.

The $300 million element of the fine is suspended for seven years on the condition that the company complies with the requirements in the agreement with BIS and that ZTE will continue to work with an independent compliance monitor and auditor. The $300 million will be lodged with the BIS, apparently for the full period until 2024.

Zhao said: Instituting new compliance-focused procedures and making significant personnel changes has been a top priority for the company. We have learned many lessons from this experience and will continue on our path of becoming a model for export compliance and management excellence. We are committed to a new ZTE, compliant, healthy and trustworthy.

Zhao replaced Shi as CEO but Shi remained with ZTE as a non-executive director until February 2017. His final departure, announced in February, was one of the conditions imposed by the US.

Zhao said: We are grateful to all of our customers, partners, employees and stakeholders who have stood by us throughout this difficult time. With this agreement behind us and our compliance programme firmly established, we can confidently grow our business with suppliers, continue to provide innovative technology solutions to our partners, and execute our growth strategies as a new ZTE.

One of the conditions that ZTE has had to carry out is the appointment of a US-based chief export compliance officer. Matt Bell, appointed in October 2016, is an anti-corruption specialist who was previously at Kellogg Brown & Root, an engineering company.

Bell, who will have global responsibility at ZTE, said: We are creating a global team of experienced compliance professionals, and our compliance trainings have been strengthened and reinforced at every level of the company.

He added: Our global legal and compliance professionals will continue to work together to identify risk across the company and continually improve the effectiveness of our overall compliance programme.

ZTE said it had implemented a software automation tool which screens shipments from ZTE for export control obligations.

The system is used to determine which items are subject to the [US] Export Administration Regulations, provides embargo and restricted party screening on the transactions, and places shipments on hold that require detailed classification analysis, application of licence exceptions, or application of licences when necessary, said the company.

ZTE continues to make significant investments in automation to roll this out to its subsidiaries around the world.

More details about the settlement, and the long-term impact on ZTE, are likely to emerge in the companys annual report to shareholders, due on 23 March. The company is quoted on the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock markets.
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

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You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
American International Group plans to counter Brexit-related challenges by having it both ways.

The insurer said that starting in the 2019 first quarter, it will launch a subsidiary in Luxembourg to write business across the European Economic Area and Switzerland, but it will also maintain its existing UK operations. AIGs exact Luxembourg launch date will be subject to regulatory approval.

Right now, AIGs London operationAIG Europe Ltd.handles European business from the city and in branches across the European Economic Area and Switzerland. AIG noted in its announcement that the UK is its single biggest European operation, which is why it will still support European operations from there despite plans to also have a presence in Luxembourg.

This is a decisive move that ensures AIG is positioned for whatever form the UKs exit from the EU ultimately takes, Anthony Baldwin, CEO of AIG Europe, said in prepared remarks. AIG sees opportunity in the ongoing resilience of the UK market. At the same time, we are ensuring that our clients and partners experience no disruption from the UKs EU exit.

Baldwin added that AIGs Luxembourg company will be complementary to our existing structure and will be part of our single European module.

AIG had disclosed in November that it might relocate its London operations due to Brexit.

The UKs planned exit, or Brexit (British exit), from the European Union is propelling the move by AIG and other financial firms with a large London presence to look at establishing divisions in continental Europe to avoid any post-Brexit fees or other logistical problems.

A majority of UK voters cast their ballot in a June 2016 referendum to leave the EU, which helped create plenty of financial market uncertainty. Up until now, London has been a global financial center. But with its unfettered EU access in doubt, insurers and other parts of the financial sector have been exploring whether to maintain the status quo in London or establish EU corporate beachheads to maintain access to the continent.

Lloyds of London is among other insurance industry entities looking at launching a post-Brexit European subsidiary.

Source: AIG
COLUMBUS  A Platte County judge ruled Nebraska Public Power District doesn't have to release utility records showing how much it costs to generate electricity.

Private energy developer Gary Aksamit of Aksamit Resource Management filed a document in June 2016 asking judges in three counties to require their electric utilities to disclose costs of generating electricity. Aksamit's lawyers argued in December that releasing those records would serve public purposes.

Judge Robert Steinke ruled last week the information release wouldn't serve a public purpose and could give regional electric utilities an edge against the public power company, which buys and sells electricity as part of a regional power pool. The company had to prove both of those points to be legally exempt from the state's public records law.

"The evidence offered at trial clearly demonstrates that (Aksamit and related concerns) desire to directly compete with NPPD," the judge wrote.

Aksamit Resource Management Vice President Michael Matheson said Monday there is still a public interest in releasing the records.

"There is no public oversight on public power in Nebraska with this ruling," Matheson said. "Not only does public power get a monopoly and antitrust protection, but now they can shield their documents from the public who supposedly owns them."

NPPD spokesman Mark Becker said the public power company is "obviously pleased" by the decision.

"The court's decision that (releasing cost information) would serve no public purpose is what NPPD has contended from the outset of this legal action," Becker said.

Aksamit also asked for the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska in Lancaster County to hand over records, as well as Douglas County's Omaha Public Power District.
German automaker Artega has announced that their Scalo Superelletra supercar will arrive in the spring of 2019, priced somewhere around $1.6 million.



While this years Geneva Motor Show is hosting a great number of fast cars with electrified powertrains, rest assured that the Scalo Superelletra deserves its place among them.

It packs total of 1,020 HP and roughly 1,194 lb-ft (1,620 Nm) of instant torque being deployed via two electric motors at the front and two more at the rear. With specs like these, the Superelletra can get from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.7 seconds, before maxing out at 300 km/h (186 mph).

Of course, since this is an electric car, you should also know that its 120 kWh battery allows it to cover 500 km (310 miles) on a single charge, which is a very impressive driving range.

Unfortunately, only 50 units will be produced according to Artega, but if you like the design, the specs, and dont mind the $1.59 million (1.3 million) price tag, you could probably talk yourself into placing an order.

PHOTO GALLERY
Two all-new electrified Honda Clarity models are set to arrive in New York this April, offering customers a choice between fuel cell, battery electric and plug-in hybrid technology.



The Clarity is set to become the first vehicle to be available with two choices of electrification, plus a fuel cell option, which in turn creates some separation from its Hyundai Ioniq rival.

While the Ioniq is also available with three different powertrains, neither the hybrid, plug-in hybrid or the EV version runs on hydrogen. Speaking of diversity, Honda has announced that by the year 2030, two-thirds of its global auto sales will come from electrified vehicles.

As for this teaser image just released by Honda, it shows the Clarity series including the never-before-seen Plug-in Hybrid and the Clarity Electric flanking the Fuel Cell model.

Honda says that all Clarity versions will provide a smooth, quiet and premium experience, with great dynamic handling plus seamless electric drive torque and acceleration.

The Japanese automaker is also saying that the Clarity Electric will become the first affordable, midsize, five-passenger battery electric vehicle (BEV) in the world, while the Plug-in Hybrid model will be the volume leader in the series thanks to an all-electric driving range rated in excess of 40 miles (64 km).
By having the X-Class Concept and the luxurious Maybach G650 Landaulet on display in Geneva, Mercedes stand can be described as the past meets the future.



Built around the nuts and bolts of the Nissan Navara, the show car previews a production pickup truck, which will eventually go on sale in global markets.

There have been rumors surrounding a possible USA launch of the workhorse, but contradicting reports leave the decision hanging in the air, as some officials claim that there isnt enough room in the segment for it, whereas others state the opposite.

Nevertheless, while the X-Class is all about the future, the G650 Landaulet represents the past, as its a limited edition that has Maybachs name written all over it, and has been developed to wave goodbye to the current generation G-Class, as a successor is already in development.

The posh SUV has caused quite a stir after it benefited from an unusual press launch, as the Germans took it to South Africa on a safari, proving that going on an adventure doesnt have to be uncomfortable.

MERCEDES-BENZ X-CLASS CONCEPT

MERCEDES-MAYBACH G650 LAUNDALET
The next Opel Corsa will be delayed as new owner PSA is shifting the German brands future models onto its own platforms.



The general plan is to redevelop Opels lineup with technology and vehicle architectures from PSA, with the first PSA-based Opel models to hit the market around 2020, as reported by AutoNews.

This move also means that the next Opel Corsa will be delayed by a year to 2020, as officials are sending the car back to the drawing board. Five more PSA-based Opel models will follow by 2023.

As for the existing Opel models that already use GMs technology, the non-compete agreement between PSA and GM states that these will be prohibited from being launched in new overseas markets. The same applies for GM as well, meaning that they will not be allowed to market the same underlying technologies in Europe.

Karl-Thomas Neumann will retain his position as CEO of Opel, with PSA wanting him to stay in charge. It is our intention to make sure Mr. Neumann continues the excellent work he has been doing. We trust that he will be in the best position to lead the turnaround and a profitable future for Opel, Tavares, PSA boss said.

Tavares also added that Opel would have already managed a turnaround, had it not been for problems arising from the UKs decision to leave the EU, an opinion shared by GM CEO Mary Barra as well.

PHOTO GALLERY
After a number of sketches, the updated Hyundai Sonata has officially launched in Seoul, South Korea.



The facelifted Sonata will debut in U.S-spec at the New York Auto Show in April and is expected to look identical to the car pictured. Overall, the new car adopts a much sharper and more aggressive outward appearance and also includes some interior refinements, updated safety features and a range of engines.

At the front, the new Sonata clearly incorporates the companys latest design language with an edgy grille, vertical LED daytime running lights, a set of narrow headlights and a sculpted hood. Elsewhere, the 2018 car receives more dynamic sides with subtle yet eye-catching body lines that frame the car nicely.

Other visual enhancements include redesigned 17-inch and 18-inch wheels, unique taillight graphics and a relocated rear license plate holder.

The cabin of the refreshed Sonata includes updated air conditioning, ventilation, audio and heating controls as well as a 7-inch color touchscreen as standard on every South Korean model. A larger, 8-inch will be offered as an option.

Elsewhere, the new model receives updated steering wheels which vary depending on the trim. All incorporate three spokes and the wheel of the 2.0 Turbo has a flat bottom. The sedan also includes a new USB charge port in the center console, wireless smartphone charging capability, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Also on a technology front is the option of a Lane Departure Warning system, Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, High Beam Assist, Dynamic Bending Lights and a Lane Keep Assist function.

In terms of engines, South Korean customers are offered a 1.7-liter VGT delivering 141 PS (139 hp), a 1.6-liter T-GDI with 180 PS (177 hp), a 2.0-liter with 163 PS (160 hp) and a range-topping 2.0-liter turbo with 245 PS (241 hp).

Expect U.S. prices to be revealed after the models local debut in April.

PHOTO GALLERY
Exactly six years after the Lamborghini Aventador celebrated its global debut in Geneva, the Italian manufacturer returned to Switzerland to unveil the updated Aventador S at this years show.



The Lamborghini Aventador S is essentially a facelifted model, but alongside its revised interior and exterior design, it receives a number of new technologies aimed at finally making the firms halo supercar a proper drivers car.

Starting with the 6.5-liter naturally-aspirated V12, Lamborghini has managed to turn the wick up by providing an additional 39 hp, bringing the total to 730 hp and 509 lb-ft (690 Nm) of torque. Among the key engine changes are optimized Variable Valve Timing and Variable Intake Systems as well as an increase in the redline from 8,350 to 8,500 rpm.

Perhaps the biggest change enjoyed by the new Aventador S is the four wheel steering system. At low and medium speeds, it improves the vehicles agility while leading to better stability at high speed. Tweaks have also been made to the Lamborghini Magnetorheological Suspension (LMS) system while new rear springs have been fitted and a real-time variable damping system incorporated.

Alongside the Strada, Sport and Corsa driving modes weve become familiar with, the new car also gets a so-called Ego mode that allows the driver to tweak the suspension and drivetrain settings individually.

U.S. deliveries of the Aventador S will commence in spring and start at $421,350.

PHOTO GALLERY
Photo: The Canadian Press

Edmonton police and federal corrections officials say they are investigating an attack on an inmate who has been identified by his lawyer as convicted triple murderer Douglas Garland.

Edmonton Police Service spokeswoman Cheryl Sheppard says a man was taken to hospital just after 9 p.m. on Monday after an assault at Edmonton Institution, a federal maximum security prison.

The Correctional Service of Canada says the injured inmate was immediately evaluated by staff and taken to an outside hospital for treatment.

Garland's lawyer, Kim Ross, told the CBC his client is in stable condition and was kept in hospital overnight.

Garland was attacked last month at the Calgary Remand Centre while awaiting transfer to federal prison, shortly after the 57-year-old was found guilty of killing Alvin and Kathy Liknes and their five-year-old grandson Nathan O'Brien.

Garland was sentenced to life in prison with no chance at parole for 75 years.

Ross told CBC News Tuesday the correctional officers in Edmonton needed to make sure Garland was protected.

"They have to know he's a security risk and they need to take steps to ensure his safety."
After his speech to a joint session of Congress last week, where President Donald Trump successfully managed to read, from a teleprompter, a speech that someone else had written for him and not sound barking mad, some members of the Beltway punditocracy fell all over themselves to declare thusly:

It had happened -- that magic moment we'd all been waiting for: Trump had, finally, and at long last, made the presidential pivot. He'd finally moved past reality TV host and become something approximating statesmanlike.

Please.

By the weekend, Trump was back to his old tricks, ranting on Twitter, without a shred of evidence, that former President Barack Obama had ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower.

As expected, Trump's thus-far groundless complaints devoured the weekend's news cycle and deflected attention away from the woes of embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the endless drumbeat of questions about Trump's -- and his inner circle's -- ties to Russia.

But it also provided formal confirmation of something that should be screamingly obvious to anyone who doesn't spend their weekends hurtling up and down the Acela corridor:

Donald Trump will never "pivot" and become presidential.

Ever.

The sooner the Beltway punditocracy accepts this and stops crediting him for getting through a speech without saying something completely unhinged, the safer and better off we're all going to be as a nation.

Since exploding onto the public stage more than 18 months ago, someone, somewhere has declared a pivot to the presidential at least a dozen times.

Donald Trump is 70 years old. If he'd actually pivoted that sharply that many times, he'd need a double-hip replacement.

In case you're skeptical, the good folks at Slate, last August, compiled a list of alleged Trumpian pivots and resets.

It's worth reading in full. But here are a few highlights:

The earliest such instance was last March where Trump finally embraced the teleprompter during a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He was hailed for his sober embrace of policy.

Two days later, he made fun of Ted Cruz's wife on Twitter, Slate reported.

Or, there was that time last May where Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell supposedly performed a magical intervention, telling Trump to "cool it."

Three days later, Slate recounted, Trump suggested Bill and Hillary Clinton were killers and he followed it up by accusing an Indiana-born judge hearing a fraud case against Trump of being biased against him because he was of Mexican descent.

Last July, Trump picked now-Veep Mike Pence as his running-mate, which apparently signaled some kind political maturity. During their first public appearance, Trump ignored him for 15 minutes and then reminded the crowd that Pence had backed Ted Cruz over him during the primary season.

Pence, readers will remember, was also apparently last to know about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's Russia problem.

Perhaps only Ben Kingsley's Vice President Jim Nance in the 1993 presidential spoof "Dave" has suffered more indignities.

Which brings us to the most recent alleged Trumpian pivot.

The proximate cause, we were told, was Trump pausing to honor war widow Carryn Owens, whose husband, Navy SEAL, William Ryan Owens, was killed in a botched raid in Yemen earlier this year.

Owens is a hero, no doubt about it. And his wife and family have endured an unspeakable tragedy.

But the sustained ovation Trump prompted came only hours after he threw his generals under the bus and tried to evade responsibility for the botched raid. It was an act whose political cynicism knows few parallels.

It also managed to deflect attention to a speech, while calm and measured in its tones, that actually offered little variance from the standard Trumpian script: Tough talk on immigration and an ongoing fear of the other.

Yes, there were some things to like about it - such as a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal. But that glossed over Trump's creation of an office focused on crimes by undocumented immigrants, a move that was straight-up fear-mongering.

"Trump, dare I say, gracefully handed the spotlight to Owens -- even taking a few steps back to let her have that moment," Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza wrote. "For a candidate, a man and a president who has shown a stunning inability to ever make it about anyone other than him, it was a very deft move."

In other words, he didn't completely bungle it.

Which may be the best we can ever expect from him.
Photo: The Canadian Press Martin Luther King III

The oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr. is praising Canada for being a beacon of freedom and urges people not to lose hope in the United States.

"No matter what the United States attempts to do, progress is going to move forward," Martin Luther King III said at a leadership conference in Lethbridge, Tuesday. "I think the president will find that out very quickly because humankind is going to stand up and say we resist this and won't allow this to happen.

"We're a much better nation than the behaviour that seems to be exhibited. You never lose hope, although it seems that things are dark and dismal."

King, who met privately with U.S. President Donald Trump before the inauguration, said the administration is off to a "rocky start," but he hopes it can strike a balance on immigration.

Trump imposed another travel ban on people from a handful of predominantly Muslim countries this week after his first executive order was overturned by the courts.

"Everyone should be vetted thoroughly, but I don't think you just deny whole groups of people," King said.

"That was a campaign promise. While I may disagree with it, I would give him high marks for attempting to do what he said he was going to do."

King encouraged participants at the Greatness in Leadership conference to get involved in social change including fighting climate change, domestic violence and ensuring immigrants succeed.

He harkened back to a series of lectures his father gave in Toronto 50 years ago where he paid homage to Canada for being a refuge at the end of the Underground Railroad.

As Canada continues to welcome immigrants from other countries, King said the reputation has grown.

"I, too, want to express my gratitude to Canada," King said. "Not only for serving as a haven from bondage and slavery, but also for providing a wonderful example that still sets one of the world's highest standards for freedom, justice and inclusiveness."
Photo: Jeff Cameron Racing.

The B.C. Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in a case involving the Motoplex Speedway and Event Park near Vernon versus the developers of Lawrence Heights, an adult community on the hill above the track.

Last year, the B.C. Supreme Court granted the developers of Lawrence Heights an injunction limiting noise levels at the Spallumcheen race track and ordering its owner to pay $100,000 in damages.

The developers had been asking for millions of dollars in damages from the speedway's owner, Okanagan Aggregates Ltd., and filed an appeal in June.

The one-day hearing was held in Vancouver on Monday.

Last year's ruling prompted a flurry of support on social media for the speedway, including a Facebook page called Save the Motoplex Speedway. It currently has 3,080 members.
Photo: Castanet Staff

Castanet has received unconfirmed reports of a building fire in Rutland overnight.

About 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, fire was apparently reported on an outside wall at the rear of a structure at Rutland Road and Robson Road, near the Salvation Army thrift store.

Fire crews responded and the fire was extinguished.

It's not known if anyone was in the building at the time.

After the initial call, secondary responding units were called off.
Photo: Police photo

An 18-year-old man decapitated his mother and then walked out the front door of her house holding her head in his hand while wielding a knife in the other, authorities said.

The suspect was charged with first-degree murder Monday after he called 911 to say he had killed his mother, according to a news release from the Franklin County Sheriff's office. Authorities say he was arrested without offering resistance, and his 35-year-old mother's body was found inside the home.

District Attorney Mike Waters said officials were seeking a mental evaluation of the suspect. His public defender, C. Boyd Sturges III, said he spoke with him for an hour in the Franklin County jail.

"It does appear there's some substantial mental health issues involved in this case," Sturges said. "I'm not a doctor, so I can't really elaborate. He's a pretty profoundly disturbed young man."

Waters said due to the suspect's apparent mental state, "this is something that's going to take weeks and months for us to get some answers as to why this happened."

Waters said the suspect was being transferred to Central Prison in Raleigh. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 14.

Two young girls in the home were not hurt. A fourth child was in school when the attack occurred. Deputies were searching the home hours after the body was discovered.

The exact names of the suspect and his mother were unclear. Local court records list the suspect's name as Oliver Funes Machada, Sturges said. Federal records list his name as Oliver Funes Machado, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Bryan Cox. In a news release, Cox said the suspect was from Honduras and was in the country illegally. Franklin County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Terry Wright gave the mother's name as Yesenia Beatriz Funez Machado, citing a spelling given to authorities by her 14-year-old son.
Photo: Twitter

A pipeline spewing natural gas into Alaska's Cook Inlet may have started leaking in December, two months before the leak was spotted from the air, according to a federal pipeline safety office.

The estimate of when gas started leaking into winter habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales was issued in a proposed safety order last week by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that the agency confirmed on Tuesday.

Processed natural gas continues to leak from a Hilcorp Alaska LLC pipeline that supplies four oil platforms in the inlet south of Anchorage  at a rate estimated by the company of 210,000 to 310,000 cubic feet of gas daily.

A Hilcorp helicopter crew Feb. 7 spotted gas bubbling to the surface about four miles off shore.

However, the company in late January reported that it had detected increased gas flow through the pipeline in January and started looking for a leak, according pipeline safety office's report.

A subsequent analysis of gas flow indicated the pipeline likely began leaking in December, the agency said.

The agency late Friday issued the proposed safety order requiring the line to be repaired by May 1 or shut down.

Hilcorp has 30 days to respond. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, company spokeswoman Lori Nelson said the safety of response personnel is the company's top priority. She said Hilcorp is pleased that the proposed safety order recognizes that immediate repair is not viable.

The pipeline is in 80 feet of water. Repairs by divers cannot be made in current winter conditions that include sea ice, severe weather and extreme tides, according to Hilcorp.

The company told the federal pipeline office safe diving operations cannot start until late March at the earliest.
Photo: The Canadian Press

For several hours, Lady Liberty didn't shine so brightly.

The famed The Statue of Liberty was temporarily in the dark Tuesday night after what a spokesman calls an "unplanned outage."

WCBS-TV says the statue was dark except for the crown and torch. The lights returned shortly before midnight.

The outage sparked conversation on social media that perhaps it was done deliberately for Wednesday's "A Day Without Women" protest of economic and social inequality.

But National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis says the outage probably was related to a project for a new emergency backup generator. He says the official cause will be determined Wednesday when crews return to work on the project, "part of our last remaining Hurricane Sandy recovery projects."
Kelowna will mark International Women's Day with an event today.

Organized by the Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society & Kelowna Women's Shelter, the event will be held from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the 17th floor of the Landmark 6 building.

It promotes parity, gender-balanced leadership and valuing women and men's contributions equally.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today is about celebrating the remarkable achievements that women have made everywhere, and reaffirm our commitment to gender equality worldwide.

While we have taken significant steps toward gender equality, we know that much more work needs to be done," he said.

"Women around the world continue to receive lower pay and fewer promotions. They are denied legal control over their bodies and reproductive health. They face much higher rates of harassment and verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. In impoverished communities, women are the least likely to have access to healthcare, the last ones to eat, and the most vulnerable to the hardships brought on by disease.

That is why we will continue to place gender equality and rights, and the empowerment of women and girls, at the heart of our international development work."

Canada pledged $650 million Wednesday to address gaps in sexual and reproductive health and rights in the worlds poorest and most vulnerable communities.
Photo: Wayne Moore

Kelowna Coun. Charlie Hodge admits to feeling a bit like the bionic man.

Hodge is back home after spending nearly a week in Kelowna General Hospital following successful oral surgery.

The procedure included giving Hodge half a new jawbone made of titanium. The metal plate is held together with six screws and about 200 stitches.

The surgery was necessary after Hodge suffered from a severely impacted wisdom tooth.

Four operations did not solve the problem, necessitating last week's surgery.

"I marvel at what doctors can do these days," Hodge posted on Facebook after he returned home Tuesday.

"A hundred years ago or less and I would have been dead. Thanks to doctors Bell, Naito, McCauley and Best and some outstanding nurses."

Hodge also suffers from emphysema, but says this latest ailment is not related.

He expects to be back at the council table soon.
Photo: Dustin Godfrey A picnic bench was recently lit on fire in Okanagan Falls.

The regional district director for Okanagan Falls says there isnt enough crime in that community to warrant its own local policing.

The comment from director Tom Siddon follows a demand by a local resident who says shes fed up with seeing vandalism around the town. Pat Burton told Castanet earlier this week a picnic table that was set on fire was only the latest in an issue of vandalism that has plagued the community.

There are always occasional petty property events in Okanagan Falls, as there are in many small communities, Siddon said. But the frequency of those events does not just justify a full-time police assignment.

Police present statistics on the crime rates in various communities each quarter, and according to Siddon those incidents arent too common in Okanagan Falls.

He adds that the community had its own policing office about 10 years ago, but it didnt gain much traction.

It lasted a few months and there was nobody coming in, it just did not justify the cost, Siddon said. The numbers are like three or four incidents in a quarter of a year, he added of the policing reports.

On top of a lack of need, Siddon says there just isnt the funding for an RCMP detachment in the community.

Were always working with the police to improve the level of their presence in the community, Siddon said. We, at one time, had a citizens on patrol, a group in Okanagan Falls, mostly elderly gentlemen whove had to carry a radio and do surveillance.

With issues coming in waves, it can be difficult for police to know when property crime is going to crop up, according to Siddon.

We continually bring things to their attention, and the fact is that everywhere there is a shortage of police, and the police are being called to do things that are very time consuming, he said, adding that at one time police had enough resources to walk around and check doors during the later hours.

We cant contemplate that type of level of service for a community the size of Okanagan Falls unless the people want to pay for it, which is a major costly item.

Send us a letter. Got an opinion on this story? Email letters to the editor to [email protected]
Photo: Colin Dacre

Police responded to an incident outside the Penticton court house Wednesday morning, where the threat of a gun was involved.

The confrontation reportedly started in the courthouse, and threats were made, including a mention of a gun.

A man involved ran to City Hall, saying he was being threatened, causing a number of police to attend the scene and City Hall to lock their doors.

No gun was found, but police are talking to both parties to assess the scene. One of the men involved had a knife on him, but Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says neither party has been placed under arrest.

with files from Dustin Godfrey
LINCOLN  A bill that would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes scraped by in first-round voting, 25-22, but it's not out of the woods.

Sen. Lou Ann Linehan successfully amended the bill to take away mandatory minimums for drug offenses. All other Class IC and ID crimes -- such as use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, assault on a police officer or health care professional, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person -- would continue to have mandatory minimum sentences.

Attorney General Doug Peterson's office continued to oppose the bill, and there's two more rounds of consideration, with prosecutors likely to keep up the pressure on senators to deny the bill (LB447), introduced by Sen. Ernie Chambers.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said removing mandatory minimums, even for drug offenses, would soften the state's protections for public safety.

"I urge the Legislature to reconsider its decision to advance LB447, and to maintain these protections supported by our law enforcement community," he said.

If the bill would pass, and Ricketts would choose to veto it, it would take 30 votes to override his rejection of it.

Some senators supported the bill because of the money it could save. And with fewer years for some offenders, it could ease crowding in the prisons.

As of 2013, Nebraska's correctional expenditures were nearly $193 million, and on an upward trajectory from the years immediately preceding, Linehan said, quoting a 2014 study by the Platte Institute.

" ... If we don't get a handle on this we're talking about spending probably another $100 million more to build yet another prison to put more people in," she said.

Of the more than 5,000 inmates in Nebraska prisons, about 12.5 percent have mandatory minimum sentences, said Omaha Sen. Burke Harr.

The bill would turn sentencing over to the judges who know the specifics of the crime, and the mitigating and aggravating factors, he said. There's nothing to prevent the judge from going beyond the mandatory minimum when sentencing an offender.

Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte supported the bill as amended, and its intent to lower the prison population.

"I think it's a good compromise and, hey, I don't have to build another prison if I can get two dozen here, three dozen here, and hopefully they turn their lives around and get on with their lives," he said.

Lincoln Sen. Mike Hilgers opposed the amendment, as well as the bill. While everyone would agree with the general principles that the state probably is putting too many people in prison, ruining lives and raising the costs to Nebraskans, they aren't voting on that general principle.

Drug offenses for those Class IC and ID offenses include manufacturing and dealing such drugs as crack cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, not mere possession.

"We ought to talk about the impact of folks who manufacture heroin in our communities," he said. "These are serious crimes."
Photo: Contributed

Would you like to meet your new neighbours from Syria?

A film screening Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Rotary Centre for the Arts will bring you into the homes of families who moved to the Okanagan from their war-torn country.

Taaloo Zorouna: Visits with our Syrian Neighbours will feature stories and experiences from Syria.

"The clips are casual glimpses into their lives, cover different themes and are meant to share insight into the culture and the experiences of our new neighbours," says Dorothee Birker.

"I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to get to know some of the amazing people that are making the Okanagan their new home."

The videos were produced with the help of the Refugee Response Team - Thompson Okanagan and Kootenays, the ECO Art Incubator and UBC Okanagan's Creative and Critical Studies Department.

More information can be found on Facebook.
Actress Sonakshi Sinha starrer 'Noor', which is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz's novel 'Karachi, You're Killing Me', will release in Pakistan.

When asked if 'Noor' will have a release across the border, producer Bhushan Kumar told reporters, 'Yes, we are releasing the film in Pakistan.'

The Sunhil Sippy-directed film follows journalist-writer Noor's misadventures and love life as she navigates her way through Mumbai.

The setting of the movie has been changed from Karachi to Mumbai and the director says it was meant to be like that as the team worked hard to adapt the book into Indian setting.

'The book was really just the germ of the idea. We took those characters and adapted it to Mumbai. There is no link at all between the two, it's just the germ of the idea,' Sippy says.

Sonakshi says her respect for journalists has grown after playing one in the movie.

'I have tremendous respect for journalists. It is not easy being a journalist and especially the way you all work. I really respect that. Noor is also one of you.

'As celebrities we don't know in detail what journalists go through. While doing the film, I realised the kind of work journalists do.'

'Noor' is scheduled to release on 21 April, 2017.
Mahmud Ali Durrani hit the headlines recently by saying Pakistanis were involved in the Mumbai attacks of 2008. He had lost his job as Pakistan's National Security Advisor after first making this claim in 2009. Then, he had cleared the ISI of any involvement in the attacks, carried out by operatives of the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, the Indian authorities allege, with the aid of sections of the ISI. Catch caught up with Durrani on the sidelines of a counter-terror conference in Delhi. He explains that Islamabad does not have the capacity to go after all terror outfits operating in the country, hence the focus to counter the ones causing mayhem within its borders. Do not expect anything against Jaish. It's not their first priority, he says. But no matter how Pakistan deals with the terrorist outfits, Durrani maintains, India and Pakistan must restart talks. Edited excerpts from the conversation.

SN: The Indian government has provided Pakistan evidence of terrorist groups that are operating from its soil launching attacks in India  Uri, Pathankot, Mumbai. What is stopping the Pakistani government from acting against these groups?

MD: Lets start from the oldest one, the Mumbai attacks. It was done by a group based in Pakistan which came here and carried out the massive carnage. For the Indian people and the government to feel upset was logical. However, the feeling in India was that such a massive operation was not possible without the support of the Pakistani establishment. This is where they are wrong. I have very good evidence but I cannot provide it for security reasons. I have ironclad evidence that the state, the ISI, nobody was involved. In fact, a senior intelligence official then said, It is a wrong thing, bad timing. We didnt want it. We will get beaten up. So I asked them that these terror groups have carried out this operation, what were you guys doing? They said we were busy in our battle in FATA. The members of these groups had been isolated and kept in camps by the government of Pakistan. The intelligence agencies' fault is that they were not watching while these groups carried out this attack on their own.

SN: But carrying out such an attack is not really possible without the involvement of the establishment. The kind of training and expertise needed can only come from the military?

MD: Mostly you are right, but in this case you are wrong. As far as the Pakistani establishment was concerned, for them it was the wrong time and the wrong operation. Like I said I have strong reasons and evidence that they were not involved.

SN: In Kashmir, the terror groups operating from Pakistani have been constantly attacking Indian army establishments, civilians. How is it possible that they don't enjoy patronage of the Pakistani establishment?

MD: As far as my knowledge goes, the Pakistani establishment has no role in the recent events. One point you don't focus on is why did this uprising (in Kashmir) come about? Was it Pakistan? If you think so, then I am afraid you dont know the valley. It was purely Kashmiris, and it had nothing to do with any external forces.

SN: But after the killing of Burhan Wani, there have been many attacks on the armed forces. The investigating agencies say the Jaish and the LeT played a role in those attacks.

MD: I am talking of the initial days after the killing of this gentlemen, after the people rose up against the establishment and pellet guns were used. This was a Kashmiri reaction. Of course, other people may have got into the action. That is possible. But it was mismanagement by the Indian establishment. You could have had the Kashmiris eating out of your hand if you had handled them well. Even in the initial days of the insurgency, Pakistan had no inkling about it, and it was the frustrated Kashmiri youth who launched it. Even now, it's the frustrated youth more than the separatist leaders who are at the forefront in Kashmir.

SN: But didn't these terror groups try to capitalise on the unrest?

MD: Are you talking about Uri? I am told it was Kashmiri youth and maybe some people associated with the Pakistani terrorist networks that did it. But I dont think it was initiated by Pakistan.

SN: Again, why is the Pakistani government reluctant to act against the terror networks? Is it because the Pakistani security establishment recognises their utility?

MD: No, there is no utility of these idiots. If you see Pakistani newspapers, everyday there are articles on how there should be action against these groups or they will destroy Pakistan. The security agencies, the police are constantly battling them. Even in recent days, you have seen so many killings. Recently, there were five attacks in a matter of five days, including on Sehvan Sharif and on defence officials. We didnt say the attackers were India-trained. They are our people. They are terrorists. And 70 per cent of our army is engaged in fighting them, morning to night. They are being constantly targeted. But the civilian and the military wings need to work together. There is a need for proper integration.

SN: Do you think Zarb-e-Azb was a failure? And are military and civilian leaderships on the same page when it comes to going after these outfits?

MD: Zarb-e-Azb was not a failure. It was a major success. It managed to clean up FATA. But that region is not entirely sealed so they manage to run away. The leaders of the majority of terror groups are now sitting in Afghanistan. We recently launched a heavy attack on Pakistani terrorists sitting in Afghanistan. Zarb-e-Azb was a major success, but the army alone cannot do anything. The military operation was successful but that is not enough. See the National Action Plan; about 80 percent of the things are to be done by the civilian government.

SN: But what about the groups in Punjab?

MD: There no groups who are going around killing people. There are a lot of madrassas in Punjab.

SN: But there are groups active there that are responsible for carrying out attacks in India?

MD: Yes, there is Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bhawalpur. South Punjab does worry me, that some day it may explode. The madrassas are promoting a narrow-minded vision. They may not be terrorists but it's a short journey between extremism and terrorism.

SN: Pakistan's interior minister recently said there was a need to make a distinction between sectarianism and terrorism.

MD: No, I do not agree with it. Anybody who is killing innocents is a terrorist.

SN: Do you think Nawaz Sharif will allow military action in South Punjab? Gen Qamar Bajwa, the army chief, was recently quoted as saying that the security forces would go after terrorist groups in South Punjab.

MD: I hope they do, or they will pay a heavy price later on. They may say now that do not disturb our government, but that would be a very short sighted policy.

SN: But would that lead to any change in the situation in Kashmir, especially in terms of the attacks being carried out by cross-border outfits?

MD: I firmly believe that no country should allow its soil to be used by non-state actors to attack another country. It has happened, like in the case of Mumbai attacks. But it shouldn't happen. But the army alone cannot stop it. The police needs to be strengthened to enhance its counter-terrorism capabilities. You have to go after the madrassas, no matter if they are peaceful or not because they are teaching a narrow vision of Islam. There is a need for reform in the judicial system. The courts let off the main man responsible for attacking the Army General Headquarters. The investigating skills are poor.

SN: Do you think the recent Financial Action Task Force meeting in Paris has forced Pakistan to act against terror groups?

MD: Pakistan has been under pressure for a long time. But the focus is on those groups that constitute an immediate threat.

SN: You mean the groups that are active internally?

MD: Yes. Recently, there was a spate of attacks from the south of the country to the north. Do you think instead of going after them, they will target outfits like Jaish? No, that will not happen. We do not have that kind of capacity.

SN: Do you think talks between India and Pakistan would resume soon?

MD: I cant say they would begin soon. The thinkers and the media in India seem to believe that all terrorists are hiding in Pakistan and once the Pakistani establishment kills them, things would be sorted. I dont think Pakistan can do it. It cannot contain the internal strife. There are attacks everyday. The bottom line, however, is that India and Pakistan should talk even if there are ten bomb blasts. If you react to those blasts, then you are playing in the hands of the bad guys.

SN: It seemed after Narendra Modis visit to Pakistan that civilian and military leaderships there were not on the same page when it came to India.

MD: There are different opinions within military and civilian leaderships on what should be the parameters and things like that. But today they are on the same page. You are looking at just Pakistan, look at India, too. Till Narendra Modi is there, and his people are there, they do politics with everything.

SN: But he took the initiative of visiting Pakistan, he invited Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in.

MD: But right now, it's his government that is saying no talks. I hope this changes. Both the governments need to grow up and talk. The visa regime should be liberalised. Dont give each other any special status, but at least bring it on a par with the policy for other countries of the world. And finally, in these times of media hype when negotiations come under media glare even before they start there is a need to open the secret channels, the back channels. For the time being, those channel are not functional. I think they should start them again.

SN: Coming to the other side of the neighbourhood, the Quad process on Afghanistan seems to have fizzled out?

MD: I am not an official anymore. But my only take is why should the Taliban join them? They were fighting the Americans there, and now even the Americans are gone, why would the Taliban want to come forward for a dialogue? They will only opt for a compromise if they are given a piece of the cake.

SN: You mean a part in the government?

MD: Yes. They would not want a little part of the cake, but a big chunk.

SN: But bringing the Taliban into the government is a dangerous proposition, fraught with risks?

MD: It may be fraught with risks, but why else would the Taliban come forward for a compromise?

SN: Do you think Pakistan failed to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table?

MD: I think Pakistan tried, but they seemed to have over promised. Pakistan does not have the capacity to force the Taliban to talk. When they were destroying the Bamiyan Buddhas, we were in close contact with them, we pleaded with them to not do it, saying they would become a pariah, but they did not listen to us. Why would they listen to us now. In fact, they even suspect Pakistanis, saying we are close to the Americans.

SN: Are you implying that the Pakistani agencies have no control over any faction of the Taliban?

MD: I dont think they have control. They may be talking to some of them, but control is out of question.

SN: Like the Haqqani Network, for example.

MD: No question. They let the Haqqanis off because they were not bothering us. We were fighting our own battles and had Haqqanis joined them against us it would have been a serious issue. At one time there was a lot of criticism from the Americans over Pakistan not throwing the Haqqanis out and I told them we have compulsions, issues of capacity, we are fully involved in fighting the TTP. I told them since you know where the Haqqanis are, why dont you take them out? I told them we may scream and cry that you violated our territory but in reality we will be clapping since they may not be our immediate enemies but they are our enemies. They go from their sanctuaries in Pakistan, launch attacks in Afghanistan and come back merrily, what are you guys doing? You are the most advanced country in the world, get them, slaughter them. We will shut our eyes. The problem in Afghanistan is as it is. This is an escape clause used by the Americans that sanctuaries in Pakistan are responsible for it. They have been bombing those sanctuaries for years, there have been more than 400 strikes. What has been the result of that? Forget Pakistan, what have they achieved in Afghanistan? You cant blame a dozen, two dozen or three dozen Haqqanis sitting in Pakistan.

SN: Now that Russia and China are so proactive on the Afghanistan issue, do you see a change in the situation soon?
The Madhesh region of Nepal is once again on fire. It has been just over a year since the blockades on trade routes along the Indo-Nepal border in the central Terai plains were lifted, as dramatically as they had been imposed five months earlier. But on 6 March, security forces shot dead at least three protestors in Rajbiraj town, just across from Kunauli Bazaar in Bihar. Dozens were reported injured, some grievously, and were referred to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences at Dharan, eastern Nepal. The mood in Madhesh is fast becoming confrontational. The Madheshi Morcha has called for a general strike. It's likely that the common front of political parties advocating for Madheshi and Janjati rights will be under tremendous pressure from their constituents to resign en masse from the Parliament in Kathmandu, and precipitate a showdown with the Permanent Establishment of Nepal (PEON) over the divisive constitution, which was promulgated through a brute majority amidst stiff street protests in 2015. A year of conciliatory politics and negotiations with main ethnic Khas-Arya parties of the hills have yielded next to nothing for the 'externalised' communities of Nepal  the Aadibasis and Madheshis. For now, pro-Madheshi parties have deflected scrutiny by threatening the government that they will withdraw their support, unless elections based on the controversial constitution aren't cancelled within a week. But the tactic of buying time may backfire if radical elements succeed in taking over the streets of Madhesh.

Red flag

Before beginning the decade-long armed struggle on 13 February 1996, the-then Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had warned in a widely-circulated leaflet: We are fully conscious that this war to break the shackles of thousands of years of slavery and to establish a new democratic state will be quite uphill, full of twists and turns and of a protracted nature. But this and this alone is the path of people's liberation and a great and bright future.

Having resulted in 17,000 deaths and the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands, the so-called 'People's War' has indeed traversed a circuitous route. The people may not have gained much, but the self-proclaimed 'proletarian vanguard' has managed to capture not just the government but the entire State of Nepal.

President Bidhya Bhandari is a Naxalite of the 1980s, and was the vice-chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) before being elected to the high office. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda is the chairperson of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), who spearheaded the decade-long armed insurgency before being brought into peaceful politics in 2006 through the 12-Point Understanding with parliamentary parties under Indian aegis.

Vice-President Nanda Kishore Pun is the former chief commander of the self-styled People's Liberation Army of the armed insurgency years. Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar is also a former guerrilla commander.

It's not just the government  the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, KP Sharma Oli, is also a former Naxalite of the Jhapali Movement, which swore that the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party was its chairman too.

Most statutory organs have been filled with either UML nominees or Maoist sympathisers. Back in the 1980s, Jhapali Naxalites had adopted the strategy of infiltrating the government, with the help of monarchists, through what was called 'SuKha'  a Nepali acronym that stands for Subba-Khardar (meaning clerks and junior clerks) but also means an easy life.

Those SuKha employees have now reached the highest echelons of government. They have been nurtured by the parent party, and continue to retain their allegiance.

Media leaders, too, are more aligned towards the UML and Maoists than any democratic values. The so-called 'Fifth Estate'  the NGO sector  is almost a monopoly of UML sympathisers.

Even though the Nepali Congress is the largest party in Parliament, its influence upon polity, society and economy of the country is next to nil.

Fear factor

Strange as it may seem, Indian agencies played no small role in handing over Nepal to the Khas-Arya ethnic communalists masquerading as 'communists'.

The confusion in India's Nepal policy began towards the end of 2008, when someone in New Delhi decided to cut Maoists down to size, even though they had emerged as the largest political party in the elections held for the first Constituent Assembly in the history of the country.

That pushed Prachanda into the welcoming embrace of monarchists, and through them, into the lap of Chinese strategists, which further enraged New Delhi.

India used whatever diplomatic leverage it had to oust the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR) from Nepal, as these agencies were perceived to be sympathetic towards Maoists and Madheshis.

The White Shirts  a ragtag band of chattering classes of Kathmandu  was marshalled to delegitimise the mandate of the ballot box. A coup by courts was then staged to create conditions for the demise of the Constituent Assembly without adopting a statute.

The Doctrine of Necessity, a Roman-era practice popularised by courts in Pakistan, was utilised to establish an extra-constitutional government of former bureaucrats to conduct fresh elections under the watchful eyes of the Nepalese Army. The result warmed the heart of the PEON  it produced a hung assembly dominated by two of its front parties  the Nepali Congress and the UML. Once the second Constituent Assembly was in place, the PEON decided that it had no further use for Indian support.

The PEON restoration in Nepal also coincided with the rise of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister in New Delhi. In a bid to break away from the past, the government under Modi decided to farm out its Nepal policy to think tanks closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. That's when everything started to go wrong.

Failure of Indian diplomacy

Like most other things in Nepal, the continuing crisis is as much a failure of Indian diplomacy as the rank incompetence of Nepali politicos. It is a sad story of the unravelling of the so-called 'Doval Doctrine', named after India's National Security Advisor and former super-spy Ajit Doval, which had sought to create a Hindutva sanctuary in what was once the only Hindu kingdom in the world before being declared a federal and secular republic.

The RSS pracharaks probably thought that once Nepal reverted to being a Hindu state, all its problems would be automatically resolved. In fact, what the RSS considers to be the solution is its main problem Nepal is almost a Hindu version of Pakistan, with nothing to tie itself together other than a visceral hatred of India that the PEON has cultivated among its members for generations. Like militant Islam, political Brahminism can't thrive without a visible enemy. and the popular evil for the Nepalese priestly class has always been the 'expansionist designs' and 'covetous eyes' of India upon Nepal.

Shared antipathy towards India combines conservatives, centrists and progressives together in the thread of 'Nepal is in danger of losing its independence'. Drugged on the opiate of nationalistic slogans, the middle-class marches arm-in-arm in deriding India at slightest pretext. Bigotry, chauvinism, intolerance, jingoism and prejudice towards India have become the mainstay of mainstream discourse in the name of protecting sovereignty.

The Doval Doctrine sought to counter it with the 'ABCDE' strategy  appeasement, bombast, coercion, disengagement and enticement. So far, the Gorkhali nationalists have easily bested the 'Garhwali Chanakya', as Doval is sometimes known among his acolytes, and the policy has come a cropper.

Modi's charm offensive

When Prime Minister Modi came to Nepal in August 2014, the first Indian head of government to do so in 17 years, his charm offensive seemed to work wonders. In his address to the newly-constituted Parliament, he rhapsodised about Pashupati, Lumbini, Buddha and the inviolable sovereignty of Nepal, to loud cheers from parliamentarians. He promised to HIT Nepal  a wholly inappropriate acronym for Highways, Information-ways and Transmission lines  with a $1 billion credit line.

What his RSS songwriters had failed to brief him was that the PEON is interested only in the continuity of its complete control over all apparatuses of the state, not economic development or social welfare, which carries the risk of loosening its monopoly over state power.

During his second visit in November 2014, Modi had nothing but drivel to offer: Take all sections of society on board in framing the constitution.

It's strange that RSS strategists had failed to realise even by then that the PEON had no further use for Indians, as the Chinese had become their patrons once again. A strange coalition of democrats, monarchists, Marxists and Maoists was surreptitiously built to sideline Indians. Excluded from constitutional negations, pro-Madheshi parties were already on the streets. They became convenient fall guys for the failure of New Delhi's coercive policy of enforcing blockades along selected supply routes.

Disengagement for a while was even more of a flawed idea. Reportedly, Hindu sages and the military brass in New Delhi prevailed upon RSS stalwarts to placate the PEON with enticements. The electricity supplied by India has ended over a decade of crippling load-shedding in Nepal. It has also helped the PEON earn performance legitimacy. Should something go wrong, as it just did in the Madhesh plains, India is always there to blame.

The apparent generosity has backfired rather fast. A repetition of ABCDE will only prove the relevance of a famous quip attributed to Albert Einstein: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

Who should take responsibility?

The central problem of India's Nepal and Pakistan policies is similar: how does one deal with a country where an anti-India posture is the raison d'etre of its very being?

It becomes even more complex when the ruling elite, such as the PEON, have little or no concern for travails of survival of their own people.

The political establishment in India needs to take the responsibility of Nepal back from the immature hands of RSS think-tanks.

Close relationships require considered handling rather than mere complacent responses.
LINCOLN  Medical marijuana advocates are urging Nebraska state senators not to confirm a chief medical officer who opposes the use of marijuana or any of its byproducts.

Dr. Thomas Williams has been serving as acting chief medical officer since November, and the Legislature could confirm his appointment following a Thursday vote from six of the seven members of the Health and Human Services Committee to recommend him. But advocates who want to see Nebraska become the 29th state to legalize medical marijuana contend Williams' comments on legislation that would allow residents to use drugs containing a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana shows a refusal to consider new treatment options.

Marijuana in all forms is now a Schedule I drug in Nebraska, along with heroin and LSD. A bill sponsored by Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete would reschedule drugs containing cannabidiol that have been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration as Schedule V drugs, putting them on the same level as cough syrup. The measure advanced unanimously from the Judiciary Committee, which Ebke chairs, and is waiting on a vote from the full Legislature.

Ebke's bill is specifically targeted at allowing Epidiolex, a nearly pure extract of cannabidiol that is designed to treat children's seizures and is scheduled for FDA review this summer. Another bill scheduled for a committee hearing next week would allow medical marijuana in liquid and pill form.

Williams, in his role as acting chief medical officer and director of public health for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, wrote a letter urging the Judiciary Committee not to advance Ebke's bill because the FDA has not yet approved any medical use of marijuana. There also is a "high potential for abuse of the drug," he wrote.

The letter shows Williams is "completely uneducated" on research behind medical marijuana, said Josie Kranz of Nebraska Families 4 Medical Cannabis.

"We want someone who's running HHS to be open to new treatments," Kranz said.

Hastings resident Jane Stanley, a cannabis educator, said she plans to call every senator urging them not to approve Williams' appointment. She said appointing an anti-marijuana chief medical officer would delay Nebraska residents' access to medicine that could help them.

"He is not educated on what this plant can do, and that is what's wrong with our senate," she said.

Williams through a DHHS spokeswoman declined an interview and said he and Gov. Pete Ricketts oppose efforts to legalize medical marijuana.
LINCOLN -- Aggressive policies and tough talk from President Donald Trump have caused a swell of fears among Nebraskas immigrant communities.

Both documented and undocumented immigrants are calling attorneys over rumors of increased enforcement, rumors of loss of protections, anxiety over travel bans, fear of deportation and planning for childrens care if their parents are detained.

There is a lot of fear, a lot more than is warranted. Its like you shoot a gun and dont hit anybody, but everybody is afraid, said Bassel El-Kasaby of Kasaby & Nicholls, Nebraskas largest immigration-focused law firm.

Even people who are not affected are afraid. Ive gotten calls from people who are permanent residents, naturalized citizens, who because of all the rumors circulating are worried about traveling outside the country, El-Kasaby said.

The fears are being flamed, he said, by Trumps hard-line stance on immigration, coupled with news stories such as the detention of Daniela Vargas, a 22-year-old woman brought to the United States by her parents at age 7, who had registered under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and lived in Jackson, Mississippi.

And coverage of arrests like that of Romulo Avelica-Gonzales, who was picked up recently as he dropped his 13-year-old daughter off at school in Los Angeles. The girl, one of four siblings born in the United States, recorded her father's arrest from the backseat of the family car and later posted it online.

Homeland Securitys Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement saying the father was picked up because of past criminal convictions, including a 2009 drunk-driving charge.

Despite the fears, Nebraska has not seen a large uptick in the number of detentions or deportation cases, immigration attorneys say.

El-Kasaby believes part of the reason is that immigration enforcement authorities based in Nebraska already have a full workload. Ramping up enforcement, he said, would require finding new beds for detentions and hiring more agents to make the arrests.

The Omaha Immigration Court already has a long backlog, with hearings scheduled out to 2019 and 2020, said Ivan Velasco Jr., another Omaha immigration attorney.

Velasco said the unpredictability of the Trump administration on policy setting has both attorneys and their clients on the edge of their chairs.

When the executive orders came out there were things changing literally by the hour, sometimes by the minute, he said. I still every day obsessively check the news multiple times.

A week into his presidency, Trump issued an order barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days, refugees for 120 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely.

A court blocked the move and Trump released an updated version of the order on Monday.

He also has ordered more aggressive enforcement of the nations immigration laws.

While enforcement has yet to drastically change in Nebraska, Velasco said, the publicity and the way Trump has gone about ordering changes has caused waves of fear to ripple through Nebraskas immigrant community.

Barack Obama deported more people than previous presidents, but Donald Trump announces it. He talks more about it in the news. Because of that, people are more afraid, Velasco said. Also, the administration is a lot more vague about what is going to happen and a lot more alarmist.

For the first time in nearly two decades of practicing law, Lincoln attorney Tim Sullivan is getting regular calls from parents seeking to have parental powers for their children signed over to friends or family in case the parents are deported.

Lincoln attorney Seth Feltons phone has been ringing regularly, with clients, the majority of which came to the United States as refugees, interested in becoming naturalized citizens and ensuring their immigration and work-permit papers are in order.

And the fear isnt good for Nebraskas economy, said Blanca Mejia, executive director with the Latino Community Betterment Corp., an economic development group in Omaha.

People who are afraid dont invest, buy cars or homes, and eat out less. Instead, they hoard their money, she said.

It affects the small businesses, because people arent spending, Mejia said.
He also said the excessive drinking on all sides should be considered mitigation

The court heard the victim met four of the men while drinking in a bar in Vienna

A family of eight Iraqi asylum-seekers were convicted and jailed over the rape in Vienna on New Year's Eve 2015.

The Iraqis found the 28-year-old woman, identified only as Sabine K, in a bar and took her back to an apartment where they raped her.

The refugee aid worker, who has not been named, was supposedly helping the Iraqis integrate into Austrian society. Interviewed by Austrian media on camera, he said the men's sentences were too high.

But off camera the man - who works as a refugee guardian - went further and said the woman was to blame for giving 'false signals' to the group said the excessive alcohol consumption on all sides should have counted as mitigation.

+4 Eight asylum seekers from the same family were found guilty of gang-raping a German tourist in Austria. Ringleader Alaa Al-J (right) and Mustafa Al-J (covering his face) are led into court during the trial. The only man to admit to his guilt was Mohammed Al-A (in the red t-shirt)

At the opening of the trial in February the court heard how she was 'blind drunk' when she went with the men to an apartment.

But prosecutors claimed she had been drugged.

Only one man, Mohamed Al-A, 31, admitted his role in the rapes and he sobbed in court as he said he was 'really drunk' on vodka at the time.

His Muslim faith may forbid him to drink alcoholic beverages, but on New Year's Eve he said he made an exception and drank vodka. 'I was really drunk,' he said, and he further admitted; 'this act is a crime in Iraq.'

Sabine was heavily traumatised by the incident and had to quit her job. She has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The eight were jailed for between nine and 13 years but could not be deported to their native Iraq because it carries the death penalty for rape.

Austria is adamantly opposed to the death penalty and heavily criticised Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005 when the then Governor of California executed gang leader Stanley 'Tookie' Williams.

+4 Marwan Al-J was one of nine Iraqi men charged over the gang-rape of a German woman. Eight of the men were convicted

Another refugee guardian, Ahmed Salam, who helps newcomers to settle in the city of Innsbruck, said he was shocked by the man's remarks and said: 'The refugee guardians play a big role. They are like the teachers in a school.'

He said: 'There are lots of people who have never experienced living in an open society. They come with questions - if the women here are totally open and if they can go out and drink coffee with women.'

Mr Salam said he always told them they can go out and drink a coffee to get to know a woman but must 'show respect and keep their distance'.

+4 One of the accused, Mohammed Al-T, arrived in court covering his face and looked to the ground as he was led in to court for an earlier appearance

The victim has been awarded 25,000 euros in damages.

Most of the men had denied the charges but DNA from six of them was found in or on the victim's body.

The court heard how the victim arrived in Vienna on December 28, 2015 to spend the New Year with a female friend in the city. Shortly before midnight on December 31 they wandered into the city centre to join crowds celebrating the arrival of 2016 and at 2am were seen drinking in a bar-restaurant called Cactus.

Shortly before 3am Sabine's friend noticed she was no longer there and was told by another patron that the men she had been talking with had 'taken her away.'

Mohamed Al-A, co-defendants Nazar Al-J, Mohammed Al-T and Alaa Al-J were in the Cactus bar and took the victim back to the apartment, where the other defendants - Hader Al-A, Mustafa Al-J, Nael Al-J and Marwan Al-J lay in wait.

The defendants, aged between 22 and 45, all arrived in Austria between May and December 2015 via the Balkan route.

At the time of the attack, five of them had cemented their right to stay, the applications of the other four were still pending.

Judge Petra Poschalko heard how the woman was taken by four of them to an apartment in Vienna's Rustenschacher Allee, where more men were waiting.

Sabine later said she found herself naked on a double bed being assaulted by the men one after the other.

+4 The Iraqi nationals had gone on trial in the Austrian capital Vienna (file picture) accused of the New Year's Eve 2015 attack on the 28-year-old teacher

Her lawyer Karina Fehringer told the court her client was assaulted in the dark so she could not identify the men.

After the attacks, which went on for several hours, the victim needed in-patient treatment at a trauma clinic and now is under psychiatric care for post traumatic stress disorder.

She had a breakdown before the trial and was too fragile to be in court to face her attackers.

Another defendant, Sabah Al-J, was acquitted after claiming his diabetes made him impotent.

Medical experts testified the woman was raped multiple times and sodomised. The victim said she yelled at them, in German: 'No, I don't want this.' Then in English: 'Listen to me, just a little bit.'

Alaa Al-J. was said to be the ringleader. After it was over Mohammed Al-A escorted her to a toilet in the flat where he took a selfie with her on his mobile phone.

Later he and Alaa Al-J escorted her to a nearby tram stop where they tried to stem her sobbing by saying in English: 'Don't cry.'

After she went to police, a tracking app on her mobile phone led officers to the rape scene. The app showed her ordeal lasted from 4.20am to 6.20am on January 1 2016.

The court heard that with the exception of the man who confessed, none of the others had shown remorse.

Several denied rape even in the face of the DNA evidence. One man claimed the woman had been 'offered' to them by relatives: another that she was a willing participant in whatever took place.
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CoR_CoverText

Have your say on the future of Europe: discover the "Reflecting on Europe" campaign

"Reflecting on Europe" was an initiative of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), providing a platform for citizen engagement in the ongoing debate on the future of Europe.

Through a dedicated online survey and over 210 local debates across the EU, organised in cooperation with local and regional partners, the CoR provided citizens with opportunities to share their views and proposals on how the EU should evolve in the next decade. 
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Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, mayors from major cities in Europe met today in Brussels to reaffirm their commitment to Europe's core values of democracy, freedom and equality. EUROCITIES mayors' summit was hosted by CoR President Markku Markkula and was attended by a number of CoR members: Giorgios Kaminis, Mayor of Athens; Pawe Adamowicz, Mayor of Gdansk; Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam; and Renate Brauner, Vienna city councillor. Also present were European Commission Vice-Presidents Frans Timmermans and Jyrki Katainen, Commissioner Corina Cretuand the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt.

Mayors and politicians representing 36 cities from 15 countries gathered in the headquarters of the EU's assembly of local and regional authorities to discuss how to reverse current populist and Eurosceptic trends in Europe. Their message is clear: a renewed Europe needs genuine partnership between cities and their citizens, the EU's institutions and member states if it is to overcome the disconnect between the European Union and its citizens.

As host of the summit, Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions, said: "This mayors' summit is taking place at a crucial time for Europe. We must listen better and engage more with people on the ground, so we can move from talk to action. That's why the members of the European Committee of the Regions are holding town hall citizen's debates in 75 regions and cities throughout 2017 as part of our 'Reflecting on Europe' campaign."

Since its launch in March 2016, the CoR has organised 27 "Let's talk about Europe" events in 13 Member States, involving about 72 CoR members and around 3,200 citizens. The objective is to listen to citizens' questions and priorities and convey them to EU institutions in an upcoming opinion. Seventy-five local events branded "Reflecting on Europe" are in the pipeline for 2017.

Daniel Termont, Mayor of Ghent and President of EUROCITIES, said: "As Europes leaders prepare to mark 60 years since the Treaty of Rome, we find ourselves at a turning point in Europe. Lets see this as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to Europes core values. And most of all, lets make this about the people that live in Europe. By working with cities, the EU institutions can find new ways to engage citizens and be inspired by our experience on the ground."

Giorgios Kaminis (EL/PES), Mayor of Athens and CoR member, said: "The rise of populism and Euroscepticism is undermining the principles and values on which Europe was built: solidarity, tolerance and democracy. We must not abandon these values as Europe would lose its purpose of existence. The future of Europe, which we discussed today, starts in cities and with citizens."

Pawe Adamowicz (PL/EPP) , Mayor of Gdansk and CoR member, stressed that: "Local authorities are best placed and have the duty to fight populism. We must raise citizens' awareness of the added value of the European project. The European Union is an undeniable good, a guarantee of conflict-free solutions to all sorts of arguments and facilitator of peaceful consensual solutions. Only accurate knowledge of the pros and cons of the EU can create a protective umbrella against populist fake truths."

Ahmed Aboutaleb (NL/PES), Mayor of Rotterdam and CoR member, declared: "Co-creation is not about influencing local policies but about sharing power between city governments and citizens. The best ideas don't come from politicians but from our citizens who know best their local challenges and solutions. That is why I invest in co-design in what I call the 'WE society'. I visit every neighbourhood in my city and talk to residents about their main concerns. These then become my leading priorities. We do that in neighbourhood planning, local policing and participatory budgeting."

European Commission Vice-Presidents Frans Timmermans and Jyrki Katainen, Commissioner Corina Cretu and the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt addressed the audience, reaffirming their commitment to work with local and regional authorities to take the European integration project out of its impasse.

Click here to download pictures of the event.




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Ryan Reynolds first broke out with his role on the ABC sitcom, Two Guys and a Girl and has since starred in everything from blockbuster rom-coms to superhero films. His career has had its fair share of ups and downs along the way, with films Green Lantern and R.I.P.D. proving to be critical and commercial disappointments. But Reynolds has since turned it all around, taking on the titular role in the Marvel-inspired smash hit, Deadpool.

With the actor currently busy plotting the highly anticipated Deadpool sequel, were taking a look back at some of the other memorable projects from his career. Below, check out seven of his best roles before Deadpool:

1. Buried

The 2010 thriller starred Reynolds as an Iraq-based American civilian truck driver Paul Conroy, who, after being attacked, finds himself buried alive in a wooden coffin with only a few supplies. The 90-minute one-man show, which takes place entirely in a confined location, could have easily been boring and gimmicky. But thanks to Reynolds intensely compelling performance, the premise not only works  it makes for a gripping and at times, blisteringly suspenseful, drama. Its no surprise the film earned widely positive reviews upon its debut, currently holding an 87% positive fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.

2. The Voices

The 2014 psychological horror comedy is the last kind of project youd expect to see Reynolds in, mostly because its just so strange. The movie stars the actor as a mentally unhinged factory worker, who must decide whether to listen to his talking cat and become a killer, or follow his dogs advice to keep striving for normalcy. Like I said, strange. But the talented cast (also including Anna Kendrick) makes the off-beat premise work, especially Reynolds. The actor is eerily perfect as the unbalanced but likable serial killer, causing several critics to call it his best performance in years.

3. Definitely, Maybe

The 2008 romantic comedy-drama features Reynolds as Will Hayes, a political consultant who tries to help his 11-year-old daughter (played by Abigail Breslin) understand his impending divorce by telling her the full story of his past serious relationships and how they eventually led to his marriage. The movie is a sweet combination of heart and humor and Reynolds delivers a naturally charismatic performance. His appealing portrayal helps make the film a surprisingly clever and genuinely charming entry into the rom-com genre.

4. Adventureland

Reynolds co-stars as the parks technician and a part-time musician, Mike Connell, in this 2009 indie comedy drama, which earned high critical praise for its smart humor and insightful coming-of-age story. Reynoldss character served as both a mentor and adversary to Jesse Eisenbergs lead, James. Its not a huge role, but its a significant one and though Mikes not exactly a good guy, Reynolds manages to make him charming.

5. The Nines

The 2007 sci-fi fantasy film is broken into three chapters and centered around three men (all played by Reynolds), who try to uncover the secret about strange happenings in their sometimes overlapping, lives. The film wasnt widely seen, but it did give Reynolds a change to show off his range. The overall project earned somewhat mixed reviews, but most critics agreed that the actor delivered a strong performance that helped elevate each of the films three segments.

6. The Proposal

The 2009 romantic comedy stars Reynolds as a publishing assistant who is bribed into marrying his horrible boss (played by Sandra Bullock) in order to keep her from getting deported. The film is predictable and features its fair share of cliches, so its no surprise that it earned mixed reviews from critics. What saved it is the chemistry between Reynolds and Bullock, who make for two highly charismatic leads. The movie was also a commercial success for Reynolds, grossing over $317 million worldwide.

7. Van Wilder

The teenage romantic comedy, starring Reynolds as the eponymous big man on campus at Coolidge College, was critically panned upon its debut in 2002. Despite that, its since become a cult favorite and its not hard to see why. The movie is grossly funny, jam-packed with teenage humor and one of our first looks at Reynold as a leading man.

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A dream of many generations of researchers has been fulfilled by a discovery made by scientists at the Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials (RCPTM) at the Palacky University in Olomouc. By using graphene, an ultrathin form of carbon, these scientists prepared the first non-metallic magnet that retains its magnetic properties up to room temperature. In doing so, they disproved the old belief that all materials with room temperature magnetism are based on metals or their compounds. Chemically modified magnetic graphene has a vast range of potential applications, particularly in the fields of biomedicine and electronics.

"For several years, we have suspected that the path to magnetic carbon could involve graphene - a single two-dimensional layer of carbon atoms. Amazingly, by treating it with other non-metallic elements such as fluorine, hydrogen, and oxygen, we were able to create a new source of magnetic moments that communicate with each other even at room temperature. This discovery is seen as a huge advancement in the capabilities of organic magnets," says Radek Zboril, a leading author of the project and director of RCPTM.

The idea and study arose solely from the work of the Olomouc scientists, who also developed a theoretical model to explain the origin of magnetism in these carbon materials. "In metallic systems, magnetic phenomena result from the behavior of electrons in the atomic structure of metals. In the organic magnets that we have developed, the magnetic features emerge from the behavior of non-metallic chemical radicals that carry free electrons," says Michal Otyepka, a co-creator of the theoretical model whose work on the project was conducted within the framework of a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grant. "I am pleased that the very first work on the topics addressed by the ERC project has yielded such important results," he adds.

The path from this discovery to practical applications may be relatively long. However, the range of potential uses is enormous. "I think that not only our team in Olomouc but also the broad scientific community will want to exploit the huge surface area of graphene and the potential of combining its unique conductivity and electronic properties with magnetism. Such magnetic graphene-based materials have potential applications in the fields of spintronics and electronics, but also in medicine for targeted drug delivery and for separating molecules using external magnetic fields," says Jiri Tucek, whose work focuses on solid-state magnetism. The Czech scientists are already collaborating with colleagues from Japan and Belgium to look at applications of organic magnets and to develop accurate theoretical models describing the unique magnetic properties of these new materials.

In addition to carbon-based magnets, the Olomouc research team recently reported the discovery of the world's smallest metal magnets, also in Nature Communications. According to Professor Zboril, this will certainly not be the team's final contribution to research on magnetism. "We have taken several important steps towards developing the first magnetic molecules whose magnetism can be manipulated at room temperature. Recent experiments in our labs have clearly confirmed the possibility of creating such molecules, and we are currently collaborating with the group of Professor Pavel Hobza to develop detailed theoretical explanations for the unique behavior of these molecular magnets. I aim to be, for the third time, faster than competing research teams around the world, especially given the potentially immense impact of organic magnetic materials in fields such as molecular electronics and sensing," says Zboril.
The bubbles that form on a heated surface create a tiny recoil when they leave it, like the kick from a gun firing blanks. Now researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, under funding from NASA, have shown how this miniscule force can be harnessed to mix liquid coolant around high-power microelectronics -- in space or on Earth.

The vapor-recoil force "is not well-studied, and has never been applied, to my knowledge," says Alexander Yarin, UIC Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

"In flights to Mars or the moon, equipment like computers generate a lot of heat," Yarin said. As the computers and chips become smaller and are packed tighter, the production of heat becomes a restriction on computing power.

Engineers have looked to "pool-boiling," which is liquid-cooling at a temperature near the boiling point of the fluid. In boiling, all heat is absorbed in converting the liquid to vapor, with no further rise in temperature until the phase change is complete.

But the lack of gravity in space poses a special problem for pool-boiling: The bubbles have no buoyancy.

"On Earth, the bubbles rise, and cold coolant comes in," Yarin said. "But in space, the bubbles don't rise. They stay on the submerged surface, and can merge together to form an insulating vapor layer, and the heat-removal process is interrupted.

"You can try mechanical mixing, but a motor also creates heat. You can try a strong electric field, but that also produces heat and creates other problems," he said. Both methods take up space and require power.

Yarin and his coworkers sandwiched two heat-generating circuit chips back-to-back. By alternating the voltage to the two chips, they were able to cause the apparatus to swing back and forth through the coolant at about 1 centimeter per second.

"When one chip operates, it produces bubbles and a recoil force. Then the other, and it pushes back -- enough to swing the chips in the cooling fluid and shed the bubbles," Yarin said.

"It works with or without gravity - in space, exactly as on Earth."

The researchers also showed that the force is greater when the bubbles are smaller and more numerous, resulting in a swing of greater arc and velocity. Nanofibers made of polymer were supersonically blown onto the chips, creating a nanotexture for increased bubble nucleation.

"Each single bubble works like jet propulsion," said Sumit Sinha-Ray, Yarin's doctoral student and study co-author. "When a bubble leaves a submerged surface, it pushes the surface back. You don't see it, because the bubbles are tiny and the surface is big. But we organized the bubbles to get the chip swinging."
When retired general and former senator Romeo Dallaire speaks, I listen. Via The Globe and Mail: Dallaire testifies mefloquine drug impaired thought process in Rwanda. Excerpt:

The Canadian army officer who led the UN peacekeeping mission during the Rwandan genocide says the antimalarial drug mefloquine affected his thought processes during his deployment but the military refused to let him stop taking it.

Romeo Dallaire, the human rights activist, retired lieutenant-general and former senator who speaks openly about his struggles with post-traumatic stress syndrome, told the Commons veterans affairs committee this week that mefloquine interferes with the ability to make quick decisions in military theatres.

I was a year on mefloquine. About five months into it, I wrote to National Defence headquarters and I said this thing is affecting my ability to think. This thing is blowing my stomach apart. This thing is affecting my memory, and I want to get rid of it, Mr. Dallaire told the committee.

I then got a message back  it was one of the fastest ones I have ever got back  which essentially ordered me to continue it, he said. If not, I would then be court-martialled for a self-inflicted wound.

Soldiers who were given mefloquine in Somalia in the early 1990s as part of a poorly administered  and possibly illegal  clinical trial run by the Department of National Defence have told the veterans affairs committee that the medication caused lasting brain damage. Some blame the drug for the violence that erupted on the night Canadian troops beat a 16-year-old Somali to death.

At the request of the committee, Health Canada began in December to review available information about any causal link between the use of mefloquine and persistent neurological or psychiatric adverse events, their frequency and severity and whether any particular segment of the population is at increased risk.

In August, the health department updated warning labels for mefloquine to emphasize that certain side effects can persist for months or years after the drug is discontinued and may be permanent in some patients. Reported symptoms include anxiety, paranoia, depression, hallucinations, psychotic behaviour and, in rare cases, thoughts of suicide.

Germany recently banned the use of mefloquine within its forces. Other countries, including the United States, have declared it the drug of last resort for military personnel needing protection from malaria.

Different drugs with fewer side effects are now more commonly prescribed to Canadian soldiers when they deploy to a region where malaria is prevalent. But they are still given mefloquine far more frequently than are U.S. troops.
Guests line up at last year's South by Southwest Interactive. The event kicks off this week in Austin, Texas. (Amina Elahi / Blue Sky / 2016)

South by Southwest Interactive kicks off this week in Austin, Texas, sending Chicago entrepreneurs, companies and investors south in search of talent, business connections and potential customers. But for the first time since 2014, the city's "ChicagoMade" showcase will be absent from the blockbuster tech conference.

The annual conference drew then-President Barack Obama as a speaker last year and nearly 88,000 registrants. SXSW features events, parties and panels in the areas of music, film and "Interactive"  which encompasses technology, startups, government and health and other programming.

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This year's festivities will feature speeches from former Vice President Joe Biden, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and two days of talks on "Tech Under Trump," which will discuss how the country's startup ecosystem could change under Trump's presidency.

FBI Director James Comey was also scheduled to speak on challenges to national security, including the FBI's approach to cybersecurity, but canceled his appearance Tuesday "due to scheduling conflicts keeping him in Washington, D.C." He will be replaced by FBI General Counsel James Baker.

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The city of Chicago has hosted a "ChicagoMade" showcase during the conference for the past three years to sell the city as a hub for innovation  a partnership between World Business Chicago, Choose Chicago and the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Last year, the effort changed from trade show booth to an outdoor lounge featuring local companies.

But this year, ChicagoMade won't be at SXSW  the effort will focus on events in Chicago, said Alya Adamany Woods, executive director of ChicagoNext, the tech council of World Business Chicago. She said in an email the effort is in "planning mode." World Business Chicago would not provide details.

Chicago will still have a showing in various programs and contests.

Startups including emergency vehicle alert app HAAS Alert and audio sharing app SoundByte will be pitching at SXSW events. And Lake Forest-based host of CNBC's "The Profit" and CEO of Camping World Marcus Lemonis  will speak on a panel with other CNBC stars on "hard truths about the secrets of successful businesses."

Other panels will feature Chicago names, including Rose Afriyie, co-founder of mRelief; Jason Kunesh, board chair of Public Good; Starr Marcello, executive director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago; and Nancy Harvey, managing director at the Polsky Center.

Whether they have a few employees visiting or they're sending employees to host events, Chicago companies are using the conference to find talent, customers and other connections.

kCura, the Chicago-based legal software company, is sending four employees to the conference this week. Dan Waidelich, an employer brand communication specialist for the company, said employees have attended in the past, but this is the company's first official presence at the conference. kCura plans to hire 200 people this year, primarily in engineering, and Waidelich said the company will attend the conference's job market with an eye on meeting prospective hires. Employees also plan to attend panels and other events to discuss sensitive data issues.

"This is the year where it kind of aligns with what we do," Waidelich said.

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ReviewTrackers, the Chicago-based company that builds software to help enterprises manage their online reputations, is also bringing 14 employees to SXSW, CEO and founder Chris Campbell said. The company is hosting an array of events and exhibiting at the conference.

Campbell said it's the kind of place where you can be innocently enjoying a breakfast taco and realize you're sitting right next to the VP of marketing for a major company.

"SXSW is one of those unique and kind of special places where it's a large swath of people from many different verticals and industries coming together and innovating," he said. "Every year, we come back with a couple great clients from it."

mgraham@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @megancgraham
A mechanic at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is suing American Airlines for fraud, claiming he was recruited under a fast-track pay program that was dropped two months after he was hired in 2015.

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 28 in Cook County Circuit Court, seeks class-action status and was brought by Thomas Ballard on behalf of potentially "hundreds of employees" who allegedly had their two-year flight to "top-scale" pay abruptly grounded by the airline.

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Ballard was a 24-year aviation mechanic making more than $30 an hour working for another airline when he met with American Airlines in March 2015. The flex incentive program, which had been in place for about a year, offered credit for previous employment and a two-year track to a top-of-scale hourly wage of $48, according to the lawsuit.

Hired in June 2015 to work for American as an aviation maintenance technician at O'Hare, Ballard took a pay cut to $25.70 per hour under the premise that he could nearly double his pay within two years. By August, just several months removed from a "secure position" with another employer, Ballard learned that American was rescinding the incentive program, meaning it would take him eight years  not two  to reach the top pay rate, the lawsuit alleges.

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"That's one heck of an incentive to people, saying you can go from A to B a lot quicker and faster and better than you could before," Larry Drury, a Chicago-based attorney representing Ballard in the lawsuit, said Wednesday. "Unfortunately, it has not turned out that way."

American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott said the company can't comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit alleges that American was already in discussions with representatives of the Transport Workers Union of America Local 591 to drop the program at the time Ballard was hired.

Brian Friedman, TWU Local 591's regional vice president, said Tuesday that he was not involved in the negotiations with American over the flex program and declined further comment.

The lawsuit alleges that American committed fraud, breach of oral contract and unjust enrichment and seeks actual, compensatory and punitive damages for Ballard and other potential members of the class.

"They breached the agreement, and the agreement goes not only to him but to all the other persons that we're seeking to represent here, which will become quite substantial," Drury said. "We would like to believe that the court will certify the class, but it's a long process before you get to that point."

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertChannick
Patty Neumson, owner of Herb restaurant, talks about her participation in a restaurant crawl to support women- and minority-owned businesses. March 7, 2017 (Ally Marotti / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

Chicago businesses are preparing for "A Day Without a Woman," a strike-boycott hybrid scheduled for Wednesday that aims to call attention to what activists say are economic injustices faced by women.

The day piggybacks on the women's marches that took place in Washington, D.C., Chicago and across the country in January after President Donald Trump took office. Organizers say women  particularly mothers, minorities, disabled, indigenous, lesbian and transgender women  face hiring discrimination and other challenges. The event also follows last month's "A Day Without Immigrants," which saw dozens of Chicago businesses close in solidarity and drew a large crowd for a pro-immigrant rally in Union Park.

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On Wednesday, women are being urged to take the day off from both paid and unpaid labor, to avoid shopping at businesses that are not small and owned by women or minorities, and to wear red.

Businesses are suspending regular business operations for the day, opening their doors for special events, or encouraging employees to observe the day in some fashion.

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Howard Brown Health, a health care and social service organization with six locations and three retail stores, says it will remain open but is encouraging workers to mark the event and is asking that patients and customers "weather any gaps that do occur with a spirit of patience and solidarity with this struggle for human rights."

Chief Operating Officer Kristin Keglovitz-Baker said she didn't know how many workers who deal with patients would take the day off, but she said there are several ways to show solidarity. Some staffers, for example, are attending a rally Wednesday night, she said.

Comfy Fitness in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood will suspend its usual exercise sessions and hold special daylong programming that includes a discussion on modern-day feminism, a "power voice" workshop and a midday dance party. A local Starbucks is donating coffee for the event, which lasts from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is free to women and "women-identified," Comfy co-owner Kira Elliott said.

Free Range Office, a co-working space in Chicago, will offer "sanctuary space" all day at its Wicker Park location for women to network and to write letters to Congress about their concerns. The company will provide free child care for the day.

Free Range founder and owner Liane Jackson said 22 people have signed up to come so far.

"I'm excited to see women's issues coming to the forefront," she said, mentioning affordable day care and equal pay as two issues she's concerned about.

Boka Restaurant Group, which owns restaurants such as Girl & the Goat, GT Prime and Swift & Sons, said in an email that it's planning on being short-staffed Wednesday.

"We are fully in support of any of our staff members who chose not to work tomorrow," the statement said.

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Women in Chicago and across the U.S. are rallying for "A Day Without a Woman" strikes to mark International Womens Day. March 8, 2017. (CBS Chicago)

A string of more than two dozen mostly women-led businesses in and around Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood are hosting a dinner crawl Wednesday, which is also International Women's Day, in support of women- and minority-owned businesses. A portion of the proceeds from tickets for the crawl, which are $35 for the public, will go to GirlForward, an organization that supports refugee girls.

"All the women ... we get together, we have power and we can do something," said Patty Neumson, owner of Thai restaurant Herb, which plans to serve appetizers to crawl participants.

Neumson, who moved to the U.S. from Thailand in the early 1990s, came into her restaurant Tuesday, which is normally her day off, to prep the food.

Down the street at yet-to-be-opened bakery The Edge of Sweetness, the owners have been working 15-hour days to get ready for business. They prepared the fudge and brownies they'll be passing out Wednesday night in a shared kitchen space since theirs isn't ready yet.

"We wanted to do whatever we could to be a part of it," co-owner Kate Merrill said.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 34 Woman are arrested by the New York City Police Department after sitting down in the street outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York on March 8, 2017 during a #DayWithoutAWoman protest in New York City . (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP/Getty Images)

The women who own surrounding businesses have helped with the bakery's early stages, Merrill said. And after combating assumptions from contractors who don't think women "know much about things," support from other female business owners is priceless, she said.

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It would be impossible for society to move from one day to the next without women, said Bob Bruno, professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Besides constituting a large share of the workforce generally, women have a disproportionate presence in "absolutely critical areas of public service," such as public education and health care, he said.

"Women give birth to the generation, then they raise it, then they educate it  and that's not just me sucking up to my wife," Bruno said. "If, in fact, women took a day off ... I think men would have to pause and take a deep sigh  the universe would take a deep sigh  to lament that loss."

byerak@chicagotribune.com

amarotti@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @beckyyerak

Twitter @AllyMarotti
Four more illnesses were reported in the E. coli outbreak linked to Glenview-based SoyNut Butter Co. products, bringing the current total to 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

No infections have been reported in Illinois as of Wednesday morning. Illnesses linked to the outbreak have been identified in Arizona, California, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

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Half of the 16 people infected were hospitalized and five developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, according to the CDC. Fourteen of the people are under the age of 18.

On Tuesday afternoon, SoyNut Butter expanded its recall to include all I.M. Healthy SoyNut Butter products and all I.M. Healthy Granola products.

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A California couple filed a lawsuit Monday against the company in federal court in Chicago, alleging liability and negligence among other charges, after their 8-year-son was allegedly infected with E. coli and hospitalized after consuming the soy nut butter.

In a news release on the company website, SoyNut Butter mentions but does not explicitly name a contract manufacturer.

"For over 20 years, the SoyNut Butter Co. has tried to make nut free products that help those with allergies eat like everyone else. Likewise, we chose our contract manufacturer because of their integrity and knowledge of food safety and quality. Unfortunately, we feel that (it) is better to be cautious regarding public safety and urge our customers to heed the expanded recall," the company said in the release.

The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration continue to investigate the outbreak.

gtrotter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GregTrotterTrib
Via the New Straits Times: Bird flu H5N1 detected in Kota Baru village, chickens being culled.

KOTA BARU: Avian flu H5N1 had been detected in Kampung Pulau Tebu in Tunjong here according to Kelantan Agriculture, Agro-based Industry and Bio-technology committee chairman Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi.

He said the three cases in the village involving 15 ayam kampung had tested positive for the flu on Monday.

The authorities including the veterinary department have taken steps to control it from spreading. As it is, the flu is limited to only the village.

People should not panic and it is still safe to consume chicken. I have called on them (the villagers) to give their full co-operation to the authorities, he said.

Abdullah said the veterinary department had also started culling birds in the village and so far, 170 birds have been culled.
The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business has named a new dean, Stanford accounting scholar Madhav Rajan.

Rajan, who will join the school July 1, is currently the Robert K. Jaedicke professor of accounting in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.

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From 2010 until last year, Rajan was the senior associate dean for academic affairs at Stanford's Graduate School of Business where he headed the school's MBA program, overseeing admission, curriculum, the student experience and career management. He launched new joint-degree programs with the engineering school and rolled out initiatives for tighter integration with the university.

Rajan's primary area of research is the economics-based analysis of management accounting issues. He has written two books and several articles and working papers.

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He was a member of the faculty at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania from 1996 until his move to Stanford in 2001. In 2007-2008, he held a visiting professorship at Booth.

Rajan received his undergraduate degree at the University of Madras in India. He holds a doctoral degree and two master's degrees from Carnegie Mellon University.

Corporate finance and accounting professor Douglas Skinner served as Booth's interim dean since the previous dean, Sunil Kumar, left last year to become provost at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

crshropshire@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @corilyns
Anay Sanchez at the Latino Union workers center in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood prepares documents March 7, 2017, that offer advice on what immigrants and others should do if confronted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

President Donald Trump's plans to aggressively enforce the nation's immigration laws haven't specified what that will look like inside the workplace, prompting some employee rights groups to dust off decade-old raid-training manuals.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security, says it plans to target employers, just as it did under President Barack Obama. But whether workers will be targeted as well remains unclear.

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The uncertainty is driving workers and employers to workshops to learn about their rights in case ICE comes knocking.

"Employers are really nervous," said Rebecca Shi, executive director of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition, a group led by prominent CEOs and business leaders pushing for comprehensive federal immigration reform.

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The group has held forums with employers across the state since Trump issued his immigration orders in late January, to help them prepare for more aggressive worksite enforcement.

Unlike the headline-grabbing workplace raids that rounded up thousands of workers suspected of immigration violations during the later years of the George W. Bush White House, the Obama administration focused on paperwork violations to penalize employers but largely left employees alone. Under the Trump administration, that strategy may continue.

"ICE's Homeland Security Investigations continues to focus its worksite enforcement program on the criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers in order to target the root cause of illegal immigration," ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said in an emailed statement. "In addition to criminal prosecutions, we continue to fine employers who hire an illegal workforce."

But given Trump's hard-line stance on enforcement, "I would imagine that there would be a focus on both the worker and employer violations," said Bill Riley, a former special agent for ICE, who is now senior managing director at Guidepost Solutions, an investigative and compliance consultancy based in Washington, D.C.

Keren Zwick, managing attorney in the Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center's litigation practice, believes a return to worker roundups is inevitable.

"We're preparing for Postville-style raids," Zwick said, referring to a 2008 raid at a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, that was one of the largest single-site raids in U.S. history. That raid resulted in the arrest of 389 immigrant workers, many of whom were eventually deported.

In Illinois, workers without legal status make up an estimated 11 percent of the workforce in leisure and hospitality, 10 percent in manufacturing and 9 percent in construction, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center report. There are about 350,000 people in the state's labor force without authorization.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said during a visit with Mexican officials last month that "There will be no  repeat, no  mass deportations."

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Nevertheless, Trump's toughened enforcement plans have raised concerns because his orders call for adding 10,000 immigration officers  nearly tripling the current force  as well as greatly expanding who is prioritized for deportation and who can be deported on an expedited basis without a hearing.

Obama deported a record number of immigrants but in recent years the vast majority were caught at the border or had been convicted of serious crimes, in line with a prioritization policy that focused on gang members and national and public security threats. Trump's plan casts a wider prioritization net to include noncitizens who have been charged but not convicted of a crime, abused public benefits programs or engaged in fraud before a government agency.

If agents seek out immigration violators at work, it tends to take one of two tacks.

The image that captures the public imagination is when ICE shows up without warning with a criminal search warrant that permits them to question anyone on the premises about their immigration status. Such raids were common a decade ago and prompted massive pro-immigrant marches to protest the system and the splitting of families.

Locally, high-profile raids nabbed 26 workers at a Southwest Side IFCO plant in 2006, part of a 1,187-worker nationwide sweep of the pallet-maker, and 60 people working for a cleaning company in Beardstown, Ill., in 2007.

They have happened elsewhere more recently. In October. ICE arrested more than 20 workers at a Mexican restaurant in Buffalo, N.Y., and charged the owner and two other defendents with "conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens," which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine.

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In its training, the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition advises employers that they don't have to open the door to ICE agents unless the agents have a criminal search warrant signed by a judge or magistrate, though agents can enter public areas of worksites such as reception areas without a warrant.

If ICE only has an administrative arrest warrant signed by an immigration official, it doesn't have a right to enter private property, unless the owner grants it, and must arrest the individuals listed on the warrant in a public place.

Preparation materials from the National Immigration Law Center advise workers not to run away if ICE arrives at their workplace. People have a right to keep silent and insist on talking with a lawyer before answering any questions, and shouldn't volunteer information about immigration status or birthplace or sign any documents without speaking to an attorney first, the center advises.

In order for ICE to begin deportation proceedings, officers need to show the person's identity, where they are from and that they're not permitted to be in the U.S., said Jessie Hahn, labor and employment policy attorney at the law center. Once ICE meets that burden, the detained person has to show they're eligible for some type of asylum or another form of immigration relief.

ICE officers have discretion over who gets detained and operational guidelines state that people with humanitarian claims  such as those with health issues or with sole custody of young children  can be released with an ankle monitor or another alternative form of custody, Riley said.

The agency says its strategy is to go after the most egregious violators, such as those suspected of human smuggling, fraud and worker exploitation, and employers conducting business in critical infrastructure and industries affecting national security.

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But labor advocates argue that such raids make workers more vulnerable to abuses, such as wage theft and unsafe conditions. Workers in fear of arrest are less likely to complain or report labor violations to government agencies, and employers can use the threat of raids to quell worker grievances or organizing efforts, they say.

The surprise nature of raids makes people fearful that they could go to work and not return home. Shi, of the business coalition, said her group has advised families to create something like a will that sets out who gets legal guardianship of a child should a parent be deported, and states what should happen to a house or bank account.

While many people who are detained in a workplace raid eventually are released while they await an immigration hearing  ICE officers are supposed to consider whether individuals are a flight risk or a risk to the community to determine whether to detain or release  new guidelines under the Trump administration may allow more people to be deported without a hearing. A Homeland Security memo said anyone who can't "affirmatively show" they have been living in the U.S. more than two years can be subject to expedited deportation, a process that previously applied to people caught within 100 miles of the border within 14 days of entering.

"The expedited deportation can happen very fast, they may not even be able to place that phone call to create arrangements for their children," Shi said.

Another worksite enforcement tack ICE can take is to audit the I-9 forms employers are required to fill out to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their workers at the time of hire. Such audits, known to employers as "silent raids," were the focus under Obama.

ICE conducted 1,279 audits of I-9s last year, assessing employers $17.2 million in fines, a drop from the peak of 3,127 audits in 2013, according to ICE statistics, but much more than were done under Bush.

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Meanwhile, criminal arrests of employees at worksites fell to 119 last year, from 968 in 2008, and administrative arrests for immigration violations plunged to 106, down from more than 5,100 in 2008.

ICE gets tipped off to questionable paperwork a number of ways, including when the Internal Revenue Service or Affordable Care Act databases catch Social Security number oddities. Employers receive notice of an inspection and by law have three days to produce their workers' I-9 forms.

If ICE finds suspect documents or discrepancies, such as a name that doesn't match a Social Security number, employers and the workers in question have an opportunity to make corrections or supply proper documents.

Scott Fanning, a Chicago attorney with Fisher Phillips who represents management in labor and employment cases, said he tells employers not to assume that a mismatch means there is a violation. Sometimes there's a typo, or a person's immigration status has changed after they got married or qualified for a work permit.

Fanning said he has been advising employers for years to conduct self-audits of their I-9 forms so that they are prepared but "people are listening more now." The self-policing "goes a long way toward lowering a penalty" if ICE later finds something amiss, he said.

Employer fines start at $216 per form for paperwork errors. Employers deemed to have knowingly hired a worker without legal status can be fined a minimum of $539 per worker and up to $21,563 per worker for repeat offenders.

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Employers also face being unable to solicit federally funded contracts for a year or more.

Riley, the former ICE agent, said relying on audits alone has numerous shortcomings. It is difficult to prove that an employer knew workers were unauthorized, as many workers present fraudulent documents and employers are required to accept documents that appear valid.

They also fail to act as a deterrent, he said, as "the penalties against employer are low and are often considered a cost of doing business by egregious violators," and there are few consequences to the unauthorized workforce.

Audits usually lead to workers without legal status being fired, but some just find work at a competitor, Riley said.

aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @alexiaer
If a condo board member thinks the property manager may be mismanaging  or worse, embezzling  funds, the board should put a hold on all withdrawals from association accounts, advises Benny Kass. (malerapaso / Getty Images)

Q: I am a board member of a 48-unit condo association. Our property manager has been transferring funds from our reserve account to our operating account without prior approval. Our reserves were $90,000 in January 2016; presently the reserves are at $25,000. I have told the property manager that transferring funds is improper but the behavior continues. Our operating account balance is $3,000 at present.

I am the board secretary and my name is on the signature card at the bank. What should I suggest the other board members do? If this continues, we will have no money in our accounts. I believe it is embezzlement. I think our money is going to specific vendors.

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A: Run  do not walk  to the bank and put a hold on all withdrawals from all of the association accounts. The bank will require a board resolution signed by the president and by you as secretary.

Do you have legal counsel? The board should immediately hold an executive  that is, private  session and discuss your concerns with the attorney. Before that meeting, since your name is on the bank signature card, you should obtain copies of bank statements for the past year, as well as copies of all checks that were written on those accounts.

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You should also ask your accountant (I assume you have one) to review the books and provide an opinion as to the missing funds.

Finally, you should alert your association insurance company that you believe, but cannot yet prove, that there was embezzlement.

If you believe you have confirmation that your association's money was, in fact, stolen, you  or your attorney  should report this to the local police.

In my opinion, you might not be facing this problem had you set limits on how much the property manager could spend in any one month from the operating account and required that two board members  and not the manager  sign all withdrawals from your reserve accounts.

Keep in mind: Board members have a fiduciary duty to unit owners. Yes, you should rely heavily on your property manager, but as Harry Truman often said, "the buck stops here." In your case, the buck stops with the board. You, as secretary, and the treasurer should review the financials on a monthly basis.

Q: If a condominium unit owner on the top floor feels the need for more insulation, who pays for it?

A: The answer will be found in the association's legal documents. Since the roof is most likely a common element, then funds for the insulation will come either from the general operating fund or from reserves. However, if the top-floor unit owner has a limited common element roof deck, and that is where the insulation will go, then association funds will pay for the work but the board can require that owner to reimburse the association.

Does the board have to honor the unit owner's request and do the work? Not necessarily. The board should investigate the situation. Is there a safety or health issue involved? Are any other owners affected by the lack of adequate insulation? Is more insulation really needed?

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Boards have discretion when deciding whether to comply with an individual owner's request. And I completely understand what seems to be your concern: You many not want association funds to be spent just to satisfy one individual. But if a common element appears to be in need of repair or replacement, it's the board's obligation to do its homework to determine how much work is necessary.

Even if some owners aren't affected, that does not mean association funds should not be spent for common elements. That's condominium living  you all share the costs of keeping your complex up and running.

Benny Kass is a practicing attorney in Washington, D.C., and in Maryland. He does not provide specific legal or financial advice to any reader. Readers may email him, but he cannot guarantee a personal response.

mailbag@kmklawyers.com







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Chance the Rapper, a remarkably talented Chicago musician, has dived into the mess that is Chicago Public Schools. Following a meeting with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, Chance said Rauner should "Do his job." The problem here is that Rauner has been governor for about two years while the likes of Mike Madigan have been running the state for decades. Further, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is actually in charge of running the city schools, has been in office for over six years. Perhaps Chance should aim his well deserved wrath at the people who are truly responsible for driving the schools off of the cliff. (BTW perhaps the reason Chance doesn't speak out against Mayor Emanuel is because Chance's father works for Rahm. Just a guess...)
Tea-based cocktails will be among the topics of seminars at Chicago Cocktail Summit. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

Following last year's success, Chicago Cocktail Summit is returning this year to Logan Square, organizers announced Wednesday.

Slated to once again take over the Logan Theater on April 2 and 3, the two-day summit will feature the Chicago premiere of the documentary "Bartender at Large," which follows award-winning bartender Erick Castro of San Diego's Polite Provisions as he navigates the world of cocktails. Other highlights include a live taping of James Beard Award-winning podcast "The Sporkful," with special guest Peter Sagal ("Wait Wait Don't Tell Me"), as well as a seminar led by none other than author and cocktail authority David Wondrich.

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Programming will round out with mixology workshops, whiskey tastings and discussions, a session dedicated to tea cocktails and even beer-focused drinks. Additional sessions can be found at www.cocktailsummit.com.

"We set the bar so high at last year's inaugural Cocktail Summit, but I'm certain we'll surpass that this year," wrote Billy Helmkamp (The Whistler) in a release; he's co-founder along with Erik Westra. "We have some great presenters returning, as well as amazing new additions to the lineup."

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Following last year's format, day one will be dedicated to sessions appealing to home cocktail enthusiasts, while day two focuses on topics for industry professionals. "We took a lot of care to offer more crossover programming each day so bar and restaurant pros, as well as casual cocktail connoisseurs will get a lot out of both days," says Helmkamp.

Each afternoon of the summit, the Logan's lounge will be transformed into a tasting room available to full-access pass holders. Additionally, summit attendees can expect after-hours programming at participating local bars and restaurants, with tastings and special events. Full-access passes clock in at $50 per day, though people interested in single session tickets can snag them at $15 a pop. Tickets can be purchased here.

Chicago Cocktail Summit, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 2 and 3, at Logan Theater, 2646 N. Milwaukee Ave., cocktailsummit.com

jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @joeybear85
Coherence is overrated. That's the conclusion I draw from Beatrix, an agreeable hodgepodge of a restaurant that opened six months ago in River North and has been doing brisk business ever since.

Focus? Fuggedaboutit. This Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises concept features three chefs, serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch, and also features a coffee bar and grab-and-go pastry case.

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Beatrix sits just off the lobby of the extremely hip Aloft Chicago City Center hotel and is essentially Lettuce Chairman Rich Melman's re-imagining of the hotel restaurant. Beatrix is dimly lit, energetic and hip; the concrete floors, wood beams and exposed mechanicals give the space an urban-loft vibe even though the construction is brand new. The no-frills look is belied by very comfortable seating (the heavy leather chairs are wonderful, though the fabric ones apparently stain too easily).

You could rename the menu "Stuff Rich likes to eat," and you wouldn't be far off. The back story is that every dish at Beatrix was developed in Lettuce's test kitchen but never made it onto a Lettuce Restaurant menu, a sort of culinary version of the "Island of Misfit Toys."

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"These are recipes we all loved," says John Chiakulas, part of the three-headed chef hydra that runs Beatrix (Rita Dever and Susan Weaver are the other chefs), "but for whatever reason never made it into those stores."

OK, "Island of Misfit Toys" is too harsh. The menu may defy categorization, but the individual dishes are well conceived and, unlike the fabled misfit toys (a train with square wheels, a boat that can't float), tend to work.

The bottom of the menu bears the slogan "Taste over Trend," and that's not exactly right either. No insult intended to the taste half of the equation, but the menu is loaded with trendy influences, current and recent. Korean-spiced beef, check; hamachi crudo, check. There's raw kale with the burger, and braised kale with the turkey "neatloaf." Quinoa appears on the menu twice, and that's still trending well, at least until Foodie Nation goes freaky for freekeh. Which is also on the menu.

The urban look and the playful menu names mask the fact that Beatrix's menu plays things about as cautiously as you might expect a hotel dining room to do. There are salads, some pasta and meatloaf comfort-food items, a couple of fish, some braised dishes, a steak. Two things distinguish the collection: A good selection of lighter, health-conscious touches (which the menu doesn't even point out) and enough clever twists from the kitchen to keep the audience from nodding off.

Entrees are particularly attention-worthy. Branzino is topped with a golden-brown brioche crust that looks like a plank of wood but contributes crunch and buttery notes, and makes the sea bass taste a little like Dover sole. Salmon gets something of a south-of-the-border treatment, topped with a mole-like chocolate-chile glaze and served with corn tortillas and a light coleslaw flecked with smoked almonds.

Korean-spiced short ribs are light and lively, placed over vermicelli-style brown-rice noodles tossed with snow peas, shiitake mushrooms and Fresno chiles, seasoned with cilantro and a gentle soy glaze. Caramelized pork shank with cider reduction is one of the menu's caloric indulgences, helped along with sweet potatoes and apples. The prime burger is another indulgence, though there is the option of whole-grain toast in place of a burger bun, and at seven ounces it is a less-impactful choice than the half-pound and even 12-ounce burgers found at other restaurants.

The menu begins with a handful of small snacks: Tsukune are Japanese-style chicken meatballs whose chile-cilantro glaze provides a sweet-and-sour effect; the meatballs are soft and tasty with nice ginger notes, though they're way too salty overall. Deviled eggs, filled with potato salad, offer a little taste of summer picnics. Quinoa cakes, with an ever-changing lineup of toppings, function as a sort of gluten-free bruschetta (and Beatrix has an extensive list of gluten-free options).

Farther down the list there's a nurturing "Our Tomato Soup," decorated with a squiggle of herb oil, and a "Straight A Salad" of arugula, avocado, asiago, almonds and Asian pear. The "enlightened" Caesar salad is a lower-calorie version that uses Greek yogurt dressing. It's a good salad; it's not a Caesar, but it's good.

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Desserts include a couple of sensible choices, including a vegan chia pudding, but I'll direct you to the indulgences, such as the "Oh my" caramel pie, a pile of sweet richness on a shortbread-cookie base, and the "tall, dark and handsome" cake, which is a 11/2-inch chocolate cake topped with another 11/2 inches of dense chocolate mousse. The so-called banana split arrives in a tall glass, bearing vanilla ice cream and hot rosemary-banana caramel sauce, topped with caramelized onions and whipped cream; it's pleasant but a bit of a mess.

Service is accommodating and generally good, though I did get a bit of the bum's rush one very quiet night when my entree arrived before I could finish my soup (and I wasn't dawdling). And when the room is full, the server-customer dynamic is hampered by the need to communicate with raised voices.

Among the beverage options are a half-dozen fresh-squeezed juice combinations; you can order them as-is or spiked with a shot of booze. The juices are quite nice by themselves, though a shot of English gin does wonders for the cucumber-mint soda.

Watch Phil Vettel's reviews weekends on WGN-Ch. 9's "News at Nine" and on CLTV.

Beatrix

519 N. Clark St.; 312-284-1377

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beatrixchicago.com

Tribune rating: 1 star

Open: Dinner and lunch Monday-Sunday, breakfast Monday-Friday, brunch Saturday-Sunday

Prices: Main courses $12.95-$24.95

Credit cards: A, DC, DS, M, V

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Reservations: Strongly recommended

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Noise: Conversation-challenged

Other: Wheelchair accessible; valet parking (discount with validation)

Ratings key:

Four Stars: Outstanding

Three Stars: Excellent

Two Stars: Very good

One Star: Good

No stars: Unsatisfactory

The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.

pvettel@tribune.com

Twitter @philvettel
The new exhibit, "Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life," showcases thousands of interesting and unusual specimens from the store of 30 million in the Field Museum's possession. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

On one level, Sue the T. rex is one of the most famous and significant dinosaur skeletons in the world.

On another, the menacing-looking denizen of the north end of the Field Museum's central hall is merely Specimen PR 2081, one of more than 30 million items in the museum's possession to be cataloged and numbered in such a manner.

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Most of those spend most of their days in drawers and jars above and beneath the museum's public spaces. But beginning Friday, the natural history temple near Chicago's lakefront is hosting a coming-out party for its collection.

"Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life" is a major exhibition dedicated to the principle that what's behind the scenes at a place like the Field can be as interesting as the stuff that is more typically front and center. It is 7,500 square feet of worms in fluid in their jars, of dinosaur bones still in their "field jackets" of surrounding stone, and of the stories behind such items.

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Specimens collected by the fathers of evolution are on display: a yellow-crowned barbet (bird) from the fieldwork of Alfred Russel Wallace in Malaysia in 1859 and a rove beetle gathered by Charles Darwin in Chile in 1834. So is an array of ten Canada goose specimens examined in the aftermath of the 2009 Hudson River crash landing of US Airways Flight 1549, to determine where the birds that downed the plane were from.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 17 Asian elephant skeleton  Chicago Zoological Society, 1975  in the new exhibit "Specimens: Unlocking the Secrets of Life" at the Field Museum. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

"I'm so excited because this is so close to what I do," said Bill Simpson, a paleontologist by training and the museum's head of geological collections, as he stood near a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. "From its founding, the museum has had a problem getting across to the public that there's this cutting-edge research we do, and it's based on the collections."

"Specimens," then, bridges a gap between the scientific work of the museum and its public-display side, conveying how this key component of the museum works without ever feeling like a slog through the storeroom. In the tradition of the ongoing, consistently engaging "Opening the Vaults" exhibit series, this one delivers fascination and surprise at every turn. And like the Field's recent development of a new hyena diorama, it's part of a trend for museums to embrace aspects of their past.

The exhibition features visiting scientists discovering new species just sitting there in drawers, waiting to be found. It shows the work of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, a microscope of massive imaging power. It offers dozens of examples of the Tully monster, the truly bizarre official Illinois state fossil that has been the subject of scientific dispute over its proper classification since an amateur fossil hunter discovered it in Grundy County in the 1950s.

The show can be a little macabre, if you are sensitive about seeing formerly living things preserved in fluid in jars (to better maintain soft tissues) or laid out like cordwood. And it can seem obsessive when you are looking at, for instance, some of the nearly 600,000 water beetles collected by Field scientist Harry Nelson in his career, or the "drawers of unsorted rodent and marsupial bones as they were originally collected" in an Australian cave. They look like handfuls of headless matchsticks.

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More than just a display of some 5,000 objects, the show seeks to answer the "why" of all this, the reasons that museums gather, categorize, store and share. Through the various stories, videos, touch-screen displays and profiles of the scientists, visitors are left with a clear picture. Specimens are a snapshot of their time and place; some are even "holotypes," "the single specimen that was used to name a particular species," the display says, explaining that the Field has 20,000 of those. A series of specimens can track change in an environment. And they serve, as in the case of the geese, as a sort of biological reference library. Indeed, in a case just beyond the geese is a specific Colombian weasel that is one of only six ever collected; its DNA has helped "generate a complete weasel family tree," the card says.

Collectively, "it is one large effort to document the world and how it's changed over time," lead exhibition developer Marie Georg said.

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To craft the exhibit, Georg spent months foraging through the Field's backrooms, talking to the scientists, photographing their treasures. "Some of the challenges were, there were just so many choices," she said. "We asked (the scientists) what do they show visitors on behind-the-scenes tours."

"Specimens"  which will be up through next January and requires an additional charge, an All-Access or Discovery Pass  opens by establishing what a specimen is and how many the museum has. An architectural rendering of the Field's massive building highlights in red all the places where collections are kept and worked on. There is a lot of red.

A large-scale video puts across some numbers: Of the more than 30 million items, 4 percent are artifacts, items created by particular human cultures. The rest are specimens: plants, animals, rocks and more, including 500,000 bird specimens and an astonishing 17 million insects.

That first room, as it demonstrates some of the range of items that are kept, delivers riffs on the diversity of the natural world through the poetry of all those animal names. An Asian elephant skeleton is laid out flat on a pedestal. Around it are, in order, the rostrum of a largetooth sawfish, a Malagasy pygmy shrew, a harpy eagle, a great flying dragon, a Surat cone, a thorny devil, a king cobra, a spot-fin porcupinefish, Western painted turtle eggs, a giant pill millipede, a Nicaragua cichlid, a white-lipped frog, a mainland tiger snake, a pond slider, a sea horse, a margined flying fish, a marlin sucker, a bay snook, a leafnose legskate, a veiled chameleon, Vogel's pit vipers, painted turtles, silver earth-mice, a Mindoro stripe-faced fruit bat, rigid cushion stars and a bear brain. Oh, and then some trays of pinned insects: featherwing beetles, true weevils, Grey's leaf insects, spiny stick insects, and tropical blue and hairstreak butterflies.

From there, the exhibition highlights how specimens are stored and labeled; some original tags kept with specimens are on display, and that tagging style is picked up in the exhibit's signage.

The next section shows that specimens "really have their strength in numbers," Georg said. From there then, the exhibit highlights the way new scientific techniques are being applied. Finally, it draws connections between the museum's collection and the rest of the world.

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To her, she said, "it is kind of like when moviemakers make movies about the movies."

It is so effective at communicating the essential grunt work of natural history that collections chief Simpson said he has been arguing for it to find a permanent home at the Field. The problem, though, is where do you put it? The museum's public space is pretty much full up, and the behind-the-scenes areas are filled with, you know, specimens.

sajohnson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter: @StevenKJohnson

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Kiernan Shipka, who played Sally Draper on "Mad Men," shares the story of Chicago activist Jane Addams in a video released just in time for teachers and parents to celebrate International Women's Day with their students and children.

The video, available on the SAG-AFTRA Foundation's children's literacy website Storyline Online, features Kiernan reading "The House That Jane Built." Written by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Kathryn Brown, the children's book tells the Nobel Peace Prize winner's true story of creating the community center Hull House in 1889 and deals with themes like generosity and accceptance.

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"Reading is magical for so many reasons," Shipka says at the end of the video. "It can bring you to amazing, magical places that are beyond your wildest dreams, but it can also give you amazing, valuable and inspiring information."

The Chicago-born actress moved to LA when she was 6 years old.

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Other Storyline Online readers have included Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, James Earl Jones and Rita Moreno.

To view all of Storyline Online's videos, visit www.storylineonline.net.

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)
I met Robert Osborne in the vicinity of a star, which is another way of saying I met Robert Osborne in his true element.

The gracious, effortless marquee headliner of the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, who died early Monday in his Manhattan apartment at the age of 84, came to Chicago in 2011 for a TCM screening event held at the Music Box Theatre. He was traveling with his pal Jane Powell, the female lead in the 1954 MGM musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." I joined them at the Ritz-Carlton downtown and, because I don't like interviewing two people at once  somebody usually goes away, muttering, with thoughts unexpressed  they agreed to meet and converse separately.

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The column was about Powell, but Osborne was no less interesting. He treated everybody well. Everybody.

He was the nicest, most humble TV star I ever got to know, and call a friend, and his humility, I suspect, came easy because he knew his material. He knew so much, and so many Hollywood legends he'd chronicled over the decades. How many TCM fans felt like they lost an uncle, or a brother, or a fellow cinephile, when they heard of his death Monday? (Robert's longtime TCM producer Sean Cameron delivered the news that morning to the Atlanta TCM crew; in a quirk of timing, I was among them, filming a batch of guest-host introductions to be aired next month on TCM.)

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I enjoyed a few dinners in New York over the years with Robert, and I hate to disappoint anyone, but dinner with that guy was as easy and delightful as you'd expect. We talked about writing, and writing for television, the sly, witty films of Ernst Lubitsch and Vincente Minnelli's facility with musicals, melodramas and comedies. We talked about his Hollywood Reporter days, and his extraordinary good fortune in landing at TCM, one of the few things in contemporary media that everyone loves and admires.

We talked about his days under contract with Desilu, and how Lucille Ball saved him from a life of being a solid, unspectacular actor by suggesting he write a book about the Oscars. The performing Robert did on screen, and on stage, ended up being excellent training for the role of playing himself, comfortably, on television. He found it hilarious that, generations apart, we played the same dull romantic lead (the young psychiatrist in "Harvey") in summer stock. Small world.

When Robert Osborne introduced a movie, or met a fan, or conducted an interview, he was subtly remarkable: a reminder that class and kindness make sense together, and too few people don't bother with either. Hardly anyone on the planet, certainly anyone specializing in old Hollywood and the stubbornly enduring appeal of the movies, knew firsthand the sort of adoration and appreciation Robert did. He loved his life's work, and took all movies, great and small, just seriously enough to make them matter, one anecdote, one scene, one close-up at a time.

Looking through some old emails from Robert, there's one I love for its simplicity. Here's hoping, he wrote in closing, "that life for you is like a Lubitsch film."

Michael Phillips most recently hosted TCM programming in September. He returns in April to present a month's worth of postwar dramas including "The Best Years of Our Lives" and four films directed by Douglas Sirk.

TCM will pay tribute to Osborne for 48 hours starting 5 a.m. Saturday, airing his celebrity interviews and specials.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

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Hedwig Robinson  that self-styled "slip of a girl-boy from communist East Berlin"  has fit Chicago into her "tight, little agenda" and, as the Village Voice once improbably wrote of Britney Spears, we are privileged to observe.

"You legitimize me," Euan Morton's splendiferously bewigged, spectacularly vocalized and stupendously needy Hedwig, that mercurial hermit crab of the cabaret confessional, screamed from the stage of the Oriental Theatre. "No, Hedwig," I fantasized about shouting back, "you legitimize us."

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Or, at very least your confessions sure do liven us up on a Tuesday night.

Hedwig and her band (that's the "Angry Inch" part, or one of the parts) were staring out an audience as internally divided as the mostly fictional heroine of the 1998 grunge-rock musical by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, a dark torrent of angst-based tunes with roots in Debbie Harry or maybe Nirvana, but also a show where a couple of driving, gorgeous melodies await their chance at an assault on your heart in Hedwig's name.

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Some clearly were longtime worshippers at the Chicago franchise of the Hedwig shrine  maybe they met her (like me) in 2001 on the sticky floors of the old Lakeshore Theatre (now the Laugh Factory, ha!) or maybe out by the dumpster at American Theater Company in 2009. Or maybe just on Broadway in 2014, when Hedwig, a bold-faced name in her own right, was surely chagrined to find herself somewhat eclipsed by the celebrity of Neil Patrick Harris, Taye Diggs or Michael C. Hall, each merely an arriviste when it comes to the complete works of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," only a one hour, 40-minute show but never, ever abridged. Morton is a truly formidable actor  my favorite of my personal and, by now, fairly extensive Hedwig collection  but, mercifully, not too famous to ever get in his singular character's way.

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Some of our fellow Chicagoans in Hedwig's presence clearly had bought subscription tickets to get prized "Hamilton" ducats and were acting more like deer in Hedwig's blistering headlights. On a high after this show  which I've loved for years, loving Michael Mayer's 2014 revival best of all, and that is this tour  I found the most uncomfortable-seeming couple I could and asked what they thought.

"Different," a woman said.

I smiled sympathetically. And then I looked more deeply into the woman's eyes, which were sparkling and searching, maybe even aching, for something.

Score Hedwig one, disbelievers nil.

"Hedwig" has a sidekick, and a husband, which are the same thing. It's perhaps not surprising that Hannah Corneau, who plays Yitzhak, the aforementioned foil and mentee, is pretty extraordinary in this role, exhibiting a dazzling vocal range that can sample Whitney Houston on-pitch and with bite, parody Billie Joe Armstrong and yet also emit the most beautiful, guileless sounds. Mayer is the best casting guy in the business (he took Jessie Mueller to Broadway), and he only had two roles to worry about here. Plus some musicians.

Every time Hedwig tells her life story, she adapts to the ever-changing circumstances in which she finds the world (a line about "sucking the blow off a MacBook Pro did not appear in the 1998 version, nor did a reference to "Darren Criss with a GoPro" ). She makes forays into the audience. She is now aware of who occupies the White House.

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"It is the direction of the aggression that defines the act," Morton's Hedwig asserts, her eyes flashing with the pain of experience. "You're all going to need that for the next four years."

I don't think anyone would write a Hedwig now, in these changed (for the better) circumstances surrounding transgender characters. Perhaps that is for the best  Hedwig's transformation was an involuntary event, which perhaps explains so much of her sorrow and a smidgen of the show's complexity and its ability to walk carefully down the fine line between gender as division for artistic purposes, and gender self-determination as a fundamental right in the pursuit of happiness. Not that East Berlin ever was so big on happiness. And, make no mistake, "Hedwig" loves Hedwig. Loves her, almost to death.

But what Mayer's brilliant revision and expansion of this show  a feat fully replicated on this new tour, designed again by Julian Crouch really did was to take a small-bore, intentionally abrasive rock musical, a show designed to be seen in a place where your feet, once planted, stick to the floor, and you can't quite breathe, and turn it to a vision of the passage of time, aka your life. It's now partly a tribute to David, Iggy, Whitney, Tina and the rest; to progress; to the loss of tread on your tires but more rings on your tree.

Hedwig (no Alexander Hamilton, she) really is one of the great metaphoric characters in the history of the Broadway musical, a bit of nation-building written to have a wall running down the middle of her entire sense of self, thus being a singing reminder of the danger of such edifices of division. This show is quite brilliantly written. There's one amazing section where Hedwig talks about "the longitude of a hand on my body."

She's talking the geography of human contact, "the only clue to who I am."

Wisdom for life, people, direct from a vanished, vanquished East Berlin.

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Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ChrisJonesTrib

'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' - 4 stars

When: Through March 19

Where: Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St.

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Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Tickets: $35-$108 at 800-775-2000 or www.broadwayinchicago.com

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By: Erin Shea, @BH_EShea



Annora, a 6-year-old daughter of Nobiz Like Shobiz, stood quietly in the aisle of the Kentucky Equine Humane Center barn as she received treatment through a Cytowave Equine blanket on her back, and began to doze off.

"When she first came in she was very muscle sore all over. So I started doing massages and worked on getting those muscles relaxed," said Sarah Gatchell, an intern at KyEHC and a student at Midway University. "With the Cytowave... I've noticed some great improvement."





Annora stands calmly with trainer Olivia Dixon as she receives her Cytowave treatment. Photo: Erin Shea



While Annora isn't a high-maintenance horse, the organization said they would just like to see her reach her full potential, which is why they are using various therapies on her. It's a big transition from where she was just a few months ago: abandoned in a field.

The KyEHC rescued Annora from the high-profile situation that involved about 40 horses left on a farm near Harrodsburg, Ky. leased by Charles Borell and his daughter, trainer Maria Borell. Annora's listed breeder is Maria Borell.

When the situation arose, KyEHC offered to take horses from the farm and ended up taking Annora and another mare, who the center has named Studio. Annora arrived Nov. 16 and through attempts to identify her, the KyEHC found that she had published works after July 1, 2015, thereby making her eligible to compete in the 2017 Thoroughbred Makeover Oct. 5-8 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

"She never raced but she was in training," said Olivia Dixon, trainer at KyEHC. "For a horse to come from that big mess, and to be the 'spokeshorse' for our rescue at the Makeover (is incredible); to show people that just because a horse has been abandoned or neglected at some point in their life, doesn't mean they can't turn around and do good things."





The Cytowave on Annora's back. Photo: Erin Shea



Dixon hasn't chosen a discipline for her and Annora to show off their skills, but she's leaning toward competitive trail since she's feels it sets up horses to easily enter other disciplines later in life. Ultimately, Dixon said it's Annora's decision.

"Some people pick one discipline and they try to fit the horse to that," she said. "But you find out what the horse is good at and let them be good at that and build their confidence."

Although she hasn't ridden her too much, Dixon said the therapy Annora is receiving, made possible by a number of donors including After The Finish Line, will help her reach her full potential. Annora is up for adoption and the KyEHC thinks that she'll catch someone's eye at the Makeover.

"Now that Sarah's been working with her, she's been really willing to kind of step out under saddle and move a lot nicer. It's going to help her showcase herself to the best of her abilities," Dixon said.

"It's obvious through her temperament that she's been taken care of at some point in her life and she really does like people. I think there's a lot of hope for her to find a good home after the makeover."







Annora and Dixon. Photo: Erin Shea


Americans are having fewer kids. The U.S. fertility rate is at an all-time low, with more single and coupled people choosing to delay or forego parenthood. However, remaining child-free still isn't socially accepted.

That conclusion was reconfirmed in a study detailing the stigmatization, social backlash and "moral outrage" toward child-free people.

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In the study, Leslie Ashburn-Nardo, a psychology professor at Indiana University, asked 197 college undergraduates from a large Midwestern university to read a vignette about a married graduate from the school who was described as male or female, with either zero or two children.

Asked to assess their feelings toward the graduates on a scale of 1 to 5, Ashburn-Nardo wanted to discern whether her participants - who had an average age of 20 - would view the child-free alums as more or less psychologically satisfied than their parent peers.

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What she found was astonishing, Ashburn-Nardo wrote in an email. She discovered that the child-free alums were "perceived to be significantly less psychologically fulfilled" than those who were parents - and that participants experienced such reactions as disgust, disapproval, annoyance, outrage and anger when evaluating the child-free folks.

There was no gender gap in how the nonparents were viewed; participants believed both child-free men and women were less likely to lead happy lives. Ashburn-Nardo's findings indicate that at least some young people see parenthood as more of a moral obligation than a personal choice - and that people who don't have kids should prepare to be judged, even stigmatized.

"The (moral outrage) was the most surprising," Ashburn-Nardo wrote. "It's still shocking to me that people can report such feelings toward a person they've never met, and never could meet."

As a single 40-year-old woman who has long waffled about wanting kids, I found this research disheartening. I've always despised being the subject of others' pity, and this study confirmed that people like me are ripe for others' scorn. But being child-free is not a decision I've reached lightly. In fact, it was never a concrete decision at all.

As an adopted child, I've always longed for a more cohesive sense of family (a boyfriend once told me I wouldn't be able to "heal my childhood wounds" until I became a mother myself). And though I've never been especially maternal, for years I harbored a fantasy of finding the perfect partner - the kind of mate who would make having a child feel like an inevitability instead of a question mark. I believed that if I was "in love enough," I'd feel that primal push toward motherhood that seemed to grip so many of my friends.

That ideal partner hasn't come along yet, and neither has an unwavering desire to be a mom. But after some soul-searching, I realized that even as a child, when I imagined my grown-up future, I didn't necessarily picture motherhood. I saw a warm, passionate long-term relationship with a man I loved, plus good friends, glamorous travels, a cozy home and lots of animals. In addition to a few relatives, that might be all the family I need. Why that very personal - but also painful - realization would offend others makes me feel even further stigmatized.

Though Ashburn-Nardo, who typically studies racism and how to combat it, is married, she's all too familiar with feeling judged. She recalled how strangers at dinner parties have often assumed that she and her husband were parents and have even asked about their nonexistent kids. "I understand that ... most people our age have children," she acknowledged. But when she corrected them, strangers' reactions - "a look of disdain, like we'd done something wrong" - were what drove her toward this research.

That disdain is correlated with the umbrella term "moral outrage" used in Ashburn-Nardo's study. "People experience moral outrage when they perceive someone has violated a morally prescribed behavior, something we're 'supposed to do' because it's what we see as right," she explained. "In this case, there's a societal expectation that people should desire to have children."

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What does this outrage on the part of the college-aged participants say to other young people who choose to forego child-rearing? And what does it say to child-free adults like me? According to Ashburn-Nardo, it sends the message that "parenthood is not only something we all should want, but that it is the (only) recipe for happiness and fulfillment." However, most scientific literature shows that's, well, not true. "Meta-analyses of hundreds of studies demonstrate that having children negatively affects relationship satisfaction," Ashburn-Nardo pointed out.

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ROCKFORD, Ill.  An Illinois high school is being accused of body shaming after releasing guidelines on how students, primarily girls, should dress for the prom.



Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford has issued a 21-page rule book  complete with pictures  on what is and isn't acceptable at this year's prom.

The gentlemen's dress code consists of two pages specifying that tuxedos, suits or sport jackets with slacks are required. Guidelines for female students detail what length, neckline, dress back, slit, mesh, and cut out elements are appropriate. There are multiple photo examples for each.

The school said in the document that the dress code will be strictly enforced, and those who don't abide by the rules will not be admitted to the dance and not given a refund.

But the guidelines have ruffled feathers with a line that reads: "Some girls may wear the same dress but due to body types, one dress may be acceptable while the other is not."

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Body image and media expert Robyn Goodman of the University of Florida tells the Rockford Register Star that line supports discrimination and body shaming because girls don't have a choice on how their bodies are made.



Boylan President Amy Ott told the newspaper the guidelines are meant to help girls, not hurt them.

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It started as a booze-fueled joke among University of Chicago undergrads  and made it all the way to the New York stage.

But "Drunk TED Talks," a satire on the wildly successful and sometimes self-important public speaking series, isn't getting big laughs at TED headquarters anymore.

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It seems TED, which charges conference-goers $8,500 to hear eggheads give speeches such as "How to Tie Your Shoes" and "Let's Talk Crap. Seriously" doesn't want its name to be used to promote drunken nonsense.

So last week the nonprofit's lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to "Drunk TED Talks" founder and 2014 U. of C. graduate Eric Thurm, 24, warning him to quit using "TED" in his show title  or else.

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"While we understand that you may not intend to confuse the market with regard to TED's brand, it is our position that your continued use of its trademarks and trade dress may cause the public to inaccurately assume that your events are connected to, associated with or affiliated with TED and its well-known services relating to educational conferences, workshops and seminars," the letter states. It adds that consumers have been confused into believing "Drunk TED Talks" were organized by the real TED organization and that the TED brand could suffer from "tarnishing."

"I always knew this might happen," said Thurm, who charges a $5 entry fee to the monthly show he has been staging for more than two years at a Brooklyn theater. He and his college pals conceived the idea over drinks in 2012  as a joke on what they found to be the pretentious and overblown titles of events  at TEDxUChicago, and staged their first show at his Chicago home.

"One of the (real TED Talks titles) that really got to us was 'How Do You Save the Life of a Shark You Know Nothing About,'" said Thurm.

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Speakers at his events, who usually go on stage after downing "one or two drinks more than their comfort level" allows, have mocked the seriousness of TED with titles such as "Is Culture Keeping Up With the Kardashians? A Kimposium" and "Quit Playing Grocery Games With My Heart: The Passion of Guy Fieri."

TED's threat of legal action means a show scheduled for tonight will be the last of the "Drunk TED Talks," Thurm told Chicago Inc. "People have been urging me to fight TED in court, but I can't afford that," Thurm said. "It would be fun for everyone else to watch, but not for me."

A spokesperson for TED wrote in an emailed statement: " 'Drunk TED Talks' are a pretty hilarious concept  and people on our staff have attended and enjoyed them. That said, we started getting more and more questions about whether or not 'Drunk TED Talks' were an official TED thing, and after a few casual attempts to reach these guys went unanswered, we took steps to prevent further brand confusion."

But readers at the feminist blog Jezebel, which first reported the story, have suggested alternate names that might resolve the dispute, including "Drunk RedacTED Talks" and "Drunk FRED Talks."

They are under consideration, said Thurm, who hopes to continue with a rebranded title that keeps TED's lawyers at bay.

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kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews
Cook County's chief judge has launched a broad review of the adult probation department's compensation practices after a Tribune investigation found that one of its top leaders had compiled more than $200,000 in compensatory time.

Philippe Loizon, a deputy chief in the Cook County Adult Probation Department, accrued at least 3,674 hours of comp time from 2003 into 2015, the Tribune found.

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Now, Chief Judge Timothy Evans, who oversees the court system's probation department, has started a review of Loizon's compensation as well as that of other senior managers in the department, "given the high number" of hours Loizon accumulated, Evans' spokesman, Pat Milhizer, wrote in an email. The review will also look at what Evans' office and others knew about the matter, Milhizer wrote.

In addition, the probation department is changing its personnel policies to forbid exempt employees, who include members of the executive staff, from accruing comp time  bringing the department more in line with the policies of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Sheriff Tom Dart and Court Clerk Dorothy Brown.

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Evans' office was first made aware of Loizon's accumulation of significant hours of compensatory time in 2013, according to internal correspondence, yet apparently did little about it.

Loizon has been a controversial figure in the probation department. In 2014, he was taken off the streets and ordered onto desk duty by Evans following a Tribune investigation that found rogue probation officers had allegedly planted drugs, stolen money and improperly teamed up with Chicago police and FBI agents to conduct warrantless searches.

Evans hired a Chicago law firm to look into what the Tribune uncovered in 2014. He has not said what, if anything, was found.

Loizon, 52, remained on the probation department's payroll. In August, he went on medical leave and has begun using his comp time, according to county payroll records.

Even with his reassignment, Loizon retained the title of deputy chief  one of the most senior managers in a department with hundreds of employees  and makes more than $115,000 a year. He declined to comment for this article.

Loizon joined the probation department in November 1988 and rose through the ranks, earning a reputation as a tireless worker. The department and its officers work for the court system and monitor about 25,000 convicts sentenced to probation instead of prison. Probation officers' role, which separates them from police officers, involves helping a convict get drug treatment, a high school diploma and a job.

In June 2003, Loizon was promoted to deputy chief, one of 11 currently in the department. He oversaw several of the department's armed-officer units, including the Gang Intervention Unit, which monitors high-risk gang members who are serving a sentence of probation.

He soon began accumulating comp time.

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Under the probation department's long-standing policy, exempt employees like Loizon and other senior managers may receive one hour of comp time for each hour of overtime worked. The policy does not limit the number of hours an employee may collect but states that the hours must be used within 60 days unless waived by a supervisor.

From 2004 to June 2015, Loizon was automatically credited every week with four hours of comp time for monitoring a "cellphone dedicated to calls to and from the Chicago Police Department," Evans spokesman Milhizer said. "He was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Milhizer said the department's Gang Intervention Unit shares information with city police about gang members on probation.

"The weekly estimation of four hours acknowledged that there might be more or less than four hours of work, and it compensates the employee for the uncertainty of when work will arise and disrupt life outside of the workplace in addition to time actually worked," Milhizer said.

Loizon accrued at least 2,080 hours of comp time for answering the phone, or one year's pay.

Deputy Chief Loizon accumulated additional comp time  some 1,594 hours  for working beyond his 40-hour work weeks, Milhizer said.

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Evans' office learned about Loizon's significant accumulation of comp time hours in 2013. That's when Loizon hired Chicago lawyer Jerome Marconi to help resolve issues over his pay.

In a July 11, 2013, letter to Jesus Reyes, then acting chief probation officer, Marconi wrote that Loizon had documents showing he earned comp time hours and wanted a meeting to discuss the matter. Marconi sent a copy of the letter to Evans' director of human resources.

"I am requesting your assistance in resolving DC Loizon's compensation issues," Marconi wrote, referring to Loizon's title of deputy chief. "DC Loizon desires to resolve these issues internally before filing any official complaints against the County."

Reyes wrote a memo to Evans' office dated July 25, 2013, and said he agreed that Loizon should be reimbursed for the hours worked. He attached Loizon's time sheets for 2012 and 2013, noting that Lavone Haywood, then Loizon's immediate supervisor, had not disputed that Loizon worked those hours.

Haywood, whom Evans promoted to lead the department in March 2014, had long been one of Loizon's supervisors and had signed and approved his time sheets, according to records. Haywood did not return messages seeking comment.

Marconi, in an interview, said he did not believe the matter was ever resolved. "It just kind of died," he said.

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Asked what the chief judge's office knew in 2013 and what it did about it, Milhizer responded that the office is "reviewing the history of this matter."

It wasn't until June 2015 that Haywood ended Loizon's after-hours gang phone responsibilities. Now, calls between Chicago police and the department are handled by on-duty staff.

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Milhizer said the chief judge's office was trying to determine if Loizon was given a 60-day waiver for using his comp time.

The review should be completed in April, Milhizer said. He said the probation department plans to revamp its comp time policy this month.

"The new policy would prohibit the accrual of compensatory time for exempt employees  executive employees, administrative employees and managerial employees," Milhizer said. "It would also, in most instances, require employees to use compensatory time within one year of accrual."

Milhizer said exempt employees rarely should be allowed to accrue comp time because they are paid better than rank-and-file workers.

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"It is not appropriate  both fiscally and operationally  to allow them to accrue comp time," Milhizer said. "Their salaries should compensate them for additionally worked hours."

tlighty@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @tlighty
Surveillance photos show a man who committed three robberies, the most recent on March 7, 2017, in Chicago'sBelmont Heights neighborhood. (Chicago Police Department)

Chicago police on Wednesday released surveillance photos of a man suspected of committing three robberies in the Belmont Heights neighborhood in recent weeks.

The man most recently robbed someone about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday in the 3200 block of North Harlem Avenue, according to a police community alert.

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The man has approached people from behind and forced them to give up their property, according to the alert, which did not specify what has been stolen.

The man also robbed people about 9 p.m. Feb. 26 in the 7700 block of West Belmont Avenue and about 8:10 p.m. Feb. 17 in the 3300 block of North Harlem.

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The robber is described as a white man, age 20 to 30, 5-foot-8 to 6 feet and about 170 pounds. He was wearing a gray hooded jacket with a zipper, a blue T-shirt, jeans and a dark knit hat. In one of the surveillance photos, he also was wearing what appear to be tan suede or leather work boots.

Anyone with information about the robber is asked to call Area North detectives at 312-744-8263.
Blue Line service has been temporarily halted on the Northwest Side after a 28-year-old man was fatally struck by a train, officials said.

It happened about 11:50 a.m. near the Addison station, according to CTA spokeswoman Irene Ferradaz.

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The 28-year-old man jumped from the platform onto the track tracks when the train approached, police said.

He was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.

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Passengers exited the train and were moved to shuttle buses, Ferradaz said.

A spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department said the department was called for a person on the southbound tracks but did not take the victim to a hospital.

"We turned it over to the police,'' the spokesman said.

Service has been suspended in both directions between the California and Jefferson Park stations as the emergency is handled, Ferradaz said.

The shuttle bus service is being offered between those stations.

Check back for details.
In another sign of the growing friction between the Rauner administration and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the construction of a planned pedestrian bridge over Lake Shore Drive at 41st Street has been put on hold after the state balked at contributing another $2 million for the project, state and city officials said on Wednesday.

The news comes as the city plans to start repairs this summer on two crumbling Lake Shore Drive bridges at Lawrence and Wilson avenues. That work is heavily dependent on state funding, and city officials are worried that it also could be delayed.

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"It would be a shame if the state continues to play politics with this money and denies the final approvals necessary to move those projects into construction," said Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld.

She said the low bid for the 41st Street project came in almost 24 percent higher than anticipated because of both a highly active construction market, which drives up prices, as well as the job's complexity. The state's refusal to pay another $2 million could result in a loss of $18 million in federal funds, Scheinfeld said.

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Asked whether the $2 million hole could be plugged with city funds, Scheinfeld said it's possible, but officials would then have to divert that money from other projects.

A planned pedestrian bridge over railroad tracks and Lake Shore Drive at 41st Street in Chicago would land in this approximate area on the east side of the Drive seen on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. The bridge reportedly has been put on hold after the state balked at providing another $2 million for the project. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

An Illinois Department of Transportation spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the project went over budget by 33 percent because of a "flawed" study by the city.

"In an effort to bail out the project, the city of Chicago is asking the state to contribute an additional $2 million to compensate for the city's oversight and budgeting errors," the statement said. The state said it has already committed nearly $6 million to the project.

The low bid on the project is $28.7 million plus extra costs, such as design and added safety measures needed for working over railroad tracks, according to the city. The city wants to fund the project with almost $19 million in federal "TIGER" grant money plus $8 million in state money, with the rest coming from the federal Surface Transportation Program. TIGER, which stands for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, is a highly competitive federal grant program.

The state said the total cost of the project is now $39 million, up $10 million from the original estimate.

"The mayor cannot blame the state for his $10 million mistake," said Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn.

The city countered that the increase will be about $5 million, making the city's total cost estimate about $34 million.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic Chicago mayor have engaged in name-calling and finger-pointing over the next step to negotiating a state budget proposal and how to find more money for Chicago Public Schools. Now the state-city conflict has surfaced in a transportation funding issue.

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The 41st Street pedestrian bridge is one in a trio of projects intended to ease access to the lakefront for pedestrians and cyclists over Lake Shore Drive on the South Side. A new suspension bridge opened at 35th Street last year, connecting the Bronzeville neighborhood with the lakefront's Burnham Park and replacing a rickety 1933 bridge that was not wheelchair accessible.

The city had planned to start construction on the curving 41st Street bridge this spring.

There is no bridge currently at the site. The city also plans to replace an existing pedestrian bridge at 43rd Street, with construction planned for later this year.

The cost for the 41st and 43rd Street bridges was originally projected at $42.5 million when the projects were announced in September 2014. The city estimated that the 41st Street project alone would cost $23.2 million for construction and labor, Scheinfeld said.

But Scheinfeld said that in January the low bid came in higher than expected at $28.7 million. That's because, in part, the bridge needs to go over Metra and Canadian National railroad tracks and deal with Lake Shore Drive traffic.

"It's inaccurate to be painting this as some kind of flaw in the engineering studies," said Scheinfeld, who noted that all plans had been reviewed by the state.

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The state money comes from a reserve called "State Only Chicago Commitment" funding, used to match federal money. SOCC money comes from the state road fund and has long been used for Chicago infrastructure projects, in recognition of the city's unique importance to the region, Scheinfeld said.

Scheinfeld said that recently Rauner's office has been "playing politics" with the SOCC agreement and slowing or refusing additional allocations.

On Tuesday, Congressmen Danny Davis and Mike Quigley, both Chicago Democrats, wrote to Rauner asking him to release funds for Chicago projects, particularly the 41st Street bridge. The letter said that Davis and Quigley had supported the application for the bridge, which is expected to create 140 jobs.

The letter also charges that the governor's policy change on SOCC money puts more than $300 million in capital project investments at risk, including $105 million in SOCC funds that will leverage $166 million in federal funds.

"We write to ask that you release these funds to ensure that CDOT can implement necessary infrastructure projects, improving transportation for the city of Chicago," the letter said. The bridge is in Davis' district, and Quigley is on the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation.

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Emanuel has stressed his success in new transportation projects, such as helping to secure funding to modernize the CTA Red and Purple Lines. New pedestrian bridges on the South Side would offer a particular benefit to African-American voters, who have been heavily affected in recent years by high crime and Emanuel's closing of dozens of public schools.

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The Lake Shore Drive bridges at Lawrence and Wilson are among the next projects in the CDOT pipeline. Chunks of concrete have broken off the two 1933-vintage bridges, posing a threat to drivers, pedestrians and the dozens of homeless people who camp underneath.

The bridges are among the most-traveled structurally deficient bridges in Illinois, according to a recent study by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, a Washington-based trade group that used federal figures for the report. The term "structurally deficient" does not mean a bridge is about to fall down, but indicates one in need of repair or rebuilding. Further deterioration could put the bridges at risk of closing or being limited to certain load levels.

Repairs to the two bridges are expected to cost $4.2 million each, with 71 percent coming from the state and 29 percent from federal funds, according to CDOT spokesman Mike Claffey. The city is also expecting state money for repairs to the Lake Shore Drive bridge over the Chicago River.

Because the state has not had a new capital plan since 2009, transportation officials say it is more difficult to plan and be in a position to access critical matching federal funds, though some state money continues to be spent on transportation needs.

mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marywizchicago
Members of the Chicago Police Department work the scene where four people were shot near the intersection of 76th and May streets March 7, 2017. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Four people were wounded in a South Side shooting on the border between the Gresham and Englewood neighborhoods, a little more than six hours after a man was shot to death in Gresham on Tuesday, according to police.

Chicago fire officials called an emergency medical services plan 1, sending at least five ambulances for the shooting near 76th and May streets, according to the Chicago Fire Department. Four people were shot about 7:20 p.m. in the attack, police said.

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A woman, 56, was shot in the leg, and a man, 40, suffered a graze wound to the head. Both were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where their conditions were stabilized, according to police. Another man, 36, suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was in good condition at Stroger Hospital. A 25-year-old man was shot in the hand and declined to be taken to a hospital.

The four were outside when a white vehicle drove up and someone inside fired shots at them, according to police.

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Anthony Steele, 54, said he was walking to Walgreens at 79th Street and Racine Avenue to pick up a prescription when he heard about 15 gunshots.

The night before, he said, a helicopter hovered overhead as police investigated the fatal shooting of a man on the same block.

Steele, who works at a chocolate factory downtown, said he has lives a few houses away.

"We was doing so good these last few days, we had no killings," said Steele, standing in an alley near the roped off crime scene. "Nobody is going to talk. It's hush hush hush."

Police said the attack on May was believed to be related to a killing at about 3:10 a.m. Tuesday in the 1100 block of West 76th, another killing hours earlier in the 1300 block of West 76th, and to another shooting just an hour before Tuesday night's shooting in Englewood.

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About 6:20 p.m., a 22-year-old man was shot in the 7300 block of South Aberdeen Avenue, only a few blocks from where the people were shot on South May about an hour later. The man was shot in the leg, and his condition was stabilized at Advocate Christ Medical Center. He told police he was walking when someone came up to him and shot him.

At least eight other people have been shot, one of them fatally, since early Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

The fatal shooting occurred in the 5500 block of South Wells around 12:45 p.m.

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The 19-year-old man had two gunshot wounds in the neck and was pronounced on the scene, police said. No one was in custody. Police did not release information about the circumstances of the killing.

The man was identified as Lavelle D. Morgan, of the block on Wells where he was shot, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. He was pronounced dead at 1:12 p.m.

In other shootings:

About 9:40 p.m. on the South Side, a 38-year-old man was grazed on the right arm during a robbery in the 7600 block of South State Street in the Chatham neighborhood, police said. He was in a parked vehicle when the robber got in the car and announced a robbery. The 38-year-old man handed over money, and he was wounded as he was driving away. He was in good condition at Trinity Hospital.

Just before 9:10 p.m. on the South Side, a 24-year-old man was shot in the left foot in the 6600 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue in the West Woodlawn neighborhood. He was walking near 67th Street when someone shot him. He was taken in good condition to St. Bernard Hospital.

About 7:55 p.m. on the Southeast Side, a 21-year-old man was found shot in the leg in the 9700 block of South Avenue L in the East Side neighborhood, according to police. He was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital in good condition. The man told police he was walking when a white sedan drove up and someone inside shot him.

About 7:15 p.m. on the South Side, a 16-year-old boy suffered gunshot wounds to the side and buttocks in the 7300 block of South University Avenue in the Grand Crossing neighborhood, according to police, correcting earlier information that the boy was shot in the leg. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and his condition was stabilized. The boy told police that he was standing outside when a male attacker came up and shot him.

About 5:55 p.m. on the West Side, two men were shot while they were walking in the 1400 block of North Homan Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. One man, 18, suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was in fair condition at Stroger Hospital, while a second man, 20, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was in good condition at the same hospital.

About 4:15 p.m. on the South Side, a 16-year-old boy was wounded in the leg in a shooting 5200 block of South Damen Avenue in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, according to police. The boy went on his own to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was in good condition. The boy told police he was walking when he heard shots and felt pain.

Check back for updates.
A 31-year-old man was critically injured early Wednesday in a multi-vehicle crash in the city's Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago police said.

About 12:40 a.m., a 31-year-old man was driving in the 5800 block of South Michigan Avenue when he crashed into several other vehicles for unknown reasons, police said.

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He was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital to be treated for a head injury, police said. He was also unconscious and had breathing problems.

There weren't any other reported injuries, and the incident remains under investigation.
A 2-month-old boy from Northwest Indiana died this weekend from multiple injuries suffered in child abuse, the Cook County medical examiner's office determined Tuesday.

The infant, identified as Ayden Zylstra from Wheatfield, Ind., was pronounced at 9:12 p.m. Sunday at Comer Children's Hospital. His death was ruled a child abuse homicide following an autopsy Tuesday.

His parents, Dannae Zylstra, 18, and Michael Zylstra, 27, face felony drug and child neglect charges after the Jasper County Sheriff's Office searched a residence on March 2, according to Sheriff Terry Risner.

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"The investigation was due to a complaint received from the Department of Family Services in regards to an injury to an infant at said residence," Risner said in a news release.

During the search, deputies found at least eight items associated with drug use, some of which contained traces of cocaine, methamphetamine and a mixture of heroin and fentanyl.

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The next day, on March 3, deputies arrested Dannae and Michael Zylstra during a traffic stop.

Risner would not elaborate on the injuries to the child. Indiana child-protection officials did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.

The married couple faces felony charges of neglect of a dependent, maintaining a common nuisance, possession of a methamphetamine and possession of cocaine or narcotic drug and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia.

Michael Zylstra remains in the Jasper County Jail in lieu of $12,000 bail, according to officials. Dannae Zylstra has bonded out, Risner said.

"The neglect charges come from having the child in proximity to the narcotics," Risner said. "The investigation is ongoing, and one of our top priorities, obviously."
A man who beat his murder case when prosecutors failed to give him a speedy trial was killed minutes after leaving Cook County Jail on Monday night, according to authorities.



Kamari Belmont, 23, was being held on murder and robbery charges after he allegedly shot a man during a robbery and robbed another man a few hours later in 2015. The man he shot died weeks later.



Cook County prosecutors dropped the murder charges at the end of January after allowing too much time to elapse under the state's speedy trial statute, according to court records and Belmont's attorney. The robbery charges remained and Belmont was ordered held on a $100,000 bond.



At 5:30 p.m. Monday, a friend of Belmont posted the required $10,000 on the bond and Belmont was released at 11:12 p.m., according to jail officials.



Belmont was a few block from the jail when a white SUV pulled up to his car on California Avenue and someone inside started shooting, police said. Belmont was hit several times.



The SUV ran a red light as it sped off and crashed into a car near Interstate 55, police said. Those inside ran away. Belmont collapsed in the street and died at the scene.



"Oh my God, I can't believe it," said Belmont's attorney, Michael Johnson, who said he has known Belmont's family for more than two decades. He said he'd seen Belmont at the jail recently as the family put together the bail money.



"I told him, once he gets out he's got to get out of the neighborhood," Johnson said. "Unfortunately this isn't the first time I've seen this."



But Johnson said he didn't believe Belmont's killing was street justice. The armed robbery and murder weren't gang-related, Johnson said, and he didn't think it possible that word spread that quickly of Belmont's release from jail.



The shooting and robberies occurred on May 1, 2015. The person who was shot, Sorrell Marshall, 40, died three weeks later.



Belmont and another man, Terrance Hogan, 23, were arrested the night of the shooting and initially charged with attempted murder and armed robbery. The charges were not upgraded to murder until nearly a year later, in April 2016, according to a timeline compiled by jail officials.



It wasn't clear why prosecutors waited so long to file murder charges. However, Marshall's death was not immediately ruled a homicide by the Cook County medical examiner's office, which initially marked the case as pending further investigation.



But the clock under the speedy trial statute had started ticking with the attempted murder charges. The murder charges did not reset the clock because they were based on the same set of facts, according to a three-page motion from attorneys for Hogan and Belmont.



Prosecutors had no choice but to drop the charges, Belmont's attorney said.



A representative from Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office did not respond to a request for comment.



Marshall was shot after he dropped off his girlfriend near her apartment at 37th and Vincennes and parked when Belmont and Hogan tried to rob him, according to authorities. A struggle ensued, and Marshall was shot in the leg and the groin.



Belmont was arrested in Canaryville that night after he and Hogan held up a man in the South Loop, authorities said. A woman with the victim fled and flagged down a police car that tracked the phone to Canaryville.



Hogan was accidentally shot by police during the arrest, according to the police union at the time. He was arrested after he showed up at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center seeking treatment.
Members of the Chicago Police Department detain a man at the scene where a person purported to have a rifle inside an apartment near the intersection of South South Shore Drive and East 69th Street, Tuesday, March 7, 2017 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

A call of a man armed with a gun inside a South Shore apartment prompted the SWAT team to respond Tuesday evening to the 6900 block of South South Shore Drive, Chicago police said.

Neighbors crowded around a multi-story apartment building as police vehicles and members of the SWAT unit filled the street. A man wearing a white T-shirt and jeans with his hands constrained behind his back was ushered out of the building by police. Armed SWAT members huddled around the man for several minutes before he was led away.

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Criminal charges against the person who was taken into custody were pending as of Wednesday morning.

There weren't any reported injuries, police said.

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Residents appeared to remain inside the large eight-story apartment building as the situation unfolded late Tuesday, the glow from their televisions were visible from outside.

The House of Bing, a restaurant, occupied part of the building.

Just before 11 p.m., police vehicles left the neighborhood and motorists were allowed to travel on South Shore Drive.

Check back for updates.
SPRINGFIELD  Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday accused some of the state's top Democrats of orchestrating a "coordinated activity" to shut down state government, an idea called "delusional babble" by an aide to his top political nemesis.

Rauner's comments came the same day Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked the Illinois Supreme Court to stop workers' paychecks in the absence of a state budget. The previous day, the governor's administration lost a different court challenge to Comptroller Susana Mendoza over which state fund should be used to pay about 600 employees.

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The governor contended those actions by the Democratic officeholders are a united effort to bring havoc to state government and ultimately push a tax hike to help balance the budget. As Rauner often does, he blamed Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, the attorney general's father, for pulling the strings.

"This is clearly part of a coordinated activity, coordinated pattern between the attorney general, our comptroller and, frankly, our speaker, who coordinates it all, to create a crisis and shut down state government," Rauner said Wednesday morning.

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The trio of Democrats Rauner referred to pushed back shortly afterward. A spokesman for Speaker Madigan contended Rauner frequently makes accusations without providing any evidence.

"It's the sort of delusional babble that we hear more and more from him as the governor becomes more and more desperate," spokesman Steve Brown said.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Madigan said Rauner "is clearly desperate to shift blame onto anyone but himself. He needs to stop the baseless finger-pointing and do his job."

And Mendoza in a statement said, "on International Women's Day, Gov. Rauner accused me of taking my orders from the boys. There's only one person that tells me what to do and that's my mother. And today I honor her by continuing to stand up to him, the biggest bully in the state."

Even before the governor made his comments, the Illinois Republican Party that's funded largely by Rauner released a 15-second internet ad declaring the attorney general wanted to "cut off pay to state employees" and "shut down government" to help her father raise taxes and "protect their power."

The latest war of words came a day after Mayor Rahm Emanuel said of Rauner "the emperor wears no clothes," a spokeswoman for the governor responded saying "sounds like someone has a Napoleon complex," and Chance the Rapper tweeted: "This whole f------ thing is embarrassing to be honest."

The court battle that sparked Wednesday's comments followed Mendoza's move to pay roughly 600 employees out of specialized funds set aside for garage and facilities maintenance instead of the state's general checking account. Rauner opposed that change because his office had been using those funds to pay for day-to-day operations during the state's record-breaking budget impasse.

Late Tuesday, St. Clair County Judge Robert LeChien ruled in favor of Mendoza, saying "it is not unreasonable nor an abuse of discretion" for the comptroller to tap into the funds to pay employees.

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Rauner said Wednesday he disagreed with the ruling but will "honor it," saying "our state judges are sometimes part of the problem." Still, his administration appealed the decision later in the day, with a spokeswoman saying it followed the ruling by moving to make payroll even though it wants to keep up the court fight. The governor declined to elaborate on his criticism of the judiciary, saying that topic should be saved "for another day."

LeChien is the same judge who sided with Rauner last month after the attorney general argued that state employees should no longer be paid because the governor and lawmakers have failed to agree on a budget that gives the state the legal authority to cut paychecks.

The attorney general contended that her legal moves could put pressure on Rauner and lawmakers to strike an agreement. LeChien rejected that argument, saying he didn't want to create a game of chicken with state workers caught in the middle.

Attorney General Madigan on Wednesday asked the Illinois Supreme Court to take up the issue directly, which Rauner called an "end run" around the appellate court.

The attorney general's office said it was trying to expedite the process by going directly to the state's top court. Spokeswoman Maura Possley said the court's ruling has "allowed the governor and the legislature to continue to avoid the difficult decisions required of them to enact a budget."

"As a result, serious and irreparable damage has been done to the state and its universities, students, social service providers, nonprofit organizations and companies that provide goods and services to the state," she said in a statement.

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Asked Wednesday why he was fighting to ensure state workers get paid during the budget impasse but not on behalf of social service providers who've also sued after going months without pay, Rauner said there's "a difference" between those who work inside government and those paid by the state via contracts.

"Inside government, the folks are working every day," Rauner said. "There's a difference between being inside government and being outside government."

Chicago Tribune's Haley BeMiller contributed.

mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @moniquegarcia
Democratic Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday acknowledged a Republican plan to replace Obamacare could blow a huge hole in the county budget, but vowed to find the money to provide health care for hundreds of thousands of residents who could lose coverage.

Preckwinkle said the bill unveiled this week by House Republicans in Washington, "is not terribly encouraging; in fact, it's pretty discouraging." Particularly troubling, Preckwinkle said, is the GOP proposal to roll back the Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act.

"What we've seen thus far from the House of Representatives will ultimately result in fewer people having access to health care coverage, especially those who rely on expanded Medicaid," Preckwinkle told reporters after a county board meeting. "We can only hope that sanity prevails in the upcoming debate."

According to Dr. John Jay Shannon, the county health system's CEO, roughly 350,000 people in Cook County now get health insurance thanks to the Obamacare Medicaid expansion. Another 100,000 to 150,000 are insured through Obamacare marketplace plans, he said.

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In all, Preckwinkle said, county government's taxpayer subsidy to the health care system has gone down $289 million since 2010, "partly due to efficiencies but mostly due to the substitution of federal dollars for local dollars." Shannon has said about $200 million of that is due to Medicaid expansion.

It's not clear how much those expenses would go back up under the GOP proposal, and it's far from certain the plan will pass in its present form.

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Preckwinkle said the county would cover the added costs, but declined to say where she'd get the money. In recent years, Preckwinkle has pushed through a sales tax hike and a new sweetened beverage tax.

The two-term board president said the county health system has existed for almost 200 years, and "we're not going to turn our backs on that legacy. We will continue to provide the care that we've always provided. We'll have to find another way to do it."

Republicans have proposed per-capita health care spending similar to block grants as an alternative to the Medicaid expansion. That would be a particular problem here because Illinois gets relatively little federal matching money per capita compared with other states, Shannon said.

Preckwinkle said she spoke to Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner last week about the hit Illinois would take under the GOP plan and asked him to reach out to Republican members of the state's congressional delegation to urge them not to support rolling back the Medicaid expansion.

On Tuesday, Rauner said he had talked with fellow governors and members of the Trump administration about his concerns regarding Medicaid. His "first-blush read" was that Illinois "won't do very well under the changes that they're recommending, which is a big concern to me," Rauner said.

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @_johnbyrne
U.S. soldiers take their positions during a drill in the South Korean border city of Paju on March 7, 2017. (Jung Yeon-Je / Getty-AFP)

China on Wednesday proposed that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the U.S. and South Korea.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi likened escalating tensions between the North and Washington and Seoul to "two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way."

"The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" Wang told reporters. "Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains.

Wang said China proposes that as a first step to defusing the looming crisis, the North might suspend its nuclear and missile activities if the U.S. and South Korea halted their military exercises.

"This suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table," Wang said, describing the approach as trying to address all parties' concerns in a "synchronized and reciprocal" manner.

China has been stepping up pressure on North Korea, its once-close Communist ally, to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Last month, Beijing suspended all coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year.

China is North Korea's largest source of trade and aid, and the move deprives the North of an important source of foreign currency. Beijing wants the U.S. in return to restart long-stalled negotiations with North Korea to ease regional tensions.

Wang also urged South Korea to suspend deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system that he called a "wrong choice," saying it is the biggest problem hurting relations between Beijing and Seoul. On Tuesday, U.S. missile launchers and other equipment needed for the system arrived in South Korea.

Washington and Seoul say the system is defensive and not meant to be a threat to Beijing or Moscow. The U.S. military said THAAD can intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during the last part of their flights. China is opposed to the system, saying it would allow U.S. radar to peer deep into its territory and monitor its flights and missile launches.

"We urge some forces in South Korea not to keep insisting on taking this path, otherwise the result can only be damage to others and harm to yourself," Wang said.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump ended a circuitous search for the government's top advocate before the Supreme Court by nominating Washington lawyer Noel Francisco as the next solicitor general.

Francisco had originally been named as the number two in the solicitor general's office, which represents the federal government in appellate courts. He might be best known as the lawyer who represented former Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell last year when the Supreme Court unanimously overturned McDonnell's conviction on corruption charges.

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The solicitor general is considered to be one of the nation's best legal jobs, and the occupant is often referred to as the "10th justice." (Although Justice Elena Kagan, who held the job under President Barack Obama, joked that the court considered her more like "the 37th clerk.")

Although the legal world is intensely interested in the solicitor general's job, Francisco's nomination was announced Tuesday night in a White House news release along with other nominations. The job requires Senate confirmation.

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The small but elite solicitor general's office is staffed mostly by career attorneys, with only two political appointees. After Trump's election, Francisco was among a number of conservative lawyers considered for the post.

According to lawyers who followed the process, representatives of the Trump transition approached U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit - an influential judicial voice on the right - to see if he would be interested in the job. Apparently, the discussion of whether Kavanaugh would be willing to leave his lifetime appointment to the bench did not advance very far.

For a time, there appeared to be two front-runners. One was George Conway, a New York lawyer who received high marks from those in the Supreme Court bar and who is also married to Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. The other was Charles Cooper, a Washington legal fixture and confidante of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Cooper pulled out of consideration, and the Trump administration expanded its search. Among those interviewed last month were Washington lawyers Christopher Landau and Kannon Shanmugam, both of whom regularly argue before the Supreme Court.

Francisco, meanwhile, has been in the office since January in the principal deputy's job, and serving as the acting solicitor general. But he has had to recuse himself from some of the most important cases, such as the legal battle over Trump's first travel ban executive order, because his law firm Jones Day represented parties in the dispute.

Francisco was head of the firm's government regulation practice, and is a former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia. He keeps a bobblehead figure of the late justice on his desk, and like other now powerful figures - Chief Justice John Roberts and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, among them - was part of the team that represented President George W. Bush in the 2000 Florida presidential election recount.

From 2001 to 2003, Francisco served as associate counsel to the president, and from 2003 to 2005 he was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel.

He was raised in Oswego, N.Y., and both his undergraduate and law degrees are from the University of Chicago.

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Besides his win in the McDonnell case, Francisco has argued two other times at the Supreme Court. In Zubik v. Burwell, he represented religiously affiliated organizations that said providing contraception services for their female employees would implicate them in sin. They said the accommodation offered by the Obama administration was not adequate. The eight-member court split on the case, and sent it back to lower courts.

Francisco also successfully challenged the Obama administration's view of the president's recess appointment power in NLRB v. Noel Canning.

One complication to Francisco's nomination may be a law that limits the president's ability to nominate a person to a job in which he already serves in an acting capacity. A suit about the law was argued in November.

But there appear to be ways around the restriction, such as putting Francisco in another job first.
For the past decade, poachers have killed rhinoceroses in the wild and in protected reserves around the world at alarming rates, threatening the survival of four of the world's five rhino species.

The poaching is driven by a demand for rhino horns in southeast Asia that has grown nearly insatiable; so much so, experts say, that any living rhino - anywhere in the world - is now at risk of being killed.

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Perhaps no rhino death illustrates that threat more forcefully than the killing of Vince, a 4-year-old male white rhino who was slaughtered this week inside his enclosure at a zoo outside Paris. The rhino - discovered by his keeper at the Thoiry Zoological Park on Tuesday - now holds the ominous distinction of likely being the first rhino to be killed by poachers inside a zoo, experts said.

"This is the first time we've heard of it," said Crawford Allen, senior director of TRAFFIC North America, a regional office of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). "It's certainly the first time it's happened in Europe.

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"It's an incredibly shocking and distressing occurrence," he added. "It's also a game-changer for zoos. They've woken up today and realized their world has changed if they have live rhinos in their collection."

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Thoiry Zoological Park, which is 30 miles west of Paris, said its "entire staff is extremely shocked" by Vince's killing. The animal was born in a zoo in the Netherlands in 2012 and arrived at Thoiry in March 2015, the zoo said.

The zoo pinned the killing on criminals who forced open an outer gate outside the rhinoceros building overnight. The intruders then forced open a second metal door and broke open "an intermediate inner door" that allowed them access to the animal lodges, the zoo said.

Police told Reuters that Vince was shot three times in the head. One of the animal's horns was removed, probably with a chain saw, the zoo said.

"His second horn was only partially cut, which suggests that the criminals were disturbed or that their equipment proved defective," the zoo said. "The other two white rhinoceros living in Thoiry, Gracie aged 37 and Bruno aged 5 years, escaped the massacre and are safe."

"Vince was found this morning by [his] caretaker, who is very attached to the animals she cares for, and is deeply affected," the zoo added. "This odious act was perpetrated despite the presence of five members of the zoological staff living on the spot and surveillance cameras."

Just over a decade ago, a rhino horn was just a rhino horn - an innocuous piece of animal body armor made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up human hair and fingernails. Now a rhino horn is something else entirely for a new generation of wealthy buyers in China and Vietnam: a highly-coveted status symbol and a cancer-curing miracle drug and aphrodisiac whose legend is rooted in pseudoscience.

Depending on the species and the market, experts said, rhino horns are worth more than their weight in gold. Protected wildlife is the fourth largest form of criminal traffic in the world behind drugs, counterfeiting and human trafficking, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

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Global trade in rhino horn is banned by a U.N. convention, and its sale is illegal in France, according to Reuters, but as little as a kilo of rhino horn was worth about $54,000 on the black market in 2015.

By the early 1990s, the southern white rhino population plummeted to a few as 50 animals left in the wild, according to the conservation group Save the Rhino. The group said the animals' numbers have increased to about 20,000 after conservation efforts, but those numbers are once again falling due to a new wave of poaching since 2008.

According to new data published by the government of South Africa, 1,054 rhinos were poached in 2016. That number is down from a year earlier, when 1,175 rhinos were poached, a 10.3 percent decline. There have been more than 1,000 rhinos poached in South Africa for four consecutive years, the WWF notes.

"For 2016 there were a staggering 2,883 instances of poaching-related activities (such as poaching camps, contacts, crossings, sightings, tracks and shots fired) in the park, compared to 2,466 recorded in the same period in 2015," the South African government reported. "This is an increase of 16.9 percent. These criminal gangs are armed to the teeth, well-funded and part of transnational syndicates [that] will stop at nothing to get their hands on rhino horn."

Experts said the skyrocketing value of the horns led wildlife conservationists to begin warning several years ago about the likelihood of captive rhinos being targeted by poachers. The warning signs, they said, came in the form of a spate of rhino horn thefts from private collections and exhibitions.

With rhino killings increasing dramatically and private collections under threat, many experts decided it was "only a matter of time" before a killing inside a zoo occurred.

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On Tuesday, the warnings became all too real.

"I wish I was surprised, but these animals are so brutally targeted," said Cece Sieffert, deputy director at the International Rhino Foundation, which supports rhino conservation in African and Asia. "Wildlife crime is run by organized crime syndicates with very complex networks of middlemen moving rhino horns from Africa and India to networks in Southeast Asia. With the poaching crisis at such an alarming rate, it was sadly only a matter of time before these animals in zoos and other protected areas were targeted."

"It's absolutely heartbreaking for the keepers who devote their lives to taking care of these incredible animals," she added.

While the idea of killing a rhino inside a zoo may sound more daunting than selling heroin, Allen said that's not necessarily the way criminal gangs see things.

"It's really a no-brainer for these criminal groups," he said. "It's a low-risk, high-profit enterprise for them, and they can make as much money robbing a bank as they can killing a rhino with far, far less security."

The attack in France comes two weeks after two armed men stormed a rhino orphanage in South Africa, according to the Dodo. The men assaulted members of the staff before holding the group hostage and killing two baby rhinos for their horns, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the Thula Thula Rhino Orphanage.

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Suzie Ellis, executive director of International Rhino Fund, said the boldness of the latest attacks - which follows museums and private collections being targeted - is a sign that "zoological facilities need to take serious measures to keep their rhinos safe."

Allen said zoos need to do risk assessments as soon as possible. He also recommended upgrading security equipment to include thermal imaging cameras that can automatically identify humans, as well as hiring more security guards.

"The people who targeted the zoo in France have probably already checked out other zoos that they can target," he said. "Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a horrific wake-up call for things to change."
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan holds a news conference about the American Health Care Act outside his office in the U.S. Capitol March 7, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Republicans' new health-care bill is a mass transfer of wealth that cuts taxes for the wealthiest Americans while cutting federal benefits for the middle and working class.

Just two provisions in the Republican plan would allow the richest households to pay an average of nearly $200,000 less under the Republican plan, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

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For the lower-middle class, the plan would replace the current system of benefits based on income with a new system based on age. As a result, a young person making less money would get less help to buy insurance than an older person who is making more.

The GOP measure unwinds many of the provisions of Obamacare, which offered health insurance subsidies to millions of middle-income households and funded them in part through new taxes on the wealthy.

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Republican proponents of the bill argue that by eliminating regulations on health insurance, their legislation will reduce the price of coverage for the middle class, making up for the financial pain of reduced government support.

Some experts, however, are skeptical that the plan will work as intended.

"If the plan is successful in theory at lowering health insurance premiums, that's particularly a powerful economic benefit for low income people who struggle to afford health insurance," said Avik Roy, a former adviser to Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

But Roy added that those benefits will not make up for the reduced subsidies: "The regulatory changes are a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, they don't go far enough," he said. "That's going to cause problems for a number of people."

- For the rich

Wealthy Americans -- especially those households with incomes above $200,000 -- would be better off under the bill primarily because they would no longer pay two major taxes levied as part of the Affordable Care Act.

One is a tax of 0.9 percent on taxpayers earning more than $200,000 in wages and salaries a year, or $250,000 for married couples. Those households must also pay a surcharge of 3.8 percent on income from several kinds of investments. Together, these taxes are projected to raise $346 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The taxes aren't limited to the wealthy, but the wealthy would get the lion's share of the benefits of their repeal. The richest percentile of families pay 77 percent of the tax on high wages and salaries, and 90 percent of the tax on investments, according to the Tax Policy Center.

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And the very rich would fare even better. The center projects that the average household from the top 0.1 percent of income distribution would save $31,000 a year if the tax on high salaries were repealed, and another $165,000 each year without the tax on investments.

- For the middle and working class

At the same time, working- and middle-class households would no longer receive the same financial assistance that Democrats established to help them buy health insurance.

Under Obamacare, help was available in the form of health insurance subsidies to people with modest incomes -- those who are not legally impoverished, but who make less than about $48,000 for an individual taxpayer, or about $90,000 for a family of four.

Under the Republican plan, Americans would receive tax credits based primarily on their ages, not their incomes. Individual earners making less than $75,000 a year would receive a fixed benefit based on their ages, with older taxpayers receiving more because of the increased cost of insurance for older patients.

Taxpayers making more than that amount would receive a less generous credit, but those earning any amount less than that would receive the same payment as other people of the same age.

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As a result, a single 45-year-old earning as much as $75,000 a year could be better off under the Republican plan, since that taxpayer would not receive help under the current system, established under Obama.

Meanwhile, a single 45-year-old making half that amount would receive the same payment as the wealthier taxpayer of the same age. That payment might be less generous than the one she would receive in the existing system, depending on where she lives.

Roy pointed out that some provisions in the Republican bill could help the middle class financially.

For instance, the bill would repeal a tax on tanning beds, and it would further delay a tax on especially generous health-insurance plans. This tax, known as the Cadillac tax, often applies to plans that employers offer to members of unions.

Among households with roughly middling incomes, about 12 percent would enjoy a tax cut if the tax on these plans were repealed, according to the Tax Policy Center. For families that would benefit, the relief would be worth about $930 a year on average.

The Republican plan would also reduce taxes on health savings accounts, which some middle-class families use to prepare for medical expenses. This provision, however, would likely have greater benefits for wealthier families, who can save more and can better take advantage of savings accounts that are sheltered from taxes as a result.

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Also, the bill would eliminate some regulations on health-insurance plans that Democrats imposed. As a result, insurance companies would be able to offer less comprehensive but cheaper insurance. For some families, Roy said, those skimpier plans could be an opportunity to save money.

Roy warned, however, that those savings would likely not make up for the reduction in subsidies for taxpayers in the middle class and would leave many Americans unable to afford health care.

- For the poor

Finally, the plan would likely make Medicaid, the federal program that provides health insurance to the poor, less generous over the long term.

Obamacare gave states the option to expand the criteria for qualifying for Medicaid and offered federal funds to pick up the vast majority of the associated costs. Under the GOP plan, however, that expanded criteria for qualifying for Medicaid would go away after 2020, at which time states would not be able to enroll new or returning patients from the expanded criteria in the program.

Meanwhile, the federal Medicaid payments to states will be limited based on the number of residents in poverty and the prices of medical treatment.

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These limits will not be adjusted based on the average age of each state's residents or if states confront unexpected costs, said Aviva Aron-Dine, an economist who served as a health-care official in the Obama administration. As a result, the resources available to care for poor Americans could decline relative to what states would receive in the existing system, especially as the population ages.

On the whole, Aron-Dine said, the Republican bill would increase inequality, reducing taxes for the wealthy at the expense of affordable insurance for ordinary Americans.

"Millions of people are going to lose their health coverage," she said. "Millions or tens of millions of people are going to see higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs."
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said Tuesday that he had seen no evidence supporting President Donald Trump's claim that his phones were tapped by the previous administration.

But unlike many other members of Congress, Nunes did not demand that the administration explain the basis of Trump's accusation, saying that "we were going to look into it anyway."

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"The bigger question that needs to be answered is whether or not Mr. Trump or any of his associates were in fact targeted by any of the intelligence agencies or law enforcement authorities," Nunes told reporters Tuesday. Over the weekend, he announced that his committee would look into Trump's accusation delivered via Twitter that "Obama had my 'wires tapped' in

Trump Tower just before the victory."

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"At this point we don't have any evidence of that," Nunes said. "But we also don't have any evidence of many people who have been named in multiple news stories that supposedly are under some type of investigation."

The committee's ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff, Calif., also told reporters Tuesday that he was happy to look into the president's allegations - but warned that if they were proven false, accusing Obama of ordering an illegal wiretap could pose much bigger problems for Trump.

"We accept - we will investigate this," Schiff said, referring to another Trump tweet in which the president likened the alleged wiretap to a "Nixon/Watergate" style scandal.

"If a sitting U.S. president alleging that his predecessor engaged in the most unscrupulous and unlawful conduct . . . that is also a scandal, if those allegations prove to be false," Schiff said. "And we should be able to determine in fairly short order whether this accusation was true or false."

Nunes told reporters last week that he had seen no evidence of improper contacts between the Trump team and Russian officials. He repeated that assertion on Tuesday, stressing that it was common practice for incoming administrations to meet with diplomats.

He added that based on his understanding of the transcripts of calls between Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, there was nothing inappropriate or suspect about the substance of the conversation.

Nunes also questioned the official explanation for why Flynn's calls were recorded. Was it actually because of "incidental collection" - as the intelligence community has argued - "or was it something else?" he asked.

"It's important for us to know whether or not the Department of Justice or any other agency tried to get a warrant on anybody related to the Trump campaign - or any other campaign for that matter," Nunes said, explaining that the committee wanted to "verify" that the intelligence community was using its surveillance authorities "ethically, responsibly and by the law."

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Nunes may have a chance to grill intelligence community members about that on March 20, when he plans to hold an open hearing as part of the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.

The guest list for the hearing is formidable, but not entirely comprehensive: Nunes and Schiff agreed to invite FBI Director James Comey, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers, former CIA director John Brennan, former director of national intelligence James Clapper, former acting attorney general Sally Yates, and two senior officers of CrowdStrike - the company that found proof that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee.

Schiff said Tuesday that he plans "on asking the director of the FBI directly whether there was any wiretap directed at Mr. Trump or his associates" at the hearing.

But no one has been subpoenaed, and some names that have been prominent in the Russia allegations are missing from the list - including that of Flynn.

Nunes said that Flynn was a "tangent" to the investigation but that he would welcome Flynn's testimony if he wanted to participate.

All of the current and former officials invited to appear before the committee for its opening hearing were active during the waning months of the Obama administration when, Nunes and Schiff have argued, the committee chiefs should have been getting more complete briefings.

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"We are supposed to be kept up to speed on any pertinent counterintelligence investigations. If that did not occur last year, we need to understand," Nunes said. "We should have known that, if there was an actual investigation."
During these weeks leading up to St. Patricks Day, many of us feel just a little bit Irish.

Its easier to find your favorite Irish brew in the pubs, and theres Irish music just about everywhere. For those who want to dig a little deeper into Irish traditions, a visit to the east Wing of the Pennsylvania Capitol building will be in order. There visitors will find a special exhibit called The Face of Irish Music, which features 50 black-and-white portraits of Irish musicians.

The photographer, Robin Hiteshew, took the photos over last three decades. They capture the faces of Irish musicians who have played an important part in keeping Irish music traditions alive, many of them Irish immigrants.

Hiteshew is of Irish descent, but really didnt pay much attention to his heritage until the late 70s when he signed up for a class offered by the Philadelphia Ceili Group in Irish dancing. During the lessons, he heard traditional Irish music for the first time and fell in love with it.

Wanting to learn more he took, his first trip to Ireland. He also got more involved with the Ceili Group by joining the groups board of directors and also started producing many of their programs of Irish music, including the annual Traditional Irish Music and Dance Festival. In this capacity, he developed a relationship with many of the Irish musicians that played in the Philadelphia area, often providing them with lodging in his home.

Although he recognized that Irish music needs to be preserved through audio recordings, Hiteshew also felt that it was important to keep a visual record of the musicians. Through his work with the Philadelphia Ceili Group and his travels to Ireland, he met a large number of musicians who gave him permission to photograph them.

Through the years he has accumulated more than 2,500 images. Some of his favorites are portraits of well established musicians sitting next to younger performers. He says this attests to the on-going transmission and continuing influence of the musical tradition.

You know historically Irish musicians played mostly in their kitchens ... or in the pubs or for dances, he said. It was only later in the revival of the 1970s that there was this professionalization of folk musicians and we started seeing them on stage.

He explained that the Irish that immigrated to the United States did other jobs besides playing music professionally. But they brought their instruments and traditions with them, he said.

According to Hiteshew, the concept behind the exhibit was to show how the traditions traveled from Ireland, took root here with the immigrants and was passed on to other generations.

Sometimes it gets passed on through the children of immigrants, he said. Sometimes it is through their students.

Those familiar with traditional Irish music will recognize some familiar faces including Martin Wynn, Mary Black, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh, Frankie Kennedy, Brian Conway, Billy McComiskey, Paddy Keenan, Liz Carroll, Eileen Ivers, Joanie Madden, Sharon Shannon, Tommy Sands, Maire Ni Chathasaigh and James Keane.

The Face of Irish Music photo exhibit will be shown in the East Wing Rotunda of the Pennsylvania Capitol Building through March 20. The Capitol Building is located on 500 Commonwealth Ave., in Harrisburg. The building is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Reporting from Washington  House GOP leadership faced mounting opposition Tuesday after introducing an Obamacare repeal and replace bill that was rejected by small government conservatives, panned by Republican moderates and given only lukewarm support from President Trump.

One day after unveiling the GOP's long-promised effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something better, the new American Health Care Act already appears to be on life support, unlikely to survive the onslaught of friendly fire unless Trump personally rallies his party.

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But Trump's intervention looks uncertain. While the president embraced "our wonderful new healthcare bill" in an early morning tweet, he also suggested it's just a starting point "for review and negotiation"  opening the floodgates to alternative ideas and proposals that could take weeks to sort out.

Later, in a White House meeting with House Republicans, he offered a stronger endorsement, saying he was "proud to support" their plan and expected it to pass "very quickly."

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At the same time, though Trump is also accepting back-channel calls from conservative Republican opponents  including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)  who are warning him off legislation they view as nothing more than a revamped federal entitlement program. Conservative lawmakers are being backed by the Koch network, whose supporters rallied outside the Capitol on Tuesday, and other influential groups including Heritage Action and Club for Growth. They dismiss the GOP leadership's bill as "Obamacare 2.0" or "Obamacare lite."

"This is not the Obamacare repeal bill we've been waiting for," said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who is leading the GOP opposition with Paul and the House Freedom Caucus. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has also raised objections.

"We promised the American people we would drain the swamp and end business as usual in Washington. This bill does not do that," Lee said. "This is exactly the type of backroom dealing and rushed process that we criticized Democrats for, and it is not what we promised the American people."

For seven years Republicans have promised to end Obamacare, and after winning repeated congressional elections on their promise to repeal and replace the law, they were confident Democrats would have no choice but to join them.

But Democrats have shown no interest in the GOP bill, saying it would drop millions of Americans from healthcare coverage without offering them viable alternatives. Rather than being spooked by their November election losses, Democrats have been buoyed by the outpouring of support for Obamacare by constituents and protesters flocking to lawmakers' town hall meetings across the country.

"This Republican bill will do massive damage to millions of families across the nation," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the minority leader. She called it a "Make America Sick Again bill that hands billionaires a massive new tax break while shifting huge costs and burdens onto working families across America."

Without much backup, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) is nevertheless pressing forward with an ambitious committee hearing schedule Wednesday, ahead of an expected House vote this month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he expected passage in the Senate before the spring recess in April. But the GOP leaders are largely standing alone for now and will need more political muscle to heave the bill to passage.

The White House dispatched Vice President Mike Pence to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for his regular Senate Republican lunch and to meet with other GOP lawmakers, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told White House reporters he "looked forward" to working with critics on the bill. But it is increasingly clear Republicans will need more than the mild diplomacy of these two former congressmen to hammer resistant Republicans into line.

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Republicans can afford to lose no more than about 20 lawmakers in the House and two in the Senate under special rules that allow passage of the legislation with a simple majority. Trump's bully pulpit would provide a stronger nudge.

"I like the president's statement that it's up for negotiation," Paul said on Fox News, adding he spoke to Trump on Monday. "The negotiation will be conservatives saying, 'Hey, we're not going to take Obamacare lite.'"

The architects of the House bill  Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee  urged their colleagues Tuesday to give the bill a chance. They are also betting that few Republicans would want to be blamed for preventing the party's best chance to date at derailing Obamacare.

"We can act now or we can keep fiddling around and squander this opportunity," Brady said.

The Republican bill would dramatically revamp the Obamacare system by shifting healthcare costs away from the federal government and onto patients and states.

The GOP legislation ends the Obamacare subsidies that help some Americans buy health insurance and replaces them with monthly tax credits for consumers who buy their own insurance policies. Those credits, up to $14,000 a year for families, are phased out for individuals earning more than $75,000 a year or $150,000 for couples.

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The Republican plan also phases out, in 2020, the expansion of Medicaid that some states chose to participate in under Obamacare, halting the federal funding that helps states pay for healthcare for the poor and disabled.

Dismantling the Medicaid expansion is particularly worrisome to GOP senators from Ohio, West Virginia, Colorado and Alaska because they fear their states will be unable to provide health coverage for needy residents.

"I want to be sure that during that transition period people aren't left high and dry," Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told reporters.

The bill keeps some popular provisions of Obamacare, such as allowing young adults to remain on their parents' plans until they are 26. But it does away with others, including one that restricts insurers from charging older patients for policies three times more than for younger people. The GOP bill allows older customers to be charged five times as much.

A full accounting of the costs and numbers of people who will gain or lose coverage is expected soon from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and some lawmakers criticized GOP leaders for pressing forward without that complete assessment.

Other Republican lawmakers, though, said the GOP plan would require Americans to budget their money more wisely rather than rely on the government for help.

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The Republican plan will expand opportunities for Americans to sock more of their own money away into health savings accounts that can be used to pay for healthcare costs, they say.

"Americans [have] got to make a choice, and so maybe instead of getting that new iPhone ... they should invest in their own healthcare," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

@LisaMascaro

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A month before the election, President Donald Trump stood before a cheering crowd at a rally in northeast Pennsylvania and declared: "I love WikiLeaks!"

Back then, Trump loved anything that made his rival Hillary Clinton look bad - even if the information had been hacked, stolen or leaked. Trump repeatedly celebrated and shared information released by WikiLeaks, calling the anti-secrecy organization "a treasure trove." During a news conference last summer, Trump even urged Russia - which U.S. intelligence agencies believe has links to WikiLeaks - to look for tens of thousands of emails from Clinton's private server that were not handed over to the Justice Department.

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But now that he is in the White House, Trump is having to confront the threat of hacking, along with leaks from within his own administration - and, suddenly, he is not a fan. Trump and his aides have angrily railed against leakers, threatening to find and prosecute them and urging congressional allies to investigate, while being uncharacteristically quiet when it comes to WikiLeaks.

The latest sign of how the tables have turned came Tuesday when WikiLeaks announced that it had obtained a vast portion of the CIA's closely guarded cyberweapons and began posting files online. The breach could cause massive fallout among U.S. allies and poses a serious challenge for Trump, who has been feuding with the intelligence community over probes into alleged ties between his campaign and Russia.

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer declined to comment on the latest WikiLeaks dump during a briefing with reporters Tuesday, saying it "has not been fully evaluated." But moments later, Spicer did decry leaks generally, saying they "are threatening our national security."

"You're seeing the leaks happen over and over again that come out throughout the administration, throughout government and undermine national security," he said.

The president has said that the emails released by WikiLeaks during the campaign do not compare to the information now being leaked, some of which he says is classified.

"In one case, you're talking about highly classified information. In the other case, you're talking about John Podesta saying bad things about the boss," Trump said at a news conference last month, referring to Clinton's presidential campaign chairman whose private email account was hacked.

While the files being posted by WikiLeaks on Tuesday have yet to be authenticated, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that if the group "can hack the CIA, they can hack anybody." McCain also mocked Trump for belittling earlier hacks by suggesting that they were being carried out by "somebody in the basement of his mother's house smoking a cigarette in his underwear" rather than a foreign government. McCain said the White House needs to focus on the issue quickly.

"I'd like to see a greater emphasis, to tell you the truth," McCain said. "I really would. I'd like to see a greater emphasis."

For months, a variety of people have warned Trump that hacking is something that should always be condemned and never encouraged - even in a joking tone.

In July, WikiLeaks published thousands of emails from the Democratic National Committee. Days later, Trump scoffed at accusations that the Russians could have been involved with the hack, saying that it was "probably China, or it could be somebody sitting in his bed." He added that he hoped Russia had all of Clinton's emails, even the "beauties" that were deleted or were not turned over to the Justice Department.

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"I will tell you this, 'Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,'" Trump said, referring to messages that Clinton did not hand over because she and her team categorized them as personal. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happens."

Republicans rushed to denounce the comment, and Trump's running mate Mike Pence quickly issued a statement that read: "If it is Russia and they are interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences."

Months later, in October, Podesta's emails were hacked and then released by WikiLeaks. At the time, Podesta said the FBI was investigating the "criminal hack" as part of a wider inquiry into potential Russian cyberattacks - and he suggested Trump might have known about the hack ahead of time.

Trump and his associates have denied having anything to do with the hacks, although at a Jan. 11 news conference, Trump conceded that Russia was probably behind the hacks. He added that the Russians might have tried to hack the Republican National Committee but were unable to because it had "a very, very strong hacking defense."

"The Democratic National Committee was totally open to be hacked. They did a very poor job. They could have had hacking defense, which we had," Trump said. "They tried to hack the Republican National Committee, and they were unable to break through. We have to do that for our country. It's very important."

Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director for Clinton's 2016 campaign, said watching Trump decry leaks within his own administration after praising WikiLeaks during the campaign has been an exercise in the absurd.

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Now, she said, Trump may be forced to confront the consequences of normalizing a culture of leaks and hacks.

"He was playing with fire all during the campaign, and he's started to get burned," she said. "When you bring leaks and investigations into the political realm, you're playing with fire."

Robby Mook, Clinton's former campaign manager, said Tuesday that he hopes Trump finally realizes that the hacking that happened during the election is "an anti-American problem," not a partisan one, and needs to be investigated so it does not become a regular part of the political process.

"The problem at its core is that a country that our own Joint Chiefs of Staff said was our greatest enemy and greatest threat to our security stole information from one of our national political parties and used it against one of the candidates," Mook said, referring to Russia. "Do I believe that this is going to come back to haunt the Republicans? Absolutely, I do."

The Washington Post's Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.
Audri Adams, who directed public relations for hotels in Chicago, was a longtime friend of the late Chicago columnist Irv Kup Kupcinet and was a member of Kups Saturday luncheon group. (Family photo)

Audri Adams, former director of public relations for the Ambassador hotels in Chicago and a lively presence on the Chicago scene, was as well known in local circles as many of the celebrities she dealt with during their stays in Chicago.

She was a longtime friend of the late Chicago columnist and TV talk show host Irv "Kup" Kupcinet and was a member of Kup's Saturday luncheon group, which still meets regularly more than a dozen years after Kup's 2003 death.

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"Irv Kupcinet and friends would have lunch every Saturday, and she was part of that group," said Samantha "Ryan" White, who first met Adams a decade ago while serving the group at Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse.

"She had a long and active public relations practice," said Joseph Morris, another member of the luncheon group. "She worked in-house for a couple of major hotels, the Sherman House and the Ambassador hotels, handling publicity, plus the care and feeding of celebrities who were guests."

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Adams, 94, died of natural causes Feb. 16 at Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago, according to Morris. She lived for decades in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

She was born Audrey Adams  she later changed the spelling to Audri  in the small town of Clarion, in north-central Iowa. She and her family later moved to California, and she grew up there.

She graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. In school, she was a competitive debater, developing skills and experience that were apparent in her easy ability to talk with people from all walks of life.

At the end of World War II, she came to Chicago in search of professional opportunities, Morris said, and soon found friends in her new hometown.

"She just collected enormous circles of friends," Morris said. "If she met you, she remembered your name, she remembered your face."

Morris said she also remembered a friend's family and concerns and was likely to attend friends' family events, happy or sad. "She supported her friends on foot and on the phone," he said.

She did public relations work for the Pump Room at the Ambassador East Hotel, which later became the Public Chicago. She also worked in the old Sherman House and its College Inn and later worked for the InterContinental hotel.

Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor, on at least one visit to Chicago, was said to have called Adams' boss to ask that she be excused from work to go shopping with Taylor.

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Morris said another story concerned an overserved patron in one of the hotel watering holes who was giving Adams a hard time. She told friends she was rescued by the late Frank Sinatra, who stepped in to defuse the situation and whom she described at the time as "acting like a perfect gentleman."

In addition to her professional work, Adams supported several Chicago cultural organizations. She also worked to honor her late brother, who served in the Air Force, by helping veterans and members of the military through her support of the United Service Organizations and other groups.

"She was a stunningly attractive person into her 90s," Morris said. "In her youth she had been a fashion model, and in her 90s she continued to turn heads, both for her style and for her friendship."

She leaves no immediate survivors.

Plans are being made for a late spring celebration of her life.

Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter.
President Donald J. Trump walks toward Marine One to depart the White House en route to Langley Air Force Base on March 2, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Olivier Douliery / TNS)

When rocker Tom Petty found out Republican George W. Bush was blaring his song "I Won't Back Down" at campaign rallies in 2000, he sent a cease-and-desist letter. Maybe the reason Donald Trump avoided the song in his campaign is that he didn't want similar trouble. Or maybe it's because he will, in fact, back down.

After a federal court blocked his February travel ban, Trump tweeted, "See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake!" From that bold declaration, you would expect him to fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. But he didn't. On Monday, he caved in and issued a new travel ban designed to appease the judiciary.

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Backing down is not a departure from his usual style. It is his usual style. Trump is not a guy who can be counted on to stand his ground. Often, he crumbles under the slightest pressure.

Ask the Chinese. Shortly after he was elected, he took a call from the president of Taiwan, in defiance of the long-standing U.S. policy of recognizing only one China. Then, when the Beijing government took offense, he snapped back on Twitter, asking, "Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency?"

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Conservatives applauded his manly bravado. Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said Trump was alerting the Chinese that "nobody in Beijing gets to dictate who we talk to."

Actually, somebody in Beijing does. His name is Xi Jinping. He's the president of China, and he refused to speak with Trump on the phone until he agreed to eat his words. As China's government media reported, Trump tamely assured Xi that "the U.S. government adheres to the one China policy."

Sean Spicer did his best to mask the humiliating retreat. Asked whether the president had gotten anything in return, the press secretary insisted, "The president always gets something." Of course he does. In this instance, he got a lesson in the ancient Chinese art of kowtowing.

The surrender came as no surprise to anyone who watched him during the campaign, or after. After months of promising his supporters that he would build a border wall at Mexico's expense, he paid a visit to President Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico City and, at a news conference afterward, admitted he didn't even raise the topic: "We didn't discuss payment of the wall."

In fact, Pena Nieto said later that during their session, he informed his guest that Mexico would not pay for it. Only when he was safely back across the Rio Grande did Trump dare to repeat that our neighbor will foot the bill.

During his second presidential debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump informed her, "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation, because there has never been so many lies, so much deception." He hasn't.

After his boast about grabbing women by the genitals came out on video, several women came forward to accuse him of groping or kissing them without their consent. He denied it and announced, "All of these liars will be sued after the election is over." When is that lawsuit going to be filed?

Probably right after he finishes fighting the lawsuit against Trump University. Oh, wait  he has already finished that fight, by capitulating.

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"I don't settle cases," he said last year about the dispute. "Watch how we win it." But in the end, Trump agreed to pay $25 million to the people accusing him of fraud.

Idle threats are his specialty. Last year, he pledged to "immediately terminate President Barack Obama's two illegal executive amnesties," one of which allowed people who were illegally brought here as children to stay and work. But that order is still in place, to the disgust of anti-immigration groups. "His thinking is: 'We don't have to deal with this right now,'" Spicer said in February. Oh, you thought "immediately" meant "right now"?

On torture, NATO, seizing Iraq's oil and the Iranian nuclear deal, Trump's Cabinet officers have contradicted him  and he has let them. When confronted by people with sturdy backbones, Trump has real trouble backing up his fierce words. And he is finding it harder to intimidate political opponents and foreign leaders than he expected.

We've all heard of the wolf in sheep's clothing. More often than not, Trump is a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Steve Chapman, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/chapman.

Download "Recalculating: Steve Chapman on a New Century" in the free Printers Row app, available at www.printersrowapp.com.

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schapman@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @SteveChapman13

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Chicago police investigate the scene where six people were wounded in a shooting near the corner of St. Lawrence and 75th Street on Jan. 25, 2017 in Chicago, Ill. A crowd was gathered inside the restaurant for a vigil for Jamayah Fields, who had been killed earlier in the week. (Eric Clark / TNS)

What in the world is wrong with us in Chicago? How many lives must be lost before we mobilize to end the insane carnage in our streets? A thousand deaths a year? Two thousand?

A year ago, I unsuccessfully ran for Cook County state's attorney because I was fed up with our complacency toward gun violence. I told voters that elected officials, fearful that bold action would threaten their re-election, paid lip service to the problem and precious little else.

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Sadly, nothing has changed. Our South and West sides continue to be victimized by shooters, and the city is on pace for another year of near-record gun violence. Gangs have added military-type weapons to their armory. Police have been making fewer traffic stops.

Parents are living in a veil of tears, unarmed against the violence that threatens the lives of their children, paralyzed by their distrust of authorities, exhausted by promises from elected officials and frustrated by a criminal justice system that fails to prosecute gun offenders.

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It is time for a radical response. Time to stop talking and start doing. Time to take steps to clear the air of gunshots so our lofty plans for more police and more jobs can seed and grow rather than wither from the spray of automatic weapon fire.

Sure, last week Chicago went six days without a fatal shooting. But there were two-dozen nonfatal shootings that we can't ignore. Two-dozen people who dodged death.

Most Chicagoans, particularly those who live in killing fields like Englewood and North Lawndale, may be unaware of an experiment that virtually stopped the bleeding for one blessed weekend in November 2016.

On those amazing few days, Chicago police, Cook County sheriffs, state police and federal agents saturated the three most dangerous police districts in the city. Shooters were silenced. Open-air drug markets closed. Gangs couldn't loiter at liquor stores, vacant lots and viaducts.

The strategy worked. The killing ceased. That weekend there was exactly one shooting  one  in the area under patrol.

If we are truly serious about ending gun violence, we need this kind of bold action. We have to unpack the plan created by Robert Milan, former first assistant state's attorney in the Cook County state's attorney's office, and former deputy U.S. Marshal Jim Smith.

The mission: crush the violence with a six-month saturation deployment of law enforcement that mirrors the November 2016 weekend experiment.

But we live in a city that is broke. We don't have the money or the manpower to repeat the tactic, let alone sustain it.

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Worse, perhaps, we don't seem to have the courage to swallow our pride and our politics to keep our people alive. Why else would Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council reject the idea of seeking assistance from the Illinois National Guard?

In fact, the city should ask that guardsmen be deployed, along with local police, to the South and West sides, not to militarize them, but to restore public safety and save lives.

Some will read this and dismiss my idea because it suggests meeting force with force. To be honest, three years ago I might have been in the chorus of objectors.

With 766 homicides in 2016, there is blood on our hands, and complacency is the killer. We simply must act.

Otherwise, Chicago becomes the personification of a quote by the late Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel: "Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies."

Donna More is a former prosecutor who ran for Cook County state's attorney in 2016. She is a managing partner of law firm Fox Rothschild in Chicago.

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Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, of Evergreen Park, was convicted of lying about her role in terrorist bombings in 1969 in order to obtain U.S. citizenship. (Carlos Osorio / AP)

President Donald Trump signed a revised executive order Monday, reinstating a U.S. ban on visas for citizens from six Muslim-majority countries and halting the U.S. refugee program for 120 days. On the same day, Israel issued a travel ban of its own, barring any foreigner who publicly supports the call by Palestinian civil society to boycott Israel or its illegal settlements until Palestinians have equal rights.

The timing of these two bans suggests the U.S. and Israeli governments share values of racism and Islamophobia. It was, after all, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who heaped praise on Trump's idea for a border wall, citing the success of Israel's. And Trump had nice things to say during the presidential campaign about Israel's use of racial profiling, a tactic he thought maybe the U.S. ought to bring back.

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I am of Syrian-Jewish descent, and so these bans have a particular significance for me. During the Holocaust, the American government turned many Jewish refugees away, arguing that they posed a national security threat. President Trump, with his revised executive order, risks repeating history by turning away refugees.

Meanwhile, Israel's travel ban expands the denial of entry Palestinians and Arabs already often face to now include any noncitizen who supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Given the growing number of Jewish BDS supporters, it will be interesting to see how Israel reconciles this travel ban with its laws that grant automatic citizenship and entry to Jews.

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As a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, a national, grass-roots human rights organization, I am proud to fight for equal rights and justice for all people against the Trump and Netanyahu agendas.

At the end of March, hundreds of people are expected to gather in Chicago for JVP's National Member Meeting. The convening will focus on challenging Islamophobia, police brutality and other forms of militarism in the U.S. and Israel, bringing together leaders from across progressive social movements to discuss the way forward for human rights advocates under the Trump administration.

But the participation of one community leader in particular has garnered some controversy: Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, the associate director of the Chicago-based Arab American Action Network. As a leader in the Arab-American community, Odeh developed the Arab Women's Committee, a female collective aimed at promoting leadership among Arab immigrant and Arab-American women. Her experience as a target of U.S. and Israeli repression makes her a crucial voice on the fights ahead against Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism.

Odeh's story is a story of Palestinian resistance  of unjust targeting by the security state, political imprisonment and resilience. When she was 21, Odeh was convicted of participating in a 1969 bombing in Israel that killed two civilians.

After 10 years in prison, Odeh was released through a prisoner exchange, subsequently testifying before a United Nations committee about the physical and psychological torture she says she underwent in Israeli custody, including sexual abuse by her interrogators in front of her father. She has denied any role in the bombing and maintains that a confession she signed was forced.

This treatment is not unusual. Israel regularly uses administrative detention to hold Palestinians without charge for extended periods of time. In its most recent report on human rights, published earlier this year, Amnesty International reported that "torture and other ill-treatment of detainees remained rife and was committed with impunity."

Odeh's confession in the 1969 bombing is now a factor in a case against her playing out in a U.S. federal court. She is accused of omitting information about her past conviction on U.S. immigration forms in 1995 and again in 2004. She was found guilty in 2014, but after an appeal a retrial is scheduled for May.

Without hesitation, Jewish Voice for Peace stands in solidarity with Odeh, a committed advocate for social justice who has worked for the empowerment of Arab women over the course of more than 40 years. In the face of immense repression, Odeh has stood up against an unrelenting campaign waged to silence her, and has continued to fight for our collective liberation. It is because of our belief in the Jewish value of tzedek (justice) that we are proud to host Odeh.

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Eli Massey is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Here's what's scariest about last week's incident at Middlebury College in Vermont, where protesters shouted down the social scientist Charles Murray and injured a professor who was escorting him from the venue: It felt like an everyday event. So common has such odious behavior become that it's tempting to greet it with a shrug.

According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, 2016 saw a record number of efforts to keep controversial speakers from being heard on campus  and that's just in the U.S. To be sure, not all of the attempts succeeded, and the number cataloged, 42, is but a small fraction of the many outsiders who give addresses at colleges and universities each year. The real number of rejected speakers is certainly much higher, once we add in all the people not invited in the first place because some member of this or that committee objects to their views, or because campus authorities fear trouble. But even one would be too many.

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I could write a paean to the vital importance of dialogue, both on campus and in a democracy, but I have done that before, sometimes at considerable length. I could remind the loud and increasingly violent mobs of campus censors that the university should be a space where even outrageous ideas are treated with respect, and the mode of opposition is rational dialogue. I could warn them that their fits are increasing the chances of President Donald Trump's re-election. Or that people not blessed with the opportunity to attend an elite college might begin lining up behind Trump's impish suggestion after the University of California at Berkeley riot that campuses where invited speakers are turned away be denied federal funds. And I might point to the risk that states will adopt such rules as the Campus Free Speech Act, allowing someone whose speech was restricted to sue colleges and universities for damages.

But I won't. I will assume that the downshouters, as we might as well call them, are aware of the risks, and that they have no more interest in the traditional purpose of the campus than they have in the man in the moon. I have no reason to suppose that anything I say will dissuade them from acting so deplorably.

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Instead, I want to say a word about the ideology of downshouting. Students who try to shut down debate are not junior Nazis or proto-Stalins. If they were, I would be content to say that their antics will wind up on the proverbial ash heap of history. Alas, the downshouters represent something more insidious. They are, I am sorry to say, Marcusians. A half-century-old contagion has returned.

The German-born Herbert Marcuse was a brilliant and controversial philosopher whose writing became almost a sacred text for new-left intellectuals of the 1960s and 1970s. Nowadays, his best-known work is the essay "Repressive Tolerance." There he sets out the argument that the downshouters are putting into practice.

For Marcuse, the fact that liberal democracies made tolerance an absolute virtue posed a problem. If society includes two groups, one powerful and one weak, then tolerating the ideas of both will mean that the voice and influence of the strong will always be greater. To treat the arguments of both sides with equal respect "mainly serves the protection and preservation of a repressive society." That is why, for Marcuse, tolerance is antithetical to genuine democracy and thus "repressive."

He proposes that we practice what he calls a "liberating" or "discriminating" tolerance. He is quite clear about what he means: tolerance against movements from the right, and tolerance of movements from the left. Otherwise the majority, even if deluded by false consciousness, will always beat back efforts at necessary change. The only way to build a "subversive majority," he writes, is to refuse to give ear to those on the wrong side. The wrong is specified only in part, but Marcuse has in mind particularly capitalism and inequality.

Opening the minds of the majority by pressing one message and burdening another "may require apparently undemocratic means." But the forces of power are so entrenched that to do otherwise  to tolerate the intolerable  is to leave authority in the hands of those who will deny equality to the workers and to minorities. That is why tolerance, unless it discriminates, will always be repressive.

Marcuse is quite clear that the academy must also swallow the tough medicine he prescribes: "Here, too, in the education of those who are not yet maturely integrated, in the mind of the young, the ground for liberating tolerance is still to be created."

Today's campus downshouters, whether they have read Marcuse or not, have plainly undertaken his project. Probably they believe that their protests will genuinely hasten a better world. They are mistaken. Their theory possesses the same weakness as his. They presume to know the truth, to know it with such certainty that they are comfortable  indeed enthusiastic  at the notion of shutting down debate on the propositions they hold dear. Marcuse, as I said, was a brilliant philosopher, but on this question he was simply wrong. My own old-fashioned view is that a "truth" that will not debate is a truth that deserves to lose.

Of course the actions of the downshouters might be a signal instead of weakness and uncertainty, not confidence. Perhaps when they object to the airing of views they find disagreeable, they are worried that the other side would outstrip them in a set argument. If so, they should find ways to strengthen their case.

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Either way, Marcuse lives. The downshouters will go on behaving deplorably, and reminding the rest of us that the true harbinger of an authoritarian future lives not in the White House but in the groves of academe.

Bloomberg

Stephen L. Carter is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include "The Emperor of Ocean Park" and "Back Channel," and his nonfiction includes "Civility" and "Integrity."
Chance the Rapper and Gov. Bruce Rauner speak about their meeting regarding Chicago Public Schools funding at the Thompson Center in Chicago on March 3, 2017. (Zbigniew Bzdak and Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) (Zbigniew Bzdak And Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

We weren't in the room when Chance the Rapper met with Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday, but we can imagine the awkward scene: A 61-year old business guy from Winnetka trying to connect with a 23-year-old rap artist from West Chatham, both steeped in good intentions but partitioned by generational, political and social differences.

Rather than establish common ground, the meeting apparently devolved into a patriarchal lesson from Rauner on his passion to improve education and Democrats' efforts to block him. Chance described the meeting as more of a lecture than a potential partnership. The governor said he looked forward to working with Chance (not on music, we hope).

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Our hypothesis of how the meeting went down:

Rauner: Chance, I tried to work with the Democrats, but they reneged on a broader pension deal, which meant I had to veto that money for Chicago Public Schools, which has dug its own grave by not fundin' its own pensions, and I'm for charter schools and have given a lot of money toward school reform, but Speaker Madigan "

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Chance: Dude. Just fix it.

When reporters caught up with Chance later near the James R. Thompson Center elevators, he looked bewildered and bothered, admitting he doesn't know much about the political back story of CPS funding but also doesn't really care. He just wants to help kids. Why doesn't the governor?

Chance followed up Monday with a $1 million check for CPS, a plan to give individual schools more money, and a jab at Rauner to "do your job."

We applaud Chance for his activism. The more pressure to help Chicago kids, to improve results at CPS, to close the gap in funding statewide between wealthy and poor school districts, the better.

But that inequity  built into a school funding model that relies on property taxes  has been worsening for 20 years, not just the two since Rauner's inauguration. Illinois legislators have had the power to change the formula in the dozen years after 2002 when Democrats won the governorship plus majorities in the House and Senate.

Chance the Rapper makes a ceremonial donation of $1 million to Chicago Public Schools on March 6, 2017, at Westcott Elementary School in Chicago's West Chatham neighborhood. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Instead, Democrats let the gap in funding widen. They've had task forces and news conferences and recommendations and hearings and white papers. But no results. The last school funding proposal to gain some steam got out of the Senate but never even got a hearing in the Democratic-controlled House.

That history never seems to make its way into news conferences when schools CEO Forrest Claypool blames Rauner for a "racist" school funding formula.

And let's not forget the role of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The legislature gave Chicago's mayor control over the city's public schools, including unprecedented financial flexibility, in 1995. No one in state or city government is more accountable for the condition of the city's schools than its mayors. Period.

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Yet when the bully pulpits of Emanuel, Claypool and Democrats in the legislature conform into one unified, towering phalanx, no wonder Chicagoans, including Chance the Rapper, join the cacophony of blaming the Republican governor.

We appreciate that Chance is genuinely concerned about Chicago schools. Come sit by us. It's clear he is humbled by his success, disinterested in the braggadocio of the music industry, pained by violence in his hometown and sincere in his activism. Which didn't start last week, by the way.

He was raised in middle-class West Chatham and attended the selective enrollment high school Jones College Prep. When he did get caught up in the partying atmosphere of the West Coast music industry, he made his way back to Chicago to reconnect with his core. This city grounds him.

We would only suggest he turn his sights toward the other power players who have not addressed school funding inequity for Chicago's children  for Illinois' children. That would be the 177 lawmakers in Springfield; the dozens of City Council members who could pressure their fellow Democrats; Claypool, who likes to bash Rauner but is silent about his own party; and Emanuel, who appoints every member of the CPS board that runs the schools day to day.

We're just warning you, Chance. You're going to be extremely busy in 2017 if your heart stays invested in improving the schools. You're going to need another scheduler. Because many other people need to hear your pointed criticism, not just the 61-year-old business guy from Winnetka.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
House Republicans delivered a long-promised Obamacare replacement Monday night. It's a strong bid to replace an increasingly feeble law. President Donald Trump tweeted his support for the "wonderful new" bill. Some other Republicans are in open revolt.

Let's slow down here. There are some huge blanks still to be filled in: Will people lose coverage because they won't be able to afford it as premium subsidies shrink, as critics claim? Will the plan cost the federal government more or less than an increasingly shaky Obamacare would? Health economists are busy at their calculators, so answers to those and other key questions should be forthcoming soon.

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But that's only part of the way Americans should evaluate the pros and cons of this proposal. Many Americans now have Obamacare coverage in name only  that is, their insurance is expensive and almost useless because of explosively high deductibles or because the networks of doctors and hospitals is too narrowly drawn. Insurers are fleeing the program. And Americans are livid about higher premiums and deductibles.

Put another way: America's choice isn't between an ideal vision of Obamacare and this or some other replacement. Obamacare is coming apart at the seams.

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So what does the GOP proposal do to fix that?

It frees American businesses and individuals from the mandate to buy or provide coverage or pay penalties. In its place, more personal responsibility: Those who don't buy insurance, or who let their coverage lapse, can be charged more to buy later  a flat 30 percent late enrollment surcharge. That's a smarter and fairer system than letting people sign up for no added charge after they're sick.

Also jettisoned would be the metal plans (gold, silver, bronze). In their place, more flexibility for insurers to offer different cost-sharing packages (including, we hope, more affordable copays and deductibles) to consumers. That could help reduce costs for some Americans.

The GOP plan preserves some of Obamacare's most popular features. It allows parents to keep their children on policies until age 26. It prohibits insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Good.

 One of the biggest battles is shaping up over the millions of people who have gained coverage via Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, including some 650,000 new beneficiaries in Illinois. Generous Obamacare federal assistance enticed Illinois and many other states to massively expand their rolls. The new GOP plan phases out that increased federal assistance in 2020. After that, states could continue to provide expanded coverage, but presumably would be on the hook for substantially more of the cost. Some GOP leaders fear Republicans will be blamed if millions lose Medicaid coverage. But we think lawmakers in Springfield and elsewhere should be motivated to start reining in Medicaid costs.

This Republican plan  titled the American Health Care Act  isn't a done deal. Far from it. It's already taking flak not just from Democrats who oppose repeal, but also fusillades of friendly fire from Republican conservatives who want a complete repeal of Obamacare.

"This is not the Obamacare repeal bill we've been waiting for. It is a missed opportunity and a step in the wrong direction," said Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Tuesday. His colleague Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has derided this plan as "Obamacare Lite!" Ouch.

Democrats, meanwhile, said the plan would force millions of Americans to pay more for less care. That strikes us as a premature judgment: This plan has so many moving parts that bold predictions are little more than conjecture. The Democrats want to defend their president's signature legislation. They know that, fairly or not, millions of Americans are nervous about the prospects of losing health insurance.

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But as noted, the alternative to the Republican plan is not to preserve Obamacare as enacted in 2010. The health coverage scheme that law established is collapsing.

As the debate continues, many Americans will compare their current coverage and subsidies and decide for themselves if they would be better or worse off under the Republican plan. Let's see whether insurers say this plan would let them craft policies that people want and can afford.

For years Republicans have told voters that, given the chance, they would replace Obamacare with a more affordable, less onerous system. Their opening bid moves in that direction. Let the tussle to improve and pass it begin.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
As an Illinois resident and taxpayer, I am appalled that the only solution to the budget crisis is to raise taxes on an already overtaxed population. Our elected officials need to sit down and develop a budget that lives within the current amount of tax income. I have seen little to no serious effort to "scrub" the current government bureaucracy and governmental expenditures to find ways to reduce expenditures and therefore live within the current tax revenues.

One such example would be to trim inefficient, unnecessary or duplicate offices and personnel. But to do that there must be studies on which are inefficient, unnecessary and/or duplicative, and that will take some effort which seems to not be part of the discussions. If the study is made, I am sure there will be areas that can be cut or reduced enough to save enough money to not have to raise taxes. But legislators need to be willing to do just that, which does not seem to be the case.

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I and my fellow Illinoisans cannot afford another tax hike. We want lawmakers to balance the budget through structural reforms. The way it currently is being done is not normal and must change immediately.

 Ernie Peters, Edwardsville, Ill.
Lower-than-normal water levels at Childrens Lake in Boiling Springs wont affect how many fish will make it into the water ahead of trout season, according to the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission.

Eric Levis, communication director for the commission, said the water level at Childrens Lake is about 2 feet below normal levels, but that will not impact the number of trout that will be stocked in the lake. Trout stocking is still on schedule to be completed on March 21, ahead of the April 1 opening day of trout season in Cumberland County and other southeastern counties.

The stocking will also be before the March 25 Mentored Youth Trout Day, where children and adult mentors can fish in advance of the regional opening day of trout season.

Though the number of trout will be the same, Levis said commission officials have yet to determine if the water level will affect whether boats will be allowed to launch at the lake. Levis said the commission will visit the lake Thursday to look more closely at the launch site to make that determination.

Commission engineers will also meet with legislators and South Middleton Township representatives Thursday to answer questions about the ongoing work at the lake.

Work addressing water piping issues at Childrens Lake stalled in August 2016 after a portion of the lakes retaining wall collapsed while commission crews were working on a wall to help prevent water from infiltrating the ground around it.

The commission had a consultant report on options for a permanent solution to the problem, and Levis said the commission has reviewed the report and met with the state Department of Environmental Protection to discuss the necessary repairs to bring the dam into compliance and obtain the operational permit.

Levis said the estimate for the required work is $1.8 million.

He said the next step will be to identify a funding source for the project, which the commission expects will take at least four years to complete.

In the meantime, the water level at the lake will be held at its current depth, Levis said.

Commission engineers will answer questions about funding options, the timeline and expectations when they meet with the township, Levis said.
I have known Rasmieh Yousef Odeh for more than a decade and, knowing her story, have admired her resilience and grace under pressure. She is a beloved member of her community, and hundreds of new immigrants have depended on her for support as they make their way into American society.

As a long-time member of Jewish Voice for Peace, I take issue with Peggy Shapiro's depiction of this organization as anti-Semitic in her Monday op-ed "The problem with inviting Rasmieh Yousef Odeh to speak." Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic. In fact, Jewish values demand that Jews of conscience speak out against Israel's brutal violation of Palestinian human rights. Furthermore, defending Israel's oppression of Palestinians only breeds contempt for Jewish people around the world. It is time for American Jews and our organizations to stop defending Israel's unconscionable treatment of Palestinian

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 Lynn Pollack, Evanston
A big show at the United Center, a hilarious exploration of Scientology and a group of stand-up comedians trying their hand at film criticism can all be found across Chicago this week. Pick your laughing pleasure.

Thursday, March 9

Rat Pack Comedy: I Get a Laugh Out of You

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Holiday Club

4000 N. Sheridan Road 773-348-9600

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Kahlil Wilson hosts and Sammy Arechar headlines this stand-up showcase with a retro twist. The evening also features J. Tyler Menz, Meredith Kachel, Samantha Berkman, Blake Burkhart, music by Casey Ritchell and $5 "draft goblets." 8 p.m. Free. More information: ratpackcomedychicago.com

Friday, March 10

Squeeze My Cans

Greenhouse Theater Center

2257 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-404-7336

For all those who've fallen victim to the rabbit hole that is Scientology documentaries on streaming services, this just-extended one-woman show offers up a chance to get all the fascinating details on the controversial belief system in the flesh from an actual former Scientologist, Cathy Schenkelberg. Yes, Tom Cruise's name does come up. 7:30 p.m. $25. Tickets: greenhousetheater.org

Saturday, March 11

Stand Up Critic

The Playground Theater

3209 N. Halsted St. 773-871-3793

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Comedians put on their critic hats for this live film criticism show where the reviewers don't know what movie they'll be reviewing ahead of time and have to comment on the spot. This week's lineup includes Luke Taylor, Chris Higgins, Patrick Lynch, Dan Shea and Conner King, plus host Michelle Spies. 7 p.m. $10, $5 with a student ID. Tickets: theplaygroundtheater.com

The Comedy Get Down Tour

United Center

1901 W. Madison St. 312-455-4500

Comedy titans George Lopez, Cedric "The Entertainer," Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley and Charlie Murphy's buzzy national tour makes a stop at the United Center. 8 p.m. $49.75-$89.75. Tickets: ticketmaster.com

Wednesday, March 15

The Sidesplitter: Madness

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Laugh Out Loud Theater

3851 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-857-6000

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Funny storytellers Ada Cheng, Katie Dow, Jin Kim, Lillie Frances and Rebecca Duxler share their tales on this month's theme of "Madness!" 7 p.m. Free. More information: laughoutloudtheater.com

Joe Rooney

The Hideout

1354 W. Wabansia Ave. 773-227-4433

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The Lincoln Lodge goes green, as in St. Patrick's Day-centric, in this showcase featuring Irish comedian Joe Rooney with special guests Adam Burke, Rebecca O'Neal and Michael Rice. 9 p.m. $13. Tickets: hideoutchicago.com

Want to see your show in Set the Scene? Send details to Lauren Chval at laurenchval@redeyechicago.com for consideration.

Gwendolyn Purdom is a freelance writer.
For the last six and a half years, an all-volunteer group has sat in courtrooms in both Kane and Kendall counties observing proceedings of domestic violence cases in an effort to provide an impartial assessment on how the cases are handled.

Fox Valley Court Watch began in October 2010 as a stand alone, all-volunteer nonprofit group that had a goal of "trying to prevent domestic violence victims from being victimized again by the court system," Jim Kintz, the president of Fox Valley Court Watch, said.

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A former police officer who had worked in the Kane County State's Attorney's office domestic violence unit prior to his retirement, Kintz said there was a need in the community to create the organization to ensure the victims of domestic violence are treated with respect in court.

A volunteer court watcher since she retired from a career in telecommunications in 2010, Terry Apple explained at the time the organization was founded there was concern in the community about the courtroom environment in domestic violence cases. Apple attends court sessions as a Court Watch volunteer about twice a month.

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"Unlike court advocates, we have no interaction with the victim or any of the legal personnel in the courtroom. We are just there to observe," she said.

Fox Valley Court Watch volunteers make observations that are compiled into quarterly reports that are available on their website and are also submitted to the chief judges of Kane and Kendall counties.

Judges are assessed based on audibility, eye contract, explanation of charges, case details, listening skills, court proceedings, tone of voice, and time management.

Apple said the court watchers make observations on the bailiffs and attorneys as well.

For example, she said, "Is the bailiff making sure everyone is quiet so people can hear what is going on?"

"We observe the defense team and the state's attorney to see if they are being respectful of the victim and if the judge is maintaining an ordered courtroom," Apple added.

In the third quarter of 2016 a total of 63 case observation forms were submitted by Fox Valley Court Watch volunteers  32 from Kane County and 31 in Kendall County.

Many of the victims have never been in a courtroom before, Apple said.

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"A lot is going on in the courtroom between the judge and the attorneys which can make it difficult for the victims to understand what is going on, especially during the pretrial stages," she said.

Volunteer court watchers complete six hours of training. The group's next training session for new volunteers will be held April 28. For more information, go to http://www.foxvalleycourtwatch.org/.

Cathy Janek is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
The Aurora East Educational Foundation will partner with the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County to host an East Aurora District 131 School Board candidates' forum March 21.

The forum will begin at 6 p.m. in Hawks Auditorium at East Aurora High School. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

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The forum will be moderated by Patricia Lackman, chairwoman of Voter Services for the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County.

Four candidates are running for three open seats in the April 4 election. All three seats are four-year terms expiring in 2017. The candidates are Annette Johnson, Dan Barreiro, Bruce Schubert and Anna Ishmael.

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Each of the four candidates will have the opportunity to make introductory and closing statements, according to a press release from the district. In between, the moderator will present general questions that will be answered by each of the candidates prior to questions being asked by the audience.

The forum is open to the public.

For more information, contact Lisa Morales at 630-299-5554 or lmorales@d131.org
Rick Guzman, center, candidate for Aurora mayor, is flanked Wednesday by former Mayor Tom Weisner, left, and Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen at a press conference where Weisner and Lauzen endorsed Guzman. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News)

Former Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen Wednesday endorsed Rick Guzman for mayor of Aurora.

Speaking together at a press conference at The Hampton Inn on the city's far West Side, the two men, whom Guzman described as "Aurora's most senior statesmen on both sides of the aisle," said the assistant chief of staff at City Hall is the best choice to lead the city forward.

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"Rick is proof you can be a good, decent person and still be an effective leader in politics today," Lauzen said. "He's positive, strong, patient, gentle, inclusive and smart  and smart the Aurora way, using common sense."

Guzman was one of the two survivors of the Feb. 28 mayoral primary with almost 29 percent of the vote. He finished second to Alderman Richard Irvin, at large, who had about 32 percent. The two face each other in the April 4 election to see who will be the 57th mayor in Aurora history.

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Weisner, who spent 11 1/2 years as mayor before retiring last November, recruited Guzman to work at City Hall about five years ago. Guzman had been working in the Governor's Office in Springfield. Weisner praised Guzman for finding a way to deal with Jericho Circle, a public housing complex that had crime issues.

"Bringing Rick on board was probably one of the best decisions I made as a leader of the community," Weisner said.

He said since that time, Guzman helped the mayor's office and the Aurora Police Department organize and increase neighborhood groups across the city, and preserve some of the city's historic buildings by putting together public and private partnerships for redevelopment projects.

He also praised Guzman for volunteer work outside of City Hall with a number of non-profit groups, as well as with Emmanuel House, the non-profit he and his wife, Desiree, founded in 2002. The organization, which helps low-income families own a house, was chosen by the national Classy Awards as one of the 100 most innovative social enterprises on the planet in 2016.

Weisner pointed out that, like himself, Guzman is not a native Auroran. He chose to move to the city and raise his family here.

"Sometimes that perspective makes us appreciate what Aurora has to offer  sometimes even more than the natives do," Weisner said.

Lauzen said in Guzman and Irvin, Aurora is "lucky" to have two qualified candidates for mayor. But he said they have "a difference in style."

"I endorse Rick because he appreciates that it takes balance to make sure all the voices are heard," he said.

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Guzman said he was "thrilled" to get the endorsements from Weisner and Lauzen, which he called among "the most important endorsements we could get." He pointed out that Weisner, a long-time Democrat, and Lauzen, a long-time Republican state senator in Illinois, often did not agree on issues. But they reached across the aisle in what is a non-partisan election.

"Politics needs to take a back seat to progress," he said.

slord@tribpub.com
Pending an initial action by the Carlisle Borough Council at its meeting Thursday night, medical marijuana dispensaries may become a permitted use in the boroughs C-4 (neighborhood commercial) zoning district.

The council is expected to vote Thursday to have the boroughs solicitor draft and advertise an ordinance amending the borough code to allow for the dispensaries. If approved, the borough will hold a public hearing for the zoning amendment at 6:45 p.m. on May 11, according to the preliminary agenda posted to the boroughs web site.

Temporary regulations posted in December in the Pennsylvania Bulletin indicate that a dispensary may not be located within 1,000 feet of the property line of a school or a day care center, at the same site as a medical marijuana growing or processing operation or in the same place as a practitioner or other physician.

At the borough councils March 1 workshop meeting, Bruce Koziar, the boroughs planning, zoning and codes manager, showed the council a map with circles drawn on it to represent that 1,000-foot radius in which the dispensaries would not be permitted. The circles encompass most of the borough, Koziar told the council.

There are two zones in which the dispensaries could be permitted. The first is the C-2 (shopping center) district which includes Carlisle Commons at the intersection of South Hanover Street and Noble Boulevard, and The Point at Carlisle Plaza between East High Street and York Road.

One thing thats bad about that is that it [the dispensaries] cant go into malls and shopping centers. It has to have a secure entrance. Someone would have to build a stand-alone building, Koziar said.

Second option

The other option is to place the dispensaries in the C-4 district. Once restrictions are eliminated based on the locations of schools or day cares, there are only three areas in which the dispensaries could be located. That is on Walnut Bottom Road near the Belvedere Medical Center, the stretch of York Road between Giant Lane and the boroughs border with South Middleton Township, and small parcels near the fairgrounds.

It all comes down to whether you see this activity as retail or medical, Mayor Tim Scott said. In that case, he said C-4 makes the most sense.

Councilman Sean Shultz said that not allowing for the medical dispensaries is not an option.

Under the zoning laws, we have to allow for that use, he said.

In January, the Pennsylvania Department of Health made applications for grower/processors or dispensaries available on its website. The deadline for applications to be submitted is March 20, according a news release issued by the department.

Twelve grower/processor permits and 27 dispensary permits will be issued across six regions in Pennsylvania. The south central region, which includes Cumberland County, has been allotted two grower/processor permits and four dispensary permits.

Though the borough has received four calls concerning the dispensaries, the chances of Carlisle even getting one arent that good, Koziar said.

In December, Carlisle Borough Council voted to allow marijuana processing and production within the borough. The board approved an ordinance designating two areas within the boroughs general industrial districts.
I'd never pretend to be an art aficionado. I wish I were. But I do appreciate a good story. And few among us have a more unique one than Dr. Charles Smith, who has become an internationally celebrated artist but readily admits he was often known here in Aurora as "the crazy man" with "all the junk" in his yard.

More than anything, Smith, whose folk art has been featured at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and who will be spotlighted in a yearlong show by the Kohler Foundation starting in September, wants his hometown to appreciate his unique sculptures  created from concrete, plaster and wood pulp  that bring African-American history to life.

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You may recall the columns I wrote last year about Ricky Rodgers, executive director of the African American Men of Unity mentoring group, leading the effort to raise funds to restore Smith's dilapidated African-American Heritage Museum and Black Veterans Archive on Kendall Street, where he first began creating his art back in 1986 as a way to deal with the trauma he experienced while in the Marine Corps in Vietnam.

Smith, who has lived in Hammond, La., since moving there in 2002 to care for his ailing mother, was in Aurora over the weekend to bring awareness to a coalition newly formed to fund the restoration of his African-American Heritage Museum and Black Veterans Archive. Before speaking Sunday evening to a group that included some heavy hitters from Chicago's black cultural community, he led them on a tour of the museum so they could see for themselves its deplorable condition.

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The goal is to have the restoration work finished by the opening of Smith's Kohler exhibit in the fall. But even if the work is not completed then, said Rodgers, he hopes there's a strategic plan in place to get it finished.

Anything less than that, he insisted, would be an "embarrassment" to the community.

"We need to look at what we can do to resurrect this facility  to form a coalition of like minds to see this building restored," Rodgers told the audience of about 50 people who gathered on the main floor of the old public library on Benton Avenue in downtown Aurora. Among those present were director David Peterson and founder Dr. Lyn Hughes, of the National A. Phillip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, and Harold Lucas, founder of Bronzeville Tourism.

"If the museum is resurrected, it would bring in tax dollars, tourism," he said. "We want to draw people to Aurora; to tell the story of African-American history."

Still, despite his work being featured in 19 museums around the country, Smith's art has struggled to find a place of honor here in the community that served as the inspiration for his creations.

Disappointed there were no city officials at the Sunday gathering, Rodgers hopes once the coalition begins to gather steam, the community will rally behind this project.

As for Smith, he believes people here were simply "not ready" to embrace his art, nor are many African-Americans, he added, who make up only a small percentage of his supporters, he said. Perhaps, he added, his own success in the art world, as well as the passing of time will change that.

Rena Church, director of the Aurora Public Art Commission that received a couple dozen of Smith's pieces from the Kohler Foundation's 800-piece purchase, sees that change firsthand as she listens to visitors when they come upon his display in the downtown gallery. Those in their 30s who admit they didn't understand his work when they were younger now insist that as adults "they love it," she told the group.

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And visitors from out of town, she added, are always fascinated by his work and the story behind it.

"People are hungry for it now," she said.

Smith insists that with the Kohler exhibit right around the corner, his top priority is restoring the museum here; and he plans to put all his financial and emotional resources into that endeavor.

"Everybody is wondering what is happening with Aurora," he said of those in the art world who are familiar with his story. ""That's why I came back tonight ... We are ready to turn on the light in Aurora.

"Let's do it. Let's make it work," he said. "Then everybody benefits  the city, the state and the children more than anything."

Smith, a forceful speaker who easily commands the audience with his passion and perspective, insists art appreciation must be taught at a young age and that it can be a powerful tool in the fight against bigotry and hatred.

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He also realizes as he gets older, there's a time to "give up your keys" to the next drivers of the movement. And that makes this mission all the more urgent.

"I'm here to make this work for the next generation," he said. "This is a gift to Aurora and to the entire nation."

Dcrosby@tribpub.com
Barrington Hills candidates for village president Martin McLaughlin (left), who is running for re-election in April, and challengerBarrington Hills resident Louis Iacovelli. (Martin McLaughlin, Courtney Iacovelli\Handout)

Several candidates running for spots on the Barrington Hills Village Board highlighted property rights, government transparency and village spending as top issues facing the village, giving local voters much to think about before the municipal election April 4.

In total, two candidates are vying for the title of village president and six others are campaigning to secure three trustee seats on the board.

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Village President Martin McLaughlin is running for re-election against first-time challenger Louis Iacovelli. Like in the 2013 election, McLaughlin is campaigning alongside trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan, who also is seeking re-election, both candidates said.

Iacovelli has formed a similar political slate with trustee candidates Paula Jacobsen and Robert Zubak.

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The other candidates for Barrington Hills trustee, who all are running independently, include Matt Vondra, Ralph Sesso and Elaine Ramesh.

Current trustees Fritz Gohl and Michael Harrington are not running for re-election this year, according to village officials.

Race for village president

After being elected to his first term in 2013, McLaughlin said he has focused much on his attention as village president on scaling back village spending in numerous areas.

Working with trustees and village staff, McLaughlin oversaw cost-cutting measures that have reduced the overall village budget by $800,000 throughout his first term.

In 2013, the village budget totaled $8.4 million, he said. In 2016, the village budget totaled $7.6 million.

In cutting back, village officials primarily reduced village legal fees by 70 percent, McLaughlin said. The village cutback on the legal fees that went to cover an 18-year lawsuit with Sears related to a dispute over land development, he said.

Again working with trustees and staff, McLaughlin also instituted measures that required all village employees, including police, to contribute about 15 percent of their annual salaries to cover health care premiums, he said.

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A Barrington Hills resident since 2004, McLaughlin also generated some budget savings by working to consolidate certain village departments and adding the village to a regional 911-dispatch center.

A resident since 2000, Iacovelli works as a technology engineer and consultant. If elected village president, he said, he would focus on protecting the property rights of all Barrington Hills residents, especially residents who boarder horses.

The issue comes after village board members in 2014 tried to make a zoning ordinance allowing large-scale, commercial horse boarding in the village.

But McLaughlin vetoed the ordinance in January 2015 after the village attorney advised him that local zoning laws should be created to benefit the whole village  not individual owners, he said.

Trustees ultimately voted to override McLaughlin's veto later in the year, McLaughlin recalled.

Race for trustee seats

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Like her mate on the local campaign trail this year, current trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan highlighted the current board's work to reduce village spending and move the village into a regional emergency dispatch center.

One of the more significant budget reductions in Barrington Hills happened after board members cutback spending on legal fees related to the land dispute with Sears. In 2011, the village spent $936,000 on legal costs, she said.

By 2016, the total had dwindled to $385,900, according to Hannigan.

The village also spends $200,000 a year on the regional dispatch system compared to the $850,000 the village spent annually to man its own dispatch system, she said.

"It's good to have people with experience on the board," Hannigan said. "Martin (McLaughlin) and I have worked hard to accomplish things we had promised to bring to the village."

If elected to a new term, she would work to review the performance of the building and engineering departments in the village to make sure both are delivering the "best services," Hannigan said.

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After deciding to run on a slate with Iacovelli and fellow trustee candidate Robert Zubak, Paula Jacobsen said village officials could do more to improve transparency. The first-time candidate, who works as a scientific director of a pharmaceutical company, has lived in Barrington Hills for six years.

Jacobsen said the village recently has stopped using different forms of communication, including online alerts and automated phone calls warning residents of recent criminal activity.

If elected, she would work with other officials to recreate the "Barrington Hills Communication Committee," which was formed to inform and engage residents, she said.

She also said Barrington Hills officials could do more outreach with neighboring villages, especially ones with large proposed developments that could affect residents living in Barrington Hills.

She noted how current officials decided against challenging a planned 1,400-unit apartment and townhome complex in Hoffman Estates, located near the southern border of Barrington Hills.

"Barrington Hills needs to interact with villages around us about harmful developments that could lower property values or impact safety," Jacobsen said.

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Also a first-time candidate, Zubak said that if elected, he would work to secure better property rights for homeowners in a village known for its open spaces and scenery.

Zubak moved to Barrington Hills in 2015. He is retired after managing an insurance company's municipal assets, he said.

He also is emphasizing similar issues on the campaign trail that have been highlighted by Iacovelli and Jacobsen.

"The village government is telling what you can and cannot do with property," Zubak said. "We don't want to see the horse boarding change. We like living in a culture of an equestrian community."

One of the trustee candidates running independently, Matt Vondra said that although he is a first-time candidate, his professional background with operating businesses throughout different towns in Illinois makes him qualified to be a trustee in Barrington Hills.

Specifically, he said he works in business development and logistics consulting for heavy and highway construction projects. He has lived in Barrington Hills since 2012.

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He praised the current board for managing village finances and creating budget surpluses. But said he would work to deliver updates to residents on how the Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor project could affect traffic within the village.

The proposed bridge and highway would pass through portions of Barrington Hills, Carpentersville and Algonquin, according to the Kane County Division of Transportation.

After crossing Fox River, the corridor would parallel Bolz Road, running east and ending at Route 62/Algonquin Road.

Vondra said the increased vehicular traffic would affect Algonquin Road.

"Our cross streets that intersect Algonquin Road deserve increased safety studies if this bridge is built," Vondra said.

Another independent candidate for trustee, Elaine Ramesh is looking to reclaim a spot on the board after serving as village trustee from 2008 to 2013.

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She recently said she decided against a re-election bid in 2013 because of an illness in her family.

From 2005 to 2007, she also served as the village clerk. As a trustee, she was the village board liaison to Barrington Hills Road and Bridges, and Plan commissions.

"Basically, I'm not running on any platform, but just offering myself as a volunteer to serve my community," Ramesh said of her campaign in 2017.

Ramesh, who has lived in Barrington Hills for 15 years and works as a patent attorney, said she would continue reaching out to residents as a village trustee.

As the road and bridges liaison, she invited homeowners to meet her, the village engineer and village administrator to go over best practices for road maintenance since many property owners in Barrington Hills live on private roads that require them to pay for repair and construction.

A first-time candidate also running independently, Ralph Sesso also is focused on zoning issues and property rights within Barrington Hills.

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The 23-year Barrington Hills resident said he supports traditional horse boarding and is against residents using their properties for commerce purposes.

"The purpose of zoning is to protect one's property. These rules are for everybody, not individuals," he said.

If elected, he also could resist the proposed Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor.

Sesso said the project likely will increase traffic in the village and could require road upgrades on local streets that intersect with Algonquin Road. But he said the project could better protect residents and equestrians who move horses through the route.

"As much as is possible, I will attempt to oppose this project," Sesso said.

tshields@pioneerlocal.com

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Hinsdale High School District 86 support staff, wearing blue T-shirts that read, "We support one and all in Hinsdale 86 schools," attend March 6 School Board meeting. (Kimberly Fornek / Pioneer Press)

The paraprofessionals and security staff at Hinsdale High School District 86 have a new contract, their first since deciding to unionize.

The union, named the Hinsdale Township High School Support Staff Association, includes about 110 one-on-one student aides, student safety monitors, library aides and other paraprofessionals in Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South high schools and the district's transition center, association President John Kramer said.

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Kramer said 87 percent of the association members voted for the agreement Feb. 9.

The District 86 Board approved the agreement Monday by a 4-2 vote.

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The employees officially unionized in September 2014, and have not had a raise in more than two years, said Domenico Maniscalco, the district's chief human resources officer.

"It's our very first contract. We expected it to take awhile," said Kramer, who works as a paraprofessional aid in the special education department.

He said the employees wanted to organize "to protect our jobs and to have some security."

One of the big issues, Kramer said, was "new hires were making more than people who had been here 10 or more years."

According to the terms of the contract, those employees who have worked for the district six or more years will receive a raise of $2.25 per hour, retroactive to July 1, 2016. Employees who have worked for the district from three to five years will receive a $2 an hour raise; and those who have two years or less experience will get a $1.25 hourly raise.

The raises are intended to "catch" the longer-tenured employees up to the people who were hired more recently, Kramer said.

The raises include compensation for the employees for giving up dental insurance, both district and association officials said.

The district also will pay a longevity bonus in September. The support staff covered by the contract who has worked for the district at least three years as of September will receive a one-time bonus of $2,000. Support staff who have worked for the district two years as of September, will receive a $1,000 bonus.

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"This group of employees has historically been underpaid . . . and they have daily one-to-one contact with our students," board President Kay Gallo said.

Under the contract, which goes into effect immediately and runs until June 30, 2021, the starting pay for newly hired paraprofessionals, those people who work as student aides, will be between $15 and $17.50, depending on their education and certification.

The starting pay for people who monitor student safety in and outside the school will be between $13.50 and $15 an hour.

The district also employs three nurses who assist special educations students with medical needs and who are members of the new union, Maniscalco said. The starting pay for their position is between $33 and $36 an hour, depending on their training and education.

The district will shift the cost of health insurance slightly more to the employee over the contract term and offer an insurance plan with an HMO and health saving account options. For the first year, the employees' share of the premium will remain the same as it was before the contract. The district pays 92 percent of the premium and the employee pays 8 percent.

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, however, the district will pay 90 percent and the employee 10 percent of the medical insurance premium. In the third to fifth years of the contract, the district and the employee will split equally any increases up to and including 8 percent. If the premiums rise by more than 8 percent over the prior year, the employee would pay 4 percent of the increase and the district would pay the balance of the increase.

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During the next open enrollment period, any employee who switches their medical insurance coverage from a PPO option to an HMO option will receive a one-time $1,000 bonus.

Board members Ralph Beardsley, Bill Carpenter, Kathleen Hirsman and Gallo voted to approve the agreement. Board members Claudia Manley and Edward Corcoran voted against it.

"Not to say we don't have great employees," Corcoran said, but the healthcare benefits are too generous and unsustainable.

Manley said she, too, thinks the district is absorbing too much of the true cost of the employees' insurance.

kfornek@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @kfdoings
Rocio Carbral is a junior majoring in health administration at Governors State University in University Park.

But the 26-year-old single mother said she fears the school's plan to raise tuition by 15 percent will strain her financially.

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"I am a single mother, so it's a burden," she said Tuesday. "It is going to push me back a little bit, but I'm going to have to work around it, I guess."

On Monday, Governors State officials said they will to eliminate 22 degree programs and hike tuition 15 percent in the fall to cope with the state's budget standoff that has starved public universities and institutions of funding for the past two fiscal years. In year one, state appropriations for Governors State were slashed 70 percent, officials said. Last year, school officials said they received half of the funding it normally counts on from the state.

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Current students in to-be eliminated programs, including some in the undergraduate majors of communications, psychology and criminal justice, will be able to finish their degree, officials said.

The cost per credit hour for undergraduate students is now $272 or $8,160 for the full year. In the fall, the cost will increase to $313, or $9,390 for the year.

Governors State has not raised tuition in two years and is still one of the most affordable schools in the Chicagoland area and Illinois, officials said. About 5,600 were enrolled at the University Park school last fall. The board unanimously approved the tuition raise and program cuts, officials said.

Governors State President Elaine Maimon said more cuts are possible if the budget impasse is not resolved soon. Planning the 2018 fiscal year, which Maimon said has already begun, is difficult because school officials don't know how much money the state will hand out.

It's like gazing into a crystal ball, she said.

"We're really good managers at Governors State, but we're not magicians," she said from a car on route to Springfield. "We also plan  we're not a tasty freeze business."

Maimon and the heads of other Illinois public universities were invited to testify Tuesday about the budget squeeze before the state Senate committee on higher education, she said.

On Monday night, Maimon said she talked with students about the announcement. Students were constructive and understood the difficult situation the budget impasse has created for the college, she said. During the talk, she assured students that the school will cover the Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants the state normally provides to its neediest students, she said.

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"We put students first at Governors State," she said.

Student Tarrell Littles raised his eyebrows Tuesday after learning about the planned tuition hike  acknowledging he hadn't heard about it yet.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

"Wow," he said. "So, that's about $1,000 extra?"

He said he doesn't think it will be a problem for him. He's an athlete on scholarship and said his program was not at risk.

Mark Tyler, a freshman and student ambassador who gives tours of the school, said he'll have to start mentioning the tuition increase to prospective students next week.

Tiffany Kolb, a senior criminal justice major, said even with the hike, Governors State is more affordable than many other Illinois schools.

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"I left [Southern Illinois University] because it was so much more expensive," she said. "A year there is like a year-and-a-half here, and commuting has saved a lot on room and board."

mmccall@tribpub.com

@MatthewMcCall_
A man wearing a Pizza Hut hat held up a Homewood bank Tuesday afternoon, according to the FBI (BanditTracker.com\Handout)

A man wearing a Pizza Hut hat robbed a Homewood bank Tuesday afternoon, according to the FBI.

Authorities are searching for a man who displayed a gun at about 2:30 p.m. during a robbery of the TCF Bank branch at 17830 Halsted Ave., according to the FBI.

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The man is about 5-feet, 10-inches and in his late 30s to early 40s, according to the FBI. He was last seen wearing the hat and a black, denim jacket.

The incident remains under investigation.

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A reward is being offered, according to the FBI. Anyone with information should contact FBI's Chicago office at 312-421-6700.

Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Don't be left high and dry this summer -- take a boating safety course and get the know-how you need to have a fun season on the waves. (CARL WAGNER / CHICAGO TRIBUNE)

With the recent brush with spring-like weather, readers are probably considering warm weather activities and dreaming of the upcoming season.

Now they can act on those dreams, and learn some safety skills at the same time. Classes are soon beginning for a boating safety certification course offered through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. These important classes provide life-saving instruction for novice to experienced boaters.

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Bill Brady, who has been teaching this class for 30 years, is a master instructor for the DNR. He said his fellow instructors are boaters as well as United States Power Squadron members or Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel  all who have lots of experience.

As a member of the United States Power Squadron, Brady also is a vessel safety inspector, which provides courtesy checks to ensure watercraft are in compliance with regulations. Important details like correct size and number of life jackets, fire extinguisher operation, first aid, and how to properly use a radio to call for assistance  will be taught during the course and are part of the safety check that Brady performs.

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Who should take this course? Brady said "anyone who will be out on the water should take this class. New boaters will find information necessary to be in compliance with their new sport; and experienced boaters can always use a refresher course to learn of any new laws or regulations.

"Too many new boaters think of their boat as floating keg, and may drink while driving," he said. "Drinking while driving a boat is no different than drinking while driving your car. You will lose your license."

If you will be towing your boat to neighboring states, you need to know the rules of any state in which you will be boating. This course will supply you with literature from neighboring states so that you are knowledgeable.

Depending on the company through which you insure your craft, you may be eligible for a 5-10 percent discount on insurance after taking this course and earning your certificate.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

The Illinois Boating Education Course consists of eight hours of instruction, which will cover the basics of boating safety, navigation, use of equipment, registering your craft, and the emergency measures to use; along with Illinois boating laws.

There are two upcoming opportunities to take this course. Over the course of two consecutive weekend days, an eight-hour class is led by an instructor, and has a classroom structure. An examination at the completion of the class will test the knowledge and skills attained during class.

Locally, instructor-led classes are being offered through the Tinley Park and Mokena Park Districts. The Tinley Park District course begins at 9 a.m. March 18, and 10 a.m. March 19. Visit www.tinleyparkdistrict.org or call 708-342-4200 to register for this course.

The Mokena Park District class runs beginning at 9 a.m. April 22, and 10 a.m. April 23. Visit www.mokenapark.com to register for this course.

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To check out the websites that provide the coursework for study head to www.Boat-Ed.com or www.BoaterExam.com.

For more information on boating safety and the requirements and regulations for boating in the State of Illinois, check out the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website at www.dnr.illinois.gov or call -800-832-2599.

Laura Hinderman is a freelance columnist.
Current Affairs Today - Current Affairs - 2021 | Current Affairs - 2022

GKTodays Current Affairs Today Section provides latest and Best Daily Current Affairs 2021-2022 for UPSC, IAS/PCS, Banking, IBPS, SSC, Railway, UPPSC, RPSC, BPSC, MPPSC, TNPSC, MPSC, KPSC and other competition exams.      !

Category: Daily Current Affairs Test for UPSC Prelims Examination 2023

Tags: upsc prelims test series 2023

Here are Todays News Headlines by GK Today for November 6, 2022 ContentsINDIAECONOMY & CORPORATEWORLDSPORTS INDIA  Guyana President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali to be chief guest at 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention at Indore (MP) on Jan 8-10  Maritime Partnership Exercise held between Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy in Bay of Bengal ..

Month: Current Affairs  November, 2022

Category: Today's News Headlines

Topics: 2022  Current Affairs  Current Affairs: News Headlines  Headlines  Latest News Headlines  News Headlines  Today's News Headlines  Top Headlines  Top News

WTWs Global Gender Wealth Equity Report 2022 was released recently. ContentsAbout Global Gender Wealth Equity ReportWhat are the key findings of the report? About Global Gender Wealth Equity Report Global Gender Wealth Equity Report was jointly developed by WTW and the World Economic Forum (WEF). It explores gender-based wealth differences across five regions in the ..

Month: Current Affairs  November, 2022

Category: Reports & Indexes Current Affairs

Topics: Asia-Pacific  Asia-Pacific (APAC) region  Gender equality  Gender Equality in India  Gender pay gap

The worlds longest passenger train was operationalized in Switzerland during the 175th anniversary of Swiss Railways. ContentsAbout the longest passenger trainHistory of Switzerlands train servicesBernina/Albula Railway Line About the longest passenger train The passenger train is 1.9 km-long, having 100 coaches. It travelled 15.5 miles from the Albula Tunnel in Preda to the Landwasser Viaduct, at the ..

Month: Current Affairs  November, 2022

Category: International / World Current Affairs

Topics: In Switzerland  Swiss Alps  Switzerland  UNESCO

The report titled The Adaptation Gap Report 2022: Too Little, Too Slow  Climate adaptation failure puts world at risk was released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). ContentsAbout the Adaptation Gap ReportWhat is adaptation?What are the key findings of the AGR 2022?What are the reports recommendations? About the Adaptation Gap Report The Adaptation ..

Month: Current Affairs  November, 2022

Category: Reports & Indexes Current Affairs

Topics: UN Environment Programme (UNEP)  UNEP Adaptation Report  UNEP report

The Union Education Ministry released the detailed report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22 on school education of India. ContentsAbout UDISEAbout UDISE+UDISE+ 2020-21 report dataUDISE+ 2021-22 report data About UDISE Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) was initiated in 2012-13. It is one of the largest Management Information Systems on ..

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2022

Category: Reports & Indexes Current Affairs

Topics: Data  GER  Information  School  UDISE
Gary Bennett was found guilty of first degree murder and concealment of a homicide, but not guilty on two charges of armed robbery in the Aug. 10, 2014, death of Keith Crawford.

A Kane County jury deliberated for under three hours before announcing the verdict.

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Bennett, 38, showed no emotion as the verdict was read, other than leaning back in his seat at one point.

The verdict came after an 11-day trial that included testimony from investigators from Bartlett, West Dundee, Elgin, Roselle, the FBI and U.S. Marshall's office.

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Bennett was accused of shooting Bartlett resident Crawford in the head and dumping the body in an Elgin Dumpster over a drug debt. Bennett, a former Algonquin resident, was arrested in Colorado nearly a year after Crawford disappeared.

His defense attorney had attempted to pin Crawford's disappearance on other men, including the state's star witness.

Attorney Stephen Richards said in his closing argument that Bennett might be the world's biggest idiot, but he'd be in competition with Joan Sebastian Vado-Bonilla for the title.

Investigators had spent months searching for Crawford before Vado-Bonilla  facing his own charges for shoplifting and a bad check  told police the following March that he was driving the car south on Route 31 when Bennett shot Crawford in the head.

Richards worked to cast doubt on Vado-Bonilla's story, saying it was more likely Vado-Bonilla or another man, Chance Cager, were involved in Crawford's disappearance.

Vado-Bonilla testified that after Bennett shoot Crawford he initially tried to bury his body at a friend's Valley View farm. After that man refused to allow the body to be left there, Crawford's body was deposited in an Elgin Dumpster. Prosecutors believe the body is in one of two Illinois landfills and has never been found.

Without a body, Richards said, there was no proof that Crawford was dead. And as drug dealer, the man could be hiding or was killed by someone else, Richards said.

Richards painted Vado-Bonilla as a criminal but a clever one who deflected his own crimes onto Bennett and got a "free pass" on first-degree murder. Vado-Bonilla served just over 30 days for concealing a homicide.

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There was no doubt Crawford was dead, said Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Joe Cullen. The man's blood was found soaked into the seat of the car Vado-Bonilla said they were driving that night. He has not been seen or heard from since  by his mother or the women he has five children with, Cullen said.

He pointed out Bennett's actions  working to convince Vado-Bonilla to move to Colorado with him as Bennett believed that state would not extradite a suspect to Chicago.

The state is also aware that Vado-Bonilla is not a perfect witness, Cullen said.

"You can't chose your witnesses. You can choose your friends," Cullen said, noting that Bennett surrounded himself with drug dealers.

"The defendant chose Vado to be his friend," Cullen said. "This parade of characters were the guys he chose to associate with."

Before Crawford was left in the Dumpster, Bennett's phone shows internet searches for Groot, the garbage company that hauled away the body for him, according to prosecutors. That same phone also shows cell tower pings going from a rural West Dundee party where Crawford was last seen, down Route 31, then on Route 25 and down to Valley View.

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Bennett claimed he was home sick and that Vado-Bonilla must have taken his phone. But that conflicted with what he told police about his own phone calls that night.

Kane County Judge John Barsanti set an April 20 date for post-trial motions. Bennett's sentencing hearing will be set at that time, Barsanti said.

He could face life in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Janelle Walker is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Indo-Nepal joint Military exercise Surya Kiran-XI held in Uttarakhand

Published: March 8, 2017

The eleventh edition of joint military exercise Surya Kiran 2017 between India and Nepal began in Pithoragarh area of Uttarakhand.

It is two-week long battalion level joint exercise between armies of both countries. It will focus on skills required for natural disaster management, counter-insurgency and jungle warfare.

Key Facts

The Surya Kiran XI aims at training of both the troops in the area of various counter insurgency operations over a prolonged period.

It will focus on other important aspects such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations and environmental conservation.

In this exercise, Indian Army is represented by the officers and troops of Ekta Shakti Battalion of the Punjab Regiment . While, Nepali Army is being represented by Durga Baksh Battalion.

of the . While, Nepali Army is being represented by Both the armies will mutually benefit from the varied experiences gained during the exercise and strengthen the friendly relation between Nepal and India.

Background

The Surya Kiran series of military exercises are being conducted bi-annually, alternatively in India and Nepal. It is largest exercise in terms of troops participation in series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries. It aims at promoting military relations while increasing interoperability in conducting joint counter insurgency operations in mountainous terrain. The 10 edition of the exercise was held at Army Battle School, Saljhandi in Nepal in November 2016.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2017

Topics: Defence  India-Nepal  Indian Military Exercises  Military Exercises  National  Surya Kiran XI

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Pueblo state Senate candidates dispute claims made in 'dark money' ads

Incumbent Nick Hinrichsen and GOP challenger Stephen Varela have denied claims made by outside groups spending big money on competitive races
-        :       ,       
By Samuel Wrest

Industrial action in China entered uncharted territory last year. Once mainly confined to the manufacturing and construction sectors  the traditional linchpins of Chinas growth  labor unrest took giant steps into the retail and service sectors in 2016, with strike action doubling in the former and growing by a fifth in the latter.

When combined with the transport sector  which continued its upwards surge in incidents by registering a 25 percent increase  labor strikes in these three sectors outweighed those in manufacturing for the first time.

The increase in industrial action in these three industries is indicative of the changing nature of the Chinese economy, which is transitioning from one powered by manufacturing and exports to one reliant on consumption and services. However, it is also a sign of the deeper problems with labor unrest that exist in Chinas workforce.

As in previous years, 2016s strikes were organized by the workers themselves and not through the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU)  the only trade union that is legally allowed to exist in the country  highlighting the gap in employee representation that currently exists across all industries in the Middle Kingdom, and not just amongst blue-collar workers.

RELATED: Payroll and Human Resource Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Current law on trade unions

The Trade Union Law of the Peoples Republic of China is the countrys key piece of legislation on trade union organization. It states that 25 or more employees must be allowed to form what is called an Enterprise Trade Union (ETU); a component part of the wider Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led ACFTU. If the number of employees falls short of the required 25, they have the option of forming a basic-level trade union committee, while female workers can form separate ETUs altogether.

If an ETU has been formed, their employer must pay two percent of its workforces wages to the ACFTU, ostensibly to support its employees and the local ETUs activities. These activities, however, are loosely defined in the Trade Union Law, and include education among staff, protecting the property of the enterprise and State, making rational proposals and technical renovations, and vocational training outside of work hours.

Notably absent from the Trade Union Law is the right of union members to strike  a cornerstone of trade unions in the West. Additionally, once formed, management of ETUs is predominantly decided not by the workers, but by the company itself, which has often resulted in worker concerns not being put on the negotiating table. These are two of the primary drivers behind workers organizing and striking independently in China.

Obligations of foreign companies

Foreign-invested entities (FIEs) are subject to all the provisions of the Trade Union Law, but there is often more pressure placed on them to unionize than on domestic companies. The reason for this is twofold: there are a massive amount of FIEs in China offering competitive wages, translating into comparatively higher payments from them to the ACFTU, but there is also a perceived risk of FIEs westernizing their employees.

Unionization is seen as a means of countering this westernization, with the ETUs acting as a channel for the CCP to keep in touch with the countrys workforce.

RELATED: Why HR Audits are Important for Foreign Companies in China

Considerations for labor relations

China has a stated aim of unionizing 90 percent of its workforce, but its goal is not to uphold workers rights. Rather, the modus operandi of the AFCTU is to ensure that the countrys labor force runs smoothly and in line with CCP targets. The reality is quite the opposite. In addition to industrial action spreading to new industries, the first half of 2016 saw strikes and protests rise almost 20 percent over the previous year, with the construction and transportation sectors hit hardest.

While this slowed in the second half of the year, 2016 closed with employees at Walmart  which unionized 10 years ago  staging a series of coordinated strikes across the US retailers numerous Chinese outlets, underscoring how unionization with the ACFTU in its present form isnt a safeguard against employee unrest for foreign companies.

FIEs in the Middle Kingdom therefore cannot currently rely on the ACFTU to guarantee employee satisfaction, and, similarly, employees cannot look to it to protect their rights. This may change in the future  in 2015, President Xi Jinping ordered the ACFTU to improve workplace representation in order to stem the regular flow of strikes  but 2016 has shown that this will not occur in the immediate term.

Keegan Elmer, a Labor Researcher at the China Labor Bulletin, told Asia Briefing, Recent strikes at major multinationals like Coca Cola, Sony and Danone all showed that workers were willing to sit down with management long before they walked off the job. Workers are ready for bargaining, and companies can do a lot to help Chinas labor relations bring about sustainable, mutually beneficial engagement between workers and employers through real collective bargaining.

Foreign companies should therefore consider implementing their own policies that afford employees collective bargaining power. Observers of the Walmart strikes noted that the US retailers lack of basic collective bargaining rights was at the heart of its problem, indicating that an open internal channel with worker representatives would go a long way to both ensuring employee satisfaction and preventing disruption.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email china@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight.

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Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2017

Doing Business in China 2017 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in China. Compiled by the professionals at Dezan Shira & Associates in January 2017, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Chinese market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to keep up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.

Human Resources and Payroll in China 2016-2017

A firm understanding of Chinas laws and regulations related to human resources and payroll management is absolutely necessary for foreign businesses in China. This edition of HR and Payroll, updated for 2016/17, navigates Chinas laws and regulations related to HR and payroll management  essential information for foreign investors looking to establish or already running a foreign-invested entity in China.
Beijing is listed as the billionaire capital of the world for the second year running, ahead of New York, and followed by Hong Kong and Shenzhen, according to the latest findings in the Hurun Global Rich List 2017 released on Tuesday.

Bill Gates remains the richest man in the world with a net wealth of $81 billion, and Warren Buffett held onto the second place with $78 billion. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com Inc, reached the top three for the first time, after his wealth surged 37 percent to $72 billion.

The total number of Chinese billionaires exceeded that of the United States for the second year running. China and the US, with 609 and 552 billionaires respectively, accounted for half of the billionaires worldwide, the report said.

Globally, the logistics and retail sectors performed the best, gaining 15 percent and 13 percent respectively, in terms of the number of billionaires.

Meanwhile, Germany had the third-largest number of billionaires this year, surpassing India. The United Arab Emirates and Indonesia broke into the top 20 for the first time.

"Shenzhen and Hong Kong now have one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the world, ahead of even California, the state with the most billionaires in the US," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report.

"Global wealth is being concentrated in the hands of the billionaires at a rate far exceeding global growth," Hoogewerf added.

China added 41 billionaires over last year and their average age was 58, younger than the global average of 64.

The IPO of Chinese leading delivery and logistics firm SF Express Group Co in February made Wang Wei, the CEO of the company, the third-richest man in China.

His wealth surged fivefold to $27 billion, just behind Dalian Wanda's Wang Jianlin with $30 billion and Alibaba's Jack Ma with $29 billion.

In China, the real estate sector generated the biggest number of billionaires, followed by the manufacturing, technology, media, and telecom industries.

At the same time, 15 percent of the billionaires were women. Among the 152 women who made the fortunes by themselves, Chinese led the way with 121.

"China is indisputably now the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur," Hoogewerf said.
The burnt smartphone displayed by Mr. Song. [Photo / Yangtse.com]

A man's smartphone suddenly "exploded" in his backpack several hours after he got off a plane in Nanjing, Yangtse.com reported on Monday.

The man, surnamed Song and from Taiwan, said that while he was having dinner with his friends in a restaurant at about 8 pm on March 4, he suddenly heard what might have been an explosion and immediately after that he felt "something burning on his back."

Mr. Song said the explosive article turned out to be his smartphone in his backpack. He bought the phone in Taiwan last year. There were obvious burnt marks and cracks on the phone shell.

The man explained that he was on a business trip in Nanjing and his flight arrived at the airport from Taiwan at 11:00 am that day. He used the words "phone self-ignition" to describe the dreadful scene, saying that "if it had happened on the airplane, the consequences might be very serious."

Mr. Song said he had contacted the producer's customer service center who promised to arrange an appointment to give him a reply and solution.
Teng Gaojun (left), together with U.S. recipients Katharine L. Krol and Jeanne M. LaBerge, are awarded SIR's Gold Medal during the society's Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, D.C., March 5, 2017. [Photo: Jiaohuidian App]

President of Southeast University's Zhongda Hospital, Teng Gaojun, along with two U.S. experts, has been awarded the SIR Gold Medal, the highest honor presented by the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) during its Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2017.

The award aims to acknowledge "distinguished and extraordinary service to SIR or to the discipline of interventional radiology (IR)." Dr. Teng, as a Chinese pioneer in IR, had been nominated for his continuous hard work during the past 30 years, which has greatly contributed to the standardization of practice, education and research in the field as well as the relations between Chinese Society of Interventional Radiology (CSIR) and many foreign institutions.

Prof. Teng is the first Chinese mainland SIR Gold Medal recipient in the society's history. As for him, the medal means more than recognition of his personal achievements, but also serves as an acknowledgement of China's advanced-level status in the IR treatment domain.

Interventional radiology pioneers minimally invasive image-guided (X-rays, CT, ultrasound, MRI, etc.) diagnosis and treatment of diseases in every organ system, which means reaching the source of a medical problem through blood vessels or directly through a tiny incision in the skin to deliver a precise, targeted treatment. With an obvious advantage of less risk, less pain and less recovery time than traditional surgery, it is, to some extent, a synonym of modern medicine.

Beginning in the 1980s, China's IR practice is among one of the nation's most rapidly developed medical specialties, and has formed its own therapy system.

The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) is one of the world's earliest and most influential academic societies in IR treatment, with a core purpose of improving patient care through image-guided therapy. Every year, the society bestows its ultimate accolade on two or three interventional radiologists. The SIR Gold Medal was established in 1996.

Along with Dr. Teng, this year's Gold Medal recipients include Katharine L. Krol and Jeanne M. LaBerge, who "embody the inspiration and promise of IR's limitless potential," according to SIR 201617 President Charles E. Ray Jr.
Shenzhen Customs have smashed a diesel oil smuggling operation, seizing more than 10,000 liters of illegal diesel.

Ten suspects, including some from Hong Kong, were detained in the operation, according to customs.

Officials said they received a tip off that there was an illegal diesel oil trade business being run out of a dilapidated parking lot in Shenzhen's Bao'an district and another two places nearby.

After careful investigation and preparation, customs carried out raids at 10 am Tuesday at the three sites.

According to an anti-smuggling official from customs, who declined to be named because of his work, one of the suspects who was responsible for transmitting information at the gate of the parking lot ran out, trying to escape, but was eventually caught.

"The illegal activity not only causes unfairness to oil enterprises, but also disrupts market order of the industry. More importantly, it could cause safety and environmental protection problems to the city and its citizens,"the official said.

The suspects include Hong Kong truck drivers, illegal diesel oil dealers and sellers, and others involved in the smuggling chain.

The drivers filled up the trucks with diesel oil in Hong Kong, drove them across the border to the sites where they unloaded the diesel oil and sold them to dealers at a high price.

The dealers would then resell the smuggled oil to construction sites, gas stations and vehicle owners with at an even higher price.

One of the Hong Kong truck drivers who was detained in the operation said he brought diesel oil in Hong Kong at 3 yuan ($0.43) a liter and sold it on the mainland for 3.6 yuan a liter.

By doing this, he could make over 1000 yuan a day, he said.
E-commerce in China is now one of the largest online markets in the world and innovative models of doing business are erupting across the sector and challenging existing giants like Alibaba and Taobao.com.

China's government has been proactive in encouraging and promoting e-commerce both within China's borders and through cross-border transactions. Confidence of consumers and traders in this new environment is a must and China has sought to establish appropriate supervision and management of its domestic and cross-border e-commerce systems. The government has also led by example, as illustrated by its digitalization of customs clearance, payments of fees and taxes, and using the latest technology (example of x-raying containers) to facilitate inspection and quarantine activities. China has also worked with other countries via the WTO and Free Trade Agreements to further promote e-commerce.

E-commerce must not only be encouraged, but also greater oversight and regulation are required to ensure a high level of trust in this new business environment. In recent years, China has adopted many measures to facilitate e-commerce.

The latest sign of this legal infrastructure improvement is the recent publication by the National People's Congress of a draft e-commerce law which is awaiting finalization.

According to the draft, the new law will contain provisions governing both domestic e-commerce and foreign e-commerce which spans across national borders.

Whether acting as a company or individual, e-commerce operators will be required to register and gain all the required authorizations (subject to some exceptions, e.g. sale of your own agricultural products or family handicrafts). When individual vendors operate on a third party platform, this party must provide the name, address, ID certificate, contact information, and other information to the e-commerce third party platform.

The draft law specifies the obligations of the e-commerce platform, including duty to review and supervise operators, keep and maintain required records, develop operational procedures that are transparent and fair, including rules for vendors to exist from the platform.

Chinese consumer law will apply, including new provisions that will permit consumers in designated circumstances to bring an action against the third party platform. For example, recognizing the increasing importance of consumer ratings, the law would prohibit

 Removing unfavorable ratings/evaluations

 Purchasing of favorable consumer ratings by any means, including false attribution of high ratings for one's own business or giving false ratings to assist another.

 Making false or malicious ratings or evaluations in order to damage a competitor.

 Engaging in false transactions, including fake or false reviews or evaluations

 Pressuring or harassing another to make or amend their ratings or evaluations

 Publishing false evaluation information.

E-commerce operators violating the law could be liable for fines up to RMB 500,000 yuan, and face possible revocation of their license to engage in business.

A sale is not a sale until it is paid for and a major concern of consumers operating online is security of payment. The draft law establishes requirements for secure online payments and the rights and obligations involved. For example, in some cases the service provider will be liable for losses caused when a payment service provider fails to comply with the required statutory provisions. The service provider will be liable for losses as a result of unauthorized payment.

E-commerce operators will be required to develop and implement appropriate internal control system and technology management measures to protect e-commerce data and especially the personal information of consumers. Consumer consent must be gained for the collection of personal information based on the user's consent. There must not be fraud or other means to illegally gain consumer information

To secure the safety of online payments and prevent financial risks, the draft e-commerce law sets forth the liabilities and obligations of online payment service providers, which is a major reform in online payment law in China.

Under the draft, if an online payment service provider violates any related statutory requirements for financial information security management, the service provider will be liable for the corresponding losses. In addition, for any losses caused by unauthorized payment, the online payment service provider will automatically be held liable, unless the online payment service provider can prove that such losses are caused by the recipient of the online payment service.

The draft law also contains provisions regulating package delivery and logistic service providers. During the performance of express and logistics service, if the e-commerce trading item is delayed, lost, damaged or incomplete, the package delivery or logistics service provider must indemnify the customers. The standard of on-time delivery is not regulated in the draft e-commerce law, but it is regulated in other national standards, i.e. three (3) calendar days within the same city, and seven (7) calendar days to a different city within the mainland of China.

Conclusion

The new law is expected to be officially promulgated next year. Given the rapid growth and development of this sector of China and the global economy, we can expect to see ongoing reform in this area as new players enter the market and new models of e-commerce emerge.

We will also see continued growth of other traditional forms of off-line cross border trade including B2B conventional trade via Free Trade Agreements as well as postal and courier modes of trade shipped by business and consumers (C2C).

Taken as a whole, these developments promise to be disruptive in the positive sense of leading to a more innovative and competitive e-commerce market in China and beyond.

Eugene Clark is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/eugeneclark.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Editor's Note: When spring comes, rape flowers begin to bloom from the south to the north across China. When and where is the best to enjoy rape flowers in China? We recommend 6 place to enjoy the beautiful rape flowers.

1. Xinghua County, Jiangsu Province

Time to See: from early February to end of April

Located in Dongwang Village, Xinghua City of Taizhou, east China's Jiangsu province, the rape flowers scenic area boasts a unique view - the rape flower fields are cut into different pieces by rivers. Rivers, rape flower fields, and boats make the area known as "Thousand-Islet rape flower field".
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U.S. President Donald Trump is seeing more controversy than any other newly elected president in recent memory, and that might hurt his chances of passing his agenda.

Trump, who shocked the world last November when he beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to win the presidential race, has careened from one controversy to another since inauguration in January. Currently, he continues to be dogged by accusations of colluding with Russia.

The latest controversy involves his accusations of his predecessor Barack Obama for the alleged tapping of his phones ahead of last November's Election Day. Trump provided no evidence so far to support his charges, which were swiftly denied by Obama.

The jury remains out on what exactly happened, and about whether the accusations are true or false. But experts said the controversy may well hurt the new president and curb his ability to push his legislative agenda.

"These controversies hurt Trump because they take him off message and make it more difficult to pass the policy changes he has in mind," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

Indeed, Trump was elected on a wave of hopes that he would finally fix a number of long-term problems, from joblessness to over-regulation to tax reform to perceived U.S. weakness in foreign policy. But critics say he's been distracted by one controversy after another, although supporters maintain it's still very early in his presidency.

"The scandals harm his personal reputation and are raising his negatives in public opinion surveys. This is very problematic for him and will make it harder to implement needed changes. People don't trust him and worry that he is not up to the job of being president," West said.

Despite fervent backing from his supporters, the fomer New York businessman overall has very low poll ratings.

Critics now describe Trump's wiretapping accusations against Obama as something out of a spy novel and quite unusual in the United States.

"Trump has provided no evidence that Obama wiretapped him. Even Republican leaders seem dubious of these claims," West said, adding that leading intelligence officials also say this is not true.

Another controversy is that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who met with the Russian ambassador in the U.S. twice last year, did not disclose the meetings during his confirmation hearings. Critics say he should lose his job, although supporters say the controversy can be chalked up to a political witch hunt.

Sessions has recused himself from any investigations into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia.

"The Sessions' recusal means that all investigations of the Trump campaign will go to someone who is less sympathetic to the president than the Attorney General," West said.

Decisions on whether to appoint a special prosecutor will go to a deputy and that person will not have the close personal relationship to the president that Sessions has. The result is riskier for Trump because he will no longer have a trusted ally protecting his legal flank, West said.

"It raises the risk that a special prosecutor will be appointed in the future and that Russia gate could engulf the president," West said of the Russia controversy.

Depending on what the FBI finds, this scandal has the potential to distract Trump from his policy agenda, West added.

"It is not a good way for any administration to start, under the cloud of legal and political scrutiny," West said.
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Syria's government forces reclaimed 1,000 square km of the eastern countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria from the Islamic State (IS) group, reported a monitor group on Tuesday.

The victory came following fierce battles with the IS, which caved in and withdrew from that part of the city.

The military operation has been ongoing for weeks, and the IS yielded the area as the army attempted to reach the town of Khafseh, where Aleppo city's main water source is located, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the IS withdrew most of its militants from Khafseh as well as other areas.

The army launched its offensive against the IS in the eastern countryside of Aleppo on Jan. 17 of this year, killing hundreds of IS militants.

Syrian government forces have reached the city of Manbij in Aleppo's northeastern countryside, controlled by the Kurdish-backed Manbij Military Council (MMC).

Coordination between Russia and the Kurdish fighters led the MMC to recently hand over areas in the western countryside of Manbij to the Syrian army.

The purpose of that move is for Manbij to serve as a dividing line between Kurdish-led groups and advancing Turkish-backed forces aiming to dislodge Kurdish groups from Manbij.

Furthermore, the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition deployed forces close to Manbij to distance the IS and separate Turkish-backed forces from Kurdish-led ones.
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The deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea violates the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a top official of the upper house of Russia's Parliament said Tuesday.

"The deployment is one of the conditions for Russia's withdrawal from the treaty stipulated by its text," Ozerov, Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Russian Federation Council, was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The Defense Ministry of South Korea said earlier in the day that two mobile launchers and part of the equipment necessary for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) had arrived in an air base some 70 km south of the capital Seoul, which was seen by opposition parties in the country as a "unilateral" decision by the government without gaining public approval.

The New U.S.-Russia START agreement was signed in 2010 and became effective in 2011. It is expected to last until 2021 with a possible extension for another five years.

He said the United States was using ballistic missile tests by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a pretext for -- "if not to encircle Russia, then at least besiege it from the west and the east."

The KCNA reported Monday that Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of the DRPK, had supervised on spot a ballistic rocket launching drill of the Korean People's Army (KPA).

Under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization plan to develop its ballistic missile defense capabilities, a U.S. Aegis Ashore missile defense system was activated in Romania last year while the construction of a second Aegis Ashore site began in Poland shortly after.
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Beijing on March 18 to discuss China-US relations and multilateral issues, the State Department announced on Tuesday.

In his maiden trip to Asia since taking the job as US President Donald Trump's top diplomat about a month ago, Tillerson will travel to Japan, the Republic of Korea and then China on March 15-19, Mark Toner, acting State Department spokesman, said at a press conference.

"In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from the DPRK, and reaffirm the administration's commitment to further broaden and enhance US economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region," Toner said.

Tillerson will arrive in Tokyo on March 15, continue to Seoul on March 17, and travel to Beijing on March 18, according to Toner. An earlier report by Japan's Kyodo news agency said the secretary was expected in Japan on March 17-18 and would meet Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

At the news briefing, Toner also talked about Washington's deployment of the anti-missile defense system THAAD  the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense  in South Korea, saying that the US had told China the anti-missile defense system was not meant to be a threat.

China on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to the deployment after a part of the THAAD battery arrived a day before, which began the process of deployment in the country's southeast region.

"We will take steps to maintain our security interests," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang, urging parties concerned to stop deployment and refrain from going too far along the wrong track.

A ROK defense ministry official told Xinhua that two mobile launchers and a part of other equipment arrived at Osan Air Base, about 70 kilometers south of the capital Seoul, on Monday night.

Li Haidong, a professor of US studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said the planned deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in the ROK is a thorn in the side of regional stability.

Tillerson may probably try to explain to China about the "necessity" of deploying THAAD, said Li. "But Beijing will not back out of its opposition to THAAD because it can lead to regional strategic imbalance and poses a grave danger to the country's security."

Tillerson's China visit was announced exactly a week after a two-day visit to Washington by China's top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, on Feb 27-28.

In their meeting at the State Department, Yang, the first senior Chinese official to visit Washington since Trump's inauguration, invited Tillerson to visit Beijing, and Tillerson expressed interest in doing so in the near future.

On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry said the country welcomed the prospect of Tillerson's visit, noting that both countries were in communication over related matters.
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Britain's upper chamber, the unelected House of Lords, defeated Theresa May's government for the second time Tuesday in a bill paving the way for triggering the process for leaving the European Union.

An amendment to the Article 50 bill designed to give the British parliament a "meaningful vote" on the final Brexit deal reached with Brussels was won with 366 votes against 268.

It was the largest vote in the House of Lords since 1993.

The House of Lords is currently scrutinizing the Article 50 bill as part of the process to make it lawful.

Last week, the Lords backed another amendment in what was seen as a challenge to May's government. That amendment was over the right of European citizens to remain in Britain after Brexit.

Under parliamentary procedures, the bill will return later this month to the elected House of Commons, where MPs will have the chance to overturn the amendments.

Lord Bridges, the government parliamentary under-secretary for exiting the EU urged peers not to support any of the amendments, saying May had already guaranteed a vote on the final deal by the houses of parliament.

"The need for the amendment comes down to a judgment on whether the government and its ministers can be trusted. We will honor our commitment to parliament," he said.

Bridges said similar amendments had already been rejected in the House of Commons where the article 50 bill was backed with a landslide majority.

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis, said after the vote "It is disappointing that the House of Lords has chosen to make further changes to a bill that the Commons passed without amendment. It has a straightforward purpose - to enact the referendum result and allow the government to get on with negotiating a new partnership with the EU."

There was some comfort for Prime Minister May earlier after the House of Lords rejected an amendment put forward by the minority Liberal Democratic party. Their call for a second referendum was defeated by 336 votes to 131.

May aims to trigger article 50 before the end of this month once it is given royal assent by Queen Elizabeth. Some political observers say May is likely well before the end of March to tell Brussels formally of Britain's withdrawal from the EU.
SYDNEY - A world-renowned British economist said on Wednesday that Australia is in an excellent position to capitalise on China's growth.

Jim O'Neill, former Goldman Sachs chief economist, spoke candidly to the Australian Financial Review, about the need for Australia to capitalise even further on the opportunities China's growth presents while in the country for a two-day business summit.

O'Neill noted that although Australian banks comprised a high percentage of the market capitalisation,when combined with the high cost of housing and the subsequent debt attached could be a risk, he still has a positive outlook on the economy.

"It seems to be, notwithstanding the housing threat, Australia is in a really good position." O'Neill said.

Long a believer in the potential of the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets, O'Neill maintains that China remains the strongest performer of those economies, with other Asian nations trying to catch up to the growth China has achieved.

"The other big juggernauts coming up behind China are in this part of the world as well, India and Indonesia." O'Neill said.

O'Neill predicts a bright future for the Chinese economy, and stressed that the effective strategy to shift from "old" economic drivers, manufacturing and pollution, towards a service based economy would lead China into an even greater future.

"It's (China) heading towards another decade where GDP will double again," O'Neill said.

"This era of China's growth, which I like to call the new China, is all about the rise of the consumer and they don't have any debt."

As a member of the British House of Lords, O'Neill also touched on Brexit, and maintained that China could be a crucial factor in assisting the transition for Britain into a post-EU economy.

"If the UK was particularly focused and successful on trade with China, India and Indonesia, then we would cope with Brexit." O'Neill said.
Women pilots Guo Hui (right) and Heather Ross in the cockpit of an Air China plane in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily]

In the civil aviation sector, where men still dominate jobs such as pilots and captains, more female pilots have started to emerge and assume important positions.

An increasing number of Chinese airlines are hiring female pilots. This year some airlines, including Air China, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, are signing contracts with female pilots from high schools and colleges.

Globally, the proportion of female pilots is around 3 to 5 percent, and in China, the ratio is about 1 percent. Most women who work in the aviation industry are usually engaged in logistics or service jobs.

Guo Hui, the first female captain of a B787 at Air China, has been safely flying for more than 6,000 hours. Back in 2003, she was selected as one of the six female pilots of Air China, at a time when most other airlines in China made clear that they did not hire women pilots.

"I was one of the first groups of female pilots that Air China hired. Currently, Air China has about 2,000 to 3,000 pilots, and only about 20 are women," Guo said.

She said because of the difference in physical conditions, as a female pilot, she usually runs or does some exercises to boost her stamina.

"When I fly, I like to bring a hand-muscle developer to strengthen my grip. Meanwhile, I tend to use my spare time for simulator training, and improve my decision-making ability."

Heather Ross, the first female pilot to fly a B787 in the world and a former flight engineer, is currently assigned to the B777 and B777X program as a project pilot at Boeing Co.

Ross said in terms of flying skills, there is no difference between men and women, as for those latest advanced aircraft models, they don't have overly high requirements on physical fitness for either men or women pilots.

Meanwhile, more women tend to assume jobs as aircraft mechanics and cargo agents. Jaimee Thomson is an aircraft mechanic who has worked at Hawaiian Airlines for more than four years, and she is one of a few female mechanics in the sector.

"My current position was inspired by my fascination with electricity and my desire to not only challenge myself, but to broaden my overall knowledge and skills as an aircraft mechanic," she said.

"I wanted a job that would allow me to use my hands, exercise my brain, and physically move around and stay active. After moving to Hawaii in 2007 and meeting some aviation enthusiasts, I got my first taste of this exciting industry. I knew this was the job for me."
Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has added news media to its recent string of acquisitions by acquiring an 80 percent stake in a media company in Beijing that runs the website of Caijing Magazine, one of the most popular and influential Chinese business magazines.

HNA's business now spans aviation, finance, real estate, logistics, hospitality, tourism and ecological technology. And it is adding news media to its portfolio.

HNA did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. But an employee at Caijing Magazine who wished to remain anonymous confirmed the equity acquisition, and said that the editorial work of the magazine has stayed independent and was not affected.

According to Tianyancha, an enterprise data query system, the equity change occurred on Dec 12 and the actual amount of investment for the 80 percent stake is not available on the website.

HNA Capital, the financial unit under HNA, now holds an 80 percent stake in Beijing Lianban Caixun Cultural Media, and the media organization itself holds a 10.91 percent stake. The remainder is held by a State-owned media group under State Grid Corp of China.

Beijing Lianban also owns the operating rights of the website of Voyage, a travel magazine, and several other Chinese websites.

Li Xiaojin, a professor of aviation economics at the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin, said: "The media industry is expected to become an even more important sector with the development of big data. Many investors rely on the data and information provided by the media to make more accurate decisions.

"HNA is diversifying its business portfolio, and it seems natural for HNA to acquire a media group to gain more information," Li said.

This is one of the latest deals among a string of deals by HNA, which has made a succession of acquisitions of overseas assets to step up its global expansion. Those overseas acquisitions include the buying of key stakes in a German airport, Deutsche Bank, Sky Bridge Capital, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and others.

In recent years, Caijing has been struggling financially, like other traditional media. Hong Kong-listed SEEC Media Group Ltd, the company that owns the advertising rights of Caijing, suffered a loss of HK$200 million ($25.75 million) in 2015, tumbling 65.05 percent year-on-year.
Artists from all over Southeast Missouri converged on Farmington Presbyterian Manor for the Art is Ageless awards ceremony on Feb. 24.

There were 77 entries submitted in 15 different categories during this years event.

We are honored to exhibit artwork by seniors, said Heidi Beyer, marketing director for Presbyterian Manor. 'Art is Ageless' is unique in featuring only the works of artists age 65 and older. Our artists prove that art, in any form, is an ageless ambition.

Working in conjunction with the Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, the regional art show is open to anyone age 65 and older and offers many different venues for artists to compete in as either a professional or an amateur artist.

Art is Ageless Art Exhibit is held annually at the Farmington location as well as 16 other Presbyterian Manor communities in Kansas and Missouri. Those who took first place in their division or earned Judges Choice and Best in Show are invited to compete against artists from the other communities in Wichita, Kansas. The winning artwork will be highlighted in the 2018 Art is Ageless calendar.

The exhibit and competition always draws a wide array of impressive artwork from talented seniors, said Beyer.

Among those entering the contest was Phyllis Kluver.

In the last eight years, I have entered every year except for one year and that was when I was in a nursing home because of a stroke, said Kluver, who entered a piece of work in the Christmas Amateur category. I always have a lot of fun at this show.

Many of the artists who participate in the show did not realize their artistic capabilities until much later in life.

I didnt start painting until I was 50 years old. I had some health issues and had to retire, so I took some classes at Jefferson College and learned to paint, said Janet Krause, who won Best in Show for her painting Oh God, Oh Country." I think this is a great event. It shows there is still a lot of talented people over 65 years old.

This years Peoples Choice Award was awarded to DeeAnne Hansen, for her piece Acrylic and this year Judge's Choice was present to Iris Vincent, for Above & Beyond.

Winners in the Farmington Presbyterian Manor Art is Ageless juried competition were:

Christmas (professional): Juanita Rapp Wyman, Primary Pine Trees Light-up the Snowy Landscape

Christmas (amateur): Lynette Satterthwaite, And Then in a Twinkling

Drawing (professional): Victoria Gallagher Cummings, Evening

Drawing (amateur): Susan E. Corvick, Morning Light

Fiber Arts (professional): Diane Dickerson, Moon Over the Mississippi

Mixed Media/Crafts (professional): Diane Dickerson, Four Faces of Eve

Mixed Media/Crafts (amateur): June Yoder, Button Doll

Needlework (amateur): Helen Kripplaben, First Song

Painting (professional): Rita Francis, Goldfinch and Sunflower

Painting (amateur): John R. Laughlin, Soaring Free

Photography (professional): Juanita Rapp Wyman, Breakfast on the Balcony

Photography (amateur): Marty Riley, Inside Burfordville Mill

Quilting (amateur): Marie Saunders, Monkey Wrenched

Sculpture/3-D (professional): Gene Thompson, Moores Stove Company

Sculpture/3-D (amateur): Iris Vincent, From the Past
A top nuclear industry executive has called for priority to be given to nuclear power as China's power supply, ensuring that nuclear power plants are a primary source and their output is not adjusted to meet fluctuations in demand.

He Yu, chairman of China General Nuclear Power Corp, also suggests further construction and usage of a connected patchwork of grids across provinces and regions to ensure the consistent supply of the clean energy.

"Not given full play, nuclear reactors are constantly and sometimes consistently shut down like other power units, when the region's electric grid is at or beyond capacity," said He, who is attending the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"The country has set strict security measures for nuclear development, which means that the sector requires more investment while nuclear projects require a longer construction period."

China's power-generation showed signs of a glut as early as 2013 before hitting a high in 2015, and overcapacity is likely to continue for another five years as demand growth slows, according to IHS Market Inc.

Many of the plants are going to be much less utilized than what they had initially been planned for, despite the growing power demand, it said.

China had 35 nuclear power reactors in operation with a total installed capacity of 33.6 GW by the end of 2016, accounting for 2 percent of the country's overall installed electricity capacity, said He.

China added about 8 GW of nuclear power capacity last year, boosting its installed capacity to about 34 GW, according to BMI Research, which provides macroeconomic, industry and financial market analysis.

Nuclear power is expected to reach 58 GW by the end of the decade, the National Development and Reform Commission said in December in its 2016-20 development plan for the power industry.

He said China wasted a total 46.2 billion kilowatt-hours of power last year, a waste of 19 percent as its power industry was capable of generating 242.8 billion kilowatt-hours that year.

The suspension of nuclear reactors also leads to a waste of uranium resources, the reactor fuel, while increasing the difficulties and cost of nuclear waste disposal, he said.

He said many countries, including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and South Korea, are taking nuclear power as a baseload supply, and none of them would have their reactors suspended when there are fluctuations in energy demand.

"Nuclear energy plays an irreplaceable role in China's energy security, helping to reduce air pollution caused by coal-fired power generation," he said.

"China's energy sector has been dominated by coal, accounting for 64 percent of primary energy use, far above the global average of around 30 percent,"

The government has vowed to make renewable energy play an integral role in sustainable development, boosting the amount of non-fossil energy to 15 percent by 2020 and 20 percent by 2030, with coal consumption reduced to 62 percent of energy use by 2020.

Wang Binghua, chairman of State Power Investment Corp, and Wang Shoujun, president of the State-owned China Nuclear Engineering Group Co, who are also attending the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, also called for nuclear power plants to be a primary source of energy supply.

An analyst said nuclear energy are not supposed to be shut down due to fluctuations in energy demand.

"It is far from ideal not to maximize the loads of nuclear reactors, as the general traditional convention or view is that it is not good to lower and then raise the load factors for nuclear reactors frequently from a safety perspective," said Joseph Jacobelli, a senior analyst with Asia utilities and infrastructure research at Bloomberg Intelligence.
A man passes by the 8K laser ink cartoon wall displayed at Shenzhen, which led the national campaign to promote innovation and entrepreneurship last year. [Photo/Xinhua]

Shenzhen's 'maker spaces' share expertise in promoting startups with other cities across the country

Shenzhen, once dubbed "the world's factory", is exporting its model of innovation and entrepreneurship to other cities in China in a bid to stimulate local economies.

The move comes as the entrepreneurship rates in some areas of China seem to be in decline, according to Kevin Au, associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Shenzhen, however, has seen steady growth.

Roughly 16 percent of Shenzhen's population were engaged in early-stage entrepreneurial activities in 2016. The national average is 10 percent, according to a report by the university.

Au noted Shenzhen had developed a separate startup culture and nurtures an entrepreneurial ecosystem that operates independently from the rest of the mainland.

"Maker space", a local phrase that indicates an incubator or a startup accelerator, is a significant part of such an ecosystem. It is a community center providing facilities and training for members to design, bring to prototype and create items. It is a starting point for many startups.

So far, the southern city has more than 80 maker spaces and Chaihuo Maker Space is the very first maker. Since 2010, it has attracted 5,540 members, including China's Premier Li Keqiang, but about 70 percent of its members are from other cities in China and even from all over the world.

The space is sharing its experience all over the country. It has assisted in the establishment of more than 30 maker spaces in 15 cities, from the northern city of Shenyang in Liaoning province to the western city of Chengdu in Sichuan province.

Liao Wei, the space's general manager, said: "In six years, we have formed a comprehensive operating model, including hardware production, company management, marketing and incubating."

He said: "The model can be transplanted to other places to create a national network of maker spaces. Then, we can better share each other's resources."

Elementary schools have been given maker lessons designed by Chaihuo Maker Space and in December, it held Maker Fairea worldwide party to advocate maker culturein Chengdu. The event attracted more than 100 teams, roughly 40 of which are from foreign countries.

Shenzhen's maker economy may also influence people in rural areas.

David Li, founder of the Shenzhen Open Innovation Lab, told China Daily it will open pilot maker spaces at villages in Guangdong and Anhui provinces this year, inspired by The Lab, a maker space authorized by the Fabrication Laboratory (Fab Lab), created by a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Li said the advantage of The Lab's maker space is a platform of more than 1,000 worldwide Fab Labs, sharing their project, resources and demands. He said many of these projects are related to the agricultural industry and have strong links to China's agricultural market.

He said: "Some technologies can increase their production efficiency and some can be designed as an experience program."
Two college students from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology work on the prototype of a robot. [Photo/Xinhua]

To Li Yueqi, Party secretary of the Yangpu district of Shanghai, entrepreneurialism and innovation are a boat on which there are no passengers but only people who row it together.

As the most densely populated district in central Shanghai, Yangpu is home to at least 10 famous Chinese universities, including Fudan, Tongji and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics as well as more than 100 research institutes.

According to Li, the large number of university students in this district is the biggest advantage that Yangpu enjoys. He said the students are sure to make a great contribution to the economy in the future.

As local leaders understand, a reciprocal system must be set up to attract startups to settle down in Yangpu. Therefore, the local government has used the best commercial and property projects to build up university scientific parks.

A total of 300 million yuan ($43.6 million) has been invested to expand the university lands from 4.2 square kilometers to 7 sq km now.

Twenty scientific parks have been set up in Yangpu, with the total area covering 1.83 million square meters. Seven of these parks have been jointly set up by universities and the local government. More than 80 percent of the small and medium-sized techcompanies have a university background.

At present, there are more than 6,000 technology companies registered in Yangpu. Up to 300 companies set up by university teachers and graduates are offered government help in Yangpu every year.

Shanghai Ruking Electronics Technology Co Ltd, which specializes in variable frequency technology, is one of the best examples illustrating the entrepreneurial atmosphere of the area.

Established in 2003, Ruking and industry leader Emerson set up a joint venture in 2014, in which Emerson invested 200 million yuan and Ruking holds the controlling stake with its technology.

"Our goal has always been very clear: working with the world's top 10 companies. Only in this way can we make ourselves first-rate," said Lei Huaigang, founder of Ruking and once a university teacher at Shanghai University.

Yangpu district has also worked with the Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau to set up a startup base. Investing 1 billion yuan, the startup base covers a total area of 50,000 square meters, fostering roughly 250 startup projects and 300 entrepreneurs. Approximately 50 percent of the projects here have been successfully incubated.

Shanghai had set up a foundation to help local college students who have started tech companies, with 50 million yuan being dispensed in the first phase. Half of that amount went to students from Yangpu district.

Li said: "While building a scientific innovation area, the market should play its role and the government should also shoulder its responsibilities."
When Chen Ning returned to the country to get his startup going, he had to share an office with another maker, but two years later he has an office of more than 1,000 square meters with about 100 employees in Shenzhen.

Chen said: "The attraction of Shenzhen is the city's recognition of new technology." It was willing to provide resources to try out Chen's product, an opportunity he cherished the most.

Technology is one of the most important advantages of many overseas returnee entrepreneurs, he said.

Chen received his doctorate at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States. When working overseas in the frontiers of chip R&D industry, he once participated in setting the international standard of 4G-LTE.

His startup, named Intelli-Fusion Technologies Co Ltd, focuses on the research and development of artificial intelligence and visual information processing. Its production value reached 50 million yuan ($7.24 million) last year.

Shenzhen's public security system in 2015 adopted the startup's first visual intelligence system "DeepEye", which can help recognize a suspect from a million people in just one second.

Chen said the public security market was their major target. Thanks to Shenzhen's successful pilot project, he can promote the model to other Chinese cities this year. "Only when advanced technology is combined with market demand can innovative startups perform to the best of their abilities," said the 41-year-old entrepreneur.

As for financial support, his team was enrolled in Shenzhen government's "peacock campaign", a program to attract tech talent, and was granted 40 million yuan in capital support in 2015. Since 2011, the program has supported more than 1,200 top talented people and about half of them have overseas study background.

People with overseas study backgrounds are among the many startup founders in Shenzhen, including those of high-tech enterprises like DJI, Kuang-Chi, Royole and BGI.

In 2016, Shenzhen attracted 10,509 such talented people, a record high, with financial incentives, housing subsidies and other preferential measures. Yang Peng, head of the Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Returnees Association, said Shenzhen is the preferred destination for overseas returnees to start their own businesses.

According to the association's survey, about 10 percent of the city's overseas returnee students choose to set up startups there.
Province aims to shift away from reliance on the coal industry

China's Shanxi province wants to cut its reliance on coal and develop other industries such as information technology and clean energy this year, senior provincial officials said on Tuesday.

Luo Huining, Party chief of Shanxi province and a deputy to the National People's Congress, said the provincial government will shift its developing priorities to new growth engines including the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the development of China's central and western regions and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Luo Huining, Party chief of Shanxi province and a deputy to the National People's Congress. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Luo said: "We will expand our market share in manufacturing machinery, clean energy, industrial materials and agricultural products to both the domestic and global markets, in particular to countries in Africa and Southeast Asia."

The province has already set a target to invest up to 414.4 billion yuan ($60.08 billion) in more than 900 projects related to digital economy, high-end manufacturing equipment and pharmaceutical products between 2015 and 2017 to carry out supply-side reforms.

Supply-side reforms include a series of policies to improve the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, public services, increase environmental protection, maximize the quality and scale of production, and further opening-up of Chinese markets to foreign investors.

Wang Fu, vice-governor of Shanxi province and another NPC deputy, said: "To accelerate the economic structural adjustment, the provincial government will also encourage more private companies to venture into telecoms, energy and transportation infrastructure projects through the public-private partnership model."

To prevent potential risks caused by excessive mining and the low price of coal globally, Shanxi has closed 25 coal mines and cut total production capacity to 23.25 million metric tons in 2016.

The authority will not approve any new coal mine projects and plans to cut production capacity up to 100 million tons by 2020.

The National Development and Reform Commission posted a statement online on Tuesday, saying China plans to cut coal production capacity by 150 million tons in 2017.

The figure has slightly decreased from 2016 to ensure a sufficient supply of coal. The price of coal will be monitored to prevent abnormal fluctuation.

Ding Rijia, a professor at the China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing, said: "Local governments need to balance the relations between their local supply and demand, in case of the gap caused by the sudden cut and the inadequate supply of alternatives."
President Xi Jinping meets NPC deputies from Liaoning province at a panel discussion in Beijing on Tuesday during the ongoing two sessions. Xi said Liaoning should be determined to regain industrial success.[Photo by Xie Huanchi/Xinhua]

President says SOEs should be innovative

President Xi Jinping urged Northeast China on Tuesday to depend on the real economy and push forward supply-side structural reform to revitalize the region's economic growth, which has slowed in recent years with overcapacity cuts in heavy industries.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a panel discussion with lawmakers from Liaoning province during the ongoing annual session of the country's top legislature.

The real economy will always be fundamental for the country's development and competitiveness, Xi said, adding that Liaoning's provincial authorities should be determined to regain industrial success amid the country's efforts to revitalize Northeast China's industrial base. "Real economy" refers to producing goods and services.

The northeastern region, consisting of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, largely relies on heavy and chemical industries, energy resources, raw materials and a large proportion of State-owned enterprises. The region, an old industrial base, has experienced more difficulties than the rest of the country in economic development in the past two years.

Xi pointed out that the key to revitalization of Liaoning's economy is to push forward supply-side structural reform.

He called for more efforts to upgrade the industrial structure to establish competitive industries.

The president mapped out the new vision of the province's development, with joint development of strategic emerging industries and traditional industries, the promotion of both modern and traditional service industries, deep integration of informatization and industrialization, and integration of military and civil industries.

Informatization refers to an information-based economy.

In October last year, the central government approved the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) for revitalizing Northeast China, which aims to boost the local economy and private investment in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.

State-owned enterprises, which play a leading role in the revitalization of Liaoning, should become stronger, Xi said. He encouraged the SOEs to take the lead in innovation.

Xi also urged optimization of State-owned assets, full implementation of the duties of preserving and increasing the value of State-owned assets, and prevention of losses of State-owned assets.

During the discussion, Xi highlighted the importance of clean governance. Only with "good political ecology" will the government gain progress and stability, he said.

The nomination of officials must stick to the correct direction to select loyal and honest officials, he added.

The deputies to the National People's Congress should represent the people, speak for the people, and unite the people since they were elected from the people, he said.

During the discussion, the lawmakers gave their suggestions on issues including SOE reforms, development of private businesses and the preservation of traditional culture.
Tax, fee cuts planned as well as policies that are favorable to small businesses

China will cut taxes and administrative fees by 550 billion yuan ($79.7 billion) this year to further reduce the corporate burden and will roll out favorable tax policies to support small innovative and technology companies, Finance Minister Xiao Jie said on Tuesday.

Xiao said the ministry will adopt a proactive and effective fiscal policy by increasing the fiscal deficit by 200 billion yuan to meet the demands for tax cuts and expenditures in key areas such as supply-side structural reform.

China has set its fiscal deficit target at 3 percent of GDP this year in the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday to the annual session of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

"While the deficit ratio is unchanged from last year, the fiscal deficit will increase as the overall volume of GDP expands," Xiao told reporters at a news conference.

"We will boost fiscal support for supply-side reform and to ensure a reasonable economic growth rate," he said.

In addition to tax relief, the minister vowed that the government will increase efforts to push forward more public-private partnership projects, which are still in their infancy in China.

A total of 1,351 PPP projects worth 2.2 trillion yuan had been signed by the end of last year, with the time frame for implementing such projects growing shorter. Compared with the situation in early 2016, there are now more PPP projects being put in place and a larger volume of investment, Xiao added.

Meanwhile, the finance minister said the government will roll out favorable tax policies for small and micro businesses. Companies with annual taxable income lower than 500,000 yuan will have a 50 percent tax cut, according to Xiao.

The ministry is also studying a plan to reduce the personal tax burden and is considering granting more tax cuts to families with two children, Xiao said.

While the target of China's fiscal deficit remains unchanged this year, Zhu Haibin, chief China economist at JP Morgan, said the authorities will likely seek alternative ways such as local government special bond issuance and off-budget spending to support an expansionary fiscal policy stance.

"It looks like the actual fiscal policy implementation will still largely rely on off-budget fiscal spending in 2017. Nevertheless, it is important to impose a hard budget constraint on local governments and to streamline the split between central and local government expenditure items," Zhu said.

Marie Diron, an analyst at Moody's Investors Service, said China's fiscal impulse will be larger to maintain robust economic growth, and government debt may edge up toward 40 percent of GDP.

"The gap between the government's revenues and expenditure is likely to be wider before funds are reallocated, as has been the case in the last two years. Other public sector spending such as investment by State-owned enterprises also contributes to maintaining robust growth," Diron said.

At Tuesday's news conference, Finance Minister Xiao said overall government debt risk is under control, with the debt-to-GDP ratio at around 36.7 percent.
FUZHOU  Fujian, a coastal province in eastern China where Chinese fleets started their first maritime expeditions 600 years ago, is pursuing a bigger role in China's foreign trade.

In mid-March, a special train carrying 38 containers of liquid crystal displays, worth 31 million yuan ($4.5 million), will arrive in Lodz, Poland.

It is the first Chinese train to Europe on the EU-China Smart and Secure Trade Lane (SSTL).

A pilot project between the EU and Asia to fully implement the World Customs Organization Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Trade, SSTL allows traders to quicken customs clearance with enhanced logistics, and consumers to track goods.

"Given the SSTL initiative was previously confined to sea transport only, this train has broadened the services to railways," said Nan Zhihui, chief of the Clearance Supervision Bureau of Xiamen Customs.

Apart from the SSTL program, Xiamen is also among the 12 Chinese cities that have opened railway services to Europe and Central Asia, due to a drastic rise in freight volume and geographical advantage.

By March 1, 6,132 containers of goods worth 1.69 billion yuan in total have been exported through the China-EU railway route opened in Xiamen in August 2015.

Xiamen's exports to Poland alone increased 10-fold last year. This year, its transport capacity may rise by a further 50 percent.

A traditional shipping center, Xiamen also has sea lanes to Southeast Asia in the south and Taiwan in the east.

This has made Xiamen as well as Fujian a good choice for the country to rejuvenate ancient international trade routes by land and by sea, namely the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Xing Yi, vice-general manager of New Silk Railway Xiamen, which runs the Xiamen-Europe railway route, said that in April Xiamen would open direct rail services to Moscow.

To boost marine trade Fujian has issued a package of policies to firm up the province's role as a key international hub, which includes infrastructure construction, trade and investment facilitation and industry cooperation.

Jiang Xiong, president of China ASEAN Marine Product Exchange, said the exchange had planned to establish a branch in every ASEAN country to promote maritime trade.

He said the exchange had enrolled 358 member fishery enterprises and 2,187 trading partners home and abroad, completing trading of 766 million yuan by the end of 2016.

Local fishery companies have also set up nine deep-sea fishing bases with an aggregate area of 6,667 hectares in Indonesia, Myanmar, Mauritania and other countries along the maritime silk road.

"We hope to build an industrial chain for all relevant companies to benefit," Jiang said.

When Zheng He, envoy of the Chinese Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, started a marine expedition from 1405 to 1433, Chinese silk, porcelain and tea were sent to Europe.

"The current external trade of Fujian also boasts of a strong tea flavor," said Wu Rongshan, president of Fujian Sanhe Tea Company. "China's tea brands are entering the western market."

Fujian provincial government organized an event introducing Fujian tea to Britain, France, and Spain in late February, where 15 local tea companies signed contracts worth 486 million yuan with their British counterparts. A cultural center highlighting the tea of Fujian was also launched in London.

"The Europeans are always curious about and delighted by Chinese tea not just for its fine quality but also the profound tea culture," he said.

Chen Cangsong with the United Nations Maritime-Continental Silk Road Cities Alliance said that the international trade route also facilitated the overseas investment of local private enterprises.

Teaming up with the China-Africa Development Fund, China Development Bank and Industrial Bank, the alliance has set up several 10-billion-yuan funds to assist local companies to develop in Southeast Asia.

In the first phase, 3 billion yuan has been activated, targeting enterprises in footwear, textiles, food, clothing and building materials.

"With such a platform, Chinese enterprises can be more involved in the overseas markets," Chen said.
Associate Circuit Judge Joseph Goff Jr. set a $1 million cash-only bond on Tuesday afternoon for Anthony Caruthers, the Bonne Terre man charged with killing Farmington businessman Michael VanStavern.

The bond was requested by Prosecuting Attorney Jerrod Mahurin, citing as justification a Missouri statute that provides defendants being held without bond the right to demand their cases be tried within 120 days. Setting a bond, therefore, gives the state more time to properly prepare its case for trial.

Caruthers was arrested in November and was being held in the St. Francois County Jail without bond.

Caruthers did not appear for the hearing, but was represented by his attorney Lynn Ruess who announced that her client elected to waive a preliminary hearing. The case will now be transferred to the Circuit Court for setting for trial.

Caruthers was arrested with Jeremy Reed, of Farmington, following a police pursuit that ended in a crash and the discovery of VanStaverns body in the back of the victims own Porsche SUV, which was being driven by Caruthers.

Caruthers is charged with a class A felony of murder in the first degree, the unclassified felony of armed criminal action, a class C felony of burglary in the second degree, a class C felony of tampering with a motor vehicle in the first degree, a class D felony of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, and a class D felony of resisting arrest.

Reed, who was charged with a class C felony of burglary in the second degree and a class D felony of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution, is being held in the St. Francois County jail on a $250,000 cash-only bond with GPS monitoring required upon release.

According to a probable cause statement, during a recorded interview Reed said that Caruthers admitted to him that he killed VanStavern at the Red Cedar Lodge in Bonne Terre on Nov. 2.

Reed told investigators that Caruthers contacted him by phone and picked him up at his house in Park Hills in VanStaverns Porsche SUV. He said Caruthers asked for his help with something but didnt provide any details at first. Reed stated Caruthers, while driving them to Red Cedar Lodge, explained to him how he had killed VanStavern.

Reed described how they went into room 14 and Caruthers told Reed that VanStavern's body was under the bed. Reed said he lifted up the mattress to find VanStavern and then he assisted Caruthers in removing the body from the motel room after they purchased items from a local business to help them conceal the body as they moved it from the hotel room to the back of the Porsche.

Reed also told investigators he had some items at his residence that belonged to VanStavern, which he and Caruthers took after leaving the lodge.

The probable cause statement also indicated that during a subsequent questioning of Caruthers, he confessed to killing VanStavern by strangling him with a belt.

He told investigators he called Reed and then they both went to VanStaverns apartment in Farmington where they used VanStaverns key to get in, which Caruthers had taken off the body. He added he and Reed removed several items including, but not limited to, clothing and watches from the apartment.

Caruthers said he attempted to pawn the items taken from VanStaverns apartment at multiple pawn shops in the Jefferson County area, but was unsuccessful. Caruthers and Reed also reportedly conspired to dispose of VanStaverns body and purchased items to conceal the murder and clean the crime scene.

The morning following the murder, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper saw the driver of a Porsche SUV commit a traffic violation on U.S. 67 at approximately 10:30 a.m. He activated his lights and siren in an attempt to stop the vehicle.

The driver, later identified as Caruthers, failed to stop and instead exited the highway at Desloge, went toward Cedar Falls Road, ran through a fence, across a yard, through another fence, crashed into a tree line at the back of the house, jumped out of the SUV and fled on foot.

At the time, the pursuing officer was unsure if there had been more than one person in the SUV, but he spotted Reed running from the wreck and gave chase, catching him a short distance away. When the officer returned to the SUV with Reed he discovered the body wrapped inside a sleeping bag and another item.

Several other law enforcement agencies were contacted to assist, including the Division of Drug and Crime Control, additional Missouri State Highway Patrol officers, the St. Francois County Sheriffs Department and the Desloge Police Department.

Reed was taken to the Desloge Police Department for questioning and it was determined that a second male had been in the SUV and had fled on foot. A stop and hold was put out on Caruthers after Reed gave a description. Authorities searched the area of the crash site as well as an area at College Road and Penny Lane in Leadington for over several hours before Caruthers was located at about 3 p.m. not far from the crash scene outside Desloge.

An autopsy confirmed that VanStavern died as a result of strangulation.
A woman visitor laughs when humanoid robot Jia Jia made a correct guess about her age at an expo in Tianjin. Jia Jia uses voice recognition technology developed by iFlytek Co Ltd, a software company specializing in intelligent speech and language technologies. [Photo/Xinhua]

A national laboratory focused on artificial intelligence should be established to support AI technology and innovation, said Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlytek Co Ltd, a leading firm engaged in intelligent voice and speech technologies.

Liu, a deputy to the National People's Congress, called on the government to set up a national lab on voice- and speech-based AI technology, as well as an industry alliance, technological standards and a legal system related to AI technology,

He made the call at a news conference on Tuesday during the country's annual legislative and political advisory meetings in Beijing.

"China's AI technology doesn't lag behind other countries. The key is to establish an ecosystem to boost the development of the AI industry," Liu said, also suggesting that primary and middle schools and universities should offer courses in AI technologies to cultivate skills.

The Shenzhen-listed iFlytek is stepping up efforts to promote the application of intelligent voice and speech technology in the education, healthcare, finance and city construction sectors, according to Liu.

Liu hoped that AI technologies could be applied this year in a wider range of areas such as healthcare, finance, smart city construction and other sectors.

Apart from voice and image recognition technologies, and speech synthesis technology, iFlytek is pushing forward a project, which enables robots not only to listen and speak, but also to comprehend and think about what people say.

Liu said earlier AI technology had three layerscomputational intelligence, perceptive intelligence and cognitive intelligence. Robots have rivaled the human brain in the first two layers, but cognitive intelligence, the ability of thinking, is more challenging.

Founded in 1999, iFlytek has captured a more than 70 percent market share in the Chinese speech technology market, and taken the lead in the formation of the Chinese speech industry supply chain.

Zhao Ziming, an analyst at Analysys International in Beijing, said: "Introducing AI technologies into essay correction and marking might make people doubt their accuracy as the machine recognition still has some limitations."

"It is time for the tech giants engaged in the AI industry to take more responsibility to establish the industry alliance and establish related standards. What the government could do is to give preferential policies to support the AI industry," Zhao said.

According to statistics from the Speech Industry Alliance of China, the scale of the global intelligent voice industry will reach $10.5 billion by 2017, with a growth rate of 29.6 percent.
Hu Shuqing shows off a pair of tiger-head shoes. [Photo/ha.people.cn]

Colorful tiger-head shoes are a beautiful childhood memory for most Chinese people. As time goes by, however, fewer and fewer children wear such shoes, and the people who know how to make the shoes are also decreasing in number. Hu Shuqing, a woman in Qixian County, Henan province, has collected about 10,000 pairs of tiger-head shoes over 17 years. Her collection is worth more than 1 million RMB.

"I was given a pair of tiger-head shoes over 10 years ago, and I have been obsessed with the shoes ever since," said Hu.

Tiger-head shoes are a traditional Chinese folk handicraft that are also used as footwear for children. Their name comes from the toe cap, which resembles the head of a tiger.

Hu has traveled to many places around the country to buy tiger-head shoes, especially temple fairs during Spring Festival. Folk arts need to be protected, exhibited, shared and passed on, she emphasized.
Linsey van Santen chats with her biological mother during a video call as her mother is overcome with emotion on Saturday.[Photo by Zheng Peng / For China Daily]

A Chinese woman, who was adopted by a couple from the Netherlands 23 years ago, has successfully identified her biological parents through DNA tests, after being helped by local media in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province.

The 23-year-old Linsey van Santen was abandoned five weeks after she was born.

Having learned about other successful cases, she came up with the idea of searching for her birthparents via the media last year, with the Wenzhou Metropolis Daily publishing her story last month.

Van Santen said in the story that she was abandoned in front of Wenzhou Children Welfare Center on the evening of July 18, 1994, wrapped in a blanket.

She stayed at the center for a while, until the Dutch couple adopted her.

Aware that she was adopted as a young child, she has been eager to contact her biological parents.

"I have become an independent women and I want to let my Chinese parents know that I am living a good life," she said.

Having lived overseas for so long, Van Santen speaks little Chinese, but insisted on having Chinese posters published on Chinese social media sites in the hope of them being seen by her birthparents.

Van Santen's story was published by several media outlets over the past month. Many people called a hotline number to give clues or claiming to be her birthparents. However, it was the information provided by a woman, surnamed Wu, from Longwan district in Wenzhou city that was most important.

Wu had been checking notices regarding missing family members for years, and the detailed information in the Wenzhou Metropolis Daily report appeared to correspond to her second daughter.

Both Van Santen and Wu provided DNA samples to a gene testing organization, with test results revealing on Friday that Wu is Van Santen's biological mother.

The pair added each other on WeChat later that day and began chatting with the help of its translation function. Van Santen conducted a video call with Wu at the Wenzhou Metropolis Daily office on Saturday, assisted by an interpreter.

"Baby, I feel guilty all the time. It is all my fault," said Wu, who could not help crying when facing her long lost daughter.

Van Santen said her foster parents were very happy for her and she would reschedule her 2018 China trip to reunite with her Chinese family later this year.

Ruan Lifan contributes to this story.
Law enforcement cooperation with Western counterparts intensified

A total of 43 former officials suspected of corruption were brought back from more than 19 countries and regions to face justice in the first 11 months of last year, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

National prosecutors also confiscated about 548 million yuan ($79.5 million) of illegal assets, said Song Hansong, a senior official with the SPP's Anti-Corruption and Bribery Bureau.

Among the 43 fugitives, 11 were repatriated and the others were persuaded to return to confess to their crimes, Song told China Daily.

The charges mainly involved corruption, bribery and embezzlement, with a total of 16 of them returning from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, he said.

Since 2016, as part of a national anti-corruption campaign, the SPP has conducted a special action targeting corrupt officials who are still at large abroad.

"We've strengthened law enforcement cooperation with overseas counterparts, especially those in Western countries, to share intelligence and conduct joint investigations," Song said, adding that intensified cooperation has been effective.

In September, Jiang Qian, a former senior executive with State-owned Wuhan Urban Drainage Development Ltd in Hubei province, returned from Canada to confess to his crimes.

Jiang, who fled to Canada in 2011, was accused of abusing his power and of corruption. After he left the country, the prosecuting department in Hubei launched a probe into Jiang, beginning procedures to confiscate his illegal funds left in China and seeking assistance from Canada.

In December 2015, a local court in Wuhan ruled to confiscate Jiang's ill-gotten assets worth 14 million yuan, and Jiang is currently awaiting trial.

According to the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection, the top anti-graft watchdog, China will start a new round of action in April to continue its hunt for corrupt officials and economic fugitives.

As part of the action, national prosecutors will deepen judicial cooperation with the international community, especially Western countries, to locate and recover illicitly acquired assets and capture fugitives. Taking measures to prevent corrupt officials from fleeing China will also be a priority this year, according to the SPP.

"Uncovering ill-gotten funds involves presenting solid evidence to our foreign counterparts when asking them to assist in discovering, freezing and confiscating dirty money," said Huang Feng, a professor of international criminal law at Beijing Normal University.
Gao Hongzhi, Party chief and the top official of Handan, Hebei province, is ready for a group interview after a panel discussion with the Hebei delegation on Tuesday. [Photo by Kuang Linhua/China Daily]

As China cuts overcapacity in the steel and coal industries in northern regions, the government has also made the resettlement of laid-off workers a priority, officials from Tianjin municipality, and Hebei and Shanxi provinces said on Tuesday.

Shanxi province managed to re-employ 31,600 workers, 99.8 percent of those made redundant due to cutting capacity in the iron, steel and coal industries last year, Wang Fu, deputy governor of Shanxi, said at a group discussion of the ongoing session of the national legislature.

Handan, a city in Hebei province where iron and steel are the pillar industry, has re-employed more than 12,000 workers. In 2016, Handan cut over 10 million metric tons of iron, steel and coal capacity.

"It's never easy to resettle these workers, but we've developed many ways to absorb them," Gao Hongzhi, Party chief and the top official of Handan, said on Tuesday.

Workers are encouraged to find new jobs in other departments at their plants, or at other factories, he said.

For example, last year Yinlong New Energy Corp absorbed more than 3,000 workers who used to work at iron, steel and coal companies, Gao said.

Workers in their 40s and 50s will get extra training to help them find new jobs, or they can retire early if they meet special conditions, Gao said.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, over 726,000 workers from 1,905 companies in the iron and steel and coal industries, scattered across 28 provincial regions, were re-employed last year.

The central government has listed the resettling of redundant workers as a priority task.

While delivering the Government Work Report to the national legislature on Sunday, Premier Li Keqiang required governments to ensure that laid-off workers can find new jobs and have their livelihoods secured.

Last year, the Ministry of Finance announced that 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) would be allocated to help resettle workers made redundant due to cuts in overcapacity. About 30 billion yuan was spent last year.

Chen Yingqun and Zhong Nan contributed to this story.
Shenzhou XI manned spacecraft blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China on Oct 17, 2016. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

China is making a new-generation manned spaceship which rivals that of world-leading space powers, a space mission expert said.

"Among the next generation of manned spaceships some foreign countries are developing, only the Orion spacecraft of the US can carry out a moon landing mission," Zhang Bainan, a spaceship engineer with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, told Science and Technology Daily on Tuesday.

China is working on a new manned spaceship that can fly both in low earth orbit, as well as a moon landing mission, Zhang said. He added that the spacecraft is recoverable and has a larger capacity than the new-generation manned spaceship of foreign countries, which can carry six people in low earth orbit and three to four in a moon landing mission.

As a late-starter in manned space flight, China has made significant advances and its newest spacecraft is set to match the capabilities of other world leaders in space exploration, Zhang said.

Last year, the re-entry module of the new spacecraft was put to the test aboard a Long March-7 rocket.

China first launched a man into space in 2003, 42 years after the former Soviet Union carried out the maiden manned space flight.

The country is projected to build a space station in 2020 and make a manned moon landing in 2030.
Zhang Qianhong, NPC deputy and also the vice-president of Zhengzhou University. [Photo provided by Zhang Qianhong]

To achieve greater progress in the education sector, the institutions of learning need a global outlook with Chinese characteristics, according to Zhang Qianhong, NPC deputy and the vice-president of Zhengzhou University in Central China's Henan province.

"The further development of the country's higher education sector needs internationalization, while keeping the Chinese characteristic," Zhang said.

"Only a scientific and rational education system with the involvement of more universities and colleges, featuring local distinctive disciplines can improve the quality of our education," she said in an interview with chinadaily.com.cn on March 7 in Beijing, during the ongoing two sessions - the annual gathering of the nation's top legislature and its top political advisory body.

"Apart from focusing on distinctive disciplines, more private investment as well as an orderly flow of talented teachers can also play positive role in guaranteeing the improvement of higher education," Zhang added in reference to the building of "double first-class"- a strategy that aims to develop world-class universities and first-class disciplines.

Among the listed 129 colleges and universities in Henan province, only Zhengzhou University features in the "211 Project", a major plan that China has carried out since the end of the last century to build key universities. Currently, 27.65 million students are studying in universities across the province.

"Henan has the third-largest number of enrolled students in the country, but lack of high-quality resources means it has been at a disadvantage in the country's whole higher education system for a long time," Zhang said.

But a lot has been achieved in recent years, with 3 billion yuan distributed by the local government as subsidy to colleges and universities since 2015 to better support the distinctive disciplines.

According to Zhang, seven natural disciplines taught at Henan universities and colleges, including four at Zhengzhou University, have been ranked among the top 1-percent in ESI (Essential Science Indicators).

"In addition, humanities are also a key discipline we've been promoting," said Zhang. "Humanities are indispensable for universities to improving their influence in the world." She said.

Established in 2001, a cluster of distinctive disciplines specializing in the history of Henan province, also known as the Central Plain, was set up by Zhengzhou University, for the research of Chinese civilization.

"The implementation of 'double first-class' is a great opportunity for Henan to further develop its higher education," Zhang said.
BEIJING - "I am proud my home village has preserved its traditional style," said Tashi Yangjen, the only deputy to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from the Luoba ethnic group.

With 3,600 people, Luoba is one of the smallest ethnic minorities in China.

Tashi Yangjen, 36, grew up in a mountainous Luoba village in Shannan prefecture in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, though the prefecture was officially reclassified as a city in 2016.

As an NPC deputy, the first suggestion Tashi Yangjen submitted to the NPC session in 2013 was on retaining the traditional design of Luoba homes, which are usually thatched with straw.

She was worried that the outlook of the village would change as the government revamped and rebuilt village homes, mostly built with stone, wood and straw.

Her proposal was a success. In May 2014, the government approved a plan to preserve the Luoba village.

Now there are 23 new homes built with reinforced concrete in the village that look almost the same as traditional Luoba homes. Their roofs are not covered by straw, but metal that resembles straw.

Tashi Yangjen's suggestions as an NPC deputy were not just about housing. She also proposed that Luoba culture be protected, including language and clothing, as well as improved infrastructure.

Things are getting better for Luoba people. There is a sewage treatment service in her home village, in addition to a garbage disposal facility.

A small factory for making Luoba costume is being built. Upon completion, about five Luoba people will work there making souvenirs and Luoba dresses, which usually feature red, black or white stripes. Together with traditional dress, Luoba women often wear accessories, including long necklaces and headwear made of blue beads.

The Luoba ethnic group has no written language.

"The spoken language of the Luoba is also protected, as traditional words are collected and Luoba children are able to learn them from preschool education," Tashi Yangjen told Xinhua during the ongoing annual session of the 12th NPC.

Tashi Yangjen's suggestions also include improving the subsidies offered to residents living in border regions. This year she plans to submit a proposal to build more public facilities, including small parks where people can get together for events.

"The people's congresses are good because deputies' motions and suggestions are responded to," she said, adding the system is sound because it entitles ethnic minorities, however small, to have at least one NPC deputy.

PART-TIME LAWMAKER

The people's congress system is the fundamental political system in China, with about 2.6 million deputies at various levels.

At the pinnacle of the system sits the NPC, which supervises the State Council, China's cabinet, as well as the top court and procuratorate.

In China's political system, the NPC is the supreme organ of state power. There are nearly 3,000 deputies to the 12th NPC.

NPC deputies are part-time, and a deputy to the NPC can be the country's president or a farmer, a celebrated tycoon or a migrant worker, a lawyer or an official.

Tashi Yangjen was born into a poor family of wheat and barley farmers, and is currently a township official in the Tibetan city.

She was educated in a Tibetan school in Changzhou city in eastern Jiangsu Province and a college in Yueyang city in central Hunan Province, before becoming a primary school teacher in 2004.

The government has been sending students from Tibet to study at high schools in inland cities since 1985 in the hopes of training more professionals for the underdeveloped plateau region and boosting Tibet's development.

Currently about 20,000 students from the region are studying in inland regions, including Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu, where special Tibetan high schools are open to them. The free education has enabled hard-working Tibetan children to attend school, even if their families are poor.

Tibet has a huge task to relieve 690,000 people out of poverty between 2016 and 2020.

During the five years starting 2011, Tibet lifted more than 600,000 people from poverty.

Tashi Yangjen said she was happy that all the residents in her home village were lifted out poverty last year.

BETTER FUTURE

There are 56 ethnic groups in China, with Han people representing the bulk of population.

According to China's electoral law, NPC deputies should be elected in proportion to the population, urban and rural regions alike. A deputy might represent several hundreds of thousands of people.

However, each ethnic minority is entitled by law to have at least one deputy to the NPC, and Tashi Yangjen is one of about 400 ethnic minority deputies to the 12th NPC.

These deputies are active in protecting their traditional culture, in addition to making submissions on other issues, including national development.

Padma Chodron, the only NPC deputy of the Menba ethnic group, has a similar educational experience to Tashi Yangjen. Padma Chodron is a township official in Medog County in Nyingchi City of Tibet, and has been focusing on the cultural protection of the Menba, which has a population of 10,500.

She submitted a suggestion to the NPC session last year, calling for a county-level institution to protect and develop the ethnic minority language.

"Our Menba people only have a spoken language," she said. "If no one speaks the language, many of the traditions of the ethnic group will inevitably disappear."

To her delight, in 2016 the local government organized a team to record the customs, legends and ballads of the ethnic group as well as the memories of folk artists.

Observers believe the future of the smaller ethnic groups looks bright either in cultural protection or living standards, as the government attaches greater importance to their development.

According to the government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the NPC session on Sunday, the government will increase support for development in areas inhabited mainly by ethnic minorities.

"We will protect and develop the fine traditional culture of ethnic minorities and support the growth of ethnic groups with smaller populations," Li said.
GUANGZHOU - The last pipe was put in place on Tuesday, as work on the undersea tunnel of world's longest cross-sea bridge, linking Zhuhai in Guangdong province with Hong Kong and Macao, nears its end.

The 5,664-meter tunnel, believed to be world's longest sunken pipe tunnel, comprises of 33 sections. and is now 12 meters from closure. Construction of the bridge began in December of 2009 in Zhuhai.

The bridge and tunnel system spanning the Pearl River estuary is an important waymarker in the integration of Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong. The Y-shaped bridge starts from Lantau Island in Hong Kong with branches to Zhuhai and Macao.

Major construction work on the 55-km bridge was completed last September. It is expected to be open to traffic by the end of this year.

Once in operation, the current four-hour drive from Hong Kong to Zhuhai will be reduced to less than an hour. All Pearl River Delta cities will then be within a reasonable commuting radius of Hong Kong.
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BEIJING - Once an ordinary villager in Northwest China's Gansu province, Zhou Zhixiu, 44, is now a successful entrepreneur, employing many other women from her home county.

In 2008, Zhou ran into a group of housemaids when she was visiting Lanzhou, capital of Gansu. Before that encounter, she had never imagined that people would employ others to do their cleaning, cooking and childcare for them.

"I had never known housekeeping was a thing people could be paid for. It was the kind of work I was good at, and suddenly, I could earn money!" she said.

Soon, she and some friends had signed up with an agency. After a couple of years, she felt she had learned enough about the business and saw an opportunity. Filled with confidence, in 2011 Zhou returned to her village to start her own business.

She has since introduced hundreds of impoverished women to employers near and far. Each of these women can earn up to 5,000 yuan (720 U.S. dollars) a month.

Living in villages, Chinese women like Zhou once had little chance to make their own way in the world. As they celebrate International Working Women's Day this year, women in China are more free than ever to seek work and careers, thanks to the growing prosperity of society at large and government policies designed to empower women.

OPENING UP OPPORTUNITIES

Two years ago, Zhou's company became eligible for free employee training from the Women's Federation of Gansu, which last year also provided financing to help the company expand.

Protection of women's interests is an important part of China's poverty relief efforts and government support is helping women from rural areas start businesses or seek jobs. Over two million women from rural central and western areas have received some kind of training since 2012. Small loans are more easily obtainable for women. These measures address two of the principal problems faced by rural women: low levels of education and an inability to access resources.

Improved opportunities for women in the countryside come from the fact that Chinese women in general are better educated today than ever before.

Moreover, females made up 52.4 percent of the whole college population in 2015, and 49.7 percent of all post-graduate students.

A government report released last November showed improving ratios of women among civil servants, national legislators, political advisors and business managers.

"Females should participate in all aspects of governance," said Tsinghua University's Qiao Fengjie in an interview with China Women's News.

PROBLEMS STILL FACING WORKING WOMEN

There is no doubt that things have improved greatly for Chinese women, but much remains to be done, in particular in dealing with discrimination in the workplace.

In a survey of 55,000 working women released on Monday by recruiters "Zhaopin.com," over 80 percent of respondents said they had encountered gender discrimination in their work, or in their search for a job.

Discrimination comes in a variety of guises. Some employers flatly refuse to even look at resumes from women. Some require female job seekers to hold better qualifications than men. Some simply say "men only" in their recruitment material.

Several laws, including the Labor Law and Employment Promotion Law, include content about gender discrimination, but a law which specifically addresses such discrimination is needed, according Liu Minghui of China Women's University.

At a press conference on Saturday, Fu Ying, spokesperson for the National People's Congress annual session, called for better protection of women's right to be employed.

The chance to work is important for a woman both in realizing her personal worth and in her family life, Fu said.
BEIJING - Yu Chun, 50, retired from her job as a bus driver in east China's Hangzhou City last month, but it hasn't been all rest and relaxation.

Yu is in Beijing as a deputy to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC). Every year in March, national leaders, government officials, workers, farmers, professionals and soldiers gather under the same roof to discuss state affairs. NPC deputies come from all walks of life, and Yu is one of the growing number of deputies representing the "grassroots."

Of the nearly 3,000 deputies of the 12th NPC, about 14 percent were workers and farmers, up more than 5 percentage points from the 11th NPC. The number of professionals and technicians also rose by more than 1 percentage point.

Party and government cadres accounted for about 35 percent of the deputies, down nearly 7 percentage points.

GRAVE RESPONSIBILITY

Yu drove a bus for 21 years, covering enough distance to circle the equator nearly 20 times. Over the past four years, she has submitted transit-related bills on everything from pollution caused by e-bus battery packs to the industry's shortage of professionals.

According to China's electoral law, the quota of deputies to be distributed according to the size of population shall follow that one deputy represents about 670,000 people in rural or urban areas.

The NPC Standing Committee reserves, however, some deputy seats to ensure that each and every of China's 56 ethnic groups can have at least one seat at the NPC, no matter how small its population is.

"I represent several hundreds of thousands of voters back home. Thinking about it puts a grave responsibility on me," Yu said.

Last year, she and some other deputies were invited to the Ministry of Transport, where they were briefed about the legislative development of public transit.

"My suggestions were taken care of and real progress was made," she said.

During the NPC, deputies propose bills and suggestions as well as review and vote on important legal documents and personnel changes, including the election of top national leaders every five years.

COMMON GOAL

Xie Liying is one of China's 270 million migrant workers. She is also an NPC deputy.

In 2014, she submitted a suggestion calling for inter-provincial medical care for migrant workers. By the end of that year, the central government had introduced a guidance addressing the issue, which made her "very proud."

"I am not representing myself alone. Behind me there are so many fellow workers supporting and counting on me," Xie said. This year, she brought with her suggestions about housing, welfare and education for migrants.

China still has more than 40 million people waiting to be lifted out of poverty. No matter how NPC deputies describe their identity or social status, their common goal is to make the Chinese people happy.

"The deputies elected under the framework of the people's congress system are obligated to serve the people. They listen to the people and speak up for them. This is democracy with Chinese characteristics," Yu said.
XI'AN - Carolyne Karugo and six other young women from Kenya have obtained their assistant train driver course certificates after a 50-day training in Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

The seven, who got their certificates on Monday, are the first group of African female train drivers trained in China and are expected to start work in June when a rail line that links Kenya's capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa opens.

The standard gauge railway stretching 480 km was designed for passenger trains running 120 km per hour and freight trains at 80 km per hour.

China financed 90 percent of the 3.8 billion U.S. dollar project, with work being carried out by the China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC). Construction on the railway began in January 2015.

Being a key construction project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, the railway is the first new rail line built in Kenya in a century.

Before going to China, Carolyne, 26, was a tour guide in Kenya. She speaks fluent Chinese after attending the Confucius Institute in Nairobi and studying in north China's Tianjin Municipality as an exchange student.

"A female train driver is more careful and will take more care of a train," said Carolyne.

After the training, Carolyne said she had fully grasped operation standards, driving skills, as well as the overhaul and maintenance procedures of a China-made locomotive.

The training was co-organized by a railway technician college in Shaanxi, and the Southwest Jiaotong University.

As part of the project, the CRBC said that a batch of 60 freight trains had been transported to Mombasa. Seven Chinese teachers specializing in railway engineering have also left for Nairobi to conduct technical training for local railway personnel.

Figures show the railway project has created more than 38,000 jobs, 90 percent for local people.

"There is an old saying in China that if you teach a man how to fish it is better than to just give him a fish. We will not only build a railway, but also train local employees and impart the latest technology, which is our promise to the Kenyan people," said an official with the CRBC branch office in Kenya.

China has helped African countries to build their railways for many years.

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) is a single-track railway in east Africa, built in the 1970s with the assistance of China.

"The 'Chinese railway' brand is popular in Africa. One of the reasons is that China has advanced railway construction technology, and Chinese teams are willing to teach African people the technology, which in turn helps them find jobs, increase income and improve living quality," said Yang Xiangzhen, an online commentator.

China has developed the world's largest high-speed rail network in just a decade, drastically shortening travel times for otherwise gruesome cross-country trips. The high-speed rail line has reached 20,000 km and a further 10,000 km will be added by 2020, linking more than 80 percent of China's big cities.

Acnes Mwagagi, one of the seven female train drivers, said that earlier it took her 20 hours to reach Nairobi from her home near Mombasa, but now the journey will be cut to just four hours.
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BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday said the country's diplomats will offer better consular protection services for Chinese overseas.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session, Wang said the foreign ministry and its overseas missions handled over 100,000 consular protection cases in 2016.

Last year, Chinese diplomats managed to rescue people from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan who had been held by Somali pirates for almost five years, he said.

They also helped evacuate over 1,000 Chinese from the conflict-torn South Sudan, and transferred more than 1,000 compatriots to safety from earthquakes, fires, or blizzards in New Zealand, Israel and Japan, Wang said.

The foreign minister noted that Chinese mainland residents make over 120 million outbound visits every year.

The number has seen yearly expansions of ten million for six consecutive years, Wang added, while promising to do a better job in consular protection.
NANJING - Chinese scientists have found ant-like stone beetles inside a piece of Burmese amber from the mid-Cretaceous period, about 100 million years ago.

The beetles are the world's earliest known insects to eat springtails, an insect-like food resource for litter-dwelling beetles.

A paper written by a team led by researchers from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) was published Tuesday in the British nature research journal, Scientific Reports.

Dr Cai Chenyang of NIGPAS said there were three well-preserved stone beetles fossils in the amber.

"They are the earliest known predators specialized in capturing springtails, pushing back the age of such behaviour by at least 54 million years," Cai said.

All previously known specialist predators of springtails were confined to the middle Eocene period about 40 million years ago.

He said the early beetle had an extremely large body size, 6-7 millimeters, tripling the size of similar modern beetles. It also has clubbed antenna, toothed mandibles and slender antennae that function as an antennal setal trap, similar to that of the modern ground beetle.
Hundreds of patients at Beijing Cancer Hospital enjoyed piano music and roses on Wednesday in an effort to bring them "spiritual comfort".

Tang Lili, head of the hospital's rehab unit, said the hospital has been using music therapy for several years to create a more relaxing environment.

"In addition to curing our patients with medicine," added Zhu Jun, the hospital's Party chief, "we like to bring them spiritual comfort".

Pan Zhongying, president of Beijing United Family Hospital, which helped organize the event, said she hoped the music and flowers relaxed patients and medics.

"We want to express our love and care for our patients and make them happy," Pan said. "But as well as cancer patients, doctors and nurses also face heavy psychological pressure, and such events are designed to help them, too.

"We hope that more people, in particular the patients' family members, can learn to express love and care. People with cancer should not only live longer, but also live better," she added.

Beijing Cancer Hospital and Beijing United Family Hospital prepared about 1,000 fresh roses for Wednesday, which was International Women's Day. Most were given out before noon.

"A volunteer gave me a flower as I was leaving after having my regular checkup," one patient at Beijing Cancer Hospital said. "I didn't expect it, but I'm very glad."

The two hospitals have worked together on various art activities in recent years, including organizing music and painting classes for cancer patients, Pan said.
Zhang Haihan, 35, is the founder of Shenyang Lama (Hot Mom) Net that provides psychological guidance, fitness services and parent-child activities for new mothers who are affectedby postnatal depression. By the end of last year, Zhangand her team has served more than 50,000 families.

A survey conducted by the China Women's Development Foundation found that in 2015 about 53 per cent of new mothers suffered depression but rarely could they obtain professional service.

The past five years saw an average 30 per cent increase in mothers suffering for postnatal depression according to Zhang.

She said: "We want to serve all new mothers."
Song Chunpeng of Henan University, who is also a CPPCC National Committee member. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Song Chunpeng, a CPPCC National Committee member and vice president of Henan University, described regional universities' catching up with national comprehensive ones following the implementation of the "double first-class university" concept as a historic opportunity in an exclusive interview with chinadaily.com.cn on March 7.

The term "double first-class university" refers to the building of "world-class university" and "first-class discipline", a strategy approved by China's deepening national reform leading group in 2016 as part of a new impetus for the development of higher education sector.

"At this stage, regions without adequate talent in higher learning cannot easily fulfill the transformation of their economic development pattern," added Song, who is also one of China's leading experts in biology as deputy director of the Chinese Society for Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology.

The two sessions -- the annual gatherings of the nation's top legislature and its top political advisory body -- started in early March. Some 5,000 participants from the NPC and the CPPCC National Committee are attending the event.

Regional unbalanced development, particularly the unbalanced growth opportunities of colleges and universities, might be well addressed with the "double first-class university" policy, Song said, adding that the key to strengthening the teaching staff - and thus improving competitiveness - lies in world-class talent.

Song noted that the development of Central and Western China should primarily rely on cultivating talent within the region, saying, "My school has already made plans to attract first-class scholars and talents."

Born in the Minquan county of Central China's Henan province, Song noted that Henan University has made great contributions to regional development and China's higher education industry. Henan University is located in Kaifeng, a famous historic city which used to be the capital of China during seven dynasties.

At the beginning of the 20th century, under the influence of Western culture and the impact of the Revolution of 1911, a group of people with ambitious ideals came to Kaifeng and founded the Preparatory School for Further Study in Europe and America, one of the three major schools to prepare students for overseas study at that time, according to the school website.

Song said that advantageous disciplines, such as life sciences, geographic information sciences, material sciences and technology, education, economics and sustainable development and research in the Yellow River civilization, should be strengthened under the new policy. He added that it should not be considered a "poverty relief" policy, but rather one that strengthens that which is good, resilient and valuable.
China experiencing fruitful communication with US: Foreign Minister

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that China and the United States are having fruitful communication on realizing exchanges between their presidents and at other levels, and expanding all areas of cooperation.

At a news conference during the two sessions, Wang said the China-US relationship is transitioning steadily and developing in a positive direction, due to the intense communication and joint efforts of both sides.

"There is no reason why China and the US couldn't become excellent partners, as long as we act on the consensus reached by our presidents, follow the principles of no-conflict, no-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation," he said.

The foreign minister also said the two countries should rise above their differences in social systems and zero-sum mentality.

"China and the US have a growing set of common interests. The areas where we need to work together on far outweigh our differences," he said.

"We should put our efforts into enlarging our shared interests rather than building our success at the expense of others, because it's just not possible," he added.

Wang also cited a Chinese saying that "when turning 30, one should be able to stand firm; when entering 40, one should no longer have any doubts" to express prospects for the 38-year-old China-US relationship.

"We hope China and the US can truly rise above the old ideas, open up new horizons and build a more robust and mature relationship as it turns 40, so that we can put the minds of our two peoples and the whole world at ease," he said.

When asked his impression of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the foreign minister said he is a good listener and good communicator.

"I hope and believe we can establish a good working relationship, and work together to realize a normal development of China-US relations," he said.
By Han Xu, director of political system research office, Institute of Political Science, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, cartoon drawing by Liao Tingting.

On the afternoon of March 5, Xi Jinping, Chinese president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, joined a panel discussion with deputies to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from Shanghai Municipality.

Xi's remarks covered the construction of free trade zones, innovation-driven development, and seeking the route for megacity governance from the overall perspective of national governance. It injected ideological power for the Party, and people of all nationalities to implement the new development initiatives, and create a new situation for economic and social development.

New practices should be conducted in deepening pilot free trade zones reforms, promoting science and technology innovation, improving social management and governing the Party in an all-around and strict manner.

The four practices proposed by Xi is considered the general directive for Shanghai to deepen reform and opening up, lead innovation-driven development and urban management innovations.

It's a crucial period to implement the 13th five-year plan with intensive tasks for deepening comprehensive reforms, which demands we roll up our sleeves to work harder for achieving the goal for a comprehensive well-off society with new practices and results.
No 'seesaw game' for China, Russia, US: Foreign Minister

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that the China-Russia-US relationship in the new era should not be a seesaw game, and the three countries should work with each other rather than against each other.

He made the comment at a news conference during the two sessions.

"We should pursue win-win rather than zero-sum outcomes," Wang said, adding that he believes the three countries can develop a healthy and positive relationship so that they can jointly fulfill their responsibilities for world peace and development.

The foreign minister also said China has great confidence in the China-Russia relationship, which has stood the test of international vicissitudes and is strong as it has ever been.

"Our mutual trust has reached an historic high and the relationship will not be affected or weakened by any external factor," he said.

According to Wang, President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will have multiple face-to-face meetings this year, and these will take bilateral ties to new heights.

"China and Russia will improve strategic coordination on international and regional issues and act as the stabilizer in an otherwise turbulent world," he said.

He also said China welcomes the improvements in Russia-US relations, which will be an important piece of good news for the world.
Wang: China strongly committed to multilateralism

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that China backs the UN-led international system.

President Xi Jinping's visit to Switzerland-based international organizations in January "sent out a very clear message of China's strong support for multilateralism and China's strong commitment to the UN-led international system", Wang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress held in Beijing.

The current international system was built from the ashes of the World War II, and still plays an irreplaceable role in promoting world peace and development, said the minister.

He said the international system is like a building, and countries should "renovate" it "rather than building another structure", while the system also needs to change to catch up with the changing times.
China to maintain political, economic support for Africa

China and Africa are very close partners with a common destiny and the cooperation between the two sides can bring benefits to both. China will maintain its support to Africa in any political and economic situations.

About half of the projects worth $60 billion have been completed or are in process of being built.

The Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti railway has opened and the Mombasa-Nairobi railway project is almost complete. A large number of industrial parks are being built and pushed forward in many places in Africa.

Three new changes have appeared in China-Africa cooperation. First is that the cooperation model is transforming from government-led to market-dominant.

Second, production capacity is promoted rather than traditional commodity trade.

Third, investment operation is surpassing project contracting. These three changes are ushering in new opportunities and momentum to China-Africa cooperation.
Japan warned: stick to path of peace

Japan should stick to the path of peace instead of "trying to reverse the course of history", Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned in a news conference on Wednesday.

This year marks not only the 45th anniversary of normalized relations between China and Japan, but also the 80th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge incident, Wang said on the sidelines of the National People's Congress.

"Eighty years ago Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China, inflicting horrendous suffering on the people of China and other Asian countries and pushing itself into the dark abyss," Wang said. "Forty-five years ago Japanese leaders drew the right lesson from history to improve relations with neighbors, thereby realizing fast development at home."

Wang urged Japan to "adopt the right frame of mind, be sensible and come to terms with the fact of China's development and revitalization".

Regarding the leaders' meeting between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, which was last held in November 2015, Wang said the there is an "enormous need" for the three countries to cooperate, but they should handle properly issues affecting the healthy development of their ties and create the necessary conditions for another leaders' meeting.
Foreign minister says Chinese abroad can count on their diplomats

China spares no effort in protecting Chinese citizens overseas and people can always count on Chinese embassies for consular protection, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.

At a news conference during the two sessions in Beijing, Wang quoted the story of a Chinese survivor from the Jan 28 Malaysian shipwreck, saying how she encouraged other passengers by reassuring them that they would be rescued when the Chinese embassy learned about the situation.

"At the moment of life and death, our people pinned their hopes on the embassy and this helped them preservere," Wang said. "Our people have great trust in Chinese diplomats. This is an enormous responsibility, and we would never betray their trust, or spare any effort to meet our responsibility."

In 2016, the foreign ministry and its overseas missions handled more than 100,000 consular protection cases. China also successfully rescued mainland and Taiwan compatriots who had been held by pirates in the Gulf of Aden for five years, Wang said.

China also evacuated more than 1,000 Chinese citizens from conflicts in South Sudan. It transported more than 1,000 people to safety from earthquakes, fires and blizzards in New Zealand, Israel and Japan, he added.

"Wherever there is danger for the Chinese people overseas, there will be Chinese diplomats to help, and the presence of the five-star red flag," Wang said.

Now, mainland Chinese make more than 120 million outbound visits every year, and for the past six years, this number has been growing by 10 million per year and counting.

"We will face ever more challenging tasks in consular protection," Wang said. "But regardless of difficulties, the Party central committee and the general public can count on the foreign ministry for better consular protection."
Top legislature begins deliberating civil law draft

BEIJING - National lawmakers on Wednesday will start deliberating the draft general provisions of civil law, which, if adopted, will bring the country one step closer to a long-absent civil code.

With the draft submitted to the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, the country is nearing the end of its crucial first step toward a civil code: laying down basic principles.

Last year, the draft went through three readings at the bi-monthly sessions of the NPC Standing Committee. It is rare for a draft law not to be passed after three readings.

After the adoption of the general provisions, separate civil laws on property and contract, among others, will be integrated into a unified code. According to the legislation plan, the code will be enacted in 2020.

Compiling a civil code, dubbed as "an encyclopedia on social life" which regulates personal and property relations, will help "better protect the people's immediate interests, improve state governance, maintain market order, ensure trading security, and promote the sound development of socialist market economy," says an explanation of the NPC Standing Committee on the draft.
HK, Macao NPC candidates to bear allegiance to China, banned from receiving foreign funds: drafts

BEIJING - Candidates standing for election of National People's Congress (NPC) deputies from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) should bear allegiance to China and declare not receiving foreign funds in relation to the election, say drafts on election methods to be submitted to China's national legislature.

The NPC deputies are the component members of the highest organ of state power who exercise state power on behalf of the people. Therefore, they shall declare in the Participant's Registration Form that they uphold the Chinese Constitution and bear allegiance to China, the drafts say.

The NPC deputies from Hong Kong and Macao should also declare they uphold the Basic Laws, bear allegiance to the SARs, endorse the policy of "one country, two systems", according to the drafts.

The drafts will be explained to a NPC plenary session Wednesday by Wang Chen, vice chairman and general secretary of the NPC Standing Committee.

Candidates should also declare not having received and will not receive, directly or indirectly, any form of funds in relation to the election from any foreign institution, organization or individual, the drafts say.

If a candidate is found and verified to have received any foreign funds, the candidate's election will be declared null and void.
Minister: Campaign to boost elderly care services

China is to launch a campaign to improve elderly care services, it was announced on Wednesday.

"Caring for the aged has been discussed many times by the Party and the central government," Huang Shuxian, minister of civil affairs, said during the ongoing session of the National People's Congress, the legislature.

"China doesn't have enough qualified eldercare nursing facilities right now," he said, but added, "We will encourage all areas of society to participate in the campaign."

The government will also provide more services to support people caring for elderly relatives at home, which is in line with traditional Chinese culture, and provide suitable public activity areas for senior citizens, he said.
Xi: Keep poverty-reduction promises

President Xi Jinping receives qianghong, a piece of silk used as a gift of greeting by the Qiang ethnic group, from an NPC deputy who is a member of the group as he joined a discussion with NPC deputies from Sichuan province on Wednesday in Beijing. Lan Hongguang / Xinhua

The country's poverty alleviation work is facing tougher challenges with the approach of the 2020 deadline for its ambitious poverty-eradication plan, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, while calling on officials to make greater efforts to help poverty-stricken people.

The Communist Party of China has made a solemn promise to lift all remaining poverty-stricken people out of that status by the end of 2020, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Xi made the remarks at a panel discussion with lawmakers from Sichuan province during the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislature. Mountainous Sichuan, with many ethnic groups, has 3.8 million people living in poverty.

By a standard set in 2011, China categorizes those with an annual income lower than 2,300 yuan ($335) as poverty-stricken.

The number of people living in poverty in rural areas was reduced by 12.4 million last year to 43.35 million. The government will lift another 10 million people out of poverty this year, according to the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday.

The whole process of poverty reduction requires tailored poverty relief policies and precision measures, and sometimes patience and accuracy like "doing embroidery", Xi said.

The government should continue to dispatch officials to live in poor rural villages to focus on the poverty reduction work there, Xi said, adding that the authorities should make full use of poverty alleviation funds.

The president called for continuous measures to prevent those who have already escaped poverty from falling into that status again. Formalism should be stopped resolutely in poverty reduction work, he emphasized.

During the discussion, Xi also urged local authorities to push forward with supply-side structural reform in agriculture, improve quality and produce more green, organic and pollution-free farm products.

The integration of military and civil industries should speed up, Xi said, adding that a high-tech industry base should be built for military-civil integration.

The president also stressed the importance of clean governance. Government officials should stick to their beliefs, safeguard the authority and leadership of the CPC Central Committee and abide by political discipline and rules.

During the talks, the lawmakers gave their suggestions on issues including pushing forward reform, reconstruction work after the 2013 earthquake and Tibetan inhabitants' livelihoods.
Zhang Zhaomin (center), Party chief of Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, attends the fifth plenary session of the 12th NPC, China's legislature, in Beijing on March 5. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Pingtan remains an investment hotspot for Taiwan businesses, according to Zhang Zhaomin, deputy to China's National People's Congress (NPC) and Party chief of Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone.

The closest city to Taiwan on the Chinese mainland, Pingtan has been actively promoting economic and cultural exchanges with Taiwan over recent years, and it appears to be paying dividends.

"Pingtan boasts unique geographical advantages in relation to Taiwan. It's very convenient for Taiwan residents to commute between Pingtan and Taiwan on high-speed ferries. Currently, a lot of Taiwan residents choose to work in Pingtan and spend the weekends in Taiwan," Zhang Zhaomin said in an interview in Beijing on March 6.

In 2016, a total of 80,000 passengers travelled between the city in Fujian province and Taiwan by taking high-speed roll-on/roll-off passenger ferries, he revealed.

And with the tremendous support from the central government, Pingtan is still a hotspot for Taiwan residents to start businesses or seek employment.

A total of 210,000 Taiwan residents applied for the Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents in Pingtan in 2016, according to Zhang.

Cargo shipping from Taiwan to Pingtan increased 280 percent year-on-year in 2016, reaching 72,000 tons, while more than 2,000 businesspeople from Taiwan went on business trips to Pingtan.

The island city also received visits from more than 800 village heads from Taiwan, who conducted in-depth communications with their counterparts.

Zhang also pledged that Pingtan shall continue to strengthen its in-depth cooperation and communication with Taiwan in the fields of economy, culture and society, making more contributions to the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.
Sun Ping, dean of the School of Art and Research of Beijing Foreign Studies University, and a highly-regarded Peking Opera artist well known to the international community,was doing exclusive interview with China Daily website.[Photo by Zhang Guangteng/chinadaily.com.cn]

Has Chinese culture's "going out" strategy really worked in global markets, especially in western ones? Compared to the presence and impact of western culture in China, from the point of view of its audiences, the capital volume it creates, and the number and variety of its expressions, it may even be concluded that China faces a "culture deficit".

That point was made by Sun Ping, dean of the School of Art and Research of Beijing Foreign Studies University, and a highly-regarded Peking Opera artist well known to the international community, in an exclusive interview with the China Daily website.

She has served as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) for 15 years. Given her over two decades of overseas experience and remarkable accomplishments in art, she works in the Foreign Affairs Committee under the CPPCC, concentrating on matters of culture and foreign affairs.

"I gradually found out there exists a huge gap between just performing some traditional opera for the Chinese community and actually letting local residents know what your culture really is. In speaking about whether or not the strategy of moving Chinese culture into global markets has really worked, that might be my perspective," said Sun.

As an example to explain this "culture deficit", she cites the different situations faced by organizers when it came to using art activities to promote Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu, a great Chinese playwright, who both died in the same year. In 2016 the governments of China and Britain co-hosted a series of activities to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the two artists deaths. The concept was equal promotion, but the plays of Tang xianzu were performed abroad no more than 30 times, while Shakespeare dramas were staged over 300 times. Consequently, few people got to know this Chinese playwright who, like Shakespeare, wrote immortal romance stories.

Sun pointed out that, "The key problem behind this phenomenon is the way you tell the stories. More detailed descriptions and delicate changes to presentation may present the works in a way that caters to foreign tastes. She plans to submit more concrete proposals around this topic to the committee to help Chinas art market gain more international exposure."

Sun is also on the judges panel of the China National Arts Fund. The fund, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, plays various roles and has some flexibility in encouraging development of outstanding art. She would like to formulate a specific proposal around how to combine the experiences of other national funds such as those in Japan and the US to guide the work of Chinas national fund.

When asked how to make a good proposal as a CPPCC member, she emphasizes that a proposal should be gradually amended after gathering public responses. One of her previous proposals, to make Peking Opera part of the primary and secondary school curricula, caused something of a stir.

Many people, include some foreign media, mistook it as intending to put Model Operas into textbooks, or trying to increase students ability to perform Peking Opera by themselves. Sun organized a symposium during that years two sessions to hear suggestions from teachers and parents, and make adjustments: school programs would include material on Chinese traditional opera, and students would only need to learn to appreciate Peking Opera, and not to perform it themselves.

Sun concluded that more emphasis must be laid on promoting Chinese traditional culture, whether among students or as an export to other countries. "Our nation has already performed so greatly in various ways, including culturally. But for culture, more top-level policy design to facilitate it is critically needed."
Freshmen from Tunxi No 1 Middle School in Huangshan city, East China's Anhui province, take military training on Aug 25, 2015. [Photo/CFP]

RECENTLY GUANGZHOU, capital of South China's Guangdong province, released information on middle school admission in fall 2017. Many public schools are reopening their junior high sections and some private schools are planning to welcome more students, so the number of good-quality schooling facilities available will increase. Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

A shortage of excellent educational resources has been a lasting problem due to the relatively limited seats available in public schools. This in turn has led to issues such as the booming of substitute extracurricular classes, young kids "parachuted" overseas and the soaring house prices in the catchment areas for the best schools.

The simplest way to solve the problem is to increase the number of students enrolled. From the point of view of parents who want to get their children into the best schools, the extra places will be good news. But some may be disappointed.

And many Chinese parents have become irrational about their children's education, and the newly added resources may or may not be acceptable to them, since it will be difficult for the necessary facilities and quality teaching staff to be put in place overnight.

Of course, while not all parents insist on sending their children to the "super" schools, the more places there are available in the top public schools, the more parents there will be who want to get their children enrolled. As the seats are limited, the pressure remains on the kids to succeed in the competition to get admitted to such schools.
Young entrepreneur Wang Lei meets Premier Li Keqiang again at an exhibition center in Ningxia Hui autonomous region on Feb 2, 2016. In 2012, Premier Li visited Wangs family on an inspection tour and encouraged Wang, who had been unemployed since college graduation, to start his own business. [Photo/english.gov.cn]

In the Government Work Report delivered to the fifth plenary session of the 12th National People's Congress on Sunday, Premier Li Keqiang promised further tax cuts for small and micro-sized enterprises, among other preferential policies and measures.

This signals more support for the development of the large number of small and micro-sized enterprises in the country, which is the manifestation of the leadership's "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" campaign.

China now has 60 million small and micro-sized enterprises, more than 99 percent of its total number of companies. And, according to official statistics, such enterprises create about 60 percent of China's gross domestic product, contribute 50 percent of its tax revenues, provide more than 75 percent of urban jobs and create over 60 percent of the country's export volume.

At the same time, 65 percent of the country's patents, 75 percent of its technological innovations and 80 percent of its new products are registered by small, medium- and micro-sized enterprises.

Yet, despite their recent booming development, it is a brutal fact that many small enterprises are now struggling because of the difficult economic climate. By reducing their tax burden, the government is extending a helping hand to small and micro-sized enterprises.

Tax cuts are the most effective way the government can find to support small businesses, given that most of them are plagued by rising costs and insufficient funding. In the context of the country's economic downturn, further tax cuts may put additional pressure on the government's fiscal revenues, but the rejuvenation of these enterprises will give more vitality to the economy.

-BEIJING NEWS
Workers with the power supply company in Chuzhou, Anhui province, check the transmission network under the State Grid before it is connected with a local wind power farm. SONG WEIXING / FOR CHINA DAILY

China has made notable progress in the use of renewable energy. By the end of last year, China had installed 149 gigawatts of wind-power and 77 gigawatts of photovoltaic power. The corresponding figures for 2011 were just 46 gigawatts and 2 gigawatts.

In comparison, Germany, a leading producer of renewable energy, appears to lag behind both in the number of installations and total power production.

The wind-power installations connected to regular power grids in China accounted for about 4 percent of last year's total electricity output, nearly 1.1 percent of which was from the photovoltaic power plants.

The curtailment rate of wind and solar installations, mostly in Northwest China, remains a major hindrance for better use of clean energy. The curtailment rate of wind and photovoltaic power installations reached 14.6 percent in 2015 and increased to nearly 20 percent last year. The annual average hours of generating electricity via wind- and solar-power plant capacities, too, registered a steady decline from 2011 to 2016.

Because of curtailment rate of wind and solar, a huge amount of energy resources was wasted. The estimated 70 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity wasted during last year is equal to the basic power consumption of about 29 million households for one whole year and half of Shanghai's annual consumption.

But the curtailment rate could be even higher considering that the solar- and wind-power plants can theoretically generate much more electricity. It is likely that only 60 percent of the total wind and solar power generation potential has been actually put to use.

The root cause of China's energy exploitation dilemma is the imbalanced production-consumption relationship. The renewable resource-rich northwestern region, including Gansu province and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, have limited demand for renewable energy, which accounted for more than 15 percent of their total power output in 2015, because it cannot export all the extra power generated to other regions for lack of supply channels and higher transmission costs.

But overstating China's problems in comparison to Germany's successful exploitation of renewable energy is uncalled for. Germany's power grids largely depend on distributed generation, which refers to renewable energy systems of less than 20 megawatts like rooftop solar photovoltaic arrays. And a more flexible price mechanism has made it easier for the country to promote solar and wind installations, which, however, comes at higher costs for consumers.

Being a trailblazer in renewable energy development, China, on the other hand, needs time and effort to solve its problems because no country has ever generated and distributed as much "clean" electricity as it is doing today. China also has to optimize the energy structure as well as balance the unstable demand. The notable curtailment rate of wind- and solar-power installations is a key indicator of current oversupply of electricity, which can be as unavoidable as power shortage in a country undergoing fast growth.

To solve the problem, the authorities concerned have to work out long-term plans that encourage clean energy generation and endorse the building of cross-region electricity grids, and provinces in East and Central China that have strong demand for electricity should install more photovoltaic power plants. And to clear the bottlenecks in the long run, extra efforts are called for to expand distributed generation.

The author is dean of China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.
An illustration shows the white paper setting out Britain's government statergy for departing the European Union, outside Parliament, in London, Britain February 2, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

The European Commission released a white paper about the future of Europe last week, through which it aims to trigger a full range of bottom-up debates on social, defense, finance and monetary issues that will define the 28-member bloc's destiny after the United Kingdom leaves it.

The white paper, in which the commission has mapped out five future scenarios for the 60-year-old union, came after EC President Jean-Claude Juncker stressed during his annual state of the union address in September that the European Union was having "existential crises". Juncker will sum up a new policy portfolio in his address in September after the half-year debates have ended.

To achieve this, the EC has set a very clear timetable for the various debates, while elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany, which, dangerously, could result in far-right or populist leaders forming governments, will take place on another track in the coming months. Thus the debates could lead to a decision to either widely consolidate the union, or make it focus only on foreign policy, defense measures and fiscal and monetary regulations.

Basically, the EU has its "constitutional weapon", the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force in late 2009, at hand to unite the bloc. In a way, the future nature of Europe was already agreed upon when the EU member states inked the treaty. But to turn this into reality, the EU has strengthened its financial and banking firewalls during the financial and sovereignty crises of recent years.

Now, the EU's most important role is to find solutions to key questions: Does it want to create better living conditions for young Europeans, whose interests in the EU are fading? Does it want to channel more resources and military capability into the defense sector to safeguard the union's borders? And, does it want to bring the single market closer?

In fact, the Lisbon Treaty has already set the directions, and the answers are surely "yes" to each question. And the debates triggered last week are likely misleading the public, which could think the EU's leaders are lost in implementing the treaty.

European Council President Donald Tusk claims the EU is faced with tremendous "external dangers" after Juncker talked about the "existential crises" last September. Ordinary Europeans already knew the situation and are desperately keen to know the solutions and the timetable ahead, instead of being presented with options to choose from.

In normal times, the EU could have applied this kind of bottom-up approach to "focus minds and find new answers to an old question: What future do we want for ourselves, for our children and for our union?" as Juncker has asked in the white paper.

Now, the situation is critical, both socially and politically in the EU.

To deal with such urgent challenges, swift action, courage, determination and effective leadership are all badly needed, and lengthy debates could erode confidence and trust, meaning the best time to solve the problems could be lost.

The EU had similarly bad experiences when dealing with the financial crisis. The time-consuming debates at the time, and the general elections at the member-state level and corresponding leadership shifts made it difficult to unite and find solutions in a timely fashion. Besides, it took longer than expected to set up firewalls and regulations to strengthen the economic union.

While dealing with social and security challenges, such pitfalls should be avoided.

This year, the UK's departure from the EU, the general elections in some major countries, and the challenges from migration and terrorism will all add a lot of uncertainty and disruption to the market.

These will affect the confidence of the public toward the union. So the EU leaders should seek to inject confidence and courage into the public, which can be done by offering solutions, not scenario analyses.

The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese companies are filing a record number of patents in Europe in preparation for their international expansion, according to figures released by the European Patent Office on Tuesday.

It said Chinese companies filed 7,150 patents with the EPO in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 24.8 percent. It was the fastest growth rate among the top 10 countries on the EPO's patent-filing league table.

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei filed a notable 2,390 patents, which was the second-largest filing by a company globally, after Philips with 2,568 patents.

Other Chinese companies that filed a large number of patents included ZTE, Alibaba, Xiaomi, BYD and Haier, all of which are rapidly expanding into Europe.

Benoit Battistelli, president of the EPO, said the increase in patent filings by Chinese companies reflects both their increasing expansion into Europe and the fact that China is becoming a globally innovative knowledge-based country.

"We are also witnessing a positive progress of diversification," he said. "In the past, most Chinese companies' patent filings were concentrated in the ICT sector, but now there are increasingly patents filed in engines, turbines, sports, automotive, and biotechnology sectors."

Patents granted by the EPO do not automatically become legally valid in European Union member countries. Instead, the patent owner needs to seek each individual country's patent authorities, to validate the patent in their respective jurisdictions. In some countries, the patent owner has to file a translation of the particular patent into an official language of that country.

ZengYeqin, a lecturer in finance at the Henley Business School, said the latest statistics show Chinese companies are increasingly aware of intellectual patent laws and are more respectful to the protection of intellectual property rights.

"China has gradually turned from a technology import country to a technology export country. More and more Chinese companies have got to know how to use patent laws to protect themselves during their operations in Europe,"Zeng said.

Jean-Franck Badalian, general manager of white goods at Haier Europe, said that, because Europe is a hub for innovators from around the globe, Haier will "continue investing in new research and development opportunities to boost innovation in the region".

"By protecting our intellectual property, we can continue focusing on developing superior products for our European customers," Badalian said.

China's 2016 patent filing numbers put the country in sixth place among countries filing patents with the EPO.

The United States tops the list with 40,076 patent filings, although its 2016 filings decreased by 5.9 percent compared to 2015. Overall, the European Patent Office received almost 160,000 European patent applications in 2016.

Battistelli said one challenge for Chinese companies is to further familiarize themselves with the details of the European patent filing system, but the challenge is a minor one because both the European and Chinese systems are generally similar.

The EPO and the China Intellectual Property Office have collaborated for more than 30 years on helping companies file patents in each other's markets, and the entities meet two or three times a year to push forward the cooperation, Battistelli said.
While China and the US have many collaborations and exchanges, the philanthropic sector probably is a field less explored.

However, several Asian Americans are pushing for collective action across borders to help children with special needs.

Ancient wisdom has it that it takes a village to raise a child. When it comes to educating and nurturing children with special needs in China and the US, many believe it will take the two largest economies in the world, their governments and countless volunteers to establish a safety net and an accommodative social environment for the vulnerable and underprivileged.

On March 26, a large-scale philanthropic gala titled Shine for Love will be held at Smithwich Theatre in Los Gatos Hills, California. The event aims not only to raise funds for special-needs children in China and the US, but also raise public awareness of their plight, the gala's organizers said at a news conference last week in Fremont.

The 1,000 tickets, priced at $30, $50, $100 and $200 respectively, sold out by Sunday.

"To give to the community is a kind of value that is taught at a young age in the West," said Liang Chao, a board member in the Cupertino Union School District. "I'm excited to see that so many Chinese-American parents are participating in this philanthropy with their children this time. This is really a change."

The US-based non-profit organization Able2Shine, together with Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN) in the US, and Silver Lining Missions in China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, organized the fundraiser.

Luo Ping, founder of Able2Shine and director-general for the event, said she initiated the program three months ago. "It has been a lingering dream of mine that I should do something for children with special needs," she said, adding that she felt empathy for the pain and sorrow of children with special needs and their families.

"Several close friends of mine have children with special needs, such as autism, selective mutism and cerebral palsy," she said. "I feel their struggles."

Anna Wang, a key member of FCSN who joined several other families to establish FCSN in 1996 to help her autistic son, said special-needs children and their families require the cooperation of governments, business and civil society that goes beyond partnership or networks.

"About 20 years ago, I wouldn't imagine that we can sit here today to discuss how we people in the US are able to join hands with friends in China to work on the same mission of helping children with special needs," Wang said.

Asian Americans are stereotyped as socially indifferent and care too much about their own well being, said Luo Ping, "We new generation of immigrants need to transform this negative, sometimes miserable image."

Peng Mao, a mom of two young boys and a volunteer for the event, said she gave three to four hours of her time a day on social media networks to promote the fundraiser.

"I bombarded my friends and anyone in the same social group with me at WeChat. I inform, explain and convince any individuals who shows interest in either purchasing the tickets or making donations."

Asian Americans nowadays are willing to give, said Wang Meng, a community advocate for special-needs children. "Philanthropy in many Chinese Americans' eyes now shift from a rich man's club to civil engagement, as long as the cause is noble and would promote positive social change."

Wang, by her leadership of a social media network of 193 members, prompted the sale of 40 tickets and a collective donation of $2,200.

"We need to send the message out that helping children with special needs is ongoing, and any assistance and accommodation are much needed, no matter in the US and China," she said.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com
China reiterated on Tuesday its resolute opposition to the deployment of a US anti-missile defense system in the Republic of Korea after the system's first components arrived in the peninsula.

The ROK's National Defense Ministry said Seoul had begun assembling the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system after part of its battery section was delivered, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"We've noticed the development. China will resolutely take necessary measures to defend its security interests, and all the consequences of that will be borne by the United States and the ROK," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily media briefing in Beijing.

He urged the parties concerned to stop the deployment process and not to go too far down the wrong path.

The deployment could be completed in a month or two, and the defense system could be operational as early as April, according to the ROK's Yonhap News Agency.

"The deployment of THAAD has little meaning in protecting the ROK. Instead, it will pose a threat to China's strategic security because its radar could cover parts of China," said Shi Yongming, a researcher at the China Institute of International Relations.

Wang Junsheng, a researcher in Northeast Asia studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the insistence of the US and ROK in deploying the system was not conducive to regional peace and stability.

Wang said the China-ROK relationship may experience a cooling period due to the deployment. "The ROK has to suffer whatever consequences are caused by it," he said.
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File photo of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London. [Photo/VCG]

WASHINGTON - Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks on Tuesday published what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used over several years, renewing concerns about the security of consumer electronics and embarrassing yet another US intelligence agency.

The discussion transcripts showed that CIA hackers could getin to Apple Inc iPhones, Google Inc Android devices and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.

Cyber security experts disagreed about the extent of the fallout from the data dump, but said a lot would depend on whether WikiLeaks followed through on a threat to publish the actual hacking tools that could do damage.

Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents, but several contractors and private cybersecurity experts said the materials, dated between 2013 and 2016, appeared to be legitimate.

A longtime intelligence contractor with expertise in US hacking tools told Reuters the documents included correct "cover" terms describing active cyber programs.

Among the most noteworthy WikiLeaks claims is that the Central Intelligence Agency, in partnership with other US and foreign agencies, has been able to bypass the encryption on popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.

The files did not indicate the actual encryption of Signal or other secure messaging apps had been compromised.

The information in what WikiLeaks said were 7,818 web pages with 943 attachments appears to represent the latest breach in recent years of classified material from US intelligence agencies.

Security experts differed over how much the disclosures could damage US cyber espionage. Many said that, whileharmful, they do not compare to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013 of mass NSA data collection.

"This is a big dump about extremely sophisticated tools that can be used to target individual user devices ... I havent yet come across the mass exploiting of mobile devices," said Tarah Wheeler, senior director of engineering and principal security advocate for Symantec.
US President Donald Trump attends a meeting with US House Deputy Whip team at the East room of the White House in Washington, US March 7, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON  A powerful conservative backlash threatened to sink the new Republican health care bill Tuesday less than 24 hours after its launch, even as President Donald Trump and congressional leaders began trying to sell the legislation as the long-promised GOP cure for "Obamacare."

"We're going to do something that's great and I'm proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives," Trump declared at the White House as he met Tuesday with the House GOP vote-counting team. "We're going to take action. There's going to be no slowing down. There's going to be no waiting and no more excuses by anybody."Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence told GOP lawmakers at the Capitol this was their chance to scuttle Obama's law, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell forecast congressional passage by early April.

But major obstacles loomed as key Republican lawmakers announced their opposition, and one conservative group after another torched the plan. The Club for Growth, Heritage Action for America, Americans for Prosperity and Tea Party Patriots variously derided the new bill as Obamacare Lite, Obamacare 2.0 and even RyanCare, in a dig at House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

The new GOP plan would repeal the current law's unpopular fines on people who don't carry health insurance. It also would replace income-based subsidies, which the law provides to help millions of Americans pay premiums, with age-based tax credits that may be skimpier for people with low incomes. Those payments would phase out for higher-earning people.

The legislation also would limit future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, about 1 in 5 Americans. And it would loosen rules that Obama's law imposed for health plans directly purchased by individuals.

Republican supporters and opponents are all intent on reducing the role of government in health care, but some House conservatives say the new bill doesn't go nearly far enough.

For example, they are focusing on the system of refundable tax credits they denounce as a costly new entitlement. They're demanding a vote on a straightforward repeal-only bill.

At the White House meeting Tuesday, Trump made clear to House Republicans that he would be personally engaging with individual members who oppose the bill as leadership tries to round up votes, according to a lawmaker present who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private gathering.

Not long after, Trump appeared to be making good on his promise, tweeting at Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has criticized the bill.

"I feel sure that my friend @RandPaul will come along with the new and great health care program because he knows Obamacare is a disaster!" the president wrote.
SYDNEY - Climate change was responsible for breaking more than 200 Australian weather records over the past three months, researchers said on Wednesday, a glimpse of conditions to come that will likely threaten energy security and agriculture.

Much of Australia's east coast endured its hottest summer on record, the independent Climate Council said, while torrential rain in Western Australia caused flash flooding.

The sort of unseasonable conditions seen between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28 would likely be recurring regularly in future, the council said.

"I would say by 2025 or 2030, the odds are we will see another hot summer record set in Sydney and in other places," said Will Steffen, professor of environmental studies, Australian National University and lead author of the Climate Council report.

The expected climate will strain the country's energy sector, the council said, threatening yet more blackouts.

Australia saw several power outages in different parts of he country after temperatures soared regularly above 40 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit), with demand for air-conditioning strained supplies.

Australia's changing climate also threatens one of the main pillars of its economy, with agricultural production vunerable.

"A really bad year can just demolish crop yields," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, at the National Australia Bank.

Australia exported a record A$50 billion ($37.98 billion)worth of agricultural produce last year, government data shows, which helped soften the blow of a slowdown in its dominant mining sector.

The Climate Council report comes days after another independent report warned the impact of climate change had caused permanent damage to Australia's environment.

Australian scientists said recently mass coral bleaching, caused by climate change, has destroyed at least 35 percent of the northern and central Great Barrier Reef.

Reuters
Wave is seen at an area damaged by the March 11, 2011 tsunami near Tokyo Electric Power Co's (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, February 28, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

NAMIE, Fukushima - A truck occasionally whizzes past the darkened shops with cracked walls and fallen signs that line the main street of Japan's mostly deserted seaside town of Namie.

Workers repair a damaged home nearby, and about 60 employees busily prepare for the return of former residents in the largely untouched town hall. Not far away, two wild boars stick their snouts in someone's yard, snuffling for food.

Signs of life are returning nearly six years after panicked residents fled radiation spewed by the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, when it was struck by an earthquake and tsunami.

Still, only several hundred of the original 21,500 residents plan to return in the first wave, estimates Hidezo Sato, a former seed merchant who helped draw up a blueprint to rebuild the town.

"As a person who used to sell seeds for a living, I believe now is a time to sow seeds" for rebuilding, said Sato, 71. "Harvesting is far away. But I hope I can manage to help bring about fruition."

Since November, people who registered have been allowed to spend nights in the town, but residents will not need permission to stay round the clock after Japan lifts evacuation orders for parts of Namie and three other towns at the end of March.

Just 4 km (2.5 miles) away from the wrecked plant, Namie is the closest area cleared for the return of residents since the disaster of March 11, 2011.

But the town will never be the same, as radiation contamination has left a big area off limits. And it may never be inhabitable.

More than half - 53 percent - of former residents have decided not to return, a government poll showed last September. They cited concerns over radiation and the safety of the nuclear plant, which is being dismantled in an arduous, 40-year effort.
This year's two sessions will play an important role in helping China communicate its views on globalization to an international audience, according to Kerry Brown, a professor of Chinese studies at King's College London and director of its Lau China Institute.

Kerry Brown

He said the fact that this year's two sessions is being held at a time when China is increasingly taking a leadership role in promoting globalization and free trade, while the US is adopting more protectionist measures, will mean it attracts more international focus.

"It will be an opportunity for China to communicate its views to an international audience, who believe what China thinks matters, rather than just to a domestic audience," Brown said.

He praised President Xi Jinping for delivering a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, in which he defended free trade.

"It is a unique moment where China has prominence in global trade in a way it never had before," Brown said.

"So this year, China needs to convey to the outside world why the two sessions is a big deal, and that the topics on the agendaincluding climate change, economic growth, globalization, and nuclear nonproliferationare important contributions to help at a time of great uncertainty."

Encouragingly, China has already demonstrated commitment to its increasing global role, by standing firm to its pledge of carbon emission reductions signed at the Paris Conference on climate change, and by discussing free trade at the latest Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Brown said.

In November at the APEC CEO Summit in Peru, President Xi called for the building of a free trade area within the Asia-Pacific region.

"There was a series of events in 2016 that showed a lot of contempt for globalization, so there is a need for new ideas and fresh perspectives, and China has an opportunity," Brown said.

He added that China's next steps in pushing forward its Belt and Road Initiative, especially in helping the international community understand the initiative in concrete ways, could be a key topic for discussion during the two sessions.
The below is what our China company formation lawyers have been telling our clients about Chinas new rminimum capital requirements rules when forming a WFOE. Note that China the country has its laws/rules on this and many of Chinas cities have their own rules on this as well. And in addition to the rules, you also must consider local customs in addition to what is on paper. With all of these provisos, here is a fairly recent email we have been using with our clients for whom we are forming a Shanghai WFOE.

We are required to set forth the registered capital for the WFOE. The rules on registered capital have changed substantially in the past two years. Here is the basic current situation:

1. Registered capital is the amount of capital (not earnings) required to get a WFOE started. This amount is typically based on the amount of money needed by the WFOE before the WFOE starts earning sufficient income to cover the WFOEs financial obligations. This amount is unique to every WFOE. For a WFOE that will build a petrochemical plant, the number may be over a billion dollars. For a two person consulting WFOE, the number is often quite small. For a WFOE that will _____________ and also ____________ in Shanghai, the number is somewhere in between.

2. China now has no formal requirement for the amount of registered capital. In general, the JIngan local government recommends that registered capital be at least equal to the first two years expenses of the WFOE. However, there is no fixed rule.

3. There is also no longer a requirement on when the capital must be contributed and there is no fixed rule on the amount of each contribution of capital. The rule is now a business standard: there must be enough capital to cover the operations of the WFOE. In particular, there must be enough capital to cover employee salaries, rent, utilities and government charges and taxes. It is a violation of law to start a business/WFOE in China if these basic expenses are not covered with a capital contribution. The government generally requires that the total registered capital be contributed within 20 years, which effectively means there is no time pressure on the contribution.

4. But it is a mistake to set the capital number too low. The source of both capital and income for this WFOE will be payments from the shareholder (your U.S. entity). Under Chinese law, payments from the shareholder that exceed the registered capital amount are treated as income to the WFOE and are taxed at Chinas normal income tax rates. Capital contributions, on the other hand are not taxed.

5. The following are the two common approaches for determining the appropriate registered capital amount:

a. Use the local government recommendation of an amount equal to the first two years expenses of the WFOE (the rule of thumb approach).

b. Work with your accountant to determine an appropriate amount (recommended). If your accountant is not familiar with China (and most are not) and also able to handle international and cross-border accounting issues (again, most are not), let us know as we work with a number of such accountants and we would be happy to recommend one to you.

For us to assist you in determining an appropriate registered capital amount, we need to see the following:

a. Projected expenses for the first two years of WFOE operations.

b. Projected sources of income to the WFOE in the first two years of WFOE operations:

i) As payments from the shareholder.

ii) As payments from the affiliates of the shareholder (if any).

iii) As income payments received from unaffiliated third parties (if any).

c. Five year projected pro forma for the WFOE.

We do not need this financial data if you will make the decision working with your accountant or by adopting the rule of thumb method.

6. We need to provide the registered capital amount at the very beginning of the WFOE application process. You therefore should make the determination of the registered capital amount a top priority matter.

Please contact me if you have any questions on this.
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(Photo : Getty Images) Photovoltaic power panels stand at Abaste's El Bonillo Solar Plant while wind turbines spin at a wind farm on the background on December 2, 2015 in El Bonillo, Albacete province, Spain.

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The amount of solar power added worldwide jumped to 50 percent in 2016, thanks to China and US increasing demand.



Recent data reveal that new solar photovoltaic capacity installed last year soared to more than 76 gigawatts, a huge jump from the 51.2GW installed in 2015. Both China and US drove the surge, as they both nearly doubled the amount of solar added in 2015, according to Europe's solar power trade body.



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Solar power growth leaps by 50% worldwide thanks to US and China https://t.co/2fUuFd3AgS still huge even from small base #SolarPowerSummit pic.twitter.com/Fk2Qx81a1D

 Adam Vaughan (@adamvaughan_uk) March 7, 2017







Asia's solar market share, spearheaded by China, also jumped to over 66 percent in 2016. Having the world's largest solar market, China added 34.2GW in 2016, more than 125 percent in 2015.



The US demand for new solar capacity was more than twice as large as that of in Europe. It added 14GW of solar power, up from 7.3GW in 2015.



Japan ranked in third on the list contributing 8.6GW, ahead of India's 4.5GW. Currently, there is already 305GW of solar power capacity, six times more than the 50GW capacity in 2010.



Installations in Europe, on the other hand, slid down to over 21 percent to 6.7GW in 2016, despite falling solar energy prices. The drop also came after the UK government drastically stopped household incentives to fit solar panels and cut subsidies for large scale solar farms.



The solar power industry described the growth as "very significant." It also added that the technology is important for the world to meet its climate change targets.



"In order to meet the Paris [climate agreement] targets, it would be important if solar could continue its rapid growth. The global solar industry is ready to do that, and can even speed up," James Watson, SolarPower Europe's CEO, said.



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Tagssolar power, renewable energy, Paris Climate Agreement, Climate Change, Energy, china
(Photo : Getty Images) From sailing, now China wants to fly tourists into the disputed South China Sea islands.

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China is planning to launch air tour flights to the Paracel Islands in a disputed area of the South China Sea, also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, the South China Morning Post reported.



Authorities from the southern Hainan Province are still trying to seek approval from central authorities and the military to arrange the tours, based on a document released to Hainan delegates at the National People's Congress in Beijing. But the air tour plans have reportedly been listed as a priority.



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So far, tourists have been permitted to visit the Paracel Islands via cruise ship since April 2013. And these are going to be the first flights to the region.



Currently, two major cruise ships - the Dream of the South China Sea and the Changle Princess - are currently operating the trips. The ships visit three islands in the Crescent group of the Paracels (known as the Xisha Islands in Chinese). Last year, it brought more than 12,000 passengers to the disputed waterway. China also recently launched a new cruise ship that could carry 499 people last Friday, Sputnik News reported.







Hainan is not only the main hub for cruise ship operations in the South China Sea but is also responsible for administering the Paracels and other disputed territory such as the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, the Time reported.



If the proposal gains approval, the move would likely further anger Vietnam, which also has territorial claims to the Paracels. Other reefs and islands in the waters that China claimed as its own include the Spratly Islands, which are also being claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Malaysia.



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TagsHaina, South China Sea, Paracel Islands, spratly islands, Scarborough Shoal, china
(Photo : Twitter) Xiaomi's Scishare Coffee Maker is available only in White color and costs CNY 399.

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Xiaomi has unveiled another home product  coffee making machine  called Scishare Coffee Maker." The Beijing-based tech firm is popularly known as a smartphone maker but it also ventured out in of non-mobile products under its crowdfunded Mijia brand and Mi Ecosystem.



Recently, the company has launched a slew of products including a Walkie-Talkie, Smart Camera, Car Recorder, and among others. The Scishare Coffee Maker product posters were posted in the Chinese social media network Weibo, displaying a coffee shot, a strong beverage and one hint at the smoothness of it. The Scishare Coffee Maker is developed by Ningbo Heart Technology Co. Ltd.



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Xiaomis coffee maker measures 340 x 100 x 260mm. it consists of a 19Bar electromagnetic pump that has a power rating of 1200W. The company claims that the coffee maker can prep the coffee in just a minute. The coffee maker features an automatic switch off after 15 minutes when not in use as well as easy-to-clean design. Scishare Coffee Maker features a power button which is placed alongside the extraction button.



Moreover, the coffee maker supports multi-brand coffee capsules. It is designed to express the coffee beans based on the different concentration preference of individuals. Also, it has LED lights for direction along with a flow control lever. Scishare Coffee Maker used European coffee extraction technology, providing from eight different cup sizes ranging from 15-85ml.



Scishare Coffee Maker is available only in White color with the first batch to start shipping from April 18 in China. The coffee maker costs CNY 399 and the crowdfunding program participants will get 50 imported coffee capsules.



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TagsXiaomi, Scishare Coffee Maker, coffee maker, coffee making machine, Mijia brand, Mi Ecosystem
(Photo : Getty Images. ) Chinas telecom giant ZTE Corp has pleaded guilty in the illegal export case. It has also agreed to pay a record fine of $1.19 billion to the U.S government.

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China's telecom giant ZTE Corp has finally reached a settlement with the U.S authorities in the illegal shipment case by pleading guilty and agreeing to pay a hefty fine. The settlement, which is likely to cause damage to ZTE's international reputation, almost marks the closure of high profile case that dragged for nearly four years.



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The Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer has agreed to pay record $1.19 billion in fine, out of which $892 million constitutes as criminal and civil penalty and $300 million as an additional penalty, according to a statement issued by the United States Department of Commerce.



The case that came into limelight in 2012 accused ZTE of secretly exporting millions of dollars of software and hardware products of some of best known U.S companies to North Korea and Iran, which are two countries that are considered amongst the most hostile towards the U.S regime.



"ZTE Corporation not only violated export controls that keep sensitive American technology out of the hands of hostile regimes like Iran's, they lied ... about their illegal acts," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.



The verdict will come as handy for the new Trump administration that is currently engaged in promoting its much criticized protectionist policies, which has got most economies across the world worrying.



Not surprisingly, the U.S Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross's comment on ZTE's judgement clearly echoed Trump's protectionist views. He said: "Those who flout our economic sanctions and export control laws will not go unpunished - they will suffer the harshest of consequences."



ZTE Acknowledges Mistake and goes for Management Reshuffle



Meanwhile, a clearly embarrassed and beleaguered ZTE chairman, Zhao Xianming, publicly accepted the grave mistake committed by his firm in an official statement.



"ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them and remains committed to positive change in the company," Zhao said.



Accompanying this public apology are slew of big changes in ZTE's top management, clearly indicating that the technology company has set the ball rolling to comply with the U.S export control regime. According to a statement, it has appointed a new CEO and made several other major changes to the senior management team.



Besides, ZTE has established a new compliance committee and aims to strengthen export control compliance training and processes.



The China's second-largest maker of telecom equipment will now come under renewed pressure following the verdict, after witnessing a continuous fall in its revenue owing to increased competition from other Chinese handset makers.



The company until recently was considered as part of the new generation of Chinese firms that could truly compete in the international market. But declining fortunes and adversarial impact on its reputation due to the illegal shipment case has made several experts wonder if ZTE can again reclaim the market goodwill.



The ZTE verdict has also brought focus on Huawei, another big Chinese smartphone manufacturer that is undergoing a probe by the U.S authorities for alleged violation of export restrictions to ban countries like Iran, North Korea and Sudan.



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TagsZTE Corp, china, China and U.S., ZTE Export Violation Case
(Photo : Getty Images. ) China on Wednesday made a bold move by proposing a bargaining deal to North Korea for giving up its controversial missile program. The deal called on the US and South Korea to end their military war games.

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China on Wednesday once again made a fresh plea to North Korea for giving up its controversial nuclear missile program. But the plea came along with a bargaining deal that called on the US and South Korea to end their military war games, which could help Pyongyang to ease its security tensions.



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"To defuse the looming crisis on the peninsula, China proposes that as a first step, the DPRK (North Korea) may suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the halt of the large-scale US-ROK (South Korea) exercises," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference, shortly after addressing China's annual parliament session.



Wang expressed frustration over the fact that North Korea and the U.S were not ready to budge from their hardened stance, describing the confrontational situation as two trains nearing collision.



"The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming towards each other with neither side willing to give way," Wang quipped at the press conference. "Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains."



China's proposal comes barely 48 hours after Pyongyang tested fired four ballistic missiles towards Sea of Japan, testing once again the patience of the international community that was already in aghast over anti-ballistic missile test that was carried out last month.



The reclusive communist state's latest missile tests were expectedly condemned by the U.S, South Korea and Japan, describing the proactive move as a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.



Now Beijing is mostly likely going to face fresh dilemma over what more sanctions can it impose against North Korea in response to the latest missile tests, after it imposed a coal import ban following last month's testing of anti-ballistic missile.



The coal import ban that will last until the end of this year is the strictest sanction that China has imposed on its communist ally till date. The ban is expected to cripple Pyongyang's economy, which is heavily reliant on coal export for sustaining its fragile economy.



Meanwhile, the sensitive issue of North Korea is expected to dominate the talks between US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who are likely to meet in Beijing next week to discuss their bilateral relationship.



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Tagschina, China and North Korea, North Korea Missile Program, North Korea
(Photo : Getty Images. ) This is probably first time that the 52 years old Chinese billionaire has directly appealed to the Chinese government to shore up support for his company's efforts against the counterfeit goods.

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E-commerce billionaire Jack Ma wants Chinese policy makers to make tough laws to crackdown on counterfeit goods as Alibaba struggles to keep millions of fake goods off its shopping websites.



In an open letter written to Chinese delegates on the sidelines of China's annual parliament session, Ma lamented that "the majority of counterfeiters are not held legally responsible for their actions."



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"If the penalty for even one fake product manufactured or sold was a seven-day prison sentence, the world would look very different both in terms of intellectual property enforcement and food and drug safety," Ma added.



This is probably the first time that the 52 years old Chinese billionaire has directly appealed to the Chinese government to shore up support for his company's efforts against the counterfeit goods. Ma's desperation is understandable given that millions of fake goods listed on his e-commerce platforms like Taobao and Tmall. This continues to mar Alibaba's reputation.



Alibaba got a grim reminder of its struggle against fake goods when last year its website Taobao was blacklisted on the infamous list of U.S. counterfeit goods. The site reappeared on the infamous list after a gap of nearly four years, bringing a lot of shame and criticism to the e-commerce giant.



Alibaba responded quickly to the blacklisting fiasco by forming what it called the world's first "Big Data Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance," which includes several big brands like Samsung, Louis Vuitton, and Huawei.



Jessie Zheng, Alibaba Group chief platform governance officer, claims that harnessing the power of big data is necessary since today it is the powerful weapon available against the counterfeit goods.



How much this big data experiment will yield results is yet to be seen? But detecting counterfeit goods among millions of goods listed on its shopping website is going to be challenging for Alibaba.



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TagsJack Ma, china, counterfeit goods, counterfeiters, Alibaba Counterfiet Goods
A human rights lawyer in China has revealed that he is being subjected to torture by Chinese government officials in their attempt to extract a confession of guilt from him.

China Aid, an organization that monitors Christian persecution and human rights abuses in China, reports that Xie Yang has been imprisoned since July 11, 2015 for defending human rights and thus allegedly presenting a threat to Chinas government.

In a letter, Xie Yang wrote:

Today I met with my attorney, Chen Jiangang, again. All my statements here are completely true and out of a free heart. I want to declare that I am completely innocent.

I have been suffering from all kinds of severe abuse and torture since I was arrested on July 11, 2015. Nevertheless, I have never pled guilty, because I am not guilty.

If someday I admit any guilt, whether in written form or voice recording, it would definitely not be out of my own will. It would be either caused by continued torture or to get a chance to be bailed out and reunited with my family. Both my family and I are under immense pressure now as the officials ask me to confess and stop talking about my torture.

Xie Yang has reportedly been subjected to torture such as beatings, lack of water, and suffocation. Authorities have also reportedly threatened him, although Chinas government denies any allegations that Xie has been tortured.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: March 8, 2017
A municipal judge in a small town in Wyoming has been reprimanded by the states Supreme Court for refusing to perform same-sex marriages.

FoxNews.com reports that Judge Ruth Neely refused to perform same-sex marriages on the basis of her religious beliefs.

In a 3-2 decision, the Court ruled that Neely violated judicial conduct code, but that she wouldnt have to be removed from the bench.

"Judge Neely shall either perform no marriage ceremonies or she shall perform marriage ceremonies regardless of the couple's sexual orientation," wrote Justice Kate Fox in the ruling.

Neely has actually never been asked to perform a same-sex marriage in the 2,000-person town of Pinedale, Wyoming, or in the broader Sublette County, but her primary responsibilities as a judge have been to perform marriage ceremonies.

Justice Fox added that Neelys case is not about same-sex marriage or religious objection.

This case is also not about imposing a religious test on judges," wrote Fox. Rather, it is about maintaining the public's faith in an independent and impartial judiciary that conducts its judicial functions according to the rule of law, independent of outside influences, including religion, and without regard to whether a law is popular or unpopular."

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: March 8, 2017
The U.K.s Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) announced on the 20th that Myanmar has the worlds highest WGI (World Giving Index). In other words, Myanmars citizens are the most generous in the world compared to other nations. CAF reported that Myanmar has climbed to the top place since the past 2 years, alongside the United States. The WGI was evaluated by measuring rates of monetary donations, volunteer work, and also giving aid to strangers.

Interestingly however, Myanmar is currently the worlds poorest nation. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) announced that the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is around 1270 U.S. dollars. This is around 43 times smaller than that of the United States, ranked 153 out of the 153 nations of the world.

Despite being less financially fortunate than other nations, Myanmars citizens have been shown to be the most giving in the world. According to CAF, Myanmars rate of monetary donations of individual citizens is as high as 91 percent. Next in line for this scale was Malta, which scored 78 percent. The U.S. scored 68 percent on this scale, while ranked top in the rate of giving aid to strangers.

According to South Koreas World Ilbo, insiders of CAF explained that the reason Myanmar has such a high WGI was mainly because of its Buddhist culture. Statistics show that the nation has over 500,000 Buddhist monks, and the overall religious culture has made giving and donating a norm for the people.

Interestingly enough, this years WGI scale revealed that only 5 major economies were ranked in the top 20. The U.S. was ranked 1st with Myanmar, followed by Canada (3rd), Ireland (4th), and New Zealand (5th). The following nations included more developing nations including Malaysia (7th), Sri Lanka (9th) Trinidad and Tobago (10th), Indonesia (13th), and even Kenya (14th).

On the other hand, major economic powers that are included in the G20 Economies were on the lower half of the scale. Korea and Japan were ranked 90th, and other huge economies such as Russia (126th) and China (128th).
Korean American youths from southern California donated $7,000 on Thursday to offer clean water to children in Chad, a country located in Africa.

Gods Image, a praise and worship team consisting of kindergarten to college-aged Korean Americans, participated in performances on August 16th at Oriental Mission Church (OMC) in Los Angeles, and on the 23rd at the La Mirada Performing Arts Center. Through these two performances, they were able to raise $7,000, and donated the full amount to Good Neighbors USA, a non-profit organization that, among many projects the organization participates in, builds clean water wells in various countries. The donation will go directly to building two new water wells in Chad.

The partnership between Gods Image and Good Neighbors has a deeper history than a one-time donation, however. In 2011 and 2012, Gods Image participated in their regularly scheduled performances for the purpose of contributing to Good Neighbors overseas relief work, and in December of 2013, Gods Image was officially appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for Good Neighbors. Through this partnership, Gods Image has been actively performing and giving for the purpose of offering clean water, education, and other physical needs to children in impoverished nations.

John Byon, the President of Gods Image, said that he felt a partnership with Good Neighbors USA in particular is special because Good Neighbors is very clear and transparent as an organization. He was confident that all of their donations will indeed go to building clean water wells, and he said, Good Neighbors USA is an organization that uses most of the contributions it receives to providing relief aid to the nations they serve in.

It especially touches our students and our ministry because this organization directly helps children in impoverished nations and allows them to be educated and have access to clean water, Kim added. Our kids at Gods Image are very happy and proud that they can be used by God in this way, and excited to be able to offer help to these children overseas.

Knowing and being a part of a ministry that supports Good Neighbors, who builds many wells for those who do not have clean water, is such a blessing, said Ashley Yoo, a 16-year-old who is a part of the Gods Image team. To be able to show love and support to those who do not have much, and knowing that we are able to spread awareness of the people in the world who are in need, is a wonderful and thoughtful project to be a part of.

Johnny Yi, 17, said, I experience joy and excitement in knowing that my small contribution is changing the world for those who are yearning for a different life.

Good Neighbors USA is an international, non-profit humanitarian organization that offers relief aid to 30 different countries through various projects, including child education, community development, and emergency relief projects. Water for Life, the project through which Good Neighbors builds clean water wells, is of particular importance because of the fact that many in impoverished nations are at risk of waterborne diseases due to lack of access to clean water. It allows children who once had to spend the majority of their time to drawing water from wells to focus more time on learning and studying.

The ministry of Gods Image was started in December of 1990, and has grown to 600 young people who participate in the ministry with seven different branches in locations including Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Brazil, and Vancouver. Those who are interested in being a part of the ministry must go through an audition and interview process, and Gods Image will be holding the auditions for the Los Angeles region for this upcoming school year this Saturday at Oriental Mission Church.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced it would no longer hear a case involving the question of whether a transgender teen has the right to use the schools restrooms and sex-segregated facilities according to gender identity rather than biological sex.

The high court was scheduled to hear the case involving Gavin Grimm from Virginia on March 28, but instead has sent the case back to the lower courts.

Up until this point, the highest court which has ruled on this case is the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of Grimm in April of last year. The Supreme Courts action will vacate that ruling, and the appeals court will have to reconsider the case.

The Circuit Court had relied heavily on a guidance issued by the Obama administration in 2016, which directed public schools across the nation to allow transgender students to use restrooms and other sex-segregated facilities according to their gender identity. The administration referred to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a non-discrimination clause, and interpreted discrimination on the basis of sex to also include gender identity. The administration also said states which do not follow the guidance could risk losing federal funding for education.

However, the Trump administration issued another guidance in February reversing that of the Obama administration, saying that the latters guidance does not contain extensive legal analysis and that it does not explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX, nor did they undergo any formal public process.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will now have to consider whether or not the definition of sex in the Title IX clause does include gender identity.

Until the issue is brought again to the Supreme Court, which is unlikely to happen this term, the issue of the use of restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities will be determined by lower courts across the nation.

Grimm, a 17-year-old who was born as a female but identifies as male, expressed determination for the long run.

Im in it for the long haul, TIME quoted Grimm as saying in a press call. If it took 10 years, Id stick with it.

The Supreme Court has missed an opportunity to end the painful discrimination currently faced by tens of thousands of transgender students nationwide, said Eliza Byard, executive director of the LGBTQ youth advocacy group GLSEN.

Kerri Kupec, a legal counsel from Alliance Defending Freedom, said that the Supreme Courts decision only makes sense.

It only makes sense for the Supreme Court to vacate the 4th Circuits earlier decision and to instruct it to reconsider this case, Kupec said. The 4th Circuit should affirm the plain meaning of Title IX, which protects boys and girls privacy in locker rooms, showers, and restrooms.

Meanwhile, the lack of decision on a federal level may leave schools at risk of more lawsuits, according to Francisco Negron Jr., the chief counsel for the National School Boards Association.

The ultimate constitutional issues remain unresolved for the school districts, Negron Jr. told The Washington Post. Regardless of what action they take, they are liable to be sued by persons on both sides of this issue.
If womens ministry is undergoing a renaissanceand many suggest that it isthen leaders like Jen Wilkin might just be the churchs latter-day Da Vincis. A speaker, writer, and Bible teacher based in Flower Mound, Texas, Jen is an active advocate for womens place in the church, urging congregations to recognize and honor their womens giftings even as she encourages women themselves to strive toward greater, more rigorous biblical literacy.

While most of her ministry takes place in her local church, Jen has also shared her insights with wider audiences through her writing. Her books include Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds and None Like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different from Us (and Why Thats a Good Thing, and her articles have been featured recently in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, and other publications.

On this weeks episode of The Calling, CT Associate Editor Kate Shellnutt joins Jen in a Flower Mound coffee shop for a conversation about her work as a teacher, her love for the church, and her hopes for womens ministry in the years ahead.

On learning to be an empathetic teacher: When I started, I loved the Biblebut I didnt really love women. The Lord placed me in a Sunday school class of women; they were all older than me, they had all had very difficult livesand it became rapidly apparent to me that I could not just stand up each week and make statements about the sovereignty of God that were theologically correct but empathetically void. Youve got a women sitting there who had a child who was an accidental drowning victimyou dont just throw out phrases ...

1
In the past few months, China has expelled dozens of South Korean missionaries from Jilin, a northeastern province that neighbors North Korea.

News media reported the raids, with estimates of the total expulsions ranging from 30 to 70.

"Chinese authorities raided the homes of the missionaries, citing a problem with their visas, and told them to leave," one human rights activist and pastor told Agence France-Presse (AFP). He said that most were on tourist or student visas.

[It] was very exceptional, one anonymous source told the Financial Times. The missionaries were keeping a low profile. In the past, most missionaries were given a month to leave since their activities in China were not harming the country. This time, it was different.

There are about 500 officially registered South Korean missionaries in China, though some say the actual number could be as high as 2,000. Many gather in the northeast, drawn by the poverty of China and the proximity of North Korea. Close to the border, the language and culture are heavily Korean.

Pastor Kim Hee-Tae told AFP that 20 percent of the expelled Koreans were assisting North Korean refugees, and that 40 of the defectors had been sent back across the border.

A spokesman for the Korea World Mission Association called the group ejection unprecedented.

China gave no reason for the expulsions. While some observers pointed to newly-tightened restrictions on Christians, most blamed Chinas opposition to Seouls plan to build an American missile shield.

The THAAD radar is meant to help protect the country from North Korea, which recently launched four ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan. Hours later, it blocked all Malaysians from leaving the country after North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns estranged half brother was assassinated in the airport in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia, which believes North Korea murdered Kim Jong-nam with VX nerve agent, promptly forbid the departure of any North Koreans from the country.

The increasing tensions are making everyone nervous. Chinaworried that the American defense system in South Korea will be used to interfere with or spy on its own ballistic missileshas retaliated by canceling appearances by South Korean performers, shutting down four Chinese branches of a South Korean retailer, and halting work on a multi-billion dollar theme park that a South Korean company was building in China.

Some South Korean missions agencies are recalling their workers, and the countrys foreign ministry has counseled missions groups to use extra caution.

This isnt the first time South Koreas missions effort has gotten into trouble. In 2007, 23 South Korean church volunteers were abducted by the Taliban while traveling in Afghanistan on a medical aid trip. They were released 43 days later, but not before two of them were killed.

In response, church leaders said they felt remorse, and promised to use more caution in the future. But the South Korean government did it for them, banning citizens from traveling to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. Four years later, the government added Yemen, Syria, and Libya to the list. (Libya and Yemen have since been removed.)

The South Korean missionary effort exploded during the late 1970s, corresponding to the rapid growth of Christianity in the small country. It reached No. 2 in the Center for the Study of Global Christianitys list of missionary-sending countries in 2006, with more than 20,000 Korean missionaries in the field.

But by 2013, South Korea had fallen to No. 6, and some said the slowdown prompted by the travel ban was a good opportunity for the relatively young Korean missions movement to mature.

While American short-term missions volunteers stick to relatively safe environments, Princeton University sociologist Robert Wuthnow told CT in 2007 that South Korean churches are willing to send short-term groups to dangerous parts of the world.

South Korean missionaries helping North Korean defectors risk the wrath of two countries. In 2016, a Korean-Chinese pastor was found dead in Changbai, a Chinese county along the North Korean border. Suspicions centered on North Korea.

And in 2015, an American court ordered North Korea to pay $330 million to the family of South Korean pastor Kim Dong-shik for his abduction and presumed murder in 2000.

The pastor, who had evangelized and worked with North Korean defectors, was taken from Yanjithe same place in Jilin that Chinese authorities are currently cracking down on those carrying on his work.
Through sacrifice, mercy, and charity, women down through church history may have given us our greatest examples of love demonstrated and proven through selfless giving and service to others.

Jesus portrait of the charitable woman in Mark 12:44 is the emblem of a continuous tradition within the Church: A feminine tradition of benevolence born in spite of cultural restrictions. Consider his description of this poor widow who donated two copper coins to the treasury:  she gave everything she had, her whole being. In another time this woman might live in a castle or a cloister, a settlement or a city, but, although less likely to receive from her contemporaries the recognition Jesus gave her, her philanthropic spirit would continue to express itself through acts of financial sacrifice.

Like the scribes, Christ often had his material needs met by women. But, unlike the scribes, he did not devour widows houses (Luke 20:47). The group of Galilean women who accompanied Jesus in his travels, and who ministered to him and the disciples, as Luke 8:3 says it, out of their means, included Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others. They were treated as companions, an anomaly in a culture that transferred a woman from the guardianship of her father to that of her husband. These arrangements included financial control as well; a woman rarely took responsibility for her own funds until her husbands death, or until her husband decided to divorce her.



I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in everythingall that she had. Mark 12:4344

It is unclear how these women freed themselves from the familial and financial structures of first century Palestine; it is clear that Jesus gratefully accepted their support. ...
Human Rights Lawyer Reveals Torture; Says Any Future Confession Would 'Not be Out of My Own Will' Contact: ChinaAid Media Team, 432-553-1080 cell, 432-689-6985, media@chinaaid.org



CHANGSHA, HUNAN, China, March 8, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- An incarcerated human rights lawyer from China's central Hunan province declared his innocence and revealed that he is being subjected to severe torture in a letter on Jan. 13, China Aid learned today.



Imprisoned since July 11, 2015, for his defense of human rights, lawyer Xie Yang wrote that officials have been subjecting him to "severe abuse and torture" in order to coerce him to confess. However, because he is not guilty of any crime, he writes that he is refusing and will only comply if the torture becomes too much for him to bear or authorities bait him with bail and a reunion with his loved ones. As such, he says, "If someday I admit any guilt, whether in written form or voice recording, it would definitely not be out of my own will."



Xie's lawyer, Chen Jiangang published the "Transcript of Interviews with Lawyer Xie Yang," revealing that his client was repeatedly dragged away from cameras and beaten, forced to sit on stacked chairs until his legs swelled and it became impossible to walk, denied water, made to inhale cigarette smoke until he choked and suffocated, and subjected to other acts of torment. Additionally, according to an excerpt of the transcript posted by China Change, officials threatened to place him in an oven and told him, "Xie Yang, if we want to kill you, it would be very simple. Killing you is the same as killing an ant!"



Due to the startling nature of the transcript's content, many international media sources published articles denouncing China's treatment of Xie. In response, China launched a propaganda campaign claiming that these reports were "fabricated," denying Xie's torture.



A full translation of Xie's declaration follows.



China Aid reports abuses, such as those suffered by Xie Yang, in order to stand in solidarity with the persecuted and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law. Xie Yang's declaration on Jan. 13, 2017



I'm Xie Yang, and I hereby declare:



Today I met with my attorney, Chen Jiangang, again. All my statements here are completely true and out of a free heart. I want to declare that I am completely innocent.



I have been suffering from all kinds of severe abuse and torture since I was arrested on July 11, 2015. Nevertheless, I have never pled guilty, because I am not guilty.



If someday I admit any guilt, whether in written form or voice recording, it would definitely not be out of my own will. It would be either caused by continued torture or to get a chance to be bailed out and reunited with my family. Both my family and I are under immense pressure now as the officials ask me to confess and stop talking about my torture.



Once again, I am innocent.



Xie Yang

Jan. 13, 2017

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home World Anglican bishop urges Christians to stick with Church despite 'false teaching' on gay marriage

An Anglican bishop has urged conservative Christians to stay within the Church of England despite its changing attitudes about gay marriage.

Rod Thomas, The Bishop of Maidstone, has noted that several bishops are calling on the Church to be more affirming of same-sex relationships. But he said that conservative parishes should not abandon the Church despite the "false teaching."

"In the face of false teaching, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy both to keep his distance from it but also to continue in patient teaching," Thomas wrote in his blog. "He recognises that this may involve suffering," he added.

He pointed out that when the Apostle Paul warned against false teachers, he did not tell the Ephesians to run away, but he told them to "guard the flock" instead.

"So we need to stand firm a continuing to teach and do the work of evangelism, continuing to turn up at Synods in order to contend for the gospel, continuing to encourage one another by meeting together, and continuing to support those who run into difficulty," he went on to say.

The General Synod of the Church of England has recently rejected a report that upholds the traditional view that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.

The majority of the Synod supported the motion to take note of the report, gaining 106 votes from the laity, 43 from bishops and 93 from clergy. But the motion, which needed majority votes in each of the three sectors, failed to pass as 100 members of the clergy voted against it.

Although the vote is not a formal rejection of the proposals, the House of Bishops will be using the views aired to inform their future work.

The report recommended that the Church uphold its teachings on traditional marriage, but it also called for the promotion of "maximum freedom" within its current laws and doctrines, without changing them. It suggested that guidelines could be created to encourage clergy to pray and offer guidance to same-sex couples, without blessing such marriages.

Thomas has previously warned the Church against adopting liberal views regarding human sexuality, saying it would be "a fundamental breach with historic Christian teaching." He said that the Church of England should recognize that "God's Word is not always popular."
home World Catholic priest praises Egyptian Muslims helping Christians who fled from ISIS

A Catholic priest in Egypt has praised ordinary Muslims who offered to help Coptic Christians who fled from Sinai following a series of attacks carried out by the Islamic State.

Fr. Rafic Greiche, spokesman for the Coptic Catholic Church, said that Christians need to learn the difference between ordinary Muslims and extremists.

"Ordinary Muslims are kind and try to help however they can a they're often first on the scene, rescuing the injured and taking them to hospitals," Greiche told Catholic News Service.

Greiche said that Catholic churches and schools in Ismailia had offered shelter to the Coptic Christian families with help from Caritas.

The priest noted that ISIS fighters are now "strongly entrenched" in North Sinai, as they have been given access by Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood to tunnels from the Gaza Strip. He advised civilians to stay away from the military zone surrounding the region, which he said was now "under attack all the time."

Amnesty International has stated that the Egyptian government has failed to protect Coptic Christians. The organization urged the government to offer "urgent protection" to the persecuted faith community and provide additional support to those who have been displaced.

Greiche said he believed the authorities were committed to defending Christians against the extremists.

"You can never do enough against jihadist and terrorist attacks, which come, like any criminal acts, at a time no one can foresee," he said. "But while no country can be fully secure, I think there's will on government side to act decisively against these constant attempts to destabilize Egypt," he added.

Bishop Angaelos, the head of the Coptic church in the UK, has reported that 40 Coptic Christians have been murdered in Egypt between December and February. He said that the Copts in North Sinai were essentially told to "leave or die." At least 1,000 Christians have fled to Ismailia and Cairo after receiving death threats.

During a Cairo youth gathering on Feb. 27, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi condemned the attacks on Christians as "a cowardly plot by evil people intended to undermine national unity and confidence in the state." He added that the defense, interior and intelligence ministries have been instructed to "resist all attempts to sabotage stability and security."
home US Democrats block New Mexico bill aimed at protecting babies who survive botched abortions

Democrats in the New Mexico House of Representatives have blocked a bill that would have required doctors to provide medical care to infants who are born alive in failed abortion attempts.

House Bill 37, sponsored by Minority Whip Rod Montoya, was blocked on Thursday by the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee by a vote of 3a2.

Apart from requiring doctors to preserve the life of babies who survive botched abortions, the measure also would have provided protections for babies born in miscarriages and natural births. The legislation would have made it a first-degree felony to intentionally kill infants who survive any of the said procedures.

The bill would have also required the creation a task force from the Department of Health and the Children, Youth and Families Department to investigate whether infants have been born alive at abortion clinics and if any received proper medical care.

Montoya, a Republican, said that the proposal was not an abortion bill and was intended to fill a gap in New Mexico law.

"This is a human rights bill for infants who are born alive a whether it's following an abortion, a miscarriage or a natural birth," he said, according to Albuquerque Journal.

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez also spoke in favor of the bill. "We have an obligation to stand up and speak out for the most vulnerable among us," he said.

Opponents of the measure have argued that there are already laws and medical standards in place that covers how to handle abortion and other procedures.

The state House committee also turned down two other abortion-related bills on Sunday. One bill would have banned abortions after 20 weeks into pregnancy, while the other bill would have required that a parent or guardian be informed before an abortion is performed on a minor.

Earlier this year, Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska introduced a federal bill that would strengthen protections for babies born alive after botched abortions.

The issue of babies surviving failed abortion attempts gained national attention when Nurse Jill Stanek testified before Congress about finding an infant who lived through the procedure but was left to die at a Chicago-area hospital.

Her testimony was instrumental in passing the Born Alive Infants Protection Act udner President George W. Bush. Sasse's bill, known as Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, aims to strengthen the legislation.
home World Evidence of Africa's wet climate in the past points to Biblical Great Flood, says Christian physicist

A Christian physicist has claimed that the new evidence indicating that the Sahara desert was once a lush tropical climate is consistent with the predictions of biblical creationists.

Based on the analysis of marine sediment cores located off the northwestern African coast, a team of scientists has estimated that the Sahara desert had 10 times more rainfall in the past than it does today.

The findings suggested that humans inhabited the Sahara and lived off the animals and plants that lived in the region's savannahs and wooded grasslands between 5,000 and 11,000 years ago, according to University of Arizona News.

"Our precipitation rate estimates confirm the interpretation that a seasonal tropical climate dominated most regions of North Africa during the Green Sahara time," the researchers wrote in their paper, which was published in the journal "Science Advances."

Jessica Tierney, associate professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona and the lead author of the study, noted that there was a thousand-year dry period that caused the people to leave.

Biblical creationists do not agree with the age estimates of the study, but some have asserted that the findings point to the global flood described in Genesis.

Dr. Jake Hebert, a physicist with the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), claimed that scientific models based on the Bible predict an extremely wet period after the Great Flood, Christian News Network reported.

"Rapid seafloor spreading and volcanic activity during the Genesis Flood would have significantly warmed the world's oceans," Hebert wrote in an article published by ICR late last month.

"This would have greatly increased evaporation, putting much more moisture into the atmosphere. This increased moisture would have resulted in much more precipitation, in the form of snow, in the higher latitudes and on mountaintops, and rain at lower latitudes and elevations," he added.

Hebert pointed out that North Africa is not the only dry region that was once wet and tropical. He noted that the Bible testifies that some parts of the Middle East had more rainfall and vegetation than today.

The physicist contended that secular scientists are having difficulties explaining the past climate change.

Hebert explained that some uniformitarian scientists have attributed the Sahara's past climate to the changes in Earth's orbital motions, which caused a small increase in solar radiation some 9,000 years ago. But he argued that there are some problems with attributing past climate change to astronomical motions. He also pointed out that the argument for the astronomical theory has been invalid for a quarter century.

He concluded that the Biblical model provides a better explanation than secular theories. "The conclusion of increased Saharan rainfall in the recent past is in perfect agreement with the history recorded in Genesis," he said.
home World Nearly 2,000 turn to Christ at Franklin Graham event in Vancouver despite controversy

Thousands of people came to hear the Gospel at Franklin Graham's Festival of Hope crusade in Vancouver last weekend despite opposition from the mayor and dozens of Christian leaders.

Around 1,900 people responded to Graham's call to make Christ their Lord and Savior, and nearly half were under 18. Sabrina Hay, one of the parents who attended the event at Vancouver's Roger's Arena, expressed joy when her daughter decided to dedicate her life to Christ.

"Such an amazing night! So worth every minute! My daughter even asked the Lord to be her savior! She has begun her walk," she said, according to CBN News.

A few weeks before the crusade, several city leaders and Christian ministers expressed their concerns about Graham's "extraordinarily derogative" beliefs about gay marriage and Islam.

Graham has previously referred to Islam as a "very evil and wicked religion" and has described society's celebrations of the homosexual lifestyle as a "tide of moral decay."

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, along with 14 local ministers, wrote a letter asking the event organizers to drop Graham from the itinerary.

"Why would they have invited this person in the first place, knowing that he's said these things about Muslims, knowing that he's said these things about the LGBTQ community?" said Councilor Tim Stevenson, Canada's first openly gay minister. "Why would they not invite a different evangelist, one that isn't controversial?" he added.

The religious leaders said they have worked for nine months in the hopes that the festival's planning committee would be persuaded to find a more suitable speaker.

Prior to the event, Graham said that he was grateful for the attention he received in the past few weeks. He asserted that the controversy has helped to promote the crusade.

In an interview with CBC News, he contended that those who wanted him banned from the event were not the ones who invited him.

"The 300 churches that invited me, that invitation is still there and they're still 100 per cent behind me being here," he said.

Graham maintained that the goal of the festival is to preach the Gospel to the attendees. He said he invited the Muslims and members of the LGBTQ community to attend along with those who were opposed to his visit in Vancouver.
home World Persecuted Christians sought revenge but chose forgiveness after hearing God's word, says Wycliffe Bible Translators

Wycliffe Bible Translators have attested that the word of God has the power to pacify the angry hearts of those who suffered persecution, especially when people hear it in their own language.

Wycliffe's President Bob Creson recounted an incident when 300 homes in Bambalang, Cameroon were burned down by people from a neighboring village just a week before the Gospel of Luke was to be dedicated in their own language.

"In the midst of the devastation, many were angry and wanted to seek revenge. But the words of Jesus in the Chrambo language about loving enemies has brought comfort, healing and forgiveness to the people of Bambalang," Creson told The Christian Post.

Local Pastor Pius Mbahlegue highlighted one of the central messages that touched the heart of the community: "Hating your enemy back cannot solve the problem. But loving your enemy will disarm your enemy and make him powerless."

Wycliffe, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary of translating the Scriptures, said that there are now more than 550 complete translations of the Bible, with another 2,400 translations of either the New Testament or other books of the Bible. There are about 1,800 other languages that are waiting for translation work, though the process is now much faster than in previous decades because of new technology.

"It used to take 25 years to translate the New Testament, but it now takes on average seven years, thanks to software that aids in the process and broader ownership and participation from those in local communities," Creson revealed.

Using a new translation method, Wycliffe was able to provide a version of the Bible that included tips for complicated sections and free of copyright restrictions. The new method allowed the organization to translate the Bible into 600 languages in two years, with the goal of adding 400 more this year.

The goal of the organization is to translate all of the estimated 7,000 languages spoken worldwide by the year 2025. Creson acknowledged that it was an "aggressive goal," but he maintained that it can become a reality.

Wycliffe Associates currently has 7,000 volunteers worldwide, with some operating in countries where Christians are persecuted. Last year, suspected militants killed four translators and destroyed some equipment, according to the organization.
home US Season 2 of CNN's 'Finding Jesus' aims to present new insights about Christ

The second season of CNN's "Finding Jesus" is expected to attract the attention of believers and skeptics as it tries to provide new insights about the historical Jesus.

"Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact Forgery," which premiered on CNN on Sunday, is aimed at giving the viewers an opportunity to "relive Jesus' journey throughout the ancient world, the impact of His ministry, early church history."

The series captivated the faith community when it first premiered last year. The first season featured well-known pastors, theologians, and scholars who examined famous religious artifacts to shed light on the places and people who had an encounter with Jesus.

In the second season, the hit series will explore the childhood home of Jesus, the tomb of King Herod, the bones of St. Peter, the relics believed to shed light on the apostle Thomas, the Pilate stone and the tomb of Lazarus.

Reverend A.R. Bernard, one of the pastors featured in the second season of the series, said that the program is not only for religious viewers.

"There are a lot of people who are still seeking Jesus," he told Townhall. "He is the most debated figure in the last 2,000 years. And people are still trying to make sense of it and the Christian religion," he added.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Bernard encouraged Christians to engage in conversations with people who hold different opinions. He said that films like "Finding Jesus" could present an opportunity to start conversations with people who do not believe in Christ.

"That conversation especially on a platform like CNN is taken into the marketplace and discussions take place throughout are some results. Some unresolved, but at least there's a conversation going on," he said.

The series includes commentaries from leading theologians and Christian leaders such as Erwin McManus (MOSAIC, Los Angeles), Father James Martin, SJ (Author, Jesus: A Pilgrimage), Bishop Minerva CarcaAo (United Methodist Church) as well as people who do not believe in the historical Jesus.

"Finding Jesus" was inspired by the book of the same name by award-winning journalist and filmmaker David Gibson, co-authored by Michael Mckinley. The official website of the series provides clips and sermon outlines for pastors and group discussions.
2 Pastors Kidnapped, Stripped, Robbed, Beaten With Metal Rods In Vietnam Amid Mounting Christian Persecution

Two Christian pastors in Vietnam recently had a taste of Vietnamese-style persecution when they were kidnapped, stripped, robbed and beaten with metal rods by a group of men who they suspect were working for the police.

Interviewed by Radio Free Asia, Protestant clergyman Rev. Nguyen Trung Ton said he and fellow pastor Rev. Nguyen Viet Tu were abducted by unidentified men in late February after they arrived at a local airport.

Ton, a pro-democracy Vietnamese activist in who had previously been imprisoned for his activism, said he and Tu were on their way to meet up with other activists when they were pounced upon by the suspects who loaded them into a van after beating them, Asia News reported.

Ton said their kidnappers covered their heads to prevent them from knowing where they would be taken. He said they stopped at a secluded wooded area where the suspects beat them again using metal rods. They were also stripped of their clothes and robbed.

After the suspects left, local residents found the wounded pastors and helped them.

Vietnam ranks 17th on Open Doors USA's 2017 World Watch List of top Christian persecuting countries. Among Asian countries in the list, Vietnam is ranked as the fifth worst after North Korea (#1), Afghanistan (#3), Pakistan (#4), and India (#15).

Last November, Vietnam's communist government adopted a new law that severely curtails freedom of religion.

In January, security forces reportedly arrested students gathered for a Bible class at a school in the capital Hanoi.

"We were arrested by Hanoi security during our Bible class. All students had to stay in the police station and were divided one-by-one to write about what we were doing. The foreign missionary leading our class was charged $1,000 and expelled from the country," one pastor told Open Doors USA.

The Christian persecution watchdog said Christian persecution is mounting in Vietnam, a country where Christian communities are often subject to arrests and land grabbing by the authorities.

Buddhists who converted to Christianity reportedly face the strongest persecution not only from the authorities, but also from their families, friends and neighbours.
Bishops In The Philippines 'Overcome With Grief' After Vote Approves Capital Punishment

Catholic Bishops in the Philippines have said they are 'overcome with grief' after the House of Representatives, the lower house in Congress, overwhelmingly voted in favour of reinstating capital punishment for serious drug offences.

The final vote, which was passed with 216 in favour, 54 against and one abstention, means the bill must now be approved by the Senate.

The bill, submitted on January 11, proposed to restore death by firing squad, hanging and lethal injection as punishment for 21 'heinous crimes'. Some of those crimes, including treason, murder, rape, and violent car theft, were taken out of the legislation by the final reading which approved capital punishment for serious drug offences.

In a statement, the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, said: 'The House of Representatives has given its consent for the State to kill. We, your bishops, are overcome with grief but we are not defeated nor shall we be silenced.

'We call on all Catholic faithful and all Filipinos who stand for life to continue the spirited opposition to death penalty. We urge Catholic lawyers, judges and jurists to allow the gentleness of the Gospel of Life to illumine their reading and application of the law, so that their service to society as teachers and agents of the law and of justice may bring life. It is indeed that we may have life to the full that the Lord came into our midst. They may have won but it does not mean that they are right.'

In 2006, capital punishment was revoked as a punishment for all crimes.

But the country's controversial President, Rodrigo Duterte, has repeatedly vowed to reinstate the death penalty as part of his 'war on drugs'.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines, with which Duterte has repeatedly clashed, has consistently opposed the reintroduction of capital punishment.

According to the Catholic Herald, more than 8,000 people have been killed by police and unknown suspects since Duterte took office eight months ago, many in incidents involving vigilantes.
Blind Christian Woman Held By ISIS Refuses To Convert To Islam Before Managing To Escape

Even though she was blind, a Christian woman named Mariyam Petrayus from western Mosul bravely stood up to Islamic State (ISIS) militants and refused to convert to Islam despite the threat of death.

Petrayus told Rudaw that the militants forced her to renounce Jesus Christ, but she defiantly refused. One of them told her, "'Why don't you convert to Islam? Why are you Christian?"

Petrayus said she told the ISIS fighter that "everyone is on their religion, and nobody leaves their religion."

Petrayus, who is in her 50s, said she did not want to convert to Islam because she did not want to be anything like the jihadists. "I do not want to become one like you," she told the militant.

He asked, "Why? What is wrong with me?"

She answered, "You don't say your prayers, you kill humans, you earn haram [sinful] earning, and you harass people."

The militant denied her accusations, but the blind woman insisted that he's guilty of all those things, adding,"I swear to God."

She was held by the ISIS for over two years before she was able to escape. Petrayus had to walk tens of kilometres through ISIS-held territory before reaching the Kurdish region. She is now living in the Sewdinan displacement camp near Khazer, Iraq.

Petrayus is just one of the estimated 6,000 people forced to flee Mosul after Iraqi government forces launched a major offensive to liberate Iraq's second largest city from ISIS occupation.

The blind woman was fortunate to escape without being harmed.

Meanwhile, Andrew White, an Anglican priest known as the "Vicar of Baghdad," told the Orthodox Christian Network that ISIS chopped off the heads of four young boys just because they refused to convert to Islam.

"ISIS turned up and they said to the children, 'You say the words that you will follow Muhammad.' The children, all under 15, four of them, they said, 'No, we love Yasua [Jesus]. We have always loved Yasua. We have always followed Yasua. Yasua has always been with us.'" White said. "[The militants] said, 'Say the words!' [The children] said, 'No, we can't do that.' They chopped all their heads off."

"How do you respond to that?" White further asked. "You just cry. They are my children. That is what we have been going through. That is what we are going through."
Budget 2017: Church Calls For 'Healing' And Warns Poorest Are Hit Hardest By Benefits Freeze And Rising Living Costs

On behalf of the Church of England, the Bishop of Birmingham has responded to today's Budget by calling for 'healing' and warning that the combination of benefits freezes and a rising cost of living is hitting the poorest hardest.

Rt Rev David Urquhart, Convenor of the Bishops in the House of Lords, called for a 'safety net' to be maintained by the Government alongside the work of charities and civil society. He further expressed concerns about reports that one in five charities are struggling to survive in the current economic climate.

And while Urquhart welcomed the Chancellor Philip Hammond's pledge of 2 billion over three years to fund social care funding, he warned that a 'more sustainable footing' is needed.

'As we begin to consider what the UK outside the EU will look like, we need to commit to policies that will promote healing over further division, care for the environment, a bias for social justice and a renewed focus on the most vulnerable,' Urquhart said.

'A bias towards justice must mean that the fruits of any economic upturn are felt first by those who are most struggling. As research from a number of national charities has shown, a combination of benefit freezes and a rising cost of living is putting pressure on living standards and an increase in child poverty for those already on the margins, with more families facing the prospect of having to prioritise debt repayment over family essentials. I welcome the continuing rise in employment levels but remain concerned about levels of in-work poverty.

'Churches, charities and civil society have a key role to play alongside Government in helping to alleviate these problems, but a safety net needs to be well maintained. I am concerned by reports from the Charities Aid Foundation that nearly one in five charities report they are struggling to survive, rising to a quarter for smaller charities. Though not mentioned by the Chancellor in his speech, the doubling of the rate of Insurance Premium Tax over the past 18 months is just one area that Government might re-examine, given the disproportionate impact it has on charities and churches.'

The Bishop added: 'I recognise the dilemma of balancing the need to reduce national debt and the deficit while ensuring there is proper targeted support and investment where it is most needed. Addressing the developing crisis in social care funding has to be central to that, so I am encouraged by the Chancellor's announcement of 2 billion over three years, but as the Chancellor himself said this needs to be placed on a more sustainable footing. I therefore look forward to the Green Paper in the autumn, to which the Church of England will no doubt respond.'

The House of Lords will debate the Budget statement next week and bishops will respond in further detail then.

In his Budget, Hammond announced that the growth forecast had gone up from 1.4 per cent in November to 2 per cent, funding for free schools and  more controversially  tax rises for the self-employed.
Catholic Commentator Bill Donohue Says Tuam Baby Deaths Are 'Fake News'

A right-wing Catholic commentator has dismissed the Tuam mother and baby home atrocity as 'fake news', as the Irish Prime Minister said the home was a 'chamber of horrors'.

Bill Donohue of the Catholic League in New York contradicted bishops as well as politicians by writing that accounts of up to 800 dead babies at the home in County Galway are a 'lie' and a 'hoax'.

'It was a lie in 2014 and it is a lie in 2017,' he said. 'There is no evidence of a mass grave outside a home for unmarried women operated by nuns in Tuam, Ireland, near Galway, in the 20th century. The hoax is now back again, and an obliging media are running with the story as if it were true.'

The comments come as the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the discovery represented a mass grave and 'a social and cultural sepulchre'.

A state-appointed inquiry has found 'significant human remains' in underground chambers at the site, with tests confirming that the bodies ranged from premature babies to three-year-olds.

The Commission of Investigation is looking into claims, first raised by the local historian Catherine Corless.

The home was one of 10 Irish institutions run by religious orders, to which about 35,000 unmarried pregnant women are thought to have been sent.

A child died there nearly every two weeks between the mid-1920s and 1960s, according to reports.

The home was run by the Bon Secours order of nuns, which has yet to respond to the development.

The Bishop of Limerick, Brendan Leahy, who was representing Catholic Bishops at the Citizens Assembly in Dublin at the weekend, said: 'We're all as shocked about this as everyone else...We hang our heads in shame, but it brings us back to the fact that this is what we want, to promote a culture that really does care for life before and after birth.'

Writing on the Catholic League website, which is not an official Church site, Donohue said: 'The most pernicious aspect of this story is the willingness of the media to be seduced by the most fantastic tales about the Catholic Church, and the profound laziness of reporters to fact check news stories. They are responsible for making this a classic example of fake news.'
Church's Free Food Offering At Prayer Meeting Leads To Stampede, Killing 8, Injuring 28 Others In Zambia

All they wanted was free food, but they died getting it.

Eight people were trampled to death in a stampede at a church event offering free food in poverty-stricken Zambia on Sunday. The tragedy injured 28 others.

They were part of some 35,000 people who attended a prayer meeting sponsored by the Church of Christ in the capital Lusaka, The Christian Post reported.

Those who died were reportedly seen after the stampede still clutching the food they were given.

Swarms of people from the "ghettoes" began arriving at the stadium as early as three hours before the prayer meeting and food distribution were scheduled to begin.

The police said among the dead were six females, an adult male and a young boy. Five of them reportedly died on the spot while the remainder succumbed to their injuries at local hospitals.

The Zambian government immediately suspended the operations of the Church of God following the deadly stampede, the Lusaka Times reported.

Officials said preliminary investigations showed that "church leaders failed to comply with directives to produce all necessary legal documentation governing operations of the churches."

The Council of Churches in Zambia blamed the deaths on the "unacceptable poverty" in the country, according to a post by the Zambian Watchdog in its Facebook page.

At the same time, Council Secretary General Susanne Matale warned Zambians to beware of "unscrupulous organisations coming in the name of Christianity" that exploit the nation's poverty and "take advantage of innocent people" by luring them to attend their services.

"We believe that the people of Zambia are entitled to a dignified way of life and not struggle to a point of sacrificing their lives to secure food," Matale said.

A ticket to the event with the words "Free Entrance & Free Food Parcels" was posted on Facebook.

Many people commented that the church should be held responsible for the deaths, according to The Christian Post.

"It was a noble idea but maybe the food parcels should not have been advertised but instead announced it when people had already taken their seat........sad development though," wrote Sylvester Besto Mangani.

"A responsible Church should have known that you don't bribe people to come to a meeting. The result is always bad," Derick Chekwe said.
Don't Talk About Christian Persecution, Sudan Warns Pastors

Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) have ordered senior Church leaders not to speak publicly about the persecution of Christians and the demolition of church buildings, according to Radio Tamazuj.

Rev Mubarak Hamad, Chairman of the Sudan Council of Churches, was ordered to report to the headquarters of the NISS every day with another church leader after they held a press conference calling on the government to cease its programme of church demolition.

While that requirement has been lifted, they were ordered not to speak publicly about the issues without NISS authorisation.

Referring to two Sudanese church leaders still imprisoned after a Czech mission worker, Petr Jasek, was freed after representations from his government, Hamad told Radio Tamazuj: 'They told me not to talk about the demolition of churches or the two church leaders who are in jail.'

Jasek spent 14 months in jail under Sudan's oppressive Islamist regime accused of inciting hatred and spying. He had been in the country investigating reports of the persecution of Christians and was originally sentenced to 24 years in prison. He described being beaten and tortured while imprisoned and urged Christians to pray for those still held.

Hamad said church leaders had become targets in a government crackdown.

At least 25 churches are scheduled for demolition on the grounds that they were built illegally. However, church officials say they legally obtained the lands and have title deeds.
How To Make Britain (Really) Great Again  And America Too

Comedian Trevor Noah, host of the hugely popular US TV Daily Show, has had a few things to say recently about how Britain has responded to rising immigration. He has come across a lot of people who have been expressing to him along these lines why they voted for Brexit:

'This b***y country is going to the dogs and we want Britain back... These immigrants they come over here and they are up to no good. I wish they would go back to where they came from... I hate them because they don't even try to be British. They come here they bring their own culture, their own food and they try to take over the whole place.'

His response: 'Well, that sounds British to me.'

Noah was born in South Africa and the African experience of British colonialism means some of the anti-immigration rhetoric around immigration sounds like poetic justice. The British colonised a good part of the world; our was 'the empire on which the sun never sets'. We imposed our culture, food, rules and dress code on the world as we 'civilised the savages'. We extolled the wonders of our way of life and so perhaps it is little wonder that people want to come to the so-called best place on earth, the greatest of all the countries in the world  Great Britain. Certainly we should not be surprised that when they need to escape poverty or terror or life-threatening atrocities, for many their first choice is to go somewhere where they at least understand something of the language and culture, a host country that is long overdue a return visit.

It is not only in our colonial history that we exported our message of greatness. We have continued to do so. We export our British culture to the world through our movies, our broadcasting and our literature. We boast about our royal family, our health service, our education systems, our progressive views and our economy. Is it any wonder that many people want to come here? And why should we be surprised, when they not only admire these benefits as tourists, but seek to enjoy them as refugees and residents?

Of course, many of our much-prided national treasures are not really ours to claim in the first place. The Europeans gave us our language, the Romans brought us infrastructure, and the Irish facilitated the expansion of the Victorian economy. Fish and chips were introduced into Britain by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain. Chicken tikka masala, another invention by immigrants, has been voted Britain's favourite food. Our cosmopolitan cities reflect global community at its best.

Perhaps we forget all this as we fearfully consider the next wave of immigration  not only how much Britain has benefited from immigration in the past, but how the world has suffered as a result. Recently Indian academic Shashi Thashoor, the former UN under-secretary and member of India's Parliament, was interviewed by John Snow on Channel 4 News. He lamented British 'historical amnesia about what the [British] empire entailed. British children are not being taught about how the UK financed the industrial revolution from the deprivation of its colonies'. He explained that 'Britain came to one of the richest countries in the world [India] in the early 18th century and reduced it, after 200 years of plunder, to one of the poorest.'

As Britain seeks to make trade deals after the Brexit vote, I suspect our colonial past may come back to haunt us. I can imagine a difficult conversation when British diplomats try to make trade deals with our former colonies, asking for a good deal when the colonial past is still freshly remembered. As we are forced to renegotiate our position in the world, where will be the good will?

At the same time the US is redefining its place in the world too. President Donald Trump has issued a new executive order to ban travel for people from six predominantly Muslim countries. The New York Times described it as 'the most significant hardening of immigration policy in generations'. He has also slashed the overseas aid budget and reduced the US's commitment to reducing climate change. Instead he has increased military spending and focused on jobs for Americans. The strategy of 'America First' at the expense of its neighbourly commitments to the world in an attempt to make a nation 'great' is seriously flawed.

While these changes take place across the Atlantic the UK seems to be trying the same tactics. We have now closed our borders to unaccompanied refugee children by voting to close the Dubs route for lone vulnerable asylum-seeking children to have safe passage into the UK. Lord Dubs, who himself was a refugee in World War II fleeing the Nazi persecution and extermination of Jews, campaigned for the UK to help our fair share of the children displaced and orphaned by wars around the world. The government has closed his scheme after only 350 of the expected 3,000 children have arrived, despite many Conservative MPs calling on the government to show compassion.

Can Britain be great again? There are skeletons in the cupboard of our history but there is great treasure in our heritage too. One of our finest moments was the willingness to receive 10,000 vulnerable children fleeing the Nazis in 1939. Some have balked at the connection between lone child refugees fleeing ISIS, people traffickers and bombs and children fleeing the Nazis. Some MPs have described those who speak in these terms as 'sentimentalists'. But it was Prime Minister David Cameron who first made the connection, calling Britain's response to the refugee crisis 'a modern-day Kindertransport'.

I believe Britain can be great again not through closing borders to the vulnerable but through great hospitality and great compassion to those in greatest need.

Jesus had something to say about what makes for something truly great. He said 'Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends' ( John 15:13). I wonder if that could apply nationally? Making a nation great is more than just looking after the welfare of its citizens. It's helping those citizens demonstrate sacrificial compassion on behalf of others.

Dr Krish Kandiah is the founding director of Home for Good. His latest book, 'Paradoxology: Why Christianity was never meant to be simple' is published by IVP USA.
Portuguese Evangelicals Have Planted New Churches, But Their Numbers Are Still Falling

Evangelical churches in Portugal are on the decline.

The number of evangelical churches in Portugal fell from 1,630 in 2000 to 964 in 2016, according to Evangelical Focus. Numbers have fallen despite the fact that more than 300 new churches were planted in the same period.

The statistics, coming from research by the Mission Advisory Board of the Portuguese Evangelical Alliance, suggest that evangelical Christians in Portugal number around 46,900, though some statistics suggest as many as 150,000. A conservative estimate has Portuguese evangelicals representing 0.4 per cent of the population.

322 churches have been planted in Portugal since 2000, and 39 per cent of evangelical church baptisms (which average five per year) in the same period came from the new wave of church plants. Overall numbers have still fallen, though there are still more evangelical churches than in 1980, when there were 894 congregations.

One explanation for the decline in churches is said to be migration of believers to their countries of origin. The report says: 'The great growth in the beginning of the century was due to the arrival of returnees from the Portuguese former colonies, and the arrival of Brazilian immigrants'. The reports regrets that the influx of immigrants helped imply that evangelicalism was an 'imported religion' only for foreigners, not Portuguese nationals. The study found that 66 per cent of evangelical church leaders were born in Portugal.

It also notes that 'the tendency of centralising all church activities in one place' encouraged church decline. Most Portuguese evangelicals (seven in 10) live in one of three districts: Lisbon, Porto and Setubal.

The average membership of an evangelical church in the country is 49. In cities the number is usually over 50 while in rural areas the average is less than 20. The reports said that in some regions the church was almost 'invisible'.

The study also notes that the majority of evangelical churches have no 'involvement in cross-cultural missions'. It suggests an opportunity to work with the country's Muslim community, 'due to the strategic geographical position of our country'.

The reports concludes that churches are too reliant on human and financial foreign resources. It also emphasises the need for addressing the future: 24 per cent of Portuguese pastors are aged over 60, while just 18 per cent are aged below 40. The report said: 'There is a clear need to be addressed in respect to the preparation of a new generation of leaders.'
'The Poor You Will Always Have With You': Did Jesus Care About Poverty?

A US congressman earned considerable scorn last week when he used the teachings of Jesus to argue that some people, frequently the poor and the homeless, 'just don't want healthcare'.

Republican congressman Roger Marshall, a former doctor leading the fight against Obamacare, said in an interview with STAT News: 'Just like Jesus said, "The poor will always be with us." There is a group of people that just don't want health care and aren't going to take care of themselves.'

He added: 'Just, like, homeless people...I think just morally, spiritually, socially, [some people] just don't want health care. The Medicaid population, which is [on] a free credit card, as a group, do probably the least preventive medicine and taking care of themselves and eating healthy and exercising.'

The Congressman has since been chided for his comments, which many have called an offensive misreading of Jesus' teaching. Marshall's comment was unfortunate, though it's unlikely he was intending it as biblical commentary, rather as a throwaway phrase to make a point.

Nonetheless, his attitude can come across like a patronising dismissal of serious poverty, and to be fair: Jesus did say 'The poor you will always have with you.' Can Jesus' own words be used as a licence to ignore the poor?

The expensive gift

The story is found in Matthew, Mark and John's Gospels.

'While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, 'Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor.' And they rebuked her harshly.

'Leave her alone,' said Jesus. 'Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you,and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her' (Mark 14: 3-9).

These can be hard words to hear. It can sound like Jesus is saying that the fate of the poor has been sealed: they will always be there  so you shouldn't try too hard to help them. It could come across as blase and uncharitable. It's a line the wealthy could use to justify their privilege at the expense of the poverty-stricken.

Didn't Jesus say, as his ministry began, that he came to bring 'good news to the poor'? So what did he mean?

The ancient law

Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 15:11, which is part of a radical, challenging chapter in which God commands the Israelites to give to the poor.

On one hand Deuteronomy affirms 'There will always be poor people in the land.' But in the very same verse, it adds: 'Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.'

As if to completely contradict verse 11, 15:4 says that because of God's blessing 'there need be no poor people among you'. The whole passage addresses the tension between a wise recognition of the pervasive reality of poverty, and the divinely-ordained obligation to serve those in need.

The chapter is about 'The Sabbatical Year', where at the end of every seven years, all debts are cancelled, and slaves are set free. When slaves are released, the passage says 'you shall not let him go empty-handed', but rather should 'Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress.

Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you.' (Deut 15.13-15) Generosity for those who have little, rooted in God's kind provision, is hardwired into the Jewish law.

This famous passage would have been well known to any educated Jew listening to Jesus. How could they hear the line 'The poor you will always have with you,' and not also think of the radical obligations of Deuteronomy 15? Jesus, by making this reference, affirms its teaching. He affirms the reality of poverty, and the need to fight against it. He affirms that in this life, injustice will persist, but that through his New Creation, when it comes in full, injustice will cease, and the poor will be lifted up.

The love of God

Jesus' point in this moment seems to have been one about priority in devotion. When a lavish, expensive gesture is made in his honour, he challenges those who rebuke it because the money could have instead been given to the poor. Jesus, whose death on the cross is nigh, welcomes the woman's devotion  and her recognition of what he is about to face  and calls it 'beautiful'.

As Scott Bessenecker says, greed is a powerful force in the human heart and is the true source of the world's poverty. Greed, the desire to accumulate, to shore up power and security, is prevalent in our world and in the Church. It poisons faith, provokes evil and pierces the heart with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10)

It can be justified as wise thriftiness, and you can even pretend that you're saving money to give to the poor. But are you really? In his encounter with this woman, Jesus shows that yes, poverty is tragic and wrong  but it also shouldn't be used as a cover for ungenerosity. To be able to give without restraint, and practise true worship, is a 'beautiful thing'.

You don't have to choose between worshipping Jesus and giving to the poor. Like the love of God and of neighbour  they go together. Don't make God an excuse for unkindness.

Yes, 'the poor you will always have with you'.

But: 'If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?' (1 John 3:17).

You can follow @JosephHartropp on Twitter
Tragedy In Lewis  A Pastoral Response

Rev Dr Iain Campbell, a Free Church of Scotland minister, committed suicide and was posthumously accused of having had affairs with several women. David Robertson offers a pastoral response.

My phone has hardly stopped ringing over the past couple of days, with journalists from different news organisations desperate for information and 'an informed opinion' about the recent tragic death of Iain D Campbell. It still disappoints me that in a world where people are being killed, this is considered so newsworthy that it merits so many column inches and so much gossip. However to some degree I don't blame the journalists  that is the world they inhabit and they are just doing their jobs. It's more reading the accompanying comments and even more sadly what passes for 'prayerful concern' in the Christian world , which really sticks in the throat.

What can be said? In some ways it is surely better to say nothing, but as a Christian minister in Iain's church, and knowing the upset, hurt, pain and confusion this is causing to so many, I think it is right that something be said for those , like me ,who are pastorally struggling with this.

Those of you who are looking for 'inside info' or salacious gossip can go look elsewhere. All I could tell the journalists is how the procedures of the Church work. They probably knew more than me of the allegations. What I know is what is in the public domain. Iain committed suicide and after his death a number of allegations have been made. The truth or otherwise of these will be investigated by the Western Isles Presbytery. This statement from the Presbytery sums it up well:

The Presbytery of the Western Isles wish to assure the Free Church and friends in the wider Christian community that meetings have been held to consider the recent death in tragic circumstances of Rev Dr Iain D Campbell.

They wish to further give assurance that they are continuing to exercise pastoral oversight in all aspects of this tragic event in accordance with The Practice of the Free Church of Scotland.

We ask for your prayers for the family, for our churches, and for the cause of Christ worldwide, as we seek to deal with this painful matter in a way that is biblically faithful and Christ-honouring.

Weep and Pray

Our first response is to be one of great sorrow and anguish. For so many reasons. For me it is personal. Iain D was a friend. He was the same age and basically followed the same career trajectory  we were both Free Church ministers. I was the youngest Free Church minister until Iain D was ordained. We were both PhD students at Edinburgh Uni (he got his), editor of The Record, moderator of the Assembly, married to a Lewis woman, three children, keen cyclist, author and we both preached in different parts of the country and to a small extent, elsewhere in the world. I feel it, but can only imagine the pain, sorrow and numerous conflicting emotions that his family must be going through. We must uphold them before the throne of grace and pray they find help in their time of need. We should pray for all those involved and most directly affected. Would that we all had the heart of the minister I had to tell, who burst into tears on hearing the news. We must weep with those who weep. And for him. And for ourselves.

Avoid gossip

It's so easy to hide behind the mask of 'prayerful concern' and use it as an opportunity to feed our appetite for salacious gossip. People say they need to know. Why? Why does anyone, other than those directly involved, need to know? Isn't what we know enough for sorrow and prayer? (That is why you will not find here links to the numerous articles that have appeared in the press  why do we need to know any more than the basics already stated?) I don't know what happened and I don't want to know. And those of you who claim to 'know' more almost certainly don't. What you mean is that you have heard something. You don't know. I think what amazes me is how many people have contacted me with the words 'I have heard that...' or 'It's widely known...'. 'I don't want to share this but...' I rebuked someone for using this latter phrase before they then went on to share a newspaper article in public on their FB page. Why? Because there was no edifying or good purpose in it.

Now the accusation immediately comes  'You can't face up to the truth.' The reality is that I can't know the truth. Not absolutely. I don't know the history, people's hearts or actions and so I can't know. And it's not my business. God will judge. And God alone knows. It is not for us to make judgments, take sides or pontificate as though we had the knowledge of the Almighty. We don't. This does not mean that the Church should not act when and as it can with what it does know. But it does mean that the request for the Church to act as God in order that 'something must be done', or seen to be done, should be ignored. As I told the press  we don't do trial by media and as I now say to the various Christians networks/gossip chains, we don't do trial by network gossip either.

Trust the Church

That seems like a strange request. Incidents like this are used by the Accuser to show people that the Church cannot be trusted. But that is not what this incident shows. I have a great deal of sympathy with my brothers in the Lewis Presbytery who are faced with a situation which they knew nothing of, and have no responsibility for. Now they are acting in accordance with the practice, procedures and principles of the Church, and that is for the good of all those involved. These procedures, practices and principles are there to protect and pastor people, not to punish.

Doubtless the Presbytery will be slated. Mainly by two groups of people  the militant anti-Church atheists, and worse of all, the Christians who see this as an opportunity to attack the Church and to justify themselves and their own cynicism. Both suffer from the same sinful desire to elevate themselves by knocking others down. I don't blame the atheists, but the Christians who indulge in such schadenfreude need to take a long hard look at themselves. Iain D was hardly in his grave before the gossips, blogs and FB comments began. I find it a sad indictment of much of the modern Church, that with our networks and media resources, we seem to find it far easier to spread bad news, than we do to spread The Good News. Perish the thought, but it's almost as though we delight in the bad news more.

Humble Repentance

For ourselves. We can't repent on behalf of others. Those who claim 'you can't face up to the truth' are in one sense right. We can't. At least if we saw ourselves and our sin as God sees it, we would not be able to stand. It was the apostle Paul who towards the end of his life said, 'I am the chief of sinners.' I am reminded that every day I sing, pray or read the psalms of a man who committed adultery and then murder. He knew the pain of the reality of Psalm 51. Those who are praying 'Lord, I thank you that I am not like others' need to remember Christ's words about the Pharisee and the tax collector.

We acknowledge that there are lessons to be learnt. Hopefully as the dust settles and the speculation and salacious mockery moves on to another target, we will take the time to reflect on these lessons. Now is not the appropriate time, except to simply say that we must not have a culture where ministers are placed on a pedestal and treated as some kind of mini-Saviour. If our faith is in Christ and his word it will be shaken, but not shattered, by the alleged failings of one of his servants. If our faith is in the servant then we are in trouble.

However, we must also avoid the temptation to swing too much the other way where we declare that all ministers are hypocrites, saying one thing and doing the opposite. Thats not true. I have known several pastors and church leaders who have fallen, but I have known many more who, despite all their faults and sins, have remained faithful to Christ. Ministry is hard. And it's often especially hard for the manse family. The pressures and temptations come thick and fast. We need to be often in prayer for one another.

Where is your God now?

Everyone becomes a self-appointed moralist and expert. The enemies of the Gospel mock  'Where is your God now?' Or to be more precise, where is your Calvinist theology now? The answer? God is on the throne, where he has always been. And our theology is what keeps us going. Why? Because it describes what has happened. We believe in total depravity  not that every human being is as depraved as they can be, but rather that sin is in every human being and infects every part of our lives. We believe that there are demonic and evil forces at work, always seeking to disrupt, devour and destroy. This does not cause us to despair because we believe that over all, God is sovereign. He permits but does not cause evil. And he provides the remedy for that evil. Without Christ we have nothing. With him, we have been given all things. May the Lord grant that one mercy out of this will be the removal of any semblance of pride and self-righteousness, and an awareness that those who think they stand, should beware lest they fall.

This article appeared on David Robertson's blog yesterday and is reproduced with permission. It has been edited for length.
Trump: Planned Parenthood Can Have Federal Funding, If It Stops Doing Abortions

Donald Trump has said he will maintain federal funding for Planned Parenthood  if the health service stops providing abortions.

President Trump told the New York Times: 'As I said throughout the campaign, I am pro-life and I am deeply committed to investing in women's health and plan to significantly increase federal funding in support of non abortion services such as cancer screenings.'

He added: 'There is an opportunity for organisations to continue the important work they do in support of women's health, while not providing abortion services.'

The notion has been roundly rejected by Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards. She said: 'We will always stand for women's ability to make decisions about their health and lives, without interference from politicians in Washington, DC.'

Trump pointed to polling showing that most Americans do not favour federal funding for abortions. Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood's vice president, said: 'Let's be clear: Federal funds already do not pay for abortions.

'Offering money to Planned Parenthood to abandon our patients and our values is not a deal that we will ever accept. Providing critical health care services for millions of American women is non-negotiable.'

According to the Congressional Budget Office, almost $400 million in federal Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood. Revoking said support would result in around 400,000 US women losing access to the group's health care, according to the Catholic Herald.

Trump had originally supported abortion rights before he changed his position in 2011, when he announced his pro-life stance. His Catholic Vice President Mike Pence is strongly opposed to abortion and Trump's health secretary Tom Price has also supported axing taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.

One of Trump's first moves as President was a controversial ban of federal funding for international groups providing abortions or information about abortions overseas. Critics said the policy would have a dire impact on vulnerable women in the developing world.
WATCH: Judge women by more than how they look, says Bishop Rachel Treweek on International Women's Day

Women must be valued for more than what they look like, Engand's first diocesan woman bishop says today.

Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek, in a film released to mark International Women's Day, says she especially wants to help women ex-offenders rebuild their lives and their self-esteem.

Every person should know that they are made in the image of God and loved, valued and precious, she says.

'As a follower of Jesus Christ, I'm passionate about every person, that they're created in the image of God, that they're loved, valued and precious.

'That's why I've been speaking out against all the messages in our society that say that our value comes from our external appearance.'

This was 'particularly an issue' for many girls.

'Women in prison often feel devalued, from all that's gone in their own lives,' she added.

She is working with others in her diocese to make available a house that can be used for women when they come out of prison so they can be with their children again.

'I am working with a wonderful organisation, The Nelson Trust, who are running a programme to ensure that women coming out of prison can be reunited with their children. I'm hoping that this home will enable those women to be bold for change and discover where their true value really comes from.'

She says it was this passion that led her to set up the #Liedentity social media campaign against negative body images.

Earlier, Bishop Treweek challenged MPs and guests at an event in the House of Lords to mark International Women's Day, in partnership with Christian Aid and Restored, to promote gender equality.

Muzoon Almellehan, an 18-year-old Syrian refugee, spoke for the Malala Fund about the importance of prioritising girls' education. She said: 'While I was in the refugee camp in Syria, I went from tent to tent to tell parents that [their daughters] needed teachers, not husbands.' She called on the UK government to increase support for education, especially for female refugees.

Loretta Minghella, Christian Aid's chief executive said: 'Two thirds of the world's extreme poor are women and girls. Poverty has a woman's face.' She added: 'Our voices have the power to transform people's experience of gender  especially for women and girls living in poverty  and to ensure they are shaped not by oppression, but by justice, dignity and hope.'

Niki Gould from the Nelson Trust said: 'As a consequence of women going into prison, more than 17,000 children are separated from their mothers each year. Over 80 per cent of these women have committed a non-violent offence. It costs 45,000 to keep a woman in prison, we are paid 550 to support women in the community.'

Terrie Robinson of Side by Side, a global movement of people of faith who want to see gender justice become a reality, said: 'Faith leaders are a permanent part of every community. People still listen to faith leaders, so they are in a very strong position to be challenging cultural practices.'

Bishop Rachel said: 'For me as a follower of Jesus Christ, my motivation to do this is to see every woman flourish and become the person that God has created them to be.'

Mandy Marshall, of Restored said: '30 per cent of women worldwide experience violence from their partner. Faith based organisations have great reach and influence at both national and local level in millions of communities across the globe. With the right support, we believe they have the potential to challenge the injustice of gender inequality and hasten the end of violence against women.'
Women in Sheffield mark International Women's Day with humorous protest at their new bishop

Women in Sheffield have made a humorous protest at the appointment of Philip North as the city's new Church of England bishop.

The famous bronze sculpture unveiled last year to commemorate women who worked in the steel industry in Sheffield in the last two wars has been adorned with episcopal mitres and stoles with one placard that reads: 'This is what a priest looks like.'

BBC TV's Gogglebox vicar Kate Bottley posted the protest on Twitter, describing it as 'good natured'.

Currently Bishop of Burnley, North, 50, succeeds Steven Croft, now Bishop of Oxford. He will be consecrated at Sheffield Cathedral in July. He is part of the Anglican Catholic group The Society, part of Forward in Faith, and does not ordain women himself. He has made it clear that he supports women's ministry in the diocese.

The 'Women of Steel' protest was organised by the new group Sheffield Action on Ministry Equality or SAME, set up to debate the appointment and make suggestions for action. It was timed to coincide with International Women's Day.

Two ministry equality activists, Nicole Brown and Sioned-Mair Richards, 'prayerfully' adorned the Women of Steel as 'full bishops', asking that this would offer a temporary sign of encouragement to women in the Diocese of Sheffield who need it, the action group's blog reported.

They posed the question 'What Would the Women of Steel Do?'

In a statement, Brown and Richards said: 'Sheffield is proud of its women. Women who marched for access to birth control in the 1960s, women who marched for equal pay in the 1970s, women who stood on the picket lines in the 1980s and our treasured Women of Steel who did all they could during our nation's darkest hours.

'That same strength beats in the hearts of the women of Sheffield today. We don't think the new bishop is a bad person but we do believe that he wrong about women's ordination.

'And we think we owe it to the Women of Steel throughout our city's proud history, to speak out about injustice and peacefully and with good humour to do all we can to persuade him to change his mind. The women of steel would expect nothing less.

'We also think the women of steel would make brilliant bishops. We have faith that one day we will persuade Bishop North to agree with us.'
Ask the Fool

Wait for marketto start falling?

Q: I plan to use an auto-investment feature to regularly invest in an S&P 500 index fund. Should I wait for a big drop in the stock market before starting? - I.W., Fayetteville, N.C.

A: No, because the market may not drop for a few years, leaving you on the sidelines. It's generally a bad idea to try to time the market, because no one can know how it will move in the short term. (Over long periods, it has risen.) If you wait out a market decline, you may miss much of the recovery.

If you're nervous about where the market is headed, making regular investments over time can be effective. (Do so with equal sums, and you're "dollar-cost averaging.") That way you'll get shares both when they're lower priced and when they're higher priced, and you won't have to keep guessing about the market's direction.

Don't fret too much about occasional losses - what matters is that you choose good investments and that you're focused on long-term performance. For most people, inexpensive broad-market index funds such as those that track the S&P 500 are smart choices.

Foolish Trivia

Name that company

I trace my roots back to 1928, when two cousins named Ed made a folding wood-slat reclining chair for porch use. A year later they upholstered it for indoor use - and gave it a name that some might find insulting. Chair production temporarily gave way to airplane-part production during World War II. In the decades after the war, ottomans, rockers, built-in footrests and electric controls were introduced. By the 1990s, my chairs offered heating and massages. Today, based in Michigan, I employ more than 6,000 people and sport a market value near $1.4 billion. Who am I?

Last week's trivia answer: Costco

The take

Ford is driving for the future

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) has made vast improvements in the quality and attractiveness of its vehicles since the recession subsided, and now it's churning out profits quarter after quarter. And no one seems to care.

What's impressive about Ford today is that it's profiting from the market's trends (SUVs and trucks) while also investing in future technologies such as electric vehicles and autonomous driving.

The company recently showed off its second-generation autonomous Ford Fusion, a surprisingly normal-looking vehicle, and it invested $1 billion in Argo AI to develop commercial ride-sharing fleets by 2021. This year, 90 autonomous Ford Fusions - triple the current fleet - will be tested across the U.S. and potentially Europe, refining autonomous technology.

Meanwhile, Ford is profiting from robust demand for trucks and SUVs, as it offers new or recently refreshed products in most of the key segments. Sales of its F-series trucks have been strong, with rising profits, and the refreshed Lincoln line of cars is selling well, too. Other Ford cars are struggling, though, with sales of the Focus, Fusion, Taurus and Mustang recently slowing.

Ford is a leading automaker of the future while still being a cash machine today. That's a big reason investors should love the stock, which recently sported a dividend yield near 5 percent. (The Motley Fool owns shares of and has recommended Ford.)

Universal Uclick
(Bloomberg) -- For months now, high gasoline prices have been arguably the most visible political pain point for President Joe Biden. In most towns, they can be seen every few blocks on signs at...
Not to stir up a border war, but honey-mustard barbecue chicken really belongs to South Carolina just as much as Georgia. South Carolina should sue, claiming state's (naming) rights.

It's the Peach State that gets the credit in KFC's new Georgia Gold Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken, which comes a year after KFC struck pay dirt with another regional favorite, Nashville Hot Chicken. If Georgia Gold clicks, expect more local favorites from KFC. Texas has its unique take on chicken. So do Kansas City and North Carolina. Let's see, is there any other place where they know a little something about fried chicken?

Hmmm, oh yeah, Kentucky? So drop the "KFC" nonsense. Embrace your deep-fried greasy roots, Kentucky Fried Chicken!

The Georgia Gold chicken is covered with a tangy sauce that's decidedly heavy on the honey and not so much on the mustard. But it's yellow, and you know what they says, people eat with their eyes.

More Information The Georgia Gold Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken breakdown: KFC Extra Crispy Chicken covered with a tangy sauce that's decidedly heavy on the honey and not so much on the mustard. Calories: One KFC thigh has 290 calories. Fat: 20 g. Sodium: 720 mg. Carbs: 10. Dietary fiber: 1 g. Protein: 13 g. See More Collapse

Georgia Gold chicken is available in several configurations. I went with a basket - two pieces of bone-in Extra Crispy Chicken or three tenders, coleslaw and a biscuit for $5.49. You can upsize to four pieces of Extra Crispy or six tenders, mashed potatoes with gravy and two biscuits for $9.99.

Some KFC locations offer Georgia Gold wings and grilled chicken.

I always get thighs because of the big slab of crunchy skin, plus tasty, juicy dark meat. Drab white-meat chicken has been getting away with murder for decades - where's the flavor?

But if you're not careful, chicken thighs go right to people thighs. One KFC thigh has 290 calories. Add a soda and maybe a cookie, and the smaller basket will get you near the 1,000-calorie mark for lunch. The $10 basket  help me, Marie Osmond!

Here's the thing: quite simply, Georgia Gold Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken is terrific stuff. It's sweet, with a hint of bright sunny mustard, crispy and tender. Good on you, KFC. And Georgia Gold isn't nearly as sloppy, gloppy and messy as Nashville Hot. I wouldn't recommend driving while digging for gold, but it won't leave your steering wheel a slippery mess.

KFC even broke out a new Colonel Sanders to introduce Georgia Gold in its commercials. That's actor Billy Zane gilded from head to toe, looking like a blooper from the James Bond movie "Goldfinger."

That makes him the seventh Colonel Sanders since KFC resurrected the old fella.
He loves dancing to songs, such as Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and the "Macarena," but he can't listen to music in the usual way. He laughs whenever someone takes his picture with a camera flash, which is the only intensity of light he can perceive. He loves trying to balance himself, but his legs don't allow him to walk without support.

He is one in a million, literally.

Born deaf-blind and with a condition, osteopetrosis, that makes bones both dense and fragile, 6-year-old Orion Theodore Withrow is among an unknown number of children with a newly identified genetic disorder that researchers are just beginning to decipher. It goes by an acronym, COMMAD, that gives little away until each letter is explained, revealing an array of problems that also affect eye formation and pigmentation in eyes, skin and hair. The rare disorder severely impairs the person's ability to communicate.

Children such as Orion, who are born to genetically deaf parents, are at a higher risk, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The finding has important implications for the deaf community, said its senior author, Brian Brooks, clinical director and chief of the Pediatric, Developmental and Genetic Ophthalmology Section at the National Eye Institute.

"It is relatively common for folks in deaf community to marry each other," he said, and what's key is whether each of the couple has a specific genetic "misspelling" that causes a syndrome called Waardenburg 2A. If yes, there's the likelihood of a child inheriting the mutation from both parents. The result, researchers found, is COMMAD.

Because the disorder was only recently identified, there is much to learn about its impact over a lifetime. Brooks, who estimates that fewer than one person in a million is affected, has seen only a couple cases. Orion is one of them.

The study's finding made things clearer for Heather Withrow, Orion's mother. "It was more like an 'Oh, cool, that explains it!' kind of discovery," she said from Austin, Texas, where the family lives.

When Withrow was pregnant with Orion, she and her husband, Thomas Withrow Jr., suspected that he might be born deaf. While their daughter, 11-year-old Anastasia, has normal hearing, their other son, 12-year-old Skyler, is deaf. Then the results of initial imaging showed their third child would likely be born blind.

A subsequent MRI raised even more worries, suggesting that they were confronting trisomy 13, a chromosomal condition involving devastating physical abnormalities. Her doctor recommended the pregnancy be terminated.

"We just closed that discussion quick," Withrow recalled through an interpreter. "It is sad when people think, 'Oh well, he is going to be disabled so go ahead and end his life.' It's in God's hands. It was not my decision to make, and it wasn't my husband's decision to make."

The couple started to educate themselves about deaf-blindness - a combination that magnifies the effects of each condition. They contacted resources such as Connections Beyond Sight and Sound, a Maryland-based project that helps parents of deaf-blind children. A meeting with one of its specialists was empowering preparation. "It helped us. It let us know that we could celebrate and be happy when he was born, and not be surprised," Withrow said.

Which is what happened. "We fell in love with him at first sight," she said. As she has described on a blog she writes, Orion was long and lean, "with snowy white hair and lashes, ice-melting smile, rich laughter."

Even though he could not see, Orion's right eye would occasionally react to bright light. At just several months of age, he had special prostheses similar to "jumbo" contact lenses - called shells - inserted over his eyeballs to allow the sockets to grow proportionally with his face. And he started physical therapy to improve his motor functions. By the time he was 18 months old, he was able to keep his head straight, his mother said.

COMMAD explains those problems and others, Withrow now knows. It stands for coloboma (a condition in which normal tissue in or around the eye is missing), osteopetrosis (abnormally dense bones prone to fracture), microphthalmia (small or abnormally formed eyes), macrocephaly (abnormal enlargement of the head), albinism (lack of pigment or more specifically melanin in the skin, hair, and eyes) and deafness.

COMMAD can affect Orion in unusual ways. His body clock keeps its own schedule, his mother said, making it difficult for him to distinguish day and night: "He would think it's morning outside at 2 a.m., and he would want to play at a time when we want to go to sleep."

Such differences sometimes wear down his parents. "Despite all that, everything we do with him and everything he learns is so worth it," Withrow said.

She frequently blogs about Orion's experiences - she calls her site "A Mom's Musings" - to help educate people about COMMAD and help other parents interact with deaf-blind children. At home, she and the rest of the family use a touch-based version of American Sign Language - teaching with objects such as a baby bottle, diaper and spoon - to communicate with Orion.

The caveat of the National Eye Institute's recent study is that knowledge about how to care for and interact with children who have COMMAD is still in its infancy, Brooks said. "We are trying to understand the best ways to listen to the children," he said.

For Withow, sharing knowledge is comforting.

"Orion's life is just as important as everyone else's," she said, "and we hope he has the same opportunities as others."
The Senates higher education committee discussed the merits of limiting a state financial aid grant program to tuition and fees, not other expenses, on Wednesday. Lawmakers heard testimony but did not vote on the bill.

Sen. Kel Seliger, an Amarillo Republican, filed a bill that would stop Texas Grants from covering room and board, transportation and supplies.
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Historian and lifelong Montgomery County resident Gertie Spencer surmises Capt. Isaac Conroe must have been quite a charismatic guy.

He would have had to been in order to arrive in the south as a Union captain, win over Houstonians and establish himself as a successful businessman in the time of Reconstruction.

In a passage published in the "Historical Review of South-East Texas," 1910 edition, it reported Conroe was "one of the most enterprising lumbermen and public-spirited citizens of Southeast Texas."

Today, his legacy lives on as founder of the town that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County.

Early life

Isaac Conroe was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1835.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was in the postal service in Chicago and there he enlisted and became part of the 12th Illinois Cavalry. He served with distinction and was promoted to the rank of captain.

At the close of his service, he mustered out in Houston.

He married Miss Margaret Richardson in Washington, D.C., and then returned to Houston, settling on Cedar Bayou in Harris County.

He became engaged in the wood and freighting business between Lynchburg and Houston.

One of his first forays into lumber and sawmills came from Judge Munger's lumber yard in Houston.

It happened one day that Judge Munger's checker was absent, so Capt. Conroe undertook the task of checking the lumber himself.

Judge Munger was so satisfied with Conroe's work that he offered him a job as checker, which Conroe accepted.

Conroe familiarized himself in all aspects of the business.

The city of Conroe's founding

In the early 1870s, Conroe operated mills at Egypt on the I & GN Railroad and another at Haltom, both in Montgomery County. He later established a mill at the site that would become Conroe.

Capt. Conroe would ride the railroad up from Houston and his stop as his mill became known as Conroe's Switch. The name later was shortened to Conroe, and railroad official H. M. Hoxey suggested the first citizens of the town name it after Conroe.

Conroe was identified with lumber and sawmills up until the time of his death.

"Though he was a Republican and held only the office of postmaster, he was one of the most progressive and public-spirited citizens of the town," according to the passage in "Historical Review of South-East Texas." It goes on to say, "His personality was one to win friends and keep them through life."

He established a home in Conroe on Avenue A and First Street and today a historical marker denotes the property's place in history.

When the county seat was moved to Conroe in the late 1800s, his home, for a temporary time, remained at Conroe's house on Avenue A, until a courthouse was completed in Conroe in 1891.

Capt. Conroe continued his work in the mills and duty to the community until his death at age 62 on Aug. 2, 1897, after experiencing a heart attack.

Capt. Conroe is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston, with Masonic recognition marking his grave.

Passing the community spirit on

Conroe and his wife had three children, Rowena, Effie and William Munger Conroe.

William Munger Conroe also became an integral part of the city of Conroe.

He was born Oct. 30,1870, in Houston and became the successor to his father in many of his affairs. At an early age, William Munger Conroe began working at his father's mills. He went off to business school in New York and returned to help run his father's mills.

When the elder Conroe died in 1897, William Munger Conroe was appointed administrator of his father's estate and later organized the Conroe Lumber Company. William Munger Conroe also served as postmaster and was a prominent member of the Masonic Lodge much like his father.

William Munger Conroe married Hattie E. Urquhart in 1898 and they had two children, Elbert Isaac and Lois Louise Conroe. He died Jan. 16, 1947, and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Conroe.
HONS

KONG: SKULL ISLAND: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman are the latest band of explorers who wandered onto a remote island ruled by a giant ape. Don't expect the same-old, though: For one thing, the story this time takes place in the Vietnam-era 1970s. (PG-13)

PERSONAL SHOPPER: Kristen Stewart stars as the eponymous character, who also has the ability to speak with dead people. (R)
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Everyone wants to make their mark in this world.

For two graduates of the Katy Independent School District that means opening a restaurant offering Southern dishes made with ingredients that are fresh from local sources.

Cane Island Bar & Grill is tentatively set to open in April in a roughly 2,000-square-foot space at the The Shops at Pine Mill Ranch on FM 1463 at Pine Mill Ranch Drive in Katy.

It is the brainchild of Patrick DeMarco, owner/general manager, and Eliab Olivares, kitchen manager. Patrick's dad, Bob DeMarco is owner and manager.

Patrick DeMarco, 31, a Cinco Ranch graduate, and Olivares, 28, a Katy High grad, shared musical interests after meeting through a mutual friend - DeMarco plays guitar and Olivares sings. After graduation, DeMarco attended the University of Houston and Olivares attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Dallas.

At UH, DeMarco said "I was bouncing around majors." But he liked to cook at home, was always kind of interested in cooking and had management and bar experience having tended bar through college.

He rethought what he was doing and transferred to UH's Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

"From the beginning I wanted my own place," he said. "For a while, I thought just a bar. Now it's morphed into a bar and grill."

And, he had no doubt about who would be his kitchen manager - Eliab.

The introduction to Eliab's future career came about when he worked for a small appliance store at Katy Mills where one of his regular customers was a chef. The chef gave him an opportunity to cook.

Olivares started cooking when he was 18 and his career has ranged from high-volume casual eateries to high-end boutique restaurants and working with prestigious chefs in Dallas.

"I'm trying to do simple food the right way," he said, "sourcing food locally with as many small vendors as I can."

Planning for the restaurant started more than two years ago.

Bob DeMarco said they wanted the family restaurant to be where they lived and grew up and considered FM 1463 to be a great spot.

"Traveling either way on FM 1463 you'll find Chinese, fast food, pizza," he said. "They don't have a restaurant with homecooked food made from scratch every day. It's the same high quality food you make at home.

"It's the inside the feel without the inside the loop price," added DeMarco.

Construction and weather  circumstances out of their control - have delayed the opening at 4747 FM 1463 Road, Ste 100, which Olivares finds the most difficult part of the process.

"The most exciting part is putting my stamp on something that is my own." He said he opened three restaurants in the Dallas-Forth Worth metraplex and now this is his stamp on the culinary scene in Katy.

The restaurant will feature a 50-foot covered dog-friendly patio with dog bowls for furry friends, a full bar with 20 taps of craft Texas brew plus Texas distilled liquors and a selection of wines.

Bob DeMarco said the menu was test-marketed with people they know and won faves for its vegan food, which is intended to appeal to the diverse neighborhood surrounding the restaurant.

They not only spent time on the menu but also on the name.

DeMarco said they had a skull session where they sat down and kicked around names. They visited the Katy Historical Society and wanted to go with the original name by which Katy was first called - Cane Island.

"We wanted something to convey the local Texas feel of what we're doing," said Patrick DeMarco.
Police are searching for a man who reportedly fled after shooting a couple in the parking lot of a north Houston apartment complex in January.

Javan Williams, 26, allegedly shot two people and killed one on Jan. 3 inside a car parked in the 1300 block of Greens Parkway, north of the Sam Houston Tollway, according to court documents.

Aukeyanna Simmons and her boyfriend, Charlie Bennett Jr., were giving Williams a ride to an apartment complex on Greens Parkway.

When they got to the parking lot, Simmons said Williams apologized for an argument he had with Bennett the night before, and then pulled out a gun and shot Bennett in the neck.

Williams then allegedly shot Simmons in the arm and face, according to court documents. Simmons told police that Williams fled on foot after shooting them.

She then managed to drive herself to an area hospital, while she tried to stop her boyfriend from bleeding. Bennett was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Williams is a black male with a red P tattoo on his neck. He has short black hair and brown eyes and is 5 feet and 11 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds.

He is wanted for both murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Houston Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. Anyone with information should call 713-222-8477.
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Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez took the witness stand for an hour Wednesday afternoon in a closely watched federal civil rights case that is challenging whether it is constitutional to impose monetary bail on people arrested for minor offenses if they cannot afford to pay it.

Gonzalez confirmed his opinion that the money bail system is arbitrary, unfair to poor defendants and undermines public safety.

"I personally do not believe it's a rational system," he said. "It should be equal protection for everyone."

When an attorney representing Harris County judges asked him about the death rate at the jail being lower than outside the jail, the federal judge interrupted and asked if he was suggesting jail was a better place to be. The attorney, John O'Neill reframed the question.

Gonzalez, a Democrat, took office Jan. 1 after defeating incumbent Republican Ron Hickman, who supported the current bail system. But Gonzalez, who automatically took over Hickman's spot as a defendant in the federal lawsuit, believes costly bail for indigent clients does not promote public safety or make fiscal sense, according to court documents.

Two nonprofit groups and an attorney at a major firm filed lawsuit last year on behalf of several Harris County detainees, including Maranda ODonnell, a single mother who was held in the jail for driving without a valid license.

FATAL CRASH: Intoxication manslaughter charge filed in rodeo buses crash

Odonnell was jailed because she didn't have enough money to post bail. The lawsuit is seeking immediate fixes to the way bail is imposed for defendants, so that a judge or hearing officer would be able to tailor bail to what a defendant can afford to pay. The suit is not seeking monetary damages.

The county has already spent about $1.2 million defending its position. But the sheriff is among a growing group of about a half-dozen top county officials - including the new district attorney, Kim Ogg, and County Judge Ed Emmett -- who say the bail system should be restructured so it doesn't differentiate between rich and poor defendants

The current criteria asks defendants if they have a landline or job, and points can be docked by pretrial services if they do not.

CAPITOL CASE: Judge rules on competency of deputy's alleged killer

Gonzalez sat in court at the defense table for three hours Wednesday morning, listening as another opponent of the bail system testified about a system he said "doesn't pass the laugh test."

>>>Scroll through the gallery to see the ins and outs of a county jail
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Anti-Semitic fliers were removed from Texas State's San Marcos campus Friday, marking the fourth time university officials have had to address racially charged handouts found at the university since November.

University police found roughly four to five fliers around 1 a.m. Friday outside of the Albert B. Alkek Library, said Texas State spokesman Matt Flores.

"White man, are you sick and tired of the Jews destroying your country through mass immigration and degeneracy," the flier reads, flanked by two swastikas, according to a photo obtained by mySA.com.

RELATED: Fliers calling for the 'white man' to fight back found on Texas State campus

President Denise Trauth did not plan to make a statement regarding the fliers, Flores said Monday, adding that she's made it "quite clear" the nature of the handouts, and the ones before them, go against the "core values of what it's like to be a Bobcat."

On Friday, Trauth released a statement that said: "Although I have shared my thoughts on this type of reprehensible activity numerous times, I cautiously do so today because it gives the perpetrators the attention they so desperately seek."

"All of you know that the deplorable sentiments contained in these communications violate our university core values," she said.

Flores said an investigation has been opened to find who posted the fliers.

Since November, three other unauthorized and racially charged fliers were found on campus and led to multiple investigations. One day after Election Day, a flier was found on bathroom mirrors throughout the campus that called for the "arrest and torture" of "deviant university leaders spouting off all this diversity garbage."

Trauth said she expected students to express their opinions with "civility and in a collegial manner."

RELATED: Texas State probes pro-Trump fliers calling for 'torture' of school leaders over 'diversity garbage'

In December, another handout encouraged students to report undocumented immigrants to authorities. Trauth issued a reminder that students did not have to report anyone to immigration officials.

A flier calling for the "white man" to take their country back was discovered and Trauth tweeted that the staff was looking into the issue.

"I don't know that you can stop it," Flores said Monday, adding the university has been proactive.

May Olvera, a journalism junior at the university, told mySA.com she first saw the anti-Semitic fliers shared on Facebook by some of her Jewish friends who were "shocked and uncomfortable." She said, despite the contents of the flier, each incident has served a purpose "they've made people more alert and brought them together."

RELATED: Flier at Texas State tells students to report undocumented immigrants

Olvera, who still feels safe on campus, said she didn't bother reaching out to university officials due to how they have handled similar problems.

"They seem to act like it's a waste of their time, so I think that students themselves are better equipped to deal with these things as a community rather than have the school attempt to handle it," she said.

Flores said he would not comment on what Olvera said.

Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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SAN ANTONIO  A teenage girl and her unborn child were killed Monday on the Northwest Side by a man who attempted suicide but survived, police said.

"It's a very tragic scene and situation," said Ofc. Doug Greene, a spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department, who stopped during a press conference to wipe tears from his eyes. "This is one of the harder ones for us to go to."

Officers initially responded to the 1100 block of Babcock Road around 11 a.m. for what appeared to be an attempted suicide.

Police later received information that the man who attempted to kill himself might have been been at a nearby apartment complex before the attempt.

Greene said officers went to investigate the apartment that the man had visited, where they found evidence of forced entry.

Inside the apartment, the body of 15-year-old Jennifer Delgado, who was nine months pregnant, was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A 1-year-old child belonging to the victim was found unharmed.

The girl was transported to University Hospital in an attempt to save the unborn child. The attempt was unsuccessful.

READ ALSO: Convicted former SAPD officers take stand, weeping and pleading for mercy from jurors

The unnamed suspect, identified as a 36-year-old male, was also transported to University Hospital. Police said on Monday afternoon that he was in serious condition. If he survives the suicide attempt, then he will face capital murder charges, police said.

At the scene, a relative of the victim cried out in pain upon learning that the teen, and unborn child, were killed.

READ ALSO: First responders rescue woman who crossed a barricade over Cibolo Creek

In the wooded area where officers were initially investigating, a short trail of blood was found leading to a ditch, though whose blood it was is unclear

Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns
Blog Hinangai

While there is much discussion in Guam about the economic benefits of increasing the islands military presence, the damages/dangers that they represent are rarely mentioned. This blog, a supplement to the Peace and Justice for Guam Petition, is meant to counter that by providing information about the US military in Guam, with the hopes of steering policy away from a dangerous unilateralist course to more sustainable notions of regional development and a strengthening international solidarity.
An unusual bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and judges has teamed up to back broad reforms in Texas that could eliminate cash bail for nonviolent offenders who are not deemed dangerous or a flight risk.

Bills introduced simultaneously in the House and the Senate this week by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston and state Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, would require all judges statewide to use a proven risk assessment tool and quickly determine within 48 hours whether a defendant accused of a nonviolent crime might be eligible for a so-called personal bond  a measure that carries a financial penalty only if the person fails to show up for court. Now, many defendants who can't afford to pay bail are left in jail, even for minor crimes.

The proposals have been hammered out by jurists and legislators following reports that show more than 1,100 people died in Texas jails in the last decade - most of them pretrial detainees such as Sandra Bland, who committed suicide in the Waller County jail after being locked up after a traffic stop.

Nonviolent defendants detained after the first hearing would be re-evaluated within 10 days. And judges would be required to seek alternatives for those deemed mentally ill or disabled.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, who is backing the measures, said he and other members of the National Conference of Chief Justices of the United States generally have concluded that America's bail bond system "simply doesn't make any sense." He said he'd like to see Texas follow the model of New Jersey, Washington D.C., Kentucky, Arizona and other states in pursuing reforms that restrict or eliminate monetary bail for defendants who pose no real risks.

Hecht said bail reforms elsewhere already have saved taxpayers' money by eliminating unnecessary jail expenses and spared hardships for low-risk defendants who often lose jobs, homes or their health while being locked-up awaiting trial.

"There are constitutional problems, there are practical problems, there's a burden on taxpayers  change is just the right thing to do," he said. "We're just talking about low-level crimes we're not talking about crimes of violence. So across the country, there's been an effort to change bail procedures to get away from high bond and jail time in all of these low-level crimes."

Hecht chairs the Texas Judicial Council, 22-member group that includes Murr. Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is vice chair. He said the council studied bail reforms and recommended changes last fall.

But the Texas bills are expected to face fierce opposition by the bond industry, which is simultaneously monitoring a federal court challenge to a fairly rigid bail schedule used for years by Harris County judges. Industry supporters say bondsman help make sure low-level defendants appear in court - and track them down when they fail to appear. They also get families involved, since relatives often must post cash or property to back bail bonds even when commercial bondsman are involved.

"We have a very conservative governor; lieutenant governor senate and house. To get all that through, there's going to be a real battle and our lobbyists are talking to them," said Michael Kubosh, a Houston city council member and long-time commercial bondsman. "They're not going to want to let crime run rampant and give everybody free bonds."

The proposed reforms are being announced this week as Harris County lawyers have been in federal court defending its bail system against a civil rights lawsuit that alleges that county judges routinely violate defendants' constitutional rights by routinely jailing poor misdemeanor offender. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Maranda ODonnell, a 22-year-old single mother held two days on a charge of driving without a valid license because she couldn't afford bail.

In Harris County, 55 people died in pretrial detention from 2009-2015, including defendants arrested for misdemeanors such as trespassing and driving while intoxicated. Among them was a father detained after returning his kids late to his ex-wife in violation of a civil court order, the Houston Chronicle found.

"Had risk-based pretrial release been used a couple of years ago, it would surely have saved Sandra Bland's life. It might also have saved the life of Vincent Dewayne Young who committed suicide in the Harris County jail the day before Valentine's Day last month," said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a University of Houston law professor in an email supporting the bills.

Whitmire said he is also proposing to seek a constitutional amendment that would empower Texas judges to deny bond to wealthy criminals considered to be extremely violent and dangerous but who under the current system frequently win release after posting bail as large as $100,000 or more. Typically, Texas judges can deny bond in only capital murder cases; the proposal would expand that authority.

"We've got a real serious problem in this state that we've got people being held in county jails because they can't come up with money for a bond," he said. "They either sit in an overcrowded jail or something happens to them or they get a payday lender loan or they plead guilty to something they might or might not have done. On the flip side, you've got human traffickers and violent drug dealers that get a high bond but have resources."

If the proposed legislation is approved, risk assessment tools used by larger counties such as Travis County, or a model tool developed by the Houston-based Arnold Foundation could be made available to all Texas judges to allow them to measure the defendant's risk of failing to appear and potential danger to the community.

The legislation also says that defendants are entitled to have lawyers present at pretrial detention hearings  not a common practice today.

Any given day, the Harris County jail is crowded with 1,500 or more misdemeanor offenders awaiting trial - a system that the county sheriff, the district attorney and the public defender have all described as broken.The county has spent more than $1.2 million in legal fees so far defending county court-at-law judges and hearing officers named as defendants in the civil case pending in the Southern District of Texas.

Kubosh said he agrees that truly indigent defendants often don't get personal bonds in Harris County. But he argues that bondsmen actually save the county money by helping ensure that those who are released on commercial bond follow court conditions and by tracking down those who fail to appear. With fewer commercial bonds, he argues, "you're going to see a spike in people thumbing their noses at the courts... you'll see huge increases in warrants."

Videotapes of 2016 Harris County bond hearings, held via videolink 24 hours a day, show that many defendants in misdemeanor cases are never questioned about their ability to pay. Those who ask for personal bonds because of family hardships, jobs or other valid reasons are routinely denied or treated rudely. Such scenes, including a judge who doubled a bond after a female defendant said "yeah" instead of yes," were presented in federal court this week as evidence of unconstitutional activity.

The recordings also prompted Whitmire to file a formal judicial misconduct complaint that remains pending against several Harris County hearing officers.
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GALVESTON  The death of a Pearland man in the Seabrook jail has been ruled a suicide, but the attorney for the man's family says only the release of a video of his jail cell will determine how he died.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has determined that suicide was the cause of death for Richard Aycock, 26, who was found Saturday hanging by a bedsheet tied to a bunk bed in his cell.

Randall Kallinen, an attorney hired by Aycock's family to investigate his death, said the determination of the cause of death was based on questionable information supplied by Seabrook police. "They take the information from whomever tells them, and they take it as gospel," Kallinen said.

CAPITOL CASE: Judge decides if deputy's killer can stand trial

Kallinen said only a video he believes exists of Aycock in his jail cell will settle the issue. "We're not saying it's murder, we're not saying it's suicide," he said. "We're saying we don't know until we get the video."

Kallinen on Tuesday served police with an order to retain evidence but has not formally requested a copy of any videos.

COLD CASE: Leads gone quiet two years after bludgeoning death of couple

Aycock was arrested Friday for towing a trailer with a license plate stolen from a Seabrook police officer. Police found an AR-15 rifle in his pickup. Because Aycock had previously been convicted of burglary in Waller County, he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The family has raised questions about Aycock's treatment by police, including a possible visit to his cell by a police sergeant whose stolen plates were allegedly on the trailer Aycock was towing.

>>>Scroll through the gallery above to see more on jail and prison suicides in Texas
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Texas Medical Center CEO Robert Robbins was selected Tuesday as the next president of the University of Arizona, a potential blow to the mammoth Houston health care complex.

The university's regents voted unanimously to make Robbins the lone finalist to become the university's 22nd president, four and a half years after he came to Houston to head the corporation that governs the medical center. During that time, he pushed the medical center toward a greater focus on commercialization and collaboration.

"Dr. Robbins' comprehensive experience as both a visionary leader and highly respected physician, as well as his evident talent for advancing research, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development will serve the University of Arizona and our state well," Eileen Klein, president of the board of regents, said in a statement. "I look forward to the possibility of collaborating with Dr. Robbins to advance the University of Arizona and achieve aggressive goals for the state of Arizona."

Robbins could not be reached for comment after the announcement, which followed a closed session meeting of the regents that went much longer than anticipated.

Robbins on Wednesday will be introduced to different groups on the University of Arizona campus, including elected state officials, faculty, students and alumni. Regents are scheduled to vote on his contract on April 6, following a meeting next Monday to finalize his selection and commence contract negotiations.

Holcombe Crosswell, chairman of the TMC board, did not respond to requests for comment.

Robbins has been a leading agent of change in the medical center since arriving in Houston, converting the TMC from a manager of roads and parking into a facilitator of research innovation. Perhaps most significantly, he convinced the TMC board to change the medical center's covenants and allow nonprofit activities in two locations, a move that's jump-starting biomedical commercialization in Houston.

"Dr. Robbins transformed the Texas Medical Center into a collaborative, forward-thinking collective, something few people could accomplish," said Dr. Paul Klotman, president of Baylor College of Medicine. "He brought a vision here that was totally different but unifying for the institutions."

Ed Egan, director of Rice University's McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said it's "still a little early to see the payoff," but praised Robbins for "making the medical center a key component of a needed ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship here, something lacking the past decade."

Egan said he's "definitely concerned the next president would not have this level of focus."

But Klotman said that one of Robbins' great achievements was to put together a sustainable vision and team. He acknowledged the departure would be a loss, but said the TMC's new emphasis "won't miss a beat going forward."

Robbins' biggest development so far has been a center of innovation that has attracted such Fortune 500 companies as Johnson & Johnson, AT&T and Apple and that houses a business incubator that has instructed dozens of entrepreneurs how to successfully put together life-sciences companies.

Robbins' medical background will come in handy at Arizona, whose medical schools have had issues with hospital partners. In addition, its senior vice president for health sciences, under fire last year after six members of his leadership team left at once, announced his resignation in December.

Robbins will succeed Ann Weaver Hart, who announced her intention not to seek an extension for her contract as president of the University of Arizona in June of last year. He beat out Arizona State University Executive Vice President Sethuraman Panchanathan for the job. The two were announced as finalists last week and interviewed for the job Monday.

The medical center's tax records show Robbins made nearly $1.2 million in 2014, the most recent figures available online. Hart's pay package amounts to $670,000.

Before coming to the medical center, Robbins was chairman of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University's School of Medicine.
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Alice Police Officer Matthew Murphy made what appeared to be a routine a traffic stop on Dec. 1, 1974.

A second officer rolled up on the scene at West Main Street and U.S. Highway 281 a few minutes later and found Murphy with several gunshot wounds.

Murphy, 33, was taken to a local hospital where he later died.

PUZZLING CRIMES: 12 unsolved mysteries from the Houston area

Now, the Texas Department of Public Safety is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for Murphy's death.

The shooting made Murphy the first police officer to be killed in the line of duty in Alice, a town about four hours southwest of Houston.

Murphy's then-partner, Albert "Tito" Bernal told The Paris News in 1993 that he and Murphy were working a drug investigation that year and one of the suspects told the officers a contract was out for their lives.

"(The suspect) said, 'I hope it's not true, but they say you're a narc, you and your friend.' I said, 'Do I look like one of those guys?," Bernal said.

UNSOLVED MURDERS: Police are still trying to figure out these puzzling slayings

Witnesses told investigators a two-door car left the area of the shooting. Police believe there were multiple people in the car.

Investigators couldn't find the car in the area after the shooting.

To be eligible for the cash rewards, anyone with information about the murder of Officer Matthew Murphy can provide anonymous tips by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477) or texting the letters "DPS" followed by thetip  to 274637 (CRIMES) from a cell phone.

Scroll through the gallery to see more unsolved homicides in the Houston area and South Texas
March 8 marks 52 years since the U.S. dispatched 3,800 Marines to South Vietnam and informally initiated the ground conflict known as the Vietnam War.

Six days prior, the U.S. began their bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese. Operation Rolling Thunder aimed to weaken the North's war capability against the South Vietnamese government.
AUSTIN -- The Texas Senate unanimously approved a bill that seeks to impose stiff penalties against school and district administrators who protect educators engaged in inappropriate relationships with students.

Senate Bill 7 passed without objection Wednesday, imposing felony two-year prison penalties for school and district administrators who fail to timely report instances of improper teacher-student relationships. The bill also gives the Texas Education Agency more power to compel school districts to hand over investigative records on teachers accused of inappropriate relationships.
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WASHINGTON  Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz kept an uncharacteristically low profile Tuesday as House Republicans and the White House rolled out legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare, the central promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.

While Senate conservatives Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Colorado made common cause before television cameras with members of the House Freedom Caucus to question whether the new GOP bill goes far enough, the third member of that familiar Senate troika, Cruz, was not there.

WASHINGTON FRIENDS: Why did Kellyanne Conway jab a finger at Ted Cruz?

Cruz joined Paul and Lee a week ago in raising questions about early drafts of the Republican plan, which was crafted by House GOP leaders, including Texas U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Paul has called the new bill "Obamacare Lite."

Cruz, for his part, told reporters Tuesday that he was "still studying the details of the bill," which was first released Monday evening. "I am working closely with members of the House, members of the Senate and the administration to pass a repeal bill that honors our commitment to repeal Obamacare, that lowers costs, that expands access and choices and patient control over your own healthcare."

In an opinion piece in Politico last week, Cruz said the starting point in any GOP health care bill must be the 2015 repeal effort passed by the Republican-led Congress and predictably vetoed by then President Barack Obama.

CRUZLESS: Constituents host 'Texas Town Hall without Ted Cruz'

"First principle: Honor our promise," Cruz wrote. "When you spend six years promising, 'If only we get elected, we'll repeal Obamacare,' you cannot renege on that promise. Failure is not an option. Breaking our word would be catastrophe. The voters would, quite rightly, never again trust Republicans to deliver on anything."

The piece was praised by a host of tea party and conservative groups for holding out for full repeal.

Cruz, whose ardent opposition to Obamacare led to a government shutdown in 2013, is no stranger to conflict, even within his own party. But as conservatives have coalesced around President Donald Trump, Cruz's erstwhile primary opponent, Cruz confronts a delicate balancing act between principle and practical politics.

Brady, noting Trump's commitment to the House GOP health care overhaul, called it "his bill" Tuesday at the White House. He also said that the new GOP replacement bill uses the 2015 edition that conservatives favor a "foundation." But, Brady added, "We go farther."

NEW PLAN: House GOP releases bill replacing Obama health care overhaul

Texas U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, who joined the Freedom Caucus scrum on Tuesday, called it "a starting point," but suggested that Republicans still have a long way to go in satisfying conservative pledges to repeal Obamacare root and branch.

Republican leaders, promising a multi-phased repeal and replace effort, appear committed to retaining some of the more popular features of Obamacare, particularly its promise of insurance coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, called it "a major step in the right direction."

The GOP plan also includes refundable tax credits as part of a safety net for the poor to obtain health coverage, a mechanism that many conservatives see as an entitlement subsidy with a different name.

GEARING UP: Ted Cruz builds $4.2 million war chest for 2018 reelection

GOP leaders also face headaches on the other side. At least four Senate Republicans have signaled that they can't support measures in the Republican plan that would weaken Obamacare's Medicaid expansion in their states.

With 52 Republicans in the Senate, and 51 votes needed to pass a basic measure to dismantle Obamacare, GOP party leaders have little room for internal dissent. Cruz could make the difference.

"I am confident a vigorous discussion will continue between both houses," Cruz said Tuesday. "We need to get the job done."
Since 2001 the CIA has gained political and budgetary preeminence over the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). The CIA found itself building not just its now infamous drone fleet, but a very different type of covert, globe-spanning force  its strong fleet of hackers. The agencys hacking division freed it from having to disclose its often controversial operations to the NSA (its primary bureaucratic rival) to draw on the NSAs hacking capacities.

the CIA has secretly made most of its cyber spying war code unclassified

According to the documents released today by Wikileaks, by the end of 2016, the CIAs hacking division, which formally falls under the agencys Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI), had over 5,000 registered users. They had produced more than a thousand hacking systems, trojans, viruses, and other weaponized malware, collectively known as Vault 7.

Based on the documents released by Wikileaks the organization assesses the scale of the CIAs hackers activities in 2016 utilized more code than that used to run Facebook. The CIA had created, in effect, its own NSA with even less accountability and without publicly answering the question as to whether such a massive budgetary spend on duplicating the capacities of a rival agency could be justified.

But the clandestine cyber operation has even more dangerous side effects  recently, the CIA lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal, including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized zero-day exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. Once a single cyber weapon is loose, it can spread around the world in seconds, to be used by rival states, cyber mafia and teenage hackers alike. This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA. The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.

Big Brother Is In Your TV and Your Car

The CIA Engineering Development Group (EDG) is responsible for the development, testing and operational support of all backdoors, exploits, malicious payloads, trojans, viruses and any other kind of malware used by the CIA in its covert operations worldwide.

Among the activities described in the recently published documents is a malware which infects smart TVs, transforming them into covert microphones. For example, the Weeping Angel developed under a joint US-UK partnership was designed to attack Smart TVs made by Samsung. After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a Fake-Off mode, that bypass the shutdown of the device. While the users think their TV is off, the device is remotely controlled, can record conversations in the room and send them over the Internet to a covert CIA server.

Other attacks were designed to infect control systems used in modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations.

Exploiting Mobile Phones

Mobile Devices are also very vulnerable to attacks developed by the CIAs Mobile Development Branch (MDB), as they are targeted by many criminal and intelligence agencies worldwide. These devices can easily be turned into tracking and spying devices as well as covertly activating the phones camera and microphone.

The CIA invested considerable effort hacking into iPhones, considered more difficult to attack. In 2016 the CIA established a specialized unit to produces malware to infest, control and exfiltrate data from iPhones and other Apple products running iOS, such as iPads. The disproportionate focus on iOS may be explained by the popularity of the iPhone among social, political, diplomatic and business elites. The CIAs iPhone hacks arsenal includes numerous local and remote zero days developed by CIA or obtained from GCHQ, NSA, FBI or purchased from cyber arms contractors such as Baitshop.

A similar unit targets Googles Android which is used to run the majority of the worlds smartphones, including Samsung, HTC, and Sony. As of 2016, the CIA had 24 weaponized Android zero days which it has developed itself and obtained from GCHQ, NSA, and cyber arms contractors. These techniques permit the CIA to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, Confide and Cloackman by hacking the smart phones that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic before encryption is applied.

Other departments run a very substantial effort to infect and control popular operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Apple OSX and Linux.

As expected, Microsoft Windows users are exposed to multiple local and remote weaponized zero days, and air gap jumping viruses such as Hammer Drill which infects software distributed on CD/DVDs. Other risks cooked by the CIA include infectors for removable media such as USBs, systems to hide data in images or covert disk areas (Brutal Kangaroo) and to keep its malware infestations going. Many of these infection efforts are pulled together by the CIAs Automated Implant Branch (AIB), which has developed several attack systems for automated infestation and control of CIA malware, such as Assassin and Medusa.

The CIA also targets the Internet infrastructure and web servers through their Network Devices Branch (NDB). This branch uses automated multi-platform attack tools and malware control systems known as the HIVE and Cutthroat or Swindle  tools covering all common operating systems  Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, and Linux.

Zero-Day Tsunami

In the wake of Edward Snowdens leaks about the NSA, the U.S. technology industry secured a commitment from the Obama administration that the government would disclose to industry serious vulnerabilities, exploits, bugs and zero days discovered in information systems and technologies developed by Microsoft, Apple, Google and other US manufacturers. The new documents show that the CIA breached these commitments. Many of the vulnerabilities used in the CIAs cyber arsenal are pervasive, and some may already have been found by rival intelligence agencies or cyber criminals.

Unlike weapons of mass destruction or major defense systems, cyber weapons are, in fact, just computer programs which can be pirated like any other. Since they are entirely comprised of information, they can be copied quickly with no marginal cost. Therefore, securing such weapons is particularly challenging since the same people who develop and use them have the skills to exfiltrate copies without leaving traces  sometimes by using the very same weapons against the organizations that contain them.

There are substantial price incentives for government hackers and consultants to obtain copies since there is a global vulnerability market that will pay hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for copies of such weapons. Similarly, contractors and companies who obtain such weapons sometimes use them for their purposes, getting an advantage over their competitors in selling hacking services.

Over the last three years the United States intelligence sector, which consists of government agencies such as the CIA and NSA and their contractors, such as Booze Allan Hamilton, has been subject to unprecedented series of data exfiltrations by its workers.

A number of intelligence community members not yet publicly named have been arrested or subject to federal criminal investigations in separate incidents.

Most visibly, on February 8, 2017, a U.S. federal grand jury indicted Harold T. Martin III with 20 counts of mishandling classified information. The Department of Justice alleged that it seized some 50,000 gigabytes of information from Harold T. Martin III that he had obtained from classified programs at NSA and CIA, including the source code for numerous hacking tools.

Once a single cyber weapon is loose as a massive tsunami, spreading around the world in seconds, and immediately be exploited by peer states, cyber mafia and teenage hackers alike.

One can assume that when developing such powerful cyber weapon, the CIA would keep them highly classified and limit the access to such capabilities on a need to know basis. However, to enable as wide distribution of such malware and exploits as possible, the CIA declassified these tools. The CIA structured its classification regime such that the most valuable part of Vault 7 was unclassified! Yes, the CIAs weaponized malware (implants + zero days), Listening Posts (LP), and Command and Control (C2) systems were all unclassified. Having these weapons unclassified enabled these implants to communicate with their control programs over the internet. (If CIA implants, Command & Control and Listening Post software were classified, then CIA officers could be prosecuted or dismissed for violating rules that prohibit placing classified information onto the Internet.)

Moreover, the vast investment in hacking tools and exploits was contributed freely to the criminal community and foreign cyber agencies, since the U.S. government is not able to assert copyright either, due to restrictions in the U.S. Constitution. This means that cyber arms manufacturers and computer hackers can freely pirate these weapons if they are obtained. The CIA has primarily had to rely on obfuscation to protect its malware secrets.

Developers were instructed to write code that infiltrates target systems, encrypt and exfiltrate data to command and control servers, eliminate any forensic evidence of its activity, evade most well-known anti-virus programs and persist for extended periods in the target machines.
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.
Ridge View to keep on sharing The Galva-Holstein and Schaller-Crestland School Districts have reached a tentative agreement that will likely reflect Schaller-Crestlands consolidation to a single...

Pipeline company sought to limit required safeguards for soil Navigator CO2 Ventures wanted to reduce its obligations to sample and restore topsoil for the construction of its proposed carbon...
State data indicate the mid-valley's economy continues to climb out of the recession, with the unemployment rate in Benton County at a two-decade low.

Benton and Linn counties also have added more than 1,400 workers over the past year, according to figures released by the Oregon Employment Department on Tuesday.

More proof of how much weve turned around is we have a labor force that is adding people, said Patrick OConnor, a state regional economist.

The faster employment growth has been in Linn County Linn County certainly had a lot more ground to make up in the recovery compared to where Benton County has been, OConnor added.

Oregons statewide rate for January was 4.3 percent, down from its revised rate of 4.5 percent in December.

Benton County

Benton Countys seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 3.2 in January, down from its revised rate of 3.7 percent in December.

Thats the lowest mark in the state, and the lowest for Benton County since the heyday of ink jet printers at Hewlett-Packard in 1994-97, when the unemployment rate was consistently below 3 percent, OConnor said.

In January 2016, Benton Countys unemployment rate was 3.8 percent.

Benton County has added 400 jobs since January 2016 for a 1 percent increase. Its labor force increased by 829 people in the past year, and now stands at 47,059.

The public sector was responsible for most of the job growth, adding 240 workers for a 1.6 percent jump over the past year. The majority of those gains would have been at Oregon State, OConnor said.

The private sector increased by 160 jobs for a 0.6 percent climb. It keeps on growing, certainly. The private sector has been adding jobs, but not at a breakneck pace, OConnor said.

The fastest growing private-sector industries over the past year included leisure and hospitality, up 170 jobs or 4.2 percent, education and health services, up 250 jobs or 3.9 percent, and mining logging and construction, up 40 jobs or 3.5 percent.

Linn County

Linn Countys seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January was 5 percent, matching its December rate  and thats its lowest rate since the state began tracking county-by-county data in 1990.

Anytime Linn County is below 6 percent, I think they are doing well, OConnor said.

The areas unemployment rate was at 6 percent in January 2016.

The county also has added 1,030 workers over the past year, a 2.4 percent increase and the labor force increased by 1,160 residents, climbing to 57,307.

Linn Countys private sector added 750 jobs for a 2.1 percent increase over the past year, while the public sector added 280 jobs, up 3.6 percent.

The fastest growing private-sector industries for the past year were information jobs, up 50 workers or 14.3 percent, metal manufacturing, up 200 jobs or 10.8 percent, and construction, up 190 jobs, or 8.2 percent.

OConnor was thankful that jobs were returning in metals and construction, both sectors that were hammered by the recession.

Linn Countys job growth is faster than both the state and the nation. Oregons employment increased 2.2 percent and the United States saw 1.5 percent job growth over the past year.
EUGENE  The inclement weather that grounded a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber flight Monday afternoon may have been a sign of good luck for Oregon State University graduate Alton Andy Andrews, a World War II bombardier.

After all, the 95-year-old Andrews, who lives in Santa Clara, California, had to bail out of two B-17s during the war  once over England and again over the Bavarian Alps, landing him in a German prisoner of war camp near the Baltic Sea for 10 months.

They taught us to hold off opening our parachute as long as possible if we were over enemy territory, Andrews said. Over the Alps, I could see the rocky peaks through cloud openings and delayed opening the chute as long as possible.

Andrews was scheduled to take a 30-minute flight on the Madras Maiden, a restored B-17 that came off the assembly line in October 1944. The Maiden never saw action in Europe or Japan, but played a major role in research projects for the development of radar systems that would allow aircraft to complete their missions in bad weather conditions.

We were following the war in the Pacific pretty closely and I was thinking I was going to end up over there, he recalled. Thankfully, they dropped the bomb and ended that.

Andrews was joined Monday by fellow WWII pilot Price Roop, a 93-year-old Texas native who trained fighter pilots and made a hop or two as a B-17 copilot into South America.

After the war, Andrews returned to Oregon and enrolled at OSU, where he earned a degree in engineering and went on to a career in highway construction.

Roop enrolled at the University of Oregon and became a high school math and science teacher who spent 20 years with the Harrisburg school system, along with stints in La Grande and at Sheldon High in Eugene.

Rain approaching slushy snow and a low cloud cover grounded the Madras Maiden after a short trip from Portland. The stop in Eugene is part of a nine-month tour of the United States sponsored by the Liberty Foundation.

This weekend, members of the public can take 30-minute flights from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Mahlon Sweet Airport. Cost is $450 for nonmembers and $400 for members of the foundation, whose goal is educating the public about the B-17, World War II and members of the Greatest Generation who served.

The Madras Maiden is part of the Erickson Collection, an aviation museum in Madras.

Andrews grew up near Elkton and was an electrician working at the Portland shipyards when he joined the Army Air Corps in 1942.

My friend and I could have gotten deferrals because of our work at the shipyards, he said. I joined because of what the Japs did to us (at Pearl Harbor).

Andrews had hoped to become a pilot but washed out and became a bombardier.

Everyone wanted to be a pilot, but there were more applicants than there were training spots available, he said.

Andrews trained in Texas and then headed to Europe as part of the 381st Bomb Group, which flew 297 missions during the war and dropped 22,000 tons of bombs.

His fellow crew mates could not agree on a mascot for the plane, but Andrews said they told the crew chief they would have one after their next mission.

Hes still waiting, Andrews said with a grin. We got hit over France, but our pilot was able to get us to England before we had to bail out. I landed in a ditch filled with water, but never got hurt.

While recovering, Andrews watched as German-made V1 and V2 rockets pummeled London.

Andrews said Germans held rail stations in France and the B-17s were bombing the German trains filled with armaments. German anti-aircraft fire struck one of the B-17s four 1,200-horsepower engines and Andrews said the pilot could not stop the plane's erratic shaking.

The Germans had expert anti-aircraft marksmen, Andrews said.

In all, Andrews flew 10 missions before ending up a prisoner of war after bailing out over the Alps.

I saw a farmer with a pitchfork when I landed near a forest of small trees. I was loose for about 10 days before they got me, Andrews recalled. We were not mistreated. The Germans treated officers well. Red Cross food boxes were a real treat. Guys would quit talking about women and start talking about food when they showed up.

Andrews kept busy by melting the metal lids from canned beef food rations and using the solder to craft military insignias, such as wings from various air corps units. He has them mounted in a frame at his home. He also compiled a list of his fellow POWs' favorite hometown restaurants.

Although his flight Monday was scrubbed, Andrews did climb into the Madras Maiden and gave reporters and photographers a lesson in how planes like it operated 70 years ago.

Jerry Ritter, a volunteer with the Liberty Foundation, said this is the first time the Madras Maiden has been in the mid-valley. He said that although it never carried a bomb payload, the aircraft was one of the Pathfinder units that was outfitted with a Mickey Radar system that allowed pilots to bomb through heavy overcast cloud cover.

They were important because they could lead a bomber group over the correct target, Ritter said.

Ritter said the Liberty Foundations work is important since 500 to 1,000 WWII veterans are passing away daily.

Fellow Liberty Foundation volunteer Donald Keller said about a dozen B-17s are in flying condition worldwide.

He said it costs between $2,000 and $2,500 per hour to operate the Madras Maiden.

A volunteer for about 30 years, Keller said, We came because of the airplane and stayed because of the people.

He said the flights helped family members connect with each other.

Keller said that the veterans often need help getting to the plane and into it, but once inside, theyre 19 or 20 again, and all of a sudden, you dont need to help them. They know right where to grab onto.

In the early stages of the war, the B-17s averaged six missions before being shot down, Keller said.
BNM anunta concurs pentru postul vacant de expert coordonator (durata determinata) responsabil de control pe teren si din oficiu a sistemelor de plati
Editors note: This piece is a chapter in Journalism After Snowden: The Future of Free Press in the Surveillance State, a recently released book from Columbia University Press. The book was part of the Journalism After Snowden initiative, a yearlong series of events and projects from the Tow Center for Digital Journalism in collaboration with CJR. The initiative is funded by The Tow Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Also read contributions to the book from Alan Rusbridger, Clay Shirky, and Jill Abramsonand Emily Bells interview with Edward Snowden.

In the end, what kind of change did Edward J. Snowden bring about? In the realm of privacy protection, not muchat least so far. For all the talk on Capitol Hill in the summer of 2013immediately after the Snowden leaksabout a reassessment of the balance between security and privacy rights, no significant legal changes to the authorities of the National Security Agency or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court have passed Congress since the Snowden leaks.

The biggest change in NSA practice ordered by President Barack Obamahis announcement in January 2014 that the government would get out of the business of amassing a vast database of metadata for all the telephone calls made into or out of the United Statesfinally went into effect at the end of 2015. It gets the government out of the business of retaining the call records of Americans and puts that responsibility on the telecommunications firms. They were reluctant and had to be compelled (and paid) by the government to play this role. Some intelligence officials (and a few candidates for president) have complained that the change will make it harder for the United States to track terrorist communications. But they forget that the NSA itself had considered, at various points, giving up the metadata collection because it was yielding so little.

But beyond that, three years after the Snowden revelations, there has been very little government compulsion of the private sector to take on roles in surveillance. Apple and others have resisted the calls to allow back doors for encrypted communicationsand the Obama administration, at this writing, has been unwilling to take them on. It is another sign of how the tensions between Silicon Valley and the government, born of the Snowden revelations about the governments exploitation of data collected by American companies, has poisoned a once-vital relationship.

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Inside the NSA, Snowdens influence has been more profoundbut perhaps not in the ways he imagined. Unlike the CIA, which has had many insiders clean out the family jewels, the NSA never really imagined the damage that could be done by a single disgruntled, or ideological, officer or contractor. So Snowden had the run of the agencys computer systems. Today, systems administrators like him, with access to vast numbers of documents, can no longer download or move them alone; there is now a two-man rule reminiscent of the keepers of the keys for launching nuclear weapons, to protect against lone actors. New detection technology, the agency says, would make it impossible for someone to launch a web crawler, as Snowden did, that could sweep up hundreds of thousands of documents without setting off alarms.

But all this suggests that Snowdens biggest impact on the NSA was not a reconsideration of its activities but a reconfirmation of its fear of leaks, largely to the news media. Oddly enough, the internal committee at the NSA that assessed the damage done by Snowden and recommended internal changes was titled the Media Leaks Task Force, as if the problem here had been newspapers or broadcasters or new web publishers who spread the Snowden documents around the globe once they were in the public domain. The problem, of course, was not the media; it was a poorly supervised insider who was given far more access to sensitive material than he needed. (A more appropriate name for the committee might have been the Insider Threat and Internal Mismanagement Task Force.) As some NSA officials acknowledge privately, there was a lack of imagination about how vulnerable the agency was to an insider who defeated the NSAs protections to exfiltrate huge amounts of data. And perhaps because the NSA had never before suffered such an embarrassing loss, it did not regularly conduct a review to weigh the intelligence value of what it was collecting against the political cost should its activities ever become known. That kind of review is held annually at the CIA, as it evaluates the cost of covert actions. Yet as one longtime intelligence official said soon after the Snowden disclosures: The CIA is used to leaksand usually weighs the possibility of disclosure when it acts. The NSA did not. Today, of course, it no longer has that luxuryevery week, more of its documents are still dribbling out into the public realm.

Now, with the benefit of hindsight, Snowdens impact turned out to be greatest in those areas he appears to have thought little about when he was planning his disclosures. While he was hoping to awaken American citizens, the far bigger reaction came in the way allies see the United States, in the way other nations around the world have seized on the evidence of American spying for their own economic and trade benefit, and in the way he revealed the size and scope of the American offensive cyberactivities. He created an opening for countries around the world that were looking for ways to stymie American technological dominance in their marketsand suddenly found in the argument that to buy American is to let the NSA into local networks.

Moreover, in revealing the depths that the NSA and other intelligence agencies went to pierce the encryption and transmission systems of American firms, Snowden drove a wedge between the US government and the companies, from Apple to Google to Microsoft and Silicon Valley startups, that need those markets to grow. He ended the era, which ran from the cracking of the Enigma codes in World War II to the long years of postSeptember 11 counterterrorism, in which corporations based in the United States felt a national obligation to help the government in its surveillance activities and in the development of new ways to counter cyberthreats. Now many of those companies are declaring that they must be international firms first, even if that means working against American interests, in an effort to preserve their business abroad.

Whether these are good developments or bad, whether they were inevitable even without Snowdens disclosures, is up for debate. But they are far less discussed in Washington than are the tensions between privacy and security or the question of what kind of oversight should exist over the NSA. Over time, however, they could well prove to be the lasting legacy of Snowdena divide between the government and the technology firms that are the sources of Americas economic power. It is an argument playing out every week now, as Silicon Valley and the likes of Apple, Google, and Microsoft engage in an arms race. The government is racing to preserve its access to the communications systems of the digital age. And the companies are determined to stop the NSA and other intelligence agencies in their tracks.

To start with the most obvious, the world now knows a lot more about how the NSA operates. And collecting a vast database of metadata about the calls placed or received inside the United States is the least of it.

The agencys biggest challenge in the past decade has been to stay ahead, or at least abreast, of a world of connected computers. Much of that job requires traditional espionage, updated for the digital age: Tapping into the computer communications of suspected terrorists, the Skype calls made by foreign adversaries and even many allies, the spreadsheets and photos and apps of anyone that the US government needs to know about. The agency became what Scott Shane of the New York Times called an electronic omnivore of staggering capabilities, not just for its ability to eavesdrop but for its ability to use its abilities to design offensive cyberweapons.

It is the development of those weapons that is probably the biggest and most secret governmental technology effort since the Manhattan Project, the effort to build the atomic bomb. No American president has ever talked about the countrys cybercapabilities, other than to refer to them in the most oblique wayPresident Obama mentioned our capabilities in an interview early in 2015and then quickly move on. But while billions of dollars are being spent on those systems each year, both at the NSA and in US Cyber Command, the sister organization also run by the NSAs director, the government has squelched virtually all of the debate about how those powerful new tools should be used.

The governments fear of those revelations predated Snowden. The largest and most sophisticated cyberattack of modern times, conducted jointly by the United States and Israel, was the Stuxnet attack on Irans nuclear facilities. It was part of a far larger program called Olympic Games, the code name for an ambitious program to use a cyberweapon to accomplish a task that previously could be conducted only by bombing a nuclear facility or sending in saboteurs. Instead, working together, the United States and Israel developed computer code that was inserted in the controllers that ran Irans huge nuclear-enrichment complex at Natanz. Suddenly, nuclear centrifuges spun out of control and often blew up. The Iranians were mystified. At the NSA and Cybercommand, it was the proof of concept: a software implant could be, in the NSAs parlance, weaponized. President Obama oversaw the program closely but also expressed fears that once it was exposed, as he knew it eventually would be, other countries would feel free to head down that road as well.

The Stuxnet worm exposed itself, because of a flaw in the software, in the summer of 2010. Two years later, the New York Times revealed the broader program, triggering a major leak investigation. Though the stories revealed extensive evidence of the central role that Washington, and the Bush and Obama administrations, had played in the program, the decision was made not to acknowledge the role of the United States. It seemed too fraught, at a moment the United States was negotiating with Iran over the future of its nuclear program and was often at odds with its Israeli allies. Then came the Snowden revelations, which described a vast infrastructure of which Olympic Games was just a parta huge investment in a new kind of warfare. The Obama administration again could have chosen to acknowledge the effort, capitalizing on the revelations to deter other countriesfrom China to Russia to North Korea and Iranthat have attacked the United States with cyberweapons of their own. Instead, they decided to retain whatever secrecy around the programs they could salvage.

That secrecy appears based on three fears. One is that to talk in anything beyond the most banal generalities about Americas offensive cyber capabilities is to risk exposure of scores, if not hundreds, of still-sensitive programs. The second is that no one in the US government can agree on what kinds of limits should be put on the American development of cyberweapons, or how to use the capability to negotiate something akin to arms control. So, just as the United States avoided nuclear treaties until two decades after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it wants more time to enjoy its nuclear technological lead. And the third fear is that the mere acknowledgment of American capabilities might seem to justify the development of similar weapons by American adversaries. The result was a huge gap between the governments words and the evidence: the Snowden revelations had revealed a Manhattan Projectsize effort that had stretched over two presidencies. But no one could figure out how to talk about it.

That effort had started small: President Bush had made use of some primitive weapons during the Iraq War, using NSA capabilities to get inside the laptops or networks of individual terrorists, sometimes manipulating data to make sure that specific individuals showed up at a specific time or place for a meeting or supposed operation; there, a team of Special Forces or a drone, might be waiting for them. But by the end of his presidency, he had ordered the far more ambitious effort against Iran.

News of that effort leaked out in the last days of the Bush presidency. Obama, who at the time was just learning about Americas offensive cyber capabilities, was outraged and told his defense secretary, Robert Gates, that there should be a major leak investigation, something Gates reported years later in his memoir Duty. Curiously, Obama was not alone in his anger at the disclosure. Edward Snowden, writing under a thinly created pseudonym in a weblog, also denounced the disclosures as a breach of national security, a view he apparently revised later.

But in retrospect, that moment was an important one: it marked the beginning of a series of decisions by the new president to keep the American cyber capability among the countrys deepest held secrets. That was wishful thinking. No government can team up with allies to blow up centrifuges in Iran, get inside North Koreas systems for both espionage and potential destructive attacks, or infiltrate Chinas fast-expanding networks without leaving footprints. And now, we see those footprints far more clearly.

What we have learned from the Snowden disclosures is that the attack on Iran, while customized to fit the target, was part of a much larger effort, reaching back a decade, to develop a far more comprehensive way to get inside the computer networks and computer systems of both allies and adversaries. It is a program far larger than the domestic-surveillance effort that seized the initial headlines that Snowden sought. And in many respects far more technically and politically challenging. The idea was to mark every major thoroughfare and intersection of global networks with an implant that can act as an early-warning system for cyberattacksthe equivalent of the undersea microphones the United States placed strategically in oceans to track Soviet boomers during the Cold War. But these implants were designed to do more than just passive surveillance: once in place, they can be used to exploit a networkchanging data, for instanceor to destroy it.

Two years after the Snowden revelations, the NSA still fights efforts by news organizations to report even basic facts about this effort. Its concern about revealing sources and methods is understandable, but its opposition to publishing the basic facts gets more mystifying over time. Early in the Snowden inquiry, American officials contended that Russia and China almost certainly had full copies of his trove of data, obtaining it during his time in Hong Kong and then Moscow. Snowden denies this. But whether they have the full trove or not, they now know far more about the implant program, in part because of documents Snowden released that have nothing to do with personal privacy but that shed tremendous light on the NSAs activities.

They described, for example, the ANT program (an open-source build tool from Apache), which enabled the United States to leap into computers that are walled off from the Internet, something that many countries and companies now do routinely in an effort to secure their systems. Segregating computer systems offers a false sense of security: Iran, for example, had walled off the computers that operated its nuclear centrifuges as the ultimate defense against cyberintrusions. But the United States and Israel were able to leap the air gap fairly easily, using an array of new and old technologies. In fact, Snowdens documents included a catalog of products that can be used to get USB cards or electronic boards into a targets computer, making it possible to beam in code from seven miles away, using a low-frequency radio transmission.

Similar techniques pierced Huawei, the telecommunications and network-switching giant that many American officials believe is a front for the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army. The operation against Huawei apparently found no evidence that was true. Nonetheless, the United States placed implants in the Chinese systems that would enable them to get inside though servers once they were shipped to American adversariesin Latin America, for example, or in Europe. In one of the great ironies, for years Huawei was all but banned from the US market for fear it would do something similar in American networks.

We know this strange history because the Snowden documents that have leaked out bit by bit long after the initial disclosures have provided documentary evidence. No doubt readers found their eyes glazing over: it was hard sometimes to remember what programs had previously been revealed, what programs were incremental improvements over others, and what represented truly new capabilities. Everyone knew, for example, that the NSA was looking for ways to get into foreign telephone systemsbut it was still a surprise that the NSA attacked the European firm that makes SIM cards for smartphones, hoping to place an implant directly into the circuitry. Everyone knew that the NSA was worried about the encryption on the iPhone, but it was still surprising to discover its willingness to implant secret backdoors into the products of American companies, without telling the firms.

Journalistically, the steady drip of new Snowden documents, combined with reporting that the old trove of documents has launched, creates a running debate between the government and a few news organizations that plays out every month. Government officials ask, What is the public good in revealing a program like this? After all, they argue, the NSA is a foreign intelligence servicebreaking into foreign cell phones, or companies like Huawei, or disrupting the Iranian nuclear program to buy more time for negotiations is what Congress organized the agency to do six decades ago. So why publish?

The answer is not always simple, and sometimes operational details are removed from the reportage. But the case for publication boils down to this: in the digital age, Americans are the most vulnerable society on earth to hacking. We are targets, from our Home Depot credit cards to our bank accounts at JPMorgan Chase to the health information stored in Anthems computer systems, which contains private medical data for Blue Cross/Blue Shield claims. When the NSA routinely breaks into computer systems around the world, for either espionage or destructive activity, it creates pathways that other powers can follow. As one executive who challenged Admiral Michael Rogers, the head of the NSA, at a forum in Washington in early 2015, said, every NSA effort to weaken encrypted systems is like drilling a hole in your windshield. It is not only the NSA that will fly in. The Peoples Liberation Army hacking operation, Unit 61398, will be right behind it, along with the Iranian cybercorps.

Moreover, the most extreme of the American actionsthe cyberattacks on foreign computer systemsraise questions about what kinds of rules the United States wants to negotiate with other nations around the world to create some sense of arms control in the cyberworld. To use the example most cited by American officials, President Obama frequently talks about creating some cyber norms so that countries do not steal one anothers intellectual property. But we are not going to get to set those norms alone, even on American terms. China views American efforts to break into Huawei with the same alarm that the United States views the theft of plans for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Yet in the American telling of events, targeting Huawei is a legitimate national security operation, yet targeting the jets blueprints is illegal corporate theft. The rest of the world doesnt see it that way.

All these issues need to be aired, just as the issues of nuclear deterrence were debated in public throughout the Cold War. While the analogy is imperfect, it is also instructive. Like cyberweapons, nuclear weapons are highly classified, yet we understood their terrible destructive capability and managed to have a public, unclassified debate about how and when to use them. We can do the same with cyber, even though its effects are quite different and often far harder to discern. (At the same time, we have to acknowledge that nuclear weapons are in the hands of very few players, making the conversation about controlling them far easier; cyberweapons are in the hands of states, terror groups, criminal organizations, and teenagers. And most of those groups dont sign treaties.)

It may turn out that the Snowden disclosures, like the revelation of the attacks on Iran that preceded Snowden, were a catalyst for that debateforcing the US government to acknowledge its capabilities. That is the first step in discussing how to control those weapons. If so, the Snowden affair will have contributed significantly to a critical American discoursethough intelligence officials argue that there must be a better way to do that than the wholesale release of Americas secrets.

There was a second surprising effect of the Snowden revelations: it triggered a war between Silicon Valley and Washington that will not end for years, if not decades.

From the end of World War II to recent times, many American technology firms had an unspoken deal with the government. With Washington as one of their biggest purchasers, they would become partners in many classified programs and often help out with surveillance: IBMs giant federal systems division built mainframes for the federal government and put the computers aboard the space shuttle; AT&T wired the country but also the governments classified systems, and when help was needed with call records or other surveillance, it often quietly provided the informationsometimes without benefit of a court order. The firms viewed themselves as Americans first and global enterprises second.

Today that is the exception, not the rule. Robert Litt, the general counsel for the Director of National Intelligence, acknowledged as much in early 2015 in an appearance at the Brookings Institution: One of the many ways in which Snowdens leaks have damaged our national security is by driving a wedge between the government and providers and technology companies, so that some companies that formerly recognized that protecting our nation was a valuable and important public service now feel compelled to stand in opposition. Those providers feel compelled to be in opposition because buyers around the world learned the extent to which American products had been pierced by American intelligence agenciesand seized on that news to justify shunning American products. Many countries passed data localization laws to require firms to put servers in their own territories, rather than in the United States. (Why these countries think that practice will slow the NSAs ability to burrow into their networks is mystifying.) India, Nigeria, China, and Russia have all insisted that American firms place the servers on their soil, presumably to ensure sovereignty over the data stored there. China has issued new regulations to require firms to turn over source code for their productsessentially giving the Chinese their most valuable intellectual property.

All these regulations are costly to American companies, and some, especially those imposed by China, would have likely been imposed even if the Snowden revelations never happened. But the cost is being borne by companies and ultimately their consumers; at no point did the NSA consider the potential economic impact on Americas technology sector if its programs ever be revealed. In other words, it was unconsciously counting on the companies to take the downside economic risk for the NSAs intelligence programs.

The companies are fighting back in ways that today have the intelligence agencies deeply worried. Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, has made it clear that he will spend whatever it takes to demonstrate to the world that the companys products cannot be pierced by the NSA. So far the most vivid example has been the introduction of a new operating system for the iPhone in which users, not Apple, hold the encryption keys. Even if served with a court order to turn over data from an iPhonecontact lists or pictures or e-mailApple has no way to decipher the contents; it hands over gibberish. The director of the FBI, James Comey, protested this change, as did the heads of the intelligence agencies. Litt appealed to corporations to embrace a solution that does not compromise the integrity of encryption technology but that enables both encryption to protect privacy and decryption under lawful authority to protect national security. Technology executives insist that compromise might sound nice, but it is impossible; to create a backdoor for the NSA is to create a hole through which others will find a way to squeeze through.

In the end, Snowdens legacy will be mixed. He wanted to be known for the changes he would bring about in altering the governments monitoring of American citizens. That seems unlikely. But he opened the worlds eyes to a new world of surveillance and cyberwarfare. There, what he revealed cannot be stuffed back into a black boxand will change the way we view American power over the next decade.

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David E. Sanger is chief Washington correspondent of The New York Times.
On Friday, Raven Canon proudly handed out copies of the second issue of The Springs Echo newspaper, which she launched this year to raise awareness of people who dont have a home. Canon, homeless herself, dropped off copies at a Colorado Springs shelter where she had been staying.

Hours later, the 41-year-old was found dead in an outdoor pavilion.

This is a stunning tragedy for me and anybody else who knew her, because theres no reason for her to be dead, Trig Bundgaard, a member of a local organization dedicated to ending homelessness, tells CJR.

Canon started the street paper, the regions first, in part to give homeless people an avenue to earn money (they sold the paper in exchange for donations). The paper also published phone numbers and addresses to nonprofits providing food and shelter in the region. She signed up the Echo as a member of the International Network of Street Papers, which represents more than 100 titles worldwide with a combined readership of 6 million, and she told the Colorado Springs Independent she was proud to be the first homeless woman to launch such a paper.

I dont know if any of this is going to work, Canon told The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs in January, as she was launching the newspaper. At least no one can say I didnt try.

She started the paper with help from a friend who works for a social justice organization that creates its own bi-monthly paper. On the first day of 2017, Canon took 3,000 copies of The Springs Echo to the streets. The cover story of the eight-page broadsheet was penned by her, describing a war zone that many local homeless people encounter in the community. It also included an obituary for a man who died on the streets.

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Vendors sold copies of the newspaper for a suggested donation of $1.50 after buying them for 50 cents per copy.

That was an offering to people who didnt have an opportunity to have a livelihoodwho had no other choice but to beg, Carrie Baatz, who works for a local nonprofit housing group, told The Gazette. She offered a path to dignity. She gave people a voice.

Canons inspiring story was covered by the local paper and TV stations.

The community at large wants so desperately to see the homeless do something to help themselves, Canon told NBC affiliate KOAA. Well, this is the homeless doing something to help themselves, so help me help them.

Donations supported the first issue, which published January 1. A February issue wasnt completed due to a lack of funding, but she was able to gather advertisers for another in March.

She offered a path to dignity. She gave people a voice



The paper wouldnt have existed without all of her blood, sweat, and tears, Bundgaard says. I saw her on days that she was doing meetings with prospective advertisers, and you would never know seeing her strut down the street to her meetings that she was homeless. Somehow she always had the ability to find a shower, get her face did, and look like every other professional.

RELATED: A celebrated foreign correspondent built his life work on detachment. Then everything changed.

Not all homeless people in the city were happy about the newspaper.

Its a battle, Canon told Real Change News. I am emotionally exhausted. At times, its more than I can bear. I cant go into a regular shelter setting, where I normally used to go, because I pretty much go around with a big bullseye on my back in the homeless community right now. Im bringing unwanted attention on them. They dont understand that things are getting better because Im doing this. Theyre so used to people abusing them and throwing them under the bus, that that is what they naturally expect.

This is a documentary that Trygve Bungaard of the Coalition for Compassion and Action filmed only a short six months Posted by The Springs Echo on Tuesday, January 17, 2017



Canon was a recklessly optimistic force of nature despite all her setbacks, Bundgaard says. She went by different aliases; she told Gazette she chose the name Raven from the Edgar Allan Poe poem. She moved to Colorado Springs in May 2015 after spending 20 years traveling across America, and began her stay in the city sleeping on sidewalks. A month after arriving, the Gazette reported she was sexually assaulted. Friends say Canon struggled with alcoholism but recently had gotten sober. In the last few years, she became a strong advocate for the homeless and frequently appeared at City Council meetings to discuss ordinances that could discriminate against the community.

RELATED: Journalism and the power of emotions

Everywhere she turned, she encountered naysayers and reasons from the world and society at large why she could not accomplish what she wanted to accomplish, Bundgaard says. She never seemed to lose her stride in the face of that. It had always been her dream.

It is not yet known how Canon died. Her body was found Saturday morning in an outdoor pavilion, the El Paso County Coroners Office told The Gazette. An autopsy report is expected in four to six weeks.

Friend Andi Van Gogh tells CJR that Canon was at Springs Rescue Mission, a shelter for the homeless, Friday night. A manager at the facility told Van Gogh that Canon was excitedly giving out copies of the new issue.

So much is not known about what happened to her, so a lot of folks are assuming it had to do with exposure or overdosing, Bundgaard says. I knew her well enough that I would be shocked if any of those scenarios ended up being the case. This is a stunning tragedy for me and anybody else who knew her, because theres no reason for her to be dead.

A memorial service is being held on Sunday at a church in downtown Colorado Springs. Canons daughter, Lesley Tippens, created a GoFundMe to help raise money for her mothers cremation.

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Justin Ray is an audience editor at the Los Angeles Times. Follow him on Twitter @jray05.
Oil and gas companies, including some of the most celebrated industry names in the Houston area, are facing increasingly sophisticated hackers seeking to steal trade secrets and disrupt operations, according to a newspaper investigation.

A stretch of the Gulf Coast near Houston features one of the largest concentrations of refineries, pipelines and chemical plants in the country, and cybersecurity experts say its an alluring target for espionage and other cyberattacks.

There are actors that are scanning for these vulnerable systems and taking advantage of those weaknesses when they find them, said Marty Edwards, director of U.S. Homeland Securitys Cyber Emergency Response Team for industrial systems.

Homeland Security, which is responsible for protecting the nation from cybercrime, received reports of some 350 incidents at energy companies from 2011 to 2015, an investigation by the Houston Chronicle has found. Over that period, the agency found nearly 900 security flaws within U.S. energy companies, more than any other industry.

Steps are being taken to thwart attacks. For instance, the Coast Guard in a joint operation with Houston police patrolled the waters southeast of Houston last year conducting sweeps for unprotected wireless signals that hackers could use to gain access to facilities. The operation was one of the first of its kind in the U.S. concentrating on cyberattacks by sea.

But the vast network of oil and gas operations makes it difficult to secure. Thousands of interconnected sensors and controls that run oil and gas facilities remain rife with weak spots.

Many companies the technology and personnel to detect hackers. Equipment was designed decades ago without security features, and efforts over the years to link computer networks to devices that monitor pressure or control valves have exposed operations to online threats.

You could mess with a refinery or cause a vessel to explode, Richard Garcia, a former FBI agent who became a cybersecurity specialist, told the Chronicle.

Power, chemical and nuclear facilities must adhere to strict cybersecurity measures, but federal law doesnt impose such standards on the oil and gas sector. And when oil and gas companies have been infiltrated by a hacker, theyre not required to report the incident.

More than 20 of the nations largest oil companies  including Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, refiner Phillips 66 and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan  declined to comment or did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The American Petroleum Institute, the national trade association for oil and gas, also declined to comment.

Charles McConnell, executive director of Rice Universitys Energy and Environment Initiative, said oil companies tend to rush to deploy new computer technologies that make operations more productive, but only afterward considering ways to defuse online threats.

The pace of change of the technology weve adopted is every step of the way more and more vulnerable to cyberattack, McConnell said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The leader of Guams Catholic Church believes financial settlements could be a good solution for the archdiocese, which is facing $115 million in civil lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse at the hands of priests.

Archbishop Michael Byrnes told The Associated Press Friday that settling with the alleged victims would be a real promising option, but he did not elaborate.

In 2016, the Rev. Louis Brouillard told the AP that he molested about 20 boys while he was a priest in Guam over a 30-year period, starting in the 1940s.

Byrnes said the 95-year-old Brouillard is the main figure in the 23 lawsuits, and that the church will pay for some of the priests legal fees.

Were not paying the legal defense of the accused, Byrnes said. In the specific case of Father Brouillard, we are going to pay for a lawyer for his deposition.

Byrnes says the archdiocese has revamped its sexual abuse policies and will have greater financial transparency, adding that the archdiocese would like to avoid bankruptcy.

It could mean the liquidation of a lot of properties  whether financial or real property, and thats just reality. Apart from that, were already facing a reality of a trust factor. The church has lost the trust of a lot of the faithful, Byrnes said. We could lose a lot of buildings and wed still be the church. But without the trust of people, its hard.

The Catholic church of Guam has 26 parishes around the island.

Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron also faces multiple allegations of sex abuse of altar boys in the 1970s. Apuron, who is currently under investigation by the Vatican, has denied the claims and has not been criminally charged.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron toddler likely ingested or came into contact with an opiate before he overdosed Tuesday, police said.

Akron Children's Hospital nurses used naloxone, an opiate overdose antidote, to revive the 2-year-old child after he experienced trouble breathing at his father's house, according to a police report.

Neither the father nor the boy's mother has been charged in connection with the incident, police said. The investigation is ongoing.

The child had trouble breathing and his lips turned blue just before 11 p.m. at a house on Brittain Road, a 911 caller told a police dispatcher.

"A little baby, a baby. He's not breathing," the woman says in a recording of the call released Wednesday by the Akron Police Department.

The dispatcher instructs the woman to lay the boy on his back and keep his airway clear until paramedics arrived to take the boy to Akron Children's Hospital.

Akron toddler overdose

Nurses recognized the boy was unresponsive and had labored breathing, so they gave him two 1.5 mg doses of naloxone, the report says.

The boy's mother told police that she left him alone with his father Tuesday afternoon. The father was playing video games before he found the boy unresponsive, according to a police report.

The father told police that he is estranged from his wife and that both are drug users, the report says. The father also told police that he saw his estranged wife with heroin earlier that day, the report says.

Nurses took blood samples from the child as part of the investigation, the report says.

The child has been placed in the custody of Summit County Children's Services, police said Wednesday.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
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Akron police are searching for a pair of masked bicyclists who pointed a BB gun at a man and stole his watch Sunday near Reservoir Park.

(File photo)

AKRON, Ohio -- Two masked robbers threatened an Akron man with a BB gun when they took his watch Sunday in the city's Goodyear Heights neighborhood.

The 24-year-old man was not harmed during the robbery on Goodyear Boulevard near Honodle Avenue, according to a police report.

The man was walking home from Reservoir Park about 4:30 p.m. when the robbers, who were on bicycles, began following him, the report says.

Both robbers wore black masks and one had a BB gun, which he pointed at the man. The man handed over the watch before the robbers rode away, the report says.

The report does not provide a description of the robbers or estimates of their ages.

The watch is an unknown brand and is worth approximately $50, the report says.

In January, Akron police arrested an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy who are also accused of using a BB gun during a robbery on Dalhgren Drive at Ericsson Avenue. A 17-year-old boy was also charged with obstructing official business in connection with that incident, police said.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.
Speeding, I-271: At 5:50 p.m. March 3, police stopped a driver whose car was traveling 103 miles per hour in a 60-mile-per-hour zone.

The driver, a Michigan man, 20, was arrested and made threats against police while in jail.

Theft, Cedar Road: At 2:25 p.m. March 2, police arrested a South Euclid woman, 20, who stole merchandise worth $97 from Sephora at Beachwood Place mall, 26300 Cedar Road.

Disorderly conduct, Cedar Road: At 7:50 p.m. March 2, police arrested two boys and a man for fighting at Beachwood Place.

Arrested and charged with disorderly conduct were Cleveland boys, ages 16 and 17, and a Cleveland man, 18.

Theft, Cedar Road: At 7:20 p.m. March 2, a Kent woman, 21, was arrested for stealing two items worth a total of $52 from Sephora at Beachwood Place.

Trespassing, Cedar Road: At 5:35 p.m. March 3, a Cleveland man, 25, who had been told to leave Beachwood Place earlier in the day, returned and was cited for trespassing. In addition, the man was arrested after being found to be wanted on a Parma police warrant.

OVI, Park East Drive: At 9 p.m. March 4, a Florida man, 36, had his car stopped for weaving between lanes and was found to be driving while drunk.

In addition to being charged with OVI, the man was charged with failure to reasonably control his vehicle, and for having an open container of alcohol in his car.

Assisting resident, South Green Road: At 8:30 a.m. March 4, a man called police and said his son, 16, who was visiting a fiend's house in Beachwood, refused to come home. Police convinced the boy to return home.

Psychiatric situation, Cedar Road: At 3:45 p.m. March 4, a South Euclid woman, 50, was taken to Marymount Hospital after it was learned that she ingested 70 pills while at her home. The woman was discovered in her car in the parking garage at La Place in Beachwood.

OVI, Concord Drive: At 1:45 a.m. March 7, an officer stopped a car driven by a Maple Heights man, 25, for speeding. It was subsequently found that the man was drunk. He was charged with OVI, for speeding, and for not wearing his seat belt.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
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The man who was shot and killed during an early morning police pursuit was identified as Roy D Evans Jr. by his father.

(File photo)

MEDINA, Ohio -- The father of a man shot and killed by Strongsville police during a pursuit along Interstate 71 has identified his son as the man who died.

Roy Evans Jr. was shot and killed by an officer early Tuesday after the brief pursuit, his father Roy Evans Sr. said in a brief interview with cleveland.com.

His father declined to discuss details of the ongoing investigation or the incident saying that his son's death is still too fresh in his mind.

A woman and three children in the car were not hurt in the shooting.

Amanda Pauley told Fox 8 news that she and her boyfriend, Evans and their three children were coming home from a carpeting job.

When an officer tried to pull him over he fled because he didn't have his license and didn't want to go back to jail.

Stop sticks were put down and the van crashed. The officer came up to the car and shot Evans in the chest, Pauley said.

The Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting in the ongoing investigation into the shooting.

BCI spokeswoman Jill De Greco said the investigation will look into what provoked the officer to fire his weapon. BCI investigators are seeking a warrant to search the van to see if there is any kind of weapon in it, she said. The van was not searched yet as of Tuesday afternoon.

The pursuit ended in the southbound lane of I-71 at Ohio 3. The chase began shortly before 2:30 a.m. when a Strongsville police officer tried to stop a van on Pearl Road for a traffic violation, Del Greco said. The driver did not stop and sped away, according to a news release from Strongsville police.

Investigators have not officially identified Evans yet.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.
Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Representatives for Carters family confirmed the singers death Saturday. They did not provide any immediate further comment. A sheriff's official says deputies responding to reports of a medical emergency found a person deceased at the home in Lancaster. Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brothers boy band, and appeared on the familys reality series, House of Carters.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Was former President Barack Obama's vacation to the British Virgin Islands really part of an Obama-led "Deep State" mission to overthrow President Donald Trump in a coup bloodier than the Bowling Green Massacre?

Was Barack Obama grinning ear-to-ear out on the ocean because he was really listening to Trump wiretaps transmitted with new CIA technology down the lines of his kite surfer? Will the CIA's new kite surfing surveillance schematics soon be made public by WikiLeaks? Wingnut news sites would like you to believe so. So would Trump, since he's yet to offer any proof of his claim that Obama committed a felony by ordering wiretaps on Trump Tower.

Trump and his toadies continue to allow the slanderous claim to besmirch The White House, the halls of Congress and Obama, by demanding Congress investigate the claim that has zero basis to even be investigated, let alone tweeted out to the nation and the world by the unhinged, pathological liar-in-chief.

FBI director James Comey was reportedly infuriated by Trump's tweets that claimed Obama committed a felony and thereby inferred the FBI committed a felony. Saturday, Comey called on the Justice Department to publicly refute Trump's accusation calling it false.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also called Trump's claim baseless and false. Clapper, who oversaw all intel agencies during the campaign, said there were not wiretaps on Trump Tower. Although he didn't oversee the FBI, as DNI, he would have been informed by the FBI of such a high level wiretap.

If Trump wanted to confirm the assertions made by radio host Mark Levine and Breitbart news, all he had to do is call Comey and the heads of the intel agencies into the Oval Office and ask them. He likely didn't do that because they wouldn't give him the answer he wanted to hear.

The Congressional Intelligence Committee will finally hold hearings on the Trump-Russia hacking issues March 20th. The same day as the confirmation hearings for SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch begin. That's not a coincidence. If the cowards in Congress had any backbone they would have held a public hearing this week and called Comey to testify.

The Washington Post reports that Trump has been livid that he can't escape the Trump-Russia news story line. He has only himself to blame for the story line starting and persisting.

Trump's the one who decided to have a 'Bromance" with authoritarian killer Vladimir Putin. Trump's the one who decided to make Paul Manafort his campaign boss, when it was known that Manafort had worked for Putin's puppet leader in Ukraine. (in hacked text messages, Manafort's daughter talks about him taking "blood money" from Ukraine's then leader.) It was Trump who gleefully cheered on Putin's tool WikiLeaks. It was Trump who gleefully called on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton.

Trump was mentored by Joe McCarthy's right-hand man.

In one of his Saturday morning tweets, Trump accused Obama of "McCarthyism." That's ironic since McCarthy's right-hand man and lawyer, Roy Cohn, was Trump's attorney and mentor. Cohn saw Trump as his apprentice. Trump's conduct as a candidate and president has been right out of the muddy Cohn playbook as much as it has been out of Steve Bannon's.

If an ordinary citizen had accused a president of a felony, with no proof, and routinely appears to violate Twitter's codes of conduct, the way Trump does, wouldn't Twitter have suspended their account?

Trump's baseless accusation against Obama is despicable. It's a new low following Trump's completely false and racist insinuation that Obama was not born in the United States. Obama never embarrassed this nation and disgraced the office of the presidency the way Trump has and continues to do. Shame on him. And shame on the U.S. Congress for tolerating it.
State data indicate the local economy continues to climb out of the recession.

The mid-Willamette Valleys unemployment rates stayed low in January, and Linn and Benton counties also have added more than 1,400 workers over the past year, according to figures released by the Oregon Employment Department on Tuesday.

More proof of how much weve turned around is we have a labor force that is adding people, said Patrick OConnor, a state regional economist.

The faster employment growth has been in Linn County Linn County certainly had a lot more ground to make up in the recovery compared to where Benton County has been, OConnor added.

Linn County

Linn Countys seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January was 5 percent, matching its December rate  and thats its lowest rate since the state began tracking county-by-county data in 1990.

Anytime Linn County is below 6 percent, I think they are doing well, OConnor said.

The areas unemployment rate was at 6 percent in January 2016.

The county also has added 1,030 workers over the past year, a 2.4 percent increase, and the labor force increased by 1,160 residents, climbing to 57,307.

Linn Countys private sector added 750 jobs for a 2.1 percent increase over the past year, while the public sector added 280 jobs, up 3.6 percent.

The fastest growing private-sector industries for the past year were information jobs, up 50 workers or 14.3 percent, metal manufacturing, up 200 jobs or 10.8 percent, and construction, up 190 jobs, or 8.2 percent.

OConnor was thankful that jobs were returning in metals and construction, both sectors which were hammered by the recession.

Linn Countys job growth is faster than both the state and the nation. Oregons employment increased 2.2 percent and the United States saw 1.5 percent job growth over the past year.

Oregons statewide rate for January was 4.3 percent, down from its revised rate of 4.5 percent in December.

Benton County

Benton Countys seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 3.2 percent in January, down from its revised rate of 3.7 percent in December.

Thats the lowest mark in the state, and the lowest for Benton County since the heyday of ink jet printers at Hewlett-Packard in 1994-97, when the unemployment rate was consistently below 3 percent, OConnor said.

In January 2016, Benton Countys unemployment rate was 3.8 percent.

Benton County has added 400 jobs since January 2016 for a 1 percent increase. Its labor force increased by 829 people in the past year, and now stands at 47,059.

The public sector was responsible for most of the job growth, adding 240 workers for a 1.6 percent jump over the past year. The majority of those gains would have been at Oregon State, OConnor said.

The private sector increased by 160 jobs for a 0.6 percent climb. It keeps on growing, certainly. The private sector has been adding jobs, but not at a breakneck pace, OConnor said.

The fastest growing private-sector industries over the past year included leisure and hospitality, up 170 jobs or 4.2 percent, education and health services, up 250 jobs or 3.9 percent, and mining logging and construction, up 40 jobs or 3.5 percent.
1926  2017

Octave Levenspiel, 90, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 5, 2017.

Octave Tavy was born in Shanghai, China, on July 6, 1926. He attended a German kindergarten, an English primary/secondary school and a French university. He wanted to be an astronomer, but it was not in the stars, so he studied chemical engineering. He left Shanghai for the United States in the spring of 1946 when he was 19 years old.

Tavy earned his bachelors degree at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1947. He then moved to Corvallis where he earned his masters degree in 1949 and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Oregon State University (OSU) in 1952.

In 1952 he married Mary Jo Smiley and over a period of six years, they had three children, Bekki, Barney and Morris. His university teaching career took him to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago and finally back to OSU with two sabbaticals spent in Cambridge, England. Tavy loved to travel so he and Mary Jo went around the world a few times lecturing and teaching in over 15 countries.

Levenspiels career as a professor of chemical engineering spanned more than four decades, yielding many peer-reviewed journal publications and a half-dozen authoritative textbooks. His pioneering book Chemical Reaction Engineering, was first published in 1961. This textbook is still used today in university classrooms around the world.

Octave retired in 1991, but he didn't slow down at all. He continued writing and creating revisions of his books. One of the highlights of his career was being inducted into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2000. But what pleased him most was being called the "Doctor Seuss" of Chemical Engineering.

Octave is survived by his wife of 65 years, Mary Jo; two of his three children, Morris and Bekki (husband Keith Levien); and his three grandsons, Kyle, Cody and Quincy Levien.

He was preceded in death by his son, Barney, who died in 2003.

To learn more about his remarkable life, visit levenspiel.com where you can also leave a comment for the family or share a tribute/memory with Octave's family and friends. A memorial service will be announced on the website.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Levenspiel Lectureship Fund at the OSU Foundation, 850 S.W. 35th St., Corvallis, OR 97333.
China, fearing a rapid escalation of tension on the Korean peninsula, called on North Korea on Wednesday to stop its nuclear and missile tests and for South Korea and the United States to stop joint military drills and seek talks instead.



North Korea launched four ballistic missiles on Monday in response to the joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which it regards as preparation for war.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the tests by the North and the joint drills across the border in South Korea were causing tension to increase like two "accelerating trains coming toward each other."

"China's suggestion is, as a first step, for North Korea to suspend nuclear and missile activities, and for the U.S. and South Korea to also suspend large-scale military drills," Wang said at his annual news conference on the sidelines of the meeting of China's parliament in Beijing.

Such a "dual suspension" would allow all sides to return to the negotiating table, Wang said.

North Korea fired the four missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, angering South Korea and Japan with the latest in a series of ballistic missile and nuclear tests in defiance of U.N. resolutions in recent months.

"Holding nuclear weapons won't bring security, using military force won't be a way out," Wang said. "There remains a chance of resuming talks, there is still hope for peace."

His comments came a day after the U.S. military started to deploy the first elements of its advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea.

That deployment added to the complexity of the tensions between South Korea and China, which opposes the THAAD deployment that it says destroys the regional security balance.

Wang reiterated those concerns on Wednesday, describing its deployment as a mistake.

China says as part of its objection that the system's far-reaching radar can penetrate into its territory. In turn, South Korea and the United States have said the missile system is aimed only at defending against any North Korean missiles.
Protesters march from central to the U.S. Consulate General to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration ban on February 5, 2017 in Hong Kong. Lam Yik Fei | Getty Images

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"There was one post on Facebook from my cousin in Texas that got stuck in my head. She said: 'I am scared for my children,'" he said, describing how it had made his heart sink. With the ban being introduced on a Friday night in the US, "she spent the entire weekend in horror thinking about what could happen to her children and if she should send them to school on Monday," said Yasir, who was following her angst from over 10,000km away. In that same weekend Yasir was to realise that the executive order would not only affect his cousins in the US, but also have a direct impact on his own life. A mechanical engineer doing a master's degree in business administration at a local university, Yasir was planning to apply next month for an exchange programme in the US. His life plans, considered over nine years, had suddenly been put on hold. Hong Kong is home to some 250,000 Muslims. Many come from countries such as India, Pakistan and Malaysia, with domestic helpers from Indonesia representing a big portion. Although the US might seem a distant country, many members of the local community are fearing for the safety of relatives there, while others are cancelling plans to move to the country or reconsidering leisure or business trips. But regardless of their connections to America, many say the new policies are having a profound psychological impact that won't easily be erased. The original January 27 travel ban targeted citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries  Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  for 90 days and suspended the nation's refugee programme for four months. The immigration directive was then halted by a federal appeal court. Monday's new executive order was announced as an attempt to blunt legal and political challenges. It excluded Iraq from the list but continued to block citizens of the six other nations.

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The revised directive, which will take effect on March 16, also exempted permanent residents of the US and current visa holders. In Yasir's opinion, the new order will have precisely the same effect as the first one. "This was not made out of sympathy for anyone ... Trump just doesn't want congress or other institutions preventing him putting it in place," he said. Yasir said he could not predict what was to come, but felt a lot of the damage had already been done. "Although the ban does not include Pakistani passport holders, I think it doesn't matter which country it is. It's outright discrimination on a state level  It's an outright injustice." Yasir previously had a list of learning institutions in the US he was dreaming of attending, among them New York University, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. "I prioritised these ones, but right now I am changing that," he said. "I don't think I will be able to get the visa. And even if I am able to get it, I might not be able to adjust to that environment right now  There are many hate crimes." Relatives living in Texas had told him they had heard of a mosque being burned down and members of the local Muslim community receiving insults on the streets. Some women had even had their scarves removed forcibly in public, they said. Yasir is now looking at other options. "I am thinking of the University of Toronto, because Canada is very supportive. I also have some options in London  The US has become either my lowest priority or I am not going," he said.

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Fabio Mohammad, 32, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, is in a similar situation. "I was considering doing a master's degree in the US, but the situation seems to be very bad now and my family are very concerned," he said. Mohammad, whose family is originally from Pakistan, said he had been planning to live in the states for some three years because it would give him a competitive advantage back in the city where he was born. But the sales manager, who studied human resources as a student, said recent events had dashed his dreams of going away. The US was becoming a hostile country for Muslims, he said, and his impression of Europe was not very positive either. Far-right parties have made electoral gains in some European countries in recent months amid an influx of refugees to the continent and increasing disillusionment with the European Union. "Now my plans are suspended. I don't think I will take the chance to go abroad in the coming years. I feel it's very hectic and scary out there, " he said, noting that Hong Kong was still a very safe place for Muslims. Zaiq Ali, 35, chairman of the Hong Kong Islamic Youth Association, said many people in the Muslim community had been left "a bit disturbed". "At the end of the day, this is not just about paperwork, it's affecting us all psychologically," Ali said. Zoheir Tyebkhan, 68, the chairman of the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong, said the new policies were fuelling negative sentiment against Muslims, particularly among those who had little knowledge of the religion. Tyebkhan's family, who are originally from India, came to Hong Kong 120 years ago. In the 1970s he went to study in the Midwestern US state of Wisconsin.

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"Wisconsin is one of the most progressive US states, but still I would meet students who had never been exposed to a foreigner. Today in America, in many inland states they are still living in their little private world," he said. Now every time Tyebkhan returns to the US, he feels a sense of anxiety crossing the border and an uneasy feeling talking to strangers, he said. Meanwhile, Yasir is concerned the ban could be used as a recruiting tool for terrorists. "It's going to change their entire game. They can simply say: 'Look, we told you, these guys hate you'  I am very afraid for the new generation," he said. He said he was uncertain about the way the world was changing now, but remained hopeful. "We don't have a shortage of good people. The good people just need to keep speaking up and need to keep building bridges between communities."

Parents brace for 'challenging times'

Muslim parents in the United States are preparing their children to face situations where they will be discriminated against. Ali Mohammed, 45, a father of two, has little doubt that his children will be confronted with the "challenging times" the country is going through. "I want them to be prepared to handle these situations. This is going to happen. It's not a matter of if, but when," he said. Mohammed, a technology manager originally from India, migrated to the US 20 years ago. He lives in New York with his wife and two children, a 19-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy. "I tell my kids they should be watchful of their surroundings. I do feel very concerned these days, especially for my daughter because she wears a hijab." The general atmosphere had changed since the ban was first announced, he said. It did not mean the community was not discriminated against before the election of Donald Trump, but there was now a greater sense of uncertainty and frustration.

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"I have probably been a little more cautious on where they go, what time  And we have talked at home if they get confronted, how they should react, how they should ask for help and from whom," Mohammed said. Khalil Rasheed, 35, a youth counsellor at an NGO in Chicago with relatives in Hong Kong, also has two children. They are still too small to understand the US they will grow up in  his daughter is five and his son one. Yet he shares some of Mohammed's concerns. "I would like my children to have a wide world view My concern in the US is that it's becoming too different," said the African-American who converted to Islam at 13. "We have two populations, one that is diverse, open-minded and embraces immigrants, and then we have another segment of population that is conservative, focused on the white identity angle  I am afraid of seeing a breaking point," he said. Rasheed, who said he had been a target of both racial and religious discrimination  for example, having eggs thrown at him  said he feared policies that could further marginalise people. "Right now it's just an immigration ban, but down the road it could be anything," he said.

A timeline of events
The Republicans' plan to replace Obamacare is facing opposition from within its own party, but that plan is still a work in progress, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Maryland, told CNBC on Tuesday.

"We're going to see some changes," he said in an interview with "Closing Bell."

"We still have a couple of weeks to go until we see the final version. I think it's going to get a little closer to the conservatives' ideas."

Backlash to the bill has come from both the party's moderate and conservative wings, with conservatives complaining it doesn't do enough to repeal key parts of the Affordable Care Act.

"The first thing Republicans are bringing forward is a piece of legislation  that says we repeal it but keeps Medicaid expansion, and actually expands it, that keeps some of the tax increases. That is not what we promised the American people we were going to do," former House Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told reporters.

Other lawmakers took to Twitter to express their displeasure.

Sen. Rand Paul

Mike Lee

However, Harris, who is also a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said conservatives should be happy that the bill transfers a lot of Medicaid to the states.

"It eliminates the mandates. It gets the Federal government out of all these Obamacare decisions and sends them to the states. It creates high risk pools, protects people with pre-existing conditions. There's a lot of good things here. I think it gets better over the next two weeks," he said.

Meanwhile, that shift in Medicaid isn't good news for the states, health-care policy expert Spencer Perlman told "Closing Bell."

"When states have shortfalls in Medicaid funding, they have to raise taxes, they have to collect more in provider taxes, they have to charge more on managed care, they have to cut enrollment, they have to cut benefits," said Perlman, the director of health-care research for Veda.

"They are definitely left holding the short end of the stick."
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The new Republican health plan tries to keep the popular parts of Obamacare, such as allowing children to stay on their parents plans until age 26, and making insurers cover people with pre-existing conditions, while getting rid of parts people don't like such as the individual mandate. It also expands tax credits. GOP leaders are calling the American Health Care Act, released on Monday, the first three phases in the process of repealing and replacing Obamacare, under a budgetary process that will ultimately allow them to pass the bill through a simple majority in the Senate. But critics say the bill will not help stabilize the individual market or result in lower prices. "The risk here is we've got these fundamental reforms that include tax repeals, that undermine the system," said Michael Barnes, managing partner at the DCBA law firm in Washington and a former confidential counsel in the White House Office of drug policy under the George W. Bush administration. "Without an individual mandate repeal that is somehow balanced by a stronger incentive to get people to buy insurance, you don't have enough of a base for there to be affordability," said Barnes.

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One of the things that has drawn the most criticism from conservatives is the way the GOP bill widens the use of tax credits, prompting them to call it "Obamacare lite." Republican leaders and the Trump administration pushed back on that charge. "We need to equalize the tax treatment for the purchase of coverage," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. "Those  in the employer-sponsored market, they get a tax benefit for buying health coverage. Those folks that are out there in the individual small group market, (get) no tax benefit and that's what this plan would (fix)."

How GOP tax credits works

The Affordable Care Act provides tax credits for lower-income Americans, but under the GOP plan the big difference is how tax credits would be calculated, and who would get them. Under the ACA: Your income and the cost of your insurance determine your tax credit, phasing out for those earning more than $47,000 in 2017. Under the GOP plan: Refundable tax credits are based on your age and get phased out if you earn more than $75,000 year, starting at $2,000 annually for individuals in their 20s, and up to $4,000 for those in their 60s. For a household with multiple adults, the maximum tax credit would be $14,000 a year. The former administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said the GOP tax credit changes would result in lower-income people losing ground on affordability. "The president says he's going to put forward a replacement bill that would cover the same number of people more affordably. This unfortunately doesn't do that," said Andy Slavitt, who served as CMS director during the last two years of the Obama administration.

Tax credit winners & losers

The GOP plan could result in less generous benefits for many of the ACA's winners  older, low-income people. The ACA's losers  high income earners who got no Obamacare tax credits would gain new tax breaks to buy insurance, as well as relief from the repeal of taxes on high-income earners that helped pay for Obamacare.

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Here's how the tax credit amounts would change for an older enrollee in a high cost market like Mobile, Alabama, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Under the ACA in 2017, for exchange plans: 60-year-old with $20,000 income now gets $13,200

60-year-old with $40,000 income now gets $10,100

60-year-old with $60,000 income now gets $0 Under the GOP's tax credit proposal, for any individual market plan: 60-year-old with $20,000 income would get $4,000 (70% less than under ACA)

60-year-old with $40,000 would get $4,000 (60% less than under ACA)

60-year-old with earning up to $75,000 would get $4,000 But under the GOP plan, insurers would also be allowed to charge 60-year-olds rates up to five times higher than those for younger people. Under the ACA, older enrollees are charged only three times as much. Analysts at S&P Global estimate that the GOP insurance changes could result in 20 percent cheaper plans for people in their 20s, and increase premiums by 30 percent for people in their 60s, who would likely then drop coverage. S&P sees a net reduction of 2 million to 4 million in individual market enrollment. "What happens when people can't afford insurance is that the only people that tend to buy it are the sicker people," said Slavitt. "This (plan) is not only going to cover fewer people, but it's actually not going to be good for the risk pool, either."

Employer mandate repealed, Cadillac tax stays

The GOP plan also repeals the Obamacare employer mandate, which requires companies with more than 100 full-time workers to provide health coverage. However, the plan keeps ACA's so-called Cadillac excise tax on high-cost plans, pushing it back to 2025.

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People protest against President Donald Trump as they gather to walk toward Mar-a-Lago Resort where he is staying for the weekend on February 4, 2017 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images

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Outside counsel for Hawaii, Neal K. Katyal, said on MSNBC-TV Tuesday that Trump's new executive order contradicts the president's past argument that "if the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week." The new order doesn't take effect until March 16. "Of course, this time not only did he take a week but he took 10 days," Katyal said. "So I really think it just underscores the lack of national security justification here  this isn't about protecting us from bad guys rushing into the country, this is about politics." The schedule is designed to have a court rule on Trump's new executive order before it is set to take effect, according to the court document filed Tuesday. The schedule agreed to by Hawaii and the federal government is designed to have a court rule on Trump's new executive order before it is set to take effect, according to the court document filed Tuesday. Trump's new order suspends for 90 days entry to the United States from Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya. It also puts on hold for 120 days the admission of refugees to the country. The new order specifically exempts those with green cards, and it does not revoke existing visas.



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Iraq will be able to produce 5 million barrels of oil a day in the second half of 2017, the country's Minister of Oil Jabbar Ali Al-Luiebi said Tuesday. If Iraq were able to achieve that feat, it would come ahead of the market's expectations and potentially complicate Iraq's commitment to cut production under a deal with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. "We achieved this great achievement of 4 million barrels per day ... middle of 2016, and now we have climbed up and we are reaching about 5 million barrels per day beginning of second half of this year," Al-Luiebi said during an interview at CERAWeek by IHS Markit.

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Iraq's production was nearly 4.47 million barrels a day in January, according to secondary sources cited by OPEC. Baghdad is supposed to be producing only 4.35 million barrels per day for the first six months of 2017 as part of an agreement by OPEC members to cut output in order to reduce brimming oil stockpiles. Asked by CNBC how an extension of the OPEC agreement would affect plans to reach 5 million barrels a day, Al-Luiebi said, "It would premature to comment" because it is too early to tell whether the deal will be extended. OPEC officials said they will reassess the agreement  and whether it should be extended by another six months  at their May meeting. It is unclear how much oil Iraq is removing from the market at this point. A compliance committee will meet later this month to assess reductions by participating producers.

Al-Luiebi's comments on Tuesday are significant because the time frame he offered for producing 5 million barrels a day is well ahead of expectations, said John Kilduff, founding partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital. Previous forecasts were for Iraq to hit that production level by year-end at best and perhaps not until 2018. "Obviously, it's bearish. They're going to have to show considerable production constraint having that spare capacity. That's the kind of capacity historically only the Saudis have had," he told CNBC. It would also make it harder for oil prices to rally on other supply disruptions if Iraq had more spare capacity, he added. Baghdad could presumably tap that spare capacity during such disruptions. Iraq, OPEC's second largest producer, has presented obstacles to production cuts. In addition to missing its target in the first month of the deal, Baghdad quarreled with the producer group over how cuts would be measured. In November, OPEC agreed to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels a day, and 11 other exporters committed to cutting a combined 558,000 barrels a day.
OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, in an impromptu press briefing, reaffirmed their commitment to their production agreement Tuesday and expressed optimism there would be full compliance. Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih had warned earlier in the day that the kingdom would not bear the burden of the cuts and all 24 partners in the agreement would have to pull their weight. He said Saudi Arabia would not tolerate "free riders" and was now producing below the psychological 10 million barrels a day to keep its end of the bargain.

(L-R): OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, Mexican Deputy Secretary of Energy for Hydrocarbons Aldo Flores-Quiroga , Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. Patti Domm | CNBC

After two days of meetings in Houston at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference, Al-Falih said he and other ministers had bilateral and other meetings and were committed to their accord to remove 1.8 million barrels from the market. The global oil industry, including major shale players, were present at the week-long conference, and the question repeatedly for OPEC members and Russia were whether there was compliance to the agreement and whether it might be extended in May. Flanked by Russian Energy Secretary Alexander Novak, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Iraq Oil Minister Jabbar Ali Al-Luiebi and Mexico's deputy oil minister Aldo Flores-Quiroga, Al-Falih said he was satisfied with the progress. Al-Falih said he was also quelling concerns raised in Houston about shale production. There had been much talk about whether the resurgence of shale drilling would impact the OPEC agreement, which has stabilized oil prices above $50 per barrel. "The comeback of shale to a certain degree is not only welcome and acceptable but is necessary because of demand growth and the decline elsewhere," Al- Falih said.

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Earlier in the day, Al-Falih told a CERAWeek audience the market can absorb another 3 million to 5 million barrels a day of U.S. oil "over a number of years." Each minister in the room affirmed commitment to the OPEC agreement. Earlier, Iraq's oil minister said after raising production to 4 million barrels by the middle of 2016, Iraq would reach 5 million barrels a day by the second half of this year.

Analysts have said it's unclear what Iraq was actually cutting back from the world market. Its output has risen but it has also reclaimed some of its territory. "I am a perfectionist and and I always seek 100 percent delivery," said Al-Falih during the Tuesday evening press conference. He said they are not there yet, but he said he has been reassured that where there are gaps, they will be filled.

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The deadline for filing your taxes is a little more than a month away, but you may still have an opportunity to save if you qualify for these breaks. Deductions help lower your bill by reducing your taxable income based on the tax bracket that you're in. These are different from credits, which give you a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your income tax liability.

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You're probably familiar with the most popular itemized deductions, including the one you take for home mortgage interest or for charitable contributions. You also can take advantage of other expenses, including sales taxes and certain investment-related costs. Be warned. It's also easy to mess up these lesser-known deductions, so be sure to work closely with your tax preparer. "Use a tax professional, especially if you don't understand it," said Gavin Morrissey, managing partner of Financial Strategy Associates in Needham, Massachusetts. "Nobody wants the IRS poking around on them."

Exclusions for forgiven debt

In general, if a lender cancels all or part of a debt, you'll have to consider that amount as income. However, you may be able to exclude some of the canceled debt under certain circumstances. The IRS allows this for some homeowners who had their mortgages canceled in 2016. For instance, you may qualify for an exclusion if your lender lowered your mortgage balance through a loan modification.

Property taxes on multiple homes

Did you know that you can deduct property taxes on all of the homes you own  and not just your principal residence? "People don't remember that property taxes paid on all homes can be deducted  this can be a sizable amount," said Tim Steffen, director of financial planning at Robert W. Baird.

The lowest median property tax bill is in Perry County, Alabama: $206, according to the Tax Foundation. The highest  $9,941  is in Nassau County, New York. New Jersey takes the cake with a mean effective property tax rate of 2.11 percent, making it the state with the highest levies.

Get a break for those solar panels

You can save money on taxes for making your home more energy efficient. The IRS offers a pair of tax credits for energy-efficient improvements. The nonbusiness energy property credit covers the cost of energy-saving items, including adding insulation and efficient windows and doors  but not the cost of installing them. The credit is subject to a maximum lifetime limit of $500, of which $200 can go toward your windows. The residential energy efficient property credit, meanwhile, is equal to 30 percent of the cost of alternative energy equipment installed in your dwelling. This includes solar hot water heaters, wind turbines and solar electric equipment.

Deduct your RV or boat

You can deduct interest on mortgages for up to two dwellings: Your primary residence and a second home. But what if your "second home" is on wheels or in the water? You may be able to deduct interest on this mortgage, too. "Boats and recreational vehicles must have sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities in order to qualify," said Julie Beach, a CPA and owner of Stockton Beach CPAs & Company in Huntington Beach, California.

Sales taxes

Seven states don't subject their residents to income taxes: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming and Texas. Instead of deducting state income tax, individuals can deduct their sales taxes. "The IRS acknowledges the difficulty of recordkeeping for all of your purchases, so there is a standard amount that you can take based on your income and where you live," said Steffen. Be aware that while the IRS gives you a choice of claiming your state and local income taxes or your state and local sales taxes, you can't deduct both. The IRS' calculator for determining your state tax deduction is available here.

Tax prep and investment fees

The IRS has a number of miscellaneous itemized deductions you can take. You can deduct certain expenses to the extent they exceed more than 2 percent of your adjusted gross income. This can be a bonanza for individuals with elaborate finances: You can deduct tax prep fees, the cost of tax advice and legal fees that are related to either producing or collecting taxable income or getting tax advice.

Federal officials Thursday say theyll soon be releasing online tools to help people deal with the tax-filing issues related to Obamacare. Julie Thurston Photography | Getty Images

Investment fees and expenses are also deductible, subject to the 2 percent of adjusted gross income threshold. Morrissey warns that it's easy for filers to claim deductions for which they aren't entitled. Fees in your 401(k) plan and IRA, for instance, aren't eligible. "Retirement accounts are funded with pretax dollars, so fees deducted from there can't be deductible," he said.

Gambling losses
University students line up as they attend Rikunabi Live, a job fair in Chiba, Japan, on Wednesday, March 1, 2017.

The Japanese may finally get to spend less time at work, but that doesn't mean they'll use it for shopping.

The government is taking aim at the workforce's reputation for long hours, proposing fresh legislation limiting overtime, potentially to 45 to 60 hours a month.

That comes after the release in October of the government's first study on karoshi, or death by overwork, finding that workers at 12 percent of companies work more than 100 hours of overtime monthly and 23 percent of companies have workers putting in more than 80 hours of overtime monthly.

But skepticism abounds that even workers who might gain as much as an additional 60 hours a month of leisure will use that time to consume more or help bolster a sluggish economy.

Kwok Chern-Yeh, head of Japanese equities at Aberdeen Asset Management, said via email recently that the actual proposals appeared watered down and he didn't expect much positive economic impact.

"Even if the Japanese work less, it won't improve spending," he said. "Quite the opposite, it will mean less pay at a time when wages are stagnant and purchasing power is being eroded by a weak yen . Added to this is a looming shortage of labor."

In a report last month, Deutsche Bank came to a similar conclusion, cutting its economic growth forecasts for Japan to 1 percent in 2017 and 1.1 percent in 2018, from 1.1 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

The bank expected the decline in working hours would hurt household income and spending, spurring a negative feedback loop as corporate sales and profits also fall.

Deutsche Bank didn't expect the extra free time would spur more consumption.

That would echo the experience in South Korea, which phased in a shift to a five-day workweek, down from six, starting from 2002.
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The Women's March on Washington galvanized women across the globe and gave voice to a rising political force on a history-making day. More than 2 million people took to the streets in Washington, D.C., and cities small and large on Jan. 21 to protest a new administration they fear will roll back civil, human and reproductive rights.

Will that voice thunder again? More from USA Today:

5 things you need to know Wednesday

Statue of Liberty went dark and Twitter lit up

Just how much will NFL teams pay for mediocre QBs? On Wednesday, International Women's Day, the organizers behind the January march are planning a showing of economic solidarity in walkouts, rallies and marches dubbed A Day Without a Woman. Women's March tweet Here's what you need to know:

What is International Women's Day?

International Women's Day, March 8, is a day meant to tout the social, economic, cultural and political successes of women while urging more gender equality. The first women's day was in 1909 (but in February) when 15,000 women marched through the streets of New York demanding improved pay, shorter hours and voting rights.

What is the International Women's Strike?

The strike is planned and organized by women in more than 50 countries to promote issues facing women who are marginalized. Among them: gender violence, reproductive freedom, labor rights, environmental protections

What is A Day Without a Woman?

The organizers behind January's March on Washington are using Wednesday as a day of action to spotlight the economic power and value of women and their contributions to society in paid and unpaid labor. Organizers hope to call attention to economic injustices women face such as lower wages, gender discrimination, sexual harassment and job insecurities. The day is also intended to push for gender justice, recognizing that trans and gender non-conforming people face equally compelling issues of discrimination and marginalization.



Are the Women's Strike and A Day Without a Woman the same thing?

Organizers of the January Women's march and A Day Without a Woman are working in solidarity with activists behind the International Women's Strike.

How can you participate?

Women are encouraged to not work, whether your job is paid or unpaid. Women are being asked to avoid shopping in stores and online  except for local small businesses and women-owned companies that support A Day Without a Woman. Women are urged to wear the color red.

Why wear red?

Organizers say they selected the color red to represent "revolutionary love and sacrifice." Red also has a history with the labor movement.

Can men participate?

Yes. Men are being asked to help with caregiving and other domestic chores on Wednesday. They are also being encouraged to rally for equal pay and other workplace issues for women.

What if you can't take the day off?

"Many women in our most vulnerable communities will not have the ability to join the strike, due to economic insecurity. We strike for them," organizers note on their website. If women can't strike, they are encouraged to wear something red in a show of solidarity. What is intersectional feminism? A look at the term you may be hearing a lot

Can businesses have a role?

Companies can participate by closing for the day or letting female workers have the day off. Business are also being asked to examine policies regarding pay equity and paid leave. Are high heel dress codes for the workplace sexist? UK lawmakers debate

What about private households?

Heads of households are being encouraged to give a paid day off to caregivers, nannies and housekeepers.

Are there any rallies you can attend?
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.

A right delayed is a right denied.Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.

Martin Luther King Jr.

No one is born hating another person People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

Nelson Mandela

We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist

James Baldwin

There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech. Free speech encourages debate whereas hate speech incites violence.

Newton Lee

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.

Albert Einstein
Apple has been awarded a patent for advanced facial recognition technology boosting rumors about features in the upcoming iPhone 8 and hinting at future areas such as augmented reality (AR) and driverless cars. A number of reports have suggested bolstered recognition technology. Top Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note last month that the iPhone 8 would feature a camera and infrared module that can detect faces and even lead to 3D selfies which could then be used to replace a character's face in a game, for example. JPMorgan analyst Rod Hall published a report claiming that the iPhone 8 might forgo a fingerprint sensor and home button in favor of a 3-D scanner which could carry out biometric facial scanning. This could be used to unlock the phone as well as authenticate a user for the App Store or Apple Pay. Apple's patent filing is for an "enhanced face detection using depth information". The Cupertino, CA-based firm has not mentioned the iPhone 8 in the document, but much of the technology outlined appears to mirror what the analysts have said.

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The technology would work by scanning a scene via the camera, with the software able to detect human faces. Apple outlined how its technology would be able to detect faces depending on where people were standing in a shot. For example, if there were two people in the shot and one person was closer to the camera than another, it would still be able to identify both faces accurately. The technology is not just to detect faces, but can be used to analyze other objects too, Apple said. Such innovation outlined in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filing, could lay the groundwork for a number of technologies. Apple chief executive Tim Cook has talked up augmented reality (AR), which refers to digital images being overlaid on the real world. The impact of AR could be as large as the iPhone, Cook said. "I think AR is that big," the Apple boss said in an interview with The Independent newspaper in February. A camera with 3-D sensing technology is key for advanced augmented reality.

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during a product launch event on Oct. 27, 2016, in Cupertino, Calif. Stephen Lam | Getty Images
Asia is playing catch-up in the race towards greater gender diversity on company boards and in the workplace, though notable progress has been made, with a report out of Hong Kong showing the good and the bad.

Despite growing research on the benefits of gender diverse boards  including improved company performance, sensitivity to consumer trends, and stronger governance  Asian companies lag international counterparts in placing women in executive positions, according to the latest Women on Boards Hong Kong Report released on Wednesday.

The report coincides with International Women's Day and also offers a bit of hope.

For the first time since the study was launched in 2009, one-fifth of Hong Kong boards achieved 20 percent or higher female participation. There was also a decline in all-male boards.

The representation of women on the boards of Hong Kong's leading companies increased marginally to 12.4 percent in 2017, after stagnating at 11.1 percent for the past two years, according to the report, which analysed Hong Kong's top companies listed on the Hang Seng Index (HSI). The report looked at data between Jan. 3, 2016 to Jan. 2, 2017.

The study was released by Community Business, a Hong Kong-based not-for-profit organization promoting responsible and inclusive business standards in Asia, and launched in partnership with global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

"Two ongoing issues are whether capable female leaders are being promoted to board positions, and whether there is a big enough pool of senior female leaders who are truly board-ready," said Steve Mullinjer, regional leader for Asia Pacific at Heidrick & Struggles.

He recognized that boards with a "good mix of nationalities, age groups, gender and cultural backgrounds, as well as skills and experience, can lead to better decision making and improve a company's bottom line. "
While Google may not be on the hunt for takeover targets, it is building out through partners, Greene said. At Wednesday's conference, Google announced support from partners like Pivotal and Rackspace.

"If I could inexpensively pick up a killer sales force without a lot of the other things that I don't necessarily need, yeah, I'd be all there," Diane Greene said. "We're taking the most optimal route to serve our customers."

Microsoft may be putting LinkedIn's sales team to use  but a big acquisition is probably not how Google will reach its customers, Google's senior vice president of Cloud.

"Our partners have large sales forces, so we are going to market with them," Greene said.

While Google's a strong player in the cloud industry, with customers like Home Depot and Snapchat, Amazon and Microsoft still dominate. Microsoft, in particular, is known for its strong historic relationships with enterprises, which it's leveraging to sell its cloud technology.

"If I had to have my druthers  the best technology, the best cloud .... if I had to choose between that and building out a sales force, and building out customer support .... I would pick the latter," Greene said. "It's just a matter of block and tackling, there's no rocket science there."

Google is quickly catching up, Greene said, as Alphabet invests "very heavily" in customer support, Greene said. For instance, Greene said, Google's cloud is build not to "go down"  perhaps a veiled jab at Amazon's outage last month.

Greene said she disagrees with critics that say Google's not in the rooms where big deals happen.

"When we are in a deal today we are winning more than half the times," Greene said. "So I'm not sure what they're talking about .... and I beg to differ, we are winning."
Donald Trump, then President-Elect, appears with SoftBank's Masayoshi Son to speak to media in the lobby at Trump Tower in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Carrier

Just weeks after his election, Trump bragged that he struck a deal with the state of Indiana and Carrier to preserve more than 1,100 jobs that would have otherwise been sent to Mexico. (United Technologies , Carrier's parent company, had previously said 2,100 total jobs would go to Mexico from two different facilities  the Carrier plant, and a United Technologies Electronics Controls facility.) The company received $7 million in tax incentives over a decade, and credited Trump for his job-saving prowess. But the numbers tell a different story. Trump's deal saved 800 jobs or fewer, according to union officials, and around 350 of those jobs had not been slated to leave. Amid the fanfare, Carrier announced that they'd send other jobs  600, by one estimate  to Mexico. Another 700 jobs from the UTEC facility will also be outsourced. Did Trump help save or create jobs? Yes, but not the more than 1,000 he claimed.

Ford

In November, Trump boasted that he had "worked hard" to keep Ford's Lincoln plant in Kentucky, but the plant wasn't going anywhere. Ford had been investing in the plant for years, and while the company had considered moving production of a single model of Lincoln to an existing Mexican plant to make room for production of another car, the company says it wouldn't have had an impact on jobs in either country. They did say their decision not to shift car production did have something to do with Trump, however. In January, the company ditched plans for a new $1.6 billion Ford Focus plant in Mexico, saying it would keep the car's production at an existing Mexican plant. It also announced a $700 million investment in an existing Michigan plant to build more electric vehicles, creating 700 more jobs in the United States. The company stressed that it didn't cut a deal with the president, and that its decisions were rooted in business priorities rather than politics. However, Ford did say that the decision meant a "vote of confidence" in Trump's pro-business policy plans. Did Trump help save or create jobs? When it comes to jobs in the Lincoln plant, no. Trump may have had a hand in Ford's decision to invest more dollars in the U.S., but the carmaker has refuted the notion that it was a direct result of his presidency.

Fiat Chrysler

Fiat Chrysler announced in early January that they'd invest $1 billion in plants in Warren, Ohio and Toledo, Ohio, adding 2,000 jobs. Trump took credit for the announcement in his joint address, but Fiat Chrysler said the deal arose from talks with United Auto Workers and that the plans predated then President-elect Trump to decisions made in 2015. "I wish I could give him credit for this," Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told reporters recently. "But the thinking was in place beforehand." Marchionne did say that the company would need clarity from the president before making any production decisions about Mexico. Did Trump help save or create jobs? Not yet, according to the company's CEO.

General Motors

General Motors announced a $1 billion investment in January alongside the creation or retention of 1,500 manufacturing jobs, the return of 450 jobs from Mexico, and the addition of 5,000 jobs "over the next few years" in finance and technology. GM officials stressed that the decision dates back as early as 2014, long before Trump got involved and threatened a "big border tax" for the company because it imports several thousand hatchbacks to the U.S. from Mexico. GM CEO Mary Barra, who is on Trump's economic advisory council, said the firm had no plans to alter their manufacturing plans to please the president. Did Trump help save or create jobs? Nope.

Trump took credit for Sprint's plant to bring 5,000 jobs back to the United States  "because of me they are doing 5,000 jobs in this country," he said  as well as the 3,000 jobs OneWeb said they'd add, and the $50 billion investment by SoftBank that fueled both firms' job growth. Trump met with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son in December. Sprint and OneWeb confirmed later that the job growth had been previously announced, and SoftBank said the investment had been in the works since October as part of SoftBank's promised 50,000 new jobs. There is some indication that SoftBank's CEO increased the size of the investment in OneWeb and the number of new hires, however. Did Trump help save or create jobs? Possibly. It's clear that the investment was already happening, though Trump may have helped boost it.

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed announced 1,800 new jobs before Trump even took office, as part of a deal they were working out with the Pentagon for fighter jets. The government contractor later credited Trump for the deal, as well as the cost-cutting measures Trump gave himself credit for, but experts say both things had been in the works for awhile. No matter the favor they may be trying to curry with the new president, taxpayer savings and new jobs aren't his doing completely. Did Trump help save or create jobs? Trump's administration inked the deal a few weeks into his term and Lockheed did credit him, but Trump didn't sew this deal together himself.

Intel

After meeting with Trump in February, Intel pledged to commit $7 billion to build a new factory in Arizona, hiring at least 3,000 employees. Intel's CEO credited Trump with the move, despite the fact that Intel's domestic investment had been in the works for years; construction on a factory began in 2011, though it was delayed when demand decreased. Did Trump help save or create jobs? Intel says he helped create jobs, but their investment had been in the works (though delayed) since 2011.

Walmart

In January, Walmart said they'd add 10,000 jobs. Trump thanked them in a tweet, but the jobs had been previously announced in October as part of a $6.8 billion capital-spending plan. Did Trump help save or create jobs? There's no evidence that he had any impact here.

Alibaba
European lawmakers believe that the heavy political calendar in Europe will derail Brexit negotiations, shortening the available time to agree a new relationship.

Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to begin negotiations with the European Union on the terms of Britain's exit from the bloc at the end of this month. Under EU law, Britain and Europe have two years to agree on a new relationship.

But politicians will be focused on domestic affairs rather than U.K.'s exit as there are elections in the Netherlands, France, Germany and possibly in Italy  all founding members of the EU.

"We've got something like 14 months (to negotiate)," Seb Dance, a Labour member of the European Parliament, told CNBC on the phone. "France and Germany will be focused on domestic policies and it's not a very popular message 'I'm going to give concessions to the U.K.,'" he added.

Tweet 1

Also, Syed Kamall, a conservative party member at the European Parliament, said that "the results of the election may affect how that country takes a role in the (Brexit) negotiations."

"I am hoping that once elections are out of the way, we will be able to solve these issues," he added referring to the rights of EU citizens who already live in the U.K.

The general election in Italy hasn't been scheduled and the vote in Germany takes place in September. If Brexit negotiators cannot come up with specific guidance on how the U.K.-EU relationship will work, the uncertainty will grow for businesses and citizens, which could have an impact on the economy.

Kamall, who's leader of one of the political groups at the European Parliament, said that his European colleagues are "very concerned about the ability of their businesses to reach the U.K." once Britain leaves the EU.

Prime Minister May has indicated that retaining access to the EU's single market isn't her main priority. As a result, businesses both inside and outside the EU could struggle, but PM May would be able to control the influx of EU citizens moving to the U.K.

"Most of the MEPs want to see cooperation where we lend our navy ships. They don't want to punish Britain," Kamall added.
"The Obamacare replacement bill debacle is just one of the best examples of how the GOP Congressional leadership suddenly goes deaf to the peoples' concerns after Election Day."

The simple answer is fear and greed. Fear of criticism in the media and pressure from the White House are the prime reasons why the GOP rushed out this bill faster than even the Democrats put together the poorly crafted Obamacare legislation. The Congressional Republicans, often portrayed by fans and critics as strident politicians who don't care what the main stream media says, are hardly that.

Criticism in the media has cowed this bunch countless times before, especially during the government shutdown in 2013 when the Republicans wilted under the pressure of front page editorials in the major newspapers. And that retreat had a lasting effect. Even after the Republicans won control of both houses of Congress in 2014, the very first promise then-House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made was a vow not to shut down the government in 2015.

In other words, the Republicans have been willing to surrender Congress' exclusive power of the purse based on the residual effect of media criticism even after they win major mandates via the ballot box! This is not just cowardice, but choosing cowardice in spite of the most important evidence.

The Obamacare replacement bill debacle is just one of the best examples of how the GOP Congressional leadership suddenly goes deaf to the peoples' concerns after Election Day. The Republicans in Washington clearly care more about what the media says about them for the other 364 days of the year. This pattern was bad enough before this past election, but in the wake of President Trump's victory despite massive media opposition it's more inexcusable than ever. And yet still it persists.

So if the Republicans in Congress aren't listening to their own voters, who are they listening to? That's another easy one to answer: The lobbyists. One look at this Obamacare replacement bill and you can see how big insurance company and hospital lobbyists have their fingerprints all over it.

The continued high number of minimum coverage requirements for any approved insurance plan will effectively keep smaller competitors out of the market and out of business. So much for increased competition. And big hospitals will win out thanks to the bill's continuation of the Medicaid expansion. Lobbyists have never cared what party controls Congress, they just lobby and usually win.

All of this is yet another example of the political class at work. Poll after poll shows that the American people don't trust Congress or any politician to tamper with their health care and coverage in a closed door, confusing, and speedy process. And yet, both parties keep doing just that. For something as personal and vital as health care, only the most publicly accessible process is acceptable.

With this failure now exposed for all to see, where does President Trump come in? So far, he's been supporting the bill and even predicted on Twitter Tuesday night that Senator Rand Paul will eventually back the plan.

But the more likely outcome is President Trump will be the one to come around and back away from a bill that would do more to exacerbate Obamacare's problems than to solve them.

For now, President Trump also seems to be motivated by polls that came out right after the election saying he should tackle health care first. Of course that poll indicates support for change, not a bill with quick and dirty change like this one.

This rush to fix Obamacare with a bad bill is out of President Trump's winning character. That's why his support for the plan has an impending expiration date.

Whether the White House pulls its support from the bill entirely or works a little more behind the scenes to amend it remains to be seen. But either way, the bill has no chance to pass as is. The best case scenario is that its inevitable failure will convince the White House to use its unique connection to average Americans and re-open this vital replacement/improvement process with the people truly involved.

Clearly, the political class-filled GOP-controlled Congress is a lost cause on this one. They proved it again with this Obamacare replacement bill that fails on almost every level of political and economic viability.

For most of the last 22 years, the Republicans have been in charge on Capitol Hill and that power has clearly corrupted them into being just as bad and disconnected from the people as the Democrats were for their previous four decade control of the legislative branch.

The fact that the established Republican branch of the party was badly whipped by President Trump in the primaries didn't teach them a thing about doing their jobs better. And when it comes to fixing or replacing Obamacare, it's time for them to get out of the way.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.



For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former President George W. Bush attend Donald Trump Inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Hillary Clinton's campaign ran TV ads that had less to do with policy than any other presidential candidate in the past four presidential races, according to a new study published on Monday by the Wesleyan Media Project.

Clinton's team spent a whopping $1 billion on the election in all  about twice what Donald Trump's campaign spent. Clinton spent $72 million on television ads in the final weeks alone.

But only 25 percent of advertising supporting her campaign went after Trump on policy grounds, the researchers found. By comparison, every other presidential candidate going back to at least 2000 devoted more than 40 percent of his or her advertising to policy-based attacks. None spent nearly as much time going after an opponent's personality as Clinton's ads did (See chart here).



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Trump, who didn't exactly run as a wonk, aired a more typical number of policy-focused ads compared with past elections. As an example, the study notes his first big TV buy was for an ad called "Two Americas"  one that portrayed life under Clinton's immigration policies and one under Trump's. The Clinton world is pretty bleak. Trump's is rosy. In all, Factcheck.orggave it a so-so review, saying the claims were based on "murky evidence and misrepresentations."

Beyond overall ad spending, the study also breaks down the content of the attack ads aired on behalf of each candidate. It says about 70 percent of Trump's ads "contained at least some discussion of policy." About 90 percent of Clinton's attack ads went after Trump as an individual  compared with just 10 percent that went after his policies, the study found (See chart here).

The study concludes that Clinton's strategy may have backfired badly. Here's what they have to say:

Evidence suggests that negativity in advertising can have a backlash effect on the sponsor (Pinkleton 1997) and that personally-focused, trait-based negative messages (especially those that are uncivil) tend to be seen as less fair, less informative and less important than more substantive, policy-based messaging (Fridkin and Geer 1994; Brooks and Geer 2007). In stark contrast to any prior presidential cycle for which we have Kantar Media/CMAG data, the Clinton campaign overwhelmingly chose to focus on Trump's personality and fitness for office (in a sense, doubling down on the news media's focus), leaving very little room for discussion in advertising of the reasons why Clinton herself was the better choice. Trump, on the other hand, provided explicit policy-based contrasts, highlighting his strengths and Clinton's weaknesses, a strategy that research suggests voters find helpful in decision-making. These strategic differences may have meant that Clinton was more prone to voter backlash and did nothing to overcome the media's lack of focus on Clinton's policy knowledge, especially for residents of Michigan and Wisconsin, in particular, who were receiving policy-based (and specifically economically-focused) messaging from Trump.

Of course, as Vox's Tara Golshan has pointed out, Clinton's team likely pursued this line against Trump because they thought it was working  most of the polling suggested Clinton was going to win on Election Day.

But the new report also confirms what multiple outlets have already reported: that the Clinton campaign did not appear to realize its vulnerability in the Rust Belt until the final days of the election and, as a result, blew millions that could have been spent elsewhere. Clinton's team spent virtually nothing advertising in Wisconsin, Michigan, or Pennsylvania until the final week  when they then decided to exponentially increase their resources there (See chart here).

The Wesleyan researchers write, with some understatement:

[I]t may very well be that Clinton misallocated advertising funds (both hyper-targeting on local cable and advertising in non-traditional battlegrounds like Arizona rather than in the Midwest, for example) and a lack of policy messaging in advertising may have hurt Clinton enough to have made a difference.

The blown money on TV advertising in Arizona was exacerbated by a ground strategy that local Rust Belt Democrats have heavily criticized. As Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) told Vox in December 2016, the Clinton campaign appeared to do little to relate to Midwest union workers in the runup to the vote:

As far as I know, she didn't stop at any UAW halls. I probably would have been invited to be with her if she was going to one, and I never got that invitation. She didn't do any labor-specific events that I'm aware of. It's pretty rare that you aren't working closely with labor in a campaign, especially for statewide office. I'm sitting right here now, talking to you in the parking lot of the sheet metal workers before their holiday party. I'm going to be with my friends, with the sheet metal workers, to convey that they are important to me by showing up at their events. Labor simply cannot be taken for granted in Michigan. Not doing that sort of event certainly was a major oversight.

The new study was conducted by Erika Fowler, a Wesleyan government professor; Travid Ridout, a philosophy and public affairs professor at Washington State University; and Michael Franz, a government and legal studies professor at Bowdoin College. You can read it in full here.
Read his lips: This Obamacare replacement will become law  despite strong pushback from conservative lawmakers.

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday said, "I have no doubt that we'll pass" the Republican leadership's bill to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act, "because we're going to keep our promise."

Ryan, whose bill faces major headwinds from conservatives in the Republican congressional caucus, said the GOP has made a "covenant" with the American people over the past seven years to get rid of the landmark health-care reform law implemented by President Barack Obama.

"This is a monumental, exciting conservative reform that fixes" a slew of problems with Obamacare, said Ryan, R-Wis., shortly before two key House committees began work on the bill.



"This is a good day."

Ryan also said that he expected that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office would release a "score" of the bill at "the beginning of next week," before the legislation is brought to a vote before the full House of Representatives.

That score would estimate both the costs and revenues for the federal government from the bill, as well as the number of people likely to end up having health coverage after it is enacted.

"This is what we've been dreaming about doing, and we know it's going to make a positive difference in people's lives," Ryan said of the GOP replacement plan.

Republicans have in fact dreamed, and promised, for years to repeal Obamacare. And with the election of President Donald Trump, they finally have a realistic political chance of getting that done given the GOP control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

But the bill Republican leaders unveiled Monday night quickly drew opposition from a number of more conservative members of the House and Senate, along with conservative health-care analysts and think tanks. Providers of medical care, including the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians, have also voiced opposition to the proposed law.

Some conservatives object to the bill because it would not be a wholesale repeal of Obamacare, and because it includes refundable tax credits that people could use to buy individual health plans, and maintains the expansion of Medicaid benefits to a certain degree.

Conservative health analysts object to the bill because they believe it would lead to a winnowing of health coverage for the poor, while benefiting wealthier people.

In the Senate, four senators have said they will oppose a rollback of Medicaid coverage, as the bill seems to do by shifting federal funding of that program to a system of block grants to states. And several other senators object to the bill's defunding of Planned Parenthood.

The opposition could be strong enough to derail the bill in either the House or Senate.

Ryan said immediate action is needed on Obamacare because "this law is rapidly collapsing."

"Let's not forget that," he said.

Republicans point to double-digit percentage increases in the price of individual insurance plans, as well as the fact that one-third of U.S. counties have just one insurer selling such plans, as evidence of the law's collapse. They also say that Obamacare customers cannot afford to use their coverage because out-of-pocket charges for health services are too high.

Democrats dispute all of those claims, and warn that the Republican plan will actually lead to higher plan deductibles, less affordable monthly premiums and even more insurers leaving the marketplace.
Women now hold one in four senior roles at companies around the world with Eastern Europe particularly standing out for efforts to enhance gender diversity, according to a global study by professional services firm Grant Thornton.

Hinterhaus Productions | Getty Images

Women held 25 percent of senior management roles in 2017 globally, up one percentage point from 2016, Grant Thornton said in a report issued in conjunction with International Women's Day. Eastern Europe fared well, with 38 percent of senior roles held by women and only 9 percent of businesses lacking women in senior roles. Grant Thornton said the region owed some of its strong performances to the "legacy of communist principles which have placed women as equals for generations." Russia, was the only country in which every business surveyed had a woman on its senior leadership team, according to the report. The findings for 2017 in the report were based on interviews done between July and December 2016. But experts said more needs to be done to level the playing field for women at all levels of the corporate ladder. The report noted that the percentage of companies that had no female participation at senior level globally rose by a percentage point in 2017 to 34 percent. Developed Asia Pacific had a staggering 54 percent of business that had no women in senior roles, compared to only 13 percent of companies that did. In the U.S., the scenario remained unchanged from a year earlier  23 percent of senior roles were held by women and 31 percent of businesses had no women in senior positions.

According to the report, geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties were pushing diversity down the list of priorities for companies. "Leaders are concerned with reducing costs and retaining talent, relegating diversity to a nice-to-have rather than a must-have," according to the authors of the report. Gender diversity has come under fresh spotlight following recent allegations of sexual harassment and gender bias against ride-hailing company Uber by a former employee. Grace Cheong, vice president of HR for Asia Pacific and Japan at U.S.-based tech company F5 Networks, told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Wednesday that despite news of gender discrimination in certain areas, "great strides" had been made in raising awareness, especially on social media. Diversity, Cheong said, underpinned ideas that were different as well as opened new avenues for business. "The digital economy has no respect of gender, it is an open marketplace," she said. But for many female employees, especially in the technology sector, advancing to a senior role can be a challenge as the industry tends to be male-dominated, according to industry executives. The impetus is on women to advocate for themselves, said Sophie Guerin, diversity and inclusion lead for Asia Pacific and Japan at Dell. "But we recognize particularly in the technology industry, where men continue to remain in majority of leadership positions, it's really about men needing to play a critical role in advocating for women as well," Guerin told CNBC in a recent interview.

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Like many tech companies, Dell has undertaken initiatives to inject more diversity into its company culture, including training its executives to understand unconscious biases that go beyond gender and look at disability, sexual orientation, different ways of thinking, family background and socio-economic status. Sara Margulis, founder and CEO of HoneyFund, a wedding registry site where couples can register for honeymoon experiences as a wedding gift, thinks it's time for women already in leadership roles to advocate further gender parity. "This is the time for women that are in those leadership roles to rise up and demand policy change," she told CNBC's "The Rundown" on Wednesday. Grant Thornton, in its report, also recommended steps to have more diversity in leadership roles, such as implementing organization-wide changes, creating conducive environments, and sponsoring more women to climb the corporate ladder instead of only offering mentoring. Recently, President Donald Trump signed into law two measures aimed at promoting women at the workplace. First, the INSPIRE Women Act that encourages NASA to hire women to STEM roles and the Promoting Women In Entrepreneurship Act designed to support female inventors.

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Ivanka Trump shows her new jewelry collection and promotes the opening of The Penthouse Suites at the Trump Taj Mahal October 11, 2007 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Amid a tug-of-war between consumers who either love or loathe the Ivanka Trump brand, the company's president said it has rung up near record sales since Nordstrom dropped the collection from its stores in February.

In an interview with Refinery29, Abigail Klem  who took the reins when Donald Trump was elected president  said the label has recorded "some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand" since the beginning of February.

That was the month when Nordstrom announced it had ended its relationship with the brand, citing weak sales. The department store's decision fueled a firestorm of controversy among consumers, some of whom applauded the chain, and others who said they would stop shopping there.

The conflict intensified a few days later when Trump tweeted that his daughter had been treated "so unfairly" by Nordstrom.

Tweet

Other retailers also parted ways with the Ivanka Trump label or limited its profile in their stores. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, for example, told employees to remove all of the brand's merchandise from featured parts of the store, according to The New York Times. Major chains including Macy's and Hudson's Bay still carry the label.

Though Klem declined to share specific internal sales figures with Refinery29, third-party data provided to CNBC from SimilarWeb indicates there has been a spike in interest postelection. The analytics firm, which tracks digital traffic, said average daily U.S. visits to IvankaTrump.com have increased 121 percent since Inauguration Day, as compared with the average beforehand.

That includes an 814 percent spike on Feb. 9  the day after Trump sent his Tweet about Nordstrom, and the day top adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News viewers that they should buy the brand's products.

Separately, Zappos.com saw a 650 percent increase in "Ivanka Trump" related search traffic over the last month from January, according to SimilarWeb.

An accompanying spike in sales would mark a reversal from recent trends. Slice Intelligence data compiled for CNBC last month said that Ivanka Trump's online sales fell 26 percent in January compared with the prior year.

Separately, an article by The Wall Street Journal citing internal Nordstrom sales data said that sales of Ivanka Trump merchandise had indeed tumbled, including by 26 percent in January.

And on a call detailing its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings last month, Nordstrom Co-President Peter Nordstrom said the impact of Trump's tweet on the company's business was "negligible" and "not really discernible one way or the other."

Data sent to CNBC from the shopping website Lyst, which sells items from various fashion brands, confirmed a February sales spike for the Ivanka Trump brand.

The label was Lyst's 11th most popular last month, spiking from No. 550 in terms of order numbers in January. That momentum, however, has since slowed, with sales in March tracking 60 percent higher than the average month in 2016. That compares with a 557 percent increase in February.

A spokeswoman for the Ivanka Trump brand did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

CNBC's Courtney Reagan contributed to this report.
The head of a company that owns Trump's Washington home, Chilean billionaire Andronico Luksic, was denied permission by the Obama administration for one of his other businesses to construct a mine for copper and nickel in Minnesota , according to the article in the Journal.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's landlord is currently embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. government that could be a conflict of interest for the president's daughter, The Wall Street Journal Reports.

The piece reports that the mine was denied by the Department of the Interior on the basis that it would cause "serious and irreplaceable harm to this unique, iconic and irreplaceable wilderness area."

Although he does own the house she stays in, there are no other known ties between Luksic and Trump. A White House spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that Kushner and Trump pay fair market value for the house and they were not aware of the legal battle when they signed the lease.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.
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Oil is on track to break through the key psychological level of $50 a barrel after a ninth straight rise in U.S. crude stockpiles came at exactly the wrong moment, analysts said Wednesday. The amount of crude oil in U.S. storage rose to another record high on Wednesday, jumping 8.2 million barrels from the previous week, the Energy Information Administration reported. The increase was more than four times what analysts expected. Weekly figures also showed U.S. oil production continuing to tick up toward 9.1 million barrels a day, the highest level in more than a year. That provided further evidence that rising American output is confounding efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and 10 other exporters to reduce global oil inventories by curbing their own output.

It's really been like a kettle boiling for the last few weeks in terms of having traded in a very tight range. There's been this pressure building from a technical perspective. Matt Smith director of commodity research, ClipperData

The data sent U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude prices plunging more than 5 percent to a nearly three-month low. The plunge through a number of lows on Wednesday puts oil on a path to test the December low of $49.95 a barrel, said John Kilduff, founding partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital. "From there you could accelerate," he told CNBC, adding that $50 "was the fail-safe." Kilduff's downside target, once oil breaks below $50 a barrel, is $42. For the last three months, oil has traded in a range between $49.61 and $55.24. According to Kilduff, all the elements are in place for oil to break below its three-month range: lack of cohesion among OPEC members, bearish statements from oil ministers at CERAWeek conference by IHS Markit and subdued refinery activity as operators perform seasonal maintenance in the United States.

Bearish OPEC comments at CERAWeek

On Tuesday, Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih warned at CERAWeek that the kingdom would only support OPEC's intervention in markets for a "restricted period of time" and would not "underwrite the investments of others at our own expense and long-term interests." Later that evening, oil ministers convened a last-minute press briefing, where they reaffirmed their commitment to the production cut deal. "The Saudis almost explicitly warned that if we don't get cooperation or we see cheating we're not going to be someone's patsy forever," said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service. Saudi Arabia has so far provided the lion's share of output cuts as OPEC and other producers seek to remove 1.8 million barrels from the market in the first six months of 2016. Iraq, OPEC's second largest producer, produced above its quota in January.

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Also at CERAWeek on Tuesday, Iraqi Minister of Oil Jabbar Ali Al-Luiebi said Baghdad could increase its output capacity to 5 million barrels a day by the second half of 2017, raising concerns about its commitments to production cuts. Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said $50 can now be considered a target. If oil prices break that level, market watchers can expect more talk from oil ministers about extending the OPEC agreement another six months when producers meet in May, he added. "I think that OPEC is hoping they can wait it out so they don't have to make a decision in May to continue with production cuts, but they may be forced into that decision given the high inventories here in the U.S.," he said. Those inventory builds are likely to continue through the refinery maintenance season, according to Lipow.

Kettle finally boils over

Further fueling the fall to $50 a barrel is the record number of bets traders have recently made on crude rising further, said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at shipment tracking firm ClipperData. As oil prices fall to the bottom of their range, more traders will look to unwind those positions, he explained. "It's really been like a kettle boiling for the last few weeks in terms of having traded in a very tight range. There's been this pressure building form a technical perspective," he said. "As that happens, as that pressure builds, we tend to pop violently."

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Silicon Valley investors tend to box start-ups into "deeply misleading" categories and trends  most of which are just buzzwords, said technology investor and Trump adviser Peter Thiel.

Today, Silicon Valley is focused on self-driving cars and artificial intelligence, while a few years ago the buzz was around big data and cloud computing, Thiel said.

Thiel said once something is a "trend," that means others have already identified it, so it's unclear what is innovative about it. When an investor gets a pitch with a lot of buzzwords, it's like a "tell" in poker that the company is not unique, Thiel said.

"If you hear these things, you should think fraud, and you should run away as fast as you can," Thiel said at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference in Houston.
People traditionally dress up in green to celebrate St Patrick's Day on March 17, donning leprechaun costumes and painting their faces with the colors of the Irish flag or the shamrock, the three-leafed plant that is the symbol of Ireland.

And those who are fans of President Donald Trump can also buy a green cap to top off their outfits, featuring "Make America Great Again" on the front, and a plant motif on the back. But there's one problem: the motif sewn into the hat is actually a four-leaf clover, not a shamrock.

TWEET

People posting on Twitter noticed that the "Official Make America Great Again Green Hat" featured the wrong symbol used hashtags including #fakefacts and #fakerock.

Trump's merchandise website encourages fans to "Capture the luck of the Irish" by buying the hat. However those who want to will be disappointed: the $50 cap  the most expensive listed on the site - has sold out.

CNBC.com has contacted the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which runs the online shop, but has not received a response.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.


An employee walks through the Akzo Nobel NV paint production facility in Sassenheim, Netherlands.

Specialty chemicals manufacturers PPG Industries and Akzo Nobel are exploring a potential deal, according to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.

"PPG as a matter of policy does not comment on market rumors or speculation," Bryan Iams, vice president for corporate and government affairs at PPG Industries, told CNBC in an email.

Shares of Pennsylvania-based PPG Industries spiked more than 12 percent in afternoon trade, but later pared those gains. The stock ended the day 6 percent higher and was the second biggest advancer in the S&P 500 Wednesday.

Akzo Nobel, which is based in the Netherlands, saw its over-the-counter U.S.-traded shares jump more than 10 percent in afternoon trade.

"We never comment on market rumors," Akzo Nobel spokeswoman Mirjam Veenhof told CNBC over the phone.

Shares of competitor Axalta Coating Systems traded about 3 percent higher after the Bloomberg report.

CNBC's Jim Forkin and Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report
The backlash from some consumers about Starbucks ' decision to eventually hire 10,000 refugees worldwide could negatively impact sales in the near term, according to analysts at Credit Suisse, who reiterated a hold rating on the coffee seller. "Our work shows a sudden drop in brand sentiment following announcement of the refugee hiring initiative on Jan. 29th, to flattish from a run-rate of ~+80 (on an index of -100 to +100). Net sentiment has since recovered, but has seen significant volatility in recent weeks," equity analyst Jason West wrote in a research note. Starbucks issued the statement in response to President Donald Trump's executive order barring immigrants from certain nations from entering the United States. "We have a long history of hiring young people looking for opportunities and a pathway to a new life around the world. This is why we are doubling down on this commitment by working with our equity market employees as well as joint venture and licensed market partners in a concerted effort to welcome and seek opportunities for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and discrimination," Howard Schultz, Starbucks' chairman and CEO, wrote back in January . Trump supporters threatened to boycott the coffee maker. Since the announcement was made, shares of Starbucks are flat. Starbucks vs S & P 500, 1 year Source: FactSet "We see potential for a scenario in which US SSS [same-store sales] slowed for a few weeks following news of the refugee hiring initiative, negatively impacting full-quarter SSS by ~70-80bps under a reasonable bear case," West said. Although Credit Suisse found little to no correlation between net sentiment data and U.S. same-store sales over the long term, analysts at the firm believe any sudden changes in sentiment could impact sales in the short term. "In our past work on Chipotle, we found that large and sudden spikes in net sentiment coincided with similar shifts in SSS trends," West wrote. The analyst notes that sentiment readings for Starbucks have been highly volatile in recent weeks, perhaps suggesting a "lingering" fallout from the refugee news. Apart from a potential backlash , the analyst says negative sales trends over the past four quarters could keep the stock at bay. "We also note that SBUX has missed US comps for four consecutive quarters and consensus calls for a meaningful acceleration through the rest of the year (against easing compares). It also doesn't help that overall restaurant sales have been weak in recent quarters, with several chains pointing to a slowdown in Feb, potentially related to the timing of tax refunds," West wrote. Over the next 12 months, Credit Suisse predicts shares of Starbucks could trade at $55 or about 2 percent lower from where the stock closed on Tuesday.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this story.

Howard Schultz David Ryder | Reuters
While investors on Wall Street debate whether Tesla 's ambitious transformation from electric car maker to sustainable energy company will pay off, its industrial power packs are already having an impact on at least one state.

In Hawaii, the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) is now drawing energy from 272 Tesla power packs to provide electricity after dark. While the island previously relied on solar and other renewable energy during the day, it had no way to store the sun's power after it went down.

Using stored energy from Tesla's power packs is expected to save KIUC 1.6 million gallons of diesel fuel annually, which has traditionally been the way the utility generates power after dark.

Tesla says the power packs will cut KIUC costs per kilowatt hour from 15.5 cents down to 13.9 cents. The 13.9 cents is a fixed price for the next 20 years.

For Kauai, the chance to cut the use and fluctuating costs of diesel fuel is what makes Tesla's energy storage system so attractive. Yet for Wall Street analysts, it isn't enough to convince them that the Tesla's energy initiatives will be enough to move the needle.

"At this time, we ascribe zero value to Tesla shares from this business," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas told investors. "We take this view due to the uncertain economic and regulatory forces facing the energy business, particularly the solar business."
This picture from NASA's Earth Observatory shows how much land in California's Central Valley is sinking, due primarily to the drawing of groundwater during periods of drought.

Heavy rains have fallen on many parts of the state this winter, but the image above is a reminder of the lingering effects of drought, even in wetter times.

As the legend at the bottom of the picture suggests, the yellowest areas are those with the greatest degree of subsidence (the term for sinking land) and the bluest areas are those with the least.

As might be expected, the largest degree of subsidence occurred in southern California where the drought struck the hardest. In some places, the land sunk by nearly 30 feet.

California's Department of Water Resources commissioned NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to collect and analyze satellite data during the state's most recent drought, resulting in an initial report in 2015, and subsequent updates. The most recent shows land continued to sink since 2015, at a rate of as much as 2 feet per year in the worst spots.
President Donald Trump's hawkish stance on the U.S. trade deficit is misinformed and could wreak havoc on a still-fragile global economy, Asia business expert Stephen Roach told CNBC on Wednesday.

Roach suggested that rather than viewing the trade deficit as cause for concern, the Trump administration should turn its attention to the United States' dwindling savings, which he pointed to as the root cause of trade imbalances.

"We can't keep harboring the fantasy that we can grow indefinitely without saving for the future. The trade deficits are a manifestation of our saving deficit," Roach said on "Squawk Box." "And, you know, one of these days, that formula for false prosperity is going to be mark to market."

The former Morgan Stanley Asia chairman and current Yale School of Management senior fellow blasted the United States' reliance on the likes of Germany, Japan and China as sources of borrowed savings.

In response to Trump picking conservative economist Kevin Hassett to lead his Council of Economic Advisers, Roach wished him the best, but took on a grave tone:

"I hope he continues in the great tradition of providing rigorous, sound, analytical advice for the White House before they make a very serious mistake of historic consequences," he said.

Roach said that slapping tariffs on China would not solve the United States' trade discrepancies, arguing that it could instead aggravate Chinese policymakers and spur global trade conflict.

"There's a lot of things that China does that we don't like that we need to be tough in negotiating with," Roach said. "But if we hit them with tariffs, they'll reciprocate and put tariffs on us, and we could get into a global trade war."

And the effects of a trade war with China would be felt both at home and abroad, as global supply chains would be disrupted and the cost of goods would rise, Roach said.

"It would ... raise the price of goods sold at Walmart, which, by the way, would be a huge tax on struggling American families who are having a hard time making ends meet," he said.

Echoing the argument he presented in a Financial Times op-ed, Roach said that to address the United States' trade deficits, trade officials must also address the savings deficit.

That would avoid trade deficits simply being redistributed to other parts of the world, which in turn could simply kill U.S. trading partnerships without fixing their inherent problems, he said.

"Pick everybody's favorite whipping boy, China, and it's like a water balloon. The water just goes somewhere else and the deficits get distributed to our other trading partners, all of whom are higher-cost producers, which taxes American middle class consumers," Roach said.
Trump has provided no evidence to back the explosive claim, and a spokesperson for Obama has denied that the former president ordered a tap. The White House has asked the congressional intelligence committees to investigate Trump's allegation.

Two senators have asked the Department of Justice and FBI for any information they have related to President Donald Trump 's accusation that President Barack Obama wiretapped him ahead of the 2016 election.

In a letter Wednesday, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., requested that the Justice Department "provide us copies of any warrant applications or court orders ... related to wiretaps" of Trump, his campaign or Trump Tower. The senators serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, which has oversight of the Justice Department's criminal division.

"As chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, we would take any abuse of wiretapping authorities for political purposes very seriously. We would be equally alarmed to learn that a court found enough evidence of criminal activity or contact with a foreign power to legally authorize a wiretap of President Trump, the Trump campaign, or Trump Tower," the senators wrote in a letter to Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente and FBI Director James Comey.

Trump on Saturday accused Obama of tapping his phones "during the very sacred election process." He compared it to President Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal.

Since then, though, Trump aides have not pointed to any specific evidence to back his claim. Comey reportedly asked the Justice Department to publicly reject the assertion, while the chairmen of both the House and Senate intelligence committees have said they have not seen evidence to support it.

In the letter, Graham and Whitehouse emphasized that they sought documents "redacted as necessary to protect intelligence sources and method that may be compromised by disclosure and to protect any ongoing investigations." Later Wednesday, Graham told MSNBC that he would subpoena for the information if officials do not provide it.
Many travelers with plans to head to  or from  the United States for business or leisure are reassessing or even canceling their trips in response to President Donald Trump's immigration policies, travel experts say.

After Trump's inauguration and the first executive order temporarily banning travel to the U.S. from certain countries, travel analysts at Forward Keys and airfare search site Hopper saw flight bookings and searches to the U.S. slip.

"International trends in bookings to the U.S. are down 6.5 percent compared with the equivalent period the year before," Forward Keys noted. "Trump's travel ban is putting off people traveling to the U.S. from many regions of the world, beyond the Middle East."

More from NBC News:

Experts: the GOP health care plan just won't work

Kim Han Sol, son of assassinated Kim Jong Nam, speaks out: officials

GOP health care bill would cut CDC fund to fight killer diseases



And while demand has recovered slightly since the initial travel ban was overturned, "It is still well below expected levels," said Hopper data analyst Patrick Surry in an analysis of the travel ban's impact on international travel.

On Tuesday, Hopper analyzed flight search demand from international origins to the U.S. for the three weeks prior to Trump's inauguration through March 6th and found overall searches down about 10 percent compared to the same period last year, with 102 of 122 origin countries showing declines.
As the U.K. comes closer to the start of the process to leave the European Union, U.K. businesses are ignoring the political talk, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce warned.

The higher house in the U.K. parliament defeated a government bill on Tuesday for a second time, demanding to vote on the final Brexit deal. However, British businesses do not seem to pay attention to such developments, Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce told CNBC, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce told CNBC.

"A lot of them are trying to ignore the politicians. They want to look at the signal not the noise," he said.

His findings are based on several meetings between the BCC and entrepreneurs.
This undated picture released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 7, 2017 shows four ballistic missiles after they were fired by Korean People's Army (KPA) during a military drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea.

North Korea's latest missile firing was a wake-up call for the U.S. military on several fronts, according to top military officers.

On Monday, North Korea fired four missiles that ended up falling into the ocean off Japan. The event showed the rogue nation may be getting closer to its goal of having a nuclear-armed ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S.

The development comes as the U.S. military is relying on an aging command and control system that helps military leaders obtain and process information in times of nuclear threats, such as enemies firing warheads. Moreover, there's an added risk since one of the early warning missile sensors used by the U.S. military is in space, which also is seen as increasingly vulnerable.

"We were up most of the night watching the North Korean launches of SCUDs [or missiles]," U.S. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command said in testimony Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee.

Fortunately, the general said the early warning systems that are part of the nation's command and control of nuclear forces found that the latest North Korea missile firings "did not present a threat to North America." Yet, he said, the U.S. military is increasingly relying on an aging command and control system, which he called "my biggest concern when I look out towards the future."

The U.S. military this week started deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (or THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea in response to missile threats from North Korea. THAAD, which has already been used in other regions of the world, is manufactured by Lockheed Martin .

Wednesday's hearing, entitled "Military Assessment of Nuclear Deterrence Requirements," focused on current global threats including efforts to modernize the nation's nuclear arsenal and nuclear command and control capabilities.

Hyten told the congressional panel that the nuclear command and control area is his "number one priority inside the modernization piece. Everything we have today works very effectively. But it is very resilient, robust and ancient. Ancient is the concern."

Similarly, outside experts recently told CNBC more focus should be placed on command and control systems, including satellite and other communication systems with nuclear forces as well as how the military gets early warnings of an incoming strike.

The U.S. military uses what's known as an Integrated Tactical Warning/Attack Assessment (ITW/AA) system, which includes missile warning radars and space-based sensors that provide a picture of threats. The information comes into the nation's command and control, thereby giving the president, the Defense secretary and military leaders key information when deciding how to respond to threats.

However, experts speaking at the Wednesday panel said the space-based portion of the early warning and attack assessment system maybe vulnerable.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, asked the military leaders about reports that other nations are trying to deny the U.S. the capability to operate in space and from space, which the congressman indicated has "implications for our strategic deterrence."

"When you look at what adversaries are doing, they are clearly building capabilities to deny us [capability to operate from space],' said Hyten. "Some of those capabilities could go after our strategic early warning systems."

By going after space assets, it could potentially deny the U.S. visibility into actions of adversaries such as preparing to launch missiles or the actual launch of weapons. China is believed to be one nation increasing its research and development spending in this area although there are others.

Rival nations "should know we are watching very, very closely and we are developing capabilities to allow us to continue to fight through and respond to any attack that would come into the space domain now or into the future," Hyten said.

Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, testified that enemies launching strikes against U.S. space assets also are creating "ambiguity that's not helpful in terms of nuclear deterrence on both sides of the equation."

Elsewhere, the hearing also touched on the disparity between the U.S. and Russia in terms of non-strategic nuclear weapons.

Military leaders pointed out that for the past two decades U.S. policy has called for the reduction of nuclear weapons and forces; however, in this same period of time they said nuclear rivals have not followed the U.S. example.

According to Selva, adversary nations have instead increased their reliance on nuclear weapons, improving their capabilities and in some instances expanding their nuclear stockpiles.

The U.S. military leaders were asked about the size of the Russian arsenal. "The Russian numbers are huge and our numbers are small," responded Hyten.

When asked about U.S. modernization of weapons versus others, Hyten responded: "I don't have a detailed insight into the nuclear weapon modernization in Russia or China, but I can tell you that they are across the nuclear enterprise ahead of us in some areas of modernization, behind in other areas. In general, we can still provide the effective strategic deterrent we have to in this nation, but we have to step forward quickly in the modernization realm here."

Selva said the U.S. has preserved its nuclear deterrent by extending the lifespan of what he termed "legacy nuclear forces and infrastructure," including sometimes for decades beyond what he said was originally intended. "But these systems will not remain viable forever," he said. "Nuclear modernization can no longer be deferred."



Indeed, Selva cautioned against any future disruption in nuclear modernization.

"Any disruption in the current program of record for future acquisition plans will introduce the risk  a significant risk  to our deterrent," said Selva.

The House hearing also provided updates for key programs involving the nation's nuclear triad, which includes land, sea and air elements.



For example, the new B-21 long-range strike bomber under development by Northrop Grumman just finished preliminary design review, according to Air Force Gen. Stephen Wilson. "It's making great progress," he testified.

The B-21 stealth bomber will modernize the Air Force's aging bombers, including the B-52 built in the 1960s as well as the B-2, a stealth bomber made about 20 years ago by Northrop.

As for the Navy, the Columbia-class nuclear missile submarine, which replaces the Trident missile-armed Ohio-class, is running "on time and on schedule," according to Admiral Bill Moran, vice chief of Naval Operations.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross speaks to department employees March 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Ross, who was confirmed earlier in the week, spoke about his vision for changing the department.

Japan's trade minister Hiroshige Seko and his U.S. counterpart Wilbur Ross will likely meet on March 16 in Washington, Jiji news agency reported on Wednesday.

Seko and U.S. Commerce Secretary Ross agreed by phone this week to meet as soon as possible to prepare for a planned bilateral economic dialogue, which is to be led be U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Finance Minister Taro Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister.

Seko said on Tuesday he wanted to exchange candid views with Ross on energy, trade, investment, cyber and space.

The governments of both nations are finalizing the arrangement of the meeting, Jiji reported.

The economic dialogue between the two nations will kick off in April, when Pence visits Japan.
As the market reaches the eighth birthday of this bull market run, Deutsche Asset Management's David Bianco told clients the U.S. economic expansion is likely to surpass the previous 10-year record because of President Donald Trump's tax reform. "A record long U.S. economic expansion is increasingly likely  If a significant and simple corporate tax rate cut is passed in 2017, we think the U.S. will set a new record for the number of years between recessions," chief investment strategist Bianco wrote in a note to clients March 2. The strategist cited in a report from his firm showing how the current economic expansion has 27 more months to go to beat the 120 months record from 1991 to 2000. Bianco noted how the U.S. economy is driven by service consumption. As a result "it takes a big demand shock to push an economy into recession." Volatility in exports and capital expenditures isn't as large a factor to American GDP compared to other global economies, according to the strategist. If fiscal stimulus is enacted including a "lower corporate tax rate, selective infrastructure investment and deregulation  this expansion could last to 2020 or longer," he wrote. To take advantage of continued economic strength, Bianco recommends growth-oriented stocks and sectors. He cited the analogous time periods of the late 1960s and 1990s as examples. "The further the last recession is put behind the more dependent companies become on their industry and company specific drivers of growth. This generally causes growth stocks to post EPS [earnings per share] growth that exceeds the market and, provided the valuations are reasonable, they generally outperform," he said. "We expect health care & tech to be two key drivers of good U.S. market returns over the next several years."





Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Europe may be swept up in the surge in support for populist parties, but the solutions they offer will not solve the economic problems facing the continent, the president of the German Ifo Institute told CNBC.

There are two reasons behind the increasing enthusiasm of European citizens for populist parties: antipathy to the rising number of immigrants in northern Europe while the south is fed up with the stagnating economy, Clemens Fuest, president of the Ifo institute for economic research told CNBC on Wednesday.

"We've been spending 10 years now first with the financial crisis and then the euro crisis," he noted.

"That leads people to lose confidence and to lose trust in established political parties and populists can exploit this situation and argue they have a simple solution for this complex issue," he added.

Looking at opinion polls projecting election outcomes in four major euro economies, it is clear that populist parties are on course to have a more crucial role in policymaking.

"Populist economic policy is normally expansionary, irrespective of the economic situation, so it's short-termist, goes against globalizationit rejects international organizations like the WTO or the European Union, it exaggerates the negative economic impact of immigration and generally blames foreigners," Fuest said.

He added that populist parties usually raise the right issues but "the answers they give are normally simplistic and the recipes don't work."
A government watchdog group, Public Citizen, said on Wednesday it has asked lawmakers to investigate whether Carl Icahn violated lobbying disclosure laws, a complaint the billionaire investor denied and called a "witch hunt."

The group said Icahn may have been acting as a lobbyist when he advised President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. biofuels program. Icahn, an unpaid adviser to Trump on regulation, submitted a proposal to Trump last month to change the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard by shifting the burden of blending biofuels into gasoline away from oil refining companies, and further down the supply chain to marketers.

Public Citizen said that, because Icahn owns a controlling stake in a refinery that could benefit from the proposed change, he may have been required by a 1995 lobbying disclosure law to disclose his discussions with Trump on the subject as lobbying. The group said it has made its request for a probe in a letter sent to Congress on Wednesday morning.

"All of this has occurred with no record of any (Lobbying Disclosure Act) filings by or on behalf of Mr. Icahn," Public Citizen said in a copy of the letter provided to Reuters.

Icahn did not respond to Reuters requests for comment but described the complaint in an opinion piece on The Hill website as a "gross misstatement of the facts" and said he had vetted his activities with lawyers.



'Ethics rock and a lobbying hard place'

The RFS, signed into law by former President George W. Bush, requires oil companies to mix increasing levels of renewable fuels into gasoline and diesel each year - a requirement that many refiners say costs them millions of dollars. Oil companies can either blend biofuels or buy paper credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RIN), from those that have.

Icahn owns an 82-percent stake in refiner CVR Energy , which along with other refining companies, has urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shift the blending obligation away from them.

"While we are not fighting the Renewable Fuel Standard, I have for months and will continue to speak out against the misguided way in which the EPA has been administering the RFS" with regards to the agency's handling of a "corrupt" RIN market, Icahn said.

Efforts to reach the White House were not immediately successful.

"Carl Icahn is between an ethics rock and a lobbying hard place," said Norman Eisen, co-founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington who served as the chief ethics lawyer for former President Barack Obama. "If he claims he is an informal advisor, then he is subject to lobbying rules."

Icahn has disclosed his role as a Trump adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but he has not registered as a lobbyist. Several Democratic lawmakers have said they want more information about his role in the Trump administration.

Shares of CVR Energy jumped over 1 percent following Icahn's response but pared gains and was unchanged at $21.40 by 3:47 p.m. EST (2047 GMT). Share values have risen about 70 percent since the presidential election. Over that time, Icahn's stake has gained over $600 million in value, according to Reuters data.

Last week, the head of a U.S. biofuels group said Icahn told him that Trump was readying an executive order to change the point of obligation for blending under the biofuels program, something both the White House and Icahn have denied.

The White House has said it is reviewing Icahn's proposal and has not yet taken a position.




The Peggy sofa is "a piece of s--t," Alex Fawcett, a former visual merchandiser for West Elm in Tysons Corner, Virginia, told BuzzFeed News. The company's product quality "isn't fantastic, but they're producing on-point design that is basically beautiful and trendy and affordable, considering most people can't afford to go to some haute couture Brooklynite store that will cost several thousand dollars."

"I think people in general, they think it's high quality because it's so good-looking," former West Elm store employee Lee Hamby told BuzzFeed News. "But let's face the facts: It's not a high-end furniture brand."

Consumers have forked out for the brand's glossy, midcentury modern aesthetic  the kind of middle-class professional look that screams, "I've graduated from Ikea"  but beneath the surface is a product that offers more in elegance than endurance, according to former employees and unhappy customers.

West Elm's issues seem to go well beyond #PeggyGate, the recent guffaw in which the now infamous Peggy couch was pulled from sale after a viral essay lamented its poor quality.

The prices are high enough that plenty of customers expect better. The furniture retailer, which is owned by pricey kitchenware chain Williams-Sonoma, isn't a stranger to quality complaints.

A West Elm spokesperson told BuzzFeed News in a statement on Tuesday that it follows "industry-best standards with commitment to quality materials and manufacturing and rigorous third-party testing."

"We also take customer feedback seriously and strive to be as responsive as possible," it added.

But the prices are high enough that plenty of customers expect better. The furniture retailer, which is owned by pricey kitchenware chain Williams-Sonoma, isn't a stranger to quality complaints. Take, for instance the case of the $300 leather dining chair.

@joshua_lory: .@westelm quality on $299 chair

When Joshua Lory, 32, and his wife moved to San Jose, California, from New York City, they were won over by a set of West Elm framework leather dining chairs with a dark walnut finish, priced at $300 per chair. Yet when the chairs were delivered in February, Lory noticed a problem almost immediately.

"Out of the six chairs we received, three were damaged in shipping or not put together correctly," he said. "You can also put them in a line and they're not all even. Some are higher than the others."

The chair is now listed as "no longer available" online. Lory said a customer service representative told him the whole line had been discontinued because of "production issues" and offered to replace the chairs once the issues are fixed.

"They're not charging Ikea prices," Lory said. "West Elm has a lot of pressure on them to put out new styles and be a little higher quality, but they're charging a lot of money for these chairs."



Consider Exhibit B: the Reeve marble dining table.

@arkent74: @westelm can you help? I've called, emailed, & no response. Table is falling apart.

Alison Kent, 42, told BuzzFeed News she was happy with all of her West Elm purchases until she bought a $600 Reeve marble dining table that started chipping, revealing a marble veneer.

"It wasn't cheap," she said. "I don't really use the table a lot. I had probably eaten at it all of three times."

West Elm's customer service department told Kent they weren't able to refund or replace the table because it was not "technically an in-store purchase," she said. During another call, they offered a 20%-off coupon. In one final attempt, she spoke to a store worker, who told her the line had been discontinued because other customers had complained about the marble chipping.

"I was just really disappointed in their level of customer service and their inaction in caring about the quality of the work they put together and the inability to follow through," she said.



The company did not respond to requests for comment from BuzzFeed News.

A number of unnamed employee reviews on jobs site Glassdoor.com include complaints that West Elm's furniture is not up to par," that "the product might be attractive but the quality is terrible," and that the "products are vastly over-priced compared to quality and craftsmanship."

Consumers think West Elm is "better quality than it really is," said Hamby, who worked in visual merchandising for West Elm from 2007 to 2011.

Its slick design and branding has allowed the company to command prices above other starter furniture brands like Ikea. West Elm's Peggy sofa, which was upholstered in fabric, retailed for $1,199; Ikea's Landskrona leather sofa retails for $799 and comes with a 10-year warranty.

"It's probably a couple steps up from Ikea," said Hamby. But "it's not something you're going to pass on for generations."

Fawcett, the former store staffer in Virginia, said: "When you come to a brand like Ikea, they may have a sturdier product because they don't put out a whole lot of pieces throughout the year. West Elm has an assortment of sofas and key pieces which changes every year. There is not a lot of lead time to test these products full-on like Ikea would."

@maryrachelcutter: So disappointed my @westelm Reeve coffee table is falling apart after only 14 months :( #worstelm #fixmytable

The flaws get noticed by customers. When Cassandra Berger decided to "be a grown up and invest in a good bed," she bought West Elm's mod upholstered platform bed for about $1,000. About nine months later, she noticed three out of the four legs had cracked and splayed out and discovered the joint that connects the bed frame to the legs had cracked. The company has offered to replace the legs, although it did not address the cracked joint.

"I've ranted enough times about this," she said.
Low oil prices have caused international oil companies to think twice about investing in Arctic extraction, but with prices on the rise it is only a matter of time before businesses tap into what has long been considered the final frontier for energy resources, according to Eurasia Group.

So far this year, oil has been trading at slightly over $50 per barrel, up significantly from the lows of early 2016 but still well below the highs of around $115 per barrel seen in mid-2014.

"In this current oil price environment, it (Arctic drilling) is really not very feasible," Emily Stromquist, senior analyst at Eurasia Group, said.

"You're not looking at particularly great economics for Arctic projects as long as we stay in the $50 to $60 per barrel oil price range."

Petroleum exploration in the Artic is costly and technically complex, making it largely unviable for oil companies despite the region containing an estimated 13 percent of the world's untapped resources. Included in this could be as much as 90 billion barrels of oil, according to United States Geographical Survey estimates.

This is good news for policymakers and environmental activists who have been attempting to regulate drilling to manage potential oil spills and the displacement of indigenous communities.




SARANAC LAKE  The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) recently announced the addition of two new members to its board of directors.

The nonprofit, regional economic-development organization added Steven Cacchio, president and CEO of Champlain National Bank, and Jennifer Potter Hayes, former executive director of View, an arts center in Old Forge.

ANCA has long partnered with Champlain National Bank and View on projects that advance economic opportunity in the region, Kate Fish, ANCAs executive director, said in a news release. We are excited to have the benefit of Steven and Jennifers experience as we develop new initiatives to help entrepreneurs and business owners expand and reach new markets.

Cacchio has focused much of his extensive banking career on community banking in upstate New York. His experience before Champlain National Bank, includes working for six years as a bank examiner in the Syracuse office of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He then joined Alliance Bank in the Syracuse area, and later became senior VP in charge of all of the banks retail operations. In 2013, Cacchio become the chief operating officer of the Savings Bank of Danbury in Connecticut. He received his bachelors degree from the University of Hartford and obtained his masters degree in accounting from Syracuse University.

Champlain National Bank is headquartered in Willsboro and has nine branch offices. The bank had $306 million in total assets at the end of 2016.

There has been wonderful momentum building among entrepreneurs and small businesses in northern New York over the last decade, Cacchio said in the release. There are tangible ways to support this kind of local and regional economic growth, and ANCA has a great sense of what is needed to promote it.

Potter Hayes joins the ANCA board shortly after her retirement at the end of 2016. During her tenure as director, she helped transform View from a small-town arts center into a nationally recognized cultural institution, per the release. She has extensive experience with project management, development, and special events. Before the View, Potter Hayes served as special assistant to the dean and director of career and alumni services at Syracuse Universitys Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. At Hamilton College, Potter Hayes served as director of alumni affairs, registrar and assistant to the president. She holds a bachelors degree from Kirkland College in Clinton, and a masters in public administration from Syracuse University.

Potter Hayes said she sees ANCA as an advocate for the cultural heritage of the region, as well as a supporter of smart, sustainable economic growth. Im excited to join this group of forward-looking thinkers who value the history, culture and unique character of the Adirondacks and of northern New York, she said.

The two new board members join ANCA as the organization said it focuses on program implementation for 2017 and the goals outlined in its five-year strategic plan. The nonprofit said it would continue its work toward improving local economic growth through its support of local food systems and agriculture across the region, the forestry industry, small artisan businesses, clean-energy advancement, and advocacy for investment in the region.

ANCA was founded in 1955.

Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com

PHOTOS CREDIT: ANCA




every member of Congress hates the Ryan ACA repeal plan. Utah's most odious and pathetic Establishment lapdog, Jason Chaffetz, was out regurgitating the GOP leadership's mostly deceitful, focus-group-tested talking points on early morning TV Tuesday: A brand new Monmouth poll , found that 51% of Americans said they would prefer to keep the Affordable Care Act and work to improve it, with another 7% saying they want to keep the ACA entirely intact. That's 58%, while only 39% want to see the ACA repealed, either with a replacement (31%) or repealed entirely without a replacement, the Freedom Caucus' preferred outcome (8%). Just as that poll was being released yesterday, Mike Lee (R-UT) was at odds with the House Republican leadership's talking points, pointing out that Ryan's bill "is exactly the type of backroom dealing and rushed process that we criticized Democrats for." And House Freedom Caucus crackpot Mo Brooks (AL), for example, said that Ryan's Obamacare replacement "is a huge step in favor of socialized medicine" and that he'll vote against it and will only back total repeal. But notmember of Congress hates the Ryan ACA repeal plan. Utah's most odious and pathetic Establishment lapdog, Jason Chaffetz, was out regurgitating the GOP leadership's mostly deceitful, focus-group-tested talking points on early morning TV Tuesday:

 we campaigned on this

 death spiral

 premiums are going up, I think 25%

 Arizona, 100%

 deductibles up/choice down

 almost one third of the counties in this country have only one choice

 access, access, access...

 we've got to save health care for the American people

As you can see on the soon-to-be-classic segment above, when confronted with the facts from the Kaiser Foundation-- "with Medicaid reductions and smaller tax credits, this bill would clearly result in fewer people insured than under the ACA. The House GOP proposal seeks to reduce what the federal govern,went spends on health"-- Chaffetz extolled choices like this: "rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love, that they want to go spend hundreds of dollars on, maybe they should invest it in their own healthcare. They've got to make those decisions themselves." No, really; he said that. I swear. Watch for yourself; it's a short video.

Cadavers dont need health insurance









The House GOP, in a written statement, cloaked this plan with a bodyguard of outright deceit. What were proposing will deliver the control and choice individuals and families need to access healthcare thats right for them, the statement said. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) said the measure would drive down costs, encourage competition and give every American access to quality, affordable health insurance. Curiously, the GOP statement says the plan embodies President Trump's proposed healthcare reforms, although the president has never advanced a coherent set of proposals.



The truth is that the GOP measure would destroy the ability of millions of Americans to access any healthcare worth the name. The Congressional Budget Office reportedly warned the Republicans that their proposals would lead to lost coverage for millions and higher costs for millions more, but the GOP is pushing ahead anyway.



...The proposal defunds Planned Parenthood. No federal funding can be made, either directly or indirectly, by Medicaid to a healthcare organization that provides for abortions, other than those done in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother. Thats Planned Parenthood. Its proper to note that Planned Parenthood doesnt use federal funds to pay for abortions, as thats already against the law. This measure shuts down funding for the organization just because it uses other funds to cover those procedures.



The bill effectively shuts down private health insurance coverage for abortion. According to a House Ways and Means Committee digest, the measure forbids spending federal tax subsidies on health plans that include coverage of abortion, even if the customer doesnt get an abortion. This would dramatically shrink working Americans access to insurance-covered abortions, or would lead to insurers dropping abortion coverage from their plans, or both. Customers could buy separate policies to cover abortions, but couldnt use the federal subsidy to help pay for them. Insurers likely would charge hugely discouraging premiums for such policies, as the market for them would be tiny.



The individual and employer mandates are eliminated. Theyre not repealed exactly, but the penalties are repealed, which amounts to the same thing. Without a requirement that individuals carry health insurance, the insurance markets are almost certain to collapse. The repeal is retroactive back to the beginning of 2016, but the real problem is in the market starting this year. Individuals would be able to drop their coverage immediately, which will wreak havoc with the market starting right now. Aetnas chairman and chief executive, Mark Bertolini, said recently that the individual market was entering a death spiral in which healthier customers dropped coverage, leaving sicker customers who know they need insurance facing an ever-increasing rates. This provision will do much to guarantee that will happen.



Essential health benefit rules are repealed. As of Dec. 31, 2019, ACA rules that required qualified health plans to provide hospitalization, maternity care, mental health services and other benefits would be sunsetted at the federal level. States would have the authority to set them instead. The impact on private, non-Medicaid plans would therefore vary by state. If a state removes maternity benefits, for example, thats likely to make maternity coverage, among other services, immensely expensive, if available at all.



Income-based premium subsidies would be replaced by age-based subsidies, which will hurt working-class families in many states. Under the ACA, subsidies to help individual buyers afford premiums and (for poorer households) deductibles and co-pays were based on household income. The GOP measure will base them on the buyers age, instead, with older buyers receiving more help than younger. The GOP plan limits subsidies to $4,000 per individual; under the ACA, which also keys subsidies to the cost of benchmark insurance plans in the buyers home market, the subsidies theoretically could be several times higher. No family could receive more than $14,000 in subsidies, and no more than five family members could be eligible for subsidies.



As we reported last week, this scheme would reduce subsidies to many of the people who need them the most, while awarding them to recipients who dont need them. People who are lower income, older or live in high-premium areas would be particularly disadvantaged, the Kaiser Family Foundation observed after examining an earlier draft. The new draft retains those features. Some modest means-testing of the subsidies-- an idea tossed around within the GOP caucus last week to quell complaints that the change would make the rich richer-- appears to be incorporated into the fiscal provisions of the proposal.



The Medicaid expansion is killed. As of Dec. 31, 2019, the Medicaid expansion is repealed. Traditional Medicaid will be block-granted, a system almost certain to result in less federal funding for the joint state-federal program than it would have received, over time. The neediest and sickest Americans will increasingly be on their own, as states get less federal help to provide them with medical services.



All of Obamacares taxes are repealed, another boon for the rich. Everything from the tax on tanning salons and medical devices to the surcharge on high-income taxpayers will be gone. As we explained earlier, this amounts to an enormous tax cut for the wealthy-- at least $346 billion over 10 years, every cent going to taxpayers earning more than $200,000 ($250,000 for couples). The proposal would sharply raise the limits on contributions to tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts-- another gimme for the rich.



The tax repeal, the Brookings Institution has reported, will make it impossible to pay for any Obamacare replacement-- which still isnt on the horizon. It also will exacerbate the fiscal problems of Medicare, by hastening the exhaustion of the programs trust fund by four years, to 2025.

Conservative Review was fuming that the Ryan plan was based on an "entire premise of Not only would the Ryan plan give huge tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and to drug, insurance and medical-device companies-- and even give a special tax break for health insurance CEOs -- it hikes premiums by 30% for people with pre-existing conditions if for any reason-- such as losing a job-- they dont have coverage for 63 days. That's what Hiltzik must have had in mind when he wrote it's "a nastier [and] consumer-unfriendly." So... no, Democrats are not getting behind this monstrous and destructive mishmash. But neither are many Republicans. The Democrats only need 3 Senate Republicans to kill it and there are already 6 who have said they don't like it-- for various reasons-- enough to vote for it. On top of that, House anti-healthcare extremists on the far right fringe, are going crazy and denouncing it like mad. The week, thewas fuming that the Ryan plan was based on an "entire premise of GOP lobbyist-driven negotiations over Obamacare are about as divorced from the reality of free markets as our thoughts are from the thoughts of God," concluding that House Republicans "continue to accept the entire premise of the RINO-care framework, and are merely negotiating the fine print. They are insufferable."









loves the bill. Their analysis may be all wrong from top to bottom, but for right-wingers who buy into it, there's no way to back Ryan's bill. They've deluded themselves into thinking Senor Trumpanzee will ride to the rescue. "Trump needs to give a landmark speech laying out a vision of free market health care. As a populist with the persona of 'Americas entrepreneur,' he is the perfect messenger to rail against the Big Government/Big Pharma cartel working to stifle innovation and competition in the hopes of preserving the troughs for more subsidies. Trump needs to ask the American people and Congress if they want a health care system that looks more like Walmart and Uber or one that looks like the Post Office, the DMV, and a mini bar in your hotel room. Trump must call all the CEOs of health insurance companies into his office and tell them loudly and clearly: we will not regulate you, but we will not subsidize you either. The era of government-run health care is over. Go out and compete for business. He should also promise them that once full repeal is signed, he will promote cross-state line insurance, equal taxation for the individual market, and repeal of even pre-Obamacare interventions and regulations. This will ensure a healthy and robust individual market that is worth competing in." WOW! Talk about delusional The completely out-of-his-depth Trumpanzee-in-chief already tweeted that hethe bill.





Heritage Action, which is never reluctant to crack a whip over the heads of Republicans headed in even a slightly a mainstreamish direction, was fuming by Tuesday morning. Their perspective is that the bill "not only accepts the flawed progressive premises of Obamacare but expands upon them... bad politics and, more importantly, bad policy... [Republicans] should fully repeal the failed law and deliver on promises that create a free market health care system."

Trumpanzee Daily News Breitbart website was By late Tuesday, even theBreitbart website was denouncing Ryan's replacement proposal in no uncertain terms. "The Obamacare 2.0 bill," wrote one of the staff neo-Nazis, "pushed by some Republicans strips out even Obamacares weak protections preventing illegal aliens from signing up for health care meant for citizens." She then made a paranoid wing-nut case about how Ryan has put together a bill that will flood America with Hispanics obtaining counterfeit drivers licenses or something like that.

Politico readers, starting with extremist kook and Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) saying that the Ryan plan is "Obamacare by a different form." His members "dismissed the bill as creating a new 'entitlement program' by offering health care tax credits to low-income Americans." The all-powerful House Republican Study Committee memo sent to chiefs of staff echoed those comments and blasted the bills continuation of the Medicaid expansion for three years. Justin Amash (R-MI), on the other hand tweeted within minutes of Ryan declassifying the plan that it's "Obamacare 2.0." Tuesday morning Rachael Bade laid out congressional wing-nut opposition forreaders, starting with extremist kook and Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) saying that the Ryan plan is "Obamacare by a different form." His members "dismissed the bill as creating a new 'entitlement program' by offering health care tax credits to low-income Americans." The all-powerful House Republican Study Committee memo sent to chiefs of staff echoed those comments and blasted the bills continuation of the Medicaid expansion for three years.

Freedom Caucus member Dave Brat (R-Va.) piled on, telling Politico hed vote against it in its current form because the bill maintains many of the federal features including a new entitlement program as well as most of the insurance regulations.



"Now [they] are saying we're going to do repeal and replace but the bill does nothing of the sort, he said. [Speaker] Paul Ryan has always said the entire rationale for this bill is to bend the cost curve down, and so far I have seen no evidence that this bill will bring the cost curve down.



...This is a Republican welfare entitlement, the RSC memo reads. Writing checks to individuals to purchase insurance is, in principle, Obamacare. It does allow more choices for individuals, and is more patient-centered, but is fundamentally grounded on the idea that the federal government should fund insurance purchases.



It is unclear if conservatives who still dont like the bill would be willing to vote against it, potentially blocking the repeal effort from passage. While Brat said hed vote against it, few others have taken a position yet. House Republican leaders expect some conservatives and moderates to oppose the measure on the floor. But they can only afford to lose 21 votes.



RSC chairman Mark Walker in a statement thanked leadership for their work on it and said I applaud the movement and believe it is the right direction.



We are carefully reviewing this legislation looking in three main areas of shared conservative concern: protection of the unborn, elimination of Obamacares Medicaid expansion and ensuring the tax credits are fiscally responsible, the North Carolina Republican said.



The RSC's steering committee will meet Tuesday to discuss next steps forward.



Freedom Caucus members, meanwhile, talked amongst themselves about the bill. While many believed the final version was more to their liking than older drafts, one source wasnt sure if conservatives could get on board with GOPs plan to offer advanceable, refundable tax credits. Such credits are a key pillar of the Ryan plan and one of the most controversial issues for conservatives. They worry the plan will create an entitlement and have been pushing for a tax deduction instead.

Wall Street Journal readers Tuesday, "Households at the top of the U.S. income ladder would see taxes on their wages and investments drop under the House Republicans new health-care proposal, a repeal of a 3.8% tax on investment income and a 0.9% tax of wages for only the highest earning Americans. The attraction-- and temptation-- for many nervous Republicans, of course, is that it reduces taxes on the very rich, the people who have financed their careers. As Richard Rubin explained forreaders Tuesday, "Households at the top of the U.S. income ladder would see taxes on their wages and investments drop under the House Republicans new health-care proposal, a repeal of a 3.8% tax on investment income and a 0.9% tax of wages for only the highest earning Americans.





The other day the American Hospital Association rejected Ryan's replacement bill (TrumpCare) and this morning the much more politically powerful American Medical Association did the same . From the AMA:

The American Health Care Act (AHCA), released by Congress this week, is intended to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But as introduced, it does not align with the health reform objectives that the AMA set forth in January to protect patients. While the ACA is imperfect, the current version of the AHCA is not legislation we can support.



The replacement bill, as written, would reverse the coverage gains achieved under the ACA, causing many Americans to lose the health care coverage they have come to depend upon.



...It is unclear the exact impact this bill will have on the number of insured Americans, and review by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is still pending. The ratings and analytics firm S&P Global Ratings has already estimated that as many as 10 million Americans could lose coverage if this bill becomes law, saying that between 2 million and 4 million people could lose the insurance they purchased in the individual health exchanges under the ACA, and between 4 million and 6 million could lose their coverage under Medicaid.



That just wont do.



We all know that our health system is highly complex, but our core commitment to the patients most in need should be straightforward. As the AMA has previously stated, members of Congress must to keep top of mind the potentially life-altering impact their policy decisions will have.



We physicians often see patients at their most vulnerable, from the first time they set eyes on a newborn child to the last time they squeeze a dying loved ones hand. We dont want to see any of our patients, now insured, exposed to the financial and medical uncertainties that would come with losing that coverage.
March 8, 2017

 SpaceX's announcement that it plans to launch two private passengers on a flight around the moon evoked comparisons to Apollo 8, NASA's December 1968 mission that sent the first astronauts into lunar orbit.



Targeted to fly in late 2018, SpaceX's moon-bound clients would carry the "hopes and dreams of all humankind," said the spaceflight company, "like the Apollo astronauts before them." SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft could lift off in time for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 8, serving as a fitting tribute to that mission's historic achievement.



Or maybe not.



"No, not really," said Jim Lovell, who flew on Apollo 8 with Frank Borman and Bill Anders. "If I understand the project correctly, this is going to be a fully-automated spacecraft. We have sent many unmanned, robotic spacecraft around the moon already."







SpaceX plans to launch a privately-crewed Dragon spacecraft on a mission to circle the moon by the end of 2018. (SpaceX)

On the first flight to the moon, Lovell and his Apollo 8 crew mates were kept busy operating and flying the spacecraft.



"On Apollo 8, of course, as the initial flight, there was a lot of stuff [to do]; we were navigating," described Lovell in an interview. "It appears to me that they won't have to bother navigating. It will be done just as we have sent unmanned spacecraft to the moon."



"Two people are going to sit in there [the Dragon], they're going to be launched, they're going to go out, they're going to circumnavigate, they will be on a free-return course and they will come back and land," Lovell told collectSPACE on Tuesday (March 7). "I hope they take a camera."



That is, unless things go wrong.



"If it is Apollo 13, and not Apollo 8, they'll have a problem," Lovell said. "It will be a big setback for SpaceX. That is the risk they are taking."



SpaceX intends the lunar mission to build off the success of its autonomous Dragon cargo flights to the International Space Station that began in 2012. Further, it does not plan to launch to the moon until it begins its contracted flights to send NASA astronauts to the space station, now targeted for mid-2018.



"We are confident this will be a good vehicle to fly on," said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in a Feb. 27 call with reporters.



Lovell, who after Apollo 8 commanded the near-disastrous Apollo 13, said SpaceX's mission will be worth the risk  for the passengers.



"It was for me," he said. "If there are people who like to live on the edge, and certainly the astronauts during the Apollo period had that type of personality, it will be well worth it. If they've money to give to SpaceX to go do that, well, yes [it will be worth the risk]."







Jim Lovell reads the Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper proclaiming "Astronauts Safe!" after he and his Apollo 13 crew mates returned to Earth, surviving an explosion on the way to the moon. (NASA)

The lunar mission, which SpaceX said will travel faster and further than any mission of its type before, will not be in the same category as Apollo 8, Lovell said.



"They're not accomplishing anything. They're not pioneers. It is not a Lewis and Clark expedition of some sort, it is just a ride that goes around the moon," said the veteran Apollo astronaut. "They will see something that has been looked at before by other people and in photographs."



But that is not to say that SpaceX's moon mission will only be about what can be seen out the window, Lovell noted.



"You have to remember, it's not just the view. It is also the experience. It's the fact that they will come back and at the next cocktail party, they will be the center of attention," he said. "It is the fact that they will have done something that only a few other people have ever done."



"So I am sure even if they were blindfolded, they would go. That is the attraction and that is where SpaceX may find a viable business," said Lovell.







"Earthrise," as first seen from Apollo 8 in December 1968. (NASA)

Lovell is glad that SpaceX and other companies like it are starting to turn their attention to the moon  in addition to other lunar-focused efforts underway at NASA.



"I think we have barely scratched the surface of the moon with the six Apollo landings," Lovell said. "I think that since the moon is there, 240,000 miles away [386,000 km], and we have the technology, let's concentrate on learning more about the moon and making travel to the moon, and back again, sort of a routine thing, so we're very confident in the architecture, infrastructure we have to do the job. And then expand on that."



That being said, Lovell won't be signing up  or accepting any invitations  for a return trip to the moon.



"Why should I? I've been there twice," he said.
Women in academia do not enjoy an easy ride. Even though manel count at this years ISA was much lower, there is still work to be done. Not to mention the recent scandal about the epidemic levels of sexual harassment at the UK universities. But lets rejoice at the thought that a mere hundred years ago things were much worse. My university campus in Bremen has a Lise-Meitner-Strasse and the International Womens Day is a good opportunity to share her story. In short, Hidden Figures needs to have a German prequel.

Lise Meitner was born in 1878 into an upper-class Jewish family in Vienna that encouraged her scientific curiosity. Given that women were not allowed into institutions of higher education (just over a 100 years ago, Carl!), her parents hired private tutors that fostered her passion for physics. In 1905, she became the second woman in Austria to receive a doctorate in physics. She went on to study in Berlin where Max Planck allowed her to attend his lectures  normally only men were admitted.

Despite her valuable contribution at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute in Berlin, she worked as an unpaid assistant with Otto Hahn. She received her first official position at the age of 35. In 1922, she discovered the cause of the emission from surfaces of electrons with signature energies, known as the Auger effect, named after Victor Auger who discovered it a year later. Lise Meitner was the first female full professor of physics, praised by Albert Einstein as German Marie Curie. Her research led to the discovery of nuclear fission, a breakthrough, for which her male colleague Otto Hahn was awarded a Nobel Prize. Not to mention that when the editors of Brockhaus Encyclopedia asked Herr Meitner to write an entry on radioactivity and discovered she was Frau Meitner, her entry was excluded from the publication.

In her later years, Lise Meitners research was more widely recognized and she even had an opportunity to run her own lab in Sweden. There is even an element named after her in the periodic table (Meitnerium, 109) and in 2010 the Otto-Hahn Building at the Free University Berlin was renamed into Hahn-Meitner-Building. If you think about it, the photo above represents most of Lise Meitners life: a male colleague in the foreground, taking credit for the work that she also accomplished.

Women could only be muses or assistants. Leo Tolstoys wife Sophia was editing his brobdingnagian manuscripts and taking care of their finances while the writer was going after female peasants in their estate. Camille Claudel was only known as Rodins wife despite her own artistic achievements. Gala ensured that Salvador Dali became a well-known and expensive brand. Even women who served in the Red Army in Russia during World War II were often forced to conceal their service and ranks, because, despite the seeming emancipation and several celebrated female fighters, on the grass root level it was widely believed that a woman could offer only one service in the army.

Thats why it angers me to no end when pundits all over the world want to go back to some mythical great times with traditional values and spiritual bonds. Go back to times when women were not allowed to study, vote, have a bank account or even wear underwear that covered their crotch?

No, thanks.
The holidays are creeping up on us
From time to time, the United States identifies certain individuals as crucial to the operation of terrorist organizations. These include persons who have committed, or are deemed to pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism.

When such an individual is identified, the U.S. government places that person's name on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. Their assets within U.S. reach are immediately frozen and the designated person is locked out of the U.S. financial network. Additionally, U.S. persons are not allowed to conduct business with a designated person. In this way, the United States works to disrupt financial support networks for terrorists and terrorist organizations.

In a push to disrupt the operations of the terrorist group al-Nusra Front, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Iyad Nazmi Salih Khalil and Bassam Ahmad al-Hasri under Executive Order 13224. This action took place the day after the United Nations added these individuals to the UN Security Council ISIL (Daesh) and al-Qaida Sanctions List, obligating its member states to freeze their assets, including locking these individuals out of the international financial system, prohibit their travel, and prevent them from acquiring weapons.

The al-Nusra Front, formed five years ago as a subsidiary of al-Qaida, is a jihadist group fighting in Syria, with the goal of setting up an Islamist regime in that country.

Since 2016, Iyad Nazmi Salih Khalil has been the al-Nusra Fronts third highest officer. As such, he has participated in senior leadership discussions regarding the al Nusra Fronts overall strategy. In his prior position as emir of Daraa, Syria, Khalil presided over the groups security and intelligence operatives.

Bassam Ahmad al-Hasri has long-standing ties with al-Qaida. In the past, he has served as a religious adviser of the al-Nusra Front, and since June 2016, has been the groups emir of Daraa.

From overseeing militant operations to developing al-Nusrah Fronts strategy, these senior Al-Nusrah Front leaders and al-Qaida terrorists are responsible for providing key support to the violent terrorist group, said John E. Smith, Acting OFAC Director. The Treasury Department, in line with actions just taken by the United Nations, is cutting off their access to the international financial system to further disrupt al-Nusra Fronts ability to plan and execute terrorist attacks.
Iraqi security forces continue to make progress in their fight to liberate the Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS terrorists. Iraqi forces have succeeded in taking back Mosul International Airport said the commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.

Speaking to Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Baghdad, Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said Iraqi forces have "begun breaching into the outskirts of the city, with the Iraqi counterterrorism service, federal police and army moving along three axes of advance that clear the enemy from neighborhoods inside the city, but also enveloping the city to the west."

This enemys been preparing for this battle for some time," said General Townsend, "and they've done an extensive amount of work to dig and build barriers to complicate the Iraqi advance. We've seen them use. . . tunnels, shipping containers and vehicles in the streets to slow the [Iraqi forces] down, and they've rigged many of these barriers with explosives.

The U.S.-led coalition continues to strike those barriers with precision fire to help the Iraqis advance, Townsend said.

ISIS has been dealt another significant blow in Syria, where Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces have liberated al-Bab, the last significant ISIS-controlled population center in the Aleppo district.Freeing al-Bab, said General Townsend, has closed the door to ISIS supply line of new fighters and its ability to export terrorists around the world. The liberation of al-Bab also means Turkey now has secured its border from ISIS, the general noted.

The coalition is committed to the security of Turkey and will continue to work in close coordination with partner forces and allies to deliver a lasting defeat to ISIS, which remains the greatest terrorist threat to the region and the world, said General Townsend.

The coalition continues planning for the eventual liberation of Raqqa, ISIS's self-proclaimed capital, Townsend told reporters.The liberation of Raqqa will bring an end to the enemy's mythology that they were ever more than a brutal, murderous terrorist group. And then, we will continue working with our partners to deal them a lasting defeat."
Mozilla today updated Firefox to version 52, which warns users when they put passwords into non-encrypted websites, bars all plug-ins other than Adobe's Flash Player and adds support for an under-consideration technology standard that claims to run web apps at nearly the same speed as native code.

Firefox 52 also patched 28 security vulnerabilities, a half dozen of them tagged with the "Critical" label. On another security front, the browser now pops up a warning message when users start to type in a password into a page not secured -- and encrypted -- with HTTPS.

The just-instituted plug-in prohibition applied to NPAPI plug-ins, (Netscape Plug-in Application Programming Interface) a format from the 1990s and Netscape, the browser Microsoft buried in its antitrust-triggering battle over the browser market. NPAPI has now been banned from most browsers; Apple's Safari is the largest exception.

But Mozilla trumpeted Firefox 52's support for WebAssembly the loudest.

In a pair of posts -- one to a company blog, another to Medium.com, Mozilla executives touted Firefox as the first to support WebAssembly; that wasn't much of a surprise, since the potential standard stemmed from a Mozilla research project.

"WebAssembly is one of the biggest advances to the Web Platform over the past decade," contended David Bryant, who leads the company's platform engineering team.

According to Bryant, WebAssembly will let developers create CPU-intensive apps -- such as games, 3D renderers, video editors -- that run in near-native speed without relying on plug-ins. Bryant envisioned WebAssembly (which also goes by "wasm") as leading to both revamped current web apps and new categories that have been stymied by performance issues.

Bryant also called WebAssembly a "game changer."

Apple (WebKit, the foundation of Safari), Google (Chrome) and Microsoft (Edge) have also signed on to WebAssembly. Google has said it will enable WebAssembly support in Chrome 57, currently slated to ship March 14.

Firefox 52 can be downloaded for Windows, macOS and Linux from Mozilla's website. Current Firefox users may trigger an update by selecting 'About Firefox" from the Firefox menu.
Hyperloop One is well on its way to developing the world's first fully operational Hyperloop transportation system. The company revealed its progress on Tuesday at the Middle East Rail conference in Dubai, sharing pictures and footage of its Nevada development site dubbed "DevLoop."

Taking Elon Musk's Hyperloop concept of a levitating pod in a low-pressure tube, Hyperloop One has developed what is so far the only full-scale, full-system Hyperloop test site. Back in May 2016, the company successfully tested its propulsion system and says it plans to test the entire apparatus this year. If successful, the first commercial application for the transportation system would be linking Dubai to Abu Duabi, a one-and-a-half-hour trip that would be reduced to just 12 minutes.

Hyperloop One Hyperloop One's DevLoop test structure spans 500 meters along the Nevada desert.

On it's website, Hyperloop One says that it hopes to be transporting cargo by 2020 and passengers by 2021.
Major media has some egg on their face over this one.

Drawn to the attention-grabbing idea of your Samsung TV being compromised by the CIA, and knowing a lot of people have a Samsung TV, the headlines went something like this.

WikiLeaks says CIA hacked Samsung smart TVs

Why your smart TV is the perfect way to spy on you

None of these reports bothered to explain any of the details.

As noted in Wired and in this Forbes report, the CIA cannot spy on you over wireless. To update a Samsung TV, theyd need to use a USB key to install a firmware update. Also, the televisions are older models from 2013. To record any conversations or video, the CIA would then have to copy files back onto the USB drive.

To do all of that, the CIA would have to break into your home -- twice. To me, that seems like a much bigger problems than tapping into your television, especially since theyd need a warrant and, if they did sneak in, they could install any number of listening and recording devices. Why even bother adding a USB drive or tricking the television to use face off mode? (This turns off the LED lights to make you think the television is completely off.)

This is a mixture of trying to grab attention and relaying inaccurate information. It creates a sense of hysteria -- that government agencies can see what youre doing in your living room in real time. Im picturing people who own a Samsung television disconnecting from their Wi-Fi router or putting a piece of tape over the webcam. It creates a doom and gloom mentality, when in fact the likelihood of you being a target of a CIA investigation is extremely low.

The response to the issue was interesting. Samsung said in a statement:

"Protecting consumers' privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung. We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter."

Whats the coded message there? To me, it suggests they know this is overblown. They are being careful not to comment right now, because they suspect the issue is probably related to a USB key loading firmware -- which, by the way, is something that has existed for a long time. Theres a lot you can do to televisions, laptops, and other devices by loading software from a USB key. Im expecting Samsung to explain how USB firmware updates work at some point.

Heres my problem. We are living in an age of fake news. Its all about the headline. When President Trump says the Obama Administration was wiretapping him and provided no proof at all, it creates a sense of hysteria (what if he was? What if all of our devices -- our iPhones and Android phones and tablets, our cars, our smart homes -- can record us?). It takes away from the actual reality of government hacking, the real issues out there like capturing unencrypted email and watching our browser history. It deludes the real problems.

For anyone who really cares about security issues in the U.S., its much better to weed out the fluff. No, the Samsung in your living room is likely not being used by the CIA to find out that you are watching the show Jessica Jones on Netflix. No, they dont care about your vacation plans. Could government officials have access to your Facebook account and watch your conversations there, or could they be spying on your email? Thats been all but proven.

Lets worry about the stuff that matters. No tape on your Samsung webcam needed.
Microsoft has warmed up to Qualcomm to make a Windows 10 PC based on its ARM chip, and now the companies are bringing Windows Server OS to ARM.

For the first time ever, Microsoft is expected to show the Windows Server OS running on an ARM server. The server runs on Qualcomm's Centriq 2400, an ARM-based chip designed for cloud servers.

The server is being shown at the Open Project Compute Summit being held in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday and Thursday.The ARM-based Windows Server hardware is for Microsoft's internal use. No information was shared on when Windows Server would be available for ARM servers.

The ARM-based Windows Server hardware is for Microsoft's internal use. The company didn't share information about when Windows Server would be available for ARM servers.

[ Further reading: Apple ARMs for battle ]

Putting Windows Server on ARM is a big deal. Back in 2011, Microsoft said it had no interest in putting the Windows Server OS on ARM servers. Since then, rumors have surfaced that Windows Server 2016 was being ported to ARM, but this is the first time the OS is being shown working on the hardware.

Like with PCs, current editions of Windows Server run only on systems with x86 chips from Intel and AMD. But Microsoft has been warming up to ARM on laptops and now servers. The company's Windows 10 IoT Core and Windows 10 Mobile already work on ARM chips.

Microsoft and Qualcomm worked for many years to bring Windows Server to Centriq 2400. The collaboration will continue for future generations of server hardware and software, the companies said.

The goal with Windows Server on ARM is to run next-generation Microsoft cloud services on servers with Qualcomm's Centriq 2400 chips, the companies said in a statement.

Intel, which dominates the server chip market with more than a 90 percent share, will surely take notice of this announcement. Microsoft's support for Qualcomm is a strong statement that the software company is ready to consider an alternative architecture for Windows Server.

Qualcomm has developed special Windows Server hardware based on its Centriq 2400 processor. The Centriq Open Compute Motherboard server has 48 CPU cores and fits into a 1U server chassis. It has multiple I/O and networking interfaces and supports the latest storage protocols.

The server is based on a new version of Project Olympus, which is an open-source cloud hardware server design developed by Microsoft in collaboration with OCP.

ARM servers haven't caught on despite being hyped and tested for more than five years. ARM's server chips are mainly derived from smartphone chip design, and the low-power features could reduce electricity bills for data centers. ARM servers already run on Linux OS, but the application ecosystem is limited.

Qualcomm's Centriq has an advanced design and high level of integration of I/O and networking protocols, and is bringing back interest in ARM servers. The chipmaker is working with many partners to boost adoption of the technology.
By releasing information about CIA hacking tools, WikiLeaks has given a new meaning to March Madness.

The CIAs project Fine Dining is intriguing, since it outlines DLL hijacks for Sandisk Secure, Skype, Notepad++, Sophos, Kaspersky, McAfee, Chrome, Opera, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, and some games such as 2048, which the CIA writer got a good lol out of. Yet I was curious about what the CIA does to targeted machines running Windows since so many people use the OS.

Nearly everything dealing with the CIA hacking arsenal and Windows is labeled as secret. Nicholas Weaver, a computer scientist at the University of California at Berkeley, told NPR that the Vault 7 release is not all that big of a deal, not too surprising the agency hacks. Yet if Year Zero was obtained by a non-government hacker compromising the CIAs system, then that would be a big deal.

Weaver said, Spies gonna spy, thats dog bites man. Spy dumps data on WikiLeaks, proving that they exfiltrated it from a top secret system? Thats man bites dog.

However it was obtained and handed to WikiLeaks for the world to peruse, here are some of the things revealed that the CIA allegedly uses to target Windows.

Persistence modules are listed under Windows>Windows Code Snippets and are labeled as secret. This would be used after a target has been infected. In the words of WikiLeaks, persistence is how the CIA would keep its malware infestations going.

The CIAs persistence models for Windows include: TrickPlay, Constant Flow, HighClass, Ledger, QuickWork and SystemUptime.

Of course before malware can persist, it must be deployed. There are four sub-pages listed under payload deployment modules: in-memory executables, in-memory DLL execution, on-disk DLL loading and on-disk executables.

There are eight processes listed as secret under payload deployment for on-disk executables: Gharial, Shasta, Speckled, Chorus, Tiger, Greenhorn, Leopard and Spadefoot. The six payload deployment modules for in-memory DLL execution include: Inception, two takes on Hypodermic and three on Intradermal. Caiman is the only payload deployment module listed under on-disk DLL loading.

What might a spook do once inside a Windows box to get the data out? Marked as secret under Windows data transfer modules, the CIA purportedly uses:

Brutal Kangaroo, a module which allows for transfer or storage of data by placing it in NTFS Alternate Data Streams.

Pictogram, a module that transfers or stores data by appending the data to an already existing file such as a jpg or png.

The Glyph module transfers or stores data by writing it to a file.

Under function hooking in Windows, which would allow a module to be tapped into to do something specific that the CIA wanted done, the list included: DTRS which hooks functions using Microsoft Detours, EAT_NTRN which modifies entries in EAT, RPRF_NTRN which replaces all references to the target function with the hook, and IAT_NTRN which allows for easy hooking of Windows API. All the modules use alternate data streams which are only available on NTFS volumes and the sharing levels include the entire Intelligence community.

WikiLeaks said it avoided distributing armed cyberweapons until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the CIA's program and how such weapons should analyzed, disarmed and published. Privilege escalation and execution vectors on Windows are among those which were censored.

There are six sub-pages dealing with CIA secret privilege escalation modules, but WikiLeaks chose not to make the details available; presumably this is so every cyberthug in the world won't take advantage of them.

CIA secret execution vectors code snippets for Windows include EZCheese, RiverJack, Boomslang and Lachesis  all of which are listed but not released by WikiLeaks.

There is a module to lock and unlock system volume information under Windows access control. Of the two Windows string manipulation snippets, only one is labeled as secret. Only one snippet of code for Windows process functions is marked as secret and the same is true for Windows list snippets.

Under Windows file/folder manipulation, there is one to create directory with attributes and create parent directories, one for path manipulation and one to capture and reset file state.

Two secret modules are listed under Windows user information. One secret module each is listed for Windows file information, registry information and drive information. Naive sequence search is listed under memory searching. There is one module under Windows shortcut files and file typing also has one.

Machine information has eight sub-pages; there are three secret modules listed under Windows Updates, one secret module under User Account Control  which elsewhere  GreyHatHacker.net got a mention under Windows exploitation articles for bypassing User Account Control.

These examples are mere drops in a bucket when it comes to Windows-related CIA files dumped by WikiLeaks so far.
Cllr Sally-Ann Hart is the Cabinet Member for Tourism and Culture on Rother District Council.

The rumblings of discontent in recent weeks over the revaluations of Business Rates are continuing. The main fears are that internet giants such as Boohoo, Amazon, Asos and other online retailers will see a cut in Business Rates; high street stores are being unfairly penalised by the revaluations; the Business Rates bill for ofces in Londons Square Mile will rise by 1.4bn over the next ve years (a 33 per cent increase which will undermine the nancial sector as it deals with Brexit); and that the rate changes will have a negative impact on the NHS.

Essentially, the point of Business Rates is that occupiers of non-domestic properties contribute to the cost of local services, similar to the Council Tax paid by domestic properties. Business Rates are based on the rateable value of business premises (assessing the annual rent that the property would rent for, were it available to let on the open market on a xed valuation date). Council Tax is also based on property values, but with a personal element. Properties are placed in one of eight Valuation Bands which determines the level of tax payable. Council Tax is not based on rateable value nor is it related to a propertys current market value.

With cuts to local government funding, income from Business Rates will continue to be vital to local authorities, not only for the provision of services, but also for investment in a local authoritys economic and social strategic plans.

Business rates can, in certain circumstances, have a negative effect on regeneration and improving public realm. Rother District Council (RDC) has recently engaged in a lengthy Member-led analysis of the districts public realm, culminating in the development of a far reaching and ambitious strategy. Research has rmly established the importance of a high quality public realm to economic growth, regeneration, trafc management, and health and social well being. Tourism, retail trade, commerce, community life and day to day living depend on a quality urban and rural public realm.

Last year for example, I was contacted by owners of a local shop in Rye regarding a 103 per cent increase in their Business Rates. The business seemed to be doing reasonably well until the owners decided to improve the shop by putting in air conditioning and making other improvements. The owners did not realise that in making such improvements to the shop that it would attract a higher rateable value.

The issue is twofold: rstly, the revised rateable value means that the business no longer qualies for the rate relief for small businesses. The owner is worried that he has no choice but to close. This would not only be devastating for the owners, but also for local economic development. Secondly, if shops and businesses make necessary improvements to their properties (which contribute to a quality public realm), but as a result of this they are penalised by attracting a higher rateable value for business rates, there is clearly no incentive to make such improvements.

While we are striving to improve and maintain our public realm, the current system of Business Rates pulls us back. As the British Retail Consortium has said We need a business rate tax that exes with overall economic performance, is shared equitably across different industries and comes with positive incentives for business.

Business Rates seem to be quite popular with economists, but not the majority of our MPs. The British Retail Consortium research published in 2014 showed that 80 per cent of MPs believe that Business Rates are not t for purpose. To quote Michael Gove I think we have had enough of experts.

Our MPs should be given a chance to pragmatically rethink and reconsider Business Rates. Alternatives to Business Rates have been suggested. One option mooted is to replace them with a local sales tax, additional to VAT. Currently, any tax that is like VAT risks breaching EU law as Europe does not allow such differential tax rates within EU states.

With Brexit on the horizon, we now have an opportunity to react to changing circumstances affecting policy and consider all alternatives to Business Rates as we will not be hampered by EU legislation; we will have the freedom to nd the best solutions for British businesses going forward.
Democratic Unionist leader doubles down on unionist unity

In my summary of the latest Northern Irish elections at the weekend, I wrote that the Democratic Unionists needed to let their really bad result spur them to a serious rethink.

However I also acknowledged that the close-run thing with Sinn Fein, combined with the continued waning of the Ulster Unionists, might lead them further down their current cul-de-sac. Now a split seems to be developing about which to choose.

Arlene Foster, the former First Minister and current DUP leader whose intransigence over the cash-for-ash scandal precipitated this disaster of a poll, has said that she wants one party for unionism.

This party would obviously be the DUP, which has a history of trying to squeeze out alternatives (such as making the First Ministers office go to the largest party, and not a nominee from the largest bloc as before).

On the opposite track is Ian Paisley Jr, who argues that humble pie must be served up and eaten and says that Foster has serious questions to answer. The North Antrim MP previously raised eyebrows with a generous tribute to Martin McGuinness in January, when the long-time Deputy First Minister stepped down from the Assembly.

Despite Foster and Nigel Dodds, the leader of the Partys eight-strong Westminster group, appearing together recently to insist nothing was wrong, she apparently faces a serious revolt from her own MLAs, whod rather she stepped down than risk the collapse of devolved government. Her decision is probably what will decide the matter.

Meanwhile the UUP are already in the process of finding a new leader after Mike Nesbitts election-night resignation. His bold decision to endorse transfers to moderate nationalists have been endorsed by Lord Trimble, a former UUP First Minister and now a Conservative peer.

Davidson strikes bullish tone at Scottish Conservative conference

The Tories took the offensive in Scotland this week, with Ruth Davidson banking her status as leader of the Opposition and pitching the Tories as an alternative government.

According to the Herald the Conservatives are sticking to their line that the SNP are losing their grip on important domestic policies whilst they fixate on independence.

Davidson has also warned the Nicola Sturgeon that the Nationalists risk a massive backlash if they try to drag Scotland into a referendum rematch a large majority of voters dont want.

Elsewhere the Daily Telegraph reports that businesses are preparing to contribute six-figure sums to the next anti-independence campaign. The Constitutional Research Council, which previously donated to the DUP during the Brexit referendum, reports that it already has a number of donors lined up to support a new and positive campaign.

As I wrote last week, the next pro-UK campaign is going to have to be rather different to Better Together and be essentially built from scratch. Having a pool of ready donors with a similar vision, and who are ready to contribute to the development of the campaign as well as the crucial final stages, would be a very welcome development.

On the subject of Brexit, Tory MSPs continue to sound a dissenting voice in Holyrood: this week Adam Tomkins argued that the SNPs plans for special treatment would destroy the Union, and the Conservative members of the Scottish Parliaments Brexit committee demurred from a report calling for a bespoke solution.

Plaid suspend Assembly Member amidst bullying row

The Welsh Nationalists have suspended a member of their Assembly group after he was accused of bullying behaviour.

Neil McEvoy was also removed from his post as Plaids spokesman for sport and tourism after a tribunal issued him a one-month suspension from being a Cardiff councillor. Another Nationalist candidate claims to have pulled out of the upcoming local elections rather than risk sitting with him.

Wales Online reports that Labour pressured Plaid into action after McEvoy was accused of bullying a member of Cardiff council staff. How this will affect their cooperation in the Assembly remains to be seen.

Scottish Nationalists abandon oil

Finally, this marks the week when the SNP appear to have officially abandoned decades of established orthodoxy: that oil money would make Scottish independence easy and profitable.

Andrew Wilson, who leads the Partys growth commission, has said that hell assume oil revenues are zero in all his future modelling on the economics of a post-UK Scotland. Any revenue will be a genuine bonus, and not the foundation.

This is part of the Nationalists bid to find a new economic case for independence after the projections in their wildly optimistic 2014 White Paper (what Alex Massie dubs Alex Salmonds rosy-tartaned vision) were undershot by about 99 per cent.
There are few things which a middle-aged Englishman (we speak from personal experience) will not attempt in order to seem a more gifted and amusing figure than is actually the case.

Philip Hammond enjoyed, before this Budget, an impregnable reputation as an arid technocrat. Spreadsheet Phil, as he was known, was the man competent to understand the figures, and thus spare us the pain of having to do so for ourselves.

In a speech lasting just under an hour, he has blown this reputation to smithereens. Here was a Chancellor who for most of the time, seemed to be auditioning for a role in a Christmas pantomime instead of auditing the national accounts.

Oh yes we will! he declared at one point, bouncing off the protests he evoked from the Opposition. This was just after he had gestured in a mock-theatrical fashion at the Scots Nats, pretending he expected them to applaud his announcement of an increase in Scottish spending.

We have noted before Mr Hammonds tendency to enjoy himself more than is quite seemly in a Chancellor. How he loves having this job.

He started with a reference to Norman Lamont, who 24 years ago also presented what was billed then as the last Spring Budget', which was described by the then Prime Minister, John Major, as the right Budget, at the right time, from the right Chancellor.

Cue Mr Hammonds first joke: Ten weeks later he was sacked, so wish me luck today.

What a sign of confidence, one might say, to make a joke about losing ones own job. He followed this up with a joke about Ed Balls, who lost his seat at the general election, so can no longer sit on the Opposition front bench making rude hand gestures.

George Osborne, who was the usual target of that impertinence, is still in the Commons, but was today sitting three rows behind the Chancellor. He gave an occasional pinched smile, for todays rudeness came from his successor, whose acknowledgement of the stalwart work done in the period 2010-16 was somewhat cursory.

There came some jokes at the Oppositions expense:

By the way, they dont call it the last Labour Government for nothing.

Driverless vehicles, a technology, Mr Speaker, I believe the party opposite knows something about.

And also a cruel reference to Jeremy Corbyn, now so far down a black hole that even Stephen Hawking has disowned him.

Outside the Chamber, an argument broke out about whether Mr Hammond had disowned the 2015 Conservative manifesto by raising National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed.

That is quite a serious reform. Indeed, for many of the self-employed, it is no joke. The Chancellor sought to cover himself by remarking that he too had been self-employed once.

If the general election is really not to be held until 2020, this is the right time, politically, to inflict such pain. But should Mr Hammond have enjoyed himself quite so much as he did so?

Meanwhile the Guild of Sketchwriters, which on the subject of making jokes seeks to defend a number of restrictive practices last seen at British Leyland in the 1970s, convened an emergency meeting, at which Mr Hammond was accused, in the manner of a Japanese car manufacturer, of producing an unlimited supply of cheap and reliable jokes.

Mr Lamont was thought, wrongly, to have sung in his bath on Black Wednesday, 16 September 1992. What he actually said, when asked a fortnight later at a press conference in Washington why he was so cheerful, was: Well, it is a very beautiful morning, but it is funny you should say that. My wife said she heard me singing in the bath this morning.

Mr Hammond today did something similar in the Commons. Perhaps he was conveying his delight that the economy is so far performing so much better than Mr Osborne predicted during the EU Referendum campaign.

But if the skies should darken in the years to come, the present Chancellors jokes may come to seem less funny. And in the press gallery, another term much used in the 1970s  U-turn  could be heard within minutes of him sitting down.
Earlier today on this site, Andrew Gimson interviewed David Burrowes. The MP for Enfield North is a significant figure, not so much for what he does, but what he stands for. He is a constructive rebel. Nearly all the time he supports the Government, but some of it he does not. Sometimes he wins (Sunday trading) and sometimes he loses (refugee children). Very often, he ponders an issue that interests him closely  such as Ministers intention of reversing the recent court judgement over disability benefits  and decides to tow the line. His voice helped to sway the Government over sex and relationship education. Unlike Sajid Javid, his comrade-in-arms as a Conservative student at Exeter, he is not a Cabinet Minister  indeed, he is not a Minister at all. But he has more influence on events at Westminster than many of those who labour long and hard on Theresa Mays front bench.

The point about Burrowes is that although his worldview is distinctive, his attitude is not. There are plenty of others like him on the Tory backbenches, in the sense that they will not simply do as theyre told. David Cameron had to back down on his plans for tax credits, personal independence payments, academisation, pensions reform plus, as mentioned, Sunday trading  and more. Theresa May has learnt from his experience and is minimising legislation. Proposals are floated through papers rather than slapped into Bills. Javids plans for housing are in a White Paper. The industrial strategy itself, a core May policy, is in a green one. She is bending the knee to the rule of Commons arithmetic. Jeremy Corbyn may be leading the weakest opposition Britain has seen since the war, but nature abhors a vacuum. Burrowes and company already fill part of the gap. As this Parliament grinds on, they will fill more.

May has a working majority of 17. Sure, she can usually count on the Democratic Unionists (when they are not grappling with their own problems) and on opposition MPs not all being in Westminster at the same time. But her small majority is a fact of life that those of us who scribble for a living sometimes overlook  even if our views are centre-right. If we are hostile to the role of the state, we want real cuts in public spending, slashing reductions in tax, a bonfire of red tape, and so on. If we are more sympathetic to it, we might want spending increases for social justice  longer tapers for universal credit, higher borrowing for infrastructure, more public sector housebuilding, and so forth. These two sets of views are far apart, but in one way they come together: both can make riveting copy for newspapers and the blogs. No-one ever sold an article to an editor by arguing that a Chancellor should be timid.

Which brings us to Philip Hammond and his Budget. The brutal truth is that he has arrived at the Treasury at the most uncertain moment for the British economy in living memory  and that four factors combine to leave him with little room for manoeuvre. The first is what we might call the Burrowes Test. A significant chunk of the Budget was crafted to head potential rebels off. It remains to be seen whether 2 billion for social care, spread across three years, and 300 million for councils hit hardest by the rates revaluation, does the trick. A section of Tory backbench opinion is opposed to the grammar schools policy. And then there are Hammonds NIC plans. Whatever you may think of the arguments either way  and the effects of the growth in self-employment on the tax base certainly suggests some revision  they present a big political problem.

This isnt so much that NIC rises were ruled out by the last Conservative Manifesto  though a common sense reading of it suggests that this was indeed the case  but that Ministers are arguing that they werent. Tory Ministers and MPs are already having their NIC words from 2015 thrown back in their faces. The Liberal Democrats moved quickly to label the Chancellors plan an OmNICshambles Budget. Hammonds calculation may be that, since many of the less well-off self-employed will gain from the change, the better-off will have nowhere to go. It proved otherwise at the Richmond Park by-election.

Why cant the Chancellor cut a programme rather than raising a tax? Many Conservatives will ask the question this evening. It runs slap into the second factor  the stubborness of the structural deficit, the lack of appetite of Tory MPs for spending reductions, and the interplay between spending and Brexit. We accept that the uncertainties of the latter make this the wrong time to reduce further the growth of the former. But the sum of those recent rebellions suggest that the Conservative Parliamentary Party has gone soft on deficit reduction. The third factor is the need, given Brexit, to keep business onside. It is essential to the future of post-Brexit Britain as an enterprising country that business horses are not frightened. That has already meant the watering-down of Mays ideas about putting workers on boards and a rowing-back from her conference rhetoric of last October.

The fouth factor is Brexit itself. More Remain supporters have come to terms with it in the aftermath of the referendum. But there is a danger that the robustness of the economy since last June, and the easy passage of the Article 50 Bill through the Commons to date, has dulled the alertness of Leave supporters to what lies ahead. This is not so much turbulent negotiations, though these are certainly likely. Rather, it is the sheer scale of Brexit itself. It is like a great painting seen so close that one cannot grasp its size. It will require a supreme national effort by government  applied to everything from the talks themselves to the restructuring of Whitehall to decisions about how much of the EU corpus to junk to how Parliament will cope with the sheer mass of legislative requirements. Downing Street doesnt want Brexit to define this Government, but tough: thats the way its going to be.

Furthermore, it is far from clear that the senior ranks of the Tory party are ready for the job. If a top-rank politician is a combination of real vision, low cunning, experience in office, command of the Commons, skill with the media, persuasiveness with colleagues and (perhaps above all) luck, then the Cabinet is running a bit short of them: we would count in Hammond himself, the Prime Minister, David Davis, Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, Damian Green, Michael Fallon and Jeremy Hunt. The task of rising to Brexit leaves this small band neither the governing nor the political space for radical tax reform nor, we are sorry to say, a social justice crusade, close though that is to the heart of this site. That would have to be led from the top and, though Theresa May sees the need for social reform, her focus is bound to be fixed elsewhere as soon as the Article 50 Bill is passed.

To say so is not  or shouldnt be  to fall back on masterly inactivity. There is much that government can do which doesnt need legislation at all. For example, the jury is out on whether the enforcement mechanisms in its plans for more homes will work. And Number Tens policy wonks should already be thinking about the manifesto for 2020  whether in terms of further intergenerational justice by, say, scrapping the pensions triple lock, or filling the gulf where families policy should be. And it is fair to say that if the content of the Budget was necessarily humdrum, the framework in which it is set can be visionary  but was not. It is striking that the Chancellor shied away from telling a story of how each of his plans relate to the post-Brexit Britain which the Government wants to see. Perhaps he is downcast by being hemmed in. So it will be until 2010  unless an early general election upsets the apple cart.
Oscilloquartz, a supplier of timing solutions and an ADVA Optical Networking company, announced that Orange Egypt, a company of France-based global telco Orange, has deployed its OSA 5421 technology as part of a complete synchronisation solution.



The advanced precision time protocol (PTP) grandmaster clocks from Oscilloquartz are designed to distribute and assure accurate timing throughout the national network in Egypt. The end-to-end synchronisation solution will also support the phase and frequency requirements required for Orange Egypt's large-scale deployment of LTE and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) capabilities.



It was noted that in October 2016, Orange Egypt became the first mobile operator in Egypt to be awarded a license to operate 4G services, which the company is now rolling out supported by an investment of around $484 million. The new network and services are supported by the synchronisation network based on the Oscilloquartz OSA 5421 solution.



Oscilloquartz's advanced PTP grandmaster clock is a compact synchronisation distribution and assurance device that incorporates the vendor's Syncjack technology that enables continual monitoring. The solution is designed to deliver both the accurate phase and frequency information required for Orange Egypt's 4G services and provide assisted partial timing support via a quartz oscillator that allows extended holdover in the case of GNSS outages. In addition, the solution is optimised for deployment at the network edge.



In November 2016, Oscilloquartz announced it had been selected to synchronise a national core transport network being deployed for India's armed forces. The 60,000 km infrastructure, being built by a consortium led by Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL), featured Oscilloquartz technology to provide precise frequency and phase delivery leveraging its caesium beam clock and synchronisation supply unit, plus its synchronisation management system, SyncView Plus.



http://www.oscilloquartz.com/
Vodafone Egypt, which serves nearly 40 million customers in Egypt, has launched what is believed to be the first commercial virtual network function in the Middle East region.



Ericsson stated that since October 2016, its virtual Serving GPRS Support Node - Mobility Management Entity (SGSN-MME) has been serving and managing commercial mobile broadband traffic on the Vodafone Egypt network. Ericsson's virtual SGSN-MME supports multi-access technologies including GSM, WCDMA and LTE, and interworks with WiFi.



The Ericsson solution is designed to provide feature parity and is agnostic to the underlying cloud system, offering support for both OpenStack and VMware. Based on the Ericsson pooling concept, the Vodafone Egypt network operates using a combination of virtual and native SGSN/MME within the same pool and helps to support efficient capacity expansion via enhanced scalability and capacity, enabling operators to optimise their operations and address growth in mobile broadband traffic.



Recently, Ericsson and Cisco announced they had been selected to transform and virtualise Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA)'s networks, including evolving its core network to provide greater flexibility and programmability using network slicing.



In 2016, Ericsson in partnership with Cisco announced they had been chosen by Vodafone Portugal to implement a mobile backhaul evolution project. As part of the project, Ericsson was to deploy and integrate Cisco's Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 9000 product families to upgrade Vodafone Portugal's IP backhaul network.



Regarding the project, Osama Said, Vodafone Egypt Technology Director, commented, "Vodafone Egypt is working with Ericsson to take steps towards network function virtualisation (which) will enhance the speed and efficiency of services provide to customers and customer satisfaction".



http://www.ericsson.com
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Republican President Donald Trump has been very vocal in touting the Affordable Care Act, also known as the Obamacare. Now that a new US health care is made available by the House republican US, conservatives and hospitals are already bashing and threatening to sink the new Republican health care bill.

Yesterday, President Donald Trump has been very busy on Twitter announcing how wonderful the new Healthcare Bill will be. Although it is still under review and negotiation, Trump easily concluded that Obamacare was a complete and total disaster" and is "imploding fast", Boston Globe reports. Donald Trump further elaborated on the idea that health insurers selling policies across state lines will still be competitive enough and will promote competition with the current health care programs to be implemented in the US. This and more will be included in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the new US health care rollout.

In other news, the American Hospital Association has already expressed their insights for the new US health care program under President Donald Trump's administration. The organization's president, Richard Pollack, appealed to the Congress to protect their patients and find ways to maintain US health care provisions for as many Americans as possible, Vox reports. Although they look forward to the new revisions that will be implemented to the current Obamacare program, they are firm that the current American Health Care Act is something they will have a hard time complying with.

However, House GOP leaders are already facing resistance against the newly unveiled bill that will supplant the Affordable Care Act. Queries on whether the new US health care bill is providing better deals for higher earning Americans over those who do not. Prominent GOP congressmen are also suggesting that if Americans will start needing more money to be able to afford the new US health care program, they might as well drop their iPhones and spend most of their earnings on health insurance.

The American Hospital Association is widely credited in their key role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act. The group threatens to withhold their support to the Republicans and will implement well-organized and well-funded oppositions against the latest US health care program to potentially eliminate the heath care bill or to alter its previous provisions.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
Return with us now to those thrilling days under the Articles of Confederation when every state made up its own rules regarding immigration and naturalization of foreigners, back before the Constitution gave Congress the sole authority to establish such rules.

In arguing for enactment of the Constitution in Federalist Paper No. 42, James Madison wrote, The new Constitution has accordingly, with great propriety, made provision against them, and all others proceeding from the defect of the Confederation on this head, by authorizing the general government to establish a uniform rule of naturalization throughout the United States.

Now along comes Democratic state Sen. Yvanna Cancela of Las Vegas, along with a host of fellow scofflaw Democrats, with a bill in Carson City that would turn Nevada into a sanctuary state by forbidding law enforcement cooperating with federal immigration authorities in identifying persons in their custody who are in this country illegally.

Senate Bill 223 states: No state or local law enforcement agency, school police unit or campus police department shall: (a) Use money, facilities, property, equipment or personnel of the agency, unit or department to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect or arrest a person for the purposes of immigration enforcement 

Cancela was quoted by the Reno newspaper as saying the bill limits the ability to participate in immigration enforcement as far as whats under federal purview.

She went on to say, The uncertainty that (President) Trump has created because of his executive orders, because of his political  frankly  hate speech around them has created a lot of problems not only for local law enforcement, but individuals. I think its our responsibility as legislators to provide as much clarity not only to law enforcement but families who are affected by those policies.

Currently, under a program called 287(g), cooperating police departments that take a suspected illegal immigrant into custody notify U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents and they have 48 hours to pick up that person. In the past, ICE has been notoriously lax in showing up within those 48 hours, but, according to numerous press accounts, this is no longer the case under the new Trump presidential administration.

Under SB223 this would come to a screeching halt, despite the fact all lawmakers are required to take an oath of office swearing to support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States  that I will bear true faith, allegiance and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolution or law of any state notwithstanding 

In reaction to the bill, Senate Republican Minority Leader Michael Roberson released a statement to the press, saying, This Sanctuary State bill is, without question, the most recklessly irresponsible piece of legislation that I have witnessed during my six plus years in the Nevada Legislature. This Democrat bill will undoubtedly result in violent criminals, who have no business being in our state, to be released back into our communities to wreak more havoc on Nevadans.

One of the arguments made by sanctuary proponents is that illegal immigrants are loath to report crimes for fear they will risk deportation and this increases criminal activity. But state and local law enforcement currently does not ask those who report crimes about their immigration status, only those who are in custody, those most likely to continue criminal activity if ICE is not given the opportunity to deport them because they pose a danger to the entire community  illegal immigrants included.

To add potential impact on state taxpayers to real danger of criminal activity, it should be noted that President Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities, and presumably sanctuary states.

He signed an executive order directing government officials to identify federal money that can be withheld to punish sanctuary cities.

So what could this mean for the sanctuary state of Nevada should SB223 pass in a Democrat majority Legislature?

The states total budget for the past two years was $26 billion. Fully $9 billion of that came from federal funds, according to the state budget.

Passing SB223 could have serious consequences to the bottom line of the state of Nevada, but that has never stopped the self-righteous Democrats, has it?
The better film they teased us with:

In the first couple minutes of Origins, we're treated to a montage of Wolverine and Sabretooth fighting alongside one another through a series of battles plucked straight out of your 10th grade history class. They survive an infantry charge during the American Civil War, a nighttime raid on German trenches during WWI, Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion, and even their own execution during the Vietnam War.

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No, this doesn't line up with the other X-Men films, but then again, nothing does.

Screw a two-hour movie -- that's an amazing TV series. Wolverine and Sabretooth, surly, stubbled, almost literally grizzly immortal soldiers bantering their way through every war in history -- and also claw-mauling Nazis. Plus, for long-term drama: Comic book readers know these literal brothers in arms eventually become bitter enemies -- imagine experiencing that heartbreak firsthand, after binge-watching several seasons of manly super-bonding. Instead, we got the worst possible version of Deadpool: One literally without a mouth. Whose brilliant idea was that? And how fucking fired are they? We hope it's "a lot."
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicers February 23 comments on marijuana received major attention in Nevada. Spicer volunteered that marijuana is still illegal under federal law and there would be greater enforcement in states that legalized recreational marijuana.

Marijuana is illegal to possess, cultivate or distribute under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Last August, the Obama administrations Drug Enforcement Administration director re-affirmed marijuanas classification as a Schedule 1 substance. That decision was made after a lengthy evaluation of the existing relevant scientific and medical evidence by the Department of Health and Human Services. The official findings were that marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in the United States and has a high potential for abuse.

It is settled case law that states (like Nevada) cannot bar the application of the federal Controlled Substances Act within their borders. The U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Gonzales v. Raich (2005) held 6 to 3 that the Commerce Clause allows Congress to ban the use of marijuana even in states that approve its use for medicinal purposes. Growing, selling, or even possessing small amounts of medical-marijuana remains 100 percent illegal under federal law.

The only thing currently keeping federal agents from enforcing federal law is the 2013 Justice Department Cole Memorandum making marijuana a low priority and permitting localities and states to enforce their own laws. The new Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has been a strong opponent of legalized marijuana during his Senate career. Sessions has full authority to withdraw the Cole Memorandum and pursue a different policy.

In Nevadas neighboring state of Idaho, Governor Butch Otter protested in a January 30 letter to President Trump that his state was paying the price for compliance with federal law. He observed that illegal marijuana brought into his state negatively impacted his states youth, taxpayers, law enforcement, jails and health care systems. Governor Otter urged the new administration to use the full powers of the federal government against states that have legalized marijuana.

Since marijuana is prohibited by the Controlled Substances Act, all marijuana-related sales revenues constitute illegal funds under federal law. Banks must disclose marijuana transactions as suspicious activities and are subject to government seizure by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. As a result, virtually all banks have a policy of not working with the marijuana industry. Marijuana businesses are cash only with a high incidence of burglaries, robberies, employee theft  and have no lines of credit.

Similarly, the Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G, Burnett has made it clear that there can be no involvement by gaming licensees with marijuana facilities or establishments unless federal law is changed. Its also the basis for the gaming industry prohibition against smoking pot in hotels or casinos. With marijuana smoking illegal in public places, hotel rooms, and casinos, its difficult to see how Las Vegas becomes the Amsterdam of the West or a tourism boon.

The marijuana initiative passed in November provided exclusive rights on marijuana distribution be given to state licensed alcohol wholesalers. An unanticipated problem: those wholesalers are licensed under the Federal Alcohol Administrative Act and required to operate in conformity with federal law. Distributing illegal marijuana under federal law results in revocation of their liquor licenses.

The Nevada System of Higher Education, the governing board of the states public colleges, has adopted policy to not allow marijuana on campus. These institutions are at risk of losing federal funding because the use or possession of marijuana is prohibited by federal law.

Likewise, U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden wrote Moapa Paiute Tribal leaders that use of pot on tribal land at a planned March 4-5 marijuana festival was illegal and would be subject to enforcement under federal law. The tribal council expressed concern about their federal funding being withheld.

A crazy quilt of conflicting marijuana policies exists today. Federal law trumps provisions in Nevadas legalization initiative.

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has urged the new administration to use the full powers of the federal government against states that have legalized marijuana.
Before I started Eternal Perspective Ministries, I served as a pastor for 14 years. When I was in the ministry, I found myself spending a great deal of time ministering to dying people and comforting their families. People look to pastors for guidance, help, and perspective during difficult times of life. Joel Woodard serves as a pastor at Cornerstone Church in Gresham, Oregon, along with my friend Barry Arnold. Several of our EPM staff members are part of Cornerstone, and have recently experienced the deaths of loved ones, and Barry and Joel were there for them. In fact, Nanci and I attended three memorial services the two of them conducted together, and I was touched by their hearts of love for these dear families. Joel recently shared five great reminders for pastors as they serve the dying and their families. These are helpful points for all of us non-pastors too as we minister to friends and family members. Randy Alcorn

I never imagined that I would find myself so familiar with death as a pastor. I studied theology in seminary and learned about expositing a text and leading the church, but I dont ever remember reading a book about what to do when visiting someone on their deathbed.

Looking back over the past seven years, Im astonished at how many times Ive found myself in that exact position, feeling very unprepared as I kneel beside someones bed, hold their hand, and pray with the family. I know every hospital in the city near where I live, and even where to find the good clergy parking spots.

Ive also seen firsthand how we, as a society, are so uncomfortable with death. Most people simply dont know what to do or say in those moments, and so they call for a pastor.

A few months ago, I received such a call and went to visit an elderly man, the father of someone in our church. The family had gathered in the small living room of a care facility where we exchanged friendly conversation, while the nurses were busy attending to this mans needs in his bedroom. The nurses emerged from the bedroom with a smile and a nod and gave us permission to go inside. Everyone slowly got up as if they each wanted to be the last one to leave. They made their way into the room and stood awkwardly along the walls and in the doorway. It was obvious no one wanted to approach the bed. The mans son, whom I knew, leaned over and said, Dad, this is Joel. Hes a pastor. Then he moved out of the way to give me room to do whatever it is that pastors do in situations like this. As I stepped toward this elderly man, I remember thinking that I was putting on the mantle of a pastor approaching a death bed, which Ive learned means five things:

1. You serve as a priest. The first several times I was asked to make hospital visits, I went along with an older pastor. He told me, In situations like these, people just want to hear you say God. They simply want to know that God is there and has not forgotten them. As a priest, you represent God to people and are given the opportunity to pour His words over them as a blessing during difficult times. Enter that time ready to share from His word, say a prayer, and offer comfort. You represent Christ in that moment!

2. You enter sacred space. For several years, my wife Amy and I served as missionaries in a little Alpine village in Slovenia. The old Catholic church in the middle of town marked each hour with the ringing of the bells. What I wasnt prepared for is that it marked every holiday, wedding, and call to mass as well. I can still hear those bells ring if I close my eyes. Those bells also rang as funeral processions marched from that old church building to the cemetery located directly behind it. The long ringing of the funeral march was off rhythm, almost like it was causing a rift in time. In that place, youre born, get married, and celebrate holidays all in the rhythm of the bells, but upon your death, the bells are interrupted. I always thought of these moments as sacred space, caught between this world and the next. Its the precious moments of transition when eternity takes the baton from the runner who has left their earthly body. So set time aside to enter these hallowed moments. Holidays will come and go, work and school will fall back into place once the funeral bells are done, and life will go on. Dont miss the window to be in that sacred space.

3. You sit in cultural discomfort. I remember one time in Slovenia we were crowded in a small farm kitchen doing training with a team from America that would be helping to put on an English camp. I asked them, Do you know what Americans hate most? and then left the question floating in the air. After a few seconds, some muffled responses came back. We dont know, they said. I still didnt answer and the silence was becoming uncomfortable. Everyone began saying, Just tell us! What is it? Finally, after what probably seemed like a small eternity, I answered, Silence.

In those moments by the deathbed, it helps to remember you dont leave when it gets uncomfortable, and you dont have to fill the silence with empty words.

As a pastor, you also enter cultural discomfort about the dying body. For some reason, many people are afraid to touch a person on a hospital bed. Maybe theyre afraid they will break the person or make it worse, but those last touches are special: a kiss on the forehead, the caress of a hand, a whispered I love you. If everyone is hugging the wall, lean right in. Grab the persons hand if youre able, and invite their loves ones to get over their discomfort and embrace those intimate moments.

4. You invite people to see eternity. If sickness hits or the cancer comes back, we naturally hope for the best. We might say, Youll be fine or You can beat this! That optimism is helpful when facing a tragic diagnosis, but there usually seems to come a point in time when the fighting is over and the loved one is no longer prolonging life, but prolonging death.

That change is often hard to notice when the person is overwhelmed by medications, with doctors examining things and nurses checking vitals. In those moments, you can help a family understand that it may be time to say their final goodbyes and discuss any last wishes for services or special items if they havent already. Its not something you naturally want to do, as everyone wants to hold out hope until the very end. But a gentle invitation to see eternity may come as a helpful gift. There is usually never a perfect moment, so if you wait too long, they may only be left with regret.

5. You shepherd the family. Shepherding is more than just a visit to the hospital and a prayer. Shepherding is a continued process, not a completed task. A good shepherd protects his sheep, and sometimes you need to protect the family during these vulnerable times. It may mean being the contact person and telling someone that they shouldnt come to visit at that moment. It may mean calling a boss to let them know what is going on, or helping the family navigate the medical issues. More than likely youll need to guide them in decisions after the loved one has passed. Making decisions about a casket, burial plot, headstone, flowers, and the million other things that go along with a funeral can be overwhelming. In those vulnerable times people can often feel taken advantage of and even abandoned by their pastors. It helps to know average costs, procedures, and businesses that you can refer people to that they can trust.

Engaging with death and dying is not something we can choose to opt out of as believers. In many ways, its the culmination of our lifes work. May we be well prepared to represent the Lord and enter that sacred space!

This article originally appeared on EPM.org, Eternal Perspective Ministries. Used with permission.

Related resource from Eternal Perspective Ministries: The Heaven booklet by Randy Alcorn is a sampling of the questions and answers found in his larger Heaven book and is distributed widely at memorial services and funerals, and used as an evangelistic tool.

Image courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: March 7, 2017
CARSON CITY  As Womens History Month kicked off at the Legislature, the Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations heard testimony Tuesday on Senate Joint Resolution 2. If passed, the resolution will make Nevada the 36th state to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which would then require the approval of only two additional state legislatures to have a chance to become the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Nevada is slated to become the first state in 30 years to vote on the Equal Rights Amendment. Its origins date back to the end of the Civil War, when women lead by Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony led the charge asking for equal rights for women, since there were similar amendments being passed in Congress. Although Congress denied the measure, women continued pushing forward with the Amendment.

There are two types of bills on the floor of the 115th Congress to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. The first is a standard bill following Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which will require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures. The second extends the deadline on passage for the original amendment, put forth by the 92nd Congress in 1972, which Nevada would be the 36th state to ratify.

In a media frenzy early Tuesday, Gov. Brian Sandoval stated his support for the amendment.

In Committee, Army veteran and state senator Pat Spearman, D-Las Vegas, gave an impassioned speech in support of the ratification of the Amendment. She cited civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, who said I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Spearman also said, We as Nevadans are better than inequality.  Symbols are not just symbols, they are powerful because we believe in them and hold them dear.

Many other supporters of the ratification were on hand, and gave heartfelt testimony on the bill, calling for immediate passage. In Virginia and Illinois similar bills have made their way through the state Senate, and are in the pipeline for passage by the other houses.

Should Nevada and these two states ratify the Amendment, it would become the law of the land under the Constitution. Proponents of the Equal Rights Amendment argue that there should be no time limit placed on any Constitutional Amendment, and therefore passage by the three states needed will fully ratify the Amendment.

If passed out of committee, the bill could hit the Assembly floor for a vote as early as next week.
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The housing minister Gavin Barwell has been attacked on his home turf for "failing Croydon" by his Labour rival who has accused him of doing nothing to tackle homelessness in his own constituency.

On a visit to the borough John Healey MP, Labour's shadow housing minister, slammed his Conservative counterpart for failing to address the borough's deepening housing crisis and rising numbers of homeless people.

The MP criticised the government's proposed solutions to the lack of affordable homes as "feeble beyond words", as more than 1,000 families with children lost their homes in the Croydon last year.

Thousands more have resorted to temporary accommodation, with more people living in B&Bs or hostels than at any point in the past five years.

The borough now has the seventh highest number of rough sleepers anywhere in the country.

Mr Healey said: "In Croydon you see the sharp end of the housing crisis, in London and across the country.

"And of course, I'm aware that here in Croydon is the housing minister's own constituency, his home turf, and I think that tells you a lot.

"Last year more than a thousand people became homeless here in the borough. And that is the tip of the iceberg. Many more households are struggling.

"With a touch of affection on the Labour backbenches he is known as 'Blundering Barwell'. You see in his housing white paper there is very little that will help meet the housing challenges in Croydon.

"He's failing the country and I think he's failing Croydon."

In the summer of 2016 Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, was appointed as Secretary of State for Housing and Planning by Theresa May.

At the latest count 68 people were recorded as completely without shelter and sleeping rough on the borough's streets. The majority of these have reported being attacked during their time being homeless.

Those deemed more vulnerable  women, children, and people with mental or physical illnesses  can receive help from Croydon Council.

Last year the council helped 1,255 such vulnerable households and out of these, 86 per cent were families with children, double the level five years ago.

In 2012 there were 1,749 homeless households in temporary accommodation  now there are 3,137, of which a large proportion have dependent children.

The former Labour housing minister said a lack of affordable housing, and few provisions to increase the stock of affordable homes, have fuelled an escalating housing crisis in Croydon which is resulting in greater numbers of homeless people.

He also said reforms by other departments, such as the Department for Work and Pension, are also taking their toll.

According to welfare figures gathered by council officers, from November 2016, the benefit cap has been reduced from 26,000 to 23,000. This has impacted 1,044 people in Croydon of whom 599 are on housing benefit and 445 are on Universal Credit.

Of those on housing benefit 162 people are losing more than 100 per week and are facing a significant risk of eviction, and 90 of these people will be moved to homes outside London and the South East whether they wish to move out of the borough or not.

The remainder will need other interventions to prevent homelessness, and a further 526 households with 1,604 children will be affected by the cap.

Mr Healey, MP for Wentworth and Dearne, said: "The work of other departments, such as the Department or Communities and Local Government and the DWP, have been very disappointing  and that's putting it extremely mildly.

"Croydon Council has come up with creative solutions to help tackle the housing crisis. But there's only so much that can be done at a local level.

"There has to be help from the top.

"That's when you look to the housing minister for leadership and direction. But the proposals put forward to secure affordable housing are feeble beyond words.

"I always think that as an MP you should look to your own constituency. I don't think that's being done."

In response to his Labour counterpart's claims, Mr Barwell said: "In the most recent year for which figures are available the number of homes in England increased by just under 190,000.

"That's higher than in all but three years of the 13 years of the last Labour government, the three years in question being during an unsustainable housing bubble just before the 2008/9 crash.

"The low point in housing starts came in the year to June 2009, when they reached the lowest level since the 1920s. You'll never guess who was housing minister then - John Healey.

"At the Autumn Statement the Government announced 3.15 billion for affordable housing in London. At the time the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said 'this is the largest sum of money ever secured by City Hall for affordable housing'.

"And there's more to come. 3.15 billion is London's share of the pre-Autumn Statement affordable housing budget but at the Autumn Statement the chancellor increased that budget by 1.4 billion so in due course London will get a share of that increase.

"Croydon was recently given 1 million as part of our homelessness prevention programme plus 403,750 to tackle rough sleeping. It will also benefit from 4.215 million that has been given to the GLA to fund programmes across the capital."
So, my less than favorite topic found itself at the top of my reading list today. Wikileaks released a treasure trove of documents today that purport to outline all manner of CIA related operations.

After I got passed the what the actual moment, I had to pause. On social media and various news outlets there was talk of the CIAs ability to compromise various encrypted communications. Hold that thought. Well come back to it.

The news that Im seeing is outlining all sorts of commentary about how the CIA can compromise devices and computers right down to TV sets. This may come as a shock to people but, spy agencieswell, they spy. This is their raison detre. Whinging about there capabilities is absurd in no under certain terms.

From the CIAs website they have this as part of their missive about what they do, "CIAs primary mission is to collect, analyze, evaluate, and disseminate foreign intelligence to assist the President and senior US government policymakers in making decisions relating to national security. This is a very complex process and involves a variety of steps.

This should come as no surprise. We should dispense with the notion that they are running roughshod over people in the absence of evidence. A less than unpopular thought process but, you know, data to substantiate this sort of activity would be nice.

Further down the page they write, The 1980 Intelligence Oversight Act charged the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) with authorizing the programs of the intelligence agencies and overseeing their activities. There is documented oversight. If the CIA wants to surveil a US citizen they actually need a court order. I can well imagine that the good folks at Muckrock are on this, like me on a slice of pizza.

When I peruse the documents as presented I can well imagine that someone is going to get in a world of trouble over this, to state the bloody obvious. This of course assuming that this document treasure chest is proven to be authentic. This sort of information, while salacious, will no doubt set back intelligence gathering activities as foreign adversaries will adjust and adapt to mitigate their risk based on this information.

I know I double checked to make sure my TV had its Internet access disabled. Although, Im sure the poor analyst that might have to listen to me watch a Leaf game would have to receive danger pay as the temptation to slam their head into the keyboard would be palpable.

Going back to my earlier statement about intercepting communications on services like Signal, Confide and the like - we need to be clear. If an adversary has control of your mobile device or computer then of course they can bloody well see your messages. The first article I read about how these services are potentially compromised will send me into blind fury.

To further articulate this idea, if someone breaks into your house while you are sleeping, or out of town, they can roam about freely. Similar concept. If theyre hiding in your closet when you come home they can potentially hear everything you say. Lets dispense with the bull regarding the efficacy of these services. They are very good at what theyre good at but, if your device is compromised then all bets are off.

To put a finer point on it as an example, there was an announcement this week that 11 critical and high vulnerabilities were patched in Android. My query is, how many mobile network operators provided their customers with the ability to patch said devices?

This isn't magic. Let's not give into the machinations and keep our heads about us shall we?
A resolution introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday aims to roll back privacy rules for broadband service providers that were approved by the Federal Communications Commission in October.

The rules include the requirement that internet service providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon should obtain "opt-in" consent from consumers to use and share sensitive personal information such as geolocation and web browsing history, and also give customers the option to opt out from the sharing of non-sensitive information such as email addresses or service tier information.

The rules have been opposed by internet service providers who argue that they are being treated differently from other Internet entities like search engines and social networking companies.

The providers secured a win last week when the now Republican-dominated FCC decided that the operation of the data security provisions would be temporarily halted in view of a stay petition by providers. The data protection rules were to come into force last Thursday.

The new resolution introduced by Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, is backed by over 20 Republican co-sponsors.

It aims to provide for congressional disapproval of the FCC rule relating to Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services under the Congressional Review Act, a 1996 law that empowers Congress to repeal federal regulations, according to a statement issued by Flake, who is also chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. The resolution under the CRA would also prevent the FCC from issuing "similarly harmful regulations" in the future, it added.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who on Tuesday was nominated for a second term five-year term at the agency by President Donald Trump, favors uniform rules on privacy for Internet companies, with the Federal Trade Commission rather than the FCC setting those rules. His renomination requires Senate confirmation.

The federal government shouldnt favor one set of companies over anotherand certainly not when it comes to a marketplace as dynamic as the internet, Pai said in a joint statement last week with FTC Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen.

In an op-ed this month, Flake wrote that by reclassifying in 2015 internet service providers as common carriers, subject to Title II of the Communications Act, the FCC had stripped the FTC of its jurisdiction over the privacy practices of ISPs. The reclassification of broadband as a public regulated utility was part of a move by the previous administration of President Barack Obama to preserve net neutrality in the country.

The FTC has no real regulatory power to protect the privacy of Americans once they turn 13 and are no longer covered by a 1998 childrens privacy law, said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy in Washington, in an emailed statement.

The Flake resolution has been opposed by civil rights groups as well as Democrats in Congress. Electronic Frontier Foundation has called on people to call up their senators and their representatives to tell them to oppose the use of the CRA to roll back the FCCs new rules about ISP privacy practices.

The use of the CRA would allow Congress to overturn the privacy rules with just a majority vote in both chambers, without the opportunity for members to filibuster, said the American Civil Liberties Union. It would also ban the FCC from issuing rules that are substantially the same, raising serious questions about the FCCs ability to protect consumers online privacy in the future, wrote Nathaniel Turner, lobbyist assistant at ACLUs Washington Legislative Office.

"The Republican leadershipworking on behalf of the nations largest cable and phone companieswants to strip Americans of important protections on how their most sensitive information can be used," Chester said. He warned that the leading broadband ISPs have developed Big Data collection practices" that gather and analyze personal information when people are on PCs, mobile devices and increasingly even while viewing TV.

Make your own resolution to comment on this story on our Facebook page.
A U.S. senator is probing reports of a breach of data from smart toys from Spiral Toys, writing to the companys CEO a letter with ten questions about the issue, including about the companys security practices.

Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, wrote in a letter Tuesday to CEO Mark Meyers that the breach raises serious questions concerning how well the company protects the information it collects, particularly from children.

Nelson also said that the incident raises questions about the vendor's compliance with the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act that requires covered companies to have reasonable procedures to protect the confidentiality, security and integrity of personal information collected from children.

The letter from Nelson was shared on Twitter by security researcher Troy Hunt, who exposed the breach in a blog post on Feb. 28.

The toys, sold under the CloudPets brand, allow parents and their children to send voice messages over the internet. Hunt found evidence that hackers had looted the unsecured MongoDB database that stored the toys' customer login information. Although the passwords were hashed, there wasnt a stiff requirement of password strength from the vendor, and the passwords could be potentially hacked and the voice recordings accessed.

Meyers has said that the breach came to his notice only on Feb 22, although another researcher, Victor Gevers, claims to have contacted the toy maker about the issue in late December. The company has claimed that no recordings were stolen. Nelson, who is a ranking member of the Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has asked Meyers to respond no later than March 23.
Cisco's Talos says they've observed active attacks against a Zero-Day vulnerability in Apache's Struts, a popular Java application framework. Cisco started investigating the vulnerability shortly after it was disclosed, and found a number of active attacks.

In an advisory issued on Monday, Apache says the problem with Struts exists within the Jakarta Multipart parser.

"It is possible to perform a RCE attack with a malicious Content-Type value. If the Content-Type value isn't valid an exception is thrown which is then used to display an error message to a user," the warning explained.

"If you are using Jakarta based file upload Multipart parser, upgrade to Apache Struts version 2.3.32 or 2.5.10.1. You can also switch to a different implementation of the Multipart parser."

The alternative is the Pell parser plugin, which uses Jason Pell's multipart parser instead of the Common-FileUpload library, Apache explains. More information can be found in their documentation.

In addition, administrators concerned about the issue could just apply the proper updates, which are currently available.

In a blog post, Cisco said they discovered a number of attacks that seem to be leveraging a publicly released proof-of-concept to run various commands. Such commands include simple ones ('whoami') as well as more sophisticated ones, including pulling down malicious ELF executable and running it.

An example of one attack, which attempts to copy the file to a harmless directory, ensure the executable runs, and that the firewall is disabled is boot-up, is below:





Cisco Talos



Both Cisco and Apache urge administrators to take action, either by patching or ensuring their systems are not vulnerable.

This isn't the first time the Struts platform has come under attack. In 2013, Chinese hackers were using an automated tool to exploit known vulnerabilities in order to install a backdoor.
Spanish police have arrested a man they say is the ringleader of a group of diners that have made headlines after running up restaurant bills of more than 12,000 in the northern province of Leon and then leaving without paying .

One of the restaurants hit by the scammers. GOOGLE MAPS

The authorities in Leon say the 48-year-old Romanian from the town of Ponferrada was arrested as a result of an investigation launched last week when two restaurants in the remote Bierzo region were hit by what is known in Spain as a simpa.

The first incident involved 120 people at a christening who left without paying a 2,000 bill at El Carmen, in Bembibre, on February 27.

Ive never seen anything like it Restaurant owner Juan Gonzalez

A few days later it emerged that around 200 wedding guests had run up a bill of more than 10,000 at El Rincon de Pepin in Ponferrada, 20 kilometers away, also leaving without settling the bill.

The owners of the two establishments were unable to provide police with license plates of vehicles, but said that two of the leaders of the group were from Eastern Europe.

EL PAIS tried to contact the owner of El Rincon Pepin, but the manager of the restaurant said she was out of town for the week. However, she is quoted on the home page of infobierzo.com saying, After the banquet, there was a stampede as all the guests left the restaurant while the party was in full swing.

Antonio Rodriguez, the owner of El Carmen, said a deposit of 900 had been paid ahead of the lunch. When he returned from the kitchen with a cake, the diners had left. It was a matter of a minute and I couldnt do anything to stop them because they had organized and they ran out in a stampede, he said.

There was a stampede as all the guests left the restaurant while the party was in full swing The owner of El Rincon de Pepin

Juan Gonzalez, the owner of the Novo restaurant and hotel in Ponferrada, believes he escaped a similar fate. Some months ago, he says a party of people he described as coming from Eastern Europe came to his restaurant to see if they could book it for a birthday party. Between them, they agreed that the hotel would provide the space and facilities and the hosts would provide the food and drink. It was 400 to hire the venue, says Gonzalez. Everything went smoothly, but when they left, we realized that they had taken some things with them.

Gonzalez was also surprised by the large numbers of people who turned up at the last minute. At first, they said there would be around 30 guests, he says. But in the event there were at least 100.

This is around the same number who did a runner at the christening in Bembibre. Whats happening is very strange, adds Gonzalez. Ive never seen anything like it.

According to Gonzalez, the same people returned some months later wanting to hire his restaurant again. I didnt want to because I didnt trust them, says Gonzalez. They tried three or four times and I kept giving excuses, and telling them the place was already booked.

Finally, Gonzalez agreed, but asked them to pay a deposit of 3,000 as well as sign an agreement to cover damaged or missing property. They point blank refused and since I wouldnt relent, they gave up and havent been back. Unfortunately, the Bembibre restaurant incident happened that same week. My restaurant is just a few kilometers from there.

Gonzalez thinks both the christening and the wedding incidents were premeditated. When they came here, they arrived in very smart cars, he says. I remember seeing a BMW X6 and others like it in the car park.

The authorities say the investigation continues.

English version by Heather Galloway and Nick Lyne.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he will try to halt the nomination of the Justice Departments No. 2 official after Rod Rosenstein refused to commit to assigning a special prosecutor to investigate possible communications between Trump campaign officials and Russia.

Blumenthal, D-Conn., pressured Rosenstein on the topic during a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, asking how he could investigate his boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and possibly President Donald Trump. Rosenstein assured Blumenthal he would make sure theyre questioned without caring who it is.
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BRIDGEPORT - Houses of worship are places of refuge from the hectic outside world, both for the faithful and those suddenly finding religion. Spots for quiet contemplation and communion with a higher power.

And, in the current political climate, local religious buildings may also become literal sanctuaries to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation.

While the Democratic elected officials in Connecticuts largest city dither over whether and how to take a stand against Republican President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown, some religious leaders are moving to help that community.

There is an enormous anxiety, said Rev. Geoffrey Hahneman of St. Johns Episcopal Church at Fairfield and Park avenues. It is palpable at English classes, at our Spanish service. Fear of breaking up families, of imprisoning the bread winner.

St. Johns has installed a sign on its property that reads, Immigrants and Refugees Welcome. That message is accompanied by a small illustration of the baby Jesus Christ and parents Mary and Joseph making their way across the desert, seeking shelter.

Hahneman said the church has been providing information about what to do if federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents launch raids in Bridgeport, and trying to organize a workshop with attorneys to apprise undocumented residents of their legal rights.

The next step is actually providing sanctuary (from ICE)," Hahneman said. Were talking about it. You need people to provide food, to connect with legal services, (and be) mediators and negotiators with ICE.

Julio Varona of Make the Road CT, an immigrant advocacy group, welcomed having sanctuary churches. Yes, he said, ICE agents could enter with a legal warrant, But theyre not going to do it. The imagery would be terrible.

The decision to shield immigrants from deportation is not an easy one, however, even for religious organizations that are known for offering a helping hand to all residents, no questions asked.

A few blocks away from St. Johns at State Street and Park Avenue, for example, the United Congregational Church has a policy of feeding, clothing and providing emergency shelter to everybody, said Rev. Sara Smith.

Our very gospel dictates we are to welcome the stranger and care for the people who are disenfranchised, Smith said.

But asked if her church would harbor an undocumented immigrant, Smith admitted that is a decision for her board of directors.

The answer is I dont know what wed do, Smith said.

Cass Shaw, president of the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, is hoping to provide some guidance.

Were gathering information to give them the resources they need to make an educated decision, Shaw said of her 63 members. I think each congregation is going to make its own decision in terms of what they feel equipped to do and called to do. Im sure there will be a wide range, from praying and being active in terms of legislative (immigration) reform, to Yes, we will retrofit our basement to make sure weve got cots ready (for undocumented immigrants).

Shaw was inspired by the turnout at a multi-faith sanctuary church talk at Hamdens Congregation Mishkan Israel.

We thought there would be 30 people and 300 came representing between 40 and 50 congregations, said Rabbi Herb Brockman.

Congregation Mishkan Israel has helped legally resettle refugees in the United States, from fellow Jews leaving the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s to, Muslims fleeing Bosnia to, most recently, families from war-torn Syria.

Brockman said he and other Hamden religious leaders wanted to demonstrate they care for undocumented immigrants.

Brockman emphasized religious institutions cant break the law. But by harboring undocumented immigrants, he said, they can extend as long as possible the legal process.

And, Brockman added, ICE had been shying away from sensitive locations - schools, hospitals, rallies and religious institutions - that unless absolutely necessary agents should not intrude in.

Back in Bridgeport, Make the Road CT has been pressuring elected officials to adopt a sanctuary city designation with pro-undocumented immigrant policies limiting local governments and law enforcements interactions with ICE.

Mayor Joe Ganim and some City Council members oppose the idea over Trumps threats to withhold federal money.

Even religious leaders who serve on the council are split over making Bridgeport a sanctuary.

The moral meaning of this far exceeds whether were going to lose some money, said Councilman John Olson, a retired Congregational pastor. And I dont think well lose a penny. I dont think he (Trump) has legal grounds to do it.

But Councilwoman Rev. Mary McBride Lee of the Pentecostal Church now opposes the sanctuary designation.

The documented ones that are here, Im all for that, McBride Lee said. The undocumented? Everyone should be here legally. Nobody wants to separate families, but you also have to abide by the law, too."
Its as if a brawl broke out at Brooks Brothers  this one pits Jim Himes against Tucker Carlson.

The Democratic congressman from Fairfield County has become the new favorite sparring partner of the conservative Fox News provocateur, having appeared three times on Carlsons highly rated prime-time program since Donald Trump took office.

Himes seems to relish being the go-to voice of dissent on the Rupert Murdoch-owned network, arguing on topics such as the GOPs attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act to Trumps bombshell allegation that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during last years campaign.

None of us want to be props for right-wing flamethrowers, but I find that Tucker is occasionally reasonable, Himes told Hearst Connecticut Media. Hes a pretty smart guy. 

Their latest skirmish came Monday night, when Carlson interrogated Himes on why there hasnt been more congressional oversight of domestic spying on American citizens by U.S. intelligence agencies. Himes is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which is probing Trumps wiretapping claim and the Russia ties of Trumps associates.

Im hearing Tucker Carlson as Edward Snowden tonight, retorted Himes, who is chairman of the centrist New Democrat Coalition.

Himes analogy to the CIA whistle-blower, who is on the lam, did not amuse Carlson.

Please dont (me) call names, Carlson said. Im asking you a sincere, adult question. Youre calling me Edward Snowden, which I'm certainly not.

The segment lasted for nearly 17 minutes, with Himes telling Carlson that surveillance of U.S. citizens constitutes law enforcement, not spying, and must be approved by a federal judge.

This is why people lose trust in government, Carlson said. Youre playing word games with me.

Himes said jousting with Carlson is not for the faint of heart.

It takes a lot of energy to go on a show like that, Himes said. I think its pretty important that I and we be out there talking to people who dont agree with us.

Carlson, the one-time host of CNNs Crossfire back when he wore bow-ties, graduated from Trinity College in Hartford. He replaced Megyn Kelly in the 9 p.m. time slot in January, besting his predecessors ratings with a lineup of debate foes that has included Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. Both went on the show to defend their immigration enforcement policies, which conservatives have decried as giving sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.

I think it is Daniel in the lions den, said Scott McLean, a political science professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

McLean also said Himes background as a former Goldman Sachs banker and his buttoned-down appearance lend themselves to Fox.

Hes a businessman, McLean said. He doesnt come across as someone whos just talking about values or cultures. He talks about business and the economy in a way that might be better suited to the Fox audience than somewhere else.

So who won the latest round between Himes and Carlson? Its in the eye of the beholder.

The conservative YouTube channel Wayward Son post the clip with the headline, Tucker Carlson DESTROYS Jim Himes....Again. Contrast that with the headline from the liberal website Crooks and Liars, which wrote, Rep. Jim Himes Masterfully Handles Tucker.

You wonder whether people saw the same show, Himes said.

nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
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REDDING  Police Chief Doug Fuchs joined dozens of police chiefs Tuesday at the state Capitol in support of a proposed bill that would give police more latitude than they now have in asking for gun permits in public.

The bill would require someone carrying a gun in public to show a permit if asked by a police officer. The bill was introduced after a confrontation between a man carrying a pistol and Bridgeport police in a sandwich shop in January 2016.

We were there for one reason (Tuesday) and thats to stand up for the safety of our officers, Fuchs said.

Fuchs said the bill has nothing to do with the right to carry a weapon and is strictly an officer-safety bill.

Gun-rights supporters argue they shouldnt have to show a permit if they are going about their business without creating a threat to public safety.

Fuchs said officers are allowed to ask people they see hunting and fishing for their permits to ensure they are doing it legally, and this should be no different.

Before testifying in support of the bill last week, Bridgeport Police Officer Ricardo Lopez, one of the responding officers to the 2016 incident, said most gun-permit holders are cooperative when asked to provide their permits.

Its just that one percent that want to create disorder; that manipulate it in a fashion they can take advantage of, Lopez said. Theyre the ones that can create problems in a lot of different ways.

Lopez said the danger is when someone pretends to have a permit and doesnt, which can quickly descend into a potentially deadly situation.

Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, said police should only be allowed to ask to see carry permits if a suspect is threatening, agitated or brandishing a weapon in public.

Robert Crook, president of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said this is a significant issue for gun owners.

Crook stressed that the vast majority of pistol carriers would readily show inquiring police their permits. State law allows both concealed carry and open carry, and permits must be carried.

Crook also warned of the possibility of lawful gun owners being profiled for stopping by police.

kkoerting@newstimes.com
A 7-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after falling from a third-story apartment building in Hamden on Tuesday evening.

NBC Connecticut reports the boy broke his leg from the fall from a State Street apartment building.
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WASHINGTON  The long-awaited GOP promise to repeal and replace Obamacare saw the light of day Tuesday, but the resulting bill got a rocky reception from both conservative and moderate Republicans  to say nothing of Connecticut defenders of the Affordable Care Act.

There are some things that can be fixed, but theyre devastating a program that is working, said Connecticut Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, who was delegated by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to oversee the states health care exchange, Access Health CT.

Although premium costs have gone up and insurers have left the market, Access Health CT remains one of the nations more successful state exchanges, with more than 106,000 signing up in the last open-enrollment period that ended on Jan. 31, 2017.

In addition, the Access Health CT Small Business Program has 1,519 enrollees.

The Republican replacement will take us back to the bad old days that in effect denied coverage through unaffordability, said Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn. If you have a pre-existing condition, the market will no longer provide you affordable care.

On Capitol Hill, the Republican congressional leadership aligned with President Trump to push its replacement, the American Health Care Act, as the solution to Obamacare, which Trump tweeted was a complete and total disaster (that is) imploding fast!

Fast track to a vote

More Information Tax-credit disparity A 40-year-old in Fairfield County earning $30,000 a year would lose $1,540 in subsidies under the Republican health care plan. 40-year-old making $50,000 would see a tax-credit increase of $1,080. See More Collapse

Republicans including Secretary of Health & Human Services Tom Price fanned out across Washington to tell reporters the GOP bill returns health coverage decisions back to individuals and families, and that Democratic-stoked fears of wholesale drops in coverage are exaggerated.

Nonetheless, Republicans are putting their measure on a fast track, scheduling consideration and possible votes Wednesday in the House Ways & Means and Energy & Commerce Committees, even before the Congressional Budget Office  Capitol Hills neutral scorekeeper  has a chance to report on what its implications are in terms of dollars and coverage.

Conservative Republicans such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the GOP bill did not go far enough to disentangle government from health care, with some Republicans calling it Obamacare lite.

Other more moderate Republicans such as Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said it failed to adequately protect those in states that chose to expand Medicaid under the ACA.

If Senate Democrats stand united and just three Republicans join them, the Republican bill would die in the Senate.

Trumpcare is here, and youre going to hate it, said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on the Senate floor Tuesday. When you ask the question as to who gets hurt under the replacement plan, the answer is everyone with the exception of insurance companies, drug companies, and the very wealthy.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., assailed the plan for defunding a Republican arch enemy, Planned Parenthood, even though federal law already forbids tax dollars from covering abortions.

The Republican bill is truly an insult to the thousands of people across Connecticut who have called and written my office, and packed town halls and rallies to say clearly and unequivocally that they want to protect and preserve affordable care in America, Blumenthal said.

He called the GOP plan dead on arrival.

Proposed incentives

The bill keeps several Obamacare features, including coverage of pre-existing conditions  although possibly at higher rates  and allowing young people to stay on their parents plans till age 26.

But it dramatically alters the governments role in overseeing health-care insurance coverage, eliminating most of the Obamacare taxes on medical device companies and insurers and others, and ending the requirement that all individuals must have coverage or pay a tax penalty.

In its place, Republicans devised a system of incentives through tax credits that, starting in 2020, are based on age rather than income. Obamacare subsidies were aimed at helping lower-income families and individuals afford coverage, while the Republican plan skews them to older people who presumably need more medical care.

The credits appear directed more toward middle-income earners who had trouble under Obamacare finding insurance that didnt come with high premiums and high deductibles.

But poorer individuals and families appear not to fare as well.

In an interactive map put online by the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, a 40-year-old in Fairfield County earning $30,000 annually would see a decrease of $1,540 in subsidies under the Republican plan as compared to Obamacare  a loss of 34 percent.

That same 40-year-old making $50,000 would see a tax-credit increase of $1,080  a hike of 56 percent.

States like Connecticut that embraced Obamacares Medicaid expansion as another way to provide health insurance to low-income people would see it go away in fiscal 2020. In its place would be a so-called per capita cap that covers all Medicaid recipients.

The cap sets limits on what had been an open-ended Medicaid entitlement. It would cap expenditures for five enrollee groups _ the elderly, blind and disabled, children, expansion adults, and other adults. The amount would be based on a formula rooted in 2016 expenditures.

dan@hearstdc.com
The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the institution tasked with safeguarding the correct use of Spanish, announced at the beginning of March it would be revising its definition of the term the weaker sex (sexo debil) in its Dictionary of the Spanish Language, which is currently given to mean women in general (conjunto de las mujeres). An RAE spokesperson confirmed to EL PAIS that the change is expected to be made to the online version of the distinguished tome this December.

The Spanish Royal Academy in Madrid. JULIAN ROJAS

The news coincides with a campaign launched by 18-year-old Sara Flores Romero on Change.org, which has collected 94,000 signatures in the past few days for a petition criticizing what she sees as endorsing sexist language.

According to the RAE, changing the explanation of the term has been on the cards since 2015, not long after the current 23rd edition went to press. Along with other words and expressions that have been gathered since 2015, it was due to be announced to the public when the dictionary was revised later this year.

The RAE does not get involved in deciding whether an expression is appropriate or not RAE spokesman

The RAE added that under no circumstance would the term be eliminated altogether, since its use is widespread, not only colloquially, but in literature. The RAE does not get involved in deciding whether an expression is appropriate or not, said the spokesperson.

The amended definition of the term the weaker sex will consist of an adjunct explaining it has disrespectful and discriminatory connotations. Meanwhile, the entry for the stronger sex, which is currently defined as an umbrella term for men, will add that it is often used ironically.

The campaign on Change.org  a platform which has nine million users in Spain and 140 million worldwide  was launched by Flores on February 21 under the title #yonosoyelsexodebil or #Iamnottheweakersex. A marketing and tourism student at Cadiz University, Huelva-born Flores began her petition after seeing a screen grab of the controversial definition on Instagram. I felt indignant, she explained, adding that she was overwhelmed by the response and that her friends and family have praised her clarity of vision.

Not content with the proposed amendments, Flores says she intends to keep fighting her corner. What I would like to see is the elimination of the definition, so I am going to keep the petition going, she says.

I believe these are definitions which should not exist simply to define women or men Online petitioner Sara Flores Romero

Meanwhile, Spanish best-selling author Soledad Puertolas, who has been an RAE member since 2010, says Flores interpretation of the weaker sex has prompted her to consider the connotations of the word weak, particularly for the younger generation, concluding that the RAE might want to examine this entry too. I would like to ask her why she feels the word weak is so negative, she says. As a woman, does she consider herself stronger than men? I would claim my weakness as a woman, which is not the same as being inferior.

One of 350 launched in Spain on the social change platform each week, Flores petition was uploaded to Change.org in the run-up to International Womens Day on March 8.

Its incredible that in this day and age, these sexist terms are still allowed to exist, particularly when it concerns an establishment as distinguished as the Royal Spanish Academy that declares itself the guardian of the Spanish language. I believe that these are definitions which should not exist simply to define women or men, she argues on the site.

As a woman, I am naturally offended, she continues. I believe it is offensive to all women and to all those who have fought for our rights. I think its outrageous that in 2017, people are still so blinkered. The more people who sign the petition (men and women), the more chance we have of the RAE reconsidering these kinds of definitions and doing something to get rid of them.

This is not the first time the RAE has modified its definition of a word in keeping with changing times. In 2014 it noted that the use of gypsy as a synonym for trickster and a person who manages to fool someone using cunning and lies carried offensive and discriminatory connotations.

English version by Heather Galloway.
A state legislator who sought to shift the burden of proof in special education hearings to parents is dropping the controversial bill.

I dont plan on pursuing it as is, state Rep. Tom ODea, who represents New Canaan and Wilton, said Tuesday.

The Republican lawmaker said he changed his mind after meeting with constituents from other municipalities, including Stamford, where he said the impact would be much greater than in his towns.

The bill called for parents  instead of school districts  to prove their schools special education services are insufficient for their child. Those disputes often result in so-called special education hearings, which are formal meetings to resolve these disagreements.

ODea said the idea was to help school districts struggling to meet state mandates amid cuts in state funding.

The bill, introduced in January, drew support from groups like the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents and Cooperative Educational Services, which argued the costs and risks of taking the disputes to court are too high and these decisions should not be placed in the hands of lawyers.

But critics of the proposal said the burden should remain on school districts since they have the teachers, psychologists and specialists needed to prove their case.

Stamford resident Jaclyn Pioli, one of the parents who met with ODea in recent weeks, was encouraged by his move. The 35-year-old said she had to quit her job and liquidate her retirement savings so she could prove her son needed to be placed out of district.

CAPSS Executive Director Joseph Cirasuolo, noting Connecticut is one of just five states that place the burden of proof on school districts, said he was disappointed.

Its a shame, he said. That means that the school districts, before they go to a hearing, are settled for programs that are more expensive.

Out-of-district tuition for students with special needs has been blamed for Stamfords skyrocketing special education costs. The district has had 30 special education hearings since the 2014-15 school year.

Cirasuolo thanked ODea for taking a shot at it.

This would be a major mandate relief, he said, but there doesnt seem to be any political will to address this issue.

Its not clear whether ODea will officially withdraw the bill or just not act on it. The Legislatures joint education committee may still discuss the proposal, but he is confident the burden of proof will not change this year.

Pioli, who still fears the proposal will come back in some form next year, said there is a disconnect between top education officials and the reality parents face with special-needs children. One of the challenges, she said, is the quality of special education services varies drastically in each school.

Superintendents never have a full idea of what is going on, Pioli said. There is no uniformity in our schools.

She said lawmakers should concentrate on developing a solution to improve special education services in public schools so parents dont have to fight with districts.

ODea said he plans to find ways to make the process less burdensome.

I want to see the money going to kids, instead of spending it in legal fees, he said. There are things we can do, certainly, to streamline the process.

Kevin Schultz contributed to this story.

noliveira@stamfordadvocate.com
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One Sunday night last fall, a fight broke out between diners at a popular El Salvadorian restaurant in Bridgeport. At first, they were reportedly throwing bottles and furniture at each other. Then came the sound of gunfire inside the El Paraiso restaurant.

Cristobal Hernandez, a 36-year-old cook and landscaper, was shot once in the chest at close range, police said. He died of his wound a few hours later at St. Vincents Medical Center on September 25.

Hernandezs death was the eighth homicide in Bridgeport last year.

Such murders tend to paint a bleak picture of Bridgeport, but the numbers tell a more hopeful story.

For the first six months of 2016, violent crimes dropped by 3.3 percent in Bridgeport, according to preliminary FBI data. Police reported 472 violent crimes, including rape and murder, compared to 488 over the same time period in 2015. Burglaries and motor vehicle thefts in Bridgeport also declined.

The city fared better than the national average. The FBIs preliminary data showed a 5.3 percent increase in the number of violent crimes across the nation. All violent offenses from murder to rape, aggravated assault and robbery increased nationwide, especially in cities of 1 million and over.

Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez says getting to know residents is part of the reason. In 2012, the department started working more closely with community organizations and residents, as part of a new statewide initiative called Project Longevity. The program focuses on lowering violent crime rates on the streets of Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven.

Its not rocket science. Its collaboration and talking to one another and having good input with the state department, the locals, the community leaders, and the ministers, Chief Perez said.

With Project Longevity, state and local law enforcement have turned their attention to helping at-risk youth and building relationships with groups who are most likely to be victims or perpetrators of gang-related gun violence. Since 2011, crime rates in Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven have decreased by more than half, according to data from Fairfield-based nonprofit Connecticut Against Gun Violence. In 2016, 31 firearm-related homicides were committed in these three cities, which was a record low.

Five years ago, 31 homicides would have a been a typical year in just one of these towns, said Ron Pinciaro, the executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence. Its statistically significant because were talking about saving lives.

Pinciaro also credits the decline of violent crime to the strength of Connecticuts gun laws. The state has the second lowest rate of gun deaths in the nation, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Prevention is key, Perez said. You need to engage the community. The community tells you they want to have safe neighborhoods, schools, and not have to worry about being robbed and assaulted. Its all of us working together.
HARTFORD  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday called President Donald Trumps latest travel ban troubling and abhorrent, and said the executive order is a first step to a permanent ban on Muslims entering the country.

It does not hide the fact that this is a Muslim ban, Malloy said. I find that troubling and abhorrent. This administration intends to discriminate against Muslims  this is intended to be a permanent ban.

The new executive order, unlike Trumps first travel ban, excludes Iraqi citizens from a temporary prohibition on entering the country, while six other mostly Muslim countries  Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen  are barred from traveling to the U.S for 90 days. The order does not apply to valid visa holders.

Trumps earlier ban was halted after the state of Washington gained a federal court injunction. The new executive order is viewed as a correction and an attempt to avoid being blocked by another court.

Hawaii was poised on Wednesday to be the first state to challenge the new order and other legal actions are expected.

J.R. Romano, chairman of the states Republican Party, said Malloy didnt hold a news conference to condemn the murder last year of Casey Chadwick, of Norwich, by an illegal Haitian immigrant or the death last month of a young Bridgeport mother, Nidia Gonzalez, who was allegedly killed by her Salvadoran boyfriend who had been deported for violent acts.

Their priority is protecting people outside this country, not the ones who live in this country, Romano said of Malloy and national Democrats. This is about whats in the best interests of the Democratic Party.

Romano said the FBI has said its difficult to determine the background of people living in the countries targeted by the travel ban, adding all Trump is trying to do is gain time to tighten the review process of people seeking to enter the country as refugees or for other reasons.

(Malloy) thrusts himself into the national stage and ignores a murder in Bridgeport, Romano said. While he wants to take the national stage, the people in this state are suffering.

David McGuire executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, said its clear what Trump wants.

We know the intent, McGuire said. From the start of Trumps campaign he was clear that he wants to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Its unacceptable and (the new ban) has the same constitutional faults as the original ban.

Malloy stood by advice he offered state law enforcement authorities and school officials: Under state law they do not have to help federal authorities deport undocumented immigrants.

Malloys memo drew a sharp rebuke from the White House, which accused the governor of failing to follow the laws of the country.

But Malloy stopped short of pledging to go to federal court to block Trumps revised travel ban.

We will monitor what other states do, Malloy said. We thought Washington and Minnesota were the right plaintiffs.

Alok Bhatt, a Hartford immigration rights activist, said Trumps focus on travel bans and deportation of undocumented immigrants has unleashed an ugly side of America.

We are seeing that the level of attacks has risen, Bhatt said. We feel a lot of these proposals reinforce negative social attitudes. It is a critical time to organize and talk about what we want the future of our country to look like.

Iman Abdul-Shahid Muhammad Ansari, president of the Hartford chapter of the NAACP, said everyone wants to eliminate terrorism. But to attack one ethnic group is misguided and wrong. Its a form of discrimination, he said.
Daniela, Rosa and Elena do not know one another, but they all have something in common: one day, they were forced to leave their homes and travel to the Mexican capital to get an abortion. This is because a law that has been in force in Mexico City for the last 10 years allows for abortion on demand in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy  something that would be a crime elsewhere in the country .

Mexican women marching for their right to decide. REUTERS

More information La odisea de abortar libre y segura en Mexico

After a six-hour bus ride from Zamora, in Michoacan state, a nervous Daniela  she would rather not reveal her last name  walked into a public health center in the capital and found a waiting room full of people. The 23-year-old says she was surprised to see girls with their parents, and teens with their boyfriends.

Hers was a very painful abortion, performed using vacuum aspiration rather than by taking medication, which is prescribed at earlier stages of pregnancy. The latter option is used in 86% of cases, according to Mexico Citys health department.

I thought I was dying. The anesthesia did nothing, I felt everything that they were doing to me, explains Daniela.

Lets hope that one day there are real laws so that women can make decisions about their own bodies

Tania Franco, Fondo Maria

I was 27 and it was a difficult decision, says Elena, a resident of the State of Mexico who would rather not reveal her real name. I wanted to have a career, to work as a biologist, to do something more with my life.

Rosa, 29, who works as a store clerk in the state of San Luis Potosi, agrees: A woman must be able to choose, and I would like states to have laws that let us make our own decisions.

A total of 174,113 women like Daniela, Elena and Rosa have terminated their pregnancies over the last decade in Mexico Citys hospitals and public health centers, according to health department figures.

Of these, 28.8% came from the State of Mexico, which is close to the capital. Others hailed from the states of Puebla, Hidalgo, Morelos, Jalisco, Queretaro, Michoacan, Veracruz and Guanajuato.

Following the approval of the law in Mexico City in 2007 allowing for abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy, there was a rise in abortions up until 2012, when the figure leveled out.

In Mexico City, people are more open than here on the ranches, says Daniela in a telephone conversation from Zamora, in Michoacan state. If they found out, they would stare at me like I was a green horse.

A pro-choice march in Mexico City. CUARTOSCURO

The fact of being there, of seeing other young women who are crying, is difficult. Its a process that deserves attention and should be legal, adds Elena. I would like it if there were some kind of psychological care afterwards, because it gets ugly.

Both Daniela and Rosa are going to get psychological help. You let out emotions that you hadn't expressed before, explains Rosa.

Most women who have an abortion are between 18 and 24 years old, single, with pre-university studies and no source of income. Pregnancy terminations can be performed for free at public health centers, or for over 8,000 pesos (around 388) at private clinics.

The Marie Stopes clinic, where the price of an abortion is competitive, has performed more than 130,000 procedures in the last eight years. The clinic director, Araceli Lopez Nava, says that the criminalization of abortion on demand elsewhere in the country is 100% a matter of political will.

Unequal legislation

Because of the social stigma that goes with pregnancy termination, some places deny women the right to an abortion even in the cases that are contemplated in the law.

Different state, different law Paula Chouza Legislation varies across the 32 Mexican administrative divisions. Only Mexico City allows abortion on demand in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. At the national level, only rape is contemplated as a valid cause for an abortion. Other states accept additional specific causes, such as when the mother's health is at risk, when the embryo has severe congenital defects, when there was artificial insemination without consent, and when the woman's adverse economic situation meets certain requirements. Mexico's Penal Code sets out prison terms of six months to five years for illegal abortions.

There are states that are paying for these womens trips to the capital, such as the health department of Hidalgo, notes Regina Tames, director of the pro-choice association GIRE. In Jalisco, Michoacan and Hidalgo we are dealing with cases of raped girls who were denied the right to an abortion.

The Beatriz Velasco de Aleman health center is one of 13 places in Mexico City that offer free abortions. Women must stand in line from before 6am to receive same-day treatment. Anti-abortion groups typically camp outside the gates to try to convince them not to go through with the procedure.

They tell you they will do an ultrasound to see far along you are with the pregnancy, and they show you cruel images so you will regret it, recalls Rosa.

Recently, 17 out of the 32 Mexican federal entities enshrined the right to life in their constitutions from the moment of conception, a move that could create conflict with current abortion legislation.

Sex education

In Danielas case, condoms were never considered by either herself or her boyfriend. We were not very careful, she admits.

After an abortion, public clinics insist patients go home with a permanent contraceptive method, most typically a IUD (intrauterine device) or a hormone treatment that is implanted under the skin.

According to the health department, 98% of women who have an abortion at a public center undergo this treatment as well. Daniela recalls the conversation she had with the nurse: What if I dont want either one of them? Then we wont do the abortion. Since it was free, she eventually opted for the implant.

I would like for there to be some kind of psychological care afterwards, because it gets ugly

Elena, abortion seeker

Although Mexico City remains a beacon of hope for Mexican women who want to have an abortion, there is still a lot of room for improvement. GIRE director Regina Tames says that abortions after the first trimester should be allowed in specific cases, and that abortion on demand should be extended past the 12th week.

Tania Franco, who works for the association Fondo Maria, says that Mexico Citys regulations are a bare minimum that should also exist in other states.

Lets hope that one day there are real laws so that women can make decisions about their own bodies, she says.

English version by Susana Urra.
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DANBURY - Police have arrested two New York men who witnesses said were stealing used cooking oil from restaurants.

A restaurant owner told police he saw two men in a white van stealing used cooking oil from behind his restaurant. The owner had been victimized before, police said, and was staking out the cooking oil container.
For now at least, Spain is ignoring a petition by Brussels to increase the period that illegal immigrants can be held at detention centers. The current 60-day holding time will not be changed to six months  extendable to 18 months  at any of the countrys centers, said Jose Antonio Nieto, the secretary of state for security, on Tuesday.

Spanish State Secretary for Security Jose Antonio Nieto. Uly Martin

This says a lot about how we feel people arriving in our country should be treated, said Nieto.

The statement came shortly after the European Union announced plans to accelerate migrant returns. According to Eurostat, the European statistics bureau, the EU only returns 36% of migrants with deportation orders due to loopholes and inefficiencies in the system.

Europe continues to look at the short term, obsessing about making its borders impenetrable

Estrella Galan, secretary general of the Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR)

On Thursday of last week, the Commission presented a document with new measures and recommendations. The text chided member states for not incorporating in their own legislation the maximum periods allowed by the EU return directive.

In some countries, the legal periods are far below what the European directive allows. They are insufficient to complete the readmission processes of those migrants, said EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos on Thursday.

The report did not go down well in Madrid, where government sources said they had not been previously informed of its content.

The recommendation from Brussels defends adjusting national legislation to the maximum initial internment period of six months, extendable to 18 months. In our country, legislation contemplates a maximum of 60 days, one of the lowest in the entire EU, said Nieto on Tuesday.

A pro-immigrant march in Madrid in late February. EFE

Human rights groups in Spain have criticized Brussels tougher stance on immigration.

Europe continues to make the mistake of looking at the short term and obsessing about making its borders impenetrable. We lament Brussels proposal, which is one more step towards the construction of Europe as a fortress, said Estrella Galan, secretary general of the Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR). This measure is not so far from Trumps initiatives on the other side of the Atlantic, which we like to criticize so much.

Ageing facilities

Spain has seven holding centers, known by their Spanish acronym CIE. In 2015, 6,930 undocumented migrants were detained there while awaiting their deportation orders, but 52% were ultimately released after the legal period expired.

Carmen Echeverria of Karibu, a support group for African migrants at Madrids CIE, says that 90% of the people we visited in 2016 have been released.

Many groups have been demanding that CIE holding centers be shut down altogether

Many non-profit groups as well as the leftist party Podemos have been demanding that these centers be shut down altogether, claiming they are just prisons going by another name, but without the legal framework, financial resources or infrastructure of actual penitentiaries.

The CIEs have become old centers, admitted Nieto on Tuesday. There are failures and we need to address them. We need adequate centers where interns are properly dealt with, and which will serve the purpose for which they were created.

The Spanish National Police, he added, is currently drafting a plan to improve this network of facilities.

By comparison, France has a maximum holding period of 45 days. In Italy, the official limit is three months, although in practice migrants are often held for much longer than that. In Belgium, there is a two-month period but it can be increased to eight months for purposes of public order or national security. Germany may hold a migrant with a deportation order for four days.

Daniel Verdu, Gabriela Canas, Luis Doncel and Lucia Abellan contributed reporting to this story.

English version by Susana Urra.
There are few places in the world where Easter is taken as seriously as the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa, where the highlight is a spectacular passion play which represents the crucifixion of Jesus Christ .

An image from the 2016 passion play in Iztapalapa. Cuartoscuro

More information El viacrucis mas famoso de Mexico despide a Jesucristo

Last year two million people attended the meticulously planned event, which sees the man chosen to represent the savior wearing a crown of thorns and carrying a 90kg cross for several hours.

The candidate for the hotly contested role must come from Iztapalapa, be single and have received his first communion. This year, the 25-year-old chemist Erick Eduardo Guzman had been picked after beating out other finalists.

The Iztapalapa event features 162 actors with speaking parts, 150 musicians and thousands of extras

But organizers recently learned via an anonymous tip-off that Guzman was, in fact, married. After his marriage certificate emerged, Guzman was subsequently fired and a new Jesus was chosen.

I want to apologize to my parents and my family because there were times when I didnt know how to control some of my actions, including the way I got married seven years ago, Guzman told Mexican broadcaster Televisa, as his repentant-looking parents appeared before the camera.

Televisa reported that not even his own family knew he had gotten married in a civil ceremony seven years earlier.

I wasnt acting in bad faith: I didnt know the certificate existed, and I had no intention of harming the reputation of my family, the organizing committee or tradition, the young man added.

Guzman says he was assaulted and received threatening messages shortly after being given the role of Jesus in the Easter procession. He has lodged a complaint, which is now being investigated. But he doesnt believe this excuses his own error. There is nothing else for it but for me to accept my guilt, he said.

Omar Arreola, a 27-year-old engineer, has now been chosen for the role but finds himself with just a month to prepare for the demanding task.

The role of Jesus in the passion play involves carrying a 90kg cross for several hours at a stretch

Organizers say they are not concerned by the change of personnel. When these young men decide they want this role, they dont do it from one day to the next. They start on a training regime that lasts more than three months, and which sees them eating well and making sure they are physically and spiritually ready, said Miguel Angel Morales, president of the organizing committee, adding that Arreola has previously played the role of Saint Peter the Apostle.

There is a lot at stake. The Iztapalapa event features 162 actors with speaking parts and the participation of 150 musicians. In addition, some 2,000 men known as Nazarenes follow Jesus with their own cross, 1,000 women represent the women of Jerusalem and up to 2,000 men of all ages play the role of Romans.

This is different from other celebrations because here we are saying thank you for a miracle: the end of a cholera epidemic in 1843, explains Morales, noting that this gives the celebration its spiritual and mystical dimension.

English version by George Mills.
Serzh Sargsyan: Women in Armenia possess the yet undisclosed huge potential

Congratulatory address of Serzh Sargsyan on the occasion of Womens Day Dear Ladies, I congratulate you on the occasion of Womens Day. Nowadays, March 8 has truly acquired the status of a holiday. It presents yet another beautiful occasion to express our love and admiration, our gratitude and devotion to the women and girls around us. We encourage in every way a greater participation of women in the social life of our country. We believe that the women of Armenia possess the yet undisclosed huge potential which ought to be called to life in various areas. Currently, it is obvious that along with the traditional areas, such as education and health care, the women have begun to play a serious role also in entrepreneurship, journalism, governance, high technologies, judicial and other areas, including the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. I have no doubt that you will continue to expand current success and will deservedly occupy a greater place in the political life as well. Dear Ladies, Along with all this, you remain the pillar of the traditial family, which serves the base our nation, stand as a rock behind your husbands, as guardian angels for your children, as tender sisters to your brothers and brides to the soldiers who defend your honor on the borders. I once again congratulate you on the occasion of this bright spring holiday. With special appreciation, I congratulate the mothers of soldiers who are serving in the Army now. I wish you happiness and all the best.
We must rethink the U.S. response to infectious disease. Here's why.
Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

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The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

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STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh
Senior Armenian cleric condemns authorities and political forces (video)

Authorities in Armenia come to power by bribing voters, says His Eminence Archbishop Voskan Galpakyan, who had served the Armenian Apostolic Church in various locations in the Diaspora for many years before his return to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in 2010. Elections were formal and they [authorities] won, he says. Voskan Galpakyan, who once served as Primate of the Diocese of Greece and Damascus, always stayed in close contact with his Homeland and followed the events in Armenia ever since the country proclaimed independence in 1991. He says the lukewarm atmosphere does not recover in the country. In addition, there are numerous wrinkles to smooth out, including the post-election bloodshed of March 1, 2008. Had the March 1 unrest been disclosed, the state would have blamed itself, he says. He singles out another blemish accompanying our independent country. Freedom of expression was suppressed and stifled under the three presidents and opposition figures were sent to jail. This continues until today. Let me cite the example of [activist] Gevorg Safaryan, he says. Criminal proceedings are opened against people who stage protests and insult others during rallies. Yes, I can say that these people are probably political prisoners. Voskan Galpakyan follows the developments in the political arena as well. He is concerned that the political forces vying to take seats in the National Assembly have similar, if not identical ideology. They are simply competing for seats. They only say that this regime is a thief, a scoundrel, while the regime says Let us believe to be able to change. But nothing has changed so far. Speaking about the clergymen who drive Bentleys and live a life of luxury, the archbishop said, People do not want to see a high-ranking clergyman driving a Soviet-made Zhiguli. If I get out of a Zhiguli outside a hotel in Yerevan, none of the hotel employees will show up to open the door for me. But if they see me in a Mercedes, they will rush to open the door. When asked about the Armenia of his dreams, Archbishop Voskan Galpakyan said, I would like to live in an Armenia where the judge can cancel a presidential decree as is the case in America."
Dame Jenni Murray has been rebuked by the BBC for suggesting that men who undergo sex-change operations cant be considered real women, but would the Radio 4 broadcaster have been pulled up by the Corporations thought police if shed taken a pro-transgender view? The BBCs more comfortable when stars spout views closer to its own.

When Gary Lineker  like Murray, both pictured, employed on a freelance basis  opines unfavourably about Donald Trump, or favourably on refugees, theres no complaint. Indeed, a BBC spokesman insisted: Gary is a freelance broadcaster and this is a personal Twitter account. So thats all right then.

Dame Jenni Murray has been rebuked by the BBC for suggesting that men who undergo sex-change operations cant be considered real women. But when Gary Lineker opines unfavourably about Donald Trump, or favourably on refugees, theres no complaint

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will seek access to the Royal Archives as part of its investigation into children being sent to Australia and abused.

One of the organisations involved in the export of disadvantaged children  the Fairbridge Trust, which was incorporated into the Princes Trust in 2011  had royal support.

If investigators do gain access, will they find incriminating evidence of a cover-up? Dont hold your breath. The Royal Archives do not supply a catalogue to visitors, even though one exists. Researchers need to know what to ask for. Its said some sensitive items are held in an archive within the archive.

The Patrons Lunch, marking the Queens 90th birthday last year, crept in under the radar and avoided the usual palace scrutiny and tendering process, according to a source. Peter Phillipss promotion company was paid 750,000 to organise the event, twice the figure so far raised for charity. The rule for the 90th was keep it simple, the source adds. Then up popped Phillips, whispering in his grannys ear.

Peter Phillipss promotion company was paid 750,000 to organise the Patron's lunch, twice the figure so far raised for charity

Lord Paddick, Lib Dem peer and ex-deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard, criticises the Government over cuts, saying the police face bigger demands on their time with fewer resources.

Isnt it a pity he denied the Met his own talents so early by retiring on an 84,000 pension (plus 400,000 tax-free lump sum) at 49.

King Felipe of Spains state visit, postponed last year, is now back on, say court sources. Will the Spaniards use the occasion to make Gibraltar a bargaining chip during Brexit negotiations? Felipe said recently: I invite the UK to end the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar with an agreed solution between both countries to restore the territorial integrity of Spain.

My source says: Everyone hopes the Queens legendary ability to charm her guests will work its customary magic.

President Trump has been gelded at Snaith Racings stables in Philippi, Cape Town, after the colt proved difficult to train. He was unruly and unmanageable  all he wanted to do was mount all the fillies, reports trainer Justin Snaith. So unlike his namesake in Washington DC.
Its a twisted tale of murder, deceit and scandal thats so deliciously addictive it will leave you on the edge of your seat.

And with a stellar cast including Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley, its not hard to see why Big Little Lies is the most hotly anticipated new series of the year.

After receiving rave reviews from critics in Australia and America, heres five reasons why you NEED to tune in to Sky Atlantic to watch Big Little Lies.

Get comfy, you'll be here for a while: Big Little Lies is captivating viewing

1) THE A-LIST CAST

Academy Award winning Nicole Kidman, Oscar Best Actress winner Reese Witherspoon and Critics Choice and Peoples Choice winner Shailene Woodley are the leading ladies in the show, and they really seem to have bonded during filming.

Reese recently gushed about her fellow co-stars, saying: 'It became this really interesting group of women whose work I'd always loved.

'Getting to work with them every day was a pleasure. I learned so much from each of them.'

The excellent Laura Dern, the hip Zoe Kravitz and the dreamy Alexander Skarsgard also star, as well as Adam Scott, Jeffrey Nordling, Santiago Cabrera, P.J.Byrne and Virginia Kull also appear in the series.

Stars: Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz and Reese Witherspoon all star

That is a host whole of beautiful people right there. A killer cast.

2) THE CHARACTERS

BFFs: You'll want to befriend Madeline (Witherspoon) Jane (Woodley) and Celeste (Kidman)

The wonderful world of Monterey has a colourful collection of characters youll want to get to know better. Specifically Madeline Martha Mackenzie, played by Witherspoon, is the alpha mum of the group and fiercely loyal to her friends.

Shes juggling her home life with dealing with the fact her ex-husbands child is in the same class as her daughter.

Madelines best friend Celeste Wright (Kidman) is seemingly happily married to her ludicrously wealthy husband Perry whom she has two twin boys with. But Celeste is hiding a dark secret and is actually struggling with domestic abuse at the hands of her perfect husband.

Single mum Jane (Woodley) moves into the area and sends her son Ziggy to the same primary school as Madeline and Celeste and the women quickly take her under their wing.

After gaining her trust the women find out that Janes past is blighted by an ugly and traumatic experience.

Friendship goals right there.

3) THE PLOT

Secrets and lies: The beachside town of Monterey appears to be filled with happy families leading perfect lives... but all is not as it seems

Take one small beachside town, a handful of competitive mothers, a bullying issue at a primary school, oodles of explosive secrets and lies and throw in one unsolved murder for good measure.

The contrast between the beautiful people of Monterey Bay, with their seemingly perfect lives and the idyllic setting of their home town, compared with the reality  which at best is tragic, at worst horrendous - is truly captivating.

Of the story Reese has said: 'Reading the novel for the first time, I saw myself at different stages of motherhood through my life.

'It explores so many aspects that are relatable to the lives of women; it wasn't about them being good or bad  they showed every spectrum and every color of women's lives. It presented a unique opportunity to have so many incredible parts for women in one piece of material.'

So get some snacks and get comfy because once youve started you wont be able to stop! Binge-worthy viewing all round.

4) WHO DUNNIT?

Who, what, where? An unsolved murder sends shock waves through the community but it's not clear who has been killed or who is the killer

While there is one unsolved murder, which occurred during a school fundraiser no less, its not clear who has actually been murdered.

Police investigations reveal that there is a whole host of politics among the parents at the school and flash backs show the bubbling tensions that leads to one character committing murder.

The series sparks so many questions touching on competitive parenting, domestic abuse, self-loathing and infidelity. Who was murdered? Why? Will the suspect be caught? WHO KNOWS.

The suspense is palpable. You'll be hooked.

5) THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE FILM

Big Little Lies is based on the eponymous 2014 New York Times number-one bestseller by Liane Moriarty, and the writer also acted as a producer on the series.

And as well as appearing in the seven part series, both Kidman and Witherspoon worked as executive producers on the show too.

Girl power indeed.

We want in.

Big Little Lies will air on Sky Atlantic on 13 March at 9pm
Every season there are certain shows at Fashion Week that you just know will bring out the crazy, wacky and, yes, sometimes even ugly hair, make-up and nail looks.

Whether the designer is going for shock value, unparalleled originality, or ground-breaking innovation, these bold statements serve to remind us that fashion shows are, above all, a true art form.

The fall 2017 season in New York City, London, Milan and Paris has officially come to a close, and, as far as balls-to-the-wall beauty goes, this has been one for the books.

Below, we round up the biggest eyebrow-raising trends spotted on the runways.

FACE EMBELLISHMENTS

'It's all about creating a new texture and evolution of make-up as texture,' said Aaron De Mey of the herringbone fabric appliques he used in place of lipstick and eyebrow pencil backstage at Thom Browne's fall show.

Pat McGrath was on the same page at Gucci, where she adorned models' cheeks, lips and eyes with materials like crystals and black feathers.

Thick gold rings were placed over bare lips at Balmain, and pearls applied with Duo adhesive dotted faces at Manish Arora.

The award for Most Otherworldly Look, however, goes to Val Garland, who led the make-up team backstage at Gareth Pugh.

Customized three-dimensional 'bug eyes' were adhered over eyes on top of layers of black and deep teal pigment to create an 'insectile effect'.

Fly girl: A model at Gucci wore a feathered wig and feathers around her eyes

Bedazzled beauty: Metal and pearls were used as forms of make-up at Balmain (left) and Manish Arora (right)

Top it off: Materials like fabric and plastic added three-dimensional elements to the beauty looks at Thom browne (left) and Gareth Pugh (right)

NAIL ACCESSORIES

'A flamboyant Romanian gypsy' inspired the bright and textured nail looks that took artists at CND 400 hours to produce ahead of Libertine's show during New York Fashion Week.

Painted roses in a variety of hues anchored each design and were then embellished further with thread, gems, feathers and chains.

Across town on the same day, nail artist Mei Kawajiri was busy taking the pierced nail trend (seen recently on the likes of Kim Kardashian) to the next level for Philipp Plein's show by hanging chains, hoops and safety pins from black acrylic manicures.

Eye spy: The team at CND spent 400 hours crafting the elaborate designs for Libertine's show

Chain links: The impractical pierced nail trend made an appearance at Philipp Plein's show during New York Fashion Week

ABSTRACT EYE DESIGNS

The takeaway from shows like Maison Margiela and Versus Versace was that if you're going to wear brightly colored eyeshadow, don't even think about holding back.

Pat McGrath used what seemed like every pigment color in the rainbow to create out-there winged eye looks at Maison Margiela in Paris, while at Yohji Yamamoto she smudged black and red pigments around and across models' eyes.

A colorblock smudgy look was also spotted on the Versus Versace runway in Milan. 'Shes tough and her eye make-up is very bold and graphic to match,' make-up artist Lucia Pieroni told WWD backstage.

In London, Hello Kitty inspired the pastel two-tone eye make-up at Ryan Lo and in New York City, make-up lead Erin Parsons used red velvet and glitter to achieve what she called a 'Muppet' look at LRS.

Soft and sparkly: Glitter and velvet were used to achieve the make-up look for the LRS presentation

Blurred lines: When creating the eye looks at Yohji Yamamoto (left) and Versus Versace (right), precision was not the goal
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It was love at first sight as they took their first photographs together during a sunset on the Gold Coast.

So it seems only fitting that, seven years later, Dale Sharpe would propose to girlfriend Karlie Russell in front of a stunning display of the Northern Lights.

It was the perfect proposal for this landscape photography couple, who naturally first bonded over their love for taking pictures.

Gold Coast landscape photography couple Dale Sharp, 34, and Karlie Russell, 29, took what is surely one of the most breathtaking proposal pictures of all time inside the heart of the Arctic Circle with the Northern Lights

Dale, 34, has known for five years that he wanted to get down on one knee and pop the question in front of the Aurora Borealis.

'I hadn't heard or seen anyone do it before, and I wanted to do something different from everybody else,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

There was the symbolic significance as well, as Dale and Karlie, 29, had visited the Northern Lights together up to 30 times total.

'We both love chasing the Northern Lights and photographing them together,' he said. 'So it seemed pretty fitting.'

Dale had been planning to pop the question during a trip to the Arctic Circle nine months ago, only for his plan to be accidentally foiled.

Before a trip to Iceland, Dale hid the ring inside a moisturizer bottle that he told Karlie was expensive and belonged to his mother.

But on a flight from the Faroe Islands to Iceland, the couple found out their luggages were overweight.

The couple began dating seven years ago when they bonded over their love of photography and spent their first date taking pictures of sunsets together

Dale has actually been planning to pop the question during a trip to the Arctic Circle nine months ago, only for his plan to be foiled when Karlie accidentally threw away the ring, which was hidden inside a moisturiser bottle

Karlie decided the moisturiser bottle had to go and chucked it - and the $4,000 ring hidden inside - into a trash can.

'I didn't know until a week weeks after, when we were in Iceland and I was looking everywhere for the ring,' Dale said.

'I asked her where the moisturiser was and she told me she threw it out in the airport.'

Dale worked hard to save up money for a new ring as a couple planned a two-month work trip through Iceland, Norway and Finland for work.

He had hoped to finally pop the question seven years to the day they first began to date, but on Monday the Northern Lights looked too beautiful to resist.

'It was the most amazing display of colour in the Aurora that we've ever seen,' he said.

'I wanted to take full opportunity and make it happen at its absolute best. The moment was right, it felt good, so why not.'

Dale worked hard to save up money for a new ring as a couple planned a two-month work trip through Iceland, Norway and Finland for work. Pictured is the cabin the couple stayed at in Lofoten, Norway this week

As the sky behind them swirled in breathtaking greens and blues, Dale insisted that the couple take a selfie.

It was a request easier said than done, as Karlie pushed for no people to be in the shot.

'I was actually saying to Dale, "Why are you taking this selfie? It's so good we need to go somewhere else,' Karlie told Daily Mail Australia.

'I was not expecting it at all at that point in time.'

But Dale persisted, setting up a head torch behind the couple to light them up against the lights and putting the camera on a timer.

When the Aurora started glowing, he got down on one knee and pulled out the ring he had safely tucked away this time in the couple's medical pack.

Karlie said she was completely shocked by the proposal.

'I kept talking over him, saying what are you doing, what are you doing,' she recalled with a laugh.

It was on this trip from the Faroe Islands (pictured) to Iceland where Dale first planned to propose to Karlie

'He was trying to get the words out but, because I was in complete shock, I tried to talk over him.'

Karlie found the words to say yes, and now the couple are enjoying a few more weeks in the Arctic Circle before their return home.

Meanwhile their gorgeous engagement photo is already taking off all over the globe, racking up thousands of likes on Facebook and bringing the couple even more work.

But when it came to their proposal picture, Dale said it was never about beefing up their portfolio.

'It's been huge, this response, but we never expected it,' he said. 'We just shot this photo for ourselves.'

The couple are now hoping to continue traveling and, despite their incredible engagement backdrop, plan on having a simple wedding.

But they will always have that moment in front of the Northern Lights.

'The most ironic thing is that we're both landscape photographers, but have zero photos hanging up on our walls of our images,' Dale said.

'But this is one image that we want to keep for ourselves, and hang up on the wall.'
A female principal at a co-educational public school has defended her decision to appoint two boys as head prefects, saying the decision was based on 'merit, not gender'.

Principal Lea Fairfoul-Hucheon decided to ditch the standard custom of appointing a head boy and head girl to the roles at Woodvale Secondary College in Perth, Western Australia.

But speaking ahead of International Women's Day, Chris Sutherland, CEO of Gender Equity, says that the school's judgement of merit may be flawed.

'Merit is a very subjective method. Most organisations say they promote on merit and yet the majority of key roles in nearly all organisations are men, which suggests that something is amiss in the process,' he told The West Australian.

Co-ed public school, Woodvale Secondary College in Perth, has appointed two boys as head prefects over the traditional head boy and girl

'I think it doesn't make sense that you would appoint two male heads,' he said.

'It makes far better sense that we should be choosing one boy and one girl to represent the interests and diversity of the school.'

The school says the decision was based on merit and record alone with gender not a factor (stock image)

Ms Fairfoul-Hucheon said the decision was based on a student's record of service at school, their school history, interviews, speeches and votes from staff and students.

'The head prefects for 2017 were selected through a nomination and merit selection process and our strongest applicants were two males which is why they were appointed,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Despite the criticism they have received, Woodvale Secondary College say both staff and students are happy with the decision, and no formal complaints over the decision have been filed.

'There is a real focus at the school on hearing the voices of the students... and they are happy with the outcome,' Mrs Fairfoul-Hutcheon told Daily Mail Australia.

It is the first time the school has had two boys fill the prestigious title.

'We have a total of 24 prefects at the school from Years 7-12, 16 of whom are females,' the principal said.

'Not that it matters because they were offered these leadership positions on their merits  and they are all doing a fantastic job,' she added.
Thousands of women took to social media on Wednesday to spread messages about the power and meaning of International Women's Day.

Some chose to recognise the day with a quote or impassioned call to action. Others acknowledged the day in different ways.

Australian model and recent I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here contestant, Tegan Martin shared a snap of herself posing it up in the South African wilderness in a swimsuit.

'Can't complain when your surroundings are this magical': Model Tegan Martin, shared a snap of herself posing it up in the South African wilderness

'No rest for the wicked.' Can't complain when your surroundings are this magical,' the swimsuit clad model wrote, adding the hashtag #InternationalWomen'sDay.

Meanwhile, Imogen Anthony - girlfriend of radio host Kyle Sandilands - also bared all to celebrate the day, opting to share a message about equality alongside a racy topless snap with her 130,000 followers.

'HPPY #InternationalWomensDay. On this day we recognise #EQUALITY for women - we teach that we can have a pair of tits and be just as successful,' she wrote.

'Although, we should be practising EQUALITY every day and not just on a designated day. #EqualityForAll.'

'We can have a pair of tits and be just as successful': Imogen Anthony bared all to share an International Women's Day message with her 130,000 followers

Bringing some humour: Comedian Celeste Barber also stripped off for the occasion to celebrate the day with one of her famed comparison snaps - this time recreating Rita Ora's nude Terry Richardson photoshoot

Girl love: Ellie Jean Coffey also shared a playful snap for the day

Comedian Celeste Barber also stripped off for the occasion to celebrate the day with one of her famed comparison snaps - this time recreating Rita Ora's nude Terry Richardson photoshoot.

'Happy INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY!' she wrote.

'Get you're clothes off, bang out a tune and throw your hair back!

'Or do what you want, it's totally up to you. That's the point!' she added, next to her parody photo.

Inspiration: Both Pia Miller (left) and Isabel Lucas (right) paid tribute to their mothers to celebrate the day

'Grateful': Others simply shared snaps of their days, with model and social media star Sally Mustang choosing to be 'grateful' by the sea

What is International Women's Day about? International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Advertisement

Actresses Pia Miller and Isabel Lucas opted for more personal posts and chose to post old black and white photos of their mothers.

'The magnificent #women that raised us,' Pia wrote.

Isabel captioned her image: 'A day to acknowledge women and all She beholds & contributes each day around the world.

'May this day be about having the needed conversations that accelerate a kinder, wiser, gender equal world.'

Standing proud: Fitness guru Maddy Cox also shared a photo and message with her followers

Empowering: 'Sometimes we don't always feel loved and appreciated by others BUT we can always love and be appreciative of ourselves,' she said

'Statistics show that prosperous, peaceful societies are possible when women are empowered, heard and have a main seat in the decision making. '

Others simply shared snaps of their days, with model and social media star Sally Mustang choosing to be 'grateful' by the sea.

Alongside a whimsical photograph, Sally wrote: 'When my strength is taken from me like now, is when I face challenges.'

'Sitting at the beach this morning while the sun rises blessing my body to heal and becoming grateful for all the things I can still do: See, hear, taste, touch, smell, laugh, create, write.'

Making a change: Sophie Cachia shared Tom Organic's campaign to support homeless women

'Be Bold for Change': Fitness model Hattie Boydle (right) also urged her followers to support one another

Short and sweet: Nutritionist Jessica Sepel shared this inspiring quote to celebrate

Others, including nutritionist Jessica Sepel and Sophie Cachia, chose to share empowering quotes or shared snaps of campaigns that inspired them.

Fitness guru Maddy Cox also shared a photo and message with her followers.

'Happy International Women's day to all of the amazing and wonderful women out there (YOU!!),' she wrote.

'Sometimes we don't always feel loved and appreciated by others BUT we can always love and be appreciative of ourselves. Make sure you send some love to yourself today as well (and every other day) because you are deserving of it.'

Fitness model Hattie Boydle also urged her followers to support one another.

'To all the amazing women out there changing the world, inspiring change, growth, courage, strength, equality and supporting one another,' she wrote.

'Happy International Women's Day!!!! Be Bold For Change.'
While more women than ever are professionally qualified and in positions of power, still many don't get ahead because of things beyond their control.

Enter Shivani Gopal. After the 31-year-old businesswoman from Sydney was told in her twenties that she was 'too young, too pretty' (and implicitly 'too female') to be mentored, she felt baffled and angered by what had happened.

Several years later, she struck out on her own and sought to create a business where women could learn how to navigate the male-dominated workplace and come out on top.

Here, Ms Gopal shares what she's learned over the past ten years with Daily Mail Australia.

Shivani Gopal, 31, from Sydney, was told she was 'too young and too pretty' at age 21 to receive mentorship; years later she struck out on her own and founded her own business

Here, the 31-year-old (pictured) speaks out about how women can navigate their ways to the top - sharing her expert tips

HOW TO ACE THE BOARDROOM * If you're speaking in public, bring a pen and you'll automatically use it to point. This draws attention and focus to you, and keeps it there. * Use the language of expertise rather than uncertainty. Say: "I recommend", rather than "I think". * Dress for success, but do so on your own terms - whether that's an interestingly-coloured pair of glasses or French cuffed shirt. * Be bossy and call out anyone who accuses you of being bossy. It says more about workplace culture than you if someone accuses you of being bossy. * Speak up in meetings - don't be afraid of looking silly - and make sure you're heard. You are an effective communicator. Advertisement

According to Ms Gopal, the first thing you need to get to grips with is that it's okay to be bossy.

'Be bossy because there is nothing wrong with it, and it's only through being bossy that we will shatter societal norms,' she told FEMAIL.

Ten years ago, when she tapped someone on the shoulder to ask for mentorship and was refused, Ms Gopal felt 'mortified, baffled and I backed off immediately'.

'While somewhere inside me something stirred, and I thought - if you're not going to help me, I'll do it on my own - I perhaps would have reacted differently now,' she said.

'Often, as women, we let our egos hold us back - not because we're big headed, but because we don't want to do something that might make us look silly.

'Today, aged 31, I get up and dare myself to be as brilliant as I can be, even if I think I'll look silly.

'More women need to do this, and if they get told they're being bossy, then they need to call out workplace culture - as that says more about general attitudes than it does about them.'

According to Ms Gopal, the first thing you need to get to grips with is that it's okay to be bossy; 'Be bossy because there is nothing wrong with it,' she told FEMAIL

'Often, as women, we let our egos hold us back - not because we're big headed, but because we don't want to do something that might make us look silly,' she said

Ms Gopal's top tips for the boardroom are to use a pen to indicate when you're speaking as it attracts energy towards you, and use the language of power rather than uncertainty

With regard to how to ace the boardroom, Ms Gopal's tips are simple and easy to adopt.

'The biggest thing women struggle with is being heard in meetings. Firstly, lots of women don't speak up, and when they do, people don't listen.

'My top tips for forcing people to listen are to speak with a pen in your hand as you will automatically use it to point upwards. This will attract energy towards you and keep that energy on you.'

'The biggest thing women struggle with is being heard in meetings. Firstly, lots of women don't speak up, and when they do, people don't listen

Secondly, Ms Gopal is a fan of employing language to its utmost power.

'Don't say "I think" in a meeting. Say "I recommend",' she advises.

'This automatically changes the dynamic from uncertainty to expertise, shows you know what you're talking about (which you do), and conveys power.'

The 31-year-old also believes in 'dressing for success', though she said it's important to 'do it on your own terms'.

'Whether that's wearing an interesting-coloured pair of glasses or trying a shirt with French cuff links - anything that makes you feel powerful and carry yourself that way.'

'Don't say "I think" in a meeting. Say "I recommend",' she advises; this automatically changes the dynamic to one of power

With regard to getting a pay rise, Ms Gopal said: 'The first thing you need to do is decide what you want and plan for it'

'Tell your boss well in advance what you want to earn and ask what the parameters are for you to get it,' she added

Ms Gopal also said that women can acquire any skill, provided they seek and get the right advice.

HOW TO GET A PAY RISE * Decide how much you think you should earn and plan for it. * Tell your boss well in advance what you want to earn and ask what the parameters are for you to get it. * Be realistic with time frames and work with a mentor to knock your goals out of the park. * Blow your own trumpet, keep pushing and keep asking. Advertisement

'Everything you see CEOs and powerful people do is an acquired skill,' she said.

'At The Remarkable Woman, we offer women expert mentors on everything from public speaking to re-negotiating their salaries and getting promotions.'

With 16 to 18 per cent of women earning less than men, navigating the tricky question of getting a pay rise can be something plenty of women avoid.

'The first thing you need to do is decide what you want and plan for it,' Ms Gopal said.

'Tell your boss well in advance what you want to earn and ask what the parameters are for you to get it.

'Then, be realistic, work with a mentor who can help you to knock your goals out of the park and blow your own trumpet.

'Keep pushing, and keep asking. You are a strong communicator with a brilliant mind. Don't hold yourself back.'

Shivani Gopal is the creator and CEO of The Remarkable Woman. To find out more, click here. International Women's Day is Wednesday 8 March.
Hayley Walker, 29, was told three times she didn't have cancer.

She saw different doctors and asked for a biopsy on her breast more than twice, only to be told she didn't need one.

After six weeks of appointments and having to book her own biopsy in a private hospital, Ms Walker was diagnosed with stage two, grade three Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.

The mother-of-two, from Brisbane, spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her battle with cancer.

She also spoke about how she hopes to raise awareness for young women, after she posed for a stunning photoshoot with a henna pattern over her mastectomy scar.

Mum-of-two and artist Hayley Walker has recently finished treatment for aggressive breast cancer and celebrated with a beautiful photo shoot

Speaking about having to wait six weeks after her initial doctor's appointment to find out she had cancer, Ms Walker told Daily Mail Australia:

'I asked the doctor for a biopsy but he said it would do more harm than good. I was only given the referral because he could tell I was really anxious about the lump in my breast.

'I had to book a biopsy myself in a private hospital, even though the hospital is meant to do all of that for you,' she continued.

The mum-of-two had one of her breasts removed just one week after her diagnosis and immediately began chemotherapy and radiation in June last year.

'I'm one boob down and a completely different girl to who I was six months ago but I'm happy and healthy,' Ms Walker wrote in a blog post.

'I want to spread the word about the importance of early detection but also the importance of trusting your gut'

Ms Walker has recently finished all treatment for her cancer and to celebrate, she took part in a beautiful photoshoot with a henna pattern over her mastectomy scar.

'This is something I never imagined doing but I'm living life to the fullest, pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone and hopefully sprinkling a little bit of inspiration to those I meet along the way,' she posted on her blog.

'I was actually blown away by the talent of these women,' she said of the photographer, flower crown designer and stylists who helped her with the shoot.

What is Invasive Ductal Carcinoma? An invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast is a cancer that started in the cells that line the ducts of the breasts (known as DCIS) and has begun to spread into the surrounding breast tissue.

Invasive ductal breast cancer accounts for between 70 to 80% of diagnosed breast cancers.

It is the type of breast cancer that most commonly affects men. Ms Walker said her two children struggled while she was undergoing treatment. 'My daughter Matilda cried when I shaved my hair and when I came home from my mastectomy surgery, she pointed to my scar and said ''why did the doctors hurt you mummy?'',' she said. Advertisement

Ms Walker said that her two children struggled while she was undergoing treatment.

'My daughter Matilda cried when I shaved my hair and when I came home from my mastectomy surgery, she pointed to my scar and said ''why did the doctors hurt you Mummy?'',' she said.

But she also said that it's incredibly important for women to check their breasts and listen to their instinct:

'I just knew deep down that the lump in my breast wasn't a "breast mouse",' she said.

'It kept moving around and when I lay down, you could see it.'

'I want to help people, like people helped me when I needed it.'

'I want to spread the word about the importance of early detection but also the importance of trusting your gut.'

Ms Walker has recently finished all treatment for her cancer and says she is 'loving life to the fullest'

As she was only 28-years-old when she was diagnosed, Ms Walker says it's important for women of all ages to regularly check their breasts and know the warning signs.

'The type of cancer I had was so aggressive and so fast growing, it would have for sure spread throughout my body by now,' she said.

'But because I didn't fit the profile and I didn't say answer "yes" to family history and because of my age, they told me I was fine.'

'My story could have been a hell of a lot different if I had listened to my GP and not insisted on that biopsy, even when they told me it could do more harm than good.'
Bree Johnson, an avid latte drinker, and Jess Hatzis, who prefers an espresso, have built their lives on the sacred coffee bean.

The Melbourne duo met while working at Red Bull - and became fast friends.

They were attending university at the time, Jess studying commerce and Bree completing a Journalism degree, when they started their first marketing venture.

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Bree Johnson and Jess Hatzis are the powerhouse behind Australian skincare label Frank Body and they're set to make a serious profit this year

But it's their second business, Frank Body, that's seen the girls products valued at $20 million.

They spoke to the Daily Mail Australia about how the brand began.

'We were friends before we went into business. I think you need to be before you jump into something like this. You need to be able to trust each other completely,' said Miss Johnson.

Their coffee-based scrub is made from Robusta beans rather than the traditionally served Arabica bean because it has a higher caffeine concentration.

Campaign videos and images on social media have successfully launched the online brand into the retail market

The girls had no formal beauty training before launching Frank Body but had spent a decade of their adult lives trying different products out

Frank came about when they heard about women using coffee beans to exfoliate.

'The idea seemed brilliant. We wanted to have complete creative control of a brand.

'This was our chance!' said Miss Hatzis.

The girls had no formal beauty training before launching Frank Body but had spent a decade of their adult lives trying different products out.

They liked the idea of using natural ingredients on their skin and they loved the brightening effect beans had on their bodies.

'We always say that one of our weaknesses became our strengths. So while we didn't start in the beauty space, we have evolved into it.

We often go into stores and can't find Frank because it's been sold out! It's really humbling.

'There are some eye creams that use caffeine as a main ingredient but we're the only brand that sources all of their products from coffee,' said Miss Johnson.

The homegrown scrub grew in popularity on the internet and the girls admit they hadn't really thought about getting it on the shelves before now.

Frank Body has just launched its glow masks which are designed to be a 'quickie' pick-me-up for your face in the morning

'Moving into retail was really intimidating. We weren't sure exactly how our consumers would react to us being in store,' Miss Hatzis said.

'I think our biggest pinch me moment came when we partnered with Mecca. We often go into stores and can't find Frank because it's been sold out! It's really humbling.'

The pair worked alongside co-founders Steve Rowley and Alex Boffa to launch Frank Body internationally and with minimal shipping.

Jess and Bree both admit this was one of the hardest parts about growing the business.

'We started Frank Body with a $10,000 investment. We're always telling people you don't need millions in capital to start. Don't be embarrassed by what you do have - just get the product out there!' said Miss Johnson

'It's hard work every day. But it's also so rewarding

'We started Frank Body with a $10,000 investment. We're always telling people you don't need millions in capital to start. Don't be embarrassed by what you do have - just get the product out there!' said Miss Johnson.

Jess and Bree have just won the 2017 Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award which recognises 'successful, visionary, up-and-coming, entrepreneurial business women aged between 25 and 39 years old,' reported the Financial Review.

Frank Body was originally available as just an exfoliating coffee scrub but now fans can buy face creams and masks

Both girls are avid supporters of start-ups and often give advice to new business owners about how they've come so far.

Miss Johnson said: 'I have a jacket I wear around the office that says "Risk it for the biscuit" which I think might be my life motto!'

'We're always saying there is no right time to start a business. The stars will never perfectly align. Sometimes you've got to just bite the bullet and dive in,' added Miss Hatzis.

'We're always saying there is no right time to start a business. The stars will never perfectly align. Sometimes you've got to just bite the bullet and dive in,' added Miss Hatzis

Frank Body has just launched its glow masks which are designed to be a 'quickie' pick-me-up for your face in the morning.

They've also got other new products lined up for 2017.

'But obviously, it's a secret for now,' they said.
The mother of the five-year-old boy who accidentally hitched a ride in her car while playing hide and seek has shared the details of the night she thought her son was missing.

Kayla Bishop of Gidgegannup, 40 kilometres north-east of Perth, described the situation as 'scary' to Daily Mail Australia, as she tried to work out where her five-year-old son, Tyler, could be.

Mrs Bishop had been getting ready to leave on a girls' night out with her sister-in-law when the drama began.

Scared mum: Kayla Bishop had gone on a girls night out with her sister-in-law, not knowing her son Tyler (pictured) was hiding in the car

She explained she had said goodbye to her sons Tyler and Xavier, who were at the time playing with Lego, before departing.

By the time she jumped in her car, driven to the gate on their property, opened it and returned to the car, the cheeky boy had somehow clambered into the back.

'In this time, he's obviously said to his brother 'let's play hide and seek', so he's hid in the back of my car and I've not realised, so I've gone for about a 25 minute drive to the cinema,' Mrs Bishop told Daily Mail Australia.

It was not until the mother-of-three had purchased a movie ticket and headed to a restaurant for dinner beforehand that she got a call from her husband saying Tyler was missing.

At first she thought the young boy was playing a prank on them, and her husband was overreacting.

'Tyler loves to hide from us. It was my first girls night out in a long time, and I didn't want to leave just for him to be found when I'm halfway up the hill home,' she said.

Cheeky: The five-year-old was playing hide and seek with his brother Xavier and had fallen asleep, leaving his mother oblivious to the fact he was there

Police later described the incident as 'the greatest game of hide and seek ever'

But 20 minutes later, when her husband confirmed the boy was definitely missing and friends were heading over to help search for him that the reality of the situation set in.

As her sister-in-law called the police to file a missing person report, she began to think frantically about where he could be.

'I remember thinking 'oh okay, he's definitely missing now',' she recalled.

'I started to remember he had been asking me to go to the new skate park, I was thinking 'surely he wouldn't remember the way, we live on a main road, there's lots of trucks'  that was the scary part.'

Saved? After waking up in a locked car a fair way away from home, Tyler moved to the front seat and was removed from the car by security

'I remember thinking "oh okay, he's definitely missing now",' the mum (pictured with family) recalled

But after driving the 25km back home, just as she went to pull into her driveway, Mrs Bishop got a call from the police, who revealed her son had been found - at the cinema.

She explained after she had got out of the car, Tyler - who she presumed had been sleeping, as 'there is no way he could have stayed quiet for that long' - had climbed into the front seat of the car, and a concerned passer-by had flagged it with security.

Security had convinced the five-year-old to open the locked car door and taken him to get a drink of water before trying to find his mother.

Where's mum? Soon after, Mrs Bishop got back in the car to drive home and look for Tyler, meaning she did not hear her name on the loudspeaker

Mrs Bishop was called over the loudspeaker in the cinema, where Tyler thought she was, but by that time she had left to try and find her missing son.

When police were called, they were already with Tyler, and had taken him to look for his mother's car to no avail, before he told them he had been hiding in the 'boot' of the car.

The Western Australia mother described what happened when she arrived back at the cinema.

'I gave him the angry mum look when I was walking towards him, and the police must have been so confused, because I gave him the eye, and he ran away,' she said.

Reunited: Xavier, the eldest Bishop boy (centre) scolded his brother when he returned, saying 'you could have died Tyler, you could have died!'

Police, who later described the incident as 'the greatest game of hide and seek ever', were relieved to hear the full story, previously believing Mrs Bishop had been still in the movies.

When the pair returned home for the final time, he received a passionate lecture from Xavier.

'He kept saying 'You could have died Tyler! You could have died!',' Mrs Bishop laughed.

'He's been told to stop playing hide and seek for a bit - especially by his dad, he gave him a big scare.'
She is well known for her zany style and brave fashion choices but Queen Maxima's latest ensemble may be her quirkiest yet.

The Queen of the Netherlands stepped out on Wednesday wearing an enormous insect brooch as she attended an International Women's Day event.

With such a statement accessory the Argentinian-born royal kept the rest of her outfit plainer than she might normally.

Queen Maxima opted for an especially zany accessory today in the form of enormous insect brooch as she stepped out in Amsterdam

Maxima, 45, opted for a block colour of an olive green co-ord set from Dutch brand Jantaminiau complete with matching shawl for her engagement in Amsterdam.

Unfortunately the weather was not in her favour and the mother-of-three braved a torrential downpour - but luckily officials were on hand with an umbrella.

Not one to let a spot of rain bother her, Maxima showcased her usual enthusiasm for this morning's event.

Maxima opted for a block colour of an olive green co-ord set from Dutch brand Jantaminiau complete with matching shawl for her engagement this morning

Despite the downpour this morning the Dutch Queen remained in typically high spirits unable to wipe the smile from her face

March 8 marks International Women's Day - a worldwide event that helps to support women and promote gender equality.

The Dutch Queen today visited The Single Super Mom Foundation which provides national and international support to young single mothers and their children.

Maxima spent time chatting with members of the organisation where she heard stories of the company's successes and plans for the future.

In honour of International Women's Day Maxima visited The Single Super Mom Foundation which provides national and international support to young single mothers and their children

Maxima spent time chatting with members of the organisation where she heard stories of the company's successes and plans for the future

The royal also helped launch self-empowerment workouts as part of dozens of activities taking place across the Netherlands as part of Women's Day.

International Women's Day originated in New York in 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

The day was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1978 and is marked on March 8 every year.
An Illinois Catholic high school is being accused of sexism and body shaming after releasing guidelines on how students should dress for the prom.

Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford has issued a 21-page rule book  complete with pictures  on what is and isn't acceptable to wear at this year's big dance, but there are more rules for some students than others.

In addition to having a much longer list of restrictions for 'ladies' than 'gentlemen', the guidelines also say that some ladies can get away with wearing things that others cannot due to their body types.

Controversy: Boylan Central Catholic High School in Illinois has earned unwelcome public attention for its prom dress code

Getting specific: There are several pages of guidelines for girls but much fewer rules for boys

Unfair? The rules include four examples of good outfits for boys, but features numerous pages of examples for girls

Covering it all up: cannot show any cleavage

Rules: Backs must be modest and dresses cannot be too tight

Detailed: There are even guidelines about mesh and cut-outs, and nude lace is not allowed

The guidelines, which are available to read online ahead of the May 6 dance, state that anyone who does not adhere to the rules will not be allowed in.

'Boylan Catholic High School dances are an event, which reflects the philosophy of our school and the teachings of the Catholic Church. Among our most important considerations is adherence to Church teachings regarding modesty [sic],' it reads.

But while some rules are to be expected, some people are taking issue with the fact that all students here are not treated equally.

Outrage: People are crying sexism because there are more rules for the girls

One rule for some... The school also says that some dresses can be worn on some girls but not others due to body type

Anything that even gives the illusion of nudity is off-limits

Midriff-baring numbers are not acceptable, and neither are high slits

The rules for young men state that they can wear a tux, a suit and tie, or a sport coat and slacks with a tie. Four examples of appropriate attire are given.

The rules for the young women are much longer and more detailed. The neckline of a dress must not show any cleavage. The back and sides of the dress also cannot be low-cut, and all hems must be longer than mid-thigh.

Cut-outs are prohibited, as are any silhouettes that could be considered 'excessively tight'. Cover-ups like shawls or sweaters are not enough to cover a dress that doesn't meet the rules.

One line causing particular fury reads: 'Some girls may wear the same dress but due to body types, one dress may be acceptable while the other is not.'

Boylan President Amy Ott said the guidelines are meant to help girls, not hurt them

And while the young men are only given four examples of acceptable attire  and no 'don'ts the young women are provided with several pages of photo examples of acceptable dresses and necklines, as well as not-acceptable ones.

Pertaining to lace, the guide reads: 'Nude colored dresses with lace overlays give the illusion of skin showing where it should not and will be turned away.'

Boylan President Amy Ott told the Rockford Register Star that the guidelines are meant to help girls, not hurt them.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium showed off her signature vibrant style as she hosted a reception at the Royal Palace of Brussels today.

The 44-year-old looked radiant in an orange and Dalmatian-print colour-block dress as she joined husband King Philippe at the event marking International Women's Day.

The royals welcomed the winners of the Women of Peace, an award that celebrates women who campaign for peace and women's rights.

Radiant: Queen Mathilde and husband King Philippe of Belgium welcome women leaders

Elegant: The queen wore her blonde hair swept back into a low chignon for the reception

Affectionate: The Belgian king and queen were seen walking through the palace hand-in-hand

Queen Mathilde looked the picture of elegance in the bold knee-length dress, which boasted a block-colour design and delicate leather bow that accentuated her waist.

She paired the frock with a simple pair of black pumps and matching clutch bag.

Her blonde locks were swept back into a low chignon, showcasing a beautiful pair of drop coral earrings.

Vibrant: Queen Mathilde smiled as she spoke with guests in a glittering reception room

Bold: The queen made a statement in the orange and Dalmatian-print colour-block dress

Recognition: All of the women invited to the reception are at the forefront of women's rights

The mother-of-four, who is known for her charitable work, looked in excellent spirits as she and her husband posed for a photo with the group of distinguished women.

She also spent time meeting the women, all of whom contribute to civil society in Belgium.

Queen Mathilde recently returned from a four-day trip to Laos, where she visited communities in her role as the honouary president of Unicef Belgium.

Splash of colour: Mathilde matched the frock with a pair of simple coral drop earrings

Discussion: The queen looked captivated as she spent time speaking to one attendee

Royal welcome: King Philippe with guests at the International Women's Day reception
A once morbidly obese woman has jeopardized her skin removal surgeries and needs to have her tummy tuck redone after gaining a whopping 46lbs in just six weeks.

In a preview clip for Wednesday night's episode of the TLC reality series Skin Tight, Megan, 34, has a follow-up visit with Houston-based weight loss surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, and he astonished by how much weight she put on in such a short period of time.

'The moment that I walked in and saw Megan, I couldn't believe that she gained that much weight in six weeks,' he tells the camera.

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Final transformation: Megan, 34, documents her series of skin removal surgeries on Wednesday night's episode of the TLC reality series Skin Tight

All for nothing? The once morbidly obese woman has ruined her recent tummy tuck by gaining a shocking amount of weight in a short period of time

Huge problem: Houston-based weight loss surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan is stunned that Megan put on 46lbs in just six weeks

'This was unbelievable. That totally ruined her tummy tuck. Her body got totally disfigured.'

The clip begins with Dr. Nowzaradan inspecting Megan's progress following her tummy tuck, but he is dismayed to see that she has put on quite a bit of weight.

'It really looks like you gained a lot,' he says before grabbing her chart.

'If you look here, you weighed 172, and then we had surgery,' he tells her. 'We took 15lbs. Today you weigh 203, so in essence you have gained 46lbs.'

Where do you go from here? The doctor notes that her body got 'totally disfigured' because of the weight gain

Tough truth: Dr. Nowzaradan warns her that she needs to get her weight under control before they can go on with her skin removal surgeries

Megan was bullied in high school because she was morbidly obese, and she had lap-band surgery after graduation, which helped her lose weight.

However, Dr. Nowzaradan warns her that she has done significant damage to her transformation because she had put on so much weight.

'All the weight you gained in the thigh is going to be a problem,' he tells her. 'We won't be able to do you thigh lift right now, and we are going to have to redo your tummy tuck pending you lose that 46lbs.'

Not happening: The surgeon says he can't remove the skin from her thigh because of the weight she has put on

Only thing left: The surgeon goes on to say that righ now they are only going to be able to remove the skin on her arms and under her armpits and breasts

Emotional moment: After the doctor leaves, Megan bursts into tears because she feels like a 'huge disappointment'

The surgeon goes on to say that today they are only going to be able to remove the skin on her arms and under her armpits and breasts.

'We need to figure out what we are going to do to control your weight,' he says. 'You have to lose that 46lbs.'

'I went from barely eating because my lap-band slipped to eating three meals a day,' she tells the camera.

'I feel like I am a huge disappointment, not only to myself, but I feel like I let everybody down.'
A woman has shared her heartbreak after her husband of 17 years told her he is gay.

Jill and Jeff Smokler, both 39, have three children, aged nine, 11 and 13, recently made the agonizing decision to separate after 23 years together.

The couple, from Baltimore, Maryland, plan to divorce after Jeff's suppressed sexuality made their marriage untenable and left him suffering from depression.

Changing relationship: Jill Smokler, 39, pictured with her husband Jeff, also 39, and their three children aged nine, 11 and 13, has told of her heartbreak after he told her that he is gay

'Best friends': The couple, pictured in their youth, from Baltimore, Maryland, were together for 23 years - 17 of which they were married but they recently decided to get divorced

Jill, who is author, founder and editor-in-chief of parenting website Scary Mommy, was unaware of her husband's sexuality until he made the realization years after their wedding.

She said it was a 'difficult' decision to end their marriage and that the last few months have been 'brutal'. But she is confident that they will be able to foster a healthy platonic relationship.

'It wasn't easy. Nothing about this experience has been easy. But we are best friends, he is literally my favorite person in the world to be around, so even before kids, I didn't want to split up.

'When he clearly had turned a corner and realized this wasn't a phase or a tiny sliver of who he is, I knew it was time to move on,' Jill told Daily Mail Online.

She said her lowest point came when she saw that divorce was becoming inevitable.

'The last several months of knowing the separation was imminent but still living together was pretty brutal,' she said.

Jill said they were 'completely honest' with their children who were upset but understanding.

Agonizing: Jill, who editor-in-chief of parenting website Scary Mommy, said it was a 'difficult' decision and that the last few months have been 'brutal'

Life-changing: PR worker Jeff, who has suffered from depression as a result of his hidden sexuality, said it was the 'hardest decision' he has ever made

'They were sad, but amazingly mature and loving,' she said.

At first, Jeff, who works in PR, thought he was bisexual, but over the last four to five years he came to the conclusion that he is gay.

In an article, published on his wife's website Scary Mommy, Jeff said he has always known he was 'different' but after meeting his 'soulmate' Jill when he was 18 he thought he 'can't be gay'.

He wrote: 'It wasnt until after Jill and I were married that I started to understand my (what I perceived at the time to be) bisexuality.

'Once I knew, the first and only person I told was my wife. And so began a long, unexpected journey that Jill and I decided we would take together.'

Jeff said that coming out was the 'hardest decision' of his life.

He added: 'I figured I had two options: I could die - either from my intentional neglect of my health and well-being, or perhaps from something even more tragic - leaving my children fatherless, or I could come out and hope that I remained surrounded by the love of my friends, family, wife and children.'

Warmth: Jill said they have been 'blown away' by the support they have received since sharing their news on publicly and claimed it is still a taboo subject

Sympathetic: Jill said they were 'completely honest' with their children who were upset but understanding

Jill said they have been 'blown away' by the support they have received since sharing their news on publicly and claimed it is still a taboo subject.

She said: 'I've heard from dozens and dozens of men and women living in the same situation, secretly.

'People are ashamed and embarrassed and confused. It's very isolating living like this.'

Her Facebook post on the subject has been read by thousands and attracted hundreds of messages of support.

Amy Simmons, who lives in Wayland, Massachusetts, wrote: 'I so admire the respect and love and commitment to each other and your family that your words show.

'The strength to not only do what's right for your family, but to be open and share it with the world, is a wonderful example for your children about being the best people we can be.'
With today being International Women's Day, FEMAIL details the products and companies that are donating portions of their proceeds to women's causes around the globe.

Some of the organizations that designer's are supporting include Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, which are campaigning against the president and claim his policies are damaging to women.

Shop FEMAIL's roundup of stylish charitable products including Emily Ratajkowski's 'FEMINIST AF' slogan T-shirt by Jonathan Simkhai.

Trendsetting feminist: Emily Ratajkowski, 25, got a jump start on celebrating International Women's Day as she stepped out in Jonathan Simkhai's 'Feminist AF' slogan tee last week

JONATHAN SIMKHAI: In collaboration with CFDA's Fashion Stands, New York-based designer Jonathan Simkhai has created a limited-edition 'FEMINIST AF' slogan tee which 'advocates for equality for the LGBTQIA community, reproductive freedom, and fair rights for immigrants and refugees.' All proceeds from the tee will be donated to Planned Parenthood.

Shop it: Jonathan Simkhai tee, $95, jonathansimkhai.com

ADAY: Activewear brand ADAY teamed up with designer Lisa King to create a limited-edition scarf to celebrate women and modern-day feminism. Fifty percent of all sales from the brand's site today will be donated to Vital Voices, a non-profit organization whose mission is to 'identify, invest in and bring visibility to extraordinary women around the world.'

Shop it: ADAY scarf, $60, thisisaday.com

La Ligne: The sleek line of basics started by former Vogue editors, La Ligne has released a limited-edition tee with 'liberez le nipple' embroidered across the back. Twenty percent of all profits made from the tee will be donated to Free The Nipple - 'a global movement for equality, empowerment and freedom of women worldwide.'

Shop it: La Ligne tee, $115, lalignenyc.com

SCOSHA: Jewelry brand SCOSHA has teamed up with Circle of Health International to launch a special line bracelets for International Women's Day. One hundred percent of the proceeds from these select bracelets will be donated to COHI, which 'provides quality care to mothers and children in crisis situations.' And an additional ten percent of all other sales from the brand's site from March 8 to March 12 will be donated to the charity.



Shop it: SCOSHA x Circle of Health International Signature bracelet, $29, scosha.com

TORY BURCH: Iconic fashion brand Tory Burch has released a special edition 'Embrace Ambition' line. The capsule collection features tees, bracelets, handbags and key chains, and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Tory Burch Foundation that 'empowers women entrepreneurs by providing access to capital, education programs and digital resources.'

Shop it: Tory Burch bracelet, $30, toryburch.com

OTHERWILD: NY- and LA-based store/community center Otherwild released a new T-shirt that says 'Sister Resister' in celebration of International Women's Day. Twenty-five percent of the profits from the Made in the USA tee will be donated to the ACLU , which works 'to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.'

EVERLANE: Direct-to-consumer fashion brand Everlane has launched a limited-edition collection entitled '100% Human'. For every purchase made, $5 will be donated to Equality Now - an international human rights organization 'dedicated to action for the civil, political, economic and social rights of girls and women.'

Shop it: Left: Everlane tank, $22, everlane.com. Right: Everlane tee, $22, everlane.com

Motif: In honor of National Women's Month, jewelry brand Motif has designed a new bracelet to represent the fight for women's rights. The rose gold bracelet is embossed with the word 'empowered' and features a ruby colored stone in the chain. The company will be donating $5 to Planned Parenthood for every bracelet sold.

Shop it: Motif 'Empowerment' bracelet, $35, motif.me

TEMPERLY LONDON: British fashion house Temperly London has partnered with the charity Women for Women International to release an embroidered tassel scarf as part of the #SheInspiresMe collection. All proceeds from the scarf will be used to 'support women survivors of war in helping them rebuild their lives.'

Shop it: Temperly London scarf, $495, temperlylondon.com

OEUF: In honor of International Women's Day, children's brand Oeuf is donating 100 percent of its online sales on March 8 to NY-based Sanctuary for Families, which is 'New York's leading service provider and advocate for survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking and related forms of gender violence.' Throughout the month of March, the brand will also be donating 20 percent of sales from its 'Feminist Crown' to the same charity.

MAIYET x THE BRAVE COLLECTION: New York-based RTW brand Maiyet has teamed up with jewelry brand The Brave Collection to design a limited-edition bracelet in honor of today's holiday. The rose gold tassel bracelet is handmade by a local artisan in Cambodia and 15 percent of all sales will be donated to Planned Parenthood.

Shop it: Maiyet x The Brave Collection bracelet, $115, maiyet.com

CHARLOTTE OLYMPIA: British accessories brand Charlotte Olympia has designed a new bright green and gold 'Hope' clutch as a 'vibrant, glittering tribute to feminine radiance and strength.' The sleek carryall is part of the #SheInspiresMe project and 100 percent of proceeds will be donated to the charity Women for Women International.

Shop it: Charlotte Olympia clutch, $845, charlotteolympia.com

A.L.C.: Contemporary women's fashion brand A.L.C. designed a limited-edition tee celebrating female energy, positivity, and community. 'For me, the woman represents an attitude and a strength,' said founder Andrea Lieberman. 'We created this tee with that sentiment of self-expression in mind and wanted all proceeds to go to an organization that is inclusive and empowers women to get the care they need.' All proceeds from the shirt will be donated to Planned Parenthood.
Women can now use their phones to monitor how frequently they are interrupted by men.

The creators of a new app, Woman Interrupted, hope to reduce 'manterrupting' - the practice of men cutting off women in conversation - by detecting when a man speaks over a woman.

The app, which was launched today to coincide with International Women's Day, analyses conversations in real time - noting the number of interruptions, the duration and the date.

Monitored: A new app, Woman Interrupted, pictured, alerts women when they are talked over by men - recording frequency, duration and date of the interruption

Users record their own voice so that the app can use it to detect the difference in frequency of other speakers.

Its creators said it does not save or monitor people's conversations.

Men can also use the app, available in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French, to see how often they are interrupted by women.

Its creators, advertising agency BETC Sao Paulo, said the idea was inspired by the US elections when in the first presidential debate when Hillary Clinton was reportedly interrupted by President Donald Trump 51 times.

Gal Barradas, the agency's founder and co-CEO, said manterrupting is a deeply ingrained societal issue.

Alert: The creators of the new app hope to highlight 'manterrupting' - the practice of men interrupting women - by enabling people to monitor it on their phones

She said: 'At first glance, it may seem like a small problem, but it reflects deeper issues of gender inequality at work and in society.

'The app is a way of showing that in fact the interruption is real and alarming.'

The company plans to use the data collected by the app to form a 'global dashboard' to show data from around the world.

Barradas added: 'We, women, struggle every day to get our space in the workplace and the right to express ourselves.

'When we get there, manterrupting reduces our participation. We want men to ask themselves "am I doing this without even realizing it?"

'After all, what's the point of having more women in a meeting room if nobody hears what they have to say?'
Fearless females from all around the world are celebrating International Women's Day in style and Crown Princess Mary was no exception.

The sartorially clued-up royal rocked sexy leather trousers, knee-high boots and a floral adorned coat for the occasion.

The brunette was at the Vega concert venue to commemorate International Women's Day in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark arrived at the Vega concert venue to commemorate International Women's Day in Copenhagen, Denmark, in a trendy outfit on Tuesday night

Mary was in high spirits as she arrived for the concert. The Vega venue is regarded as one of the leading concert stages in Europe thanks to its stunning architectural design.

For the third consecutive year, a huge concert is taking place to celebrate female talent, hosted by Sandie Westh.

Female musicians, including Katinka, Mendoza and Barbara Moleko, will take part in the concert.

One of Crown Princess Mary's last events was last month when she donned one of her favourite pillbox hats for the opening of a museum exhibition in Denmark on.

For the third consecutive year, a huge concert is taking place to celebrate female talent, hosted by Sandie Westh and Mary looked delighted to be there

The Australian-born royal dusted off her gorgeous royal purple hat, which features a stunning jewel off to one side, in Aarhus.

Princess Mary was opening the 'Jewel Box' exhibition at the Old Town Museum, which features 1,000 Danish silver and gold pieces from the 20th century.

The mother-of-four, who turned 45 last month, sported a classic look for the occasion with a matching tweed jacket and skirt.

The sartorially clued-up royal rocked sexy leather trousers, knee-high boots and a floral adorned coat for the occasion

It was a combination that was reminiscent of the suits preferred by former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, who became well known for her glamorous gloves and hats.

Mary has been keeping busy in the new year, most recently presenting the 2017 Danish Cancer Society's Honorary Award.

The princess presented the award to Inge Marie Svane, the chief physician at the Herlev Hospital and Professor at Copenhagen University.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry both share a passion for humanitarian causes, and the actress is now raising awareness for the direct impact the stigmatization of menstruation has on young women around the world.

After traveling to India with World Vision in January, the 35-year-old penned a powerful essay for Time about how the shame associated with menstruation and the lack of access to appropriate sanitation hinders girls from pursuing an education in developing nations.

'One hundred and thirteen million adolescent girls between the ages of 12-14 in India alone are at risk of dropping out of school because of the stigma surrounding menstrual health,' she explained.

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Giving back: Meghan Markle shadowed women who manufacture sanitary napkins and sell them within the community when she visited India in January

Humanitarian: After her trip, Meghan penned a powerful essay about how the shame associated with menstruation hinders girls from pursuing an education in developing nations

Changing the world: The 35-year-old, who is pictured in Rwanda last year, traveled to India in January with World Vision

'During my time in the field, many girls shared that they feel embarrassed to go to school during their periods, ill equipped with rags instead of pads, unable to participate in sports, and without bathrooms available to care for themselves, they often opt to drop out of school entirely.'

Meghan, who visited Dehli and Mumbai during her trip, went on to say menstrual health is often not discussed at home because of the 'taboo nature of the subject'.

'Many girls believe their bodies are purging evil spirits, or that they are injured once a month; this is a shame-filled reality they quietly endure,' she said.

'All of these factors perpetuate the cycle of poverty and stunt a young girl's dream for a more prolific future.'

Serious stigma: Meghan revealed that when she went to India, many girls told her that they felt embarrassed to go to school during their periods

Spreading her message: The actress said that young girls all over the world are having their potential squandered because people are 'too shy' to talk about menstruation

The United Nations advocate explained that if a girl misses school every time she gets her period, she will end behind her male classmates by 145 days.

If they end up dropping of school, Meghan noted that they are 'increasing their subjection to dangerous work, susceptibility to being victims of violence, and most commonly, being conditioned for early childhood marriage.'

Meghan stressed that in order to remedy this problem, girls need Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM), access to toilets and sanitary pads.

During her trip, the actress shadowed women who manufacture sanitary napkins and sell them within the community, and she noted that the women's work is also opening the 'dialogue of menstrual hygiene in their homes'.

'Beyond India, in communities all over the globe, young girls' potential is being squandered because we are too shy to talk about the most natural thing in the world,' she said.

Wedding: Harry and Meghan attended the wedding of his good friend Tom Inskip in Jamaica last week

Shared interests: Both Meghan and her boyfriend Prince Harry have a passion for humanitarianism

Actress by day: Meghan stars on the USA legal drama Suits (pictured)

'To that I say: we need to push the conversation, mobilize policy making surrounding menstrual health initiatives, support organizations who foster girls' education from the ground up, and within our own homes, we need to rise above our puritanical bashfulness when it comes to talking about menstruation.'

Last year, Meghan traveled to Rwanda for World Vision's clean water campaign, and she credits her parents for her philanthropic nature.

'Both my parents came from little, so they made a choice to give a lot  buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving, delivering meals to patients in hospice care, donating any spare change in their pocket to those asking for it, and performing quiet acts of grace  be it a hug, a smile, or a pat on the back to show ones in need that they would be alright, she wrote on her lifestyle blog The Tig last October.

'This is what I grew up seeing, so that is what I grew up being: a young adult with a social consciousness to do what I could, and to, at the very least, speak up when I knew something was wrong.'

Over the weekend, Meghan joined Prince Harry in Jamaica to attend the wedding of his childhood friend Tom Inskip, who said 'I do' to Lara Hughes-Young.
Tens of thousands of men could benefit from a breakthrough prostate treatment announced today.

The technique uses tiny plastic beads to block the blood supply and shrink the enlarged gland  all without an operation.

A successful trial in Portugal is being followed up in Britain, with results due back later this year. If successful it could be rolled out for routine use on the NHS.

Half of all men over 50 suffer from an enlarged prostate and every year 45,000 have risky surgery to remove part of it.

As well as being painful and invasive, the operation can cause loss of sexual function and even incontinence.

The technique uses tiny plastic beads to block the blood supply and shrink the enlarged gland  all without an operation

Last night, researchers said they expected the new technique  prostate artery embolisation  to largely replace surgery as the standard treatment.

An enlarged prostate presses on the bladder, while also blocking the urethra. This means sufferers need to make repeated night-time trips to the toilet, often to find they cannot urinate at all.

This can lead to a build-up of toxins that cause severe kidney problems. The bead technique has been tested on 1,000 middle-aged men in Portugal.

Joao Martins Pisco, who led the study at St Louis Hospital in Lisbon, said: 'Within five years I think this will replace surgery as the standard treatment.

'Prostate artery embolisation gives men a treatment option that is less invasive than other therapies and allows them to return to their normal lives sooner.

Time and time again, I see patients who are relieved to find out about prostate artery embolisation because they are not able to tolerate medications due to their side effects.

'These men also don't want traditional surgery because it involves greater risks, has possible sexual side effects, and has a recovery time that is relatively long compared to prostate artery embolisation, which is generally performed under local anaesthesia and on an outpatient basis.'

The Portuguese team, which will present its findings at the Society of Interventional Radiology in Washington DC today, concluded the procedure is as effective as surgery and the benefits may last as long.

Half of all men over 50 suffer from an enlarged prostate and every year 45,000 have risky surgery to remove part of it

Only two patients in the seven-year trial had clinical side effects.

Performed under local anaesthetic, the procedure involves injecting hundreds of 0.2mm plastic beads into an artery in the groin.

The beads are directed with a thin tube into the blood vessels that flow to the prostate, blocking blood supply to the enlarged gland so that it shrinks.

Dr Pisco added: 'I have had nine babies born to men who were able to continue their sex lives after having the treatment.'

His team saw a 89 per cent success rate six months after surgery, 82 per cent success up to three years, and 78 per cent beyond three years.

Two hundred patients in Southampton General, Guy's Hospital in London and 16 other clinics are involved in the British trial, which is part-funded by the clinical watchdog NICE.

Dr Nigel Hacking, who is leading the study, said: 'It is very encouraging. I am always cautious about new techniques but this procedure seems to be showing promise and it seems to be safe.'

Louise de Winter of the Urology Foundation said: 'This research is very exciting.

'As the population ages these problems are going to get even more acute.'

An estimated 45,000 men undergo surgery for enlarged prostates every year in the UK.

Dr Pisco claims most of these could be replaced by prostate artery embolisation  although others say the less invasive procedure is not be suitable for all men, and many will have to continue to have surgery.

Two hundred patients in Southampton General (pictured) Guy's Hospital in London and 16 other clinics are involved in the British trial

Dr Hacking said that in his own experience, roughly 40 per cent of patients who have embolisation later have to undergo operations.

But having initial embolisation may enable them to delay that operation while retaining sexual function, and this usually means that when they do come to have an operation it is less invasive and there is a lower risk of side effects.

'Even if they do need to go back and have surgery it's a smaller operation,' he said.

Dr Hacking said it was unlikely the procedure will completely replace surgery, because it requires a highly trained interventional radiologist.

'It is a fiddly procedure and it would be potentially dangerous for someone without the skills to do it,' he said.

'But I think it may give men another option alongside surgery.'

Surgery, conducted either with a hot wire or lasers, have a high success rate - but they come with side effects which can include loss of sexual function, bleeding and incontinence.

The symptoms of enlarged prostate include a frequent need to urinate, but also difficulty starting to urinate and difficulty fully emptying a bladder.

These symptoms, however, also might be a sign of prostate cancer, so anyone in this way should be seen by a urologist.
A teenager has been left with 'no face' after catching a flesh-eating bacteria from routine dental work, it is claimed.

Suth Ret, 18, developed necrotising fasciitis following a minor procedure in December to have one of her teeth removed.

Having not had her wound treated quickly enough, bacteria that existed in her throat found its way into her bloodstream.

And this meant the bug started to ravage her, eroding away the skin on right side of her skull and leaving her with 'no face'.

Suth Ret, 18, from Cambodia, developed necrotising fasciitis following a minor procedure to have her tooth removed

Having not had her wound treated quickly enough, bacteria that existed in her throat found its way into her bloodstream

Last week she was rushed to hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, weighing just 5st 9lbs (38kg).

She continues to fight for her life, with doctors trying to halt the condition from spreading across her face.

Last week she was rushed to hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, weighing just 5st 9lbs (38kg) (picture before the dental work)

Canadian expat Yulia Khouri, who lives in the same village as Suth, has called for international help and funds to cover medical costs.

WHAT IS NECROTISING FASCIITIS? Necrotising fasciitis is most commonly caused by an infection with group A Streptococcus. Those infections normally last just a few days - they are mild and typically clear themselves up. But in some unusual cases it can develop into necrotising fasciitis. They infect flat layers of a membrane known as the fascia, which are connective bands of tissue that surround muscles, nerves, fat, and blood vessels. The infection also damages the tissues next to the fascia. Sometimes toxins made by these bacteria destroy the tissue they infect, causing it to die. When this happens, the infection is very serious and can result in loss of limbs or death. Advertisement

They came into contact with each other through a local man who posted photos online and asked for help.

Yulia, originally from Toronto, said: 'Once I saw her there was nothing else I could do but help.

'She has been fully aware, fully conscious through all of this but she doesn't know the extent of the damage to her face.

'I cannot imagine the levels of pain she has gone through. It's not like she is sick, or has cancer or some disease.

'She was 100 per cent healthy three months ago. She was just sneezing and now she has no face.'

Suth has been visited by a German team of facial reconstruction surgeons and a Malaysian surgeon with 40 years of experience.

Yulia added: 'It's a race against time but she is stable. We are looking to raise money to assist with her recovery.'

According to the NHS, the bacteria that cause the infection already live in various places in the body.

Despite not usually causing any problems, they can, in rare cases, lead to the deadly condition through the bloodstream or a wound.
Robots will become more accurate and quicker at spotting illnesses than doctors in the near future, experts claim.

Software which already exists and decides if a patient needs urgent medical attention in just two minutes could spell the end of the GP.

Developed by Babylon Health, it is now hoping to roll the concept of chat-bots for NHS 111 helplines out nationwide.

The programme also tells patients which specific service to visit, as close to their home as possible.

People suffering from an illness are asked to type in their symptoms and the app responds with further questions.

The move could be a game-changer for the NHS by using technology to out-perform human doctors, speeding-up both treatment and recovery.

The app's founder, Dr Ali Parsa, said the system will free medics to focus on treating diseases, rather than simply identifying them through the presence of symptoms.

Currently in development, the software has already surpassed medics in accurately recognising abdominal disorders.

Now, it will undergo more tests on other areas of the anatomy.

'There are 300 million pieces of knowledge that we have collected. No human brain can do that,' Dr Parsa told The Telegraph.

'This is the largest amount of primary care clinical semantic knowledge in the would that is held by any computer, as far as we know.'

'I think we will soon be able to diagnose more accurately and faster than a doctor in most cases. That leaves the doctor to focus on the management of the diseases'.

There's an app for that! The initiative is developed by UK tech company Babylon

It was offered to 1.2million patients across five boroughs in London, Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington in a six-month trial starting in January as part of a major drive to digitise the NHS.

But experts have raised concerns about the safety of using a computer program rather than a human being to give health advice.

The countrys most senior GP yesterday warned that a seemingly minor problem could quickly escalate  and that only a doctor could spot the signs.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: New technological initiatives dont suit all patients, and they dont always save resources, despite the initial appeal of the idea.

Moving the NHS 111 service online  via an app or otherwise  risks alienating vulnerable patients who are perhaps elderly, or simply not tech-savvy.

'We question whether an app, no matter how complex, comprehensive, or intelligent the algorithm it uses, is qualified to decide how urgent a patients health complaint is, so we are pleased that this is being run as a pilot before being used more widely.

The NHS has already come under fire for its 111 non-emergency telephone service. This was launched in 2010 with the aim of cutting costs and reducing pressure on busy A&E departments.

But it immediately ran into problems, with overly cautious call centre staff initially sending too many people to hospital. It has also been blamed for fatalities.

New venture: The NHS began piloting the smartphone technology in January

The Daily Mail revealed last January how 12-month-old William Mead, from Cornwall, died of sepsis after a 111 call handler failed to realise how ill he was.

And an investigation revealed that in part of the South West, call handlers were sometimes relying on just one district nurse for advice, while covering a population of 2.3million.

Over four years, the helpline saw a rise in demand from two million calls a year to 15million. In recent weeks it has been stretched to its limits, as cases of the norovirus winter vomiting bug have surged.

But Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Associations GP committee, previously said the app would not solve the core issues.

He added: The basic problem with NHS 111 is how it slavishly relies on algorithms and non-clinical staff without room for clinical interpretation in certain instances.
Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labours Shadow Health Secretary, said: 'There was nothing in the Budget to help hospitals with the acute crisis they are facing now.

'The money announced for capital spend will not go anywhere near far enough to restore hospitals after seven years of neglect. The Government need to be much clearer about how theyre going to manage demand for emergency care after the crisis theyve overseen this winter.

'This should have been a Budget that gave the NHS and social care sector the money it urgently needed. Instead, the Health Secretary has failed to support our overstretched NHS workforce and give patients the world-class health system they deserve.'

Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: 'There is now widespread agreement that the shortfall in social care funding has put pressure on the health system in some areas, and left many without the care and dignity they deserve.

'We stand ready to play our part in building a health and social care model which not only addresses the shortfall in services, but also starts to bridge the gap between health and social care, and fulfil the vision of preventative support that can keep vulnerable older and disabled people out of crisis in the first place.'

Scott Sinclair, head of policy and public affairs of Marie Curie, said: 'Timely access to social care is often determines whether someone is able to get out of hospital in the last weeks and days of their lives. However, money is not the only issue.

'The majority of people continue to die in hospital, so unless the Government develops the capacity of community palliative care services, there will be more pressure on our already stretched hospitals.'

Jason Parker, head of health, at KPMG said: 'The announcement of a 100 million investment to roll out GP triage to reduce waiting times in A&E is in my view well overdue, and has already proven to be successful in hospitals across the country over the past decade.

'However, its disappointing that the Chancellor failed to announce measures on wider prevention  to keep people out of A&E in the first place. Prevention is about much more than smoking cessation schemes.'

Clare Marx, president of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), said: 'The RCS has called for more infrastructure money to be available in the NHS.

'The extra money today takes us a step closer to realising long-awaited changes to help patients, particularly better out-of-hospital care.'

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: 'The extra funding will definitely help, but we await the details.

'Without this money it will be impossible to develop the new services that are so desperately needed.'

Janet Davies, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said: 'Today, the Chancellor missed an opportunity to give the NHS the level of investment he knows it needs.'

Dr Mark Porter, council chair of the British Medical Association, said: 'This budget does nothing to address the gaping hole in NHS finances.

'The NHS and social care are at breaking point and have been failed by party politics for too long. We need politicians from all sides to come together to agree a long-term solution to the challenges facing health and social care.

'The crisis in the NHS doesnt stop at the hospital door  our A&Es are struggling because of an overstretched system. Having GPs in A&E wont reduce admissions  if anything this could have the effect of attracting more patients to hospitals.

'Our health service is one of the best in the world, but is, increasingly, failing too many people for too much of the time. Put simply, todays budget does not go far enough to address this.'

Chris Ham, chief executive of The King's Fund, said: 'This winter the NHS has been buckling under the strain of meeting rising demand for services and maintaining standards of care.

'The Chancellor must address this in his autumn Budget or be honest with the public about the standards of care they can expect with the funding the NHS has been given.

A spokesperson for The UK Council for Psychotherapy said: 'We are extremely concerned that the budget does not commit to any extra spending for mental health.

'The Government itself has highlighted the injustice of inadequate access to mental health services. This situation is impossible to address without extra money.'

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of The Patients Association, said: 'Todays Budget has set the NHS and social care system on course for a continuing crisis in the coming years.'

Oliver Hayes, Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner, said: 'The chancellor did nothing to protect our children from the twin threats of toxic air pollution and climate change.

'With thousands of people dying prematurely from air pollution every year its astonishing that the Chancellor didnt act on dirty diesel.'
These are the shocking images of a toddler struggling with cancer.

The 23-month-old was reportedly diagnosed with the disease nine months ago following a biopsy at Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.

Khondej has since undergone a series of chemotherapy treatments and now surgeons want to operate to remove part of his brain, cheekbone and jaw.

But his family, despite painful swelling around his head, his family won't consent to any surgical intervention - because they hope alternative medicine will find a cure.

Fighter: 23 month-old toddler, Khondej, was diagnosed with the cancerous growth nine months ago following a biopsy at Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand

Speaking about her decision, the child's mother is reported as saying: 'We don't want our son to go through any more painful procedures.

'He has suffered enough already.'

Specifically, she claims he has already endured seven sessions of intravenous chemotherapy, but they have failed to eradicate the cancer.

Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the family, the boy's aunt added: 'We really want people to try to help us.

'With everyone's help maybe we could find an alternative treatment that will be success.'

The boy's case come just weeks after a similar emergency was detailed in Brazil.

Earlier this year, three year-old Melyssa Delgado Braga had one of the largest myxoma's ever recorded - weighing 5lbs.

Doctors described the benign growth as 'almost like another head attached to her jaw'.

Painful: He has since undergone a series of chemotherapy treatments and now surgeons want to operate to remove part of his brain, cheekbone and jaw - with little success

Hopeful: Despite painful swelling around his head, his family won't consent to any surgical intervention - because they hope alternative medicine will find a cure

It had displaced her tongue to the point that she was unable to eat and swallow - leaving her on the brink of being malnourished.

Surgeons in her native Sao Paulo, Brazil, warned that she would likely die because the treatment would be too much for her weakened immune system.

But, after becoming aware of her case thanks to a Facebook campaign, medics at the Louisiana State University (LSU) donated their services for free.

Support: Khondej's mother (pictured) nurses the restless youngster in the Thai capital

They removed the entire growth in an eight-hour procedure in December, allowing her to eat, talk and laugh for the first time in her life.

Her mother, Carol, 21, said: 'We were desperate to save our daughter's life.

'Surgeons in Brazil told us our Melyssa was going to die because the treatment they wanted to give her would be too much for her weakened immune system.

'We were told her only chance of survival was by seeking help in the US.

'We knew the costs were going to be huge so we started the campaign to raise money for flight tickets and for staying in the country.'
Hospital deaths from sepsis could be slashed by a test which identifies patients at the highest risk, research suggests.

A breakthrough in the understanding of how people rapidly deteriorate when sepsis has struck could even lead to new treatments for the condition, scientists claim.

Sepsis, known as the silent killer, hits when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.

It is the leading cause of avoidable death in the UK, affecting an estimated 260,000 people a year and killing at least 44,000.

Scientists think they now have worked out how to spot severely ill patients at an early stage - which could be made into a blood test

The condition is notoriously difficult to diagnose until it has spread throughout the body.

If it is caught early, antibiotics can control the infection before the bodys immune response goes into overdrive.

But if doctors do not diagnose it early enough, there is little they can do to control its spread.

Scientists in the US now think they now have worked out how to spot severely ill patients at an early stage, potentially saving countless lives.

The Mail launched the End the Sepsis Scandal campaign in January to raise awareness of symptoms among patients and staff.

The campaign was triggered by revelations of the death of William Mead, who died at the age of 12 months in 2014 after a catalogue of errors, misdiagnoses and missed opportunities by doctors and NHS helpline staff.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in December announced a major public awareness drive to tackle sepsis, in a significant victory for the Mails campaign.

But a proper test for the problem could make an even bigger difference to outcomes.

Sepsis, known as the silent killer, hits when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs (stock)

A team at Duke University in North Carolina has now made the first strides to that goal by identifying a molecule which is present in very high levels if someones immune system is in a runaway state with sepsis.

In tests on 121 patients, they found they could predict with 80 per cent accuracy if sepsis would lead to death or survival depending on levels of the molecule, which is called methylthioadenosine or MTA.

Its fantastic that people are now earnestly researching how we can identify which people will quickly deteriorate from sepsis Dr Ron Daniels, chief executive of the UK Sepsis Trust

Professor Dennis Ko, a researcher on the team, said that in time, this could be developed into a rapid blood test for patients at severe risk.

Picking the right patients to treat might mean drugs that have been abandoned for sepsis might be more effective than thought.

Many treatments that suppress the immune system have been trialled in the past, but none have succeeded.

Professor Ko, of the Duke University School of Medicine, said: This area has been a graveyard for the pharmaceutical industry, with more than 100 failed clinical trials of therapies that target the bodys abnormal response to infection.

It may be that these failed clinical trials are not actually failures of treatment, but rather failures of diagnosis.

With better biomarkers, we may be able to group sepsis patients into more refined categories to more effectively test and possibly even resurrect old drugs.

Professor Ko, whose work is published in the journal Science Advances, also thinks his team may be able to develop their own sepsis treatment by artificially injecting the MTA molecule to people whose levels are too low.

THE 7P PILLS THAT CAN FIGHT SEPSIS Blood pressure pills costing just 7p a day could be a major new weapon against sepsis, researchers found in January. A study showed the drugs, called calcium channel blockers, halve the risk of dying from sepsis, which kills more than one in three victims. Millions already take the tablets, which include brands Amlostin, Adizem and Felotens, to lower blood pressure or prevent chest pain caused by angina. Dutch scientists believe the cheap and relatively safe pills could help slash the death toll from sepsis  higher than cancer of the breast, bowel and prostate combined. Advertisement

They tested the theory on mice, finding that animals injected with the molecule were more likely to survive the condition.

Professor Ko stressed much more work needs to be done before a test or treatment could make it into hospitals.

It gets very complicated very fast, he said. Some people might have too robust of an inflammatory response, some people might not have a robust enough response, and as a result their MTA levels will differ, both between individuals and within an individual over the course of an illness.

Biomarkers could determine where individuals fall along that continuum, and what treatments might work.

Dr Ron Daniels, chief executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, last night welcomed the findings - though he stressed it would be some time before such a test would be seen in British hospitals.

Its fantastic that people are now earnestly researching how we can identify which people will quickly deteriorate from sepsis, he said.

The noise that people are making about sepsis is partly responsible for this research interest.

He added: This is an interesting new development which may well pave the way for the way we target sepsis in the future, he said.

It is one of several research avenues which we hope will change the way sepsis will be treated.
Jerry and Susan Stros were planning to go on vacation to Florida last month.

But three days before the trip, Susan began to complain of breathing difficulties.

Eventually her husband rushed her into urgent care.

Doctors diagnosed Susan with stage IV small cell carcinoma - a rare form of cancer - in her lungs, liver, lymph nodes and chest cavity.

Within a week, Jerry had seizure, fell and broke his back. At the hospital, tests revealed he had the same type of cancer in his brain and one lung.

The news came the day before his wife was scheduled to be released to in-home hospice care.

Jerry and Susan said goodbye at the hospital, not knowing if they would see each other again.

But their fears were alleviated as one week later, they were reunited at their home in Acworth, Georgia. And an emotional video captured the moment, with Jerry and Susan weeping in each other's arms after spending the longest time apart in their 51 years of marriage.

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Emotional: Jerry and Susan Stros, who have been married for 51 years, were reunited in a moment that was captured on video after spending one week apart in different hospices

Heart-wrenching: Susan was diagnosed with stage IV small cell carcinoma - a rare lung cancer - in mid-February. One week later, Jerry received the same diagnosis

On February 18, Susan was taken to the doctor after complaining of breathing troubles. She was told her lungs were clear, prescribed an antibiotic and was sent home.

The next day, however, unable to breathe, Jerry rushed her to urgent care - where doctors discovered that her lungs were filled with fluid.

Tests later revealed that Susan had stage IV small cell carcinoma. It was in 75 percent of her left lung, lymph nodes, chest cavity, and liver - and the diagnosis was terminal.

She received a series of radiation treatments over the course of a week to break up the mass in her lung and was visited at the hospital by Jerry every day.

On Susan's second-to-last day in the hospital, during a visit, Jerry had a seizure and collapsed, breaking his back.

Within hours, he was diagnosed with the same cancer - in his lung and brain - and was suddenly fighting his wife's same battle.

Tragic: Jerry's diagnosis came the day before Susan was released to in-home hospice care. Not knowing if they would see each other again, the couple said their goodbyes

In love: On March 4, just one week later, the couple reunited at their home in Acworth, Georgia. The emotional moment, captured on video, was shared on Facebook and has since gone viral (pictured before their diagnoses)

When the news came, Susan was getting ready to go to in-home hospice care. The couple's kids wheeled Jerry into her room so they could say goodbye, a moment that was captured in a photograph.

'So that moment in itself was something that was so dramatic - that we were celebrating her exit that day to within that moment, no, that my father may not make an exit from the hospital,' Jason told FOX 5.

As it happened, he would. On March 4, the couple reunited at their home, and the emotional reunion, seen on video, was posted on Facebook.

Susan hadn't been able to walk on her own all week, but is seen at the start of the video taking takes small steps toward her husband, who is sitting on a couch.

Once she sits down, they embrace and burst into tears as family and hospital staff look on.

The video has since gone viral, being shared over 25,000 times.

Fighting: Both Susan and Jerry have returned home, where she remains under hospice supervision and he receives out-patient care. The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the couple's medical expenses (pictured during their individual hospital stays)

In love: Jerry called his wife his GPS saying: 'When I make a mistake, her GPS comes out and she tells me, "Make a U-turn and go the other way, you're going the wrong way"'

'Every day has been like a fight. Round one, we beat it. Round two, we're not going down yet. It helps me get through the day,' Jason said.

'She's been my GPS all my life,' Jerry said of his wife.

'So when I make a mistake, her GPS comes out and she tells me, "Make a U-turn and go the other way, you're going the wrong way".'

Both Susan and Jerry have now returned home, where she remains under hospice supervision and he receives out-patient care.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the couple's medical expenses.

WHAT IS SMALL CELL CARCINOMA? Small cell carcinoma is a lung cancer where malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the lung. Between 10 percent and 15 percent of lung cancers are small cell. Smoking is the biggest risk factor for small cell carcinoma. Signs and symptoms: A cough that does not go away or gets worse

Coughing up blood or rust-colored sputum (spit or phlegm)

Chest pain that is often worse with deep breathing, coughing or laughing

Hoarseness

Weight loss and loss of appetite

Shortness of breath

Feeling tired or weak

Infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia that dont go away or keep coming back

Wheezing Depending on the stage of the cancer and other factors, the main treatment options for people with small cell carcinoma include: Chemotherapy

Radiation therapy

Surgery Palliative treatments can also be used to help with symptoms. Five year relative survival rates: Stage I small cell - 31 percent

Stage II small cell - 19 percent

Stage III small cell - eight percent

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Death row terrorist convict Yasin Bhatkal is planning a prison break, Delhi Police told a court on Tuesday.

The Indian Mujahideen leader and co-founder, convicted of the deadly 2013 Hyderabad blasts, has been placed in a high-surveillance ward at Tihar Jail after the department received intelligence on an escape plot.

The court was told this while hearing an application filed by Bhatkal's lawyer MS Khan, who claimed that the terrorist was only being kept in solitary confinement because he has been sentenced to capital punishment.

Yasin Bhatkal, the Indian Mujahideen (IM) leader and co-founder, is in Delhi's Tihar jail

The jail superintendent from Tihar, however, told the court that Bhatkal is not in solitary confinement, and that there is no such provision in Delhi.

Instead, he is in a high-security ward owing to the intelligence inputs that hinted at his escape plans as he still has 30-40 cases pending against him in courts.

The jail authorities also said during the hearing that Bhatkal's life is under threat and that was one of the reasons to keep him in the high-surveillance ward.

Bhatkal, also known as Ahmed Siddibappa Zarrar, was sentenced to death along with four other accomplices in December for his part in the 2013 Hyderabad blasts which killed 18 people and injured 131.

He is on death row for the deadly 2013 terror attack in Hyderabad, which killed 18 people

He has also been blamed for a string of other bomb blasts, the most high-profile being the Mumbai train blasts in 2006 and explosions in Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi in 2010, as well as the bombing at the Delhi high court in 2011.

Bhatkal's counsel had filed an application seeking directions to the jail authorities to take him out of solitary confinement 'in view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court's constitution bench that lodging an inmate in isolation in a separate cell was in violation of articles of the Constitution.'

Speaking to Mail Today, advocate MS Khan said: 'Keeping Bhatkal in solitary confinement on the pretext of prison escape was incorrect as Tihar has enough security to ensure that a prisoner does not flee.'

He is also suspected of a string of other terrorist attacks, including the 2006 Mumbai train blasts

Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which an inmate is isolated from any human contact, with the exception of members of prison staff.

In India, the maximum period of solitary confinement is three months and it cannot exceed 14 days at a time.

Legal experts are divided on keeping an inmate in solitary confinement. Some argue that it is against human dignity to keep somebody away from human contact.

Doctor Rajiv Mehta, consultant psychiatrist at Sir Ganga Ram hospital, told Mail Today: 'Solitary confinement is considered to be the worst of punishment. Man is a social animal. When he is left to live alone, he starts introspecting.

Bhaktal's lawyer told a court this week that keeping him in 'solitary confinement' was unconstitutional, but the prison department denied that was the case

'With no external contact from the world, he starts getting irritated and eventually leads to depression or psychosis at times leading to schizophrenia.'

On December 19, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Hyderabad sentenced Bhatkal and four others to death for the 2013 Hyderabad blasts, when two bombs strapped to bicycles exploded in a crowded marketplace in the city.

Bhatkal was charged with murder, treason and a terrorist act.

Two bombs strapped to bicycles exploded in a crowded marketplace in Hyderabad in 2013

The judge observed that the case fell under the 'rarest of rare' categories under which the Supreme Court says capital punishment can be carried out, among a dwindling group of nations that still have the death penalty.

Yasin Bhatkal had risen to become the IM's key executioner and took charge of the organisation's India operations after founders Iqbal and Riyaz Bhatkal fled to Pakistan in 2008 after the Batla House encounter in Delhi.

He was arrested from the India-Nepal border in Bihar's Raxaul town in August 2013.

The terror mastermind hails from Bhatkal district in Karnataka.

Media reports said his talent for disguising himself in part enabled him to remain on the run for years.

On one occasion in 2009, he was apparently able to walk out of a police station in Kolkata on bail after being accused of theft.
Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed will soon go home and perhaps even to school, which they apparently were so desperate to avoid that they crossed over to India from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Six months after an attack on an army base in J&K's Uri sector that left 19 personnel dead, Indian authorities have found that the two suspected 'terror guides' are, in fact, schoolboys from Muzaffarabad.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is set to file its closure report on Wednesday as the boys' two desperate families await the release of the youngsters.

Faisal Hussain Awan (left) and Ahsan Khursheed had crossed over the LoC after the date of the Uri attack and the route of infiltration was far from the Army base, the report says

Relatives say Faisal and Ahsan 'inadvertently strayed into the Indian side of Line of Control'.

The class 10 students of Shaheen Model School will miss their board exams in March as they cool their heels in a Jammu jail.

But sources in the Home Ministry told Mail Today that this is temporary.

After the closure report, the boys will be deported.

'We are four brothers and six sisters,' Faisal's brother Ghulam Mustafa said.

'Faisal is the youngest, only 15 years old - a simpleton whose hobby is to hang out in parks.'

Heavily armed militants killed 17 soldiers in the raid on an army base in Kashmir (pictured after the attack), the worst such attack for years in the disputed Himalayan region

Mustafa says the family cannot forget the day Faisal did not return home. They searched for him everywhere.

The family finally lodged a missing report, only to discover from media accounts that the boys had strayed into Indian territory.

'Despite reports that he would be handed over to the Pak's custody soon, his mother is inconsolable,' he said. 'She will only get relief when she sees and hugs her son.'

Ahsan has two brothers and two sisters and is the youngest of the siblings. Sources indicate that it was his idea to go as far as they did.

Activists from Hindu hardline origination Shiv Sena burn a Pakistani flag during a protest after the attack in Uri

'We don't know whether they will come from Wagah or Uri-Muzaffarabad road,' said his parents Khursheed and Raqeeba.

On March 8, the two boys will be produced in a special NIA court in Jammu, setting the wheels in motion that will finally see their release.

The duo is likely to be returned as part of a 'goodwill' arrangement under which Pakistan sent back Indian soldier Chandu Chavan this year.

Reportedly uninterested in studies, Faisal had run away from home with partner-in-crime Ahsan.

Several rebel groups have since 1989 been fighting Indian troops in Kashmir, seeking independence for the region or its merger with Pakistan

Deciding to skip school, both walked into the Indian side of the LoC with nothing more than a bag and mobile phone.

The phone ultimately turned out to be the proof of their innocence.

As per government sources privy to the report, NIA's conclusion is based on four important aspects.

First is the mobile data recovered. Secondly, the date of infiltration was September 20-21, which is after the day of Uri attack on September 18.

Also, the army apprehended the boys from Sukhdhar ridge which is said to be 12 kilometres from the brigade headquarter in Uri - a long distance away.

Finally, the initial claim of the army was that Uri terror unit was of JeM, while the attack has now been linked to LeT.

The case against the boys may have collapsed, but the probe into the larger conspiracy behind the Uri attack will continue, sources said.
Karan Johar announced that he was ecstatic to become a parent last week

Strict new surrogacy regulations were debated in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, days after Bollywood singleton Karan Johar announced he had become a father to twins.

The Modi government informed judges that from now on only infertile married Indian couples will be allowed to have a child through surrogacy, after their cases are examined by a competent authority.

'The Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill, which is now pending before a parliamentary standing committee, allows only married couple to have a surrogate child', Central government counsel K Radhakrishnan told a bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi and N V Ramana.

Health ministry sources present in the court said the bill is likely to be passed in three months.

The Centre was forced to make this submission after senior lawyer Shekhar Naphade representing the petitioner - who sought a ban on commercial surrogacy - said: 'Some big people in the film industry who are single individuals are going for it. The situation has become grave'.

The PIL alleges that lax laws have allowed rampant commercialisation of motherhood, exploiting poor women to turn India into the world's surrogacy capital.

There is no suggestion that this has been the case with any of the high-profile names in India that have turned to surrogacy.

The 44-year-old is one of Bollywood's most successful film producers

'Commercial surrogacy should not be allowed but it is going on in the country. You are allowing trading of human embryo. It is becoming a business. It has evolved into surrogacy tourism,' the bench had said earlier.

'The government does not support commercial surrogacy and also the scope of surrogacy is limited to Indian married infertile couples only and not to foreigners.

'Adequate provisions will be made in the enactment to prohibit and penalise commercial surrogacy services,' an affidavit submitted by the Centre in the court says.

He wrote a message on Facebook about being ecstatic to become a parent to twins Roohi and Yash, and said he was 'eternally grateful' to their surrogate

The Law Commission in its 228th report suggested that surrogacy should not be allowed for commercial purposes.

Going by the Centre's submission, Johar should thank India's sluggish legislative process for the birth of his twins, Yash and Roohi.

The union cabinet had passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill 2014 way back in July last year. Though it was introduced in Lok Sabha in November, it has not yet been passed.

As per the bill, others permitted on fulfillment of certain conditions will be overseas citizens of India (OCIs), people of Indian origin (PIOs), non resident Indians (NRIs) and any foreigner married to an Indian citizen.

The eligible couple will have to produce a duly notarised agreement with the prospective Indian surrogate mother.

The bill also bans homosexual couples, people in live-in relationships and single individuals from having a child through surrogacy.

Shah Rukh Khan (left), Kaijol Devgan and Karan Johar (right) at the 'My Name is Khan' premier

As per the draft law, only childless Indian heterosexual couples married for a minimum five years and with proven medical problems are eligible for surrogacy.

The proposed legislation aims at proper regulation and supervision of ART clinics and banks in the country and to prevent misuse of this technology, including surrogacy, and for safe and ethical practice of these services.

Further, they have to produce an undertaking that they would take care of the child/children born through surrogacy.

Moreover, commissioning surrogacy in India would not be easy for foreigners married to an Indian because there are other conditions.

Ministries of Home Affairs, Law and Justice, Health and Family Welfare, Commerce and External Affairs as well as the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) stand against the petition.
India's national bird is rampantly being consumed as medicine, a wildlife organisation has warned.

A study by TRAFFIC, an arm of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), recently found that at least three systems of traditional medicine in India - Siddha, Ayurveda and Unani - prescribe peacock feather and other parts in various potions.

The practice is being followed by quacks and hospitals, including those funded by the ministry of AYUSH, in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi Gujarat and Rajasthan.

TRAFFIC, an arm of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), recently found that at least three systems of traditional medicine in India prescribe peacock feathers

The Indian blue peafowl (Pavo Cristatus) has considerably reduced in numbers over the years thanks to destruction of their habitats by farmers protecting their crops and poachers.

The beautiful bird with brilliant iridescent coloured feathers was numbered at about 15 lakh in a study in 2007.

However, isolated studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that its population has come down to only a few lakh.

Poachers hunt peacocks for their meat and body parts, while farmers have been known to poison them with pesticides to save their crops

While domestic trade in the naturally shed tail feathers collected outside protected areas is allowed, export of these is prohibited.

The study says: 'Bhasma and churnam (peacock feather ash) were sold in many siddha drug stores in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi Gujarat and Rajasthan, and is used to cure hiccups, vomiting and morning sickness among other illnesses).'

'The Rebari community in Rajasthan use ash of peafowl feather mixed with honey to cure asthma, whereas ash of peafowl feathers mixed with coconut oil is used for headache. One bolus with cow milk daily early in the morning is given for five days to get male child.'

Seven peacocks with their necks broken were recently found by forest officials in Bundi district on Sunday

Legs and fat of peafowl are also fairly popular and advised under medicinal systems, the report points out.

'TRAFFIC India investigators were able to spot Narikuravar tribals selling peafowl oil/ghee at popular markets, bus stands, temples and tourist spots in different towns of Tamil Nadu,' it read.

'A few siddha drug makers also sell peafowl ghee openly in their shops and even an original bill is issued by them. Some village physicians in Trichy, Madurai and Theni buy peafowl legs from the tribals and dry the legs.

'They then powder the dried legs and add it to hot sesame oil and subscribe it for joint pains and fractures. The carcasses are displayed to carry conviction with the buyers about the genuineness of the product,' it further read.

On Sunday, five dead peacocks with broken necks were discovered in Rajasthan as officials warned the national birds are coming under increasing threat.

The Bundi district tops in poaching of the national bird in Rajasthan, with as many as 200 peacocks reportedly killed in 2016
Calling them 'unsung sheroes', the Union Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry has shortlisted 33 women, who will be awarded Nari Shakti Puraskaar on the occasion of International Women's day by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Among the awardees is the state of Rajasthan for its 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign that took its sex ratio from 929 in December 2016 to 942 through a statewide awareness campaign.

The 'Annaprashan' and 'Goad Bharai' programmes organised regularly for pregnant women at anganwadi centres in all districts of Rajasthan also helped it make the cut.

Subha Varier helped finalise the configuration of Satish Dhawan Space Centre

Anatta Sonney has helped ISRO design and develop orbit determination systems

The ministry will also award three women scientists - Subha Varier, B Codanayaguy and Anatta Sonney - who have contributed to the launch of 104 satellites by ISRO on February 15.

Varier contributed in finalising the configuration of Satish Dhawan Space Centre and SHAR, Shriharikota range, for real time display.

Codanayaguy from Puducherry has been with ISRO for over 30 years now and was responsible for the control system of all the solid motors of the PSLV C37 launch vehicle.

India's first female graphic novelist, Amruta Patil, will also be awarded for her work in memento mori, sexuality, myth and sustainable living through graphics

Motorcyclist Pallavi Fauzdar has been raising awareness about malnutrition in children and female foeticide

Annata has helped ISRO design and develop orbit determination systems.

Asia's first woman to drive a diesel train at the age of 20 - Mumtaz Kazi - will also receive the award.

'I draw my inspiration from my father and had an inclination to drive a train since I was young. I had applied for this job back in 1988 and joined Indian Railways in 1991,' 46-year-old Kazi told Mail Today.

Dancer Amala Akkineni has also made the shortlist

Social activist Divya Rawat

Motorcyclist Pallavi Fauzdar, who has mobilised her passion to raise awareness about malnutrition in children and female foeticide, will also be honoured.

Fauzdar has conquered eight mountain passes above 5,000 metres altitude in a single trip, covering 3,500 kms of rough terrain in Himachal, Leh, Ladakh and Kashmir.

Anoyara Khatun of West Bengal, who has saved 50 minors from child marriage and 85 girls from getting trafficked, also caught the eye of the WCD ministry.

Khatun will also be awarded for helping 200 girls pursue education.

India's first female graphic novelist, Amruta Patil, will also be awarded for her work in memento mori, sexuality, myth and sustainable living through graphics.

Speaking to Mail Today, WCD minister Maneka Gandhi said: 'We are always trying to highlight the work of women, who are relentlessly contributing to society in the most unusual ways and deserve to be highlighted.'

'This time, the ministry is giving these awards to women, mostly belonging to the marginalised and vulnerable sections, who are working for the society at many levels,' a senior WCD ministry official said.
G N Saibaba was Tuesday awarded life imprisonment for Maoist links

Delhi University professor G N Saibaba was Tuesday awarded life imprisonment by a court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli for his links with the Maoists.

The court has also found JNU student Hem Mishra and four others guilty of waging war against the country and supporting the ideology of banned organisation, CPI (Maoist).

Judge Suryakant Shinde sentenced Saibaba, Mishra and three others to life, while a sixth accused, Vijay Tirke, was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.

Saibaba was picked up from his house in Delhi in 2013 after Mishra and two others were caught with some incriminating letters and a memory card which contained, incriminating documents about the banned organisation.

Vasanta, Saibaba's wife, said: 'This judgement is shocking. In the history of Maharashtra, this is the first case in which all the persons charge sheeted have been convicted in all the sections with life imprisonment.

'Saibaba's brother attended most of the arguments of our advocates before the honourable judge and found that the judgement has not taken those into consideration.'

'DUTA is appalled because there aren't enough evidence against Saibaba and we know how witnesses have complained about the pressure from authorities,' DUTA president professor Nandita Narain told Mail Today.

Saibaba was first picked up from his house in Delhi in 2013 and found with incriminating letters and a memory card

The search at Saibaba's house yielded more of the same material after which he was put in jail with others. He later managed to get bail on health grounds.

Saibaba, a wheelchair-bound teacher with 90 per cent physical disability, was first arrested by Maharashtra Police in May 2014, on charges of having links with Maoists.

On Tuesday, after the sentence, Narendra Pandey, a professor at RLA College, told Mail Today that the college authorities have taken care of Saibaba's deteriorating health and arranged for the preparatory amount with the professor's emergency surgery for gravel removal from pancreas.

'He is currently in a critical condition and was recently hospitalised. We have arranged for Rs 68,000 for his requirements,' said Pandey.

The prosecutions story was that Hem Mishra, Mahesh Tirki and Pandu Narote had gone inside the jungles and met wanted accused Narmada Akka, a top Maoist commander in the Gadchiroli area, and from her, they collected Rs 5 lakh that was to be delivered to Saibaba in Delhi to spread the Maoist ideology in the urban areas.

Public prosecutor Prashant Satgianathan had brought in 23 witnesses and 41 articles recovered from Saibaba's residence.
Delhi University teachers protest the BJP

With the management at one of the country's top colleges, St Stephen's, battling an 'autonomy backlash' from faculty and students, six other educational institutions in the city are toying with the idea of breaking away from Delhi University.

Autonomous status would allow the colleges to frame syllabuses, conduct examinations, declare results, and decide their own recruitment rules, teacher salaries and student fees.

The institutes will have a deemed university status. The six colleges are Sri Venkateswara, Lady Shri Ram, Hindu, Shri Ram College of Commerce, PGDAV and Hansraj, which were offered the autonomy option for 'better academic standings and independent administrative control'.

Delhi University's dean of colleges Prof Devesh Sinha told Mail Today, 'Autonomy has been offered to these colleges for enhancing academic and administrative freedom.'

Last month DU formed a committee for its colleges that are seeking autonomy or university status after the central government announced such provisions for educational institutions across the country in the annual budget.

St Stephen's College principal John Varghese agreed this month to students' and teachers' demand to hold consultations on the issue while promising to write to the governing body to rescind a decision on applying for autonomy following days of protests

'Grants to these colleges will be increased if they are declared independent,' said Sinha.

However, many students and teachers fear autonomy would prompt the institutions to hike fees and it would lead to commercialisation of the public education system.

Faculty members and students have sent pictures of meetings and open houses in one of these colleges to Mail Today.

But already facing campus unrest following clashes between ideologically divergent student groups last month, the management and principals are taking the autonomy debate slow for now.

St Stephen's College principal John Varghese agreed this month to students' and teachers' demand to hold consultations on the issue while promising to write to the governing body to rescind a decision on applying for autonomy following days of protests.

At Venkateswara College, where an open house of students and teachers discussed the matter at length last Friday and criticised the move by the college governing body and top leadership, principal Prof Hema Reddy put up a notice 'appealing for calm and denying any move from their side.'

In fact, a meeting between the dean of colleges and the Sri Venkateswara governing body was arranged, but it remained inconclusive.

No stranger to the autonomy debate and speaking on it since 2012, Lady Shri Ram College has witnessed clear resentment among professors, who have vehemently opposed the step.

'The faculty and staff at LSR has conveyed to the principal our staunch opposition to the decision and we have been assured by the principal that no such move is being planned,' LSR's assistant professor V Ravi told Mail Today.

Guidelines set by India's higher education regulator, the University Grants Commission, provide for consultations with staff before a college applies for autonomy.

Students are worried about the mounting financial pressure. (File picture)

'We have been offered the proposal to go autonomous but we have no such plans in the near future as well,' SRCC principal RP Rastogi said.

'In fact, SRCC had rejected the autonomy offer straight away with both faculty and principal on the same page.'

DU sources say principals and managements of these colleges selected for autonomy have had meetings in this regard.

They are rejecting the offer, though, at present. 'The exclusion of academic standards from the discourse and agenda of privatisation of education is worrying.

The manner in which the proposal has been pushed makes these colleges look like they are already autonomous,' said SRCC professor Sanjay Bohidar.

Stephenians are worried over the degree offered by an independent college. (Picture for representation)

Even at Hansraj, the debate bubbled up and apprehensions were raised about its fallout and the college's standing in DU.

'The college's principal has assured the staff council that a meeting with the staff will be held if the proposal to go autonomous reaches her table,' said associate professor Sanjay Kumar.

'Though we have not been approached officially, the staff has clearly rejected the need to go autonomous - irrespective of whether it's financial or academic in nature.
Suspected ISIS terrorist Saifullah, killed in a stand off with the ATS

Hours before Saifullah, the suspect in the Madhya Pradesh train blast was shot dead by Uttar Pradesh police, his family members tried everything to persuade him to surrender.

By daybreak, news of the ISIS-inspired youth's killing was public knowledge. But when the police went to Kanpur to collect his father to receive the body in Lucknow, Sartaj flatly refused, stating that he would not receive an 'anti-national's body'.

The death of the youth comes after yesterday's explosion at 9.50am near Jabdi station in the Ratlam division in which 10 people were injured - three seriously - on the train heading from Bhopal to Ujjain.

Top UP police sources said when Saifullah's hideout was surrounded and onlookers were removed from the locality at the outskirts of the state capital, there was a straight firefight between the gunman and members of the special task force (STF).

But the police first tried to make him surrender but when their efforts failed, a meeting of top UP police officers took place.

A quick strategy was worked out - while police commandos were kept on standby at the hideout, Saifullah's relatives were located in Kanpur.

The Intelligence Bureau has received inputs that the Islamic State is making efforts to recruit youths from India

They were roped in to coax the youth to give in. His Kanpur-based brother, Khalid, was made to speak to Saifullah over the phone by the police.

But Saifullah was not receptive. The young man in his 20s had, in fact, 'screamed and said he wanted to die', sources said.

According to the police, Saifullah and his associates' terror plans were nothing less than 'catastrophic'.

Arms, ammunition and other items recovered after suspected terrorist Saifullah was killed in a 12-hour long shootout

Khalid also asked his father to speak to Saifullah and convince him to surrender.

Sobbing and helpless, Sartaj told Saifullah that he had left home to study and he should focus on that rather than getting into terrorist activities. But this made no difference.

At one point, Khalid also invoked Prophet Mohammad and asked Saifullah to give up in his name.

However, the gunman was not prepared to listen. Police sources said that Saifullah was so deeply indoctrinated that it became impossible even for his family members to penetrate his hardened ideology.

The explosion happened at about 9.50am near Jabdi station in the Ratlam division

'It was like all hell broke loose on his family when they discovered that someone who had spent his childhood and best years of his life with them was not willing to listen to them at all,' said a senior police officer.

Sartaj said, two months ago he had beaten up Saifullah for not working. Last week the young man called up his father to say he was going to Saudi Arabia.

Clearly there were differing views within the family on what Saifullah was up to.

However, relatives could not prevail and police action had to be launched to eliminate him.

Sobbing and helpless, Sartaj (pictured) told Saifullah that he had left home to study and he should focus on that rather than getting into terrorist activities. But this made no difference.

The police drilled walls in the hideout and tried to use fibre optic cameras to monitor his movements. They also used tear gas and chilly shells to try and flush him out.

Finally, anti-terrorism squad commandos stormed the building after issuing a warning. But Saifullah started firing and the ATS men retaliated.

Following the 12-hour long operation, the rooms were searched and his body was found. The commandos had also spotted a wire wrapped around his stomach, indicating he was plotting a fidayeen attack.

The police wanted to catch him alive so his interrogation could shed light on the module, its plans and sympathisers.

Cops seized a large cache of arms and ammunition, explosives, railways maps and ISIS flags from the site.

Saifullah and his associates allegedly planted a low-intensity bomb on a train running between Bhopal and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.

About 10 people were injured in the explosion on Tuesday that authorities termed a terror attack.

12-hour gunfight in which no one really spoke

A studied silence prevailed in Hazi colony in Thakurganj area of Lucknow, where a joint team of the ATS and the UP Police shot dead a terror suspect in the early hours of Wednesday.

Saifullah was killed after a prolonged gunfight lasting over 12 hours.

Police said that arms and ammunition seized from the rented house suggested there was Lucknow  Kanpur  Khurshan terror nexus in operation from the house.

Two suspects were holed up in a house on outskirts of Lucknow late on Tuesday night

Neighbours of the slain terrorist are in shock over the developments. Kaiyyum, who lives next door and whose house was used to penetrate the compound, said four youths had taken one room on rent around four months ago.

'There were four youths living in one of the rooms out of the four rooms in the house. As the owner lives in Saudi Arabia, we did not know anything about them or their activities. We only used to exchange greetings. They did not have any interaction with anyone in the colony', Kaiyyum said.

Another neighbor, Rubina said that while there was quiet in the house during mornings, the nights were unusually busy.

'We never saw them during the day, but they got several visitors at night. They never kept any interaction with other residents and had placed heavy curtains on the windows and the main entrance of the house,' she said.

UP police officials said that these people were self-radicalised and self-proclaimed believers of ISIS ideology.

'They had no financing from any foreign source. They were using their own properties and other sources to fund their activities,' said an officer.

Police also carried out arrests of several other self-radicalised persons suspected to be linked to the train blast on Tuesday in which ten persons were injured.

Among the suspects held are Kanpur residents Mohammed Faisal Khan, Mohammed Imran and Danish, who are believed to be brothers.

Police have also arrested Fakre-Alam from Etawah and Atiq Muzaffar from Kanpur.
The Chancellor is to slap a 25 per cent charge on savers moving pension pots abroad where this is a blatant move to avoid paying tax in the UK.

People will still be able to shift pensions overseas tax-free if they and their pot are located in the same country, both are within the European Economic Area, or the scheme they transfer into is run by their employer.

The move is aimed at clamping down on people who, for example, retire to another European country while parking their pension in an offshore tax haven.

New rules: People still be able to shift pensions overseas tax-free if they and their pot are located in the same country (Stock image)

Placing restrictions on transfers in such cases means more savers are likely to leave their pensions in the UK, providing a welcome boost to Treasury coffers.

The crackdown could also end up deterring people from transferring pensions into jurisdictions where their savings are no longer protected by UK regulators, but by the local authorities.

At the moment, you have the option of transferring your pot abroad as long as the scheme at the other end - known in official jargon as a 'QROPS', which stands for Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme - is approved by the UK taxman.

Although current rules have been tightened already, this is regarded as a pretty murky area of the pensions world, full of sharks who try to sign people up to unsuitable offshore schemes that are unregulated by the UK authorities.

Ahead of today's Budget move - which takes effect from midnight - there was already speculation that people looking to transfer work or private pension overseas for convenience or tax reasons might face new curbs as a result of the pending Brexit negotiations. Read more here.

The Treasury said of the new 25 per cent levy: 'This charge is targeted at those seeking to reduce the tax payable by moving their pension wealth to another jurisdiction.

'Exceptions will apply to the charge allowing transfers to be made tax-free where people have a genuine need to transfer their pension, including when the individual and the pension are both located within the European Economic Area.'

Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, said: 'QROPS transfer requests on or after 9 March will be hit with a 25 per cent tax charge.

'Broadly, it look like there will only be an exemption to the tax charge where the individual and pension savings are in the same country, both are in the European Economic Area, or the QROPS is provided by the individuals employer.

'QROPS were originally designed to make it easier for people leaving the UK to retire to another country and take their pension with them. However, the structure has increasingly been manipulated by those looking to artificially cut their tax bills.

'The introduction of a 25 per cent levy for transfers to a country where the individual is not residing should act as a severe deterrent to abuse of the system.'

New tax curb: The 25% charge is aimed at clamping down on people who, for example, retire to Spain while parking their pension in an offshore tax haven

David Hartles, private client principal at accountancy firm HW Fisher & Company, said: 'While there are some limited exemptions, as of midnight people could be subject to a significant 25 per cent charge on transferring their UK pension pot to an overseas equivalent.

'This has the ability to affect up to a quarter of a billion pounds of pension savings leaving the UK. There are exemptions, such as allowing for free movement of capital under EU rules, although how long this is available remains unknown.'

Andrew Tully, pensions technical director at Retirement Advantage, said: This appears to be a significant shutting down of the QROPS market, restricting overseas transfers to situations where people have an overseas employers scheme or the QROPS is in the EEA.

'The Government has been increasingly concerned about the use of these schemes for the past few years and this appears a major move to reduce their use.

Les Cameron, head of technical at Prudential, said: 'The government has been gradually reducing the attractiveness of QROPS for a number of years but this new 25 per cent charge, which applies to some transfers from midnight tomorrow, has come out of the blue.

'Some transfers will still be able to go ahead but others will need to be stopped. Many will no doubt pause transfers until the detail of todays announcement can be fully considered.

'The last thing anyone wants is to incur an unplanned 25 per cent tax charge or possibly more if their intended QROPS decides to deregister themselves.'

Stuart Paton Evans, retirement propositions director at Scottish Widows, said: 'The introduction of a 25% tax charge on transfers of UK pensions into Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes will make them less appealing for savers wishing to avoid UK taxation.

'There will be exemptions to allow pensioners with a genuine need to do this tax-free, particularly where the individual and pension scheme are situated in the European Economic area, the saver is moving to the country where the provider operates, or the transfer is to an occupational scheme sponsored by the individuals employer.

'This continues the tax clampdown on overseas pensions that was introduced in the Autumn Statement in 2016 and could also help reduce the opportunity for pensions scammers who have looked to utilise QROPS to scam pensioners of their savings.'

Gary Smith, financial planner at Tilney, said: 'This would be an issue for ex-pats who say retire to Spain but transfer into a QROPS based in Guernsey, as this would incur the 25 per cent tax charge.'

Pension freedom raises tax haul from savers cashing in pots

Savers taking advantage of pension freedoms have shelled out nearly three times as much tax to the Treasury as originally forecast, new figures released by HMRC reveal.

WHAT IS PENSION FREEDOM? Pension freedom reforms have given over-55s greater power over how they spend, save or invest their retirement pots. Key changes from April 2015 included removing the need to buy an annuity to provide income until you die, giving access to invest-and-drawdown schemes previously restricted to wealthier savers, and the axing of a 55 per cent 'death tax' on pension pots left invested. The changes apply to people with 'defined contribution' or 'money purchase' pension schemes, which take contributions from both employer and employee and invest them to provide a pot of money at retirement. They don't apply to those with more generous gold-plated final salary or 'defined benefit' pensions which provide a guaranteed income after retirement. However, those still saving into such schemes can transfer to DC schemes, provided they get financial advice if their pot is worth 30,000-plus.

The Government anticipated raising an extra 0.3 billion in 2015-16 and 0.6 billion in 2016-17 as people began seizing the opportunity to cash in some or all of their lifetime savings. It has now admitted raking in 1.5billion in the first year, while its estimate for the current tax year is 1.1billion.

Everyone aged over 55 now has unfettered access to their whole pension pot - but only 25 per cent of retirement savings are tax-free. The rest is taxed as income at the usual 20 per cent, 40 per cent and 45 per cent rates.

Those who dip too freely into their pension pot at retirement can end up in a higher rate tax bracket and on the hook to the taxman for more than they expected. Read more here on how to avoid this tax trap.

Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement expert at Prudential, said: 'These figures raise interesting questions about how people are using pension freedoms.

'It is clear from this data that the tax taken from pension freedoms is considerably higher than originally expected  this having been caused by larger withdrawals  including in some cases all of the fund being withdrawn in one go.

'This will be the right decision for some people who have other income sources, but clearly is a concern if unsustainable levels of income are being taken.'

Chris Noon, Partner at Hymans Robertson said: 'There are several reasons why the Government has collected more tax from freedom and choice than it originally estimated.

'First, average withdrawals have been larger than anticipated. The Government assumed individuals would spread withdrawals over four years, which they havent.

'This shows that individuals have been making suboptimal choices due to a lack of understanding of the tax consequences of their decisions. Theyve been stung with hefty tax bills as a result.

'Second, many people with defined benefit [final salary] pensions will have converted some or all of this benefit to a defined contribution fund. They will then typically draw this money much faster than the defined benefit benefit would have been paid.'

Andrew Tully, pensions technical director, Retirement Advantage, said: 'This is a tax bonanza for the Treasury and although a welcome boost to government coffers, will have been a nasty surprise for many people taking advantage of the new freedoms.

'Paying tax on withdrawals was seen at the time as a natural brake on withdrawing too much too soon but this clearly hasnt been the case.
A federal judge declined Tuesday to temporarily stop construction of the final section of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline, clearing the way for oil to flow as soon as next week.

The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes pledged to continue their legal fight against the project, even after the pipeline begins operating.

The tribes had asked U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw permission for Texas-based developer Energy Transfer Partners to lay pipe under Lake Oahe in North Dakota.

The stretch under the Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota is the last piece of construction for the $3.8 billion pipeline to move North Dakota oil to Illinois.

A group protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline has set up teepees on the National Mall near the Washington Monument in Washington, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. A federal judge declined to temporarily stop construction of the final section of the disputed pipeline

A group protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline has set up teepees on the National Mall near the Washington Monument in Washington

The tribes argued that a pipeline under the lake violates their right to practice their religion, which relies on clean water, and they wanted the work suspended until the claim could be resolved.

When they filed their lawsuit last summer, the tribes argued that the pipeline threatens Native American cultural sites and their water supply. Their religion argument was new, however, and disputed by both the Corps and the company.

Boasberg in his ruling Tuesday said the tribes didn't raise the religion argument in a timely fashion. He also questioned its merit.

Patty Aitchison of Detroit walks into a teepee to speak with a group protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline on the National Mall near the Washington Monument in Washington

A group protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline has set up teepees on the National Mall near the Washington Monument in Washington on Tuesday

'Although the tribe's members may feel unable to use the water from Lake Oahe in their religious ceremonies once the pipeline is operational, there is no specific ban on their religious exercise,' he said.

The judge's decision came as American Indians from across the country gathered in Washington to protest President Donald Trump's policies encouraging oil pipelines.

Native Americans are planning four days of activities including lobbying lawmakers and culminating in a march on the White House.

Tribal members and supporters plan to camp each day on the National Mall, with teepees, a ceremonial fire, cultural workshops and speakers.

This aerial file photo shows the site where the final phase of the Dakota Access Pipeline will take place with boring equipment routing the pipeline underground and across Lake Oahe to connect with the existing pipeline in Emmons County near Cannon Ball, North Dakota

'Trump and his friends at Big Oil have not won,' Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault said in response to Boasberg's ruling

'Trump and his friends at Big Oil have not won,' Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault said in response to Boasberg's ruling, adding that 'the bigger legal battle is ahead - we stand strong.'

Standing Rock attorney Jan Hasselman and Cheyenne River attorney Nicole Ducheneaux said they hadn't decided whether to appeal Boasberg's ruling.

In the meantime, they said, they'll continue to argue for more environmental study and for the government to recognize the tribe's treaty rights to clean water.

They don't expect a court hearing until at least April - long after pipeline operations are expected to begin - but Boasberg 'can order the pipeline turned back off, and that's what we'll be asking for,' Hasselman said.

Work under Lake Oahe had been held up in the courts until Trump last month instructed the Corps to advance construction. The Army is involved because its engineering branch manages the river and its system of hydroelectric dams, which is owned by the federal government.

The company began drilling under the lake February 8. Company attorney William Scherman said in court documents that the pipeline could be moving oil as early as next week, and company spokeswoman Vicki Granado said it could be fully operational about three weeks later.

Aldo Seoane of the Yoeme tribe, with a group protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline, helps set up teepees on the National Mall near the Washington Monument in Washington, Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The MAIN Coalition, an industry group made up of agriculture, business and labor entities that benefit from Midwest infrastructure projects, praised Boasberg's ruling paving the way for the project's completion.

The decision 'further demonstrates that both the Army Corps of Engineers and Dakota Access have fully complied with all established laws and regulations,' spokesman Craig Stevens said.

The pipeline saga has endured for months. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of pipeline opponents who sided with tribal opposition to the pipeline camped on federal land near the drill site for months, often clashing with police.

There have been about 750 arrests in the region since August. Authorities last month closed the camp in advance of spring flooding season and set up roadblocks to prevent protesters from returning.
Seven Islamist militants arrested last month were planning to assassinate Saudi Arabia's King Salman in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

The arrest of the seven were made just days before King Salman, and his 1,500-strong entourage, arrived in Malaysia on February 26.

Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said: 'They were planning to attack Arab royalties during their visit to Kuala Lumpur. We got them in the nick of time.'

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King Salman visited Indonesia after his trip to Malaysia. Here Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (pictured, right) looks on as Human Development Minister Puan Maharani (left) and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri (centre) take a selfie with King Salman

On Sunday Malaysia said it had arrested four Yemenis, one Malaysian, one Indonesian and another man from the Far East - between February 21 and 26 for suspected links to militant groups including ISIS.

Yesterday Malaysia said the attackers were planning to kill King Salman.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen for the last two years.

A senior Malaysian police source said the four Yemenis belonged to the Houthi movement, which hails from a Shi'ite Muslim sect and is supported by Iran.

A Saudi source said it was still not clear whether the suspects supported the Houthis or ISIS - known in Saudi Arabia as Daesh - but it said the incident showed why security 'represents the bulk of the entourage in foreign official trips'.

'It is no doubt a terrorist act. Should it be Daesh or Houthis supported by Iran, this is what the local Malaysian investigation will reveal,' said a Saudi source.

The king arrived in Kuala Lumpur on February 26 for a four-day visit at the start of a month-long Asia tour. He later moved on to Indonesia.

Members of the Indonesian Air Force Paskhas special forces unit conduct a weapons check as they prepare to offer protection for King Salman in Denpasar, Bali at the weekend

Inspector General Abu Bakar said: 'Four Yemenis, apart from their role involving in producing false travel documents they are also involved in distributing drugs...and they are also planning to attack the Arab royalties during the visit in Kuala Lumpur, so we got them in the nick of time.'

The Yemenis were arrested in Serdang and Cyberjaya - near the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Police seized several international passports from the four, along with 50,000 in different currencies.

Police have said the Malaysian and the Indonesian who were arrested in late February were planning to launch a large-scale attack using a car bomb.

Malaysia has arrested hundreds of people with suspected militant links during recent years.

The country has been on high alert since suicide bombers and gunmen linked to ISIS launched multiple attacks in Jakarta, the capital of neighbouring Indonesia, in January 2016.

A grenade attack on a bar on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in June last year wounded eight people. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Philip Hammond pumped 2billion into social care and signalled a major education shake-up in his first Budget today - but funded it with a huge tax raid on the self-employed and savers.

With potentially just a week to go before Theresa May formally launches the Brexit process, the Chancellor hailed the way the economy had 'confounded' the doom-laden warnings of Project Fear.

Unveiling dramatically upgraded forecasts for UK plc, he promised the country would be 'stronger and fairer' after we cut ties with Brussels.

But he smashed a Tory manifesto pledge by hiking national insurance contributions for more than 2.4million self-employed to raise around 650million a year. On average people will pay 240 more annually due to what was dubbed the 'sole traders tax'.

Some two million shareholders - most of them low or middle-earners - will also be hit by slashing the rate of 'dividend allowance', drumming up an extra 900million annually for the Treasury. Together the tax raids bring in around 4.6billion by 2021-22.

The immediate row over the Conservative manifesto led some to claim today's Budget would kill off any speculation Mrs May might force an early election to take advantage of Labour's dire ratings under Jeremy Corbyn.

Philip Hammond today delivered his first Budget since becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer last summer

Mr Hammond set out his blueprint for the future of the country to a packed chamber in Westminster today

Mr Hammond told the Commons the Budget was 'building the foundations of a stronger,fairer, more global Britain'.

But he said debt remains too high, productivity too low and too many families were 'feeling the squeeze'. 'Our job is not done,' he added.

The Chancellor insisted the Tory government would not 'saddle our children' with huge debts and would take tough decisions to balance the books.

The main planks of the package include:

Parents being given the right to set up grammar schools in a 320million education revolution hailed by Theresa May as her 'personal mission'. The introduction of new 'T-levels' to encourage more technical education.

A pledge to address the crisis in social care with a 2billion funding boost over three years - including 1billion front-loaded to 2017-18. There will also be a review of the long-term funding arrangements.

However, there is no significant new money for the NHS apart from 325million to push forward with modernisation plans and a 100million investment in 'triage' to ease the pressure on A&E. Labour had demanded an immediate 12billion cash injection.

Hundreds of millions of pounds in relief for losers from the controversial revaluation of business rates - with pubs targeted for special help. There will be a root-and-branch re-examination of the rates system.

Hiking national insurance for 2.4million self-employed people by 2p in what critics have condemned as a 'tax raid' to raise up to 650million a year for the Treasury. Mr Hammond said the existing situation 'undermined fairness' because those in salaried jobs were currently paying more.

The tax-free dividend allowance for shareholders will also be cut from 5,000 to 2,000. Some two million people - most of them on low or middle incomes - will be affected as the Exchequer pockets up to 900million extra a year.

Increases in duty on cigarettes to raise millions of pounds, with minimum rates based on a pack price of 7.35.

The 'sugar tax' will be applied from April next year, with drinks with more than five grams of sugar per 100ml levied at 18p per litre and those with eight grams or more of sugar per 100ml 24p per litre

Unveiling his Budget, Mr Hammond said: 'There is no room for complacency and you will not find any on these benches. As we prepare for our future outside the EU, we cannot rest on our past achievements.

'We must focus relentlessly on keeping Britain at the cutting edge of the global economy. The deficit is down but debt is still too high....

'Too many families are still feeling the squeeze almost a decade after the crash.

'So our job is not done. Our task today is to take the next steps for preparing Britain for a global future, to equip our young people with the skills they need to support our public services, and to help ordinary working families as we build an economy that works for everyone.'

Declaring that 'Class 4' NI contributions for the self-employed will rise by 1 per cent to 10 per cent from April next year, and then to 11 per cent in 2019, Mr Hammond said: 'The difference in NICs is no longer justified... it undermines the fairness of the tax system.'

The move is expected to hit 2.4million people who are making net profits over 8,000 - including large numbers of contractors in IT and finance. The average increase for individuals is set to be around 240 a year.

He confirmed he will stick to George Osborne's decision to abolish Class 2 NICs for the self-employed - which will offset the gains for the government to make them a net 145million a year.

The Chancellor unveiled the latest economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility as he delivered his Budget

Mr Hammond was flanked by the Prime Minister as he gave an upbeat assessment of the country's prospects after Brexit

The Conservative manifesto from 2015 included a clear commitment that national insurance would not be increased

But the whack for sole traders and freelancers caused fury as the government slashes corporation tax for the biggest firms.

BUDGET GIVES GO AHEAD FOR THE SUGAR TAX The most sugary soft drinks are to be taxed at 24p per litre as part of plans to reduce childhood obesity, the Chancellor confirmed. Philip Hammond announced a two-tier levy of 18p on drinks with 5g of sugar per 100ml, and the higher 24p rate on those with more than 8g per 100ml. Ministers confirmed plans late last year to push ahead with the tax on the producers and importers of soft drinks with added sugar, despite opposition from industry, which will be introduced from April 2018. Responding to the Budget announcement, British Soft Drinks Association director general Gavin Partington said: 'Given current increases in the cost of goods, we're surprised the Treasury wishes to put more pressure on businesses and raise prices for hard-pressed consumers.' However the Obesity Health Alliance described the levy as a 'bold, positive and necessary move we believe will help reduce the amount of sugar our children consume'. Advertisement

The 2015 Conservative manifesto included a catch-all pledge not to increase 'VAT, Income Tax or National Insurance' before the next election.

A senior Treasury aide tried to explain the situation by arguing the legislation that enshrined the pledge had only covered class one NI contributions, rather than class four.

'This was an anomaly. 85 per cent of employed people were paying more than people who were self employed,' the aide added.

Mr Hammond said: 'The abolition of Class 2 NICs for self-employed people announced by my predecessor in 2016 and due to take effect in 2018 would further increase the gap between employment and self-employment.

'To be able to support our public services in this budget and to improve the fairness of the tax system, I will act to reduce the gap to better reflect the current differences in state benefits.'

The dividend allowance - the amount people can receive tax-free - is being reduced from 5,000 to 2,000 in April next year. The measure raises 2.7billion for public coffers by 2021-22 - with 40 per cent of the sum coming from 1.4million basic rate taxpayers.

The Treasury admitted that 20 per cent of investors will be affected, although they will be able to shield their investments to some extent using ISAs. Some 7 per cent of pensioners will pay more as a result.

Although the Chancellor said the measure was mainly designed to reduce incentives for workers to incorporate themselves as companies for tax reasons, it will also impact on savers with investments in stocks and shares worth more than 50,000 outside ISAs, with an average loss of 320 a year each.

Tories voiced deep anxiety about the raid. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, tweeted: Worried about raising NI on self-employed. They are the risk-takers, starting next generation of business leaders, no statutory sick leave or holiday pay.

Fellow Conservative Andrew Murrison told the Commons: Its very important to ensure that we dont disadvantage self-employed people.

This party on this side always has been, I hope always will be, the party that supports white van man and white van woman.

Labour branded the raid on NI a 'sole traders tax' and vowed to oppose it.

'Philip Hammond has used his first Budget to claw 2 billion in tax on those self-employed who are on low and middle incomes,' shadow chancellor John McDonnell said.

And the row prompted Rupert Harrison, who helped George Osborne prepare the disastrous 2012 'omnishambles Budget' warned 'think we can rule out a snap election'.

WHY IS NATIONAL INSURANCE BEING CHANGED? Philip Hammond has justified his tax raid on the self employed by claiming it closes an anomaly in the system. Currently, staff and companies jointly pay a national insurance bill that is higher than that for the self-employed. For example, an employee earning 32,000 will incur between him and his employer 6,170 of National Insurance Contributions. A self-employed person earning the equivalent amount will pay just 2,300  significantly less than half as much. Historically, this was because the self-employed were entitled to less from public services. Mr Hammond said this is now less true - hence the change. Advertisement

Chris Sanger, head of tax policy, at accountants EY, said: 'Increasing the NIC main self-employed rate (Class 4) by 1 percentage point in April 2018 and another the year after, raising 645million in 2019-20 alone, the Chancellor has more than offset the 430million abolition of Class 2 announced by George Osborne.

'This amounts to a net rise of almost 50 per month for higher earners.

'In contrast to the concerns of his predecessor, the Chancellor seemed unperturbed by the fact that this was a breach of a 2015 manifesto commitment not to increase National Insurance Contributions.'

Robert Pullen, a senior manager at London accountant Blick Rothenberg, said the dividend changes were a 'hammer blow'.

'Two years after a crippling 7.5 per cent increase to dividend tax rates, the more than halving of the 5,000 dividend 0 per cent band to 2,000 is a hammer blow to small business owners,' he said.

The accountancy firm calculated that the allowance cut will cost 225 for taxpayers on the basic rate, 975 for those on the higher rate, and 1,143 for those on the additional rate.

Mr Hammond took to his feet in the House of Commons chamber boosted by a dramatic upgrade to economic forecasts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) watchdog raised its predictions from the 1.4 per cent it suggested to 2 per cent - although growth is expected to fall back after that.

Other controversial measures included confirmation the sugar tax was going to come into force next year as planned. The most sugary soft drinks are to be taxed at 24p per litre as part of plans to reduce childhood obesity.

And mobile phone roaming charges are set to be increased by 20 per as the Chancellor imposes VAT on calls, texts and data used abroad.

Mr Hammond joked about his cautious reputation as 'Spreadsheet Phil' during his Budget speech today

Philip Hammond posed for the traditional photo opportunity outside No11 today as he left for the House of Commons

The respected OECD think-tank yesterday revised its estimates for growth this year up by 0.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent.

HAMMOND'S SPRING BUDGET AT A GLANCE ECONOMY The OBR upgraded its growth forecasts from 1.4 per cent to 2 per cent this year, while public sector borrowing estimates were slashed. But Mr Hammond signalled there will be no end to austerity. BUSINESS RATES Small businesses will get relief totalling 435million. Firms losing rate relief will have their monthly increase capped at 50 for a year, some 90 per cent of pubs will be given a 1,000 discount in 2017, and councils will get a 300 million fund to assist losers. The NHS Hospitals will get 325million to implement 'transformation plans' and another 100 million will be put into a new triaging projects in England. SOCIAL CARE The crisis-hit social care system will have another 3 billion pumped into it over the next three years, with 1 billion of this available in 2017/18. Mr Hammond ruled out a new 'death tax' to fund social care. EDUCATION Another 110 new free schools will be opened, including a new generation of grammars. Free school transport will be given to children on free school meals who attend a grammar, and 216 million will go into repairing existing schools. New T-levels will be created to improve vocational education. CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL There was no change to previously planned upratings of duties on alcohol and tobacco, but a new minimum excise duty will apply to cigarettes based on a packet price of 7.35. TAX FOR SELF-EMPLOYED Higher paid self-employed workers are to pay an average of 60p a week more in National Insurance contributions as part of changes to raise an extra 145million by 2021-22. Advertisement

It will be Mr Hammond's first and final spring Budget - as he announced in November that the main fiscal event of the year is being moved to the Autumn.

Mr Hammond vowed to build the foundations for a 'stronger, fairer, better Britain' outside the EU as he announces the package.

The Chancellor - who was previously criticised for his gloomy pronouncements about Brexit - gave a much more upbeat assessment of the country's prospects today.

Echoing Mrs May's desire for a fairer society, Mr Hammond insisted the government recognises the pain felt by 'ordinary working families' who are still 'feeling the pinch' a decade on from the credit crunch.

He held out the prospect of action to address the concerns of parents who fear their children do not have the same 'opportunities' they enjoyed.

The Budget responded to the growing crisis in the social care system by committing an extra 2billion of funding over three years. Some 1billion will be frontloaded to next year.

A major announcement was boosting skills training for 16 to 19-year-olds by 500 million a year.

Mr Hammond said the move represents the most significant shake-up in post-16 education since the introduction of A-levels 70 years ago.

The current 13,000 separate qualifications replaced with '15 world-class routes' better suited to business needs from 2019.

Students on higher technical education courses will also be eligible for maintenance loans under the reforms.

There will be around 320million of funding for 110 free schools - set to include the first selective state secondaries to open in decades.

Free schools can be opened by parents, charities or community groups, effectively giving disgruntled families a right to set up a grammar themselves.

The schools could be fast-tracked for as early as 2020  if ministers can win what is likely to be a bruising parliamentary battle to overturn a Labour-imposed ban on grammars.

Ministers are also scrapping rules that stop children from poor homes receiving help for travel to selective schools.

The moves amount to a declaration of intent from Mrs May, who has made a personal priority of reviving grammars  she attended one herself.

Overall the Budget has a neutral effect on the public finances, as measures were funded by changes elsewhere, including higher tax on cigarettes - making the cheapest pack 7.35 - and a 2p rise in national insurance on the self employed to equalise their rate with those in salaried jobs.

The OBR figures on borrowing set the backdrop for the Chancellor's latest fiscal statement. The respected OECD think-tank yesterday revised its estimates for growth this year up by 0.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent

The Chancellor was watched by predecessor George Osborne - who delivered the last Budget in 2016 and had earlier wished him good luck

Former Chancellor George Osborne tweeted best wishes to Mr Hammond ahead of the speech. The Chancellor responded that he was 'looking forward' to delivering the financial package

Mr Hammond, seen right leaving the Treasury today, will vow to build the foundations for a 'stronger, fairer, better Britain'. Theresa May, also pictured today, is due to trigger the formal Brexit process by the end of the month

With a revolt among Tory MPs gaining pace, Mr Hammond provided relief worth hundreds of millions of pounds to small businesses affected by the first revaluation their properties since 2008.

But Treasury aides confirmed that the help would only last for one year. There were also questions about why the aid for 36,000 pubs is only predicted to cost the Exchequer 25million when each is getting a 1,000 discount.

Online retailers face fines for tricking customers with complicated small print and automatic subscriptions.

Mr Hammond also announced that the casualties of the D-Day landings are to be remembered by a special monument which the Government is contributing 20 million towards.

The Budget package included a funding boost of 2bn over the next three years to address the social care crisis

It is Mr Hammond's first and last Spring Budget as he announced last year that the main fiscal event of the year is being moved to the Autumn

MPs queued up to get prime spots in the Commons before the set-piece. Right: The 'Red Book' that accompanies the Budget and includes all the measures Mr Hammond is announcing

The memorial to those who died in the Normandy campaign will be erected at the site of fierce fighting which took place during and after the Allied landings in France in 1944.

Hammond's joke-filled Budget speech On following Norman Lamont in delivering the last Spring Budget: 'What they (Treasury staff) failed to remind me was ten weeks later, he was sacked. So wish me luck!' On Jeremy Corbyn: 'He is so far down a black hole even Stephen Hawking has disowned him' On funding for driverless vehicles: 'It is a technology [Labour] knows about' On Labour's economic record: 'By the way, they don't call it the last Labour government for nothing' On hitting EU targets: 'I wont hold my breath for my congratulatory letter from Jean-Claude Juncker' Advertisement

It will be unveiled on the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019, and carry the names of the estimated 21,000 members of the British armed forces and Merchant Navy who lost their lives.

As expected, Mr Hammond delayed changes to tax thresholds until the Autumn Budget, although increases already pencilled taking the personal allowance to 11,500 and the 40p rate to 45,000 will go ahead in April. The Chancellor reiterated his commitment to the levels hitting 12,500 and 50,000 respectively by 2020.

The Chancellor was given a rousing response from the Tory benches as he said his Budget confirmed the 'continued resilience of the British economy'.

He said the package would continue to 'build on the foundation of our economic strength, reaching out to seize the opportunities that lie ahead'.

He went on: 'Backing our public services. Supporting Britain's families. Investing in the skills of our young people.

'And making Britain the best place in the world to do business.'

Responding to the package, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn complained that it would do 'nothing to create a fairer economy'. He branded the grammar school boost a 'gimmick' and 'vanity project' that would only 'increase segregation'.

Budget tax raid on the self-employed and small businesses branded a 'hammer blow' to Britain's hard workers

'The knock-on effects are huge' Stephanie Onwunali, 25, set up her own small business at the turn of the year Stephanie Onwunali, 25, left her job as an auditor at accountancy firm Ernst & Young late last year to set up her own business What Next Coach, helping young people. She said that the national insurance hike sent out the wrong message and will hurt the self-employed, who lack the benefits the employed get from their companies. 'I think the Chancellor ignored the fact that we have to pay ourselves if we want to do training, go on holiday or take parental leave', said Stephanie. Advertisement

Philip Hammond flouted the Tory manifesto today to impose a dramatic tax hike on the self-employed.

The multi-millionaire Chancellor said the National Insurance rate for self employed people would go up by 2 per cent by 2019.

It means 2.4million people face an average tax rise of 240 - despite the Tory manifesto in 2015 ruling out any increase.

Treasury sources denied it was a breach of the manifesto on the ground legislation, printed after the election, specified only the main NI rate would be frozen.

And they said it was an important reform that removed an 'anomaly' from the tax system.

Labour branded the hike a 'sole traders tax' and it was condemned by a procession of Conservative MPs in the Commons.

Under the measures announced in the Budget this afternoon, class four national insurance - the main rate paid by the self-employed - will rise from the current 9 per cent level to 11 per cent by April 2019.

It is a clear breach of the Conservative Manifesto from the 2015 election, which pledged no rises in VAT, national insurance or income tax until at least 2020.

Treasury sources insisted: 'The legislation makes clear it refers to class one contributions, not class four.'

It was pointed out that legislation had not been published when self-employed people voted in the election, having been potentially swayed by the manifesto promise.

In response they said: 'The legislation is the place for this type of detail.

'This was an anomaly. 85 per cent of employed people were more than people who were self-employed.'

Philip Hammond reveals an extra 2billion over three years for social care

Chancellor Philip Hammond unveiled 2billion in extra social care funding over the next three years after Prime Minister Theresa May faced new questions.

In his Budget statement, Mr Hammond said 1billion would be spent in the first year of the new programme.

The announcement came after Mrs May was forced to deny Surrey Council got a special deal on social care.

Theresa May has hinted at extra money for social care in today's Budget as she denied Surrey Council got a special funding deal

In a leaked tape Surrey leader David Hodge claimed he had a 'gentleman's agreement' with ministers about funding that led him to cancel a planned referendum on an eye-watering 15 per cent council tax rise.

The revelation came weeks after the Government was forced to deny a deal was done when Jeremy Corbyn revealed texts sent by Mr Hodge claiming a 'sweetheart deal'.

The Labour leader today demanded Mrs May tell him what the difference was between a 'sweetheart deal' and a 'gentleman's agreement'.

Hammond splashes the cash on schools with 1BILLION for 21st Century grammars and new 'T-Level' vocational qualifications

Philip Hammond has set out 1billion in extra funding for schools that will herald 21st Century grammars, new technical qualifications and overhauls for existing buildings.

The Chancellor placed education at the heart of today Budget with the series of spending announcements dwarfed by restraint elsewhere.

The Budget includes 320million to help fund up to 110 new free schools, including grammars, creating more than 70,000 new places. The investment is intended to build on the Government's commitment to open 500 new free schools by 2020.

The Budget includes 500million for a 'radical' plan to put technical training on an equal footing with academic studies.

The Budget also includes a further 216million to rebuild and refurbish existing schools in England, to ensure that they are fit for purpose.

Mr Hammond said: 'Choice is the key to excellence in education.'

Philip Hammond has set out 1billion in extra funding for schools that will herald 21st Century grammars, new technical qualifications and overhauls for existing buildings

The controversial announcement of money for new grammar schools has attracted widespread criticism, with opponents arguing that expansion will lead to segregation and a two-tier education system.

It is understood that the Government has not set a target on the number of grammar schools it wants to open with this new funding, but is open to these selective institutions submitting proposals.

The money includes funding for more specialist maths colleges, such as the existing Exeter Mathematics School - which selects 16 to 19-year-olds based on their aptitude for the subject.

Chancellor eases business rate hikes with a 50 a month cap on increases and a 1,000 discount just for PUBS

Philip Hammond has offered a handout to help pubs facing eye-watering hikes to their business rates.

Mr Hammond is to spend an extra 435million on helping small firms move to the new business rates.

He said no business would see their bills increase by more than 50 a month and most pubs would get a special 1,000 a year discount.

The Baum in Rochdale, pub of the year in 2012, will see its rateable value rise by 377 per cent under the current business rate plans

The Chancellor has been under acute pressure from Conservative MPs to ease the burden of a business rates re-valuation in England that is due to send some bills spiralling from April 1.

Ministers have claimed almost three quarters of firms will see the same or a lower bill and said there is support for those facing the highest rises.

But the promises have not stopped demands for extra help.

Chancellor's 100m investment for hospital triage won't ease pressure and will cause MORE to seek help at A&E, say critics

Chancellor Philip Hammond's 100 million investment to ease the pressure on A&E won't work, leading doctors warn.

Announced in today's Budget, the funding boost is aimed to try and ease the chronic bed shortage the NHS is currently under.

The extra cash is designed to support and develop onsite GP facilities at A&E departments across England by next winter.

This will allow for more accurate assessments of patient's ailments, helping to reduce waiting times in the health service, preventing unnecessary deaths.

But critics argue that having extra doctors in A&E won't reduce admissions, if anything it could attract more patients to hospitals.

The Treasury tweeted that the funding would immediately go towards 100 'triage projects' across A&E departments in England

The cost of using a mobile phone abroad is about to SOAR by 20% after the Budget adds VAT to calls, texts and data used overseas

The cost of using a mobile phone abroad is set to soar by 20 per cent after the Chancellor slapped VAT on roaming charges (stock image)

The cost of using a mobile phone abroad is set to soar by 20 per cent after the Chancellor slapped VAT on roaming charges.

Philip Hammond's Budget announcement means charges for calls, texts and data outside the EU soon will cost 20 per cent more.

And the Budget does not specify whether the hike will apply inside EU countries after 2019 when Britain is due to Brexit.

Inside the EU, roaming charges due to be abolished.

In the Budget speech, Mr Hammond said the change was to bring Britain into line with international standards.

He included the measure - which kicks in later this year and will raise 65million a year for the Treasury from 2018/19 - as part of his tax avoidance strategy.




Sewanou Yoro was charged with abduction, rape and aggravated sexual assault

An Uber driver has been arrested on suspicion of abducting and sexually assaulting a woman who called for a ride.

Sewanou Yoro has been charged with abduction, rape and aggravated sexual assault following the alleged incident in Virginia Beach on Saturday night.

Police say Yoro sexually assaulted a female passenger he picked up between 9.30pm and 10.30pm that evening, in the Bay Colony area on Linkhorn Bay near the Oceanfront.

Court records show that Yoro has been a part-time driver for Uber for two to three years, earning about $350 a week.

Yoro, who has no previous convictions, told General District Judge Gene Woolard that he lives alone in Norfolk.

He said he has lived in the area since 2010 and that he owns his home as well as his 2009 Mitsubishi, The Virginian-Pilot reports.

Yoro is being held without bond in the city jail, ahead of a preliminary hearing on May 4. The judge appointed him a public defender.

The popular ridesharing app tracks the driver's location and creates and shares a record with the driver's name and photograph and the car's make, model and license number before each rider enters the vehicle.

Court records show that Yoro has been a part-time driver for Uber for two to three years (file picture)

Police did not say whether this information helped them make an arrest in this case.

No further details about the victim were released, aside from the fact that she was an adult.

There have been a number of sexual assault cases involving Uber drivers, including a previous incident in Virginia Beach.

In 2015, Uber driver Isagani A. Marin pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge after he harassed and assaulted a 13-year-old girl.

He was given a six-month suspended sentence.

Uber has struggled with a number of blows to its public image in recent weeks, following incidents which included CEO Travis Kalanick fighting with a driver.
Rhode Island Democratic Rep Moira Walsh told a radio station that lawmakers have 'file cabinets full of booze'

A new Rhode Island lawmaker says she's surprised by the 'insane amount of drinking' that goes on in the State House.

Providence Democratic Representative Moira Walsh told WPRO-AM that lawmakers have 'file cabinets full of booze.'

She said they recently took shots on the floor of the House of Representatives to celebrate Dominican Republic Independence Day.

Walsh, a former labor organizer and waitress, took office in January as Providence's third district, the Atlantic reported.

She said the drinking blows her mind and it's 'outrageous' that you can't drive after two beers 'but you can make laws that affect people's lives forever when you're half in the bag.'

She said the drinking blows her mind and it's 'outrageous' that you can't drive after two beers 'but you can make laws that affect people's lives forever when you're half in the bag.' Pictured: the Rhode Island State House in Providence

When asked whether drinking occurs during session, she cheekily told host Matt Allen: 'I plead the fifth. I don't know.'

Joking about the possibility of a police checkpoint outside the legislators' parking lot, Walsh said: 'I'm going to be the person who ruined drinking at the State House. They'll love me forever.'

She later clarified to the Providence Journal that she was mostly referring to the fundraising parties that happen 'four to five nights a week' and involve drinking.

The freshman representative also discussed issues such as the minimum wage and women's rights.

Walsh later clarified to the Providence Journal that she was mostly referring to the fundraising parties that happen 'four to five nights a week' and involve drinking

Walsh previously told the Atlantic: 'I don't consider myself a politician. I am just a waitress who happened to get pissed off enough to take a crack at it.

'Take one look at my Facebook and you will know that I never had any intentions of having a career in politics, but I don't necessarily care if I am the best of the politicians.'

She added: 'I'm not going to be one of those people who takes the job for granted. The representatives before me started out as good people, and ended up behind bars.'
Tanya Lewis (pictured), owner of Cafe Invigor8 in Yandina on the Sunshine Coast, said she has received 'dishonest' TripAdvisor comments

A cafe owner is urging customers not to read TripAdvisor reviews after claiming a woman who left her a negative critique had not even been to her business.

Tanya Lewis, owner of Cafe Invigor8 in Yandina on the Sunshine Coast, said despite her shop's overall high rating on the website, she has received a handful of 'dishonest' comments.

'One woman said she had coffee that tasted like dishwater and she couldn't drink it,' Ms Lewis told the Sunshine Coast Daily.

'I went all over the cameras and she didn't even come in here. Nobody that looked like her came in here that day at all.'

'I wouldn't use it [TripAdvisor], at all,' she said.

'It's not correct.'

Ms Lewis said her cafe (pictured) has a high rating overall and claimed TripAdvisor was 'not correct'

Ms Lewis said despite the cafe being ranked the number one restaurant in Yandina by TripAdvisor, the handful of negative comments she has received appear at the top of the web page.

Ms Lewis has responded to bad reviews on her TripAdvisor page  which is a feature of the website so owners can interact with customers and tell their side of the story.

The cafe owner told the woman who complained about the shop's coffee that she had been placed on the 'never let in customer photo wall'.

'After thorough viewing of all of our security cameras, and lengthy communication with staff, it appears you have never entered our establishment!!! Not one of us has ever seen you! Let alone looked after you! [sic],' Ms Lewis said.

'I have to say that our Wonderful little Town serves delicious coffee!!! You can get a great coffee from anyone of our Cafes, as I have had one at all of them [sic].'

One man said he felt he was discriminated against at the cafe and staff looked down on him.

'It might be ok for white Australians,' he wrote on the website.

'What a load of rubbish!! Your white! [I have more color in my skin than you] [sic],' Ms Lewis responded.

Ms Lewis claims TripAdvisor is 'not correct' and a woman who left her a negative review about the cafe's coffee (pictured) hadn't even been to her business

Ms Lewis has responded (pictured) to bad reviews on her TripAdvisor page  which is a feature of the website so owners can interact with customers and tell their side of the story

Ms Lewis said the cafe was ranked on the website as the number one restaurant in Yandina

Ms Lewis claimed the man asked to leave his things at the cafe and would be back later.

'I talked with you about this and also apologized for the your confusion [sic],' she said before wishing the man luck on his travels and suggesting a 'slight attitude adjustment.'

Cafe Invigor8 also has numerous gushing reviews from dozens of customers.

'This little cafe is a breath of fresh air, good quality food and friendly staff. Definitely recommend the breakfast,' one man wrote.

In another post, one reviewer said the cafe is 'laid back and quirky' and said Ms Lewis is 'calm, cool and talented.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Lewis for comment.

A spokeswoman for TripAdvisor told Daily Mail Australia the company 'takes any allegations of defamatory content on the site very seriously and have sophisticated systems and teams in place to detect fraudsters, as well as strong penalties in place to deter them.'

Ms Lewis said despite their overall rating, the handful of negative comments she has received appear at the top of the web page

Cafe Invigor8 also has numerous gushing reviews from dozens of customers

Every TripAdvisor review first goes through an established tracking system, which maps the how, what, where and when of each review before it is published, she said.

'This is backed up by a team of specialists who work 24/7 to investigate an review that is flagged as suspicious by either its system or community. They use best practice fraud detection techniques borrowed from the banking and credit card industry to spot fraudulent behaviour.'

The spokeswoman said TripAdvisor doesn't remove reviews 'simply because the owner disagrees with the genuine opinion of the reviewer.'

'We believe consumers have a right to share their experiences  positive or negative  and in fact, negative reviews are often as valuable as positive ones as a way to help businesses improve their service or product where needed.'
An Indian who man was subjected to a racist road-rage tirade in the middle of a busy street filmed and streamed the abuse live on Facebook.

Navninder Vir Singh claims hostilities between the two erupted when the man behind him started tailgating him until he pulled over in Auckland, New Zealand.

The unknown man wearing a grey t-shirt started swearing at him and mocking his Indian accent - as well as telling him to 'go back to your own country'.

The man put his face up to Mr Singh's window and hurled angry racist abuse while mocking his Indian accent

Mr Singh had pulled over to let the vehicle pass, but the car stopped and the man and his female friend approached his window and began swearing and harassing him.

The man can be heard saying: 'I never f****** done anything to you, you f****** p****, go back to your own country you c**t.'

When Mr Singh told the man he was being filmed live on Facebook he did not stop hurling the racist abuse.

'You know you Punjabi c*****, youse [sic] are all f****ts,' he told Mr. Singh.

Mr Singh spoke to the camera and said: 'I gave him space but that lady showed me the finger and now he's trying to threaten me.'

'Go back to your own country': The man angrily verbally attacked Mr Singh after he was accused of tailgating

'This is the way they treat us': Mr Singh streamed the entire racist incident to Facebook Live

Mr Singh then turned the camera back onto himself and told his viewers: 'This is what is happening in Auckland right now, these are the racist people here.'

He added: 'This is the way they treat us.'

The man was pulled away by his female friend who appeared to want to control the situation before he approached Mr Singh's window again.

'You sound like a f******* nagging wife, mate,' he said.

As Mr Singh drove away, the man pulled his pants down to moon him in one final bit of harassment.

Daily Mail Australia spoke to New Zealand Police who said: 'A complaint has been made in relation to this matter and enquiries are ongoing.'
Wife killer Gerard Baden-Clay is so fearful for his safety in jail that he's paying other prisoners to act as his own bodyguards.

Prison sources have revealed Baden-Clay has been making the payments to prisoners in a desperate bid for protection, 9 News reported.

The former real estate agent is serving a life sentence at the high-security Wolston Correctional Centre in Wacol, Queensland, for killing his wife Allison.

Wife killer Gerard Baden-Clay is said to be so fearful for his own safety in jail that he is paying other prisoners for protection, according to prison sources

Baden-Clay (pictured left) is serving a life-sentence for murdering his wife Allison (pictured right)

Allison Baden-Clay was found dead 10 days after her husband reported her missing

Her body was found on a Brisbane river bank in April 2012, 10 days after she was reported missing by her husband.

Baden-Clay was found guilty of murder in August 2014 but the conviction was downgraded to manslaughter in December 2015.

The conviction was then reinstated by the High Court in August last year.

The payments are said to be transferred by friends or family into the bank accounts of prisoners, through intermediaries.

Prison guards told 9 News the payments are often made by high-profile prisoners so they can be left alone.

An image which was presented as evidence during Baden-Clay's murder trial in 2014
Princess Diana's 'rock' Paul Burrell has hit out at claims from his agent that he is touting details of a gay orgy he took part in on the Royal Yacht Britannia for cash.

His agent claimed he was willing to discuss the scandal, claiming that when the Queen found out, she threatened to fire him if he didn't settle down with a woman.

Adam Muddle told The Sun: 'He wants to talk about the scandal that happened on the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is where members of the Navy were dismissed for being caught up in a gay orgy.

'Paul was there. But he wasn't arrested or subjected to any sort of criminal charges because he was the Queen's right hand man at that point.'

The orgy, which supposedly included several members of the navy who were later dismissed, reportedly took place in 1981, when homosexuality was still illegal in the British military.

The claims come a day after the father-of-two, 58, came out as gay and announced he would be marrying his long-term partner.

But a furious Mr Burrell hit back: 'I would like to unequivocally distance myself from the gutter quotes, attributed to my representative, that are not only unacceptable but totally misrepresent me.

'I will review how and why this 'pitch' ever came to pass without my knowledge.'

Princess Diana's 'rock' Paul Burrell (pictured fifth from right) was part of a gay orgy on the Royal Yacht Britannia, his agent claims. None of the people in the above photo of the Britannia are thought to have been involved in the reported orgy

Getting married: Princess Diana's former butler Burrell is believed to be tying the knot to his lawyer partner Graham Cooper next month (both pictured)

Mr Burrell added: 'I would ask that people judge me on words from my mouth, not what a newspaper predicts I'll say, and not what someone might wish for me to say.

'I did not commission my agent to say anything along the lines of what's been reported in The Sun.

'Any conversation on such subject matter happened only between him and the newspaper, and yet the headline attributes to me words which I repudiate.

'I would ask that people judge me on words from my mouth, not what a newspaper predicts I'll say, and not what someone might wish for me to say.

'I did not commission my agent to say anything along the lines of what's been reported in The Sun.

'Any conversation on such subject matter happened only between him and the newspaper, and yet the headline attributes to me words which I repudiate.'

Reports from 1981 show that a trial against naval members were held in secret, which prompted rumours of a cover-up, which officials denied.

The men involved were accused of 'disgraceful conduct of a cruel, indecent or unnatural kind', and sailors were arrested after X-rated photos were found during a drugs raid.

When the Queen found out about the orgy, she threatened to fire Burrell unless he found a woman to marry. Two years later, he wed his wife of more than 30 years, Maria

The Queen was kept up to date on disciplinary proceedings during the case, and Prince Phillip was shown a special report on the case, the Sun reported.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on claims that the Queen knew Mr Burrell was involved in the orgy.

Two years later, in 1983, Burrell wed his wife Maria.

Mr Burrell, who divorced his wife last year, first hinted at the orgy in letters to his friend, Greg Pead, who claimed to have an affair with Burrell, said they had a romance in the 1980s.

Mr Pead says he had a passionate two year affair with the royal butler in the early 1980s, before he wed wife Maria and had two children, and even received a marriage proposal by letter.

When Mr Burrell was caught up in the gay porn investigation aboard the yacht Britannia, he wrote to Mr Pead explaining how he had lost his job only to be re-instated by the Queen.

Mr Pead said: 'He wrote to me saying: 'As you are aware, Greg, this has been a terrible time for me - I was dismissed from royal duties and thought my life had ended... the Queen reinstated me and said: 'Paul, I am so glad to have you back. Let's put this unsavoury business behind us.'

'I believe it was her way of trying to stop his homosexual behaviour.'

The 63-year-old, who now runs a vintage clothes store on Australia's Gold Coast, told MailOnline he also still possesses the letter from Burrell where he talks about marriage.

Speaking exclusively to Mail Online Mr Pead said: 'I've still got the letter Paul wrote to me saying he wanted to get married and he would wear white.

'I wonder if he will be wearing white for his own wedding?'

In 2009, Mr Pead told a documentary that Mr Burrell was told by the Royal family that he had to settle down or find a new job.

Mr Burrell has never talked about his sexuality even though it was well known within royal circles that he was gay.

Gay affair: Greg Pead, now 63, says he had a passionate two year relationship with the royal butler in the early 1980s, before Burrell wed wife Maria and had two children, and even received a marriage proposal by letter

Close: Burrell, 'Mandy' and Mr Pead in London, 1981, when Pead says he was in the midst of a passionate affair with the royal butler and was invited to Buckingham Palace

Royals: Burrell, who served Princess Diana (pictured together in 1994) for ten years, claimed the Princess of Wales called him her 'rock' and the 'only man I ever trusted' - her sons would later accuse him of 'betrayal'

His spokesman confirmed that Burrell and his partner Graham Cooper, also 58, will marry in April. They have reportedly been together for a decade.

The ex- royal flunkey and his wife Maria have been living separate lives for over five years. They divorced last year after 32 years of marriage.

The couple's sons, Alex, 27, and Nick, 24 have been nothing but supportive of their father's announcement.

A friend told The Mirror that the men told their father: 'Don't worry, dad, we will stand proud beside you on your big day.'

Pead, who first went public with details of his affair with Burrell in 2002, said the announcement of Burrell's wedding to his 58 year old partner is due to take place in April.

He went public with the wedding after being approached by a national newspaper who had been tipped off about the nuptials.

Burrell's sexuality will come as no shock to members of the royal family and other members of staff.

While he always denied being gay  except to Princess Diana  others within the royal circle were aware.

One story circulating within the royal household was that Mr Burrell, then a footman at Buckingham Palace was told to get married or lose his job after allegedly being linked to gay pornography on the royal yacht Britannia.

In 1983 he wed Maria Cosgrove, a maid to the Duke of Edinburgh and they had two sons Alexander, now 27 and Nicholas,24.

The marriage took place three years after the alleged affair with Mr Pead had ended.

Previous relationship: Paul Burrell and ex-wife Maria, who divorced last year after 32 years of marriage, left in 1984, and have two sons, who were only told recently their father was gay

'BUTLER ONLY TOLD DIANA HE WAS GAY' A source close to Mr Burrell has claimed the only person her ever told about his sexuality was Diana. The couple's adult sons Alexander, 27, and Nicholas, 24, are expected to fly over from the US to attend the wedding ceremony in the Lake District. Their 'lavish' wedding ceremony will be 'circus themed'  with waiters dressed as clowns and ringmasters  and Paul and his boyfriend have already held their stag do with friends at a Blackpool drag club, according to The Sun . Mr Burrell and Mr Cooper live together and were listed as directors at the same company in records from 2011. Mr Cooper is believed to be a Legal Director for HBOS in Chester since 2010, having previously spent 22 years working for Lloyds Bank. They were also pictured together on Facebook at the Blackberry Creek Retreat Bed & Breakfast, during a holiday in Missouri, US, in 2014, two years before Mr Burrell's divorce. Mr Burrell has always refused to discuss his sexuality despite a 2002 expose in which an Australian man claimed they had enjoyed a three-year relationship in the early 1980s before he married Maria. However, a source close to the former butler has revealed that he confided in his special friend, Princess Diana. They told the Sun : 'Paul's friends and family all know but for a long time he kept it a closely guarded secret. 'He did share it with Diana while he worked with her because they were so close. 'But at the time she was the only woman he felt he could tell.' Advertisement

Mr Pead even claimed that Mr Burrell later invited him into the Queen's private quarters to see her corgi dogs.

Although only a footman, Mr Pead said Mr Burrell was treated like royalty by the other staff.

He said Mr Burrell would write love letters to him on embossed stationery from the royal yacht , Windsor Castle and the Palace.

In the letters Mr Burrell's term of endearment for his lover was 'Pumpkin Pie' and called a part of his anatomy 'roo'.

The affair continued in 1981 when Mr Pead made trips to London, and also when Burrell visited Sydney, Australia for a three weeks arriving on New Year's Eve.

Mr Pead recalled that the affair fizzled out when Mr Burrell refused to move to Australia and they last saw each other in 1982 when Mr Pead said they slept together twice.

He had no further contact with Mr Burrell but said he was stunned when he saw photos of his ex-lover's wedding to Maria in the Australian press.

Pead first went public with details of the affair 20 years after it ended when Burrell was in the headlines for allegedly stealing Diana's possessions following her death in 1997.

His trial at the Old Bailey was sensationally stopped when the Queen 'remembered' he had told her he was holding on to them for safe keeping.

New love: Mr Burrell and partner Mr Cooper while on a holiday in Missouri, US, in 2014

Home: Paul Burrell lives in this rural Cheshire mansion with his fiance Graham, who he plans to marry next month

Following his acquittal Burrell cashed in on his close relationship with Diana by writing a tell all book.

But in a rare public statement, Prince William and Prince Harry accused him of betraying their mother and said she would have been mortified by his breach of confidence.

'We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal,' they said in 2003.

'If we may say so, we feel we are more able to speak for our mother than Paul. We ask Paul to bring these revelations to an end.'

With the proceeds of the book, he bought a property in Clermont, near Orlando, Florida, in 2004 but his wife and children remained at their home in Cheshire.

Mr Burrell spent weeks at a time touring the US as he gave speeches on etiquette and his life in royal service.

His Florida home was ironically on a road called Majestic Isle in an up market gated community about 30 miles from the Disney theme parks of Orlando.

Maria and the children later moved to Florida and the boys attended US college. Alexander worked as a swimming pool cleaner part time during breaks from his studies.

Paul and Maria Burell have two sons together, Alexander and Nicholas (pictured, in 2002)

When Mr Burrell moved back to Cheshire to run a flower shop his wife and children remained in Florida.

They were divorced last year by mutual consent.

Maria has never publically spoken about her husband's alleged sexuality.

Her only comment on the subject came when her brother Ron Cosgrove sold a story to a Sunday newspaper alleging that she knew he was bisexual.

Cosgrove also claimed Mr Burrell had a gay affair with his neighbours in Florida and he and Maria only stayed married for the sake of their children.

He later sold another story for 45,000 alleging Mr Burrell had told him he had slept with Princess Diana. Solicitors for the ex-butler said the story was false and filed a complaint to the press watchdog and Maria denied the allegations.

As the most high profile of royal servants Mr Burrell has been subject to numerous stories about his sexuality.

In 2002 comic Michael Barrymore claimed Mr Burrell had tried to seduce him while he was grieving over the death of the Princess.

Paul and Maria Burrell met while they were both working at Buckingham Palace, with Maria serving as the Duke of Edinburgh's maid, and married in 1984.

An established tradition suggested one of them should give up their job with the Royal Family, but the Queen made an exception for them, allowing both to remain in Royal service.

Mr Burrell started working for Diana four years later and went on to become one of her most trusted members of staff.

He joined Prince Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire in 1987 and remained there until her death in 1997.

In 2006 Mr Burrell released his second book about his time serving Princess Diana, called The Way We Were

HOW PAUL BURRELL BECAME THE 'ONLY MAN' PRINCESS DIANA TRUSTED Paul Burrell served as Princess Diana's private butler for 10 years Burrell, who entered Royal Service at age 18, as a Palace footman, became the Queen's personal footman a year later. He joined Prince Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire in 1987 and remained there until her death in August 1997. Burrell was the only non-family member to be present at Diana's private burial at the Spencer estate Althorp. In 1993 she wrote a letter to him that claimed the Prince of Wales was plotting to kill her so he could marry Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the former nanny to Princes William and Harry. The note was shown at the inquest into her death and was sent to Burrell in October - 10 months after her separation from Prince Charles was announced. Burrell wrote two tell-all books after her death - A Royal Duty in 2003 and a follow-up book called The Way We Were in 2006 - in which he claimed she had called him 'the only man I can trust'. It is believed the Princess of Wales entrusted him with her private papers during her divorce. He said: 'She was surrounded by the richest, most educated people and she chose a lorry driver's son from Derbyshire. 'She called me her rock and I took care of her.' Advertisement

Mr Burrell then made millions from a series of books about his life with the princess and from appearing on reality shows such as I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

In the international bestseller he claimed Diana described him as her 'rock' and 'the only man I can trust'.

In 2003 he wrote a tell-all memoir 'A Royal Duty' that went into detail about his time serving the Prince and Princess of Wales, and featured letters to him from Diana.

But in a rare public statement, Prince William and Prince Harry accused him of betraying their mother and said she would have been mortified by his breach of confidence. 'We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal,' they said in 2003.

'If we may say so, we feel we are more able to speak for our mother than Paul. We ask Paul to bring these revelations to an end.'

With the proceeds of the book, he bought a property in Clermont, near Orlando, Florida, in 2004.

The relocation came two years after he was accused of stealing 352 items from Princess Diana's estate after she died - charges that were later dropped.

In 2006 he also released a follow-up book called The Way We Were. In this work, he claimed Diana's mother Frances Shand Kydd didn't like him and believed he was 'just another hanger-on grasping at Diana's celebrity'.

Maria Burrell moved to Florida in 2010 after her husband admitted he had not told 'the whole truth' at the inquest into Diana's death in 1997, which was held in 2008.

Last year they divorced.

Mr Burrell has made a number of TV appearances since Diana's death, including on Ant And Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (left) and on ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here in 2004 (right)

Mr Burrell was quoted as saying: 'I still love my wife. Marrying her was the best thing in my life, and to witness the boys being born  nothing compares. It's sad when people part, but it happens a lot.'

A spokesman announced last year that their decision to divorce was a 'mutual one'.

A statement said: 'Our clients Paul and Maria Burrell would like to end any speculation over the past few days by confirming that they are currently going through a divorce.

'The decision to file for divorce was a mutual one, both Paul and Maria remain the best of friends and have two wonderful sons together who remain their priority.

'Paul and Maria will not be giving any further comments and would kindly request that their privacy is respected during this time.'

After his career serving the Royals, Burrell made a number of TV appearances.

In 2004 he was runner-up in series four of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in which he stayed in the Australian jungle for three weeks - coming second to comedian Joe Pasquale.

He was also a judge and trainer on Australian Princess in 2005, and in March 2006 appeared on Countdown in Dictionary Corner.

In early 2006, he appeared as Richard Gere on ITV's Stars In Their Eyes, singing Razzle Dazzle from the film Chicago.

In September 2015, Paul appeared in Celebrity Big Brother as part of a shopping task.
President Donald Trump 'warmly greeted' Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak at a VIP reception before a foreign policy address during his presidential campaign on April 27, 2016.

The brief and incidental encounter was reported two weeks later by The Wall Street Journal, which noted Trump's call during that speech for 'an easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia.'

'A few minutes before he made those remarks, Mr. Trump met at a VIP reception with Russias ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak,' the Journal reported. 'Mr. Trump warmly greeted Mr. Kislyak and three other foreign ambassadors who came to the reception.'

A senior administration official told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that Kislyak and Trump were both guests at the reception, which was hosted by The National Interest, a foreign policy magazine. Trump stayed for five minutes.

The speech, too, was a National Interest event, not sponsored by the Trump campaign. Kislyak attended, and was photographed finding his seat.

However insignificant, the two men's meeting is likely to become the latest briquette on a roaring fire of controversy that hinges on technicalities, since a White House spokeswoman said just last week that Trump 'had no interaction' with Russian officials while he was running for president.

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President Donald Trump greeted Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in April 2016 at a VIP reception in Washington before a campaign speech about foreign policy; the speaking event and the reception were both hosted by The National Interest, a foreign-affairs magazine

Vladimir Putin's man in Washington, Kislyak (right) attended the April 2016 speech and was photographed entering with former Secretary of State James Baker; he is at the center of claims Trump insiders haven't been forthcoming about their dealings with Moscow bigwigs

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, shown Sunday on 'This Week,' told reporters Friday that the president had 'no interaction' with the Russian ambassador, and clarified Tuesday that

That declaration came from spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday aboard Air Force One, as she explained away Attorney General Jeff Sessions' own problems putting minor interactions with Kislyak in context.

'The big point here is the president himself knows what his involvement was, and thats zero,' Huckabee Sanders said. 'And I think that hes the primary person that should be held responsible, and he had no interaction, and I think thats what the story should be focused on.'

Top Trump aide Hope Hicks hinted at this line of defense in the days following the election. Hicks was responding to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov's assertion that 'there were contacts' between Russians and Trump-whisperers.

'A whole array of them supported contacts with Russian representatives,' Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency at the time.

'It never happened,' Hicks told CBS News in reply. 'There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.'

Huckabee Sanders confirmed to AFP that 'Mr. Trump was at the reception for about five minutes and then went immediately to the podium.'

'We have no recollection of who he may have shaken hands with at the reception and we were not responsible for inviting or vetting guests.'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 campaign during a Department of Justice press conference in Washington, DC Thursday March 2 (above)

Trump himself told reporters during a February 17 press conference that repeated emphasis on contacts between Russia and and his inner circle 'is a ruse' planted by his Democratic opponents.

'I have nothing to do with Russia. Havent made a phone call to Russia in years,' he said. 'Not that I wouldnt. I just have nobody to speak to.'

Sessions on Monday clarified his confirmation hearing testimony to acknowledge that he spoke twice last year with the Russian ambassador during the campaign, but he said he stood by his earlier remarks as an honest and correct answer to a question.

The filing amends testimony Sessions gave under oath in January when he said he did not have any communication with Russians.

Sessions reversed course last week and acknowledged that he had spoken with Kislyak once at the Republican National Convention last July and again at a meeting in his Senate office in September in the presence of his Senate staff.

He maintained that the meetings were in the capacity as Senator and not related to the Trump campaign.

'I do not recall any discussions with the Russian ambassador, or any other representative of the Russian government, regarding the political campaign on these occasions or any other occasion,' Sessions wrote in a three-page filing with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sessions committed last week to amending his earlier testimony as he agreed to recuse himself from any investigations involving the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the presidential election.
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Australians are known for their love of travel and passion for exploring places far away from the great southern land.

And now the cheapest and most expensive destinations across the world that Australian travellers are visiting have been revealed.

Spending big bucks on a fancy hotel room might appeal to some, but travellers on a budget are most likely to visit South-East Asian countries where hotel prices are very affordable.

The most popular destination for penny-saving Aussies is Pattaya, Thailand where a night in a hotel will only set you back around $67.

The lively streets of Pattaya, Thailand are the most popular place for Australian travellers to visit - with hotel room prices averaging only $67 per night

The city of Phnom Penh lights up at dusk with stunning palaces and religious buildings which are popular spots for Australian tourists

Pattaya began as a quiet fishing village on Thailand's eastern gulf coast but is now lined with resorts, nightclubs and bars and is home to the cheapest hotel rooms in the world, according to the Hotel Price Index.

Australian jet-setters also head to Asia for dirt cheap hotel prices in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at $73 per night, Chiang Mai, Thailand for $74 and Cebu in the Philippines for $80 per night.

Phnom Penh is the busy capital of Cambodia and is a popular tourist spot for penny-pinching Australians who want to soak up the enthralling Buddhist culture.

Phnom Penh is the river-side capital of Cambodia and is home to beautiful sprawling monasteries and palaces

But travellers seeking high-priced luxury can book a night at the most expensive destination for Australians in Lahaina, USA.

The average hotel price for night in Hawaii's Lahaina will cost $384 per person, and is the most expensive travel destination for Australians.

Lahaina is a county on the Hawaiian island of Maui and has some of the most expensive real estate in Hawaii, with luxury beach-side homes costing over $2million.

The Hawaiian county of Lahaina in Maui (pictured) is full of jaw-dropping ocean views where Australians enjoy the crystal clear blue water

Hawaii is a very popular getaway spot for Aussie travellers who crave luxurious beach-side villas and stunning views of the sea

The second most expensive hotels for Australians are found on the sunny Greek island of Mykonos, where the blissful ocean views will cost around $356 per night.

Tourist hot spots New York City and Boston, Massachusetts in the US are next on the list with travellers forking out $345 per night to stay in the Big Apple and $343 to spend the night in the harbour-side city of Boston.

Also in the top ten list for most expensive hotels are Santorini, Greece at $329, and two major American destinations - Honolulu for $328 and Hollywood at $326 per night.

The famous Greek island of Mykonos is a paradise getaway for Australian travellers, but a night at the idyllic ocean-side island will cost around $329

New York, New York: The Big Apple has always been a famous destination for keen travellers, and it is high up on the list of most expensive hotel rooms

WHAT DO AUSSIE TRAVELLERS PAY FOR HOTELS? Cheapest hotel rooms 1. Pattaya, Thailand  $67 2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia  $73 3. Chiang Mai, Thailand  $74 4. Cebu, Philippines  $80 5. Hanoi, Vietnam  $83 6. Siem Reap, Cambodia  $83 7. Manila, Philippines  $91 8. Sepang, Malaysia  $92 9. Hoi An, Vietnam  $95 10. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  $105 Most expensive hotel rooms 1. Lahaina, US  $384 2. Mykonos, Greece  $356 3. New York, US  $345 4. Boston, US  $343 5. Santorini, Greece  $329 6. Honolulu, US  $328 7. Hollywood, US  $326 8. Playa del Carmen, Mexico  $294 9. San Francisco, US  $294 10. Cancun, Mexico  $283 Most expensive hotels in Australia 1. Yulara  $350 2. Whitsunday Islands  $257 3. Sydney  $221 4. Port Douglas  $205 5. Melbourne  $174 6. Perth  $170 7. Brisbane  $149 8. Darwin  $137 9. Cairns  $153 10. Alice Springs  $128 Source: Hotel Price Index Advertisement

East coast city Boston is a growing spot for Australian tourists who are forking out $343 per night to stay at the harbour-side town

But Australian tourists aren't the only ones paying big money to stay at exotic locations.

International travellers who visit the Land Down Under will spend up to $350 per night to stay in the isolated town of Yulara, home of Uluru.

Australia's Whitsunday Islands are a popular getaway for foreign visitors with hotel prices reaching $256 to stay at the luxurious beach-side resorts.

Tourists wanting to stay at Sydney will also be expected to fork out at least $221 and it is the third most expensive location in Australia for hotel rooms.

Yulura in central Australia is home to the iconic Aboriginal landmark Uluru and has profound cultural significance for the indigenous, costing up to $350 per night to stay there

With crystal blue water stretching for miles, international visitors love to stay at the iconic Whitsunday Islands and are willing to pay a lot for hotels
Labour have been branded 'wrong' and 'out of touch' for claiming Theresa May's plans to allow parents to set up their own grammar schools are an 'attack on the working class'.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner yesterday said the proposal was a 'disgusting vanity project' and added there was 'no evidence' to suggest that it would help deprived pupils.

The government is set to unveil a funding package in today's Budget which would pay for 110 new free schools in an effort to create more good places.

Treasury sources said these could include selective schools set up by parents, charities or community groups  the first of their kind to be created in decades.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner (pictured) said the proposal was a 'disgusting vanity project'

The Prime Minister wants the new selective schools to specifically target deprived youngsters to boost social mobility in the poorest areas of the country.

But Mrs Rayner said free schools did not create places where they are needed and claimed grammars would 'make the education system worse for most of the children in our system'.

Her views are contradicted by a recent report commissioned by Labour-run Knowsley Council, which found that grammars do have the potential to help disadvantaged children.

Yesterday, Toby Young, director of the New Schools Network, which helps group to set up free schools, called her arguments 'odd' and 'wrong'.

He said: 'Two thirds of the free schools that have opened are in deprived areas. One of the effects that a new free school opening in a neighbourhood has is to raise standards in neighbouring schools.

'Often the evidence is that the coasting school will raise its game in order to compete with the new school.'

Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, added: 'If Labour was more in touch with the working class communities that it used to represent then it would realise there is real demand from people across the country for the type of education proven to offer real advantages.

'Theresa May would like to extend opportunity to more people, ensuring there are more good school places available, and part of that should be extending the choice of a good grammar school education to more people from all backgrounds.'

In a rant on BBC's Today Programme, Mrs Rayner appeared to suggest the plan could divert money away from other schools amid a 'crisis' over squeezed budgets.

She claimed parents were being charged '30 to 40 a week' by some state schools to subsidise teaching, although she did not state her source.

Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured) wants the new selective schools to specifically target deprived youngsters

Head teachers recently told journalists they might have to consider asking parents for voluntary contributions of 30 to 40 a month.

Mrs Rayner said: 'It will make the education system worse for most of the children in our system. Our schools are in crisis. This money on a vanity project is not what our schools need.'

She added: 'This is not a meritocracy. This is an ideological attack on the working class people of this country and being able to get a decent education.'

The Liberal Democrats also criticised the plans, as did a number of left-wing teaching unions who are opposed to free schools and grammars.

However, the Prime Minister's official spokesman dismissed claims that the new money for grammar schools would divert resources from the rest of the education system.

'The first point is, nobody is losing out,' he said. 'This is a new pot of money. School funding is at its highest ever level: 40 billion this year.

'Everybody had an opportunity to take part in the consultation (on selective education) and we will respond shortly. This is about making funding fairer, that's our interest.'

The new education funding will see 320million spent on the next generation of free schools and 216million for refurbishments to existing school buildings.

Since 2010, 431 free schools have been set up  with another 380 planned by 2020 another 110 to follow in the next Parliament.

Creating any of them as grammars would involve changing the law to overturn a ban on creating new selective schools imposed by Labour in 1998.

The government is being encouraged to force the new schools to prevent middle class parents from hogging the places by paying for tutoring for the entrance tests.

Education Secretary Justine Greening is expected to publish proposals for the creation of new grammar schools in the coming weeks, and Tory MPs are pushing for legislation to be included in the Queen's Speech in the spring.
Destiny Borges, 20, was killed after she was struck by a falling tree at Yosemite National Park on Sunday morning at Half Dome Village

A heartbroken woman has described watching her sister being crushed to death under a huge tree at Yosemite and how afterwards, no one tried to help her.

Destiny Borges, 20, was killed after she was struck by a falling tree at Yosemite National Park on Sunday morning at Half Dome Village.

Officials said the poor weather conditions increase the risk of falling trees. Northern California had been battered by a cold, windy storm which had dumped hail over the weekend.

The woman's sister, Bethany Borges, shared that right before the incident, she was searching for her sister who needed to use a restroom.

The two sisters, their mother and fellow employees of Retail Grocery Inventory Service (RGIS) had just finished packing up from a stay in a tent cabin and were starting their last day of work in the park for a park concessionaire.

Bethany said that Destiny had found a restroom but it was locked so she went to look for another when a Ponderosa pine fell with her in its path.

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Officials said the poor weather conditions increase the risk of falling trees. Northern California had been battered by a cold, windy storm which had dumped hail over the weekend (scene above)

The woman's sister, Bethany Borges, shared that right before the incident, she was searching for her sister who needed to use a restroom. Bethany said that she heard her sister scream and the tree falling (scene above)

Bethany said she heard her sister's scream and the tree falling.

'I heard everything. She froze and couldn't get out of the way. Those trees out there are huge,' Bethany told The Sacramento Bee.

'I came across the tree and we saw there was a body under there.

'They knew that tree fell, but nobody went to make sure that anyone was OK They automatically made us leave because trees were falling'

Bethany said that no one raced to the scene where Destiny's (above) was pinned under the tree and now the family wants answers

Bethany said that no one else raced to the scene where her sister's body was pinned under the tree.

'I felt they were horrible,' Bethany said of the park's staff. 'My mom (Summer Warthan) didn't want to leave my sister's side, her body, she didn't want to leave my sister's body, and they were being very rude to her.'

The family has now hired an attorney and wants answers from staff at the park.

Destiny was described as 'very very smart' and artistic, and 'music was everything to her', her sister shared.

The family has created a GoFundMe account to raise money for her funeral services. More than $9,920 has been raised in one day, surpassing the $8,000 goal.

After the accident, park officials closed the area but it was reopened to visitors Monday.

'It seems that this was a tragic accident,' Scott Gediman, a park spokesman told KFSN. 'Our thoughts go out to the family. It's a horrible, horrible thing.'




Sajid Javid, pictured, is said to have discussed Surrey Council's case with Chancellor Philip Hammond

Ministers were under pressure last night after a secret recording appeared to show they had reached a 'gentleman's agreement' with a flagship Tory council over extra cash for social care.

Last month Theresa May strenuously denied that the government had offered a sweetheart deal to Surrey Council to persuade it to cancel a threat to put up council tax by 15 per cent.

But, in a leaked tape, council leader David Hodge is heard saying that a 'series of conversations' had been held with senior ministers and officials over their demand for more funding.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid had discussed Surrey's case with Chancellor Philip Hammond, and in the end a 'gentleman's agreement' had been reached, he said.

The recording is an embarrassment to senior ministers on the eve of the Budget, which is expected to include help for town halls struggling to pay for social care.

When challenged over claims of a secret deal by Jeremy Corbyn last month, Mrs May described the allegations as 'alternative facts'.

Last night Labour demanded Mr Javid and Mr Hammond both come to the House of Commons and apologise for their previous denials.

A government spokesman insisted that it was 'simply untrue' to say that a special deal had been reached.

Theresa May, pictured above, strenuously denied that the government had offered a sweetheart deal to Surrey Council to persuade it to cancel a threat to put up council tax

Earlier this year, Surrey outlined plans to hold a referendum on whether to increase council tax by 15 per cent to meet the rising costs.

But these plans were suddenly dropped last month, with Mr Hodge saying the rise would be limited to 5 per cent.

Labour claimed leaked text messages showed that Surrey had reached a sweetheart deal with Mr Javid  a deal which was not available to other local authorities.

Ministers denied there was a deal, saying Surrey had simply been allowed to retain more of its own business rates, rather than having to hand much of it to Whitehall.

But on the tape, leaked to BBC Radio, Mr Hodge reveals he had spoken to Mr Javid by phone when the Communities Secretary was sitting in his car on Downing Street.

He tells local councillors he was 'looking for assurances, looking for clarification, looking for help on how we could stop a referendum'.

He said Mr Javid then went in to 11 Downing Street to speak to Mr Hammond.

'He then went inside and spoke to the Chancellor  I think I can say that', the recording said. 'Then the spad rang me with what we can and cannot say.'

The Surrey Council leader went on: 'I have something in writing which gives me a certain amount of comfort but I'm not going to release that information for obvious reasons.

Extraordinary text messages revealed by Mr Corbyn from Surrey council leader David Hodge to a man called 'Nick'. He suggested an agreement was close for him to call off a council tax referendum on hiking charges by 15 per cent

Mr Hodge said in the texts that Chief Secretary David Gauke has been involved in the discussion and made a clear link between the 'numbers' and calling off the 'R' - thought to mean referendum

'There may come a time that if what I call gentleman's agreements, that the Conservative party often does, are not honoured, we will have to revisit this in nine months or a year's time.

'If we do, let me assure you, you'll have to drag me kicking and screaming not to go for a referendum next year.'

And he urged Tory councillors in the room not to 'put what I am going to say on a tweet'.

Mr Hodge later told the BBC that he had had the conversations with government to try and get 'a better deal'.

Last night shadow communities minister Gareth Thomas said: 'Sajid Javid and Philip Hammond should come to the House of Commons and explain what the gentleman's agreement that they've done  explain why they are offering it to Surrey council and not the rest of English councils trying to manage budgets that are at tipping point.'

Surrey Council leader David Hodge is heard saying in the tape that a 'series of conversations' had been held over their demand for more funding

A government spokesman said: 'As we have repeatedly made clear, there was no special deal for Surrey County Council and they will not receive any extra funding that would not otherwise be provided or offered to other councils.

'To imply the opposite is simply untrue.'

Last night Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, accused ministers of lying.

'The Government has shamelessly lied to Parliament and to the British people in denying that any special agreement was made with Surrey County Council,' he said.

'The Prime Minister now has serious questions to answer after she stood at the Despatch Box and called suggestions of a sweetheart deal 'alternative facts'.

'We cannot accept a cosy, secret agreement between Tory Ministers and Tory councils while other parts of the country get a raw deal.'
An elderly man was arrested for destroying six of Kim Kardashian's selfie books at a Barnes & Noble by pouring red liquid on them because he disliked the celebrity and people like her.

Carl Puia, 74, had walked into a Barnes & Noble bookstore, pulled out a red liquid and proceeded to dump the mess onto several copies of Kim Kardashian's Selfish books, back in October of 2016.

Surveillance video captured the hoodlum from Glastonbury, Connecticut, and he turned himself in on Monday and was charged with third-degree criminal mischief.

Carl Puia, 74, (left) destroyed six Kim Kardashian selfie books (right) at a Glastonbury, Connecticut, Barnes & Noble by pouring red liquid on them back in October of 2016

Puia left a lengthy note for the store's employees, explaining that he didn't like Kardashian (pictured with husband Kanye West) or people like her. He was arrested on Monday

Puia had left a lengthy note for staff explaining why he thought the store shouldn't be stocking the books, mentioning his distaste for the celebrity and people like her, according to the police report.

His objection to the social media vixen was taken out on her book of selfies, and they were 'destroyed in the massacre and could not be revived,' police told NBC Chicago.

Kardashian's Selfish was originally published in 2015 as a coffee table book, filled with hundreds of her most notable selfies.

Rizzoli described the mother-of-two as a 'trailblazer of the "selfie movement"' and top critics described it as 'oddly moving'.
Former tax lawyer Charlie Elphicke MP (pictured) highlighted a gap in the UK's collection of VAT

A suspected 7billion import tax fraud by overseas online traders is being investigated by the government spending watchdog.

Analysis by former tax lawyer Charlie Elphicke MP has highlighted a growing gap in the UK's collection of VAT and customs duties from traders from outside the EU over the last decade.

British businesses say overseas traders  mainly from China  are evading UK VAT and customs duties on goods they export to the UK.

By evading VAT, foreign traders are able to sell goods at rock bottom prices on online market places like Amazon and eBay.

British traders say they are finding it impossible to compete and are losing business.

One told the Mail he was on brink of going bust, while another trader, who sells iPhone cases online, said his annual sales have more than halved after being undercut by Chinese rivals.

Mr Elphicke says the fraud is costing the Exchequer up to 7billion a year in unpaid taxes and putting British traders at risk of going bust.

A campaign group set up by traders called VATFraud has accused HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of not doing enough to tackle the problem, and says firms like Amazon and eBay have turned a blind eye to this practice.

The National Audit Office is investigating whether HMRC is working hard enough to combat VAT evasion by overseas online retailers, which the Treasury has estimated is costing up to 1.5billion.

But Mr Elphicke's own analysis suggests the Treasury has underestimated the problem and warns more businesses will go bust unless ministers take further action.

Traders who sell more than 83,000 of goods have to register for VAT, which is charged at 20 per cent. This is added to the price of the goods and paid to HMRC.

Foreign businesses selling good in the UK also have to pay VAT, while firms from outside the EU have to pay customs duty as well on certain goods.

Although imports from outside the EU have risen sharply over the last decade, the amount collected by the taxman has not.

In 2005, 120 billion of goods was imported from non EU countries with 18billion paid in VAT - - an 'effective rate' of 15 per cent.

But in 2015, the shortfall increased dramatically, even when taking into consideration a VAT rise during that period.

In that year 187billion of goods were imported from non EU countries, and 25.7 billion was paid in import VAT - meaning the effective rate had fallen to 13.7 per cent.

According to Mr Elphicke, HMRC would have collected 32.7 billion in VAT on imports if the effective rate had remained the same since 2005.

This means that there was a 7billion shortfall in tax receipts.

Online marketplaces like Amazon point out that they have no legal obligation or responsibility to ensure those who sell goods on its website are VAT registered.

They also argue only HMRC is capable of checking whether they are paying the tax owed.

New legislation was introduced last September to crack down on the problem.

Under the new Finance Bill, online marketplaces have to ban a seller within 30 days if HMRC alerts them to VAT fraud. If they do not, the online marketplace becomes liable to pay VAT.

By evading VAT, foreign traders are able to sell goods at rock bottom prices on online market places like Amazon and eBay

But campaign group VATfraud  which has provided HMRC with hundreds of names of Chinese businesses which are not VAT registered since it was set up almost three years ago has said it is still not being policed properly.

Mr Elphicke, who is a member of the commons Public Accounts Committee, said tougher laws need to be introduced to make online market places responsible for unpaid VAT by sellers.

He said: 'We cannot have a situation where British firms are being put out of business by overseas traders fraudulently gaming the system and dodging tax.

'People will be concerned that the huge warehouses that loom large by the side of motorways could be full of goods on which proper tax has not been paid.

'Amazon and eBay have serious questions to answer. We need a change in the law to make fulfilment houses jointly liable for all tax dues.

'Only then will we be able to get proper action to raise this much-needed tax  and stop British businesses and workers losing out to unfair competition.'

A spokesman for Amazon said: 'Marketplace sellers are independent businesses responsible for complying with their own VAT obligations.

'We do offer tools and information to assist sellers with their compliance, but we don't have the authority to review their tax affairs. Naturally we cooperate with HMRC as we are required to by law.'

A spokesman from eBay said the company took 'non-compliance of VAT obligations very seriously'

'We do not want illegal activity on our sites in any shape or form,' he said.

'Not only do our domestic sellers suffer as a result of such illegal activity but eBay is also exposed to financial liability and reputational damage.

'eBay strives for a fair marketplace for all of our users and therefore we have a vested interest in encouraging all our sellers to be fully compliant with regulations.

'If HMRC notifies us that sellers are not compliant, we will prevent them selling into the UK.'

HMRC said new legislation to crack down on VAT is expected to recover 875million for exchequer by 2021.

'We introduced tough new rules last year allowing us to hold online marketplaces liable for unpaid VAT by overseas sellers and since then we have seen a ten-fold rise in the number of sellers registering for VAT,' said a spokesman.

'As well as working with the NAO on its report into online VAT fraud, we will be shortly appearing before the PAC to update them on the progress being made.'
Philip Hammond braced middle earners for tax rises last night, as he prepared to use today's Budget to tighten his grip on the public finances while Britain leaves the EU.

The Chancellor will upgrade growth forecasts again today when he delivers what Treasury sources last night described as an 'upbeat assessment' of the economy's performance since the EU referendum.

But, with the formal process of leaving the EU potentially just days away, he last night stressed the need to make the economy 'resilient' to potential turbulence.

The Chancellor (pictured) will upgrade growth forecasts again today when he delivers the Budget

This is the 'Red Book' that will accompany the Budget and include all the measures Mr Hammond is announcing

The Chancellor will also say that he is determined to continue tackling the huge deficit left behind by the last Labour government.

In a stark warning last night, the Treasury said Mr Hammond believed 'a strong economy is built on resilience, so the Government will continue reducing the deficit, not shirking the difficult decisions on tax and spending, while still investing in Britain's future'.

Mr Hammond, who is delivering his first Budget, also dropped a heavy hint that low earners will be spared the brunt of any tax rises, leaving those on middle and higher incomes to pick up the tab.

Sources said he would acknowledge that 'many are still feeling the pinch, almost ten years on from the financial crash', and say that 'the Government will do everything it can to help ordinary working families to get on'.

The decision to raise taxes will unnerve some Tory MPs who are already concerned by forecasts showing the Government is on course to preside over the highest tax burden since the 1980s.

Theresa May, pictured leaving Downing Street today, is due to trigger the formal Brexit process by the end of the month

Tory backbencher Michael Fabricant tweeted a picture of MPs queuing outside the chamber ahead of the Budget speech today

Brexit Secretary David Davis, left, and Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom were among those arriving for the pre-Budget Cabinet meeting this morning

But Mr Hammond believes it is essential to press on with the deficit reduction programme.

And ministers take comfort in the fact Labour has lost all economic credibility under Jeremy Corbyn. An ICM poll for The Guardian found that only 12 per cent of voters thought Labour would make a better job of handling the economy, while 43 per cent backed the Conservatives.

Mr Hammond will confirm plans to invest 320million in building 110 free schools, some of which could be the first new grammars for decades. He will also unveil plans for a shake-up in vocational training designed to ensure British youngsters gain the skills the economy needs.

Mr Hammond believes it is essential to press on with the deficit reduction programme

Justice Secretary Liz Truss, left, and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox were also attending Cabinet this morning

Former Chancellor George Osborne tweeted best wishes to Mr Hammond ahead of the speech

The Chancellor responded that he was 'looking forward' to delivering the financial package

The Chancellor is expected to confirm that the economy is growing faster than predicted at the Autumn Statement in November. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We go into the Brexit negotiations from a position of strength.'

Surging tax revenues also mean that the deficit is likely to be 12billion lower than forecast in November. Some analysts predict that higher tax receipts could give him a 45billion windfall over the next five years. But the Chancellor has indicated he will hoard the money to give extra flexibility in dealing with any economic fallout from Brexit in the next two years.

The Treasury last night refused to comment on potential tax rises. Sources have refused to rule out a 1billion raid on the self-employed  although they point out that raising National Insurance contributions to bring them in line with those in salaried jobs would mainly impact on the better-off.
The mother of a young British woman stabbed to death at a hostel says Australia needs to do more after a backpacker was allegedly held hostage, repeatedly raped and beaten in rural Queensland.

Rosie Ayliffe is calling on the federal government to put more 'checks and stringent laws' in place to ensure the safety of backpackers after hearing the news a 22-year-old woman from Liverpool, England, was allegedly held hostage for two months.

The 22-year-old allegedly met a Cairns man, also 22, at a rave known as a 'bush doof' and the pair embarked on a road trip together.

The shocking story comes just months after Ms Ayliffe's 21-year-old daughter, Mia Ayliffe-Chung and her friend Thomas Jackson, 30, were stabbed to death at Shelley's backpackers in Home Hill, near Townsville, in August last year.

As news broke of another tragedy, Ms Ayliffe said the government needed to do more to minimise risks and warned young backpackers to be safe.

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Rosie Ayliffe (right) has spoken out about safety concerns for backpackers in regional and rural Australia after another tragedy. Her daughter Mia Ayliffe-Chung (left) was stabbed to death alongside her friend Thomas Jackson at a hostel in August last year

A 22-year-old woman from Liverpool, England, is seen in CCTV at a service station in rural Queensland shortly before she was rescued

'If you're travelling on your own, stay in groups or with male companions. I would never recommend a traveller of either gender get into a vehicle with a stranger in any country in the world, and if you're going to do it with a relative stranger, make sure you get to know them first,' Ms Ayliffe wrote on Facebook page Tom and Mia's Legacy on Tuesday night.

'While it's good to be open and trusting, and it brings its own rewards, you have to travel smart and not take unnecessary risks.

'This is not saying this was the girl's fault in any way, but what we as a campaign are looking at is a system  88 days agricultural labor  which can be changed.'

Ms Ayliffe-Chung and Mr Jackson had been completing farm work in cane fields to extend their Australian visas.

The 21-year-old's mother has been campaigning for better 'checks and balances' for backpackers in Australia

Ms Ayliffe-Chung (pictured) and Mr Jackson had been completing farm work in cane fields as an Australian visa requirement

'Mia and Tom did NOT expose themselves to unnecessary risks, they followed a work programme initiated by the Australian government, and it should be expected that the government, and it should be expected that the government absorb or at least minimise the risks on that programme.

'In the UK, this would involve safety checks and stringent laws related to any accommodation involved in running that programme.'

Ms Ayliffe also told ABC: 'As the Australian Government is aware, the appropriate checks and balances are not in place in Australia.'

She said the family bust be 'traumatised' after hearing what their daughter has been through.

Ms Ayliffe has been campaigning for backpacker safety for some time, and in February recommended a safety website.

Mr Jackson went to Ms Ayliffe-Chung's rescue and was stabbed 20 times. He succumbed to his injuries six days later

Mr Jackson, 30, is pictured. French kickboxer Smail Ayad, 29, has been charged with two counts of murder over their deaths

Writing on Facebook, she said the website would involve 'giving advice, warning people of dangers, and flagging up the best and worst hostels and farms'.

'The Australian government and Fair Work [Commission] are committed to dealing with this issue, but they need people like us to explain where the problems lie.'

In a petition, Ms Ayliffe said her daughter and Mr Jackson were 'working under extreme duress in a highly charged and aggressive atmosphere'.

'The conditions which these youngsters are enduring in order to obtain a second year visa to stay in Australia are unacceptable. This seems to be ignored by the Australian authorities, but it is also  to date  largely unpublicised in Britain,' the petition states.

In a petition, Ms Ayliffe said her daughter and Mr Jackson were 'working under extreme duress in a highly charged and aggressive atmosphere'

Ms Ayliffe-Chung was stabbed to death at Shelley's Hostel in Home Hill, near Townsville

A British backpacker, 22, was allegedly held hostage, raped and beaten at the hands of her ex-boyfriend in the Australian outback

'The problem seems to be that the farm work is largely unregulated in terms of health and safety, and due diligence to workers.

Mr Jackson had gone to Ms Ayliffe-Chung's rescue and was stabbed at least 20 times in the face, neck and chest. He succumbed to his injuries six days later.

French kickboxer Smail Ayad, 29, has been charged with two counts of murder over the deaths of Ms Ayliffe and Mr Jackson.

In an unrelated tragedy, a British backpacker was allegedly raped four times, bashed and held captive by a Cairns man, 22, for two months.

She walked into a service station on Sunday in a 'zombie-like state' shortly before she was rescued.

Service station manager Beverley Page alerted police when the alleged victim wandered into the store with black eyes and marks on her throat.

The young woman told Ms Page she was unable to pay for the fuel she had already put into the car.

Footage shows the 22-year-old woman break down in tears as she attempts to pay at the service station before she gets back into a car

Police allege the 22-year-old woman, from Liverpool, in England, was 'raped four times, bashed and held captive' by the man, also aged 22, for two months

'Then she walked in, wearing a black summer dress and said she couldn't pay for the fuel. Tears were running down her face,' Ms Page told Daily Mail Australia.

'But what struck me were her black eyes. She looked bad. She was nervous and shaking and I thought her behaviour was because she couldn't pay for the fuel.

'She was like a person in a trance. I was very concerned about her.'

Ms Page told Daily Mail Australia the woman filled up the SUV with $60 worth of petrol.

'If she'd paid for the fuel and gone on her way heaven knows what would have happened to her,' she said.

The backpacker told the cashier she could not pay for the petrol because her ex-boyfriend had her wallet and credit cards.

Ms Page informed the woman if she could not get in touch with him to arrange a payment or get her wallet back, she would be forced to call the police.

The British backpacker's alleged attacker is pictured lying on his back with arms out on the bonnet of a white car

The SUV allegedly at the centre of the woman's horrific ordeal was filled with cubbyholes to hide and has been seized by police as the investigation continues

Moments later, the tourist allegedly got back into the car and took off without paying, prompting Ms Page to alert authorities.

The horror road trip finally came to an end when she was rescued by police after being pulled over nearby during a routine traffic stop at Mitchell in Queensland.

The woman - who is recovering in hospital - was found in a state of distress and suffering from injuries, including facial fractures.

On Tuesday, photographs emerged showing the inside of the SUV where the tourist was allegedly held captive during the horrific ordeal.

Her accused captor was found in an alcove built in the back of the white Mitsubishi Pajero, hidden underneath clothes and 'other items'.

When police approached the vehicle, they found the injured woman at the wheel.

'It appears she was terrified and not able to hide that,' police said.

Detective Inspector Paul Hart described what had happened to the woman as 'quite catastrophic'.

Jump-start cables and blankets piled up on a makeshift bed in the back of the white Mitsubishi

The man, from the Cairns suburb of Manunda, was charged with four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four counts of strangulation, and two of deprivation of liberty

The alleged attacker (pictured) was described as 'clingy from the start' by a friend of the alleged victim after he met the tourist

'We have potentially saved this young girl's life, given what's happened to her, the extent of what's happened and over the period of time, anything may have transpired,' he said.

The pair allegedly embarked on a road trip between Cairns and the Outback town of Roma.

'They have formed some sort of relationship,' Det Insp Hart said.

'By her account, that has soured to the point that while they were travelling around she has tried to leave but was held against her will.

'From our investigations it would seem as they have been living in that vehicle and we'll be alleging that they've travelled throughout different parts of the state with her basically been told to take him to different locations.'

A police investigation is continuing.

A police officer investigates the Mitsubishi Pajero SUV that the victim filled with fuel

Backpacker's 'stunt at the petrol station was a brilliant cry for help', as her concerned friend reveals ex-boyfriend was 'clingy from the start' A concerned friend of the 22-year-old Brit who was allegedly held against her will by a man she 'met at a doof' has described how the man was 'clingy from the start'. The 27-year-old friend told Daily Mail Australia he believes the 'stunt at the petrol station' where the young woman is accused of failing to pay for petrol was just a 'brilliant cry for help'. The young British backpacker had known her alleged attacker for just one and a half weeks before he changed his Facebook profile to 'married'. 'He was really clingy it was like he just blew in to town and latched on to the first single girl,' he claimed. 'When he changed his relationship status on Facebook I thought it was too fast - she never changed hers.' He met the 22-year-old man through his British friend a hand full of times and even had him over to his place. 'He would try to sell me a bike every week - but as far as I could tell he didn't own anything,' he said. The friend claimed the backpacker had been living out of her alleged attacker's car - and when she went missing two weeks ago it 'wasn't out of character'. 'I didn't worry too much because going away for a few weeks was normal for her,' he said. 'I tried calling her a few times but couldn't get through. 'I have spoken to her aunt from the UK since.' The friend, who met the young woman at a pub in Cairns just before Christmas, described her as a nice girl who was 'very trusting'. Advertisement

The Australian Outback petrol station (pictured above) where the tourist wandered in on Sunday

The roadhouse where the young woman pulled up before she filling up the SUV on Sunday is pictured above

Pictured: The area on the Warrego Highway between Mitchell and Roma where police stopped the vehicle after receiving a tip-off from the petrol station owner

Police will allege the woman met the Cairns man three months ago and they agreed to go on a road trip (pictured of the Warrego Highway where the woman was pulled over)
Transgender row: Dame Jenni Murray

When I read that Jenni Murray  she of Womans Hour, stalwart of Radio 4 and all-round national feminist treasure  was being silenced by her bosses at the BBC following an article she wrote about transgender women, my first reaction was: Id like to see them try.

I certainly would not want to be the person tasked with conveying the news to Ms Murray, a woman who occupies a space somewhere between Boudicca, Mary Berry and Khaleesi, Mother of Dragons from Game Of Thrones, in my pantheon of female heroines.

Not just because I know I would crumble in the face of that over-the-specs, half-amused gaze, but also because the notion she might have broken BBC rules on impartiality  as the corporation suggests  is utterly risible.

What she said was not actually that contentious. Murray was merely pointing out that there is a big difference between being born a female and making a conscious decision to become one. This is not outrageous prejudice, it is a straightforward fact.

The controversy  Jenni Murray says transgender women are not real women  has to be understood in that context. Perhaps a better word than real would have been natural. But any man who, via hormone therapy and/or surgery, transforms their body cant truly understand what it means to be born a female.

That does not mean they shouldnt have the option, or that trans women are any less worthy as individuals, or that they should not enjoy the same rights as the rest of us. Just that its not quite the same thing. That is all.

That this should lead to such a lot of hot air shows how suffocated public debate has become  and how spineless some institutions, in particular the BBC, are in the face of certain lobby groups.

Murray was scrupulous to express her respect for trans people and she had no difficulty with men doing whatever they choose to express their feminine side. But that didnt help her. It counted for nothing. The trans militants wanted her head and demanded her dismissal.

Thats because they are not interested in debate. They would much rather cast themselves as victims of an oppressive establishment and silence dissent through character assassination.

And so, without any justification, Jenni Murray found herself being branded a bigot and a dinosaur.

But while these tactics are well understood and, to an extent, to be expected, whats really shocking is the behaviour of the BBC.

Desperate that its progressive credentials should not be tarnished, it rounded on Murray instead of sticking up for her.

The idea that this ludicrous row could jeopardise a career that has spanned decades, challenged authority and pushed more boundaries than almost any other in broadcasting is a terrible indictment of the moral weakness that prevails at the BBC.

That it should betray her just before International Womens Day is a stark reminder that this once fine corporation is not only run by self-serving cowards, but it also remains at its heart a misogynistic organisation.

Twitter mob turns on a real idol

Inspirational: Rosa Monckton

Another of my feminist idols  Rosa Monckton  has found herself at the mercy of the Twitter mob.

Monckton, who runs Team Domenica, a charity for young people with learning disabilities, tried to explain the disadvantages of the minimum wage for people like her own daughter, who has Downs syndrome.

She said it stops the disabled from getting work and wants an exemption for them. Inevitably, she found herself in the internet stocks. There are plenty of people, famous or otherwise, on Twitter who actively seek out controversy to big themselves up on social media.

But Monckton doesnt belong to that self-serving tribe. She is an inspirational, accomplished woman who deserves our respect.

But Twitter  and the internet in general  doesnt work that way. In cyberspace all that matters is who can shout the loudest and foulest. It favours the mean and the mediocre at the expense of the kind and the considered.

It is paralysing our national debate, debasing our politics and encouraging amoral behaviour  pornography, violence, child abuse  that should find no outlet in a civilised society.

Increasingly, it seems too high a price to pay for watching a few cat videos and doing the online grocery shop.

The vacuous lady in red

If there is such an offence as wasting parliamentary time, Id nominate actress Nicola Thorp, who used an online petition to trigger a debate on high heels in the Commons.

The stated purpose was to discuss sexist dress codes in the workplace.

In reality, it seemed simply an opportunity for Ms Thorp, who clearly fancies herself as a latter-day Emmeline Pankhurst, to pose outside Westminster wearing no more than a self-satisfied expression and an eye-catchingly tight red dress.

Actress Nicola Thorp stood outside the Houses of Parliament on Monday

Idiotic Marie Stopes

For those of us in favour of safe, legal abortion, the idea of an organisation such as Marie Stopes flouting procedure and signing off terminations on the basis of a phone call is not only morally bankrupt, its idiotic.

It is this kind of behaviour by an organisation that should be upholding the most rigorous of standards that gives ammunition to hard-line pro-lifers  and ultimately undermines a womans right to choose.

Having raised a few eyebrows by posing topless in a designer doily, Emma Watson says she cant see what her t**s have to do with feminism.

I cant see what any part of this vain, pampered former child star has to do with feminism, but that wont stop her banging on about it when she needs to plug her latest film.

John Galliano sent models on the catwalk wearing handbags on their heads

Readers may recall one John Galliano, the designer who was ostracised by the fashion community following a drunken anti-semitic rant in a bar.

He recently found his way back into favour as the head couturier for fashion house Maison Margiela, the excuse being that the unfortunate incident was just a moment of madness.

Last week, as evidence of his new found sanity, he sent his models down the catwalk in Paris wearing handbags on their heads.

Nothing mad about that, is there?

Sorry, one more thing about the Jenni Murray debacle: if the BBC is so concerned about lack of bias that it sees fit to issue her with an impartiality warning, what about extending it to some other employees?

The BBC economics editor Kamal Ahmed, for example, who is so pro-Remain its embarrassing; Newsnight, which operates as a taxpayer-funded subsidiary of the Guardian; Sandi Toksvig, who once described my husband Michael Gove as having a face that makes even the most pacifist of people reach for the shovel.

Or is it the case, as Orwell might have put it, that BBC bias is good, everyone elses is bad?

Listening to the incoherent ramblings of Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner, allegedly debating free schools on the Today programme, I was shocked at her inability to string an intelligible sentence together. Shes the female equivalent of John Prescott.

That she should even be a Member of Parliament beggars belief. To have her as Shadow Education Secretary is an insult to the nations children.

Poor old Marks & Sparks gets a slapped wrist from the PC brigade over a label on its schoolwear that reads: Reinforced hems stay up for longer, so thats less work for mum.

Apparently, its a lazy stereotype to assume dads are incapable of stitching a hem. Lazy, perhaps. But mostly true.
The owner of a hero pitbull has thanked supporters for saving the dog from being put down after it bit a nine-year-old boy whose mother allegedly tried to drown him.

The dog  named Buddy  was taken by Murray River Council under a police order after the incident last week and is still in their custody, authorities said on Monday.

But his owners started an online petition demanding his return, which attracted more than 50,000 signatures in two days.

On Monday, NSW Police said they do not intend to have Buddy put down after determining he was acting in 'reasonable defence' of the boy.

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The owner of a hero pitbull '(pictured above) has thanked supporters for saving the dog from being put down after it bit a nine-year-old boy whose mother allegedly tried to drown him

Buddy's owner Jess Smith wrote on Facebook on Wednesday to thank supporters and announced that the dog will be home soon

Buddy's owner Jess Smith took to Facebook on Wednesday to thank supporters and announced that the dog will be home soon.

'I just want to tell everyone that buddy is coming home,' she wrote.

'He has a few things to get in place before he comes home but the main thing is he is coming home.

'We all can't thank use enough for all ur support in sharing and help fundraise for him thank you all so much [sic].'

Buddy reportedly intervened when a 27-year-old woman allegedly tried to drown her two sons, aged five and nine, in the Murray River at Moama on the NSW-Victoria border on Thursday.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder and attempted murder.

Buddy was detained by Murray River Council rangers, but a spokesman confirmed that he will not be destroyed

The body of a young boy, believed to be the five-year-old, was recovered on Saturday.

His older brothers remains in a stable condition in the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne after being bitten by the dog.

Buddy was later detained by Murray River Council rangers, but a spokesman confirmed that he will not be destroyed.

NSW Police advised the council that the dog in question was responding to 'extreme circumstances' and it is likely that the dog was acting in reasonable defence of the nine-year-old boy, Margot Stork, the council's interim general manager said.

'Since the incident, we have micro chipped the dog and are working with the dog's owner to register the dog and set up the appropriate conditions to enable the dog to return home,' she said in a statement.

Ms Smith set up a campaign page on Saturday on GoPetition on Saturday, which was closed two days later.

The woman (above), who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder and attempted murder

The body of a young boy, believed to be the five-year-old, was recovered on Saturday

Buddy 'reacted and attempted to save the boys,' but in the process bit the elder boy and the mother, she wrote on the page.

'Buddy doesn't have a history of being a dangerous dog and most certainly hasn't ever bitten anyone and has never been seized before for anything,' she wrote.

'Buddy is a member of our family and has grown up around children his whole life.

'He has clearly seen a child in distress and attempted to help, dogs don't have hands to help like us humans, they have to use their teeth.'

Meanwhile, Buddy's actions have attracted praise from Bondi Vet host Dr Chris Brown.

'Stuck in the middle of an immense tragedy, a dog named Buddy did something extraordinary,' Dr Brown wrote on Facebook.

'And I think it's time we recognised his bravery and efforts to save a little boy's life.'

He added: 'To be able to sum up such a horrific situation and act heroically is something we consider to be a human quality.

'However, Buddy has shown that sometimes, pets really are the best people.'
A vocal group of mens rights activists have stopped traffic around the country to protest on International Women's Day.

The campaign group Australian Brotherhood of Fathers has called on its supporters to stand up today in recognition of men's suicide that has impacted Australian families dealing with family access restrictions.

From the M1 on the Gold Coast to the Bolte Bridge in Melbourne, protesters have brought the nation's traffic to a standstill this morning.

Bearing the '21 Fathers' logo the protesters are seeking to raise awareness about the number of Australian dads it claims take their own lives each week because of separation or family access issues.

Male protesters responded to International Women's Day by staging demonstrations supporting men's rights across the nation

Cars and trucks have prominently displayed the '21 fathers' banner which seeks to raise awareness of about the number of fathers that lose their lives to suicide every week

A convoy in Pimpama, 30km north of Gold Coast, blocked three lanes of traffic on the M1 forcing motorists to on to just the one lane and slowing traffic to 5km/h.

Meanwhile in Melbourne, up to eight cars were stopped by police who were using go-slow tactics on the Bolte Bridge this morning.

Leith Erikson, organiser of the day-long demonstrations, said that he is supportive of women's rights but the government had turned blind eye when it came to men's issues.

'We've been lobbying the government and media for four years. We needed to take our message to the community in a different way,' Mr Erikson told news.com.au.

'We're raising awareness about the terrible issues of men's suicide, broken relationships and mental health issues. Forty-two men take their lives each week in this country.

A convoy in Pimpama, 30km north of Gold Coast, blocked three lanes of traffic on the M1 forcing motorists to on to just the one lane and slowing traffic to 5km/h

The Australian Brotherhood of Fathers has more than 40,000 followers on Facebook

Protesters in cars and trucks displayed its message of solidarity on the nation's roads with one sign reading, 'stop the war on dads'.

Questioning why more attention was no paid to International Men's Day, the Brisbane based activist acknowledged the irony in staging the protests on the same day, but dismissed it as being deliberate.

'If women believe we are stealing their thunder, let them believe that. It's the last thing I'm worried about,' adding that he believes that the 'gender pay gap is a lie'.

Leith Erikson, organiser of the day-long demonstrations, said he is supportive of women's rights but that the government had turned blind eye when it came to men's issues
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The heatwave gripping Australia's east coast has turned a Victorian lake bright pink.

Westgate Park's salt lake in Melbourne's inner-city transformed from its typical blue colour to a pink hue this week  resembling Western Australia's iconic Lake Hillier and Pink Lake.

The natural phenomenon is caused by hot temperatures, high salt levels, lack of rainfall and an abundance of sunlight, according to Parks Victoria

Westgate Park's salt lake in Melbourne's inner city transformed from its typical blue colour to a pink hue this week (pictured)

The natural phenomenon is caused by hot temperatures, high salt levels, lack of rainfall and an abundance of sunlight (pictured)

'Algae growing in the salt crust at the bottom of the lake produces the red pigment [beta carotene] as part of its photosynthesis process and in response to the extremely high salt levels,' Parks Victoria posted on Facebook on Wednesday.

While the water looks inviting, officials have warned nearby residents not to swim in the lake.

'The lake is expected to return to its normal colour towards winter, when the weather cools and rainfall increases,' Parks Victoria said.

Lake Hillier, and nearby Pink Lake in Esperance, have become a tourist destination for many travellers for its unusual colour.
A racehorse named after President Donald Trump was castrated in South Africa earlier this week, opening the doors to an onslaught of jokes from the horse's stable owners.

The former stallion was gelded on Monday at Snaith Racing's stables in Cape Town after trainers decided he was too rowdy.

'He was truly difficult to train,' trainer Justin Snaith told The Cape Times. 'All he wanted to do was jump all the fillies.'

'President Trump was also very vocal and would just not focus on his work,' he added. 'I considered blinkers and a tongue-tie but he was so unmanageable that we had little option but to geld him.'

A racehorse named President Trump was castrated on Monday at Snaith Racing's stables in Cape Town after trainers decided he was too rowdy

The castration opened the doors to an onslaught of jokes about President Donald Trump from the horse's stable owners

Snaith Racing later tweeted a photo of the Cape Times' article, titled '"Trump" speechless after gelding'.

'Breaking news ***President Trump GELDED***,' the stables company said in the tweet.

The horse President Trump is the son of American-bred Philanthropist, and was bought for $13,740 last year, according to auction records.

He is being trained by South African brothers Justin and Jonathan Snaith.

Male horses can still live a happy life after being castrated, and Racing Post said that the strategy worked for President Trump.

The Snaith Brothers told Racing Post that while President Trump was still 'arrogant', he was 'doing great'.
Mystery surrounds Gold Star father Khizr Khan's claim that his 'travel privileges are being reviewed' as immigration authorities deny being involved in the alleged situation.

Khan, whose 27-year-old son US Army Captain Humayun Khan died while serving in Iraq in 2004, first said he was notified on Sunday that he could not travel to Canada where he had planned to deliver a speech on 'tolerance, understanding, unity and the rule of law'.

The Gold Star father has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, and the announcement of him canceling his trip to Toronto coincided with the president's rewritten order to temporarily ban entry of citizens from six Muslim-majority nations to the U.S.

Khan, who gained world-wide attention last year during the Democratic National Convention where he argued Trump's proposed travel ban was immoral and unconstitutional, has been a U.S. citizen for more than 30 years.

In addition, he was born in Pakistan which is not one of the six countries on Trump's list. Officials with several government agencies both in the U.S. and Canada have denied being involved.

Mystery surrounds Gold Star father Khizr Khan's (above) claim that his 'travel privileges are being reviewed' as immigration authorities deny being involved in the alleged situation. Khan has not revealed which U.S. agency contacted him about his travel privileges

The news was announced on the Facebook page of Ramsay Talks, the event where Khan was scheduled to deliver a speech on 'tolerance, understanding, unity and the rule of law' on March 7th

Ramsay Talks, the organizer of the event Khan was scheduled to speak at on March 7 posted a message on Facebook notifying attendees of his cancellation and providing the reason why from Khan.

'This turn of events is not just of deep concern to me but to all my fellow Americans who cherish our freedom to travel abroad,' said Khan, according to the post.

'I have not been given any reason as to why. I am grateful for your support and look forward to visiting Toronto in the near future.'

However, Khan did not reveal which U.S. agency contacted him.

Bob Ramsay, the organizer of Ramsay Talks, said on Tuesday that he didn't know the details surrounding Khan's claim.

'I don't know exactly who conducted the review, but in speaking with Mr. Khan, it was certainly U.S. authorities,' Ramsay told The Washington Post. 'That's all I know.'

Khan (right) gained international attention following a speech at last year's Democratic National Convention, where he argued that then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposed travel ban was immoral and unconstitutional

News of Khan's travel restrictions followed the release of President Trump's executive order banning travel from six Muslim-majority countries that won't go into action until later this month

Khan has still not further explained his allegation or responded to questions from DailyMail.com or other media outlets.

In addition, his claim about being prevented to travel abroad raised doubts from many, as no visa is needed to travel to Canada and U.S. citizens are not prevented from traveling abroad.

Representatives with US Citizenship and Immigration Services told Dailymail.com that they were not aware of Khan's case or of any American citizen having their travel privileges put under review by the US government.

US Customs & Border Protection officials said the agency does not contact travelers in advance of their travel out of the US, adding that any US citizen with a passport may travel out of the country.

The agency told Reuters that it would not comment specifically on the Khan case, citing privacy protections.

Khan's son, 27-year-old US Army Captain Humayun Khan, (above) was killed by a suicide bomber in 2004 during the Iraq War and was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart

There is no US State Department procedure for reviewing 'travel privileges', an agency official told the New York Daily News. Anyone with a valid American passport can enter and leave the country, they added.

The Canadian foreign ministry also denied that they issued a review of Khan's ability to travel to the country.

'We are unaware of any restrictions regarding this traveler,' Camielle Edwards, spokeswoman for Canada's Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the Post.

The U.S. government cannot prevent those holding passports from traveling if they have not committed a crime, and per public records, Khan does not have a criminal history.

It is unclear who called for the review or the grounds for it.
A 'racist' former UCSB student received a lifetime ban from Tinder after he allegedly called a woman a 'ch**k' when she didn't reply to his message fast enough.

Nick Vedovi, 24, had his dirty laundry aired and his online dating service revoked after he reportedly sent a woman racist and sexist messages when she didn't immediately agree to go on a date with him back in February.

After other women came forward with their own nightmarish stories of Vedovi's alleged behavior, Tinder announced that the University of California at Santa Barbra graduate had his account banned for life, 'in commemoration of National Pig Day', on Wednesday.

Nick Vedovi, 24, received a lifetime ban from Tinder on Wednesday after he allegedly called a woman a 'ch**k' when she didn't reply to his message fast enough

Vedovi, who lives in San Francisco, California, had reportedly called a woman a 'ch**k' and a 'dumb c**t' when she didn't reply to his text about a date fast enough in late February

Vedovi's alleged behavior was made public after a friend of the harassed woman posted screenshots of the pair's apparent conversation. Tinder banned him for life on Wednesday, 'in commemoration of National Pig Day'

The start of Vedovi's downfall came when Facebook user Kevin Tran posted screenshots of a conversation he claims was between his friend and Vedovi, in late February.

He wrote in the post his friend had matched with Vedovi on Tinder and they began messaging outside of the app.

Tran said he attended college with Vedovi and thought he was a 'decent guy' and 'nice and friendly.'

However, this Vedovi showed a different side to the unidentified woman after she didn't respond to his invitation to come over fast enough. He allegedly went ballistic, calling her a 'ch**k' and a 'dumb c**t'.

Tran posted pictures of the exchange online as a warning, saying 'sexism and racism cannot be tolerated'.

Tran said he personally messaged Vedovi about the racist remarks and the UCSB graduate denied that the messages were coming from him. He said it was his old phone number and said that someone else could be using his photos.

Kevin Tran is friends with the woman Vedovi allegedly sent the messages to. Tran said he knew Vedovi from college and contacted him about the racist comments. Vedovi denied that it was him, saying it was his old number and insinuating someone else was using his photos

Tran said Vedovi used to seem like a 'decent guy'. He posted pictures of the exchange as a warning, saying 'sexism and racism cannot be tolerated'

Vedovi attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and graduated in 2014 with a degree in international business

After the post was shared more than 1,000 times, another woman, Alexa Velez, stepped forward and claims she was harassed by Vedovi after she told him she wasn't interested in dating him.

Velez wrote an open letter to Vedovi on NextShark, where she provided screenshots of the conversation she claims is with the California man, where he called her a 'bimbo' and a b***h'.

She wrote: 'At first you appeared intelligent, put together, and carried yourself with poise. Whether its a facade to mask your legitimate self or a true side of you, its critically overshadowed by spitefulness and hate.'

Tinder responded to Vedovi's alleged behavior by banning him for life and the company's Vice President of Communications & Brand, Rosette Pambakian, wrote an open letter to him.

After Tran's post was shared more than 1,000 times, Alexa Velez (pictured) claims she was harassed by Vedovi after she told him she wasn't interested in going on a second date with him

Velez wrote an open letter to Vedovi after she claims he called her a 'bimbo' and a b***h' when she said she wasn't interested in him

Tinder responded to Vedovi's alleged behavior by banning him for life, saying: 'Hate is not an option and we will continue to fight it wherever it rears its ugly head'

She said: 'Tinder has a zero-tolerance policy on disrespect. No racist rants. No sexist pigs. No jerks who cant get over their own inadequacies long enough to have a decent conversation with another person on Tinder.

'Hate is not an option and we will continue to fight it wherever it rears its ugly head.

'Womens voices are only getting louder. You and your kind are not welcome in our world.'

He has since deactivated his Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn account.
A mother who drowned her baby after she became obsessed with the mistaken belief she had dwarfism has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The 41-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with the more serious offence of murder.

The six-month-old baby girl was discovered floating in the bathtub of her home in North Strathfield, inner-west Sydney, in November, 2010.

The Crown accepted her plea on the basis of substantial impairment due to abnormality of the mind, prosecutor Mark Hobart SC told the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday.

A woman (pictured), who cannot be named, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter after her six-month-old daughter was found drowned in the bathtub of their Sydney home

The mother has been admitted to various psychiatric institutions since her daughter's death and was deemed unfit to face trial in 2014.

A special hearing was held under the Mental Health Act, when Justice Geoffrey Bellew found, on the limited evidence available, that she had intentionally drowned her baby.

He found she had resented the baby girl, was 'obsessed with perfection' and became increasingly anxious she was 'seeing the signs of a dwarf'.

She refused to accept medical assurances that her daughter was 'normal'.

The Crown accepted her plea on the basis of substantial impairment due to abnormality of the mind, prosecutor Mark Hobart SC told the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday

The judge imposed a limiting term, meaning the maximum amount of time she could be detained in a mental health facility, of 20 years.

Last July, another judge granted her bail, on condition she reside in a mental health facility, after experts agreed she was fit to face trial.

She was taking appropriate medication and her mental condition had significantly improved.

The woman was due to face a murder trial this week, but entered her guilty plea to manslaughter on Wednesday.

Justice Robert Beech-Jones adjourned the case to next Friday to enable the parties to prepare an agreed statement of facts before her sentencing hearing takes place on a future date.
China has proposed that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the US and South Korea.

Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula were like 'two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way.'

Wang asked: 'Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?'

China has proposed that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the U.S. and South Korea

Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula were like 'two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way.'

He added that as a first step to defusing the looming crisis, the North might suspend its nuclear and missile activities if the US and South Korea halted their military exercises.

Wang says the 'suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table.'

On Monday, President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that the threat from North Korea had 'entered a new stage,' following another defiant missile test.

The two leaders spoke by telephone after North Korea fired off four ballistic missiles, in what Pyongyang provocatively called a training exercise for a strike on US bases in Japan.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) claps during the April 9, 2014, session of the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's parliament, in Pyongyang

'Japan and the United States confirmed' the launches violated UN Security Council resolutions and presented a 'clear challenge to the region and international community,' Abe told reporters in Tokyo.

The missiles traveled about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) and three of them landed in waters close to Japan that are part of its exclusive economic zone.

North Korean weapons programs are rapidly proving to be the most prominent foreign policy question facing Trump's young White House.

Kim Jong Un supervised a ballistic rocket launching drill of Hwasong artillery units of the Strategic Force of the KPA (above)

The president - who has little foreign policy experience - has described North Korea as a 'big, big problem' and vowed to deal with the issue 'very strongly.'

Intelligence officials believe that Pyongyang could be less than two years away from developing a nuclear warhead that could reach the continental United States.

Trump has baldly declared that 'it won't happen!' but has yet to articulate how he proposes to neutralize the threat.

Diplomacy has stalled and military options remain fraught.

US President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke by telephone after North Korea fired off four ballistic missiles

Monday's launches were the latest in a series of test-firings that have increased in tempo.

Last month, Abe's visit to Trump's Florida resort was marred by another North Korean missile test.

On that occasion social media posts showed Trump and Abe huddling with aides in a public dining room as they weighed how to respond.

As a presidential candidate, Trump had called into question a mutual defense pact with Japan, insisting Tokyo must pay its own way. He has since softened that rhetoric.

Abe said that 'President Trump said the United States is 100 per cent with Japan and he told me to convey his remarks to the Japanese people.'

'He said he wanted us to trust him and the United States 100 per cent,' Abe added.
A father who has twice won lotto when in a previous marriage is now comforting his daughter in a hospital's intensive care unit, after an horrific car accident killed his wife and young son.

Darren Bullock has not left the bedside of his daughter Sienna, 7, who survived a shocking accident that claimed the life of her mum Julie, 49, and twin brother Hudson, as they traveled to school on Tuesday morning.

The mother and her children were driving to Wollondilly Anglican School, on Sydney's southern outskirts, when another car slammed into them.

An inconsolable Mr Bullock, who worked as a damage assessor for the Mine Subsidence Board and is a two-time lottery winner, has kept a vigil by Sienna's hospital bedside, relatives said.



Social media posts paint a heartbreaking picture of two adoring parents who doted on their twin son an daughter.

Tragedy has struck the family of mining executive and two time Lotto winner Darren Bullock - with his wife Julie and son Hudson, seven, killed in a fatal accident

Mrs Bullock's Facebook page is littered with loving posts about her family. They would bake biscuits together and she would share happy photographs of holidays.

During one trip to the snow, Ms Bullock praised her 'amazing husband and beautiful twins'.

'At our villa in thredbo. Wombats walking around, kangaroos nibbling grass, pizza, pasta and wine for tea...

'Life doesn't get any better than this.'

Ms Bullock shared loving photographs of her and her children on her Facebook page, speaking of her 'beautiful family and amazing husband'

Ms Bullock would share loving photographs of her children and husband. Her daughter Sienna is fighting for life in hospital

An occupational therapist, Ms Bullock and her son Hudson died at the scene of the crash on Hume Highway

A witness to the fatal collision described their horror as they watched a silver Holden Astra slam into the Picton family's Mazda 4WD

She shared pictures of her twin children joining her in the kitchen to help make pumpkin soup and chocolate crackles and the welcome addition of a new puppy, Jenson, to their home.

Ms Bullock also posted a picture of flowers her husband sent her - using the opportunity to tell how much she loved him.

A Westmead Children's Hospital spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia Sienna was in a stable condition on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old driver of the second car, which cut through the median strip on to the wrong side of the highway, was also in critical condition at Liverpool Hospital.

The head-on crash happened shortly before 8am in the southbound lanes of the Hume Motorway, part of the highway, about 1km south of Picton Road.

A witness to the fatal collision described his horror as he watched a silver Holden Astra slam into the Picton family's Mazda 4WD.

He and other motorists, including a trained nurse, rushed to help the victims - young Hudson passing out while in the arms of the unnamed witness.

'We were trying as hard as we could to keep the little boy alive and awake but he went unconscious on us,' the witness told The Daily Telegraph.

'There was nothing we could do.

'Some of the guys who had stopped jumped down and cut the kids out because they were both trapped upside down,' the witness said.

A truck-driver freed Ms Bullock by pulling the dashboard off and she was able to pull herself out of the totalled car where people attempted to save her.

Hudson and Sienna were transported to hospital, but the young boy could not be saved and died on arrival at hospital.

'We were trying as hard as we could to keep the little boy alive and awake but he went unconscious on us,' a witness said

Sienna was transported in critical condition with chest and head injuries to the Children's Hospital at Westmead, according to the NSW Ambulance spokesperson

One witness said he and other motorists, including a trained nurse, rushed to help the victims - including young Hudson who passed out while in his arms

Hudson and Sienna, both 7, were transported to hospital, but the young boy could not be saved and died on arrival at Liverpool Hospital

Sienna was transported in critical condition with chest and head injuries to the Children's Hospital at Westmead, according to the NSW Ambulance spokesperson.

Ms Bullock, an occupational therapist and her son are survived by her husband Darren and their adult daughter Maddison.

Darren, who was not in the car, rushed to hospital to be with Sienna.

He is a former mining executive who last year told an inquiry in 2015 he twice won Lotto - $50,000 in 1999 and $200,000 in first division in 2003.

The inquiry was told he bought property, cars and took the family on holiday to Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji and Japan.

A truck-driver freed Ms Bullock by pulling the dashboard off and she was able to pull herself out of the totalled car where people attempted to apply medical aid

This picture reportedly shows one of the vehicles in the aftermath of the deadly crash

Friends shared tributes to the family. this week.

'Today we all lost an amazing lady who helped our community so much and also sadly lost one of her twins while her little girl fights for her life,' one friend wrote.

'Julie Bullock you did so much for Jacob being his Occupational Therapist for all that time.

'I know you'll be in heaven with your little man. We'll pray for your little princess. My condolences go to your family.'

A GoFundMe page has been set up on behalf of the Bullock family.

The 49-year-old driver of the second car, which cut through the median strip on to the wrong side of the highway, is in critical condition at Liverpool Hospital

A truck was seen removing one of the cars involved in the deadly crash 100km south of Sydney

A truck-driver freed Ms Bullock by pulling the dashboard off and she was able to pull herself out of the totalled car where people attempted to apply medical aid
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Six people are dead following wildfires that have decimated hundreds of square miles across Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado since Monday.

Three people died in Gray County and one in Hemphill County, both in Texas, while one person each died in Oklahoma and Kansas.

The three who died in Gray County, in the Texas Panhandle, were identified as Emmert Sloan, Cody Crockett and Sydney Wallace. All three were ranch hands.

Gray County emergency management coordinator Sandi Martin said Crockett and Wallace were in their early 20s and Sloan's age was not known.

The individual in Hemphill County, also in the Panhandle, died around 11.40am Tuesday and has not yet been identified.

Gray County Judge Richard Peet said Tuesday that one of the three Texas ranch hands apparently died of smoke inhalation late Monday while the other two suffered severe burns and died while being taken to hospitals.

Between 10,000 and 12,000 people left their homes in Reno County because of a fire north of Hutchinson, pictured, which is about 40 miles northwest of Wichita. All told, wildfires across Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Colorado have decimated hundreds of square miles and have killed six people

Three of those who died in Texas were identified as Emmert Sloan, Cody Crockett and Sydney Wallace. All three were ranch hands. The other individual has not yet been identified. Pictured: The fire north of Hutchinson, Kansas. About 625 square miles of Kansas land is caught in the wildfires and officials worry that more wildfires might ignite Wednesday

The Kansas victim was truck driver Corey Holt, 39.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said Holt, of Oklahoma City, jackknifed Monday while trying to back up his tractor-trailer on highway 34 in Clark County because of poor visibility and dust from the fires.

The patrol said he succumbed to smoke inhalation when he got out of his vehicle.

Authorities said Tuesday afternoon that an Oklahoma woman, 63, had a fatal heart attack while trying to save her farm from a wildfire.

The woman, whose name was not released, was fighting the fire Monday with her husband on their farm near Buffalo.

Tuesday night, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency in 22 counties due to wildfires.

The order issued Tuesday allows state agencies to make emergency purchases needed to deliver necessary resources to local jurisdictions and is the first step toward possibly seeking federal assistance.

Up to 465 square miles have burned in Beaver, Harper and Woodward counties in northwestern Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Dangerous fire conditions are expected to continue in the state through Wednesday.

Also Tuesday night, officials said one of three wildfires in the Texas Panhandle is not fully contained.

The Texas A&M Forest Service said a fire measuring about 46 square miles near Amarillo was fully contained by late Tuesday afternoon.

Another fire that has burned more than 492 square miles in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border is 50 percent contained.

It has destroyed two homes.

A third wildfire south in Gray County and measuring nearly 145 square miles is 25 per cent contained.

Phillip Truitt, a spokesman for the Texas A&M Forest Service, said his agency has confirmed three firefighters were injured battling the blazes. All have been released from hospitals.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback said Tuesday afternoon that 98 per cent of the state is under a warning for extreme fire danger.

Kansas officials say about 625 square miles of land in the state has burned and they are worried that more wildfires might ignite Wednesday.

The Kansas victim was truck driver Corey Holt, 39, who succumbed to smoke inhalation when he got out of his vehicle in Clark County. Holt was from Oklahoma City. Pictured: The view southwest along K61 near Hutchinson, Kansas

A 63-year-old Oklahoma woman died from a heart attack while she fought, along with her husband, to save her farm near Buffalo from a wildfire. The woman's name was not released. Pictured:The Crazy Horse Sports Club and Golf Course at the Highlands is in the foreground of an aerial shot showing the fire north of Hutchinson, Kansas

Most of the area burned was in Clark County, in southern Kansas. But between 10,000 and 12,000 people left their homes in Reno County because of a fire north of Hutchinson, which is about 40 miles northwest of Wichita.

Authorities said about 70 structures have been damaged or destroyed in Kansas.

The State Emergency Operations Center said that at least 30 homes are destroyed in Reno County, with the possibility that more are damaged.

The heaviest damage has been in Clark County on the state's southern border with Oklahoma, where about 545 square miles have burned. About 30 structures and bridges in the county have been damaged.

In the western part of the state, seven homes in Ford County, two homes in Rooks County and a bridge in Meade County were destroyed.

State officials don't have any damage estimates yet, but Brownback says he's worried there could be significant losses of livestock.

The forecast operations chief at the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma said the powerful wind gusts that have helped the wildfires spread quickly will die down to around 10 to 20 mph on Wednesday, meaning conditions should improve a bit in the coming days for firefighters battling the blazes.

Harper County Emergency Management Director Dale Spradlin estimated that the fire had burned just more than 155 square miles in the county.

A separate blaze has so far burned an estimated 390 square miles in neighboring Beaver County.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation reported that US Highway 283 and 183 in Beaver County were closed Tuesday because of smoke from fires in the area.

As of Tuesday morning, firefighters were battling a grass fire on the plains of Logan County in northeastern Colorado.

A state of emergency was declared across 22 Oklahoma counties by Governor Mary Fallin. Beaver, Harper and Woodward counties have seen up to 465 square miles burn in the wildfires. Pictured: A National Guard Blackhawk helicopter approaching the fire near Hutchinson, kansas

Meanwhile, firefighters in the northeast corner of the Texas Panhandle are working to contain the 492 square miles of wildfire there. As of Thesday, the fire was 50 percent contained. Pictured: The wildfire north of Hutchinson, Kansas

The fire was considered 90 percent contained on Monday evening, but managers on Tuesday revised that figure to 50 percent after some flare ups.

The fire has burned more than 45 square miles and destroyed three homes.

An unknown number of nearby residents have been warned to be ready to evacuate if the fire spreads toward them. The warnings were sent to 900 telephone numbers.

Three schools were evacuated because of the fire on Monday but no one took advantage of a Red Cross shelter set up for potential evacuees.

Crews used two Black Hawk helicopters Monday to dump water on some of the Kansas fires.
Torrential rain in New Zealand has left sheep and cattle fighting for their lives.

Photos have emerged of livestock stranded on a small patch of grass at a farm in Hanua, south of Auckland, which was hit by flooding on Tuesday.

The animals were herded across flood waters to higher ground on Wednesday morning.

Photos have emerged livestock stranded on a small patch of grass at a farm in Hanua, south of Auckland, which was hit by flooding on Tuesday

A farmer woke on Tuesday to find 20 hectares of his property submerged

'We rounded them all up on higher ground. We only lost one sheep so we fared pretty well,' owner of Wairoa River Farm Geoff Pearson told Daily Mail Australia.

'They had to swim. Sheep don't like water so it was the mission from hell,' he said.

Images show droves of sheep and a small number of cattle desperately clinging to life huddled together on a small patch of grass, surrounded by rising waters.

Mr Pearson lost about $40,000 worth of fencing as his property flooded to the highest point in 40 years.

His family woke on Tuesday to find 20 hectares of their property submerged.

Torrential rain battered Auckland overnight and is expected to continue into Thursday.

Mr Pearson said he hoped his cattle would be safe overnight on higher ground.
A man was assaulted, robbed and thrown from a moving car after he met up with the online buyers he was selling his iPhone to through online marketplace Gumtree.

The 26-year-old arranged to meet with the two men in Strathfield South and CCTV footage captured the moment he was roughly tossed out of a black Toyota.

Two males described as being of Middle Eastern appearance in their late teens stole the iPhone and made a quick getaway.

The 26-year-old (pictured right) was thrown from the moving car after two men posed as buyers and stole his expensive iPhone

The two men are described as being of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance and drove a black Toyota Corolla when they robbed a man in south Strathfield

CCTV captured the man stumbling after being thrown from the car as the Corolla quickly drives past.

Gumtree sellers have been attacked and robbed in seven Sydney suburbs since December after agreeing to meet online buyers in person.

The man was thrown from the vehicle near the intersection of Homebush Road and the Hume Highway

The string of robberies are being investigated by police who have issued warnings to Gumtree users to meet with prospective buyers in public areas with CCTV cameras around.

'Since December 2016, officers from Flemington Local Area Command have received a number of reports of robberies which have occurred in similar circumstances,' the police statement reads.

'Once the seller arrives at the agreed location to sell their phone, they are then robbed of the phone by two males described as Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, aged in their late teens.'

Millions of users buy and sell on Gumtree and a spate of robberies as called its safety into question

CCTV footage captured the moment the 26-year-old was robbed and then thrown out of the moving black car (pictured)

Robberies have also been reported from Lidcombe, Strathfield, Regents Park, Merrylands, Brookvale, Marsfield, and Canley Heights.

NSW Police said: 'Detectives from Flemington Local Area Command, where many of the incidents have occurred, have established Strike Force Hayden to investigate the incidents. They are being assisted with information provided by Gumtree.

Police are urging the driver of the vehicle to come forward, as they may be able to assist police with their inquiries. The vehicle in the footage is described as a black Toyota Corolla.'

Gumtree Australia told Daily Mail Australia the company is 'aware of some bad seeds' robbing phone sellers.

'The safety and security of our community is our main priority. While the majority of our community members have a positive experience, sometimes bad seeds do target our users,' Gumtree said.

'For personal ease and safety, arrange to meet in a busy public place and take a friend or family member with you. Use common sense, if something sounds too good to be true - it probably is.'
A mother with 'strong Christian values' accused of twice trying to kill her baby confessed to the crimes but claimed she was possessed by the devil when she stopped the girl breathing, a court has heard.

She told police 'my hands might have done it but my head didn't do it' in August 2013, almost three years after allegedly trying to murder her daughter.

'I never wanted to hurt (daughter) but at those events, I feel I was possessed,' she said in a signed police statement shown to the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday.

'I believe I have the love of God and this is not the person who I am.

'I feel that the devil attacked and made me do things.'

A mother accused of twice trying to kill her baby confessed to the crimes but claimed she was possessed by the devil when she stopped the girl breathing, a court has heard (stock image)

The toddler died on March 20, 2012, aged 21 months, with the cause undetermined. The mother has not been charged in relation to her death.

She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted murder and assault occasioning grievous bodily harm over attempts to kill her daughter on October 28 and November 24, 2010.

'She was four and five months old when her 23-year-old mother unsuccessfully tried to murder her on two separate occasions,' Crown prosecutor Daniel Boyle told the jury.

'She did that by the deliberate obstruction to the airways.'

The toddler recovered from the first alleged attempt to kill her after being revived by paramedics but suffered 'catastrophic consequences', the court heard.

Mother told police 'my hands might have done it but my head didn't do it' in August 2013, almost three years after allegedly trying to murder her baby (file image)

'Unfortunately, the period of lack of blood and oxygen to the brain resulted in severe brain damage,' Mr Boyle said.

The mother said she had left her daughter on the floor of the family home at Rothwell, north of Brisbane, for less than a minute and returned to find her blue and not breathing.

She was in hospital for six days but half an hour after being discharged she was again found blue, unresponsive and not breathing.

'The accused told them she had left for five minutes and returned to find the child not breathing,' Mr Boyle said.

Three weeks later, the mother was alleged to have tried to kill her daughter during a hospital visit where she was due to discuss a non-resuscitation order for the toddler with doctors and nurses, he said.

'I never wanted to hurt (daughter) but at those events, I feel I was possessed,' she said in a signed police statement shown to the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday (file image)

According to the Crown's case, she took her daughter outside but when they returned to the ward, nurses noticed the toddler was limp and her translucent skin cool to the touch.

In the days following her alleged August 2013 confession, she texted her then-husband she was 'not planning to tell anyone that I am guilty'.

During the exchange, she wrote that she was still the same person and her mother had taken the alleged confession 'kinda better than expected'.

Sixteen doctors and four nurses will give evidence during the trial, the jury heard.

Defence barrister Donald MacKenzie told the jury she never harmed her daughter and her confessions 'came from a disordered mind'.

The trial is expected to run for two weeks before Justice Glenn Martin.
The former head of the CIA sought to calm anxious Americans who may be worried that the vaunted US spy agency is eavesdropping through their smart television sets.

Gen. Michael Hayden told Stephen Colbert of CBS' Late Show on Tuesday that the CIA does not spy on Americans.

Earlier on Tuesday, WikiLeaks unveiled what it says are official CIA documents showing that the agency has the capability to hack into smartphones and televisions, which it then uses to spy on people.

'I can tell you that these tools would not be used against an American,' Hayden told Colbert.

When Colbert pressed the point as to why the CIA wouldn't use the technology to gather information about Americans, Hayden replied: 'There are some bad people in the world who have Samsung TVs too.'

The former head of the CIA, General Michael Hayden (left), sought to calm anxious Americans who may be worried that the vaunted US spy agency is eavesdropping through their smart television sets. Hayden appeared on CBS' Late Show with Stephen Colbert (right) on Tuesday

'I can tell you that these tools would not be used against an American,' Hayden told Colbert

'There are people out there that you want us to spy on. You want us to have the ability to actually turn on that listening device inside the TV to learn that person's intentions.'

The anti-secrecy organization on Tuesday published what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used over several years, renewing concerns about the security of consumer electronics and embarrassing yet another US intelligence agency.

The discussion transcripts showed that CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc iPhones, Google Inc Android devices and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.

Cyber security experts disagreed about the extent of the fallout from the data dump, but said a lot would depend on whether WikiLeaks followed through on a threat to publish the actual hacking tools that could do damage.

The anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks on Tuesday published what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used over several years. The CIA logo is seen at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, in this 2016 file photo

The discussion transcripts showed that CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc iPhones, Google Inc Android devices and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software

Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials, dated between 2013 and 2016, appeared to be legitimate.

A longtime intelligence contractor with expertise in US hacking tools told Reuters the documents included correct 'cover' terms describing active cyber programs.

Among the most noteworthy WikiLeaks claims is that the Central Intelligence Agency, in partnership with other US and foreign agencies, has been able to bypass the encryption on popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.

The files did not indicate the actual encryption of Signal or other secure messaging apps had been compromised.

Among the most noteworthy WikiLeaks claims is that the Central Intelligence Agency, in partnership with other US and foreign agencies, has been able to bypass the encryption on popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp (seen above), Telegram and Signal

One document claims that US and British personnel use a program known as Weeping Angel, which is capable of taking over a Samsung smart television (above), making it appear it was off when in fact it was recording conversations in the room

The information in what WikiLeaks said were 7,818 web pages with 943 attachments appears to represent the latest breach in recent years of classified material from US intelligence agencies.

Security experts differed over how much the disclosures could damage US cyber espionage.

Many said that, while harmful, they do not compare to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013 of mass NSA data collection.

'This is a big dump about extremely sophisticated tools that can be used to target individual user devices ... I haven't yet come across the mass exploiting of mobile devices,' said Tarah Wheeler, senior director of engineering and principal security advocate for Symantec.

Stuart McClure, CEO of Cylance, an Irvine, California, cyber security firm, said that one of the most significant disclosures shows how CIA hackers cover their tracks by leaving electronic trails suggesting they are from Russia, China and Iran rather than the United States.

Other revelations show how the CIA took advantage of vulnerabilities that are known, if not widely publicized.

In one case, the documents say, US and British personnel, under a program known as Weeping Angel, developed ways to take over a Samsung smart television, making it appear it was off when in fact it was recording conversations in the room.

Meanwhile, it was learned that FBI Director James Comey has canceled a scheduled public appearance at an Austin, Texas, music and arts festival where he was expected to address allegations of wiretapping made by President Donald Trump, according to The Washington Examiner.

Over the weekend, Trump dropped a bombshell by claiming that then-President Barack Obama ordered wiretaps of his phones at Trump Tower during the election campaign.

Comey has reportedly asked the Justice Department to push back on the claim.

The FBI chief was scheduled to appear Monday at SXSW in Austin, but event organizers put out a statement on Tuesday saying that he won't be able to attend due to 'scheduling conflicts.'
An 87-year-old former One Nation Candidate claims Senator Pauline Hanson has sacked him and his wife from the party after telling him he's 'too old' to run for Parliament.

Ron McLean and his wife Marye Louise Daniels, 79, who has donated more than $100,000 to the party, claim Senator Hanson told Mr Mclean in February he was being dropped from the upcoming Western Australian election, according to Sky News.

He claims the pair were chatting at his home when Senator Hanson said 'Ron, I'm sacking you from third position on Agriculture as I believe you're too old and you'll be 91-years-old when the term is finished.'

The couple, who have been confidantes of the senator for more than 20 years, are seeking to file an anti-discrimination lawsuit against Hanson, according to The Age.

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Ron McLean (pictured), an 87-year-old former One Nation Candidate, claims Pauline Hanson has told him he cannot run for Parliament because he's 'too old'

Mr McLean and his wife Marye Louise Daniels, 79, (pictured) claim they have been dropped from the party suddenly

The cuole have been confidantes of Senator Hanson's (pictured) for more than 20 years

A spokesman for Mr McLean and Mrs Daniels, 79, told Sky News on Wednesday the former candidate has notified the Equal Opportunity Commission.

Senator Hanson's alleged comment and decision has left the couple 'devastated.'

The couple were responsible for vetting One Nation candidates for the upcoming election in WA, according to The Age.

'To say that Ron is too old to be number three on the One Nation ticket is abhorrent. Regardless of age  if you're over 18 you should be able to run for Parliament,' the spokesman said.

The couple have sent a letter to Senator Hanson and the party requesting an explanation for his sacking.

'I'm very nervous about doing this, I've never done anything like this before,' Mrs Daniels said.

Mr McLean and his wife (pictured) said they have donated more than $100,000 to the party

Ms Hanson denied claims she discriminated against the pair.

Speaking to the ABC on Wednesday she said Mr McLean and Ms Daniels were acting out after Colin Tincknell was appointed the WA party director.

'They are of the opinion that it's discrimination against them, but not at all,' Ms Hanson told ABC news.

'As far as looking at candidates, well, I worry about Ron's health. He is 87 years of age.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted One Nation for further comment.
An equestrian centre owner who rejected a $1.79 million offer from Islamic businessmen for his property says Christians are arming themselves because they're scared of Muslims.

John O'Leary turned down the offer for his 4.5 hectare property, in northeast Adelaide, because he's worried about Muslims taking over.

The prospective buyers had plans to turn his Grainsborough Equestrian Centre, at Golden Grove, into a function hall with an Islamic prayer room.

Mr O'Leary said local Christians, including a church elder, were now so scared of Muslims they were getting gun licences.

John O'Leary said he rejected an offer from Muslim businessmen because he's worried about Islam taking over

'The Christians that I know, and I know many, are silently fearful at the moment, including one that I know who's a pillar of his church has just gone and got his gun licence,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

'Christians are paranoid. They are giving sermons about the danger of the Muslim coming.

'It is well known and proven that the Muslims don't agree with Christianity. That's been seen in the Middle East lately and around the world.'

Mr O'Leary, who supports One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, said he was worried about Muslims taking over his part of Adelaide.

The equestrian centre owner is concerned about a nearby suburb being turned into a Muslim enclave

'I don't want to see enclaves on our country and our cities where westerners can't walk through their own suburbs,' he said.

'And I don't want to see the crime that I see on the news.'

Residents of nearby Pooraka, where his sister-in-law lives, are protesting against plans for more mosques.

'She says her suburb is being taken over by Muslims and we're very concerned about it,' Mr O'Leary said.

Owner of an equestrian centre rejects $1.79 million offer for 4.5 hectare property because the offer came from Muslim businessmen

Gainsborough Equestrian Centre owner John O'Leary, says he rejected the offer from the Islamic group because he didn't want Muslims to take over

The Islamic businessmen had reportedly planned to build a function centre complete with prayer room in the South Australia suburub of Golden Grove

Mr O'Leary's property has five bedrooms and two bathrooms and is advertised as 'one of the regions finest equestrian and training facilities in SA'.

An unnamed agent who had been acting on behalf of Mr O'leary said a firm offer hadn't been made, but plans had be drawn up.

'I saw plans (for the building) and it was for a very large function or community centre, catering for up to 1000 people. It also had prayer rooms,' he told the Adelaide Advertiser.

However the agent said the planned building was not a mosque and he added he no longer represented Mr O'Leary.

Mr O'Leary's wife, Linda, said their family wished to see the property continued to be used for horses by the new owners.

Construction has begun on a new mosque at nearby Green Fields.

Plans for another nearby $3 million mosque and cemetery on Bridge Rd, at Pooraka, has been approved, despite opposition.

Mr O'Leary's property has five bedrooms and two bathrooms and is advertised as 'one of the regions finest equestrian and training facilities in SA'

An unnamed agent who had been acting on behalf of Mr O'leary said a firm offer hadn't been made, but plans had be drawn up

However the agent said the planned building was not a mosque and he added he no longer represented Mr O'Leary

Plans for a $3 million mosque near the equestrian centre have been approved, despite opposition
For several hours, Lady Liberty didn't shine so brightly.

The famed The Statue of Liberty was temporarily in the dark Tuesday night after what a spokesman calls an 'unplanned outage.'

The statue went dark, except for the crown and torch, at around 10pm.

The lights returned shortly before midnight, according to WCBS-TV.

For several hours, Lady Liberty didn't shine so brightly. The famed The Statue of Liberty was temporarily in the dark Tuesday night after what a spokesman calls an 'unplanned outage'

The outage sparked conversation on social media that perhaps it was done deliberately for Wednesday's 'A Day Without Women' protest of inequality

 Slide me  The Statue of Liberty went dark last night after the lighting system failed briefly

The outage sparked conversation on social media that perhaps it was done deliberately for Wednesday's 'A Day Without Women' protest of inequality.

But National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis says the outage probably was related to a project for a new emergency backup generator.

He says the official cause will be determined Wednesday when crews return to work on the project, 'part of our last remaining Hurricane Sandy recovery projects.'

At the end of February, protesters released a huge banner on the Statue of Liberty that read 'Refugees Welcome' - on the day Homeland Security tightened immigration rules.

The 20ft sign hung on the statue, that has welcomed immigrants to the United States since 1886, for over an hour before it was removed from the observation deck.
Rolando Ruiz was put to death for the murder-for-hire slaying he carried out more than 24 years ago

A hitman was executed in Texas on Tuesday night almost a quarter of a century after he gunned down a San Antonio woman in a life insurance fraud.

Rolando Ruiz apologized as he was given a lethal injection for the fatal shooting of Theresa Rodriguez.

The 29 year old was gunned down outside her home as she was getting out of a car with her husband and brother-in-law, who both orchestrated her murder.

Ruiz was paid $2,000 to carry out the contract killing in 1992.

Ruiz, strapped to the Texas death chamber gurney, looked directly at his victim's two sisters and their husbands and apologized profusely.

'Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am and the hurt I have caused you and your family,' he told them as they looked through a window a few feet from him. 'May this bring you peace and forgiveness.'

He also thanked his own family for their love and support. 'I am at peace,' he said. 'Jesus Christ is Lord. I love you all.'

As the lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered, he took several deep breaths, then began snoring quietly. All movement stopped within about 30 seconds.

Theresa's husband Michael, left, and her brother-in-law Mark, right, had orchestrated the killing and were both jailed for life. Michael was executed in 2008 for his role in an escape that led to the death of a Dallas cop. Mark was paroled in 2011

Ruiz, 44, was pronounced dead 29 minutes later at 11.06pm, less than an hour before the execution warrant would have expired.

His execution was delayed for nearly five hours until the US Supreme Court rejected three appeals from Ruiz's attorneys.

It was the third execution this year in Texas and the fifth nationally.

'It's not going to bring her back, so it really doesn't mean very much,' Susie Sanchez, whose daughter was killed in the contract murder, said. The victim's daughters were also among the witnesses.

Ruiz's lawyers argued that lower courts improperly rejected an earlier appeal that focused on whether Ruiz earlier had deficient legal help.

They also contended Ruiz's execution would be unconstitutionally cruel because he's been on death row since 1995, had multiple execution dates and two reprieves.

Attorney Lee Kovarsky blamed the long time between a San Antonio jury's verdict and the punishment on the state's failure to provide Ruiz with competent lawyers earlier in his appeals.

Justice Stephen Breyer said he would have stopped the execution to further examine the question of prolonged death row confinement.

Theresa Rodriguez, 29, was gunned down outside her home

'This I believe is an appropriate case to conduct that constitutional scrutiny,' he said. 'If extended solitary confinement alone raises serious constitutional questions, then 20 years of solitary confinement, all the while under threat of execution, must raise similar questions, and to a rare degree, and with particular intensity. That is why I would grant a stay of execution, allowing the Court to examine the record more fully.'

Assistant Texas Attorney General Edward Marshall had disputed the claims, telling the high court arguments about earlier deficient legal help 'have been inspected, scrutinized, studied, probed, analyzed, reviewed and evaluated' at all levels of the federal courts.

While some individual Supreme Court justices, like Breyer, have raised questions about long death row confinement, the courts consistently have ruled it was not unconstitutionally cruel.

Ruiz approached a car pulling up to Rodriguez's home the night of July 14, 1992, under the guise of seeking directions.

Rodriguez's husband of nearly seven years, Michael, was in the car along with Michael's brother, Mark. Ruiz, who already had pocketed $1,000 and had failed in two earlier killing attempts, asked Mark Rodriguez if he wanted him to 'do it,' and Rodriguez gave him the go-ahead.

As she was getting out of the car, Ruiz put a .357 Magnum revolver to her head and fired. Three days later, Ruiz collected another $1,000 for the completed job.

Evidence showed Michael Rodriguez stood to collect at least a quarter-million dollars in insurance benefits from his wife's death and that he'd recently applied for another $150,000 in life insurance for her.

Ruiz had met Mark Rodriguez at the home of a mutual friend, and was arrested nine days after the shooting and implicated the brothers.

The police investigation was aided by a telephone tip after Theresa Rodriguez's employer, the San Antonio-based financial services giant USAA, offered a $50,000 reward for information about her slaying.

The Rodriguez brothers eventually accepted life prison terms in plea deals. Mark Rodriguez was paroled in 2011.

Michael Rodriguez later joined Ruiz on death row as one of the notorious Texas Seven, a group of inmates who escaped from a South Texas prison in 2000 and killed a Dallas-area police officer. He was executed in 2008.

He blamed his infatuation with a younger woman for the contract murder plot.

Joe Ramon, who accompanied Ruiz the night of the shooting, and Robert Silva, identified as the intermediary who put the Rodriguez brothers in touch with Ruiz, also received life prison sentences.
Terrorists dressed as doctors in white lab coats stormed a military hospital in Afghanistan shooting dead 30 patients and staff and injuring dozens more.

ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack on Sardar Daud Khan hospital in Kabul and one of the gunmen appeared to wave the terror group's flag out of the window before he and his fellow assailants were shot dead.

Hospital administrators said three gunmen wearing white lab coats ran riot in the hospital after a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up at the backdoor entrance, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility.

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Soldiers on the roof of the hospital as one of the gunmen hangs an ISIS flag out of the window

Security forces block the main road of the biggest military hospital after the clash started between insurgent fighters and army soldiers at the gate of the hospital, in Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghan National Army (ANA) helicopter arrives to bring soldiers on a military hospital during gunfire and blast at the hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan

A Police soldier stands guard with an automatic rifle near the biggest military hospital in Kabul

Afghan policemen stand guard near the site of an explosion in Kabul, on March 8, 2017

Security forces guard the area as smoke billows from the Sardar Daud Khan's Hospital, also known as Kabul Military Hospital, during an attack by suspected militants in Afghanistan

Afghan policeman arrive at the site of a blast and gunfire by ISIS fighters in Kabul, Afghanistan

The explosions and gunfire rattled Kabul's diplomatic district on Wednesday when the insurgents stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital, officials said, as growing insecurity besets the war-battered country.

At least four people were so far reported killed and 66 others wounded, according to the health ministry.

Medical staff were trapped in the facility and posted desperate messages for help on social media.

'Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us,' a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

'I saw one of the attackers, armed with an AK-47 and dressed as doctor, shooting at patients and guards on the third floor,' hospital nurse Abdul Qadeer said.

'They shot my friend but I managed to flee. I had to jump over the barbed wire to escape.'

Four armed soldiers on the back of an armoured vehicle arriving at the site of the terror attack

An Afghan family waits as a policeman blocked the road near the site of blast and gunfire in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 8

At least two other loud explosions - including what the defense ministry called a car bomb in the hospital's car park - were heard as Afghan special forces launched a clearance operation to rein in the attackers.

'Three attackers armed with AK-47s and grenades entered the building. Our commandos are chasing them,' ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said around four hours after the first explosion.

'One of them has been killed, but two others are still resisting on the sixth and seventh floors of the building.

'We have evacuated all the patients.'

Afghan commandos (C/Rear) arrive at the site of an explosion in Kabul, on March 8, 2017

An army helicopter flies over the site of the terror attack which has claimed at least four lives

Two Afghan policeman scramble to the site as they bark instructions near the hospital

Armed members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) secure the surroundings of The Sardar Daud Khan's Hospital, also known as Kabul Military Hospital, during the terror attack

Two Afghan police officers stand guard near the hospital with medical personnel in the background

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers descend from helicopters on a roof of a military hospital during gunfire

Afghans watch a military hospital during gunfire and blast in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 8

Afghanistan's warring parties, including government forces, have repeatedly targeted medical facilities, decimating Afghanistan's fragile health system and preventing conflict-displaced civilians from accessing lifesaving care.

'This is a criminal act. Nothing can justify an attack on hospitals,' Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said of the latest attack.

'We will never forgive these criminals. Unfortunately, this attack has resulted in some casualties. The attackers entered the backdoor disguised as doctors.'

It was initially believed the Taliban was responsible, but in an ambiguous statement, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he could neither confirm nor deny that the insurgents were behind the attack.

The militant group is known to distance itself from attacks that result in high civilian casualties but they have ramped up their attacks even before the official start of its annual spring offensive.

There is an ongoing terrorist attack in a hospital which tramples all human values. In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani lambasted the attacks and said: 'There is an ongoing terrorist attack in a hospital which tramples all human values.

'In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan.'

The operation has now ended.

The assault comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.

Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker snuck in, sending clouds of smoke billowing into the sky.

In the second attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The growing violence underscores rising insecurity in Afghanistan over the resurgent Taliban.

An armed Afghan security official secures the area around the hospital where four were killed

Security forces block the main road of the biggest military hospital after the clash started between insurgent fighters and army soldiers at the gate of the hospital, in Kabul, Afghanistan

Soldiers making their way through Kabul after gunmen stormed a military hospital Wednesday in a neighborhood in the Afghan capital that is also home to a number of embassies

Smoke rises in front of the hospital where a terrorist blew himself up near an entrance to allow his fellow militants to gain access

The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government's repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent 'ghost soldiers' on the payrolls, have been struggling to rein in the Taliban since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Kabul last month endorsed US general John Nicholson's call for thousands of additional coalition troops in Afghanistan to fend off the militants before the spring offensive.

Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be President Donald Trump's first major test of military strategy.
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A statue of a defiant little girl was placed in front of Wall Street's Charging Bull to challenge the 'traditionally male environment' of the industry, ahead of International Women's Day.

A brave bronzed girl was installed with her hands on her hips, head held high as she faced off against the hulking statue of a bull on Tuesday morning.

It was placed by $2.5trillion asset manager State Street Global as part of a campaign the company is launching to increase gender diversity in Wall Street's 'traditionally male environment'.

The Fearless Girl is a symbol of the firm's hope for women to become recognized leaders in the field, symbolic of International Women's Day, where women are encouraged to be bold, walk out of work and not spend money on Wednesday.

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A statue of a defiant little girl was placed in front of Wall Street's Charging Bull in New York City to challenge the 'traditionally male environment' of the industry on Tuesday, ahead of International Women's Day on Wednesday

It was placed by State Street Global to increase gender diversity in Wall Street's 'traditionally male environment'. The Fearless Girl is symbolic of International Women's Day where women are encouraged take off work and not spend money in a show of economic force Wednesday. Previously New York City had floods of people attend the Women's March to promote civil rights for every human (pictured)

In Chicago a group of demonstrators have vowed to protest the president's first 100 days every Tuesday, in regards to his treatment and policies regarding women, among other things (pictured)

Organizers of January's Women's March are calling for women to take the day off and encouraging them not to spend money in a show of force.

Just like A Day Without Immigrants, A Day Without a Woman is an effort for women to show their economic strength and impact on American society.

It is the first national action by organizers since the nationwide marches held the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration that drew millions of women into the streets in protest against misogyny, inequality and oppression.

Unlike the Women's March, Wednesday's protest focuses on the absence of women, who are being steered to local rallies and community groups.

However, protests directly against Trump are still raging across the country. In Chicago a group of demonstrators have vowed to protest the president's first 100 days in office every Tuesday.

According to the Women's March website, New York City is expected to have A Day Without A Woman observance, and plans to meet on 5th Ave & 59th St., only a few blocks away from Trump Tower.

Since Donald Trump has been sworn in as President of the United States in January, he has seen weeks of protesting against him and his administration's policies. Chicago demonstrators marched through the Loop protesting immigration and other policies on Tuesday

New York City is expected to have A Day Without A Woman observance, planning to meet on 5th Ave & 59th St., only a few blocks away from Trump Tower. It's the same spot nearly 400.000 people caused a gridlock at in Manhattan protesting Trump in January (pictured)

The statue's artist Kristen Visbal said: 'Wall Street is a traditionally male environment and it says, "Hey, were here." 'To me, it says a woman can be delicate and petite, but strong'. The Fearless Girl sculpture was installed on Wall Street on Tuesday morning (pictured)

State Street Global's deputy global chief investment officer, Lori Heinel, said her company wants businesses to start hiring more women, she told Business Insider.

Heinel said: 'One of the most iconic images on Wall Street is the charging bull. So the idea of having a female sort of stand against the bull or stand up to the bull just struck us as a very clever but also creative and engaging way to make that statement.'

The statue's artist Kristen Visbal said to the Wall Street Journal: 'Wall Street is a traditionally male environment and it says, "Hey, were here."

'To me, it says a woman can be delicate and petite, but strong.'

Heinel added: 'Even though it's a little girl, her stance is one of determination, forwardness, and being willing to challenge and take on the status quo.'

The theme for this year's International Women's Day is Be Bold For Change, which advocates for women to fight to become leaders in the gender parity battle.
Ten years after a former FBI agent working on an unauthorized CIA mission disappeared in Iran, his family hopes U.S. President Donald Trump will do something America's last two presidents have been unable to achieve: Finally bring him home.

Robert Levinson's family said this week that Trump's background as a deal-making businessman and his harder line on Iran could be an asset in finally determining what happened to the investigator, whose 69th birthday is Friday.

They described the heartbreak of seeing other American prisoners in Iran freed while the mystery surrounding his disappearance remains.

They also acknowledged the challenge of keeping his case in the public eye, as he now has been held captive longer than any American in history, if he remains alive.

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Missing: It's been 10 years since former FBI agent Robert Levinson disappeared while in Iran on an unauthorized CIA mission and his family is still waiting for answers

Family: Christine Levinson, right, Robert Levinson's wife, and her son, Daniel, sit in a car as they leave Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport upon their arrival in Iran in this 2007 photo

Hopeful: Levinson's family says that Trump's background as a deal-making businessman and his harder line on Iran could be an asset in determining what happened to the former FBI agent

'We believe people can survive 10 years under any circumstances. In the worst places, people survive. We know Bob is alive,' his wife, Christine Levinson, said.

'Everyone else has gotten out of Iran, but Bob has been left behind every single time. It's now time for him to be returned home to his family.'

Levinson disappeared from Iran's Kish Island on March 9, 2007.

For years, U.S. officials would only say that Levinson, a meticulous FBI investigator credited with busting Russian and Italian mobsters, was working for a private firm on his trip.

In December 2013, the AP revealed Levinson in fact had been on a mission for CIA analysts who had no authority to run spy operations.

Levinson's family had received a $2.5million annuity from the CIA in order to stop a lawsuit revealing details of his work, while the agency forced out three veteran analysts and disciplined seven others.

Since his disappearance, the only photos and video of Levinson emerged in 2010 and 2011.

He appeared gaunt and bearded with long hair, and was wearing an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.

The video, with a Pashtun wedding song popular in Afghanistan playing in the background, showed Levinson complaining of poor health.

Levinson's family believes his diabetes and high blood pressure could be under control with his weight loss.

'I'm not as worried about his health,' his son, Dan Levinson, said. 'I understand people thinking it being over 10 years and fearing the worst, but we don't believe that.'

Spouse: Levinson's family, including his wife Christine (left) arrive in Iran in 2007. They spoke to Iranian authorities, who promised to send a report to them on their investigation into Levinson's disappearance, but no report came

Condition: Christine Levinson is seen with her head covered during the 2007 trip while at the Swedish Embassy in Tehran, presumably as a sign of respect to the Iranian government

The FBI now offers a $5million reward for information leading to Levinson's safe recovery and return.

Rumors have circulated for years, with one account claiming he was locked up in a Tehran prison run by Iran's paramilitary Revolution Guard and U.S. officials suggesting he may not be in Iran at all.

Dawud Salahuddin, an American fugitive living in Iran who is wanted for the assassination of a former Iranian diplomat in Maryland in 1980, is the last known person to have seen Levinson before his disappearance.

Iranian officials have been less than forthcoming. Former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested in an interview in 2010 that his country already had suspicions about Levinson before the nature of his trip became public knowledge.

'Of course if it becomes clear what his goal was, or if he was indeed on a mission, then perhaps specific assistance can be given,' Ahmadinejad said.

Levinson's family said they've written letters to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and moderate President Hassan Rouhani with no response.

Not forgotten: Christine Levinson and her children, Dan and Samantha Levinson, talk to reporters in New York in this January 2016 image

Where is he? Supporters gather during a rally for Robert Levinson in March 2016

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment about Levinson.

That lack of response, even with the U.N.'s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issuing a report in January that held Iran responsible for addressing 'the situation of Mr. Levinson without any further delay,' has the family believing Trump's harder line on Iran might finally force the country to release him.

'We know if President Trump chooses (to be involved), he's a dealmaker. That's what he does. It's going to require negotiating with the Iranians to get him out of there,' Levinson's son Dan said. 'He's very well-suited to be able to do this. We're hopeful for that.'

Kidnapped: An FBI poster shows a composite image of Levinson, right, of how he would look after five years in captivity, and an image, center, taken from the video released by his kidnappers, and a picture before he was kidnapped, left

White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration was in contact with Levinson's family and said 'we continue to hold out hope' that he could be safely returned from Iran.

Another White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said administration officials recently held a call with members of the Levinson family, who were assured that the case is a priority for the Trump administration.

The Levinsons hope to meet personally with Trump in the coming months.

'We'll never, ever give up hope,' his daughter, Stephanie Curry, said. 'We'll never give up hope he's coming home to us.'

Heartbreak: Robert Levinson's sister, Judi Levinson cries during a rally for her brother in March 2016
A 'broken' mum was depressed, in debt and isolated when she drove into a Melbourne lake and killed three of her children, a court has heard.

But the children's father, Joseph Manyang, just wants to know why the 37-year-old mother did it.

'I would like to know why she did this as it would help me deal with my loss,' he said in a statement read by prosecutor Kerri Judd QC in the Victorian Supreme Court.

Wednesday's plea hearing was told mother-of-seven Akon Guoude had to make at least three turns before she drove her 4WD into a Wyndhamvale lake on April 8, 2015.

One witness reported she 'deliberately' drove in.

'I just saw them drive full bolt straight into the water,' the neighbour told triple zero.

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Akon Guode (centre) is pictured arriving at the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday

Bol, one, and four-year-old twins Hanger and Maudit died when their mother drove into a lake

Onlookers saw Guode screaming and wailing, and a baby floating and trying to keep its head above water.

A rescuer managed to free the youngest child, Bol, from his baby seat, pulling his body through the window, but he had stopped breathing.

Guode pleaded guilty to the infanticide of her one-year-old Bol, and the murders of her four-year-old twins, Hanger and her brother Madit.

She also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of her six-year-old daughter Alual, who survived.

Mr Manyang, who is the father of the four children, said Alual was deeply affected by what happened and talked of crocodiles in the water.

Joseph Manyang the father of three small children who died when their mother drove into a lake arrives for the plea hearing of the mother, Akon Guode

'She misses her brother and sisters. I still miss my children and wish they were still here,' he said.

Guode broke down several times during the hearing.

The court heard she first told police she had not been to the lake that day. She later claimed she felt dizzy, missed a turn and went straight instead of turning.

She came to Australia from Sudan where her soldier husband was killed in civil war, and lived with Mr Manyang and his wife.

They began an affair and she bore him four children.

The court heard at the time of the incident she was depressed, in debt and isolated from her Sudanese community, which was gossiping about her affair.

Guode (pictured arriving at court on Wednesday) killed three of her children by driving into a Melbourne lake

Friends and family are pictured arriving for the plea hearing of Akon Guode (not pictured) at the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday

Emotional family and friends turned out a for a plea hearing for Akon Guode (not pictured)

Defence counsel Marcus Dempsey said there was no question her children were loved.

'She's a refugee who has had every conceivable difficulty, who's utterly broken by the time of this offence,' he said.

Forensic psychiatrist Daniel Sullivan said Goude appeared to have a major depressive disorder and she denied she tried to kill her children.

However, he speculated it may have been too painful for her to acknowledge.

The hearing continues.

Chilling security footage shows Akon Guode taking three 'deliberate turns' before she drove her SUV into Lake Gladman in Wyndhamvale on April 8, 2015

Guode drove her the car into Lake Gladman in Wyndhamvale on April 8, 2015
Shyam Acharya (pictured) - the Indian man who allegedly posed as a doctor in NSW for 11 years

Authorities have released a photo of the Indian man who allegedly posed as a doctor in New South Wales hospitals for 11 years in an effort to track him down.

Shyam Acharya is believed to be on the run after he was caught allegedly treating patients in NSW state hospitals and emergency departments from 2003 to 2014.

Authorities do not know where he is hiding and understand he may have fled overseas.

They have urged anyone who might have seen Acharya to phone the police.

Acharya allegedly stole an Indian doctor's identity before moving to Australia where he faked his citizenship, forged passport documents and doctored medical qualifications.

He allegedly worked at Manly, Hornsby, Wyong and Gosford hospitals under the name Sarang Chitale, where he went undetected for 11 years.

He was officially registered with the Medical Board of NSW in 2003, allegedly using fraudulent documents and stolen medical qualifications.

He has been compared to Leonardo DiCaprio in 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can - after his character posed as a doctor among other professions.

Acharya was reportedly respected as a medical professional, and received no direct complaints over the course of his 11-year long stint as a doctor, according to NSW Health.

NSW Health admitted on Monday it had no idea about the alleged fraud until November 2016.

But after tracing back through Acharya's records, it confirmed there were concerns about a medical treatment involving a broken limb.

Acharya was reportedly a junior 'doctor' at the time and only part of a larger team responsible for treating the patient. No date was revealed for the bungled procedure.

Aside from that, the Medical Council of NSW and the Health Care Complaints Commission said there were no complaints made against Acharya directly.

Acharya has been charged with breaching the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, which carries a maximum penalty of $30,000.

He allegedly worked at Manly (pictured), Hornsby, Wyong and Gosford hospitals under the name Sarang Chitale, where he went undetected for 11 years

Acharya allegedly posed as a doctor at Hornsby Hospital (pictured) in New South Wales

NSW opposition health spokesman Walt Secord said the case represented a widespread failure of the system.

'If this matter wasn't so shocking, the details would read like a shoddy Down Under version of Leonardo DiCaprio's Catch Me If You Can,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Secord called for the State Government to release more information about the alleged fraud.

He also called for the government to reveal whether it contacted every patient Acharya treated during his 11 year stint working as a doctor.

'It is incredible that this man could practice for 11 years and come into contact with hundreds of patients and go unnoticed,' he told ABC news.

NSW Health deputy secretary Karen Crawshaw told the ABC 'the root cause of this was false identity to get into the country in the first place'.

She said the documents which saw him registered as a doctor were in fact legitimate.

Ms Crawshaw said procedures had changed since Acharya was registered and the state now required written references and contacted referees directly.

She denied NSW Health was to blame.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said an overhaul of national security practices should be considered in light of the allegations.

A doctor has been dubbed Australia's own Leonardo DiCaprio (centre) in Catch Me If You Can, after he allegedly posed as a doctor - mirroring what DiCaprio's character did in the movie

A fraudulent doctor has been dubbed Australia's own Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can, after he allegedly posed as a doctor in New South Wales hospitals

NSW opposition health spokesman Walt Secord said the case represented a widespread failure of the system

Acharya is also alleged to have worked at Gosfor Hospital during his 11 year stint as a doctor

'It is quite disturbing that a foreign national could get through our border protection with a false passport and ID based on an Indian citizen who had trained as a doctor,' he told ABC news.

Mr Hazzard also said he planned to meet with a family who held concerns about 'the adequacy of his treatment'.

The Australian Federal Police told Daily Mail Australia it was investigating the allegations.

The case was mentioned at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Monday but Acharya did not appear.

The case will return to court in April.

Patients with concerns have been told to phone the Northern Sydney Local Health District on (02) 9462 9778 or the Central Coast Local Health District on (02) 4320 3920.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard (pictured) said an overhaul of national security practices should be considered in light of the allegations
Khalid Mir, 39, was arrested after crew on the jet had to put a mask over his mouth and restrain him during a seven-hour flight

An air rage drunk faces jail today for spitting in the face of an Emirates female flight attendant after being tied up because of his abusive behaviour.

Khalid Mir, 39, was arrested after crew on the jet had to put a mask over his mouth and restrain him during a seven-hour flight from Dubai to Birmingham for the protection of other passengers.

Mir, who had been downing duty free vodka, was strapped to a seat after hurling drinks over passengers and airline staff following a row with a woman sitting in front in him.

A hearing before magistrates last month was told Mir spat at and racially abused an air stewardess who tried to give him a drink through a straw last November, calling her a 'dirty white'.

The married father from Saltley, Birmingham, admitted being drunk on an aircraft and failing to obey the lawful command of the pilot, Alan McIntosh.

Last month, prosecutor Colin Phillips said Mir became disorderly and began swearing just 30 minutes after takeoff from Dubai at 2.50pm on November 17 last year.

Mr Phillips said of Mir: 'He became involved in an altercation with a female passenger and this became an issue which required the flight crew's attention.

Mir, from Saltley, Birmingham, admitted being drunk on an aircraft and failing to obey the lawful command of the pilot. A file image of an Emirates plane is pictured

'As a result of the defendant's inability to calm down at the request of the cabin crew, he was issued with a formal warning by the captain of the aircraft.

'However, the defendant's behaviour was still threatening and disorderly and it was eventually felt necessary to restrain him at the back of the aircraft.

'He was tied into a seat with his hands and feet tied and it was decided to place a mask over his mouth for other people's protection.'

After the restraint, the court heard, a female member of the crew noted that Mir was using his tongue to attempt to remove the mask.

Married father Mir was arrested when the flight arrived in Birmingham Airport (file picture)

In a statement read to the court, the crew member said: 'When it was my turn to check on him, I gave him drinks through a straw. He spat in my face when I was only three feet away. I was disgusted.'

Mir, who was arrested when the flight arrived in Birmingham, has more than 50 previous convictions, including drug-related matters and 25 theft and kindred offences committed between 1991 and 2013.

Magistrates ruled that the maximum six-month sentence available to them was insufficient and committed Mir for sentence at Birmingham Crown Court.

Mir covered his head with a jacket as he left court last month on unconditional bail.
The stepfather of a child murdered by a thrill killer who posted a video and photos of his victim on the Internet has told how he found the boy in the cellar of the house next door.

Jaden, nine, was lured into the house in the German town of Herne by 19-year-old Marcel Hesse who is now being hunted by Interpol across the continent.

Police say Hesse, a martial arts fanatic, stabbed Jaden in the cellar and recorded the brutal murder. It is unclear whether there was a sexual motive.

Pascal R, 34, said: 'The picture of my stepson lying there dead...I will never forget this. I found him lying in a giant lake of his own blood.'

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Interpol are helping in the search for Marcel Hesse, 19 (pictured, left), a bespectacled martial arts enthusiast, who allegedly carried out the murder at his home in the town of Herne (right)

Detectives on a specially formed murder squad believe Hesse may have killed another person.

They said he appeared on an Internet chat room in the hours following the killing to say he had attacked a woman, adding: 'She offered more resistance than the child.'

He mentioned using 'torture' to get the woman's bank details and pin number.

Hesse had lived in the house where he killed Jaden for many years with his parents, but he was home alone since the beginning of the year with his sister Sandra after his mother and father moved.

Jaden's mother Jeanette F, 41, told the Bild newspaper in Germany; 'Sandy told us once that her brother was an absolute psycho.'

Pascal told the paper; 'We had been shopping, my wife and I. Maurice and Steven, his stepbrothers, and Jaden stayed at home.'

The body of the boy was discovered by police in the cellar of a house by his stepfather

He said he had been told that at 6pm on Monday evening the doorbell rang and Hesse asked Jaden if he could come to his home to help him set up a pair of ladders.

When the parents returned home two hours later Jaden had not returned home.

Pascal said: 'I went over and banged and yelled but no-one answered.

'Something bad has happened,' Jeanette remembered saying to her husband.

Pascal and his stepsons entered the cellar and saw Jaden, who had been stabbed more than 40 times.

'I wanted to give him a massage on his heart but blood was streaming from his wounds,' said Pascal.

Police said the boy was stabbed as Hesse filmed his demise and posted video and stills on the so-called Darknet - the lurid, unpatrolled side of cyberspace specialising in pornography, paedophilia, drugs and 'snuff movies'.

Police stand guard outside the house in the town of Herne where a nine-year-old boy was brutally murdered

It was a Darknet user - who claimed to know the killer - who contacted police to tell them: 'I have just seen a boy murdered on the Internet.'

The killer entered a chatroom after the murder and held his bloodstained hands up to the camera.

Police say Hesse is dangerous and warned the public not to approach him.

Several cities in the old Ruhr valley industrial area of Germany were being searched by police today.

Hesse fled in camofulage clothing. Police admit they have little idea where he may have gone to or what twisted motive he had for the crime.

A huge manhunt is underway, but police admit they have little idea where the suspected killer may have gone
Kim Jong-Un is preparing for another missile test despite moves by China to diffuse growing tensions between North and South Korea.

Beijing wants North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the US and South Korea.

Minister Wang Yi said that escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula were like 'two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way.'

Wang asked: 'Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?'

But despite the warning, Kim has lined up yet another test of a new medium-range missile.

China has proposed that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the U.S. and South Korea

Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula were like 'two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way.'

A US defence official told CBS that North Korean military may be preparing for another test launch of the Pukguksong-2.

Earlier, Wang said that as a first step to defusing the looming crisis, the North might suspend its nuclear and missile activities if the US and South Korea halted their military exercises.

Wang says the 'suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table.'

On Monday, President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that the threat from North Korea had 'entered a new stage,' following another defiant missile test.

The two leaders spoke by telephone after North Korea fired off four ballistic missiles, in what Pyongyang provocatively called a training exercise for a strike on US bases in Japan.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) claps during the April 9, 2014, session of the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's parliament, in Pyongyang

'Japan and the United States confirmed' the launches violated UN Security Council resolutions and presented a 'clear challenge to the region and international community,' Abe told reporters in Tokyo.

The missiles traveled about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) and three of them landed in waters close to Japan that are part of its exclusive economic zone.

North Korean weapons programs are rapidly proving to be the most prominent foreign policy question facing Trump's young White House.

Kim Jong Un supervised a ballistic rocket launching drill of Hwasong artillery units of the Strategic Force of the KPA (above)

The president - who has little foreign policy experience - has described North Korea as a 'big, big problem' and vowed to deal with the issue 'very strongly.'

Intelligence officials believe that Pyongyang could be less than two years away from developing a nuclear warhead that could reach the continental United States.

Trump has baldly declared that 'it won't happen!' but has yet to articulate how he proposes to neutralize the threat.

Diplomacy has stalled and military options remain fraught.

US President Donald Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke by telephone after North Korea fired off four ballistic missiles

Monday's launches were the latest in a series of test-firings that have increased in tempo.

Last month, Abe's visit to Trump's Florida resort was marred by another North Korean missile test.

On that occasion social media posts showed Trump and Abe huddling with aides in a public dining room as they weighed how to respond.

As a presidential candidate, Trump had called into question a mutual defense pact with Japan, insisting Tokyo must pay its own way. He has since softened that rhetoric.

Abe said that 'President Trump said the United States is 100 per cent with Japan and he told me to convey his remarks to the Japanese people.'

'He said he wanted us to trust him and the United States 100 per cent,' Abe added.
A hallucinating, naked tourist spent three hours evading the help of coastguards as they desperately tried to pull him aboard their boat.

Timo Perttola, 32, had been partying at bars along the seafront in Pattaya, Thailand, last Friday night.

But the Finnish man had a 'strange turn' before running past stunned onlookers and leaping off a pier into the chilly water, according to rescue workers who found him.

Timo Perttola spent three hours evading the coastguard as they tried to pull him aboard their boat

Police and marine officers in two different boats caught up with him 1km out at sea where he spent three hours treading water, convinced that the officials were trying to attack him

Police and marine officers in two different boats caught up with him 1km out at sea where he spent three hours treading water, convinced that the officials were trying to attack him.

They say in English 'we come to help you' but Timo dodges lasso ropes and swims away from them - even hurling a rubber ring back to them.

Rescuers eventually persuaded him to climb aboard the boat three hours later and he was taken to hospital but checked himself out and disappeared again.

Marine officer Kittichai Satadchacha, 26, said: 'The man just ran to the end of the hill and jumped into the water. He swam to the middle of the bay and I hurried to inform staff to help.

'I don't know how anybody can swim in the sea for that long at night time. Whatever he had eaten he had a lot of energy.'

A spokesman for the local rescue group Sawang Boribun Thammachart said Timo had been seen at one of the seafront bars before having 'a strange experience'.

They said: 'The foreign man was floating in the middle of the bay in a state of no clothing. The boat came to the rescue but Mr Perttola refused to board the boat and was afraid of something.

Rescuers eventually persuaded him to climb aboard the boat three hours later, after a great deal of effort

There was a cut on his right eyebrow but police are unsure know how it happened, if it was while in the water or before

Mr Perttola was taken to a nearby hospital but checked himself out and disappeared again

'The police were just trying to lend a hand but he was suffering from hallucinations and believed that people were trying to attack him.

'We examined him and there was a cut on his right eyebrow but we don't know how that happened, if it was while in the water or before, as he was not coherent.''

Pattaya City Police said the man was taken to hospital where they asked staff for a neurological assessment.

A spokesman said: 'He was hallucinating but we don't know why. He had a slight injuring that he received stitches for but he was very agitated.

'After receiving medical treatment he was allowed to return home. We have no explanation for his behaviour.'
The FBI is launching a hunt to unmask the source of the CIA document leak which has rocked the US intelligence services.

Thousands of documents were suddenly published by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks yesterday, purportedly revealing hacking tools which the CIA uses to break into devices such as phones, computers and smart TVs.

It the latest in an embarrassing series of revelations, and WikiLeaks has promised more to come.

Investigators are now carrying out a massive operation to find who released the documents, with the source likely to face a long jail term if caught. The most recent whistleblower to be convicted under the Espionage Act, Chelsea Manning, was given a 35 year sentence, although this was commuted in the final days of Barack Obama's presidency.

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The documents purportedly shed light on hacking tools used by the CIA

Yesterday a huge number of documents were released purportedly revealing the hack tools the CIA uses to break into phones, computers and even smart TVs

WikiLeaks claimed the latest haul, which it dubbed 'Vault 7, Year Zero', exposed the agencys entire hacking tool kit.

It said this constituted an even bigger and more significant breach of US intelligence than the National Security Agency files leaked by analyst Edward Snowden.

Snowden, who fled to Russia in 2013 after the Justice Department announced two charges of breaching the Espionage Act of 1917, tweeted yesterday that the latest trove of files is a 'genuinely a big deal'.

Whisteblower Edward Snowden responded to the leak, which he described as 'genuinely a big deal'

Former CIA Director Mike Hayden told MSNBC he had undertaken only a cursory review of the documents, but that if they were what they were purported to be, it would amount to a 'very extensive file of the tactics, techniques, procedures, targets and other political rules' under which the CIA hacks targets.

'If it is that, it would be very, very damaging,' he said.

The CIA has refused to be drawn on whether the documents are genuine, with spokesman Jonathan Liu stating: 'We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents.'

White House spokesman Sean Spicer also declined to comment.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer yesterday declined to comment on the release of thousands of documents by WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks itself has been vague about where the information came from. In a statement it said the material came from 'an isolated, high-security network' within the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence.

But it has not revealed whether the files were removed by a rogue employee or whether the theft involved hacking a federal contractor working for the CIA or even breaking into a staging server where such information might have been temporarily stored.

A former intelligence official told the Washington Post there was going to be a 'major mole hunt', and added: 'If this is all correct, its a big deal.'

A statement from WikiLeaks said: 'This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA.

'The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive.'

Cases which shook the intelligence community: Manning, Snowden and Martin

The trove of documents released by WikiLeaks yesterday are the latest in a recent line of high-profile leaks.

Following data breaches by Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, Barack Obama set up the National Insider Threat Task Force to try and prevent intelligence insiders releasing damaging information.

Former intelligence analyst Manning, who declared as transgender after her 2013 Espionage Act conviction, leaked more than 700,000 classified documents.

Whistleblower: Chelsea Manning (left) formerly known as Bradley Manning (right) leaked more than 700,000 classified documents

Edward Snowden fled to Moscow in June 2013, having released thousands of documents revealing the widespread surveillance on ordinary Americans through the bulk collection of metadata

These included a video showing a US Apache helicopter opening fire on a group which included two Reuters journalists.

In the final days of his presidency, Barack Obama granted Manning clemency, stating: 'The notion that the average person who was thinking about disclosing vital, classified information would think that it goes unpunished, I dont think would get that impression from the sentence that Chelsea Manning has served.'

Harold T. Martin III is accused of stealing documents about cyberweapons and is awaiting trial

Snowden fled to Moscow in June 2013, having released thousands of documents revealing the widespread surveillance on ordinary Americans through the bulk collection of metadata.

President Donald Trump has called the him a 'spy' and a 'traitor' who deserves to be executed.

Snowden was initially given three years' asylum in Russia in 2013 after fleeing the US, where he faced a maximum of 30 years in prison for leaking the NSA documents.

There is an ongoing probe into NSA contractor Harold T. Martin III, who is accused of taking home documents about US cyberweapons, which later appeared online.

The case against Martin has yet to be proved, and he denies breaching the Espionage Act. He was arrested by the FBI last year, and is awaiting trial.

President berates security services for series of leaks he brands a 'witch hunt'

During his election campaign, Donald Trump declared at a rally in Pennsylvania: 'I love WikiLeaks'.

But now he is in the White House, he has had a difficult relationship with intelligence services, and has berated insiders for a string of leaks, which he has branded a 'witch hunt'.

Last month national security adviser Michael Flynn was forced to quit after insiders revealed that he had secretly held meetings with Russia's ambassador, where sanctions against Putin's government were discussed.

Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of intelligence service employees who leak sensitive information to the public

Last month national security adviser Michael Flynn was forced to quite after insiders revealed that he had secretly held meetings with Russia's ambassador, where sanctions against Putin's government were discussed

Intelligence sources had claimed the Trump administration was told weeks before that Flynn was at risk of blackmail, and he failed to disclose the nature of his discussions.

On February 24, Trump voiced his ire on Twitter, writing : 'The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security "leakers" that have permeated our government for a long time. They can't even find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on US. FIND NOW'.

At the start of this month, an intelligence source revealed to the Washington Post that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had twice met with Russian officials, but had not declared the meetings.

US President Donald Trump stands alongside US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who intelligence service insiders revealed had met twice with Russian officials

The revelation prompted calls for his resignation, but Trump was defiant.

In another series of tweets the President wrote: 'Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional.

'This whole narrative is a way of saving face for Democrats losing an election that everyone thought they were supposed to win. The Democrats are overplaying their hand.

'They lost the election, and now they have lost their grip on reality. The real story is all of the illegal leaks of classified and other information. It is a total "witch hunt"!'

Back in 1971, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (pictured, front) released the now-infamous Pentagon Papers, published in the New York Times, which revealed that the Lyndon B. Johnson administration had systematically lied about involvement in Vietnam

A long history of whistleblowers within the intelligence services

Intelligence leaks are no new phenomenon, and the latest batch of documents follow in a long history of whistleblower releases.

In the past decade Manning and Snowden have taken their place among high-profile intelligence intelligence insiders who have spilled the beans on their employers.

Back in 1971, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg released the now-infamous Pentagon Papers, published in the New York Times, which revealed that the Lyndon B. Johnson administration had systematically lied about involvement in Vietnam.

Ellsberg faced spending the rest of his life behind bars, as he was charged under the Espionage Act, which carried a maximum sentence of 115 years.

However he walked free in May 1973 after Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr acquitted him following the revelation he had been the victim of illegal wiretapping.

Former FBI Associate Director Mark Felt (pictured, left, at a 1981 news conference) was revealed to be 'Deep Throat', the source who helped Washington Post reporters uncover the Watergate scandal

The year after the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the second most senior figure in the FBI turned whistleblower in a case that would stun the world.

FBI chemist Frederic Whitehurst went public with allegations of errors and misconduct in 1998

Mark Felt, the Bureau's Associate Director, helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the Watergate Scandal, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Branded 'Deep Throat' to keep his identity secret, he did not reveal his role in the scandal until 2005, three years before he died.

In 1998, FBI chemist Frederic Whitehurst went public with allegations of errors and misconduct in his department, prompting an overhaul of procedures.

He had joined the FBI in 1982 and was a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI crime lab between 1986 and 1998.

The scientific misconduct he investigated and reported led to the FBI agreeing to 40 major reforms, including undergoing an accreditation process.

The CIA hacking tools revealed by WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks published thousands of documents yesterday described as secret files about CIA hacking tools the government employs to break into users' computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs from companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung.

The documents describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features intended to keep the private information of citizens and corporations safe from prying eyes.

US government employees, including President Donald Trump, use many of the same products and internet services purportedly compromised by the tools.

The leak purportedly includes 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virgina (above)

The documents describe CIA efforts - cooperating with friendly foreign governments and the National Security Agency - to subvert the world's most popular technology platforms, including Apple's iPhones and iPads, Google's Android phones and the Microsoft Windows operating system for desktop computers and laptops.

The documents also include discussions about compromising some internet-connected televisions to turn them into listening posts.

One document discusses hacking vehicle systems, indicating the CIA's interest in hacking modern cars with sophisticated on-board computers.
The US Air Force has recruited Florida fishing captains to play the role of Iranian missile boats in attack exercises.

Lieutenant Colonel Sean Neitzke said 35 local vessels were brought in to perform 'realistic swarm attack formations' during the exercise at Choctawatchee Bay last week.

It is a response to complaints from the US Navy that Iranian missile boats are harassing American vessels, and is an indication of the threat the Islamic republic poses at sea.

A-10 Warthog tank busters, Canadian F-18 fighter jets and attack helicopters performed simulated 'real time kills' on the boats.

The 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida enlisted the captains so the jets could practice strafing runs, where low-flying aircraft hit ground targets.

The US Air Force contracted some 35 local fishing boats in Florida to mimic the 'attack swarm formations' used small fast-moving Iranian missile boats as part of a training exercise

A-10 Warthogs were used in mock strafing runs lining up to attack the small boats

The Iranian boats, pictured in a stock photo, are low cost but are fitted with rockets and machine guns and can present a danger to a far larger naval vessel which could find difficulty engaging them

The A-10s were deadly during the first and second Gulf Wars where they were sent on low-level attack missions against Iraqi armor.

The US Navy has complained in recent months of being harassed by Iranian missile boats.

Neitzke said: 'We evaluate precision guided munitions against realistic targets with realistic enemy defense.

'There are plenty of places in the world where low-tech adversaries can mount 50-caliber machine guns and rocket launchers on small boats for use against us. They could also use other types of shoulder launched weapons, all of which could be a threat to American assets.'

Earlier in the day, the A-10 crews fired inert 30mm training rounds at unmanned boats in the Gulf of Mexico.

The pilots also used AGM-65 'Maverick' missiles, and inert 2,000 pound guided bombs and laser guided bombs.

The training exercise - Operation Combat Hammer - took place in Choctawatchee Bay, Florida

Earlier in the exercise the A-10s strafed unmanned boats with 30mm training rounds

The A-10s also used inert bombs and missiles as part of the recent training exercise

According to the Air Force a total of 60 bombs were dropped during the exercise.

As part of the exercise, which was called Combat Hammer, pilots got the opportunity to drop weapons they have not used before.

Neitzke said: 'We strive for 50 per cent first-time shooters in the cockpit. We get an allocation of more unique munitions than an operational fighter squadron typically gets at their home station.'

He added: 'We want to ensure Americans have the best hardware and software possible. Our goal is to find problems, and fix them, to provide our warfighters the best capabilities we can. We want to protect them and help them be more effective in accomplishing their mission.'
Troubled swimming star Grant Hackett says he's looking for privacy as he focuses on himself and 'takes some steps forward' as he flies overseas treatment after his public breakdown.

The 36-year-old Olympic gold medallist had been arrested at his parents' Gold Coast home  having reportedly been witnessed 'going off' and 'stabbing a chopping board'.

The former swimmer posted a photo of himself on Instagram a day after his arrest, sporting a black eye and bloody face and saying his brother had 'beat the s*** out of me' during a dispute in January.

But walking through Brisbane International Airport, a much more relaxed looking Hackett told A Current Affair that: 'It's coming along.'

'It is a time for privacy and to focus on myself and make some steps forward.'

Grant Hackett thanks the public for their 'overwhelming support' as he flies off overseas for treatment following his arrest in February (pictured)

The former swimmer said part of his treatment plan, among many other things, meant travelling overseas.

'I've been to a few different locations and hopefully come back with a big smile on my face,' he said.

He had previously said he would travel overseas for treatment following his arrest earlier in the year.

'I know I have some mental health issues and I am seeking help here in Australia and I will be also going overseas,' he said at the time.

He also said he had reconnected with his brother Craig.

Walking through Brisbane International Airport, a much more relaxed looking Hackett said that he was taking some private time to focus on himself

The former swimmer posted a photo of himself on Instagram a day after his arrest, sporting a black eye and bloody face and saying his brother had 'beat the s*** out of me'

Grant Hackett with his brother Craig (at right) and father Neville (middle). The two brothers have reconnected since the beginning of the year

'I've been to a few different locations and hopefully come back with a big smile on my face,' Hackett told A Current Affair

'Everyone goes through ups and downs in life, eventually you always get back on top,' Hackett told his young fans

When asked by A Current Affair what he would tell his young fans following his ordeal Hackett said everyone goes through ups and downs in life.

'Eventually you always get back on top.'

In 2014, Hackett checked into a US rehabilitation clinic to treat an addiction to sleeping pills.

Last April, the father-of-two was accused of tweaking a man's nipple 'quite forcefully' on a Virgin Australia flight after the man reclined his chair.

He allegedly 'smelt like alcohol' and was questioned Federal Police about the incident.

Hackett retired from an illustrious career in sport in 2008 after winning the 1,500m freestyle at both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, and claiming four world titles in the event.
Dr Eve Speight, 54, got drunk on beer and wine then fought with officers in the street while shouting: 'I'm a f**king GP

A shameless doctor who kept her job despite a drunken assault on police with her stilettoed shoes has billed a medical watchdog for her travel expenses to attend her own tribunal.

Dr Eve Speight, 54, got drunk on beer and wine then fought with officers in the street while shouting: 'I'm a f**king GP don't you know?,' then stamping on their feet with her sharp heels.

She was convicted of assault by a court but was not struck off by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), which described her behavior as 'letting off steam' and gave her a six-month suspension.

But despite being allowed to return to practicing, she accused the panel of destroying my career' and even billed the General Medical Council (GMC) for her travel expenses to attend her own tribunal.

Formal letters, seen this week as part of a case review, reveal that she has constantly complained about her treatment in Britain, claiming that the crime was 'trivial' and has no bearing on her professionally.

Dr Speight, from Soulbury, Buckinghamshire, claimed: 'If a builder had behaved in a similar manner they would not be treated in the same way in which' she had. She also said she would have resisted arrest even if she was sober.

Speight's bust up with police occurred in June 2015 just hours after she had was involved in another drunken foul mouthed bust up in which she raged at a neighbour during a child's third birthday party over their family dog barking too loudly.

During that incident she spat in the unnamed neighbour's face saying: 'Your f**king dog is annoying. I will f**king kill your dog. I will cut your balls off. I don't f**king care about your family, you can all go and f**k off'.

She was arrested and bailed but went to the Swan pub in the village of Stewkley with her husband where had a row and he walked off, and she was subsequently seen staggering around outside at 6pm.

Two constables alerted by a concerned local moved in to arrest Speight but she began spitting in the street and shouting: 'I'm going to have a f**king cigarette - what the f**k am I being arrested for?'

The drunken GP then raised her left foot and stamped her high heel on the ankle of one of the officers before scraping the stiletto down his colleague's leg.

As the two officers pulled her to the ground to restrain her, Speight added: 'Why the f**k have I been arrested? I just want to go f**king home, this is not my home, I'm from Austria. Is this how you treat people here? I've done nothing wrong, my husband left me in the pub after eight years, I've had enough. I'm a f**king GP don't you know?'

Speight later pleaded guilty to six public order charges including assault and threatening behaviour at Aylsbury Magistrates' Court in August 2015 and was given a 12-month community order.

This week, six months on from the disciplinary hearing, officials at the MPTS in Manchester were due to hold a review into Speight's progress but she refused to attend, saying she was due to move back to her native Vienna in Austria - and asked for a three-year adjournment of her case.

And in two letters to the General Medical Council sent in November and December last year the GP moaned about her lot, insisting her crimes were 'petty' and that none had ever had a 'harder punishment'.

She also complained about 'attending sessions with fellow offenders' and 'having to spend an extra year in Britain' whilst completing a year-long community order issued to her at a magistrates court.

Dr Speight was convicted of assault in court but but a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, which described her behavior as 'letting off steam', only gave her a six-month suspension

Included in her letters was an invoice for travel expenses to and from the tribunal with Speight accusing the panel chairman of 'destroying her career' by having the hearings held in public. She also threatened to 'expose' the MPTS and NHS England for 'the way they treat doctors in the UK.'

In one of her letters Speight who had been was working as a locum GP having earlier been a partner for five years at a GP practice in Bicester, Oxfordshire, said: 'I can tell you I had the most lengthy punishment for my petty crime.

'I had to stay an extra year in the UK, attend community sessions with fellow offenders and I paid fines to the people I offended - if ever there was a harder punishment then it was mine.'

James Gelsthorpe, lawyer for the GMC, said that she has constantly refused to comply with them, speaking at a hearing as she requested an adjournment to the review.

Mr Gelsthorpe added: 'When considering whether Dr Speight's fitness to practice was impaired the tribunal were not satisfied she showed a significant insight or remorse. In her evidence to the tribunal Dr Speight remarked she would have resisted arrest even if she would have been sober.

'She added those incidents happened in her private life and doctors should be able to let off steam. She said a builder would not face such severe consequences which showed a lack of insight which was disturbing. She had not fully understood the gravity of her actions and behaviour. References were made to her laughing as the offensive language she used was read out by the GMC.

'Her apology was more an expression of regret on the impact to her rather than the wider public.'

He added: 'It was determined that Dr Speight should undergo assessments but she declined to consent to those. The GMC also received letters written by Dr Speight addressed to the chairman of the fitness to practice tribunal.

'In her earlier letter she accused the tribunal chair of destroying her reputation as a GP by allowing the press to report the circumstances. She then goes on to say she will expose the MPTS and NHS England for the way they treat doctors in the UK.

'There was also an invoice of travel expenses. A letter from December last year questions why she has not received a response and indicates she reserves the right to go public. She said her last appraisal was in June 2015 and that she's not forgotten anything since then and has been following medical news from electronic media and reading.

'But you have little if any evidence that Dr Speight had taken appropriate steps to address her health issues. You have no evidence of keeping up to date in terms of medical skills. This tribunal might well be concerned that the doctor has said that despite having been off since June 2015, she has not forgotten anything in this time.

'The previous tribunal said a reflective statement might assist. But you might well conclude this is far from a reflective statement which one paragraph amounting to a self pitying attitude. Dr Speight is unable to recognise her behaviour in 2015 was so deplorable and unacceptable which shows a lack of insight.'

The hearing continues.
Philip Hammond has announced 1billion in extra funding for schools including a new generation of 21st Century grammars.

The cash will also be used for new technical qualifications to improve the skills of young people and to refurbish school buildings across the country.

The Chancellor placed education at the heart of today Budget with the series of spending announcements dwarfed by restraint elsewhere.

There will be 320million to help fund up to 110 new free schools, including grammars, creating more than 70,000 new places.

Philip Hammond has set out 1billion in extra funding for schools that will herald 21st Century grammars, new technical qualifications and overhauls for existing buildings

The investment is intended to build on the Government's commitment to open 500 new free schools by 2020.

Mr Hammond said: 'Choice is the key to excellence in education.'

The controversial announcement of money for new grammar schools has attracted widespread criticism, with opponents arguing that expansion will lead to segregation and a two-tier education system.

It is understood that the Government has not set a target on the number of grammar schools it wants to open with this new funding, but is open to these selective institutions submitting proposals.

The money includes funding for more specialist maths colleges, such as the existing Exeter Mathematics School - which selects 16 to 19-year-olds based on their aptitude for the subject.

Confirming the plans, Mr Hammond said: 'Our forthcoming Schools White Paper will ask universities and private schools to sponsor new free schools.

'It will remove the barriers that prevent more good faith-based free schools from opening and it will enable the creation of new selective free schools so that the most academically-gifted children get the specialist support to fulfil their potential.

'And today I can announce funding for a further 110 new free schools, on top of the current commitment to 500.'

Of the 110 new free schools, 20 will open by 2020, and the majority of the rest will open over the course of the next parliament.

There are currently 431 open free schools - a key plan of Conservative education reform - and a further 243 in the process of opening.

Ahead of the Budget, Mrs May said: 'For too many children, a good school place remains out of reach, with their options determined by where they live or how much money their parents have.

'Over the last six years we have overseen a revolution in our schools system and we have raised standards and opportunity, but there is much more to do.

'As part of our commitment to creating a school system that works for everyone, today we are confirming new investment to give parents a greater choice of a good school place for their child, and we will set out the next stage of our ambitions in the coming months.'

Education Secretary Justine Greening, pictured in Downing Street this morning, will oversee the new schools investment

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: 'Over half a million children are stuck in oversized classes because this Government has failed to ensure there are enough school places.

'Free schools are still being opened in areas where they are not needed and where there is no demand for them. This is now throwing more good money after bad. It will do nothing to address the shortage of available school places.

Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured on a school visit on Monday, has made schools a 'personal priority'

'The Tories are breaking their manifesto promise to protect per-pupil spending, and this Budget was a missed opportunity for them to right this wrong. Schools are still facing 3 billion cuts and children all across the country are paying the price for Tory failure.'

The T-Levels  the technical version of A-levels  are designed to help ensure the UK economy is 'match fit' for Brexit. It is hoped the plans will create a new generation of electricians, plumbers and builders to replace European migrants in the post-Brexit age.

Under the current system, 16-year-olds are offered a choice of 13,000 qualifications. These will be replaced with a more streamlined model of just 15 'world class' routes.

Pupils will not be able to study both academic A-levels and T-levels at the same time. But they will be able to switch between the two if they change their mind part way through their course.

Mr Hammond said the plans would be 'game changing;

Students will spend the first year gaining 'core skills' in their chosen subject before specialising further in their second year. Treasury sources said the decision to replace thousands of courses with just 15 'streams' was designed to end 'confusion' and make it easier for employers to assess a student's ability.
This is the moment SNP MP Mhairi Black appeared to tell a Tory minister: 'You talk sh**e, hen' after blasting her about cuts to housing benefit.

In footage of a parliamentary session in the Commons yesterday, Miss Black, 22, can be heard criticising the proposed withdrawal of housing benefit for 18-21-year-olds.

Conservative MP Caroline Nokes replies by saying the Scottish government already has a wide range of powers which would allow them to alleviate the changes proposed.

Heated debate: This is the moment SNP MP Mhairi Black appeared to tell a Tory minister: 'You talk sh**e, hen' as she blasted her about cuts to housing benefit

Conservative MP Caroline Nokes (pictured) said in the debate that the Scottish government already has a wide range of powers which would allow them to alleviate the changes proposed

In the background Miss Black can be seen scornfully mouthing disapproval, leading Twitter users to speculate that she used some rather unparliamentary language.

Katie McGarvery wrote: 'Not much of a lip-reader but definitely mouthing, "you talk s***e, hen".'

Another user called @Scottishlass said: 'Lip reader here, it's 'dinnae talk s**** hen".'

Paul Robertson added: 'It's certainly not "I do believe you're telling some fibs minister"".

While user Scotticus wrote: 'It does look like it. I think it's, "That's not right, hen" or "That's not right then". I prefer your version.'

In the background Miss Black (pictured) can be seen scornfully mouthing disapproval, leading Twitter users to speculate that she used some rather unparliamentary language

At the start of the clip, Miss Black says: 'The Scottish Government cannot reverse the cuts, or provide an exemption for Scotland.

'Does the minister agree that it is simply ridiculous that young people should suffer purely because this government is obsessed with imposing austerity?'

Miss Nokes hits back by saying: 'The Scottish Government already has a wide range of powers which would enable them to alleviate the changes being proposed here.'

But as she begins her next sentence the camera cuts to Miss Black, who is shaking her head and mouthing the sentence Twitter users are speculating about.

Miss Black is the current Baby of the House as the youngest member in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

When elected in May 2015, she was just 20 years and 237 days old. At the time of her election in 2015, Miss Black's social media hit the headlines for containing a range of expletive laden tweets.

Examples included: 'Smirnoff Ice is the drink of gods - I cannae handle this c* man!'

Another read: 'Started with a few wkd's at hannah's and now i'm watching channel 4OD*. what the f****** happened to my night.'
Karen Matthews was supported by friends as a BBC show about her deception aired and it emerged she branded Kate McCann 'a dreadful mother'.

The mother-of-seven children by five fathers, 41, herself branded 'Britain's worst mum', looked pensive and wore a large cap to obscure her face as she went to her local McDonald's and then on to Burger King.

She went to the restaurants and then walked to a nearby shopping centre with a male companion in the week controversial drama The Moorside revealed the inside story on how she faked the kidnap of nine-year-old daughter Shannon.

At the same time her former best friend Julie Bushby, played by Sheridan Smith in the BBC show, also revealed she blasted Kate and Gerry McCann for leaving daughter Madeleine alone on the night she vanished.

Matthews reportedly said while in jail: 'I've been judged and I'm paying for it but Maddie's mother was bad too. At least my daughter was never left alone!'

Restaurant 2: Karen Matthews and friends pop to McDonalds for food and drinks on a night out

Restaurant 2: Karen then headed to Burger King nearby, where she appeared to have a cofeee while making a phone call

Heading home: Karen then strolled through the streets and her local shopping centre in southern England under a new name inspired by her favourite Hollywood stars

Matthews gave up booze after being jailed for abducting her daughter and appears to prefer a fast food restaurant to a pub these days.

Last month it emerged that she was a regular at her local McDonalds because of the free wifi, with one source claiming she was using it to manage her Tinder account.

But on this occasion she appeared to be eating with friends rather than spending time looking for love on a dating app.

Teetotal Karen insists she needs plastic surgery for her own safety so she is not recognised in public.

But she happily strolled through the streets and her local shopping centre in southern England under a new name inspired by her favourite Hollywood stars.

Photographs from last month showed her enjoying burgers and large drinks in McDonalds with new friends, who may not know about her past.

She then went on to a nearby Burger King for a coffee before heading home with a friend.

Karen Matthews is a born again Christian living secretly far from Yorkshire after being revealed as one of Britain's worst mothers.

Matthews was jailed drugged daughter Shannon and hid her at a flat a mile away because there was 50,000 on offer.

The officer who led the inquiry, Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan, said at the time of her conviction that Matthews had 'totally betrayed' her daughter, and condemned her as 'pure evil'.

The 41-year-old, who turned to God during her four years in jail, has dyed her ginger hair black and is using the name 'Kate' while living in an undisclosed location in the south of England.

She is now teetotal and she has even 'f****** given up swearing', Karen told a friend, adding: 'I know I did something wrong but I'm not the baddest person people are making out. I am sorry for hurting people.'.

Justice: Matthews, played by Gemma Whelan in the hit BBC show Moorside, says she should be left alone to get on with her life

The 41-year-old was branded 'Britain's most hated mother' in 2008 after kidnapping her nine-year-old daughter Shannon, drugging her and tying her to a bed

Karen is struggling to get by on her 25-a-week benefits, saying: 'Theyve completely lowered my money. Its a horrible life'.

But she is happy to have found God.

She told a friend: 'When I left prison I picked up a Bible and saw a passage about "God loves you". I knew I was hated by everyone, cut off from my family. But here they were, saying I was loved'.

She takes solace from her bible study group in a local cafe.

Karen told told the friend: 'I get to meet people and talk. They are kind and dont judge'.

Matthews staged the kidnap of Shannon (pictured) in order to claim a 50,000 reward for her return

She claimed that her daughter Shannon had been kidnapped in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in February 2008.

Shannon was found, following a police search costing 5million, 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.

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.

Matthews continues to protest her innocence, while her daughter, who is now 18, is living under a new identity at an undisclosed location.

According to The Mirror, Matthews has told friends about the constant threats.

She told one: 'I cannot go out of the door. I'm frightened out of my life. I'm shaking like a leaf. I'm s*** scared to even get any shopping or anything.

'I know I can't stop it but why does it have to be dragged up again? Why don't they just leave me alone and let me get on with my life?'

Shannon Matthews was forced to adhere to a strict list of rules, which were signed off with 'IPU', which the jury was told stood for 'I promise you', a threat Karen used against Shannon
A toddler who went missing on a fishing trip with his father has been found safe and well - but there is still no trace of his dad.

Matthew Meinert, 38, vanished on Monday after going on a fishing trip at Denton Creek, Texas with his two-year-old son, Oliver.

A police officer found Oliver walking through heavy brush early yesterday morning, but Matthew is still missing.

His family has released the last photograph of Matthew, which he sent to his wife before he and his son began their fishing trip.

In the selfie, the pair are smiling, and look happy and relaxed ahead of their father-and-son outing.

Matthew Meinert, 38, vanished on Monday after going on a fishing trip at Denton Creek, Texas with his 2-year-old son, Oliver; the pair are pictured in a selfie sent to Meinert's wife on Monday

Police said Oliver was found wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, was cold, hungry, and scared, and had several scratches and cuts from his night alone in the woods, but was otherwise unharmed.

The little boy's first request was to ask an officer for juice. He was taken to Cook Children's Hospital, where he was reunited with his mother.

'No one expected to find a two-year-old this morning,' Lt. Tracey Shieldsof the Trophy Club Police Department said yesterday.

'So we're going to continue this as a search and rescue until something else happens. We're hopeful. We're not giving up hope and the family is not giving up hope.'

Matthew's flat-bottom aluminum fishing boat was found abandoned and beached

Matthew's flat-bottom aluminum fishing boat was found on Monday evening, abandoned and beached further up the creek from the boat launch.

Boaters discovered the vessel, which was was empty except for fishing gear, shoes and a cellphone.

There were also life jackets on board, but neither the father or son appeared to be wearing one during the trip, police said.

Officers believe Matthew may have fallen into the water, with the boat continuing on its own steam until it hit a tree.

Authorities have been searching for the father and son using boats and sonar equipment since Monday evening.

Search teams were due to resume their hunt at 9am on Wednesday

The Department of Public Safety launched a helicopter, and police from Trophy Club, Roanoke, Flower Mound and Lewisville have assisted with the hunt.

'There's so many unknowns,' Texas Game Warden Capt. Tony Norton told KVue.

'We have to turn over every stone to try to find him. And locate him. Luckily we found the child this morning and that was great.

'Hopefully we can find the father alive as well. We're hopeful for that. We're going to continue to look until we do find him.'

Search teams were due to resume their hunt at 9am today.
Residents from a Central American village suffered violent convulsions that are being blamed on a bewitching voodoo doll.

The 'possessed' locals near Waspan, in Nicaragua, reportedly became violent and saw visions of the devil, as well as eerily naming the next victim.

Other symptoms include headaches, nausea and anxiety.

The 'possessed' locals near Waspan, in Nicaragua, reportedly became violent and saw visions of the devil, as well as eerily naming the next victim

A video shows several residents - who have had their hands and legs bound together - spinning around uncontrollably

As local officials scoured the area for clues, a doll was found stuffed in a bag with crosses on its face, which is a sign of the presence of dark spirits.

The locals were too scared to touch it with their own skin, so had to move it with planks of wood.

video shows several residents - who have had their hands and legs bound together and are being treated with wet towels - spinning around uncontrollably.

A boy receives treatment on the ground after being taken over by the curse

A doll was found stuffed in a bag with crosses on its face, which is a sign of the presence of dark spirits

The doll was set on fire in a bid to break the curse

Locals believe that the sorcery was being done by an outsider who wanted to harm the community.

The doll was set on fire in a bid to break the curse.
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A group of adrenaline junkies teetered across a highline as ferocious waves crashed into them.

The four friends bravely walked across the rope one at a time, which was 15 metres above the Atlantic Ocean.

The pals hooked the rope up a week earlier in Nazare, Portugal, before taking it in turns to cross the line while battling the elements - namely enormous waves crashing into the nearby rocks and cascading into them.

Andrey Karr, 29, makes his way across the highline with his hood pulled over his head as ferocious waves crash around him

Pedro Pepe Domingos, 22, is engulfed by one of the many enormous waves as he makes his way across the highline

Pedro Pepe Domingos, 22, regains his balance after being engulfed by waves as he makes his way across the highline

A barefooted Jose Ferreira, 34, walks across the highline as the waves crash on the rocks behind and in front of him

Pedro Pepe Domingos, 22, is engulfed by waves as he walks across the rope which is attached to a rock and a lighthouse

Andrey Karr, 29, on the line, who said: 'I used to come to this location for surfing, and always wanted to try a highline.'

Pedro Pepe Domingos, 22, walks across the rope in a moment of relative calm as the swell of the sea drops below him

Claudio Dores, 32, Jose Ferreira, 34, Andrey Karr, 29, and 22-year-old Pedro Domingos each braved the highline, which was tethered between a lighthouse and a rock in the middle of the ocean.

Andrey, from Russia, said: 'I used to come to this location for surfing, and always wanted to try a highline.

'I then started training every day so I could be ready for when the big waves returned.

'I was so happy when we did it, it was a dream come true.'

Pedro Pepe Domingos catches his balance and braces himself for an enormous wave which is about to engulf him

Andrey Karr crossing, who said: 'I then started training every day so I could be ready for when the big waves returned.'

Pedro Pepe Domingos, 22 almost loses his balance after being engulfed by waves as a rainbow flashes in front of him

Andrey Karr, 29, is lost in the water in one of many amazing photographs capturing the daredevils in action in Portugal

The amazing set of photographs capture the enormous waves engulfing the daredevils, which did not appear to stifle their efforts.

Claudio added: 'Andrey had imagined this some months ago and needed help to make it happen.

'It was great to bring this project to life.'
A former Thai porn star who married an elderly American millionaire is getting divorced and having a boob job - to make a comeback to the adult industry.

Asian beauty Nong Nat, 31, quit X-rated movies and converted to Buddhism - crediting meditation and good deeds for her landing Harold Nesland, 72, in 2012.

But after pulling the pin on their marriage, Nat made a splash this week with a 'sexy shower' clip - and announced her plans to undergo a boob op to boost her work prospects.

Former porn star 'Nong Nat' (right) is getting divorced from Harold Nesland, to return to the adult industry

Nat made a splash this month with a 'sexy shower' clip and announcing she will undergo a boob op to boost her work prospects

As a former porn star, 'Nong Nat' still shows a fair share of flesh on Instagram

Nat had previously complained the couple never had sex because she worried about Mr Nesland having a heart attack in the bedroom.

In a comeback to the glamour industry, the porn sensation released a 'sexy shower' clip showing her lathering herself in cream before splashing around in the shower.

D-cup Nat, real name Natkejsarin Chaichaleamphol, suggested the couple may not see eye-to eye-on the separation : 'Me and Harold are separated now. He doesn't want a divorce but I'll start the proceedings.

'There are a lot of jealous people when someone has the rich husband. It has been hard to survive that.

'I'm having a breast operation, it will help me with work. I won't do adult movies, they're only what I was involved in when I was young.

'But I'm going back to do sexy films and photographs. There's a magazine deal arranged and sexy shows. I have diamonds already and enough money. I don't want to work but I have to, to support myself.

She previously credited meditation and good deeds for helping her to land Mr Nesland

Nat shot to infamy in 2003 when she was arrested after police identified her in seized porn tapes in Thailand where adult movies are illegal.

She was fined and following the controversy over her porn films, Nat quit the adult industry and devoted her life to Buddhism despite big money offers.

She later met Harold, a wealthy American architect, whom she fell 'instantly in love with'

They married in 2012 but Nat previously admitted that it was beset with problems and she had a serious of other lovers in the early days.

Nat had previously complained the couple never had sex because she worried about Mr Nesland having a heart attack in the bedroom

Nat'(left) with her husband Harold Jennings Nesland jr (right)

She has now removed pictures of Harold from her social media accounts and appears to be pushing ahead with the divorce.

She added: 'People are angry that I do this kind of work but models, actors and actresses are important. I'll be doing more sexy shows.

'I am still in touch with Harold but we are separated now and I don't see the marriage getting back again.'

'Nong Nat' (left) helps her elderly husband remove his shoes

'Nong Nat' (pictured) reveals her legs on Instagram

'Nong Nat' (pictured) previously quit erotic movies and converted to Buddhism
An NSA whistleblower who quit the organization in 2001 claims Donald Trump is correct to think that he was being spied on by the intelligence community.

Bill Binney, who spent 32 years with the NSA claimed the US intelligence agency is illegally monitoring all Americans - including Donald Trump.

Binney claimed all electronic communication was being regularly collated and stored, enabling it to be mined at a later basis.

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NSA whistleblower Bill Binney, pictured, who spent 32 years with the organization claimed President Donald Trump was entirely correct to believe US spy services were monitoring him

Trump, pictured, claimed without providing any evidence that the Obama administration ordered that his communications should be monitored during the 'sacred' election process

Speaking to the Sean Hannity radio show, Binney claimed: 'Under Executive Order 12333 they do surveillance on everyone in the United States without a warrant. Thats done through various up-stream programs and co-operation with other countries.

It was all done without warrants and that was testified to.

I think President Trump is absolutely right, the intelligence community needs to be revamped.

Binney claimed every American is being wiretapped by the intelligence community without their consent.

He accused the intelligence community of violating the first, fifth and sixth amendments of the constitution.

'He [Trump] is being targeted now. They are going into the database looking for data on him.'

He later told Fox Business: 'I think the president is absolutely right. His phone calls, everything he did electronically, was being monitored.'

Binney suggested this information was now being leaked to damage Trump and his inner circle - having already claimed the job of former US general Mike Flynn, who was forced to resign as national security adviser.

However, Binney's view was contradicted by the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee.

Republican Representative Devin Nunes said he had seen no evidence to support President Donald Trump's allegation he was wiretapped by then-President Barack Obama during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Nunes said if Trump's assertion were true, the leaders of Congress and chairmen of its two intelligence committees, known collectively as the 'Gang of Eight', should have been briefed.

Nunes continued: 'I have not seen that evidence. I think the bigger question that needs to be answered is whether or not Mr. Trump or any of his associates were in fact targeted by any of the intelligence agencies or law enforcement authorities.'

Trump made the accusation in tweets on Saturday, providing no evidence. An Obama spokesman denied it.

Trump has since pressed the House and Senate intelligence committees to expand probes into allegations that Russia meddled in the U.S. election to look into his charge.

Nunes added: 'We are supposed to be kept up to speed on any pertinent counterintelligence investigation. If Trump or any other political campaign, or anybody associated with Trump, was under some type of investigation, that clearly should have risen to the Gang of Eight level.'

Adam Schiff, the top committee Democrat, also said it did not appear that the group had been appropriately briefed.

Schiff said it was 'a scandal' that Trump had levied that accusation against Obama. He said the intelligence panel would address the issue and deal with it quickly.

Nunes said his committee planned public hearings as part of its Russia probe, beginning with one on March 20 at which Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey and Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, were called to testify.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates were also invited.

Nunes said the panel would not issue subpoenas for that hearing. 'But if we have to, we will subpoena all information that is pertinent to this investigation if people either ... don't want to appear or if the appropriate agencies do not provide the information we ask for.'
A mother-of-two claims she was left struggling to eat on a luxury five star holiday when she discovered a 'massive dead cockroach' cooked in her curry and saw a 'Basil Fawlty' waiter try to 'stamp on a mouse'.

Sharon Duncan Granston had been eating a beef curry at the luxurious Club Hotel Riu in Negril, Jamaica, when she spotted what appeared to be a two-and-a-half-inch insect lying on the plate.

The beauty therapist, 49, said that later on in the all-inclusive 2,500 Thomson holiday she spotted a mouse in another of the hotel's restaurants where a waiter tried to stamp on it in front of shocked diners.

She claims to have been so disgusted by the two incidents that she was forced to only eat food that was cooked in front of her - losing 3lbs in the process.

Sharon Duncan Granston, 49, pictured left with husband Herman, said she found a 'cockroach', right, in a beef curry at her five-star hotel in Jamaica

Mrs Duncan Granston, pictured left with friends on the Jamaican holiday, said she was 'traumatised' by the incident and could only eat what was prepared in front of her for the rest of the holiday

After being 'traumatised' by incident, Mrs Duncan Granston claims she wanted to go home after dreaming cockroaches were chasing her in the night when she cried herself to sleep.

Mrs Duncan Granston, of Theydon Bois, Essex, said: 'I can't believe how horrifying it was.

'I scooped the curried beef onto my plate [as it was a buffet-style restaurant] and sat down with my husband and friends and began to eat. I then looked down and saw this whole curried cockroach.

'I shouted out to my husband Herman - I was in shock and felt sick looking at it.

'Thank God I looked down when I did. Even if it was broken up I probably would have still seen as it was massive.'

Mrs Duncan Granston said she confronted the manager, who was eating the same curry in the restaurant area, and claimed her complaint was 'initially dismissed' before the 'apologetic chef was hauled to her table'

She said: 'I got up and spoke to the manager who didn't apologise and carried on eating. The waitress sat with her asked what I was eating, I replied 'the same thing you are'.

'After returning to my table the chef eventually came out and said 'I can't really say sorry - it isn't going to be good enough for what's happened'.

'He offered to cook personally for us for the rest of the stay but I just wanted to leave the restaurant.

'When I went back to my room I was sick. I'm terrified of insects and cried all night - I just wanted to go home.

'When I managed to sleep, I dreamt they were chasing me.'

The incident occurred at Club Hotel Riu, pictured, and the beauty therapist claimed she later spotted a mouse running through another of its restaurants

Mrs Duncan Granston, pictured on the holiday with her husband, said it took 'more than a month' for holiday organiser Thomson to respond to her complaint

Mrs Duncan Granston complained to a Thomson customer relations rep the following day and claims she heard nothing back but then spoke to another Thomson rep who was more sympathetic to their complaint.

She said: 'When we spoke to the rep on the Sunday she was lovely - she was absolutely horrified by what had happened and could see how upset I was.

'She tried to move us to another hotel but all the Thomson hotels in Negril were fully booked so she took it to the hotel management.

'They sent a couple of bottles of sparkling wine to the room and said they would book us into restaurants in the complex but it didn't make up for what had happened.

'After the cockroach incident, I wouldn't eat anything I couldn't see clearly, I was really traumatised by what had happened.'

One evening the group dined at the hotel complex's Italian restaurant and spotted a mouse darting between the tables.

Mrs Duncan Granston said: 'We saw a little mouse running around in there - it came out from a hole in the wall cavity, peed on the floor and then ran away.

'It's so unhygienic, it could have been running on the tables.

'The waiter tried to stamp on it in front of us - it was like something out of Fawlty Towers.

'I'm an animal lover and didn't want to see that.'

The 49-year-old, pictured with husband Herman, said she wants compensation for her 'ordeal'

Thomson has apologised to the couple, pictured, and said it is trying to work towards a resolution

Mrs Duncan Granston claims that it took more than a month for Thomson to respond to her complaint but is unhappy with their offer.

She said: 'I want some compensation for what happened to me, it ruined my holiday.

'What they've offered is quite insulting and doesn't take into account that my husband and friends all saw what happened.'

A Thomson spokesman said: 'We're very sorry to hear of Ms Granston's experience.

'Our teams in resort did everything they could to assist the customer at the time of her complaint however unfortunately all suitable accommodation alternatives were full on this occasion.

'We're now currently in contact with the customer to apologise again and offer a resolution.

'We'd like to reassure customers that this was an isolated incident and that the hotel in question continues to score highly on our customer satisfaction questionnaires.'
British backpacker who was allegedly held hostage and repeatedly raped and beaten walked into hospital with serious facial injuries - in the lead up to the brutal attack

A British backpacker who was allegedly held hostage and repeatedly raped and beaten walked into a hospital with serious facial injuries - in the lead up to the brutal attack.

The 22-year-old tourist, from Liverpool, England, tried to admit herself to Cairns Hospital to get stitches on her face after suffering a cut to her eyebrow, The Courier Mail reported.

But when staff members asked the woman whether her injuries were inflicted from domestic violence, she left without an explanation.

Police allege the woman was 'raped four times, bashed and held captive' by her ex-boyfriend, also aged 22, for two months.



On Sunday afternoon, the injured woman was found behind the wheel of a white Pajero on the Warrego Highway, near Mitchell in Queensland.

The backpacker had told a petrol station owner after filling the tank of the SUV: 'I'm sorry, I can't pay. My ex has my wallet and credit cards.'

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CCTV footage shows the British backpacker walking into an outback petrol station and her ordeal was revealed for the first time - and she told the store owner: ''I'm sorry, I can't pay. My ex-boyfriend has my wallet and credit cards'

The 22-year-old tourist, from Liverpool, England, tried to admit herself to Cairns Hospital (pictured) after suffering a cut to her eyebrow

Beverley Page, who manages the Caltex outback stop in Mitchell, 350 miles east of Brisbane, said the girl was wearing a pretty summer dress but had black eyes, a wounded neck and looked like 'a zombie'.

The 22-year-old woman from Liverpool then fled without paying and police later stopped the white 4x4 car she was driving and found her alleged kidnapper, also 22, hiding in a compartment in the back.

Miss Page told the Mail: 'I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I thought her tears were tears of embarrassment because of the payment problem.

'But what struck me were her black eyes and marks down the side of her neck. She looked bad  shaking uncontrollably.'

Saved: Beverley Page (left), who manages the Caltex outback stop in Mitchell, 350 miles east of Brisbane says the girl (right) was wearing a summer dress but had black eyes, a wounded neck and looked like 'a zombie'

The British backpacker's alleged attacker lying on his back with arms outstretched on the bonnet of a white car

The inside of the 4x4 is pictured here on Tuesday, which has been adapted to acommodate a bed and numerous cubbyholes to hide in - and where the alleged rapist was found cowering inside

'She was like a person in a trance. She leaned on the counter and the tears flowed down.

'I asked if there was some way she could get someone to pay or if there was a chance of her getting her wallet back. She didn't say anything. She was like a zombie, answering a few simple questions sometimes and then just being silent.

TIMELINE OF THE HORROR ROAD TRIP JANUARY AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND: British backpacker meets man, 22, at a 'bush doof' party in Cairns. FEBRUARY Police alleged the 22-year-old tourist was raped in a Cairns hotel room. MARCH 1-5 The woman was allegedly forced to drive the suspect as they travelled south. She was allegedly beaten and repeatedly raped during this time. MARCH 5 The woman was rescued after being pulled over by police. The man was arrested and charged. Advertisement

'In the end she turned and walked out and I thought she was going to look for some money in the car. But she just got in, sat behind the wheel, started it up and drove out on to the main road.'

It came as the 22-year-old Briton, who police say was 'raped four times, bashed and held captive', was released from hospital overnight and is being comforted by her family.

She was allegedly regularly choked, beaten and humiliated during a terrifying drive across Queensland.

She will now be interviewed by police after being counselled for trauma caused by an ordeal detectives have described as 'catastrophic'.

The victim started a relationship with her alleged captor after they met at an outdoor dance party, known as a 'doof', in Cairns.

But within days the relationship began to sour as he allegedly became 'obsessive and clingy'.

Her friend said the suspected attacker, who is accused of a string of crimes against the tourist, was 'really clingy' and 'just blew in to town and latched on to the first single girl' he saw.

The man, who MailOnline is not naming for legal reasons, also said his friend's visit to the petrol station was a 'brilliant cry for help', which led to her being saved.

The pixelated face of the woman's alleged attacker, whose identity must remain anonymous due to Queensland law

The worker said the backpacker got back in her car and took off after being told if she didn't pay, the police would have to be called

CCTV footage shows the moment the British tourist walked into a petrol station, prompting the cashier to call the police and save her.

The backpacker appeared distressed on Sunday as she pulled up in a white SUV to fill up the tank.

But as she wandered into the station, the woman told the female owner behind the counter she was unable to pay for the petrol.

A 27-year-old friend of the woman told Daily Mail Australia he was shocked to hear about his friend and said he believes the 'trip to the petrol station' was a 'brilliant cry for help'.

The friend said: 'I tried calling her a few times but couldn't get through.

'I have spoken to her aunt from the UK since.'

The friend, who met the young woman at a pub in Cairns just before Christmas, described her as a nice girl who was very trusting.

The young Briton is currently being treated for her injuries at a hospital in Roma, a small country town close to where she was rescued from her terrible ordeal.

Her close friend said: 'She is being kept in overnight. I haven't been able to get through to her yet. I just hope she will be ok.'

This is the white 4WD police stopped in south-west Queensland on Sunday afternoon - finding a 22-year-old woman in extreme distress and a 22-year-old man in a back alcove

The SUV at the centre of the woman's horrific ordeal was filled with cubbyholes to hide and has been seized by police as the investigation continues

Jump-start cables and blankets piled up on a makeshift bed in the back of the white Mitsubishi

The 22-year-old victim walked into this petrol station where she talked to the cashier

A police officer investigates the Mitsubishi Pajero SUV that the victim filled with $60 of fuel

The alleged attacker was found hiding under a pile of clothes and other items in the car, which had been adapted to accommodate a bed and a number of storage compartments

Police believe the woman was in the four-wheel-drive on a trip from far north Queensland

The pair allegedly met in January at a dance party in Cairns. From there, they allegedly embarked on a road trip together between Cairns and Roma - before they were pulled over in Mitchell, a rural town 500 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, Queensland on Sunday

Recent history of troubling attacks on backpackers travelling Australia On Wednesday, a 60-year-old man will stand trial over an alleged sex attack on two female backpackers at a remote beach southeast of Adelaide. The man, who denies the charges including attempted murder and indecent assault, is accused of attacking the women at remote Salt Creek, in the Coorong National Park, in February last year. And just last week, Queensland police revealed a 24-year-old Polish nanny, who was violently raped while working at Petrie north of Brisbane last year, as killed in a car crash back in her homeland. She died just days before a 28-year-old man was charged over the vicious attack in a council car park, that saw her undergo facial surgery for injuries including a broken nose. But one of the worst cases in recent years involved the rape of 21-year-old French student Sophie Collombet, who was left to die on a Brisbane park bench in March, 2014. In October last year, Benjamin James Milward was jailed for life for raping the student while he was high on ice, and then leaving her covered in nothing but a jacket and a newspaper. Milward was high on ice when he attacked the young traveller, and she remained alive for several hours as passers-by thought she was a sleeping homeless person. Advertisement

The petrol station owner said the woman filled up the white Mitsubishi Pajero SUV with $60 of petrol.

Beverley Page said had the backpacker paid for the fuel, she would still be suffering the same ordeal.

If she'd paid for the fuel and gone on her way heaven knows what would have happened to her,' Ms Page said.

The backpacker told the cashier she could not pay for the petrol because her ex-boyfriend had her wallet and credit cards.

Ms Page informed the woman if she could not get in touch with him to arrange a payment or get her wallet back, she would be forced to call the police.

At this point, the backpacker walked out to the forecourt, got back in her car and drove away.

'I made the decision to follow her because I thought that if I could get the registration number I'd be able to file a report to the police,' Ms Page said.

'I couldn't ring the police because it's very difficult to raise anyone in this area and you can't the emergency triple-0 number to report a drive-away,' the petrol station owner added.

The police then pulled the vehicle over during a routine traffic stop.

'That's when they stopped the vehicle and found the man at the back.

'I realise now that the man in the vehicle was the ex-boyfriend she was talking about.

'I asked her where she was from - meaning where had she driven from - and she misunderstood my question and said 'From England'.

'I'd already guessed that because she had a very English accent.

'There's no doubt that she was upset and I thought it was because of not being able to pay but now I know the circumstances I realise her tears were because of what she was going through.

'I was very concerned about her, but I didn't expect her to just walk out, get in the vehicle and drive off.

'It was as well that she did. If she had been able to pay for the fuel I might not have interfered with her life and she would have gone off and who knows?'

A pile of clothing police will reportedly allege belonged to the man, 22, who has been charged with raping and beating the woman

This is the area police pulled over the white SUV on a road between Mitchell and Roma

Police officers found her in a state of distress and suffering from facial fractures and other injuries.

Photographs reveal the inside of the SUV where the tourist was allegedly held against her will during the horrific ordeal.

Her accused captor was found in an alcove built in the back of the white Mitsubishi Pajero, hidden underneath clothes and 'other items'.

Investigators claimed the couple had met in January at a 'bush doof', a popular outdoor dance party, in Cairns and had agreed to go on a road trip together.

But a court in Roma heard on Monday that the woman was held against her will by the man between January 2 and March 5, as they made their way across Queensland.

Police also believe the man damaged the backpacker's passport, meaning she could not leave the country.

Ms Page, who had also noted marks on the woman's neck, spoke to her for ten minutes.

The restaurant inside the petrol station where the crying victim talked to the owner

Police from the station in Mitchell, pictured here, happened to be carrying out breath tests

The petrol station worker alerted police setting up a roadside breath test near the National Australia Bank in Mitchell

The 22-year-old woman was rescued after a routine traffic stop in Queensland (Warrego Highway pictured)

Police said they pulled the car over about 15 minutes drive west along the Warrego Highway towards Charleville.

It was immediately clear to officers that something was wrong and they soon found her alleged captor hiding in an alcove that had been built into the back of the car.

The petrol station owner had given chase because she had not written down the number plate of the car.

And as Ms Page was driving up the road, she saw local police had pulled up doing random breath tests.

'I missed the number plate, I was going to try catch up to it and get the number plate,' she said.

'Mitchell police had just pulled up up the street doing random breath tests. I just told them this white Pajero had just taken off from the fuel station without paying.'

A 22-year-old woman had serious facial injuries and was extremely distressed when police pulled over a four-wheel drive on the Warrego Highway (pictured) at Mitchell

Police believe the backpacker had been doing the bulk of the driving against her will allowing her alleged attacker to hide in the alcove of the SUV to avoid being seen.

Arresting officer Acting Sergeant David Harper said they had left Cairns last week, and told the Brisbane Times: 'Her demeanour and her injuries alerted police that there was something more to the story.'

Detective Inspector Paul Hart described what had happened to the woman as 'quite catastrophic'.

He told ABC the pair had met when she was travelling in the north of country and had spent time together but that their relationship had subsequently 'obviously soured.

'During the course of their travels throughout the state then a number of very serious offences have occurred,' Detective Hart said, adding the alleged attacker was appearing to be hiding from police.

A 22-year-old British backpacker who was repeatedly raped, bashed and choked has been saved by a routine traffic stop near Mitchell, 500 kilometres north-west of Brisbane (Mitchell train station pictured)

Police will allege the woman met the Cairns man three months ago and they agreed to go on a road trip (Warrego Highway pictured)

Police found the woman in a four-wheel drive on the Warrego Highway at Mitchell (pictured)

The man, from near Cairns, faces charges including four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four counts of strangulation, and two of deprivation of liberty.

He's also facing drug charges. He was remanded in custody to face court on May 23.

Police pulled over the four-wheel drive about 5pm on Sunday, in what's been described as a random traffic stop.

When they approached the vehicle, they found the injured woman at the wheel. 'It appears she was terrified and not able to hide that,' police said.

The woman is being treated for facial fractures, bruises and cuts to her body in hospital after sh allegedly travelled nearly 1,400 kilometres between Cairns and Roma with the man.

She is now said to be considering moving home to England once her damaged passport has been replaced.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: 'We are supporting a British woman following an incident in Queensland and remain in contact with the local authorities.'

A police investigation is continuing.
Ioan Boila, 55, of Alba Iulia, Romania, told border officials in Kent that he was on his way to a job interview as an NHS locum doctor

A Romanian doctor has walked free from court despite admitting carrying a stash of child abuse images as he arrived in Britain to work for the NHS.

Dr Ioan Boila, 55, was unmasked as a paedophile when the material was found in his car at Dover four years ago.

The A&E specialist skipped bail and fled to his homeland only to be tracked down and  eventually  extradited back to the UK last November to face justice.

The case has cost the British taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds. But this week a judge jailed Boila for only four months, meaning he was released immediately because of the time he spent on remand. He was also put on the sex offenders register for seven years.

At Canterbury Crown Court, Boila pleaded guilty to possessing and importing indecent and obscene images.

The maximum sentence for attempting to import indecent or obscene materials is seven years in jail. For possessing indecent images of children it is five years.

He will not be automatically deported because his sentence was under 12 months, but his career in medicine in this country is over because of his conviction.

Boila was stopped by Border Force officers as he drove his silver Audi off a ferry at Dover in January 2013.

In his car, officers found a large number of DVDs and VHS videos, which were seized, along with his phone, laptop and a computer hard-drive. National Crime Agency investigators found they contained extreme pornography, including images of children being abused and animals being mutilated.

Discovery: Boila's car was searched at the Port of Dover in Kent (file picture) and police found DVDs containing obscene images of women torturing animals

Boila said he was due to take up a lucrative role with the NHS as a locum after taking leave of absence in Romania. He ran the emergency department of a hospital 250 miles north-west of Bucharest.

The cost of investigating the doctor, extradition, detaining him on remand and bringing him to justice will run into tens of thousands of pounds.

Although the Romanian authorities bore the brunt of extradition proceedings, Boila was held in prison for four months, his defence lawyer was likely to be publicly funded and specialists were required to examine his sick collection.
Uncovered evidence from a withheld police review could hold the key to finding out who murdered 12-year-old Leanne Holland in 1991.

The murdered schoolgirl was found face down in Goodna, Queensland, more than 25 years ago and the pool of suspects was allegedly narrowed down to one man, Graham Stafford.

Stafford served almost 15 years in prison for the murder of Leanne before having his conviction overturned and a retrial ordered in 2009.

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Leanne Holland was murdered and found facedown in Goodna, Queensland, more than 25 years ago

Graham Stafford served almost 15 years in prison for the murder of Leanne before having his conviction overturned and a retrial ordered in 2009

It was revealed on Channel 7's Murder Uncovered that police had ruled out 15 murder candidates and only Stafford remained. Stafford has always maintained that he is innocent

A review by Queensland Police followed and found a total of 16 potential people who may have been responsible for the murder.

The Director of Public Prosecutions decided against a retrial and police closed the investigation in 2012.

The review by Queensland Police was then obtained by Channel 7 five years later and its details released on Murder Uncovered on Wednesday night.

It was revealed on the program that police had successfully ruled out 15 of the candidates, and only Stafford remained.

Stafford has always maintained that he is innocent.

The report details that a maggot found in Stafford's car perfectly matched those found on Leanne's body.

Imprints on Leanne's buttock and thigh are were shown in the police review to be an exact match to the mat in the boot of his type of car

Using new technology police were also able to find DNA traces of the 12-year-old's blood on a new hung shower curtain in the bathroom of her home where Leanne was said to be dyeing her hair

Imprints on Leanne's buttock and thigh are also shown to be an exact match to the mat in the boot of his type of car, the more than 500-page review shows.

Stafford declines a challenge to a polygraph examination during the program, only for the results of an independently arranged test to prove 'inconclusive.'

Using new technology police were also able to find DNA traces of the 12-year-old's blood on a new hung shower curtain in the bathroom of her home where Leanne was said to be dyeing her hair.

'Yeah, well I'm just being you know stitched up again,' Stafford said in response to the finding.

'Why would I be putting myself in this position if Id actually committed the crime?

'Wouldnt I have just gone to ground and kept quiet?'

Leanne's body was beaten beyond recognition and her skirt was pulled above her waist when it was found on September 26, 1991 in Goodna, west of Brisbane.
A man has been arrested in connection to the death and dismemberment of a teenage boy 23 years ago in Florida.

Ronnie Leon Hyde, 60, of Jacksonville Beach was arrested Tuesday morning as local, state and federal authorities swarmed his home.

Hyde is accused of killing 16-year-old Fred Laster. Hyde is being held without bond on murder charges at the Duval County jail.

Laster's sister told police her brother was last seen with Hyde - a youth pastor and family friend.

In June of 1994, an unidentified, dismembered male body was found behind a dumpster at a Lake City gas station, an arrest affidavit obtained by News 4 Jax said.

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Case: Ronnie Leon Hyde, left, is accused of killing 16-year-old Fred Laster, right, in 1994

Gruesome discovery: In June of 1994, an unidentified, dismembered male body was found behind a dumpster at a Lake City gas station

The affidavit said that two bloody knives, a flannel shirt, and bath appliques were found at the scene.

'The victim was missing the head, the hands, and his legs,' Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter told media at a Tuesday press conference.

A forensic anthropologist determined the victim was about 16 - 19 years old, he said.

A flyer was created and posted on the website for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in 2014, according to Hunter.

He said that in September 2015, 'The sheriff's office, received a call from family members of a 16-year-old white male who had been missing from Jacksonville since 1994'.

A woman contacted the sheriff's office 'after seeing the NCMEC website advertisement,' the affidavit said. It said she contacted them 'to advise that she thought the NCMEC case could potentially be about her missing brother'.

Hunter said that the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office took a report on the missing individual in February 1995.

Columbia County Sheriff's Office detectives met with the family in September 2015, and DNA samples from the family members were sent to a laboratory, he said.

The lab confirmed in February 2016 'a familiar link between the family and the yet identified victim,' Hunter said.

He said: 'This and other information developed throughout the investigation led to a positive identification of the victim.'

Response: Hyde was arrested Tuesday morning as authorities swarmed his Jacksonville Beach home. Authorities are shown investigating at the residence

Authorities are seen conducting a search at another home owned by Hyde in Jacksonville

FBI Special Agent Charles Spencer told media on Tuesday that two properties owned by Hyde, one in Jacksonville Beach and one in Jacksonville, were being searched.

'No stone will be left unturned, you can rest assured,' he said.

Spencer said he is also asking for the public's help, saying: 'During the course of this homicide investigation, we determined that Hyde was a named subject in a previous international child exploitation case.

'We've also learned that throughout his various positions and jobs in the Jacksonville area, we have obtained that he had a potential for additional child victims, as he had access to children in multiple positions that he held throughout the area.'

The victim's sister in April 2016, the affidavit said, was asked by police if she knew of anyone possibly involved in her brother's disappearance, and she said 'Ron Hyde'.

It said: 'She stated that when they first met Hyde they attended the Strength for Living church in Jacksonville, and Hyde worked there as a youth pastor'.

Laster's sister told police the last day her brother was seen that he 'asked her to leave with him and she told him no and tried to calm him down,' according to the document.

Investigation: Authorities think Hyde wore his elderly father's flannel shirt as he killed the teen at his Jacksonville Beach home, and dismembered the boy's body with kitchen knives

Laster would go on to call his sister that night and tell her he was with Hyde, News 4 Jax reported.

The affidavit said that his sister said he 'sounded distant, emotional, and she asked him if he was ok'.

According to the TV station, authorities think Hyde wore his father's flannel shirt as he killed the teen at his Jacksonville Beach home, and dismembered the boy's body with kitchen knives.

Police think Hyde used his father's Chevrolet Camaro to dispose of the dismembered body, the TV station reported.

The affidavit said authorities pulled trash from Hyde's Jacksonville Beach home in April 2016, and that a DNA profile from the trash matched the DNA found on the flannel shirt.

The document also said that regarding the bath appliques, Laster's 'family members recalled seeing these types of mats, treads, or appliques in Hyde's residence' in Jacksonville Beach.

News 4 Jax reported that one of Laster's brothers was living at Hyde's Jacksonville Beach home in 2002.

Regarding Hyde, Laster's cousin Samuel Laster told the TV station: 'We thought all along he was the person. Through the siblings, talking to them and information we found out, it all matches.

'The state attorney, I think they got all they need to prove the case. It seems like he preyed on these kids.

'It was easy bait because my aunt had passed, my uncle wasn't around and Ron preyed on their grandmother.

'And I think he took advantage of her by seeing an opportunity to manipulate these children through a church event or whatever it was.'

Mystery: Laster's sister told police her brother was last seen with Hyde - a youth pastor and family friend

Hyde said on social media that he works at Crosswater Commmunity Church, News 4 Jax reported. According to the TV station, Pastor Jack Millwood said the church is cooperating with the investigation.

Millwood was quoted as saying: 'I am personally not aware of any victims of Ron Hyde that involve anyone associated with Crosswater.'

Hyde, a mental health counselor, was a contractor for a Department of Corrections health services provider, the station reported.

The state DOC told News 4 Jax that the department is cooperating with the FBI.

State Attorney Melissa Nelson told local media on Tuesday: 'This is a reminder that justice has no expiration date, and my office intends to continue the hard work of our law enforcement partners to deliver long-delayed justice.'
Linwood Kaine, pictured, son of Hillary Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine, was arrested after a fight at a pro-Trump rally

Linwood Kaine, the youngest son of Hillary Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine, has been arrested after allegedly disrupting a pro-Donald Trump rally in Minnesota.

Kaine was one of six people arrested on suspicion of a felony charge of riot near the Minnesota State Capitol building on Saturday after taking part in a counter-protest.

Opponents of Trump clashed with supporters of the President.

According to booking information from Ramsey County sheriff's department, Kaine, 24, was facing one charge of felony rioting following his arrest shortly before 1pm on Saturday.

According to the Pioneer Press, Kaine is a resident of Minnesota and was released from jail on Tuesday morning.

St Paul City Attorney said the group could face possible misdemeanor charges.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who is a St Paul native, released a statement concerning his son's arrest.

He said: 'We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues. They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully.'

Tim Kaine was selected as Hillary Clinton's running mate during her unsuccessful presidential campaign where they were defeated by Donald Trump and Mike Pence

Linwood Kaine, known as Woody, left, is pictured with his brother Nat, father Tim, mother Anne Holton and his sister Annella Kaine, right

Police arrested six people following the disturbance in Minnesota on Saturday

Local police claimed about 50 protesters confronted the 400 Trump supporters and at one stage a smoke bomb was let off in the Capitol building's rotunda.

Linwood Kaine is known among friends as Woody.

He attended Carleton College, a private liberal arts institution in Northfield, Minnesota.

He was not prominent during his father's election campaign.

It is understood he has studied video although it is not known whether he is still in college or is working.
The killer of a rhinoceros at a zoo near Paris may have been caught on video before he pumped three bullets into the animals's head and sawed a tusk off, it emerged today.

Detectives believe that the criminal may have been scared off after seeing a lens pointing towards him at the African Animal Reserve in Thoiry, some 30 miles west of the French capital.

The zoo's two other rhinos, Bruno and Gracie, were unharmed.

It has also emerged that five zoo staff were on site at the time of the atrocity  prompting fears insider help may have been offered.

Cameras were put in place four years ago, before Vince the Rhinoceros arrived, because of a spate of thefts at other European zoos.

The killer of a rhinoceros at a zoo near Paris may have been caught on video before he pumped three bullets into the animals's head and sawed a tusk off, it emerged today

White rhinoceros Bruno (right) and Gracie are seen in their enclosure at Thoiry zoo and wildlife park after fellow rhino Vince was killed in front of them. They were unharmed during the attack

Four-year-old white rhinoceros Vince, pictured, was shot dead at Thoiry zoo. He was expected to reach between 40 and 50-years-old

'Footage taken from cameras from all around the site is being examined at length,' said a source close to the enquiry into Vince's killing in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

'Only one of Vince's tusks was sawn off, and the second was only partially sawn. This suggests that the killer may have become aware of the cameras, and was scared off.

'Five staff members live on site, and all of them are being interviewed at length about what happened,' the source added.

A spokesman from the zoo told MailOnline: 'As a gendarmerie investigation is ongoing, we do not have access to any security cameras. Bruno and Gracie, the other two rhinoceros, are doing well.'

The butchered body of Vince, who was four, was found in his hut at around 10am on Tuesday, with three bullet holes in his head.

Vince had lived happily at the zoo since he arrived there in 2015 from a Dutch zoo

Vince was born at a zoo in Arnhem in Holland, and was brought to the park in Thoiry in 2015, along with another white rhinoceroses called Bruno, five.

France's environment minister, Segolene Royal, had now filed a complaint with prosecutors in Versailles for an attack 'on protected species'.

Thierry Duquet, the zoo's director, said the 'extremely shocking' attack was a first in Europe.

'The criminals broke several security systems,' he added. 'They shot Vince dead and cut off one of his horns, probably with a chainsaw.

'His second horn was only partially cut, which suggests that the criminals were interrupted or that their equipment was defective.'

There are some 21,000 white rhinos in the world, with those in the wild mainly living in South Africa and Uganda, but the species is under threat from poaching.

Vince had lived at Thoiry zoo, west of Paris, since being transferred there from Holland in 2015

Vince (pictured) was one of the most popular attractions at the zoo according to the park's director Thierry Duguet

Vince arrived at Thoiry from a Dutch zoo in March 2015, along with another white rhino called Bruno (pictured together)

The white rhino is particularly vulnerable, because it is generally unaggressive and has poor eye-sight.

Rhino horns are highly prized in traditional Asian medicine for their alleged qualities as an aphrodisiac.

They are ground into a fine powder or compacted into tablets to treat various conditions, including loss of libido.

Rhinoceros horns can fetch up to 180,000 on the black market.

The bulk of horns are poached in South Africa, which saw 1,175 rhinos killed for their ivory in 2015 alone.

Vince, pictured as a baby, came from a Dutch zoo, along with another Rhino called Bruno

Bruno (right) and Gracie are pictured on Monday. It was hoped that Vince would eventually mate with Gracie, a female rhino

Whipsnade Zoo has stepped up its security measures after poachers killed a rhino in a French safari park and cut off its horn with a chainsaw

Yesterday it emerged that a British zoo had stepped up its security measures after the attack.

Keepers at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, have decided to increase the guard around their herd of rhinoceroses.

The Zoological Society of London, which runs Whipsnade, Britain's biggest zoo, announced its decision earlier last night.

There are 111 rhinos in captivity at zoos across the country, but it is not known if other facilities have taken similar precautions.

There have previously been fears about the threat posed to rhinos in Britain, with the National Wildlife Crime Unit telling 15 zoos and wildlife parks to tighten security in 2014.

In Africa, rhinos are regularly de-horned to deter poachers, but this practice is not thought to occur in Britain, according to the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Surveillance footage has caught the moment a man was hit by a vehicle driven by a new driver before falling off a drop-off point at a Chinese airport yesterday.

The incident took place at Changsha Huanghua International Airport and the driver was on a provisional driving license, according to Chinese media.

Despite hours of attempts to save the man, he died in hospital from his injuries, said police, while three other people were also injured.

There were about 10 people on the pavement before the car appeared and hit the man (circled)

The woman, a new driver, was apparently shocked and was crying after the accident (left). The victim smashed through a glass roof after being rammed over the railing (right)

The accident occurred at Gate 2 of the airport in Hunan province at around 1:45pm, according to The Paper.

Local police have since issued a statement confirming that a red car went out of control following a minor collision with a black car outside the departure terminal.

Footage shows a red Buick car starting to maneuver when a black Toyota Camry tries to cut into the lane and parked.

However the red Buick goes out of control and ploughs into the pavement, hitting a barrier.

Another camera angle shows that there are about 10 people on the pavement carrying bags and luggage unaware of the high-speed car crashing in their direction.

A man, not identified, was hit and then pushed to the barrier. He then fell off the viaduct, breaking a glass ceiling on the ground floor.

He suffered cuts on his head and injuries on his head. He passed away at the hospital at around 7pm.

Another two male pedestrians and one female pedestrian suffered from minor injuries. They had cuts on their head and legs.

The red Buick car started to maneuver when a black Toyota Camry tried to cut into the lane

The car knocked the man over the barrier, throwing him down to the floor below through a glass ceiling

Shocking moment: Onlookers were left stunned as the vehicle rammed into the man

The Paper stated emergency services arrived on the scene and took the four injured people to Changsha Number 8 Hospital.

Hunan Police Department issued a statement yesterday confirming the accident.

The statement identified those injured in the incident. They included a 37-year-old woman named Ms Yi who was the driver of the red Buick and a 32-year-old man surnamed Chen who was behind the wheel of the black Toyota.

Airport policemen told the Beijing News that a provisional driver sign was put on the red Buick and Ms Yi still has her one-year provisional licence.

They took blood and urine specimens from Ms Yi with both testing negative but further investigations are required.

The airport has now reopened the area to the public.
This is the disturbing moment a man, shadowing a woman through a university car park, forces her between two cars to allegedly sexually assault her.

The alleged University of Sydney attack occurred in 2014  but has the CCTV footage only come to light following a freedom of information request by 7 News.

It's claimed the victim screamed as loud as she could and managed to wriggle her way free from her alleged attacker, using her right arm to fight him off  he can be seen fleeing as she runs for help.

This is the disturbing moment a man, shadowing a woman through a university car park, forces her between two cars to allegedly sexually assault her

But while police notes say the CCTV footage 'provides [an] excellent shot of the [Person of Interest's] face, suitable for identification' it was never made public until around three years later.

'This man has not been caught. He poses a direct risk to the public. One would think that the university would do everything in their power to help apprehend him,' Channel 7's FOI editor told News.com.au.

The alleged attacker was not able to be identified when police arrived at the scene and has never been caught.

It's hoped someone will come forward with more information now that the video is public.

The alleged University of Sydney attack occurred in 2014  but has the CCTV footage only come to light following an FOI by 7 News, after the university objected to the release

Police notes say the CCTV footage 'provides [an] excellent shot of the [Person of Interest's] face, suitable for identification'

The alleged attacker can be seen running off as the victim goes to find help, he has never been found

Co-Women's Officer at the University of Sydney, Katie Thorburn, told News.com.au that she was 'appalled' with the university's actions.

'It sends the message that Sydney University cares more about their reputation than having a woman receive justice [following] a despicable act.'

More than 20 per cent of surveyed students at the University of Sydney in 2016 said they experienced a form of unacceptable behaviour, unwanted sexual harassment or assault during the time they were enrolled.

A spokeswoman for the University of Sydney referred Daily Mail Australia to a letter it had written to New South Wales Police in August 2016 objecting to its request to see documents about sexual assaults between 2011 and 2015.

'The documents contain personal information of a particularly sensitive nature,' the letter from the university's Office of General Counsel said.

The university spokeswoman said her employer had never been asked about the release of the video footage relating to sexual assaults on campus.
A sexist Polish MEP has been branded 'horrific' 'awful' and 'a pig' after going into a misogynistic rant on live television and claiming women are less intelligent than men.

Janusz Korwin-Mikke, 74, who made headlines last week when he told the European Parliament that women should earn less than men because they are 'weaker', and 'smaller', appeared on Good Morning Britain today.

After espousing his unusual views on the ITV programme, host Piers Morgan branded the politician a 'horrendous pig' and told him he was 'very stupid'.

On Twitter British viewers expressed their bafflement after the appearance - which took place on International Women's Day - and branded Korwin-Mikke 'obnoxious' 'awful' and 'a joke'.

Good Morning Britain hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid were taken aback by the comment

He appeared on the show to defend the comments which landed him in hot water last week.

'I only said that because they are shorter, they are weaker and less intelligent they are less aggressive, they earn less,' he said. 'By the way, a shorter man earns less than a tall man. The blonde earns more than a brunette. They are different, and it should not be equalised.'

The Polish MEP then claimed that 'science' backed up his views and 'proves' women are 'less intelligent by several points on the IQ scale'.

On Twitter one viewer wrote: 'This is the only time I will ever agree with with Piers Morgan hahaha.'

Another said: 'Is this guy on #GMB a new Sacha Baron Cohen character who's trying to wind up @piersmorgan and @susannareid100 on #WomensDay?!'

Janusz Korwin-Mikke, 74, who made headlines last week when he told the European Parliament that women should earn less than men because they are 'weaker' appeared on GMB

On Twitter British viewers expressed their bafflement after the appearance - which took place on International Women's Day - and branded Korwin-Mikke 'obnoxious' 'awful' and 'a joke'

Last week Korwin-Mikke made his initial, controversial comments - and then followed it up by saying the idea that women who are as intelligent as men 'must be destroyed'.

The Polish MEP, who has previously been sanctioned for making racist comments and remarks about the Holocaust, could face a heavy fine or suspension after an investigation was launched.

He also said it is a '20th-century stereotype that women have the same intellectual potential as men', and that the stereotype 'must be destroyed because it is not true'.

He told fellow MEPs: 'Of course women must earn less than men, because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent, they must earn less, that's all.'

The bowtie-wearing, moustachioed Korwin-Mikke made the comments after interrupting a speech by a female Spanish MEP Iratxe Garcia-Perez.

He first made remarks about women in sport and added: 'Do you know how many women are in the first 100 of chess players. I tell you: no one.'

After hearing the remark following complaints from other European Parliamentarians, chief Antonio Tajani said he had launched an inquiry over 'sexist remarks' that could result in a fine or suspension.

'Mr Tajani was immediately alerted to the incident by several MEPs,' the parliament said in a statement late Thursday, adding that he had watched footage of the incident.

Garcia Perez then shot back: 'According to what you are saying... I would not have the right to be here.

'I think I have to defend European women to men like you.'

Korwin-Mikke has previously courted controversy by claiming Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was 'not aware of the extermination of the Jews', calling refugees 'human garbage' and using a racist term to refer to black Americans.
A beloved Brooklyn police officer just days away from retirement killed himself while his fellow-cop girlfriend was moving out of their apartment.

Officer Mike Smith committed suicide on Tuesday night at the Manhattan Beach apartment he shared with his girlfriend, NYPD sources told theNew York Post.

Smith, 47, reportedly started dating his girlfriend after separating from his wife. His new love interest was also divorced.

But it appears things were going south for the new couple.

Officer Mike Smith (left and at a union event right) of the 70th Precinct committed suicide Tuesday night, while his girlfriend was moving out of their Brooklyn apartment

On Tuesday night, the girlfriend brought her parents to the apartment to pack up her things and move out.

It was while the three were packing that Smith shot himself in another room.

He reportedly left behind a note reading: 'I love you more than you will ever know.'

Sources said he did not use his service gun but another weapon that he owned.

Smith was a community affairs officer for the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn and had served for 22 years. He was set to retire on March 25.

He was also a former NYPD union delegate.

Next door neighbor Andrey Savykin spoke about Smith with the Post, calling him a 'nice, quiet' guy who seemed 'depressed'.

 For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here

 For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here
A Danish boy has discovered the remains of a German World War Two bomber - complete with the pilot's skeleton - in a field near to his family's farm.

Daniel Rom Kristiansen, 14, found the German Messerschmitt plane, and its pilot, after he searched the field as part of a homework project.

His father Klaus Kristiansen jokingly suggested that Daniel search the field after he remembered a comment his grandfather had made about a plane crashing there in November 1944.

Danish teenager, Daniel Rom Kristiansen, holds up a piece of the wreckage from a World War II airplane that likely crashed in a northern Denmark 72 years ago

Members of the Danish military check for wreckage from a World War II airplane which was found by the schoolboy

Debris from the wreck of a World War II era fighter plane included the aircraft's engine

The pair decided to take a metal detector out and see what they could discover on their farm in Birkelse - but never really expected to find anything.

He told Danish news station DR P4 Nordjylland: 'When my son Daniel was recently given homework about World War Two, I jokingly told him to go out and find the plane that is supposed to have crashed out in the field.'

When the machine started beeping over a patch of boggy ground the pair started digging - but realised they would need to go deeper.

They borrowed an excavator from a neighbour, and around four to six metres down, they discovered the remains of the plane.

Daniel Rom Kristiansen, 14, found the German Messerschmitt plane, and its pilot, after he searched a field as part of a homework project

Members of the Danish military check for wreckage from a World War II airplane

The wreckage of the plane was discovered on the family's farm in Birkelse, Denmark

The father and son found Luftwaffe munitions among the debris from the ME 109 Messerschmitt plane

The father and son found an engine from the ME 109 Messerschmitt plane, Luftwaffe munitions, and the remains of the aircraft's pilot.

'In the first moment it was not a plane,' Mr Kristiansen told the BBC. 'It was maybe 2,000 - 5,000 pieces of a plane. And we found a motor... then suddenly we found parts of bones, and parts from [the pilot's] clothes.

'And then we found some personal things - books, a wallet with money... Either it was a little Bible or it was Mein Kampf - a book in his pocket. We didn't touch it, we just put it in some bags. A museum is now taking care of it. I think there's a lot of information in those papers.'

TV crews, forensic police and explosives experts have now descended on the farm to examine the wreckage

The farmer said he contacted World War Two historians and the Danish authorities after making the discovery, North Jutland Police have now closed the site for investigation.

The plane will have to be removed by bomb disposal experts, as it crashed with ammunition on board.

Forensic police are working to recover the dead pilot's remains, and he will likely be buried in Germany afterwards.

The field is currently used to graze cattle, and Mr Kristiansen said that his family has worked on the land where the plane was buried for decades.

He added that he has lived there for 40 years, oblivious as to what was hidden just beneath the surface.

'We had never seen anything on the surface,' he said.

'Not a single bit of metal. He was telling a lot of stories, my grandfather. Some of them were not true, and some of them were true - but this one was true. Maybe I should have listened to him a bit more when he was alive!'
A region in Russia is drawing up plans to allow wealthy tourists to pay to shoot wolves from the sky in elite hunting trips costing 12,400 per kill.

The aim is to fund a cull which is too expensive for the cash-strapped authorities in Yakutia, the country's largest and coldest region in eastern Siberia.

The wolves are blamed for killing more than 9,000 reindeer and 500-plus horses each year costing 2million a year to nomadic farmers living in some of the world's harshest conditions.

A man holds a dead wolf over his shoulders in a shot that would be normalised by the scheme

A man holds up the head of a bloodied, dead wolf by its ears as it lies lifeless on top of a cart

Two men carry a dead wolf by the legs in front of a tractor which is dragging a pile of hay

A man hunches over with a huge wolf on his back as three more animals lie dead on the floor

Four dead wolves lie lifeless in the snow with a poacher resting his hands on top of their bodies

Rich Western and Chinese tourists will be flown over wolf packs, and allowed to take pot shots from small helicopters.

They will then be permitted to keep the pelts of wolves they slaughter as trophies, according to the plan.

They will be charged 8,200 for each wolf they shoot with another 4,200 for transportation, accommodation and food.

If they shoot any other animal from the sky, they will pay a 16,500 fine.

The scheme is the brainchild of local MP Viktor Fedorov who said 400 wolves a year out of the region's population of 12,000 could be shot by tourist hunters.

'We already have tourists, local and some from abroad, who are willing to pay $10,000 (8,200) for hunting one wolf,' he said.

The wolf hunting landscape could change massively if the scheme is given the go ahead

Wolf population-controlling scheme is the brainchild of local MP Viktor Fedorov, pictured here

Two men, one with a precision rifle and camouflaged in a white coat, inspect a bloody trap

Paying customers from the western world and China would be taken up in helicopters to shoot

He claimed the existing system for paying local hunters to kill wolves and the occasional use of giant helicopters was not effective.

'This is like shooting sparrows from a cannon,' he said.

His scheme would 'put an end to the wolf problem', he told The Siberian Times.

The plan is under consideration in diamond-rich Yakutia - also known as the Sakha Republic - but is likely to require a law change.
The aunt of a British backpacker 'kidnapped and raped' in Australia says her niece is 'lucky to be alive' following the ordeal.

Marcus Martin is accused of holding captive and repeatedly raping and beating the 22-year-old, from Liverpool, during an ordeal lasting more than a month in Australia.

A friend of the alleged attacker has claimed the backpacker was 'under her captor's spell' and that Martin was known to be 'a bit of a party animal'.

Marcus Martin (pictured) is accused of holding captive and repeatedly raping and beating the 22-year-old, from Liverpool, during an ordeal lasting more than a month in Australia

The British backpacker's alleged attacker lying on his back with arms outstretched on the bonnet of a white car

The backpacker's aunt insists her niece is fortunate to still be alive and says she hopes whoever attacked her 'rots in hell', according to The Sun.

It comes a day after it emerged that Martin, also 22, once hit a fast food delivery man over the back of the head with a plank of wood before stealing a pizza and cash after taking LSD at a party in Cairns, Australia, in 2012.

It is understood he was jailed for six months in 2013 for his part in the attack.

The Australian is also believed to have a previous conviction in Cairns from when he was 16.

A Facebook profile of the suspect suggests he is from New Zealand and that he was a fan of the outlaw bikers group Rebels Motorcycle Club.

According to The Mirror, a friend of Martin said the backpacker appeared to be under her alleged attacker's 'spell'.

It has since emerged that Martin, also 22, once hit a fast food delivery man over the back of the head with a plank of wood before stealing a pizza and cash after taking LSD at a party in Cairns, Australia, in 2012

It is understood Martin was jailed for six months in 2013 for his part in an attack on a pizza delivery driver

The inside of the 4x4 is pictured here on Tuesday, which has been adapted to acommodate a bed and numerous cubbyholes to hide in - and where the alleged rapist was found cowering inside

'He was a bit of a party animal. His mum died and he went off the rails,' the friend said.

'I hadn't seen him for ages, then he turned up with this blonde. She was grabbing his hand and hugging his arm tightly.

'She didn't say a word but stood smiling. It was like she was under his spell.'

The woman he is accused of attacking has been released from hospital and is recovering with family and friends in Australia after receiving treatment for a host of injuries including facial fractures.

The victim started a relationship with her alleged captor after they met at an outdoor dance party, known as a 'doof', in Cairns.

But within days the relationship began to sour as he allegedly became 'obsessive and clingy'.

Her friend said: 'She obviously thought he was a handsome fella, a fun guy who was a bit crazy  but a bit too crazy, it turned out. He was the ultimate psycho boyfriend.'

Saved: Beverley Page (left), who manages the Caltex outback stop in Mitchell, 350 miles east of Brisbane says the girl (right) was wearing a summer dress but had black eyes, a wounded neck and looked like 'a zombie'

CCTV footage shows the British backpacker walking into an outback petrol station and her ordeal was revealed for the first time

The suspect is said to have changed his relationship status to 'married' just a week after meeting the backpacker.

Her friend said the suspected attacker, who is accused of a string of crimes against the tourist, was 'really clingy' and 'just blew in to town and latched on to the first single girl' he saw.

The backpacker faces a wait to return to the UK due to her passport allegedly being damaged by the suspect.

TIMELINE OF THE HORROR ROAD TRIP JANUARY AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND: British backpacker meets man, 22, at a 'bush doof' party in Cairns. FEBRUARY Police alleged the 22-year-old tourist was raped in a Cairns hotel room. MARCH 1-5 The woman was allegedly forced to drive the suspect as they travelled south. She was allegedly beaten and repeatedly raped during this time. MARCH 5 The woman was rescued after being pulled over by police. The man was arrested and charged. Advertisement

Queensland Police said it is now believed that the alleged attacks took place between February 3 and Sunday when the woman was rescued in Mitchell.

She provoked alarm when she stumbled badly bruised and 'almost zombie-like' into a remote petrol station in the Australian outback.

After tearfully nodding when asked if the abuse was suffered at the hands of her partner, the tourist left without paying.

Police were flagged down during the chase and officers pulled her over near Mitchell, finding her with injuries to her face and marks on her neck.

Queensland Police said officers found her alleged tormentor stowed in the boot beneath a pile of clothing.

'I made the decision to follow her because I thought that if I could get the registration number I'd be able to file a report to the police,' shop owner Beverley Page told the Mail.

She told police she had been held captive by a man she had met at a party in Cairns and had been travelling around the state in the car since January 2.

It is thought the sabotage to her passport was a means of invalidating it and possibly preventing an escape.

Detective Inspector Paul Hart told a press conference on Tuesday: 'It was established they had previously had a relationship but at some point it had soured and he basically deprived her of her liberty and committed a number of offences against her as they travelled around the state.

This is the white 4WD police stopped in south-west Queensland on Sunday afternoon - finding a 22-year-old woman in extreme distress and a 22-year-old man in a back alcove

The 22-year-old victim walked into this petrol station where she talked to the cashier

'What she has experienced is no doubt horrific and terrifying and we commend her for taking the opportunity to speak to our police.

'We have potentially saved this young girl's life. Given what's happened to her, the extent of what's happened over the period of time, anything might have transpired.'

The victim is believed to have been in the country since 2015.

'She was in a state of shock when she came in, almost zombie-like,' Ms Page told the Mail.

'Then she walked in, wearing a black summer dress and said she couldn't pay for the fuel. Tears were running down her face.

'But what struck me were her black eyes. She looked bad.'
The Ivanka Trump brand had its best ever month in February, despite being dropped by Nordstrom and other national retailers for poor sales.

In an interview with Refinery 29, company president Abigail Klem said: 'Since the beginning of February, they were some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand.

'For several different retailers Ivanka Trump was a top performer online, and in some of the categories it was the [brands] best performance ever.'

On Amazon, Ivanka has had the top selling fragrance for the past two weeks, new stock is frequently being added to her Zappos page, and on the London-based e-commerce startup Lyst has Ivanka as the eleventh best seller on the site for the month of February.

That represents an increase of 346% from January, when the brand ranked at 550 on the site.

Scroll down for video

Ca-ching: Ivanka Trump brand had its best ever sales month in February

Free advertising: Ivanka wore a pair of nude suede heels from her eponymous brand on Wednesday (above)

'We actually feel super optimistic because, I think, one, a lot of people support Ivanka, even across both political parties,' said Klem, who is a registered Democrat.

'And then I think a lot of other people feel like, Oh, I didn't know Ivanka had a shoe line. Oh, I didn't know she had a handbag line. And they're buying it.'

There are no numbers however on in-store purchases of Ivanka brand merchandise, which is still carried by Macy's, Bloomingdales and Dillard's.

Over at Lyst meanwhile, shoes sold the best of Ivanka's goods followed by dresses.

February was a roller coaster month for the brand, from which Ivanka stepped down in January one week before she and her family moved to Washington DC.

It all began when President Trump lashed out at Nordstrom for dumping his daughter's clothing line.

'My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom,' the president wrote on Twitter last month. 'She is a great person  always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!'.

Popular: Ivanka Trump Eau de Parfum has been the top selling fragrance on Amazon for the past two weeks straight

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer then defended President Trump's comment later in the day, saying that he was responding to 'an attack on his daughter.'

Spicer also implied that the Seattle-based retailer made the decision to drop Ivanka's line because they did not agree with President Trump's ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations entering the country.

But Nordstrom revealed in a statement to DailyMail.com at the time that Ivanka was personally told about its decision in early January - weeks before the travel ban.

'To reiterate what weve already shared when asked, we made this decision based on performance,' read the statement. 'Over the past year, and particularly in the last half of 2016, sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didnt make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now.'

The statement went on to read: 'We've had a great relationship with the Ivanka Trump team. Weve had open conversations with them over the past year to share what we've seen and Ivanka was personally informed of our decision in early January.'

Keep it coming: New products are also being added to the Macy's online site and Zappos (above)

Spicer meanwhile justified Trump's tweet, saying: 'He has every right to stand up for his family and applaud their business activities, their success.'

'So, look, when it comes to his family I think he's been very clear how proud he is of what they do and what they've accomplished. And for someone to take out their concern with his policies on a family member of his is just, is not acceptable. And the president has every right, as a father, to stand up for them.'

Spicer was later asked how Ivanka could be targeted seeing as she made the decision to step down from her eponymous fashion company last month, just before moving to Washington DC.

'I think there's clearly a targeting of her brand, and it's her name still out there. So while she's not directly running the company, it's still her name on it,' said Spicer.

'And there's clearly efforts that  to undermine that name based on her father's positions on particular policies, that he's taken.'

Spicer went on to state: 'This is a direct attack on his policies and her name. And so that  there's clearly an attempt for him to stand up for her, because she is being maligned, because they have a problem with his policies.'

The following day things took another turn when Kellyanne Conway promoted the brand during a television appearance.

She was later counselled after that move, which is an ethics violation.

White House lawyers then concluded that 'Ms. Conway acted inadvertently and is highly unlikely to do so again.'
This is the terrifying moment an out of control car crashes into a queue of traffic causing a 14-car pileup on a busy Chinese road.

The incident took place in Dongguan, China's Guandong province on March 7.

Initial investigations show that the incident was caused by the brake system on a cement truck failing.

Shocking: Photos show the aftermath of the incident with cars left completely written off

The white vehicle can be seen smashing into other cars before entering the opposite lane

Footage shows the moment the cars smashed into each other on one side of the road.

A white vehicle can be seen slamming into other cars causing the mass pile up.

Some of the vehicles involved cross over the barrier to the other side of the road.

Video footage of the aftermath shows some of the cars left squashed up and half their size.

Some of the vehicles involved crashed through the barrier and onto the other side

Terrifying: Vehicles were left completely damaged in the incident that injured two people

According to reports, two people were injured in the incident but are not in a critical condition

The road is left completely stopped by the giant crash which involved 14 vehicles including trucks.

According to reports, two people were injured in the incident but they are not in a critical condition.

An initial investigation found that the smash was caused by the brakes of a cement truck failing which then ploughed into other vehicles.
Having a laugh: The Chancellor packed his budget speech with a series of jokes - belying his own dry reputation

The Chancellor packed his budget speech with a series of jokes, including several aimed at his Labour opponents and the EU, including chief Eurocrat Jean-Claude Juncker.

Shrugging off his sensible 'spreadsheet Phil' reputation Mr Hammond also asked MPs to 'wish me luck' as he introduced the last Spring budget - his first - because former Tory chancellor Norman Lamont was sacked ten weeks after he made the same move in 1993.

Millionaire Mr Hammond has been branded the 'ultimate boring accountant' in the past but his jokes sparked laughter in the Commons and a positive reception online.

He hammered the opposition over its economic record and said: 'By the way, they don't call it the last Labour government for nothing'.

And Jeremy Corbyn looked miserable as he told him: 'He is so far down a black hole even Stephen Hawking has disowned him', and announcing funding for driverless vehicles he called it 'a technology [Labour] knows about'.

The Chancellor said today the economy had 'confounded' the doom-laden warnings of Project Fear who warned about voting for Brexit.

Announcing Britain had hit EU economic targets he said: 'I won't hold my breath for my congratulatory letter from Jean-Claude Juncker'.

But he also took time to poke fun at his own reputation as the 'ultimate boring accountant' who former City colleagues called 'Spreadsheet Phil' because loved his job so much he would even spend his holidays and spare time poring over accounts for fun.

Reading out growth figures he said: 'This is the spreadsheet bit but forgive me, I have a reputation to defend'.

He also caused MPs to roar with laughter as he described how he hoped Theresa May won't sack him as he gave the last Spring Budget.

He said that his Treasury staff had reminded him: 'The then Prime Minister described it as the 'right budget, at the right time, from the right Chancellor'.'

Hammond's joke-filled Budget speech On his 'Spreadsheet Phil' nickname: 'This is the spreadsheet bit, but bear with me because I have a reputation to defend' On following Norman Lamont in delivering the last Spring Budget: 'What they (Treasury staff) failed to remind me was ten weeks later, he was sacked. So wish me luck!' On Jeremy Corbyn: 'He is so far down a black hole even Stephen Hawking has disowned him' On funding for driverless vehicles: 'It is a technology [Labour] knows about' On Labour's economic record: 'By the way, they don't call it the last Labour government for nothing' On hitting EU targets: 'I won't hold my breath for my congratulatory letter from Jean-Claude Juncker' Advertisement

He added: 'What they failed to remind me wasten weeks later, he was sacked! So wish me luck!'

Hammond also gently chided Theresa May for stealing his announcement on domestic violence funding, so she interrupted to say: 'Well, it is International Women's Day'.

In less funny news the crisis in social care in England has forced Chancellor Philip Hammond to pledge an extra 2 billion over three years to help ease the pressure.

The money, with 1 billion promised in 2017/18, follows intense pressure from MPs and councils, but falls short of the levels of funding demanded by some campaigners.

Mr Hammond acknowledged the system was 'clearly under pressure', with the NHS suffering as a consequence.

In his first Budget, he said that, alongside the additional funding, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid will announce measures to identify and support councils which are 'struggling' and to ensure more 'joined-up working' with the NHS.

Gags: His jokes were aimed at his Labour opponents and the EU, including chief Eurocrat Jean-Claude Juncker, and others were at his own expense

Having fun: Hammond also gently chided Theresa May for stealing his announcement on domestic violence funding, so she interrupted to say: 'Well, it is International Women's Day'

Unhappy: Jeremy Corbyn looked miserable as he told him: 'He is so far down a black hole even Stephen Hawking has disowned him'

Reaction: People watching his first budget enjoyed the jokes and said he wasn't so boring after all

The Chancellor also announced a 100 million plan to ease the pressure in A&E units.

Referring to the Tory victory in the Copeland by-election, he said: 'We are the Government of the NHS.'

'Boring accountant' Philip Hammond was once 'a Left-wing goth' who looked like Johnny Depp as a schoolboy Philip Hammond may have been branded the 'ultimate boring accountant' but school friends have revealed he was a boozing goth 'with a twinkle in his eye' Philip Hammond may have been branded the 'ultimate boring accountant' but school friends have revealed he was a boozing goth 'with a twinkle in his eye' who looked like a young Johnny Depp and ran glam rock discos. Fellow Shenfield sixth-former Nina Stratford said the Chancellor would regularly go to the pub at lunchtime and they even shared a 'cheeky snog' after a night on the sherry in his bedroom. Ahead of his first Autumn Statement today Nina Stratford told BBC Newsnight: 'I remember going round to his house once. We got hold of half a bottle of sherry and proceeded to drink it, and very randomly we ended up having a bit of a cheeky snog'. And she was impressed, adding: 'Who'd have thought that Philip Hammond was such a good kisser?' Miss Stratford, now an actress living in High Wycombe, said: 'Phil was always going places  he was very bright and he really had something about him.' Nina Stratford, now an actress living in High Wycombe, had a 'cheeky snog' with the Chancellor and enjoyed it But as a teenager he was something of a wildchild, friends say, inviting them to his bedroom to secretly gulp down Bacardi and other booze hidden away from his parents. Lifelong friend Graham Norton, said the Chancellor had said he would be a millionaire by 30 - and he was after graduating from Oxford and making a fortune in property. The pair decided that their life as teenagers in suburban Essex was too dull and they set up discos in their school hall where Mr Norton would DJ for '20 quid' and Mr Hammond would 'make a fortune' from ticket sales. He said: 'Philip once said to me that he wanted to be a millionaire by the time he was 30 - and I think he did actually achieve that in the end'. TV star Richard Madeley was also in their year at school, and says that he was the most popular boy in their year. He said last year that Mr Hammond was popular, outgoing and as handsome as a movie star, describing him as a long-haired 'goth' who 'looked like Johnny Depp back in his pomp'. He added: 'He had very long jet-black hair that fell down in to crows wings to his shoulders. 'He invariably came to school in a long black leather trenchcoat. Phil was very friendly and popular. The guys liked him. We would seek him out for conversation because he was very bright and was very politically switched on. 'He was very very bright. He put his big boots on the desk and start reading the Telegraph and swapping political dialogue with our history teacher who was a Guardian reader. 'And usually towards the end of the class they would swap papers and then they would sort of score jolly points off each other making political points. 'He barely needed to pay attention he sucked it up by osmosis. He think he got straight A's'. Mr Hammond was grilled about his schoolboy look when Theresa May made him Chancellor. Piers Morgans asked him on Good Morning Britain last year: 'Did you worship Marilyn Manson in your school days?' Amused by the comments, Mr Hammond simply said 'shocking, shocking', before defending himself by claiming goths 'hadn't even been invented in those days'. The Chancellor was born in Epping in Essex in December 1955. The son of a civil engineer, he went to Shenfield school in Brentwood before studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford. He launched a business in 1978 reproducing church brass rubbings for tourists, but it failed to get off the ground. Mr Hammond went on to be a manager in private industry and made millions from a range of property, construction and manufacturing businesses before becoming a Conservative MP in 1997, when he was 41. In 2009 his wealth was estimated at 9million. Advertisement




It may be the Chancellor's big day in the spotlight, but Philip Hammond's Budget for Brexit was almost overshadowed by a comical outburst from Theresa May.

The Prime Minister was seen throwing her head back and chuckling wildly 'like a supervillain' as Jeremy Corbyn challenged her in the Commons this afternoon.

It sent Twitter into overdrive, with thousands of people mocking Mrs May for being 'cartoonishly evil' and looking like 'a cat coughing up a hair ball'.

The Prime Minister (pictured left) was seen throwing her head back and chuckling wildly 'like a supervillain' as Jeremy Corbyn (right) challenged her in the Commons this afternoon

Did anyone else see Theresa May eating a fish during PMQs earlier? #PMQs #Budget2017 pic.twitter.com/HJdIvR2hJo  Harry Davidson (@davidsonhrj) 8 March 2017

Her reaction was sparked by a suggestion from Mr Corbyn that the UK government had cut a 'special deal' with Surrey County Council to halt a referendum on a 15 per cent council tax hike.

One Twitter user, Richard Cosgrove, wrote: 'Theresa May has really been practising her supervillain laugh hasn't she? #PMQs'

Another, Rhodri Viney, tweeted: 'Theresa May laughing looks like my cat coughing up a hairball.'

Joe Phelan posted a moving picture of Ronald McDonald with the caption 'Theresa May #Budget2017 #PMQs', while others accused her of feigning a 'pantomime' or 'staged' laugh.

Another Twitter user, Henry Bonsu, wrote: 'What on earth produced this maniacal laugh from @theresa_may in today's #PMQs? Was @jeremycorbyn really that funny?'

Joe Phelan posted a moving picture of Ronald McDonald with the caption 'Theresa May #Budget2017 #PMQs', while others accused her of feigning a 'pantomime' or 'staged' laugh

Mrs May vehemently denied there was any 'sweetheart deal' for Surrey Council before telling Mr Corbyn: 'If he is to uncover a conspiracy, I suggest he just looks behind him.'

Seemingly content with her response, the Labour leader then moved on to ask about schooling instead.

Mr Hammond later took centre stage as he pledged to lay the groundwork for a 'brighter future' after Britain's EU divorce.

He put a major education shake-up and 2billion social care funding boost at the heart of his first Budget.

Stealing the limelight: It may be the Chancellor's big day in the spotlight but Philip Hammond's Budget for Brexit was almost overshadowed by a comical laugh from Theresa May (pictured)

It sent Twitter into overdrive, with thousands of people mocking Mrs May for being 'cartoonishly evil' and looking like 'a cat coughing up a hair ball'

With potentially just a week to go before Mrs May formally launches the Brexit process, the Chancellor hailed the way the economy has 'confounded' the doom-laden warnings of Project Fear.

Unveiling dramatically upgraded forecasts for UK plc, he said the country would be 'stronger and fairer' after we cut ties with Brussels.

But Mr Hammond made clear he would live up to his cautious reputation as 'Spreadsheet Phil' by refusing to splash the cash from an estimated 60billion warchest thanks to UK plc's strong performance.

Instead he signalled tax rises for the self-employed, company directors and smokers to help fund new commitments to help families who are 'feeling the pinch' - including 2billion more for social care over the next three years.

Philip Hammond has taken centre stage today to unveil the contents of his Budget for Brexit

Mr Hammond set out his blueprint for the future of Britain to a packed Westminster chamber

The Chancellor will unveil the latest economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility when he delivers his Budget

In his first full Budget, Mr Hammond will set out 1.3billion in extra cash for social care, 500million for new vocation 'T-level qualifications' and other small giveaways

Mr Hammond tried to head off a burgeoning row over the revaluation of business rates with help for losers from the process - in particular pubs - that could be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

The Chancellor told the Commons the Budget was 'building the foundations of a stronger, fairer, more global Britain'.

But he said debt remains too high, productivity too low and too many families are 'feeling the squeeze', adding 'so our job is not done.'

He insisted the Tory government would not 'saddle our children' with huge debts and was committed to balancing the books.

The main planks of the package include:

Parents being given the right to set up grammar schools in a 320million education revolution hailed by Theresa May as her 'personal mission';

The introduction of new 'T-levels' to encourage more technical education;

A pledge to address the crisis in social care with a 2billion funding boost over three years - with 1billion frontloaded to 2017-18;

However, there is no significant new money for the NHS apart from 325million to push forward with modernisation plans and a 100million investment in 'triage' to ease the pressure on A&E;

Hundreds of millions of pounds in relief for losers from the controversial revaluation of business rates - with pubs targeted for special help;

Hiking national insurance for millions of self-employed people by 2p in what critics have condemned as a 'tax raid'. Mr Hammond said it 'undermined fairness' that those in salaried jobs were currently paying more;

Increases in duty on cigarettes to raise hundreds of millions of pounds, with minimum rates based on a pack price of 7.35.

Unveiling his Budget, Mr Hammond said: 'There is no room for complacency and you will not find any on these benches. As we prepare for our future outside the EU, we cannot rest on our past achievements.

We must focus relentlessly on keeping Britain at the cutting edge of the global economy. The deficit is down but debt is still too high....

'Too many families are still feeling the squeeze almost a decade after the crash.

So our job is not done. Our task today is to take the next steps for preparing Britain for a global future, to equip our young people with the skills they need to support our public services, and to help ordinary working families as we build an economy that works for everyone.'
The family of a transgender woman who was brutally beaten to death in the street by thugs who dragged her from her home have paid tribute to their 'selfless' Dandara.

Dandara dos Santos, 42, was kicked, punched, and hit with shoes and a plank of wood in front of residents in Fortaleza, Ceara state, Brazil.

Harrowing footage of the attack was shared by police in an attempt to catch her killers.

It shows Dandara begging the savage attackers to spare her life, but her pleas fall on deaf ears.

Dandara dos Santos's mother shared pictures of her before (left) and after (right) she transitioned to a woman

Dandara's mother Francisca Ferreira (pictured) told Brazil's Globo newspaper of her horror upon hearing of the attack

Her mother, Francisca Ferreira, told Brazil's Globo newspaper of her horror upon hearing of the attack as she shared photos of Dandara.

'I was very desperate. Crying and asking God what had happened.

Dandara dos Santos, 42, was dragged from her home into the street and kicked, punched, and hit with a plank of wood

'I became so crazy I could not believe it if there was a fight or not,' she said.

A witness described the attack as a 'cruel lynching'.

Dandara's sister described her 'never saying no' and 'always being helpful'.

'Wherever we asked her to go, she would. She never said no,' Sonia Maria said.

In the video, Dandara lies on the ground covered in blood and struggling to stand, her callous attackers simply lift her into a wheelbarrow and roll her away to a back alley where she was beaten more and shot.

The person who filmed the clip is heard saying in Portuguese 'they will kill the f*****' and laughing while the attackers make cruel taunts about her hormone-therapy induced breasts and hurl homophobic insults.

Horrific footage of the incident sparked outrage after being released by police last Friday to help find the alleged killers.

Police Inspector Damasceno who is investigating the death said: 'Six people have been identified and the video has helped with that. The footage was first circulated among LGBT groups, which helped that process.

'The police began circulating the clip and we arrived at the house of two of the people identified but they fled. The investigation is already well advanced and we are going after the killers.'

The attack on February 15 is one of the latest in a sickening trend in Brazil for targeting transsexuals and transvestites.

Harrowing footage of the attack shows Dandara begging the savage attackers to spare her life, but they lift her into a wheelbarrow and roll her to a back alley where she was beaten to death

According to Brazil's Trans Network, Dandara was the fifth to be murdered last month.

The government of Ceara released a statement condemning the killing warning that attackers will be punished.

They said: 'The Government of Ceara hereby expresses its deepest condemnation of acts of violence and intolerance as what was practiced against Dandara dos Santos, killed by brutal beating.

'It should be informed that the entire structure of the State Public Security is mobilized for the investigation of the crime and will punish those responsible.

'This government believes in and supports, through a human rights framework linked to the Office of the Governor and current public policies that pluralism, diversity and tolerance are fundamental values for democracy.

'These are inalienable pillars of an inclusive and just society. The Special Coordinator of Public Policies for the State of Ceara LGBT has among its tasks the execution of service policies and affirmation of gender minorities, as well as the effective contribution to the debate on all issues relating to the LGBT population.

'In line with the precepts of individual freedoms and human rights, we reaffirm our option for human life.'
A quaint New Hampshire town has been fighting Google to remove a not-so-welcoming photo of a shotgun-wielding bridal party that comes up when you search it online.

The default photo, which features a bride and bridesmaids holding shotguns with a man standing with his arms crossed in the center, shows up on Google next to a map of Londonderry when people search the name of the town.

It happens to be an old wedding photo of Republican state representative Al Baldasaro - an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump - as he posed with his wife and the bridal party.

The shotgun wedding photo showed up on Google next to a map of Londonderry in New Hampshire whenever someone searched for the name of the town

Local officials in Londonderry - just outside Boston - made repeated attempts to contact Google in February in a bid to have the photo removed but received no response.

That was until Tuesday.

Google confirmed the photo was in the process of being removed, and by Wednesday it had disappeared from the search page results.

'We contacted Google on multiple occasions and asked them if they can take it down. We would like something that includes more of a New England feel,' John Farrell, town council chairman, told the Union Leader.

The town's attorney sent a legal letter last month asking for the photo to be replaced with something else more representative of the area.

It was an old wedding photo of Republican state representative Al Baldasaro - an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump - as he posed with his wife and bridal party

Republican state representative Al Baldasaro is an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump and attracted attention last year after saying Hillary Clinton should be 'shot for treason'

Baldasaro attracted widespread attention during the presidential campaign when he said Hillary Clinton 'should be put in the firing line and shot for treason.'

Google searches for his name following the controversial comments could have been responsible for boosting the search engine's algorithm, which determines the photo placement.

He supported the town's quest to have the photo removed, saying he had received backlash back in 2013 when it first surfaced on social media.

Baldasaro tweeted on Wednesday morning confirming the photo had been removed.

'Google took the picture down. My wife emailed them last night, asking them to take it down,' he tweeted.

Local officials in Londonderry - just outside Boston - made repeated attempts to contact Google in February in a bid to have the photo removed but received no response
Nearly 5,000 children were evacuated today after at least 15 schools across 11 counties in Britain allegedly received bomb threats.

Pupils at schools in Suffolk, Devon, Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset, East Yorkshire, Essex, Somerset and Warwickshire were told to leave the building with parents being asked to collect their children urgently today.

Parents of pupils at one school in Ipswich received a text saying: 'Please don't worry. We have had to evacuate school. Everyone has been accounted for.'

Hundreds of primary school children were evacuated after a hoax bomb threat was made to Paddox Primary School in Rugby, Warwickshire, today

However, all of the threats made so far - including one in Cornwall - are being treated as hoaxes, with no suspicious devices found at any of the schools involved.

Parents linked the evacuation of Whitehouse Community Primary School in Ipswich - which left pupils crying - to an alleged bomb threat made in a telephone call.

Kirsty Youngs, 33, whose ten-year-old son was one of the evacuees, said: 'They were scared. Around 500 children were in the hall, there were lots of tears.

'They (teachers) refused to say anything at all about what happened. We were just told to take our children.

'The children said the fire alarms went off and that instead of going to line up on the playground they went to the hall.'

Sniffer dogs and specialist officers searched the site but found no evidence of a threat

Parents began rushing to pick their children up from their evacuation point at the nearby Ashlawn School after reports of the threat were posted on Facebook groups

The school was in lockdown this afternoon and forensic police officers were spotted entering the building.

Which schools have received threats today? St Sidwell's Church of England School in Exeter , Devon [evacuated]

, Devon [evacuated] Whitehouse Community Primary School in Ipswich , Suffolk [evacuated]

, Suffolk [evacuated] Castle Hill Primary School in Basingstoke , Hampshire [evacuated]

, Hampshire [evacuated] Paddox Primary School in Rugby , Warwickshire [evacuated]

, Warwickshire [evacuated] Oakfield Primary School in Totton , Hampshire [evacuated]

, Hampshire [evacuated] Bersted Green Primary School in Bognor Regis , Sussex [evacuated]

, Sussex [evacuated] Castle Primary School in Portchester , Hampshire [evacuated]

, Hampshire [evacuated] Castledown Primary School in Priory Road, Hastings , Sussex [evacuated]

, Sussex [evacuated] Milton Hall Primary School in Westcliff , Essex [evacuated]

, Essex [evacuated] Parkfield School in Taunton , Somerset [evacuated]

, Somerset [evacuated] Southill School in Weymouth , Dorset [evacuated]

, Dorset [evacuated] Highlands Primary School in Hull , East Yorkshire [evacuated]

, East Yorkshire [evacuated] Boxgrove Primary School in Guildford , Surrey [evacuated]

, Surrey [evacuated] St Mary Catholic Primary School in Falmouth , Cornwall [not evacuated]

Ford Primary School in Plymouth , Devon [not evacuated] Advertisement

A Suffolk Police spokesman said: 'We were called by the school reporting a bomb threat. they took the decision to evacuate. We are treating it as a hoax.

'A number of other police forces are also investigating malicious communications to schools and we're working together to determine who was responsible and whether the threats were linked.'

In Essex, pupils at Milton Hall Primary School in Westcliff were evacuated to a nearby school following a hoax call over a device in a classroom at 11.30am.

Parkfield School in Taunton, Somerset, also received a telephone bomb threat today, leading to pupils being sent home and police sniffer dogs sent in.

A similar incident happened at Southill School in Weymouth, Dorset, which was also evacuated due to a bomb scare.

Other schools evacuated due to threats were Highlands Primary School in Hull, East Yorkshire, and Boxgrove Primary School in Guildford, Surrey.

Meanwhile in Devon and Cornwall, three schools in Exeter, Plymouth and Falmouth also received claims that suspicious devices were in place.

Parents of children at St Sidwell's Church of England School in Exeter were messaged just after 12pm to inform them of the action.

St Sidwell's acting headmaster Mr Tom Page said in an email to parents: 'We received an electronic phone call at approximately 8.50am saying that a suspicious device had been placed on the school premises.

'We therefore put our emergency evacuation procedure into place. The children were promptly evacuated to the Methodist Church Hall on Sidwell Street.

Parents linked the evacuation of Whitehouse Community Primary School in Ipswich, Suffolk, to an alleged bomb threat made in a telephone call

'The police were on the school site within minutes and began their search of the building.

'There have been three recent hoax calls to schools in Devon of exactly the same nature and after a thorough and comprehensive search of the building the police informed me that it was completely safe for the children and staff to return to school.

'The children have been informed of the reason for the evacuation.'

The other schools affected were St Mary Catholic Primary School in Falmouth and Ford Primary School in Plymouth, but neither were evacuated. However, police were in attendance and liaising with staff.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: 'Whilst we are currently of the opinion that this call is without substance, as a precaution, police officers attended each of the school in question.

Parents of children at St Sidwell's Church of England School in Exeter were messaged just after 12pm to inform them of the action

'This is being treated as a hoax call and will be offences under the Malicious Communications Act. We take this extremely seriously, and condemn whoever is responsible.

'Malicious threats such as these divert police resources and cause disruption and alarm to the public and are completely irresponsible.

'Members of the public are encouraged to be vigilant and report anything suspicious to police.'

Meanwhile three schools in Hampshire were also targeted, which all took the decision to evacuate the pupils and staff before a search was carried out.

Ford Primary School in Plymouth, Devon, also received an alleged bomb threat this morning

The trio of Hampshire schools were Oakfield Primary School in Totton, Castle Primary School in Portchester and Castle Hill Primary School in Basingstoke.

Elsewhere at Paddox Primary School in Rugby, Warwickshire, a threat was reported at 9.45am, with sniffer dogs and specialist officers sent to search the site.

Parents began rushing to pick their children up from their evacuation point at the nearby Ashlawn School after reports of the threat were posted on Facebook groups.

Councillor Yousef Dahmash, a Paddox Primary parent, said: 'There was a threat made to the school. It appears that it was a bomb threat.

'We don't know where it came from at the moment. Police were on site this morning and they are still there now.

St Mary Catholic Primary School in Falmouth, Cornwall, was also affected by the threat

'At first, lots of parents were really worried about their children, but word got round quite quickly that they were all safe.

How hoax calls led to dozens of evacuations of UK schools last year The hoax calls and follow a similar pattern to incidents last year when dozens of UK schools faced a series of bomb threats just as the GCSE exam season started. Over a period last May, 27 schools shut on a Monday due to bogus calls, before 16 more closed the following day and then another ten on the Wednesday. It was feared last year that a campaign led on social media to close down schools was sparking copycat calls by people making bomb threats. A Russian Twitter group known as 'Evacuators 2K16' appeared to have claimed responsibility for hoaxes, telling pupils to contact them to get out of school. There were also reports of similar incidents in France, the US, Australia and Japan. Advertisement

'When I went to collect my daughter at around 10.45, most of the children were quietly sat in the large hall at Ashlawn. The teachers seemed well drilled and did a very good job.'

A Warwickshire Police spokesman said: 'We received a call at 9:45am about a threat to a primary school on Fareham Avenue.

'The school was evacuated and trained officers with search dogs entered the school. So far, nothing has been found.'

Meanwhile staff and pupils two primary schools in Sussex were evacuated after reports that bombs had been left on the premises.

Calls with threats were made shortly after 9am to Bersted Green Primary School in Bognor Regis and Castledown Primary School in Hastings.

Pupils and staff at both schools were evacuated and the buildings and grounds were searched by police officers.

Superintendent Carwyn Hughes, of Sussex Police, told the Brighton Argus: The calls were received by the schools just minutes apart.

They show similarities to a number of calls that were received at other schools in the UK. The calls remain under investigation as malicious hoaxes.
Judge Ruth Neely (pictured) has been censured by the state's Supreme Court after she said her religious beliefs prevent her from presiding over same-sex marriages

A Wyoming judge has been censured by the state's Supreme Court after she said her religious beliefs prevent her from presiding over same-sex marriages.

The court said Judge Ruth Neely's conduct undermines the integrity of the judicial system, but it does not warrant removal from the bench.

In a 3-2 decision on Tuesday, Justice Kate Fox wrote that Neely violated judicial conduct code but removing her would 'unnecessarily circumscribe protected expression'.

'Judge Neely shall either perform no marriage ceremonies or she shall perform marriage ceremonies regardless of the couple's sexual orientation,' Fox wrote.

Neely has never been asked to perform a same-sex marriage, and Fox said the case was not about same-sex marriage or the reasonableness of religious beliefs.

'This case is also not about imposing a religious test on judges,' wrote Fox, who was joined in her opinion by Justices E. James Burke and William Hill.

'Rather, it is about maintaining the public's faith in an independent and impartial judiciary that conducts its judicial functions according to the rule of law, independent of outside influences, including religion, and without regard to whether a law is popular or unpopular.'

Neely's case has similarities to legal action against a Kentucky clerk of court jailed briefly in 2015 after refusing marriage licenses to same sex couples.

The case against clerk Kim Davis, a conservative Christian, sparked a national debate over the religious freedom of civil servants versus the civil rights of same-sex couples.

The court said Neely's conduct undermines the integrity of the judicial system, but it does not warrant removal from the bench. Neely has never been asked to perform a same-sex marriage (file photo)

Davis ultimately agreed to alter the licenses to remove her name and title.

In Neely's case, the dissenting justices argued that Neely didn't violate any judicial conduct code.

'Wyoming law does not require any judge or magistrate to perform any particular marriage, and couples seeking to be married have no right to insist on a particular official as the officiant of their wedding,' Justice Keith Kautz wrote in the dissent that was joined by Justice Michael K. Davis.

Neely is a municipal judge in Pinedale, a town of about 2,000 residents, and a part-time circuit court magistrate in Sublette County, a rural county rich in outdoor recreation and oil and gas. The majority of her work as a magistrate is to perform marriages.

The Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics had recommended that Neely be removed from her positions for violating the state code of judicial conduct.

But Neely had argued that removing her would violate her constitutional rights.

Because Neely is a part-time magistrate appointed by a local circuit court judge to handle particular court needs, the Supreme Court left it to the discretion of the circuit court judge whether Neely can 'continue to serve the essential functions of that position'.

The circuit court judge who oversees Pinedale was not available for comment Tuesday, according to his office.

Attorney James Campbell, who represented Neely, said in a statement that Neely looks forward to serving her community for years to come.

'By affirming that Judge Neely may remain in her judicial positions, the Wyoming Supreme Court has recognized that her honorable beliefs about marriage do not disqualify her from serving her community as a judge, which she has done with distinction for more than two decades,' said Campbell, who is an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based religious advocacy law firm.

Patrick Nixon, an attorney for the Judicial Conduct and Ethics commission, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Commission Executive Director Wendy Soto declined to comment on the case and what the censure means for Neely.

Neely was investigated by the Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics after she told a reporter in 2014 that she wouldn't preside over same-sex marriages (file photo) The US Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex couples nationwide may marry

The Supreme Court opinion noted that judicial discipline serves multiple purposes, including discouraging further misconduct by the judge and reinforcing the perception that judicial ethics are important.

Jason Marsden, executive director of the Denver-based Matthew Shepard Foundation, which advocates for gay rights, said the foundation believes that any public official must serve members of the public equally, regardless of personal beliefs.

'We would simply ask the circuit court to remain watchful to ensure that there is no discrimination from the bench for any of the citizens in her jurisdiction should she continue to serve,' Marsden said.

The ethics commission investigated Neely after she told a reporter in 2014 that she wouldn't preside over same-sex marriages.

Her lawyers said no same-sex couples had asked her to perform their marriage before she made the comments to the local newspaper. The US Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex couples nationwide may marry.
Police are investigating the mystery disappearance of a British estate agent on the Costa del Sol.

Ian Thompson, 63, was last seen at his home in the holiday resort of Estepona in the early hours of last Friday morning.

He failed to turn up for work that day - and has not made contact with his family in Spain or the UK since going missing.

Ian Thompson (pictured, left) has not been Friday and a missing persons charity in Spain has put out posters (right) urging people to contact them if they have spotted him or his car

The teenager daughter of his Venezuelan-born wife Claudia was the last to see Ian at 1am on Friday, when she went to bed as he watched TV.

But when she woke up at 11am he had gone, as had his Renault Laguna car.

Ian, who is originally from Maidenhead, Berkshire, had taken time off work for a sore throat on Thursday afternoon so his colleagues at DreamLife did not sound the alarm when he failed to turn up the following day.

Claudia, who works as a home help, called police after he failed to pick her up as scheduled on Saturday afternoon from a house where she looks after an elderly person.

His passport is missing but his family say he has no bank cards and has not touched the money in his account.

His sister-in-law Liliana said: 'We're extremely worried. Ian's disappearance is totally out-of character.

'He lived for my sister and her daughters and there's absolutely nothing like money worries or depression to suggest he may have gone voluntarily.'

Ian (pictured, right) and his Renault Laguna car (left) have not been seen since Friday and his wife and brother are becoming increasingly anxious

Ian's brother Chris, 67, who lives in Buckinghamshire, said: 'I saw him last October when I visited him in Spain and he was full of happiness.

'He talked about finally finding his soulmate with Claudia after two previous marriages and his life revolving around looking after her and her daughters.

'We're doing everything we can to try to get to the bottom of what's happened. I've rung all the hospitals in the area near where he lived but have come up with nothing.'

His brother said: 'He speaks Spanish fluently so language wouldn't be an issue. I'm pretty sure that if he had headed back to the UK, he would have phoned me to tell me.'

A work colleague said: 'Everyone's extremely worried. Ian was doing well at work. There were none of the tell-tale signs that might point to a voluntary disappearance.'

Ian and his wife married six years ago and had moved to Spain after spending time in the United States.
Police are trying to link the killer in the Delphi, Indiana, murders of last month to another cold case in Iowa in 2012. The main suspect in the Delphi case is pictured above in footage captured by one of the victims

Indiana cops are trying to find a link between the 'Snapchat killer' who murdered two teenage girls last month and an unsolved case of two Iowa cousins who were kidnapped and killed in 2012.

Indiana State Police is yet to make an arrest for the murders of Liberty German and Abigail Joyce, both 13, who were taken as they hiked in Delphi on February 13.

Their bodies were found by a search party the following day at a nearby property.

The teenagers captured their final moments walking along the Delphi Historic Trail on Snapchat.

A man seen walking down the trail around the same time as the pair has been named as the main suspect but police still have not been able to identify him.

The case bears eerie similarities to the killings of Lyric Cook, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, eight, two cousins who were abducted 400 miles away as they rode their bikes in Evansdale, Iowa, in 2012.

The pair went missing in July from Meyers Lake but their bodies were not found until five months later when a group of hunters came across them in the Seven Bridges Wildlife Park some 25 miles away.

No arrests have ever been made in that case either despite unrelenting public appeals and a $150,000 pot of reward money for information.

One of the girls' fathers said in 2014 that his 'biggest fear' was their killer would strike again.

Abigail Joyce (left) and Liberty German (right), both 13, were murdered on February 13 this year

Elizabeth Collins, eight, (right) and her cousin Lyric Cook, 10, (left) were kidnapped and murdered in Iowa in 2012 while they rode their bikes near a lake

Police in Iowa have not made any arrests in the 2012 case and are still searching for leads

'I hope the scenario isnt that they do it again and get caught. Thats my biggest fear, that they will do it someone else,' Drew Collins, Elizabeth's father, told The Quad-City Times.

Indiana State Police confirmed to DailyMail.com on Wednesday that detectives working on the two cases had 'compared notes' but that no direct link had yet been found.

'At this time there has not been a connection made to the 2012 deaths in Iowa. We are still early in our investigation,' Sgt. John Perrine said.

Lyric and Elizabeth were riding their bikes near their grandmother's home when they vanished.

Police found their abandoned bicycles beside the lake but did not recover their bodies for five months.

The girls' corpses were discovered by hunters 25 miles away.

Liberty posted what are likely to have been the girls' final moments alive on Snapchat, sharing photographs of their hike along Delphi Historical Trail (above)

The bridge (above after their murder) was the last place the pair were seen alive

Police found the girls' bodies on a property nearby the following day. They searched it and a car on it (above) afterwards but none of those who live there are suspected of killing the pair

Police are still appealing for information after failing to produce a strong lead

No arrests have ever been made but police issued a suspect profile in 2014 to help boost their investigation.

At the time they said the murderer was likely from the area but would have changed his or her appearance since the girls' bodies were found.

Lyric and Elizabeth were taken some 400 miles from where Liberty and Abigail went missing.

Hundreds of people attended the latter two's funerals in Delphi last month. A reward for information about their deaths now stands at $220,000.

Liberty recorded a man saying 'down the hill' on her cellphone before she was murdered. Police believe it was the same man pictured in grainy footage she took.

One home has been searched but the raid failed to produce any evidence to suggest who may have carried out the killings.

Residents were scorned by prosecutors for taking the search as proof of guilt.

'Please do not harass, bother or accuse anyone. There are no charges pending against anyone as a result of the pending investigation. No one at the home searched if suspected of committing any crime.

'Please, please leave these people alone and let the police work,' prosecutor Robert Ives said.
Students at a boys' high school were 'at high risk of radicalisation' because one of the top pupils fled to Syria to join Islamic state after he graduated.

Parents have told The Australian students at Canterbury Boys High School in southwest Sydney began the government-funded anti-radicalisation program last year - after their 2013 dux Samir Atwani joined Islamic State.

Punchbowl Boys High School was also reportedly identified as needing the specialist program, but the school refused and principal Chris Griffiths with his deputy Joumana Dennaoui were later dismissed.

Students at Canterbury Boys High School (pictured) in southwest Sydney 'at high risk of student radicalisation', after their 2013 dux Samir Atwani, fled to Syria to join Islamic state

The Education Department would not confirm which schools were in the program, saying it would breach privacy and operational rules.

Another spokesperson for the department had said the program, School Communities Working Together, was not a 'deradicalisation program' - but a 'proactive program designed to support students'.

Punchbowl Boys High principal Chris Griffiths and deputy Joumana Dennaoui were dismissed last Thursday.

The Education Department said it had conducted an 'extensive appraisal of the school's policies, procedures and management'.

The Education Department would not confirm Canterbury Boys High School's involvement in the program, saying it would breach privacy and operational rules

Punchbowl Boys High School Principal Chris Griffiths (pictured) was dismissed after the school refused to participate in School Community Working Together

It was alleged female teachers at Punchbowl Boys High School were prevented from participating in official events such as the Year 12 graduation ceremony

The investigation was prompted by its refusal to participate in School Community Working Together, department boss Mark Scott said.

Staff made a series of serious complaints in 2016.

Women teachers had been prevented from participating in official events such as the Year 12 graduation ceremony, it was alleged.

Daily Mail Australia has approached Canterbury Boys High School and the Department of Education for comment.
'Fake' doctor Shyam Acharya, 41, pictured

An Indian man who allegedly posed as a doctor in Australia for 11 years breezed into the country on a skilled migration program sponsored by New South Wales Health.

The alarming information comes as his fake identification documents are revealed.

Copies of his hospital ID, driver license, and fraudulent passport all surfaced on Thursday, documents that successfully fooled authorities and allowed him to go undetected from 2003 until 2014.

The documents falsely stated Shyam Acharya, 41, had earned a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, and was a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

Working under the name 'Sarang Prakash Chitale' - a legitimate doctor in India - he was paid a six-figure salary to work in hospitals across Sydney including Manly, Hornsby, Wyong and Gosford.

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Documents falsely stated Shyam Acharya, 41, (pictured) had earned a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, and was a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians

Acharya also used his six-figure salary to take him on holidays across the world, as photos of him posing in front of the Louvre in Paris emerge on his private WhatsApp profile

Acharya also used his six-figure salary to take him on holidays across the world, as photos of him posing in front of the Louvre in Paris emerge on his private WhatsApp profile.

Authorities believe Acharya may have fled overseas when his alleged fraud was discovered. He is still on the run.

Acharya's alleged trail of crime reportedly started under the Indian Government's watch when he was granted a legitimate passport under the name he allegedly stole from a qualified doctor.

But while the ruse started in India, New South Wales Health was reportedly responsible for allowing it to continue for 11 years.

Copy of Shyam Acharya's fake passport (pictured) registered under the name Sarang Chitale

Copy of Shyam Acharya's driver license (pictured) under the fraudulent name Sarang Chitale

NSW Health sponsored his move to Australia in 2003, recruiting him on a skilled migration program, according to The Daily Telegraph.

'It's just simply shocking to know that he got through our border protection system on someone else's documents pretending to be something he (wasn't) and of course we empathise with all those patients who were under his care,' NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told The Daily Telegraph.

Acharya's 11-year-long ruse only came to an end in September 2016, when his employer started to question his identity.

When Novotech, a private medical research company, learned Acharya was not who he said he was, the company immediately notified the police.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it was shocking someone was able to bypass Australia's health system and pose as a legitimate doctor for so long.

He allegedly worked at Manly (pictured), Hornsby, Wyong and Gosford hospitals under the name Sarang Chitale, where he went undetected for 11 years

Acharya is also alleged to have worked at Gosfor Hospital during his 11 year stint as a doctor

'I am horrified that this fellow managed to get into the NSW hospital system,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

Acharya has been charged with breaching the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, which carries a maximum penalty of $30,000.

The penalty was publicly condemned by Mr Hazzard who claimed it was far too lenient for the crime allegedly committed.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard (pictured) said Acharya should face jail time if he is eventually found and found guilty

Mr Hazzard said Acharya should face jail time if he is eventually tracked down and found guilty.

Mr Hazzard said checks on medical professionals were much more thorough now than they were in 2003 when Acharya infiltrated the system.

He said there was no chance what happened in 2003 could happen again.

Mr Hazzard said checks on medical professionals were much more thorough now than they were in 2003 when Acharya infiltrated the system

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt mirrored Mr Hazzard's sentiment that a $30,000 fine was adequate punishment.

He said a fine was 'woefully inadequate' and he would also push for jail time.

Mr Hunt said all states and territories would need to agree that jail time was an appropriate punishment for it to be a possibility, but he was confident they would.

The alleged fraudulent doctor has been compared to Leonardo DiCaprio in 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can - after his character posed as a doctor among other professions.

'If this matter wasn't so shocking, the details would read like a shoddy Down Under version of Leonardo DiCaprio's Catch Me If You Can,' NSW opposition health spokesman Walt Secord told The Daily Telegraph.
Protesters have criticised controversial and radical new bills which limit calls to prayers from mosques, including one prohibiting the use of loudspeakers.

The bills, which today won preliminary approval in a heated parliamentary debate, are aimed at improving the quality of life for people living near mosques in Israel and East Jerusalem who have been losing sleep due to calls sounding before 5am.

But outraged opponents say the legislation is 'racist' and claim it impinges on the religious freedom of Israel's Muslim minority.

The controversial and radical new bills limit calls to prayers from mosques, including one prohibiting the use of loudspeakers. Pictured, Muslims take part in prayers in east Jerusalem

Israel's parliament gave preliminary approval to the two controversial measures that would limit calls to prayers from mosques, including one prohibiting the use of loudspeakers at all hours.

The bills - the second of which would ban loudspeakers in urban areas between 11pm and 7 am - will eventually have to be reconciled, with three more readings required before they can become law.

They were approved after a heated discussion that turned into shouting matches between ruling coalition members and Arab lawmakers, some of whom tore copies of the legislation and were ejected from the chamber.

The bills passed 55-48 and 55-47 in the Knesset, or parliament.

While the bills in theory would apply to any religious place of worship, Muslims say it is clearly meant to silence the traditional call to prayer at mosques.

The measure has become commonly known as the 'muezzin law' after the Muslim official charged with calling the faithful to prayer, often through powerful speakers mounted on minarets.

The notion of Israeli legislation silencing mosques has sparked outrage around the Arab and wider Muslim world.

While the bills in theory would apply to any religious place of worship, Muslims say it is 'clearly meant to silence the traditional call to prayer at mosques'

Supporters of the move say it is needed to prevent daily disturbance to the lives of hundreds of thousands of non-Muslim Israelis.

Last month, government ministers endorsed the softer version of the bill prohibiting loudspeakers overnight, which limits its scope to the first of the five daily Muslim calls to prayer just before dawn.

That version would apply to mosques in annexed east Jerusalem as well as Israel, but not to the highly sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, according to an Israeli official.

An earlier draft limiting volumes throughout the day had been rejected because it might have silenced the siren sounded in Jewish areas at sunset on Friday to mark the start of the Sabbath.

However, the stricter measure was revived by members of the hardline Yisrael Beitenu party, part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, leading to Wednesday's two votes.

The stricter measure was revived by members of the hardline Yisrael Beitenu party, part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. Pictured, Netanyahu with Theresa May

It was not immediately clear if that version would apply to Al-Aqsa, located in mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem.

One of the sponsors of the less rigid bill, Motti Yogev of the far-right Jewish Home, said the proposal was 'a social law that aims to enable people to sleep'.

'Loudspeakers have not been here forever, and in recent decades there are alarm clocks for whoever wants to wake up for the mosque,' he said.

Ahmad Tibi of the predominantly Arab Joint List alliance of lawmakers called the measure 'a racist act'.

'This is an important Muslim religious ceremony, and (the Knesset) has never intervened in a Jewish religious event,' he said.

Opposition has not only come from Arabs and Muslims.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has spoken out against the move, saying existing noise pollution regulations provide a solution.

Government watchdog groups have called the measure an unnecessary provocation that threatens freedom of religion.

At Wednesday's debate, Environmental Protection Minister Zeev Elkin said the new law was necessary since the existing rules set a low fine that causes police to disregard noise violations.

The new proposed law sets a fine of 10,000 shekels ($2,714, 2,573 euros) to transgressors.

In Jordan, the official custodian of Muslim holy sites in annexed east Jerusalem, Information Minister Mohamed Momani condemned the bills as 'discriminatory'.

They were contrary to 'Israeli commitments under the peace accord' that the Jewish state signed with Jordan in 1994, he said, quoted by the official news agency Petra.
A married couple who both worked for their local school district have been identified as two of the four people killed when a freight train slammed into a bus in Mississippi on Tuesday.

Ex-assistant principal Peggy Hoffman and her husband Ken, from Lockhart, Texas, died in the horrifying crash in Biloxi that also injured forty people.

Their former employers, Lockhart School District, said in a statement: 'We feel their loss deeply across the district, remembering the mark that they made upon us and upon a generation of children in our community.'

The freight train crashed on Tuesday afternoon into a bus full of Texas tourists visiting Gulf Coast casinos.

The cause of the deadly collision is under investigation, and local police are trying to figure out why the bus was on the tracks.

Ken, 82, and Peggy Hoffman, 73, were killed in the accident in Biloxi, Mississippi on Tuesday

A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing it 300 feet down the tracks and leaving at least four people dead and dozens more injured

The bus was carrying 50 people from Austin, Texas, Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said at a news conference

Witnesses told Mississippi news outlets the bus appeared to have been stuck on the tracks when it was hit by the train.

The vehicle was then pushed 300 feet along the rails until the train came to a stop.

The crossing is on a steep embankment and has a sign warning drivers that it has a low ground clearance.

The bus could be seen straddling the tracks, with a 52-car CSX Transportation locomotive pushed up against its left side.

Authorities on the scene said it took more than an hour to get everyone aboard the bus out of the wreckage.

Two people had to be removed with metal-cutting equipment.

Jim DeLaCruz, a passenger who was in the back of the bus with his wife, told The Sun Herald that they were trying to get off.

'The bus tried to clear the tracks and got stuck right in the middle and it couldn't budge, and the train just kept coming and kept coming,' he said.

Police chief John Miller said he was unsure why the bus was stopped on the tracks.

'We don't know if there were mechanical issues or what was taking place,' he said.

Miller said the Echo Transportation bus had come from Austin, Texas, carrying passengers to one of Biloxi's eight casinos.

'It's a terrible tragedy,' Miller said. 'I know there's a lot of families that are going to be impacted here.'

Images from the scene show the bus, upright and still intact, straddling the tracks, with the CSX train pushed up against its left side

The local school distract said Ken and Peggy Hoffman were 'colleagues, teachers and leaders in our community who have made a mark on a generation of children. Here they are pictured with their granddaughters Kayla, left and Tara, right

The couple are pictured left with the granddaughter Kayla Chapman and right

Ken and Peggy Hoffman are the first two casualties to be named with many pouring out their condolences on Facebook.

Ken retired in 1996 as an assistant superintendent of the school district; Peggy retired in 2002 as principal of Plum Creek Elementary. Between them, they had a combined 85 years of service to the school district.

'Ken was the quieter of the two,' Lockhart school superintendent Susan Bohn said to Statesman.com. Bohn considered Peggy Hoffman an advisor, one who had insight into the burdens both administrators and teachers faced over things like the launch of a new curriculum.

'She was a teacher's administrator,' Bohn said. 'She knew how hard the job was of a teacher. And she wanted to make sure kids and teachers got what they needed to be effective.'

'What drew me to Peggy was how she expected excellence for our community, our staff, our kids and the district,' she said.

Despite being retired, the couple were still involved in education programs in the district.

Peggy Hoffman was a GED instructor in a community education program and filled in for a series of administrative jobs.

Other tributes offered similar glowing praise of the couple.'So many people have been touched or helped by these two beautiful people over the years. I doubt that there isn't a family in Lockhart that hasn't been helped by these two. God bless them and their family,' wrote Ricke Scott.

Olivia LeeAnn Smith wrote, 'Peggy was my first grade principal when I first moved to Lockhart. I was 6 years old and scared of adjusting to a new town and new school. She made me feel very welcomed to Lockhart '

Melissa Ramirez Flores, whose own mother was on the bus, said Peggy was her former teacher as well.

'I remember that she used to love to read to us. We'd sit on the carpet and that was one of the favorite things to have her read to us before we went to lunch,' Flores told KXAN. 'Just a very sweet, caring lady.'

The rear of the bus is seen above as the train rammed into it from its left-hand side. At least three people were killed and emergency responders were still removing injured people from the bus more than 30 minutes after the crash

Rescue personnel are seen treating an injured passenger who was extricated from the bus

Another injured passenger is seen above lying on the ground while an oxygen mask is affixed to his head as other victims are tended to by rescue personnel

Ameet Patel, senior vice president of regional operations for Penn National Gaming, owner of Hollywood Gulf Coast Casino in Bay St. Louis and Boomtown Biloxi Casino, said the bus was traveling from the Hollywood casino to the Boomtown casino at the time of the crash.

The weeklong trip was organized by a senior citizens' center in Bastrop, Texas, about 30 miles east of Austin.

Some passengers boarded in each city Sunday. They also were supposed to visit New Orleans and then return home Saturday, according to a flier about the tour posted by Texas media.

A woman who lives about a block from where the train and bus finally came to a stop after the train crashed into the bus says she heard a 'loud boom' and knew immediately what had happened.

Cecelia McDonald said she ran out of her house and saw a scene of carnage.

Witnesses told The Sun Herald of Biloxi that the bus was stuck on the tracks for about five minutes before the train hit.

Some people were getting off the bus as the driver tried to move it, and at least one person was shoved under the bus when the train hit, said Mark Robinson, a Biloxi native.

Robinson told WLOX-TV that people trying to get off were either thrown underneath the bus or run over by the train and that 'body pieces were thrown everywhere.'

A firefighter is seen above escorting three women who came away with minor injuries

Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers to take the injured to hospital. They had to cut through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people

Officials say there were chaotic scenes as passengers were trapped inside the bus and trying to get out as first responders arrived.

A nearby car was used as a stepladder after the crash to get people off the bus, and emergency workers pulled passengers through windows.

Robinson said he thinks the train track, which is on an embankment, poses safety issues.

'It's too steep there,' Robinson said.

In addition the sign warning of a low ground clearance, the crossing has a bell, lights and crossing arms.

Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney says rescuers needed one hour and four minutes to clear everyone from the wreckage. Two people had to be cut out of the bus.

Vincent Creel, the city spokesman, said 48 passengers and the driver were on the bus.

Some of the passengers in the back of the bus were able to escape before the crash

The train company says their crew was not injured in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is to investigate the crash and will arrive in Biloxi Wednesday morning

The train was headed from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, at the time of the crash, said CSX spokesman Gary Sease. He said the train crew was not injured. The single track is the CSX mainline along the Gulf Coast, passing through densely populated areas of southern Mississippi.

Federal Railroad Agency records show 10 trains a day typically use the track, with a maximum speed of 45 mph. Records show there have been 16 accidents at the crossing since 1976, including in 1983 and 2003, each of which involved one fatality. A delivery truck also was struck at the same crossing in January, WLOX-TV reports. No one was injured in that crash.

The bus was marked as belonging to Echo Transportation, which Texas corporate records show is a unit of a company called TBL Group, based in Grand Prairie, near Dallas.

'We can't confirm anything at this point,' said Elisa Fox, a lawyer for the bus company. 'We're trying to mobilize to assess the situation.'

Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Marc Willis said the agency is sending three inspectors to investigate, while Mississippi is sending one. The National Transportation Safety Board said it also is investigating.
Widespread disorder, believed to have been planned on social media, led to more than 30 arrests in the center of Philadelphia.

Large groups, believed to be mainly youths, formed a flash mob on Monday evening, with many brawls breaking out.

The city's police commissioner has branded the gathering 'idiotic'. Officers believe a war of words broke out on social media, prompting large groups to spill out into the streets.

Large groups, believed to be mainly youths, formed a flash mob on Monday evening, with many brawls breaking out

In one instance, a group of girls were sprayed with mace.

It is thought some could face serious charges after violent attacks.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross told CBS: 'They were actually beaten, maced and claim to have even been tased.

'We know they were assaulted for sure. We had four people, we do not know if charges will be approved on those four. So were trying to wait to see, but the whole thing is just idiotic.'

Officers believe a war of words broke out on social media, prompting large groups to spill out into the streets

A female police officer was injured when she fell off her bike during the response to the flash mob chaos

Equally unimpressed was SEPTAs Police Chief Thomas Nestel, who tweeted: 'SEEKING HELP! Please know what your nugget of love is doing after school. Kids are hurting kids. Love them by making them come home.'

He said the fights were the worst he had ever seen.

A female police officer was injured when she fell off her bike during the response to the flash mob chaos.
Son charged: Sheaen Smith, 29, of Washington state, has been arrested on a second-degree murder charge for allegedly stabbing his mother 20 times, killing her

A 29-year-old mechanic from Washington state has been accused of stabbing his mother to death, telling police he was a werewolf and she was a vampire.

Police in Bellingham responded to a duplex in the 1500 block of McKenzie Avenue in the Fairhaven neighborhood at around 2pm on Sunday to find 57-year-old Aurora Buol-Smith dead on the ground floor.

When officers searched the home, they came upon the victims son, 29-year-old Sheaen Smith, in an upstairs bedroom.

Smith reportedly made a confession to police saying, 'I stabbed her.' The murder suspect also said he was the one who called 911.

Investigators also recovered a large kitchen knife believed to have been used in the brutal attack.

When further questioned about the incident at the police station that day, the 29-year-old suspect allegedly said that he stabbed his mother because he was a werewolf and she was a vampire, reported the Bellingham Herald.

The Bellingham Police Department tweeted that Smith made statements suggesting a 'sexual motivation' for his mothers killing.

Smith was then booked into the Whatcom County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder.

An autopsy conducted by the Whatcom County Medical Exmainer's Office found that Aurora Smith, a licensed practical nurse, sustained 20 stabs wounds all over her body, inclduing cuts to her fingers and forearm suggesting that the woman fought for her life.

The post-mortem examination also determined that Buol-Smith had been deceased for hours by the time her son called police, having bled to death, reported the station KGMI.

Police found the lifeless body of 57-year-old Aurora Buol-Smith inside her duplex in the 1500 block of McKenzie Avenue in Bellingham (pictured) after getting a 911 call from her son

Smith, sporting a full beard and a curly mane, made his initial court appearance on Monday, at which time Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Richey told a judge that the suspect admitted to police that hes been using a lot of meth recently, which is the reason for the voices in his head.

Three days before the killing, Smith had been released from St Joseph's Hospital, where he had been undergoing treatment for acute psychosis associated with his drug use.

A hospital spokeswoman would not comment on Sheaen Smith's case specifically, but she noted that patients who are brought in after exhibiting bizarre behavior are kept there until drug tests come back negative, allowing doctors to conduct a mental health evaluation.

Bizarre ravings: Police say Smith, who was a meth user, told them he stabbed his mother because he was a werewolf and she was a vampire

Smith, a father-of-two, had moved in with his mother after splitting from his wife. Records show that he had been convicted of a misdemeanor assault on the woman in 2010.

The judge set Smiths bond at $1million and barred him from returning to his mothers duplex, if he is released from jail.
Tina Vibert, 49, was driving the car which veered over the median strip of the highway, fatally slamming into another vehicle

The driver of a second car in a horror crash that killed a mother and her seven-year-old son and left his twin sister fighting for life has twins at the same school as the victims.

Julie Bullock, 49, her son Hudson, 7, and her daughter Sienna, 7, were driving to Wollondilly Anglican College, in Sydney's south, when it collided with another car on Tuesday morning.

Ms Bullock and Hudson both died in the crash, while Sienna remains in a stable condition at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, where her devastated father Darren Bullock is keeping a bedside vigil.

Tina Vibert, 49, who was driving the second car involved in the fatal smash, has twins at the same school as the victims, according to 9News.

Police are yet to yet to determine the cause of the car crash.

Julie Bullock, 49, her son Hudson, 7, both died at the scene of the crash on Hume Highway

Tragedy has struck the family of mining executive and two time Lotto winner Darren Bullock - with his wife Julie and son Hudson, seven, killed in a fatal accident

Ms Vibert suffered serious injuries and is still in Liverpool Hospital - where she has not yet recovered enough to speak with police.

Flags were flown at half-mast at the school on Wednesday, which has been rocked by the tragedy.

'Nobody walks here and nobody drives here, they all travel by bus or by car and so it resonates with everyone,'the school's principal Dr Stuart Quarmby said.

'That could have been me or it could have been my kids'.

Social media tributes have poured in for the mother and son, with friends and family voicing their devastation at the tragedy.

Social media posts paint a heartbreaking picture of two adoring parents who doted on their twin son an daughter.

Mrs Bullock's Facebook page is littered with loving posts about her family. They would bake biscuits together and she would share happy photographs of holidays.

Ms Bullock would share loving photographs on social media of her children and husband. Her daughter Sienna remains in hospital

An occupational therapist, Ms Bullock and her son Hudson died at the scene of the crash on Hume Highway

A witness to the fatal collision described their horror as they watched a silver Holden Astra slam into the Picton family's Mazda 4WD

A Westmead Children's Hospital spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia Sienna was in a stable condition on Wednesday.

The head-on crash happened shortly before 8am in the southbound lanes of the Hume Motorway, part of the highway, about 1km south of Picton Road.

A witness to the fatal collision described his horror as he watched a silver Holden Astra slam into the Picton family's Mazda 4WD.

'We were trying as hard as we could to keep the little boy alive and awake but he went unconscious on us,' a witness said

Sienna was transported in critical condition with chest and head injuries to the Children's Hospital at Westmead, according to the NSW Ambulance spokesperson

He and other motorists, including a trained nurse, rushed to help the victims - young Hudson passing out while in the arms of the unnamed witness.

'We were trying as hard as we could to keep the little boy alive and awake but he went unconscious on us,' the witness told The Daily Telegraph.

'There was nothing we could do.

A truck-driver freed Ms Bullock by pulling the dashboard off and she was able to pull herself out of the totalled car where people attempted to save her.

Hudson and Sienna were transported to hospital, but the young boy could not be saved and died on arrival at hospital.

One witness said he and other motorists, including a trained nurse, rushed to help the victims - including young Hudson who passed out while in his arms

Hudson and Sienna, both 7, were transported to hospital, but the young boy could not be saved and died on arrival at Liverpool Hospital

Darren, who was not in the car, rushed to hospital to be with Sienna.

He is a former mining executive who last year told an inquiry in 2015 he twice won Lotto - $50,000 in 1999 and $200,000 in first division in 2003.

The inquiry was told he bought property, cars and took the family on holiday to Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji and Japan.

A truck-driver freed Ms Bullock by pulling the dashboard off and she was able to pull herself out of the totalled car where people attempted to apply medical aid

This picture reportedly shows one of the vehicles in the aftermath of the deadly crash

The 49-year-old driver of the second car, which cut through the median strip on to the wrong side of the highway, is in critical condition at Liverpool Hospital

A truck was seen removing one of the cars involved in the deadly crash 100km south of Sydney

A truck-driver freed Ms Bullock by pulling the dashboard off and she was able to pull herself out of the totalled car where people attempted to apply medical aid
Police have broken up an international network which illegally smuggled baby eels to China, where they are considered a delicacy with aphrodisiac qualities.

It's estimated that the gang made at least 5 million every year, laundering the proceeds and in some instances being paid with gold bars.

The police operation was carried out by Spain's environmental protection squad and involved officers from Portugal, Italy, France, Greece and United Kingdom.

Pictured are some of the baby eels police found. There are strict rules in place over the fishing and sale of them and they are in danger of being wiped out

The international criminal network is suspected of having smuggled over 10 tonnes of eels from the EU to China

They suspected a company based in the Spanish city of Tarragona, and first investigated in 2012 whether it was behind the smuggling.

Eight people were arrested in the city, as well as in Seville and Valencia, plus another nine in Greece.

They have been charged with smuggling, forging documents, crimes against wildlife, and money laundering.

Two of those arrested in Spain are Chinese who had contacts in their home country who arranged for the money to be sent from Hong Kong to avoid detection.

Raids in Greece and Spain have led to 17 individuals being arrested over the illegal eel smuggling operation

The police operation was carried out by Spain's environmental protection squad

In some instances the gang, who earned 5m a year, were paid with gold bars

Nine houses and business premises were raided in Spain when about two tons of live baby eels, or angulas as they are known, were seized.

Police also found a huge amount of documents, computer equipment, more than 300,000 in cash, luxury vehicles and gold bars.

Another 240,000 was seized from Chinese members of the group.

'The Civil Guard discovered that the Spanish company acquired legally and illegally fished eels in the Spanish territory,' said a spokesman.

'Added to these were eels sourced from French, Portuguese and Italian citizens, without asking about their origin.'

The eels were transferred to Greece in a lorry especially adapted for live transport, before they were shipped on to Asia

The baby eels had mostly been poached from Spanish water, where there are strict controls

About two tons of live baby eels, or angulas as they are known, were seized

The glass eels, which are in danger of being wipe out, were exported illegally to Asia marked as 'fresh fish'

Mostly, the baby eels were poached in the waters of Anadalucia, where fishing for anuglas is strictly prohibited, as well as in Valencia where there are strict controls, as well as in the Ebro region, where catches are allowed but with an obligation to declare the eels.

Once around 1,000 kilos had been accumulated, the eels were transferred to Greece in a lorry especially adapted for live transport. From there, the merchandise was shipped to Hong Kong and subsequently marketed in China.

'The investigation determined that the Spanish company had orchestrated a formula to try to evade their criminal responsibilities by associating with well-known Greek entrepreneurs to create a screen-fabric company,' said police.

'The profits were staggering - about 7,000 per kilogram of eel in China.'

There are strict rules in place over the fishing and sale of the baby eels, which are in danger of being wiped out.
Dr. Tom Price, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, explained the aim of House Republicans' new healthcare bill, which has been panned by both Democrats and those on the conservative right.

'What our goal is is to make certain costs come down,' he told George Stephanopoulos this morning on ABC's Good Morning America, though couldn't make a guarantee.

Additionally, while President Trump has promised 'insurance for everybody,' which was 'less expensive and much better,' Price could only say 'that's certainly the goal,' when asked about the president's pledge.

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Dr. Tom Price, the secretary of Health and Human Services, outlined a number of goals of the Republicans' new healthcare plan, but couldn't offer guarantees

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos (left) asked Tom Price (right) to address the fears of Americans who might lose their healthcare coverage under the new plan

'And it's important for people to realize, as I know that you do, that the current system is not satisfactory for many individuals,' Price said.

'We've got a third of the counties that only have one insurance issuer on the exchange, we've got five states where there's only on issuer, we've got premiums that are going up, deductibles that are increasing significantly,' he continued.

'So a lot of folks have a health insurance card, but they don't have any care,' Price added.

Stephanopoulos pointed out that a 'goal' is not the same thing as a guarantee.

Stephanopoulos went on to point to the AARP's warning that the Republican bill would negatively impact middle class, middle-aged Americans, while pointing to a New York Times story to provide an anecdote about Americans' fears.

The ABC Newsman brought up the story of Martha Brawley, a 55-year-old Trump voter from North Carolina, recently diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease.

Under the Republicans' new plan, Brawley would lose $5,188 a year in aid to pay for healthcare.

'I thought he would make it better,' she said of voting for Trump, but now is feeling 'increasingly nervous' about the new plan, which the president has endorsed.

Asked to respond to Brawley's fears, Price noted that the bill was still in its early stages.

'Well, it's 24 hours after the introduction of the bill,' he said.

Price explained that the Republicans' goal is to ensure that patients can select their physicians and their treatment and get the government out of healthcare.

He added that the 'trajectory' of the current system 'is that fewer people will have health insurance on the exchange than currently.'

'Nobody is talking about that, George,' Price pointed out. 'What we're trying to do is fix that system that isn't working.'

Stephanopoulos countered that that doesn't change the fact that Brawley would be receiving $5,000 less, as the new bill calls for tax credits and not subsidies, which assist the North Carolina woman now.

Another piece of the puzzle, Price, a physician-turned-lawmaker explained, would be getting overall healthcare costs down.

'Costs have gone up for folks, there are people who are now unable to afford coverage,' Price said, pointing to the example of a small business employer in Cincinnati who had three fewer people working for him because of the rising costs of covering them.

Price also suggested the $5,000 figure, the New York Times reported, may not be correct.

Numbers from the Congressional Budget Office won't be released until next week but will show how many people might lose coverage.

However, Standard & Poor's estimated that between two million and four million people could be impacted if the GOP implements this plan.

The more left-leaning Brookings Institution expects the number to be higher.

Those dropping out of the individual insurance market would likely be in their 50s and early 60s, when they're the most expensive to cover, and before they're eligible for Medicare.

'If I didn't have insurance,' Brawley told the Times. 'These doctors wouldn't see me.'

'I'm scared, I'll tell you that right now, to think about not having insurance at my age,' she said.

Again addressing Brawley's fears, Price added, 'This is a complicated issue there's no doubt about it.'

'But for that individual that you identified, we want to make certain that she is able to select the physician and the treatment she wants,' he said.

'That's the goal.'
President Donald Trump is putting his weight behind a House leadership health care plan, warning lawmakers they will face an electoral 'bloodbath' if they don't carry through on their promises.

In a demonstration of his intention to be hands-on, the president met with members of the House Republican whip operation Tuesday  those lawmakers charged with keeping score and twisting arms to get a bill through the House.

Republicans took power in the Tea-Party backed revolution sparked by Obamacare in 2010.

The president told Republicans at the White House that they could face their own 'bloodbath' in the 2018 off-year elections if they fail to act, CNN reported.

"He said he hopes members understand that,' the network reported.

'BLOODBATH': President Donald Trump warned members of the House Republican whip team they would pay a price if they failed to pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway delivered a softer version of the message Wednesday, saying lawmakers will have to choose between being for or against a repeal bill.

'At some level, there is going to be a binary choice. You are either making good on the promise to repeal and replace Obamacare or youre not,' she told Fox News.

'We appreciate the fact that others are offering their ideas, but this have been worked on over the series of weeks, if not months. The president and vice president have really taken leadership here,' she said.

She said the bill, developed by the House leadership and the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees, had 'presidential leadership.'

'He is really husbanding this through. Some people suggested that he be the closer, some people suggested he be the leadoff batter  the president and vice president are all-in here. This is the American Healthcare Act and it has their imprint on it and they are working on this more than anything day by day.'

TRUMPCARE: White House official Kellyanne Conway is telling lawmakers they face a 'binary choice' at some point on health care

JOB INSECURITY: President Trump is warning Republican lawmakers that their own jobs could be on the line in 2018

After dismissing 'branding' efforts, Conway said she would accept the 'Trumpcare' label.

'Its the American Healthcare Act and I think it is aptly named for this reason  it wants everybody to have access to coverage,' she said, asked about the label by Fox host Bill Hemmer.

'Ill call it Trumpcare if you want to, but I didnt hear President Trump say to any of us hey I want my name on that. Were happy it is the American Healthcare Act. This is serious stuff. This isnt about branding according to someones name. This is serious business,' she said.

House GOP leaders are facing blowback from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, some of whom are calling it 'Obamacare-light' because of subsidies.

'This is what good, conservative, health care reform looks like,' said House Speaker Paul Ryan at a press conference Wednesday, defending the plan.

The GOP's health bill gets marked up in two House committees Wednesday

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) (C) speaks about Obamacare repeal and replacement while flanked by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) (R), and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) (L) during a news conference on Capitol Hill, on March 7. The bill is getting blowback from conservative lawmakers as well as centrists

'We know if we do nothing, the system collapses,' he said. 'We know that if we just repealed it, the system collapses. This is why we have to pass it with something better,' Ryan said. The GOP pushed through dozens of efforts to repeal Obamacare while President Obama was still in office.

'This is a conservative wish list. Look at what this bill does,' Ryan said.

Conservative GOP Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) raised concerns about the bill in an appearance on Fox News' Hannity Tuesday night.

This doesnt even go as far as we went in 2015 to repeal all the Medicaid expansion, it still keeps that,' Meadows said. 'And so, as were looking at that, weve got to find that sweet spot. One of the concerns I have, the biggest concern I have ... will it actually lower healthcare costs? And until we get that answer, weve got to hold out judgment,' he said.
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This is the moment two British military icons came together as a Chinook helicopter gave a winch - to a Harrier Jump Jet.

The chopper was drafted in to lift the Sea Harrier - which weighs just over 8,820lbs - to a new location after it was found to be too wide to travel by road.

It was part of an unusual task to move several large objects to a new museum in Bristol - including this historical jet, built in 1985 which served in Bosnia.

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Do you want a lift? The Chinook helicopter was drafted in to help move the Royal Navy jet to Bristol's new 19 million aerospace museum which is due to open this summer

Ready for take off! Last minute touches were prepared to hoist the Sea Harrier into the sky as it is was hauled up and transported to a new location

Up, up, up and away: The military were called in after it was found the jet was too wide to travel down a bridges to the museum

Staff called on the RAF to ask if they could help move a Sea Harrier across Filton airfield.

It had to be carried a short distance by air, over a bridge, after it was found to be too wide to carry on land.

The Sea Harrier was taken to a hangar to take its place in the Aerospace Bristol exhibition.

The historical aircraft will be displayed in the new 19 million museum which is due to open in summer 2017.

It was winched across a railway line and over Filton airfield where there is no road bridge wide enough for it to cross.

Sky high: The helicopter navigated the jet, which was too wide to travel by land, with ease across a railway line and over Filton airfield

What a sight: Wing Commander Steve Bell, Chief of Staff at RAF Odiham, said it was an 'honour' to help move the fighter jet

The lift was carried out by a Chinook from No 27 Sqn RAF Odiham and the RAF Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit.

The aircrafts have been in active service with the RAF since 1980.

They provide heavy-lift support across the British armed forces and are easily recognisable for their tandem rotors which are often very noisy.

They have played vital roles in conflicts in recent years including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Instantly recognisable for their tandem rotors  they provide heavy-lift support across all branches of the British armed forces and have played important roles in conflicts including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Wing Commander Steve Bell, Chief of Staff at RAF Odiham, said, 'Getting the opportunity to assist with a complex operation of this nature is a challenge, but one for which the unique qualities of the Chinook helicopter, and its highly trained Royal Air Force crews, are ideally suited.

The Sea Harrier's new home is a 100-year-old Grade II listed hangar which started life as part of an Aircraft Acceptance Park in WW1

He said: 'Working with our colleagues from JADTEU in support of Aerospace Bristol, in the knowledge that they will be exhibiting this distinctive example of British Air Power to the public, has been an honour.'

The Sea Harrier's new home is a 100-year-old Grade II listed hangar which started life as part of an Aircraft Acceptance Park in WW1.

Airframes and engines were assembled and tested by Royal Flying Corps engineers, then handed directly

Taking off this summer, Aerospace Bristol will bring together a varied collection of nationally-significant exhibits and hidden archive records to tell over one hundred years of aviation history for the very first time.

The museum's iconic centrepiece will be Concorde 216; designed, tested and constructed in Bristol, she was the last Concorde to be built and the last to fly.

KEEPING THE PEACE: BRITAIN'S SEA HARRIER JET This Jump Jet played a unique role in the Yugoslavian wars - helping Nato keeping the peace in Bosnia back in 1990s. It was built in 1985 and had its first flight on November 5 that year. It is known for its ability to take off and land vertically. This jet has been based on three different aircraft carriers - HMS Ark Royal, HMS Invincible and HMS Illustrious. It was involved in the Yugoslavian wars in 1990 and Nato peace keeping in Bosnia. This make of jet has a long history of serving in the British military, entering the Royal Navy in April 1980. The aircrafts played a huge part in winning the Falklands War under Margaret Thatcher in 1982. In total, 28 of the 35million planes saw action in the conflict and they shot down 20 enemy planes. None of them were lost in action on the frontline, although six were destroyed in accidents and ground fires. The planes are pictured above on board HMS Hermes during the Falklands War. A second upgraded Sea Harrier plane - the FA2 - was manufactured from 1993. The planes, which were introduced in 1978, subsequently saw action in the Bosnia War between 1992 and 1995. They were deployed again in 1999 in Yugoslavia and in Sierra Leone in 2000. However, the Labour government announced the planes would be phased out in 2002 - and the last one was decommissioned in 2006. Advertisement




An elderly grandmother in a wheelchair has been left with horrific bruises after a shopper beat her in the bread aisle of a Walmart store.

Sandra McClung, 75, was doing her grocery shopping in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday in a motorized cart when another woman almost collided with her in the aisle.

McClung told police the woman yelled an expletive at her as she told her to move her motorized shopping cart.

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Sandra McClung, 75, was left with horrific bruises when a woman repeatedly punched her while doing her grocery shopping in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday

'I thought she was going to go around,' McClung told Alive11. 'She looked at me and she said: 'I want to get some bread, white b****.'

The grandmother admitted that as she wheeled away she muttered 'you're the b****'.

McClung said Venderburg must have heard because she followed her down the aisle and started punching her in the face.

'There wasn't anybody in the aisle, and the next thing you know she was jumping on me,' she said.

The police report alleges Venderburg punched the woman so hard she was left with facial bruising and a bloody nose.

McClung's arms were also severely bruised as she tried to shield the incoming punches

McClung told police the woman, yelled an expletive at her as she told her to move her motorized shopping cart

Her arms were also severely bruised as she tried to shield the incoming punches.

'She kept socking me in my glasses, and then hitting me in my mouth,' McClung said.

McClung told police her attacker fled the store after the attack but accidentally dropped her cell phone in the elderly woman's shopping cart.

Police were able to uncover Venderburg's identity by unlocking the phone and retrieving her contact information.

Venderburg could face simple assault and battery charges once police track her down.
Germany has demanded answers from the US over claims by WikiLeaks that there is a CIA listening post in Frankfurt.

Berlin's top prosecutor will examine documents released by the anti-secrecy group and launch an investigation if it sees concrete indications of wrongdoing, a spokesman said.

WikiLeaks claim the files show that the CIA used the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt as a major remote hacking base.

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry said today that Berlin was in close touch with Washington about the documents, which Wikileaks said showed that the CIA used the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt as a major remote hacking base.

He said Germany needed to verify the authenticity of the documents.

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Germany has demanded answers from the US over claims by WikiLeaks that there is a CIA listening post in Frankfurt

Yesterday a cache of documents purportedly from the CIA and released by Wikileaks suggested the US spy agency can turn your TV into a listening device, bypass popular encryption apps, and possibly control your car.

The group posted nearly 9,000 documents it said were leaked from the Central Intelligence Agency, in what it described as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence materials.

The documents allegedly come from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, which operates both from its Langley, Virginia, headquarters near Washington, and from an office in the US consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, according to WikiLeaks.

'The archive appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive,' the group said.

WikiLeaks claimed that a vast trove of CIA documents, hacking tools and code representing 'the majority of its hacking arsenal' were leaked within the cyber security community - and that it had received, and released, a part of them.

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry on Wednesday said Berlin was in close touch with Washington about the documents, which Wikileaks said showed that the CIA used the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt (file picture) as a major remote hacking base

If corroborated, the leak could represent a huge new embarrassment to US intelligence, adding to Edward Snowden's 2013 expose of National Security Agency spying on Americans' communications, and the arrest last year of an NSA official for removing massive amounts of top-secret material to his home over 20 years.

WikiLeaks said the data shows that the CIA is now rivalling the NSA, the US government's main electronic spying body, in cyber warfare, but with less oversight.

The archive shows the CIA exploiting weaknesses it discovers in hardware and software systems, including those made by US companies - without letting anyone know about the flaws in question.

Documents show the CIA has produced more than 1,000 malware systems - viruses, trojans and other software that can infiltrate and take control of personal electronics, WikiLeaks noted.

These hacking tools have targeted iPhones, Android systems such as the personal phone reportedly still used by President Donald Trump, popular Microsoft software, and Samsung smart TVs, which can be transformed into covert microphones, according to WikiLeaks.

If corroborated, the leak could represent a huge new embarrassment to US intelligence, adding to Edward Snowden's (pictured) 2013 expose of National Security Agency spying on Americans' communications, and the arrest last year of an NSA official for removing massive amounts of top-secret material to his home over 20 years

The agency has also examined hacking into the electronic control systems on cars and trucks, potentially enabling it to control them remotely.

By infecting and effectively taking over the software of smartphones, WikiLeaks said, the CIA can get around the encryption technologies of popular apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, and Confide by collecting communications before they are encrypted.

The CIA would neither confirm nor deny the documents were genuine.

'We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents,' said spokesman Jonathan Liu in an email.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined to comment, saying 'That's something that has not been fully evaluated.'

But Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives's Intelligence Committee, said the disclosures 'appear to be very, very serious.'

'We are very concerned,' he said.

Snowden, who was a contract employee for the NSA before he stole and leaked secret materials, said via Twitter that the document trove 'looks authentic.'

White House spokesman Sean Spicer yesterday declined to comment on the release of thousands of documents by WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks said the documents' leak suggests that the CIA has not sufficiently controlled its own cyber weapons, potentially permitting them to fall into the hands of other hackers.

Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, blasted the CIA for not helping companies plug the security gaps in their devices.

'The dark side of this story is that the documents confirm that the CIA holds on to security vulnerabilities in software and devices - including Android phones, iPhones, and Samsung televisions - that millions of people around the world rely on,' she said in a statement.

'As these leaks show, we're all made less safe by the CIA's decision to keep - rather than ensure the patching of - vulnerabilities.'

The release showed WikiLeaks's readiness to continue publishing secret material on the United States despite having been severely criticized in Washington for last year's leaks of materials that damaged Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.

US intelligence officials said in January that WikiLeaks had knowingly or unknowingly become a tool of a high-level Russian operation to interfere in the US election with those disclosures.
A couple's wedding mementos were carried 50 miles in a plastic baggy by a tornado and were found intact in a farmer's field.

Charlie and Kim Jacobs from Crossville, Illinois, lost their house and all of their belongings to the destructive tornado last week.

The only thing which appears to have survived it was a zip lock plastic bag containing a newspaper announcement of their engagement, wedding invitations and Mrs Jacobs' lace garter.

They were found intact in by Tracy Vinson's neighbor who came across them in a field on her farm in Hazelton, Indiana.

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Charlie and Kim Jacobs' wedding mementos were carried 50 miles in a plastic bag by a tornado last week from their home in Crossville, Illinois,

They included the lace garter Mrs Jacobs wore on her wedding day on August 16, 1986

Video courtesy of 14 News:

Ms Vinson shared photographs of the precious items on Facebook and was put in touch with the couple less than two hours later.

The Jacobs, who have been married for 30 years, have since been reunited with the mementos.

Vinson told DailyMail.com how she felt compelled to find the couple whose lives were ravaged by the tornado.

'That's something that you'll never get back so I was like, "I've got to find these people."'

She said it only took 90 minutes for friends on Facebook to identify the Jacobs.

'It was super fast. I think it was family of theirs that I happened to be friends with. Some super distant relation to them, that's how it all got started.'

Mrs Vinson said she hopes to return the mementos to them soon after they get settled.

'We've not gotten to meet up yet. I'm sure they're bombarded trying to find a place. But it'll be hand delivered so I can make sure that they get it.'

The mementos were sealed in a plastic bag which was found in a field in Hazelton, Indiana

Tracy Vinson, who owns the farm where they were found, took to Facebook to try to track down the couple

The items belong to Charlie and Kim Jacobs (left on their wedding day in 1986 and right, recently) who lost their home to the tornado

The couple's house was ripped off its foundations and its entire contents were destroyed by the EF2 tornado.

Many of their torn belongings landed in the pond beside the house. Even the couple's cars were ruined.

After telling friends he and his wife were safe, Mr Jacobs shared photographs of the damage.

The tornado had winds of up to 135mph. It killed a 71-year-old man who was swept up in the winds as he tried to get inside his house.

The couple's home was entirely destroyed by the EF2 tornado which ripped through Crossville, Illinois, on Tuesday night
A man has been charged with murdering his sister's boyfriend while the pair changed the wheel on their car after it suffered a flat tire.

Marcus Hallmark from Minnesota is accused of shooting Thomas Russ in the head on Friday night.

Hallmark, 25, was arrested by Minnetonka Police Department and charged with second degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years.

Marcus Hallmark of Minnesota, left, is accused of shooting Thomas Russ, right, in the head twice as his victim tried to assist him changing the wheel on his car on Friday night

According to court documents, Marcus Allen Wayne Hallmark caused Russ's death while using a firearm but without premeditation.

Court documents said when they arrived at the scene of the Metro Transit Park and Ride in Minnetonka, Minnesota, they found the victim lying dead with an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

'Officers immediately started a search for the defendant. Officers learned that the defendant was tracked to a nearby marsh area where the defendant was eventually located following a lengthy search and standoff,' the documents added.

'Officers also located a black handgun in the marsh area.'

According to Minnetonka police, one witness said the victim was in a relationship with Hallmark's sister.

Hallmark was taken into custody on Friday and charged with second degree murder

The witness said they were all in a house in Columbia Heights earlier in the day when Hallmark borrowed a car and returned complaining it had a flat tire.

Hallmark, Russ and two witnesses drove to the car to change the wheel. Hallmark and Russ began changing the wheel according to two witnesses.

According to court documents: 'Witness A stated that she heard a loud bang and when she looked over, Russ was on the ground with his hands in the air.

'Witness A reported that the defendant pulled out a black handgun, put it to Russ's head and pulled the trigger.'

She told police Hallmark then fled on foot.

An autopsy found Russ suffered two gunshot wounds to the head.

According to police: 'The gun recovered in the swamp was determined to have been stolen from a burglarized home in Farmington. Some items taken in the burglary were recovered by law enforcement. Within the bag containing the stolen items, officers also found the defendant's driving license.'

Hallmark is being held on bail of $400,000, according to court documents.
People-smugglers have been blamed for the death of 22 African migrants whose bodies were found buried on a beach in Libya.

The migrants had apparently refused to board the traffickers' boat, which was attempting to sail from the beach at Sabratah, 45 miles west of Tripoli, to Italy or Malta.

They were killed by the traffickers when they complained about the bad weather and the risks of making the hazardous journey across the Mediterranean.

The migrants (pictured) were buried by local people on the beach. They were later exhumed by the Libyan Red Cross and will get a proper burial at a cemetery in the town of Sabratah

The Libyan Red Crescent said the killings took place over the weekend.

The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirmed the deaths and said: 'There seems to have been an exchange of fire between the smugglers, which resulted in the death of 22 migrants.'

Many migrants in Libya realise how hazardous the crossing to Europe is but the traffickers will not refund the fees they pay for the journey

Six years since a revolution and NATO intervention that toppled the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has become a key departure point for clandestine migration to Europe.

Smugglers organise frequent crossings from western Libya to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a 190-mile trip.

The IOM said 521 immigrants died in the Mediterranean between January 1 and March 5 this year.

European Union leaders will tomorrow discuss their plan to cut the tide of migrants from Libya to Italy but there are fears the calmer spring weather will bring a new surge of arrivals from Africa.

Arrival numbers from lawless Libya are already higher than last year - 13,500 people made the perilous voyage in January and February, compared with 9,000 in 2016.

One diplomat said: 'The numbers are already significantly higher than last year. There is growing concern. It just looks like it'll happen all over again.'

The Libya plan includes training the coastguard of the internationally recognised government in Tripoli to have it intercept people and put them back on Libyan shores, as well as funding the UN refugee and migrants agencies to improve conditions in migrant camps in Libya.

There will also be more help to send migrants back to their home countries in Africa.

Many, like perhaps those who died on the beach at Sabratah, decide the crossing is too dangerous and want to return home. But at present it is too difficult to repatriate them.
A mother in New Hampshire allegedly ordered her friend to inject her with heroin and methamphetamine just before she gave birth to her baby boy.

Police said Felicia Farruggia, 29, went into labor at her home in Concord in September but refused to let anyone call 911 until her friend Rhianna Frenette gave her the drugs.

Frenette eventually gave in and allegedly used an unsanitary syringe to inject the illegal drugs.

Felicia Farruggia, above, was arrested this week in New Hampshire after allegedly forcing a friend to give her meth and heroin while in labor. Her now six-month-old baby is in state care

Firefighters arrived shortly after and carried Farruggia to an ambulance. She gave birth to the baby boy while in the ambulance.

Farruggia and the baby were taken to Concord Hospital where they were admitted for several days.

She was arrested by police this week - about six months after her baby was born.

The state has taken custody of her son.

Felicia Farruggia (left) is accused of forcing her friend Rhianna Frenette (right) to administer her illegal drugs while she was in labor in September

Police also arrested her 37-year-old friend Frenette who is accused of administering Farruggia the drugs.

They have both been charged with felony reckless conduct, while Frenette also faces a misdemeanor count on the same offense.

Both were held on bail on Wednesday.

It wasn't immediately known if they had lawyers.
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A remarkable collection of images of high-ranking Nazi officers at a British prisoner of war camp in the aftermath of the Second World War have been unearthed after 70 years.

Senior figures including Gerd von Rundstedt, who was commander in chief of the German army in Western Europe, were held at Island Farm POW camp near Bridgend, south Wales, while awaiting the Nuremburg Trials.

The authorities had to find suitable accommodation for a large number of POWs captured in Europe and Island Farm, with its concrete huts surrounded by open fields, fitted the bill.

The fascinating collection of photographs, documents and letters were compiled by the camp's intelligence officer, Captain Ted Lees.

Among them are notes from Captain Lees who recalls a conversation with Rundstedt, to whom he became a confidante despite being Jewish, where he criticises Hitler for his infamous 'halt order' which allowed the Allies to escape from Dunkirk.

In one image, Rundstedt is seen being greeted like a VIP at Bridgend train station by a British officer due to his rank and status as former commander of the German Army.

Island Farm was also the scene of the 'Forgotten Great Escape' on March 10, 1945, when 86 prisoners got out through a 70ft tunnel dug under Hut 9, the only surviving building at the site today.

Some of the escapees made it as far as Southampton and Birmingham after stealing cars, but they were all eventually recaptured.

Images of high-ranking Nazi officers being kept in a prisoner of war camp, pictured, in Bridgend, Wales have been unearthed after 70 years and will go up for auction and could fetch around 5,000, experts believe

Among the prisoners being kept at Island Farm Camp was Gerd von Rundstedt, left, former commander-in-chief of the German Army in western Europe, who is pictured here being given a 'VIP'-style greeting at Bridgend Station due to his rank and status. Rundstedt had returned to Bridgend after appearing at Nuremberg as a defence witness. The elderly army veteran was deemed unfit for prosecution due to problems with his health. He was released in 1948 and died in 1953 in Hannover.

Field Marshal von Rundstedt was one of the most high-profile prisoners at the camp and was treated with respect by both the British and his fellow German inmates, pictured here giving him a salute. But the commander admitted during his time at the camp that he 'wanted to annihilate the 400,000 Allied soldiers at Dunkirk' but had been ordered to halt by Hitler, whom he derogatorily referred to as 'the little corporal'

Another high-profile inmate was Heinrich Eberbach, pictured here helping an older prisoner of war onto a transport vehicle at Bridgend station. He was captured in August 1944 after a battle with British forces near Amiens in northern France

Another image shows the field marshal being saluted by the other prisoners upon his return from Nuremburg.

Capt Lees documented one conversation he had with von Rundstedt who said he had wanted to annihilate the 400,000 Allied soldiers at Dunkirk but Hitler had spared them by ordering a halt to the Panzer tanks.

The German field marshal then derogatorily referred to Hitler as the 'little corporal' and slammed him for the 'incredible blunder', claiming if he had his way he would 'never have allowed a single man back from Dunkirk'.

However, this claim was later discounted by a number of historians and even his own biographer who claimed he had advised Hitler to tell the 1st Panzer Group to wait for the infantry before attacking the stranded British Expeditionary Force. Allowing the Allies a 48 hour window to fortify their position and evacuate thousands of troops.

Pictured: A panoramic view of the camp taken from a watchtower in the 1940s. It is one of several photographs saved in a collection made by chief interpreter Captain Ted Lees, who was actually a German Jew who fled his homeland with his family in 1934 to escape persecution by the Nazi regime. Island Farm was deemed a suitable site to incarcerate the POWs as it was surrounded by open farmland and had empty concrete huts discarded by munitions factory workers earlier in the war

Hut 9, pictured today, is the only remaining building still standing at the site, which was decommissioned in 1948. The building has been preserved by a local historical society and is now a tourist attraction. It is also the site of the 'Forgotten Great Escape' in March 1945 when 86 German prisoners fled through a 70ft tunnel beneath the building. They were all subsequently recaptured

WHO WAS GENERAL GERD VON RUNDSTEDT? Gerd von Rundstedt served in the First World War before leading the German Army into Poland, France and the Soviet Union during the Second World War Born in Aschersleben in 1875 to a noble family, Gerd von Rundstedt grew up to follow his father's footsteps and entered the Prussian Army. He served in the First World War, rising to the rank of major by its end in 1918. He stayed in the army after the war and became commander of the 3rd Infantry Division. However, by the late 1930s, Rundstedt had become unhappy with the growing power of Adolf Hitler's Nazi party and resigned from the army in 1938. In 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War, Rundstedt, aged 64, was recalled to the army. He led forces into Poland, France and the Soviet Union. It was on his advice that Hitler issued the order not to annihilate stranded British troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. Despite his blunder at Dunkirk, Rundstedt was promoted to field marshal and helped plan Operation Sealion, the invasion of Great Britain. An attack that would never take place due to the RAF's historic victory at the Battle of Britain. After France he led 52 infantry divisions and five Panzer divisions into the Soviet Union and in 1941 fought in the capture of Kiev, taking 665,000 Russian prisoners. Later that year Rundstedt suffered a heart attack but refused to leave the field of battle. A Red Army victory at Rostov in Russia infuriated Hitler and later saw him sacked by the Fuehrer. However, Hitler recalled Rundstedt in 1942 and he was sent to France to defend the Atlantic coast. Here he organised the building of fortifications and the placement of naval guns to protect 1,700 miles of coastline. Rundstedt was captured by the U.S. 36th Infantry Division on May 1, 1945. He suffered another heart attack and was later taken to Bridgend in Wales, where he was kept at Island Farm prisoner of war camp. The US wanted Rundstedt to stand trial for war crimes but the army veteran was deemed not fit to be prosecuted on the grounds of his health. However, he was called to the Nuremberg trials as a defence witness. Gerd von Rundstedt was released in July 1948. He lived in Hanover until his death on February 24, 1953. Advertisement

Life appears to be a far cry from the brutal conditions of German prisoner of war camps, for the prisoners in Bridgend.

Despite being responsible for the mass killing of 33,000 Jews at Babi Yar near Kiev in September 1941 and various other atrocities, Rundstedt escaped execution because he was deemed too old and frail to stand trial.

However, he was summoned to Nuremburg to give evidence as a witness where he claimed as a soldier it was his duty to obey orders.

The camp housed 160 officers holding the rank of general, admiral or field marshal, including a number of Hitler's closest advisers, and many of them can be seen smiling and posing for group photos.

Other notorious prisoners included Field Marshal Erich von Manstein who established the operation plans for Hitler's successful campaign in the west and the former commander in chief of the German army Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch.

Capt Lees was in fact a German Jew who was born Erhard Wilhem Wolf and fled Germany in 1934 with his family to escape persecution.

The camp housed 160 officers holding the rank of general, admiral or field marshal, including a number of Hitler's closest advisers, and many of them can be seen smiling and posing for group photos, pictured

Island Farm was initially designed as a general POW camp but the War Office eventually decided it was 'too comfortable' for enlisted men and ruled that only officers, pictured, should stay there as it befit their status

The first officers kept at the camp arrived in November 1944 and many were kept at the site until it was closed in 1948. Pictured are a group of high-ranking Nazi officials

He was initially held as an 'alien' before joining the Special Operations Executive where he undertook missions in Italy. He was redeployed to Island Farm in 1945.

Lees' notebook lists all the German 'General' prisoners of war between January 1946 and December 1948, with their date and place of capture.

There is also a five page handwritten account by Lees of recollections of statements by Rundstedt through his dealings with him as camp interpreter.

In the statements Rundstedt refers to Hitler as 'little corporal' - an insulting nickname he was given by some generals due to his limited military acumen - for issuing the Halt Order which forbade him from spending any troops within six miles (10km) of Dunkirk.

He writes: 'On one occasion the FM (field marshal) mentioned that if he had been allowed his own way, he would never have allowed a single man back from Dunkirk.

Some of the officers managed to escape on March 10, 1945, through a tunnel beneath Hut 9 and were able to make it as far as Birmingham and Southampton after stealing cars. They were eventually all recaptured and never officially punished. Pictured is a group of officers, some with walking sticks due to age and injury

Island Farm Camp was originally built as a hostel for workers employed at the munitions factory in Bridgend and was designed for women, whom managers felt would 'not want to travel 30 miles home each day'. However, most of the women rejected the camp and so the barracks were converted for German officers, pictured

More than 1,600 German officers were taken out of the camp in late March 1945 after it was designated a 'special' camp and welcomed the 160 generals, admirals and field marshals, pictured, awaiting their trials at Nuremberg

The collection of photographs, pictured, stayed in Capt Lees' family for generations but eventually passed on to a private collector, who has now decided to sell it on at auction

'He wanted to bring his Panzer forces right down on us, but the 'little corporal' ordered that the tanks be held back.'

The collection stayed in Capt Lees' family for several generations but has more recently belonged to a private collector who has decided now is the right time to pass it on.

Tim Harper, specialist at C&T Auctioneers of Ashford, Kent, which is auctioning off the collection of photos, letters and documents for an estimated 5,000, said: 'The camp certainly was very civilised and it does look very comfortable - I don't think British prisoners of war would have got the same treatment at a German camp.

'At the Nuremburg Trials, Rundstedt tried to paint a particular picture of himself as an honourable Prussian soldier who was led astray by Hitler but one suspects the reality was different.

'The relationship between Rundstedt and Lees is interesting because Rundstedt seems to see him as a friend and confidant even though he had to flee Germany because he was a Jew.'

Capt Lees, pictured front right with other British officers, served as chief interpreter at the camp and so had in-depth conversations with many of the prisoners, learning many secrets such as Field Marshal von Rundstedt's dislike of Hitler

The camp, pictured here in the 1980s years after it had been closed, was described as 'very civilised' with experts doubting British officers would have received 'similar treatment' in German POW camps

Capt Lees' collection of photographs includes pictures of gardens made by prisoners, and pictures of the camp taken in later years by his children

As a German and chief interpreter, Capt Lees, right, could speak freely with the prisoners and even kept in touch with them in later years via letters, left

He also kept detailed logs on the prisoners, pictured, including their ranks, where they commanded, when they were brought in and what eventually became of them

The overall collection includes a range of photos and official documents, pictured, amassed by Capt Lees during his time at the camp

Island Farm, on the outskirts of Bridgend, was originally built as a hostel for workers employed at a local munitions factory.

However, the women preferred to travel than stay there, so the camp remained empty until 1943, when it was used to accommodate American troops for the invasion of France.

The authorities had to find suitable accommodation for a large number of POWs captured in Europe and Island Farm, with its concrete huts surrounded by open fields, fit the bill.

The first officer prisoners arrived in November 1944 but POWs soon turned their efforts to escape.

They dug a 70ft long tunnel which breached the perimeter fence and on the night of March 11, 1945, 70 prisoners escaped, although all were eventually recaptured.

Only three weeks after the escape, the authorities transferred all 1,600 officers out of Island Farm so senior German officers, many who were captured in France, could be kept there ahead of the Nuremburg Trials.

Island Farm was closed in 1948 with the last prisoners returning to Germany.

The auction takes place on March 15.
A schizophrenic who stabbed his philanthropist mother to death with a kitchen knife in her New York apartment is set to inherit $3.2million from her will.

Jonathan Schwartz, 46, was committed to a psychiatric facility in 2015 after a jury found him not guilty of his mother's death by reason of insanity.

His wealthy mother, Barbara Weiden Schwartz Fischler, 67, was fatally stabbed in her Upper East Side luxury apartment in 2011 while she was sleeping.

The deranged man's father Steven Schwartz, who was divorced from Fischler when she was killed, sued Jonathan in 2015 in a bid to stop him claiming his share in his mother's $6.4million estate.

Jonathan Schwartz, 46, was committed to a psychiatric facility in 2015 after a jury found him not guilty of his mother Barbara Fischler's death by reason of insanity

But a Manhattan judge reviewing the lawsuit has now ruled that Jonathan should still be able to collect his inheritance because he didn't understand the 'nature or consequences of his conduct', the New York Post reports.

Supreme Court Judge Geoffrey Wright said the suit 'was commenced to declare Jonathan Schwartz ineligible to inherit from his mother by virtue of her murder at his hands.'

He also awarded Jonathan's court-appointed lawyer $14,000 in fees.

Steven's attorney has appealed the ruling, saying the 46-year-old must pay for killing his mother.

He launched the lawsuit in 2015 on behalf of himself and the divorced couple's only other son Kenneth.

Jonathan Schwartz stabbed his mother Barbara Weiden Schwartz Fischler in her New York Upper East Side luxury apartment (above) in 2011 while she was sleeping

Kenneth committed suicide in 2013 after learning his mother's second husband Burton Fischler had mismanaged her estate by swindling away millions on risky short-sales.

The handling of Barbara's estate was handed to her first husband Steven by a Surrogates Court judge in 2013. He then launched legal action to reverse the financial havoc Fischler had caused on Barbara's estate.

He then later launched legal action against his son Jonathan to stop him claiming his inheritance. Steven was set to get Kenneth's share of whatever money he might have won in the civil case against Jonathan.
A charter school in rural Idaho has found itself in hot water after giving students as young as nine an explicit sexual abuse survey intended for adults.

Several outraged parents at Heritage Academy in Jerome have since pulled their children from the school over the graphic questionnaire mentioning anal and oral sex.

Some are even considering pursuing legal action in order to bring school officials to account.

On February 8, children enrolled in grades one through four at the charter school were asked to fill out a 10-question survey called the Adverse Childhood Experience.

Deeply personal: Children in grades one through four at Heritage Academy were asked last month to fill out this 10-question survey called Adverse Childhood Experience, which is intended for adults

The charter school in Jerome, Idaho, has about 175 students, many of them living in poverty

The survey was first introduced in 1985 to help determine childhood trauma in adults, and it features such questions as, 'Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way or try to have oral, anal or vaginal sex with you?'

Another question inquires: 'Did you often feel that your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?

Children had to respond 'yes' or 'no' to personal questions about their home life, including whether they did not have enough food to eat or had to wear dirty clothes; whether they were physically or verbally abused by adults in their household, and whether their mother or stepmother was 'often pushed, grabbed, slapped or had something thrown at her... kicked, bitten, hit with a fist... repeatedly hit at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife?'

The ACE survey also asked responders to indicate whether they lived with anyone who went to prison, suffered from substance abuse, was depressed, mentally ill or suicidal.

School officials did not ask for parents consent before distributing the survey, which was anonymous and optional, according to Heritage Academy superintendent Christine Ivie.

However, Brandy Sobotka-Ramos told Fox News that both her 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son were required to complete the questionnaire in class and were allegedly told it was not optional.

The mother-of-two went on to say that she first learned of the survey when she went to pick up her daughter at the end of the school day on February 8 and the third-grader shocked her by asking to explain a sex act.

Her son, who had attended sixth grade at Heritage Academy, later inquired about another sex act,

I never dreamed I would be explaining anal and oral to my babies, she told the news network.

Sobotka-Ramos has since withdrawn both of her children from the Academy and has been homeschooling them, reported Magicvalley.com.

Sara Bateman also has pulled her 11-year-old son from the school over the survey, saying that she and other parents felt betrayed and hurt.

She shared a photo of the survey on her Facebook page and issued a call to action to other parents: 'stand up for your children. Don't let them be guinea pigs to these experiments. Be involved and be an advocate.'

In an interview with KMVT last month, Bateman said Dr Ivie should step down.

More than 100 members of the local community have formed a Facebook group, dubbed Call to Action: Heritage Academy, to discuss the fallout from the survey and 'seek justice.'

Some members of the group have accused the school of robbing their children of their innocence and causing them distress, but Dr Ivie pointed out that some of the questions were modified for younger students to be 'age appropriate.'

For example, children in lower grades were asked, 'Has an adult or teacher touched where your swimming suit covers and made you uncomfortable?'

Middle school-aged students, however, were given the original version of the survey because, according to the superintendent, many of them are dealing with situations outlined in the questionnaire.

Mothers' rage: Brandy Sobotka-Ramos (left) and Sara Bateman (right) have openly criticized school administrators over the survery and have both pulled their children from the Academy

It is used to identify stress factors in a school or community. It is designed to help us understand the challenges the children are dealing with and find resources that will empower the parents and children to be successful, she said

Ivie said the survey, which is often used by pediatricians, social workers and prosecutors, found that about 70 per cent of Heritage Academy's students scored 3 or higher, meaning that they have experienced at least three traumatic situations.

A day after the students were asked to fill out the controversial form, Ivie sent an email to parents promising that the school will not use the ACE survey again.

Three days later, parents received another email, this time from acting school administrator Robert Hunter, who wrote that the school board was investigating the matter.

Not everyone, however, has been critical of the ACE questionnaire.

A local mother of three children at Heritage has penned an open letter to Magicvalley.com praising Dr Ivie and school staff, saying they are 'warm and loving and care about the welfare of each and every child that attends the school.

'It is my opinion that, should Dr. Ivie leave Heritage Academy, it would be a great loss to the children and their quality of education at that school,' the letter concluded.
Rep. Moira Walsh told a radio station that lawmakers have 'file cabinets full of booze' and later claimed it was a 'sarcastic joke'

A new Rhode Island lawmaker who says there's an 'insane amount of drinking' at the State House has backtracked on one of her comments but still insists legislators drink too much.

Providence Democratic Rep. Moira Walsh told WPRO-AM on Tuesday that lawmakers have 'file cabinets full of booze'.

But she said Wednesday that was a 'sarcastic joke' and she hasn't seen anyone's liquor cabinet.

Walsh is standing by other comments she made to talk show host Matt Allen about legislators' heavy drinking. She says some of it happens during legislative sessions, such as during celebratory toasts.

She says alcohol is also a bigger problem at after-hours fundraisers and other events that successful lawmakers are expected to attend.

Talk show host Matt Allen had asked Walsh: 'Three months in, what is the most, either impressive and appalling thing about the way Rhode Island government works?'

Walsh answered: 'I am probably going to get in a lot of trouble for saying this, but the drinking.

'It is the drinking that blows my mind. You cannot operate a motor vehicle when you've had two beers, but you can make laws that affect people's lives forever when you're half in the bag? That's outrageous.'

'There's a lot of drinking that goes on at the State House,' she told the radio host. 'There's an insane amount of drinking.'

Allen asked her if drinking takes place during the session.

Walsh responded by saying: 'I plead the fifth. I don't know.'

Walsh (shown in January) says alcohol is also a bigger problem at after-hours fundraisers and other events that successful lawmakers are expected to attend

Democratic House Majority Leader Joseph Shekarchi says he's never seen anyone intoxicated on the floor or impaired while voting. Pictured: the Rhode Island State House

She told Allen that they recently took shots on the floor of the House of Representatives to celebrate Dominican Republic Independence Day.

She later clarified to the Providence Journal that she was mostly referring to the fundraising parties that happen 'four to five nights a week' and involve drinking.

Walsh told the newspaper: 'We have fundraisers every single night, and it is no wonder regular people don't run for office, because what family could sustain that lifestyle of being out for four to five nights a week drinking.

'I didn't graduate from college that long ago, but I don't know how anyone's liver can handle four nights a week of fundraisers. My liver just can't.'

Walsh later clarified to the Providence Journal that she was mostly referring to the fundraising parties that happen 'four to five nights a week' and involve drinking

Democratic House Majority Leader Joseph Shekarchi told the Providence Journal he's never seen anyone intoxicated on the floor or impaired while voting.

The newspaper says lawmakers getting small alcohol samples is a tradition for events honoring various cultures.

Walsh doesn't drink and says as a single mom she has to pay for baby-sitting whenever she goes out.

Joking about the possibility of a police checkpoint outside the legislators' parking lot, Walsh told Allen: 'I'm going to be the person who ruined drinking at the State House. They'll love me forever.'
Investigators have found body parts at the home belonging to the jealous brother-in-law who confessed to beating his four relatives to death with a crowbar and chopping up their bodies, the prosecutor in the murder case said.

Confessed killer Hubert Caouissin was let out of custody wearing a bullet-proof vest to accompany investigators to his farm in a remote part of Brittany, northwest France, on Wednesday, Nantes prosecutor Pierre Sennes said.

Caouissin, 46, had told investigators that he cut up the bodies of his brother-in-law and his family at his farm in the hamlet of Logonna-Quimerc'h.

He said he burned some of the body parts and buried others after killing Pascal Troadec and his wife Brigitte, both 49, and their two children, Charlotte, 18, and Sebastien, 21, in a rage over an inheritance dispute.

French police escort suspect Hubert Caouissin to the home of where he disposed of the body parts of the family he has confessed to killing

The Troadec family went missing on February 16, sparking a mystery that gripped France.

Caouissin's partner, 47-year-old Lydie Troadec - Brigitte's sister, who has been charged with helping dispose of the bodies - remained in custody and did not take part in the hunt, a source close to the probe said.

Both were charged Monday and remanded in custody in Nantes, some 300 kilometres (180 miles) to the southeast of where the murder took place.

Wearing white forensic suits under a light drizzle, hundreds of police and investigators fanned out in the woods and fields around Caoussin's farm and on the muddy banks of the Auln river that forms one boundary of the property.

A police officer searches the area on March 8, 2017 in Pont-de-Buis, western France after the brother-in-law of a Frenchman who went missing with his wife and two children more than a fortnight ago has admitted killing all four family members

Police officers search the home of confessed killer Hubert Caouissin for body parts

Sebastien Troadec (left) and Charlotte Troadec (right), the son and daughter of the Troadec family. All four have been killed after going missing on February 16, 2017

Mother Brigitte Soliveres (left) and father Pascal Troadec (right) were killed along with their children

Caouissin, previously identified only as Hubert C, has admitted to killing the family of four, telling investigators he thought Pascal had kept the gold coins for himself.

He has been charged with murder, while his partner Lydie - Pascal's sister - faces charges of tampering with evidence and abetting the crime by helping him dispose of the bodies, Mr Sennes said.

Caouissin was employed at a shipyard in the port of Brest, but had been off work for the past three years suffering from depression.

He told investigators that he thought Pascal Troadec had kept gold coins for himself that were part of an inheritance that should have been shared with him.

The value of the coins - and even their existence - remained uncertain.

Policemen leave the house of the main suspect in the Troadec case, Hubert Caouissin, on March 8

French police escort suspect Hubert Caouissin to the home of Lydie Troadec

Sennes told a news conference Monday that Caouissin had harboured 'great rancour' over the nearly decade-old dispute.

The anger boiled over on the night of February 16, when he sneaked into the house in the Nantes suburb of Orvault where Pascal and Brigitte lived, murdering them and the children, both students who were visiting during school holidays.

Psychological units have been set up at their schools, which are planning memorial services for the two youths.

Pascal and Brigitte came downstairs upon hearing noise on the ground floor, with Pascal wielding a crowbar.

'A scene of great violence' ensued, with Caouissin wresting the crowbar from Pascal and using it to kill both him and Brigitte.

He then killed Sebastien and Charlotte, both students who were visiting during school holidays, Mr Sennes said.

Jealous brother-in-law Caouissin admitted to beating his family to death with a crowbar over the inheritance of gold coins has been named as 46-year-old Hubert Caouissin. Pictured: A police car parked outside the house belonging to the missing Troadec family in Orvault, near Nantes

The post box and front door of the family home where the family are said to have been murdered

A murder mystery probe has gripped France after a family of four including a 'psychologically disturbed' son vanished leaving behind a home 'frozen in time' (file picture)

Caouissin stayed until dawn before returning to his home in Brittany some 180 miles away, where he told Lydie that he had killed her brother and the other three Troadecs.

He returned on February 17 to clean up the house and remove the bodies, which he loaded into Sebastien's car the following day.

Caouissin and Lydie Troadec spent the next two or three days trying to dispose of the bodies.

'It appears the bodies were dismembered, some buried and others burned,' Mr Sennes said.

They cleaned Sebastien's car, 'trying to get rid of the blood' and then left it in a church car park in the port of Saint Nazaire, about an hour's drive away, 'as a sort of diversion', Mr Sennes said.

The Troadec family - Pascal and Brigitte, both aged around 50, their son Sebastien, 21, and his sister Charlotte, 18 - have not been seen since February 16 (file picture)

Police searches at the suburban family home in the western city of Nantes found traces of blood from Sebastien and the parents, but not Charlotte, as well as signs of efforts to clean them up.

The finger had initially been pointed at Sebastien in the murder, abduction and illegal confinement case having been convicted of making death threats in a blog back in 2013.

Caouissin was taken into custody on Sunday along with his partner.

'The male suspect has admitted killing the entire family in an argument over inheritance,' said a source close to the case.

'He remains in custody and faces trial for the murders.'

An investigation into murder, abduction and illegal confinement was opened last Monday after the authorities were alerted to the disappearance.

'Much more work remains to be done,' Mr Sennes said, noting that investigators still do not know where the body parts are buried.

Initial suspicion fell on the son, Sebastien, as he was suspected of 'formulating a macabre plan aimed at snuffing out members of his family and maybe himself.'

French gendarmes search near the site where Charlotte Troadec's national health card in the was discovered by a runner on March 1, 2017, in Dirinon

Sebastien had psychological problems, and in the past had been convicted of making death threats on his blog.

Bloodstains were found at the Troadec home in Orvault, including on Sebastien's abandoned smart phone, and his abandoned car was later found more than 100 miles away.

Mr Sennes said toothbrushes and hairbrushes had all been removed from the house, and the beds had been stripped.

'Food was going off in the fridge and there were dishes in the sink', said Mr Sennes, said it was as if 'the life of the house had been frozen in time'.

Both Sebastien and Charlotte had been at the family home during the just-ended school holidays.

Mr Sennes said investigators had been unable to find Sebastien's car.

The parents' car was parked outside the house.

Police continue their search of the area on Wednesday evening some 20km east of Brest
A 16-year-old girl has died after collapsing at color guard practice at her high school in Crowley, Texas, on Monday.

Sophomore Hailey Cartwright was practicing with the Crowley High School color guard when she experienced a 'medical emergency that left her unresponsive,' according to a school district news release, reports the Star-Telegram.

An on-site school nurse began CPR and used a defibrillator on Cartwright until paramedics arrived, reports NBC DFW.

Teen Hailey Cartwright passed away after a 'medical emergency' during color guard practice

Paramedics then transported Cartwright to Texas Health Huguley Hospital, where she passed away at 8.32pm on Monday night, according to Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Case Records.

Both cause and manner of her death are still pending.

'Crowley ISD is incredibly saddened by this tragedy and the loss of this beautiful, young life,' Interim Superintendent Patricia Linares said in a statement. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with Hailey's family, friends and the Crowley ISD staff during this difficult time.'

Cartwright's schoolmates were encouraged to honor her memory today by 'wearing black or galaxy patterned clothes (her favorite colors)' to school and signing a poster her color guard squad made, according to classmate tweets.

A car selfie Cartwright took while sporting a floral print shirt, seemingly a favorite pattern

Teen Cartwright mugs for the camera while shopping (left) and tries out a new outfit (right)

Friends visited Cartwright's Instagram account to write farewells on her last two Instagram posts  a shot of a window and a picture of herself, which were posted three and six days ago, respectively.

'We talked many times Hailey, sometimes into the night. You were a great friend for the short time I knew you. I'll always miss our conversations. The world is truly dimmer without your smile to make it bright,' wrote thebezonianbibliobibuli.

'Rest in peace hailey, You made global prep such an amazing experience for me and you helped me on the days i felt the absoulte [sic] worst. ... Im going to miss the days we would play pranks on people, the days you offered me comfort and your attention when no one else here would,' wrote rattybratty.

Cartwright (back right) in uniform on the football field with her color guard teammates

This is the Texas high school Cartwright attended, where she was on the color guard team

Cartwright's schoolmates were encouraged to celebrate her memory by wearing her favorite colors

The Crowley school district told KHOU that Cartwright was studying health science at its college prep Bill R. Johnson Career and Technology Education Center and that she was enrolled in online classes through the district's Global Prep Academy.

Funeral arrangements have not been revealed yet, however Cartwright's aunt appears to have started a GoFundMe page asking for donations to help cover funeral costs.

So far, 76 donations have raised $5,560  more than the originally request $5,000  in the 17 hours since the page was first created.
Son on trial: Charles Mitchell, 27, is being tried in Illinois for June attack on his father, John, which nearly ended his life

A 27-year-old man from Illinois charged with attempted murder on Tuesday got a chance to cross-examine his father, whom he is accused of beating into a coma during a family fight.

Charles Mitchell was arrested last June after he allegedly attacked 61-year-old John Mitchell at a Glen Ellyn hotel.

He is now representing himself as he faces charges of first-degree attempted murder and domestic battery in connection to the fracas.

His father sustained severe injuries, including two brain hemorrhages, a broken jaw and a badly damaged ear during the confrontation.

Tuesday marked the first time that Charles and John Mitchell saw each other since the fight on June 14.

The younger man, who is representing himself in the trial, greeted his father with the words, 'it's good to see you again, dad,' after the 61-year-old victim took the stand as a witness for the prosecution.

The elder Mr Mitchell told the court that he had little to no first-hand knowledge of what had happened because he spent a week in a coma after the beating.

He went on to say that he learned the details of the attack from police, reported the Chicago Tribune.

John Mitchell, who stills uses a cane to get around, said he is staying at a rehabilitation facility due to his condition.

Prosecutors say Charles Mitchell beat his father into a coma at a hotel in the 600 block of Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (pictured)

Prosecutors said that the father and son came to blows at around 1.20am on June 14, 2016, in a hotel room in the 600 block of Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn.

John Mitchell, who is a US Army veteran and a truck driver, had moved into the hotel with his two sons, Charles and Joseph, after losing his condominium.

On the night of the incident, the Mitchell brothers, both of whom have past criminal records, came to blows over a cellphone.

Joseph Mitchell, 25, who is currently in jail on unrelated drug possession charges, testified on Tuesday that he left the room after his older brother tried to gouge out his eyes, and when he tried to get back inside, he found the door had been locked.

While the younger brother was in the hallway, Charles allegedly turned on his elderly father, striking him in the head in order to prevent him from calling 911, according to prosecutors.

When Joseph entered the room later, he said he found his father laying on the floor in a pool of blood and moaning in pain, according to reporting by the Chicago Daily Herald.

In his opening statement, his brother Charles argued that he was merely defending himself from his abusive father, who had drank a dozen beers earlier that day.

Dark past: Charles Mitchell has a long history of arrests stretching back to at least 2013, including charges of property damage, disorderly conduct, battery, trespass and burglary

I did not do anything that would have murdered my father, Charles told jurors. I would not do anything to hurt my father beyond what I needed to do to defend myself.

He also claimed that the severity of John Mitchells injuries has been blown out of proportion.

Online records indicate that Charles Mitchell has a long history of arrests stretching back to at least 2013, including charges of property damage, disorderly conduct, battery, trespass and burglary.

The DuPage County jury is expected to get the case and begin deliberations on Friday.
A former Marine says she was harassed every day after her ex-boyfriend allegedly posted their sex tape on a private Facebook group that is now at the center of a Marine Corps scandal.

Former Private Kally Wayne said her privacy was invaded after the explicit tape was shared in the group containing nearly 30,000 members.

The 22-year-old came forward with her ordeal after a report revealed male marines had been circulating explicit photos and videos of their female colleagues.

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Nude photo scandal: Former Private Kally Wayne claims her privacy was invaded after her ex-boyfriend allegedly shared the couple's private sex tape in a Facebook group containing nearly 30,000 members

The postings, which were first reported by former Marine Sergeant Thomas Brennan on Reveal News, began less than a month after the first Marine infantry unit was assigned women on January 5.

Kally told ABC News she is seeking justice as she said it is time to expose the alleged wrongdoings of the Marine Corps.

'Having to go through being harassed for every day of my life for the past year because of a mistake I made four years ago is not anything anyone deserves to go through,' Wayne said.

Wayne opened up about the ordeal and claims she knows other women who have fallen victim to the nude photo scandal

The woman had joined the Marine Corps in 2013, but was released for an unrelated offense three years later. Kally believes that she is only one of numerous other women who have fallen victim to the nude photo scandal.

'It is extremely widespread, she added. 'If it happened to me its got to be happening to a lot of other females.'

After she realized the video had been circulating the internet, Wayne went to the police but she was told they could not able to do anything because she did not live in North Carolina.

'I went to his command and they said, 'Why don't you not make sex tapes?'' she told The Washington Post.

Another unnamed female Marine who was allegedly exploited told the paper her photos would continue to appear even after they were reported and taken down.

According to Brennan, the amount of shared explicit photos range from the hundreds to potentially thousands and the images are often subjected to obscene and derogatory comments.

The original link for the photos read: 'Here you go, you thirsty f***s  this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is more coming,' the report said.

One federal employee who has been reportedly fired, responded to the link encouraging others to upload pictures.

'Anyone can contribute. They just have to (private message) me for their own personal upload link,' the employee said.

The scandal was first reported by former sergeant Thomas Brennan who discovered the photos linked to the Facebook page

More than two dozen women, many who are still enlisted, have been identified in photos shared on the page by their name, rank, and duty station since January 30, the report said.

The Facebook page is restricted to male Marines Navy corpsmen and British Royal Marines. Females make up only seven per cent of the Marines active duty ranks.

The Corps is investigating the allegations and victims are encouraged to come forward.

General Robert Neller released a four-minute video condemning the acts.

'It's embarrassing to our Corps, to our families and to the nation,' he said.

Neller added: 'When I hear allegations of Marines denigrating their fellow Marines, I don't think such behavior is out of true warriors or war fighters.'

The Marines involved in the scandal could be subjected to criminal proceedings, ABC reported.
Former Respect MP George Galloway has revealed he is set to pen a series of children's books.

Galloway, 62, announced on Twitter that he had agreed a deal to write the books that will be called 'Red Molucca the Good Pirate'.

He will join the ranks of other celebrities who have entered the children's books market including David Walliams, Sir Chris Hoy and Ricky Gervais.

The books are to be illustrated by English artist Joe Cook but no date has been announced for when they are due to hit the shelves.

George Galloway (pictured) announced earlier today that he is set to write a new series of children's books

The controversial Scottish politician told his 261,000 Twitter followers: 'Just signed a publishing deal for a children's book series written by me, illustrated by @joecooknow called 'Red Molucca the Good Pirate'.

Galloway, who revealed last year that he is to be a father for the fifth time, has previously released adult books titled 'I'm Not The Only One', 'Fidel Castro Handbook' and 'Mr Galloway Goes to Washington'.

The news has been welcomed by fans who offered their support for his latest venture.

Lisa Arrifin wrote: 'Looking forward to it!'

Raymond Barker added: 'Where do you do find the time George?'

Last year, the politician told of his joy at becoming at becoming a five-time father.

He tweeted: 'By the Grace of God we are grateful to announce we expect a new baby in March, God-willing. A sibling to Lucy, Zein, Faris and Toren.'

Galloway married current wife Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, an anthropologist, in a hotel in Amsterdam in April 2012, just four months after his third wife had given birth to their second son.

Miss Pertiwi is a Dutch-born researcher of Indonesian heritage who took a degree in cultural anthropology at the University of Utrecht.

The former MP revealed the news to his 261,000 Twitter followers and wrote that he had signed a publishing deal

She also studied in Amsterdam before taking a masters degree in children's rights at Amsterdam University.

Galloway, from Dundee, Scotland, lost his seat as the Respect MP for Bradford West at the last General Election.

He was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 after accusations that he had called on foreign troops to attack British soldiers in Iraq.

He attracted widespread ridicule after he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, when he went on all fours, purred and pretended to lick cream from actress Rula Lenska's hands.
David Cockle, 50, was jailed for 16 months

A policeman who stole 10 ancient gold coins that he found with a metal detector has been jailed for 16 months.

David Cockle, 50, found the Merovingian Tremissis coins in a field in west Norfolk and sold them to a dealer for 15,000.

He had entered into a contract with the landowner to split the proceeds of any find 50:50, but failed to tell the landowner of his discovery.

He also failed to tell the coroner, instead selling the coins in three smaller batches to disguise the fact they were treasure trove.

Another metal detectorist had discovered 35 Merovingian coins at the same site and declared them honestly.

Had Cockle done the same, the discovery would have been the largest find of Merovingian coins in the UK - surpassing the discovery of 37 such coins at Sutton Hoo in the last century, Ipswich Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

Cockle, who now lives in Leigh, Greater Manchester, admitted theft at an earlier hearing. Three counts of converting criminal property will lie on file.

Judge Rupert Overbury, sentencing at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday, said Cockle had more than 30 years of experience as a metal detectorist and knew the legal process he should have followed to declare the find.

Merovingian Tremissis coins were made in Gaul, now France, are said to be very rare in the UK with only around 100 of them found in modern times

He added that the coins were 'extremely rare', from the Anglo Saxon period which was 'relatively poorly understood' and that some of the coins had never been recovered.

He told Cockle: 'The motivation for your dishonest behaviour was pure greed.'

Cockle was jailed for 16 months and banned from metal detecting for five years.

Under the five-year criminal behaviour order, he is also banned from owning metal detecting equipment and from entering into agreements with landowners to use their land for metal detecting.

He faces five years in jail if he breaches the order.

Cockle, who now lives in Leigh, Greater Manchester, admitted theft at an earlier hearing

THE TREASURE ACT 1996 Another metal detectorist had discovered 35 Merovingian coins at the same site and declared them honestly Under the Treasure Act 1996, treasure is defined as any single object at least 300 years old which is not a coin but has a precious metal content of at least 10 per cent. According to the act, coins are included that contain at least 10 per cent of gold or silver by weight of metal and that come from the same find, provided a find consists of at least two coins with a gold or silver content of at least 10 per cent. The coins must be at least 300 years old at the time of discovery. The Act gives a finder 14 days to inform the local coroner of potential treasure and creates an offence of failing to carry out that duty where this is not followed. Anyone who intends to search for artefacts is strongly recommended, when seeking permission to search, to make an agreement (preferably in writing) with the occupier and the landowner as to how any reward should be divided between them, according to Government guidance. Those eligible to receive rewards are the finders, landowner and/or occupier. Where the finder has a valid permission from the occupier or landowner to be on the land where he made his find in order to search for and remove artefacts he will receive his full share of the reward. It is normal practice to divide rewards equally between the finder and landowner on a 50:50 basis Advertisement

Cockle was dismissed from Norfolk Police for gross misconduct in February as a result of his actions.

Gerard Pounder, prosecuting, said Cockle had lied about where the coins were found and registered them as being discovered at different sites around the country including Boston, Lincolnshire, Grays, Essex and another near Norwich.

He said the coins had a high gold purity, and that Cockle sold the 10 coins for 1,500 each in smaller parcels of two, three and five coins to claim they were not a hoard.

THE MEROVINGIAN DYNASTY The Merovingians were a powerful Frankish dynasty, which exercised control much of modern-day France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the Low Countries. During the Early Middle Ages, the Merovingian kingdoms were arguably the most powerful and most important polities to emerge after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Merovingian Tremissis coins were made in Gaul, now France, and other low countries of Europe and are said to be very rare in the UK with only around 100 of them found in modern times. Advertisement

Nick Bonehill, mitigating, said Cockle was of previous good character, had a successful career in finance before he joined the police and could no longer work in either sector as a result of the dishonesty conviction.

Cockle had split from his wife, who also worked for Norfolk Police, in 2012.

The court heard he was motivated by his ex-wife's demands for a 10,000 divorce settlement, but Judge Overbury noted that Cockle had also suffered gambling losses.

The coin dealer, who had bought the items in good faith, was left out of pocket by Cockle's actions, the court heard.

A proceeds of crime hearing will take place at a later date.

Punam Malhan, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'No matter how excited someone might be at finding buried gold treasure, there is a proper procedure to be followed when that happens.

'This is so that the find is correctly assessed and the historical importance of the find and its site recorded for future generations.

'This was a serious breach of trust by a police officer.'
Ian Woodall, 45, pictured outside Westminster Magistrates' Court

A pension fund manager has been accused of stealing more than 1m from Westminster City Council.

Ian Woodall allegedly abused his position and siphoned off some 1,075,375.34 between 2009 and 2012.

The 45-year-old, who acted as interim chief investment officer at the council, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court with his wife Tania, 46, who is charged with assisting in the transfer of cash.

The council said he transferred 1,012,272.04 of the cash to overseas bank accounts.

The pension fund was reported to be worth more than 500m in 2009 and 630m in 2010.

Emily Maunders, prosecuting, said: 'This is an allegation that between 2009 and 2012 Mr Woodall stole over 1m from a pension fund.

'It is alleged he transferred the funds into his and his wife's bank account, which he used to convert the criminal funds.

'There is a clear nexus between the defendant and his wife in this case.'

The 45-year-old, who acted as interim chief investment officer at the council, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court with his wife Tania, 46 (both pictured outside court)

Woodall, who lives in Dorking, Surrey, is charged with fraud by abuse of position, theft by employee and concealing criminal property.

Tania Woodall, of the same address, is charged with one count of helping in the transferral of an unknown amount of the cash.

Both were released on bail ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 5 April.
FBI Director James Comey is planning to stay in his post until the end of his own 10-year-term, the top law enforcement official revealed.

Comey, who was the subject of new intrigue after President Trump sent out a flurry of unsubstantiated weekend tweets accusing President Obama of having his phones tapped, revealed his plans at a conference on cybersecurity.

"You're stuck with me for another six and a half years," he told a conference at Boston College on Wednesday, NBC reported.

That would keep Comey in office beyond President Trump's four-year term in office and into his second term if he got reelected.

Comey issued the vow after referencing the bureau's reputation for relentlessness, and invoking the name of a famed hijacker who eluded agents for decades.

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FBI Director James Comey said at a conference Wednesday he'll serve out his 10-year term, which would keep him in office beyond President Trump's four-year term

"We are dogged people," he said. "We just gave up on D.B. Cooper, and that was after 50 years," he said.

President Obama appointed Comey in 2013. The FBI Director serves a 10-year-term.

Democrats were furious at how he handled Hillary Clinton's email scandal during the presidential campaign, after he announced that the bureau was reexamining newly uncovered Clinton emails, then announced two days before the election that it had found nothing to change its original conclusions not to charge Clinton.

ONE MORE THING, I'M STAYING: Comey made his comment at Boston College, at a time when the FBI's investigation into Russia election interference is roiling Washington

He has been in the spotlight again over the swirling investigations into Russian election interference.

After Trump sent out a series of tweets saying that President Obama was tapping his phones at Trump Tower, Comey reportedly asked the Justice Department to bat down the allegation.

Trump had offered no evidence for it, and if it is true that Obama somehow directed or obtained a court order to tap Trump's phones, the FBI presumably would have carried it out  something no government official has said happened.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that Trump had not spoken to Comey, meaning if he had concerns about being hacked by his predecessor, he didn't call the FBI director to talk about it.
It's hard to tell who's the mother and who's the daughter when 50-year-old Xu Min and her 20-something child stand side by side.

The youthful retiree, who is dubbed a 'magical beauty' by the Chinese media, has amazed the internet with her age-defying looks.

New picture shows Xu and her daughter, 25, looking like sisters in their fashionable clothing during an outing.

This undated photo shows 50-year-old Xu Min (left) and her 25-year-old daughter in Kunming

The age-defying woman looks like she's in her twenties. The mother always gets mistaken for her 25-year-old daughter's sister

People are amazed to find out Ms Xu, from China's Yunnan Province, is already 50 years old

With her wrinkle-free skin, enviable figure and stylish clothing, Ms Xu looks half her age

With her glowing skin, enviable figure and stylish clothing, 50-year-old Xu Min, from China, often gets mistaken for her 25-year-old daughter's sister.

Apparently, the woman's secret to her youthful looks are facials, a good bedtime routine and a calm mind.

The stylish woman lives in Yunnan Province, according to a report on QQ.com.

A fan of oversize bows, glittering earrings and high-heeled shoes, Ms Xu likes to look her best whenever she goes - whether it's for afternoon tea or grocery shopping.

She said her best shopping companion is her daughter, who admires her taste in fashion.

'My daughter and I are like best friends. There is no age gap between us at all,' the woman explained.

Ms Xu likes to look her best whenever she goes - whether it's for afternoon tea or shopping

The woman said her daughter is her best friend and 'there is no age gap between us at all'

Ms Xu retired four years ago, and she said she had difficulty getting used to her free time at the beginning.

'I don't like being quiet - I prefer doing things. After I retired, I spent a lot of time browsing the internet and writing my journal so that I didn't feel outdated,' said Ms Xu to a local reporter.

'But still, I felt like being left behind by the society.'

Gradually, the woman found her footing again.

She said she tried to keep herself busy by doing housework as well as going to beauty salons and hairdressers.

Ms Xu said in a candid way: 'I dye my hair once every two months. Otherwise, you'll see my grey hair.'

A friend is having a selfie taken with Ms Xu who is billed by media as a 'magical beauty'

Ms Xu's husband said his wife's secrets to beauty are a good bedtime routine, her regular skincare routine and a generous life attitude

A fan of flowers, she also likes attending flower-arranging classes to cultivate a calm mind.

Ms Xu's husband, surnamed Huang, said he always feels proud when he walks next to his youthful-looking wife on the street.

The man even went on saying that strangers would often think he has kept 'a young mistress' by mistake. The man said he would answer with pride that Ms Xu is his wife.

Mr Huang added: 'My wife was born pretty and she likes her skincare routine.

'But more importantly, she is a generous person, she goes to bed at 9pm every day, and she looks after herself.'
U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that they have been aware since the end of last year of a security breach at the CIA that led to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks publishing agency documents on its hacking tools.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that they believed that the documents published by WikiLeaks on Tuesday were authentic.

Investigators were focusing on CIA contractors as the likely source of passing materials to WikiLeaks, the officials said. The group published what it said were nearly 8,000 of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used between 2013 and 2016.

In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutor's office said that it would review the Wikileaks documents because some suggested that the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt.

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Investigators are now carrying out a massive operation to find who released the documents, with the source likely to face a long jail term if caught - and contractors are in the crosshairs

Biggest leak: Julian Assange, the boss of Wikileaks, is now responsible for biggest release of CIA documents ever

'We're looking at it very carefully,' a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office told Reuters. 'We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators.'

Several contractors and private cyber security experts had already said the materials appeared to be legitimate.

The latest revelations came days before Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to visit Washington for an initial meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has sharply criticized Berlin for everything from its trade policy to what he considers inadequate levels of military spending.

The Wikileaks documents may also complicate bilateral intelligence ties that have just begun to recover after a series of scandals, including news in 2013 that the National Security Agency had bugged Merkel's cellphone. The consulate was already heavily investigated by German lawmakers after that incident.

Merkel last month told lawmakers she did not know how closely Germany's spies cooperated with their U.S. counterparts until 2015 when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the BND spy agency had for years passed on information to the NSA about European companies and politicians.

Germany scaled back the level of cooperation with the NSA after those revelations.

U.S. officials have acknowledged that the consulate in Frankfurt is home to a CIA base.

A facility adjacent to the citys airport and the Rhein-Main Air Base has for many years been home to the CIAs 'Tefran' station, a U.S. center for collecting intelligence on Iranian activities in Europe, maintaining surveillance on Iranian officials and targeting potential defectors working in Irans nuclear weapons program.

Foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a regular government news conference that Germany took the issue seriously, but more work needed to be done to verify the authenticity of the documents. Berlin was in close touch with Washington about the case and such matters generally, he said.

Officials at the German government news conference declined to answer questions about any knowledge Berlin might have about CIA activities in Germany. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany's domestic intelligence agency was tasked with uncovering espionage activities in Germany, and carried out its work comprehensively.

Wikileaks reported CIA employees had been given diplomatic passports and State Department identities to carry out their work in Germany at the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, focused on targets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Yesterday a huge number of documents were released purportedly revealing the hack tools the CIA uses to break into phones, computers and even smart TVs

Edward Snowden fled to Moscow in June 2013, having released thousands of documents revealing the widespread surveillance on ordinary Americans through the bulk collection of metadata. This leak is the largest since his and reveals how supposedly encrypted programs like WhatsApp are vulnerable to the CIA

The documents included advice for CIA experts about life in Germany, including the fact that shops are closed on Sundays, and to have 'your cover-for-action story down pat' when they passed through German customs.

One European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Wikileaks material could in fact lead to closer cooperation between European spy agencies and U.S. counterparts, which share concerns about Russian intelligence operations.

The European official said there was suspicion, still unconfirmed, that Moscow could have had a hand in the latest leaks. U.S. spy agencies accuse Russia of meddling in the U.S. presidential election last year, which Russia denies.

'Its interesting and maybe significant that this leak coincides with stepped-up Russian attempts to influence upcoming European elections, intimidate the Baltic states and other former Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe, and destabilize NATO and the European Union,' said the European official.

When a reporter at the German government news conference asked whether it was a double standard that Berlin tolerated U.S. spying while trying to root out such activity by Russians, one of the government spokesmen said Berlin had good reason to suspect Moscow of seeking to influence Germany's election.
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First lady Melania Trump made a rare appearance at the White House today, as she hosted a ladies luncheon in the State Dining Room in honor of International Women's Day.

'As an immigrant myself, having grown up in a communist society, I know all too well the value and importance of freedom and equal opportunity,' the first lady said, according to prepared remarks provided to CNN. 'Ideas which this great nation was founded and has continued to strive towards throughout its history.'

The White House also announced that there would indeed be an Easter Egg Roll this year, which will be held on Monday, April 17, as it's tradition to host the event a day after the Easter holiday.

At the luncheon, the first lady was dressed in a black Ralph Lauren  and not the red many protesters are wearing in solidarity today  and was given a standing ovation when she entered the room.

Later on, both President Trump and Vice President Pence dropped by to say hi to the crowd.

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First lady Melania Trump was back in Washington today and hosted her first luncheon in her new role

First lady Melania Trump wore a fitted black dress - not the red women are wearing today as part of the protests against her husband's administration

Vice President Mike Pence tweeted a photo of himself and President Trump at today's International Women's Day luncheon

The president and vice president were flanked by first lady Melania Trump (left) and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (right)

Melania Trump hosted a luncheon in the White House's State Dining Room and invited female members of the administration and Congress

The crowd listens to Melania Trump speak in the State Dining Room today at the White House in honor of International Women's Day

In a speech that struck a serious tone, the first lady talked about the plight of women around the world.

'There remains far more brutal and terrifying incarnations of actual gender persecution which we must face together, such as forced enslavement, sexual abuse and absolute repression of far too many women and girls around the globe,' she said.

'We must remember these women in our daily prayers and use our combined resources to help free them from such unthinkable and inhumane circumstances,' the new FLOTUS continued.

'I continue to firmly believe that education is the most powerful way to promote and ensure women's rights,' she said. 'Together we will do this not only by striving for gender parity at all levels of education, but also by showing all children, and especially boys, that it is through empathy, respect and kindness that we achieve our collective potential.'

The first lady said the White House wold join with the UN Women for Peace Associates to 'educate and reinforce the importance of tolerance and a society filled with inclusivity regardless of race, gender or culture.'

The White House never released an official guest list but spotted were second lady Karen Pence, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon, Monaco's ambassador to the U.S. Maguy Maccario Doyle and first daughter Ivanka Trump.

Fashion designer Rachel Roy was also seen in the crowd.

Mary Anne Huntsman, the concert pianist of the three elder Huntsman daughters, who claim former GOP presidential candidate and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman as their dad, was tapped to provide music for the lunch.

Her mother Mary Kaye Huntsman posted a photo of her daughter playing on Instagram.

Jon Huntsman also accepted the job of ambassador to Russia today. He previously served as ambassador to China under President Obama's administration.

Designer Rachel Roy joined Melania and Ivanka Trump today at the White House for a luncheon celebrating International Women's Day

First daughter Ivnaka Trump (right) greets a guest at the first lunch put on by first lady Melania Trump

Mary Anne Huntsman (pictured), daughter of 2012 presidential candidate and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman - who just agreed to become the ambassador to Russia - was photographed playing piano at the lunch by her mother Mary Kaye

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (top right in blue) took a photo with guests including Mary Anne Huntsman (second from left), Kellyanne Conway (third from left) and Monaco's ambassador to the U.S. Maguy Maccario Doyle (seated middle)

Monaco's ambassador to the U.S. Maguy Maccario Doyle posted a picture of the lunch's special guests: President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence

While the White House is honoring International Women's Day  both President Trump and Ivanka Trump tweeted about it, and Press Secretary Sean Spicer put out a statement  the organizers of the women's marches that took place the day after President Trump's inauguration planned a 'Day Without Women' strike.

Activists were encouraged to not work for the day and also not shop, unless they were visiting a women or minority-owned business.

Others, unable to take a day off of work, were instructed to wear red.

Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi led a group of female lawmakers outside to the Capitol steps to promote the cause.

'When women succeed, America succeeds,' Pelosi said. 'And when women succeed, as my colleague said, the world succeeds.'

Another prominent Democrat, former first lady Michelle Obama, also marked the day, by paying a visit to a local Washington, D.C., high school.

'So impressed by the extraordinary girls I met at [Francis L. Cardozo Senior High School] who represent the beauty and diversity of this country,' the former FLOTUS tweeted.

First daughter Ivanka Trump (right) greets Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (right) with a kiss and a squeeze as the two women attend Melania Trump's first White House luncheon

Ivanka Trump is seen giving a thumbs up as she sits with other women who are celebrating International Women's Day

Melania Trump was given a standing ovation when she entered the State Dining Room Wednesday at the White House

Ivanka Trump is seen chatting with guests at the White House today, for an event her step-mother put on for International Women's Day

Sen. Susan Collins (far left), Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (middle left) and Ivanka Trump (center) were spotted at a luncheon hosted by first lady Melania Trump (right)

Karen Pence (left), wife of Vice President Mike Pence, and Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway (right) were on hand at today's White House luncheon

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway (center) was spotted greeting guests at today's luncheon at the White House

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine (left) and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (right) were in attendance of today's International Women's luncheon

Former first lady Michelle Obama also marked International Women's Day by paying a visit to a Washington, D.C., senior high school

At today's press briefing Spicer said he wasn't aware of any women from the Trump administration participating in the strike.

'I think everyone that I'm aware of has shown up and is working really hard to advance the president's agenda,' the press secretary said. 'They're committed to moving this country forward.'

As for Melania Trump, she has yet to outline issues that she plans to take on in her role as first lady.

In the run-up to election day, Melania Trump spoke in suburban Philadelphia about the adverse effects of cyber bullying, but she has yet to make moves on any agenda surrounding that issue.

She's also been slow to staff up, officially hiring just a chief of staff and a social secretary. She's also brought in New Yorker Stephanie Winston Wolkoff to serve as an adviser.

Wolkoff provided CNN with the first lady's remarks today, as pool reporters were pulled from the room before her speech.

As she still lives in New York City with the president's youngest son Barron, Melania Trump is a rare sight to be seen at the White House.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer once played the Easter Bunny at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll

Yahoo News' Olivier Knox tweeted the Spicer photo in late March and the press secretary joked that he wished he could still 'hide in the bunny costume'

In 2008, Laura Bush and President George W. Bush greeted the White House Easter Bunny, played by the current White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer

As part of her duties as first lady, Michelle Obama, along with President Barack Obama, greets guests alongside the Easter Bunny at the annual Easter Egg Roll

She was, however, in town a number of days last week, as she hosted the governors at the White House for a glamorous Sunday night dinner, the same night as the Academy Awards.

The next day, she made a cameo on Fox & Friends, as her husband led the hosts into the White House Library to show Melania Trump and her team hard at work.

The first lady then appeared, wearing a sparkly ensemble by Michael Kors, at the president's first joint address before Congress last Tuesday night.

She'll also likely play a major role in the Easter Egg Roll, which is in its 139th year.

In the past first ladies have read to participants and appeared onstage along with the musical acts.

They've also been on hand to greet the Easter Bunny, which, during the Bush administration, was once played by none other than Spicer, who donned the costume during W.'s last year in office.
Officers released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak in connection with the alleged incident in East Dulwich, London

Police are hunting a serial defecator aged in his 50s who has struck again in a leafy London suburb where houses typically sell for 1.5million.

Officers released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to and they believe it is not the first time the suspect has performed such an act.

The suspect was described to police as being a white male, aged in his mid 50s and around 5ft 8ins tall with a medium build.

At the time of the alleged incident in Eastlands Crescent in East Dulwich, south London, he was wearing jeans and a grey jumper.

Houses on the street, close to the affluent area of Dulwich Village, sell for around 1.5million.

Officers want to speak to the man about an incident of 'outraging public decency' at 5.15pm on Thursday, February 16.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Police believe that this is not the first time the suspect may have done this; and believe there are other similar cases which have not been reported to police.

'Detectives investigating the incident reported have released an image of a man they wish to identify and speak to about their enquiries.

'Officers are asking for anyone who has witnessed a similar incident to report it to police.

At the time of the alleged incident in Eastlands Crescent in East Dulwich, south London (pictured), he was wearing jeans and a grey jumper

'Anyone with any information on who the man in the picture may be are asked to contact DC O'Hare at Southwark CID on 020 7232 6116, or police via 101 or by tweeting @MetCC.'

To give information anonymously Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111 or by visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.
Joshua Robinson was jailed for four years for having sex with two 15-year-old girls and keeping a stash of child pornography in his Singapore apartment

Singaporeans have shared their outrage over the four year prison sentence of an American pedophile which they say may attract foreign sexual predators to their country.

Joshua Robinson was sentenced to four years imprisonment for having sex with two 15-year-old girls and filming it last week.

The 39-year-old mixed martial arts instructor lives in the country but is originally from Herscher, Illinois.

Police found 321 child porn films in his apartment and had made a six-year-old girl watch one which showed him having sex with an adult woman.

On his website he argued sickeningly that girls were in their 'biological prime' from the age of 13 and told how sexual assault victims made for the best partners in bed.

Despite Singapore's notoriously tough corporal punishment system which still includes caning, Robinson was jailed for just four years after striking up a plea deal with prosecutors.

It has sparked outrage among thousands of residents who say the sentence sends the wrong message to foreign sexual predators.

Robinson met the first one on a dating website in September, 2013 and had unprotected sex with her at his apartment, recording the tryst on his phone.

More than 28,000 people have signed a petition calling for him to be given a harsher sentence

He picked up the second girl in June 2015, had sex with her and filmed them having sex too. Two days later, she had a 'mental breakdown' and told her parents who alerted police.

Robinson was arrested and faced dozens of charges including many for child pornography.

When police raided Robinson's apartment they found thousands of illegal porn films, hundreds of which involved children. At the time they said it may have been the largest haul they'd ever found.

But because both of the girls he had sex with were above 14 at the time, Singaporean law considers them able to give consent to have sex with adults. Statutory rape, whereby a child beneath a certain age is deemed too young to give consent, only applies to children under 14.

As a result, he was charged with sexual penetration of a minor over 16 which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Robinson struck up a deal with state prosecutors who offered him a four year sentence in exchange for pleading guilty to nine different charges. They included three counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16, making an obscene film, possession of obscene films and exhibiting an obscene object to a young person.

Robinson struck a deal with prosecutors which means he will spent just four years behind bars

He was jailed last week after a judge accepted the deal, sparking outrage among the local community.

Twenty-eight thousand people have signed an online petition calling for Robinson's sentence to be reviewed. It was launched by a friend of the parents of the six-year-old girl he showed the obscene film to.

'Pedophiles will come from far and wide to take advantage of such an incredibly erroneous measure of justice' its creator, Sarah Woon, said.

Robinson filmed himself having sex with the girls in his high rise apartment in Singapore (above) where police also found hundreds of child porn tapes

'The 6 year old in this traumatic case is a daughter of a close friend and it absolutely breaks my heart and those of all our friends and family,' she added.

The petitioners demanded that he face caning, a form of corporal punishment that is still commonplace in Singapore.

The Attorney General stood by the plea deal on Wednesday. Its chambers issued a statement to say he hadn't been jailed for longer because the two girls he had sex with gave consent and it shouldn't therefore be considered sexual assault.

'Both these victims had consented to the sexual acts. Therefore, the offences of rape and outrage of modesty were not committed. By the same token, these were not cases of sexual assault' it read.

They added that the plea deal was struck out of consideration for the girls who they did not want to traumatize by asking them to appear as trial witnesses.

'The sentences imposed in this case were broadly in line with relevant sentencing precedents.

'In light of the sentencing position which the Prosecution had conveyed to Robinson and the fact that his subsequent plea of guilt had spared the victims from the ordeal of a trial, the Public Prosecutor will not be appealing against the sentence,' it concluded.
The sheriff in charge of the double murder investigation of two teens in Indiana has told DailyMail.com that despite 11,000 tips from across the U.S., a sweep of the county's sex offenders' register, a $219,000 reward and 200 investigators working daily on the case, they are no closer to solving the crime.

Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, were found dead on February 14 close to Deer Creek along Delphi Historic Trail near the town of Delphi.

Three weeks on, police have made no arrests and have not located the prime suspect.

Two weeks ago, police confirmed that a man walking along Monon High Bridge near the trail, around the same time as the girls, was who they were looking for.

Abigail Joyce Williams, 13 (left), and Liberty Rose Lynn German, 14 (right), were found dead on February 14 this year

The Sheriff in charge of the investigation, Tobe Leazenby, tells DailyMail.com that police have made no progress towards the murder - or murderers despite receiving over 11,000 tips

Investigators revealed that a grainy image of the suspect had been captured by Liberty on her phone and that she had also managed to record audio of a voice saying, 'Down the hill'.

Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby told DailyMail.com that not a single tip was being discounted, for fear it could be the one that cracked the case. Tips have come from the local area, throughout the Midwest and as far as Los Angeles.

'We have no one jailed at this point so everything helps,' he said.

'I've received tips like, 'I was at Walmart parking lot and I saw this guy wandering around and he looked really similar to the guy in the photograph' or 'I was behind a guy at a supermarket and I heard him speak and something in my mind said that was him.'

'Some are quite adamant, I understand that, I accept that. That's partly why this is taking so long because we have got to look into it. In the back of our minds that tip may be 'the one'.

Known sex offenders in Carroll County had been ruled out, Leazenby said.

Police are still appealing for information after failing to produce a strong lead. The main suspect is pictured on the above flyer (left) and in grainy footage captured by one of the victims on Snapchat (right)

The Carroll County Sheriff's Office, above, is the lead agency on the case. Leazenby said that not a single tip was being discounted and that tips have come from the local area, throughout the Midwest and as far as Los Angeles

Leazenby also said that every sex offender in Carroll County has been questioned and sex offenders across Indiana have been investigated. Above, a wall designated as a tribute to Liberty and Abigail at the command center for the investigation in Delphi

Along with following up on tips, investigators are continuing to canvass areas of Carroll County. 'As far as search warrants, we've had a couple that did not come to fruition as it relates to completion of the case,' the sheriff said

'That was one of the things we first got into, the sex offender registry. We went through the whole list locally then we enlarged that statewide and checked practically every individual.

'We asked each sheriff of the other 91 counties in the state to look into certain individuals that had questionable alibis or schedules. That was done really early. That road has been traveled.'

Along with following up on tips, investigators are continuing to canvass areas of Carroll County.

'As far as search warrants, we've had a couple that did not come to fruition as it relates to completion of the case,' the sheriff said.

He would not elaborate on why the search warrants had been served or who they had been served upon.

Carroll County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency on the case. They have been assisted by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, Indiana State Police, Delphi Police Department and detectives from sheriff's offices and police agencies across Indiana.

'Some of the detectives have been here since day one,' Leazenby said. 'A few of them have forensic skills or are polygraph operators.

'There have been individuals that we've asked to take polygraph tests. That's an additional tool we use to eliminate an individual from the process if need be, to clarify what they are telling us is actually the truth.'

A small memorial has been set up at the foot of Monon High Bridge, near where the bodies of Liberty and Abigail were found

People left flowers on the grass by the side of the road as a tribute to the girls

Tie-dyed ribbons can also be seen around trees and poles throughout Delphi, in honor of of Liberty German's love of tie-dye

The sheriff said anyone who was asked to take a voluntary polygraph test had complied and had passed.

Several agencies have become involved from Illinois and Ohio. 'They are following up on tips there and the investigation has spread into neighboring states,' Leazenby said.

He said that the involvement of the Department of Homeland Security was for 'mainly equipment and logistics, even notepads, providing us with office supplies'.

The sheriff shared details on how the large investigation was being conducted, beginning every morning with a cross-agency briefing and prayers.

'We gather at the command center for daily prayers before starting our meeting. Then we have a daily update from those in charge. They go through developments from the previous day or days. When the meeting is over, investigators are assigned the leads that are still coming in from the phones and emails. Investigators are usually paired up, go out into the field and follow up on those tips.'

The sheriff said there could 'possibly' be more than one suspect but would not speculate if the murders were connected to any larger operation.

'To me, it doesn't make any difference what the number [of suspects] is as long as we get those responsible behind bars.'

He said that he was unaware of any cases which appeared to be connected to the Delphi homicide investigation.

'We have had instances of individuals who have violated probation with drug possession or something along that line. Minor new cases have developed but nothing associated with these homicides.'

That includes claims of a link to the murders of cousins Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins, who were kidnapped as they rode their bikes at Lake Meyer near their grandmother's home in Evansdale, Indiana in July 2012.

Their murders have never been solved and claims surfaced Wednesday that police were looking at for a link but none has been found.

So far, the best evidence in the case has come from the girls themselves - and may be the key to solving the crime.

Leazenby said that after the release of the photograph and audio recording, their tip line was flooded with calls.

Liberty posted what are likely to have been the girls' final moments alive on Snapchat, sharing photographs of their hike along Delphi Historical Trail (above)

The bridge (above after their murder) was the last place the pair were seen alive

Police found the girls' bodies on a property nearby the following day. They searched it and a car on it (above) afterwards but none of those who live there are suspected of killing the pair

'This was before the FBI took over the tip line. We forewarned our folks that were locally manning the tip line, 'Hold on, here it comes' - and it did. I'm not complaining when I say that because we need those tips.'

The victims' families had been informed of what the girls had recorded before it was made public.

'I think it's offered some healing through their grieving process,' the sheriff said. 'When they knew that she had captured that, they were - proud is the word I'll use. 'She had the mindset to go, 'Something doesn't feel right here, so I'll push the record button.'

He added: 'For her to do what she did in collecting that - I'm not sure where we would be right now with the investigation without that.

'In essence that little girl may, in a roundabout way, end up solving her own crime.'

Leazenby would not comment on whether the girls had recorded anything else, citing the need to protect the evidentiary process.

The family of Liberty German will hold a press conference on Thursday in the Carroll County Courthouse to increase awareness of the investigation. The family of Abigail Williams have decided not to take part at this time.

Liberty's grandfather, Dennis Bridge, told DailyMail.com last month that his 'strong-willed girl, she put up a fight'.

He added: 'Beautiful girl, I'm going to miss her. She's supposed to come to my funeral not me go to hers.'

A memorial of flowers, angel ornaments and a glittery bunny rabbit for each girl now sits close to the bridge where they were last seen alive. Ribbons made of tie-dye fabric, which Liberty loved to wear, flutter in the nearby trees.

The town of Delphi is dotted with pink and purple ribbons in remembrance of the girls and in shop windows, posters remind people of the tip line number. The reward to find the killer is now $219,000 and fundraising continues.

The sheriff, who has spent 30 years in law enforcement, said this case was 'not like anything I've ever had in my career'.

'It's trying but I'm a man of faith, that's where my hope and prayer comes from. That keeps us driving forward,' he said.

'I'm very impressed with the team that we've got on board all the way from local to federal.'

Liberty and Abigail were laid to rest at separate funerals in Delphi last month. Hundreds lined the town's streets to pay their respects

At a press conference to launch the homicide investigation three weeks ago, the sheriff said he did not believe there was a threat to the local community. He told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that he wanted the public to remain on high alert for anything out of the ordinary.

'Now more than ever it's vitally important to be vigilant, mindful and watchful. From a personal standpoint, hold your children even closer,' he said.

'Any one of us, including me, take so many things for granted. Do I feel there is a threat that still exists here? There's always the possibility that some kind of evil will rise no matter where it is.

'I want folks to be additionally cautious in their approach with life.

'I've preached this ever since I became sheriff - if you see something that just doesn't look right, get a report in. We can't see everything and having that additional set of eyes and ears is of big importance to us.

'Thank you for anyone who has played a role whether it's a phone call or a message.'

Leazenby also spoke directly to the killer who remains at large.

'As I've said since day one, I feel this within the deepest part of my soul as sheriff, that we will resolve this.

'To anyone that may know of this individual and is wanting to provide information - I come from the old school that good does win over evil. The person involved will be found and will be prosecuted.'

Anyone with information can call Delphi Homicide Investigation Tip Line at 844-459-5786 or 1-800-225-5324. Tips can also be emailed to abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com. Information can be reported anonymously.
Minister To Lam greets Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. (Photo: VNA)

On March 6(local time), Minister To Lam and the Vietnamese delegation greeted Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and signed a deal on crime prevention cooperation between the Vietnamese Public Security Minister and the Slovak Ministry of Interior.

During the reception, Prime Minister Robert Fico appreciated Vietnams achievements in all areas, including politics, defence, security, economics, trade, investment, culture and education, showing his hope that security cooperation would continue to be one of the effective and important cooperative areas in the traditional friendship and cooperation between Slovakia and Vietnam.

The Slovak Prime Minister sent regards to Vietnamese Party and Government leaders, adding that he hoped to welcome Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs official visit to Slovakia this year.

For his part, Minister To Lam spoke highly of the great achievements that the Slovak Government and people had gained during its national integration and development, saying that the Vietnamese Government and people always remembered the support and assistance from the Slovak Government and people during its struggle for national liberation and reunification earlier, as well as the current construction and development. He also expressed his pleasure with the increasingly developed relationship between Vietnam and Slovakia.

He showed his desire that Prime Minister Robert Fico would continue to make favourable conditions for Slovak law enforcement agencies and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security to cooperate more strictly and effectively in preventing crime, thus ensuring security and order in each country, and contributing to further developing the traditional friendship and relationship between the two countries.

On the same day, Minister To Lam and Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Robert Kalinak signed a deal on cooperation in crime prevention.

Earlier, the two agencies focused on exchanging information about crime-fighting operations, stressed the importance of working together in preventing, struggling against, investigating and pursuing criminals relating to the two countries citizens, especially organized and trans-national criminals, international terrorists, human trafficking, illegal immigration, drug criminals and those using high technology./.
Teachers have been ordered to dob in overweight state school students to welfare workers with the Education Department saying obesity is a 'child protection issue'.

All staff, including teachers, groundskeepers and management, are being trained to identify if a child's weight is impacting on their 'wellbeing and welfare to a significant degree'.

'It's near-certain that if you're obese as a child, you'll be obese as an adult,' Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon told the Daily Telegraph.

Teachers have been ordered to dob in overweight state school students to welfare workers (stock image)

'We have a problem - 60 per cent of Australian adults are overweight or obese'.

The department have ordered the child's family be 'dobbed in' if his or her weight is impacting 'normal physical, social and emotional functioning'.

Dr Gannon said a balance needs to be struck between helping the country's obesity crisis and lecturing parents.

Some doctors have slammed the Education Department decision as 'social engineering,' and parents should be able to decide what their children eat.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare one in four children aged two to 17 are overweight or obese.

All staff, including teachers, groundskeepers and management, are being trained to identify if a child's weight is impacting on their wellbeing (stock image)

Some doctors have slammed the Education Department decision as 'social engineering,' and parents should be able to decide what their children eat

Of these, 18 per cent are overweight and seven per cent are obese.

For adolescent children, aged 12 to 15, 27 per cent are above a healthy weight range.

Last month, a South Australian mother was left mortified after her daughter's pre-school sent her a scolding note after she packed a chocolate slice in the three-year-old's lunchbox.

'Your child has chocolate slice from the red food category today,' the letter read.

'Please choose healthier options for kindy.'

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare one in four children aged two to 17 are overweight or obese (stock image)
The White House on Wednesday blamed the Obama administration for CIA snooping programs whose details were disclosed to WikiLeaks this year.

And press secretary Sean Spicer carped about a lack of media coverage, compared to a torrent of news stories about 2016 document leaks that hurt Hillary Clinton's White House ambitions,

'All of these occurred under the last administration  that is important  all of these alleged issues,' Spicer told reporters.

WikiLeaks describes its latest trove, planned for rolling release in the coming weeks, as covering the years 2013 to 2016.

And Reuters reported Wednesday afternoon that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials have been aware since late last year of a CIA security breach that led to the WikiLeaks document dump.

Don't blame us! White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters on Wednesday that 'all' of the CIA programs exposed in this week's WikiLeaks release 'occurred under the last administration'

Barack Obama was president when the CIA reportedly developed high-tech tools to introduce security vulnerabilities in consumer electronics so it could eavesdrop at will

Two officials said they were focusing on government contractors as the likeliest source of the leak.

That means the materials were likely served up on a silver platter to the anti-privacy organization before President Donald Trump took office.

Spicer said Wednesday that Trump is committed to punishing leakers,

'We will go after people who leak classified information. We will prosecute them to the full extent of the law,' he said.

'This is  playing with our nation's national security is not something that should be taken lightly under this administration.'

Edward Snowden was predictable critical of the CIA this week, calling its programs 'reckless beyond words'

Spicer also complained about a lack of outrage among Democrats following the publication of 8,761 documents and files this week.

Among Democrats in Congress, he said, 'you had member after member talking about disclosures that occurred during the last administration.'

Spicer was referring to the damaging election-year WikiLeaks publication of an email archive belonging to Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

'When it dealt with Hillary Clinton, there was complete outrage about the leaks that occurred, members calling for investigations into the leaks. It's interesting how there is sort of a double standard with when the leaks occur, how much outrage there is,' he said.

'There is a big difference between disclosing John Podesta's Gmail accounts about a back and forth, and his undermining of Hillary Clinton and his thoughts on her on a personal nature, and the leaking of classified information,' Spicer insisted.

Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of intelligence service employees who leak sensitive information to the public

Hillary Clinton, the failed 2016 Democratic presidential campaign, saw her fortunes tumble after WikiLeaks published the Gmail archive of her campaign chairman John Podesta

Thousands of documents in a WikiLeaks release purportedly reveal hacking tools the CIA uses to break into phones, computers and even smart TVs

He also mentioned Democrats' 2016 obsession with the Justice Department 'when there was potential that the FBI had leaked certain information' last year.

'The members of Congress on the other side of the aisle, Hillary Clinton and others talked about how there was so much concern about classified information,' Spicer said.

'We've seen such silence in outrage from the media, from others, with the current disclosure now.'

'There should be a lot more coverage of this,' he added. 'This alleged leak should concern every single American in terms of the impact it has on our national security.'
A man accused of holding eight woman against their will in his Sandy Springs, Georgia mansion has been arrested and charged with false imprisonment and trafficking.

Kenndric Roberts, 33, was arrested on Tuesday morning after a 20-year-old woman called 911 and told the operator that she and other women in the almost $1 million mansion were being held and forced to dance for money.

'I'm in a very bad situation and I need to get help,' the woman said on the 911 recording, which was released today. She also said that she feared that her 'boss' would kill her if she did leave.

Kenndric Roberts was arrested and charged with false imprisonment and trafficking after a 20-year-old woman called 911 and said Roberts threatened to kill her if she left the house

The Sandy Springs Police Department called in the FBI for help with the case, which led to police officers and agents working together to rescue a total of eight women from Roberts' home, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Roberts was taken into custody and charged with false imprisonment and trafficking of persons for labor, according to the police. He is being held at Fulton County Jail.

'What we believe is he was luring these women to this house with promises of either modeling careers or financial assistance. We're not 100 percent sure on that. The investigation is continuing,' Sandy Springs Police Sgt. Sam Worsham told WSB-TV 2.

Police were not immediately able to determine how long all the women had been held in the house.

The Atlanta, Georgia, house where Roberts allegedly forced women to dance for money

The woman who called 911 told the operator that she initially met Roberts on a website called 'Seeking Arrangements,' a Sugar Daddy dating site, and had been there for a month. She also claimed that he 'had [her] go get, like, plastic surgery,' according to a transcript posted on 9 News.

Fox 5 Atlanta reports that the FBI is now searching for more victims and is looking to see if there are any out-of-state ties to what was happening inside Roberts' home.

Roberts is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday morning.
A pregnant mother, her daughter and two other children have died in a fire at an apartment for domestic violence victims in Ireland.

Ann-Marie O'Brien was living with her two-year-old child Paris at the building in Clondalkin, west Dublin when the blaze struck.

Another woman who was staying in the apartment was fighting for her life in hospital after her three-year-old daughter Holly and four-year-old son Jordan died in the blaze.

The boy was rushed with her to Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin but despite several hours of treatment he passed away.

Ann-Marie O'Brien, pictured above left, was living with her child Paris, pictured above right, at the building in Dublin when the blaze struck. Both of them died in the fire

The alarm was raised at the apartment block, pictured above, at about 2.30am

Dublin Fire Brigade said its rescue teams took the two women and three children from the first-floor apartment and paramedics treated them in the grounds of the complex.

Despite resuscitation efforts, the 27-year-old woman and the two girls were pronounced dead at Tallaght Hospital.

It is understood that another seven residents were evacuated from the block where the fire started.

The alarm was raised at about 2.30am, with several 999 calls being made to emergency services and crews were on the scene within five minutes.

Another woman who was staying in the apartment was fighting for her life in hospital after her four-year-old son Jordan, pictured above left, and three-year-old daughter Holly, pictured above right, died in the blaze

Several 999 calls were made to emergency services, pictured above, and crews were on the scene within five minutes

The blaze is not being treated as suspicious but police said investigations, pictured above left and right, were continuing into how it started

The initial focus of the investigation was on an electrical fault at the apartment. Police and fire officers were pictured at the scene, above

It is understood that another seven residents were evacuated from the block, pictured above, where the fire started

The apartment was fitted with a working fire alarm that was set off by the blaze.

While the blaze is not being treated as suspicious, police said investigations were continuing into how it started and they were keeping an 'open mind'.

The initial focus was on an electrical fault in the apartment.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins led messages of sympathy as he held an event to mark International Women's Day.

He said: 'I do want to express my sympathy to all of those affected by the tragedy in Clondalkin.

'The women involved would have been represented here today. All of our hearts must go out to these women and children.'

Local resident Lisa Kinsilla Colemam, pictured above centre, delivers flowers to the scene of the apartment fire in Dublin

Devastated neighbours and other locals brought tributes to the scene, pictured above

Bunches of flowers and other tributes, pictured above, were left outside the building in Clondalkin, west Dublin

The Prime Minister of Ireland Enda Kenny and Children's Minister Katherine Zappone also extended their condolences.

The Sonas organisation, which supports domestic violence victims, has four apartments and six houses in the Cluainin Cronan complex.

Fiona Ryan, chief executive of the charity, said it had been left absolutely devastated by the tragedy.

'Our sympathies and condolences are with the relatives and friends of the deceased and all those impacted by this awful tragedy,' she said.

The Sonas organisation, which supports domestic violence victims, has four apartments and six houses in the Cluainin Cronan complex, pictured above

Ms Ryan said the charity was liaising with police and fire chiefs investigating the circumstances of the fire.

'We are currently supporting other families in the apartment complex including those unable to return to their homes because of fire damage, for whom we are sourcing alternative accommodation,' she said.

Police appealed for witnesses to come forward as technical examinations continue to determine the cause of the fire.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer stated flatly that President Trump is not the 'target' of any investigation  after earlier dancing around a question about whether he was the subject of a counter-intelligence probe.

The unusual question came up at the White House daily press briefing, days after Trump blasted out a series of tweets saying President Obama had tapped his phones and demanding an investigation.

Although Trump offered no proof his communications were being monitored, his claims raised at least the possibility that there was a probe targeting Trump Tower, following earlier reports that the FBI was investigation contacts between Trump associates and the Russians.

Margaret Brennan of CBS News asked Spicer directly whether Trump was the target of a counterintelligence investigation  essentially a spy probe.

'I think thats what we need to find out,' Spicer responded, before going into a long critique of the media and its Russia coverage.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said there is 'no reason' to believe President Trump is the target of 'any investigation whatsoever'

Then, as he wrapped up the briefing, and after being handed notes by an aide on two occasions, Spicer went back to the issue, 'just to clarify.'

'I just want to be really clear on one point,' Spicer said.

'There is no reason that we have to think the president is the target of any investigation whatsoever,' Spicer said.

'There is no reason to believe that he is the target of any investigation. Thats a very important point to make,' he repeated.

The he said that the tweets 'dealt with wiretaps during the thing.'

'The other is an investigation. They are two separate issues. And there is no reason to believe that there is any type of investigation with respect to the Department of Justice.'

Spicer made his declarative statement after earlier saying 'I think thats what we need to find out' when asked whether Trump was the subject of a counterintelligence investigation

Spicer returned to the subject at the end of the press briefing to say Trump was not the target of 'any' investigation

In his earlier answer, Spicer said, 'There was considerable concern last cycle when a reporter was the target of one. Part of the reason that we have asked the House and Senate to look into this is because of that.'

He complained: 'These stories that keep coming out about the president and his links to Russia. It has continuing to be the same old same old played over and over again.'

'The president has made clear that he has no interest in Russia,' Spicer said. 'And yet a lot of these stories that have come out with respect to that are frankly fake.'

'He doesn't know whether he is the target of a probe or not?' a reporter asked.

'That's one of the issues we have asked the Senate and the House to look into,' Spicer responded.

The Washington Post reported the day before Trump's inauguration that U.S. officials were going through intercepted communications and financial data as part of an investigation into ties between the Russian government and Trump associates.

Following his response, Spicer fielded unrelated questions about international women's day and other topics, before returning to the explosive Russia story.

In recent weeks it has been revealed that top Trump associates met with Russia's ambassador to the U.S.
Billionaire businessman George Soros has reportedly given $246million to multiple groups behind the Day Without a Woman protest.

Conservative think tank Media Research Center says the liberal hedge-investor gave funding to 100 out of the 544 partners supporting the women's cause between 2010 and 2014.

Contributions were given to organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Watch, the Center for American Progress, with the top recipient being the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) who received $37.3million.

Billionaire businessman George Soros, 86, has reportedly given $246million to 100 out of 544 groups behind the Day Without a Woman protest

The 86-year-old investor is said to have a net worth of $25.2billion.

The Day Without a Woman strike took place on Wednesday, as part of International Women's Day, where females were encouraged to wear red and not attend work.

Schools across at least four states were closed so staff members can take part in the protest, according to Fox News.

Soros has been known to back abortion and is a well-known supporter of American liberal politics.

The billionaire has also been openly critical Donald Trump and has called the president a 'would-be dictator.' Soros previously slammed Trump's administration calling them a 'cabinet of incompetent extremists.'
Some 55 pupils connected to a single French high school were in police custody on Tuesday following a 'pitched battle' against riot police.

All face charges including organised armed violence and arson for causing the trouble at the Suger Lycee, in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday.

The incident kicked off in the mid-morning when fires were lit in two toilets, and smoke started to fill corridors and teaching rooms.

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Fifty-five students in France face charges including organised armed violence and arson after clashing with riot police at the Suger Lycee school, in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Tuesday

When the head teacher started to evacuate the school, which has 1,200 pupils, fighting broke out and alarm systems were vandalised.

Riot police then arrived, and used tear gas and flash balls to try to contain the violence, as pupils fought back with Molotov cocktails.

'A pitch battle broke out on the school's forecourt between officers and gangs of hooded kids,' said a police source.

An online video posted by an anarchist group shows tear gas canisters exploding outside the Suger Lycee, as boys and girls look on.

Franc Moisin, the prosecutor from nearby Bobigny, confirmed that 55 young people were in custody, and 44 were minors under 16.

Mr Moisin said custody would be extended today, and that 'many faced being placed under criminal investigation'.

The incident kicked off in the mid-morning when fires were lit in two toilets, and smoke started to fill corridors and teaching rooms. Riot police then arrived and used tear gas to try to contain the violence

Of the 55 pupils arrested on Tuesday, 44 of them are minors under the age of 16 years old, officials said

The vast majority of those arrested were actual pupils at the Suger Lycee, although some other local youths are believed to have joined in the rioting.

It follows weeks of trouble at schools and colleges around France, as youngsters protest against the 'violence of the state'.

The protesters are particularly angry about an assault on a 22-year-old black youth worker in February in the Paris suburbs, during which a police truncheon was inserted in the man's bottom.

Four officers face criminal trial over the alleged assault in Aulnay-sous-Bois, but insist that it was an accident.

Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said in a statement that the 'Violence, vandalism, and degradation is unacceptable'.
A British backpacker, 22, who was allegedly held hostage and repeatedly raped and beaten on a Queensland road trip is planning to head back the UK now that she has been released from hospital

A British backpacker who was allegedly held hostage and repeatedly raped and beaten in Queensland is planning to head back the UK now that she has been released from hospital.

It comes after it was revealed the 22-year-old tourist, from Liverpool, England, had walked into a Cairns hospital with serious facial injuries in the lead up to the brutal attack.

She tried to admit herself to get stitches on her face after suffering a cut to her eyebrow, The Courier Mail reported.

But when staff members asked the woman whether her injuries were inflicted from domestic violence, she left without an explanation.

She is now being cared for by friends and family and is arranging her return home with the British Consulate, according to 9News.

Police allege the woman was 'raped four times, bashed and held captive' by her ex-boyfriend, also aged 22, for two months.



On Sunday afternoon, the injured woman was found behind the wheel of a white Pajero on the Warrego Highway, near Mitchell in Queensland.

Just minutes earlier, the backpacker had told a petrol station owner after filling the tank of the SUV: 'I'm sorry, I can't pay. My ex has my wallet and credit cards.'

Beverley Page, who manages the Caltex outback stop in Mitchell, 350 miles east of Brisbane, said the girl was wearing a pretty summer dress but had black eyes, a wounded neck and looked like 'a zombie'.

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Police allege the woman was 'raped four times, bashed and held captive' by her ex-boyfriend, also aged 22, for two months (pictured is her alleged attacker)

CCTV footage shows the British backpacker walking into an outback petrol station and her ordeal was revealed for the first time - and she told the store owner: ''I'm sorry, I can't pay. My ex-boyfriend has my wallet and credit cards'

The 22-year-old woman from Liverpool then fled without paying and police later stopped the white 4x4 car she was driving and found her alleged kidnapper, also 22, hiding in a compartment in the back.

Miss Page told the Mail: 'I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I thought her tears were tears of embarrassment because of the payment problem.

'But what struck me were her black eyes and marks down the side of her neck. She looked bad  shaking uncontrollably.'

'She was like a person in a trance. She leaned on the counter and the tears flowed down.

Saved: Beverley Page (left), who manages the Caltex outback stop in Mitchell, 350 miles east of Brisbane says the girl (right) was wearing a summer dress but had black eyes, a wounded neck and looked like 'a zombie'

The inside of the 4x4 is pictured here on Tuesday, which has been adapted to acommodate a bed and numerous cubbyholes to hide in - and where the alleged rapist was found cowering inside

The 22-year-old tourist, from Liverpool, England, tried to admit herself to Cairns Hospital (pictured) after suffering a cut to her eyebrow

'I asked if there was some way she could get someone to pay or if there was a chance of her getting her wallet back. She didn't say anything. She was like a zombie, answering a few simple questions sometimes and then just being silent.

TIMELINE OF THE HORROR ROAD TRIP JANUARY AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND: British backpacker meets man, 22, at a 'bush doof' party in Cairns. FEBRUARY Police alleged the 22-year-old tourist was raped in a Cairns hotel room. MARCH 1-5 The woman was allegedly forced to drive the suspect as they travelled south. She was allegedly beaten and repeatedly raped during this time. MARCH 5 The woman was rescued after being pulled over by police. The man was arrested and charged. Advertisement

'In the end she turned and walked out and I thought she was going to look for some money in the car. But she just got in, sat behind the wheel, started it up and drove out on to the main road.'

It came as the 22-year-old Briton, who police say was 'raped four times, bashed and held captive', was released from hospital overnight and is being comforted by her family.

She was allegedly regularly choked, beaten and humiliated during a terrifying drive across Queensland.

She will now be interviewed by police after being counselled for trauma caused by an ordeal detectives have described as 'catastrophic'.

The victim started a relationship with her alleged captor after they met at an outdoor dance party, known as a 'doof', in Cairns.

But within days the relationship began to sour as he allegedly became 'obsessive and clingy'.

Her friend said the suspected attacker, who is accused of a string of crimes against the tourist, was 'really clingy' and 'just blew in to town and latched on to the first single girl' he saw.

The man, who MailOnline is not naming for legal reasons, also said his friend's visit to the petrol station was a 'brilliant cry for help', which led to her being saved.

The pixelated face of the woman's alleged attacker, whose identity must remain anonymous due to Queensland law

The worker said the backpacker got back in her car and took off after being told if she didn't pay, the police would have to be called

CCTV footage shows the moment the British tourist walked into a petrol station, prompting the cashier to call the police and save her.

The backpacker appeared distressed on Sunday as she pulled up in a white SUV to fill up the tank.

But as she wandered into the station, the woman told the female owner behind the counter she was unable to pay for the petrol.

A 27-year-old friend of the woman told Daily Mail Australia he was shocked to hear about his friend and said he believes the 'trip to the petrol station' was a 'brilliant cry for help'.

The friend said: 'I tried calling her a few times but couldn't get through.

'I have spoken to her aunt from the UK since.'

The friend, who met the young woman at a pub in Cairns just before Christmas, described her as a nice girl who was very trusting.

The young Briton is currently being treated for her injuries at a hospital in Roma, a small country town close to where she was rescued from her terrible ordeal.

Her close friend said: 'She is being kept in overnight. I haven't been able to get through to her yet. I just hope she will be ok.'

This is the white 4WD police stopped in south-west Queensland on Sunday afternoon - finding a 22-year-old woman in extreme distress and a 22-year-old man in a back alcove

The SUV at the centre of the woman's horrific ordeal was filled with cubbyholes to hide and has been seized by police as the investigation continues

Jump-start cables and blankets piled up on a makeshift bed in the back of the white Mitsubishi

The 22-year-old victim walked into this petrol station where she talked to the cashier

A police officer investigates the Mitsubishi Pajero SUV that the victim filled with $60 of fuel

The alleged attacker was found hiding under a pile of clothes and other items in the car, which had been adapted to accommodate a bed and a number of storage compartments

Police believe the woman was in the four-wheel-drive on a trip from far north Queensland

The pair allegedly met in January at a dance party in Cairns. From there, they allegedly embarked on a road trip together between Cairns and Roma - before they were pulled over in Mitchell, a rural town 500 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, Queensland on Sunday

Recent history of troubling attacks on backpackers travelling Australia On Wednesday, a 60-year-old man will stand trial over an alleged sex attack on two female backpackers at a remote beach southeast of Adelaide. The man, who denies the charges including attempted murder and indecent assault, is accused of attacking the women at remote Salt Creek, in the Coorong National Park, in February last year. And just last week, Queensland police revealed a 24-year-old Polish nanny, who was violently raped while working at Petrie north of Brisbane last year, as killed in a car crash back in her homeland. She died just days before a 28-year-old man was charged over the vicious attack in a council car park, that saw her undergo facial surgery for injuries including a broken nose. But one of the worst cases in recent years involved the rape of 21-year-old French student Sophie Collombet, who was left to die on a Brisbane park bench in March, 2014. In October last year, Benjamin James Milward was jailed for life for raping the student while he was high on ice, and then leaving her covered in nothing but a jacket and a newspaper. Milward was high on ice when he attacked the young traveller, and she remained alive for several hours as passers-by thought she was a sleeping homeless person. Advertisement

The petrol station owner said the woman filled up the white Mitsubishi Pajero SUV with $60 of petrol.

Beverley Page said had the backpacker paid for the fuel, she would still be suffering the same ordeal.

If she'd paid for the fuel and gone on her way heaven knows what would have happened to her,' Ms Page said.

The backpacker told the cashier she could not pay for the petrol because her ex-boyfriend had her wallet and credit cards.

Ms Page informed the woman if she could not get in touch with him to arrange a payment or get her wallet back, she would be forced to call the police.

At this point, the backpacker walked out to the forecourt, got back in her car and drove away.

'I made the decision to follow her because I thought that if I could get the registration number I'd be able to file a report to the police,' Ms Page said.

'I couldn't ring the police because it's very difficult to raise anyone in this area and you can't the emergency triple-0 number to report a drive-away,' the petrol station owner added.

The police then pulled the vehicle over during a routine traffic stop.

'That's when they stopped the vehicle and found the man at the back.

'I realise now that the man in the vehicle was the ex-boyfriend she was talking about.

'I asked her where she was from - meaning where had she driven from - and she misunderstood my question and said 'From England'.

'I'd already guessed that because she had a very English accent.

'There's no doubt that she was upset and I thought it was because of not being able to pay but now I know the circumstances I realise her tears were because of what she was going through.

'I was very concerned about her, but I didn't expect her to just walk out, get in the vehicle and drive off.

'It was as well that she did. If she had been able to pay for the fuel I might not have interfered with her life and she would have gone off and who knows?'

A pile of clothing police will reportedly allege belonged to the man, 22, who has been charged with raping and beating the woman

This is the area police pulled over the white SUV on a road between Mitchell and Roma

Police officers found her in a state of distress and suffering from facial fractures and other injuries.

Photographs reveal the inside of the SUV where the tourist was allegedly held against her will during the horrific ordeal.

Her accused captor was found in an alcove built in the back of the white Mitsubishi Pajero, hidden underneath clothes and 'other items'.

Investigators claimed the couple had met in January at a 'bush doof', a popular outdoor dance party, in Cairns and had agreed to go on a road trip together.

But a court in Roma heard on Monday that the woman was held against her will by the man between January 2 and March 5, as they made their way across Queensland.

Police also believe the man damaged the backpacker's passport, meaning she could not leave the country.

Ms Page, who had also noted marks on the woman's neck, spoke to her for ten minutes.

The restaurant inside the petrol station where the crying victim talked to the owner

Police from the station in Mitchell, pictured here, happened to be carrying out breath tests

The petrol station worker alerted police setting up a roadside breath test near the National Australia Bank in Mitchell

The 22-year-old woman was rescued after a routine traffic stop in Queensland (Warrego Highway pictured)

Police said they pulled the car over about 15 minutes drive west along the Warrego Highway towards Charleville.

It was immediately clear to officers that something was wrong and they soon found her alleged captor hiding in an alcove that had been built into the back of the car.

The petrol station owner had given chase because she had not written down the number plate of the car.

And as Ms Page was driving up the road, she saw local police had pulled up doing random breath tests.

'I missed the number plate, I was going to try catch up to it and get the number plate,' she said.

'Mitchell police had just pulled up up the street doing random breath tests. I just told them this white Pajero had just taken off from the fuel station without paying.'

A 22-year-old woman had serious facial injuries and was extremely distressed when police pulled over a four-wheel drive on the Warrego Highway (pictured) at Mitchell

Police believe the backpacker had been doing the bulk of the driving against her will allowing her alleged attacker to hide in the alcove of the SUV to avoid being seen.

Arresting officer Acting Sergeant David Harper said they had left Cairns last week, and told the Brisbane Times: 'Her demeanour and her injuries alerted police that there was something more to the story.'

Detective Inspector Paul Hart described what had happened to the woman as 'quite catastrophic'.

He told ABC the pair had met when she was travelling in the north of country and had spent time together but that their relationship had subsequently 'obviously soured.

'During the course of their travels throughout the state then a number of very serious offences have occurred,' Detective Hart said, adding the alleged attacker was appearing to be hiding from police.

A 22-year-old British backpacker who was repeatedly raped, bashed and choked has been saved by a routine traffic stop near Mitchell, 500 kilometres north-west of Brisbane (Mitchell train station pictured)

Police will allege the woman met the Cairns man three months ago and they agreed to go on a road trip (Warrego Highway pictured)

Police found the woman in a four-wheel drive on the Warrego Highway at Mitchell (pictured)

The man, from near Cairns, faces charges including four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four counts of strangulation, and two of deprivation of liberty.

He's also facing drug charges. He was remanded in custody to face court on May 23.

Police pulled over the four-wheel drive about 5pm on Sunday, in what's been described as a random traffic stop.

When they approached the vehicle, they found the injured woman at the wheel. 'It appears she was terrified and not able to hide that,' police said.

The woman is being treated for facial fractures, bruises and cuts to her body in hospital after sh allegedly travelled nearly 1,400 kilometres between Cairns and Roma with the man.

She is now said to be considering moving home to England once her damaged passport has been replaced.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: 'We are supporting a British woman following an incident in Queensland and remain in contact with the local authorities.'

A police investigation is continuing.
A stray dog has dressed up in a traditional Franciscan habit to fit in at a Bolivian monastery after friars adopted him.

St Francis Monastery in Cochabamba recently announced that they had taken in the pet and that he is staying with them.

The dog, called Carmelo, has been named Friar Bigoton - which is 'moustache' in Spanish - and has even got a new item of clothing to wear.

The stray dog, called Carmelo, even wears a habit and seems to be enjoying his time at the St Francis Monastery in Bolivia

The dog was a stray and was living on the streets before it was adopted by the monastery

He was given a Franciscan habit - a traditional item of religious clothing typically worn by a monk - and seems to be enjoying his life off the street.

Friar Jorge Fernandez told The Dodo that the dog is a 'creature of God' and that he is loved 'very much' at the monastery.

He said: 'His life is all about playing and running. Here, all of the brothers love him very much. He is a creature of God.'

He seems to be enjoying his new habit and spends his time running around the grounds and looking at the fish

A local animal rescue group, Proyecto Narices Frias - or Cold Nose Project - made the adoption possible.

The group wrote on Facebook: 'He is part of the fraternity of the monks in Cochabamba, Bolivia.'
A woman infected with HIV was told by doctors her chances of having the incurable disease were 'so slim' because she's Australian.

Abby Landy, a legal assistant from Sydney, developed aggressive cold sores after sleeping with her new partner and asked doctors for an HIV test.

She was told by her female doctor the chances of her coming into contact with or contracting the disease were tiny because of her nationality, and was sent home with antiviral medication instead of having a blood test.

Abby Landy (pictured) contracted the virus from her 'sexually aggressive' new partner and soon developed a terrible case of cold sores

Her doctor said: 'Abby, it's probably not necessary. You know, you're an Australian woman, the chances of you having come into contact or contracting HIV are so slim that doing the test probably isn't necessary.'

But Ms Landy persisted by googling her symptoms which she found were 'terrifyingly similar' to HIV.

After returning to the doctors several times - and even ending up in the emergency department - Ms Landy was faced with a frightening reality.

'The test came back positive,' Ms Landy told the ABC.

The now 28-year-old contracted the virus at the age of 23 after entering into a new sexual relationship.

She told Daily Mail Australia the man she was seeing 'became quite sexually aggressive, and I became unwell'.

The Sydney woman was told it was unlikely she had HIV because she is an Australian female

After ending things with him, Ms Landy said he sent her a sinister text message which read 'I hope you remember me forever'.

Days later a terrible case of cold sores pushed her to visit the doctor who initially insisted she did not need the test.

Ms Landy said she was glad she didn't take no as an answer when her doctor refused to test her.

She said: 'Anyone who is sexually active is at risk. And it makes no sense to me why you wouldn't run the test routinely.'

Australian women with HIV do not fit the bill of a 'stereotypical' HIV-infected person, and Ms Landy says females with the disease are often shamed into silence.

She said: 'I felt a great deal of shame initially, and I was terrified. I was never going to tell anybody.'

The 28-year-old felt shamed for having the virus but is glad she persisted with doctors to take the test

'But I started engaging in private women's groups with other positive women. I just felt like my situation really allowed me the privilege to speak about my experience.'

March 9 is the inaugural National Day of Women Living with HIV Australia, a day which raises awareness about the 2,700 women in Australia with the virus.

The National Network of Women Living with HIV (WLHIV) - known as Femfatales - attempts to reduce the stigma of HIV and helps women with the virus who are shamed or are not considered a priority population.

Femfatales Chair Kath Leane said: 'Too often, WLHIV in Australia are considered as an afterthought or swept up in the generic term of people living with HIV.'

'Women when not well supported will often go underground after diagnosis and hide in fear or shame of being constantly labelled, judged and stigmatised. This leaves a larger proportion of WLHIV dealing with their diagnosis alone.'
An eight-year-old boy says 'angels' miraculously helped him save his father's life after the car they had been working on fell and crushed the man's body.

J.T. Parker was helping his 17-year-old brother Mason and their dad Stephen as they worked on a Toyota Prius in the backyard of their home in Sugar City, Idaho last July.

'We were pulling the engine out of the car, and after we got it jacked up, I climbed under there to take the axles off,' Stephen told East Idaho News.

J.T. said he thought 'angels' helped him life the car after he spent 15 minutes desperately jumping on the jack to free his trapped father

His father was airlifted to hospital and miraculously escaped with 13 broken ribs. Stephen was allowed home just two days later with no major internal damage

'The one axle came off pretty easily, but the other side wasn't coming off.'

The car suddenly fell on top of him after he went to move the jack to adjust the axle.

J.T. was the only person around after Mason had gone inside just minutes before to fix a cut on his hand.

'I yelled to J.T. on the other side of the car: 'Jack it up quick! Jack it up quick',' Stephen said.

'I couldn't move at all. I was totally trapped, and then I passed out. It was all in his hands, and I thought: 'This is it. There's no way he can jack up this car because it took my 17-year-old son and I both to jack it up the first time'.'

The little boy, pictured with his father Stephen and mother Jodi, said he thought angels had helped him lift the car

J.T. and his 17-year-old brother Mason were both working on the car that day but Mason had gone inside just minutes before to fix a cut on his hand

His eight-year-son, who weighs just 50 pounds, started desperately jumping up and down on the jack for 15 minutes until the car started lifting off his dad's crushed body.

'It was scary, and I didn't think that I could jack the car up, but I just kept on trying,' J.T. said.

The little boy said he thought angels had helped him lift the car.

Once the car was completely off Stephen, J.T. quickly ran for his brother who called 911.

His father was airlifted to hospital and miraculously escaped with 13 broken ribs. Stephen was allowed home just two days later with no major internal damage.

J.T. was last week recognized for his bravery with an American Red Cross of Greater Idaho award.
A 63-year-old man was arrested after confessing that he beat his daughter-in-law to death with a hammer.

The murder happened on Tuesday when Amarjit Singh said he became upset because his daughter-in-law was disrespecting him.

The killing took place in the garage of their Suisun City home, northeast of San Francisco.

63-year-old Amarjit Singh was arrested in Suisun City late Tuesday after an alleged fatal attack on his daughter-in-law with a hammer

Police found the body of 29-year-old Shameena Bibi in the garage of the home. She had suffered major blunt force trauma to the head

Singh confessed to the slaying around midnight and was booked at the Solano County Jail on suspicion of murder, police said.

Cops found out about the incident after receiving several 911 calls, one of which alluded to the fact a body could well be lying within the garage.

When emergency responders arrived on scene they found the body of 29-year-old Shameena Bibi, who lived at the house with her husband, two-year-old son, mother-in-law and her father-in-law.

Officials say Bibi had suffered major blunt force trauma to the head..

Investigators found it hard to speak with the family initially because of the language barrier and a Punjabi translator had to be found.
Philip Hammond flatly denied 'lying' to the British public today as he defended his 2billion raid on the self-employed.

The Chancellor faced a barrage of questions about the 2015 Tory manifesto pledge that there would be no rise in national insurance rates.

His first Budget yesterday imposed swingeing hikes on around 2.5million self-employed - including many on low and middle incomes.

The move prompted fury, with Tory MPs among those condemning the increase in 'Class 4' contributions - which was teamed with higher taxes on shareholders to raise funding for social care and an education shake-up.

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Philip Hammond flatly denied 'lying' to the British public today as he defended his 2billion raid on the self-employed

Theresa MAy and Philip Hammond are pictured in the Commons during PMQs yesterday

But Mr Hammond dismissed calls for a rethink today.

Asked on ITV whether the Tories had 'lied' to the public, Mr Hammond bizarrely insisted the manifesto had not been breached because legislation passed only the election only protected the main class of NI contributions.

'We made it clear that it was the Class One National Insurance contribution that we were locking.'

He added: Speaking on ITV1's Good Morning Britain, the Chancellor said: 'Britain's circumstances have moved on.

'We are now facing the challenge of leaving the European Union, of building a global Britain to exploit the opportunities in the future that this country can enjoy, and we need to invest to do that.

'I've had to ask the self-employed to pay a little bit more National Insurance in order to make a fair contribution for the services that they receive from Government.'

Mr Hammond dismissed calls for a rethink

The defiant stance came as Tory MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan indicated she is ready to take the unusual step of tabling an amendment to the Budget legislation - suggesting Mr Hammond faces a full-blown rebellion.

'We need to halt this particular decision now,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

'I think we need to put this on hold so we can have a proper review and think in a holistic way.'

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Budget had been a 'shocker'.

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'There's got to be an element of fairness about our taxation system.

'He cannot cut the taxes to the rich and the corporations and increase the taxes on the lower paid.

'This came out of the blue and was a shocker.'

Mr McDonnell said money announced for social care was not enough to deal with the problems in the service.

'He trailed 2billion and then when he announced it's over three years, well it isn't a sticking plaster even.

'It means we are still in crisis.'

Last night Mr Hammond was facing an unprecedented Tory revolt over his 4.7 billion Budget raid on the self-employed and savers.

The Chancellor tore up a key manifesto pledge by hitting 2.5 million workers with higher National Insurance.

In a further blow to Middle England, Mr Hammond also penalised 2.2 million business owners and savers by slashing the tax-free allowance on dividends.

No laughing matter: Philip Hammond is now facing an unprecedented Tory revolt over his 4.7 billion Budget raid on the self-employed and savers

On skittish form: Theresa May joking at Labours expense in the Commons

The Chancellor, who was delivering his first Budget, said the moves were needed to pay for investment in social care, education and infrastructure.

Despite pocketing a 16.8 billion windfall from lower borrowing, he said it was vital that Britain continued to live within its means as it prepares to leave the EU.

But the decision to penalise enterprise and thrift prompted an immediate Tory revolt on a scale unprecedented on Budget day, when MPs normally line up to praise the Chancellor.

Former Tory minister Andrew Murrison urged Mr Hammond to think again, telling MPs: It is very important we do not disadvantage self-employment. This party always has been the party that supports White Van Man and it is vitally important that we do not disadvantage those individuals.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Tory MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, said of the national insurance rise: It goes against every principle of Conservative understanding of business. We understand that taking risks is what stimulates growth.

It impacts people who are putting themselves at risk, their houses on the line, to create new growth. Its the wrong way round and sends a very poor message.

Mr Hammond, who has faced criticism in the past for his gloomy outlook on Brexit, had attempted to strike an upbeat tone in his first Budget statement by praising the resilience of the British economy.

Unveiling higher than expected growth forecasts, he said the the UK had continued to confound the commentators with its robust performance in the wake of the Brexit vote.

But the optimistic assessment was overshadowed by the row over the two tax hikes - and another raid on mobile phone calls. Figures published alongside the Budget also revealed that motorists face a 10 per cent rise in their car insurance premiums following a controversial compensation shake-up.

The Chancellor tore up a key manifesto pledge by hitting 2.5 million workers with higher National Insurance

Other major measures unveiled yesterday included:

Slapping VAT on mobile phone calls made by tourists and business travellers outside the EU;

The revelation that a change in the way compensation payments are calculated will add 2 billion to insurance premiums, raising motoring premiums by 10 per cent;

Hints that drivers of diesel cars could face tax hikes later this year.

Agreeing a 440 million package to soften the blow of controversial hikes to business rates;

A 2 billion package to ease the social care crisis;

Funding for a new wave of grammar schools that could open as soon as 2020;

Mr Hammonds decision to go after the self-employed stunned Westminster. He announced that national insurance rates paid by 2.5 million self-employed people would rise from nine per cent to 11 per cent over the next two years.

Some 1.6 million basic rate taxpayers will be an average 255 a year worse off.

The decision is a blatant breach of the 2015 Conservative Party manifesto, on which Mr Hammond was elected.

The manifesto pledged four times that headline tax and National Insurance rates would not be raised. The document said there would be no increases in VAT, National Insurance contributions (NICs) or income tax. It warned that rises would harm our economy and reduce living standards.

Former Tory business minister Anna Soubry predicted Mr Hammond may have to make a U-turn on the policy

After the election, the tax lock pledge was enshrined in law.

Incredibly, Treasury aides tried to claim that the pledge had not been broken as small print in the legislation after the election only specified Class One NICs, not the Class Four type raised by Mr Hammond yesterday.

A source said: The manifesto commitment was detailed in the legislation  it was very clear that the tax lock refers to Class One contributions. That has not changed. The government has stuck to the manifesto.

But former Tory pensions minister Ros Altmann, who took the tax lock legislation through the House of Lords, said the self-employed had every right to feel misled.

Baroness Altmann said: I would never have expected us to do this. We said, in good faith that we wouldnt raise National Insurance rates. But I didnt think of the small print.

The tax lock pledge was central to the Tories 2015 campaign

In the run-up to the election, Mr Cameron posted a message on Twitter saying: Between May 2015 to May 2020, there will be no increases in National Insurance. The word no was underlined for emphasis.

In another message, Mr Cameron wrote: Ive ruled out raising VAT. Why wont Ed Miliband rule our raising National Insurance contributions?

The decision to penalise enterprise and thrift prompted an immediate Tory revolt on a scale unprecedented on Budget day, when MPs normally line up to praise the Chancellor

The Conservative Campaign Headquarters also posted on Twitter: The reality is Labour need to raise National Insurance to make their sums add up - and hard-working people will pay.

Mr Hammond is also likely to face pressure over the decision to slash the tax-free allowance for dividends. The move will affect 2.2 million people, including 1.4 million savers, of whom 400,000 are pensioners.

In future, the allowance will be cut from 5,000 a year to 2,000. The average loss will be 320 a year.

Former Tory business minister Anna Soubry predicted Mr Hammond may have to make a U-turn on the policy, saying: This will not be popular and many will argue its unfair.

In an ominous development for Mr Hammond last night, Conservative MPs lined up to ask him to think again about the rise in National Insurance.

Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood said Mr Hammond said the self-employed added crucial flexibility to the economy, which should be rewarded.

He added: We need to make sure it is as easy as possible to get into self-employment and, where people are successful, as worthwhile as possible.

I dont think we should be going out of our way to tax work, enterprise and success. I know we have to do some of it, but I think our taxes on it are quite high enough.

In an ominous development for Mr Hammond last night, Conservative MPs lined up to ask him to think again about the rise in National Insurance

The Chancellor, who was delivering his first Budget, said the moves were needed to pay for investment in social care, education and infrastructure

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat called for a rethink, adding: The political tradition I come from is one of small government, low taxes, one that seeks to encourage entrepreneurship and enterprise. And while these are small figures they speak of a tone that is not entirely helpful and in that I would urge a rethink.

The self-employed, the start-up, those who are taking a risk  they are the ones we should be encouraging, yes through support but also through the tax system.

RED BOOK IS SHRINKING The spring Budget red book was just 68 pages  half of what it normally is. Last year the key document, which spells out the Treasurys changes, ran to 148 pages. Under Labour, the average length was 264 pages. But a Treasury committee report in 2012 found that under the Tory government the average red book had been reduced to 110 pages. Committee members pointed out that it had more factual and less subjective material. Philip Hammonds Budget speech lasted 55 minutes  the shortest since George Osbornes in 2014. The longest continuous Budget speech was by William Gladstone in 1853  four hours and 45 minutes. Advertisement

Fellow Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg said the move was a mistake. And Anne-Marie Trevelyan said she was worried about the move, saying: The self-employed are the risk-takers, the next generation of business leaders, who get no statutory sick leave or holiday pay.

The Treasury insisted that the move was about restoring fairness between the self-employed and those in salaried jobs, who pay National Insurance at 12 per cent.

A source said a self-employed worker on 25,000 a year currently pays 363 a less in NIC than someone in a salaried job.

Aides to Mr Hammond pointed out that the self-employed would qualify for the new flat rate state pension, ending an historic disadvantage. A Treasury spokesman said the move was worth 1,800 a year to the self-employed.

The Treasury also said the losses to the self-employed would be partially offset by previously announced cuts to Class two NICs, which will reduce the number of losers to 1.6 million.

Mr Hammond also announced a review that could lead to the self-employed winning new maternity and paternity rights, which are currently extremely limited.

He told MP there had been a dramatic increase in the number of people working as self-employed - and that the reason for doing so should not be differences in tax treatment.

The disparity between the rates paid by the self-employed and employees undermines the fairness of our tax system, he said.
She vowed to clean up her smart-talking, law-breaking ways after appearing on Dr Phil.

But Danielle Bregoli, who shot to fame with her catchphrase 'Cash me ousside, how bout dah?', found herself in trouble with police again on Tuesday.

Police were called to her house in Boynton Beach, Florida, to break up a fight between the 13-year-old and her mother, Barbara Ann.

The pair came to blows when Barbara tried to throw Danielle's 17-year-old friend out of the house, TMZ reports.

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Police were called to 13-year-old Danielle Bregoli's house on Tuesday to break up a fight with her mom Barbara Ann

The mother and daughter came to blows when Barbara (above together in an old social media photograph) tried to kick one of Danielle's older friends out

There were no arrests and no one was injured in the scrap but it was enough for police to attend.

Boynton Beach Police Department confirmed to DailyMail.com on Wednesday that officers were called to the house for a disturbance but would not elaborate.

Last week, an attempted burglary was reported at the house but nothing has come of it since.

There was no answer at Danielle and Barbara's home on Wednesday afternoon.

The latest tribulation comes just a week after Danielle started a brawl outside a Florida restaurant while trying to charge fans $10 to pose with her.

The sassy teenager was catapulted to fame when she appeared on Dr Phil last year.

The appearance was meant to correct her troubling behavior and was described by her mother as a final attempt to salvage their futile relationship.

Police have visited the pair's home in Boynton Beach, Florida, 53 times in the past year

Since appearing on Dr Phil last year, Danielle has enjoyed an catastrophic ascent to fame. She is seen above posing for a photographer in a recent photo-shoot

She has since become swept up in a wave of internet fame, gaining millions of Instagram followers and even catching the eye of local musicians.

Danielle appeared in one rapper's music video but now says he took advantage of her fame.

Her mother appears to have caught the same taste for the high life. During their second appearance on Dr Phil, she said the show should thank them for high ratings and made a list of demands.

Danielle said it was 'nothing' before she appeared on it.

Police have been called to her house 51 times in the past year for a range of issues including other spats with her mother.

They responded to reports of stolen cars, fraud and went when Danielle was feared to have run away.

The girl's estranged father Ivan Peskowitz is a police officer. He said her behavior was 'appalling'.
Pauline Hanson has apologised for likening a federal vaccination policy to a dictatorship after previously insisting there was a test for immunisation allergies.

The One Nation leader earned a rebuke from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and doctors on Sunday when she slammed the 'no jab, no pay' policy where family payments of up to $15,000 a year are withheld if parents fail to have their kids immunised.

But on Thursday the Queensland senator offered an apology, explaining she had wrongly believed there was a test that could indicate if a child was allergic to vaccinations.

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Pauline Hanson has apologised for likening a vaccination policy to a dictatorship

Pauline Hanson (right) has told David Koch (left) on Sunrise she was wrong on vaccinations

'Yes, I do apologise if that be the case, I am wrong, alright,' Senator Hanson told Sunrise presenter David Koch on Thursday.

'I was of the opinion, that I did read, that that was the case. Apparently it's not.

'I have heard a couple of doctors have said that there is no test.'

On Sunday Senator Hanson, whose four children were vaccinated, hit back at ABC Insiders presenter Barrie Cassidy for suggesting vaccinations saved lives.

'That's a dictatorship and I think people have a right to investigate themselves,' she said.

'I hear from so many parents, where are their rights?'

Five days earlier, Pauline Hanson told the ABC a vaccination policy was a 'dictatorship'

The One Nation leader has admitted she wrongly believed there was an allergy test for vaccinations

Senator Hanson described the 'no jab, no pay' policy introduced by Tony Abbott's government as an affront to civil liberties.

'What I don't like about it is the blackmailing that's happening with the government - don't do that to people,' the Queensland senator said.

The Prime Minister rebuked her on the same day.

'It is a vital health objective to ensure that everybody is vaccinated,' Mr Turnbull told reporters.

'If parents choose not to vaccinate their children, they are putting their children's health at risk and every other person's children's health at risk too.'

Senator Hanson told Sunrise she had her children vaccinated.

'I've never said to my children not to have their children vaccinated,' she said.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that 'most of' the inmates President George W. Bush released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba won their freedom because of court orders, a claim that runs counter to history.

His fact-challenged moment compounded President Donald Trump's own mistake a day earlier: Trump had tweeted on Tuesday that '122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield.'

The vast majority of that group  113 in all  were actually turned loose during the Bush administration.

Spicer was drawing a distinction on Wednesday between Obama's attempt to close the prison complex, an ultimately fruitless 2008 campaign promise, and Bush's outcomes which he described as outside the Republican's control.

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White House press secretary Sean Spicer misrepresented the George W. Bush administration's history of releasing prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison, saying on Wednesday that 'most of' those cases were 'court-ordered'

Like his successor Barack Obama (right), Bush (left) believed that keeping suspected terrorists at 'Gitmo' gave al Qaeda and other groups a powerful recruiting tool

Spicer compounded President Trump's incorrect tweet a day earlier that 122 former detainees who returned back to the battlefield were 'released by the Obama Administration'; the vast majority of that group were set free in the Bush era

Bush appears to have held a view similar to Obama's, that keeping hundreds of suspected terrorists locked up provided al Qaeda and other groups with a powerful recruiting tool.

'While I believe opening Guantanamo after 9/11 was necessary,' he wrote in 'Decision Points,' his 2010 memoir, 'the detention facility had become a propaganda tool for our enemies and a distraction for our allies.'

Spicer told reporters on Wednesday that 'under the Bush administration, most of those [released] were court-ordered.'

'The Obama administration,' he said in contrast, 'made it actually a priority to let people go, and to actively desire to close that camp and to release more and more of those people.'

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for information supporting Spicer's claims.

The second row of this chart from the Director of National Intelligence sorts out how many 'reengaged' former Guantanamo detainees were let go under Obama, just 9 of 122, and under Bush  the other 113

Trump mangled his claim about former prisoners who re-engaged in terrorism after being set free, blaming Obama for more than 100 of Bush's releases and forcing Spicer (right) to play cleanup on Tuesday

Trump was likely watching 'Fox & Friends' at 6:13 a.m. on Tuesday, when the show broadcast this graphic without separating Obama's detainee releases from Bush's

In October 2008, just three months before the end of Bush's term in office, a federal judge ordered the release of 17 Guantanamo prisoners.

The New York Times described it at the time as 'the first such ruling in nearly seven years of legal disputes over the administrations detention policies.'

'While I believe opening Guantanamo after 9/11 was necessary,' President Bush wrote in 2010, 'the detention facility had become a propaganda tool for our enemies and a distraction for our allies'

Six weeks later another judge forced Bush's Pentagon to set free five more detainees, ruling that the government hadn't proved they were enemy combatants.

The Washington Post described that case as the first of its kind.

Those 22 represent just 4 per cent of the 532 inmates that Department of Defense numbers indicate Bush released.

Obama emptied out most of Gitmo, leaving just 41 inmates when he handed the reins to Trump.

Spicer found himself explaining Trump's tweet on Tuesday, saying the president didn't mean what he had written.

'Obviously,' Spicer told reporters on Tuesday, 'the president meant in totality, the number that had been released on the battlefield  that have been released from Gitmo since individuals have been released.'

'So that is correct,' he cryptically added

Asked Wednesday whether the president was wrong, he blurted: 'I just said it!'

'Gitmo' is a U.S. Marine Corps facility on the island of Cuba where terror suspects are held in conditions that would be illegal on U.S. soil

Trump's tweeted message on Tuesday came less than an hour after 'Fox and Friends' broadcast a story about a former Gitmo detainee who was killed Monday in a drone strike.

That story included the claim that '122 prisoners released from Gitmo have returned to the battlefield.'

Former Guantanamo inmate Yasir Ahmed Ali Taher, known as Yasir Al-Silmi, was killed by a U.S. drone strike this week in Yemen

That much is true. The latest report from the Director of National Intelligence, published in September, confirms that as of July 2016 there were 122 former Gitmo prisoners confirmed to be back in the terror fight.

But 113 of those were released during Bush's presidency. Obama released just nine.

Fox News cited the 122 released prisoners in a story about one of those nine, Yasir Al-Silmi, whom the Trump administration killed this week in a drone strike in Yemen.

Al-Silmi was sent back to his native Yemen in December 2009 as part of Obama's initial push to empty Guantanamo's cells.

That move came despite a Defense Department evaluation that declared him a high risk of posing 'a threat to the US, its interests and its allies.


Video has emerged of the self-styled 'Bonnie and Clyde' from Dallas apparently confessing to a shooting in a Facebook Live video shortly before their arrest on murder charges.

Hakeem Leprince Griffin-White, 17, and Ashley Ann Coleman, 27, were arrested on Sunday for the Thursday shooting of Drekeiston Alex, 19.

In a video prior to their arrest - which was initially deleted, but has since re-emerged on World Star Hip Hop - Griffin-White and Coleman are seen apparently admitting to participating in a shooting.

'I'm gonna let you know who did it,' Griffin-White says, then later: 'If I go back to jail, I'm going for life, n***a.'

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Caught on camera: Hakeem Leprince Griffin-White, 17, and Ashley Ann Coleman, 27, (both left) hosted a Facebook Live video in which they seemingly implicated themselves in a shooting

'Bonnie and Clyde': Coleman put this photo on her Instagram account. The pair were arrested on Sunday for the daylight murder of a 19-year-old in Dallas, which occurred last Thursday

The black-and-white video appears to be filmed first in either Griffin-White's or Coleman's home, and later her Chrysler.

It begins with Griffin-white pointing at a half-empty rack of pistol ammunition and claiming that each empty slot is a bullet he's fired at someone.

'This how many people I done shot here brother,' he says. 'I got at so many people, this how many bullets I got left. Real talk, brother, real G moves now, brother.'

It's not clear who he's addressing, but there are a series of comments at the bottom from skeptical viewers.

'Look this how I do things, brother,' he says, picking up a round and dropping it into the rack upside-down, so that the cartridge is facing down, and actual bullet is pointing up.

'I put the bullet on they side... you see, I don't wanna touch them hoes' - the implication being that he doesn't want to get his fingerprints on the cartridges that are thrown out of a pistol when shots are fired.

Coleman then complains 'Baby, I want a go' from off-camera, before taking the phone and apparently reading through the skeptical comments.

They include 'Don't tell or show what ya got, surprise em' and 'Real Gs move in silence.'

Annoyed: Griffin-White, who had also showed off bullets (left) became annoyed by Facebook Live commenters (right) that seemed not to believe his claims that he had shot many people

Killed: Drekeiston Alex (left), 19, was shot dead Thursday. The shooter fled in a red Chrysler (right) similar to Coleman's. In his video, Griffin-White boasted about shooting someone

Annoyed that people don't seen to believe him, Griffin-White then shows the camera his pistol, unloading the clip while repeating 'Quit playin' man.'

He sits in the front of the car and the duo go through the list of commenters, systematically calling each one 'gay'.

Finally, angry at the continued disbelief, he says: 'Didn't we all leave the scene? Didn't we all leave the scene? Don't ya'll talk s**t.

'Why don't you all look at this, how you know it's real,' he says, bringing out his cell phone with text messages on it. 'Look, This is real s**t, brother. I ain't gonna lie to y'all brother.

'Look, I hit him up... I said look, I shot at it, look...'

Quoting his text message, he says he told one victim 'I could've killed you easy but I let y'all boys make it' because a mutual friend had helped him.

Griffin then repeats the man's reply over and over: 'He said, "You shot your son when my son was in the car."'

Social media: Both suspects frequently used social media. Griffin-White posted this image (left) of him counting money, while Coleman promoters herself as rapper 'Mamme Kash' (right)

'All an image': Coleman posted on Facebook on Friday that she was 'far from a murderer' and that the gun-toting rapper 'Mamme Kash' was 'all an image'

On Friday, after their arrest, Coleman - who raps under the name Mamme Kash - posted on Facebook: 'Im Far From A Murderer. I Swear To God Its All An Image.'

She had previously posted an Instagram pictured of her with Griffin-White holding guns, captioned 'KASH N KEEM. IM HIS BONNIE HE MY CLYDE.'

The pair are alleged to have been involved in the shooting of Alex at around 2.40pm on Thursday.

The teen was walking on the 4800 block of Sunnyvale Street when a man approached him and the pair began to argue, Dallas News reported.

The unidentified man then pulled out a handgun and shot Alex in the chest. The teen died in Dallas's Baylor University Medical Center.

Police released security camera footage of the events leading up to the shooting.

The gunman was driven from the scene by an accomplice in a red Chrysler PT Cruiser, police said.

That car was owned by Coleman, witnesses told police. A car similar to a Chrysler is visible in the black-and-white Facebook Live video.

A second witness also reportedly told cops that Griffin-White shot 'that boy' dead.

'Think': Griffin-White posted on his Facebook page that it was illogical for him to kill someone while 'girl's son was in the car'. Coleman's Instagram posts show her with a young son

Denial: Griffin-White also denied that he knew the victim, and asked what his Facebook Live video 'gotta do with that boy'

Pleading: Coleman also posted 'Free me' early on Monday. She has been arrested on a charge of first-degree murder, as has Griffin-White

Suspects: Coleman (left) and Griffin-White (right) reportedly made a Facebook Live video in which they claimed to have killed someone. Both protested their innocence online later

A music video for her track 'Shots Fired (Asian Doll Diss)' shows her waving around a pistol and pointing it at the head of a young woman.

Griffin-White proclaimed his innocence online after their arrest, writing 'wtf [the Facebook Live video] gotta do with that boy thoo me n my gurr dnt even know dat n***a.'

'Why Would I Kill Somebody While My Gurr Son Inna Car Df #Think,' he also wrote.

Coleman has been arrested numerous times in Dallas County, and in 2010 pleaded guilty to assault.

Both Coleman and Griffin-White have been charged with first-degree murder. They have been jailed on $500,000 bond each.
True to character, Hammond's Budget yesterday was one of the dullest of the post-war era

George Osborne took time off from so obscenely lining his pockets to make a rare visit to Parliament yesterday.

He symbolically chose the seat from where Ken Clarke (another former Tory Chancellor) used to listen when Osborne delivered his Budgets. Osborne wore an avuncular, patronising air. And no wonder.

Philip Hammond used to be his protege and pliable tool. Osborne liked Hammond  in part because he always did what he was told and had no opinions of his own.

For instance, Hammond originally opposed the HS2 rail link because he felt it was a monstrous waste of money. But when Osborne championed the scheme, Hammond did, too.

But then Im afraid he has never shown that he has had any original ideas. More worrying, he has few Conservative instincts. He simply does what his officials tell him.

He was anonymous as Transport Secretary; barely visible as Defence Secretary, and left no worthwhile legacy as Foreign Secretary.

But he was the ultimate safe pair of hands, and after the Leave EU referendum vote, he got his reward and was made Chancellor.

True to character, his Budget yesterday was one of the dullest of the post-war era.

Nobody should be fooled into thinking Hammond is a sparkling personality because of the clumsy, well-rehearsed jokes he made yesterday which sycophantic Tory MPs claimed to find funny.

Hammond gave us no hint about which taxes he would slash once Britain leaves the EU, which trade deals he would like to strike or which economic direction we would take. Indeed, large parts of his speech were impenetrable

He isnt. This was, in truth, the Budget of a small man. There was no excitement, no charisma, and  inexcusably  no vision for what the British economy should look like after Brexit. In fact, the Chancellor didnt mention the word Brexit once.

This was a tragic omission. It was Hamlet without the prince. The fact is that Hammond has taken control of the levers of economic power at the most exciting and dynamic moment in modern British history.

Yet he offered no explanation of any kind on the direction that the economy needs to take as the country has to rise to this immense challenge.

He gave us no hint about which taxes he would slash once Britain leaves the EU, which trade deals he would like to strike or which economic direction we would take. Indeed, large parts of his speech were impenetrable.

Most voters turning on their TV set to get a taste of how the Chancellor planned to protect and boost their family fortunes would have been baffled by his use of abstruse gibberish. Only a financial specialist could make head or tail of this kind of coded language.

I am convinced that Hammond used such jargon deliberately so as to befuddle us all in the hope that we would also fail to spot that his financial statement contained a nuclear weapon targeted directly at the hardest working and most economically insecure people in Britain  the self-employed.

Most voters turning on their TV set to get a taste of how the Chancellor planned to protect and boost their family fortunes would have been baffled by his use of abstruse gibberish

The Chancellor made a great deal of the fact that he has slashed corporation tax for large companies. But his vicious attack on the self-employed is far more important.

It beggars belief. The self-employed are exactly the sort of self-reliant, resourceful women and men that you would expect a Conservative government to support.

Instead, he declared war by targeting 2.5 million of these people with a rise in their National Insurance contributions.

And it looks very much like there is more to come. In an incomprehensible move, he has appointed Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society for the Arts, to compile a report on the wider implications of different employment practices.

I know Mr Taylor reasonably well. He is an intelligent man, familiar to Radio 4 listeners for his appearances on the discussion programme The Moral Maze. But he would not recognise a small business if it jumped up and bit him.

A stereotypical metropolitan man of the Left, he is most at home in Central London passing the time of day with fellow bien pensants and spouting fashionable nostrums.

Mr Taylor is a former henchman of Tony Blair, for whom he worked in Downing Street.

It was no surprise that we witnessed yesterday the worst financial statement since George Osborne unveiled his notorious Omnishambles Budget in 2012 (when he controversially imposed taxes on pasties and caravans)

This Labour apparatchik could make his way round the Guardian editorial floor, the bar of the Groucho Club or a university sociology department blindfolded.

But he has nothing whatever in common with the hard-working self-employed people whose fate now lies in his hands.

The appointment of Taylor, I am afraid, suggests the Chancellor has taken leave of his senses.

The fact is the vast majority of self-employed are fighting for their financial lives. They get no sick pay, no paid holiday leave, no company pension plan and scant job security. Thats why, traditionally, they have been asked to pay less in National Insurance contributions.

Scandalously, it is well-known that Treasury officials have had the self-employed in their sights for years.

Now they have at last got a pliable Chancellor in Philip Hammond, they have taken him in hand and persuaded him to declare financial war on the decent, hard-working people from Middle England.

I believe ministers can be divided into two types.

There are those time-servers who come up on the inside track. And there are those who defy the Establishment and take risks.

John Major was typical of the first type; Margaret Thatcher the most famous example of the second. Philip Hammond belongs firmly to the first category.

It was no surprise, therefore, that we witnessed yesterday the worst financial statement since George Osborne unveiled his notorious Omnishambles Budget in 2012 (when he controversially imposed taxes on pasties and caravans).

To do Osborne justice, it was 48 hours before the public woke up to the full scale his incompetence.

In comparison, it took just minutes to expose Hammonds financial package for its moral shoddiness.

For his part, Osborne swiftly dropped his pasty tax. Now, he must advise his former apprentice Philip Hammond that he urgently needs to make a similar U-turn.

By doing so, Hammond might start to show he possesses the qualities to be Chancellor at a pivotal moment in Britains history  but time is running out.
A wrestling super fan arrived at his own wedding in the style of Triple H and a video of incredible entrance was tweeted by the WWE star.

Kichoo Ahmer copied the 14-time World Heavyweight Champion's signature entrance as he came into the ceremony.

Mr Ahmer, a businessman from Lahore in Pakistan, threw the rules of wedding etiquette out of the ring with his no-holds barred entrance.

Kichoo Ahmer copied the 14-time World Heavyweight Champion's signature entrance as he came down the aisle. He imitated Triple H's trademark poses while pyrotechnics went off around him

A video of the unusual wedding went viral and gained attention from Triple H (right) himself. He tweeted to his 4.76 million followers that he 'could only imagine what the honeymoon was like'

The groom arrived at the ceremony with an imitation belt slung over one shoulder while Triple H's theme song was playing.

He copied the wrestler's trademark poses while pyrotechnics went off around him.

Triple H, real name Paul Michael Levesque, famously performed the routine wearing little more than a pair of black pants.

But Mr Ahmer wore traditional Pakistani wedding attire while he swaggered into the room like the WWE star.

A video shows guests responding to the groom's spectacular entrance by clapping, cheering and chanting his name.

The footage, which looks like something out of Wrestlemania, has now gone viral.

Triple H famously performed his routine wearing little more than a pair of black pants. But Mr Ahmer wore traditional Pakistani wedding attire while he swaggered into the room like the WWE star

It was retweeted so many times that it reached the attention of Triple H himself, who also shared the video.

Tweeting to his 4.76 million followers, Triple H said he, 'could only imagine what the honeymoon was like.'

Triple His one of the biggest wrestling stars of the last 20 years. He was member of the controversial D-Generation X and is currently the Executive Vice President of Talent at WWE.
President Donald Trump has selected former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman to be U.S. ambassador to Russia at a time of tense relations with Moscow over the country's election interference.

Huntsman, whose father Jon Huntsman, Sr. is a billionaire who started a chemical company, has been offered the job and has submitted the paperwork to accept, Politico reported.

Last year, after the release of the infamous 'p****' tape where Trump got caught on a hot mic talking about grabbing women by the crotch, Huntsman called on him to get out of the race.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has reportedly been offered the ambassadorship to Russia, a post that would put him in Moscow during a difficult period of U.S.-Russian relations

'In a campaign cycle that has been nothing but a race to the bottom  at such a critical moment for our nation  and with so many who have tried to be respectful of a record primary vote, the time has come for Governor Pence to lead the ticket,' he told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Huntsman served as Governor of Utah, ambassador to Singapore, and ambassador to China.

President Obama appointed him to the later post, in what looked like a shrewd move that had the added benefit of sidelining a potential presidential rival.

He ultimately ran for president anyway in 2012, although Huntsman's campaign flopped.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. speaks at the National Clean Energy Summit 7.0 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on September 4, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Jon Huntsman Jr., former governor of Utah and former U.S. ambassador to China, left, and his wife Mary Kaye Huntsman attend a dinner celebrating the opening of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013

The ambassadorship requires Senate confirmation.

Huntsman was in the Capitol Tuesday along with Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, sparking speculation that he was up for the Russia post or another position.

Huntsman said he was there 'just to see a friend.' There has also been speculation he could run against Hatch, the longest serving Republican, and the appointment could prevent that from happening.

In September Huntsman said he disagreed with Trump on a 'range of issues' but would vote for him anyway, theSalt Lake Tribune reported.

Huntsman's daughter, Abby, is a Fox News reporter. She recently visited the White House for a report on Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer, where she reported: 'If you want to keep up with Donald Trump, you're gonna work all hours of the day.'

Huntsman, Jr. had also reportedly been considered for other State Department posts. He would go to Russia at a time when U.S. investigators are probing Russian election interference and ties between Russians and Trump associates.
Perhaps it's because he is Hollywood royalty, but actor Tom Cruise seemed to take the relaxed approach when meeting Prince Philip tonight.

The star was the surprise guest at a dinner at Buckingham Palace to mark the 75th anniversary of the Outward Bound Trust and took the black tie event in his stride.

After being formally presented to the Queen's husband the 54-year-old celebrity (whose full name is the very regal Thomas Cruise Mapother IV) kept his hands firmly in his pocket as they chatted animatedly.

Tom Cruise chatted animatedly to Prince Philip as the elderly Royal laughed during a charity black tie event at Buckingham Palace

Cruise met the Prince after his surprise arrival at a dinner at Buckingham Palace to mark the 75th anniversary of the Outward Bound Trust

Buckingham Palace hadn't publicised the event in advance and said of Cruise's invitation: 'He was invited as he is a supporter of the Outward Bound Trust '

A decidedly sprightly looking Philip, 95, didn't appear remotely offended, though, and was photographed laughing uproariously, with his own clasped behind his back.

The palace hadn't publicised the event in advance and said of Cruise's invitation: 'He was invited as he is a supporter of the Outward Bound Trust. '

The Outward Bound Trust is a charity which helps young people achieve their potential through outdoor pursuits.

Philip has been patron of the organisation since 1999.

Pictured: Cruise and Prince Philip share a laugh during their meeting at Buckingham Palace

This was the first time that Cruise had attended an Outward Bound event but the Palace said he supported the charity

Cruise doesn't appear to have been at an Outward Bound event before but is well known for his action man roles.

Bizarrely, Prince Andrew was even likened to him when he abseiled down The Shard in 2012 to raise money for the same charity.

One publication headline even bore the claim: Prince does a Tom Cruise.
As well as being the last spring Budget, yesterdays was one of the most boring in history.

There was 20 million for female victims of violence; a rise in National Insurance for the self-employed; penalties for financial advisers who sell tax avoidance schemes.

More money will be found for social care for the elderly. Some sweeteners are promised for those suffering from the revaluation of properties for business rates. Pubs, struggling for trade, will receive a 1,000 discount on their rates.

Yes, the Chancellor pledged a few hundred million to fund a tranche of new selective-entry state schools, a cause dear to the Prime Ministers heart. But by far the largest problem we face is how to fund healthcare for an ageing population

This was all perfectly worthy, sensible, dull. Few of us will see our overall tax bills rise by much, though you may be feeling very sore if you are self-employed, or when you read the small print about sharp rises in car insurance.

The Chancellor took just pleasure in the fact that the economy continues to confound commentators, delivering robust growth. Unemployment is at an 11-year low.

By contrast, most of us can remember Budget days that have invited sackcloth and ashes: when economic crises have prompted savage tax rises; family take-home pay has been slashed; or it has suddenly seemed cheaper to fill up the car with champagne than with petrol.

Thus, there is something to be said for counting our blessings. Yet I am inclined to take a different view of yesterdays Budget and the Governments softly-softly approach to policymaking.

Here is Theresa May exercising absolute command of the political scene, unless or until the Tory party does something suicidal. She faces the weakest Opposition any peacetime British government has known for a century or more.

Why is she not exploiting this extraordinary state of affairs to tackle some of the huge, vital things?

Of course, Brexit dominates her agenda. But, however that story plays out, it can exert little or no influence on the historic problems the nation faces  a yawning trade deficit, low productivity, a sagging educational system and, above all, the costs of the welfare system and NHS.

Here is Theresa May exercising absolute command of the political scene, unless or until the Tory party does something suicidal. She faces the weakest Opposition any peacetime British government has known for a century or more. Why is she not exploiting this extraordinary state of affairs to tackle some of the huge, vital things?

Yes, the Chancellor pledged a few hundred million to fund a tranche of new selective-entry state schools, a cause dear to the Prime Ministers heart. But by far the largest problem we face is how to fund healthcare for an ageing population.

As ever more expensive treatments become available, the whole edifice totters.

A bold, imaginative government would publicly acknowledge that the challenge is not one of finding a few extra millions to avert a winter trolley crisis. It is not remotely good enough merely to avert a financial collapse through the next few months.

Britain and its Government need honestly to face the fact that the NHS, as it has existed since 1948, is no longer sustainable in its present form.

Dramatic change is needed, involving the introduction of some means-testing of patients, to provide the standards of treatment British people will expect through the balance of this century  unless we want to beggar our children through taxation.

The key question is whether this Government has the courage to think big about the huge challenges facing Britain, beyond Brexit

One of the big fibs we tell ourselves is that the NHS is the envy of the world.

To be sure, it attracts too many health tourists from Africa and the Middle East, because we are a soft touch. But if the system is so good, why has no other developed country copied it? And why do other advanced societies boast higher standards and surgical success rates than Britain?

If we could match Dutch figures on common cancer treatments, 10,000 fewer people a year would die. If we caught up with German rates the figure would be 13,000, or if we matched the Belgians we should save 14,000 lives.

Our overall health statistics are about level-pegging with those of Slovenia and the Czech Republic, where incomes are less than half ours.

The Dutch have no state-owned hospitals or state subsidies to any hospital, and fewer than half of Germanys hospitals are administered through the public sector. In Belgium, a small payment can be necessary to see a GP.

It is untrue to claim the NHS delivers better healthcare standards than those of our continental neighbours, who have not made themselves prisoners of a state behemoth that makes the British health service the fifth largest employer in the world, spending 1 billion every three days.

The annual cost of the NHS has risen from 76 billion in 2005-6 to 121 billion today.

Britain and its Government need honestly to face the fact that the NHS, as it has existed since 1948, is no longer sustainable in its present form

Philip Hammond is spending 2,057 a year on healthcare for every man, woman and child in the country. There is no evidence that the poor on the Continent perish for want of proper medical treatment, which is the great and proper fear of people in Britain who are afraid of any tampering with the NHS.

It cannot be impossible to reinvent a medical care system that is free at point of use to those who cannot afford to pay, but for which the rest of us make contributions according to our means.

The Chancellor took pride in announcing new funding for social care, but merely offered a Green Paper to rethink the whole insanely expensive and unsustainable mess.

In the same way, the Budget promised 90 million for road improvements in the north of England and 23 million for the Midlands, without saying a word about the stupendous cost  in the tens of billions  of the HS2 rail programme, though studies show that new road schemes deliver at least three times the benefits of the same money spent on rail.

The key question is whether this Government has the courage to think big about the huge challenges facing Britain, beyond Brexit.

The Chancellor claimed yesterday that his priority is to get the country fit for its new life outside the EU. This is an admirable objective, but it cannot be fulfilled by shuffling paltry sums  in the grand scheme of public spending  and by holding the lid on national debt figures which, as he acknowledges, remain frightening at 1.8 trillion.

Theresa Mays unchallenged dominance of the political landscape will almost certainly enable her to win the next General Election, but cannot persist indefinitely after that.

Once the absurd Jeremy Corbyn bites the dust, there will be a Labour revival. Millions of British people continue to love State spending, hate austerity, care nothing for fiscal prudence and less still for Conservatives.

Well before most of us are dead and buried, those people will once more have installed an Opposition in the Commons strong enough to block radical reform of the NHS.

Given how long it takes to do big things, yesterday would not have been too soon to announce a major review of Britains system for funding healthcare. The Prime Minister and Chancellor who deliver this critical change will do something immensely important, not merely for us, but for generations to come.

Yet if in a decade or two the British people look back on today and recall the opportunities this Government squandered, its leaders will not be readily forgiven.

Theresa May, her Chancellor and Health Secretary need to do better, to grasp much higher up the tree, than they did with yesterdays Budget.
A construction worker in China has miraculously survived after a steel rod speared through his head when he was at work.

The 41-year-old man was impaled last month by the metal stick, which measured five feet (1.5 metres) in length and 1.2 inches (three centimetres) in diametre, reported the People's Daily Online.

Doctors from Chongqing managed to remove the rod and saved the man after a four-hour-long surgical operation.

The man (pictured), known as Wang Long, was impaled with a rod measuring five feet long

The stick, 1.2 inches in diametre, went in from Wang's jaw and came out from his occipital bone

According to the report, the accident occurred in Chongqing on February 27 when the worker, known as Wang Long (not his real name), tried to loosen up a concrete slab during work.

He was taken to the city's Southwest Hospital immediately.

Liu Minghua, the assistant chief at the Accidents and Emergency Department, called his team to plan an operation.

However, they failed to give Wang a CT scan as the steel rod was too long to pass through the machine.

The doctors decided to call the fire department and ask the firefighters to cut the rod so that the patient could undergo the scan.

After a four-hour long operation, doctors managed to remove the rod. Wang is now in a stable condition

Apparently, it took a bit of an effort for the firefighters to shorten the rod.

At first, they tried to use a hydraulic cutter, but the metal rod was too thick to cut through.

Then the doctors suggested the firefighters get an acetylene cutting torch. The firefighters feared the metal could heat up too quickly and end up hurting Wang's neck.

To resolve the issue, medical workers used ice packs and ice water to cool down the rod as the others cut it down.

The rod was eventually shortened to 21 inches.

Dr Liu said the steel rod had caused compression on Wang's airway and the man needed an emergency operation to have the rod removed.

Professor Xiang Qiang and assistant professor Chen Xiangyu, both of whom were involved in the operation, told the reporters that the rod had made it difficult for them to put an oxygen mask or a breathing tube on Wang.

As a result, they had to tilt and held his head midair until the surgery was over.

Doctors said the rod had gone into Wang's fourth cervical vertebra as well as his thyroid cartilage area and poked out from his lower occipital bone.

'There is a hole in Wang's internal jugular vein and the rod has spiked his maxillary artery. We did a 3,000ml blood transfusion in the four-hour-long surgery,' explained Professor Xiang.

He said Wang could have died if the rod had been lodged 0.8 inches (two centimetres) higher, which means it would have pierced through his head.

Wang has passed the critical stage and the man is now in recovery, said the report.
Archaeologists assessing the damage caused by Islamic State militants to the tomb of the prophet of Jonah have made a surprise discovery.

Experts found a previously untouched palace dating back to 600BC buried under the ruins of Jonah's desecrated resting place.

The Nebi Yunus shrine - containing what Muslims and Christians believe to be the tomb of Jonah or 'Yunnus' as he is known in the Koran - was destroyed by ISIS militants in July 2014.

Scroll down for video

Archaeologists assessing the damage caused by Islamic State militants to the tomb of the prophet of Jonah have found an undiscovered palace. Here, a member of the Iraqi army stands next to Assyrian stone sculptures of demi-goddesses, pictured spreading the 'water of life'

THE UNDISCOVERED PALACE ISIS dug tunnels under the shrine where Jonah's tomb is held. They were looking for valuable artefacts buried beneath. Within one of a series of the ISIS tunnels, now abandoned, archaeologist Layla Salih found a marble inscription of King Esarhaddon, thought to date back to the Assyrian empire in 672BC. The palace was renovated and expanded by King Esarhaddon after it was built for his father Sennacherib. It was partly destroyed during the Sack of Nineveh in 612 BC. Advertisement

Weeks after overrunning Mosul and much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, ISIS militants rigged the shrine and blew it up, sparking global outrage.

ISIS militants believe giving special veneration to tombs and relics is against the teachings of Islam.

The shrine holding Jonah's tomb is located on top of a hill in eastern Mosul, a city in northern Iraq with a population of around 660,000 that was retaken from ISIS control by Iraqi army forces last month.

Archaeologists have been picking through ancient rubble left behind by the terror group as they attempt to salvage surviving artefacts.

They told the Telegraph that ISIS dug tunnels deep under the shrine and into a previously undiscovered and untouched palace dating back to 600BC.

These tunnels were not professionally built, leaving them unstable and at risk of collapse within the next few weeks, burying the ancient palace.

'We fear it could all collapse at any time,' entombing the treasures, said archaeologist Layla Salih, who is in charge of antiquities for the Nineveh province where the shrine stands.

The Nebi Yunus shrine - containing what Muslims and Christians believe to be the tomb of Jonah or 'Yunnus' as he is known in the Koran - was destroyed by ISIS militants in July 2014. This image shows another archaeological find in the ISIS tunnels

The impressive maze of tunnels dug by the jihadists to carry out excavations is located in the heart of the hill that houses the tomb of the Prophet Jonah. These demi-goddess sculptures were carved into the walls over 2,000 years ago

This image shows a winged bull carved into the palace, with archaeologist Layla Salih (right), who is leading a five-person team carrying out the emergency documentation of Jonah's tomb

'There are cave-ins in the tunnels every day.'

It had long been rumoured that the shrine shared a site with an ancient palace.

Excavations had previously been carried out by the Ottoman governor of Mosul in 1852.

The Iraqi department of antiques also studied the site in the 1950s.

But neither excavation had dug as far as the ISIS militants, leaving the palace undiscovered for 2,600 years.

The finding is the first example of ISIS militants tunnelling underneath historic sites to find artefacts to loot.

Within one of the ISIS tunnels archaeologists found a marble inscription of King Esarhaddon, thought to date back to the Assyrian empire in 672BC.

The palace was renovated and expanded by King Esarhaddon after it was built for his father Sennacherib.

It was partly destroyed during a ransacking as part of the Battle of Nineveh in 612 BC.

Only a handful of these 'cuneiform' slabs have ever been uncovered from the Esarhaddon period.

Archaeologists also unearthed two Assyrian empire-era winged bull sculptures within the Jihadist tunnels.

Excavations had previously been carried out by the Ottoman governor of Mosul in 1852. And the Iraqi department of antiques studied the site in the 1950s. But neither excavation had dug as far as the ISIS militants, who dug tunnels, such as those pictured here, deep into the earth

The finding is the first example of ISIS militants tunnelling underneath historic sites to find artefacts to loot. This image shows archaeologist Layla Salih in one of the ISIS tunnels

Two murals in white marble show the winged bulls with only the sides and feet showing.

In another section of ISIS tunnel the archaeologists found Assyrian stone sculptures of a demi-goddess, pictured spreading the 'water of life' to protect humans.

Mrs Salih said that some of the larger sculptures were likely left behind by ISIS because they feared the hill might collapse.

Other removable artifacts, especially pottery, were certainly plundered, she said.

'I've never seen something like this in stone at this large size,' Professor Eleanor Robson, chair of the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, told The Telegraph.

Professor Robson suggested they may have been used to decorate the women's quarter of the palace.

An Iraqi soldier standing in a section of excavated ISIS tunnel. It had long been rumoured that the shrine shared a site with an ancient palace. Excavations had previously been carried out by the Iraqi department of antiques in the 1950s, but they found nothing

No previous excavation of the shrine went as far as the ISIS militant tunnels, including the one pictured here as an Iraqi soldier heads back to the surface had since 2014. This meant that the palace was left undiscovered for 2,600 years

Mrs Salih, pictured here coming from the entrance of one of the ISIS tunnels, is leading the five-person team carrying out the emergency documentation of Jonah's tomb. She believes that ISIS forces looted hundreds of objects before Mosul was retaken by Iraqi forces

'The objects don't match descriptions of what we thought was down there, so Isil's destruction has actually led us to a fantastic find.'

'There's a huge amount of history down there, not just ornamental stones.

'It is an opportunity to finally map the treasure-house of the world's first great empire, from the period of its greatest success.'

Mrs Salih, who is leading the five-person team carrying out the emergency documentation of Jonah's tomb, believes that ISIS forces looted hundreds of objects before Mosul was retaken by Iraqi forces.

'I can only imagine how much Daesh discovered down there before we got here,' she said.

'We believe they took many of the artefacts, such as pottery and smaller pieces, away to sell. But what they left will be studied and will add a lot to our knowledge of the period.'

'I can only imagine how much Daesh discovered down there before we got here,' Mrs Salah (pictured) said. 'We believe they took many of the artefacts, such as pottery and smaller pieces, away to sell. But what they left will be studied'

The Nebi Yunus shrine - containing what Muslims and Christians believe to be the tomb of Jonah or 'Yunnus' as he is known in the Koran - was destroyed by ISIS militants in July 2014

This image reveals the damage caused by ISIS to the site of Jonah's tomb. As the city of Mosul was finally retaken, Iraqi forces battling Islamic State unveiled the destruction left behind by the jihadis last month in a series of devastating photographs

Weeks after overrunning Mosul and much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, ISIS militants rigged the shrine, pictured here, and blew it up, sparking global outrage

The shrine holding Jonah's tomb is located on top of a hill in eastern Mosul, a city in northern Iraq with a population of around 660,000 that was retaken from ISIS control by Iraqi army forces last month

As the city of Mosul was finally retaken, Iraqi forces battling Islamic State unveiled the destruction left behind by the jihadis last month in a series of devastating photographs.

The terrorist group who levelled many of the city's most well-known Muslim artefacts and buildings.

'We retook control of Nabi Yunus area... raised the Iraqi flag above the tomb,' said Sabah al-Noman, spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Service spearheading the Mosul offensive.

The destruction of all bridges over the river in air strikes has made it difficult for IS fighters in east Mosul to resupply or escape to the west bank, which they still fully control.

The western side of Mosul, which is home to the old city and some of the jihadists' traditional bastions, was always tipped as likely to offer the most resistance.
A 200-mile stretch of the San Andreas Fault just north of Los Angeles could be long overdue for a catastrophic earthquake, scientists warn.

A new study from the US Geological Survey found that the Big Bend section of the fault near Tejon Pass has experienced a major event roughly every 100 years  and, its been 160 years since the last one.

At magnitude 7.9, this last earthquake was no small tremblor, and its predecessors are just as unnerving, with most falling between magnitude 7.0 and 7.5.

Now, experts have found that the land along the fault has been pushing together at a rate of more than 1 inch a year since 1857, according to the LA Times, and they warn theres no getting out of this.

Scientists with the US Geological Survey (USGS) excavated an understudied section of the southern San Andreas Fault (red), near Frazier Mountain in northeastern Kern County. Since the year 800 AD, they found that earthquakes have occurred roughly every 100 years

WHAT IT MEANS An event along the same lines of the historic earthquakes, which were most commonly around a magnitude 7.5, could cause the land to shift by an average of 9 feet. The official USGS forecast for California earthquakes now predicts a 16 percent chance of an M7.5 quake or larger on this section of the fault within the next 30 years. And, a rare but more powerful quake like the 1857 event could shake the ground for up to three minutes, displacing the land by 20 feet. This could have devastating effects, with potential to damage the aqueducts that bring water into Southern California, disrupt electric transmission lines, and tear up Interstate 5, according to the LA Times. Advertisement

Scientists with the US Geological Survey (USGS) excavated an understudied section of the southern San Andreas Fault, near Frazier Mountain in northeastern Kern County.

Analysis of the sediment revealed evidence of 11 earthquakes in the region, with 10 of these ground-rupturing events occurring in the last 1200 years.

Since the year 800 AD, the researchers found that earthquakes have occurred roughly every 100 years.

This work provides a new long record where we previously had very little data, said USGS geologist Dr Kate Scharer, lead author of the new study, published to the Journal of Geophysical Research.

The record shows that large earthquakes occurred near Tejon Pass on average every 100 years.

'Most appear to be quite large, between magnitude 7.0 and magnitude 7.5.

While these events were weakly periodic, with evidence of individual intervals as short as 20 years and as long as 186 years, the movement on both sides of the fault suggests energy is building.

And when this energy is finally released, it will likely take the form of a large-magnitude rupture, the LA Times reports.

In the most recent event, a magnitude 7.7-7.9 earthquake ripped through Fort Tejon in 1857 along a 210-mile stretch of the fault.

And, the prehistoric record revealed just one in eight of the past ruptures since 1300 AD could have broken on that same section.

The official USGS forecast for California earthquakes now predicts a 16 percent chance of an M7.5 quake or larger on this section of the fault within the next 30 years

Now, its just a question of when the next quake will strike.

Longer gaps have happened in the past, but we know they always do culminate in a large earthquake, Scharer told the LA Times.

Theres no getting out of this.

An event along the same lines of the historic earthquakes, which were most commonly around a magnitude 7.5, could cause the land to shift by an average of 9 feet.

The official USGS forecast for California earthquakes now predicts a 16 percent chance of an M7.5 quake or larger on this section of the fault within the next 30 years.

A new study from the US Geological Survey found that the Big Bend section of the fault near Tejon Pass has experienced a major event roughly every 100 years  and, its been 160 years since the last one. An aerial view of the San Andreas fault is pictured

CALIFORNIA AT RISK OF DEVASTATING MEGAQUAKE A report from the U.S. Geological Survey has warned the risk of 'the big one' hitting California has increased dramatically. Researchers analysed the latest data from the state's complex system of active geological faults, as well as new methods for translating these data into earthquake likelihoods. The estimate for the likelihood that California will experience a magnitude 8 or larger earthquake in the next 30 years has increased from about 4.7% to about 7.0%, they say. 'We are fortunate that seismic activity in California has been relatively low over the past century,' said Tom Jordan, Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center and a co-author of the study. 'But we know that tectonic forces are continually tightening the springs of the San Andreas fault system, making big quakes inevitable.' Advertisement

And, a rare but more powerful quake like the 1857 event could shake the ground for up to three minutes, displacing the land by 20 feet.

This could have devastating effects, with potential to damage the aqueducts that bring water into Southern California, disrupt electric transmission lines, and tear up Interstate 5, according to the LA Times.

This would be more broadly felt across the basin, Scharer told the LA Times.

It would impact our ability to be a world-class city.

But, even with the new risks considered, the experts say it could still be decades before the Big One hits.
China announced plans on Tuesday to launch a space probe to bring back samples from the moon before the end of the year, in what state media cast as competition to U.S. President Donald Trump's ambitions to revitalise U.S. space exploration.

The Chang'e-5 lunar probe is undergoing a final round of tests and is expected to be on standby for launch from August, the official People's Daily said, citing the China National Space Administration.

The launch will involve new challenges for China in sample collection, taking off from the moon and high-speed reentry to the Earth's atmosphere, making it 'one of China's most complicated and difficult space missions', Hu Hao, an official from China's Lunar Exploration Programme, told the paper.

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The Chang'e-5 lunar probe is undergoing a final round of tests and is expected to be on standby for launch from August, the official People's Daily said, citing the China National Space Administration

CHINA'S PLANS FOR SPACE EXPLORATION Since 2009, China has been upping its work in space exploration in a number of stages. Each stage has been given a name to refer to the mission plans. Stage 1 'Around': Yinghuo-1 was launched in 2009 with the aim of bringing back samples however it was left stranded in orbit and disintegrated. Stage 2 'Landing': Yinghuo-2 is expected to launch in 2020 to collect data on Mars Stage 3 'Circular': A rover will be sent to Mars to carry out exploration Advertisement

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for China to become a global power in space exploration.

'Not long ago, the United States' Trump Administration revealed an ambition to return to the moon.

'Our country also announced a series of deep space exploration plans,' said the official Science and Technology Daily.

'The moon is the first stop for humanity's march towards deep space,' the paper said.

In February, the Trump administration asked the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to look into the possibility of manning a heavy-lift rocket mission, expected to be launched in 2018, perhaps setting the stage for a human return to the moon.

China's new probe is the latest step in its lunar exploration programme.

In 2013, it completed its first lunar 'soft landing' since 1976 with the Chang'e-3 craft and its Jade Rabbit rover.

The launch will involve new challenges for China, taking off from the moon and high-speed reentry to the Earth's atmosphere, making it 'one of China's most complicated and difficult space missions', said Hu Hao, an official from China's Lunar Exploration Programme

China is aiming to send a probe to the dark side of the moon by 2018, the first ever such trip, and hopes to put astronauts on the moon by 2036.

In January, Chinas space agency announced plans to launch two missions to Mars, and a probe to Jupiter.

Vice Director of Chinas National Space Administration Wu Yanhua said the first probe would be sent to Mars by 2020.

TRUMP'S MANNED MOON MISSION Just last week, NASAs top staff was given instructions to assess the feasibility of sending humans to space with the first flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The mission was originally designed to be uncrewed, and was set to launch in 2018. The mission will use NASA's Orion capsule to carry up to four astronauts around the moon  the first time humans have left low orbit since 1972. The mission was originally set for launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, as early as 2021 - but could now been far sooner. In a press conference, officials leading the study revealed the evaluations are now well underway, and theyve already created a 'hard, crisp list' of everything that will need to change from a hardware standpoint in order to add crew. But, so far, the team says theyre sticking to their baseline plan for EM-1, and will let the let the data drive any decisions moving forward. It will see Nasa's Orion, stacked on a Space Launch System rocket capable of lifting 70 metric tons will launch from a newly refurbished Kennedy Space Center in November 2018. The uncrewed Orion will travel into Distant Retrograde Orbit, breaking the distance record reached by the most remote Apollo spacecraft, and then 30,000 miles farther out (275,000 total miles). The mission will last 22 days and was originally designed to test system readiness for future crewed operations. Advertisement

Then, a second probe will be launched to collect samples and conduct research on the red planets structure, composition, and environment.

The agency also revealed its plans for a fly-by of Jupiter, and the exploration of an asteroid.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, and has made steady progress in the short time since.

China announced plans to launch a space probe to bring back samples from the moon before the end of the year, in what state media cast as competition to U.S. President Donald Trump's ambitions to revitalise U.S. space exploration. The Chang'e 3 probe is pictured, in 2013

The country has staged a spacewalk, and landed a rover on the moon in 2013, marking the first time humans had soft landed anything on the moon since the 1970s.

A fully functioning, permanently crewed space station is on course to begin operations six years from now and is slated to run for at least a decade.
Life may continue even after death - just in sleep mode.

Doctors have found scientific evidence that people's brains can continue to work after they are clinically dead.

A patient showed persistent brain activity for ten minutes after their heart stopped and experienced brain waves we normally get during deep sleep.

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Scientists from from the University of Western Ontario in Canada studied the extraordinary case of a patient continuing to release delta wave bursts after they were declared dead. We normally get these delta waves during a deep sleep (stock image)

WHAT DID THEY DO? Canadian doctors studied the brain activity and heart beat of four patients in intensive care after they turned off their life support machines. Brain inactivity preceded the heart stopping in three out of the four cases. However, in one of the cases, single delta wave bursts persisted after the heart had stopped and the patient was clinically dead. We normally get these brain waves in a deep sleep. Advertisement

Doctors in a Canadian intensive care unit described the case as extraordinary and unexplained.

Researchers from the University of Western Ontario in Canada assessed electric impulses in the brain in relation to the beating of someone's heart after life-sustaining therapy was removed.

Brain inactivity preceded the heart stopping in three of the four cases.

However, in one of the cases, the patient's brain continued to work after their heart stopped.

'In one patient, single delta wave bursts persisted following the cessation of both the cardiac rhythm and arterial blood pressure (ABP),' the researchers said.

There was significant differences in electrical activity in the brain between the 30-minute period before and the 5-minute period after the heart stopped.

'It is difficult to posit a physiological basis for this EEG [brain] activity given that it occurs after a prolonged loss of circulation', according to the paper which was published in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information.

Across the four patients recordings of their brain were very different - suggesting we all experience death in unique ways.

The experiment raises difficult questions about when someone is dead and therefore when it is medically and ethically correct to use them for organ donation.

As many as a fifth of people who survive cardiac arrests report having had an other-worldly experience while being 'clinically' dead.

However, scientists say it's far too early to be talking about what this could mean for the post-death experience - especially considering it was only seen in one patient, according to Science Alert.

In 2013, a similar phenomenon was investigated on experiments on rats whose hearts had stopped.

In one of the cases, single delta wave bursts persisted after the heart had stopped and the patient was clinically dead. The experiment raises difficult questions about when someone is dead and therefore when it is medically and ethically correct to use them for organ donation (stock image)

The research, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed rats had a burst of brain activity one minute after decapitation.

The pattern of activity was similar to that seen when the animals were fully conscious - except signals were up to eight times stronger.

The researchers said that the discovery that the brain is highly active in the seconds after the heart stops suggests that the phenomenon has a physical, rather than spiritual nature.

It has been argued that the dying brain is incapable of such complex activity and so near-death experiences must have their origins in the soul.

It suggests something happens at the brink of death that pushes the conscious brain to a high level of arousal, potentially triggering the visions and sensations associated with near-death experiences (NDEs).

As many as a fifth of people who survive cardiac arrests report having had an other-worldly experience while being 'clinically' dead.

Typically NDEs involve travelling through a tunnel towards an intense light, being separated from the body, encountering long-departed loved ones or angels and undergoing some kind of judgment of 'life review.

Some emerge from NDEs as transformed individuals with a completely altered outlook on life, or a new belief in religion.

But many scientists believe near-death-experiences are nothing more than hallucinations induced by the effect of the brain shutting down.


It has been 147 million years since it last took to the skies.

But now, Archaeopteryx, the missing link between birds and dinosaurs, is set to fly to Japan, leaving its home in the Natural History Museum in London.

Considered 'the rock star' of the fossil world it last flapped and squawked in the Late Jurassic Era.

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Professor Paul Barrett at the Natural History Museum told the BBC the legacy of the archaeopteryx goes beyond merely looking impressive. It is one of only 11 full-body examples to have been formally identified, and is the version against which others are compared

FOSSIL 'ROCK STAR' Archaeopteryx is the missing link between birds and dinosaurs. It last took to the skies 147 million years ago. It has wings and feathers like a bird but teeth and claws like a dinosaur. It was undisturbed for aeons until it was dug up in Germany in 1861. Scientists had been unaware of any bird specimens of a similar age. Advertisement

But now it will be the centrepiece of an exhibition in Japan.

Encased in limestone, it marks a pivotal point in evolution as it has wings and feathers like a bird, but teeth and claws like a dinosaur.

It was undisturbed for aeons until it was dug up in Germany in 1861.

Since then it was transported to the Natural History Museum in Kensington, where it caused a sensation.

Scientists had been unaware of any bird specimens of a similar age.

Luckily, two years earlier, Charles Darwin and others outlined evolution  and it became clear that the fossil marked a huge turning point in life on earth.

And ever since, Archaeopteryx has had an exalted status in the fossil world.

Professor Paul Barrett at the Natural History Museum told the BBC the legacy of the archaeopteryx goes beyond merely looking impressive.

He said: 'Archaeopteryx is important because it's a nice fossil with lots of information and it was the first one recognised as an early bird, but in terms of being earth-shattering, that job is done.'

Artist impression of Archaeopteryx, the world's 'earliest know bird'. The 147-million-year-old skeleton, encased in limestone, has left its London home for Japan, where it will go on display alongside 300 other treasures in the museum's biggest-ever global exhibition

'Its central role has been in establishing birds as dinosaurs. That is its lasting historical legacy.

'Anything that gets published on it now is more or less a tweak to that story.'

Known as the London Specimen, the museum's archaeopteryx  which means 'ancient wing' - is one of only 11 full-body examples to have been formally identified, and is the version against which others are compared.

The Natural History Museum tour, Treasures Of The Natural World, premieres at the National Museum Of Nature And Science in Tokyo on March 18.

Natural History Museum of conservator Lorraine Cornish with their ground-breaking fossil Archaeopteryx, the world's 'earliest know bird'

It will remain on display in Japan for three months, alongside hundreds of other items which, the museum says, 'changed how we see the world'.

Director of the Natural History Museum, Sir Michael Dixon, said: 'It is a pleasure to be working with our Japanese partners to launch this international tour.

'Science is a global endeavour fuelled by wonder and curiosity so it has been an ambition for us to share these extraordinary treasures with a wider audience.

'They are the essence of the scientific exploration that inspired pioneers and continues today at the Natural History Museum.'
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It is a major step forward for the F-35.

New photographs have emerged showing the much delayed plane firing its 'gunpod' in the air for the first time.

It is believed to be the first time the F-35B and C's belly-mounted gun pod has been fired in flight.

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The GAU-22 gatling gun is capable of firing 55 rounds per second, and has been fired in the air for the first time

According to The Drive, the test used BF-01, the first F-35B built, and occurred near Naval Air Station Patuxent River on February 21st.

The F-35 is the most expensive military project in history, plagued by delays, overspending, and glitches that have infuriated military chiefs and politicians alike.

However, the in air firing of the GAU-22 gatling gun will be seen as a major step forward - even thought the software needed for pilot's hi-tech helmets to aim it accurately is not yet finished.

Capable of firing 55 rounds per second, enough to shred vehicles in mere moments, previous footage showed the first test firing of the pod-mounted version which will be used by the Marines and Navy, on the same BF-01 craft

Despite firing for less than two seconds, the weapon is able to hurl 80 rounds at a target with laser precision amid a deafening roar.

THE GAU-22 GATLING 'GUNPOD' Capable of firing 55 rounds per second, the GAU-22 gatling gun is powerful enough to shred vehicles in mere moments. This four-barrel gun can fire up to 3,300 shots per minute according to its makers. Previous footage showed the first test firing of the pod-mounted version which will be used by the Marines and Navy, on the same BF-01 craft. The gun pod is housed in what is described as a 'semi-low observable' enclosure attached to the F-35B and C's centerlines, between the two weapons bays. The gun's enclosure design can also be used to house other bolt-on systems in the future such as EM weapons or surveillance sensors. Advertisement

The Air Force has already tested the wing-mounted versions of the same weapon on their F-35A variant of the craft, but the more compact B and C variants need to have the weapon mounted externally.

According to Aviation Week, even the latest version of the plane's laser targeting system has one slight flaw with its larger weapons - it can only target stationary or slow moving objects.

'Despite being among the most technologically advanced low-observable warplanes on the planet, the Lockheed Martin F-35 has one significant shortcoming,' it wrote.

Tests aboard the USS America last year evaluated the F-35B Short Take-off Vertical Landing (STOVL) operations in a high-sea state, shipboard landings, and night operations. The maintenance work will include the replacement of a lift fan, seen here, the specialized equipment made by Rolls Royce and Pratt and Whitney that gives the F-35B variant its short take-off, 'jump jet' capability, Rowell said.

Last year the same BF-01 was pictured aboard the USS America during testing. America is capable of accommodating F-35Bs, MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and a complement of Navy and Marine Corps helicopters.

'The Joint Strike Fighter cannot strike moving ground targets using the targeting system and weapons loadout delivered in its final combat Lightning II configuration, Block 3F.'

The jet has gone through dozens of updates to its software, with the Block 3F being the most recent.

The issue means the aircraft is limited to striking fixed or slow-moving objects such as surface-to-air missiles.

Project officials are reportedly looking to speed up integration of a laser-guided bomb that has its own, built-in navigation software as a stopgap solution.

The Air Force last year declared the F-35 'ready for war', but the plane will not be able to use a full host of weapons and advanced sensors until it gets an upgraded software package, which could be several years away.

Project officials are reportedly looking to speed up integration of a laser-guided bomb that has its own, built-in navigation software as a gapfiller.

The first contract is expected to be awarded in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, with deliveries of the initial order to begin no later than six months after the contract date.

In total the cost for the F35 project is estimated to be $400billion, more than double the original forecasts, a scenario described by John McCain as 'a scandal and a tragedy'.

Locheed Martin, the company behind the warplane, had originally promised 1,035 jets by end of fiscal year 2016, but provided less than 200, CNN reports.

The final jet is now destined to enter service by 2040, a move McCain described as making 'no sense' since Chinese and Russian investment means it will likely have been superseded since then.

THE PRESIDENT'S F-35 PRICE CUT The United States is expected to spend some $391 billion over 15 years to buy about 2,443 F-35 aircraft, which are being built in different versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marines. President Donald Trump claims his administration had been able to cut some $600 million from the latest U.S. deal to buy about 90 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, the Lockheed Martin aircraft the president has criticized for cost overruns. Trump said Lockheed Martin had been responsive to his concerns about the high cost of the stealthy, high-tech warplane. 'We cut approximately $600 million off the F-35 fighter, and that only amounts to 90 planes out of close to 3,000 planes,' Trump said, attributing that figure to Lockheed chief executive Marillyn Hewson. Negotiations for the 10th batch of F-35 aircraft - about 90 planes - have been under way, with a deal expected by the end of the month. The contract was expected to be around $9 billion, with the price per plane falling below $100 million. Trump said he became involved in the discussions over the cost of the aircraft about a month ago when he was still president-elect because the negotiations were not progressing. 'They were having a lot of difficulty. There was no movement. And I was able to get $600 million approximately off those planes. 'So I think that was a great achievement,' Trump said, suggesting the savings would be even larger as more planes are bought and as the administration looks at other contracts. 'We will be savings billions and billions and billions of dollars on contracts,' Trump said. The United States is expected to spend some $391 billion over 15 years to buy about 2,443 F-35 aircraft, which are being built in different versions for the Air Force, Navy and Marines. Trump has threatened and rebuked some of America's largest companies, creating a new business risk for those who have been or fear being targeted. Advertisement

The Marines have already moved 16 F-35Bs to Iwakuni Air Station in Japan, it is believed.

The Marines will be the first force to deploy the Lockheed Martin jet aboard the USS Wasp next year, and will deploy a second contingent soon after, aboard the USS Essex.

'We will learn from that, and see what capabilities we need to further develop,' said Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, the commanding general of the Marines' Combat Development Command, according to Defense One.

'A lot of it's going to be the school of hard knocks.'

The jets will deploy as part of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 in early 2017, a Marine spokeswoman said.

In total the cost for the F35 project is estimated to be $400billion, more than double the original forecasts, a scenario described by John McCain as 'a scandal and a tragedy'.

At year's end, six of that squadron's planes will attach to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Following over a decade of de and with a price tag of $400 billion for 2,457 planes, the fifth-generation fighter has been plagued with issues.

But it appeared the tide had finally turned earlier this year when the U.S. Air Force has declared an initial squadron of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35A fighter jets ready for combat.

Now, the Pentagon's director of operational testing has poured cold water on the announcement, slamming the planes readiness.

Michael Gilmore, stated the F-35 is 'actually not on a path toward success but instead on a path toward failing to deliver' the plane's full combat capabilities on time, according to Bloomberg.

Gilmore also said the plane is 'running out of time and money' to address deficiencies

'Achieving full combat capability with the Joint Strike Fighter is at substantial risk' of not occurring before development is supposed to end and realistic combat testing begins, he said of the F-35.

The U.S. Air Force has declared an initial squadron of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35A fighter jets ready for combat, marking a major milestone for a program that has faced cost overruns and delays.

However, the most complex software capabilities 'are just being added' and new problems requiring fixes and verification testing 'continue to be discovered at a substantial rate,' Gilmore wrote to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James; General David Goldfein, the service's chief of staff; and Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisitions chief.

The action is another achievement for the $379 billion program, the Pentagon's largest weapons project.

The Air Force's decision follows one by the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015 declaring a first squadron of F-35s ready for combat.

'The U.S. Air Force decision to make the 15 F-35As ... combat ready sends a simple and powerful message to America's friends and foes alike - the F-35 can do its mission,' the program's chief, Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, said in a statement.

Workers can be seen on the moving line and forward fuselage assembly areas for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Lockheed Martin Corp's factory located in Fort Worth, Texas

Dan Grazier, a fellow of the Project On Government Oversight, said, however, 'This is nothing but a public relations stunt.'

He added that it would not be possible to know if the F-35 jets were ready for combat until after initial operational testing.

'The program is not doing everything they wanted it to do ... But they're at a point now where it is stabilizing and so it is progress,' said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Officials say the F-35 will give the U.S. military the ability to detect enemy aircraft and other threats far beyond current ranges, allowing the jets to strike targets and disappear long before they are detected.

The U.S. Air Force plans to buy a total of 1,763 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jets in coming years and will operate the largest F-35 fleet in the world.

Air Force General Herbert Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said work to upgrade the jet would continue in areas such as software, making the displays more intuitive and boosting the ability to share information between aircraft.

The aircraft could provide basic air support at this point but did not have everything the final version would, such as an infrared pointer, Carlisle said, adding that he would try to get the jets deployed to Europe and the Pacific within 18 months.

Lockheed is building three models of the F-35 Lightning II for the U.S. military and 10 countries that have already ordered the jets: Britain, Australia, Norway, Italy, Turkey, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, South Korea and Japan.

The Pentagon's F-35 program office said it remained in negotiations with Lockheed over long-delayed contracts for the next two batches of F-35 jets, deals worth about $15 billion.

With a price tag of $400 billion for 2,457 planes, the fifth-generation fighter could finally be battle ready later this year, a new report claims.

'We're seeking a fair deal for the F-35 enterprise and industry,' said F-35 program spokesman Joe DellaVedova.

The program, launched in 2001, has made strides in recent years after huge cost overruns and technical problems that sent the project's cost up nearly 70 percent.

Problems with the fighter jet included issues with the radar software and increased risk of neck injury to lower-weight pilots when they ejected from the aircraft.

Industry and U.S. defense officials say they are working hard to continue driving down the cost of the new warplanes to $85 million per plane by 2019, as well as the cost of operating them.

Senator John McCain, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he welcomed the announcement but made clear he intended to keep a close eye on the hugely expensive program.

'The Senate Armed Services Committee will continue to exercise rigorous oversight of the Joint Strike Fighter program's long-delayed System Development and Demonstration phase as well as the start of the operational test and evaluation phase,' McCain said in a statement.

To become battle ready, at least a dozen individual F-35 must demonstrate their ability to drop bombs and shoot down other planes.

Each jet must be upgraded to a specific software package, and plugged into the complex logistics cloud that manages maintenance.

ALIS: THE 'BRAINS' OF THE F35 The problem is with what the Department of Defense officials call the 'brains' of plane, also known as the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS). It is designed to support operations, mission planning and to spot any maintenance issues with the vehicle. It also allows pilots to plan missions and look back at their their performance. ALIS receives Health Reporting Codes via a radio frequency downlink while the F-35 is still in flight; this enables the pre-positioning of parts and qualified maintainers so that when the aircraft lands, downtime is minimised. Advertisement

The F-35 project office had previously set an Aug. 1 target date.

The project has been plagued with delays.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's record on cost, schedule and performance has been a scandal and a tragedy, Senator John McCain told senior Pentagon officials earlier this year.

McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the aircraft's development schedule has stretched to 15 years, deliveries of the F-35 have been delayed, and costs have skyrocketed.

'It's been a scandal and the cost overruns have been disgraceful,' McCain said.

Most recently, problems with its logistics software system grounded the entire fleet.

The issue is with what the Department of Defense officials call the 'brains' of plane, also known as the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS).

A Government Accountability Office report says a failure 'could take the entire fleet offline' because there is no backup system.

The report also says a lack of testing done of the software will mean it's not ready for its deployment by the Air Force in August and the Navy in 2018.

The 'brains' of the F35 are one of three major components, with the other two being the engine and airframe.

CNN points out that the software runs on ground computers rather than operating on the plane itself.

It is designed to support operations, mission planning and to spot any maintenance issues with the vehicle.

'Program officials said that if ALIS is not fully functional, the F-35 could not be operated as frequently as intended,' the report said.

'But a DoD commissioned plan found that schedule slippage and functionality problems with ALIS could lead to $20-100 billion in additional costs.'

So far, the software has been so flawed that maintenance crews have had to resort labour-intensive alternatives.

According to National Interest, in one instance maintainers had to manually burn data onto CDs and to send the massive files across a civilian WiFi network.

One major problem, the report said, is that the F-35 data produced goes through a single main operating unit which has no back up.

'The F-35 is still in development, and this is the time when technical challenges are expected,' Lt. Genernal Chris Bogdon told CNN.

'However, we believe the combined government and industry team will resolve current issues and future discoveries,' he said.

Lead defense contractor for the plane, Lockheed Martin, insists development of the logistics software is on schedule.

'As ALIS development continues, our focus is on the warfighter and delivering the most effective, efficient fleet management system to sustain the F-35 over the next five decades of operations,' said Sharon Parsley, a spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been hailed as the 'most expensive weapon in history.' But despite a price tag of $400 billion for 2,457 planes, the fifth-generation fighter has been plagued with issues. Pictured is a F-35B aircraft prepares for a landing at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. Now, a new report says the craft could finally be battle ready later this year.

'The recommendations by the GAO are in line with the actions already underway in preparation for full-rate production and worldwide sustainment.'

This isn't the only problem to plague the program.

Last month, it has emerged the jets complex radar system has a problem - it keeps crashing.

The software glitch that interferes with the ability of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter's AN/APG-81 AESA radar working in flight.

This poses the greatest threat to delaying US Air Force (USAF) plans to declare its jets operationally deployable, a top service official told Janes.

Major General Jeffrey Harrigian, director of the air force's F-35 integration office at the Pentagon, described the problem as 'radar stability - the radar's ability to stay up and running'.

'What would happen is they'd get a signal that says either a radar degrade or a radar fail -something that would force us to restart the radar,' Maj Gen Harrigian said

Another Pentagon report revealed a massive list of potentially lethal bugs still facing the jet.

It also found problems with the computer software, including 'in fusion, electronic warfare, and weapons employment result[ing] in ambiguous threat displays, limited ability to respond to threats, and a requirement for off-board sources to provide accurate coordinates for precision attack.'

Last year researchers revealed the hugely delayed and over budget project has finally fired its first shots in the air.

The F-35A Lightning II completed the first three airborne gunfire bursts from its internal Gun Airborne Unit (GAU)-22/A 25mm Gatling gun system during a California test flight on October 30th.

The F-35 also has a smart parts system to ensure everything is working within its limits, and can warn when parts need to be replaced.

However, the computerized maintenance management System, or CMMS, 'incorrectly authorizes older/inappropriate replacement parts.' the report said.

THE EJECTOR SEAT THAT COULD KILL Pilots under 136 pounds aren't allowed to fly any F-35 variant. Pilots under 165 pounds have a 1-in-4 chance of death and 100 percent chance of serious neck injury upon ejecting, according to the testing office. 'The testing showed that the ejection seat rotates backwards after ejection. This results in the pilot's neck becoming extended, as the head moves behind the shoulders in a 'chin up' position. When the parachute inflates and begins to extract the pilot from the seat (with great force), a 'whiplash' action occurs. The rotation of the seat and resulting extension of the neck are greater for lighter weight pilots,' the report states. Advertisement

It also fails to detect if it's been flying too fast and 'randomly prevented user logins' into its computerised control system.

In the first live firing test, three bursts of one 30 rounds and two 60 rounds each were fired from the aircraft's four-barrel, 25-millimeter Gatling gun.

In integrating the weapon into the stealthy F 35A airframe, the gun must be kept hidden behind closed doors to reduce its radar cross section until the trigger is pulled.

'The successful aerial gun test sortie was a culmination of several years' planning, which intensified in the first half of 2015 at the Edwards F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) Flight Test Squadron with a team of Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman personnel,' said Mike Glass, Edwards ITF flight test director.

'The results of this testing will be used in future blocks of testing, where the accuracy and mission effectiveness capabilities will be evaluated.'

The 25mm gun is embedded in the F-35A's left wing and is designed to be integrated in a way to maintain the F-35's very low observable criteria.

It will provide pilots with the ability to engage air-to-ground and air-to-air targets.
Uber is heading back to its hometown after getting the green-light to test its self-driving cars on public roads.

The ride-sharing giant received a permit to conduct trials with two of its Volvo SUVs in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Regulators have also approved 48 people as backup drivers who must sit behind the wheel in case the cars malfunction, but the vehicles are not allowed to pick up passengers along the way.

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Uber is heading back to its hometown after getting the green-light to test its self-driving cars on public roads. The ride-sharing giant received a permit to conduct trials with two of its Volvo SUVs in San Francisco on Wednesday

PERMIT TROUBLES In December, Uber released a handful of its self-driving Volvo vehicles on the public roads of San Francisco - without checking with authorities. Shortly after, regulators demanded the firm remove their SUVs and apply for a permit - which was shortly after 20 other companies filed the correct paperwork to test their vehicles. Uber argued that 'self-driving did not apply to their vehicles, because engineers in the front seats had to take over the wheel. Uber eventually removed its cars from the streets and put in a request for a permit. But in the meantime, the firm has been testing its Volvos in Arizona, where it was picking up human passengers last month. Advertisement

The authorization comes just months after Uber took to the public roads of the California city prior to filing for a permit.

In December, the firm launched a handful of its self-driving Volvo vehicles in San Francisco and shortly after, regulators demanded they get off the roads until they obtain the correct documentation.

However, Uber maintained that it did not need a permit because the cars are not sophisticated enough to continuously drive themselves, although the company promotes them as 'self-driving.'

The DMV said the registrations for the vehicles were improperly issued, because they were not suitably marked as test vehicles.

It is also believed that the firm understood the advantage of not having one - companies with one must report all crashes to the state, as well as every instance in which a person takes control during testing.

Waymo, a self-driving company created by Google and an Uber rival with a state permit, has disclosed 29 accidents involving its vehicles on public streets since 2010.

In Pittsburgh, Uber has not been required to release any information about crashes.

Regulators have also approved 48 people as backup drivers who must sit behind the wheel in case the cars malfunction, but the vehicles are not allowed to pick up passengers along the way

Waymo CEO John Krafcik declined to discuss Uber specifically when asked last week about California's permitting requirements for testing self-driving cars.

But, he said, 'if there is a competitor taking unnecessary risks, that could be a bad thing.'

However, it is believe the move by officials stems from the fact that 20 other companies, including Tesla and Ford, had obtained permits.

UBER'S TESTS ON SELF-DRIVING CARS IN PITTSBURGH In September, Uber revealed it had begun testing autonomous vehicles around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A hybrid Ford Fusions with the Uber logo be used for mapping data of Steel City and testing its self-driving capabilities on public streets. Included in the announcement is a photo of a hybrid Ford Fusions equipped with a variety of sensor, radars and high-resolution cameras. While the car is roaming around Pittsburgh, a trained driver will be seated in the driver's seat to monitor the vehicles performance -- but the car will be set in self-driving mode. Advertisement

Uber did remove itself from the streets and put in a request for a permit.

But in the meantime, the firm has been testing its Volvos in Arizona, where it was picking up human passengers last month.

Uber said in a statement Wednesday that it does not plan to ferry paying passengers for now, as it does in Pittsburgh and a Phoenix suburb. The company did not say when the two Volvos would be driving on California roads.

With the approval, Uber becomes the 26th company to have a self-driving car testing permit in California.

The authorization comes just months after Uber took to the public roads of the California city prior to filing for a permit. In December, the firm launched a handful of its self-driving Volvos in San Francisco and shortly after, regulators demanded they get a permit

Uber did remove itself from the streets and put in a request for a permit. But in the meantime, the firm has been testing its Volvos in Arizona, where it was picking up human passengers last month

San Francisco is Uber's second self-driving city; its first cars have been cruising around Pittsburgh since September.

The testing lets Uber identify glitches and gives everyday people a chance to interact with the technology  whether as a passenger, pedestrian or driver in another car.

Uber knew about the DMV's requirement to receive permission before testing in public, but argued that its cars do not meet the state's definition of an 'autonomous vehicle' because they need a person to monitor them and intervene if needed. That argument raised eyebrows both among regulators and other companies with similar technology that did get permits.

HOW MICHIGAN BECAME FIRST STATE TO LET AUTONOMOUS CARS ON ROADS WITHOUT A HUMAN DRIVER Companies can now test self-driving cars on public roads in Michigan without a driver or steering wheel under controversial new laws that could push the state to the forefront of autonomous vehicle development - at a price. A new package of bills signed into law last Friday comes with few specific state regulations - leaving many decisions up to automakers and companies such as Google and Uber. Michigan Transportation Director Kirk Steudle, who signed the bill, admitted there will be crashes and fatalities caused by the technology - but said 'it's a risk worth taking'. And they allow the sale of self-driving vehicles to the public once they are tested and certified, according to the state. The bills allow testing without burdensome regulations so the industry can move forward with potential life-saving technology, said Gov. Rick Snyder, who signed the bills. The bills give Michigan the potential to be a leader by giving the companies more autonomy than say, California, which now requires human backup drivers in case something goes awry. Police will investigate any crashes and presumably would report any trends to the state, which could suspend a company's manufacturer license plates and end the tests, Steudle said as he conceded that there will be crashes and probably a fatality involving autonomous cars. But the technology can eliminate human errors that cause 94 percent of crashes and cut the 100 highway deaths in the U.S. every day, he said. Advertisement

The pilot program caught the state - and San Francisco city officials - off guard. Amid a several-days showdown, during which a few self-driving Uber SUVs did not stop for red lights, state prosecutors threatened to haul Uber before a judge if the service was not suspended immediately.

Uber responded by packing up its cars for Arizona, where it began picking up passengers last month.

Uber said in a statement Wednesday that it does not plan to ferry paying passengers for now, as it does in Pittsburgh and a Phoenix suburb. The company did not say when the two Volvos would be driving on California roads.

With the approval, Uber becomes the 26th company to have a self-driving car testing permit in California.
Technology must be controlled by a in order to safeguard the future of humanity, Stephen Hawking has warned.

The physicist, who has spoken out about the dangers of artificial intelligence in the past, says a 'world government' could be our only hope.

He says our 'logic and reason' could be the only way to defeat the growing threat of nuclear or biological war.

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We are living through the most dangerous time in the history of the human race, according to Professor Stephen Hawking. The Cambridge University physics professor named overpopulation, climate change and diseases as just some of the threats facing our planet

'Since civilisation began, aggression has been useful inasmuch as it has definite survival advantages,' he told The Times.

'It is hard-wired into our genes by Darwinian evolution.

'Now, however, technology has advanced at such a pace that this aggression may destroy us all by nuclear or biological war. We need to control this inherited instinct by our logic and reason.'

He suggests that 'some form of world government' could be ideal for the job, but would itself create more problems.

'But that might become a tyranny,' he added.

'All this may sound a bit doom-laden but I am an optimist. I think the human race will rise to meet these challenges.'

Recently the Cambridge University physics professor named overpopulation, climate change and diseases as just some of the threats facing our planet.

He said we have developed technology that could destroy Earth, and we must 'retrain' for a new world where robots have replaced many everyday jobs.

Writing in a comment article in The Guardian, Professor Hawking explained what worries him about the future of our planet.

'For me, the really concerning aspect of this is that now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together,' he said.

'We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans.

Professor Hawking said life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as a sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, or other dangers

'Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity.

'We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it. '

'Perhaps in a few hundred years, we will have established human colonies amid the stars, but right now we only have one planet, and we need to work together to protect it.'

The world-famous physicist has previously issued warnings to the world that robots could wipe out humanity and that leaving Earth is our only hope, and that our days on Earth are numbered,

In September the physicist warned our planet is becoming a dangerous place because of the threat of war or disease.

THE ROBOTIC UPRISING Our desire to create helpful digital assistants and self-driving vehicles could bring about our demise. Professor Stephen Hawking warned that humanity faces an uncertain future as technology learns to think for itself and adapt to its environment. Speaking at an event in London earlier this year, the physicist told the BBC: 'The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.' This echoes claims he made earlier in the year when he said success in creating AI 'would be the biggest event in human history, [but] unfortunately, it might also be the last.' He argues that developments in digital personal assistants Siri, Google Now and Cortana are merely symptoms of an IT arms race which 'pale against what the coming decades will bring.' But Professor Hawking noted other potential benefits of this technology could also be significant, with the potential to eradicate, war, disease and poverty. 'Looking further ahead, there are no fundamental limits to what can be achieved,' continued Professor Hawking. 'There is no physical law precluding particles from being organised in ways that perform even more advanced computations than the arrangements of particles in human brains.' Advertisement

'I believe that life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as a sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, or other dangers,' he said.

'I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go to space.'

Professor Hawking made similar comments earlier this year while recording the BBC's annual Reith Lectures on January 7.

The lecture explored research into black holes, and his warning was made during questions fielded by audience members.

When asked how the world will end, Hawking said that increasingly, most of the threats humanity faces come from progress in technology.

The scientist, who turned 74 this year, said the threats include nuclear war, catastrophic global warming and genetically engineered viruses.

'We are not going to stop making progress, or reverse it, so we must recognise the dangers and control them,' he said, speaking to Radio Times ahead of the lecture.

To get away from these threats, humankind will have to colonise other planets, which Hawking believes will take more than a century.

'We will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least the next hundred years, so we have to be very careful in this period,' Hawking said.

In July, Professor Hawking and Tesla founder Elon Musk led 1,000 robotics experts in an open letter warning that 'Autonomous weapons will become the Kalashnikovs of tomorrow'

'The probable life span of human civilization is much greater if we're a multi-planet species as opposed to a single-planet species,' Elon Musk said last year.

This week the US Senate introduced a bipartisan bill that authorizes a new $19.5 billion (15 billion) budget for Nasa to send a crew to the red planet, but mandated it must happen within the next 25 years

'If we're a single planet species, then eventually there will be some extinction event,' Mr Musk said.

His company SpaceX is working to send humans to space.

Last week the firm test fired one of its new Raptor 'interplanetary transport engines' which the company will use to carry astronauts to Mars.

The rocket engine is three times more powerful than the one on the Falcon 9 rockets. It will ultimately be used to launch SpaceX's manned spacecraft off our planet.

Mr Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, said the rocket will be ultimately capable of producing thrust of 690,000lbs over 382 seconds.
While BBC series SS-GB is currently exploring the fictional outcome of a Nazi victory in the Battle of Britain, back in 1940 there was genuine concern that England was facing imminent invasion.

The Nazi army had swept across across Norway, Denmark, France and the Low Countries and, by the end of the summer, German bombers were attacking Britain's cities and harbours.

In anticipation of this invasion the war cabinet approved the creation of Auxiliary Units - otherwise known as 'stay-behinds' - to serve as an anti-invasion force making use of over 600 hidden bunkers in the countryside.

In anticipation of invasion, the British War Cabinet, lead by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, approved the creation of Auxiliary Units - otherwise known as 'stay-behinds' - who would serve as an anti-invasion force

Often these brave men were approached clandestinely and encouraged to volunteer for the job. They were also required to sign the Official Secrets Act. Above, the Spetisbury Auxiliary Unit Patrol in Dorset

This model demonstrates that the bunkers were furnished with wooden bunk-beds, basic cooking equipment, and chemical toilets. There was one everyday entry and one escape exit

Trained by the military to use guerrilla tactics against enemy forces, these units were to go behind the Germans when they inevitably headed inland and carry out pin-prick attacks to impede their advance.

The war cabinet announced in July 1940: 'The regular defences require supplementing with guerrilla type troops, who will allow themselves to be overrun and who thereafter will be responsible for hitting the enemy in the comparatively soft spots behind zones of concentrated attack'.

Then-prime minister Winston Churchill told politician Anthony Eden on 25 September 1940: 'From what I hear these units are being organised with thoroughness and imagination and should, in the event of invasion, prove a useful addition to the regular forces'.

The British Army - along with civilian contractors and members of the Royal Engineers and Royal Canadian Engineers - built more than 600 underground bunkers around Britain to serve as bases for small groups of these military fighters.

In fact it's estimated that this number could be upwards of 1,000, but the location of many of these secret bunkers today remains unknown.

A vast majority of those that have been identified have collapsed or fallen into a state of disrepair and often can only be located by those who know to look for them, as to the untrained-eye they can appear as nothing more than holes in the ground.

The men take a break from digging an operational base in Sussex (left). A replica in Sussex shows what the interior of such a bunker would have looked like (right)

However, in recent years a renewed interest has seen historians, enthusiasts and war veterans joining forces to seek out the surviving bases and document the history of these covert units.

'The units were set up 10 miles from vulnerable coasts, in South Wales, South England, East Anglia and beyond,' John Warwicker, author of Churchill's Underground Army: A History of the Auxiliary Units in World War II, told MailOnline Travel.

'The bases were designed for the circumstances where they built,' he explained.

Some of the more creative locations include below the basement of an abandoned, burnt-out manor house, in a badger's den and in an old root cellar, he revealed.

In Scotland, some bases were constructed in ancient rooms originally dug by Picts, who lived in the region until the early medieval period.

The remains of Auxiliary Unit Jonah Patrol's Operational Base in Wentwood Forest, near Newport

This is the Margam bunker, near Port Talbot, where the Auxilliary Unit's ammunition was stashed during World War II

'There were about 30 to 35 units in each county with six men per unit,' added Mr Warwicker.

But, according to David Lampe, who wrote about the Auxiliary Units in his 1967 book, The Last Ditch, there was one underground base which could have held 120 people.

'Initially most of the men were in their forties and were experienced from serving in World War One but they just couldn't survive the rigours of life underground,' Mr Warwicker continued.

Sixteen-year-old boys proved the perfect fighters due to their youth and physique. They were also two years away from conscription age and so would be able to serve that time in full with the Auxiliary Units.

Other men in their twenties and thirties who were exempt from service due to their occupation, such as engineering, also joined up. Farmers in particular proved a valuable source of manpower.

Often these brave men were approached clandestinely and encouraged to volunteer for the job. They were also required to sign the Official Secrets Act.

The war cabinet announced in July 1940 that the Auxiliary Units 'will be responsible for hitting the enemy in the comparatively soft spots behind zones of concentrated attack'. Above, a patrol in Hampshire

In the event of an invasion the units were meant to only last several weeks. They were there to slow the Nazi army down but would most likely die fulfilling the mission.

However, Mr Warwicker said, there was a sense of adventure among the units.

He explained: 'These working class men saw themselves as elite, they absolutely loved it. They were trained by the army and allowed to blow things up (easily done in the countryside) and had a variety of up-to-date weapons at their disposal issued by MI6.'

In reality underground training took place only at weekends with firearms and explosives practise occurring in the evenings, while the men carried on with their normal jobs during the week - but if an invasion had taken place life could have been deeply unpleasant for the volunteers .

'These working class men saw themselves as elite, they absolutely loved it,' author John Warwicker points out. 'They were trained by the army and allowed to blow things up (easily done in the countryside) and had a variety of up-to-date weapons. Above, some original, some replicas at their disposal issued by MI6

The bases were originally dug by the men themselves and were literally nothing more than holes in the ground. 'They were catastrophically unsuitable,' said Mr Warwicker, 'they were damp and cold.'

But, at the start of 1941, Royal Engineers improved the bases by constructing Nissen huts which had wood, concrete or bare floors and were roofed with a half-cylinder of corrugated iron.

Reasonably well-ventilated, they were furnished with wooden bunk-beds, basic cooking equipment, and chemical toilets. There was one everyday entry and one escape exit.

Under the care of the men some of the bases ended up being quite, 'sophisticated,' said Mr Warwicker.

The British Army - along with civilian contractors and members of the Royal Engineers and Royal Canadian Engineers - built more than 600 underground bunkers around Britain to serve as bases for small groups of these military fighters. Pictured: the officers who served with Auxiliary Units in 1942

In Kent one advanced base had a doorbell system which required the visitor to send a marble down a hole which led to a can in the bunker and would alert those below that a friend, rather than foe, wanted to be let in.

Often even basic entrances featured clever mechanisms that lifted the doors up from the ground and allowed them to twist aside.

The bases were also stocked with rations, including rum. However, no thought was given to long term cooking and sanitary requirements.

The huts were unheated but if the men attempted to heat them using a fire during a long period underground they would soon be asphyxiated from the fumes, not to mention if they tried to cook the smell of the food and the smoke would have been been detectable above ground.

While training men would simply bring food from home but this would be no solution should they have been required to stay down their indefinitely.

This image depicts a selections of items (some original, some replicas) that would been stored in the bunkers, such as a case of bullet, mugs and a large jug

If the invasion had taken place, the units were set to return to their bases and remain underground until the British Army recaptured the land - if they even survived that is.

But many are critical of the Auxiliary Units' real purpose in the event of a Nazi invasion.

'There was no precedent for this scenario,' said Warwicker, 'it just wasn't thought through.'

He points out that, for instance, if snow had fallen the troops' footprints, when they ventured outside, would have instantly given the location of the base away.

Furthermore, the units were instructed to blow up the enemies' barracks in the event of an invasion, but in reality such an act would be greeted by terrible retribution from the Germans, with villages burnt down and locals taken hostage.

The Auxiliary Units were just made up of 'innocent patriotic men,' said Warwicker, 'they were ignorant and uninformed about the complications of war; they simply did what they were told and believed explicitly in their Intelligence Officers.'

'They were tools in the trade,' he added. 'They bravely volunteered for something many considered a suicide mission.'

BBC war thriller SS-GB, out now, looks at what would have happened if the Nazis had won the Battle of Britain

The drama series is based on the 'alternate history' thriller written in 1978 by Len Deighton and depicts the brutal SS reigning over occupied London

Fortunately however, the units were never required. In June 1941 when Germany invaded Russia it became increasingly clear Britain would no longer be a Nazi target for invasion.

The men from the units began to take up other defensive positions or joined the Home Guard.

This resulted in many of the underground bases being left to decay - even though they were all supposed to be destroyed after the war.

Researchers with the British Resistance Archive have been trying to locate these hidden bases, nearly all of which are on private land.
It takes a brave - and perhaps foolish - person to dare to drink the world's strongest alcoholic drinks.

Not only will the spirit potentially taste unpleasant, but there's a strong chance you'll wake up the next day with very little recollection of what happened the night before.

Potent alcohol can be a dangerous business: for decades it was illegal to sell Irish moonshine, Poitin, as it could reportedly be made up to 180 proof. Meanwhile, Sunset Rum from the West Indies is so potent that consumers are advised to always dilute it with a mixer.

But, enjoyed in moderation, trying out these intense beverages could be an eye-opening way to sample a flavour unique to a destination.

An infographic from Australian website, Pokies, has highlighted 21 of the world's most mind-blowingly strong drinks.

From an Indonesian rice liquor to a Puerto Rican Bacardi rum you'll know what to stock up on in order to prove your drinking prowess - and what to blame the next day when your head feels like it might explode.
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Countless traditions silently slip away, drowned by a new wave of thinking.

But in a bid to capture historical conventions before they're lost forever, one photographer has been busy at work documenting them in a powerfully poignant way.

California-based photographer Oliver Klink has spent the past 16 years travelling across Asia to countries including Mongolia, China, Bhutan, Myanmar and India before the rise of modernisation takes hold.

Shot in black and white, the photographs show a simple life, with no technology in sight. One candid image shows a woman looking towards the camera with tattooed tribal lines covering her face and a straw hat on her head.

Another powerful photo captures two young children taking part in a ceremonial procession. They are seen wearing traditional feathered headdresses and embellished outfits as they are paraded through the streets on wooden horse-like beams.

Klink, who was born and raised in Switzerland before relocating the US, says it is his goal to 'make the viewers dream'. He adds that he also wants to 'offer a glimpse into the world as it should be', where life is about living off the land not checking the next email.

Capturing it before it's gone: California-based photographer Oliver Klink has spent the past 16 years travelling across Asia to countries including Mongolia, China, Bhutan, Myanmar (above), and India before the rise of modernisation takes hold

Showered in light: Farmers are seen using traditional methods, with oxen used instead of machinery

Sacred places: Klink called this image, taken in 2014 while in Myanmar, 'God's Rays' - he said it was made even more poignant after an earthquake struck in 2016 and destroyed countless old temples

Youth of today: Two young children take part in a ceremonial procession, they are seen wearing traditional feathered headdresses and embellished outfits as they are paraded through the streets

Lost in translation: Klink says that unfortunately he doesn't speak all of the local languages so he often has to find a guide who can speak to subjects for him. Above, a traditional stepwell in India

Under the surface: Klink said the biggest challenge is finding places that haven't already succumb to modernisation

Lost in thought: Klink explained that the images often cause people to stop and think about the past and what is to come in the future

Eye contact: One candid shot shows a woman looking towards the camera with tattooed tribal lines covering her face and a straw hat on her head in Myanmar

Form of entertainment: Two men play a board game in the street while a man, to the right, appears to be getting his hair cut

Look at them go! Local's in Bhutan are pictured watching on as two young goats go head-to-head

Bricks and mortar: Clink's images also offer a fascinating insight into traditional design and architecture (right) and incense clouds the air as a girl crouches to pray in front of brick-walled shrine (left)

Enduring love: A smartly dressed man and woman pose together in a street, demonstrating a heart-warming bond

Laundry day: An elderly woman looks out as a piece of clothing dries on her washing line and a bamboo mop is put out to air

The talented photographer revealed he is always travelling to new places and in January 2017 he visited his 100th country

Longtime residents: An elderly woman rests against a bamboo cane (left) while a man stands with a large wicker basket, seemingly on a run to get wood for the fire (right)
A Japanese theme park is creating floating sleeping capsules to allow visitors to drift along to different attractions while they snooze.

Huis Ten Bosch, in Sasebo, Japan, is developing the novel service with the upper half of the two-storey spherical structures designed as a bedroom and the lower section a bathroom.

By the end of the year, the Dutch-themed park hopes guests will be able to stay overnight in the capsule while travelling to an island where they can explore its various attractions.

Huis Ten Bosch, in Sasebo, Japan is creating floating sleeping capsules to allow visitors to drift off to different attractions while they slumber

The operator aims to draw tourists with its adventurous attractions and augmented reality technology across the 39,000sqm uninhabited island in Omura Bay, four miles southwest of its main theme park area in Nagasaki.

According to Bloomberg, there are plans to use the island for survival games where toy guns can be used.

The futuristic capsules will hold four people and cost between $260 (214) and $350 (288) a night, the Japan Times reports.

Guests will able to looks out the sphere's large glass window to admire both the nighttime view of the park, as well as underwater.

In July 2015 Huis Ten Bosch launched the Henn na Hotel, which translates in English to Weird Hotel, and is almost entirely staffed by robots - including a dinosaur

The temperature of the rooms is monitored with technology that detects body heat and guests can call for robotic room service using a tablet instead of a phone

It's currently unclear how the spheres will be monitored which has concerned internet users.

'Imagine waking up in the morning and finding yourself in North Korea,' one person worried on Naver's Matome News.

'I am afraid that it [will go] off to the Pacific Ocean,' another added.

'You won't know where you are in the morning but it would be fine if the hotel always monitors it with GPS,' a third commented.

However, this is not the first time Huis Ten Bosch has introduced such unique services.

The property was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the 'first robot-staffed hotel' in the world

In July 2015 it launched the Henn na Hotel, which translates in English to Weird Hotel, and is almost entirely staffed by robots.

The 45-a-night ($80) hotel goes beyond using robots as a gimmick, as it is among the first to use facial recognition technology instead of swipe cards as room keys.

A dinosaur, a female humanoid with blinking lashes, and a small android greet guests and each bedroom has a small robot with a Siri-like ability to answer questions about the current time or weather, and turn lights on and off.

The temperature of the rooms is monitored with technology that detects body heat and guests can call for robotic room service using a tablet instead of a phone.

The hotel was recognised by the Guinness World Records as the 'first robot-staffed hotel' in the world.
Europe has flown to victory in a ranking of the world's best airports, bagging eight of the top ten spots.

Helsinki Airport in Finland scored first place in the annual rating followed by Glasgow Airport in the UK and Zurich Airport in Switzerland.

All three commuter hubs were praised for having high cleaning standards and efficient security checks along with an alluring spread of restaurants and shops.

Helsinki Airport in Finland scored first place in the global annual ratings

The airports were graded based on more than 65,000 travellers' opinions gathered during 2016 in the annual rating system by edreams.co.uk.

Coming in fourth place was Munich airport in Germany, closely trailed by Frankfurt airport and Geneva airport in Switzerland.

Europe's home run was interrupted at seventh place, with Bangkok Airport in Thailand scoring one for the global team.

Tel Aviv airport in Israel crept in just behind before Europe returned with Oslo airport in Norway and Dublin airport in Ireland rounding out the top ten.

The awards also focused on more specific elements.

Glasgow Airport in Scotland came in second place - the commuter hubs were rated on the standard of cleanliness and efficiency of security lines

Zurich Airport in Switzerland scored third place in the rating based on 65,000 travellers' opinions

When it came to shopping, Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport took the crown with a 3.98 rating out of 5.

For food, Dallas' Fort Worth International had a taste of victory with an appetising 4.08 score.

THE TOP TEN AIRPORTS IN THE WORLD 1. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, Finland 2. Glasgow International Airport, UK 3. Zurich Airport, Switzerland 4. Munich F, J, Strauss Airport, Germany 5. Frankfurt Airport, Germany 6. Geneva Airport, Switzerland 7. Bangkok International Airport, Thailand 8. Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, Israel 9. Oslo Gardermoen Airport, Norway 10. Dublin Airport, Ireland Advertisement

On the waiting area front, the Dallas hub claimed first place again with a 4.10 score.

At the other end of the spectrum, Germany's Berlin Schonefeld airport was named the worst airport in the world, along with London's Luton airport and New York's LaGuardia airport.

A spokesperson for Luton airport said they were disappointed with the outcome of the survey.

They added: 'It fails to recognise the significant investment we are making to build a bigger, better terminal and improve the passenger experience.

'Last year more people than ever chose to fly through London Luton Airport thanks to the addition of new routes and we have seen 35 months of consecutive passenger growth.

'We had millions of happy passengers in 2016, and are working hard to minimise disruption whilst were in the middle of a major redevelopment.'

MailOnline Travel has approached Berlin Schonefeld Airport and New York's LaGuardia Airport for comment.
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A stunning ski resort has taken its accommodation to new heights by creating a towering hotel out of re-purposed shipping containers.

The Quadrum Ski and Yoga Resort has been built 7,200ft above sea level and is described as 'the first boutique hotel' in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia.

All rooms have panoramic views in the mountain-inspired pyramid design with some boasting terraces. Accommodation ranges from single rooms to family and deluxe suites, while all guests can enjoy the swimming pool and sauna.

A spokesperson for aerial photo and video company, Copter, which captured an amazing series of photos of the property, explained: 'The architect Sandro Ramishvili and Irakli Eristavi are the minds behind this extraordinary creation.

'Built in a minimalist style, the hotel seems to repeat the local terrain, cascading down the mountainside. The philosophy behind the project was to safeguard the environment from the harmful effects of work and leisure.

'While building the hotel, not only has the landscape been untouched, but the materials used to build it were environmentally friendly and of local production.'

A stunning ski resort has taken its accommodation to new heights by creating a towering hotel out of re-purposed shipping containers

The Quadrum Ski and Yoga Resort has been built 7,200ft above sea level and is described as 'the first boutique hotel' in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia

Some guest rooms and dining areas have terraces allowing holidaymakers to relax outside and soak up the sun's rays

The jenga-style resort has a contemporary design with bedrooms separated into different containers to offer ultimate privacy

A spokesperson for aerial photo and video company, Copter, which captured an amazing series of photos of the hotel, said: 'While building the hotel, not only has the landscape been untouched, but the materials used to build it were environmentally friendly and of local production'

A box of one's own: Accommodation ranges from single rooms to family and deluxe suites, while all guests can enjoy the swimming pool and sauna

All bedrooms have panoramic views in the mountain-inspired pyramid design with some boasting terraces and whirlpool hot tubs

Chic retreat: Details of the modern, minimalist bedrooms include spiral staircases, shelves, artwork and desk areas

Architects Sandro Ramishvili and Irakli Eristavi are the minds behind the unique project

'Built in a minimalist style, the hotel seems to repeat the local terrain, cascading down the mountainside,' the spokesperson said
Malta's famed Azure Window has crumbled into the sea after being pummelled by stormy weather.

Geologists had long warned that the arched cliff structure, on the north-western coast of the small island of Gozo, was eroding and last year visitors had been banned from walking on top of it or sailing beneath it.

But on Wednesday morning their prediction came true and the natural wonder dramatically collapsed with a 'loud whoomph' according to Roger Chessell, a local resident who witnessed its boulders crashing down hundreds of feet into the Inland Sea.

Before the fall: Malta's famed Azure Window has crumbled into the sea after being pummelled by stormy weather

Geologists had long warned that the arched cliff structure, on the north-western coast of the small island of Gozo, was eroding fast and visitors had been banned from walking on top of it

Explaining how the cliff crumbled at around 9.40am, he told the Times of Malta: 'There was a big raging sea beneath the Azure Window.

'Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea... throwing up a huge spray.'

Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described the event as 'sad' and 'heartbreaking'.

He added on Twitter that the 164 foot-high limestone landmark had always faced 'unavoidable natural corrosion' but finally 'that sad [had] day arrived'.

The Azure Window most recently featured on the first episode of the HBO series Game of Thrones in the Dothraki wedding scene

The natural site had lured millions of tourists over the years.

It has also been used as a backdrop in dozens of films and most recently it featured in the first season of the HBO series Game of Thrones in the Dothraki wedding scene.

Malta's Environment Minister Jose Herrera said that the environmental conditions surrounding the Azure Window were behind its eventual collapse.

Its exposed positioning meant it was constantly battered by strong winds and violent waves.

'What nature created, it took away,' Dr Herrera said in a press conference.

Malta's Environment Minister Jose Herrera said that the environmental conditions surrounding the Azure Window were behind its eventual collapse

Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described the event as 'sad' and 'heartbreaking'

He added on Twitter that the 164 foot-high limestone landmark had always faced 'unavoidable natural corrosion' but finally 'that sad [had] day arrived'

He announced that the Environment Resources Authority will be conducting a post-mortem on the site to assess the exact reason for its collapse.

Malta's tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis admitted the country had lost a prime visitor asset.

However, he maintained that Gozo has a lot more to offer than the Azure Window.

Dozens of people have been mourning the attraction's loss on social media, posting images of past visits when it was still intact.

One Twitter user wrote: 'OMG I can't believe it!! It was sooo pretty.. Hopefully no one's hurt.'

Another added: 'The best shot I ever took of the iconic landscape. Always wanted to give it another shot.'

Malta is currently experiencing stormy weather with winds of more than 30mph.
Reese Witherspoon is known for being an ageless beauty.

And the 40-year-old A-lister proved her age-defying looks even more so when she stepped out for lunch in Santa Monica with teen daughter Ava, 17, on Tuesday.

The Wild star and her eldest appeared as though they could be twin sisters while grabbing a bite at Blue Plate with their adorable French bulldog Pepper.

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Midday meal: Reese Witherspoon stepped out with daughter Ava, 17, for lunch at Blue Plate in Santa Monica on Tuesday

The Academy Award-winning actress donned the Dunaway Vines top from her own southern-inspired Draper James line which retails for $195.

She teamed the feminine printed blouse with dark denim jeans that encased her slender pins.

A pair of dark shades sat neatly on her nose and shielded her piercing blue eyes from the southern California rays.

Mother-daughter doppelgangers! The 40-year-old actress proved her age-defying looks and appeared as though she could have been twins with her teen daughter

Her own best advert! The Academy Award-winning actress donned the Dunaway Vines top from her own southern-inspired Draper James line which retails for $195

The Walk The Line actress swept her signature golden blonde tresses up in a relaxed bun and skipped the cosmetics, allowing her natural beauty to shine through.

Reese's first child from her marriage to ex-husband, Ryan Phillippe, 42, went with a laid-back look for her afternoon outing.

Ava opted for a bright yellow sweatshirt with loose-fitting cuffed jeans and white sneakers.

Natural beauty: The Walk The Line actress swept her signature golden blonde tresses up in a relaxed bun and skipped the cosmetics, allowing her flawless complexion to shine through

She matched her mom's hairstyle and also went fresh-faced which showcased her flawless complexion.

Reese also shares son Deacon, 13, with Ryan, who she tied the knot with in 1999 until the couple divorced in 2007.

In 2011 the Legally Blonde star married Creative Artists Agency's head of motion picture talent, Jim Toth, and the couple welcomed their son, Tennessee, four, in September 2012.

Laid-back look: Ava opted for a bright yellow sweatshirt with loose-fitting cuffed jeans and white sneakers

Meanwhile the busy actress, who is making waves with HBO's newest drama Big Little Lies, recently sat down with People about her animated film Sing and opened up about her children.

She told the outlet: 'I have three kids of my own - sometimes it feels like 25,' when comparing her life to her animated character Rosita.

'But the idea that you were a person before you were a mom, and that sometimes you really hope that your kids know who you are as an individual.'
She owns two multi-million dollar properties in exclusive Malibu, California.

But Julia Roberts was low-key as she attempted to go under the radar to walk her dogs in the area on Tuesday.

The 49-year-old actress kept it casual as she went make-up free with her pet pooches.

Pet-ty woman! Julia Roberts went under the radar as she stepped out to walk her dogs in the area on Tuesday

The Pretty Woman star headed out solo, apart from her four-legged friends.

She bundled up in a green festival jacket and baggy trackies.

The August: Osage County beauty added dark glasses but there was no disguising her trademark long flame-hued locks.

Natural beauty! The 49-year-old actress kept it casual as she went make-up free with her pet pooches

The Oscar-winner will celebrate her 15th wedding anniversary with husband Daniel Moder this July 4.

Together, they have three children: 12-year-old twins Hazel Patricia and Finn Walter Moder (born November 28, 2004) and son, Henry Daniel Moder, 9.

It was revealed last week that her character in Pretty Woman was originally going to die - before a happier ending was written.

Distinctive: The August: Osage County beauty added dark glasses but there was no disguising her trademark long flame-hued locks

Vivian Ward was supposed to overdose in the original ending of the classic 1990 film with Richard Gere, former Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg explained, as reported by Page Six.

Katzenberg said at a Q&A session at Hearst Tower in New York City: 'As a script, Pretty Woman was an R-rated movie about a hooker on Hollywood Boulevard. By the way, in the original version - it's pretty dark - I think she died of an overdose."

The film studio executive, 66, explained that Disney wasn't thrilled with the grim ending, for obvious reasons: 'Convincing [people] that we should make that at the Walt Disney Co., and that it's a fairy tale and a princess movie, a lot of people had a hard time seeing it. But, as they say, the rest is history,' he concluded.
She's featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar Arabia's 10th anniversary issue.

And in the magazine's cover story, Shanina Shaik has opened up about being born and raised in Australia while remaining proud of her Middle Eastern roots.

The 26-year-old, whose father is of Saudi Arabian and Pakistani ancestry, speaks candidly of her varied cultural experiences both at home and in the fashion industry.

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Standing tall: In Harper's Bazaar Arabia's cover story, Shanina Shaik has opened up about being born and raised in Australia while remaining proud of her Middle Eastern heritage

'Ive always had a struggle with finding my place,' the Victoria's Secret model explained to Bazaar editor-in-chief Louise Nichol.

'I was up for an amazing editorial about diversity and I didnt get the job because they didnt know what heritage to put me under,' she added. 'That really sucks.'

The brunette stunner stars alongside Moroccan-born Hind Salhi and Tunisian-born Hanaa Ben Abdesslem in the publication's historic spread.

Opening up: The 26-year-old, whose father is of Saudi Arabian and Pakistani ancestry, speaks candidly of her varied cultural experiences both at home and in the fashion industry

The trio were shot at the Royal Mansour in Morocco by famed photographer Ellen von Unwerth, who invited Shanina to do the shoot one month prior.

'It was an amazing trip and Marrakech was culturally a beautiful place to see,' Shanina told Daily Mail Australia.

'It was an honour to be chosen for the cover of Harper's Bazaar Arabia not only for a very special issue, but an honour that I was chosen to celebrate and highlight Arab women and models in the fashion industry,' she continued.

'In this time where all Arab and Middle Eastern people are being judged, this was a really important shoot.'

Stunning: The models were shot at the Royal Mansour in Marrakech by famed photographer Ellen von Unwerth

Shanina opened up to Life and Times in 2014 about growing up in Australia and having no fashion models to look up to as a teenager.

'I get asked all the time about who inspired me growing up and I cant give one name,' she described. 'I never saw anyone who related to me.'

She's now confident her status as one of the world's most in-demand models is contributing to the changing ideals of what being Australian looks like.

Glamourous trio: The brunette stunner stars alongside Moroccan-born Hind Salhi and Tunisian-born Hanaa Ben Abdesslem in the publication's historic spread

'Myself and others are changing the perception of what it means to be Australian and I couldnt be more proud,' she expressed.

The Los-Angeles based stunner is planning her wedding to fiance Greg Andrews, better known as DJ Ruckus.

He proposed to his then-girlfriend of eight months in the Bahamas in December 2015, and the pair will reportedly tie the knot there sometime in 2018.
International Women's Day is all about being bold for change.

And for former Biggest Loser contestant Fiona Falkiner that meant sharing an empowering picture of her and four female friends in their bikinis.

The 33-year-old showed off her fit figure in the Instagram post, celebrating the strong women in her life.

Strong women: Fiona Falkiner (second from left) posted a picture of her and her friends on Instagram to celebrate International Women's Day

The photo, originally posted on the star's Instagram in September 2016, shows the TV host's sporting a simple black bikini, posing arm-in-arm with friends and fellow models Katherine Howe, Vitalisa, Ali Tate and Michelle Olson.

The blonde beauty rehashed the picture to celebrate the special day, mentioning her 'girlfriends from around the world'.

'Happy International Women's Day! Today makes me think about all my girlfriends from around the world,' the blogger wrote.

'We are all incredible, strong women and I am so glad we all have each other's backs! #beboldforchange #believeinyourself #lovetheskinyourein.'

Beauty in black: The TV presenter told her fans 'we are all incredible, strong women and I am so glad we all have each other's backs!'

Falkiner wasn't the only celebrity to post positive messages to her fans on International Women's Day.

Real Housewives of Melbourne star Susie McLean tweeted a cartoon picture of 'wonderwomen' of all shapes and sizes, wishing a happy International Women's Day to all her 'girlies'.

Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and best-selling author Lang Leav also encouraged girls to 'move those mountains,' tweeting a small poem she wrote titled Her Time.

Wonderwomen! Real Housewives of Melbourne star Susie McLean wished all her 'girlies' a happy International Women's Day

Moving mountains: Best-selling author Lang Leav shared one of her own poems with her fans, telling girls it was their time

Politician Penny Wong marked the day with a tweet saying: 'Many steps taken, but so much more to do #Equality'.

Comedy queen Celeste Barber had a little fun with her Instagram post, showing off a picture of her mimicking Rita Ora paying piano in just a pair of sneakers.

'Happy INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY! Get you're clothes off, bang out a tune and throw your hair back! Or do do what you want, it's totally up to you. That's the point!' the comedian wrote.

Equality: Politician Penny Wong took to Twitter to Be Bold For Change and point out that while we have come far there is still 'more to do'
They became friends after both being rejected by Georgia Love on The Bachelorette.

And buff buddies Matty 'J' Johnson and Cam Cranley made sure to get in some beach bonding time ahead of Matty's isolation in The Bachelor mansion.

The two boys showed off their chiselled physiques while going swimming at north Bondi last month.

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Buff buddies! A ripped Matty Johnson hits the beach with The Bachelorette's Cam Cranley before entering The Bachelor mansion

Firefighter Cam, 26, cut a casual figure alongside Matty, 29, as the two chose to cool off at the iconic Sydney beach.

Both wearing dark-coloured board shorts, Matty slung a patterned towel around his neck.

He wore metallic sunglasses as he appeared to chat animatedly with Cam during their walk to the beach.

The Perth firefighter also sported sunglasses and looked happy to be soaking up the east coast sun.

Bonding time! Both wearing dark coloured boardshorts and Matty slung a patterned towel around his neck

Taking the plunge: The marketing director stood on a rock nearby a group of females swimming

Balancing act! Matty appears to nearly lose his footing as he prepared to dive into the surf

The two reality TV stars made their way to rocks along the northern end of Bondi Beach.

Cam and Matty balanced on the rocks before taking the plunge and jumping into the surf.

In the water, the two continued their animated conversation as they swam close together.

Ready to jump: The two reality TV stars made their way to rocks along the northern end of Bondi Beach

Jumping in! Cam and Matty balanced on the rocks before taking the plunge and jumping into the surf

Catching up: In the water, the two continued their animated conversation as they swam close together

After cooling off and catching up in the water, the two made their way to shallower depths.

Standing up to their knees in the gentle surf, the two continued to talk with Matty pointing out sights to the West Australian.

Cam and Matty then made their way back out onto the rocks, with Matty stretching his legs as he made his way out.

Plenty to say: The two reality TV stars appeared happy to be catching up and in each other's company

Heading back to the mansion! The photos were taken shortly before Matty started filming The Bachelor

As the two made their way along the rocks, Matty seemed concerned with making sure that his hair was in place, slicking it back with two hands several times.

Both made sure to avoid any sharp shells by looking down at the rock pools as they made their way to dryer ground.

The two men met while vying for Georgia Love's affection on The Bachelorette last year.

Fun in the sun! Firefighter Cam, 26, cut a casual figure alongside Matty, 29, as the two chose to cool off at the iconic Sydney beach

Enough sun? After cooling off and catching up in the water, the two made their way to shallower depths

Got a cramp? Matty stretching his legs as he made his way out of the beach surf

Eligible: Last week it was finally revealed that Matty would be taking up the Bachelor mantle this year

In February, Cam confessed he was open to the idea of being this year's Bachelor, a role that ultimately went to co-star Matty.

I take everything on its merits so I'd weight it up and have a think about it,' he told Popsugar.

'I'm not sure I'm the best fit. I'd consider it  it's still a cool way to meet someone.'

How's my hair? As the two made their way along the rocks, Matty made sure that his hair was in place, slicking it back with two hands

Mind your step! Both made sure to avoid any sharp shells by looking down at the rock pools as they made their way to dryer ground

But last week it was finally revealed that Matty would be taking up the Bachelor mantle this year, sharing the news on Instagram.

'I can finally announce that yes, I will be the next Bachelor. I never could have imagined Id be given this opportunity,' Matty wrote.

'I'm beyond excited to start this incredible adventure and to find the special girl Ive been waiting for.'

'I never could have imagined Id be given this opportunity': Matty said he was pleased to be getting another chance at love

Catching up: The two reality TV stars stopped on the rocks to chat to a male and female acquaintance




A neighbor reported seeing 'huge flames' on Ryan Seacrest's property when they called 911 last month to report a fire.

The incident at the radio and TV personality's $50 million residence was fortunately confined to a trash can and some nearby shrubbery.

The audio from the emergency call was published by TMZ.com Tuesday, a little over two weeks since the blaze.

Newly released audio: A neighbor's 911 call to emergency services to report a fire at Ryan Seacrest's home last month was published online by TMZ on Monday

The wreckage: The neighbor rep[orted 'huge flames' on the property but it turned out the blaze was confined to a trash can and some nearby shrubbery

A second call to 911 from someone at the home was also published online, telling the dispatcher the fire was getting close to trees.

Two days later, on February 21, Seacrest, 42, told his On Air With Ryan Seacrest listeners that 'my worst nightmare happened.

he added he thought the substantial rain in Los Angeles that night caused an electrical box near his driveway to 'pop' and in turn, ignite a fire in a trash can.

Ryan told his listeners: 'You're so grateful no one is hurt. You're so grateful you're there to find it.'

His home: The media personality believed substantial rain in Los Angeles on Sunday February 19 caused an electrical box near his driveway to 'pop' and in turn, set a trash can on fire

The former American Idol host said he would have had worse damage if he hadn't moved his car earlier in the day to a spot further away from the trash can that caught on fire.

He shared a picture of the damage and wrote: 'Fire last night at the house- thank God everyone is OK. Thanks again @beverlyhillsfirefighters.'

After the fire was put out, the star thanked each of the firefighters and gifted them with a bottle of wine.

Ryan purchased the Beverly Hills mansion in 2012 from Ellen DeGeneres for $49 million, according to TMZ.

The home sits on almost three acres and is 9,200 square feet.

In December, Ryan was trapped in an elevator in New York City - right before he hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rocking' Eve; he was rescued by the FDNY.
She's currently busy on the promotional circuit as she publicises her upcoming movie The Sense Of An Ending.

And on Tuesday, Michelle Dockery was back to work, as she stepped out in New York City for a special luncheon promoting the CBS film.

The former Downton Abbey star, 35, looked elegant in a waterfall ruffled white blouse with black piping, which she wore with black cropped trousers.

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On the promotional trail: Michelle Dockery attended a luncheon for her upcoming film The Sense of An Ending in New York City on Tuesday

She teamed her simple yet chic ensemble with a pair of embellished black heels for the luncheon and accompanying panel, which was also attended by her co-stars Jim Broadbent and Harriet Walter.

Earlier in the day, she wrapped up against the Big Apple chill in a sophisticated beige coat and figure-hugging pencil skirt, which showcased her trim legs, as she enjoyed some leisurely time.

The British beauty stole the limelight as she manoeuvred down the streets of the bustling metropolis in a pair of towering white strappy heels.

Elegant: The actress, 35, wore an elegant waterfall ruffled white blouse with black piping

Anchorwoman: At the event, she posed with CBS2 This Morning co-anchor Mary Calvi

Michelle kept her statement outerwear unbuttoned to show off her waist-cinching lime green top.

A chic black handbag was draped expertly over one arm and she accessorised with a pair of silver earrings.

The stunner worked her glamorous side-parted blowdry, which framed her make-up accentuated features.

Panel: Her co-stars Jim Broadbent and Harriet Walter joined her on an accompanying panel

Making history: The actresses were joined by British-born historian Dr. Amanda Foreman

Michelle looked in high spirits as she stopped to sign autographs and mingle with fans.

This comes after she spoke about her new film, which she also documented on Instagram with a black and white snap.

The talented star stunned the night before in a monochrome jumpsuit that showed off her svelte figure and tiny waist for the screening of The Sense Of An Ending.

Talking it up: Director Ritesh Batra spoke about his project with the invited guests

Coming to a screen near you: The Sense Of An Ending will be out in US theatres on March 10, with a UK release scheduled for April 14

Her cigarette-cut trousers were black whilst her top was white with two thick black straps.

She exuded old Hollywood glamour as she styled her dark chocolate brown tresses in subtle waves as she pinned the other side back away from her face.

Michelle opted to wear dark black eye make-up and a slick of red lippy to complete her glam red carpet look.

All eyes on her: Michelle looked chic in a statement coat as she headed out in New York on Tuesday after talking about her drama The Sense Of An Ending on CBS Film

Walking the walk: The British beauty stole the limelight as she manoeuvred down the streets of New York in a pair of towering white strappy heels

Sartorially savvy: Michelle kept her statement outerwear unbuttoned to show off her waist-cinching lime green top

Details: A chic black handbag was draped expertly over one arm and she accessorised with a pair of silver earrings

Exciting project: This comes after she spoke about her new TV venture on CBS films, which she also documented on Instagram with a black and white snap

The film, which is based on the novel written by British author Julian Barnes, is about a man who becomes haunted by his past.

He is presented with a mysterious legacy that causes him to re-think his current situation in life.

Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter, Matthew Goode and Emily Mortimer lead the impressive cast in the anticipated drama.

The Sense Of An Ending will be out in US theatres on March 10, with a UK release scheduled for April 14.

Lovely: Michelle exuded elegance and sophistication as she graced the red carpet for her new film at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City the day before
Last week, he was photographed in Jamaica as he joined a host of well-heeled guests at the wedding of one of his closest pals.

But as Prince Harry lapped up the sunshine on the Caribbean island, he reportedly endured a ribbing from his pals for sporting a notably smoother chest - which, it is claimed, is as a result of him wanting to impress his girlfriend Meghan Markle.

A source told The Sun: 'Harrys been seen as a mans man all his adult life, so this has come as shock to his close friends. They all think his new grooming methods are to down to his desire to look his shiny best for Meghan.'

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The bare heir? Prince Harry - pictured while serving in Southern Afghanistan in 2008 - has reportedly been mocked by his pals for waxing his chest

'His chest is now like something youd see from guys in Baywatch  but without the tan,' added the source.

Late last year, it was confirmed by Kensington Palace that Harry, 32, and 35-year-old Suits star Meghan had been quietly dating for a number of months,

Since then, they've been spotted out together on several occasions at locations across the globe, including London, where the British Royal resides.

Wax on, wax off: According to The Sun, it is thought he underwent the process to impress his actress girlfriend Meghan Markle

But much was made of Meghan accompanying her beau to the wedding of Tom 'Skippy' Inskip with flame-haired literary agent the Hon Lara Hughes-Young in Jamaica last weekend.

Harry flew out from London Gatwick Airport to Montego Bay on Wednesday to stay at one of the most luxurious resorts on the island's North Coast.

Californian beauty Meghan flew in separately from her Toronto home later that same day. The two stayed together at the upscale Round Hill Hotel & Villas.

Public: The couple went public with their romance late last year, after months of quietly dating

The order of service showed Prince Harry was one of 14 ushers, with Tom Faber as the best man.

His name was written as Harry Wales, a title that he still uses for military purposes.

One friend said of the couple's big outing: 'This the first time that she and Harry have socialised so openly as a couple and is a significant step up in their relationship.

'Make no mistake, he is heads over heels about her. This one could go all the way.'
Hook, line and sinker: Leonardo DiCaprio has invested in a sustainable frozen fish company

It seems Captain Birdseye has a new rival targeting his stern.

For it has emerged Leonardo DiCaprio has invested in a sustainable frozen seafood company.

The jet-setting environmentalist announced he was investing some of his estimated $245 million fortune in Love The Wild on Tuesday.

In a statement given to People, the yachting enthusiast said: 'Estimates show the earths population approaching nine billion by 2050, putting tremendous pressure on our natural food resources.

'Seafood is a primary source of protein for nearly a billion peoplebut climate change, acidification and over fishing are putting increased pressure on our oceans natural stability.'

Among the dishes currently on offer are catfish with cajun creme and rainbow trout with salsa verde. At this point in time they have yet to branch out and offer their own brand of fish fingers.

It is clearly a labour of love for the 42-year-old Titanic beefcake, who loves nothing more than sailing around the world on super yachts with his rich friends.

And he was doubtlessly attracted to the venture due to the fact the business uses only sustainable farmed species of fish, which avoids the depletion of wild populations.

Nice: Among the dishes being offered by Love The Wild is catfish with cajun creme

Missing a trick: At the moment the company does not offer sustainably farmed fish fingers

Leonardo added: 'The exploitation of our oceans has left many marine ecosystems on the brink of total collapse, which is hurting our ability to harvest our seas as a reliable food source as we have for thousands of years,

He claimed Love The Wild 'is empowering people to take action on this crisis in a very meaningful way.'

Other environmentally-minded investments made by the star include a company which sources tea from the Ecuadorian Amazon and a business which cultures diamonds with a zero carbon footprint in California.

The Catch Me If You Can is far from the first celebrity to invest in fish farming however.

Jethro Tull star Ian Anderson was one of the most notable, and had an empire made up of 11 fish farms, a smokehouse and two processing factories in his native Scotland before selling up in the late 1990s.

Even the boxes are fancy: Customers will doubtlessly be find the attractive packaging alluring
Gal Gadot had draped her bulging baby bump in a flowing white top when she took her five-year-old daughter Alma for a frozen dessert on Tuesday.

For their outing to Go Greek in Beverly Hills, the 31-year-old had slicked her hair back into a low ponytail and lifted her sunglasses above her forehead.

Black trousers tightened about her enviably toned legs, complementing the black knee-length cardigan she'd flung on.

Family day: Gal Gadot had draped her bulging baby bump in a flowing white top when she took her five-year-old daughter Alma for a frozen dessert on Tuesday

The Rosh HaAyin native and her Israeli developer husband Yaron Varsano married in 2008 and welcomed Alma into their lives three years later.

She'd announced her new pregnancy in November via an Instagram photo in which she and her dashing man each placed a hand on her bump, forming a heart shape.

Gadot was in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice as Wonder Woman, a role she'll reprise in an eponymous film out this June, and in Justice League, out November.

Background: The Rosh HaAyin native and her Israeli developer husband Yaron Varsano married in 2008 and welcomed Alma into their lives three years later

In an interview Collider ran Monday, she said her character 'comes from this world where men and women are equal and its not a thing to be a man or to be a woman.'

She'd recalled that 'its funny, because I just had the conversation with my daughter two nights ago' while reading Alma a bedtime story about a prince and princess.

Gadot reminisced that Alma 'was talking about the prince, the guy, she called him the prince, and she said: "Yeah, and the prince, theyre usually very strong."'

Loving moment: She'd announced her new pregnancy in November via an Instagram photo in which she and her dashing man each placed a hand on her bump, forming a heart shape

When Gadot prodded: 'And what about the princesses?",' her daughter said: '"Theyre weak,"' and Gadot went on: 'And how do you think they should be, Alma?"'

Alma said, '"They should be strong,"' making her mother 'very proud that finally this movie is being made,' inasmuch as 'all men and all boys, always had a figure to look up to,' whereas 'for girls, its always the princesses are being saved or being passive,' but Wonder Woman's 'fearless, shes proactive, she believes in herself.'

Wonder Woman will release in Britain and America on June 2, while Justice League will have to wait until November 17 to open in both countries.
She became a household name after starring in the epic Twilight saga.

But Kristen Stewart says during that period of her life, she placed a premium on privacy.

During an interview with The Sunday Times, the actress, 26, admitted she perceived the public to be 'the enemy' when she was dating her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson, 30, but now has learned to embrace sharing details of her life for the greater good - which included coming out as gay.

'The public were the enemy': Kristen Stewart recalled her struggles with having a high profile relationship with Robert Pattinson during an interview with The Times (pictured in 2012)

Kristen and Robert dated for four years after playing each other's love interests in the Twilight saga.

Their romance captivated people around the world.

'When I was dating Rob, the public were the enemy - and that is no way to live,' Kristen told the publication.

'I didn't talk about my first relationships that went public because I wanted things that are mine to be mine,' she insisted.

'To make even one person feel good': Stewart says she's embraced sharing details about her personal life for the greater good (pictured in February 2017)

But now Kristen says things have changed, and she's more willing to share her life story in the interest of helping others.

She says sharing more personal information with the world gave her the chance 'to make even one other person feel good about themselves.'

Kristen revealed she came out as gay publicly because 'it just seemed important, and topical.'

Real life love story: Kristen and Robert dated for four years after playing each other's love interests in the Twilight saga

The star and Robert have both moved on to different people ever since splitting in 2012, after Kristen was unfaithful with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders.

Kristen has since dated Alicia Cargyle, St. Vincent, and recently has been linked to model Stella Maxwell.

Back in July, Kristen came out as bisexual when she gushed about her then-girlfriend Alicia to Elle magazine: 'I'm just really in love with my girlfriend,' she said.

New chapter: The star and Robert have both moved on to different people ever since splitting in 2012, after it emerged the actress had been unfaithful to Robert with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders (pictured in 2012)

'We've broken up a couple of times and gotten back together, and this time I was like: "Finally, I can feel again."'

Last month, Kristen referred to herself as 'so gay' in the opening monologue for SNL, and later shared a steamy kiss with comedian Vanessa Bayer for a skit.

Robert, meanwhile, is engaged to his partner of nearly three years, FKA Twigs.
They showed solidarity for International Women's Day on Wednesday.

And Sam Frost and Em Rusciano were both all smiles in a group photo of The Hit Network's female on-air talent celebrating the annual event, despite Em being announced as Sam's 2Day FM morning show replacement at the top of the year.

The national breakfast show featured all the ladies on-air together in an Australian first, and was live-streamed on Facebook and Twitter.

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Solidarity: Sam Frost and Em Rusciano were both all smiles in a group photo of The Hit Network's female on-air talent celebrating International Women's Day, despite Em being announced as Sam's 2Day FM morning show replacement at the top of the year

Em, 38, who has risen in popularity since her impassioned diatribe against columnist Miranda Devine last month, stood confidently in the centre of the image.

The host of The Em Rusciano show, with co-host Harley Breen, replaced Sam Frost and Rove McManus in January after their predecessor's poor ratings.

The Rove & Sam show was relegated to a one-hour time slot in the evenings from January 30.

Girl power: Em and Fox FM's morning show co-host Fifi Box (pictured left) lead the Hit Network charge on Wednesday, with Sam, Cat Lynch, Abby Coleman, Heidi Anderson and Ash London

During that month, YahooBe reported there was speculation Rove found his co-host Sam 'difficult' to work with.

'He just feels like he is dealing with someone on work experience rather than a co-host,' a source allegedly told New Idea magazine.

Rove hit back at the rumours and released his own statement when their breakfast show was canned.

Changes: The Rove & Sam show was relegated to a one-hour time slot in the evenings from January 30

'One of the pleasures of 2016 has been working with Sam, so I am looking forward to continuing working with her in 2017 at a more civilized time of day,' he offered.

Em called the opportunity to host the Sydney morning show 'the holy grail' and added she was 'excited and terrified' for her new role.

'Last week, I quit my job twice. I was so upset,' she said during Wednesday's show, opening up about the pressure of trying to balance a career and motherhood.

'Last week, I quit my job twice. I was so upset,' she said during Wednesday's show, opening up about the pressure of trying to balance a career and motherhood

Em and Fox FM's morning show co-host Fifi Box lead the Hit Network charge on Wednesday, with Sam, Cat Lynch, Abby Coleman, Heidi Anderson and Ash London.

'The whole reason International Women's Day exists is because it's an initiative of UN Women,' explained Head of the Hit Network, Gemma Fordham.

'We wanted to kick start the day by donating $10,000 to UN Women to say thanks to them for this initiative and show that we are wholeheartedly behind them,' she said.
He's been solving crimes in The Doctor Blake Mysteries since 2013.

But ABC's decision to axe its top rating Australian show has proved impossible for the drama's star, Craig McLachlan, to get his head around.

On Tuesday, five days after the news broke, the 51-year-old took to Instagram to express his disappointment and disbelief at the network's decision to cancel a show that averaged 1.6 million viewers an episode during its most recent fourth season.

Baffled: ABC's decision to axe its top rating Australian show has proved impossible for The Doctor Blake Mysteries star, Craig McLachlan, to get his head around

He wrote: 'Like "Poirot" or "Midsummer Murders", I always believed The Doctor Blake Mysteries could run and run. Certainly, one might think the viewing figures at home in Australia alone would support that notion.'

British TV drama Doc Martin was the only regular ABC show to top The Doctor Blake Mysteries' ratings last year.

And having developed a large following around the world, which earned the show air time on the BBC, Craig struggled to comprehend the decision to end the story of his character Lucien Blake and Jean Beazley, who is played by Nadine Garner.

Feeling blue: On Tuesday, five days after the news broke, the 51-year-old took to Instagram to express his disappointment and disbelief at the network's decision

The end: Craig (R) struggled to comprehend the decision to end the story of his character Lucien Blake and Jean Beazley, who is played by Nadine Garner (L)

He said: 'With an eager, loyal audience and absolute passion from "Team Blake" I honestly felt we could and should continue on our journey with Lucien & Jean.

'Friends, my glorious crew and I were ready to rock... what does that tell you? There really is no business quite like show business.'

The show's creator and producer, George Adams, shared Craig's sentiments, airing his feelings on the decision during an appearance on ABC Radio Ballarat on Wednesday.

Angry: The show's creator and producer, George Adams, shared Craig's sentiments, airing his feelings on the decision during an appearance on ABC Radio Ballarat

Watch this space: And while its the end of the road with ABC, George vowed to explore different avenues to ensure that the show will go on

He said: 'I'm not really sure what the reasons are and to some extent, I don't really care. I've been doing this for 30 years and I've never been in a situation where a top rating show doesn't carry on until it's not a top rating show.'

The fifth and final series of The Doctor Blake Mysteries will air later this year, with the cast and crew agreeing to make a telemovie to wrap up their time on the network.

And while its the end of the road with ABC, George vowed to explore different avenues to ensure that the show will go on.

He said: 'We feel like Sherlock Holmes falling off the Reichenbach falls - we've vanished but we're not dead.'
He's made the smooth transition from child star to celebrated stage sensation.

And Daniel Radcliffe was all smiles as he enjoyed the after party of his new play Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old actor, who takes on the role of Rosencrantz, looked dapper in a slick navy suit as he posed with his co-star Joshua McGuir (Guildenstern).

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Hunk: Daniel Radcliffe, 27, was all smiles as he enjoyed the after party of his new play Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead alongside co-star Joshua McGuir on Tuesday

Daniel looked handsome in his ensemble which he teamed with a tight black top underneath.

His pal Joshua looked equally suave in a fitted black suit and grey tee, which he paired with white trainers.

The talented stars also teamed up with co-star David Haig (The Player) for a photo session as they rejoiced in their successful play.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail's Quentin Letts reviewed the play, stating: 'Mr Radcliffe plays the doomed Rosencrantz in Sir Tom Stoppard's 1966 eggheadish play about two minor characters from Hamlet.

Looking good: Daniel looked handsome in his fitted navy suit which he teamed with a tight black top underneath

Slick: His pal Joshua looked equally suave in a fitted black suit and grey tee, which he teamed with white trainers

Talented line-up: The stars also teamed up with co-star David Haig (The Player) for a photo session as they rejoiced in their successful play

'Words, words, words: that might be Hamlet's reaction, particularly to the opening scene in which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Joshua McGuire) toss coins and talk, talk, talk.

'It is highbrow dialogue, packed with philosophy and riffs on probability that reek of undergraduate look-at-me intellectualism.

'Messrs McGuire and Radcliffe are well paired, being of similar height and design. Their characters are two small men dwarfed by political events.

Performance: Daniel Radcliffe (left) stars alongside Joshua McGuire in the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Fantastic: The men are joined on stage at The Old Vic in London by David Haig (center), who takes on the role of The Player

'But his fans may struggle with the play,' he concluded before giving it a three out of a five star.

The play is taking place at London's Old Vic and will run until April 29.

Quite the busy star, Radcliffe will also be seen in the flick Jungle this year and Beast of Burden, which will be released in 2018.
She didn't get the final rose from Nick Viall.

But Rachel Lindsay, 31, isn't mourning her loss too much as she's about to embark on her own journey to find the man of her dreams.

Former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher, 26, stopped by Extra to give Rachel some advice about what to expect when faced with all those men.

From one lady to another: Former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher, 26, stopped by Extra to give Rachel some advice about what to expect when faced with all those men

'She's a lawyer  she thinks a lot, she's always in her head,' JoJo told Extra. 'I was gonna tell her try not to be in her head that much but also listen to that mind of yours because you're smart, and don't let your heart get carried away with the looks and the lust, 'cause it happens.'

JoJo says choosing at the finale is the toughest part, but would advise Rachel to 'remember why she did this in the first place and why she picked who she picked.'

As for her own love life? JoJo says things are going great with fiance Jordan Rodgers and they are 'amazing.'

She added: 'He's doing really well, he's working so hard right now  I'm really proud of him.'

As for her own love life? JoJo, pictured here with fiance Jordan Rodgers in October 2016) says things are going great and they are 'amazing'

JoJo also divulged her favorite thing about her fiance: 'One, he is incredibly funny and goofy, and I love that about him. He can clean our kitchen so fast and so efficiently it's unbelievable It is spic and span in about five minutes. I was having one of those Mr. Clean moments.'

'He talks a lot in his sleep,' she also revealed. 'This is why I also love him  he sleep talks a lot of the time in an accent!'

Meanwhile, although Nick didn't end up choosing Rachel for the final rose, JoJo says she thinks Rachel and Nick had the best connection, but is confident Rachel will make an amazing bachelorette.

'I think she's so smart, she's intelligent, she's confident, so confident, I just think she is the whole package, another Dallas girl!'

She'll be fine! JoJo says she thinks Rachel and Nick had the best connection, but is confident Rachel will make an amazing bachelorette

Rachel made history as the first black to be cast as the lead in the history of the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise.

'It is a very big deal. I'm very honored to represent an African-American woman in this position,' Rachel said.

She added that she didn't want race to be the focus of her journey but she was happy to acknowledge it.

Nick made me a believer! Rachel credits Nick for making her want to find love as the Bachelorette

Rachel revealed that she doesn't have a physical 'type' but she was a 'sucker for a great smile'.

'Nick definitely made me a believer. I was so skeptical. ...It was because of you,' Rachel told him.'

'I learned so much about myself and what's missing in my life. ...I give you credit for that,' Rachel said.

But would she have accepted his proposal?

Rachel told E! News: 'Yes. back then, I would've. I've moved on since then and time heals all and to be back with family and friends and work, it's a different situation, but I 100 percent would've said yes back then. That was the mind-state that I was in.'

The Bachelorette will premiere on May 22 on ABC.
Amal Clooney thinks her high profile relationship is a 'really good thing' when it comes to her job.

The 39-year-old human rights lawyer has been pushed into the spotlight thanks to her high-profile marriage to actor George Clooney, with whom she is currently expecting twins.

She has said the fact that she is well known can actually help her cases as the 'extra publicity' can sometimes be a good thing.

Shining a light: Amal Clooney thinks her high profile relationship is a 'really good thing' when it comes to her job, she told BBC News at Six

She said during an appearance on the BBC programme News at Six: 'I mean, there's lot of my work that takes place behind closed doors that is not ever seen.

'I think if there are more people who now understand what's happening about the Yazidis and ISIS, and if there can be some action that results from that, that can help those clients, then I think it's a really good thing to give that case the extra publicity that it may get.'

But Amal's often risky cases - which recently included helping a human trafficking survivor - may have to be put on hold, as George is concerned about her travelling to potentially dangerous countries whilst pregnant.

Using it to her benefit: She has said the fact that she is well known can actually help her cases as the 'extra publicity' can sometimes be a good thing

He revealed last month: 'We decided to be much more responsible, to avoid the danger. I will not go to South Sudan anymore and or the Congo [and] Amal will no longer go to Iraq and she will avoid places where she knows she is not welcome.'

In an interview he gave to Paris Match, he said: 'Before, I did not care. I would even say that there was a pretty exciting side to going where no reporter had ever been.'

The 55-year-old, who'd married his second and current wife in 2014, also explained: 'We're lucky to live between three countries: Italy, America and England. But once the children start school, it'll be necessary to choose where to settle.'

Building a family: The 39-year-old human rights lawyer has been pushed into the spotlight thanks to her high-profile marriage to 55-year-old actor George Clooney, with whom she is currently expecting twins

As he laid out the plan: 'In the meantime, we'll continue to move depending on our respective work schedules. People think we're never together, but we've not been separated for more than a week.'

He'd said at another point in the interview: 'How can we not be anxious when faced with this immense responsibility? To give birth to a child in this world - never mind two! We are very happy, very excited, but also a bit nervous, it's normal.'

Before walking down the aisle with Amal, he'd spent 1989 until 1993 tethered in matrimony to actress Tania Balsam, who's now married to Tony Slattery.
Melanie Griffith enjoyed a sunny day in Los Angeles while grabbing some lunch in West Hollywood on Tuesday.

The 59-year-old actress, along with a handsome male companion, looked to be in great spirits for the casual outing.

Melanie wore a simple light denim jacket that she paired with matching light jeans.

Denim for days! Melanie Griffith, 59, along with a handsome male companion, looked to be in great spirits for a casual outing in West Hollywood on Tuesday

She paired the denim ensemble with a simple black t-shirt and added a pop of color with multi-colored pointed flats.

Melanie looked much younger than her 59 years with her blond hair parted in the center and falling loosely around her shoulders.

She held onto a small Louis Vuitton hand purse, which she wore around her shoulder.

The gorgeous actress, who is mom to Dakota Johnson, opted for dark sunglasses to protect her eyes from the glaring sun.

Stunner! The gorgeous actress, who is mom to Dakota Johnson, opted for dark sunglasses to protect her eyes from the glaring sun

She appeared to wear little makeup on her face, but had some dark rose lipstick for a hint of color.

Melanie is mom to three children: daughter Dakota Johnson with her first husband Don Johnson, son Alexander Bauer with her second husband Steven Bauer; and daughter Stella Banderas with her third husband Antonio Banderas.

Griffith will appear in two projects this year, which are already completed according to IMDB.

She'll star as the character of Maria Bahadur in Dabka, a biographical drama about a journalist who embedded himself with the pirates of Somalia to provide one of the first looks into their lives.

Looking good! Melanie looked much younger than her 59 years with her blond hair parted in the center and falling loosely around her shoulders

She'll also appear in The Disaster Artist in the role of Jean Shelton.

The dramatic comedy is a film about a film, providing a behind-the-scenes perspective on Tommy Wiseau's The Room.

The Room, which will be re-released on March 10 at the South by Southwest Film Festival after going straight to DVD in the US in 2005 and then appearing on television in 2009, is a sordid love triangle story about a man, his fiance and her seduction of his best friend.

The Disaster Artist will also premiere at South by Southwest, two days after The Room on March 12. No date has yet been set for the opening of Dabka.
She was in Sydney over the weekend celebrating Australia's LGBTQI communities at Mardi Gras.

And now Ruby Rose has offered some words of wisdom:'be true to yourself'.

In a candid chat with Edwina Bartholomew for Whimn, the 30-year-old movie star revealed that when she was younger she wanted to grow up to become someone kids could admire.

'Believe in yourself': Ruby delivered an empowering message to gay and lesbian members of the community to never feel shame for who they are

Ruby wasn't shy to admit that as a child growing up in Melbourne she felt she had no openly gay role models to look up to in the media, film and arts.

'I always said that when I grew up, I want to be the person that wasnt around when I needed them,' she said.

She then issued an empowering message to those like her, telling them to be true to who they are and believe in themselves.

'Whatever you think and feel thats you. There is only one of you in the world. We are all completely unique,' she said.

'Dont be hard on yourself. Dont have any kind of shame. There is a reason that you are that way.'

Role model: The Orange is the new Black star said she felt like she didn't have many gay role models growing up and vowed to be one for others

The brunette beauty came out to her mother when she was just 12 years old, however her mum said she knew she was gay since she was six

The openly-gay actress came out to her single mum Katia Langenheim when she was just 12 years old.

The Orange is the New Black star revealed on The Today Show last month that 'it was a fine thing to do' and her mum already knew.

'She knew when I was six, apparently. I was like, really mom? I don't think I even knew.'

The 30-year-old stunner has been dating Jessica Origliasso, one half of pop duo The Veronicas.

The two were spotted together at the Hilton Brasserie in Sydney on Monday, where Ruby helped launch the ROVA Flying Selfie Camera.

Perfect pair: Ruby has been dating The Veronica's singer Jessica Origliasso, with the two spotted out in Sydney on Monday attending the ROVA Flying Selfie Camera launch

Unique: Ruby delivered a powerful message to remind gay and lesbian's like her that 'there is only one of you in the world'

The Resident Evil star also took to Twitter on Wednesday to spread the love for her mum and women everywhere as part of International Women's Day.

The star made a point of mentioning that it was a triple celebration, with the date also her mum and best friend's birthday.

'Today is a big day to honour women around the world, ' the brunette beauty wrote, rehashing MTV Australia's tweet calling her an inspiring woman.
On the back of Marlon Wayans' apparent surprise to learn he was a front runner to replace Nick Cannon on America's Got Talent, comes a new report Brandon Mychal Smith has nabbed the coveted gig.

According to TMZ, the Dirty Grandpa actor is set to sign on the dotted line in coming days, officially replacing Mariah Carey's ex as host on the hit series.

But while Marlon denied being involved in the show's search for a replacement, insiders claim he was the first choice for producer's, however negotiations fell through over money.

He's Got Talent: Actor Brandon Mychal Smith will allegedly fill Nick Cannon's shoes as host of America's Got Talent

Additionally, the source added that Brandon will be able to seamlessly step into the gig, as he is not as well-known as the 44-year-old funnyman.

Brandon started his acting career aged just eight, and has a string of Disney series under his belt, including Sonny With a Chance alongside Demi Lovato.

He counts Selena Gomez among his famous friends.

Thankful: 'Always remember to thank the people who told you no & the people who told you yes,' the hunky actor tweeted on Tuesday

Although he is yet to officially comment on his rumored new role, the 27-year-old took to Twitter on Tuesday, just a day before the news broke.

'Always remember to thank the people who told you no & the people who told you yes,' he cryptically tweeted. 'The no's ironically are the most defining #getbackup'.

Meanwhile, Marlon was asked about the opening upon arriving Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport after a trip to Brazil.

'I didn't get that message. I didn't get that memo,' the White Chicks actor told TMZ in a video.

No memo: Marlon Wayans, shown Saturday in Brazil, said that he was surprised to be among the front runners to replace Nick Cannon upon arriving in Los Angeles on Tuesday

Tone Bell, Brandon and Marlon had all been selected as finalists to replace Cannon, according to an article Monday by TMZ.

Wayans joked at the airport that people sometimes confuse him with 36-year-old Cannon.

He also said he's got other commitments.

'I have my own show on NBC called Marlon. I'm doing alright,' he said.

Sudden departure: Cannon, shown in July 2013 in New York City, recently left America's Got Talents after eight seasons

Wayans also doubted whether he could 'hold my tone' on the NBC talent competition show.

Cannon left the popular show last month after clashing with NBC executives over jokes he made during his Showtime special Stand Up, Don't Shoot.

The father of three during the stand-up special said: ''I grew up like a real n*****. But I honestly believe, once I started doing Americas Got Talent, they took my real n***** card.'

Cable comedy: The former AGT host is shown Sunday in West Hollywood

He also joked that NBC's initials stand for 'N***** Be Careful.'

Cannon quit after learning that executives were considering if he breached his contract by disparaging the network.

He stood up for his creative freedom in a Facebook posting.

'As a man, an artist, and a voice for my community I will not be silenced, controlled or treated like a piece of property,' he wrote. 'There is no amount of money worth my dignity or my integrity.'

Popular show: Cannon is shown last September with top talent from the show including winner Grace VanderWaal

Wayans said he wouldn't be a good choice if AGT was looking for someone 'less black' than Cannon.

'If they wanted [Cannon] to be less black, don't know if they want to holler at me,' said Wayans, who recently wrote and starred in the parody Fifty Shades Of Black.

Wayans will star in the sitcom Marlon that will premiere later this year.

The show follows an immature father who is committed to co-parenting his two kids with his ex-wife.
She's often poses up in a bikini for magazine shoots.

But on Tuesday, Ashley Hart looked far more wholesome as she shot a fully-clothed pictorial in Sydney's Surry Hills.

The 28-year-old radiated as she posed in a number of conservative ensembles.

A new look: Ashley Hart looked more wholesome than usual as she shot a fully-clothed pictorial in Sydney's Surry Hills

For each outfit, the blonde wore blue denim jeans, hinting that she may have been shooting a new advertisement for Just Jeans.

The younger sister of Jessica Hart has modeled for the denim brand for the past two years.

In January, Ashley confirmed her split with husband Buck Palmer, shocking their fans.

The 28-year-old innocence as she posed in a number of conservative ensembles

The thirst is real! Ashley posed with a cup of coffee as she strolled in front of the cameras

Sitting pretty: The blonde model decided to sit down for a while

Beige: For each outfit, the blonde wore blue denim jeans, hinting that she may have been shooting a new advertisement for Just Jeans

Telling the Herald Sun, she said: 'Our happiness evolved into a deep friendship that we will always have, but we have come to the conclusion that the path forward for both of us is best travelled as separate journeys,' the former couple said in a statement.

'There is sadness in dreams unrealised however we continue to deeply love and respect each other and wish each other nothing but love and kindness.'

The couple married in Los Angeles in April 2015.

Split: In January, Ashley confirmed her split with husband Buck Palmer, shocking their fans

'Our happiness evolved into a deep friendship that we will always have, but we have come to the conclusion that the path forward for both of us is best travelled as separate journeys.'

'There is sadness in dreams unrealised however we continue to deeply love and respect each other and wish each other nothing but love and kindness,' the couple said

Shortly after the split, Ashley shared to Instagram an emotional poem as they performed an 'infinite dance' on a mountain top.

'Here I am, love, known deeper than ever before. Like you say baby, it's just taken another form,' she wrote in part of the poem.

'Always with me, never apart, forever you @buckpalmer are in my Heart,' she added in part of the poem.

Need some help? The sister of supermodel Jessica Hart was tended to by her glam team

Instagram: Shortly after the split, Ashley shared to Instagram an emotional poem as they performed an 'infinite dance' on a mountain top

'Here I am, love, known deeper than ever before. Like you say baby, it's just taken another form,' she wrote in part of the poem
While many dream of a wedding with a superhero, a wedding crasher is the thing of nightmares.

But Perth couple Anneka and Kent got the best of both worlds when Thor star Chris Hemsworth crashed their bridal photos on Friday.

The 33-year-old Australian hunk was surfing at a beach in Byron Bay, wearing his Livin brand shirt, when the newlyweds' best man spotted him and asked if he would pose for a picture.

Thor-tful gift: Chris Hemsworth was surfing at a beach in Byron Bay, wearing his Livin brand shirt, when the newlyweds' best man spotted him and asked if he would pose for a picture

Ironically, blushing bride Anneka had no clue who Hemsworth was, leaving her new husband Kent to fill in the blanks.

Anneka wondered why they were getting a photo with a random person, asking over and over again 'who is this person', she told News.com.au.

'Kent was getting embarrassed that I kept asking who this person was and he said, 'Chris Hemsworth.'

Wedding crasher! Chris happily posed for pictures with a newylwed couple who were taking wedding photos at Byron Bay on Friday

Avid surfer: Chris enjoys surfing during his down time in Australia, with the star posting a picture on Instagram just last week of an early morning session

Fun in the sun: Chris has been posting plenty of fun Instagram snaps while he is in Australia on break from filming

The bride said that, despite not knowing who the Avengers star was, she thought Hemsworth was 'cool, calm and collected'.

She also joked that the wedding pictures would be pretty memorable now that she knew her wedding crasher's name, saying the picture of the three together has fast become her husband's favourite photo.

The actor, who is enjoying some down time in Australia before filming for the upcoming two-part Avengers film, was wearing a grey singlet that supports Livin, a charity that aims to remove the stigma attached to mental illness.

Recouping! The Thor star has been recouping in Australia after a busy awards season, attending the Golden Globes with wife Elsa Pataky

Hemsworth has been spotted enjoying the Byron Bay landscape with wife Elsa Pataky, daughter India, four, and two-year-old twin boys Tristan and Sasha.

On Monday Chris took to Instagram to showcase how his boys are settling in to the Aussie culture since returning from Los Angeles.

Walking barefoot along a winding path the boys held each others hands, with the doting father captioning the moment: 'My son said to his brother 'Tristan hold my hand so you don't get eaten by a crocodile'.
They were longtime lovebirds who married in secret in March 2014.

And Samantha Harris and Luke Hunt celebrated their three-year wedding anniversary on Wednesday, sharing a never before seen photo of their nuptials.

The couple tied the knot two months before Luke started a two-year jail term, after the pair were involved in a tragic accident that resulted in the death of Kenneth Lay, 78.

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Lovebirds: Samantha Harris and Luke Hunt celebrated their three-year wedding anniversary on Wednesday, sharing public displays of affection to their Instagram accounts

Samantha, 26, posted a photo of the pair on their happy day, smiling into the camera as they signed their marriage certificate.

'Happy Anniversary' she captioned the snap, in which she was seen dressed in a white Carla Zampatti bridal gown accented by a black bow around her tiny waist.

The couple held hands as they both gripped the same pen used to sign the certificate.

Bittersweet: The couple tied the knot two months before Luke was sent to jail for two years, after they were involved in a tragic accident that resulted in the death of Kenneth Lay, 78

The brunette beauty revealed to Marie Claire in October last year she married Luke privately out of respect for Kenneth Lay's family.

The Sydney grandfather was killed in May 2012 when Sam and Luke's Commodore crashed into his Hyundai Lantra in Narraweena on the Northern Beaches.

The court heard at the time Luke was going about 95km/h in a 60km/h zone and was aggressively changing lanes.

Low-key: The brunette beauty revealed to Marie Claire in October last year she married Luke privately out of respect for Kenneth Lay's family

Luke was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death and he quietly married Sam two months before starting his sentence.

'Would our wedding have been bigger under normal circumstances? Probably not, but I would have posted a photo or something on social media,' she stated.

The grief from the accident took its toll on her husband, she described.

'Would our wedding have been bigger under normal circumstances? Probably not, but I would have posted a photo or something on social media,' she stated

'We dont talk about the accident much because I cant handle it, but I know he feels deeply for Mr Lays family and always will.'

She recently told The Daily Telegraph her 'dream' is to be a Victoria's Secret model.

'It just looks like so much fun. They always have amazing artists. I hope its an attainable goal,' she gushed.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will initiate imposing sanctions on the subsidiary bank of Sberbank of Russia in Ukraine  public joint-stock company Sberbank, if information that the parent bank is ready to service persons with ID documents issued by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) is confirmed.

"If this information is confirmed, the NBU will initiate the issue of imposing sanctions against PJSC Sberbank at the meeting of the NSDC [National Security and Defense Council]," the NBU said on Tuesday.

The regulator said that the NSDC makes decision on imposing sanctions against separate companies. The Ukrainian president enacts the decisions of the Council.

Earlier on Tuesday Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov proposed to close Sberbank in Ukraine and demanded to impose sanctions on it by the NBU. It is linked to the decision of the parent bank  Sberbank of Russia  to accept ID documents issued by DPR and LPR.
He had his heart broken by Georgia Love on The Bachelorette last year.

But Matty 'J' Johnson looks like he might already have some 'Summer Lovin' to cheer him up as he films his first episodes of the new The Bachelor.

On Wednesday, the hunky marketing director channeled Danny from Grease as he was straddled by a blonde Sandy lookalike astride a vintage $20,000 Harley-Davidson motorbike.

Summer lovin!Matty 'J' Johnson looks like he might already have some 'Summer Lovin' to cheer him up as he films his first episodes of the new The Bachelor

The pair, who appeared to be on a group date and photo shoot, were dressed in 1950's ensembles inspired by the iconic musical film.

The look also paid homage to last year's Bachelor Richie Strahan and eventual winner Alex Nation's steamy retro car photo shoot, which saw the pair almost kiss as they posed together.

Matty later donned a black leather jacket and skinny jeans for a further photo shoot, wearing his hair slicked back.

Danny and Sandy? The pair, who appeared to be on a group date and photo shoot, were dressed in 1950s ensembles inspired by the iconic musical film

Looks familiar? The look also paid homage to last year's Bachelor Richie Strahan and eventual winner Alex Nation's steamy retro car photo shoot

Is that you Danny? Matty later donned a black leather jacket and skinny jeans for the photo shoot, wearing his hair slicked back

His female companion wore her blonde hair in curls, showing off her figure in skin tight leather pants and a matching jacket.

The two got very close as they posed for photos, sitting astride the motor bike facing each other at one point.

Things appeared to get steamier as the female contestant straddled Matty on the bike.

Sandy lookalike: His female companion wore her blonde hair in curls, showing off her figure in skin tight leather pants and a matching jacket

Hot and heavy! Things appeared to get steamier as the female contestant wrapped her legs around Matty

Likes what he sees? The 30-year-old seemed very interested in his companion, touching her face and appearing to get very close as the camera clicked away

The 30-year-old seemed very interested in his companion, touching her face and getting very close as the camera clicked away.

The blonde later turned around to face the handlebars for one shot, with Matty appearing to check out her behind as she looked the other way.

Their show of intimacy didn't seem to be just for the cameras either, with the two appearing to talk to each other after photos had been taken.

What are you looking at Matty? The blonde also turned around to face the hand bars for one shot, with Matty appearing to look at her behind as she looked the other way

Plenty of conversation: Their show of intimacy didn't look to be just for the cameras either, with the two appearing to talk to each other after photos had been taken

Flirtatious? The attractive blonde tilted her head to one side as she spoke, with Matty looking like he was listening intently to her

The attractive blonde tilted her head to one side as she spoke, with Matty looking like he was listening intently to her.

Later on, the same woman could be seen being interviewed by producers, and appeared to be watching more action from the photo shoot through a fence.

Last week, Matty finally confirmed he was this year's The Bachelor after months of speculation.
The former Miss Universe dropped 4kg while surviving on rations in the South African jungle on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

And it appears Tegan Martin has already returned to modelling just days after being axed from the reality show.

The 24-year-old took to Instagram on Wednesday posing in a striped swimsuit and captioned the image: 'No rest for the wicked.'

'No rest for the wicked': Former Miss Universe Tegan Martin dons striped swimsuit for modelling shoot on Wednesday after losing 4kg in the South African jungle while on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! for five weeks

'Can't complain when your surroundings are this magical,' Tegan said as she tagged her location in South Africa.

The star was seen posing in shallow water for a photographer, who was dressed in chinos, a singlet and an akubra hat.

The high-cut suit clung to her slender frame, while she gave a leggy display by bending her leg for the picture.

Not ready to return? Tegan told The Daily Telegraph on Monday she didn't feel ready to start modelling so soon after I'm A Celeb as she had lost 4kg in weight and her body wasn't as toned as before

Perhaps the choice to pose in a one-piece over a skimpy bikini set comes from comments she made to The Daily Telegraph on Monday.

Tegan mentioned she didn't feel ready to return to her modelling career after losing toning in her body due to the weight loss experienced and lack of exercise in the jungle.

However, just a day earlier she had also enjoyed time in front of the lens in a plunging tight red dress.

Ditching the glam: The blonde beauty lived for the past five weeks without makeup, hair products or shavers, calling herself a 'stinker' when referring to herself in the jungle on Instagram

'I hate makeup, I hate tight dresses: Tegan posted a comic rant while preparing for a photoshoot in a figure-hugging plunging ensemble, in which she claimed she had come to the realization she hates makeup, tight dresses, washing her hair and shaving her legs

The blonde beauty lived for the past five weeks without makeup, hair products or shavers, with the jump back into modelling making her realize a few things.

She told her Instagram followers while preparing for a photoshoot: 'I've come to the realization I hate makeup, I hate tight dresses, I hate washing my hair, I hate shaving my legs.'

Adding to the comic rant, she added: 'I want to go back to the jungle.'

'I don't want to be this thin': After witnessing the transformation of her body's appearance after losing 4kg on the show, she insisted she didn't want to be that thin and would eat and exercise to regain her usual appearance

Since noticing her appearance in the mirror after her eviction from the show, she revealed she didn't 'want to be this thin.'

The Newcastle-born stunner declared to hosts that she'd easily 'start ho-ing down some cheeseburgers' after the meals she experienced on the show.

She revealed to Instagram the day after she left the show that she's already eaten: 'Pringles, five blocks of chocolate, hot chips with aioli, rib-eye steak... you name it, I've eaten it.'
Her long brunette locks have been her trademark since she first rose to fame in the Twilight saga.

But Kristen Stewart debuted a brand new look at the premiere of her film Personal Shopper in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The actress showed off her newly cropped blonde hair as she walked the red carpet, stunning fans with her edgy 'do.

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Edgy: Kristen Stewart showed off her new buzzcut at the premiere of Personal Shopper in Los Angeles on Tuesday

What a difference a day makes: Her famous raven locks were on show at a LACMA screening of the film on Monday

The 26-year-old natural brunette was almost unrecognisable due to her cut, which she drew attention to by wearing a simple ensemble of crop top, trousers and high heels.

Kristen, who is dating model Stella Maxwell, walked the red carpet alone, making a serious impact.

It was certainly a stark departure from the swept back do she had worn just a day earlier at a screening and question and answer session on the film at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The film is a psychological thriller which centres on a ghost story set in the fashion underworld of Paris.

Head in hands: The actress hammed it up with aplomb as she debuted her new look

A picture is worth a thousand words: And the silver screen beauty's expression spoke volumes

Top of the crops: Kristen's new crop matched her alternative style

Kristen's character is grieving the death of her twin brother, and spends time at his Paris home determined to make contact with his spirit.

The film has received rather mixed reviews, but it seems reviewers are not blaming Kristen for the quality of the picture.

Indeed respected RogerEbert.com reviewer Barbara Scharres said: 'Whatever Stewart's shortcomings, writer/director Assayas is the guy who has to stand up and take a bow for this bomb.'

Do blondes have more fun? Kristen showed off her usual brunette locks as she attended a LACMA on Monday night

Back in black: The silver screen stunner highlighted her do with a simple dark ensemble

The man responsible: She cuddled up to director Olivier Assayas on the red carpet

A Stella new look: No doubt her model lover Maxwell will love her new do

Lovely pair: Fellow attendees Liz Goldwyn and Teresa Decher showcased their feminine charms in contrasting outfits

Kristen, who now says she is 'so gay,' recently opened up about her famous relationship with Twilight costar Robert Pattinson, saying 'When I was dating Rob, the public were the enemy - and that is no way to live.

'I didn't talk about my first relationships that went public because I wanted things that are mine to be mine,.'

She also insisted that she 'wasn't hiding anything' during their relationship and said she later ended up coming out of the closet because it 'seemed important and topical.'

That's more like it: Her haircut is one of the most interesting things about her spooky new film Personal Shopper
It was another night, another airport for Kong: Skull Island stars Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson.

The pair are in the middle of a publicity tour for their new action-packed movie and after a full day of interviews, they arrived at New York's JFK for a flight out of the Big Apple.

Hiddleston and Larson are headed to Los Angeles for the film's star-studded premiere Wednesday night.

Promo tour: Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston looked a little weary as they arrived to catch a flight at New York's JFK Airport after a full day of interviews to promote Kong: Skull Island

Stylish beauty: The Room Oscar winner, 27, wore an Alpaca sweater by ATM Collection under a cream jacket that she paired with ATM Collection's cashmere leggings and black sneakers

The English actor and the American actress have already visited London and Mexico City to promote the movie that opens in North America on Friday.

The Room Oscar winner, 27, wore an Alpaca sweater by ATM Collection under a cream jacket that she paired with ATM Collection's cashmere leggings and black sneakers.

The Night Manager Golden Globe winner, 36, was dressed in gray jeans with gray suede shoes and a black jacket over a navy t-shirt.

Later, she looked refreshed after touching down in Los Angeles early Wednesday.

Oscar winner: Larson wore her shoulder-length blonde hair tied back from her face and sported sunglasses along with dark pink lip color

Hunky star: The Night Manager Golden Glove winner, 36, was dressed in gray jeans with gray suede shoes and a black jacket over a navy t-shirt

The latest Kong incarnation was filmed in Queensland, Australia, and in addition to Hiddleston and Larson, it stars Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and John C. Reilly.

The effects-laden film revolves around a team of explorers and soldiers who travel to an uncharted island in the pacific which happens to be the home of the mythic ape.

The star's outing comes as Brie slammed the unfair standards handed to women in the fashion industry.

Lighten up! The Academy Award winner shined beneath her blonde tresses, looking refreshed after the flight

Cream of the crop! The California girl kept stylish in a sumptuous cream motorcycle jacket

Roar! Brie carried a handsome Gucci hobo bag embroidered with roaring tigers as she touched down in LAX looking fresh faced

The Kong: Skull Island star recalled how she was only given a 'one-off piece of clothing' at her first ever photoshoot at a fashion magazine whilst men had custom clothes made to fit them.

She told Net-A-Porter's The Edit magazine: 'The first time I got a spread in a fashion magazine, there was a one-off piece of clothing from the runway. I asked, "Can you only be in magazines if you're the size of this one piece?" There was this silence.'

The actress explained that women are held to a different standard, saying men are given custom made clothing, whereas women face a different reality.

Working it: This past Saturday, the co-stars were all smiles at the Mexico City premiere of their action-packed new movie

'We'd all love to get out of this cycle of abuse where our mental weight is based on our body weight,' she added.

And the actress went on to criticize producers who told her to 'come back in a mini-skirt and heels' when she turned up to auditions in sneakers.

Jane Fonda, who was interviewed by Brie for the March issue of Net-A-Porter's The Edit magazine, said: 'I think it is terrifying being a young actress now. You have to get naked so much. There is even more emphasis on how you look.'

And Brie agreed, adding: 'Female sexuality was confusing for me. I went to auditions where they wanted a sassy, smart, sexy girl. I would arrive in sneakers and they'd say, "Come back in a mini-skirt and heels." I would come back and blow the audition. I felt more in my body when I wasn't dressing as a fantasy for the male gaze.'

Going ape: Hiddleston and Larson come face to face with the mighty Kong in the movie that opens Friday

Sneaky! The star wore a pair of comfy sneakers for her cross-country flight
Rachel McCord sizzled during her photoshoot in Malibu beach on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old aspiring model showed off her stunning physique in a very revealing one piece.

The bathing suit wasn't just plunging, but it was also very high-waisted as she returned to the set of a trendy and Pop Culture 138 Water Company.

Sexy: Rachel McCord sizzled during her photoshoot in Malibu beach on Tuesday

The patterned swimsuit showcased the blonde's impressive body as she ran her hands through her hair whilst posing for the photos.

Her dirty blonde locks were styled in subtle, natural beach waves, to fit in with the theme of the shoot.

She accessorized with some bangles and a little make-up.

The model kept her eye make-up natural but opted to wear a light shade of pink on her lips.

Nice: The sister of 90210 star AnnaLynne added a pair of sunglasses to her look at one point as she tossed and turned for the photographer

The sister of 90210 star AnnaLynne added a pair of sunglasses to her look at one point as she tossed and turned for the photographer.

The McCord List blogger seductively sipped on the water as she strode along the sandy beach.

The model is also an aspiring actress.

Cheeky: The patterned swimsuit showcased the blonde's impressive body as she ran her hands through her hair whilst posing for the photos.

Smokin': The 27-year-old aspiring model showed off her stunning physique in a very revealing one piece

Having a blast: The model added a crochet beach dress to her look at one point

She has made a few appearances on TV including a role in Disney's comedy series Victorious.

however, she has now returned to acting with satire, A Mini Movie.

It is a short comedy on Hollywood Film Credits and will be directed by William Hoehne Jr. and Wilhelm Von Hohenzollern.

Yum: The McCord List blogger seductively sipped on the water as she strode along the sandy beach

This is the life: The model looked like she was having a ball while she rolled around on the beach
They're food rivals, having clashed several times on My Kitchen Rules.

Josh, 25, did not hold back on Tuesday's episode, claiming Court, 29, should not even be in the competition.

And now in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, published on Wednesday, Court hit back at her fellow contestant, claiming his antics are 'all talk.'

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'He's all talk': MKR's Court, 29, hit back at fellow contestant Josh, 25, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, after the 'seafood king' slammed Court in a VERY heated exchange on Tuesday's episode, claiming she shouldn't have even been in the competition. Pictured with husband Duncan, 34

'He can't cook. The funny thing is that he's got so much bravado but it is all talk,' Court told the publication.

'That guy can serve crap on a plate and still think he's the king. It wasn't funny, it was just mind-blowing, really, where the confidence came from.

'He has unshakable confidence but you're not sure where the basis of that comes from,' she continued.

Not holding back! 'He can't cook. The funny thing is that he's got so much bravado but it is all talk,' Court told the publication. Pictured with partner Amy, 26

Court's comments come shortly after Tuesday's episode that saw one of the most heated exchanges to date.

As Court said she wanted to verse Josh and his partner Amy, 26, in the sudden-death cook-off that evening, Josh responded: 'You shouldn't even be here!'

Court and Duncan landed in the sudden-death cook-off after failing to impress with their entree.

Showdown! Tuesday's episode saw one of the most heated exchanges to date

All contestants on the series were split into two rounds - entree and main - with Court and Duncan as the bottom team for their group.

The bottom two teams would have to cook a dessert in sudden-death.

Josh and Amy had to cook in the main round and he promised Court he won't be in the bottom two with her.

'I'll be doing everything to make sure I'm not in a position you guys are in,' Josh said, in front of the contestants and judges Pete Evans and Manu Feildel.

Say what? Court said she wanted to verse Josh and Amy in the sudden-death cook off that evening

'I think you guys will be going home today and I hope you do,' he added, leaving everyone shocked.

Court commented with a laugh, that Josh was trying to show fans how 'lovely' he is.

'I've been the same person I've been outside of this and who I am in real life. Some people don't get along with me, Court's one of them and I wouldn't get along with her outside of this either,' Josh said.

His head spun! Josh and Amy had to cook in the main round and he promised Court he won't be in the bottom two with her

Pete asked if he wanted her and husband Duncan to be eliminated, and didn't hold back.

'For sure. I was hoping for it the whole time,' Josh said.

'I can't wait for them to go. You can't wait to go back to your job. You shouldn't even be here!'

'You contradict yourself constantly,' he added.

Pete jumped in, telling confident Josh to 'be careful what you wish for.'

'I wouldn't get along with her outside of this': Josh didn't hold back
She looks ready to pop at any moment.

But Amanda Seyfried stilll found room for breakfast as she went for a morning stroll with her fiance Thomas Sadoski in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The dynamic duo brought their dog Finn along as they headed to an eatery in the trendy West Hollywood area.

Three's company: Amanda Seyfried went for breakfast with fiance Thomas Sadoski and dog Finn in Los Angeles on Tuesday

The 31-year-old Les Miserables favourite looked in good cheer as she got in some exercise with her man and four-legged friend by her side.

And she flaunted her burgeoning bump in a white T-shirt, grey jogging trosuers and flip flops.

Last week the dynamic duo attending the premiere of the starlet's new film The Last Word, which hit theatres on Friday.

Amanda's co-star Shirley MacLaine walked the red carpet with her, and spilled the beans about the Mean Girls star's romance with Thomas.

Ready to pop: She showcased her burgeoning belly in a tight T-shirt

Keeping it casual: She was dressed in a comfortable ensemble for her morning outing

Leading the way: Her pooch was eager to get to the breakfast eatery

Perhaps oversharing, she said: 'I watched their love affair, and I watched the baby almost being conceived.'

Amanda meanwhile has declared she is 'ready' for motherhood, and revealed she had learned the sex of the baby, but will not be sharing it publicly yet.

She said had lined up 'several' potential names, but feels 'you have to, like, meet the child, in order to, I think, now, right?'

Seyfried's husband-to-be said of her pregnancy that 'You know, I just get to sort of hang back and watch it all happen. I'm just like, that's the great joy for me.'

'I'm trying to learn as much as I possibly can, and just do whatever needs to be done, and stay out of the way, not screw up too much.'

Happy couple: The pair were significantly smarter dressed in Los Angeles last week
It's the day that supports and draws particular attention to female rights.

And on Wednesday, former Neighbours star Caitlin Stasey, paid tribute as she posed outside an LA strip club, in a snap shared to Instagram.

The 26-year-old, clad in a jacket, jeans and Vans sneakers, propped one leg on a ledge outside of the gentleman's club, captioning the shot in part: 'Women make my world go round.'

'They make my world go round': Caitlin Stasey, 26, posed outside of an LA strip club on International Women's Day, in a snap shared to Instagram on Wednesday

'Happy women's day. I usually don't wish it upon people because days in honour seem like bandaids to problems that will never touch me and will hurt countless women world wide,' Caitlin began the caption.

'BUT. But. Women make my world go 'round everyday,' she continued.

The image shared with Caitlin's 211,000 Instagram followers, saw the brunette sporting an over-sized jacket, jeans and Vans sneakers, propping one slender leg onto a ledge outside of the strip club.

Her dark locks were swept up into an effortless style, with fluorescent light from images of women's silhouettes, reflecting onto Caitlin's facial features.

Risque: A previous image shared to the site four weeks ago, saw the Melbourne-born personality sharing a topless shot, using just her iPhone to cover her modesty

Attention-seeking: It appeared the image was in direct relation to a previous image posted to Instagram, that zoomed in on an elevator button

The starlet is known for her rather unapologetic and brazen posts to Instagram.

A previous image shared to the site four weeks ago, saw the Melbourne-born personality sharing a topless shot, using just her iPhone to cover her modesty.

'Press button for attention,' Caitlin captioned the risque snap.

It appeared the image was in direct relation to a previous photo posted to Instagram, that zoomed in on an elevator button.

Next to the button was the text: 'Press button for attention'.

Caitlin captioned the snap: 'How get?'

Notoriety: Caitlin rose to fame as Rachel Kinski in Network Ten soap Neighbours

Caitlin rose to fame as Rachel Kinski in Network Ten soap Neighbours.

However her breakthrough role is widely considered to be in 2010 film, Tomorrow, When the War Began.

Caitlin played the lead role, Ellie Linton, based on the teen novel of the same name.
She flashed her nipples in a sheer frock at Alberta Ferretti's Milan Fashion Week show, last month.

And on Tuesday, Georgia Fowler made another bold move, as she arrived at V Magazine's Paris Fashion Week party.

The 24-year-old Kiwi-born beauty went braless, flaunting her cleavage in a white pantsuit.

She's not shy! Georgia Fowler, 24, flaunted her cleavage in a white pantsuit, as she made a bold arrival at V Magazine's Paris Fashion Week party, on Tuesday

Georgia showed off her model figure as she posed for photos outside of Paris' Laperouse restaurant.

A white jacket with dramatic lapels revealed the starlet's cleavage and taut torso.

Coordinating trousers with a slight flare skimmed over her slender legs, elongated further with a pair of patent pointy-toed black heels.

Keeping abreast: A white jacket with dramatic lapels revealed the starlet's cleavage and taut torso

Svelte: Coordinating trousers with a slight flare skimmed over the Kiwi-born beauty's slender legs, elongated further with a pair of patent pointy-toed black heels

Georgia accessorised with a gold-chained shoulder bag, stud earrings and a delicate ring.

Styling her brunette locks in a side part with the strands falling in loose waves, the New York-based star opted for a glamorous makeup palette.

A dewy complexion, defined brows, kohl-rimmed eyes and a matte nude lip, drew attention to her striking facial features.

In style: Georgia accessorised with a gold-chained shoulder bag, stud earrings and a delicate ring

Beauty: Styling her brunette locks in a side part with the strands falling in loose waves, the New York-based star opted for a glamorous makeup palette, drawing attention to her striking eyes

The sighting comes shortly after the rising star made another bold fashion move, this time on the runway.

Georgia bared her chest in a transparent floor-length gown at Alberta Ferretti's Milan Fashion Week show.

The sheer design showed off her entire decolletage and slender legs, while a pair of high-waisted black boxer-style shorts drew attention to her taut torso.

Embellishment along one spaghetti strap added a flirty dimension, while fringing, pointy-toed heels and statement drop earrings worked as glamorous accessories.

Daring to bare: The sighting comes shortly after the rising star made another bold fashion move, this time on the runway at Alberta Ferretti's Milan Fashion Week show, last month
Fans were devastated when The Night Manager came to an end last year.

But Director Susanne Bier has now confirmed that there will be a series two, and the script is 'slowly being developed' for the follow-up.

She told Broadcast: 'We all very much want to do a Season Two, but the thing we absolutely do not want is to do something that does not live up to the level of Season One. That would be a really bad idea.'

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Back on screens: Fans were devastated when The Night Manager came to an end last year. But it has now confirmed that there will be a series two, and the script is 'slowly being developed'

Tom Hiddleston starred in the BBC mini series - which was adapted from the 1993 novel of the same name by John Le Carre - it is not yet known if the original cast will return for the second season.

In the Night Manager, Eton-educated Tom takes on the leading role of Jonathan Pine, a former solider.

He stars alongside Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Debicki as a man who who changes his life completely by escaping to become the night manager of a luxury hotel in Cairo.

Saucy: The series came to an end in March 2016, with fans begging for a follow-up, particularly after being blown away by the raunchy scenes

Back on: Tom Hiddleston starred in the BBC mini series - which was adapted from the 1993 novel of the same name by John Le Carre - it is not yet known if the original cast will return

There, he must infiltrate the inner circle of the dastardly scheme set up by arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper (Laurie).

The series came to an end in March 2016, with fans begging for a follow-up, particularly after being blown away by the raunchy scenes.

Producer Simon Cornwall also recently suggested there could be a second series in the pipeline.

As seen on screen: Tom takes on the leading role of Jonathan Pine, a former solider. He stars alongside Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Debicki (pictured)

'Theres no book and theres never been a Le Carre story that has been extended beyond the confines of the novel. It would be interesting to try that.'

'We wouldnt do something that we didnt feel had a fighting chance of being even better than the first one.

'We might not succeed, but I think if you dont go in with ambition, theres actually no point in doing it.'
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has met with U.S. National Security Adviser Herbert Raymond McMaster in Washington and called for continuation of providing military-technical assistance to Ukraine.

According to the press service of the ministry, Klimkin expressed gratitude to the United States for support of security and stability in the military and technical sphere of Ukraine.

The minister also noted the need for the further deepening of Ukrainian-American cooperation in the field of security, which is of common interest.

The interlocutors also discussed the possibilities of developing agreements achieved during a telephone conversation between the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents on February 5, 2017 and continuing a dialogue with the U.S. administration at all levels for this purpose.
The real-estate tycoon turned reality star shot to fame after starring in Real Housewives of Sydney.

Now Krissy Marsh is teasing fans of a new and exciting project on Instagram.

The reality TV star posted a snap on Wednesday of her in a see-through blouse, exposing her embroidered bra.

Sheer delight: Krissy Marsh flaunted her gold embellished bra under a sheer navy blouse

Krissy rocked a navy long-sleeved sheer blouse with silver buttons done up to her bust.

The top exposed her dark coloured bra that had a gold and bronze embroidered pattern along the top.

She tucked the blouse into matching navy high-waisted pants and flashed her huge signature wedding diamond.

The photo comes just one day after Krissy told The Daily Telegraph that she doesn't want her family to watch the show in anticipation of a fellow cast mate 'assassinating' her character in an upcoming episode.

'Someone assassinates my character. That is a difficult thing for my parents to watch': The TV star doesn't want her family to watch the upcoming episode of the Real Housewives of Sydney

She said: 'I have now watched up to episode eight and there is one episode I have told people, especially my mum not to watch.'

She continued: 'I can't say much, but someone assassinates my character... That is a difficult thing for my parents to watch.'

Krissy described the argument with a cast mate and said she took off her microphone and stormed out to call her husband and refused to speak to anyone else.

After the first episodes where she was called Chewbacker by fellow housewife Lisa Oldfield, Krissy says her family have been very protective of her.

'They get so protective, I keep telling everyone to calm down it is just TV, my mum have to keep telling her to relax,' she said.
She was forced off the cobbles when Storm Doris halted the production of Coronation Street.

And Helen Flanagan looked pleased to be back at work as she filmed scenes with on-screen sister Brooke Vincent in Manchester on Wednesday.

No doubt feeling the chill in her skimpy ensemble, the soap star, 26, was ever the professional, all smiles as she made her way around the set.

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Two of a kind: Helen Flanagan looked pleased to be back at work as she filmed Coronation Street scenes with on-screen sister Brooke Vincent in Manchester on Wednesday

Transforming into the flamboyant Rosie Webster, Helen donned a hot pink shift dress that billowed over her slender curves.

Featuring fluted sleeves, the chic garment grazed her tanned and toned thighs, offering a generous look at her lean legs.

She teamed the dress with silver heels that bore a large pink pom pom in similar style to her statement handbag and earrings.

Never one to believe less is more, she finished off the look by securing her wavy chestnut tresses in a half up style with a large black bow.

Chirpy: No doubt feeling the chill in her skimpy ensemble, the soap star, 26, was ever the professional, all smiles as she made her way around the set

Pretty in pink: Transforming into the flamboyant Rosie Webster, Helen donned a hot pink shift dress that billowed over her slender curves as she grasped a hot water bottle

Legs eleven! Featuring fluted sleeves, the chic dress grazed her tanned and toned thighs, offering a generous look at her lean legs whilst she layered up in a chunky red coat

Brooke, 24, looked equally as stylish on the day as she slipped into Sophie Webster's rather more muted garms.

Showing off her toned pins, Brooke donned a long-sleeved denim shirt dress whilst she slipped her feet into heeled peep toe boots.

Layering up, she donned an orange waistcoat and finished off the look by sweeping her glossy locks into a ponytail.

Well heeled: Helen teamed the dress with silver heels that bore a large pink pom pom in similar style to her statement handbag and earrings

Furry nice! Helen layered up with a white fur coat over her little pink dress

Hair she comes: Never one to believe less is more, she finished off the look by securing her wavy chestnut tresses in a half up style with a large black bow

The pair have no doubt been enjoying working together again - particularly with their meaty new storyline.

Rosie's return to the soap has been nothing short of explosive, immediately kicking off with a drugs scandal.

In recent weeks, it's emerged that Rosie is acting as a drugs mule and has already dragged her younger sister Sophie into the dirt.

Dreamy in denim: Brooke, 24, looked equally as stylish on the day as she slipped into Sophie Webster's rather more muted garms

Leggy lady! Showing off her toned pins, Brooke donned a long-sleeved denim shirt dress whilst she slipped her feet into heeled peep toe boots

Brunette beauty: Layering up, she donned an orange waistcoat and finished off the look by sweeping her glossy locks into a ponytail

Following a four-year break, the soap character smuggled back cocaine from America.

Sophie, who left the cobbles in the autumn, had been out to visit her big sister and returned with her to Weatherfield.

With her home searched thoroughly by police, thankfully to avail, Rosie and her sister were taken in for questioning.
Joanna Burgess is 35 weeks along and her baby bump is already impressively huge!

The model's muscular husband George Burgess looked proud as punch to be expecting their first child in a matter of weeks on a beach date on Wednesday.

In a photo shared to Instagram, the footy player lifted his heavily pregnant wife onto his shoulder like a trophy as the pair of them took an evening swim in an ocean pool.

Proud dad: The model's muscular husband George Burgess looked proud as punch to be expecting their first child in a matter of weeks on a beach date on Wednesday

Both are seen beaming as Joanna lifted her arm in the air in a joyful pose, bump on display in a black bikini top and boy short bottoms.

The loved up pair appear to be at one of Sydney's beaches, with fans in the comments guessing it may be Cronulla.

The WAG earlier showed off her huge baby bump in a leopard print bikini on Tuesday.

Taking to Instagram, the blonde beauty posed up for a selfie, revealing to her fans she was 35 weeks along and was expecting a large child.

'35 weeks with chunky monkey': Pregnant Joanna Burgess showed off her huge baby bump in a leopard print bikini on Tuesday

She wrote: '35 weeks with chunky monkey, measuring 38 weeks #LittleBigMan.'

Two weeks ago, Joanna - formerly Joanna King - celebrated her baby shower, stunning in a blue floral Zimmerman slip dress.

Also in attendance at the bash was her sister-in-law, journalist and new mother Phoebe Burgess, who is married to George's brother Sam.

Beauty in blue! Two weeks ago, Joanna - formerly Joanna King - celebrated her baby shower, stunning in a blue floral Zimmerman slip dress

Joanna and George have recently hinted they would be calling their first baby Boston in numerous social media hashtags.

The couple married in an intimate ceremony in Noosa in December, with Joanna stunning in a gorgeous Pallas Couture gown.
She's spent the past week rocking the runway in the City of Light with her supermodel pals.

But Hailey Baldwin proved she can turn heads on home soil just as well as she hit West Hollywood hotspot, Catch, for a night out on the town after returning from Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday.

The model, 20, looked incredible as she strutted her stuff in a pair of thigh-high leather boots while emerging from the upscale eatery.

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Thigh's the limit: Hailey Baldwin hit West Hollywood hotspot, Catch, for a night out on the town after returning from Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday

The catwalk queen flashed a hint of flesh with her risque outfit, teaming her foxy footwear with a stylish t-shirt dress and a quirky quilted jacket, featuring a floral pattern, that hung off one shoulder.

Hailey - one of Justin Bieber's many exes - pared things back on the make-up front and kept her honey-hued locks pinned behind her ears in a low bun.

The model looked a little sleepy as she prepared to head home for the evening, perhaps struggling with jet-lag after her long, transatlantic flight home from France.

Hailey's stylish appearance comes after she attended Paris Fashion Week alongside close pals Kendall Jenner and Bella and Gigi Hadid.

Leggy lady: The model, 20, looked incredible as she strutted her stuff in a pair of thigh-high leather boots while emerging from the upscale eatery

Floral fancy: The catwalk queen flashed a hint of flesh with her risque outfit, teaming her foxy footwear with a stylish t-shirt dress and a quirky quilted jacket, featuring a floral pattern

The blonde - who is the niece of Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin - took centre stage during the Elie Saab autumn/winter 2017 event on Saturday.

Hailey donned a number of semi-sheer looks for the show as she rocked the runway in front of the great and good of the fashion world.

Proving she has a liking for leather, Hailey stepped out in a similar pair of skintight boots to those she was spotted wearing upon her return to Los Angeles.

They were instead teamed with a pair of polka dot tights and a beautiful array of dresses.

Natural beauty: Hailey - one of Justin Bieber's many exes - pared things back on the make-up front and kept her honey-hued locks pinned behind her ears in a low bun

One included a flirty design that was intricately cut around her cleavage and featured endless bead and crystal embellishments.

But despite wowing fashion week goers, it sounds like Hailey was keen to jet back across the pond after her catwalk appearance.

She tweeted: 'I've never been more ready to be headed back to the states.'

Prior to her stint in Paris, it had been announced that Hailey is the new global ambassador for L'Oreal Professionel.

The fashion star is the new muse for the beauty brand's SS17 and AW17 campaigns, as well as the face of their 2017 PRO FIBER hair care treatment campaign.

Taking to Instagram, Hailey revealed she is 'super happy' to be teaming up with L'Oreal.

She wrote: 'I am super happy to join the L'Oreal Professionnel family this year ! Can't wait to share the @lorealpro campaigns with you #LorealPro (sic).'
Jason Isaacs is poised to follow fellow Brit Sir Patrick Stewart into the captains chair after being cast in the latest eagerly anticipated addition to the sprawling Star Trek franchise.

The celebrated British actor, 53, will play Captain Lorca in forthcoming CBS All Access drama Star Trek: Discovery when it launches with a 13-episode run over the summer.

But while Isaacs will feature prominently as captain of Federation starship USS Discovery, his role will be overshadowed by that of Lieutenant Commander Rainsford, played by The Walking Deads Sonequa Martin-Green.

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Coming soon: Jason Isaacs is poised to follow fellow Brit Sir Patrick Stewart into the captains chair after being cast in the latest eagerly anticipated addition to the sprawling Star Trek franchise

Developed as a precursor to the hugely popular franchise, the new series will take place some ten years before the events of the original Star Trek  which made stars of leading man Shatner and co-star Leonard Nimoy following its launch in 1966.

It is also the franchise's first offering in 12-years following the cancellation of poorly viewed spin-off Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005.

'Its important to get it right,' CBS Chairman Les Moonves said in a statement. 'Star Trek is the family jewels. Were not going to rush it in. Theres a lot of post-production. But Im very confident based on what Ive seen so far.'

Hope it's comfy: Tweeting on Tuesday, Isaacs confirmed his casting by sharing a snap of the captains chair with the accompanying tweet Nice chair. Hope its comfy'

Previously: The classically trained Sir Patrick Stewart, 76, became the franchise's first British captain after taking a starring role in Star Trek: Next Generation over seven seasons and four films.

Tweeting on Tuesday, Isaacs confirmed his casting by sharing a snap of the captains chair with the accompanying tweet: Nice chair. Hope its comfy.

Shatner and Stewart both enjoyed enormous success after taking on their respective roles as Captain's James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard.

The classically trained Stewart, 76, became the franchise's first British captain after taking a starring role in Star Trek: Next Generation over seven seasons and four films.

Leading lady: While Isaacs will feature prominently as captain of Federation starship USS Discovery, his role will be overshadowed by that of Lieutenant Commander Rainsford, played by The Walking Deads Sonequa Martin-Green

Uncharitably referred to as the 'unknown Shakespearean actor' by a dubious Los Angeles Time shortly after his casting, the actor became an instant hit with fans - despite harbouring initial doubts about the show's longevity.

Isaacs is already well known on US shores thanks to his role as wizarding nemesis Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise, but his reception as Lorca will ultimately be determined when the show airs.

Other stars to feature in a largely ensemble cast include Doug Jones as science officer Saru, James Frain as Sarek, Spock's Vulcan astrophysicist father, former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh as captain Georgiu and Chris Obi as a Klingon leader T'Kuvma.
Keira Knightley was pictured filming Love Actually's Comic Relief for the first time on Wednesday with Chiwetel Ejiofor, [Peter] and Andrew Lincoln, [Mark].

The 31-year-old movie star, who plays Juliet, was pictured filming with her onscreen husband AND his best friend, leading viewers to wonder how their story has developed.

Standing on a London doorstep, Keira wore a cream jumper with the word: 'LOVE' emblazoned on the front as she looked as youthful as ever and Theory scarf print wide trousers.

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'To me, you are perfect': Keira Knightley sported a slogan jumper to shoot Love Actually's Comic Relief reboot with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Andrew Lincoln in London on Thursday

They're actually still in love: In one still, Keira can be seen cuddling up to her husband Peter [Chiwetel] on the sofa... as they giggled during filming

In the original movie, Keira's character is convinced her husband's pal Mark, [Lincoln], can't stand her, until she discovers the wedding he made which features solely on her.

It's only then she realises he is actually in love with her. He later turns up her house with the cards, telling her: 'To me, you are perfect.'

They then kiss and he says, 'Enough now, that's enough now,' as he leaves her to get on with married life.

Reprising her role: Keira plays Juliet in the 2003 movie (right), who doesn't realise her husband's best friend is in love with her

The best friend: Andrew Lincoln [Mark] was pictured nearby during filming, wearing an oversized jacket by John Varvatos and sporting longer curly hair

Over to him: The onscreen couple take direction from Richard Curtis in between takes

How does she do it? Keira looked as though she hadn't aged a day since the original movie

Something's tickled them: The cast and crew burst into hysterics while watching the scenes they had just filmed

Andrew Lincoln could be seen nearby during filming, wearing an oversized jacket by John Varvatos and sporting longer curly hair than before, while director Richard Curtis hovers close to him.

The sighting follows Richard Curtis's words during a recent interview with Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain last week.

He said: 'Someone's died, someone's got lots of kids, someone's been voted out of office and voted back into office.'

Lovesick: In the 2003 movie, Mark arrives at Juliet's house with a set of cards, when he famously reveals his love, writing: 'To me, you are perfect'

Someone got it wrong: She seems surprised after mistakenly believing that he couldn't stand her

Wrong or right? They then kiss and he says, 'Enough now, that's enough now,' as he leaves her to get on with married life

Fairytale: It's just as well they decided to keep things platonic as Juliet was married to his best friend

Also pictured filming during the last few weeks, were Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon, whose characters David and Natalie are now married.

During a break from filming, Hugh, who plays the Prime Minister told the camera: 'It's going very badly. I can't remember my lines or the character. Everyone hates me.'

Colin Firth, who plays Jamie, was spotted on the set of the eagerly awaited Love Actually sequel at the BBC Langham Place Piazza in central London last week.

Moving on: It remains to be seen how the love triangle has evolved since the 2003 movie

In high spirits: Richard and Andrew were seen giggling away together as they moved from scene to scene

Busy time: It appeared to be a packed set as the crew marched in and out of the house

The Oscar winner beamed as he reprised his character Jamie, the English would-be novelist who fell in love with Aurelia, his Portuguese housekeeper.

And 64-year-old Liam Neeson, [Daniel] was pictured with his onscreen stepson Thomas Brodie-Sangster [Sam], who is now 26, filming in London's Southbank, along with Olivia Olsen, [Joanna].

Emma Thompson has ruled out a part in the Comic Relief special as she can find 'no comedy' since the death of her co-star, Alan Rickman.

She told PA: 'It's too soon. It's absolutely right because it's supposed to be for Comic Relief but there isn't much comic relief in the loss of our dear friend really only just over a year ago.'

'Hey, have you seen the Walking Dead?' Richard and Andrew pore over a piece of paper
She's been linked to Strictly Come Dancing professional, Giovanni Pernice.

But Coronation Street actress Katie McGlynn has denied that there is any romance between her and the Italian, who previously dated former Corrie star Georgia May Foote.

The 33-year-old, who plays Sinead Tinker on the ITV soap, shared with her 90,000 Instagram followers snaps of herself and friend Lee Bennett at The Mirror Ball in Manchester on Tuesday night.

'The only guy I'm dating': Coronation Street actress Katie McGlynn has denied that there is any romance between her and Giovanni Pernice, instead sharing a picture of herself and her 'GBF'

Ex factor: Strictly professional Giovanni previously dated former Corrie star Georgia May Foote

The blonde bombshell captioned the post: 'The only guy I'm dating atm #gbf #mirrorball'

Reports had suggested that Katie had been enjoying the Giovanni's company, taking him up on the offer of a romantic night out.

Katie reportedly 'went for dinner and the cinema' with the Lothario and 'had a night partying with some of his pals in London' recently.

Just friends: Katie posted a snap of herself and friend Lee Bennett at The Mirror Ball in Manchester, captioning the picture: 'The only guy I'm dating atm #gbf #mirrorball'

Rumours: Reports had suggested that Katie had been enjoying the Lothario's company, six months after his split from Georgia

Former love: Giovanni split from ex-Strictly Come Dancing partner Georgia last summer

A source told The Mirror that 'there was a lot of chemistry between them'.

'They really like each other and theres a huge attraction there, but its early days,' said the source, who claims to know how both parties are feeling internally.

'[Katie's] in Manchester filming with a big story-line, while [Giovanni's] home is London and he has his tour coming up in April, so who knows?'

Blonde bombshell: Katie - who plays Sinead Tinker in the ITV soap - was said to have 'had a night partying' with some of Giovanni's pals recently

Old flames: Giovanni enjoyed a romance with Georgia after they were paired together on Strictly Come Dancing

Although Katie made no mention of the dancing hunk, a tweet suggested that she was indeed in London last week, as claimed by the source.

The actress posted: 'London it's been a pleshze! Back in actual sunny Manchester now; what's gwarn?! [sic]'

Katie's character Sinead - who has just discovered that she's pregnant - cheated on her on-screen boyfriend Chesney Brown - who ironically also dated Georgia's character Katy.

The two actresses crossed-over on the veteran soap, with Georgia joining the series in 2010, and Katie appearing first in 2013.

In character: Katie's character Sinead - who has just discovered that she's pregnant - cheated on her on-screen boyfriend Chesney Brown, who ironically also dated Georgia's character Katy

Co-stars: The two actresses crossed-over on the veteran soap, with Georgia joining the series in 2010, and Katie appearing first in 2013

The pair were colleagues for two years before Georgia quit in 2015.

Later that year she was announced as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, where she met and was partnered with Giovanni - leading to a romance that lasted until last summer.

The split was amicable, with Georgia explained at the time that they were 'better as friends', citing work schedules as a major cause of the relationship breakdown.

Last month, Georgia was photographed in California with new boyfriend, model George Alsford, who she started seeing soon after her break-up with Giovanni.
They are signing up for a show that will place them under the most personal on air microscope while exposing them to media scrutiny that would scare off many politicians.

But before any of the women aged 25-35 who are interested in becoming Australia's third Bachelorette can even get an audition, they will have to fill out a 13-page dossier that covers everything from their sexual history to their shoe size, through mental health, past lovers and unauthorised photos and sex tapes.

And if they refuse to answer one, like Bachelor reject Rachael Gouvignon they are out - unless they are somehow special, like Georgia Love, and are able to skip the application process entirely as she did last year.

Work for the rose: Before any of the women interested in becoming Australia's third Bachelorette can even get an audition, they have to fill out a 13 page dossier on everything from sexual history to shoe size

The 13 page application for Season 3 of The Bachelorette has gone live online and it is extensive and thorough to the point of intruding.

Some of the questions are mundane, many are predictable, but more than a few represent a fishing expedition for truly sordid gossip - and unlike Christmas it's by no means clear whether applicants should be naughty or nice.

On the physical front, the process asks for details such as height, weight, waist, dress, pant and chest measurements plus shoe size - oddly enough most of these are the questions that allow a Not Applicable 'NA' response.

Exceptions to every rule: If they refuse to answer one, like Bachelor reject Rachael Gouvignon (right) they are out - unless they are somehow special, like Georgia Love (left), and are able to skip the application process entirely as she did last year

Soon the mandatory questions begin and they are many, varied and detailed.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the casting team are very interested in applicants sexual history. What gets you fired up? How many sexual partners have you had? Male? Female?

This was the one answer Richie Strahan reject Rachael wasn't willing to provide.

Intense scrutiny: Soon the mandatory questions begin and they are many, varied and detailed

Kiss and tell: Perhaps unsurprisingly the casting team are very interested in applicants sexual history. What gets you fired up? How many sexual partners have you had? Male? Female?

'It did ask how many sexual partners you had, and that was the only one I didn't answer,' she told The Daily Telegraph. 'They don't need to know, what's that got to do with anything?'

Another rejected applicant found the application 'humiliating' saying 'they asked me about the people I'd slept with, why I was single and what I could bring that was better than the other girls.'

The process, run by casting agency CastaSugar, groups the questions under broad headings such as 'Relationship', 'Future Partner' and 'Your Life'.

Devil in the details: 'It did ask how many sexual partners you had, and that was the only one I didn't answer,' Rachael told The Daily Telegraph. 'They don't need to know, what's that got to do with anything?'

Girl vs Girl: Another rejected applicant found the application 'humiliating' saying 'they asked me about the people I'd slept with, why I was single and what I could bring that was better than the other girls'

These relatively mundane titles are gateways to inquires about an applicants mental health history, criminal history, deepest fears and 'when did you last cry and why?'

'Skeletons in your closet' and 'unauthorised photos' are also of interest.

Unsurprisingly much attention is paid to the applicants love life, as those seeking a mansion invitation are asked:

'Have you ever broken hearts?'

'Tell us about your last relationship'

'Tell us about your jilted lovers?'

And of course the one question that every Bachelor or Bachelorette knows how to answer: Are you ready to fall in love?

Heartbreakers wanted: Unsurprisingly much attention is paid to the applicants love life, as those seeking a mansion invitation are asked: 'Have you ever broken hearts?'

The questions never end: 'Tell us about your last relationship' 'Tell us about your jilted lovers?'
It's been 35 years since the release of Rocky III.

But Sylvester Stallone, 70, still has stories to tell about his time on set with pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan, which he shared in an Instagram pic on Tuesday.

Apparently, the then 28-year-old Hulk didn't know his own strength and ended up putting THREE stuntmen in the hospital while shooting the 1982 classic.

Stallone's stories! Sylvester Stallone shared some wild memories filming Rocky III with Hulk Hogan Tuesday night on Instagram

'Believe it or not': The Rocky Balboa actor recalled how the then 28-year-old Hulk sent three stunt double to the hospital. Here you can see the duo with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon

'Believe it or not when [Hulk] jumped into the audience to fight with the stuntmen, three of them had to be treated at the hospital,' recalled the New York born actor, who also directed the film.

'He's an amazing athlete,' said Stallone of the actor, who played Thunderlips in the Rocky sequel, while also explaining 'why it's not such a great idea to always do your own stunts.'

Stallone remembered how intense the heavyweight wrestler's moves were during their own fight scenes.

'Like an enraged bull!' Stallone remembers that the six-foot seven-inch brawler leaping 'like an enraged bull' and almost injuring him during the pair's on screen fights

Putting his dukes up! The Rocky III director called Hogan 'an amazing athlete' while remembering one of the pair's on screen battles that almost went too far

Flashback: The 70-year-old actor used Instagram to share a wild memory with Hulk Hogan from the set of Rocky III

'I remember a violent move where he threw me into the corner, charged across the ring like an ENRAGED bull and leaped so amazingly high above me, that his shinbone actually came down giant tree on my collarbone , and I tumbled to the floor.'

Afterwards, the action hero was positive he'd been injured by the 'six-foot seven-inch and 295 pounds' dude with '24 inch biceps.'

'I was afraid to look at my shoulder for about 10 minutes ... I said 'don't roll me over , don't move me,' because I was sure there was bone protruding through my upper chest!'

He does his own stunts! The action star, who is famous for his physically demanding roles, remembered his fight with Hogan by saying he'd 'never felt such mind numbing pain' as then

Sly guy: The Expendables star returned to the role of Rocky Balboa in Creed, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Here you can see the New York native with wife Jennifer Flavin at this year's Golden Globes

Luckily, the star wasn't was fine but Sly says that after the fight he 'never felt such a mind numbing pain from a massive hit before or since that day.'

The Expendables actor continued with a message to his pal, saying 'HULK , if you're reading this, it was a privilege to be mangled by such a gentleman.'

Sylvester returned to his role as Rocky Balboa in 2015's Creed, which he received a an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

This year, he'll appear in the sequel to Guardians Of The Galaxy as well as in the computer animated film Animal Crackers with Danny DeVito and John Krasinski.
Fans were curious why Eva Mendes did not attend the Academy Awards in February with her beau Ryan Gosling was nominated in the Best Actor category for La La Land.

And in the April issue of Shape magazine, which hits newsstands on March 14, the 43-year-old 2 Fast 2 Furious actress said that she is just not into hitting the town anymore.

'What people dont know about me is that I love being home,' said the mother to Esmeralda, aged two, and Amada, 11 months. 'Instead of hitting the red carpet, Id rather be with our girls.'

Fit mommy: Eva Mendes has taken the April cover of Shape magazine

The siren said she did not attend the Oscars with partner Ryan Gosling

The star looked remarkably slimmed down just one year after welcoming her second child.

And the Hitch actress said it was not easy.

'In some ways, its been more challenging to get back in shape after my second daughter.

'Yet its not as hard as I thought it would be, because Im always running around with the kids. I never sit downIm on the move all day,' said Eva.

She has had to say goodbye to some nice treats, though.

'I dont keep junk food at home anymore, because Im trying to set a good example,' she said.

'So there are no more Krispy Kremes for me to grab.'

Solo: Gosling presented at the Academy Awards in February with La La Land co-star Emma Stone, who won for Best Actress

However, she does have treats sent to her LA home whenever she wants.

'There is this app called Postmates that delivers whatever you want in minutes. Its almost as bad as having the food in your kitchen. Dont laugh, but theyre on the way here right now!'

Her sweet tooth is strong, the Training Day star added.

'Sweets are my thing. Its ongoing, and I have to manage my sugar cravings constantly.

Trim: The star is slim one year after welcoming her second child. 'In some ways, its been more challenging to get back in shape after my second daughter,' said Eva

'Ive gotten used to having something sweet after every meal, so Im always bartering with myself: No, no, I cant have that after dinner, but maybe I can have it after lunch instead.

'The kid in me thinks, I work out, so I can support my sugar habit. I know thats not a very wise thing to say, but I really do feel like Im working it off!'

And she said her weakness is Cadbury eggs. 'The mini ones and the big ones with the filling,' she said.

Her first love: Her sweet tooth is strong, the Training Day star added. 'Sweets are my thing. Its ongoing, and I have to manage my sugar cravings constantly,' she revealed

Her mother's Cuban cooking is also a weakness. 'My mom makes the best black beans in the world. I'll never stop devouring them.' She added: 'I grew up eating rice and beans, so I want some kind of grain in every meal.'

Shape magazine hits newsstands March 14

But she eats well, having eggs for breakfast often and also taking fish oil supplements.

'I usually start my day with eggs. I think theyre like magicyou can do so much with them. I mostly keep it simple and have scrambled eggs and a piece of Ezekiel toast for breakfast.

'But if somebody brings over muffins or some other kind of delicious treat, Ill eat that with my coffee instead. Its a terrible way to begin my day, though. I really regret it later, because I just dont have as much energy. I find that when I start out with the right source of protein, it definitely helps.

'For lunch, I usually have salmon and rice or quinoa, and I try to include a salad. Ill eat the same thing for dinner. Im a creature of habit in that way.

'I dont get bored with food. I try to think about it as fuel for my body. But what I am looking forward to is the time when dinner becomes a sit-down situation again. Right now Im in survival mode with two babies, eating on the go.

Her morning routine: 'I usually start my day with eggs. I think theyre like magicyou can do so much with them,' said the designer

The star keeps plenty busy not just with the kids, but also working on the Eva Mendes Collection at New York & Company, and a beauty brand, Circa.

She needs time to herself, that's when she works out.

'Working out allows me to spend time on myself,' she says.

'Knowing that I have an hour to dedicate to my wellness is a priority for me now.'

And she has her routine down.

Healthy mom: She needs time to herself, that's when she works out. 'Working out allows me to spend time on myself,' she says. 'Knowing that I have an hour to dedicate to my wellness is a priority for me now'

'I love doing intervals, like running and sprinting, and I see great results with that versus the 30 or 45 minutes of steady cardio I used to do on the treadmill. Between intervals, I lift weights.

'Right now Im sticking to light weights because I have a herniated disc in my lower back. Its pretty severe, and I have to work around it. I love squats, but Ive been told that I have to do lunges instead of squats for the time being. I know a lot of people wouldnt find that heartbreaking, but I really do!

'Im off-season right now, so I work out three days a week. But when Im getting ready for an event or in the summer, its five days a week. I dont exercise more than that though, because I see better results when my body has a rest period."
U.S. positively assesses meeting of Tillerson and Klimkin, confirms sanctions against Russia will be extended

The U.S. Department of State has positively assessed the meeting of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, called on all the parties to implement the Minsk agreements and confirmed the sanctions against Russia will continue.

During the meeting the parties discussed internal issues, as well as the U.S.' continuing concern regarding compliance with the Minsk agreements.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confirmed the U.S.' serious commitment to relations with Ukraine.
She's best known for playing Anastasia Steele in the racy Fifty Shades Of Grey films.

But Dakota Johnson was almost unrecognisable as she filmed scenes in Berlin for her new horror film Suspiria on Monday afternoon.

The 27-year-old actress covered her glossy brunette locks with a long auburn wig as she was transported to the 1970s on the set.

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Transformed: Dakota Johnson was almost unrecognisable as she began filming in Berlin for the new horror film Suspiria on Monday afternoon

The actress covered up her enviably svelte figure with a long brown pinafore dress, under which she wore a pale grey blouse.

The folksy ensemble was finished off with a pair of grey ribbed socks and black brogues.

Taking a break from filming, Dakota was later seen fending off the chill in a black puffer coat as she puffed on a cigarette while standing in the door of her trailer.

New locks: The 27-year-old covered her glossy brunette locks with a long auburn wig as she was transported to the 1970s on set

Golden girl: Dakota, pictured at the Oscars last week, plays main character Susie Bannion in the remake of the 1977 Italian horror

Dakota plays main character Susie Bannion in the remake of the 1977 Italian horror, alongside Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth and Chloe Grace Moretz.

Susie is an American dance student who flourishes under the tutelage of Madame Blanc, played by Tilda, at the Markos Tanz Dance Academy in Berlin.

But she soon discovers the horrific, gruesome reality of the school at which she studies.

Taking a break: Dakota was later seen fending off the chill in a black puffer coat as she puffed on a cigarette

Tilda was also completely unrecognisable earlier this month, with prosthetics transforming her into an elderly man on set.

The two actresses are reuniting with director Luca Guadagnino for the remake, having previously worked with him on the 2015 film A Bigger Splash.

Dakota is also set to star in the upcoming courtroom drama Unfit.

She will play a woman in the 1920s who had to fight the American justice system to be allowed to become a mother, at a time when it was legal in Virginia to sterilise 'undesirable' citizens.

In demand: The actress is also set to star in the upcoming courtroom drama Unfit
She's not afraid to self-promote on social media - and former Made In Chelsea star Louise Thompson has been at it again.

The 26-year-old brunette shared another cheesy snap on Instagram, although she did look incredible wearing a pretty push-up rose bustier and white tracksuit bottoms with a red band.

Displaying her rock-hard abs and wearing her hair in tousled waves, she posed with a can of fake tan, a couple of months after her brother Sam poked fun at her constant posts.

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Blooming lovely: Made In Chelsea beauty Louise Thompson flashed her abs as she posed in a lacy floral bustier as she posed for yet another cheesy selfie on Instagram

Louise, who has racked up 996k adoring Instagram followers, captioned the image with the words: 'Been keeping my holiday tan topped up with my new favourite @utanandtone Turbo Tan.

'This tan is great because it's free of nasty chemicals and parabens which is important to me. The colour is really dark yet natural.'

Her followers quickly bombarded Louise with compliments and fashion requests.

Another day, another bikini: Louise recently took the opportunity to show off her svelte figure - this time in a bikini adorned with dollar bills while on holiday in Sri Lanka

One wrote: '@louise.thompson the best thing in this photo is that bra top and the way your curvy bits fill it. Brava! x'

Another fashion-forward fan added: 'Woah I want the bra and bod!'

She has honed her already petite figure into a flawless muscle machine over the past year.

Meanwhile, her artfully posed slew of bikini snaps in recent weeks has prompted her brother Sam to tease her mercilessly via Instagram, even revealing how she achieves the perfect 'selfie'.

'Nude is necessary. Basically living in my low back #showpo swimsuit these days!!' she wrote alongside the Instagram snap.

The star doesn't seem to mind her brother's recent attempts to tease her about her constant social media posts - the cheeky Made In Chelsea star even posted a snap showing the lengths his sister and her beau Ryan Libbey will go to share the snaps.

Sam used an Instagram Story to show how a professional photography and lighting team appeared to be involved in setting up some of his sister's snapshots.

It featured one image from beside a pool with two figures, who appear to be the couple, sat in front of a professional camera.

Beachy: Louise ran her fingers through her wet hair in yet another swimsuit snapshot

Louise enjoyed an idyllic trip to Sri Lanka in January, where she has spent much of the holiday stripping off to show off the figure personal trainer Ryan has helped her hone.

The genetically-blessed pair shared images on their respective social media accounts with Ryan teasing Louise for stealing screen time.

He added a caption on the shot reading : 'Trying to get some camera time on my own before the misses takes over, again!... She caught me red handed though...'

Secret's out! Hilariously, her co-star brother Sam recently decided to out the lengths the couple will go to in order to share their self-promoting, body-baring snaps - with the results including a professional photographer and lighting team

Still going! Made In Chelsea star Louise have left fans scratching their heads as to how they are sharing a bevy of artistically posed images on the romantic break for two

The ripped couple have posed in a number of images - often with both in front of the camera leading to questions over who was snapping.

This is the second time Sam has laid into the couple on this holiday alone, as he recently enlisted the help of his co-star girlfriend Tiffany Watson to replicate his sibling's picture, in which Ryan scooped her up with one hand.

Louise, who has undergone a massive body transformation of late after hooking up with her personal trainer beau, litters her social media accounts with sponsored posts, often publicising fashion brands.

Life's a beach! Louise posted another snap on Instagram recently of the couple enjoying 'tans, tummy feeding and top knots' on their Sri Lankan break

Top joker: Yet Sam, who frequently mocks his sister on social media, took to his Instagram story to share an image from beside a pool with two figures who appear to be the couple sat in front of a professional camera

Ouch! This is the second time Sam has laid into the couple on this holiday alone, as he enlisted the help of his co-star girlfriend Tiffany Watson to replicate his sibling's picture, in which Ryan scooped her up with one hand

While the brunette beauty wins thousands of likes on the posts, hilarious Sam opted to swoop on his sister's penchant for promotion by mimicking her snaps near-exactly - much to her chagrin.

The funnyman recruited Tiffany to help him rib Louise's self-satisfied snap, which she posted on Monday from her New Year Maldives getaway.

Louise posed in a powerful shot in which Ryan made a seemingly effortless move to launch the brunette reality star into the air with just one hand, while the caption read: 'We're gonna crush 2017'.

Eek! The couple were seen stumbling around on the grass as Sam tried and failed to lift her into the air - with great difficulty

Agh! Slimline Tiffany seemed outraged that she could not be erected with ease, as she gasped: 'Can you really not lift me?' before they eventually managed a feeble imitation of her the original snap

Hilarious Sam, who recently enjoyed a romantic break in Morocco, shared a video which opened with the image of Louise and Ryan before transcending into a slip with Tiffany.

The couple were seen stumbling around on the grass as Sam tried and failed to lift her into the air - with great difficulty.

Slimline Tiffany seemed outraged that she could not be hoisted with ease, as she gasped: 'Can you really not lift me?' before they eventually managed a feeble imitation of her the original snap.

Don't hurt yourself: It looked as though Sam was at risk of dropping his girlfriend

Who wore it best? Sam raided his sister Louise's wardrobe for a third time as he continues to mock her Instagram poses

At the start of the year, Sam raided his sister wardrobe for a third time as mocked her Instagram poses by teaming a slinky lace minidress with an eye-catching statement necklace for the amusing snap.

Remaining straight-faced for the comical picture, Sam was unable to match Louise's impressive plump pout.

He leaned against the same fireplace from his sister's snap, with an abstract art piece hanging above his left shoulder.

The cheeky chappy wrote beside the image: 'Just being strong and independent in our misspap loungewear... for discount use Louise's code: I'm a k**b'

Taking the mickey: Sam took the mickey out of his sister Louise, as he uploaded a picture of himself wearing the same feminine sequined frock

Recycled: Louise shared a stunning shot clad in a lace grey dress last week, but little brother Sam couldn't resist mimicking the shot

He previously slipped into some festive sequins to imitate the brunette beauty, 26.

Doing a convincing impression of his big sister, Sam even flicked his head back with vigor to create the same flirty pose as Louise.

Captioning the picture in the tiny white minidress, Sam wrote: 'Me and @louise.thompson slaying in sequins.'

In a nod to Louise's penchant for fashion promotions, he name-dropped the brand, adding: 'Rocking our #motelrocks And you guys thought last week was a one off! Louise.....YOU'RE A BELLPIECE'

The public takedown began earlier this month when Sam playfully attacked Louise's 'barrage' of Instagram posts by posting a shot of his own.

Moving on: Louise didn't let being mocked deter her from sharing more snaps, taking to the photo-sharing site just hours later to post another shot of herself, this time clad in her lingerie

Somehow getting hold of one of his sibling's ensembles, he expertly mirrored a snap she'd uploaded the week before, complete with the same accessories and sultry pout.

He quipped: 'After the past months barrage of @louise.thompson instagrams...I think it's time I took some serious p**s!

'So here we go! Gliding into 2017 wearing our Lacey #axparis dresses.'

Adding insult to injury, Sam's post garnered a whopping 36,700 likes, whilst Louise's original post only received 15,800.

Before seeing the huge amount of likes he had amassed, Louise commented: 'OMG, you freak !!! If you get more likes than me @samthompsonuk.'

Fuming: Louise jokingly labelled Sam a 'freak' after seeing the post

Luckily, Louise later saw the funny side, commenting on his post: 'I guess you're going to get endorsed by ladies frocks now?'

And whilst she may have been joking, fans seemed to suggest this could be the case, with one quipping: 'I saw Louise's post and loved the dress. Now I love it even more.'

Other fans then hunted down Louise's original post, merely to tease that Sam had 'worn it better'.

But she didn't let it deter her, taking to the photo-sharing site just hours later to post another shot of herself, this time clad in her lingerie.
Blac Chyna's neighbors have complained.

According to a Wednesday report from, TMZ the reality star has thug friends that jump the security gate at the curvy model's mansion that is located in an exclusive, gated community in Calabasas, California.

The site also stated that Rob Kardashian has moved back in, but then changed their story saying he had not. Later E! News reported the exes are getting closer and are 'working on staying together.'

Bad news: Blac Chyna's neighbors have complained she has thug friends that jump the security gate at her exclusive, gated community in Calabasas, according to TMZ. Here she is seen in a Snapchat video on Wednesday

Her home: The star lives in a large house that costs about $5 million

According to the site, some of the people who live Chyna have complained that her 'thug friends' climb over the security walls to hang out at the posh home where they make noise at all hours of the night.

Residents are required to drive through the main gate where there is a guard shack.

The locals think it is a 'dangerous situation.'

Posh life: Some of the people who live around the stars complained 'thug friends' climb over the security walls. Here Rob is seen driving through the main entrance in 2015

Their child: Rob Kardashian visiting his daughter Dream, aged four months

When police were in the community on Tuesday for 'an unrelated matter' several neighbors 'flagged them down and ticked off a laundry list of complaints against Chyna,' the site claimed.

The worst was the 'thugs' visiting their home, according to the source.

It was alleged the men did not go through the front gate but rather 'jumped the wall, avoiding security.'

Not together: The site also stated that Rob Kardashian has moved back in, but then changed their story saying he had not

Smiling: The reality stars seen together in mid January in New York

And they make noise all night long even though baby Dream, who was born in November, is in the home.

The neighbors called Chyna's friends 'riffraff.'

The locals were also afraid that the bad habits - Rob parks his car on the front lawn when visiting Chyna because her luxury vehicles (a Land Rover and Ferrari among them) take up the driveway and garage - are bringing down the hood.

Svelte: On Wednesday the star announced she was down to 148lbs

TMZ added the police have the home now on their 'radar.'

In mid February UsWeekly reported Rob split from Chyna and moved back into his Calabasas home. 'Chyna has disappeared for days at a time without communicating or providing any updates. This won't end well,' said an insider at the time.

A separate source for Us Weekly claimed the two were getting along since their first split around Christmas. The weekly's source added: '[It's the same] with her yelling and screaming about how his family doesnt like or support her, and his insecurities.'
They are Holland's sexiest supermodel exports and conquer catwalks around the world.

And Doutzen Kroes and Lara Stone stunned as usual as they appeared together to celebrate the Vogue Netherlands anniversary issue launch in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

Doutzen, 32, and Lara, 33, star in a racy snap on the premier fashion magazine cover taken by star photographer Mario Testino, who also attended the launch party.

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Reunited: Doutzen Kroes and Lara Stone stunned as usual as they appeared together to celebrate the Vogue Netherlands anniversary issue launch in Amsterdam on Wednesday

Mother-of-one Lara looked incredible in a short, chic, flower-detailed dress.

While her fellow model Doutzen looked like a Grecian goddess, wearing her golden hair in loose waves with her unique patent leather high-waisted frock.

Both Dutch beauties joked with Mario, the Peruvian photographer who has been dubbed 'the world's most prolific' magazine photographer as they posed for pictures at the launch party.

Mario even brought a camera along, creating a 'meta' scenario where he was taking photographs while being photographed.

Cover girls: Doutzen, 32, and Lara, 33, star in a racy snap on the premier fashion magazine cover taken by star photographer Mario Testino, who also attended the launch party

Group shot: Both Dutch beauties joked with superstar photographer Mario Testino as they posed for pictures at the launch party

Stunning: Doutzen looked like a Grecian goddess, wearing her golden hair in loose waves with her unique patent leather high-waisted frock

Chic and pared back: Doutzen proved that less is more in her simple yet stylish ensemble. She teamed her dress with relaxed, gold patent low heels

Happy times: The model looked particularly incredible, happy and carefree as she was caught laughing on camera with her famous pals

Ravishing beauty: The model, who grew up out of the limelight in northern Holland, tilted her head as she showed off her flawless skin and teasing, natural smile

Lara showed off her famously statuesque frame in her towering boot heels and stylish poloneck ensemble.

While Doutzen proved that less is more in her simple yet stylish ensemble. She teamed her dress with relaxed, gold patent low heels.

And the model looked particularly incredible, happy and carefree as she was caught laughing on camera with her famous pals.

The model, who grew up out of the limelight in northern Holland, tilted her head as she showed off her flawless skin and teasing, natural smile.

Beautiful: Mother-of-one Lara looked incredible in a short, chic, flower-detailed dress

Deep in discussion: Lara showed off her famously statuesque frame in her towering boot heels and stylish poloneck ensemble

Meta: Mario even brought a camera along, creating a 'meta' scenario where he was taking photographs while being photographed

The trio were joined by Vogue Netherlands Editor-in-Chief Karin Swerink.

The successful journalist and fashionista opted for an unusual black dress with large 80s-style shoulder pads for the important event.

And, surprisingly, neither of the cover stars believed they were model material growing up.

Doutzen soared to fame in 2003 when she sent snap shots to Amsterdam-based modelling agency Paparazzi Model Management and, despite admitting she did not take her flourishing career seriously, she went on to enjoy huge success.

Big issue: The trio were joined by Vogue Netherlands Editor-in-Chief Karin Swerink for the launch of the fifth anniversary issue of the magazine, starring the two models

Editor In Chic: The successful journalist and fashionista opted for an unusual black dress with large 80s-style shoulder pads for the important event

While Lara has admitted that although she feels comfortable posing naked now, in her youth she believed she was 'definitely not attractive'.

Speaking to The Edit in December the supermodel, who has undertaken many racy shoots including one which saw her lying topless beneath pop sensation Justin Bieber for Calvin Klein, said: 'I don't mind being naked in front of people, that's fine

'On a shoot, no one is staring at the naked model. They're doing a job and they've seen it all 100,000 times before. No one's interested.'
A clip from Star Wars: The Last Jedi was revealed on Wednesday during Disney's annual shareholders meeting in Denver.

Though the teaser was not released to the public, a Los Angeles Times reporter tweeted about what he saw.

The journalist confirmed the sequel - which will be released in the US on December 15 - picks up where The Force Awakens left off with Rey (Daisy Ridley) handing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) his lightsaber while on a ragged island. Luke is seen asking Rey, 'Who are you?'

New: A clip from Star Wars: The Last Jedi was revealed on Wednesday during Disney's annual shareholders meeting in Denver. Here Mark Hamill is seen as Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens

This will be in the sequel: Though the teaser was not released to the public, a Los Angeles Times reporter tweeted about what he saw

Los Angeles Times reporter Daniel Miller first tweeted: 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi clip is being screened. But it's a joke, sort of! We just got a few seconds of Rey handing Luke a lightsaber.'

He then added: 'We just saw more Star Wars: The Last Jedi footage. In it, Luke asks Rey, "Who are you?" Then we see her deftly handle a lightsaber.'

Next came this note: 'Also making appearances in The Last Jedi footage: Chewbacca, General Leia Organa and Finn. General Leia Organa was onscreen for just a second in military garb and didn't speak.'

Quick news: Daniel Miller was tweeting about the clip right as he saw it

Intel: The journalist confirmed the sequel picks up where The Force Awakens left off with Rey (Daisy Ridley) handing Luke his lightsaber. Luke is seen asking Rey, 'Who are you?'

She is back: Rey is one of the main characters of The Last Jedi which opens December 15

Organa is played by the late Carrie Fisher and Finn is played by John Boyega.

And the writer then added: 'One last thing on the Last Jedi footage: We saw all sorts of settings -- mountains, oceans, forests, deserts. Look suitably epic, exotic.

'We saw a shot of an X-wing wobbling mid-air, under attack inside a giant ship. Looked like a wounded bird.'

Later in the day Miller added: 'In the clip, a character yelled "It's now or never!" Sorry to say I couldn't tell you who screamed it!'



The film is directed by Rian Johnson.

He's back too: The LA Times also mentioned Finn, played by John Boyega, is in the clip. There was no mention of droid BB-8

Filming kicked off in February 2016 with locations at Skellig Michael in Ireland, Dubrovnik in Croatia, Pinewood Studios in England and certain areas in Mexico.

Bob Iger, Walt Disney Co.'s chairman and chief executive, described The Last Jedi as 'a perfect chapter in the iconic Skywalker family drama.'

Iger also took a moment to remember original Star Wars cast member Fisher, who died last year.

The furry guy made it too: Chewbacca is in the clip, but not Harrison Ford's Han Solo, right

'Carrie Fisher has been an iconic part in this franchise from the very beginning,' he said.

'We all miss her. She has great talent and wit. Were proud that this movie coming up is part of her legacy.'

The Last Jedi also stars Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis in returning roles.

New cast members include Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, and Kelly Marie Tran in unconfirmed roles.

The last Star Wars film released was Rogue One in December.
He's signed up to The Bachelor to find love.

And it seems Matty J is so ambitious in his new adventure that he is looking for a wife.

The hunky star told OK! Magazine that he will propose during the finale if he meets the right girl, and is ready for children.

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'When you know, you know': New Bachelor Matty J says he will propose on the finale of the show, if he meets the right girl

'Normally you'd need more time but when you know, you know,' Matty said.

'I'd like a casual wedding, ideally spring, outside,' he added.

On having children, Matty said: 'The idea of having kids is something I find so exciting...seeing my sister have a kid has fed this hunger and desire to be a dad.'

Ready for a family! Matty said he wants to have kids...and is seen here with his adorable nephew

Last week it was confirmed that Matty J was the new Bachelor.

He said he was excited to meet the love of his life on the show, and to get to know someone without having sex.

The 29-year-old personality also took a swipe at ex Georgia, saying a text message would of sufficed, instead of him being brutally rejected on live television on The Bachelorette finale.

Ouch: The 29-year-old personality also took a swipe at ex Georgia (pictured, with winner Lee Elliott) saying a text message would of sufficed, instead of him being brutally rejected on live television on The Bachelorette finale

'You get to know someone and it's just about your connection - sex can overshadow getting to know someone,' Matty said about the perks of the show.

Meanwhile, Matty is rumoured to be getting a whopping $200,000 for the gig, but he said he signed up because he had some fond memories of his stint on The Bachelorette.

'Without question, the most exciting part is the chance to meet the girl I'm going to spend the rest of my life with,' Matty told The Daily Telegraph.

The hunk has recently been seen filming wit a bevy of women.

He was pictured taking part in a photoshoot and channeling the hit film Grease.

True love: He said he's excited to meet the love of his life on the show, and to get to know someone without having sex

During The Bachelorette finale last year, fans were left shocked when Georgia dumped Matty and chose Lee Elliott instead.

The former journalist broke Matty's heart when she said she had fallen in love 'with someone else.'

The hunk was almost floored by her confession, bending over and grabbing his knees in agony.

Despite his pain, he was a gentleman and wished her well with her romance with Lee.

'You're the reason this has been so unforgettable,' Matty said in part of his closing speech.

Let down: During The Bachelorette finale last year, fans were left shocked when Georgia dumped Matty and chose Lee Elliott instead
She enjoyed a glam few days in Paris show-hopping at Fashion Week.

But it was back down to earth for Lucy Mecklenburgh, 25, on Wednesday as she arrived back in London.

The ex TOWIE star made a low-key arrival home as she stepped off the Eurostar in a casual outfit and sporting large shades.

From Paris with love: It was back down to earth for Lucy Mecklenburgh, 25, on Wednesday as she arrived back in London from Paris Fashion Week

Lucy chose a casual but stylish ensemble for her journey across the Channel.

She teamed a chic full skirted navy dress with pretty white stitching with a leather jacket.

The stylish star slung a baby blue bag over her shoulder and wheeled a large suitcase through the terminal.

Heading home: The ex TOWIE star made a low-key arrival home as she stepped off the Eurostar in a casual outfit and sporting large shades

Bags of style: The stylish star slung a baby blue bag over her shoulder and wheeled a large suitcase through the terminal

A pair of dark shades hid any sign of tiredness after her busy few days in Paris, with the tired star failing to raise a smile as she made her way home.

On Tuesday evening Lucy was living it up at the Paul & Joe show on the closing night of the Fashion Week festivities.

The 25-year-old showed off the results of her militant fitness regime as she slipped into a scanty mini dress with a coordinating coat for her turn at the party - looking every inch the style sensation.

Coming through: Lucy wheeled a huge suitcase full of her Fashion Week ensembles

That's better! The star seemed to perk up as she made her way through the station

Oh my! Lucy lived it up at yet another Paris Fashion Week event as she headed to the Paul & Joe show on the closing night of the festivities on Tuesday

Lucy soared to fame in the inaugural series of the ITVBe show in 2010, when she was placed at the forefront of the drama due to her dramatic dalliances with Mark Wright and her engagement and later infidelity to Mario Falcone.

Moving away from her time of drama, bodycon and bright orange tans, the brunette beauty has remodelled herself as a fitness and fashion guru.

Her presence at fashion week was the final finish to her style star status, so she naturally ensured she looked simply sensational for her turn at the show.

Lucy pulled it out of the sartorial bag once again as she slipped into her camel-coloured two-piece complete with a thigh-skimming shift dress.

Thief: The 25-year-old former TOWIE star showed off the results of her militant fitness regime as she slipped into a scanty mini dress with a coordinating coat for her turn at the party - looking every inch the style sensation

The dress was adorned with intricate patterns which smoothly ran into the pattern of her coat which she loosely draped over her shoulders.

Adding a statement touch to the look, she toted a black clutch bag with the world "Thief" emblazoned across in silver lettering.

She boosted her height and legs with the addition of staggering strappy heels with intricate laces at the front - perfect for highlighting her endless legs.

Earlier in the day, Lucy attended the Shiatzy Chen show where she sported a flowing gown skimmed her ankles in length with lace inserts forming the tiers sweeping through the exquisitely boho getup.

Strutting her stuff: Earlier in the day, Lucy attended the Shiatzy Chen show where she sported a flowing gown skimmed her ankles in length with lace inserts forming the tiers sweeping through the exquisitely boho getup

Floral: She earned her fashion stripes for the extravaganza as she dazzled in a stunning cold shoulder detail dress complete with fussy frills and a bohemian floral print

Fancy florals: Lucy soared to fame in the inaugural series of the ITVBe show in 2010, when she was placed at the forefront of the drama due to her dramatic dalliances with Mark Wright and her engagement and later infidelity to Mario Falcone

With her incredible figure, the work of her Results With Lucy fitness empire, uncharacteristically covered up, she could not resist flashing a hint of flesh through the cut-out shoulders on the dress.

The neckline of the floral number gathered into a poloneck which was the conclusion of her incredibly chic yet equally wrapped-up look.

She boosted her height with a pair of staggering pink stilettos with a pointed toe and sky-high heels, while the body was made up of a velvet material.

Fashionista: Moving away from her time of drama, bodycon and bright orange tans, the brunette beauty has remodelled herself as a fitness and fashion guru

Covered up: With her incredible figure, the work of her Results With Lucy fitness empire, uncharacteristically covered up, she could not resist flashing a hint of flesh through the cut-out shoulders on the dress

Her accessory game was nailed as she wore a black shoulder bag with a long, thin gold strap and a floral decal on the centre of the bag.

Lucy ensured her beauty regimen was as flawless as her ensemble as she styled her deep chestnut tresses into bouncy waves falling from a centre parting.

The outing comes after Lucy has been stepping out with a new tattooed beau. Lucy reportedly met her handyman boyfriend Nathan Sharp after he did some tiling work on her bathroom at her home in Essex.

She is said to have hit it off straight away with the 37-year-old father-of-two. One of Nathan's friends told the Sunday People : 'Nathan went to tile a bathroom and came away with a stunning celebrity girlfriend  its the stuff of dreams.'

Chic: Lucy ensured her beauty regimen was as flawless as her ensemble as she styled her deep chestnut tresses into bouncy waves falling from a centre parting

Lucy is said to be enjoying dating a non-celebrity, particularly as her previous relationships played out in public haven't worked out.

She has previously dated gymnast Louis Smith. The reality star turned fitness guru was first seen out with Nathan, who split up with his wife Rachel last year, in September as the pair enjoyed a dinner date at Alex's bar and grill in Brentwood.

She unwittingly found herself at the same restaurant as ex-fiance Mario and his new girlfriend Becky Miesner.

Look at me! Lucy is said to be enjoying dating a non-celebrity, particularly as her previous relationships played out in public haven't worked out
A Harry Potter actor is fighting to recover in intensive care after being involved in a horrific 'head on' car crash on Monday.

Jim Tavare, who appeared in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, suffered a punctured lung, a broken neck, 15 broken ribs and multiple other injuries in the accident.

The 54-year-old actor and comedian, who played Tom the Innkeeper in the hit 2004 film, managed to raise a thumbs up sign in a picture shared on social media by his wife, Laura.

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Tragic: British actor Jim Tavare, who starred in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is fighting to recover in intensive care after being involved in a horrific car crash

The British thespian, who moved to Los Angeles in 2008 after his successful appearance on reality show Last Comic Standing, has also undergone two blood transfusions and requires surgery.

His wife Laura relayed the shocking news in a Facebook post to Jim's friends and fans - and asked for them to keep the injured actor in their thoughts.

She wrote: 'Now that his family have been informed, Jim has asked me to let you all know that he was involved in a serious car accident yesterday, a head on collision.

'He's currently in ICU intensive care. He has 15 broken ribs, fractures in both breastbones, a punctured lung, multiple breaks in his right leg, and a broken neck.

Full interview of Jim Tavare at Captain Kyle's Cosplay Spotlight

Big movie role: The 54-year-old actor and comedian played Tom the Innkeeper in the hit 2004 movie alongside a host of other British stars, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson

Horrific injuries: Jim's wife Laura relayed the shocking news in a Facebook post to friends and fans - and asked for them to keep the injured actor in their thoughts

'He's had 2 blood transfusions so far and is about to go in for his first surgery. This is for real, not a movie role.'

'Please hold some good thoughts for him as he fights his way out of this.'

The affecting picture his wife shared showed the actor with his head in a neck brace, but managing to raise a thumbs up sign.

Accomplished thesp: Jim, who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, also starred in BAFTA award-winning ITV comedy series The Sketch Show

And within hours, hundreds of personal friends and fans had commented with get well wishes.

One well-wisher, Sian Williams, said: 'Sending lots of love and the fact that there's a thumbs up must be a positive x.'

Jim, who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, has been pursuing comedy in America for several years in addition to acting.

He also starred in BAFTA award-winning ITV comedy series The Sketch Show and recently appeared in David Duchovny's Californication and in Chuck on NBC.
Her TV 'husband' has been slammed on social media for his behaviour towards her.

And Married At First Sight's Nadia Stamp doesn't seem to be letting the negativity surrounding her 'partner' Anthony Manton get her down, jetting off to Bali this week on a sun soaked holiday with a female friend.

The flight attendant's latest solo display only adds to speculation the couple have gone their separate ways after Nadia was pictured missing her wedding ring at a cast reunion minus Anthony.

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So no honeymoon for the 'married' couple then? MAFS' Nadia Stamp goes on Bali holiday WITHOUT 'husband' Anthony Manton

The 36-year-old part time model showed off her stunning figure in a skimpy string bikini, posing on a Bali beach alongside a blonde companion.

Nadia captioned the photo to her 29,000 Instagram followers: 'Enjoying some down time on my Bali layover.'

The brunette's latest social media display appears to back up earlier speculation that she has parted ways with Anthony.

Where's Anthony? Last month, a cast reunion photo showed Nadia smiling happily without her wedding ring

Split? The brunette's latest social media display appears to back up earlier speculation that she has parted ways with Anthony

Last month, a cast reunion photo showed Nadia smiling happily without her wedding ring.

Anthony was also noticeably absent from the Married At First Sight catch up, as was a number of other spouses.

The racing announcer had fast become the show's resident 'villain' after he attacked Cheryl and lost his temper in a early episodes.

'Shes not comfortable with certain things': More recently he has raised the ire of fans with his multiple complaints about a lack of sex with Nadia

More recently he has raised the ire of fans on social media thanks to his multiple complaints about a lack of sex with Nadia, calling her 'frigid'.

'Weve had problems with intimacy,' Anthony revealed in a hometown visit episode last week.

'In terms of romance and intimacy with Nadia, shes not comfortable with certain things.

'But from the sounds of it, shes had guys in the past and she had no issues with them.'
Seven Ukrainian servicemen suffered injuries and traumas in the military operation zone in Donbas in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on Wednesday.

"No Ukrainian serviceman was killed, but seven combatants suffered injuries and traumas in hostilities in the past 24 hours," Lysenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The militants have shelled Ukrainian army positions a total of 108 times in the past 24 hours, he said. For instance, 16 shell attacks were recorded in the Luhansk sector; eight of them from heavy weaponry, hostilities were most intense in the Novoaidar area.

"Hostiles continued to employ heavy weapons against the defenders of Krymske yesterday, having fired 25 artillery shells and over 50 mines in the past 24 hours," the Defense Ministry spokesman said.

He affirms that there has also been unquiet on the Bahmut highway, where in Novotoshkivske militants have fired grenade launchers and have carried out a massive mortar attack, having fired some 50 mines on Ukrainian army positions.

At the same time, the intensity of shell attacks has lowered in the Popasna area: a mortar attack near Novo-Oleksandrivka and five grenade launcher attacks were recorded. Furthermore, the militants have breached the ceasefire twice in the Stanytsia Luhanska area, he said.

Meanwhile, militants have shelled Ukrainian army positions 35 times in the Donetsk sector, of which 15 from heavy weaponry, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Besides, Lysenko highlighted lowering intensity of shelling in Avdiyivka and its suburbs that allows conducting operations to restore the damaged infrastructure in the city and resume electric power supply. Avdiyivka is still being provided with water up to the schedule from city water tanks.

"Hostilities of low and moderate intensity with sporadic use of heavy weaponry, in particular, mortars continue on the Svitlodarsk bulge, along the Horlivka perimeter and near the Donetsk airfield," the Defense Ministry spokesman said.

The militants have shelled Ukrainian army positions 57 times in the Mariupol sector.

The militants have breached the ceasefire thrice in the Maryinka area, he said. They have fired ten artillery shells at Ukrainian army positions in the Dokuchayevsk area, Lysenko said.
She made headlines last month after topless photos of her emerged online, as well as a video of her snorting an unidentified white substance off her own breast.

But Married At First Sight bombshell Cheryl Maitland insists that she has no regrets about her sordid past coming back to haunt her.

'I don't regret anything,' the defiant 25-year-old told OK magazine, after insisting that the controversial leaked video of her snorting powder was 'taken out of context.'

'I don't regret anything': Married At First Sight bombshell Cheryl Maitland insists that she has no regrets about her sordid past coming back to haunt her

However, the former topless waitress also revealed the disappointment her mum faced after the shocking images went viral.

'She said she didn't raise me like that, and that was hard to hear,' Cheryl admitted.

The Gold Coast native previously opened up about her racy profession in an interview with the Herald Sun.

'She said she didn't raise me like that, and that was hard to hear': Cheryl admitted that her mum was disappointed when topless photos and a video of her snorting powder surfaced

'For a brief time I was a topless waitress but that's now well and truly in my past,' she told the Herald Sun, despite reports that the topless images were only a few months old.

The brunette beauty also opened up about the shocking video that shows her snorting white powder off of her own ample assets.

Verifying her appearance in the clip, the 25-year old told Daily Mail Australia it was just a 'joke' and she regretted appearing in it.

'For a brief time I was a topless waitress but that's now well and truly in my past,' she previously told the Herald Sun , despite reports that the topless images were only a few months old

'I posted this video as a joke on my Instagram account several years ago. Looking back I now realise what an extremely naive thing it was to have done, and I seriously regret it,' she said.

Her comments are much different to her recent statement, in which she insists she has no regrets over the incident.

In the clip, Cheryl is handed a $50 note by another woman with red nails before she leans down and snorts the substance off her chest.

A male is heard exclaiming off camera: 'S**t, that is so good'.

'I posted this video as a joke on my Instagram account several years ago. Looking back I now realise what an extremely naive thing it was to have done, and I seriously regret it,' she said

In the clip, Cheryl is handed a $50 note by another woman with red nails before she leans down and snorts the substance off her chest

It appears that the footage was taken during a party as music is heard blaring in the background.

Before her appearance on reality TV, Cheryl worked as a glamour model.

She was recently spotted partying in the Gold Coast with millionaire tobacco tycoon Travers Beynon, known as 'The Candyman'.
She is pregnant with twins.

And it looks like Amal Clooney is finally starting to show.

The 39-year-old Human Rights lawyer had a noticeable baby bump while heading to address the United Nations in New York City on Wednesday.

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Starting to show: Amal Clooney had a noticeable baby bump while heading to address the United Nations in New York City on Wednesday

She rocked a clinging black skirt suit for the occasion as her growing belly could be seen through the business chic look. Her due date is believed to be in the summer.

The wife of George Clooney teamed the two piece with a pair of black and silver heels featuring a glittered detailing.

Amal accessorized the look with a grey designer bag along with large black shades.

Her raven-coloured locks were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she accentuated her natural looks with a swipe of pink lip.

Keeping it cool: The 39-year-old human rights lawyer rocked a clinging black skirt suit for the occasion as her growing belly could be seen through the business chic look

In style: The wife of George Clooney teamed the two piece with a pair of black and silver heels featuring a glittered detailing

It remains unclear why she was heading to the UN but no doubt it has to do with International Women's Day as the day of awareness has been highly-publicized.

Speaking of attention, she recently said that her marriage with 55-year-old George Clooney is a 'really good thing' as it can actually help her cases due to the 'extra publicity.'

She said during an appearance on the BBC programme News At Six: 'I mean, there's lot of my work that takes place behind closed doors that is not ever seen.

'I think if there are more people who now understand what's happening about the Yazidis and ISIS, and if there can be some action that results from that, that can help those clients, then I think it's a really good thing to give that case the extra publicity that it may get.'

Pretty: Her raven-coloured locks were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she accentuated her natural looks with a swipe of pink lip

But Amal's often risky cases - which recently included helping a human trafficking survivor - may have to be put on hold, as George is concerned about her travelling to potentially dangerous countries whilst pregnant.

He revealed last month: 'We decided to be much more responsible, to avoid the danger. I will not go to South Sudan anymore and or the Congo [and] Amal will no longer go to Iraq and she will avoid places where she knows she is not welcome.'

In an interview he gave to Paris Match, he said: 'Before, I did not care. I would even say that there was a pretty exciting side to going where no reporter had ever been.'

The 55-year-old, who'd married his second and current wife in 2014, also explained: 'We're lucky to live between three countries: Italy, America and England. But once the children start school, it'll be necessary to choose where to settle.'

Shining a light: Amal thinks her high profile relationship is a 'really good thing' when it comes to her job, she told BBC News at Six in an interview earlier this week
US United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a Security Council meeting on February 21, 2017 at the UN Headquarters in New York

US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday discussed reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations during her first meeting with the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations.

Haley tweeted after her talks with Ambassador Riyad Mansour that the Palestinians should "meet with Israel in direct negotiations rather than looking to the UN to deliver results that can only be achieved through the two parties."

Mansour told AFP that during the 45-minute meeting Haley "raised the desire to see the two parties engaging in negotiations" and indicated that the United States was considering a fresh bid to revive talks.

"I don't know at what level they want to do that, but once we receive a request to that effect, we will respond to it accordingly," he said.

The Middle East peace process has been comatose since former US secretary of state John Kerry's efforts to broker a deal collapsed in April 2014.

France stepped in and organized an international conference in January intended to lay the groundwork for a return to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, but there has been little headway.

"The US is committed to supporting a true peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority," Haley said on Twitter.

Mansour described his meeting with Haley as "cordial" and said they agreed to continue discussions.

The US ambassador earlier this month rejected suggestions that the new administration was abandoning the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"We absolutely support a two-state solution, but we are thinking out of the box as well," Haley said.

The UN Security Council will discuss the Middle East peace process on March 24 and hear a first report on whether Israel is complying with a new UN resolution demanding an end to the building of settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

The resolution was adopted after the former US administration did not resort to its veto and instead abstained, allowing the measure to pass.

Haley has fiercely criticized the former administration for failing to use its veto to defend Israel and has dismissed the resolution as a "terrible mistake."
This undated picture released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 7, 2017 shows the launch of four ballistic missiles by the Korean People's Army (KPA) during a military drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea

The UN Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches and expressed serious concern over Pyongyang's "increasingly destabilizing behavior."

The strong condemnation came in a US-drafted statement that was unanimously approved by the council despite US tensions with China over Washington's deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea.

The council described the missile tests as a "grave violation" of UN resolutions barring North Korea from developing missile technology and vowed to "take further significant measures."

Council members will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday at the request of the United States and Japan to discuss the launches of four missiles that North Korea said were part of a training exercise for a strike on US bases in Japan.

Three of missiles fired on Monday came down in waters close to Japan.

Council members said in the statement that North Korea's activities "increase tension in the region and beyond as well as the risk of a regional arms race."

The United States circulated the draft statement ahead of the meeting as tensions were rife with China over the US move to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system.

The US Pacific Command said Monday that the Americans had begun deploying the THAAD system to South Korea, which is designed to defend the US ally from a North Korean attack.

China responded that it was "firmly opposed" to the deployment and vowed to "resolutely take necessary measures" to defend its security interests.

China, a permanent council member and Pyongyang's main ally, has argued that deployment of the THAAD would further destabilize the situation on the Korean peninsula.

The council has imposed six sets of sanctions on North Korea -- two of which were adopted last year to significantly ramp up measures and deny Kim Jong-Un's regime hard currency revenue.

A recent report by a UN panel of experts said North Korea was resorting to ingenious ways to circumvent sanctions by setting up front companies, notably in China and Malaysia.

The report raised questions about China's commitment to implement sanctions against North Korea.

The council called on all UN member-states to redouble their efforts to ensure that they comply with the sanctions resolutions.
New Zealand bowler Neil Wagner (L) takes three South African wickets for 88 in the first Test at Dunedin, March 9, 2017

Neil Wagner ignited an inspired New Zealand fightback to end the South Africa first innings at 308 on day two of the first Test in Dunedin on Thursday.

The last six wickets fell for 56 runs, with the innings mopped up five overs after lunch, following South Africa resuming the day at 229 for four.

Wagner started the rout in the 13th over of the day with the removal of South Africa's batting mainstay Dean Elgar for 140.

He caught the edge of Elgar's bat three times in a barrage of bouncers with one ball sailing over the slip cordon and one falling just short of Ross Taylor at first slip before the third nick went straight to wicketkeeper BJ Watling.

Elgar had added 104 runs from the time he was dropped by Watling on the first day and also posted his hishest Test score, surpassing the 129 he scored against Sri Lanka two months ago.

Temba Bavuma, who put on 104 with Elgar for the fifth wicket, was the first of three wickets on day two for Trent Boult who finished with four for 64.

Wagner took three for 88 and Jeetan Patel two for 85 including Quinton de Kock for the third time in as many innings this tour, restricting the usually prolific batsman to 10.
Lisa Kudrow has been in some two dozen movies and TV shows since "Friends," the latest, "The Boss Baby," has her reflecting on parenthood

Connoisseurs of "Friends" will remember ditzy, loveable masseuse and occasional folk guitarist Phoebe Buffay's surrogate pregnancy storyline, written into the smash-hit NBC comedy to accommodate Lisa Kudrow's real-life baby bump.

Well, prepare to feel old because it is 18 years since 27 million Americans tuned in to see Phoebe give birth to triplets, and Kudrow's son Julian, born a few months before the episode aired, is already preparing to go to college.

"Friends," seen on US television from 1994 to 2004, won dozens of awards and garnered global celebrity for Kudrow and her co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry.

The 53-year-old Californian has appeared in around two dozen movies and TV series since it ended -- the latest of which, DreamWorks animated feature "The Boss Baby," has her reflecting on the challenges of parenthood.

"Whenever I play a mother, I try to draw on my own experience as a mother. There are some pretty universal truths," Kudrow told AFP ahead of the movie's March 31 US release.

"The Boss Baby" sees her playing the mother to a newborn like any other, except that he wears a suit, carries a briefcase and speaks with the voice and wit of Alec Baldwin -- and turns out to be a fully grown spy in a baby's body.

- 'Imposter' -

If the premise sounds daft, the high-wire plot weaves in larger themes such as the jolt an only child experiences when an "imposter" sibling turns up, demanding the love and attention they were once able to monopolize.

Kudrow herself disrupted a settled family when she came into the world, the youngest by six years of three children born to a professional couple in California's sun-kissed San Fernando Valley.

She laughs at the suggestion that she might have been something of a manipulative "boss toddler" herself, but admits she would seek special treatment at home.

"I think I saw early on if I was irritating my brother and sister, I would just use what I'd heard my parents say -- 'I'm just little -- I don't know,'" Kudrow told AFP.

The actress, descended from Jewish immigrants who fled the Soviet Union, graduated in biology and began following the family vocation -- her brother David is a neurologist and her father Lee was a physician -- as a researcher specializing in headaches.

She was nudged into show business by a comedian family friend. And after a stint in improv theater and a handful of bit-parts, she won an early role as airhead waitress Ursula Buffay on NBC sitcom "Mad About You."

The name should sound familiar as Kudrow reprised the character in "Friends," although it was in her main role as Ursula's nicer twin sister, Phoebe, that the actress earned six Emmy nominations, winning the award in 1998.

- Awkwardness -

Starring parts came in movies "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion," "The Opposite of Sex" and "Analyze This," and Kudrow found herself facing the dilemma male stars seem largely to avoid -- balancing work and home life.

She says it wasn't until her son was in fourth grade that she realized she was spending too much time away and cut back on her acting.

Kudrow started on "Friends" at $13,500 per episode, but over five contract negotiations became the highest paid TV actress of all time alongside her female castmates, receiving $1 million per episode.

The money has allowed her the luxury of picking roles she finds intriguing and often she gravitates towards the same kind of cringeworthy characters preferred by British filmmaker and comedian Ricky Gervais.

In acclaimed roles on "Friends," "The Comeback" and "Web Therapy," Kudrow has revelled in the charm of characters whose appeal lies largely in the awkwardness their lack of self-awareness creates.

"I think they don't know that they're setting their dignity aside," she says.

"They're completely unaware that that's what they're doing for the greater good, however you want to judge their version of the greater good. That stuff makes me laugh."
Khalifa Sall has run Senegal's capital Dakar since 2009 and had been seen as a possible presidential candidate

The embattled mayor of Senegal's capital Dakar was on Tuesday charged with embezzlement of public funds and placed in custody, one of his lawyers told AFP.

Khalifa Sall, who has run the city since 2009 and had been seen as a possible presidential candidate, was charged with fraud involving public funds, misappropriation of public funds, criminal conspiracy and money laundering, lawyer Me Bamba Cisse said.

He said the judge had ordered Sall's detention. Five of his staff were also ordered to be remanded in custody.

On March 3, the country's chief prosecutor, Serigne Bassirou Gueye, said a judicial investigation would be opened against Sall over the alleged misappropriation of 1.83 billion CFA francs ($2.85 million, 2.7 million euros) in city funds.

Sall, a rebel member of the Socialist Party, part of the country's ruling coalition, who had been seen as a probable contender in the 2019 presidential elections, has claimed a plot may be under way to remove him from running.

"This arrest and detention is only to stop Khalifa Sall in his political ambitions," his lawyers said in a statement read to the press in court, referring to July legislative elections and the 2019 presidential polls.

Sall has repeatedly denied any malfeasance after a government monitor published a report raising a flag about missing funds.

Senegal is widely seen as one of Africa's most stable democracies.
New traffic signals designed to equal the gender balance guide pedestrians across Swanston Street near Flinders Street railway station in Melbourne, on March 8, 2017

Pedestrian traffic lights showing female figures rather than male have been installed in Melbourne to reduce "unconscious bias" and promote gender equality, officials said on International Women's Day on Wednesday.

Ten stop/go lights depicting a figure in a dress were switched on at one of the city's busiest intersections, though some questioned the point of the 12-month trial.

"The idea behind this equal crossings initiative ... is to promote gender equality and reduce unconscious bias through changing some of the iconography we see every day," Martine Letts from advocacy group The Committee of Melbourne, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The move met with a mixed response, with some poking fun.

"I like to think of Melbourne's new traffic lights as little green men in drag," tweeted Thomas John Jaspers.

Melbourne Mayor Robert Doyle questioned the value of the initiative.

"I'm all for doing anything we can for gender equity, but really?" he told reporters.

"Unfortunately I think this sort of costly exercise is more likely to bring derision rather than support to what is a very important issue."

Advocates insist no taxpayer money was spent on the trial.

Victoria state's Minister for Women Fiona Richardson threw her support behind the gender-adjusted lights, saying they would help to tackle sexism.

"There are many small -- but symbolically significant -- ways that women are excluded from public space," she said.

"A culture of sexism is made up of very small issues, like how the default pedestrian crossings use a male figure, and large issues such as the rate of family violence facing women."

"We are a government working towards gender equality for all women," she added.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will arrive in Tokyo on March 15; then head to Seoul on March 17, and on to Beijing on March 18

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit South Korea, Japan and China, the State Department announced Tuesday, just a day after North Korea launched ballistic missiles close to ally Japan.

On his first visit to the region as top US diplomat, March 15-19, Tillerson will speak with authorities after the tests, which were followed by Washington's deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea.

"In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from the DPRK, and reaffirm the Administrations commitment to further broaden and enhance US economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region," spokesman Mark Toner said.

Tillerson arrives in Tokyo on March 15; heads to Seoul on March 17, and on to Beijing on March 18.

The US Pacific Command said Monday that the Americans had begun deploying the THAAD system to South Korea, which is designed to defend the US ally from a North Korean attack.

China responded that it was "firmly opposed" to the deployment and vowed to "resolutely take necessary measures" to defend its security interests.

China, a permanent council member and Pyongyang's main ally, has argued that deployment of the THAAD would further destabilize the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Meanwhile, China on Wednesday called on North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military wargames, to avoid what it called a "head-on collision."
A motorcade transporting Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz leaves Bali International Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, on March 4, 2017

Indonesia's Hindu resort island of Bali on Wednesday defended a decision not to cover up any of its ubiquitous statues of deities and semi-naked women during a visit by the Saudi king.

King Salman and a 1,000-strong entourage are enjoying a week-long holiday in Bali after a state visit to Jakarta, during the first trip by a Saudi monarch to Indonesia in nearly half a century.

When he met President Joko Widodo for talks at a palace in Bogor, near the capital, officials hid some naked statues in the grounds by covering them with cloth and putting plants around them as a sign of respect for the Muslim monarch

But officials on Bali -- a pocket of Hinduism in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation -- said that they would not extend the same courtesy.

The island, which attracts millions of foreign visitors every year to its palm-fringed beaches, is home to many statues of Hindu gods and bare-chested women. In the past, Balinese women often wore only sarongs that did not cover their chests.

Members of the Indonesian Air Force PASKHAS special forces unit conduct a weapons check as they provide security ahead of the arrival of Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, in Denpasar, resort island of Bali, on March 4, 2017

"We're just going to leave (the statues) as they are, we don't have to cover up anything because it is our culture," Bali local government spokesman Dewa Mahendra told AFP.

He said that they "are cultural creations, they are art".

Local authorities had not received a request from the Saudi king or his party to hide any of statues from view, Mahendra said, adding they were more focused on ensuring the monarch's safety.

Strict interpretations of Islam forbid the creation of images of living beings -- such as statues of women -- and worship of idols.

The king and his entourage are staying in five luxury hotels for the holiday, which ends on Sunday.

Other places have hidden naked statues for visiting Muslim leaders. Last year a Rome museum covered up classical nude sculptures in temporary wooden cartons during a visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Indonesia is one of the highlights on the king's three-week Asian tour. He started the visit in Malaysia and will also visit Japan, China and the Maldives.
Ukraine stands for restart of talks between signatories of Budapest memo

The United States as a signatory country of the Budapest Memorandum providing guarantees for Ukraine's security in exchange for its renunciation of nuclear weapons should participate in negotiations concerning Crimea and the situation in Donbas, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.

"Of course, we need U.S. support to restart negotiations between the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum," he said, speaking in the U.S. Senate.

According to the minister, "the United States should play a key role in the negotiations on Donbas and Crimea."

Kyiv, accusing Russia of the annexation of Crimea and aggression in Donbas, points to Moscow's violating the Budapest Memorandum and a lack of proper reaction from other signatories.
Philippines Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay originally obtained US citizenship in 1986

Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay was sacked on Wednesday after lawmakers ruled he lied to them over his American citizenship, ending an eight-month stint that ironically featured outbursts against the United States.

In an extremely rare move, members of a congressional body unanimously voted to reject Yasay's nomination as foreign secretary following tense confirmation hearings in which he admitted to misleading the lawmakers.

"He was not telling the truth. He was not being forthright in the question and answer portion of the (confirmation) hearings," Senator Panfilo Lacson told reporters after announcing the decision.

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Yasay, a former roommate at university decades ago, at the start of his administration on June 30 last year.

Following the Commission on Appointments' ruling, Duterte's spokesman released a statement confirming Yasay would step down, saying the president would announce an acting foreign secretary.

Yasay told an initial confirmation hearing last month that he had never been an American citizen.

But on Wednesday Yasay faced the commission again and was grilled over documents that showed he obtained US citizenship in 1986.

The documents also showed Yasay renounced the American citizenship at the US embassy in Manila days before his appointment as foreign secretary.

Yasay, who worked as an immigration lawyer while living in the United States, insisted he never lied about his citizenship but apologised for "inadvertently misleading" the commission.

"I may not have fully disclosed what was required in my answering this question but this is really normal in a process like this," Yasay said.

"You get nervous, you somehow come up with answers that you do not intend."

Lacson said Yasay could not be reappointed and warned he may face perjury charges.

Duterte is now left with finding a new top diplomat at an important time for the Philippines while it holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. A summit of ASEAN leaders will be held in Manila next month.

Duterte's spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said an announcement on an acting foreign secretary would be made "forthwith", without specifying when.

The revelations that Yasay had US citizenship are ironic given the president's repeated anti-American tirades.

Yasay also regularly criticised the United States as he helped steer Duterte's foreign policy away from the Philippines' former colonial ruler and towards China instead.

"We cannot forever be the little brown brothers of America," Yasay said last year.

Yasay also posted a long statement on Facebook in October headlined: "America has failed us".

"Breaking away from the shackling dependency of the Philippines to effectively address both internal and external security threats has become imperative in putting an end to our nation's subservience to United States' interests," Yasay wrote.
DR Congo has been rocked by political violence over President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down

The UN's top rights official on Wednesday called for a high-level investigation into abuses committed against civilians in the violence-wracked Democratic Republic of Congo following the discovery of mass graves.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein praised the DR Congo government for quickly investigating the killings and other severe human rights violations in the isolated Kasai and Lomani provinces, but said a UN probe was also needed.

"I commend the swift action taken by the government to begin processes of investigation and accountability in some of the alleged killings attributed to soldiers, and offer the assistance of my office," Zeid told the UN Human Rights Council.

But, he continued, "in light of recurrent reports of grave violations and the recent discovery of three more mass graves, I urge the council to establish a Commission of Inquiry to look into these allegations."

In February, a seven-minute video posted on social media, which appeared to be taken on a mobile phone, purported to show a massacre of unarmed men and women by Congolese soldiers apparently in the central Kasai area.

The country has also been rocked by political violence after President Joseph Kabila refused to step down at the end of his second and final term in December.

His continued presence in office sparked clashes that left more than 100 people dead in September and December, Zeid said.

"My office will be closely watching judicial developments in regard to actions by security forces which lead to the deaths," he told the council.

Zeid also expressed disappointment there had been "no meaningful progress" towards implementing a power-sharing deal signed on New Year's Eve.

That deal allows Kabila to stay on as president until elections can be held at the "end of 2017", but calls for a transition council to be established.
Mount Everest officially stands at 8,848 metres (29,029 feet) above sea level

A Spanish climber Wednesday abandoned his attempt to make the first winter summit of Mount Everest in over two decades, saying it would have been "suicidal" to push on.

Extreme cold and strong winds forced Alex Txikon, 35, to return to base camp, giving up his bid to scale the world's highest mountain without using oxygen tanks.

The last successful winter summit of Everest was in 1993 by a Japanese team. But no one has reached the peak in winter without additional oxygen since a Nepali mountaineer in December 1987.

"It would have been suicidal to continue," Txikon said from base camp, according to a statement released by his team.

"As the person responsible for the expedition, I must not endanger the lives of my companions and also not my own. And believe me, it is more difficult for me to go down to base camp than to go up to C4 (camp four)," added the experienced climber who last year made the first ever winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in Pakistan, which has been nicknamed "Killer Mountain".

Txikon's expedition to make a rare winter ascent of the 8,848 metre (29,030 foot) peak was mired by setbacks.

The Spaniard was forced to return to Kathmandu in mid-February after making it as far as camp four -- the last before the summit -- following a disagreement with his expedition organisers.

He returned to Everest last week with a new team of Sherpa guides.

Txikon's climbing partner, Spanish skier Carlos Rubio, 28, pulled out in late January after being crippled by altitude sickness while at camp two -- 6,400 metres above sea level.

Meanwhile the government liason officer who was meant to accompany the team died of altitude sickness before even reaching base camp in mid-January.

Txikon is expected to return to Kathmandu within days and fly back to Spain next week, Gontzal Saenz, a member of his organising team, told AFP.

Most people attempt to summit Everest during a narrow window of favourable weather between late April and May.

Mountaineering experts say climbing in winter is more dangerous than in spring, owing to high winds and temperatures that can plunge as low as minus 60 C.

Spanish mountaineer Carlos Rubio was hospitalised in late January after being crippled by altitude sickness while attempting to climb Mount Everest

The extreme cold also makes it more difficult for the body to absorb oxygen, which is already limited at high altitude.

Mountaineering is a major revenue earner for impoverished Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000 metres.
Nearly 73,000 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh since last October, when government forces in Myanmar unleashed a bloody crackdown on the Muslim minority

Thousands of Rohingya who took refuge in Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar have returned home because of a Bangladeshi plan to house them on an uninhabited flood-prone island, community leaders said Wednesday.

Nearly 73,000 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh since last October, when government forces in Myanmar unleashed a bloody crackdown on the Muslim minority. Many told horrific stories of villages being burned and women gang-raped.

Most headed to the already overcrowded refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh's main tourist resort district which borders Myanmar.

The influx led Dhaka to resurrect a controversial plan to relocate refugees to an undeveloped island in the Bay of Bengal.

Community leaders told AFP more than 5,000 Rohingya had now returned to the Buddhist-majority nation despite the risk of persecution.

"They chose to die by bullets than to be killed by nature," community leader Noor Hafiz said.

"People became very concerned after they learnt about the relocation plan. We heard the island submerges during the monsoon. Now we can only hope the situation back home is better."

Thengar Char island, a proposed place for relocating Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar camps, pictured in January 2015

Hafiz said 3,000 people had left his camp, while another 2,000 people had left two separate newly-built makeshift refugee camps.

"They said they don't want to die in flash floods," said Dudu Mia, a Rohingya who heads another camp called Leda.

The Bay of Bengal is frequently hit by cyclones. Rights groups have dismissed the plan to populate the island of Thengar Char with refugees as "ridiculous".

Nonetheless the Bangladesh government has ordered the construction of a jetty, helipad and visitor facilities on the 6,000-acre (2,430-hectare) island.

Last week it began a Rohingya headcount as part of its relocation campaign after seeking international support for the plan.

Bangladesh says some 400,000 Rohingya are now living in squalid conditions at refugee camps in the country, although most predate the recent unrest in Myanmar.

A Border Guard Bangladesh official also said growing numbers of Rohingya were returning, although he gave a much lower figure.

"Last month 48 refugees notified us they were leaving Bangladesh for home," Teknaf Major Abu Russell Siddique told AFP.

"This month, in a week, the number has reached 235."

Siddique said parts of Myanmar's Rakhine state, where most of the country's Rohingya live, were now stable.

"As far as we know, only people from the villages which were unaffected (by the crackdown) are returning," he said.
"OPEC's compliance with the cuts has been excellent in February," said Kuwaiti oil minister Essam al-Marzouk, adding that it exceeded the target of 1.2 million bpd

OPEC compliance with oil output reductions has exceeded the target because of higher Saudi cuts, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouk, head of a committee overseeing the decreases, said Wednesday.

Non-OPEC compliance, however, has so far been modest, the minister told reporters outside parliament.

Under a deal signed last year, OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed to reduce output by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) as part of a concerted effort to curb a global oil glut.

"OPEC's compliance with the cuts has been excellent in February," said Marzouk, adding that it exceeded the target of 1.2 million bpd.

"Saudi Arabia reduced its production higher than its share," to boost confidence in OPEC's move, the Kuwaiti minister said.

He said that non-OPEC compliance was between 50 percent and 60 percent.

Independent oil producers agreed to cut their production by 558,000 bpd, of which Russia pledged to reduce 300,000 bpd.

Marzouk said the OPEC and non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee will meet in Kuwait on March 26 to assess compliance.

Energy and oil ministers of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Oman and Algeria in addition to the OPEC secretary general are scheduled to attend.

Russia has said it will fully comply with the agreed cut by the end of April.

Oil prices are now up to 20 percent higher than they were three months ago.
A Nigerian soldier on patrol in Chibok, the scene of a mass kidnapping of schoolgirls by Boko Haram in 2014

Nigeria's military on Wednesday announced it would look into alleged human rights abuses by troops, including in the fight against Boko Haram, despite having previously dismissed such claims.

The chief of army staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, said a special board of inquiry would look into allegations such as those made by Amnesty International and pro-Biafra campaigners.

But he said it would not go over cases already looked at by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which has ruled out another probe of the army's mass killing of Shiite protesters in December 2015.

The board of inquiry, unveiled at an event in the capital, Abuja, comprises serving and retired officers plus a representative from the NHRC.

Buratai said it would investigate claims of extra-judicial executions, arbitrary detention, torture and "enforced disappearance of suspected Boko Haram terrorists".

"These allegations are not good for civil-military relations and are capable of demoralising Nigerian army personnel in the performance of their constitutional roles," he added.

"It is therefore expedient to thoroughly and impartially investigate these allegations... to find out the facts of the matter to enable relevant authorities (to) take appropriate actions."

Those wrongly accused should be exonerated but those found guilty should be "treated in line with the full military justice system", he added.

Amnesty International said in a statement that the investigation was "encouraging" but warned that any inquiry should be "independent of the military, impartial and thorough, and its findings made public."

- 'Spurious' claims -

Nigeria's military has long faced claims of human rights violations, particularly in its attempts to put down Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency in the northeast.

Last month the army dismissed as "spurious" Amnesty International's claims that hundreds of people, including women and children, had died in military custody.

In November last year, the army said the global rights watchdog's claim that soldiers had killed at least 150 pro-Biafra protesters since August 2015 was an attack on the military's reputation.

Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly called for Nigeria to comply with a court ruling to release a pro-Iran Shiite cleric and hundreds of his supporters.

Ibrahim Zakzaky, who leads the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), has been in custody for more than a year after at least 350 of his supporters were killed in clashes with the military.

The violence was allegedly sparked by IMN members' refusal to allow Buratai's convoy to pass along a road in the northern city of Zaria.

Separate investigations by the NHRC and Kaduna state government have, however, not led to any action against troops.
Kenyan medical students protested on January 19 in solidarity with doctors striking over poor working conditions

Kenyan authorities said Wednesday they would hire foreign doctors to get public hospitals running again after talks failed to end a strike that has crippled healthcare for 94 days.

The government has threatened repeatedly to fire striking doctors and has even gone so far as to jail union officials in a bid to end the country's longest-ever medical strike, but the doctors are digging their heels in.

Peter Munya, the chairman of the council of governors, said the government was "working on contingent measures to return the health sector to where it was by looking for services wherever they are available in the continent or outside the continent."

"We decided that doctors who have failed to resume work should consider themselves sacked," he added.

A furious President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday lambasted the some 5,000 doctors who have been striking for better pay and working conditions, accusing them of "blackmail".

"We will not succumb to threats and intimidation. Do these doctors think we are that stupid? We have offered you better salaries than those in private hospitals!" he said at a joint press conference with Munya.

At the root of the doctors' strike is a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) agreed between the government and the unions in 2013.

The document promises to triple salaries but also to improve often dire conditions in public hospitals -- which striking doctors point to when accused of being greedy.

The government said the document was still being fine-tuned but doctors argue it is a legal deal which they want implemented immediately.

A Kenyan court which declared the strike illegal appointed church leaders to mediate after several other mediators failed. However even they failed to make headway after the union on Tuesday rejected a 50 percent salary increase and improved risk allowance.

The previous offer had been 40 percent.

- Poor working conditions -

Poor salaries and working conditions -- such as a lack of vital drugs and equipment -- have pushed Kenyan doctors to flee the public sector or go to other countries where there are better opportunities.

Kenya's main doctors' union, KMPDU, says the country has one doctor to 17,000 patients, while the World Health Organization recommends one to 1,000.

University lecturers also went on strike in January, a double blow to Kenyatta's government just five months before general elections.

A series of corruption scandals -- including in the health ministry -- are fuelling the discontent, as is anger towards lawmakers who are among the best paid in the world and have voted themselves new benefits while claiming to be unable to meet doctors' and lecturers' demands.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir gives a press conference in Khartoum, on March 2, 2017

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday pardoned 259 rebels captured in fighting with government forces, including dozens who had been sentenced to death, the presidency said.

Bashir's order came three days after a prominent insurgent group freed dozens of prisoners, mostly soldiers, it had captured in fighting with government forces.

"The decision to pardon 259 rebels aims at preparing the environment for achieving lasting peace in the country," Bashir's office said in a statement.

Those pardoned include 66 rebels who had been sentenced to death.

Of the 259 rebels to be released now, dozens were captured in 2015 after fierce fighting in war-torn South Darfur between government forces and rebels.

Although the presidency did not specify which group these rebels belonged to, government forces in 2015 fought pitched battles with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in South Darfur.

Forty-four rebels also among those pardoned were captured in the city of Omdurman in 2008 after similar clashes between government forces and JEM fighters.

"The decision to pardon is a progressive step and would help in the ceasing of hostilities," Nur Ahmed al-Nur, editor-in-chief of Assayha newspaper, told AFP.

On Sunday, another prominent rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), freed at least 125 prisoners, mostly soldiers.

The prisoners had been captured in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, where the SPLM-N has been fighting government forces for years.

The conflict in Darfur, a region the size of France, erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, accusing it of marginalising the region economically and politically.

At least 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur and another 2.5 million displaced since the conflict erupted, the United Nations says.

In 2011, similar rebellions against Bashir's regime also broke out in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

Khartoum announced a unilateral ceasefire in June 2016 in all three conflict zones, which it extended by six months in January.

Bashir, who has ruled Sudan for nearly three decades, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur. He steadfastly denies the charge.
Israel's move to impose limits on the Muslim call to prayer has sparked outrage around the Arab world

Israel's parliament gave preliminary approval Wednesday to two controversial measures that would limit calls to prayers from mosques, including one prohibiting the use of loudspeakers at all hours, after shouting matches between lawmakers.

The bills -- the second of which would ban loudspeakers in urban areas between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am -- will eventually have to be reconciled, with three more readings required before they can become law.

They were approved after a heated discussion that turned into shouting matches between ruling coalition members and Arab lawmakers, some of whom tore copies of the legislation and were ejected from the chamber.

The bills passed 55-48 and 55-47 in the Knesset, or parliament.

While the bills in theory would apply to any religious place of worship, Muslims say it is clearly meant to silence the traditional call to prayer at mosques.

The measure has become commonly known as the "muezzin law" after the Muslim official charged with calling the faithful to prayer, often through powerful speakers mounted on minarets.

The notion of Israeli legislation silencing mosques has sparked outrage around the Arab and wider Muslim world.

Supporters of the move say it is needed to prevent daily disturbance to the lives of hundreds of thousands of non-Muslim Israelis.

Last month, government ministers endorsed the softer version of the bill prohibiting loudspeakers overnight, which limits its scope to the first of the five daily Muslim calls to prayer just before dawn.

That version would apply to mosques in annexed east Jerusalem as well as Israel, but not to the highly sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, according to an Israeli official.

- 'A racist act' -

An earlier draft limiting volumes throughout the day had been rejected because it might have silenced the siren sounded in Jewish areas at sunset on Friday to mark the start of the Sabbath.

However, the stricter measure was revived by members of the hardline Yisrael Beitenu party, part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, leading to Wednesday's two votes.

It was not immediately clear if that version would apply to Al-Aqsa, located in mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem.

One of the sponsors of the less rigid bill, Motti Yogev of the far-right Jewish Home, said the proposal was "a social law that aims to enable people to sleep".

"Loudspeakers have not been here forever, and in recent decades there are alarm clocks for whoever wants to wake up for the mosque," he said.

Ahmad Tibi of the predominantly Arab Joint List alliance of lawmakers called the measure "a racist act".

"This is an important Muslim religious ceremony, and (the Knesset) has never intervened in a Jewish religious event," he said.

Opposition has not only come from Arabs and Muslims.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has spoken out against the move, saying existing noise pollution regulations provide a solution.

Government watchdog groups have called the measure an unnecessary provocation that threatens freedom of religion.

At Wednesday's debate, Environmental Protection Minister Zeev Elkin said the new law was necessary since the existing rules set a low fine that causes police to disregard noise violations.

The new proposed law sets a fine of 10,000 shekels ($2,714, 2,573 euros) to transgressors.

In Jordan, the official custodian of Muslim holy sites in annexed east Jerusalem, Information Minister Mohamed Momani condemned the bills as "discriminatory".

They were contrary to "Israeli commitments under the peace accord" that the Jewish state signed with Jordan in 1994, he said, quoted by the official news agency Petra.
The two raids that left two Pakistani soldiers dead took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Swabi district, just 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Islamabad

At least 15 militants and two soldiers have been killed in two separate gun battles in a relatively peaceful district of Pakistan just northwest of the capital Islamabad, officials said Wednesday.

The shootouts come after a recent resurgence in militant violence, with 130 people killed nationwide in the month of February, ending a lull in Pakistan's long battle against homegrown Islamist fighters.

The two raids took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Swabi district, which is just 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Islamabad and far from the border tribal areas that have been the main battlefront over the course of the insurgency.

Soldiers on Tuesday conducted a raid on a village in the district, triggering a gunfight.

"During exchange of fire Capt Junaid and Sepoy Amjad embraced martyrdom," said a military statement, adding: "Five terrorists killed during the operation."

Security forces stormed a second compound in a nearby village on Wednesday, killing 10 militants, a senior security official told AFP.

No details regarding the second shootout have yet been released, but the incident came to light after police and security forces brought 10 bullet riddled bodies to a local hospital.

"They were militants and killed during an intelligence based operation," the senior security official told AFP.

Separately, the military said that five Taliban militants who had been sentenced to death were executed on Wednesday at a prison in northwestern garrison town of Kohat.

Pakistan created special military courts by constitutional amendment after the country's deadliest ever extremist attack in 2014.

The assault on a school in northwestern Peshawar, in which gunmen killed more than 150 people -- mostly children -- traumatised a country already grimly accustomed to atrocities.

The law allowing secret military courts to try civilians on terror charges expired in January, after the controversial tribunals hanged 12 people and ordered the executions of 149 more amid sharp criticism from rights groups. The government is mulling resuming military courts after a fresh constitutional amendment.

Pakistan's military announced the launch of a nationwide anti-terrorist operation in the wake of the violence last month.

The attacks, most of which were claimed by the Islamic State group or the Pakistani Taliban, dented optimism after the country appeared to be making strong gains in its decade-and-a-half long war on militancy.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin within his visit to the United Stated has met with Marco Rubio, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

The minister briefed the senator on the current situation in Ukraine, especially in the context of the Kremlin's recent actions to escalate the armed conflict in Donbas.

Rubio assured Klimkin of the U.S. Congress' support for Ukraine's efforts in confronting Russian aggression and implementing reforms. He also stressed the importance of preserving transatlantic unity in the matter of solidarity with Ukraine and providing assistance for modernization and strengthening the defense capability of the Ukrainian state.

Klimkin thanked the senator for constant support for Ukraine and co-authorship in a number of legislative initiatives of the U.S. Congress aimed at maintaining and strengthening the sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation and providing the Ukrainian state with further assistance in the field of security, financial and other sectors.
US investigators recently raided three Caterpillar facilities in Illinois

A US government-commissioned review concluded Caterpillar intentionally committed tax and financial reporting fraud, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Federal agents last week raided the Illinois headquarters of the US industrial giant, which failed to account for $7.9 billion in overseas income for tax purposes, according to a report by Leslie Robinson, an accounting professor at Dartmouth College.

Robinson said Caterpillar's actions were "deliberate" and "fraudulent rather than negligent," according to the newspaper.

Robinson was hired by an unspecified US agency to review Caterpillar's finances, which have been probed by US tax authorities and Congress over the accounting of a Swiss subsidiary. The Times story said it was unclear if government agencies agreed with Robinson's conclusions.

Federal investigators descended on three Caterpillar facilities in Illinois on March 2, including its Peoria headquarters. Caterpillar said the search warrant was "broadly drafted," but it believed the investigation was over its Swiss affiliate, CSARL.

CSARL was the subject of an April 2014 US Senate investigation indicating the unit's purpose was tax avoidance and found Caterpillar avoided paying $2.4 billion in US taxes.

The Internal Revenue Service in November notified Caterpillar that it owed about $2 billion in adjustments and penalties connected to returns from 2010 to 2012, Caterpillar said in a US securities filing last month.

Caterpillar said it is "vigorously contesting" the IRS stance and "we believe that the relevant transactions complied with applicable tax laws and did not violate judicial doctrines," it said in the filing.

Caterpillar declined to comment on the New York Times story, and a spokeswoman told AFP the company has not seen Robinson's report.

Shares of Caterpillar fell 2.2 percent to $93.86 in pre-market trading.
"We are more determined than ever to continue to develop the Sahara region," said Moroccan Minister of the Interior Mohamed Hassad

Morocco is "more determined than ever" to develop the Western Sahara, Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said Wednesday on a two-day visit to the disputed territory.

Rabat insists the former Spanish colony is an integral part of its kingdom, but the Algeria-based Polisario Front demands a referendum on self-determination there.

The two sides fought for control of the Western Sahara from 1974 to 1991, with Rabat gaining control of the territory before a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect.

"We are more determined than ever to continue to develop the Sahara region," Hassad told AFP.

"Unfortunately there are many people who don't like this, particularly the fact that we are building roads," he said, referring to the Polisario.

Hassad spoke after Morocco pulled back from the area of Guerguerat near the Mauritanian border in late February at the request of the United Nations.

Tensions flared last year after the Polisario set up a new military post in the same area.

That was in response to Morocco starting to build a tarmac road in the area south of the buffer zone separating Moroccan troops from Polisario fighters.

Rabat sees the road as key to trade between Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa.

Hassad said Morocco has invested around $8.5 billion (8.1 billion euros) in the territory in projects expected to create more than 10,000 jobs by 2021.

The projects include a university to teach medicine and a 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) highway along the coast, he said.
FBI Director James Comey addresses speculation about his future at a conference in Boston

FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday he plans to hold his job until 2023, amid a political storm that has made him a target of both US political parties.

Comey's leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been marked by controversy over its investigation into Hillary Clinton's email and President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated accusations that Barack Obama ordered the wiretapping of phones at Trump Tower.

But Comey told a cyber security conference in Boston that he has no plans to step down, three years into his 10-year term at the helm of the powerful law enforcement agency.

"You are stuck with me for another six-and-a-half years," he said.

Any decision on whether Comey stays or goes, would not be his alone, however.

The FBI director is appointed by the president, with confirmation from the Senate, and a president can remove the director, although he would risk accusations of political interference if he were to do so.

Comey has drawn fire -- and praise -- from both Republicans and Democrats for his high profile performance in cases that have brought him in conflict with powerful political leaders.

In the latest, he is reported to have urged the Justice Department to publicly deny Trump's allegation that his Trump Tower phones were wiretapped during the campaign on Obama's orders.

Trump offered no evidence to back up his claim, made in an explosive series of tweets over the weekend.

Trump implied that the FBI -- which is responsible for domestic crime and security investigations -- was part of an Obama-directed political operation against the New York billionaire.

"How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process," Trump wrote in one of the tweets early Saturday.

Media reports said the Justice Department has declined to speak out for the FBI, leaving the president's claim unanswered.

Comey did not address the issue in his speech at Boston College.

At least one powerful committee in Congress has said it will probe Trump's charges along with the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Comey also was at the center of a separate controversy involving Clinton's use of a private server to send and receive emails while serving as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

After a lengthy investigation, Comey announced in July he would not recommend that charges be brought against Clinton.

But just 11 days before the November 8 election, Comey alerted Congress that the FBI was reopening the probe after a new batch of email surfaced. Then two days before the vote, he said nothing incriminating had been found.

Clinton and her supporters complained bitterly that Comey's public intervention halted her momentum late in the campaign, costing her the election.
Protesters chant during a rally against the travel ban at San Diego International Airport on March 6, 2017 in San Diego, California

The US embassy in Nigeria said Wednesday that Nigerians were welcome to travel to the United States following confusion over President Donald Trump's new immigration rules.

A foreign affairs adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday warned citizens against non-essential travel to the United States, as some Nigerians had been denied entry at the border.

"The US embassy in Abuja wishes to clarify that there is no reason for Nigerians with valid visas to postpone or cancel their travel to the United States," said the embassy in a statement.

"There is no prohibition against Nigerian lawful permanent residents or persons with a valid visa or other US government authorisation from entering the United States."

Trump signed a revised ban on refugees and on travellers from six Muslim-majority nations on Monday. Nigeria, which has a majority Muslim north and predominantly Christian south, is not on the list.

Nigeria's foreign minister Geoffrey Onyeama told a news conference it was "business as usual" with the United States, despite the earlier advisory from a presidential adviser.

Of the 2.1 million African immigrants living in the United States in 2015, 327,000 were born in Nigeria, according to data from the Pew Research Center, published in February.
Suspected Burundian rebels are transported on a police truck in Gatumba, at the border of Burundi and DR Congo on January 31, 2017

Rights groups on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to impose "targeted sanctions" on Burundian officials over alleged human rights violations there, in an open letter published online.

The letter, penned by Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) among others, was published on the eve of a meeting of the UN's top decision-making body to discuss the crisis in the Great Lakes nation.

"We... write to urge the UN Security Council to impose targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for ongoing serious human rights violations in Burundi," the 19 international and local rights group said.

"Such measures, including travel bans and asset freezes, would send an important message to Burundian leaders who have faced little consequence for continuing to perpetrate gross abuses against their own people," the statement added.

The United States and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on officials from the Burundian regime. Stalled by a Chinese and Russian veto, however, the UN Security Council has not followed suit.

The Burundian authorities "have continued their broader policy of repression against suspected opponents, independent civil society, and media, and they have deliberately obstructed the ability of the UN to document rights violations", the NGOs wrote.

They also accused the ruling party's youth militia of having "killed, tortured, raped, and severely beaten scores of people across the country".

The UN's special adviser on preventing genocide, Adama Dieng, meanwhile warned of "mass atrocities" in Burundi and called on the UN Security Council to take "robust action" to quell the violence, in a letter to the body's members seen Wednesday by AFP.

Burundi's ambassador to the UN Albert Shingiro lashed out at Dieng's letter, branding it in a tweet "a theatrical show aimed at influencing the UN Security Council briefing".

He also said his east African country was facing "diplomatic harassment".

Hundreds of people have died in violence in Burundi triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision in April 2015 to stand in elections for a third term in office, which he went on to win.

A September report by UN rights experts recounted spine-chilling cases of torture and horrific sexual violence, mass arrests and disappearances and warned that "the crime of genocide also looms large".

More than 390,000 people have fled the country, and that figure is expected to surpass 500,000 this year, according to the UN refugee agency.
Activists protest the Trump administration and rally for women's rights during a march to honor International Woman's Day on March 8, 2017 in Washington, DC

Throngs of demonstrators, mostly women and many wearing red, rallied in New York and Washington on Wednesday to protest against President Donald Trump's policies toward women on International Women's Day.

In New York, nearly 2,000 people gathered on an unseasonably warm day at the edge of Central Park two blocks from Trump Tower, the Republican president's long-standing New York home and headquarters of his property company.

Red was everywhere, in a hat, bandana or coat, while others wore the pink "pussy hats" that came to symbolize the giant women's march on Washington the day after Trump's January 20 inauguration.

From the podium, Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour and a range of other community activists exhorted demonstrators to "keep resisting" and "keep motivated." Another New York rally is scheduled Wednesday night.

Arielle Datz, who works in publishing, said she took the day off -- dubbed "Day Without a Woman" -- to take part in the demonstration and described the speeches as "very inspiring."

Women participate in a protest on 5th Avenue near Trump Tower in New York March 8, 2017 during a #DayWithoutAWoman protest in New York

"We hope it won't be four years... but we will keep it up as long as we have to," she told AFP in reference to Trump's four-year term.

Many men also were protesting, such as Corey Ford, who closed his small venture capital firm to take to the streets.

"Fifty percent of our team, eight employees, and 50 percent of the CEOs of our companies are women," he said. "This is a women's demo, anti-Trump is part of it but it's not all of it."

In Washington, at Lafayette Park across from the White House, many of the several hundred demonstrators carried signs decrying Trump's order blocking US aid to foreign nonprofits that provide or actively promote abortions.

"Donald Trump has got to go!" and "This is what democracy looks like!" the crowd chanted.

Women participate in a protest on 5th Avenue near Trump Tower in New York March 8, 2017 during a #DayWithoutAWoman protest in New York

Susanne Lowen, a 55-year-old baker, decried the president's plan to link foreign aid to a prohibition against disseminating information on birth control as "cruel and immoral."

Plenty of anger was also directed at other Trump administration policies.

Sheila Collins choked on her words when she tried to explain the many reasons she was protesting, ranging from Trump's refusal to release his tax returns to controversial statements by cabinet officials like Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

"Every day I wake up thinking, 'this can't be real,'" said the 40-year-old marketing director with a sign that read "Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Vote."

"They are doing things to undermine our democracy," she said.

As the crowd streamed into Lafayette Park, knots of demonstrators broke off and paused to take selfies with the White House as a backdrop.

Police officers clad in black, several on bicycles, discreetly eyed the crowd from a distance.

For demonstrator Tess Thapalia, 20, the main issue was what she described as "reproductive justice."

"These are our bodies. And we decide what to do with them. For anyone else to say what to do with them is truly shameful," said Thapalia, a college student from New York.
Supporters of now-President Adama Barrow demonstrate on the last day of his presidential campaign in Gambia

Gambian police have launched an investigation into a violent public assault of a reporter by supporters of President Adama Barrow, a police source told AFP Wednesday.

Journalist Kebba Jeffang was hit, scratched and insulted at a press conference on Sunday held by ministers from three parties who joined together to form Barrow's new coalition government.

Barrow has made press freedom a pillar of his reforms since taking power this year from Yahya Jammeh, whose authoritarian 22-year rule was marked by arrests and intimidation of reporters.

"We have received a criminal complaint from Kebba Jeffang and a file is opened for the case," the police source said.

"His witnesses who accompanied him to the station have written down their statements. We will look into the matter."

Witnesses said Jeffang was attacked for asking questions about whether the parties would maintain their coalition in upcoming legislative polls, a thorny topic just a month before the vote.

Video footage of the attack on Jeffang, who works for the Foroyaa newspaper, went viral.

Press union leaders called on interior minister Mai Fatty, one of those present, to help the police in identifying the perpetrators.

Barrow had been a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) until he resigned to stand in a December election that unseated President Jammeh from power.

He won largely because the broad backing of every Gambian opposition party except one, but it is now unclear whether the parties who joined him will run again as a coalition on April 6.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the attack in a statement Wednesday.

"The attack, perpetuated by parties who form part of the government that promised a new dawn of freedom for the press corps in The Gambia, is a violation of constitutional provisions that guarantee the freedom and independence of the media," it said.
HOUSTON (AP) - A lawsuit filed against Baylor University by 10 women alleging they were sexually assaulted while students can proceed, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

The women, identified as "Jane Doe" plaintiffs, allege Baylor was indifferent to or ignored claims of sexual assault and didn't enforce federal general discrimination protections.

Baylor had sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing the former students' allegations were insufficient to state a claim of liability and the women had failed to plausibly allege they were subjected to "further" harassment after reporting their initial sexual assaults.

The university faces several federal lawsuits from women who say Baylor mishandled, ignored or suppressed their claims of assault for years, including several cases involving football players. The school also faces a federal civil rights investigation.

But in an order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin rejected Baylor's arguments to completely dismiss the lawsuit.

Pitman wrote that the women had filed their claims alleging that Baylor created a heightened risk of sexual harassment or assault by permitting a "campus condition rife with sexual assault" and by discouraging or mishandling reports of sexual assault within the two-year statute of limitations to do so.

While some of the alleged sexual assaults date back to 2004, their claims for heightened-risk liability didn't become a legal claim until spring 2016.

"The Court finds that each Plaintiff in the instant case has plausibly alleged that Baylor was deliberately indifferent to her report(s) of sexual assault, depriving her of educational opportunities to which she was entitled," Pitman wrote in his 27-page order.

Pitman did dismiss claims for four of the women, saying the statute of limitations had run out for them to sue over Baylor's actions toward them after their alleged assaults. Pitman also dismissed claims all of the women had made under Texas law for negligence and breach of contract.

Baylor spokeswoman Tonya Lewis said the university was encouraged by the ruling and the judge's dismissal of some of the claims.

"Baylor intends to continue to defend itself against those allegations that have not yet been dismissed," Lewis said in a statement. "As we have stressed throughout, our hearts go out to all victims of sexual assault at Baylor. We deeply regret the pain they experienced and continue to pray for their healing."

Chad Dunn, one of the attorneys for the women, said he was also pleased by Pitman's order.

"The judge's ruling is an excellent development for our ten clients, for other victims of sexual assault at Baylor and for university sexual assault victims in general. It's important now that we can move forward ... and finally determine what happened at Baylor to cause such a dramatic amount of sexual assaults," he said.

Dunn said it's too early to know when the lawsuit might go to trial.

Baylor fired football coach Art Briles in May 2016 and demoted then-university President Ken Starr, who later resigned, after an outside law firm determined the school had mishandled cases for years.

Last week, Briles released a one-page letter defending himself and insisting he didn't cover up sexual violence by his players or try to obstruct any investigations.

Baylor officials last month revealed select text messages between Briles, assistant coaches and staff members that appear to show them trying to shield players from police and university discipline.

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Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter at www.twitter.com/juanlozano70
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned the latest North Korean missile launches, calling them "a grave violation" of its sanctions resolutions.

The United Nations' most powerful body said it deplored all North Korean ballistic missile activity, which contributes to improving its missile delivery systems and increases tensions in the region and beyond.

The tests risk a regional arms race, the council added.

In press statement issued Tuesday night, the council also expressed serious concern over North Korea's "increasingly destabilizing behavior" and defiance of council resolutions.

The council said its member nations would continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures. It already has imposed six rounds of increasingly tougher sanctions on North Korea.

The statement urged the United Nations' 193 member states "to redouble their efforts to implement" the sanctions.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - The Australian government minister in charge of the suspended seabed search for the Malaysia Airlines jet told victims' families and friends at an anniversary church service on Wednesday that he remained hopeful that Flight 370 would be found.

Darren Chester, minister for infrastructure and transport, and Angus Houston, the former Australian defense chief who coordinated the early months of the search efforts, were among around 100 who attended the private ceremony at St. John's Anglican Cathedral in the east city of Brisbane to mark the third anniversary of the mysterious tragedy.

Several victims and relatives of the 239 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 777 live in or near Brisbane.

Chester told the congregation that included families of New Zealand victim Paul Weeks, and Australians Robert and Catherine Lawton and Rodney and Mary Burrows that searchers had tried their best to end the uncertainty surrounding the crash.

"While to date we have been unsuccessful, we remain hopeful that at some stage in the future, there will be a breakthrough, the aircraft will be found, and we will be able to answer more of your questions," Chester said.

He told the gathering that included diplomats from Malaysia, China and New Zealand that a memorial to the lost passengers and crew would be erected in the west coast city of Perth which had been a base for Indian Ocean air and sea search crews.

Chester said before the service that he understood the frustration that many would feel on the anniversary of the tragedy that there was no longer an active search for the crash site.

Australia, Malaysia and China in January suspended the sonar search for the airliner after a sweep of 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) of the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia failed to find any trace. The airliner for unknown reasons flew far off course during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

Chester declined to comment on a suggestion by some relatives of raising funds to continue a private search of the ocean floor.

"I'm not going to offer advice to those who want to fund-raise privately to extend the search, but from the Australians government's perspective, the search remains suspended," Chester told the AP.

Australia's prime minister at the time of the tragedy, Tony Abbott, said in a newspaper interview last month that areas north and south of the searched zone should also be examined.

"When you've got nearly 240 people missing, the greatest mystery of modern times, as long as there is any reasonable prospective place to search, you just keep searching," Abbott told New Corp. Australia.

Abbott, who remains a government lawmaker, said "the most plausible scenario" was that a pilot had deliberately crashed the plane. A pilot could have flown the plane further south than the area searched, Abbott said. Abbott had not responded by Wednesday to a request for comment.

A lawsuit filed in the United States on behalf of the families of 44 people on board Flight 370 alleges a series of catastrophic electrical and other failures may have led to the crash.

The lawsuit, filed Friday against Boeing in U.S. District Court in South Carolina, names seven malfunctions, from an electrical fire to depressurization of the plane's cabin, that could have led to the crew losing consciousness, the plane's transponder stopping its transmission and the plane flying undetected until it crashed after running out of fuel.
(Xinhua) 20:57, March 07, 2017

The All-China Women's Federation held a gathering attended by Chinese women from various circles and foreign diplomats here on Tuesday ahead of International Women's Day.

The federation has carried out the decisions made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and pushed forward reform to better serve women over the past year, said the federation's president Shen Yueyue in a speech.

Shen, who is also vice chair of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said the federation will unify and lead the country's women to follow the Party and make new contributions to welcome the 19th CPC National Congress, slated for later this year.

China is willing to work together with women worldwide in building a community of shared future, she added.

More than 1,000 people were present at the event to observe International Women's Day on March 8.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Latest on the election in Los Angeles (all times local):

9 p.m.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has a commanding lead in his bid for a second term.

FILE - In this March 2, 2015 file photo, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks at a news conference in his City Hall office. On Tuesday, March 7, 2017, Los Angeles voters are picking a mayor and could slap restrictions on development in the midst of a building boom. Mayor Eric Garcetti appears on track to earn a return trip Tuesday to City Hall after a low-key campaign against 10 little-known challengers. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Early returns after Tuesday's polls closed showed Garcetti garnering 80 percent of the vote.

Mitchell Jack Schwartz was in second with nearly 8 percent, and eight other candidates had 3 percent or less.

In the voting for the city's ballot measures, the fiercely contested proposal known as Measure S, intended to restrict larger real estate projects, is losing so far. Nearly 60 percent of early ballots voted "no" on the measure.

A quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay for homeless services

A Los Angeles County measure that asks for a quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay for homeless services was getting 61 percent of the early vote, short of the two-thirds it needs to pass.

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12 a.m.

Los Angeles voters are picking a mayor and could slap restrictions on development in the midst of a building boom.

Mayor Eric Garcetti appears on track to earn a return trip to City Hall in Tuesday's election after a campaign against 10 little-known challengers.

The fiercely contested proposal known as Measure S is intended to restrict larger real estate projects.

Its supporters say the city too often favors developers whose luxury high-rises drive out lower-income residents while increasing congestion.

The slow-growth proposal challenges Garcetti's vision for building thousands of new apartments clustered around train stations.

Opponents warn it would kill new housing.

Voters also are considering new regulations for the city's marijuana industry as recreational pot use becomes legal next year.

The election is expected to have a sparse turnout.

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2014 file photo, Mayor Eric Garcetti looks at the proposed "Regional Connector Transit Project" plan during a federal grant signing ceremony in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, March 7, 2017, Los Angeles voters are picking a mayor and could slap restrictions on development in the midst of a building boom. Mayor Eric Garcetti appears on track to earn a return trip Tuesday to City Hall after a low-key campaign against 10 little-known challengers. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2016 file photo, a 160-foot spire is seen atop the Wilshire Grand Tower building after a crane hoisted it into place early in downtown Los Angeles. The 10-ton spire makes the building the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. On Tuesday, March 7, 2017, Los Angeles voters are picking a mayor and could slap restrictions on development in the midst of a building boom. Mayor Eric Garcetti appears on track to earn a return trip Tuesday to City Hall after a low-key campaign against 10 little-known challengers. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

FILE - This Sept. 9, 2016 file photo shows rush hour traffic moving along the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles. The city long known for its sprawl and glacial traffic is fighting over what it should become in the future. An election Tuesday, March 7, 2017, features a proposal intended to restrict taller, denser development in the city of nearly 4 million, a chapter in a long-running battle over density and what the city should look like in the years to come. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Teen model Shonali Khatun strutted the catwalk as the audience cheered and clapped for a fashion show held in the capital of Bangladesh.

But Khatun is no ordinary model, and this was no ordinary show.

She and the 14 other models are survivors of acid attacks, common in this South Asian country where spurned lovers or disgruntled family members will resort to hurling skin-burning acid at their victims. The unusual fashion show held Tuesday night in Dhaka, and attended by fashion lovers as well as diplomats including the U.S. envoy, aimed to redefine the notion of beauty while calling attention to the menace of such attacks.

In this March 7, 2017 photo, a Bangladeshi acid attack survivor gets her make up applied during the event 'Beauty Redefined' in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Organizers said they hoped to highlight the fact that acid victims, too often overlooked, are a vital part of society. They deliberately chose to hold the event on the eve of International Women's Day. (AP Photo/A. M. Ahad)

For 14-year-old Khatun, the event was nothing short of empowering. Khatun was attacked just days after she was born amid a property dispute involving her parents, and was left with burn scars on her face and arms. She spent nearly three years in a hospital and underwent eight operations. Her attacker has never been caught.

"I am so happy to be here. One day I want to be a physician," she said.

The models, including three men, walked the catwalk, dancing and singing and showcasing woven handloom Bangladeshi designs by local designer Bibi Russel.

Organizers said they hoped to highlight the fact that acid victims, too often overlooked, are a vital part of society. They deliberately chose to hold the event on the eve of International Women's Day.

"We are here today to show their inner, their inner strength as they have come a long way," said Farah Kabir, country director of the ActionAid Bangladesh that organized the show to spread awareness about the violence. "I often take inspiration from them. Their courage is huge."

Bangladesh has struggled to deal with acid attacks in recent decades, instituting harsh punishments for perpetrators including the death sentence. The country has also trained doctors to treat such sensitive cases and attempted to control the sale of acid, but has failed to eliminate the scourge entirely.

In 2016, some 44 people were attacked with acid in Bangladesh - an annual number that has remained relatively stable.

"I am ashamed of having such things in the country," Kabir said. "Unfortunately in Bangladesh we do have acid victims because of either gender discrimination or violence, or because of greed. And we want to remind everyone the kind of injustice that has been meted out to them."

The fashion designer whose work was showcased in the event said she was happy to participate, hoping the show would redefine beauty and prompt people to see acid victims for their strength.

"I have seen the sparkle, the beauty. I wanted to show you that. Give them a chance please," Russel told the Associated Press. "We should respect equal rights, human dignity - that is all."

Kabir said all of society needed to get involved in fighting such violence against women.

"We need to act. We need to take measures. And we need to secure our girls, our women," she said. "We cannot accept such heinous crimes."

In this March 7, 2017 photo, a Bangladeshi acid attack survivor walk down the catwalk during the event 'Beauty Redefined' in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Organizers said they hoped to highlight the fact that acid victims, too often overlooked, are a vital part of society. They deliberately chose to hold the event on the eve of International Women's Day. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

In this March 7, 2017 photo, a Bangladeshi acid attack survivor gets her make up applied during the event 'Beauty Redefined' in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Organizers said they hoped to highlight the fact that acid victims, too often overlooked, are a vital part of society. They deliberately chose to hold the event on the eve of International Women's Day. (AP Photo/A. M. Ahad)

In this March 7, 2017 photo, Bangladeshi acid attack survivor walk down the catwalk during the event 'Beauty Redefined' in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The models, including three men, walked the catwalk, dancing and singing and showcasing woven handloom Bangladeshi designs and the show was choreographed by local designer Bibi Russel. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

In this March 7, 2017 photo, a Bangladeshi acid attack survivor gets her make up applied during the event 'Beauty Redefined' in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh has struggled to deal with acid attacks in recent decades, instituting harsh punishments for perpetrators including the death sentence. The country has also trained doctors to treat such sensitive cases and attempted to control the sale of acid, but has failed to eliminate the scourge entirely.(AP Photo/A. M. Ahad)

In this March 7, 2017 photo, a Bangladeshi acid attack survivor waits in backstage during the event 'Beauty Redefined' in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The country has struggled to deal with acid attacks in recent decades, instituting harsh punishments for perpetrators including the death sentence. In 2016, some 44 people were attacked with acid in Bangladesh _ an annual number that has remained relatively stable. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)
Some governors, including Republicans, are unhappy with a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama's health care law and say they will work on their own legislation to compete with the House bill introduced Monday. A sampling of their comments:

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"We want to make sure that we continue to be a state where virtually everybody is covered and people feel they have the access they need and the coverage they need to stay healthy." - Gov. Charlie Baker, Massachusetts, Republican.

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"It's important that in the health care reform that the federal government is looking at that they don't leave the states holding the bag." - Gov. Roy Cooper, North Carolina, Democrat.

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"It's a pretty significant shift and my first blush read is Illinois won't do very well under the changes they're recommending, which is a big concern to me. I want to make sure that people in Illinois are not left in the lurch or that there's a lot of pressure to reduce insurance coverage for people in Illinois. I'm very concerned about that." - Gov. Bruce Rauner, Illinois, Republican.

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"I will do everything in my power to oppose Trumpcare, which benefits millionaires at the expense of hardworking Rhode Islanders and would destroy our progress to provide affordable, quality health care to almost all of our people." - Gov. Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island, Democrat.

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The proposal "is an important first step to lower costs and increase choices for Americans in need of health care." - Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin, Republican.

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"This proposal simply shifts costs to those who can least afford it. It would also make our state's budget challenges even worse." - Gov. John Carney, Delaware, Democrat.

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"We've said all along, 'Work with the governors,' that it should be a governor-led effort ... Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesn't include anything that the governors have talked about." - Gov. Brian Sandoval, Nevada, Republican.

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"I would have liked to have seen more flexibility being given to the states." - Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas, Republican.

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"The proposal put forth by Congressional Republicans will hurt low-income people, the elderly, people with disabilities and those who need long-term care. This means loss of coverage for people with cancer, diabetes and seniors who are already struggling with costs. These are not scare stories, these are facts." - Gov. Jay Inslee, Washington, Democrat.

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"This is a work in progress. There are many competing interests, particularly between states with and without expanded Medicaid. I don't believe there is a national solution to this conundrum. Rather, we must empower states with the control and flexibility needed to innovate new solutions that address lowering the actual costs of care." - Gov. Doug Burgum, North Dakota, Republican.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Many American women stayed home from work, joined rallies or wore red Wednesday to demonstrate how vital they are to the U.S. economy, as International Women's Day was observed with a multitude of events around the world.

The Day Without a Woman protest in the U.S. was put together by organizers of the vast women's marches that drew more than 1 million Americans the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

The turnout on the streets this time was much smaller in many places, with crowds often numbering in the hundreds. There were no immediate estimates of how many women heeded the call to skip work.

Participants carry signs and chant during an International Women's Day rally in the shadow of New York's Trump Tower, Wednesday March 8, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

"Trump is terrifying. His entire administration, they have no respect for women or our rights," said 49-year-old Adina Ferber, who took a vacation day from her job at an art gallery to attend a demonstration in New York City. "They need to deal with us as an economic force."

The U.S. event - inspired in part by the Day Without an Immigrant protest held last month - was part of the U.N.-designated International Women's Day.

In Warsaw, thousands of women showed Poland's conservative government red cards and made noise with kitchenware to demand full birth control rights, respect and higher pay.

In Rome, hundreds of women marched from the Colosseum to demand equal rights. Thousands marched in Istanbul, despite restrictions on demonstrations imposed since last year's failed coup. Turkish police did not interfere.

Women also held rallies in Tokyo and Madrid.

Germany's Lufthansa airline arranged for six all-female crews to fly into Berlin. Sweden's women's soccer team replaced the names on the backs of the players' jerseys with tweets from Swedish women. Finland announced a new $160,000 International Gender Equality Prize.

A crowd of about 1,000 people, the vast majority of them women, gathered on New York's Fifth Avenue in the shadow of Trump Tower. Women wore red and waved signs reading "Nevertheless she persisted," ''Misogyny out of the White House now" and "Resist like a girl." Thirteen people were arrested for blocking traffic, police said.

School in such places as Prince George's County, Maryland; Alexandria, Virginia; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, canceled classes after hundreds of teachers and other employees let it be known they would be out. In Providence, Rhode Island, the municipal court closed for lack of staff members.

In Washington, more than 20 Democratic female representatives walked out of the Capitol to address a cheering crowd of several hundred people.

Dressed in red, the lawmakers criticized efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi encouraged more women to go into politics, saying, "You have marched for progress. Now you must run for office."

A few hundred people gathered on the lawn outside Los Angeles City Hall to rally for women's rights. Julie D'Angelo took the day off from her job in music licensing, saying she wanted to stand for those women who can't afford time away from work or are too intimidated to ask for the day off.

Hundreds of women dressed in red and holding signs with photos of their local lawmakers gathered at the Utah Capitol to remind legislators they are closely watching how they handle women's issues.

In Denver, several hundred people marched silently around the state Capitol. Kelly Warren brought her daughters, ages 3 and 12.

"We wanted to represent every marginalized woman whose voice doesn't count as much as a man's," said Warren, a sales associate in the male-dominated construction industry.

Some businesses and institutions said they would either close or give female employees the day off.

The owners of the Grindcore House in Philadelphia closed their vegan coffee shop, where eight of the 10 employees are women.

"The place definitely wouldn't run without us," said Whitney Sullivan, a 27-year-old barista who planned to attend a rally.

In New York, a statue of a fearless-looking girl was placed in front of Wall Street's famous charging bull sculpture. The girl appeared to be staring down the animal. A plaque at her feet read: "Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference."

As part of the Day Without a Woman protest, women were also urged to refrain from shopping.

Some criticized the strike, warning that many women cannot afford to miss work or find child care. Organizers asked those unable to skip work to wear red in solidarity.

Monique LaFonta Leone, a 33-year-old health care consultant in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had to work but put on a red shirt and donated to charity, including Planned Parenthood.

"I have bills to pay, but I wanted to make my voice heard, no matter how quiet," she said. "I also wanted to make a statement to say that women are doing it for themselves. We're out here in the workforce and making a difference every day."

Trump took to Twitter to salute "the critical role of women" in the U.S. and around the world. He tweeted that he has "tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy."

First lady Melania Trump marked the day by hosting a luncheon at the White House for about 50 women.

The White House said none of its female staff members skipped work in support of International Women's Day.

Lovely Monkey Tattoo, a female-owned tattoo parlor in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, offered tattoos with messages like "Nevertheless, She Persisted" - a reference to the recent silencing of Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the Senate floor - with proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.

Women make up more than 47 percent of the U.S. workforce and are dominant among registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists, according to the census.

They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, and the same with lawyers and judges. Women also account for 55 percent of all college students.

At the same time, American women earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data.

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A Day Without A Woman: https://www.womensmarch.com/womensday/

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Associated Press writers Phuong Le in Seattle; Mike Householder in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Michelle Smith in Providence, Rhode Island; William Mathis in New York City; Nick Riccardi in Denver; and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.

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Errin Haines Whack covers urban affairs for The Associated Press. Follow her work on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/emarvelous.

First lady Melania Trump arrives in the State Dining room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, where she hosted a luncheon on International Women's Day. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Proponents of International Women's Day gather on the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol for "A Day Without a Woman" rally in Madison, Wis. Wednesday, March 8, 2017. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

People walk during a protest marking the International Women's Day, in central Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. Organized by NGOs and women's organizations, the march began amidst extensive security precautions. Demonstrations have been restricted during the state of emergency declared following last year's failed coup, however police did not intervene with this year's march. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Participants listen to remarks from a speaker at the International Women's Day rally in the shadow of New York's Trump Tower, Wednesday March 8, 2017, in New York. The protest was part of a nationwide event called A Day Without a Woman. Many of the participants had taken a day off from work to show the impact women have on the American economy. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

An unidentified participant raises her hand in support of a speaker during a march around the State Capitol to mark International Women's Day on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Denver. More than 1,000 women--and men--took part in the Denver march, one of many staged across the country by organizers of January's Women's March. The action called on women to stay home from work and not spend money in stories or online to show their economic clout on America's fabric. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Demonstrators at the International Women's Day rally stage a sit-down protest outside Trump International Hotel at Columbus Circle, Wednesday March 8, 2017, in New York. Police made arrests after warning protesters they were blocking traffic. The protest was part of a nationwide event called A Day Without a Woman. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Judy Miller of Evergreen, Colo., holds up a placard during a march around the State Capitol to mark International Women's Day on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Denver. More than 1,000 women--and men--took part in the Denver march, one of many staged across the country by organizers of January's Women's March. The action called on women to stay home from work and not spend money in stories or online to show their economic clout on America's fabric. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A woman chants slogans during a protest marking the International Women's Day, in central Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. Organized by NGOs and women's organizations, the march began amidst extensive security precautions. Demonstrations have been restricted during the state of emergency declared following last year's failed coup, however police did not intervene with this year's march. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Helen Shreves of Denver carries the American flag as she leads protesters during a march around the State Capitol to mark International Women's Day on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Denver. More than 1,000 women--and men--took part in the Denver march, one of many staged across the country by organizers of January's Women's March. The action called on women to stay home from work and not spend money in stories or online to show their economic clout on America's fabric. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Participants cheer a speaker's remarks during the International Women's Day rally in the shadow of New York's Trump Tower, Wednesday March 8, 2017, in New York. The protest was part of a nationwide event called A Day Without a Woman. Many of the participants had taken a day off from work to show the impact women have on the American economy. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Proponents of International Women's Day gather on the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol for "A Day Without a Woman" rally in Madison, Wis. Wednesday, March 8, 2017. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

Ann Freeman holds a sign at the Utah state capitol for a Day Without a Woman protest to remind legislators they're closely watching how they handle women's issues Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. center, and other Democratic Congressional members, walk down the steps on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, for an event to honor International Women's Day. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

People gather and listen as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., joined other female Representatives, speak during an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, for International Women's Day. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Protesters march with a poster of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte donning horns during a rally to mark International Women's Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday March. 8, 2017. This women's group is also opposing the revival of the death penalty by the Philippine Congress. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) - Bangladesh made a solid start in reply to Sri Lanka's hefty first innings total of 494, reaching 133 for two at stumps on day two of the first Test on Wednesday.

After Kusal Mendis had posted a brilliant 194 for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh openers Soumya Sarkar and Tamim Iqbal put on 118 for the first wicket on a flat track before Iqbal was run out in bizarre fashion by wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella for 57.

Sarkar was unbeaten on 66, with his knock including seven fours and a six. He benefited from being dropped early on at gully by Dilruwan Perera off the bowling of Suranga Lakmal. Iqbal was also dropped, by Dickwella off Perera, when he was on 28.

It was Bangladesh's best opening partnership against Sri Lanka, but the hosts finished strongly to lead by 361 runs heading into day three.

"The wicket is still good. I think there is a long way to go in this match," Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said. "I think we are good enough to get over 500."

Bangladesh, however, could have been in an even better position if Iqbal had not given his wicket away.

Appearing to think a leg bye was on offer, Iqbal started moving forward without realizing the wicketkeeper had the ball in his hand, and Dickwella was quick to whip the bails off.

"It brushed his pad and I caught it," Dickwella said. "He must have thought the ball went past me, and he went out of the crease."

Mominul Haque, who averages close to 50, was then snared LBW by Perera for 7, leaving Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease overnight on 1.

Earlier, the 22-year-old Mendis looked set to become the second youngest Sri Lankan to score a double ton after Mahela Jayawardene, but holed out going for a six. Iqbal caught him at long-on, threw the ball in the air, regained his composure and came back to collect the catch cleanly.

It was test best score for Mendis, improving on the 176 he made against Australia last year. He batted for more than seven hours and faced 285 deliveries in a fluent innings containing 19 boundaries and four sixes.

He had been dismissed off a no ball before he had scored a run, and then got a reprieve on 175 when he hooked Subashis Roy and Mustafizur Rahman at fine-leg took the catch, but stepped over the boundary rope.

Mendis added 110 runs for the fifth wicket with Dickwella, who scored 75, as Sri Lanka piled on the runs in the morning to reach 443 for six at lunch.

Dickwella also posted his test best score before becoming Mehedi Hasan's third victim when he mistimed a shot and was caught at short third man by Mahmudullah Riyad. His entertaining innings contained six boundaries and a six. It was his second half-century.

Bangladesh snared the last four wickets for 37 runs to keep Sri Lanka under 500, with nineteen-year-old off-spinner Hasan finishing with four wickets.

Although Asela Gunaratne (85) and Perera (51) also posted half-centuries for the home side, Hathurusingha was happy with the effort put in by his bowlers.

"On a flat wicket, losing the toss and keeping them under 500 is a fairly good effort," he said.
NEW YORK (AP) - So, you use messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal or have smart TVs and PCs. Should you worry that the CIA is listening to your conversations?

The short answer is no. The long answer is maybe, though it's still unlikely you need to be too concerned.

WikiLeaks revelations describing secret CIA hacking tools allegedly used to break into computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs could certainly have real-life implications for anyone using internet-connected technology. In particular, the WikiLeaks documents suggest the CIA has attempted to turn TVs into listening devices and to circumvent - though not crack - message apps that employ protective data scrambling.

FILE - This Feb. 19, 2014, file photo, shows WhatsApp and Facebook app icons on a smartphone in New York. So, you use messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal or have smart TVs and PCs. Should you worry that the CIA is listening to your conversations? The short answer is no. The long answer is maybe, but it's unlikely. Revelations by WikiLeaks describing secret CIA hacking tools the government uses to break into computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs, if true, could certainly have real-life implications for anyone who uses internet-connected technology.(AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)

But for people weary of a seemingly constant revelations of hacks, government spying and security worries, the news came as no surprise.

"Today's leaks definitely concern me, but at this point I have accepted that security risks are an inherent part of our modern technology," Andrew Marshello, a soundboard operator from Queens, New York, said by email. "Since that tech is so integrated into our society, it's hard to take the reasonable step - cutting out smart devices, messaging apps, etc. - without sacrificing a part of social life."

While he's "definitely worried" about deeper implications of governmental hacking and surveillance, Marshello says he won't cut his iPhone or modern messaging apps out of his life. But he doesn't have a smart TV and doesn't plan to get one, he keeps his microphone unplugged and camera covered when he's not using his PC and he has voice recognition turned off on his phone.

He's not alone. Last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was photographed with his laptop camera and microphone covered with tape. Some online called him paranoid; others suggested he was just being smart.

WHY IT MATTERS

"What everybody should be asking is whether any of this was shared with local law enforcement," said Scott Vernick, a partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild who focuses on data privacy and security. Meaning, whether the CIA shared any of the techniques with the FBI and with other domestic law enforcement agencies that could employ them domestically.

Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at consumer advocacy group U.S. PIRG, said the news should alert consumers to how vulnerable internet-connected devices are.

"You shouldn't be too concerned about the CIA hacking you unless you're doing something illegal," he said. "But this should be a wakeup call for the average consumer."

He recommended changing passwords on smart TVs, cameras and other connected devices as often as you change computer passwords. "Whether it's your refrigerator, smart lights you program from your phone or your baby monitor, the security systems in most 'internet of things' products are actually dumb, not smart."

PRIVACY FATIGUE

"At this point, I am so used to reading stories about accounts getting hacked that it is to be expected," Matt Holden, an editor and social media coordinator in Dallas, Texas, said via email. Holden worries about the safety of personal information like his social security number and financial details, but says he's less concerned about the security of his messaging apps.

"So long as I conduct myself in a way that would mean I have nothing to hide, then I'm not worried about the government taking a look," he said.

In a recent Pew survey , conducted in the spring of 2016 and released this January, 46 percent of respondents thought the government should be able to access encrypted communications when investigating crimes. Only 44 percent thought tech companies should be able to use encryption tools that are "unbreakable" by law enforcement. Younger people were more likely to support strong encryption, as were Democrats.

If they're authentic, the leaked CIA documents frame one stark reality: It may be that no digital conversation, photo or other slice of life can be shielded from spies and other intruders prying into smartphones, computers or other devices connected to the internet.

Another reality: Many may not care.

"People have fatigue in this area, especially when talking about data breaches, and to a degree, hacking," said Eva Velasquez, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, who says it's difficult to imagine what kind of abuses would force them to abandon their smartphones. "People love their fun toys and devices," she said.

THE INTERNET OF SPYING THINGS

"We don't know about the CIA role, but we do know anything with a chip in it that is connected to the Internet is vulnerable to hacking," said Gartner security analyst Avivah Litan.

A hacking attack last October that disrupted sites such as Amazon and Netflix, for instance, originated on internet-connected devices such as home videocams.

"Basically the 'Internet of things' is vulnerable and has been deployed without thinking of security first," Litan said. Anyone with reason to think someone might be spying on them "should think twice about a connected car or a connected camera."

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AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke contributed to this story from San Francisco.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - South Africa's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court has been revoked, the United Nations secretary-general says, stalling what would have been the first-ever departure from the tribunal that pursues the world's worst atrocities.

A notice dated Tuesday on the U.N. treaty website says the move comes after a South African court ruled last month that the country's decision to withdraw without parliament's approval was unconstitutional.

South Africa shocked the international community last year when it informed the U.N. chief it would withdraw from the court that pursues cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Withdrawal comes a year after notification.

FILE - In this June 14, 2015 file photo, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir smiles during a visit to Johannesburg, South Africa. South Africa's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court has been revoked, the United Nations secretary-general says, stalling what would have been the first-ever departure from the tribunal that pursues the world's worst atrocities. South Africa's withdrawal announcement last year followed a 2015 dispute over a visit by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. (AP Photo/Shiraaz Mohamed, File)

South Africa had been on track to be the first country to leave the tribunal, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and has more than 120 member states.

South Africa's main opposition party challenged the withdrawal in court, saying it was illegal because parliament was not consulted. "South Africa does not want to be lumped together with pariah states who have no respect for human rights," the Democratic Alliance said after the court decision.

It was not clear whether South Africa would challenge the court's decision or continue to pursue an ICC withdrawal with the approval of parliament, where the ruling African National Congress party has a majority and likely would support it.

Three African countries last year made moves to leave the ICC, speaking fears of an African exodus. Only Burundi remains on a path to withdrawal. Gambia under new President Adama Barrow also has revoked its withdrawal.

Some African countries have argued that the court has unfairly targeted their continent and have instead advocated strengthening their own institutions to deal with threats to human rights. All but one of the court's full-scale investigations are in Africa, though the majority were referred to the court by the African countries themselves and two by the U.N. Security Council.

South Africa's withdrawal announcement had followed a 2015 dispute over a visit by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. Al-Bashir was allowed to leave South Africa even though a local court ordered authorities to arrest him.

South African officials are expected to attend an April 7 pre-trial hearing at The Hague over the incident.

Under the Rome Statute, signatory countries have a legal obligation to arrest anyone sought by the ICC. South Africa has said the treaty contradicts its diplomatic immunity law and prevents the country from acting as a regional peacemaker, a role that could require it to host adversaries on its own soil.

Backers of the court had been dismayed by South Africa's move to withdraw, especially after former President Nelson Mandela had been a strong advocate for the court's creation.

On Wednesday, South African legal experts including former international criminal prosecutor Richard Goldstone and U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay issued a statement to parliament urging it not to back ICC withdrawal and reminding it that South Africa was a founding member of the court and played a leading role in its creation.

Leaving the ICC "would add to the fear that South Africa is turning its back on an international rule of law," the statement says.
WASHINGTON (AP) - If China was hoping for a concession from the U.S. after recently suspending coal imports from cash-poor North Korea, it got the opposite.

The U.S. is starting to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea which the allies say is needed to defend against North Korea. But China and North Korea view it as a threat.

That adds to strains in the high-stakes relationship between Washington and Beijing weeks into Donald Trump's presidency. And it could further complicate cooperation between the two world powers in combating something they both oppose - North Korea's nuclear program.

In this March 7, 2017, photo, protesters shout slogans during a rally to oppose the plan to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, in front of the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea. If China was hoping for a concession from the U.S. after recently suspending coal imports from cash-poor North Korea it got the opposite. The U.S. is starting to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea which the allies say is needed to defend against North Korea, but which China also views as a threat. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The U.S. military said Tuesday it has started bringing in equipment for the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD. It says the system is designed to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during the last part of their flights.

The announcement came after North Korea on Monday launched four ballistic missiles into ocean off Japan - a show of force in response to annual U.S.-South Korean military drills. The allies say they are routine but Pyongyang views them as rehearsal for an invasion.

China is concerned that THAAD has powerful radar that could track Chinese missiles and weaken its deterrence against the United States. Beijing said Tuesday it will take "necessary measures" to protect itself and warning that the U.S. and South Korea should be prepared to bear the consequences.

China has already exerted pressure on some South Korean commercial interests, but it remains unclear how the deployment will impact ties with Washington, which insists China is not targeted by THAAD. U.S.-based experts say that Chinese concerns are exaggerated, if not entirely unwarranted.

"The question is whether China having expressed their grievances will be prepared to let this pass or will let it erode their relationship with South Korea and a meaningful capacity for cooperation with the United States on North Korea," said Jonathan Pollack of the Brookings Institution think tank.

China proposed Wednesday that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the U.S. and South Korea.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing that the "suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table."

Both the U.S. and South Korea resisted the idea. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said: "We have to see some sort of positive action taken by North Korea before we can ever take them (North Korea) seriously."

North Korea is one of the main national security challenges facing the Trump administration. It may already have the capability to strike South Korea and Japan - and the tens of thousands of American forces there - with nuclear weapons, and could pose the same threat to the U.S. mainland within years.

For China, the North's nuclear program poses a less direct challenge, but it could destabilize Northeast Asia and incentivize Japan, a rival of China's to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. And it could encourage the U.S. to strengthen its military posture in the region with systems like THAAD.

In a sign of growing impatience with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, China announced last month it was suspending coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year in adherence to U.N. sanctions passed in November after the isolated nation's most powerful nuclear test explosion to date.

But Beijing remains reluctant to exert too much pressure on its traditional ally, fearing that a regime collapse would lead to a unified Korea allied with Washington at its border.

Joel Wit, a former State Department official and specialist on North Korea, said that the main factor in the continuing disconnect between the U.S. and China on dealing with Pyongyang is rooted not in differences over missile defense, but in a stalemate over how to approach the problem.

"The U.S. is always talking about increasing pressure, and taking military steps to protect its allies and itself," he said. "But the Chinese are always talking about need to reach out and talk to the North Koreans."

State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner made clear Tuesday that the U.S. administration is not seeking direct engagement with a provocative Pyongyang. When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes his first visit to the region next week, with stops in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, he'll be seeking a "strategic coordination" to address the escalating threat posed by North Korea.

"Right now we are focused on sanctions, and implementing those sanctions to the fullest extent possible, but we're looking at other possibilities as well," Toner said, without elaborating.

The THAAD deployment will hang over Tillerson's meetings with the Chinese.

Missile expert John Schilling said Beijing's concern is that the system's radar could provide detailed tracking of Chinese long-range missiles and that could be used to alert U.S. missile defenses.

"This is somewhat exaggerated as a threat, but the full capabilities of the THAAD system are classified so it can't be entirely discounted," he said, adding that China could counter that by modifying their missiles with multiple warheads or decoys, a process that it has likely begun already.

"We have to consider whether this leads in the direction of an arms race between United States and China," Schilling said, "which I don't think anybody wants."
WASHINGTON (AP) - Excerpts from opinions written by Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, a judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver:

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Addressing a long-running boundary dispute involving the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservations in Utah, August 2016:.

"We're beginning to think we have an inkling of Sisyphus's fate. Courts of law exist to resolve disputes so that both sides might move on with their lives. Yet here we are, forty years in, issuing our seventh opinion in the Ute line and still addressing the same arguments we have addressed so many times before."

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Ruling against a federal prison inmate in Colorado, Jerry Lee Bustos, who sued A&E Television Networks for defamation, July 2011:

"Can you win damages in a defamation suit for being called a member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang on cable television when, as it happens, you have merely conspired with the Brotherhood in a criminal enterprise? The answer is no. While the statement may cause you a world of trouble, while it may not be precisely true, it is substantially true. And that is enough to call an end to this litigation as a matter of law."

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Dissenting from a ruling ordering a trucking company to rehire a fired driver, August 2016:

"A trucker was stranded on the side of the road, late at night, in cold weather, and his trailer brakes were stuck. He called his company for help and someone there gave him two options. He could drag the trailer carrying the company's goods to its destination (an illegal and maybe sarcastically offered option). Or he could sit and wait for help to arrive (a legal if unpleasant option). The trucker chose None of the Above, deciding instead to unhook the trailer and drive his truck to a gas station. In response, his employer, TransAm, fired him for disobeying orders and abandoning its trailer and goods."

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Returning to a lower court a dispute between two insurance companies over a worker injured on the job, May 2012:

"Haunted houses may be full of ghosts, goblins, and guillotines, but it's their more prosaic features that pose the real danger. Tyler Hodges found that out when an evening shift working the ticket booth ended with him plummeting down an elevator shaft. But as these things go, this case no longer involves Mr. Hodges. Years ago he recovered from his injuries, received a settlement, and moved on. This lingering specter of a lawsuit concerns only two insurance companies and who must foot the bill. And at the end of it all, we find, there is no escape for either of them."

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Disagreeing with colleagues, who dismissed a mother's lawsuit claiming her son had been subjected to false arrest and excessive force stemming from incidents at an Albuquerque middle school, July 2016:

"If a seventh grader starts trading fake burps for laughs in gym class, what's a teacher to do? Order extra laps? Detention? A trip to the principal's office? Maybe. But then again, maybe that's too old school. Maybe today you call a police officer. And maybe today the officer decides that, instead of just escorting the now compliant thirteen year old to the principal's office, an arrest would be a better idea. So out come the handcuffs and off goes the child to juvenile detention. My colleagues suggest the law permits exactly this option and they offer ninety-four pages explaining why they think that's so. Respectfully, I remain unpersuaded."

___

Invoking the Dickens character Mr. Bumble from Oliver Twist, in the same case:

"Often enough the law can be 'a ass - a idiot,' ... and there is little we judges can do about it, for it is (or should be) emphatically our job to apply, not rewrite, the law enacted by the people's representatives. Indeed, a judge who likes every result he reaches is very likely a bad judge, reaching for results he prefers rather than those the law compels. So it is I admire my colleagues today, for no doubt they reach a result they dislike but believe the law demands - and in that I see the best of our profession and much to admire. It's only that, in this particular case, I don't believe the law happens to be quite as much of a ass as they do."
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Tuesday that the northeastern province of Liaoning must depend on the real economy to realize rejuvenation, stressing the leading role of state-owned companies.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during a panel discussion with national lawmakers from Liaoning at the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC).

No matter what stage China's development is in, the real economy will always be the foundation for growth and for gaining the upper hand in global economic competition, Xi said.

Supply-side structural reform is inevitable for the revitalization of Liaoning, Xi said, urging the province to make progress in the reform and to rejuvenate the industrial sector.

The province should focus on industrial upgrades and set up an industrial system with long-lasting competitiveness, he said.

Liaoning should promote the creation of a new economic structure featuring joint development of new strategic sectors and traditional manufacturing, complementary development of modern and traditional services, integration of informatization and industrialization, as well as military and civilian integration, he said.

The province should also take firm steps to develop and strengthen state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which can lead Liaoning's revitalization, and cultivate core competitiveness, Xi said.

SOEs should be the pioneers of innovation-driven development, he said.

Liaoning must optimize the distribution of state-owned capital, fulfill its responsibility to maintain and increase the value of state-owned assets, and avoid state asset losses and other major risks, Xi said.

The northeast, which consists of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, was among the first regions in China to become industrialized. Its traditional industries include steel, automobile, shipbuilding and petroleum refining.

China has pledged to rejuvenate the northeast rustbelt through reform and economic restructuring.

In 2016, regional GDP of Liaoning dropped 2.5 percent, compared with a 6.7-percent expansion of the national economy.

Xi also stressed the importance of a clean political ecology, saying that a "tainted" system will give rise to many problems, including greed for power, double dealing and cliques.

He called for improved intra-Party political life and selecting officials who are clean, upright and devoted to the Party and people.

Every lawmaker should be people-focused, Xi said, urging them to know the people's lives well, pool their wisdom and address people's concerns.

Other senior leaders also joined panel discussions with NPC deputies Tuesday.

In a panel discussion with lawmakers from Tibet Autonomous Region, Premier Li Keqiang stressed development and stability in Tibet as it is of "special importance" for China's overall development.

Priority will be given to securing and improving people's lives, Li said, urging efforts to enhance public services such as education, medical care and heating projects.

Under the prerequisite of strictly protecting the environment, the region should step up efforts to boost the development of tourism, clean energy and traditional medicine, Li added.

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said in a panel discussion with Taiwan deputies that cross-Strait relations face grimmer and more complicated conditions this year.

"We must continue to stick to the basic principle of 'peaceful reunification; one country, two systems' and strive for reunification with the utmost sincerity and best efforts," Yu said. "We should adhere to the 1992 Consensus which embodies the one-China principle, resolutely oppose and contain any form of 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities."

Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, told deputies from Guangdong Province that it is imperative to conform to the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core in thought and deed.

Liu said Guangdong should follow the main theme of "maintaining stability while seeking progress" to improve the quality and efficiency of economic growth and maintain economic and social stability.

Joining deputies from Hunan Province, Wang Qishan, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, stressed the need to uphold the Party's leadership and strengthen Party discipline.

Corruption undermines both the people's vital interests and the Party's reputation, and consequently erodes the foundation on which the Party rules, said Wang, calling on the whole Party to clean up bad practices and boost public confidence and trust in the CPC Central Committee.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The site of a train-tour bus crash that killed four people in Mississippi has a troubling history of accidents, including two this year, local and federal officials said Wednesday.

National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said the crossing in Biloxi has a hump that has caused tractor-trailers to bottom out, and the federal agency is looking into whether the steep grade played a role in the crash Tuesday. The crossing has had at least 17 accidents involving vehicles and trains since 1976.

"It sounds like a lot," Sumwalt noted, saying investigators would compare the crossing with other similar ones.

A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)

On Tuesday, a charter bus carrying dozens of tourists to Mississippi casinos became stuck on the railroad tracks for about five minutes before a freight train barreled into it, sending frantic passengers in all directions, witnesses said. About 40 people were hurt.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Sumwalt said the agency's team would look into how long the bus was stuck, the history of the motor coach company and its driver, and whether or not the train's two-man crew could have done anything differently.

Some of the tourists from Texas were getting off the bus when the crash occurred, said Mark Robinson, a Biloxi native who saw the crash.

Body parts were "thrown everywhere," Robinson told WLOX-TV .

The train was traveling 26 mph - almost 20 mph less than the track's speed limit - when the crew put on an emergency brake about 510 feet from the bus, Sumwalt said. The train had slowed to 19 mph by the time it hit the bus. It pushed the mangled motor coach about 200 feet down the tracks.

Authorities said it took more than an hour to get everyone out of the wreckage. Two people had to be removed with metal-cutting equipment.

Mayor Andrew Gilich attended the NTSB news conference and said he had personally known people who had died at the crossing. He stressed that changes need to be made.

"As far as long-term improvements to this crossing and others in the city, I will continue to press for us to close crossings so that we can work with CSX to improve safety of others," he said in a statement posted on the city's website.

CSX spokeswoman Laura Phelps said the Biloxi area has a large number of crossing wrecks at least partly because there are so many railroad crossings, including 18 in a span of about 3 miles. She said she doesn't know whether the area has a higher rate of wrecks per crossing than other areas.

Sumwalt said the crossing is the responsibility of both the city and railroad company. CSX said creating a more gradual slope would be up to the city.

The crossing had a sign warning drivers of a low-ground clearance, as well as a bell, lights and crossing arms. There was one fatality each during accidents in 1983 and 2003 at the crossing in question.

In January, a Pepsi delivery driver's tractor-trailer became stuck at the same crossing. The driver bailed out and ran down the road to warn the engineer of an approaching freight train, but the train still plowed into the stranded semi and pushed it about 70 to 80 feet before stopping, the city said. No one was hurt.

"Almost every accident like this could be avoided," said David Clarke, director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee. "But we still keep having rail crossing collisions."

Killed Tuesday were Ken and Peggy Hoffman, two former administrators with the Lockhart school district south of Austin. Ken Hoffman, 82, worked for the district for decades and was an assistant superintendent. His 73-year-old wife was an elementary school principal.

Also killed were Clinton Havran, 79, of Sealy, Texas, and 62-year-old Deborah Orr.

The weeklong trip had started Sunday and was organized by a senior citizens' center in Bastrop, Texas, about 30 miles east of Austin.

The bus belonged to Echo Transportation of the Dallas area. Echo said it will cooperate with the investigation but declined to provide further details.

___

Associated Press writers Jeff Amy in Jackson, Mississippi, and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Responders works the scene where a train hit a bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Biloxi firefighters assist injured passengers after their charter bus collided with a train in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel says emergency responders were still removing injured people from the bus more than 30 minutes after the crash. (John Fitzhugh/Sun Herald via AP)

Emergency personnel assist injured passengers after their charter bus collided with a train in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel says emergency responders were still removing injured people from the bus more than 30 minutes after the crash (John Fitzhugh/Sun Herald via AP)

In this photo made from video and released by WLOX-TV, Authorities pull passengers off a bus after colliding with CSX freight train, Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in Biloxi, Miss. Biloxi city spokesman Vincent Creel says emergency responders were still removing injured people from the bus more than 30 minutes after the crash. (WLOX-TV via AP)

A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)

Responders works the scene where a train hit a bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)

Responders works the scene where a train hit a bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Responders works the scene where a train hit a bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Responders works the scene where a train hit a bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Responders works the scene where a train hit a bus in Biloxi, Miss., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran says a vessel from a joint U.S. and British naval fleet approached Revolutionary Guard boats in the Strait of Hormuz in an "unprofessional" manner aimed at escalating tensions in the region.

Revolutionary Guard Cpt. Mahdi Hashemi disputed allegations made earlier this week by a U.S. Navy official, who said a U.S. ship was forced to change course over the weekend to avoid Iranian fast boats, which came within about 600 yards (meters) of the vessel.

Hashemi was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency on Wednesday as saying the other side was "lying" about the incident.

The U.S. has repeatedly accused Iranian forces of aggressive and unprofessional conduct in the Strait of Hormuz, a bottleneck through which 30 percent of the world's sea-borne oil is transported.
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. CHINA GIVES PROVISIONAL APPROVAL FOR TRUMP TRADEMARKS

If no one objects, the U.S. president will have control of his brands in the country for a host of activities, raising serious conflict of interest questions, ethics lawyers tell AP.

A protester wearing a mask joins a rally as they mark International Women's Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday March 8, 2017. The women's group is also opposing the revival of the death penalty by the Philippine Congress. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

2. HEALTH CARE BILL ADVANCES AMID RIFTS

Despite opposition from both sides of the aisle, House Republican leaders forge ahead with a plan that scraps major parts of "Obamacare."

3. HOW WIKILEAKS FALLOUT MAY IMPACT CONSUMERS

If you use messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal or have smart TVs and PCs, the chances are slim that the CIA is listening to your conversations.

4. MAN CLAIMING TO BE SLAIN NORTH KOREAN EXILE'S SON POSTS VIDEO

The YouTube video shows an individual saying he is Kim Jong Nam's son Kim Han Sol, stating he's safely with his mother and sister.

5. WOMEN'S DAY A CALL TO NON-ACTION

Organizers of January's Women's March in the U.S. are asking women to stay home from work and not spend money in stores or online to show their impact on American society as the world marks International Women's Day.

6. MILITARY HOSPITAL IN AFGHANISTAN ATTACKED

Gunmen storm the facility in Kabul, killing at least four people and wounding more than 60, setting off clashes with security forces.

7. FEDS PROBE DEADLY TRAIN-BUS COLLISION IN MISSISSIPPI

The crossing in Biloxi is on a steep embankment and has a sign warning drivers that it has a low ground clearance. Witnesses say the bus appeared to have been stuck on the tracks when it was hit.

8. NO WORD OF EX-FBI MAN LOST IN IRAN ON CIA JOB

Ten years after Robert Levinson's disappearance, his family hopes Trump will do something the last two U.S. presidents have been unable to achieve: Bring him home, if he's still alive.

9. PEOPLE AREN'T ONLY ONES USING POT FOR AILMENTS

Pet owners are giving their dogs and cats cannabis-based oils, supplements and snacks to treat everything from arthritis and cancer to pain and anxiety.

10. WHO TOPPED 30,000 POINTS IN NBA

Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki became the sixth player to reach the milestone, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. Authorities worked for more than an hour to remove passengers, Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney said, taking the injured people to area hospitals and cutting through the bus's mangled body to extract the final two people. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
LONDON (AP) - Britain's Natural History Museum is sending its most precious fossil, a 147 million-year-old skeleton that established the link between dinosaurs and birds, abroad for the first time.

The archaeopteryx was discovered in Germany encased in limestone in 1861. It shows characteristics of both early birds and dinosaurs, with feathers, claws and teeth.

The museum is sending it to Japan as part of its biggest-ever global exhibition. Known as the "London specimen," it will go on show with 300 other exhibits at Tokyo's Museum of Nature and Science for three months from March 18.

The British museum's Prof. Paul Barrett says the fossil's "lasting historical legacy" is that it establishes birds as dinosaurs.

It's one of only 11 full-body examples of the archaeopteryx to have been formally identified.
PARIS (AP) - The prosecutor's office for the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis says the detention of 54 young people suspected of taking parts in violent riots has been extended by 24 hours.

The youngsters were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly throwing stones at police cars, setting fires and lobbing smoke bombs into a high school.

The prosecutor's office said among those arrested were students from the school.

There was no clear information about a possible motive. One hypothesis linked the turmoil to ongoing outrage over the Feb. 2 assault of a young man who was allegedly raped with a police baton.

Education minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem asked for tough judicial sanctions against the troublemakers, speaking of an "extremely serious" action.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - Lawyers say the mayor of Senegal's capital is charged with embezzling public funds.

Dakar Mayor Khalifa Sall was detained Tuesday by the senior investigating judge of the Dakar High Court.

Lawyer Cledor Cire Ly says the mayor is indicted for embezzlement, fraud involving public funds, criminal association and money laundering. Sall's lawyers call his arrest an attempt to prevent him from running in July's legislative elections.

Sall has been mayor since 2009. He denies the allegations. His lawyer says missing public funds went to people in need.

The arrests follow a state audit revealing transfers through the office of about $46,000 per month.

Also arrested were his secretary, the director of finance and administration and the director of finance and accounting.

The mayor is no relation to President Macky Sall.
BEIRUT (AP) - It has been 18 months since the body of 3-year old Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shore of Turkey, the premature end of a flight from Syria.

Nilufer Demir's photo of Kurdi, face down in the morning surf, prompted an outpouring of compassion for refugees around Europe and North America.

Now, voters in developed countries are rewarding candidates for smearing refugee resettlement as a cultural and security threat, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

This image released by HBO shows a scene from the documentary, "Cries From Syria," premiering March 13, on HBO. (HBO via AP)

Director Evgeny Afineevsky hopes his new documentary, "Cries From Syria," which premieres at 10 p.m. EST Monday on HBO, can revive our collective sympathy.

"I tried to show the human side of these people, and their dignity," he said in an interview from Los Angeles. "Their dignity is the essential thing."

Its HBO premiere and limited run in Los Angeles and New York movie theaters falls on nearly on the sixth anniversary of Syria's murderous war, one so brutish, the U.N. has lost count of the death toll. Most estimates put it over 400,000. The government is responsible for the bulk of those fatalities.

"Cries From Syria" is a difficult film that opens with a shot of little Aylan's body before rewinding to the popular uprising that spiraled into war.

The historical context given is thin, but in broad strokes, is factually correct. The Assad family had ruled Syria with an iron fist for four decades, and cracked down on dissent with militaristic violence. However, those hoping for an in-depth history lesson on how President Bashar Assad managed to maintain an indissoluble core of support within the state's various security apparatuses and the air force will need to look elsewhere.

Stitching together footage recorded by activists of the events in Syria with moving interviews from people who can only be described as survivors of Assad's desperation to rule, Afineevsky delivers a wrenching expose of the crackdown that sparked the still-raging war.

A lot of the footage is graphic, and will be unfamiliar to those who have not followed Syria closely. Viewers will gaze on the disfigured corpse of a dead 13-year-old who, by opposition accounts, was kidnapped and tortured to death by the government's security services in 2011 to make an example out of protesters.

"Without this brutality, you won't understand why these people are looking for shelter, why the take the boats and head for the seas," said Afineevsky, whose 2015 "Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom" was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary. "You want to feel the same thing that mothers feel, to lose their kids."

Individual cases are difficult to verify, but prosecutors and human rights watchdogs have accumulated reams of evidence pointing to an industrial scale of torture and extrajudicial killings in the government's shadowy network of detention centers. They have collected evidence of war crimes by the conflicts other parties, too, though at a smaller scale.

The film moves through the phases of the war, ending with a chapter called "In Between" that returns to the desperate attempts to flee the war. One of them, of course, belongs to Kurdi's family. The U.N.'s refugee agency says 5 million Syrians - nearly one-quarter of the country's pre-war population - are refugees. Once citizens, with jobs, belongings, homes, access to education and health care, they are now mired in the camps and the ghettos of Syria's neighbors. They are stateless, and they need onward passage to rich, developed nations, for the sake of their children's futures if for nothing else.

But the nature of the subject matter means the film will doubtless raise other questions, as well, chief among them: What could the U.S. and Europe have done? What can they still do?

In one of the final clips of the film, Kholoud Helmi, 33, who earlier described the uprising in the most romantic terms, tells viewers she doesn't know what she wishes for anymore. What she wants most dearly - a brother who was disappeared by the security forces - can never be returned.

It is to Afineevsky's credit that he leaves these questions unanswered. The truth is, Syria's future is dark, and any accounting for the realities today reveals there is little room for hope.

At its core, "Cries For Syria" is unsparing. But whether it will move American and European viewers to rethink their posture toward refugees is anyone's guess. History suggests that feelings of collective generosity are ephemeral.

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AP reporter Philip Issa is based in Beirut and has covered Syria's civil war since 2015.
NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on congressional opposition to Emirates flight (all times local):

8 a.m.

Emirates says it plans to operate its flight from New Jersey to Greece as planned despite opposition from 25 members of the New York and New Jersey congressional delegation.

They asked Republican President Donald Trump on Tuesday to stop the Dubai-based airline from beginning a roundtrip flight between Newark and Athens this month. They claim Emirates and other airlines have an unfair advantage over American air carriers because they receive state subsidies.

The group wants Trump to delay the scheduled Sunday commencement of the flight until his administration can negotiate a resolution with the airlines.

Some consumer advocates disagree and say the competition would lead to lower fares generally.

In a statement Wednesday, Emirates said it has full approval and Sunday's flight is scheduled to operate.

Emirates and other state-owned carriers deny accusations they focus on stripping market share and driving out competition.

___

12:09 a.m.

Twenty-five members of the New York and New Jersey Congressional delegation have asked Republican President Donald Trump to stop a Gulf-based airline from beginning a roundtrip flight between Newark, New Jersey, and Athens this month.

A letter from them released late Tuesday contends Emirates and other airlines have an unfair advantage over American air carriers because they receive state subsidies.

The group wants Trump to delay the scheduled Sunday commencement of the flight until his administration can negotiate a resolution with the airlines.

The leading American carriers say the subsidies allow the Gulf carriers to offer below-market fares, which could cost American jobs.

Some consumer advocates disagree and say the competition would lead to lower fares generally.

Emirates and other state-owned Gulf carriers deny accusations they focus on stripping market share and driving out competition.
BERLIN (AP) - German authorities say they've charged a 31-year-old Tajik man with membership in a terrorist organization for allegedly joining the Islamic State group in Syria.

Federal prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday that Mukhamadsaid S., whose full name wasn't given in line with German privacy rules, traveled to Syria by February 2015 at the latest where he underwent military training with IS.

He's accused of serving as a guard and helping the group with administration, while also appearing in at least five propaganda videos that appeared on YouTube urging others to join the militants.

He was arrested in Germany in June 2016.

No further details were provided and prosecutors did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Journalists covering the annual sessions of China's national legislature and top political advisory body are attracted by some virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) products.

The products are on show at the ground floor of the hotel where the press center for the two sessions is located.

The exhibition was set up by China Today Net Television, whose executive director Wen Zhi hopes to transform video reporting into VR reporting.

"Chinese businesses may not have the technology of Western companies, but we can produce high-quality content," he said.

"It is obvious that journalists are willing to try different kinds of media including text, video, audio and live online. VR should be the next step," Wen said.

AR/VR industries are emerging in China. The eastern city of Nanchang launched a VR industrial base last year with an angel fund of 1 billion yuan (145 million U.S. dollars), and the VR firms will be supported by 10 billion yuan of investment.

City mayor Guo An, a national lawmaker, acknowledges that VR could change people's lives like the Internet and smartphone. "We have established a complete industrial chain with more than 50 enterprises and organizations."

To cultivate talent, the city cooperates with colleges and universities in training personnel. "We aim to train 10,000 people with basic VR knowledge and skill in the next three years."

China will work harder this year on innovation, upgrade the structure of the real economy and improve competitiveness, said the government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the legislature's annual session on Sunday.

To this end, China will push for technological innovation by improving support for fundamental and original research, building infrastructure for science and technology, setting up technological innovation hubs and sharing R&D resources, among other measures.

VR can be widely used in artificial intelligence, education and training, medicine, gaming, tourism and virtual communities.
BRUSSELS (AP) - Donald Tusk is closing in on a second term as the European Union's Council president despite fierce opposition from Poland's most influential politician, a bitter rival of the former prime minister.

Tusk's 2-year term in one of the EU's most prestigious jobs, as the chairman of summits of the bloc's 28 leaders, ends May 31. An EU summit is due to elect the president for the next term Thursday.

Poland's nationalist government, which has often been at odds with Brussels and EU partners, has proposed little-known Polish EU lawmaker Jacek Saryusz-Wolski to replace Tusk. But by Wednesday, diplomats from several member nations said it was clear that Warsaw has little or no support while Tusk has strong backing.

FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, European Council President Donald Tusk reads a statement during a media conference at the EU Council building in Brussels. German deputy foreign minister Michael Roth Tuesday March 7, 2017, is calling for European Union countries to rally behind Donald Tusk as the former Polish prime minister Tusk seeks a second term in one of the bloc's top positions, which will be decided with a vote upcoming Thursday. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, FILE)

Poland's government argues that Tusk supports the domestic opposition in Poland and has failed to protect the country's interests in the EU.

Malta, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, will be looking right up to the beginning of Thursday's summit for a way to preserve the consensus and have everyone back one candidate, but several other diplomats said the most likely option would be Tusk winning by a large majority.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity since the issue was still unresolved. A senior German official said that Chancellor Angela Merkel "appreciates the work" of Tusk and that he assumes he will be re-elected Thursday with "overwhelming support."

Most EU nations want quick approval of Tusk since the EU is already facing so many issues that a drawn-out succession process would further damage the bloc.

The heart of the problem appears to be long-standing rivalry and animosity between Tusk and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland's governing Law and Justice party. Kaczynski accuses Tusk of contributing, through lax security, to the death of his twin, President Lech Kaczynski, in a plane crash in 2010.

Kaczynski told Poland's TVP Info television on Tuesday that Tusk is "totally unacceptable" for Poland, accusing him of "breaking the basic EU rules, the rules of neutrality toward internal matters of member nations."

Asked what will happen if Tusk is re-elected, Kaczynski said "it will be a completely different union" because it would be the first time the leader of the European Council is elected against the will of his own country.

There is precedent, however, for top officials to be chosen without unanimity. In 2014, EU leaders nominated Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the bloc's executive Commission against the votes of Britain and Hungary.

Tusk said that he wasn't responsible for any "clashes."

"I am, and I should be also in the future, impartial and politically neutral (toward) all 28 member states," he said. At the same time, he added, "I am also responsible for protecting European values and principles."

Poland's intervention may even have galvanized support for Tusk at a time when the other top positions in the EU, the presidency of the Commission and the European Parliament, are also in the hands of his center-right European People's Party.

France's socialist president, Francois Hollande, said earlier this week that he had no reason to back off supporting Tusk "even if, with a view to political balance, it would be the turn of a socialist - I try to have a vision that is more European than partisan or national."

"I will not participate in this eviction," Hollande told French daily Le Monde and other European newspapers in an interview published Monday.

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Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Lorne Cook and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.
MEDINA, Ohio (AP) - Police say a northeast Ohio man apparently fatally shot his pregnant girlfriend at her home before killing himself, leaving a gruesome scene discovered by the woman's mother and son.

Medina (meh-DY'-nuh) police say 36-year-old Julie Young and 43-year-old Cedric Jones were found dead Monday afternoon.

Police Lt. Dave Birckbichler tells the Akron Beacon Journal that the pair reportedly had a volatile, on-and-off relationship and investigators were trying to figure out where that stood. Birckbichler says the deaths left Young's family with many questions, but it's basically a closed case for police.

Young's father, Philip Duke, tells Cleveland.com that his daughter was a caring mother of two boys from a previous relationship and that her boyfriend didn't want to have a baby.
LIDO DI CAMAIORE, Italy (AP) - Italian rider Damiano Caruso took the lead at the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race after his BMC team won the team time trial on Wednesday.

The star-studded BMC team completed the 22.7-kilometer (14.1-mile) stage in 23 minutes, 20 seconds - 17 seconds ahead of the Quick Step team led by Belgian veteran Tom Boonen.

The time is taken from the fifth team rider to cross the line. Caruso was first over the line for BMC and takes the leader's jersey, but he is not considered the team's strongest contender. BMC's main riders Tejay van Garderen and Greg van Avermaet are in a good early position ahead of their main rivals.

There is a strong field competing this year, including 2014 Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida); 2015 Spanish Vuelta champion Fabio Aru (Astana); defending Spanish Vuelta champion Nairo Quintana of Colombia; and Paris-Nice champion Geraint Thomas (Team Sky).

Quintana's Movistar team crossed the line 22 seconds behind BMC and level with French team FDJ. But it was a bad day for Team Sky, which finished nearly two minutes behind BMC.

Thursday's second stage is a 229-kilometer (142-mile) trek from Camaiore to Pomarance with four climbs along the route.

The race finishes next Tuesday with an individual time trial around San Benedetto del Tronto.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - The U.S. State Department's top anti-narcotics official says Colombia is unlikely to resume aerial spraying of coca crops despite skyrocketing production of cocaine.

William Brownfield also characterizes President Donald Trump's proposal to slash foreign aid by 37 percent as "a bit worrying," although he says such cuts wouldn't represent a crisis if they materialize.

After years of steady declines, Colombian cocaine production began surging in 2014 and is now at levels unseen since the U.S.-backed Plan Colombia started in 1999.

Brownfield is visiting Colombia. In an interview published Wednesday by local newspaper El Tiempo, he attributes the rise to Colombia's ending of aerial fumigation in 2014 over health concerns and unintended incentives in a peace deal with rebels that lead farmers in rebel-dominated areas to grow coca.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The daughter of an 82-year-old Louisiana woman who died from a blood infection caused by severely infected bedsores will stand trial Aug. 28 on a manslaughter charge.

The Advocate (http://bit.ly/2mBuZ8p ) reports state District Judge Mike Erwin set 55-year-old Joleslie Looney's trial date Monday.

Looney and her daughter, 20-year-old Lauren Looney, were Bessie Looney's primary caregivers in 2014 when the woman was found dead in their Baton Rouge home. Authorities say she was found naked, in a wheelchair, sitting in feces and covered with bedsores.

Lauren Looney also is charged with manslaughter. Her next court date is April 13.

The Looneys told police they were aware of Bessie Looney's condition but said it did not appear to be severe to them.

A manslaughter conviction carries up to 40 years in prison.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The Border Patrol's parent agency would exempt many veterans and law enforcement officers from a hiring requirement to take a lie-detector test under a proposal to satisfy President Donald Trump's order to add 5,000 agents, according to a memo released by the agents' union.

The memo by Kevin McAleenan, acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner, calls the polygraph a "significant deterrent and point of failure" for applicants and a recruiting disadvantage against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a separate agency that is responsible for deporting people settled in the U.S. ICE is under Trump's orders to hire 10,000 people, and it does not require lie detectors.

The Associated Press reported in January that about two-thirds of job applicants fail CBP's polygraph, more than double the average rate of law enforcement agencies that provided data under open-records requests. Those failures are a major reason why the Border Patrol recently fell below 20,000 agents for the first time since 2009. Many applicants have complained about being subjected to unusually long and hostile interrogations.

FILE--In this June 22, 2016, file photo, a Border Patrol agent walks along a border structure in San Diego, Calif. The U.S. Border Patrol's parent agency may exempt many veterans and law enforcement officers from a requirement that new hires take a lie-detector test. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, file)

The undated memo lays out a plan for the agency to build a force of 26,370 agents in five years, which would deprive Trump of hitting his target during his current term.

Any waiver of the lie-detector mandate may require congressional approval due to a 2010 law that introduced the requirement to root out corruption and misconduct after an earlier hiring surge doubled the size of the Border Patrol in eight years. McAleenan's memo is addressed to the Homeland Security Department deputy secretary for approval, suggesting that the Trump administration may not yet back the plan.

CBP officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, who oversees both CBP and ICE, told reporters Tuesday in Dallas that he still thinks the polygraph is "a good idea," while acknowledging that it has hindered hiring.

The National Border Patrol Council, which represents Border Patrol agents, received the memo Tuesday and has been working closely with the agency on hiring plans, said Shawn Moran, a union vice president. He called the changes to the polygraph "a more commonsense approach" and said current failure rates are "ridiculous."

"Obviously we want to get the best candidates. We want to make sure that we have stringent background checks, but when it comes to the polygraph, that thing, I think, has been far too excessive in weeding out potentially good candidates," Moran said.

A former official who played a key role introducing the polygraph said Wednesday that the hiring plan was "a roadmap to further compromise the current and future integrity of CBP."

James Tomsheck, who was the agency's internal affairs chief from 2006 to 2014, said McAleenan "is attempting to degrade the vetting" to accommodate a political mandate.

"Ultimately this data-deprived decision will greatly reduce security at our borders," Tomsheck wrote in an email.

The memo said the Border Patrol gets 60,000 to 75,000 applications a year and has hired an average of 529 candidates during each of the last four years, which translates to a hiring rate of less than 1 percent. It has lost an average of 904 agents a year through attrition, lowering its workforce to 19,627 in January.

The acting commissioner estimated that the Border Patrol would need to hire 2,729 agents a year to hit Trump's target in five years, accounting for attrition.

The hiring plan at the nation's largest law enforcement agency would cost $328 million during the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 and $1.9 billion the following year. McAleenan said the changes would need to take effect within six months for maximum effect.

The Border Patrol is clearly worried that ICE will poach agents to reach its own highly ambitious hiring requirements. Aside from not requiring a lie detector, McAleenan notes that ICE hires in major metropolitan areas, while Border Patrol jobs are often in remote regions far from medical care, schools and job opportunities for spouses. ICE employees are also often eligible for more overtime pay than Border Patrol agents.

The proposed waivers would exempt state and local law enforcement officers in good standing who have successfully completed a polygraph with their employers. Federal law enforcement officers who have passed certain types of background checks would also be exempt, and the number of military members and veterans who can skip the test would be expanded.

McAleenan said CBP is also considering a six-month experiment with an alternative polygraph test that takes less time to administer.

The memo calls for the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas - the busiest corridor for illegal crossings - to get 800 to 1,000 more agents, the largest increase under two proposed scenarios. The Laredo, Texas, sector would get 700 more agents.

Taking a polygraph became a hiring requirement at CBP after the hiring surge led to more agents getting arrested for misconduct. A Government Accountability Office report in 2013 said the lie detectors flagged applicants who wanted the job to smuggle drugs or engage in other crimes.

A panel of law enforcement experts appointed during President Barack Obama's administration last year called CBP's polygraph "an important integrity tool" in hiring and recommended employees be periodically tested, as the FBI does. It called corruption "the Achilles' heel of border agencies."

Kelly testified in Congress last month that he did not think the Border Patrol or ICE would hit hiring targets "within the next couple of years."

"We will add to the ranks of the ICE and Border Protection people as fast as we can, but we will not lower standards and we will not lower training," he said.

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Associated Press Writer Claudia Lauer in Dallas contributed to this report.
BRUSSELS (AP) - NATO and the United States warned Wednesday they could scale back cooperation with Kosovo's security services if the government goes ahead with plans to transform its lightly-armed security force into an army without the required constitutional changes.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he told Kosovo's leaders by telephone "that unilateral steps such as these are unhelpful." He warned that if Kosovo goes ahead as planned "NATO will have to review its level of commitment, particularly in terms of capacity-building."

A U.S. embassy statement said "adoption of the current proposed law would force us to re-evaluate our bilateral cooperation with and longstanding assistance to Kosovo's security forces."

The move must be carried out through an "inclusive and representative political process," the statement added.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci on Tuesday sent a draft law to parliament asking approval to form a regular army. The move was immediately denounced by Serbian leaders, who refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence and said they will use all political means available to prevent the formation of an army.

"There is no turning back. The KSF (Kosovo Security Force) will be transformed into Kosovo's army," Thaci told Radio Free Europe Wednesday. "Western Balkans is endangered from the Russian military bases in Serbia, from Russia's MIG jets in Serbia and from the Russian military exercises in Serbia."

"I expect that NATO is aware of such concrete threats," Thaci said at a news conference later Wednesday.

Constitutional amendments would require voting approval from the ethnic minorities at Kosovo's parliament. Serbia in effect holds a key say through Kosovo Serbs on whether the required constitutional changes can happen.

Thaci said Kosovo cannot "coordinate with Serbia" on its own affairs and that "Belgrade cannot decide for Kosovo."

"NATO and our international partners should assist Kosovo during this transformation and never think of punishing it simply because Serbia is not convinced that Kosovo should found its own army," he said.

Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday said he expects "help and support" from the European Union, the United States and Russia over Kosovo's plan. Vucic said the move was against the U.N. resolution that ended the war in Kosovo in 1999, and even against Kosovo's own constitution, which Serbia does not recognize.

Thaci said he asked Vucic at a telephone call Tuesday to tell ethnic Serb minority lawmakers to return to the parliament to vote for a number of projects including creation of the new army, and made clear to the Serb prime minister that the army would never be a "threat for Serbia or any other country."

"The response was disappointing," he said.

Both the U.S. and NATO are key Kosovo allies and have been helping to build up Kosovo's security force.

Relations between Kosovo and Serbia have been tense recently and the move is likely to make things worse. Kosovo declared independence in 2008. The move has been recognized by 114 countries but not Belgrade.
LONDON (AP) - The World Anti-Doping Agency says it is exploring a complete ban on corticosteroids.

Corticosteroids, which are used in anti-inflammatory medicines to treat a range of conditions, are allowed out of competition by athletes and permitted in competition by obtaining a therapeutic use exemption.

At the Tackling Doping in Sport conference in London, WADA director general Olivier Niggli said the status quo was an "unsatisfactory situation" and a group of experts will now look into whether corticosteroids are being abused.

The U.K. Anti-Doping Agency wants corticosteroids to be outlawed.

UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead says "there is always the risk that when a substance isn't banned" that someone "is trying to gain advantage."

Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France winner, faced questions last year after the Fancy Bears hacking group showed he had medically approved corticosteroid injections to prevent hay fever.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A federal jury in Utah has acquitted a man who says he was racially profiled and treated like a terrorist when he was charged with interfering with a Delta Air Lines flight crew in 2015.

A six day-trial ended in Salt Lake City Tuesday with the not guilty verdict for Atef Bandary, a 59-year-old U.S. citizen who's originally from Egypt and lives in Palm Springs, California.

Bandary faced 20 years in prison if he'd been convicted of assaulting a flight attendant during a confrontation on the flight from Atlanta to Palm Springs with a stop in Salt Lake.

He told KSL-TV (http://tinyurl.com/h86d4p6) the unfounded complaint was based entirely on his skin color. He says he frequently used the restroom due to a medical condition before flight attendants told him to remain seated because he was making other passengers suspicious.

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Information from: KSL-TV, http://www.ksl.com/
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - President Evo Morales has signed into law a bill that nearly doubles the amount of land in Bolivia that can be legally planted with coca.

Morales returned home Tuesday night after receiving treatment in Cuba for a nodule in his vocal chords.

He'd had to cancel previous speaking events after losing his voice to a sore throat. But he spoke for nearly an hour Wednesday in favor of the law. It allows farmers to plant up to 22,000 hectares (54,00 acres) of coca, up from 12,000 (29,000) under previous legislation.

Bolivia's President Evo Morales, left, dances before the signing of a new coca law at the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. Morales, who was rushed last week to Cuba for emergency treatment for problems with his vocal chords, reappeared Wednesday and against all recommendations spoke for almost an hour in defense of the controversial new law that would increase the amount of land for legal coca cultivation. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Morales is a former coca farmer who rose to power supporting legalization of the plant for traditional purposes.

He says he'll need to return to Cuba in April for a brief operation.

Bolivia's Vice President Alvaro Garcia, left, and President Evo Morales, speak during the signing of a new coca law at the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. Morales, who was rushed last week to Cuba for emergency treatment for problems with his vocal chords, reappeared Wednesday and against all recommendations spoke for almost an hour in defense of the controversial new law that would increase the amount of land for legal coca cultivation. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Premier Li Keqiang meets with a deputy of the 12th National People's Congress on Tuesday in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing while joining the Tibetan delegation for deliberations on the Government Work Report, which Li delivered on Sunday. The deliberation was part of the fifth plenary session of the 12th NPC, China's top legislature.[Photo by Wu Zhiyi/China Daily]

Premier Li Keqiang called for maintaining the stability and development of the Tibet autonomous region when he joined a panel discussion with National People's Congress deputies from the plateau region on Tuesday.

Tibet has a special place in the country's overall development, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, "with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core", has further made the region a priority since the 18th Party Congress in 2012, the premier told deputies during the ongoing NPC annual session.

This year will see further endeavors in promoting Tibet's stability and development, which complement each other through focusing on key ways to improve local people's livelihood, Li said. He vowed to improve public services in areas such as education, healthcare and heating.

He also said this year will see more efforts to develop Tibet's special and competitive industries such as tourism, clean energy and ethnic medicines, under the premise that the ecology must be stringently protected at the world's roof.

At an average altitude of about 4,000 meters, Tibet is sparsely populatedabout 3.75 million people in multiple ethnic groups living on 1.2 million square kilometers of land, which accounts for one-eighth of China's landmass.

Last year, Tibet's annual GDP growth hit 11.5 percent, ranking first among China's provincial-level regions.

In addition, the country will strengthen support and funding for Tibet's transportation and power-grid infrastructures, he said.

The premier also vowed to intensify efforts in poverty alleviation, especially for those living near the nation's borders, by creating better living conditions and industries.

He said unity should be strengthened to help all ethnic groups get along with each other, promote religious harmony as well as safeguard social stability and long-term peace.

On Tuesday, three other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central CommitteeYu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan and Wang Qishanalso joined discussions of NPC deputies.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met with deputies of the Taiwan delegation. He called for adhering to the policies of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems, as well as the 1992 Consensus that is characterized by the one-China policy in dealing with cross-Straits ties.

Yu said that any form of separatist actions to achieve Taiwan's independence will be opposed and contained to safeguard peace and stability across the Straits.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island pastor has been accused of molesting a boy over six years.

Roy D. Bolden Jr. was arraigned Wednesday on child molestation and sexual assault charges. Providence Police Sgt. Philip Hart says the 33-year-old pastor, an apostle of the Legions of Christ Ministries, will likely face more charges after the case moves to the attorney general's office.

Messages were left seeking comment from Bolden's Providence church.

City Police Maj. David Lapatin says a 21-year-old man told police Friday that he met Bolden at the church and that Bolden began sexually molesting him when he was 12 years old.

Bolden was arrested Monday.

Lapatin says police are distributing a photo of Bolden and meeting with church members to determine if there are more alleged victims.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Melania Trump is hosting a luncheon on International Women's Day. It's her first solo White House event as first lady.

The U.N.-designated day commemorates the push for women's rights. Women across the U.S. are observing the day by skipping work and shopping, and attending rallies.

At the White House, the first lady welcomed about 50 women seated at tables adorned with floral centerpieces of pharaoh tulips and sweet pea flowers in shades of purple.

Attendees included her stepdaughter, Ivanka Trump; Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen; White House counselor Kellyanne Conway; and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Reporters were led out of the room as the first lady began to speak.

She and President Donald Trump were having dinner later Wednesday with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his wife, Heidi.

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This story has been corrected to show that Ivanka Trump is stepdaughter, not daughter-in-law.
WASHINGTON (AP) - As Donald Trump raged in an Oval Office filled with tense senior aides, he trained his eyes on one in particular: White House Counsel Don McGahn.

During the Friday afternoon tirade, which would spill into a Saturday morning tweetstorm, Trump erupted over his attorney general's decision to step out of a sensitive investigation on Russian contacts and tangled with his team over how to redo his troubled travel ban. His angriest remarks were reserved for McGahn, who was tasked with making a complex legal case on both fronts to a president concerned about political optics.

But less than 24 hours after being on the receiving end of a Trump smackdown, McGahn was in Florida with his boss at an amiable work session and dinner. The new travel ban the president signed on Monday shows he took the lawyer's advice to stop pursuing his appeal of the first one.

FILE - In this June 9, 2016 file photo, attorney Donald McGahn is seen in New York. McGahn, now White House counsel, is an in-house guard rail for President Donald Trump who likes to veer out of traditional bounds, and McGahn certainly doesn't win all of his battles. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

In a White House that prides itself on defying the system, McGahn often has the unenviable task of defining that system's parameters. He's an in-house guardrail for a president who likes to veer out of traditional bounds, and McGahn certainly doesn't win all of his battles. Yet for far longer than anyone in the White House outside of Trump's family, McGahn has retained his status of trusted confidant and adviser to a man who isn't interested in making the job easy.

"Don's style is such that it avoids having him get sucked into the vortex," said Leonard Leo, an adviser to the White House on the Supreme Court nomination process and judicial and legal appointments. "He's not yapping in the president's ear just for the sake of being close to power. So when they do talk, it's more meaningful."

McGahn - a 48-year-old election lawyer who ended his side-gig as a guitarist in an '80s cover band to take on the all-consuming his White House post - walked into an empty West Wing office on Jan. 20,. He's lived the past month and a half in dog years. In rapid fire, he's fielded unprecedented ethics questions, suffered a bruising legal defeat on a signature policy and managed the hiring, and one firing, of prominent officials.

A single tweet can send him scrambling without warning, as last weekend when the president accused former President Barack Obama of wire-tapping his phone at Trump Tower. McGahn and his team were dispatched to find out what, if any, options the president had to learn more about the situation, according to White House spokesman Sean Spicer, who disputed there was anything inappropriate about the inquiry.

"If you know Don and the team here, these are unbelievably talented lawyers," Spicer said Monday. "They are very skilled at knowing where the bounds are."

McGahn declined to comment for this story.

In one of his few interviews, with a conservative TV station during the Republican National Convention last summer, he laughed when asked to preview what Trump would say in his speech that night: "I wouldn't dare begin to guess what Mr. Trump is going to say."

His boss' unpredictability isn't McGahn's only challenge. Trump's business ties raise a pile of legal and ethical quandaries for this White House. McGahn has hired 26 senior lawyers for his Office of the White House Counsel, including a team of four to contend with the nonstop questions that dog a billionaire president who retains a financial interest in his global real estate and marketing empire.

He has sought advice and support from many of his predecessors, including Obama's first chief White House Counsel Bob Bauer and George H.W. Bush's top attorney C. Boyden Gray.

"It was more of a commiseration," Gray said of his conversation with McGahn. While the elder Bush had a successful private-sector career in which he pioneered offshore drilling, he'd sold everything off by the time he went into politics, he said. "There weren't the entanglements the Trump family has."

As the campaign's general counsel, McGahn was with Trump on June 16, 2015, the day he announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. He was with him on the ground in every important primary state and again on Nov. 8, as the final results rolled in. Only Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law-turned adviser, has also traveled each step in Trump's improbable rise.

That familiarity has made McGahn comfortable enough with Trump to push him without permanently damaging their relationship - even if a discussion becomes "heated" or "spirited," as two administration officials described last week's exchange. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversations.

It fell to McGahn to explain that it was up to no one but Attorney General Jeff Sessions to make the decision to recuse himself from any investigation into Trump campaign links to Russia - a move that Trump argued felt like an admission of defeat.

"It can be emotionally draining," the adviser Leo said. "You don't just have to answer complex legal questions, but you have to do so in a way that is accepted and embraced by your boss."

Although Trump's first travel ban was written with little legal vetting, McGahn took heat for it as courts blocked it. Some legal experts called the executive order sloppy. The federal appeals panel said it could not rely on McGahn's after-the-fact written assurance that lawful permanent residents were exempt. The new ban expressly does not apply to that group.

McGahn also was in the middle of the ouster of Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser. According to the White House, he was the first to learn from the acting attorney general, Sally Yates, that Flynn had not been forthcoming about the nature of his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

McGahn took the information to Trump that same day, although Flynn wasn't fired until after details were made public.

McGahn, who friends say has both the humor and intensity to withstand pressure, is a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, where he pushed to give political groups and candidates more flexibility in raising and spending money. His wife, Shannon McGahn, recently joined the Treasury Department as a senior adviser, after serving as staff director for the House Financial Services Committee.

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Follow Bykowicz on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Bykowicz .
A mayor who was handily defeated in his bid for a sixth two-year term said Wednesday that he believes his loss was due to his support for a plan to bring refugees from Syria and Iraq to the economically depressed Vermont city.

Rutland Mayor Christopher Louras lost Tuesday's four-way race to City Councilor David Allaire, who had campaigned on a platform of healing a community divided by the mayor's refugee plan.

While acknowledging that a number of local issues played a role in the race, Louras said he felt his support for refugee resettlement ultimately cost him re-election.

Winner! David Allaire cheers to the crowd at Kelvan's restaurant on Tuesday following his win in the four-way mayoral race in Rutland, Vermont

Loser: Allaire defeated incumbent Mayor Christopher Louras (pictured in May 2016), who supported a plan to bring refugees from Syria and Iraq to the economically depressed city

'Though I wanted to think this was not a referendum on refugee resettlement, I continue to believe, as I've articulated, Rutland is a microcosm of the national conversation on immigration and refugees, and ultimately it was not an election on the issues but an election based on emotions,' Louras said.

Allaire lost to Louras in two other elections, Seven Days reported.

Louras told the website: 'I'm simply wishing him luck and I'm moving on.'

According to unofficial returns, Allaire claimed 52 per cent of the vote. Also in the race were downtown advocate Michael Coppinger and resident Kam Johnston. The candidates do not run under a party affiliation.

Louras received 32 per cent of the vote, Coppinger received 13 per cent and Johnston got one per cent, Vermont Public Radio reports.

'One of the first things I want to do is restore the trust in City Hall,' Allaire said, standing outside his victory party. 'That's what I'm going to do.'

Last spring, Louras announced a plan to bring up to 100 refugees annually from Syria and Iraq to the city of about 16,500 residents.

Results: According to unofficial returns, Allaire claimed 52 per cent of the vote

Candidates: Louras received 32 per cent of the vote, downtown advocate Michael Coppinger received 13 per cent and resident Kam Johnston got one per cent

The plan split the community, with many residents eager to greet the newcomers but with others citing concerns the refugees could be security threats or economic burdens.

So far, two families, both with young children, have arrived.

It's unclear given the changes in the immigration and refugee programs by President Donald Trump's administration how many more will arrive.

Allaire had criticized the way Louras rolled out the program, announcing it last April without getting input from the public and city officials.

When he announced his candidacy, Allaire said the issue was not with the city taking in refugees but with the secrecy of the program.

Playing a role? While acknowledging that a number of local issues played a role in the race, Louras said he felt his support for refugee resettlement ultimately cost him re-election

Strategy: Allaire had campaigned on a platform of healing a community divided by the mayor's refugee plan. People are seen with signs for Allaire

He told Seven Days in February: 'We've had a difficult time getting any information from the mayor's office or the refugee resettlement folks.

'It seems to be all cloak and dagger, behind the scenes.'

During his campaign, Louras cited the importance of continuity and said his plans to create more jobs and the city's strides in confronting heroin use would be jeopardized by a change in leadership.

But he also said he wasn't sorry if his support for resettling refugees led to his defeat.

'I will say that I have no regrets whatsoever in pushing a refugee resettlement initiative, and if welcoming five children in two families to this community while they were escaping for their lives cost me this election, then I am OK with that,' he said.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Wildfires scorching hundreds of square miles of Kansas, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma have been blamed in at least six deaths as of Wednesday. Thousands of people have been displaced by the wind-whipped flames.

Here's a look at the situation:

WHAT'S BURNING?

Wildfires continue to burn north of Hutchinson, Kan., Tuesday, March 7, 2017. The view looks southwest along K61 showing smoke billowing from a burning fire. Crews grappling with vexing wildfires that have charred hundreds of square miles of land in four states and killed multiple people soon may get a bit of a break: Winds are forecast to ease from the gusts that whipped the flames. (Travis Morisse/The Hutchinson News via AP)

Kansas has logged more than 1,000 square miles of scorched land in a blaze that appears to be the largest in the state's recorded history, and roughly 2,000 firefighters are scrambling to contain the flames. A single fire has charred an estimated 748 square miles in the ranching and farming communities of Clark and Comanche counties alone, topping the 435 square miles that burned last year in what then was billed as the state's biggest recorded wildfire.

At least 70 structures in Kansas have been damaged or destroyed.

In addition, three wildfires in the Texas Panhandle have burned nearly 750 square miles of rural land, while more than 540 square miles of property has been blackened in Oklahoma. Dozens of square miles also have been charred in northeastern Colorado.

WHAT CAUSES SUCH BLAZES?

It's not yet clear what sparked the wildfires now raging.

But Bill Bunting, forecast operations chief at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said human activity causes most wildfires in the prairie - a cigarette thrown from a car or sometimes a spark from a catalytic converter. Bunting said lightning accounts for 25 percent of wildfires.

WHAT'S STOKING THE FLAMES?

Parched conditions amplified by strong winds and low humidity put the region at risk for wildfires. All of eastern Colorado is classified as either moderately or abnormally dry along with much of Kansas and Oklahoma, and some of northern Texas, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly tracker of dry conditions across the U.S.

Noting the abundance of vegetation fuel, drought conditions and windiness in the southern central Plains, Liz Leitman, a Storm Prediction Center meteorologist, said Wednesday that "everything has come together to overlap to create a pretty volatile situation."

PROMISING WEATHER AHEAD

Firefighters in many of the affected states may catch a break within days.

Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the Nebraska-based National Drought Mitigation Center, said the weekly drought report he put together for release Thursday will show an intensification of drought conditions in the fire-ravaged region.

But perhaps starting late Thursday and lingering into the weekend, a storm is forecast to drop an inch or more of rainfall from central Kansas through much of Oklahoma and Texas, Fuchs said. The Texas Panhandle, eastern Colorado and western Kansas may miss out on that.

"That will be enough precipitation to put the brakes on some of this (wildfire outbreak) right now," he said.

COULD THE OUTBREAK BE CYCLICAL?

Leitman said the latest outbreak of wildfires "seems to be, at least in my experience, a naturally occurring cycle for this area" and "not unusual for this time of year."

She said the last large outbreak came in late 2010 and into 2011, when similar conditions caused wildfires that scorched more than 4,000 square miles in Texas and Arizona.

COULD CLIMATE CHANGE BE IN PLAY?

In 2013, University of Illinois atmospheric sciences professor Don Wuebbles warned that the frequency and intensity of wildfires likely would increase in the coming years, given the confluence of such factors as higher temperatures, untamed underbrush and less rain.

Wuebbles, a co-author of a draft federal report linking climate change to an increase in severe weather trends, postulated then to National Geographic that "this probably is the new normal."

"Thirty years from now, we may look upon this as being a much better period than what we may be facing then," he said then.

WHAT'S THE COST?

Officials in the states affected by the ongoing wildfires haven't released estimates of the economic losses from damaged or destroyed homes, businesses and livestock - or the expense of firefighters' efforts to knock down the flames. But it's expected those costs will run well into the millions of dollars.

During last year's massive wildfire along the Kansas-Oklahoma border, for example, firefighting costs reached $1.5 million in Barber County - the Kansas county hardest hit by that blaze. That county's emergency management chief, Jerry McNamar, said the county's economic losses included 750 to 800 cattle that died in the county, along with at least 2,700 miles of fence, worth $27 million, that was destroyed.

GLASS HALF FULL

Wildfires can offer some ecological benefits.

Conservation experts, for instance, say that last year's sprawling Oklahoma-Kansas blaze managed to clear out more eastern red cedars in a week than local efforts to eradicate that invasive species could have accomplished in decades.

Red cedars, also known as junipers, are fast-growing, drought-resistant trees that are useful for erosion control along canyon edges in the region's Red Hills. But those trees - often the focus of prescribed burns - are a nuisance on prairie land because they crowd out native grasses, suck up moisture from the soil and reduce the amount of forage area for wildlife and livestock.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A look at opposing sides as Congress considers proposed Republican changes to the Obama administration health law.

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SUPPORTING THE BILL:

President Donald Trump: "We're going to do something that's great and I'm proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives."

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Vice President Mike Pence: "I really do believe this is an extraordinarily important moment in the life of our nation, and every American who longs to see us start over on health care reform that will respect the doctor-patient relationship, that will harness the power of the free marketplace to lower the cost of insurance, that will give states freedom and flexibility to improve Medicaid for our most vulnerable citizens can let their voice be heard."

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House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.:

"It repeals Obamacare's taxes, it repeals Obamacare's spending, it repeals Obamacare's mandates. It creates a vibrant market where insurance companies compete for your business, where you have lower costs, more choices, and greater control over your health care. And it returns power - this is most important - this returns power from Washington back to doctors and patients, back to states. This is what good, conservative health care reform looks like."

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.: "This isn't a law that can be fixed. This isn't a law that can be saved. It has to be repealed and replaced. We promised the American people we would. We're keeping our promise."

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Neil Bradley, U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

"Critically important provisions in the recommendations repeal a substantial number of the most harmful provisions in the Affordable Care Act: the health insurance tax, the medical device tax, and the tax on prescription medications; restrictions on the use and limitations on contributions to health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts; and the penalties associated with the employer mandate."

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OPPOSED TO THE BILL:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.: "This is a tax cut for the wealthy with some health insurance provisions tacked alongside of it."

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: "If Republicans have their way, working families, older Americans, and people with disabilities will face huge new health costs."

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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah:

"We promised the American people we would drain the swamp and end business as usual in Washington. This bill does not do that. We don't know how many people would use this new tax credit, we don't know how much it will cost, and we don't know if this bill will make health care more affordable for Americans. This is exactly the type of backroom dealing and rushed process that we criticized Democrats for, and it is not what we promised the American people."

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.: "It still looks like Obamacare Lite to me. It's going to have to be better."

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Conservative advocacy groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, backed by the billionaire Koch Brothers: "As the bill stands today, it is Obamacare 2.0. Millions of Americans would never see the improvements in care they were promised, just as Obamacare failed to deliver on its promises."

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David McIntosh, president of the conservative advocacy group Club for Growth: "Republicans should be offering a full and immediate repeal of Obamacare's taxes, regulations, and mandates, an end to the Medicaid expansion, and inclusion of free-market reforms, like interstate competition."

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Andrew W. Gurman, president of the American Medical Association: "The AMA supported health system reform legislation in 2010 because it was a significant improvement on the status quo at the time; and although it was imperfect, we continue to embrace its primary goal - making high-quality, affordable health coverage accessible to all Americans. As drafted, the AHCA would result in millions of Americans losing coverage and benefits. By replacing income-based premium subsidies with age-based tax credits, the AHCA will also make coverage more expensive - if not out of reach - for poor and sick Americans. For these reasons, the AMA cannot support the AHCA as it is currently written."

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Joyce A. Rogers, AARP: "This bill would weaken Medicare's fiscal sustainability, dramatically increase health care costs for Americans aged 50-64, and put at risk the health care of millions of children and adults with disabilities, and poor seniors who depend on the Medicaid program for long-term services and supports and other benefits."
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska volcano that has erupted periodically since mid-December sent up its biggest cloud to date late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, prompting warnings to airliners and a major U.S. fishing port in the Aleutian Islands.

Bogoslof Volcano erupted at 10:36 p.m. Tuesday, spewing ash for three hours and sending a cloud of it to 35,000 feet, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported.

The National Weather Service warned that trace amounts - less than 1 millimeter - of ash could settle on Dutch Harbor, a major port for Bering Sea crab and pollock.

It was the 36th eruption for Bogoslof over the last three months, and the first since Feb. 19.

"It was the most significant event for the entire eruption," said U.S. Geological Survey geologist Kristi Wallace.

The eruption was marked by 200 lighting strikes, Wallace said, and elevated seismic activity that lasted until 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"And then it just shut off," Wallace said.

The Aleutians Island volcano is 850 miles southwest of Anchorage. The volcano remains in a heightened state of unrest and could erupt again at any time.

Ash clouds rising above 20,000 feet are a threat to jets flying between Asia and North America. Air traffic controllers receive an advisory after eruptions and warn jets to fly around or above ash clouds, which can drift for hundreds of miles.

Volcanic ash can erode jet engine turbine blades. Ash melted by high temperatures in the engines adheres to critical parts and can cause engine failure, according to the observatory. Ash can also scrape cockpit windows and interfere with electronics of navigation systems.

Fine ash drifting to cities can cause respiratory problems for people and animals, interfere with electrical equipment and damage air filters and gasoline engines.

Bogoslof Island is the tip of an underwater volcano that extends down 5,500 feet in a cone shape to the floor of the Bering Sea. The island first appeared after an underwater eruption in 1796. Subsequent explosions and eruptions have caused the island to grow and shrink.

The current eruptions are from a shallow, underwater vent on the island's southeast side.

The city of Unalaska and Dutch Harbor are about 63 miles southeast of the volcano. Donnie Lane, communication officer for the Unalaska Department of Public Safety, said police had not received any reports of ash falling on the community as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Wallace said the observatory had received reports of light dustings of ash in the community of about 4,500 people but that winds may have blown the ash cloud away from the island.
MARGATE, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey shore town that lost a battle with the state over the construction of beach dunes will now have dunes built on its beaches during the busy summer months.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports (http://bit.ly/2n6pfBC ) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will start forming dunes on Margate's beaches in June and continue through August.

Dune opponents believe the state is getting back at Margate for their opposition. But Army Corps officials say they regularly perform dune work during the height of summer.

Approximately four blocks of beach will be closed off at a time during construction. A 24-hour work schedule is expected.

Mayor Mike Becker says lingering concerns over beach access, draining and accumulating trash have yet to be fully addressed by the Army Corps.

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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.inquirer.com
CHICAGO (AP) - Even before President Donald Trump tweeted a threat to send "in the Feds" to curb Chicago's gun violence, he was saying on the campaign trail that there was a simple solution to the bloodshed: police should get tougher. Chicago should follow the lead of New York City, Trump's administration has said, and crack down on even the smallest offenses.

It turns out Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson visited the New York Police Department weeks before the Trump administration advice. But what he gleaned from a city that has achieved long term success in fighting crime was more nuanced than a Trump-inspired police crackdown.

Johnson came home with ideas aimed at increasing community trust by using technology to get Chicago police officers out of their squad cars, and putting new cadets in neighborhoods to walk the streets and talk to locals.

FILE - In this June 12, 2017 file photo, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson speaks with with residents of Chicago. Superintendent Johnson visited New York to learn how it has achieved success in fighting crime. Johnson came home with ideas aimed at increasing community trust by using technology to get Chicago police officers out of their squad cars and putting new cadets in neighborhoods to walk the streets. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File)

"We are only as strong as the faith the community has in us," Johnson said.

Gaining that community trust will be a tall order in a city suffering from a toxic brew of rising violent crime in some of its poorest neighborhoods along with anger at police after the release in 2015 of a video showing a white police officer shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.

That lack of faith has had grave consequences in Chicago where many people living in high-crime neighborhoods are reluctant to help police solve them. While the number of homicides surged to the highest in nearly two decades last year at 762, the percentage of those murders solved by police fell ten points to 26 percent, according to a University of Chicago Crime Lab study. In New York, police solve about 70 percent of homicides.

"We need them (witnesses) to come forward and give us the information so we can put these bad guys in jail," Johnson said.

In one example of Chicago's dilemma, the police department is struggling to draft a new policy on the use of force. An October proposal prompted concern from the police union that the restrictions were so tight officers would put themselves in danger to comply. A new draft released Tuesday would give police more latitude in deciding when to fire their weapons, which pleased the police union but prompted concern from community activists about excessive force.

All this is a sharp contrast with New York, where the NYPD during the 1990s turned to the "broken windows" policing strategy of cracking down on minor offenses championed by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. That policy helped drive the number of homicides down in one decade from more than 2,200 a year to fewer than 700.

Since then, the number of homicides in New York has continued to decline. In January the police department announced that there had been a near record low 335 homicide in 2016 - less than half the tally in Chicago, which has less than half the population. And New York has done this with a lighter policing touch.

The NYPD has been making a targeted effort to repair damaged relationships with minority communities. Use of the "stop-and-frisk" tactic that disproportionally affected black and Hispanic men has plummeted in the past three years. Low-level possession of marijuana is now considered a ticketable offense, and overall arrests dropped 20 percent in 2016 from the year before.

Since his visit to New York, Johnson has begun applying what he learned about community policing with some encouraging results.

In New York, the department started giving officers smartphones that are equipped with policing apps linked to federal and state databases. Statistics show the officers are relying on those phones more and more.

In Chicago, those phones are part of a strategy that includes sensors installed around neighborhoods that alert officers immediately where and when a gun is fired and a computer system that takes information about arrests, 911 calls, gang activity and other data and predicts where violent crime might occur.

That gives officers instant access to information both when they are in their squad cars and out on the street. This is significant because there has been a growing concern that as officers become more dependent on technology, they are more reluctant to get out of their squad cars.

"You are never going to get the community to like you or trust you if all you did was race by at 30 mph and get out of your cars only to jack somebody up," said Jim Bueermann, president of the Police Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization. "It is absolutely important to get them (officers) out of their cars."

In two of Chicago's most violent police districts where the technology was introduced last month, the number of shootings dropped dramatically compared to February 2016 - 60 percent in one and 40 percent in the other.

Johnson was also impressed with how rookie officers in New York are assigned to more experienced mentors around the city. Trainees are pulled from the academy to spend a week at a precinct house, in a patrol car and then walk the beat over a nine-week period. The goal is to get those officers into the community to meet people and learn how to interact with them.

"Police officers are giving their cellphone numbers and email addresses to residents so that they can have a constant dialogue," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said after a speech in Chicago on March 3. "Arrest is the last resort, not the first one," he said.

Johnson liked that strategy so much that he will begin putting cadets from the training academy into communities this year. When they return to the academy, the hope is that the cadets will be better versed on the neighborhoods and their residents.

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Eds: Corrects paragraph 10 to show that New York police said the number of homicides last year was a near-record low 335, not a record low.

FILE - In this May 30, 2016 file photo, police work the scene where a man was fatally shot in the chest in Chicago. Chicago's Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson visited New York to learn how it has achieved success in fighting crime. Johnson came home with ideas aimed at increasing community trust by using technology to get Chicago police officers out of their squad cars and putting new cadets in neighborhoods to walk the streets. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune via AP)

FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2017 file photo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, right, and NYPD Commissioner Jim O'Neil appear at a news conference in New York. Chicago's Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson visited New York to learn how it has achieved success in fighting crime. Johnson came home with ideas aimed at increasing community trust by using technology to get Chicago police officers out of their squad cars and putting new cadets in neighborhoods to walk the streets. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
China is now studying on the ways to optimize approval procedures for drug registration of foreign companies, head of drug safety watchdog disclosed on Sunday, adding that primary measures like simplifying proceedings and increasing team members have been taken to shorten the time window.

The administration is studying on new policies to encourage drug innovation, Bi Jingquan, Minister of China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), said on the sidelines of the two sessions, namely the annual meetings of the National Peoples Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

He elaborated on the specific measures, saying that the country will fulfill its commitment on data protection for pharmaceutical products when joining the WTO, speed up the pace of mutual recognition of drug profiles including clinical trials with other nations, further improve the intellectual property protection system and cut the research and development cost of pharmaceutical companies.

Bis remarks came amid a longer time window for foreign drugs to access to Chinese market. As a result of different rules and systems, lagging behind intellectual property policies, a delayed adjustment of the catalogue for medicare reimbursement as well as insufficient approval staff, some drugs have to wait for years or longer to enter Chinese market after they were used in their countries.

The efficiency has been improved significantly thanks to the primary efforts, the head stressed.

The number of pharmaceutical products waiting for approvals have been dropped from the peaking 22,000 items to 8,000 ones at the end of 2016, while some adjustments have been made on the catalogue, Bi said, saying that these improvements will help foreign drugs get easier access to Chinese market.

He encouraged the overseas pharmaceutical companies to test waters in China, saying that with over 1.3 billion population, the market represents great potential.
President Donald Trump's fired national security adviser Michael Flynn has admitted that his lobbying firm was paid $530,000 for work that could have benefited the Turkish government, just two months before he was appointed to the White House.

Flynn's consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, was lobbying for a Dutch consulting firm with ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before and immediately after the US election.

Documents filed with the Justice Department on Tuesday said the work 'could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey.'

The filing also disclosed that Flynn secretly met with the Turkish foreign and energy ministers in New York before Election Day.

Flynn wrote an op-ed the day Trump was elected calling for the US to kick out anti-government Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who is living in exile in Pennsylvania.

But at the time he didn't disclose he was being paid by a firm with links to the Turkish government.

His firm is also said to have tried to pressure a representative of the House Homeland Security Committee into opening an investigation into Gulen, who is accused of organizing the failed coup against Erdogan.

The shocking revelations come just a month after Flynn was fired from his White House post after just 23 days for misleading Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

President Donald Trump's fired national security adviser Michael Flynn has admitted that his lobbying firm was paid $530,000 for work that could have benefited the Turkish government, just two months before he was appointed to the White House.

Flynn's consultancy firm is reported to have spoken with a representative of the House Homeland Security Committee, asking the rep to hold congressional hearings on American-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, right, who reportedly was behind the failed coup against Turkish President Erdogan, left

After his firm's work on behalf of a Turkish company was done, Flynn agreed not to lobby for five years after leaving government service and never to represent foreign governments.

Under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, U.S. citizens who lobby on behalf of foreign government or political entities must disclose their work to the Justice Department.

Willfully failing to register is a felony, though the Justice Department rarely files criminal charges in such cases. It routinely works with lobbying firms to get back in compliance with the law by registering and disclosing their work.

A Turkish businessman who hired Flynn's consulting firm told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the amended filings were made in response to pressure from Justice Department officials in recent weeks.

The amended paperwork was allegedly in response to work Flynn's consultancy form did for a Dutch company owned by Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin (pictured)

The businessman, Ekim Alptekin, said in a phone call from Istanbul that the changes were a response to 'political pressure' and he did not agree with Flynn's decision to file the registration documents with the Justice Department.

'I disagree with the filing,' he said. 'It would be different if I was working for the government of Turkey, but I am not taking directions from anyone in the government.'

Flynn's attorney did not respond to questions about whether the Justice Department or FBI had contacted Flynn about his lobbying activities.

Flynn's consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group Inc., had previously disclosed to Congress that it worked for Inovo BV, a Dutch-based company owned by Alptekin. But neither Flynn nor his company had previously filed paperwork with the Justice Department, which requires more extensive transparency about work that benefits foreign governments and political interests.

In the filings with the Justice Department, Flynn's attorney, Robert Kelner, noted they served as a termination of the registration, saying the firm had ceased operations in November, the same month the lobbying contract ended.

Calls to phone numbers associated with Flynn and his firm weren't answered. Kelner, his attorney, declined to comment through a spokesman for his law firm, Covington & Burling.

Reached Wednesday afternoon, an official at the Turkish embassy in Washington said he would refer the questions to the embassy spokesman. The spokesman did not immediately respond.

The shocking revelations come just a month after Flynn was fired from his White House post after just 23 days for misleading Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials about his contacts with Russia

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.

As a key member of Trump's transition team last December, Flynn spoke by phone several times with Kislyak during the period when former President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. and levied new sanctions in response to Russian election-related hacking.

According to the new paperwork, Flynn's firm took on the Turkish-related lobbying work in August while he was a top Trump campaign surrogate. Flynn Intel disclosed in its filing that in mid-September, the company was invited by Alptekin to meet with Turkish officials in New York.

Alptekin wrote a series of tweets on Wednesday, saying Flynn's work for him was in no way tied to the government

Alptekin acknowledged Wednesday that he had set up the meeting between Flynn and the two officials. He said they met at an undisclosed hotel in New York. Alptekin said Flynn happened to be in New York while the Turkish officials were attending United Nations sessions and a separate conference Alptekin had arranged.

'I asked one of Gen. Flynn's staff if he was in town and would be available to meet and they got in touch with him,' said Alptekin, who owns several businesses in Turkey.

Among those officials, the documents said, were Turkey's ministers of foreign affairs and energy. Flynn's company did not name the officials but reported the two worked for Turkey's government 'to the best of Flynn Intel Group's current understanding.'

Alptekin, who previously told The Associated Press he has no relationship with the Turkish government, is a member of a Turkish economic relations board run by an appointee of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president.

Erdogan's power base is Turkey's Islamic voters, and since a failed coup in July, he has accelerated a crackdown against the nation's weakening secularist faction. Erdogan has accused cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the aborted coup and called for his extradition from the U.S., where he lives. The Obama administration did not comply, and Gulen still lives in a compound in Pennsylvania.

According to the filing, Flynn Intel's work involved collecting information about Gulen and pressuring U.S. officials to take action against the cleric, including a meeting in October between Flynn's firm and a representative of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Flynn Intel arranged the meeting to discuss a technology developed by another Flynn Intel client. But after discussing the technology, the firm changed the subject to Gulen, pressuring the committee to hold congressional hearings to investigate the cleric, said a U.S. official with direct knowledge of Flynn Intel's work. That request was rebuffed. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The official said Flynn Intel never revealed whom it was representing during the meeting.

The October meeting came as Flynn was working on an op-ed promoting Turkey's political and business affairs that was later published in The Hill, a Washington-based political newspaper. Flynn wrote that Turkey needed support and echoed Erdogan's warnings about Gulen, whom he called a 'shady' Turkish Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania. Flynn argued that Gulen should not be given safe harbor in the U.S.

In the new filing, Flynn disclosed that in writing the op-ed, he relied on research conducted as part of the Inovo BV contract. Flynn's firm also admitted it conducted 'open-source research,' directed by Inovo, focusing on Gulen.

The results 'were provided to Inovo' and to a separate lobbying firm, S.G.R. LLC Government Relations and Lobbying, a public relations company retained by Flynn Intel. The materials were aimed for distribution to 'third parties,' but because the project terminated early, 'the full scope of the contract was not performed,' according to the filings.

In the filings, Flynn emphasized that neither Inovo BV nor the Turkish government directed him to write the op-ed. He also said he was not paid for the op-ed. Alptekin said he had been opposed to Flynn's writing the op-ed, although he agreed with its anti-Gulen and pro-Turkley stances.

Alptekin added that he had asked for some of the $530,000 in payments to the Flynn Intel Group to be returned to him because of his dissatisfaction with the company's performance.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Keith Tonkel, one of 28 white United Methodist ministers who signed a statement condemning segregation and racism in the Deep South in 1963, has died.

Wells United Methodist Church, where he had been pastor since 1969, announced that Tonkel died Wednesday in Jackson, where he had been hospitalized for pneumonia and blood clots in his lungs. The church said he died after experiencing a heart problem. He was 81.

Tonkel was born in New Orleans to a drummer and a debutante, and grew up Catholic there and in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He became a Methodist as a young man.

FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2013 file photo, Wells Church pastor Rev. Keith Tonkel participates in a discussion about the challenges Mississippi's capital city faces in Jackson. Tonkel, one of 28 white United Methodist ministers who signed a statement condemning segregation and racism in the Deep South in 1963, has died. Wells United Methodist Church, where he had been pastor since 1969, announced that Tonkel died Wednesday, March 8, 2017 in Jackson, where he had been hospitalized for pneumonia and blood clots in his lungs. He was 81. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Tonkel was pastor of the small Guinn Memorial Methodist Church in Gulfport when he and 27 other young ministers signed the "Born of Conviction" statement against racism. It appeared in a Mississippi Methodist publication in January 1963, near the height of white resistance to the civil rights movement. It was released three months after a mob rioted because of the court-ordered integration of the University of Mississippi in Oxford and about five months before Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers was assassinated outside his Jackson home.

"Confronted with the grave crises precipitated by racial discord within our state in recent months, and the genuine dilemma facing persons of Christian conscience, we are compelled to voice publicly our convictions," said the statement, which caused some signers to be ostracized.

Their statement affirmed the Methodist position on race: "Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches that all men are brothers. He permits no discrimination because of race, color, or creed."

Twenty of the 28 ministers who signed the document left Mississippi for a variety of reasons, said Joseph Reiff, who published a book in 2015 called "Born of Conviction: White Methodists and Mississippi's Closed Society." Reiff, a religion professor at Emory & Henry College in Virginia, said about a half dozen of them "really did not have a choice" to remain in Mississippi because of threats.

Reiff said Tonkel faced anonymous threats by phone, and a man showed up outside his house wielding a shotgun. Some church members publicly criticized Tonkel for signing the statement, and he told them they had a right to do so.

Tonkel told The Associated Press in 2005 that he signed "Born of Conviction" with the understanding that he was committed to staying in Mississippi.

"How can you flesh out a conviction if you're absent?" Tonkel said. "I thought our responsibility was to see what we can create that would be inclusive."

Wells Church has a racially integrated congregation in a low-income Jackson neighborhood that was largely abandoned by white residents during the 1960s and 1970s.

Reiff attended Wells Church as a college student in the 1970s and was pastor of another Methodist church in Jackson in the 1980s.

"He was an exceptional person in so many different ways," Reiff said of Tonkel. "He had this way of connecting with people and had really a remarkable way of connecting people to God."
China has proposed that North Korea suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the US and South Korea.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula were like two accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way.

Mr Wang asked: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?

He added that, as a first step to defusing the looming crisis, the North might suspend its nuclear and missile activities if the US and South Korea halt their military exercises.

Mr Wang said the suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table.

China has been stepping up pressure on North Korea, its once-close Communist ally, to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Wang Yi proposed that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint military drills conducted by the US and South Korea

Last month, Beijing suspended all coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year.

China is North Koreas largest source of trade and aid, and the move deprives the North of an important source of foreign currency.

Beijing wants the US in return to restart long-stalled negotiations with North Korea to ease regional tensions.
The British backpacker who was allegedly held captive and repeatedly raped and beaten in an ordeal lasting over a month has been released from hospital.

The 22-year-old woman is recovering with family and friends in Australia after receiving treatment for a host of injuries including facial fractures.

Queenslands Department of Justice identified Marcus Martin, 22, as the man charged with kidnapping the UK tourist.

She faces a wait to return to the UK due to her passport allegedly being damaged by the suspect.

Queensland Police said it is now believed that alleged attacks took place between February 3 and Sunday when the woman was rescued in Mitchell.

She provoked alarm when she stumbled badly bruised and almost zombie-like into a remote petrol station in the Australian outback.

After tearfully nodding when asked if the abuse was suffered at the hands of her partner, the tourist left without paying and was pursued by the owner, according to reports.

Police were flagged down during the chase and officers pulled her over near Mitchell, finding her with injuries to her face and marks on her neck.

Queensland Police said officers found her alleged tormentor stowed in the boot beneath a pile of clothing.

I made the decision to follow her because I thought that if I could get the registration number Id be able to file a report to the police, shop owner Beverley Page told the Daily Mail.

She told police she had been held captive by a man she had met at a party in Cairns and had been travelling around the state in the car since January 2.

It is thought the sabotage to her passport was a means of invalidating it and possibly preventing an escape.

Detective Inspector Paul Hart told a press conference on Tuesday: What she has experienced is no doubt horrific and terrifying and we commend her for taking the opportunity to speak to our police.

We have potentially saved this young girls life. Given whats happened to her, the extent of whats happened over the period of time, anything might have transpired.

The victim is believed to have been in the country since 2015.

Martin, from the Manunda suburb of Cairns, appeared in court on Monday charged with a string of offences, including four counts of rape, eight counts of assault and four counts of strangulation.
Boris Johnson raised concerns about illegal Israeli settlements with Benjamin Netanyahu in friendly and frank talks.

The Foreign Secretary and the Israeli prime minister discussed the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict during the talks.

Mr Johnson also used the visit to Israel to seek to boost trade as part of the Governments drive to build international links ahead of Brexit.

Boris Johnson (Victoria Jones/PA)

In Israel & Occupied Palestinian Territories for talks w/ PM @netanyahu & Pres Abbas underlining UK support for Two States & dialogue  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 8, 2017

On his first working visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mr Johnson also met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a message on Twitter after his talks with Mr Netanyahu, the Foreign Secretary said they discussed two states solution, trade and concern over illegal settlements.

Mr Johnson also posted on Facebook that he believes there is a real opportunity to get a lasting peace but we need bold Israeli and Palestinian leadership.

He said: Im here on a trip to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and talking to Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Abbas, about all the challenges they face and of course the opportunities.

Friendly & frank talks w/ #Israel PM @netanyahu in #Jerusalem. Discussed Two States solution, trade & concern over illegal settlements pic.twitter.com/rkiYOkT7J7  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 8, 2017

As we go out into a world to do new free trade deals, Israel and the dynamic Israeli economy is one of our first ports of call, and trade between our countries is growing all the time and we see every opportunity to increase that.

The Foreign Secretary was briefed by anti-settlement campaigners Peace Now on the situation in the West Bank.

We emphasised to him the importance of stopping settlement expansion in order to preserve the possibility for a two state solution, the group said on its Facebook page.

Mr Johnson visited Israel for the funeral of former president Shimon Peres in September, but his last working trip to the country was as Londons mayor.

During the 2015 trade mission, he branded calls for a trade boycott against Israel completely crazy and said only a few snaggle-toothed lefty academics pursued the cause.

The pro-Israel comments led to a series of meetings planned with Palestinian groups being axed.

Earlier this year, Israels ambassador to the UK was forced to apologise after an embassy official was caught in an undercover sting discussing how to take down Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan and dismissing Mr Johnson as an idiot.
A pregnant mother, her daughter and two other children have died in an apartment fire in Ireland.

The woman, aged 27 and understood to be several months pregnant, was living with her two-year-old daughter in Clondalkin, west Dublin, in a complex operated by a charity which helps victims of domestic violence.

Another woman who was staying in the apartment with her was fighting for her life in hospital, while her three-year-old daughter and four-year-old son died.

Floral tribute at the scene (Niall Carson/PA)

The boy was rushed with her to Our Ladys Hospital, Crumlin, in Dublin where they were both treated for several hours before he died.

While the cause of the blaze is not being treated as suspicious, gardai said investigations were continuing into how it started and they were keeping an open mind.

The initial focus was on an electrical fault in the apartment.

Flowers at the scene of an apartment fire in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA)

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins led messages of sympathy as he held an event to mark International Womens Day.

I do want to express my sympathy to all of those affected by the tragedy in Clondalkin. The women involved would have been represented here today. All of our hearts must go out to these women and children, he said.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone also extended condolences.

The alarm was raised at about 2.30am, with several 999 calls being made to emergency services and crews on scene within five minutes.

A Garda leaves floral tributes (Niall Carson/PA)

The apartment was fitted with a working fire alarm that was set off by the blaze.

The Sonas organisation, which supports domestic violence victims and provides secure accommodation for up to two years after women move on from refuges, has four apartments and six houses in the Cluainin Cronan complex.

Fiona Ryan, chief executive of the charity, said it had been left absolutely devastated by the tragedy.

Our sympathies and condolences are with the relatives and friends of the deceased and all those impacted by this awful tragedy, she said.

Sadly, we were called to a tragic fire in #Clondalkin in the early hours. Our thoughts are with the families, friends & local community.  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) March 8, 2017

Ms Ryan said the charity was liaising with gardai and fire chiefs investigating the circumstances of the fire.

We are currently supporting other families in the apartment complex including those unable to return to their homes because of fire damage, for whom we are sourcing alternative accommodation, she said.

Dublin Fire Brigade said its rescue teams took the two women and three children from the first-floor apartment and paramedics treated them in the grounds of the complex.

Emergency services at the scene (Niall Carson/PA)

Despite resuscitation efforts, the 27-year-old woman and the two girls were pronounced dead at Tallaght Hospital.

It is understood that another seven residents were evacuated from the block where the fire started.

Gardai appealed for witnesses to come forward as technical examinations continue to determine the cause of the fire.
Melania Trump is hosting a lunch on International Womens Day on what is her first solo White House event as first lady.

The UN-designated day commemorates the push for womens rights.

Women across the US are observing the occasion by taking a day off work, as well as attending rallies.

At the White House, the first lady welcomed about 50 women seated at tables adorned with floral centrepieces.

Attendees included her daughter-in-law, Ivanka Trump, and vice president Mike Pences wife, Karen.

In Japan, some 200 women gathered for a march to mark International Womens Day in Tokyo, protesting against low wages, long hours and other obstacles that make their lives difficult.

Participants, many of them members of womens groups and labour unions, chanted Its hard to be a woman, and our patience is running out, and held up banners saying Lets change our future.

A man offers a red carnation to a woman taking part in the "Todas en Silencio"demonstration in Chile (Esteban Felix/AP)

Japan lags behind most other industrial countries in womens participation and advancement in business, academics and politics.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abes womenomics policy aims to put more women to work to counter a chronically low birth rate and shrinking work force, but a business culture in which long hours are routine makes it more difficult for women to get ahead.

Meanwhile, the president of the European Parliament has used the occasion to promise that a Polish politician will be punished for the crude, sexist comments he made last week.

Ukrainian feminists march on the occasion of the International Women's Day in Kiev, Ukraine (Sergei Chuzavkov/AP)

EU parliament President Antonio Tajani said that he intends to bring a swift conclusion to the probe into the remarks of Janusz Korwin-Mikke at the legislature and promised a penalty commensurate with the gravity of the offence.

Mr Korwin-Mikke, a radical right-winger who leads a marginal party, said during a debate on the pay gap between men and women: Of course women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent. They must earn less, thats all.

He could face sanctions such as a reprimand, a fine or a temporary suspension.

And scores of women working in the childcare industry in Australia walked off the job early to protest against what they deem to be inadequate pay rates.

Teacher Pia Martin greets students as they arrive to school at the Science Leadership Academy as teachers take part in "A Day Without a Woman" demonstration in Philadelphia (Matt Rourke/AP)

The United Voice union, which represents the workers, said more than 1,000 at childcare centres in every state and territory in Australia stopped working at 3:20pm on Wednesday to call attention to wage disparities felt throughout an industry where the vast majority of workers are women.

3:20 represents the time that Australian women ostensibly start working for free in comparison to men if you take into account the gender pay gap, said Helen Gibbons, the unions assistant national secretary.

We know that this has traditionally been seen as womens work, Ms Gibbons said.

Its 2017 and this is not OK to continue. The people who work in this sector demand equal pay.

People gather by the Colosseum for a demonstration demanding equal rights for women and men (Andrew Medichini/AP)

In Italy, hundreds of women, with some men too, set off in a march from Romes Colosseum to demand more respect.

Wearing pink wigs, scarves or headbands, they gathered on Wednesday evening by the ancient Rome arena. Among their demands: equal pay for the same work men do, and more executive positions in the corporate world.

Statistics show less than half of Italian women work. Many say they are forced to stay at home with small children because of a shortage of affordable day care, including public nurseries.
March 7 (Reuters) - A highly pathogenic strain of bird flu was found in a chicken breeder flock on a Tennessee farm contracted to Tyson Foods Inc, the first discovered in the United States this year.

Officials have also reported an outbreak of a low-pathogenic strain in a turkey farm in northwestern Wisconsin.

During an outbreak in 2014 and 2015, dozens of countries imposed total or partial bans on U.S. poultry and egg imports. The latest outbreaks have prompted import restrictions by numerous countries, including all top five buyers.

Following are facts about the U.S. poultry market from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Census Bureau, industry groups and company filings. TOTAL U.S. POULTRY AND POULTRY PRODUCT EXPORTS, INCLUDING EGGS, IN 2016: $4.65 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

TOP FIVE U.S. POULTRY PRODUCING STATES Georgia: 1.340 billion broiler chickens in 2015 Alabama: 1.083 billion Arkansas: 962 million North Carolina: 823 million Mississippi: 723 million Tennessee ranks 15th at 185 million U.S. total: 8.687 billion

TOP 5 U.S. POULTRY AND EGG MARKETS AND THEIR IMPORT RESTRICTIONS 1. MEXICO ($1.13 billion in U.S. imports in 2016)

Mexico has banned poultry imports from Tennessee, according to its agricultural ministry.

Mexico still bans imports of frozen poultry and poultry products from birds originating from, slaughtered or processed in 15 states before specific dates linked to a previous outbreak of avian flu, according to the USDA.

2. CANADA ($662 million)

Banned imports of live birds and unprocessed animal products from Tennessee, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Once a quarantine control zone is established, trade outside the zone can resume, CFIA said. Banned imports of raw poultry and products produced in or near affected counties in 15 states between certain dates linked to outbreaks of avian flu in past years. Also barred imports of certain processed products. 3. HONG KONG ($472 million)

Banned imports of poultry meat and products raised, processed, slaughtered or shipped from Lincoln County, Tennessee, and Barron County, Wisconsin, on or after March 4. Imports from birds raised, processed, slaughtered or shipped from some counties in 18 other states are also banned, in connection with cases of avian flu in past years. Fully cooked or heat-treated products exempt. 4. TAIWAN ($132 million)

Banned imports of poultry meat and products from birds slaughtered before March 6 in Tennessee and before March 4 in Wisconsin. Egg products shipped before those dates also banned. Imports of poultry and poultry products slaughtered or processed in states with high or low pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks are banned. 5. JAPAN ($119 million)

Banned imports of poultry that passed through or was slaughtered or processed in the entire state of Tennessee and within a 10 km radius of the infected farm in Barron County, Wisconsin, on or after Feb. 9. Imports of poultry and products raised, processed, slaughtered or shipped from some areas of 21 states on certain dates linked to past cases of avian flu are banned. Fully cooked products in hermetically sealed containers exempt. TOP U.S. CHICKEN MEAT COMPANIES

Tyson Foods: Capacity to process 39 million chickens per week. Major supplier to Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which represented 17.5 percent of Tyson's 2016 consolidated sales. Supplied products to 115 countries in 2016 worth $4.1 billion.

Pilgrim's Pride Corp : Majority-owned by meat packer JBS SA. Capacity to process more than 36.7 million birds per week.

Sanderson Farms Inc : Capacity to process more than 10.6 million birds per week.

TOP POULTRY BROILER MEAT EXPORTERS 1. Brazil: 4.110 million tonnes exported in 2016 2. United States: 2.978 million tonnes 3. European Union: 1.250 million tonnes 4. Thailand: 670,000 tonnes 5. China: 395,000 tonnes

(Compiled by Karl Plume and Tom Polansek in Chicago and Adriana Barrera in Mexico City; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
By John Lloyd

March 7 (Reuters) - Political corruption in France is common, and usually - if the politician is at or near the top of the political game - unpunished by law. Yet the 2017 presidential election may mark something of a revolt against a semi-aristocratic disdain for the public whose tax euros have long been plundered for private or party use.

Francois Fillon, who trained in the law, has been a politician since his late 20s. Now 63, he rose steadily through the ranks of the centre right until 2007, when he became prime minister under President Nicolas Sarkozy.

He survived there for five years and was seen as a president-in-waiting: experienced, Catholic, with five children by his Welsh wife Penelope, professing a devotion to jolt the country out of its economic stasis.

Then the pesky press spoiled everything. Le Canard Enchaine, the muckraking weekly, revealed last month that Fillon had employed Penelope as his parliamentary assistant for many years - and she had apparently done little or nothing. The paper then brought two of his children into the affair, raising the alleged family payroll to nearly 1 million euros ($1.06 million). Fillon has blamed the media and political enemies for his campaign crisis, proclaimed innocence but also apologized for employing his wife as an aide - and fights on.

But hes wounded, ironically most of all by his wife and by himself. Penelope gave an interview to Britains Telegraph in 2007 in which she said her children know her as "just a mother" and, referring to Fillons elevation to the premiership, said that "people ask what my new role is but there isn't one". Fillon also said, during the contest for the nomination, that "There is no point talking about authority when one personally has not been beyond reproach", a statement directed at Sarkozy. By Fillons own statement, he may be unable to lead France.

Yet the centre right seems to believe that, however damaged, it has no one else. A meeting of party elders on Monday unanimously supported Fillon, and vowed to relaunch his faltering campaign. Its possible that his wifes interview this past weekend, in which she affirmed that her job was real, may on closer examination turn out to be true. Its also possible that, in the nearly seven weeks that remain before voting in the first round of the election on April 23, the issue will have cooled. But for the moment, it seems another instance of a system where even the apparently non-sleazy politicians are compromised.

Corruption has dogged the modern French presidency since Charles de Gaulle resigned in 1969, and it has appeared to accelerate in the past few decades - or at any rate, has become more public. It is also high profile: because the French presidency is so powerful, all political and foreign claimants for attention and benefits seek a channel to the Elysee Palace. Favors are exchanged - some routine political horse-trading, others more venal.

Valery Giscard dEstaing, president from 1974 to1981, was revealed, again by the Canard Enchaine, as having received large gifts of diamonds from Jean-Bedel Bokassa, former head of the Central African Republic. (He said he had sold the jewels, and given money to charities in the country.)

Jacques Chirac, president from 1995 to 2007, was given a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for embezzling public funds to finance the party he led as the mayor of Paris. Chirac, who did not attend the trial because of "memory loss", said in a statement that he contested the conviction "categorically" but that he would not appeal because he lacked the "required strength" to face a new trial.

Sarkozy, the president Fillon served, was encircled by scandals throughout his presidency - including allegations that aides and close allies had benefitted from kickbacks from the sale of submarines to Pakistan in 1994. (He has denied these claims.) Closer to his office were allegations that he had received illegal funding from the lOreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, Frances richest woman - herself accused of large-scale tax evasion - this last imbroglio revealed by another pesky news organization, the investigative website Mediapart.

And last year, while preparing his new presidential bid, Sarkozy was placed under investigation for "suspected illegal financing of an election campaign for a candidate, who went beyond the legal limit for electoral spending". He has denied he was aware of the overspending.

Sarkozys successor, the still-sitting socialist president Francois Hollande, appears to have made a break with this catalogue of alleged corruptions: his scandals have been sexual and - in a departure from the past vow of press silence over high political trespasses - splashed across front pages.

But some of his ministers were not so financially abstemious: early in his presidency, the budget minister, Jerome Cahuzac, after denying the report by Mediapart, confessed that he had used a Swiss account to hold 600,000 euros ($775,000 on the exchange rate of the time). Imprudent but not illegal and less damagingly, Hollandes friend and election campaign treasurer, Jean-Jacques Augier, was revealed to have invested in offshore businesses in the Cayman Islands.

Why should it get better? First, the current leader in the polls for the first round of voting, the National Fronts Marine Le Pen, is accused by the European Unions fraud office of using over 300,000 euros from the EUs parliamentary budget to pay her party staff: she wont repay, she says, and hasn't seemed to suffer in the polls because of it. Her supporters, like her, don't like the EU.

The man who has now overtaken Fillon as Le Pens main challenger, the 39-year-old former Socialist Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, has created a new centrist party, En Marche! ("Forward!"). Though he held the unpopular job of investment banker at Rothschild & Co, he has been lauded in the news media, and no hint of financial impropriety has appeared.

Le Pen appeals to an electorate, often working class, angered by political corruption. Macrons main appeal is to a cosmopolitan, highly educated middle class, many of whom, young or younger than he is, are no longer prepared to shrug and say "Ca va comme ca" (So it goes). French journalism - not just Le Canard Enchaine and Mediapart - is much more energised by corruption scandals.

The centrist, Macron, is presently favoured to win in the second round of the presidential election in May. With apparently no scandalous baggage, with a new untainted party, with the backing of a country no longer prepared to shrug, he may try to change a culture. It will be a long job, though. Corruption, when a way of life, is tenacious. (By John Lloyd)
By Mark Weinraub

CHICAGO, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures dropped 1.1 percent on Tuesday to their lowest in more than a week on rising expectations for a Brazil harvest already forecast to be a record, traders said.

Outlooks for a bountiful South American harvest also weighed on corn futures, while wheat eased on profit-taking after rallying on Monday.

Broker and analyst INTL FCStone on Tuesday pegged the 2016/17 Brazil soybean crop at 109.07 million tonnes, up from its previous forecast of 104.09 million. The harvest has already started in Brazil, the world's top soy exporter.

The corn crop was pegged at 93.3 million tonnes, 1.8 million tonnes higher than its February outlook.

"For right now, we are looking at what is coming out of South America," said Ag Watch Market Advisors President Dewey Strickler. "This is the issue that is facing us immediately."

The U.S. Agriculture Department will issue its latest outlook for South American crops in its monthly supply and demand report on Thursday. Analysts on average were expecting the report to peg Brazil soy production at 105.95 million tonnes and corn production at 87.78 million tonnes.

Chicago Board of Trade May soybean futures settled down 12 cents at $10.25-1/4 a bushel. Prices hit their lowest since Feb. 27.

Soybean prices had been supported by news that heavy rain in Brazil had hampered road transport, but dry weather improved conditions on a key Amazon road between soy fields and northern ports.

CBOT May corn settled down 2-1/2 cents at $3.76 a bushel, while CBOT May wheat dropped 2 cents to $4.56-1/2 a bushel.

Wheat futures closed well above session lows as investors used the dip as an opportunity to cover short positions.

Brisk export demand, including a run of purchases by Egypt, has also underpinned recent gains in wheat markets. However, traders said on Tuesday that Egypt had rejected three wheat cargoes. (Additional reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney and Gus Trompiz in Paris; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and James Dalgleish)
China is expected to send lunar probe Chang'e-5 to land on the moon and return with lunar samples within this year, according to the latest information from the country's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.

The preparation is underway smoothly, and the craft is expected to be on standby in August, said Hu Hao,chief designer of the Chinas Lunar Exploration Program's sample return phase, adding that the probe is now under tests after the final assembly.

"The launch is one of Chinas most complicated and difficult space missions," Hu told the People's Daily, explaining that the program's third phase will be more difficult as many breakthroughs must be made in key technologies.

For instance, techniques like moon surface takeoff, sampling encapsulation, rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit and high-speed earth reentry are all new challenges to the country, he added.

The launch of Chang'e-5is a crucial step for China's three-step lunar exploration mission. According to the schedule, the Chang'e-1 launched in October 2007 aimed to achieve a desired orbit around the moon, while the second-phased mission, fulfilled by Chang'e-2 and 3, was designed to make soft-landing on the moon and accurately survey the landforms at the landing site. The task in phase 3 is to automatically take back lunar samples.

Chang'e-5 is tasked to complete the last step of the three phases -- sampling on the moon surface and return to the earth with the samples.

According to Hu, the craft will stay in the space for about a month, with its flight divided into 11 phases including launching, earth-moon trajectory, final braking, circular orbit around the moon, landing, sampling, ascending, rendezvous and docking, sample transfer, round-trip, moon-earth transition, reentry and recovery.

Chang'e-5, Hu said, is comprised of five major systems including probe, carrier rocket, launching site, controlling and recovery. The probe will be launched by Long March-5 carrier rocket at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in South China's Hainan island, he added.
By Stephen Eisenhammer

BRASILIA, March 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal environmental agency, Ibama, launched on Tuesday a centralized database to track timber from source to sale, a vital step in the fight against illegal logging in the Amazon.

The system, known as Sinaflor, allows individual trees to be electronically tagged and monitored as they are cut down and pass through the supply chain, with regulators able to check the database via their cell phones while on patrol.

With built-in satellite mapping, timber being sold as legal can be checked against the exact area of licensed commercial production it is claimed to originate from.

The system marks a step change from the current system, which environmentalists criticize as being open to fraud and human error as databases are isolated, poorly managed and cannot be easily accessed to verify documentation attached to timber.

"The new system offers a much more comprehensive process of control," Suely Araujo, president of Ibama, said in an interview in her office in Brasilia. "What's not in Sinaflor will be illegal timber."

The system is the result of four years of work and was envisioned under the forest code passed into law in 2012, which gave the federal government power to create and manage a national system to regulate the supply chain of timber.

Illegal logging is one of the greatest threats to the preservation of the Amazon. In the year until July 2016, Amazonian rainforest six times the size of Los Angeles was cut down.

That was the second rise in two years, ending a 10-year period in which deforestation was dramatically reduced. Brazil's Environment Ministry, under which Ibama falls, has vowed to reverse the trend.

Sinaflor has already been piloted in the state of Roraima and is being introduced this week in Rondonia. The states are legally obliged to use the system, and Araujo expects to have it up and running across the country by the end of the year.

"When we manage to implement it in the whole country, I think it will be a step change in terms of control," Araujo said. (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Soy tied to longer life after breast cancer

Eating more soy may be tied to better survival odds for many women with breast cancer and may not be harmful for patients treated with hormones, a new study suggests. Previous nutrition research has linked soy to a longer life, but prior studies have also suggested soy may help tumors spread by making hormone-based cancer treatments, or endocrine therapy, less effective.

Asian nations restrict U.S. poultry imports over bird flu

South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong have limited imports of U.S. poultry after the United States detected its first case this year of avian flu on a commercial chicken farm, South Korea's government and a U.S. trade group said on Monday. South Korea will ban imports of U.S. poultry and eggs after a strain of H7 bird flu virus was confirmed on Sunday at a chicken farm in Tennessee, South Korea's agriculture ministry said.

U.S. chicken, egg companies heighten security after bird flu case

Top U.S. chicken and egg companies ramped up procedures to protect birds from avian flu on Monday, a day after the federal government confirmed the nation's first case of the virus at a commercial operation in more than a year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Sunday that a farm in southern Tennessee that is a supplier to Tyson Foods Inc had been infected with the virus. All 73,500 birds there were killed by the disease, known as avian influenza (AI), or have since been suffocated with foam to prevent its spread.

Arthritis' toll rises as too few take steps to reduce pain: CDC

Arthritis prevents a growing number of Americans from engaging in daily routines like holding a cup, lifting a bag of groceries and walking to a car, a federal report said on Tuesday. The study also found that lack of exercise exacerbates their suffering, with few engaging in the types of physical activities that can help to reduce pain and improve mobility.

U.S. reports low pathogenic bird flu outbreak in Wisconsin: OIE

The United States reported an outbreak of avian flu on a farm in Wisconsin, the second in the country in less than a week although the virus found this time is considered less virulent, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday. A strain of low pathogenic H5N2 avian flu has been discovered in a flock of 84,000 turkeys in Barron County, Wisconsin, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report posted on the website of the Paris-based OIE.

Trump says he is working on plan to bring down drug prices

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is developing a plan that will encourage competition in the drug industry and bring down prices for medicines, as the House of Representatives leadership unveiled a new health care plan. "I am working on a new system where there will be competition in the Drug Industry. Pricing for the American people will come way down!" Trump said in a Twitter post.

U.S. doctors not sure all women need pelvic exams

There isnt enough evidence to say for sure whether healthy women need routine pelvic screening exams, according to new guidelines from U.S. physicians. The conclusion issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) today on pelvic exams comes amid growing debate in the medical community over whether women really need a full pelvic workup every year.

Health secretary says healthcare bill is 'work in progress'

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump supports the Republican bill to replace Obamacare. "The president and the administration support this step in what we believe is in the right direction," Price told reporters at a White House briefing. Asked whether the administration supported everything in the bill, he said: "This is a work in progress and we'll work with the House and Senate in this process."

WHO expands vaccination advice as yellow fever covers southeast Brazil state

The entire Brazilian state of Espirito Santo is now considered at risk for yellow fever transmission, the World Health Organization says, raising concerns the deadly virus could spread to the nation's biggest cities. An ongoing yellow fever outbreak has so far been limited to rural areas, where it is mainly spread to humans by two rural species of mosquito that likely bit infected monkeys, according to Brazilian health officials.

Trump endorses House Republican healthcare plan, opposition grows

President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed a plan by Republican U.S. lawmakers to replace the Obamacare healthcare law but influential conservative groups came out strongly against it, complicating the proposal's prospects for passage in Congress. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday unveiled legislation to do away with Obamacare, eliminating the requirement that most Americans obtain medical insurance and creating a system of tax credits to coax people to purchase private insurance on the open market.
BEIJING, March 8 (Reuters) - China will unveil a long-mooted reform plan for the oil and gas sector after this month's annual parliament meeting, local media cited a top energy official as saying on Wednesday.

* The plan covers oil and gas exploration and production, as well as pipeline operations, Nur Bekri, director of the National Energy Administration was cited in a report.

* The government rolled out a series of policy documents last year aimed at lowering natural gas transportation costs and boosting private sector investment in the cleaner-burning fuel.

Reuters has not verified the report and does not vouch for its accuracy.

Source link: http://bit.ly/2nc5M1p (Reporting by Chen Aizhu)
SHANGHAI, March 8 (Reuters) - China stocks struggled to make headway on Wednesday morning, as small-caps corrected amid lingering concerns over tighter liquidity.

But Hong Kong shares were on track to rise for the third straight day, inspired by a second-day surge in mainland developers, as well as a jump in ZTE Corp after the Chinese telecom equipment maker settled with the U.S. government on charges in connection with exports to Iran and North Korea.

China's upbeat monthly trade data, which came during China's midday trading break, added some fuel to the Hong Kong market.

Both China's blue-chip CSI300 index and the Shanghai Composite Index ended the morning session roughly flat, at 3,456.00 points and 3,243.75 points, respectively.

After an early-week rally led by technology shares, investors started to focus on longer-term factors such as liquidity situations and regional stability, while continuing to digest news flows from the annual meeting of China's rubber-stamp legislature.

China's leaders pledged at the meeting to contain the financial risks from a rapid build-up in debt, and the central bank has moved from a loose monetary stance to a tightening bias to discourage speculative investments.

Hedge fund manager Zhang Kaihua said a possible U.S. rate hike next week "may prod China to tighten liquidity and increase money rates."

Indeed, China's central bank drained a net 20 billion yuan from the interbank market via open market operations on Wednesday amid expectations of further tightening ahead, and investors gave lukewarm response to news that China's foreign exchange reserves unexpectedly rose above $3 trillion in February.

Risk appetite has also been reduced by rising geopolitical tension as the United States started to deploy the first elements of its advanced anti-missile defence system in South Korea on Tuesday after North Korea's test of four ballistic missiles.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday urged Seoul to halt the deployment, saying South Korea is making a mistake.

"The international situation is getting very complicated. As a fund manager, you need to prepare for the worst," Zhang said.

Technology-heavy start-up board ChiNext dropped 0.4 percent, erasing some of the gains earlier this week, but infrastructure and property shares took the baton, both rising over 1 percent.

HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.5 percent, to 23,800.00 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.8 percent, to 10,309.05.

ZTE shares jumped 5 percent, after it agreed to pay $892 million and plead guilty to criminal charges for violating U.S. laws that restrict the sale of American-made technology to Iran and North Korea.

An index tracking Chinese property shares surged 2.6 percent, after the previous day's 2.8 percent gain.

(Reported by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
By Ben Weir

SYDNEY, March 8 (Reuters) - Climate change was responsible for breaking more than 200 Australian weather records over the past three months, researchers said on Wednesday, a glimpse of conditions to come that will likely threaten energy security and agriculture.

Much of Australia's east coast endured its hottest summer on record, the independent Climate Council said, while torrential rain in Western Australia caused flash flooding.

The sort of unseasonable conditions seen between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28 would likely be recurring regularly in future, the council said.

"I would say by 2025 or 2030, the odds are we will see another hot summer record set in Sydney and in other places," said Will Steffen, professor of environmental studies, Australian National University and lead author of the Climate Council report.

The expected climate will strain the country's energy sector, the council said, threatening yet more blackouts.

Australia saw several power outages in different parts of he country after temperatures soared regularly above 40 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit), with demand for air-conditioning strained supplies.

Australia's changing climate also threatens one of the main pillars of its economy, with agricultural production vunerable.

"A really bad year can just demolish crop yields," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, at the National Australia Bank.

Australia exported a record A$50 billion ($37.98 billion)worth of agricultural produce last year, government data shows, which helped soften the blow of a slowdown in its dominant mining sector.

The Climate Council report comes days after another independent report warned the impact of climate change had caused permanent damage to Australia's environment.

Australian scientists said recently mass coral bleaching, caused by climate change, has destroyed at least 35 percent of the northern and central Great Barrier Reef. (Writing by Colin Packham; Editing by Robert Birsel)
WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make his first trip to Asia next week and meet with senior officials to discuss North Korea's recent missile tests and U.S. economic and security interests in the region.

He will arrive in Japan on March 15, continue on to South Korea on March 17 and visit China from March 18-19.

The trip comes after Pyongyang's latest missile launches and the assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother have added urgency to the region's security situation.

U.S. President Donald Trump faces a growing test of resolve after vowing while campaigning to get tough on North Korea. Trump's aides are pressing to complete a strategy review on how to counter Pyongyang's missile and nuclear threats.

Trump has attacked China on issues ranging from trade to the South China Sea and what he perceives as China's lack of interest in reining in nuclear-armed North Korea.

Last month, Trump held his first face-to-face talks with a member of the Chinese leadership, top diplomat Yang Jiechi who outranks Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the White House said it was a chance to discuss shared security interests and a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Wang and Tillerson met last month in Germany on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 top economies.

"I think that Secretary of State Tillerson is a person who is willing to listen and is a deep communicator," Wang said at his annual news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, on the sidelines of China's parliament.

"I believe we can establish a good working relationship," he added.

(Reporting by Yara Bayoumy; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Michael Perry)
Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Wednesday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 1 hour):

RATES

Poland's central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged at its policy setting on Wednesday and is seen keeping them on hold until the first quarter of 2018.

PGNiG

Polish gas company PGNiG said on Wednesday its 2016 net profit rose by around 10 percent to 2.35 billion zlotys ($576.67 million), boosted by higher gas sales, and came in slightly higher than the group's earlier estimates.

PGE

Poland's biggest power group PGE reported a higher-than-estimated 37-percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit, boosted by a one-off, the company said on Tuesday.

TAX

Poland should again consider introducing free allowance tax up to 8,000 zlotys, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna quoted minister Henryk Kowalczyk as saying.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Energy ministry plans to work out financing scheme and schedule for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant by the end of March, Rzeczpospolita daily said without quoting it's source.

PSA

There's no threat to the Polish Opel factory in Gliwice, PSA Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares was quoted as saying by Rzeczpospolita. Earlier some employees had expressed concerns regarding PSA potential plans to reduce headcount in Gliwice after the takeover of Opel.

FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES

Fiat may move production of its Panda model to the Polish factory in Tychy around 2019/2020, Rzeczpospolita said, quoting Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne.

****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.****

For other related news, double click on: Polish equities E.Europe equities Polish money Polish debt Eastern Europe All emerging markets Hot stocks Stock markets Market debt news Forex news For real-time index quotes, double click on: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX (Reporting by Warsaw Bureau)
By Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) - Three global aluminium producers have offered Japanese buyers a premium of $135 per tonne for shipments in the April to June quarter, up 42 percent from the previous quarter, three sources directly involved in the pricing talks said on Wednesday.

The offer, if accepted, would mark the second quarterly increase in a row. The higher offer comes as premiums rise in the United States and Europe and Japanese inventories are falling amid solid local demand.

Japan is Asia's biggest importer of the metal and the premiums for primary metal shipments it agrees to pay each quarter over the London Metal Exchange (LME) cash price set the benchmark for the region.

The latest quarterly pricing negotiations began last month between Japanese buyers and miners including South32 Ltd , Rio Tinto Ltd and United Company Rusal Plc, and are expected to continue through this month.

"We've received offers at $135 per tonne from South 32 and Rio Tinto," said a source at an end-user in Japan.

"Rusal has raised its offer to $135 per tonne this week from its previous offer of $125," he added.

In February, Rusal made an indicative offer of a premium of $125 per tonne to Japanese buyers for April-June primary metal shipments, according to sources.

South 32, Rio and Rusal were not immediately available for comments.

"The producers claimed that the rise mainly reflected higher premiums in the U.S. market, but we think $135 is too high as we don't feel much supply tightness here," another source at an end-user said, adding that his company would aim for premiums at around $120-125 per tonne.

U.S. and European spot premiums have risen by about $20 to $50 per tonne over the past few months, according to a source at a producer.

Aluminium stocks at three major Japanese ports fell slightly from the previous month to 273,100 tonnes at the end of January, but were down from 368,100 tonnes a year ago, according to trading house Marubeni Corp.

For the January-March quarter, Japanese buyers mostly agreed to pay a premium of $95 per tonne <PREM-ALUM-JP>, up 27 percent from the prior quarter.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
By J.D. Capelouto

LONDON, March 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Climate change is not a driving force behind migration today - but it could be in the future, residents in four European countries believe.

A survey of 4,000 residents of Britain, Germany, France and Norway found that most believe climate change is not a major reason for mass migration today - but about 40 percent think it will lead to an increase of migrants in the future, according to results released Wednesday.

The study, coordinated by Cardiff University in Britain, collaborated with institutions in Germany, France and Norway to examine perceptions of climate change in the four countries as they relate to science, public policy, renewable energy and migration.

This survey is one of the first looks at public beliefs about climate change as a potential catalyst for migration, said Nick Pidgeon, a Cardiff professor and the lead investigator.

While separating out the role of climate change among a range of drivers for migration is difficult, migrant flows in Europe in recent years have spurred growing conversation in news media on the issue, he said.

The problem is "its almost impossible to show that, impossible to prove that" climate change is an important contributor to migration, Pidgeon said at a panel event to discuss the findings.

A majority of people surveyed in all four countries - ranging from 54 percent in Germany to 70 percent in France - disagreed that climate change is causing migration.

Slightly more people, however, tended to believe their country may see more climate-linked migration later, including 57 percent of respondents in Norway.

"Thats not entirely out of line with the expert projections," Pidgeon said. Researchers "are saying at some time in the future there may be more migration across the world".

EUROPE READY TO ACT

In one of the main findings of the survey, the vast majority of respondents in all four countries said they believe the climate is changing and humans are at least partly responsible. About 60 percent in each country said that their country is already feeling the effects of climate change.

However, only about one third of respondents in each country knew that the vast majority of scientists agree that human activity - from burning fossil fuels to clearing forests - is the major cause of climate change.

Norway and France tended to be more aware of climate change and its causes than the other countries. They were also more optimistic about their countrys ability to deal with climate change, the study found.

"France and Norway both came out as being very high on saying, `Yes, France can make a difference, or `Norway can make a difference," said Claire Mays, a researcher from the Institut Symlog in France. "I think thats something wed like to dig into in the future, to know exactly what would be the mechanisms there."

SUPPORT FOR ADAPTATION CASH

Europeans generally support a range of policy options aimed at mitigating climate change, the study found. Increasing sources of renewable energy and giving public subsidies for home insulation, for example, were popular among those surveyed in all four countries.

Most surveyed also endorsed giving public money to help developing countries deal with and adapt to extreme weather.

"Adaptation has been less studied in terms of public perception over the years," Pidgeon said. "So I think thats an important message coming out of that - that there is support for what governments are doing already."

The Paris Agreement on climate change got wide approval from respondents. About two-thirds supported their country being part of the 2015 convention.

Most believed there should even be "high economic penalties" for countries that refuse to be a part of the agreement, which aims to hold global temperature increases well below 2 degrees Celsius through the cooperation of almost 200 nations.

"If you were an international climate negotiator," Pidgeon added, "you'd be quite happy with this."

(Reporting by J.D. Capelouto; editing by Laurie Goering :; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate)
By Ahmed Rasheed

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, March 8 (Reuters) - The Kurdish group that controls Iraq's Kirkuk oilfields has agreed with Baghdad to keep crude flowing from the region through a pipeline to a Turkish export terminal on the Mediterranean, a Kurdish official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Kosrat Rasul said the deal was reached on Tuesday between his group, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The pipeline carries 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Kirkuk crude for export to world markets via Ceyhan, in Turkey.

The PUK withdrew its threat to shut the pipeline after the Iraqi government decided to increase further the capacity of the Kirkuk oil refinery, a Kurdish source close to the talks said.

The oil ministry in Baghdad announced on Wednesday that an additional processing unit of 10,000 bpd had begun operating, boosting the plant's capacity to 40,000 bpd.

Another unit, also with a capacity of 10,000 bpd, should come on stream before the year-end, said a ministry statement, citing a message from oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi to Abadi.

The source said the additional output would improve fuel distribution in the PUK-held regions of Kirkuk and Sulaimaniya and create jobs for locals.

"The agreement ended the problem and there is no deadline anymore" to shut the pipeline, said Rasul, who is the PUK deputy secretary-general, giving no further details.

PUK forces last week seized the Kirkuk pumping facilities, operated by Iraq's state-run North Oil Co (NOC), briefly suspending oil flows and threatening further action if their demand to have a share in the revenue were not fulfilled.

Some of the reservoirs supplying the pipeline in Kirkuk are operated by NOC. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) exports oil from other reservoirs in Kirkuk, using the same pipeline.

A deal to split the export revenue of the NOC-operated fields was agreed last year with the Erbil-based KRG, led by President Massoud Barzani.

The agreement was replaced this year by one in which Baghdad's share would be processed by an Erbil-based refiner to help the reconstruction of the nearby region of Mosul when taken back from Islamic State militants.

The PUK, a historic rival of Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party, had objected to the new deal, demanding that refineries under its control be used instead.

Kurdish peshmerga forces took control of the Kirkuk area after Islamic State overran around a third of Iraq and Baghdad's local forces disintegrated.

Prior to the signing of the Baghdad-KRG deal last year, local Kirkuk authorities and some executives from Iraqi state oil marketing firm SOMO were suggesting exporting oil from Kirkuk via Iran. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Dale Hudson and Nick Macfie)
Malaysia says curently has no plan to cut diplomatic ties with DPRK

(Xinhua) 13:18, March 08, 2017

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Wednesday his country currently has no plan to cut diplomatic ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The Malaysian government still needs a channel to talk and to negotiate with the DPRK, Najib told reporters at the Parliament, adding the current priority is the safety of Malaysian citizens in the DPRK.

"We received information that they are allowed to live their lives as usual. They are not confined, can get out, and do normal business. So there is no concern over their safety," he said.

Najib said the travel ban on the DPRK citizens in Malaysia will stay while the government is "carefully studying what is the DPRK's (demands) actually."

Najib made the remarks after he chaired a National Security Council on Tuesday evening during which he was briefed about the situation.

In a strongly-worded statement, he also accused the DPRK of taking Malaysian citizens hostages and called for their immediate release.

Malaysia and the DPRK used to enjoy relatively cordial relations until the death of a DPRK man at the Kuala Lumpur airport and the ensuing investigation implicated several DPRK nationals, including a second secretary of the DPRK embassy in Malaysia and an employee from the DPRK national carrier Air Koryo.

Malaysian police said the DPRK man, with the passport name of "Kim Chol," was poisoned by a lethal chemical weapon called VX nerve agent.

While the DPRK demanded the return of the body, the Malaysian police insisted the next-of-kin come for DNA profiling.

Najib said police still need to find the cause of the death of "Kim Chol."

"When a murder is committed, especially when a chemical weapon is used, we have to protect the interests of the nation," he said.

Ties between Malaysia and the DPRK strained after both sides issued a travel ban on each other's citizens.
RABAT, March 8 (Reuters) - A Moroccan lawmaker was shot and killed in front of his home on Tuesday night in Casablanca, according to a statement from his political party and local media.

Security officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on motivations. It was not clear whether the lawmaker had been targetted specifically but killings of political figures in Morocco are rare.

The victim, Abdellatif Mirdas, 53, parliamentary member of the liberal Constitutional Union Party representing the Settat district, was returning to his home in Casablanca when he was shot in his car, according to reports in local media.

"The Constitutional Union denounces this despicable criminal act against one of our leaders," the party said in a statement, adding it hopes an investigation will reveal the perpetrators of the "crime."

An individual with a judicial record suspected of being connected to the murder has been arrested, according to a statement from the General Directorate of National Security released on MAP state news agency.

Almost five months after elections in October, Morocco is caught in a political deadlock between its Islamist party prime minister and coalition partners over the formation of a new government he will lead. (Reporting by Samia Errazzouki; editing by Patrick Markey)
By Fatos Bytyci

PRISTINA, March 8 (Reuters) - Kosovo signalled on Wednesday it would turn its security force into a national army, in plans opposed by its ethnic Serb minority that drew immediate criticism from NATO and the territory's biggest foreign supporter, the United States.

Nearly two decades after the Kosovo war, relations between Belgrade and Pristina remain strained, and Serbia continues to regard Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, as a renegade province.

The Kosovo government ordered the creation of a national army three years ago, but Serbian deputies said they would block the required changes to the constitution.

On Wednesday parliament indicated it would bypass that opposition by preparing amendments to an existing law that would allow the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) to buy heavy weapons, effectively turning it into an army.

NATO, which has some 4,500 soldiers stationed in Kosovo, said the plan raised serious concerns.

"I made clear that unilateral steps such as these are unhelpful," the Atlantic alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement after talks with the territory's president and prime minister.

The U.S. embassy in Pristina said adoption of the amendments "would force us to re-evaluate our ... longstanding assistance to Kosovo's security forces."

A vote is expected in the coming days. Serb deputies, who number just 11 in the 120-strong chamber but whose support would be needed to change the constitution, said they would boycott the session.

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, who initiated the creation of the army, said he would continue with his plans despite NATO and U.S. concerns. He called on the government and parliament to approve the law.

"Serbia is against our army... At the same time it fills its air space with MIG planes donated by Russia," Thaci said at a news conference after meeting U.S. and other western European ambassadors in his office.

"We have been waiting for the will of these (Serb) MPs for three years. We dont see that coming and we cannot wait for them in eternity, we are forced to move with the law and transform the KSF into an army."

Thaci said his western allies had told him they were not against a Kosovo army but they wanted to find a joint way to resolve the issue.

Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Monday that the new law would cause "instability in the region."

It aims to create a new army of 5,000 active soldiers and 3,000 reservists. The KSF, meanwhile, is a lightly armed, 2,500-strong force trained by NATO and tasked with crisis response, civil protection and ordinance disposal.

NATO arrived in Kosovo - a landlocked country of 1.8 million people that borders Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia - in June 1999 following weeks of air strikes to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanian civilians by Serbian forces fighting a two-year counter-insurgency.

NATO has said it has no plans to leave Kosovo for now. (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; additional reporting by Robin Emmott in Brussels; Editing by Ivana Sekularac and John Stonestreet)
By Maria Sheahan and Ece Toksabay

BERLIN/ANKARA, March 8 (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign minister accused Germany on Wednesday of hostility towards his country and Islam, and Berlin complained of increased Turkish espionage on German soil as acrimony between the two NATO allies showed no sign of abating.

Ankara is furious over the cancellation of several rallies by Turkish ministers in Germany, while Berlin has demanded the immediate release of a Turkish-German journalist detained on terrorism charges.

Turkish ministers want to rally support among Germany's large ethnic Turkish community for President Tayyip Erdogan's bid to increase his powers in a referendum on April 16. Germany has said they can do so, provided they respect local laws, but has cancelled several rallies, citing security concerns.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was allowed to speak at a rally in Hamburg on Tuesday evening, but he remained very critical of Berlin's stance after talks in Berlin on Wednesday with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel.

"In Germany we see many politicians and the press ... are very harsh and very anti-Turkey and we even see Islamophobic sentiment," Cavusoglu said during a visit to the ITB travel fair, where he also pressed Turkey's continued appeal as a tourist destination.

Cavusoglu said Turkey wanted to remain friends with Germany but that it was for Berlin to decide and to act accordingly.

He said Gabriel would soon visit Turkey and added that Germany had agreed to all necessary security measures if Erdogan visited Germany ahead of the referendum. German foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said no official request for an Erdogan visit had been received.

NAZI COMPARISON

Speaking at a separate event after his meeting with Cavusoglu, Gabriel tried to strike a conciliatory note, mindful that Germany needs Turkey's active cooperation in helping to slow the flow of migrants and refugees to Europe.

"Whatever differences and arguments we have, there is no alternative to talks because (only) then is there a possibility of returning, step-by step, to normalised and friendly relations between Germany and Turkey," said Gabriel.

But he also made clear that campaigning in Germany came with certain conditions, including respect for the "ground rules", and said comparisons with Nazi Germany overstepped the mark.

Gabriel was referring to comments by Erdogan on Sunday in which he described the cancellation of some political rallies in Germany as "fascist actions" reminiscent of the Nazi era.

Bilateral relations have soured significantly since last July's failed coup in Turkey, with Germany and other European countries criticising the scale of Erdogan's crackdown on suspected supporters of the coup.

Berlin continued to press Ankara for consular access to Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel, whose arrest in Turkey has further strained ties in recent weeks, and for a fair judicial process, the foreign ministry said.

The editor-in-chief of newspaper Die Welt, Yucel's employer, wrote an open full-page letter to Erdogan on Wednesday saying the current state of bilateral relations did not reflect what the two nations had in common.

"You can change that. You of all people. Releasing Deniz Yucel would send a signal," Ulf Porschardt wrote in the letter, printed in both German and Turkish in the newspaper.

Also on Wednesday, the German domestic intelligence agency BfV expressed concern about increased Turkish espionage in Germany and said internal Turkish divisions over Erdogan's referendum were playing out among ethnic Turks based in Germany.

BfV chief Hans-Georg Maassen warned of "proxy fights" between supporters of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and right-wing Turkish nationalists on German streets. (Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Michelle Martin, and Reuters TV and Ankara and Istanbul bureaus; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Gareth Jones)
LJUBLJANA, March 8 (Reuters) - Slovenian banks cut non-performing loans to 8.2 percent of all loans at the end of 2016 from 11.4 percent a year before, the central bank said on Wednesday, four years after the weight of bad debts brought some local banks to the brink of collapse.

The bad loans amounted to 3.4 billion euros ($3.59 billion)at the end of 2016, down from 3.7 billion euros at the end of September 2016 and 4.8 billion in December 2015, the Bank of Slovenia said in a report using European Banking Authority methodology.

In 2013, the previous government poured more than 3 billion euros into local banks to prevent them collapsing under bad loans which represented about a fifth of all loans. That action meant Slovenia narrowly averted an international bailout.

Some of the largest banks are still state-owned and the government controls about 45 percent of the banking sector.

A number of foreign banks operate in Slovenia, including France's Societe Generale, Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, Russia's Sberbank and Austria's Sparkasse and Addiko Bank.

($1 = 0.9480 euros) (Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Edmund Blair)
By Ingrid Melander

PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) - French Socialist Party heavyweight Bertrand Delanoe on Wednesday said he would back centrist Emmanuel Macron's presidential bid to stop far-right leader Marine Le Pen from winning, as the roller-coaster election further shook the political landscape.

In a French election like no other, alongside a series of botched rebellions against conservative candidate Francois Fillon, the other major mainstream party, President Francois Hollande's ailing Socialist Party, is facing its own splits.

The announcement by Delanoe, the popular former mayor of Paris, was a further blow to the Socialist candidate Benoit Hamon, who is lagging in fourth place in polls with little hope to qualify for the May 7 two-way second round.

"We need to support the candidate who can beat Marine Le Pen," Delanoe told France Inter radio. "It wasn't an easy decision to make (but) fighting the far-right has to be a priority. The useful vote for the (April 23) first round is a vote for Macron."

Delanoe's announcement came after a week of nearly daily warnings from Hollande and Socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve over the risk of a far-right victory, and as more Socialist veterans are said to be tempted to jump ship.

Hamon, who is very much to the left of the Socialist Party, became his party's candidate when he won primaries in January, but has been struggling to make his campaign take-off, while Macron, an independent centrist who used to be Hollande's economy minister, is now the opinion polls' favourite.

Earlier this week, the lower house of parliament's president Claude Bartolone also pointed to Le Pen's strength in polls when saying he was finding it hard to back Hamon and could be tempted to back Macron.

Opinion polls forecast that Le Pen will top the first round but Macron would easily beat her in the second round.

Some 46 days before the first round, however, analysts warned victory was not a certainty for Macron, given the possibility that Fillon, who on Monday received his party's backing despite the financial scandal he is embroiled in, could see a ratings boost.

"It is too early to consider we will definitively have a Macron-Le Pen second round,"said Francois Miquet-Marty of Viavoice pollsters.

"Francois Fillon can still make a come back and Macron can still tumble," he said, stressing that only about half of Macron's voters were sure of their choice, versus 70-80 percent for Le Pen and 60-70 percent for Fillon.

Macron also finds himself under more media scrutiny now.

The organisation of a costly promotion event for French entrepreneurs at the CES electronics show in Las Vegas by the Business France public agency while he was economy minister is being investigated by a watchdog, Le Canard Enchaine said.

Finance Minister Michel Sapin told Reuters Macron had nothing to do with it but Christian Jacob, a lawmaker for Fillon's The Republicans party, said the financial prosecutor's office should look into it.

Macron's spokesman said he would sue Jacob for libel. The prosecutor's office said it had asked finance ministry investigators for more information and would then decide whether to follow up. (Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Marine Pennetier, Jean-Baptiste Vey and Chine Labbe; editing by Michel Rose and Toby Chopra)
By Lidia Kelly and Gabriela Baczynska

WARSAW/BRUSSELS, March 8 (Reuters) - Poland's eurosceptic government urged other EU states on Wednesday not to reappoint Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, as chairman of the European Council, saying it would further damage the fragile unity of the bloc.

But diplomats said European Union leaders were virtually certain to extend Tusk's mandate by a further 30 months when they meet on Thursday in Brussels. The European Council groups the EU's 28 national leaders.

Poland's ruling right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) accuses Tusk, a soft-spoken centrist, of overstepping his mandate by, for example, criticising the Warsaw government during its standoff with the opposition over media freedom.

Tusk and PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski are also long-standing bitter rivals in Polish politics.

"We cannot allow the creation of such a dangerous precedent whereby a democratically-elected government in a member state comes under political attack from the president of the European Council," Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said in a letter to the other EU leaders.

Tusk dismissed the accusation of political bias in his current job, though he said he also had a responsibility as Council chair to defend European values. The EU has accused the PiS government of undermining Polish democracy.

"I am, and I should be also in the future, impartial and politically neutral versus all 28 member states," Tusk told reporters on Wednesday.

"LARGE SUPPORT" FOR TUSK

Poland hopes to be able to delay a decision on Tusk beyond Thursday, potentially opening the way to horse-trading and agreement on another candidate, diplomats say. Last week Warsaw proposed a Polish member of the European Parliament, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, to replace Tusk.

But EU diplomats said Tusk's reappointment was virtually guaranteed, noting that the bloc had enough problems already, including Brexit, the migration crisis, an assertive Russia and the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump.

"The renewal of Tusk's mandate has very large support," said one senior EU diplomat.

Tusk is seen as a safe pair of hands and has earned respect with his smooth handling of issues such as Britain's shock vote last summer to leave the EU. As Council president he is expected to play a key role in the looming Brexit negotiations.

Joseph Muscat, prime minister of Malta, current president of the EU, will oversee Thursday's discussion on extending Tusk's mandate and a simple majority will be enough to re-elect him.

The enmity between Tusk and Kaczynski, who both began their political careers during the underground struggle against communism in Poland, goes back many years.

Kaczynski holds Tusk "morally responsible" for the death of his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, in a plane crash in Russia in 2010, when Tusk was prime minister. Polish and Russian investigations blamed pilot error. (Additional reporting by Robin Emmott, Alastair Macdonald, Jan Strupczewski, Robert-Jan Bartunek and Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Indika Sakalasooriya

Sri Lankas stock market was all abuzz yesterday with the unexpected news of leading corporate figure Nimal Perera resigning from the director boards of the companies controlled by the business magnate Dhammika Perera amid speculation of a massive fall-out between the duo.

Nimal Perera yesterday informed the Colombo Stock Exchange of his resignations from the boards of Royal Ceramics, Amaya Leisure, The Kingsbury, Haycarb, Hayleys and Talawakelle Tea Estatesall controlled by Dhammika Pererawith effect from March 7.

The duo is arguably the most successful in riding Sri Lankas post-war economic boom, with aggressively acquiring a number of listed and unlisted companies including giant business houses such as Hayleys and Delmege.

Perera is said to be controlling over 20 listed entities in the country and his net worth is estimated at over US $ 800 million.

Weve been together for about 14 to 15 years. Its time I go on my own. I want to start something with my two sons, who are now grown up, Nimal Perera told Mirror Business, following the announcement of his resignations.

Nimal Perera currently owns about 3 percent of Pan Asia Bank PLC, a mid-sized bank controlled by Dhammika Perera, through an investment vehicle he controls called NP Capital. He also owns a tea broking company.

Now I can get more involved in the capital market, says, Nimal Perera.

Dhammika was said to have a spotted Nimal as an astute investors cum trader at the Colombo bourse and later Nimal was widely considered as Dhammikas de facto portfolio manager.

However, market sources for sometime have been speculating that differences between the duo were steadily growing.

In fact in the last couple of years, Nimal Perera was seen trying his luck with some purchases on his own.

Though many expect more fine points behind what appears to be the end of Dhammika-Nimal saga to unravel in the coming few weeks, its unlikely that anybody would think twice to say what the duo had going for so many years was a fine innings.

Dhammika Perera was not available for comment.
THE HINDU, 08th MARCH, 2017 - The Australian government minister in charge of the suspended seabed search for the Malaysia Airlines jet told victims families and friends at an anniversary church service today that he remained hopeful that Flight 370 would be found. Darren Chester, minister for infrastructure and transport, and Angus Houston, the former Australian defence chief who coordinated the early months of the search efforts, were among around 100 who attended the private ceremony at St. Johns Anglican Cathedral in the eastern city of Brisbane to mark the third anniversary of the mysterious tragedy. Several victims and relatives of the 239 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 777 live in or near Brisbane. Chester told the congregation that included families of New Zealand victim Paul Weeks, and Australians Robert and Catherine Lawton and Rodney and Mary Burrows that searchers had tried their best to end the uncertainty surrounding the crash.



While to date we have been unsuccessful, we remain hopeful that at some stage in the future, there will be a breakthrough, the aircraft will be found, and we will be able to answer more of your questions, Chester said.



He told the gathering that included diplomats from Malaysia, China and New Zealand that a memorial to the lost passengers and crew would be erected in the west coast city of Perth which had been a base for Indian Ocean air and sea search crews.
The Customs Central Investigation Bureau officers seized 3.5 million cigarette sticks valued at Rs. 193mn at Orugodawatte Rank Container Terminal (RCT) today, Customs Spokesman Dharmasena Kahandawa said.

He said the 40-foot container including the contraband had been imported into the country from Indonesia and it had arrived at the Colombo Port on January 30 in the vessel Ever Diamond.

The cigarettes cartons were hidden among 25 wooden dining sets, he said.

Mr. Kahandawa said this was the second cigarette consignment that had arrived in to the country during last two months.

The container was to be shipped to India via Colombo Port and the shipping company had submitted to Sri Lanka Customs declaring the goods as wooded dining sets, he said.

On suspicion the Customs officers had examined the container and found 3.5 million sticks with brand name DJARUM. The container was shipped to the Colombo Port from Port Klang, Indonesia.

The container had 25 sets of Indonesian wooden dining tables, which included 25 tables and 100 chairs filling half the container. The other half was packed with boxes containing cigarette cartons.

While addressing media the Customs Director General Chulananda Perera said that it was illegal to import cigarettes from other countries, but cigarettes were not illegal in the country.

This consignment must have been brought to the country due to the need of the Chinese people, who live in the country, he said.

After customs investigations the cigarette consignment and wooden dining tables to be confiscated ,Mr Dharmasena said.

Investigations were carried out by Customs Superintendents M.D. Prasantha Kumara, G.B. Gnanaraj, R.A.D. Srinatha, L.W. Rubasinghe and Assistant customs Superintendent S.D.S.D. Jayawardane on the instructions of Customs Directors K.A. Ruwan Pathirana Customs Director General Chulananda Perera (Chaturanga Pradeep)

Pix by Kushan Pathiraja
Dr. Anoma Jayasinghe, Group Medical Officer of SriLankan Airlines, has become the first Sri Lankan professional in Aviation Medicine to be selected as a member of the International Academy of Aviation & Space Medicine (IAASM), in recognition of her contribution to this field in Sri Lanka for over a decade.

Aviation and Space Medicine are the fields in medicine which are concerned with the maintenance of health, safety and performance of those involved in aviation or space activity. Founded in 1955, IAASM has a limited membership of approximately 240medical professionals from around the world, from airlines, civil aviation regulatory authorities, and organizations involved in Aviation and space travel.

Dr. Jayasinghe would be academician of IAASM. Academicians are leaders in aerospace medicine and related sciences who work as a select group and provide a platform for academics and medical professionals to present original scientific papers related to aviation and space medicine.

Dr. Jayasinghe is a member of the Medical Board of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) which she also serves as a Medical Examiner. She is a full member of the Australian Society of Aerospace Medicine, a Member of the Aero Space Medical Association USA (AsMA), and a Designated Aviation Medical Examiner of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Australia (CASA).

She is also an active member and acts in the capacity of a technical advisor for the project CAPSCA (Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation) which is affiliated to IATA and ICAO. This project is considered important for the aviation sector due to the various outbreaks of communicable diseases in the last decade.

A past pupil of Vishaka Vidyalaya, she earned her first qualifications at the North Colombo Medical College, Ragama and the University of West Indies in Barbados. She was originally trained in anesthesiology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo but eventuallyopted for a career in Aviation Medicine.

She pursued post-graduate training in Aviation Medicine and obtained the Australian Certificate of Civil Aviation Medicine from Monash University; Aviation Medicine Course from Singapore Aviation Academy; and a Diploma in Occupational Health & Safety from the University of Colombo.

She served at the General Hospital Anuradhapura where she handled disaster management, trauma cases and aeromedical evacuation of patients during the civil war, during her internship and thereafter was attached tothe Military Hospital in Colombo. During this time, she spent significant time in the frontline including the Jaffna Peninsula and its outlying islands, handling battle casualties at all times of day and night.

She later served at the Colombo North General Hospital in Ragama where she was the Resident Anesthetist and Medical Officer in Charge of the Intensive Care Unit. She joined SriLankan Airlines in 2002.
(Xinhua) 13:25, March 08, 2017

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Cui Xinyu)

The relations between China and the Philippineshave returned to the right path, benefiting the two peoples and other countries in the region, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.

Since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte came to office, he has handled the South China See issue properly and actively improved relations with China, Wang said.

The Philippines has extended a hand of goodwill, so China of course will embrace it with open arms of cooperation, Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

Wang said China and the Philippines are making up the lost time. The potential of bilateral cooperation is rapidly growing.

In less than six months since October last year, there have been about 1,000 new tourist groups from China to the Philippines, and China has imported more than 200,000 tonnes of tropical fruits from the Philippines, he said.

Cooperation on infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and dams, is being actively discussed, with some becoming operational this year, the minister said.
Eleanor Roosevelt, American politician, diplomat, and activist, and the longest-serving first Lady of America during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelts Presidency from 1933 to 1945, had once made a short and sweet statement that should be inculcated in the minds of all women. She said, Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. It was US President Harry S. Truman President who later described her as the First Lady of the World in honour of her human rights achievements.

Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, and do not grovel; take courage

- Christobel Roseanne Barr



The centenary of the 1917 silent film, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle falls this year. As the story line goes: A doctors wife publishes and hands out literature on birth control at a time poor women are overburdened by too many pregnancies, growing families and limited income. The police forbid her to speak about the secret that was open only to the rich and closed to the poor. She is arrested, but convinces her husband and a judge of the reliability of her beliefs.



One Hundred years on, the International theme for 2017 is, Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030. A walk themed, Awakening the [voice] of Women was also held in Colombo under the auspices of Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe a few days ago.



The feminist movement, also known as Womens Liberation has been an ongoing encounter for the past 150 years. The UN established International Womens Day [IWD], is celebrated on March 8 to highlight the role and achievements of women in the socio-political field and in global peace and security.



Women have travelled into space and fought beside men in combat over many decades, and achieved tremendous improvement in many areas of life, but progress has slowed in many places in the world reminding us that no global action can accelerate gender parity. Until 2016 leaders across the world agreed to take action as champions of gender parity with groups and individuals pledging their support -- not only for March 8, but for every day in the year. The beginning of the movement was in the 19th century, when a womens suffrage movement was started under

A good Daughter is as Good as a good Son - Buddha



Buddha compared motherhood to Buddhahood living in every household. During Buddhas lifetime in India, King of Kosala, Pasenadi was informed that his queen gave birth to a daughter; the birth of a female child was considered to be a sign of misfortune. The King rushed to the Buddha and grieved. Buddha pacified him saying that, a good daughter is as good as a good son. However, no matter how much they agitate nobody gives them power; they have to grab it. Women were looked upon as mere objects that exist under the absolute whims and fancies of the husbands; performing domestic chores and bringing up families.



A myth was concocted that all women are born immoral and the only way to keep them out of mischief was to keep them totally occupied with the task of looking after children and concentrating on domestic duties. Yasodharavo, the former wife in his lay life refused to greet the Buddha on his first visit to the castle after enlightenment saying, If he is concerned let him come to me. Buddha, without hesitation walked into her chambers accompanied by his two chief disciples. A woman was considered a burden on the family. Buddhism does not consider women as being inferior to men, and the husband is admonished to consider the wife a friend, a companion, a partner. In family affairs the wife was expected to be a substitute for the husband when he happened to be indisposed. In fact, a wife was expected even to acquaint herself with the trade, business or industries in which the husband was engaged, so that she would be in a position to manage his affairs in his absence. This shows that in Buddhist society the wife occupied an equal position with the husband.

The Buddha was the first guru who gave women equal opportunities in the field of spiritual advancement by purifying their minds to realise the bliss of Nibbana. The testimonies of the Theris in the days of the Buddha speak abundantly of this fact. The Buddha realized the social and physiological distinctions that existed. Anguttara Nikaya contains some valuable advice which the Buddha offered to girls prior to their marriages. He realized that there was bound to be trouble with the in-laws, the girls were required to give every respect to them, serving as they would their own parents and to honour their husbands relatives and friends, thus creating a pleasant and happy ambiance in their new homes. In the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha says, under certain situations, women are considered more astute and wise than men. In the Sigalovada Sutta, the Buddha emphatically mentioned the duties of a husband towards the wife that a husband should be faithful, polite and not despising, and that he should hand over authority to the wife and provide her with adornments.

The LIBS, THEMES and WALKS are negative strategies; they create little or no impact. Women need to change their mindset, learning to appreciate values and recognize their potential energies and capabilities. Get over the myth that you are inferior, weak and second-rate. Loretta Young famously said, A charming woman doesnt follow the crowd. She is herself. Women should learn how to tear down cruel ideas of a male-dominated society; shed light on mens love-hate relationship with the women in their lives. She maintains a stable family, nurtures her children, and looks after the well-being of her husband. These roles are ingrained into each of us at an early age. She doesnt know that she is the most important cog in the family wheel. As long as women struggle for equal rights thinking that they had been denied of their rights and always been thought of as having a second-class role in society, or that they are powerless and the property of men; the men will continue to impose their dominance on them. If she doesnt get out of the box she has been raised in, she wont understand how much bigger the world is.



Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady once said, If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.



Why women are termed the Weaker Sex and ancient beliefs

I have an idea that the phrase weaker sex was coined by some woman to disarm some man she was preparing to overwhelm. Anon.



Jesus Christ never approved of any kind of inferiority. Jesus treated women with grace, compassion, and dignity. Mary Magdalene is the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection. Jesus wanted her to tell others of what she had seen, even though the evidence of a woman at that time was not considered as worth listening to.



Let Every Woman be a Queen or a Princess

Women are an intricate part of our working society. A womans role is just not in the house; it extends far beyond into the working world where women are even holding positions such as chief executive officers of Fortune 500 Companies. Since women have become increasingly important, the value of the male last name has decreased. The submissive role that many women assume in marriage is a familiar controversy among most societies; a role so common that it is often expected of a female to live under the thumb of the husband.



In the western world in the early 1940s the role of women changed dramatically with Congresswoman Edith Rodgers and Eleanor Roosevelt presented American society with a bill on May 28, 1941, in the hopes of establishing a Womens Army Auxiliary Corporation. Virginia Wolf gave us a unique view into the changing minds of women and their role in society. She wrote of women who were more concerned with society and decision-making. Women constitute more than half of the global population today. Their contributions socially, economically, culturally, and politically are great yet; their efforts have been accepted at a much lower proportion than those of men though they have proven that they are every bit as competent and qualified as men.

Nobody objects to a woman being a good writer or sculptor or geneticist if at the same time she manages to be a good wife, good mother, good looking, good tempered, well groomed and un-aggressive.

- Leslie M. Mclntyre
A leading insurance provider has expressed disappointment over some insurance companies not following state regulations even two years after such regulations came into force, which has created an uneven playing field for

the industry.

Three companies, including a large player in the market, have not complied with the regulation so far, challenging the achievement of regulatory objectives on the development of a stable and healthy industry. Therefore, during 2016 too, all other companies conducted their business activities in an uneven playing field, HNB Assurance PLC Chairperson Rose Cooray told the shareholders in the firms latest

annual report. According to the Regulation of Insurance Industry Amendment Act, No. 03 of 2011, insurance companies were required to segregate their life and general insurance businesses by January 1, 2015,

and list these entities on the Colombo Stock Exchange by January

1, 2016.The Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) lists two state-owned insurance providers, the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd (SLIC) and MBSL Insurance Company Limited, as well as a private company Sanasa Insurance Company Limited as not having segregated or publicly listed their businesses.IBSL Legal and Enforcement Director Ranil Angunawela said that MBSL and Sanasa Insurance are currently in the process of acquiring funds to meet capital adequacies under the new risk-based capital adequacy policy which was introduced in the 2011 amendment, in order to segregate.For SLIC, there are ongoing discussions regarding segregation, and they have reached up to ministerial level, so I cant comment on that, he said. Due to inabilities to maintain high capital adequacies, two mergers have already taken place in the industry, and Cooray said that many more mergers are likely to take place in the coming years, specially in the general

insurance business.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post 

The New York Times reports that the Trump administration has divided over whether to remove the United States from the Paris climate agreement, a landmark international deal with vast diplomatic and environmental significance. Withdrawing - or asking the Senate to decide what to do, which is effectively the same thing - would be an enormous and possibly irreparable error. This is not a hard call: Staying in the agreement is costless, while leaving would rightly provoke sharp and sustained international outrage.



The Paris agreement does not formally obligate the United States to make any particular level of emissions cuts. All it does is ask countries to announce emissions plans of their choosing and report on their progress. It has no major implications for U.S. sovereignty and demands no particular policy balance between environmental and industrial concerns. If the Trump administration wants to move that balance toward fossil fuel interests, it does not have to leave the Paris agreement to do so.



President Donald Trump could modify the U.S. Paris commitment, or simply leave President Barack Obamas Paris pledge in place. Although Trump has promised to rip up major elements of Obamas climate plan, other policies, such as congressionally mandated renewables subsidies and state-level efforts, would continue apace. Crushing the Environmental Protection Agencys Clean Power Plan would ill-prepare the country for the significant emissions cuts that it will have to make in coming decades, but it would not keep the nation from reducing its emissions to more modest levels in the near term. If the country is going to be achieving emissions cuts anyway, why not take some international credit for them?



Given all that, leaving Paris would be nothing more than a gratuitous thumb in the eye of practically every important nation on the planet, a bizarre and irrational unforced error.



The Times reports that Ivanka Trump and others pushing to stay in the Paris agreement might be mollified if the president declared that deal is a treaty that requires Senate ratification, tossing its fate into lawmakers hands. This is just another way to kill it, a ruse that would trick no foreign government. During the Paris negotiations, international diplomats bent over backward to accommodate the U.S. political system, specifically designing an agreement that relies on purely voluntary, nonbinding emissions commitments from every major polluting nation. Many governments would have much preferred a treaty with legally mandatory emissions requirements. But they recognized that the Senate, where rural and energy interests are quite powerful, would certainly scuttle it.



Neither Trump nor anyone else in the White House should imagine that the global reaction would be any different if the president, in effect, asks the Senate to do his dirty work for him rather than simply withdrawing from the Paris agreement himself. Like it or not, climate change has become a central concern on the global stage that drives a great deal of modern diplomacy. And for good reason: The only workable response to the threat is an international one based on U.S. leadership and mutual trust. Pulling out of Paris would uselessly undermine both.
(Ready-To-Drink) to Nestle global markets

Participants from 9 countries across Asia, Oceania and Africa

Nestle Lanka recently hosted an international workshop at its Kurunegala factory, where best practices in manufacturing Milo RTD (Ready-To-Drink) were showcased to Nestle participants from 9 countries. Participants from 12 factorieswhich manufacture Milo RTD across Asia, Oceania and Africa (AOA) attended the workshop to gain expertise in this area.

Sri Lanka was chosen as a host destination for the workshop as Nestles Kurunegala Factory was the firstmarket in the Nestle AOA zone to implement new manufacturing standards to further enhance the manufacturing process of Milo RTD with the latest technological knowhow of the Nestle group.

Technical experts from Nestle Product Technology Centers in Switzerland, USA and Singapore attended the workshop to share their technical expertise and knowhow. Nestle Lanka shared their success story ofMilo RTD with other countries, to showcase best practices.

Said Shivani Hegde, Managing Director for Nestle LankaWe are proud to have been the pioneering market in the AOA zone to manufacture Milo RTD using the latest manufacturing standards and processes.This signifies the high quality standards thatwe follow in our manufacturing facility, to provide tasty and nutritiousproducts to our consumers.

Milothat fuels the winning spirit, has been highly accepted by mothers and children for several decades. Made from the freshest and high quality milk, collected from 21,000 Sri Lankan dairy farmers, Milo RTD offers the golden goodness of malt and cocoa from the finest cocoa beans to give that great chocolate malt taste.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post  Anna Fifield  Mar 07, 2017

TOKYO - Malaysias prime minister accused North Korea of effectively holding our citizens hostage Tuesday, after the Kim regime banned all Malaysians in North Korea from leaving the country, the latest escalation in tensions following the assassination of the North Korean leaders half brother.



The Malaysian government responded by saying it would not allow North Korean diplomats to leave the country, surrounding the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur with tape and armed police.

The moves underscore the sudden breakdown between two non-aligned nations that, until a month ago, enjoyed a pragmatic relationship free from ideological judgments.



North Koreas official media said Tuesday that Malaysian citizens had been banned from leaving the country. North Koreas foreign affairs department sent a notice to the Malaysian embassy in North Korea on March 7 that it is temporarily banning Malaysian citizens from leaving the country, the report said.



Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said North Korea condemned the travel ban as an abhorrent act that was in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms.



As a peace-loving nation, Malaysia is committed to maintaining friendly relations with all countries, Najib said in a statement. However, protecting our citizens is my first priority, and we will not hesitate to take all measures necessary when they are threatened.



There are 11 Malaysians in Pyongyang: three embassy staff, six family members and two others who work for the United Nations World Food Programme.



There is no threat to their lives. Let us not come to that point yet, deputy foreign minister Reezal Merican told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.



Chinas CCTV 13 reported that emergency procedures had been initiated at the Malaysian Embassy in Pyongyang and that people had been burning documents and loading luggage into vehicles, but the report could not be immediately confirmed.



North Korea suggested the ban would be lifted once the investigation into the death of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged older half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was completed to its liking.



The ban is effective until the case in Malaysia is fairly resolved and the safety of the North Korean diplomats and citizens in Malaysia is secured, the state media report said.



Kim Jong Nam was attacked in a crowded Kuala Lumpur airport terminal last month, his face smeared with a substance that Malaysian investigators said turned out to be VX, a nerve agent and internationally banned chemical weapon. He died within 20 minutes.



Malaysia carried out an autopsy on the body against the objections of North Korean diplomats in Kuala Lumpur, who insisted that the man - referred to simply as a North Korean citizen - had died of a heart attack.



Malaysia has refused to release the body without DNA identification from next of kin, but no family member has come forward to provide the match and claim the body.



North Koreas ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol, issued a series of increasingly virulent statements against the Malaysian government, including saying it couldnt be trusted, and was declared persona non grata on Saturday. He left Malaysia on Monday night, bound for Beijing.

North Korea responded by saying it was expelling the Malaysian ambassador to Pyongyang, but he was already in Kuala Lumpur, having been recalled soon after the attack for consultations with his government.



After North Korea announced Tuesday it was banning all Malaysians from leaving the country, Kuala Lumpur retaliated.



We dont mean to do this, but it needs to be done, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Malaysias home minister, told a hastily arranged media conference Tuesday.



The home ministry has made a ruling, effective immediately, that not one staff member or officer of the [North Korean] embassy can leave the country, he said according to The Star. This will be made effective at all immigration exits nationwide.



Photos on Twitter showed police cordoning off the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur after the announcement.



Malaysian police have implicated three North Koreans still in Malaysia as being involved in the attack on Kim Jong Nam. They include a diplomat and an employee of the North Korean state airline, Air Koryo, and all three are believed to be hiding out in the embassy.



Ordinary North Korean citizens in Malaysia - who number in the hundreds - would still be allowed to leave the country.
Uresh Jayasekera, who works as Peoples Leasing & Finance PLC (PLC) Group Head of Human Resources, was recognized amongst 100 most influential global HR professionals at the World HRD Congress  Silver Jubilee celebration held at Taj Lands End Hotel, Mumbai, India recently.

At this event, several world HR leaders and international companies were recognized for their immense contribution towards human resource development. The 25-year celebrations marked the participation of HR leaders from

133 countries.

Speaking about the recognition received, he pointed out, I am honoured to receive this prestigious award and this recognition comes as a testimony of the acceptance of my professional contribution towards human recourse development and this is my second international achievement.

Jayaskara is an HR professional who has contributed both to organisational and people development in last 17 years including, manufacturing, hospitality, insurance and, banking and finance.

He joined PLC in 2007 and spearheaded the PLC group HR initiatives to drive the company from strength to strength. He leads PLC to win the SLITAD Peoples Development Gold and Silver awards in 2014 and 2015.

Also, with his leadership, PLC won Asia Best Employer Brand Award 2016 at the annual award ceremony held in Singapore and was able to secure the National HR Excellence 2016 Silver award. Further, in the year 2016, with his leadership, PLC won Sri Lankan Best Employer Brand award. He has always manoeuvred enthusiast to keep the momentum of continuous learning and as a result, he was the sole Sri Lankan winner of prestigious Japanese scholarship in 2014, for the leadership development programme under the overseas human resource and industry development association (HIDA),

Osaca, Japan.

An Alumnus of the University of Kelaniya, he read the first degree in Bio Science (Hons) and obtained his Diploma in Management from the Open University and subsequently, the Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management from the University of Colombo and later Masters Degree (MBA) specialized in Human Recourse Management from University

of Colombo.
Special prosecutor Park Young-soo announces the results of an investigation of an influence-peddling scandal involving South Korean President Park Geun-hye. (Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

By Anna Fifield, Yoonjung Seo

(c) 2017, The Washington Post  

TOKYO - South Koreas embattled president colluded with a confidante to extract $37 million from Samsung in return for granting favourable treatment to the corporate behemoth, special prosecutors concluded Monday after a 70-day investigation into the sensational corruption scandal that has been roiling the country.



The damning 101-page report comes just days before the Constitutional Court is set to announce whether it will uphold a parliamentary motion to impeach the president, Park Geun-hye, who has been suspended from duties for three months.



The core purpose of this investigation was to shed light on longstanding collusion between private interests and the government, and to expose cases of abuse of state power for personal gain, said Park Young-soo, the head of the special prosecution team.



But the president, who issued a 52-page rebuttal through her lawyer Monday, refused to be questioned by the special prosecutors over her role in the case or to appear before the Constitutional Court.



The special prosecutors -assigned to investigate the case because the state prosecution was embroiled in the scandal- were unable to complete their investigation because of her refusal to appear and because the prime minister who is doing her job refused to extend the time allowed for the inquiry.



The investigation ended, accomplishing just half of what had to be done due to the limited period and unco-operative attitude of those subject to the investigation, the head of the special prosecution team said.



Although a president can be questioned while in office, the prosecution could not compel her to appear. Nor can Park be indicted while she still holds the presidency, although prosecutors have listed a total of 13 charges that they would like to press against her, including abuse of power and receiving bribes.



She can, however, be indicted if impeached. The Constitutional Court, which set itself a deadline of March 13 to decide whether to uphold the National Assemblys motion to impeach Park, will announce Tuesday the date it will deliver its verdict. South Korean media have reported that it will most likely be Friday.



Park, who is 65, is the daughter of former military strongman president Park Chung-hee, who oversaw South Koreas transformation into an economic powerhouse by supporting conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai. Park is South Koreas first woman president and, if she is impeached, would become the first to be forced out of office.



If she is impeached, a new presidential election will be held within 60 days. If she is exonerated, it will be held as scheduled in December.



Even without Parks co-operation, the special prosecutors still found that the president colluded with her friend, Choi Soon-sil, to take a total of $37 million in bribery from Samsung in return for approving a merger that would help Lee Jae-yong, the third-generation head of South Koreas largest conglomerate, maintain the familys control.



The presidential Blue House instructed the head of the National Pension Service, a major Samsung shareholder, to vote for the merger, even though the fund lost $120 million in the deal, the report said.

The president also installed Chois associates into influential positions, including ambassador to Myanmar, where the confidante could make money, the report found.



It concluded that Park and Choi had 573 phone calls in a six-month period - between April and October 2016, when the scandal broke -on cellphones registered under other peoples names.

The report also implicates Park in the blacklisting of almost 9,500 left-leaning artists considered critical of her administration, meaning they would not be given government grants for their work.



The special investigation team handed over its investigation to the state prosecutors office Monday, which announced it would review them.
Have you ever wondered why State medical students have taken to the streets to protest against the private medical faculty at Malabe, the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM)? Has this resistance evolved in fear of an imminent trepidation on their part or is this an act of utilitarianism?



The right to education which was confined to the highest social stratum until the 1940s was extended to all individuals regardless of their socioeconomic statuses subsequent to the introduction of the free education system. This decision paved the way for the underprivileged to reap the benefits of higher education. If we envisage an ideal scenario, for instance in a country with a staggering economy and a cornucopia of resources, the co-existence of State and private medical education systems would have been an incentive for healthy competition. Nevertheless, provided the current economic and political circumstances in Sri Lanka, it does not take an expert to comprehend the impracticality of such an existence.



Firstly, let us not forget that money, without any doubt, plays a crucial role in ones way of living. Money is an essential necessity. This provides a faultless explanation as to why the human resources of State universities will be drawn to alluring offers made by private universities and will by and by relinquish their positions in State universities to work for private universities instead. One could have, with resolution put to rest the aforementioned as mere assumptions. Yet there is a profusion of instances where brain drain from State to private universities has transpired. At its inception, SAITM has taken on 20 professors in the course of a relatively-scant time frame of eight years. In contrast, only one professor was appointed to the Eastern Medical Faculty not months but weeks ago.



This brings us to the second point that needs scrutiny which is the prejudiced stance on SAITM that is evident through the actions of the present and previous governments. A common misconception that has grown itself into general consensus is that State universities are proud possessors of a colossal pool of resources. The statistics of each and every State medical facultys human resources would prove otherwise. Curtailment of human resources in already-struggling State medical faculties should not pass the point of imagination for the sake of conciliating with a wealthy and powerful minority. The million dollar question is why every single government carries the propensity to extend its benevolent arms of approval towards the flourishing establishment of private medical faculties like SAITM, when the inauguration of Sabaragamuwa Medical Faculty is thwarted owing to the Ratnapura Hospital not being on par with the standards of a proper teaching hospital.

Speaking of teaching hospitals, clinical training is an integral part of medical education which should essentially be provided at a hospital that has an adequate patient circulation and the required units with optimal functioning. The Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (NFTH) on the other hand, to date, lacks the requisite patient to student ratio and thus has not been recognised as a teaching hospital. This fact was emphasised in parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena during his tenure as Health Minister in 2012. Moreover, at the outset, SAITM did not have a teaching hospital, which suggests that it was more of a revenue-based organisation than a teaching institution. How can a patient who seeks treatment from a State hospital rely on a doctor who has not had satisfactory clinical exposure? If the public healthcare sector were to absorb these untrained, substandard doctors produced by SAITM, it will demote the superior health indices hitherto maintained in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) is the professional body that safeguards these health standards by way of regulating the entire healthcare sector including medical education. Several committees appointed by the SLMC conducted quality inspections to find out that SAITM did not meet with the standards specified by the medical council. Furthermore, they stipulated recommendations by way of offering a second chance at their medical degree being recognised by the SLMC. In lieu of amending flaws in their system, they resorted to obtaining a court order to gain provisional registration from the SLMC, which rendered the SLMC an impotent body, marking this, the first occasion that a medical council of a country was deemed powerless at the expense of patients lives.



In conclusion, it is high time that the government paid attention towards the turbulence which has been created by this debacle. Measures should ideally be adopted by the officials who are entrusted with the task of serving the general public to nationalise SAITM rather than assuming expedient schemes. In addition, if private medical education were to be established in Sri Lanka, the government should put forward policies that would ensure the production of quality doctors, employing stringent screening from the entrance to the final MBBS examination. Further, guidelines pertaining to teaching hospitals must be incorporated in these policies and means of providing training forensic medicine and community medicine. Appointments which can only be completed at a government hospital should be attended to in due course. Finally, to answer the question whether the State medical students are rebels with a cause, yes: they are fighting for the greater good, not even at the expense of the minority, but with the heartfelt compassion of doing them justice as well.

By Erandi Rajapakse, Kithmini Senadeera and Indunil Sandaruwan.

(State medical students)

An ugly symptom of a dreadful sociopolitical syndrome

North Colombo Medical College, SAITMs de facto predecessor, another source of political trouble

This country has to straighten its spine and say unto its own citizens enough is enough

Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.

~Alexis de Tocqueville



According to Wikipedia, the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) was established in 2008 by Dr. Neville Fernando with the aim to provide tertiary qualifications in Medicine, Engineering and Information Technology, Management and Finance, Information Communication Technology and Media. The institute was initially affiliated with the Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy (Russia), the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) and Buckinghamshire New University (England), awarding degrees through those respective institutes. In 2011, SAITM applied for recognition from the University Grants Commission (UGC) as a degree-awarding institution, with the ability to award its own degrees. The UGC, in 2013, granted SAITM such a status despite protests from the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) and the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA). SAITM held their first convocation in March 2013, conferring degrees to ten students from the Faculty of ICT and Media and eighteen students from the Faculty of Management and Finance.



Today, SAITM is embroiled in a crisis-laden situation in which the two partners in the governing coalition are facing a decisive showdown, a showdown between two diametrically antagonistic sociopolitical schools of thought. While the United National Party (UNP) and its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe find themselves in the corner of private sector-backed open market economy, President Maithripala Sirisena and his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) traditionally oppose private sector-backed ventures in the sector of education, a subject they think has to be severely controlled and regulated by the government with no quarter given and none asked for. The well-chronicled schools-takeover in 1962, its wholehearted support of Buddhist schools and portraying them as the vanguard of a nation determined to rise after 450 years of colonial rule, stands as monument to those sociopolitical policies in the sixties and seventies.



North Colombo Medical College, SAITMs de facto predecessor, another source of political trouble for any government, had one serious and determined backer in the then Executive President, J.R. Jayewardene. NCMC in fact made it a point to record its deep appreciation of those who helped to make the NCMC a fulltime working private Medical College. Aside from J.R.J, those who supported this novel education venture were Dr. Stanley Kalpage as UGC Chairman, the then Secretary of Higher Education Prof. Stanley Wijesundera and the academic staff of the Colombo University. (Source: Wikipedia).



Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), at the time led by firebrand Rohana Wijeweera, launched a pitiless attack on the NCMC since its inception. Wijeweera had the full support of the left-wing political parties in Sri Lanka at the time and this issue of the NCMC was a sharp weapon in his hand and Wijeweera used it in his failed attempt to topple the government in the late eighties in his murderous and vicious campaign which was mistakenly called the second revolution by some social scientists. Wijeweeras attempt to portray NCMC as an agent of the capitalist class ended up in a bomb attack on its administration building in 1988. Yet, the Board of Management of NCMC conferred its own medical degree MBBS (NCMC) instead of the one from the Colombo University.

However, it was the UNP leader, the then Executive President Premadasa in 1989, who appointed a committee made up of K.H.J. Wijedasa (Presidential Secretary), W.M.P.B. Menikdiwela (Former Presidential Secretary), Dr. Ananda Guruge, a respected educationist and Bradman Weerakoon, another high-end civil servant, to look into the NCMC. Soon after, the NCMC was nationalised with the government deploying the army to occupy the buildings. Its board was replaced by a Competent Authority, Prof. Carlo Fonseka. He continued as the first Dean when the NCMC was transferred to the Kelaniya University as its Medicine Faculty. Premadasas populist policies saw to it that a private sector venture was once again placed in the government machinery. Ironically enough, it is this NCMC struggle where current Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne had his baptism in Sri Lankas politics. It was indeed a baptism by fire. Rajitha Senaratne at that time was at the forefront of the oppositions bout against NCMC.



Twenty eight years later, this same issue, medical degrees accorded by a private medical school in particular and opposition to private sector-backed education venture in general, is irritating the government in power -- this time a coalition between the very antagonists who fought vigorously against each other in the eighties. Once again, a reformed Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, this time led by a non-violent Anura Kumara Dissanayake, is in the forefront to lead a campaign against SAITM and its very existence as an educational institution that offers recognised degrees. In a bizarre development, however, Vice Chancellor Professor Ananda Samarasekera, is on a leave of absence, relating to his alleged involvement in the Wasim Thajudeen murder case. How more bizarre this case could become, one does not know.



Yet the central issue remains the same. Sri Lankas unproductive flirtation with government-run institutions and organisations continue, emphasising an utterly destructive anti-private sector syndrome, a syndrome that has been imparted by the traditional left in the fifties, sixties and seventies and now carried out by the current JVP and its cohorts in the twenty first century. Our medical students who get into the university straight from high school are recipients of a free education from lower kindergarten up to the university level. And even the university education is free up to a point, thanks mainly to Lalith Athulathmudalis Mahapola scholarship scheme. Their opposition to others getting a paid-education and receiving an award of certificate to practice medical profession is a sign of a malignant mindset, perverted by false socialistic promises offered to them by politicians who are equally perverted by a false system of sociopolitical school of thought. Growing incapacity of the left-leaning politicians has crippled our political dynamic and caught in this vortex of incapacity, they use an extra-sensitive issue to malign a system that is already in a state of deep indecision.



To make matters even more malevolent, those who offered licenses and other go-aheads during their time in power to the same institutions are among the chief antagonists to the issue. Politics is playing its cruel ironies with the lives of our student population. The government seems to be in a grip of not knowing what to do. Lack of steadfast determination to settle an issue with all the sensibilities of a nations vulnerable segment is making the government justifiably unpopular with all segments of society.



In this context, it is pertinent to write here what a speaker at a convocation ceremony of the NCMC stated: I remember, at the beginning I quoted Victor Hugo who said No army can withstand an idea whose time has come but I made a mistake, we were actually ahead of our time by over 1 1/2 decades. Today private sector and privatisation are no longer dirty words in the vocabulary of nearly every political party. I wonder sometimes what would be the attitude of those who criticised us, if some group decides to start another private medical educational establishment in our country today. It will certainly make an interesting scenario. His words still echo in our private and public chambers of discussion and debate.

This country of ours has to wake up from this benumbing state of complacency. It has to clear its cobwebs of the dead past. It has to straighten its spine and say unto its own citizens that enough is enough. Clinging on to anachronistic socioeconomic theories, however much they are covered with a veneer of social justice is not going to serve any meaningful purpose in the long run. The world has discarded socialism as a working economic system. The Mogul of capitalism has risen his head and never to bow down again. The so-called developing world is no longer categorised in that insulting way anymore. Second and Third-World jargon are fast disappearing from the world of international finance and economics. Corporate finance and corporate accountability are replacing government-held institutions. Those countries which are arguably the most corrupt and dishonest in their dealings, those governments which are essentially family-driven and henchmen-bonded are the ones which demand government interference into the world of global financing and global trading.

China and Russia may stand as exceptions to this rule, yet both these countries would have gone to the garbage can of history but for the fact they graduated from a slumping system of Marxist Socialism to regulated capitalism. While those very countries which dominated the cold war in the fifties, sixties and seventies, with whom countries like Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines and even India had romantic flirtations died a very sad and sudden death. Delivery of the utopia was not delayed, it was denied. Those leaders who led revolutionary movements except perhaps, in Cuba and Vietnam were eventually discarded by their very followers. In such a realistic and authentic context, why Sri Lankan leaders are scared of a paper-tiger of socialism is not comprehensible.

The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com
Sino Great Wall International Engineering Vice President Hans Ruxue and Indola Group Director Ajit Wijesinghe exchanging the construction contract agreement. Also present (from left) are: Sino Great Wall International Engineering Sri Lanka Branch General Manager Billy Tang and Indola Group Director Paul Dwyer

Pic by Kushan Pathiraja

By Zahara Zuhair

The construction contract of Dusit Thani Sri Lankas beachfront project in Balapitiya was awarded to Chinas Sino Great Wall International Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd, as the officials of the two companies entered into an agreement at Dusit Thanis Colombo sales office this week.

The reason why we chose Sino is they have a lot of experience in five-star. We needed an international company specialised in good quality finishes, Indola Group Director Ajit Wijesinghe said.

The US $ 200 million project in Sri Lankas southern coast was launched last November as a joint venture between Thailand-based multinational hospitality company Dusit Thani and Sri Lankas Indola Group.

The project includes four towers and a promenade. It is the only five-star luxury development on a Sri Lankan beach so far available to investors.

Mirror Business learns that the first phase of the project will kick start this month and will be completed in 700 days. The second and third stages are expected to commence in six months down the line and the whole project is scheduled to be completed within 36 to 48 months.

Sino Great Wall Engineering Sri Lanka Branch General Manager Billy Tang told Mirror Business that this is the first individual project and the fourth project his company has undertaken in Sri Lanka.

Sino Great Wall Engineering has already completed a few projects in Sri Lanka such as RIU hotel Ahungalla, which is a 501-room hotel, landscaping of the Shangri-La Hambantota and the first phase of Shangri-La Colombo (windows and the doors).

We are looking for more opportunities here. We are a listed company in China. We came here four years ago. Sri Lankas economy is growing, so this is the best choice, he said.

Sino Great Wall International Engineering Vice President Hans Ruxue said this project is a real boost to their reputation as a quality builder in South Asia.

Sino Great Wall International Engineering is a listed company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and has many years of experience in construction, particularly in the overseas market.

Well known projects by the company include The Four Seasons Hangzhou China, Sheraton Thousand Island Lake China, New Port Project in Qatar, Beauty Crown Hotel Sanya, Sheraton Cross Gate Zhuhai, Marriot Hotel China and over 100 five-star hotels around the world.

It was noted that the Tower B of the project is already sold out and Tower A is now being marketed and sold to interested investors.

Wijesinghe said that one third of the tower was sold to locals, one third to overseas Sri Lankans and the rest to foreign investors.
Nearly one-and-a-half years has rolled by after the formation of the National Unity Government between the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is underway in this regard. The timeline, stipulated for governing together, will lapse in September making way for the two parties to take stock of things and decide on the next course of action.

With just six months ahead of the deadline, fissures within the government manifest in all fronts. President Maithripala Sirisena, as the leader of SLFP, directs criticism at actions obviously by Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera representing the UNP over the issue facing at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

He reasserted that Foreign Judges would not be allowed in hearing accountability issues in local courts. Also, he affirmed that he was not ready to act according to the interests of NGO eunuchs. He said he would allow the members of the security forces to be hauled up before any inquiry over their role in the decimation of terrorism. In political circles, these are interpreted as criticism directed towards the manner in which Foreign Affairs are handled, particularly in relation to the UNHRC resolution.

Alongside, the SLFP has found ground to oppose the move to hand over a stake of the Hambantota Port to a Chinese Company, a proposal made by the UNP. The committee, appointed by the government, has found that it is unlawful to hand over a port with majority shares to a foreign company as ownership should remain with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) in conformity with the Act concerned. The UPFA has emphasised that it will not allow the agreement to be signed in its current format.

With differences getting widened, it is learnt from the SLFP sources that the party is contemplating to quit the govt. after September. After that, the UNP, as the single largest party, will be left alone. It still enjoys the chance to govern with the backing of a few from the other side in such an eventuality. Nevertheless, some SLFPers in the govt. believe that it is advisable for them to leave the ruling side to opt for alternative arrangements to face the next election.

Parliament has four more years to complete its term. By now, nearly two years has elapsed.

However, there are provisions in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that enables the President to dissolve it prematurely after four years upon a resolution by Parliament. An SLFP source says the party will look at that option at the end of the term of the current Parliament.

Split threaten Unity Govt.

Mangala at centre of criticism over UNHRC session

SLFP opposes Htota port stakes handed to China

TNA rift widens over military presence, Foreign Judges

SLPP gives green light to Welgama

PC polls face procrastination?

TNA rift widens; calls for urgent meeting

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) appeared to have been distraught with President Sirisenas assertion that he would not allow military personnel to be victimized at any cost

The President made such remarks in his address to the members of the security forces stationed in the Palali Military Base. Alongside, the President also incurred the displeasure of the TNA when he reaffirmed his position that Foreign Judges would not be allowed in any local courts. This development coincided with initiatives by the government of Sri Lanka to seek a two-year extension for the implementation of the provisions of the UNHRC resolution adopted in 2015. The process is currently underway at the UNHRC in Geneva. It has already received positive signals from the western countries that mainly sponsored the resolution. The countries such as the USA and the UK have already assured their support to this resolution to be moved later this month.

The support of the European Union for such an extension became apparent when its envoy in Sri Lanka Tung-Lai MARGUE said in an interview with the Daily Mirror that the initial timeline granted to Sri Lanka for the implementation of the resolution was overambitious. He even said that Sri Lanka did not have sufficient time to do all that was required.

Be that as it may, the TNA insists on speedy action on ensuring what the previous resolution terms transitional justice without any delay. Incensed by the move to extend a timeline specified for it, 10 TNA MPs signed a letter addressed to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein and emailed it to him against the move. However, it did not enjoy the support of the TNA leadership and five other MPs including stalwarts like M.A. Sumanthiran and Mavai Senathirajah. They, like others of the TNA, believe in the implementation of the provisions of the resolution without any alteration. Let alone, they are not supportive of engaging the UNHRC against giving an extended timeline for implementation.

There has been much wrangling within the TNA over approaches to address issues concerning them. This bickering has come to a head now with its allies openly taking on each other. The TNA is in fact a grouping of four Tamil parties that have united purely for electoral purposes. Otherwise, they do not see eye to eye on most of the matters. The chasm is widening within the TNA indicating signs of possible splits later on.

Against current developments, the TNA decided to call for a meeting with all its parliamentarians and members of the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils in Vavuniya on Saturday. On behalf of the TNA, MP Senathirajah informed all these members yesterday over the phone in this regard. The meeting is slated to discuss a slew of issues with emphasis on current political developments.

Welgama gets blessings from supporters to join new party

Joint Opposition MP Kumara Welgama, the only SLFP executive member to oppose a joint government with the UNP at the beginning, participated in a function in his constituency in the Kalutara district. It has been organized to felicitate him for being with SLFP for 35 years. In his address to the gathering, he asked for permission to join a new party if the situation demanded it.

The crowd roared back in approval of his wish. He, then, turned to Prof. G.L. Peiris, the Chairman of the new party named Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Today, the leader of the new party is also present. I can even ask him, he said. Finally, he said he would be the first MP to get the SLPP membership at one point. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa attended the event. Alongside, his elder brother MP Chamal Rajapaksa also participated at the event, and it attracted attention because of rumours that he would break ranks with the JO and join hands with the SLFP section in the government. His participation in the SLFP executive committee meeting the other day gave rise to such rumours.

MR has chitchat with Western Provincial Councilors

Meanwhile, the former President met with some Western Provincial Council members at a funeral recently. How is the work at the PC now? he asked.

We were planning a strategy to take control of the Council. We did not proceed as you advised against it, replied member Ananda Harishchandra. It was a light conversation on the move by some members to sit independently in the Council. Then, the former President explained to them as to why he did not encourage it. He said the members should in a manner that would not give even an iota of advantage to the UNP at this hour. Yet, member Harishchandra brought to the notice of MR that a few UPFA MPs had met with the UNP and discussed ways of contesting the next election together.

Will PC polls be postponed?

The government is postponing the local government election citing different excuses. Alongside, it is rumoured in political circles that the government is even planning to postpone the PC elections due this year. The terms of the North-Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa PCs would end by August this year, warranting elections to them.
(Xinhua) 15:38, March 08, 2017

Philippines' powerful Commission on Appointments on Wednesday rejected President Duterte's appointment of Perfecto Yasay as Foreign Secretary over his controversial U.S. citizenship.

Yasay, a college buddy of President Rodrigo Duterte, is the first appointee of Duterte to be rejected by the commission, a body in the Senate.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the CA committee on foreign affairs, said it was a "unanimous" decision to reject Yasay's appointment. He urged Duterte to appoint a new one even on acting capacity.

"The commission has gone over the qualifications and issues besetting the appointee," Lacson announced before a plenary session of the CA after the body held a caucus on Yasay's confirmation.

After a careful deliberation, Lacson said "this representation as chairman of the CA committee on foreign affairs, hereby move to reject the ad interim appointment of Yasay."

Lacson said in an interview with reporters that Yasay cannot be reappointed, and that he would no longer be foreign secretary immediately after his rejection.

He said Ysay was already informed about the CA decision.

Yasay has initially denied during his first confirmation at the CA's committee last Feb. 22 that he became an American citizen and that he owned a U.S. passport.

But at the resumption of the hearing this Wednesday, he admitted he was granted U.S. citizenship on Nov. 26, 1986. But he stressed that the citizenship was voided after he abandoned his U.S. residency.

He apologized for "inadvertently" misleading the commission about his U.S. passport.

"Let me quickly apologize for having inadvertently misled the commission on this matter," he said, adding that "it has never been my intention to deceive this commission about my citizenship status."

Yasay took up the post on June 30 last year. Philippine cabinet ministers must undergo a confirmation hearing by lawmakers, but these often take place long after they begin work.
Not too long ago, there was a call for an international inquiry into allegations of war crimes. The call came from both within the country and without. From within it was the usual suspects, the rights-fixated NGOs and outside it was their international counterparts, backed of course by the West, primarily the USA and Britain. The UNHRC was where these voices gathered into a chorus. The chorus was actually an echo of pro-LTTE groups, again within and without the country. Resolutions were passed with predictable tokenism concerning the LTTE. Threats were issued. Sanctions were in the air. The then Government and through it the people of Sri Lanka were put on notice.

The writing was clear. Sri Lanka was to be punished for defeating terrorism. Sri Lanka was to be punished for orchestrating the greatest hostage rescue operation in remembered history. Context was buried. Evidence was manufactured and cleverly enhanced, once again with deft blend of suppression and enhancement of fact as per intended effect. Reliability of source was absented in all this. Cogent rebuttals were disregarded. Sri Lanka would be hanged.

What was not too difficult to understand even back then seems impossible to reject now: it was not about war crimes, it was not about truth, not about transitional justice. It was about bringing pressure on the then Government with the clear intention of replacing it with a regime that was more friendly to these accusers, and to some of them, particularly those sections of the international community that have no moral authority to talk of human rights violations, a more pliant political establishment.

True, the UNHRC Chief, Prince Zeid, has issued a curt and unsympathetic statement. True, the matter is not off the table. But then again both the President and the Prime Minister have demonstrated Rajapaksa-like gumption in their responses. Whereas there was talk of hybrid courts earlier and later this was diluted to mention of international observers today the men at the top are saying out of the question.

Today, even those who screamed about independent inquiries are shrugging shoulders and saying probably not politically possible. Theyve gone further. Theyve dug by relevant facts they probably pretended to be ignorant about when the previous regime was being flayed left and right at the UNHRC. Take this observation for example: Hybrid courts are not necessarily the answer. The hybrid court system established in Cambodia in 2003 has delivered only three convictions after 14 years of effort and the cost has exceeded USD 200 million. In addition, there were instances of the foreign judges and prosecutors publicly disagreeing with each other and resigning from their posts along with allegations of government pressure on them. Today they have suddenly discovered the dictum politics is the art of the possible. But it is the truth. A truth thats convenient now but was conveniently suppressed back then. The truth is that apart from the Right to Information Act there has been no notable achievement by this government over the past two years in terms of correcting systemic flaws. Theyve claimed however that judicial independence gained with regime-change, but thats hogwash. The judiciary is as good (or as bad if you wish to put it that way) as it was. Talk about introducing mechanisms to strengthen domestic mechanisms have not got from proposal to realization. Indeed, there was a lot more of such talk during the previous regime. If it was a question of trust, well then this lot is as untrustworthy as the previous.

And yet, there are issues that will not go away. The Prime Minister has revived the notion of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. There is an individual and societal need to know what really happened. There has to be closure as those in

the West put it.

Easy to say, hard to do. People cannot be hanged on a charge. There has to be substantiation. In the case of missing persons, there are terrible stories and theres fabrication. The one has to be separated from the other. With proof, though. In the case of those disappeared during UNP rule in the late eighties, there were vigilante groups doing the dirty, masked men answerable to no one. The who, what and where are never easily established. However, where such establishment is possible, prosecution is non-negotiable. In Cambodia, it is estimated that 1.5-3.0 million people were killed. The number unaccounted for in the last stage of the fighting in Sri Lanka ascertained with any semblance of logic is less than 7,000 and this includes LTTE cadres killed and civilians who escaped the LTTE and somehow bypassed the security forces in the first five months of 2009. If the Cambodian exercise yielded just three convictions, it simply means that truth is a hard to come by commodity.

The dead will not return. The living are forced to live with their grief and hopefully with some form of relief. The other day, it was revealed that in the matter of redressing the grievances of those who had been politically victimized by the previous regime, most of the beneficiaries had been found by lists submitted by politicians, i.e. their loyalists rather than the truly aggrieved. Some have petitioned that they have been overlooked.

Its easy to say Those who work on behalf of victims of violations know that victims do not wish to wait long for justice and also need to be compensated quickly in order to get on with their lives. Those who are victims do not wish to wait for years for justice to be done. The truth is that people have to get on with their lives regardless and have done so throughout history. Who are these victims, anyway? Is victim anyone who claims victimhood? It being a Tamil a necessary criteria to plead victimhood? Theres nothing to stop the brother of an LTTE cadre who died in action from claiming he or she had gone missing and demanding compensation. It would be cost-effective to treat every claim as genuine but that would mean that justice and truth really do not matter.

The truth is that the LTTE abducted children, the LTTE invited war, the LTTE killed Tamils (and Sinhalese and Muslims) and held some 300,000 Tamils hostage. They were rescued by the Sri Lankan security forces. LTTE cadres who were apprehended were rehabilitated, provided with opportunities to further their education or acquire marketable skills and reintegrated into society. Thats as general amnesty as any that can be expected in todays world. Hospitals and schools were built, so too water supply systems, roads and railways. Thats as reconstruction as any that can be expected from a country like Sri Lanka.

Now if this government bats on till the end of its term and somehow gets re-elected in all likelihood whats written above would be like a script for what would probably be uttered on the subject of reconciliation  if indeed that subject retains currency that long.

However if tomorrow (or say sometime later this year) President Sirisena cobbles together the requisite numbers and forms a government with the joint opposition (JO) effectively replacing the UNP with the JO and with either Mahinda Rajapaksa or a proxy as Prime Minister, come September in all likelihood Prince Zeid will change his tune and those who said politics was the art of the possible would flip the script. Just like that. Its like that. So much for truth and justice.

Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer.

Email: malindasenevi@gmail.com. Blog: www.malindawords.blogspot.com. Twitter: malindasene
Government could assert national security exemption in case of identifiable harm

RTI can be of some help in getting transitional justice

Sovereignty and inclusiveness among major global issues

Who is Will?

Will Ferroggiaro is a Washington (DC)-based consultant with more than 20 years experience working on freedom of expression, government accountability, and human rights.

He has worked on the right to information in countries around the world, including India, Japan, and South Africa, as well as the USA. For more than a decade, he headed the freedom of information project at the award-winning NGO National Security Archive, where he negotiated policy with the White House and authored reports on implementation of right to information laws.

Will Ferroggiaro, an expert from the United States of America, who is here at the invitation of a Civil Society Organisation, speaks on the importance of the Right to Information Act, Good Governance and democratic norms.

Excerpts:

When looking at this concept called Good Governance, it was the main campaign slogan of this Government. Today, it is even interpreted as a political slogan. How do you define it?

What I like to think is that there is no culture that is inherently better at Governance than another. Rather, societies all need tools to strengthen institutions to create accountability cultures.

The Right to Information is one important tool in helping media, the average citizen, and others to access information that can be used to pressure Governments and elected representatives to act better, to be accountable in their duties.



I think the idea of Good Governance is a norm, but practically how to achieve it is through these tools. I do not think there is Good Governance without all of that practical work that needs to be done.



There are many elements of it. For example, in the context of the United States, we have the Right to Information Law and other laws that require the disclosure of information: Under the Clean Air Act, the companies that emit pollutants have to disclose the number of toxic pollutants that they release into the atmosphere, which the Government is required to publish information. We have a variety of laws that enhance transparency, including the laws and regulations that govern financial markets. All of these tools together help citizens and different pressure groups to get information to hold the Government accountable and make it more responsive. From that, we have better governance.

QYou have been in Sri Lanka for one week. According to your interactions with those concerned here, how do you see this concept working in

Sri Lanka?

I think it is very difficult for an outsider, after a week, to have a good idea about the important dynamics in any society. What I would say is that the RTI law is a very good law. The law reflects best practices from around the world. It is very smart. Sri Lanka should be commended. All of the people who pushed for it for more than 15 years with different drafts of the law should be commended, the media, civil society, as well as the Government and Parliament that unanimously enacted it. We have had our law in the USA for 50 years. We made a lot of mistakes when we started. Hopefully, Sri Lanka learned from the mistakes the other countries have made.

For example, we did not put enough money and resources to implement it at the outset. It is probably going to take additional effort on the part of people  for example, sufficient training and awareness of the law both within and outside the government. We know this from the experience of many countries. But the law could help the people, in certain parts of the country, who are trying to get reparations or land returned because of the conflict. This would be a way, for example, to know what is happening with the commitments the Government has made to people on these issues, perhaps even to know the nature of the deliberations.



QThere is a perception that disclosure of all sensitive information will place hurdles in the decision making process. What is your comment?

In general, we have found it is better to disclose more information. Disclosure can help policy deliberations because Government can benefit from informed public debate that addresses issues the Government may not have foreseen. That said, some countries including the US and the UK have exemptions in their RTI laws allowing - but not requiring - Governments to withhold information if it is still in the pre-decisional stage. Still, the public can ask for it and the Government is required to disclose all but the key facts of that information. Another aspect of this is that it is incumbent upon the media, civil society and others to be ready to utilise that information and help people understand what it means. I am not only an advocate in the United States; I have made hundreds of requests in the United States and Canada. When you get the information, it is sometimes not clear, so it is important for media and civil society to analyse this information and educate the people about it.



One final thought: If there is true harm in disclosing the information, your law and others have exemptions that can be used. If it is concerning national security, you might review the material, cut out portions, and release the rest.



It is always better to disclose information; holding on to information is more of a problem. It increases the number of secrets such that the true secrets cant be separated from those that can eventually be disclosed and it reduces the publics trust in the Government. At the heart of all of this is the public trust. If the Government makes an effort in a good faith, it is actually going to get credit for it.

QIn what way has the Right to Information Act contributed to the socio-economic development of your country and in other countries where you have experience?

In the United States, we have the national law, and each State has its own law. These help people in knowing what benefits they get, such as for war veterans, about public safety issues, health and more. For example, pharmaceutical companies must submit the test data to the agency concerned for it to declare whether a drug is safe or not; the public and even rival businesses can access that data. In my home State of California, there is a dam overflowing because of snow and rain. We can get information about dam safety issues. We can get access to environmental information - to know who is dumping pollutants. It affects all aspects of life.



In another area, we used the law to get documents released concerning the activities of US diplomats, military, and intelligence in Central and South America, including death squads, in order to contribute information to the truth commissions, the happenings in countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala, which those Governments supported. We made these requests for declassification under our RTI Law. This information contributes to stability and governance in these countries.

QHow universal is this concept of good governance in the context of certain cultural attachments to it?

The United States is a multi-cultural society. We have people from everywhere. We are not a perfect society in any way; we have racial and other issues. But while were not perfect, we are a nation of laws not men, as we like to say. In our Constitution, people have freedom of belief, including freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly, which do not restrict how one should dress, what language they use, and so on.



Those are the precepts we live by. Governance is about laws and adherence to laws and our culture stems from that. Like others, we have corruption, Police abuse, and other lack of governance, but that stems from larger issues of social and economic development rather than culture.

QHere, there is the perception that if all information were put in the public domain, Sri Lanka could not have successfully conducted the war on terrorism. How do you respond?

First of all, I acknowledge that these are difficult issues. We can talk about global norms and all sorts of things, but I think each context is unique. In terms of disclosure of information related to the disappeared persons, a particular element of the conflict, it could be that the Government uses the proactive disclosure of information provisions of the law to respond in general in this area. The law allows for Government to disclose information of public interest. If there is an identifiable harm in release either in response to a request or in a proactive disclosure, the Government could assert the national security exemption. But we have seen that issues of importance to a society dont fade away. RTI requests will likely come and they eventually end up in court. This might be an opportunity for the Government to get out ahead of those requests.

QHow have you advised civil society to push for transitional justice through the right to information law?

I am mainly here offering the experiences of the US and other countries on implementing the RTI Laws. I mentioned earlier that I worked to get the US documents on our policy in Latin America released that were then used by the national and UN truth and reconciliation processes in those countries. I believe that this information helped those societies to come to terms with their past and helped increase stability and good governance. So, it is possible that the RTI can be of some help in this area here.

QIn the practice of journalism, we sometimes count on anonymous sources for obvious reasons to get information. There is fear whether the Right to Information Law will bar it. Instead, it will regulate the flow of information only through the formal channel. It will help officials to dilute or suppress information. What is your view?

The Right to Information Law is one avenue to access information; journalists will always have their sources and other ways of getting information. We also know that documents disclosed may not tell the full story; thats why the RTI requests, proactive disclosure of information, and journalists efforts are needed to tell the full story.

QThere is this allegation that the principles of Good Governance  democratic norms, human rights etc- are used as a tool for intervention in internal affairs of other countries. What is your view?

One thing I have learned is that right to information campaigns are driven by demand for information.

They did not come about because of an outside expert showed up. These laws are based on the publics desire for information. It is their desire to have the Right To Information, for freedom of expression, for example, to know that their taxes are properly used, to know why they dont have access to adequate water, etc.



These are all locally-driven needs. I was in Japan in 1998. One of the big scandals at the time was that the Health Ministry had some blood supplies tainted by HIV. They did not disclose this to some people who got blood transfusion. This was a major scandal. This was the key issue in mobilising people for this right. It opened up this ministry and led to the law there. In the United States, it took ten years to get our RTI into law. One of the issues was that a member of the Congress could not get the Civil Service Commission to give him information. These are all local issues wanting to solve local problems. Sri Lanka is the 115th country with a law now. It is a global norm now. But it is about power in the end; people want to be their own governors.



QAre these Liberal values under strain in the West including your country because of rising Nationalism?

I would say that the big issue the world is facing is sovereignty and inclusiveness. There are a lot of global changes due to our global trade, global exchange of information and so on. There are financiers from the US investing in commercial ventures in Sri Lanka, as the Chinese do in the US. There is this GSP plus trade benefit too.



These link us to the world. The more we are interconnected to trade, the more it brings benefits to society. It also brings risks. The key issue as I see it is who is represented at the negotiating tables when decisions are made. We have not solved that problem.



When making trade deals, the average person is often left out of the negotiating table. It has happened to us for 30 years in the US; that is in part why people elected President Donald Trump. People felt that no one was representing them; when jobs go to other countries, people felt it. We have not solved this issue of inclusiveness and sovereignty.

QHow true is the claim Sri Lanka has one of the best Right to Information Acts in

the world?

I have seen the Center for Law and Democracys ranking; they do a really careful analysis. As I said, I think Sri Lankas law incorporates best practices from around the world.

For example, the USA law does not have a public interest override like Sri Lankas. That said, laws can very well written in the books, but it is their implementation that is most important and most relevant to the peoples lives.



QHow long will it take for Sri Lanka to implement it properly?

Well, I want to be positive, but it has taken 50 years and we are still amending our RTI law, even last year! There are many challenges in getting RTI laws properly implemented, many of which are hard to foresee.



Many countries have instituted reviews of their laws or provisions of their laws after a year or two, or legislatures will hold hearings to assess implementation. I will just say that these laws are always somewhat a work in progress like democracies more generally.
BOI Chairman Upul Jayasuriya in discussion with the 6-member Chinese delegation led by CPPCC Shanghai Committee Vice Chairman Xu Yibo

The Board of Investment (BOI) said it recently hosted a delegation consisting of senior officials from Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference of Shanghai (CPPCC).



The delegation consisted of six senior officials of the Communist Party of China (Shanghai chapter) and was led by Xu Yibo, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee.



The delegation had come on a fact-finding mission to develop a greater co-operation between China and Sri Lanka.



In the course of their visit, the delegation inspected the infrastructure in Sri Lanka notably the port and international airport at Hambantota, a BOI statement said.



The delegation was welcomed by BOI Chairman Upul Jayasuriya.



While explaining the investment opportunities in the country, Jayasuriya informed the delegation of governments plans to transform the Colombo city.



He said that the first stage is the transformation around Beira Lake, where there are considerable opportunities for investment and asked the Chinese investors to grab them.



Zhang Xinsheng, Chair of Committee for Economic Affairs of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee, was quoted as saying that Sri Lanka is a golden place to invest.
Dan Lamothe 

(c) 2017, The Washington Post, Mar 07, 2017 -

The U.S. military began deploying an advanced defensive missile system to South Korea on Monday, a long-awaited move that was agreed upon with the government in Seoul last summer and follows a series of provocations by North Korea.



The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system does not use warheads, and is designed to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles like the ones launched by Pyongyang into the Sea of Japan on Sunday. The deployment comes despite protests from Chinese officials, who have said repeatedly over the last year that it is threat to Chinese security.



Continued provocative actions by North Korea, to include yesterdays launch of multiple missiles, only confirm the prudence of our alliance decision last year to deploy THAAD to South Korea, said Navy Adm. Harry Harris, the chief of U.S. Pacific Command. We will resolutely honour our alliance commitments to South Korea and stand ready to defend ourselves, the American homeland, and our allies.



The deployment was announced as North Korean state media reported that the four missiles Pyongyang launched Sunday were practice for a North Korean attack on U.S. military bases in Japan. Three of the missiles traveled about 600 miles over North Korea and the Sea of Japan before landing inside of Japans exclusive economic zone. The fourth landed just outside the EEZ.



North Korea also is believed to have thousands of artillery cannons aimed at its southern neighbour, a particular concern for Seoul because the city of 10 million is within range, 35 miles from North Koreas border.



Each THAAD battery includes at least six truck-mounted launchers that carry up to eight missiles each. U.S. military officials stress that it provides strictly defensive capabilities, but it also possesses powerful radar that Chinese officials are concerned will be used to observe Chinese airspace.

The United States and South Korea began discussing the deployment of THAAD more than a year ago, and reached an agreement to do so in July. Former President Barrack Obama reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the deployment in October, saying Washington and Seoul have worked together to prepare for any threat. He specifically cited THAAD as an example, while calling it a purely defensive system to deter and defend against North Korean threats.
Cabinet paper presented by PM after AGs report

I want to get all affiliated depts. of the Ministry under one roof

This deal is not corrupt, but certain parties engage mud-slinging

We have been paying Rs. 21 million as a monthly rental since April 2016

At a time when the country is hanging from loose strings as a result of the major debt crisis gifted by the former regime, spending lavishly on government projects wouldnt sound like a bright idea. Yet bringing in a challenge to this situation, the government is still eyeing attractive properties to house or relocate its ministries. The relocation of the Govijana Mandiraya at Battaramulla to the DPJ Tower in Rajagiriya is one such example where the Ministry of Agriculture has been paying Rs. 21 million as a monthly rental without occupying the building since last April. In a candid interview with the Dailymirror , Minister of Agriculture Duminda Dissanayake justifies his reasons as to why this transaction was carried out, the purpose of acquiring this property and its current status.

Excerpts :

QThere is much controversy over the proposed building complex in Rajagiriya where you will eventually relocate your ministry. What was special about this particular building and what is the current status?

We have a major problem with regard to space in the present building we occupy. There wasnt enough space to have meetings for the Sectoral Oversight Committees (SOCs) and we looked at three other buildings. After checking all those options DPJ tower was the best pick. Then we agreed to hand over this building we are presently occupying. This building presently in occupation is situated in close proximity to the Parliament and since these offices would eventually be handed over to MPs, it would be convenient for them to be present at the Parliament as and when its required. Its actually better if these SOCs are situated within the Parliament itself. So the most practical thing to do was to find a venue which is closer to the Parliament and therefore the DPJ building was picked to be utilised by the Agriculture Ministry. If the Parliament is the highest institution in the country and if there is any development work that needs to be done in its favour then its a must that we support it. The SOCs give more power to the Ministers and also allows them to carry out their projects in a transparent manner. The Prime Minister submitted a Cabinet paper stating the need to have the SOCs and that he needs a building in close proximity to the Parliament. Thereafter as a government body we decided to rent this building.

The Ministry has paid a staggering Rs. 21 million as a monthly rent and this has been going on for some time. Since you still havent occupied the building, what is the reason behind this transaction?

Let me give you an example; say that you are giving out a house on rent and Im interested in renting it out from you, I would tell you that it would take another three months to get the furniture ready. We talk about this transaction in January and then I ask if I may start paying from March since I have to get the furniture done. Would you agree or not? The person giving out the building doesnt care about when the building would be occupied. I have to change it to suit the needs of an office complex and this would only be possible once I have actually rented out the building.

For how long have you been paying this rent and when do you intend to occupy the building?

We have been paying Rs. 21 million as a monthly rental since April 2016, and because of this reason I told the Technical Committee to hand it over to anybody who would complete the construction work with a minimum period of time at any cost. But the response was that the Tender Board chose the company with the minimum rates. There also I tried to occupy the building as soon as possible because that itself would include a cost-cutting. Yet, unfortunately, the officials were not geared for such a speedy process. Hopefully we could see a Tender notice coming in within the next three months.

While the govt broker has estimated Rs. 150 per sq. ft. the landlords estimate was Rs. 167.50, to which you have agreed. In that case, why did you consult a govt broker?

There was a building at Battaramulla which had only 50,000 sq. ft. and the next option was World Trade Centre. Definitely we cant go there to cater to the needs of the farmers. Therefore, when weighing the pros and cons of this situation, what we learned was that the estimate for one sq. foot at a govt property is much higher than what we agreed to. In fact these rates were similarly higher in buildings owned by the UDA. In addition to that, the service charges were Rs. 80. The landlord offered us these rates, and therefore, we had to agree as they were relatively lower when compared to the rates of other State buildings. According to the Auditor Generals report, the difference in rates per sq. ft. is Rs. 27. We do know that the estimate given by the government versus that of a private party is completely different. If the transaction is fair and the rates are lower, I believe that we have nothing else to worry about. The Cabinet paper included all these details and it was presented by the PM after the AG has sent his report.

This building was initially built as a shopping complex, and since you are acquiring it for a Ministry, its infrastructure has to be restored at the Ministrycost. How much more money do you intend to spend on this building?

Whether the building is an office or a shopping complex; depends on its interior and not the outer appearance. Some people have doubts about the cost involved. Irrespective of the person involved, there is a certain way of constructing an office. Except for the floor area and the four walls surrounding it you do not get anything else. The building in question was not constructed specifically for the Agriculture Ministry. After we rented it out, we presented a Cabinet paper requesting to hand over the proceedings to the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) to undertake it as a Turnkey Project and hand it over to us. But then they said that it would take two years for them to complete it. Since two years is a long time we asked them to draw the plans according to our requirements along with BoQs and hand in the documents to produce a tender. If not for a Yahapalana govt, I would have found an architect and asked him to do the needful and would have got the needful within a month. But this is not possible in this govt because even to find an architect I have to first advertise it in the papers. Thereafter the technical and evaluation committees too have to oversee the proceedings. Definitely these proceedings would take a long time and that was why we handed over the task to a govt institution to undertake it as a Turnkey project. The entire process took approximately eight months. We asked them to develop it according to a modern concept while also saving money. Therefore without allocating 10 fax machines for 10 clerical staff, we asked them to install one common machine for each floor. If the entire process was handled on our own, it wouldnt even have taken two months. This deal is not corrupt at any point but certain parties would always engage in their mud-slinging campaigns. In Parliament, I would have easily asked the others to find a building for the Ministry, and requested them show it to me and construct it according to my wish and hand over the keys. But on the contrary, I abided by the laws and I wholeheartedly got involved in this situation for the sake of the country. If it was done by the govt, the duration would have been similar.

Why do you need such a huge office complex to accommodate around 300 ministry employees?

Once the restoration work is complete, you could come and see for yourself if these 300 employees are on the beds or on the floor. Or whether they are crammed together or have been spaced out.

According to the Auditor General, there have been no monetary allocations through the Budget 2016 to this project, and therefore, you had to withdraw funds from another project proposed by the Appropriation Bill. What comments do you have on this regard?

We havent used any funds allocated for the projects done by the Ministry. The entire cost that was given as an extra cost in addition to what was already allocated to continue the proceedings of the Ministry. We havent asked for a single cent from a farmer to contribute to this project, and we will continue all other projects as planned.

At a time when the countrys agriculture industry is facing a huge crisis, how do you justify on spending such a huge amount just for your Ministry?

Take for example a Ministry thats coming under the UDA, do they all pay the govt? How many ministries are paying their rentals either to the government or to private entities?

All offices in the WTC are rented out and their rates are approximately Rs. 210-230 per sq. ft. There were offices functioning at the WTC during the past and present regime. This is a decision taken by the government. The rental paid by the Ministry should not be tied up with other projects. The farmers have been given the fertilizer subsidy, compensation and the necessary development projects are taking place. The funds that have been allocated for the needs of the people were not utilised for this purpose.

Wouldnt it have been more productive to decentralize the different departments affiliated to the Min. of Agriculture, rather than bringing them to a centralized location in Colombo?

What we have been trying to do was to centralize the representation of all entities affiliated to the Ministry to Colombo. But if a farmer from Kandy comes to Colombo to meet me at the Ministry, wouldnt it be an advantage for him to do the rest of the work at the same place rather than having to travel across the country? We are not going to bring the entire department from Kandy to Colombo. For example, say that the Farmers Trust Fund is in Nugegoda; a farmer who comes to the Ministry should also have go to Nugegoda to complete the rest of his work. Wouldnt it be better if he finished all his work under one roof? As a Ministry that works closely with the people and even with each district, it is not practical to locate its departments everywhere. It is important that we function under one roof to ensure the convenience of the people involved in its operations.

There are many more institutions affiliated to the Ministry which I have left out. The Agrarian Services Department is located near the National Museum and its functioning separately. The Department of Agriculture is located in Kandy and at least a few members of this institution too should be located at the Ministry. Therefore if a farmer visits the Ministry, he could go to all the places at once rather than going to Kandy for one task and to Colombo for another. So what I wanted was to get all the affiliated departments of the Ministry under one roof.
International Womens Day is an opportunity to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women. These achievements are plentiful. Across the world, more women and girls than ever before serve in political office, live under constitutions guaranteeing gender equality, and are protected by laws against gender-based violence.



But International Womens Day is also a time to recommit ourselves to tackling the barriers to full gender equality that persist - barriers that exist in all of our countries to different extents.

The priority theme of the 61st session on the Commission on the Status of Women later this month is Womens Economic Empowerment in the Changing World of Work.



Globally, women continue to earn less than men; are more likely to work in low-skilled jobs; have less assets; and are more likely to be burdened with an unfair proportion of unpaid work, family and household responsibilities.These and other factors exclude women from making critical financial decisions at household, local, national and international levels.



Yet gender inequality has an adverse impact on economic growth. So investing in womens economic empowerment is both the right and smart thing to do. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, advancing gender equality could lead to US$28 trillion a year in global growth.And when you consider that women typically invest 90 per cent of their income back into their families and their welfare, the social development impact of promoting gender equality is significant.



The Australian Government recognises that womens economic empowerment is a significant driver of economic growth and prosperity. This is why promoting womens economic empowerment is a core priority for us, integrated across Australias foreign policy advocacy, trade negotiations, economic diplomacy and aid investments.



Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has also stressed the importance of engaging with the private sector in all aspects of delivery of Australian aid. This is because the private sector is a driver of growth, of incomes and jobs.The challenge is to ensure that the growth is inclusive and creates opportunities for all.



During the last year, we have worked on a range of programmes to deliver on this agenda. The Monash University Business School has partnered with the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration to produce a toolkit for women entrepreneurs to enable them to write their own business and development plans. The University of Adelaide has collaborated with the Womens Media Collective and other civil society representatives to quantify the financial contribution of unpaid work to the formal economy. We have supported the development of the Women Headed Household Action Plan and implemented a range of activities to support the new quota for women in local government.



In 2017, Australia will launch three new initiatives that focus on helping Sri Lanka to capture more income and revenue every year from the inclusion of more people, especially women and youth, in the formal economy. The Skills for Inclusive Growth programme will deliver targeted skills development to support job creation and business growth in the tourism sector. Australias Market Development Facility will support small and medium businesses to expand in a way that provides more job opportunities for all, including women.



Our Women in Business programme will aim to provide more quality job opportunities for women and support the growth of female-owned businesses. We will work with lead firms to remove barriers to womens workforce participation, support women in leadership programs, identify opportunities to link female-owned businesses in value chains, and increase access to finance and consumer protection. These programmes will all contribute to Prime Minister Wickremesinghes target of increasing womens workforce participation to 40 per cent by 2020.



During the last year, I have met with a wide range of womens organisations and women leaders from across the island. I have been humbled by the passion, enthusiasm and commitment of these women in promoting gender equality. But it is important that more men, especially those in positions of power and influence, help advance this work.



Men need to stand together with women to say that gender equality is everyones business.In Australia we have an initiative known as Male Champions of Change. This initiative engages men to ensure that gender equality is better understood and to find new ways to bring about change, especially attitudinal change.



On International Womens Day, I encourage all of us to recommit to promoting gender equality. It is both the right and the smart thing to do. It is also vital for realising our shared hopes for a prosperous and sustainable future for our region.

Follow Australias development programmes at:

www.srilanka.embassy.gov.au

www.facebook.com/AustraliainSri LankaandMaldives

www.twitter.com/AusHCSriLanka
China will send a spacecraft to orbit Mars, make a landing, and deploy a rover in July or August 2020, Wan Weixing, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Peoples Daily on Monday.

The lander will tough down the northern hemisphere of Mars where the rover will explore the surface after a journey of around seven months, and send the collected data back in 2021, said Wan, also chief scientist of China's Mars exploration program.

The designed life expectancy of the probe is one Martian year, or nearly two years on Earth, he disclosed when reviewing the government work report at the ongoing two sessions, namely the annual meetings of the National Peoples Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The task is now proceeding smoothly, the chief scientist said, explaining that feasibility studies, scientific goals, basic working plans have been completed before the mission plan was officially approved in early 2016.

So far, preparation works on satellite probes, ground data application, rocket launches, monitoring and control systems have been started, and some solutions have been primarily confirmed after initial design, optimization and rounds of tests, he continued.

China's first Mars mission is poised to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies like orbiting, landing and deploying a rover.

The mission plans to, by making an all-round exploration and high-precision scientific probes in limited area, study the inner structure, surface, atmosphere, and ambient space environment of the red planet, and as a result give insight into the origin and evolution of the solar system, information about extraterrestrial life and other big scientific challenges.

Mars is always the human beings first destination chosen for deep-space exploration, with a shorter distance to Earth than its peers in solar system, shares similar national environment with the plant the human beings are now living.

The orbits of Earth and Mars only align for an optimal launch every 26 months, and the window only lasts a few weeks, which means that there are only three launch windows before the arrival of the expected timetable of 2020.
Turkey leads the world in jailing journalists, it has shut down thousands of educational institutions and also jailed over a dozen sitting opposition members of Parliament.

The country that was once known as the shining star in the Middle East is hardly different from the most troubled parts in the region today.

There is an absurd trend in Turkey, which is largely to be blamed for this utterly appalling state of affairs - and that is the government's effort to justify despotic crackdown on political opponents on the pretext of protecting the people, flag, state, nation and more ridiculously, Islam.

Every criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) is equated with targeting the integrity of the Turkish state and plotting against the adherents of Islam: Muslims.

It is for this reason the Turkish regime draws criticism and loathing from democratic forces both within and outside Turkey.

Protestors carry placards during a demonstration to support arrested German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel outside theTurkish Embassy in Berlin, Germany, February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Though India is not in Turkey's proximity and has little similarity with it, political developments here are increasingly mirroring the characteristics of politics under Erdogan's regime.

Despite the fact that Narendra Modi leads a Hindutva-rooted BJP government, his tactics fit perfectly in Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AKP government's model of abusing religion and drumming up nationalist sentiments simultaneously.

Curiously, critical journalists in Turkey as well as India face the allegation of being against the majority religion in their respective countries and also of betraying their nations.

Few of them, who are presumed to have a Left-liberal leaning, are often referred to as "anti-Hindu" and "anti-nationals" in glaring similarity to the vilification of Turkish journalists like Can Dundar and Ahmet Sik who are called "anti-Islamic" and "traitors".

What is common among these Turkish and Indian journalists is their staunch advocacy of secularism and liberal democracy.

Surely, outright lies are circulated against them in order to create negative public opinion about them - but on ideological ground, it is their resistance of right-wing, majoritarian politics that makes them vulnerable to accusations of having antipathy towards the majority religion in their countries.

And the factor that bolsters the layperson's perception of them as "anti-nationals" is their relatively balanced or unsensational approach towards their countries' relationship with regional rivals.

Hence, Indian journalists' criticism of the government's policies towards Muslims is portrayed as their "hatred" towards Hindus, and their measured criticism of Pakistan is exploited to brand them "anti-nationals".

This is precisely how Dundar's or Sik's fight for protection of Alevi or Christian rights in Turkey is manipulated to present them as "anti-Islamic", and their warm relationship with Europe is blown out of proportion to denigrate them as "traitors".

That the ongoing government abetted trolls against a 21-year-old Delhi University student, Gurmehar Kaur for saying her martyred father was not killed by Pakistan but by war is a stark reminder of a vicious attack launched against a Turkish television celebrity, Beyazit Ozturk for giving airtime to a teacher who famously said "children should not die" in clashes between the army and Kurdish militants in early 2016.

The BJP government's hysterical response to Kaur's proclamations as well as that of the AKP government's to Ozturk's response serves one primary purpose: to demean a conciliatory/dovish approach towards the perceived enemy.

In Turkey's case, such a tactic has ensured that the Kurdish insurgency in the country continues unabated, which has consequently suspended democratic debates on Kurdish rights and resulted in people rallying behind the AKP government, uncritically.

The BJP government in India, too, seems very much interested in banking on the dispute with Pakistan to crush dissenting voices within the country and consolidate its support base by keeping the hawkish narrative alive.

Why else would a first year Delhi University student be bullied by not only right-wing trolls but also by some cabinet ministers in the BJP government for taking a pacifist stand?

There is another reason why India's dispute with Pakistan hardly takes a back seat in the mainstream political discourse.

The BJP knows very well that the issue not only has a nationalist connotation, but also a religious one.

Charged with having a soft corner for Pakistan, the defendants not only stand accused of being "anti-nationals", but also "anti-Hindu".
The present climate in America is not a pleasant one. Especially if you have a funny sounding name (to them), or dont look white enough. Hate crimes against immigrants are on a rise and President Donald Trump is only adding fuel to the fire.

But while there is hate, there is also love. And thats what we need to look for. Acceptance, and love and memories of what once was, is perhaps a potent force against the tidal wave of intolerance. Sometimes through anecdotes, and sometimes through tear-jerking stories, we are always reminded of the infinite power of the human heart to love.

Arun Venugopals short story on Facebook is something similar. It's a story about a woman's search for a certain Mr Arora, decades after they had been separated.

A white woman in her seventies wheeled a stroller with her grandchild into my subway car and sat down next to me. She had a question about where to transfer to the 6 train, so I told her.

HER: (in accented English) Where are you from?

ME: (slightly rolling eyes but playing along, as I always do) My family's from India.

HER: Do you know (hard to understand first name) Arora?

ME: What was his name again?

HER: (repeats it)

ME: Sorry, I don't. There are a lot of us, you know.

She explained that she had met Mr. Arora many years ago. This was in the 1960s. They had fallen in love. But it wasn't to be.

HER: I was too young!

She said this with great anguish, and to my surprise began to cry. She'd been in her early twenties at the time, and took her broken heart back to her homeland of Spain, where she soon lost touch with Mr Arora. At some point, she returned to America.

HER: So every time I meet someone who's Indian, I ask them if they know him.

ME: You still love him?

HER: (nodding) Yes... but I was too young!
International Women's Day is a celebration of all women, everywhere. But perhaps not so much in Pakistan.

It's appalling to see that Pakistan's ranking in the international gender indices has plummeted to an all time low. In the Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR) 2016 of The World Economic Forum, Pakistan stood at a dismal 143 with a score of 0.556.

Among the 144 countries, Pakistan ranked just above Yemen.

Pakistan has been ranked as the second-worst country in the world in gender equality for two years in a row.

Today, countries across the world are demonstrating leadership on gender equality by empowering women and emancipating them from socio-economic male control with more and more calls for equal pay for equal work. Sadly, Pakistan still struggles with a regressive patriarchal culture which subsists at the cost of women's lives.

Unlike their sisters in other parts of the world, women in Pakistan have to pay the price for speaking up for their rights even though they are guaranteed these rights under religion and the country's Constitution. Notably, Pakistan ranked 141 in the GGGR of 2014. It slipped to 144 in 2015. In 2016, it rose marginally to 143.

Therefore, Pakistan has been ranked as the second-worst country in the world in gender equality for two years in a row. The yearly report, under reference, measures progress towards gender priority in four areas. They, inter alia, include educational attainment, health and survival, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

Pakistan's performance on the four pillars of the Global Gender Gap Index have not improved since last year.

This is a very poor commentary on the existing plight of women. Again, Pakistan scored 143 on economic participation and opportunity. It's educational attainment is nominally better at 135. Significantly, Pakistan's poor rankings present a bleak picture of the modest progress made in terms of empowering women and gender equality.

The narrative of women empowerment is an exercise in futility in Pakistan's patriarchal culture of honour killings, female infanticide, rape and violence against women.

Given the sad reality, achieving the targets set for gender equality and empowerment of women by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) looks like a distant dream.

It is also pertinent to point out that Article 38 of the Pakistani Constitution and Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) make it incumbent upon the state to ensure gender parity in terms of socio-economic standings of men and women.

The deep-rooted patriarchal mindset is a major hurdle to an equal society. Being the fourth-most dangerous country in the world for women, it takes immense strength and courage to break through social barriers and the glass ceiling.

Pakistani women have been fighting a long battle to win their legitimate rights under the Constitution. Yet, they are relegated to a second-class citizens' status.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, as many as 512 women and girls, and 156 men and boys were killed in 2016 by relatives on so-called "honour" grounds.

Also, the Aurat Foundation's annual report of 2016 showed 7, 852 cases of violence against women. Crucially, there has been a 70 per cent increase in honour killings in the past year.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) alone, as many as 23 incidents of violence have been reported in the first two months of the current year. The brutal murder of Hina Shahnawaz, an MPhil scholar from Kohat, was the most high-profile case .

As the world celebrates the International Women's Day, Pakistan needs to change its attitude towards women.
In celebration of International Women's Day, a subsidiary of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co. arranged for 149 female employees working in nearly 30 cities to take portrait photos while dressed in hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han ethnicity.
This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Learn more .

Many investors understand the reasons for having a diversified portfolio. One way to accomplish this is to diversify within an asset class. For equity investors in the United States this can mean investing in both growth and value stocks.

It can also mean investing in international stocks. And when investors want to do this, they need look no further than our neighbor to the north. Canada has a range of stocks for investors to consider. This article will focus on strategies that investors can use when looking to invest in Canadian stocks.

Why Buy Canadian Stocks?

There are a few reasons for investors to consider Canadian stocks as part of their diversification strategy:

A Large Natural Resources Sector  The sheer size of the country and its location lets investors know that it is an area rich in natural resources. This also means that the country has a source of current and future wealth.

An Advanced Skills-Based Economy  In this regard, Canada is similar to other western nations. The difference is that it is not as common to find these skill-based professions in a country with so many natural resources.

Stability  Canada is not exempt from any problems that impact the global economy. However, the country is known for stable financial and business policies that have kept the economy relatively stable. This Goldilocks economy has meant that many Canadian stocks havent enjoyed the outsized growth of some U.S. equities. However, it also comes with a bit of protection against downside risk.

How Have Canadian Stocks Performed?

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, there was a time when U.S. stocks and Canadian stocks performed nearly identically. Heres a graph that shows the performance of the S&P 500 Index vs. the TSX Index



Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

You can see that with a couple of exceptions, the two indexes performed remarkably similar. That all changed around 2012 and Canadian stocks became less attractive.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

This disparity is widely due to one sector, technology. However, Canadian technology stocks have been on the rise. And in 2022, the country is benefiting from renewed interest in materials stocks as well as a spike in commodity prices.

What Are the Best Sectors of Canadian Stocks?

For different reasons finance, materials, and energy stocks are among the best performing stocks as of September 2022. Heres a brief overview of each sector and some of the top names for investors to consider.

Financial  Similar to the United States, Canada has a strong banking industry. Many Canadian banks have a track record of solid performance that can provide long-term value to a portfolio. And several of these stocks pay dividends with attractive yields for investors.

This sector makes up the largest percentage of the TSX at roughly 30%. And the Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)is the top-weighted constituent in the TSX. Beyond the Royal Bank of Canada some of the other top-performing Canadian financial stocks include:

Materials and Mining  Canadian stocks can be an ideal choice for investors looking to diversify into gold and precious metals without owning the physical metal. Canada has a large natural resources sector. So, its not surprising that there are a number of gold mining companies with Canadian origins. This sector also gives investors exposure to other components in the mining and agriculture sectors. This sector makes up approximately 11.5% of the TSX. Some of the top Canadian materials and mining stocks include:

Energy  Canadian stocks offer both traditional fossil fuel-based energy stocks as well as some renewable energy stocks. This sector makes up approximately 18.5% of the TSX. Some of the top Canadian energy stocks include:

Technology  As mentioned earlier, technology stocks have largely been the domain of the United States. As evidence of this, information technology stocks make up only about 5.5% of the TSX. However, there are a few Canadian companies that have become stars in the new economy being created. Some of the more popular names include:

What Are the Risks of Investing in Canadian Stocks?

One concern about investing in Canadian stocks is that they can be heavily weighted towards cyclical industries. For example, as of February 2022 financials (33.5%), energy (14.8%) and industrials (11.7%) made up nearly 60% of the index. That may be too much for some investors particularly because those sectors all tend to correlate roughly the same way as the economic cycle. But as a long-term play, Canadian stocks are worth considering with a small part of your portfolio.

How to Buy Canadian Stocks

Buy Individual Stocks on a Stock Exchange

Hundreds of Canadian stocks have dual listings on either the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the NASDAQ. This is the most convenient way to get exposure to Canadian stocks because there are no barriers to stock ownership. These shares can be purchased in U.S. dollars directly from the exchange just like purchasing a U.S. stock.

However, for a full list of the best Canadian stocks, investors should look at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The TSX is one of the oldest stock exchanges having been founded in 1852. Its also the third largest stock exchange in North America in terms of market capitalization.

The Toronto Stock Exchange includes approximately 1,500 companies. It allows investors to trade stocks, investment trusts, exchange-traded products, bonds, commodities, futures, options, and other derivative products. All transactions on the TSX are executed in Canadian dollars.

Invest in a Mutual Fund or ETF

There are many mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that supply exposure to Canadian stocks. Some funds supply exposure to both U.S. and Canadian stocks. Other funds hold just Canadian stocks. Some examples of those include:

BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF

Horizons S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF

Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap ETF

As with investing in any asset class, investors need to consider their investment objective, time horizon and risk tolerance before choosing a fund that fits their needs. Investors will also want to pay attention to the funds fee structure to ensure youre making the most efficient use of your capital.

The Final Word on Investing in Canadian Stocks

Investing in Canadian stocks is one way for investors to add diversification to their portfolio. MarketBeat provides a list of the top Canadian stocks that trade on the TSX. This is Canadas version of the NYSE or NASDAQ in the United States and includes many of the same stocks.

Thats one advantage of investing in Canadian stocks is that many have a dual listing which removes many of the obstacles that can come with investing in international stocks.

However, investors should be aware that many of the best Canadian stocks are in highly cyclical industries which can lead to underperformance when those sectors are out of favor. Still, due to their relative stability and in some cases an impressive dividend, Canadian stocks may have a place in an investors portfolio.
The U.S. state of Hawaii will ask a judge to block the revised Presidential executive order that bars issuance of new visas to people from six nations that are Muslim-majority, according to a filing of a document in court.

Lawyers from Hawaii hope to make the filing on Wednesday and it would mark the first formal challenge to the new order that the president signed on Monday.

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alerts:

Hawaii sued over the first travel ban signed by Trump, and its lawyers told a judge through a court filing they wanted to resume the litigation to request a temporary restraining order for the new executive order.

Civil liberties organizations and Democrats asserted shortly after the signed executive order by Trump that additional litigation would be certain since in their opinion, the measure was a Muslim ban.

However, the latest order was significantly different from the previous one and no immediate legal challenges were made.

An attorney in Washington, who successfully sued to put a hold on the first presidential directive, said on Monday he needed additional time to study Trumps new one prior to deciding what would be done if anything.

The new order lowers the listed of countries affected to six from seven. It eliminated Iraq while keeping Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Iran.

It also explicitly exempted all current visa holders and legal permanent residents, blocking just the issuance of any new visas for the citizens of the six countries for up to 90 days.

It also has a long list of people that are possibly eligible for an exception, including those admitted previously to the U.S. for a continuous period of study, work or other activity that was long-term; those with significant professional or business obligations; and those looking to visit or live with members of their family.

The newest order also suspends the refugee program for 120 days as did the first order. It declares the U.S. will not accept over 50,000 refugees annually, which is down for a cap of 100,000 set by the prior White House administration.

The second order signed on Monday will take effect on March 16, which in Hawaii is March 15. Lawyers for the Justice Department indicated that the White House intends to enforce this measure starting that day, as they consider a freeze ordered by the court on the first order as no longer being applicable.
The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. Ltd, Buell Industries Inc., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS Australia Pty Limited, CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures Australasia S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Coeur Shanghai Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Denison Mayes Group Limited, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., E2M Production B.V.., E2M Technologies B.V.., E2M Technologies Inc.., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO Holding AG, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, Exhibit 21, FEG Investments L.L.C., Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Filtertek SAS, GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech Taicang Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Belgium B.V., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart International Singapore Pte. Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium B.V., ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS UK Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW China Investment Company Limited, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Construction Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Services Manila Inc., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Contamination Control Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Deutschland GmbH, ITW Diagraph GmbH, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW EU Holdings Ltd., ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.L., ITW European Finance Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V..

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(Xinhua) 19:34, March 08, 2017

Chinese police Wednesday escorted a fugitive from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time since the two nations signed an extradition treaty in 2004, according to the public security authority.

With the cooperation of UAE police and the Chinese embassy in the UAE, a suspect on an Interpol red notice, wanted for contract fraud, was extradited.

According to police in Shanghai's Putuo district, in September 2007 the suspect, surnamed Kan, falsely claimed that he was authorized to sell a property in Shanghai, swindling deposits of 2 million yuan (around 289,000 U.S. dollars).

He fled to the UAE from Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, in March 2008. In December 2015 the people's procuratorate of Putuo approved his arrest on charges of contract fraud.

Kan was apprehended by UAE police in January 2016. In February last year, China requested his extradition based on the treaty between China and the UAE.

On March 7, UAE police transferred him to a team with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security in Dubai Airports.

Another red notice suspect, surnamed Xu, suspected of fraud was repatriated at the same time.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 8

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

The status quo in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unstable and makes a war threat possible, said former US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick, in his interview with the Voice of America, news.am reported.

Peace will change everything in the region, noted Warlick adding that the regions population deserves peace.

Warlick said that it is necessary to discuss the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, but at the same time it is necessary to talk about the return of territories to Azerbaijan.

Warlick served as the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair until January 2017.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 2

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

The Azerbaijani economy will grow by 2-3 percent per year in the medium term, Chief of the International Monetary Funds (IMF) Mission to Azerbaijan Mohammed El Qorchi, who is on a visit in Baku, said in an interview with Trend.

In 2017, the situation in Azerbaijans economy will be better than in 2016, according to him.

Meanwhile, El Qorchi noted, certain difficulties will remain in the countrys economic life.

Last year was quite complicated  the Azerbaijani economy gradually got out of recession, but the situation remained difficult, El Qorchi said, adding he believes that Azerbaijans GDP will continue to grow by 2-3 percent in the medium term.

A slight recession in Azerbaijans economy is connected primarily with a sharp decline in oil prices, according to him.

El Qorchi said that after this decline, Azerbaijan, like other oil exporting countries, faced certain difficulties.

Oil prices decreased considerably, affecting the countrys economy, especially in 2015 and 2016, he explained.

Earlier, IMF forecast growth of the Azerbaijani economy at 1.4 percent in 2017, 2.3 percent in 2018, 2.9 percent in 2019 and 2.5 percent in 2020.

IMF forecast nominal GDP of Azerbaijan at 59.74 billion manats in 2017, reaching 67.84 billion manats by 2020.

The International Monetary Fund opened its office in Baku in 1992.
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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 8

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The International Ocean Institute (IOI) with the support of Turkmenistans Foreign Ministry and the State Enterprise on Caspian Sea Issues under the President of Turkmenistan is holding a seminar in Avaza, titled Caspian Sea  sustainable development and management, which will last until March 16, the Turkmen government said in a message.

Experts of various ministries and authorities of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, as well as international experts  scientific consultants of the IOI in the field of the maritime economy, politics, management, ecology, maritime law and other disciplines are invited to the event.

Systematic training, improvement of skills of specialists engaged in the activities related to the Caspian Sea  the oil and gas sector, hydrometeorology, fishery, tourism, environmental protection, maritime transport, border services, foreign affairs and others  is one of the partnership formats of the Caspian basin countries, says the message.

The program of the current training includes a wide range of issues directly related to the economic, social and environmental aspects of development of the Caspian region states, their cooperation in these areas.

The International Ocean Institute (IOI) is a world leading independent, non-governmental non-profit organisation conducting training and capacity building in Ocean Governance globally. It aims to train young and mid-career practitioners in contemporary approaches to coastal and ocean management, with an emphasis on the moral, ethical and legal values in Ocean Governance (equity and peaceful uses of the ocean).

The IOI enjoys special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and consultative status at some of UNs Specialized Agencies.
A Charlottesville man has pleaded guilty to weapons charges related to two shootings from last year, one of which claimed the life of 23-year-old Denzel Morton.

Markwin Taleek Howard, 22, was actually a friend of Mortons, and he fired back at Mortons alleged killer on July 17, 2016, in the 400 block of Earhart Street. In doing so, Howard left evidence that linked his weapon to another shooting incident that occurred exactly one month earlier.

In Charlottesvilles Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon, Howard pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a weapon as a felon, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. In exchange, the prosecution dropped Howards charges of attempted malicious wounding and using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and proceeded to detail the two summer nights that landed Howard in handcuffs.

According to Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Joe Platania, officers found Morton in the early morning hours of July 17 at a parking lot on Earhart Street. Having suffered multiple gunshot wounds, he was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.

None of the other individuals at the scene would give statements to the officers about what happened, but as detectives swept the area, they found a black .40-caliber pistol with a spent magazine and multiple .40-calber cartridge casings.

After obtaining video surveillance footage of the scene, investigators saw a physical altercation break out between two groups of people. It appeared that a man later identified as Isaiah James Franklin fired a gun at one of the groups involved in the fight, which included Morton and Howard.

Tragically, investigators later concluded that Morton was in no way involved in the conflict, according to evidence presented at a hearing last December.

The video went on to show Howard removing a weapon from his waistband and returning fire at Franklin. That firearm was never recovered, but evidence technicians did collect one 9mm cartridge casing from the area where Howard was standing when he shot at Franklin.

According to Platania, had the case gone to trial, two officers who interacted with Howard on the night of the shooting would have identified him the man shooting at Franklin in the surveillance video. One of the officers nearly arrested Howard at UVa Medical Center for being abusive and belligerent, as he was upset about Mortons condition.

Nonetheless, the prosecution elected not to pursue the charges related to Howard shooting at Franklin because they did not feel confident in being able to prove that Howards shots were not in self-defense. Further, it is unclear whether Franklin would have been willing to testify, given that he faces a murder trial in May.

However, in processing the ballistic evidence from the case, detectives were able to link the shooting to a separate shooting from one month before. On June 17, city police responded to the area of Elliewood Avenue, where a witness reported that he heard five to six shots and saw someone dive for cover. Cartridge casings from that scene matched the 9mm casing fired by Howard.

When detectives reviewed video evidence from that shooting, they saw two people firing at a third man, who could be seen diving for cover. That third man was Franklin, police discovered, while one of the men firing at him was identified as Howard. These identifications were later corroborated by Franklin.

As such, Howard was saddled with a second weapon possession charge.

Howard is now slated to be sentenced on May 4, days before Franklins own trial. On Tuesday, Judge Rick Moore cautioned Howard that the cycle of gun-related violence to which he was a party has killed far too many young men in the Charlottesville area in recent years.

Speaking after the hearing, Platania espoused similar sentiments.

The cases in court today involved an escalating conflict involving firearms, he said. The community expects, and quite frankly deserves, effective law enforcement and prosecutorial intervention in an attempt to interrupt these cycles of violence.

Facing a first-degree murder charge, Franklin is scheduled for a three-day trial starting May 8.
Albemarle County officials, staff and residents attended a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the new Pantops public safety station, which is scheduled to open next year.

The nearly 10,000-square-foot, $3.68 million facility is coming to fruition after years of planning and partnering with Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital to provide rescue services to the area.

Pantops Station 16 is situated approximately half a mile from the hospital along Peter Jefferson Parkway.

Speaking at the ceremony were Norman Dill, supervisor for the Rivanna District, Albemarle County Fire & Rescue Chief Dan Eggleston, Martha Jefferson President Jonathan Davis and Doug Walker, interim county executive.

The Pantops station is a vital component for the Fire & Rescue department, as it really helps us prepare to meet the service demands and truly represents a decision to invest in our future as a community, Eggleston said.

The county has long identified Pantops as a priority for improved services and response times.

In recent years, the area around Pantops has grown, particularly in its senior population. More than a quarter of residents there are above the age of 65, according to a news release from the county.

In 2013, the Board of Supervisors approved funding for three EMS positions to staff an ambulance at the hospital during daytime hours.

Weve been in that partnership for a little over four years now, so that enabled us really to provide service well ahead of the station construction, Eggleston said after the event.

The new station would also provide another source of backup for situations in other parts of the county, Eggleston said.

The county is getting busier, and we have more visitors, more residents, so activity tends to increase, he said. So we're looking to bring down response time, certainly in this area, but also provide an additional resource to back up the entire system.

Dill talked about how important the public safety station will be to the growth of the community as a whole.

This is the symbolic moment where were ending the planning cycle and going into the getting-it-done cycle of building the building and starting the programming here, he said.

Davis took the opportunity to highlight the continuing partnership between the hospital and Fire & Rescue.

That's what we do each and every day, is take care of patients, and we're always honored to do that with our Fire & Rescue partners, he said.

Pantops Station 16 will have three apparatus bays. Two will be used for fire engines or rescue vehicles, and one will be used for an ambulance or smaller rescue vehicle. The building will include space for office use, training, equipment and bunk space.

Construction of Station 16 is expected to start this month and run until March 2018.
The Parent Resource Center of the Piedmont Regional Education Program will host its annual Life after High School Transition and Resource Fair on Saturday.

The event is free and open to students with disabilities and their families to give attendees an opportunity to gather information and connect with resources in the community to help them plan for life after high school.

The event will be held at the Main Building at Piedmont Virginia Community College from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The resource fair will feature presentations, breakout information sessions and giveaways for prizes and food.

The event is aimed at families with children in middle or high school.

Registration for the event is not required, but it is encouraged. For more information, contact Deborah Anama, coordinator at the parent resource center, at danama@k12albemarle.org, or (434) 975-9400, ext. 68032.
The Charlottesville City Council on Monday approved a plan that could provide Atlanta-based developer John Dewberry with more than $1 million in tax breaks in return for him opening the long-dormant Landmark Hotel by 2020.

The plan that the council approved on a 4-1 vote requires the developer to agree to sell the property if he hasnt obtained a certificate of occupancy by July 1, 2021. If the hotel remains unopened after the July 1, 2020, target date, the total grant amount allowable to Dewberry will be reduced by 2 percent each month.

The deal, which Dewberry has yet to publicly say he will agree to, also requires him to improve the structures appearance by this summer, use a qualified lender experienced in hotel financing, employ at least 60 people and agree to expediently pursue all necessary city permits and approvals to build the hotel without asking for any reduction in those fees.

The city will provide the developer an annual tax rebate to offset half of the incremental increase in real estate property taxes over the 10-year period if the hotel can generate a minimum of $150,000 to $300,000 in lodging taxes on an annual basis through that period.

During the 10-year period, the city could see $8 million to $9.5 million in tax receipts from the property.

Whether Dewberry can abide by his pledge to open the hotel by the deadline remains uncertain, but documents sent to the city last week show that the developer already has lived up to one term on his end of the agreement by contracting a structural engineer to assess the condition of the building.

A report drafted by KSi Structural Engineers in the last month concluded that the structure of the Landmark Hotel is in good condition.

Our observations and review did not reveal any signs of distress which would cause concern for the general safety of the structural system, it said.

The council also agreed to lease 75 spaces in the Water Street Parking Garage to the hotel in a five-year revenue-sharing deal under which Dewberry will pay a quarter of the annual revenue from the spaces as rent.

Despite some objections from Dewberry on paying an incremental increase on the minimum amount he will owe each year, the council agreed to have him pay at least $40,000 in the first year, $60,000 the following year and then $80,000 for the three remaining years.

* * *

Last week, a representative of Dewberry Capital, the company that purchased the hotel for $6.5 million in a 2012 public auction, sent the city a letter responding to the proposed agreement, making some changes to the proposal and adding a few new terms, including a complete waiver on all building fees and permit costs.

The plan that the council adopted Monday made little consideration of those requests.

Per motions made by Councilor Kathy Galvin, the most significant change from a draft version of the deal stipulates that the developer will agree to sell the property if the hotel remains unopened a year after the proposed 2020 opening date.

I do think it's critical this project move forward. We're all anxious to have it move forward and have it resurrect the heart of the Downtown Mall, which has been dead for quite some time, Galvin said. In a short amount of time, we're going to get a return on our investment that's quite great and will be able to support a lot of the services and programs and amenities we want to support in the city.

Councilor Kristin Szakos voted against the proposal. In an email after the meeting, she said that while she wants the project to succeed, the tax incentives may set a precedent that she thinks is unwarranted.

In the past, weve used tax-increment financing as an incentive to bring good-paying jobs to city residents, she said. In this case, most of the jobs provided will be low-wage jobs.

Last year, Dewberry said the average annual compensation for the approximately 100 employees he plans to hire will be $30,000.

According to the terms of Mondays deal, he will hire at least 60 employees at the luxury hotel, which is expected to include a spa and a restaurant.

Further stipulations, settled on by both Dewberry Capital and city officials, include: that the developer will pay no more than $10,000 to the city to cover the legal fees and costs to create the agreement; that Dewberry will provide the city with a project pro forma that shows all sources and uses of funds, constructions costs and operating costs, and that the structures current appearance must be improved before July 1, 2017.

* * *

In a rare Charlottesville appearance Monday, Dewberry took questions from the councilors about terms of the deal.

First of all, I would like to say I know this has been going on for a long time since we bought this property he said.

I know this has been a tough process for you all, and for my part, I apologize for that and also for the time it's taken to get here, he added, reiterating that his companys plan had always been to prioritize the construction of a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina  which finally opened last summer after some delay  before focusing on the Landmark.

What unfolded after a brief presentation from Dewberry was a confrontational crossfire that the developer labeled as rude.

After facing questions about the nature of the incentive plan and his companys response last week to the citys proposals, Dewberry asked that the city staff correctly spell his name on the video broadcast of the meeting, which could be seen on monitors in the council chambers. His name had been misspelled as Dewbury.

While y'all are being rude to me, can you spell my name right? the developer asked, prompting an apology from Mayor Mike Signer.

Late in 2015, during his campaign for council, Signer promised swift action to spur some kind of resolution for the abandoned structure.

After an incident in January 2016 in which debris from the building crashed into a neighboring business, the council passed a resolution threatening legal action against the developer.

Several months later, however, the city softened its approach and started working with Dewberry to help finance the project and hurry construction.

I do think this will help you to get the pro forma to help you get the financing you need, Signer said Monday. I believe, in the end, we've arrived at a good result in negotiation for our public.

With the exception of Signer, the other councilors leveled pointed questions at Dewberry, asking him to present his argument for why his project is deserving of a tax incentive and other concessions.

There's a lot of chatter through the city  some people are saying we're getting played by a mutli-millionaire, Councilor Wes Bellamy said. Why do you believe we should go into a partnership and provide certain tax breaks for you when we haven't followed that model through the city?

Dewberry responded by saying that if the city wants a five-star product downtown, it will need to provide some level of assistance.

If it's a lower-cost development, Dewberry said, you're not going to have valet guys running around and doormen opening the door for you when you show up.

It is labor-intensive and certainly capital-intensive ... we think theres a great opportunity here for the things we are adding.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 8

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

The existing ties between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are a vivid example of friendly, good neighborly relations, said Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the opening of memorial complex of the countrys first president Islam Karimov, the National News Agency of Uzbekistan (UzA) reported.

The memorial complex opened in the Turkmen city of Turkmenabat, the administrative center of the Lebap province, which borders with Uzbekistan, as part of the Uzbek presidents state visit to Turkmenistan.

Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid a state visit to Turkmenistan at the invitation of the countrys President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on March 6-7.

Berdimuhamedov also participated in the memorial complexs opening ceremony.

Moreover, Presidents Mirziyoyev and Berdimuhamedov attended the opening ceremony of road and railway bridges Turkmenabat-Farab over the Amu Darya River, which are integral parts of the New Silk Road international transportation corridor.

President Mirziyoyev noted that these bridges are a symbol of friendship of the two countries peoples and have a geostrategic importance not only for Turkmenistan, but for the whole region.

The 1,750-meter long railway bridge is the most grandiose engineering structure in the Lebap region of Turkmenistan.

The railway bridge Turkmenabat-Farab is of great importance for the development of local economy, since there is a junction station in Turkmenabat.
STAUNTON  Albemarle County resident Angela Lynn on Tuesday officially announced her plans to seek the Democratic nomination for the House of Delegates 25th District seat, telling supporters that we will do this together; we will defend Virginia.

Lynn made her announcement on the steps of the Augusta County Courthouse.

This isnt Lynns first attempt to unseat Del. R. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave. Landes, who has cruised to re-election every two years since first winning the seat in 1995, defeated Lynn nearly two-to-one in the 2015 election, an unsurprising decision for the conservative central Valley.

House District 25 Democratic Nominating Committee Chairman Frank Nolen said candidates have until Friday to announce their intention to seek the nomination.

Lynn, 63, a former employee of Federal Emergency Management Agency and a former teacher, said she is running again because she is tired of going to the voting precinct every two years and seeing the same candidate on the ballot.

She plans to continue fighting for redistricting reform.

My opponent will never vote to end gerrymandering, Lynn claimed in her speech Tuesday.

Landes, however, did propose an unsuccessful state constitutional amendment during the 2017 General Assembly to remove politics from the redistricting process.

Lynn also supports ethics reform, campaign finance reform and protecting Virginias environment. She said states may have to step up to protect their fragile ecosystems even more than in the recent past because of proposed cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

For his part, Landes said there are common-sense initiatives that can be taken to protect the environment, adding that if changes come to the EPA, some of the federal regulations may revert to the states to enforce.

Landes, who is seeking his 12th term in the district that covers parts of Augusta, Rockingham and Albemarle counties, said he looks forward to running an issues-oriented campaign and offering his vision for the future.

The incumbent said he would outline for voters what he has done for his district and what he plans to do if re-elected.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 8

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

An Iranian-European joint bank would be established in EU in early spring, Ahmad Haji Mohammadi, the head of international department of Sarmayeh (Investment) bank told Mehr.

According to him, three Iranians and four Europeans would become members of board of directors at the bank. Iran would take 47 percent share in the joint bank, which would be established in one of European countries, he said, without giving out any details.

He also said that Iran plans to purchase stock in a foreign bank in Europe, but no results have been achieved so far.

Sarmayeh Bank is a privately owned bank, established in 2005. Haji Mohammadi said that Sarmayeh Bank has never been sanctioned and works transparently. The founding shareholders of Sarmayeh Bank include major pension and investment funds, insurance and service companies, and private individuals.
Patricia Anne Johnson Hurst passed away the night of Wednesday, March 1, 2017, due to complications from pneumonia. She was born on March 14, 1933, to the late Milton Johnson and Zelda Lawson Johnson in Gordonsville, Va., where she lived until attending Mary Washington College. She was introduced to the late Maj. Norman Hurst, USAF, whom she married in 1956. They had two sons, Capt. Michael R. Hurst, USA (ret) and George A. Hurst, DVM. In 1969, she became widowed and raised both of her sons at Rivercrook in Rapidan, Va. Some years later she became interested in the local history of the "War Between the States" and based on that interest, she bacame a researcher and author focused on Orange and the surrounding counties. She published three books as a result of this research; "The History and People of Clark Mountain", "The War Between the States: Rapidan River Area of Clark Mountain", and "Soldiers, Sites and Fights: Orange County, Virginia". Living along the Rapidan River for most of her life, she endeavored to write her final book in two volumes regardilng its bridges, geography, and history, including that of its people------which her family intends to publish in her honor. She was always willing to converse about local history, wildlife conservation, and genealogy, sometimes to the point of argument. Those who have personal knowledge would agree that she could be quite impassioned.
Charlottesville City Council relaxed  but did not eliminate  its controversial controls on citizen and councilor comments at public meetings.

Councilor Bob Fenwick voted against the changes, but this is one of those cases where, by itself, the vote doesnt tell the full story. (Watch out for these cases at election time, across all levels of government, when political opponents often try to oversimplify a vote and misconstrue it to their advantage.)

Mr. Fenwick turned thumbs down on councils new meeting rules not because he agreed with the older, more restrictive ones, but rather because he thought the changes didnt go far enough. Hes been a critic of the oppressive rules from the start.

Like Mr. Fenwick, we wish the new rules had been eliminated.

Unlike him, well take what we can get  a modification of the rules.

For one thing, council expanded the number of people who can speak at the public comment period at the start of meetings from 12  to 15. Thats hardly a decisive improvement. Ten of the slots will be open to people who sign up well in advance of the meeting, and five will be reserved for those seeking to sign up immediately before the meeting  first come, first served.

Other changes include lifting some prohibitions on speakers, providing the council more time to discuss agenda items and removing the mayors privilege to order public audio and video equipment turned off during the meetings.

All of the changes will allow more communication between the councilors and their constituents.

Giving councilors more time to speak is almost as important as giving more citizens time to speak. Democracy is a two-way street, and citizens need to hear from the people they elected to represent them. That includes opportunities for councilors to ask questions or make statements about agenda items during a meeting, in the presence of constituents. Such comments by councilors can help voters understand councilors information discovery process and why they might decide issues as they do.

It is also notable that council will now allow public audio and video broadcasts to continue.

For the public broadcasts to have worth, they should be treated in the same manner as in-person attendance; after all, they are intended to substitute for personal attendance for those who cant make it to meetings. Instituting a blackout that affects viewers or listeners is censorship, plain and simple; and it is further unfair by treating viewers and listeners as second-class constituents, not as worthy of the same opportunities to hear or see discussions as those who are physically present at meetings.

Mayor Mike Signer said, meanwhile, that the rules even in their old configurations did not prevent large numbers of people from participating in meetings.

Records show that there were 417 public speeches during the 2016-17 March-February period after which the rules went into effect. Thats the second-largest tally of speakers in the past five years. In 2012-13, there were 459 public speeches made at council meetings; the other periods each showed a range of between 350 and 400 speeches.

We appreciate Mayor Signers observation that that by waiting a year while the rules were in effect, we can now compare apples to apples.

The final totals do look good.

But considering that 2016-2017 included one of the most volatile subjects ever to hit Charlottesville  the proposed removal of the Robert E. Lee and, at the time, Stonewall Jackson statues  should the total not have been even higher?

Well never know how many people might have wished to speak but couldnt under the rules  or simply decided not to try for one of the available speaker slots because they knew their chances of gaining access were limited.

Relaxing the rules is better than not relaxing them. And maybe this time next year, council will decide it can relax a little more.
Four Culpeper area residents were recently indicted in the city of Alexandria for allegedly swindling an 89-year-old woman out of $71,000 for supposedly doing chores around her house.

Each of the suspects was charged with one felony count of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretenses, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years. They are: Robert R. McCloud Jr., 37, of Culpeper; Pamela Ann McCloud, 32, of Reva; Krystal Marie Mullins, 28, of Culpeper and Gerald Scott Canard, 25, of Culpeper, according to a news release from the Alexandria Commonwealths Attorneys Office.

The four defendants are suspected of participating in the scheme in Alexandria between February 2015 and January 2016 during which time the alleged co-conspirators purported to run a contracting business alternately called Trees Unlimited and Unlimited Property Enhancements, according to the news release.

The reported victim resided in the Taylor Run neighborhood. She made payments totaling $71,000 for supposed roof repairs, landscaping and pest removal work and other allegedly phony tasks such as putting mothballs in the attic and the installation of a squirrel alert system, according to the news release.

Once an investigation was launched, Alexandria Police detectives and Alexandria Code Enforcement inspected the victims home and saw no evidence of the repairs allegedly completed.

Given the nature of these charges and the fact that other vulnerable seniors may have been victimized, this case constitutes a matter of public import that justifies a limited release of information, said Alexandria Commonwealths Attorney Bryan L. Porter in the news release.

I emphasize, however, that the co-conspirators are presumed to be innocent, that my office must prove any charge through the addiction of admissible evidence at trial and that the co-conspirators guilt should not be inferred simply because they have been charged with a criminal offense.

He encouraged other members of the public who feel they have been victimized in a similar manner, or knows of someone else who may have been to call the Alexandria Police Department at 703/746-4444.
Patricia Anne Johnson Hurst passed away the night of Wednesday, March 1, 2017, due to complications from pneumonia. She was born on March 14, 1933, to the late Milton Johnson and Zelda Lawson Johnson in Gordonsville, Va., where she lived until attending Mary Washington College. She was introduced to the late Maj. Norman Hurst, USAF, whom she married in 1956. They had two sons, Capt. Michael R. Hurst, USA (ret) and George A. Hurst, DVM. In 1969, she became widowed and raised both of her sons at Rivercrook in Rapidan, Va. Some years later she became interested in the local history of the "War Between the States" and based on that interest, she bacame a researcher and author focused on Orange and the surrounding counties. She published three books as a result of this research; "The History and People of Clark Mountain", "The War Between the States: Rapidan River Area of Clark Mountain", and "Soldiers, Sites and Fights: Orange County, Virginia". Living along the Rapidan River for most of her life, she endeavored to write her final book in two volumes regardilng its bridges, geography, and history, including that of its people------which her family intends to publish in her honor. She was always willing to converse about local history, wildlife conservation, and genealogy, sometimes to the point of argument. Those who have personal knowledge would agree that she could be quite impassioned. Patricia was preceded in death by two brothers, Milton Lloyd Johnson, and Reginald Alvin Johnson; and her youngest son, George. She is survived by her son, Michael of Jarrell, Texas, seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and six nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her brother, Stanley S. Johnson whom she depended on heavily for company and help with her genealogy research. Her influence and presence will be sorely missed within the family and local community. A private memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2017, at 11 a.m. at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church Cemetery, Rapidan, Va. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Orange County Historical Society, 130 Caroline Street, Orange, VA 22960. Preddy Funeral Home of Orange is assisting the family.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 8



By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:



Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for protecting the countys northern forests.



Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described the countrys northern forests as among the worlds rarest forests criticizing those merchants who destroy forests for business purposes, Mehr news agency reported.



The leader further blamed environmental issues such as dust storms and air pollution on the lack of proper vegetation.



Marking the National Week of Natural Resources (March 7-13) in Iran, the supreme leader planted to trees on March 8.



Earlier in January, MP Alimohammad Shaeri warned against forests destruction in the country, saying the total area of the countrys forests has decreased to 14 million hectares from 18 million hectares over the past several years.



According to Mehr, over 40,000 hectares of rainforests located in northern Iran are being destructed on a daily basis.



Forestry Association of Iran has also warned that the countrys forests may be cleared over the next 30 years.
Tehran, Iran, March 8

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

The Iranian government has been purged of dual nationals and the establishment is looking forward to doing the same about major companies.

No dual national administrator now exists in the government. Some lists have been received, however, which belong to companies and they are being investigated, Minister of Justice Mostafa Pourmohammadi said, Mehr news agency reported March 7.

Two weeks earlier Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri had said a list of dual national managers had been sent to the Ministry of Intelligence.

A week after that, Administrative and Recruitment Affairs Organization chief Jamshid Ansari said the list included 13 dual national managers.

Dual nationals have turned into a sore point with the Rouhani administration in the past few months, conservative parties considering them as agents of foreign countries.
The Georgian nationals will be allowed to visit countries of the European Union for a period of up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa starting from March 28, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday, Sputnik reported.

On February 27, the Council of the European Union adopted the regulation on visa liberalization for Georgia.

"Today, on March 8, the regulation changes were published in the official EU journal. The regulation will take effect after 20 days, meaning that from March 28, the Georgian citizens will be able to make short term visits to the EU countries," the statement read. "We are happy that the efforts of the Georgian government in implementation of reforms yielded results."

Georgia had been striving for visa liberalization with the 28-nation bloc for years. In March 2016, the European Commission issued a proposal to waive visas for the Georgians. The process was delayed by negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the visa suspension mechanism. The sides reached an accord on the issue in December 2016.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Daesh terror group, is still alive, he is not in the Iraqi city of Mosul, according to a US defense official.

The leader of the Islamic State [Daesh] terror group (banned in Russia) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is still alive but is currently not in the Iraqi city of Mosul, a US defense official told reporters on Wednesday.

Media has previously reported that Baghdadi visited Mosul, which is the Islamic State's biggest stronghold in Iraq.

"Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who I believe is still alive, [is] not in Mosul," the official said.
Operation Resolute Support Commander General John Nicholson said that the attack on the Kabul National Hospital in Afghanistan by the Daesh terror group (outlawed in Russia) is an unspeakable crime, Sputnik reported.

The attack on the Kabul National Hospital in Afghanistan by the Daesh terror group (outlawed in Russia) is an unspeakable crime, Operation Resolute Support Commander General John Nicholson said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Today's attack on the Kabul National Hospital is an unspeakable crime," Nicholson stated. "The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - Khorasan province has claimed responsibility."

Nicholson noted that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces were able to respond to the attack "swiftly and professionally."

The US-led coalition is committed to working with Afghanistan to destroy the Islamic State in Afghanistan and create a peaceful and stable country, Nicholson added.
Gunmen dressed as medics stormed a hospital in the Afghan capital on Wednesday and battled security forces for hours, killing more than 30 people and wounding dozens in an attack claimed by Islamic State, Reuters reported.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the rear of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified U.S. embassy, and three attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades entered the complex, security officials said.

Defence Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said the attack was suppressed by mid-afternoon, with all three gunmen killed.

As security forces swept the hospital buildings, another ministry spokesman said they found at least 30 dead and 50 wounded, including doctors, patients and hospital staff, in addition to the three killed and 66 wounded reported earlier.

The gunmen, dressed as medical personnel, had taken up positions on the upper floors of the hospital and engaged special forces sent to the scene, officials said.

Security forces blocked off the area around the hospital, near a busy traffic intersection, and special forces soldiers descended on to the roof of the main building from helicopters.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard for hours and, as fighting went on, there was a second explosion, which a spokesman said was caused when a car inside the hospital complex blew up.

A statement from Islamic State's Amaq News Agency said its fighters had attacked the hospital, while an Afghan Taliban spokesman denied responsibility, saying the Islamist insurgency had "no connection" with the attack.
Below poverty line (BPL) women looking to avail free LPG connection but do not have the Aadhaar number, have been asked to apply for it by May 31.

New Delhi: The government has made having an Aadhaar card must for poor women to avail of free cooking gas (LPG) connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

While the government in October last year had made the unique identification number mandatory for everyone to get LPG subsidies, it has now extended the same for free cooking gas connections to women of BPL households.

The government had last year launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to provide 5 crore poor women with free LPG connections in three years with a view to providing clean cooking fuel.

"Individual beneficiary desirous of availing the benefits under the scheme (PMUY) is hereby required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication," said a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Those below poverty line (BPL) women looking to avail free LPG connection but do not have the Aadhaar number, have been asked to apply for it by May 31. Once enrolled for Aadhaar, the beneficiary can apply for free LPG connection by providing the enrolment ID slip or a copy of such a request.

Such application will have to be accompanied by one of the government identification documents like bank passbook with photograph, election voter ID, ration card, permanent account number (PAN), passport, driving licence, kisan photo passbook or a certificate of identity having a photo issued by a gazetted officer on an official letterhead, it said.

The ministry has asked state-owned fuel retailing firms to facilitate enrolment of beneficiaries for biometric identification number, Aadhaar. In October last year, the government had made Aadhaar mandatory for availing of cooking gas (LPG) subsidies.

The government currently gives 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rates per household in a year. The subsidy on every cylinder is transfered in advance directly into bank accounts of individuals, who then buy the cooking fuel at market rates.

The ministry notification issued on March 6 stated that the use of Aadhaar as identity document for delivery of services or benefits or subsidies simplifies the government delivery processes, brings in transparency and efficiency, and enables beneficiaries to get their entitlements directly to them in a convenient and seamless manner.

"Aadhaar obviates the need for producing multiple documents to prove one's identity," it said.
New Delhi: The government's top brass, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other senior ministers, will brainstorm tomorrow to chalk out a plan to promote electric vehicles in the country.

The high-powered meeting, to be attended by Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Heavy Industry Minister Anant Geete, comes ahead of the nation-wide rollout of the FAME India scheme under which incentives will be provided to electric and hybrid vehicles.

The scheme that was running in pilot phase till now will be formally launched on April 1. To promote eco-friendly vehicles, the government has been offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs 29,000 for bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars under the scheme in pilot mode.

Once the scheme acquires full steam, it could help save fuel worth Rs 60,000 crore annually, Geete had said earlier. At the meeting, Power, Coal, Mines and New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal will make a presentation explaining the various aspects related to the increased use of electric vehicles including rise in power consumption, impact on the environment and how economies of scale can make it viable for India, sources told PTI.

NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya and representatives from ministries like Railways will also be present in the meeting to provide inputs on the means to increase the adoption of electric vehicles, sources said. The Department of Heavy Industry is the nodal agency for implementing the FAME India scheme.

According to experts, several factors including higher cost of vehicles, power outages, lack of charging infrastructure and dearth of facilities for eco-friendly disposal of batteries to curb pollution are among the factors inhibiting consumers from buying electric vehicles in India.

FAME India - Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India - is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan.

In Budget 2017-18, Rs 175 crore has been earmarked for the scheme as against the revised and budget estimates of Rs 122.90 crore for the current financial year. However, experts believe that the provision of funds is insufficient to incentivise the use of electric vehicles.

The Heavy Industries Ministry had estimated a total requirement of about Rs 14,000 crore for the programme. In 2013, the UPA government had also launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020.

It aimed to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country. It had set an ambitious target to achieve sales of 6-7 million hybrid and electric vehicles year-on-year from 2020 onwards.

The government has been keen to provide fiscal and monetary incentives to kickstart this nascent technology and boost sales of electric and hybrid vehicles.
Dubai: India will invest USD 140 billion to modernise its rail network over the next five years and is in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has said.

"Of the USD 140 billion we will be investing over the next five years, the majority will go towards India's modernisation efforts, the introduction of new technologies, and increasing capacities," Prabhu said.

He said his office has been in talks with UAE-based sovereign wealth funds this week, Gulf News quoted him as saying. "We have requested that the government of the UAE look at the huge potential for investment that lies in Indian infrastructure, particularly in the railways.

They are very keen to know more about this," Prabhu said. "We've had good meetings with Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)," Prabhu said, adding that he hoped these issues would progress over the course of 2017.

According to a statement released by the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, Prabhu visted the UAE from March 5-7, on the invitation of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs of the UAE.

The Minister toured Masdar City and met with the senior management of Masdar, where they discussed possible cooperation in efforts by the Indian Railways to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Prabhu said his ministry had an appetite for "several tens of billions of dollars," stating that whatever was made available, India would take. ADIA is the third largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, holding approximately USD 92 billion in assets.

In January 2017, Prime Minster Narendra Modi had said his government was in "mission mode" when it came to rejuvenating the railways in India. Prabhu confirmed that the government of India has already raised as much as USD 65 billion, to be spent over the next two years.

He stated that India has allocated as much as USD 16 billion for safety measures, and USD 7 billion for energy efficiency. New projects in the pipeline for the country also include a high-speed railway from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, in collaboration with the Japanese government, the conversion of two of India?s busiest routes, Mumbai to Delhi and Mumbai to Calcutta, in to medium-speed corridors, and an increase in the electrification of the country's tracks "by more in the next five years than the last few decades combined," Prabhu said.

"It's been a very good visit to the UAE, and I've had interesting, fruitful meetings with the leaders of this country," he said. Prabhu also had discussions with the Indian community and prominent Indian businessmen in both, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In January 2017, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, conducted a state visit to India, where he was Chief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations.
Salman Khan will be seen in 'Tubelight' this year.

Jodhpur: Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been issued a notice by a sessions court on a state government plea against his acquittal in an Arms Act case linked to alleged hunting of chinkaras by him in 1998 here.

District and Sessions Judge Bhagwan Das Agarwal issued notice to the actor, seeking his reply to the government's plea against him by April 21.

Public Prosecutor Pokar Ram Bishnoi, who challenged Khan's acquittal, said the plea has been admitted and the notice issued to Khan.

The government has challenged Khan's acquittal in the Arms Act case involving alleged possession of unlicensed weapon by him for hunting deers in 1998 in Jodhpur.

Jodhpur Chief Judicial Magistrate had acquitted Salman in the Arms Act case on January 18 citing technical grounds, saying he had been prosecuted under wrong sections.

Bishnoi argued before the sessions judge that the case had been proved against Khan, which was also admitted by the court and that on the basis of the examination of the evidence and witnesses, the prosecution had proved the case.

The state government has moved the sessions court against Salman's acquittal in the Arms Act case barely over a month after the apex court on January 29 issued notice to him on another petition challenging his acquittal by the Rajasthan High Court in the deer hunting case.

While the high court had acquitted the actor in July, the state government had moved the apex court against him in October last year. Salman was accused of hunting two chinkaras at Bhawad in Mathania near Jodhpur on September 26, 1998 and another chinkara at Ghoda farms two days later on September 28, when he was in city for shooting of a film.
Mumbai: In the coming days Anushka Sharma is going to keep extremely busy juggling between Phillauri promotions and shooting for the much talked about Dutt biopic.

The actress was spotted at the Mumbai Airport leaving for Bhopal. Keeping International Womens Day in mind, the actress sported a classic white T-shirt with a profound message on it: We should all be feminists. She teamed it with a black-hued palazzo.

Professionally, Anushka is riding high on the success of Phillauri trailer. The film, where the actress dons the role of a friendly ghost, will be released on March 24.

As far as Dutt biopic is concerned, Ranbir has beefed up to do justice to his part and is rumoured to have hung out with Sanjay Dutt on a regular basis to pick up his mannerisms. The film will also have Sonam Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Jim Sarbh and Vicky Kaushal in crucial roles.
The cancellation of rallies in Germany in support of constitutional change in Turkey was attacked by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday, Anadolu reported.

In a speech to nearly 400 people at the Turkish consulate general in Hamburg, Cavusoglu criticized German authorities for favoring those opposed to the changes, which would introduce wide-ranging presidential powers.

Those who are in favour of Yes in the referendum are obstructed, but but those who favour No are supported, he said, referring to the April 16 vote on constitutional amendment.

This not a right attitude. Nobody has the right to interfere in a referendum, in an election, in another country. This is also not democratic.

Cavusoglu was speaking at the diplomatic mission after a planned address at a hall in Hamburg was cancelled on Monday. He said German police, intelligence agencies and local authorities had exerted pressure on the halls management to cancel the event on the grounds of insufficient fire safety.

Unfortunately this is a systematic obstruction, he said.

Since last week, there have been nine venue cancellations in six cities.

Cavusoglu accused German authorities of double standards and said he would raise the matter with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Wednesday.

Nearly 3 million Turkish migrants live in Germany and around half are eligible to vote in the referendum. Turkish citizens in Germany can vote at diplomatic missions between March 27 and April 9.

The fallout over the referendum rallies is the latest sign of strained ties between Ankara and Berlin. Turkish politicians have criticized Germany and other western European nations for allegedly turning a blind eye to terrorist organizations such as the PKK and FETO.
Mumbai: On the occasion of International Womens Day, Bollywood stars showered women with praises and empowering messages. However, Kriti Sanon had a different take on the occasion as she took to her official Twitter account and shared a special video with her fans.

In the video, we see Kriti Sanon holding placards as the message reads, Its Womens Day and we think its another wish from a Bollywood celeb for her fans. But the surprise comes when we play the video and her next placard says, same s***, different year.

The actress took a shot at everyone who only talk about women rights when its a special day and then just forget about them after the day is over. We will hear a lot of words today: Girl Power, womens rights, gender equality, blah blah blah.

Moving further on, Kriti threw the light on how streets are still unsafe for women and how they are still told what to wear. Meanwhile, our streets are still unsafe and others still decide what we should wear. All we do is talk, the placards read.

In the end, the actor leaves with a wish, Happy whatever.
Actor Vinayakan, who won the best actors award, in a celebration mood along with his neighbors at Kammattipadam colony in Kochi on Tuesday. Vinayakan won the award for his role in the film Kammattipadam. (Photo: SUNOJ NINAN MATHEW.)

Thiruvananthapuram: It will be a bit far-fetched to link the triumph of Vidhu Vincents Manhole to the rise of Donald Trump. Still, like the 89th Oscars, the 47th State Film Awards 2016 has attempted to make a larger statement than the mere aesthetics of filmmaking. Welcome to the era of film awards as political posturing.

If this years Academy awards were an audacious punch in the belly of Trumps exclusionary politics, the State Awards had reached out to the marginalised and the dispossessed like never before. In this sense, both the Oscars and the State awards demonstrate a clear class bias. Manhole is the states answer to Moonlight, the film that won big at the Oscars. Both are about communities that live in the shadows of existence. Manhole exposes one of socially-evolved Keralas ugliest secrets: the presence of manual scavengers.

The film disabuses the Malayali society of its wilful illusion. And Barry Jenkinss Moonlight wants the hearts of Americans to ache for blacks and gays, people Trump has a serious aversion for.

While Trump was annoyed by the Oscars, the socialist LDF government has used the awards to make a political point. Even before the awards declaration, touched by the film, finance minister Dr Thomas Isaac has earmarked `10 crore in his Budget for mechanizing the cleaning of manholes and septic tanks. Perhaps no other Malayalam film has made such a sudden and dramatic impact on government policy. When Vidhu Vincent was picked for best director, it was an official pat for women, too. Ms Vincent is the first women to win the best director award for the movie that has been chosen as the best film. It is not as if many men have won such an honour.

Ms Vincents choice was also an attempt to make amends for some major embarrassment the government had to suffer recently; the award sits as a nice reassuring counter to the unspeakable atrocities that was committed on a leading lady in Malayalam films about which the government still has no clue.

Just like in the Oscars, it was traditionally difficult for actors who are generally identified with a particular class to win big at the state awards. Salim Kumars was an exception. The fate of the likes of Kalabhavan Mani is the rule. But the choice of Vinayakan as best actor, and Manikandan as the best supporting actor, has upended convention.

Their triumph was almost divined by the surprise choices of Mahershala Ali and Viola Davis, the two incandescent black talents who have won the supporting actor Oscars this year.

Piling surprise upon surprise, the state award jury chose Vinayakan even though he was not the hero in Rajeev Ravis Kammattipadam. Again, a first for the state.
After making her debut in Tamil cinema, followed by a leading role in the Telugu film Leader, she went Bollywoods way where she shot to fame for her acclaimed Hindi movie English Vinglish, working alongside the glamorously talented Sridevi.

While Priya Anand is looking forward to being a part of another starred Hindi film, a sequel to Fukrey, she has also achieved a different feat  Of having worked in all South Indian language films.

A debut movie in Malayalam Erza (recently released) alongside Prithviraj, and now she is set for a powerful debut in Sandalwood. The versatile Priya Anand speaks with Bengaluru Chronicle on her dream role in Rajkumara, opposite Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar, where the pretty and talented lass even teaches him to dance! And, much more.

I had a few Kannada films offered to me but none materialised. However, when I was offered this film, I was super excited and not just for the obvious reason  I will be making my debut in Kannada with Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar, but also because I loved the film Mr and Mrs Ramachari, which is directed by Santosh Ananddram.

I had watched the movie during one of my random visits to Bengaluru, and I totally loved the film, and when I was offered a film directed by him which will also have Puneeth, I just could not have asked for more, says Priya Anand.

The actress reveals that she plays the character of Nandini, a salsa dancer. One of the craziest parts of the film is how I teach dancing to Puneeth. It sounds crazy, right? He is such a great dancer, and the idea of me teaching him to dance was quite mad! I kept telling Santosh that the script needed to change as my part was very funny, and it made no sense that I taught dance to Puneeth Rajkumar, Priya laughs.

She adds that the film is mostly set in Australia. It was real fun as it involves a lot of outdoor shoots abroad. Many in the team are young, and the directorial crew was fun to work with. Its a typical Indian cinema watchers film, with a feel-good essence. It also has all the proper elements for an entire family to sit back and enjoy in theatres. A nice commercial family entertainer with a good message. I am glad that I accepted such great films for debuting in both Kannada and Malayalam, she adds.

In terms of language skills, Priya says that she understands Telugu well, and feels it will not be difficult essaying roles in Kannada too. She hopes to pick up the language soon.

On managing work around various film industries, the actress reveals that she has no problem juggling the industries, but when it comes to her household responsibilities and taking care of her dog at home in Chennai, she does face a few issues.

I have no problem with work. I have a dedicated team for several years now. We know each other well. The sets keep changing but when it comes to responsibilities like buying groceries, taking care of laundry at my Chennai home when I am away on work, and my dog, I start worrying. Otherwise, I am at ease, says Priya.

Apart from the weather in Bengaluru, she likes namma food, and looks forward to the food prepared during the shoots here. Many a times, I would ask for recipes. But, I personally cant even cut vegetables! she laughs pinning her hopes on Rajkumara that has already created a buzz in Sandalwood.
Hyderabad: While evaluating the incidence of swine flu in the state, central health officials found that the swine flu testing swabs were improperly packed by private hospitals in the city that sent them.

While the central team was there, seven patients came with the swabs of their relatives and personally gave the swabs to the office of the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) at Nallakunta. The samples were sent by private hospitals in an open cardboard box and not in a vaccine kit or by observing cold chain procedures that ensure that the swabs are kept at the required temperature.

A senior health official explained, Swabs are to be sent in cold chain where the temperature is controlled. The IPM, after sending the test results to the hospitals, has been continuously reminding hospitals that they must observe cold chain procedures but there has been no response. After the central team pointed this out, too, the state government has taken the matter seriously and has warned all hospitals to follow the guidelines.

Apart from five major super speciality hospitals in the city, most other hospitals send the samples in plain boxes and not in refrigerated boxes.

IPM officials said they get 30 people queuing up every day since January to hand in the swabs as they are not willing to pay the transport and testing fees that hospitals charge, and which vary from `1000 to `1,500 per patient. Of the seven samples that came when the central team was in town, three swab kits were spoiled and IPM had to call the hospitals and ask for the swabs to be taken again.

After the report of the central team was submitted to the state government, a meeting was called with private hospitals on Tuesday. The concerned officials were told to follow proper guidelines and protocol vis-a-vis swine flu cases.

The hospitals have been told not to send patient's relatives, but work out a method whereby the samples can be collected and sent to the government institute for testing.

Telangana Superspeciality Hospitals' Association officials and doctors refused to comment on the subject. There have been 21 deaths in the state due to swine flu and more than 800 people have tested positive since August 2016, with the highest number of deaths being in January 2017 when 120 people tested positive.
The woman who is being treated by Dr Muffazal Lakdawala at the hospital came to Mumbai after being immobile for almost 25 years in her house in Alexandria. (Photo: AFP/Facebook/Dr Muffazal Lakdawala)

The heaviest woman in the world has lost almost 120 kilos in the last one month. Eman Ahmed who had earlier lost 50 kilos in 12 days has shown rapid improvement since she started her treatment on in February at Saifee hospital in Mumbai.

According to the media report, the 36-year-old woman who was 500 kilos when she came to Mumbai now weighs 380 kilos after the bariatric procedure. The woman is currently undergoing a procedure that will help her reduce 200 kilos over the next six months.

The woman who is being treated by Dr Muffazal Lakdawala at the hospital came to Mumbai after being immobile for almost 25 years in her house in Alexandria. She was transported in a specially designed aircraft so that she could receive treatment at the hospital in Mumbai which is now turning out to be a huge success.
London: Islamophobia, racism and hate crimes are on the rise around the world and are a concern for US with Indians and Muslims being targeted. While women in hijab have been targeted, a Sikh man was shot after an Indian techie was shot dead in a tragic incident.

But times of crisis also work to bring people together for helping each other as a commuter in UK realised when he saw a Sikh man help a Wheelchair bound Muslim woman. He wrote in a Facebook post that the womans wheelchair wasnt positioned correctly and thats why it would move back and forth when the train jolted.

The Sikh man positioned it properly and tried to apply brakes which didnt work properly, and so he held the womans wheelchair for the rest of the journey.

The heartening post has gone viral on social media and signifies how people help each other beyond religious differences along with making a point about treatment of disabled people.
The world's smallest nightclub contains a professional quality sound system with two turntables, a usable dance floor, dynamic lighting and has door staff outside. (Credit: YouTube)

London: A unique new dance venue in the UK, consisting of a solid wood cabin that has capacity of six partygoers and one DJ, has set the Guinness World Record for the smallest mobile nightclub. Measuring just 2.01 metre high, 0.92 metre wide and 1.53 metre deep, "Club 28" is opened its doors at the Rotherham

Carnival in the UK in September last year.

The venue contains a professional quality sound system with two turntables, a usable dance floor, dynamic lighting and has door staff outside. In order to achieve the record, the club had to be open to the general public and charge an admission fee which was 50 pence per person at the Rotherham Carnival.

Two DJs headlined at the minuscule venue during the carnival, entertaining guests with a mixture of house and chart music. Since the record attempt, the exterior of what the creators calls a 'revamped musical shed', has been redesigned by street artist Marcus Method.

"It's amazing to get a world record and definitely a tick off the bucket list," said Gerard Jenkins-Omar, Creative Director at Enter Media UK, who created the nightclub along with Stephen Robson. "It's a bit of fun and brings a smile to the faces of people who see it and dance in it," Jenkins-Omar said.

Previously the world's smallest nightclub was "Rumours", a box measuring 2.10 m high, 1.17 m wide and 1.78 m deep. It was was presented at the Liverpool Bold Street Festival in the UK on 26 September 2010.
Kochi: Two minor girls were sexually assaulted allegedly by their 53-year old neighbour at nearby Aluva and the man has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.

The girls, who are sisters and aged three and seven, had been subjected to the sexual assault by Unni Thomas of Binanipuram in Aluva for quite some time, they said.

Thomas was arrested yesterday following information about the assault provided by the District Child Welfare Committee.

The incident came to light after the seven-year-old girl complained about some infection suffered by her to her school teacher, police said.

The school authorities informed the Child Welfare Committee which alerted the police about incident, following which the man was arrested, they said.

This is the latest in a series of incidents of alleged sexual abuse of children that have been reported in Kerala in recent days.
New Delhi: A 26-year-old woman has allegedly bludgeoned her husband to death following an altercation over buying of medicine in Narela area, police said on Tuesday.

The couple with three children had a fight over the issue of buying of medicine on Monday.

The deceased, Kamal, 28, hit Khushi during the argument which enraged her and prompted her to take a hammer to retaliate, said a senior police officer.

Kamal was attacked in his sleep and in front of the couple's four-year-old daughter, he said.

Kamal, who worked at a shoe factory, had returned home in an inebriated state at around 9.30 PM yesterday, he said. He started arguing with his wife over buying medicines.

Khushi was undergoing treatment for a mental illness for sometime and the medicine were supposed to be bought for her, he added.

The couple fought for some time and later the Kamal went to sleep. Two of their children retired to their rooms but their four-year-old daughter stayed inside the couple's room. When Kamal dozed off, Khushi picked up a hammer hit him on his head and back, he said.

Police recovered the hammer from the spot and took Khushi to Narela police station to question her, he added.

According to the family's neighbours, after murdering her husband, Khushi sat outside her house and was seeing a marriage procession.

Khushi told police that she had attacked her husband in a fit of rage and did not mean to kill him.

The three children are currently under the care of their relatives. The body has been preserved for post mortem in a local mortuary.
A Class X student hailing from Mumbai who lost her parents in an accident in Mumbai two years ago has complained that an aunt who was looking after her in Bengaluru had harassed her physically, and had tried to exploit her sexually eyeing the property left to her by her parents.

Hyderabad: A Class X student hailing from Mumbai who lost her parents in an accident in Mumbai two years ago has complained that an aunt who was looking after her in Bengaluru had harassed her physically, and had tried to exploit her sexually eyeing the property left to her by her parents. With the help of a Facebook friend she escaped from her aunt and came to Hyderabad. The girl filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on Tuesday. The girl stated in her petition that after the death of her parents, her mothers cousin who came to attend the funeral of her parents started taking care of her. She was later taken to her aunts house in Bengaluru, where she was tortured and branded with hot knives all over her body.

One day when I complained to my aunt about a strange boy following me she said he was their relative. The boy later came home and started misbehaving with me. When I complained about this she asked me to do as he tells as they get money from him, the girl said. She said that her aunt Ashriya had influence with Bengaluru police, and that she did not get any help due to that. My relatives listened to me but no one helped me. As per the advice of a Facebook friend, I escaped and came to Hyderabad, she said.

The boy took her to NGOs, and they helped her to file a complaint with the HR commission. The girl said her aunt had planned to kill her to grab her property. I will become a major in August 2017. Till then I need protection from her and her men. They will do anything to grab my property worth crores, she said in her complaint.
At least 10 PKK terrorists were killed Tuesday as part of the ongoing anti-terror operations in eastern and southeastern Turkey, local authorities said, Anadolu reported.

The operations were conducted in Genc district of eastern Bingol province, and Lice district of southeastern Diyarbakir province, Diyarbakir Governor's office said.

Among the terrorists killed was Edip Yetut, code-named as Erhan Siser, who was wanted by the security forces, the office said.

Hand grenades, rifles, machine guns, pistol cartridges, and organizational documents were seized in the operation, it added. The security forces also seized 1,386 kilograms of marijuana.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.
Prasads friend, Dilip Kumar, who blackmailed her with the video was arrested last week. According to police, Prasad, B Tech final year student from Vijay Nagar, Chittoor, met the girl on Facebook. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: A B. Tech student from Chittoor allegedly raped his online friend, filmed the act and shared with his friend, who then uploaded the video on porn websites.

The suspect Thambupathar Naveen Prasad, blackmailed the victim, a student from Hyderabad, using photographs she had shared earlier before the rape. Cyberabad Cyber Crime police arrested Prasad on charges of rape and for circulating the videos and photos.

Prasads friend, Dilip Kumar, who blackmailed her with the video was arrested last week.

According to police, Prasad, B Tech final year student from Vijay Nagar, Chittoor, met the girl on Facebook.

The girl was studying intermediate at the time. He asked her for personal photographs which she sent him, said an investigation official from Cyber crime. Prasad then started blackmailing her.
A Shiv Sena activist threatens to cane a couple even as Central Station sub-inspector Vijayashankar seems to be pleading with him to spare the duo at Marine Drive in Kochi on Wednesday. (Photo: ARUN CHANDRABOSE)

Kochi: The Kochi city police cut a sorry figure as a group of Shiv Sena activists unleashed their moral policing fury on young couples sitting at the APJ Abdul Kalam Marg walkway in Marine Drive on Wednesday afternoon. The cops stood as silent spectators as the Shiv Sena activists chased away the youngsters and thrashed them with canes.

As the incident triggered widespread protests, the city police commissioner suspended Mr Vijayashankar, sub-inspector, Central Station, who was on duty at Marine Drive while the Sena rampage took place. The other police officials on duty with the SI have been transferred to the AR camp.

The police inaction was inexplicable as the Sena activists had indicated their intention on Tuesday on social media platforms. The cops could have prevented the activists numbering fewer than two dozen from imposing their writ on the people.

The activists claimed that they held the march demanding an end to sexual violence against girls and ending what they termed "romancing under umbrellas" at Marine Drive.

Condemning the incident, Mr Hibi Eden MLA said the police inaction was deplorable. "The police was protecting the anti-socials indulging in moral policing," he said. "The inaction cannot be justified in any modern and civilised society. The government machinery has failed in preventing such shameful incident in a fast-growing metropolitan city such as Kochi, " he said and added the matter will be raised in the Assembly on Thursday.

The Sena activists' vandalism in the presence of media and police is a serious issue, said activist Lazar Shine. It is similar to the action by Sri Ram Sena activists in Bengaluru and Mangalore, he added.

CPM Ernakulam district secretary P. Rajiv also came down heavily on the police and the Shiva Sena. The Sena indulged in goondaism and barbarism, he said. "The police remaining as mute witnesses is not acceptable," he said. "Action should be initiated against the guilty police officials."

The police took six persons into custody in connection with the incident and booked them under non-bailable charges for assault and obstructing government officials from discharging their duty. The arrested were identified as T.R. Devan, chairman of the state political affairs committee, Shiva Sena, K.Y.Kunjumon, K.U. Ratheesh, A.V.Vineesh, T.R.Lenin and K.K.Liju, all members of the party's Ernakulam district unit. City police commissioner M.P. Dinesh said assistant commissioner of police, special branch, had been directed to probe the alleged lapses on the part of the police. "Further action, if any, will be based on the probe report," he said.

The police intelligence wing had prior knowledge about the action and even dispersed a few couples sitting along the walkway earlier in the afternoon. But the law and order machinery was completely paralysed when the hooligans took over the place, said an officer.

A number of activists, meanwhile, decided to hold meetings at Marine Drive on Thursday in protest against the Sena vandalism. The pro-CPM DYFI will hold a sitting at 10 in the morning while the supporters of Kiss of Love agitation will meet at 4 p.m.
New Delhi: On International Women's Day today, the Congress urged the central government to abolish tax on sanitary napkins and keep it out of the purview of the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST).



Congress leader and Silchar MP Sushmita Dev, in a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has said that sanitary napkins are "unfairly taxed" by deeming it as a luxury product and not as a necessity to safeguard health.



She has said that the product is taxed up to 14.5 per cent based on the state one lives in and after the the GST it will be taxed at 12 per cent.



"We would request Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to consider our party MP Sushmita Dev's proposal. The Congress party fully endorses what she has requested," Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi told reporters.



She said that although the matter seems insignificant in appearance it will address the key issues of affordability, hygiene and environment.



She said more and more women, especially in rural areas, should be encouraged to use sanitary napkins and by taxing them one ends up reducing that space for them.



In her letter to Jaitley, Dev said condoms and contraceptives are tax-free in India as they are recognised as a necessity to safeguard health and life.



"In the light of this observation, we need to view sanitary napkins through the same lens and ensure that women are not taxed unfairly on virtue of a natural bodily process.



"The commodity is not an option but a necessity, hence I hope you will look into this matter and do the needful," Dev said.



She also called for adopting an innovative approach by granting environment friendly and reusable cloth sanitary napkins tax free and imposing a minimal tax on disposable sanitary napkins to dissuade its use on large scale in order to safeguard environment.



Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today greeted women on the occasion of International Women's Day and wished for their bright future.



In a statement, she said the woman force has always contributed positively for India's progress.



"It is now our collective responsibility to create a society free from any fears and ensure their self-reliance," Gandhi said.
Transport Commissioner M.K. Aiyappa said that if drivers start an app, there will be no question of an aggregator and an employee. (Representational image)

Bengaluru: A strike by city taxi drivers attached to cab aggregators that will soon complete a month is heading in a new direction. The protesting drivers again had a meeting with company officials and the government on Monday, and set forth four demands, instead of nine earlier.

Ola and Uber have been given a week's time to respond. If nothing comes out, all the drivers will start our own Bengaluru City Cabs app," said Mr Kiran Gowda, state president, Karunada Rajya Taxi Owners and Drivers Association.

The companies should stop leasing vehicles of their own. These vehicles get preference over others, and the drivers don't get any rides. The companies must follow the fare fixed by the government at Rs 19.5 for AC and Rs 14.5 for non-AC per km," he said.

Drivers are blacklisted without warning if they cancel a ride. This should stop and they must be reattached. The fleet must not be increased as the supply is more than the demand, he said.

Satish, a driver who returned to driving his cab after the Freedom Park protest, said, I have been waiting at the busy spot near Jayadeva Hospital, but I have not got a booking for the last one-and-a-half hours. This is because the companies give preference to vehicles that have been leased out by them. It has been four weeks since I received my salary, which is for the period prior to the strike. They owe me around Rs 10,000, but have been giving excuses.

JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy told us that he will support us financially to start an app. He told us not to succumb to the injustice meted out by Ola and Uber," said Mr Ranjit Gowda from Karnataka Jana Para Vedike that was part of the two-day protest. Mr Kiran Gowda said that if the new app is developed, it will follow the fares set by the government. It will be available on smartphones and we will also have a proper office, he said.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, I have told the drivers to get together and create a new app. I told them I will support them in getting approvals. A committee was set up to fix a minimum fare. They are still working on it.

Duplicating the dynamic business model of cab aggregators is not an easy task. Apart from funds, technology and expertise too is required. Constant monitoring, GPS, maintaining the servers, paying salaries and more have to be thought out.

Transport Commissioner M.K. Aiyappa, however, said, If they do something like that nothing like it. It is possible and has been tried out in Maharashtra by taxi drivers. Technology in terms of GPS and monitoring is not hard to acquire."

But the business model will not quite be the same, he believes. Right now, the issue is aggregators taking all the profits and the drivers earning lesser. If drivers start an app, there will be no question of an aggregator and an employee. It will be more of a cooperative business where profits are distributed equally," he said.
Sending e-mails or writing letters to the Telangana Chief Minister or the Chief Ministers Office is of no use. No one bothers to check emails or letters sent to the CM by citizens, or to acknowledge them.

Hyderabad: Sending e-mails or writing letters to the Telangana Chief Minister or the Chief Ministers Office is of no use. No one bothers to check emails or letters sent to the CM by citizens, or to acknowledge them. While the Prime Ministers Office and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers Office has a facility that enables people to file online representations and track the status of their petitions using Aadhaar numbers, there is no such facility available in Telangana.

Representations personally submitted to the Chief Minister during his district tours are being ignored by officials. The CMO forwards the applications to the respective departments and collectors offices without keeping any record of the application or bothering to follow up later. Citizens who have no direct access to the CMO rely on emails or letters to resolve their grievances, but this is turning out to be a futile exercise.

The government had created an official mail ID for the Chief Minister: cm@telangana.gov.in one week after he assumed office in June 2014. But it seems he has never used it. When the NITI Aayog emailed an important communication to this ID, it remained unanswered for weeks. Another password was then generated but the CM rarely uses this email since the CMO has another official email ID, cmo@telangana.gov.in, which his staff checks regularly and inform him of any important communication from the Centre.

However, grievances sent by people to these mail IDs are ignored. Normally, a separate employee should be appointed to check emails sent to the CM or CMO. There is no such employee at present. Higher officials in the CMO check only important mails sent by officials from the Centre and state governments. Hundreds of mails are received every week from common people and it is not possible to go through all of them, say CMO sources.

The CMO also receives hundreds of letters by post every day from people with various grievances. They are directed to the departments and collectors concerned but no mechanism has been put in place to verify the status of those communications. Nor is there any way for common people to meet the Chief Minister personally, to air their grievances, as he is yet to hold praja durbars.
Chennai: The Indian Medical Association and medical practitioners, on Tuesday, expressed concern over the increasing speculations related to the death of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa. If this situation continues, doctors who are ethically committed to treat patients would fear to treat VVIPs, they said.

With rumours about the possible causes of death of late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa continuing to do the rounds, the Indian Medical Association, Tamil Nadu chapter, also said that the rumours could affect the trust of the public on the doctors.

Aiming at justifying that the treatment rendered to former chief minister was under standard protocol, the association said that the medical community is brought to shame when the hospital and the doctors are accused of not providing the right treatment.

Our intention was not to cause any political issue. Jayalalithaa was brought in unconscious and required treatment was rendered to her immediately. She was undergoing several problems; respiratory issues, hypertension and diabetes, and was treated with best care by doctors of Apollo and the All India Institution for Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The reports from the hospital states clearly that there was no political intention, said Dr T.N. Ravi Shankar, president, Indian Medical Association, Tamil Nadu chapter.

Over 50 doctors were employed and the treatment was under the scanner by both the state and the Central government. The treatment was monitored by AIIMS and many highly experienced doctors were put to action for the treatment. Doubting foul play in the procedures of treatment is unacceptable.

The doctors are ethically committed to the betterment of any patient, furthermore, the patient was a celebrated politician, so the doctors treating her were on their toes at all times, said Dr K. Senthil, president, Tamil Nadu Medical Council.
In development process gender perspective will be introduced in the department level first by the process of Gender Budgeting which will later be taken up to the Gram Panchayat level.

Bengaluru: In the forthcoming budget session, the state government is likely to table a state policy on women that may suggest some far reaching changes to empower women, including quotas in the legislature and police. The draft policy, prepared by the Department of Women and Child Welfare, proposes that there should be quotas for women in high legislative assembly and council.

The draft policy also seeks to provide women equal access to and full participation in decision making bodies at every level, including the legislative, executive, judicial, corporate, statutory bodies, as also the advisory Commissions, Committees, Boards and Trusts etc.

The draft policy has been prepared after extensive discussions among gender experts, academicians and officials concerned. The consultations with non-official experts for evolving the policy is perhaps the first such exercise the government has undertaken in recent times. If the government accepts the draft policy recommendations, Karnataka will the first state to adopt gender budgeting as a fiscal tool to bring about empowerment of women.

In development process gender perspective will be introduced in the department level first by the process of Gender Budgeting which will later be taken up to the Gram Panchayat level. Each Panchayat will undertake their individual annual action plan which will accommodate gender budget and ensure achievement of Goal of this policy in planned phased manner, the draft policy stated.

The policy also proposes mainstreaming of all laws affecting women and introducing new laws to meet needs not addressed so far. Legal-judicial system will be made more responsive and gender sensitive to womens needs, especially in cases of domestic violence and personal assault. New laws will be enacted wherever there is inadequacy of legal framework and existing laws reviewed and strengthened to ensure that justice is quick and the punishment meted out to the culprits is commensurate with the severity of the offence, the draft policy states.

It wants greater presence of women in police force, lays down 33% reservation for women in Police during recruitment. Further, the draft suggests that there be at least one woman Director in the Boards of StatePSUs/Corporations/Boards. It is desirable to provide job for women in private sector so as to reach at least 30% during recruitment and promotion, the draft policy states.

Efforts to be made to ensure that women are entitled to land rights and Government land titles should be either in joint names or in the name of women, the draft policy states.

Furthermore, the draft policy suggests expansion of programmes for training women in soil conservation, social forestry, dairy development and other occupations allied to agriculture like horticulture, livestock including small animal husbandry, poultry, fisheries etc. to benefit women workers in the agriculture sector.

According to Durang Basu Mullick of Equations which is part of the working group involved in drafting of the policy, The announcement of the draft policy is set to be done on March 8. The policy will then be put up on the public domain for a period of thirty days which will enable people to comment on the policy whether if or any changes are required.
Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has urged the Centre to initiate steps for the release of 32 fishermen, including about 15 Malayalis, who were reportedly detained at the British Indian Ocean Territory of Diego Garcia.

Fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said she sought the external affairs ministrys intervention and that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vija-yan would also personally pursuing the matter. She said that fishermen were advised not go there.

Earlier, fishermen who went fishing from Kerala coast had landed in similar trouble and they could only be released after tedious interventions, she said.

The 32-member team went for a month long deep sea fishing in two boats on February 5. They were reportedly held on March 1.

Meanwhile, the Swathanthra Matsyathozhilali Federation called on the Chief Minister and urged him to initiate steps for the release of the fishermen. About seven fishermen from Vizhinjam were among those detained in Diego Gracia, said the federation president P. Stellus.
Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami on Tuesday wrote a letter seeking the Centres intervention. Opposition parties condemned the killing and sought action from the Centre.

In a letter to the Centre, Palanisami said the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India should be summoned forthwith and the strong feelings of the Government of India and government of Tamil Nadu about the unprovoked firing on fishermen and non-adherence to earlier agreements on the issue should be conveyed in no uncertain terms.

Lanka resorting to such inhuman and barbaric tactics completely belies all the diplomatic efforts that have been undertaken including the understanding reached in several meetings between the two countries, including the recent one at Colombo, Palanisami said in the letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The CM said at the ministerial level meeting in Colombo in January, it was clearly agreed not to use force against bona fide fishermen at sea.

He urged the Prime Minister Modi to intervene personally in this sensitive livelihood issue of our fishermen and use all means at the command of the government of India to curb the unacceptable aggressive actions of the Sri Lankan Navy in the Palk Bay, and to protect the life, limb and liberty of our innocent fishermen.

Palanisami also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the victims family.

He also announced Rs 1 lakh to the other fisherman, injured in the attack, and directed that the best medical treatment be offered to him.
Uttar Pradesh Anti Terror Squad personnel take positions during their operation against a suspected terrorist holed up inside a building in the Thakurganj area of Lucknow on Tuesday evening. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The investigation into the encounter in Lucknow, where a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed, is likely to be handed over to the NIA, a senior Home Ministry official said on Wednesday.

In all likelihood, the Lucknow case will be given to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for probe, the official said.

The move came after the Home Ministry officials got the hint that there maybe a much larger conspiracy and more people in multiple locations might have links with Saifullah, who was killed in the encounter.

The suspected ISIS terrorist was killed in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow early today after a 12-hour long operation.

Saifullah is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, police said.

An NIA team has reached Bhopal to look into the suspected terror attack.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 8

Trend:

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu updated his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel on Ankara's concern over the systematic pressure on representatives of the Turkish community in Germany over the last year, Anadolu news agency reported March 8.

Cavusoglu made remarks at the meeting in Berlin, Germany March 8.

Cavusoglu added that the current situation negatively affects the Turkish community and contradicts the policy of social integration in Germany.

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become a target of hatred, he added. In general, there is a campaign against Turkey. The accomplices of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other terrorist organizations freely operate in Germany.

"Germany should refrain from evaluating the constitutional referendum scheduled for mid-April in Turkey," Cavusoglu said.
After a long stand-off of 12 hours, the ATS finally tried to breach the house by drilling holes into the wall. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: A group of five ISIS sympathisers, who were arrested from various parts of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, was preparing to launch a massive terror attack on a Sufi shrine in the states Barabanki area within the span of a month, reports said.

According to a report in NDTV, the men also carried out an explosion on an Ujjain bound train yesterday as a practice for the attack on the Sufi shrine.

Following the blast, three suspects were arrested from Madhya Pradesh after they were captured in CCTV footage, and were questioned.

During the interrogation, the men revealed that they were part of a terror module consisting nine men, all from Lucknow and Kanpur, and had pledged their allegiance to ISIS.

The leader of the gang Atif Muzzaffar was among those arrested.

Further questioning revealed that the module had rented a home in Thakurganj area near Lucknow.

Based on the tip-off, the Anti-Terror Squad arrested two more men from Kanpur and trapped another militant Saifullah, at the Thakurganj residence. The group had reportedly rented the residence six months ago from a man called Badshah, working in Saudi Arabia.

Saifullah (Photo: Twitter)

The report revealed that the police tried to negotiate with Saifullah for long, and even got his brother Khalid on the phone.

The cops dialled Khalid and slid the phone under the door to Saifullah. When Khalid broke down and asked his brother to surrender, he was told, I won't, I want martyrdom.

After a long stand-off of 12 hours, the ATS finally tried to breach the house by drilling holes into the wall.

The ATS commandos then stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist). "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandos, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandos. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead," IG ATS Aseem Arun said.

"Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilli bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out," said Aseem Arun, a senior officer of the anti-terror squad was quoted as saying.

A cache of ammunitions including eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train time table were found along with the body.
Saifullah, who was killed in a stand off with the ATS, in the Thakurganj area of Lucknow. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Lucknow: After successfully gunning down suspected ISIS terror accused Saifullah, Additional Director General of the Uttar Pradesh Police (ADG UP) Daljeet Chaudhary on Wednesday said the youth was self-radicalised and was influenced by 'literature'.

"These days, people self-radicalise themselves. They read their literature and come under its influence. Also, they follow social media for the same," Chaudhary told the media in Lucknow.

The police recovered eight pistols, three passports, more than 600 cartridges, bomb-making instruments, timers, wires, compass etc.

"45 grams gold and foreign currency was also recovered," he said.

"The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) accompanied by civil police completed the operation. When we reached the spot, the self-proclaimed, self-radicalised ISIS youth locked up himself inside the building and started talking about martyrdom," he said.

"We tried to convince him to come out but he kept firing at us. Tear-gas shells were thrown at him. He died in an exchange of fire between him and the police," he further said.

The ADG also informed that the four youth, who were living in the building, were the ones responsible for the IED blast that took place yesterday in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train.

"4 were living there. They only did the IED blast in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train," he said

"The police have arrested the three terrorists named mastermind Atif Muzaffar and Md. Danish - both residents of Kanpur - and Syed Meer Hussain," he added.

The cops have also claimed that the accused were a part of ISIS Khorasan module, a terror outfit associated with Al Qaeda.

However, Chaudhary denied having any evidence of ISIS link with the incident.
Launching the digital campus of the 111-year-old Madras Sanskrit College on Tuesday evening, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for concerted efforts to recapture the glory of Sanskrit.

Chennai: One of the oldest serving educational institution in the cause of Sanskrit in Indiathe Madras Sanskrit College, Mylapore, here, launched its digital platform to teach Sanskrit online.

Launching the digital campus of the 111-year-old Madras Sanskrit College on Tuesday evening, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for concerted efforts to recapture the glory of Sanskrit. This ancient language, she said is a tool to keep one mentally agile. The Vedic Mathematics, for instance can help improve the problem solving ability of the students. The slokhas have the ability to make one perform better, she said.

Recollecting her overseas visits to Croatia and Philippines, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman said Sanskrit words were freely used in Croatian and Filipino and this only proved the flexibility of the language and pragmatic application. Advocating everyone to patronise Sanskrit, she said learning the language makes one multilingual and more articulate. Sanskrit scored far ahead of other languages because it is very structured, the Minister added.

Online course is certified by MSC: The online course which is part of the digital campus is certified by the Madras Sanskrit College and can be followed up with an exam for a certificate from the Madras University. The MSC will be collaborating with other institutions and individuals who can create and disseminate content through the digital campus. The objective of launching the digital campus is to bring together an online community of Sanskrit lovers globally. This initiative is an effort by the college and will make an impact on the digital world and continue to be relevant and a source of scholarship in Sanskrit and Indian culture for the next century, says Ramesh Mahalingam, trustee, MSC.

Speaking on the occasion, N. Gopalaswami, president, MSC, said about five lakh Sanskrit manuscripts have been digitalised.

The college said it had partnered with 'Classle' a digital learning solution provider, to make Sanskrit available for all through its digital platform.

The Digital platform would act as a center of excellence for Sanskrit from beginners to scholars all around the globe. The online course for beginners covers 30 lessons and spans 16 week. Other courses like diplomas, Mimamsa, Jyotisha, etc., will be introduced gradually.
New Delhi: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday pitched for political unity to combat terrorism in the backdrop of the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast in Madhya Pradesh.

"In these times we have to stay united and fight such forces, irrespective of who is at the centre of power," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.

The Urban Development Minister was responding to questions on the encounter by Uttar Pradesh Police in Lucknow yesterday to nab the suspects linked with the train blast.

10 people were injured, three of them seriously, in an IED blast on a passenger train near Jabdi station in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, in what is suspected to be a terror attack.

The National Investigation Agency has initiated its probe into the incident.

Naidu said nobody should encourage cross-border terrorism and separatist forces.

In an apparent reference to Pakistan, he said, "Such tricks are being used by our neighbours and also other terrorist organisations across the globe to disturb a country's stability and peace."
Chennai: The DMK today wrote to the External Affairs Minister, saying the killing of an Indian fisherman allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy violated agreements arrived at the tripartite talks and has led to the feeling of "displeasure" against the Centre.



Terming the March 6 firing as "a grave human rights violation and absolutely unlawful", DMK Working President M K Stalin urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to intervene in the matter and end such incidents.



"The brutal killing of Indian fisherman K Britjo by the Sri Lankan Navy is in total violation of the agreements arrived at the tripartite talks so far held with the fishermen of both countries," he said in a letter to her.



Talks between fishermen of the two countries in Delhi in November 2016, in which officials of both the nations also took part, had ended in a stalemate.



"There is a strong feeling of displeasure that the central government is not forthcoming to protect the lives of Indian fishermen despite a series of talks," he said.



He said the killing has sent "shock waves and an uncontrollable anger is sweeping the state. It is a blatant violation of agreements reached after international talks in your presence".



He regretted that Sri Lanka was in denial mode on this "cold-blooded murder and even refuses to take responsibility".



"Though Sri Lanka agreed in principle not to harm the Indian fishermen, it has shown scant respect to its own commitment solemnly made to India, Stalin said.



Sri Lanka, which had so far arrested and seized boats of fishermen, now had done the "extreme and illegal act of killing our fisherman and grievously injuring others", which was "unprovoked and unjustifiable firing", he said.



Stalin said the fishing rights of Indian fishermen cannot be threatened at gun point by Sri Lankan Navy and added that the Coast Guard had a moral duty to ensure their safety.



Seeking her intervention, he said the Sri Lankan envoy should be summoned and the island nation should be told that killing of fishermen will not be tolerated.



Batting for steps to retrieve Katchatheevu islet, ceded to the island nation by India in the 1970s, he said it was the only solution for the problems of fishermen.
New Delhi: In the wake of the killing of an Indian Tamil fisherman allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy on Monday night following which an angry India demanded a probe, Sri Lanka on Tuesday announced that initial investigations indicate that the Sri Lanka Navy is not involved in the alleged incident.

India on Tuesday morning said it was deeply concerned and that the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo has taken up the matter with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, adding that the Sri Lankan Navy has promised a full and thorough investigation into the incident. Colombo, in turn, said that if in fact a shooting has taken place, it is a matter of grave concern, adding that the Government of Sri Lanka is firm in its commitment to ensuring that all Government agencies treat all Indian fishermen in a humane manner at all times.

There were also reports that a Sri Lankan Naval officer too denied the allegations, maintaining that Sri Lankan naval boats are not authorised to shoot at Indian fishermen.

In a statement from New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, The Government of India is deeply concerned at the killing of an Indian fisherman. Our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has taken up the matter with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Navy has promised a full and thorough investigation.
Rameswaram: Fishermen of Rameswaram and elsewhere in Tamil Nadu launched a major protest against the killing of their kin, Brijo, allegedly in firing by the Sri Lankan Navy Monday night, declaring they would not accept his body from the general hospital morgue here until the foreign ministry in Delhi promised firm action against enemy Ilangai (Sri Lanka) and the absolute safety for our fishermen and boats in our traditional fishing grounds.

Twenty-year-old Brijo sustained bullet hit in the neck and died on the way bleeding profusely even as his four mates on the boat rushed him from the firing area to Rameswaram. Another fisherman in the boat, Saravanan, sustained splinter injuries in the abdomen and has been admitted in the Rameswaram GH, where doctors said he was out of danger.

A large crowd of grieving relatives and locals had gathered at the Rameswaram fishing port when the mechanised boat, along with another similar vessel, reached the shore about 30 minutes after midnight. Those murderers have killed my baby. They have shot dead a little boy, screamed the sobbing father Kamleez. There was loud wailing all around in the dark as the police pushed their way into the crowd and got the body shifted in an ambulance to the hospital.
Muslim women line up at a polling station in Mirzapur to cast their votes during the seventh and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow/Imphal: Voting for the last phase covering 40 seats in Uttar Pradesh and 22 Assembly constituencies in Manipur began on Wednesday, with all eyes on the Prime Minister's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

Uttar Pradesh

60.03 per cent votes were polled till 4 pm on Wednesday in the seventh and last phase of Uttar Pradesh elections covering 40 Assembly seats spread over seven districts.

Polling started amidst tight security arrangements this morning with all eyes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

"Over 41 per cent votes were polled till 2 pm. The polling is going on peacefully," office of UP Chief Electoral Officer said here.

PM's constituency saw 37.88 per cent polling while naxal infested Mirzapur had 42.50 per cent polling till 2 PM, it said.

Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus. Tight security has been put in place in these seven districts.

Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling is going on in this phase.

In Jaunpur, BJP candidate from Jafarabad seat Harendra Pratap Singh and four others were arrested by the police for allegedly carrying voters to polling booths in two vehicles. Singh has however denied the charge.

Polling will be held till 5 PM in all constituencies, except the Naxal-hit Duddhi, Robertsganj and Chakia seats, where polling will end at 4 PM.

Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres to decide fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

The BJP is contesting 32 seats and its allies - the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party - are contesting on 4 seats each. The BSP has fielded its nominees for all seats. While the SP is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in race for the remaining seats.

In the 2012 state Assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.

In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Cong (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) are in the fray.

While the maximum number of 24 candidates are from Varanasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates are contesting from Kerakat (SC).

Prominent candidates who are in fray include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari, and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

The turnout on these seats in 2012 was 57.92 per cent in 2012 Assembly polls.

Manipur

Manipur recorded a high voter turnout of 86 per cent till 5 pm on Wednesday. Polling is being held in 22 seats in the second and final phase of the state Assembly election.

State Chief Electoral officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan said the percentage was expected to go up as long queues were still visible outside several polling booths.

"We are waiting for the final figures," he told PTI.

The CEO said, polling was peaceful except a few incidents of violence outside polling booths in Tamenglong Assembly segment.

Some cases of causing damage to the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were reported in Chandel Assembly segment. The EVMs were replaced within a short time, he added.

The 22 Assembly segments, where polling is being held, are spread over the valley district of Thoubal and the hill districts of Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati.

A huge voter turnout of 84 per cent was recorded in the first phase of polling to the 60-member Assembly on March 4.
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday handed over to the Army two Pakistani youths whom it had arrested in connection with the last year's terror attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri that had killed 19 soldiers.

A NIA spokesperson said they have handed over Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed to the army's 16 Corps headquarters in Jammu and they will be sent back home.

The spokesperson added that the NIA's probe "revealed that the two suspects had crossed over to the Indian side after altercation with their parents due to pressure of studies".

"Evidence collected in the form of statements, technical analysis of their mobile phones, seized GPS devices and other circumstantial evidence collected by the NIA did not reveal any linkage of the suspects with the Uri attackers," the spokesperson added.

It was initially suspected that the two youths acted as guides for the Uri attackers.

On September 18 last year, four heavily armed militants had stormed the Uri army base camp in Jammu and Kashmir killing 19 soldiers and injuring few others.

The NIA had taken over the investigation in the case from the state Police.

The two youths were arrested by the BSF and the Army in a joint operation at 'Angoor Post at Gavalata village in Uri when they were trying to infiltrate into India.

They were also brought to the NIA headquarters here for detailed interrogation.

The NIA has claimed that terror group Laskar-e-Taiba was behind the Uri terror attack.

The spokesperson added that "further investigation is continuing in the case.
Saifullah belonged to an ISIS module that was preparing to conduct a massive attack on a Sufi Shrine in Uttar Pradeshs Barabanki. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Father of ISIS suspect Saifullah, who was killed in an encounter in Lucknows Thakurganj earlier this morning, has refused to accept his body, claiming that it was not in the countrys interest.

Speaking to ANI, Saifullahs father Sartaj said, This was not in country's interest. We will not accept the body of an anti-national.

"Two-and-a-half months ago, he left home after I beat him up for not working. He called last Monday and told us that he was going to Saudi," he added, recounting the last conversation with his son.

Saifullah was killed earlier this morning by the Anti-Terror Squad after a 12-hour-long operation.

He belonged to an ISIS module that was preparing to conduct a massive attack on a Sufi Shrine in Uttar Pradeshs Barabanki.

The men carried out an explosion on an Ujjain bound train yesterday as a practice for the attack on the Sufi shrine.

Following the blast, three suspects were arrested from Madhya Pradesh after they were captured in CCTV footage, and were questioned.

During the interrogation, the men revealed that they were part of a terror group consisting nine men, all from Lucknow and Kanpur, and had pledged their allegiance to ISIS.

The leader of the gang Atif Muzzaffar was among those arrested.

Further questioning revealed that the module had rented a home in Thakurganj area near Lucknow.

Based on the tip-off, the Anti-Terror Squad arrested two more men from Kanpur and trapped Saifullah, at the Thakurganj residence. The group had reportedly rented the residence six months ago from a man called Badshah, working in Saudi Arabia.

The report revealed that the police tried to negotiate with Saifullah for long, and even got his brother Khalid on the phone.

The cops dialled Khalid and slid the phone under the door to Saifullah. When Khalid broke down and asked his brother to surrender, he was told, I won't, I want martyrdom.

After a long stand-off of 12 hours, the ATS finally tried to breach the house by drilling holes into the wall.

The ATS commandos then stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist). "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandos, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandos. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead," IG ATS Aseem Arun said.

"Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilli bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out," Arun said.

A cache of ammunitions including eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train time table were found along with the body.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to brief the Parliament on the killing of Shaifullah, and blast in a train at Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh, when the second half of the Budget session will begin on Thursday.

Ten people were injured, three of them seriously, in the IED blast in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Shajapur.
Although Beijing made a commitment in 2014 to enable Hong Kong to elect its leaders freely, there are many provisions that maintain strict limitations. (Photo : Getty Images)

Zhang Deijang, China's top number three man, commented on the upcoming Hong Kong elections and said that Beijing had every right to interfere in the region's elections.



The comments came after top Chinese officials tried to dispel rumors that they were supporting Carrie Lam's campaign. However, the elections will be voted by 1,200 electoral candidates who are mostly pro-Beijing.



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Carrie Lam is fighting for the top seat in Hong Kong and is running against a former government official and a retired judge.



According to Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress, the next chief executive should bridge Hong Kong and Beijing, and that Beijing is not fueling Lam's campaign.



However, Zhang said that Beijing will intervene because it is the mainland's task to do so.



The convenor of the NPC, Maria Tam, quoted Zhang as saying that the lead spot in Hong Kong "is a very important role, so the central government has the right to step in."



Beijing predicts that Shenzhen will actually be ahead of Hong Kong in two years because previous administrations focused too much on politicking and not development.



Zhang said, "It is quite possible that Shenzhen can overtake Hong Kong in two years."



The parliament leader also stressed that the next leader of Hong Kong should be extraordinary and have trust from Beijing.



Rita Lam, former head of the legislature, said that Beijing has every right to express their opinions. She said, "As a stakeholder, the central government has a right to express its views, and it hopes people can take its opinions into consideration."



Carrie Lam also denied allegations of getting help from Beijing's liaison and said that any support from the mainland will destroy the campaign.



She said, "If you ask them publicly, you are falling into the trap that you agree that they're interfering. I don't know how they are interfering, what did they say, how did they ask for votes. I just don't know."



She didn't comment on whether she asked for help privately.


Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday issued an indirect warning to separatist militants that their families could be harmed too if they try to target those of policemen fighting the 27-year-old insurgency in the state.

My take is; we should not bring the families into this conflict whether those of terrorists or policemen. Families have nothing to do with this. We must keep them away from this, J&Ks Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid said while speaking to this newspaper.

This comes days after militants warned a police officers family to ask their ward to quit or face the consequences. Four militants had on March 4 night barged into the residence of a police officer of Deputy SPs rank in Chillipora Heff village in southern Shopian district, reportedly damaged electronic appliances and broke windowpanes and warned his family that he should quit his job or face the consequences.

They told the family that the police and other security forces were damaging the properties of the people and should know we can also do it. The police officer is posted in Srinagar.

Earlier during that day, the security forces had called off their nightlong cordon-and-search operation in the village after they learnt that a group of militants that had been holed up in a private house earlier had escaped the dragnet. Police believe that the same group of militants showed up at the officers residence later. It has registered a case (FIR 32/17) against the unknown militants under various provisions of the Ranbir Panel Code and taken up investigations.

The DG, police, earlier on Wednesday said in a TV interview that the militants too have families. "Militants should realise they too have families. Let militants take this as a warning."

He added that it was between police and militants, and that families should not be brought into the conflict. If the police start doing this, what will happen to their families?" he asked.

In August 2016, when the Valley was on the boil in the aftermath of the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahedins Internet-savvy poster boy Burhan Muzaffar Wani, Kashmirs indigenous militant outfit had asked the J&K policemen to stay at home and not to be part of the measures aimed at containing the unrest.

We appeal police personnel to sit at their homes like the employees of other departments are doing. The fate of the policeman who attends duty will be nothing but death, one of its commanders Riyaz Naik had said in an 11-minute video that had surfaced on the social media.

Ahead of a police recruitment rally, he also asked the Kashmiri youth to ignore enticement aimed at breaking their ranks and threatened those who wished to join the police force should also be ready to face the consequences.

However, the threat was ignored by, at least, more than 5,000 youth who participated in the rally.

In December last year, another Hizb commander Zakir Rashid Bhat had in a video message warned family members of local policemen that they would be targeted if they (policemen) continue to harass relatives of militants. You (police) have committed a big mistake by harassing our families, by involving our families. If you touch our families, we will not spare your families. You think your families are in Jammu so they are safe. Even if your families are in Kanyakumari, we have the capacity to kill them there, he had warned.

During the post Wani killing, the height of anger against the security forces particularly the J&K police and CRPF was such that there were a few attacks at the families of local policemen by enraged mobs.

One such attack took place at Chadrigam in Tral area of southern Pulwama on July 12, 2016 when a mob barged into the house of a police official Muhammad Ashraf and beat up his wife and daughter.

However, the thrashing of the mother-daughter duo evoked condemnation in the Valley and beyond and many people took to the social networking sites to voice their disapproval.

Though hundreds of policemen have been killed and injured in militant attacks during more than two and a half decades old militancy and issuing of threats to them by various militants outfits is a routine, it was for the first time that the gunmen chose to barge into a police officials residence to threaten his family.

They also told the family that the police were harassing those providing shelter to militants and damaging their property during raids in different parts of south Kashmir and that they should desist from doing it.
The fishermen from Neduntheevu off Jaffna were caught with their two boats and taken to Karaikal before being handed over to the coastal security police at Nagapattinam, according to a coast guard official.

Chennai: Even as hundreds of fishermen families of Rameswaram and neighbouring fishing hamlets continued their sit-in protest at Thangachimadam on the second day on Wednesday, refusing to receive the body of 20-year-old Brijo allegedly killed in Sri Lankan naval attack and demanding that India crack the whip on Colombo, the two countries sought to scale down tempers by agreeing to free the poaching fishermen held in their custody.

The quick pact hammered out at a hurriedly summoned meeting of senior officials at Colombo would benefit the ten Sri Lankan fishermen arrested by the Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday for allegedly fishing four nautical miles inside the Indian waters off Tamil Nadu coast.

The fishermen from Neduntheevu off Jaffna were caught with their two boats and taken to Karaikal before being handed over to the coastal security police at Nagapattinam, according to a coast guard official.

Informed sources said stray cases of fishermen from neighbouring countries crossing into Indian water--sometimes by intent and most often by accident since it is difficult to precisely judge the maritime border - go mostly ignored by the Indian CG after stiff warning but this Tuesday arrest could be for assuaging the angry demonstrators in Rameswaram.

The protesters, however, did not seem impressed as they insisted on getting firm assurance from the External Affairs Ministry that Sri Lankan Navy would no more open fire at their boats fishing in "our traditional fishing grounds" - which often meant pretty close to the north Lankan shore - and that firm action would be taken against those who killed Brijo.

Over 2,000 demonstrators, including many women and elders, congregated at Thangachimadam insisting that a permanent solution to their problems with the Lankan Navy should be found and till then, India should severe its diplomatic ties with Colombo. The permanent solution, they said, included retrieval of Katchatheevu island.

The Wednesday pact struck in Colombo would lead to Lanka releasing 85 Indian fishermen while India would reciprocate freeing 19 Lankan fishermen, apart from the ten caught Tuesday night. "This agreement is being made to defuse the current tensions", a senior official explained.
Hyderabad: The Opposition on Wednesday slammed Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for denying Cabinet berths to women till date yet promising to empower women.

There is zero representation of women in the TS Cabinet. Yet KCR talks of women empowerment. Just like all the other failed promises, empowerment of women in TS is one more failed promise, BJP spokesman Krishna Saagar Rao said.

Stating that nothing has been done for women empowerment in TS till now, the BJP leader said that his party strongly believes that women of TS feel betrayed and insulted by the way they were treated by the ruling party in the state, especially in reference to representation of women in governance.

KCR should explain to womenfolk how he has not found even a single woman MLA competent enough to become a minister in the first Cabinet of a newly-formed state. How can women be totally unrepresented in a state Cabinet? he added

Addressing the International Womens Day celebrations at the NTR Trust, TD politburo member Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy and others lashed out at TRS government for its failure to include women in the Cabinet.

Women offered floral tributes to a statue of NTR and recalled the contribution of the partys founder towards women empowerment. NTR and N. Chandrababu Naidu provided posts to women and also provided reservations, he said.

CPM leader Brinda Karat alleged that great injustice was done to women in the Union Budget, she alleged that the situation in TS was deteriorating by the day.

Ms Karat said that instead of offering gold to Gods, the government should better provide pension and empower women. Everyone should come on one platform for womens rights, she said.
Kozhikode: The Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, the largest trade organisation in the state, has decided to boycott Coca-Cola and Pepsico products from March 15. The member traders have been given one week's time to return the products to the respective companies. The decision has been taken based on the all-India bodys campaign started in Tamil Nadu on March 1 against the alleged water theft by the companies.

KVVES state president T. Nazirudeen alleged that the water theft by the multinational companies was the main reason for the acute water shortage. In Tamil Nadu, 15 times of the total water used is misused by these companies. Following protests, four of the five companies have been shut down. The plant in Madura is supplying water for Kerala. Thats how we have decided to extend the protest to Kerala. As part of the protest, the Tamil Nadu traders unions representative has already visited Kerala, Mr Nazirudeen added.

The traders will also meet the Chief Minister and the Health Minister seeking co-operation for the protest. We will parcel them (Cola companies) off with the support of the people, he said in a statement.

PepsiCo India in a statement denied the allegation on the misuse of water and added that the water extraction was not affecting any water resources. PepsiCo has been compelled to reduce its water consumption to only 1.5 lakh litres per day by the DDMA against the High Court order permitting it to draw upto 6 lakh litres of water per day for our plant located in Palakkad. As a responsible corporation, we have been abiding by the law of the land and hence it is disheartening to see the targeted misinformation campaign against us on the alleged misuse of water. We have a world class internal automated system that monitors consumption of water in accordance with applicable water extraction limits which is currently at 1.5 lakh litres of water. The extraction of water is not affecting any borewell / open well / groundwater discharge structures in any villages around the plant, the company said in a statement.
Hyderabad: The TS government is expecting anything between Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 3000 crore from the Centre before the end of current financial year.

The state government has released Rs 1,600 crore to various departments, including for the Centrally Sponsored Schemes, and several departments have submitted utilisation certificates for the funds already released by the Centre.

With this, the TS government is confident that the Centre will release the balance funds by the end of this month. Chief Secretary S.P. Singh, during his two-day visit to Delhi, met 19 high-ranking officers of various ministries.

He on Wednesday held a meeting with all TS secretaries and briefed them about his visit. Mr Singh told them that the Central government officials assured release of funds if utilisation certificates were submitted on time.

He also reminded that the TS government has to set up permanent mechanism in Delhi to follow up regularly for release of more funds.

Mr Singh also directed the secretaries not to delay sending details when sought by ministers during the Budget session. If needed, a nodal officer can be appointed to coordinate with Assembly officials, the CS said.
Hyderabad: The state government is planning to increase the Value-Added Tax, being collected from hotels, restaurants and eateries, by 10 percentage points from April 1.

At present, the state government levies 14.5 per cent VAT on hotels and restaurants. If the hike is approved, people would have to shell out 24.5 per cent VAT for eating out  one of the highest in the country.

Finance minister Etala Rajender on Wednesday convened a meeting on Revenue Enhancement Plan on hotels and restaurants with officials of the commercial taxes department to discuss the issue.

Though GST is expected to come into force from July 1 this year, the state government is making moves to hike various taxes ahead of GST with the aim of mopping up additional revenues for the three months between April and June in the new financial year 2017-18.

The government feels that if GST implementation is postponed by a few more months after July due to any reasons, it would fetch more additional revenue to the state exchequer. GST was supposed to come into force from April 1 this year but the roll out date was postponed to July.

With the states and Centre yet to reach consensus on several issues on GST, the TS government sees the possibility of yet another postponement in July.

Officials estimate the move to increase VAT on hotels would fetch about Rs 1,000 crore. In the meeting, it was also discussed to increase taxes on other commercial establishments till GST comes into force. The Ts government is aiming to earn an additional Rs 5,000 crore through the fresh increase in taxes.

The commercial taxes department has set a revenue target of Rs 43,000 crore this year. The government is proposing to increase service charges on services being offered by it. Among them are expected to be increase of stamps and registration charges, excise duty on liquor etc.
Kozhikode: The Muslim organisations in the state are up in arms against the prime minister's security officials for harassing a Muslim women's delegation to a meeting attended by Mr Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, Women's Day.

Three women Muslim panchayat presidents from north Kerala, who wore the black veil, were humiliated by the security officials when they went to participate in the national camp of Swachh Bharat Mission, called Swachh Shakthi- 2017. They were part of the 115-member delegation from the state.

Mooppainadu panchayat president Shaharban Saithalavi removed the veil with protest, while two other women delegates from Kasargod refused to participate in the programme without the veil.

Shaharbhan told DC that the security guards refused to allow her into the meeting citing security threat.

"Later, the Swachh Bharat Mission coordinators from Kozhikode intervened and allowed me to wear the veil," she said.

The organisers later informed that there was a direction to the delegates to avoid wearing black dress and that the veil was removed by mistake as per the order.

However, the Muslim organisations have decided to take up the issue at the national level. The Indian Union Muslim League would organise a protest on Thursday and observe a black day in the state and hold protest marches at all district headquarters.

IUML state general secretary K.P.A. Majeed told DC that the harassment meted out to the Muslim delegates was indicative of Mr Modi's attitude towards the Muslim community. Each community has the right to wear its particular dresses and religious symbols. Nuns, priests and Sikhs wear the dress in tune with their culture and identity.

"Modi should realise that it is not the first time Muslim women are participating in a programme organized by the prime minister."

"Such harassments happen only after Modi came to power," he added.

"If the security staff were so particular about the veil, they could have searched the woman by removing the veil and allowed her to wear it afterwards," he said.

The union government should take immediate action against the officials who harassed the delegate, said Women's League national general secretary Noorbina Rasheed.
Hyderabad: Suspended TJAC leaders on Wednesday slammed the non-political bodys chairman Prof. M. Kodandaram, accusing him of adopting a dictatorial attitude and terming him a dictator.

The TJAC had on Tuesday suspended two senior leaders who had been part of the organisation since its inception in 2009  convener Pittala Ravinder and co-chairman N. Prahlad  for alleged anti-organisation activities.

TJAC senior woman leader Tanveer Sultana on Wednesday quit the organisation in protest against the suspensions.

The suspended leaders said that on one hand, Prof Kodandaram had been accusing Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of adopting a dictatorial attitude while heading the government while on the other hand he himself behaved like a dictator and suspended them without giving them a chance to explain what forced them to write an open letter questioning his unilateral decisions.

The TJAC steering committee felt that both the leaders indulged in unethical practices by colluding with ruling party TRS to destabilise TJAC.

There is no democracy in TJAC now. Whoever questions Prof Kodandaram is being shunted out. Where was the need for him to ally TJAC with political parties, when it is a social organisation? Where was the need for him to meet Sonia Gandhi secretly in Delhi? Why he is holding secret meetings with Reddy leaders? said Mr Ravinder.

Ms Tanveer Sultana meanwhile submitted her resignation to protest the undemocratic attitude of Prof. Kodandaram. We believed Kodandaram was an intellectual. But he is showing his true colours now. He has been humiliating everyone who questions him, she said.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former chief secretary C. P. Nair has accused the LDF government of sidelining the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) headed by veteran leader V S Achuthanandan. Nair who is member of the commission, told a news channel that the government was taking unilateral decisions on issues that are pending before the ARC. He was referring to the January 4 decision of the government regarding formation of Kerala Administrative Service (KAS).

The employees associations affiliated to the Congress had also raised similar allegations against the government. They demanded that the KAS issue should be subjected to detailed scrutiny by the ARC before government took a final decision on he matter. The staff especially those employed in the secretariat have been protesting against government decision on KAS.
Police suspect that two groups were engaged in betting on flying manja kites (gummed, coloured and coated with powdered glass) on Chennai Bypass when the fatal mishap happened.

Chennai: In yet another incident of manja kite thread causing a fatality in the city, 41-year-old software professional C.Siva Prakasam, a resident of Villivakkam, died and his father was injured on the Anakaputhur stretch of the Chennai Bypass on Tuesday evening.

Siva Prakasam, working in a tech firm in Neelankarai on East Coast Road, had come to Agaramthen village near Selaiyur to visit his piece of land with his father Chandrasekhar (73) on a two wheeler.

The two were returning home via Chennai Bypass when a kite thread slashed his neck. He started bleeding and lost control of the vehicle and fell down.

He died on the spot while his father was taken to a private hospital.

Siva Prakasam is survived by his wife and two daughters. Though the police had been announcing the ban on manja kites on a regular basis, they have not been able stop the menace till now despite the fact that the last few years had witnessed many such deaths on Chennai roads many times.

Police suspect that two groups were engaged in betting on flying manja kites (gummed, coloured and coated with powdered glass) on Chennai Bypass when the fatal mishap happened. The open-spaced Chennai Bypass always attracted kite flyers because of the stiff wind blowing there.

The Chennai Bypass is notorious not only for bike and auto rickshaw racing but also kite flying where different groups engage in competition over a bet, police sources said.

Participants would entangle the glass powder coated manja while flying their kites in the sky and try to cut off the string of each others kites by pulling it. The winners kite keeps flying while the losers kite gets cut and drifts away with the wind and it can cause fatal accidents like the one which happened on Tuesday at Chennai Bypass, police revealed.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang presents the annual work report at the NPC. (Photo : Getty Images)

Speaking at the National People's Congress, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang released the country's annual work report and said that the central committee will crack down on state-owned enterprises.



Li also said that the government intends to give incentives to foreign investors which have businesses in areas not directly controlled by the central government. He also committed to pay more attention to investors' needs.



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Upon presentation of the report, Li said, "Local governments can, within the scope of the powers granted by law, adopt preferential policies to attract foreign investment."



He added, "China's door is going to keep on opening wider, and China will keep working to be the most attractive destination for foreign investment."



Li also said that the government will cut steel production by 50 million tons of steel and 150 million tons of coal, which will be on top of the reductions done last year.



The reduction will result in job cuts as much as 1.8 million but the government only cut 726,000 jobs due to pressure from labor unions of the Communist Party.



Beijing anticipates the many laidoff workers will take action to the streets. The foreign investments are intended to absorb the labor surplus.



"This year, to reduce excess capacity, we need to make accommodation for 500,000 workers," Chinese Labor Minister Yin Weimin.



Analysts think that the recommitment to foreign companies is done so that the central government can focus on growing the Chinese economy.



Paul Gillis, co-director of the IMBA program at the Guanghua School of Management, said, "What we are seeing now is a recommitment to foreign investments. Both foreign and private Chinese capital will be given a greater role in the Chinese economy."



"I think this gives the green light to local governments to try special incentives, such as those in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, to attract foreign companies," he added.


Coimbatore: A 29-year old conservancy worker was killed today in a freak mishap when a garbage bin fell on him from a lorry in the city.

Ramesh, a contract labourer, was adjusting the bin on a hydraulic lift, when it suddenly fell on him, resulting in his death on the spot, police said.

The driver of the lorry was taken into custody for interrogation, they said.

A group of conservancy workers gathered at the spot and demanded that the family of the deceased be paid Rs.15 lakh as solatium besides a permanent job to a family member, they said.
Chennai: When Asia Week New York launches its ten-day extravaganza on March 9, many of the top-tier galleries will showcase contemporary work alongside classical objects, while others will be devoted solely to present-day works of art, in New York according to a release from the organisers.

What it failed to mention is that Subash Chandra Kapoor  a prominent art dealer and international idol smuggler who ran Art of the Past, Manhattan will not be participating in it.

The onetime Asia Week exhibitor, Subash Chandra Kapoor, is cooling his heels in Puzhal Prison here ever since Idol Wing sleuths extradited him to Chennai from Frankfurt in 2011.

Subash Chandra Kapoor is a second-generation art dealer. His father Parshotam Ram Kapoor too dealt with rare artefacts in early 50s.

Subashs notoriety came to light after his role was established in the idol heists from the State. He had pulled off the heists and smuggled atleast 36 ancient idols mostly belonging to the Chola period. He managed to ship 27 idols from the lot to his art gallery, and emerged as the kingpin of the international racket.

The racket primarily involved in removing the traces of rich culture through smuggling antiques from ancient temples through his studious research.

His contacts in India, Pakistan, Dubai, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangkok are well established.

Investigations revealed that he had used his wide network of museum curators and dealers to source, transport, and sell antique items of art value especially idols using forged documents.

This year more than 50 vendors are participating - the most ever - but organisers are still mindful that a year ago, federal officials and the Manhattan district attorneys office raided several dealers during a crackdown on antiquities smuggling.

They seized eight items and later charged one of the Asian art markets leading figures with trafficking in stolen goods. Last years seizures were a setback for the festival, for which reported sales dropped to $130 million, from $360 million the year before.

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations confiscated two items from Christies after linking them to a long time Manhattan Asian art dealer, Subhash Kapoor, who the authorities have said ran the largest antiquities smuggling network to operate in the United States, an excerpt from an article published in The New York Times read.
The increasing availability of cash and taxes levied on card transactions has led to people eschewing digital platforms in favour of the more familiar cash transactions. (Representational image)

Visakhapatnam: The Union governments ambitious plan to turn the nation into a digital economy, which was thought to have been accelerated post-demonetisation, has lost its steam with the number of credit/debit card, wallet and mobile transactions declining.

According to the Reserve Bank of Indias representative data of electronic payment systems, there were 100 million fewer transactions in February 2017 compared to December 2016 at point of sale (PoS) counters through bank cards.

The increasing availability of cash and taxes levied on card transactions has led to people eschewing digital platforms in favour of the more familiar cash transactions.

Even the higher penetration of PoS machines, ATMs, and mobile wallets, following demonetisation, have not helped increase the number of transactions in the ensuing months. A cursory look at wallet and mobile transactions is sufficient to understand how things have turned over time.

Mobile transactions have seen a drastic fall from 70 million transactions in December 2016, to 55 million transactions in February 2017. Wallet transactions have also witnessed a 20 per cent decline during the same period.

People ditch card payments

According to observers, the cash crunch was acutely felt in the aftermath of demonetisation and so people took to card payments, digital wallets and online transactions to cope with the situation despite the tax burden.

There were endless stories about the chaos and unprecedented rush at banks and harrowing stories about the difficulties the public experienced after demonetisation. But gradually, with the ready availability of cash, digital payment was back to square one.

Convenor of the United Forum of Bank Unions, CAS Prabhakar, said that the withdrawal of Rs 1,000 and 500 notes from circulation had initially given an impetus to digital transactions.

We had also aggressively pushed consumers towards the digital economy by setting up more PoS machines and through other means. But now the digital economy initiative may have lost the initial enthusiasm. However, the declining numbers can be partly attributed to the lean months of January and February in terms of business, Mr Prabhakar explained.

Founder and CEO, Cove Venture, and lead thinker and trainer of Rajbodh, a Hindu think-tank, Madhava Turumella, who has been touring India for the last one week, said, Its no more an electronic payment system in India. People are only transacting in cash. Nowhere are there app-based cashless transactions. Merchants are asking for payment in only cash form.

B V Chandrasekhar, a financial analyst working with a stock broking company, points out that the majority of outlets still have no avenues for accepting digital payments.

It has been a great challenge for the government to bring all the people of the country onto the digital economy platform. People have already started using cash for all transactions and ditched the card payments, he said.
Hyderabad: The Deccani Biryani Makers Association has lost a nine-year battle to obtain Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Hyderabad Biryani.

The GI registry in Chennai has ruled that the applicant has failed to prove the historical origin of Hyderabad biryani with supporting documents.

Interestingly, the orders sent to the applicant association returned to the GI registry from their address in Dillu Apartment opposite to SP road in Hyderabad.

The GI indicates that a product is certified as possessing certain qualities, and is made according to traditional methods or enjoys a certain reputation according to its geographical origin.

The Deccani Biryani Makers Association applied for the GI tag for Hyderabadi Katchi Gosht Biryani in April 2009, represented by its secretary Zubair Ahmed.

Details of the method of making the biryani (katchi yakhni method), quality control, and human skill involved were submitted with photographs to GI officials in Chennai.

Applicant can appeal to IPAB

According to GI Registrys Assistant Register, Chinnajaraja G. Naidu, after years of correspondence, a showcause hearing was fixed for January 23, 2017. However, no representative of the applicant showed up for the hearing.

The consultative group A consultation was held initially by P.H. Kurian, Controller General of Patent Designs and Registrar of GI, in 2009. In its examination report, the GI registry directed the applicant to produce documentary evidence of historical data from the Gazetteer and proof of origin of the product.

In 2010, the applicant filed a reply but did not answer the queries raised in the examination report. The applicant can now appeal to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in Chennai within three months.

Mr Ahmed, secretary of the Deccani Biryani Makers Association, told Deccan Chronicle, We have given all data. I dont know how they refused. This is the recipe from a bygone era. On the other hand, they gave GI to Hyderabad haleem. We have produced photos of how it is made and at least three generations of cooks testified to it. The whole world knows it as Hyderabadi biryani. If there is no history it would not have been famous. They should tell us what historical evidence they need. We couldnt get the Nizam eating biryani. We should not lose the tag to Lucknow who is our competitor.
Two other gang members are under detention, and four are absconding. Eliah had moved court through his wife Shalini after the High Court turned down his appeal. (Representational image)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted time till tomorrow (Thursday) to the Telangana government to release from preventive custody a person who stole five saris.

The court asserted that preventive detention law under which a person can be detained for an year without any trial or bail should be applied only in rarest of the rare cases.

It is a drastic measure. It needs to be applied in rarest of rare cases when there is a serious threat to society, a bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul told Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, who appeared for Telangana. Ch Eliah, accused of stealing saris, has been in preventive detention since March 19, 2016.

CJI tells TS, its a bad practice

Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar did not accept the submission of the Solicitor-General when he justified the preventive detention of the accused, Ch Eliah, as he was an habitual offender.

The CJI said that it would pass adverse orders if it did not take a decision by Thursday on releasing Eliah. Eliah has been under preventive detention since March 19, 2016. He has been accused of habitually stealing saris along with six members of his gang.

Two other gang members are under detention, and four are absconding. Eliah had moved court through his wife Shalini after the High Court turned down his appeal.

The CJI said You can arrest them and appeal to the court that they should not be granted bail. A person let us assume he is a thief, but still you cant keep him under preventive detention for one year. We are not inclined to allow you to detain him further... you cant use preventive detention against such persons. It is a very bad practice.

Justice Chandrachud said even if he is a goonda it does not justify his detention under the preventive detention law.
Lucknow: Come polls and many jail birds land in the poll arena in Uttar Pradesh.

While there are many musclemen who are trying their luck in the ongoing state polls from behind the bars, there are others who are supporting their kin from behind the prison walls.

Mafia Mukhtar Ansari, a four-time MLA from Mau Sadar, tops the chart in the league. He is contesting polls from the Mau seat against Alka Rai (BJP), whose husband Krishnanad Rai was killed allegedly by Mukhtar.

Not only Mukhtar, his son Abbas and brother Sigbathullah Ansari are also in the fray from Ghosi and Mohammadabad seats and the don himself is trying his best to ensure they emerge victorious after he was denied parole by the court.

Aman Mani Tripathi lodged in Dasna jail (Ghaziabad) in connection with the murder case of his wife Sara is contesting as an independent candidate from Nautanwa seat (Mahrajganj).

His father Amar Mani Tripahti and mother are also in jail in connection with the poetess Madhumita Shukla murder case.

His campaign was managed by siters Tanushri and Alankrita, who left no stone unturned to ensure victory of their brother.

Another candidate, Shyam Narain Singh alias Vineet Singh who is lodged in Ranchi jail in connection with a kidnapping case, is in the fray from Sayedraza seat in Chandauli on a BSP ticket.

For Vineet his family is campaigning while he is managing things from jail.

There are some like Sanjeev Maheswari, who is lodged in Mainpuri district jail and is facing several cases including that of murder. They are not in the fray directly but are very much in the poll arena.

Sanjeev managed to get a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket for his wife Payal Maheshwari from Muzaffarnagar and kept an eye on her campaigning.

Another accused in the Krisnhnand Rai murder case, Prem Singh alias Munna Bajrangi is in Jhansi jail but his wife Seema is contesting from Madiyahun seat in Jaunpur on Apna Dal (Krishna Patel faction) ticket.

Munna is lodged in Jhansi district jail and faces trial in eight criminal cases.

Former BJP MLA Udaybhan Karwariya lodged in Mirzapur jail is managing the poll campaign of his wife Neelam Karwariya contesting from Meja seat in Allahabad on a BJP ticket.

Some other known musclemen have also fielded their wards in thse assembly polls.

While in Raebareli, five-time MLA and muscleman Akhilesh Pratap Singh's daughter Aditi Singh is trying her luck, another mafia-turned-politician Rizwan Zaheer?s daughter Zeba Rizwan is contesting for the first time from Tulsipur Assembly constituency in Balrampur.

According to an analysis of self-sworn affidavits of the total 4,823 candidates in this election (out of the 4,853 overall in the fray) by the Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 859 have disclosed criminal cases against them (18 per cent) and further 704 have serious criminal cases (15 per cent) pending against them.
Bengaluru: In an effort to placate peeved second rung leaders, who set March 15 as the deadline for revamp of almost a dozen district units, state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa discussed the vexed issue with leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, K S Eshwarappa, here on Tuesday.

The top leaders met a day after about 24 leaders threatened to complain to central leaders if changes were not effected by March 15. These second leaders also announced their intentions to set up a committee to tour the state and gather the opinion of district office bearers on internal problems as a four-member committee constituted at the behest of president Amit Shah had not met even once.

Sources in the state unit of BJP said Mr. Yeddyurappa and Mr Eshwarappa discussed reconstitution of the list of state and district office bearers list in the wake of complaints that loyal workers were ignored in appointments to these units. Mr. Yeddyurappa reported agreed to convene a meeting of the four-member co-ordination committee soon after announcement of results of elections to the Legislative Assembly in five states. Meanwhile, sources close to Mr Eshwarappa said Mr Yeddyurappa agreed to put to an end to ongoing tussle within the party. I will definitely consider the demand of party workers. If the contribution of loyal party workers has been ignored, I am ready to redo the list in the interest of our party, Mr. Yeddyurappa reportedly assured Mr Eshwarappa. In turn, Mr. Eshwarappa has requested Mr Yeddyurappa to consider the genuine demand of party loyal workers, as also requested revocation of the suspension order of few second rung leaders. Sources said Mr. Yeddyurappa was not in a mood to hear complaints of disgruntled leaders, but changed his mind after those leaders set the March 15 deadline for state unit leaders to set right anomalies in the party.

Loyal party workers were upset with appointment of districts presidents and secretaries to Tumakuru, Shivamogga, Ballari, Bidar, Kalabaurgi, Haveri, Belagavi, Mysuru and Davangere units.

At the meeting held today, Mr. Yeddyurappa reportedly said due to a hectic tour of drought affected districts and party organizational work, he could convene the meeting.
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday came under opposition's attack for the alleged increase in atrocities against women and children, even as the Chief Minister assured that the accused would not escape the law.

Hitting out at the government over the recent incidents of alleged sexual abuse of seven children at Kalpetta, death of two minor sisters at Walayar in Palakkad and the rape of a teenaged girl allegedly by a Catholic priest, the Congress-led UDF Opposition blamed "police inaction" for the "increasing" crimes.

Replying to the notice for an adjournment motion moved by the UDF, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was taking the incidents very seriously and was committed to bring the accused before law.

"None will escape the arms of the law, however highly placed the accused may be," he said, adding that no accused would get any protection. He also rejected the opposition's charge that the police was inactive and that they remained a mere spectator.

Vijayan said in the Walayar case, where two minor sisters were found hanging in their house, post-mortem and chemical examination reports had revealed that they had been sexually exploited. A case was registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 376 (rape) of the IPC, he said.

In Kottiyoor, where the vicar allegedly raped the 16-year-old girl following which she gave birth to a child, he said it was only due to police vigil that prime accused Fr Robin, who was allegedly trying to flee to Canada, was nabbed from near Nedumbassery airport in Kochi.

"A representative of God has committed such a grave crime. He has such a criminal mind and was trying to escape abroad when he was caught," Vijayan said.

"No accused will be spared and none would be allowed to escape in all such cases. Police is not viewing cases against women and children as trivial incidents but treating them very seriously," he said.

On the recent alleged abduction and attack on a film actress in Kochi, he said the probe was moving in the right direction.

Describing the rape of seven minor girls of an orphanage at Kalpetta in Wynad as "unfortunate", he said six accused had been arrested and charged under various sections, including rape and also the POCSO Act.

Earlier, seeking notice for adjournment, K Muraleedharan from the Congress alleged that a lack of police vigilance led to increasing crimes against women and children after the LDF came to power. He also expressed anguish that the House was

discussing such an issue on the International Women's Day.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said despite Kerala claiming to be 100 per cent literate, there were an increasing cases of sexual assaults against women and children.

"We are not blaming the government but due to its inept response, the attacks are increasing," he said.

The opposition members, including the Kerala Congress (M) and the BJP staged a walkout after the government disallowed a discussion on the matter.
Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused to meet an all-party delegation from the state which was planning to submit a memorandum to him on various issues, including the cut in the rice quota under the PDS and financial aid to meet the drought situation in the state.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who made a statement in this regard in the Assembly on Tuesday, said the state had sought a meeting with the prime minister on either March 20 or 21.

The PMO informed the chief minister's office that the prime minister was unavailable due to his busy schedule and that the delegation could meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh or Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The PMO could have suggested another day for meeting the prime minister as it was the normal practice, but did not do so, the chief minister said.

Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said Mr Modi's refusal to meet an all-party delegation was an insult to the people of the state. Former chief minister and Congress leader Oommen Chandy also criticised Mr Modi and said the PMO should have suggested a convenient date for a meeting.

However, lone BJP member O. Rajagopal said the party leaders were politicising the issue. The interpretation given to the PMO's reply was not correct as the prime minister is a busy person, he said.

Later, Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan asked the state government to convey its protest to the centre in this regard.
China worries that "deglobalization" will hamper the country's growth. (Photo : Getty Images)

Premier Li Keqiang presented the annual work plan of the Communist Party for 2016 and reported that the country experienced 6.7 percent growth that was high but still below China's annual GDP target.



He also said that even at below target, China is still the fastest growing country in the world.



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"GDP reached 74.4 trillion yuan, representing 6.7 percent growth, and seeing China outpace most other economies," he read from the report.



The premier highlighted the importance of globalization. China will be challenged by deglobalization and protectionism.



He said, "World economic growth remains sluggish, and both the deglobalization trend and protectionism are growing."



"There are many uncertainties about the direction of the major economies' policies and their spillover effects, and the factors that could cause instability and uncertainty are visibly increasing," he added.



The premier is referring to the protectionist approaches that are now being employed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Britain.



Li said, "China is a responsible country."



"We have always striven to honor the commitments we have made, and we will firmly defend our due rights and interests," he added.



The premier is referring to gearing up for the fight for the South China Sea, which the country is owning and is facing multiple protests from Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.



China also wants to develop the army and spend more on security. The budget for 2017 has just been topped off by a 7 percent increase.



Professor Bates Gill, from the Australian National University, said, "They're starting again from a very low base in terms of it being a naval power."



"So we ought to expect that we will see the bulk of the major investment for Chinese military modernization to be in its navy and from a Chinese perspective that's absolutely necessary," the expert noted.


What eventually became known as International Womens Day was something of a novelty 100 years ago today, when female workers took to the streets of Petrograd to voice their demands for bread and peace, prompting working men to follow suit.

None of the instigators knew they were sparking a revolution. Within days, the tsar of all the Russias abdicated. The nations absolutist monarchy came to a sudden end. A provisional government was put in place, but it was obliged to share power with the already established Soviets of Soldiers and Workers Deputies.

There was some crossover between the two institutions. Alexander Kerensky, for instance, who became justice minister and eventually led the provisional government was also a social revolutionary deputy in the Petrograd soviet. The post-tsarist administration diverged sharply from the popular will in deciding to persist with Russias role in the First World War. Bread, however, could not be won without peace. And before long it became obvious that the primary group of deputies in the Soviet who were unequivocally demanding an end to Russias role in the war belonged to the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party.

The war had not been going well for Russia. By desperately seeking to cast himself as a warrior-king, Tsar Nicholas II only served to provide further evidence of his widely catalogued weaknesses.

By many accounts, Nicky  as he was known to his royal cousins in Germany and England  was a reluctant emperor, well aware of his inadequacies in the autocratic role. That did not, however, incline him towards meaningful reforms. In 1905, in the wake of a revolutionary upsurge following a defeat against Japan, he had acceded, against his better judgment, to the demand for an assembly known as the Duma.

It was hardly a democratic institution, but its relations with the palace were nonetheless fraught. St Petersburg was rechristened as Petrograd at the outset of the war because the original nomenclature seemed too German, but Nicholas could do little about the fact that his wife was also of German origin. It wasnt just her ethnicity though that earned the empress the growing mistrust of her subjects, but the fact that she was completely under the spell of a self-ordained and inordinately lecherous holy man by the name of Grigori Rasputin.

The mad monk, as he became known, claimed to be the sole individual capable of curing the tsarinas only sons haemophilia. He also came to exercise considerable control over affairs of state, making his wishes known to the tsar via his wife. In 1916 alone, according to a recent account by Christopher Danziger in Oxford Today, He was responsible for dismissing four Prime Ministers, five ministers of the interior, three foreign ministers, three war ministers, three ministers of transport, and four ministers of agriculture.

When Prince Felix Yusupov  one of Russias richest men, who had inherited his title via his mother from Tatar ancestors generously rewarded for converting from Islam  masterminded Rasputins assassination at the end of that year, it was with the express purpose of preserving the monarchy. Subsequently asked whether his action had in fact precipitated the overthrow of the tsars, Yusupov reportedly responded: The revolution happened because I didnt kill him in time to stop it.

There may be something in that, but the consequences of the revolution were also hard to handle for the disparate successor regime, which found itself increasingly at odds with the restive Soviets, who were beginning to spring up across the vast country.

The February Revolution (thus known because Russia at the time followed the Julian calendar) tends to be looked upon as merely the prologue to that momentous year, but it was a crucial watershed  spearheaded by a largely female vanguard.

By arrangement with Dawn
A crudely designed low-intensity bomb blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain Passenger on Tuesday morning, in which nine persons were injured, and the subsequent killing of a terrorist holed up in a Lucknow suburb well after midnight by the anti-terrorism squad, have been highlighted in the media, on the basis of police briefings, as part of a conjoined terrorist operation that points to an Islamic State connection. While investigations will tell us where these two separate incidents come together, if at all, it is surprising the police created so much off-the-cuff drama with a reference to the dreaded ISIS, the international terror outfit that has outdone Al Qaeda in brutality. No proof has, however, been offered.

This is hardly surprising. The police, across the country, is known to pack the chargesheet of an arrested person with offences from practically every IPC section in the hope that some will stick. But mostly it doesnt as the police work is bad  partly out of sloppiness, but also due to lack of training and proper forensic equipment. Courts have thrown out the prosecutions contention in so many cases involving terrorism that the phenomenon has become an embarrassment and made the police an object of ridicule, which is unfortunate.

Police officers rush to sections of the media hungry for excitement, but are unable to back up their claims in court. This has happened even in some high-profile cases, such as in Hyderabad. The downside of this is that in the minority communities  Muslims and Sikhs (such as in Punjab)  the police is seen as biased, and this is a bad advertisement for anti-terror operations in a country where fighting terrorism should be serious business. Terrorism quite appropriately tops the chart of Indias security priorities, and we do need to be vigilant of new mutations of the virus such as ISIS.

The bright spot in Tuesdays developments was the apprehending of half a dozen suspects in the train blast case, based on concealed camera footage in Madhya Pradesh, the advance tracking by the UP police of some terrorism suspects at various places in the state, and the coordination between MP and UP. The outlines of an extremist organisation, of even a rudimentary kind, that was prepared to use violence, is discernible.

The way the Lucknow incident was dealt with by the authorities leaves much to be desired, however. A senior police officer was all over television making statements that have been proved to be false. This official is clearly in need of retraining in dealing with terrorism. The entire operation was carried on with hundreds of onlookers mingling happily with the uniformed personnel, many standing on duty with hands in their pockets. Greater professionalism appears to be urgently needed.
This drama reveals BJPs real agenda

Sandeep Dikshit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MP from Varanasi, is the principal campaigner for the BJP  perhaps the only one. He sets the agenda for the party and its campaigns, and manages to buy and bully the media into projecting his speeches, campaigns and statements as screaming headlines. Uttar Pradesh is psychologically and politically very important to him, and not just for its size. The prospect of losing to a coalition is a very unappealing thought to him.

How do we read this hyped, soap-opera-type, hysterical, 24-hour media coverage of an MP visiting his constituency? That a PM must spend time campaigning for MLAs in his constituency, I accept. That a PM campaigning in his constituency would grab more eyeballs and garner media interest is also fine. What is intriguing are how the various episodes in this mega serial played out.

Roadshow Battle: I was in Varanasi where everyone knew that the BJP and the SP-Congress parties had roadshows lined up on the same day. What raises eyebrows is the blatant blank out of the huge SP-Congress turnout both by print and electronic media and the non-stop coverage of PM Modis roadshow.

The (Non) Achievement List: Apart from a couple of Central government-financed infrastructure investments that tinkered with Varanasis issues, Mr Modis record as an MP for his constituency has been abysmal. He sounded desperate in his speeches that advertised his absent contributions, and had no connect with Kashi voters.

We all know too well that when we are nervous about our lack of achievements we cloud it by raising unrelated issues like the state of the nation, or fundamentalism or corruption of others to divert attention of the people. The Varanasi MP did just that.

The Communal Cauldron: The BJPs propaganda in UP over the past few months has been clearly and nakedly communal. Those voting as Hindus only are voting for the BJP, those voting for greater development and maintenance of law and order or justice are voting for SP, Congress, BSP, etc. True to form, Mr Modi went for the communal jugular at the very onset by visiting the Kashi Vishwanath temple, televising his puja there and feeding a cow in full glare of the media. How is his personal religious activity of any relevance here?

The Outsider Teams  Central government ministers, nearly 300 volunteers from various business corporations and a huge contingent of Gujarati businessmen descended on the city like a swarm of flies. What were the businessmen doing there? They were simply wheeler-dealers who were used to manage finance, run clandestine campaigns, influence people through illegal appeals and undertake covert propaganda activities outside the purview of the Election Commission and the local administration (interestingly, the Aam Aadmi Party uses the same tactics).

In sum, while the PM is nervous about Varanasi, as he is about UP, what all this drama really reveals is BJPs real agenda. The veneer of development and nationalism is fast eroding. He projects the image of a Hindu-hriday-samrat, of a Hindu national rather than Indian national.

Whatever be the results in UP  PM Modi knows one thing  if people vote along communal lines, he wins, if they vote as Indians, he loses.

The writer is a national spokesman of the Congress

Modiji is a jansampark to his voters

Harish Khurana

Finally, the month-long campaign and polling for the final phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections got over on March 8. We saw a lot of interesting political punches shared between Bua-Bhatija and the Yadav parivar. The Gayatri Prajapati mantra also created a lot of hue and cry, but the biggest buzz in political and media circles was created by the three-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi.

The Opposition has been alleging that the PMs visit was an act of desperation as the BJP has gone jittery ahead of the results. But we must remember that for Varanasi, Mr Modi is not only the Prime Minister of India but also its member of Parliament. He is their representative! So I dont understand when an MP communicates with his voters in his own constituency, how can it be called an act of desperation?

We the people of India had witnessed that during the rule of UPA-1 and UPA-2, the then Prime Minister simply could not attract a large or for that matter any crowd. So we became accustomed to a PM with a rather unremarkable personality and very low popularity.

But Prime Minister Modi is different  he is popular. People crave to listen to him. Truly, he is not only the most popular leader in the county but also the star campaigner of the BJP.

Modiji is a jansampark to his voters: he visited the Garhwa Ghat Ashram and ex-PM Lal Bahadur Shastris ancestral house in Ramnagar, Varanasi. He also visited the village that he has adopted as an MP. Why is nobody discussing this?

I would like to ask the great Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh how many times they have visited Lal Bahadur Shastris ancestral house? After all, he belonged to their party.

Also, I would like to ask our present Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal how many times he has visited Varanasi after he fought the election from there? Do these stalwarts just know the language of politics only, not the language of common people?

So my take on the issue is that when a Prime Minister interacts with people from his own constituency it is good sign of a vibrant democracy. Those who are having doubts about Mr Modis intentions are insulting the people of Varanasi.

The mindless propaganda by the Opposition also demonstrates that they dont have anything substantial to discuss. Clearly they cant talk about development as that will backfire because they havent done anything for the state. The Congress is nothing but being opportunistic  they have been raising the slogan 27 saal UP behaal, but now are in alliance with the ruling Samajwadi Party, who is primarily responsible for the sad state of affairs in UP! Also, if the SP was confident about its development work in UP, it would not have agreed to the alliance with a party that is fast disappearing from this country. So these issues have been raised just to confuse the voters, and also send a message to a particular community that only they can beat the BJP.

The ground realty is that the people have decided to vote for change in UP and support the issues raised by the BJP.

The writer is a Delhi BJP spokesman
A Vega launcher carrying the Sentinel-2B satellite lifts off from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana on March 7, 2017 (Photo: AFP)

Europe launched a fourth satellite Tuesday for its Copernicus Earth-monitoring project to track changes in forest cover and air pollution, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced.

The 1.1-tonne, "colour-vision" Sentinel-2B satellite blasted off on a Vega rocket from Europe's space port in Kourou, French Guiana, overnight, and was successfully placed in Earth orbit, it said.

In about three days, controllers will start calibrating instruments to commission the satellite, which is to start operations in three to four months.

"With this launch we are taking another step toward advancing the Copernicus programme, which is the most sophisticated Earth observation system in the world," ESA director general Jan Woerner said in a statement.

Two more satellites are to follow in the coming months.

Sentinel-SB, a twin of Sentinel-2A launched in June 2015, will zoom in on changes in the Earth's land mass and coastal zones -- forest cover and pollution in lakes and coastal waters, for example.

Between them, the Sentinel-2 pair will cover the Earth's entire surface in five days. They are placed in the same orbit, on opposite sides of the planet, 180 degrees apart.

"Each Sentinel-2 satellite carries an innovative high-resolution multispectral camera with 13 spectral bands for a new perspective of land and vegetation," the agency said.

"The combination of high-resolution, novel spectral capabilities, a field of vision covering 290 kilometres (180 miles) and frequent revisit times will provide unprecedented views of Earth."

Sentinel-1A was launched in April 2014 and Sentinel-1B two years later. They are equipped with special cloud-penetrating radar with which to monitor Earth's surface by day and by night, regardless of the weather.

Future satellites will focus on ocean data and Earth's atmosphere.

By mapping areas stricken by flood or earthquake, Copernicus will also help emergency teams identify worst-hit areas and locate passable roads, railway lines and bridges.

Copernicus, a programme of the ESA and European Commission, is named for the 16th-century Polish astronomer who determined that the Earth orbited the Sun, and not the other way round, as convention had it at the time.

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Facebook clinched victory Tuesday in a German court case brought by a Syrian refugee whose selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel had made him the target of racist trolls.

The court ruled that the US social media giant was not obliged to actively search out and delete defamatory posts, like those that had falsely linked the claimant to Islamist attacks and violent crimes.

Anas Modamani, 19, had sought an injunction demanding that the company, represented by Facebook Ireland Limited, stop the spread of such slanderous fake news, which have been shared countless times.

Modamani and his lawyer Chan-jo Jun had demanded that Facebook actively search out and take down all libellous posts using the famous selfie images - not just those they had flagged to the company.

They argued Facebook could use its algorithms to automatically identify them, just as it does to take down copyrighted music or images with nudity.

The court however judged that Facebook had not "claimed ownership" of the posts in question - suggesting primary responsibility lies with those who wrote and posted them.

In cases of "serious personal injury", it was justified to demand an "increased search effort" by Facebook, the court in the southern city of Wurzburg found.

However, it also said it was unclear whether Facebook could reasonably conduct such pro-active searches "without major technical hurdles".

The court said this question may have to be settled by another court hearing that could ask IT experts to testify.

'Difficult situation'

Jun, the IT lawyer, declared himself "disappointed" and said he would not pursue the case further as he had himself become the target of personal threats on social media.

He also said that if German law could not prevent such online vitriol against his client, then "we need new laws".

Jun has demanded stiff fines in cases where Facebook spreads content illegal under German law, such as incitement of racial hatred, arguing that "it must become more costly to break the law".

Facebook voiced sympathy for Modamani's "difficult situation" but greeted the court's position that legal action was "not the most effective way to resolve the situation".

It said that, just as it had blocked previously reported hate posts targeting the Syrian man, "we will continue to respond to all legitimate reports by Mr Modamani's legal representatives".

A Facebook spokesman added that, "in terms of the content people share on our platform, we are continuing to comply with our obligations under German law".

'Xenophobic fury'

Modamani arrived in Germany in 2015, along with a mass influx of almost 900,000 refugees and migrants.

When Merkel visited his Berlin refugee shelter in September that year, he took two selfie images with her in jubilant scenes also captured by news photographers.

Since then, those emblematic images have been reposted in different, often false, contexts, at a time when xenophobic fury flared online against Merkel's liberal stance on refugees.

Often anonymous users have cut and pasted Modamani's picture into "wanted" posters and fake reports, typically alleging that the refugee made famous by the Merkel selfie had later turned out to be a terrorist.

Other posts have falsely linked Modamani - who is now taking German language courses and working in a fast food restaurant - to delinquents who tried to set fire to a homeless man in Berlin last Christmas.

A surge of far-right and other hate speech on Facebook and other social media in Germany has raised political heat on the companies in recent years.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas has warned they could be punished if they do not comply with German law.

Facebook and other web giants pledged in 2015 to examine and remove within 24 hours any hateful comments spreading online, in particular over the mass influx of migrants.

This January - in the wake of the US presidential election when Facebook was accused of helping the spread of fake news - the company pledged measures to take down "unambiguously wrong reports" being shared on its platform.

It also said it would offer a simpler reporting process for fake news, display warnings next to statements identified as false by independent fact-checking organisations, and cut off advertising revenue to fake news sites.

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Google said that it will be translating an entire sentence of Hindi, Russian and Vietnamese in one go.

Users can now count on Googles official Translation app to seamlessly translate an entire sentence in Hindi, Russian or Vietnamese in one go. The company has apparently improved the way its translation service functions with the help of its AI-powered deep neural networks.

The company took to its official blog website to make this announcement. Over the next couple of weeks, these improvements are coming to Google Translate in many more languages, starting right now with Hindi, Russian and Vietnamese, the company wrote.

The company considers the neural translation that they introduced sometime last year, a lot better than their previous technology. The reason: Google translates whole sentences at a time, instead of pieces of a sentence. This makes for translations that are usually more accurate and sound closer to the way people speak the language, the company wrote.

The company will slowly be bringing the neural networking technology to more languages.

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Hyderabad: Google India is betting big on imparting IT literacy to hundreds of thousands small entrepreneurs by enabling them to tap online demand. India, the worlds sixth largest economy is being nudged towards adopting cashless payments as the number of smart phone users rise in the country.

We believe technology is an incredibly democratising force. For small and medium businesses (SMBs), it can be a powerful enabler to build their voices online, make them discoverable by users and provide insights that lead to real business results, said Kevin OKane, managing director, Google Marketing Solutions, Google Asia Pacific.

He was speaking at an event organised here to launch Googles new programme Digital Unlocked  an online, offline and mobile training programme for Indian SMBs.

According to a joint study conducted by Google and KPMG, 68 per cent of the 51 million Indian SMBs are offline.

Citing the benefits of businesses getting online, the study said: Digitally engaged businesses are able to grow their customer base with 52 per cent catering to customers beyond their home city as compared to 29 per cent in offline SMBs.

As part of Digital Unlocked, Google will conduct offline training in partnership with FICCI, while online training videos are curated at g.co/digitalunlocked. The mobile training could be imparted through a free mobile app Primer.

SMBs were one of the key focus areas of Google CEO Sundar Pichai during his India visit in January. He had launched Primer, for Indian users by providing the content in Hindi. Primer was launched globally in 2014 for imparting online skills. It is planning to provide content in Tamil, Telugu and Marathi soon.

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Female customers will be given a Lolliflash worth Rs.899, the photography accessory for a smartphone free with every purchase of a Zenfone 3 Max series Smartphone.

On the occasion of Womens Day, Taiwanese technology giant ASUS has announced a special surprise to celebrate the women of the country. Female customers will be given a Lolliflash worth Rs.899, the photography accessory for a smartphone free with every purchase of a Zenfone 3 Max series Smartphone  Zenfone 3 Max 5.2, Zenfone 3s Max or Zenfone 3 Max 5.5 (ZC520TL, ZC521TL, ZC553KL respectively) between 6th and 12th March 2017 or till stocks last, whichever is earlier.

The Lolliflash is a lollipop shaped dual-tone LED torch that improves the quality of low-light photos and videos taken on a smartphone or tablet. Available in 5 colors- White, Blue, Black, Red & Yellow, the Lolliflash acts as a separate fill-in light. Weighing 8 grams, it is portable with a built-in battery that lasts up to three hours. Lolliflash has different color filters  White, Blue and Red, three brightness level settings and Anti-Red-Eye to further enhance the photography experience.

The Zenfone 3 Max series - Zenfone 3 Max 5.2, Zenfone 3s Max and Zenfone 3 Max 5.5, sport premium sleek metal body, 4100 mAh / 5000 mAh battery that lasts up to 3 days and with reverse charging capability, fingerprint sensor that registers up to five separate fingerprints, 3GB RAM and 32 GB Storage and VoLTE support.

Zenfone 3 Max is available in all outlets and e-commerce portals across India at:

Zenfone 3 Max ZC553KL (5.5 inch, 16MP/8MP)  Rs 16,999

Zenfone 3s Max ZC521TL (5.2 inch, 13MP/8MP)  Rs 14,999

Zenfone 3 Max ZC520TL (5.2 inch, 13MP/8MP)  Rs 12,999

Zenfone 3 Max 5.2/5.5 are available in 3 colours: Titanium Grey, Sand Gold and Glacier Silver while the Zenfone 3s Max is available in 2 colours: Black and Gold.

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Rick Osterloh, Google Hardware lead, clarified at MWC last week that the Pixel 2 will remain in the premium price segment.

After Apple ditched the traditional headphone jack in its latest flagship, the upcoming Google smartphone is also ready to forgo the jack, according to a report by 9to5Google.

According to the report, Google is testing multiple prototypes of Pixel 2. The smartphone is slated to be launched this year and will be in the premium price segment.

There is an annual rhythm in the industry. So, you can count on us to follow it. You can (also) count on a successor this year, even if you dont hear a date from me now, Googles newly appointed hardware lead Rick Osterloh said earlier this week.

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South Korean tech-giant Samsung rolled out the Android 7.0 Nougat update to most of its devices including the S7 and S7 Edge smartphones in numerous countries. While S6 handset users were expecting the same some time soon, the company has officially confirmed that the update will be delayed for Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones.

Samsung said that the update will arrive to Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge devices by the end of the February previously. However, the company apparently needs to review its quality and therefore, the update has been pushed to a later date.

The company hasnt mentioned when the update will arrive. However, reports suggest that the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones will probably be the last ones to receive the OS update.

The Android 7.0 Nougat update for Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones brings about a multitude of neat features including multi-window support, quick reply directly from the notification bar and an enhanced performance.

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India will still allow the visit of the Dalai Lama amid protests from China. (Photo : Getty Images)

An editorial from Chinese state media talked about China-India relations. The article focused on India's ongoing support for the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.



The Dalai Lama will be visiting Arunachal Pradesh next month, a visit that is done every year. China has been requesting India to stop the entry of the spiritual leader.



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The article on the Global Times said that if India allows the visit, "it will inevitably trigger confrontation, undermine the stability of the region and sour Sino-Indian relations."



Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, "The Indian side knows very well the seriousness of the Dalai issue and the sensitiveness of the boundary question."



Arunachal Pradesh lies in a disputed territory that China and India have been battling out for years.



The state publication slammed Indian officials for welcoming the Dalai Lama. The article wrote, "These Indian officials apparently didn't realize, or deliberately ignored, the severe consequences the Dalai Lama's trip would bring."



The Global Times said that India should follow the example of Mongolia, which already banned the Dalai Lama from entering the country.



China realized that India is using the Dalai Lama's visit as a bargaining chip for them to try to gain leverage over bilateral talks between the two countries.



The state paper said that this move by India is a wrong one and might lead to bad relations between the two countries.



The editorial stated, "Against such a backdrop and at a time when a China-India strategic dialogue was just held to improve bilateral relations, the decision to receive the Dalai Lama in the disputed region is unwise."



India remains firm on the decision and is not affected by statements from the foreign ministry.



Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Gopal Bagley said, "The government's position is well known and has not changed."


The exterior view of the headquarters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. (Photo: AP)

Johannesburg: South Africa has formally revoked its controversial decision to leave the International Criminal Court following last month's High Court ruling that such a move would be unconstitutional.

Notice of Pretoria's decision to end the withdrawal process was posted on the UN's treaty website this week, although it does not necessarily spell the end of its bid to leave the Hague-based court.

South Africa had in October announced it would withdraw from the UN court which was set up to try the world's worst crimes following a dispute sparked by its refusal to arrest visiting Sudan President Omar al-Bashir.

The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Bashir over alleged war crimes, but South African authorities refused to detain him, saying he had immunity as a head of state.

The decision to leave the UN court sparked widespread criticism, but on Tuesday, Pretoria informed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that the process by which it had begun withdrawing "was found to be unconstitutional and invalid".

"In order to adhere to the (High Court) judgement, I hereby revoke the Instrument of Withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court with immediate effect," the notice on the UN's treaty website said.

Last month, the North Gauteng High Court ruled that the government's bid to quit the ICC was unconstitutional because it had failed to properly consult parliament.

The case was brought by the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. Although Pretoria complied with the court ruling, this week's decision to cancel the withdrawal process may only be a temporary reprieve, with the government expected to table a bill in parliament to win approval for South Africa's departure from the court.

Although the High Court ruling was a blow to President Jacob Zuma, it was welcome news for the ICC, which has been hit by a number of withdrawal threats following complaints of an alleged bias against Africa.

Late last year, The Gambia had notified the UN it was withdrawing from the ICC in a process which was swiftly reversed under the government of new President Adama Barrow, who took office in January.

Burundi has also registered to leave, while Kenya is considering following suit. Currently, nine out of 10 ICC investigations concern African countries, with the only other case concerning Georgia.

However, experts point out that many of the current cases -- in Central African Republic, Uganda, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- were referred to the ICC by the governments of those states.

Bashir has evaded arrest since his ICC indictment in 2009 for alleged war crimes in Sudan's Darfur conflict in which 300,000 people were killed and two million forced to flee their homes.

The South African government's decision not to arrest him was denounced as "disgraceful conduct" by the country's Supreme Court which also ruled that the failure to arrest the Sudanese leader was unlawful.

The ICC was set up in 2002 in The Hague as a court of last resort to try the world's worst crimes where national courts are unable or unwilling to act.

The court is unable to carry out investigations in countries which have not ratified its founding Rome Statute unless the United Nations refers a case for investigation.
In this undated photo provided by Kranti Shalia, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, right, poses for photo with his wife Sunayana Dumala. (Photo: AP)

Washington: Kansas Governor San Brownback has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing "profound regret" at the terrible act of violence against the Indian nationals last month and said that acts of hate and intolerance have no place in his state.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and Alok Madasani, another Indian of the same age, injured in a shooting by navy veteran Adam Purinton, who yelled "terrorist" and "get out of my country" before opening fire on them in Kansas last month.

The Kansas incident and the two hate crime incidents against Indians and Indian-Americans since then has sent shock waves among the large Indian community in the US.

"As Governor of the State of Kansas, I would like to express my deep sadness and profound regret at the terrible act of violence committed against Srinu Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani. The people of Kansas share in my shock and horror.

Words cannot express the sorrow that we feel for Srinu's wife, Sunayana, and his family in Hyderabad," Brownback wrote.

"In the time since Srinu's death, we have reflected on his life, and the words I have heard most often to describe him are that he was courageous, and that he loved his family, and that he respected elders. We strive to live in Srinu s example of courage and love and respect," he wrote in the letter dated March 3, a copy of which has been seen by PTI.

Brownback wrote that Kansans have been awed by Sunayana's grace and determination. Her indomitable spirit has moved the entire community and they pray for her comfort and peace in this time of grief.

Telling the Prime Minister that open arms of friendship are the very hallmarks of being a Kansan, the Governor said Srinu embodied the essence of what it means to be a Kansan.

"His friends describe him as charming, caring and loving. He brought with him his immense talents and education and passion. His story is similar to the thousands of Indian diaspora who have called Kansas home over generations," he wrote.

"They have enjoyed tremendous success through their ingenuity, hard work, and determination. Our state has thrived because of their contributions," Brownback wrote, adding that he would like to personally welcome Indians to his state.

"Before they moved here, Sunayana said: 'Kansas was (the) instant choice.' We are humbled that this was the case. I would like to personally welcome Indians to Kansas, and assure them that Kansas is a welcoming, hospitable place," he said.

Noting that Sunayana also spoke about being without her family in Kansas, Brownback wrote in the letter that it is their solemn hope that the community in Olathe and all of Kansas may nourish and love her in the difficult months ahead.

"Acts of hate and intolerance have no place in Kansas. Since our founding, Kansas has fought against injustice and senseless hatred. We are recommitted daily to protecting our family, our neighbors, our guests. We find wisdom and peace in the Sanskrit mantra 'Satyameva Jayate'," Brownback said.

The Governor had met the Indian Consul General Dr Anupam Ray in Topeka and expressed his sincere condolences and reiterated his strong commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment in Kansas.
Washington: Ukraine's foreign minister has told US senators that sanctions against Russia shouldn't be eased and possibly should be ratcheted up as Moscow escalates its military aggression against its western neighbour.

Testifying with representatives from other Eastern European countries affected by Russia's belligerence, Pavlo Klimkin on Tuesday, told the Senate Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee that he had just come from a meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who assured him the Trump administration will support Kiev in its standoff with Moscow.

But the signals President Donald Trump has sent since the 2016 presidential campaign stoked unease in foreign capitals. Trump has made clear he desires improved relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin while at the same time questioning the value of NATO and other longstanding alliances.

Concerned that Trump may act on his own, a bipartisan group of senators is pushing legislation that would require the president to get approval from Congress before easing US economic and financial penalties against Moscow.

The Trump White House also is eyeing a dramatic reduction in foreign aid and diplomatic spending. Last week, Tillerson agreed in principle to the 37 percent cut but wants to spread it out over three years rather than in one dramatic cut.

The combined budget this year for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development was USD 50.1 billion, a little more than 1 percent of the total federal budget. The White House is looking for massive savings across the non-defence portions of the government's budget to offset a proposed USD 54 billion increase in military spending.

Piotr Wilczek, Poland's ambassador to the United States, said the proposed cuts "sound really dangerous." He said he hoped the reductions can be prevented because Poland and other countries in the region rely heavily on support from the US. "We hope that people who think this way will change their minds because American leadership in this region is essential," Wilczek said.

Russia's incursions into eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea in 2014 have drawn widespread condemnation in Europe and the United States along with a raft of sanctions.

Klimkin told the subcommittee that Russia's policies toward Ukraine can be expressed in one word "war." More than 9,800 Ukrainians have been killed in the conflict, nearly 28,000 have been wounded and almost 1.8 million have been displaced.

He urged Congress to continue providing Ukraine with money for security assistance, including defensive weapons. Ukraine is "on the front lines," Klimkin said. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, the foreign operations subcommittee chairman, said he also wants better ties with Russia.

But he said that will never happen until Moscow changes its practice "of trying to grind democracy into the ground."

After Trump's victory in November, Graham pledged to use his position in the Republican majority to investigate what he called "Russia's misadventures throughout the world."

Graham also leads the Senate Judiciary crime and terrorism subcommittee, which has launched an inquiry into Russia's efforts to influence elections in the United States and other countries.
A freight train smashed into a charter bus in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks authorities said. (Photo: AP)

Biloxi (US): A freight train crashed into a bus full of Texas tourists visiting Gulf Coast casinos, killing four in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Forty people were hurt, seven critically. The cause of the Tuesday afternoon crash was under investigation.

Witnesses told Mississippi news outlets the bus appeared to have been stuck on the tracks when it was hit. The crossing is on a steep embankment and has a sign warning drivers that it has a low ground clearance.

Authorities on the scene said it took more than an hour to get everyone aboard the bus out of the wreckage. Two people had to be removed with metal-cutting equipment. The CSX Transportation locomotive pushed the bus about 300 feet before coming to a stop with the mangled bus still straddling the tracks.

Police chief John Miller said he was unsure why the train was stopped on the tracks.

"We don't know if there were mechanical issues or what was taking place," he said.

Miller said the Echo Transportation bus had come from Austin, Texas, carrying passengers to one of Biloxi's eight casinos. Ameet Patel, senior vice president of regional operations for Penn National Gaming, owner of Hollywood Gulf Coast Casino in Bay St. Louis and Boomtown Biloxi Casino, said the bus was traveling from the Hollywood casino to the Boomtown casino at the time of the crash.

The weeklong trip was organized by a senior citizens' center in Bastrop, Texas, about 30 miles east of Austin. Some passengers boarded in each city Sunday. They also were supposed to visit New Orleans and then return home Saturday, according to a flier about the tour posted by Texas media.

The names of the dead were not immediately released.

Michelle Crowley of the Biloxi fire department said 40 people were injured; of those, seven were in critical condition.

A woman who lives about a block from where the train and bus finally came to a stop after the train crashed into the bus says she heard a "loud boom" and knew immediately what had happened.

Cecelia McDonald said she ran out of her house and saw a scene of carnage.

Witnesses told the Sun Herald of Biloxi that the bus was stuck on the tracks for about five minutes before he saw the train hit it. Mark Robinson said some people were getting off the bus as the driver tried to move it, and at least one person was shoved under the bus when the train hit.

A nearby car was used as a stepladder after the crash to get people off the bus, and emergency workers pulled passengers through windows.

Robinson said he thinks the train track, which is on an embankment, poses safety issues.

"It's too steep there," Robinson said.

In addition the sign warning of a low ground clearance, the crossing has a bell, lights and crossing arms.

Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney says rescuers needed one hour and four minutes to clear everyone from the wreckage. Two people had to be cut out of the bus.

Vincent Creel, the city spokesman, said 48 passengers and the driver were on the bus.

The train was headed from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, at the time of the crash, said CSX spokesman Gary Sease. He said the train crew was not injured. The single track is the CSX mainline along the Gulf Coast, passing through densely populated areas of southern Mississippi.

Federal Railroad Agency records show 10 trains a day typically use the track, with a maximum speed of 45 mph. Records show there have been 16 accidents at the crossing since 1976, including in 1983 and 2003, each of which involved one fatality. A delivery truck also was struck at the same crossing in January, WLOX-TV reports. No one was injured in that crash.

The bus was marked as belonging to Echo Transportation, which Texas corporate records show is a unit of a company called TBL Group, based in Grand Prairie, near Dallas.

"We can't confirm anything at this point," said Elisa Fox, a lawyer for the bus company. "We're trying to mobilize to assess the situation."

Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Marc Willis said the agency is sending three inspectors to investigate, while Mississippi is sending one. The National Transportation Safety Board said it also is investigating.
Anchorage: In an abrupt about-face, Alaska marijuana regulators on Tuesday decided to once again attempt to write rules that would allow the onsite consumption of pot in retail stores.

During a high-profile meeting just last month, the board cited fears over how the Trump administration might crack down on marijuana, even in the eight states where recreational use is legal, in letting proposed regulations wither, would have made Alaska the first state in the nation to allow onsite use.

Those fears weren't mentioned on Tuesday as the board voted 4-1 to attempt to come up with a new set of rules that would eventually be sent out for public comment.

After the meeting, Alaska Marijuana Control Board Chairman Peter Mlynarik couldn't say what changed in the last month that might have alleviated fears over what the federal government might do.

"Well, I think last month, had a regulation written in a certain way that died," he said. "So now the project is out again, and we don't know what form that's going to take yet."

Mlynarik asked board members to review the proposal that was rejected in February, and to send their thoughts to staff members about what they would like to retain in new regulations, what they would like removed and anything else that they would like to add.

Board members could review the new proposal as soon as the April meeting, and then send it out again for the public review.

Nicholas Miller, a board member from Anchorage representing the industry, said he's in favour of all types of consumption, including smoking and vaping - an idea that Mlynarik was sour on because of concerns about second-hand smoke.

Miller said he didn't want to totally rule out smoking and vaping, adding there could be considerations for separate, outside areas.

The lone dissenting vote was from Loren Jones of Juneau, who represents public health on the board.
Ohio (US): Police say a northeast Ohio man apparently fatally shot his pregnant girlfriend at her home before killing himself, leaving a gruesome scene discovered by the woman's mother and son.

Medina police say 36-year-old Julie Young and 43-year-old Cedric Jones were found dead Monday afternoon.

Police Lt. Dave Birckbichler tells the Akron Beacon Journal that the pair reportedly had a volatile, on-and-off relationship and investigators were trying to figure out where that stood. Birckbichler says the deaths left Young's family with many questions, but it's basically a closed case for police.

Young's father, Philip Duke, tells Cleveland.com that his daughter was a caring mother of two boys from a previous relationship and that her boyfriend didn't want to have a baby.
Authorities say Zhao told 911 dispatchers on Jan. 9 that his daughter was sleeping in the back of Ang's Asian Cuisine restaurant in North Canton before she vanished. (Photo: Representational Image)

Ohio (US): An Ohio couple who reported their daughter missing before the 5-year-old's body was found hidden at their restaurant in January have been indicted on murder and corpse-abuse charges.

Authorities say 29-year-old Mingming Chen repeatedly punched Ashley Zhao and that the girl's father, 34-year-old Liang Zhao, unsuccessfully tried to revive her and then tried to help conceal her death.

Authorities say Zhao told 911 dispatchers on Jan. 9 that his daughter was sleeping in the back of Ang's Asian Cuisine restaurant in North Canton before she vanished. Police found the girl's body hidden inside the business the next day.

The jailed parents were indicted Tuesday.

Court records don't list current attorneys for them. A lawyer who represented Zhao at an earlier stage in the case has said that Zhao maintains his innocence. An attorney for Chen, a Chinese immigrant, at that point declined to comment.
Top Republican leaders are backing away from President Donald Trumps claims that then President Barack Obama wiretapped his Trump Tower last year during the election campaign.

House Intelligence chairman Devin Nunes, a member of Mr Trump's transition team, brushed aside the President's allegations saying the news media were taking Mr Trumps weekend tweets too literally. The President is a neophyte to politics  hes been doing this a little over a year ... Sometimes he doesnt have 27 lawyers and staff looking at what he does  I dont think we should attack the president for tweeting.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said: We have an existing intelligence committee looking at all aspects of what may have been done last year related the Russians or the campaign and well leave it there.

On Saturday, Mr Trump had tweeted: Is it legal for a sitting President to be wire tapping' a race for President prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW! He followed it up with: How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!

Mr Trumps accusations were underscored by a report that FBI director James Comey, asked the Department of Justice over the weekend to reject the Presidents charge.

The White House, however, is firmly on the Presidents side.When asked if the President regretted his attack on the Obama administration, White House press secretary Sean Spicer replied: No. Absolutely not, adding, Why would he withdraw it until its adjudicated? Its not that hes walking anything back or regretting.

However, he was unable to offer any evidence or source of Mr Trumps accusation, the Independent reported. Thats probably a level above my pay grade, Mr Spicer said, while adding: Its not a question of new proof or less proof or whatever.


Donald Trump met Russian ambassador to the US last April during the height of the presidential election, according to media reports, despite repeated denials of any meeting with Kremlin officials prior to his election.

News reports published at the time that have now resurfaced says Mr Trump briefly met Sergey Kislyak in Washington around six months before polling day.

According to the Independent, the reports state that the two men met while Mr Trump was at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on April 27 last year. Mr Kislyak was said to have been seated in one of the front rows for the then-Republic candidates speech.

During his speech Mr Trump had called for better relations with Moscow: I believe an easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia, from a position of strength, is possible.

Meanwhile, the White House is trying to downplay the meeting between the two. If they met, it was in passing at arrival reception, a senior White House official said.
New York: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has blamed North Korea for the killing of Kim Jong Un's estranged half brother Kim Jong Nam.

This latest development comes as North Korea has repeatedly denied any involvement in Jong Nam's murder.

"What we are facing now is the result of their action in assassinating their own citizen in Malaysia, on Malaysian soil, using a strictly banned chemical weapon," the Bernama news agency quoted Najib, as saying on Wednesday.

Both countries are currently engaged in a diplomatic row as Malaysia banned North Korean citizens from leaving after Pyongyang temporarily banned Malaysians from leaving the country.

Kim Jong-nam, was poisoned on February 13 with deadly nerve agent VX. North Korea has repeatedly disparaged the murder investigation, accusing Malaysia of conniving with its enemies.

Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for the assassination, and Kuala Lumpur has sought several North Koreans for questioning, although the only one it arrested was released for lack of evidence.

So far, two women - one Indonesian and one Vietnamese - have been detained, along with a North Korean man. Seven other North Koreans have been named as suspects or are wanted for questioning.
Members of the Cambodian royal family visit President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Photo : Getty Images)

President Xi Jinping received Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath in Beijing.



Xi said that exchanges between the two countries should be done more often to create development strategies.



The Chinese president appreciated the long-standing friendship between the two countries. The special relationship started with the late Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk.



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The late king stayed in China for 40 years until his death in 2012.



King Sihamoni made a visit to the Chinese president to pay a courtesy call but was mainly in the country for his annual physical check-up.



The king's physicians are Chinese and go to the country twice a year. While in Beijing, he also said that he appreciates the friendship offered by China and the economic development brought about by the Silk Road initiative.



Observers think that the China-Cambodia relations are strong because Cambodia's economy is so underdeveloped that it desperately needs China to support them.



In fact, China ushered $5 billion in loans and investments. This is 70 percent of total foreign direct investments in the country. China also owns most of garment and food manufacturing factories in Cambodia.



China is heavily into construction, mining, infrastructure, and hydropower. Investors from China have 369,000 hectares of land concessions to develop sugar, rubber, paper and other crops.



Cambodia likes China's aid because they are not compelled to accept with conditions from the funder, which is what the U.S. is doing.



An editorial from American publication The Economist wrote, "Cambodia also uses China as a hedge against the West. Chinese money comes with no strings attached, unlike most Western donations, which are often linked to the government's conduct."



Even the Cambodian government is not shy to admit that they need China's aid. Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, said last year: "Without Chinese aid, we go nowhere."


Hundreds of Rohingya are thought to have been killed during a brutal campaign by Myanmar security forces in Rakhine to find militants accused of carrying out deadly raids on police border posts. (Photo: AFP)

Dhaka: Thousands of Rohingya who took refuge in Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar have returned home because of a Bangladeshi plan to house them on an uninhabited flood-prone island, community leaders said Wednesday.

Nearly 73,000 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh since last October, when government forces in Myanmar unleashed a bloody crackdown on the Muslim minority. Many told horrific stories of villages being burned and women gang-raped.

Most headed to the already overcrowded refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh's main tourist resort district which borders Myanmar.

The influx led Dhaka to resurrect a controversial plan to relocate refugees to an undeveloped island in the Bay of Bengal.

Community leaders told AFP more than 5,000 Rohingya had now returned to the Buddhist-majority nation despite the risk of persecution.

"They chose to die by bullets than to be killed by nature," community leader Noor Hafiz said.

"People became very concerned after they learnt about the relocation plan. We heard the island submerges during the monsoon. Now we can only hope the situation back home is better."

Hafiz said 3,000 people had left his camp, while another 2,000 people had left two separate newly-built makeshift refugee camps.

"They said they don't want to die in flash floods," said Dudu Mia, a Rohingya who heads another camp called Leda.

The Bay of Bengal is frequently hit by cyclones. Rights groups have dismissed the plan to populate the island of Thengar Char with refugees as "ridiculous".

Nonetheless the Bangladesh government has ordered the construction of a jetty, helipad and visitor facilities on the 6,000-acre (2,430-hectare) island.

Last week it began a Rohingya headcount as part of its relocation campaign after seeking international support for the plan.

Bangladesh says some 400,000 Rohingya are now living in squalid conditions at refugee camps in the country, although most predate the recent unrest in Myanmar.

A Border Guard Bangladesh official also said growing numbers of Rohingya were returning, although he gave a much lower figure.

"Last month 48 refugees notified us they were leaving Bangladesh for home," Teknaf Major Abu Russell Siddique told AFP.

"This month, in a week, the number has reached 235."

Siddique said parts of Myanmar's Rakhine state, where most of the country's Rohingya live, were now stable.

"As far as we know, only people from the villages which were unaffected (by the crackdown) are returning," he said.
An Indian man masquerading as a doctor in Australia for more than a decade was eventually discovered by a private medical company, media reports have claimed.

Shyam Acharya, who is believed to have left the country, is accused of working under false pretences at several hospitals from 2003 to 2014, New South Wales (NSW) Health said. He also became an Australian citizen. Mr Acharya reportedly stolen the name and qualifications of an Indian doctor, Sarang Chitale, to become registered as a medical practitioner in NSW, where he worked in hospital emergency departments until he failed to meet Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency requirements, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

After leaving hospitals, Mr Acharya worked for a private medical research company under the same fake identity between June 2015 and September 2016. However, the management discovered that he may have misrepresented his identity and qualifications, the report said.

Mr Acharya faces a fine of up to $18,700 but is likely to have left Australia, said NSW health minister Brad Hazzard on Wednesday. It is quite disturbing that a foreign national could get through our border protection with a false passport and ID based on an Indian citizen who had trained as a doctor, Mr Hazzard said in a statement.

Australian police and immigration officials are investigating how Mr Acharya was awarded citizenship. The belief is that he actually trained in a medical course, possibly in India, Mr Hazzard told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Whether he actually completed that qualification is a moot point.
Geneva: The UN human rights chief took aim at US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying the United States needed better leadership to meet challenges like surging xenophobia and religious discrimination.

In a keynote speech to the United Nations rights council's main annual session, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he was "concerned by the new administration's handling" of key issues.

"Greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities," Zeid added.

Zeid warned that Washington's "vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims" as well as "false claims" about higher crime rates among migrants "fuel xenophobic abuses."

And, taking direct aim at Trump personally, Zeid said he was "dismayed at attempts by the president to intimidate or undermine journalists and judges."

Major media organisations as well as press freedom groups have accused Trump of demonising journalists in an unprecedented manner for a president, including by describing the media as "the enemy of the people."

The United States holds a seat on the 47-member rights council and had been an active member through much of Barack Obama's eight-year term.

But, representing the Trump administration last week, assistant secretary of state Erin Barclay told the council its work was often at odds with core American values, notably over its criticism of Israel.

Zeid had been the first top UN figure to speak out against Trump's initial travel ban and on Wednesday blasted a revised executive order that bars entry of people from six mainly Muslim countries.

The rights chief said the measure raised the risk of potentially illegal deportations.

"Expedited deportations could amount to collective expulsions ... in breach of international law," Zeid said, stressing his concern about its impact on children and "families torn apart."

In a broader condemnation of attitudes toward migrants, Zeid accused European politicians of spreading fearful messages that portray vulnerable foreigners as "criminal invading hordes".

"Many ordinary people in Europe have welcomed and supported migrants, but political leaders increasingly demonstrate a chilling indifference to their fate," Zeid told the council, specifically noting migrants who have reached Europe via the Mediterranean.

The UN leader then singled out Hungary, where parliament on Tuesday approved the systematic detention of all asylum-seekers in container camps, a move urged by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Referencing Orban's claim last month that "ethnic homogeneity" was vital for the Hungary's economic success, Zeid said: "No society is homogenous, least of all in Central Europe".

"These toxic notions of so-called ethnic purity hark back to an era in which many people suffered atrociously," he added.

Separately, Zeid called for the UN's highest level probe -- known as a Commission of Inquiry -- into abuses against civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
United Nations: On the eve of International Womens Day, UN rights chief warned that the womens movement around the world is facing a backlash that hurts both men and women.

In an official statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein said, We need to be alert  the advances of the last few decades are fragile and should nowhere be taken for granted.

The UN High Commissioner added that it is extremely troubling to see recent roll-back of fundamental legislation in many parts of the world.

Such roll-backs are underpinned by the renewed obsession with controlling and limiting womens decisions over their bodies and lives, and by views that a womans role should be essentially restricted to reproduction and the family, he said.

While such pushbacks are carried out in the name of tradition, Mr. Zeid noted that they are often a response to segments of society calling for change.

Among examples he gave, Mr. Zeid pointed to recent legislation in Bangladesh, Burundi and the Russian Federation, which weakens womens rights to fight against child marriage, marital rape and domestic violence, respectively.

He noted also the fierce resistance in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to political and civil society efforts to open up access to sexual and reproductive rights.
Kuwait City: Kuwait is building one of the world's longest causeways to its remote north where it will pump billions into "Silk City", aiming to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route.

The oil-rich emirate is eager to inject life into the uninhabited Subbiya region on its northern tip that has been chosen as the location for Silk City. The plan is to reinvigorate the ancient Silk Road trade route by establishing a major free trade zone linking the Gulf to central Asia and Europe.

The 36-kilometre (22-mile) bridge, three-quarters of it over water, will cut the driving time between Kuwait City and Subbiya to 20-25 minutes from 90 minutes now. Investment in the Silk City project is expected to top $100 billion, and a 5,000-megawatt power plant has already been built in Subbiya.

At a cost of 904 million dinars ($3.0 billion), the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway, named after the emir who died in January 2006, is one of the largest infrastructure ventures in the region. It is already nearly three-quarters completed.

Despite the sharp drop in oil income which made up 95 percent of public revenues, the emirate has pledged to keep spending on capital projects almost intact.

Kuwait boasts a $600-billion sovereign wealth fund, and is in the middle of a five-year development plan stipulating investments worth $115 billion.

"The causeway project is a strategic link connecting Kuwait City to the northern region," said Ahmad al-Hassan, assistant undersecretary for road engineering at the public works ministry.

He told AFP that in addition to the fully integrated residential Silk City, other economic ventures are planned for Subbiya and its surroundings. A large container port is also under construction on nearby Bubiyan, Kuwait's largest island.

Completing the causeway and harbour projects will pave the way for transforming the area into a commercial and investment hub with a free trade zone planned on five small islands nearby.

The causeway project consists of the main bridge north to Subbiya and a 12.4-kilometre (7.7-mile) bridge running west, dubbed the Doha Link.

The two bridges start from the same point at Shuwaikh Port, the country's main commercial port. "If we take the Subbiya bridge alone, it is the fourth longest in the world," Hassan said.

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the United States is the world's longest bridge over water, stretching 38.44 kilometres (23.8 miles). The two Kuwaiti bridges are scheduled for completion in November next year, project engineer Mai al-Messad said.

"We have already completed 73 percent of the project and hope to finish it ahead of the contractual period," Messad told AFP.

The Subbiya bridge sits on more than 1,500 piles with a diameter of up to three metres (10 feet) each, some of which have been driven as deep as 72 metres (240 feet) into the loose clay seabed, Messad said.
The Syrian army and its allies have captured the main water pumping station that supplies Aleppo in a sweeping advance against Islamic State that has brought them to the bank of the Euphrates. (Photo: AFP)

Beirut: The Syrian army and its allies have captured the main water pumping station that supplies Aleppo in a sweeping advance against Islamic State that has brought them to the bank of the Euphrates, a group that monitors the conflict said on Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army and allied forces made rapid gains east of Aleppo city, as Syrian and Russian planes pounded the rural areas.

They recaptured the al-Khafsa area on the western bank of the Euphrates River, where the water treatment and pumping plants are located, after the jihadist group withdrew the Observatory said.

A Syrian military source had said earlier on Tuesday that the army had advanced to areas very close to both.

Aleppos main water supply has been cut off for nearly two months, and the citys residents now rely mainly on ground wells or water purchased from private vendors.

A military media unit run by Hezbollah, a Lebanese ally which is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assads government forces, also quoted a military source as saying the army had advanced and regained the al-Khafsa area.

Islamic State is losing ground in northern Syria to three separate campaigns - by the Russian-backed Syrian army, by U.S-backed Syrian militias, and by Turkey and allied Syrian rebel groups.

Aleppo was Syrias most populous city before the war began nearly six years ago and has been entirely in government hands since December when the last rebel enclave in its eastern districts was overrun following months of intense fighting.
About 84 per cent of the total 195 million population in Pakistan do not have access to safe drinking water. (Representational image/ PTI)

Islamabad: About 84 per cent of Pakistanis donot have access to safe drinking water, a minister said in Islamabad.

The startling disclosure was made by Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanvir Hussain in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, yesterday, according to the Dawn newspaper.

Hussain said according to a study by Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), only 72 per cent water supply schemes in the country were functional and 84 per cent of those had supplied water that was not fit for consumption.

About 84 per cent of the total 195 million population in Pakistan do not have access to safe drinking water.

The water from 14 per cent of supply sources in Sindh and Punjab were found to be heavily contaminated with arsenic, well above the permissible limit of 50 parts per billion, Hussain said.

He said Rs 279 million had been spent on the project Provision of Safe Drinking Water over the past four years. As part of the project, six regional water quality

laboratories, under the PCRWR, have been upgraded and 17 new water quality testing laboratories have been established at the district level.

Funds were also used on the capacity building of 3,000 professionals associated with water supply agencies, Hussain said.

The information came as Law Minister Zahid Hamid informed the Senate that commercial banks in the country had earned profits exceeding Rs 472 billion in the last three years.
Former 'comfort women' who were forced to serve for the Japanese troops as a sex slaves during World War II, attend a rally to mark the March First Independence Movement Day, the anniversary of the 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule, near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: AP)

Shanghai: With its red-painted window frames and sooty facade, the empty two-storey building on Gongping Road is typical of many of Shanghai's pre-World War II structures -- but this one houses dark memories.

The crumbling mansion is one of 150 sites in the Chinese metropolis formerly used as "comfort stations", part of the vast system of sexual slavery established by Japan for its invading armed forces before and during World War II.

Around 30 are believed left in the city, but these silent witnesses to history are disappearing amid rapid urban development and China's hesitance to memorialise the painful episode.

"All these historical remains are slowly being demolished. There are fewer and fewer," said Bao Xiaqin, an expert on China-Japan relations at the city's Fudan University.

Mainstream historians agree that around 200,000 so-called "comfort women", mostly from Korea but also from other Asian nations including China, were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II.

Calls to preserve such sites, and remember their victims' suffering, have until recently been muzzled by China's desire to play down one of the most sensitive issues in its stormy relationship with Japan.

There are glimmers of hope. The Gongping Road site was to be razed in a redevelopment plan but was saved last year after historian Su Zhiliang highlighted the building's past and Chinese media amplified it.

But it remains an uphill battle for Su, of Shanghai Normal University, who has waged a crusade to spotlight "comfort women" suffering.

When he first began delving into the issue in the early 1990s, authorities prevented Su from publishing his research.

"The Chinese government has really not done enough. This is a wartime human rights issue, but in order to maintain good relations with Japan the government does not give the issue much support," said Su.

He now raises money for survivors, of whom there are only 17 known in China, none in Shanghai. Many were stigmatised and ostracised after the war, receiving no special government assistance.

But a rightward shift in Japanese politics, under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a more assertive China under President Xi Jinping, are giving oxygen to the issue, experts say.

A former "comfort station" in Nanjing, 300 kilometres (186 miles) west of Shanghai, was converted into a museum by local authorities, opening in December 2015.

Su, meanwhile, was granted permission to upgrade his display of archives into a museum, which opened in October in a building on his campus.

Just outside, a statue representing two "comfort women" -- one Chinese, one Korean -- also was unveiled.

China has also recently made available documents on "comfort women" from its official archives, amid an international effort to include them in the UNESCO International Memory of The World Register.

The effort proposes to recognise the Japanese system as a tragedy comparable to the Holocaust and Cambodian genocide.

"The Chinese state has latched onto this issue as a means of getting at Japan," said Edward Vickers, a researcher at Kyushu University in Japan.

"For the Chinese Communist Party it serves the purpose of portraying Japan as some kind of international pariah to some extent, now as in the past."

Japan finally acknowledged in the early 1990s that the "comfort women" system existed. It has apologised repeatedly and offered compensation.

It now bristles at growing efforts to shine further light on the matter. In January, Abe called on South Korea to remove a "comfort woman" statue placed defiantly outside the Japanese consulate in the city of Busan. Tokyo also recalled its ambassador in anger.

In a statement, Japan's consulate in Shanghai condemned Su's museum and the statue outside it as "extremely regrettable."

"We do not consider these actions helpful for improving Japan-China relations," it said. Su recently began talks with Shanghai authorities on preserving a building he believes housed the first-ever "comfort station" and converting it to a museum.

Flimsy wooden partitions in the building's interior divide it into dimly lit, makeshift apartment spaces.

Treading its creaky floorboards, an elderly woman said she -- like many living in or near former Shanghai "comfort stations" -- have heard of the buildings' histories.

"After the Japanese came they could do whatever they wanted. Who could control them?" she said, peering through thick glasses. City officials did not respond to comments.

"That even the first-ever 'comfort station' in the world has still not been fully protected, this is really regrettable, so we need to work hard," Su said.
Beijing: Following closely the military conflict at the border area of China- Myanmar in the Kokang region, China on Tuesday urges the concerned parties to maintain conducive to peace.

At least 30 people were killed Monday in a day of intense fighting in a town on Myanmar's border with China, authorities said, after rebels dressed in police uniforms launched a surprise raid.

In an official statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Geng Shuang said, Parties concerned should stop fighting immediately so as to prevent the situation from getting worse, and restore normal order in the border areas as soon as possible.

The clashes are some of the worst to break out in the Chinese-speaking Kokang region since fighting in 2015 left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee across the border into China.

The spokesperson said, The Chinese side supports all measures conducive to peace. Parties concerned should stay committed to peacefully resolving their differences through dialogue and consultation.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, some Myanmar residents living in the border areas have crossed over to the Chinese side for safety reasons. The Chinese side has offered them assistance in the spirit of humanitarianism, reads the statement.

Geng further added that the situation in Northern Myanmar concerns peace and tranquillity in the border areas between China and Myanmar.
In this photo provided by US Forces Korea, trucks carrying US missile launchers and other equipment needed to set up the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system arrive at the Osan air base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. (Photo: AP)

Beijing: China has said it will take unspecified measures against a US missile system being deployed in South Korea, and warned that Washington and Seoul will bear the consequences.

A foreign ministry spokesman said at a regular briefing on Tuesday that China firmly opposes the deployment of the missile defence system, after US missile launchers and other equipment needed for it arrived in South Korea.

Geng Shuang said China will definitely be taking necessary measures to safeguard our own security interest.

Geng added that all consequences resulting from that will be borne by the US and South Korea.

The equipment arrived Tuesday, a day after North Korea test-launched four ballistic missiles into the ocean near Japan.
Ma Li (Photo : Weibo/Ma Li)

Thousands of Chinese netizens gave their support to Chinese actress Ma Li who shared about a sexual harassment incident that occurred at a Shenzhen supermarket. The star of the 2015 film Goodbye Mr. Loser posted on Weibo on March 5 that a man grabbed her buttocks.



Ma Li wrote that she considered just letting the incident pass but decided to instead complain. The actress explained, If I didnt speak out, who knows how many women this kind of pervert would continue to harass.



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No Evidence



She reported the incident to the supermarket security guard and they looked for a CCTV footage a proof. But it turned out that the corner where she was sexually harassed has no camera installed. The man she accused of grabbing her behind denied doing it and because of lack of CCTV footage as proof, the man was allowed to go with no charges filed against him, Thatsmag reported.



As a result of the man being allowed to go with no charges, Ma Li said that she is very angry and helpless because this kind of person is too common, most females would choose silence, but I dont want to be silent. Two days after she posted on Weibo, her post has gotten more than 250,000 likes. It is also ironic that the incident happened very close to International Womens Day on March 8.



Anti-Defamation Law



Among the celebrities who supported Ma Li is Pan Changjiang, an actor and director, who said it is right for the actress to speak. He called her very brave and added 50 thumbs-up emoji to his post. But Ma Li could be in legal trouble because she posted online a photo of the man whom she claimed touched her body inappropriately. She could have breached the anti-defamation law on how easy it is to identify the man who eyes she just covered with a blue and white bar.


Talking about the South China Sea dispute, Wang said the issue has "calmed down" and warned that China will never allow the stability of the region to be disturbed again.

Beijing: China on Wednesday claimed that the South China Sea dispute has "calmed down" and said it will not allow the "hard-won" stability of the region to be "disturbed" again by outside forces.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's annual press conference was dominated by a host of issues, including the crisis in the Korean Peninsula and China's relations with the US after President Donald Trump's election.

Talking about the South China Sea dispute, Wang said the issue has "calmed down" and warned that China will never allow the stability of the region to be disturbed again.

"China will never allow hard-won stability in the South China Sea, (SCS) to be disturbed or undermined again," Wang said as Trump administration deployed an aircraft carrier in the disputed region to assert freedom of navigation.

In his media interaction, Wang took questions on China's ties with all major countries.

On the SCS, Wang said, "at this moment, if someone should try to make waves and stir trouble, they will have no support and face common opposition of the entire region".

Last year, China waged a major international campaign to ward off the impact of the international tribunal which struck down Beijing's claim over almost all of the SCS in response to a petition from the Philippines.

But the situation changed to Beijing's favour after the election of Rodrigo Duterte as President of Philippines who in a U-turn moved closer to China and agreed to set the SCS dispute aside in lieu of heavy Chinese investments.

Wang said since Duterte came to office, he has handled the SCS issue properly and actively improved the Philippines' relations with China, Wang said.

"The Philippines has extended a hand of goodwill, so China of course will embrace it with open arms of cooperation. China and the Philippines are making up the lost time. The potential of bilateral cooperation is rapidly growing," he said.

In less than six months since October last year, there have been about 1,000 new tourist groups from China to the Philippines, and China has imported more than 200,000 tonnes of tropical fruits from the Philippines, he said.

Cooperation on infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and dams, is being actively discussed, with some becoming operational this year, Wang said.
Security forces inspect the site of attack on a military hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)

Kabul: Gunmen dressed as doctors stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital on Wednesday, officials said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group as it makes inroads into the war-battered country.

The ongoing assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital left at least four people dead and 60 others wounded, with explosions and gunfire rattling Kabul's diplomatic district as dense clouds of smoke rose in the sky.

Medical staff hunkered down in the hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media, with local television footage showing some of them trapped on the ledge of a top floor window.

"Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us," a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

Hospital administrators told AFP three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats were on the loose after the first explosion struck, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility.

"The attackers are shooting everywhere," administrator Abdul Hakim told AFP by telephone.

"We are trying to bring the situation under control," he said in a frantic hurry before hanging up.

At least two other loud explosions were heard as Afghan Special Forces sought to rein in the attackers.

"This is a criminal act. Nothing can justify an attack on hospitals," said Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

"We will never forgive these criminals. Unfortunately, this attack has resulted in some casualties. The attackers entered the backdoor disguised as doctors."

The attack comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.

Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker snuck in, sending clouds of smoke billowing into the sky.

In the second attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The growing violence underscores rising insecurity in Afghanistan over the resurgent Taliban.

The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government's repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payrolls, have been struggling to rein in the Taliban since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Kabul last month endorsed US general John Nicholson's call for thousands of additional coalition troops in Afghanistan to fend off the militants before the spring offensive.
Security forces inspect the site of attack on a military hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)

Kabul: Gunmen disguised as doctors stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital Wednesday, killing at least 38 people in a six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group as it makes inroads into the war-battered country.

More than 70 others were wounded in the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, with explosions and gunfire rattling Kabul's diplomatic district as dense clouds of smoke rose in the sky.

Medical staff hunkered down in the hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media, with television footage showing some of them trapped on the ledge of a top-floor window.

"Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us," a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

Hospital administrators told AFP three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats began spraying bullets after a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up at the backdoor entrance, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility.

"I saw one of the attackers, armed with an AK-47 and dressed as a doctor, shooting at patients and guards on the third floor," hospital nurse Abdul Qadeer told AFP.

"They shot my friend but I managed to flee... I had to jump over the barbed wire to escape."

At least two other loud explosions -- including what the defence ministry called a car bomb in the hospital's parking lot -- were heard as Afghan special forces launched a clearance operation that lasted around six hours.

The attackers were gunned down after special forces landed on the roof of the hospital in a military helicopter.

"The attack in the capital's central Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood has killed 38 people and wounded more than 70," the Italian-run Emergency hospital said in a statement, adding that a seven-year-old boy was among those seriously injured.

The raid highlights how Afghanistan's warring parties, including government forces, have repeatedly targeted medical facilities, decimating the country's fragile health system and preventing conflict-displaced civilians from accessing life-saving care.

"This egregious and morally reprehensible attack targeted people at their most vulnerable, while they were receiving treatment in the hospital, and also targeted the medical staff caring for them," said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

"This cowardly attack reflects a fundamental rejection of the most basic principles of humanity. Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable."

Islamic State jihadists claimed the attack via a verified Telegram account.

The more powerful Taliban said they were not behind the raid. The militant group, Afghanistan's largest, is known to distance itself from attacks on medical facilities or those that result in high civilian casualties.

The assault comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.

Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker sneaked in.

In the second attack last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The carnage underscores rising insecurity. The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government's repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payroll, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Kabul last month endorsed US General John Nicholson's call for thousands of additional coalition troops to hold off the militants before the spring offensive.

Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be President Donald Trump's first major test of military strategy.
Islamabad: Pakistan will build an iconic skyscraper in Islamabad, which would be the tallest building in the capital city and serve as a symbol of the all-weather China-Pakistan friendship.

The "CPEC Tower" will serve as a symbol of socioeconomic progress Pakistan is making across all the fronts, the government said on Tuesday. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that the iconic building will attract investors and would serve as a symbol of Pak-China friendship.

The USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a mega network of roads, rail links, power plants and other infrastructure connecting northwest China's Xinjiang province to Pakistan's southern port of Gwadar.

In November last year, China started operating the Gwadar Port which is now connected with northwest China's Xinjiang region. Chinese trucks loaded with goods manufactured in China are brought to Gwadar Port for export to the Middle East and other destinations.

Iqbal said a high-level committee to be headed by Malik Ahmed Khan, member infrastructure of the planning ministry, will work on the proposed CPEC tower. However, the details of the tower or the cost of the project were not provided.

Addressing the meeting, Iqbal laid down tasks for the committee and directed authorities to acquire land for the tower. Iqbal said that the initiative will provide facilitation to Chinese and other investors from around the world. The tallest building would help build an image of Islamabad as a sustainable and vibrant city thriving upon entrepreneurship, science and technology, research and development, finance and culture, he said.

"The CPEC tower should be equipped with state-of-the-art hotel, office spaces, commercial spaces and modern facilities", the minister was quoted as saying by the Pakistani media.
Beijing: China today said this year's BRICS Summit hosted by it will seek breakthrough in political and security cooperation and widen the grouping's circle to make it the "most influential platform" for developing countries.

The summit to be held in September in the southeastern Xiamen city will seek breakthroughs in political and security cooperation making full use of the meeting of the national security advisors and negotiate initiating the first official

meeting of foreign ministers, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Other than China, BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

At his annual press conference, Wang said the grouping will build a platform for "south-south" cooperation, exploring a 'BRICS-plus' model by holding talks with other developing countries to establish a more extensive partnership.

"We will widen the circle of friends and turn BRICS into the most-influential platform for south-south cooperation in the world," he said. Referring to the challenges faced by some member-nations, Wang said the mechanism of emerging markets has seen ups and downs over the past years, and each member faces its own set of challenges.

Despite the ups and downs, the BRICS mechanism will not lose its lustre but will shine more brightly if its members stay united, he added. Wang did not elaborate which members he referred to. But China itself is facing pressures due to a slowdown of its economy - the world's second-largest.

"The BRICS countries are like five fingers, short and long if extended, but a powerful fist if clenched together," Wang said, quoting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

This year opens the second decade of the grouping, and the September meeting will be the ninth BRICS leaders' summit. As the chair, China will work with other members to review its experience, plan the future, usher in cooperation and

provide the "BRICS plans" for world peace and development, he said.

BRICS countries will expand pragmatic cooperation. "We will fully implement the strategy for BRICS economic partnership, enhance macro policy coordination and connection of development strategies, and work out a batch of solid

measures for cooperation," Wang said.

For people-to-people exchanges, the grouping will implement the agreements of their leaders to expand all areas of people-to-people exchanges, and build stronger public support for BRICS cooperation.

Wang also said China will host a major summit of global leaders in May for its multi-billion dollar Silk Road initiative, also known as 'The Belt and Road' initiative.

He claimed the ambitious project - which aims to improve China's connectivity with Europe and West Asia through a maze of roads and ports - has become the most popular platform for international cooperation with the brightest prospects.

More than 20 heads of state and government, about 50 leaders of international organisations and 1,200 delegates from various countries and regions will participate in the gathering in May, according to Wang.

India has joined the project's one part called the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Corridor (BCIM), and has protested to Beijing over the USD 46 billion China, Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) because it runs through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

India also has reservations over another part of the Silk Road initiative - the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road - over its impact in the Indian Ocean, which New Delhi considers as its backyard.

During the restructured Strategic Dialogue with China last month, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar outlined the issues, including matters related to PoK, stopping India from joining the CPEC.

Without referring to the sovereignty-related concerns, Wang said though the idea for a Silk Road came from China, the initiative belongs to the world, and it will benefit all.

Amid a rise in protectionism across the world, he said the initiative will help rebalance the economic globalisation by making it more universally-beneficial and inclusive.

Medium and long-term cooperation initiatives will be announced and long-term cooperation mechanisms will be explored during the May summit to build a closer and more result-oriented network of partnerships, he said
The latest incident was the worst since two Indian fishermen were shot dead in Sri Lankan waters in January 2011. (Photo: Representational Image)

Colombo: Sri Lanka will release Indian fishermen held for poaching as the two countries try to defuse tension along their maritime border after the killing of a fisherman, an official said Wednesday.

Local authorities will free 85 Indian fishermen held in custody since early this year without pressing charges, with India expected to reciprocate and release all 19 Sri Lankans in their custody.

"Both sides have decided to release all those fishermen in their custody," a senior government source said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

The move follows Sri Lanka's announcement Tuesday that it had agreed to a joint investigation into the killing of an Indian fisherman in the narrow strip of sea between the two countries.

The victim, who was reported to be 21, was shot dead Monday and Indian fishermen have said the Sri Lankan Navy was responsible, an allegation Colombo has flatly denied.

Fishermen from the two countries often stray into each others' waters, creating diplomatic difficulties, though most are detained. It was the first death in six years.

The latest incident was the worst since two Indian fishermen were shot dead in Sri Lankan waters in January 2011.

It has triggered protests in Rameswaram where the victim was from.

In 2014 Sri Lanka passed the death penalty on five Indian fishermen convicted of drug smuggling, but they were later released to Indian custody.
Another 6,848 Afghan citizens and 1,646 Pakistanis crossed back into their respective countries through the Friendship Gate at Chaman.

Islamabad: Nearly 20,000 stranded Afghans and about 2,000 Pakistanis crossed back to their countries yesterday when Pakistan opened the border with Afghanistan for two days which was closed last month after a string of militant attacks.

The crossings at Torkham in Khyber tribal region and Chaman in Balochistan province were opened to let those with valid documents to cross over.

12,549 people crossed over to Afghanistan at Torkham while 470 entered Pakistan from the neighbouring country, The Express Tribune quoted officials as saying.

Another 6,848 Afghan citizens and 1,646 Pakistanis crossed back into their respective countries through the Friendship Gate at Chaman, a senior Federal Investigation Agency official said.

"Most of the people who had valid visas or those whose visa had expired in these past 18 days have been allowed to return to their respective countries," a Khyber Agency political administration official told reporters.

"But those without proper travel documents have not been allowed to cross over to either side (through Torkham)." "We did not even entertain those Pakistani citizens who travelled to Afghanistan using only their identity cards," he said, adding that an alternative will be provided to them after authorities receive orders from the interior ministry.

However, those who crossed the border at Chaman were mainly Afghan and Pakistani traders travelling on special permits issued under an agreement signed between both countries' border authorities some months back.

Under the deal, traders with business based in Chaman or Afghanistan's Vesh Mandi town can obtain permits to cross the border after showing just their identity cards. Some 6,728 Afghans and 1,631 Pakistanis crossed the border at Chaman yesterday using the permits, officials said.

Only 120 Afghans and 15 Pakistanis who used the crossing had visas, they said. The Pakistan government had decided to close the border last month amid a string of deadly militant attacks, that killed more than 125 people, which the military claimed were carried out by militants operating from safe-havens in Afghanistan.

The two countries have long accused each other of failing to combat extremists who operate along their porous frontier.
Islamabad: Pakistan's Minister for State and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch has said that his country wants to have cordial bilateral relations with Afghanistan but not in pursuit of Indian priorities.

"Pakistan fully recognizes that peace in region cannot be achieved without constructive bilateral ties. But if Afghanistan would follow the Indian priorities for relations with Pakistan, it will not be acceptable," local media reports quoted Baloch as saying.

Asserting that Pakistan has historical, geographical and ethnic association with Afghanistan, Baloch said his country is ready to facilitate Afghanistan in trade, health and other facilities but not on other countries priorities.

He said the relations between the two countries shall be based on bilateral priorities.

Dismissing the notion of foreign policy failure, Baloch said Pakistan's foreign policy does not revolve around India and Afghanistan alone as there are other countries and continents.

"We have cordial relations with Asian nations including Arab countries as well as with African and European countries and United States and China," he said.

He said Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan had never been very good except for a specific period of the USSR invasion.

Baloch alleged that Afghanistan had opposed Pakistan's membership of the United Nations being an Indian friend.

Baloch said terrorists from across the border had attacked Pakistan despite the PML-N leadership repeatedly trying to address Afghanistan's concerns.

He said Pakistan can take preventive measures like closing the border to stop illegal traffic as it cannot go for direct action within the Afghan territory.
Come polls and many jail birds land in the poll arena in Uttar Pradesh. While there are many muscleman who are trying their luck in the ongoing state polls from behind the bars, there are others who are supporting their kin from behind the prison walls.





Mafia Mukhtar Ansari, a four-time MLA from Mau Sadar, tops the chart in the league. He is contesting polls from the Mau seat against Alka Rai (BJP), whose husband Krishnanad Rai was killed allegedly by Mukhtar.



Not only Mukhtar, his son Abbas and brother Sigbathullah Ansari are also in the fray from Ghosi and Mohammadabad seats and the don himself is trying his best to ensure they emerge victorious after he was denied parole by the court.



Aman Mani Tripathi lodged in Dasna jail (Ghaziabad) in connection with the murder case of his wife Sara is contesting as an independent candidate from Nautanwa seat (Mahrajganj) His father Amar Mani Tripahti and mother are also in jail in connection with the poetess Madhumita Shukla murder case.



His campaign was managed by siters Tanushri and Alankrita, who left no stone unturned to ensure victory of their brother. Another candidate, Shyam Narain Singh alias Vineet Singh who is lodged in Ranchi jail in connection with a kidnapping case, is in the fray from Sayedraza seat in Chandauli on a BSP ticket.



For Vineet his family is campaigning while he is managing things from jail. There are some like Sanjeev Maheswari, who is lodged in Mainpuri district jail and is facing several cases including that of murder. They are not in the fray directly but are very much in the poll arena.

Sanjeev managed to get a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket for his wife Payal Maheshwari from Muzaffarnagar and kept an eye on her campaigning. Another accused in the Krisnhnand Rai murder case, Prem Singh alias Munna Bajrangi is in Jhansi jail but his wife Seema is contesting from Madiyahun seat in Jaunpur on Apna Dal (Krishna Patel faction) ticket. Munna is lodged in Jhansi district jail and faces trial in eight criminal cases.



Former BJP MLA Udaybhan Karwariya lodged in Mirzapur jail is managing the poll campaign of his wife Neelam Karwariya contesting from Meja seat in Allahabad on a BJP ticket. Some other known musclemen have also fielded their wards in thse assembly polls.



While in Raebareli, five-time MLA and muscleman Akhilesh Pratap Singh's daughter Aditi Singh is trying her luck, another mafia-turned-politician Rizwan Zaheers daughter Zeba Rizwan is contesting for the first time from Tulsipur Assembly constituency in Balrampur.



According to an analysis of self-sworn affidavits of the total 4,823 candidates in this election (out of the 4,853 overall in the fray) by the Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 859 have disclosed criminal cases against them (18 per cent) and further 704 have serious criminal cases (15 per cent) pending against them.
Premiere Of Disney's 'Beauty And The Beast' - Arrivals (Photo : Getty Images)

Just like Logan which had a simultaneous release in China and the U.S. and its stars coming to China to promote the movie, the same thing in happening with upcoming reboot of Beauty and the Beast.



Lead actors Emma Watson and Dan Stevens are in China to promote Beauty and the Beast which is set to premiere in the two countries on March 17. The event was held at the Shanghai Disneyland where the case greeted fans and also enjoyed the rides, China Plus reported.



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Movie Theme Song



The cover of the movies theme song, performed by John Legend and Ariana Grande, was unveiled. The Chinese version of the song, featuring Jing Boran and Tian Fuzhen, was also released.



The movie has become controversial because to promote Beauty and the Beast, Emma Watson  who rose to fame for her role as Hermione in the Harry Potter series and is a UN ambassador for gender equality  the actress appeared in a pictorial for Vanity Fair where she was topless but her breasts where partly covered by a white Burberry capelet.



Feminism & Topless Photo



She was criticized by some for claiming to be a feminist which they say is inconsistent with appearing in a sexy pictorial. However, she defended the pictorial by saying that feminism is about giving girls and women opportunities in work and education similar to opportunities given to boys and men.



Beauty and the Beast also introduced Le Fou and the first openly gay Disney character which led to the movie being banned in some cinemas because of the gay character, MobileNApps reported. Before the Disney movie, Logan star Hugh Jackman also promoted the Wolverine movie in China, indicating how important the second-largest movie market is to Hollywood movie producers because China exhibition could make or break a movie.


Two suspected terrorists arrested from here and the neighbouring Unnao were today taken to Lucknow by a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad for further questioning.



Searches are also underway for nabbing other terror suspects here. Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said a team of UP ATS left from here to Lucknow with the two terror suspects at around 3 AM today for further questioning.



Last evening, a team of UP ATS had arrested Mohammed Faisal Khan from Jajamau and his brother Mohammed Imran from a leather factory in nearby Unnao.



Police had also apprehended one Shakeel alias Ajgar from the Rehmani market here but he escaped after the shopkeepers there started protesting. Searches are also underway out to arrest him.



Verma said the police is looking for some more terror suspects, however, he refused to disclose more details about them and whether they were involved in the the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast.



Police sources said the ATS team has questioned the suspect's family and their neighbours. Zaki Ahmed, IG, Kanpur said after their arrest searches are being carried out at railways station, bus stops and other crowded places. A checking drive is also underway at the Kanpur railway station and bus stop.
The NIA today handed over to the army two Pakistani youths whom it had arrested in connection with the last year's terror attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri that had killed 19 soldiers.



A National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesperson said they have handed over Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed to the army's 16 Corps headquarters in Jammu and they will be sent back home.



The spokesperson added that the NIA's probe "revealed that the two suspects had crossed over to the Indian side after altercation with their parents due to pressure of studies".



"Evidence collected in the form of statements, technical analysis of their mobile phones, seized GPS devices and other circumstantial evidence collected by the NIA did not reveal any linkage of the suspects with the Uri attackers," the spokesperson added.



It was initially suspected that the two youths acted as guides for the Uri attackers.On September 18 last year, four heavily armed militants had stormed the Uri army base camp in Jammu and Kashmir killing 19 soldiers and injuring few others.



The NIA had taken over the investigation in the case from the state Police. The two youths were arrested by the BSF and the Army in a joint operation at 'Angoor Post at Gavalata village in Uri when they were trying to infiltrate into India.



They were also brought to the NIA headquarters here for detailed interrogation. The NIA has claimed that terror group Laskar-e-Taiba was behind the Uri terror attack. The spokesperson added that "further investigation is continuing in the case."
Sticking to its commitment of offering healthy and nutritious products to Indians, PepsiCo India will be launching nutrition-based snacks, and fruit and vegetable-based juices before the end of this month at affordable prices.



The nutri snacks will be sold under the Quaker brand and juices under the Tropicana Essentials brand.



While the new Quaker Nutri Foods products range, include upma, idli, dosa and khichdi, the Tropicana Essentials contain a blend of apple, beetroot and carrot juices.



Talking to DH, Deepika Warrier, Vice President (Nutrition Category), PepsiCo India, said We have been working on developing these nutri-based products with local flavours for the last 12 months. Our R&D team at Gurugram has partnered with many local firms in order to develop these new products with the help of chef Vikas Khanna, who is our nutrition ambassador.



India offers huge potential for healthy and nutritional products, backed by a changing lifestyle, double-income families, single households and more women joining the workforce.



Now consumers are willing to buy packaged food as long they get healthy and nutritious products, said Deepika.



According to a Nielsen report, the breakfast cereals market size in India is at Rs 980 crore, and grew 2% year-on-year during 2015-16. The market size for the for juice category (20%-100% juice content) is about Rs 1,070 crore, growing at 11% year-on-year (2015-16).



While we are witnessing growth of 7% in the breakfast category, in the juices category, our growth is over 15%, says Deepika. For the nutritional range of products, the company is sourcing 60% of the materials locally and rest being imported.



Asked about promoting the brands amidst high competition, she said, We will be using all platforms including social media to reach out to the young millennials who are health-conscious.




Finland boasts of one of the most revered education systems in the world. Catering to a population of 5.2 million citizens in Finland, this system has broken many rules of education planning and delivery to make it inclusive and effective.



In comparison with this, the Indian education system caters to over 250 million students. The higher education system addresses the needs of over 70 million students. The Indian education system  one of the fastest growing in the world is facing a challenge of size that few other countries have confronted.



The demographic divide places India in a unique position of advantage by enabling the country to support the employable deficit of a large number of developed countries. To its credit, India has recognised the importance of education and skilling in the overall development of the economy. Yet, the challenges that it has to address are numerous.



Inclusion



India has managed to make 75% of its population literate, which in itself is a phenomenal effort. Yet, over 300 million Indians cannot read and write, leaving a lot to be desired. Regulations, particularly the Right to Education Act has drastically improved the situation in primary education. In the case of higher education, there is a lot to be achieved. A Gross Enrolment Ratio of less than 25% is far below the acceptable rate in developed countries. It is important for the regulators to build measures that will allow more individuals to pursue higher education. Inclusion demands greater availability and affordability of education across strata in the society.



Skill development



The much touted demographic dividend of India is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, India has the potential to support almost 80% of global workforce requirement by 2020. On the other hand, if we do not skill our youth, we could have millions of them unemployable. It is important to infuse vocational training into the education system for India to emerge as the future global power centre. This means that the skilling initiative has to spread across the length and breadth of this vast country to ensure it reaches the masses effectively. The Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGET), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the Ministry of Skill Development And Entrepreneurship have laid a good foundation for Indias skill development initiative.



Quality



Studies have consistently reflected Indias employability to be at around 20%. Corporates that hire talent produced by the Indian education system are unhappy with its readiness for workplace. Lack of employability has led to these corporates setting up their own training facilities and automating many repetitive functions. There is an immediate need to improve the quality of education system and assessment methods. In this fast paced world, regulators and educational institutions should constantly examine the changing demands and upgrade their curriculum, teaching pedagogy and assessments. Educational institutions should also align closely with the industry to understand their expectations to be able to produce talent as per their requirements.



Size



While inclusion, skill development and quality continue to be key concerns, the biggest challenge in transforming the education system in India is its massive size. The system already caters to 250 million students. The country has been investing around 4% of its GDP on education. Currently, there are over 35,000 colleges and over 700 universities that deliver higher education and 1.5 million schools addressing the primary and secondary education demands. All these numbers are not able to cater to the massive education needs of the country. Traditional education and training models alone will not be able to address these needs. There have to be concerted efforts in filling the gaps with new age models like MOOCs, certifications (online and offline) and vocational skilling. Greater participation of private players is necessary to infuse funding, build infrastructure and spread high quality education in the corners of the country.



The Indian education needs a systemic transformation to be effective. Linear growth will not support the vast scale of requirements of the country. There has to be a massive tectonic shift in the way education is managed in India. Connectivity, technology and its understanding are necessary for this transformation to succeed and spread. Indias challenges are unique and copying international best practices will not help.



There has to be a concerted effort of Indianising by adapting best practices that have worked elsewhere in the world. Focus should be on effective growth of the system and there is a need for incentivising private players to partner the government in expanding the scope of education in the country.



(The author is executive vice-president, MeritTrac Services, Bengaluru)
In its first public protest, the O Panneerselvam-led AIADMK faction today observed a day-long fast across Tamil Nadu demanding a probe into the death of J Jayalalithaa.



Winding up the protest, which saw the participation of hundreds of supporters here and in the district headquarters, Panneerselvam said he was ready to face any probe into the "suspicious" circumstances surrounding the death of Jayalalithaa.



The fast was led by senior leader E Madusudanan and attended by C Ponnaiyan and P H Pandian among others.



Similar hunger strikes were staged across the state. In Avadi, former School Education Minister K Pandiarajan led the protest. In Tirunelveli, it was held under the leadership of former MP Manoj Pandian.



In Coimbatore, more than 2,000 AIADMK workers, including local MLAs P C Arukutty, O K Chinnaraj and P G R Arunkumar, participated in the fast.



Addressing the participants at the Rajarathinam Stadium here, Panneerselvam hit out at AIADMK chief V K Sasikala and her family, saying "our fight will continue till a judicial inquiry or a CBI probe is ordered".



"To retrieve our party from the clutches of V K Sasikala, to get back our government from the hold of her family, our dharma yudh will continue. We are ready to make sacrificies for it," Panneerselvam, who revolted against the party leadership last month, said.



He also disputed the remarks of state Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan that he (Panneerselvam) was also apprised of Jayalalithaa's serious condition on December 5, saying he was not informed about the former Chief Minister's health status.



Panneerselvam threatened to file a case against him if he did not withdraw a statement he made on Monday while releasing medical reports of Jayalalithaa.



On March 6, Radhakrishnan, quoting hospital reports, had said that senior ministers and political leaders including Panneerselvam were apprised of the serious condition of Jayalalithaa on December 5.



Citing this, Panneerselvam said, "As far as I am concerned, no information was conveyed to me. If he does not withdraw his statement, I categorically state that I will file a case against him in court."



He said not once were they allowed to see Amma though they had stayed put at the hospital all along. The Sasikala camp did not even listen to suggestions that Jayalalithaa should be taken to the UK or the US for treatment, he claimed.



Referring to Health Minister C Vijayabaskar's remarks that "Panneerselvam will be first inquired if there were to be a judicial inquiry", he said he was ready to face any probe.



"Let them come and inquire, I will tell them what happened," the three-time former Chief Minister said.



True to the legacy of late leaders M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, "this party and the government will always be of the people and by the people", Panneerselvam said.



A report from Coimbatore said besides the three MLAs, former state minister K Damodaran, former mayor P Rajkumar and Tamil film actor Sundararajan were among those present.



In Thanjavur, more than 1,000 supporters of Panneerselvam participated in the fast in front of the head post office.



In neighbouring Puducherry, the fast was led by former MLA Om Sakthi Segar.

Addressing the participants, Segar said "mystery shrouded the death of Jayalalithaa" and hence it should be probed by the CBI.



Panneerselvam said Jayalalithaa had demonstrated that hers was a "people's regime" and had steered the party as a "people's movement".



"The situation has turned upside down. An extraordinary situation has emerged now wherein an individual family is plundering the party and the regime led by it," he said referring to Sasikala and her family.



To retrieve the party from such a situation a "dharma yudh" has begun and its starting point is the "mystery" surrounding the death of late Jayalalithaa, he said.



Alleging that Sasikala had in a letter written in 2012 to Jayalalithaa admitted that some of her relatives and friends had conspired against her, he said Sasikala herself had termed it as an "unpardonable betrayal".



"What is that conspiracy?..it was to bring both the party and reins of government into their family fold," he alleged.



After she came to know about this conspiracy, Jayalalithaa threw Sasikala and her relatives out of the party. She re-admitted Sasikala into her household after she apologised, the former chief minister said.



"That conspiracy was pursued and it has been fulfilled today leading to an extraordinary situation. This movement (party) should be saved and that is why we have started the dharma yudh," he said, dubbing the Edappadi Palaniswami regime as a "proxy" of Sasikala.



"Only 122 MLAs are with them (Sasikala), but 7.5 crore Tamil people are with us," he asserted.



"Sasikala had said she had severed her ties with those who had acted against Jayalalithaa. See, now who is there around (in the party)," he said in a veiled reference to Sasikala's relatives, who were expelled by Jayalalithaa, holding positions in the AIADMK.



Sasikala had then said that she was not interested in power, politics or public life and had wanted only to be a good sister to Jayalalithaa.



Jayalalithaa took back Sasikala to assist her in her household and had told party office bearers including him that none should have any truck with her, Panneerselvam said.



"The AIADMK was founded (by MG Ramachandran) to prevent the party from going into the hands of a family (DMK chief Karunanidhi)," he said.






Indias crackdown on foreign aid will claim its most prominent casualty this month, as a Colorado-based Christian charity that is one of Indias biggest donors closes its operations after 48 years, informing tens of thousands of children that they will no longer receive meals, medical care or tuition payments.



The shutdown of the charity, Compassion International, on suspicion of engaging in religious conversion, comes as India, a rising economic power with a swelling spirit of nationalism, curtails the flow of foreign money to activities it deems detrimental to the national interest.



More than 11,000 NGOs have lost their licences to accept foreign funds since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. Major Western funders  among them George Soros Open Society Foundations and the National Endowment for Democracy  have been barred from transferring funds without permission from the Government of India (GOI).



But few have been as vocal about their struggle as Compassion International, which solicits donations through its $38-a-month sponsor a child programme and distributes them through church-affiliated service centres. It has repeatedly ranked as Indias largest single foreign donor, transferring around $45 million a year.



Its executives vehemently deny the governments allegation that it is funding religious conversions, and say India has given them no opportunity to rebut the accusation. Instead, they say they found themselves in murky back-channel negotiations with a representative of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, that is closely connected with the governing BJP but that has no official role in governance.



You think, Wow, am I negotiating with the government or am I negotiating with an ideological movement that is fuelling the government?' said Santiago Mellado, Compassion Internationals chief executive officer, in a telephone interview from the charitys offices in Colorado Springs. He added that a briefing on the situation would be submitted to the Trump administration this week.



A spokesman for GOIs Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which oversees regulation of foreign charities, declined repeated requests for comment on the case. A Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, following diplomatic protocol, said Compassion Internationals partners were violating Indian law by engaging in religious activities, and that the organisation declined a government offer to re-register as a religious organisation, which would have allowed it to continue its work in India.



Religious charities, which make up half of the dozen top international donors to India, are watching the case closely, Mellado said. What we hear from our friends in India is that it would be tragic if they were successful in shutting down Compassion, because that would leave other ministries very vulnerable, Mellado said. They are feeling like theyre next.



India has long had a law regulating the use of foreign aid, but Modis government has applied it in rigorous fashion, cancelling the registrations of more than 10,000 non-governmental groups, mostly small ones, in 2015. That summer, income tax investigators began raiding offices affiliated with Compassion International, apparently seeking evidence that funds were being used to convert Indian families.



Sam Jebagnanam, a field officer based in Chennai, described the searches as harrowing, with staff members questioned through the night and forbidden from leaving the office, summoning a lawyer or ordering food. The investigators, he said, focused their questions on a vacation Bible school funded by the charity. Seventy-six per cent of the children served by the programme are Hindu, and 28% are Christian.



At another raid, he said, a top executive was interrogated under oath at 3 am. They kept asking him, Why did you have a spiritual component to the programme? What do you do in the area of spiritual development?' he said. We said we teach moral values; we do not force anyone into religion.



Compassion International executives learned early last year, from an item in a newspaper, that their group had been added to the list of organisations whose transfers required prior permission by the MHA, said Stephen Oakley, Compassions general counsel.



By summer, $600,000 in donations was stuck in an Indian bank account awaiting permission that did not come. In November, two of the groups main affiliates  in Chennai and Kolkata  were denied authorisation to use foreign funds. In the US, Mellado was pressing, with an increasing sense of urgency, for an opportunity to plead his case with Indian officials.



But the only interlocutors they could find were through unofficial channels. In October, a Washington-based representative of the RSS, Shekhar Tiwari, reached out to John Prabhudoss, who heads an umbrella organisation of Indian-American Christians and has a long association with Compassion International and its leaders, Prabhudoss said.



Mellado said he was puzzled by the indirect outreach, but decided to give it a try. We are trying to navigate through understanding of the dynamics on the Indian side, he said. We understand that the BJP and the RSS are tied together somehow, so it seems to us that we also need to be talking to the RSS.



Through Prabhudoss, Tiwari put forward a proposal: The government might view Compassion International more favourably if the charity routed a portion of its $45 million in annual charitable donations away from churches and through non-Christian aid groups, including Hindu ones. They were asking me, How do you think we can solve this problem? Tiwari said. I told them, instead of having all your partners Christian, have some Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Sikh organisations.



Law enforcement action



Prabhudoss and Mellado both said that the suggestion was to fund RSS-affiliated organisations, though Tiwari denies suggesting that. They rejected the idea, which they viewed as inappropriate, Mellado said. An official from Indias Ministry of External Affairs denied that the RSS representative had any role in the governments actions, calling the discussion totally extraneous to the law enforcement action.



Things went downhill quickly after that. In early January, Oakley, the general counsel, went to New Delhi to plead his case to Foreign Secretary, S Jaishankar, in a meeting also attended by the second-ranked US diplomat in India. It was the first and last meeting between the charitys leaders and government officials, and Oakley described it as bitterly contentious.



Last week, word went out to the groups 500 Indian partners that they would have to shut down their operations. Among them is Bethesda Charitable Endeavours, which funds a community centre in Haldwani, in the Himalayan foothills. The centres employees have cleared out four of their nine rented rooms, and 250 children have been told not to return there. Pramod Dass, who directs the charity, organised a morose little closing ceremony last week in his office.



Already, 15,000 of the 1,45,000 Indian children regularly receiving services through Compassion International have been severed from the programmes. Beginning Friday, the sponsors will be contacted individually, at the rate of 2,500 per day, and asked to transfer their sponsorships from Indian children to children from other countries. That process is irreversible, Mellado said. We would have to start all over in India, and for 1,45,000 children, it will take years.




The death of an Indian fisherman, who was allegedly shot dead by the Sri Lankan Navy personnel, on Monday has understandably triggered anguish and outrage among the fishermen community of Rameswaram. Three others were injured in the incident. The Sri Lankan Navy has denied having shot the fisherman but the government has ordered a probe into the incident. Clashes between Indian fishermen and Sri Lankan security personnel have risen sharply over the past week. Since the beginning of March, the number of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody has increased from 35 to 53; 18 of them were arrested in three incidents on a single day. This is alarming. Only a few months ago, India and Sri Lanka agreed to set up a Joint Working Group on fisheries that would meet once in three months to discuss the fishermen issue, and a hotline between the Coast Guards of the two countries. Importantly, the two sides made a commitment to not resort to violence to address their grievances. The killing of the fisherman on Monday and the surge in fishermen arrests in recent weeks signals that the agreement has not held the peace in the Palk Straits.



Sri Lanka charges Indian fishermen with entering its territorial waters. India maintains that the fishermen are in the high seas when they are nabbed by Lankan personnel. Accusations and counter-accusations have flown across the Palk Straits. But these have only roiled the waters further. India and Sri Lanka need to realise that the issue is not just one of whether borders were crossed and territorial sovereignties violated but of livelihood and human security. It is impossible to make out in the high seas where the maritime boundary runs and to detain or shoot fishermen is an excessively heavy-handed and inhuman response. It is people on the ground who should be leading the quest for a solution. Unfortunately, it is diplomats in Delhi and Colombo who have little familiarity with problems that fishermen encounter in the seas who are making the decisions. Importantly, Tamil Nadu needs to be more proactive in addressing the root of the problem, which lie in the use of trawlers by its fishermen. Trawling has destroyed the marine environment along the Tamil Nadu coast, forcing its fishermen into Sri Lankan waters. This is not only depriving Sri Lankan fishermen of catch but also destroying their marine environment. Tamil Nadu must halt the use of trawlers and to this end provide education and support to its fishermen to make the shift. Sri Lanka is wrong in using force on our fishermen but India must act to end unsustainable fishing too.


The International Tax Wing of the Income Tax Department, Bengaluru, on Wednesday launched two online services aimed to help non-resident taxpayers.



The services include issuance of TDS certificates for non-resident taxpayers and for issuing of NoC to non-resident ships and their agents. These services will help non-resident taxpayers file their applications for TDS online besides tracking their status.



After launching the new services, Principal Chief Commissioner (Karnataka and Goa region) Nutan Wodeyar said that an online initiative is a big step in the taxpayers' services area.



The facility may also be used by a company which makes payment to its employees abroad. Resident companies planning to make payments to parties outside the country could also use the online facility. The other online application process facility launched pertains to the issue of NoC to non-resident ships and their agents. Every cargo ship leaving any port in India requires an NoC certificate issued by the I-T Department assessing officer stationed in the port city.



The online system allows ships or agents to upload applications online. This will be a one-time measure and applies for every voyage separately. The application can be filed before the ship is anchored in any port in Karnataka, Goa and Kerala region, Mangaluru, Kochi and Panaji,'' an official said adding that in both the online systems, any required document can be scanned and uploaded. The online windows for both the services can be accessed at the website  http://www.incometaxbengaluru.in


ZE:A's Park Hyung-Sik, Park Bo-Young and Ji Soo star in the JTBC drama 'Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.' (Photo : YouTube/Soompi TV)

The on-going Korean drama "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" from JTBC continues to pull the ratings up with the introduction of Park Bo Young's refreshing character Do Bong Soon, or what can be considered as Korea's Wonder Woman.



The powerhouse leads of the drama include Park Hyung Sik, Ji Soo and Park Bo Young, who play refreshing and light roles in the hit drama. Hyung Sik, who seemed to have a sudden career boost with the recent success of the series "Hwarang" was considered to have contributed to the current sensation of "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon." However, according to Yahoo News, Bo Young's character, which is nowhere near the stereotypical feminine leads in other K-dramas, pulled so much interest among viewers that equally contributed to the increasing ratings of the show.



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In the story, Bong Soon possesses unusual strength that she inherited from her ancestors, although she chose to keep this fact from others - afraid of suffering from the consequences she would experience like what happened to her mother.



Nevertheless, the show's producer, Song Won Seob, recently clarified what he thinks the reason why the drama was well-received, Soompi reported. According to him, the drama may be a romantic comedy for the bubbly and light attitude of the characters, but it also highlights and uplifts the role of women in the society with the portrayal of Bo Young.



"Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" also portrays the dilemma of many young people out there who have talents but do not realize how to use them in the same way, as Do Bong Soon is clueless as to how and where to use her strength.



Reports also claim that the unconventional plot and theme of "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" made its initial episodes worth watching. Since it does not conform with conventional twists in stories, viewers seem to have a hard time guessing what will happen next, and this makes them look forward to the coming episodes more.



Meanwhile, others claim that the undeniable chemistry between Bo Young and Hyung Shik plays a great help in the high rating of "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon." However, many are also looking forward to the brewing bromance between the two male leads in the show - Hyung Sik and Ji Soo.






Film producer Parvathamma Rajkumar has been admitted to M S Ramaiah Hospital in the city. Parvathamma, wife of Kannada matinee idol late Dr Rajkumar, was rushed to the hospital late in the night on Tuesday after she experienced giddiness and breathing issues, according to doctors treating her.



The hospital authorities said all tests were conducted and she was shifted to a ward on Wednesday as her condition is stable. However, she would be under observation for some time.
With the second year pre-university (PU) exams all set to commence on Thursday, security measures similar to that adopted during elections have been put in place, said Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Tanveer Sait.



Addressing the media in the city, he said the respective deputy commissioners have been asked to take charge of security measures. Prohibitory orders would be imposed 200 metres around the examination centres. A total of 6.84 lakh students have registered for the exam to be held at 998 centres across the state. Also, over 4,000 candidates will not be able to appear in the exam owing to shortage of attendance.



Of the 998 exam centres, CCTV cameras have been installed in 510 centres. Of these, 90% are unaided and private colleges. The minister said of the 14 who were held last year for leaking the chemistry paper, eight were out on bail. Whatever action is taken against repeat offenders just before elections, the same has been done with them as well, he explained. This time, the department will keep the question papers only in the district treasury under CCTV surveillance with biometric access control.



Addressing a press conference in the evening, C Shikha, director, Department of PU Education (DPUE), said, Hall tickets have already been dispatched. Action would be taken against colleges who have not given it to the students despite having requisite attendance.



The department had asked students to enter their details online. But several students are saying that there are errors in their details. To this, Shikha said provisions would be made after the exams to rectify the errors.


Senior leader S M Krishna is likely to join BJP either on March 15 or 16 in New Delhi.

Disclosing this to reporters after inducting former MP Jayaprakash Hegde into the party on Wednesday, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said BJP will grow in strength in Bengaluru and Mandya with Krishnas entry into the party. Yeddyurappa had recently met Krishna at his residence in Bengaluru and extended an invitation to him to join the saffron party.



Sources in the party said Krishna was likely to meet BJP national president Amit Shah in Delhi after March 11 and will subsequently join the party. Krishna is also planning to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before joining the BJP, the sources added.



Yeddyurappa said the BJP is organising a public rally in Udupi on March 18 to mark the induction of Jayaprakash Hegde into the party. He directed the party leaders to utilise the event to showcase the partys strength in the coastal region. Hegde began his political career in the then undivided Janata Dal. He served as a minister for ports and fisheries between 1994 and 1998. He chose not to associate with either JD(S) or JD(U) in 1999 when the Janata Dal witnessed a split.



He joined the Congress in 2008. The party expelled him in 2015 for contesting from the Udupi-Dakshina Kannada local bodies constituency in the election to the Legislative Council. He did not win the election.



A soft-spoken politician, Hegde, however, chose not to criticise the Congress and its leaders while joining the BJP. He only said he was expelled for pointing out its mistakes.



A three-time MLA from the then Brahmavar constituency, Hegde won the crucial byelection to Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency in 2012 as the Congress candidate. The BJP is planning to consolidate its position in the coastal belt with the help of Hegde ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls.



Former legislator Ratan Singh of Congress also joined BJP. It is not sure whether he would be contesting the 2018 Assembly election or Lok Sabha poll in 2019.



Diary may bring down govt



Yeddyurappa predicted that the controversy over huge sums of donations reportedly given by some senior ministers to the Congress high command would force the government to go in for early elections in the state.



Dont dismiss it as a mere prediction. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will get into deep trouble over the diary issue. The Assembly polls are going to come within next the six months, he told party workers.



The donation issue has exposed Congress in the country. Party MLC K Govindaraj has entered details of donations worth about Rs 600 crore given to the Congress high command by the state party leaders in his diary. The chief ministers family members are the beneficiaries in the Rs 65-crore kickback received for sanctioning the steel flyover project (sic), he charged.




The interception of online chat between suspected Islamic State terrorists involved in the Bhopal-Ujjain train explosion about their operation led to the arrest of three of them and the killing of another, official sources said.



The IS module, which was formed after the members got in touch via the internet under the guidance of a handler abroad, was under surveillance of the security agencies for some time.



Pak, Afghan influence

Sources said the operatives were part of the IS-Khurasan group, which is a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan.



Investigations are underway whether these people were in touch with a group of Indians who had joined IS and are now operating in Afghanistan.



According to investigators, the conspiracy is believed to have been hatched in Telangana, from where a number of people have joined IS after leaving India.

The suspects, who were influenced by the IS ideology, were then tasked with carrying out the strike.



Sources said the low-intensity blast on the train appeared to be a trailer and they were planning to strike bigger later. Intelligence officials suspect that there were also plans to target the Deva Shareef, the dargah of Waris Ali Shah, in Madhya Pradesh.



Inputs from states

The arrests came even as police forces in Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are coordinating regularly and sharing information on youth who left their states to join IS.



The police forces, sources said, had picked up some chat about those who were reportedly involved in the blast, and handed it over to their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.



Atif Muzzaffar, a resident of Kanpur, and Mohammad Danis were arrested from Kanpur, while Sayyed Meer Hussain was picked up from Kannauj, UP. Meanwhile, they also got information about suspected IS operative Saifullah, who was killed while being holed up in a house in Lucknows Thakurganj, where an operation was launched.


The first possible attack by an IS-inspired group in India comes at a time when the terror group is facing heavy backlash from forces led by the United States in Iraq and losing territory there.



However, officials warn, IS operates in a different way compared to other terrorist groups as it does not micro-manage the planning and execution of strikes in places beyond IS-controlled areas.



The groups are free to choose their target and modus operandi, and what is expected is only owing allegiance to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.



Investigators preliminary assessment is that the operatives involved in the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast used pipe bombs.



Sources said they were investigating whether the attackers managed to give feedback about the attack to their handlers abroad. With investigators suspecting that they belong to the IS Khurasan group, sources said the handlers could be operating in Pakistan or Afghanistan. The module had a strength of nine members, who belonged to Lucknow and Kanpur.



The biggest question is how the module managed to procure weapons. The Uttar Pradesh Police recovered eight pistols and a stockpile of ammunition from the flat where Saifullah, who was killed by the anti-terrorism squad, was staying. An IS flag, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train schedule were also recovered.



The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has already sent its team to Lucknow and Bhopal. Investigators believe the bomb was assembled in Uttar Pradesh. But they are yet to find out how the bombers managed to take it to Bhopal without being detected.



Sources said they could unravel the conspiracy only after a detailed interrogation of those arrested on Tuesday.



With IS spreading its wings across the globe, Indian agencies were keeping a close watch on the organisation and the possibility of youth joining the terrorist group.
Coastal states still rely on a 20-year-old plan to regulate development activities along the coastline as the replacement plan did not materialise even after four years.



With no signs of the new coastal zone management plan on the horizon, the old one cleared by the environment ministry in 1996 was being extended repeatedly. But that too expired in January 2017 after the fourth extension.



The last extension expired for the fourth time on January 31, 2017. The environment ministry is silent on yet another extension as a result of which coastal states dont have a management plan with them at the moment, sources told DH.



The existing plans are based on the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 1991. When the old norms were modified in 2011, states were asked to finalise their new coastal zone management plans within two years based on the CRZ 2011 notification. The new plans, however, were to be made once the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai, comes out with the new high tide and low tide lines. But the institute was tasked for the job only in March 2014 and till date there are no signs of the new tidal marks.



As the alignments of the high and low tide lines shifted in the last 20 years, the new plans may be substantially different from the 1996 ones.



Notification of the high tide line/low tide line, ecologically sensitive areas falling under CRZ-1 and hazard line mapping are underway, said a ministry official.



Despite the absence of the new management plans to look after the coast, the ministry has in the last three years issued eight amendments to change important areas in the CRZ 2011 notification, paving the way for construction of Shivaji memorial off Mumbai and tall hotel buildings in coastal towns. The amendments were issued on the basis of a report by an expert committee,

headed by space scientist Shailesh Nayak, who was secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences.



On Wednesday, Environment Minister Anil Dave launched a web portal for obtaining Coastal Regulation Zone clearances, but did not comment on the delay for having the new coastal zone management plan.


The Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which concluded on Wednesday with the final phase of polling, may have witnessed an increase in the voter turnout, but it will be remembered more for setting a new low as far as campaigning is concerned.



The bitter electoral battle for Indias biggest and politically most crucial state saw contenders hitting rivals with below-the belt remarks, ranging from donkeys from Gujarat to terrorist of democracy, KASAB to Gabbar Singh of Sholay. It also saw different meanings of abbreviations like SCAM and BSP.



War of acronyms

It all started after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during an election rally, said that SCAM stood for Samajwadi (S), Congress (C), Akhilesh (A) and Mayawati (M). Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav immediately hit back. SCAM stands for Save Country from Amit (Shah)-Modi, he said at election meetings.



Akhilesh chose to take the battle to the next level after Modi attacked him for spending huge amounts of public money on advertising. He said that he was surprised that some people were publicising Gujarat ke gadhe (donkeys from Gujarat) and added that he would request actor Amitabh Bachchan to withdraw from the advertisement.



BJP national president Amit Shah also joined the chorus with his KASAB remark to describe his rivals, saying it stood for Congress, Samajwadi and Behenji (Mayawati).



The prime minister ticked off BSP supremo Mayawati with his new definition of her party  Behenji Sampatti Party. Retaliating, Mayawati gave new meaning to Modis name. According to her, Narendra Damodardas Modi stands for Negative Dalit Man.

SP leader and state minister Rajendra Chaudhary crossed all limits when he called Modi Loktantra ka atankvadi (terrorist of democracy).


The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to examine the progress made by the Multi-Agency Group (MAG), directing it to furnish six reports prepared so far in its investigation into the Panama Papers, purportedly containing names of Indian offshore account holders.



A three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra sought to ascertain the status of the probe in the wake of a specific plea made in a PIL filed by advocate-petitioner M L Sharma for a court-monitored investigation through an SIT.



There is nothing adversarial in this matter. We will therefore first see the reports and then decide whether a SIT should be set up. This SIT could follow the investigation... whatever has been claimed to be investigated by the Multi-Agency Group, the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Mohan M Shantanagoudar, said.



The court asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to furnish in a sealed envelope all six reports by MAG, which will be examined by the bench before taking a call on whether these reports could also be shared with Delhi-based lawyer Sharma.



In his contention, Sharma claimed that MAG was deliberately going slow, and that various incriminating materials were being concealed from the apex court.



He further submitted that nobody knew the actual status of the investigation into the Indian offshore bank account holders named in the Panama Papers. He sought direction for setting up of the SIT.



Kumar, however, claimed that the investigation was on the right track.

The Multi-Agency Group has issued notices to more than 400 people and their replies are also coming, he said, adding MAG has completed its sixth report in the ongoing investigation.



MAG consists of officers from the Central Board of Direct Taxes, Reserve Bank of India, Enforcement Directorate and Financial Intelligence Unit. MAG has also shared its reports with the apex court-appointed SIT on black money.


US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the gathering of Foreign Ministers of the G20. (Photo : Getty Images)

Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State of the United States, will visit Beijing on March 19 to discuss multilateral issues and relations with China and the U.S.



According to Mark Toner, the acting State Department spokesman of the U.S., this is Tillerson's maiden trip to Asia ever since he took the job as the top diplomat of U.S. President Donald Trump.



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Toner stated at a press conference: "In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from the DPRK, and reaffirm the administration's commitment to further broaden and enhance U.S. economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region."



Tillerson will be arriving in Tokyo, Japan, on March 15. He will then continue his trip and arrive in Seoul, South Korea, on March 17, then arrive in Beijing on March 18.



Toner also discussed the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile defense system in South Korea. He said that the U.S had already told China that THAAD was not meant to be a threat.



The People's Republic of China reiterated its opposition to the deployment of THAAD.



Geng Shuang, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said: "We will take steps to maintain our security interests." He urges that parties concerned on the THAAD row should refrain from going too far and stop its deployment.



According to a Republic of Korea (ROK) defense ministry official, two mobile launchers and a part of other equipment of THAAD arrived at Osan Air Base, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on the evening of March 6.



"Tillerson may probably try to explain to China about the necessity of deploying THAAD. But Beijing will not back out of its opposition to THAAD because it can lead to regional strategic imbalance and poses a grave danger to the country's security," said Li Haidong, a professor of U.S. studies at China Foreign Affairs University.



China's Foreign Ministry stated that it welcomed the prospect of the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson.


A self-radicalised and self-proclaimed Islamic State operative was killed by commandos of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in the early hours of Wednesday.



The terrorist, identified as Saifullah, had been holed up in a house in the walled city.

According to a top police officer here, the slain terrorists three accomplices were involved in triggering a blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train, which injured 10 people in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. The operation began around 4 pm on Tuesday and ended at 3 am the following day when ATS commandos broke open the doors of the house and gained entry, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljeet Chaudhary said.



He said ATS tried to smoke out Saifullah, a resident of Kanpur, by using tear gas shells and chilli bombs, but their attempts failed. Saifullah was found dead when ATS commandos entered the house, situated in Thakurganj locality of the state capital. Chaudhary said so far the police had not found any evidence to link Saifullah with IS, adding, He was a self-radicalised and self-proclaimed IS operative.



Over 600 live cartridges, 8 pistols, IS flags, a large cache of explosives, a railway timetable, a passport and a few SIM cards were recovered from the hideout, officials said.



The terrorist had fired more than 50 rounds before being killed in the encounter.

Inspector General, ATS, Aseem Arun, who led the operation, said Saifullah was asked to surrender, but he refused. He shouted he would prefer to be a martyr instead.



Earlier, reports had said there were two terrorists in the house. The bomb squad was called in after a wire was found wrapped around the waist of the slain terrorist, Arun said.



Police officers said Saifullah and his three friends had rented the house a few months ago. They hailed from different parts of Uttar Pradesh and were involved in the Madhya Pradesh train blast, the police said. Earlier, ATS nabbed three suspected terrorists from Kanpur and Etawah and recovered a laptop that contained information on bomb-making, police sources said.






A special court on Wednesday acquitted Hindu religious leader Aseemanand and six others, while convicting three men in the 2007 Ajmer dargah blast case.



The blast, on October 11, 2007, left three persons dead and 15 wounded. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on March 16.



National Investigation Agencys special court judge Dinesh Kumar Gupta pronounced the judgement, in which Sunil Joshi, Bhavesh Patel and Devendra Gupta were held guilty. Joshi, one of the key accused and a former RSS pracharak, died on December 29, 2007.



The three were held guilty of damaging a place of worship (IPC Section 295) and criminal conspiracy, as well as under sections of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The nine surviving accused were present in the court. Another religious leader, Bharatmohan Lal, is among those acquitted.



The other acquitted are Harshad alias Munna, Lokesh Sharma, Chandra Shekhar, Mafat alias Mehul and Mukesh.



Public prosecutor Ashwani K Sharma later told reporters that NIA had received a setback with 26 witnesses, who were the backbone of the case, turning hostile during the trial.



Judge Gupta let off Swami Aseemanand and the others, giving them benefit of doubt.



Aseemanand is also an accused in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, in which 68 people were killed. He is a member of the right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat. He has been in jail since December 2010 and was also named as an accused in the 2007 Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast case.



The trial involved the examination of 149 witnesses and 449 documents. Over the past nine years, the hearing was postponed multiple times as the witnesses made applications delaying their appearance before the court, citing threat to their lives.



The blast inside the Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti took place on October 11 during iftar. Being Ramadan, the shrine was jam-packed with around 7,000 devotees.



The case was handed over to the Rajasthan anti-terrorism squad and later transferred to the NIA on April 6, 2011. The NIA filed three supplementary charge sheets after examining the witnesses and documents related to the case.


Of 57 manual scavenging deaths recorded in the state since 2008, not even one has resulted in conviction, legal experts and activists say.



Police have closed most cases, Narasimhamurthy, activist and advocate, told DH. About half the deaths occurred in Bengaluru.



Three men choked to death in a manhole in Bengaluru on Tuesday, taking the toll up to 60. Police have booked a case under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, dealing with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. This attracts a jail term of up to 10 years.



Manual scavenging deaths are booked as accidental, and the criminality of the contractors is never established, said Bezwada Wilson, honoured with the Magsaysay award for espousing the cause of sanitary workers.



In the latest case, the police have listed a BWSSB engineer as the first accused, a BBMP engineer as the second, and a contractor the third. Their names do not figure in the FIR.



All 57 earlier deaths were registered under Section 304-A, which deals with accidental deaths due to negligence, and attracts a fine or jail term of up to two years. The present case, under Section 304, is a minuscule victory as it is more stringent, activists said.



The police have also sought court permission to invoke a provision under the law against manual scavenging.



In cases of this nature, the state should appoint special public prosecutors, ensure impartial investigation, and protect witnesses and victims families, said Clifton D Rozario, member of the BWSSB Contract Workers Union.



Cases like Nirbhaya have gone straight into conviction because the government worked in a multi-pronged manner. Why are cases of manual scavenging not seen in that light? Rozario said.



Wilson says the government must step in and pursue such cases.



The FIR for Tuesdays case names a citizen who reported the incident, and not the state, as the complainant.



The culpability falls on government department heads and they must go to jail. When there is no prosecution and no punishment, the killing will go on, he said.



A regret among sanitary workers and activists is that the government isnt enforcing the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers Act of 2013.



If they have respect for Parliament and democracy, they must stop killing us in the sewer line, Bezwada Wilson, who campaigns against manual scavenging, said.




A 22-year-old Muslim girl was attacked on social media for singing a Hindu hymn on a Kannada reality show.



Suhana Syed appeared on Zee Kannada and sang a song in praise of Lord Srinivasa.

The judges appreciated her singing and praised her for bridging religious chasm, but it was a different story online. A post on the Facebook page Mangalore Muslims said Suhana had brought disrepute to other Muslim women by singing in front of men.



The post, in Kannada, said Suhana had achieved nothing great, while young children who recited the Quran had achieved a lot. It also criticised her parents, saying they wouldnt go to heaven.



However, the video of Suhanas song attracted positive comments from many. Some trolled her, saying she had chosen the song only to win sympathy from the judges.



Suhanas father Syed Munir, a government school teacher, said people with vested interests were creating a controversy. Munir said, No organisation has criticised her participation in the show. And the family has received no threats. Munir told DH Suhana would continue in the reality show.




Namma Metro phase 1 will meet the April 15 deadline set by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as many of the tests that are part of the trial run are already under way, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George said on Wednesday.



He was speaking to mediapersons after inspecting the underground section between Kempegowda and Sampige Road stations. The minister and Metro officials said all the works in the underground section between RV Road and Sampige Road have been completed. When reporters pointed out that several civic works were pending in the stations, the minister reassured that all the civic works would be over by April.



The minister expressed confidence of beginning the commercial operations at the end of next month. Unless a rectification is required during the course of the trial run, there will not be any more delay, the minister said. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola said the trials were not limited to running a train, which is just a part of 18 different tests required before commencing the commercial operations.



We have handed over both the tracks to (French company) Alstom for the tests. After obtaining a certificate from them, we will go for the inspection by the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS), he added.



The BMRCL gave a list of 18 tests, including 17 internal tests and the CMRS inspection. Seven of the 18 tests, including ultrasonic weld checks for cracks and laser test for track position accuracy, have been completed. While three tests are in progress, two others will start next week.



The five remaining internal tests involve running the train at low and high speeds. The dynamic tests ensure all the components of Metro  from power supply, acceleration-deceleration to air conditioner, operation of doors as well as passenger experience  function according to safety requirements. Alstom will run multiple trains and conduct anti-collision test before beginning the service trial, following which the section from Sampige Road to Yelachenahalli will be inspected by the CMRS.



The underground section of the Metro is well equipped to handle any fire incident. Metro officials held a mock fire drill for minister George on Wednesday to show how Metro riders will not be asphyxiated in case of a fire incident in the section.

Thick clouds of smoke were blown away within a matter of two minutes by blasts of wind coming from the Kempegowda station.


A 24-year-old man, said to be a police informant, was hacked to death by a gang of six in Kamalanagar on Wednesday morning.



History-sheeter Spot Naga suspected that Sunil B, the victim, was providing information about him to the police. Naga wanted to take revenge on Sunil, who had attempted to murder him in the past. Sunil and Naga were neighbours on Chandrappa Road in Kamalanagar and nursed a grudge against each other, the police said.



The incident occurred at 8.40 am, when Sunil stepped out of his house after breakfast.



He was chased by a gang of six including Naga, all wielding machetes, Sunils relatives said. Sensing danger, Sunil rushed inside a neighbours house for safety, but the gang followed him into the house. They hacked and stabbed him repeatedly. Sunils mother Usha (45) and grandfather Thyagaraj (70), who rushed to his help, were also assaulted.



My grandson was hacked and stabbed multiple times in front of my daughter and me, said Thyagaraj. He identified the assailants as Naga and his five associates, who fled the spot after committing the crime. Though Sunil had a couple of cases registered against him, he was an informant to the police. Naga believed it was Sunil who tipped off the police about his whereabouts whenever he committed crimes, Sunils uncle Mani told DH. However, senior police officers maintained Sunil was not an informant. He (Sunil) was accused in two cases, including an attempt to murder case. He was released from jail two weeks ago, said M N Anucheth, DCP (west).



Nagas family members justified the murder. His sister Gowri said, soon after coming out of jail on bail, Sunil used to taunt Naga. He used to ask Naga whether he must be sent to hospital again, she said, showing pictures of her brother being attacked by Sunil, last year.




Tuesdays evening showers exposed the poor preparedness of the civic agencies for the monsoon, which is three months away.



The 36-mm rainfall brought the city to its knees with water gushing into many houses. Major roads were waterlogged bringing traffic to a grinding halt. Tree branches came down crashing at 19 places and there were incessant calls to the BBMP control room whole night. There was no let up in the situation till Wednesday noon in many areas.



Vehicles piled up for almost a kilometre at Doddanekkundi railway underpass due to waterlogging. A truck, which was stranded due to a mishap at Marathahalli added to the woes. The situation remained the same for around three hours on Wednesday morning till the personnel from Fire and Emergency services and traffic police pumped out the water.



Clement C Jayakumar, a member of Whitefield Rising, said they had faced a similar problem last year also. The BBMP and the BDA had promised to address the issue, but have done nothing till now, he said. Many people who were heading to offices returned home as they were not able to continue their journey due to the traffic jam.

According to the BBMP sources, there was heavy traffic congestion around Majestic as railway underbridge near Kino Theatre had waist-deep water. A similar situation was witnessed on Sankey Road where water stagnated at an underpass near the Le Meridien Hotel.



There were complaints about water gushing into the houses at BTM Layout Second Stage, Srinagar, Devarajeevanahalli, Konena Agrahara and Magadi Road.

Bescom authorities said that they received 3,856 complaints on Tuesday night of which 3,600 had been resolved. The India Meteorological Department has forecast rainfall coupled with thunder showers for the next two days in the city due to an upper air cyclonic circulation over Lakshwadeep and its neighbourhood.






Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers his report during the opening session of the National People's Congress at The Great Hall of People on March 5, 2017. (Photo : Getty Images)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang joined a panel discussion with the National People's Congress deputies and has called for maintaining the development and stability in the Tibet autonomous region.



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Tibet has a special place in China's overall development. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has further made the region a priority for the 18th Party Congress since 2012.



Li said, "This year will see further endeavors in promoting the development and stability in Tibet, which complement each other through focusing on key ways to improve local people's livelihood," vowing to improve public services in education and healthcare.



Li placed a special priority when it comes to Tibet's stability and development. As long as the ecology is stringently protected, Li said that there will be more efforts this year to develop Tibet's competitive industries such as ethnic medicines, clean energy and tourism.



Tibet is at an average altitude of about 4,000 meters. It is a region that is sparsely populated, with about 3.75 million people that belong to multiple ethnic groups living on approximately 1.2 million square kilometers of land.



The annual GDP growth of Tibet hit 11.5 percent in 2016, which ranked first among China's provincial-level regions. According to Li, China will strengthen the support as well as funding for Tibet's transportation and power-grid infrastructure.



Li also vowed to intensify poverty alleviation. He said: "Unity should be strengthened to help all ethnic groups get along with each other, promote religious harmony as well as safeguard social stability and long-term peace."



Besides Li, three other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee joined discussions with NPC deputies. These officials are Yu Zhengsheng, Wang Qishan and Liu Yunshan.



"Any form of separatist actions to achieve Taiwan's independence will be opposed and contained to safeguard peace and stability across the Straits," said Yu, who called for adherence to the policies of two systems, the 1992 Consensus, and policies of peaceful reunification and one country.


The Malaysian government closed the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo : Twitter)

There were 11 Malaysian nationals who were banned from exiting North Korea recently. According to the North Korean government, the hostages will be freed if Malaysia can guarantee the safety of their citizens in the country.



Malaysia was outraged by the act of terrorism ordered by the socialist country. In turn, the Malaysian government closed the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur and stopped the departure of North Koreans.



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Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement: "This abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizen's hostage, is in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms."



The Koreans detained in the embassy are suspects of the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.



The suspects are Hyon Kwang Song, the embassy's second secretary, and Kim Uk Il, a staff member at North Korean national carrier Air Koryo. Other North Korean nationals who are not able to depart the country are students of a course being taught by the World Food Program.



Experts believe that China and the U.N. should start getting involved to help the release of the hostages.



According to Dr. Hazel Smith, a professor at the U.K.'s University of Central Lancashire, "China has no direct controls over North Korea, but it has influence partly because North Korea is economically dependent on China--about 90 percent of North Korea's trade is with China."



"Malaysia could also very legitimately ask ASEAN partners to review all of the DPRK's activities in the Asian region, which they have been trying for some time to establish as an alternative to China for economic transactions," she added.



Another expert, Dr. Christoph Bluth, a professor of international relations and security at the University of Bradford in the U.K., said that China should use its bilateral relations to discuss the issue of the hostages.



He noted, "Malaysia has no leverage on North Korea except Kim Jong Nam's body."



"So this crisis may end if the body is returned and all North Koreans return to North Korea. But Malaysia could internationalize the situation and get the U.N. Security Council involved," he added.


By Tom Phillips; additional reporting by Wang Zhen 7 March 2017 Beijing (The Guardian)  China is reportedly considering plans to build a 1,000km (620 mile) pipeline to pump water all the way from Siberia to its drought-stricken northwest. According to reports in the Chinese media, urban planners in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, have drawn up proposals to pipe water into the chronically parched region from Russias Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake on earth. [] In a report this week the state-run Global Times said the pipeline would quench the desperate thirst of a province that saw just 380mm of rain last year. It would begin at the southwestern tip of the 600km-long Russian lake and run about 1,000km, across Mongolia, to Gansus capital through the Hexi corridor, a desert region near the westernmost tip of the Great Wall of China . The project would boost both Gansus ecological environment and its economy which the newspaper said had been severely hampered by the lack of water. The drastic plan underscores the severity of the water crisis facing Beijing . [ more ]

Parched Chinese city plans to pump water from Russian lake via 1,000km pipeline

By Zhang Yu

6 March 2017 (Global Times)  China is no stranger to massive engineering projects, and the most recent addition to its roster of landscape-reshaping solutions is a recent plan by a city-level institute to divert water from Siberia hundreds of kilometers south to Lanzhou, capital of Northwest Chinas Gansu Province, to quench the regions desperate thirst. The Lanzhou Urban & Rural Planning and Design Institute, affiliated to Lanzhous urban planning authorities, has proposed diverting water from Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, to relieve Lanzhous water crisis, according to a scheme entitled Vision for Urban Planning 2030 which was released in February. According to the scheme, a pipeline starting from the southwest point of Lake Baikal, stretching some 1,000 kilometers, will be able to divert pure water from the deepest lake in the world to Lanzhou through the Hexi corridor, a narrow east-west route that runs for 1,000 kilometers between the Tibetan Plateau and the dunes of the Gobi Desert, the Xinhua News Agency reported. [] The Russian media, so far, has remained silent on the Lanzhou institutes proposal. But last year, when the Russian agriculture minister proposed similar plans to transfer water from Russias Altai Republic to Xinjiang, it received criticism from environmentalists. To declare the global plans about the transfer of fresh water to China, without detailed calculations, is total folly, Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, an economist, environmentalist and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told the Siberian Times, a Russian newspaper. [more]
Selena Gomez and The Weeknd walk the runway during the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show with Adriana Lima, Behati Prinsloo, Lily Aldridge, Alessandra Ambrosio, Stella Maxwell and other models. (Photo : Getty Images/Jamie McCarthy)

There are two reasons why Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, 27, who is professionally known as The Weeknd, should congratulate his girlfriend Selena Gomez, 24. She is executive producing a TV series that is about to premiere and she recently released a collaboration song that is doing well on the charts.



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Gomez is the executive producer of "13 Reasons Why," a new miniseries scheduled to be released by Netflix on March 7. It is an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Jay Asher.



In a recent interview with Teen Vogue, Asher discussed the upcoming series. When asked how he was feeling about seeing his book be transformed into a Netflix series, the author said he was feeling very confident, happy and lucky.



The 13 reasons cited in the title refer to the reasons a dead teenage girl named Hannah had listed her suicide. Among these reasons are bullying and abuse.



According to Asher, Gomez was the first person to come to him almost eight years ago telling him that she wanted to play Hannah. At the time, they had an amazing conversation and the Gomez obviously understood the story and wanted Asher to be involved in a feature film adaptation, the author revealed.



"I remember my film agent at the time even saying, 'That's what everyone in Hollywood says,' but she was true to her word," Asher said of Gomez. Later on, they realized that the story of the book will not fit in a feature film.



The role of Hannah was eventually given to Katherine Langford. Among her co-stars are Christian Navarro, Michael Sadler, Justine Prentice, Devin Druid, Jillian Nordby, Miles Heizer, Kyra Cromwell, Nina Cheek, Sullivan Rutherford, Tiffany Wong and Michele Selene Ang.



While busy as the executive producer of "13 Reasons Why," Gomez still has time for her singing career. On Feb. 16, her collaboration song with DJ Kygo titled "It Ain't Me" was released and went on to become one of the top songs on the charts currently.



It appears that everything is going well for Gomez both in terms of love and career. She and The Weeknd are "doing great together," a source close to the "13 Reasons Why" executive producer told People that



Watch the official trailer of "13 Reasons Why" here:






By Josh Voorhees

6 March 2017 (Slate)  [] The two statements had plenty more in common than simply the topic. A snippet from the Exxon release:

ExxonMobil is strategically investing in new refining and chemical-manufacturing projects in the U.S. Gulf Coast region to expand its manufacturing and export capacity. The companys Growing the Gulf expansion program, consists of 11 major chemical, refining, lubricant and liquefied natural gas projects at proposed new and existing facilities along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. Investments began in 2013 and are expected to continue through at least 2022.

And one from the White House release:
3 Reasons why Emma Stone is the perfect Batgirl; Emma Stone to snag role from Jena Malone?

Actress Emma Stone attends The Ninth Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards at 548 West 22nd Street on November 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Andrew H. Walker)

As the DC Comics Extended Universe continues to expand its superhero and villain lineup, fans have been discussing potential actors and actresses to fill in those shoes. Fresh from her Best Actress win at the 89th Academy Awards, Emma Stone is now leading the pack as the fan favorite to play Batgirl.



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Here are three reasons why Stone would be the perfect Batgirl.



Emma Stone fits the physical description



In comic book lore, Batgirl is Barbara Gordon who is a librarian by day and a vigilante at night. According to Wikia, Barbara is a red head and stands at 5'6. Stone happens to be one of the most well-recognized redheads in Hollywood. Coincidentally, Stone is also 5'6 tall.



A mockup of Stone as Batgirl was recently shared by an artist named Boss Logic on Twitter. The Batgirl that appears on the image is the one in the "Batman: Arkham Knight" video game, CinemaBlend reported.



She has the acting chops to play the role



Throughout her prolific acting career, Stone played variety of roles that showed her wide range of acting capabilities. Oftentimes, she plays a strong and free-spirited young woman, characteristics that can be attributed to Batgirl. If she gets the role, it would not be her first time in a superhero film as she previously starred in two "The Amazing Spider-Man" movies together with her ex-boyfriend Andrew Garfield.



Moreover, Stone is an Oscar-winning actress, which is definitive proof of how great an actress she is. She'll find herself in good company in DCEU that boasts decorated stars in its ensemble, which includes Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons, Jesse Eisenberg and Amy Adams.



She has ties with J.K. Simmons



The role of Commissioner Gordon, who is Batgirl's dad in the comics, is currently being played by J.K. Simons in the DCEU. Both Stone and Simmons starred in "La La Land" together, and it is likely the two comedians will have great chemistry as father and daughter in DCEU.



Meanwhile, the role of Batgirl is still up for grabs, and it can be any actress' game at this point. So far, among the notable candidates for the role includes Jena Malone, who was rumored to make her DC debut as Batgirl in "Batman v Superman."






"13 Reasons Why" Season 2 is officially happening. (Photo : Getty Images/Pascal Le Segretain)

Fans of Korean culture, drama and some zombie action will be pleased with Netflix's upcoming project. Netflix is confirmed to produce a new series called "Kingdom," which will center on a zombie attack during the Joseon dynasty in South Korea.



"Kingdom" is a period zombie thriller directed by Kim Seong Hun. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it tells the story of a crown prince who is sent on a suicide mission to investigate a mysterious outbreak. The prince discovers a harrowing truth that threatens the entire kingdom.



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The series brings together elements of period dramas and zombie thrillers in one tasteful concoction. The zombie genre has developed more appeal following the success of "Train to Busan" and "The Wailing." Both films, which featured the undead, were two of 2016's highest-grossing movies.



Deadline reported that Kim Eun Hee is penning the eight-episode series. Kim has been working on "Kingdom" since 2011. It was a result of Kim's desire to write a story "that reflects the fears and anxiety of modern times," but taking out the usual romantic landscape in which the Joseon period is usually portrayed in movies and shows.



"Working with Netflix helps us to unlock this creative vision for Kingdom and I am excited to further build this unique story with the director for whom I have tremendous respect," Kim said in an interview.



All eight episodes will premiere on Netflix in 2018 and will be made available in over 190 countries. "Kingdom" will be the second original series from South Korea.



"Love Alarm" was the first one confirmed earlier this year. Netflix's first South Korean original is based on a webtoon about an unknown developer who creates an app that allows users to determine if someone within 10-meters has romantic feelings for them.



"Kingdom captured our imaginations from the moment we read the script with its visual feast of historical drama blended with supernatural fantasy," Netflix's VP of international originals Erik Barmack says. "We are incredibly honored by this rare opportunity of pairing two premier creative minds in Korea- film director Kim Seong-hun and television writer Kim Eun-hee."






Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) has signed a cooperation agreement for a smart city consultancy project with Ericsson.

Under the umbrella of the Istanbul Informatics and Smart City Technologies (ISBAK AS) company, the IMM and Ericsson will work together to achieve Istanbul's smart city vision and 2024 targets.

In 2016 Istanbul improved its standing in the World Global Cities index, rising from 29th to 25th place. By improving the city's services and implementing integrated smart city management, the IMM and ISBAK AS aim to build on their momentum and accelerate their efforts to reach the top 5 of the rankings.

Charlotta Sund, Head of Customer Group Industry & Society at Ericsson, says: "IMM and ISBAK intend to achieve a fast, integrated, people-oriented transformation based on technology and innovation. Ericsson will work on key development areas in metropolitan Istanbul, as well as a number of identified targets related to urbanisation, population growth and resource utilisation. Assessments conducted together with IMM and ISBAK will guide our work as we aim to maximise this unique city's opportunities."

The IMM is guiding the project by reviewing global best practices, conducting literature searches and current situation analyses, and holding interviews and workshops with hundreds of chief information officers, public- and private-sector entities, universities, citizens, and stakeholders. The data obtained in these studies reveal the city's current scorecard and provide a benchmark from which to work toward achieving Istanbul's smart city vision.
Nokia and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development of 5G and IoT use cases.

Under the terms of the MoU, Nokia and STC will carry out trials of technologies such as 4.5G Pro and 4.9G, key steps on the path to 5G to build the capacity and throughput speeds needed for new applications.

The collaboration will also play an important role in STC's digitalisation transformation and its support of Saudi Arabia's 2030 Vision for transforming the country to be the hub connecting three continents including Asia, Africa and Europe.

With its ultra-low latency and extreme broadband network capacity, 5G will enable new possibilities in a number of vertical industry sectors, including connected cars, industrial networking, remote healthcare, virtual reality and ultra-high definition video services. With Nokia's mobile broadband expertise in 4.5G Pro and 4.9G, STC will be able to commence the evolution of its existing network toward 5G, preparing its infrastructure for the massive increase in data, devices and applications that 5G and IoT will facilitate.

Nasser Al-Nasser of STC, said: "We aim to bring the first commercial 5G network to the gulf region, and we are confident that Nokia's innovations toward the development of 5G technologies and IoT use cases, and their trials around the world, will provide a clear path for this."

Waseem Al-Marzogi, head of the STC customer business team at Nokia, said: "5G and IoT are the main pillars of STC's 2020 Vision, and Nokia is committed to enabling extreme broadband services, critical machine-type communications and IoT services, creating a super-efficient infrastructure for STC."
One night my father beat me up, dragged me [across the floor] with people watching and no one did anything, said Samia.

My father has always been an abuser. When he was around, he would to beat me, insult me, constantly humiliate me and even [sexually abuse] me since I was a kid, said Samia, who is in her twenties.

But this night was like no other, I feel like a part of me was lost after this incident.

After her parents' divorce a couple of years ago, Samia chose to live with her mother, as she was not a minor, but then her father kicked the two of them out of the family house.

He abused my mother as well for many years till she was finally able to ask for a divorce, but he left her hanging for a couple of years while he married another woman.

During the first night in our new apartment after we were expelled, he came along with a lot of people to force me to go home with him, he beat me with his hands and his legs, slapped me and dragged me from my hair in front of everyone, recalled Samia.

When I first heard him arrive, I locked myself in a room while trying to contact the police, but in the very brief phone call, the police official kept asking pointless questions till my father broke into my room.

A lot of people were watching passively, even our new neighbours spread rumours about me afterwards, saying it was probably because of inappropriate behaviour or Urfi marriage, she said, referring to civil unions that are not registered with the state and are considered improper by many Egyptians.

Samia spent the night at her fathers place where he continued to beat her until her mother was able to call the police and get her the next day.

I was badly injured and had bone fractures; I was not able to leave the house for six months. I could not go to my university, she recounts.

But it was not just about the physical pain. I have been psychologically devastated; I have had low self-confidence ever since, unable to socialise and with low trust in people.

I felt afraid, terrorised and humiliated, she said, adding that he has since threatened to do this again, saying he is my father and can therefore do whatever he wants, he can lock me up and beat me once again.

What upsets me is that a lot of people told me, so what?.

Samia is not alone. At least 18 percent of adult Egyptian women have reportedly experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of family members or close acquaintances in 2015, according to official estimates by Egypt's Economic Cost of Gender Based Violence Survey (ECGBVS), published in June 2016.

Around 46 percent of married women aged 18 to 64 years in Egypt have experienced some form of spousal violence, whether physical, emotional or sexual, according to the same survey, which was conducted by Egypt's official statistic body the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), the National Council of Women (NCW) and the United Nations Fund for Population Agency (UNFPA).

One out of four married women has been subjected to physical violence at one point in their lives by their current or former husband, according to 2014 statistics from the Demographic and Health Survey.

Normalised violence

Gender-based domestic violence has long been normalised for many in Egypt, though recently the issue has come under the spotlight amid calls on social media for a law criminalising such violence.

Lamya Lotfey, who works at the New Woman Foundation, said I came across a case in Sharqiya governorate where a husband suspected his wife was cheating on him just because he heard her say on the phone that she would not go out that day, so he locked in their home and beat her to death.

Suspicion is treated as a cause for violence even if it might lead to murder. Honour killings are common [in Egypt], they are not rare as some claim, said Lotfey, who has worked closely with survivors of gender-based domestic violence.

Lotfey says the problem is that society treats it as normal, blaming the woman, and if a woman decides to take legal action, a social stigma is attached to her. If she has children, they will also be stigmatised.

People would say to her children, your mother imprisoned your father, she said, adding that if she has a daughter, any potential groom or his family would say she will put her husband in jail as her mother did.

Lotfey asserts that the most prevalent and often unrecognised form of domestic violence is psychological violence, such as imprisoning women or girls at home, refusing to grant a woman a divorce or threatening to prevent a mother from seeing her kids if she leaves.

Another reason why the problem persists is the economic dependence of women. Where would she go? What are the alternatives for women?

Further explaining the cycle of violence, Lotfey said that women sometimes end up beating their children, which shows there is no awareness of the psychological impacts of violence.

In 2015, children from 300,000 families suffered from nightmares and fear, and children from 113,000 families were absent from school due to violence perpetuated by husbands, according to the ECGBVS estimates.

Magda Adly, director of the Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, highlights that Egyptian film and television dramas include a lot of scenes of violence against women, including verbal insults sometimes even killing.

The way women are portrayed in television reinforces violence, Adly elaborates, saying that the negative images [of women] in the media are the most prevalent and most watched.

Nada Nashaat, advocacy coordinator at the Centre for Egyptian Women's Legal Assistance (CEWLA), said that even though domestic violence is more in the spotlight nowadays, its definition remains vague [in society].

Domestic violence is not only the act of beating. Verbal abuse and marital rape are also forms of domestic violence, Nashaat said.

Domestic violence against women is defined by the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

'Detainees inside Egyptian homes'

Over a year ago, a campaign calling for a law to protect girls from domestic violence was launched in Cairo.

According to the description on its Facebook page, the campaign addresses domestic violence against girls because girls are not able to speak up since they are often subjected to this violence at the hands of their close family members.

Shortly after its launch, the campaign hosted an event for women to share their stories with violence, whether it was a result of a personal choice on their part, such as taking off the veil, or they were subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), or due to patriarchal concepts such as child marriage or honour crimes.

Shaimaa Tantawy, one of the founders of the Law to protect girls from domestic violence, told Ahram Online that the campaign started when a colleague of mine wrote a post more than a year ago on Facebook about gender-based domestic violence, referring to the survivors as detainees inside Egyptian homes.

Her post received massive feedback and horrible accounts of violence, and then we got the idea of launching a comprehensive campaign, Tantawy said.

We started the campaign with lawyers, therapists and volunteers to provide support for the survivors of domestic violence, as well as draft a law to combat domestic abuse and create a lobby group for [this goal].

Our campaign aims to counter this abuse, Tantawy said.

When I saw some women the other day bravely recounting their abuse stories on television, I felt there is hope to overcome this.

Efforts

A number of civil society organisations including the National Council for Women and the Egyptian Centre for Womens Rights (ECWR) provide legal aid for women in divorce proceedings.

There is not much awareness in the country about avenues for psychological support, so women do not often seek it as often as they seek legal support.

To them, there are only two options; either stay and be abused or leave and be stigmatised, so many women remain in abusive family relationships, whether with spouses, fathers or close relatives without seeking any help.

Egypt's Ministry of Social Solidarity has nine shelters for women, while CEWLA is the only NGO that has a shelter for female survivors of violence.

The Nadeem Centre is one of the pioneering civil society organisations providing services for victims and working on prevention.

Civil society began its work [in Egypt] on the issue of violence against women in the private sphere in 1994 at the Cairo Conference, and this was within the framework of preparing for the Beijing conference of 1995, Adly said.

At this conference, Nadeem and the New Woman Foundation participated in the first field research addressing the issue of violence against women.

The Nadeem Centre provides psychological, social and rehabilitative support [in cases of divorce or separation] to victims of domestic violence and rape... and has provided legal counselling since 2002.

Now, Nadeem is not the only organisation that provides services for women survivors of domestic violence, as more rights and feminist centres are providing services, Adly said.

Domestic violence not a crime

Article 11 of the Egyptian constitution stipulates that the state shall be committed to protecting women against all forms of violence and shall guarantee that women are empowered to reconcile their family responsibilities with their work commitments.

However, domestic violence against women specifically is not criminalised under Egyptian law, though assaults leading to severe injury can be treated as a felony.

Articles 60 and 17 of the penal code, however, are commonly used to allow abusers to get away with their crimes, as both Nashaat and Lotfey explain.

Article 60 stipulates that the provisions of the penal code shall not apply to any deed committed in good faith, pursuant to a right determined by virtue of Sharia Law.

So if a man hits his daughter or his wife within good faith of disciplining her, he can be exonerated in accordance with this text.

Article 7 states that in felony counts, if the conditions of the crime for which public prosecution is initiated permit a show of clemency on the part of the judge, the penalty may be reduced.

Lotfey highlights that the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest criminal court, ruled in 1965 that a husband has the right to discipline his wife in a way that does not cause permanent physical damage.

Lotfey also says that interpretations of some religious texts allegedly allowing husbands to physically discipline women are problematic.

Although Egyptian law does not strictly follow Sharia, the constitution states that the "principles" of Sharia Law are the main source of legislation.

Nashaat highlights that CEWLA is working on a personal status code draft law to amend the aforementioned legislation.

CEWLA is working on religious discourse by also looking at the interpretations of other Muslim-majority countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Malaysia, Nashat said.

In 2005, the Nadeem Centre drafted a bill to criminalise domestic violence against women.

We went to Egypt's governorates to discuss [the bill] with civil society organisations and abused women who seek help from NGOs, as well as lawyers, judges, media members and parliamentarians, and later on included activists in the steering committee working on the final draft, Adly recounts.

In 2008, [Nadeem] presented the draft law to parliament and we did not receive any response. In [the new parliament of] 2010, it was resubmitted to the parliament speaker, who agreed to refer to it to parliaments committee on proposals and complaints.

However, after the eruption of the 25 January Revolution in 2011, the bill was stuck in limbo, and this is where the issue still stands, Adly said.

Countering domestic violence against Egyptian women

In May 2015, Egypt launched a nationwide project to combat violence against women to be implemented from 2015 to 2020.

Arab Countries such as Morocco and Jordan have already criminalised domestic violence and more countries in the region are moving now to do likewise.

According to the Egyptian cabinet's website, the National Council for Women (NCW) will coordinate with state bodies and NGOs to enhance efforts aimed at reducing community and family violence against women and to rehabilitate victims.

NCW member Dina Hussein said that the council has finished drafting a comprehensive violence against women law incorporating a broad definition of domestic violence against women and girls that includes marital rape.

It [the draft law] is now in the phase of community dialogue, said Hussein, who is also a member of the legislative committee of the NCW.

The problem is cultural, so the law would be used as a tool to counter it, she said, adding that the NCW is planning to conduct a nationwide study on its prevalence.

Domestic violence, which also affects children and Egyptian society as a whole, costs women and their households EGP 149 billion yearly.

Egypt ranks 132 out of 144 countries in gender equality, making it among the 20 bottom countries globally, according to the Global Gender Gap report 2016 published by the World Economic Forum.

It took me a lot of time to stand up to my father and I finally did, but I want to share my story because it is not in his right to beat me as [people] said, Samia concluded.



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As Egypt joins the world in celebrating International Womens day on Wednesday, feminists and women's rights activists say important steps towards more gender equality have been taken in the country, though some believe much more needs to be done.

The month of March features three women-related events in Egypt; the International Women's Day on 8 March, the Egyptian Women's Day on 16 March, and Mothers Day on 21 March.

Rania Yehia, member of the semi-governmental National Council for Women (NCW), confirmed to Ahram Online that El-Sisi will honour a promise he made last year to the council and will soon announce 2017 as the year of women in a public conference.

Womens rights advocates talked to Ahram Online about their perspectives in furthering women empowerment in the most populous Arab country.

More women in high positions, but gender disparity persists

Women make up 49 percent of Egypts population of 91 million.

In 2015, Egyptian women comprised only 22.5 percent of the workforce, according to an emailed statement by Egypts official statistics body CAPMAS.

Women are the main bread winners in around 30 percent of all households in the country.

At the end of 2016, unemployment among women stood at 25.3 percent compared to 8.5 percent among men, according to official statistics.

However, Yehia says that great steps have been made in the efforts to empower women, referring to the high percentage of women currently in parliament, the existence of four female ministers in the cabinet and the recent appointment of the first-ever female governor in Egypts history, Nadia Abdou, for the mostly rural Beheira governorate in the Nile Delta.

Yehia also pointed out that women now make up 43 percent of administrative positions at prosecutors' offices.

However, Yehia says that womens representation in public positions as a whole is not satisfactory and that more needs to be done.

In the 21st century in Egypt, women should constitute more than just 0.5 percent of the judiciary, Yehia said.

According to justice ministry reports in 2015, the percentage of women working in the judiciary amounts to 0.6 percent.

"There should be more women in leadership roles in the government, in the State Council, in the cabinet, and even in the military, Yehia added.

Women should not be limited to administrative positions within the police and army, but should be on the frontlines, she said.

Government statistics show that women constitute only 26 percent of Egyptian public sector employees and 21.3 percent of workers in Egyptian embassies and consulates.

New laws are step in right direction, but more needed

"There should have been a clear government strategy [to empower women] before the start of this year. There are efforts, but a plan on the legislative and executive levels is needed, as arrangements do not occur haphazardly. So, I cannot put high hopes on the Women's Year idea, unless the presidency has surprises in store," argues Nehad Abou El-Komsan, the head of Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR).

"This is the first time Egypt has had a female governor; it is important because this fights extremist ideas in society; the governorship is a more critical office than heading a ministry, since the governor deals with people directly; it is a very important step for politics and for women's rights overall," Abou El-Komsan said.

However, Mozn Hassan, the director of Nazra Center for Feminist Studies, told Ahram Online that "the appointment of a female governor is a good step, but Egyptian women have had the right to vote since the 1950s. We are in 2016, and we only have one female governor. I cannot believe we are still debating the same basic demands every March."

On the other hand, Azza Soliman, womens rights activist and head of the Centre for Egyptian Women Legal Assistance (CEWLA), praised Abdous appointment as governor, adding that proper representation of women in all areas based on competence is key to their advancement.

"There are now almost 90 female MPs in parliament, which is the highest percentage of women in legislature in Egypt's history," Hassan said.

Hassan says that the high number of women MPs is a direct result of women's rights enshrined in the 2014 constitution, and this shows that the state could implement more affirmative action in this area.

Article 11 of the 2014 constitution stipulates that "the state shall ensure the achievement of equality between women and men in all civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights in accordance with the provisions of this constitution. The state shall take the necessary measures to ensure the appropriate representation of women in the houses of representatives, as specified by law. The state shall also guarantee womens right of holding public and senior management offices in the state and their appointment in judicial bodies and authorities without discrimination."

The same article also says that the state shall be committed to protecting women against all forms of violence and shall guarantee that women are empowered to reconcile their family responsibilities with their work commitments.

In mid-2014, Egypt criminalised sexual harassment for the first time, with violators facing minimum jail terms of six months and/or fines of EGP 3,000 to EGP 5,000, with harassment defined as using physical, verbal or electronic communication, or any other action, that carries sexual or pornographic connotations.

Around 46 percent of married women aged 18 to 64 years in Egypt have experienced some form of spousal abuse, whether physical, emotional or sexual, according to government surveys.

In May 2015, Egypt launched a nationwide project to combat violence against women to be implemented from 2015 to 2020.

However, no draft law has been referred to parliament addressing violence against women as a whole or domestic violence in particular.

"We are not like Iran or Saudi Arabia, we have regulations, but they have a lot of issues so need to be changed. Advancement in womens issues has been gaining ground in society in recent years, but still more actions need to be taken and there should be transparency in the plans and actions regarding women," added Hassan.

Egypt ranks 132 out of 144 countries in gender equality, making it among the 20 bottom countries globally, according to the Global Gender Gap report 2016 published by the World Economic Forum. Egypt is outranked by some Arab countries like Qatar, Tunisia and Algeria.

Changes in laws and societal discourse on gender needed

Yehia said that the NCW will launch different initiatives on 16 March  Egyptian Women's Day  through its 27 branches across the country to work on various issues of concern to women; including development, reproductive health, and violence against women.

The council has a strategy till 2030 that works on the economic, political, social safety net and legislation levels, Yehia said.

Soliman believes that the Egyptian government should work to meet its international commitments on the ratified Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Universal Periodical Reviews (UPR) of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

This requires advocates to work on different levels from legislation and representation to media and societal outreach.

Abou El-Komsan believes that many things could be done, such as a law by the social solidarity ministry that requires all work places to provide nurseries for the children of women workers, saying such legislation would help working mothers and increase the percentage of women in the workforce.

The government could also award preferential treatment in business tenders to companies that provide representative work opportunities to women, Abou El-Komsan suggests.

"Both the personal status [family] law, and the recently passed civil service law should be changed; the first is unfair to women and needs to consider women as partners in families, the second includes provisions that make it hard for women employees [mothers and wives] to be promoted at their work," Abou El-Komsan says.

Hassan believes that the government should open channels of dialogue with women about their needs.

Hassan also believes that "a law to prevent violence against women is needed, equal opportunities for women are needed. We need to re-define rape, and we need a law that criminalises marital rape. A law and specialised courts in dealing with violence against women is important, and the government should provide treatment for violence survivors."

Yehia says that the NCW is working on two proposals to be submitted to parliament: one for penalties in cases of violence against women and the second for amendments in the personal status code.

Abou El-Komsan and Hassan agree that clear laws and their proper implementation are urgent for improving women's lives, saying women should not simply wait for ideas in society on gender issues to change.

Soliman, however, says both legislation and raising awareness should go hand in hand.

Womens representation and legislation are the priority, but we also need to work on the societal culture; through religious authorities and the media. We need media that supports women, media that does not insult them, Soliman says.

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An innovative international consortium has been launched to help improve current treatment options for diabetic kidney disease (DKD).

The new 29 million euro Biomarker Enterprise to Attack Diabetic Kidney Disease project is bringing together experts from more than 20 academic institutions based in Europe and the USA.

Various pharmaceutical and biotechnology businesses as well as JDRF will also be involved in research efforts.

The BEAt-DKD project, which was funded by the EU and third-party organisations, will seek to identify new early markers of kidney disease in people with diabetes.

Researchers hope to identify clinical signs and biomarkers that could help detect and treat DKD before kidney function deteriorates.

One of the teams participating in this project, the German Universitatsklinikum Erlange, has been conducting the largest study on kidney disease in Europe since 2007.

Their GCKD study, which followed over 5,000 participants over a period of 10 years, revealed that there are significant differences in the progression of DKD compared to other forms of kidney disease.

Yet, current screening and diagnosis of DKD is similar to that of progressive chronic kidney disease.

Kidney disease is a general term that encompasses different diseases, disorders, and damages that can occur within the kidneys.

The methods for measuring and tracking kidney function needs to be more specific and examine the kidney complications caused by diabetes, which are still not yet understood.

The BEAt-DKD consortium aims to pinpoint associated biomarkers for each of those ways in which DKD manifests early o, which can then help predict the course of the disease.

Those biomarkers are measuring things like the filtering capacity of the kidneys, the presence of compounds that are released in the urine when the kidneys are damaged, levels of certain proteins in the bloodstream indicative of kidney failure.

Those novel biomarkers could help assist the early diagnosis and immediate intervention in DKD, which is critical to slow the progression of disease.
An official source in Egypt's Ministry of Supply told Ahram Online on Wednesday that the bread crisis that struck some of the country's governorates on Tuesday is now over, as the ministry is distributing 100,000 electronic subsidy cards to citizens in eight governorates.

Earlier this week, the supply ministry reduced the quota of bread given to bakers nationwide for holders of old subsidy cards in a move aimed to curb misuse and profiteering by bakery owners.

The decision caused protests in several governorates on Tuesday as many citizens without the newer electronic cards  first introduced three years ago  were unable to obtain their share of bread.

Egypt introduced the electronic smart card system in 2014 for citizens to receive subsidised food, though many continue to use old paper cards that are not registered in the new system.

The ministry source said that many of the citizens who had applied to obtain the new smart cards have not yet received them, saying the process can take up to years in many cases.

An unsubsidised loaf of flatbread costs EGP 0.60, while the subsidised bread sells for as little as 0.05 a loaf.

A range of left-leaning political parties, including the Socialist Popular Alliance and Karama (Dignity) parties, denounced the decision, blaming the government's "random policies" for causing widespread public anger.

The Egyptian Democratic Party urged the cabinet to resign, accusing it of failing to manage the country's resources and being the main source of the economic crisis.

MP Haitham El-Hariry, a member of the left-leaning 25-30 parliamentary coalition, described the decision as "careless," calling on the Ministry of Interior to immediately release any citizen arrested in protests against the decision on Tuesday.

Hundreds of Egyptians took to the streets on Tuesday to protest the lack of subsidised bread in several governorates, including the capital Cairo and second largest city Alexandria.

The ministry reduced on Sunday the amount of bread allocated for paper card holders to 500 loaves a day, down from 1,000 to 4,000 allocated for each bakery depending on beneficiaries in the area. Holders of newer electronic smart cards were not affected by the reduction.

Minister of Supply Ali Moselhy said on Tuesday at a press conference that the decision was to combat "manipulation" of state-subsidised bread by bakers, stressing that the daily quota of five loaves per day for each individual remains untouched.

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Information circulating the Internet also suggests that the Snapdragon 835 powered device may ditch the Carl Zeiss Camera

Nokia is expected to launch its flagship smartphone in June, at least according to rumours online. There will reportedly be two versions of the flagship device. There may be a difference in screen size, but largely they are expected to have the same specification, including the all new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, coupled with either 4GB or 6GB RAM. The smartphones are expected to follow the new camera trend and have dual-rear cameras. The devices may also have a metallic unibody design. Nokia Mobile itself tweeted that it will not use a Carl Zeiss lens on their phones, so it doesnt look like we will see it on the device.

The objective of these devices will obviously be to compete with flagship phones launched by Sony, Samsung, Apple, LG, HTC and more, during the course of 2017. We have already seen the unveiling of some of these devices at MWC 2017. Sony showed off its Xperia XZ Premium with a 4K HDR display and some impressive camera tech, whereas LG stuck with a 2K HDR display on the LG G6. Samsung is yet to unveil its Galaxy S8 flagship. Up till now, Sony is the only smartphone maker that has intentions to release a SD 835 powered device.

Coming back to Nokia, the company had quite the presence at MWC 2017. Nokia announced the Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and the Nokia 6, which was previously available in China only, will now be available globally. Further, Nokia reintroduced the Nokia 3310 as well.
Android 7.0 Nougat update for Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge has been delayed to review the firmware. Samsung has not revealed when the update will be officially rolled out

Samsung has delayed the Android 7.0 Nougat update for the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. Samsung's UK subsidiary tweeted that the Nougat update for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge has been delayed to review the quality of firmware.

The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are Samsung's 2015 flagships and the delay in software update is a reminder to Android's fragmentation problem. Samsung UK has not offered any timeline for the update, but merely says it will be available at the earliest opportunity. With that tweet, Samsung has at least confirmed that the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are still confirmed to get Android 7.0 update.

@harri_ashley The software update for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge has been delayed while we review its quality. 1/3  Samsung UK (@SamsungUK) February 27, 2017

Android 7.0 Nougat, the latest version of Android was officially launched by Google in August, 2016. According to Android Dashboard, the operating system is running on just over 2.8 percent of devices. It is worth noting that most Android flagships are yet to receive the update.

Samsung recently started updating its 2016 flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones with Android 7.0 Nougat. The update is currently rolling out in a staged manner, across different regions. While Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge's delayed update shows how painful Android updates can get, owners of these devices need to be patient for now.
North Korea and the United States have been described by the Chinese Foreign Minister as "two accelerating trains with neither side willing to give way".

Wang Yi told reporters on Wednesday he had proposed a suspension of Pyongyang's nuclear missile tests, as well as putting a halt to military drills set up by the US and South Korea.

Kim Jong-un's regime launched its latest nuclear test on Monday, firing four ballistic missiles into the sea close to Japanese territory, further aggravating tensions in the region.

"(China's) priority now is to flash the red light and to apply brakes on both trains," Wang said during the press conference in Beijing.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, US President Donald Trump and the UN Security Council all unanimously condemned the actions of Pyongyang, after three of the missiles came into the country's exclusive economic area.

Wang also spoke of the need for the US and China to continue to advance their relationship in order for both to flourish.

"There is a compelling reason for China and the US to respect each other," Wang said. "Our interests are intertwined."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to fly to China later this week in order to speak with the government there about how best to approach the development of North Korea's nuclear programme.

China had previously criticised the US for having collaborated with South Korea in the rolling out of the THAAD nuclear defence programme.
Egyptian police arrested two people on Wednesday for "spreading the ideology of the Islamic State organisation" and aiding North Sinai militants through social media platforms, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Police say they arrested an 18-year-old man in Sharqiya for running a Facebook page aimed at spreading the extremist ideas of the Islamic State, as well as another man in the Red Sea governorate who was communicating via Facebook with North Sinai militants.

Authorities say the second suspect provided militant groups in North Sinai with information that aided in the carrying out of terrorist attacks, according to state security investigations.

The two men have been placed under 15 days precautionary detention pending further investigations.

Article 29 of Egypt's anti-terrorism law mandates a five-year prison sentence for anyone creating a website that calls for terrorist actions, impedes justice, or provides a platform for exchanging information about terrorists and their movements.

The Egyptian army has been battling an entrenched Islamist insurgency for several years in North Sinai, with hundreds of security forces killed in militant attacks.

In November 2014, the Sinai based militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to the Syria/Iraq-based Islamic State group.
At least 30 people have been killed in an attack on a hospital in Kabul , Afghanistan, as radical group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the atrocity.

Gunmen disguised as doctors reportedly entered the building and engaged in firefights with security in the area for hours, with dozens more being injured in the process.

The 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital is located just yards away from the US embassy in the Afghan city, and the attack began with a suicide bombing at the back of the complex, with further explosions heard during the engagement with special forces.

Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, saying that it "trampled on all human values".

"In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan," he added.

Some of those who were in the hospital at the time of the shooting described a chaotic scene inside in which the assailants fired indiscriminately.

"Suddenly gunfire broke out and a gunman was shooting at everyone," survivor Zahir Khan told Reuters. "He was shooting at doctors, patients and visitors."

Islamic State has carried out a series of attacks throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan since it declared its Khorasan province in 2015, in addition to several other attacks throughout continental Europe and in the rest of the Middle East.
US private sector job creation raced ahead in February, according to a widely followed gauge, sending shares bounding higher on both sides of the Atlantic.

Private firms in America took on 298,000 more workers last month, according to payrolls consulting firm ADP.

That was far in excess of the 190,000 print which economists had been anticipating.

Government data on non-farm payrolls due out two days later was expected to show 200,000 more hires for February.

To take into account, the ADP data was meant to provide a lead indicator of the monthly 'official' jobs figure, but from one month to the next sometimes wide disparities were not uncommon.

"The ADP number is based on a model which incorporates lagged official employment data, macroeconomic variables and information taken from firms which use ADP for payroll processing, and it is not a consistently reliable guide to the official number. But it is of some value, and in the wake of this report we are moving up our forecast for Friday's number to 250K from 200K," said Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Following Wednesday's report, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was up by five basis points to 2.56%.

The largest increases were concentrated among small and mid-sized firms, which added 104,000 and 122,000 payrolls, respectively.

Service-producing companies took on 193,000 workers, with professional and business hiring strongest at 66,000, followed by Education&Health and Leisure&Hospitality with 40,000 each.

ADP's tally for private sector job growth in January was revised higher from 246,000 to 261,000.

Banks jump

Wednesday's US job news proved to be another godsend for investors in bank shares on both sides of the Pond, as yields on government bonds jumped, providing a potential boost for lenders' net interest margins.

In London, shares in Barclays and Lloyds paced gains in the space, while in the US the benchmark KBW index of bank shares was adding 1.55% as of 1454 GMT.

The yield on benchmark two-year debt issued by HM Treasury was flat at 0.10% as that on 10-year debt rose three basis points to 1.23%.
Less than a year after buying ARM , Japanese telecoms giant Softbank was set to sell a quarter of the British chip manufacturer to a Saudi Arabian investment group, it was reported on Wednesday.

The stake was reportedly worth 6.5bn, or 25% of ARMs total value, and was being offloaded to Saudi Arabias newly-established Vision Fund/

Softbank was already set to put $25m into the new fund - worth $100bn overall - with the ARM stake being in addition to that.

It was understood that the Prime Ministers office was not raising any concerns over the deal, according to the Financial Times.

Neither Softbank nor ARM responded to requests for comment from a number of media outlets on Wednesday.

Since being taken over by Softbank, ARM has been gradually swallowing a number of players in the Internet of Things space, taking on fellow British business NextG-Com and Swedens Mistbase.
Stocks in London ended Wednesday on a mixed note following a no-real-surprises Spring Budget from UK Chancellor Philip Hammond, with traders now looking ahead to the US Federal Reserve next week and European Central Bank tomorrow.

The FTSE 100 closed the day down 0.06% or 4.38 points at 7,334.61, and the FTSE 250 finished up 0.24% or 45.13 points to 18,931.07.

This was in keeping with rises in Europe, and a mostly positive start to trade on Wall St as traders increasingly expect a Fed rate hike tomorrow.

"Hammond's Budget couldn't put a spring in the market's step," said Spreadex financial analyst Connor Campbell, pointing to the lack of any major reaction in either the FTSE or sterling.

"The most surprisingly aspect of Hammond's first (and last) Spring Budget was not any one policy, but rather what was omitted from his address to the (House of) Commons: Brexit.

"The lack of Brexity-news is likely why the reaction from the market has been so muted."

Hammond's red-box soapbox saw UK's GDP growth forecast for 2017 upped to 2.0%, from 1.4% previously, with the budget deficit cut by 16.4bn to 51.7bn.

"A cautious, steady overall approach is essentially the defining feature of the budget," said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Markit.

Jasper Lawler, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, noted some confidence had returned to stock markets on Wednesday as official UK growth targets were lifted and China reported a usual trade deficit thanks to strong internal demand.

"The outside chance that the European Central Bank could announce a surprise tapering of its bond-buying programme at its policy meeting on Thursday has some investors sitting on the side-lines," Lawler observed.

Returning to the FTSE's performance, a number of financial-related stocks were enjoying gains late on Wednesday.

Included among these were banks such as Barclays, Standard Chartered and Lloyds, while firms in the investment sphere like 3i Group and St James's Place were also beneficiaries.

A number of insurers also posted gains, with Admiral reversing early softness to be higher, even though its full-year profits fell by a quarter due to the government's recent changes to the so-called 'Ogden'. Underlying profits did edge higher, however.

In the same sector, Legal & General's shares fell despite it lifting its full-year pre-tax profits.

Other blue-chip stocks falling included several miners and oil stocks, with the prices of safe-haven gold, industrial metals and crude all tapering, the latter on a surprise US stores build.

As such, Randgold Resources, Anglo American, Shell and BP were all on the back foot, albeit unable to offset the rises among financials.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,334.61 -0.06%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,931.07 0.24%

techMARK (TASX) 3,442.65 0.39%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Worldpay Group (WPG) 285.50p 4.77%

3i Group (III) 725.00p 2.76%

Barclays (BARC) 232.30p 2.31%

Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,420.00p 1.81%

Mediclinic International (MDC) 744.00p 1.78%

Admiral Group (ADM) 1,828.00p 1.61%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 755.60p 1.55%

Capita (CPI) 525.00p 1.35%

BAE Systems (BA.) 652.50p 1.32%

Carnival (CCL) 4,470.00p 1.22%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,000.00p -2.30%

Legal & General Group (LGEN) 249.40p -1.89%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,077.00p -1.80%

Anglo American (AAL) 1,207.50p -1.59%

easyJet (EZJ) 940.00p -1.47%

Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,225.50p -1.24%

BT Group (BT.A) 328.50p -1.20%

BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,327.50p -1.12%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 749.00p -1.06%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 896.00p -1.05%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Restaurant Group (RTN) 368.90p 12.71%

Inmarsat (ISAT) 743.50p 8.62%

G4S (GFS) 288.40p 7.85%

Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,240.00p 7.83%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 128.70p 6.36%

Paysafe Group (PAYS) 425.40p 3.98%

Acacia Mining (ACA) 446.20p 3.94%

CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,766.00p 3.88%

Just Eat (JE.) 563.00p 3.87%

Ascential (ASCL) 316.00p 3.50%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Dignity (DTY) 2,296.00p -16.93%

John Laing Group (JLG) 255.10p -3.74%

Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,736.00p -2.85%

Berendsen (BRSN) 775.00p -2.76%

Cairn Energy (CNE) 218.30p -2.63%

Hunting (HTG) 556.00p -2.03%

Redefine International (RDI) 36.56p -1.98%

Aggreko (AGK) 903.50p -1.90%

Allied Minds (ALM) 409.40p -1.82%

Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 487.20p -1.62%
Self employed to be hit hard with National Insurance increase

Chancellor slashes dividend allowance for investors

UK Chancellor Philip Hammond on Wednesday stood accused of breaking a Conservative Party 2015 election manifesto pledge not to raise personal taxes after hammering the self employed with an increase in National Insurance contributions (NICs).

Delivering his largely low key Spring Budget, Hammond said class 4 NICs would rise to 10% from 9% in April 2018 and to 11% in April 2019 in effort to make the system "fairer".

The Conservative 2015 election manifesto said: "We will not raise VAT, National Insurance contributions or income tax."

Ministers rejected the accusation of pledge breaking by claiming the law in which it was enshrined did not specify which NIC classes were included.

However, tax experts said Hammond appeared to be targeting the entrepreneurial sector, which they said was a vital contributor to any economic recovery.

Kevin Nicholson, head of tax at PwC, said the significance of the move should not be underestimated and had "opened up a big potential money spinner" for the Treasury.

"The self-imposed tax lock is tying the government's hands, as the chancellor clearly wants to raise money but is committed not to do so from the main taxes of income tax, NIC and VAT. That means other areas of the economy will continue to see increases and tightening," he said.

On the macro-economic front, Hammond was able to produce some brighter news against an austere backdrop, as he revealed that growth this year would be 2% against November's forecast of 1.4%.

However, independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said growth would slow to 1.6% in 2018, before rising to 1.7% in 2019, 1.9% in 2020 and 2% in 2021.

There was a significant cut in OBR forecasts on public borrowing for 2016-17 to 51.7bn from 68.2bn forecast in November.

Borrowing will fall further in the financial year 2017-18 to 58.3bn and to 40.8bn in 2018-19, 21.4bn in 2019-20 and then 20.6bn in 2020-21, Hammond said.

INVESTORS ALSO HIT

Hammond came under further fire for demolishing the tax free allowance on dividends less than a year after it came into force.

Investors will see their annual tax-free dividend allowance cut to 2,000 from 5,000 from April 2018 in a move that was forecast to raise almost 1bn in extra revenues by 2021/22.

Hammond said the current system was unfair, with most of the beneficiaries of the allowance company directors. The rest were investors with shareholdings of 50,000 or more, he added.

"It is also an extremely generous tax break for investors with substantial share portfolios. I have decided, therefore, to address the unfairness around director/shareholders tax advantage, and at the same time raise some much needed-revenue," he said.

Treasury estimates said the move would produce 5m in revenue in 2018/19, then 870m, 825m and 930m in subsequent years.

Chris Sanger, head of tax, EY, said those who have just more than 50,000 in shares will now be caught up by a tax rise that is ostensibly targeted at owner managers".

The cut in allowance will mean that a higher rate taxpayer receiving 5,000 of dividend income will now face almost 1,000 in extra tax. This will be a bitter blow for those who are relying on these savings to fund their retirement but who now find themselves as collateral damage.

Elsewhere, Hammond shelled out 435m at to help offset a rise in business rates and avert a potential rebellion from Conservative MPs who were concerned that many small firms faced crippling increases from April 1.

He told parliament no business losing small business rate relief would see their bill increase next year by more than 600 annually. Pubs with a rateable value of less than 100,000 were given a 1,000 discount for 2017 - expected to affect 90% of those businesses.

There was also a 300m discretionary relief fund for local authorities to support companies struggling to pay the new rates.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said that the 435m cut was a drop in the ocean compared with the 25bn a year that the tax raises and that this was another sticking plaster on a chronically ill patient  an unsustainable property tax higher here than anywhere in the developed world.
HSBC Holdings has sold a portfolio of predominantly US second lien residential mortgage loans to DLJ Mortgage Capital, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse, for $1.5bn.

The proceeds will be used to pay down long-term debt and for general corporate purposes.

HSBC said the disposal is part of the ongoing reduction of its US consumer mortgage loan business and is in line with its strategy to sell substantially all of HSBC Finance Corporation's residential mortgage loans.

The carrying value of the loan portfolio as at 31 December 2016 was $1.5bn and the gross assets stood at $1.64bn.

The disposal is expected to generate a pre-tax loss on sale, after associated costs, of around $51m.

Second lien debt refers to loans that are reimbursed only after loan balances on senior debts are repaid in full following a default.

At 1445 GMT, HSBC shares were flat at 665.10p.
China-based smartphone and telecom equipment manufacturer ZTE Corporation entered a plea deal in the US this week, agreeing to plead guilty and pay almost $900m in a case involving the alleged breach of sanctions against Iran.

An investigation lasting five years had reportedly revealed ZTE was conspiring to evade US trade embargoes against Iran by purchasing US-made components, building them into ZTE equipment, and then shipping them to Iran.

It was also charged over an apparent 283 shipments of telecommunications equipment to North Korea.

ZTE Corporation not only violated export controls that keep sensitive American technology out of the hands of hostile regimes like Iran's, they lied ... about their illegal acts, said US Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Somewhere between 25% and 30% of ZTEs components come from the US, with Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm among its major suppliers.

ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company, said chief executive Zhao Xianming.

As part of the plea deal, ZTE would be subject to a seven year suspended denial of its export privileges - which could be activated if any further incursions are found, choking the companys US supply chain.

It also agreed to three years of probation, and the installation of a corporate monitor as well as a compliance and ethics programme.

An additional $300m penalty was suspended during the seven years, meaning the already expensive $892m penalty could top $1bn if the company does not comply with the requirements.

The penalty was indeed higher than expected, with ZTE confirming on Wednesday that it was looking at a preliminary net loss of CNY 2.36bn in the 2016 year as a result of the settlement - its first loss in four years.

Investors could take solace in the fact that without the penalty, ZTE would have reported a CNY 3.8bn profit - an 18% improvement year-on-year, and better than expected by the markets.
The United States and North Korea are racing towards a catastrophic head-on collision, Chinas foreign minister has warned, amid Chinese fury at Americas deployment of a controversial anti-missile system. Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, Wang Yi said a looming crisis was brewing on the Korean peninsular. - Guardian

Chancellor Philip Hammond is to announce tax rises to meet a fresh round of spending commitments and reject calls to increase borrowing, when he unveils his maiden Budget later today. It is expected Mr Hammond will rely on taxes to raise extra spending for social care and business rates. - Telegraph

Philip Hammond will also present a sharp increase in economic growth, coupled with an improvement in the public finance figures. The Office for Budget Responsibility could all but erase the short-term downgrade to the borrowing figures delivered in last Novembers autumn statement after the Brexit result. - The Times

Philip Hammond is facing growing pressure from within the Conservative party to plough the proceeds of growing tax revenues into shoring up beleaguered public services. The Treasury has indicated that the chancellor will not shirk difficult decisions on tax as the government aims to steady the public finances before triggering article 50 and starting the formal process of Brexit. - Guardian

The Chancellor is planning to step in to help the aging North Sea oil and gas sector by investigating ways the tax system could help to extend the life of projects. The move will be announced by Philip Hammond when he delivers his first Budget to the House of Commons on Wednesday. - Telegraph

Landlords are exploiting legal loopholes such as by using snail farms, hot air balloons, tents and empty cardboard boxes to escape paying business rates at a cost to local authorities of 230 million a year, experts have claimed. Philip Hammond is set to use his budget today to quell the backlash against business rates rises by offering more relief to those who will be hit worst. - The Times

Supermarket giant Sainsburys has dropped an ambitious target to get consumers to halve their household food waste after finding it was more difficult than expected to achieve behavioural change. Sainsburys launched its Waste Less, Save More programme in 2016  a 10m five-year plan to help customers save money by reducing their food waste. - Graun

Lord Heseltine was sacked last night as a government adviser for supporting a House of Lords rebellion that inflicted a historic defeat on the government. The former deputy prime minister was one of 13 Tory peers to rebel against the government by amending its Article 50 bill to give parliament the final say on any European Union agreement. - Times

Theresa May is heading for a fresh battle with Conservative MPs over her Brexit bill next week, after peers voted to give parliament the right to veto the final outcome of her EU talks. Downing Street said it would seek to overturn the amendment passed by the House of Lords on Tuesday by 366 to 268, arguing that giving parliament a blanket right of veto was against the national interest and would weaken Mays negotiating hand. - Guardian

The Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act hit a wall of fierce conservative opposition on Tuesday, less than a day after it was introduced. The American Health Care Act is already being denounced by many influential conservative groups and is meeting widespread skepticism among Republicans on Capitol Hill. - Guardian
Shares in Barclays and StanChart continued gaining altitude alongside other financials following the release of better than expected private sector payrolls figures in the States.

Private sector payrolls in the US jumped by 298,000 in February, according to consultancy ADP, easily outpacing estimates for a gain of 190,000.

Coming two days before the release of the official non-farm payrolls reports in the US, the figures led some analysts to revise their forecasts for that number upwards and may have helped to cement expectations of another rate hike at the Fed's 15 March meeting.

In a related note, on 7 March analysts at Goldman Sachs reiterated their 'Buy' recommendation on StanChart.

"It is most exposed to the US rate hike cycle (as c.50% of its rate-sensitive balance sheet is linked to USD and the absence of meaningful GBP exposure), and (2) see its strong capital position (4Q16 13.6% CET1 ratio) as a strong underpin for the recommencement of dividends during 2017."

Randgold Resources led fallers with analysts at RBC downgrading the stock from 'Sector perform' to 'Underperform'.

They also trimmed their target price from 6,000p to 5,900p.

The gold-digger was about as well run an outfit as one might ask for, but "we do, however, see difficulty in seeing what drives Randgold to the next level."

In particular, they took aim at the large pile of cash on the balance sheet which was returning under 1% and thus weighing on its return on equity.

Acting as a backdrop, out on COMEX front month gold futures were down by 0.66% to 1,208.20 as the US dollar clambered higher on those heightened US rate hike hopes.

The yellow metal was also still being weighed down by speculator positioning and shifting rate hike expectations in the US, UBS argued, although current levels of uncertainty were expected to continue buoying sentiment.

"CFTC data to Feb 28 revealed a sizeable build in gold net long positions on Comex of nearly 4moz, thelargest weekly increase since June. The sharp increase in gross longs was the main driver, taking the net position to over 18moz, the highest level since November. This build-up of length over a relatively short period likely added to the pressure as Fed policy expectations shifted; we expect underlying positive sentiment towards gold to remain broadly intact as uncertainty lingers," UBS said.

BHP and Anglo American were also lower as the price of copper gave back 0.36% to $2.61 a pound on COMEX.

For BHP, UBS said on Wednesday its shares were discounting a price of iron ore of about $50 a tonne, versus a spot price at $90 a tonne.

That was also true of Anglo American, both of which were discounting copper prices of roughly $2.25 a pound, 15% below then current prices.

Also in the news, Aurora Williams, a Chilean mining minister, said on 7 March the copper market might see a deficit in 2017 due to disruptions to operations.

Nonetheless, she added "we're clear that we're not going back to super-cycle prices."
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Related Egypt demands investigation into death of Egyptian in Italian prison

Egyptian prosecutor-general Nabil Sadek has ordered the prosecution's International Cooperation Office to prepare an official request to Italian judicial authorities for the results of investigations into the death of an Egyptian citizen in a Sicilian prison last week.

According to news reports, the 1987- born Hany El-Sayed Mohamed  who had entered Italy illegally  committed suicide according to Italian authorities

On Sunday, Egypt's foreign ministry instructed the Egyptian embassy in Rome to follow up on the case and called on Italian authorities to keep Egypt informed on the results of the investigation.

In 2014, an Italian court sentenced El-Sayed to four years in prison for assaulting a police officer, according to news reports. El-Sayed, who had one year remaining on his sentence, died one day after a judge denied his request that he be deported to Egypt.

Egyptian-Italian relations have been strained since Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni was tortured and killed in Cairo in early 2016.

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PORTLAND (AP)  The Oregon Supreme Court has heard arguments over the constitutionality of Portland's art tax, which funds nonprofit arts programs and public school art teachers.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday that retired attorney George Wittemyer sued in 2013, saying the tax violates a state provision against a head tax.





. . .
Norwegian telecom major Telenor on Tuesday announced the setting up of a new powerhouse for artificial intelligence (AI) jointly with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in Trondheim. Named as Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab, the new centre would strengthen national competitiveness and add valuable, future-proof competencies to the Norwegian society, Telenor stated in a release. "Artificial intelligence is perhaps the single most important technology of our century. In the future, AI will drive your car, revolutionise cancer treatment and make public services more efficient. With this opening we want to accelerate the education, research and competency building, which will be crucial for Norway's ability to compete in the digital future," says Sigve Brekke, president and CEO of Telenor Group. The new centre is financed by Telenor with NOK 50 million and the company's researchers will participate in joint projects at the lab. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology contributes with academic resources, infrastructure and technical assistance while the research organisation SINTEF will contribute with bringing the knowledge into practical use. Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab will be an inclusive and sharing centre where members of academia, businesses, startup communities, organisations and authorities can contribute to and benefit from the development of new knowledge. The lab will be based on established principles for research ethics, to which contributors must adhere.



"Artificial intelligence is an area where Norway can take a position internationally while simultaneously developing services to the benefit of Norwegian society. The most important aspect of the Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab is that we're now creating the foundation of knowledge for something we don't yet know what is. I believe that we will help create a society where technology makes our personal and professional lives simpler, smarter and better," says Gunnar Bovim, Rector at NTNU. The objective is that companies and organisations will contribute with both real-life problems to be addressed as well as datasets for the scientists to work on together with the involved parties. Telenor will make available large and anonymized datasets from its mobile- and IoT networks. "Artificial intelligence represents a fundamental technological shift that opens up for new opportunities, increased competitiveness for Norwegian industry, and greater efficiency in the public sector. SINTEF is betting heavily on AI and believe it is vital that leading expertise in this area is developed in Norway. In close collaboration with NTNU and Telenor, SINTEF will contribute to the development of technology based on AI that will increase value creation in Norway," says Alexandra Bech Gjrv, CEO of SINTEF. The Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab is located at Norway's premier technological university, NTNU, in close proximity to SINTEF in Trondheim. It will have 50 work stations spread over 120 sqm and be open to all students and faculty at NTNU. The lab will be managed by one professor, and master- and PhD students and scientists will conduct experiments in the lab and carry out research with external academic and industry partners. The Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab will conduct research on theory and methods within machine learning (multiple technologies and applications that can understand, act and learn from big datasets) as well as pursue applied research at an international level. The ambition is also that the lab will stimulate the creation of new products, services, businesses and workplaces.










Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp yesterday pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $892 million to settle criminal charges for violating US sanctions on Iran and North Korea and obstructing justice. The penalty is the largest criminal fine imposed in a US sanctions case. The US government had alleged that the Shenzhen-based company had illegally shipped telecommunications equipment to Iran and North Korea in violation of its Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). As part of the settlement, ZTE, China's second-largest maker of telecom equipment, will pay a penalty of $661 million to Commerce's Bureau of Industry Security (BIS), with $300 million suspended during a seven-year probationary period to deter future violations. This civil penalty is the largest ever imposed by the BIS and, if the criminal plea is approved by a federal judge, the combined $1.19 billion in penalties from Commerce, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Treasury, would be the largest fine and forfeiture ever levied by the US government in an export control case. The US government alleged that from January 2010 through April 2016, ZTE conspired to evade the long-standing US embargo against Iran in order to obtain contracts with and related sales from Iranian entities, including entities affiliated with the Iranian Government, to supply, build, operate, and/or service large-scale telecommunications networks in Iran, with US-origin equipment and software. As a result of the conspiracy, ZTE, which makes smartphones and telecommunications infrastructure equipment, was able to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts with and sales from such Iranian entities. Additionally, ZTE undertook other actions involving 283 shipments of controlled items to North Korea with knowledge that such shipments violated the EAR. Shipped items included routers, microprocessors, and servers controlled under the EAR for national security, encryption, regional security, and/or anti-terrorism reasons. In addition, ZTE engaged in evasive conduct designed to prevent the US government from detecting its violations. During the course of the investigation, ZTE made knowingly false and misleading representations and statements to BIS and other US law enforcement agencies, including that the company had previously stopped shipments to Iran as of March 2012, and was no longer violating US export control laws. ZTE also engaged in an elaborate scheme to prevent disclosure to and affirmatively mislead the US Government, by deleting and concealing documents and information from the outside counsel and forensic accounting firm that ZTE had retained with regard to the investigation. ''Despite ZTE's repeated attempts to thwart the investigation, the dogged determination of investigators uncovered damning evidence of an orchestrated, systematic scheme to violate U.S. export controls by supplying equipment to sanctioned destinations,'' said Douglas Hassebrock, director of the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Export Enforcement which headed the investigation. ''ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them and remains committed to positive change in the company,'' said Zhao Xianming, chairman and chief executive of ZTE in a statement. The US Commerce Department is also investigating ZTE's larger Chinese rival, Huawei, for violating its sanctions on exporting or re-exporting of US technology to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, all of whom are under US sanctions.










The exhibition at the Triennale di Milano contains the projects of the 16 young photographers involved in Urban Layers coming from all over the world, exhibited in an urban set-up made of iron structures and large prints. The projection of the video The encounter by Adrian Paci, an internationally renowned artist who has contributed to the project as a guest, concludes the exhibition, even symbolically, taking us back in the heart of Sicily and recalling the ancestral values of encounter, history and art. Urban Layers  Identity Flows has realised, during 2016, an international residency for 6 young artists in Gibellina (Trapani, Sicily), three urban festivals in the cities of Malaga (Spain), Thessaloniki (Greece) and Lecce (Italy), a research on Audience Development, an exhibition and a workshop in Milan and finally the publication of a book.

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Top: Angelica Dass, Humanae. Above: Identity Flows, installation view at the Upho Festival, Malaga, 2016



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Identity Flows, installation view at the Bitume Photofest, Lecce, 2016



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Identity Flows, installation view at the Upho Festival, Malaga, 2016



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The theme of the entire project is Identity Flows, in the double meaning of flowing identity and identity flows. The artists involved in Urban Layers started their experience in Sicily which has become a symbol of the mass migration flows affecting the entire Mediterranean. They have been selected through an international call and hosted in a residency in Gibellina (Trapani). Here they have been able to face the complex issues related to European identity, challenged by the encounter of different cultures and languages, by their admixture and by their clash which generate continuously new forms of society.

Identity Flows, installation view at the Bitume Photofest, Lecce, 2016

The historical interactions among the peoples of the Mediterranean, which have largely contributed to the design of the current cultural, linguistic and religious borders, confirm that the formation of identity is a fluid and ongoing process. In this delicate historical moment Europe rethinks about its political, economic and cultural role, considering not only the dramatic current events, but also and especially its unstoppable demographic and social changes.

Identity Flows, installation view at the Upho Festival, Malaga, 2016
The Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:

- John McLaughlin, Glenagivney, Moville

- Anne- Margaret Wilson, St. Johnston

- Father Pat Prendergast, Inniskeel Parish, Glenties

- Sister Assumpta Doherty, Ballyshannon and Kincasslagh

Sister Assumpta Doherty, Ballyshannon and Kincasslagh



The death has occurred at Aras Mic Suighne Nursing Home, Laghey of Sister Assumpta Doherty, late of St. Catherines Convent, College Street, Ballyshannon and formerly of Kincasslagh.

Reposing at St. Catherines Convent, College Street, Ballyshannon on Wednesday from 2pm to 7pm strictly.

Funeral mass is at the convent on Thursday morning at 11am with burial afterwards in the Abbey cemetery, Ballyshannon.

Father Pat Prendergast, Inniskeel Parish, Glenties

The death has occurred in St Vincents Hospital, Dublin of Very Reverend Father Pat Prendergast, Parish Priest of Inniskeel Parish, Glenties.

His remains will repose at his sister in law Mary Prendergasts residence Carolina House, Loughnagin, Letterkenny from 10pm on Tuesday 7th March.

Family time tonight (Tuesday 7th March) from 11pm until 10am.

Removal on Wednesday 8th March at 4.45pm going to St Conals Church, Glenties to arrive at 6pm to repose overnight.

Requiem mass on Thursday, March 9, at 2pm, followed by interment in the local cemetery, Glenties.

Enquiries to James Mc Guinness & Sons Funeral Directors Glenties.



John McLaughlin, Glenagivney, Moville



The sudden death has taken place of John McLaughlin, late of Glenagivney, Moville.

He will be in repose at his brother-in-laws Patrick OHaras home, 65 Craigbrack Road, Eglinton, on Thursday, March 9, at 11.15 am for 12 noon Requiem Mass in Star of the Sea Church Faughanvale.

Interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.



Denis Doherty, Clonmany

The tragic death has taken place of Denis Doherty ( Reilly Junior ) late of 8, Gaddyduff, Clonmany.

His remains will be in repose at his late home.

Funeral from there on Wednesday , March 8th morning at 10.40am going to St Marys Church, Clonmany for Requiem Mass at 11 oclock.

Interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.



* If you wish to have a death notice included, please e-mail: editorial@donegaldemocrat.com and include a contact telephone number for verification.
The Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:

- John McLaughlin, Glenagivney, Moville

- Anne- Margaret Wilson, St. Johnston

- Father Pat Prendergast, Inniskeel Parish, Glenties

- Sister Assumpta Doherty, Ballyshannon and Kincasslagh

- Sean Quinn, Lifford

- Francis Browne, Mill Road, Glenties

- Patrick Boyce, Downings

- Danny Mc Gee, Tobberkeen Dungloe

- John McGowan, Kinlough, Leitrim

Sean Quinn Lifford

The death has taken place at his home of Sean Quinn, late of The Roughan, Lifford and formerly of Ballyduff Terrace, Lifford.

Funeral from his late residence tomorrow, Thursday March 9th, at 12.20 for Requiem in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Strabane at 1p.m, followed by interment in St Patrick`s Cemetery, Murlog, Lifford.

Donations in lieu of flowers please to Alzheimer`s Society Ireland c/o Quigley Funeral Directors, 1A Newtown Place, Strabane.

House strictly private.

Sister Assumpta Doherty, Ballyshannon and Kincasslagh

The death has occurred at Aras Mic Suighne Nursing Home, Laghey of Sister Assumpta Doherty, late of St. Catherines Convent, College Street, Ballyshannon and formerly of Kincasslagh.

Reposing at St. Catherines Convent, College Street, Ballyshannon on Wednesday from 2pm to 7pm strictly.

Funeral mass is at the convent on Thursday morning at 11am with burial afterwards in the Abbey cemetery, Ballyshannon.

Father Pat Prendergast, Inniskeel Parish, Glenties

The death has occurred in St Vincents Hospital, Dublin of Very Reverend Father Pat Prendergast, Parish Priest of Inniskeel Parish, Glenties.

His remains will repose at his sister in law Mary Prendergasts residence Carolina House, Loughnagin, Letterkenny from 10pm on Tuesday 7th March.

Family time tonight (Tuesday 7th March) from 11pm until 10am.

Removal on Wednesday 8th March at 4.45pm going to St Conals Church, Glenties to arrive at 6pm to repose overnight.

Requiem mass on Thursday, March 9, at 2pm, followed by interment in the local cemetery, Glenties.

Enquiries to James Mc Guinness & Sons Funeral Directors Glenties.



John McLaughlin, Glenagivney, Moville

The sudden death has taken place of John McLaughlin, late of Glenagivney, Moville.

He will be in repose at his brother-in-laws Patrick OHaras home, 65 Craigbrack Road, Eglinton, on Thursday, March 9, at 11.15 am for 12 noon Requiem Mass in Star of the Sea Church Faughanvale.

Interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.



Denis Doherty, Clonmany

The tragic death has taken place of Denis Doherty ( Reilly Junior ) late of 8, Gaddyduff, Clonmany.

His remains will be in repose at his late home.

Funeral from there on Wednesday , March 8th morning at 10.40am going to St Marys Church, Clonmany for Requiem Mass at 11 oclock.

Interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Francis Browne, Mill Road, Glenties

The death has taken place in Letterkenny University Hospital of Francis Browne, late of Mill Road, Glenties.

In repose at his late residence. Removal from there on Thurs evening ( Mar 9th ) at 7pm going to St. Conals Church, Glenties to repose overnight.

Funeral Mass on Friday morning, march 10, at 11am with burial afterwards in the local cemetery Glenties.

Family time from 10.30pm till 12 noon on Thursday. Family flowers only donations if desired to the Friends of Letterkenny University Hospital c/o James Mc Guinness & son, Funeral Directors, Glenties.

Patrick Boyce, Downings

The death has taken place at Ramelton Nursing Unit of Patrick Boyce, late of Lower Meevagh, Downings.

He is in repose at his late home.

Funeral on Friday March 10th morning at 11am in the Church of St. John the Baptist for Requiem Mass at 11am with burial in Meevagh cemetery.

Family time from 11pm till 11am.

Danny Mc Gee, Tobberkeen Dungloe

The death has taken place of Danny Mc Gee, late Tobberkeen, Dungloe.

His remains will repose at his late residence with rosary nightly at 9pm.

Funeral Mass on Friday 10th March at 11am in St. Cronas Church, Dungloe with internment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

House private from 10pm till 10am.

John McGowan, Kinlough, Leitrim

Death has taken place at Sligo University Hospital, John McGowan, also known as John the Shoemaker late of Cloonawillin, Kinlough, Co, Leitrim.

Reposing at his family home on Thursday from 4pm with removal to St. Aidans Church, Kinlough for funeral mass on Friday at 12 noon followed by burial in the new cemetery, Kinlough. Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu if desired to the North West Hospice, Sligo. House Private on Friday morning.



* If you wish to have a death notice included, please e-mail: editorial@donegaldemocrat.com and include a contact telephone number for verification.
Donegals ISPCA inspector was called out to investigate over 250 cases of suspected animal cruelty in the county last year.

In 2016, it has been confirmed to the Donegal Democrat, that ISPCA officer of Donegal, North Leitrim and North Sligo, Kevin McGinley investigated 255 cases of suspected animal cruelty.

These complaints related to 120 calls pertaining to dogs, almost 90 for horses, 14 for cats, ten for livestock, five for goats, seven for bids and five for other animals.

From the 255 complaints, three convictions for animal cruelty were secured in the courts in Donegal and their are a number of other cases pending this year, Officer McGinley confirmed.

This comes as the ISPCA National Animal Cruelty Helpline received over 53,000 calls last year.

ISPCA Inspectors had carried out 11,065 investigations and over 2,795 animals were seized or surrendered. Nationally a total of 92 prosecutions have been initiated, 25 of which have been finalised in court to-date.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) is highlighting the constant demand on resources and the difficult and often horrific scenes of animal neglect and abuse encountered by ISPCA Animal Welfare Inspectors.

With 90% of ISPCA income received from public donations and through gifts in wills, the ISPCA rely heavily on public support to continue their vital work preventing animal cruelty and alleviating animal suffering.

Report

Recently, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) launched their 2016 Inspectorate Report at the Department of Agriculture which focused primarily on animal cruelty prosecutions initiated by the ISPCA which were finalised in the courts in 2016.

The report outlines 16,312 calls were made to the National Animal Cruelty Helpline resulting in over 3,200 investigations, 995 animals were seized or surrendered, 32 prosecutions initiated resulting in 15 finalised in court, compared to nine in 2015.

ISPCA CEO Dr Andrew Kelly said: The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 which came into force three years ago was a significant step forward for animal welfare in Ireland, but like any legislation it is only as good as its enforcement. Our Inspectors became authorised officers under the AHWA in May 2014 and since then have used their statutory powers effectively to deal with animal neglect, cruelty and abuse.

For more information see www.ispca.ie
Heading to the beach is an annual rite for many college students, providing an opportunity to set aside their studies for a week or so, let their hair down, and blow off some steam.

Usually, they drive, through Dothan or other south Alabama towns along various routes to the coast.

However a group of 37 Troy University students passed through the area on Saturday headed for the sugar-white sands on foot. And while theyre likely to have a good time once they arrive, for them its more about the journey than the destination.

The group, members of Alpha Tau Omega, undertook the 123-mile walk to raise funds for Jeep Sullivan Wounded Warrior Outdoor Adventures, a non-profit for wounded veterans and their families. Its the seventh year for the Walk Hard for Heroes benefit.

Its refreshing to see a group of students use their Spring Break holiday to make a sacrifice for others  particularly when the recipients are military personnel who have made sacrifices of their own for the continuing freedom and security of Americans.

Todays youth are sometimes described in broad strokes in less-than-admirable terms. However, we frequently hear of instances such as this in which rising generations defy those unfair generalizations.

We applaud the members of Alpha Tau Omega for their dedication to this cause, and wish them a pleasant journey and happiness at their destination, as their contributions will surely create similar experiences for wounded veterans and their families.
The United States appears to have decided to enlist the help of Kurdish YPG militia in a campaign to push IS group out of its stronghold in Raqqa, Syria, thwarting Turkey's ambitions, a senior Turkish official said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey, the United States and Russia must coordinate to clear Syria of terrorist groups. The three countries' chiefs of staff were working to prevent clashes between the different parties.

Yildirim spoke as Turkey's military chief of staff met his U.S. and Russian counterparts in the southern Turkish province of Antalya to discuss coordination in Syria. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the results of the meeting "could change the whole picture".

"... It appears that the U.S. may carry out this operation with the YPG, not with Turkey. And at the same time the U.S. is giving weapons to the YPG," the official said.

"If this operation is carried out in this manner there will be a cost for Turkey-U.S. relations, because the YPG is a terrorist organization ..."

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford attended the three-party meeting at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart, a spokesman for Dunford said.

The spokesman, Navy Captain Greg Hicks, said the military chiefs discussed security in Iraqand Syria and the importance of additional measures to avoid accidents.

They also discussed "the current situation of the fight against all terrorist organizations in Syria with an effort to wage a more effective fight against (them) ..."

A U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Dunford did not inform his Turkish counterpart of any decision about the Raqqa offensive, in remarks that appeared at odds with the Turkish account.

Ankara has been pressing the United States to change its strategy for fighting IS group in Syria by abandoning the YPG and instead drawing on Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels to retake Raqqa.

Turkey views the YPG and its political affiliate the PYD as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is waging an insurgency against the Turkish government.

MULTI-SIDED CONFLICT

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last week the next target of his country's Syrian operation was Manbij, which is controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

But Yildirim said then that military action by Turkey would not make sense unless coordinated with the United States and Russia.

After clashing with FSA rebels west of Manbij this month, the Manbij Military council declared a deal with Russia to hand front-line villages to Syrian government control to prevent their coming under Turkish control.

Rapid developments in the war for northern Syria - the most complicated theatre in the multi-sided conflict - are setting new limits on Turkish power, while affirming the role of the U.S.-allied YPG militia that Ankara entered Syria to fight.

The Syrian government has emerged as a major player in the war for the north after punching through a swath of IS-held territory, blocking any further Turkish advances from the buffer zone it has carved out in Syria near its frontier.

In August, Turkey-backed forces launched an operation to drive IS militants away from its border with Syria and prevent the YPG from taking territory in their wake.

Since pushing the militants out of their al-Bab stronghold, fighting has focused on villages west of Manbij, setting Turkish-backed rebels against the Manbij Military Council, part of the U.S.-backed SDF that includes the YPG.

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Harris Security System Inc. is known across the Wiregrass for the protection offered through their onsite security systems. However, since 2014, the business is also known for offering the First Responder Scholarship for freshman attending Troy University.

We began the Harris Security First Responders Scholarship in 2014, said George Harris, owner of Harris Security System Inc. This program is all about giving back to the first responders. The first responders are the ones who help our customers by risking their lives to respond to a call, and we wanted to do something to show them just how much we appreciate all they do.

The scholarship is sponsored by Harris Security System Inc., and Troy University awards the three scholarships to incoming freshmen to Troy University. The scholarship is only for a students freshman year.

This scholarship is open to any child of a full-time first responder, Harris said. The first responder can be a police officer, emergency medical technician, firefighter or E-911. They must be employed in their profession for a minimum of two consecutive years. Also, if the first-responder is deceased, the child is still eligible. The student must have a 2.5 grade point average and be a resident of Butler, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Houston, Geneva, Coffee, Pike or Henry County.

According to Harris, the selection of the scholarship recipient is determined by the Troy University scholarship committee.

We are proud to be able to offer this scholarship to the children of our first responders, Harris said. I encourage any student that meets the requirements to contact the Troy University Financial Aid/Scholarship Office, at 800-414-5756.

Harris stated that Harris Security Systems Inc. is also working with Wallace Community College to offer a 50-percent scholarship to freshmen in the near future. The same requirements must be followed in order to participate in the 50-percent freshman scholarship at Wallace Community College.

First responders are continuously risking their lives to help someone in need, Harris said. We appreciate all of our first responders for their services, and this program allows us to show them they are appreciated.
The news media tells me that California is threatening to secede from the USA (Union).

If they succeed without a civil war or bloodshed, the 11 Southern states that tried peacefully to secede in 1861 should sue the United States for retroactive damages.

I think Gen. Shermans march alone should be worth a trillion dollars in reparations.

Harold Wright

Chancellor
My beloved Alabamans, how in the world can we allow one of our own sons, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to be hung by those Democrats who would tear apart all that is good, clean, and wholesome in this country? The War Between the States was fought primarily for the rights of states to dictate their own destiny -- to elect their own officials to represent them in the legislature.

Former U.S. Sen. Sessions gave us his best while serving us as our U.S. senator. How dare we permit these high and mighty do-nothings to attack and destroy such a kind, family-loving man as Jeff Sessions? These destroyers of all that is good don't wear Yankee blue anymore. Instead they wear high-priced suits, ties, wing-tipped shoes, and two faces to deceive us.

Come on guys and gals from every city, town, and hamlet throughout Alabama -- let's show our support for our native son. Let's rally together! Let's march together! It's time for the South to rise again. If this isn't a just cause, then what is?

Let me know if you are willing to stand with Jeff Sessions and defend him with all you have. Let's band together and let Washington hear the "Rebel Yell" once again.

Ted Sobay

Ozark
A Grob G120TP airplane used to train Army fixed-wing flight students crashed Wednesday afternoon near the Abbeville airport.

Two people were on board  an instructor pilot and an Army flight student -- and were transported to Flowers Hospital via Medevac with injuries not believed to be life threatening, according to a spokesperson for the plane owner, Army contractor CAE.

According to CAE spokesperson Chris Stellwag, the plane experienced "an engine issue" that led to the incident. The crash is being investigated by Army Safety Center personnel from Fort Rucker.

The plane is believed to be one of six used by Army contractor CAE to train fixed-wing students at its new facility at the Dothan Regional Airport. The company held a formal grand opening ceremony for its 79,000-square-foot facility Monday, but has been training Army and Air Force student pilots there for some time.

The Grob is one of two airplane types used for training at CAE and is used to train students in upset recovery.
Germany's foreign minister says he hopes a meeting with his Turkish counterpart will help bring relations between the two countries back to normal after tempers flared in the past week.

Diplomatic relations have taken a dive since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Germany of "Nazi practices" after several German municipalities canceled events where Turkish government ministers were to address rallies in support of a national referendum that would give Erdogan more powers.

Following a breakfast meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said he made clear "there are lines that should not be crossed and one of those is the comparison with Nazi Germany."

He says he hopes the talks will "bring us step by step back to a better relationship."

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Home Auto shows Geneva 2017 2017 Geneva Motor Show: Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet Revealed oi-Sreejith

Mercedes-Benz showcased the world's most expensive SUV at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet. The SUV is as big as the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6, and it is the first off-roader from the Mercedes-Maybach sub-brand.

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How many times have you heard little boys described as strong, while the same behaviour in a little girl would be called bossy? Or a male CEO described as determined or smart while a female demonstrating the same business acumen would be called calculating or shrewd?

Theres no escaping the fact that we are all subject to a gendered view of the world, which is reflected in the way we speak and how we view others and ourselves.

And theres no denying that our culture is reflected in our workplaces: according to statistics released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in August, women hold just 14.2% of Chair positions and 15.4% of CEO positions.

In todays world, you cannot be a successful leader without recognising the need for change, and being able to realise it. Successful leaders also know that organisational change is inseparable from individual change  for organisational change to occur, individuals must be on board.

I believe there is one quality of leadership that can help override gender bias and that quality is authenticity.

The thing about authenticity is that it has no gender.

In my role as CEO of YMCA NSW, I lead an organisation employing 2,400 people responsible for the wellbeing of more than four million Australians annually. Its been many years since I began my leadership journey, and I believe the importance of authenticity in a leader simply cannot be overstated.

As a leader, if I am committed to authenticity, then I am committed to being my real and true and best self. I also am committed to seeing others as they truly are  their strengths and their character, their values and their best true selves. Gender fades into irrelevancy.

An environment driven by true authentic leadership is, simply, an environment where gender bias cannot survive.

In a recent piece of research on gender equality, journalist Catherine Fox talked about how we need to challenge the deficit model of women which tells them they need to be fixed to act more like men. Fox argues that instead, what we need is to reboot the system.

And we way we do that is for all of us  men and women, from the top leadership down and throughout organisations  to embrace authenticity.

See also: Workforce diversity isnt a nice-to-have, its necessary for innovation, businesses warned

About the author

Leisa Hart has been the CEO of the community not-for-profit YMCA NSW since 2014. She has also held leadership positions at Mission Australia, Telstra, IBM and Computer Associates. Dynamic Business interviewed her for the article Job sharing enables mums to continue building their careers  and their employers benefit too.
Lebanon's cabinet Wednesday appointed a new army chief, General Joseph Aoun, ending a deadlock that twice forced an extension of the term of the military's sitting head.

The appointment of the successor to General Jean Kahwaji is the first by Lebanon's cabinet since it was formed after President Michel Aoun's election in October.

A ministerial source told AFP the appointment had "the consensus of all the political forces", adding the new chief was "well-known and removed from any political conflicts".

Michel Aoun, himself a former chief of Lebanon's army, is not related to Lebanon's president, although the two served together in the military.

Lebanon's already fractious political scene has faced tensions linked to the war in neighbouring Syria since March 2011.

A political stalemate left the country without a president for over two years until Michel Aoun was elected under a compromise deal in October 2016.

Under the deal, rival Saad Hariri was named prime minister and he formed a cabinet in December.

Lebanon is due to hold parliamentary elections in May 2017, the first legislative vote in eight years, after the body twice extended its own mandate.

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"We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in purpose." - President Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address
Israel's parliament gave preliminary approval Wednesday to two controversial measures that would limit calls to prayers from mosques, including one prohibiting the use of loudspeakers at all hours, after shouting matches between lawmakers.

The bills -- the second of which would ban loudspeakers in urban areas between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am -- will eventually have to be reconciled, with three more readings required before they can become law.

They were approved after a heated discussion that turned into shouting matches between ruling coalition members and Arab lawmakers, some of whom tore copies of the legislation and were ejected from the chamber.

The bills passed 55-48 and 55-47 in the Knesset, or parliament.

While the bills in theory would apply to any religious place of worship, Muslims say it is clearly meant to silence the traditional call to prayer at mosques.

The measure has become commonly known as the "muezzin law" after the Muslim official charged with calling the faithful to prayer, often through powerful speakers mounted on minarets.

The notion of Israeli legislation silencing mosques has sparked outrage around the Arab and wider Muslim world.

Supporters of the move say it is needed to prevent daily disturbance to the lives of hundreds of thousands of non-Muslim Israelis.

Last month, government ministers endorsed the softer version of the bill prohibiting loudspeakers overnight, which limits its scope to the first of the five daily Muslim calls to prayer just before dawn.

That version would apply to mosques in occupied east Jerusalem as well as Israel, but not to the highly sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, according to an Israeli official.

An earlier draft limiting volumes throughout the day had been rejected because it might have silenced the siren sounded in Israeli areas at sunset on Friday to mark the start of the Sabbath.

However, the stricter measure was revived by members of the hardline Yisrael Beitenu party, part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, leading to Wednesday's two votes.

It was not immediately clear if that version would apply to Al-Aqsa, located in mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem.

One of the sponsors of the less rigid bill, Motti Yogev of the far-right Jewish Home, said the proposal was "a social law that aims to enable people to sleep".

"Loudspeakers have not been here forever, and in recent decades there are alarm clocks for whoever wants to wake up for the mosque," he said.

Ahmad Tibi of the predominantly Arab Joint List alliance of lawmakers called the measure "a racist act".

"This is an important Muslim religious ceremony, and (the Knesset) has never intervened in a Jewish religious event," he said.

Opposition has not only come from Arabs and Muslims.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has spoken out against the move, saying existing noise pollution regulations provide a solution.

Government watchdog groups have called the measure an unnecessary provocation that threatens freedom of religion.

At Wednesday's debate, Environmental Protection Minister Zeev Elkin said the new law was necessary since the existing rules set a low fine that causes police to disregard noise violations.

The new proposed law sets a fine of 10,000 shekels ($2,714, 2,573 euros) to transgressors.

In Jordan, the official custodian of Muslim holy sites in occupied east Jerusalem, Information Minister Mohamed Momani condemned the bills as "discriminatory".

They were contrary to "Israeli commitments under the peace accord" that Israel signed with Jordan in 1994, he said, quoted by the official news agency Petra.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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While Egypt yet strives for women's right to proper education, let alone higher education, Ahram Online celebrates the woman behind the founding of Cairo University

In celebration of the many achievements of Egyptian and Arab women over the years, Ahram Online republishes this article as part of a nine-day special series of gratitude and pride for women's achievements  from 8 March, which is International Womens day, to 16 March, which is Egyptian Womens Day.

The series aims to refresh the collective memory of our nation of the many, and often forgotten, women who excelled against all odds.

While Egyptian women in the 21st century are still lobbying for basic human rights, these republished stories serve as a reminder to society that Egyptian and Arab women fought for and enjoyed similar rights as men across many decades.

From the first woman doctor in the world, to the first woman to fly in Egypt and the Middle East, these women's stories are interweaved, and all deserve to be shared with a younger generation that needs to learn the truth about the accomplishments of their grandmothers and great grandmothers.

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"This is one of the relics of her royal highness Princess Fatma Ismail," reads a sign crowning the main entrance of the Faculty of Arts building at Cairo University.

Fatma Ismail (1853-1920) was unique among the daughters of Khedive Ismail (1863-1879) for the footprint of philanthropy and social work she left on Egyptian history, most notably in the form of today's Cairo University.

In the late 19th century, Egyptian intellects called for the creation of a national university to provide modern, professional education to Egyptians. A committee of intellectuals and public figures began a fundraising campaign but were unable to sustain the costs of such a huge project.

To meet the pressing need for funding, Princess Fatma Ismail intervened, providing a waqf (endowment) of 661 feddans to cover the costs of establishing the Egyptian University. She donated 6 feddans of royal land in Giza's Dokki area to expand the university's grounds and EGP 18,000 (a significant sum at the time) for its construction.

The princess ensured that two of the era's most enlightened sheikhs, as well as the country's supreme judge would sit on the university's founding board.

The Egyptian public praised her intervention, which rescued the dream of an independent institute of higher learning in Egypt.

On 21 December 1908 the Egyptian University opened its gates for the first time.

In 1913, Al-Ahram published a piece thanking the princess for her efforts, which read "this is how efforts should be exerted" (hakaza takon al hemam).

The same year, Princess Fatma was applauded for acting on the wisdom of iconic enlightenment figure Sheikh Mohamed Abdu, who believed Egypt had focused so much on building mosques that the buildings themselves outnumbered those who prayed. He argued instead for educating the peoplesomething the princess took to heart.

In 1923, the university established the Fatma Ismail scholarship for students to study Egyptology abroad.

In 1929, the princess' mansion, located a few blocks from the university, was transformed into the Museum of Agriculture.

In 1940, the university was renamed King Fuad I University, in honor of the lately departed monarch.

After the 1952 revolution, the new regime changed the school's name to Cairo University. Yet, the iron gates still proclaim its original title, funded and supported by Princess Fatma as an institute for all Egyptians: "The Egyptian University."

*The above information was provided courtesy of the Al-Ahram Digital Archive

*This article was first published on 8 March, 2017.

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By Greg Alvarez, American Wind Energy Association

All of the new wind farms built over the past few years are making an impact: New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration finds the country generated more than 5.5 percent of its electricity using wind in 2016.

That comes on the heels of a recent announcement that wind is now the countrys largest source of installed renewable generating capacity. All told, the U.S. now has enough wind to power 24 million American homes.

Even More Impressive Results at the State Level

At the state level is where things get really exciting. Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Oklahoma all generated at least 20 percent of their electricity with wind last year. Overall, wind supplies at least 10 percent of the electricity in 14 states.

Most impressive among those rising up the wind energy chart is New Mexico, which increased its total annual wind generation by 73 percent over 2015 levels. Wind reliably supplies just under 11 percent of the states electricity.

Growing Wind Creates a Better Tomorrow

All of this growth boosts rural American economies. Wind has attracted more than $140 billion into the U.S. economy over the last decade and billions more are on the way. It also offers farmers and ranchers a new cash cropthese landowners are paid $245 million every year for hosting wind turbines.

Wind power is cheap, clean and in finite and it saves Oklahomans hundreds of dollars annually on their utility bills, said Brad Raven, District One commissioner for Beaver County Oklahoma. When you consider that landowners receive millions in annual royalties from wind projects, you have an energy sector that is literally saving rural Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Governor Seeks to Set Nation's Highest Tax on Wind https://t.co/P6Ijz1Z5qT @WindPow @ewea  EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) February 9, 2017

More Progress is Possible

Wind remains on track to supply 10 percent of the countrys electricity by 2020 and grid operators increasingly find integrating more of it doesnt pose a problem. The Southwest Power Pool recently set a new record, with wind exceeding 50 percent grid penetration last month. And much more can be done:

Ten years ago we thought hitting even a 25 percent wind-penetration level would be extremely challenging and any more than that would pose serious threats to reliability, said Bruce Rew, Southwest Power Pools vice president of operations. Now we have the ability to reliably manage greater than 50 percent. Its not even our ceiling.

Elsewhere, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found 30 percent renewable energy integration was possible in the Eastern Interconnection, the grid serving most of the Eastern U.S., without any further technological advances necessary.

For more information on how wind is reliably and affordably helping the U.S. move toward energy independence, check out this video:
By Jeremy Deaton

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) took a shot at Sec. of Energy Rick Perry, former Republican governor of Texas. Remarking on Perrys view of Texas as an energy powerhouse, Brown said, Weve got more sun than youve got oil.

Recent data shows California coming through. The state briefly generated enough solar power to meet nearly half of the states electricity needs, according to data from the largest grid operator in the state, California ISO.

Around midday on March 3, demand reached around 29 Gigawatts (GW), while solar was providing nearly 14 GW of generationsome 9 GW from utility-scale arrays and another 5 GW or so from rooftops and parking lot canopies around the state.

Californias renewable energy output, midday on March 3. California ISO

Renewables are having a big moment. Solar is getting cheaper and cheaper, spurring Californians to set up photovoltaic panels on homes, businesses and empty lots across the state.

Its remarkable that over a third of the solar power generated in California comes from smaller rooftop systems, meaning hundreds of thousands of homeowners are reaping the economic value generated from harnessing the sun rather than the states big utility companies, said Amit Ronen, director of the GW Solar Institute.

To be fair, the numbers from California ISO are a little squishy. First, California ISO may be the biggest grid operator in California, but it is not the only grid operator. Its numbers do not account for power demand or solar generation in Los Angeles or Sacramento, for instance.

Second, there is no real-time data on Californias rooftop solar generation. We know that California has about 5 GW of installed rooftop solar capacity, meaning that if every rooftop solar panel in the state pointed directly at the sun on a cloudless day, they would generate more than 5 GW. Under real-life conditions, they generate slightly less.

But while these numbers are a rough approximation, they illustrate the incredible growth of renewable energy. They also highlight the central challenge of integrating solar into the power grid.

Californias net power demand, midday on March 3. California ISO

See the dotted blue line in the graph above? That represents estimated demand. The saddleback-shaped dip in the line is the handiwork of rooftop solar panels, which generate power locally, suppressing demand. After the sun sets, around 6 p.m., demand shoots up again.

But solar power isnt just coming from rooftops. Its also being generated by large-scale arrays operated by utilities. Subtract the electricity generated by utility-scale renewable energy and you get the net power demand, represented by the green line. The green line shows how much energy conventional power plants need to generate to keep the lights on in California. That enormous dip and the subsequent spike, form what energy geeks call the duck curve.

The duck curve, as illustrated by changes in changes net power demand in California. CAISO

Every year, California generates more and more power from solar, exacerbating that midday dip in net power demand. This is problematic, because its expensive to ramp up power generation from coal- and gas-fired power plants at dusk. Fortunately, there are ways to flatten the duck curve: building out transmission lines to carry solar energy over state lines would broaden the demand; installing grid-enabled appliances that shift demand to the middle of the day; or deploying battery storage, like the Tesla Powerwall, that can store excess generation during the day and discharge it in the evening.

We still need to make significant investments in energy storage technologies that will allow us to bank solar energy when its being made so that it can be used whenever we need it, even at night, Ronen said.

The state is aiming to generate 50 percent of its power from renewables by 2030. As part of that effort, legislators are looking for ways to better integrate solar energy into the power gridto drive down costs, improve performance and flatten ducks, wherever they may quack. So, in September, California passed four bills to expand the use of energy storage.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once described the states as laboratories of democracy. They are also laboratories for energy innovation. As the federal government lurches backwards on renewable energy and climate, California and other progressive states are pushing ahead, providing a model for the rest of country.

Should Texas, for example, want to take advantage of its abundant sunshine, California can show the Lone Star state how to do it.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Nexus Media.

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Despite a worldwide ban on the transportation of shark fins by major shipping carriers, a three-month investigation by Sea Shepherd Globalas part of their global shark defense campaign Operation Apex Harmonyhas verified that large shipments of shark fin are still arriving in Hong Kong on airlines and shipping lines that have made No Shark Fin carriage ban commitments.

Sharks are in big trouble around the world, with some populations crashing by more than 90 percent. Some species, such as the hammerhead shark, are facing a very real threat of extinction.

A growing consortium of major shipping lines, airlines and non-governmental organizations met with senior members of Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department and Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department last Friday to brief them on the Sea Shepherd Global investigation findings and discuss matters relating to wildlife crime. Top of the agenda was how to prevent products from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Specieslisted endangered species from being unknowingly shipped. These included many types of vulnerable and endangered shark fin found in the Hong Kong shark fin trade, such as hammerhead shark and oceanic whitetip shark.

A History of the Shark Fin Transport Bans

Since 2010, international wildlife conservation groups have been focusing on the shark fin supply chain by lobbying both airlines and shipping lines to ban the transport of shark fins and shark products. Yet the laundering of fins taken from illegal species of sharks inside consignments of fins from legal yet unsustainably-fished shark species is still rife. To their credit, Maersk, the worlds largest shipping line, led the way as the first company to implement a worldwide ban on shark fin carriage in 2010, with 16 of the worlds leading container shipping lines soon following their example.

Maersk Line is committed to enforcing our policy not to carry sharks fin products on our ships. It is frustrating that some traders seemingly mis-declare the cargo they intend to ship with us in order to try to get around the restrictions we have put in place. However, we are grateful to Sea Shepherd for their investigative work to highlight this problem and we are working with Sea Shepherd and other NGOs as well as with HK Customs and other stakeholders to tighten our procedures to ensure the ban we place on carriage of shark fin is effective in the future, said Tim Smith, chairman and chief representative of the North Asia region, Maersk.

A shark fin worker unloading one of the 45 foot Maersk containers in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Gary Stokes / Sea Shepherd Global

Around 92 percent of shark fins entering Hong Kong arrive via sea freight, while the remaining 8 percent arrive via air cargo. Having worked with a number of locally and internationally respected conservation specialists since 2010, the Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific became the first airline to place an initial ban on un-sustainable shark and shark products, including sharks fin, in September 2012, extending to a full ban on sharks fin in June 2016.

As a signatory to the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce Buckingham Palace Declaration, Cathay Pacific is committed to not knowingly facilitate or tolerate the carriage of illegal wildlife products. This is an important initiative by Sea Shepherd and we will support it as much as we can to close out any loopholes that affect the effectiveness of our embargo policies, said Evelyn Chan, head of Environmental Affairs at Cathay Pacific Airways.

The airlines campaign was led by Alex Hofford, now of WildAid Hong Kong and supported by around 30 global marine conservation and animal welfare groups, including Sea Shepherd and the World Wildlife Fund.

Evidence the Ban Hasnt Been Working

As with most environmental issues, the first challenge is to change the rules. But the second and much harder challenge is to enforce those rules. Despite recent media claims that the trade is down overall, Sea Shepherd Global began its investigation after seeing evidence of large shipments of shark fins arriving in Hong Kongs Sheung Wan district. The months leading up to Chinese New Year are always the busiest months for the shark fin traders as they seek to fulfill the demand of the mainland Chinese market during the festive holiday, said Gary Stokes, Sea Shepherd Globals South East Asia director.

Unloading a delivery of shark fins that were carried unknowingly by Maersk who have a No Shark Fin Ban. Gary Stokes / Sea Shepherd Global



The three-month long investigation documented large shipments arriving by carriers who have pledged to ban the transport of shark fins, including two 45-foot containers full of shark fins from the Middle East which arrived in Maersk containers. An airfreight shipment on Virgin Australia Cargo and Cathay Pacific which had been falsely declared as fish products was not identified by customs. The exporter who attempted to transport these goods has now been blacklisted by Virgin Australia Cargo which has a ban on the transportation of shark fins. The problem that companies such as Virgin, Maersk and Cathay Pacific are now facing is that shark fin traders are abusing the system by fraudulently mis-declaring and mis-labeling shark fin under generic categories such as seafood, dried seafood, dried goods or dried marine products to avoid detection.

Its so sad what the team at Sea Shepherd has managed to discover. Thousands and thousands of sharks slaughtered just for their fins to be turned into bowls of soup. For those people who have knowingly participated they need to hang their heads in shame. For Sea Shepherd and the team led by Gary Stokes, they need to be congratulated for exposing this foul and sometimes illegal trade, said Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group.

Well over thirty airlines and just under twenty container shipping lines now operate No Shark Fin cargo bans. Yet some airlines, such and Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airlines, are resisting industry best practice and are still propping up the crime-ridden shark fin trade. WildAid is calling on all passenger airlines, cargo airlines, container shipping lines as well as express parcel carriers such as FedEx and TNT, to act sustainably, ethicallyand above all legallyby ruling out dirty shark fin shipments from their cargo holds, said Alex Hofford, of WildAid.

Working Together to Close the Loopholes

Presented with the evidence, Maersk, Cathay Pacific and Virgin are now working in close collaboration with Sea Shepherd Global and WildAid to close all remaining loopholes being exploited by the shark fin trade. A full review is being undertaken of their booking procedures and alert mechanisms to help them enforce their bans, said Stokes.

Inside a shark fin warehouse in Hong Kong with a large shipment of sharks fins. Gary Stokes / Sea Shepherd Global

All international trade is monitored and facilitated by the World Customs Organization, which maintains a detailed list of Harmonized Shipping Codes (HS Codes). These are 6-digit codes (HK goes one step further by increasing to 8-digits) which can show, at a granular level, the exact contents of a cargo shipment. However HS Codes are right now only being used to track import/export data exclusively for statistical reasons, with trade declarations only being filed after a shipment has arrived. Sea Shepherd Global and WildAid are calling for the switching of Hong Kongs trade documentation filing requirement to be switched from post-shipment to pre-shipment. With the availability of pre-shipment information, Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department will be able to carry out more effective risk-profiling and hence more targeted enforcement work. Mandatory filing of full HS codes prior to port arrival would ensure that airlines and shipping lines can be more certain of the exact contents of cargo shipments. Such a system is already in place in the U.S. as an effective counter-terrorism measure. Spain also operates similar, more stringent, shipping procedures that can give customs the edge over the agile transnational wildlife crime syndicates. The Hong Kong government is also calling on the public and the business sector to support the availability of pre-shipment information to align with international mainstream and best customs practices, yet is facing stiff resistance from the trade.

Sea Shepherd Global has launched a full in-depth investigation into the global shark fin trade and its supply routes to provide a clearer picture to shipping companies for them to best tackle and enforce their commitments to environmentally sustainable shipping policies.
By Nika Knight

As if the ties between the Trump administration and oil and gas behemoth ExxonMobil werent apparent enough, the White House on Monday issued a press release that lifted text wholesale from an Exxon press release published earlier that same day.

The Exxon release touted plans for expanded fossil fuel projects in the Gulf of Mexico, which the company itself described as 11 major chemical, refining, lubricant and liquefied natural gas projects at proposed new and existing facilities along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. (Despite repeated accidents and spills in the Gulf of Mexicoincluding the catastrophic BP oil spill in 2010fossil fuel companies have continued to exploit the Gulf).

In fact, Exxons new investments began in 2013, but that didnt stop the White House from giving credit to President Trump for what Trump himself described as JOBS, JOBS, JOBS on Twitter. In doing so, the White House simply copied most of the Exxon release verbatim.

Below are nearly identical excerpts from the two releases:

The Exxon press release was published Monday at 3:10 p.m. EST.

And the White House press release was published Monday at 3:43 p.m. EST.

Further demonstrating the cozy relationship between the White House and Exxon, former Exxon CEO and current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Trump mere hours before the White House bragged about the oil companys investments, as Mother Jones Rebecca Leber reported.

1:35 pm Trump/Tillerson scheduled to have lunch 3:43 pm @realDonaldTrump issues statement congratulating Exxon Mobil on $20 billion program  Felicia Schwartz (@felschwartz) March 6, 2017

Exxon has a lot to be pleased with so far in Trumps term, Leber noted. In addition to seeing Tillerson become the nations top diplomat, the company scored an important victory when Trump signed a bill overturning an Obama-era rule requiring it to disclose payments to foreign governments. And last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency withdrew a rule that would require oil and gas companies to report their methane emissions.

Moreover, Politicos Ben Lefebvre observed that the strategy of CEOs re-announcing old investments in the Trump era is not new. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son announced after a December meeting with Trump a tech fund that would invest $50 billion in the U.S. Trump publicized Sons plan despite the fact that the investment had been part of a previously announced plan.

Lefebvre also reported that the State Department has not confirmed whether or not Tillerson has liquidated his Exxon stock.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams.
(Photo:  Peter Kenny)From left, CNN's Christiane Amanpour interviews United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres (center) and U.N. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein in Geneva on March 12, 2015.

GENEVA - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has said that U.S. President Donald Trump needs to do more to combat anti-Semitism and racism in the United States.

"Greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities" in the US, he said at a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 8.

Zeid made his comments the day after a number of Jewish community centers and Jewish institutions received threats in the sixth such inccident this year.

The day before countries around the world were urged to act now to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief, by a United Nations expert.

The appeal by the U.N. Special Rapporteur, Ahmed Shaheed, was made at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, on March 7 where the expert was setting out his priorities for the mandate of "freedom of religion and belief" which he took up last November.

Shaheed expressed concern about a rise in the number of incidents of incitement to hatred, hostility, discrimination or violence based on religion or belief as well as, hate crimes by extremist groups, vigilante mobs and others.

"State and non-State actors, alike, continue to impose restrictions (or limitations) and engage in targeted harassment, intimidation of, or discrimination against religious minorities, unrecognized religious communities and dissidents, who are often confronted with threats to their freedom, safety and security," Shaheed said.

"I am particularly alarmed by continuing reports of mass atrocities and violence that threaten the very existence of religious minority communities, including some groups that have existed for over two millennia."

On the same day World Council of Churches general secretary, Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, joined other speakers at a side event of the 34th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

METROPLITAN HILARION

The speakers included Metropolitan Hilarion, head of external church relations for the Russian Orthodox Church and they addressed the topic of "Mutual Respect and Peaceful Coexistence as a Condition of Interreligious Peace and Stability: Supporting Christians and Other Communities."

Tveit noted that, in respecting one another's identities and faith, people are also called to respect others' basic needs. In many parts of the world, where Christians and others are suffering from persecution and violence, this is not the case.

"This is a reality that we all have to deal with in a responsible manner," he said, and meeting together to share ideas and mutual respect is one important approach. At the event, speakers represented many faith groups from across the world.

Tveit said. It will take international support and collaboration to bring a sense of security to different faith groups in countries such as Iraq and Syria.

Prior to his appointment as a U.N. envoy Shaheed was a politician in Maldives and a human rights defender. He served as Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs from November 2008 to December 2010 and between July 2005 and August 2007.

Shaheed is also the chairperson of the human rights think-tank, Universal Rights Group and has been recipient of the Leo Nevas Human Rights Award and the Study of Islam and Democracy's Muslim Democrat of the Year Award.

During his speech, Shaheed pointed to a number of mechanisms for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief that have already been developed and for which consensus among states already exists.

He said his agenda for the next three years would be focused on the implementation of state obligations to promote respect for freedom of religion or belief and for which he would seek support from member states and civil society in the coming months.

The Rapporteur's agenda also endeavours to promote literacy about what the right to freedom of religion or belief means.

He said: "increased moves by some States to impose security clampdowns as a means of responding to violence in the name of religion further compounds the corrosive conditions that already undermine the right to freedom of religion or belief."

Shaheed stressed that policies adopted to enhance the capacity of security forces to combat terrorism by limiting fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, often have dire consequences for the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF

He welcomed efforts being made to promote the right to freedom of religion or belief at national and international levels by governments, parliamentarians, national human rights institutions, human rights and faith-based organizations as well as educational institutions.

"These entities," he said, "have raised international awareness about the challenges to the realization of freedom of religion or belief, encouraged positive State actions, fostered interfaith dialogue, and created networks of government and civil society around the issue.

"These efforts can be harnessed to support even more effective implementation of the right to freedom of religion or belief.

"Civil society plays a useful and critical role in building bridges and trust between and among diverse stakeholders, especially given the polarized nature of debates surrounding the right to freedom of religion or belief. It is important that we continue to support cross-boundary and interdisciplinary efforts to help promote efforts to realize this right," he said.

The Special Rapporteur said he looks forward to working with a range of government, civil society actors and religious or belief community leaders to foster new relationships and to strengthen existing ones with the aim of achieving a more widespread implementation of laws allowing the right to freedom of religion or belief.
According to UNAIDS Egypt statistics for 2014, the number of registered cases of HIV inside Egypt is almost 8,800

Each year, countries start the month of March by celebrating Zero Discrimination Day, focused on people living with HIV.

Voices across the globe call for no one to be left behind when it comes to treatment, and Egypt was no different.

At the premises of the Netherlands Embassy in Cairo, an event was held to highlight the cause, where officials from the UN and the government attended along with members of civil society and representatives of 50 development partners.

The attendees highlighted national and international efforts at ending discrimination, within the remit of an ambitious plan to end AIDS by 2030.

The event's host, Dutch Ambassador Laurens Westhoff, was the first to speak, underlining the role of all international parties in collective efforts to end HIV.

"This is part of The Netherlands' contribution to the UN's sustainable development goals to achieve a better integrated approach to reproductive health and HIV," he said.

According to a global report released by UNAIDS, the number of new HIV infections in 2015 was estimated to be 2.1 million.

Statistics issued from UNAIDS Egypt in 2014 indicate that the number of registered people living with HIV inside Egypt is almost 8,800.

The estimated number of people living with HIV inclusive of those not registered is 11,000.Dr Maissa Shawky, deputy minister of health and population, said steps were already taken by the government to ensure treatment for all, but added that there is still more to be done to reach zero discrimination, eradicate stigma and shore up prevention coverage.

UNAIDS Egypt country manager Dr Ahmed Khamis seconded Shawky's words, stating that although strides have been made in Egypt with regards to treatments and services, more has to be done to end discrimination and reach the goal of zero HIV by 2030.

"Let's not let discrimination halt our effort. The right of access to health services for everybody is not negotiable," Khamis said.

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President Donald Trumps push to drastically reduce domestic spending as a way to boost defense spending could have a significant impact on programs at the U.S. Department of Education, where the biggest streams of funding go toward low-income students and those with special needs. But its precise effect on overall federal K-12 aid remains unclear, as do the prospects for Trumps budget plan in Congress.

Early last week, Trump announced a proposal to increase defense-related spending by $54 billion in fiscal 2018, which begins in October, and to cut nondefense discretionary spending by a corresponding figure. That amounts to a 10 percent across-the-board cut for domestic agencies like the Education Department. The Trump administration is expected to release more details about its spending priorities later this month, but its not certain how the cuts in discretionary spending would affect each agency.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chairman of the House subcommittee that appropriates money for the Education Department, last week referenced the possibility of $18 billion to $20 billion in cuts to the portion of the budget that funds the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Theres no part of this budget that can escape unscathed if the cuts are on that scale, Cole said in a subcommittee hearing.

But Congress may be unwilling to go along with Trumps budget plan and make that deep a cut to domestic spending to fund defense-related activities. Among other things, passing Trumps budget would require lawmakers to alter or toss out the Budget Control Act of 2011, which sets caps on federal discretionary spending.

Ratchet Down

The current discretionary-spending budget for the Department of Education is $68.1 billion, and the single biggest budget item included in that amount are Pell Grants for low-income students attending college, totaling $22.5 billion. The biggest program by dollar amount at the department related to K-12 public schools is Title I, designated for disadvantaged students, at $14.9 billion. A 10 percent cut would bring the departments discretionary spending down to roughly $61.3 billion. That would mark its lowest level since fiscal 2008, when discretionary spending at the department was set at $59.2 billion.

A spokesman for the Education Department, Matt Frendewey, said last week that his department was still waiting on more details about how Trumps plan would affect K-12. But advocates for relatively limited federal spending on education are encouraged by the early signal from the Trump administration.

A 10 percent reduction across the board makes a lot of sense, said Lindsey Burke, the director of education policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank whose budget blueprint reportedly served as a model for Trumps early approach to federal spending. When we start to ratchet down federal intervention, ... we really do make space for states and localities to think about what works for them and where they really want to prioritize resources.

Burke singled out the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which finance activities like expanded learning time and are funded at nearly $1.2 billion in the current budget, as an example of a program she would like to see reduced. But its potential cuts to Title I that have many education advocates particularly worried.

We are concerned that this administration will not prioritize the protection of Title I students, said Noelle Ellerson Ng, the associate executive director of AASA, the School Superintendents Association.

Although the federal government is currently operating on a continuing resolution in fiscal 2017, which expires in late April and essentially keeps funding equivalent to fiscal 2016 levels, House and Senate education funding bills proposed last year could still be a significant factor in whatever fiscal 2018 budget Trump ends up receiving.

For example, the House spending bill, passed out of the appropriations committee last summer, would boost funding for special education state grants by $500 million, up to $12.4 billion. Indeed, at the subcommittee hearing last week, Cole said, Its actually one of the most efficient programs that we have. Every school district in America needs it.

However, that same House budget plan would cut federal spending on state assessments by $78 million, down to $300 million; the office for civil rights by $7 million, down to $100 million; and instructional grants by $400 million, down to just under $2 billion, among other reductions.

Other Programs

Its also unclear to what extent the Trump administrations budget would push cuts to programs like Head Start, Preschool Development Grants, and the National School Lunch Program. The first two are administered by the Department of Health and Human Services and the latter is run by the Department of Agriculture.

Federal magnet school and charter school grants, currently funded at $97 million and $333 million, respectively, present an interesting wrinkle. The Trump administration has stressed school choice as its key K-12 policy argument, but those line items could be relatively attractive ones for reductions. The Every Student Succeeds Act, passed in December 2015, also eliminated many K-12 programs.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump repeatedly discussed either eliminating the Education Department or gutting it. Since his administration began, neither the president nor Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have said they want to shut the department down.

But that doesnt mean big-ticket items are safe in the era of Trump budgets, said Michele McLaughlin, the president of the Knowledge Alliance, a research and advocacy group, and a former Democratic Senate education staffer.

If you do have a significant chunk of change [to cut], she said, there arent that many places to go.
The discoveries shed further light on what the eighteenth dynasty pharaoh's temple would have looked like

The Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project has discovered a magnificent statue in black granite representing king Amenhotep III seated on the throne.

Project director Hourig Sourouzian told Ahram Online that the statue is 248 cm high, 61 cm wide and 110cm deep.

It was found in the great court of the temple of Amenhotep III on Luxor's West Bank.

"It is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture: extremely well carved and perfectly polished," Sourouzian said, adding that the statue shows the king with very juvenile facial features, which indicates that it was probably commissioned early in his reign.

A similar statue was discovered by the same team in 2009 and is now temporarily on display in the Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art.

When the site's restoration is complete, Sourouzian said, the pair of statues would be displayed again in the temple, in their original positions.

Mahmoud Afifi, head of the Ministry of Antiquities Ancient Egyptian antiquities department said the team has discovered up to 66 parts of statues of the goddess Sekhmet this archaeological season. These statues represent the goddess sitting or standing holding a papyrus sceptre and an ankh  the symbol of life.

On many of these statues the goddess' lion head is preserved. Other pieces include busts, heads detached from their bases, as well as several other parts.

Sourouzian said this series of statues was found during excavation between the ruined temple's Peristyle Court and the Hypostyle Hall, as archaeologists searched for remains of the wall separating the two areas.

"The sculptures are of great artistic quality and of greatest archaeological interest, as they survived extensive quarrying of the temple remains in the Ramesside Period, after a heavy earthquake toppled the walls and the columns," she told Ahram Online.

As her name indicates (derived from Sekhem, meaning "might"), the lion-headed Sekhmet is a powerful goddess who protects the sun god against his enemies. King Amenhotep III commissioned hundreds of statues of the goddess for the temples he constructed in Thebes.

In his funerary temple particularly, which was called the "temple for millions of years," the great number of these statues was intended to protect the ruler from evil and repel or cure diseases.

"All of these statues of the goddess will be placed back in their original setting as soon as the site is restored," Sourouzian said.

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Schools often provide substandard instruction and social-emotional support to the nations English-learnersand fail to properly train the educators who teach them.

Those blunt findingsfrom the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicineare in a new study that explores why limited English skills remain a substantial barrier to academic success for roughly 5 million children. The report details how underresourced schools and underprepared educators can hinder efforts to help students learn and master English.

These children are here. If we dont educate them and prepare them for being future citizens and part of our communities, were doing a disservice to our country, said Harriet Romo, the director of the Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute at the University of Texas at San Antonio and a member of the Committee on Fostering School Success for English Learners, the group that produced the report.

The committeea panel of educators and experts on language acquisitiondelved into the struggles of specific populations of English-learners, such as those with disabilitieswho are less likely than their native English-speaking peers to be referred to early-intervention and special education programs. The report also examined the challenges for long-term English-learners, those students who are not considered proficient after being educated for seven or more years in U.S. schools.

While detailing the hurdles to success for ELLs, the committee also reviewed research that found districts and schools using exemplary approaches to English-learner education.

The wide-ranging paper, which tackles everything from school readiness to accessing higher education, has a dominant theme: The nation must devote more research and effort to educating and understanding students who arent native English speakers.

We do have knowledge about what will make a difference, said Ruby Takanishi, a senior research fellow with New America, a Washington-based think thank. Theres a need to do much better than were doing now. Takanishi served as the chairwoman of the committee and wrote the final report.

Knowledge Gaps

But with the Trump administrations aggressive stance on immigration, the federal government may not embrace the committees enthusiasm for bilingual and ELL education, said Grover Russ Whitehurst, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served in the George W. Bush administration.

That this is the Trump administration complicates this topic considerably, Whitehurst said. I would be surprised if this is a priority.

While researchers produce a growing body of research about English-learner education, knowledge gaps still exist. The committee outlined a research agenda that drills down on the needs of specific ELL subgroups and focuses on comparing student achievement and outcomes in statessuch as New York and Texasthat embrace bilingual education against places like Arizona and Massachusetts that adopted English-only policies.

Policies have an impact, Romo said.

Takanishi argues that the study is not a report about learning English, but an expansive survey of the English-language-learner landscape and factors outside the classroom that affect their language development.

The work wasnt restricted to what educators and researchers would consider more traditional English-learner populations. Researchers also examined language-revitalization efforts in American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, finding evidence that such programs can yield positive benefits for students.

The National Academies convened the committee in March 2015. Its findings come two years later in a drastically changed political climate and amid beefed-up federal immigration enforcement that could disrupt the lives of many ELLs and their families.

While most English-learners are born in the United States, the researchers argue that educators need deeper understanding of how to address the social-emotional needs of those who are foreign-born, including refugees with interrupted formal education, migrant children, unaccompanied minors, and undocumented children. Such students face unique nonacademic factors and stress while trying to learn a new language.

The committee calls on the federal government, namely the departments of Education and Health and Human Services, to expand outreach to English-learner parents in states with burgeoning populations such as Georgia and North Carolina, where ELLs four-year high school graduation rates fall well below the national average.

Whitehurst, the former head of the Institute of Education Sciences, the nonpartisan research and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education, said the report is well-intentioned. But he doubts it will spur the federal government to action or change the national discourse on English-learners.

Education research is political in the sense that the topics that are important are often determined by political action, he said.

But the panel convened by the National Academies isnt the only group pushing for schools to help cultivate more bilingual students.

The same day the English-learner-focused committee published its findings, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences released a new report that urges business, civic, and education leaders to help more native English speakers learn foreign languagesincluding targeted teaching of heritage languages spoken by immigrants and their families.

The report offers an unflattering look at U.S. language capacity on two fronts: The availability of language education is on the decline, despite growing interest in dual-language immersion programs in K-12 schools, and a shrinking share of U.S. citizens are fluent in languages other than English.

Need for Teachers

Takanishi, the author of the National Academies report, stressed the importance of schooling parents and child-care providers of dual-language learnerschildren up to age 5 who are not yet enrolled in K-12to help the youngest ELLs begin school with a firm foundation in their home language and English.

The American Academies study dispels the notion that students must discard their first language to learn another.

We have to change the minds of teachers, the minds of parents who think you should only speak English to your child, said Romo, the UT-San Antonio professor.

To navigate that change, the reports authors argue that teacher- and principal-preparation programs must adapt their curricula and training to ensure that K-12 educators are ready to work with an ever-diversifying student population.

Although English-learners represent nearly 10 percent of K-12 public school enrollment now, most states struggle to recruit and retain bilingual educators and monolingual educators who understand language development and language teaching. The teacher shortages exist even in immigrant-rich school districts in Texas and California, where together, the two states educate close to half the nations English-learners.

Both reports urge national coordination on teacher certification that would allow qualified bilingual instructors to cross state lines to work in districts that need them without having to get newly certified.

We need teachers who understand the needs of these children, said Romo. We have to not think of them as being deficient, but consider the assets they can bring to our classrooms and the workforce.
Uncertainty surrounds what lies ahead for education under the Trump administration, but one thing is for sure: The Every Student Succeeds Act will be fully implemented in the 2017-18 school year, devolving more decisionmaking authority to the states.

States are expected to submit plans to the U.S. Department of Education outlining their unique, respective goals around accountability, assessment, monitoring, and support. Furthermore, governors, legislatures, and state schools chiefs must agree on ESSA plans before the state chiefs submit them to the federal government for approval. So, are state education agenciesand, more important, state governmentsup to the task?

The federal Education Department has provided two deadlinesApril 3 and Sept. 18 of this year for states to submit these plans. What would lead a state to select the earlier deadline? To find out, we (as a professor and two students of education policy) examined the characteristics of states in the early and later submission groups. This research, conducted over the past five months, is part of an ongoing project at Teachers College, Columbia University, to examine intergovernmental relations under ESSA.

Our investigation revealed that state-level factors relating to governance and capacity distinguished the April submitters:

 The early states have an appointed, rather than elected, chief state school officer. Information from the National Association of State Boards of Education indicates that only three of the 18 states (16 percent) that plan to submit in April elect their state schools chiefs, compared with 10 of 32 (31 percent) in the September group.

What does this mean? States that appoint their state schools chiefs are likelier to be politically aligned with the governor and the legislature, making it easier to reach consensus. And, therefore, able to submit their plans earlier.

 The early states exercise their authority over districts and schools. A majority of states have laws that allow them to take control of struggling schools and districts, but not all have exercised that authority. Whereas over half the early states have exercised their authority for school takeover, only one-third of the later submitters have done so. States with takeover experience will have greater capacity to do so in the future, and will likely not need to design new systems for district takeover under ESSA.

 The early states have been awarded Race to the Top funds. Political observers have noted that states that received funds from the Obama administrations competitive-grant initiative (which aimed to increase standards and accountability) used them to improve state data systems and increase statewide capacity in support of, for instance, principal leadership. Many of these improvements have remained in place long after the funds dried up.

On the other hand, the legislature in South Carolina, a state that plans to submit in September and did not win those funds, spent over $1 million in 2016 to upgrade district data systems that will measure college-and career-readiness in order to be compliant with the new accountability system under ESSA.

 The early states belong to a testing consortium. Nearly 80 percent of early submitters are members of an existing testing consortium (such as PARCC or Smarter Balanced), compared with only a quarter of those who plan to submit in September. This suggests that, while ESSA allows states to experiment with innovative assessments, the early-submission states may continue using the same assessments they adopted under Race to the Top, adding on only a nonacademic indicator of student performance as required by the law, simplifying the process.

Roughly half of states have made some, albeit less inclusive, efforts to engage the public in their ESSA planning."

While it is still possible for states to amend when they will submit their plans, our findings suggest that states opting for the earlier deadline will have greater capacity to implement ESSA. Right now, this capacity could also be reflected in stakeholder engagement, since ESSA requires states to engage in meaningful consultation with various groups, such as parents, educators, business leaders, and civic organizations, during the planning process.

In a Dear Colleague letter from June 2016, the Education Department advised that meaningful stakeholder engagement starts at the beginning of the process, when initial planning is getting started; not at the end, when a plan is nearing completion. Together, the language of the law and the subsequent Dear Colleague letter provide a standard by which we could assess stakeholder engagement.

We monitored ESSA stakeholder-engagement strategies through state education agency websites. While it is possible that some stakeholder-engagement strategies are not reported on these websites, online communications by state education agencies are often the primary means of presenting information to citizens and likely serve as the best vehicle through which to engage stakeholders.

Roughly one-quarter of states emerged as clear leaders because of their engagement and thorough interactions with external stakeholders. Among these, some are stand-outs: Ohio and Arizona, for example, not only provided multiple opportunities for stakeholders to engage, both in person and virtually, but also maintained transparency throughout the process.

Both state education agencies have engaged in multiple statewide listening tours to hear public input, and they published the findings on their websites for public review. Ohios department of education created an #ESSAOhio hashtag for residents to share ideas. In January, Arizona became the first state to submit a final plan to the federal Education Department, cementing that states position as the leader of the pack. Ohio will follow suit in April.

Furthermore, roughly half of states have made some, albeit less inclusive, efforts to engage the public in their ESSA planning. The remaining one-quarterthe laggardsare merely keeping citizens informed.

Virginia, a September submitter, organized a series of public hearings, but clustered them all during July and August, which may help explain why they were attended by a mere 450 residents statewide. West Virginia also opted for the later submission and tells residents they can register for updates on ESSA through the state website, but provides no further information. Connecticut has posted a video of President Barack Obama signing ESSA, alongside a survey, and encourages residents to check back for morethough their declared April deadline is fast approaching.

It is unclear how stakeholder-engagement strategies or submission deadlines will influence student outcomes (the ultimate goal of any education reform), but it is clear states approaches to ESSA are diverging. We wonder if these differences will mean not only children, but also whole states, may be left behind under the new law.
Myanmar bids to become major shrimp exporter

Watch out for Myanmar. It is setting out to become a regional top shrimp producer to rival Thailand and Vietnam, hiring the technical assistance of American experts.

Kyaw Tun Myint, president of the Myanmar Shrimp Association said, "We are about to start sustainable shrimp farming with the help of a firm from the United States," according to a report in The Nation newspaper.

He said Myanmar entrepreneurs in the industry were keen on farming white shrimp with the latest technology from Hawaii-based Marine Genetics LLC.

"We will start farming white shrimp this year. If we are successful, it will not only support our food security but also may reduce the trade deficit up to 25 percent, thanks to potential surge in shrimp export," he was quoted as saying.

Marine Genetics' president, Jim Wyban, recently visited Myanmar to set up a shrimp hatchery firm named Best Burma PL, with the help of project manager Kelly Morgan.

Wyban said Myanmar could export 100,000 tonnes of shrimp worth US$1 billion yearly over the next five years.

Best Burma PL's modern farming is expected to start this year.
Canada pork sector advocates trade deals to gain more market access

Canada's pork industry recently took a proactive position that supports new or expansion of existing trade agreements to gain more international market access and prevent the erosion of Canada's competitive position in a market.

According to the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), recently released 2016 Canadian pork export statistics showed that the Canadian pork industry can fill global demand when favourable terms of access to foreign markets exist.

"Pork producers understand that market access is of paramount importance to the sustainability of the country and the hog industry," CPC Chair Rick Bergmann said.

"The development of international market opportunities like Japan and China creates Canadian jobs across the country, attracts investment and contributes to growing the economy", he added.

Last year, Canada exported 1.246 million tonnes of pork valued at C$3.8 billion (US$2.834 billion) to over 100 countries. The US, China and Japan remain Canada's top 3 pork export markets in both volume and value.

Japan continued as a highly valued market worth C$1.07 billion (US$798 million) for Canadian pork. Demand for Canadian pork in the Chinese market increased by 144% in 2016. Canada shipped around 12,500 40-foot shipping containers filled with 312,000 tonnes of pork to China. The $580 million in sales of Canadian pork to China represents an increase of 157%, CPC said.

"Canadian hog producers, pork processors and meat traders and the many other companies in Canada that provide inputs and services to our industry have a very strong interest in Canada aggressively pursuing further progress toward reducing agri-food trade barriers and trade-distorting subsidies, and achieving additional market access," said Bergmann.

The globally competitive Canadian hog and pork industry generates $13.1 billion (US$9.771 billion) in economic activity and 31,000 on-farm jobs. Another 69,000 Canadians rely on the pork sector for their livelihoods. Over 70% of the industry's output is now exported, according to CPC.
Egypts interior ministry said on Wednesday morning that police killed a member of the now banned Muslim Brotherhood during a raid on a hideout in Ismailia in the early hours of the day.

In an official statement, the ministry said Hassan Mohamed Galal Mostafa - a studenrt at Al-Azhar  was killed after he initiated a shootout with officers.

According to the police, Mostafa was wanted in a High State Security case that includes terrorist groups Hasm (Determination) and the Lewaa Al-Thawra (The Revolution Brigade), two militant groups who have claimed responsibility for several assassinations of public figures and security forces in recent months.

The announcement comes only few days after the ministry said police killed four militants during a raid in Gizas town of Kerdasa on the outskirts of Cairo. The men were killed after they opened fire on security forces ahead of a meeting they were holding to discuss carrying out a major terrorist operation, police said.

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Al-Sira fi Al-Manfa (Biography in Exile) by Bahaa Taher, Bardia Publishing and Masr El-Arabia Publishing, Cairo, 2017. 137 pp.

Typically novelists who decide to write their memoirs don't opt to dictate them. This unusual approach is the one taken by Bahaa Taher with his latest book, titled Biography in Exile. This offering has drawn the broad outlines of what may be a more comprehensive autobiography.

Biography in Exile was dictated to a young man named Adham Al-Aboudy, who is from Luxor, Tahers birthplace. According to the introduction penned by Taher, Al-Aboudy isnt simply a close friend but is rather akin to a son. Al-Aboudy has indicated that the memoir is drawn from a "long recording which lasted for hours and hours." He adds: "My only role was to transcribe the recording to paper. He narrated to me an eloquent literary text, though he did so using an oral tradition."

The author is one of the most prominent members of Egypt's 1960s literary generation. He has written novels, short story collections and translations, and has received a number of prestigious awards, including the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (known as the "Arabic Booker"). His stature over the course of his career has brought his works to the attention of international publishers. Many have been translated, often into several languages.

Perhaps the most defining experience of the author's life was his self-imposed exile in Europe after the late President Anwar Sadat launched a repressive campaign against the Left in 1971. The focus of this campaign was on the media, and Taher was fired from his work as Deputy Head of the Cultural Programme, for many years an influential radio programme. Taher was also prevented from writing and publishing. Due to his newly inhospitable conditions, Taher decided to emigrate. He subsequently became a translator at the United Nations European HQ in Switzerland. He was estranged from his homeland for more than quarter of a century.

Biography in Exile focuses on this period, during which the real and figurative significance of Taher's alienation occupied a central place. During his period in exile he first became acquainted with a colleague named Stifka, a Russian translator he would fall in love with and marry. Despite the marriage, when Taher ultimately returned to Cairo from exile he did so alone. Taher indicates that Stifka preferred to continue in her work, so they arranged instead to live together between Cairo and Geneva. Stifka worked for another ten years at UNESCO HQ. Upon retirement she settled with Taher in Cairo.

Throughout the nineteen short chapters, Taher spoke to Al-Aboudy in conversation. This atypical style of dictation meant that the work did not cohere as memoirs typically do, using a more traditional narrative structure or time sequence. There is deliberate silence concerning certain aspects of Bahaas personal life, such as his former marriage and two daughters. He is also silent on certain aspects of his public life, such as the Culture Ministry intellectuals sit-in which hastened the downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood. He further forgoes extensive detail of his creative experiences. Taher passes over these matters with quick hints and little more.

As for the writers childhood, Taher elaborately evokes it for the first time. His father, who studied in Al-Azhar and graduated from the Faculty of Dar Al-Uloom, Cairo University, was appointed a teacher and due to this spent long years moving from one place to another until he settled in Giza. This is the place in which Taher spent his childhood and youth. The writers mother was keen to pay short visits to Luxor annually. If the relationship between Bahaas family and his birthplace was marred by distance and almost severed, the writer was eager to catch any opportunity to revive his relationship with Al-Karnak, his familys birthplace.

Several years ago Taher donated a small piece of land on which a cultural palace was built and inaugurated with the author in attendance. He has expressed his immense joy at this event in words that combine sorrow and childish innocence. Taher appears to consider this event one of the most important in his life.

It is noteworthy that Biography in Exile brings a light touch to the incidents of the January Revolution. Taher joined the uprising immediately after it broke out and witnessed firsthand the subsequent unfolding of events. His lack of commentary is astonishing. Even more astonishing is that he makes no mention of the intellectuals sit-in that lasted for a whole month, and at which he was one of the primary participants.

Finally, the reader will notice that there is a mystic sense that permeates the lines of Biography in Exile. This has given the work a special unity, as if it is a slightly extended memory of years in which he has lived through and novels and short stories he was dedicated to.

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Will the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 be finally released in April 2017? Is there a possibility that it will come along with the Windows 10 Creators Update? Since Microsoft's announcement of Windows 10 update, the curiousity and excitement from fans grew bigger. They were very much into the idea that the much awaited tablet will also be released on the same time as the release of the updates to the Windows operating system.

Microsoft released Pro 4 in October 2015 while the Surface Book i7 and the Surface Studio were also released in the same month of 2016. The next big update of Windows 10 (popularly kown as the Windows 10 Creators Update) isn't coming out until spring of 2017 and it has led people to speculate that Microsoft will be holding back the Surface Pro 5 hardware until then. The device will probably be coming out with the latest technology advancement in the operating system.

It is not only the release date of Microsoft Surface Pro 5 that Microsoft is keeping away from the public but also its features and specifications. According to an article written by Ewan Spence for Forbes, the much awaited device is likely to come equipped with the latest architecture of Intel, the "Kabey Lake" Core i7. It has to at least match the specification of the current Pro 4 which has 16 GB of RAM and a storage of 1 TB.

The device still remains mysterious as Microsoft is doing a great job at keeping every details of the much-awaited tablet a secret. The release date of Microsoft Surface Pro 5 hasn't been confirmed yet however, fans are still eagerly waiting for the announcement of the exact release date. There are a lot of speculations but no official statement has been issued yet. Until we hear from Microsoft itself, these will all be speculations for now.
"Feud" Season 2 is already in the works and this is quite a surprise considering that season 1 just aired its first episode on March 5. FX network ordered the renewal of the series and it was recently disclosed that the next part of the anthology will be about Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Likewise, "Feud" Season 2 will center on the royal couple's chaotic relationship from beginning to end. According to Variety, there will be a total of 10 episodes for Prince Charles and Princess Diana's story. This is Ryan Murphy's latest project and it is expected to be a hit as well.

Murphy's well-known works include Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story, The New Normal, Scream Queens and American Crime Story. "Feud" Season 2 will be one of his four shows that is currently on-going.

The first season of "Feud" tackles the intense and lengthy rivalry between Hollywood legendary actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Season 1 has been simply titled "Bette and Joan" and their characters are going to be portrayed Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon.

At any rate, Vanity Fair reported that in addition to Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage turmoil, "Feud" Season 2 will explore other sides of their story that has something to do with power and how the media hounded them non-stop. Most probably, the setting for the second season will be in England since this is about the British Royal couple.

"Feud" Season 2 has already been announced but aside from the fact that it will be about the complex marriage of Prince Charles and his first wife, Lady Diana Spencer, FX Network did not provide any other details. Nevertheless, many scandals involving infidelities are expected to be divulged through the narration.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana was married in 1981. Their marriage was dubbed as the true-to-life fairy tale story but it did not take long when the union began to crumble. The royal couple had two sons - Prince William and Prince Harry - before they separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

Finally, Princess Diana was killed in a vehicular crash in August 1997 while being chased by a paparazzi in Paris. For almost 20 years since her death, her story has been a favorite subject and it continues to live on as people featured them on books, movies and documentaries. And now, "Feud" Season 2 is retelling her story once again.
Meghan Markle is reportedly embarrassed over Prince Harry latest antics at his friend's wedding in Jamaica. It has been reported that Harry crashed into a waitress while trying to show off his dance moves while he was drunk.

It can be recalled that Harry attended a friend's wedding with Meghan and unfortunately he was drunk at the party. The prince reportedly crashed into a waitress and knocked over a tray o drinks and the waitress went tumbling down.

Reports were quick to claim that Meghan Markle felt embarrassed by this and she could not help but feel that way. Prince Harry was trying to show off his dance moves to Michael Jackson's beat "Billie Jean" when he collided with the waitress and the rest was disaster.

As reported by Daily Mirror, Harry felt mortified when this happened. Everyone in the venue was cheering on him until he collided with the girl. But he was also quick to grab hold of her just to make sure that she was alright and fine.

Some said that Meghan Markle likewise felt mortified with Harry's behavior. After all, she exerted her effort in trying to show everyone that she and Harry are the newest celebrity "It" couple. And the last thing the actress wants to happen is to see Harry make embarrassing headlines with his strange behavior.

After keeping their romance under the radar for several months, Harry and Meghan finally make public appearances together and the wedding was the latest. But then again, knowing Prince Harry, he loves to let loose at great parties.

Everyone recalls Harry's naked photos during his strip billiards game in Las Vegas way back 2012. Until Queen Elizabeth ordered her grandson to go back to London and to attend back to his work as a member of the royal family, as per New York Times.

Moreover, the Queen also forced him to lessen his partying after the said incident. Despite the fact that Prince Harry is no longer partying the hard way, he still loves to get attention and being the center of it even if he is with his girlfriend, Meghan Markle.
"The Walking Dead" may have more unlikeable deaths to see in the coming episode, most especially with the two female characters that established quite the personalities before the whole season draws to a nearing end. This involves an intriguing love triangle that may have caused drama and tension between these femme fatales.

The AMC hit series, "The Walking Dead," is now on its seventh season and only has about four episodes left before it takes a break. After the deaths of some characters from the side of the Alexandrians, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) is now caught in an irreversible situation wherein he must engage in putting an end to Negan's reign of terror once and for all.

However, there may be some who think that Rick's actions take a little while longer than what should be and may take matters into their own hands. Two "The Walking Dead" female powerhouses Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) look to finally take out Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) without the help of the rest of the group, care of a sniper rifle that Rosita found outside. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Sasha could meet her death soon, especially with her casting for the series "Star Trek: Discovery." As for Rosita, she is one end of the party that is also willing to give her life to avenge the deaths of both Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz).

Rosita knows that she and whoever else that will be with her cannot be caught alive with their attempts. It was rumored as well that Rosita may also meet her end, as she could very well be once again be seen as the culprit who takes a shot at Negan. This is yet to be fully revealed and fans of "The Walking Dead" will have to wait for what AMC aims to do next.
A lot of young and handsome Korean actors are sweeping the viewers off their feet with their charm. However, there is one Korean actor who is as charming and as popular with the likes of Lee Min Ho, Song Joong Ki and Park Bo Gum. That actor is no other than Gong Yoo, the lead actor in the worldwide hit movie, "Train To Busan."

Gong Yoo's latest project gave him the lead role in "Goblin: The Great And Lonely God," a romantic K-drama with a supernatural twist. Just like "Train To Busan," "Goblin" was also a hit among the viewers, which spiraled Gong Yoo's popularity not only among Korean viewers, but from other countries as well.

"Goblin" aired its last episode on Jan. 21, 2017 which left the fans wondering what could be next for Gong Yoo. According to Yonhap News, despite not having a current Korean drama to be busy with, the 37-year old actor still has his hands full with fan meets scheduled around Asia.

Gong Yoo's fan meet will reportedly kick off in Taipei on Apr. 29 and will be followed by a similar event in Hong Kong on May 5. The fan meet around Asia is reportedly part of an overseas promotional and thanksgiving tour for "Goblin."

According to Gong Yoo's agency, they hope that the fans will be happy to see the "Coffee Prince" live in person. The slogan of Gong Yoo's fan meet is "Live your dream, hear your dream, you are my dream."

Now that Gong Yoo's fan meet is all set, fans are wondering if there would be a possibility that his co-stars from "Goblin" might make an appearance. Lee Dong Wok, who played the role of a handsome and mysterious Grim Reaper in "Goblin," is one of the most requested personality to join Gong Yoo on his Asian tour.

As of writing, Gong Yoo's agency has yet to confirm Lee Dong Wok's possible appearance in the former's fan conventions. According to All Kpop, Lee Dong Wok is also set to have his own Asian fan meet tour that will begin on March 12. Stay tuned to Enstars for more Gong Yoo news and updates!
A lot of fans are eagerly awaiting "One Piece" Chapter 858 air date. "One Piece" Chapter 858 spoilers reveal that Sanji might take a bite in the dust as he becomes devastated with the cancellation of his wedding. What's in store for the other characters in the upcoming episodes?

According to Droid Report, the highly-anticipated wedding of Sanji and Pudding might not push through in "One Piece" Chapter 858. Of course, the wedding cancellation is expected to devastate Sanji, who might be depicted as a more emotional character in the upcoming "One Piece" episodes. Meanwhile, the reason for the possible wedding cancellation remains undisclosed. Considering that Sanji and Pudding's supposed wedding is only a product of Big Mom's arranged marriage, fans have grown to love their tandem and wish to see them get married.

Although fans are seemingly dreading to see Sanji get his heart broken in "One Piece" Chapter 858, there is still a possibility that the wedding will push through at the right time in future chapters. This would mean that the fans who are rooting for Sanji and Pudding's love story might have to extend their patience until they can see their favorite characters get married.

On another note, there are reports circulating that there might be a new character to be introduced in "One Piece" Chapter 858. The said new character is reportedly named as Capone "Gang" Bege and is a notorious personality in the underworld. His arrival in the world of Luffy and the gang is expected to bring in more chaos and adventures.

Capone "Gang" Bege is reportedly the head of Five Great Families of the West and has been blessed with a specialty of eliminating the boss of any group that dares to go against him. "One Piece" Chapter 858 spoilers predict that there is a great chance that Capone and Luffy will go head to head in future episodes.

However, there are also predictions that Luffy and Capone might team up to defeat Big Mom. According to Korea Portal, Luffy and Capone might meet and come to a decision to form an alliance to defeat Big Mom. It's going to be an exciting ride ahead for "One Piece" Chapter 858. Stay tuned to Enstars for more "One Piece" news and updates!
The 87th Annual Meeting of the SEA will be held in Tampa, Florida at the Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, November 17-19, 2017 (Friday through Sunday). John Whitehead (Appalachian State University) is once again organizing the AERE sessions. Abstracts will be accepted for consideration beginning January 30, 2017 through the [email protected] website (click here) and must be submitted by March 10, 2017, midnight PDT.

Proposals for complete sessions are also encouraged. Organizers of proposed sessions should submit abstracts for EACH of the papers. Papers may be accepted or rejected on an individual basis unless the organizer specifically requests the session be considered only in its entirety.

Please note that all selected presenters must be 2017 AERE members. Membership of presenters will be verified one month after notification of acceptance. Papers of non-members will be dropped from the program. (We regret we do not have sufficient staff to send membership reminders to non-members.)
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South Africa 229 for 4 (Elgar 128*, Bavuma 38*) v New Zealand

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

On 22 consecutive occasions, the captain winning the toss in New Zealand had opted to bowl. When South Africa were 22 for 3 on the opening day in Dunedin, Dean Elgar may have pondered if Faf du Plessis had picked the right time to end that run. But Elgar did more than most to make sure it worked out fine in the end as his seventh Test hundred carried South Africa to 229 for 4.

The dominant stand of the day came between Elgar, who was dropped by BJ Watling on 36, and du Plessis as they added 126 for the fourth wicket before further consolidation alongside Temba Bavuma in a stand of 81 which survived the entire final session. However, New Zealand ensured the game did not run away from them, for the most part keeping a lid on the scoring, after making the surprise decision of selecting two frontline spinners.

Elgar's seventh Test century, and a third in his last seven outings, came from 197 balls including 20 boundaries which highlighted how focused he was on leaving and defending unless there was something on offer to attack. He has become one of the preeminent opening batsmen in the game, although his returns can fly under the radar. He was named Man of the Series against Sri Lanka in January and this innings took his average above 40 for the first time since his third Test (which was also against New Zealand) as he finished within two runs of a new career-best score.

While Elgar's recent returns mean this performance shouldn't be unexpected, there was plenty at the start of the day which did confound expectation. Kane Williamson had put considerable faith in his luck with the coin changing after making the crunch decision to leave out vice-captain Tim Southee in favour of Jeetan Patel. But after losing all five tosses in the one-day series the run continued which meant bowling with an attack New Zealand would be more expected to field on the subcontinent than at home: it was the first time they had selected two specialist spinners at University Oval.

Patel was bowling by the sixth over and conceded just eight runs in his first 10 overs to help New Zealand build and sustain pressure in the first session. There was certainly some grip for him and Mitchell Santner to suggest the selection call was not out of the realms of fantasy, but there were times when New Zealand felt a quick bowler light.

There was nothing strange, however, in the manner of the early wickets. Stephen Cook's defensive mindset led to him padding up against Trent Boult. Then Neil Wagner, on his home ground, produced a superb over at the start of his second spell. Firstly, he caught Hashim Amla flat-footed, after he had made 1 off 27 balls, with a full delivery which clattered into the stumps and then he switched to Wagner 101 mode with a brute of a short ball to bounce out JP Duminy.

When you are a captain who was undecided what to do until moments before the toss, you are probably questioning your decision to bat when walking in at 22 for 3. But alongside Elgar, du Plessis took the sting out of the morning session. A penny for Southee's thoughts as he saw the ball swinging but a spinner in operation.

Neil Wagner's double-strike in the 19th over sent back Hashim Amla and JP Duminy  AFP

The major moment of the day came off the first delivery of the second over after lunch when Elgar tickled Boult down the leg side but Watling could not gather the low catch. He did not offer another chance. As the fourth-wicket partnership bedded in, Williamson was left with the juggling act of not over-bowling Boult and Wagner. The way in which Elgar and du Plessis bided their time reinforced how they knew they could force Williamson's hand and their reward was a period before tea which brought seven boundaries in 19 deliveries, although that was a rare period of brisk scoring.

Du Plessis reached his fifty with a delightful drive off Santner before handing New Zealand a boost during an action-packed over against James Neesham who had been selected ahead of Colin de Grandhomme but not bowled until the 57th over. Clocking over 140kph, Neesham had du Plessis given lbw only for the decision to be overturned by the DRS due to a very thin edge (du Plessis initially reviewed for height, so thin was the nick). Three balls later there was no doubt, du Plessis pulling to Boult at deep midwicket ten minutes before tea in uncharacteristically careless fashion.

It was an opening for New Zealand, especially with Bavuma coming off 21 runs in five innings against Sri Lanka, but while the bowling remained accurate it was difficult with the ageing ball. Elgar moved into the 90s with a neat skip down the pitch to loft Santner down the ground then reached three figures with a crunching pull through midwicket off Neesham.
The new American administration has yet to define its relationship with Asia. While Washington is making a well-thought-out policy towards Asia, Europe must also redefine its own relationship with the region and craft a stand-alone policy towards the continent that still looks up to it for trade, investment and technology. While economic growth continues to be strong, political antagonisms begin to rise. North Koreas recent firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile is a reminder of Asias importance for global security.

Europeans and Asian have a common interest in collaborating on issues such as climate change, preserving the Iran deal and safeguarding international organizations including the United Nations. In addition to Europes soft power expertise in preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution and conflict management, Brussels is also a valuable partner for Asia in managing maritime security, fighting cybercrime and countering terrorism. A more visible European security profile in Asia would surely have the added benefit of helping the EUs longstanding goal of joining the East Asia Summit, an annual forum of Asian countries that since 2011 has included also the US and Russia.

Following the collapse of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement and the US disinterest in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment (TTIP), Brussels should work harder to finally revive pending free trade agreements with Japan, India and individual South East Asian countries. Trade is a major employer within the bloc, giving livelihood to about 31 million Europeans. Therefore, the EU should get serious about negotiating an FTA with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and speed up trade talks with Australia and New Zealand.

Moreover, on top of trade and security concerns, Brussels should also make a serious effort to revamp its bilateral ties with Asias major players. The links that the EU has developed over the years with China, Japan, Korea, India and ASEAN should be now made resilient and strategically substantiated. Europe should also get inspiration from other regional initiatives such as trilateral cooperation efforts by Japan, China and Korea.

Europe-Asia Relations Become a Priority in the Age of Trump  Commentary by Shada Islam  Friends of Europe.

(The commentary can be downloaded here)
Written by ACM











*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- Real Children's "Age Verification is a very Important Issue" Today, particularly in relation to Sexual Abuse and Migration, so that a special COE's Report with relevant "Guidelines" is expected asap, Replied to an "Eurofora" Question in a Press Conference in Strasbourg a key CoE Officer in charge of Data collection for the PanEuropean Organisation's Child Abuse Watchdog, the "Lanzarote" Convention's Committee for Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and/or Abuse. He spoke on the occasion of the Publication, later Today, of its Latest Report Exclusively on an allegedly Great Number of "Minors" among an UnPrecedented 1,5 Million Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants' influx in Europe via Turkey during 2015-2016, (See Estimated Numbers Infra).



- Indeed, "there are a Lot of Individuals Pretending to be "Children", in order to get certain Advantages", acknowledged earlier the President of CoE's "Lanzarote" Committee, Claude Janizzi, an Expert from the State of Luxembourg, in an exchange with CoE's Officials, a copy of which was shown at the Beginning of Today's Press Conference in the Morning, before being published also at CoE's web site Later-on.

+ Moreover, CoE's Report Estimates, which point at about 337.000 "Children Asylum Seekers", Focus a particular Attention on Risks for Sexual Abuses, concerning mainly around 88.300 "Unaccompanied Children", (down from a previous CoE Assembly Estimation of almost 100.000), during 2015, 60% of whom have even reportedly "Gone Missing".



Among others, f.ex. also Germany's Federal Budget Authorities had anounced an Exceptionaly High Amount of Funds earmarked for Care reserved to such "Unaccompanied" Mass Migrant "Children" these years.



- However, in Reply to a Question by "Eurofora" about the Younger or Older Age, and or the probable Cause of so many, reportedly "Unaccompanied Children" recently, CoE's Officer in charge of the Collection of Data, Mikael Poutier, from France, observed that "a Majority, are Older" Minors.



- Moreover, many alleged Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants seem or claim to be about "16-17 Years Old", but, in fact, several times, it's "Not Clear" whether they are really Minors or Young Adults, he admitted.



This seems Confirmed also by CoE's Final Report, Published Later Today, which observes that "Most Unaccompanied children in the EU are 16-17 year-Old", i.e. at the Borderline with Adults (from 18 years old).



=> Therefore, "Age Verification is a Very Important Issue" Nowadays, told us the competent CoE's Officer, (See also Infra).



Inter alia, also because when one is Not really a Chlld, he/she won't have right to a special Protective Status. While also, Experience shows that "Mixing" Adults with Minors can Expose Real Children to various Dangers of Abuse, particularly when they Share some Collective Facilities Together, provoking Promiscuity problems, (Aggravated in some "overcrowded" Reception Centers, in case of Longer stay, etc).



But several National Officials have already observed that Many among the Youngsters who recently entered in Europe via Turkey, appeared withOut any Official Document attesting of their Age, a lot of them routinely Claiming to be Minors.



During a special Hearing organized recently in Strasbourg by CoE's Assembly, on the sidelines of its Plenary Session, a Representative of "Amnesty International" from Germany denounced the Fact that a very DisProportionate Number of 2015-2016 Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants who arrived through Turkey claimed to be "Minors", in a much Bigger Percentage of that Total Population, than ever found in any other case, showing that Something AbNormal is going on, probably many among them Concealing their Real Age.

Another Expert, from a French NGO, initialy said that PreExisting Medical Procedures for Age Assessment (some from a Remote Past) appeared Difficult to handle and/or of UnCertain Accuracy, or inadequate in such special cases. But when he was Questioned by "Eurofora" on whether it was Both Necessary and Feasible to Find some More Efficient Scientific and Practical Methods of Age Verification, that Medical Expert's Reply was clearly Affirmative.





=> Therefore, CoE has Recently entrusted a competent Committee "on Children's Rights" with the Task to "Define Guidelines for Age Verifications", and we are all Waiting the Conclusions of its forthcoming "Report" on that "very Important matter", Anounced CoE's Official Mikael Poutier, in Reply to "Eurofora"s Questions.

He was speaking about "CANHEF", (set up Last Year for the "Implementation" of the PanEuropean Organisation's "Strategy for the Rights of the Child", and relevent "Expertise" on Legal "Standards", while also Following particularly the Work of Monitoring Bodies as the "Lazarote" Committee against Sexual Abuse, etc), which has already Decided to form "Drafting Groups" of Experts on Children and "Digital" Technologies, as well as "Migration", since September 2016, and is due to Meet at the End of March 2017 in Strasbourg, but also on Autumn 2017.



- Until then, it's "Too Early" to make more specific comments on that Hot Matter, he Carefuly Advised. While, f.ex., as Other CoE Officers observed, in case of "Doubt" for the Age of Young Victims of Sexual Abuse, if there are reasons to Believe that they are Children, Lanzerote Convention asks to consider them as such, Pending Verification of their Real Age, in order to ensure their Protection from Agressors Assaulting them, CoE's Report reminds Today, urging Member States, as f.ex. Hungary, (an Exceptionaly Affected EU Country from that UnPrecedented Massive Influx of Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants from Turkey, particularly in Proportion to the Hungarian Population), which don't yet seem to have done so, to Adapt their Practice accordingly.



Meanwhile, however, published Photos f.ex. of an alleged "Minor" (looking, in fact, as a Grown up Teenager or a Young Adult Aged 18-21) from the Recent Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants' Group which had arrived via Turkey up to Sweden, strolling among obviously very much Younger Swedish Children inside Schoolyards and/or Collective Sport Facilities, obviously Raise Critical Questions also on eventual Risks for the Real Children Exposed to such a Promiscuity.



CoE's 1st PanEuropean Investigation "Urgently" made by the CoE on Sexual Child Abuses and recent Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants, as Published Later Today, Revealed a quite Unexpected "Lack of Data" collected by National Authorities about such reported Abuses having being Committed by various Other Persons to the Detriment of these "Refugee Children" between 2015-2016, CoE's Officials told Journalists, including "Eurofora", this Morning in Strasbourg, even if several National Authorities reportedly Feel that Real Numbers of such Incidents could be Bigger, in Real Practive, from what has been formaly Reported.



The Failure to Find enough Official Data about Sexual Abuses committed against Real Children among the recent Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants brought mainly by Turkish Smugglers through Greece, etc, (Except from 49 such Victims inside Turkey itself, to the Detriment of Syrian Refugees, and 4 in Belgium, etc), might also be due to the Fact that Many among those People have reportedly had a Bad Image of Public Authorities in general, possibly because of Problems Experienced also in their Countries of Origin, which makes it particularly Difficult for them to Trust Officials, according to some CoE's sources.



But, while such "Data Collection Mechanisms" probably Need to be Built yet, with Adequate and Efficient Methods, as CoE's Officers pointed out, nevertheless, already, various Mainstream Press Reports throughout Europe have Already Denounced several such Sexual Abuse Attacks, sometimes even very Brutal, either Between Refugee Children and Adult Mass Asylum Seekers, or between the Latter and Ordinary Children, or even some Grown up Teenagers, even Young Adults, living in Europe since long, including European People, that CoE has the Duty to Protect too :



F.ex., among several other Real Cases, Recently reported by Mainstream Press, are Included also : 2 Young Refugee Children sexualy assaulted in "Hot Spots" located at Greek Islands near Turkey ; 1 or 2 very small Boys from a Refugee Family, sexually assaulted by a Young Mass Asylum Seeker in a Collective Facility at Berlin, Germany ; 2 British Girls aged Only 14 Sexualy Assaulted by 4 or 5 Young Mass Asylum Seekers at a Park in the UK ; in Sweden, an "UnAccompanied Minor" Sexualy Molested 2 Girls aged 8 - 10 at a Swimming Pool (where also several Other such Sexual Abuses against Real Children had already taken place, according to the Public Authorities) + Moreover, a Girl aged 16 was Knifed at the Head by a Mass Migrant Teenager, Karim Ageri, Claiming to be 15, but, Found to be "at least 18", who had Attempted to have Sex with her ; during a Music Concert at Darmstadt (Germany) Girls aged 12-13 were Sexualy Assaulted by Teenagers of Migrant origin, alike several among those who made Violent Mob Attacks on Young Girls in Cologne, at New Eve's Night ; a 10 Years old Serbian Boy (from a European Refugee Family of Former-Yugoslavia) was Raped in a Public Bath at Wien (Austria) by a Teenager Mass Asylum Seeker/Irregular Migrant (accompanied to the Pool by a Social Worker, who didn't Nothing to save the Victim), after entering Europe via Turkey ; a 19 y.o. Student Girl, (Maria Ladenburger : Daughter of an EU Legal Officer, who used to Help Refugees in her spare Time), Raped and Murdered by an Afghan Mass Asylum Seeker/Irregular Migrant of UnDetermined yet Age, who had also entered EU via Turkey, after Committing in Greece a previous very Violent Sex Assault on another Young Girl, which was Hospitalized for Serious Wounds, after she was Thrown Down from an 8 Meters High parvis to a rocky Sea Coast.



Scandalously, that Killer, Recidivist Hussein Khavari, had been initialy considered as an "UnAccompanied Minor" too, when he entered Germany. In Fact, he had already been presented as a 17 Years "UnAccompanied Minor" in Greece, 3 Years Earlier, but was also Registered as an "Unaccompanied Minor" aged 16 when he afterwards arrived in Germany, several Years Later on ! Only After these 2 Crimes he was recognized as an Adult. Meanwhile, he had been Awarded a place in a German "Foster Family", (normaly reserved only for isolated Mass Refugee Children).



That Tragic, Deadly Blunder was reportedly due also to a Lack of Sufficient Coordination between the European Countries most Affected by that UnPrecedented 2015-2016 Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants influx vuia Turkey, (f.ex., in this case : Greece and Germany, etc), including by Initial Problems in the set up, use and functioning of the "EuroDac" System, etc.



=> Using sufficiently Wide Terms, interestingly, the Ultimate "Recommendation" made in Conclusion of the CoE's Report published Today, is for Member States to "Coordinate" Actions in order to "Facilitate the Prevention and Protection of (all) Children Affected, in the Refugee Crisis, from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse", without Any Discrimination between eventual Victims, nor their Abusers.



- "Lanzarote Committee acknowledges that, in some circumstances, Children Already in the Country ("Before the Refugee Crisis" of 2015-2016) may be indirectly Affected by the Refugee Crisis, in a Variety of ways", resulting in "Situations" which have a real "Importance", COE's Report observes, citting "f.ex. ... Victim(s) of Sexual Abuse by ..Person(s) who Came to the Country", "or Because of ...Reduction to Social Aid", etc., while, however, Focusing, in that Text, on those who entered Europe during the 2015-2016 UnPrecedented Mass Population Movementrs.

--------------------

Both CoE's competent Officers and its Report Denounced also the Abuses Haunting Children of this particular Wave of Migrants, very Predominantrly Muslim and apparently, at least partialy, Selected by Turkey, as mainstream Press Reports from Brussels' EU Experts have revealed, (f.ex. by a quasi-Systematic Exclusion of Educated People, of Christians, etc), even by "Forced" and/or "Child Mariages", (which may Threaten Real Children with Rape, etc), "Genital Mutilation" of Girls, etc.



Current Estimates about Asylum-Seeking Children in European Countries during 2015-2016, widely Vary, f.ex., approximately, from Only 10 in Ukraine, but around 700 in Cyprus and in Luxembourg, up to about 40.000 in Hungary and in Austria, and even more than 65.000 in Sweden, topling with 135.000 in Germany. But Many "Unaccompanied Children" are Not Seeking Asylum, at least Not Yet. However, the "Lanzarote Convention applies to All Children", i.e. even "Street Children", (and, naturaly, also to Millions of European or Other Children already living since long in Europe), as CoE's Report explicitly reminds.



--------------------------



CoE's Lanzarote Committee reportedly had to Postpone the 2nd Part (and more Practice-oriented) of its earlier work against Abuses of Children committed by individuals who Exploit a Fake Appearance of "Trustworthy" persons, (a delicate but Big Issue for Millions of potential Victims, throughout Europe and in the World, Comp. "Eurofora"s NewsReport : ....), in order to "Urgently" deal Exclusively with cases of Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants who suddenly infiltrated Europe via Turkish Smugglers on 2015-2016, as far as Children abuse risks are concerned. So that now, it's expected to Return Back into that main PanEuropean/International Issue asap, for a 2017-2018 New Report, CoE's competent Officer Mikael Poutiers told "Eurofora" in substance.



-------------------------------------



+ Meanwhile, another Problem is that Eventual Lack of Sufficient Protections and/or UnReported Sex Abuse of Real Children among fragile Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants (most of them notoriously Exploited by Turkish Smugglers, already, many of whom are Linked to various Mafia-like Networks, according f.ex. to UK - USA Press), might also Aggravate Risks for them to Fall even Victims of Sex Trafficking Networks, Later-on, CoE's Officials Warned Journalists in Strasbourg, including "Eurofora".



++ A Press Agency collegue from France raised the Question (present also in COE's Report) of eventual Dangers for some "Sexual Predators" to Attempt to Infiltrate certain NGOs allegedly "Helping" f.ex. the recently arrived Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants via Turkey. CoE Officials' Reply was mainly that States are Obliged to Take Sufficient Measures for an "Effective" Protection of all Children from Abuse, and this should include f.ex. appropriate "Vetting" of any Civil Servants, NGOs, and/or other Persons due to Deal with Children, particulary those who are in a Fragile Situation, as, f.ex., Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants, etc., in order to "Ensure" and Adequate Protection against any eventual Attempts for Abuses somewhere from Children's "Circle of Trust".



------------------------------------------------------------------



+ Meanwhile, in a Partly Related Issue, the Director of CoE's Child Abuse Watchdog, Mrs Gioa Scappucci, from Italy, speaking to "Eurofora", acknowledged possible concerns about risks for an eventual "SetBack" in UK's formely Active and Succesfull Investigations against Child Abuse, (which had f.ex. Recently Discovered and Started to Punish a Wide-Ranging mainly Muslim Pakistani Migrants' Violent Gang Sexually Aggressing and Exploiting more than 1.500 British Children during More than a Decade, thanks to a Scandalous Cover-up by some Local Politicians, Police and/or Social Workers, etc), particularly After a more Recent Failure of anOther Investigation for Child Abuse allegedly committed in a Remote Past by some High-Ranking Politicians, and a subsequently Controversial Change of Scotland Yard's Top Officer who had overseen such Enquiries, (Comp., f.ex. : ....).



- "But the UK is Not yet Member of (CoE's) Lanzarote Convention, as also Azerbaijan and 4 Other Countries, among CoE's 47 Member States, Scappucci Regretted, while also Observing that an eventual Accession of the UK to the PanEuropean Convention for the Protection of Children from Sexual Abuse would Strengthen CoE's Fight against that Plague. Particularly given its recent Experience in Investigating such Crimes and the Possibilities of PanEuropean "Cooperations" in the Fight Against this, systematicaly Favoured by the CoE Convention's Monitoring mechanism.



However, Recently, at least 2 Non-European but Neighbouring Countries, Tunisia and Morocco, etc., have shown an Interest into eventualy being involved, to CoE's Child Protection Mechanisms, including against Sexual Abuse, i.e. the "Lanzarote" Convention's body, which has also a Wider Regional, almost International vocation, CoE's Officer Poutier added to "Eurofora" for the foreseable Future.

(../..)

***

("DraftNews", as already send to "Eurofora" Subscribers/Donors, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version, might be published asap).
The Minsk II agreement marked its second anniversary in February. Brokered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, it sought to bring peace to the Donbas region, where Russian and separatist forces have been in conflict with Ukrainian troops since April 2014.

Minsk IIs first three elements dealt with security: ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact, and access for monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Other elements provided for a constitutional amendment on decentralization of authority, exchange of prisoners, an election law and special status for the Russian/separatist-occupied part of the Donbas, and restoration of Ukrainian control of the Ukraine-Russia border. Unfortunately, little of this arrangement has been implemented.

Minsk II arguably helped mitigate the fighting, but the ceasefire regularly breaks down. Both sides share responsibility, though observers attach more blame to the Russians and separatists. No one considers the agreement a success, as the death toll has climbed to nearly 10,000 lives.

The problem appears to be that the Kremlin and separatist forces prefer a simmering conflict to settlement. Leaders of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics repeatedly state they will not accept restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty, which is a key goal of Minsk II.

Moscow has the power and influence to make implementation happen. The Russian military runs the command structure for separatist forces, and those forces depend heavily on Russia for weapons, ammunition, supplies and funding. There is no real evidence, however, that the Russian leadership wants Minsk II implementedeven if that would allow the Kremlin to dramatically alter the story about the Donbas conflict.

Say that the Russians made a ceasefire stick, withdrew heavy weapons away from the line of contact, and ensured OSCE monitors accessthat is, they fulfilled Minsk IIs first three provisions. (In order to prevent the Ukrainian military from taking advantage, Russian military units could visibly position themselves just across the border from Ukraine.)

If Moscow took these steps, that could make things difficult for Kyiv. Popular attitudes in Ukraine toward Russia and the separatists have hardened over the past two years. President Petro Poroshenko and his government would have a difficult time securing the 300 votes needed in the Rada (parliament) for a constitutional amendment on decentralization. Passing an election law or special status for the Donbas could prove equally challenging.

If domestic politics prevented Kyiv from delivering on these provisions, the Kremlin could successfully change the narrative, shifting the major portion of blame for the failure to implement Minsk II to the Ukrainian side. That would affect attitudes, particularly in Europe, regarding questions such as whether to sustain economic sanctions on Russia.

Oddly, the Russian leadership has not tried such a move. Two reasons could account for that. First, Moscow might believe that Kyiv could deliver on the political provisions, in which case peace would take hold. That would mean, however, that the Kremlin could not use a simmering Donbas conflict to pressure, distract and destabilize the Ukrainian government.

Second, Vladimir Putin may calculate that developments in the West over the next seven months will deliver changes in U.S. or EU policy without concessions on his part. Moscow could hold out hope that President Donald Trumpwho said during the campaign that he would consider lifting sanctions and recognizing Russias seizure of Crimeawould attempt a reset in relations without first seeking a correction of Russias egregious misbehavior.

In Europe, the beginning of the Brexit negotiations on Britains departure from the European Union will burden an already full EU agenda. Moreover, elections loom in the Netherlands, France and Germany.

The Dutch electorate votes on March 15. Polls show the far-right party led by Geert Wilders in the lead. Wilders likely will not become prime minister, because other parties would not form a coalition with him, but his desire to take the Netherlands out of the European Union certainly makes him attractive in Moscow.

In France, polls show Marine Le Pen will likely make the early May run-off in the presidential election. While she would probably fall short in the second ballot, Le Pen interests the Kremlin. She has suggested she would recognize Crimeas illegal annexation and has toyed with a Brexit-style referendum for France. Her party took a loan from a Moscow bank.

Germans vote in September. While Merkel remains her countrys most popular politician, her numbers have slipped, and she is running for a fourth term when Western electorates seem inclined to vote for change. The Russian government would like to see her out of office.

If one is sitting in the Kremlin, these developments offer significant pay-offs, even if some are long shots. It is difficult to see Russian policy on Ukraine and Minsk II changing in a major way between now and October.

This is a grim prognosis for the prospects for peace in the Donbas. There is little probability of Minsk IIs implementation in the near term. The Ukrainians frustration is understandable, but Kyiv has little choice other than to stick with the agreement.

No viable alternative is on the table. Were Ukraine to abandon the Minsk process, it would remove the basis for EU sanctions, which Merkel has tied to full fulfillment of Minsk II. Those EU members that are weary of sanctions and wish to get back to business as usual with Moscow would press harder for ending the sanctions regime. Moreover, it is not clear that Kyiv could later get Germany, in particular, back into a new negotiating format. With everything else on Merkels plate, she would hardly be eager to join a new negotiation if Ukraine were responsible for ending the process that she launched two years ago.

Ukraine thus could find itself facing off against Russia alone over the Donbas (to say nothing of Crimea). It is hard to see how that would be better for Kyiv than the current situation, however unhappy it might be.

The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELNs aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europes capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security challenges of our time.
There have been concerns raised about the status of European Union citizens in the UK after the Brexit process is complete with the Government refusing to give an indication of what it will be.But the referendum announcement a year ago did not stop people moving to Britain from the EU with the latest official data showing that there was a surge in workers arriving which took total immigration to its highest ever level of 650,000 in a year.  There was a record 284,000 EU migrants in the 12 months to June 2016 and a particular surge in people from Bulgaria and Romania.The figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) also show that net migration, the difference between those entering the UK and those leaving, reached its third highest level of 335,000, up 8,000 from the previous quarter.It means that in the run up to the historic vote to leave the EU, the UK has consistently missed the Government target of cutting net immigration to 100,000 and could be an indication that Brexit negotiations, due to start when Article 50 is triggered sometime this month, could seek a robust deal in terms of reducing EU expat numbers.While 284,000 EU migrants came to the UK in the year to June, only 95,000 left in the same period. Net migration from the EU rose by 9,000 to reach 189,000, the equivalent to adding a county the size of Herefordshire to the UK in one year.'Net migration remains around record levels, but it is stable compared with recent years. Immigration levels are now among the highest estimates recorded and the inflow of EU citizens is also at historically high levels and similar to the inflow of non-EU citizens; there were also increases in the number of asylum seekers and refugees, said ONS statistician Nicola White.'Immigration of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens continues the upward trend seen over the last few years and in 2015 Romania was the most common country of previous residence. The main reason people are coming to the UK is for work, and there has been a significant increase in people looking for work particularly from the EU, she added.Indeed, work remains the most common reason for long term immigration. In the year ending June 2016 some 189,000 EU citizens arrived in the UK for work, the highest estimate recorded.Around 108,000, or 57%, said they had secured a job to go to before they came while 82,000 EU immigrants arrived looking for work, a record number and a 'statistically significant' increase compared to the previous year, White explained.The jump included a rise in the number of citizens arriving to seek employment from the EU 15 group of nations consisting of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain and Sweden.Responding to the figures, the Government insisted Brexit negotiations will allow it to bring down numbers once Britain leaves the EU in the spring of 2019.'The British people have sent a very clear message that they want more control of immigration and we are committed to getting net migration down to sustainable levels in the tens of thousands, said Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill.'There is no consent for uncontrolled immigration, which puts pressure on schools, hospitals and public services. That is why reducing the number of migrants coming to the UK will be a key priority of our negotiations to leave the EU, he pointed out.'Further to this, we continue to reform non-EU immigration routes to ensure we attract the best and brightest, who benefit and contribute to this country. But there is more to do as we build an immigration system that delivers the control we need, he added.
An Austin-based company that announced plans Tuesday to raise $450 million to build a new refinery in West Texas warned investors that it had a total of $3,335 of cash on hand and that its finances were shaky, according to its most recent public disclosures last year.

MMEX Resources Corp. announced Tuesday its intention to build a 50,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Pecos County near West Texas Permian Basin Shale play. The company has racked up $30 million in cumulative losses as of June 30, 2016, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Its ability to continue as an ongoing concern was entirely dependent on its ability to raise capital from other investors, the company said at the time.

We do not currently have the cash resources to meet our operating commitments for the next twelve months, the company said.

President and CEO Jack W. Hanks said in an interview that MMEX Resource Corp. was a shell company and that most of his business has been done through his privately-held Maple Energy, which used to operate as Maple Resources Corp. and has done business in Peru.

What were taking is a shell company that I control and it has no assets in it; the stock price is extremely low and were going to put assets in it and build the company, Hanks said, adding that the assets would be the proposed refinery, which would be used as collateral.

I cant write a check for $450 million, he said.

Maple was involved in some projects in South America, including a minority share of a $273 million natural gas and electric project in Peru that it sold for around $21 million in 2009, the Dallas Business Journal reported in 2007. Maple was delisted from the London stock exchange in 2014.

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.

The proposed refinery is the second 50,000-barrel-a-day refinery proposed for the U.S./Mexico border region. Houston-based Raven Petroleum has proposed a $500 million refinery for Duval County in South Texas, which would process crude oil from the Eagle Ford Shale play and export finished products such as gasoline and diesel into Mexico.

rdruzin@express-news.net

@druz_journo
HOUSTON  Get ready for the second wave of U.S. shale.

The resurgence of the Permian Basin is the talk of IHS CERAWeek in Houston this week, a gathering of 3,000 energy professionals and world leaders.

U.S. crude oil production is projected to reach an all-time high of 9.7 million barrels per day in 2018  led by shale production in the Permian Basin and deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico  surpassing the record set in 1970, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia's oil minister Khalid Al-Falih said he welcomes investment in U.S. shale, regardless of what you might hear elsewhere, and sees its growth as a sign that the global industry is rebounding.

I think the green shoots are definitely here in the U.S., Al-Falih said during a keynote talk at CERAWeek.

Ryan Lance, chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips, said there are trees that are growing more than shoots in the U.S. today.

Even as the oil and gas industry warns itself against irrational exuberance  borrowing former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspans warning of overheating in the 1990s tech industry  it cant quite help itself when it comes to the Permian. The vast reservoir in West Texas and eastern New Mexico pumps around 2.3 million barrels per day.

The term Permania is getting tossed around liberally at CERAWeek.

Since hitting a low in May, most of the drilling rigs that have gone back to work in the U.S. have headed to the Permian. There were 308 drilling rigs at work last week in the basin, according to service company Baker Hughes, up from 134 in May. It has 41 percent of the active drilling rigs in the U.S., and 15 percent of the worlds working drilling rigs.

Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum Corp., the Permian Basins largest producer, thinks the Permian can grow to pump 4 million to 5 million barrels of oil per day.

It will be there one day, Hollub said. Its a matter of how fast it can get there, and that will be dictated by oil prices.

Lots of producers in the region can make money even if oil falls below $40 per barrel, she said. And everyone who isnt in the Permian wants to be there.

Wish we were in the Permian, said Robert Dudley, CEO of BP, who noted that the company had to sell its Permian assets to cover costs from the Macondo disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Scott Sheffield, CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, said Permian output could grow as large as 8 million to 10 million barrels per day.

While much has been made about a showdown between U.S. shale producers and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, leaders from both sides met at the conference, and the message seemed to be one that the oil table was large enough for all.

We didn't have any war, said OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo. Barkindo said shale wells came online in the U.S. at a time when supply was being lost from Libya, Iran and other traditional oil exporters. Without the shale revolution probably the global economy would have been in a deep crisis, Barkindo said.

Several industry leaders batted down theories about peak global oil demand and the idea that electric cars will soon cause a demand dip globally for oil, instead pointing to global population trends and the need for developing countries to have reliable energy. Peak demand does not feature in the foreseeable future, Barkindo said.

They seemed far less concerned about shale, considered a short cycle producer that can respond quickly to swings in price and demand, than with the lack of investment the last few years in massive long-term projects such as deep water exploration.

Al-Falih and the Paris-based International Energy Agency made calls for more investment by banks and private equity in international oil projects. Money is readily available for U.S. shale projects, but financing has been harder to secure outside the U.S. since around 2015.

Investment is the main issue, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA. We are advocating that the investments need to be made and need to be made without delay. Without investment, global oil supply could be under pressure by around 2019, he said.

Al-Falih also said that OPECs historic production cut will be reevaluated in the second half of the year. OPEC meets again in May in Vienna.

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.

The cartel agreed in late November to cut its production by 1.2 million barrels a day, the first reduction by OPEC since 2008. Other countries, including Russia, pledged in December to cut an additional 558,000 barrels daily. The move boosted oil prices and has kept them above $50 per barrel since.

Saudi Arabia has taken the biggest production cuts of all members of the cartel, but Al-Falih suggested Tuesday that the country would not subsidize others. He warned that producers shouldnt engage in wishful thinking that OPEC or the kingdom will underwrite the investments of others at our own expense or long term interests.

In other words, we should not get ahead of the market, as informed by our recent experience, Al-Falih said.

The mood at CERAWeek was grim last year as oil was coming off of a 13-year low of $26 per barrel last February. Oil prices have since recovered to around $54, a level it has hovered at since December.

Oil executives who were funereal last year are cracking jokes this week.

I dont think I heard anybody laugh last year at anything, said Dudley.

It was very serious, said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of IHS Markit.

Sheffield of Pioneer Natural Resources gave a reminder of the cyclical  and often unpredictable  nature of the industry.

Everybody should think there's a downturn around the corner, Sheffield said. Always be prepared.

jhiller@express-news.net

Twitter: @Jennifer_Hiller
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The NAACP and American Library Association are among several groups threatening to yank their conventions from San Antonio if Texas lawmakers pass the so-called transgender bathroom bill  costing local hotels, restaurants and attractions millions of dollars.

So far, two groups have passed over San Antonio as a host city for their conventions since state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick introduced Senate Bill 6 in February, according to Visit San Antonio, the former city Convention and Visitors Bureau. Another nine are considering locating their conventions in other states.

Should all 11 conventions take their business elsewhere, the city could lose almost $40 million in total economic fallout, according to estimates from Visit San Antonio.

Because this bill contradicts our fundamental values, and it is in distinct opposition to the fundamental principles upon which libraries are founded, ALA would have no choice but to move its 2022 mid-winter convention from San Antonio to another state, American Library Association President Julie Todaro said in a Feb. 16 letter to Visit San Antonio.

The convention, scheduled for January 2022, is estimated to generate $5 million in total economic spending, including the more than 5,500 projected attendees who are expected to rent hotel rooms for the five-day conference, Visit San Antonio spokesman Richard Oliver said.

And San Antonio wouldnt be the only Texas city that loses out on convention business because of the legislation, Todaro added. The association would consider other states in lieu of Texas if state lawmakers approve the bill.

As much as we love San Antonio, its just not going to be a popular conference if the Texas bill passes, Todaro said in a phone interview. Our members would be very unhappy."

The American Library Association canceled its National Institute conference in Charlotte, North Carolina after former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed the Tar Heel States bathroom bill into law last year.

North Carolina lost dozens of events and projects in the aftermath of the bills passage. The NBA pulled its All-Star Game from Charlotte in July, and the Atlantic Coast Conference withdrew its college football championship and womans college basketball tournament from the state.

The NAACP rejected a bid from Charlotte for its 2018 annual convention and instead chose San Antonio, a move now in doubt because of Senate Bill 6. The gathering is projected to bring 10,000 visitors and generate an economic impact of $10 million.

Not since the days of Jim Crow have we seen such obvious attempts to cast our fellow citizens into a second class citizenship status by hate-inspired legislation, NAACP Board Chairman Leon Russell wrote in a statement to the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee.

Russell said in a phone interview Wednesday he plans to meet with NAACPs organizers at the national and state levels along with local civil rights groups about a game plan in light of the bills move to the full state Senate. He said the NAACP would definitely take action of some nature if the bill passes the Legislature.

I just dont understand what compels any state legislature to want to legislate discrimination and put it into public law, Russell said. It just makes no sense to me.

Visit San Antonio submitted letters and statements on behalf of five organizations to the State Affairs Committee, which approved the bill Wednesday morning by a 7-1 vote after hearing roughly 13 hours of testimony.

State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, was the only committee member to oppose the controversial bill, which would require individuals to use restrooms and other facilities in government buildings based on the gender on their birth certificate, rather than gender identity. Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., a Democrat, voted in support of Senate Bill 6 after publicly backing it on Monday.

Hundreds of people signed up to testify before the committee, most of them in opposition to the bill.

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.

Public Responsibility in Health and Medicine, a Boston-based organization that advocates for ethical practices in research involving humans and animals, could pass up San Antonio for its 2020 conference, the group said in a March 3 letter  taking with it more than 2,500 attendees and an estimated $2.1 million impact.

Because it rises to the level in our view of such a fundamental ethical human rights issue, this is an occasion on which  we feel we cant stay silent, Executive Director Elisa Hurley said in an interview.

The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, a higher education group, said in a March 1 letter that it fears many of the 6,800 attendees slated to descend on San Antonio for its 5-day conference beginning Friday could boycott the meeting. The group plans to nix its Austin conference in 2022 and bar Texas cities from consideration for future events if the bill passes, NASPA President Kevin Kruger wrote.

The bill could cost San Antonio repeat convention business. Martha Abbott, executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, told Visit San Antonio in a March 6 letter that adopting Senate Bill 6 will cause our organization to seriously reconsider our commitment to returning to San Antonio for our convention. The council held conventions in San Antonio in 1993, 2007 and 2014 and in Dallas in 1986 and 1999.

Tourism officials may not be able to calculate the total cost to San Antonios convention business, Casandra Matej, executive director of Visit San Antonio, told state senators during the committee hearing Tuesday.

My biggest fear is the unknown, Matej said in a statement Wednesday. What groups are out there that would have contacted San Antonio or Texas about meetings, but instead are saying, Were not even going to Texas with all thats going on, there are other options for us. 
AUSTIN -- State psychiatric hospitals would be able to again ban guns on their premises under a bill that would undo a controversial prohibition in Texas' 2015 open carry law.

If passed, the bill by Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, would allow 10 state hospitals to return to previous policies in place before open carry became the law. The open carry law, which went into effect at the beginning of 2016, allows handgun license holders to visibly carry weapons in most public places. A related Senate bill passed last session imposed fines on governmental entities that bar license holders from carrying handguns in areas not marked with signs as gun-free zones.

Hospitals and health care facilities still may bar guns, but this does not include the 10 state psychiatric hospitals do not fall under this category because they are not licensed by the state.

"I would not be here if I did not think it was a necessary component of how we go about across the state handling mental health," Murr told members of the House Public Health committee Tuesday.

ON CAMPUS: Reluctantly, HCC to allow guns at school

The bill would not be a mandate, Murr said. State hospitals could continue to allow guns on their property, but the legislation would allow hospitals to tailor their policies for their campuses and place signage on properties that ban guns.

Murr told committee members that many of those in state psychiatric hospitals are "forensic patients" who have been brought in by law enforcement officials before they are potentially sent through the state's criminal justice system.

"They're there because of a criminal issue," he said, noting that people who arrive at these hospitals may be accused of serious crimes. Lawmakers and hospitals, he said, must ensure that "We're taking all the precautions that we need to take to protect staff, other patients and visitors."

During the 2015 legislative session, lawmakers shot down an amendment by Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, that would have allowed state-run psychiatric facilities to ban guns. Murr said he does not take that to mean lawmakers will reject his bill this session.

'BATHROOM BILL': Senate panel hears testimony on controversial measure

"The sponsors and authors of that (open carry) bill pushed diligently to minimize any changes in the core legislation" Murr said. "I don't read into the fact that there was an amendment that wasn't adopted as a non-interest in making sure our state hospitals were safe and secure."

He has two other Republican co-authors on the bill  Rep. Sarah Davis, of Houston, and Drew Springer, of Gainesville. Murr said he also has worked with lobby groups, including the National Rifle Association and the Federation of Texas Psychiatry. He also worked with the offices of Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus to draft the bill.

Alice Tripp, legislative director of the Texas State Rifle Association, said the group is "neutral as filed," and will watch for any changes made to the bill.

Tim Bray, director of state hospitals, told lawmakers there have been several instances of handguns on state hospital property since the 2015 law passed. In one case, a man showed up to the hospital with a concealed handgun. Bray said staff asked the man to voluntarily put his gun in his vehicle, and he complied.

"Each one of our campuses is very different," Bray said. "We do not preclude the public, however, from coming onto the campus."

State hospitals removed signs that banned handguns when open carry laws were passed last session, Bray said. In its place, hospitals posted signs reminding the public that those in state hospitals are engaged "in active psychiatric treatment" and requested that license holders voluntarily conceal their guns or leave them in their vehicles.

Clifford Moy with the Texas Medical Association told lawmakers the current law is unclear, and the group is in favor of the legislation.

Murr said he has not been contacted about any strong opposition to the bill, and he worked with the state's top officials "to ensure that everybody believed it was narrowly tailored and appropriately addresses what was an unintended consequence of legislation in 2015."

The bill was left pending in committee Tuesday.

>>>Scroll through the gallery above to see what the Open Carry Law in Texas actually says
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AUSTIN  After hearing about 13 hours of impassioned public testimony into the early morning hours Wednesday, the Senate State Affairs Committee sent the so-called bathroom bill to the full chamber on a 7-1 vote.

Sen. Judith Zaffirini was the only committee member to oppose the controversial bill, which would require individuals to use restrooms and other facilities in government buildings based on their birth certificate, rather than gender identity. Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., a Democrat, voted in support of Senate Bill 6 after publicly backing it on Monday.

Public testimony began at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday and ended at around 4:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Of the 200-plus people that testified, the vast majority included transgender individuals and their families staunchly against the legislation.

Around 30 people voiced their support for SB 6, including several families from Dripping Springs that were upset about Dripping Springs Independent School Districts decision in the fall to allow a transgender girl to use the girls restroom.

A 10-year-old girl from Dripping Springs told senators she felt uncomfortable when her school district, Dripping Springs ISD, recently allowed a transgender girl to use the girls restroom.

Please help me protect my privacy, Shiloh Satterfield said.

Prior to the vote, the bills author, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, revised the legislation to remove a section that would enhance punishment for crimes committed in bathrooms and updated it to include its intent to protect the privacy of women and children.

The vote capped a turbulent few days at the Texas Capitol that included dueling press conferences between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a strong proponent of SB 6, and hundreds of transgender advocates who descended on Austin this week to lobby against it.

The committees vote means that SB 6 will next advance to the Senate for a full vote, where it has support from the majority of Republicans.

However, House Speaker Joe Straus has repeatedly said the bill is not his priority, while Gov. Greg Abbott remains largely mum on the issue

Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee that heard the bill, had committed to listening to everyone who registered to testify, sending the hearing long into the night.

As the bill drew all the oxygen in the Senate on Tuesday, Straus told reporters outside the House chamber hes the wrong guy to ask about the emotion surrounding that issue and emphasized his chamber is working on matters important to every Texan.

Well, clearly, Im not a fan of the bill that theyre discussing, said Straus, R-San Antonio, who has expressed concern about the bills potential impact on the states economy. Im focused 100 percent on the Houses priorities. They have their agenda. We have ours.

Well worry about our agenda and making progress on some issues that I think are important to every Texan, Straus told reporters, citing work on child protective services, mental health programs, school funding and the overall state budget.

Early Monday, the bill's author, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, told the Senate committee that the bill is not discriminatory and at its core is about the rights of women, children and parents. She acknowledged conflicting views about the intent and purpose of the legislation.

In the process of preparing the bill, Kolkhorst said she encountered individuals from all walks of life, including the parents of transgender children. She pointed out that the bill specifies gender based on the current version of a person's birth certificate, which can be changed in the state of Texas. SB 6 will provide further direction to state entities, including school districts, she said.

Several Democratic senators were skeptical about the bill and what it would accomplish. Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, said the bill seemed to go in the opposite direction in protecting transgender children.

It seems to me that we have a bill here that is clearly discriminating based on gender, he said.

Rodriguez also wondered why the bill was necessary, in light of laws already on the books that prohibit individuals from entering the bathroom of the opposite sex. He added that if a transgender woman identifies herself as female, then it's not a man going into the bathroom.

Senator, you and I may disagree on this, Kolkhorst responded.

As the committee wrapped up the hearing's first portion before the Senate went into session, transgender advocates gathered in the open-air rotunda outside the hearing room. Transgender individuals, advocates, parents and allies crowded onto the area's multiple levels, hoisting orange signs that read Don't discriminate in the Lone Star State. Several transgender flags that had been unfurled over the railings fluttered in the breeze.

Y'all means all, the crowd chanted. Say it loud, say it clear, trans people are welcome here.

Chuck Smith, CEO of Equality Texas, introduced a series of speakers that refuted much of the morning debate and testimony, which Smith called several hours of lies and misinformation about what Senate Bill 6 is and what it does. As transgender individuals and parents shared their stories, several bystanders wiped away tears.

One father shared his experience finding his transgender son's suicide note. His son did not end his life, but he was shaken by the incident all the same.

This bill seeks to tell a transgender person, regardless of who they know they are, that the state knows better, he said.

When the hearing reconvened after 2 p.m., senators heard from Colt Keo-Meier, a clinical psychologist and transgender man who runs the Transgender Health Lab at the University of Houston and also teaches at Baylor College of Medicine, Southern Methodist University. At length, Keo-Meier explained the different categories of gender, the high depression and suicide rates among transgender individuals and the danger he says SB 6 poses to his patients.

Quite literally, this bill is killing my patients, Keo-Meier told the committee.

Things grew tense when Keo-Meier faced a series of questions from Sen. Lucio, who suggested that all parties might be more comfortable if transgender people used separate facilities.

Keo-Meier likened the idea to segregation.

I am against segregation, OK? Lucio said, bristling. I lived through the civil rights era, which you did not. I know what it is to be discriminated against This is nowhere close to that.

Kathryn Winters, a transgender woman from Denton who is married to another transgender woman, said no other group is harmed by this bill to the extent the transgender community is.

I have never heard so much hate thrown our way, she said.

The couple has three daughters, who know them simply as their moms, she said.

They know us as nothing other than female. They see us for who we are, Winters testified.

If SB6 becomes law, the Denton couple worries about being forced to use men's restrooms, when the family usually goes into the women's restroom together.

Some of the witnesses who expressed fierce support for the bill traveled to Texas from other states. They included Vicki Wilson, a mother from Palatine, Ill., who has spearheaded a lawsuit opposing a school district's decision to allow transgender students access to locker rooms consistent with their gender identities.

Theres a very good reason these private spaces have been designated by anatomy, Wilson said.

Those testifying against the bill included several people from San Antonio.

Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran told the committee that the bill doesnt align with San Antonio's character as a city and tourist destination.

One of the hallmarks of the San Antonio experience is that people feel at home in San Antonio. We are a warm and welcoming city, she said, adding, SB 6 is in direct conflict with who we are as a city.

lcaruba@express-news.net
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After a 4 delay as the Supreme Court considered a last-minute appeal, death row inmate Rolando Ruiz was executed at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville late Tuesday.

Ruiz was declared dead at 11:06 p.m., 29 minutes after he was given the lethal injection of pentobarbital.

I would like to say to the Sanchez family how sorry I am, Ruiz said in his last statement. Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am and the hurt that I have caused you and your family. May this bring you peace and forgiveness. I am sorry.

To my family, thank you for all your love and support, he added. I am at peace. Jesus Christ is Lord. I love you all.

Ruiz then took several deep breaths, and closed his eyes.

For the family of Theresa Rodriguez, whose two sisters and two brothers-in-law attended the execution, the death brought no relief from their loss, but at least justice was delivered.

Its not closure, Theresa Rodriguezs father, Eddie Sanchez, said on Monday from his home in San Antonio, where photos of Theresa lined the walls. Its not going to bring my daughter back.

Nearly 25 years years ago, Ruiz approached a 29-year-old insurance worker named Theresa Rodriguez in the driveway of her home on the North Side, shooting her once in the face.

Ruiz was 20 years old when he was arrested for the slaying, which he did at the request of her husband, Michael Rodriguez, and brother-in-law, Mark Rodriguez, so they could collect $400,000 in life insurance money. Ruiz was paid $2,000 for his role.

Ruiz is the third person executed in Texas and the fifth nationally this year. In recent years, public support for the death penalty has waned to a 40-year low. Forty-nine percent of Americans favor the death penalty capital murder for people convicted of murder, while 42 percent oppose it, according to the Pew Research Center.

On Tuesday evening, a group of protesters gathered across the street from the prison holding signs with Ruizs photo.

In the days before his execution, Ruiz spent his time reading and visiting with family and friends. Ruizs friend and half brother attended the execution.

The state had scheduled Ruizs execution four times before. He received last-minute stays in 2007 and 2016 from federal and state appeals courts.

In the recent appeal, Ruiz argued that he has spent over two decades on death row, 17 of which were in solitary confinement, which constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court denied the appeal late Tuesday evening.

Initially, after he was found guilty, Ruiz was placed in the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, where death row inmates were allowed to participate in work programs and recreate with other inmates.

In 1999, after a group of inmates tried to escape, the state transferred all inmates to a unit in Livingston, where they are held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.

The isolation is really hard for me, Ruiz wrote. Sometimes I feel desperate just to see or talk to another person. My mother and I are very close, and sometimes she is able to visit me. But I havent hugged my mother since 1998, when I was in the county jail for a hearing. That just kills me; I love her more than any other person on earth, and I just wish I could hug her when she comes to see me.

Anthony Graves, a former death row inmate who was exonerated after 18 years in prison, said in the petition that he met Ruiz in 1999 before inmates were transferred to solitary confinement.

In his own court declaration, Ruiz did not offer an apology or express remorse.

Ruiz was convicted in 1995 for the murder, which occurred in the driveway of the couples home.

Theresa Rodriguez, joined by her husband and brother-in-law, returned from the movies on the evening of July 14, 1992. As they pulled into the driveway, Ruiz walked to the drivers side of the car, acting like he needed directions. He asked the brothers if they wanted him to follow through.

Do it, Mark Rodriguez said.

Ruiz walked to the passenger side of the car and pulled the trigger, shooting Theresa Rodriguez once in the face.

Michael Rodriguez held his dying wife, while Mark ran to a neighbors house and called police, officials said at the time.

Initially, the brothers said a gunman shot Theresa Rodriguez after demanding her purse, but detectives quickly began seeing red flags and connected the brothers to the plot. Nine days later, they arrested the three men, along with an accomplice and intermediary.

Ruiz was sentenced to death, and the brothers received life in prison.

Michael Rodriguez later gained notoriety as one of the so-called Texas Seven inmates who broke out of prison in 2000. Two weeks after the escape, the fugitives shot and killed a policeman. Michael Rodriguez was executed for that crime in 2008.

eeaton@express-news.net

Twitter: @emilieeaton
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As part of a renegotiated agreement with San Antonio, the suburban city of Converse has proposed annexing 12 square miles of northeast Bexar County, in addition to absorbing several large commercial corridors currently in the Alamo City.

The deal will more than triple Converses size but will also bring city services to a notoriously under-served part of the county.

San Antonio City Council votes on the agreement Thursday. Converse City Council is tentatively set to vote on the deal March 21.

The annexations, if approved, will take place in six phases over the next 17 years.

San Antonio officials had previously planned to annex part of this area, just north of Interstate 10 East, which includes the Camelot II neighborhood, an area plagued with absentee landlords, high crime and poor services.

In Texas, urban counties have little power to provide municipal-like services, including trash pickup, in unincorporated areas. Homeowners and homeowner associations usually partner with private companies for trash pickup, but often that doesnt happen in areas like Camelot II, where absentee landlords are less likely to pay for the service.

San Antonio officials eventually abandoned their plan to absorb these neighborhoods after realizing they would lose more money providing services then theyd gain in property tax revenue.

More Information Schedule The city of Converse is holding public meetings over the next week about the proposed annexations: 7 p.m. Thursday - Converse City Hall conference room, 403 S. Seguin Road., Converse. 7 p.m. Monday - Judson High School Cafeteria, 9695 Schaefer Road, Converse. 7 p.m. Tuesday - Copperfield Elementary School Cafeteria, 7595 E. Loop 1604 North, Converse. 7 p.m. March 15 - Converse Elementary School, 6720 FM 1516 North, Converse. 7 p.m. March 17 - Wagner High School Cafeteria, 3000 N. Foster Road, San Antonio. See More Collapse

So they partnered with Converse, a Northeast Bexar County suburb of about 22,000 people thats been looking to grow but was landlocked.

If all of the annexations and land swaps go through, Converses population will grow to more than 68,000 people by 2033, the year all of the various annexation deals will be complete. The city will grow from 7 square miles to about 22.7 square miles, said San Antonios Deputy City Manager Peter Zanoni.

Converse has been in discussion with San Antonio about such a trade for years. Talks got particularly serious last fall, after San Antonios annexation plans fell through, and both cities jointly announced a deal in January.

At that time, the plan was for Converse to take a smaller chunk of the unincorporated county. But Converse agreed to annex a much larger area  roughly twice as big  in exchange for San Antonio turning over control of several profitable commercial corridors currently in the larger citys limits.

Those include sections of Gibbs Sprawl Road, FM 1516, Foster Road, FM 78, Crestway and Kittyhawk roads, and along Loop 1604 and I-10 East. In the previously proposed deal, Converse was only going to get the Gibbs Sprawl and Loop 1604 commercial corridors.

The addition of the highly-traveled Loop 1604 and I-10 corridors is likely to prove particularly lucrative for Converse in terms of property and sales tax revenue.

Converse could triple in size Through a series of annexations over the next 17 years, the suburban city of Converse east of San Antonio will triple in size. The annexations are part of an agreement with San Antonio, in which Converse will annex chronically underserved parts of unincorporated Bexar County. In yellow are the areas San Antonio is ceding to Converse. Areas in lighter blue are parts of the unincorporated county that Converse will annex. Play the video below to see the series of moves evolve. Be sure to move your cursor off the screen to see the years for each phase at the bottom of each slide. Source: City of San Antonio

By 2033, Converse will collect roughly $4 billion in property taxes, quadruple the current amount, said Converse City Manager Lanny Lambert.

By turning over these commercial corridors to Converse, San Antonios general fund will annually lose about $1.7 million in property tax revenue and $1.1 million in sales tax revenue by the time the annexations are fully implemented in 17 years. The city will also annually give up $1.1 million in debt service property tax revenue, $70,000 in Advanced Transportation District tax revenue and $66,000 in business and franchise tax revenue, Zanoni said.

Additionally, San Antonio will give up a residential area called Northampton adjacent to Converse and which already receives Converse fire service.

Converse currently provides fire service to part of the area to-be-annexed, through Emergency Service District 1. The suburban city will provide fire service to the entire area once its fully annexed.

The main reason San Antonio cant afford to annex these areas is because of the cost to provide public safety services to them, Zanoni said. Converse can provide that service at a much cheaper rate, because their officers make less and get fewer benefits.

San Antonio will continue to provide trash service to Camelot II, as part of a previous deal worked out with Bexar County, until Converse annexes the neighborhood.

Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, who represents this part of the county, said hes already seen more interest and investment in the area since the trash pickup deal was executed.

While its still a hot spot for us, Calvert said, this (annexation plan) is only going to make it better.

Lambert said hes heard some people remain apprehensive of the deal because they dont want to annex Camelot II and another neighborhood called the Glen, known for similar issues.

But Zanoni, with San Antonio, emphasized there is an enormous amount of new commercial and residential development happening in this part of the county and that the conditions in Camelot II arent characteristic of the entire area.

In terms of the broader effect of the deal, Zanoni said bringing better services to areas that need them will improve Bexar County as a whole.

If theres blight and poor economic conditions and other factors  that can spill into your own neighborhood that may be safe and affluent, Zanoni said.

Besides the specific neighborhoods being added, some Converse residents are also concerned about the citys growth, Lambert said. However, he sees this as a positive move, one that means Converse has the potential to build a community and to plan that growth. Much of the area to be annexed is undeveloped.

Lambert also sees signs that there is more growth happening to the east of San Antonio, which will benefit Converse.

I think its our turn, he said.

A presentation and public hearing on the proposed annexation plan was expected to be held Tuesday night at the Converse City Council meeting. More public meetings are planned over the next week.

vdavila@express-news.net
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After reaching record highs at the end of last year, the number of families claiming asylum on the Southern border has showed a precipitous decline in February.

January and February generally are slow times for illegal immigration, but lawyers and activists who work with the families held at two South Texas detention centers said the slowdown cant be attributed to seasonal trends.

Underscoring the downward trend, the Homeland Security Department said Wednesday night that people caught crossing the border illegally had plummeted from 31,578 in January to 18,762 in February.

Since the administrations implementation of executive orders to enforce immigration laws, apprehensions and inadmissible activity is trending toward the lowest monthly total in at least the last five years, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement.

Earlier this year, immigration officials shut down two emergency processing centers, one in South Texas and one near El Paso, that they had opened in December to handle an influx of families.

On Monday, only 194 people were in the 830-bed family detention center in Karnes County, and 439 in the 2,400-bed facility in Dilley, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The agency said its holding so few people because fewer apprehensions are being made along the Southern border.

The numbers are a big drop from December, when so many families were crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, mostly in South Texas, that ICE released hundreds of people from the Karnes City and Dilley centers in San Antonio, without bus or plane tickets, to create bed space.

Apprehension numbers for January show the number of unaccompanied children and families crossing the border fell by about 40 percent from December, then dropped another 40 percent in February. Other apprehensions also decreased, though less dramatically.

Officials in the Mexican border city of Reynosa said theyve seen a drastic decrease in the number of accompanied children at a government-run shelter there.

Mexicos family welfare agency in November housed 168 minors, including 124 non-Mexicans, at its Reynosa shelter. But by February, the number of minors had dropped to just 45, with only 13 from countries other than Mexico.

The decrease in apprehensions at the border comes as President Donald Trump and his Cabinet members have directed immigration officials to expand detention space and be more skeptical of asylum seekers. And Kelly has said hell consider separating children from their parents at the border.

The reasons for the decrease of asylum-seeking families remain a source of speculation, and its not clear if the total number of people trying to cross the border illegally has slowed as significantly. Trumps tough talk on immigration is one of the reasons activists have suggested is stemming the flow of families crossing the border.

American Gateways, which provides immigration legal services in Central and South Texas, offers daily orientations at the detention centers. The week of Trumps inauguration, American Gateways would see about 70 women in each of its orientation sessions, said Brett Goodman, an attorney for the organization who leads its family detention team.

Women in our (orientation) presentations have also expressed concerns of their quality of life in the United States, uncertain of how viable living safely and for an extended period of time in the United States will be for them during the Trump administration, Goodman said.

He also said women in the two detention centers reported that they were turned away by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers when they tried to claim asylum at international bridges along the border with Mexico.

The San Antonio Express-News in December reported that activists and immigrants said CBP officers were turning away asylum seekers, although theyre required by law to refer to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services anyone who expresses fear of returning to their home country.

Those complaints come as more families try to claim asylum at the ports of entry rather than crossing the Rio Grande into Texas and surrendering to Border Patrol agents. In a statement Wednesday, CBP said it follows asylum laws.

At the Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, where aid workers have opened a shelter to assist those released by Border Patrol, Sister Norma Pimentel, the head of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said the numbers were down, but were in line with last years.

The families aren't coming to Sacred Heart as many as we had before, she said. Only one woman and her child stayed at the respite center Tuesday night  another mother and child stayed at the center Wednesday night. The maximum we've hit for this week was between 20 and 30.

Lawyers and advocates working with immigrants in South Texas warned its too soon to know if this is a long-term trend or if the numbers will climb again.

This time of year tends to be a slower time of year, but it seems that these numbers are lower than average, said Amy Fischer, the policy director for San Antonios Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services. We dont know if people arent coming because theyve heard about the change of administration and theyve decided this is not a safe place to seek asylum. We dont know if that news has traveled down to Central America. We know that country conditions have not changed, so we dont know if theyre seeking safety elsewhere.

Mexico, which at the request of the U.S. has cracked down on Central Americans trying to reach its northern border, has seen a sharp rise in the number of people requesting asylum. After just 3,424 asylum requests recorded in 2015, the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance registered 8,781 asylum requests in 2016, most of them from Honduras and El Salvador.

After falling steadily for nearly a decade, illegal immigration increased in 2014, driven mostly by women and children from three Central American countries, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, crossing the border and requesting asylum.

The three countries are plagued by corruption, gang warfare and violence against women. The vast majority of families and unaccompanied children who cross the border do so in South Texas.

In response, the Obama administration opened the detention centers in Dilley and Karnes City, the only facilities in the country that hold large numbers of families. The increase in families seeking asylum and the decision to detain them sparked a debate between restrictionist groups and the unions representing ICE officers and Border Patrol agents who said the administration was doing too much to accommodate families who came to the U.S. illegally, while advocates like RAICES argue that the U.S. is required to hear the asylum cases of those fleeing violence in their home countries and shouldnt keep them in detention.

In 2015, a federal judge sided with the advocates and ruled ICE cant hold families for extended periods of time. ICE now says it holds most families for about 20 days. Secretary Kelly has said officials are considering coming into compliance with the judges order by holding parents in detention until their asylum cases are adjudicated and releasing their children to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The low numbers of families in detention this week stands in stark contrast to December, when more than 16,000 immigrants traveling in families were apprehended by Border Patrol, a record for that time of year. Another 3,800 surrendered at international crossings. The Dilley and Karnes City detention centers were so full they released more than 500 people in San Antonio over the course of one weekend, most of them with plans to reunite with family elsewhere in the U.S. but had no way of getting there.

Aid workers here were overwhelmed as the families camped out on the floor of the San Antonio Mennonite Church in Southtown.

To process the large numbers of families, CBP opened two tent cities, one in Donna near McAllen and the other in Tornillo near El Paso. However, both facilities shut down last month.

jbuch@express-news.net

Twitter: @jlbuch
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BOERNE  Dozens of duffel bags loaded with goodies crowd the shelves at a non-profit called The Vault awaiting distribution to needy foster kids, the generous fruits of a Boy Scout project that earned Hunter Beaton the rank of Eagle last May.

And rather than moving on from his Day 1 Bag initiative, the Boerne High School sophomore has continued working with local, regional and state officials to ensure that children who become wards of the state have decent luggage during whats often an emotionally trying transition.

Thats whats amazing, that hes continued with the contribution and extended the project so that it goes throughout the entire state, said Chelsey Schulze, spokeswoman for the Boy Scouts of America Alamo Area Council.

Initially, the project involved Beaton stuffing 100 new duffel bags with blankets, tooth brushes, toys, clothes and gift cards that he purchased with more than $10,000 in donations, mostly from fellow parishioners at St. Peter The Apostle Catholic Church.

The bags go to youngsters who often leave home with few belongings carried in makeshift containers, said Rene Russo, executive director of The Vault, which lends supplies to foster families.

Maybe 20 percent of kids have some sort of luggage, other than a shopping bag, said Russo, a foster mother to three kids herself. It almost communicates to a child that, All your stuff is just trash, you have no place to belong, you have no one you belong to.

The new bags have been a big hit with recipients, said Julia Niemeier, a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services employee in Kendall County.

They love them, she said. Some of the kids we give the bags to want to permanently mark them with their names because they dont want them to get feet and walk.

Beaton, 16, was aware of the need to better equip foster kids after seeing his three now-adopted siblings first arrive toting their belongings in plastic trash bags.

That was my first experience with the foster care system, he recalled. It hit me: Why do they have nothing at all when they come into a new home?

After making Eagle scout, Beaton realized his initial installment of stuffed bags wouldnt last long and decided to pursue a wider distribution of duffles, empty ones.

A local firm working with him, Flying L Circle Gear, already has provided about 4,000 duffel bags across the region at a discounted price.

Its been very rewarding for me and very helpful for the kids, from what Ive been told, said Jimmy Chittim, the firms president. He seems like hes really got some great ideas.

Beatons efforts have earned him plenty of accolades and instilled pride in his parents, Paula and Kevin Beaton.

A lot of Eagle scout projects are what I call passive, sitting there waiting to be used, like a bench or a trail. His is active. It reaches out and grabs people in need, said Lance Hirsch, who led Troop 18 in Boerne.

Paula Beaton said the project was only a start for her ambitious son, whom she credits with changing state policy.

The Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards voted unanimously to support the acquisition of these bags, which will be turned over to CPS, she said.

Last month Hunter Beaton bested 374 other scouts promoted to Eagle in 2016 by earning the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout of the Year Award, a national award bestowed regionally for outstanding projects  a very high accomplishment, Schulze said.

He also received scoutings National Court of Honor Award in February.

And in November, Beaton received the TDFPS Commissioners Award of Excellence.

There have been various projects in the past that have tried to target this need, but its just been a one-time donation, said Nicole Solis, a community initiatives specialist with the agency. Beatons project, on the other hand, was sustainable, as long as we have buy-in from the welfare boards and other community partners, she said

After lobbying individual child welfare boards in Bexar County and the Hill Country, Beaton joined Solis before the Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards to pitch the idea of expanding the project statewide. The panel endorsed the expansion and encouraged county and regional councils to participate by purchasing bags for foster kids in their counties.

Were making an edited video of our presentation so individual welfare boards can view it for themselves, Solis said.

David Cory, the councils president, was impressed.

He clearly displays the character and values one would expect from an Eagle Scout, Cory said of Beaton in a Feb. 15 recommendation letter. Hunter has continued to doggedly pursue sustainable expansion of his program to additional counties.

The Kendall County Child Welfare Board already has allocated $250 to buy duffel bags for foster kids, said its vice-president, Audra Miller.

Beatons large-scale initiative complements luggage donations regularly made by other CPS support groups or by individuals like Paige Biersdorfer of San Marcos.

Biersdorfer recently dropped off 100 bags shed collected as donations at the CPS office in Comal County, and 35 more at St. Judes Childrens Ranch there.

If something as simple as a duffel bag can make a kid feel a little less alone, I think thats an easy thing to provide, really, said Biersdorfer, 34.

zeke@express-news.net
Attorneys trying to dismiss a murder indictment said a prosecutor withheld information about a sexual encounter five years ago between a witness and a fellow prosecutor, and they accused Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas Nico LaHood of threatening the lawyers if they pursued this claim.

A motion filed Tuesday, signed by lawyers Mark Stevens, Joe D. Gonzales and Christian Henricksen, said LaHood threatened Gonzales and Henricksen during a meeting in a judges chambers, vowing to destroy and shut down their legal practices.

LaHood denied it when reached Wednesday at a news conference in Austin, where he was advocating for legislation to reform criminal justice procedures.

Completely false allegation, LaHood said. I am very much looking forward to litigating this in open court in front of everybody and totally flushing out all witnesses in this case. Completely false.

LaHood last month had personally helped try the case against Miguel Martinez, 29, which ended in a mistrial after one day of testimony. At the time, his office, Henrickson and state District Judge Lori Valenzuela said only that the mistrial was by mutual agreement of prosecutors and the defense.

The document filed Tuesday, a writ of habeas corpus, asked Valenzuela to dismiss the murder charge, arguing that a retrial would put Martinez in the position of being tried twice for the same offense, called double jeopardy, and saying a prosecutor withheld evidence favoring the defense.

Specifically, retrial is prohibited because the prosecutor intentionally goaded the defense into moving (for) a mistrial; because the prosecutor intentionally failed to disclose exculpatory evidence with the specific intent to avoid the possibility of an acquittal; and because the prosecutor intentionally failed to disclose exculpatory evidence with intent to protect the reputation of a colleague, the document states.

Martinez is accused of killing Laura Carter, 33, on Jan. 11, 2015. Police said she had her hands in her pockets and was sitting in her vehicle in the 300 block of Arrid Drive when she was shot five times in the head in a Southeast Side neighborhood.

LaHood and Jason Goss, an assistant district attorney, prosecuted Martinez at trial. At the time, LaHood said the case caught his attention because of the sheer callousness and cold-bloodedness of the defendants actions.

The defense had not begun presenting evidence before Valenzuela granted two motions for a continuance and finally agreeing to declare a mistrial Feb. 16.

This weeks defense motion said Goss had disclosed a potential conflict issue before the jury was sworn in Feb. 8, telling the judge that an unnamed person in the District Attorneys Office had formerly had a sexual relationship with its witness, Gregory Dalton.

The document states Goss did not, at first, tell the defense that the unnamed assistant d.a. was briefly involved in the Martinez prosecution.

Not knowing the name of the prosecutor, or that she had been assigned to the 437th (District Court) and had access to the case file, the defense was not overly concerned, the motion states.

It was only when Valenzuela ordered the prosecutors to disclose the information that defense attorneys learned that the unnamed prosecutor had worked in Valenzuelas court and on the Martinez case for at least one day with full access to the file (and) had once been sexually involved with Gregory Dalton, a star witness for the state, the document said.

The motion used the term relationship at some points but elsewhere described it as a single sexual encounter.

Defense attorney Stevens declined to elaborate on the motions claims Wednesday. What happens next is up to Valenzuela, he said.

We will ask the judge for a hearing. If she grants it, both sides have the opportunity to put on evidence if they feel necessary, he said. After hearing evidence, the judge rules on the merits of the arguments and will either grant relief or deny it.

Valenzuela declined to comment Wednesday on the motion.

The motion states that Goss had known of the potential conflict for two years, receiving the Martinez case file early in 2015 and giving it to his second-chair prosecutor, who came to his office a day later to tell him she had had a sexual encounter with Dalton three years before and was embarrassed and mortified.

Acting unilaterally and motivated, he says, by a desire to protect his colleague, he constructed what he called a firewall and instructed her to have nothing more to do with the case. He had no further conversations with his colleague about the case and, at her request, told no one else about it, the motion states.

The motion described LaHood agreeing to a mistrial in a meeting Feb. 9 in Valenzuelas chambers and saying that if given the chance at another trial, he would pick a better jury than the one then in the box and prosecutors would be better prepared.

Gonzales replied that if further investigation showed prosecutorial misconduct had occurred, the defense would challenge any retrial, the motion said.

Mr. LaHood became enraged and directly threatened Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Henricksen, the motion states. Looking first at one then the other, the District Attorney said that he would destroy and shut down their practices and would make sure they never got hired on another case again in Bexar County.

It goes on to state that LaHood said he would go to the media and do whatever it took, and that he did not care what happened to him  (He) could always go back to private practice, he said, and make more money as a defense attorney.

Martinezs lawyers assured LaHood that they would not be intimidated, and would seek any remedies supported by the law and evidence, the motion states.

The unnamed prosecutor attended another meeting with defense lawyers and prosecutors on Feb. 13 and did not deny the encounter with Dalton, but Dalton refused to be interviewed by the defense lawyers, the document states.

Daltons testimony was expected to place Martinez at the scene of the killing. But prosecutors turned over other exculpatory evidence before the trial started that seemed to cast doubts on Daltons value as a prosecution witness. According to the motion, Goss and LaHood interviewed Dalton on Jan. 31, and Goss notified the defense the next day that Dalton had kept information from police and that he had told the prosecutors that Martinez solicited Daltons help in killing Carter, offering him $1,000.

Dalton told the prosecutors he declined, thinking Martinez was joking, but asked if he could have sex with her before she was killed, Goss told the defense attorneys, according to the motion. The disclosure of the new information prompted defense lawyers to argue in their motion that Dalton should be treated as a suspect in the crime or at least an accomplice.

On Wednesday afternoon, LaHood released a prepared statement calling the defense motion a meritless attack on the integrity of this office and our prosecutors.

We know the law and all the facts will show our prosecutors acted legally and ethically in the pursuit of justice. We will continue to ensure justice for the victim in this case. We welcome the opportunity to litigate all the facts in open court and developing the testimony of all witnesses, the statement said.

Staff Writer Elena Lutz contributed to this report from Austin.

ezavala@express-news.net

Twitter: @elizabeth2863
WASHINGTON  The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved sweeping new NASA legislation Tuesday, charting an ambitious course to the moon, Mars, and beyond while a slew of private space ventures vie for a bigger piece of the action in deep space.

The 146-page bill, shepherded through Congress by a number of prominent Texas Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz, seeks a balance between the government space agency and private sector upstarts like Blue Origin and SpaceX, which have set their sights on taking tourists to the moon.

Having cleared the Senate last month, the $19.5 billion NASA bill  the agencys first major legislative tune-up in seven years  is bound for the White House, one of the first major policy initiatives from Congress to hit President Donald Trumps desk. Both House and Senate versions passed on unanimous voice votes.

The bipartisan bill, following a Senate collaboration between Cruz and Florida Democrat Bill Nelson, would advance NASAs development of the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket and Orion crew vehicle for deep space exploration. It also would support development of commercial vehicles to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, ending the United States reliance on Russian launches.

Cruz said the bill provides much-needed certainty to the missions of the International Space Station and Johnson Space Center.

We are also making a serious commitment to the manned exploration of space, laying the groundwork for the Mars mission, and enabling commercial space ventures to flourish, all of which will foster extraordinary economic growth and job creation throughout Texas, he said.

It also is a boon for Cruz, who heads a Senate subcommittee on science and space. Coming off a spirited White House bid in 2016, Texas junior senator, who faces re-election next year, is known better as a national conservative crusader than for space exploration or pork-barrel projects.

Its a feather in his cap, said Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, which worked with Cruz on the legislation.

House aides said the bill also represents a compromise of sorts, spelling out the space agencys horizon goal of sending humans to Mars, with or without the intermediary step of putting astronauts back on the lunar surface  a mission that got short shrift from former President Barack Obama, who famously said, Weve been there before.

A return to the moon, more than four decades after the Apollo lunar program, could be a logistical stepping stone, particularly if it becomes a focus of the incoming Trump administration. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, along with Blue Origin founder Jeffrey Bezos and other commercial space operators are stepping forward to offer their services.

With prodding from the Trump White House, NASA recently has begun to consider adding a crew to next years inaugural Space Launch System mega-rocket flight, which includes a planned lunar orbit.

Although the commercial space industry enjoys growing support in Congress, the new NASA legislation could send a signal to players in the private sector that many lawmakers see it functioning mainly in low-earth orbit operations, such as ferrying astronauts to the space station in a government-led space program.

The bill directs NASA to submit plans to make low earth orbit  the province, so far, of all human spaceflight besides the Apollo program  less dependent on government support and more commercially viable. A late change to the bill clarified that NASAs primary acquisition strategy for the commercial crew program is to get American astronauts to the space station safely, reliably and affordably, including for crew rescue missions.

Backers say that balance would free NASA to explore the moon, Mars and the rest of the solar system with its bigger, more powerful rockets.

Im pretty sure NASAs going to want them to keep their eye on the ball and make sure they can deliver cargo and crew to the International Space Station, Mitchell said.

As the private sector expands its horizons, the challenge for Congress will be finding the right equilibrium for the space program. Texas U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said the new bill pursues a balanced portfolio of programs and directs NASA to establish an exploration road map.

Part of the road map directs NASA to study whether the 19-year-old space station can be extended to 2028, a move that would provide future stability for Houstons Johnson Space Center, which provides mission control for the orbiting research platform and other space science activities.

House Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin, whose district includes the Johnson Space Center, said the bill provides long-term stability for a high-skilled workforce after years of uncertainty about the goals of human space flight under the Obama administration.

Past presidential transitions have proved disruptive to NASA. Many Republicans in Congress still are smarting from Obamas decision in 2010 to cancel President George W. Bushs Constellation program intended to return astronauts to the moon. Obama opted instead to aim for Mars in the coming decades, along with an asteroid capture mission earlier. The new NASA legislation puts the asteroid mission in doubt.

NASAs commitment to earth and planetary science, along with the James Webb Space Telescope, is expected largely to remain intact. Democrats, however, said they had hoped for a more comprehensive commitment to climate change research. While Smith has sought to refocus NASA on space rather than climate or earth science, the science panels ranking Democrat, Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, said the bill will maintain NASA as a multi-mission agency with programs in science.

Despite widespread support in Congress, the NASA bill was delayed in the House one week to give the incoming Trump administration a chance to weigh in, according to GOP House aides.

The bill authorizes $19.5 billion for NASA this year, about $200 million more than the agencys current budget.

That could run afoul of a White House call for across-the-board cuts in discretionary non-defense spending for the rest of 2017. The potential for NASA budget cuts remains to be seen as the government runs up against an April 28 spending deadline. Policy bills like Cruzs do not actually provide money; rather, they set targets.

kevin.diaz@chron.com
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Ursula Garza Hernandez, who has type 1 diabetes and diabetic nerve damage, remembers when she had to choose between buying insulin and feeding her 12-year-old daughter.

Her husband lost his job in 2010, and with it went the familys health insurance. In 2015, Hernandez received health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, but Humana dropped her policy in 2016, forcing her to sign up for a new plan through United Healthcare that came with higher premiums and copays.

When that plan was eliminated in 2017, she found a new policy through Ambetter, which she calls amazing.

House Republicans released their plan Monday to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obamas signature health care law. The GOP plan would eliminate penalties for those without insurance, dramatically restructure Medicaid and replace the ACAs income-based tax credit model with one based on age.

Under the Affordable Care Act in 2017, someone making between $11,880 and $47,550 per year could qualify for a tax credit to reduce monthly health-insurance premiums, with those on the lower end of the spectrum generally receiving a higher credit than those on the upper end.

Recipients who are under age 30 would get a $2,000 tax credit each year, and the credit would increase by $500 every decade until the person turns 60.

A 45-year-old would qualify for an annual tax credit of $3,500 whether they make $10,000 per year or $65,000. The credit amount decreases for those making more than $75,000 per year.

Hernandez, who has since divorced, currently gets a $120 tax credit each month, and she would receive $208 under the House proposal based on her age. Though she stands to get a greater tax credit, shes nervous about the potential impact the proposed changes could have on her premium costs and coverage.

Her premium now is $81 per month, she has no copay for primary care visits and only $5 to see specialists. She pays nothing for generic prescriptions and $25 for insulin. The only downside to her new Ambetter plan, she said, is that she had to get all new doctors, but the lower costs were worth the hassle.

I understand that theres room for improvement, dont get me wrong, Hernandez said about the ACA. But start with the improvements.

According to a tool created by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a 60-year-old in Bexar County making $20,000 per year would receive a tax credit of $7,360 in 2020 under the Affordable Care Act, but that same person would receive a $4,000 tax credit under the House plan. Conversely, a 60-year-old in Bexar County earning $75,000 per year would receive no tax credit under the ACA, but would receive a $4,000 tax credit in 2020 under the House plan.

Cathy Hopkins, 61, was an early supporter of the ACA because it allowed her to purchase affordable insurance despite a pre-existing condition. But she became frustrated when her premium nearly tripled, doctors refused to take her policy and she found fewer options on the marketplace each year.

Shes grateful House Republicans kept the provision that says insurers cant deny coverage or charge more for pre-existing conditions, but she hopes the changes, including the age-based tax credit model, dont end up costing her more in the long run.

There are definitely winners and losers, said Stacey Pogue, senior policy analyst at the Austin-based think tank the Center for Public Policy Priorities, of the new plan. Itll be less help, but it will be spread across more people.

Pogue said the tax credits would continue to be applied each month, as they are now, rather than at the end of the year through a tax refund.

bmartin@express-news.net

Twitter: @beedotmartin
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SEGUIN  Daryl Styblo found his love of photography at the bottom of the ocean. As an Air Force cryptographer in the 1960s assigned to a base near Bangor, Maine, he spent a lot of free time diving, and taking pictures of lobsters.

Styblos work today is part of an art exhibit put on by the Seguin Art League to highlight the artistic lives of local veterans. Featuring paintings, photographs, sculptures and the bronze head of a World War II veteran, the exhibit filled Seguins American Legion Hall with work by 35 veterans.

Liz Romero, president of the art league and a former Air Force brat, said she wanted people to know veterans are not just people who carried weapons or fly planes, but artists too.

The show is the first of its kind for the art league, which normally features work by children and members, and is the result of a $10,000 grant from the Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative.

The art league plans to use the rest of the grant money to hold more art exhibits, this time at assisted living homes.

The exhibit opened March 7. In the months prior, Styblo, 74, along with others from the American Legion, rode in their motorcycles across Guadalupe County to spread word of the art exhibit.

Styblo usually has a digital camera slung over his leather riding jacket. He spends a lot of time waiting for birds now, he said. He recently waited two days for the perfect shot of an osprey. He's drawn to the freedom the birds have in flight.

He also showed off a photo of a red flower, which he developed using chemicals no longer in production. Change is a constant in photography, which he said means there is always something new to learn.

The opening of the art show included a speech by Jim Ulbrich, a World War II veteran who brought a bronze bust of his head. His wartime experience inspired him to take sculpture art lessons at McNay Art School in San Antonio, he said.

Another veteran showing his work is David Parks of Austin, who was awarded two Purple Hearts for a tour in Vietnam in 1965. Parks came home and published photographs of his experience as an African American soldier in the war. He also worked on films such as Shaft and Leadbelly.

Parks gestured to a photo he took of African American children in New York City, a young boy in trouble and a slightly younger girl gasping in exasperation. Combat veterans see the world in a unique way, and they also create art in their own way, Parks said.

They dont beat around the bush, Parks said. Theyre going to tell you the truth.

A truth came to Lorraine Alto, 73, as she was painting. The Seguin resident and Navy vet recalled receiving a cruel assessment of her work and having a realization about her art.

"Once I really got into painting, it really didn't matter if anyone liked the work, said Alto, who started painting four years ago. What mattered was how much it expressed who I am ... it becomes accepting who you really are."

For Michelle Gonzales, at 38 the youngest veteran presenting artwork, the art show represented a return to her roots. Her artf orm is printmaking and collage, pictures layered with text or other elements. She uses frames found in the garbage. The art takes place in these discarded frames.

Gonzales is from Seguin, and there's a lot of painful memories here, she said. Joining the military was a distant dream growing up. Then she left Seguin for the Army, from 2006 to 2012.

"I never thought I'd make it to the military," Gonzales said. "When I do shows like this, I'm nostalgic. I'm part of a greater cause."

jlawrence@express-news.net
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All three of our major mayoral candidates oppose Senate Bill 6. I just wish they gave better reasons for their opposition.

The bill, championed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, would require transgender individuals to use restrooms in public schools and government buildings that match their biological sex, rather than their gender identity.

During a KTSA mayoral debate on Monday, moderator Trey Ware asked the candidates to weigh in on the bill.

Mayor Ivy Taylor said she opposes SB 6 because of its likely negative impact on the local economy.

It will be bad for business here in San Antonio, she said, and I believe that its my responsibility to ensure that we have a business-friendly climate.

Taylor had a point. In recent months, weve heard rumblings from the NCAA that San Antonio could lose the 2018 Final Four if the bathroom bill passes.

Councilman Ron Nirenberg said he opposes the bill because its a solution in search of a problem. Nirenberg added, The last thing San Antonio needs is another unenforceable, unfunded dictate coming down from Austin, or from D.C., for that matter.

Nirenberg is right. During a Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday, Senator Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, asked a representative from the pro-SB 6 Family Research Council if they knew of any problematic incidents involving transgender individuals that had occurred in Texas. The answer was no.

Manuel Medina, the Bexar County Democratic Party chairman, told Ware that Texas House Speaker Joe Straus has effectively killed the bill, and any legislative debate on it amounts to a useless distraction.

Medina was correct in saying that Straus wants no part of SB 6 and will do everything he can to block it in the House.

All of these contenders deserve credit for being on the right side of a contentious issue. None of them, however, have shown a willingness to address the substance of the bill.

After all, if studies determined that SB 6 would have no detrimental economic impact on Texas, that wouldnt make the bill any more palatable. Segregation in the South wasnt repugnant because it hurt tourism; it was vile because of the way it stripped one group of people of their humanity.

In his own way, Ware, an SB 6 supporter, addressed the flimsiness of the economic argument with a follow-up question: Whats the price tag on the privacy of my daughter going to the bathroom without somebody who shouldnt be in there?

The right answer, the one that no one provided, is that a transgender female in a girls restroom is not somebody who shouldnt be in there.

We are constantly hearing SB 6 supporters decry the idea of men claiming to be a woman, or the specter of boys in the girls bathroom. What theyre telling us is that they regard gender identity as a scam.

They refuse to consider the fact that if you were born a boy, struggled with the constant pain of feeling that you were born in the wrong body, and  after undergoing hormone treatments  look and dress like a girl, the worst possible solution is for you to be forced to use the boys bathroom. Youre liable to get beat up or verbally abused just for being there.

By the same token, the idea of a bearded transgender man being forced by SB 6 to use the womens restroom creates a scenario that is infinitely more awkward for most women than the one Patrick is trying to replace.

Any transgender individual will tell you that the last thing they want to do at a public restroom is call attention to themselves. Their goal is to find a vacant stall, do what they have to do, and get out of there as discreetly as possible. Some transgender individuals refrain from drinking anything when theyre in public places, just to avoid using a public restroom.

Transgender people are not the threat, they are the threatened. We dont need to protect people from them, we need to protect them from the prejudices of other people.

Last year, newspaper columnist Jon Ralston wrote in the Reno Gazette-Journal about his 20-year-old transgender son Jake, who had been born a girl named Maddy. Ralston described how fellow students had called Jake an abomination of God, and told him that his mother, who died in 2011, killed herself because she was ashamed of her child.

Fighting SB 6 means confronting  and rejecting  that kind of thinking. And thats what our mayoral hopefuls must do.

ggarcia@express-news.net

Twitter: @gilgamesh470
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Suburban homebuilder David Weekley Homes is joining the pack of developers working in the area around the soon-to-be-redeveloped Lone Star Brewery.

The Houston-based company plans to build 11 detached single-family homes on a 0.6-acre lot it purchased in late February at the corner of Clay and Probandt streets, a few hundred feet from the San Antonio River and a quarter-mile from the future site of the $300 million Lone Star mixed-use development, Gary Runner, the companys division president in San Antonio, said in an email.

Weve been watching the Southtown market for some time and believe its one of the up-and-coming urban locations in San Antonio, offering proximity to the Blue Star Arts Complex, redevelopment of the Big Tex grain complex, potential Lone Star Brewery redevelopment and more, Runner said.

The project is expected to break ground next month, with construction taking between a year and 18 months, he said.

Houston-based David Weekley has been building homes in San Antonios suburbs for more than 20 years, and it recently began to also develop homes in the urban core. It is currently building two projects in Tobin Hill and one in Mahncke Park.

Developers have been devoting more attention to the area around the southern stretch of the San Antonio River since the county completed the Mission Reach section of the River Walk a few years ago. The upcoming redevelopment of the Lone Star Brewery has also jump-started growth in the area.

Last year, the upscale Flats at Big Tex apartment complex opened just north of Lone Star, about a block from where David Weekley plans to build.

David Weekley bought the property from Bohls Bearings and Equipment, said Todd Ellis, the companys vice president. Its keeping the adjacent property, the site of its headquarters.

The purchase price was undisclosed, but a landholder used by David Weekley borrowed $885,000 to buy the land, records show.

rwebner@express-news.net

@rwebner
WOOSTER, Ohio  Reviewing the numbers probably isnt the most exciting thing at your dairy farm. But if you want to be around next year, and the year after, you better know where you stand.

That was part of the message delivered by Gary Sipiorski, dairy development manager with Vita Plus, and Dianne Shoemaker, Ohio State University dairy field specialist, during the Northeast Ohio Regional Dairy Conference March 1 at the OARDC.

Sipiorski told dairy farmers how to manage budgets, feed and operating costs, if they want to be in the top third of dairy producers.

The financial clock is ticking, he said. If you dont like numbers, its time to start liking them. Its time to start knowing whats going on, because top-third dairy producers know how to manage money.

Managing debt

One of the biggest factors is managing debt. Sipiorski said top-third producers keep debt at 20 percent of their income or less. Put another way, they dont carry more than $20 of debt for every 100 pounds of milk they sell.

He said its OK to borrow money  and borrowing can lead to a good investment, as long as you can pay it back in a reasonable amount of time.

Shoemaker, who also dairy farms in Mahoning County, said having no debt is fine, but sometimes producers who have no debt should look at the next best area to invest.

If there is no debt, a good question is are there some things I could do, to do better, she said.

She also cautioned producers about taking too short of a loan term, especially when the term is much shorter than the usable life of the product. She said its usually better to take the longer term debt, and pay it off more aggressively, than limit yourself to too short of a term.

Balance sheets

Sipiorski told producers they need to keep accurate balance sheets, and do their budgeting three months before end of year. They also need to be reviewing their cash flow on a quarterly basis, monitoring key financial ratios like debt-to-asset and return-on-investment, and they need to be risk managers.

Youve got to educate yourself on risk, and if you dont want to educate yourself on risk, stay away from it (dairy farming), because you will get smucked, he said.

On the milk production side, Sipiorski said top dairy farmers know how to maximize cow comfort and feed efficiency. They limit calf loss to less than 1 percent, their heifers freshen at 22-24 months, somatic cell count is kept to 100,000 or less, and top producers think about cow comfort on a daily basis.

On the feed side, top-third producers are working with crop advisors, planning for the growing season in winter, and they also know when to harvest, store and transport their feed in a way that maximize energy and protein, while reducing shrink and loss.

Improving relations

On the social side, the best producers also spend time improving their relations with farm employees, family members, and the different people they interact with. Sipiorski said its a good idea to attend at least two or three educational events each year, and to look for ways to improve as an employer.

Some important steps are keeping current on your OSHA paperwork, hiring people who share the same values, and providing opportunities for your employees to advance and grow within the industry.

Shoemaker said dairy farms also need mission statements, and everyone involved with the operation needs to be on the same page.

Do the people involved agree with the mission, she asked. You have to know and agree on why you are in business.

By the numbers

Shoemaker reminded farmers that the number of dairy farms in Ohio are rapidly decreasing, and if they want to be in it for the future  they need to be among the top.

In 2007, there were 2,517 licensed Grade A milk producers in Ohio, and in January 2017, the number dropped to below 2,000  for a decrease of nearly 600 producers.

She said managing your numbers is important, if you dont want to be part of that next group that leaves the industry in the next 10 years.

She also reviewed the results of OSUs Ohio Farm Business Analysis program, which tracked the performance data of 40 Ohio dairy herds. The top 20 percent of producers kept feed costs to just $10.42 per cwt. (100 pounds), compared to $11.88 for the average of all farms.

The top 20 percent sold nearly 2,000 pounds more milk per cow, and the top 20, on average, kept total costs per 100 pounds of milk to about $3 less ($15.28) than the average of all farms ($18.21).

The net return per cow, before labor and management, showed producers in the top 20 netting $905 per cow, compared to only $36 per cow for the average of all farms.

Looking at everything

Like Sipiorski, she reminded farmers to review the critical benchmarks and ratios of their business, but reminded them that they need to look at more than just one number.

One number will not give you the whole picture, and if you calculate one number and its excellent, that doesnt mean you dont keep looking at what the other numbers are, she said.

Sipiorski said there isnt necessarily a magical herd number, or size of farm that is most profitable.

Ive seen all the different size dairies that are out there, I see them on a regular basis. And it isnt a number, its the bottom line number, he said.

He said they should keep an open and honest communication line with their lender. Lenders should visit the farm, and be kept in the light.

The best lender is one thats real honest with you, and the best customer is the customer thats honest with the lender, he said.
By Todd Neeley



The Governors Biofuels Coalition on Monday asked President Donald Trump to support a number of changes to federal law to support biofuels production.



In a letter signed by Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, chairman of the coalition; Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Trumps nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to China; and South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, the coalition asks the new administration to support changes to a number of federal policies to help expand markets for ethanol and other biofuels.



Among the requests, the governors ask the Trump administration to change the fuel volatility limitations placed on E15 in current law.



For years, the ethanol industry has called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to equalize the Reid vapor pressure, or RVP, regulations for E10 and E15 during the summer driving season. Because of those requirements, E15 has largely not been available to some wholesale suppliers and retailers who receive only E10 blends.



Ethanol increases the RVP, which measures the release of volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere. The RVP for gasoline is the lowest, or most stringent, during the summer months when the weather is hot. E10 currently receives an RVP waiver, which keeps the fuel in compliance with RVP requirements year-round. However, E15 is not given the same waiver, so it cant be sold in the summer.



The RVP regulation is believed to be a subject of discussion among ethanol industry groups and the White House about the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard.



The coalition includes governors from Alabama, Ohio, Arkansas, Maryland, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, South Dakota, Hawaii, Missouri, Tennessee, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, New York, Iowa and Kansas.



The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should provide parity for E10 and higher ethanol blends, the governors letter said.



EPAs erroneous legal analysis that E15  although it is an even cleaner fuel than E10  does not qualify for the decades-old partial exemption of E10 from the Clean Air Acts fuel volatility limitations discriminates against higher blends of ethanol and demonstrates unnecessary red tape from Washington, D.C.



In addition, the governors call on the administration to update corn ethanols lifecycle carbon emissions profile to reflect advances in ethanol production technology.



The EPA has failed to update lifecycle carbon findings for a decade, thereby sanctioning the use of obsolete data, the governors said.



This distorts the publics perception of biofuels environmental benefits. Recent studies show that an effective way to reduce the carbon in gasoline is the widespread use of high-octane, lower-carbon gasoline blends.



Whats more, the coalition said EPA should enforce the Renewable Fuel Standard as approved by Congress.



The governors asked for EPA to update the 2014 motor vehicle emission simulator model to prohibit spurious comparisons of high- and low-ethanol emissions factors.



The so-called MOVES model  which EPA requires the states to use in developing their state implementation plans  negatively impacts those who live in the nations largest cities or near congested roadways, the governors said.



In April 2016, a federal court rejected an effort by the states of Kansas and Nebraska to overturn the EPAs model. The states tried to challenge the use of the model because they alleged it concludes that when ethanol is added to gasoline it increases fuel emissions. So states not in compliance with air quality standards are required to limit ethanol blending in motor-vehicle fuel to return to compliance.



Kansas and Nebraska have argued that using the model would lead to a decrease of demand for ethanol, as well as lead to lower prices for corn and ethanol.

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The Cattlemens Young Leaders Program (CYL) is elated to announce that McDonalds Canada has become a Foundation Partner and is also supporting the program through a new video released today in honour of International Womens Day.

McDonalds joins founding partners, Cargill, UFA and MNP in ensuring that the CYL program continues to develop contributing young members of the beef industry into experts and champions of cattle farming and ranching for the entire country. In addition, McDonalds has pledged $1 for every share of their International Womens Day initiative on social media today to youth initiatives in the Canadian agriculture industry. The support for youth in agriculture across Canada is just another extension of McDonalds ongoing support for Canadian agriculture.

Since its inception in 2011, CYL has given nearly 100 young, enthusiastic individuals in the Canadian beef industry access to training, mentorship, travel experience and exposure at a high level to how the beef industry functions.

CYL is extremely grateful and excited about this continued partnership. The program looks forward to creating more energy and opportunity for CYLs in the years to come. McDonalds support will allow the CYL program to thrive, by exposing young beef enthusiasts to elements of a potential career choice and/or leadership positions in the beef industry, said Jill Harvie, CCA Programs Manager.

As a proud and strong supporter of Canadian farmers, McDonalds believes that creating opportunities for the next generation of farmers and ranchers is an integral part of building a vibrant, sustainable industry. Thats why we are so pleased to support Cattlemens Young Leaders, so we can continue to be an industry leader in creating momentum for tomorrow and working alongside farmers and ranchers across the country, said Jeffrey Fitzpatrick-Stilwell, Senior Manager, North America Sustainability, McDonalds.

McDonalds has been a positive force in the Canadian beef industry through its initiatives involved in the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot Project. The McDonalds Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot Project brought attention to the strong, healthy and sustainable beef industry Canada boasts. McDonalds also sources 100% of its beef from Canadian ranchers. Their support for the CYL program reaffirms their dedication to promoting and supporting the beef industry in Canada. CYL looks forward to building upon an already strong relationship that has developed with McDonalds for years to come.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Food & Forestry (ODAFF) is pleased to announce funding opportunities to enhance the specialty crop industry within the state thanks to the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program through the United States Department of Agricultures Agriculture Marketing Services. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, local, state, and federal government entities, for-profit organizations and colleges and universities.



The Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is a great opportunity to fund research, education and outreach projects that benefit Oklahomas specialty crop farmers said Jason Harvey, an Agriculture Marketing Coordinator for ODAFF. These funds also help improve the quality and availability of locally produced fruits and vegetables to consumers.



To be eligible, project(s) must solely enhance the competitiveness of an Oklahoma specialty crop, and they must benefit a specialty crop segment as a whole. Grant funds will not be awarded for projects that solely benefit a particular commercial product or provide a profit to a single organization, institution, or individual.



Projects involving the following specialty crops are eligible: fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, culinary herbs and spices, medicinal plants, as well as nursery, floriculture and horticulture crops. Proposals may be for but not limited to: research, promotion, marketing, nutrition, food safety and security, education, increased knowledge and consumption, improved efficiency and reduced costs of distribution systems, conservation, product development, good agricultural practices, good handling practices, and good manufacturing practices.



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Earlier today Matt Kelly, founder and editor of Radical Compliance, tweeted that the Justice Department Fraud Section had revamped its website. I went over and checked it out and it is quite an upgrade.

I do not know when the Fraud Section did this update but as with the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs document, it certainly was a soft launch.

It appears the new site compiles several disparate sources of Fraud Section and Justice Department information into one website. Also, there looks to my eye to be some information posted on the Fraud Section website for the first time. In short, it is an excellent and most welcomed resource.

A quick review of the site has a slide show of recent Justice Department resolutions scrolling across the screen. Go down to the bottom of the screen and you will see two very interesting documents, a 2015 and 2016 Fraud Section Year in Review. The FCPA Unit section includes such information as prior enforcement actions, Opinion Releases, other anti-corruption treaties and resources. There is also a list of Fraud Section leadership.

However, the Fraud Section is made up of more than simply the FCPA unit and there are tabs for the following Health Care Fraud and Securities and Financial Fraud.

Most interesting to me was the tab for the Strategy, Policy and Training Unit, which I have to admit, did not know was a part of the Fraud Section. The opening page for this Unit provides a description of its work. It is as wide ranging as international coordination and interaction with foreign prosecutors and investigators.

In addition to the location of the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs document, under this Unit is also listed the following resources which track the evolution of the Departments thinking on compliance program best practices and Fraud Section metrics to evaluate such programs.

The following interviews and discussions are listed:

Interview on Corporate Compliance with Andrew Weissmann and Hui Chen (February 2, 2016),

Roundtable Discussion on Compliance with Andrew Weissmann and Hui Chen at NYU Law (November 13, 2015), and

New Compliance Counsel Expert Retained by the DOJ Fraud Section (November 2, 2015).

This new website revamp is a most welcomed resource for the compliance community.

While it may be viewed as simply a compilation of other sites and locations within the greater Justice Department website by some, I believe the vast majority of compliance practitioners will find it a most welcomed compilation and resource.

_____

Tom Fox is a Contributing Editor of the FCPA Blog. He has practiced law in Houston for 30 years. Hes the creator of the award winning FCPA Compliance and Ethics website. He is the Compliance Evangelist. His best-selling seminal book, Best Practices Under the FCPA and Bribery Act: How to Create a First Class Compliance Program (available from Amazon here) is widely viewed as one of the top volumes on the nuts and bolts of compliance.
Chinas ZTE Corporation agreed Tuesday with the DOJ and two other agencies to pay $892 million for knowingly shipping dual-use telecoms equipment to Iran for six years and lying to cover up the trade offenses.

ZTE will plead guilty and pay the DOJ $430 million, with a fine of $287 million and a criminal forfeiture of $143.5 million.

The DOJ filed a criminal information (pdf) Tuesday charging ZTE with one count of knowingly and willfully conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of making a material false statement.

The DOJ filed the criminal information in federal court in the Northern District of Texas.

ZTEs plea agreement (pdf) still needs court approval.

ZTE  Chinas second-biggest maker of telecom equipment  is also known as Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation.

The company also reached settlements Tuesday with the U.S. Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

OFAC penalized ZTE nearly $101 million for 251 violations of the Iran trade embargo.

The Commerce Department imposed a total penalty on ZTE of $661 million for Iran and North Korea sanctions violations. (The DOJ and OFAC didnt mention the North Korea trade violations.) But Commerce suspended $300 million of the penalty during a seven-year probationary period to deter future violations.

Its the biggest civil penalty ever imposed by the Commerce Department and the biggest overall fine and forfeiture ever levied by the U.S. government in an export control case.

ZTE is required to retain a compliance monitor for three years.

For six years starting in early 2010, ZTE helped the Iranian government and its agencies build large-scale telecommunications networks with U.S.-origin equipment and software.

As a result of the conspiracy, ZTE was able to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts with and sales from such Iranian entities, the Commerce Department said.

ZTE also sent 283 shipments of controlled items to North Korea with knowledge that such shipments violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Commerce said.

Shipped items included routers, microprocessors, and servers controlled under the EAR for national security, encryption, regional security, and anti-terrorism reasons.

ZTE tried to hide its illegal trade. But in March 2012, Reuters published an article about the sales to Iran. ZTE responded by temporarily stopping new shipments of U.S. equipment to Iran.

By November 2013, ZTE had restarted the sales. Beginning in July 2014, it was again shipping U.S.-origin equipment to Iran in violation of the trade embargo.

ZTE lied to the Commerce Department and other U.S. law enforcement agencies. It said it stopped shipments to Iran as of March 2012 and was no longer violating U.S. export control laws.

The company also hid documents from the outside counsel and forensic accounting firm it had retained to conduct an independent investigation.

In early 2016, ZTE formed a 13-member Contract Data Induction Team that destroyed, removed, or sanitized all materials relating to ZTEs Iran business that post-dated March 2012, the DOJ said.

Every night, the inside group deleted all of the teams emails to conceal the teams activities.

ZTE required each team member to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Under the non-disclosure agreement, team members would be subject to a penalty of 1 million Renminbi (or approximately $150,000) payable to ZTE if it determined a disclosure occurred, the DOJ said.

____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
George W. Bush thinks Prince Harry is "charming".

Prince Harry

The 70-year-old American politician, who served as the US President from 2001 to 2009, met the Prince in Orlando last year at the Invictus Games and Bush admitted to being impressed by Harry's dedication to the plight of army veterans.

He said: "Actually, he was [Prince Charming]. I wasn't sure what to expect, he probably wasn't sure what to expect from me either. He is a charming person and he cares deeply about the vets. I was very impressed by him."

Bush admitted he has been especially impressed with Harry's work surrounding the Invictus Games, which is a Paralympic-style sporting event for wounded soldiers.

He told People magazine: "What he's done with the Invictus Games is really good.

"As a matter of fact, I'm going down to the Invictus training camp next week to say hello to our team and to some of the members I already know and tell them we want to help them."

Meanwhile, a source close to Prince Harry recently suggested the royal will get engaged to his girlfriend, 'Suits' actress Meghan Markle, by the "end of summer".

The duo have been dating since mid-2016 and it has been claimed that Prince Harry will pop the all-important question later this year, after the loved-up couple openly discussed taking their relationship to the next level.

The insider said: "They will be engaged by the end of summer. [They] have spoken candidly about their future. They see a life together."

What's more, it's been claimed that the actress has accepted she will have to move to London from Canada in order to make their relationship work.

The source added: "Meghan feels a move to London is inevitable. It's not like Harry can uproot."
Billie Faiers has given birth.

Billie Faiers' new baby via Instagram

The 27-year-old television personality and her fiance Greg Shepherd have become proud parents for the second time as they welcomed a baby boy into the world on Tuesday (07.03.17).

Billie took to Instagram to share the news with her followers, dubbing her son - who's name is as yet unknown - as "truly perfect".

Posting a picture of Greg - with whom she already shares two-year-old daughter Nelly - leaving the hospital with a baby carrier, Billie wrote: "Welcome to the world our beautiful baby boy we love you more then words can describe , you are truly perfect in every way ... 07/03/17 (sic)"

And the former 'The Only Way Is Essex' star is set to have her hands full with her new bundle of joy, as her younger sister Sam Faiers previously claimed little Nelly is a "little live wire" all on her own.

The 26-year-old reality star said: "Nelly, her two year old, is a little live wire so juggling having Nelly, being pregnant and Christmas was a bit much. I think she should just put her feet up and take this time now to get ready for her baby."

Meanwhile, Billie recently admitted she hasn't been able to stop dipping her hand into the sweet tin since her due date has been creeping ever closer.

She explained: "I'm just at the last hurdle. I haven't had many cravings, although I've eaten a lot more cereal and biscuits than usual."

And the birth of their son will come as good news to the whole family, as Greg and Nelly were starting to get restless.

Billie said: "He's [Greg] been saying: 'Oh god, I really want you to have the baby now.' This last bit is the hardest ...

"The last couple of weeks she [Nelly] keeps saying to me: 'Can I take him out now?' "
John Bishop practised his 'The Nightly Show' gags in a London pub so that it wouldn't be a flop.

John Bishop

The 50-year-old comedian took over the reins of the new ITV programme from David Walliams this week as a host of celebrities take it in turns to host the show over an eight-week run.

But he took extra measures to ensure the show wouldn't be a bore, after last week's debut run of shows failed to pull in viewers, with its debut rating of 2.8 million dropping to just 1.2 million.

According to the Daily Star, John made a surprise appearance at the Old Rope comedy night in the basement of The Phoenix Pub in London on Monday (07.03.17) to rehearse his jokes.

At just 6-a-ticket, around 60 punters were hoping to see upcoming comedians take to the stage but instead they were treated to a sketch from the Scouser - who usually plays to packed arena crowds with tickets selling for 28-45 each.

An onlooker said: "He snuck in right after the show started and he was on his own. I couldn't believe it. He looked nervous and told everyone, 'I've got a lot of dog material to try because it's Crufts this week'. He looked a little underwhelmed by the reaction, embarrassed even."

It's understood that John did the gig shortly after the pre-recording of Monday's edition of 'The Nightly Show', which aired at 10pm.

The source added: "I thought 'The Nightly Show' went out live so I was surprised to see him still on stage at 9.50pm!"

And in order to gauge his audience's reactions to his gags, he recorded his performance on his mobile phone.

John's first show on Monday (07.03.17) pulled in 2.4 million viewers.
The new series of 'Made in Chelsea' is to be filmed in Mauritius.

Alex Mytton and Lottie Moss

Stars of the E4 show will head to a luxury five star resort, which is going to cost the channel a "fortune" on the Indian Ocean island known for its pure beaches, lagoons and reefs.

Details of when the series will air and which cast members will be featured in the next installment of the reality show are being kept under wraps at this time.

An insider for the show told The Sun Online: "The resorts they are going to are absolutely stunning - and incredibly exclusively.

"It's going to cost a fortune, but the results will be the most luxurious scenes we've ever shot. Everyone is incredibly excited about it."

Last month, five new cast mates were confirmed, including Sam Prince - who previously dated Alex Mytton's model girlfriend Lottie Moss - as well as James Sandford, Ella Willis, Mimi Bouchard and Daisy Robins.

Last year, the posh cast - including Binky Felstead, Francis Boulle, Jamie Laing and Jess Woodley - jetted out to the South of France for spin-off show 'Made in Chelsea: South of France', in 2015 they filmed in Los Angeles and in 2014 they went to New York.

Late last year they were forced to scrap filming in Costa Rica after the plane with members of the show's crew crashed.

Two senior producers and two technical directors had to be rescued by the local coastguard and rushed to the nearby hospital after the small jet transporting them to the Central American country ahead of the show's one-off special plummeted into the water just off Puntarenas.

A spokesperson for NBC Universal International Studios, which owns 'Made in Chelsea's production company, said at the time: "Four of our Production Team on 'Made in Chelsea', produced by Monkey Kingdom, were involved in a plane crash earlier today in a resort in Costa Rica. We can confirm that all four people and the pilot are safe and unhurt. No cast were on board."

The rest of the crew and some of the cast were also en route to the filming location on a separate plane but were forced to fly back to the UK after bosses decided to suspend the special.
Im ashamed to admit it, but back in the days of eating fish, I ate scampi for every evening meal when I went on my holidays to Scotland once. Yes, I was that child- but at least I was consistent- and now I can repeat that holiday once again- even after cutting out the fish.

Linda Mccartney's Vegetarian Scampi Bites

You can image my joy now Im vegan and Linda McCartney announce that they are making cruelty free scampi bites. Its like being a teenager all over again!

The bites are so easy to make- as someone whos afraid of the kitchen (and Im sure Im not the only vegan who is)- all you have to do pop them in the oven and in 20 minutes or so they're done.

Serve up with some chips, a heap of minty mushy peas and a dollop of tomato ketchup and you have yourself a vegan taste of the sea. The ultimate comfort food if you dont live near the seaside and still want to enjoy all the lovely things associated with it.

The golden breadcrumbs were crispy on the outside and the middle was surprisingly flaky and soft- just like you would expect form a breaded fish. Im amazed by what companies such as Linda McCartneys can do now- there really is no excuse to harm any fish now you have something as close to the real thing as this.

The oddest thing about them was that they still smelt like scampi as they were heating up in the oven. So there really is no reason to believe youre not eating scampi. The only noticeable difference was that they are a little more pinky inside than scampi. Perfect for testing out on your meat eating sceptics!

I will certainly buy this product again as I am sucker for anything vegan, frozen and easy peasy to make! A great addition to the collection- keep it up!

Available from Tesco for 2.00 from 13th March.

by Lucy Moore for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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Just a few days ago, a British woman in her mid-40s urged the UK government to outlaw 'catfishing' as she has been a victim herself. She fell in love with a man online only to discover later that he had used a Bollywood star's photo as his profile picture to lure women. What's more, he is married with children, a fact he concealed. To put it simply, catfishing refers to a modern day online scourge where one gets tricked into a relationship by a person who operates via fake online profiles. Apparently, with the proliferation of online dating apps, chances of getting catfished have also risen. It is not something entirely new. "This has been going on for a few years now, lonely elderly citizens in Western countries have often been the targets," says Sandeep Sengupta, a Kolkata-based cybersecurity expert, who has handled cases pertaining to fake online profiles. "With a few high profile cases getting reported in India, it seems catfishing is catching up in India too."



So, how can you protect yourself from getting catfished?



Don't harp on your loneliness

Such fraudsters prey on lonely souls, say experts. "There seems to be a generation of very young people who are lonely. And they search for company online, which is quite normal in this digital age," says Sengupta. "But the point is, most have adopted technology without knowing how to stay safe. And the wolves among the sheep are taking a note."



Look for common friends

Abhishek Rungta, founder and CEO, Indus Net Technologies, Kolkata advises women to get involved in a discussion only with someone who is connected to them through trusted contacts. "Speak to your contact to verify the identity and background of the person you are taking an interest in online, before getting too chatty," he says. "Find out common friends online and offline, and verify the 'facts' the person is feeding you. If you do not find common connections who know the person well, avoid communication."



Tell-tale fake profile signs

Sengupta suggests that one should look out for these signs - (a) a profile that is too good to be true - for instance, he will display a high flying, prosperous life and can pose to be the prince charming women crave to meet, (b) all the people on his social media profiles are 'friends', not relatives, (c) flaunts that he 'travels' a lot. Catfishers may make fake calls with fake caller ids from numbers abroad. "It is very easy nowadays to call from fake numbers using VoIP," cautions Sengupta. A catfisher is also likely to reject video chats and may ask for money.



Don't bare all

Experts caution against disclosing too much personal information. "Do not disclose personal information without being totally confident about the background of the person. This includes your daily habits, your personality, your location, your family, etc," says Rungta. "Do not post about intimate or personal feelings on social media. Do not discuss finance."



In case you meet and get into trouble

You should always meet online chat friends with a group of friends in an open and busy area. "Avoid drinking," advises Rungta. "In case, you are in trouble, get in touch with cyber police station and provide as much information about the person as you can through your online and offline communication with the person."
Fashion brand Esprit has teamed up with UN Women National Committee (NC) Australia for the fifth time to launch a signature scarf marking International Women's Day to support the empowerment of women and girls across the globe. All the proceeds from the sale of the scarves will go to UN Women programmes for creating brighter futures for women.

The company also said that 20 per cent from all instore and online sales on March 4-5 will go to support UN Women.

"It is an honour for Esprit ANZ to work so closely again with UN Women NC Australia and support this year's theme. We are deeply committed to building a better awareness amongst our employees, consumers and the broader market of the important work that the UN Women's committee delivers. We hope that our contribution and message enables women to be empowered through the UN Women's projects across the globe," said Stephen Newnham, head of retail Esprit Australia & New Zealand.

Fashion brand Esprit has teamed up with UN Women National Committee (NC) Australia for the fifth time to launch a signature scarf marking International Women's Day to support the empowerment of women and girls across the globe. All the proceeds from the sale of the scarves will go to UN Women programmes for creating brighter futures for women.#

"We are thrilled to have the wonderful support of Esprit for the 5th year running. The scarf is more than just a fashion statement, it is also a symbol of our passion for women's empowerment and gender equality," said Janelle Weissman, executive director of UN Women NC Australia.

The signature print scarf has been designed to support women across the globe this International Women's Day. Soft and lightweight, this accessory is perfect for trans-seasonal layering. Esprit stores are also selling International Women's Day purple ribbons on the occasion.

This year's theme for International Women's Day is 'empower a woman, empower a nation'. We know that when you empower a woman, you unlock opportunities not just for one woman, but for her children, for her family, whole communities and entire nations. Purchasing a signature scarf is a tangible way to show support for women's empowerment around the world, now and into the future, said the company's press release. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is launching a new programme in Uzbekistan in order to help cotton farmers improve their production efficiency, safeguard the environment, and improve labour practices. This programme is part of an effort by IFC to accelerate Uzbekistans economic growth by modernising one of the country's most important industries.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is launching a new programme in Uzbekistan in order to help cotton farmers improve their production efficiency, safeguard the environment, and improve labour practices. This programme is part of an effort by IFC to accelerate Uzbekistan's economic growth by modernising one of the country's most important industries.#

The programme will help farmers to improve the quality and productivity of cotton production through the implementation of responsible cotton production principles. IFC will begin by introducing sustainable production practices and a continuous improvement system at 12 farms in the Fergana and Jizzakh regions as a pilot project. After the trial run, the programme will be expanded to 3,000 farms before ultimately being rolled out nationwide.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is launching a new programme in Uzbekistan in order to help cotton farmers improve their production efficiency, safeguard the environment, and improve labour practices. This programme is part of an effort by IFC to accelerate Uzbekistan's economic growth by modernising one of the country's most important industries.#

Cotton from Uzbekistan has been recognised in international markets for its good quality, said Moazzam Mekan, IFC regional manager for Central Asia. By introducing sustainable cotton production principles, IFC will help to address concerns over the risk of forced labour, supporting investments in the sector and allowing producers to access valuable export markets. This will help to modernise the agriculture sector, create jobs and strengthen economic growth across the country.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is launching a new programme in Uzbekistan in order to help cotton farmers improve their production efficiency, safeguard the environment, and improve labour practices. This programme is part of an effort by IFC to accelerate Uzbekistan's economic growth by modernising one of the country's most important industries.#

To roll out the project, IFC will partner with the holding company Uzpakhtasanoatexport, the ministry of agriculture, the Association of Farmers, the Federation of Trade Unions, and the International Labor Organization, and IFCs investee client, Indorama Kokand Textile. The project will be implemented with financial support provided by Hungarian EXIM Bank, IFCs long-term donor partner.

Uzbekistan became a member of IFC in 1993. Since 1996, IFC has invested $144.7 million in Uzbekistan, including $12.9 million in mobilised funds, to support 28 private sector projects in the financial, agribusiness, and food processing sectors. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Textile designer Madhu Jain who has successfully completed three decades in the industry, makes her own range of hand-crafted textiles instead of sourcing what is available in the market as she believes that textile is the most relevant part of the production process. Jain determines the weaves based on the kind of outfits she wants to fashion.

"My forte lies in making my own range of hand-crafted textiles. I do not go out and source from what is available in the market. So, for me it is the textile that is the most relevant part of the production process," Jain told Fibre2Fashion in an exclusive interview.

Talking about ikat weave, Jain said, "Ikat is one of the most ancient weaving techniques. The ikats of Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, Japan and Central and South America are well-known. While you will find regional variations in the design, the 'blurriness' of the weave remains a constant due to the extremely tough resist-dyeing technique that characterises it, which weavers take years to perfect."

Textile designer Madhu Jain who has successfully completed three decades in the industry, makes her own range of hand-crafted textiles instead of sourcing what is available in the market as she believes that textile is the most relevant part of the production process. Jain determines the weaves based on the kind of outfits she wants to fashion.#

"Ikats across the globe play around with three types-the warp ikat, the weft ikat, and the double ikat. The last is the most difficult to render as resists are tied to both the warp and the weft before dyeing, and this weaving form can be found only in four countries-India, Indonesia, Japan and Guatemala," she added.

The handloom sector has taken a beating due to factory-produced fabrics. Price becomes an important factor considering that mass-produced fabrics are far cheaper than handlooms.

"Sadly, the indigenous textiles sector is endangered today because of the lack of substantial buyers who can guarantee weavers' livelihoods. But I am relieved that there is a small section that appreciates what the natural textiles industry has to offer, and who value our traditional weaves. My humble attempt is to keep buyers' interest alive in handlooms and to grow that space. We cannot let a 2,000-year-old tradition die out," continued Jain.

In order to safeguard against getting edged out, the traditional textiles sector needs to build on its core strengths.

"However, this can only happen if government departments responsible for Indian textiles, handlooms and khadi could invest in the sector in a strategic fashion. I would be very happy to work in convergence with the government to infuse fresh life into a sector that might otherwise suffer a steady decline," she informed. (KD)

Click here to read the complete interview.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Bangladesh observed National Jute Day on March 6 for the first time with a view to make jute products popular amongst the people of the country. Elaborate programmes were organised on the theme 'Golden fibre, Golden country, Jute goods of Bangladesh' and discussion forums were held. A rally was also organised that started from the Chittagong Circuit House.

Speakers at the discussion held at Chittagong Circuit House praised the present government of the country for bringing back jute's golden past, according to a Bangladeshi news agency. They also called for additional steps to promote multidimensional use of jute goods.

The government is also implementing various initiatives to revive jute by boosting its production as well as demand internationally and domestically.

Bangladesh observed National Jute Day on March 6 for the first time with a view to make jute products popular amongst the people of the country. Elaborate programmes were organised on the theme 'Golden fibre, Golden country, Jute goods of Bangladesh' and discussion forums were held. A rally was also organised that started from the Chittagong Circuit House.#

At a post-rally discussion held in Rangpur and organised by the directorate of jute of the ministry of jute and textiles of Bangladesh and the district administration on the occasion of the National Jute Day, the speakers said that the fibre is one of the biggest export earners for the country.

There is a rise in jute's demand internationally as it is being used as composite jute textile, in construction materials, as geo-textiles and more, according to the speakers at the discussion. They said that Bangladesh is capable of meeting this rising global demand.

Principal scientific officer of Rangpur Regional Station of Bangladesh Jute Research Institute Dr Abul Fazal Mollah said that the government has made it mandatory to transport various edible items in jute sacs to help increase jute's demand in the local market. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Saathi, the first company to make a biodegradable sanitary pad from banana fibres, will soon start selling its unique product in urban markets. The Saathi sanitary pads, which are fully compostable as well, are currently being sold only in rural India through an NGO. From the end of 2017, the company will sell these pads directly from its website.

Saathi co-founder Amrita Saigal told Fibre2Fashion, We did our first urban launch recently at the India environmental festival in Ahmedabad. We are going to start selling in urban India as well. We are selling in rural India every month. Over the course of the next year, we are going to continue selling at expos. Because right now we are manufacturing about 100,000 a month and all that is going to rural India, or at least the majority of it. And towards the end of this year, we are going to sell directly from our website.

The biodegradable aspect of Saathi pads is the only difference. Saigal elaborated, All the raw materials are sourced from India, and they are manufactured in India. So, they are India's first biodegradable and compostable sanitary pads. The thing is we want them to look and feel the same as Whisper, Stayfree or Carefree; so we spent a lot of time on R&D to make that happen.

The Ahmedabad-based Saathi now wants to look at using other naturally available fibres. In India, the banana fibre is very prevalent and there is no shortage. But let's say we want to expand beyond India, the banana fibre might not be available everywhere. We also want to be able to use locally available fibres like coconut, bamboo, sugarcane, etc. Second, we want to expand our product line to diapers, maternal pads and incontinence pads. We want to expand our materials as well as the product line.
More than 390 exhibitors from 12 countries will showcase their yarns and fibres at the Yarn Expo Spring 2017 that will take place in Shanghai, china from March 15-17. The trade fair is expanding by nearly 20 per cent this year and will cover a comprehensive range of high-quality sourcing options to accommodate the changing needs of the market.

The trade fair will showcase some of the world's highest quality yarn and fibre products, such as natural and blended yarns including cotton, wool, flax/regenerated flax, silk, and man-made fibres and yarns, as well as specialty products including elastic, and fancy and blended yarns.

Exhibitors from countries like China, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam are participating in the fair. The overseas exhibitor line-up remains strong with 90 international suppliers taking part.

More than 390 exhibitors from 12 countries will showcase their yarns and fibres at the Yarn Expo Spring 2017 that will take place in Shanghai, china from March 15-17. The trade fair is expanding by nearly 20 per cent this year and will cover a comprehensive range of high-quality sourcing options to accommodate the changing needs of the market.#

While the India Pavilion, Pakistan Zone as well as leading exhibitors from Uzbekistan and Vietnam will showcase competitive cotton yarns, elastic yarns and eco-products, exhibitors from Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Slovakia and Thailand will impress buyers by exhibiting a series of cutting-edge fancy yarns, and synthetic, knitting and metallic fibres and yarns. Birla Planet will demonstrate its Birla spunshades, Birla micro-viscose and Birla micro modal products.

More than 300 domestic exhibitors will be highlighted in six display zones  Fancy Yarn Zone, Natural Cotton Yarn Zone, Colourful Chemical Zone, Quality Wool Zone, Green Linen Zone and e-Commerce Zone  to reveal a wide range of innovative yarns and fibres, such as nylon, viscose filament, renewable and recycled fibres and much more.

Besides selling and sourcing, all fairgoers can also gain inspiration and learn the latest market insights from the Shenghong China Fibre Trend Area 2017-18 in the Colourful Chemical Zone, as well as from a series of informative seminar sessions.

Along with Yarn Expo Spring 2017, four other textile trade fairs will be held concurrently from March 15-17 at the same venue  Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics Spring Edition, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Spring Edition, PH Value and the China International Fashion Fair (CHIC).

Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, China Cotton Textile Association, China Wool Textile Association, China Chemical Fiber Association, China Bast & Leaf Fibres Textiles Association and China Textile Information Centre are organising the Yarn Expo Spring. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The Attorney-General and the Minister for Civil Aviation has today signed a new Air Services Agreement (ASA) with the Government of India. This new ASA will replace the previous ASA, which was signed between the two Governments over 40 years ago, in 1974.

Much has changed in aviation and in the world economy in the time since that original agreement was signed, and a new agreement was needed that was in line with the modern economies of the two countries and serve the vastly increased need for air transport. The new ASA has been negotiated to meet the conditions that exist now and will exist in the foreseeable future.The new ASA will spur economic growth and create opportunities for trade, investment and tourism. Under the ASA and to ensure ease of travel between the two countries, Fiji Airways has already signed a code-share agreement with Jet Airways of India to allow seamless travel between Fiji and a number of Indian cities.This new agreement is good for both countries, said the Attorney General, and we want to thank Indias Honourable Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju, and the entire Indian government for their good faith, goodwill and respectful posture throughout these negotiations. Although Fiji is economically and geographically much smaller than India, we were at the table as equals.As for the agreement itself, India is in a period of tremendous growth and technological advancement, and Fiji has positioned itself well to be the economic and technological hub of the South Pacific. And we have a first-rate national airline that is a desirable partner for code sharing and connections with other top airlines. Anything that improves trade and the exchange of people between our two countries will have benefits for us and for our neighbours in the Pacific for years to come.Fiji is now in the process of reviewing and updating its ASA with other countries, with the goal of increasing the scope and quality of economic activity and connectivity while at the same time protecting the Fijian aviation industry.-ENDS-
PM HON VOREQE BAINIMARAMA AT THE LAUNCH OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TOLL-FREE HELPLINE AND THE 2017 NATIONAL WOMENS EXPO CAMPAIGN





Cabinet Ministers,

Heads of Missions,Members of the Diplomatic Corp,Heads of International and Regional Agencies,Members of Civil Society,Distinguished Guests,Representatives of the Media,Ladies and Gentlemen,Bula vinaka and a very good afternoon to you all.I am honoured to be here to celebrate the indispensable role of women in our society and to launch two initiatives for Fijian women. The global theme for International Womens Day is Be Bold for Change. And I am proud to say that the initiatives we launch today are designed to encourage Fijian women to be boldto seize control of their lives, their health and their economic well-being.International Womens Day is not intended just to say nice things about women and give them flowers and hugsand then return to life as we know it the next day. It is not a time to talk in patronizing tones about how we love our mothers, sisters, daughters, wives and sweethearts. We have seen too often how people can commit unspeakable acts of violence and repression against the very people they are supposed to love and protect.No, this is a time to appreciate the contribution of women to society on equal terms. It is a time to cry out for collaboration, support, empowerment, understanding andmost important of allequality. Equality is the key, because we all know that violence against women stems from two things: a conviction that women are less equal than men and a deep-seated fear that they are not.So when we create a toll-free Domestic Violence Helpline to support all women who are or have been victims of violenceor who fear they may become victims of violencewe make a statement as a people. We are telling the women of this country, You must not accept violence, and if you choose to fight back, your country will support you. And if you cannot fight back but need help, your country will embrace you.We are also making the statement that we as a people will intervene to protect children who are being vicitimised by the very adults they should trust to protect, support and nurture them.And by committing ourselves to the 3rd National Womens Expo, which will be held at the Vodafone Arena from the 14th to 16th of June this year, we are telling women, The businesses you run, the products you make and grow, and the services you provide are important to our economy and our nation. Your value is not only in the home, but also in the marketplace, and your country is behind you.The Domestic Violence Helpline is truly a national effort. It is a partnership of the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation with our three telecommunications companiesDigicel, Telecom Fiji Limited, and Vodafoneand the Fiji Womens Crisis Centre. Together they will enable women and children who have suffered domestic violence or are under threat of domestic violence to get help at no charge, 24 hours a daywith compassion, discretion and professionalism.I want to commend the staff of the Fiji Womens Crisis Centre, whose staff have been trained to manage the line and deal appropriately and selflessly with anyone who calls needing help. It is impossible to know how many women will be putting their well-being and even their lives in your hands. It is a great responsibility and a great calling. And your reward will come every time you help someone get herself out of a dangerous situation, every time you help a woman who has been beaten or raped find justice.And I want to thank and congratulate Telecom Fiji Limited, Vodafone and Digicel for making the Domestic Violence Helpline a reality. You are doing this because it is right, and our nation is grateful.Ladies and Gentlemen, we all know that domestic violence in Fiji is far too common. We are working hard in Government and civil society to end it, but I say that more can be done. You have heard me say many timesand I will say it again: Domestic violence is a national shame. Rape is a national shame. And together we must do much more to stop them.Let me repeat what I have told Fijian men over and over: Real men dont beat women. They respect and protect them. Real men dont rape women. They respect a womans right to say no. And real men certainly dont abuse children, a heinous crime that warrants the strongest punishment.I call on men to join me to champion this rallying call against domestic violence and its destructive effect on our Fijian society. I call on men who truly stand for non-violence to use every opportunity they have to speak out against domestic violence. I call on our community organisations and religious groups to rally their members against domestic violence. I call on every Fijian to reject any tolerance for domestic violence or those who are responsible for it. Domestic violence is not a problem for women; it is a problem for us all because it demeans us all if we do nothing to stop it.I am frankly proud that my Government has stood foursquare behind the protection and empowerment of womenby raising awareness, changing laws to give women better access to justice, and making violence against women a priority for law enforcement. We are also busy empowering women economically, but economic empowerment must go hand in hand with personal security. We cannot pretend to give women economic power if we cannot lift the burden of fear and physical powerlessness from their shoulders. A woman who must always look over her shoulder for her attacker will be ill-equipped to look ahead to her economic future.So, like the fight against domestic violence, the National Womens Expo, which my Government is funding again this year, is a part of an overall, long-term effort to empower women. We empower women by helping them secure the means to be independent and to have a voice. Economic power can be a very loud voice, and we are most happy to hear it in the alto and soprano range. It is only right, then, that this years National Womens Expo will run under the theme Be Empowered. Be the Change. It is a recognition of the capacity of women as agents of change in our society.The economic empowerment of women is part of my governments greater goal of reducing poverty through increased entrepreneurship and private sector-led growth.My Government will continue to invest in womens economic empowerment because economic empowerment is a direct path to gender equality, the eradication of poverty, and economic growth that is broad-based and inclusive.Today Ladies and Gentlemen, we can call for unity on the related issues of economic empowerment and the elimination of violence against women. What we do now will benefit future generations. I am a father, a brother, a grandfather and a husband, and I want the women I care about, to live lives of freedom, of security, of choice and of achievement in a world where they are equal. But I want no less for all women of Fiji. And for that to happen, we need to work together and provide women the support they need.I want to thank everyone involved in organizing this event, and now I have the great pleasure of announcing the Domestic Violence 24-hour Toll-Free Helpline Number, 1560, the publicity campaign towards the 2017 National Womens Expo.To all our Fijian Women Happy International Womens Day. May this day be a day of empowerment, hope and securitytoday and every International Womens Day to come.Thank you  Vinaka vakalevu.
Shahid Kapoor's brother Ishaan Khattar is all set to debut in Majid Majidi's upcoming film Beyond The Clouds and the film-maker has roped in National Award-winning director Goutam Ghose to be a part of the film not as a director, but as an actor! An excited Goutam opened up to Mumbai Mirror and said,

Riya Sen: I Am Hot, Even Girls Make Passes At Me!

"I'm halfway through and have just two days of work left. As a filmmaker, it's exciting to work with another director. He has a translator to communicate his instructions from Persian to English but given his involvement it's like we're speaking the same language. The film doesn't have any big stars, but Majidi is a star himself."



Bikini Diaries! Bruna Abdullah Holidays In Brazil By The Beach

He further commented, "I was prepping for my Hindi-English-Italian trilingual whose working title is Lala and has a mix of Indian and Italian actors. We're looking for a 12-year-old Indian boy to play the lead. Meanwhile, Majidi's casting director, Honey Trehan, suggested I do this small but significant role in Beyond The Clouds. I was in Mumbai and it is a Majidi film, so I came on board."

The Iranian film-maker Majid Majidi also opened up about Ishaan Khattar and said, "Ishaan is a wonderful boy. He is extremely talented and I feel, he will have a bright future in the film industry."

Guess Who? This Bollywood Actress Is Donald Trump's Favourite
Salman Khan breathed a sigh of relief when the Jodhpur Court acquitted him in the Chinkara Poaching Case and now it looks like trouble is coming all over again as the Rajasthan Government has gone ahead and filed an appeal before the Jodhpur District and Sessions Court challenging the lower court's order in acquitting Salman Khan in the case.

The court has now sent out a fresh notice to Salman Khan seeking a reply by April 21, 2017.



How Much Cleavage Is Good Cleavage? Taapsee Pannu & Swara Bhaskar's Video Goes Viral

Arguing on the appeal, Public Prosecutor Pokar Ram Bishnoi criticised the order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) saying the trial court overlooked many material facts of the case. "The sessions judge, while admitting the appeal, has posted the matter for further hearing on April 21," said Bishnoi.

The CJM's court in January had acquitted Salman Khan of all the charges pinned against him of illegal possession and use of arms during the alleged poaching of two black bucks in the village of Kankani near Jodhpur on October 1-2, 1998.

Riya Sen: I Am Hot, Even Girls Make Passes At Me!
Mammootty

Actor Mammootty was one of the first celebrities who congratulated Vinayakan, on the big achievement. Along with a congratulatory message, he also posted a photo of Vinayakan on his official Facebook page.

Mohanlal

Actor Mohanlal, who reportedly was in the race for the Best Actor's title, did send out a short yet powerful message congratulating all the big winners of the Kerala State Film Awards 2016.

Dulquer Salmaan

Dulquer Salmaan, who played the lead role in Kammatipaadam, expressed his extreme joy and happiness on Vinayakan and Manikandan Pattambi, winning the major awards at the Kerala State Film awards 2016.

Jayasurya

Actor Jayasurya who shared the screen space with Vinayakan in movies like Chathikkatha Chanthu, Seconds, Aadu etc., took immediately to Facebook to wish his co-star. He also posted a photo featuring both of them, which was taken during the CPC Cine Awards.

Nivin Pauly

Young actor Nivin Pauly, had some good words for Vinayakan and Manikandan. The actor mentioned that both of them are the well-deserved winners. He also congratulated other big winners of the Kerala State Film Awards.

Prithviraj

Apart from congratulating the winners of the Kerala State Film awards 2016, he also had good words for the Jury, who according to him made the right selection.

Manju Warrier

Popular actress Manju Warrier had some great words for this year's Kerala State Film Awards 2016. According to her, the biggest achievement of this year's awards is that the decision was able to garner the applause of the general public.

Kunchacko Boban

Actor Kunchacko Boban, whose film Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho (KPAC) won an award in the category of Best Child Artist congratulated all the big winners, including Vinayakan, who won the Best Actor title.
Kahaani, the 2012-released Vidya Balan starrer was one of the path-breaking films of Bollywood. The mystery thriller film, which was written, directed, and co-produced by Sujoy Gosh, had Vidya in the role of Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant software engineer.

Bengali actor Parambrata Chatterjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui essayed the other key roles in the movie, which was majorly shot in Kolkata city. Kahaani was a major critical and commercial success, played a huge part in affirming Vidya Balan's place in mainstream Bollywood.

Let us see who would fit into the characters of Kahaani, if the movie is remade in Malayalam now....

Manju Warrier as Vidya Manju Warrier is the only choice from the current slot of Mollywood to play the role of Vidya, played by Vidya Balan in the original. Manju can surely do justice to the character of the pregnant software engineer, who comes to the city in search of her missing husband. Kunchacko Boban as Satyaki aka Rana The role of Satyaki aka Rana, the soft-spoken, kind-hearted police officer who helps Vidya in her mission, is tailor-made for Kunchacko Boban. If Kahaani is ever remade in Malayalam, Chackochan will be the best choice for the role. Anoop Menon as Arnab aka Milan The most unconvention choice for the role of Arban aka Milan, the 'husband' of Vidya. Anoop Menon is an actor with exceptional talent, and can surely play the man with two faces, to near perfection. Chemban Vinod Jose as A Khan Chemban Vinod will be a good choice for the role of A Khan, the IB office who investigates the poison-gas attack case and tries to prevent Vidya from searching for her husband. The role was played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the original. Soubin Shahir as Bob, the contract killer Soubin Shahir is one of the most under-rated acting talents of contemporary Malayalam cinema. The actor will be the best choice for the role of Bob, the contract killer who disguises himself as an insurance agent and tries to kill Vidya. Renji Panicker as IB Chief Bhaskaran Renji Panicker is an actor who can play both the positive and negative roles with equal perfection. He will be a good choice for the role of IB chief Bhaskaran, the corrupted officer who plays a major role in the poison-gas attack, if Kahaani is remade in Malayalam. Biju Menon as Arup The role of Arup, the IB officer who gets killed in the poison-gas attack, and finally revealed to be Vidya's real husband, is small yet an important one. We feel that Biju Menon will be the perfect choice for the role, in the Malayalam version.

Interestingly, Vidya Balan was the first and only choice for the role of Vidya Bagchi in the movie. But, when writer-director Sujoy approached her for the project, Balan turned down the offer citing that she is unimpressed with the plot.

But, she changed her opinion after reading the screenplay and agreed to do the project. The role of A Khan was the first prominent role in the career of talented actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who was earlier playing minor roles in Bollywood films.

Kahaani bagged five trophies at the 58th Filmfare Awards, including the Best Actress for Vidya and Best Director for Sujoy Gosh. The movie also bagged the award for Best Screenplay (Original) and Best Editing at the 60th National Film Awards.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui was honoured by the National Award jury with a Special Jury award for his performance. Kahaani was later remade in Tamil and Telugu under the title Anamika, with Nayantara in the lead role.
Ramana

One of the best works of AR Murugadoss till date and one of the few Vijaykanth starrer movies which is remembered by the audiences for a long time. The movie focuses on a drastic threat called corruption and an instant remedy for it. The movie's impact was such that it was later remade in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.

Well, this movie was offered to Superstar Rajinikanth again. Nothing much to say or describe, just imagine the Style Mannan in the hospital scene or in the climax court room scene! Sheer mass isn't it?

Nerukku Ner

The movie which was supposed to be a Vijay-Ajith Combo turned out to be a Vijay-Suriya combo as Ajith faced date issues and was unable to manage the same for his already committed projects. Suriya who was looking for a break, got one with Nerukku Ner. Suriya even had thanked Thala during the shooting of Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi, a reality show which was anchored by him.

Nandha

It was Bala who came with Nandha for Suriya which helped the actor gain quite the required momentum for his swinging career. This movie established Suriya as a leading star of Kollywood. Ajith had rejected the offer quoting that the script was not completely developed as the narration lacked readiness. The movie proved to be quite a miss for Ajith.

Ghajini

The Suriya starrer blockbuster directed by AR Murugadoss helped Suriya establish a strong foot in AP/TG circuits which fetched numerous accolades to the actor. However, the movie was planned to be made with Thala Ajith under the title name of Mirattal. But the project was shelved for unknown reasons. Well, Ajith's loss once again turned out to be Suriya's hat trick gain.

Autograph

The movie which moved the audiences for its screenplay and emotions went on to become the second biggest blockbuster of 2004 after Vijay's Ghilli at the box office. The director had to apply grease paint along with calling the shots for the movie as both Ilayathalapathy Vijay and R. Madhavan declined the offer.

Vijay, though, was said to be impressed with the role was not quite sure about the characterization as he was establishing mass image for himself. Well, Vijay could have had dual Blockbusters in a single calendar year.

Kaakha Kaakha

Probably the biggest gain for Suriya in his career as this GVM directorial venture proved to be the massive commercial hit for Suriya as of 2003. GVM had paid some unsuccessful visits to the door steps of Vijay, Ajith and Vikram.

It was Suriya's on & off screen heroine, Jyothika, who recommended Gautham to consider Suriya for the character. But yes, Suriya's dedication and performance doesn't make us think of any other hero in the shoes of Anbuselvan IPS.

Thani Oruvan

The movie which created a lot of buzz post its release for almost every aspect of the movie. The major highlight of the movie was the performance and characterization of Siddarth Abhimanyu portrayed by Arvind Swamy. Yes, the yesteryear chocolate boy from Mani Ratnam's movies transformed himself into a meticulous baddie.

But, not many of them know that it was another chocolate boy of early 2000s who was considered for the role. R. Madhavan's non acceptance of the role led to the entry of Arvind Swamy into the scene. Well, the best part was the same Arvind Swamy reprising the role in the Telugu version of the Tamil remake as the makers were keen to repeat the Bombay star for they felt that no other actor could fill in his place.
Naira Emotional

During the marriage, Naira has mixed emotions. Although, she is extremely happy that she is getting married to the love of her life, at the same time, she is sad that she has to leave her house.

Kartik & Nairas Royal Wedding

In the upcoming episodes, Naira and Kartik will be having a royal wedding. The duo will be seen making seven promises (in a unique way) to each other, according to the ritual.

Kartik's Pagdi

Also, according to the ritual, Kartik's parents have to tie Kartik's pagdi'. As we know, Kartik hates Manish and Suvarna, he wouldn't allow them. But, Dadi, who is strict about the ritual, will perform this ritual also successfully.

Kartik

Apparently, Kartik will be asked to close his eyes, while Manish and Suvarna tie the pagdi'. The duo also gets emotional and thanks Dadi for giving them this chance.

Kartik & Naira

During marriage, Kartik asks Luv and Kush to hide his slippers. But somehow it goes missing. Gayu, Mishti and others demand 'one lakh one hundred and one rupee' in return. Also, Naira's sandals go missing.

Pandits Argue...

Also, there the two pundits, who were performing the pooja, get into an argument. But, somehow it gets sorted, and finally Kartik and Naira, get married.

Naitik Emotional

Naira's father Naitik and brother Naksh share emotional moment during Naira's bidaai'. He hugs Kartik and Naira, and asks Kartik to care of his princess.
Thailands finance ministers can have a rather tenuous grip on the reigns of power.

Kittiratt Na-Ranong, who held the posts of deputy prime minister and finance minister under the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, was a dominant figure. The countrys latest finance minister is anything but.

Apisak Tantivorawong, former president of Krung Thai Bank, was given the job in August. But most observers agree that Somkid Jatusripitak, the deputy prime minister, is the true force when it comes to economic policy in the country.

Apisak ranks 12th out of 12 in our annual Finance Minister of the Year rating, down from 11th place last year.

Somkid is perhaps a surprising choice for Thailands ruling military junta. He had previously worked as finance minister and commerce minister during the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former prime minister. But the junta appears to have emphasised Somkids policy experience over his former allies.

That looks a smart choice. Somkid has sped up the implementation of infrastructure projects, hoping this will lead to a boost in private sector spending, a crucial area of concern for economists. It remains to be seen quite how successful that will be, but a mooted budget deficit of 3% of GDP in the next financial year shows the government has no plans to give up without a fight.

Thailand is, in other words, doing all it can to address the problems of an economy that still suffers from weak consumption. There is every possibility that had Somkid been considered for this award, he would have placed higher up the list.

But the office is as important as the man, and in Thailand, the office of finance minister has been devalued.

That is no fault of Apisaks. He is a political appointee who has found himself in a position of limited power. But when considering the performance of a finance minister, one must consider not just what they have done, but also what they can do.

On both counts, Apisak Tantivorawong scores poorly.

TOMORROW: It's time for this finance minister to take his foot out of his mouth and retire
LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 03/07/17 -- Adama Technologies Corp. (OTC PINK: ADAC) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of SafeGuard PII, a subsidiary of Identity Theft Business Solutions, Inc. SafeGuard is an industry pioneer and top-tier Privacy Management Company which provides data protection solutions to business and individuals throughout the United States and Canada.

SafeGuard has a diverse revenue model which derives from their comprehensive services and unique Identity Theft protection model. Utilizing this model, SafeGuard works with individuals to protect their confidential information and also to offer credit repair and credit restoration services. SafeGuard also offers business and corporate services for companies to defend and protect against data breaches at the source of the data.

Mr. Keith Rosenblum, executive director of Adama Technologies, commented on the news of the SafeGuard acquisition, "Anyone who has been watching the news over the course of the last election cycle is very well aware of the risks that data breaches and hackers can pose when it comes to securing your personal information. SafeGuard is a company that can protect the individual and their identity, but also has the technology to protect businesses and corporations that are often the target of large scale hacking and data breaches."

Adama Technologies also announced that Mark Brown, the founder of SafeGuard, will be staying on as both a board member with the company, as well as the President and Chief Operating Officer of SafeGuard.

Mr. Brown began his career in data privacy and management in 1987 at the PGA of America. During his eighteen (18) year tenure at the PGA, Mr. Brown was responsible for designing, developing and implementing the largest data exchange and collaboration system in the history of the organization. In 2004, Mr. Brown became the founder and CEO of IDentity Theft Business Solutions, Inc. (IDTBS), a leading privacy management company that provides consulting services on federal and state privacy regulations for businesses. Mr. Brown is a state certified continuing education provider and instructor on identity theft, and a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the Consumer Federation of America.

Mr. Rosenblum commented further on Mr. Brown and the leadership he is bringing to Adama, "Mark is a world class leader and a great thinker and strategist in the area of corporate data security and identity protection. He will, no doubt, do a wonderful job growing and developing this company."

Mr. Brown was thrilled about the completed acquisition, "As the founder of SafeGuard, I am extremely excited we were able to complete this transaction with Adama. From day one, my focus has been on building relationship that are both strategic and long term. The Adama relationship fits both of those criteria. This partnership catapults SafeGuard toward achieving its mission of protecting families and businesses throughout North America from the number one crime in the world, identity theft. Now we are ready to roll up our sleeves and go to work."

The company stated that they will be providing shareholders with additional details along with strategic plans in the coming weeks.

Disclaimer

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs of Adama Technologies Corp. management and reflect Adama Technologies Corp.'s current expectations as contemplated under section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When we use in this release the words "estimate," "project," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "plan," "predict," "may," "should," "will," "can," the negative of these words, or such other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, are all intended to identify forward looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of Adama Technologies Corp. with respect to future events based on currently available information and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, risks and uncertainties pertaining to development of mining properties, changes in economic conditions and other risks, uncertainties and factors, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievement expressed or implied by such forward looking statements to differ materially from the forward looking statements. The information contained in this press release is historical in nature, has not been updated, and is current only to the date shown in this press release. This information may no longer be accurate and therefore you should not rely on the information contained in this press release. To the extent permitted by law, Adama Technologies Corp. and its employees, agents and consultants exclude all liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of, or reliance on, any such information, whether or not caused by any negligent act or omission. This press release incorporates by reference the Company's filings with the SEC including 10K, 10Q, 8K reports and other filings. Investors are encouraged to review all filings. There is no assurance Adama Technologies Corp. will identify projects of merit or if it will have sufficient financing to implement its business plan. There is no assurance that the Company's due diligence on the potential acquisition of oil and gas assets will be favorable nor that definitive terms can be negotiated. Information in this release includes representations from the private companies referred to which has not been independently verified by the company. A downturn in oil prices would affect the potential profitability of the proposed acquisition negatively.

Contact Information:

Adama Technologies Corp.

Address:

1000 N. Green Valley

Suite 380

Henderson, NV 89074

Phone: (866) 859-8697

Website: www.AdamaTechnologies.com




BEIJING, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey out this week to coincide with International Women's Day says Chinese women are considerably more likely than their male counterparts to donate to philanthropic projects. Chinese news app "Jin Ri Tou Tiao" (or "Today's Hot Topics"), which counts more than 700 million Chinese among its users, says 5.62% of women say they are interested in philanthropy versus 3.96% of men.

That corresponds to previous surveys done in the west that say women are more likely to donate to charity than men, sometimes by as much as a factor of two. "As a result, marketers in China should target women more than men if they want their philanthropic projects to be successful," said Juliet Zhu, Professor of Marketing at the Beijing-based Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), which exclusively analyzed the survey's data.

Two of the highest-rated philanthropy projects, as selected by Jin Ri Tou Tiao users, were led by actor Chen Kun and TV anchor Chen Weihong, current and former students of CKGSB's EMBA Program, respectively. Chen Weihong's initiative, titled "Backpack of Love" targets China's so-called "left behind children", whose parents have moved to larger cities in search of work, by helping to re-build the bonds between those children and their parents.

"These are great examples of how CKGSB encourages its students to do philanthropic projects," says Zhu, who in 2014 pioneered the first mandatory philanthropy course to be offered by a business school in China. "Every year, our students are involved in hundreds of projects. Additionally, the celebrity effect can be very powerful in drawing attention to worthwhile causes, perhaps more so in China than elsewhere," Zhu added.

About CKGSB

Established in Beijing in 2002, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business is China's first faculty-governed, independent business school. CKGSB boasts more than 40 full-time professors, who have earned their PhDs or held tenured faculty positions at leading schools such as Harvard, Wharton and Stanford. CKGSB also stands apart for its unmatched alumni network. More than half of CKGSB's 10,000+ alumni are at the CEO or Chairman level and, together, their companies accounted for one sixth of China's GDP in 2015.

CKGSB is located in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, New York, Hong Kong and London. The school offers MBA, Finance MBA, Executive MBA, Business Scholars Program (DBA) and Executive Education programs.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475952/CKGSB_Chinese_Women_Insights_Infographic.jpg
FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--Die mogliche Zusammenlegung der Stahlgeschafte von Thyssenkrupp und der europaischen Aktivitaten des indischen Tata-Konzerns hat eine wichtige Hurde genommen. Die Inder unterzeichneten in Grobritannien eine Vereinbarung uber die hohen Pensionsverpflichtungen, wie Tata mitteilte. Damit werden die Pensionsanspruche der Mitarbeiter an einen Fonds ubertragen, so dass sie nicht mehr als teure Mitgift in eine Ehe mit Thyssen eingehen wurden.

Tata hatte im Mai bereits eine Grundsatzvereinbarung uber die Pensionslasten getroffen und angekundigt, im Gegenzug 550 Millionen britische Pfund in den Fonds zu zahlen. Nun wurde die Transaktion endgultig besiegelt. Neben der Geldzahlung erhalt der Pensionsfonds auch eine Beteiligung von einem Drittel an Tata Steel UK.

Thyssenkrupp will den Konzern umbauen und sich kunftig starker auf das stabilere Industrieguter- und Dienstleistungsgeschaft konzentrieren. Seit rund eineinhalb Jahren Jahr schon verhandelt der Konzern deswegen mit Tata Steel uber eine Zusammenlegung des europaischen Stahlgeschafts. Doch die Gesprache sind schwierig.

Vor allem die milliardenschweren Pensionslasten in Grobritannien galten als eines der groten Hindernisse auf dem Weg zu einem europaischen Stahlriesen. Zuletzt hatten jedoch auch die deutschen Arbeitnehmer gegen die Plane protestiert. Sie furchten den Verlust von Arbeitsplatzen in Deutschland. Tata hat in Grobritannien eine Bestandsgarantie gegeben, so dass eine mogliche Restrukturierung vor allem diesseits des Armelkanals ansetzen musste.

Kontakt zum Autor: unternehmen.de@dowjones.com

DJG/jhe/smh

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 11, 2017 09:21 ET (13:21 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Bank AG (DB) is expected to be fined by the Federal Reserve and New York's Department of Financial Services for its conduct in the foreign exchange market, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the matter. The German lender said Monday that the U.S. Justice Department had closed a criminal inquiry into its currency-trading activities without action. But regulators are in the final stages of their own reviews of that conduct to determine what fines, if any, the bank should pay. The Federal Reserve has finished its investigation, the report said, and the New York bank regulator is close to wrapping up its own probe. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Viacom Inc. (VIAB, VIA), parent of MTV and Nickelodeon, dropped out of the bidding for Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.(SNI), the Wall Street Journal reported, giving Discovery Communications Inc. the upper hand in talks to buy the owner of HGTV and the Food Network. Viacom's decision was based on price, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. Discovery, part of cable TV billionaire John Malone's media empire, has also been pursuing Scripps and now looks like the sole remaining bidder. Negotiations between Discovery and Scripps could take several days, the report said. There is no guarantee they will reach a deal. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Figure 1: Example usage of automatic multilingual translation

Figure 2: Comparison with previous methods of automatic translation

Pricing



Fujitsu Limited Public and Investor Relations Tel: +81-3-3215-5259 URL: www.fujitsu.com/global/news/contacts/

TOKYO, Mar 8, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory Limited today announced the addition of multilingual translation functionality to FUJITSU Software LiveTalk, a participatory communication tool for the hearing-impaired. The product, Diversity Communication Tool, is available in Japan starting March 8, 2017.LiveTalk is software that recognizes what a speaker is saying-in situations such as a corporate meeting or a lesson in school-and instantly displays the spoken words as text on multiple devices, enabling real-time communication for everyone, including those with hearing impairments.The previous version of LiveTalk only supported the Japanese language, but now, with multilingual speech recognition and support for an AI-equipped translation engine, Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory's proprietary technology includes functionality to immediately display translations as text on screen. With this addition, LiveTalk enables real-time communication not only for communicating with people with hearing disabilities, but also between multiple languages.Fujitsu and Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory are making LiveTalk available in order to facilitate communication between diverse groups in a variety of situations, including information booths at international event venues and tourist sites, or business meetings where multiple languages are spoken.BackgroundSince LiveTalk was launched in May 2015, it has been adopted as a communication-support tool for people with hearing disabilities by some 100 businesses, hospitals, government offices, and educational institutions, in order to provide reasonable accommodation(1) for people with hearing disabilities. In November 2016, Fujitsu strengthened the functionality of LiveTalk in order to increase usability, adding support for mobile devices, so that it could more easily be used anywhere, and by adopting a cloud-based speech recognition engine with a high degree of recognition accuracy.As Japan looks to host a variety of international events in the coming years, there is growing interest in ways to remove barriers to communication between languages. Likewise, companies are doing more business on a global level, and have a growing need for products and services that support communication among international staff.In this context, Fujitsu and Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory have expanded the functionality of LiveTalk with multilingual speech recognition and an AI-equipped translation engine, newly providing it as the Diversity Communication Tool.About the New Features1. Speech recognition and automatic translation for 19 languages- Including Japanese, LiveTalk now supports speech recognition and automatic translation for a total of 19 languages: English, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Korean, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, German, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Catalan.- In ten of these languages-Japanese, English, Chinese (simplified), French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, German, and Italian-support for an AI-based translation engine enables more accurate translations.- Users can simply set their preferred display language for their own device, and the speaker's words will be displayed, translated into that language. The speaker's language does not need to be set, and there are no limits on the number or combinations of languages that can be used in a group conversation.- The system can distinguish and translate speakers even if multiple participants speak at the same time.- The system allows for keyboard input as well as speech input, so that hearing-impaired people can participate fully, alongside speakers of other languages.http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_Fujitsu38Fig1.jpgFigure 1: Example usage of automatic multilingual translation2. Proprietary technology that displays translation results concurrently with speech, enabling smooth communications- Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory developed a proprietary technology (patent pending) that displays translation results concurrently with speech, so people can interact at a natural conversational tempo.- This technology provides a low-stress communication environment compared with existing translation tools, which have a time lag between when a speaker stops speaking and when the translation appears, by eliminating the time lag.http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_Fujitsu38Fig2.jpgFigure 2: Comparison with previous methods of automatic translationFuture DevelopmentsFujitsu and Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory are considering making LiveTalk available globally starting in 2017. As a first step, the companies will be exhibiting LiveTalk at Fujitsu World Tour 2017 with Fujitsu North America Technology Forum 2017 in Santa Clara, California, opening March 9, 2017, as well as at CeBit 2017, the world's largest information-technology exposition opening March 20, 2017, in Hannover, Germany.Both companies are committed to using ICT to help solve communications problems that divide people, and to helping their customers communicate across boundaries.Pricinghttp://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_Fujitsu38Pricing.jpgAvailability: March 8, 2017Sales Target: 400 clients per year(1) Reasonable accommodation"'Reasonable accommodation' means necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms" (Source: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 2: Definitions).(2) Other productsJapanese-language speech recognition requires the purchase of AmiVoice SP2 or Amivoice Cloud speech-recognition software from Advanced Media, Inc.Multilingual translation capabilities require a separate contract for Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services - Bing Speech API (multilingual speech-recognition engine) and Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services - Translator Text API (multilingual translation engine), from Microsoft Japan.About Fujitsu Social Science LaboratorySince its establishment in 1972, Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory Limited (Fujitsu SSL) has polished its ability to create the most advanced solutions and to integrate systems for building totally reliable systems. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com/jp/group/ssl/en/.About Fujitsu LtdFujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 159,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702; ADR:FJTSY) reported consolidated revenues of 4.7 trillion yen (US$41 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.* Please see this press release, with images, at:http://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/Source: Fujitsu LtdContact:Copyright 2017 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Telia Carrier has added another operator to its dedicated Internet of Things (IoT) Backbone. Global communications company Ooredoo has chosen Telia Carrier to provide IoT backhaul connectivity to Ericsson's DCP platforms in Europe.

"Ooredoo is positioning itself as a leading Internet of Things provider across our regional footprint, offering the advanced solutions and powerful networks that enable businesses to launch a full range of smart services. Working with technology leaders like Telia Carrier ensures that our customers benefit from the security, reliability and flexibility they need to fully realise the benefits of this exciting new technology," said Khalid Abdulla Al Mansouri, acting Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo Global Services.

Telia Carrier's IoT backbone connects operators' IoT traffic directly to device management platforms in a single network hop. It is built on IPX architecture to segregate IoT traffic from the public Internet. This creates a secure transport layer and enables the CoS and QoS parameters required to meet the availability, latency and reliability demands of critical IoT applications.

"Ooredoo is emerging as a leader in the smart city space," says Matthew Jones, Head of Mobile Solutions for Telia Carrier. "By connecting them directly to Ericsson's Device Connectivity Platform, we can deliver the security and reliability they need to earn their customers' trust. And trust is one of the foundations that smart cities will be built on."

About Telia Carrier

Telia Carrier owns and operates one of the world's most extensive fiber backbones. Our mission is to provide exceptional network infrastructure and services empowering individuals, businesses and societies to execute their most critical activities. By working close to our customers, we make big ideas happen at the speed of fiber.

Discover more at teliacarrier.com or follow us on Twitter: @teliacarrier.

About Ooredoo

Ooredoo is an international communications company operating across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Serving consumers and businesses in 10 countries, Ooredoo delivers the leading data experience through a broad range of content and services via its advanced, data-centric mobile and fixed networks.

Ooredoo served 138 million customers and generated revenues of USD 33 billion as of 31 December 2016. Its shares are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

Twitter: @Ooredoo

Facebook:facebook.com/ooredoogroup

LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/company/ooredoo

YouTube:www.youtube.com/ooredoogroup

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170307006570/en/

Contacts:

Telia Carrier

Matthew Jones, +44-7917 766579

Head of Mobile Solutions

matthew.jones@teliacompany.com
H&M group becomes the first global fashion brand to join the United Nations' Better Than Cash Alliance

NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --The Swedish fashion company H&M group announced today that it will encourage its suppliers to pay their workers through mobile money or other digital forms to improve the livelihoods of its workforce, enhance transparency and cut factory costs.

This effort comes as the company officially joins the Better Than Cash Alliance, a United Nations-based partnership of governments, companies and international organizations accelerating the transition from cash to digital payments.

"Digital payments are an efficient and scalable way to improve the lives of the employees of our suppliers. They offer a faster, safer and more transparent way to receive their salary, increase financial inclusion and support women's economic independence," said Gustav Loven, Social Sustainability Manager at H&M group. "Also, for our suppliers, paying wages digitally can generate savings, increase security and provide more accurate data on wages."

Sixty-five percent of the 1.6 million people employed along H&M group's supply chain are women, many of them with limited access to the financial services they need to create a better life for themselves and their families. Many factory workers worldwide are paid entirely in cash, which entails cumbersome, expensive and dangerous processes for both factories and workers. Encouraging suppliers to pay wages through digital channels, such as bank accounts, cards or mobile money, will build on H&M group's sustainability commitment to work with its business partners to promote good working conditions, fair living wages and sustainable economic growth.

As the majority of the benefits will be realized by female workers, this move is a prime example of a corporation working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8).

"H&M group is taking a bold step in recognizing how cash-heavy supply chains limit efforts to empower workers and prevent companies from increasing transparency. And, it's inefficient," said Dr. Ruth Goodwin-Groen, Managing Director of the Better Than Cash Alliance. "H&M group's leadership will help inspire other companies in the industry, and beyond, to make the shift to digital payments and contribute to inclusive growth, as well as to the Sustainable Development Goals, in emerging markets."

In addition, H&M group is one of the leading users of organic cotton and Better Cotton in the world, and it adheres to socially and environmentally sustainable standards and actions. Expanding digital payments to the world's cotton supply chain could potentially reach 250 million people, including smallholder farmers who currently have limited access to digital payment systems and financial services in general. Digitizing payments, when designed responsibly and responsively to consumer needs, can enable H&M group to grow its supplier base and help create a sustainable, productive agricultural sector, the promotion of which is a cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Agenda.

The Better Than Cash Alliance has published new research examining a selection of garment manufacturing factories in Bangladesh that have transitioned workers' wage payments from cash to digital in the past five years. From a factory perspective, the analysis shows that transitioning to digital payments can save factories approximately 750 hours of production a month, due to workers spending less time away from the production line and reduce costs by more than 85 percent within two years of paying workers via a hybrid mobile money/bank account model. At the same time, moving toward a digital economy supports financial inclusion by drawing previously unbanked workers into the formal financial system and building financial skills.

H&M group joins 55 other Better Than Cash Alliance members, and will have access to the knowledge and technical expertise offered by the Alliance and its members to accelerate the shift to digital payments, helping to advance economic growth and expand financial inclusion.

About Better Than Cash Alliance

The Better Than Cash Alliance is a global partnership of governments, companies, and international organizations that accelerate the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth. The United Nations Capital Development Fund serves as the secretariat. To learn more, visit www.betterthancash.org,follow @BetterThan_Cash andsubscribe for news.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120919/CG77018LOGO




New white paper examines motivations and the biggest challenges women face in the business school application journey



RESTON, Va., 2017-03-08 06:01 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Globally, women represent a greater share of the applicant pool than men in many of the business master's programs, such as marketing, accounting and management. Women, however, are still underrepresented in MBA classrooms in the United States and around the world. What Women Want: A Blueprint for Change in Business Education is a new white paper from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) that identifies drivers of this continued lack of gender parity in MBA programs. The paper explores the biggest challenges women face in the business school application process and the differences between men and women in their motivations to pursue graduate business degrees. The white paper was issued in recognition of International Women's Day celebrated globally and National Women's History month in the United States.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/50396ac9-be43-4119-8366-27af0 1d7448f



"Women have made phenomenal progress in attaining business master's degrees, yet they have not yet caught up with men in the share of MBAs earned," said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC. "Our extensive global segmentation research and market intelligence looked at several important underlying factors that contribute to this growing participation of women in business master's and lack of parity in MBAs, with financial concerns being the number one issue cited by female applicants."



Key Findings The paper's key findings draw upon insights collected from GMAC's Global Graduate Management Education Candidate Segmentation Study conducted in 2016 in partnership with IPSOS, a global market research firm. The survey sample included a total of 5,900 female and male applicants representing 15 countries worldwide.



Motivations and Approaches to the Application Journey Differ by World Regions



Women in Western countries differ in their motivations and approaches to the application journey from women in emerging economies like China and India, and the motivational profiles of Western women differ noticeably from their male counterparts. In India and China, women's motivations and application behaviors more closely resemble those of male applicants from these countries.



Women Plan Earlier and Are More Outcomes-Focused



Women are more likely than men to begin considering graduate management education as undergraduates. Overall, women are more pragmatic and outcomes-focused in their approach to pursuing graduate business education. They are more likely than men to apply to a specific school because it offers flexible program formats and its graduates get better job opportunities. Especially in Western countries, women are more likely than men to be motivated by the desire to advance more quickly and earn more money.



Funding Is a Significant Barrier



Globally, 29 percent of female survey respondents cited financial issues as the key reason they had not yet accepted their admissions offer to graduate business school. Seeking scholarships and financial aid were top of mind. Men, on the other hand (33 percent), cited that they were waiting for an offer from additional schools as their reason for delaying acceptance.



The greatest gender difference on this issue was seen in the U.S. More than a third (38 percent) of female survey respondents cited financial reasons as their number one reason for not yet accepting their admissions offer compared with 20 percent of male respondents. Yet, obtaining funds to pay for schools is a bigger challenge for men than for women in both India (8 percent Indian women vs. 14 percent Indian men) and China (9 percent Chinese women vs. 11 percent Chinese men).



MBA Is Still Relevant to Women Despite Higher Numbers Obtaining Non-MBA Business Master's Degrees



Women are already achieving parity (52 percent) in master's programs such as Master of Marketing, Master of Accounting, and Master in Management, and the number of these programs has grown exponentially in recent years. The share of women in MBA classrooms, however, has consistently remained well below parity with men at 37 percent. Despite greater shares of women choosing non-MBA master's programs over MBA programs, the data show that women hold the MBA degree in higher regard than men, and view the degree as a passport to wider career advancement.



"It's easy to make the mistake of thinking of women as a monolithic block and to view their lack of parity in MBA classrooms as a failure on the part of business schools," said Chowfla. "The insights in this white paper clearly reveal that women are distinct from men in what they are seeking from their business education experience, and their behaviors differ between countries and behavior types. In our opinion, business schools have made great strides in inclusivity and shaping their recruiting and admissions processes to ensure a diverse classroom. We hope that equipped with this paper's data and insights, business schools can develop even bolder strategies for increasing the number of women in their classrooms and achieve the gender parity seen in other sectors of graduate education."



To download the GMAC white paper, What Women Want: A Blueprint for Change in Business Education, visit: http://www.gmac.com/womeninbusinessschool.



About GMAC: The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is a nonprofit organization of 220 leading graduate business schools from around the world actively committed to advancing the art and science of admissions. The Council provides the solutions necessary for business schools and candidates to discover and evaluate one another to ensure that talent never goes undiscovered. GMAC owns and administers the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) exam, used by more than 6,500 graduate programs worldwide, as well as the NMAT by GMAC exam, used for entrance into graduate management programs in India. The Council is based in Reston, Va., with offices in London, New Delhi and Hong Kong. Additional information about the GMAT exam is posted on mba.com. For more information about GMAC, visit gmac.com.



MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Garfinkel; Director of Media Relations, GMAC +1 (703) 668-9805 or jgarfinkel@gmac.com

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CONYERS, GA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (OTC PINK: GOSY) (http://www.GeckoSystems.com) praises the Senior Care Corner article due to its focus on the benefit of mobile service robots, such as the company's CareBot, in addressing the pressing needs of eldercare givers and carees. Now coming up on its twentieth anniversary, GeckoSystems continues to dedicate itself to development of "AI Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security and Service."

"Their discussion, CareBot: One of a Kind Family Caregiver for Aging in Place Seniors, captures the essence of our strategic focus for nearly two decades, to enable families to better care for themselves despite the many time, financial, and emotional stresses of family care in the 21st century," reflected Martin Spencer, CEO, GeckoSystems Intl. Corp.

The co-founders, Kathy and Barry Birkett, of Senior Care Corner, succinctly distill the fundamental challenge: Helping senior loved ones enjoy the independent life they desire is both a mission and nerve-wracking challenge for millions of family caregivers.

GeckoSystems has always placed family first and the implicit need for safe usage in its decades of mobile service robot R&D.

Today, the Company is prepared to build and sell its fifth generation CareBot with an MSRP of $4,950.

The company performed the world's first in home elder care trials, with the mother-in-law of one of the co-founders.

GeckoSystems has been developing advanced AI and mobile robotics systems for almost twenty years now. The original founders had a vision of a robot that would move about under software control and be utilitarian for many users. At that time, there was not much interest in robotics among the general public or industry. These founders were true visionaries and now the world is ready for what they foresaw twenty years ago.

It took nearly five years and two different teams of engineers to develop machine intelligence with sufficient situation awareness and the invention of numerous proprietary algorithms and paradigms to achieve "loose crowd" level of mobile autonomy (GeckoNav). This was the most difficult to develop and the company is the proudest of this breakthrough, especially knowing that most robotic companies world-wide have not been able to do such.

AI augmented sensor fusion was invented with the CompoundedSensorArray over a ten-year time period. The CSA was a precursor to depth cameras and enabled the easy adaption of depth cameras to the Company's AI software and IoT (Internet of Things) hardware robotics architecture. Most of the Company's competitors are still seeking that Level 5 of mobile autonomy (including most automakers developing "self-driving" cars).

It then took another three years to develop a verbal interface with voice recognition, NLP, and voice synthesis that not only could be readily modified and customized (GeckoChat), but also had a sense of date and time (GeckoScheduler).

Once those AI savants were stable, it was realized that unless the mobile robot was routinely proximate -- automatically -- (or instinctively like a pet cat or dog that follows one from room to room), that routine, utilitarian verbal interaction in a fixed location was only a toy due to not infrequently being in the wrong room at the wrong time. That set of sensor fusion upgrades resulted in GeckoTrak.

Throughout the Company's lengthy AI robotics R&D, the world's first in home trials of a personal robot were conducted periodically. As a result of those trials, many important insights were revealed as to the need to educate the potential markets about the ROI probable from mobile service robots. For the last five years, the company has been focused on cost reduction and education since their technologies are mature, the manufacturability is understood, and the markets appropriate are simply huge. Bill Gates is on record that the mobile service robot industry has an emerging trillion-dollar market. The Company is very pleased that the markets are now catching up with the need for its advanced, proprietary AI robotics technologies.

Detailed discussions of each of these technologies can be found on the Company's website: http://www.geckosystems.com

This past year, the Company has continued to gain traction in the domestic and international markets. Last spring a BaseBot sale to a Japanese joint venture resulted in net profits for that quarter. A JV with a NYC AI firm was established to address advanced AI safety hurdles. And, further cost reductions were identified for the computer and sensor systems.

"It is an honor that Senior Care Corner recognizes the value of the over 100 man-years we have invested in our proprietary AI robotics Intellectual Properties and my full-time work for nearly 20 years. Our suite of AI mobile robot solutions is well tested, portable, and extensible. I am pleased for our company to have received this recognition for the good that our AI robotics R&D can provide literally millions of families. The realization that our work readily addresses --by professional senior caregivers such as the Birketts -- the pent-up demand and desire for baby boomers to age in place with safety and comfort, cost effectively, is truly the best possible reward in and of itself.

"We continue to have numerous new joint venture and/or licensing discussions in the US and EU. I am also pleased that as the Service Robotics industry begins to offer real products to eager markets, our capabilities are being recognized as "first tier." Due to our continued progress, we remain completely committed to providing our 1300+ shareholders the ROI they deserve," concluded Spencer.

About Senior Care Corner

Senior Care Corner is your source for insights and tips about caring for senior adults, whether you are doing so at home (either yours or theirs), remotely if you live at a distance, or if your loved one resides in a nursing home or other residential facility.

Senior Care Corner

c/o KnowledgeConnection LLC

273 Applewood Center Pl #319

Seneca, SC 29678

Tel: 646-580-5669

@SrCareCorner is Kathy Birkett

@BarryBirkett

http://seniorcarecorner.com/about-us

 Senior Care Corner & the signpost logo are registered trademarks of Knowledge Connection LLC

About GeckoSystems:

GeckoSystems has been developing innovative robotic technologies for nineteen years. It is CEO Martin Spencer's dream to make people's lives better through AI robotic technologies.

The safety requirement for human quick WCET reflex time in all forms of mobile robots:

In order to understand the importance of GeckoSystems' breakthrough, proprietary, and exclusive AI software and why another Japanese robotics company desires a business relationship with GeckoSystems, it's key to acknowledge some basic realities for all forms of automatic, non-human intervention, vehicular locomotion and steering.

1. Laws of Physics such as Conservation of Energy, inertia, and momentum, limit a vehicle's ability to stop or maneuver. If, for instance, a car's braking system design cannot generate enough friction for a given road surface to stop the car in 100 feet after brake application, that's a real limitation. If a car cannot corner at more than .9g due to a combination of suspension design and road conditions, that, also, is reality. Regardless how talented a NASCAR driver may be, if his race car is inadequate, he's not going to win races.

2. At the same time, if a car driver (or pilot) is tired, drugged, distracted, etc. their reflex time becomes too slow to react in a timely fashion to unexpected direction changes of moving obstacles, or the sudden appearance of fixed obstacles. Many car "accidents" result from drunk driving due to reflex time and/or judgment impairment. Average reflex time takes between 150 & 300ms. http://tinyurl.com/nsrx75n

3. In robotic systems, "human reflex time" is known as Worst Case Execution Time (WCET). Historically, in computer systems engineering, WCET of a computational task is the maximum length of time the task could take to execute on a specific hardware platform. In big data, this is the time to load up the data to be processed, processed, and then outputted into useful distillations, summaries, or common sense insights. GeckoSystems' basic AI self-guidance navigation system processes 147 megabytes of data per second using low cost, Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Single Board Computers (SBC's).

4. Highly trained and skilled jet fighter pilots have a reflex time (WCET) of less than 120ms. Their "eye to hand" coordination time is a fundamental criterion for them to be successful jet fighter pilots. The same holds true for all high performance forms of transportation that are sufficiently pushing the limits of the Laws of Physics to require the quickest possible reaction time for safe human control and/or usage.

5. GeckoSystems' WCET is less than 100ms, or as quick, or quicker than most gifted jet fighter pilots, NASCAR race car drivers, etc. while using low cost COTS and SBC's

6. In mobile robotic guidance systems, WCET has 3 fundamental components.

a. Sufficient Field of View (FOV) with appropriate granularity, accuracy, and update rate.

b. Rapid processing of that contextual data such that common sense responses are generated.

c. Timely physical execution of those common sense responses.

In order for any companion robot to be utilitarian for family care, it must be a "three-legged milk stool."

(1) Human quick reflex time to avoid moving and/or unmapped obstacles, (GeckoNav: http://tinyurl.com/le8a39r)

(2) Verbal interaction (GeckoChat: http://tinyurl.com/nnupuw7) with a sense of date and time (GeckoScheduler: http://tinyurl.com/kojzgbx), and

(3) Ability to automatically find and follow designated parties (GeckoTrak: http://tinyurl.com/mton9uh) such that verbal interaction can occur routinely with video and audio monitoring of the care receiver is uninterrupted.

An earlier third party verification of GeckoSystems' AI centric, human quick sense and avoidance of moving and/or unmapped obstacles by one of their mobile robots can be viewed here: http://t.co/NqqM22TbKN

An overview of GeckoSystems' progress containing over 700 pictures and 120 videos can be found at http://www.geckosystems.com/timeline/.

These videos illustrate the development of the technology that makes GeckoSystems a world leader in Service Robotics development. Early CareBot prototypes were slower and frequently pivoted in order to avoid a static or dynamic obstacle; later prototypes avoided obstacles without pivoting. Current CareBots avoid obstacles with a graceful "bicycle smooth" motion. The latest videos also depict the CareBot's ability to automatically go faster or slower depending on the amount of clutter (number of obstacles) within its field of view. This is especially important when avoiding moving obstacles in "loose crowd" situations like a mall or an exhibit area.

In addition to the timeline videos, GeckoSystems has numerous YouTube videos. The most popular of which are the ones showing room-to-room automatic self-navigation of the CareBot through narrow doorways and a hallway of an old 1954 home. You will see the CareBot slow down when going through the doorways because of their narrow width and then speed up as it goes across the relatively open kitchen area. There are also videos of the SafePath wheelchair, which is a migration of the CareBot AI centric navigation system to a standard power wheelchair, and recently developed cost effective depth cameras were used in this recent configuration. SafePath navigation is now available to OEM licensees and these videos show the versatility of GeckoSystems' fully autonomous navigation solution.

GeckoSystems, Star Wars Technology

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYwQBUXXc3g

The company has successfully completed an Alpha trial of its CareBot personal assistance robot for the elderly. It was tested in a home care setting and received enthusiastic support from both caregivers and care receivers. The company believes that the CareBot will increase the safety and well being of its elderly charges while decreasing stress on the caregiver and the family.

GeckoSystems is preparing for Beta testing of the CareBot prior to full-scale production and marketing. CareBot has recently incorporated Microsoft Kinect depth cameras that result in a significant cost reduction.

Kinect Enabled Personal Robot video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn93BS44Das

Above, the CareBot demonstrates static and dynamic obstacle avoidance as it backs in and out of a narrow and cluttered alley. There is no joystick control or programmed path; movements are smoother that those achieved using a joystick control. GeckoNav creates three low levels of obstacle avoidance: reactive, proactive, and contemplative. Subsumptive AI behavior within GeckoNav enables the CareBot to reach its target destination after engaging in obstacle avoidance.

More information on the CareBot personal assistance robot:

http://www.geckosystems.com/markets/CareBot.php

GeckoSystems stock is quoted in the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) markets under the ticker symbol GOSY. http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GOSY/quote

GeckoSystems uses http://www.LinkedIn.com as its primary social media site for investor updates. Here is Spencer's LinkedIn.com profile:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/martin-spencer/11/b2a/580

Safe Harbor:

Statements regarding financial matters in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, technology efficacy and all other forward-looking statements be subject to the Safe Harbors created thereby. The Company is a development stage firm that continues to be dependent upon outside capital to sustain its existence. Since these statements (future operational results and sales) involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results may differ materially from expected results.

GeckoSystems Intl. Corp.

Main number: +1 678-413-9236

Fax: +1 678-413-9247

Website: http://www.geckosystems.com/




BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Cabinet office is set to release preliminary Japan leading economic indicators index for January at 12:00 am ET Wednesday. The leading index is expected to show a score of 105.4, up from 104.8 in December. Ahead of the data, the yen rose against its major rivals. As of 11:55 pm ET, the yen was trading at 120.07 against the euro, 138.72 against the pound, 112.12 the Swiss franc and 113.67 against the U.S. dollar. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The Management Board of AS LHV Group (hereinafter the "Group") hereby calls the general meeting of the shareholders, to be held at 13:00 (Tallinn time) on 29 March 2017 at Hilton Hotel, "Ballroom" conference hall (Fr. R. Kreutzwaldi 23, Tallinn, second floor).



Registration of participants will start at the venue of the meeting at 12:00. Registration will end at 12:50. We kindly ask all shareholders and representatives to arrive in a timely manner, taking into account the time required for registration.



The list of shareholders entitled to participate at the general meeting will be established 7 (seven) days before the general meeting, i.e. as at 23:59 on 22 March 2017.



For registration, we kindly ask participants to submit the following documents:



1. shareholders who are natural persons are required to submit their identity document; representatives must also submit a valid written authorisation document; 2. legal representatives of shareholders who are legal persons are required to submit their identity document; authorised representatives must also submit a valid written authorisation document; If the legal person has not been registered in the Estonian commercial register, we kindly request submission of a valid extract of the register in which the legal person has been registered and under which the representative is authorised to represent the shareholder (legal authorisation). The extract must be prepared in English or translated into English by a sworn translator or authority equivalent to a sworn translator, be verified by a notary, and bear the Apostille.



A shareholder must inform the Group of the appointment of a representative or withdrawal of the authorisation prior to the general meeting, by sending the corresponding digitally signed notice to the general meeting's e-mail address lhv@lhv.ee or by delivering the notice in a format which can be reproduced in writing to the Group's location at Tartu mnt 2, Tallinn 10145, first floor, on working days between 09:00 and 19:00. Should a shareholder wish to inform the Group of the appointment of a representative or withdrawal of the authorisation granted to a representative prior to the general meeting, the corresponding notice must have been delivered to and received by the Group at the latest by 23:59 on 27 March 2017. Rain Lohmus (personal identification code: 36612300228), Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Group, may be appointed as the authorised representative, if the shareholder so desires.



The authorisation document form is available for the shareholder on the Group's website at investor.lhv.ee.



Pursuant to the resolution adopted by the Group's Supervisory Board on 22 February 2016, the general meeting will have the following agenda, with the proposals of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board specified under the agenda items and with the Supervisory Board proposing to vote for all draft resolutions specified under the agenda items:



1. Approval of the Annual Report 2016



To approve the Annual Report 2016 of the Group, as presented to the general meeting.



2. Approval of the specification of the dividend policy



To specify the wording of the dividend policy and to adopt the new wording of the dividend policy as presented to the general meeting.



3. Profit allocation for 2016



The profit attributable to the Group as the parent company of the consolidation group in the financial year 2016 amounts to EUR 17,815 thousand. To transfer EUR 891 thousand to the legal reserve. To approve the profit allocation proposal made by the Management Board and pay dividends in the net amount of 15 cents per share.



The list of shareholders entitled to receive dividends wil be established 10 (ten) stock exchange days after the general meeting, i.e. at 23:59 on April 12. Dividends shall be disbursed to the shareholders on 14 April 2017 at the latest.



4. Overview of the economic results for the first two months of 2017



The overview provided by the Management Board to the shareholders on the economic results for the first two months of 2017.



5. Approval of the amendment of the Articles of Association



To amend the Articles of Association and to adopt the new wording of the Articles of Association as presented to the general meeting.



6. Approval of the conditions of performance pay



To prospectively increase the proportion of performance pay payable to the management and staff members of the Group and the Group's subsidiaries to 200% of the basic remuneration for all those currently subjected to the 100% limit (above all, managers of LHV Bank and LHV Asset Management and persons equivalent to the same) in accordance with the justification presented to the general meeting.



7. Extension of the authorisation of the members of the Supervisory Board



To extend the authorisation of the members of the Supervisory Board of the Group to 3 (three) years after the adoption of this resolution.



Votes shall be cast by open ballot. All documents related to the annual general meeting of the Group (including the notice on calling the general meeting, the draft resolutions, the dividend policy, the Group's Annual Report 2016, report on the activities of the Supervisory Board in 2016 and assessment of the Annual Report, the Articles of Association and other documents to be submitted to the general meeting) will be made available to the shareholders on the Group's website investor.lhv.ee and at the Group's location at Tartu mnt 2, Tallinn 10145, first floor, during working days from 09:00 to 19:00 until (including) the day of the general meeting.



All shareholders shall have the right to receive from the Management Board information on the Group's activities at the general meeting. The Management Board may refuse to give information, if there is reason to presume that this may cause significant damage to the interests of the Group or the companies incorporated in the Group. Where the Management Board refuses to give information, a shareholder may demand that the legality of the shareholder's demand be decided by the general meeting or submit, within 2 (two) weeks after the refusal, a petition to a court in a proceeding on petition in order to obligate the Management Board to give information.



Any questions regarding the agenda items of the general meeting should be addressed to the Group's e-mail address lhv@lhv.ee until 23:59 on 27 March 2017.



Shareholders, whose shares represent at least 1/20 (one-twentieth) of the share capital of the Group, may demand the inclusion of additional items on the agenda of the annual general meeting, if the corresponding request is filed in writing at least 15 (fifteen) days prior to the general meeting, i.e. at the latest by 23:59 on 14 March 2017, at the e-mail address: lhv@lhv.ee or to the Group's location at Tartu mnt 2, Tallinn 10145.



Shareholders, whose shares represent at least 1/20 (one-twentieth) of the share capital of the Group, may submit to the Group in writing a draft resolution on each agenda item, by posting the draft to the e-mail addresslhv@lhv.ee or to the Group's location at Tartu mnt 2, Tallinn 10145. The draft must be submitted in electronic form or by e-mail so that it would be delivered to and received by the Group no later than 3 (three) days before the general meeting, by 23:59 on 27 March 2017 at the latest.



Yours sincerely



Madis Toomsalu



Member of the Management Board of AS LHV Group

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Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc / Index: AIM / Epic: EOG / Sector: Oil & Gas

08 March 2017

Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc ('Europa' or 'the Company')

US$6 million Farm-Out of Offshore Ireland Licence to Cairn Energy

Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, UK and Ireland focussed exploration, development and production company, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Farm-Out Agreement ('FOA') with a wholly owned subsidiary of leading operator Cairn Energy PLC Group (LSE: CNE) in relation to a 70% interest in and operatorship of Licensing Option 16/19 ('LO 16/19' or the 'Licence'). Europa will retain a 30% interest in the Licence, which is located on the Western flank of the South Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland. Click on the link to view a map http://www.europaoil.com/OperationsIreland.aspx

The FOA, which is subject to Irish Government approval, has been signed with Capricorn Ireland Limited ('Capricorn'), a fully owned entity of Capricorn Energy Limited which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn Energy PLC.

Europa to be fully carried on US$6million work programme

Capricorn to fund a US$6 million work programme, which includes the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of 3D seismic, to acquire a 70% interest in and operatorship of LO 16/19

work programme, which includes the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of 3D seismic, to acquire a 70% interest in and operatorship of LO 16/19 3D seismic to be acquired in 2017 and processed product will be delivered in 2018 Future exploration will be based on the results of detailed prospect mapping work

Europa will fund its 30% interest in LO 16/19 on completion of the fully carried work programme

Existing data indicates presence of Cretaceous submarine fans on LO 16/19

Europa previously provided a technical update on LO 16/19 on 18 July 2016 http://www.europaoil.com/documents/160718LO16_19technicalupdate.pdf

http://www.europaoil.com/documents/160718LO16_19technicalupdate.pdf LO 16/19 is covered by a sparse grid of 2D seismic and whilst detailed prospect mapping is not possible, Europa's proprietary 3D in its adjacent Frontier Exploration Licence ('FEL') 2/13 is interpreted to contain Cretaceous submarine channels feeding submarine fans in LO 16/19

The Directors believe that LO 16/19 holds Cretaceous fans similar to those developed in Europa's 100% owned FEL 3/13 where three prospects have been identified with combined gross mean un-risked prospective resources of 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent

Europa will apply its considerable experience in mapping Cretaceous fans on 3D seismic in the Porcupine to the new 3D to be acquired over LO 16/19

Further farm-outs are being targeted of Europa's leading licence position offshore Ireland

Europa has seven offshore Ireland licences covering 5,818 sq km, six play types, three basins, and twenty prospects and leads which potentially hold gross mean unrisked resources of more than 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent and 1.5 TCF of gas (Europa estimates)

licences covering 5,818 sq km, six play types, three basins, and twenty prospects and leads which potentially hold gross mean unrisked resources of more than 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent and 1.5 TCF of gas (Europa estimates) The FOA, which is the first by any company in Atlantic Ireland since 2013, demonstrates Europa's ability to execute its strategy to secure partners to advance its offshore Ireland licences

licences Europa is focussed on delivering farmouts on its remaining six 100%-owned licences

Europa CEO Hugh Mackay said, "We are delighted to have secured a farm-in partner of the proven calibre of Cairn, and also to accelerate exploration on the Licence through the acquisition of 3D seismic this summer. We continue to talk to other potential partners for our remaining six offshore Ireland licences which provide us with exposure to all the various play types being targeted in the region: Paleocene; Cretaceous Shelf; Cretaceous Fan; Syn-rift; Pre-rift; and Triassic gas.

"Activity across the Porcupine Basin is expected to increase markedly this year and beyond: Providence Resources is expected to drill the Druid prospect in 2017; two new exploration wells may be drilled in 2018; and a natural conclusion to 3D seismic data acquired this summer and last summer could be more exploration drilling. In terms of acreage and number of licences, Europa is a leading exploration company in Atlantic Ireland with a range of prospects spanning deep water high risk frontier exploration to shallow water, lower risk infrastructure-led exploration next to the Corrib gas field. We believe Europa will benefit from any exploration success in the region either as a trail-blazer or fast-follower."

* * ENDS * *

For further information please visit www.europaoil.com or contact:

Hugh Mackay Europa + 44 (0) 20 7224 3770 Phil Greenhalgh Europa + 44 (0) 20 7224 3770 Matt Goode finnCap Ltd + 44 (0) 20 7220 0500 Simon Hicks finnCap Ltd + 44 (0) 20 7220 0500 Frank Buhagiar St Brides Partners Ltd + 44 (0) 20 7236 1177 Susie Geliher St Brides Partners Ltd + 44 (0) 20 7236 1177

Notes

Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc has a diversified portfolio of multi-stage hydrocarbon assets that includes production, exploration and development interests, in countries that are politically stable, have transparent licensing processes, and offer attractive terms. Its highly prospective exploration projects include the Wressle oil development in the UK and seven licences offshore Ireland with the potential to host gross mean un-risked prospective and indicative resources of more than 4 billion barrels oil equivalent and 1.5 TCF gas across all seven licences. In 2016 Europa produced 123 boepd from its portfolio of onshore UK licenses.

Qualified Person Review

This release has been reviewed by Hugh Mackay, Chief Executive of Europa, who is a petroleum geologist with 30 years' experience in petroleum exploration and a member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain, American Association of Petroleum Geologists and Fellow of the Geological Society. Mr Mackay has consented to the inclusion of the technical information in this release in the form and context in which it appears.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 2:00 am ET Wednesday, Destatis is set to release German industrial production for January. Economists expect the output to rise 2.6 percent on month, reversing a 3.0 percent decline in December. Ahead of the data, the euro traded mixed against its major rivals. While the euro held steady against the greenback and the pound, it rose against the franc and the yen. The euro was worth 1.0566 against the greenback, 120.17 against the yen, 0.8556 against the pound and 1.0710 against the Swiss franc as of 1:55 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, after China reported trade deficit in February.



Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that China imports advanced 44.7 percent year-on-year in February in yuan terms. The annual growth was much bigger than the forecast of 23.1 percent and January's 25.2 percent expansion.



At the same time, exports grew only 4.2 percent in February. Shipments were forecast to grow 14.6 percent after climbing 15.9 percent in January.



Consequently, the trade balance showed a shortfall of CNY 60.4 billion in February in contrast to the expected surplus of CNY 172.5 billion. This was the first deficit in three years.



Tuesday, the Australian dollar had risen 0.30 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.35 percent against the yen, 0.24 percent against the euro, 0.28 percent against the loonie and 0.66 percent against the kiwi.



In the Asian trading, the Australian dollar fell to a 2-day low of 86.24 against the yen, from an early high of 86.55. The aussie may test support near the 85.00 region.



Against the NZ dollar, the aussie dropped to 1.0900 from an early 10-month high of 1.0926. The aussie is likely to find support near the 1.07 region.



Against the U.S. dollar, the euro and the Canadian dollar, the aussie slipped to 0.7587, 1.3920 and 1.0179 from early highs of 0.7609, 1.3929 and 1.0198, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.74 against the greenback, 1.42 against the euro and 0.99 against the loonie.



Looking ahead, the German industrial production for January is due to be released in the pre-European session at 2:00 am ET.



Swiss CPI data for February is slated for release at 3:15 am ET.



In the New York session, Canada housing starts for February and building permits for January, U.S. ADP non-farm employment data for February, wholesale inventories for January and crude oil inventories data are set to be announced.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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JERUSALEM, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the technology-transfer company of the Hebrew University, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Lolo Educational Services Co. (LES), Korea for the entrance of it its wholly-owned Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program into Korea.

HIPPY is an early learning program which has seen extraordinary results in helping parents take the role of their child's first teacher. HIPPY, which partners with parents to prepare their children for success in school, is a thriving international program closing the achievement gap at 440 program sites, reaching 20,000 families, in 10 countries including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel, Liberia, New Zealand, and the US. HIPPY-inspired programs operate in Denmark, Finland, Holland, Sweden and Turkey.

What makes the HIPPY early-learning program so unique is that the focus is on empowering parents. Paraprofessional home visitors from the community, who are well-versed in the curriculum materials, work directly with parents of 3, 4 and 5-year-olds, who are then asked to engage with their children using the educational activities they have just learned. HIPPY relates sensitively to the communities it serves, providing materials in the language preferred by the parents and community and encourages the production and use in each country program of native language and/or bilingual story-books and materials.

In Korea, the program will be called Limud, which means learning in Hebrew. The HIPPY model described above was expanded and transformed to an advanced academic program targeting parents interested in being involved in their children's education.

The basic idea of working with the parents in order to prepare their children for preschool still remains, but here professional teachers will train the parents, and the goal is to bring the children to a higher level, so that they can excel in school. In Korea, the curriculum will also be adapted to culturally fit the country. The program will begin with a pilot for 6 months, and localization and modification work will be done during this period. One hundred parents are expected to participate in the pilot at 3 sites in Seoul. Following the pilot stage, the official launch of the program is planned for late summer of this year.

Dr. Miriam Westheimer, Director, HIPPY International, said, "HIPPY has been steadily growing worldwide over the last 10 years. South Korea and China are the first programs in Asia where we will be adapting the core program model for a very different and more highly educated consumer. It is coincidental that the two new countries will start at the same time and we will use this exciting opportunity to enrich the HIPPY International network."

DJ Dongjun Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Lolo Educational Services Co., Korea, commented, "We were very impressed by the proven added value that HIPPY offers in preparing children for school and studies. I hope HIPPY can help Korean parents to better understand the benefits and importance of their involvement in their children's education and that our partnership will bring a new wave of parent involvement to the Korean education market."

Yaacov Michlin, President and CEO of Yissum, added, "We are very pleased with our first licensing agreement in China based on innovation of research performed at the Hebrew University. This is an excellent example of a successful technology transfer deal from academia to the commercial and educational arenas. As the organization in charge of protecting the intellectual property and commercializing the inventions originating from the University, we have in our arsenal many promising and breakthrough technologies in a wide range of fields including biotechnology, agriculture, new materials and nanotechnology, computer science and cybersecurity and many more. We hope that the agreements announced today mark the beginning of a long and fruitful business partnership with companies and organizations in East Asia."

About HIPPY

Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters - known as HIPPY - partners with parents to prepare their children for success in school, particularly those who might not have educational advantages. HIPPY is an evidenced-based family support model that works directly with parents in their homes to give them books, activities and skills needed for them to take responsibility for preparing their children for school. Peer parent educators deliver 30 weeks of high quality school readiness curriculum activities and books directly to parents each year, who then work each day with their own three, four and five year old children.

The program originated in 1969, and was developed by Dr. Avima D. Lombard, a researcher at the NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who started an early education program in Israel that aimed to teach parents with limited formal education to be their children's first teachers. The premise behind HIPPY was that early education is critical to a child's learning and helps prepare very young children from low-income families to better succeed in school. For further information, please visit http://hippy-international.org/

About Yissum

Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ltd. was founded in 1964 to protect and commercialize the Hebrew University's intellectual property. Products based on Hebrew University technologies that have been commercialized by Yissum currently generate $2 Billion in annual sales. Ranked among the top technology transfer companies in the world, Yissum has registered over 9,325 patents covering 2,600 inventions; has licensed out 880 technologies and has spun out 110 companies including Mobileye, Briefcam, Orcam, Avraham Pharmaceuticals, Betalin Therapeutics, CollPlant and Qlight Nanotech. Yissum's business partners span the globe and include companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Roche, Merck, Teva, Syngenta, Monsanto and many more. For further information please visit http://www.yissum.co.il.

About Lolo Educational Services Co. (LES)

Located in Seoul, Korea, LES is an educational contents provider. The company develops and provides parenting resources via social networking system and educational programs for academies and groups.

Media Contact:

Tsipi Haitovsky

Global Media Liaison, Yissum Ltd.

Tel: +972-52-598-9892

E-mail: tsipih@yissum.co.il


Previously head of the MHRA's Biologicals unit, Dr. Narayanan provides strategic advice to leading developers of complex biologics, in particular Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP)s, which address areas of high unmet medical need.

Voisin Consulting Life Sciences (VCLS) announces the appointment of Dr. Gopalan Narayanan as Vice-President, Disruptive Biologics. Dr. Narayanan brings over 18 years of experience as a pharmaceutical physician, and has internationally recognized expertise in the development of innovative biotherapies, primarily through his previous role as a regulator. He was at the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for nearly 12 years as an expert medical assessor, and 4 years heading the Biologicals Unit.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005177/en/

VCLS Appoints Dr. Gopalan Narayanan, Vice-President, Disruptive Biologics (Photo: Business Wire)

"The appointment of Dr. Narayanan further enhances VCLS's ability to support biotechnology companies throughout ATMP research and development, and lead scientific interactions with regulators and payers. Narayanan's considerable experience strengthens our capabilities to provide clients with a global perspective, at the forefront of scientific innovation," commented Dr. Emmanuelle M. Voisin, Founder and CEO, VCLS.

As a member of the Committee for Advanced Therapies of the European Medicines Agency (EMA/CAT) and representing EMA/CAT in the Scientific Advice Working Party (CHMP/SAWP), Dr. Narayanan has extensive experience in the regulatory aspects of ATMPs and other complex biologics. He was a leading Rapporteur for marketing authorization applications (MAAs), as well as a leading coordinator for Scientific Advice procedures. With a focus on advanced therapies and other biologics, he also has extensive experience in the provision of advice from UK MHRA, as well as an in-depth understanding of the functioning of the UK and European regulatory agencies.

"ATMPs present unique scientific and regulatory challenges requiring tailored solutions to fulfill their promise. I am delighted to be part of an organization which is leading this very exciting future direction of medicine," said Dr. Gopalan Narayanan.

The Future of ATMPs

ATMPs are medicinal products based on genes (gene therapy), cells (cell therapy) and tissues (tissue-engineered therapy). These advanced therapies herald revolutionary treatments for a number of pathologies, with a particular focus on rare diseases, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, or oncology indications. They have huge potential for patients, with a promise of more personalized treatments and regenerative medicine.1

For twenty years, VCLS has been providing expert guidance to help ATMP developers find a regulatory path for their scientific breakthrough innovations. Over 40,000 clinical studies have been conducted with ATMPs2,3, however only eight ATMPs have been approved in the EU since 2009 when the Committee for Advanced Therapies was established.4 This gives an understanding of the challenging scientific and regulatory complexity of these advanced therapies, the potential of which has yet to be realized.

As part of VCLS's commitment to help more ATMPs reach patients, the firm frequently presents its opinions, methodological approaches to ATMP development, or view on environment changes. The next webinar on ATMP development is on the 16th March 2017.

VCLS is also participating in a series of international conferences, such as the European Section of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) on 23rd March 2017 in Barcelona.

About Voisin Consulting Life Sciences

Voisin Consulting Life Sciences is a global product development consultancy, which guides Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical and Medtech manufacturers throughout product development and commercialization. From discovery to patients, VCLS assists innovators to design product development strategies that optimize clinical development in order to drive commercial success, through an understanding of both regulators and payers.

VCLS's team of health product specialists seamlessly supplement innovative life sciences companies' resources with strategic advice and cross-functional operational capabilities. The firm offers integrated solutions to development planning, manufacturing, quality and controls, nonclinical and clinical testing, safety monitoring, and interactions with regulators and payers. With offices in Cambridge, Somerville and San Francisco (MA, CA NJ, USA), London (UK), Paris and Rennes (France), Lausanne (Switzerland) and Bangalore (India), VCLS serves a broad range of developers and investors.

For more information, visit www.voisinconsulting.com.

References

1. https://ec.europa.eu/health/human-use/advanced-therapies_en

2. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results/map?term=cell+therapy

3. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=gene+therapy&Search=Search

4. http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Minutes/2017/02/WC500220811.pdf

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005177/en/

Contacts:

Voisin Consulting Life Sciences

Zhengxi Danard, +33 1 41 31 83 00

vcparis@voisinconsulting.com
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 3:15 am ET Wednesday, the Federal Statistical Office releases Swiss consumer price data for February. Prices are expected to climb 0.4 percent annually after rising 0.3 percent in January. Ahead of the data, the Swiss franc rose against its major rivals. As of 3:10 am ET, the Swiss franc was trading at 1.0702 against the euro, 1.2344 against the pound, 1.0134 against the U.S. dollar and 112.41 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Flagship all-flash array showcases at Cloud Expo Europe

AccelStor, the software-defined all-flash array (AFA) provider, is pleased to announce its participation in this year's Cloud Expo Europe, taking place from March 15-16 at ExCel in London. AccelStor will exhibit in booth number 862.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005014/en/

AccelStor will showcase their flagship NeoSapphire P710 all-flash array at Cloud Expo Europe 2017. (Graphic: Business Wire)

AccelStor will showcase their flagship NeoSapphire P710 AFA at the show. The most powerful model in the series, the P710 delivers extreme high-performance of 700K+ IOPS for 4KB random writes in a single storage appliance and offers abundant software functionality while preserving outstanding performance. These features make the P710 an optimal solution for cloud infrastructure and VDI applications.

In today's world, virtualisation is widely implemented for both enterprise and cloud computing. Primary applications include ERP services, databases, OLTP, testing, and online deployment services. Storage plays a vital role in the cloud infrastructure, and selecting the best storage solution is critical to success.

Mr. Alan Lin, Senior Manager of AccelStor, will present on March 16 from 12:45 to 13:10 in the Infrastructure, Storage Virtualisation Theatre. He will address how to maximize storage performance with AFAs in the virtualisation environment, including highlighting the must-have features of AFAs and the benefits of running hypervisors with AccelStor AFAs.

Mr. Lin states, "Cloud computing and virtualisation have quickly surfaced as key facets of organizations as they evaluate ways to enhance the pace and growth of their business. At AccelStor, we believe storage plays a vital part in the newest wave of IT development. We created our NeoSapphire all-flash arrays and FlexiRemap flash-oriented software to provide businesses with the best means to evolve their cloud infrastructures and virtualisation environments."

NeoSapphire P710 Features:

Extreme performance with sustained 700K IOPS for 4KB random writes

Supports 6 x 10GbE or 4 x 16G Fibre Channel connectivity

2U rack mount with 24 hot-swappable SSDs, including 2 global hot spares

VMware Ready and VAAI Block Certified

NeoSapphire P710 Benefits:

Abundant software features for VDI applications

Free clone, snapshot, snapshot backup/restoration enhances data protection

vSphere Web Client plug-in enables seamless integration with VMware solutions

For product details and specifications, visit the NeoSapphire P710 product page at https://www.accelstor.com/overview.php?id=19.

About AccelStor, Inc.

AccelStor is accelerating the paradigm shift from conventional disk arrays to modern all-flash storage. AccelStor's NeoSapphire all-flash arrays, powered by FlexiRemap software technology, deliver sustained high IOPS to business-critical applications. With streamlined storage management, multi-protocol support, and front-access, hot-swappable solid-state drives, the NeoSapphire series promises to resolve performance bottlenecks for I/O-intensive applications like virtualisation, high-performance computing, database, and media processing. For more information about AccelStor and NeoSapphire, please visit www.accelstor.com.

AccelStor, FlexiRemap, and NeoSapphire are trademarks or registered trademarks of AccelStor, Inc. in the United States of America and/or other countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005014/en/

Contacts:

AccelStor, Inc.

Clara Lee, +886 2 77467616 ext. 2561
SHANGHAI, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

After Miami, Tokyo and London, Shanghai is the latest world city to discover "L'Eden by Perrier-Jouet", the cutting-edge brand experience by Perrier-Jouet Champagne which transforms nature - its enduring source of inspiration - into a world of wonder for the digital age.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8055851-rewilding-eden-perrier-jouet-shanghai/



L'Eden by Perrier-Jouet runs from March7 to 12, 2017 in the context of Design Shanghai, Asia's leading international design event, of which Maison Perrier-Jouet is the official champagne partner. The House is taking over a space within the city with its unique vision of "rewilding" - bringing exotic, luxuriant nature into unexpected urban locations to create a sense of wonder.

Entering L'Eden by Perrier-Jouet through a mesmerizing gate of lights, guests are immersed into an enchanted realm of lush greenery and extravagant blooms, inhabited by surreal creatures who pass them mysterious messages. As they wander through the space, they encounter a series of state-of-the-art installations, including a spectacular photo studio and Extra Natural, an experiential digital artwork by Miguel Chevalier.

At the heart of the space is a reinterpretation of Maison Perrier-Jouet's famous Eden cellar in Epernay, where its rarest and most precious vintages are kept. Cellar Master Herve Deschamps is present in Shanghai to offer exclusive tastings of the prestigious Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque cuvees with their iconic motif of white anemones, created for the House by Art Nouveau master Emile Galle.

L'Eden by Perrier-Jouet Shanghai opened on March 7 with a dazzling party for 188 people, at which the guest of honour was movie star, Shawn Dou. Other personalities in attendance included fashion designer, Ye Mingzi and top model, Zhao Lei.

The space remains open day and night throughout the duration of Design Shanghai, offering an exciting program of events, including champagne masterclasses and design talks. Its extravagant natural decor mysteriously transforms from day to night to create hypnotic ambiances that further enhance this wild and wonderful experience.

Renowned for its long-standing ties with the world of art, Maison Perrier-Jouet is reinterpreting its Art Nouveau heritage for the 21stcentury, fusing art and nature into the extraordinary multi-sensory experience that is L'Eden by Perrier-Jouet.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/474422/Maison_Perrier_Jouet.jpg )



Video:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8055851-rewilding-eden-perrier-jouet-shanghai/


LONDON, ENGLAND -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- As part of IESE's commitment to promoting CSR and sustainable development, the school has teamed up with Harvard to offer an innovative programme called "Value Creation through Effective Boards".

In order to create sustainable and long-term global prosperity, businesses need to build strong and responsible corporate boards that can promote sound governance, even in the face of today's mounting complexities. The programme, "Value Creation through Effective Boards", which is now in its third edition, is aimed at the Executive Board members of both public and private corporations.

Over four days, attendees will explore topics such as crisis management, the impact of the regulatory environment, risk management and transparency. Attendees will also benefit from the world-class expertise on offer by highly experienced, top faculty members from both IESE and Harvard.

Faculty members involved include Harvard professor Krishna Palepu, a senior advisor to the president for Global Strategy at Harvard University, IESE professor Pedro Nueno, president of the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai (CEIBS), as well as Suraj Srinivasan and Paddy Miller, professors at Harvard and IESE respectively.

The "Value Creation through Effective Boards" programme takes place from June 12 to 15, 2017, at the IESE Business School campus in Barcelona, Spain.

IESE and Harvard: a long-lasting alliance

IESE and Harvard Business School have enjoyed a close relationship for more than 50 years. The Harvard-IESE Committee was established in 1963 to guide IESE in the development of new programmes and growth as a world-leading business school. Landmark accomplishments include the launch of the IESE MBA in 1964, the first of its kind in Europe, and the IESE-Harvard joint international executive education programmes.

About IESE Business School

One of the world's leading business schools, IESE was established in 1958 in Barcelona as the graduate business school of the University of Navarra. A pioneer in executive education, IESE was among the first business schools in Europe to offer programmes for high-level executives and managers.

IESE is consistently ranked among the world's top business schools; Financial Times recently named IESE's Executive Education programmes the best in the world for both 2015 and 2016.

IESE has an unshakeable commitment to the education and development of global business leaders that can have a hugely positive impact on people, firms and society through their professionalism, integrity and spirit of service.

Since its inception, the school has offered the highest calibre degree and executive education programmes, while also conducting rigorous research initiatives that are truly global in scope.

World News Media is a leading publisher of quality financial and business magazines, enjoying a global distribution network that includes subscriber lists of the most prominent and senior decision-makers around the world, as well as comprehensive airport, hotel and conference site distribution.

Contacts:

World News Media

Elizabeth Matsangou

Editorial Department

+44 (0)20 7553 4162

elizabeth.matsangou@wnmedia.com




TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - March 08, 2017) - Peeks Social Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: PEEK) (OTCQB: KEEKF) today provided details on certain key performance indicators ("KPIs") relating to the Peeks product. The Company routinely monitors certain KPIs that it has identified as important in understanding the performance of the Peeks product. Overall Peeks has experienced strong month over month growth across tracked metrics with the exception of a three and a half week period where the Peeks app was unavailable in the Apple App Store (see press releases dated January 17, 2017, and February 13, 2017). The temporary absence from the Apple App Store had a negative impact on user growth, which also resulted in a decreased amount of viewable and tippable content and a general temporary decline across most tracked metrics. Since the re-instatement of the Peeks app on the Apple App Store in mid-February, upward trends across most tracked metrics have been re-established.

The table below provides a summary of select KPIs for the Peeks app. The Company earns licensing revenue based on the gross revenue earned by the Peeks app (see press release dated October 19, 2016). While the "dollars deposited per registered user" is an important KPI for the Peeks product, it is not a direct indicator of the Company's financial performance.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key Performance Indicator Nov 2016 Dec 2016 Jan 2017 Feb 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Number of User Sessions (1) 405,800 579,400 1,265,700 1,044,700 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avg. User Session Duration (1) 5min 41sec 8min 18sec 9min 11sec 7min 30sec ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avg. Monthly $ Deposited Per Registered User (2) $0.15 $0.46 $1.11 $0.62 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avg. Monthly $ Deposited Per Registered User (Annualized) (3) $1.80 $5.52 $13.32 $7.44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Tips Received by #1 Broadcaster (4) $437 $3,663 $18,038 $16,721 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Gross Tips Received by Top 10 Broadcasters (5) $2,535 $12,752 $38,782 $32,688 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes:

These two KPIs represent the number of times the Peeks app was accessed by users and the average duration of use, respectively. Data was provided through Google Analytics. For additional information on Google Analytics' definition of "session" and the methods of calculating "sessions," please refer to https://support.google.com/analytics . This KPI calculates the total dollar amount deposited in the Peeks service by registered users in a calendar month, divided by the number of registered users as at the end of that month. This KPI is calculated by multiplying the monthly figure in Note 2 by 12. The industry standard for the presentation of "per user" amounts is on an annualized basis. This figure is presented for comparison purposes only and since it is calculated on a monthly basis, it may not represent a true annualized amount. This KPI represents the total cash tips paid by viewers to the top earning broadcaster in the Peeks platform for each month. This KPI represents the aggregate of all cash tips paid by viewers to the top 10 earning broadcasters in the Peeks platform for each month.

As demonstrated in the table, the total number of monthly user sessions increased 157% from 405,800 in November 2016, to 1,044,700 in February 2017. November 2016 was the first operating month for the Peeks service. The peak number of monthly user sessions to date was 1,265,700, reached in January 2017. The Company expects the positive trend in the increased number of sessions to continue due to an increasing user base and the ongoing addition of both professionally created and user created content.

As demonstrated in the table, the average duration of user sessions increased 32% from 5 minutes and 41 seconds in November 2016 to 7 minutes and 30 seconds in February 2017. Average user session times reached a peak of 9 minutes and 11 seconds in January 2017. The Company believes the increase in average session duration is due to the larger volume and a wider variety of viewable content. The Company expects the average duration of user sessions to continue to increase with the ongoing addition of both professionally created and user created content. As of today, there are over 1.3 million videos available for viewing on the Peeks service.

As demonstrated in the table, the annualized dollars deposited to the Peeks service per user on a monthly basis increased 313% from $1.80 in November 2016 to $7.44 in February 2017. Annualized dollars deposited per user peaked at $13.32 in January 2017. The Company believes the increase in dollars deposited per user is a result of both an increasing average deposit amounts and a growing number of users utilizing the wallet feature. The increased use of the wallet feature is likely due to an increased amount of viewable and tippable content, resulting in greater consumer spend. Registered users may deposit or withdraw funds to their Peeks account at any time. The Company believes this is an important KPI that demonstrates a crucial component of user engagement with the Peeks service.

As demonstrated in the table, the top 10 monthly broadcasters in Peeks by tips from viewers received a combined total of $32,688 in February 2017, as compared to $2,535 in November 2016, an increase of 1189%. The top Peeks broadcaster received $16,720 from viewers in February 2017, as compared to $437 by the top Peeks broadcaster in November 2016, an increase of 3726%.

"We are very satisfied with the product's performance to date. The Peeks product has been able to monetize a user-base only four months after launch. The Company will continue to tweak the service to maximize the money generated on a per user basis, as well as execute on our marketing plan to add as many users to the Peeks platform as possible. The numbers will speak for themselves, " said Mark Itwaru, CEO of Peeks Social Ltd.

The Peeks app can be downloaded in either the Apple or Google app stores, or by visiting www.peeks.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release.

Forward looking statements:

The information and statements in this news release contain certain forward-looking information relating to the future performance and abilities of the Peeks product, including the Company's expectation relating to continued upward trends in key performance indicators. This forward-looking information is subject to certain risks and uncertainties and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking information. Peeks Social Ltd.'s forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.

For further information, please contact:



Peeks Social Ltd.

Mark Itwaru

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

647-992-7727

mark@peeks.com
AMSTERDAM, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Today, Dutch online supermarket Holland at Home (http://www.holland-at-home.com ) has entered into an official cooperation agreement with Nutricia's Early Life Nutrition (ELN) business unit, manufacturer of Nutrilon, Olvarit and Bambix. Selling online to the Chinese consumer market since 2009 already, Holland at Home established itself ever since as the leading online direct seller of Dutch food products to China. This official cooperation fits the strategy of both companies.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/476093/Holland_at_Home_and_Nutricia_Logo.jpg )



(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/476094/Holland_at_Home_and_Nutrilon_Logo.jpg )



"The partnership with Nutricia is an important step to further grow our business in China. Ever since we shipped our first order to China in 2009, we invested seriously in building our China business every year. By cooperating more closely with the market leader in baby food in The Netherlands, Nutricia, we are confident to satisfy the demand of our Chinese customers for high-quality Dutch baby food in a sustainable way. We are very pleased that we have concluded this important agreement with Nutricia," says Chrystal van Goor den Oosterlingh, founder of Holland at Home.

Direct shipment to China

All orders are shipped directly from The Netherlands to the Chinese consumer via China's leading express company SF Express, which takes over Holland at Home's parcels after international customs clearance in Hangzhou. Chinese consumers don't need to worry about customs delays or unexpected customs fees since all orders include the customs fees already and IT integration with China Customs guarantees smooth, "controlled" and compliant customs clearance. Average delivery time of Holland at Home's parcels from the Dutch warehouse to the receiver in China is 6-8 working days.

Holland at Home's founder and General Director, Chrystal van Goor den Oosterlingh, said: "Through this direct cooperation with Nutricia we can take away any doubts Chinese consumers might have regarding the genuity of the products they purchased. Even though we enjoy and built up great trust in the Chinese market for many years, the many food scandals in recent years caused widespread distrust among many Chinese consumers. Warranted by this direct purchase agreement our Chinese customers have the ultimate assurance that all Nutrilon, Bambix and Olvarit products are guaranteed authentic in market."

Consumers in China can buy Nutricia's products in the Nutricia brand zones on Holland at Home's various online sales outlets: Holland at Home's Chinese website http://www.holland-at-home.com/cn , on WeChat social network shop Weidian and on Holland at Home's three flagship stores on Tmall Global, JD Worldwide and Global Taobao.

"By working directly with Holland at Home, Nutricia wants to continue improving Nutrilon's availability in shops in the Netherlands while at the same time meeting the high demand of Nutrilon in China. Thanks to the direct supply from Nutricia to Holland at Home all products of course have excellent expiration dates and therefore enjoy a long consumption period, which is important for orders originating in China for delivery into China. We are happy to add yet another reliable and transparent logistic chain into China, together with Holland at Home," says Albertine Van Wolfswinkel, Corporate Affairs Director ELN Benelux.

About Holland at Home

Holland at Home was founded in 2005 by Chrystal van Goor den Oosterlingh as an online supermarket targeting Dutch expats. Since 2009 the webshophttp://www.holland-at-home.comsells actively to consumers in China and since 2014 also with own flagship stores on Tmall Global, JD Worldwide, Global Taobao, Amazon China and WeChat's social shopping App Weidian. Last years Chrystal van Goor den Oosterlinghpersonally won the RSM Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the European Business Awards and since 2013 has always been in the FD Gazelle rankings of fastest growing Dutch companies.
DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- In the true spirit of community, each Ponderosa Steakhouse restaurant in Missouri and Illinois will hold a "Buy One, Give $1" fundraiser on Sunday, March 12 to provide assistance to the victims of the recent tornadoes in Missouri and Illinois.

For each entree or buffet sold that day, the participating Ponderosa Steakhouses will donate $1 to the tornado relief efforts to the American Red Cross, with the funds going directly to aid tornado victims served by the Southeast Missouri chapter and the South Central Illinois chapter. Together with support from Homestyle Dining, the restaurant brand's parent company based in Dallas, hope to raise as much as $5,000.

The participating Ponderosa Steakhouse restaurants are:

Arnold, Missouri: 3601 Jeffco Road

Perryville, Missouri: 1301 South Perryville Road

Washington, Missouri: 95 Washington Heights Drive

Harrisburg, Illinois: 507 North Commercial Street

Jacksonville, Illinois: 1001 West Morton Avenue

Vandalia, Illinois: 2727 Veterans Avenue





"Since our founding more than 50 years ago, Ponderosa Steakhouses and its franchise community have remained steadfast in our commitment to the communities we serve, during both good and hard times," said Tom Sacco, CEO, Homestyle Dining LLC, parent company of Ponderosa Steakhouse. "By holding this 'Buy One, Give $1' fundraiser, we hope that we can help provide a warm meal or other basic need for those individuals and families that were impacted by the recent tornadoes."

About Homestyle Dining LLC

Dallas, Texas-based Homestyle Dining LLC owns, operates and franchises family-focused restaurants throughout the United States and internationally under the Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse brands, where guests enjoy flame-grilled steaks and entrees along with a high-quality buffet featuring an endless selection of salads, soups, appetizers, vegetables, and desserts at affordable prices. A new restaurant concept, Bonanza Steak & BBQ, recently opened in Seymour, Indiana, is a full service, casual dining concept celebrating Bonanza's American steakhouse heritage with its modernized menu including new authentic, Southern-style BBQ offerings, and an interior redesign around a butcher house theme. Plans call for 100 franchised locations in the next five years. For more information about Ponderosa Steakhouses, visit www.ponderosasteakhouses.com.

Contacts:

Erin Peacock

Peacock PR

(949) 939-1872

peacockpr@cox.net



Barbara Caruso

(714) 328-3273

Barbara@c-squaredpr.com




LONDON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Eurobank, Greece's third-largest lender, have announced the adoption of Unily to support its transition to a digital workplace. The new system will support a high-performing culture, drive innovation and growth and enhance effective communication and collaboration.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475517/Unily_by_BrightStarr_Logo.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475518/Eurobank_Logo.jpg )



Sotiris Sirmakezis, Group Chief Digital & Technology Officer said of Eurobank's decision to adopt Unily:

"As a part of an always connected, instant access environment, to accurately reflect our employees' changing work experience, we needed to explore the latest digital workplace solution to drive employee engagement, enable knowledge sharing across the organization, facilitate integration, enhance productive business relationships and build effective communication and collaboration. Unily's combination of experience design and Microsoft expertise will help ensure Eurobank provides a great user experience that will ultimately improve the level of care we provide to our workforce and our customers".

Eurobank, profitable for third straight quarter in 2016, holds a strong market position by being innovative, forward-thinking and strategic with acquisitions. With a total network of 900 branches in Greece and abroad, the Group offers a comprehensive range of financial products and services to its retail and corporate customers, while at the same time recognizing the need for a central digital workplace platform to facilitate further global growth.

Unily will provide the bank with a cutting-edge internal site which combines the best of Microsoft's Office 365 stack; SharePoint, Yammer, OneDrive, Skype and Delve to deliver a unified enterprise portal. BrightStarr, the creators of the digital workplace solution commented:

"Unily enables global enterprises to implement cutting-edge intranet functionality as part of a monthly subscription service, with no up front development costs. Combined with inclusive customer success services and an on-going customer-driven roadmap, Unily ensures that organizations such as Eurobank are equipped with a future-proof intranet that will continue to add value.

Unily's ability to provide all users with a high-quality user experience, regardless of language, location or device was one of the major factors in Eurobank's choice over competitor products. Paul Jackson, Managing Director of BrightStarr said of Eurobank's decision to adopt Unily:

"We are delighted to have another major European organization choose Unily as their modern intranet, helping to take their business forward with better staff communication and collaboration. Their desire to adopt the very best technology for both their customer and their staff is a testament to the bank's commitment to be a digital leader in the financial services sector."

The Eurobank project is currently underway with a roll out planned for early 2017 to the bank's 9,800 Greek staff as part of a ten-year agreement. Eurobank's Athina Dessypri, Head of Group Human Resources said of the decision to purchase Unily:

"Our primary mission and commitment is to continuously improve our client relationships and sustain and improve our client reach, capitalizing on our universal banking expertise. At the same time, we operate in an industry that is vastly reshaping in terms of client offering, working methods, structures and job content. We need to strengthen the infrastructure that will help us connect the dots and allow for digital business transformation, new working culture incubation, new workspaces, collaboration and interaction. In this change journey, we need to increase employee access to information and resources and also build employee capabilities to meet our goals. The Unily digital workplace solution will assist in transforming our workforce capabilities and experience, while achieving a breakthrough in productivity and engagement."

Eurobank's Unily configuration will be directly onto a highly anticipated version of the platform that extends the social and collaborative functionality further for complex, multi-layered organizations like Eurobank. Unily's ability to provide the right solution for different user needs from its cloud-hosted core is one of the reasons it is credited with such success across such diverse and demanding international organizations.

About Eurobank

The Eurobank group is a dynamic banking group active in eight countries, with total assets of 68.2 billion and 15,935 employees. Established in 1990, the Group expanded through organic growth and acquisitions to become a leading force in recent years' developments and the shaping of the banking sector.

In Greece, Eurobank is one of the four pillars of the banking system. The Group also holds a strategic position in retail and business banking in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, offers distinguished Wealth Management services in Cyprus, Luxembourg and London and is also present in Ukraine.

About Unily

Unily is owned and operated by BrightStarr, an award-winning technology consultancy and Microsoft Gold Partner. BrightStarr specializes in digital solutions for the enterprise including intranets, extranets and websites. With offices in the US, UK, EMEA and South America, the company has a team of dynamic user experience and SharePoint consultants, with years of expertise handling enterprise scale projects. For more information, visit: http://www.brightstarr.com and http://www.unily.com.

Media Contact:

Katy Smith

+44-(0)-1483-239-240

Katy.smith@brightstarr.com


STRASBOURG, France, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

In an open letter to all members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Azerbaijani MP and PACE member Elkhan Suleymanov, the President of the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ACSDA), called for wide-ranging reforms given the current "dark atmosphere" at the institution.

Suleymanov said he felt compelled to write his letter following revelations by the Brussels think tank The European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center (ESISC), which on Monday published a comprehensive report (http://www.esisc.org/publications/analyses/11791 )uncovering an "Armenian Connection" network inside PACE that "has led a merciless propaganda campaign against Azerbaijan to benefit Armenia".

"My country andI were at the receiving end of these attacks and anti-Azerbaijani collusion," Suleymanov said, detailing in his letter how a "patchwork of fact and fantasy spread well-prepared slander all over the international media, unfortunately causing irreparable damage to PACE."

In particular, he pointed out a Milan court decision, which decided not to bring any charges against Italian politician Luca Volonte, who had been investigated for allegedly accepting bribes by Azerbaijan. "All PACE members without exception should respect the Rule of Law, which includes respecting the clear decision by the Milan court, which dropped all charges of corruption," Suleymanov demanded.

He also noted the Legal Affairs Report on Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan by special rapporteur Christoph Strasser, which was rejected in January 2013 by a sizable majority of 125 against and 79 in favour. "Recently launched false corruption allegations claim that voting was influenced by so-called bribery," Suleymanov said, adding that this is "totally ridiculous", given the information that can still be reviewed in the minutes from all political group meetings.

"All members should show more respect to each other's political positions and should respect the free vote of each colleague, without pretending that one position is morally more superior than another," Suleymanov maintained. "We shouldn't always look back. Questioning voting results and voting behaviour by MPs is equal to questioning PACE itself. Our Assembly will get stronger through genuine cooperation, not through organised distrust."

Suleymanov further called for clarity on lobbying, if it should be prohibited or not, and whether donations to PACE-related NGOs should be allowed, which could compromise MPs cooperating with those NGOs. "PACE should not allow double-standards," his letter stated.

Suleymanov concluded by noting that "deliberately spreading false rumours of corruption is strongly undermining global credibility of the Assembly towards the outside world and new rules should urgently be adopted."
DUBAI, UAE, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Over 1,300 IT and security stakeholders gathered in Riyadh to advance discussions on collaboration, standardization and a unified approach to mitigate cyber threats.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/476100/GCC_Cyber_Security_Panel.jpg )



Under the endorsement of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the National Cyber Security Center NCSC, representative of Ministry of Interior, in partnership with Naseba organized the 2nd International Cyber Security Conference on February 27th and 28th 2017.

The conference was the largest gathering of IT and security professionals ever in the Kingdom focused on combating the rising cyber security threats in the Gulf region and beyond.

During the conference's official opening address, HRH Prince Dr. Bandar bin Abdullah Al Mishari Al Saud, Assistant Minister of Interior for Technology Affairs, highlighted the Kingdom's commitment to battling digital security threats, and that they are working hard to bring these people (hackers) to justice and fight this war against electronic threats.

The complexity of cyber security threats has increased significantly from the 1988 Morris Worm. Battling these threats, stated Prince Bandar, is a shared responsibility and called for collaboration amongst regional Governments, international experts and industry stakeholders.

As reported by AFP, Dr. Saleh Al Motairi, Director General, National Cyber Security Center Saudi Arabia highlighted "there is an increase in targeting GCC countries", noting that different government and private sectors have been targeted.

"If we cooperate we will be able to protect all sectors," he added, reporting that the NCSC responded to 124 "breaches" last year.

The conference agenda featured 74 Government officials and cyber security experts, representing a host of national cyber security programs such as Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Estonia, Malaysia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, and Oman and 46 international cyber security vendors, who were presenting the latest technologies to combat these threats.

Conrad prince, UK Cyber Security Ambassador, further emphasized the need for collaboration stating, "Governments need to tie-up to make cyber security policies common. The need to fight this cyberwar on a global scale is critical."



As noted by Prince Bandar, a successful cyber security combat plan requires the active participation of industry stakeholders. Exemplified through the participation of global oil and gas behemoth, Saudi Aramco as a national lead sponsor of the conference. Chief Information Security Officer of Saudi Aramco Abdulrahman Al-Muagle added that "the dynamic nature of the cyber security field and the culture of change the digital Information age is constantly introducing to the business and private environments are today two of the major challenges the cyber security teams have to contend with on a second by second basis. Collaboration and information sharing are key elements that can be very effective mitigation measures in the fight against cyber-attacks and adversaries. I strongly believe that this venue plays a major role in the success of our continued integrated efforts to mitigate the threats posed to our cyberspace. The collaboration of experts from multiple private, commercial and government sectors of our critical national infrastructure is key towards the success of the overall efforts to secure the kingdoms cyberspace."

In the closing remarks of the conference, Dr. Abbad M. AlAbbad, Executive Director of Strategy and Communications, National Cyber Security Center, Saudi Arabia highlighted key national recommendations and said "we need to find mechanisms to require government and private security organisations to establish cyber security standards. The need to fight this cyber war on a global scale is critical."

Among the cyber security vendors presenting their solutions and services to the participating delegates and buyers were global leaders Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Spire Solutions, Tahakum (TCC), Raytheon, Security Matterz, Advance Electronic Company (AEC), Attivo Networks, BT Al Saudia, Cisco, Fortinet, Huawei, Innovative Solutions, Kaspersky Labs, Phishme, Saeedurity, Smart Solutions Star, Darktrace, EY, IBM, Northrop Grumman, PaloAlto, PGI, RSA, Symantec, Tamkeen Technologies and Virtual Forge.

For further information, please contact: ICSC Team, +971-50-525-3862
MUNICH, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

With judgment of January 20, 2017 (docket number I-2 U 41/12), the Dusseldorf Court of Appeal in Germany has confirmed the infringement of YAG Patent EP 0 936 682 (DE 697 02 929) of Nichia Corporation ("Nichia") by Taiwanese LED manufacturer Harvatek Corporation ("Harvatek") concerning four accused white LED products.

Nichia had filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany at the Dusseldorf District Court (docket number 4a O 236/10) against Harvatek. The lawsuit at the District Court concerned Harvatek's white LED products "HT-V116TW", "HT-U158TW", "HT-P178TWU-PQPS-DG" and "HT-T169TW". With judgment of March 29, 2012, the Dusseldorf District Court confirmed Nichia's complaint and found for patent infringement by Harvatek with regard to all these LED products. The appeal against this judgment filed by Harvatek has been now fully dismissed by the Dusseldorf Court of Appeal.

The Dusseldorf Court of Appeal did not allow Harvatek for further appeal against this judgment. Nevertheless, there exists the option for Harvatek to ask the Federal Court of Justice to allow such further appeal.

Nichia seeks to protect its patents and other intellectual property rights and takes actions against alleged infringers in any country where appropriate and necessary.

Contact information:

Public Relations, Nichia Corporation

Tel:+81-884-22-2311

Fax:+81-884-23-7717
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2017) - Ashanti Gold Corp. (TSXV: AGZ) ("Ashanti" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a first set of results from its recent 20 hole, 2,000m reverse circulation drill program on the Anumso project, Ghana. Assays from seven of the twenty holes have been received and are consistent with previous drilling and support broader correlation of along strike and down-dip gold content from previous explorers. Ashanti's CEO Tim McCutcheon said "Ashanti filed a NI 43-101 report on Anumso in October 2016 and these first drill results are in line with the historic data in that report. Anumso has a historic gold resource of 250,000 ounces along 2 km of Banka conglomerate. Ashanti Gold is delighted with the results so far and is looking forward to the assay results from an additional 13 drill holes within the coming days."

Ashanti Gold's drill program was designed to verify and confirm gold mineralization as identified in historic drilling along 2.6 km of Banka conglomerate, the key gold-bearing stratigraphic unit of the Tarkwaian suite of rocks that overlie Birimian volcanic rocks of the Ashanti Belt, Ghana. Banka conglomerate consists of quartz pebbles and cobbles set in silt and mud matrix along with gold. This is the same rock unit that hosts the famous Tarkwa, Iduapriem, Teberebie, and Damang deposits approximately 135 km to the southwest where AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields Ltd are currently producing gold. As an analog to Anumso, the Tarkwa Gold Mine (owned and operated by Gold Fields) is considered relevant, in that (i) at the Tarkwa Gold Mine the reserve grade is approximately 1.3 g/t and the strip ratio is approximately 6:1 (as per Gold Fields Limited presentation "Analysts Site Visit" May 2015), however there can be no assurances that the reserve grade and strip ratio for Anumso will also be similar; (ii) many of the mineralised and economic conglomerate strata at Tarkwa are identified by Gold Fields as being up to three meters thick. As such, the known widths of gold mineralization at Anumso are similar to what is being commercially mined by Gold Fields at Tarkwa. One difference is the slope of the strata, where Anumso dips more steeply than at Tarkwa.

Ashanti Gold has undertaken this initial drill program to assess that portion of Banket strata which has been previously tested by historic exploration. This represents 2.6 km of a total of ~10km of strike length of Banket conglomerate occurring within the Anumso concession. The remaining portion of this strata is untested or incompletely tested with a few isolated historic drill holes. Ashanti Gold wishes to investigate further the opportunities posed by these rocks.

All samples were collected over 1 m intervals and were collected from dry cuttings. Samples were collected from the drill site and transported to the company's secure camp and preparation facility where they were split using a standard universal splitter into lab samples of approximately 2 kg. Remaining material is retained for later resampling or checking. Samples were transported by the company to ALS laboratories in Kumasi where they were prepared and assayed using standard 50g fire assay technique.

Drill hole from to interval Au (g/t) AGZ RC001 1 3 2 0.39 24 30 6 1.15 39 74 35 0.46 incl. 53 56 3 0.99 incl. 62 66 4 0.825 incl. 68 74 6 0.61 86 92 6 0.35 95 97 2 0.99 AGZ RC002 1 3 2 0.38 16 32 16 0.44 37 49 12 0.60 incl. 37 39 2 1.10 60 71 11 0.51 AGZ RC003 7 9 2 0.57 16 47 31 0.66 incl. 16 28 12 0.81 incl. 21 23 2 1.51 incl. 42 47 5 1.14 71 79 8 0.26 AGZ RC004 4 22 18 0.80 Incl. 4 12 8 1.46 incl. 4 6 2 4.44 30 47 17 0.64 incl. 30 34 4 1.84 53 57 4 0.29 AGZ RC005 4 7 3 0.87 29 35 6 2.11 38 72 34 0.64 45 50 5 1.31 66 70 4 1.38 78 79 1 1.05 83 87 4 0.40 AGZ RC008 12 13 1 2.62 23 26 3 0.57 32 44 12 0.80 incl. 32 34 2 1.41 63 66 3 0.40 AGZ RC012 16 19 3 0.30 30 34 4 0.42 40 62 22 0.58 incl. 40 48 8 0.70 incl. 46 48 2 1.13 Incl. 60 62 2 1.94 68 72 4 0.30 78 80 2 0.60

ABOUT ASHANTI GOLD

Ashanti is a gold-focused, exploration and development company with projects in the northern Ashanti Belt of Ghana and the Kinieba Belt of Mali. The Company targets projects where it has a competitive advantage due to past work experience of the team and specific project know-how.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

ASHANTI GOLD CORP.

"Tim McCutcheon"

Tim McCutcheon

CEO

For further information, please contact:

Ashanti Gold Corp.

2300 - 1177 West Hastings Street

Vancouver BC, V6E 2K3

Phone: 604-638-3847

Qualified Person

The information presented in this Press Release has been reviewed by Dr. Paul Klipfel CPG (AIPG certification #10821) of Mineral Resource Services Inc. and a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian NI 43-101. Dr. Klipfel is not an Independent Person, as he is a shareholder of AGZ.

Historical Data

The historical estimates of resources at Anumso were developed by Goldpat PLC; and are considered relevant by the Company. AGZ is advised that such estimates are compliant with JORC rules of disclosure, however the Company has not independently verified such data, the Company's qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources, the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance thereon.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - ReneSola Ltd (SOL) announced the company currently has approximately 335 MW of projects that are under construction and plans to construct over 550 MW in 2017. In the U.S., the company plans to construct 108 MW of projects in 2017, of which 70 MW are community solar projects. The projects are located in California, North Carolina and Minnesota. Xianshou Li, CEO of ReneSola, said: 'We now anticipate fewer external module shipments in the first quarter of 2017 as we had redirected more module sales to our own downstream projects. That said, we expect project sales to pick up in the second quarter. Overall, we remain optimistic about our project development business. We continue to gain traction in the domestic Chinese distributed generation market.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LONDON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Every woman in the world of work is encouraged to become a Modern Muse for International Women's Day (Wednesday 8 March) by uploading their profile at http://www.modernmuse.org. A ground-breaking online platform designed to inspire and engage the next generation of female business leaders has launched at the House of Commons with the support of everywoman, BP and Microsoft. Charity Modern Muse will tap into the passions and aspirations of young women everywhere as they prepare for the world of work.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/476105/Modern_Muse.jpg )



Girls from all backgrounds are given access to women across a range of sectors who share the stories of their careers and the subject choices they made to get where they are now. The Muses' insight will help guide the girls to explore careers they may never had considered or even knew existed. Originally founded by everywoman in 2010, Modern Muse was launched in response to one central concern: that girls are not getting access to a diverse range of role models and in turn are unaware of the wealth of career opportunities available to them.

Speaking at the launch event on 1 March 2017 at the House of Commons, Minister for Women, Equalities and Early Years, Caroline Dinenage said: "This Government believes that no woman should be held back from achieving her dreams simply because of her gender. Britain is among the top ten countries in the world to be a female entrepreneur and it's so important that we maintain this momentum for the next generation. That's why I'm pleased to support the new Modern Muse website, which will inspire, educate and support girls across the country to fulfil their career goals."

Karen Gill MBE and Maxine Benson MBE, Founders of everywoman and Modern Muse, commented: "After 17 years of working with women of all ages, from all social and educational backgrounds, we recognise that every working woman needs a role model they can relate to. The rich variety of experiences profiled on Modern Muse will give girls the tools to make that important first step in their career - and ensure parents and teachers know what is required to get them there.

"We'd like to see every girl, more informed, inspired, connected, empowered to achieve the career of her dreams. Modern Muse's vision is to change lives through knowledge; by being the hub for career inspiration and advice."

Jake Attfield, HR Director for T-Systems, a Modern Muse partner said: "As an innovative technology company, T-Systems' recognises the importance of being a diverse, inclusive and socially aware organisation. We have a number of extremely talented women who would love to share their experience and knowledge with the younger generation and what better way to this than through Modern Muse. We want to demonstrate the wide variety of routes our people have taken to get to where they are and the huge range of options available to girls looking at IT and technology as a future profession.

"We are really excited to be part of this initiative and think the platform will be a really powerful tool to give the next generation the inspiration and role models they need for a career in technology."

The launch has been welcomed by teachers and pupils as well as business leaders.BP took the lead in transforming Modern Muse into an online platform and Microsoft has taken the baton as Modern Muse's lead technology partner.

Josephine Valentine BSc PhD, Executive Headteacher, St Clement Danes School said:

"I am delighted to be an ambassador for Modern Muse and pleased to be supporting a movement which supports young women in becoming life-long performers in their chosen fields. It is a great opportunity to be a part of an organisation which seeks to empower young women to develop the skills and confidence to achieve highly once they finish their school careers. Through the inspiration of other women and practical opportunities for work experience, I hope Modern Muse will become a powerful tool for young women for decades to come."

Christina Singh, Headteacher, Nascot Wood Junior School said:

"As the Mother of a recent graduate, I know that my daughter would have benefitted from engaging with this platform at school, to inform her choices at GCSE, A level and University. This would have provided her with the opportunity to ask questions and seek advice about career options for women. As a Headteacher, I am passionate about creating a culture of high aspiration and academic success for girls, ensuring that they are properly equipped and confident to enter the world of work."

Organisations big and small are invited to demonstrate their support for inspiring the next generationby becoming Corporate Partners of the Modern Muse project.

NOTES TO EDITORS

While the Modern Muse platform is aimed at girls aged 8 upwards, individual users must be at least 11 years old. Those aged 8 to 10 are encouraged to use the platform with the support and supervision of their parents or guardians. You can follow Modern Muse on Twitter @ewModernMuse.

Jacky Wright, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft, commented: "Recent research by Microsoft revealed that while most young girls are attracted to STEM subjects around the age of 11, their interest drops off sharply at secondary school, and they are also looking for better access to role models. Microsoft is committed to ensuring girls stay in STEM education. More than just a technology partner for the platform, girls from Microsoft's DigiGirlz initiative were invited to put forward ideas for site features and usability to ensure the platform is one for girls, created by girls. Girls will be able to connect with female Microsoft muses from across the business, providing them with vital access to real world STEM role models and the myriad of opportunities a career in technology can offer."

Ed Alford, Vice President Business Application Services at BP, commented: "BP is proud to work with Modern Muse, helping both to expand this inspirational programme and to provide role models from right across our business. The job market is changing and through programmes like Modern Muse, we believe that we can help to unlock the potential of young women and encourage them to pursue rewarding careers in STEM. Ensuring a strong and diverse talent pool, now and in the future, is not only important for our continued success, but it's important for the wider economy."

About Modern Muse

Modern Muse informs girls and young women about the working world. They use the site to get career inspiration and advice from Muses and the companies they work for. Muses are women from a variety of backgrounds who share an insider's view of their day-to-day work lives.

Through Modern Muse the girls can explore subject choices and where those choices may lead. The Modern Muse platform provides them with:

An insight into the Muses' responsibilities, career paths, and the subjects they studied

A view of what it's like to work where the Muses work

A one-stop shop for career opportunities at a variety of companies

Modern Muse's vision is to change lives through knowledge; by being the hub for career inspiration and advice.

http://www.modernmuse.org - every girl: informed, inspired, connected, empowered

About T-Systems

As one of the leading global ICT service providers, T-Systems supplies integrated solutions for business customers.

These solutions are based on global offerings in fixed-network and mobile communications, highly secure data centers, a unique cloud infrastructure built around standardised platforms and global partnerships, and top security in line with Germany's strict data protection regulations in response to customer demand.

T-Systems has a footprint in more than 20 countries, 46,000 employees, and external revenue of 73.1 billion euros (2016).

Alongside traditional ICT services, T-Systems' portfolio also offers cloud access, custom infrastructure, and platforms and software from the cloud, as well as innovative projects in promising new business areas such as big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and Industry 4.0.

For more information, please visit http://www.t-systems.co.uk/
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- The City of Huntsville, Downtown Huntsville and Zagster, Inc. today launched Downtown BlueBikes presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, a bike share program that will provide all Huntsville residents and visitors with a convenient, affordable and healthy way to get around town.

Starting today, 40 cruiser bikes will be available at six stations for members to use for on-demand, local trips. Riders can pay by the hour, or join the program by signing up for monthly or annual memberships. Rides for members -- who must be 18 or older -- are free for the first hour, and then three dollars per hour after that.

"This program offers convenience, and that is great for residents and an added perk for visitors," said Mayor Tommy Battle. "Bicycles make it easy for people to experience the best of Huntsville from the ground up."

Downtown BlueBikes delivers a full-scale bike share to the entire Huntsville community -- all without using any public funds. That unique feature is made possible by a community partnership, facilitated by Downtown Huntsville and Zagster, that includes lead funding from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and supplemental funding from Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Alabama, Crestwood Medical Center, Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Huntsville Committee of 100, SportsMED and Alabama Colon & Gastro.

"We are committed to helping build healthier communities," said Koko Mackin, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Community Relations, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. "Downtown BlueBikes will provide workers, residents and visitors a new and easy way to get around and enjoy the city."

Downtown BlueBikes represents a milestone for Zagster as the company's first program in Alabama.

What's more, the program is one of the first in the nation to receive Zagster's proprietary new technology platform, which features a Bluetooth-enabled ring lock -- the first of its kind in North American bike sharing. By directly integrating the Bluetooth lock with riders' phones through a forthcoming update to the Zagster app, Zagster bikes will be available at the touch of a button, a key benefit for today's mobile-first riders. And because there are no detachable pieces that could be misplaced or misused, the platform offers the most streamlined and convenient experience available.

Unlike other programs in which riders must drop off bikes at designated stations for every stop, Zagster's programs give users the freedom to ride as long as they want, wherever they want. And because Zagster manages all aspects of its programs -- from bikes and technology, to maintenance and marketing -- Zagster partners can create and deploy scalable bike share systems that best suit their communities.

"The new Downtown Huntsville bike share program will provide residents and guests with a fun, healthy and easy way to explore our great city center and surrounding neighborhoods," said Chad Emerson, President & CEO of Downtown Huntsville.

Riding Downtown BlueBikes is easy. Bikes can be found via the free Zagster Mobile App -- available for iPhone and Android -- or online at zagster.com/downtownhuntsville. Each bike has a unique number which riders use in the app to disengage the ring lock and docking cable. (Alternatively, riders can obtain unlock codes via text message to use with an on-bike keypad.) A retractable cable mounted to the bike allows the bike to be secured to any fixed object throughout a trip for mid-ride stops. After the rider returns the bike to a designated Zagster bike station, the rental ends, and the bike is available for the next person to enjoy.

Downtown Blue Bikes features the Zagster 8, an award-winning bike known for its practical design, comfortable ride and easy handling. The bike also includes a spacious basket that's perfect for carrying groceries, takeout or personal belongings. And because rider safety is a priority, every bike includes automatic lights, a bell and full reflectors.

About Zagster

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Zagster is the leading provider of private and public-private bike-sharing systems in the United States, operating more than 140 programs in more than 30 states. Its highly efficient business model allows the company to successfully deploy programs in multiple markets, including cities, suburbs, universities, corporate campuses, and commercial and residential properties. The company's goal: To make the bike the most loved form of transportation.

More information about Zagster and its programs can be found at www.zagster.com

About Downtown Huntsville

Downtown Huntsville, Inc. is responsible for the revitalization of Downtown Huntsville through unique events, interesting promotions, and dynamic new and redeveloped properties.

Media contact for Zagster

Jon Terbush

Zagster communications manager

617.681.4914

Email Contact



Media Contact for Downtown Huntsville

Chad Emerson

President & CEO

256.701.0818

Email Contact




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Highlights:

-- Akwasiso drilling campaign underway to upgrade 3.85 million tonnes of Inferred Resources containing 193,000 ounces of gold to an Indicated classification -- Significant intersections received for Akwasiso drilling, including: -- 7 metres at 13.05 g/t gold -- 11 metres at 3.21 g/t gold -- 54 metres at 1.70 g/t gold -- 33 metres at 1.50 g/t gold -- Akwasiso deposit is situated on a current mining lease and supplementary permitting is expected to be complete in H2 2017 -- Project 5 Million under construction and expected to be completed a quarter ahead of schedule -- Expansion capital costs are fully funded from current internal resources and cash generated from operations

Asanko Gold Inc. ("Asanko" or the "Company") (TSX: AKG)(NYSE MKT: AKG) is pleased to announce positive initial results from the Akwasiso drilling campaign, which is currently underway targeting an upgrade of 3.85 million tonnes ("Mt") of Inferred Resources containing 193,000 ounces of gold to an Indicated classification.

Akwasiso is a large scale satellite deposit located 5 kilometers north east of the processing facility, which is in the process of being upgraded to increase throughputs from 3.6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 5Mtpa. The plant upgrade, "Project 5 Million", is tracking well ahead of schedule and expected to be completed and ready for commissioning at the beginning of Q4 2017. The project's capital costs, including the opening up of Esaase and the installation of the overland conveyor belt over the next two years, is fully funded from existing cash resources and cash generated from operations over this period. Project 5 Million is expected to further increase gold production in 2018 as well as lower All-in sustaining costs ("AISC").

Mining of the Akwasiso deposit is expected to commence during 2018 to augment mill feed from both the Nkran and Dynamite Hill pits, providing mining flexibility in anticipation of the commissioning of the Esaase pit and overland conveyor in H2 2018. The Akwasiso incremental, at surface oxide ounces are expected to have a lower cost profile than the current Nkran operations, thereby contributing to lowering AISC in 2018. The Akwasiso deposit is on an existing mining permit and only requires a supplementary permit application, which is well advanced. Asanko anticipates receiving full permits for Akwasiso in H2 2017.

Peter Breese, President and CEO, commented, "The results received so far from the Akwasiso infill drilling program support a significant upgrade of Inferred resources to the Indicated classification. These near-surface, incremental oxide ores are cheap to mine and process and will form part of the 2018 mine plan, along with Nkran and Dynamite Hill, to supply 5Mtpa of ore to the processing plant once the plant upgrades have been completed. The plant upgrades, which will be funded from internal cash resources, are currently tracking well ahead of schedule and we expect hot commissioning to commence early in Q4 2017.

Since we received the more conservative resource model for Nkran, which we published in February 2017, Asanko has now embarked on a pit optimization process to establish the optimal NPV for all eleven pits making up the Asanko Gold Mine Mineral Reserve base. This optimization will be included in the new feasibility study that is due for publication in Q2 2017."

The infill drilling campaign is close to completion, with 4,437 meters of the planned total of 4,800 meters drilled. Intersections are shown in Table 1 (refer to the Appendices at the end of this release), and highlights include a number of 30-50m mineralized zones evident in boreholes 016 and 018, as well as high grade intercepts. Upon receipt of all assays, the Akwasiso Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") will be revised and an updated pit design will be completed. Two cross sections showing key intercepts are also included in the Appendices.

Akwasiso is a satellite deposit which was acquired in Q3 2016 and is situated within the Nkran Shear corridor five kilometers north east of the Nkran Pit. The deposit shows similar geological characteristics to Nkran, with at least three mineralized structures within a sandstone-siltstone sequence and an intrusive granite which hosts shallow dipping quartz veining.

A successful drilling program in Q4 2016 delineated an initial MRE which was published on February 24, 2017 as part of the updated Global Mineral Resource and Reserve Statement for the Asanko Gold Mine.

Table 2: Akwasiso Mineral Resource Estimate, as at December 31, 2016

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cut-off grade 0.5 g/t Au Tonnes Mt Grade g/t Au Moz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indicated 4.61 1.20 0.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Measured and Indicated 4.61 1.20 0.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Inferred 3.85 1.56 0.19 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qualified Persons Statements

Phil Bentley, Asanko Executive: Geology and Resources (Pr.Sci.Nat.) is the Asanko Qualified Person under NI 43-101 guidelines who assumes technical responsibility for Mineral Resource contents of this news release. The December 2016 MRE for Akwasiso was prepared by Charles J. Muller, B.Sc. Geology (Hons), PR.Sci.Nat., MGSSA, a Director of CJM Consulting Pty Ltd. ("CJM") of Johannesburg, South Africa. The MRE is reported in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 requirements and the South African Code of Reporting of Exploration Results (SAMREC), which is consistent with the CIM Estimation Best Practice Guidelines in Canada.

Enquiries:

For further information please visit: www.asanko.com or email: info@asanko.com.

About Asanko Gold Inc.

Asanko's vision is to become a mid-tier gold mining company that maximizes value for all its stakeholders. The Company's flagship project is the multi-million ounce Asanko Gold Mine located in Ghana, West Africa. The mine is being developed in phases. Phase 1 commenced gold production in January 2016 and declared commercial production on April 1, 2016. Ramp-up to steady state production was achieved in Q2 2016.

Asanko is managed by highly skilled and successful technical, operational and financial professionals. The Company is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighbouring communities.

Forward-Looking and other Cautionary Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals, possible future mining, exploration and development activities, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices for metals, the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses, the timely renewal of key permits, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, mining rates and recovery rates and the lack of availability of necessary capital, which may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to it or at all. The Company is subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note to US Investors Regarding Mineral Reporting Standards:

Asanko has prepared its disclosure in accordance with the requirements of securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of US securities laws. Terms relating to mineral resources in this press release are defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects under the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. Asanko uses certain terms, such as, "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources", "inferred mineral resources" and "probable mineral reserves", that the SEC does not recognize (these terms may be used in this press release and are included in the public filings of Asanko which have been filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in Canada).

Appendices to News Release dated March 8, 2017

Please click here to view 2 cross sections from the Akwasiso Infill Drilling: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1088200m1.pdf.

Please click here to view Table 1: Akwasiso Infill Drilling Campaign - Results received to date, March 8, 2017: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1088200t1.pdf.

Contacts:

Asanko Gold Inc.

Alex Buck

Manager, Investor and Media Relations

Toll-Free (N. America): 1-855-246-7341

+44-7932-740-452

alex.buck@asanko.com



Asanko Gold Inc.

Wayne Drier

Executive, Corporate Development

+1-778-729-0614

wayne.drier@asanko.com

www.asanko.com




WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE MKT: PZG) ("Paramount") announced today that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") governing the preparation of a National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") Analysis for its wholly-owned Grassy Mountain Gold Project in Oregon.

The MOU is a signed agreement among the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM"), the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries ("DOGAMI") and Calico Resources USA Corp. ("Calico"), a 100% owned subsidiary of Paramount.

Paramount intends to construct an underground mine and process facilities on both private and public land for its Grassy Mountain Gold Project. The BLM has determined that an Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") is required for the project. The BLM has chosen HDR Inc. ("HDR"), an international engineering and environmental consulting firm based in Omaha, Nebraska with an office in Boise, Idaho, to conduct and complete the EIS under its direction.

The MOU:

-- Designates DOGAMI as a Cooperating Agency in the EIS process; -- Establishes a framework for cooperation and coordination between DOGAMI, Calico, the BLM, and HDR regarding their respective responsibilities, jurisdictional authorities, conditions, and procedures to be followed during the preparation of the EIS, thereby ensuring successful completion of the EIS in a timely, efficient, and thorough manner; -- Recognizes that the BLM is the lead agency with responsibility for the completion of the EIS and the Record of Decision; -- Identifies and where possible coordinates similar or overlapping state and federal requirements including baseline investigation, analysis of environmental impacts related to the project, and financial responsibility requirements; and -- Identifies the scope and limitations of information sharing between and among the BLM, DOGAMI, Calico, and HDR.

With an executed MOU, Paramount may now submit its proposed Plan of Operation to the BLM, which will trigger the initiation of the Environmental Impact Statement by the BLM. Paramount expects the BLM will direct HDR to commence the EIS by mid-2017 using the environmental data compiled over the past three years which has been reviewed and accepted by the DOGAMI.

Paramount is advancing the mine facility layout under its ongoing Pre-feasibility Study work. Following completion of all required activities, Paramount expects to file with the DOGAMI, the Consolidated Application Plan in early 2018.

Glen van Treek Paramount CEO commented: "This agreement is a major step forward for Paramount and the State of Oregon. It speaks to the level of co-operation which has developed between our Company and the regulators. The integration of federal and state approval processes and the harmonizing of regulatory requirements are critical achievements. This MOU is the first of its kind for a mining project in Oregon and it represents Paramount's commitment to advance the Grassy Mountain Project in a professional and environmentally safe manner".

NI 43-101 Disclosure

Richard Delong of EM Strategies Inc., Paramount's lead Environmental and Permitting consultant is an Environmental Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. DeLong has reviewed and approved this release.

About Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Paramount Gold Nevada is a U.S. based precious metals exploration company. Paramount has a high ratio of ounces of gold in mineral inventory to shares outstanding, providing its shareholders with exceptional leverage to the gold price. For our mineral inventory, click here.

Paramount holds a 100% working interest in the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 9,300 acres located on private and BLM land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain project contains a gold-silver deposit (100% located on private land) for which a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") has been prepared and key permitting milestones accomplished. For the PEA, click here. Additionally, Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares).

Paramount's strategy is to create shareholder value through exploring and developing its mineral properties and to realize this value for its shareholders in three ways: by selling its assets to established producers; entering into joint ventures with producers for construction and operation; or constructing and operating mines for its own account.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Estimates of Indicated and Inferred Resources

This news release uses the terms "measured and indicated resources" and "inferred resources". We advise U.S. investors that while these terms are defined in, and permitted by, Canadian regulations, these terms are not defined terms under SEC Industry Guide 7 and not normally permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. "Inferred resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility studies, except in rare cases. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves", as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in this category will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of an inferred resource exists or is economically or legally minable.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

This release and related documents may include "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") pursuant to applicable United States and Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analyses and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Management believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the completion of a PFS; the quantity and grade of resources included in resource estimates; the accuracy and achievability of projections included in PEAs; Paramount's ability to carry on exploration and development activities, including construction; the timely receipt of required approvals; the price of silver, gold and other metals; prices for key mining supplies, including labor costs and consumables, remaining consistent with current expectations; work meeting expectations and being consistent with estimates and plant, equipment and processes operating as anticipated. Paramount's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: uncertainties involving interpretation of drilling results, environmental matters, lack of ability to obtain required permitting, equipment breakdown or disruptions, and the other factors described in Paramount's disclosures as filed with the SEC and the Ontario Securities Commission.

Except as required by applicable law, Paramount disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document.

Contacts:

Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Glen Van Treek

President, CEO and Director

866-481-2233



Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Christos Theodossiou

Director of Corporate Communications

866-481-2233




8 March 2017

INDIGO HOLDINGS PLC

("Indigo" or the "Company")

Investment in Net Tejarat Ahoura Company

Indigo Holdings plc (NEX: INGO), the Middle East focused Investment Company that provides investors with exposure to early stage businesses, has invested 375,587 (approximately 320,000) in Net Tejarat Ahoura Company ("Net Tejarat), which owns 100% of the issued share capital of Sheypoor, a leading Iranian online classifieds marketplace.

Indigo has acquired a 1.09% stake in Net Tejarat pursuant to an Assignment Agreement dated 6 March 2017 with, amongst others, Turquoise Group Limited ("Turquoise Group"). Pursuant to this agreement, Turquoise has assigned its rights over the 1.09% interest in Net Tejerat to Indigo in return for Indigo assuming Turquoise's commitment to provide an interest free loan of 375,587 to Net Tejerat.

Turquoise acquired its interest in Net Tejerat via a Series D Fundraising round which valued Sheypoor at approximately 34,000,000 (approximately 29,000,000). Details of Turquoise Group are in the Related Party Transaction paragraph below.

Sheypoor, founded in 2012, has been active in creating a convenient one-stop destination for all Iranians to buy, sell and search for goods and services quickly, easily, and free of charge. Sheypoor has grown rapidly to become one of Iran's leading websites and mobile applications.

Reza Arbabian, CEO of Sheypoor said: "We are delighted to have a professional investor such as Indigo joining our shareholding structure. With the support of our investors and our first-rate team, Sheypoor aims to continue its remarkable growth to become the number one general classifieds platform for Iran."

The value of Iran's internet companies currently account for just 0.04% of the country's GDP, far behind other countries with similar dynamics.

Related Party Transaction

Following completion of the Series D round referred to above, Rouzbeh Pirouz and Ramin Rabii own 12.47% and 19.75% respectively of the issued share capital of Net Tejarat. Rouzbeh Pirouz and Ramin Rabii also own 100% of Turquoise Group, which itself owns 32.13% of the issued share capital of the Company. Rouzbeh Pirouz and Ramin Rabii also own 3.21% and 10.94% of the Company's issued share capital respectively. Pursuant to the NEX Exchange Growth Market Rules for Issuers, the transaction with Turquoise Group constitutes a related party transaction. Hamish Harris, the Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company, considers that the terms of the transaction between the Company and Turquoise Group and the associated loan to Net Tejerat are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.

Indigo's investment in Sheypoor follows its acquisition last month of a 5% stake in the Iranian car ride-sharing app, Carvanro, by investing in its Series A Fundraising round. Carvanro is a car ride-sharing marketplace aggregator connecting drivers and passengers wishing to share journeys, similar to that of Europe's BlaBlaCar which was recently valued at $1.3bln.

Indigo Non-Executive Chairman Nick Harwood sees strong growth potential in e-commerce in Iran:

"With a population of 80 million people, 70% of whom are young and with a mobile internet and banking penetration rates at par with developed markets, Iran is the largest untapped E- commerce market in the Middle East. We aim to benefit from its impressive growth potentials in the coming years at Indigo.

Indigo aims to provide foreign investors with easy access and exposure to an exciting young consumer internet sector, which is underpinned by an incredibly attractive demographic.

Commenting on the latest acquisition, Eddie Kerman, Executive Director of Indigo Holdings, said:

"I am very pleased to be able to announce our second investment in as many weeks, which also comes less than a month after our successful admission to the NEX Exchange Growth Market. Sheypoor fits perfectly with Indigo's investment strategy as a leading e-commerce platform with huge growth potential. The platform is growing in popularity having seen a nine-fold increase in page views in less than two years. The team at Sheypoor are technologically capable and have developed a fantastic platform known for its user-friendly design and interface and its fast responsiveness."

We believe that Iran is one of the world's largest untapped e-commerce markets in the world, undergoing a digital revolution which is on track to transform the business landscape with internet and mobile penetration rates comparable with developed countries. The start-up scene in Iran is vibrant with the country seen by some analysts as the next India and China in terms of numbers of new companies being launched. Growing numbers of consumers are getting more used to shopping online with the culture of convenience becoming dominant as shoppers battle traffic and time constraints.

The Iranian government is increasing its support to mobile operators and has granted 3G and 4G licenses to all mobile operators since September 2014. By 2020 the government aims to provide 80% of households with internet access".

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this announcement.

For further information please contact:

The Company

Indigo Holdings plc

Eddie Kerman +44 (0) 20 7493 0412 NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser

Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited

Guy Miller and Mark Anwyl +44 (0) 20 7469 0930 Financial PR

Yellow Jersey PR

Charles Goodwin/Joe Burgess +44 (0) 7747 788 221

About Indigo Holdings plc:

Indigo Holdings is an Isle of Man incorporated investment Company targeting opportunities in the Frontier Markets of the Middle East. The region represents an exciting investment jurisdiction given recent political developments, both internally and externally, and also its considerably advantageous geographic location.

Initially concentrating on the fast-growing Technology, Consumer and Financial Services sectors, the Company is focussed on helping early stage businesses with huge growth opportunities to reach their potential and to provide significant shareholder returns. The strong background of the management team in these sectors, combined with their established business network in the region will help Indigo to identify the best possible investment opportunities.

Indigo Holdings is perfectly placed to grant UK investors unique exposure to the Middle East's renewed economic and political trajectory.
Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, today announced that it has become a member of the LoRa Alliance, one of the fastest growing Internet of Things (IoT) alliances with over 400 members. This membership will help Wipro accelerate its Internet of Things (IoT) solution deployments, using Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) technology for customers across industry sectors such as energy, utilities, natural resources, smart cities, ports, and logistics.

The LoRa Alliance is an open, non-profit association, with a mission to standardize the deployment of LPWAN technology across the world to enable IoT, machine-to-machine (M2M), smart city, and industrial applications. It was formed in 2015 by technology industry leaders, including Cisco, Semtech, IBM, and telecommunications majors.

The LoRa Alliance defines and drives the Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWANTM) technology. LoRaWANTM is an LPWAN specification intended for wireless battery operated devices in a regional, national or global network. It provides seamless interoperability among smart devices without the need for complex local network installations, and empowers users, developers, and businesses, enabling the seamless rollout of IoT solutions.

Anita Ganti, Senior Vice-President and Global Head, Product Engineering Services, Wipro Limited said, "We are delighted to join the LoRa Alliance. This alliance will help Wipro to deploy IoT solutions using LoRaWAN technology. LoRaWAN and LPWAN play a critical role by creating both public and private networks, which are essential for successful IoT deployments. The ease of installation of the LoRaWAN network, in licensed exempt spectrum, will help us in solving connected engineering challenges to ensure uninterrupted connectivity for our customers across the globe."

Jayraj Nair, Vice-President and Global Head IoT, Wipro Limited said, "We support the mission to standardize Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) being deployed around the world to enable Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M), smart city, and industrial applications. We are excited about LoRaWAN optimized power management, which will enable broad deployment of IoT solutions with smaller payloads."

"Wipro's proven system integration capabilities can enable adoption of LoRaWAN technology for IoT. Wipro has already demonstrated its leadership in the adoption of LoRaWAN technology by enabling smart ports and mines in India," said Geoff Mulligan, Chairman, LoRa Alliance. "Joining the LoRa Alliance will help Wipro to generate value for IoT market participants by being part of our large ecosystem, enable them to get closer to their customers and introduce new connectivity-enabled services."

About Wipro Limited

Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading information technology, consulting and business process services company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology." By combining digital strategy, customer centric design, advanced analytics and product engineering approach, Wipro helps its clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, Wipro has a dedicated workforce of over 170,000, serving clients across 6 continents. For more information, please visit www.wipro.com.

About the LoRa Alliance

The LoRa Alliance is an open, non-profit association that has grown to more than 400 members since its inception in March 2015, becoming one of the largest and fastest growing alliances in the technology sector. Its members are closely collaborating and sharing their experience to promote the LoRaWAN protocol as the leading open global standard for secure, carrier-grade IoT LPWA connectivity. With the technical flexibility to address multiple IoT applications, both static and mobile, and a certification program to guarantee interoperability, the LoRaWAN is already being deployed globally by major mobile network operators and is anticipated to widely expand in 2017.

About LoRaWAN

The technology utilized in a LoRaWAN network is designed to connect low-cost, battery-operated sensors over long distances in harsh environments that were previously too challenging or cost prohibitive to connect. With its unique penetration capability, a LoRaWAN gateway deployed on a building or tower can connect to sensors more than 10 miles away or to water meters deployed underground or in basements. The LoRaWAN protocol offers unique and unequaled benefits in terms of bi-directionality, security, mobility and accurate localization that are not addressed by other LPWAN technologies. These benefits will enable the diverse use cases and business models that will enable deployments of large-scale LPWAN IoT networks globally.

Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005616/en/

Contacts:

Wipro Limited

Sandhya Sutodia

Sandhya.sutodia@wipro.com
LONDON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

HubSpot Certified Platinum Partner extends international reach, bringing Inbound Marketing experience to UK & US companies in Asia Pacific

London-based Inbound Marketing consultancy and HubSpot Certified Platinum Partner, The B2B Marketing Laboratory (www.b2bml.com), today announces the opening of its new office in Singapore. The expansion is to support international customers in the Asia-Pacific region and to extend its operational reach.

Founded in 2012, as part of the itpr Group, the company has continued to grow significantly, acquiring a portfolio of international clients that require expert digital marketing support, consultancy and training.

To facilitate its growth, provide continuous, around-the-clock support for international clients, and scale up operational activity, The B2B Marketing Lab has opened a new office in Singapore, located in the Marina Bay Financial Centre at Tower 1, Asia Square.

Heading up The B2B Marketing Lab's Singapore office to support this new business activity, are two, highly experienced female executives. The first is ex-Motorola Mobility, Asia-Pacific marketing lead, Georgiana Verdonk Sim, who will take the role of Vice President, Asia. Georgiana has extensive experience working in and across all three continents in various business roles, including time spent with Motorola Solutions in Singapore, the UK and Chicago, IL. She will work with The B2B Marketing Lab's Managing Director, Verity Dearsley, who runs the London office and has spearheaded the company's growth over the past five years. Verity will continue to oversee the day-to-day marketing, consulting programmes and client support from the London office.

The B2B Marketing Lab's Managing Director, Verity Dearsley,comments: "Our expansion to Singapore not only puts us in an exceptional position where we can provide continuous around-the-clock support to our international clients, but also allows us to generate new business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. And, with Georgiana's extensive experience in marketing and technology, as well as her understanding of business in APAC, we now have the capability and capacity to deliver a more robust and dynamic international service."

Georgiana Verdonk Sim, Vice President, Asia, comments: "With The B2B Marketing Lab now operating in both London and Singapore, we can readily deliver ongoing, 24/7 support for our current international clients. In addition, our presence in the Asia-Pacific region will enable us to develop new business activity and continue to grow the organisation across the continents."

About The B2B Marketing Lab - www.b2bml.com

The B2B Marketing Lab is an international Inbound Marketing consultancy and the only HubSpot Certified Platinum Partner to be based in London, UK. Founded in 2012 as part of the itprgroup, the business has grown exponentially - and helps B2B organisations to transform their digital marketing strategy through Inbound Marketing and HubSpot. The B2B Marketing Lab provides services and consultancy in lead generation, content marketing, lead nurturing, website design & build, and demand generation services and its offices are located in London and Singapore. The B2B Marketing Lab is 100% Inbound, 1,000% HubSpot!

For more information, please visit:

itpr"

http://www.itpr.co.uk/

The B2B Marketing Lab

http://www.b2bml.com

The B2B Marketing Lab

http://www.b2bml.com.sg

For enquiries please contact:

E: info@b2bml.com




PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Distribution and outsourcing Group Bunzl Plc (BZLFY.PK, BNZL.L) said it has made a binding offer for the acquisition of a group of businesses in France and has also purchased a marketing services business in the UK.



Bunzl noted that Hedis, which trades through a number of subsidiaries across France, is engaged in the sale and distribution of cleaning & hygiene related products to a variety of end user customers, principally in the public, healthcare, foodservice and cleaning sectors, as well as to some redistributors.



Two other businesses, Comptoir de Bretagne and Generale Collectivites, distribute light catering equipment and tableware to a similar fragmented customer base in France.



In 2016 the aggregate revenue for these businesses to be acquired by Bunzl was 155 million euros, of which 131 million euros related to Hedis and 24 million euros related to Comptoir de Bretagne and Generale Collectivites.



If acquired, Bunzl expects to realize a number of synergies, principally from purchasing savings.



The company expects that the final sale and purchase documentation would be entered into and completion of the acquisition would take place towards the end of the year, subject to the approval of the transaction by the French competition authorities.



Bunzl also said it has recently acquired Pixel Inspiration, a marketing services business in the UK that specializes in the digital signage sector.



In addition to providing project based installations for multi-site retailers and financial institutions, Pixel is engaged in the provision of management and consultancy services related to the usage of such installations. The company's revenue in 2016 was 7 million pounds.



So far this year, Bunzl has acquired, or agreed in principle to acquire, 10 businesses for a total committed spend of approximately 530 million pounds.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Zen Technologies, Inc. (Zen), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The CHRON Organization, Inc. (OTC: CHRO), announced today that it has entered into the first stage in a partnership agreement with three of the nation's leading hotel franchisers. The group is led by the Houston-based, Ameristar Hospitality Group and represents more than 300 hotels owned between the three groups. The plan is to offer and implement the Zen Zero-Cost Program to the three hotel groups, who collectively own more than 300 hotels. The first stage commenced this week and includes the implementation of Zen's products and services for a pre-selected 10 hotels. This first group will serve as a case study and help to generate marketing materials that will be useful in further targeting the hospitality industry.

The hotels range in size from 50 rooms, to as many as 500 rooms, with the majority falling into the latter range. Some of the solutions Zen provides include smart thermostats, motor controls, LED lighting and ozone-water treatments systems, to name a few. One case study by EcoTex showed that the implementation of the ozone water treatment system achieved more than 30 percent in annual savings of laundry expenses, one of the largest expenses in the industry. Smart controls are especially beneficial to the hospitality industry because unlike in the average commercial business, hotel management cannot control how much energy is used in each individual room.

"Based on the first few site surveys we've conducted, we're estimating that we will be able to save these hotels between 30 and 40 percent of their annual utility costs," said Zen VP of Business Development, Jeff-Bay Andersen. "These groups have done business both nationally and worldwide and we are so excited to have them as partners moving forward."

According to Energy Star, the hospitality industry spends more than $7.5 billion on energy annually and reducing usage by a little as 10 percent across the industry could not only save $750 million, but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 million tons. Through this strategic partnership with Zen and the Zero-Cost Program, hotels can capitalize on energy savings simply through the installation of LED lighting, occupancy sensors, attachable motor controls and more all without paying anything out-of-pocket or incurring any new liabilities to balance sheets.

"Energy efficiency is something that has long plagued the hospitality industry, however it was not until we discovered Zen that we found a turn-key solution that would allow us to save money without inconveniencing any of our guests," said Ameristar President Michael Usadayan. "We are so thrilled to have found a group like Zen that shares our vision of smarter, greener solutions."

In April, both Bay-Andersen and CHRON CEO Alex Rodriguez will be attending a trade show in San Antonio hosted by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, one of the fastest-growing organizations in the hospitality industry. Owners representing more than 20,000 hotels will be in attendance and Zen's management team is very much looking forward to this event, as well as attending similar trade shows in the future to establish a presence in the hospitality industry.

"This is a major client for us and what excites me most about the Zero Cost Program is the mutually rewarding nature of the transaction," Rodriguez commented. "The client wins by significantly reducing their operating expenses at zero cost, Zen of course wins through the revenues associated with this powerful offering -- and of course, the environment wins big through the decreased use of electricity, natural gas and water."

This also will provide synergistic opportunities for Enertrade Electric, LLC, the Company's Retail Electric Provider, to offer advanced commercial electricity monthly service plans to the hotels in the three groups that are located in Texas, some of which have annual electricity bills currently in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

ABOUT ZEN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Zen Technologies, Inc. (Zen) is a next-generation technology company committed to bringing all the benefits of the "Smart Home" to millions of homeowners and apartment dwellers across the US, at an affordable price. Zen provides consumers a custom suite of products and services to enrich their lifestyle, however they want. Zen offers home automation, security monitoring, and energy conservation services, so families and individuals can connect to their home to perform everyday functions from the comfort and convenience of their smartphones or internet-connected smart devices. Zen combines our exclusive and customizable product solutions with green energy services, which allows our consumers to save money on their monthly energy costs, while reducing their long-term carbon footprint. To learn more, visit www.livewithzen.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "should," "intend," "estimate," "projects," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the company's filings at www.OTCMarkets.com.

INVESTORS & MEDIA CONTACT:

The CHRON Organization, Inc.

Email: investors@chronorganization.com

Phone: (469) 626-5275

Fax: (469) 626-5101




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation (TSX: TNX)(NYSE MKT: TRX) (the "Company") has selected J. Streicher & Co. ("J. Streicher") as its new Designated Market Maker (DMM) for the trading of its common stock on the NYSE MKT. The transition was completed on February 24, 2017.

James E. Sinclair, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company said, "We are delighted to be working with J. Streicher as our new DMM, handling the traditional specialist duties for our stock on the NYSE MKT. We were impressed by the long history of J. Streicher, operating in the specialist industry since 1910, as well as their strong tradition of unparalleled service, strong company relationships and unwavering principals. As someone who has made markets for many decades, I have a unique respect and appreciation for how J. Streicher operates."

"With 2017 shaping up to be perhaps the most important year for the Company in terms of developments that we expect to have a significant effect on the near-and long-term future of the Company, it was necessary to ensure that we have the right people in place at all facets of our business, including the trading in our stock. I look forward to updating our investors on the progress of our Company over the next several weeks to come, including the issuance of our feasibility study," Sinclair concluded.

ABOUT TANZANIAN ROYALTY EXPLORATION CORPORATION:

Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation is a mineral resource company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration and extraction of natural resources on properties in Tanzania, Africa. The company, after successfully exploring for gold, has identified three development projects, Buckreef, Kigosi, and Itetemia. In early 2016, in conjunction with its first gold pour, Tanzanian Royalty Exploration was deemed a commercial producer by the Tanzanian Government. It is currently focused on its Buckreef Gold Project located in north central Tanzania.

The Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE AmexEquities have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time-to-time with the British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario provincial securities regulatory authorities.

Certain information presented in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including risks inherent in mineral exploration and development, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any projected future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are referred to our description of the risk factors affecting the Company, as contained in our SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 20-F and Registration Statement on Form F-10, as amended, for more information concerning these risks, uncertainties, and other factors.

Contacts:

Investor Relations Contact:

Matthew Abenante

Porter, LeVay and Rose

212-564-4700

matthew@plrinvest.com




Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2017) - Nano One Materials Corp. (TSXV: NNO) (FSE: LBMB) (OTC Pink: NNOMF) announced that the Company has received aggregate proceeds of $847,368 since January 1st 2017 from the exercise of warrants which expired on March 5, 2017. Nano One has issued 1,694,738 common shares from its Treasury for these warrants. Proceeds raised are for general working capital purposes.

Nano One CEO Dan Blondal says that "The support we have received from our shareholders has been exceptional and reflects the hard work the Nano One team has invested to date. Since going public in March 2015 we have seen 95% of our issued warrants exercised which is fantastic." Dan Blondal also said "The additional capital strengthens our balance sheet as we proceed to increase shareholder value by hitting our milestones and displaying how we plan to disrupt the battery materials sector in a positive manner. 2017 will be an exciting year for the company and our shareholders."

As of March 8th 2017 there are no warrants outstanding.

Nano One Materials Corp.

Dan Blondal, CEO

For information with respect to Nano One or the contents of this news release, please contact John Lando (President) at (604) 669-2701 or visit the website at www.nanoone.ca.

About Nano One:

Nano One Materials Corp ("Nano One" or "the Company") is developing patented technology for the low-cost production of high performance battery materials used in electric vehicles, energy storage and consumer electronics. The processing technology addresses fundamental supply chain constraints by enabling wider raw materials specifications for use in lithium ion batteries. The process can be configured for a range of different nanostructured materials and has the flexibility to shift with emerging and future battery market trends and a diverse range of other growth opportunities. The novel three-stage process uses equipment common to industry and Nano One is building a pilot plant to demonstrate high volume production. Nano One's mission is to establish its patented technology as a leading platform for the global production of a new generation of nanostructured composite materials. For more information, please visit www.nanoone.ca

Certain information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the actual receipt of the grant monies, the execution of the Company's plans which are contingent on the receipt of such monies and the commercialization of the Company's technology and patents. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'believe', 'expect', 'anticipate', 'plan', 'intend', 'continue', 'estimate', 'may', 'will', 'should', 'ongoing', or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including: the completion of final documentation with SDTC and the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that is incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Automatic Data Processing releases U.S. private payrolls data for February at 8:15 am ET Wednesday. Economists are looking for an addition of 185,000 jobs, following a gain of 246,000 jobs in the prior month. Ahead of the data, the greenback traded mixed against the other major currencies. While the greenback held steady against the franc and the euro, it declined against the pound. Against the yen, it rose. The greenback was worth 1.0557 against the euro, 1.2175 against the pound, 1.0134 against the Swiss franc and 114.25 against the yen as of 8:10 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LINCOLNSHIRE, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CWH) ("Camping World"), the nation's largest network of RV-centric retail locations, announced plans for further expansion in the state of Virginia, with the acquisition of the Safford RV dealership in the Fredericksburg market.

"Our two organizations have such strong synergies in terms of customer service, product offerings and geographic presence and we look forward to continuing Safford RV's high standards of quality and service, while solidifying our leading position in the state," said Marcus Lemonis, Chairman and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam. "Camping World's customers will now enjoy greater convenience throughout the state of Virginia while Safford RV's customers will benefit from expanded product and service capabilities and a nationwide network of dealerships and accessory stores."

Camping World currently operates two SuperCenters in the Roanoke and Winchester areas and with the recent announcement of the acquisition of McGeorge's RVs in Richmond, the Safford RV dealership further expands the market footprint, increasing Camping World's current presence in the state of Virginia to four SuperCenter locations.

"This acquisition is yet another step in our continued growth in the RV industry and our commitment to service and product excellence," said Brent Moody, Chief Operating Officer of Camping World and Good Sam. "The ability to expand in a region is obviously a great benefit to any business as it leads to a broader audience and a bigger pool of customers, ultimately increasing our profitability."

About Camping World Holdings, Inc.

Camping World Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CWH) is the only provider of a comprehensive portfolio of services, protection plans, products and resources for recreational vehicle ("RV") enthusiasts. Through its two iconic brands, Camping World and Good Sam, the company offers new and used RVs for sale, vehicle service and maintenance along with more than 10,000 products and services through its retail locations and membership clubs. Good Sam branded offerings provide the industry's broadest and deepest range of services, protection plans, products and resources while the Camping World brand operates the largest national network of RV-centric retail locations in the United States with over 125 retail locations in 36 states and an e-commerce platform. With both brands founded in 1966, product and service offerings are based on 50 years of experience and customer feedback from RV enthusiasts.

For more information, visit www.CampingWorld.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning Camping World and other matters. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. Statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "targets," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, including those described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our public announcements and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For Media Outlets:

Contact

Karen Porter

Email Contact




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Express Employment Professionals today released new survey results revealing the level of difficulty employers have in recruiting and filling positions.

In a survey of 1,951 businesses, respondents were asked, "Currently, how easy is it for you to recruit and fill positions?"

Only 5% said "very easy," and 26% said "somewhat easy." Nearly half, 45%, said "somewhat difficult," with 20% saying "very difficult."

Compared to previous similar surveys, fewer businesses are saying it's "very difficult" to fill positions, and more are saying it's "very" or "somewhat easy," compared to a survey conducted in late 2016.

Full results are below.

"Year after year, quarter after quarter, businesses tell us it's not easy to fill positions and recruit qualified talent," said Bob Funk, CEO of Express.

"On the one hand, this is a sign of a tight labor market. And yet, we still have so many people on the sidelines of the job market who want a job but have given up on finding one. With that context, these results reflect the fact that we have people who want jobs but don't have the skills or experience employers need right now. At Express, we've been sounding this alarm for a long time, and we won't stop. It's one of the issues that continues to hold our economy back."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q1 2017 Q4 2016 Q3 2016 Q2 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Currently, how easy is it for you to recruit and fill positions? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Very easy 5% 4% 6% 6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Somewhat easy 26% 23% 29% 26% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Somewhat difficult 45% 41% 41% 39% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Very difficult 20% 30% 21% 24% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't know 4% 1% 3% 6% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The survey of 1,951 North American businesses, which are current and former clients of Express Employment Professionals, covers hiring trends for the first quarter of 2017. Previous surveys were conducted to cover hiring trends of the quarters indicated.

If you would like to arrange for an interview with Bob Funk to discuss this topic, please contact Kellie Major at (613) 222-7488.

About Robert A. Funk

Robert A. "Bob" Funk is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the international staffing company has franchises in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. Under his leadership, Express has put more than 6 million people to work worldwide. Funk served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and was also the Chairman of the Conference of Chairmen of the Federal Reserve.

About Express Employment Professionals and Express in Canada

Express Employment Professionals puts people to work. It generated $3.05 billion in sales and employed nearly 510,000 people in 2016. Its long-term goal is to put a million people to work annually. Express launched in Canada in July 1996, with a franchise in London, Ontario, and since then, has expanded and grown across Canada significantly. There are currently 37 Express franchises in Canada - six in British Columbia, five in Alberta, two in Saskatchewan, 23 in Ontario and one in Nova Scotia.

Contacts:

Media Contacts:

Kellie Major

613.222.7488

kellie@mapleleafstrategies.com



Sheena Karami

405.717.5966

sheena.karami@expresspros.com



@ExpressPros

CanadaEmployed

www.ExpressPros.com/CanadaEmployed




JERSEY CITY, NJ -- March 8, 2017 -- Jackson Hewitt Tax Service today announced its "first season" results, posting market share gains and positive total revenue growth including a four percent increase in same store sales through Feb. 24, the latest public filing period for the IRS. Jackson Hewitt outperformed the IRS in the assisted category with a decline of 3.2 percent compared to the IRS decline of 12.6 percent.

"Our first season success is a direct result of our marketing, which highlighted the benefit of Assisted tax preparation over do-it-yourself options, our innovation in Express Refund Advance to help clients with the impact of delayed refunds, and our Better Than Free promotion that effectively combated the numerous free offerings in the marketplace," said David Prokupek, Co-CEO of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. "Our revenue growth is based on growth in new clients, gains in client retention, and our ability, thru our partnership with American Express, to get our clients early and low cost access to their refunds."

The keys to Jackson Hewitt's early season success were:

Innovations with Express Refund Advance, which came to the rescue of clients facing well-publicized tax refund delays this season. Twice as many clients this season received the no fee, 0% APR loan as in 2016.

The "Better Than Free" promotion which offered taxpayers the benefits of a tax professional and a $48 price on simple Federal returns offset by a $50 gift card.

A commitment to get our clients the earliest and lowest cost access to their refund along with the added assurance of working with a Jackson Hewitt tax professional.

"I am proud of our associates and Franchisees who have achieved so much this season by reinforcing the value of our tax professionals and helping our hardworking clients bridge the gap of refund delays," said Prokupek. "Our promotions and product innovation were designed to benefit our clients and are all contributing to a successful tax season."

About Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. is an innovator in the tax industry, with a mission of offering its hard-working clients access to simple, low-cost solutions to manage their taxes and tax refunds. Jackson Hewitt is devoted to helping clients get ahead with Maximum Refund and 100% Accuracy Guarantees. With approximately 6,000 franchised and company-owned locations, including 3,000 in Walmart stores and online and mobile tax solutions Jackson Hewitt makes it convenient for clients to file their taxes. For more information about products, services and offers, or to locate a Jackson Hewitt office, visit www.JacksonHewitt.com or call 1 (800) 234-1040.

Terms and conditions apply to all offers. Ask a tax pro or visit www.JacksonHewitt.com to learn more.

Contact:

Elizabeth Sedlock

(636) 699-9554

Email Contact




Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2017) - Stakeholder Gold Corp. (TSXV: SRC) ("Stakeholder Gold" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce it has entered into a property option agreement (the "Agreement") with Mountain View Gold Inc. ("MVG") and Mountain View Gold Corp. ("Mountain View"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MVG, pursuant to which Mountain View has granted the Corporation an option to earn up to a 100% interest in Mountain View's Goldstorm property (the "Property"), located in Elko County, Nevada. The transactions contemplated by the Agreement are conditional upon and subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The Agreement

First Option

Under the terms of the Agreement, the Corporation has the sole exclusive right and option to earn an initial 40% interest in the Property (the "First Option"), by: (i) paying to Mountain View cash consideration in the amount of $40,000, (ii) issuing to Mountain View 1,250,000 common shares in the capital of the Corporation (the "Common Shares"), (iii) issuing to Mountain View an additional 1,250,000 Common Shares on the nine month anniversary of the date of the Agreement, and (iv) incurring certain exploration expenditures on the Property of not less than $750,000 within 12 months of the effective date of the Agreement or by paying to Mountain View the balance of such amount not incurred by the Corporation prior to that date.

Second Option

Following the completion of the First Option, the Corporation has the option to earn a further 40% interest in the Property (the "Second Option"), by: (i) issuing to Mountain View 1,750,000 Common Shares upon the date of exercise (the "Second Option Exercise Date"), (ii) issuing to Mountain View an additional 1,750,000 Common Shares on the three month anniversary of the Second Option Exercise Date, (iii) incurring certain exploration expenditures on the Property of not less than $750,000 within nine months of the Second Option Exercise Date or by paying to Mountain View the balance of such amount not incurred by the Corporation prior to that date, and (iv) delivering a technical report relating to the Property.

Third Option

Following the completion of the Second Option, the Corporation has the option to earn a further 20% interest in the Property (the "Third Option"), by either: (i) paying to Mountain View cash consideration equal to $20 per ounce of gold or gold equivalent multiplied by the total ounces of gold or gold equivalent (measured, indicated and inferred) on the Property as set out in a technical report, to be dated no later than 60 days prior to the exercise date of the Third Option, or (ii) issuing to Mountain View 3,000,000 Common Shares.

The Property

The Property is located in the Snowstorm Mountains Mining District in the western part of Elko County, Nevada. The center of the Property is approximately 17 km northwest of the town of Midas, the location of Klondex's Ken Snyder ("Midas") underground gold mine and approximately 18 km east-northeast of Newmont's open pit Twin Creeks gold mine.

The Property contains numerous historic prospects with no obvious production; the earliest known exploration dates to 1907. There was no activity on the Property between the 1930's and 1980. An aeromagnetic survey, along with trenching, was conducted in the 1980's. Drilling exploration commenced in 1989 and was conducted by various companies through 2000. Geologic mapping was published in 1993. Mexivada acquired the Property in 2007, and West Kirkland Mining leased the Property in 2010 and drilled two core holes.

Of a total of 53 holes drilled on the Property, only 3 were core holes. The bulk of the percussion (open hole) and reverse circulation (RC) drilling was performed along a dominantly east-west trending structural zone located from 500 m to 1,000 m north of the current target area. A boulder train, yielding results as high as 39 g/t Au occurs along this northern trend, but drilling failed to identify the source.

In 2010, West Kirkland Mining drilled two core holes on the Property. DH-2010-1 is located on the Clayton Veins system, situated about 1 km south-southwest of the northern zone. Beginning at 64.4 m depth, the hole intercepted a 2m vein zone that assayed 5.5 g/t Au, including a 1 m interval @ 9.27 g/t Au and 73 g/t Ag. The Clayton Veins system trends NW-SE and has been tested by only this one drill hole. The parallel Prochnau Veins system, located about 300 m to the NE, has not yet been drill-tested. Both these vein systems are open to the NW and SE, and evidence of veining has been traced over 2,000 m strike length.

The exploration target/model for the Property is based on the Midas mine located about 16 km (10 miles) to the south-east. Goldstorm sits near the intersection of three important gold-bearing structural corridors: the Getchell Trend; the Carlin/Midas Trend; and the Northern Nevada Rift. It is interpreted that the intercept in hole DH-2010-1 is near the top of a blind, potentially high grade shoot similar to the geological setting observed at the Midas Mine.

About Stakeholder Gold

Stakeholder Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The primary focus of the Corporation is to explore and develop the Ballarat Gold Property in the White Gold District of the Yukon Territory.

For further information, please contact

Christopher J. Berlet, CFA

President & CEO

416 525 - 6869

cberlet@stakeholdergold.com

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information. All information, other than information of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking statements" and includes any information that addresses activities, events or developments that the Corporation believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including the Corporation's strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance.

When used in this news release, the words "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe", "hope", "may" and similar expressions, as well as "will", "shall" and other indications of future tense, are intended to identify forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is based on current expectations and applies only as of the date on which they were made. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Corporation to fund the exploration expenditures required under the Agreement and obtaining TSX Venture Exchange approval of the Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein. Other factors such as uncertainties regarding government regulations could also affect the results. Other risks may be set out in the Corporation's annual financial statements, MD&A and other publicly filed documents.

The Corporation cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Corporation does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Global Equity International, Inc. (OTCQB: GEQU) and its fully-owned subsidiaries GEP Equity Holdings Limited and Global Equity Partners Plc. (http://www.globalequityinternational.com/), a specialist consultancy firm with offices located in Dubai and London, are proud to announce that its Human Resources division in Dubai, Kingsman James (http://kingsmanjames.com/), is now in the final stages of signing three large scale recruitment projects across the Middle East, potentially totaling US$3.5 million of revenue over the next nine months.

What began as a hard fought battle between nineteen firms circa ten months ago, Kingsman James is now down to the final two firms tendering for these valuable and lucrative contracts. The projects are split across three separate cities and clients. The project in Muscat (Oman) is for a leading Chinese Oil & Gas company and will equate to 60% of the US$3.5 Million. The final 40% is equally spilt between two projects in Dubai & Abu Dhabi. Dubai will see a UK based Engineering Consultancy Firm set up a Middle East HQ. The Abu Dhabi project is for a US based Construction & Engineering Company with a rich history across the MENA region.

A look back at 2016...

Economic turmoil in the Region, coupled with hiring freezes, made 2016 a tough year for headhunting firms. With close relationships and beating the competition on the projects that were approved in the year, Kingsman James fared well and ended the year as a revenue positive and profitable division of Global Equity.

A look ahead to 2017 and beyond...

The Construction industry continues to thrive in the MENA region, with more than US$500 billion worth of future projects that were announced in 2016 alone and in excess of 146 large-scale projects coming to completion in 2017 across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Internally, we have decided to make the Construction & Engineering division of Kingsman James the business anchor which will be accountable for no less than US$5 million (18.3 million AED) worth of business over the next 3 years. To help us achieve this growth, we have brought on board a new member of the team, Mr. Jon Yew (Co-Founder of Paradigm International), a market leader in Construction, Oil & Gas and Rail recruitment. Through Jon's 15 years' experience in Europe and the Middle East, he has a proven history of accelerating business growth rapidly in a very short period of time.

Over the coming months, the Kingsman James team will work closely with James Payne, (Managing Partner), to identify new revenue streams for the business. One such will be the introduction of "Contract" recruitment to our portfolio of clients in the Middle East region. Much educating is needed around this proposition for businesses and the unparalleled advantages it can have for Construction, Engineering and Oil & Gas clients.

Our recently created "Aerospace and Defense Division," headed up by Miss Claire Hopkin, currently shows a pipeline value of US$1.1 million (4 million AED), with US$136,000 of already confirmed income to the business.

As outlined in our previous press release, we continue to see Legal and Finance recruitment in the MENA region as a buoyant market and will look to add more personnel to our team again within the next six months.

Jon Yew, Partner of Kingsman James, said, "I chose Kingsman James as I believe the direction James and the other Partners are aiming for is both achievable and realistic. The business model they have in place supersedes other companies that I have been in discussions with and this alone is definitively the start of good things to come with Kingsman James in 2017. Personally, I will look to expand our operations throughout the GCC area and grow this division of the business into revenues in excess of US$5 million over the next three years, with the run up to Expo 2020."

James Payne, Managing Partner of Kingsman James, said, "2016 was a tough year for the UAE, with many companies making large cuts to their headcount. Today, we are seeing that 2017 has started off really well with US$1.3 million worth of business in the pipeline and we are 'tendering' for a further US$3.5 million over the next 12 weeks; it seems this year will be the pinnacle year for Kingsman James, with forecasted revenues already well above our expectations. Solid foundations have been laid over the past 18 months, now it is time to build our castle as high as we can."

About Global Equity International Inc. and Subsidiaries

Global Equity International Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiaries GEP Equity Holdings Limited and Global Equity Partners Plc., advises worldwide business leaders with their most critical decisions and opportunities pertaining to growth, capital needs, structure and the development of a global presence and HR requirements. With offices in Dubai and London, Global Equity has developed significant relationships in the US, UK, Central Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia to assist clients in realizing their full value and potential by bringing them to external capital and resources that place an emphasis on collaborative thinking. Furthermore, because Global Equity has offices in key financial centers of the world, they are able to introduce their clients to a unique opportunity of listing their shares on any one of the many stock exchanges worldwide.

Safe Harbour Statement

This press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to anticipated revenues, expenses, earnings, operating cash flows, the outlook for markets and the demand for products. Forward-looking statements are no guarantees of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon, among other things, assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management, including management's own knowledge and assessment of the Company's industry and competition. The Company refers interested persons to its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other SEC filings for a description of additional uncertainties and factors, which may affect forward-looking statements. The company assumes no duty to update its forward-looking statements.

Mr. James R. Payne

Managing Partner

Kingsman James

Tel. + 971 42 76 75 76

Email: james@kingsmanjames.com



Mr. Enzo Taddei

CFO

Global Equity International Inc.

Tel. + 1 321 200 0142

Email: enzo@gepartnersplc.com



Mr. Bruce A. Haase

RedChip Companies Inc.

Tel: +1 407-644-4256 X131

Email: bruce@redchip.com



Web: www.redchip.com




This win strengthens Brillio's Presence in the Nordics

SANTA CLARA, California, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brillio,a global digital consulting and technology services company, today announced that it has been selected to create a real-time mobile reporting and insightsolutionfor select teamsforOrkla, the leading supplier of branded consumer goods within home and personal care markets in the Nordics, Baltics and selectedmarkets in Central Europe.This client winfurtherstrengthens Brillio's position in the Nordic regions.

Brillio, inapartnership with Railway, an Oslo based innovation studio, has designed a new real-time reporting and insight solution to provide Orkla's operational and executive teams with a 360-degree view of its product sales, channels, and supply chain. In creating and running this mobile application, Brillio is helping Orklagain competitiveadvantageby leveraging digital technologies.The application will automate and bring speed to Orkla's home and personal care group when gathering key insights on performance of specific products.

"We are thrilled to work with Orkla," says Raj Mamodia, CEO at Brillio. He added, "Orkla is in a competitive industry in the Nordic regions, one of the fastest growing in the world. By choosing Brillio as their digital partner, Orkla demonstrated its commitment to the digital journey. We've developed digital solutions to automate, simplify, and accelerate outcomes for Orkla. We are excited to see the opportunities that Orkla now has to capture insights, deliver better products and gain market share with speed."

This latest client win demonstrates Brillio's growth in the Nordic region, in addition to the company's expansion in the home and personal care industry. This application will initially be used by about 1,000 of Orkla Home & Personal Care's employees across all functions in Norway, set to reach all employees across the Nordics and Europe by project end.

"Today's announcement builds on Orkla's commitment to digitalization across our organization," says Bjorn Drablos, CEO at Orkla. "The applications Brillio has developed for our home and personal care sales and marketing teams are monumental in helping us reach our clients faster and stay ahead of competition. We at Orkla are excited to see what Brillio's applications will do for our business in the weeks to come."

ABOUT BRILLIO

Brillio is a global digital consulting and technology services company focused on implementation of digital technologies for the world's leading companies. Brillio uses proprietary methodologies to help customers re-imagine their businesses and competitive advantages and then rapidly develops and deploysdisruptive industrial-grade digital solutions using UX design, digital applications, big data analytics, cloud, security and digital engineering. Brillio has invested in several proprietary tools that speed up implementation of digital for its customers and maintains its edge in innovation by investing in advanced technologies like machine learning and deep learning /AI. The 2,600-strong Brillio team is based in nine offices across three continents and considers world-class customer satisfaction as its true north. To learn more follow us@brillioglobaland visitwww.brillio.com

ABOUT ORKLA

Orkla is a leading supplier of branded consumer goods and concept solutions to the grocery, out-of-home and bakery markets in the Nordics, Baltics and selected markets in Central Europe and India. Orkla is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its head office is in Oslo. In 2015, the Group had a turnover of approximately NOK 32 billion, and 14,670 employees at year end.

ABOUT RAILWAY

Railway is an Oslo-based innovation studio that uses multidisciplinary teams in 4-week sprints to help your business explore and identify new opportunities. Fast and with low risk. With an empathetic approach to technology we build more meaningful and relevant solutions. The goal being awesome customer experiences, increased or new revenue and more motivated employees.

Media Inquiries:

Kathleen Ulrich

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PUNE, India, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Top 10 Power Generation Technologies Market by Generation (Steam Turbine, Micro Turbine, Gas Turbine, Gas Engine, Micro CHP, Nuclear Power Reactor, Small Wind, Diesel Generator and Gas Generator, and Concentrating Solar Power) - Global Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 64.15 Billion in 2016 to USD 85.40 Billion by 2021.

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Browse 66 market data Tables and 41 Figures spread through 193 Pages and in-depth TOC on"Top 10 Power Generation Technologies Market"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/top-10-power-generation-technologies-market-146140050.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

Factors such as increase in electricity consumption and subsequent investment in power generation capacity and modernization of existing power generation systems are driving the market globally.

Download PDF Brochure: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=146140050

The diesel and gas generator sales market is the largest segment in the power generation technologies category

In terms of the market, by power generation technology, the diesel and gas generator sales market held the largest market size in 2015. Factors such as rapid urbanization in developing countries, growing demand for data centers and IT facilities, growth of healthcare infrastructure, and growing demand for uninterrupted and reliable power supply are positively influencing the diesel and gas generator sales market.

Make an Inquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=146140050

The gas turbine market is the second largest segment in the power generation technologies category

In terms of the market, by technology, the gas turbine market held the second largest market size in 2015. Factors such as lower carbon dioxide emissions, efficient generation technology, boom in gas production, and increasing electricity consumption and consequent investments in generation capacity, would necessitate the growth of the market for gas turbines.

The Asia-Pacific market is the dominant market for most power generation technologies.

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for most of the products in the Power Generation Technologies Market. Within the Asia-Pacific region, the growth of the Power Generation Technologies Market can be attributed to factors such as increase in electricity consumption and subsequent investment in power generation capacity, especially in developing economies such as China and India. China has established itself as an industry dominating country with the industrial sector contributing more than 50% of its GDP. The growth of the industrial sector has tremendously increased power production and consumption in China. These factors have made China one of the most lucrative markets for the power industry.

To provide an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of companies, namely, Siemens AG (Germany), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Japan), Alstom S.A. (France), Ansaldo Energia S.p.A (Italy), Caterpillar, Inc. (U.S.), Cummins, Inc. (U.S) , Yanmar Co., Ltd. (Japan), General Electric Company (U.S.), Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (Japan), Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd. (China), Dongfang Electric Corporation Ltd. (China), Harbin Electric International Company (China), Abengoa Solar (Spain), Capstone Turbine Corporation (U.S.), Northern Power Systems (U.S.), Wind Energy Solutions (Netherlands), BDR Thermea Group (Netherlands), and Viessmann Group (Germany).

Browse Related Reports:

Gas Turbines Market By Design Type (Heavy Duty &and Aeroderivative), Rated Capacity (1-40 MW,40-120 MW,120-300 MW, &and Aabove 300 MW), Application (Oil & Gas, Power, &and Other), Technology (Open Cycle &and Combined Cycle), and Region - Forecast and Trends to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/gas-turbines-market-94641697.html

Steam Turbines Market By Type (Steam Cycle, Combined Cycle, and Cogeneration), by Rated Capacity (1--120 MW, 121--350 MW, 351--750 MW, and Aabove 750 MW), by Exhaust Type (Condensing and Noncondensing), by Application (Coal, Nuclear, Biomass, and Others) and by Region (Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa) - Global Trends and Forecasts to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/steam-turbines-market-235206532.html

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TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: BMK) ("MacDonald Mines" or the "Company") is pleased to introduce its new Technical Advisory Committee. The Company believes that these experienced industry professionals with a varied array of expertise and background will be an important asset to the Company as it advances its recently acquired mineral projects.

Technical Advisory Committee

Jean-Philippe Desrochers, Ph.D., P.Geo.

Mr. Jean-Philippe Desrochers, has over twenty years of experience in the mineral exploration industry in Canada, Central and South America. Dr. Desrochers has been involved with intermediate and junior mining companies with exploration projects ranging from grass-roots to mine-scale. He was Vice-President of Exploration at the Windfall Lake Gold Project for Murgor Resources Inc. from 2005 to 2010, and joined Eagle Hill as Chief Geologist in 2010 before becoming Vice-President Exploration for Eagle Hill in 2013. Past experience also includes senior positions with Aur Resources and SRK Consulting. Dr. Desrochers specializes in the field of structural geology applied to ore deposits in the search for Archean lode gold, volcanogenic massive sulphides, porphyry copper, skarn, and epithermal gold deposits.

James Franklin, Ph.D., FRSC, P.Geo.

Dr. James (Jim) Franklin, is a renowned and award winning exploration geologist with over 40 years of extensive geological knowledge and expertise focusing on discovering base metal, uranium, and gold-bearing ore deposits. His career in the mineral industry has involved teaching at the university level, and directing research programs for the Geological Survey of Canada as Director of the Survey and as its Chief Geoscientist from 1993 to 1998. Dr. Franklin was past President of both the Geological Association of Canada and the Society of Economic Geologists. He was a Co-editor of Exploration and Mining Geology for CIM and was also Associate Editor of Economic Geology (trade journal) for seven years. He serves as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and is an Adjunct Professor at Queen's, Laurentian and Ottawa university. Dr. Franklin is an expert on gold and VMS deposits in the Churchill and Superior Provinces of the Canadian Shield.

Mr. Mackenzie Watson, B.Sc., P.Geol., P.Eng.

Mr. Mackenzie (Mac) Watson, has over 50 years experience in the exploration, development, and mining industry, and has been involved in the discovery of numerous mineral deposits in Canada. He is currently Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors of Quest Rare Minerals. Mr. Watson spent his career in the junior mining sector, as CEO of Lynx Canada Exploration from l969 to 1985, and CEO of Freewest Resources from 1985 until 20l0 when it was taken over by Cliffs Natural Resources. Mr. Watson was awarded Canada's Prospector of the Year Award in 1991 for his contribution to the discovery of the Harker Holloway gold mine (Ontario), the Icon-Sullivan copper mine (Quebec), the Long Lake zinc mine (Ontario), the Ellison gold deposit (Quebec) and the Hebecourt copper deposit (Quebec); and again in 2010 for his contributions to the mineral discoveries in the Ring of Fire area of Northern Ontario. He was also awarded the Quebec Prospector of the Year Award in 1992 for his participation in the discovery of the Pusticamica and Verneuil gold deposits in Quebec. In January 2015, Mr. Watson was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.

Mr. Hadyn Butler, B.Sc., P.Geo., P.Eng.

Mr. Butler is a Professional Geoscientist and a practicing member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario. Mr. Butler had 30 years consulting experience with INCO and has enjoyed substantial success in mineral exploration. He has over 40 years of geological experience. He has been a Director of MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd., since August 14, 2003 and a member of its Technical Advisory Committee since February 2011. He served as Director of Uranium Star Corp. (Formerly Yukon Resources Corp.) from December 22, 2006 to January 2, 2009. He graduated with a degree in geology in 1974 (Bachelor of Science, with First Class Honours and University Medal) at the University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.

Trenching on Oxide Sands to Commence Spring 2017

Expedition Group of Companies Inc. has been contracted to conduct the trenching of the Oxide Sands, one of the main gold targets on the property.

The Oxide Sands are interpreted to be derived from the weathering of an auriferous and pyritized Algoma-type iron formation. The pyritized iron formation has been traced over a 2km strike length. In 2002, the Oxide Sands were sampled over 332.5 metres along strike. They were reported to reach a depth of at least 8 metres and contained an average gold grade of 3.45 g/t and an average silver grade of 29.99 g/t.

The objective of MacDonald's trenching program is to confirm the Oxide Sands' strike length and thickness and to undertake a systematic sampling of the mineralized horizon over the total strike length.

Additional Financing Closes.

The Company is also pleased to announce it has closed on March 6 and 7, 2017 an additional private placement offering (the "Offering") of securities. Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued a total of 2,842,858 units (the "FT Units") with each FT Unit comprised of one class A common share that qualifies as a "flow-through" share pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) and one non-flow-through class A common share purchase warrant (the "Warrants") at a price of $0.07 per FT Unit and 2,605,999 units ("Non-FT Units") with each Non-FT Unit comprised of one class A common share and one Warrant at a price of $0.07 per Non-FT Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of $381,419.99. Each Warrant is exercisable to acquire one class A common share at a price of $0.10 per share for a period of 36 months following the issuance thereof.

Total gross proceeds received to date from this Offering as well as the previous private placement offerings of securities which closed on December 29, 2016, December 30, 2016 and January 20, 2017 is approximately $1,200,000.00.

In connection with the closing of the Offering, the Company has paid finders fees equal to 9% of the gross proceeds raised by the Company to investors introduced to the Company by such finders, or approximately $31,177.80 and has issued compensation options (the "Compensation Options") equal to 9% of the number of Units sold to investors introduced to the Company by such finders, or 445,397 Compensation Options. The Compensation Options are exercisable to acquire one Non-FT Unit for a period of five years from the date of issuance thereof at a price of 0.07 per Non-FT Unit. All securities sold or issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance thereof. The Offering is subject to receipt of final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Qualified Person

Quentin Yarie, P Geo. is the qualified person responsible for preparing, supervising and approving the scientific and technical content of this news release.

About MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.

MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. is a mineral exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario focused on gold and silica exploration in Canada. The Company has built a portfolio of safe-jurisdiction, infrastructure-rich projects that demonstrate the greatest market potential for return. The Company is aggressively advancing its highly prospective Wawa-Holdsworth Project and Charlevoix Silica Property.

Wawa-Holdsworth Project Highlights:

-- Approximately 285 hectares, located 20 kilometres northeast of the town of Wawa. -- Neighbouring Argonaut's greater than 6Moz gold Magino Deposit & Richmont's greater than 1Moz gold Island Gold Mine. -- Numerous gold showings with diversified mineralization styles occurring in a 500 metres-wide deformation corridor. -- Year-long road access and easy access to rail, road, electrical power, labour force and suppliers.

Charlevoix Silica Property Highlights:

-- Located approximately 42 kilometres north of Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec. -- The geology on the property appears to be an extension of the high- purity silica horizons of the Sitec Mine, located within 15 kilometres. -- The Sitec's Silica Mine has been in production for more than 50 years and produces approximately 250,000 tonnes of silica a year. It has an estimated future mine life of over 20 years. -- Rogue's Silicon Ridge Project is adjacent to the Charlevoix Property. It hosts a measured and indicated resource of 9.7 Mt at 98.6% SiO2 and an inferred resource of 1.6 Mt at 98.56% SiO2 (NI 43-101 Technical report on the Silicon Ridge Mineral Resources Quebec - Canada, June 7, 2016).

The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "BMK".

To learn more about MacDonald Mines, please visit www.macdonaldmines.com

This news release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.

Quentin Yarie

President & CEO

(416) 364-4986

qyarie@macdonaldmines.com



MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.

Mia Boiridy

Investor Relations

(416) 364-4986

mboiridy@macdonaldmines.com

www.macdonaldmines.com




BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/26/17 --New Colombia Resources, Inc. ("the Company") (OTC PINK: NEWC), a Colombian natural resource company listed in the U.S., with premium metallurgical coal and medical marijuana assets, is pleased to issue this letter to shareholders.

Dear Shareholders:

New Colombia Resources would like to thank all of our shareholders that believe in the Company. It could not be a better time for New Colombia due to the geo political environment for both coal and medical marijuana, two of the hottest industries in the World. Metallurgical coal, our main asset, has seen a surge in prices to six year highs. Metallurgical coal was the best performing commodity in 2016 with a price gain of over 85% and the trend is continuing this year, on April 17, 2017 spot prices for met coal were over $ 314 per tonne. Our cost to get metallurgical to the ports in Colombia is under $ 60 per tonne.

We have two coal properties we're developing, a wholly owned concession contract ILE-09551 in Guaduas, and concession contract JC3-15231in Cucuta, which is a JV with MSG Mining Corp. Additionally, we're entering into operating agreements for 8-10 mines that are producing between 1000-4000 tonnes/month of coal each. We will ramp these to double their production to fill several orders that are being negotiated as well as an existing order announced earlier this year. We've asked the Buyer of that order for an extension on the first delivery and are awaiting their response. We'll be working with financial instruments to finance our coal activities backed by standby letters of credits from Buyers going forward.

On Monday, I had a meeting at the National Mining Agency (ANM) that provides us with coal buyers that contact the agency. Several of these contacts will be turning into contracts. The ANM has been very helpful and I greatly appreciate their collaboration. While at the ANM we were notified to accept the approval of coal Concession Contract OJ8-08091 for up to 288 hectares of coal granted on March 22, 2017, to see notice visit, https://www.anm.gov.co/sites/default/files/atencion_minero/estado_056_del_10_de_abril_de_2017.pdf

On November 11, 2013, we filed an 8K when we applied for this concession contract, visit https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/772370/000107878213002185/f8k111213_8k.htm

The Guaduas Formation metallurgical coal seam has been exploited from Boyaca, north east of Guaduas for over 30 years. The formation forms in Guaduas, hence the name, this is a mega project that we will pioneer with several mining titles already granted and more to come. For an estimate of reserves or our first mining concession contract ILE-09551 visit, http://www.newcolombiaresources.com/assesment.php

In late March 2017, we began shipping thermal coal to Puerto Brisa to fill a 3000-10,000 tonne per month contract entered into by our subsidiary, Compania Minera San Jose Ltda. Coal is being sourced from third parties to fill this order. Approximately 15 truckloads were sent and paid for in the first 10 days until the Buyer had a problem with port capacity. Trucks were waiting up to 48 hours to offload causing shipping delays and additional stand by costs. Shipments were expected to begin last week but were again delayed due to the port issues. The Buyer has since reserved more space at the port and deliveries should commence this Friday. To see pictures of our first coal truck and port delivery click the following link, although to some these don't mean much, to me it documents the beginning of decades of coal shipments and millions of tonnes, https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxSKP5j2FlseaDFxVHhtc1RxWlk

I've secured another port in Cienega on the Atlantic Coast with a 600,000 tonne coal yard and the ability to support 150,000 tonne ships. This port, next to Prodeco's Puerto Nuevo, has all of its environmental permits, 24-hour security, and a conveyor belt system to load coal onto mega freighters. They accept deliveries 24 hours a day and their capacity is available to us since it is mostly being used to import and distribute petroleum products that are sold to trucking companies, there are hundreds of trucks available to us at this port.

On April 15, 2017, we closed on the purchase of two farms totaling over 300 acres in Guaudas-CUNDINAMARCA, Colombia. This purchase is strategic because we now own the mining title and the land that is contiguous to our previous land purchase. Our purchase price is about 60% of the appraised value, we expect the price of our land to increase once the Ruta del Sol is completed in our area connecting these properties to Bogota. For a copy of the notary receipt of the purchase of property visit, https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxSKP5j2FlseM204M3pDWmJCY00

We will begin gravel operations in Guaduas as soon as our environmental permit is approved, the Work Plan was approved adding gravel to our existing work plan for coal. The gravel will be supplied to the highest bidder including the Ruta del Sol project and a new airport being built in Bogota, El Dorado II which is about 60 km from our site. Work plans for the airport project about 800 Million m3 of gravel, rocks, and sand products to be used. These plans anticipate bring rock material from Tolima which is 200 km away. Many infrastructure projects in Colombia are causing a rush to secure supply. As we develop our gravel operations we will simultaneously begin coal mining activities. To view the financial model for our gravel operation visit, https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxSKP5j2FlseOFE5TVdReGRCUUE

I'm getting interest from U.S. coal miners that want to team up with me, I'll be building a team of extremely qualified well known U.S. coal industry experts to help and mentor me in rolling up the best coal mines that will possibly complement existing U.S. operations.

In addition to metallurgical coal, we also have medical marijuana business that is getting ready to explode. Our joint venture, Sannabis SAS, has first mover advantage in Colombia with a line of 15 products in 3 different sizes. We're waiting for a Sanitary Registry number this week to begin shipping our topical creams, Sannaxhol and Sannaderm, with less than .3% THC to the U.S. We're also setting up a Sannabis SPA outside of Cali, Colombia designed for cancer patients from the U.S. and abroad that don't wish to break federal laws to use alternative medicine. The SPA is set on a multi acre hacienda equipped with all the amenities and the best round the clock care patients deserve. We will provide more detail in a PR once our promotional material is ready.

Any shareholder interested in a free sample of our topical creams or to make a reservation at the SPA, contact me at info@newcolombiaresources.com. We have many profitable medical marijuana ventures we're developing and will be announcing them accordingly in the coming days, including several agreements with U.S. companies, particularly in our hemp business. We have over 8000 hemp plants and will planting another 50,000 plants at our new facilities to be announced. To see our hemp fields and some products we're making from hemp visit, https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxSKP5j2FlseUVhvZVM2UUhMbW8

Finally, I would like to address the late filing of our Form 10K for 2015. Last fall, we engaged Malone Bailey (MB) to audit our 2015 annual repo, previously they audited 2012, 2013, and 2014. During the 2012 audit they advised us on the re-organization of the predecessor of New Colombia Resources, Inc., VSUS Technologies, Inc. (VSUT). I acquired control of VSUT from the previous CEO that had gotten into trouble with the SEC in 2010 over an unrelated company. I paid off $ 320,000 in debts, with no liability to the Company. I retained the former CEO as a consultant to help me navigate through the previous businesses of the Company, as is customary, with full knowledge of Malone Bailey. For the past six months our accounting firm, Albeck Financial Services, has been working with the audit staff at MB to complete the 10k to their satisfaction. After months of back and forth, it finally went to the audit partner for final review.

The audit partner, who was new to our account, determined that our report should go to a continuance committee mainly because of the issues of the former CEO who has nothing to do with present day operations of NEWC. This came as a total shock to me since they knew I had acquired the company from him when they engaged us last year and received our up-front payment for the 2015 10K and subsequent quarterly reviews for Q1, Q2, and Q3 of 2016. On April 21, 2017 at 5:04 pm, I received a letter of resignation from Malone Bailey due to their issues with the former CEO who has nothing to do with the company. Malone Bailey has their own SEC issues that in my opinion leads to greater scrutiny of their clients. They certainly have a right to resign for any reason they choose, but why they accepted us as clients in 2016 and resigned over an issue they knew about since 2012 is beyond me. They wasted some very valuable six months of our time.

I would like to apologize to shareholders for being overly optimistic about when the 10K would be filed, I was living in the past thinking the auditors would turn things around quickly as they've always done. The good news is that our accounting firm has all of the work complete and ready to submit to our new auditor who is being engaged. We will be filing a Form 8K disclosing the resignation of MB and the engagement of a new auditor that will commit to completing the audit as quickly as possible. They will be auditing Q2, Q3, and 10K for 2015, Q1, Q2, Q3, and 10K for 2016, and Q1 for 2017. This will bring us current and allow us to raise the capital necessary to finance our operations, although most coal deals will be financed with instruments that have no regard for the public stock.

We decided to file an 8K today with the unaudited preliminary annual report for December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2016. I'm happy to report that since Sept. 2016 we have extinguished about $ 800,000 in debt, in addition to the elimination of a $ 1.50/tonne royalty payment due on coal sales from our Guaduas property.

For those that have been calling and emailing the past week, although I'm always available, I couldn't reply because I needed to get this letter out first. I look forward to keeping you continuously updated with events that will spur interest in our Company and lead to significant revenue. Like always, I invite everyone of you to come to Colombia and see what we're doing, your only risk is you won't want to leave.

Sincerely yours,

John Campo

President, New Colombia Resources, Inc.

About New Colombia Resources, Inc.

New Colombia Resources, Inc. owns vast reserves of premium metallurgical coal mining titles and a medical marijuana joint venture in the Republic of Colombia. They are setting up a rock mining operation to supply the major road and infrastructure projects within miles of their properties. They own 100% of La Tabaquera metallurgical coal mine in Colombia with an estimated 15- 17 million tonnes of reserves. They have an additional 1196 ha. metallurgical coal mining title that they are negotiating to develop with a foreign entity to build a coal fired power plant. New Colombia Resources holds a significant position in Sannabis SAS which legally produces medical marijuana products in the Republic of Colombia, visit www.sannabis.co. For more information on the Company visit www.newcolombiaresources.com

Forward Looking Statements

Forward Looking Statements; This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements might not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include financing, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations. New Colombia Resources, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

Company/Media Contact:



New Colombia Resources, Inc.

John Campo

President/Chairman

(1)-410-236-8200 USA

(57) 318-657-0918 Colombia

jcampo@newcolombiaresources.com




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has seen a modest improvement in his approval rating following his generally well-received speech to Congress last week, according to the results of a new Quinnipiac University poll. The poll found that 41 percent of voters approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, up from 38 percent in a poll conducted before his speech. Fifty-two percent of voters still disapprove of Trump's job performance, although that is down from 55 percent last month. The improvement in Trump's approval rating comes as 49 percent of voters said his address to Congress was better than expected. Another 39 percent of voters said Trump's speech was about what they expected, while just 3 percent said it was worse than expected. However, Quinnipiac noted that voters still have negative opinions of some of the president's personal qualities. A majority of voters said Trump is not honest, he does not care about average Americans, he is not level-headed, and he does not share their values. 'The Trump camp can only hope the president's blip in approval is not a fleeting nod to his speech to Congress,' said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. Malloy added, 'He remains on his heels in so many character categories that this survey is only slightly more encouraging than the troubling Quinnipiac University survey of a few weeks ago.' The Quinnipiac survey of 1,283 voters was conducted March 2nd through 6th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. (Photo: Gage Skidmore) Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
BALTIMORE, MD -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- What does it take to be the "hero of the house?" That's the question StarTex Power is asking its customers as part of its newest campaign to promote energy conservation. The Texas retail electric provider has launched a contest, which will run on both Facebook and Twitter through March 31, 2017.

Anyone can contribute their best photos or videos and captions to demonstrate how they are the hero of their own home by conserving energy and doing their part to protect the planet. The top chosen entries will receive gift card prizes to Lowe's, Home Depot or another similar home improvement store. Entries must be received via Facebook or through Twitter using the hashtag HeroOfTheHouse by the contest deadline.

To complement their campaign, StarTex Power also invites users to take their interactive quiz, which poses questions about daily household habits to identify energy-conscious users. The company will also host a Twitter chat from 2-3 pm CST on Wednesday, March 8. Interested participants can follow @StarTexPower to join the conversation by sharing life hacks and stories about how to create a cleaner, greener planet.

The contest and quiz helps illustrate easy ways people can conserve energy in the home that will help them save energy and cut down on energy costs. To take the quiz, go to http://blog.startexpower.com/are-you-a-true-hero-of-the-house/.

Texas users have alternative, renewable energy sources readily available to them through StarTex Power. Texas leads the nation in the production of wind power and StarTex Power makes it easy to switch energy plans.

StarTex Power is a subsidiary of Constellation. In 2015 Cogent Reports named StarTex Power (PUCT #10014) as one of the top four energy providers in Texas for brand trust. Visit www.startexpower.com for more information about energy options in Texas.

About Constellation

Constellation is a leading competitive energy company providing power, natural gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the continental United States. Constellation serves more than 2.2 million residential, public sector and business customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100. Constellation is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with 2016 revenues of approximately $31.4 billion, and more than 32,700 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation's cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. Learn more at www.constellation.com or on Twitter at @ConstellationEG.
LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Blow and Drive Interlock Corporation (OTCQB: BDIC), an offender monitoring and police-grade alcohol detection device manufacturing and distribution company, releases Shareholder Letter from CEO:

Dear Shareholders,

I am pleased to announce on behalf of Blow and Drive Interlock Corp (BDIC), that 600 BDI-747 Interlocks have recently arrived at headquarters and promptly were leased and deployed within 48 hours. With the majority of the company's 2,700 units having been deployed over the last ninety days, the company is only now starting to reap the rewards of increased monthly re-occurring revenue & cash flow.

This marks the completion of BDIC's recent production run of 2700 BDI-747 ignition interlocks. The immediate turnaround from delivery to deployment; reflects the company's ongoing stance that demand for the BDI-747 is extremely high and outpaces current production time. Once again Shareholders, we are materially sold out of equipment.

Therefore, BDIC has begun to procure parts for the manufacturing of an additional 1,000 BDI-747 interlocks. We anticipate that these 1,000 units will be manufactured and ready for deployment from our Los Angeles headquarters sometime in the early part of the second fiscal quarter of 2017.

No additional debt was taken to fund this new 1,000-unit production run.

Upon completion, BDIC will have produced and deployed almost 4,000 units.

BDIC is close to achieving previous forecast of 5,000 units fully monetized and on re-occurring revenue by the end of 2017.

BDIC envisions surpassing expectations by undertaking various initiatives to increase our infrastructure & brand awareness in the 11 states in which we are currently approved.

As interested shareholders are aware I recently green-lighted the company's legal counsel to exchange my common stock for preferred stock. However our agreement with the Doheny Group required their approval, which they denied.

Therefore, I have taken the following steps as the next best immediate alternative.

1. I have entered into a lock-up agreement to lock up approximately 8 million of my BDIC common shares that represents almost half of the approximately 18,000,000 issued shares.

2. The company will be filing relevant documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission posthaste.

3. The Doheny Group's rights to block the conversion of common stock for preferred stock or my ability to retire my stock will expire once the company has fully repaid its outstanding loan.

Once BDIC's financial obligation with the Doheny Group has been completed I am still fully committed to the conversion or retirement of my common stock.

During the startup phase of the company, funds were sometimes unavailable for my CEO salary. As a further commitment to the company, I have agreed to immediately retire all of the past-due income owed for services performed in exchange for non-trading preferred stock. Which will allow me as the founder to maintain control of the corporation without any further shareholder dilution. The retirement of this outstanding balance also strengthens the company's balance sheet and puts BDIC in a stronger financial position to focus on growth and increasing shareholder value.

In closing, I believe BDIC is uniquely positioned for the challenges ahead as we have begun to expand into parole and probation monitoring and look forward to executing on our dynamic business model. Again, I wish to thank all of our shareholders for their continued support and helping to keep our roads and communities safe.

For more information on Blow & Drive Interlock's distributor opportunity program, please visit www.blowanddrive.com or call 877-238-4492.

Laurence Wainer

President & CEO

Blow & Drive Interlock Corp.

About BDIC

Blow & Drive Interlock Corp (BDIC) based in Los Angeles, California, a publicly traded company that manufactures, distributes and its' Ignition Interlock Device Model# BDI-747 across the United States.

The BDI-747 is a state of the art ignition interlock device, breath-alcohol testing device approximately the size of a smartphone. The ignition interlock device requires the driver to exhale into the device prior to starting the vehicle. The device will prevent the vehicle from starting if the driver's blood-alcohol content exceeds a predetermined set level. Interlocks are required for use by DUI or DWI ("driving under the influence" or "driving while intoxicated") offenders as part of their mandatory court or motor vehicle department program.

The individual subject to the court or motor vehicle order pays for the installation/removal and monthly lease of the ignition interlock device. The Company will provide monitoring of the device at predetermined intervals per state guidelines. Data will be collected and made available to the appropriate authorities for review. The data will show all breath tests performed and/or missed tests as well as any attempt to bypass or circumvent the system. For states that require a picture or GPS location of the person performing the test, the device is equipped with camera & GPS technologies.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions (such as those relating to future business or financial results, new features or services, or management strategies) and other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These statements are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. You can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as "may," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan" and other similar expressions. Our actual results, such as the Company's ability to finance, complete and consolidate acquisition of IP, assets and operating companies, could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors not within the control of the company such as a result of various factors, including future economic, competitive, regulatory, and market conditions. The company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

Blow & Drive Interlock

877-238-4492




HENDERSON, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- mCig, Inc. (OTCQB: MCIG), a diversified company servicing the legal cannabis, hemp, and CBD markets, subsidiary, Grow Contractors is proud to announce its selection as the builder of choice of the first large scale indoor grow facility in Oregon for Forest Grove Cultivation. With an overall plan for 115,000 square feet this will be a top ranked grow space in Oregon. The first phase is already permitted for 50,000 square feet. MCIG estimates to begin construction within 60 days and 4 months to complete the project. The project will generate a minimum $1.5M in revenue for the Company, but could exceed $1.9M with add-ons.

In Oregon, state law requires that you complete the build out before obtaining a license. This does not change our business model and all growers are almost certainly assured a license by complying with clearly written state building requirements. Rob Kressa, CEO of Grow Contractors stated, "Our sweet spot is definitely large scale growers on the West Coast. They understand the real deal while the East Coast is still getting played by opportunists looking for a quick buck. We are here to stay and will do multiple phases and build outs for the best players."

"We tracked Rob for almost a year, he was very patient and professional in dealing with as we went through the process of forming our group and getting off the ground. When we were ready, we signed him in a week because we knew his team was the best," said Yan Yanpolsky, of Progressive Property Management LLC.

About mCig, Inc.

Headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, mCig Inc. (OTCQB: MCIG) A diversified company servicing the legal cannabis, hemp and CBD markets via its lifestyle brands. MCIG has expanded from originally a vaporizer manufacturer, to an industry leading, large scale, full service cannabis cultivation construction company currently operating in the rapidly expanding Nevada market, and a Hemp based CBD market supplier. The company looks to further broaden its expansion in multiple different fields within the cannabis industry through organic growth and strategic partnerships. For more information visit www.mcig.org.

Safe Harbor Statement

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's ability to develop, market and sell products based on its technology; the expected benefits and efficacy of the Company's products and technology; the availability of substantial additional funding for the Company to continue its operations and to conduct research and development, and future product commercialization; and the Company's business, research, product development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies.

Paul Rosenberg

Chief Executive Officer

info@mcig.org




Demonstrates Waypoint's Support of Mining and Utility Segment;

Continued Success Remarketing Aircraft

Waypoint Leasing (Ireland) Limited ("Waypoint"), the largest independent global helicopter leasing company, today announced that it has closed a lease agreement with PT. Air Born Indonesia ("Air Born"), a provider of air transportation services in Indonesia, for one Leonardo AW139 helicopter previously operated by CHC, which will go on long-term lease in support of mining operations in Indonesia. Waypoint currently has 22 aircraft on lease to utility operators globally.

Philip Stransky, Vice President of Sales Relationship Management, Asia at Waypoint, said, "We are very pleased to place an AW139 with Air Born in support of mining operations in Indonesia, underscoring the aircraft's versatility and the emerging demand in the mining sector and utility missions broadly for reliable aircraft and flexible financing. Air Born has been a terrific partner in the region and we look forward to continuing to meet their needs in the future."

Ian Gurekian, Chief Risk Officer at Waypoint, added, "This transaction demonstrates Waypoint's ability to successfully remarket and redeploy aircraft previously operated by CHC for oil and gas missions into smaller markets, utility segment or specialist roles. Our ability to put these aircraft back to work is indicative of the strength of our sales team and the versatility of the AW139 to operate in both offshore and utility markets. This transaction not only diversifies Waypoint further into mining, but demonstrates how our team creates efficiencies in the market that benefit us all. We're pleased to be a part of this process and foresee a robust pipeline of similar deals."

Pak Ruel de Leon Nacachi, President Director and CEO at Air Born, said, "We are pleased to partner with Waypoint on this transaction and are impressed by their creativity and resourcefulness in finding the perfect aircraft to meet our operational needs. Waypoint helped us weigh a variety of factors to ultimately choose a helicopter and financing plan that was bespoke for Air Born and allows us to complete our missions efficiently and cost-effectively. Waypoint's expertise in the utility sector and guidance through the leasing process is a real differentiator and will continue to be important going forward."

Since its inception in 2013, Waypoint has been active in supporting oil and gas, utility, firefighting and other industrial-focused helicopter operators. This transaction will further diversify Waypoint's activity into the utility support segment. Waypoint's portfolio includes more than 140 aircraft for 28 customers in 30 countries with total assets in excess of $1.6 billion. Additionally, Waypoint has firm and option orders with aircraft manufacturers for more than 110 helicopters valued at more than $1.3 billion, to be delivered over the next five years.

About Waypoint

Waypoint is a global helicopter leasing company that provides operating lease and financing solutions to helicopter operators worldwide. Headquartered in Limerick, Ireland, Waypoint differentiates itself with a senior management team that has direct helicopter operating and leasing experience in key helicopter markets around the world, having leased helicopters across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Waypoint serves a wide range of sectors including oil and gas, emergency medical service, search and rescue, firefighting and governmental support. In addition to Ireland, Waypoint has offices in London, the United States, Canada, Singapore, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia. Further information is available at www.waypointleasing.com.

About Air Born

Air Born Indonesia is a national air charter company established in 2010 to provide air transportation services in support of mining, oil and gas, MedEvac, and Aerial Survey operations.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005411/en/

Contacts:

Media for Waypoint

Sard Verbinnen Co

Jared Levy/Cameron Seligmann

212-687-8080

waypoint-svc@sardverb.com
BURLINGTON, MA--(Marketwired - March 08, 2017) - Haley & Aldrich, an engineering and environmental consulting firm, will conduct Lean training workshops at no cost for local businesses beginning this month through a Direct Access Training grant awarded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Through the training, workshop attendees will learn Lean principles and tools, which when applied, help organizations remove obstacles and create value by better understanding customers, optimizing processes, improving team performance, and developing talent.

Beginning in March 2017 and continuing through June 2018, the company will offer four Lean courses for construction and facilities management organizations in Massachusetts.

"We are very excited that the Commonwealth has given us the opportunity to help local businesses start their own Lean journeys," said Nick Masci, Lean Trainer and Lean Black Belt at Haley & Aldrich. "Lean is a powerful, collaborative practice that enables organizations to improve their effectiveness and value to internal and external stakeholders."

Haley & Aldrich clients that have participated in Lean training programs in the past have gained critical value in the areas of employee engagement and empowerment, and operations. "Lean training is the most transformative experience in the history of our company," said Clifford Cort, President of Triumph Modular.

"Working with Haley & Aldrich over the past year and learning the Lean construction tools they are teaching us has had a major impact throughout our organization," said Amy Thompson West, Director of Program Development at Tocci Building Corporation. "A significant number of staff, ranging from field laborers to project executives, are tackling improvement initiatives that are changing how we win and execute work. It is a transformative and exciting time here at Tocci."

The grant enables Haley & Aldrich to provide free training to more than 100 total participants in four Lean courses: Lean Fundamentals, Visual Workplace, Lean for Construction Professionals, and Lean for Capital Planning and Facility Operations. After completing Lean Fundamentals, participants will receive a Lean White Belt Certification, while participants in either the Visual Workplace, Lean for Construction Professionals, or Lean for Capital Planning and Facility Operations will receive a Lean Yellow Belt Certification, conferred by Haley & Aldrich. The courses will be conducted at Haley & Aldrich's Boston office.

The Workforce Training Fund aims to promote job growth, job retention, and increased opportunities and wages for workers by increasing business productivity and competitiveness for Massachusetts businesses. The fund awarded over $1.28 million in grants -- known as the Direct Access Program -- to 12 organizations, covering the entire cost of training employees from Massachusetts businesses of all sizes.

For more information on the course offerings and registration, visit info.haleyaldrich.com/lean-workshop-series.

About the Direct Access Training Grant

This Direct Access Training Grant is funded by a Workforce Training Fund grant through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The grant program is administered by Commonwealth Corporation.

About Haley & Aldrich

Haley & Aldrich, Inc., is committed to delivering the value our clients need from their capital, operations, and environmental projects. Our one-team approach allows us to draw from our 600 engineers, scientists, and constructors in nearly 30 offices for creative collaboration and expert perspectives. Since our founding in 1957, we have one goal in all we do: deliver long-term value efficiently, no matter how straightforward or complex the challenge.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/haleyaldrich

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/haley-&-aldrich

Media Contact:

Diane Pardes

Pardes Communications, LLC

dpardes[at]pardescommunications.com

781-652-8059
MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - The percentage of Americans who believe Russian involvement influenced the results of last year's US presidential election has grown sizably, according to a new national poll. According to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted last weekend, 41 percent of registered voters said Russia influenced the result of the 2016 presidential election. 42 percent believe it didn't, while 17 percent aren't sure. When the same question was asked in a December poll, only 32 percent had said 'yes.' Most voters (57 percent of respondents) also agree that a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate alleged ties between US President Donald Trump's campaign staff and the Russian government. The Russia controversy has dogged the Trump administration over its first seven weeks, and the Democrats have called for an investigation into it. According to the poll, voters expect Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress to implement most of the president's key policy proposals in his first year in office. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - March 08, 2017) - Katherine Gillespie, Laurette Petersen, Andrew Ratts and Christine Hoefliger have joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as partners in the firm's Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance team. Gillespie, Petersen, and Ratts, along with special counsel Katarzyna Levecke, join the firm's Chicago office. Hoefliger joins the firm's San Francisco office. The group joins from Winston & Strawn LLP.

"These attorneys make up one of the country's preeminent project finance teams in the renewable energy sector. Their robust practice, considerable knowledge and experience make them a significant addition for the firm and our clients," said Robert S. Beall, managing partner of Sheppard Mullin.

Lawrence C. Eppley, Sheppard Mullin's Chicago managing partner, added, "We are thrilled to welcome Katie, Laurette, Andy and Kathy to the office. They are a great addition to our culture, and their expertise dovetails nicely with the strong transactional foundation of the office."

"We were extremely impressed with the high caliber of the lawyers, meritocratic and collegial culture, and continuing year-over-year growth at Sheppard Mullin," Ratts said. "Those qualities, combined with Sheppard Mullin's global reach and current strong energy and finance practices, will allow us to provide greater service to our clients in the energy sector."

Gillespie, who will co-lead the firm's Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance team with partner Tony Toranto, focuses on finance transactions, tax credit transactions and merger and acquisition transactions, primarily in the renewable energy sector. She has represented numerous developers, equity investors, lessors, and lessees in financing, acquisition and leasing matters involving specialized facilities and equipment. Gillespie's tax credit transaction experience includes structuring, acquiring and divesting interests in tax credit partnerships largely relating to alternative energy credits. Gillespie earned a J.D., magna cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School and a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Petersen concentrates her practice on project finance transactions. She has represented a wide array of developers and debt and equity investors in the negotiation and due diligence of key project documents, structuring and documentation of project debt and equity financing, and closing of tax advantaged project investments, most recently in renewable energy. Prior to private practice, she spent 10 years as a banker specializing in the electric and gas industry. Petersen earned a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, with honors, and a B.A., with highest honors, from Michigan State University.

Ratts has nearly 30 years' experience in federal income taxation. He has particular experience with tax-advantaged investment transactions within the energy industry, including through joint ventures and leasing. He earned a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and a B.S., with highest honors, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hoefliger's practice is focused on the sale, acquisition and financing of renewable energy projects. She has extensive experience negotiating and documenting sales and acquisitions of solar and wind projects and coordinating due diligence of renewable energy projects on behalf of tax equity investors, buyers or sellers. Hoefliger also represents tax equity investors or sponsors in tax equity transactions for renewable energy projects and represents emerging companies in various industries including high-tech with respect to equity financings and mergers and acquisitions. Hoefliger earned a LL.M. eq., with honors, from the University of Paris-II-Assas and a J.D. eq., with honors, from the University of Paris XI.

Levecke concentrates her practice on commercial lending transactions, leasing and tax credit transactions, in each case, primarily in the renewable energy sector. She has represented numerous developers, debt and equity investors, lessors, and lessees in financing and leasing matters. Her experience includes negotiation and due diligence of key project documents and structuring and negotiation of debt and equity investment documents. Levecke earned a J.D., summa cum laude, and a B.A., with highest honors, from DePaul University.

Sheppard Mullin has nearly 30 attorneys based in its Chicago office and 100 attorneys based in its San Francisco office. The firm's Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance team includes more than 40 attorneys; the Real Estate practice group includes more than 60 attorneys firmwide.

Last month, Sheppard Mullin Chicago added Litigation partner Bill Kane from Baker Hostetler.

About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard Mullin is a full service Global 100 firm with 780 attorneys in 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100. For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com.

CONTACT:

Robert Beall

(714) 513-5100

Kara Eyer

(312) 499-0533
Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recentglobal underbars refrigeration market 2017-2021report. This market research report also lists five other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005027/en/

Technavio has published a new report on the global underbars refrigeration market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Competitive vendor landscape

According to the research analysis, the global underbars refrigeration industry has a high growth potential in developing countries. To cater to this growing demand, vendors are developing underbars refrigeration equipment that monitors freshness, and improve safety and convenience. Top vendors are also focusing on energy-efficient underbars refrigeration equipment that can integrate a set of technologies to improve the experience of the end-user. For example, manufacturers are looking for high-performance batteries and systems that can transform heat into electricity. The electricity used by the equipment can also come from renewable energy production, thereby making the whole process more sustainable.

The market is highly capital intensive, which makes the entry of new players difficult. In order to withstand competition, market players are continuously making efforts to launch underbars refrigeration equipment with improved features. Many players in the market are focusing on offering underbars refrigeration equipment with improved functions and characteristics. For instance, the top vendors are offering a touchscreen interface for its multi-function underbars refrigeration equipment.

"Vendors must expand geographically while reviving domestic demand to achieve sustained growth. They can boost profitability by adopting efficient production techniques that minimize production costs and mitigate associated risks," says Manu Gupta, a lead research analyst at Technavio.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=56869

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Technavio'smarket research analysts identify the following key vendors:

Perlick

Perlick is a leader in manufacturing commercial bar and beverage systems, residential underbars refrigeration, and brewery fittings in the US. It provides indoor and outdoor underbars refrigerators, wine reserves, freezers, freezer and refrigerator drawers, ice makers, and beer dispensers. The company provides custom bar and beverage and refrigeration equipment, innovative underbars items, beverage dispensing equipment, and brewery fittings. The company provides products that optimize the energy use to help end-users maximize the profitability of their beverage service operations.

SKOPE

SKOPE claims to provide products that have the latest technology for energy savings and cooling performance. The products offered by the company are reliable, durable, and aesthetically unique. The company provides upgraded energy-efficient doors that feature a frameless glass and the new anti-condensation technology. These upgraded doors are also equipped with sleek, easy grip handles.

True Manufacturing

True Manufacturing is a leader in the commercial refrigeration industry and provides efficient models. The company follows market trends by employing new strategies to meet the needs of the end-user. The company also aims to reduce its carbon footprint to help minimize the environmental impact of different products and operations. The company provides refrigerated prep tables, underbars refrigerators, and upright reach-in refrigerators.

Williams Refrigeration

Williams Refrigeration is a well-known manufacturer of high-quality commercial refrigeration equipment. The company sells its equipment mostly through the dealer network, and its product portfolio includes back bars, bakery cabinets, blast chillers, dough retarder provers, freezers, gastronorm cabinets, merchandising cabinets, sandwich bars, pizza preparation counters, undercounter storage units, and upright refrigerators.

Beverage-Air

Beverage-Air offers a broad portfolio of commercial refrigeration equipment for the foodservice industry. Some of its product offerings include glass door merchandisers, counter-top refrigerators, worktop and food-preparation tables, and reach-in and roll-in refrigerators. The company provides underbars refrigerators with flexibility in design to maximize efficiency. Its underbars refrigerators are engineered for a wide variety of applications, increasing the versatility and space efficiency of the end-users.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Refrigerated Cabinet Market 2016-2020

Global Refrigerated Display Cases Market 2016-2020

Global Packaged Refrigeration Market 2017-2021

Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like health and wellnesshome, kitchen, and large appliances; and lab equipment. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005027/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Japan, South Korea, and China next week, his first visit as Secretary to the East Asia and Pacific region. In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, the State Department's Acting Spokesperson Mark C. Toner said in a statement. It will include strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from North Koera, and reaffirm the Administration's commitment to further broaden and enhance U.S. economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region. The Secretary will arrive in Tokyo on March 15, continue on to Seoul on March 17, and travel to Beijing on March 18. Toner said the Trump administration is also intent on pursuing a constructive relationship with China while remaining determined to ensuring that China abides by international rules and plays fair with respect to trade, regional issues, and of course, human rights. Secretary Tillerson has already met with China's state councilor as well as its foreign minister in Washington. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Within few weeks of assuming power, the Donald Trump administration came under attack by the human rights arm of the United Nations.



The US President's leadership came under sharp criticism by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in his annual report on the activities of his Office and recent human rights developments.



Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told the 34th session of the Human Rights Council that Trump's policies are fueling xenophobia, and undermining journalists and judges.



While briefing the Council of the human rights situations in several countries that are regularly mentioned, the UN Human Rights Commissioner said he is concerned by the new US Administration's handling of a number of human rights issues.



He called for greater and more consistent leadership to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities.



Vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims, and false claims that migrants commit more crimes than US citizens, are harmful and fuel xenophobic abuses, according to the UN human rights chief.



He mentioned attempts by the President to intimidate or undermine journalists and judges.



Al Hussein also expressed concern about new immigration policies that ban admission of people from six predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days, as well as policies which greatly expand the number of migrants at immediate risk of deportation - without regard for years spent in the US or family roots. 'These threaten to vastly increase use of detention, including of children'.



He warned that expedited deportations could amount to collective expulsions and refoulement, in breach of international law, if undertaken without due process guarantees, including individual assessment. 'I am especially disturbed by the potential impact of these changes on children, who face being detained, or may see their families torn apart,' Al Hussein told the apex body of the UN human rights wing in his Global Update.



It comes a day after the United Nations refugee agency expressed concern that the United States Government's new decision on refugee resettlement may compound the anguish of people fleeing deadly violence.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
PORTLAND, Oregon and PUNE, India, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Small Satellite Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2014 - 2022", the global small satellite market is expected to reach $7,179 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 19.8% from 2016 to 2022. In 2015, the Earth observation application dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140911/647229 )



Small Satellite Market Report Summary: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/small-satellite-market

The global small satellite market is driven by the increase in need to reduce costs related to space missions. Organizations around the world are investing in small satellite market for imaging and communication services. However, lack of dedicated launchers for small satellites and privacy of data related to Earth observation limit the small satellite industry growth. Application of small satellites across diverse sectors such as defense, civil, commercial, and government is expected to present numerous opportunities for market growth.

Among the various types of small satellites, minisatellites accounted for a major market share in 2015, owing to their widespread application, ease of use, and ability to perform similar functions as medium and large satellites. The minisatellite market is expected to generate $3,012 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 17.4%. The nanosatellite market is expected to register a high growth rate due to their low cost, lightweight nature, ease of building and development, and high capability of performing complex computational tasks. CubeSats, which are increasingly being used by academia and research, have supplemented the growth of the small satellite industry.

Earth observation accounts for the largest share in the small satellite market, and is expected to generate $4,045 million in 2022, growing at the highest CAGR of 21.3%. High demand for satellite imagery in the government sector, including federal agencies, local, and state governments for urban planning, border mapping, infrastructure security, and homeland security, has increased the adoption of small satellites in the market.

Various end users, including defense, government, commercial, and civil sectors, use small satellites to improve infrastructure and offer enhanced services to users. In 2015, the commercial sector accounted for the largest share in the global small satellite market size, and is estimated to $3,601 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 21.3% during the forecast period. This is attributable to the reduced cost and weight associated with small satellites, in addition to investments by small and medium enterprises, and startups in the market.

"Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period, owing to the expansion of agriculture and civil engineering industries, which utilize Earth observation services. In addition, governments, NGOs, and research organizations are increasingly utilizing satellite imagery to map, monitor, and analyze environmental degradation and disaster management. Use of small satellites in technological demonstration and communication sector is also expected to supplement the growth of the small satellite industry in this region." states Gunjan Malani, Research Analyst, ICT & Media at Allied Market Research.

Connect to Research Analyst: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/1951

North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2015, accounting for $819 million, and is projected to reach $2,643 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 18.3%. This is due to rise in applications of small satellites in agriculture, real estate, defense, and government sectors in the North American region. Increasing investment in the defense sector, along with technological advancement in telecommunication industry have boosted the small satellite market growth during the forecast period in the region.

Check offers and discount on Small Satellite Market Report:https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/get-discount/1951



Key Findings of the Small Satellite Market:

In 2015, Earth observation application accounted for the major share in the global small satellite market, in terms of revenue, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 21.3% during the forecast period.

The commercial sector generated the highest revenue in 2015.

In 2015, North America generated the highest revenue in the market.

generated the highest revenue in the market. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 22.1%.

The well-known companies profiled in the report include Sierra Nevada Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Airbus Defense and Space, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Harris Corporation, Aerospace Corporation, Planet Labs Inc., The Boeing Company, Thales Alenia Space, and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. These companies consistently launch products and explore novel technologies to meet the customers' increasing needs and requirements. Rise in investments for R&D by private and public organizations involving product innovation and development of customized solutions has been also observed.

Summary of similar reports can be viewed at:https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/aerospace-&-defence/defence-market-report

About Us:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.



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Company announcement no 03-17 8 March 2017 PostNord has just announced that, effective from 1 January 2018, they will introduce a new production method. It is FK Distribution's immediate assessment that this decision may result in some of PostNord's customers in the market for weekly newspapers and unaddressed printed matter opting for FK Distribution to distribute their printed matter. The market for distribution of weekly newspapers and unaddressed printed matter has been on the decline since 2010, and this trend will undoubtedly continue. Should some of PostNord's current customers opt to cooperate with FK Distribution, expectations are, however, that - all things being equal - this will have a positive effect on FK Distribution's revenue and performance. For 2017, North Media A/S still expects group revenue to be between DKK 865 million and DKK 910 million, and EBIT before special items to range between a negative DKK 5 million and a negative DKK 30 million. For further information, please contact: Chief Executive Officer of FK Distribution Mads Dahl Andersen, mobile +45 20 42 09 85. Yours faithfully North Media A/S Kare Wigh Group Executive Director & CFO This document is an unofficial translation of the Danish original. In the event of any inconsistencies, the Danish version shall apply.

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - It seems that all the negative campaign, boycotts and controversies surrounding Ivanka Trump's namesake clothing line has inadvertently worked in her favor.



The clothing line owned by President Donald Trump's elder daughter Ivanka Trump has reported record sales.



'Since the beginning of February, they were some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand,' Abigail Klem, the president of the Ivanka Trump fashion brand, tells Refinery29 in an interview published Tuesday. 'For several different retailers Ivanka Trump was a top performer online, and in some of the categories it was the [brand's] best performance ever.'



In early February, Seattle-based department store chain Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) said it will discontinue selling Ivanka Trump clothing and accessories due to poor sales performance.



The decision to drop the clothing line was made amid the 'Grab Your Wallet' campaign started by an anti-Trump group that encourages shoppers to boycott products that has ties with President Trump or his family.



The anti-Trump group has called for the boycott of more than 70 companies for doing business with the Trump family or selling Trump products.



Several retailers dropped the first daughter's clothing line in the following weeks, citing poor sales. Retailer Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD), the parent company of Sears and Kmart, discontinued online sales of 31 Trump Home items. South Jersey-based Burlington Coat Factory also dropped Ivanka Trump products.



President Donald Trump took to Twitter to express his chagrin on Nordstrom's decision to drop his daughter's clothing line, raising concerns whether the new president will mix his family's businesses and his White House power.



'My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!' Trump wrote on twitter.



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-InMoment builds on its leadership position in customer experience market, plans to accelerate growth

-Joiner brings extensive executive experience leading high-growth, global SaaS organizations

-Former CEO and founder John Sperry will focus on future innovation and serve as chair of InMoment's board of directors

InMoment, the leading customer experience (CX) intelligence platform, announced today that its board of directors has appointed Andrew Joiner as the company's new chief executive officer. John Sperry, InMoment founder and CEO, will continue his work with the company as chairman of InMoment's board of directors.

"We are excited to welcome Andrew to InMoment. Last summer we hit an inflection point with our innovation that opened a very different kind of opportunity for us," said Sperry. "To achieve our full potential, we needed a distinguished software leader with fast-track growth experience. In Andrew, we've not only found that, but he also possesses deep expertise in the enriching and analysis of unstructured data, as well as customer experience. It is a unique combination. We have already accomplished amazing things at InMoment. With the technology and these changes, our future is unstoppable."

Joiner brings extensive expertise in building global, market-leading, high-growth SaaS organizations. Prior to joining InMoment, Joiner served as worldwide head of the HP Software's customer experience business, an ~$250 million independent software business of Hewlett Packard. Before that, he led the high-growth business unit within HP Autonomy, an ~$1.1 billion market leader in providing unstructured data applications and solutions, focused on customer experience and marketing technology. Joiner was acquired into Autonomy via ZANTAZ in 2006, having served as founder and CEO of Singlecast Technologies, a pioneer in unstructured data classification.

Customer experience is now the undisputed battleground where brands compete. Customer analytics, especially from unstructured data sources such as voice, email, video and surveys, answer the "why" of customer behavior, and are quickly becoming the key source of actionable intelligence driving successful customer experience. According to the analyst firm IDG, by 2020, 93 percent of all data in the digital universe will be unstructured.

With the launch of InMoment's next-generation platform last fall, and the public announcement of Discover today, the company has a unique ability to transform traditional insights into customer experience intelligence always-on, customer-sourced intelligence for the enterprise. (See InMoment Launches Discover, a First-of-Its-Kind CX Intelligence Tool

"I've worked at the intersection of unstructured data and software automation for a good part of my career, and helped many organizations tap into its massive potential," said Joiner. "Most of the IT industry is ill-equipped to understand or leverage this type of data. InMoment has been relentless in introducing innovation to solve a whole new class of challenges not yet met by traditional customer experience vendors. As a result, the company has set itself apart with the unprecedented vision of transforming customer insights into something much more valuable customer experience intelligence. I am excited to build on InMoment's financial strength, technology and the market opportunity."

InMoment is a portfolio company of private equity firm, Sorenson Capital. According to Ron Mika, Sorenson co-founder and managing partner, and member of the InMoment board of directors, bringing Joiner to Utah is a big win on many fronts. "The ability to attract talent of his caliber says something powerful about InMoment, as well as the local technology ecosystem. We look forward to working with Andrew to accelerate the growth of InMoment, and welcome him as a new and important voice in our state's innovation leadership."

About InMoment

InMoment is a cloud-based customer experience (CX) intelligence platform, arming brands with compelling customer insights to drive high-value business decisions and relationships with both customers and employees. InMoment's industry-leading analytics power a full suite of Voice of Customer (VoC), Voice of Employee (VoE), Employee Engagement and Social Reviews Advocacy solutions. InMoment also provides strategic guidance, support and related services to more than 350 brands across 95 countries. For more information, visit http://www.inmoment.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006011/en/

Contacts:

InMoment

Lisa Davis, 801-230-9399

VP Communications

ldavis@inmoment.com
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Technavio has announced the top six leading vendors in their recentglobal biliary stents marketreport. This research report also lists 15 other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005031/en/

Technavio has published a new report on the global biliary stents market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The market is growing at a steady rate and is primarily driven by factors, such as the growing geriatric population, changing lifestyles, and the intake of unhealthy food that increase the incidence of digestive tract problems. The rising incidence of pancreatic cancer, biliary ailments, and cholelithiasis has increased the demand for biliary stents in the market.

Competitive vendor landscape

The market is highly fragmented with the presence of many vendors, including niche vendors from across the globe. It is characterized by the presence of well-diversified international and local vendors. Boston Scientific, Cook Medical, Medtronic, C.R. Bard, and Abbott Vascular dominate the market. The local and regional vendors in this market have a negotiable market share and have products with advanced features and technologies.

"Many vendors in the market are adopting the strategy of product bundling, which includes combining two or more products or services. Product bundling offers product differentiation with better product offerings. However, vendors are continuously losing their market share to small- and medium-sized vendors owing to price differentiation," says Barath Palada, a lead orthopedics and medical devicesresearch analyst from Technavio.

Biliary stents have today, occupied an important place in wide applications in the medical field. The popular products include WallFlex biliary RX stents, Evolution biliary controlled, E Luminexx vascular and biliary stent, and LifeStar vascular biliary stent systems. These products have advanced features, such as design and material, and come with easy stent delivery system.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=56883

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Top six biliary stents market vendors

Abbott Vascular

Abbott Vascular engages in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of a wide range of healthcare products. The company's products are sold directly to wholesalers, retailers, healthcare facilities, hospitals, laboratories, physicians' offices, and government agencies worldwide.

Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific develops, manufactures, and markets high-quality medical devices used for treating a wide range of medical conditions. It provides an extensive range of innovative products through its subsidiaries and divisions worldwide.

Cook Medical

Cook Medical is a medical equipment company that designs, manufactures, and sells equipment for surgical, dental, hospital, and electromedical applications. Cook Medical also offers various introducer sheath sets and lead extraction devices used for cardiac rhythm management.

C.R. Bard

C.R. Bard designs, manufactures, and sells medical, surgical, diagnostic, and patient care devices. The company's products are available in more than 100 countries and has business operations in 90 countries. Its principle markets include Europe, Japan, and China. Its customers include individual healthcare professionals, extended care facilities, hospitals, and alternate site facilities. Its product portfolio features over 15,000 products.

Medtronic

Medtronic is the leader in the global non-vascular stents market. The company generated net sales of USD 20.3 billion in 2015, and the cardiac and vascular segment of the company accounted for about 46% of the overall revenue. The company leads in medical technology and offers an unprecedented depth in innovative medical products, therapies, and services.

Taewoong Medical

Taewoong Medical develops various medical devices and has excellence in providing quality and technical expertise. Its Niti-S stents were granted product qualification certificates in the US, China, Japan, Canada, and Russia. The company designs gastrointestinal medical devices, urology stents, and accessories.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Gastrointestinal Stents Market 2016-2020

Global Non-Vascular Stents Market 2016-2020

Global Gastrointestinal Therapeutics Market 2016-2020

Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like medical imaging, oncology, and vaccines. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308005031/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
Schulte Roth Zabel (SRZ) is hosting its annual London Investment Management Hot Topics seminar today in London. Lawyers from the firm's market-leading practice will examine the current state of the industry and address fund, tax and regulatory issues. The event is by invitation only.

Josh Dambacher and Christopher Hilditch, co-heads of SRZ's London office, will provide welcoming remarks, including a market overview and moderate a panel offering "A Market Perspective." The event also features SRZ lawyers Brian T. Daly, Nick Fagge, Anna Maleva-Otto, Jim McNally, Cathy A. Weist and Lee Smith. The speakers represent a broad range of practice areas, including hedge funds, investment management, private equity, regulatory & compliance, shareholder activism and tax.

SRZ will also welcome guest speakers, Brett Carron, co-chief operating officer and general counsel for Arrowgrass Capital Partners LLP, Ben Ellenbogen, general counsel for City Financial Investment Company Limited and Jon May, general counsel and head of compliance for Marshall Wace.

Additional seminar topics include: "Taxing Carried Interest The New Regime;" "Regulatory Outlook;" "Form ADV;" "MAR Nine Months On;" and "Challenges Terminating Old Funds and Launching New Ones."

"We are pleased to present this strong programme, which we hope will ignite important discussions on issues impacting the investment management industry," commented Mr. Dambacher. "The recent political developments in the United Kingdom and worldwide are presenting new challenges and opportunities for private funds. At today's seminar, we will discuss the outlook for the year ahead and beyond," said Mr. Hilditch.

"We are excited to host our annual London Investment Management Hot Topics seminar. Today's speakers will provide an overview of expected areas of change and key considerations for managers," commented Alan S. Waldenberg, chair of SRZ's Executive Committee.

An innovator in the investment management industry, SRZ was named "The Leading Global Law Firm" at The Hedge Fund Journal Awards 2017. SRZ is also the only firm with first-tier rankings for its hedge fund practice across all of the major ranking publications, including Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, Chambers USA, Chambers Global, The Legal 500 United Kingdom and The Legal 500 United States

In addition, SRZ provides clients with key resources on timely topics. The firm recently sponsored AIMA's MiFID2 - A Guide for Investment Managers and partnered with Activist Insight to publish The Activist Investing Annual Review 2017

About Schulte Roth Zabel

Schulte Roth Zabel LLP (www.srz.com) is a full-service law firm with offices in London, New York and Washington, D.C. As one of the leading law firms serving the financial services industry, the firm regularly advises clients on corporate and transactional matters and provides counsel on regulatory, compliance, enforcement and investigative issues. The firm's practices include: bank regulatory; bankruptcy creditors' rights litigation; broker-dealer regulatory enforcement; business reorganization; complex commercial litigation; cybersecurity; distressed debt claims trading; distressed investing; education law; employment employee benefits; energy; environmental; finance; financial institutions; hedge funds; individual client services; insurance; intellectual property, sourcing technology; investment management; litigation; mergers acquisitions; PIPEs; private equity; real estate; real estate capital markets REITs; real estate litigation; regulated funds; regulatory compliance; securities capital markets; securities enforcement; securities litigation; securitization; shareholder activism; structured finance derivatives; tax; and white collar defense government investigations.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006115/en/

Contacts:

Schulte Roth Zabel LLP

Sun Min, 212-610-7539

sun.min@srz.com

or

Schulte Roth Zabel International LLP

Carla Lynch, +44 (0) 20 7081 8017

carla.lynch@srz.com

or

Group Gordon, Inc.

Lana Gersten, 312-846-1655

lgersten@groupgordon.com
TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - March 08, 2017) - Attendance at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) 2017 Convention totalled 24,161 -- a strong indication that confidence has returned to the mineral exploration and mining industry.

The annual PDAC Convention -- the world's largest industry event -- attracted investors, analysts, mining executives, prospectors, geologists, government officials and students.

"The mineral exploration and mining industry is cyclical in nature and has faced a variety of economic challenges over the past several years, but optimism has always remained and it's fantastic to see this being reflected at the PDAC Convention," says PDAC President Glenn Mullan, referring to sold out exhibitor space, investor meetings, Short Courses, Mineral Outlook Luncheon, and Awards Gala. "There was an upbeat vibe throughout the convention -- a positive sign for the sector going forward."

PDAC, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, hosted the International Mines Ministers Summit (IMMS) for the second year, bringing together 25 Ministers responsible for mining from around the world. The event, hosted at BMO, provided an important setting for the global mining community to explore challenges and opportunities affecting the industry. This year's Summit focused on innovation in the mining industry and the clean innovation agenda.

"PDAC is seen as the voice of responsible mineral exploration and mining, not only in Canada but also abroad," says PDAC Executive Director Andrew Cheatle. "We must continue to build strong working relationships, both nationally and internationally, and the PDAC Convention is the best opportunity to make these connections and showcase our industry and its importance to social-economic development."

The Honourable Jim Carr, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, announced the renewal of the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (METC) for one year, along with the maintenance of the flow-through share system. Overall, over 20 Parliamentarians attended including three Cabinet Ministers.

We look forward to seeing you at the PDAC 2018 Convention, March 4-7, 2018 -- where the world's mineral and finance industry will once again meet!

The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is the leading voice of the mineral exploration and development community. With over 8,000 members around the world in all sectors of the mining industry, the PDAC's mission is to promote a globally-responsible, vibrant and sustainable minerals industry. As the trusted representative of the sector, PDAC encourages best practices in technical, operational, environmental, safety and social performance.

Kristy Kenny

Coordinator of Communications

416-807-8214

kkenny@pdac.Ca
NEWARK, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Kateeva today announced that it is expanding its Silicon Valley headquarters. The company has leased an adjacent building at its Newark campus, adding 75,000 sq. ft. that is zoned for manufacturing and business operations. This brings Kateeva's total campus footprint to 150,000 sq.ft. Kateeva moved to its current location in early 2015 to facilitate production ramp-up of its YIELDjet inkjet printing manufacturing equipment for the global flat panel display industry. Since then, headcount has nearly tripled to 330 people, and orders for YIELDjet systems have soared. With the new building, Kateeva's doubles its manufacturing footprint, providing ample space to accelerate production.

Leading flat panel display manufacturers use Kateeva's precision deposition equipment for cost-effective mass production of Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays. OLED technology is behind some of today's most popular smartphones and tablets. Already, OLED screens curve around edges to enable unique form factors. Soon, when tablets, notebooks and smartphones can bend, roll and even fold without breaking, it will be thanks to OLED technology. OLED technology enables the production of displays on plastic (entirely free of glass), making them flexible and paper-thin.

Kateeva's first product, the YIELDjet FLEX system, enabled a rapid transition from glass encapsulation to Thin Film Encapsulation (TFE) in new OLED production lines. The "freedom from glass" technology leap was the gateway to flexible displays. Each Kateeva inkjet printer is highly customized and built to extremely exacting specifications. Measuring approximately 2,000 sq.ft., the tool contains thousands of precision parts, and is differentiated by myriad innovations that are protected by 200 issued and pending patents. With the system, customers can achieve dramatically higher TFE yields and lower mass-production costs than what was previously possible with other deposition techniques. On an OLED mass-production line, Kateeva printers work in concert with tools from other leading equipment companies to process the panels.

Kateeva's tools are designed and engineered in Newark, so the expansion will support the company's growing R&D team. In addition, since Kateeva manufactures a majority of its products and components in Newark, the expansion will also support a large increase in its U.S. manufacturing capacity.

Kateeva's President and Co-founder, Dr. Conor Madigan noted: "Kateeva's manufacturing strategy utilizes a balance of production in Asia, as well as the U.S. This dual-region strategy generates optimum efficiencies and will continue as we grow. For now, our most complex and customized products will be built at our Newark facility where we can leverage our adjacent manufacturing and engineering teams to maintain highest quality while also satisfying our customers' aggressive delivery timelines. This is far more difficult to achieve when our manufacturing and engineering teams are separated and remote. Building these products in the U.S. also helps us safeguard the intellectual property that differentiates our technology solution."

Madigan listed other advantages of Kateeva's newly expanded Newark HQ: "By obtaining an adjacent building we can maintain the operating efficiencies of a single site," he said. "Also, in Newark we're next door to several international airports, which is imperative for a manufacturer of capital equipment bound for production fabs in Asia. Finally, our location situates us ideally to draw talent from all regions in and around Silicon Valley."

YIELDjet is trademarked by Kateeva.

About Kateeva, Inc.

Kateeva makes breakthrough production equipment for manufacturers of advanced electronics technologies. The company has pioneered a precision deposition technology platform that uses innovative inkjet printing to deposit coatings on complex applications with blinding speed and superb accuracy. Technology leaders use Kateeva's solution to enable cost-effective mass production of flexible and large-size OLED displays, among other cutting-edge products. Kateeva is headquartered in Silicon Valley, maintains operations in Korea, Taiwan, Japan and China, and is backed by leading Venture Capital firms and other investors. www.kateeva.com.

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Kateeva Contact

Dr. Jeff Hebb

Vice President of Global Marketing

t. +1 800-385-7802

Email: Email Contact



Media Contact

Jane Evans-Ryan

Genuity PR for Kateeva

m. +1 408-489-6391

Email Contact






WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A slim majority of voters think Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied about his communications with Russian officials and should resign, according to the results of a new Quinnipiac University poll.



The poll was conducted following revelations that Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice last year despite previously telling Senators during his confirmation hearing that he did not have communications with the Russians.



Sessions argued that he was asked about an exchange of information between surrogates for President Donald Trump's campaign and intermediaries for the Russian government and said he believes he answered the question honestly.



The Attorney General said he met with the ambassador in his capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and not as a Trump surrogate.



However, the Quinnipiac poll found that 52 percent of voters think Sessions lied under oath during the hearing. Another 40 percent think he made an unclear statement.



Eighty-three percent of Democrats and 53 percent of independents think Sessions lied under oath compared to just 14 percent of Republicans.



The survey also showed that 51 percent of voters think Sessions should resign over the matter, while 42 percent think he should remain as Attorney General.



Not surprisingly, Democrats and independents are far more likely to say Sessions should resign than Republicans.



President Donald Trump has expressed 'total' confidence in Sessions, who recused himself from investigations related to the presidential campaign.



Sixty-one percent of voters also said they are 'very concerned' or 'somewhat concerned' about Trump's relationship with Russia.



The poll also found that 62 percent of voters think alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election is a 'very important' or 'somewhat important' issue.



'The gavel comes down hard on Attorney General Jeff Sessions,' said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. 'He lied and he should quit because of it, say Americans, who are clearly very concerned about the Russian affair and all the administration personnel involved with it.'



The Quinnipiac survey of 1,323 voters was conducted March 2nd through 6th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.



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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- Cresval Capital Corp. ("Cresval" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE: CRV) announced today that Founder, Director and Chief Executive Officer Louis Wolfin died peacefully at his home on Friday, March 3. He was 85 years old.

Mr. Wolfin enjoyed an active, successful career in finance, exploration and mining and was highly respected in the industry. He began his career in Toronto in the early 1950s, working in the brokerage industry and learning from the ground up. He later moved to Vancouver to become an arbitrage trader and then a broker. In 1960 he purchased a seat on the Vancouver Stock Exchange and opened his own brokerage house. In the mid-1960s he helped fund a number of exploration companies and eventually opened Avino Silver in 1968, putting the Avino Silver Mine into production in 1974.

Mr. Wolfin founded Cresval Capital Corp., his latest exploration venture, in 2004, exploring initially for gold in British Columbia. In 2006, he acquired the flagship MIKE copper-gold-silver-molybdenum project, located in the Bridge River/Bralorne region of southwestern British Columbia.

Believing that the MIKE Property had important potential, Mr. Wolfin explored patiently, shepherding the project through fluctuating copper markets and conditions. Recent discoveries, both on the MIKE and adjoining properties, have supported his initial foresight. With improving copper markets, we anticipate more exploration on the MIKE Property in the near term.

Mr. Wolfin was a proud supporter of women in the mining industry, appointing Lee Ann Wolfin as president and director in 2006. Ms. Wolfin, a member of Women in Mining British Columbia, has served on other mining boards and has actively promoted the participation of women in Canada's mining industry. Mr. Wolfin also appointed Jean Pautler, P.Geo. as Cresval's head geologist, who was named Yukon Prospector of the Year in 2010.

A special memorial, open house gathering will be held for Mr. Wolfin beginning 2:00 on Thursday, March 9, at the offices of Oniva International, suite 900, 570 Granville Street in Vancouver.

About Cresval:

Cresval is a junior copper and precious metals exploration company actively involved in three 100% owned projects situated near the productive Bralorne Gold camp in southwestern British Columbia.

Information on the MIKE Project is available on the Company's website at www.cresval.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Lee Ann Wolfin, President, Cresval Capital Corp.

Forward looking statements: Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This release contains statements that are forward-looking statements and are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Dorothy Chin

604 682-3701 ext. 222

dchin@oniva.ca




ZTE Corporation, one of the world's largest telecommunications gear makers, pleaded guilty to signing contracts to sell hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of hardware and software from U.S. technology giants, including Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm.

A Chinese telecommunications company has agreed to pay $892 million for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, settling a case that resulted in increased tension between the U.S. and China.

The penalties are among the largest ever imposed in a sanctions case. "ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company," Chairman and Chief Executive Zhao Xianming said Tuesday in a statement.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement the company violated sanctions that are designed to "keep sensitive American technology out of the hands of hostile regimes like Iran's."

"This plea agreement holds them accountable, and makes clear that our government will use every tool we have to punish companies who would violate our laws... and jeopardize our national security," Sessions added.

The settlement allowed ZTE, the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in the U.S., to avoid a cutoff of U.S. components that had been imposed by the Commerce Department in March 2016.

Without key components from U.S. technology companies, ZTE would have been at risk of needing to file for bankruptcy.
Regulatory News:

SoLocal Group (Paris:LOCAL)

Among the legal proceedings initiated by Mr. Benjamin Jayet against the Company, which are described in the prospectus which received from the AMF the visa n 17-056 dated 8 February 2017 (the "Prospectus") and were recalled in the Company's press release of 3 March 2017, Mr Jayet appealed against the order of the President of the Commercial Court of Nanterre of 13 January 2017 dismissing his application for interim measures suspending the implementation of resolutions n 1 to 7 adopted at the General Shareholders Meeting of 15 December 2016 pending a decision on the merits. In these proceedings, the Court of Appeal of Versailles is to render its decision on 9 March 2017. For the record, resolutions 1 to 7 relate to the authorization by the General Shareholders Meeting of the completion of the capital increase and, more generally, the issuance of securities under the financial restructuring plan (as well as the prior capital reduction).

SoLocal Group has therefore asked Euronext Paris to suspend the listing of its shares (LOCAL FR0012938884) from the opening of the stock exchange on 9 Thursday March 2017. The company will communicate as soon as the decision is made.

This suspension of share quotation has no impact on the timetable of the settlement and delivery of purchases and sales of shares executed on March 8th and the record date for receiving free shares; therefore, a shareholder or investor who bought shares on 8 March 2017 (in order to receive the free shares) will be registered in the account on 10 March 2017, which would enable it to obtain the free shares in accordance with what had been announced, in the event of a favorable decision of the Court of Appeal. In the event that the Court of Appeal of Versailles would allow Mr Benjamin Jayet's requests to suspend the implementation of the aforementioned resolutions 1 to 7 before the offering is completed, the implementation of the Accelerated Financial Safeguard Plan, and notably the completion of the offering it provides could be delayed. In the event that a definitive decision would annul the decisions taken during the shareholders' meeting of the Company on 15 December 2016 after the offering is completed, such a decision could lead to the cancellation of the offering with retroactive effect. However, such an annulment could be impossible to implement in the context of a public offering.

It is recalled that at the resumption of the quotation of the share, the price of the shares will be adjusted technically as a result of the detachment of free shares in accordance with market practices.

About SoLocal Group

SoLocal Group, European leader in local online communication, reveals local know-how, and boosts local revenues of businesses. The Internet activities of the Group are structured around two business lines: Local Search and Digital Marketing. With Local Search, the Group offers digital services and solutions to clients which enable them to enhance their visibility and develop their local contacts. Thanks to its expertise, SoLocal Group earned the trust of some 490,000 clients of those services and over 2.4 billions of visits via its 4 flagship brands (PagesJaunes, Mappy, Ooreka and A Vendre A Louer) but also through its partnerships. With Digital Marketing, SoLocal Group creates and provides the best local and customised content about professionals. With over 4,400 employees, including a new orders force of 1,900 local communication advisors specialised in five verticals (Home, Services, Retail, Health Public, BtoB) and Internationally (France, Spain, Austria, United Kingdom), the Group generated in 2016 revenues of 812 millions euros, of which 80% on Internet and ranks amongst the first European players in terms of Internet advertising revenues. SoLocal Group is listed on Euronext Paris (LOCAL). More information may be obtained at www.solocalgroup.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170308006307/en/

Contacts:

Press

Delphine Penalva

+33 (0)1 46 23 35 31

dpenalva@solocal.com

or

Edwige Druon

+33 (0)1 46 23 37 56

edruon@solocal.com

or

Alexandra Kunysz

+33 (0)1 46 23 47 45

akunysz@solocal.com

or

Investors

Sebastien Nony

+33 (0) 1 46 23 49 03

snony@solocal.com
Weekly net asset value ("NAV") is calculated as of the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following business day. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, the Company will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. The end-of-month NAV is calculated as of the close of business on the last day of the month and posted on the following business day. For weeks that include a month-end NAV report, PSH will provide only the month-end NAV and not report the Tuesday NAV. Monthly NAVs are published in accordance with the Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen Wft).

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/08/17 -- The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that our criminal laws protect Canadians, hold offenders to account, meet the highest standards of equity and fairness, respect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and show compassion to victims. This, in turn, will help to promote a justice system that protects Canadians, their communities and their rights.

As part of the Government's ongoing efforts to modernize and review the criminal justice system, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Jody Wilson-Raybould, today introduced legislation that would remove or amend provisions of the Criminal Code that have been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada and appellate courts and have no force in law. For example, certain provisions related to murder were found unconstitutional in 1990, and the offence prohibiting abortion was found unconstitutional in 1988, but they have never been removed from the Criminal Code. Removing these and other invalid provisions would make the Criminal Code more clear and accessible and help Canadians, including those involved in the criminal justice system, to better understand the current state of law.

This is the start of the Minister's modernization of our criminal justice system to ensure that it shows the greatest possible respect for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Quotes

"As Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, I have been mandated to ensure that our legislation meets the highest standards of equity, fairness and respect for the rule of law. This bill, which would remove invalid laws from the books, is an important step towards fulfilling that commitment. We will bring forward other bills to further amend the Criminal Code to reflect our commitment to the Charter and to a fair justice system. The result will be a justice system that better protects Canadians and their rights, and provides safety to their communities."

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, P.C., Q.C., M.P.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Quick Facts

-- The proposed legislation would remove invalid, unenforceable provisions in the Criminal Code that were struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada and appellate courts for violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. -- In addition, a proposal to remove the anal intercourse offence in the Criminal Code has been included in this legislation. This would replace Bill C-32, which was introduced in November 2016 to repeal the offence. -- The removal of these provisions would eliminate the possibility that someone could mistakenly be charged, prosecuted or even convicted under provisions that are no longer in force. -- The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights, and language rights.

Related Products

Backgrounder: Removing unconstitutional provisions from the Criminal Code

Charter Statement

Questions and Answers

Associated Links

-- Rights and Freedoms in Canada

Stay Connected

-- Follow the Department of Justice Canada on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. -- Follow Minister Wilson-Raybould on Twitter: @MinJusticeEn. -- Subscribe to receive our news releases and more via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit http://justice.gc.ca/eng/news- nouv/rss.html

Contacts:

David Taylor

Director of Communications

Office of the Minister of Justice

613-992-4621



Media Relations Office

Department of Justice

613-957-4207

media@justice.gc.ca




Veem (FKA Align Commerce), a San Francisco, CA-based a provider of global payments solutions for small businesses, closed a $24m Series B funding.

The round was led by National Australia Bank (NAB) Ventures, with participation from GV (formerly Google Ventures) and SBI Investment Co., Ltd. and existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Silicon Valley Bank. In conjunction with the funding, Melissa Widner, general partner, NAB Ventures, will also join Veems board.

The company intends to use the funds to expand into more countries, enable payments in additional currencies.

Led by Marwan Forzley, CEO and founder, Veem enables small businesses to pay and get paid from their business partners all over the world by intelligently routing payments between different rails, including the blockchain, to connect the disparate parts of the international payment process.

FinSMEs

08/03/2017
Bigo Live, a Singapore-based social video streaming app, reportedly raised a Series C funding of undisclosed amount.

According to Tech in Asia, Ping An Overseas Holdings made the investment which brought its valuation to over $400m and total funding to $180m.

The company intends to use the new funds to expand globally and invest in research and development.

Founded in March 2016, Bigo Live provides an iOS and Android live streaming app used by over 60 million people with main markets being Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

FinSMEs

08/03/2017
Conversion Logic, a Los Angeles, CA-based media industrys unified marketing analytics platform, secured $9m in Series A funding.

The round was led by Pelion Venture Partners, with participation from Rincon Venture Partners, Crosscut Ventures, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Founder Collective, Revel Partners and TenOneTen.

The companym which has raised $14.1m to date, intends to use the new funds to expand its sales and marketing, data science and engineering efforts.

Led by Brian Baumgart, co-founder and CEO, Conversion Logic Conversion Logic provides enterprise marketers with a cross-channel measurement platform that combines cloud analytics and machine learning to translate data science into actionable insights across the customer journey and reduce friction, adapt, and realize value more quickly.

Since its founding in 2014, the company has worked with brands such as ADT, Microsoft and more.

FinSMEs

08/03/2017
Farmers Business Network, Inc., a San Carlos, CA-based farmer-to-farmer network, raised $40m in Series C funding.

The round was led by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and DBL Partners, with participation from new investor Bow Capital and returning investors Acre Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).

The company, which has raised nearly $88m in funding, intends to use the capital to further expand the network, its analytics offerings, and the FBN Direct farm-commerce platform.

Led by CEO and co-founder Amol Deshpande, Farmers Business Network allows farmers to anonymously share data about everything from seed performance to chemical pricing, leveraging data science to help farmers make more informed decisions. FBN members receive comprehensive farm benchmarking, real world seed performance analysis and field-seed matching, data mapping, and pricing analytics based on over 85 million acre events of real-world precision agronomic data. In addition, the FBN Direct platform connects farmers to manufacturer-direct, national and transparent pricing on ag chemicals, fertilizers, seeds, technology and services.

To help its members capture more value for their crops, the company has developed data-driven crop marketing services and is connecting growers directly with a global buyer network.

The company has Midwestern Headquarters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

FinSMEs

07/03/2017
Greyrock Capital Group, a provider of mezzanine and equity capital to middle market companies, has closed its fourth fund, at $275m.

Limited Partners in GCG Investors IV included insurance companies, university endowments, pension plans and high-net worth individuals.

Greyrock

Formed in 2002, Greyrock provides subordinated debt and equity in support of buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital for lower middle market companies with EBITDA between $3 and $30 million.

The firms team, who has offices in Berkeley, CA, Chicago, IL and Wilton, CT, includes professionals with 150 years of collective experience.

FinSMEs

07/03/2017
LoopMe, a London, UK-based specialist in using artificial intelligence in brand advertising, raised $10m in funding.

Backers included Impulse VC, Harbert European Growth Capital, and existing investors Holzbrinck Ventures and Open Ocean Capital. In addition to the funding, George John, who has worked with AI during a career spent at NASA, Epiphany, Salesforce, Yahoo and founded artificial intelligence-led marketing platform, Rocket Fuel, has joined the companys board of directors.

The company, which has raised a total of $17m to date, intends to use the funds for global growth and continued investment in artificial intelligence technology.

Led by CEO & Co-Founder Stephen Upstone, LoopMe provides PurchaseLoop, which leverages AI technology that learns how people feel about and react to advertising, and changes their advertising experience based on their individual feedback loop. Microsoft, Honda, Heineken (Birra Moretti), Airbnb and Disney are among brands to have run PurchaseLoop campaigns.

Since receiving its previous round of funding in 2015, the company reached profitability for the full year 2016, more than doubled its sales revenue and team size, opened offices in LA, Bangalore, Johannesburg and Moscow, and invested in its technology. The expansion is set to continue in 2017, with offices opening in Amsterdam, Singapore and Chicago.

FinSMEs

08/03/2017
The court rejected the need for a temporary injunction sought by Modamani to require Facebook to go beyond measures the company had taken to block defamatory images of him for Facebook users in Germany using geo-blocking technology.

Modamani's image was subsequently shared on Facebook on anonymous accounts, alongside posts falsely claiming he was responsible for the Brussels airport bombing of March 2016 and setting on fire a homeless man in December last year by six migrants at an underground station in Berlin.

The posts in dispute featured a picture showing Anas Modamani, a 19-year-old from Damascus, taking a selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel in September 2015 at a refugee shelter in the Berlin district of Spandau.

The Wuerzburg district court said in a preliminary ruling that Facebook is neither a "perpetrator nor a participant" in what it said was "undisputable defamation" by Facebook users, but simply acting as a hosting provider that is not responsible for preemptively blocking offensive content under European law.

A German court rejected a temporary injunction against Facebook on Tuesday in a case brought by a Syrian refugee who sued the social networking site for failing to remove faked posts linking him to crimes and militant attacks.

In a statement following the decision, Facebook expressed concern for Modamani's predicament but said the court's ruling showed the company acted quickly to block access to defamatory postings, once they had been reported by Modamani's lawyer.

The case has been closely watched as Germany, a frequent critic of Facebook, is preparing legislation to force the social networking website to remove "hate speech" from its web pages within 24 hours or face fines.

After the ruling, Modamani's lawyer in the case, Chan-jo Jun, told a news conference he was disappointed such imagery continued to circulate online and more must be done to force Facebook to delete hate-filled content on its own accord.

"We have to decide whether we want to accept that Facebook can basically do whatever it wants or whether German law, and above all the removal of illegal contents in Germany, will be enforced. If we want that we need new laws," Jun said.

Modamani's complaint maintained that defamatory images based on the selfie posted to Facebook were still viewable online outside of Germany, or by users within Germany using a sophisticated Tor browser.

But the court found that the risk of average German users seeing the illegal content was not sufficiently credible and therefore a temporary injunction was unnecessary at this stage.

The ruling said there remained a legitimate issue over whether it was technically feasible for Facebook to do more to block such images, but this would require testimony by experts.

Tuesday's decision is subject to appeal within one month of the yet-to-be-published written judgment, a court statement said. Jun declined to say whether an appeal was planned, saying the decision remained up to his client.
Pet Food UK, the company behind the Barking Heads, Meowing Heads and AATU brands, received a 5m investment from Piper Private Equity, the UKs specialist investor in consumer brands.

As part of the deal, Mark Escolme (Spillers, SC Johnson, Findus, and Gu Puddings) joined as chairman.

The company will use the proceeds to expanf its brand marketing, international sales, ecommerce and development efforts.

Founded in 2009 by Paul Hunter, Dave ORegan and Jim Moloney, Pet Food UK offers dry premium natural pet food via Barking Heads (for dogs) and Meowing Heads (for cats). In 2015, the company introduced the AATU brand, a product following the 80/20 rule (80% meat, 20% vegetables) which is a protein source dry pet food.

Today, the Pet Food UK brands are sold in more than 1,500 stockists in the UK including Pets At Home, Jollyes, Tesco and a large number of independent pet food specialists.

The company employs 20 staff from its office in Hemel Hempstead. With revenue exceeding 10m, Pet Food UK has sales across Scandinavia, Ireland, Russia and the Czech Republic, which currently represent nearly 30% of the business.

FinSMEs

08/03/2017
Four months have passed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 November announced one of the most disruptive economic policies in Indias history by unexpectedly scrapping Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. That amounted to some 86 percent of the total currency in circulation, or Rs 15.4 lakh crore. The move, which came at a time when the Indian economy was limping back to higher growth trajectory and just ahead of crucial state polls, surprised many economists. It drew both support and criticism. The notebandi, as it is popularly called, triggered a major cash crunch in the economy in the next two months and hit the informal sector, which operates mainly in cash, badly.

Soon, the narrative of the demonetisation exercise was rapidly changed from targeting black money, corruption and fake notes to creation of a digital economy and even to bringing down real estate prices. The Modi government didnt take the criticism on the merits of the move lightly and took on political rivals fiercely. The debate soon took the shape of a fight between the corrupt and non-corrupt. But, even some of the former RBI officials, such as former governor Y V Reddy and deputy governor Usha Thorat, cried foul about the lack transparency, frequent flip-flops in rules and the very efficacy of the idea of recalling notes to achieve the primary objective of killing black money. Even the Supreme Court questioned the government and RBI from backtracking from its promises (read here).

The objectives of the government were laudable, but it seems as though the scheme was imposed on the country with little or no forethought, noted economist and former JNU professor, Arun Kumar wrote in his book--Understanding the Black economy and Black money in India. Those who heavily criticised the move also included Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who termed note ban as an authoritarian move and questioned it saying the very low percentage of black money in cash and the absence of credible estimates from the government on this.

Those like Arun Kumar, also questioned the governments rationale on the expected rapid shift to the digital economy saying only about 22 percent adults in India has access to internet and 17 percent to smart phones, limiting their ability to shift to online financial transactions.

At the same time it is unlikely that black marketeers and other generators of black money will suffer because the biggest fish were able to quickly convert whatever black cash they had into white, Kumar wrote. Former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh called it a monumental tragedy and a case of organised loot and legalised plunder.

But, there were many who lauded the governments move too. This side included NITI Aayog member, Bibek Debroy, economist and former chief economic advisor to government and Arvind Virmani. Those defended the demonetisation move also included RBI governor, Urjit Patel. Economists criticism on demonetisation is not fact-based, Debroy said. They (economists living abroad) base their understanding essentially on reading English newspapers. Otherwise, how would they know? English language newspapers understood many things wrongly, PTI quoted Debroy as saying this.

Post-demonetisation the first two months, the cash crunch has eased significantly and things are almost back to normal. But, beyond the criticism and counter arguments, what have been the gains it offered so far?

There are no tangible gains seen so far, except the flood of deposits that have reached the banks when people thronged the branches to deposit or exchange their invalid currency. About Rs 12.4 lakh crore deposits have reached banks till 10 December, according to RBI data. The central bank has not released numbers post this date. But, a good chunk of this money has found its way to government securities when banks struggled to deal with large deposits in the backdrop of poor credit demand.

For this reason, banks holding in G-Secs rose to 30-34 percent as against the 29 percent mandated by rules. Following the demonetisation event, the banking system received a record inflow of deposits. Whilst the surge in deposits is real, the same is not being lent out but is being used by banks to buy government securities, said analysts at Ambit in a report titled, 3Q FY17 GDP data-CSOs flight of fantasy continues.

There has been no major recovery of black money since demonetisation. According to PTI report, which cited income tax department sources, the total undisclosed income admitted or detected as part of this action, till 19 December, has been a mere Rs 3,185 crore. There is not the latest estimate available. Fake bills in new notes have been seized from across the country since demonetisation, raising doubts about the promise of eliminating counterfeit notes. Terror networks have been short of cash and are hit by demonetisation, but things would be back to normal for them when cash crunch eases.

Some of the activities like terror funding, etc would have come down because there is no cash available in the system. But, with this, the overall economic activities also have come down. Money, which was utilised earlier, is not available now. Once the cash comes back, all of this will start again. The point is for one or two targets, you dont burn the entire forest, said former RBI deputy governor, K C Chakrabarty in an interview to Firstpost.

What has demonetisation done to the economy?

If one goes by the third quarter GDP numbers, which showed a 7 percent growth in Q3, nothing has happened. Everything is as usual, and in fact, demonetisation has significantly boosted private consumption. But, not many economists trust the GDP numbers citing the lack of disconnect with multiple indicators on the ground (read here).

In the long run, most economists agree that demonetisation would improve tax base and compliance when taxmen trace the large number of new deposits and more people turn to digital transactions. Note ban has certainly acted as a trigger for a large number of people turn to digital transactions. Also, when demand for bank loans pick up, banks can use the deposits garnered through this exercise to fund productive sectors. But, one needs to wait and watch how this scenario evolves.

Questions remaining

There are important questions remaining to be answered. The Reserve Bank, even after 4 months of demonetisation, has not disclosed how much deposits have ultimately come back to the banking system since 8 November, saying that it is still counting notes. The apex bank updated these figures twice since note ban but stopped giving the updates post 10 December. Former SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri, in an interview to Firstpost, criticised the RBI saying the central bank is lying on the cash situation, while Chakrabarty said the central bank doesnt have the right information at this stage. We also dont know the latest figure on how much unaccounted cash has been recovered post this exercise.

But, one thing is clear. After 4 months, PM Modis dramatic move continues to enjoy ground support (according to various surveys) with people looking at the step as a long pending war against the rich and the crooks in the society. At least, demonetisation has not impacted the BJPs poll profiles as is evident from the public mandates in civic polls from Maharashtra and elsewhere. Demonetisation is still seen as a heroic act by Modi and will, probably, remain so. The only thing missing, so far, in this fascinating story is hard data on the progress. There are more questions than answers.
New Delhi: n line with the government's Digital India initiative, HP Inc on Wednesday launched its first 'Centre of Excellence' (CoE) in India.

The facility is dedicated to demonstrating innovative solutions developed locally that have the potential to digitally transform the country.

The 4,000 square-feet facility aims to showcase multiple solutions for sectors such as education, healthcare, BFSI (Banking, Financial services and Insurance) and manufacturing.

"The CoE will allow government and non-government stakeholders to have a practical understanding of the solutions making it easier for decision makers to take a step forward towards comprehensive digitisation of the nation," said P.P. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Law and Justice, in a statement.

Developed in collaboration with over 25 system integrators that include top IT software companies, the CoE will be used as a platform to exhibit solutions relevant to government and businesses.

"HP India over the years has delivered transformational technology solutions to help make the Digital India vision a reality," added Rajiv Srivastava, Managing Director, HP Inc India
For Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of One97 Communications, parent company of Paytm, 2016-17 is fast turning out to be a major turning point. First came demonetisation, which saw the popularity of his company, a payment gateway founded in 2010, soar, and now with its planned entry into e-marketplace, the valuation of his entity is on a rise, that too at a time when the entire e-commerce space is seeing sharp markdowns in values.

On Tuesday, Anil Ambanis Reliance Capital sold part of the stake it holds in Paytm for Rs 275 crore, which is a 27-fold return on its original investment made in 2010. According to media reports, the deal values Paytm at $4.8 billion, next only to Flipkart which has seen its value freely falling from $15 billion in May 2015 to just $5 billion recently.

Reliance Capital sold its stake to China's Alibaba Group, which is already an investor in the company and is gearing up for a grand entry into Indian e-commerce space through Paytm Mall, the ecommerce venture.

For a man who dreamt of building "a company and a product that would be useful to people and stand out in the market", this is quite a feat. And he is seeing his empire in the ecommerce space expanding.

The beginnings

Sharma's rise to the top with Paytm was crafted on one desire: To impact people's lives.

He is a man of humble beginnings. In an earlier interview with Firstpost, he had recalled fondly his 'lower middle class' family roots and the little surprises he gave his family that made them and him happy.

He did his schooling with Hindi as the medium of instruction. Sharma wanted to 'impact peoples lives' with whatever he embarked upon later in life and to that end he was willing to absorb the challenges that came his way. He struggled in Delhi's School of Engineering wrestling with the English language.

"I had to leave Aligarh, where I grew up, for a big city like Delhi and was alone there. I did my schooling with Hindi as the language of instruction. So, when I came to Delhi, I found it difficult to cope with English," he said. This was unnerving for a student who was a class topper all through his school days and needed to take the vice chancellor's permission to take admission to engineering as he was just 15 years old. He soon eased himself from a lifelong habit of being a front bencher in school and in the initial days in college to become a back bencher as he was unable to respond to his teachers' queries in English. But that brought about a different issue. His classmates bullied him.

Sharma depended on himself to get forward to what his goals were then. He taught himself to read English by reading newspapers and magazines daily and spent time in the computer centre in the college. That was where the change in his dreams were fuelled. "I dreamt of becoming a Sabeer Bhatia. I realised that instead of taking up a job, it would be better to create something in India."

It was his new-found hobby of reading that led him to his first startup. Sharma chanced upon the wonders of Silicon Valley in a magazine. That was a moment of epiphany. "To hell with these classes. I can build a company with the help of the Internet," he recalled.

In the third year of college, Sharma along with a batch mate set up a web portal, Xs! Corporation. "The firm offered web-guided services, including web directories, and was also a search engine. We got seed money worth Rs 20,000 from Individual Angel Investor, a New Mexico-based venture capital fund. We roped in two more of my batch mates into the venture. I finished college in 1998. Between February-May 1999, our turnover was Rs 50 lakhs! I sold the company in 1999 to Living Media India, which is now the India Today Group for half a million dollars and split the money between the four of us." This was gratifying for the collegian as all he wanted was to take up a Rs 10,000 salary job when he stepped in to engineering college. "That was a big dream for a boy from Aligarh," he said. And the 'boy from Aligarh' splurged his earnings on buying a color TV for his family which did not have one. He surprised his mother by buying her saris and his dad by paying off the loans taken to marry off his elder sister.

Paytm is born

Sharma had to tailor his dream to the situation he found himself when 9/11 busted his startup plans. He was 'forced' to take up a job as a consultant for a livelihood but his keen eye for business spotted an opportunity with the popularity of smartphones. Thus Paytm was launched in 2010 as Sharma wanted to do away with plastic money. It has surpassed most of the goalposts that Sharma had envisaged over the years. The firm, a Unicorn now with $4.1 billion valuation, has been in the news for scaling several milestones. Incidentally, it is the only company to have its payments and e-commerce businesses valued at billion dollar as separate entities. And for that, he has to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation profusely.

On the sidelines of the Nasscom Leadership Summit in Mumbai recently, Sharma - the cynosure of eyes at most events he comes to and chased for his bytes -- said: "Post November [2016], our offline transactions have exceeded even our expectations. In January more than 65 percent of our transactions were offline. We have over 4.5 million merchants presently and are targeting to grow this to 10 million by the end of the year."

The company is aggressively planning to grow its merchant network. Currently, it is present in over 450 districts and plans to cover 650 districts in 2017.

In January 2017, Sharma said the online payments platform had clocked Rs 5,000 crore worth of transactions. This, according to him, was 11 percent up from the transactions made in December.

That's 200 million transactions in volume terms. The customer base we have achieved in such a short period of time, is incredible and India and Bharat have come together so easily," he said.

In February, Paytm's user base for wallets crossed 200 million. The payment platform is currently available in 10 regional languages  Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Oriya and Punjabi.

The company's e-marketplace is in the process of raising $200 million from Alibaba Singapore E-commerce, along with investment firm SAIF Partners. Tuesday's stake sale is part of Alibaba's plan to raise its stake in the company.

Paytm is also one of the 11 firms that has got the RBI's licence to start payments bank. However, its licence expires this month. Regarding the delay, Sharma said, there is a long process of getting all approvals and certification in place, to Mint.

In December, Sharma sold 1 percent of his holding in One97 Communications to raise about Rs 325 crore. This money was to be pumped into the group's payments bank operations.

Controversies, too

Though demonetisation has given Sharma a lot of reasons to be happy, it has also come with controversies.

A full page ad on 9 November congratulating PM Modi, a day after the announcement of demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, raised many eyebrows.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal raised a suspicion in his tweet that went viral: Paytm biggest beneficiary of PMs announcement. Next day PM appears in its ads. Whats the deal, Mr PM?

Sharma replied curtly to Kejriwal. Dear Sir, the biggest beneficiary is our country. We are just a tech startup, trying to solve financial inclusion & make India proud."

Paytm and other mobile wallets were the few who benefitted hugely with the note ban move. According to a statement released by the company, post demonetisation announcement on 8 November (Tuesday), it saw a record five million transactions a day (on Friday and Saturday, each) and was on the way to process over Rs 24,000 crore (by March 2017), more than any other payment network in the country.

Later Sharma was also seen in a leaked video clipping  to be fair it was a company event  shouting out Paytm's achievements and also using abusive language to share his joy. "Today, I can't tell you ki dil kitna khush hai (I can't tell you how happy I am today)," said Sharma in a video that went viral and got blasted on social media for his alleged arrogance. Ye hai Paytm. Jo hamare saath nahi hai woh royenge. Ek saal mein woh kiya jo unhone 10 saal mein nahi kiya! 2017 will be ours. Kaise nahi hoga?

This was post-demonetisation which saw mobile wallets make a killing with cashless payments.

With Paytm, all that Sharma dreamt of was the day his mobile wallet would be able to reach out to half a billion Indians, he had told Firstpost. He is still a long way off the mark but has made the company a familiar word for over the half billion he dreamt of. "I always wanted to impact people's lives," he had said. "I believe, If you are at it, you should get it. I am of the opinion that life got better with mobile payments." It certainly did for Sharma and One97 Communications.
India's pension regulator now allows members of the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) to move their retirement savings to the National Pension System (NPS).

Thats not all, the amount transferred from recognised PF/ superannuation fund to NPS will not be treated as income of the current year and is hence not taxable.

Further, the transfered PF/superannuation fund will not be treated as contribution of the current year by employee/employer and accordingly the subscriber would not make I-T claim for contribution for this transferred amount. said the circulator on the PFRDA website. This will provide for exemption from taxation to a one time portability from recognised PF to NPS.

But a few conditions apply

If you are looking to transfer funds from EPF to NPS, you must have an active NPS Tier-I account. If you dont have one, you can open such an account via your employer if they have implemented NPS or online through eNPS on the NPS Trust website.

How to transfer the funds

First, you have to approach the recognised PF/ Superannuation Trust Fund through your current employer and give a request for transfer of funds to NPS account.

The recognsied PF/Superannuation trust will have to initiate transfer of the fund as per provision of the trust deed and the provision of the Income Tax Act.

If you are a government employee, you should request the PF/ superannuation fund to issue a letter to your present employer mentioning that the amount is being transferred from the fund to be credited to your NPS Tier-1 account.

The present employer or point of presence (POP), i.e. the nodal office, while uploading the fund will mention on the transfer from PF/ superannuation fund in the remarks column while uploading. The upload has to be made as per request letter of the ex-employer.

In case of private sector employees, including subscribers covered under All Citizens Model NPS, the employees should request the recognised PF/ superannuation fund to issue a letter to the present employer/ PoP as the case may be, mentioning that amount is being transferred from the PF/ superannuation fund to be credited in the NPS account of the employee/ individual Tier-I account.

The POP will get the amount collected and the same has to be uploaded in the NPS account of the subscriber.

Thats the procedure, but theres more to this story than just the announcement, and how to go about transferring the funds.

With NPS you cannot withdraw the entire corpus until you turn 60. However, as far as EPF is concerned, you can withdraw the entire corpus if you remain unemployed for two months or more. This may come in handy, in the present situation, where there is no job security and there is a lull in the job market.

Again, with NPS, after reaching 60 years of age, you are allowed to withdraw only 60 percent of the total corpus amount. And, 40 percent has to be used for purchase of annuity/ pension plan.

As of now, this annuity income or pension income is taxable because NPS falls under the EET (exempt, exempt, taxed) category of investments. Balwant Jain, Mumbai based Financial Expert says, "The returns on annuity have been very poor, around 6 percent."

As against this, the rate of return for EPF is usually fixed by the Central Board of Trustees every year. For 2016-17, the rate has been fixed at 8.65 percent.

When it comes to withdrawal from EPF, you can do so if you are unemployed for more than 2 months.

NPS returns are also dependent on asset allocation you have chosen, the efficiency of the fund manager and market conditions.

What should you do

Harsh Roongta, Mumbai-based Certified Financial Planner says, "As of now there is uncertainty around NPS design. Unless the authorities stop shoving down the annuity and make NPS an EEE product (exempt, exempt, exempt), there is no point in hurrying to switch from EPF to NPS."

Jain too agrees with the view. He says, "The authorities need to bring about parity in New Pension Scheme and other retirement schemes. As of now there's no need to switch from existing EPF to NPS,"

If it is mandatory for you to contribute to NPS then you do not have any choice but to contribute. But, as of now just follow the three golden words hold your horses.
New Delhi: Uphaar theatre owner Gopal Ansal, who was asked to surrender to undergo the remaining part of his sentence for the 1997 fire tragedy, failed to get any relief from the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

A bench, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, refused to extend the date for surrender and posted the matter for Thursday. Gopal Ansal was to surrender by 9 March to serve the remaining seven months in jail as he has been in prison for four months previously.

Gopal Ansal is the co-accused along with his brother Sushil Ansal in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy case of 1997 in which 59 persons were killed.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani requested the court to postpone the hearing in the case after the nine-day Holi break and till then Gopal Ansal's surrender date be extended. The bench denied Jethmalani's request, and said the matter would be heard on Thursday.

Arguing that he does not want to undergo the remaining part of his one-year sentence, Gopal Ansal had moved the court seeking parity with elder brother Sushil Ansal, who was let off with the sentence he has already served.

Senior advocate KTS Tulsi, appearing for the Association for Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), opposed Gopal Ansal's plea. The lawyer said review pleas of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the association have already been decided and there cannot be a review of the review judgement.

The apex court on 9 February sentenced the builder to one year in jail. He said the court could not deny him the same relief extended to Sushil Ansal because his medical condition too was equally precarious.

Sushil Ansal's age and ailments were taken into consideration while not sending him to prison. Gopal Ansal sought modification of the order which asked him to serve the remaining sentence, citing his hearing impairment due to which he claimed he has fainted several times.

Expressing "genuine remorse" for those who died in the "unfortunate tragedy", Gopal Ansal contended that he had borne the punishment more than he deserved.

The court had said that since Gopal Ansal, 69, did not suffer any age-related complications, as was the case with Sushil Ansal, 77, there could be no principle of parity and he must spend one year in prison.

The Ansals, who co-owned the Uphaar cinema in south Delhi, were held guilty of "criminal negligence" but escaped jail terms beyond a few months after the top court's 2015 order.

A huge fire broke out at Uphaar when Hindi movie Border was being screened on 13 June, 1997. Trapped inside, 59 persons died of asphyxia and over 100 were injured in a stampede.
On this edition of First Lady, actor Juhi Chawla recalls the contribution of female figures in her life. She spells out some of her inspirations from yesteryear actors like Mumtaz, Sridevi and Padmini Kolahpure. She transports the viewers to a time on the sets when there used to be no women except the heroine.

Though she says that women have now been welcomed to work behind the scenes on the sets, she believes that women are still not respected on screen.

Besides the majority of male-dominated films and the pay disparity in the film industry, Chawla also expresses her contention towards skin show and women objectification.

She lauds filmmaker Kunal Kohli, who was an Radio Jockey back then, for showing his concerns towards women being called 'item girls' in films.
National Award-winning filmmaker and Bengali actor Goutam Ghose has almost wrapped up shooting for Iranian director Majid Majidi's India-set movie Beyond the Clouds. The ace filmmaker told IANS over the phone from Mumbai: "I have almost finished my part in Majidi's film."

Goutam, the critically acclaimed Indian film director, has previously appeared in Srijit Mukherjee's movies Baishe Srabon and Chotushkone.

Currently being filmed in Mumbai, Beyond the Clouds is Majidi's first-ever movie in India and it also marks the debut of Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor's younger brother Ishaan Khatter.

Produced by Zee Studios and Eyecandy Films, the film dwells on nuanced human relationships. AR Rahman will be working on the score of the project, which will mark his second association with Majidi after Muhammad: The Messenger of God.

Earlier reports stated that Deepika Padukone did a look test for the film back in November 2016.

Untagged- Deepika Padukone was seen shooting with Iranian filmmaker- Majid Majidi in Dhobi Ghat last week. #SecretProject pic.twitter.com/tsp7todLVD  Deepika Addicts (@deepikaddicts) November 10, 2016

According to Deccan Chronicle, the xXx: Xander Cage actress got rejected by Majidi after the first look test, because the makers felt she was using the shoot pictures to further her interests in the international arena. According to another newspaper, the actress was the one who did not want to make a commitment till she read the final draft of the script.

Majid Majidi directed the film Children of Heaven, which was nominated to receive the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His last film Muhammad: The Messenger of God depicted the life of Prophet Muhammad with historical and factual accuracy.

(With agency inputs)
American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning 2001 novel by English author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn lead character called Shadow.

So what is American Gods' all about?

The story starts with the very cynical Shadow finding a the stranger sitting next to him on a plane, who already knows his name and his history. From this meeting onwards, he is part of a plot that cheats probability. He is befriended by eccentric characters who appear and disappear at will, and have tasks for him that are never fully explained.

Meanwhile politely sinister men in black suits stalk him as he travels across the States. His wife Laura has been killed in a car accident, but she comes back from the dead not only to speak to him but also to intervene in the plot.

An interesting fact about the novel:

The 'Gods' in the novel actually exist. But they only continue to live if people keep believing in them. They look like normal people and live among us, and they range from ancient Egyptian deities like Thoth and Anubis to more abstract, modern gods like Media and Technology.

Cast and Crew:

Bryan Fuller who has also directed Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Heroes and Michael Green (The River, Kings, Heroes) are writers and showrunners, while David Slade (Hannibal, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) is directing the pilot and additional episodes.

FremantleMedia North America is the studio; their execs Bryan Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk executive produce the series along with Fuller, Green, Slade and Gaiman.

Ricky Whittle plays Shadow Moon, Ian McShane plays Mr Wednesday and Gillian Anderson is joining the cast as media, the mouthpiece of the Gods.

Though the book is really interesting, and one of Gaiman's finest books, the trailer doesn't look very promising, partly because of Netflix's inability to translate their great shows into trailers (Brad Pitt's War Machine didn't look really interesting either but the concept is engaging).

The series is going to stream in Amazon Prime in April 2017:
So far two mobile missile launchers with eight interceptors each have been transported by C-17 transport plane from Fort Bliss, Texas to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek. They are now at a U.S. military base.

The Defense Ministry on Tuesday said work to deploy the THAAD battery "has begun" and Korea and the U.S. will finish installing it "at the earliest possible date."

The arrival of the battery and handover of the necessary land in southern Korea practically ensures the completion of the deployment before the next election, even if President Park Geun-hye is removed from office next week.

A controversial Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery has arrived in Korea from the U.S. sooner than expected in a bid to preempt a change of heart by the next government here.

Normally a THAAD consists of six launchers and at least 48 interceptor missiles, a powerful AN/TPY-2 radar that is the main reason China is against the deployment here, and control and communications units plus a generator operated by around 200 personnel.

The U.S. military said the THAAD deployment is not related to massive joint military exercises currently underway. The battery was expected between June and July, but North Korea's launch of a new ballistic missile is believed to have played a major role in speeding up the deployment.

The new missile, dubbed Pukguksong-2, is powered by a solid-fuel engine, which vastly shortens launch preparation time compared to liquid-fuel-powered missiles that must be refueled shortly before launch and take longer to set up.

One U.S. military source said, "The early deployment of the THAAD battery was decided several weeks ago, but both sides kept the schedule a secret."

One South Korean military source said, "We looked into the prospect of speeding up the deployment considering internal and external circumstances, including the rapid advancement of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile technology." But the military source downplayed suspicions that the two allies want to make the deployment an established fact before the next presidential election, saying the decision was "unrelated to politics."

The Constitutional Court is presently deliberating the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and is expected to arrive at a final ruling in the next few days. If the court upholds her impeachment, Korea must hold presidential elections within two months.

One intelligence source said, "The U.S. believes that the THAAD battery is essential to dealing with the North Korean missile threat and it would now be extremely difficult for the next president to scrap the deployment." And a former Defense Ministry official said, "The THAAD deployment plan could be changed if an opposition candidate becomes president. Korea and the U.S. probably wanted to avoid making the THAAD deployment a political hot potato in the upcoming elections."

The plan has already drawn intense opposition from China amid signs that Beijing is retaliating with economic chicanery. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Tuesday, "All the consequences entailed from that will be borne by the U.S." and Korea.


Mumbai, March 7 (IANS) Asghar Farhadi's Oscar award-winning Iranian drama The Salesman, which has won over audiences and critics alike worldwide, will finally hit the Indian screens on 31 March.

It was officially announced on Tuesday that producer Sunil Doshi, under the banner Sunil Doshi Presents, will release the film in India and it will be distributed by PVR India.

A moving story about a husband who is determined to identify the attacker who assaulted his wife, the film had also won best actor and best screenplay at Cannes International Film Festival last year.

The movie stars Shahab Hosseini, who had previously worked in Farhadi's A Separation and Taraneh Alidoosti in the lead.
WHY DONT YOU READ THESE?
By Scott DiSavino

| NEW YORK

NEW YORK Oil prices ended little changed on Tuesday, as growing U.S. production expectations offset earlier gains after Saudi Arabia's oil minister said market fundamentals were improving.The market, however, fell in post-settlement trade after data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude stocks last week rose 11.6 million barrels, or more than five times analysts' forecast.[API/S] If the build is confirmed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) at 10:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, it would be the ninth straight weekly rise in inventories that are already at record highs. [EIA/S]At the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih said last year's agreement by OPEC and non-OPEC countries to curb supplies and boost prices has improved oil market supply and demand fundamentals.But Falih said that happened only because Saudi Arabia cut beyond what it pledged, bringing the kingdom's output below 10 million barrels per day (bpd). He also said the Organization for the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would not let rival producers take advantage of the cuts to underwrite their own production investments.The group is expected to meet again in May, when it could consider extending the production cuts.

Brent futures LCOc1 slipped nine cents, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $55.92 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 lost six cents, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $53.14.Both benchmarks were about 0.7 percent lower after the API data. Oil prices have been stuck in a $3 band since February, failing to take off after OPEC implemented, to a surprisingly high degree, the first production cut in eight years.

Prices came under pressure as U.S. shale oil drilling increased after WTI rose firmly above $50 a barrel in December after OPEC sealed the deal with Russia and other non-OPEC producers."OPEC has unrealistic expectation as to what their production cuts can achieve," said Phil Davis, managing partner at PSW Investments in Woodland Park, New Jersey, noting U.S. production over the next two years is expected to wipe out much of the OPEC cuts.The EIA projected U.S. oil production would rise to an average of 9.2 million bpd in 2017 and 9.7 million bpd in 2018, which, if correct, would top the current record high of 9.6 million bpd set in 1970.

Fund managers have doubled their net long positions in Brent, WTI and options to 951 million barrels between the start of November and Feb. 21, betting OPEC's output cuts would lift prices.But that bullish sentiment has wavered with Russia's lackluster participation in the cuts, rising U.S. shale output and signs OPEC countries began increasing crude exports in February.Russia promised to implement its 300,000 bpd share of production cuts by the end of April. But brokerage Marex Spectron predicted Russian production and exports would rise gradually, which would lead to "a quick deterioration of the short-term supply conditions." (Additional reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York, Sabina Zawadzki in London and Keith Wallis in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Swami Aseemanand, an accused in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case, was acquitted along with 10 others while three accused were convicted by National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court in Jaipur on Wednesday. RSS leader Indresh Kumar was one among those who were let free from all charges.

Ajmer blast case: Swami Aseemanand acquitted, three people found guilty pic.twitter.com/weSClKYvqD  ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

Ajmer blast case: The three found guilty by NIA court are Sunil Joshi(already dead), Bhavesh and Devendra Gupta  ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

According to India Today, the court was expected to deliver the verdict on 25 February but the announcement was deferred till 8 March.

Initially, police had blamed Islamic terror groups for the blast, but later a confession by Aseemanand shifted the focus of the probe towards Hindutva groups. The hearing in this case was completed in the first week of January in which 149 witnesses were examined and 451 documents were produced before the court.

An NDTV report said, on 11 October 2007, three people were killed and almost 20 were injured in a powerful blast at the Ajmer Dargah. The investigation was handed over in 2011 to the NIA, which had in a chargesheet accused Swami Aseemanand of masterminding the blast. Six others were accused of conspiracy, murder, planting and exploding bombs thus spreading hatred.

Soon after the blasts, a Times of India report said, state police sleuths began rounding up suspects, sent teams across the country and even sought help from other state police. After several failed attempts, the police realised the investigation was heading nowhere. The security establishment was caught off guard when they found the involvement of a Hindu right-wing organisation called Abhinav Bharat.

The investigation was transferred to Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in November 2007, but the first accused Devender Gupta, Lokesh and Chander Mohan were arrested as late as in April 2010. During the preliminary investigation, the local police, special police team, Rajasthan ATS and then NIA investigated the blast. Later, the trial was transferred a designated court in Jaipur for a fast-track trial. (with inputs from the IANS)
Shillong: A trans-border tunnel along the India-Bangladesh border was detected in Meghalaya's militancy-prone South West Garo Hills district on Wednesday, the BSF said.

The tunnel, at a depth of 20 to 25 feet with a dead end, was discovered at Gujangpara area of the district, which is a militancy-prone region, said Border Security Force (BSF) officials, adding that the area has become very sensitive due to increase of cattle smuggling to Bangladesh in the recent past.

"We cannot rule out anything... whether the tunnel was dug up for crisscrossing of militants across the international border or is it meant for smuggling of cattle to Bangladesh," Inspector General, BSF in-charge Meghalaya frontier PK Dubey told IANS.

However, he said that a team of BSF officials will be visiting the tunnel site on Thursday for further inspection.

"After analysing the terrain, it appears the miscreants needed to dig further 200 more metre to reach another end of the India-Bangladesh border fence," he said.

"As the area is densely vegetated with bamboo growth and terrain is undulating, the visibility is not very clear ahead of the fence."

Dubey said the bordering areas flanking both the West Garo Hills and South West Garo Hills districts has become very sensitive due to the increase of cattle smuggling recently.

"There has been huge seizures of cattle by the BSF troopers in this particular area," he said, adding that the border guards has plugged all the gaps and pipes/culverts which were being utilised by the cattle smugglers by placing iron grills and wire meshes," he said.

Dubey said the BSF has also increased the intensity of the patrolling in the border areas to prevent trans-border crimes.

Meanwhile, he praised Constables Amit Kutre and Puneet Kumar for discovering the tunnel.

Meghalaya shares a 443-km border with Bangladesh, part of which is porous, hilly and unfenced and thus prone to infiltration.
In July last year, the University Grants Commission (UGC) widened the purview of ragging and stated that bullying a student based on his/her religion, gender, ethnicity or economic background will amount to ragging. Taking a step further, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has stated that engineering students can be expelled if they are found to rag their peers and mock their caste, ethnicity or sexual orientation, reported Hindustan Times.

The 2016 UGC notification stated:

"Any act of physical or mental abuse (including bullying and exclusion) targeted at another student (fresher or otherwise) on the ground of colour, race, religion, caste, ethnicity, gender (including transgender), sexual orientation, appearance, nationality, regional origins, linguistic identity, place of birth, place of residence or economic background now amounts to ragging."

Taking cognisance of rising discrimination and intolerance on college campuses, the AICTE circular stated that depending on the nature of the offence, a student can be suspended, expelled or lose admission, which will make it difficult for the student to get into any other engineering college in the country, added the report. It should be noted that the AICTE order came eight months after the UGC and there is still a wide gap between the implementation and sensitising the students on campus.

At a time when clashes between student groups have become the norm with them exhibiting very little tolerance to respect each other views and political affiliations, the responsibility of the college administration becomes all the more important to provide a safe and free environment for its students. Colleges in India are supposed have anti-ragging and disciplinary committees in place. Here's what the Delhi University website says:

The University of Mumbai website also includes a circular explaining the online steps that are to be followed to generate anti-ragging affidavits. The circular states that "anti-ragging affidavits are important for the success of the National Ragging Prevention Program, as per the UGC guidelines".

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur also lists out the anti-ragging measures and elaborates on the types of abuses and activities will be termed as ragging. Physical abuse, forced activity like chores for seniors, "singing or dancing or performing in any other way" and lifestyle restrictions like "requiring certain modes of address i.e. seniors should be called sir or ma'am".

The UGC order states that if any institution under a university fails to curb ragging effectively, it will be penalised by withdrawal of affiliation or recognition, withholding grants, "prohibiting the institution from presenting any students then undergoing any programme of study therein for the award of any degree/diploma of the university".

Having a preventive and redressal mechanism in place doesn't necessarily curb ragging on campus. The Times of India reported in February that 11 students of the Kalamassery Government Polytechnic College in Kerala were suspended over repeated ragging incidents. A law college in Visakhapatnam suspended its 19 students for allegedly ragging and beating up students on the campus, according to The New Indian Express. In December last year, Hindustan Times reported that two students in Kerala were hospitalised in a brutal case of ragging.

In the last few days, debate over campus activism and freedom of expression dominated the news headlines, while safety of students were compromised. Following the UGC prescribed guidelines are not enough to curb ragging, it is the responsibility of the colleges and universities to provide an environment that encourages unbiased dialogue on gender and caste sensitisation.

With inputs from PTI
A Maharashtra court on Tuesday convicted wheel-chair bound Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and five others under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for 'waging war' against India and for their alleged Maoist links, and sentenced all but one to life imprisonment.

Reacting to Gadchiroli Sessions Courts judgment, Saibabas wife Vasantha Kumari said the charges against her husband had been concocted. "This judgment is shocking. In the history of Maharashtra, this is the first case in which all the persons charge-sheeted were convicted in all the sections with life imprisonment."

"He has been framed. The BJP government wants to push 'nakedly' the agenda of the RSS by throwing people like Saibaba and others behind bars to suppress the voice of people who raise a red flag against undemocratic policies," Vasantha Kumari, who is a constant shadow to Saibaba as the latter suffers from paraplegic with almost 90 percent disability, told Firstpost in an extensive interview.

Edited excerpts follow:

What is your reaction to this judgment?

This judgment is shocking. In the history of Maharashtra, this is the first case in which all the persons charge-sheeted were convicted in all the sections with life imprisonment. The charges against Saibaba have been concocted. His brother attended most of the hearings. Going by the verdict it seems that the arguments presented by our advocates before the honorary judge and the court, have not been taken into consideration. No evidence has been proved by the prosecution.

What exactly happened? Did you ever imagine this kind of verdict against Saibaba?

Tuesday was the day of the pronouncement of the verdict. Despite having extremely poor health, my husband went to Gadchiroli Sessions Court to attend the last day's hearing, like he did in the past. He never skipped trials and hearings unless it became very difficult for him to do so. At around 3 pm, when the court pronounced the verdict, the Maharashtra Police immediately took him out of the court, without giving any time to communicate further. He has been shifted to Nagpur Central Jail. We could never imagine that the judgment would be so unexpected and shocking, as no serious charges that lead to life imprisonment were proved against Saibaba.

What are the charges slapped against Saibaba and five others?

GN Saibaba, JNU student Hem Keshavdatta Mishra, journalist activist Prashant Rahi, tribal farmers from Gadchiroli district Mahesh Kariman Tirki and Pandu Pora Narote, and a tribal labourer from Kanker district in Chhattisgarh Vijay Nan Tirki have been prosecuted for the offence punishable under Sections 13, 18, 20, 38, 39 of The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code. While five have been given life imprisonment, Vijay Nan Tirki has got 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The allegations against them are that they hatched a criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India and to collect people with the intention of waging war, to shake and reduce the faith of the common citizen in its democratic government by large-scale violence, destruction of lives and property, and thereby destabilise the system of government established by law. Having connections with CPI(Maoist) and its frontal organisation Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) to continue the activities of terrorist gang is another charge. There are many other charges.

What are you planning next?

Our advocates will move High Court soon. This judgment is shocking because no evidence has been proved by the prosecution. After the pronouncement of the verdict, the judge rejected to issue any order on the appeal of our advocates, who had urged the court to direct the jail authorities to provide medicines and assistants to help Saibaba for his physical movement. Last week, he was in hospital due to an infection in the pancreas and stones in the gall bladder. The doctor advised him complete bed-rest and after four weeks, his gall bladder needs to be operated upon. Well move High Court for all these. Our advocates are going through the order copy to chart the further course of action. There is hardly any evidence against him  the trial proved this. We will definitely challenge the verdict. Saibaba has been attending the court all these years. As a wife, now I will fight in the higher courts to seek justice.

What about evidence, as Saibaba has been accused of having strong Maoist links and being a Maoist ideologue?

No evidence has proved him so. The electronic evidence collected from our house by the police during the raid was not sealed. Who knows what other false evidence has been added to it? Saibaba worked for the adivasis and Dalits. He had extensively campaigned against the Salwa Judum militia (in Bastar) and the human rights violations that accompanied Operation Green Hunt against Maoists. The security forces are killing tribals under false encounters, women are being raped. There is mining loot in Bastar by the multinational companies and corporate houses; and adivasis are being exploited. It seems the state and Central governments have put a lot of pressure on the judiciary to implement anti-people and undemocratic policies at the behest of corporates and MNCs. As Saibaba raised his voice against these, the governments have selectively framed charges against him to suppress the voice of people to plunder the resources of this country.

Do you see any politics in the entire episode?

It seems the BJP government wants to push 'nakedly' the agenda of the RSS by throwing people like Saibaba and others behind bars. The government has chosen this case through courts to silence the voice of Saibaba.

As you have a long battle to fight on behalf of Saibaba, do you have anything to say?

The government has been putting relentless pressure on my family for the last four years by raiding my house in Delhi. I appeal to democrats, peoples organisations, intellectuals, students to condemn the undemocratic character of the government.
The world is celebrating International Women's Day on Wednesday. This year the United Nations' theme is Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030 which urges men, women and non-binary people to take "groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women".

In the words of the United Nations, "International Womens Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

Last year, the theme was "Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality".

While the United Nation is officially celebrating the day on 8 March since 1975, the genesis of the event goes back to the days of the Russian Revolution in 1917.

That year, amid the revolutionary passions that swept the Russian empire, a group of women textile workers protested against the Tsar  Nicolas II in Petrograd (now St Petersberg). A week later, he abdicated his throne. In order to commemorate the epoch-making event, the Petrograd Soviet declared the day of the protest, 8 March, as a national holiday.

Let us all come together to celebrate womanhood and pledge to build a more gender-sensitive and equal society.

We at Firstpost have come up with a quiz on this day. Take it to find out if you are sensitive towards women's rights or not.
The non-lethal blast in a Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train on Tuesday, eight subsequent arrests across two states and a 12-hour dramatic siege in Lucknow  that ended with Anti-Terror Squad commandos neutralising a suspected Islamic State (IS) operative with a huge cache of arms and ammo early on Wednesday  should wake up Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh from his self-induced stupor.

Rajnath has been busy peddling homilies about the syncretism of Indian culture and how it insulates our nation from the terror tentacles of IS. Denying recent history and weight of evidence he has, on more than one occasion, claimed an irrational link between 'love of country' and radicalisation.

"Im sure the threat of radicalisation by IS wont be an issue in our nation because people who follow Islam in India, love the country," he had stated last November.

If patriotism was enough to stop youths from getting radicalised, then Pakistan  where 88 percent adults say they are ready to fight for their country in the event of another war (Gallup Pakistan survey, June 2014)  wouldn't have been the world's leading producer of terrorists.

On the other hand, there is enough empirical data to suggest that patriotism plays no part in preventing a youth from getting radicalised, because IS proposes a different kind of nationalism  one that transcends the boundaries of Westphalian sovereignty and, according to Dylann deSousa (ISIS and Nationalism, Academia.edu), "encompasses many individuals with a new national identity based upon lifestyle, common religion, the same region, and a shared set of goals."

Last month, the Union home minister reiterated his false optimism. He asserted that "the government has kept an eye on the IS, and that it won't be allowed to become a major challenge for the country." It is clear from the events in the past 24 hours that either Rajnath's earlier assessment about IS's influence was wrong, or the NDA government is failing in its duty to resist the IS infection.

Denial is a dangerous trait in a man tasked with looking after homeland security.

Much as Rajnath would like us to believe, reports are emerging with alarming regularity about Indian youths getting hypnotised by Islamic State's poisonous agenda and planning subversive attacks on home soil, or setting sail to join the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.

In fact, as IS stands on the brink of being driven away from its last territorial strongholds of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq, the group is now functioning more as an ideological mouthpiece, operating through social media to influence youth worldwide into carrying out more and more home-grown attacks. In this latest avatar, IS is even more dangerous than ever before.

Importantly, the threat is not limited to IS alone. Al Qaeda, which through its sub-continental wing AQIS (Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent) frequently targets secular bloggers in Bangladesh, last year released a 15-minute audio clip inciting Indian Muslims to rise against their Hindu brethren. US-based terror watchdog SITE Intelligence Group ferreted out the clip from the deep web and deciphered the hateful message.

The National Investigative Agency suspects that the 22 youths who 'disappeared' from Kerala last year, are busy training with IS operatives in Afghanistan, a region where Khorasan module of IS is most active. The Khorasan module, which owes allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi-led IS, is a witches' brew of different terrorist operatives active in the Afghanistan-Pakistan-Turkmenistan region and has of late claimed responsibility for deadly attacks near the Kabul Supreme Court (killing over 20) and Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Pakistan (killing over 80).

Worringly for India, this module is reportedly behind the low intensity blast near Jabri railway station in Madhya Pradesh, that Indian investigative agencies reckon was just a trial run for a more lethal attack later, maybe in Uttar Pradesh.

The passenger train explosion, which injured 10, is said to be the handiwork of home-grown operatives like Saifullah, who was cornered in Lucknow's Thakurganj area on Tuesday and was ultimately eliminated after a 12-hour encounter.

While eight others with suspected IS links have been arrested, cops suspect the module to be about 12-strong and are on the lookout for more. Two others, who had been sharing Saifullah's rented place in Haji Colony for the past two months, are on the run. They are also thought to be part of the module.

Uttar Pradesh Police have reportedly recovered black IS flags, manuals, eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, raw materials for bombs, gold, some cash, passports, SIM cards, train time-tables, a diary detailing Saifullah's daily schedule and flags of India and Israel. Saifullah was believed to be getting directions from a handler abroad.

Though Tuesday's blast marks the first successful IS operation in India, the entire operation has an eerie similarity with last year's botched attempt in Hyderabad, where a small group of self-radicalised youth, under active guidance from an IS handler, tried to effect Islamic State's first strike in India.

In a marvellously detailed article, Rukmini Callimachi of New York Times went through interrogation records of the Hyderabad case to show how IS terror operatives guided a young Indian engineer named Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani every step of the way, for 17 months, to launch the attack which ultimately didn't materialise. Explosives , arms and ammunition were sent from abroad using local criminal networks and each step was detailed and discussed through encrypted channels of social media.

The plot, according to the report, unravelled when the Indian operatives failed to follow instructions in bomb making and used unsecure cellphone networks to discuss their travails, leading cops to their doorstep.

Many experts believe that this remote-control model is the future of IS, as they rapidly lose their territorial gains.

The unravelling of the plot goes to show the depth of the problem facing India and why our ministers could do a lot better than appearing smug and delivering homilies before the media. It's time to increase our vigilance and surveillance manifold. IS is here.
Chants of death to the dictator grow louder as Iran protests intensify The protests in Iran that were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini have now entered the 42nd day. The demonstrations are more powerful than ever and so is the crackdown by Iranian authorities. Thousands of mourners defied heightened security measures as they made their way to Aminis burial site in
Line Friends, a subsidiary of Korea's largest portal site Naver, will open a store in New York's Time Square in July. The company is the character brand of Naver's messaging app Line.

Line Friends said Monday that it will open a 430 sq.m store in the Big Apple to coincide with the first anniversary of Line being listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Kanpur: "A traitor cannot be my son, straight and simple," said Sartaj, the father of suspected ISIS terrorist Saifullah who was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday. Sartaj refused to take the body of his slain son, saying, "A traitor cannot be related to me, let alone be my son." Saifullah was killed in Lucknow this morning in an exchange of fire with the police after a 12-hour stand-off. He was suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train on Tuesday, police said.

Speaking to reporters, Sartaj emphasised, "We are Indian citizens. I was born here, my ancestors were born here." He said he had heard this morning about the death of his son in the encounter. Sartaj said Saifullah had left home about two-and-a-half months back after he beat him up for not finding work and not listening to him. "On Monday, I got a call from Saifullah, who told me that he had got a visa to visit Saudi (Arabia) and he was preparing to go there. I told him go ahead," the father said.

Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said Saifullah's family was contacted but they refused to take the body. He added that the police may again make an attempt to convince the family about it. Meanwhile, the father of two other men, who have been arrested on terror-related charges, has claimed that they were innocent and has sought a fair probe. Saifullah's neighbour Mehboob Ali said the slain suspected terrorist always kept to himself.

"The door was always kept closed, and he never spoke to anyone," said Ali whose pregnant wife and three children were evacuated from the building by the police during the encounter. "We never really spoke to him. I used to go for work at 5 in the morning and would return home late at night. We never interacted," he said in Lucknow. Ali said he was at work when the encounter took place and rushed home when he got to know about it.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the encounter in Lucknow, where a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed, is likely to be handed over to the NIA, a senior Home Ministry official said on Wednesday.

In all likelihood, the Lucknow case will be given to the National Investigation Agency for probe, the official said. The move came after the Home Ministry officials got the hint that there maybe a much larger conspiracy and more people in multiple locations might have links with Saifullah, who was killed in the encounter.
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday said the youth killed in an anti-terror operation here on Wednesday morning and his five arrested associates were "self-radicalised" and were trying to build an Islamic State Khorasan module in the city.

The Uttar Pradesh Police statement came hours after its Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) killed Saifullah, a resident of Manohar Nagar in Kanpur, here in an 11-hour-long gunfight in Thakurganj's Haji colony.

"Saifullah and his five associates are self-radicalised. They did not get financial support from outside (foreign country). They generated it from their own property. They were trying to build an IS Khorasan module here and planning for terror attacks at several places," Additional Director General (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said at a press conference here.

Chaudhary said they tried to trigger low-intensity blasts but failed and the Uttar Pradesh ATS killed Saifullah and busted the module before they managed to succeed in their motive.

The officer said they got inputs from several agencies about the likely presence of terror suspects in Lucknow, Kanpur and Etawah after an explosion took place on a train in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday in which eight people were injured.

The gun battle broke out around 4 pm on Tuesday in Lucknow and continued for over 11 hours, concluding early on Wednesday with the killing of Saifullah.

Two of the terror suspects, Mohammad Faisal Khan and Fakhre Alam, were arrested from their native places in Kanpur and Etawah.

Faisal's elder brother Mohammad Imran was also arrested from Unnao in the operation, said the officer, adding they are currently being interrogated by the ATS.

"Two others detained by the ATS in Kanpur were set free by a mob but we know their residential information and hope to catch them soon," the officer said.

He said that Atish Muzaffar, Danish Akhtar and Sayed Mir Hussain were arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police. Muzaffar is the mastermind of the module, he added.

The police official's statement that the men were not linked to the Islamic State comes as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said in Bhopal that those behind the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train bomb blast had suspected Islamic State (IS) links.

Chouhan also revealed that the explosion was caused by a pipe bomb, whose pictures were sent to Syria through their mobile phones. A timer was also used in the bomb.

"The terrorists planted pipe bombs in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train and have links to the IS and we have proof. The explosives discovered have IS markings," he told reporters.
On the eve of International Womens Day, Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for Women and Child development, paraded a string of astoundingly sexist remarks before an audience of college students. Speaking to NDTV, on the importance of Womens Day, the minister defended the restrictive conditions enforced by hostel and college authorities across the country, ostensibly to ensure the safety of women residents.

Gandhi observed that an imposition of early curfew in hostels was a necessary condition for protecting women. Moreover, she went on to say  even more bizarrely  that a lakshman rekha must be drawn to protect women from their own "hormonal outbursts."

The ministers comments (even though such comments are by now a hallmark of Indian politics, from men and women alike) left the students flabbergasted. A report in NDTV said: "Asked why girls in hostels should have an early curfew and not boys, Ms Gandhi said, 'As a parent whos sending a daughter to a college  or a son  I would expect her and him to be protected. And perhaps, one of the protections is against themselves. When you are 16 or 17, you are also hormonally very challenged. So to protect you from your own hormonal outbursts, perhaps a lakshman rekha is drawn. It really is for your own safety.'"

One wonders if Gandhi, who often sets herself up as a votary of womens rights and empowerment, could hear herself! Responding to whether colleges and hostels should enhance security measures for female students, Gandhi said: "No, not by two Bihari gentlemen at gate with dandas (sticks). It has to be solved literally by giving time limits for everything Give them (boys) two nights to go to the library and two nights for girls  if you want to go to library, that is."

Clearly, the Minister was suggesting that women could well use the pretext of studying in the library to do other things  probably socialise and meet with boys.

Instead of peddling this nonsensical argument about protecting "hormonally challenged" teenage girls by limiting their mobility, Gandhi should indeed have focussed on the real challenges confronting young girls. For instance, the need for them to be aware of their bodies, or to know their rights and gain familiarity about reproductive health issues.

Enough surveys attest, by now, to a high level of sexual activity among adolescents in the country. Surely the best way of protecting young women is not slapping stifling restrictions on their movements, but introducing sex education in school curricula.

On being further questioned about whether male students, too, should be subjected to curfew hours, the minister said: "Yes, so maybe the same deadlines should be there for both boys and girls... Why should the boys be allowed to wander about in the campus after six-o-clock? Let them also stay in and do their work."

This is not the first time that union ministers have gone on record, spouting random morality lessons. It isnt even the first time they have expressed a desire for a repressive code of moral conduct for how girls and boys, women and men, should live their lives. For most part, these guidelines are targeted at girls. There has never been any lack of political endorsement for such policies or visions of society.

More often than not, when senior state functionaries fall back on a standard rhetoric about women's rights and gender equality, they end up promoting sexism and misogyny.

Defending meaningless and restrictive rules for women in academic institutions and women's hostels, or refusing to criminalise marital rape, are just a few among such innumerable examples. Most paradoxically, these advocates of codes of conduct turn a blind eye to the failure of the police to do their job, by ensuring the safety of women in public spaces.

Gandhi's comments bring to mind the rampant gender discrimination currently being practised by authorities in Banaras Hindu University (BHU). From restricting the movement of girls on campus to banning non-vegetarian food in the girls mess, and barring girls from wearing short skirts, the administration is implementing a range of policies which are outright sexist and discriminatory.

None of these regulations, however, apply to BHUs male students, who can roam around at will, are served non-vegetarian food, and can even go on leave without filling in proper application forms. The only taboo common to male and female students is the universitys restricted library hours, with the authorities refusing to keep the library open 24 hours.

Challenging repressive hostel conditions, women from Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Ambedkar University, National Law University and Jawaharlal Nehru University launched the Pinjra Tod (break the cage) campaign last September. Using multiple modes of publicity and activism, the campaign's members are mobilising large numbers of students to resist patriarchal fiats. As the minister's comments painfully reveal, the students have a long fight ahead.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday released two Pakistani schoolboys, who were arrested as Uri terror attack suspects after no incriminating evidence was found against them. The agency handed over the two schoolboys, Ahsan Khursheed and Faisal Hussain Awan, to a Jammu-based Army corps who would, in turn, facilitate their return to Pakistan.

According to CNN News 18, Ahasan and Awan were detained by Indian Army on 21 September, three days after the Uri attack and handed over to NIA. A source in the NIA had earlier confirmed that the boys had strayed into the Indian side on the Line of control (LoC), and will be handed over to Pakistan once the court formalities were over.

The two were arrested in Uri town, that left at least 19 soldiers dead and was blamed on Pakistan.

"Hussain and Khursheed have been released and handed over to the Army's 16 Corps headquarters today (Wednesday) for sending them back to Pakistani authorities," said a National Investigation Agency (NIA) official.

The NIA probe has revealed that the two are residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and had crossed over after an altercation with their parents over "studies". According to The Times of India, the top officials in the government said that the two Pakistani boys have been released as a goodwill gesture as Pakistan recently released Indian Army jawan Chandu Chavan, who had strayed into PoK last year.

NIA said that the evidence collected in the form of statements, analysis of their mobile phones, seized GPS devices and other circumstantial evidence collected by it did not reveal any link of the suspects with the attackers who attacked the Army camp in Uri on 18 September 2016.

The NIA has claimed that terror group Laskar-e-Taiba was behind the Uri terror attack. The spokesperson added that "further investigation is continuing in the case."

With inputs from the Agencies
2016 was a tumultuous year for women globally. In Northern Ireland, abortion remained a crime. In Turkey, a new law was attempted which meant that men who raped a child could be pardoned if he married the victim. In Russia, domestic violence got decriminalised. Lets not forget the most crucial event, 2016 was the year that America voted in a President who says it is absolutely okay to grab a woman by her pu**y without consent.

Heres a look at what challenges women can expect in 2017.
Lucknow: The Election Commission (EC) has prohibited exit polls for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections till 5.30 pm on 9 March following the death of the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Alapur seat, in the wake of which polling, originally scheduled for 27 February, has been pushed back to Thursday, an official said.

State Chief Electoral Officer T. Venkatesh said on Monday that if any media organisation published or broadcast exit polls before the stipulated deadline it would be treated as violation of the Model Code of Conduct and strictly dealt with.

The earlier deadline of the exit polls was 30 minutes after the conclusion of the staggered seven-phase polls on 8 March.

Voting in Uttar Pradesh began on 11 February and was scheduled to conclude on Wednesday after a hectic, long drawn and caustic campaigning by various political parties.

Results of the 403 state assembly seats would be announced on 11 March.

Hectic preparations were underway across the state for the counting of votes. The Electronic Voting Machines are stored under heavy security in the 75 districts of the state.

Raising the stakes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done unprecedented level of canvassing in his home turf, which has five assembly seats, by campaigning in the city for three days on the trot.

His rivals, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of SP and his ally Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, have sought to corner the prime minister in the city by carrying out intensive campaign, including taking a big road show.

The BJP, which is hopeful of capturing power in the state after 15 years in the wilderness, virtually functioned out of the holy city as its chief Amit Shah and other top party leaders shifted their base here weeks ahead of the polls.

However, it was Modi who left no stone unturned as he criss-crossed his constituency.

He held two back-to-back road shows, addressed four public meetings, visited an influential ashram and offered tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri - all in a span of three days - as he sought votes for his party candidates.

The BJP holds three and the Samajwadi Party two of the five seats in the outgoing Assembly but the former is making a determined bid to oust rival parties from Modi's turf.

But it has met a formidable challenger in the SP-Congress alliance and a massive road show by Yadav and Gandhi through the heart of the city has sparked some concerns in the saffron camp.

Political observers believe that such a keen contest and campaigning should result in a relatively high polling percentage.

With inputs from agencies
The high-pitched Assembly elections conclude on Wednesday with last phase polling underway in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur. With the polling concluding in all five states  Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh  research organisations will start churning out results based on assessment of public opinion by questioning a representative sample, especially as the basis for forecasting the results of voting, also known as exit polls.

Political commentators and experts have already started predicting (for example a BJP victory in Uttar Pradesh or an AAP victory in Punjab). But how accurate are exit polls in the first place? While the exit polls data is relevant and does often indicate the mood in a state, there have been times when exit polls got it horribly wrong.

Here is a look at the accuracy of exit polls in the recent polls held before this year:

Among the five states which had gone to polls in April-May 2016, exit polls had mostly been accurate about West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.

In West Bengal, India Today had predicted a landslide victory for the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) with 243 seats, way beyond the 148 seats needed for majority in the state Assembly. Chanakya had predicted 210 seats for TMC while C-Voter had given the party 167 seats. In the end, TMC won by 211 seats, which gave it the predicted landslide victory.

The exit polls had also given a correct overall picture of Assam as most polls had predicted a BJP victory in Assam, where Tarun Gogoi-led Congress had ruled for 15 years. India Today had predicted 79-93 seats for BJP, ABP had given the party 81 seats and Chanakya had predicted 90 seats for the saffron party. After counting, BJP won in Assam with 86 seats, comfortably crossing the 64-seat number needed for majority.

Exit polls had also correctly predicted anti-incumbency in Kerala, as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) defeated the incumbent United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala. CVoter had predicted 78 seats for LDF while India Today had given it 94 seats. LDF eventually won 91 seats in the 140-seat Kerala Assembly. Exit polls had also accurately predicted victory for the Congress-DMK alliance in Puducherry.

However, the state in which exit polls had got it horribly wrong was Tamil Nadu. Most exit polls had predicted a defeat for the ruling AIADMK in the state which, till then, had a consistent trend of anti-incumbency. The News Nation TV exit poll gave 95-99 seats in the 234-member assembly to the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's AIADMK and 114-118 to the DMK-Congress alliance. The Axis-My India exit poll predicted 124-140 seats to the DMK-Congress alliance, 89-110 to the AIADMK, 0-3 to the BJP and 4-8 to others, IANS had reported.

But AIADMK returned to power as it won 136 seats in the 234-seat Tamil Nadu Assembly.

This was not, however, the first time that exit polls had been extremely incorrect in predicting the results in a state election.

After the Bihar Assembly election in October-November 2015, most exit polls had predicted a close fight between the grand alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress, and NDA led by BJP. The ABP-Nielsen poll had predicted 130 seats for the JD(U)-led alliance against 108 for NDA. Polls on Times Now in association with C-Voter had predicted 122 seats in a house of 243 to the grand alliance while News X had predicted 130 to 140 seats for it. The two channels gave the BJP-led alliance 111 and 90 to 100 seats respectively.

But the grand alliance had a landslide victory in Bihar as it won 178 seats in a 243-seat Assembly.

With inputs from agencies
In Indian politics, a Congressman  especially a party spokesperson  is inherently attuned to defend the idea of political dynasties. For the Grand Old Party has survived on dynasties; from Jawaharlal Nehru, to Indira Gandhi, to Rajiv Gandhi and now Rahul Gandhi  to an occasional appearance by sister Priyanka, whose maiden name emerges as per convenience.

If a spokesperson does not defend the party's political lineage, he or she would perhaps be out of a job. Which can explain why Randeep Surjewala, AICC in charge communications, had recently said: I have not seen the statements made by Karti Chidambaram I will definitely like to look into it. However, last I checked, Karti fought from the Parliament seat of his father."

He was referring to Karti's recent take on the Indian polity, where he had said that the political parties, including Congress, had become "family private limited" companies. Surjewala, in his response, employed a simple expedient to accuse Karti of hypocrisy.

Karti, son of former home and finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, had contested from Shivaganga in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls  the seniors former constituency.

Surjewala played smart and pointed out in his response that India has had several prime ministers who were not part of a dynasty: Gulzari Lal Nanda, Lal Bahadur Shastri, PV Narasimha Rao, and Manmohan Singh.

He did not, however, mention any of the prime ministers who were in fact from 'the family': Nehru, Indira, Rajiv, or the party's publicly anointed heir to the gaddhi (throne), Rahul.

Nehru might not have set out to establish a political dynasty but the current crop of Congressmen are clearly in favour of this practice, or else why would they have flocked to Sonia Gandhi when the party was in trouble. Congress, with its track record, has shown that it heavily relies on and needs 'the family' to survive.

Karti spoke the truth, and so did Surjewala, and here, we have unanimity within the Congress about the existence of dynastic politics. It seems that only Congress has reacted to Karti's statements  while other parties have not  either because they are guilty of it or because the media did not ask the other parties.

"They (youth) do not have space in any party. They cannot join any traditional party, be it the Congress, DMK, or AIADMK All political parties have become private family properties the existing parties are family private limited (enterprises). There cannot be any alternative view there. You have to sing paeans to the supreme leader and if the leader wishes, one may get some position," Karti had said.

But the report in The Indian Express that had quoted Karti's comments had mentioned that he had said so 'reportedly'. Even if he had not said so, the truth stares us in the face.

Incidentally, another report in the The Times of India from Lucknow the following day said that Mulayam Singh Yadavs wife, Sadhna Gupta, wanted her son, Prateek, to become a member of parliament.

Nothing could've bolstered Kartis views on dynastic politics better than this woman, who not only wants her entire family in elected posts but also spoke about her chances in politics. "Netaji (Mulayam) didn't allow me to join politics, but I contributed my bit behind the scenes," she said.

In fact, dynasties are a disease which debilitate the democracy by concentrating power and wealth within a few families, where one begets the other and vice versa.

It is not that other families in politics are not guilty of the same. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party "with a difference", has also joined this bandwagon. If not in parliament, then at the local panchayat and municipal levels, they are found furthering not democratic politics but dynastic interests.

The Nationalist Congress Party has Sharad Pawar at the helm, who even after retiring from politics got elected to the Rajya Sabha and runs the party. His daughter is also in parliament and he has a nephew in the state Assembly. The Pawar family's influence in politics is widespread.

If the Nehru-Gandhi gharana is enduring, then the Mulayam clan's impact on politics is larger. Perhaps the largest, if you look at this graphic. On a relatively smaller canvas, with a foot in Delhi, the Mulayam clan is numerically stronger. And now, the doyens wife, who herself had wanted to enter the political pray but was kept out, wants to add her son to the list.

As Firstpost had noted earlier, Uttar Pradeshs First Family comes ahead of politics in the state. The report had argued how the parliamentary party could perhaps have a full quorum if the elected from Samajwadi Party met at the family dinner table. The party posts, the parliamentary seats, the government offices they hold, overlap ever so nicely that it is not unusual for the son, Akhilesh Yadav to refer to father Mulayam not as papa or daddy or pitaji but as Netaji. The family has since split and so has the party.

But it would be unkind to limit the dynastic tendency to the Pawars or the Yadavs. Bihars Lalu Prasad Yadav, whose daughter is married to a Mulayams grandnephew (an MP himself), and the Badals of Punjab, where the father is a chief minister, the son a deputy chief minister and the daughter-in-law an MP, can also be accused of the same.

In Kashmir, the Mufti family and the Abdullahs bring up the list. In fact, there are so many more that the list would be as long as several arms.

Should the ongoing Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab throw up results dethroning these families, it would not mean that they are removed from the political scene. All political dynasties have made a business of politics, and even if they do not contest an election, they run the politics.

An example of the same is the Thackerays of Maharashtra. One is the founder, the son a successor chief of the Shiv Sena, and the grandson has cut his teeth at the youth level.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned North Korea of "very dire consequences" over its latest missile launch Monday, the White House said. Trump was talking on the phone with acting South Korean president Hwang Kyo-ahn.

The two agreed that the missile launch was "a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and a provocation against the international community."
Mumbai: After days of vitriolic exchanges with the estranged ally BJP, the Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday expressed happiness over the ruling party's gesture of support to get Sena install its mayor in BMC. However, Thackeray parried a query on whether the BJP-led state government was still on a "notice period". "Our fight against 'Bhampakpana' (hypocritical agenda) would continue," Thackeray said.

In run-up to the bitterly-fought civic polls, including Mumbai, Thackeray had last month said the Fadnavis government was on a notice period, fuelling speculations about its stability as the Sena is an important alliance partner in the NDA dispensation. Thackeray addressed reporters at Hutatma Chowk in South Mumbai after paying tributes to the martyrs of joint Maharashtra movement, along with the newly-elected mayor and deputy mayor of BMC.

On the BJP corporators voting in favour of Sena nominee Vishwanath Mahadeshwar in the BMC general body meeting, who was elected Mayor, the Sena chief said it was really "pleasing". "We got full mandate in Thane, but fell marginally short in Mumbai (civic polls). But it's good to have got their (the BJP's) support in Mumbai," he said. Thackeray also thanked the BJP government for the progress it had made in implementing the Bal Thackeray memorial project.

"Whatever right is right and we must accept it. I appreciate the state government for moving forward in the right direction in setting up the memorial," he said. Yesterday, the state Legislative Assembly had cleared a bill paving the way for construction of the memorial in mayor's bungalow in Shivaji Park in Central Mumbai. Mahadeshwar and Hemangi Worlikar, both nominees of Sena for the posts of Mayor and deputy-Mayor, respectively, got a walkover as the BJP had withdrawn from the mayoral race in a tactical move.

In a hung verdict in the 227-member BMC, Sena had won 84 seats while the BJP 82. The next largest bloc in the civic body was Congress (31). However, due to rupture in their alliance ahead of the civic polls last month, the Sena and BJP couldn't secure any understanding in the BMC until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that BJP would not contest the Mayoral poll

or lay claim to crucial committees in the civic body.

Thackeray, however, evaded queries on the formation of alliances in Zilla Parishads, which went to polls last month, where the BJP has done well. The Sena chief had a dig at the BJP corporators who took a oath of transparency in the civic body today. "We have already been pitching for transparency. We have demanded that all cabinet meetings should be attended not only the state ministers but also by the Lokayukta and journalists as well. This is why I say our fight against 'bhampakpana' (hypocritical agenda) of this government would continue," he said.
Mumbai: Senior Shiv Sena leader and former college principal Vishwanath P Mahadeshwar was on Wednesday elected the Mayor of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the country's biggest and the richest civic body, officials said.

Mahadeshwar, 56, is a three-time municipal corporator from Bandra. With his election, the Shiv Sena's hold over the Mayor's post continues for the fifth consecutive term.

A former principal of Raje Sambhaji Vidyalaya and junior college in Santacruz East, he sailed through the BMC house vote easily on Wednesday afternoon, as members of Sena's former ally Bharatiya Janata Party voted in his favour while opposition Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's seven corporators stayed away.

Present during the election were outgoing Mayor Snehal Ambekar, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and other senior leaders and officials.

The election came four days after the BJP abruptly withdrew from the mayoral race and decided to keep away from any other post like Deputy Mayor, or other major committees or sit in the opposition in the 227-strong BMC house.

The BMC elections last month threw a sharply fractured verdict, with the Shiv Sena emerging as the single largest party with 84 corporators, the BJP second with 82. The Congress won 31 seats, NCP nine, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena seven, Samajwadi Party six, AIMIM two, Akhil Bharatiya Sena just one, and Independents five seats.
Imphal: The Manipur unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to file a counter-FIR against the State Election Commission (SEC) for "mentally harassing" the party's office bearers, and for allegedly creating confusion with regards to advertisements that were published in local dailies in Imphal, Manipur, on 3 March.

The saffron party apologised to the All Manipur Working Journalists Union (AMWJU), and apex media body based in Imphal while alleging that it was the SEC which failed to give clear instructions with regards to the ads. Referring to the ads as an "unintentional" mistake, the Manipur Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party also assured legal help to the apex body.

The letter, which was signed by N Nimbus, general secretary of BJP's Manipur Pradesh unit, stated that the party had submitted four applications to the office of Chief Electoral Officer of Manipur on 3 and 4 March as per the circular issued by Election Commission of India (ECI). The circular requires all political parties to get prior approval of any content to be published in newspapers.

Out of the four applications, three were approved by the CEO office, the letter said. However, the certificate which was issued by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee and duly signed by the Additional CEO did not mention which of the four contents were approved. "As per the methodology mentioned under the rules of Model code of conduct, the MCMC certificates need to attach a copy of the content approved. Since this was not done by the Addl CEO, it created confusion," he said.

On 3 March, the Election Commission (EC) had ordered FIR against office-bearers of the BJP's Manipur unit and certain newspapers for publishing advertisements without its approval.

In a letter to Manipur CEO, the EC has ordered that FIRs under Section 188 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) be lodged against the BJP state unit office-bearers and the newspapers. The guilty parties carried the advertisements on Friday in contravention of its orders and violation of the Representation Of People's Act (RPA).

The EC had instructed all stakeholders not to publish any advertisements on 3 and 4 March without pre-screening and subsequent approval by state-level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC). The poll panel has also sought a compliance report by Monday.

The ads under scrutiny appeared in eight newspapers including the Sangai Express (Manipuri and English editions), Poknapham, People's Chronicle, Naharolgi, Thoudang, Imphal Free Press, Echel Express and Huiyen Lanpao.
Imphal: Election Commission of India has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 20,000 lakhs ex-gratia for the victim family of deceased polling staff H Ramkating, Asst teacher of K Ashang Khullen Aze Aided Primary school Ukhrul who succumbed to injury in a bomb attack while performing election duty for the 11th Manipur Legislative Assembly 2017.

State Chief Electoral Officer Vivekumar Dewangan, on behalf of ECI, has issued an official order to this effect while expressing deep condolence for the deceased poll staff who died on poll duty.

"This office assures all possible help to the bereaved family of late Ramkating and stands by them in this hour of tragedy," he said.

He also sent a condolence message to the bereaved family.

Ramkating sustained injury when suspected militants triggered off an improvised explosive device near a polling station at Ashang Khullen in Phungyar Assembly constituency in Ukhrul on Tuesday.

The militants behind the attacks are yet to be ascertained.

Congress candidate and son of veteran Congress leader Rishang Keishing is seeking re-election from this constituency.

At the time of the incident the chief secretary O Nabakishore Singh was conducting a security meeting with top army, Assam Rifles, police, CRPF and BSF.
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Autorickshaw rally for Congress party in Thoubal district, Manipur. The state goes to polls on 4 and 8 March.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking in Manipur ahead of the Assembly polls, accused the Congress and Chief Minister Okram Singh Ibobi of creating confusion and vowed that the territorial integrity of Manipur would not be affected. Singh said that there was no law and order situation in Manipur and the major evil was the corruption by the Congress. Manipur goes to the polls on 4 and 8 March.

The BJP has been on a tear in Manipur, on the last day of campaigning before the first phase of polling. Campaigning in Manipur officially ends at 3 pm.

Activists of Kangleipak Students Association on Thursday, demanding justice for extra-judicial killings in Manipur, burned effigies of Manipur Chief Minster Okram Ibobi Singh, Addl SP AK Jaljit and ex DGP Y Joykumark on Thursday. The Kangleipak Students Association (KSA) is demanding the repeal of Afspa and justice for fake encounter cases, including the 23 July, 2009 case, in which a pregnant woman and a former PLA militant were killed in broad daylight. On Wednesday, a group of irate student activists belonging to the association allegedly vandalised the state unit office of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) situated in the heart of Imphal city after being denied a meeting with BJP leaders.

The 33-year-old Harvard-educated Erendro Leichombam, was attacked by unknown people in Manipur on the day of the first phase of polls in the state. This US-returned former World Bank Fellow, who also served in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is the convener of People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), a party started by Irom Sharmila. Trained in Economics at the Soka University of America and in Mathematics at the University of California, Irvine, Erendro refused to live the life of an NRI and joined Irom Sharmila's party to bring about a social change in his home state.

Over 80 percent voter turnout was recorded in the first phase of polling in Manipur in 38 constituencies spread across six districts in the hill state. Officials said the final figure would go higher as this was only the preliminary report at 3 pm when polling officially ended. The second and final phase of polling will be held on 8 March.

The second and final phase of polling will be held on 8 March.

Haokip also said he was confident of the Congress winning 40 seats in Manipur Assembly polls. The second and final phase of polling will be held on 8 March.

State unit Congress president TN Haokip has said that the BJP and the United Naga Council are the two faces of the same coin.

A troop of 25 Assam Rifles apprehended four Kuki National Front (P) militants at Churachandpur on early Sunday morning. The militants were nabbed at 5.30 am. Two AK-56 rifles, two pistols, four cell phones and 148 rounds were recovered during the counter-insurgency operation. The militants were then handed over to the Churachandpur police.

HuffPost-CVoter poll has predicted that the Congress will win fewer seats than the BJP in Manipur. According to the poll, the BJP's voteshare in the state will see a huge increasefrom 2.1 percent in 2012 to 32.1 percent in this electionmeanwhile, the Congress' voteshare is estimated to fall from 42.4 percent in 2012 to 31.3 percent.

At least six persons including four women sustained injury in an IED blast near Kasturi Bridge in the hear of Imphal city on Wednesday evening at about 5.40 pm as the last phase Manipur polls ended. The police said that the two women among the five injured in the blast, which took place in the Kasturi Thong area in Imphal, were admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Science, a government hospital.

Manipur unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to file a counter-FIR against the State Election Commission (SEC) for "mentally harassing" the party's office bearers, and for allegedly creating confusion with regards to advertisements that were published in local dailies in Imphal, Manipur, on 3 March.

There was tight security at the polling stations to ensure that there was no untoward incident.

Voters stand in queues at a polling booth in Manipur. PTIVoters stand in queues at a polling booth in Manipur. PTI State Chief Election Officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan disclosed that the repolls were being held as per directives of the Election Commission.

Peaceful repolls were reported in 34 polling stations in eight districts of Manipur on Thursday.

Voter turnout of 67% recorded till 1 pm in second & final phase of voting in #ManipurElection2017 pic.twitter.com/1QXIUaMmve

Polling ends at 3 pm in the second and last phase of #ManipurElection2017 pic.twitter.com/miuhmwwktJ

State Chief Electoral Officer VK Dewangan has ordered repoll in 34 polling stations which went to the hustings in the first phase on 4 March. The re-poll will take place on 9 March from 7am till 3pm in the 34 polling stations. CEO Manipur Vivekumar Dewangan said re-polling would be held in five polling stations of Andro AC, one each in Uripok, Saikot and Singhat AC, 12 in Saikul, three in Saitu, six in Thanlon and five in Henglep.

At least six persons including four women sustained injury in an IED blast near Kasturi Bridge in the hear of Imphal city on Wednesday evening at about 5.40 pm as the last phase Manipur polls ended. The police said that the two women among the five injured in the blast, which took place in the Kasturi Thong area in Imphal, were admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Science, a government hospital.

Manipur unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to file a counter-FIR against the State Election Commission (SEC) for "mentally harassing" the party's office bearers, and for allegedly creating confusion with regards to advertisements that were published in local dailies in Imphal, Manipur, on 3 March.

There was tight security at the polling stations to ensure that there was no untoward incident.

Voters stand in queues at a polling booth in Manipur. PTIVoters stand in queues at a polling booth in Manipur. PTI State Chief Election Officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan disclosed that the repolls were being held as per directives of the Election Commission.

Peaceful repolls were reported in 34 polling stations in eight districts of Manipur on Thursday.

Elections in Manipur will be held in two phases  on 4 March and 8 March  with the results being declared on 11 March. Representatives from 60 constituencies will be elected.

The previous Assembly election, held in 2012, resulted in a landslide victory for the Congress, giving them 42 seats and allowing Okram Ibobi Singh to be re-elected as chief minister for an unprecedented third consecutive term.

While Manipur has been a Congress stronghold for over a decade, thanks to the leadership of Ibobi, a savvy political operator, the BJP has been upbeat about its chances, buoyed undoubtedly by its success in last year's Assam elections. All eyes are also on Irom Sharmila, who shocked many political observers by giving up her 16-year fast against the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Afspa), and decided to enter politics.

Manipur's Iron Lady has formed the People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) and will be taking on the chief minister in his own den  Thoubal constituency  only time will tell if this is a masterstroke or a blunder.

Sharmila, while announcing her decision, had said: "During his 15 years of leadership he has not done anything to repeal Afspa. Since I realise that no politician shall repeal it, I am planning to contest the election, become the chief minister and repeal it."

Here are some quick facts about the state:

Number of Parliamentary Constituencies: 2

Number of Assembly Constituencies: 60

The present ruling party: Indian National Congress

Opposition Party: Trinamool Congress

Chief Minister: Okram Ibobi Singh

Governor: Dr. Najma A. Heptulla

Chief Electoral Officer: Oinam Nabakishore Singh



Political Parties in Manipur

The Indian National Congress (INC)

The Bharatiya Janata Party

The Rashtriya Janata Dal

The Nationalist Congress Party



The main regional political parties are :

Democratic Revolutionary Peoples Party

Manipur State Congress party

Lok Jan Shakti Party

All India Trinamool Congress

Manipur People's Party (MPP)

Federal Party of Manipur

Manipur National Conference

Naga People's Front

National People's Party (India)

Nikhil Manipuri MahasabhaManipur Assembly Election 2017
Imphal: A polling official, wounded in a bomb blast near the India-Myanmar border in Manipur's Kamjong district, died on Wednesday.

K. Raikalung, a teacher, was injured in Tuesday's bomb explosion near Ashang Khullen village. The government has given an ex gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the bereaved family.

A 31 Assam Rifles' trooper was wounded when a bomb was hurled by miscreants on Tuesday evening in Aishi village of the same district.

The injured trooper was part of a road-opening party. He is now admitted at the Army Hospital in Leimakhong here.

No underground outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The police said security personnel retaliated after both the incidents, but the unidentified militants escaped in the high mountains.

Highly-placed sources said the objective of the blasts was to kill security personnel and snatch their weapons.
A day after thousands of people attended the funeral of slain Hizbul Mujahideen militant in South Kashmirs Tral, a convention of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was overwhelmed by youth, marking a stark contrast of political ideologies. In a politically vulnerable place like Kashmir, youth with diverse ideologies have found themselves in confrontational mode and are at the forefront of the changing dynamics of the politics.

What surprised many was the sheer number of youngsters who attended the youth convention organised by PDPs youth wing, which is headed by Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, at the residence of chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.

This was a sight worth beholding, for the same number of youth could have been throwing stones at security forces a mere hours back in south Kashmir.

I came here (youth convention) because I believe government is the only solution for underdevelopment and can solve the problem of rampant unemployment in the state, Ubair Ahamad, a resident of Pulwama, said.

Political parties across the spectrum do not want to miss the c hance of winning the constituency of the youth, most of whom are very vocal about their political aspirations. Mainstream political parties have activated their youth wings to bring more youth into their fold while pro-freedom parties, without any formal recruitment, have found a ready-made population adhering to their programs.

The convention, held a few months after the last years unrest in which around 100 youth were killed, thousands wounded, some blinded by pellets and hundreds arrested under Public Safety Act (PSA), was one of the latest doles offered by PDP which is witnessing a decline in its popularity graph among people since coming into power two years ago.

Peoples Democratic Party is worried about its image among people particularly in rural areas where it created mayhem during the unrest, Khalid Amin, a political science scholar, said. But there are people who identify themselves with their ideology, he added.

Since the Amarnath Land row, Kashmiri youth have largely moved closer towards separatist groups resulting in million-strong marches during 2008 and 2010. The rallies, attended by lakhs of people in the Valley, proved to be a major embarrassment for mainstream parties like National Conference, PDP and Congress. This resulted in the ban of such rallies since 2010 in capital Srinagar for fear of the media glare they attract. The year 2016 also witnessed huge rallies in the rural areas which were out-of-bound areas for forces for months.

Its a fact that people identify themselves more with pro-freedom parties particularly since last 10 years. The fact that they dont have to spend money, unlike the mainstream parties, to attract youth is also good for them, a senior Kashmiri journalist, who wished to anonymous said.

Even after barring people from joining rallies, government couldnt engage people, particularly youth, in a political way. Otherwise, why would they throw stones to be heard?, asked the journalist.

On Tuesday, people resorted to social networking sites to castigate people for attending PDPs convention. But the number of youngsters who had joined the PDP youth convention was startling, considering the turmoil and tension in the air that is still going on in the valley.

These people are left with no shame. How can they shake hands with people who killed and blinded our brothers, wrote a Srinagar youth, who was detained during 2016 unrest, on Facebook.

At the convention, Mehbooba tried to strike an emotional chord with the youth by reminding them of the past when she would help people in getting them released from police stations.

I remember how people would request me to get their boys released from police stations. Our relation is made by God not by votes and I respect that, she told a large gathering of youth who had assembled at partys Youth Convention held at chief ministers official residence in Srinagar.

Mehbooba promised youth jobs if they help her in restoring peace in Kashmir. I feel hurt when I see the stones in the hands of the youth who earlier acted as my bodyguards whenever I visited their villages. I want to tell you that give me peace in the Valley and I will provide you jobs in different departments, she said.

A senior political science professor in Kashmir, who is researching on street politics, however, said that both pro-freedom and mainstream parties have failed to engage youth.

No matter most of the youth follow Hurriyat programs but the lack of strategy by Hurriyat leadership has given them a freehand on roads. They rule the roads during unrest which is dangerous in absence of a leadership. Anarchy is dangerous in conflict places and can lead to civil wars, the professor said.

On the other hand, the deceitful politics played by parties like NC and PDP have also left youth disappointed. Come election and every party will promise youth jobs and other facilities but will forget them on coming to power, he said.
Were Church and the Congress behind the protest against 33% reservation for women in Nagaland, that gripped the state crippling the state machinery last month? This is a new question that has surfaced after a section of opinion writers propounded the theory that Church institutions and the opposition Congress actually incited violence against reservation for women, that finally resulted in the state government declaring the election null and void to douse public anger. But Monalisa Chanklija, a Naga journalist and a feminist leader, told Firstpost in an interview that it could hardly be the case.

Chanklija said, I really do not think that it can be attributed to them. I saw those articles and they seem to be politically motivated. Nobody, who knows the dynamics of Naga society would come to this conclusion, because in this society there are so many factors involved. She also said that there was noway how the Congress party or the Church could have benefitted from the unrest.

Congress party in Nagaland is totally marginalised, as all its MLAs had already joined the ruling Naga Peoples Front led government. So I do not think if the Congress could have benefitted from the unrest opposing 33% reservation for women.

She added that the Congress party had fielded only four candidates in ULB elections throughout the state, whom it made to withdraw nomination after the agitation picked up momentum.

One or the other way the Congress has reduced itself to a footnote in the political history of Nagaland. So such situations can hardly benefit the party now, she added. She also said that to impose the nearly month-long bandh so as to cripple the political machinery thousands of volunteers were mobilised with facilities of food and transport. I do not think the Congress party in Nagaland has such a huge pool of resources now, she said.

Regarding the involvement of the Church in the protests, she said that though it was unlikely for the religious institution to go to the extent of inciting violence, but it could have prevented all this from happening. It is true that like many other religious institutions, the Church is also very patriarchal. It may not be for reservation for women but I doubt that it will go as far as to create a month-long political crisis in the state, she said. But adding that the Church could have staved off the perils caused by the agitation she said,The opposition against reservation for women started from last year and gathered pace from January this year. The Church could have attempted to broker peace at the very beginning. Why did it have to wait for the nick of time to broker peace? she asks.

On 30th January, the Church brokered peace between the government and the agitating tribal bodies when the government decided to postpone the polls, but had to reinstate its earlier decision to hold election given an order passed by the Gauhati High Court.On account of the delay, the last minute effort made by the Church seemed half-hearted, she said. In Nagaland, that has been following the ancient system of village republic for ages, there is a different understanding of democratic values such as truth, equality and justice which is responsible for such situations more than any political party or religious institution.

But a question still remains as to who spent the money to mobilise thousands of volunteers to give effect to the bandh that lasted for nearly a month. If any one benefitted out of the protests against 33% reservation for women, it was not the Church or the Congress. Even the present Chief Minister Shurho also cannot be seen as a beneficiary, as he had been the ruling party Naga Peoples Front supremo and he could have become the chief minister long before, had he wanted. But, there could be forces within the ruling party itself who might have wanted to dislodge the then Chief Minister T R Zeliang, she said without naming anyone.

Only last year, the NPF suspended former chief minister and present Member of Parliament Neiphiu Rio for alleged anti-party activities. The suspension order came after Rio threw his weight on the side of a dissident group of MLAs who wanted a change in the party leadership in the legislative Assembly. Even as a second attempt to dislodge Zeliang was expected by many, Nagaland went through a political crisis regarding reservation of seats for women.

When asked if she suspects Rio to be behind the protests, she said, He has the required kind of clout and connections to execute such a programme. Nagaland saw violent protests on its streets from 31st January after the state government decided to hold ULB election with 33% reservation for women which led to death of three persons in police firing. The deaths resulted in statewide bandh in demand of the Chief Minister TR Zelaings resignation. The protest demanding the resignation of the chief minister gained such vehemence that the State Secretariat remained closed for 18 days due to statewide bandh.

On 7th February, the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee gave a three days ultimatum to the chief minister to resign. Chief Minister TR Zeliang should step down on moral ground within the period of 3 (three days) with effect from 8th February 2017, a statement issued by NTAC said.

Though he did not resign within three days, on 19th February the chief minister resigned and the ruling Naga Peoples Front MLAs elected Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu as the new leader of the legislative party the very next day. Soon after Liezietsu took over, opinion pieces published in few media platforms that the entire episode of Nagaland unrest over reservation for women was a conspiracy hatched by the Church and the Congress.

Journalist Sudeep Chakravarti in an article published in the www.livemint.com said about this new theory, Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party, an NPF ally, has for several weeks had proxies in right-wing media vehicles and public affairs decry the alleged role of the Congress and massively influential church entities in Nagaland, in the fracas. He opines that biggest medium term gainer of the fracas is Neiphiu Rio and his cabal.
"The Bihar plunge into the election was haphazard, it was like jumping into fire,'' says Asaduddin Owaisi, Hyderabad MP and president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM). "But Uttar Pradesh has been a more organised affair.''

Owaisi has just got back to Delhi after spending the better part of the last two months campaigning in the heat and dust of UP. For someone who knows every nook and corner of Hyderabad like the back of his hand, UP is comparatively a geographical stranger. But contesting in 38 Assembly seats has been a good debut, he believes.

"I made life hell for secular parties. Congress leaders were cursing me because without any effort, I could mobilise up to 5,000 people for each one of my public meetings. What is important is that 90 percent of that crowd was youth in the age group of 18 to 25,'' says Owaisi.

Owaisi knows that is precisely the reason why he is branded an 'Amit Shah ka aadmi' who has made forays into Bihar and UP only to take away a part of the Muslim vote and thereby help the BJP in a closely-contested fight.

"Take the example of Amaravati or Solapur municipal corporation in Maharashtra. In both the cities, the BJP secured a majority in the 23 February election,'' points out Owaisi. "The Congress blames us for splitting the Muslim vote but the reality is that the Hindu vote of the Congress has moved over to the BJP.''

Owaisi on many occasions has also pointed out that his party never contested in Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Haryana where too the Congress suffered humiliating losses. "This is a feudal mindset,'' he points out. What he means is that the Congress bosses think that the AIMIM is just a Hyderabad party that should not dare spread its wings beyond the city.

"If I do not try now in the prime of my life, when will I,'' asks the 47-year-old politician, happy with the response that he has managed to generate. He refers to his campaigning in Firozabad and claims the crowds of 25,000 to 30,000 made Samajwadi Party's Ramgopal Yadav so nervous that he was seen moving around in the town that he considers his political bastion, for two days after Owaisi's meetings. "The people were saying Ramgopal Yadav was brought to the road by Owaisi,'' chuckles the Hyderabad MP.

Disgruntled leaders in the SP have reportedly opened channels of communication with the MIM leadership in UP. The party may or may not win a seat in the fiercely contested elections but Owaisi believes the foray into the electoral maidan has opened up opportunities for his party, for him to tap them in 2019 and beyond. The real fight, he believes, is two years from now and a decent vote share could see Owaisi as part of a rainbow coalition during the Lok Sabha polls in India's largest state.

Contrary to the Lutyens media making the UP battle a BJP vs SP-Congress affair, Owaisi believes it will be a mistake to write off Mayawati. The BSP has given tickets to 100-odd Muslim candidates and in a state divided on caste and community lines, the Dalit + Muslim + non-Yadav vote combo, Owaisi reasons, will be a potent force.

Owaisi says UP is more a BJP vs BSP battle. He bases this on the anti-incumbency against sitting SP MLAs and the dissident factor in the form of Shivpal Yadav, Owaisi does not think too much of the SP-Congress chances. "Over 40 of the seats given to the Congress have a significant Dalit presence. I doubt if the Congress can really match up to the BSP in those seats,'' he says.

The MIM leader also feels Akhilesh Yadav is overplaying the development card. "Whether we like it or not, in a polarised election, caste, religion, money power, muscle power, all play a part,'' he says. During his travels, Owaisi says he also found considerable respect for Mulayam Singh Yadav in the rural areas. How that plays out in the context of the bitter family feud that preceded the elections, is anyone's guess.

As far as the BJP is concerned, Owaisi reckons Prime Minister Narendra Modi's extended focus on Varanasi and the presence of 20-odd central ministers gave away the party's nervousness.

Like all pollsters, Owaisi of course adds a caveat that he could go horribly wrong because he is still in the process of discovering UP, that he admits can be a politician's graveyard.
North Korea on Tuesday claimed it was practicing to hit U.S. military bases in Japan when it launched four missiles on Monday. The bases would be the main staging points of massive American troop concentrations from the mainland in a war on the Korean Peninsula. The North added that it launched four missiles to show off its ability to strike multiple targets. The official [North] Korean Central News Agency said the launch was "tasked to strike the bases of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces in Japan" in contingency. "If the United States or South Korea fires even a single flame inside North Korean territory, we will demolish the origin of the invasion and provocation with a nuclear-tipped missile."



This screen grab from North Korea's Central TV on Tuesday shows ballistic missiles being launched during a military drill from an undisclosed location in North Korea. /Yonhap

It is unprecedented for the North to mention such a specific target. Leader Kim Jong-un "presided over Monday's launch of the four missiles, feasting his eyes on the trails of ballistic rockets," KCNA said. The North did not reveal what types of missiles it launched, but South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff say they were Scud ER variants with an extended range. The Scud ER has a range of around 1,000 km, which puts a large number of U.S. military installations in Japan within striking distance. The North is training its sights on the bases because seven of them have been designated as rear-echelon bases for UN forces in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula. Yokosuka Naval Base, for instance, is home to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet, which houses aircraft carriers, Aegis destroyers and nuclear-powered submarines. The U.S.' Marine Corps' air station in Iwakuni is home to F-35B vertical takeoff and landing fighter planes, and Sasebo Naval Base houses amphibious landing crafts and millions of tons of ammunition.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits a missile base on Monday, accompanied by Kim Rak-gyom (circled), commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces. /Yonhap

North Korea hopes to immobilize the bases in the event of a war. The National Intelligence Service here said the aim of the launch seems to be to demonstrate the futility of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery being stationed here and draw the U.S. back to the negotiating table. The missiles were launched from rice paddies instead of roads, perhaps to show that they are becoming more flexible. Asked why the North chose to launch Scuds rather than the Rodong missile, which has a range of 1,300 km, a military source said the Scud ER is so accurate that it can land within a 50 to 190 m radius of its intended target, compared to 1 to 3 km for the Rodong. Meanwhile, KCNA reported that Kim Rak-gyom, commander of the North's Strategic Rocket Forces, also watched the missile launches at the site. It was the first time in six months that he was seen in public. Read this article in Korean
Lucknow: Marked by caustic, high-decibel campaigning, which saw the political discourse plumbing to low levels at times, the long-drawn polling process in the most populous and politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh came to an end on Wednesday.

With an overall voting percentage of 61 per cent across its seven phases for the 403 Assembly seats, slightly higher than the 59.5 per cent registered in the 2012 assembly elections, the last phase saw heavy balloting in all the 40 seats spread across seven districts in the Poorvanchal region.

The last round brought the curtains down on one of the most closely contested, and staggered poll process in recent times. All parties tried to give their best to win over the electorate.

Caught in a bitter family feud and power struggle in the ruling Samajwadi Party, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav took over the party's reins by knocking out his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Yadav and later aligning with Congress.

The party contested on 298 seats. Akhilesh's wife Dimple, who is a lawmaker from Kannauj, actively campaigned while Mulayam Singh chose to campaign only for friend Parasnath Yadav, brother Shivpal Yadav and daughter-in-law Aparna.

Akhilesh Yadav claims that they will form the next government with even a better mandate than last time, when it won 224 seats.

The Congress, which took out a long 'kisan yatra' from Deoria to Delhi, which became infamous for locals taking away the cots during the 'khaat sabhaas', had slammed the SP, BSP and BJP government by saying "27 saal, UP behaal". The party came down from the high pedestal to enter into an alliance with the SP and they got 105 seats to contest after a hard bargain.

Many feel the Congress, with a non-existent organisational structure, got a good deal. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addressed many rallies during the polls and even held four roadshows with Akhilesh Yadav. He addressed two pressers with the UP Chief Minister but the last one, two days before the final phase, was called off without any explanation offered.

Though Congress put the name of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in its star campaigner list, she campaigned only in Rae Bareli. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, due to ill health, did not campaign and just sent a letter and later a video urging voters in the Gandhi pocket borough of Amethi and Rae Bareli to vote for the party.

The BJP put up its might into the elections with Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding two roadshows, taking the rounds of various temples and ashrams and addressing 23 rallies - his highest so far for any state assembly elections.

BJP president Amit Shah also addressed 200 big and small rallies with the state functionaries also chipping in with hundreds of rallies, churning the entire state. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP, was active too and its cadres were pitching in for a BJP victory.

In the run up, several thousand km were traversed by state leaders through 'parivartan yatras' which covered the entire state and many 'MBC and OBC conventions'.

Handed a duck in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati too fought the assembly elections with elan, addressing more than 50 rallies and appealing to the Dalit voter base to ensure that she romped home to power this time.

Aware that the colossal monuments and parks she made in her 2007-2012 regime had cost her a big loss, Mayawati promised not to make these anymore and her campaign revolved around the poor law and order in the state. The Dalit leader promised the return of the rule of law in Uttar Pradesh and also slammed Prime Minister Modi for what she claimed was "fooling people through speeches".

While there is no dearth of issues for a large state like Uttar Pradesh, by the end of the second phase, the polity and the electorate appeared largely split on community lines as polarisation crept in. The statement on 'shamshaan-kabristaan' and 'Holi-Ramzaan' by Modi added fuel to the fire. Sustained barbs from the likes of senior SP leader and state cabinet minister Azam Khan, Lok Sabha members of the BJP Yogi Adityanath and Sakshi Maharaj vitiated the atmosphere even further.

Akhilesh Yadav added to the verbal exchanges with his 'gadha' (ass) jibe and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who campaigned for SP-Congress candidates at some places, called the Prime Minister a 'hijra' (eunuch) and Amit Shah a 'genda' (rhinoceros). Shah returned the fire by exhorting people to get rid of KaSaB (Congress, SP and BSP).

In the last few legs of polling, UP's powerful and tainted Minister Gayatri Prajapati became the centre point of politics after the Supreme Court ordered the state police to lodge an FIR against him in a gang rape case.

The Minister who is contesting from Amethi on a SP ticket was riled by opposition as a "glaring example of kaam bolta hai of the Akhilesh government". He has yet not been arrested despite a non-bailable warrant against him for the last many days.

A large section of the 14.05 crore voters in Uttar Pradesh cast their votes during polling on February 11, 15, 19, 23, 27 and March 4 and 8. The results are just two days away now.
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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.

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.

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 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.

During his roadshow in Meerut few hours earlier he had reeled out statistics on crime to point out that the law and order situation has gone from bad to worse under Akhilesh?

Kaam bolta hai  goes the campaign catch line for Akhilesh's Samajwadi Party. The SP chief would like to believe his government has done enough to receive a repeat mandate, but BJP president Amit Shah surely is not buying that.

Dil mile ya na mile, party toh mil gayi hai, is the current emotion running high in the ruling party of Uttar Pradesh. The mega road show in Agra is a clear message to parties that SP and Congress have decided to bulldoze into minority bastion and claim the Muslim votes.

An hour late from the scheduled time, UP ke ladke have started their road show in Agra. As TV footage showed, the two leaders stood atop the vehicle, instead of being holed up inside their bullet-proof vehicles, and waved to their supporters, giving the feel that everything is well in the recently-formed alliance.

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.

"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.

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.

The reference, of course, is to Akhilesh and Rahul. Other placards say, "humko ye saath pasand hai," in a small variation of the alliance slogan "UP ko ye saath pasand hai". Ask the guy carrying the placard what he meant by the filmy comparison  Karan, Arjun are lead characters of a movie played by Shah Rukh Khan and Salman long ago  and he turns away. He is too busy for silly questions.

Of course, some went beyond this and said a victory for Akhilesh-Rahul would be the beginning of the end of Narendra Modi.

Bhaichaara was the word spoken often by the speakers on the dais. "UP had had enough of communal tension. It has suffered a lot. Now it's the time to put a stop to it. 2014 was a mistake. You put power in wrong hands. Let's not repeat it." This was the essence of their speeches.

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)."

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?

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.'

'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.'

"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.

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.

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.

Ignoring the chill in the air, with the morning temperature being 11 degrees, the residents of Noida Sector 15 and 16, especially the senior citizens are heading towards polling booths. Many are taking a detour from their morning walk to cast their votes. But right now voters are very few in numbers, which is expected to pick up by 9 am.

The only bright point is that it has Hema Malini as MP. As voters start trickling in at booths the question is will BJP will do better this time?

The BJP's record in Mathura, the land of temples and mythology, is rather poor. In the birthplace of Krishna the party has not had its own lawmaker in the assembly for sometime now.

Mathura was in the spotlight last year over the incident at Jawahar Chowk that claimed 24 lives. Two policemen were also killed in attack by encroachers on government land. The BJP raked this issue up during its campaign, citing this as an example of failing law and order under Akhilesh's rule. Will the voters buy it this?

The Bahujan Samaj Party, meanwhile, has been working silently on the ground to regain control on the state by engineering a politically potent but unpredictable amalgamation of two communities, Dalits and Muslims. However, each party has its own Achilles heel to deal with; the nail biting competition can swing any way.

But in Lok Sabha elections 2014, the people of the state voted overwhelmingly in support of the BJP. The saffron party would like to repeat the winning streak for obvious reasons, as it will pave a smooth path for the party in Delhi. However, the current ruling party in state, SP, has barely emerged from a succession war and it is Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's only opportunity to prove his mettle as a leader, after he overthrew his father from the party's helm.

The political scene in the state has been dominated by regional players (SP, BSP, RLD etc) since the 1990's and the so called national parties (BJP and Congress) have been pushed to the sidelines. If at all BJP and Congress managed to stake claim at the throne of Uttar Pradesh it was by cobbling up an alliance with the regional parties.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

80 percent voters of 76 vidhan sabha seats in shehar Aligarh belong to the Ansari community, mostly engaged in small scale lock industries. Rest of the 20 percent constitute of Qureshi community, darzi, dhobhi, naai, sabzi farosh, pheri wale etc. All are vouching for SP candidate Zafar Alam.

There are 26,822 polling centres for over two crore voters in the first phase of polling for 73 seats across 15 districts. Fate of 839 candidates will be sealed on Saturday. Prominent faces who cast their votes earlier included Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh who cast his vote in Sahibabad, Shrikant Sharma of BJP and Congress's Pradip Mathur in Mathura, Sangeet Som in Sardhana and Suresh Rana in Shamli.

An EC official informed IANS that these problems were being attended to on a priority basis and EVMs at some places were replaced. Long queues were seen in places like Mathura, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut (City), Sardhana, Shamli and Noida. The largest constituency in this phase, as per population, is Sahibabad in Ghaziabad and the smallest is Jalesar in Etah.

Voting picked up in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections within hours of its start at 7 am, poll officials said on Saturday. Kasganj witnessed 13 percent polling in the first two hours, Muzaffarnagar 15, Meerut 10, Mathura 11, Noida seven and Greater Noida nine percent. Technical snags in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were reported in the first hour in polling booths across Noida, Baghpat, Hathras and Mathura.

Aligarh is actually divided into two parts - old city Aligarh and new civil lines Aligarh. Old city side people feel that civil lines side voters are not fragmented and detached. They feel that civil lines area people might goof up the elections as they won't go for consolidated voting since they are divided among four major candidates - Vivek Bansal(congress), Ajju Ishaq (SP), Haji Aamirullah Khan(independent, previously SP candidate), Ram Kumar Sharma (BSP), Parvez Khan (AIMIM). These candidates are from Kol vidhan sabha (civil lines, Aligarh). BJP candidate from Kol is Anil Parashar.

"Exodus was never a communal matter, it was a law and order problem," Hukum Singh said. He however refused to say that the exodus was a non issue, while adding that it was coincidental that the goons behind rangdaari (extortion) and petty crimes belonged to a specific community.

BJP's MP from Kairana, Hukum Singh, on election did a U-turn on the exodus issue, first raked up by him last year. While Hukum Singh had always maintained that the Hindu community in Kairana district was being singled out and targetted, he told CNN-News18 on Friday that it was never a communal issue.

There are 26,822 polling centres for over two crore voters in the first phase of polling for 73 seats across 15 districts. Fate of 839 candidates will be sealed on Saturday. Prominent faces who cast their votes earlier included Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh who cast his vote in Sahibabad, Shrikant Sharma of BJP and Congress's Pradip Mathur in Mathura, Sangeet Som in Sardhana and Suresh Rana in Shamli.

Long queues were seen in places like Mathura, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut (City), Sardhana, Shamli and Noida. The largest constituency in this phase, as per population, is Sahibabad in Ghaziabad and the smallest is Jalesar in Etah.

Though the Jat-dominated constituencies are witnessing a heavy turnout, their political conduct remains a mystery. Jats may not have numerical strength on many seats but their influence over political economy of the region can hardly be undermined. That is the reason why the BJP seems a little worried in the first phase.

In west UP, there is an impression that the government turned anti-jat after its victory in 2014. As a result MPs like Satypal Singh, former Mumbai police commissioner, who defeated Chaudhary Ajit Singh has also lost relevance in the constituency. Hence this move was planned to rope in Jats who are fence-sitters.

Just as Jat-dominated western UP was going to polls today, BJP president Amit Shah had a group of prominent jat leaders hosted by Union Minister Rao Virendra Singh, a jat leader from Haryana. The obvious reason was to neutralise the anger that Jats felt after their agitation in Haryana.

Most of Aligarh university votes are going to the Congress but a few votes of non-teaching staff are for Samajawadi Party as well. Samajwadi Party has strong appeal among the economically lower sections of the population.

"Badaun is one of those villages in India which are the most backward in India. Samajwadi and BSP have promised so much, delivered nothing."

There is hardly any wave in support of any party. Even at the time of polling, there is hardly signs of any wave.

Ajit Singh, his son Jayant Singh and his wife Charu Singh also attracted huge turnouts. How could one explain this? Asked leaders. Of course, given large population of the state, the turn outs are poor indicators to read political mood of the state. Yet there is no denying the fact that this election is the most deceptive electoral battle Uttar Pradesh had ever seen.

Apparently not only Prime Minister Narendra Modi attracted a good crowd in this region but there was a huge turnout also for Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and even outsiders like Nitin Gadkari. Similarly Akhilesh, Rahul Gandhi and BSP chief Mayawati also drew good crowds.

As the first round of the polls is underway, there is one confusion that prevails among senior leaders of all parties. This confusion is about how to explain the large turn out at meetings of these leaders.

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.

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.

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.

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."

"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.

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.

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

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

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.

Whether the high voter turnout in key districts could swing the beeps on EVMs in favour of the BJP particularly in small non-Jat pockets would be known on 11 March. These isolated pockets have traditionally been against the Jat dominance and could appear as a saviour for the BJP.

Besides, the Jats could be the most politically dominating community in the region but their numbers aren't incredible enough to singlehandedly influence the voting pattern in an election.

The Jat leaders have advised the community to collectively defeat BJP, however, the appeal is unlikely to maneouvre a 100% swing against the BJP in a community that overwhelmingly voted for the BJP just two years ago. The undecided voter could still go with the saffron party.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is walking on a tightrope in the Jat majority areas, as the community has openly pledged to vote for a candidate most suited to defeat the saffron party.

Soon, all hell broke loose and the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader was gheraoed by an angry mob of BSP supporters after which police had to resort to cane charge to disperse the unruly crowd.

The incident happened at the Islamia Madarsa poling booth. When he was talking to the voters, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supporters outside took umbrage to his spending a long time inside.

The 61-year-old politician, who is the incumbent legislator from Kithaur constituency, was greeted with slogans and some people also pelted stones at him, after which he beat a hasty retreat, officials said.

Addressing a gathering in Budayun, a Yadav stronghold, the Prime Minister said time has come to reverse the caste and community-based policy making in the state and instead embrace the 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas' policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi renewed his attack on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday and charged him with presiding over chaos and lawlessness in the state in the past five years.

Firstpost spoke to voters coming out after voting in Aligarh to sense the mood on the ground. Our inputs suggest that Khatig (SC) caste from the region has primarily voted for the BJP while Koli, Kumhar castes are going to SP. Among Muslims Abassi community has favoured the BSP as the local candidate fielded by it belongs to the Abassi community. However, the BSP has managed to retain the Jatav votes.

As Firstpost spoke to the voters coming out of the booth, the mood remained inclined towards BJP, except for the Jatav votes which remained hitched to the BSP. However, other SC community voters have chosen to vote for BJP in Modi's name and not in the candidate's name. This area has negligible Muslim population.

At the Nahar Singh Inter College, quarsi polling booth around 60% polling was recoded till 4 pm. The officials their suggested that the peak time at this booth was between 11am to 2pm.

"Give BJP a chance. Within six months, I promise the law-and-order situation here will improve. The knife-wielding gangs will all be sent to jails within six months," says Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district.

"Women in Uttar Pradesh can't even wear chains in public, because they are afraid it'll be snatched away. The largest state in India is in the hands of criminals," says Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Lakhimpur.

"In her tenure, Mayawati gave electricity to 23 villages. In his tenure, Akhilesh gave electricity to just three more villages. But in just the last two years since I became Prime Minister, I have given electricity to 1,364 villages," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district.

"The corrupt who I targeted with my demonetisation decision are still unable to sleep well. They stole money from the poor, but I am fighting them. And I will not rest. They are all joining hands against me, because they are afraid their ill-gotten wealth will go away from them," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Second phase of Uttar Pradesh began at 7 am. Join us for LIVE updates on everything that is happening on the ground in the 67 constituencies of India's most populous state.

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.

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.

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 BJP has picked up the topic of Triple Talaq ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections and asked its rivals SP and Congress to clarify their stand on gender justice. The women voters also feel that safety and security of women are of prime concern and they will vote for the party that can ensure it.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Muslim women of Rampur, one of the constituencies that will cast its ballot in the second phase, say Triple Talaq isn't an issue that political parties should discuss and is best left for the community to tackle.

Owasi's rally here drew enthusiastic crowd of under-30 youngsters. Can his AIMIM be a winner or spoiler for SP and BSP candidates? A triangular split in Muslim vote, if it happens, would generate hope for BJP candidate.

This constituency has over 65 percent Muslim electorate. So it's not surprising to find that 10 out of a total of 13 candidates in contention are from Muslim community - SP's candidate Mehboob Ali is a minister in Akhilesh Yadav government. He is facing a stiff challenge from BSP's Naushad Ali. The two were pitted against each other in 2012 also. Then there is AIMIM's Shamim Ahmed, RLD's Salim Khan, and Peace Party's Mohammad Rizwan and the list would go on. BJP's Kunwar Singh Saini is one of only three Hindu candidates from Amroha.

Amroha could be taken as a test case to understand Muslim voters polling preference  whether the Muslims were en-bloc with SP-Congress combine or Mayawati's BSP has own claims in the community and how far Assaduddin's Owaisi AIMIM has made inroads in the community.

In a crowded main bazaar of Amroha, one sees a hoarding "Tandoori Roti Rs 35 per kilo". Tandoori Roti or bread is cheaper than the price of raw atta that sells in any bigger cities. But when it comes to voting and understanding voting pattern, things are far more complicated.

It is precisely for this reason that BJP president Amit Shah said in a media conference that Mayawati's outfit is BJP's main rival in this phase. Shah hopes that BSP, which has given tickets to 99 Muslim candidates this time, would spoil SP's plan and help BJP.

Spread across 11 districts, the 67 constituencies that go to polls today in the second phase of Uttar Pradesh elections are dominated by the Muslim factor. While Muslims are known to vote tactically to keep the BJP away, the SP-Congress alliance would be hoping that the minority votes are not splintered between it and the BSP.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

The sugar mills feel their business is unsustainable in view of falling sugar prices. Some have threatened to die but they cannot do so under the law. Akhilesh has just made things more difficult for them by increasing the State Advisory Price for sugarcane to Rs 305. The BJP promises a loan waiver and payment to farmers within 14 days of delivery. But on the ground, its not a big talking point. Interesting.

In the sugarcane zone of Uttar Pradesh theres not much talk on plight of cane farmers. Not all is hunky-dory with the sugarcane industry here. Farmers have been complaining about rising arrears in payment from the sugar mills.

Was it really a paradigm shift in voter behaviour? Was 2014 the year of enlightenment for Indian voters who suddenly realised that they had been taken for a merry ride by politicians in the name of caste and community equations? Were they eschewing identity politics and its trappings?

Writing for EPW, A K Verma analysed BJP's victory as "it is significant that the party made electoral gains across all castes and communities and across all regions in the state. This victory signalled a paradigm shift in voter behaviour, with a preference for good governance and development pushing out the identity politics of caste and community."

The result was stunning. In Uttar Pradesh alone, BJP won 71 out of 80 seats. Dalits abandoned Mayawati and voted in droves for BJP's PM candidate. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal ran a campaign of anger. Modi defeated him in Varanasi by a huge margin.

It was a remarkable spectacle in 2014. While BJP's rivals, especially in the Hindi heartland, were busy slicing and dicing data on caste equations, PM-aspirant Narendra Modi was telling rally after rally of packed audiences how he will bring achhe din. The more his rivals asked the electorate not to trust him, the more Modi talked about development. The opposition called him a 'polarising figure who will usher in riots', Modi said he will usher in vikaas.

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.

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.

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 once powerful Shivpal Yadav is a pale shadow of himself after the knock-out blow from nephew Akhilesh. Patriarch Mulayam Singh is a much subdued man these days, preferring to be away from the limelight. Some other members of the family are still in the process of adjusting to the generational shift in the party. The Yadav community has stood by Mulayam for over two decades but this time its a bit confused after the coup by Akhilesh which many perceive as an insult to Mulayam.

In Uttar Pradeshs heartland, where the election enters phase three, the debate is not whether the Yadav dominance in their stronghold would continue, its how the bitter power struggle in the Yadav first family would impact the prospect of individual members in the fray.

Akhilesh Yadav. ReutersAkhilesh Yadav. Reuters In the 2012 Assembly polls, SP had won 55 of these 69 seats, while BSP, BJP and Congress secured just 6, 5 and 2 respectively. One seat went to an Independent.

Curtains will come down on Friday on the hectic campaign in 69 Assembly seats spread over 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh that will go to polls in the third phase on 19 February. The districts are Farrukhabad, Hardoi, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur, Unnao, Lucknow, Barabanki and Sitapur.

"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.

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.

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.

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 Supreme Court ordered the registration of an FIR against UP minister Gayatri Prajapati in a gang rape and sexual harassment case against him. The bench hearing the case observed that the state machinery could not go slow on a accused just because he was an influential leader in the state.

Poll panel officials said they hope that more and more people will come out to vote this time and that the previous turnout of 59.96 per cent in this region in 2012 will be bettered by the end of the day.

Voting for 69 seats in the third phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections began on Sunday amid tight security. Heavy security deployment has been made across the 12 districts where polling began. Sensitive polling stations marked by the Election Commission (EC) are being monitored online, an official said.

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.

The SP candidates include Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav and three ministers, one of whom was recently sacked. BJP has preferred to field turncoats on two seats  Lucknow Central and Lucknow Cantt. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who had won on Congress ticket last time, has been fielded by BJP from Cantt seat against Aparna.

Ruling Samajwadi Party is facing a tough battle as it tries to retain the seven Assembly seats it had won last time out of nine in Lucknow, while BJP and BSP queer the pitch. The two other seats were shared by BJP and Congress.

Lucknow Central is also witnessing a keen contest, where sitting SP MLA and cabinet minister Ravidas Mehrotra is facing an uphill task with Congress candidate Maroof Khan refusing to withdraw from the field despite a tie-up between the two parties. BJP has given ticket to former MP Brijesh Pathak, a fromer Lucknow University student union president, who switched from BSP.

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.

One wise doctor has fixed a weekday for each category of patients for consultation. Naamards on Mangalbar (impotents on Tuesday), reads the information on one wall. Somewhere else Thursday is the day for those with the problem of early ejaculation. Something strikes you as odd.

On the road through the Yadav zone in Uttar Pradesh which goes to polls today, theres no escaping gupt rog. On the ubiquitous long brick walls amid green fields on both sides you find the mention of gupt rog and the doctor in loud white. In fact, this crude advertisement easily outnumbers those of the candidates in the elections.

Most voters are unable to say with confidence which party might form the next government in Lucknow. Will this election result in a hung assembly? This too cannot be said with certainty, as a shift of just about three percent votes could result in a clear majority for a single party.

Except for the Jat voters, the BJP voters have largely stayed with the party. BJP might be enjoying some silent polarisation in its favour. However, talking to people in western UP, it didn't appear that there was any wave in favour of any party. This may change in eastern UP.

During the first two phases of polling which covered western Uttar Pradesh, some division was seen in the Muslim votes. While most Muslim votes went for the Samajwadi Party, the BSP too seems to have received a fair share of Muslim votes. There is effectively a three-cornered contest across Uttar Pradesh.

The Urdu daily Roznama Inquilab on 17 February also carried a five-column report from Barabanki quoting several Islamic clerics and local elders saying that appeals made by Muslim leaders to vote for a certain party has confused Muslim voters. Muhammad Yunus Khan, who works for educational uplift of Muslims, is quoted in the report as saying that there is awareness among Muslims as to which party to vote for.

Haseeb Ahmad Nizami of the Lucknow-based social organisation Bharatiya Aqaliyat Mahasabha who criticised such appeals for Muslim votes says that Muslims are aware of which party to vote for or not to vote, according to a report in the Urdu daily Akhbar-e-Mashriq on 16 February.

Some resentment is being seen in the Muslim community against appeals made by various leaders for Muslim minority votes. This may not be consequential but there is a realisation that political leaders use Muslims at the time of elections and forget the community after the vote.

"I urge everyone to cast their important vote in the third phase of Uttar Pradesh voting. After the first two phases, I can confidently say that even in third phase BSP will lead all the parties as far as votes are concerned. In fact, in all the remaining phases as well BSP will come out as a winner. And I can positively say that BSP will form a government on its own, without anyone's assistance or any uncomfortable alliance. Uttar Pradesh needs change, it is looking for development. BJP has been tested and the same goes for Samajwadi Party  the voters have decided."

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.

Large crowds swarmed polling stations in Indiranagar, Gomtinagar, Aliganj Chowk in the old city and Aashiana. Many voters were out early morning so that they do not have to wait in long queues later in the day.

In this region, the competition is between the father and the son. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that Akhilesh Yadav is being seen as tanashah (dictator), as one person told me. However, it seems to be more of a social case. In Indian society, people generally favour the father in any clash with his son.

The third-phase polling today covers Etawah and nearby constituencies which are considered a stronghold of Mulayam Singh Yadav. However, the recent clash between Mulayam Singh and his son Akhilesh Yadav has caused resentment among the voters in this region.

The black patches could well be heartbreaks, externalised and painted in colour for public viewing. These frustrated aspiring candidates could damage the prospect of running candidates in the Samajwadi Party dominated region through silent sabotage acts.

Some of them had started campaigning already anticipating party tickets. The names had to be removed from the walls to avoid confusion among voters about the candidates.

The huge, ugly black patches on many walls in the fields on both sides of the road (from Meerut to Kanpur) tell you that someone has done a shoddy job. Look carefully, and try to find what the dark patches are trying to cover. You get the Congress' campaign theme before it entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party: '27 saal UP behaal' and you get names of Congress and Samajwadi Party aspirants who didn't finally get the ticket or lost out due to the alliance.

The Bhojpuri actor, who formally was a Congress candidate and contested election in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur in 2014, is all set to join the BJP. The announcement was done by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari.

If rumours are anything to go by he would damage the prospect of the Samajwadi Party in some seats in the Yadav belt. He would ensure that the strike rate of the party goes down by several points. It was 80 percent  and 55 seats  last time. He would not mind playing the BJP's game. Mulayam Singh is still with him but his relationship with Akhilesh remains frosty. Wait for a new episode in the family drama after the results are out.

Never underestimate the man outdone in a power game. He could have been pushed to the fringes of the Samajwadi Party by Akhilesh and ploughing a lonely furrow in his Jaswant Nagar assembly constituency at the moment, but Shivpal Yadav remains a dangerous man for Akhilesh.

Akhilesh's alliance partner Rahul Gandhi's Congress has had no presence in the region. The only seat that Congress had won in 2012 was of Rita Bahuguna Joshi in Lucknow Cantt. But Joshi is now part of the BJP. Heavy voter turnout since morning in this phase could cut both ways, depending on voters mood  pro-incumbency, favouring incumbent or anti-incumbency favouring challenger.

The fact that in last five days Akhilesh Yadav had extensively campaigned in areas which are considered to be family stronghold is indicative of the fact that he can't be complacent about the outcome. His wife Dimple Yadav, after appearing to be a tentative campaigner and reluctant public speaker too is campaigning for the party.

But each election has its own different dynamics. In 2012, Akhilesh Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav were one force, in 2017 not so much. The schism within Yadav clan has resulted in emergence of multiple forces. Also, in 2012 Samajwadi Party was a challenger and in 2017 Samajwadi Party is ruling party.

Ideally, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav should have been sitting comfortably ahead of phase three polling which is currently underway in 69 constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. In 2012, Samajwadi Party had swept the polls, winning 54 seats in 12 districts spread over in Yadav bastion of Etawah, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Auraiah and so on.

A crucial constituency where BJP and SP both see the potential to gain from here. Atal Bihari Vajpayee has won the parliamentary constituency five times. In 2014 too, BJP won it overwhelmingly.

Parth MN will file a series of ground reports on millennial voters in Uttar Pradesh, starting Monday. The author is specifically going to look at the commentary on the concerns of young voters.

Political appeals made to Muslims to vote for a certain party harm the interests of Muslims, he says and adds that if a clear written agenda existed, political parties could be held accountable regarding their promises to Muslims.

"However, my view is that there is a need for a political platform of Muslims which can address Muslim issues," Mumshad Qasmi said, adding that such a political platform must offer a strong leadership and united voice. However, he cautions that it cannot be like any other political party and must have an agenda which should be written and clear so that everyone, both Muslims and Hindus, can see what the agenda is.

Some Islamic clerics think that establishment of Muslim parties in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere can harm the interests of Indian Muslims. Maulana Mumshad Ali Qasmi, a leading Islamic cleric who has founded Falah-i-Darain Islamia Inter-College at Bilaspur on the outskirts of Muzaffarnagar, told me that Muslims cannot benefit by forming Muslim parties.

Lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'adoption' comment, Mulayam said that Modi has no idea of what he is saying because Uttar Pradesh has "adopted Samajwadi Party."

Addressing the media after casting his vote in Saifai, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav said that Akhilesh Yadav will be the next chief minister. "Developmental work has been done in UP and Akhilesh once again will be the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. There is no parivarwad in Samajwadi Party," Mulayam said.

She urged voters to cast their ballots in large numbers. She also ruled out any rift in the party and said that its time for us to look forward for the betterment of people in Uttar Pradesh.

Metro, Agra-Lucknow Express Highway are cited by youth when asked about Akhileshs developmental work. The Highway is top class, they say, and it was constructed in mere 22 months. A few months back, work for the Lucknow-Baliya highway has begun, which will make eastern UP more accessible.

Even the BJP leaning youngsters are not critical of him. The ones tilting towards the BJP prefer Modi than Akhilesh. Irrespective of the criticism or perceived failure of demonetisation, Modi remains a tall leader here.

Popularity of the chief minister among the youth of the state is undisputed. They identify with Akhilesh Yadav and believe he deserves another chance. The youth perceive Akhilesh as one of them.

Kanpur MP and BJP's margdarshak mandal member, Joshi still thinks that he continues to be a strong and has potential to do things, than just being a mute margdharshak. He was seen on the dais with PM Narendra Modi in an election rally in Kanpur. Though nobody in BJP has bothered to link Kanpur outcome with Joshi's influence but then in politics hope and aspiration never dies.

Rajnath Singh has his own standing  as an MP from Lucknow where polling is underway, as Union Home Minister and as a former UP chief minister. It is thus important for him that BJP makes an impressive performance in his parliamentary constituency and outside where he has been campaigning extensively.

"In the first five hours of polling, the turnout was over 28 percent," a spokesman of UP Chief Electoral Officer said. Polling was going on peacefully in these areas, he said. Besides BSP surpemo Mayawati, Home Minister Rajnath Singh with his family cast their votes in Lucknow while Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav voted in Saifai (Etawah).

Lucknow's Nazia Khan (see the image), 24, is currently looking for a job but in 2014 when her conservative family did not want to spend money on her education, the scheme ensured she did her BA.

The teachers at Lucknow University also say the scheme has aided the education of girls from poor families. The scheme was first launched in 2004 under Mulayam, but its implementation was not immediate. Mayawati shelved the scheme, and Akhilesh revived it in 2012.

Young girls in Lucknow speak of Kanya Vidya Dhan to endorse their claim that Akhilesh has been good for Uttar Pradesh. It is a scholarship scheme for girls from economically downtrodden families, which they can avail after 12th standard.

Unemployment is going to be a major point on which the young would be voting. Eastern UP has not many industries and Lucknow youngsters are not confident of making a living here. Many said they'd migrate for better jobs. But the drawbacks of the state are blamed on the old guard. Akhilesh has successfully managed to turn the anti-incumbency away from him on to his father and uncle.

However, one of the factors that is not working for Akhilesh is security of women. The 1090 helpline number has been introduced but girls say it works inconsistently. They admit the law and order situation had been better under Mayawati whereas gunda raj has been on the rise under SP rule.

Rahul Gandhi is hardly a factor. And the alliance is not hurting SP. Those supporting congress even now are never likely to desert them. And Akhileshs young supporters may not be excited about the alliance but are not angry enough to vote against him. The transfer of votes should not be a problem.

Parth MN will file a series of ground reports on millennial voters in Uttar Pradesh, starting Monday. The author is specifically going to look at the commentary on the concerns of young voters.

Also, Lucknow has a sizable Shia population, out of which a good chunk has traditionally voted for the BJP. Vajapayee enjoyed great popularity among the Shias. But the anti-Muslim narrative by some of the BJP elements has ensured the Shias have drifted away. The Shia Ulema has declared support to Mayawati. The elder Shia generation wont vote for SP because of Azam Khan, but the youngsters seem to be willing to ignore him for Akhilesh. Ashutosh Tondon, son of Lalji Tondon, a BJP leader of yore, and who enjoyed respect among Shias, is contesting from Lucknow east, a seat which they are hoping to retain. BJP has thrown its might behind him.

In the urban constituencies, the caste and religious identities, while undoubtedly exist even among youth, are being blurred and Akhilesh will gain from it. It means the upper caste youngsters could vote SP. But at the same time, Muslims wont desert them. But with roughly 30% upper caste vote in Lucknow, BJP always remains in the race. With generations voting for a party, most youngsters could follow their parents.

Though Mulayam's words exuded confidence, his body language suggested that he lacked the vitality, vigour, enthusiasm and force that is usually associated with him during election time in Uttar Pradesh.

Mulayam, prompted by Sadhna, showed a mark of indelible ink on his finger and proclaimed that the SP was returning to power with a majority on its own.

Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and his second wife Sadhna Gupta rarely, if ever, make a public appearance together; let alone make a political statement. The Yadav family homeland of Saifai witnessed a fresh chapter in the first family's history on Sunday when the two landed there together, within hours of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav casting his vote.

Lucknow Cantt has about 25% of the total registered voters are Brahmins, around 12.5% thakurs, 10% Muslims and rest includes Vaishyas, OBC and Dalits. This time the Samajwadi Party is unlikely to keep Kurmis and Mauryas under its fold. Of late they have been losing the support of non-Yadav obc voters, especially Mauryas and Kurmis of the region to BJP.

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 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 getting it wrong.

The impact of social media in urban Lucknow is noticeable. The BJP tilting youngsters often cite WhatsApp forwards when asked about demonetization. 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 urban youth.

When it comes to the Muslim votes, she has gone out of the way to seek support of Maulavis who, she thinks, have the ability to influence the Muslim voteshare. But the youngsters do not take Maulavis seriously. Also, voting Mayawati in urban areas is perceived as helping BJP.

Moreover, the urban Dalit youth is not homogenous. In rural Lucknow, Dalit youngsters firmly stand by Mayawati. It makes BSP a player in the two reserved seats. The chamars wont desert Mayawati but Dhobis, Pasis etc keep drifting. The extreme backward castes are inclined towards BJP.

Mayawati is a clear third in Lucknow in spite of a 20% Dalit vote share. The base vote is substantial but there is no add on vote and she too seems to be aware of it.

Shah made these comments while seeking to draw a parallel between the rival parties and the Mumbai attack perpetrator Ajmal Kasab. "Until and unless Kasab is laid to rest, development and prosperity will continue to elude the poll-bound state. In other words, it means that the state may have to languish further, if there is no respite from these political parties," he said.

Elaborating on the acronym at an election meeting, he said, "Ye Uttar Pradesh ki janata is baar ke chunav mein is Kasab se mukti paa le. Main phir se bolta hu Uttar Pradesh ki janata is baar ke chunav mein is Kasab se mukti paa le. Kasab se mera matlab kuch aur mat nikaliyega. Kasab se mera matlab hai- KA se Congress, SA se Samajwadi Party aur B se BSP. (In this election, people of UP should get rid of Kasab. I say it again, people of UP should get rid of Kasab. Do not take any other meaning when I say Kasab. What I mean by KASAB is -- KA for Congress, SA for Samajwadi Party and B for BSP.)"

BJP chief Amit Shah kicked up a storm on Wednesday when he dubbed SP, BSP and Congress as 'KASAB' , adding yet another acronym in the Uttar Pradesh poll campaign, and said development will elude the state till "Kasab is laid to rest".

Dialling up their offensive against the Samajwadi Party and Congress alliance, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called the tie-up a "thug bandhan" (coalition of cheats). Addressing an election meeting in Dhanghta, he attacked SP and BSP, alleging that "many corrupt leaders" are present in both the parties. SP and Congress formed the alliance about a month back, just ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. "There is a wave in favour of the BJP and it will make its government after elections," he said.

When asked whether Ram Temple is one of the poll issues, Keshav said, "Ram temple is a matter of faith for us. We have mentioned it in our manifesto as well. As far as Uttar Pradesh ke Ladke are concerned, the youth of UP will give them a reply."

Speaking to CNN-News18 , BJP state president Keshav Maurya said, "Even SP and BSP are accepting that they are fighting against BJP. BJP is here to form the government." When asked about the graveyard comment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Keshav said, "There is nothing wrong in whatever the prime minister has said. He just showed us the reality that light comes during Ramzan and Eid and not during Diwali."

While local Congress leaders claim that Priyanka was occupied with some family matters but thats no explanation for ordinary locals. In the last Assembly election, she had held about three dozen rallies in six assembly segments Raebareli and slightly less number in four assembly segments of Amethi parliamentary constituency, held by her brother Rahul. In the parliamentary election, she was managing Raebareli and Amethi.

But people here were in for a surprise of a different kind. They are in fact a bit intrigued by her absence. Last time they had enough of Priyanka Gandhi in 2012 assembly elections, who was here for about a fortnight, had gone to almost every big nukkad in six assembly segments of her mothers parliamentary constituency, spoke there, waved hands, spent moments with womenfolk, party workers and other sundry voters in all strata of society.

It is highly mystifying to people in Raebareli. They had seen it in TV news, read it in newspapers that Priyanka Gandhi was the one who finally saw to it that Congress alliance deal with Samajwadi Party was sealed. They had also come to know through media reports and from whatever political gossip they had heard that she was now poised to take a bigger role, campaign all over Uttar Pradesh than just nurturing twin family constituencies, Raebareli and Amethi.

The Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in Raebareli is struggling because they've not managed to crack a deal. It's a pocket borough of Gandhis but they were routed in 2012 assembly elections and SP had done well here. With both parties claiming the high ground, the end result is Congress and SP both fielding candidates at two of the five seats, defying the alliance.

The crack in the alliance has handed out advantage to BJP and BSP on a platter. The BJP is likely to gain the most, with Modi being the X-factor. He remains popular among the youth, especially in rural Raebareli, because he "took on black money and corruption through demonetisation".

Here, one is a reserved seat, and out of the remaining four, 2 tickets have gone to OBCs. In its attempt to coax the OBCs, BJP seems to be neglecting its traditional votebank of Brahmins and Baniyas, perhaps indicative of the fact that they now take them for granted.

With three crucial phases gone and four more to go, it's all about numbers in Uttar Pradesh. Raebareli has a sizeable OBC population and the BJP is increasingly playing its politics around them. The state president is Keshav Prasad Maurya and Raebareli district president is Dilip Yadav.

"The districts which are in fray in the fourth phase is the land of hermits and bandits. People have Ramayan in their blood, so whether people will appreciate this sort of political discourse (Amit Shah's Kasba comment) is a matter of concern."

Though crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs) were the highest in UP at 8
Lucknow: The iconic dialogue  picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost  from Shah Rukh Khan's Bollywood movie 'Om Shanti Om' could well describe the current poll scenario in Uttar Pradesh where a hung Assembly is a possibility.

Even before the election results are declared on 11 March, party insiders do not discount chances of a fractured verdict after the seven phases of polling that will come to an end on Wednesday in the absence of any wave.

After all the key players talked about notching up 300 plus of the 403 seats, talks of a hung house suddenly gained momentum in the last phases of polling with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself flagging the possibility of a hung assembly in UP.

Modi said SP and BSP were waiting for such an opportunity for bargaining, prompting Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to comment that after dreaming of 300 plus seats, Modi was now talking about a fractured verdict.

The contest is between the BJP, the ruling Samajwadi Party along with partner Congress and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, which is looking to script a comeback in UP. To win 202 or 50 percent seats this year, a party will need to get 35 percent of the vote share. Five years ago, the Samajwadi Party had needed just 29 percent of the vote share to win 226 seats.

Mayawati's party had won only 80 seats with 26 percent votes. The two regional heavyweights saw a steep fall two years later, with the BJP and its ally Apna Dal sweeping the 2014 general election, winning 73 of UP's 80 seats with 42 percent of the vote share.

The BJP can afford to lose 7 percent of its vote share from 2014 to still win this year, while SP-Congress must gain 6 per cent to reach 35 percent, and BSP will have to stretch about 15 percent to win.

The BJP is counting on its core support base - urban voters, the youth and upper caste voters, while Akhilesh hopes to consolidate his party's traditional Muslim-Yadav vote bank with his partnership with the Congress and is also targeting the Muslims who may vote for the BSP.

Mayawati's party is seeking to consolidate its hold in rural UP and has fielded about 100 Muslim candidates to win support from that community.

Voters threw hung houses in the state for 14 years and that trend changed from 2007 when people decided to deliver a clear mandate.

This time, with no clear wave in favour of any party and each of the key players claiming to get over 300 of the 403 seats at stake, party insiders say the outcome is unlikely to go in one direction. Increasingly seen as the 'bellwether' for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the results will not only decide as to who will rule UP but show which way the wind is blowing ahead of the Lok Sabha elections two years hence.

The Assembly elections are being viewed as CM Sey PM Tak (From CM to PM) as Modi will be aspiring for a second run. With the presidential polls also due later this year, UP's strength will be at full play, raising the stakes of all major parties. BJP's one-fourth of Lok Sabha strength comes from UP. But, after three clear verdicts of the 2007, 2012 and 2014 general elections, the spectre of a hung house looms large over the state once again with party insiders saying the main reason being absence of any single issue binding the state.

Demonetisation could play both ways for the BJP, analysts said. Besides, split in the traditional vote banks on caste and communal lines and shifting loyalties have thrown spanners in the scheme of things of key parties. Muslims were highly confused whether to stick to SP or switch over to BSP in view of the factional feuds in the ruling party, which they have been supporting traditionally post Babri Masjid demolition.

But, this time round they have been wooed by BSP to the hilt with Mayawati giving nearly 100 tickets to Muslims and asking the community not to fritter away their votes and in the process help BJP.

SP, on the other hand, cautioned the Muslims not to back BSP, saying Mayawati had fielded so many Muslim candidates to indirectly help the saffron party  pre-poll and if need be post-poll too.

Confusion over the chief ministerial face of BJP and not giving tickets to any Muslim candidate could affect the prospects of the saffron party in addition to note-ban pain, feel political pundits. Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Uma Bharti and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi have said on record that BJP could have given tickets to the community.

Rajnath also said BJP's position would have been stronger if SP had not forged alliance with Congress. His remarks came amid reports that Muslims might support the fledging coalition.

The political scene in Uttar Pradesh has been dominated by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party since 1990s, and if the BJP came to power in the state, it was courtesy the BSP or by breaking small parties to cobble up a majority in the state assembly.

Voters threw hung house in the state for 14 years and that trend changed from 2007 when people decided to deliver a clear mandate. Experts believe that the communication network played an important role in this as voters are connected across the length and breadth of the state.

The ruling Samajwadi Party could have performed better had the family feud not played a spoiler. The party has been battered by bitter power struggle between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal, who is supported by his father and party patriarch Mulayam, and the feud between the warring factions refused to die down.

The chief minister took control of the party on 1 January after ousting Mulayam at an "emergency national convention" and also sacked his uncle as the party's state unit chief. He also did not want parliamentarian Amar Singh in the party. Then came the fight for its symbol 'bicycle' over which both the factions had laid claim before the Election Commission, giving enough indication that any reconciliation was unlikely.

The BSP led by firebrand Mayawati was considered a strong claimant for the chief minister's post till it was hit by an exodus of senior leaders from the party. The BSP's core vote of 21.5 per cent Dalits is not intact. The rainbow coalition of Dalits, Muslims and Brahmins that had brought her to power in 2007 has also split up. Though the BSP's Brahmin face S C Misra extensively toured the state, her party's fate is in the hands of the Muslims.

The BJP has been eyeing UP ever since its spectacular victory in 2014. Its national president Amit Shah launched a spate of public mobilisation programmes including the Parivartan Yatra. However, their trump card is Narendra Modi who remains a popular figure in the state. He has also been working on stitching alliances with various castes as well as smaller parties.

The state's senior leader Rajnath Singh has appealed to the masses to end their 14-year-long 'vanvaas' (exile). The party's demonetisation gamble, seen as a national movement against corruption and black money, could boomerang given the hardships faced by people in the countryside post-note ban.

The Congress, on its part, has been making desperate and sincere efforts to revive the party in the state it ruled for about 40 years. Since 1990 it has been living with a tag of an 'also ran party' in the elections. The party high command hired Prashant Kishor to do a miracle, a la Bihar in UP.

There are other smaller players who will be taking away votes and playing spoilers on seats heading for a close finish, thereby raising the possibility of a hung Assembly,

political observers noted.

UP has the dubious distinction of being placed underPresident's Rule 10 times.
A highly-charged final phase of campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh polls culminated on Monday with shows of strength by the BJP, the Samajwadi Party-Congress combine and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi constituency, where he camped for three days. Around 40 seats spread over seven eastern districts, including five in Varanasi, go to the polls on Wednesday, bringing the curtains down on the two month-long exercise staggered over seven phases.

Over the course of three days, Modi visited temples, held a roadshow and attended a number of public events in the holy city along with several rallies in the region, in the final push by the BJP to reach out to voters. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also matched it with their own campaign blitz in the region. Joined by Akhilesh's wife Dimple, the two leaders held a roadshow, hours after Modi arrived in the city and paid obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath and Kal Bhairav temples with much fanfare.

BSP chief Mayawati, who is seeking a fifth term as chief minister, also addressed a rally in Rohaniya, around 20 kilometres from Varanasi the same day. A galaxy of BJP veterans and Union ministers also made a beeline to Varanasi towards the fag end of electioneering, making the poll atmosphere highly charged. Leading BJP's campaign from the front, Modi mocked Akhilesh and Rahul as "delicate" people incapable of taking hard decisions while pitching himself as a grassroots leader who can bring development to the 'Purvanchal' region and the state.

Even as a section of poll pundits, opinion and exit polls, journalists and political observers begin the process of predictions, another section says no definitive prediction can be made. Like this Firstpost article argues, "Most statistical models rely on a sample and can have a margin of error ranging from 95 to 99 percent in a state like Uttar Pradesh, where the victory margins are usually three to four percent. Which means that the margin of error is more than victory margin, making the result difficult to predict." The fact is no party in Uttar Pradesh is in a position to claim clear majority.

Predictions aside and in the run-up to 11 March, analysis of the high-octane campaigning in Uttar Pradesh throws up some interesting trends. Despite Modi's charged up offensive against all the major players in the state, reports said that it was after all Akhilesh who campaigned the most. He was followed by BJP's state president Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Akhilesh held 211 rallies and his last (according to code of conduct) was in Jaunpur's Kerakat on Monday at 5 pm. Despite a serious family feud, which was used by every party campaigning in the state against the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh seemed confident and buoyed in every rally. In Kerakat on Monday, Akhilesh said, "This is my last rally of this election and my last appeal to you (crowd) is do vote and help me."

In contrast, Modi, who has been acting like the local leader in the absence of a strong chief ministerial candidate, has addressed a total of 21 rallies. "The number of rallies has increased because of huge public demand. People want to see, hear and interact with the prime minister everywhere," BJP spokesperson Chandra Mohan told The Huffington Post.

Number game aside, the tone and texture of the speeches delivered by the major players in Uttar Pradesh gives us an insight of what the political parties might be expecting as the verdict day closes in.

A bitter and personal campaign

In the past couple of weeks, the prime minister's attitude and his speech strategy at rallies has changed unmistakably. Starting his speeches with the archetypal mitron, which Modi says with a smile, the prime minister's rally speeches suddenly found more of communal undertones and less of the various benefits of demonetisation.

When Modi kick started his campaign in the state on 2 January with his Parivartan rally in Lucknow, the BJP was focussing on appeasing farmers, planning to announce some pro-poor schemes and focus on the many benefits of the 8 November, 2016 decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. The party planned to dedicate the campaigning on making sure that the demonetisation drive was used to its fullest. The second poll issue that Modi wanted to hammer home was development.

The prime minister also came down heavily on Akhilesh for the infighting in Samajwadi Party.

"On one hand, you have the party that is only bothered about saving a family. On the other, you have a party that wants to occupy the seat of power through any means. We are the third, only concerned about saving Uttar Pradesh, developing it and seeing it progress. You decide if you want to waste yourself on saving a family or giving someone a chair," Modi had said in Mahoba.

In fact, it was BJP who was credited with the two famous (rather infamous) acronyms  SCAM and KASAB. The latter came from party chief Amit Shah.

Modi stayed clear of any communal references in his speech. Until that infamous 'kabristan' speech.

Sometime in mid-February, the prime minister delivered a speech in Fatehpur, where he said, "Gaon me kabristan banta hai to shamshaan bhi bananaa chahiye. Ramzan me bijli aati hai to Diwali me bhi aani chahiye...Agar Holi mein bijli milti hai, to Eid par bhi bijli milni chahiye. (If a graveyard is made in a village, it should also have a cremation ground. If a village gets electricity during Ramzan, it should also get the same during Diwali...If there is electricity during Holi, there should be electricity during Eid too)."

Modi further added, "There shouldn't be any discrimination. It is the duty of a government to be unbiased. Injustice shouldn't be done to anybody it should never be on the basis of religion or caste or class."

The prime minister was criticised for playing the Hindutva card. Interestingly, the time when Modi made the graveyard comment, three phases of polling were already done. Ground reports did not give any political party a clear lead and analysts said that the shift from development plank to communal plank was party's strategy to engineer counter-polarisation sentiments by whipping up apprehensions about the Samajwadi Party's pro-minority image.

The fact that BJP stronghold was eastern Uttar Pradesh and pockets of central Uttar Pradesh (which voted in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh phases), BJP probably hoped to gain from religious entreaty. Till Modi's kabristan utterances, he was probably the only BJP leader who was not using communal overtones in his speeches. Starting from Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Keshav Maurya to Rajnath Singh, probably most BJP leaders have fallen back on the Hindutva pitch in their rallies. And although the kabristan part comprised under a paragraph in all the speeches Modi had delivered over the course of the campaign, it was the one that came across as most jarring.

In comparison, other major players in the state  Akhilesh, Rahul and Mayawati  focussed on their core poll issues like unemployment, electricity, farmer issues, etc. Modi and the BJP was only mentioned in their speeches to highlight the economic crises brought upon by the Centre through the demonetisation drive. As Akshaya Mishra argues in this Firstpost article that even though a section of media would have us believe that there is a "BJP wave", the party itself is unsure about it. "The BJP has tried hard at polarisation, the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance has flaunted its development card and the BSP has taken on both for making false claims, yet the buzz on the ground indicates no favourite."

However, when mentioning Modi or the BJP, Akhilesh too turned the narrative incredibly personal and bitter.

Akhilesh and his donkey jibe

However, when mentioning Modi or the BJP, Akhilesh too turned the narrative incredibly personal and bitter. Akhilesh accomplished a whopping 211 rallies in just 36, spending almost five-six hours flying. "He has led an amazing campaign without showing any signs of being tired or irritated and we are hopeful that the toil will reap us a good electoral harvest on 11 March," IANS quoted a close aide of his as saying.

Akhilesh had a rocky start to the campaign  he had to postpone his rath yatra at the start of the campaigning due to the raging family feud in the party  but the chief minister became the only politician to clinch the record number of rallies. Akhilesh's real campaign began on 1 February and on few days Akhilesh addressed seven rallies per day.

Themes that resonated throughout Akhilesh's rallies were attacking demonetisation, slamming the BJP-led Centre government's Uttar Pradesh-unfriendly schemes, invoking child 'khajanchi' born in a bank queue and justifying the "unusal" alliance with Congress. However, in Raebareili, the Gandhi bastion, Akhilesh had a piece of advice for actor Amitabh Bachchan. "Dont advertise for the donkeys of Gujarat".

In an obvious reference to Modi and Shah, Akhilesh's remark was considered to have hit a new low in the political rhetoric. "Ek gadhe ka vigyapan aata hai. Main iss sadi ke sabse bade mahanayak se kahunga ke ab aap Gujarat ke gadhon ka prachar mat kariye (Theres an ad on TV that shows donkeys. I appeal to centurys biggest star, please stop endorsing the donkeys of Gujarat)," Akhilesh said. The reference was to a Gujarat Tourism advertisement.

Lastly, as the clamour grows in media circles over who will call the elections in India's largest state first ahead of 11 March, it is almost impossible to predict how the electorate will vote in a state of seven regions  eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Uttar Pradesh, Awadh, northeast Uttar Pradesh, Doab, Rohilkhand and Bundelkhand  all with separate issues, characteristics and political ethos.

As the state votes in the final and the seventh phase of polling, the guns have fallen silent and the armies are back in their camps. With campaigning over for one of the most keenly watched and caustic assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in recent times, political heavyweights, as also their foot soldiers, now have their eyes set on which way the last phase goes and then the vote count on 11 March.The only thing to do now, is to wait and see if the rhetoric actually paid off.
Shiv Sena legislator and three-time corporator from Santacruz, Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, will be the new mayor of Mumbai, after he was sworn in on Wednesday, two weeks after the Sena won elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country's richest civic body.

Mahadeshwar filed his nomination papers on Tuesday. A report in city-based tabloid Mid-Day said he is one of the most educated corporators in the civic body. "A Ramnarain Ruia College graduate, he was previously principal of Raje Sambhaji Vidyalaya and Junior College in Santacruz. Mahadeshwar said he would focus on ridding the city of potholes and encroachments, and address water shortage," the report said.

Hemangi Worlikar of the Shiv Sena filed her nomination for the deputy mayor's post.

The mayoral election was expected to be a tight contest between Shiv Sena and BJP, as the two parties finished neck and neck in the recently concluded BMC polls. Sena emerged the single largest party, with 84 seats, while BJP followed a close second with 82. However, with the two parties unable to see eye-to-eye on a post-poll alliance, amid speculation and backdoor negotiations, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis surprised everybody with a startling announcement on Saturday, saying his party will stay away from the mayor race.

As reported earlier, Fadnavis had said his party will not be in the Opposition, but will support the Sena and will be committed to their poll promise of maintaining transparent governance in the BMC, for which the Maharashtra government will appoint a deputy Lokayukta. Also, a three-member coordination committee will be set up which will submit its report in three months on how to bring transparency in the BMC, he said.

So when a show of hands was conducted in the civic body on Wednesday to elect the new mayor, Mahadeshwar emerged victorious with the only competition coming from Congress' Vitthal Lokare. According to a report in The Indian Express, incumbent mayor Snehal Ambekar conducted the election. Far before the results were announced, it became evident, and Sena workers had begun bursting crackers outside the BMC headquarters, the report said.

In fact, the only roadblock Mahadeshwar faced came in the form of a case slapped against him by Congress' Suryavansh Thakur who lost to Mahadeshwar in 2007.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, Mahadeshwar contested the 2007 election from an OBC ward in Santacruz claiming to be from the Vaishyawani caste. However, the Konkan Divisional Caste Scrutiny Committee said it was unable to establish that he was actually from the said caste, and that the oldest documents that had probative value at best showed that Mahadeshwar was from the Wani caste, which is not included in the list notified by the government as OBC. Thakur slapped a case against him, even as Mahadeshwar challenged the committee's decision.

In 2010, the Bombay High Court upheld the committee's decision, saying Mahadeshwar failed to prove his caste as Vaishyawani. "Yes, I was disqualified, but it was more about a problem with the way the state government had included the Vaishyawani caste in OBC. The court noted that the government did not follow the proper procedure, while declaring the caste as OBC and struck down the government resolution," Mahadeshwar was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times report.
London: Prime Minister Theresa May suffered her second defeat in a week over Brexit on Tuesday when the House of Lords voted to give parliament the final say on how Britain leaves the European Union.

Peers voted by 366 to 268 to amend the bill empowering May to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty  the formal notification of Brexit, which she has promised to issue by the end of March.

She remains confident she will meet that deadline, but the defeat is a setback  as well as a taster of the domestic opposition she could face in the coming months of complex EU negotiations.

The amendment would give parliament the power to reject the final Brexit deal agreed with the EU  a move critics said was akin to a "veto" which would bind the government's hand in negotiations.

Lawmakers would still be constrained by the strict Article 50 timetable, which means Britain will leave the EU after two years whether it has a deal or not. The defeat comes after the Lords voted last week to include in the bill guarantees for more than three million European citizens living in Britain after Brexit.

Brexit minister David Davis said the result was "disappointing", and accused some in the Lords of seeking to "frustrate" the process of leaving the EU. "It is the government's intention to ensure that does not happen. We will now aim to overturn these amendments in the House of Commons," he said.

The bill is expected to return on 13 March to the elected lower chamber, where May's Conservatives have a slim majority. With an eye on future parliamentary battles ahead, some Conservatives are urging a snap election to bolster May's support among MPs.

"The government could face many close votes, concessions or defeats as it tries to implement Brexit," former leader William Hague wrote in The Daily Telegraph.

However, changing the law to bring the election forward from 2020 would not be easy, and for now Downing Street is publicly ruling it out.

May had urged the Lords not to amend the two-clause bill, saying it was designed only to implement the June referendum vote for Brexit. She had agreed to let parliament vote on the final terms of the divorce, including any new trade deal to compensate for Britain leaving Europe's single market. But this vote would only occur if May accepted the agreement on offer, and she has warned she would rather walk away with nothing than accept a bad deal.

Opponents fear this scenario would cause chaos, as all trade deals and contracts between Britain and its 27 former EU partners would become void overnight. The amendment says only parliament can make that call.

Former Conservative minister Michael Heseltine was among 13 Tory rebels who backed the motion, put by the opposition Labour party. He warned the future was highly uncertain and lawmakers could not give the government a blank cheque.

"I must make clear that in accepting the mandate to negotiate our withdrawal from the European Union, I do not accept that the mandate runs for all time and in all circumstances," he said.

But another Tory grandee, Nigel Lawson, said the amendment would allow parliament to "prevent Brexit altogether by refusing to allow the UK to leave the EU without agreement".

Last week's amendment on EU nationals dashed May's hopes of securing approval for the bill this week, ahead of an EU summit starting on Thursday.

While she should be able to overturn it in the Commons, reports suggest she could face a rebellion of up to 20 of her Tory MPs on the amendment on a final vote.

Among them is former minister Anna Soubry, who warned: "If we are faced with a potentially catastrophic 'falling off a cliff', the least we can do is provide a parliamentary safety net."

The government had one success on Tuesday, when an amendment on holding another referendum on the final Brexit deal was defeated by 336 votes to 131.

The pro-European Liberal Democrats responded by putting forward a motion to kill the bill entirely, but it was defeated and the legislation moved to the Commons late Tuesday without further change.
By David Ljunggren

| OTTAWA

OTTAWA The Canadian government is weighing the chances of a potential surge in asylum seekers illegally crossing into Canada from the United States as the weather improves, a government minister said on Tuesday.Hundreds of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have braved wintry conditions to cross into Canada, where they face arrest. The migrants and refugee agencies cite U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration as a reason for fleeing.Border guards and police briefed cabinet on various scenarios on Tuesday. Ottawa has not decided what to do, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters.Asked whether the government was looking at a scenario of a larger influx as the weather improved, Goodale replied: "That would be one of the considerations." Canadian officials - who have consistently said they are not worried by the numbers so far - stress it is too early to say whether the influx represents a trend."We're obviously watching this very closely," said Goodale.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is scheduled to visit Ottawa on Friday for talks on the border and the influx, said Canadian officials."It's important for them (the Americans) to understand the impact of this flow on Canada," said Goodale.Although the migrants link their actions to Trump's policies, Canadian officials say the numbers started to rise before the U.S. presidential election in November.

Officials say virtually all of the people seeking asylum in Canada had been in the United States legally. Under the terms of a bilateral deal on refugees, Canada is obliged to reject bids by people who have already sought asylum in the United States. "Some of these individuals who are coming across our borders never intended to stay in the United States ... Canada for them was always the destination," Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told reporters.Canadian officials discovered many people entering Quebec province obtained visas from the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, said one person familiar with the matter.

Separately, a senior political source said asylum seekers were happy for now to give themselves up to police and escape the cold. "What's going to happen when the weather warms up? Are we really going to have to build a fence along the entire length of the border?" said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.Such an undertaking would be impossible, since the frontier stretches 5,500 miles (8,900 km) and is largely unguarded. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By John Walcott and Mark Hosenball

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON CIA contractors likely breached security and handed over documents about the agency's use of hacking tools to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials told Reuters on Wednesday.Two officials speaking on condition of anonymity said intelligence agencies have been aware since the end of last year of the breach, which led to WikiLeaks releasing thousands of pages on Tuesday.According to the documents, Central Intelligence Agency hackers could get into Apple Inc (AAPL.O) iPhones, devices running Google's Android software and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.The White House said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was "extremely concerned" about the CIA security breach that led to the WikiLeaks release."Anybody who leaks classified information will be held to the highest degree of law," spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.The two officials told Reuters they believed the published documents about CIA hacking techniques used between 2013 and 2016 were authentic.One of the officials with knowledge of the investigation said companies that are contractors for the CIA have been checking to see which of their employees had access to the material that WikiLeaks published, and then going over their computer logs, emails and other communications for any evidence of who might be responsible.On Tuesday in a press release, WikiLeaks itself said the CIA had "lost control" of an archive of hacking methods and it appeared to have been circulated "among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive."A U.S. government source familiar with the matter said it would be normal for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the CIA both to open investigations into such leaks. U.S. officials previously have confirmed that prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia for years have been conducting a federal grand jury investigation of WikiLeaks and its personnel. A spokesman for the prosecutors declined to comment on the possibility of that probe being expanded. It is not clear if the investigation of the latest CIA leaks is part of the probe.Some cyber security experts and technology companies have criticized the government for opting to exploit rather than disclose software vulnerabilities, though an interagency review process set up under former President Barack Obama was intended to err on the side of disclosure.Those concerns would grow if U.S. authorities did not notify companies that CIA documents describing various hacking techniques had been compromised.Apple, Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google, Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) and Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) did not immediately respond when asked if they were notified of a CIA breach before WikiLeaks made its files public.

At Apple, none of the vulnerabilities described in the documents provoked a panic, though analysis was continuing, according to a person who spoke with engineers there.LARGER NUMBER OF CONTRACTORS

One reason the investigation is focused on a potential leak by contractors rather than for example a hack by Russian intelligence, another official said, is that so far there is no evidence that Russian intelligence agencies tried to exploit any of the leaked material before it was published.One European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the WikiLeaks material could in fact lead to closer cooperation between European intelligence agencies and U.S. counterparts, which share concerns about Russian intelligence operations.U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of seeking to tilt last year's U.S. presidential election in Trump's favour, including by hacking into Democratic Party emails. Moscow has denied the allegation.

One major security problem was that the number of contractors with access to information with the highest secrecy classification has "exploded" because of federal budget constraints, the first U.S. official said.U.S. intelligence agencies have been unable to hire additional permanent staff needed to keep pace with technological advances such as the "internet of things" that connects cars, home security and heating systems and other devices to computer networks, or to pay salaries competitive with the private sector, the official said.Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents. On Tuesday, several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials appeared to be legitimate.A person familiar with WikiLeaks activities said the group has had the CIA hacking material for months, and that the release of the material was in the works "for a long time."Both U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committees have either opened or are expected to open inquiries into the CIA breach, congressional officials said.GERMAN CONCERN

In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutor's office said that it would review the WikiLeaks documents because some suggested that the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt."We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators," a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office told Reuters.Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit Washington on March 14 for her first meeting with Trump, who has sharply criticized Berlin for everything from its trade policy to what he considers inadequate levels of military spending.The WikiLeaks documents may also complicate intelligence ties that have just begun to recover after a series of scandals, including news in 2013 that the U.S. National Security Agency had bugged Merkel's cellphone. The Frankfurt consulate was investigated by German lawmakers after that incident.Merkel told lawmakers last month she did not know how closely Germany's spies cooperated with their U.S. counterparts until 2015 when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the BND spy agency had for years passed on information to the NSA about European companies and politicians.Germany reduced the level of cooperation with the NSA after those revelations.U.S. officials have acknowledged that the consulate in Frankfurt is home to a CIA base. A facility adjacent to the citys airport and the Rhein-Main Air Base has for many years been home to the CIAs Tefran station, a U.S. centre for collecting intelligence on Iranian activities in Europe, maintaining surveillance on Iranian officials and targeting potential defectors working in Irans nuclear weapons program.Foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a regular government news conference that Germany took the issue seriously, but more work needed to be done to verify the authenticity of the documents. Berlin was in close touch with Washington about the case and such matters generally, he said.Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany's domestic intelligence agency had the job of uncovering espionage activities in Germany, and carried out its work comprehensively.WikiLeaks reported that CIA employees had been given diplomatic passports and State Department identities to carry out their work in Frankfurt, focused on targets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The documents included advice for CIA experts about life in Germany, noting that shops are closed on Sundays, and to have "your cover-for-action story down pat" when they were asked by German authorities when entering the country. (Reporting by John Walcott, Mark Hosenball, Dustin Volz, Yara Bayoumy in Washington and Matthias Sobolewski and Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Additional reporting by Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Peter Graff and Bill Rigby)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Of Donald Trumps executive orders to date, his so-called Muslim Ban has drawn the most attention and controversy. In addition to causing mass confusion and chaos, Trumps order also brought tensions between the Executive and Judicial branches of government to a head. Facing public outcry and judicial resistance, Trump revoked his original order and replaced it with an updated version, published on 6 March. Trumps newer bill is written to tackle issues raised by both the public and the courts.

The order, under the same title as the first (Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States), sets out an immigration policy that keeps the bulk of his original plan with just a few key differences.

The first big change was whittling down the number of countries affected from seven to six. Due to the strategic relationship between the United States and Iraq, Iraq has been removed from the list of target countries. While Iraq has been dropped from the list of countries experiencing a blanket immigration ban, Iraqi nationals will continue to face additional scrutiny, including an inquiry into potential connections to IS.

One of the many questions Trumps original order brought up was the effect of the order on dual nationals  for example a Syrian with a French passport. Trumps updated order contains far more specificity about who can, and cannot, enter the country. Under the current order, dual nationals are exempt, along with five other named exceptions. The order also allows, but does not guarantee, waivers for students returning to continue studies, medical care of children, and family unification.

The timeline of this order will also differ slightly from the first  the changes will be rolled out over the coming ten days to avoid the chaos of mid-flight changes to immigration policy. This change will also prevent airports from becoming makeshift law firms.

Another significant change is the revoking of the 'Christian exception', a provision allowing for the prioritisation of religious minorities applying for refugee status. Seen as discrimination based on religion, an internationally condemned policy, Trump replaced the provision with a defence of his original position and an assurance that the intent was to protect, not discriminate.

Although Trump maintained his limit of allowing entry to 50,000 refugees per fiscal year and a 120 day suspension of all refugee applications, he has lifted the indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. With several European countries currently threatening to sue one another over Syrian refugee admission (Hungary and Slovakia filed lawsuits in 2015) and refugees themselves raising lawsuits, Trumps decision to lift the ban on Syrians was a wise decision politically as well as legally.

Notably, this order excludes reference to the 11 September, 2001 attacks. Prominent in the original order, many people called Trump out for referencing an attack that was carried out by nationals of four countries  none of which were listed in his order. Instead, Trump has shifted to a more general anti-terror rationale.

Despite these changes, the new Muslim Ban is unlikely to appease many opponents of the original order. With the bulk of the order intact, many will view Trumps revised order as merely the same old Muslim Ban dressed in prettier clothes. The order is still focused exclusively on predominantly Muslim countries and opponents fear that such a ban will only strengthen anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US, and could be used to whip up nationalist sentiment. In some sense, this new order is even more worrying than its predecessor, since its increased specificity and apparent removal of the most legally flimsy provisions makes it more likely to be upheld by courts.

On the other hand, this order will be much more acceptable to those who support a more restrictive immigration policy but who were unhappy with Trumps original attempt. From a practical and logistical perspective, this new order erases much of the uncertainty of the first one and offers a more organised transition that is less likely to cause the type of disruption seen when the policy changed without warning and while many affected individuals were en route to the US. With more exceptions and the possibility of discretionary waivers, Trumps new order lacks the hasty and chaotic feel of the original order.

It is Trumps hope that the updated executive order is specific enough to pass judicial scrutiny and withstand the legal battles his first order was on course to losing and politically palatable enough to prevent another public backlash. On one front, he will likely succeed. The public has already voiced its discontent and a new and improved policy is unlikely to generate the same sort of energy, or even attention, as the initial order. Particularly now that the order is written to appeal to a broader base, including unhappy Republicans and Conservatives, Trump can expect less resistance from his own voter base.

The legal battles are another story. No strangers to long, drawn out battles, lawyers around the country are gearing up for a second round of litigation. Even if Trumps order is not immediately struck down in the courts, he is facing a long road and multiple legal challenges. It is likely that every substantive provision in the order will be challenged, from the temporary measures to the publishing of crimes committed by foreigners. Bolstered by a first success, advocates will approach these challenges vigorously and Trump can expect to catch grief at every turn.

Politically speaking, Trumps move in issuing the second order was the only wise one he could have made at this point. He cannot abandon his plan and simply give in to protestors, nor can he realistically spend his presidency trying to fight with the Judicial branch. Now his only option is to compromise and try to push through as much of his own policy as possible with the least amount of resistance. Whether it was Trumps intent to originally issue such a broad and unworkable order as part of a negotiation tactic (known as anchoring high) or if it was simply poorly thought out is anybodys guess. Regardless, Trumps new order is on track to becoming just one more battle in a presidency that is starting to look more and more like a war.
Peter Navarro, the new director of the White House National Trade Council has accused Samsung and LG of hurting American companies through unfair trade practices. Navarro is in charge of the U.S. President Donald Trump's international trade policy.

Navarro was speaking at the U.S. National Association for Business Economics Conference on Monday. "Two of the [Korean] competitors, LG and Samsung, simply move the production to another country each time Whirlpool wins any anti-dumping cases against them," he claimed.

"Such country hopping has happened twice to Whirlpool already. LG and Samsung have moved from China to Vietnam and Thailand."

Trump has promised to hike trade barriers in a bid to "put America first."

Navarro's claim has some basis in fact. Back in January, the U.S. imposed punitive 52 percent and 32 percent anti-dumping tariffs on LG and Samsung washing machines made in China. To avoid them, the two firms have since exported washing machines they make in Vietnam and Thailand to the U.S., but the production facilities existed already.

Heo Yoon, the dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Sogang University, said it would at any rate be up to any multinational company to move its production base wherever it likes, a freedom that U.S. companies take ample advantage of.

"Still, it's a bit worrying if a U.S. presidential trade adviser who puts the priority on reducing trade deficits implies that Washington is fully determined to hunt down dumping practices by Korean firms no matter where they move their production bases," Heo added.
Islamabad: Nearly 5,000 women in Pakistan are killed annually mostly for reasons linked to social issues of "honour and harassment", a human rights activist has said. "On an average, 5,000 women are murdered every year compared to 1,442 men. While the male casualties are primarily related to terrorism, the women's killings are mostly linked to social issues of honour and harassment," rights activist Sarwar Bari said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a consultation workshop, 'Making workplace safe for women', on the eve of the International Women's Day, Bari said Pakistan has deviated from the vision of its founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah as political parties never dared to stand against so-called religious scholars who have been opposing pro-women laws in the country. Bari said that in 1928, women of the subcontinent held a demonstration against early marriages. Jinnah reached the spot to express solidarity with the protesters, he said.

"Today religious scholars resist all kinds of legislation in favour of women which is a deviation from the vision of the Quaid (Jinnah). Last year, the Punjab government passed a women protection bill but the religious parties did not accept it," he added. Hundreds of women are killed every year in Pakistan often by their family members on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour.

Pakistan's National Assembly in October last year passed a much-anticipated new law that mandates a minimum 25-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of carrying out an honour killing, and prohibits families of victims from forgiving the killer, a common occurrence in these tragic crimes. At least 40 clerics of the Barelvi school of thought in Pakistan on June 12 last year issued a fatwa against honour killing, declaring it 'un-Islamic and unpardonable sin'.

The clerics under the banner of Sunni Itehad Council said that honour killing is kufr (infidelity). The Conservative Council of Islamic Ideology - an Islamic body that enjoys constitutional status and gives non-binding proposals to Parliament to make laws according to Islam - last year declared killing of women in the name of "honour" as un-Islamic.
New Delhi: Despite India's "cleaner record compared to Pakistan", no discrimination should be made while considering their bids to join the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a Communist Party of China official said on Tuesday.

Ma Xiangwu at the 19th Asian Security Conference at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) said the position of the two countries was "similar" and both should be given a chance to be part of the elite grouping that controls global atomic commercial activities and technology transfers.

"India and Pakistan position on this issue is similar, if China can vote for India, then why Pakistan cannot be voted in? Pakistan is a friend... It should also be given an opportunity to be voted in," Ma said.

"There should be no discrimination between the two," he said, reiterating China's known argument that has saddled India's NSG bid with the bad track record of Pakistan. That country has allegedly been caught selling atomic weapons technology to Libya.

Asked about India's record on proliferation, Ma acknowledged that "India has a cleaner record compared to Pakistan" but quickly added that "China has its own position, which is consistent."

Beijing opposes India's inclusion in the NSG on the ground that India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. New members in the grouping are admitted largely if they agree to be part of the NPT or Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). India has signed neither on the ground that the treaties are discriminatory.

Speaking on the border dispute between India and China, Ma said it was "a tricky issue on which there should be a good negotiation between the two countries".

"We need to understand what India wants and what China wants."

Calling negotiations as "the best approach", Ma suggested if India was offering some goodwill at the start of the negotiation, then China will start negotiating.

"It's all about peaceful negotiation to reach objective. China believes that India should make a wise political decision," he added.
By Yuval Ben-David

| ISRAELI MILITARY BASE, Golan Heights

ISRAELI MILITARY BASE, Golan HeightsNot far from the Syrian border, two Israeli soldiers - a man and a woman - faced off in a training session of Krav Maga, an Israeli self-defence technique."I want you to be aggressive, give him the fight of his life," physical education officer Lotem Stapleton urged the woman, a soldier in the Haraam artillery battalion, the Israeli military's longest-running mixed-gender combat batallion.As the world marks International Women's Day on Wednesday, whose theme this year focuses on "women in the changing world of work", the Israeli military says it is ahead of the curve in providing combat roles for female soldiers.At an army base - which under military censorship rules could not be identified - in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Stapleton shouted encouragement at a pack of 13 soldiers who confronted a stream of "enemy combatants" in a training circuit."Today, 85 percent of (combat) positions are open to women. We are also talking about opening more and more positions," Stapleton said.

The Haraam battalion began accepting women in 2000. Overall, female soldiers now make up 7 percent of the fighting ranks in the Israeli military, where men and women are conscripted at the age of 18.Men serve for three years and women for two. Israel's Arab citizens and ultra-Orthodox Jewish community are largely exempted from military service."I think that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is very advanced by giving women equal opportunities," Lieutenant-Colonel Oshrat Bachar, an adviser to the office of the chief of staff on gender issues, told Reuters at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv.

"I believe that we are much more advanced than other armies in the world because (service) is mandatory and of course because we believe in equal rights," she said.Rachel Fenta, a female combatant in the Haraam battalion, said she spent a year sitting at a desk before she became determined to join a fighting unit."I wanted to test my limits," she said.

Matan Paull, a commanding officer in the battalion, said female combatants were generally more creative and mentally flexible than their male counterparts. But he said the women tended to get injured more easily.Mai Ofir, another female member of the unit, would agree. "Our bodies arent built the same," she said. "But just as a guy can shoot a rocket, so can a woman." (Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Alison Williams)

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By Rozanna Latiff and Liz Lee

| KUALA LUMPUR

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak struck a softer tone with North Korea on Wednesday, a day after accusing it of assassinating the estranged half-brother of Kim Jong Un and treating Malaysians as "hostages."Malaysian police have identified eight North Koreans wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13, three of them hiding in the North Korean embassy.In a bid to "ensure the safety" of its diplomats and citizens in Malaysia, North Korea retaliated on Tuesday by banning Malaysians from leaving the country until the case was "properly solved."Najib denounced that move as an "abhorrent act" and ordered a reciprocal ban. He also for the first time directly accused North Korea of murdering Kim Jong Nam, who Malaysian police say died from super-toxic VX nerve agent smeared on his face by two women. "What we are facing now is the result of their action in assassinating their own citizen in Malaysia, on Malaysian soil, using a strictly banned chemical weapon," Najib told state media agency Bernama on Tuesday.In Malaysia's Borneo state of Sarawak, 37 North Koreans were detained on Tuesday at a construction site for overstaying their visas, a state government source said. They were among 176 North Koreans working in Sarawak. Those who overstayed would be given 30-day extensions, however, an immigration source said. But faced with the priority of securing the release of the 11 Malaysians stuck in North Korea, Najib sounded more conciliatory in parliament on Wednesday, saying there were no plans to cut diplomatic ties."We are a country that's friendly to them," Najib said, after reassuring MPs the three embassy staff, six family members, and two other Malaysians in North Korea were safe.Najib declined to elaborate on the next steps: "If there's any negotiations, we can't do it through the media."VIDEO PURPORTEDLY OF SON

North Korea is in danger of losing one of the few friends it has outside of China. On Monday, Malaysia expelled North Korea's ambassador for questioning the impartiality of the murder investigation and ended visa free travel for North Koreans. Last week, Malaysia said it would investigate North Korea front companies after a Reuters report showed that Pyongyang's spy agency was running an arms network in the country. North Korea says the dead man is not Kim Jong Nam, and has suggested he had a heart attack.Najib said the body has to be formally identified, although the deputy prime minister and senior police officials have previously confirmed that it is Kim Jong Nam. "It's been hard for us to do the DNA verification as no one has come forward,' Najib said. "Maybe they're scared to come forward."Malaysia has said it would only release Kim's body to the next of kin, refusing demands from North Korea to hand it over without an autopsy.

A man claiming to be Kim Jong Nam's son said he was lying low with his mother and sister in a video posted online by a group that said it helped rescue them following the airport murder. The governments of Netherlands, China, the United States, and a fourth unnamed country provided emergency humanitarian assistance to protect the family, the group, called Cheollima Civil Defense, said in a statement released on Wednesday along with the video.An official at South Koreas National Intelligence Service said the man in the video is Kim Han Sol, Kim's 21-year-old son."I'm currently with my mother and my sister...," the man says during the 40-second video, without disclosing his location. "We hope this gets better soon."Reuters could not independently verify the video.

Kim Han Sol is the son of Kim Jong Nam's second wife, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau with Kim under Beijing's protection after the family went into exile several years ago.'EXTRACTION AND PROTECTION'

South Korean intelligence officers say Kim Jong Un had issued standing orders for the elimination of his elder half-brother. The statement released on the website of Cheollima Civil Defense said the organisation responded last month to an emergency request by Kim Jong Nam's family for "extraction and protection".U.S. officials and South Korean intelligence suspect North Korean agents were behind the assassination of Kim Jong Nam. He had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic rule of North Korea.The only people charged so far are a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman, accused of smearing the victim's face with VX.The police are pressing to question up to three men believed to be hiding in the North Korean embassy, but said they would not raid the building. Police have said that four other North Koreans fled Malaysia hours after the murder. The only one to have been detained was released and deported on Friday due to insufficient evidence. (Additional reporting by James Pearson in SEOUL and Joseph Sipalan in KUALA LUMPUR; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Bill Tarrant)

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VIENNA The U.N. nuclear agency's 35-nation Board of Governors on Wednesday backed the agency's chief, Yukiya Amano, for a third term as director general after he ran unopposed on a platform of continuity in dealing with issues like Iran's nuclear programme.Amano, a 69-year-old career diplomat from Japan, has headed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 2009, including the years leading up to Iran's nuclear agreement with major powers in 2015 and after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in 2011.The Board of Governors' decision to reappoint Amano took place without a vote, meaning no country expressed opposition, diplomats said. It must be confirmed by a meeting of all IAEA member states in September, which is widely seen as a formality."Congrats to DG Amano on @iaeaorg reappointment - US is committed to cont. cooperation & supports him in the exercise of his mandate," the U.S. mission to the United Nations in Vienna said on Twitter while the closed-door meeting was still happening.Since most countries had backed Amano long before the board meeting, one of the few open questions had been where the United States stood, since it had yet to express a view publicly.

When he was first elected, Amano was backed by Western powers seeking a more pliant successor to Mohamed ElBaradei, who clashed with U.S. officials over Iran and was accused by the administration of George W. Bush of being too soft on Tehran.ElBaradei was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with the IAEA in 2005, two years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Striking a deliberate contrast with ElBaradei's more political style, Amano often emphasises the technical nature of the agency's work, which includes policing the restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities imposed by Tehran's deal with major powers, which also lifts economic sanctions against Iran. The man who had been most likely to challenge Amano, Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi, decided not to run as the deadline for applications at the end of last year approached.

Amano has described Iran's deal with six major powers as a "net gain" because it reduces Tehran's nuclear activities and imposes more intrusive monitoring of those activities. The Iran deal was one of the issues he discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when they met in Washington last week, but neither side said what view Tillerson had expressed on the agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump has called it "the worst deal ever negotiated". (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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By John Walcott and Andrea Shalal

| WASHINGTON/BERLIN

WASHINGTON/BERLIN U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Wednesday they have been aware since the end of last year of a security breach at the CIA and were focusing on contractors as the likeliest source of documents being passed on to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks detailing the agency's hacking tools.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that they believed documents published by WikiLeaks on Tuesday about CIA techniques used between 2013 and 2016 were authentic.The documents showed that CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc (AAPL.O) iPhones, Google Inc (GOOGL.O) Android devices and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.The White House said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was "extremely concerned" about a CIA security breach that led to the Wikileaks release, and the administration would be tough on leakers."Anybody who leaks classified information will be held to the highest degree of law," spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.One official with knowledge of the investigation said companies that are contractors for the CIA have been checking to see which of their employees had access to the material that Wikileaks published, and then going over their computer logs, emails and other communications for any evidence of who might be responsible.One reason the investigation is focused on a potential leak by contractors rather than for example a hack by Russian intelligence, another official said, is that so far there is no evidence that Russian intelligence agencies tried to exploit any of the leaked material before it was published. One European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Wikileaks material could in fact lead to closer cooperation between European intelligence agencies and U.S. counterparts, which share concerns about Russian intelligence operations.U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of seeking to tilt last year's U.S. presidential election in Trump's favour, including by hacking into Democratic Party emails. Moscow has denied the allegation.

One major security problem was that the number of contractors with access to information with the highest secrecy classification has "exploded" because of federal budget constraints, the first U.S. official said.U.S. intelligence agencies have been unable to hire additional permanent staff needed to keep pace with technological advances such as the "Internet of Things" that connects cars, home security and heating systems and other devices to computer networks, or to pay salaries competitive with the private sector, the official said.Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents. On Tuesday, several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials appeared to be legitimate.A person familiar with Wikileaks activities said Wikileaks has had the CIA hacking material for months, and that the release of the material was in the works "for a long time."A Congressional official said that the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has begun asking questions about the WikiLeaks disclosures.

GERMAN CONCERN

In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutor's office said that it would review the Wikileaks documents because some suggested that the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt."We're looking at it very carefully," a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office told Reuters. "We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators."Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit Washington on March 14 for her first meeting with Trump, who has sharply criticized Berlin for everything from its trade policy to what he considers inadequate levels of military spending.

The Wikileaks documents may also complicate bilateral intelligence ties that have just begun to recover after a series of scandals, including news in 2013 that the U.S. National Security Agency had bugged Merkel's cellphone. The Frankfurt consulate was investigated by German lawmakers after that incident.Merkel told lawmakers last month she did not know how closely Germany's spies cooperated with their U.S. counterparts until 2015 when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the BND spy agency had for years passed on information to the NSA about European companies and politicians.Germany scaled back the level of cooperation with the NSA after those revelations.U.S. officials have acknowledged that the consulate in Frankfurt is home to a CIA base. A facility adjacent to the citys airport and the Rhein-Main Air Base has for many years been home to the CIAs Tefran station, a U.S. centre for collecting intelligence on Iranian activities in Europe, maintaining surveillance on Iranian officials and targeting potential defectors working in Irans nuclear weapons program.Foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a regular government news conference that Germany took the issue seriously, but more work needed to be done to verify the authenticity of the documents. Berlin was in close touch with Washington about the case and such matters generally, he said.Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany's domestic intelligence agency had the job of uncovering espionage activities in Germany, and carried out its work comprehensively.Wikileaks reported that CIA employees had been given diplomatic passports and State Department identities to carry out their work in Frankfurt, focused on targets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The documents included advice for CIA experts about life in Germany, noting that shops are closed on Sundays, and to have "your cover-for-action story down pat" when they were asked by German authorities when entering the country. (Reporting by John Walcott, Mark Hosenball, Yara Bayoumy in Washington and Matthias Sobolewski and Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Peter Graff, Grant McCool and Frances Kerry)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By John Walcott and Andrea Shalal

| WASHINGTON/BERLIN

WASHINGTON/BERLIN U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that they have been aware since the end of last year of a security breach at the CIA that led to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks publishing agency documents on its hacking tools.The officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that they believed that the documents published by WikiLeaks on Tuesday were authentic.Investigators were focusing on CIA contractors as the likely source of passing materials to WikiLeaks, the officials said. The group published what it said were nearly 8,000 of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used between 2013 and 2016.In Germany on Wednesday, the chief federal prosecutor's office said that it would review the Wikileaks documents because some suggested that the CIA ran a hacking hub from the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt."We're looking at it very carefully," a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office told Reuters. "We will initiate an investigation if we see evidence of concrete criminal acts or specific perpetrators."Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials appeared to be legitimate.The latest revelations came days before Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to visit Washington for an initial meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has sharply criticized Berlin for everything from its trade policy to what he considers inadequate levels of military spending.The Wikileaks documents may also complicate bilateral intelligence ties that have just begun to recover after a series of scandals, including news in 2013 that the National Security Agency had bugged Merkel's cellphone. The consulate was already heavily investigated by German lawmakers after that incident.

Merkel last month told lawmakers she did not know how closely Germany's spies cooperated with their U.S. counterparts until 2015 when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the BND spy agency had for years passed on information to the NSA about European companies and politicians.Germany scaled back the level of cooperation with the NSA after those revelations.U.S. officials have acknowledged that the consulate in Frankfurt is home to a CIA base. A facility adjacent to the citys airport and the Rhein-Main Air Base has for many years been home to the CIAs Tefran station, a U.S. center for collecting intelligence on Iranian activities in Europe, maintaining surveillance on Iranian officials and targeting potential defectors working in Irans nuclear weapons program.

SERIOUS MATTER

Foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a regular government news conference that Germany took the issue seriously, but more work needed to be done to verify the authenticity of the documents. Berlin was in close touch with Washington about the case and such matters generally, he said.Officials at the German government news conference declined to answer questions about any knowledge Berlin might have about CIA activities in Germany. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany's domestic intelligence agency was tasked with uncovering espionage activities in Germany, and carried out its work comprehensively.Wikileaks reported CIA employees had been given diplomatic passports and State Department identities to carry out their work in Germany at the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, focused on targets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The documents included advice for CIA experts about life in Germany, including the fact that shops are closed on Sundays, and to have "your cover-for-action story down pat" when they passed through German customs.One European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Wikileaks material could in fact lead to closer cooperation between European spy agencies and U.S. counterparts, which share concerns about Russian intelligence operations.The European official said there was suspicion, still unconfirmed, that Moscow could have had a hand in the latest leaks. U.S. spy agencies accuse Russia of meddling in the U.S. presidential election last year, which Russia denies.Its interesting and maybe significant that this leak coincides with stepped-up Russian attempts to influence upcoming European elections, intimidate the Baltic states and other former Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe, and destabilize NATO and the European Union," said the European official.When a reporter at the German government news conference asked whether it was a double standard that Berlin tolerated U.S. spying while trying to root out such activity by Russians, one of the government spokesmen said Berlin had good reason to suspect Moscow of seeking to influence Germany's election. (Reporting by John Walcott and Yara Bayoumy in Washington and Matthias Sobolewski and Andrea Shalal in Berlin; Editing by Peter Graff and Grant McCool)

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Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces on Wednesday a grilling by lawmakers investigating if her government shielded Volkswagen from regulators despite knowing the auto giant was carrying out emissions cheating.

The parliamentary committee was launched after VW  Europe's largest carmaker with 12 brands ranging from luxury Porsche to lower-end Skoda  admitted in September 2015 to fitting some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide with software that temporarily reduces harmful emissions when undergoing regulatory tests.

Tasked with investigating Berlin's response to emissions excesses going back to 2007, the group of lawmakers has already heard witnesses from across the government and Volkswagen, including the car group's former chief executive Martin Winterkorn.

Merkel has been chancellor for the entire period covered by the inquiry, which has also heard serving and former ministers including Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who previously served as economy minister, and Chancellery chief of staff Peter Altmaier.

The hearings have yet to uncover clear evidence that Merkel or her government acted improperly.

Her appearance before the emissions committee is Merkel's second as a witness this year, coming less than a month after she deflected MPs' questions about mass spying by Germany's BND foreign intelligence service on behalf of the US National Security Agency.

When Merkel takes her seat as the inquiry's final witness, MPs will come at her from a number of angles. One of the top questions is why the diesel cheating was uncovered by officials in the United States, rather than Germany's own KBA motor vehicle authority.

California's powerful Air Resources Board (CARB) was one of the first regulators to bring the VW scandal to light, along with the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Transport minister Alexander Dobrindt  whose brief includes oversight of the KBA  told the inquiry in his own testimony that the regulator "acted faster than others" in responding to the scandal.

MPs also want to find out more about a conversation between Merkel and then-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010.

Merkel criticised strict regulations on diesel vehicles in the most populous US state, CARB chief Mary Nichols, who was present at the meeting, told the inquiry on Monday.

Nichols was "surprised" that a head of government was informed in such detail about the topic, according to a summary of her testimony published on the Bundestag (German parliament) website.

Closer to home, the lawmakers have questions about whether Merkel intervened in Brussels to de-fang European emissions regulations for the benefit of German manufacturers. And they will be attentive for any hint that Merkel might have known earlier than she has so far acknowledged about the scandal.

Former VW CEO Winterkorn told the inquiry that Merkel learned about 'dieselgate' in a phone call on September 22, 2015  just after Winterkorn himself claims to have found out.

But prosecutors are already investigating the carmaker's one-time "Mr Quality" for fraud, saying they have "sufficient indications" that he may have known about the questionable software earlier than he has admitted and failed to inform investors.

In the United States, the FBI believes senior VW executives in Germany found out months earlier than they have so far claimed, in July 2015.

That allegation could cost VW dearly in Germany, where investors are suing the firm for billions over what they say was a failure by executives to inform them of the scandal in a timely fashion. VW has so far set aside 22.6 billion euros ($23.8 billion) to cover fines and compensation related to the affair, but experts estimate the final bill could be much higher.

German politicians have long nurtured the nation's auto industry, one of the country's strongest and an employer of some 800,000 people.

Volkswagen's deep links with the Social-Democrat led Lower Saxony government, a major shareholder with seats on the firm's board and ties to its powerful works council, have often been criticised.

And Merkel was quick to intervene last month when France's Peugeot said it would buy German carmaker Opel, helping secure guarantees that the new owners would uphold collective-bargaining agreements with workers in personal talks with chief executive Carlos Tavares.

The task of lawmakers on the inquiry committee is to determine whether such feather-bedding for the favoured industry extended as far as turning a blind eye to much higher emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides than allowed.
By Dustin Volz and Warren Strobel

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks on Tuesday published what it said were thousands of pages of internal CIA discussions about hacking techniques used over several years, renewing concerns about the security of consumer electronics and embarrassing yet another U.S. intelligence agency.The discussion transcripts showed that CIA hackers could get into Apple Inc iPhones, Google Inc Android devices and other gadgets in order to capture text and voice messages before they were encrypted with sophisticated software.Cyber security experts disagreed about the extent of the fallout from the data dump, but said a lot would depend on whether WikiLeaks followed through on a threat to publish the actual hacking tools that could do damage.Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the published documents, but several contractors and private cyber security experts said the materials, dated between 2013 and 2016, appeared to be legitimate.A longtime intelligence contractor with expertise in U.S. hacking tools told Reuters the documents included correct "cover" terms describing active cyber programs.Among the most noteworthy WikiLeaks claims is that the Central Intelligence Agency, in partnership with other U.S. and foreign agencies, has been able to bypass the encryption on popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.The files did not indicate the actual encryption of Signal or other secure messaging apps had been compromised.The information in what WikiLeaks said were 7,818 web pages with 943 attachments appears to represent the latest breach in recent years of classified material from U.S. intelligence agencies.Security experts differed over how much the disclosures could damage U.S. cyber espionage. Many said that, while harmful, they do not compare to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013 of mass NSA data collection."This is a big dump about extremely sophisticated tools that can be used to target individual user devices ... I havent yet come across the mass exploiting of mobile devices," said Tarah Wheeler, senior director of engineering and principal security advocate for Symantec.Stuart McClure, CEO of Cylance, an Irvine, California, cyber security firm, said that one of the most significant disclosures shows how CIA hackers cover their tracks by leaving electronic trails suggesting they are from Russia, China and Iran rather than the United States.Other revelations show how the CIA took advantage of vulnerabilities that are known, if not widely publicized.In one case, the documents say, U.S. and British personnel, under a program known as Weeping Angel, developed ways to take over a Samsung smart television, making it appear it was off when in fact it was recording conversations in the room.

The CIA and White House declined comment. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," CIA spokesman Jonathan Liu said in a statement.Google declined to comment on the purported hacking of its Android platform, but said it was investigating the matter.Snowden on Twitter said the files amount to the first public evidence that the U.S. government secretly buys software to exploit technology, referring to a table published by WikiLeaks that appeared to list various Apple iOS flaws purchased by the CIA and other intelligence agencies.Apple Inc did not respond to a request for comment.The documents refer to means for accessing phones directly in order to catch messages before they are protected by end-to-end encryption tools like Signal.Signal inventor Moxie Marlinspike said he took that as "confirmation that what were doing is working." Signal and the like are "pushing intelligence agencies from a world of undetectable mass surveillance to a world where they have to use expensive, high-risk, extremely targeted attacks."

CIA CYBER PROGRAMS

The CIA in recent years underwent a restructuring to focus more on cyber warfare to keep pace with the increasing digital sophistication of foreign adversaries. The spy agency is prohibited by law from collecting intelligence that details domestic activities of Americans and is generally restricted in how it may gather any U.S. data for counterintelligence purposes.The documents published Tuesday appeared to supply specific details to what has been long-known in the abstract: U.S. intelligence agencies, like their allies and adversaries, are constantly working to discover and exploit flaws in any manner of technology products.Unlike the Snowden leaks, which revealed the NSA was secretly collecting details of telephone calls by ordinary Americans, the new WikiLeaks material did not appear to contain material that would fundamentally change what is publicly known about cyber espionage.WikiLeaks, led by Julian Assange, said its publication of the documents on the hacking tools was the first in a series of releases drawing from a data set that includes several hundred million lines of code and includes the CIA's "entire hacking capacity."The documents only include snippets of computer code, not the full programs that would be needed to conduct cyber exploits.WikiLeaks said it was refraining from disclosing usable code from CIA's cyber arsenal "until a consensus emerges on the technical and political nature of the C.I.A.s program and how such weapons should be analyzed, disarmed and published."

U.S. intelligence agencies have said that Wikileaks has ties to Russia's security services. During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Wikileaks published internal emails of top Democratic Party officials, which the agencies said were hacked by Moscow as part of a coordinated influence campaign to help Republican Donald Trump win the presidency.WikiLeaks has denied ties to Russian spy agencies.Trump praised WikiLeaks during the campaign, often citing hacked emails it published to bolster his attacks on Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton.WikiLeaks said on Tuesday that the documents showed that the CIA hoarded serious security vulnerabilities rather than share them with the public, as called for under a process established by President Barack Obama.Rob Knake, a former official who dealt with the issue under Obama, said he had not seen evidence in what was published to support that conclusion.The process "is not a policy of unilateral disarmament in cyberspace. The mere fact that the CIA may have exploited zero-day [previously undisclosed] vulnerabilities should not surprise anyone," said Knake, now at the Council on Foreign Relations.U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they did not know where WikiLeaks might have obtained the material.In a press release, the group said, "The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive."U.S. intelligence agencies have suffered a series of security breaches, including Snowden's.In 2010, U.S. military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning provided more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to Wikileaks.Last month, former NSA contractor Harold Thomas Martin was indicted on charges of taking highly sensitive government materials over a course of 20 years, storing the secrets in his home. (Reporting by Dustin Volz and Warren Strobel; additional reporting by Joseph Menn, Mark Hosenball, Jonathan Landay and Jim Finkle; Editing by Grant McCool)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The United States has publicly accused Russia for the first time of deploying a cruise missile in violation of a 30-year-old arms control agreement.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman General Paul Selva confirmed on Capitol Hill the deployment of the land-based missile violates the "spirit and intent" of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Selva's remarks Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee were the U.S. military's first public confirmation of reports last month that Russia had secretly positioned them.

Selva testified the deployment poses "risk to most of our facilities in Europe." He added the move is an attempt by Russia to threaten the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
"Two Sessions" Advisory: FM presser, NPC plenary on March 8

From:Xinhua | 2017-03-08 08:40

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet the press at the media center of the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

NPC deputies will hold a plenary meeting in the Great Hall of the People at 3 p.m. to hear

-- a report on the NPC Standing Committee's work,

-- explanation of the draft general provisions of civil law,

-- explanation of the draft decision on the quota and election of deputies to the 13th NPC.
Philippines hails China's Belt and Road Initiative

From:Xinhua | 2017-03-08 08:40

MANILA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines welcomes China's Belt and Road Initiative policy, an ambitious effort to link Asia, Europe and Africa through the construction of massive infrastructure such as railways and ports, government officials and analysts have said.

Philippine Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said on Tuesday that the Belt and Road Initiative would help in advancing the socioeconomic programs of the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

"We welcome all international initiatives that would be consistent with (Duterte's) socio-economic agenda," Rodolfo told a news conference after the 28th Philippines-Chinese Joint Commission on Economic and Trade Cooperation.

"Big parts of what we have been discussing here are in terms of how do we align the socio-economic strategies of (the Philippines and China)," Rodolfo said.

Thr "belt" roughly with the historic Silk Road crossing Eurasia, while the "road" refers to the "maritime silk road" -- the sea routes along which Southeast Asia, South Asia, Arabia and Africa traded with ancient China. Over the next 10 years, China aspires to achieve 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars in annual trade with the nations involved in the two areas.

Not wanting to be left out, the Philippines said it intends to hit the road with China in pursuing this economic strategy that is hoped to re-establish the so-called "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" which Chinese President Xi Jinping first introduced in the fall of 2013.

The initiatives are part of China's 13th Five-Year Plan, which will run from 2016 to 2020 and guide national investment strategy throughout that period.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has reportedly agreed to attend the Belt and Road Summit scheduled in China in May.

A spokesman for the Philippine Department of Finance, Paula Alvarez, has told Xinhua in a written interview that the Philippines looks forward to the May summit, voicing hope that the Philippines and China could identify mutual areas of cooperation to facilitate trade and investment.

The Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to bring back the glory of the ancient Silk Road, hopes to integrate Asia, Africa and Europe through closer diplomatic, commercial and financial cooperation, in an unprecedented effort that will bring together up to 65 countries.

Duterte, who took office in June last year, visited China in October in a bid to rekindle Sino-Philippines diplomatic relations that soured under the previous administration of President Benigno Aquino.

Philippine academics and analysts said that improvement of relations with China has made the Philippines a promising participant in the initiative.

"The important thing is for the Philippines to be part of the international market," political analyst Benito Lim said in a telephone interview.

Lim added that Duterte's decision to attend the May summit is a wise decision. "It's best to find out (what the Belt and Road Initiative is about) and not be left out."

Analyst Victor Corpuz, a retired Army general, told a recent forum that re-establishing close diplomatic ties with China "brings the Philippines a special seat on the gigantic 21st Century Belt and Road Initiative project," adding it could make the Philippines the "eastern hub to circumnavigate the globe through the Pacific."

George Siy of the Integrated Development Studies Institute stressed the importance of the Philippines to be part of the new Silk Road.

"To be part of the plan means to be part of a highway of trade with infrastructure, with harmonized customs, with financing, with technology to allow the infrastructure," he said, adding that the initiative would allow products and services, and investments to flow freely.

Siy added, "Tourism will flow, and people to people relations will grow. Cultures will pollinate and you can adopt the portions you want."
Months after losing the White House to now President Trump in one of the most bruising elections in U.S. history, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is slowly re-emerging on the national scene.

Clinton spoke Tuesday during a Girls Inc. Annual New York Luncheon after receiving the 2017 National Champion for Girls Award from the group devoted to helping underprivileged teens.

Let us hope there is a wave of young women running for office in America and lets be sure to support them in every way we can. Lets help them shatter stereotypes and lift each other up. They are the history makersthe glass-ceiling breakers of tomorrow. They are among the reasons why Im so optimistic about our future, Clinton said during her award acceptance speech.

Those remarks echo a video statement she delivered last month at the 2017 MAKERS Conference in Palos Verdes, California.

Despite all the challenges we face, I remain convinced that yesthe future is female, Clinton said during the video message.

Clinton, who didnt comment specifically on Trumps first months in office, did say she has been inspired by recent women marches being demonstrated across the country.

Despite their many policy differences, Clinton and Trump may share similar views when it comes to womens initiatives, especially in the workplace. Trump mentioned helping women entrepreneurs last week during his first address to Congress.

With the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a Council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams, Trump said during his address. This followed his meeting at the White House which included female executives from General Motors (NYSE:GM), Schnitzer Steel (NASDAQ:SCHN), and Accenture (NYSE:CAN), among others.

Trumps oldest daughter Ivanka has also been publicly supportive of a call for more health benefits for working women, including paid family leave for new parents.
On Wednesday, International Womens Day, women from around the world are voicing their concerns regarding gender equality during the Day Without a Woman strike.

The strike, organized by the same group who led the Womens March on Washington in January marks the beginning of a new international feminist movement which aims to denounce not only Trump, but the environment of economic inequality, racial and sexual violence, and imperial wars abroad that produced Trump, according to the Womens Strike website.

But actress and author of A Little Bit Vulnerable Janine Turner doesnt believe there needs to be a protest to prove as a reminder of the valuable roles women play in society.

I think theres an elitist quality to it and I think a lot of the working women today that need to show up to their jobs are being left behind. I personally dont feel like I need a day to feel appreciated it, said Turner.

Turner, who wrote a book advocating for womens rights is all for supporting women, but said if it turns against Trump, then I have a problem with it.

What Trump is doing is just fabulous, wonderful things  paid family leave, he wants to work on childcare, making neighborhoods safer, school choice. You know all these things are going to help women in the process.

Critics of the Womens Strike argue that it puts single mothers and families in a tough position to find childcare as schools such as Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia, announced they will be shut down for the protest  something Turner takes issue.

I think this is not worthy of women to walk away from the students, from the other single mothers that now are stranded  I have a problem with that.
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Elon Musk, who heads Tesla Inc and Space X, will take part in a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and business leaders Wednesday on the administration's plans to boost infrastructure spending, a White House official told Reuters.

Also expected to attend the White House meeting are developer Richard LeFrak, chief executive officer of LeFrak; Vornado Realty Trust CEO Steve Roth; and Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris, the official said.

General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford, McKinsey & Co partner Tyler Duvall and Lynn Scarlett, a managing director at the Nature Conservancy, are also scheduled to attend, along with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would push for a $1-trillion infrastructure program to rebuild roads, bridges, airports and other public works projects.

Musk, who is making his third trip to meet with Trump since Trump took office Jan. 20, in December said he planned to start digging tunnels after he complained of traffic in Los Angeles. He told Bloomberg News in an interview published last month the plan was to dig tunnels for cars and high-speed trains to reduce congestion.

Last month, Trump touted the plan in an address to Congress.

"The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding," Trump said. "To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States - financed through both public and private capital - creating millions of new jobs."

The American Society of Civil Engineers has graded U.S. infrastructure at D+ and estimated the country needs to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020. Chao told Fox News last month that the needs for infrastructure are so great the federal government cannot shoulder all the costs.

In January, Trump signed an executive order aimed at expediting environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects, especially high priority projects "such as improving the U.S. electric grid and telecommunications systems and repairing and upgrading critical port facilities, airports, pipelines, bridges, and highways." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Nick Zieminski)
Another legal sequel to the sad saga of failed brokerage firm MF Global is playing out this week in a $3 billion blame game involving accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. The trial, dealing with the wonky wake of MFGs 2011 collapseand the $1.5 billion-plus that went poofshould be the final chapter in what has seemed like an unending financial fairy tale gone awry.

Now, the legal trial between the Plan Administrator for MFG (who represents the various funds that purchased MFGs debt after the company declared bankruptcy) and the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which served as MFGs external auditor, is in full swing. MFG, seeking $3 billion in damages, claims that had PwC advised the company differently, shoddy bets the company made would not have performed so poorly, and MFG might have survived. The facts, however, show that MFG is grasping at straws here, much like their last-ditch efforts to save the company in 2011. Whats more, this time they seem to be seeking a sacrificial scapegoat/sugar daddy in the name of their auditor. James Cusick, a lawyer for PwC, argued that very point on Tuesday in federal court in New York.

In January, MFGs Chief Executive Officer Jon Corzine, the former New Jersey governor, U.S. senator and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) CEO, was ordered to pay $5 million and permanently banned from the futures industry by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC investigation began in September 2011 while I was a commissioner there and I participated in much of it for nearly two-and-a-half years. Prior to the firms downfall, I had several meetings with Mr. Corzine (he in my office and I in his). The governor was intimately aware of what he was doing as MFG took its deep and dark dive into the abyss of financial history. He was hands-on and detail-oriented, but what he and others at MFG wrought was really rotten.

When Corzine took over MFG, he vowed to shake things up. In hindsight, wowwhat an understatement. Granted, he began with an enormous challenge. Prior to his arrival on the scene, MFG was losing money, having reported four consecutive quarters of net loss. But instead of crawling out of that hole, Mr. Corzine dug deeper and deeper. MFG took heaping helpings of risky positions on European sovereign bondsmore than $6 billion. As markets turned against him, the margin calls increased (essentially greater down payments on their expanding exposure). Each time, the MFG board approved the governors request for greater risk tolerance, which reduced their liquidity and therefore increased their ultimate vulnerability to viability.

Remember, at the time Europe was reeling from the continued economic recession, with gross domestic product for the Eurozone as a whole contracting by 4.5% in 2009. That said, all trading positions on financial circumstances carry risk. Many in the financial sector dont like when I refer to trading by alternate monikers, but they are in the end simply bets, gambles or wagers. Most times they are carried out by sophisticated professionals, hence the reluctance by many to call them by harsher handles. In MFGs case, they were really risky wagers.

By the time we in government were finding out the facts and circumstances of the situation, MFG had lost over $100 million, sparking even greater margin calls. At that point, MFG didnt have the liquidity to pay for the margin calls. Without the dough to maintain the positions, they had to bail from them, taking large losses. In turn, the rating agencies dubbed MFG as junk and the company collapsed. This includedinfuriating in my minda last-ditch effort by MFG to save itself by illegally tapping into what were supposed to be restricted segregated customer funds. Roughly $1.6 billion of those customer funds vanished. Many average peoples investments simply disappeared. This was money they might need for retirement, health expenses or a child or grandchilds education. Sure, when investing in a brokerage like MFG a loss of some (or even all) is a theoretical possibility. Nevertheless, folks dont expect what MFG did: Hail Mary terrible trades to try to keep the company afloat. It was one of the most troubling instances of reckless behavior I saw in my seven years as a financial regulator.

Coming full circle, MFG is now doubling down on its bad behavior by suggesting that had PwC not agreed with MFGs accounting, things might have turned out differently. But technical accounting wasnt the problem here. The culprits to this calamity were a series of MFGs own actions including their business strategy, increased risk tolerance and market forces. External auditors dont (and are restricted by law) from providing business strategy or trading advice. Bottom line: the bets on Europe were just, as Michael Jackson sang, BAD. The word is out, youre doin wrong. They were bad.

Its a sorry and sordid circumstance that now, at the end of our story, MFG wants a scapegoat for its risky and reckless behavior. It just goes to prove not all stories end with a happily ever after. Perhaps thats more the case with financial-oriented fables. They can be sad, bad and sorry.

Former CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton (2007-14) is a policy and political commentator and author of Ponzimonium: How Scam Artists Are Ripping Off America. He can be reached at bartchilton@bartchilton.com.
FBI Director James Comey, on Wednesday spoke about how Mexican cartels are spreading opioids throughout the United States.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke believes that President Trumps administration understands the seriousness of the opioid epidemic and also sealing up the southern border.

they [Congress] are going to have to seal that damm border for domestic security issues, national security issues, the heroin, the drug cartels operating freely across the border is a domestic security issueit doesnt matter how many people you deport, they are going to find their way back in, he told the FOX Business Networks Lou Dobbs.

Clarke suggests that there is an opioid epidemic in the U.S., saying that it has reached a crisis level, but goes on to say that the drug cartels arent the only cause of the opioid problem in the U.S.

American citizens are dying every day and so there has to be a renewed sense of urgency about stemming the tide.This has gone on for too long. They are also going to have to look at the way some of these pain killers are dispensed by American doctors, how freely this stuff is given out, he said.

Clarke blames Congress and the old administration for the lack of border security.

Theyve been fooling around with this for the last 30 years. Tip toeing around the issue making believe that they are doing something the former president of the United States Barack Obama kept telling us that the southern border is secure, it is not secure. The sooner we get down to business here the better off this country is going to be, he said.
Trucking companies are eager to see President Donald Trumps $1 trillion infrastructure pledge become a reality, arguing upgrades to Americas highways will lift the industry and the U.S. economy.

While the fine print has yet to be seen, the new administrations promise to introduce to Congress a $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill has been met with encouragement from some businesses that rely on roads, bridges, railways and airports.

The president has already started removing the regulatory roadblocks that have been killing projects before theyve even begun through his executive actions, streamlining the permitting process and calling for each agencyto identify regulations that cause undue burden, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Wednesday.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, deficient roads will cost business $1.1 trillion in added expenses by 2040. The impact to the entire economy is estimated at $3 trillion.

For truckers, bumpy and congested roads prove costly. Poor road conditions add $49.6 billion in costs to the trucking industry, according to the trade group American Trucking Associations (ATA). Another $100 billion is lost due to congestion.

The lack of investment in infrastructure is having an effect on not only safety, but the economy, Chris Spear, ATAs president and CEO, told FOX Business. When we talk about offsets and return on investment, its absolutely a no-brainer.

Industry representatives say investing in new roads and repairs will pay dividends, noting that trucks move 56% of the countrys GDP and roughly one of every 16 jobs can be found in trucking. Not to mention, consumers spend billions of dollars each year to fix pothole damage and other effects of bumpy roads, based on data from AAA.

The ASCE has long urged Capitol Hill and state legislatures to boost infrastructure spending. Americas infrastructure received a grade of D+ in the ASCEs 2013 report card. Roads (D) and bridges (C+) both received poor grades, and the ASCE estimates that 42% of major urban highways remain congested.

The ASCE, which has called for $3.6 trillion in spending by 2020, is due to release its newest report card Thursday.

In his address to Congress last week, Trump reiterated that he will ask lawmakers to pass a bill that plows $1 trillion into infrastructure projects over a 10-year period. The plan would be financed through public and private funds, the president said. Trump hosted a meeting at the White House Wednesday to discuss infrastructure investments with several private-equity leaders. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX, was also present.

Given the presidents support for infrastructure spending, optimism has engulfed transportation and logistics companies since the election. Shares of J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ:JBHT) are up 14%, while XPO Logistics (NYSE:XPO), which acquired trucking firm Con-way in 2015, has surged 37%.

Still, Trumps plan faces the usual speed bumps on Capitol Hill, as divisions have already emerged over how it will pay for an infrastructure bill. Support is likely to come from both Republicans and Democrats, though, and the trucking industry is pushing for a solution.

This is the one issue that most Americans and most people in D.C. would agree on as a bipartisan issue, Spear said. We havent seen anything this bold since the Eisenhower era. Our industry, frankly, is delighted. We feel very strongly about the proposal, and we are going to aggressively support its passage.
Growth target of 6.5% needed for 11m jobs aim

From:Xinhua | 2017-03-07 11:38

The head of Chinas top economic planning body said yesterday that the economic growth target of around 6.5 percent set for 2017 is both necessary and attainable.



The target was necessary as job creation was an important task for China, He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislatures annual session.

According to our experience, each 1 percentage point of GDP growth will help create about 1.7 million jobs, he said.

Without quality growth at a reasonable level, China would find it hard to meet the job creation target of over 11 million, unveiled in a government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday.

China also needed to realize medium-high growth as it aimed to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020 and faced tasks to improve peoples livelihood.

He expressed his confidence in meeting the GDP target, citing healthy growth last year and deepening reform that improved economic environment.

He also said yesterday that China had invested more than US$50 billion in countries along the Belt and Road since the nation proposed the initiative in 2013. Belt and Road had won support from more than 100 countries and international organizations, with nearly 50 cooperation agreements signed between governments, He said, adding progress was better than expected.

Meanwhile, China would take further steps to support private investment, an official from the state planner said yesterday, as the country looks to maintain strong economic growth while undergoing structural reforms. NDRC vice chairman Zhang Yong said private investment was steadying and measures taken to boost such spending were showing results.

Zhang added China would lower barriers to entry for private investment, simplify regulation, and further support investment through public private partnership programs.

China is looking to reduce the risks from years of credit-fueled stimulus that are concentrated in the heavily indebted state sector, while also maintaining a high rate of growth.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is putting U.S. trading partners who violate trade laws on notice.

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp. plead guilty and agreed to pay $1.19 billion in penalties for breaking sanctions and selling U.S. manufactured goods to Iran and North Korea, U.S. officials announced Tuesday.

In an interview with FOX Business Networks After the Bell, Ross said a portion of the penalty is being held back as an incentive for their continued compliance over the next seven years.

Its a very rigorous auditing and other measures that the government will be taking to make sure that they fly straight and no longer make illegal shipments to North Korea or to Iran, he said.

ZTE was found to have breached United States sanctions against Iran in March 2016.

Ross said investigation was coordinated by the Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry and Security, and included the Department of Justice and U.S. Treasury.

It was collaboration among all those departments. Obviously, the Department of Justice is the one who filed the actual papers, he said.

The commerce secretary discussed concerns about the current U.S. trade deficit and said the country has been in a trade war for a long time.

The only difference is that our troops are now coming to the ramparts. Thats the difference, Ross said.

He also weighed in on President Trumps meeting with American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations President Richard Trumka.

Despite their differences, the commerce secretary said both President Trump and Trumka share the same objective: getting more Americans back into the work force.

I think they share a very common goal of helping the American worker. There may be some nuances, some differences in how to do it, but thats the overarching objective of the president and of Mr. Trumka, he said.
David Nason, a General Electric executive and former Treasury Department official, has told the White House he is no longer interested in serving as the Federal Reserve's bank supervision chief.

Nason, who heads GE's Energy Financial Services division, had been seen as a leading candidate for the vice chair for supervision position, a critical role in efforts by the administration of President Donald Trump to revamp financial rules.

"Mr. Nason informed the White House that he no longer wished to be considered for the position of Vice Chairman at the Federal Reserve. He plans to pursue opportunities at GE," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nason's withdrawal, first reported by Bloomberg, injects new uncertainty into one of the most closely watched financial openings in Washington. The supervision chief is the most senior rule-writer for Wall Street and has a large say in how leading banks are supervised day to day.

Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst at investment banking and research firm Cowen Group, said Nason's departure is "worrisome" for large banks, as it suggests a "pragmatist" open to providing relief to bigger institutions will not fill the position.

"National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn was unable to get the President to pull trigger and nominate Nason," wrote Seiberg. "If Cohn cannot get a pragmatist into that job, then there is a real risk of an ideologue."

"This could be seen as a victory for the Trumpista wing of the administration and the more hardline segment of the Republican Party," wrote Ian Katz, a financial policy analyst for research firm Capital Alpha Partners, in a note to clients.

In 2008, Nason was a deputy to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as U.S. regulators tried to stabilize Wall Street and prevent an economic meltdown after the housing market collapsed.

While Nason was the leading contender for the role, congressional Republicans became increasingly unhappy with the idea over the past week or so, sources said. Conservative lawmakers took issue with Nasons involvement as a Treasury Department official in the post-financial crisis bank bailout program, as well as with his voicing of support for the Dodd-Frank financial reform law that came in response to the 2008 financial crisis, they said.

Harvard Law School professor Hal Scott, whose work has focused on financial firms, regulation and capital markets, is still in the mix for the job, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Scott is director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, a research group made up of financial industry representatives and academics that has been critical of financial regulations.

Some regional banks are also pushing for French Hill, a Republican Congressman from Arkansas who has community banking experience. However, a spokesman for Hill suggested Wednesday he is not interested in the role.

Other names that have been floated for the role include Richard Davis, the chief executive officer of U.S. Bancorp , former BB&T Corp Chairman John Allison, and Tom Hoenig, vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The position was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law after the 2007-09 financial crisis. Though it was never filled, Daniel Tarullo, who announced his resignation in February as Fed governor, took on much of its responsibilities.

When Tarullo leaves the U.S. central bank, on or around April 5, Trump will have three spots on the seven-member Fed Board of Governors he could fill with nominees.

Tarullo's resignation is seen as boosting Trump's plans to ease reforms put in place after the financial crisis.

(Reporting by Pete Schroeder in Washington, Olivia Oran in New York and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru,; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Tom Brown)
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It's been 10 years since Tara Conner was named Miss USA in 2006. The beauty pageant winner nearly lost her crown after allegations arose of Conner's drug use, underage drinking and sexual indiscretions.

But President Donald Trump stood up for Conner and allowed her to keep her title if she entered a drug rehabilitation program. One decade later, Conner is clean and advocating for addiction prevention.

"I am super grateful for what Donald Trump did for me...when he gave me a second chance," Conner told Fox News. "He treated [the situation] perfectly because I wasn't a bad person...I was a sick person."

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Conner said Trump's views about addiction and mental health is "what we need" and a lot of people voted for him "because they feel as though he can make a change about the addiction crisis."

"So his words so far have been amazing," she told us. "I'm really excited what action is taken."

Conner knows her views on Trump are not popular, especially among Hollywood stars who use their platform to speak out against the president. However, she said it's her job to leave her personal beliefs to herself and focus on the best way to advocate for her cause.

"I can't wait another four years to wait for another president to come in here," she explained of wanting to work with Trump on addiction prevention. "And this is a bipartisan issue so there's no reason for me not to go to the boss because who else would I go to?"

She added, "If we keep battling each other...nothing's going to get done. So I do 100 percent support him when it comes to the area of addiction and addiction services and mental health because his success is my success and it's the country's success and so of course I'm going to support that."

13 BIGGEST BEAUTY PAGEANT SCANDALS

Conner said she has reached out to Trump and urges people to sign a letter to the president on FacingAddiction.org to make their voices heard.

Find Fox News' Sasha Savitsky on Twitter @SashaFB.
Missing Richard Simmons is the latest craze captivating podcast listeners. In it, a one-time friend of Simmons, Dan Taberski, investigates the fitness gurus life in recent years. Simmons hasnt been seen in public since 2014.

Simmons rep has rejected the claims in the podcast, but that hasnt stopped fans from listening.

Missing Richard Simmons has reached No. 1 on the iTunes podcast charts, and many fans are calling it the new Serial, referencing the addictive The American Life podcast of 2014.

New episodes of the podcast are released on Wednesdays, and if you havent tuned in yet, theres plenty youve missed. This week, Taberski tries to track down two people he claims are still in contact with Simmons.

If youre curious about what all the hype is about, here are some of the most-shocking revelations from Missing Richard Simmons  so far.

[SPOILER ALERT: Stop reading here if you havent listened to the most-recent episode of Missing Richard Simmons.]

Simmons may not have shut everyone out

During the most recent episode of Missing Richard Simmons, Taberski travels to Mississippi to speak with someone named Elijah who he says may still be communicating with Simmons. Elijah avoided speaking with Taberski and his team.

The podcast also speculates Simmons still communicates with his brother, Leonard, who lives in New Orleans. Taberski tracks down Lenny Simmons, who shuts the door in his face and refuses to speak to him in person.

His brother seems confused by Richards isolation

In a preview for next weeks episode, Taberski tracks Lenny Simmons down on the phone, and Lenny is heard explaining, Hes not angry with anybody. I dont understand it. I wish I did.

According to Taberski, Simmons manager says hes not sick

There has been speculation that a grave illness has sent Simmons into isolation. Taberski insists its not the case.

Taberski says in the latest episode, Ive known Richards manager for a few years now, and I asked him off the record really early on in this process if there was something serious going on, like illness, so that I would know just to leave it be, but he still said no, hes fine, and he still maintains [that].

Richard cried during workout classes, attendees said

Taberski called the classes, which he attended for a time, an emotional ritual, almost, for everyone involved.

He said the fitness star would break down in tears mid-class.

It has happened in every class Ive ever been to, Taberski says.

His friend, who attended a class once, described the moment when Simmons began crying.

It was out of control crying, she said. At the time I am thinking it was scary.

Simmons supposedly called fans at home

The podcast takes time to interview a fan who says she met Simmons in 1994 and gave him a note with her telephone number.

You have to understand: I am in Nebraska, a woman named Kathy says on the podcast. I was a 450-lb hairdresser. All of a sudden, Richard Simmons jumps in my life  who is full of color  and I feel, suddenly, hope.

Kathy claims the two spoke at least once a week and sometimes Simmons would confide in her about matters in his life. The podcast hints Kathy was one of many fans Simmons spoke to on the phone.

He would wake up at 4 in the morning and reach out to 30, 40, 50 people with phone calls and emails, Taberski told Yahoo News. It was sustained relationships that lasted years, sometimes decades.

Richard hadnt been to someones house in 7 years

In its first episode, the podcast replays an interview Simmons did before he disappeared from the limelight in which he says, I live a very recluse life. This is about the most hanging out Ive done  four people in a room. I teach my class, I kiss everybody, I take hundreds of photos and I go home. I socialize with no one.

The star says during the years-old chat he hadnt been to someones home in seven years and only had people at his home for business meetings.

Simmons ghosted 94-year-old second-mother

A woman named Jerry speaks to Taberski during the podcast and she is described as being like a second mother to Simmons. He can be heard on the podcast speaking at her small 90th birthday party, which only included close family and friends, and though they spoke very often before he vanished from the public eye, she hasnt heard from him since.

On the podcast, a concerned Jerry begs Taberski for updates on her pal.

What do you know? Anything? I miss him very much, Jerry says.

Simmons' home has no buzzer

Taberski attempts to find Simmons at home and speak to him, but he cant figure out how to let anyone inside know he is standing outside of the home.

Theres no buzzer, theres no doorbell, theres no knocker Theres no way of reaching people inside besides screaming, he describes.

Simmons housekeeper eventually steps out to take out the trash, briefly recognizes Taberski dismisses him, avoiding his questions about the famous fitness guru.

At least 1 person still thinks Simmons is being controlled by his housekeeper

Mauro Oliveira, Simmons former masseuse, says on the podcast he attempted to interact with the star and Simmons longtime housekeeper stopped him.

Oliveira describes what he says happened when he was in Simmons mansion one day.

She starts screaming like a witch, No, get out, get out Richard looked at me and said You gotta go.

Oliveira claims he asked Simmons directly if the housekeeper was controlling your life now? to which he claims Simmons said, Yes.

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British brews are becoming insanely popular in China.

According to Beverage Daily, beer exports from the U.K. experience a 500 percent increase in 2016 due to rising consumer demand throughout the country.

Some analysts have cited Chinese president Xi Jinping's interest in beer as contributing to the beverage's rising popularity. In 2015, he was photographed enjoying a beer with former British prime minister David Cameron.

But China isn't the only country to have a stronger interest in British brews-- exports to India grew by 417 percent and exports to the EU grew by 5 percent.

NORTH CAROLINA WOMAN SUES ANHEUSER-BUSCH AFTER SEEING PHOTO OF HERSELF IN BEER ADS

With a total of 1.05 billion pints of beer being sent abroad, the country's beer exports are now valued at $712 million, up $102 million since 2015.

Approximately 63 percent of Britains beer exports are for the EU while the remaining 37 percent are destined for other locations around the globe.

The increase in brewery exports has boosted beer to the third most valuable food or drink export coming out of the U.K., falling behind only whisky and chocolate in 2016, according to the Food and Drink Federation 2016 export statistics.

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Top 11 UK exports, 2016, according to the Food and Drink Federation

1. Whisky $4,983,611,523

2. Chocolate $807,298,094

3. Beer $724,548,214

4. Salmon $704,834,272

5. Cheese $607,266,554

6. Wine $596,338,977

7. Gin $578,265,000

8. Beef $542,675,906

9. Soft drinks $520,647,573

10. Wheat $473,734,240

11. Breakfast cereals $469,429,440

Beverage Daily reports that the strong export growth in 2016 was supported by both the industry and government to promote the U.K. food and drink abroad.
The owner of an eatery in Denver, N.C. claims hes received numerous death threats after venting his frustrations about a rude customer online.

Dirk Rusthoven, who owns and operates Halinas Cafe and Catering, recently took to Facebook to recount an incident that occurred on Sunday, during which the cafe owner forcibly removed a customer from the establishment.

DO NOT EVER show your face again in MY restaurant on a Sunday morning for MY brunch, Rusthoven wrote in the expletive-laden post. He also went on to criticize the customer for his attire, which he described as a t-shirt and crap jeans.

PIZZERIA SENDS FUNNY NOTE AFTER REFUSING TO PUT PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA

Soon afterward, some of Halinas patrons and neighbors took Rusthoven to task over the post, with one calling it uncalled for and unprofessional, and another telling Rusthoven that they hope Halinas goes out of business.

Rusthoven also claims hes gotten death threats, causing him to delete his original post and remove the restaurants page from Facebook.

But while Rusthoven admits he shouldnt have stooped to the level that he did, he tells WBTV News that he still doesnt regret kicking the customer out in the first place.

"He used profane language; he made a scene, Rusthoven told WBTV. I quietly calmed him down and ejected him from my restaurant, and I would do it again.

But it's not just Rusthoven's actions that have people fuming  nearby residents are also taking offense to one particular part of his Facebook tirade.

During one portion of Rusthovens post, after he had already criticized the customer for his behavior and clothing, he wrote, Gastonia is SOUTH of us, which many saw as a dig at the residents of the nearby town.

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One Gastonia restaurant, The Round Bistro, even responded with a tongue-in-cheek jab at Halinas.

Rusthoven tells WBTV that his statements were misinterpreted, as he himself had lived in Gastonia for three years.

"It doesn't matter where you're from. If you're going to cause a scene, you're going to be asked to leave," he said.

Rusthoven told WBTV that he hopes the incident will blow over so he can focus on his food. He also says he plans to sue the creators of a fake Facebook page that popped up after the incident.
As politically conscious protests continue to reverberate around the country, the latest walkout may have a small but consequentional impact to the U.S. restaurant industry.

Organizers of the womens march have labeled March 8, International Women's Day, as A Day Without a Woman and are calling for female workers in all industries to observe the day by striking, avoiding shopping (unless the business is minority or female owned) and wearing red.

Many schools in at least four states are closing Wednesday so teachers can participate. But in the restaurant industry, where women account about for about half of the total workforce, few restaurants appear to be shuttering, but have instead decided to use March 8 proceeds towards female-oriented causes.

It would be silly to strike when Im a woman who owns a small business, especially one named Annisa [which means women in Arabic], chef-owner Anita Lo told GrubStreet. We are donating the proceeds from sales of the Annisa cocktail and a special appetizer created by Mary Attea, my chef de cuisine, to Off the Sidelines, Kirsten Gillibrands organization to help women run for office.

Other New York restaurant owners are following suit, donating partial proceeds to organizations like Planned Parenthood or Shining Hope For Communities.

SOUL FOOD SUPERSTAR: ENTREPENUR MELBA WILSON SHARES HER SECRET TO PERFECT FRIED CHICKEN

But if just a few women who work back or front of house positions decide to participate, there could be a sizeable impact on the day's business flow.

"Im sure any industry will be suffering Wednesday if women choose to strike," Elizabeth Viana, a winemaker at Chimney Rock Winery in Napa, Calif., told Fox News.

"Our company, our winery has women in high executive positions, winemaking position sales people so it could definitely have an impact."

2016 Bureau of Labor stats tell part of the story, listing the percentage of female chefs or head cooks at 21.4 percent. Among Michelin-starred eateries, none of the three-star restaurants are led by a female top chef. Around the globe, just five out of 130 three-star chefs are women.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Rohini Dey, a restaurant owner and James Beard Foundation trustee, helped pioneer the foundations Women in Culinary Leadership with an eye toward addressing these issues.

"As a chef, unless you learn to own all stations and can speak the language of commerce  costs, human resources, inventory, scheduling  you will never get to lead the kitchen, Dey told the Boston Globe. This financial literacy is even more invaluable for women aspiring to be restaurateurs, an unfortunate rarity.

Obtaining the proper recognition in the kitchen is an ongoing issue.

In January, the group behind The Worlds 50 Best Restaurants, an annual ranking of the world's best eateries based on chef, critic and restaurateur poll responses, had to address its reasoning for issuing a Worlds Best Female Chef award. The distinction, critics argued, shouldnt be separated by gender.

Still, the trajectory could be changing. According to the US Census Bureau, restaurants owned by women grew at a rate more than three times quicker than that of the overall restaurant industry. That was based on stats compiled between 2007 and 2012.

But even in kitchens not run by women, Wednesday's planned walkout could have a measurable impact as women move up the ladder.

"It would certainly affect my kitchen," Matt Ginn, Chef of Portland Maine's EVO Kitchen + Bar, Portland told Fox News. "Three of my best chefs are women, in a kitchen of eight people, and theyre phenomenal cooks so a day without themwed be in trouble."

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It's not just women who are reacting to today's climate by abandoning their restaurant positions to make a political statement.

On Feb. 16 immigrant restaurant workers and owners participated in A Day without Immigrants walkout. That grassroots campaign advocated for workers to remain home, close their business and abstain from eating out or making purchases during the day.

And it wasnt simply rank and file employees who participated in the event. Chef Rick Bayless, known for his high-quality Mexican cooking, announced the closure of four of his restaurants while workers participated in the walkout in Chicago and Spanish-born chef Jose Andres, who is currently engaged in a contentious legal battle with President Trump, shuttered several eateries in D.C.
Plastic surgery is not just for women: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) recently released statistics on the most popular plastic surgery procedures of 2016, with procedures on men making up about 9 to 10 percent of the total.

Fox News spoke to Dr. Daniel Mills, a plastic surgeon based in Laguna Beach, California, and president of the ASAPS, as well as Dr. Clyde Ishii, a plastic surgeon based in Honolulu, Hawaii and the President-Elect of the ASAPS, to find out what some of the most popular plastic surgery procedures for men are.

1. Liposuction

Liposuction (the removal of fat from the body) is one of the most common surgical procedures for men, and has been for a number of years, Ishii told Fox News. In 2016, surgeons performed over 45,000 liposuctions procedures on men.

CAN A HEALTHY SEX LIFE BOOST YOUR JOB SUCCESS?

2. Male breast reduction

One procedure thats become even more popular? Gynecomastia, or male breast reduction surgery. Up to 1 in 4 men have some form of breast enlargement, Ishii said. He explained that as men have become more comfortable with the idea of getting plastic surgery, more and more have opted for this procedure  with over 31,000 performed in 2016.

3. Eyelid surgery

Popular among women as well, eyelid surgery is cosmetic and functional: Surgeons can lift lids that are interfering with vision, Ishii said. Surgeons performed over 28,000 procedures on men in 2016.

THE 6 PROCEDURES PLASTIC SURGEONS DON'T WANT YOU TO GET

4. Nose surgery

Men often opt for nose surgeries as well  usually those in their teens and early twenties, Mills told Fox. In 2016, surgeons performed over 16,200 on men.

5. Botox

Many non-surgical procedures are popular among men as well, including Botox (over 450,000 Botox procedures were performed on men in 2016). Less invasive procedures such as Botox can help men look fresher and younger without the longer downtime of surgery, Ishii explained.

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And for men, its about the competitive advantage, Ishii said: While many of his female patients opt for plastic surgery to boost their confidence and feel better about themselves, many of his male patients instead are seeking that extra edge in dating or the workplace, he explained.

Mills agreed, adding that many men opt for plastic surgery to look as young and competitive as they feel.
Doing yoga has been linked with reduced feelings of stress, anxiety, depression and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But what about a practice that also relieves allergies, asthma, sleep problems, psoriasis and overall well-being?

5 FOOD GROUPS TO HELP FEND OFF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

During salty yoga, participants aim to do just that with the holistic healing properties of dry salt therapy and those aforementioned benefits of yoga.

The salt room is really great for detoxifying your respiratory system and your skin, so, to me, its a no-brainer to marry both together, Kayla Kleinman, founder of events company Holistic Happening in New York City, told Fox News. Kleinman serves as a salty yoga guest instructor at Breathe Salt Rooms, which has four New York loations.

A 30-minute salty yoga class involves being surrounded by pink Himalayan salt, which is naturally anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal.

HOW TO WORK OUT  WITHOUT EVER LEAVING YOUR LIVING ROOM

Leslie McDonald, a student, said in the winter, she suffers from dry, red and patchy skin. But doing salty yoga has cleared her symptoms, leading her skin to feel soft and smooth.

Its like a day at the beach, McDonald told Fox News.

Another student, Theodora Blanchfield, said she had limited success in relieving sinus congestion until she tried salty yoga.

I was willing to try anything to help them, Blanchfield told Fox News.

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Because salt is aerated during class, participants not only feel the benefits but inhale them as well.

It acts like a toothbrush for your lungs, so to speak, Kleinman said.

For more information, visit BreatheSaltRooms.com.
Welsh trade & cultural delegation visits Shanghai

By:Wang Jiaye | From:english.eastday.com | 2017-03-07 14:02

Welsh delegation posed for photos at Shanghai Mass Art Center.

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure in the Welsh Government, Ken Skates recently led an economic trade and culture delegation to China. During their two days in Shanghai, they held exchanges with Chinese partners at the investment promotion meeting, visited cultural facilities and celebrated St. David's Day.

Trade and investment was one of the most important aims of the cabinet secretarys first trip to China. The Welsh government opened its office in Shanghai in 2006. The Cabinet Secretary highlighted the fact that Wales possesses the best financial support policies in the UK. They look forward to maintaining long-term relationships with Shanghai and making growth in important areas such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, finance and professional services, as well as the innovation industry.

Welsh investment and trade promotion meeting was held in Shanghai.

Wales also has offices in Beijing and Chongqing, with a view to providing assistance to Chinese investment projects in Wales as well as supporting trade cooperation between companies in both countries. Currently, many Chinese companies are doing successful business in Wales, including Shunxi Cell, AcerChem UK and THTF. In addition, Wales established friendly-city relations with Chongqing in 2008.

The delegation celebrated St. David's Day in Shanghai.

As the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, Ken Skates is also responsible for culture and public participation. During his trip to Shanghai, he visited the Shanghai Mass Art Center together with the people in charge of cultural organizations in Wales.

At the art center, the delegates were amazed by the city's intangible cultural heritage works, traditional clothes & accessories from the Ming and Qing Dynasty. On display were also articles used in daily life in the 1960s and the 1970s, as well as books and toys from the post-80s generation.

Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure in the Welsh Government Ken Skates visited Shanghai Mass Art Center.

Ken Skates described the exhibits as 'fantastic' and 'wonderful'. He was deeply impressed that the center provides ordinary people a professional display platform for arts and culture. There are no such places in Wales, and perhaps they will consider building a similar center.

Currently, Wales and China have a high level of co-operation in the field of culture, for example, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales toured in China in the last couple of years. The poems and stories of China's poet Li Bai (from the Tang Dynasty) have also been integrated into musical and dramatic works by Welsh artists.
Experts are still debating whether women need a pelvic exam at their yearly visit to a gynecologist, according to a new report.

The report comes from a government-appointed expert panel that reviewed hundreds of studies on pelvic exams and concluded that there isn't enough evidence to make a recommendation either for or against pelvic exams for women who don't have symptoms of gynecologic conditions and aren't pregnant.

The panel, known as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), said that more studies are needed to better assess the potential benefits and harms of routine pelvic exams.

In the meantime, the decision of whether a woman should have a pelvic exam should be shared between the patient and the doctor, the report said. The decision should consider the evidence, the patient's preferences and her risk factors for certain diseases, according to the report, which is published today (March 7) in the journal JAMA. [7 Facts Women (And Men) Should Know About the Vagina]

"Women, as patients, should be involved in the decision regarding whether to perform a pelvic examination, and clinicians should not require that the patient undergo this procedure to obtain screening, counseling and age-appropriate health services," Dr. Colleen McNicholas, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Dr. Jeffrey Peipert, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Indiana University School of Medicine, wrote in an editorial accompanying the recommendations.

A pelvic exam can involve a visual exam of the genitals and the inside of the vagina and cervix, as well as a "bimanual examination," in which the doctor places two fingers in the patient's vagina and the other hand on her abdomen to feel for problems in the ovaries, uterus and bladder. During the exam, the doctor looks for signs of certain conditions, such as yeast infections, genital warts, genital herpes, pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine fibroids, cervical polyps and ovarian cysts. However, some women find pelvic exams uncomfortable and embarrassing, and feel fear and anxiety before having one, said McNicholas and Peipert, who were not involved with the USPSTF's report..

In 2014, the American College of Physicians (ACP) said that women should not undergo annual pelvic exams unless they have symptoms of possible pelvic disease  such as abnormal bleeding, pain or urinary problems  or are pregnant. At that time, the ACP said that the harms of screening (such as anxiety and discomfort) outweigh the procedure's benefits. However, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists still recommends yearly pelvic exams, although the organization notes that the decision should be shared between the doctor and the patient.

For the new report, the USPSTF reviewed more than 300 studies on pelvic exams, but only nine of these studies were rigorous enough to be included in the organization's final review.

None of these studies looked at the effectiveness of pelvic exams in reducing women's risk of dying from cancer or other diseases, or their effectiveness in improving women's quality of life. Very few studies have looked at pelvic exams' accuracy in detecting many gynecologic conditions, the report said. Although the USPSTF did find some studies looking at pelvic exams' accuracy in detecting ovarian cancer, these studies generally found that pelvic exams weren't very accurate at detecting ovarian cancer.

What's more, none of these studies looked at women's level of anxiety tied to pelvic exams.

The USPSTF's conclusion "does not come as a surprise," given that few aspects of annual physicals have been carefully studied, McNicholas and Peipert said. But many doctors would argue that routine physicals provide an opportunity for doctors to counsel their patients and build trust. However, the assessments performed during a physical have varying levels of invasiveness, McNicholas and Peipert said. [5 Things Women Should Know About Ovarian Cancer]

A pelvic exam can be "psychologically and physically intrusive," especially for women with a history of abuse or trauma, they said.

"Allowing [a woman] to control the decision to undergo an examination will improve the trust she has with her physician or clinician," McNicholas and Peipert said.

It's important to note that the new report does not apply to cervical cancer screenings, which are recommended every three to five years. The report also does not apply to screenings for chlamydia and gonorrhea; these screenings are recommended for sexually active women ages 24 and younger, and women older than 24 who have risk factors for these infections.

Original article on Live Science.

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Most of us recognize that abnormal moles and a weakened immune system can be signs of cancer. But a British actress wanted to raise awareness of a lesser-known symptom when she shared a photo that has since gone viral  a lump on her neck.

Idy100.com reported that 26-year-old Lorna Nickson Brown initially thought her thyroid nodule, which presented as the lump, was harmless. But because it was harder and larger than normal, doctors biopsied the mass and found it was cancerous.

DO WOMEN REALLY NEED A YEARLY PELVIC EXAM?

This isnt what I thought cancer looked like, Brown, who is known for her role in Agatha Christies Poirot, among other films, told the website. The minute you tell people, its the cancer face (sic). I didnt feel ill.

Thanks to prompt treatment with a professional oncologist in the United Kingdom, Brown is now healing from a partial thyroidectomy, in which the left side of her thyroid with the cancerous nodule, was removed, Indy100.com reported.

FITNESS BLOGGER PROMOTES BODY CONFIDENCE WITH VIRAL PIC OF ARM CELLULITE

Brown has now been cancer free for over a year, and she hopes her story and the images encourage others to seek medical and psychological help if they are facing cancer.

We dont speak openly about illness, so you can feel quite isolated, Brown told the website. It can feel quite lonely.

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The American Cancer Society projects there will be nearly 57,000 new cases of thyroid cancer in the United States in 2017. It estimates over 2,000 Americans will die from the disease this year.

If you have any of the following signs, the American Cancer Society recommends seeking medical help immediately:

-Swelling or a lump in the neck that may be growing quickly

-Front-neck pain that may go up to the ears

-Changes in voice, such as hoarseness, that dont subside

-Trouble breathing or swallowing

-A persistent cough not stemming from a cold
Imagine if President Trump, who has pledged to rebuild Americas military, announced tomorrow that the United States is reinstituting the military draft. Think there would be any opposition? That is just what another country has done: Sweden is introducing universal military conscription, and so far, no one is complaining.

The decision to require all 18-year-olds  men and women alike  to register for the military draft beginning next year is a direct result of Swedens increasing nervousness about Russias aggressive behavior in Ukraine, and lately, in and around the Baltic states.

Like the United States, Sweden has, since 2010, relied on volunteers for military service. But of late, it has been unable to fill its quota, prompting its defense ministry to re-introduce the draft. Of the estimated 13,000 Swedes born in 1999, about 4,000 will be selected to serve for up to a year.

Swedish officials make no bones about the reason for the change. Russias annexation of the Crimea in 2014 set off jitters around the world. Sweden, which is just across the Baltic Sea from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, is concerned that Russia may have designs on those three countries, which were once part of the former Soviet Union.

The decision to require all 18-year-olds  men and women alike  to register for the military draft beginning next year is a direct result of Swedens increasing nervousness about Russias aggressive behavior in Ukraine, and lately, in and around the Baltic states.

Sweden has plenty of reason to be wary of President Vladimir Putin. Russian military forces are directing the continuing carnage in eastern Ukraine, though the Kremlin insists it is pro-Russian Ukrainians doing the fighting. And Russian carpet bombing of rebel forces in Syria is the primary reason that President Bashar Al-Assad is still clinging to power in that nearly decimated Middle Eastern country.

Recently, Russian soldiers have advanced to near the border with Latvia, supposedly for maneuvers. In response, the U.S. has deployed Special Forces units to work with the Baltic countries troops, and to send a signal to Putin that aggression in that part of the world will not be tolerated.

If we want full and trained military units, the voluntary system needs to be complemented by compulsory military service, Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told a Swedish television station.

Traditionally neutral in international disputes and famously liberal for its social policies, Sweden is not a member of NATO, though it maintains cooperative relations with the Western military alliance.

A majority of Swedes surveyed in a nationwide poll last year said they supported a return to conscription. So far, here have been no largescale protests over the announcement.

The United States ended its military draft for young men in 1973, converting to an all-volunteer armed services. Up until now, there have been enough citizens willing to wear their countrys uniform, and that should be a source of pride to all Americans.

But Swedens decision to bring back the draft is a timely reminder that the world is an unstable place and that sometimes people must make sacrifices to preserve their way of life.
Over the past decade, a significant portion of Irans economic institutions have been handed off to the office of the Supreme Leader under the guise of privatization.

The driving force behind this stunning power grab is the expanding sphere of influence of Khamenei's office and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) over Irans economic resources.

This so-called privatization campaign is a decisive turning point beginning in 2005, when Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the IRGC stacked the executive with people who completely  at least initially  shared Khameneis strategic vision for the regime. At this point, Khamenei began to implement a profound restructuring of Iran's economy, including the ownership of a wide range of industries and institutions.

This first took the form of an official directive issued in May 2005. The government was instructed to transfer 80 percent of its economic enterprises to "non-government public, private and cooperative sectors" by the end of 2009. Among these were large mines, primary industries (including downstream oil and gas), foreign commerce, banks, insurance, power generation, post, roads, railroads, airlines, and shipping companies. By some estimates, close to $12B in shares were transferred over just three years, from 2005 to 2008.

The beneficiaries of the bulk of these transfers were the Supreme Leaders office and its various tentacles, including the dominant Setad, the armed services, and the infamous bonyads or foundations. The implications are better grasped in light of the fact that these institutions exercise virtually absolute control over all decision-making, legislative mechanisms, intelligence gathering, and access to significant budgetary commitments. The resulting powerhouses that have arisen act as the main players and the gatekeepers for western companies into the Iranian economy.

The newly published Rise of the Revolutionary Guards' Financial Empire: How the Supreme Leader and the IRGC Rob the People to Fund International Terror released by the U.S. office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran highlights 14 economic powerhouses directly or indirectly controlled by Khamenei, the IRGC, or their affiliates. Setad's holdings alone total about $95 billion, according to a recent Reuters calculation. All these entities are tax-exempt while some also receive annual government funding.

The Supreme Leader and the IRGC control at least 50 percent of Irans GDP.

But where do the profits go? They end up funding the conflict in Syria, terrorism and sectarianism in Iraq, the war in Yemen, the nuclear and missile programs, the security apparatus in Iran, and fundamentalist operations around the world. In the end, Irans national economy has been made to serve the domestic suppression, warmongering, export of fundamentalism, and terrorism.

Tehran is spending between $15-20 billion annually to fund the war in Syria, including at least $1B in salaries to its proxies. IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani spends billions of dollars in Iraq to fund the Shiite militias and instigate sectarian violence. At least one billion dollars is provided to Hezbollah in Lebanon annually, and Tehran has poured at least 1.3 billion dollars into the coffers of Hamas.

Western companies would like the deals they make with Iran to be seen as transactions with the private sector. However, behind the official banks and companies lies a web of institutions controlled by the IRGC.

Western companies, governments, and the citizens they represent cannot avoid the reality that today those running Irans economy are those who suppress the Iranian population and export the terrorism and fundamentalist ideology that threaten the West.

To do business with Iran is to do business with Khamenei and the IRGC.

The Trump administration now has a unique opportunity to help cut off resources to the IRGC and impose limitations on its profit-making, terror-funding operation, by designating the IRGC for what it is: a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Congress would certainly agree with this bipartisan issue.
Congressional conservatives vowed Tuesday to introduce their own legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare, escalating their fight against GOP leaders long-awaited health care overhaul bill just hours after it was released.

During a lengthy press conference outside the Capitol, lawmakers from the right flank of the Republican Party railed against the new legislation, which key committees plan to take up Wednesday. Signaling the turbulence ahead for party leaders, the lawmakers said theyll revive a 2015 repeal bill that already passed Congress under former President Barack Obama.

Theres no reason we should put anything less on President Trumps desk than we put on President Obamas, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said.

Jordan, a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, claimed the House leadership bill unveiled Monday is ObamaCare by a different form.

South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford asked whether conservatives have to lower the bar in what we believe simply because we have a Republican in the White House?

The complaints point to the tough fight ahead as GOP lawmakers try to deliver on their long-standing campaign promise to fix and replace the Affordable Care Act. With conservatives already crying foul, Republican congressional leaders joined with the Trump administration to defend the plan on the table as a positive starting point.

"We're going to do something that's great and I'm proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives," Trump declared at the White House as he met with the House GOP vote-counting team Tuesday. "We're going to take action. There's going to be no slowing down. There's going to be no waiting and no more excuses by anybody."

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence told GOP lawmakers at the Capitol this was their chance to scuttle Obama's law, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell forecast congressional passage by early April.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., at a late-afternoon press conference, said the package keeps our promise to replace ObamaCare. He predicted the legislation, by the end of the process, would attract a majority in the House.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also stressed that the bill would go through regular order, allowing lawmakers to make amendments.

Were not jamming this down anybodys throat, he said, during a press briefing where he stacked copies of the original law and Republicans proposal side-by-side to demonstrate how much smaller  and presumably simpler  the GOP plan is.

But major obstacles loom, as one conservative group after another released statements torching the plan. The Club for Growth, Heritage Action for America, Americans for Prosperity and Tea Party Patriots variously derided the new bill as Obamacare Lite, Obamacare 2.0 and even RyanCare.

Republicans new legislation would repeal a range of the original ObamaCare taxes and subsidies, while preserving certain patient protections. But conservatives pushed back on various aspects of the plan, including a new system of tax credits that would replace the existing subsidies; a short-term continuation of the Medicaid expansion; and a new surcharge insurance companies would be allowed to impose for coverage that lapses.

Conservatives also have questions about what the plan will do for health care costs.

Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina said Tuesday the fiscal impact of the replacement plan will scored in the coming days, but there is only one score that the American people will pay attention to  whether it really does lower the cost of their health care.

Jordan said their plan differs from the new proposal in that it does not keep the Medicaid expansion and does not keep some of the original laws tax increases.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., argued only a full repeal will garner the unified support of Republicans.

Opposition to ObamaCare helped the GOP win the House in 2010, the Senate in 2014, and the White House in 2016, Paul said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Tuesday called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to clarify an answer he gave during his confirmation hearing in January about possible meetings with Russians.

"Its hard to come to any other conclusion that he just perjured himself, Franken told CNN, recalling the hearing. He answered a question that he asked himself, which is, 'Did I meet with any Russians?' And he answered it falsely. He said no, I hadnt.

Sessions maintains that his answer to a question from Franken was correct.

Franken had asked Sessions in January what he would do if he learned of evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign had been in touch with the Russian government in the course of the campaign.

TRUMP REPORTEDLY UNHAPPY ABOUT SESSIONS' RECUSAL FROM RUSSIA INVESTIGATIONS

Sessions responded that he himself had not had "communications with the Russians." Sessions said Monday that he answered the question the way he did because Franken had raised allegations of continuing communication between Trump associates and intermediaries for the Russian government.

"I did not mention communications I had had with the Russian ambassador over the years because the question did not ask about them," Sessions wrote.

Sessions clarified his confirmation hearing testimony to acknowledge having spoken twice last year with the Russian ambassador, but he said he stood by his earlier remarks as an honest and correct answer to a question.

The filing amends testimony Sessions gave under oath in January when he said he did not have communication with Russians. Sessions reversed course last week and acknowledged that he actually had spoken with the ambassador once at the Republican National Convention last July and again at a meeting in his Senate office in September in the presence of his Senate staff.

Sessions committed last week to amending his earlier testimony as he agreed to recuse himself from any investigations involving the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the presidential election.

"I do not recall any discussions with the Russian ambassador, or any other representative of the Russian government, regarding the political campaign on these occasions or any other occasion," Sessions wrote in a three-page filing with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
The hype over possible contacts between President Trump's campaign and Russian officials went into overdrive Tuesday after liberal blogs seized on a months-old report describing an encounter between Trump and Moscow's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

The May 13, 2016 report by the Wall Street Journal described how then-candidate Trump came across Kislyak at a VIP reception moments before Trump made a major foreign policy speech at Washington's Mayflower Hotel. The Journal said that Trump "warmly greeted" Kislyak and three other ambassadors who came to the reception.

The report was resurrected Tuesday by websites such as ThinkProgress and Daily Kos, which published stories implying Trump lied when he said last month that "nobody that I know of" on his campaign staff contacted Russian officials during the presidential race.

Revelations about conversations between Kislyak and top U.S. officials have already led to the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from any investigation of the Trump campaign and its possible ties to Moscow.

However, Kislyak also has a long history of meeting with Democratic lawmakers. On one occasion in 2013, the envoy met with seven then-Democratic senators. Kislyak also reportedly visited the Obama White House at least 22 times.

A White House spokesperson denied that the encounter constituted a meeting and added that the campaign was not responsible for inviting or vetting guests at the speech.
Just before the second presidential debate in October, Professor Maria Guadalupe began to wonder what would happen if the brash, aggressive mannerisms of Donald Trump were emulated by a woman.

Turns out the hypothetical candidate was a hit.

In a bias-challenging twist, Guadalupe and another professor recently engineered a gender-swap exercise featuring a mock debate between a female version of Trump and a male version of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Despite some assumptions that the Trump-ish female would not fare well, audiences actually responded more positively to her.

People were really able to see the techniques that Trump was using, said NYU Steinhardt clinical associate professor Joe Salvatore, who helmed the project with Guadalupe. The repetition of a certain idea. The simplicity of a message.

One audience member described the Trump message as she was able to hear it as hummable lyrics, while Clinton may have had well-researched information, but there was no hook.

The exercise in Cape Cod may have helped explain the appeal of Trump's message, even though his victory on Election Day was considered one of the great political upsets. While it was staged in late January, Salvatore and Guadalupe are now trying to adapt it into an off-Broadway play and perhaps a film.

The Her Opponent project consisted of four sections of verbatim re-creations taken from each of the three debates. Salvatore, who teaches educational theater, called on two actors hed previously worked with  and who were schooled in learning speech patterns and gestures  to play the critical roles, renamed Brenda King (Trump) and Jonathan Gordon (Clinton).

Guadalupe, an associate professor of economics and political science at French business school INSEAD, selected scenes that largely featured a back-and-forth between the candidates. The goal was to re-create the most interesting portions  but to leave gender out, thus no references to being first lady or the infamous Access Hollywood tape of Trump.

Salvatore stressed the actors were not trying to spoof the politicians; however, they did learn and adopt specific behaviors in order to portray them.

Clinton has a slight Midwestern accent that comes in and out, so we tried to pay really close attention to that, Salvatore said. It really separates her out from the actor, so when Daryl Embry performed her voice with the accent, we could hear her more.

Taking on Trump presented unique challenges for actress Rachel Whorton.

For Trump, he uses his voice in a way where he goes into his lower register, Salvatore said. He sort of goes into a gravely place in his voice and, obviously, when a woman is working in that, it wont go as low.

Then there were the infamous Trump hand motions.

Hes got three or four different finger configurations  theres no real rhyme or reason as to how he uses them, Salvatore said.

Before the performances in late January at the Provincetown Playhouse, audience members were issued surveys and asked to list three positive and negative attributes of the candidates as they remembered them from the debates. After the 35-minute show was over, they were asked the same question about what had just occurred. The post-debate results were illuminating.

They liked that [Whorton] was more passionate, Guadalupe said. Genuine. Emotional. People were connecting with her emotionally. They didnt listen so much to the content. She was just really committed and passionate about what she was saying.

Said Salvatore: Ive never been in a post-performance discussion where people were so articulate.

The experiment gave Guadalupe a new appreciation for how she understands and views genders, whether in the political realm or not.

Its not just candidates, she said. When I see a woman presenting, I see it differently. Academic setting, business, at dinner  how men and women behave. I think this is all applicable to how we see each other.

Salvatore said he voted for Clinton and during the course of rehearsals found himself questioning his own inherent biases and perceptions.

While we had ideas about what we thought might happen, he said, we were also open to the idea that different things could happen.
As Republicans debate whether their health insurance replacement plan is viable or just ObamaCare Lite, one thing is clear:

Barack Obama moved the goalposts.

What I mean is that the GOP is having to make compromises because the existing program, for all its flaws, is in purely political terms very hard to unravel.

Whats more, President Trump said during the campaign that he liked parts of ObamaCare, singling out the ban on refusing people with preexisting conditions and allowing parents to keep their kids on their policies until age 26. So the GOP is trying to navigate a narrow path that is far more treacherous than six years of just calling for repeal.

Ronald Reagan also moved the goalposts. He transformed the national debate about the size of government to the point that Bill Clinton declared that the era of big government was overand passed a welfare-reform bill with Newt Gingrichs Republicans.

LBJ moved the goalposts as well. More than half a century after he rammed Medicare and Medicaid through Congress, there are plenty of attempts to rein in those programs but no one talks about abolishing them.

None of this was a secret when Obama rammed his health bill through in 2010 on a party-line vote. Everyone knew that once a major entitlement program is passed, its extraordinarily difficult to abolish.

So as partisans on both sides debate the House GOP bill, they are, in effect, doing so on Obamas turf.

Republicans realized it was political suicide to push any bill that would cause 20 million people to lose their coverage. And they are supporting another Obama reform of preventing insurance companies from imposing lifetime caps on benefits.

At the same time, they have fertile ground because of all the people who, despite Obamas promises, lost their coverage or had to pay dramatically higher premiums.

Paul Ryans challenge is that he can lose only 19 Republican votes, and the partys most conservative wing is unhappy with the bill that has emerged--as several of them made clear at a news conference yesterday. Several conservative groups are also vowing to fight the bill.

The measure scraps the hated individual mandate, along with the employer mandate. But people who let their insurance lapse would face a 30 percent rate hike to get back in, which is a pretty strong incentive to keep their policies.

The bill would do away with the federal subsidies to help people buy insurance and substitute tax credits instead, which start to phase out for individuals earning more than $75,000.

The bill would also roll back Obamas Medicaid expansion and instead give states grants that could be used to help residents pay for health care, though perhaps at lower levels.



So how can the GOP leadership call it ObamaCare Gone and Rand Paul call it ObamaCare Lite? If it all seems a bit murky, keep in mind that Republicans cant say how much the bill is going to cost or how many people might lose coverage.

Plus, there are such hot-button issues as defunding Planned Parenthood and cutting taxes for insurance executives who make more than $500,000.

However all this is hashed outand I dont underestimate Trumps ability to make a dealhe will be fixing his predecessors law, not throwing it out.
Deputies from Shanghai: more and more open in news reporters view

By:Jiang Wenran | From:english.eastday.com | 2017-03-07 20:57

Video was taken on March 6, 2017 during a plenary meeting of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) Deputies from Shanghai. This meeting was held during the annual NPC session in Beijing, capital of China. The meeting was opened to media.

The news reporter from CCTVhas paid close attention to the plenary meetings of NPC deputies from Shanghai for four successive years. In her view, it is more and more open.

While in the view of the reporter from HKCTV, the financial metropolis also has its unique local culture which welcomes people to innovate or start businesses there.




House Republican leaders forged ahead Wednesday on their newly released ObamaCare replacement legislation, pitching it as a first step toward fulfilling their campaign promise -- despite mounting resistance from the partys right and center flanks and warnings that it might not have the votes to pass.

We have serious concerns, said House Freedom Caucus co-chairman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.

As House conservatives plan to introduce their own bill -- a so-called clean repeal of the Affordable Care Act -- two key committees are taking up the legislation unveiled late Monday by GOP leaders. The House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees began mark-up sessions Wednesday morning, where lawmakers have their first chance to change and amend the plan.

This could be a contentious and drawn-out process, as GOP leaders try to convince the rank-and-file to work with the product they put forward Monday, rather than push competing legislation.

"This is a work in progress and continues to be so," Health Secretary Tom Price told Fox News Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview Tuesday night. "Let me make clear to people that this single bill is not the entire plan."

Price and his colleagues say the ObamaCare replacement would play out in three phases, with the legislation on the table representing Phase 1. This would be followed by regulatory changes and future legislation addressing other goals.

But House conservatives have their doubts about whether the new proposal even works as a starting point.

I dont think its going to bring down the cost of insurance, Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan told Fox & Friends Wednesday morning, vowing to introduce a clean repeal.

Conservatives have voiced specific concerns that the new plan would continue the Medicaid expansion for a few more years before a transition, replace existing insurance subsidies with a new system of tax credits and allow insurance companies to impose a surcharge for lapsed coverage.

But moderates -- in Congress and in state capitals -- also are worried that the changes could hurt the ability to extend Medicaid coverage to those who need it.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich put out a statement saying that while he opposes ObamaCare, phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive. He called on both parties to work together.

Republicans are taking up the legislation without official estimates of the proposals cost and coverage impact.

But President Trump and other top administration officials already have gotten involved advocating for the legislation, standing by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as he tries to sell it to his colleagues.

I'm proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives," Trump said Tuesday.

Passage of the Republican bill comes down to the numbers. The GOP can only lose 21 votes before the measure fails on a party-line vote in the House.

The Freedom Caucus has a bylaw that compels its members to vote as a bloc if 80 percent of its 40-plus members feel the same on a given issue -- more than enough to derail the legislation.

Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., said Tuesday he doesnt think Ryan has the votes unless he draws Democratic support, according to The Hill.

On Tuesday, Ryan said he could guarantee the bill would get a majority 218 votes to pass the House.

Asked Wednesday on Fox News Americas Newsroom if Trump could guarantee passage, Counselor Kellyanne Conway said: President Trump is very confident.

Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., suggested Trump was in negotiation mode.

What we have here is an opening bid, Sanford said.

Fox News Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Attorneys for Hawaii are planning to file paperwork Wednesday to challenge President Trump's revised travel ban, which goes into effect on March 16.

Lawyers for the state said they will move for a temporary restraining order on March 15, a day before the new executive order is supposed to take effect.

"This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0," Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said in a statement Monday. "Under the pretense of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees. It leaves the door open for even further restrictions."

The new order bars new visas for people from six predominantly Muslim nations and temporarily shuts down America's refugee program, affecting would-be visitors and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.

Hawaiis anticipated action does not prevent other states from challenging the revised travel ban.

Tuesday's filing informs the court that the state has been in touch with the Justice Department and that both sides are asking for an expedited briefing schedule to allow for a judicial ruling before March 16.

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu allowed the state to file an amended lawsuit adding the Muslim Association of Hawaii's imam as a plaintiff. The mother-in-law of Imam Ismail Elshikh is a Syrian national living in Syria, according to the lawsuit that details the effect the ban would have had on Elshikh's family and others in Hawaii.

According to the motion, attorneys for the government had no position on the request to file another amended lawsuit.

Fox News Lee Ross and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former Utah governor and Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. has accepted President Trump's offer to be the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Fox News has confirmed.

Sources told Fox that Trump called Huntsman Monday to offer him the job. If confirmed, Huntsman would head to Moscow at a time when relations between the U.S. and Russia have reached a low point in the post-Cold War era amid investigations of possible contacts between Trump's campaign and Russian officials.

Hunstman's acceptance also ends speculation about a possible primary challenge against Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who is up for re-election next year.

Huntsman previously served as U.S. Ambassador to China between 2009 and 2011, when he resigned to launch a bid for the 2012 Republican nomination. He dropped out of the race after finishing third in the New Hampshire primary and endorsed eventual nominee Mitt Romney.

Huntsman was elected governor of Utah in 2004 and re-elected in 2008. He resigned seven months into his second term to become ambassador to Beijing.

Huntsman had an up-and-down relationship with Trump during last year's campaign. He was slow to endorse any candidate for the Republican nomination though did back Trump once he became the presumptive nominee. But Huntsman then called for Trump to drop out after the October release of a 2005 video in which Trump is captured on a hot microphone making lewd comments about women.

He said then that the "campaign cycle has been nothing but a race to the bottom" and called for Trump's running mate, then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to top the GOP ticket.

Trump also went after Huntsman during his tenure as ambassador to Beijing. In a series of tweets in 2011 and 2012, the celebrity businessman called Huntsman a "lightweight" and "weak" and claimed that China "did a major number on us" during his tenure.

Huntsman's daughter, Abby, is a co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend."

Fox News' John Roberts and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Congressional Republicans may find inspiration from the King of Rock and Roll when comes to passing their replacement bill for ObamaCare.

Imagine Elvis Presley crooning his 1960 number one single, Its Now or Never.

We have a choice, proffered House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, one of the authors of the health care blueprint. We can act now or we can keep fiddling around and squander this opportunity to repeal ObamaCare.

In 2009 and 2010, Republicans railed against Democrats as they relied almost exclusively on their own members to approve ObamaCare. Now Republicans are going it alone to repeal ObamaCare and adopt their own health care package. But some conservative lawmakers and interest groups alike are upbraiding the GOP legislation. It only takes a few renegades in both the House and Senate to incinerate the plan.

Its ObamaCare-lite, argued Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. We have to admit we are divided on replacement.

Obviously we have serious concerns, said House Freedom Caucus co-chairman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.

Michael Needham, the head of the conservative policy organization Heritage Action, declared there was no significant difference between the GOP replacement package and ObamaCare.

Passage of the Republican health care bill comes down to the numbers. The GOP can only lose 21 votes before the measure fails on a party-line vote.

The Freedom Caucus has a bylaw that compels its members to vote as a bloc if 80 percent of its 40-plus members feel the same on a given issue. Thats more than enough to incinerate the health care measure on the floor.

Thats why the Trump administration deployed Budget Director and Freedom Caucus founder Mick Mulvaney to liaise with congressional Republicans. Vice President Pence also paid a visit to the Freedom Caucus.

Meadows says Pence told his members the bill was still open for negotiation.

We took this as good news, said Meadows.

But after a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans, Pence suggested the bill might not be that agile.

This is the bill, said Pence. The president supports it and looks forward to working directly on this bill.

Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., suggested Trump was in negotiation mode.

What we have here is an opening bid, said Sanford.

Some Republicans hoped to alter the legislation.

There better not be a rule that bans amendments which are badly needed to fix this bill, said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas.

The Freedom Caucus is a little like the Democratic Blue Dog coalition which was key to approving ObamaCare. The Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats, are still around. There just arent many left in the House Democratic Caucus these days. The Blue Dogs, when their numbers were bigger, often made a lot of noise. But when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., needed Blue Dog votes, most of them heeled.

In March, 2010, Pelosi lacked the votes to pass the final version of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). So she authorized the House Rules Committee to allow but two amendments before the decisive ObamaCare debate. One amendment was for a Republican health care plan. The other amendment was a proposal written by then-Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. The Stupak Amendment constructed an additional firewall to ensure that federal dollars wouldnt cover abortions. The Stupak amendment ultimately courted the support of just enough conservative, pro-life Democrats. The House okayed the first iteration of Obamacare 220-215.

Switch three votes and the bill would have failed.

The question now is how might lawmakers contour the GOP health care plan to their liking. Also, as Gohmert asks, what amendments might the GOP brass permit? Is there flexibility? What happens if just enough Republicans balk at the bill? Does the president light them up on Twitter?

The American Health Care Act (ACHA) is the first test of presidential legislative power, suggested House Republican Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., after a White House confab.

Meadows understands the risks some conservatives could face should they buck Trump.

The president has a powerful bully pulpit and a powerful tweet, said Meadows. I would not want to take him on in either of those concerns.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., may not emulate Pelosi when it comes to whipping a vote. But he sure exuded confidence Tuesday.

We will have 218 votes, predicted Ryan. I can guarantee you.

Of course, Ryan only needs 216 to approve the ACHA.

Ryan and other ACHA supporters must court members of the Freedom Caucus for their votes. Some top GOP aides and even lawmakers spent the past few days trolling conservatives who werent on board, privately bad-mouthing them. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., co-wrote the ObamaCare replacement bill alongside Kevin Brady. Rand Paul embarked on a Quixotic, if faux, quest to find the secret location of the bill last week. When the House Republican leadership released the bill, Waldens crew hand-delivered a copy of the legislation to Pauls office and tweeted a photo of the consignment.

The margin to pass this bill could be tight. Consider the narrow vote engineered by Pelosi to pass ObamaCare. Ryan and other Republican leaders must earn the support of skeptics in their own party, not antagonize them.

Ryan wants to pass the bill by the end of the month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., hopes to follow suit in early April. The bill probably calcifies if it sits out there too long. In 2009 and 2010, congressional Democrats burned nearly 10 months approving ObamaCare.

As the King sings, Its now or never  if Republicans are to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Tomorrow will be too late.

Capitol Attitude is a weekly column written by members of the Fox News Capitol Hill team. Their articles take you inside the halls of Congress, and cover the spectrum of policy issues being introduced, debated and voted on there.
The son of Hillary Clinton's former running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, was one of six arrested Saturday protesting a rally in support of President Trump at the Minnesota State Capitol.

Linwood Michael Kaine, 24, and four others were arrested on suspicion of second-degree riot at the March 4 Trump rally in St. Paul. Another person was cited for disorderly conduct, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Kaine, who lives in Minneapolis, was released from the Ramsey County Jail Tuesday pending a further investigation, authorities said. No charges were filed against him or the four others. The city attorney is reviewing the incident.

Kaine was involved in a skirmish between Trump supporters and counter-protesters, St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said.

Linders said Kaine was seen with four people who lit fireworks in the capitol and fled. Police were investigating whether Kaine lit a firework, the newspaper reported.

Linders said Kaine and the group were arrested a block from the capitol. He said police tracked Kaine and the group down and arresting officers had to use some force to take him into custody.

No one from Sen. Kaines office contacted the department, he added.

Sen. Kaine and wife Anne Holton released a statement Tuesday night.

"We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues," they said. "They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully."

Click for more from the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Ryan Gaydos is a news editor for Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @RyanGaydos.
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to take a more aggressive approach to counter the growing number of anonymous bomb threats against Jewish organizations across the country.

All 100 senators said in a letter addressed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, FBI Director James Comey and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly that the incidents are becoming more frequent and failure to take swift action places innocent people at risk.

We write to underscore the need for swift action with regard to the deeply troubling series of anonymous bomb threats made against Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), Jewish day schools, synagogues and other buildings affiliated with Jewish organizations or institutions across the country, the senators wrote.

The letter came as the Anti-Defamation League and several Jewish community centers across the U.S. received a new round of bomb threats, adding to the scores that have been plagued with since January.

Federal authorities have been investigating more than 120 threats against Jewish organizations in three dozen states since Jan. 9 as well as a wave of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries. Over the course of Monday evening and Tuesday, there were eight emailed or phoned-in bomb threats in six states plus Ontario, the JCC Association of North America said.

Bomb threats were made to Jewish centers in upstate New York, Wisconsin, Oregon, a synagogue in Rhode Island and a school in Illinois. The Anti-Defamation League received threats to its offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston and Washington D.C., as well as other offices in Florida and Maryland.

On Friday, Missouri resident Juan Thompson was arrested on a cyberstalking charge and accused of making at least eight of the threats nationwide, including one to the ADL. Authorities said Thompson was trying to harass and frame his ex-girlfriend by pinning the threats on her.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trumps newly installed agency heads are starting to take a lead role unraveling a web of Obama-era regulations, acting alongside congressional Republicans and the president himself to roll back rules they claim hurt business or simply go too far.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was the latest to peel back red tape.

On his first day of work, for which he arrived Teddy Roosevelt-style on horseback, Zinke ended a ban on lead bullets and fishing tackle on federal lands and water. The ban was imposed to protect animals from lead poisoning, but had been criticized by the National Rifle Association as an attack on gun owners.

Zinke said in a statement he determined the original order was not mandated by any existing statutory or regulatory requirement. The NRA thanked the new secretary for eliminating this arbitrary attack.

Zinke also hinted at more to come in another order, directing agencies to identify areas where recreation and fishing can be expanded.

Meanwhile, the EPA reportedly is set to reverse an Obama-era decision to lock in strict gas mileage requirements for cars and light trucks through 2025.

Together, the moves are part of a three-pronged attack on regulations issued over the last several months and years. It's what White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, at CPAC, dubbed the deconstruction of the administrative state.

The Republican-controlled Congress has moved since the start of the session to nix rules issued toward the end of the last administration. And Trump has directed others to be rolled back, a plan his agencies also are implementing.

In February, for instance, Trump signed an order instructing the Labor Department to delay implementing a rule requiring certain financial professionals to put their clients' interests first. The department could simply abolish it. Trump also ordered agencies to ease the regulatory burdens of ObamaCare, and look at removing two regulations for every new one.

Yet, as the final members of Trumps Cabinet are being confirmed, incoming agency heads also appear to be acting on their own.

The EPA, under Scott Pruitt, last week withdrew its request that owners and operators in the oil and natural gas industry provide information on equipment and emissions at existing operations.

The Washington Examiner reported Monday that Trump also is planning on signing an executive order rolling back Obamas Clean Power Plan  which requires states to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a third  as well as the Interior Departments moratorium on coal leases.

However, the Clean Power Plan order would merely instruct the EPA to overturn it. A similar order was sent out last week, instructing regulators to re-examine President Obamas Clean Water Rule.

In another example of agencies taking the lead, Health Secretary Tom Price says his department will go through existing health care regulations and try to "get rid" of those they determine hurt patients, as Republicans push an ObamaCare replacement bill.

Conservatives, however, are hoping the Trump administration will be an opportunity not just to roll back regulations, but get agencies out of the habit of passing their own.

Regardless of which party controls the White House, we need to get a handle on the regulatory state. Yes, roll back what we can, but also to make sure were going through Congress to put checks in place to restore Article 1 [of the Constitution], Jason Pye, director of public policy and legislative affairs for FreedomWorks, told Fox News.

EPA Administrator Pruitt holds a similar view, telling The Wall Street Journal that his job is not about increasing or reducing regulation.

There is no reason why EPAs role should ebb or flow based on a particular administration, or a particular administrator, he said in a Feb. 17 interview. Agencies exist to administer the law. Congress passes statutes, and those statutes are very clear on the job EPA has to do.

As for revoking rules via Congress, conservatives have pointed to the Congressional Review Act  a little-known 1996 law that gives Congress 60 legislative days to reconsider any new regulations. If a resolution of disapproval is signed by the president, then the agency cannot re-submit a regulation in substantially the same form, unless approved by Congress.

The House passed a bill in January  the Midnight Rules Relief Act  that, if signed by President Trump, would allow Congress to disapprove of multiple regulations at once.

Some Republicans are suggesting a slash-and-burn approach. North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows posted online a 100 days list of rules he wants to see revoked.

But Pye warns most lawmakers are unlikely to be so aggressive.

I think theyre going to be thoughtful. Some, like the Clean Power Plan or the fiduciary rule, are unavoidable -- you have to start rolling those back, he said. With that said, we should be pursuing legislative measures, not just rolling regulations back, but making sure a future president cant impact negatively impact [the] economy through [regulation].
Local outrage over an illegal immigrant's recent arrest in the elevator of a Texas county courthouse could soon give way to resignation, as the new normal of President Trump's tough new border policy sinks in in the Lone Star State and around the nation.

Juan Coronilla-Guerrero was appearing in an Austin court for what his lawyer described as a routine hearing on misdemeanor charges when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nabbed him. Coronilla-Guerrero's charges might not have been serious, but he had been previously deported, was here illegally and was facing assault and drug charges.

Federal officials likely considered a courthouse the safest and easiest place to make an arrest.

What if they have a weapon on them in the streets and there are kids around?" said Chris Harris, a veteran Border Patrol agent. "At least in the courthouse the individual would have gone through a metal detector, and it is a confined and controlled space that would actually enhance public safety."

Yet the incident touched off anger in Austin.

ICE's presence in our courthouses will harm any trust our immigrant families place in the court system," Austin City Councilwoman Delia Garza said in a statement. If families are fearful of attending any required court appearances, they could face dire consequences like losing custody of their children or obtaining a restraining order from an abusive spouse.

Detaining illegal immigrants while they are in the courthouse -- or other places where they once felt safe -- has become a flashpoint in the countrys controversial immigration debate.

Critics see Coronilla-Guerreros arrest as an infringement on rights of the immigrant community.

Others see it as something else: the new reality.

IMMIGRANT VET AWAITS JUDGE'S DEPORTATION RULING AFTER DRUG CONVICTION

Trump has repeatedly vowed to crack down on illegal immigrants with criminal records living in the United States. That pledge was the cornerstone of his presidential campaign.

But now that hes carrying out his promises, illegal immigrant rights groups are crying foul.

This will have a chilling effect on our judicial branch of governments ability to operate effectively, Garza said. Because of actions like this, people will fear going to court dates as victims, witnesses or defendants. When families live in fear, we all lose."

All across the country, incidents like Coronilla-Guerreros have sparked national outrage among groups in favor of lax immigration enforcement. Some have even tried to block ICE enforcement efforts by helping immigrants who are on the verge of being apprehended.

An Oregon judge is under investigation for an incident in January where she allegedly helped an illegal immigrant evade ICE agents waiting for him to leave the courtroom. Multnomah County Judge Monica Herranz allegedly allowed Diddier Pacheco Salazar, 22, who was in her court for a DUI hearing, to leave through an employee exit.

Salazar was eventually arrested a few weeks later. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Oregon is reportedly looking into the matter.

U.S. Attorney Billy Williams said in a CNN video interview last week that he was disappointed that someone whose job it is to enforce the law helped a suspected lawbreaker evade federal authorities.

I felt that it was inappropriate, Williams told CNN, and delegitimizes the work of ICE agents who are out there doing their jobs.

Herranz did not reply to a request from FoxNews.com seeking comment as to whether she advocates civil disobedience to obstruct ICEs mission.

The recent immigration tactics have provoked a sharp divide in the immigration debate. While President Obama was criticized by immigration groups and even dubbed deporter-in-chief by many, his stance on the issue was far more lenient than Trumps. Those with a tough stance on illegal immigration have trumpeted Trumps moves -- but others are taking a much more introspective view of it.

ARGENTINIAN 'DREAMER' WITH EXPIRED DACA TO BE DEPORTED WITHOUT A HEARING

Peter Treece, manager of the Magnolia Cafe in the liberal-leaning Austin, recently took a moment from the morning breakfast rush to ponder the presidents push to remove criminal immigrants from Americas streets.

Of course we should remove criminals, Treece said, but that could be a slippery slope.

When people think of criminal immigrants who would be targeted in the Trump administration, many may think of the case in Long Island, where 13 MS-13 gang suspects -- 10 of whom are illegal immigrants -- were recently indicted for the brutal murders of three teens.

But what does not seem so clear-cut is what other type of immigrants also will become targets.

Ray Mayo, executive director of the Brentwood Association of Concerned Citizens in Long Island, said he has seen firsthand how criminal immigrants can decimate a community.

Still, even his position is pragmatic.

Most immigrants don't understand what criminals ICE is attempting to round up, Mayo said. They know they are in the country illegally so they think they are considered criminals also subject to apprehension under the current guidelines.

He said those who are hard-working and law-abiding should be more clearly distinguished from real criminals -- the killers or rapists.

Mayo said his organization has intervened with law enforcement on behalf of illegal immigrants who have been victimized by MS-13 members. He said this is a major concern among many in the community who feel that good immigrants will be alienated from law enforcement at a time when they are needed most to help break up the grip of MS-13 in their community.

Just last year, according to Mayo, ICE was doing a criminal sweep in Brentwood and word quickly spread via social media -- which forced many immigrants to go into hiding.

Mayo said there needs to be a better job to differentiate within the immigrant communities what type of criminals are being sought out for orders of deportation.

Harris, the former Border Patrol agent, also said the administration should clearly identify what type of illegal immigrants they are going after. Not outlining that, he said, could cause mass confusion.

He said immigration sweeps, or the perception of sweeps, are counter-productive and would alienate the entire community. Plus, he said, it would feed into the activists agenda.

For the first six months we need to just go after the violent criminal aliens like gang members, he said, and people will hopefully see the benefit of enforcing the law.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is hiring. And in huge numbers.

The agency is looking to fill about 1,200 positions for all three of its units  the Office of Field Operations, Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations. And President Trump recently announced that in the next few years he wants to hire several thousand more agents to protect the nations border.

But achieving that task wont be easy.

Were already about 1,200 agents short of the congressional mandate. With the executive order to hire another 5,000 people, we cant get people to come on patrol, said Stu Harris, vice president for AFGE Local 1929, the local El Paso Border Patrol Union.

Harris said recruitment efforts are stymied by imprecise polygraph examinations and grueling work schedules. Border Patrol agents, whose starting annual salary is $52,000 and who can make $97,000 in their fifth year, usually spend long days and nights away from home -- workloads that some say are not conducive for retention or raising a family.

AGENTS DETAIL 'DAILY' BORDER FENCE BATTLE, SEEK POST-OBAMA 'RESTART'

The Border Patrol hit a high of staffing in 2011, with 21,444 agents. The number of agents has dropped every year since. Last year, the agency fell below 20,000 agents for the first time since 2008, according to the agency.

The agency indicated it was planning to loosen requirements for veterans and former law enforcement officials.

To meet our critical hiring needs we are exploring ways to recruit individuals that the Federal government has already vetted to work in sensitive positions, such as military and federal law enforcement officers while also working to omit redundancies in the hiring process," a spokesperson said in a statement.

Critics point to polygraph tests as one reason the agency has trouble recruiting strong candidates.

The tests, which are mandated by law, eliminate good candidates because they are often riddled with glitches, Harris said. He said one qualified candidate failed the polygraph exam twice because of faulty machines. The candidate failed when asked if he was a drug dealer and the next time he took the test he failed when asked if he was a murderer.

So these are the kind of errors in the reading of the polygraph results that are resulting in a failure rate of two out of every three not passing the polygraph exam, said Harris. Weve had stories of candidates sitting down for six to eight hours.

The number of Border Patrol agents failing the polygraph tests is more than double the average rate of eight law enforcement agencies, according to a recent report by Associated Press.

Even newly retired CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske acknowledged recently that the polygraph failure rate was too high -- but he blamed it on the pool of candidates, not on the defective machines. He told the AP that the polygraph failure rate at the agency is at about 65 percent.

The former commissioners response angered some who felt it was grossly unfair.

For him to say its the applicant pool is another display of his incompetence," Harris said, "and how much he was out of touch with reality.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said not only are the polygraph test glitches posing a serious problem to the future of the agency -- but it's also ruining the lives of many innocent people.

I have been troubled by the personal anecdotes of questionable interrogative techniques from applicants who have failed CBPs polygraph," Flake told Fox News. "If the agencys polygraph is indeed flawed, it has the potential to do long-term career damage to otherwise qualified applicants who fail.

SUPREME COURT APPEARS DIVIDED ON CROSS-BORDER SHOOTING BY US AGENT

Union members have been working with members of Congress to try and address the high rate of polygraph failures -- in a way that ensures the best candidates are hired.

But just getting candidates to apply is another challenge.

The Border Patrol makes no secrets about the difficulties of the job. Its career website says candidates work long, rotating shifts, in hazardous conditions. Candidates must also be willing to be away from home for a month, or more, at a time.

Harris suggested the Border Patrol should offer pay incentives and the option for agents to pick where they want to go next after a tough assignment.

Weve got to find some way to incentivize to keep people there. So we can keep securing the border and keep people in the Border Patrol," said Harris. "Instead of having people go to other agencies.

Victor Manjarrez, a former Border Patrol Sector Chief for both El Paso and Tucson, said the CBP is about two years behind when it comes to filling all of its open positions.

He said pay incentives are a short-term solution. He believes the agency should attract recruits in remote areas instead of focusing on big cities.

"What we normally see is you get these young families that come out, and theyre looking for good public schools, looking for things they find in bigger cities. Theyre not going to find them, Manjarrez said. "Why arent we recruiting in rural areas [where] people might be more accustomed to that lifestyle?

While the job is tough, and not for everyone, the union and recruiters believe thats exactly why veterans are especially qualified. Veterans can receive special benefits, and do not need to be younger than 37 like other candidates.

They currently serve our country, said Adriana Carranza, a CBP recruiter, and its any easy transition for them to continue serving our country with our agency.
Amid a trove of documents released by WikiLeaks that allegedly contains the entire hacking capacity of the CIA is chilling evidence that everyday devices like smart TVs and cell phones have potentially become critical tools in the effort to spy on American citizens.

Documents released in the 8,761 document and file dump dubbed Vault 7 Part 1 and titled Year Zero -- were obtained from an isolated, high-security network at the CIAs Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Va., a press release from WikiLeaks said. The trove had been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors, one of whom allegedly turned the archive to WikiLeaks.

HOW TO TURN OFF SMART TV SNOOPING FEATURES

Among revelations still emerging from the shocking disclosure is an alleged CIA program named Weeping Angel, in which Samsung brand smart televisions were apparently being used as recording devices. Weeping Angel places the target TV in a Fake-Off mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on, WikiLeaks claims. In 'Fake-Off' mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server.

In a statement to Fox News Investigative Unit, a Samsung communications rep said that [p]rotecting consumers privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung. We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter.

Smart TVs arent the only commonly used devices that may have a potentially more-sinister purpose. WikiLeaks is suggesting that Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows are also being turned into covert microphones. Infected phones, according to the release, can be instructed to send the CIA the user's geolocation, audio and text communications as well as covertly activate the phone's camera and microphone.

STOLEN APPLE IDs CAN HOLD YOUR IPHONE HOSTAGE

Gregory Keeley, an expert in the security of digital devices and co-founder of the consulting company Phosphorus, tells Fox News that the problem is also greater than the government's ability to listen-in. "The hacker on the street now has the Intelligence Communitys hacking tool kit. It's that simple."

Fox News also spoke with Matthew Hickey, co-founder and director of the cybersecurity team Hacker House, who thinks it is "unlikely that the exposure is going to cause anyone to stop developing attacks for smart devices.

"Televisions, refrigerators and the Internet of Things will continue to introduce new ways for technology to be used against us," he said. "As more devices are connected to the Internet or connected to our lives, it increases the likelihood of it being hacked and used to spy on us."

Once Mom and Pop start getting hacked through their Google Home or Amazon Echo, there's going to be some reckoning, Keeley added.

WikiLeaks claims that its information came from a source who wished to initiate a public debate about the security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons.

We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," a CIA spokesperson told Fox News.

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WikiLeaks, which was founded by Julian Assange in 2006, is an international organization that publishes secret information, news leaks, and classified media from anonymous sources. The Australian-born Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for five years, in a bid to avoid what his supporters claim are trumped-up sex assault charges in Sweden.
Premier Li Keqiang on March 6 called for more efforts to create a favorable environment for innovation and entrepreneurship and seek new driving forces for the economy.

For China to maintain medium-high economic growth, the biggest potential lies in bringing out the creativity of the countrys population of more than 1.3 billion, said Premier Li while joining a group of lawmakers from Shandong province to discuss the government work report.

He stressed the need to further cut taxes and fees, and promised to build innovation platforms to meet the demands from emerging industries and new business models.

The gathering of new growth momentum could help create jobs and lead the economy to higher levels, he said.

In the government work report the Premier delivered on March 6, China set the growth target for 2017 at around 6.5 percent, with the goal of creating over 11 million urban jobs.

The Premier said this years growth rate, which remains at a medium-high level, could support enough employment.

While reiterating the basic tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, he called for more focus on improving growth quality and efficiency to strengthen internal impetus for the economy.

Premier Li also demanded more attention on issues related to the peoples well-being, such as education, medical care, social security, housing and environmental protection.
Not all tech geniuses are barely old enough to shave. For proof, look no further than John Goodenough, who was 57 years old when he co-invented the lithium ion battery, which is very likely the power source for, among other things, the device on which youre reading this.

But that was 37 years ago. Now, at the spry age of 94, Goodenough, a professor at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, has one-upped himself.

Goodenough and senior research fellow Maria Helena Braga recently announced the development of an all-solid-state battery that beats lithium-ion in every way imaginable. Its cheap, it has a longer life cycle, it charges and discharges quickly and, best of all, its noncombustible  meaning it wont explode and burst into flames. Are you listening, Samsung?

IBM PLANS TO BUILD THE FIRST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE UNIVERSAL QUANTUM COMPUTER

Goodenough and Braga, who are seeking several patents, hope the technology could revolutionize the powering of electric vehicles and energy storage devices, according UT News.

The all-solid-state battery cells have at least three times as much energy density as lithium-ion batteries, which could greatly extend how far an electric vehicle can travel before it needs to be recharged. The new battery can be charged and discharged more times than a lithium-cell battery, meaning it will last longer. And charging and recharging can be accomplished in minutes, not hours.

LIGHTNING-FAST ROBOT CLINCHES RUBIK'S CUBE WORLD RECORD

Goodenough and Braga describe the technology in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

The advent of a Li+ or Na+ glass electrolyte with a cation conductivity i > 102 S cm1 at 25 C and a motional enthalpy Hm = 0.06 eV that is wet by a metallic lithium or sodium anode is used to develop a new strategy for an all-solid-state, rechargeable, metal-plating battery. During discharge, a cell plates the metal of an anode of high-energy Fermi level such as lithium or sodium onto a cathode current collector with a low-energy Fermi level; the voltage of the cell may be determined by a cathode redox center having an energy between the Fermi levels of the anode and that of the cathode current collector. This strategy is demonstrated with a solid electrolyte that not only is wet by the metallic anode, but also has a dielectric constant capable of creating a large electric-double-layer capacitance at the two electrode/electrolyte interfaces.

Heres what that means in English, according UT News:

Lithium-ion batteries use liquid electrolytes to transport lithium ions between the negative and positive sides of a battery. If the battery cell is charged too quickly, it can cause a short circuit that can lead to explosions and fires.

INTEL PATENTS A 3D CAMERA BABY MONITOR THAT COULD DETECT BREATHING PATTERNS

But Goodenough and Bragas all-solid-state battery uses glass electrolytes instead of liquid ones. The result is a battery that can have high conductivity at 4 degrees below zero (-20 degrees Celsius)  wonderful news for electric car owners  and is made from earth-friendly materials.

The glass electrolytes allow for the substitution of low-cost sodium for lithium, Braga said. Sodium is extracted from seawater that is widely available.

Longer-lasting, faster-charging, more energy-dense and wont blow up. What more could you want from a battery?

In 37 years, when hes 131 years old, John Goodenough will let us know.
Its a photo that is making farmers, skiers and thirsty people across the Golden state very happy.

Satellite photographs from the NASA Earth Observatory show the drastic change this winters almost-ceaseless rain and snow have had on the California landscape from 2014  when the state was suffering through a devastating drought.

A series of storms this winter have drenched much of the states fertile inland empire and brought record-breaking snow storms throughout the Sierras. These weather systems known as a Pineapple Express, which originate in the Pacific and collect tropical moisture as they travel across the ocean, have acted like a giant sprinkler system over California and turned much of the desiccated land a verdant green.

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The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the storms have filled the Yolo Bypass, a water storage area designed to minimize flooding in Sacramento, to the brim and waterways throughout Northern California have turned a murky brown due to sediment stirred up during widespread flooding.

Late last month the California Drought Monitor indicated that the state is 83 percent drought-free, compared with just 6 percent a year ago.

The storms have not all been good news for the country's most populous state.

California faces an estimated $50 billion price tag for roads, dams and other infrastructure threatened by floods such as the one that severely damaged Oroville Dam last month, the state's natural resources secretary said last week.

Nearly 200,000 people living near the country's tallest dam were evacuated four weeks ago amid fears of a catastrophic flood after heavy rains tore away a chunk of concrete from the main spillway, leaving it severely damaged.

Swollen rivers, troubled levees and crumbling roads are causing havoc statewide as California copes with what is likely its wettest year ever, California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird said.

Despite the massive storms, hydrologists also warn that California may always be chronically short on water given the states huge agricultural industry. While these crops are a major economic driver for the Golden state, they also need massive amounts of water to thrive.

Food production requires nearly unfathomable volumes of water, and has resulted in the long-term decline of the total available fresh water in California, Jay Famiglietti and Michelle Miro, hydrologists at University of California-Irvine and UCLA, respectively, wrote in the Los Angeles Times. The great thirst of our highly productive agricultural sector has never been and will never be satisfied by the annual winter storms that feed the states rivers and reservoirs.
Four people were killed and dozens injured after a train hit a charter bus Tuesday in Biloxi, Mississippi, officials said.

Biloxi Police Chief John Miller described the crash as a "terrible, chaotic scene" at a press conference, adding that 35 people have been hospitalized.

A total of 46 passengers were on the bus when the crash happened, according to Miller.

Officials initially said four people died in the crash and then revised it down to three, but Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city of Biloxi, told the Associated Press after consulting with the coroner's office that they can confirm that four were killed in the incident.

The CSX freight train was traveling east when it collided with the charter bus that was heading north around 2:15 p.m. local time and pushed it nearly 300 feet down the tracks, according to Miller.

"I just want everyone to know that we're doing everything we can do to help everyone on that bus," Miller said.

Biloxi Mayor Andrew "FoFo" Gilich called it a "tragic day" for the city, and asked for thoughts and prayers for those affected.

Emergency crews were spotted still removing people from the bus through the emergency windows 30 minutes after the initial crash, WLOX-TV reported. A witness reported most of the passengers on the bus were senior citizens.

Miller said the bus, operated by Echo Transportation, was out of Austin, Texas.

Ameet Patel, Senior Vice President of Regional Operations for Penn National Gaming, owner of Hollywood Gulf Coast Casino and Boomtown Biloxi Casino, said in a statement to WLOX-TV the bus was traveling from Hollywood in Bay St. Louis to Boomtown in Biloxi.

"It is with deep regret and sympathy that we can confirm the private charter bus that collided with a train this afternoon in Biloxi was transporting patrons from our Hollywood Gulf Coast Casino in Bay St. Louis to our Boomtown Biloxi Casino approximately 45 miles away," the statement said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who tragically lost their lives and all those affected by this accident. As this is an ongoing law enforcement matter, we are withholding any further comment and are referring all calls to the Biloxi Police Department, with whom we are cooperating fully on their investigation."

The single track area where the crash took place is the CSX mainline along the Gulf Coast, passing through densely populated areas of southern Mississippi.

CSX officials told WLOX-TV all train traffic through the area has been stopped as a result of the crash.

"CSX personnel are working with first responders at a collision of a freight train and passenger bus in Biloxi, Miss," CSX spokesman Gary Sease said in a statement to WLOX-TV. "The collision this afternoon occurred at the Main Street crossing. The eastbound mixed freight train, traveling from New Orleans to Mobile, Ala., had three locomotives and 52 cars  27 loaded cars and 25 empty cars. The crossing has flashing lights and crossing gates. Authorities in Biloxi report three fatalities and many injuries, and our thoughts are with all involved. The train crew was not injured."

The train crossing that was the site of the crash has seen previous trouble, according to WLOX. Two months ago, a separate CSX train slammed a Pepsi delivery truck that got stuck on the tracks. There is a low clearance sign located near the intersection to warn drivers.

Read more from WLOX.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oklahoma's governor declared a state of emergency Tuesday in response to wildfires that have charred hundreds of square miles of land in four states and killed six people.

Gov. Mary Fallin issued the declaration for 22 of the state's 77 counties, including Beaver County, where fires have burned an estimated 390 square miles; and Harper County, where officials say a separate fire has scorched more than 155 square miles and was a factor in the death of a woman who had a heart attack while trying to keep her farm near Buffalo from burning.

Bill Bunting, forecast operations chief for the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center, said Wednesday the powerful wind gusts that have helped the wildfires spread quickly in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas should die down to about 10 to 20 mph on Wednesday. He said temperatures should top off in the 70s, with afternoon humidity low.

"These conditions will make it somewhat easier for firefighting efforts, but far from perfect. The fires still will be moving," Bunting told The Associated Press. "The ideal situation is that it would turn cold and rain, and unfortunately that's not going to happen."

Fires raged in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, and warnings that conditions were ripe were issued for Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The fire warning came after powerful thunderstorms moved through the middle of the country overnight, spawning dozens of suspected tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.

Kansas wildfires have burned about 625 square miles of land and killed one person. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Corey Holt, of Oklahoma City, died Monday when his tractor-trailer jackknifed as he tried to back up because of poor visibility on a southern Kansas highway, and he succumbed to smoke after getting out of his vehicle. Two SUVs crashed into the truck, injuring six people who were taken to hospitals, state trooper Michael Racy said.

The vast majority of the state's burned land is in Clark County, where 30 structures were damaged, said Allison Kuhns, a spokeswoman for the county's emergency management office. About half of those structures are near the small city of Englewood, which was one of two communities evacuated. Kuhns said there also have been significant cattle losses and that entire ranches were engulfed.

The largest evacuations elsewhere were in Reno County, Kansas, where 10,000 to 12,000 people voluntarily left their homes Monday night, said Katie Horner, a spokeswoman for the state's Department of Emergency Management. She said 66 people from the area were in shelters Tuesday in Hutchinson, 40 miles northwest of Wichita.

Among them was Shelley Wilson, who fled Monday with her disabled son and pets from a blaze that was encircling her farm outside of Hutchinson. She returned later that night with her adult daughter to retrieve her tractor.

"I don't know if I have a home to go home to," Wilson said at the shelter Tuesday as her daughter did her best to lighten her mood. "In case I needed to rebuild, I wanted to at least have my tractor."

Retiree Sheryl Stessen said she grabbed her cat and bolted from her apartment on the outskirts of Hutchinson when she saw the fire quickly go from looking like a puff of smoke to a big, orange ball.

"Most of us are generally grumpy," she said Tuesday. "I just want to go home."

Several hundred more people evacuated their homes in Russell, Ellsworth and Comanche counties, in central Kansas.

In the Texas Panhandle, three fires have burned about 500 square miles of land and killed at least four people. One of the blazes near Amarillo threatened about 150 homes, while a larger fire in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border was 50 percent contained as of late Tuesday morning, according to Texas A&M Forest Service. That larger fire was responsible for a death on Monday, authorities said Tuesday without providing further details.

A wildfire in Gray County, also in the Texas Panhandle, killed three ranch hands who were trying to usher cattle away from the flames, said Judge Richard Peet, the county's head administrator. One of the three apparently died of smoke inhalation Monday night and the other two were badly burned and died on the way to hospitals, he said.

Forest Service spokesman Phillip Truitt said as many as four firefighters were hurt battling the fires Monday. He provided no details on their conditions Tuesday morning.

In northeastern Colorado near the Nebraska border, firefighters were battling a blaze that had burned more than 45 square miles and was 50 percent contained Tuesday. Officials said the fire had destroyed at least five homes and 15 outbuildings, though no serious injuries were reported.

Dry conditions and strong winds had put the region at risk for wildfires, said Denise Gutzmer, a drought impact specialist for the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

The amount of Kansas and Oklahoma in what's classified as modified or severe drought also has intensified, with the entire eastern half of Colorado in various degrees of drought, according to the Nebraska center, which tracks U.S. drought conditions weekly.

In Kansas' case, after several years of drought, most of the state got good to great rain the last two summers, which is good for cattle but bad for firefighters, as the taller grass provides more fuel to burn.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Caterpillar, the construction-equipment giant that saw three of its central Illinois facilities raided last week by federal law enforcement, was accused of tax and accounting fraud in a report commissioned by the government.

The New York Times said it viewed the report, which has not been made public or made available to Caterpillar.

DAY WITHOUT A WOMAN STRIKE SHUTS DOWN SCHOOLS AS TEACHERS BOLT

Caterpillar did not comply with either U.S. tax law or U.S. financial reporting rules, Leslie A Robinson, an accounting professor at the Tuck School for Business at Dartmouth College and author of the report wrote, according to the paper. I believe that the companys noncompliance with these rules was deliberate and primarily with the intention of maintaining a higher share price. These actions were fraudulent rather than negligent.

The report focused on a part of the companys offshore tax arraignment and found Caterpillar did not pay U.S. taxes on billions, primarily from its Swiss unit, The Times reported.

LAWYER BILLS NEW YORK CITY $520,000 IN HUNT TO FIND $5,000 BELIEVED STOLEN FROM CAMPAIGN

No charges have been filed and it is unclear if investigators will act on the findings, the paper reported.

There is a chance that the company performed legal transactions that other multinational businesses use to avoid U.S. taxes on offshore profits. But it is reportedly extremely rare for an international company to be accused of fraud. Catepillar has also appeared to be a favorite by President Trump.

Last month, Trump praised Caterpillar for producing great bulldozers.

Robinson, who based her findings on publically available and internal financial data, reportedly estimated that Caterpillar failed to report $7.9 billion in structured loans for tax purposes. These loans, she said, should have been taxed.

A spokeswoman from Caterpillar told The Times the company did not receive a copy of the report and made no further comment. The company, in the past, has defended its tax practices, The Times reported. The paper reported that the companys tax strategies have saved it billions of dollars.

Caterpillar is currently contesting an Internal Revenue Service demand that it pay $2 billion in taxes and penalties for profits assigned to the subsidiary between 2007 and 2012.

The company's overseas ventures have been the subject of scrutiny.

Agents from the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the U.S. Department of Commerce participated in last week's searches, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorneys office for the Central District of Illinois.

Federal officials searched three Caterpillar locations, including its headquarters in Peoria, Ill. The other two warrants were served at facilities in East Peoria and Morton.

No arrests were made and the company said it was cooperating.
Police are looking for at least two gang members after a stray bullet struck and killed a 55-year-old woman driving her car near a gunfight in Escondido, Calif.

Catherine Kennedy was on her way home from church when she was shot around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

YOUTH PASTOR ARRESTED IN 1994 DISMEMBERMENT OF FLORIDA TEEN

Police say Kennedy was shot in the head by a stray bullet fired by a gang member, causing her to crash into a parked vehicle. Witnesses told police that at least two suspected gang members were shooting at each other as Kennedy drove by.

She was transported to a hospital and died about an hour later.

The suspects involved have not yet been identified and Escondido police were still at the scene of the shooting early Wednesday morning canvassing the area.

Grand Avenue was closed between Rose Street and Midway Drive while officers investigated, and a SigAlert was issued, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Click here to read more from Fox 5.
Billionaire George Soros gave $246 million to groups behind Wednesday's "Day Without a Woman" protest, according to a report by a conservative think tank.

Wednesday is "International Women's Day," and schools in at least four states canceled classes so teachers and staff members could participate in "Day Without a Woman" demonstrations.

While movement organizers say the demonstration is meant to spotlight gender inequality, critics say it is intended to protest President Donald Trump. The strike was created by the same organizers of the historic Womens March on Washington in January, which drew hundreds of thousands in protest of the president.

A report released Wednesday claims that Soros -- whose net worth is $25.2 billion and who champions liberal causes -- gave millions to groups behind the demonstration.

Of the march's 544 partners, 100 groups received funding from Soros that totaled $246 million, according to the conservative Media Research Center. Such groups included Planned Parenthood, the Center for American Progress and People for the American Way (PFAW), the report claims.

"Those donations represent just a fragment of Soros massive global influence," the Media Research Center said on its website. "His Open Society Foundations have given away more than $13 billion to push his globalist, anti-American views."
Less than 24 hours after WikiLeaks published what it described as the entire hacking capacity of the CIA, a federal criminal probe by a specialized FBI unit has begun, Fox News confirmed.

But while tracking down moles is nothing new for the FBI or the CIA, experts are suggesting that this search could prove to be particularly difficult.

The 2010 leak perpetrated by Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning, then known as Bradley Manning, inspired President Obama to create a group dedicated solely to tracking down & catching government leakers. Manning was caught after revealing the extent of her actions to an American hacker, who later testified against her. A short time later, Obama would announce the creation of the National Insider Threat Task Force.

The NITTF was formed "to prevent, deter and detect compromises of classified information by malicious insiders," according to its website. Despite the groups singular focus on this issue, the NITTF was pointing out in a foreboding Tweet earlier this week that "all of the firewalls in the world wont stop an insider who is already on the inside of these firewalls."

The formation of the group also did little to stop NSA leaker Edward Snowden from giving WikiLeaks a trove of documents on government surveillance back in 2013. In Snowden's case, he actually unmasked himself as the leaker, and has been on the run ever since.

FBI Director James Comey didn't address the WikiLeaks dump specifically during remarks he made at a cybersecurity conference at Boston College today. However, he made clear that since Snowden's infamous leak, technology has made the search for criminals of all kinds, cyber or otherwise, much more difficult.

"There's always been a corner of the room where the FBI operates where sophisticated actors were who had access to encryption," Director Comey said. "What's happened to us since Snowden is that more and more of that room has gotten dark as encryption has become the default."

WikiLeaks claims that there are more than 5,000 employees working in the breached unit, the CIAs Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI). And while security experts tell Fox News that number may be "a bit high," others are pointing out that this is the first hack of its kind at the famously clandestine agency.

Gregory Keeley, an expert in the security of digital devices and co-founder of the consulting company Phosphorus, says what we have to understand is the CIAs never been hacked like this before. With 5,000-plus users in that particular unit, how will they track that leak?"

Potentially even more concerning, Keeley added, is the fact that it wasn't just documents and data that was stolen, it was actual software and thats a much bigger deal If you're someone using things like Google Chrome or McAfee anti-virus software on your devices, this hack is potentially the keys to that kingdom. And once the bad guys can access that, it's going to be very difficult to shut that door.
The first 30 board-selected enlisted airmen will begin training to fly the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone, the Air Force announced Wednesday.

The service's inaugural Enlisted Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot Selection Board picked two senior master sergeants, five master sergeants, nine technical sergeants, 14 staff sergeants and five alternates from about 200 active-duty applicants from various job assignments, according to a release.

RELATED: Drone Milestone: More RPA Jobs Than Any Other Pilot Position

"These 30 Airmen join the Enlisted RPA Pilot program along with the 12 other Airmen from the Enlisted Pilot Initial Class, four of whom started training in October 2016," it states. "The Air Force plans for the number of enlisted RPA pilots to grow to 100 within four years."

The selection board met in February to deliberate and choose from 185 active-duty enlisted airmen who made it past an initial qualifying phase of the program. Airmen holding rank from staff sergeant through senior master sergeant and having six years of retainability from course graduation date were considered for the board, the release said. Those considered also had to complete the Air Forces initial flying class II physical examination, plus a pilot qualification test.

Two airmen from the board are expected to begin the Initial Flight Training program at Colorado's Pueblo Memorial Airport by April, Air Force Personnel Center spokesman Mike Dickerson told Military.com last month. Subsequently, two enlisted airmen will be part of each class thereafter throughout this fiscal year and into early next fiscal year, Dickerson said.

RELATED: Enlisted Drone Pilots to Get Same Bonus Pay as Officers: Cody

The Air Force announced in 2015 it would begin training enlisted airmen to operate the unarmed RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft.

The AFPC said in November that 305 active-duty enlisted airmen had been identified to apply for the selection board. The center saw a surge of interest from potential RPA airmen during the application process that began last year, AFPC said at the time. It received more than 800 applicants, compared to a typical 200 applicants.

The Air Force said its next call for nominations for the 2018 enlisted RPA pilot selection board is scheduled for next month, the release said.

RELATED: Two Enlisted Airmen Complete First Solo Flights in Decades

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related Video:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Sandy Springs, Georgia police arrested a man accused of holding eight women against their will.

Kenndric Roberts, 33, faces charges of false imprisonment and human trafficking. A hearing has been set for 11 a.m. on Thursday at the Fulton County Jail.

VIDEO: SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MURDERED TEENS AND 2012 DOUBLE MURDER?

According to police, a woman called 911 Tuesday morning asking for help getting out of a home located in the 100 block of Strauss Lane.

Police released the 911 call Wednesday, which revealed the 20-year-old woman who asked for help wanted to leave the home, but feared her "boss" would kill her. She said during the call that the other women in the home were being forced to dance for money.

Sandy Springs police requested the FBI's assistance in the investigation. Officers and agents ended up rescuing the eight women from the home.

AFTER EXPLOSIVE CASEY ANTHONY INTERVIEW, HER FATHER'S 'HEART HURTS'

Roberts was taken into custody and is being held at the Fulton County Jail.

Police said the women were lured into the home because they were having financial problems, and then they weren't allowed to leave.

The FBI is now looking for more victims, and investigating whether there could be out-of-state ties to what was going on inside the home.

Click here for more news from Fox 5 Atlanta.
Federal lawmakers are investigating how a former Iraqi insurgent fighter was able to lie about his identity and still get through Americas extreme vetting process.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to find out why the terror suspects pending arrest was allegedly spiked just over a week before the election. Trump had run on a tough-on-terror platform and had been critical of President Obamas refugee policy.

When [Joint Terrorism Task Force] and the U.S. Attorneys office for the Western District of Texas sought to prosecute this refugee, the local law enforcement and prosecutors allegedly met resistance from officials within the National Security Divisions Counter Terrorism section in Washington DC, Committee chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a March 6 letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

" ... local law enforcement and prosecutors allegedly met resistance from officials within the National Security Divisions Counter Terrorism section in Washington DC."  Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in letter to DOJ

The resistance allegedly occurred a few weeks before the 2016 election, and local authorities believed the lack of progress in this case was handled inadequately, Johnson wrote.

The suspect is an Iraqi man who had entered the U.S. under a false name. His real name was not released.

Fox News has learned the JTTF confirmed through U.S. Special Forces who encountered the suspect during operations that he claimed to have participated in attacks against American troops as an insurgent.

At some point, the Iraqi entered the U.S. through the refugee program. His activities in the U.S. triggered an investigation by JTTF members, who planned to charge him with visa fraud while they investigated possible further charges.

Sources say the case demonstrates the challenge of vetting people with little documented history in countries where theres no paper trail.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. attorneys office in Western Texas and the Joint Terrorism Task Force refused comment.

U.S. officials said earlier this week that nearly a third of the FBIS 1,000 ongoing domestic terrorism investigations involve those admitted to the U.S. as refugees.

Claude Arnold, a former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, said the refugee program is vulnerable to abuse by terrorists seeking to enter the U.S. to harm Americans.

Refugees are admitted to the U.S. based on the story they tell of persecution, and they are not required to produce identity documentation or other types of documentation, Arnold said. If the person seeking entry is a persecutor, he would have specificity in his story that matches information obtained by U.S. Customs and Immigration Services personnel adjudicating the events.

In the case of terrorists in Iraq, ISIS has taken over whole cities, raising the likelihood of identity theft and document forging, Arnold said.

That creates great potential for an ISIS fighter to assume a false identity and engineer a refugee claim, he added.

Iraq is not included in the most recent travel ban instituted by President Trump because the Iraqi government has assured the U.S. that information will be provided to properly vet refugees.

In the case of Iraq, when we had troops on the ground, we were able to get intelligence on bad actors, Arnold said. Now we rely on the Iraqi government to not only obtain the intelligence, but also to relay it to us.

In perhaps the most glaring example of Iraqi terrorists getting into the U.S, two Iraqi refugees living in Bowling Green, Ky., were convicted in 2013 of plotting to help Al Qaeda. The men were also hit with additional charges after their fingerprints matched ones found on IEDs used in Iraq to kill U.S. soldiers.

Arnold said it is important not to let politics get in the way of security and justice.

Letting the terrorists in to the country through the refugee program can result in citizens and residents being harmed. We cannot afford to make that mistake, Arnold said.
An outspoken New York civil rights lawyer who represented clients ranging from small-time criminals to radicals and was released early from prison three years ago because she was expected to die of cancer has died. Lynne Feltham Stewart was 77.

Her husband, Ralph Poynter, says Stewart died Tuesday in the Brooklyn home where she lived after receiving a "compassionate release" from prison in January 2014.

Stewart was disbarred after she was convicted of helping a terrorist client communicate with followers.

The mother of seven was a schoolteacher in Harlem in the 1960s before launching a legal career that brought her into the public spotlight.

Her clients ranged from crooks to members of the Black Panthers, Weather Underground leaders and a former hit man.

Her most notorious client -- a blind Egyptian sheik convicted in the terror case -- died last month.

Stewart had battled cancer and several strokes.
A Honduran man accused of decapitating his mother in North Carolina was in the United States illegally, federal officials said Tuesday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Bryan Cox told FOX 46 Charlotte that the agency had issued a detainer for the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Oliver Funes.

The suspect's full name was not immediately clear. Cox said Federal records list his name as Oliver Funes Machado. However, local court records listed the suspect's name as Oliver Funes Machada, public defender C. Boyd Sturges III said.

Franklin County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Terry Wright gave the mother's name as Yesenia Beatriz Funez Machado, citing a spelling given to authorities by her 14-year-old son.

Prosecutors allege that the suspect decapitated his mother and then walked out the front door of her house holding her head in his hand while wielding a knife in the other. He was charged with first-degree murder Monday.

WNCN, citing a search warrant application filed Tuesday, reported that the suspect told investigators that he stabbed his mother "like 8 times" and said he killed her "because I felt like it."

District Attorney Mike Waters said officials were seeking a mental evaluation of the suspect. Sturges said he spoke with him for an hour in the Franklin County jail.

"It does appear there's some substantial mental health issues involved in this case," Sturges said. "I'm not a doctor, so I can't really elaborate. He's a pretty profoundly disturbed young man."

Waters said due to the suspect's apparent mental state, "this is something that's going to take weeks and months for us to get some answers as to why this happened."

Waters said the suspect was being transferred to Central Prison in Raleigh. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 14.

Two young girls in the home were not hurt. A fourth child was in school when the attack occurred. Deputies were searching the home hours after the body was discovered.

Neighbor Randy Mullins, who was leaving his house minutes after the first deputy arrived, said he saw the woman's head lying in the front yard about five feet in front of the porch. The deputy appeared to have just handcuffed the suspect and seemed rattled when Mullins approached to ask if he needed help.

"You could see in his face he had a lot of concern. I'm not saying he was scared, but you could tell he was concerned," Mullins said of the deputy. Mullins then went back to his house across the street and told his 91-year-old mother to stay inside. He said a half-dozen more law enforcement vehicles arrived within minutes, and a deputy covered the woman's head.

"I couldn't believe it. Things like that don't happen," said the 59-year-old Mullins, who has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years. "You can't believe somebody would do that. You hear about that, but it never happens across the street from you."

Mullins said the family had moved to the neighborhood sometime around June. He didn't know them well, but he and his mother said they seemed friendly.

"If they were outside, they always waved at you," said Clearsy Mullins.

Randy Mullins said the suspect appeared placid as he sat handcuffed and the deputy was kneeling down to comfort the two younger children.

"He was sitting there like he didn't have a care in the world. He didn't appear to be upset. He didn't appear to be crying."

Click for more from Fox 46 Charlotte.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ITS HARD TO COME TO ANY OTHER CONCLUSION

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Tuesday called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to clarify an answer he gave during his confirmation hearing in January about possible meetings with Russians.

"Its hard to come to any other conclusion that he just perjured himself, Franken said in an interview, recalling the hearing. He answered a question that he asked himself, which is, 'Did I meet with any Russians?' And he answered it falsely. He said no, I hadnt.

Sessions maintains that his answer to a question from Franken was correct.

HANNITY: PHONY OUTRAGE AT SESSIONS FROM ALT-LEFT MEDIA WHO IGNORED LYNCH, OBAMA CONFLICTS

WATCH: FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY SPEAK AT A CYBER SECURITY CONFERENCE AT BOSTON COLLEGE AT 9:15 A.M. ET ON FOXNEWS.COM. FNC's MOLLY LINE REPORTS ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL ON TOPIC AT 9 A.M. ET

KAINE CUFFED

The son of Hillary Clinton's former running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, was one of six arrested Saturday protesting a rally in support of President Trump at the Minnesota State Capitol. Kaine was involved in a skirmish between Trump supporters and counter-protesters, St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said. He was not charged.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price told Fox News' "Hannity" Tuesday night that House Republicans' bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare was the first step of a three-part process to implement the long-promised GOP tonic for the Affordable Care Act's ills.

'HANNITY': PRICE LAYS OUT 3 PHASES

'THE O'REILLY FACTOR': IS THE GOP'S NEW HEALTHCARE BILL GOOD FOR AMERICANS?

FOX NEWS OPINION

DO YOU FEEL A DRAFT? SWEDEN BRINGS BACK MILITARY CONSCRIPTION

Swedens decision to bring back the draft is a timely reminder that the world is an unstable place and that sometimes people must make sacrifices to preserve their way of life.

COMING UP ON FNC

10 a.m. ET: House GOP Leadership holds press conference following closed Conference meeting. Watch live on FoxNews.com

12:30 p.m. ET: House Dems, including Minority Leader Pelosi, hold press event to honor International Women's Day and 'A Day Without a Woman' on Capitol Hill. Watch on FoxNews.com

1:30 p.m. ET: White House press briefing with Sean Spicer. Watch live on Fox News Channel and FoxNews.com

2 p.m. ET: State Dept briefing with Acting Spokesman Mark Toner. Watch live on FoxNews.com

COMING UP ON FOX BUSINESS

ELI LILLY CEO INTERVIEW

6:30 a.m. ET: In a FOX Business exclusive, Eli Lilly President & CEO David Ricks will be a guest on "Mornings with Maria." Ricks is optimistic about President Trumps policies. Hear what he has to say about the GOPs plan for repeal & replacement of Obamacare as well as the debate over drug prices.

WALT DISNEY ANNUAL MEETING

The Walt Disney Company holds its annual meeting today. Investors will be listening for the latest on issues from ESPNs subscriber problems, to how long will CEO Bob Iger stay with the company, as well as anything Star Wars. FOX Business will have all the headlines coming from the meeting.
Many women across the country stayed home from work, zipped up their wallets, wore red and attended rallies in a bid to show their economic strength and impact on society, marking International Women's Day on Wednesday.

"A Day Without a Woman" was the first major action by organizers of the Women's March since their protest the day after President Trump's inauguration. After some activists in New York City aimed to block traffic around Trump International Hotel & Towers, police arrested at least 13 people, The New York Times reported.

When millions of us stood together in January, we saw clearly that our army of love greatly outnumbers that of fear, greed and hatred, the Womens March website read. Lets raise our voices together again, to say that womens rights are human rights, regardless of a womans race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, sexual identity, gender expression, economic status, age or disability.

'A DAY WITHOUT WOMEN': WHO ARE THE WOMEN WHO WON'T BE MARCHING?

In the U.S., spokeswoman Cassady Findlay said organizers for "A Day Without a Woman" were inspired by the recent "Day Without an Immigrant" protests held last month. She said the action was aimed at highlighting how the paid and unpaid work of women keeps households, communities and economies running.

"We provide all this value and keep the system going and receive unequal benefits from it," Findlay said. She added that it was important for white women to be in solidarity with minority women.

FIRST LADY HOSTS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY LUNCHEON

We are not sure what precinct we are being taken to at the moment. But we are together, reSisters. #DayWithoutAWoman pic.twitter.com/r10WBikdl8  Women's March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017

"Throughout history, the strikes that have the biggest impact are the ones when people who are already the target of oppression participate," she said. "It's when women of all backgrounds strike and stand together that we're really going to see the impact."

Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday and asked followers to join him in "honoring the critical role of women" in the U.S. and around the world. He tweeted that he has "tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy."

In New York, organizers planned a gathering in Central Park that brought together hundreds of people sporting red, to signify love and sacrifice.

"We are committed to being out here for as long as it takes." -@faiza_n_ali #DayWithoutAWoman pic.twitter.com/1RjfTog0Lz  Women's March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017

Cheers erupted from the crowd as Faiza N. Ali, an advocate for women and Muslims, said I strike today for equal pay for equal work because our fight is for economic justice.

International Women's Day rallies also were planned in Washington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Milwaukee and Berkeley, California.

Some businesses and institutions have said they would either close or give female employees the day off.

Lovely Monkey Tattoo, a female-owned tattoo parlor in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, offered female-centric tattoos with messages like, "Nevertheless, She Persisted" for $50 to $100, with proceeds going to the Ann Arbor chapter of Planned Parenthood.

According to the U.S. Census, women make up more than 47 percent of the workforce and are dominant in professions including registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists. They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, as well as lawyers and judges. Women also represent 55 percent of all college students.

Still, census data show American women continue to be paid less than men, earning 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A decree passed by Puerto Rico legislators that calls for 40 days of fasting and prayer for the "spiritual, material and social purification" of the population is not getting everybodys blessing.

Several civil rights groups and residents across the island claim it violates the concept of separation of church and state.

The American Civil Liberties Union said it is seeking a federal temporary restraining order, questioning whether public funds are being used in the activities.

During the fasting period participants are invited to attend praying services scheduled every day in all Puerto Ricos 40 districts.

PUERTO RICO'S CRISIS SLASHES RETIREMENT FUNDS, FORCES BIG CHANGES TO PEOPLE'S PLANS

People have been voluntarily meeting at churches daily from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. throughout the island since Feb. 26.

The disputed decree was introduced in February by House of Representatives President Carlos Mendez, who said the island needed divine intervention as it struggles through a decade-long recession.

Asked by reporters about the church and state constitutional mandate, Mendez pointed to the territory's coat of arms. "As far as I know, the shield of Puerto Rico has the lamb that represents Jesus Christ on a Bible. That is our faith," he said.

PUERTO RICO'S NEW CRISIS PLAN INCLUDES CLOSING DOWN 75% OF PUBLIC AGENCIES

At the end of the 40 days, some of which overlap with Lent, a religious ceremony will take place in Congress.

This voluntary act is aimed at uniting us as a people to pray for a better Puerto Rico, said Congressman Eddie Charbonier to El Nuevo Dia. We urge all citizens who so wish, to join us in prayer."

The island has a nearly $70 billion public debt load that it wants to restructure this year.

On Tuesday, Ricardo Rosellos government announced that it is freezing all future tax credits and nearly $2 billion in funds for special assignments to help improve cash flow and balance the budget.

The AP contributed to this report.
President Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that January and February were the strongest consecutive months for hiring since mid-2015, citing a LinkedIn Workforce Report.

The president was referring to the new monthly newsletter the business and employment-oriented social networking service began providing to members last month. This months Workforce Report is just the second ever.

That report underscores how the economy is strengthening under President Trump  and how companies are hiring in growing numbers.

On Wednesday, ADP also released its ADP National Employment Report, which showed that private payrolls grew by 298,000 jobs last month, more than expected by economists, who initially projected a gain of 190,000 jobs.

While the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release its February numbers until the end of the week, the agencys January report cited 227,000 non-farm payroll employment increases, with the majority of those job gains occurring in retail trade, construction and financial activities.

Also, on Tuesday Gallup released its U.S. Economic Confidence Index that showed Americans gained, or regained optimism. The Confidence Index soared to +16, marking the highest weekly average in Gallup's nine-year trend.

But economists warn that while gains are a positive, monthly job reports are often noisy and tend to be over-used." They also said the presidents could have less influence on markets than people think.

The administration should be careful because if you live by temporary numbers, youll die by temporary numbers, Salim Furth, research fellow in macro-economics at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News. Trump and Republicans shouldnt rest on their laurels before they get things done.

President Trump promised throughout his campaign to bring jobs back to the United States. And just two months into his administration, companies seem to be getting on board.

Just this week, Exxon Mobil pledged to spend $20 billion by 2022 to expand its footprint along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which is expected to create more than 45,000 jobs.

This is exactly the kind of investment, economic development and job creation that will help put Americans back to work, Trump said in a statement released by the White House on Monday. Many of the products that will be manufactured here in the United States by American workers will be exported to other countries, improving our balance of trade.

Other companies that have pledged significant job creation since Trump won the election are Amazon, which is planning to create 100,000 new jobs, SoftBank Group, IBM, Walmart, Sprint, OneWeb, Bayer/Mosanto, Intel and a slew of other companies.

Furth attributed this extreme job growth to the anticipation of good policy.

Policy matters, not personality, and Trump hasnt been in office long enough to see real results in slow-moving markets like the job market, Furth said. There is an effect where a policy has an impact before it is enacted because of the anticipation -- but Im looking for policies to have an impact, and go across the finish line -- not just a glitz of the first 100 days.

But Furth said that while he feels the media tends to overplay the impact of politicians, the economy is organic.

This is not just a Trump phenomenon, job numbers come out and this is a perennial, Furth said. Its my job as an economist to say, well, lets not read too much into it.
Marines attached to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit quietly moved into Syria weeks ago to establish an artillery base, defense officials confirmed to Military.com on Wednesday.

The move comes as American-backed forces intensify their assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State's capital city.

The Washington Post first reported Wednesday that Marines attached to the MEU -- which is deployed around the Middle East, conducting training in countries including Oman and Djibouti -- had departed their ships and moved into Syria.

A defense official would not speak to the size of the detachment deployed to Syria, but said it included elements of multiple artillery batteries, as well as support personnel, including infantry Marines. It's the first time American artillery support capability has been on the ground in Syria since the fight against the Islamic State began in 2014.

The Marines are equipped with M777 155mm howitzers, which can fire high-explosive rounds, effective at a range of more than 14 miles, or GPS-guided Excalibur rounds, which have an effective radius of up to 25 miles. They are there to provide capabilities for the commanders of the joint task force leading the ISIS fight and to support the push into Raqqa, the official said.

This is the second time in just over a year that a Marine artillery detachment has been deployed from a MEU in support of the ground fight against ISIS militants. In March 2016, more than 100 Marines departed the 26th MEU to establish Fire Base Bell, an artillery position in northern Iraq set up to provide support as ground troops prosecuted an assault on the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.

On March 19, 2016, one of the Marines, Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin, was killed in a rocket attack on the base that left four other Marines wounded, becoming the first American military casualty in Iraq since 2011. The Marine Corps element would eventually be replaced by an Army battery later in 2016.

The news of the Marine artillery element in Syria comes shortly after Army Stryker combat vehicles were spotted in Northeast Syria. The revelation prompted Air Force Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalition prosecuting the ISIS fight, to confirm via Twitter that American troops had moved near Manbij, about 90 miles northwest of Raqqa.

On Monday, Pentagon officials confirmed that American-backed militia troops in Syria had taken control of a key route out of Raqqa, dealing an important setback to ISIS fighters.

A surge of U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq was one of the options recently presented by the Pentagon to President Donald Trump as a way to accelerate the campaign against ISIS. Trump and Defense Department leadership have yet to indicate what they plan to do.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
A youth pastor in Florida was arrested Tuesday in connection with the murder and dismembering of a 16-year-old boy in 1994, as FBI investigators reportedly scoured through two properties he owned.

Ronnie Leon Hyde, 60, was held without bond on murder charges at the Duval County jail. Crews used a backhoe to dig for evidence at his Jacksonville Beach home, Fox 30 reported.

Here's a picture of the agents raiding this home on 4th Ave and 9th St. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/dCnGuq2qIq  Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynANjax) March 7, 2017

AFTER EXPLOSIVE CASEY ANTHONY INTERVIEW, HER FATHER'S 'HEART HURTS'

In June of 1994, investigators found a man's torso -- without a head, hands or legs -- behind a Lake City gas station. It wasn't until 2015 that DNA tests identified the victim as 16-year-old Fred Laster.

The #FBI released this picture of the dumpster at Columbia County gas station where the teen boy was dismembered. @actionnewsjax pic.twitter.com/8u7IA7KTCL  Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynANjax) March 8, 2017

Laster's family had reported him missing in 1994. His sister told police her brother was last seen with Hyde -- a youth pastor and family friend.

The sister also said she and a sibling had stayed the night at Hyde's home the previous year, WJXT reported.

The investigators laid out boxes of possible evidence on blue tarps in the street outside, Fox 30 added.

BREAKING: Pastor Jack Millwood of Crosswater Community Church gives me statement following arrest of registered counselor Ron Hyde @FCN2go pic.twitter.com/KuHj0IXxlg  Shelby Danielsen (@NewsShelby) March 7, 2017

Hyde is also a mental health counselor, WJXT added. It's unclear if he has an attorney.

Click for more from Fox 30.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The textbooks are titled English for the Islamic State.

Iraqi troops found them at an orphanage when they liberated eastern Mosul in February.

They are unlike other textbooks most people grew up with. The courses in reading, writing and arithmetic are also an introduction to war, jihadism and terrorism.

In the alphabet, B is for battle, G for gun  with a picture of an AK-47.

The letter S is for sniper, with a picture of, presumably, an ISIS fighter aiming his rifle. The letter W, or woman, shows an indiscernible black figure  presumably a burqa-clad female.

And then there are the pictures of AK-47s and bombs used for math exercises.

BIBLICAL KING'S PALACE UNCOVERED BENEATH SHRINE DESTROYED BY ISIS

While many people have seen videos of the so-called cubs of the caliphate executing people by shooting them in the head or cutting their throats, these textbooks illustrate ISIS indoctrination and brainwashing of children from an early age, when they should be watching cartoons instead of executions.

The orphanage where the school books were found was used to groom children to become ISIS child fighters or informants, according to Iraqi military officials.

Ruth Feldman, a child psychologist at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv who has counseled children traumatized by war and terrorism, said the toxic education of these so-called cubs of the caliphate only stokes the distress of living in a harsh environment, making them easy prey.

ISIS MURDERING COPTIC CHRISTIANS ON EGYPT'S SINAI PENINSULA OVER FAITH

This makes their brain very open, very susceptible to propaganda and influence, Feldman told Fox News. So if you read implicit or explicit messages like in these textbooks that someone is responsible for this distress they live in, they will hate that person.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that at least 300 ISIS cubs of the caliphate were killed in the first two weeks of the battle to re-take Mosul. The fighting began in October of last year and continues today.

The NGO Save the Children estimates that more than a million children who have been living under ISIS in Iraq have been either forced out of school or forced to follow the terror groups perverse curriculum  a training course that, in the more advanced levels, trains students how to make suicide bombs and carry out successful beheading techniques.

Those messages in the textbook help them divide the world in two, Feldman said. We are the just one, the right one. They are the enemy, they are wrong, they are hateful and need to be killed. And this is how children grow up on violence and hatred.

John Huddy is a Jerusalem-based foreign correspondent for Fox

News.
A judge agreed Wednesday to a new exhumation of the body of former Argentina President Carlos Menem's son in an effort to determine whether his death in a helicopter crash was an accident or murder.

The lawyer of Menem Jr.s mother, Juan Gabriel Lavake, said

the family is not even certain the remains they buried over two decades ago are his.

Lavake told Clarin newspaper that there is a strong discrepancy between body members exhumed in 1996 and X-rays of Menem performed not long before the crash a year before.

ARGENTINA PROSECUTOR SEEKS APPROVAL TO INVESTIGATE PRESIDENT

"At first the judge wanted to examine only the bone remains of the necropsy performed in the morgue of Buenos Aires. But not all of the remains were there: the bulk went to the casket at the Islamic cemetery of La Tablada, he said.

These remains we are positive belong to Carlitos, the issue

is other parts: The skull, the sternum and the right leg.

Menem Jr. died in a crash over Buenos Aires on March 15, 1995, when he was piloting a Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter. Although it was officially classified as an accident, his mother Zulema Yoma held from the beginning that it was an attack.

Menem Jr. was 26 years old.

ARGENTINE EX-MILITARY CHIEF ARRESTED IN TORTURE, KIDNAP CASE

The controversy was revived eight months after the crash, when Virginia Vallejo, a lover of the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, said in an interview that Menems death was related to his role in laundering drug money.

In May 2016 former President Carlos Menem said in testimony before a judge that late former Foreign Minister Guido Di Tella had told him the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah killed his son.

And Yoma, the motger, saidonce that former President Cristina Fernandez de Kircher told her on one occasion that her son had been the target of an attack.

The inquiry is to begin in April, according to Labake, who said the whole process should be concluded by July.

EFE contributed to this report.
At least 22 teens were found dead Wednesday in an orphanage in Guatemala after someone apparently set fire to mattresses in the girls' quarters on the rural campus.

Virgen de Asuncion, an overcroweded, state-run shelter, houses children up to age 18 who are referred there mostly for cases of domestic violence. It is located on the outskirts of Guatemalas capital city in San Jose Pinula.

Distraught parents scribbled their children's names on pieces of paper to pass to shelter staff begging for information.

Authorities worked to identify victims, but said DNA tests might be necessary for some of the remains.

"I saw the smoke in the place. It smelled like flesh," a 15-year-old girl who was being treated for minor injuries at one hospital said.

Piedad Estrada, a street vendor, arrived at the hospital with a photograph of her 16-year-old daughter. She said the teen was pregnant and had been at the shelter for nine days because she ran away from home.

Estrada searched hospitals and the morgue, but got no information.

"They only took her from me to burn her," Estrada said. "I blame the state for what has happened."

The fire followed a 15-hour riot in which hundreds protested their living conditions and demanded to be transferred, according to Guatemalan papers.

The orphanage has been criticized for overcrowding, alleged abuse and escapes in the past. The building at the time of the fire housed at least 800, despite having a capacity for 500.

Hours after the fire, the government in a statement expressed its condolences to the victims' families and promised a thorough investigation.

Jorge de Leon, Guatemala's human rights prosecutor, said in a statement that at least 102 children had been located after escaping from the shelter and more had managed to flee. De Leon said younger children fled the shelter because they were being abused by the elder children.

"According to what they say, the bigger kids have control and they attack them constantly," de Leon wrote. "They also complain that food is scarce and of poor quality."

He called on authorities "to evaluate whether it is appropriate to have these different groups concentrated in one place."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A progressive initiative in Mexico City is giving U.S. deportees the opportunity to obtain English language and teaching qualifications, in an effort to help them rebuild their lives following ejection from their American homes.

An entirely free program, the joint effort between the citys government and citizens council, offers a four to six week teacher training course, culminating in an official TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) exam, after which successful candidates will be qualified to teach in Mexican schools.

We have a massive influx of deportees to this country, a pool of talent that is almost entirely ignored by the Mexican authorities, said Luis Wertman, the president of the Mexico City Citizens Council, which brought the idea to fruition. Yet we have a deficit of over 80,000 qualified English teachers in Mexico, and these people are perfect candidates to fill posts we desperately need.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SIGNAL THEY WOULD PREFER DETENTION OVER DEPORTATION

The programs first course begins on Saturday, and although it has capacity for 100 trainee teachers, so far only 25 spaces on the class have been filled. The Citizens Council has been spreading the word of its strategy through advice kiosks at the citys airport and four major bus terminals, as well as its citizens hotline, but has struggled to convince potential candidates of its benefits.

It seems to be a win-win situation and we are trying to get the word out, said Wertman, but unfortunately deportees are not a community who are very trusting of the government.

Mexico City currently receives three flights of deportees from the United States a week, an average of 350 arrivals, 10 percent of whom choose to remain in the capital. Those who make up this 10 percent are generally young men to whom Mexico is a foreign country, with little cultural or family connections having been taken to the U.S. as young children. Finding themselves alone, without official documentation and spurned by the citys residents, many end up homeless.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT DEFENDED IN PHOENIX PROTESTS IS DEPORTED TO MEXICO

The deportees live extremely difficult lives, said Marco Castillo, the founder of IIPSOCULTA, a humanitarian organization that works, among many other projects, to improve the lives of U.S. deportees in Mexico.

This city is very intense, competitive, angry and expensive. For someone who has been through the psychological stress of deportation from a country they call home, it can be too much.

Jesus Navarro left his home state of Nayarit with his parents at the age of three, and grew up in California. After being deported two years ago, he said his arrival in Mexico City was a very difficult time.

I barely spoke Spanish, and no one here was interested in knowing a chicano (a slang term for Mexican-Americans), he told Fox News outside the Teletech call center in downtown Mexico City, where he and many other deportees have found work. I was torn away from my family and friends, it was a very depressing time.

Tomas Perez, who grew up in Chicago, had a similar experience when he was deported 12 years ago. Now a butcher in a quiet neighborhood of the capital, he said this new program for deportees would have been welcome when he first arrived.

I had no papers, no one would even give me a job sweeping a floor, he told Fox News. Its good that this initiative will help deportees, but its not much good to me. After so long living here Ive completely lost my English.

While many deportees find work in call centers where their English fluency can be put to use, the pay is rarely more than the $4.30 daily minimum wage, as employers take advantage of the deportees legal limbo status.

Wertman said the English teacher training program aims to show respect to its candidates, and offer them an opportunity at building a sense of self-esteem that is rarely afforded to deportees.

We refer to them as Returning Mexicans, not deportees, as we want them to think of themselves as belonging to this country, he told Fox News. Not only do we aim to train a new generation of English teachers who can benefit Mexican society, but we will offer our participants all the legal help they need to get their Mexican paperwork in order.

Despite his optimism, the Citizens Council president nevertheless feels concerned about the threats of mass deportation by the Trump administration.

So far we havent seen an increase in deportees arriving in Mexico City, he said, but we are employing a popular Mexican saying: we are prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best.

As the news spreads of the government initiative, the Citizens Council hopes to include the deportees in the future.

As a society we feel to a certain extent that we have failed these Returning Mexicans, he told Fox News. They left this country to seek a life elsewhere for a reason, and when they return they can feel rejected and without identity or value.

But solidarity is a Mexican value, he said with a benevolent smile, and we have to extend that to all members of our society.
Shocking footage of a brazen sex-attack at The University of Sydney has been released by New South Wales Police despite initial attempts by the University not to have it made public.

CLICK TO SEE THE VIDEO FROM NEWS.COM.AU

Obtained through a Freedom Of Information request by Channel 7 News, the CCTV footage captures a man as he trails a young woman through a University of Sydney carpark, before allegedly attacking her in broad daylight.

The disturbing footage, recorded in 2014, captures the exact moment that the offender grabs the young woman, covering her mouth with his hand as he forces her between two parked cars, allegedly attempting to sexually assault her.

NORTH KOREA COULD HALT NUKE PROGRAM IF SOUTH KOREA, PENTAGON STOP MILITARY DRILLS, CHINA CLAIMS

According to the police report, the victim yelled at the top of her lungs for help and used her free right arm to fight back against her assailant, eventually shaking her body free from his grip.

CCTV cameras continued recording as the offender then fled from the scene, while the victim ran for help.

Police arrived at The University of Sydney a short time later, but the offender could not be identified and is still yet to be apprehended.

VIDEO: PENTAGON WAGING SECRET EFFORT AGAINST NORTH KOREA MISSILE PROGRAM

Police notes obtained by Channel 7 News state that the footage provides [an] excellent shot of the [Person of Interests] face, suitable for identification . It would have a strong appeal to television news networks.

However when Channel 7 News requested access to police records which included the footage, The University of Sydney objected to the release.

This man has not been caught. He poses a direct risk to the public. One would think that the university would do everything in their power to help apprehend him said Alison Sandy, who is Channel 7s FOI editor.

The University of Sydney was contacted by news.com.au for comment but had not replied by the time of publication.

Click for more from news.com.au
Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested two Christians  a mother and her son  in late February as part of a brutal crackdown on Catholicism in the countrys West Azerbaijan Province.

The familys bibles and literature on Christian theology were also seized during the draconian raid, according to a March 5 report on the website of the Iranian Christian News Agency, Mohabat.

The arrest of two newly Christian converts  Anousheh Rezabakhsh and Soheil Zargarzadeh (mother and son, respectively)  in Urmia, a northern city in Iran, is very sad and concerning, especially as they both are dealing with health issues. Its been more than two weeks that Iranian authorities have not provided any news on them, Eliot Assoudeh, an Iranian-American academic at University of Nevada, told Fox News on Wednesday.

He said Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in Iran, and many Christian converts have to risk their lives attending underground churches."

UNDERGROUND CHURCH MOVEMENT GROWS IN IRAN DESPITE REGIME'S EFFORTS

Assoudeh, who recently presented an article on The Islamic Republic of Iran: Between Theocracy and Clerical Fascism, said the U.S. should do more to protect Christians across the world who are under attack.

The United States, its Western allies, and the international human rights organizations should show their concern, call on the Islamic Republic authorities and demand the immediate release of these two Christians, he said.

The IRGC forced Rezabakhsh and Zargarzadeh, a psychology student, from their home and took them to an undisclosed detention facility. The Mohabat wrote that religious minorities arrested in Urmia are normally detained in the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence building.

Urmiaa city of nearly 700,000is famous for housing the Cathedral of St. Mary, the Mother of God whose origin dates back to the 16th century.

Julie Lenarz, the executive director of the London-based Human Security Centre, told FoxNews.com that many Christians are convicted in sham trials and linger in jail for years as prisoners of conscience. They face harassment, torture or even execution.

She said these groups are specifically targeting converts.

Leaving Islam or converting to another religion is punishable by death in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Lenarz said.

A recent report by Open Door USAan organization that tracks the persecution of Christiansranked Iran as the eighth worst country for Christians.

In December, 19 human rights organization called on international communities to protect the rights of Christians in Iran.

IRAN'S SECRET CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT GROWS, WITH HELP FROM ABROAD

Iran ramped up its persecution of Christians in 2016. In the past year, at least 79 Iranian Christians have been arrested.

In Irans post-1979 Revolution, unfortunately, we are dealing with an ideological system based on supremacy of a Shia culture, which has shown hostility towards ethnic and religious minorities, Assoudeh said.

Irans UN diplomatic missions in New York and Geneva did not immediately return phone calls from Fox News seeking comment.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is slated to run for reelection in May. Critics say he has hoodwinked the West by depicting himself as a reformer when he is, in fact, a hardliner.

The Islamic Republic is master of spectacle politics to gain international legitimacy, Assoudeh said. Last December, in a theatrical ceremony President Hassan Rouhani signed Charter on Citizens Right, in which there is no indication of rights for citizens to practice their chosen faith.

"He said the Islamic Republic's ideology facilitates a "license to hate" to a "license to kill."

'Look at the mass persecution of religious minorities, including Bahai people in Iran, he said.

The 125,000-member IRGC has a long record of violently repressing Christians and democracy movements opposed to the mullah-regime. The long arm of the IRGC played a key role in the murder of 19 U.S. military members in the1996 Khobar Tower bombing in Saudi Arabia.

The IRGC also plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. in Washington in a high-end Georgetown restaurant in 2011. In 2013, Mannsor Arbabsiar pleaded guilty for his role as the assassin hired to bomb ambassador Adel al-Jubeir. He was sentenced to a 25-year prison term.

President Donald Trumps administration is deliberating over a proposal to classify the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

A spokesman for Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Illinois, said the congressman is pushing to classify the Iranian force as a terror group and supports other sanctions against the Islamic republic as well.

"He believes we should strengthen sanctions against Iran for their support of terrorism, illegal ballistic missile program, and human right record," the spokesman said.

The U.S. Treasury designated the IRGCs Qods Forcean elite commando groupa terrorist entity in 2007.

Individuals responsible for the persecution and murder of minorities should be held accountable through targeted sanctions by denying them entry into the U.S., Lenarz said, and freezing their assets under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010.
Kim Jong Nam's son appeared to break his silence Tuesday in a video posted to YouTube, giving some of the first clues about the whereabouts of the victim's immediate family after the murder last month.

Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's half-brother, had three children with two women living in Beijing and Macau. In the video, a man claiming to be his son Kim Han Sol said he, his mother and his sister were safe.

NORTH KOREA COULD HALT NUKE PROGRAM IF SOUTH KOREA, PENTAGON STOP MILITARY DRILLS, CHINA CLAIMS

"My father has been killed a few days ago," the man said in English in the 40-second clip. "I'm currently with my mother and my sister. ... We hope this gets better soon."

Malaysian authorities have charged two women -- one Indonesian, one Vietnamese -- with murder for allegedly swiping Kim Jong Nam's face with VX nerve agent as he waited at a Kuala Lumpur airport for a flight home to Macau on Feb. 13. He was dead within 20 minutes.

Malaysia has sought seven North Korean suspects, including an embassy official. The investigation has infuriated North Korea, which has dismissed the inquiry as politically motivated.

VIDEO: PENTAGON WAGING SECRET EFFORT AGAINST NORTH KOREA MISSILE PROGRAM

The man in the video didn't talk about his family's whereabouts or how they were being protected. The clip appeared on the YouTube channel of Cheollima Civil Defense, which described itself as a group helping North Korean defectors.

The group said on its website that it responded to an "emergency request" by three members of Kim Jong Nam's family and relocated them. The group expressed gratitude to the Netherlands, China, the United States and a "fourth government to remain unnamed" for providing assistance in protecting the three, Sky News reported.

The audio was cut during part of the clip, and information was blacked out on a passport the man held to the camera.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's prime minister said Wednesday that relatives of Kim Jong Nam may be too scared to help police investigating his mysterious poisoning death. Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke a day after a stunning diplomatic breakdown involving the investigation into Kim Jong Nam's killing, with North Korea barring Malaysians from leaving its territory and Malaysia responding in kind.

While on Tuesday he denounced North Korea for "effectively holding our citizens hostage," Najib said Wednesday that his country still wanted to negotiate.

"You must appreciate -- I know you're hungry for news -- but you must appreciate that this is a sensitive matter and that sometimes it's best conducted in secrecy so that we can achieve the desired result," Najib told reporters. He said Malaysians in North Korea are going about their lives normally, and he was not worried about their safety.

Najib also said investigators were still trying to get DNA samples from Kim's immediate family to formally identify his body. "Maybe they are scared to come forward," he added.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said it had no knowledge of the Cheollima group, but an official at South Korea's National Intelligence Service said the NIS had determined that the man in the video is Kim Han Sol. The public affairs official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules, didn't explain how his agency confirmed the man's identity.

The Transcription Analysis Laboratory, a private voice analysis institute in Seoul, analyzed the video and an interview Kim Han Sol gave to Finnish television in 2012 and said there was a "high probability" the two clips were of the same speaker.

Malaysian investigators said the two women who poisoned Kim Jong Nam were recruited by a team of North Koreans. North Korea has denied any responsibility and accused Malaysia of being swayed by the North's enemies.

Officials in Kuala Lumpur say there are 11 Malaysians currently in North Korea: three working at the embassy, two U.N. employees and six family members. About 1,000 North Koreans are believed to be in Malaysia, until recently one of the few countries where North Koreans could travel without a visa.

Four of the North Korean suspects being sought by Malaysia are believed to have left the country the day Kim Jong Nam was killed. Police say the remaining three suspects, including a North Korean diplomat, are believed to be in hiding at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, a hulking concrete mansion behind a wall streaked with water stains.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from Sky News.
A detachment of U.S Marines arrived in Syria outside the ISIS de-facto capital of Raqqa, a U.S. defense official confirmed Wednesday to Fox News.

The Pentagon is not publically confirming the move, citing operational security.

The recent deployment is expected to be discussed Thursday when the head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Joe Votel, the top U.S. general responsible for American forces in the Middle East, appears before Congress to testify on the ISIS fight.

Votel had hinted that more troops would be headed to Syria along with artillary when he spoke to reporters while traveling in the region late last month.

The U.S. is authorized to have up to 500 troops in Syria. Before the Marines arrived, roughly 300 U.S. special operations personnel were supporting local Syrian forces there.

In addition, the U.S. is preparing to send hundreds of U.S. troops to Kuwait in order to be ready to join the Islamic State fight if they are needed, the official said. The number would be fewer than 1,000, the official said.

The Washington Post was first to report on the deployment of Marines.

Separate defense officials told the newspaper the group of Marines are working to establish an outpost from which they can fire artillery guns in support of the fight to take back Raqqa from ISIS.

Pentagon leaders sent a new plan to defeat ISIS to the White House late last month. It outlined a strategy that would likely increase the number of U.S. troops in Syria in order to better advise and enable the U.S.-backed Syrian fighters who will take on the battle for Raqqa.

U.S. officials say the battle for Raqqa will look much like the fight in neighboring Iraq, where local forces are in a fierce battle to retake the northern city of Mosul from ISIS. As troops were preparing to move into Mosul, the U.S. set up bases outside the city to use as logistical hubs and as locations for heavy artillery.

The moves to pre-position U.S. troops closer to the fight, so they can be tapped as needed, are the kinds of decisions that military commanders say they need to be able to make more quickly, without going to the White House every time for approval.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cops have launched a manhunt for Michael Smith after he left the high security Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn, Northern Ireland on Tuesday, where he was being held.

He is charged with the murder of Stephen Carson, who was shot dead in his Belfast, Ireland home in front of his nine-year-old son and partner in February 2015.

NATIONAL MANHUNT ENDS FOR SUSPECTED MURDERER

Police have described him as dangerous with an extensive history of violence.

He had previously applied for High Court bail which was rejected following police objections.

PSNI Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes said, Michael Smith, who is deemed as dangerous, was last seen in the Belfast area at 2 pm on Tuesday March 7.

He has an extensive history of violence and I would urge the public not to approach him, but contact police immediately.

This story first appeared in The Sun.
Israel's parliament this week approved a bill that would bar foreign activists who call for economic, cultural or academic boycotts of either Israel or the Jewish settlements in the West Bank -- a move that drew comparisons to President Trump's "extreme vetting."

If the law takes effect, it would set up a blacklist in border inspection computers, and anyone appearing on it would be stopped at Ben Gurion Airport. It read: "No visa and residency permit of any type will be given to a person who is not an Israeli citizen or does not have a permit for permanent residency in the State of Israel if he, [or] the organization or entity for which he works, has knowingly issued a public call to impose a boycott on the State of Israel, as defined in the Preventing Harm to the State of Israel through Boycott Law, 5771-2011, or has committed to participate in such a boycott."

HAWAII SUES TO BLOCK TRUMP'S REVISED TRAVEL BAN

The legislation passed its third and final reading in the Knesset on Monday, with 46 lawmakers voting in favor and 28 opposing it.

Roy Folkman, who sponsored the bill, said the legislation was necessary in order to protect Israels "name and honor." Bezalel Smotrich, who helped spearhead the bill, said it showed that Israel "wont turn the other cheek" and that it was a "natural" step for any country to take.

ISIS MURDERING COPTIC CHRISTIANS ON EGYPT'S SINAI PENINSULA OVER FAITH

While it has received a wide support in the right wing of the Israeli political arena, it drew strong criticism both within Israel and abroad.

Former justice and foreign minister Tzipi Livini called the law a "foolish move which harms Israel and strengthens the boycotters." She added that the law will not deter Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activists, since whoever wants to boycott Israel could continue to do so from outside of the country.

Omar Baraghouti, Palestinian human right activist, and the founder of the BDS movement, pledged to continue his fight against Israel by saying the law further delegitimizes Israel itself. "The non violent, inclusive, and clearly effective Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is more than ever as an integral part of the rising global resistance to the far-right, in DC, Tel Aviv, and many cities in between. Isolated, we fail. United, we prevail."

Analysts have pointed out that although the bill appears more limited in scope than the proposed U.S. travel ban, it's not clear exactly what would constitute a "public call to impose a boycott."

The law would not have much of an impact on entry into Israel proper, but rather will mostly affect those trying to enter the West Bank. Because Israel controls every point of entry into areas under Palestinian control in the West Bank, Palestinians cannot leave or come back without a permit. With the passage of the law, they may no longer be allowed to have visitors.

An op-ed for the Israeli Newspaper Haaretz claimed the law, together with enforcement of the Anti-Boycott Law, which applies to Israeli citizens, would turn Israel into a model of McCarthyism.

The bill allows for exceptions to be made by the interior ministry, but it was unclear whether foreign politicians, academics and journalists would be turned away at the border.

The revised U.S. travel ban seeks to ease concerns about violating the due process rights of travelers from six predominantly Muslim nations. It temporarily bars new visas for citizens of Somalia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen and suspends the U.S. refugee program for 120 days. Iraq was dropped from the list of countries.

Trump officials said their goal was the same: to keep would-be terrorists out of the United States while the government reviews how refugees and visa applicants from certain parts of the world have been vetted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An American Mixed Martial Arts instructor who was jailed for four years last week for having sex with two teenage girls in Singapore will not face stronger penalties, according to the country's public prosecutor.

Joshua Robinson, 39, was jailed for having sex with two teenage girls and recording the acts on video. Authorities also seized thousands of illegal pornographic films from his apartment, including 321 featuring children, which was the largest such haul ever in Singapore -- a country known both for its low crime rate and tough punishments that can include caning.

FLORIDA MAN BEAT, RAPED WOMAN FOR TWO WEEKS FOR LOSING PURSE, POLICE SAY

Citizens launched a petition that has garnered 27,000 signatures calling the sentence "absolutely intolerable".

For each charge of having sex with a minor, Robinson could have been jailed in Singapore for up to 10 years and fined, the BBC reported.

On Wednesday, Singapore's public prosecution team said it would not be appealing for a harsher sentence, noting that the two 15-year-old victims had "consented to the sexual acts."

UBER DRIVER ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES OF RAPING VIRGINIA PASSENGER

The court heard that he had met one of the teenagers on a dating app in early 2015. After exchanging messages, they met up in person and he brought her back to his apartment where he recorded them having sex.

Unaware of the video, the girl then told her parents about the assault and they informed the police.

A police raid uncovered thousands of obscene movies as well as a folder of saved films, including one of him engaging in sexual intercourse with another 15-year-old girl.

He pleaded guilty to nine charges, including three counts of having sex with a minor under 16 and one for showing an obscene film to a six-year-old girl, which he did while out on bail.

Public anger erupted in the media and online over what opponents called a very light sentence.

"This is totally absurd," Michael Liew Khong of Singapore wrote in a comment on state broadcaster Channel NewsAsia's Facebook page. "A four year sentence for a paedophile? What kind of laws do we have here? It's never about the nationality but the seriousness of the crime."

In its statement on Wednesday, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) acknowledged public concerns but said the four-year sentence was "in line with relevant sentencing precedents" and that by pleading guilty, the victims had been spared having to testify.

Click for more from the BBC.
In the increasing welter of warfare in northern Syria, one of the biggest U.S.-based humanitarian organizations operating in the area has become collateral damage, at least temporarilyand perhaps a sign of worsening relations between the government of Turkey and the Trump Administration.

Mercy Corps, based in Portland, Ore., and one of the biggest non-government relief organizations in the world, was abruptly told on March 7 to shut down all its operations in Turkey, which are overwhelmingly aimed at providing cross-border aid to hundreds of thousands of refugees in neighboring northern Syria. The shutdown affects some 300 relief workers. Expatriates among them would have to leave the country and local workers would be laid off.

Our hearts are broken by this turn of events, which comes after five years of cooperation with the government of Turkey and other local partners, the relief organization said in a press release. It added that its operations inside neighboring Syria will continue, presumably sourced from elsewhere. The organization was given no reason for its eviction.

There were no indications that other humanitarian organizations were affected by the sudden Turkish diktat. Turkeys foreign ministry had issued no formal statements about the decision. Reuters, however, said that a Turkish government official called the decision technical and said that Mercy Corps had failed to meet some unspecified documentation requirements.

Nonetheless, Mercy Corps was proceeding with a wind-down plan. Said Christine Brigale,a spokesperson for Mercy Corps, We are deeply committed to continue working in Turkey and to do what we can to resolve this issue and strengthen our partnership.

A United Nations spokesperson in New York responded to queries from Fox News by underscoring that the U.N. and partners and continue to receive strong support from the Government in Turkey in implementing the critical cross-border operation from Turkey to save lives in Syria  including through Turkish NGOs and the Turkish Red Crescent which have also been instrumental in the humanitarian response inside Syria.

The spokesperson pointedly noted that we look to the continuation of  and indeed strengthening of  Turkish support for cross-border assistance in 2017. The U.N. continues to work closely with the Government of Turkey in this regard, he said.

Mercy Corps was providing food, medical and other aid to between 350,000 and 500,000 Syrian refugees per month on the other side of the Turkish-Syrian border. It had also recently begun providing additional relief to Syrians and some Turks within Turkey itself, reaching 100,000 people there last year, according to its press release.

Many of those relief efforts were based out of the nearby southern Turkish center of Gazientep, which has become a relief hub for humanitarian organizations attempting to provide relief in northern Syria. (U.N. humanitarian operations, which work in Syria in cooperation with the regime of Bashar al-Assad, are centered in the Assads capital of Damascus.)

We continue to seek a dialogue with Turkish authorities in an effort to obtain permission to resume our operations in Turkey as soon as possible, Mercy Corps said. We remain hopeful that the government of Turkey will allow us to return to serve those in critical need.

For its part, the U.S. State Department reacted cautiously. We are aware of the situation and are in contact with Mercy Corps, both in Turkey and in the United States, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. We have informed the government of Turkey of our concerns regarding Mercy Corps closure and the impact it will have on their ability to provide critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations.

The increasingly authoritarian and thin-skinned government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was presumably well aware already of that impact, in what has become a fragmented and increasingly tense vortex of conflict.

Indeed, Erdogans government may well have been making a different point by sidelining one of the most important U.S.-based institutions in the explosive regionjust as the U.S. itself has been increasingly sidelined in the diplomatic conversation now ongoing among Russia, Turkey and the Assad regime about how to end Syrias brutal civil war.

On March 4, Turkeys foreign ministry issued an angry denunciation of the State Departments most recently published annual human rights report, issued a day earlier, saying that the parts on Turkey comprise unacceptable allegations, misrepresentations and interpretations that do not reflect reality, at a time when we are faced with unprecedented threats of terrorism posed against the survival of our nation and state.

The State Department report took note of a wide variety of alleged human rights violations by Turkey in the wake of abortive July 15 military coup against the Erdogan government, after which it dramatically tightened its grip on power.

The State Department document recounted many more accusations from human rights organizations of government human rights violations tied to the refugee flow from Syrias civil war, and also in confronting the insurrectionist Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), and groups affiliated with it, in south-eastern Turkey.

(The Kurdish minority population in the region also spills over into Syria, and Kurdish fighters have been among the proxy forces backed by the U.S. both in fighting extremist forces of ISIS and in opposing the virulent Assad dictatorship.)

The Turkish foreign ministry statement made pointed reference to our unprecedented effortstowards a total of 3.2 million refugees most of them Syrians, now living on the Turkish side of the Syrian border, whose presence is a huge burdenand also a demographic threat to neighboring countries and to Europe, if they should ever move elsewhere.

The foreign ministry also charged that the State Department report falls short of acknowledging the necessity of measures taken in order to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of our citizens, a reference the July 15 coup, and to the alleged role in the coup of a dissident group that the Erdogan government has labelled as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO. Erdogans government has embarked on a campaign to shut down the dissident organizations offices around the world.

The governments riposte to the State Department noted that dissident leader Muhammed Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogen supporter, lives in the U.S. The U.S. government has so far refused Turkish demands for his extradition as an alleged terrorist, citing lack of proof.

On March 7, the same days as the Mercy Corps expulsion, Turkish government prosecutors handed down indictments against 211 alleged coup plotters. According to Turkish news agency report, the abortive effort was described in prosecution documents as an attempt to overthrow the democratic constitutional order by treasonous FETO members with 35 planes, 37 helicopters, 246 armored vehicles and around 4,000 light weapons.

All of that high drama came on the same day that much lower-key but important talks involving, among others, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joe Dunford, were also taking place in Turkey about virtually nose-to-nose engagements now taking place in northern Syria among an explosive patchwork of military and paramilitary groups.

Among them: Assad regime forces and militia groups backed by Assad, Iran and Russia, sometimes with Russian air support overhead; fanatical ISIS militia; anti-ISIS and al-Qaeda forces that also have U.S. backing and include Kurdish elements; and perhaps others.

The forces arrayed against ISIS have been gaining ground, even as Russian-backed Assad forces have been stepping up brutal attacks against opponents, including civilians, in other parts of the country.

One of the hopes of U.S. military planners is that the anti-ISIS forces will soon be able to take the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, which the jihadist organization has declared as its Syrian capital. But in the process, Turkish military forces have also moved across the Syrian border to push out extremists and try to create a sanitary cordon along their frontier.

The upshot is that extremists, opposition militias and pro-government Syrian forces with Russian backing, Turkish forces and small numbers of U.S. support personnel have, in the phrase of U.S. Army Lt. General Steven Townsend during a March 1 briefing, converged literally within hand-grenade range of one another.

The role of Dunford and his Russian and Turkish military counterparts is to improve their mutual communication and tamp down the possibility that the increasingly congested and chaotic military action will turn into something much worse.

George Russell is Editor-at-Large of Fox News. He is reachable on Twitter at @GeorgeRussell and on Facebook at Facebook.com/George.Russell
Russos Restaurants Targets Us And Middle East Markets For Growth

Company Expects Double-Digit Expansion Through Franchise Agreements

March 08, 2017 // Franchising.com // HOUSTON - Russos Restaurants, the chef-driven parent company of Russos New York Pizzeria and Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, will expand throughout the U.S. and Middle East over the next 10 years with an aggressive multi-unit franchise growth strategy.

Russos Restaurants, founded by Chef Anthony Russo, focuses on authentic, hand-tossed New York-style pizzas and Italian pastas, soups and salads made with family recipes and ingredients like house-made mozzarella, imported artisanal Sicilian olive oil, cheeses from Italy and hand-crushed pear tomatoes from California. Russos customizes each menu and recipe to fit local trade areas, both domestically and internationally.

Russos concepts appeal to franchisees nationally and internationally because the food quality  our recipes, our sourcing, our authenticity  speaks to the way people the world over want to eat today, said Russo. We are growing because the appetite for our style of food is increasing with the trend for clean eating, and weve been doing it for 25 years with proven success.

With an AUV of 1.2M, an average food cost of 22 percent and a flexible design-build prototype concept for franchisees at an average investment of $550,000, the restaurant concepts have attracted both international and national franchisee interest. Russos has more than 50 new restaurants in development in the U.S. and abroad.

The company recently opened its first Russos New York Pizzeria in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with franchisee Abdulrahman Al Arifi, who plans to open up to 60 more in the next 10 years. Recent U.S. franchise agreements will bring more than 25 new restaurants to Houston, Texas and Florida.

Russos is also targeting new domestic markets such as Maryland/Washington, D.C., and Hawaii and expansion markets throughout Florida and Texas. International plans include new markets like Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt.

For more information on Russos Restaurants, Russos New York Pizzeria and Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, go to www.nypizzeria.com.

About Russos Restaurants

Founded by Chef Anthony Russo, the Houston-based restaurant company was built on Russo family recipes and a passion for fresh, authentic handmade pizzas and Italian dishes created from the finest imported and house-made ingredients. The first Russos New York Pizzeria opened in Houston to rave reviews in 1992, and the concept was franchised two years later. In 2008, Russo added sibling concept Russos Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, offering a more in-depth Italian menu prepared in authentic coal-fired ovens. Russos Restaurants has nearly 50 company-owned and franchised restaurants in the U.S. and the Middle East. Each Russos location offers dine-in, take-out, delivery and catering. For menu, location and franchising information go to www.nypizzeria.com or connect on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Media Contact:

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kerrie@spmcommunications.com

817-329-3257

Carson Cline

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817-329-3257

SOURCE Russos Restaurants

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New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone.
With a white bow in her fine blond hair, Edith Fuller, 5, walked up to the microphone, letting out a deep breath before receiving her 37th word. After more than four hours of competing against children almost three times her age, she had advanced to the final round at the Scripps Green Country Regional Spelling Bee in Tulsa.

"Juh-nah-nuh," emphasis on the second syllable, was the pronunciation of the word the announcer gave her.

"Juh-nah-nuh," she replied. "Will you please give me the language of origin?" Edith asked, with the quiet but confident voice of someone far beyond her years.

It's "a Sanskrit word," the voice on the microphone said. Edith raised her eyebrows, asking for the definition.

"Knowledge, used in Hinduism."

"Juh-nah-nuh," Edith repeated. "J-N-A-N-A. Jnana."

Edith just barely let out a smile as the announcer declared her the champion. The 5-year-old beat about 50 other contestants from across eastern Oklahoma at Saturday night's regional competition, becoming the youngest person to ever qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., Scripps confirmed.

The miniature spelling master has become an Internet celebrity, impressing people with her ability to crack words that would stump most adults, such as Panglossian, Baedeker, nisei, and Croesus. She will take an expenses-paid trip to compete in the event scheduled for May 30 through June 1 in Washington, D.C. The National Spelling Bee is open to contestants who haven't passed the eighth grade, and there is no minimum age to compete.

Last year's youngest contestant was 6-year-old Akash Vukoti from San Angelo, Texas, who lost after misspelling the word "bacteriolytic" in the early rounds. Before even competing in the national bee, he became a YouTube star and earned guest spots on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and Steve Harvey's "Little Big Shots." He lost at his regional bee in Texas last week and won't be back to Washington this year.

Like Akash, Edith is home-schooled, her parents said in an interview with local television station KJRH.

"We have the freedom to answer her questions, to help her advance at her own pace," her father said.

Her family first discovered Edith's skill in spelling last summer, as they sat around the table for dinner one night. The parents were quizzing her on spelling, and asked her to spell "restaurant," a word she hadn't been taught. She nailed it.

"She is very bright," Annie Fuller told KJRH. "We were amazed to find that she really has a knack for spelling and can remember words that she's seen or heard very easily."

She then showed Edith a video of a spelling bee on YouTube, and Edith was intrigued.

"We knew there was something special there," Fuller told the Tulsa World.

"It's fun to share her with everyone," she added. "I knew she'd be a novelty, so I'm proud she held her own."

To practice, Edith said, "Mommy asked me words, and each time I would misspell one, I would look at it."

Her mother said that learning new words not only prepared her for the contest, but exposed her to foreign cultures and exotic food.

While she has a great deal of practicing to do before traveling to Washington, Edith said she plans to make time for fun, too. "Maybe like play outside or play piano, maybe study animals," she said.

Throughout Saturday night's competition, Edith maintained a quiet, serious composure, occasionally playing with the laminated number sign around her neck and swirling side to side in her long, flowery skirt.

"She likes to move around," her mother said. "I'm surprised she sat still for so long."

Closing her eyes in concentration, and occasionally scrunching up her nose or eyebrows, she correctly spelled word after word. Then she returned to her chair, giving high fives to the contestant to her right, a tall girl who appeared to be at least twice her age.

"I'm going to D.C.!" she said after winning.

After receiving her trophy, which was nearly her height, she whispered to the man who gave it to her, asking if it was all right to hold it up. By all means, he insisted, hold it up high.

According to the Tulsa World, the 5-year-old with the knack for words used few to express how she felt that day:

"I feel thankful," Edith said.
A Florida man was sentenced Wednesday in Fredericksburg Circuit Court for his part in a smash-and-grab scheme that focused on cars parked outside gyms.

Timothy Ivory Garland, 26, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., entered an Alford plea to three counts of felony larceny, three counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and 13 counts of credit card theft. An Alford plea means a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction.

Garland was sentenced to 38 years, with all but six months suspended for breaking into three cars in Fredericksburg Aug. 26, stealing purses from them and later trying to use the stolen credit and debit cards and checks.

Two women accused of committing the crimes with Garland face similar charges. Shankevia Diane Davis of Miami and Alexandria Lynn Torres of Atlanta are set to enter pleas on Thursday.

All three also face charges in Hanover County and the Tidewater area for similar crimes during the same time frame.

He was a small part of a large operation, prosecutor LaBravia Jenkins said of Garland in court Wednesday. She added that the scheme, apparently committed from Florida to Iowa, was known to police as the felony lane gang procedure.

It is unknown if the three face charges or are suspects in any other states.

Jenkins said the three targeted cars in local gym parking lots while the owners were inside working out.

In the Fredericksburg case, she said Garland broke into two cars at the Sport & Health Club in Central Park and one vehicle at the Planet Fitness in the Eagle Village shopping center.

She said the trio got credit cards from the cars, plus a wedding ring worth $7,000 and $2,200 in cash, along with other items.

Part of Garlands plea agreement includes that he pay restitution of more than $10,000.

The three were eventually arrested in Hanover County, where they are accused of trying to use the stolen cards and checks.

In Hanover, Garland faces a May 19 trial on identity theft, credit card theft, forgery, racketeering and firearm charges. According to court records, those offenses were committed in late August and early September.

Garland also faces a felony larceny charge in the Tidewater area, according to Williamsburg/James City County Circuit Court records.

Davis and Torres also face credit card theft, racketeering and identity theft charges in Hanover. Davis has a trial scheduled for March 27, while Torres is set to enter a plea that day. Each woman also faces a felony larceny charge in the Tidewater area, according to Williamsburg/James City County Circuit Court records.
Things got contentious toward the end of a four-hour King George County meeting, when members of the Board of Supervisors started talking about $10,000 pay raisesfor themselves.

The supervisors make $5,000 a year, one of the lowest rates in the region, and their salaries havent changed since 1986, when Ronald Reagan was president.

During earlier budget work sessions, Chairwoman Ruby Brabo suggested the pay be increased to $15,000 so it would at least cover our gas money for those of us who serve on other committees on behalf of the county. Brabo considers her work as a county supervisor a full-time job and attends meetings and forums across the state.

The increase also would make King George salaries comparable to those in the region. Caroline County, which is similar to King George in population and character, pays supervisors $19,500 a year. Spotsylvania County has five times the population of King George, and its supervisors make $24,000 a year, and the chairman, $25,775.

Its not unreasonable for what you do because everybody in the surrounding counties gets $15,000 or $20,000, Supervisor Jim Howard said.

Twice in earlier meetings, fellow board members agreed with her.

Then, they spent almost four hours Monday night, hearing a request from the school system and a summary of county needs from Neiman Young, who took over as county administrator on Feb. 27.

Supervisor John Jenkins Jr. said he didnt feel right getting a raise when the school system needs more special education teachers. Supervisor Richard Granger agreed, saying: I cant justify it with all the needs.

Brabo reminded them that historically, its been hard to find people willing to run for office and that citizens expect their supervisors to be responsive.

They dont have that now, she said.

Cedell Brooks Jr., who is finishing his 26th year on the board and not seeking re-election, took offense at that remark. What do you mean by that?

Brabo said it was evident based on the volume of emails I receive.

What, because youre the queen bee? he asked.

She repeated that if supervisors are truly engaged and responsive, theyd spend even more than $15,000 a year on transportation alone. Brooks suggested she didnt need to go to so many conferences, and Brabo snapped that shes an officer on various committees.

Some of us dont go for a vacation, she said to Brooks, about Virginia Association of Counties meetings often held at the Omni Homestead Resort. Some of us actually go to serve.

By that point, other supervisors were telling the two to calm down. Raises were put on the back burner, and the supervisors focused on the reason they were there: the countys budget for fiscal year 2018.

MORE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

School Superintendent Robert Benson gave a thorough presentation on the school request. He said county funding has allowed King Georges starting salary for teachers, $41,123, to be competitive in the region. He showed slides marking improvement in student scores and credited them to being able to recruit and retain qualified teachers.

The school system asked for $17.3 million in local funding for FY18, a $1.2 million increase from the current fiscal year. One-fourth of that money is for increased payments into the Virginia Retirement System, and localities dont have any choice about paying it, Benson said.

The rest of the increase is for a 0.3 percent cost-of-living raise for employees and 12 new positions. Eight of those would be in special education.

Even though the number of students isnt expected to increase from the average daily attendance of 4,200, those receiving special education services is predicted to grow from 459 students this year to 525 next year.

Thats a big difference, Granger said. Are those people newly identified or new to the county?

Theres probably a little bit of both, Benson responded, saying needs change with the arrival or departure of one student who may need extensive services.

School Board Chairman TC Collins said he suspected numbers were growing because of the extraordinary special education services the county provides. He recently gathered signatures to file his paperwork for re-election, and he said he heard great praise from everyone he met, especially for special education services.

Ten years ago, that wouldnt have been the case, Collins said.

Five years ago, that wouldnt have been the case, Brabo said.

$2.4 MILLION DEFICIT

From there, supervisors looked at all the requests theyve received from county departments. Fully funding them would add 14 cents to the tax rate, and we all know [that] is not what we want or what the public wants, Young said.

King George expects some increased revenue from growth in personal property taxes and higher fees and permits. But even with the additional money, the county still has $2.4 million more in needs than money to cover them, Young said. The request for local funds totals $43 million, compared to the current spending plan of $40.6 million.

Some of the new requests include six more first responders with the Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services; voting machines for the Electoral Board; and additional positions in several departments.

Young, who spent 23 years in the Army, gave the supervisors three options, including no tax increase, a half-cent increase and a penny increase on the current real estate tax rate, which is 68 cents per $100 of assessed value.

It was the first time Young was involved in preparing a county budgetand his presentation didnt go over well.

I dont like this, I dont like this at all, Howard said, adding it wasnt realistic to take requests that total $2.4 million and pare them down to almost nothing when budgets already have been cut, line by line.

Supervisors gave Young their priorities. They want three of the new fire and rescue positions funded for the whole year and the other three for six months only. They also favor the special education workers who deal directly with students and not one who manages a caseload.

Young will draw up another budget proposal, which hell present during a budget work session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the fire and rescue headquarters on State Route 3 across from Food Lion. The proposal he presented Monday is available on the countys website, king-george.va.us.
WITH Congress moving forward to repeal and replace Obamacare, it is no surprise that the laws advocates are worried about their Washington-centered approach to health care being scrapped. It was surprising, however, to see former congressman Henry Waxman take up his pen to decry potential reforms to the Medicaid programespecially since the policies he criticized were ones he once supported.

In a recent opinion piece, Waxman, a California Democrat, lambasted the idea of curbing federal spending on Medicaid by adopting a per-capita allotment reform. Waxman said it would be an unprecedented abandonment of federal responsibility that would pass the buck to the states and deny care to the most vulnerable among us. He claimed that imposing a per-capita cap or block grant would rip health-care coverage from the most vulnerable and dramatically shift the burden of costs to the states.

The policy idea behind a Medicaid per-capita cap is that the federal government would continue to provide matching funds for each individual enrolled in a states Medicaid program, but unlike in the current arrangement, the federal government would set a limit on the maximum allowable amount per enrollee. There would be spending limits per state in each of the main Medicaid eligibility groups: the elderly, people with disabilities, children and nondisabled, nonelderly adults. These caps would be based on each states historical average cost for an enrollee in each eligibility group.

It is true that this change would significantly change Medicaids financing, but Waxmans critique of adopting a per-capita cap rings hollow. Although congressional Republicans support this idea, it also gained traction two decades ago with a Democratic president. In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton proposed putting federal Medicaid spending on a more sustainable path by adopting a per-capita cap reform. And when a Democratic president proposed them, Waxman applauded per-capita reforms.

At a 1996 congressional hearing, Waxman noted that under a per-capita cap reform, the federal government would maintain its commitment to sharing in the costs of providing basic health and long-term care coverage to vulnerable Americans. He correctly pointed out that states would have both the incentives and the tools to manage Medicaid more efficiently, and the continued federal commitment would help when states face cost increases for reasons beyond their control, including recessions, regional economic downturns, natural disasters, and outbreaks of contagious disease.

We know how the Clinton-era effort ended: The president and Congress failed to pass reforms that would restrain Medicaids growth. As a result, todays Medicaid program is about three times larger than it was when Clinton proposed his reforms. The program consumes about 1 in every 6 state dollars. Next year, overall Medicaid spending is projected to be larger than the entire defense budget, and by the end of a decade, federal and state spending on Medicaid will total roughly $1 trillion each year.

The program is projected to continue to grow at a rate faster than the economy or incoming revenues, an objectively unsustainable path

Modernizing Medicaids financing by putting the program on a budget isnt Draconian, its common sense. The fever-pitched fear-mongering against any effort to constrain Medicaid spending shows just how far to the political left Waxman, and the Democratic Party, have drifted.

If more spending and more government were the answer, Medicaid patients would have access to world-class health care. Yet, research from an array of scholars has shown that too few providers accept Medicaid patients to meet existing needs and that Medicaid coverage often fails to improve health outcomes for many patients. We must focus on modernizing this Great Society program so it can offer real access to providers and improved health outcomes for decades to come.

No single bill will fix all the challenges Medicaid faces, but Congress and the president have a historic opportunity to adopt permanent reforms. Working together with governors and state Medicaid reformers, we can empower states with new statutory flexibilities. We can modernize the waiver process so states can focus on managing their programs based on the needs of their patients, not managing paperwork for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We can create better tools and incentives for states to reduce costs, boost quality and improve health outcomes.

The basic architecture of Medicaid has remained largely unchanged over the past 50 years. We now have an opportunity to improve and modernize the program so it remains strong for the next 50 years. In the meantime, Democratic attempts to score political points by manufacturing fear of per-capita cap reforms not only are misguided, they are hypocritical.

Rep. Brett Guthrie, a Republican, represents Kentuckys 2nd District and serves as vice chairman of the health subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
WESTMORELAND County residents are taking a stand on fracking.

In a public meeting last month, some 65 of them showed up in Montross to state their concerns about hydraulic fracturing, a process that injects chemicals and water deep underground to help extract natural gas and oil.

Its an issue because Westmoreland is part of the Taylorsville basin, an area stretching from the Richmond suburbs to southern Maryland. Westmoreland residents at the February meeting made it clear that, from their point of view, the less fracking the better.

Since it became known that the Taylorsville basin contains an estimated trillion cubic feet of natural gas, parties interested in tapping into this presumed underground wealth have come forward. A Texas energy company has leased about 84,000 acres (more than 1,300 square miles) in eastern Virginia, some of it in Westmoreland County.

King George County already has amended its zoning laws so that no drilling can be done within 750 feet of protected areas. The plan in Westmoreland calls for a 1,000-foot buffer.

Many of those who spoke at the February meeting favored banning fracking outright, and all 25 who spoke were against fracking. In a business-friendly state like Virginia, its important for the counties to take control of their destiny before Richmond does it for them.

The Westmoreland Board of Supervisors has a second public hearing set for 6 p.m., March 15, in Montross. Thursday at 7 p.m. there will be a Fracking Info Session at the Westmoreland Fire Department in Montross. Presenters will include Friends of the Rappahannock and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Fracking has been a boon for many in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, North Dakota and elsewhere. Its been done in the coal field areas of Southwest Virginia, but never in the eastern part of the commonwealth, which drains into the prized Chesapeake Bay.

The question is whether the risks to drinking water, tributaries of the bay and the environment in general are worth it in the Northern Neck.

Some other things to consider:

The state of Oklahoma, pre-fracking, averaged fewer than two 3.0 magnitude earthquakes a year. Over the last three years, there have been several hundred per year.

A peer-reviewed study in Wyoming, reported in Scientific American last year, suggested that groundwater in the Wind River Basin has been contaminated by chemicals linked to fracking.

There are 2,747 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable oil and gas underground in the United States. The one trillion cubic feet estimated to be in the Taylorsville basin is a relatively minuscule amount, less than four-hundredths of 1 percent.

The United States uses about 26.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas a year. The amount of gas recoverable in the Taylorsville basin would supply the country for a little less than two weeks. That isnt two weeks per year. Its two weeks, period.

With the glut of natural gas nationwide, the relatively small amount of it in the Taylorsville basin and the potential danger to the water and environment of one of the states most beautiful regions, is fracking worth it in the Northern Neck?

Some Westmoreland residents apparently dont think so, and theyre making their voices heard.
Newspaper carrier thanked for service, concern for safety

For the past 13 years, our community has had one of the most dedicated and reliable newspaper carrier delivering to us in all kinds of adverse weather and road conditions. Her name is Janet Ware.

She has been our neighborhood watch person by default. She looks out for us during her early morning deliveries. She informs us of potential problems and generally keeps an eye out for our safety.

She has been such a reliable fixture it is hard to imagine her being replaced. In short, we are grateful for her service, sad to see her go and will miss her.

Ed Spring

Spotsylvania
A fitting wine for our current pre-spring bout of crisp weather. Theres lots of bright citrus in the nose and throughout as you drink along with the slightest bite of pepper. Read moreDrink of the Week: Lini 910's 'Labrusca' Lambrusco Rose at Columbia's Gourmet Shop
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Cambridgeshire-based merchant Wellgrain went into administration on 2 March owing at least 15m to almost 300 creditors.

Matthew Richards and Daniel Smith of Grant Thornton were appointed administrators to the company at the request of its directors.

Many farmers are among the unsecured creditors and their prospects of a payout were uncertain, Mr Richards told Farmers Weekly.

Staff were sent home on 22 February because the directors felt they could no longer continue to trade, he said. The reason behind this was still being established.

See also: Farmers hit by Wellgrain merchant administration

Wellgrain has ceased trading and was not likely to restart, said Mr Matthews. All but three of the 31 employees were made redundant following the appointment of administrators.

Wellgrain fact file Established in 2003

Most recent accounts (to 30 June 2015) show a turnover of almost 86m, profit before tax on ordinary activities of 214,896, and net assets of 2.7m

At that time it had about 30 staff

The next annual accounts are due to be filed by 30 March

Wholly owned by parent company, Driftwell Investments, which is not in administration

Driftwell had a turnover of 93.154m in the year to 30 June 2015, for which the accounts show the company was 86% owned by Mr Spinney and his wife

The creditors list ran to 286 names on Tuesday (7 March), with NatWest and RBS Invoice Financing the only secured creditors, giving them first call on any cash from the administration process.

Invoice financing allows money to be borrowed against the value of unpaid invoices and stock.

As well as growers, the unsecured creditors include international and domestic grain traders, hauliers and other suppliers.

The amount owing to creditors was likely to rise for several reasons, including breach of contract claims as yet unstated, said Mr Richards, who could not say how much was owed to growers.

However, Farmers Weekly understands that at least two growers are owed 100,000 and that these are not the largest grower claims on the company.

By law, the administrator has to produce proposals within eight weeks of appointment. This will include a statement of affairs by the directors, a creditor list and plans for an exit route for the company.

That exit route would depend on how much was raised by the sale of assets, said Mr Richards. Whether a creditors meeting is held would depend on how much was raised through the sale of assets, he said.

Wellgrains assets are grain stocks in store and debtors  those who owe the company money.

Mr Richards could not say how much Wellgrains assets were worth, as the ownership of some assets was yet to be ascertained.

The company was established in 2003 and its most recent accounts  made up to 30 June 2015  show a turnover of almost 86m, a profit before tax on ordinary activities of 214,896 and net assets of 2.7m.

Help and support Help and support is available for those affected by the administration of Wellgrain: Rabi 0808 281 9490

0808 281 9490 The Farming Community Network 03000 111 999

03000 111 999 The Samaritans 116 123

116 123 You Are Not Alone 0300 323 0400

Luke Palmer farms in Cambridgeshire and is chairman of the NFUs Ely and Soham branch. He is owed money by Wellgrain for two loads of wheat delivered on the morning of 21 February. The next day, collections from farms ceased.

He has spoken to many other farmers who have supplied the company but not been paid. He fears the knock-on effect through the trade and supply industry.

The key thing if you are owed money by Wellgrain and its going to cause you a problem, is to talk to the people you owe money to and get something put in place. The NFU is able to help and give advice, too.

The biggest problem for farmers is that were not insured for this. Some of the stories are heartbreaking to listen to  January is big loading-out month for farm grain. This could have a bigger impact than the flooding, but its more hidden and theres no compensation.

NFU acting senior legal adviser Lucy Ralph said the union was working to provide guidance to members affected by the Wellgrain administration, and members should contact NFU Callfirst (0370 845 8458) as soon as possible.

Wellgrain Q&A The administration of Wellgrain is complex and exactly what gave rise to it is unknown at this stage. Tees Law, an NFU panel firm retained to advise members, is addressing the main questions: Will I be paid for grain I have delivered to Wellgrain? You will be an unsecured creditor, after any secured (such as a bank) or preferential creditor (employees). There is a real risk that you may receive nothing or only a few pence for every pound Wellgrain owes you if it was delivered before the administrators were appointed. I have a forward contract to deliver grain to Wellgrain  does the administration cancel my obligation under this contract? Whether a contract is discharged by insolvency depends on whether the insolvency of either party is a termination event under the contract. We cannot give definitive advice without seeing individual contracts. However, most standard form contracts will have such a clause. We believe it highly unlikely that the liquidator will require any grain contract to proceed  anyone affected in this way should get advice. Wellgrain owes me for grain delivered before the administrator appointment and I owe Wellgrain for pre-administration purchases  can I offset what I owe against what the company owes me? If there are mutual dealings between a farmer and Wellgrain, it is the net position, taking account of debts either way, which is relevant. Offsets will generally apply. I have my own grain in a Wellgrain store, which I am paying the company monthly to store for me  what is the status of that grain? We are currently investigating with the position relating to grain stored with Wellgrain. Title to the grain stored does not vest in the administrator and remains the property of the farmer. The difficulty may be in identifying the relevant grain; assistance is likely to be needed in this regard. Tees Law will advise any farmer on Wellgrain issues  call partner David Perry on 01245 293 190 or email david.perry@teeslaw.co.uk

Has the Wellgrain administration affected your business? Get in touch with Farmers Weekly, email suzie.horne@rbi.co.uk or call 0208 652 4923
Variety selection can have a significant bearing on the return on investment (ROI) from growing maize for silage.

The area of maize grown for silage is predicted to rise as more dairy farmers look to increase dependence on forage to insulate their business from feed price volatility.

Tim Richmond, maize manager with Limagrain, says to derive the maximum benefit from maize it is vital to look closely at variety selection.

Choosing the correct variety

Mr Richmond says with about 30 first choice varieties on the British Society of Plant Breeders/Niab descriptive list and a considerable amount of data available to compare relative merits of different varieties the choice can appear daunting.

However, he says applying a few basic principles can help make the decision easier and allow the most appropriate choice for the individual farm.

See also: 6-step guide to successful maize establishment

With maize costing about 950/ha to grow and harvest, it represents a considerable cost and the emphasis has to be on maximising the return on investment achieved from growing the crop, he says.

Two main areas will determine ROI, and each will be significantly influenced by variety choice.

Mr Richmond says two factors are key to suitability: maturity and quality.

He adds: Quality is vital as this is what will drive dry matter and energy intakes and the milk production potential.

Establishing a shortlist

Many farmers want bulk, however, Mr Richmond cautions that chasing yield is pointless if it compromises the quality of the crop and therefore says crop yield should be a factor of the area grown rather than yield per hectare.

High-yielding varieties often tend to be later maturing, consequently having poorer feed quality if they do not mature and failing to deliver higher milk production.

Therefore, Mr Richmond maintains maize has to be considered in terms of the feed value it will put in the clamp, so agronomy and quality as the key considerations when determining variety.

He says the first objective must be to shortlist varieties of a correct maturity and agronomics suited to the farm, which will be influenced by soil type, altitude and aspect.

There is no point selecting a variety that will look good on paper if it will not get established and away quickly.

Equally, if a crop is late maturing then the risk of a delayed or compromised harvest is increased. At 950/ha it is an expensive crop to leave in the field when conditions make harvesting impossible.

Mr Richmond says there has been a trend towards early maturing varieties as it allows farmers to harvest the crop in better conditions with the added bonus of being able to include maize in the diet sooner.

And there are the increased prospects of establishing a successor crop or stubble cultivation to help reduce soil erosion, he explains.

Honing in on feed quality

Mr Richmond says once a suitable shortlist has been developed, the spotlight needs to be put on feed quality as there is marked difference between varieties.

It is important to look at both total energy content and energy yield rather than just starch content.

Breeders have already maximised starch content in maize, and with the cob being 92-100% digestible there is little opportunity to influence energy yield further from starch.

Instead, he believes the focus should be in cell wall digestibility (CWD) because up to 50% of the total energy available is in the leaf, stover and other vegetative material.

After selecting varieties of correct maturity and starch content, the only way to significantly increase energy production per hectare is by improving CWD, and improving CWD improves more than just energy content and yield.

The rest of the plant is 40-70% digestible, meaning if CWD can be improved the total energy available will increase.

He says Maize Growers Association research by Mike Wilkinson shows that each 1% increase in fibre digestibility will increase dry matter intakes by 0.12kg/day, giving another benefit from selecting varieties with higher cell wall digestibility.

Overall, Mr Richmond says correct variety choice can help reduce feed costs and increase production from forage without compromising harvest date, ultimately boosting ROI (see How a high-quality variety can deliver a financial advantage, below).
A top London chef is serving up sugar beet to diners in his restaurants.

Mark Hix, whose restaurants include eateries in Mayfair and Soho, says sugar beet has a natural sweetness and a nice, firm flesh  making it a very versatile vegetable.

Sugar beet should be considered an ingredient much like swede, turnips or parsnips  or even its close relative the beetroot, he suggests.

See also: No such thing as British sugar, says retailer

It is grown in some areas for the production of sugar, but not commonly used in the kitchen, Mr Hix wrote in his column for the City AM newspaper. Heaven knows why, its great.

Mr Hix says he started cooking with sugar beet after a day out shooting with friends.

I often find myself standing in a field of the stuff while shooting and a few years back I popped a few heads into my cartridge bag and took them home to experiment with.

I made a delicious pickle using Indian spices. I pickled some more in cider vinegar and roasted the rest like you would swede and parsnip.

Ive asked some of our rural suppliers to source it for the restaurants and it now makes its way on to the menus in various forms.

Its particularly good with wild or tame duck, or as a chutney to serve with cheese.

More people should try cooking with beet, suggests Mr Hix.

You wont find it in the shops, but you may well have a country residence with a nearby farmer  Im sure they wont mind you borrowing a head or two to cook with.

Cambridgeshire grower Michael Sly, who is also chairman of the NFU Sugar board, said the idea of eating beet as part of a meal sounded appealing.

Ive never thought of using it as a vegetable  we need to meet him and try it, he said.
Story Highlights Approval still higher than it was in every month of 2016

Highest approval of Congress in past decade was 39% in March 2009

43% of Republicans, 12% of Democrats approve of Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressional job approval declined slightly from 28% in February to 24% in March. The March rating is still higher than in any month from June 2011 through January 2017.

Approval of Congress increased by nine points in February to 28% after the new Republican Congress was sworn in and Donald Trump was inaugurated as president. Approval averaged 17% in 2016.

The highest level of approval in the past 10 years was 39% in March 2009, shortly after former President Barack Obama's inauguration and when the Democratic Party controlled Congress.

Republicans and Democrats Still Widely Divided on Approval of Congress

February's uptick in support for Congress stemmed from a surge in approval among Republicans. This most likely reflected their hopefulness for Congress and the presidency as the nation's capital was turned over to Republicans after several years of divided government. Likewise, the retreat of approval in March reflects a slight easing of Republican exuberance.

Still, Republicans retain a far more favorable view of the legislative branch than Democrats do. Based on the March 1-5 poll, 43% of Republicans approve of Congress, while only 12% of Democrats and 22% of independents say the same.

As recently as January, 20% of Republicans approved of the job Congress was doing, despite the fact that their party controlled both houses. The rapid rise in approval to 50% last month appeared to be related to President Donald Trump taking office and promising to pass legislation beneficial to GOP interests. The same reasoning may have caused the surge in Democrats' approval of Congress when Obama assumed office as well. However, Republican approval retreated this month, as did approval among independents.

The current Congress approval gap of 31 percentage points between Republicans and Democrats is not as wide as it was last month, at 39 points, but is still greater than the gaps that existed in 2015 and 2016. It is also unusual for a party to give Congress low approval ratings when it has control of both houses, which has been the case in the past two years of Republican control of Congress before Trump's election.

Bottom Line

Congress has not passed a great deal of legislation so far this term, with most of the past month consumed by the Senate confirming Trump's cabinet picks. While Republicans have talked much about "repealing and replacing" the Affordable Care Act or comprehensive tax reform, the legislative agenda in the Trump era has yet to take shape.

Americans seem to be basing their approval of Congress on partisan beliefs and thoughts for the future. The spike in Republican support may be due to hope for progress on the GOP agenda now that a president is in place who would sign conservative bills. If Congress does not live up to these expectations soon, approval of the legislative branch could retreat to below 20%, as it did in Obama's second year in office until the end of his presidency.

Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics.
British games industry trade body UKIE has published an extensive 'State of Play' report looking into the impact of Brexit on the country's games sector, and it makes for nervous reading.

UKIE based its findings on an industry wide confidential survey, to which over 75 games businesses responded, and roundtable meetings it held with over 70 businesses spread across 11 cities around the UK.

The resulting report reveals a significant number of developers expect Brexit to have a negative impact on the UK games industry, which was the 6th largest games market in the world in 2016.

For instance, only 51 percent of developers said they would definitely stay in the UK post-Brexit, with 40 percent revealing they're considering relocating at least part of their business to pastures new.

Out of that 40 percent, a further 23 percent said they have already received relocation offers from other countries including Germany, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Finland, France, and Australia.

The remaining 9 percent of games businesses explained they don't know how they'll move forward as a result of Brexit, casting even more doubt on the UK games industry's future.

What's more, since the EU Referendum 37 percent of games business have reported a negative impact on their ability to attract investment.

The effects have been more pronounced on smaller companies, with 48 percent of businesses with less than 50 employees claiming they've already been negatively impacted by Britain's decision to leave the EU.

The referendum result also seems to be negatively impacting the British industry's ability to attract top talent, with the current political climate seemingly discouraging workers from coming to the UK.

For example, 38 percent of respondents said they're currently struggling to attract and retain global workers, with the EU referendum damaging the perception of the UK as a prime destination for EU and international candidates.

Larger companies -- so those with 50 employees or more -- seem to be bearing the brunt this time around, with 60 percent of those businesses saying their recruitment strategies are already being affected by Brexit.

While 38 percent might not seem like a huge number, it's worth pointing out that only 2 percent of businesses actually claimed to have experienced any sort of positive impact off the back of Brexit.

"The damaging uncertainty caused by Brexit to our EU employees, and not having open access to the brightest and best European talent, some of whom are now refusing to resettle in the UK, is forcing us to assess whether it will be possible to produce our future games in this country," said Henrique Olifiers, co-founder and CEO of Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread creator, Bossa Studios, offering boots-on-the-ground insight.

Some of that uncertainty stems from the lack of clarity over the rights of EU citizens currently residing in the UK. The British government has refused to confirm whether EU nationals working in the country will have the right to remain here, suggesting they could be used as a bargaining chip during the upcoming Brexit negotiations.

Out of the 63 games companies quizzed at UKIE's Guildford roundtable, 98 percent believe EU citizens should be given a blanket right to live and work in the UK, explaining "it's vital we receive clarity from the Government so we can stop bearing the cost of this uncertainty."

Beyond that, most also believe the UK immigration system is in serious need of reform, with the majority of devs branding it "outdated, slow, and complicated." So, with Brexit an absolute certainty at this point, a lot of businesses are asking for the Visa application process to be streamlined to make recruitment easier once the process is complete.

While those are some of the key points worrying UK game companies, they are by no means the only concerns, with the uncertainty surrounding market access and funding also causing plenty of companies to sweat.

Naturally, that concern isn't universal, and UKIE is keen to point out that Brexit could offer a chance to implement wide-ranging reforms that will secure a "21st century globally competitive future."

After all, as it stands the worries expressed above have arisen because the British games industry is currently staring into the unknown. Until negotiations begin and a Brexit deal is finalized, we won't know with any degree of certainty how the British games industry will be affected.

For a more insights and analysis on the UK games industry's reaction to Brexit, you can read the full 54 page report right here [PDF].
Readers, we need your help to prove a merry Christmas for victims of domestic violence.
Munnar New Colony natives S John Peter (25), J Thomas (31), R Chinnappa Raj (34), and Rajiv Gandhi Colony native R Manikantan (33) were arrested following the incident.
EUGENE  Inclement weather that grounded a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber flight Monday afternoon may have been a sign of good luck for Oregon State University graduate Alton Andy Andrews, a World War II bombardier.

After all, the 95-year-old Andrews, who lives in Santa Clara, California, had to bail out of two B-17s during the war  once over England and again over the Bavarian Alps, landing him in a German prisoner of war camp near the Baltic Sea for 10 months.

They taught us to hold off opening our parachute as long as possible if we were over enemy territory, Andrews said. Over the Alps, I could see the rocky peaks through cloud openings and delayed opening the chute as long as possible.

Andrews was scheduled to take a 30-minute flight on the Madras Maiden, a restored B-17 that came off the assembly line in October 1944. The Maiden never saw action in Europe or Japan, but played a major role in research projects for the development of radar systems that would allow aircraft to complete their missions in bad weather conditions.

We were following the war in the Pacific pretty closely and I was thinking I was going to end up over there, he recalled. Thankfully, they dropped the bomb and ended that.

Andrews was joined Monday by fellow WWII pilot Price Roop, a 93-year-old Texas native who trained fighter pilots and made a hop or two as a B-17 copilot into South America.

After the war, Andrews returned to Oregon and enrolled at Oregon State, where he earned a degree in engineering and went on to a career in highway construction.

Roop enrolled at the University or Oregon and became a high school math and science teacher who spent 20 years with the Harrisburg school system, along with stints in La Grande and at Sheldon High in Eugene.

Rain approaching slushy snow and a low cloud cover grounded the Madras Maiden after a short trip from Portland. The stop in Eugene is part of a nine-month tour of the United States sponsored by the Liberty Foundation.

This weekend, members of the public can take 30-minute flights from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Mahlon Sweet Airport. Cost is $450 for non-members and $400 for members of the Foundation, whose goal is educating the public about the B-17, World War II and members of the Greatest Generation that served.

The Madras Maiden is part of the Erickson Collection, an aviation museum in Madras.

Andrews grew up near Elkton and was an electrician working at the Portland shipyards when he joined the Army Air Corps in 1942.

My friend and I could have gotten deferrals because of our work at the shipyards, he said. I joined because of what the Japs did to us (at Pearl Harbor).

Andrews had hoped to become a pilot but washed out and became a bombardier.

Everyone wanted to be a pilot, but there were more applicants than where were training spots available, he said.

Andrews trained in Texas and then headed to Europe as part of the 381st Bomb Group that flew 297 missions during the war and dropped 22,000 tons of bombs.

His fellow crew mates could not agree on a mascot for the plane, but Andrews said they told the crew chief they would have one after their next mission.

Hes still waiting, Andrews said with a grin. We got hit over France, but our pilot was able to get us to England before we had to bail out. I landed in a ditch filled with water, but never got hurt.

While recovering, Andrews watched as German-made V1 and V2 rockets pummeled London.

Andrews said Germans held rail stations in France and the B-17s were bombing the German trains filled with armaments. German anti-aircraft fire struck one of the B-17s four 1,200-horsepower engines and Andrews said the pilot could not stop the engine's erratic shaking.

The Germans had expert anti-aircraft marksmen, Andrews said.

In all, Andrews flew 10 missions before ending up a prisoner-of-war after bailing out over the Alps.

I saw a farmer with a pitchfork when I landed near a forest of small trees. I was loose for about 10 days before they got me, Andrews recalled. We were not mistreated. The Germans treated officers well. Red Cross food boxes were a real treat. Guys would quit talking about women and start talking about food when they showed up.

Andrews kept busy by melting the metal lids from canned beef food rations and using the solder to craft military insignias, such as wings from various air corps units. He has them mounted in a frame at his home. He also compiled a list of his fellow POWs' favorite hometown restaurants.

Although his flight was scrubbed, Andrews did climb into the Madras Maiden and gave reporters and photographers a lesson in how planes like it operated 70 years ago.

Jerry Ritter, a volunteer with the Liberty Foundation, said this is the first time the Madras Maiden has been in the mid-valley. He said that although it never carried a bomb payload, the aircraft was one of the Pathfinder units that was outfitted with a Mickey Radar system that allowed pilots to bomb through heavy overcast cloud cover.

They were important because they could lead a bomber group over the correct target, Ritter said.

Ritter said the Liberty Foundations work is important since 500 to 1,000 WWII veterans are passing away daily.

Fellow Liberty Foundation volunteer Donald Keller said there are about a dozen B-17s in flying condition worldwide.

He said it costs between $2,000 and $2,500 per hour to operate the Madras Maiden.

A volunteer for about 30 years, Keller said, We came because of the airplane and stayed because of the people.

He said the flights helped family members connect with each other.

Keller said that the veterans often need help getting to the plane and into it, but once inside, theyre 19 or 20 again, and all of a sudden, you dont need to help them. They know right where to grab onto.

In the early stages of the war, the B-17s averaged six missions before being shot down, Keller said.
Lawyers for Benton County and the owner of a run-down piece of property west of Philomath have hammered out a deal aimed at completing a cleanup of the place by this summer.

In a stipulated judgment filed Friday in Benton County Circuit Court, Danny Farmer agrees to remove a half-dozen campers and travel trailers that had been used as illegal dwellings from his heavily wooded 30-acre parcel at 24030 Old Peak Road by the first week of April and to complete the cleanup of accumulated solid waste from the property by June 2.

If those deadlines are missed, the agreement allows the county to clean up the site and bill Farmer for the cost.

Several residents of the rural neighborhood along Blair Creek had complained to county officials about the growing solid waste problem and the illegal campers who had begun squatting on the Farmer property. Last summer the county issued a $500 citation for letting excessive amounts of garbage to pile up at the site, and in November it filed a lawsuit claiming the property was violating zoning laws by operating as an unlicensed junkyard and allowing RVs to be used as permanent dwellings.

The lawsuit initially named Danny Farmer and his mother, Virginia Farmer, as defendants. Mrs. Farmer died Feb. 2 at the age of 94.

An appendix to the stipulated judgment lists more than 100 specific items that must be cleared from the Farmer property, including four boats, a dozen junk cars, a 2-ton dump truck, a dismantled Ford pickup and a partial Buick.

Also targeted for removal are piles of scrap lumber, vinyl siding, roofing material, freight pallets, car parts, old car and tractor tires, PVC pipe, miscellaneous furniture and appliances, carpet scraps, tools, paint buckets, fluorescent light tubes, empty whiskey bottles, metal barrels and plastic totes filled with unidentified material, multiple stoves and refrigerators, a number of filing cabinets, three toilets, a couple of lawnmowers, a big-screen projector TV, an exercise bike, a bathtub, two barbecue grills, an air conditioning unit and a double cast-iron sink.

County Counsel Vance Croney said the agreement was intended to spell out exactly what has to be done to bring the property into compliance with zoning codes.

We tried to make it as complete and explicit as possible so that, when we do run into a problem, there will be no debate, he said.

The agreement allows Farmer to keep one of two manufactured homes on the property as a personal residence and convert the other into a storage building, along with a fifth-wheel travel trailer. He also has permission to convert another fifth-wheel into a flatbed trailer and will be allowed to keep three cars, one pickup, an ATV and a couple of utility trailers.

County code sets a limit on the total volume of solid waste that can accumulate on a given piece of property.

He has the option to keep the equivalent of seven vehicles or less of solid waste, Croney said. When he gets to eight, thats considered a junkyard and that is not permitted under the zoning for that property, which is forest conservation.

Farmer did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Journalist and social activist Harsha Walia will discuss her new book, Undoing Border Imperialism, at 7 p.m. Friday in Milam Auditorium on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis.

In her talk, Walia will discuss the global refugee crisis and its implications for North America by reformulating immigrant and refugee rights movements.

The talk is free. It is part of a graduate conference, Transform-able Identity/ies, which is focused on the notion that society transforms identities as much as identities transform social patterns, institutions and shared values.

Students from different disciplines will discuss the link between social transformation and identities during the two-day conference in Milam Hall.

For more information on the conference, visit: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/transformidconf/
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees will meet on Friday, March 17, to consider the universitys tuition rates, mandatory fees, and student incidental fees and operating budget outlook.

Also on the agenda: OSU's capital budget for fiscal year 2018, the universitys statement of mission, principles, and core values; and its practices for handling written public comments.

A comment period is provided at each board meeting. People wishing to comment must sign up before the comment period begins and may register by email by contacting Marcia Stuart at marcia.stuart@oregonstate.edu. They may also register at the meeting itself. There is also a public comment opportunity before the board votes on each action item.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Horizon Room of the Memorial Union, 2501 SW Jefferson Way on Oregon States Corvallis campus.

In addition, board committees will meet on Thursday, March 16 in the Horizon Room of the Memorial Union. These meetings are also open to the public:

 The Executive & Audit Committee will meet from 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. On the agenda: the universitys statement of mission, principles and core values.

 The Academic Strategies Committee will meet from 10 a.m. to noon.

 The Finance & Administration Committee will meet from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. to consider tuition and fees and the university's budget outlook.

Agendas and meeting materials will be posted at http://oregonstate.edu/leadership/trustees/meetings. The public can listen to the meetings by calling the toll-free number listed on the agendas.
This log includes incidents in which there might have been a public disturbance or a risk to the public. Information comes from the Corvallis Police Department, the Benton County Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police. It does not include all calls for service. The status of incidents might change after further investigation. Locations are approximate. People arrested or suspected in crimes are considered innocent until proven otherwise.

Corvallis Police Department

SUNDAY, MARCH 5

FOUND PROPERTY: 9 a.m., Southwest 11th Street and Western Boulevard. A man reported finding a jacket containing $1,200. The man reportedly told police that he was not turning it over but was following a law that required him to notify the owner of found property. The man did not describe the jacket and did not give his address.

FRIDAY, MARCH 3

FRAUD: 12:01 a.m., 1300 block Northwest 27th Street. A man reported that someone had fraudulently charged more than $1,000 to his credit card for two Dell laptop computers in Denver. The transaction was canceled.

Benton County Sheriff's Office

SUNDAY, MARCH 5

DOMESTIC ASSAULT: 10:20 p.m., 5726 Springhill Drive, Albany. Deputies responded to a report of a domestic assault. Deputies determined that Angela Lynn Cox, 30, of Albany, had bitten a man in front of a child. Cox was arrested and charged with fourth-degree domestic assault and booked into the Benton County Jail.

FRIDAY, MARCH 3

DUII: 6:57 p.m., Highway 99W and Northeast Mistletoe Circle. Deputies arrested and charged Rebecca Susan Simpson, 36, of Adair, with DUII (drugs) and reckless driving after she reportedly crashed her car into a tree over a culvert of water. Simpson reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.03 percent.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Mit Brings, Guido Cantz, Paveier, Kasalla : Jecke Wiever lassen es bei der Madchensitzung in Konigswinter richtig krachen
Bridge at Remagen : U.S. veterans lay wreath in remembrance

Remagen American troops took over the bridge at Remagen on March 7 of 1945. A museum was subsequently erected there and 21,000 people visited the Peace Museum last year.

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To the quick and the brave belong the reward is the motto written on a bronze plaque on the lower part of the tower at Remagen. Under this plaque, which had been donated by the 9th U.S. Armored Division, members of the U.S. Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) came to lay a wreath on Tuesday morning to remember the soldiers who had fallen there. From the VFW chapter in Wiesbaden were First Sergeant Wayne Mercier and Commander Allen Ashton. It was the 72nd anniversary of the takeover of the bridge by American forces on March 7 of 1945.

In front of the Peace Museum Bridge at Remagen, former Mayor Hans Peter Kurten greeted the veterans. Ashton told the General Anzeiger that he wanted to keep up the tradition of remembrance. He has been married to a German woman for 47 years and has participated in the wreath-laying for six years. 70 U.S. soldiers were killed in the battle for the bridge at Remagen, which collapsed on March 17, 1945 following heavy artillery damage.

Hollywood made a movie about the episode in 1969, The Bridge From Remagen. The film is considered a classic under war films. Americans were surprised to see the bridge intact when they reached Remagen, and it allowed Eisenhower to put troops on the Rhines eastern banks, a key strategy.

The Peace Museum Bridge was opened at the location in 1980. The former mayor said 21,000 visitors came to the museum last year. In 2015 during the 70-year anniversary, there were 25,000 visitors. 87-year-old Kurten is hoping that just as many people come for the 75-year anniversary in 2020. Even when I am perhaps not there anymore, the museum will still be here, said the founder with pride. During his time, bricks were sold to help finance the museum.
Cases increasing in Bonn : Urgent warning against whooping cough

BONN Health insurance companies are raising an alarm: The number of cases of whooping cough is increasing in Bonn. Coughing spells can go on for several months.

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Health insurance companies are raising an alarm: The number of cases of whooping cough is increasing in Bonn. Coughing spells can go on for several months. Never before have so many people fallen ill with whooping cough in Bonn as in 2016 - and the trend continues in 2017. According to Michael Lobscheid of IKK Classic Health Insurance, 40 cases were reported in Bonn in 2015 and one year later, this number rose to 73.

And this development is continuing this year, with already ten new cases recorded in the first few weeks, said Lobscheid. Whooping cough is especially dangerous for babies. In 2016, three babies died from the bacterial infection. Lobscheid advises that parents have their babies and children immunized. Adults should also renew their vaccine regularly. The highly contagious illness can last from several weeks to months.

At first, symptoms of a cold set in and after a couple weeks, severe coughing attacks come. Diarrhea may also be present. It can last four to six weeks. New high in Germany Across all of Germany, the number of whooping cough infections has risen to a new peak. In 2016, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) registered 22,119 cases - by far the most since nationwide reporting of the cases became obligatory in 2013.

Since the beginning of the year, 1,554 new cases of whooping cough have been reported to the RKI. Still too little vaccination protection The horror of whooping cough in the 1930s before vaccines were available, is almost forgotten. At that time, 10,000 infants died every year in Germany because of the highly contagious disease, according to infection researcher Wiebke Hellenbrand at RKI. The bacteria is spread through coughing, sneezing and small droplets that contain the bacteria and fly through the air.

Most recent data from RKI shows that nearly 97 percent of children in eastern Germany were immunized against whooping cough in 2014, and 95 percent of children in western Germany. In adults, the rate was far lower with every fifth or tenth adult having received the vaccine, depending on their age range.

A third of young parents had been immunized, while one fifth of pregnant women had received the vaccination. Families with small children are a high risk group. "Whooping cough is not yet fully understood by the population or house doctors," said Hellenbrand. In addition, vaccination has its challenges. It must always be refreshed. "But we have nothing better." Recommendations for women who are pregnant For small children, there are four partial vaccinations against whooping cough. As well, there are two refreshment vaccines necessary during childhood and youth.
Article

Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
kacylee at 8-03-2017 06:56 AM (5 years ago) (f)



A 17-year-old girl, Fatima Baba, has appealed to the Niger Child Right Protection Agency to dissolve her one-month-old marriage. Fatima, who is married to 35-year-old Salihu Mohammed, told the agency on Tuesday in Minna, that she was no more in love with her husband, a resident of Shaba Legbo village in Gbako Local Government Area of the state. She pleaded with the agency to dissolve her marriage to enable her further her education. I was given in marriage to Salihu by my family, who thought I will have a better life with him. I do not want this marriage; I do not love this man. I want a divorce because I want to go to school and it is only when I am divorced that I can return to school, she said. In his response, Mohammed said that he married his wife legally, and with the consent of her family. He said that Malam Salihu Mustapha, his wifes uncle, gave her to him in marriage after she consented. At first, my wife was happy with the marriage until she suddenly changed her mind and opted for a divorce. I still love my wife and I want to spend my life with her, but if she wants a divorce, I have no objection. I cannot force her to remain in the union, he said. Malam Halilu Shaba, the District Head of Shaba Legbo, in his reaction, told the agency that parents in the community were fond of forcing their children into early marriage. Some also send their children to become house-maids, thereby denying them the opportunity to go to school, he said. He commended the agency for its intervention, adding that such step would serve as deterrent to parents. The Director-General of the agency, Hajiya Maryam Kolo, commended Fatima for the courage to seek for divorce, and gave both families a two-week ultimatum within which to dissolve the marriage. If you fail to do so within the two weeks, the agency will file for divorce on behalf of the girl in a Sharia Court, she said. Kolo warned parents and community leaders against forcing children into early marriage thereby denying them the opportunity to acquire western education. She said that early marriage had many disadvantages including the risk of Vesico honeypotl Fistula (VVF) diseases. Kolo advised other girls to emulate Fatimas bravery and report similar matters to the agency.



A 17-year-old girl, Fatima Baba, has appealed to the Niger Child Right Protection Agency to dissolve her one-month-old marriage. Fatima, who is married to 35-year-old Salihu Mohammed, told the agency on Tuesday in Minna, that she was no more in love with her husband, a resident of Shaba Legbo village in Gbako Local Government Area of the state. She pleaded with the agency to dissolve her marriage to enable her further her education. I was given in marriage to Salihu by my family, who thought I will have a better life with him. I do not want this marriage; I do not love this man. I want a divorce because I want to go to school and it is only when I am divorced that I can return to school, she said. In his response, Mohammed said that he married his wife legally, and with the consent of her family. He said that Malam Salihu Mustapha, his wifes uncle, gave her to him in marriage after she consented. At first, my wife was happy with the marriage until she suddenly changed her mind and opted for a divorce. I still love my wife and I want to spend my life with her, but if she wants a divorce, I have no objection. I cannot force her to remain in the union, he said. Malam Halilu Shaba, the District Head of Shaba Legbo, in his reaction, told the agency that parents in the community were fond of forcing their children into early marriage. Some also send their children to become house-maids, thereby denying them the opportunity to go to school, he said. He commended the agency for its intervention, adding that such step would serve as deterrent to parents. The Director-General of the agency, Hajiya Maryam Kolo, commended Fatima for the courage to seek for divorce, and gave both families a two-week ultimatum within which to dissolve the marriage. If you fail to do so within the two weeks, the agency will file for divorce on behalf of the girl in a Sharia Court, she said. Kolo warned parents and community leaders against forcing children into early marriage thereby denying them the opportunity to acquire western education. She said that early marriage had many disadvantages including the risk of Vesico honeypotl Fistula (VVF) diseases. Kolo advised other girls to emulate Fatimas bravery and report similar matters to the agency.

Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 8-03-2017 06:56 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
Best Micromax 4G VoLte smartphones with Android Marshmallow to buy under Rs 7,000 Features oi -Harish Kumar Micromax 4G VoLTE phones below Rs. 7,000.

Once Micromax was leading the Indian smartphone market in terms of sales. The company had surpassed even the global market leader Samsung with the massive sales figure. Following this, the company expanded its footprints outside India and went to markets such as Russia.

Now, Micromax has been pushed back by the Chinese manufacturers. Going by the recent market report, Lenovo is in the second spot in the Indian market and Micromax has been pushed to the third spot while Samsung still remains the market leader. Despite this fall, Micromax is still liked by many fans.

Best smartphones with longest battery life to buy in India

Today, we at GizBot, have listed some 4G VoLTE smartphones from Micromax running Android Marshmallow those are great value for money offerings priced in the sub-Rs. 7,000 price bracket. Take a look at these from below.

Micromax Vdeo 3 Buy At Price of Rs 6,000

Key Features

5-inch (1280720) HD IPS display

Qualcomm Snapdragon processor

1GB RAM

8GB internal memory

expandable memory up to 32GB via microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

5MP rear camera with LED flash

2MP front camera

Dual SIM

4G VoLTE

2000mAh battery Micromax Vdeo 2 Buy At Price of Rs 4,990

Key Features 4.5-inch (854480) FWVGA IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection

1.3GHz quad-core processor

1GB RAM

8GB internal memory

expandable memory up to 32GB via microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

5MP rear camera with LED flash

2MP front camera

Dual SIM

3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio

4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS

1800mAh battery Micromax Vdeo 4 Buy At Price of Rs 6,999

Key Features

5-inch (1280720) HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection

1.1 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 (MSM8909) processor with Adreno 304 GPU

1GB RAM

8GB internal memory

expandable memory up to 32GB via microSD

Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)

8MP rear camera with LED flash

2MP front camera

Dual SIM

4G VoLTE

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Best Mobiles in India
Two Nokia flagship phones to launch this year; one with dual-camera and another with SD 835 News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Nokia has 2 flagship phones in the pipeline.

We had earlier reported that Nokia flagships including the long rumored Nokia P1 and Nokia 8 won't be seeing the light of the day at the MWC 2017. As said, HMD announced only the Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and Nokia 3 along with the Nokia 3310 (2017) at the event in Barcelona.

Lately, we have come across concept renders of a flagship smartphone from the company allegedly dubbed Nokia 9 but there is no clue on when this device would be unveiled. The fresh rumors circulating on the internet is that Nokia is prepping a dual-camera flagship that is pegged for a June release.

If you are expecting to see this flagship with a PureView or Carl Zeiss optics, then you need to know that the device won't have any of these optics. If you don't remember, Microsoft acquired the rights not only release phones with the Nokia brand name but also the PureView Imaging tech. With HMD being the licensee now, it cannot use this imaging technology. While it is not official, Nokia is done with the Carl Zeiss camera partner too but the reason for the same is not known.

These Nokia 9 concept images can make you dribble

Besides the phone with dual-camera lenses, an upcoming Nokia flagship is believed to feature an all-metal build and equip the latest Snapdragon 835 processor. So, there could be two Nokia flagships in the making and the latter with the Snapdragon 835 SoC could be released later this year.

While it is claimed that both these Nokia flagship phones will arrive with different specs such as camera pixel count, screen size, and RAM, their pricing info has also been revealed. The source estimates these upcoming Nokia phones to be priced around 4000 yuan (approx. Rs. 38,600) and 4500 yuan (approx. Rs. 43,500).

Source

Best Mobiles in India
US Spy Agency Staggers, But Still Standing After Latest WikiLeaks Dump

By Jamie Dettmer, Jeff Seldin March 07, 2017

The latest alleged bombshell meant to send shockwaves through the U.S. intelligence community is stoking renewed fears about the ability to secure classified information. But former intelligence officials say, at least for now, it is unlikely the apparent leak will do significant damage to U.S. cyber capabilities.

The online whistleblower organization WikiLeaks Tuesday published thousands of pages of what it described as "the entire hacking capacity" of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

VOA was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the 8,771 documents published on the WikiLeaks website, but cybersecurity experts and former intelligence officials said many of the documents appeared to be real.

In a statement, WikiLeaks said the CIA "lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal." The group added the spy agency's cybertools had been disseminated among some former U.S. government hackers and that one then shared them with WikiLeaks.

A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told VOA that a CIA contractor is suspected of being the source of the leak.

Scramble to find leak

Another recently retired U.S. intelligence official told VOA that the CIA is scrambling to find out who leaked the trove and how.

"Langley is in full damage assessment mode," he said.

U.S. lawmakers are, likewise, alarmed.

"This is early on into the investigation but these appear to be very, very serious," House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican, told reporters late Tuesday. "We are extremely concerned and we are following it closely."

Some of the WikiLeaks documents describe how the CIA sought to exploit so-called "zero-days"  undetected flaws in the software that runs smartphones such as Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. Electronic devices that run Microsoft's Windows were also targeted.

According to the documents, CIA hackers discovered some of the vulnerabilities on their own. Others were sold to the CIA by third parties.

There allegedly was also collaboration with other intelligence agencies.

In one program, dubbed "Weeping Angel," the U.S. and Britain's MI-5 security service agency worked to secretly turn on so-called smart televisions made by Samsung in order to turn them into listening devices.

Like their U.S. counterparts, British officials refused to confirm or deny the charges.

"It is longstanding policy that we do not comment on intelligence matters," a British government spokesperson said.

"I think this is pretty legitimate," said Alex McGeorge, the head of Threat Intelligence at Immunity Inc., a security firm that works with major companies, financial institutions and government agencies.

"There are some techniques that are very specific," he said. "This is years of development and trade craft and work."

Difficult to fabricate

McGeorge said there appears to be a consistency throughout the documents that would be difficult to fabricate and that clearly show the efforts of an intelligence agency with an international focus.

But he questioned how much CIA efforts would be damaged by the disclosures.

"There are some techniques that are very specific  but it's not earth-shattering," McGeorge said. "This is certainly not all of CIA's advanced cyber capability."

Still, former intelligence officials worry that even if the documents prove to be real, it is the political fallout that will cause the most harm.

One cause for concern is the claim by WikiLeaks that the CIA possesses a library of hacking malware employed by other states that it can use to run so-called false flag operations. In essence, the U.S. would be able to carry out cyberespionage or cyberattacks but leave a trail of evidence that point to U.S. adversaries, such as Russia.

U.S. allies and their relationships with Washington could also be impacted.

In addition to cyber operations located at the CIA's headquarters in Virginia, the files released by WikiLeaks reveal the agency has been using the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, as a covert base.

WikiLeaks claims the consulate, one of the largest American consulates in the world, housed CIA hackers working deep undercover who helped develop malicious software for attacks and eavesdropping on targets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In one document, the CIA instructed employees: "Do not leave anything electronic or sensitive unattended in your room. (Paranoid, yes, but better safe than sorry.)" It advised them also to enjoy Lufthansa's free alcohol "in moderation."

The consulate, located in the northern part of the city and surrounded by high, reinforced perimeter walls, was the focus of German investigations into U.S. intelligence activities following the 2013 revelation, which also came from WikiLeaks, that the U.S. National Security Agency had tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, which prompted sharp and highly public disputes between Washington and Berlin.

WikiLeaks

The WikiLeaks release of the trove of alleged CIA hacking files also comes at an especially sensitive point, with the U.S. intelligence community involved in a confrontation with the administration of President Donald Trump over claimed Russian hacking aimed at influencing last year's U.S. election.

During his campaign, Trump, at times, defended WikiLeaks. And since taking office, Trump has derided such concerns as "fake news."

Still, a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence earlier this year concluded with "high confidence" that Russian military intelligence "relayed material it acquired from the DNC and senior Democratic officials to WikiLeaks."

Some former officials see the potential for Moscow's fingerprints to be on this latest WikiLeaks document dump as well, noting Russia is on the short list of countries capable of foiling the CIA's cyber efforts.

"It is in Russia's interest to see the CIA discredited," said Jonathan Shaw, who until 2012 was responsible for developing Britain's policy on cybersecurity. He added: "It is in the interests of Donald Trump, too."

Yet former officials caution there is still more reason to worry.

While WikiLeaks did not publish the codes for the cyberweapons themselves, it warned it might do so at a later date. And there is a good chance others may already have them.

"This is like finding a whole cache of weapons on the battlefield and taking it in," said Jeff Bardin, who worked in intelligence with the U.S. Air Force.

"It really comes down to the fact that our adversaries know what we're doing, what we're using," said Bardin, now CIO of the cybersecurity firm Treadstone 71. "It's pretty disappointing that we would allow this to get out."

2013 disclosures

That disappointment has been magnified following efforts to tighten security after the 2013 disclosures about U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who promptly fled to Russia.

Another NSA contractor, Harold Martin, was indicted earlier this year on charges related to what officials described as possibly the largest heist of classified government information in history.

Yet Terry Roberts, a former deputy director of U.S. Naval Intelligence, said the biggest risk is not so much the exposure of the cyberweapons themselves, but the extent to which the WikiLeaks document dumps might reveal how U.S. intelligence thinks.

"This is an environment that is never static," Roberts said. "You're always creating a tool that's going to be overcome by another tool that's going to be overcome by another tool.

"The expertise and the environment of how you develop these tools and deploy them at speed and with effectiveness is truly the secret sauce," she said.

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-087-17 March 06, 2017

Readout of Secretary Mattis' Call with Japan Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada

Pentagon Spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis spoke this evening by telephone with Japan Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada to discuss North Korea's missile launches earlier today (March 6, Korea time). Secretary Mattis and Minister Inada both agreed that these launches are an unacceptable and irresponsible act that undermines security and stability in the region. Secretary Mattis reaffirmed that the United States remains steadfast in its defense commitments to Japan including its extended deterrence commitment. Both Secretary Mattis and Minister Inada agreed to cooperate closely along with the Republic of Korea to strengthen deterrence and to maintain the peace and security of Northeast Asia.



http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1104289/

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NATO's Joint Viking 2017 drills kick off in Norway

Iran Press TV

Mon Mar 6, 2017 11:40PM

NATO has launched extensive military exercises in Norway's northern region of Finnmark, some 300 kilometers from the Russian border.

The Western military alliance's Joint Viking 2017 drills kicked off on Monday, with the presence of around 8,000 troops from the UK, US, and Norway. The military exercises are scheduled to last until March 15.

According to a statement released by the Norwegian Armed Forces, the main goals are practicing for the country's defense and crisis management.

Before joining their Norwegian counterparts, the British and American troops engaged in preparatory climatization exercises to ready them for Norway's harsh weather conditions.

"The Armed Forces will have a lot of activity in the air, with fighter jets, helicopters and transport aircraft. To ensure safety in the air, we therefore introduced a drone ban," said a Norwegian military spokesman.

In January, the US deployed nearly 300 Marines to Norway, prompting serious warnings from Moscow.

NATO has been deploying weapons and equipment in the Baltic States  Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia  to curb what it refers to as "Russia's aggression."

The US-led alliance's expansion sped up after the two sides cut ties in 2014, when the Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea peninsula of Crimea joined Russia in a referendum.

Moscow is seriously wary of the US-led alliance's military buildup near its borders. In response to the aggressive measures, Russia has beefed up its southwestern military capacity, deploying nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles to its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad bordering Poland and Lithuania.

A screen grab from footage released by the Norwegian Armed Forces showing NATO's Joint Viking 2017 drills on March 6, 2017.

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US Airstrikes in Yemen Kill Former Gitmo Detainee

By Carla Babb March 06, 2017

A former Guantanamo Bay detainee was among several al-Qaida operatives killed in recent U.S. airstrikes on terror targets in Yemen, a Pentagon spokesman said on Monday.

Yasir al-Silmi, who was held at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from 2002-2009, was killed in an airstrike on March 2, according to Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis.

The U.S. military has carried out more than 40 airstrikes in Yemen during the past five days targeting members of al-Qaida branch in the country, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Latest airstrike Sunday

The latest strike in Yemen's Abyan governorate on Sunday targeted seven AQAP operatives, Davis said.

He said the latest round of airstrikes were meant to deny AQAP operatives "freedom of movement."

The Pentagon spokesman announced that two other top AQAP militants were killed in strikes on March 2 and 3, including explosives expert and district leader Usayd al-Adani, and al-Adani's communications intermediary, Harithah al-Waqari.

Many detainees return to battlefield

Al-Silmi, a native Yemeni, was repatriated by former President Barack Obama in December 2009.

The Pentagon has estimated that at least 30 percent of transferred Guantanamo Bay detainees have returned to the battlefield.

There are 41 detainees left at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

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AF's 1st HC-130 takes its final flight to retirement

By Tech. Sgt. Lindsey Maurice, 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs / Published March 07, 2017

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- After more than 50 years of faithful service and rescue missions spanning the globe, King 52, the first HC-130P/N configured for Air Force rescue in 1964, retired March 6, 2017.

Accompanied by its 920th Rescue Wing dedicated crew chiefs and a nostalgic aircrew, the aircraft, tail number 4852, heads to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, from Patrick AFB, Florida, where it has been stationed since mid-2015.

"It was about to retire when we acquired it from Moody Air Force Base,(Georgia)," said Tech. Sgt. Norberto Nieves, a 720th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron expeditor and former crew chief to King 52. "It was a work horse; that's for sure."

"It's sad to see it go," the San Juan, Puerto Rico, native continued. "As crew chiefs, we dedicate a lot of time, sweat, and sometimes blood to these aircraft. They become a part of us."

Tech. Sgt. Matthew White, a 720th AMXS King 52's dedicated crew chief, said while the aircraft was out of commission with a major maintenance issue for a good portion of the time he had it, he's still upset to see it retire.

"Like Nieves said, these aircraft become a part of you and it's tough to see something you've worked so hard on go into retirement," said White, a Spokane, Washington, native. "The most rewarding part of being a dedicated crew chief is seeing the aircraft you spent so many hours on takeoff and come back home safe and sound."

During its time at Patrick AFB, King 52 flew local training missions as well as missions to Key West, Florida, and across the country to Davis-Monthan AFB.

Maj. Nick Philpitt, the 920th Rescue Wing Inspector General Inspections chief and an HC-130 navigator, said he flew King 52 a handful of times and is honored to be part of the aircraft's final flight.

"I haven't flown a lot of missions with #52; however, it is somewhat sentimental to be flying her to retirement denoting it's the end of an era," said Philpitt, an Orlando, Florida, native. "Like a classic car that you've owned and driven, an airplane become(s) an extension of you. Putting it to bed for the last time is moving."

King 52's career ends with the Air Force Materiel Command's 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, where it will be stored in the "boneyard" with other retired military and government aircraft.

As for the 920th RQW's HC-130P/N maintenance crews, they continue to work hard at home and abroad ensuring the fleet is rescue-ready.

The HC-130P/N is the only dedicated fixed-wing combat search and rescue platform in the Air Force inventory.

The mission of the HC-130P/N "King" is to rapidly deploy to austere airfields and denied territory in order to execute, all weather personnel recovery operations anytime, anywhere. King crews routinely perform high and low altitude personnel and equipment airdrops, infiltration/exfiltration of personnel, helicopter air-to-air refueling, and forward area refueling point missions. When tasked, the aircraft also conducts humanitarian assistance operations, disaster response, security cooperation/aviation advisory, emergency aeromedical evacuation, casualty evacuation, and noncombatant evacuation operations.

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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, March 7, 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

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 21 strikes consisting of 31 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed a gas-oil separation plant and damaged a bridge.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, 16 strikes destroyed nine wellheads, six fighting positions, three oil inlet manifolds, three barges, a pumpjack and a shipping container and damaged three supply routes and two bridges.

-- Near Raqqa, a strike destroyed a footbridge and an ISIS-held building.

-- Near Shadaddi, a strike destroyed an ISIS headquarters.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes consisting of 61 engagements against ISIS targets, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Huwayjah, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and an ISIS staging area and destroyed a tunnel complex.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes engaged five ISIS tactical units; destroyed nine fighting positions, five vehicle-borne bombs, four vehicles, three roadblocks, two mortar systems, two tactical vehicles, two rocket-propelled-grenade systems, a supply cache, an artillery system, a sniper position, an unmanned aerial vehicle launch site and a vehicle bomb factory; damaged 23 vehicles, 10 supply routes and a tunnel; and suppressed two mortar teams.

-- Near Qaim, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an anti-air artillery system and a vehicle.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike destroyed a mortar system.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does 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.

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Dunford Discusses Syria With Turkish, Russian Counterparts

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

ANTALYA, Turkey, March 7, 2017  The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts here today to discuss the situation in northern Syria.

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, Gen. Valery Gerasimov of the Russian army and Gen. Hulusi Akar of the Turkish army are looking to enhance senior-level communications and operational deconfliction of military operations in Syria, Joint Staff officials said.

It is a measure of the success that forces are having in countering the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that the conversation is necessary, officials said, adding that operations in Manbij and Bab in northern Syria have created a crowded battlespace.

Forces are crowding ISIS, especially around Bab. Army Lt. Gen. Steven Townsend, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, told Pentagon reporters March 1 that all the forces acting in Syria "have converged literally within hand-grenade range of one another."

Converging Forces

At the end of February, Turkish and Turkish proxy forces converged with Syrian regime and Syrian proxy fighters, with ISIS in the mix, officials said, and Peoples' Protection Units, Syrian Democratic Force fighters and Syrian Arab Coalition fighters also are close together.

"We've seen Syrian regime forces advance through ISIS-held villages to essentially rifle range or hand-grenade range with Syrian Arab Coalition fighters holding the area around Manbij," Townsend said March 1.

This is a dangerous situation, Joint Staff officials said, and chances for mistakes multiply. Some Russian and Syrian regime aircraft mistakenly bombed a village that Syrian Arab Coalition forces had liberated from ISIS. American forces were near the scene, but were not affected by the mistake.

While the United States and Russia maintain senior-level lines of communication as appropriate, including deconflicting aerial and ground operations, the Defense Department suspended military-to-military cooperation with the Russian armed forces after the illegal attempted annexation of Crimea in Ukraine.

This is the second time in a month that Dunford has met with his Russian counterpart. He and Gerasimov met in Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 16.

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Task Force Southwest completes full mission rehearsal prior to Afghanistan deployment II Marine Expeditionary Force

US Marine Corps News

By Sgt. Lucas Hopkins, II Marine Expeditionary Force

CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina -- Task Force Southwest completed a full mission rehearsal in preparation for an upcoming deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, at Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 27 to March 3.

Approximately 300 Marines and Sailors with the unit used the week-long exercise to further refine and sharpen their advisory and combat skills. In theater, the Marines will train, advise and assist the Afghan National Army 215th Corps and 505th Zone National Police.

"The full mission rehearsal is the first chance for us to get together as a Task Force in the field to collectively work on the skills we're going to need downrange," said Col. Matthew Reid, the deputy commander of Task Force Southwest. "This is a chance for us to put it all together, to coalesce as a team and get ready to go downrange to do what we need to do in order to be successful."

The Marines held advisory meetings with Afghan role players, conducted medical drills and a Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel training mission, and executed a live-fire mortar range integrated with both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.

"We've gotten to practice those scenarios, build team unity and standard operating procedures, and we've definitely seen improvement over the last couple of days," said Lt. Col. Scott Welch, the deputy commander for the Afghan National Police training team.

Task Force Southwest composited in December of 2016, and has since trained on all facets of their upcoming deployment, but mostly within their separate sections. The full mission rehearsal, however, brought together the unit's command element, security force company and advisory teams, which provided a realistic training environment comparable to the circumstances surrounding the current situation in Afghanistan.

"We've been able to replicate the conditions we're going to see in theater to the maximum extent possible," said Brig. Gen. Roger Turner, the commanding general of Task Force Southwest. "We've been able to go through and exercise all the separate missions we're going to do, but put it together as a team."

The unit's largest section by far is its security element, which consists of short and medium-range arms capabilities. While they will not be directly advising the Afghan forces, their role is vital to the unit's success.

"The security force is responsible for not only the security of [our camps], but also providing security for the advisors, aiding in our mission to train advise and assist our Afghan counterparts," said Sgt. Daniel Chalmers, a squad leader with Task Force Southwest.

Through the use of role players, the unit has also worked vigorously to adapt an understanding of the Afghan culture. Welch, who deployed as an advisor during both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, believes this understanding will lead to increased rapport and productive relationships.

"Respecting their customs and courtesies, though different from ours, is paramount to us. We want to become part of their team," said Welch.

"Afghanistan has a different culture. There are cultural nuances. So we train the advisors to understand that because the Afghans have different perspectives and different ways of thinking," said Turner. "It's important the advisors understand that [because] it makes them more effective at working with their counterparts."

Task Force Southwest is scheduled to deploy in the Spring, and will be the largest group of Marines in Afghanistan since combat operations ended in 2014. This time, the Marine Corps' role is not one specifically of combat, but of positively influencing their Afghan partners to help thwart the presence of terrorist groups in the province.

"We have strong ties there as Marines and we're going to capitalize on those relationships," said Reid. "Helmand Province is where we succeeded in the past. I think we can capitalize again on the fact that we've been there before and that we can provide them with some type of sustainable, secure environment... We're going to be successful by making the Afghans successful."

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Continuing Promise 2017 Completes Honduras, Tops 12,900 Patient Encounters

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170307-04

Release Date: 3/7/2017 9:29:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brittney Cannady, Expeditionary Combat Camera

TRUJILLO, Honduras (NNS) -- U.S. military personnel departed Trujillo, Honduras, after completing a 10-day mission stop in support of Continuing Promise 2017 (CP-17).

As part of the visit, a team of 169 Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps service members worked with local military counterparts, medical professionals, and volunteers to provide medical, dental, optometry, and veterinary services Feb. 21-March 2.

During closing ceremonies at Puerto Castilla Naval Base, Capt. Errin Armstrong reflected on how CP-17's time in Trujillo will enhance the team's upcoming visit to Mayapo, Colombia.

"As we prepare to leave Honduras, I know that we can build off our experiences here to enjoy the same successes at our next stop," said Armstrong, CP-17 mission commander.

CP-17 is headed to its final scheduled stop, where it looks to continue participating in knowledge exchange and training (KET) events while providing medical services with its host nation partners.

Since departing Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Jan. 26, the humanitarian mission has conducted a combined 12,909 patient encounters in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, and Trujillo. This includes 3,657 dental, 3,417 adult medicine, 2,013 pediatric, 1,625 optometric, 669 gynecological, 519 dermatological, and 435 physical therapy visits.

Additionally, veterinarians treated 1,493 animals, environmental health and medical professionals participated in 135 KETs, musicians from the U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF) Band performed 36 concerts, and service members were involved in 15 community relation projects.

"In both of our mission stops we exceeded our patient encounter goal by over 125 percent," said Armstrong. "However, the importance that people and partnerships play in this mission's success cannot be solely measured in numbers."

For Dermatologist Lt. Cmdr. Lesley Hawley, treating patients during CP-17 is a chance to give back and help others.

Consuela Mirandez was referred to Hawley with a pyogenic granuloma on her nose. The benign tumor made of blood vessels would continue to grow unless removed.

Hawley said the girl was scared of going to school because the two-centimeter growth was causing her to be bullied and have no friends.

After consulting with her mother, Hawley removed the tumor in a procedure which took 20 minutes from start to finish.

"It was rewarding and an honor to have the opportunity to change a life, which leaves a lasting impact on the patient and me," said Hawley, who is attached to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia. "After the surgery, we pulled out a phone and set it on selfie-mode so she could see herself. That smile was worth the whole trip."

The trip to Trujillo was also worth it for Bessy Medina, who took a 40-minute bus ride from her hometown of Bonito Oriental, Honduras, to receive care at the medical site.

Once there, using ultrasound-guided drainage, doctors were able to treat a cyst on her wrist which caused her pain in the performance of everyday tasks.

"I'm excited and super thankful for the treatment and the doctors for relieving my pain," Medina said.

"It was great that we were able to treat her; by having radiology work closely with primary care, we were able to offer top-quality service without a lengthy referral process," said CP-17's Medical Officer in Charge, Lt. Cmdr. Robert Lennon.

Lennon said the encounter is just one example of how work during CP-17 both helps local residents while giving the 80-member medical team opportunities to increase their professional knowledge and skill sets.

CP-17 is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet-conducted deployment to conduct civil-military operations including humanitarian assistance, training engagements, and medical, dental, and veterinary support in an effort to show U.S. support and commitment to Central and South America.

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Bataan ARG Enters US 6th Fleet

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170307-03

Release Date: 3/7/2017 9:19:00 AM

From U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs

NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), with the embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), entered the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations, March 7, as part of a routine deployment in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe, NATO allies, and European and African partner nations.

Quote:

"We are ready to put all our training to the test; we are flexible and capable for any mission that should come our way." - Capt. Larry LeGree, commander, Bataan ARG

"The Marines and Sailors of 24th MEU and Bataan ARG are ready and look forward to working with our allies and partners in the 6th Fleet area of operations." - Col. Ryan S. Rideout, commander, 24th MEU

Quick Facts:

While in theater, more than 4,000 Sailors and Marines of the ARG and MEU will train to share information, experiences, and work together for regional stability.

ARGs are capable of a variety of operations including amphibious combat operations, anti-piracy, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The Bataan ARG is comprised of Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 8, the 24th MEU, amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19), and amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50). Also embarked as part of the Bataan ARG are Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 26, Fleet Surgical Team 6, Tactical Air Control Squadron 21, Assault Craft Unit 4, and Beachmaster Unit 2.

The 24th MEU consists of more than 2,200 Marines, including a Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (Reinforced), and Combat Logistics Battalion 24 and the MEU command element. The 24th MEU spent 26 weeks training in mission areas such as security operations, humanitarian relief, and amphibious raids.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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Somalia humanitarian crisis amounts to nightmare: UN chief

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 2:48PM

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Somalia to discuss a hunger crisis which he described as a "nightmare" in the East African country.

"The combination of conflict, drought, climate change, diseases and cholera is a nightmare," Guterres told reporters during the flight to Mogadishu on Tuesday.

"It is essentially a visit of solidarity with Somalia. We are trying to put in place a response mechanism... for trying to prevent the worst," he said.

On Tuesday, UN Humanitarian Chief, Stephen O'Brien, who is also in Mogadishu, called for urgent and immediate action to alleviate the situation.

Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre said on Saturday that 110 people had lost their lives in a single region in 48 hours due to the drought.

On February 27, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of the possibility of the recurrence of a famine that starved 260,000 people to death across the country in 2011. The agency has said more than 6.2 million people need urgent humanitarian aid, including almost three million who are hungry.

According to the WHO, over 363,000 acutely malnourished children and 70,000 severely malnourished children need urgent, life-saving support.

The emerging famine has already forced thousands of people from across the country to stream into the capital, Mogadishu, in search of food, flooding local and international aid agencies.

In addition, the drought has led to a spread of acute, watery diarrhea, cholera and measles across various regions of the country. An estimated 5.5 million people are at risk of contracting waterborne diseases due to the lack of clean water in many areas.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recently warned that some 1.4 million children suffering from severe malnutrition could die this year of famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

The government has already warned that the widespread hunger "makes people vulnerable to exploitation, human rights abuses and to criminal and terrorist networks."

The UN's humanitarian appeal for Somalia for 2017 is 864 million dollars. The money is needed to provide assistance to 3.9 million people, but additional funds are required to cope with the worsening situation, and in January, the UN World Food Programme launched a 26-million-dollar plan to respond to the drought there.

At present, 20 percent of the population in the affected area has extremely limited access to basic food; acute malnutrition is higher than 30 percent and more than two out of 10,000 people lose their lives on a daily basis.

Over 20 million people face starvation in Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen and Nigeria.

Previous droughts in addition to over two decades of conflict, including ongoing terrorist attacks by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab Takfiri terrorist group, have left Somalia fragile.

Inaction

The urgent calls for humanitarian assistance in Somalia come as the US continues its military presence under the name of anti-terrorism campaign in the African country, conducting deadly drone strikes which lead to civilian casualties from time to time.

Meanwhile, no major reaction by Muslim countries and international bodies, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has been witnessed.

The OIC official website has not posted any report with regard to the ongoing crisis since the news about the extreme drought came out in late February.

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'Iran speedboats force US fleet to change course: US Navy official

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 11:4AM

A fleet of American and British warships have been "forced" to change their course after being encountered by a group of Iranian vessels near the Islamic Republic's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, according to a US navy official.

Speaking to the Associated Press on Monday, the unnamed US official said the speedboats, allegedly belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), came within 550 meters of USNS Invincible and its three-ship entourage from the UK Royal Navy in the Strait of Hormuz.

Describing the incident, which apparently happened on Saturday, as "unprofessional and dangerous," the official said the American and British vessels had changed their course after failing to communicate with the other vessels over radio.

Equipped with highly sophisticated radars and other advanced systems, USNS Invincible is a tracking ship that monitors missile launches and sends important data back to the command center. It can measure such data as a missile's accuracy.

In September last year, the Pentagon's spokesman Captain Jeff Davis reported a similar encounter, where the USS Firebolt patrol boat changed its course after a speedboat operated by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps came within 91 meters of it.

Back then, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan vowed that Tehran would not let any intrusion go unanswered.

Iran issued another serious warning in early February, when British and American naval vessels held maritime military exercises in the Persian Gulf with France and Australia to simulate targeting Iranian combat jets, ships and coastal missile launch facilities.

Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said Tehran "does not care about who's doing what" as long as they do not violate the country's "red line," meaning its territorial waters.

In January last year, the IRGC Navy arrested the crews of two US patrol boats that had trespassed into Iranian waters. Tehran released the servicemen after Washington apologized for the incursion and vowed to prevent such incidents in future.

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Former South Sudanese general forms anti-government rebel group

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 9:17AM

A former South Sudanese army general, who resigned last month, has formed a new anti-government rebel group, pledging to topple President Salva Kiir.

Lieutenant General Thomas Cirillo Swaka, the former deputy head of logistics, quit his position last month, citing abuses by government forces and accusing Kiir of transforming the country's military into a "tribal army."

He had said the military, police and other security branches systematically recruited from among the Dinka, the president's tribe.

Swaka was one of the three senior military officials who resigned in February, accusing Kiir's government of "tribalism," "corruption" and other abuses.

The former general announced in a statement on Monday that the new rebel group, called the National Salvation Front (NSF), "is convinced that to restore sanity and normalcy in our country, Kiir must go; he must vacate office."

He also pledged that his rebel group would "fight to eradicate the malady that has badly tarnished the image of South Sudan."

Swaka also slammed the "above-the-law culture and mentality," which he says prevailed among top officials in the military, adding that such an approach is to blame for rampant crime, including robberies, rapes and embezzlement of public funds.

South Sudan's army spokesman, Brig-Gen Lul Ruai Koang, said he had no immediate comment on the news.

The rebel group will apparently increase instability in the youngest country in Africa, which has already been grappling with violence fueled by another rebel group for more than three years.

A bloody civil war in South Sudan began in December 2013, when Kiir accused his former vice president Riek Machar of plotting a coup against him.

The two sides then got involved in a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the impoverished country along ethnic lines between the Dinka and Nuer communities.

The two sides then got involved in a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the impoverished country along ethnic lines between the Dinka and Nuer communities.

Thousands of people have been killed and more than three million forced to flee their homes in the war.

The two sides eventually signed an agreement in August 2015 to bring the conflict to an end. As part of the deal, Machar returned to Juba in April 2016 to take up the post of vice president in a national unity government.

In July 2016, Kiir sacked Machar again after a new wave of fighting erupted. Machar is currently in exile in South Africa after fleeing the new spate of violence.

The UN and international rights groups have on numerous occasions criticized both Machar's loyalists and government troops of committing atrocities during their military operations.

In a report obtained by the Associated Press on Monday, the world body said the Juba government is blocking desperately-needed food aid and restricting UN peacekeepers.

The internal report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the Security Council singled out South Sudan's government for "the destruction of all the social fabric in all parts of the country," listing "outrageous" examples of belligerence by its security forces.

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Russia Probes Top agenda At Hearing For Justice Department Nominee

RFE/RL March 07, 2017

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. federal prosecutor who is poised to oversee Justice Department investigations into alleged connections between Russian officials and White House aides during the 2016 presidential election campaign has said he isn't aware of any reason for him to recuse himself from those probes.

Rod Rosenstein made the statement on March 7 during his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

Rosenstein's nomination to be the No. 2 Justice Department official has been caught up in the swirl of allegations about meetings between President Donald Trump's aides and Russian officials during 2016.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who heads the Justice Department, recused himself last week from overseeing all investigations about the election campaign after he appeared to have misled senators during his own confirmation hearing by saying that he never met with any Russian government officials during the campaign.

Later, however, after media reports on the issue, Sessions admitted meeting with Russia's ambassador to the United States at least twice during the election campaign.

Republican and Democratic senators are at odds over whether a special independent prosecutor should be appointed to look into Russia's alleged interference in the U.S. election campaign.

The FBI is reportedly conducting its own probes on the subject, as are four different Senate committees.

During Rosenstein's March 7 confirmation hearing, he was repeatedly asked -- mainly by Democratic senators -- about how he would handle the oversight of investigations into the election campaign and whether he would consider calling for a special prosecutor.

Rosenstein said he was not familiar with the facts of any investigation and was unaware of any requirement that he abandon oversight. But he said he would recuse himself if it was necessary.

One Democrat on the committee, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, has specifically demanded that Rosenstein step aside from overseeing any investigations related to Russia's alleged efforts to interfere in the election campaign.

"I will use every possible tool to block the nomination of Rod Rosenstein to be deputy attorney general unless he commits to appoint independent special prosecutor," Blumenthal said in a statement released ahead of the hearing.

Sessions, meanwhile, submitted revised written testimony to the Judiciary Committee on March 6, acknowledging that he had spoken twice during 2016 with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

Sessions also insisted that his original testimony was correct.

"I did not mention communications I had had with the Russian ambassador over the years because the question did not ask about them," Sessions wrote. "My answer was correct."

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/us-justice-department-senate -confirmation-russia-investigation/28355902.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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Hungary Approves Detention Of All Asylum Seekers

RFE/RL March 07, 2017

Hungary's parliament has overwhelmingly approved the automatic detention of all asylum seekers in container camps at the borders, despite criticism from rights groups.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on March 7 that the legislation, passed 138-6 with 22 abstentions, is in response to recent terror attacks in Europe.

It reinstates Hungary's practice of detaining asylum applicants, which it suspended in 2013 under pressure from Brussels, the UN refugee agency, and the European Court of Human Rights.

According to the new measure, all asylum seekers entering Hungary, and those already in the country, will be detained or moved to the container camps.

While in camps, they will not be allowed to move around Hungary or leave the country during the processing of their applications, unless they are crossing the border back into Serbia.

The new border camps will comprise converted shipping containers built onto existing "transit zones" erected in 2015 at the southern border with Serbia, government officials say.

Orban, speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for a new group of border guards known locally as "border hunters," said Hungary is "under siege."

Hungary could only count on itself for protection, he said.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, voiced deep concern after the adoption of the measure.

"This new law violates Hungary's obligations under international and EU laws, and will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered," UNHCR said in a statement issued in Geneva.

"Under international and EU laws, the detention of refugees and asylum seekers can only be justified on a limited number of grounds, and only where it is necessary, reasonable and proportionate," the statement added.

'Disregarding EU Principles'

Rights group Amnesty International said last month that the new rules "disregard EU guiding principles that it is forbidden to detain someone on the basis that they have claimed asylum."

"Elderly, sick people as well as families with children may also be detained [in the containers]," the rights group said.

The new measure is the latest in a series of a tough anti-immigration steps by Orban -- who has called immigration "poison."

Hungary built militarized razor wire fences on its borders with Serbia and Croatia in 2015, and handed thousands of migrants expulsion orders for "illegal border-crossing" and even jailed some.

It has also gradually been closing down its network of refugee camps, while allowing only a trickle of asylum seekers into the existing transit zones.

According to the government, 1,004 people have applied for asylum in Hungary so far this year.

The Interior Ministry on March 6 defended police against accusations of brutality against migrants, made in a newspaper article by medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and in an article in Britain's Independent website.

The Independent quoted migrants as saying that Hungarian border guards are "taking selfies with beaten migrants." (http://ind.pn/2mo7GyV)

The Interior Ministry "repeatedly and categorically rejects the unverified allegations," said a ministry statement.

Written by Eugen Tomiuc with reporting by AFP, dpa, and The Independent

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/hungary- detention-asylum-seekers-containers- orban-migrants/28355469.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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Kosovo Moves to Establish Army, Defying Belgrade

By Leonat Shehu March 07, 2017

In a move likely to anger neighboring Serbia, Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci on Tuesday filed a draft law to convert the country's lightly armed security forces into a national army.

Calling the militarization of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) "a normal step of a sovereign and independent state," he issued a statement saying the initiative "aims at protecting territorial sovereignty and integrity, preserving peace and defending the Republic of Kosovo's interests and also contributes in building up and protecting regional and global peace and stability."

In an exclusive interview with Voice of America's Albanian Service, Thaci called for the support of parliament's ethnic Serb minority, which, he says, is under intense pressure from Belgrade to oppose the move.

"The Serbian List has stated very clearly that it will never vote for the establishment of the Army of Kosovo," he said, referring to Kosovo's parliamentary ethnic Serb party. "Its attitude is directly orchestrated by the Belgrade government.

"However, Kosovo's fate is not tied to that of (Serbia)," he said. "We are an independent and sovereign state. I want to believe that even if the Serbian List is not willing to vote for the establishment of the Kosovo Army, (it will become a reality). This will be an army not only of the Albanians, but a multi-ethnic army in the service of all."

'Serbia will never agree'

A series of incidents in recent months has exacerbated long-simmering tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. The move has been recognized by 114 countries, but not by Belgrade.

"Serbia will never agree with the formation of Kosovo's army," Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said at a rally in Mladenovac on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

"We know what Serbia is and what we will never give to anyone," said Vucic, who is a candidate for president in elections next month.

According to Belgrade-based public broadcaster RTS, Vucic phoned Thaci to "harshly confront" him on the plan, which he said would only further destabilize the region. Both men agreed to continue talks "so that the situation would not escape control."

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Belgrade will use all political means available to prevent the formation of a Kosovo army. The official Tanjug news agency quoted Dacic as saying Pristina has been making "unilateral moves" fueling instability in the region.

Transformation, expansion

Thaci's plan would boost the KSF's regular forces by 1,000 members to a total of 5,000, and its reserve forces by 500 members to a total of 3,000.

Creation of the new army, he said, is integral to Kosovo's aspiration to join NATO.

"There can be no NATO membership for Kosovo without an army," he said. "I believe this issue will bring together the political spectrum of Kosovo regardless of their ethnicity or party. All along we have had support from the United States and NATO, but the establishment of the army has become impossible simply because the Serbian List and Belgrade do not allow it. Serbia has threatened the List not to vote in favor of a Kosovo army."

Citing the army's role as "a factor in peace, stability and good neighborliness," he said efforts to normalize relations with Belgrade will continue regardless of how parliament votes.

"Kosovo Army is not being established as a threat to anyone, no one needs to feel threatened. On the contrary," he said. "The dialogue with Serbia will continue and we will work to normalize relations. I also want to hope that this will be a very good message that Kosovo is being consolidated as an independent and sovereign state."

With domestic political volatility delaying EU membership prospects for some Western Balkan nations, Thaci says Kosovo can't continue to depend exclusively on foreign militaries.

"Because of these EU [enlargement] delays, which are purely technical and bureaucratic, various (kinds of) extremism and nationalism are being born, and there also is a so-called extension of Russian influence in the whole Western Balkans," he said. "So, Brussels should quicken the pace for the region to be integrated from a strategic point of view."

Thaci said some 4,500 troops from 31 countries deployed in Kosovo since 1999 will remain. Those international troops arrived after NATO's 78-day air campaign to stop a bloody Serbian crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists.

Presence of troops assured

Last month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, assured Kosovo in separate visits to the country that the military alliance will maintain troops in the country "for as long as it's necessary."

Thaci's draft law is expected to be submitted for a parliamentary vote no later than next week.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Albanian and Serbian Services. Some information is from AP.

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South Sudan Renegade General Calls for Overthrow of Kiir

By John Tanza, Ayen Bior March 06, 2017

A renegade South Sudanese general says President Salva Kiir is destroying the East African nation and must be overthrown.

General Thomas Cirillo Swaka spoke to VOA's South Sudan in Focus from an undisclosed location Monday, soon after announcing the launch of a new rebel group, the National Salvation Front.

"Kiir is killing our people, Kiir has betrayed the aspiration, the hope of our people," he said. "So it is a must for the people of South Sudan ... to come out at this historical juncture to see into it that Kiir is not there."

South Sudan has been mired in war since fighting between pro- and anti-Kiir factions broke out at the end of 2013. The war has displaced more than two million people from their homes and triggered ongoing food shortages in many areas.

Cirillo said his group will "use every means possible" to bring down Kiir, but was evasive about the size of his forces.

"My army is our people who love peace. My army is our people who love to be together, who love to be in unity," he said.

Cirillo, a veteran of South Sudan's two-decade battle for independence from Sudan, was the army's deputy chief of staff for logistics before resigning his position last month. In a manifesto released Monday, he accused the Kiir administration of seizing power and property for the president's own Dinka tribe at the expense of other ethnic groups.

Cirillo said he holds other opposition leaders in high regard and expressed hope they can come together to, in his words, "rescue the nation."

Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar signed a peace deal in August 2015, but the agreement has made little progress since fighting in the capital, Juba, last July killed 300 people and forced Machar to flee the country.

The power struggle between President Kiir and his former deputy Machar broke out in December 2013, after the president accused Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup d'etat.

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UN Chief Makes Surprise Visit to Somalia to Focus on Famine

By Harun Maruf March 06, 2017

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Somalia needs "massive support" to prevent a repeat of the 2011 famine that killed 260,000 people.

Guterres made a surprise visit Tuesday morning to the Horn of Africa country, meeting with newly-elected president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo, and U.N. and African Union officials.

"We have 6.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Somalia, that is almost half of the Somali population," said Guterres at a joint news conference in Mogadishu with Farmajo.

Guterres noted the recent U.N. appeal for $825 million to help Somalia.

"Without that support, we'll have a tragedy that is absolutely unacceptable and that the Somali people do not deserve," he said.

Later in the day, Guterres flew to Baidoa, one of the most drought-stricken areas in the country, and visited a hospital where malnourished people are being treated.

Baidoa is the capital of Bay region, one of the worst-hit areas in the famines of 1992 and 2011. Baidoa was called the "city of death" in the 1990s because of the high number of malnourished and starving people.

Farmajo welcomed the visit by Guterres.

"As you know, livestock have been dying, the people have started dying," Farmajo said. "He's here to see the drought, and to give his support in his capacity and tell the international community about the magnitude of the problem."

Farmajo said he and Guterres also discussed Somalia's security issues and delivery of aid to the affected areas.

Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulle from VOA's Somali Service contributed to this report.

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Trump Accuses Obama of Releasing 'Vicious Prisoners' From Guantanamo

By Jeff Seldin March 07, 2017

President Donald Trump lashed out again at his predecessor, using Twitter Tuesday to criticize former president Barack Obama for allegedly releasing 122 "vicious prisoners" from the Guantanamo Bay military detention center who "returned to the battlefield."

Trump did not disclose the source of his allegation but appears to be citing a semi-annual report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which said that as of July 2016, 122 former detainees had returned to terrorism.

But the updated version of the report, released later Tuesday, found that of the 182 detainees released after Obama took office only eight, or 4.4 percent, reengaged in terrorist activities. Another 13 detainees, or 7.1 percent, are suspected of rejoining terrorist groups.

Overall, ODNI found that of the 714 detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay facility, 121 returned to terrorism (16.9 percent) with another 87 (12.2 percent) suspected of reengaging in terrorist activities.

Of the 714 detainees that have been released from Guantanamo Bay, 532 were released by the administration of president George W. Bush.

Trump's Tuesday morning tweet came shortly after a news report on the "Fox & Friends" television program about a U.S. airstrike in Yemen that killed a former Guantanamo detainee. The report credited the Trump administration with killing the former prisoner and reported he was "released by Barack Obama."

This is the second time in recent days Trump has publicly attacked Obama. On Saturday, Trump posted a series of unsubstantiated tweets accusing Obama of wiretapping his presidential campaign at Trump Tower in New York City.

Obama considered closing the controversial prison on a U.S. military base in Cuba. Trump has said he would keep the base open, stop the release of prisoners and possibly send new prisoners there.

VOA's Wayne Lee contributed to this report.

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Revised US Travel Ban Triggers Mixed Reaction

By VOA News March 07, 2017

Iraq, now removed from U.S. travel restrictions, praised the new executive order President Donald Trump signed Monday, while Sudan, still included in the ban, reaffirmed its opposition to the measure.

Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Jamal, in comments to the Associated Press, said the revised U.S. order removing Iraq from the ban list will "enhance" U.S.-Iraqi cooperation in the fight against Islamic State extremists.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Iraq's removal followed a State Department review on improving vetting of Iraqi citizens in collaboration with the Iraqi government.

The order's 90-day ban on the issuance of new visas applies now to citizens of six majority-Muslim countries  Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.

African leaders express disappointment

The Sudanese foreign ministry issued a statement Tuesday expressing regret and disappointment at Trump's order.

"Khartoum is furious because it is involved in a process that was supposed to lead to all U.S. sanctions being lifted," said Mohamed Naji, managing editor of the Sudan Tribune news website in Paris. "This long negotiation began under President George W. Bush. ... In this context, Khartoum is wondering if there has been a setback in the process, especially given that President Trump's executive order lists Sudan among states sponsoring terrorism."

In Nigeria, the government released a travel advisory suggesting people to postpone any plans to go to the United States until the Trump administration's immigration policy is clear.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, senior special assistant on foreign affairs and diaspora to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, said the advisory is about telling people to be cautious.

"Just in the last few weeks, we had a few cases of people that were sent back from the airport, basically visitors coming into America, sent back from the airport to their country," he said. "So we are saying that if your trip is not that essential, maybe you should just watch and see."

Republicans laud ban, Democrats criticize

Back in the United States, several key congressional Republicans congratulated the Trump administration for its revisions to the order, while a leading Democrat and several human rights organizations sharply criticized it as "racist and anti-Islamic."

The split had House Speaker Paul Ryan praising the new order, saying it advances "our shared goal" of protecting the United States. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he believes the new directive, unlike the earlier order, will not be seen as a religious ban and will pass legal scrutiny. The previous executive order was suspended following legal challenges and the revised version was aimed at overcoming those objections.

Graham said he believed the new order to be "a ban on individuals coming from compromised governments and failed states."

Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders voiced sharp disagreement with his Republican colleagues, describing the new ban as singling out Muslims in "an attempt to divide us up."

"This isn't about keeping America safe," Sanders said."A president who respected our traditions of religious freedom would not have resorted to hateful, anti-Islamic rhetoric to justify [the] ban."

Refugee organization calls ban 'gift for extremists'

The International Rescue Committee, which provides humanitarian aid to 40 countries and resettles vetted refugees in 28 U.S. cities, described the new order as a threat to 60,000 already-vetted refugees left stranded in crisis zones.

"This ban doesn't target those who are the greatest security risk, but those least able to advocate for themselves," the IRC said in a statement. "Instead of making us safer, it serves as a gift for extremists who seek to undermine America."

The IRC also touted the U.S. resettlement program, saying it is regarded as "the world's most successful and secure." It said there has not been a deadly terrorist attack by a refugee since the U.S. resettlement program was launched in 1980.

Amnesty International described Trump's replacement order as "the same hate and fear with new packaging." An Amnesty statement also warned that the order will generate "extreme fear ... for thousands of families by, once again, putting anti-Muslim hatred into policy."

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China to launch Mars probe satellite in 2020

People's Daily Online

(People's Daily Online) 16:09, March 07, 2017

China plans to launch a probe satellite to Mars in July or August of 2020, according to Wan Weixing, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, on March 6.

Wan is the chief scientist of China's Mars exploration program. He explained that China officially approved its first Mars exploration mission early last year. Before that, feasibility studies for the mission were carried out, and its scientific goals and basic plans were confirmed. Relevant work on satellite probes, ground data application, rocket launches, and monitoring and control systems have been started as well.

China's first Mars mission is poised to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies like orbiting, landing and inspection. The mission will also kick off comprehensive exploration and high-precision scientific probes of the planet. Research will cover the surface, atmosphere and underground environments of Mars, in addition to the space around the planet. Scientists will use the data to delve into the origin and evolution of the solar system and the search for external life.

According to Wan, the probe satellite will arrive on Mars about seven months after its launch, and will send back data in 2021. The designed life expectancy of the satellite is one Martian year, or about two years on Earth.

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First parts of THAAD system arrive in ROK, incense Chinese citizens

People's Daily Online

(People's Daily Online) 15:16, March 07, 2017

The deployment of a U.S. missile shield in South Korea has gotten underway with the arrival of part of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, Seoul's defense ministry said on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

Within a hour after CCTV divulged the news, more than 10,000 people had commented on the network's Weibo account, with many Chinese netizens expressing concern over issues of safety and patriotism. Some vowed to promote a new wave of boycotts against Lotte and other South Korean companies.

The hot button issue has already generated 535,000 page views and become one of the most discussed topics on Weibo by 1pm on Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang explained in a Feb. 27 press release that China is firm in its resolve to oppose the deployment of THAAD in the ROK, and will resolutely take action to safeguard its own security interests. Any resultant consequences must be borne by the U.S. and ROK.

Lotte Group, a South Korean conglomerate that covers shopping malls to chocolate, has been facing boycotts in China since it approved a land swap outside Seoul last week, allowing South Korea to install the THAAD system.

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China, Russia slam US missile system deployment in South Korea

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 11:31AM

China and Russia have slammed the deployment of a US missile system to South Korea, with Beijing vowing to defend its security interests.

"We are firmly opposed to the deployment of THAAD (missile system) in the Republic of Korea (ROK) by the US and the ROK," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang announced during a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

"China will resolutely take necessary measures to defend our own security interests. All consequences entailed from this will be borne by the US and the ROK," he added, without elaborating on the sorts of measures it would consider.

Geng further called on "relevant parties to stop the deployment and not to travel down that wrong path."

On Monday, the US military's Pacific Command declared it had begun deploying the so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to South Korea, claiming that it is aimed at defending its ally against a potential North Korean attack.

Beijing has also taken measures against South Korean multinational conglomerate Lotte Group, which provided the land to host THAAD.

Chinese protesters have staged rallies to denounce Lotte, which is also targeted with multiple threats of consumer or business boycotts.

The South Korean news agency Yonhap further reported on Tuesday that Chinese authorities had shut down 39 of Lotte's retail outlets in the country, citing fire-safety concerns.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said on Tuesday the THAAD deployment is bringing the situation on the already-volatile Korean Peninsula into a stalemate, Interfax reported.

The THAAD system is meant to intercept and destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight.

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Seoul, Washington Accelerate THAAD System Deployment Amid Pyongyang Provocations

Sputnik News

21:36 07.03.2017

The United States and South Korea started to speed up deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, following the current aggravation of the situation in the region, with parts of THAAD arrived at the Osan Air Base, Gyeonggi province, on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Seoul and Washington agreed to deploy the THAAD system, with a range of over 200 kilometers (125 miles), designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at the terminal incoming stage, in July 2016, amid growing tensions in South Korea's Seongju County spurred by North Korea's ballistic and nuclear tests. The THAAD battery will reportedly consist of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors, a fire control and communications unit, as well as an AN/TPY-2 radar.

Deployment deadlines

The South Korean Defense Ministry was quoted as saying in local media reports last month that THAAD could be stationed by late June at the earliest.

The deployment of THAAD parts in Gyeonggi province came after North Korea had fired on Monday four ballistic missiles, three of which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone. It also coincided with annual military exercises by the United States and South Korea.

A US Army in South Korea representative though told Sputnik on Tuesday that the deployment was carried out according to earlier agreements and was not linked to the aggravation of the situation in the region.

"In the evening [Korean time] on March 6, parts of THAAD arrived at the Osan Air Base, Gyeonggi province, and it has nothing to do with the current White House statement; and it is just a phase of the process of missile defense systems deployment, an agreement on which had been reached between [South] Korea and the United States. There is no connection between these two events, the parts of THAAD are being supplied in accordance with the agreements reached in July last year," the representative said.

Beijing, Moscow ready for countermeasures

While Washington argues that THAAD system deployment in South Korea is defensive and does not jeopardize other states' security, the decision has been criticized by neighboring China and Russia as inappropriate, possibly disproportionate and affecting other countries' interests.

On Tuesday, Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the defense committee in the Russian upper house of parliament, said the General Staff would "conduct an analysis, draw conclusions, and present to the leadership of the country proposals for response measures."

Chairman of the Russian lower house of parliament's international affairs committee Leonid Slutsky told reporters that THAAD deployment went beyond containment of North Korea and could lead to the loss of strategic balance.

A senior Russian Foreign Ministry official told Sputnik on Tuesday that Moscow would take into account the anti-missile system deployment, and review its military planning basing in a relevant way.

"We will certainly take these actions into account in our foreign policy activities We will of course take this into account in military planning," Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control (DNAC) Director Mihail Uliyanov said.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Tuesday that Beijing was against the installment of the US systems in South Korea and would protect its interests.

"We solemnly object to South Korea and the U.S.' deployment of THAAD and will resolutely take necessary actions in order to safeguard our security interests," Geng was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency.

The ministry's spokesman also called on the sides to halt the THAAD deployment process immediately and "not deviate to the wrong path any further."

 Sputnik

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S Korean Opposition Slams Gov't Over 'Unilateral' Decision to Deploy THAAD

Sputnik News

12:14 07.03.2017(updated 13:37 07.03.2017)

South Korean opposition parties on Tuesday criticized the government's "unilateral" decision to install the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the territory of the country.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The United States has reportedly started the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea. The country's defense ministry was quoted as saying that parts of the system were delivered on Monday to the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 43 miles south of Seoul.

"[The government] has completely disregarded public calls and demands from political circles with regard to the THAAD deployment," spokesman for the Democratic Party Youn Kwan-suk was quoted as saying by the Yonhap News Agency.

The government made a decision unilaterally and did not get the public approval, he said.

"From the clandestine push for the deployment to the process of making the final decision on the installation, the government has unilaterally pressed ahead with it without any consultations with citizens," Youn added.

The People's Party also condemned the THAAD installation, saying the move must be approved by the parliament.

Seoul and Washington agreed to deploy the THAAD system, designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at the terminal incoming stage, in July 2016, amid South Korea's growing unease about Pyongyang's nuclear program.

 Sputnik

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THAAD Deployment Begins Amid Increasing Tensions Between China and South Korea

By Brian Padden, Carla Babb March 07, 2017

The U.S. deployed the first elements of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to South Korea Tuesday, one day after North Korea launched at least four ballistic missiles, three of which landed within 350 km of the Japanese mainland.

Last year, Washington and Seoul agreed to expedite the U.S. missile shield deployment in the face of North Korea's accelerated testing and development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

"Continued provocative actions by North Korea, to include yesterday's launch of multiple missiles, only confirm the prudence of our alliance decision last year to deploy THAAD to South Korea," Admiral Harry Harris, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement.

Harris said the THAAD elements were deployed to honor alliance commitments to South Korea and to help defend U.S. troops in the region, U.S. allies and the American homeland.

The THAAD system could be operational as early as April, according the South Korean military.

Like the Patriot missile system, THAAD uses missiles to shoot down incoming missiles. THAAD is a battery of 48 missiles on mobile erector launchers that uses powerful radar and infrared technology to intercept missiles within a range of 200 km, while they are in their descent phase.

Kim Jong Un

The THAAD announcement came as North Korea's state run news service, KCNA, said leader Kim Jong Un personally supervised the launch of the medium-range ballistic missiles Monday, three of which flew about 1,000 kilometers and landed only 300-350 km from Japan's Oga Peninsula in the Akita prefecture.

KCNA said Monday's missile launches were a part of a drill to test artillery capabilities to target U.S. military bases in Japan.

Pyongyang had earlier repeated its usual threats to take "strong retaliatory measures" after South Korea and the United States began annual joint military drills last week that test their defensive readiness against possible aggression from the North.

Trump offers support

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to South Korea's acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn by phone after the missile launches, to reiterate U.S. support for its ally and reportedly emphasized the need to take strong measures to deal with North Korea's continued breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

In 2006, the U.N. Security Council banned North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and has since imposed a number of increasingly severe economic sanctions on Pyongyang for continuing to violate these restrictions.

The Council will meet Wednesday at the request of the U.S. and Japan to discuss North Korea's continued violations of Security Council resolutions. In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned North Korea's most recent ballistic missile tests that he said, "seriously undermine regional peace and stability."

Trump earlier called Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reaffirm the U.S. alliance with Japan and condemn North Korea's tests as a threat to regional security.

"President Trump told me that the United States was with Japan 100 percent, and that he wanted his comments to be communicated to the Japanese people," Abe said at his residence. "He said he wanted us to trust him as well as the United States 100 percent."

THAAD opposition

China's strong opposition to THAAD has sparked concerns in South Korea.

On Tuesday China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing remains resolutely opposed to THAAD.

Beijing objects to the advanced U.S. weapons system as an unnecessary and provocative military escalation, and says the powerful radar the system uses to track incoming missiles also poses a potential threat to China.

The South Korean government is considering filing a complaint to the World Trade Organization against China for allegedly retaliating against some of its companies and canceling performances by Korean artists in response to the Seoul government's decision to deploy THAAD.

In the last month, China has reportedly rejected applications by some Korean carriers to add charter flights between the two countries, ordered tour operators in China to stop selling trips to South Korea, and closed nearly two dozen retail stores belonging to the Korean Lotte Group.

"We will actively consider whether China's action is in violation of the South Korea-China free trade deal, while stepping up efforts to minimize damage on South Korean industries," said Lee Hyun-jae, chairman of the ruling Liberty Korea Party's policy committee.

While the South Korean ruling party strongly supports THAAD as a vital national security measure, public support is divided and some opposition party leaders have come out against it.

Opponents point out THAAD's limitations, that it cannot defend against a short range attack on the Seoul region, where nearly half the country's population resides, and that in the event of a major attack THAAD's 48 interceptor missiles will do little to stop the more than 1,000 missiles North Korea could fire.

And they argue that the limited military advantage is not worth the cost of damaging relations with China.

"To be honest, deploying THAAD will hurt both us and China. No one will gain anything from it. The starting point of THAAD is wrong, so we have to reconsider it completely. Otherwise, our future will be gloomy, chaotic and insecure," said Lee Jae-myung, the Mayor of Seongnam City and presidential candidate with the opposition Democratic Party of Korea.

Carla Babb and Youmi Kim contributed to this report

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Navy to play bigger role

People's Daily Online

(Global Times) 08:16, March 07, 2017

More 'agile fleets needed' to tackle sea challenges

China will further strengthen its navy by both expanding its personnel and improving its vessels to safeguard the country's maritime rights and promote its maritime interests, said a retired PLA Navy admiral on Sunday on the sidelines of the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

Liu Xiaojiang, former Navy political commissar and now deputy head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NPC, said that China will "certainly" build a larger navy roster, as he believes the navy will have a bigger role considering the need to defend its maritime rights and interests, the China News Service reported on Monday.

His comments came after Li Yanming, political commissar with the Navy's Armaments Department, said on Saturday that the development of navy equipment has accelerated, as the Navy has been equipped with quite a few new vessels.

Li described the addition of vessels as "putting dumplings into the pot."

China is now faced with many critical challenges, most of which come from the seas, Li Jie, a naval military expert, told the Global Times, citing the increasingly perplexing Taiwan question as an example. "As the pro-independence forces have become somewhat emboldened, we need to consider the possibility of interference from the US."

Li Jie said the new vessels coming into service include 7,000-ton missile cruise ships which mainly operate in the open seas, as well as 1,000-ton missile destroyers and corvettes, which are in charge of off-shore tasks including securing the convoys and base defense.

The navy will also incorporate some army combat forces, the NPC lawmaker said.

"North, East and South China seas fleets will all be strengthened, and the deployment of such fleets will be more agile to cope with more complicated situations," Xu Guangyu, a senior advisor to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times.

The East China Sea will be the prime focus for the deployment of naval forces, as it is linked to the country's core interests including territorial sovereignty, while the South China Sea will also be stressed as the region is a key area for the country's strategic development projects, such as the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Li Jie estimated.

As reforms of the naval academies constitute part of the military reform, Li Jie expected that the development of special forces under the Navy such as marines will drive academies to cultivate talent with marine combat skills.

Xu said that in the naval academies, which he believes are already sufficient in number, new majors for marine corps and engineering technicians who will work for the newly equipped vessels will be added.

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Chinese warships return home after high sea drill

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 20:29, March 07, 2017

A Chinese naval fleet on Tuesday returned to a port in Sanya city on Hainan Island after a high sea drill.

The fleet, which is comprised of missile destroyers Changsha and Haikou and supply ship Luomahu, had sailed over 8,000 nautical miles since Feb. 10, passing the South China Sea, East Indian Ocean, West Pacific and East China Sea.

In 25 days, the fleet passed through Karimata Strait, Xunda Strait, Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait and other important waterways.

During the high sea drill the fleet carried out regional joint air defense, oceanic supply, anti-terrorist and anti-pirate drills, as well as actual combat drills between warships and helicopters, strengthening the fleet's capacity to conduct multiple military operations.

"The drill focused on air defense, anti-missile and open sea interception and we have gained experience for multiple military operations," said Yu Manjiang, commander of the fleet and deputy commander of the Nanhai Fleet.

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UN chief Guterres condemns reported firing of multiple ballistic missiles by DPR Korea

6 March 2017  United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the reported firing of ballistic missiles today by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), three of which landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone.

"Such actions violate Security Council resolutions and seriously undermine regional peace and stability," Mr. Guterres said in a statement issued by his spokesperson in New York.

"The Secretary-General reiterates his call for the DPRK leadership to refrain from further provocations and return to full compliance with its international obligations," concluded the statement.

This is the latest in a series of reported missile launches by the DPRK, all of which have been condemned by the United Nations.

After urgent closed-door talks last month, the Security Council, condemning a reported incident on 12 February, issued a press statement expressing serious concern that the DPRK conducted these ballistic missile launches after the 15 April, 23 April, 27 April, 28 April, 31 May, 21 June, 9 July, 18 July, 2 August, 23 August, 5 September, and 14 October 2016 launches, as well as the nuclear test of 9 September, "in flagrant disregard of its repeated statements."

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Malaysia bars DPRK citizens from leaving following Pyongyang's similar ban

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 15:27, March 07, 2017

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Tuesday that he had instructed the police to ban all citizens from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) from leaving the country after Pyongyang announced a similar ban.

The prime minister also urged the DPRK to immediately allow all Malaysians to leave to "avoid any further escalation."

Describing DPRK's exit ban as an "abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage," Najib said it was in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms.

"Protecting our citizens is my first priority, and we will not hesitate to take all measures necessary when they are threatened," he said, adding that he also instructed the police to prevent all DPRK citizens in Malaysia from leaving the country until "we are assured of the safety and security of all Malaysians in North Korea (the DPRK)."

In tit-for-tat moves, Malaysia and the DPRK have expelled each other's ambassador as an investigation into the death of a DPRK man strained bilateral relations.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Malaysian government has banned all DPRK embassy staff from leaving the country.

The measure, which will be enforced by the Home Ministry, was "an response to the measures taken by the foreign ministry of the DPRK," Zahid told reporters when attending a parliament session, adding Malaysia was forced to take the measure because the DPRK had gone beyond diplomatic etiquette.

Malaysian police and health authorities said a DPRK man was killed by VX nerve agent, a lethal chemical weapon banned by the UN, at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. Two female suspects who swabbed the chemical on his face had been indicted with murder while four DPRK suspects had fled Malaysia.

The police also wanted to question three men in connection with the case, including a second secretary at the DPRK embassy in Kuala Lumpur and an Air Koyro employee. When attending a meeting on drug enforcement, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the police believed the three were hiding in the DPRK embassy.

He also said the DPRK authorities were not cooperating with the Malaysian side in the investigation and refused to hand over the four fleeing suspects.

Khalid said the police would give the bereaved family a little bit more time to come to identify the body of the DPRK man. "We are confident we will get the DNA samples," he said.

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Pyongyang temporarily bans exit of Malaysian in DPRK

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:08, March 07, 2017

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is temporarily banning all Malaysian citizens from leaving the country until safety of its diplomats and citizens in Malaysia is fully guaranteed, the official news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.

The announcement was made in a notice issued by the protocol department of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, which said the Malaysian Embassy in the DPRK had been informed of the decision.

The DPRK Foreign Ministry hoped that the Malaysian Embassy and the Malaysian Foreign Ministry would properly settle the dispute arising from the murder of a DPRK citizen in Malaysia, said the notice.

Pyongyang wants to see the case properly addressed "from the goodwill stand of setting store by and developing bilateral relations," the notice added.

In the period, Malaysian diplomats and citizens "may work and live normally under the same conditions and circumstances as before," it said.

The notice came after Malaysia on Saturday declared the ambassador of the DPRK to the country Kang Chol as "persona non grata," asking him to leave Malaysia within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has decided to revoke visa-free entry for citizens from the DPRK starting from Monday, saying that the decision was made after its national security was taken into account as a priority.

A DPRK national who was identified as Kim Chol was attacked on Feb. 13 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2. After seeking help from the airport staff, he died en route to hospital.

The Malaysian side said the DPRK man died a painful death minutes after being swabbed with a high dosage of lethal VX nerve agent after the body was examined.

However, the DPRK government claimed it was an anti-DPRK smear campaign and accused the Malaysian government of conniving with South Korea and the United States which intended to use the death of the DPRK citizen to tarnish the DPRK image and even to overthrow the DPRK system.

Pyongyang also sent a high-level delegation to Malaysia to discuss the matter and has urged Malaysia to return the body as soon as possible. But the request was rejected by the Malaysian government.

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Trump speaks with Japanese, South Korean leaders on DPRK's latest missile tests

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 15:49, March 07, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday spoke separately over phone with leaders of Japan and South Korea to discuss the latest test-launch of ballistic missiles by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to the White House.

Trump emphasized U.S. commitment to stand with Japan and South Korea in the face of the "serious threat" posed by the DPRK, said a statement by the White House.

The Trump administration is taking steps to further enhance the ability to deter and defend against the DPRK's ballistic missiles using the full range of U.S. military capabilities, said the statement.

The phone talks followed the DPRK's test-launch on Monday of four ballistic missiles that flew around 1,000 km toward its eastern waters. Among the four, three reportedly fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The latest missile launch by the DPRK came as the United States and South Korea were conducting their joint military drill.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday it is opposed to the launch activities of the DPRK that was in violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and urged all sides to keep restraint.

Citing the ongoing training exercise jointly conducted by the United States and South Korea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that under the current circumstances, all relevant parties should keep restraint and avoid provoking each other and intensifying the tense situation in the region.

South Korea and the United States on Wednesday kicked off their joint springtime war game which would mobilize the massive U.S. strategic assets, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The Foal Eagle field training exercise is scheduled to last until late April, bringing USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, F-35B stealth fighter jets, B-1B strategic bombers, nuclear-capable B-52 long-range bombers and other strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula.

The DPRK had denounced it as a rehearsal for northward invasion.

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North Korea, Malaysia ban each other's citizens from leaving

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 6:48AM

North Korea has barred Malaysian citizens from leaving the country, prompting Kuala Lumpur to quickly respond with a similar ban amid rising diplomatic tensions between the two sides over the assassination of the North Korean leader's half-brother in Malaysia.

All Malaysian nationals in North Korea "will be temporarily prohibited from leaving the country until the incident that happened in Malaysia is properly solved," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced in a Tuesday report, citing the Foreign Ministry.

The latest row between Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur  which have maintained strong relations for years  came following the killing of Kim Jong-nam last month by two women using a VX nerve agent at an airport in the Malaysian capital.

Malaysia has already charged the two women  an Indonesian and a Vietnamese  with murder. They face hanging if convicted.

Malaysia has not directly put the blame on North Korea for the assassination, but there is suspicion that Pyongyang had been behind the killing, an accusation strongly rejected by the North.

The Malaysian investigation into Kim's death has also angered Pyongyang, which says the process is aimed at tarnishing its image. The diplomatic row has seen both sides declaring each other's ambassadors as "persona non grata," ordering them to leave.

Malaysian authorities have sought a number of North Korean citizens for questioning on the case, but they only detained one, whom they released and later deported for lack of evidence.

According to the KCNA report, the North Korean Foreign Ministry further expressed hope that the Malaysian government would resolve the matter in a "fair and timely manner based on goodwill."

It went on to say that Malaysian diplomats and nationals in the North would be allowed to "conduct business and live normally" while the travel ban is in place.

Malaysia quick to retaliate

Reacting to the ban, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak issued a statement and slammed Pyongyang's "abhorrent act."

"This abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage, is in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms," the statement said.

Malaysia had already stopped visa-free travel for North Korean nationals following Kim's assassination.

In a tit-for-tat move, Najib said he has also instructed the police "to prevent all North Korean citizens in Malaysia from leaving the country until we are assured of the safety and security of all Malaysians in North Korea."

The Malaysian ban seems to be focused on Pyongyang's embassy in Kuala Lumpur, where police say two of the North Korean suspects sought for Kim's murder are holed up.

"How much longer do they want to hide in the embassy...it is a matter of time before they come out," police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said.

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China Floats Compromise to Defuse Korea Tensions

By VOA News March 08, 2017

The United Nations Security Council is holding a closed-door briefing Wednesday on North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, as China calls for North Korea, South Korea and the United States to take steps to avoid a "head-on collision."

Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed North Korea suspend its nuclear and missile activities, and in exchange the United States and South Korea halt their joint military drills.

Each action has drawn condemnation from the other side, with Wang describing them as "accelerating trains, coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way."

UN condemns test

The Security Council strongly condemned the North Korean tests on Tuesday and gave its own warning for the potential of a regional arms race.

The council statement further expressed regret that the government is "diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles while Democratic People's Republic of Korea citizens have great unmet needs."

North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, which coincided with the start of joint U.S. and South Korean annual defense exercises in South Korean territory.

The launches prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to reaffirm what the White House called the "ironclad commitment" of the United States to stand with Japan and South Korea in the face of Pyongyang's repeated violations of U.N. resolutions.

North Korea conducted two unauthorized nuclear test explosions last year and nearly two dozen rocket launches in a continuing push to expand its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared in a speech on New Year's Day that his country's program to build inter-continental ballistic missiles had "reached its final stage."

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006, along with an arms embargo aimed at slowing the development of its banned nuclear and missile programs.

Since then, the United States and a vast majority of world governments have repeatedly demanded that the North denuclearize the Korean peninsula. However, Western leaders have yet to devise a plan that would either compel the North to cooperate or create incentives for it to do so.

China-sponsored talks between North Korea and a six-nation panel have been stalled since 2009, when the communist North pulled out of the negotiations. The North had carried out its first underground nuclear test explosion three years before the talks broke down.

The United States has since said the six-party talks could not resume until Kim's regime in Pyongyang would recommit itself to halting all nuclear tests and scrapping its nuclear development program. That policy was agreed to during the administration of former President Barack Obama, and President Trump's government has reaffirmed it.

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Germany to Purchase US-Made MQ-4C Triton Drones Instead of Euro Hawk Aircraft

Sputnik News

17:15 07.03.2017(updated 17:16 07.03.2017)

Germany will purchase three MQ-4C Triton aerial surveillance drones manufactured in the United States instead of its initial plans to acquire RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance aircraft because of their high price, local media reported Tuesday, citing sources from the German Defense Ministry.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The new US drones are expected to be delivered to Germany by 2025, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported.

In 2013, Germany decided to cancel the plans to acquire the RQ-4 Global Hawk planes after it became known that the purchase could exceed allocated funds, according to the newspaper.

The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed for the US Navy as a surveillance aircraft to provide real-time intelligence during its missions, which can last more than 24 hours at a time and cover over 2.7 million square miles.

 Sputnik

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BrahMos Aerospace to Be Indian DRDO's Commercial Wing Abroad

Sputnik News

12:38 07.03.2017(updated 13:00 07.03.2017)

The Indo-Russian company is being chosen after DRDO found that government-owned defense firms were not committed to increasing exports.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  India's Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) has decided to use BrahMos Aerospace as its commercial wing to advertise products for sale worldwide. BrahMos Aerospace will soon submit a paper to DRDO which includes the fine print of the proposal, sources told Sputnik.

"Work started a long time ago. This will be similar to ANTRIX, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)," the source said.

BrahMos Aerospace is an Indo-Russian joint venture company in which DRDO has 50.5% stake and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia has 49.5%. The company is currently responsible for designing, developing, producing and marketing BrahMos supersonic missiles.

DRDO is not satisfied with efforts of the government-owned defense companies in promoting DRDO's developed systems as most of these companies have sufficient domestic orders and are not committed towards exports.

DRDO wants to stay focused on its primary objective i.e. research and development, especially in areas where imports entail prohibitive costs or where India does not yet possess technologies critical for meeting the requirement of armed forces, but it wants a dedicated wing that can handle commercial deals to give a fillip to defense exports from India.

"If there is a possibility of commercial exploitation of the technologies, or even products, developed by DRDO, it would make imminent sense to set up a commercial wing for two reasons: one, because it will allow DRDO to remain focused on its core responsibilities, and two, because being a department of the government, it will always be handicapped in carrying out commercial activities, which can best be handled by an entity set up exclusively for commercial purposes," said Amit Cowshish, the former financial advisor to Indian defense ministry.

DRDO-developed systems won the world's attention during Aero India, Bahrain International Air Show and Africa Aerospace and Defense Exhibition in South Africa. Following this, DRDO found the need to have a commercial wing due to incremental demand of its developed systems globally.

"Twenty countries have shown interest in procuring the DRDO systems like  Akash surface to air missile, BrahMos, Sonar, Underwater Acoustic Communication System, Torpedoes, Fuel Air Explosive Bomb, Thermobaric & Main Battle Tank Ammunition, Titanium Sponge, AEW&C System, and BFS Radar," said Dr S Christopher, DRDO chairman.

India has set a target of $2 billion defense exports, a six-fold increase from current exports, by 2019. In order to give impetus to exports, the Narendra Modi government has allowed government-owned defense companies to earmark 10 per cent of their production for exports. "The biggest challenge in boosting defense exports from India is the limited range of exportable products, limited overseas markets and predominance of defense manufacturers who have been in the business far longer than India," Cowshish added.

 Sputnik

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Zarif says had no contact with Tillerson

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Tue / 7 March 2017 / 12:53

Tehran (ISNA)  According to Supreme Leader and government's measure, Iran was in a situation that could easily ramp its nuclear program back up but its preference was continuation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iranian foreign minister Mohammad JavadZarif said during his interview with ISNA.

"There is no reason that sanctions wouldn't be removed. Under the JCPOA, US has responsibilities that should deliver them. There is nothing new since Donald Trump took office but the new rhetoric in US government is opposed to the JCPOA's spirit and some of its provisions especially the one that related to creating a suitable environment for foreign investment in Iran," he said.

Zarif stressed that underJCPOA's framework, there was no limitation for Iran to negotiate with US and the new team of State Department.

"We emphasized that there is no renegotiation over JCPOA. But to get OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) licenses our friends in Iranian foreign ministry are communicating with their counterparts in US State Department and the Treasury as well as Europeans and the other countries but at the foreign minister-level there has been no needs for contacting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over implementing JCPOA. So till now, I have had no contact with Tillerson," Iran's foreign minister added.

"I believe the fundamental purpose of nuclear issue was creating a security and Iranophobia environment rather than imposing economic pressure against our country but JCPOA severely ruined the purpose. So hardliners in US and some of the regional countries as well as Israel try to reshape the security environment against Iran," he said.

"The other main achievement is that not only JCPOA can preserve Iran's nuclear program but also develop it.The interesting thing is that this success was achieved while the America doesn't abandon its negative behavior like failing to deliver its commitments. Americans suppose that sanctions are kind of their wealth thus abandoning sanctions are so hard for them," Iranian foreign minister added.

End Item

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IAEA must continue role in developing peaceful nuclear technology: Iran

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 3:37PM

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must maintain its key role in developing sciences related to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, says the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations and the current chairman of the Vienna Chapter of Group of 77.

Addressing a session of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Tuesday, Reza Najafi called on the agency to support capabilities of member countries of the Group of 77 plus China in generating nuclear power.

"The agency must maintain its leading role in developing the technology and sciences related to the peaceful nuclear applications, including nuclear electricity generation and nuclear fuel cycle," he added.

He noted that nuclear electricity generation would be an important option for the group's member countries, particularly developing states with increasing need for energy, for the production of a portion of various types of energy.

Nuclear electricity generation can also help decrease greenhouse gases, Najafi said.

He also emphasized that any mechanism to guarantee the provision of nuclear fuel must be in accordance with the IAEA statute and the principle of impartiality.

It should also observe the inalienable right of the group's member countries to use nuclear energy for peaceful objectives, including the development of national nuclear fuel cycle, the envoy pointed out.

On February 24, Najafi assumed the chairmanship of the Vienna Chapter of Group of 77 for 2017. He took over as the group's chairman from Namibia for one year during a ceremony held at the United Nations Office in Vienna in the presence of heads of international bodies and a number of ambassadors and representatives from different countries.

The IAEA Board of Governors kicked off its seasonal meeting in the Austrian capital on March 6.

Speaking in his introductory statement to the IAEA Board of Governors on Monday, Director General of the UN nuclear agency Yukiya Amano once again verified Iran's adherence to its commitments under a July 2015 nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and six global powers.

"The agency has been verifying and monitoring the implementation by Iran of its nuclear-related commitments under the [nuclear deal, known as the] Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for more than a year," Amano said.

The IAEA is monitoring the JCPOA, which was signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany - on July 14, 2015.

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Iranian Official Says 2,100 Fighters Killed In Syria, Iraq

March 07, 2017

More than 2,000 fighters sent by Iran have been killed in conflicts in Syria and Iraq, according to the head of the Iranian veterans' affairs office.

"Currently we have 2,100 martyred shrine defenders," Mohammad Ali Shahidi was quoted as saying on March 6 by the semiofficial Mehr news agency.

Shahidi heads the Foundation of Martyrs and Veteran Affairs, which supports the relatives of those killed fighting for Iran.

He did not provide details on the nationalities of those killed.

The figure was more than double the number Shahidi gave in November, which referred only to Syria.

Iranian officials use the terms "Shrine defenders" to refer to fighters deployed in Syria to bolster President Bashar al-Assad. A number of "shrine defenders" have been reportedly also deployed in Iraq.

Iran claims the fighters are "volunteers" who defend religious sites and shrines revered by Shi'a.

They include Afghans who, according to some reports, are offered financial reward and residency permits to fight in Syria.

Tehran is a major backer of the Syrian government, whom it has helped remain in power through financial and military assistance.

Based on reporting by Mehr and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/iran-1-100 -fighters-killed-syria/28355761.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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'Iraqi elite forces retake government building in Mosul'

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 6:59AM

Iraqi special forces have reportedly reclaimed the government's headquarters in the northern city of Mosul, the last urban area controlled by Daesh in Iraq.

The building was retaken in the city's Dawasah District on Tuesday by a rapid reaction unit serving the country's Interior Ministry, Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi, a spokesman for the forces, told Reuters. "They killed tens from Daesh," he said.

Iraqi Federal Police stormed Dawasah, which also hosts other government buildings, on Sunday. The forces released a report on Tuesday, saying that 135 Takfiris had been killed and 24 of their bomb-laden vehicles destroyed during the operation over the past two days.

Mosul fell to Daesh terrorists in June 2014, when they had just begun a large-scale offensive in Iraqi territory. The terrorist blitz back then sent Iraqi military forces fleeing from some of their bases on the path of the terrorists, leaving military vehicles and hardware  mainly American-made  in place, which the terrorists later comfortably picked up.

But government forces have since then reorganized and managed to take back much of the territory from Daesh terrorists.

The Tuesday recapture of the seat of the government in Mosul, the capital of the northwestern Nineveh Province, has placed Iraqi troops in a yet better position to seize back Mosul's Old City. Most recently, the forces took control of the city's al-Hurriya Bridge, which leads to Daesh concentration points from the south.

Also on Tuesday, Iraqi servicemen restored government control over the Mosul Museum, the country's second-largest after the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. The terrorists had previously used to notoriously film themselves pulverizing the museum's artifacts.

Powered up by allied popular fighters, the Iraqi army launched the battle to liberate Mosul in mid-October 2016, and managed to claw back its eastern half some 100 days later in January.

Late last month, Iraqi forces began engaging the terrorists in the western side of Mosul.

Daesh terrorists have placed themselves among the civilians in Mosul, making it harder for the security forces to advance. The terrorists have also been preventing residents from leaving the city.

On Sunday, Daesh engaged Iraqi troops in the heaviest clashes since the onset of the operation to cleanse western Mosul.

Major General Haider al-Maturi of the Federal Police Commandos Division told The Associated Press that the terrorists had sent at least six explosives-laden cars toward the troops, which were all destroyed before reaching them.

Iraq's al-Sumariah network, meanwhile, has said that Daesh's purported appointee leader in Mosul has ordered the terrorists to withdraw from the city to Raqqah, which Daesh has proclaimed as its so-called headquarters in neighboring Syria.

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Libyan Fighters Say They Aim to Take Benghazi

By VOA News March 06, 2017

Militias in Libya who recently captured two key oil terminals around Benghazi say they want to extend their fight to try to capture the entire city of Benghazi.

"Our main goal is to return our city," said Col. Mustafa Alsharksi, the leader of the Benghazi Defense Brigades (BDB), which includes Islamic militants and former rebels.

The BDB took control of the key oil terminals of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, which also includes an airport, on Friday from the eastern-based Libyan National Army, or the LNA.

The LNA said Monday they are preparing a large counteroffensive to retake the oil terminals. The group has been carrying out airstrikes on BDB positions since losing the oil terminals, but have not succeeded in repelling them.

Efforts to take over Libya's oil ports raise the prospect of increased violence in the region.

After the LNA seized four ports in September, Libya's oil production sharply increased, presenting a challenge to the authority of the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli.

The internationally backed Government of National Accord controls part of Tripoli, while rival powers compete for other parts of the country.

Libya descended into chaos after a 2011 uprising led to the toppling of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

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Thousands flee as clashes erupt in Myanmar-China border town

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 2:49PM

Thousands of people are fleeing a town in Myanmar bordering China after dozens of people were killed in a recent intense fighting between the military and armed ethnic rebel groups.

An unnamed army source said on Tuesday that "about 7,000 local residents are fleeing to the China side because of fighting."

In a statement released on Tuesday, the military said it used heavy artillery to repel rebels who swept into Laukkai, a major town in the Chinese-speaking Kokang region of Myanmar's northeastern state of Shan, before dawn on Monday.

The military said rebels from the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) "failed" in their attempt to take Laukkai. It confirmed that civilians and "some army officers" died in a series of clashes around the violence-wracked town.

Media reports earlier said at least 30 people were killed in fresh intense fighting after MNDAA rebels dressed in police uniforms launched a surprise raid against police and military posts early Monday.

According to the leader of another rebel group allied with insurgents in Kokang, communications have been cut around Laukkai but fighting continued on Tuesday morning.

"Almost all residents from Laukkai town are fleeing," said Brigadier General Nyo Tun Aung from the Arakan Army (AA).

The rebel leader also estimated that thousands had left the region.

The fresh wave of violence has also raised fears of a repeat of 2015 incidents, when the displaced flooded across the border into China, raising tensions with Beijing.

On Tuesday, China called for an immediate ceasefire between the two sides and Beijing urged both sides to halt the fighting.

"Relevant parties should cease fire immediately and restore order to the border areas as soon as possible," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

The area in northeastern Shan has seen repeated bouts of heavy fighting between the army and a band of well-armed ethnic minority militias since November 2016.

Fighting in Shan and the northern state of Kachin along the Myanmar-China border is intensifying day by day.

At least 160 people have died and thousands of others displaced in about three months of clashes across the region.

The clashes have also threatened the second round of peace talks slated for later this month.

Last August, delegates from some rebel groups stormed out of the first round of the peace talks with Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi over a spat about their accreditation.

The government's efforts to expand a ceasefire signed with some ethnic rebel groups in 2015 have faltered.

The rebels, who were said to be wearing police uniforms when they made the surprise raid, suffered the heaviest losses with the military recovering 20 charred bodies it says belonged to fallen insurgents.

Many rebel groups in the border region share close cultural ties with China, speaking Chinese dialects and using the country's yuan currency.

Observers believe Beijing holds significant sway over the ethnic fighters and has a key role to play in peace talks that Suu Kyi has tried to revive since coming to power in 2015.

The next round of negotiations is slated for March, but the date has slipped several times.

The Northern Alliance, a coalition of armed ethnic groups that includes the MNDAA and AA, has yet to join the peace process or sign a ceasefire that was reached with a myriad of other militias in 2015.

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Pakistan temporarily opens border gates with Afghanistan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, March 7, IRNA -- Pakistani authorities on Tuesday temporarily reopened border with Afghanistan for two days to allow movement of valid visa-holding nationals amidst tensions, however, trade activities would remain suspended.

The crossing points at Torkham and Chaman will be opened on Tuesday and Wednesday both for Pakistanis who had gone to Afghanistan on valid visas and wish to return to Pakistan as well as the Afghan nationals who had come to Pakistan and now wish to return to their country via land routes.

Islamabad shut Torkham and Chaman border crossings after a deadly suicide attack at the shrine of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar on February 16. The attack that left over 80 people dead was claimed by Jumaatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, based in Afghanistan.

After the attack, Pakistan had handed over Afghanistan a list of 76 wanted terrorists believed to be hiding across the border. Kabul had, however, rejected the allegations and insisted Pakistan reopen the key crossings between the two countries.

Last week, the Afghan ambassador had said he would request his government to airlift Afghan nationals stranded in Pakistan due to border closure, if Islamabad did not open the crossing points in two days. Thousands of people and vehicles have been stuck on both sides of the border due to the closure of the busy crossings.

272**1723**1771

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Tech giant Samsung has recently launched a new mobile payment application in India, Samsung Pay. Now, Indian users can also register themselves with the service.

However, the service is limited as Samsung have signed a deal with limited banks- Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, and Standard Charted. The company said that it will expand its service by adjoining itself with other banks.

This new application uses both the transaction types NFC and MST to process the wireless transaction. While registering yourself in the Samsung Pay services, you have to give fingerprint scanner for the security authentication and you are done.

Also Read:

Nokia's 'Supreme Putin' variant is on sale in Russia

Fitbit Alta HR arrived India, priced at Rs 14,999

Reliance Jio's data speed doubled-up in January
S. Korean acting president has phone talks with U.S. president over DPRK missile launches

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:21, March 07, 2017

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is serving as acting president, held telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s missile test-launches, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday, citing multiple government sources.

The phone conversation lasted for 20 minutes from 8:40 a.m. local time (2340 GMT Monday) by the request of the U.S. president. It was the second phone talks between the two following the first on Jan. 30.

Hwang and Trump coordinated each other's positions on situations on the Korean Peninsula, including the DPRK's nuclear program, an unnamed government source was quoted as saying.

The phone talks followed the DPRK's test-launches on Monday of four ballistic missiles that flew around 1,000 km toward its eastern waters. Among the four, three fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-Koo also had phone conversation with his Japanese counterpart Tomomi Inada earlier in the morning, discussing countermeasures to the DPRK's recent missile launches.

According to Seoul's defense ministry, Han and Inada agreed to maintain a close coordination based on a shared view on the graveness of the DPRK's nuclear and missile threats, strengthening cooperation with the international community for pressures and sanctions on the DPRK.

The two ministers shared a view that the DPRK's missile launches on Monday as well as on Feb. 12 posed a grave threat to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, the region and the international society.

On Feb. 12, Pyongyang successfully test-launched a new type of Pukguksong-2 intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM), supervised by top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

The IRBM, which was fired at an almost vertical angle of 89 degrees, blasted off to the highest altitude of 550 km and traveled about 500 km. If it was launched at a normal angle, it would have flown over 2,000 km.

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Russian Aviation Company to Deliver 12 Ka-52s Within State Orders in 2017

Sputnik News

08:15 07.03.2017(updated 11:33 07.03.2017)

Russia's Progress Arsenyev aviation company will deliver 12 Ka-52 attack helicopters to the Russian Defense Ministry as part of state orders this year, Deputy Defense Minister Yuriy Borisov said Tuesday.

VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik)  Progress Arsenyev is a Russian Helicopters holding division.

"Today at Progress we are looking how the enterprise is ready to implement plans to supply the Defense Ministry with 12 Ka-52 Alligator helicopters, especially since the company received an export order this year," Borisov told reporters.

He outlined the progress for the Ka-52's naval modification, the Ka-52K Katran.

"We discussed the problems with the Ka-52K Katran helicopter. We have completed all preliminary tests of this shipborne helicopter and we need to determine the ships on which it will be based," Borisov said.

"This year along with the work on fulfilling state orders, the Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company will carry out first export deliveries of the Ka-52 Alligator helicopters," Borisov said, as quoted by the Russian Helicopters manufacturer.

On Monday, Director General of Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheev said that the Ka-52 Alligator helicopters would be exported to Egypt.

The Ka-52 Alligator is a highly maneuverable reconnaissance and combat helicopter, equipped with powerful offensive weapons, suitable for take-off and landing in hot climates and mountainous terrains and easy to service.

 Sputnik

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Turkey won't plan Manbij attack without US, Russia coordination

Iran Press TV

Mon Mar 6, 2017 10:2PM

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says his country will not plan an attack on the Kurdish-held city of Manbij without the coordination of US and Russia.

"(Without such coordination) there wouldn't be much of a result and things could get more complicated," said Yildirim during a televised interview on Monday.

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that when Turkey's forces complete their operations in al-Bab, they will move towards Manbij, which is held by US-backed Kurdish forces. "Now it is time for Manbij, which belongs to the Arabs, not the PYD or YPG," he said.

Kurdish forces, mainly the Democratic Union Party, also known as the PYD, and its military wing the YPG, liberated the northern Syrian city of Manbij from Daesh last year. They are now currently in control of nearly all of Syria's entire northern border with Turkey.

After the announcement, Turkish forces seized two Kurdish-held villages located to the east of al-Bab following heavy clashes with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF is a coalition of Arab fighters and forces from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), who are currently in control of nearly all of Syria's entire northern border with Turkey.

In August 2016, Turkey began a major military intervention in Syria, dubbed "Euphrates Shield," sending tanks and warplanes across the border. Ankara claimed that its military campaign was aimed at pushing Daesh from Turkey's border with Syria and stopping the advance of Kurdish forces, but Damascus denounced the operation as a breach of its sovereignty.

US bolstering presence in Manbij

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has announced that it has sent additional US soldiers into northern Syria to deter rival forces in the region from attacking each other instead of Daesh.

Defense Department spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said the additional soldiers had been deployed to Manbij over the past few days.

"We have brought in some additional forces to be able to do this reassurance and deterrence mission," he said.

"We have made visible actions in deploying US forces as part of the coalition in and around Manbij to reassure and deter - that's to deter parties from attacking any other parties other than Daesh itself," he added.

The US has around 500 special operations forces deployed in northern Syria. Their location is usually kept secret.

For nearly six years, Syria has been fighting foreign-sponsored militancy. The UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated in August last year that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the crisis until then. The world body stopped its official casualty count in the war-torn country, citing its inability to verify the figures it received from various sources.

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Syrian soldiers, allied fighters recapture 18 villages in Aleppo

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 11:9AM

Syrian forces have regained control over more than a dozen villages in the country's northern province of Aleppo.

On Monday, Syrian soldiers and allied fighters restored security and stability to 18 villages, including Jarkes, al-Ismailiyah, Abajah, Mazra'a Abajah and Abu Tinah, killing a large number of Daesh extremists, Syria's official news agency SANA reported.

They also destroyed an explosives-laden car and nine pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns.

The Syrian forces also captured the main pumping station that supplies water to the city of Aleppo, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The army and its allied forces advanced in the east of Aleppo.

Following the withdrawal of Daesh, the observatory said, the Syrian forces recaptured Khafsa area on the western bank of the Euphrates River, where the water treatment and pumping plants are located.

Elsewhere, in the central province of Homs, Syrian troopers and fighters from popular defense groups targeted Daesh positions in al-Katibah al-Mahjourah and al-Baredah districts, besides the eastern outskirts of al-Qaryatayn town and the ancient city of Palmyra.

Syrian army units also struck the gatherings and positions of the terrorist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, in the northern village of al-Lataminah, located 39 kilometers northwest of Hama, killing many terrorists and destroying three vehicles belonging to them.

Moreover, Syrian army soldiers and their allies engaged in fierce clashes with Daesh Takfiris in the Maqabir district of the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr, located 450 kilometers northeast of the capital, Damascus, killing several terrorists and destroying their fortifications.

Terrorist mortar fire injures five in Syria's Aleppo

Separately, foreign-backed militants have launched a mortar attack against a residential neighborhood in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, leaving at least five people injured. The mortar shells struck the Ghouta neighborhood of the city.

Several mortar shells also slammed into the Kurdish-populated Daseniyah Village of Homs Province, though no immediate reports of casualties were available.

'Syrian children suffer staggering levels of trauma, distress'

Meanwhile, international aid group Save the Children says the nearly six-year-old militancy in Syria has caused a mental health crisis among the country's children, and millions of Syrian children are living in a state of "toxic stress" due to prolonged exposure to the horrors of war.

The report by Save the Children and its partner agencies in Syria, entitled Invisible Wound, warned that the "staggering levels" of trauma and distress among children could cause permanent and irreversible damage.

It pointed out that 71 percent of children interviewed experienced frequent bedwetting and involuntary urination, which are the symptoms of toxic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Moreover, 48 percent of the adult interviewees said they had seen children, who had lost their ability to speak or begun to suffer from speech impediments since the outbreak of Syrian crisis.

Nearly half of those interviewed said children "regularly or always have feelings of grief or extreme sadness." Aggression and substance abuse are also commonplace.

Doctors and mental health specialists maintain that toxic stress can disrupt the development of the brain and other organs and increase the risk of addiction and mental health disorders in adulthood.

"After six years of war, we are at a tipping point, after which the impact on children's formative years and childhood development may be so great that the damage could be permanent and irreversible," Dr Marcia Brophy, a psychosocial adviser for the Middle East at Save the Children, said.

She added, "The risk of a broken generation, lost to trauma and extreme stress, has never been greater."

Save the Children stressed that some 13.5 million people inside Syria, including 5.8 million children, are in need of aid, and about 4.8 million people are trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.

Syria has been plagued by militancy since March 2011.

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US-Led Coalition Troops in Syria's Manbij Ensure No Persistent YPG Presence

Sputnik News

20:12 07.03.2017(updated 20:38 07.03.2017)

The US-led coalition has sent additional troops to Syria's Manbij on a deterrence mission and to ensure the forces of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) are not constantly present in the area, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson told Sputnik on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On Monday, the Pentagon said that the US deployed a small number of additional troops to Syria's Manbij on a new mission focused on reassurance and deterrence.

"The Coalition has increased its force presence in and around Manbij to deter any hostile action against the city and its civilians, to enhance local governance and to ensure there is no persistent YPG presence," the spokesperson stated.

The spokesperson added that the coalition intends to continue to work closely with partner forces and allies "to ensure all parties remain focused on delivering a lasting defeat to our common enemy, ISIS [Daesh]."

Last week it was reported that the US military was "taking all necessary measures" to defend Manbij from a possible assault by Turkish troops.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) must leave the northern city of Manbij as it is going to be the next target of Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Turkey considers Syria's PYD and YPG militias linked to Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been listed as a terror group by Ankara.

Earlier on Monday, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford held a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts in Antalya, Turkey to discuss the situation in northern Syria.

The US Defense Department said the military leaders were looking "to enhance senior-level communications" and deconfliction of military operations in Syria.

 Sputnik

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UNSC Vote on Resolution on Chemical Weapons Use in Syria 'Provocative' - Moscow

Sputnik News

19:23 07.03.2017(updated 19:24 07.03.2017)

Moscow considers the situation with voting in the UN Security Council on a draft resolution on alleged chemical weapons use in Syria provocative, Director of the Foreign Ministry Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Mikhail Ulyanov told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  He pointed out that Moscow had warned other countries about possible negative consequences of such a step, though it was ignored. Ulyanov stressed that the authors of the draft resolution knew for sure that Russia would veto it, but still put the resolution on vote.

"In fact, the whole idea of voting in the Security Council was absolutely provocative. It is sufficient to say that the draft resolution on the introduction of sanctions against a number of Syrian individuals and legal entities was prepared in the beginning of December, though the western co-authors refrained from putting it on vote. They did it only at the end of February, exactly during the resumption of peaceful settlement talks in Geneva," Ulyanov said.

"The goal is obvious  to try to present Russia as a country, 'covering' crimes allegedly committed by Damascus," Ulyanov added.

He highlighted that no evidence of Damascus using chemical weapons had been presented so far, while the names of the sanctioned individuals and entities had never been mentioned in any related reports.

In late February, Russia and China used their veto powers to block a UN Security Council draft resolution to impose sanctions on Syria over the government's alleged chemical weapons use. The draft resolution, co-sponsored by France, the United Kingdom and the United States, suggested imposing sanctions against ten entities and 11 Syrians considered responsible for using chemical weapons in Syria in 2014 and 2015. The vote came amid intra-Syrian talks in Geneva that brought together representatives of Syrian government and opposition groups.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the draft resolution, said sanctions against Syria would hinder ongoing peace negotiations.

Russia's decision to veto the draft resolution was criticized by Western states, in particular, France and Germany.

So far, there has been a number of reports on use of chemical weapons in Syria, putting responsibility for attacks both on Syrian authorities and Daesh terrorist group.

 Sputnik

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Armed Forces Chiefs Meet in Turkey Over Syrian Kurdish Tensions

By Dorian Jones March 07, 2017

The U.S. top general, Joseph Dunford, along with the chief of Russia's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, were hosted by their Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya. According to officials, the meeting sought to find ways to avoid potential confrontations among the forces operating in Syria.

"First the de-conflicting issue between Russian and U.S. forces, which are only 10 kilometers apart from each other," suggested former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, "and then the other de-conflicting for the U.S. is their two allies on the ground, the YPG and Turkish armed forces, not to get in touch with each other."

Ankara says the Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, is affiliated with the PKK, which is fighting the Turkish state and is internationally designated as a terrorist organization. Washington and Moscow see the YPG as key to defeating Islamic State, and ousting IS from its self-declared capital of Raqqa.

Those differences have come to a head in the Syrian town of Manbij, which the YPG liberated last year from the jihadists. Turkish forces, along with elements of the Free Syrian Army, are marching on Manbij, and already a number of deadly clashes have occurred between the two sides.

To defuse tensions, U.S. forces deployed between the rival groups. A "visible sign of deterrence and reassurance," U.S. Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, described the deployment Monday, adding, "There is not a need for others to advance on it [Manbij] in attempts to 'liberate' it."

Suspected YPG, Assad deal

While Moscow brokered a deal with the YPG to allow Syrian regime forces to create a buffer zone, that deal may have opened a door to a key YPG objective. "In return for turning over outlying areas of Manbij to [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad, Assad promised free access to Afrin canton to the west, so essentially the Kurdish cantons have been linked," said political consultant Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners.

Such a deal, if confirmed, would be a blow to Ankara. "Turkey will prevent the unity of the PYD [Syrian Kurdish] cantons at all costs. We will continue our struggle," warned Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik on Sunday. The YPG in its war against IS has up until now linked all the Syrian Kurdish cantons except Afrin.

"Until now the Syrian Kurds have played their hand very carefully using both big powers [Washington and Moscow], to their interests. They have shown some deft diplomacy indeed," pointed out former Turkish diplomat Selcen.

Such diplomacy is increasingly isolating Ankara.

"Turkey has been completely abandoned in Syria. Russia does not want us to expand our territory," noted consultant Yesilada. "Our viewpoint [that] the YPG is a terrorist organization has been flatly rejected by everyone involved in the area. The United States does not want us either in Manbij or Raqqa."

Ankara is lobbying Washington to abandon the Syrian Kurds in favor of its forces in Syria in the war against Islamic State; however, analysts say it's widely expected the U.S. will side with the YPG and increase its support of the group as the YPG continues to make advances on Raqqa. Consultant Yesilada says Ankara has few options.

"Either we could limit ourselves to the triangle we've liberated and try to settle some Syrians there," Yesilada said, "or attack the Kurdish cantons directly from our border, and that would create a firestorm in the world community and it would mean war with the Syrian Kurds which may spread to Kurds in Turkey."

The YPG has warned any such attack would compromise its fight against Islamic State.

Upcoming meeting

Syria is expected to top the agenda when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Russia on Thursday. Domestic politics, however, could be the defining factor in Ankara's next move. With Erdogan courting nationalists' votes ahead of a referendum next month to extend his powers, analysts warn he is expected to continue to take a hard line against the Syrian Kurdish militia in what he calls his war on terrorism, whatever the international consequences.

"I expect more pressure on the PKK and by default the YPG," predicted Selcen. "With the referendum in sight and the serious possibility of a 'no' vote winning, definitely internal politics will effect foreign policy, and that includes the military operation in Syria."

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'Turkey, Russia, US military chiefs meet in Turkish city'

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 9:1AM

The Turkish army says its chief of the general staff has met with his Russian and American counterparts in Turkey, discussing the situation in Iraq and Syria among other things.

The meeting among Gens. Hulusi Akar, Valery Gerasimov, and Joseph Dunford took place in the southeastern city of Antalya on Tuesday, the army said.

"Common issues relating to regional security, in particular Syria and Iraq, are being discussed at the meeting," it said in a statement.

Turkey and Russia were two of the three countries  the other being Iran  that successfully facilitated a ceasefire deal between the warring sides in Syria. The three guarantor states have also been mediating talks between the Syrian government and opposition toward politically resolving the six-year conflict in Syria.

Turkey is wary of the presence of Kurdish fighters close to its borders in both Syria and Iraq. It associates the fighters with anti-Ankara Kurdish militants and has deployed troops to both of Arab countries without their approval to rein in their movements.

The Kurdish fighters have seized considerable territory from the Takfiri terrorist group Daesh in Syria and have majorly contributed to counterterrorism operations in Iraq.

Last month, Akar submitted two proposals to Dunford for an alleged potential operation to "liberate" the northern Syrian city of Raqqah from Daesh.

According to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, the plans envision Turkish and US forces approaching Raqqah either via the nearby city of al-Bab or the border town of Tal Abyad.

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Russia rejects Ukraine 'terrorism' claims at UN court

Iran Press TV

Tue Mar 7, 2017 3:23PM

Russia has flatly rejected claims made by Ukraine that Moscow is "sponsoring terrorism" through alleged providing of money and arms for pro-Russia forces in the war-scarred country, describing the allegations as "neither factual nor legal."

Kiev filed its case against Moscow, its former Soviet master, at the United Nations' Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) in mid-January, saying Moscow has allegedly been breaching treaties on terrorist financing and racial discrimination.

According to the lodged file at the ICJ, Ukraine alleges that Moscow has been giving assistance to pro-independence fighters, who are in a constant battle against the government forces to liberate the "occupied territories" in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in eastern Ukraine.

Kiev also claims that Russia has been committing racial discrimination against non-Russians, particularly Tartars and Ukrainians, in Crimea, a peninsula in the south of Ukraine that joined the Russian Federation in March 2014 after a referendum. Kiev has, since then, accused Moscow of annexing Crimea. Ukraine says the move "brazenly defied the UN Charter."

The Kremlin denies any involvement, saying, however, that it will continue to support the ethnic Russian population living in the territory against the suppression by the government in Kiev.

On Tuesday, Roman Kolodkin, legal director of Russia's Foreign Ministry and Moscow's representative at the ICJ, told the court that "the Russian Federation complies fully with its obligations under (the) treaties that are now relied upon by Ukraine," adding, "We see neither a legal nor factual basis" for the measures asked for by Kiev.

Kolodkin's remarks came a day after Ukraine urged the ICJ to order emergency measures to bring stability to its volatile eastern parts. Kolodkin said Kiev had made these allegations against the Kremlin to draw the ICJ into ruling on "issues between Ukraine and Russia that are clearly beyond the court's jurisdiction in this case."

The conflict in eastern Ukraine began after a political upheaval in Kiev in 2014, when a Russia-backed president was deposed from power and a pro-Western government took office.

Donetsk and Luhansk, which are mainly Russian-speaking regions, have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence pro-Russia protests there in mid-April 2014. More than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far.

Ilya Rogachev, another Russian representative, told the 16 judges hearing the case that Ukraine "is misleading the court." Kiev "is involved in an armed conflict being waged by its authorities and its armed forces including irregular battalions against the people of the eastern Ukraine," he said, warning that labeling independence-seeker people as terrorists and sponsors of terrorism could have serious consequences in future peace negotiations.

Although the main case filed by Kiev will likely take years to settle, judges at the ICJ are expected to rule on the request for interim measures in the coming weeks.

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Russia Tells UN Court It Has No Jurisdiction In Ukraine Case

RFE/RL March 07, 2017

Russia says the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has no jurisdiction to issue an order Ukraine seeks to halt Moscow's support for separatists in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.

The matter is "clearly outside the court's competence," Russian Foreign Ministry Legal Department Director Roman Kolodkin told the court on March 7, a day after lawyers for Ukraine accused Russia of making it "impossible for Ukrainian citizens to feel safe anywhere in their country."

Judges at the ICJ, the United Nations highest judicial body, hear disputes between states. Cases can take years to pass through the court and although its rulings are final and binding, it has no means of enforcing decisions.

Moscow seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and has supported separatists in eastern Ukraine in fighting that has since killed more than 9,750 people.

Kyiv has accused Russia of violating UN conventions against terrorism and discrimination by supporting groups in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.

It also accuses Russia of mistreating Crimea's Tatar and ethnic Ukrainian populations since it seized control of the peninsula.

No Substantiations

The Kremlin has denied sending troops or military equipment to eastern Ukraine despite what Kyiv and Western countries say is incontrovertible evidence to the contrary.

The United States and other Western powers have placed economic sanctions on Moscow because of its interference in Ukraine.

Kolodkin said on March 7 that allegations Russia participated in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine are groundless.

"The Russian Federation complies fully with its obligations under [the] treaties that are now relied upon by Ukraine," he also told the court.

"Ukraine has not provided substantiations for its position that there are circumstances falling under the convention" on eliminating discrimination, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The first round of hearings is expected run until March 9 and will largely consist of procedural matters.

Georgia brought a similar case against Russia, but the court ruled in 2011 that it had no jurisdiction to rule on the matter.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, Interfax, and TASS

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-hague- court-case-jurisdiction/28355676.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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Noor', the upcoming film of Sonakshi Sinha is said to be based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz's novel titled Karachi, You're Killing Me.

The film will release in Pakistan too. The producer of film Bhushan Kumar confirmed this news, "Yes, we are releasing the film in Pakistan."

Sunhil Sippy, the director of film says, "The book was really just the germ of the idea. We took those characters and adapted it to Mumbai. There is no link at all between the two, it's just the germ of the idea."

Sonakshi said, "I have tremendous respect for journalists. It is not easy being a journalist and especially the way you all work. I really respect that. Noor is also one of you. As celebrities we don't know in detail what journalists go through. While doing the film, I realised the kind of work journalists do."

Noor will release on April 21.

Also Read:

Watch the theatrical trailer of Sonakshi Sinha's 'Noor'

Sonakshi, Diljit and Badshah will team up for a Noor's
Ukrainian FM Says Tillerson Pledges U.S. Support Against 'Russian Aggression'

RFE/RL March 07, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin says U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has assured him that Washington will continue to support Kyiv in its standoff with Russia.

Klimkin made the comments outside the State Department on March 7 following a meeting with Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO who now serves as President Donald Trump's top diplomat.

"He assured me that the United States would consistently continue to support Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression, that Ukraine is a key partner of the U.S. in the region, that the U.S. would also consistently support Ukraine on its path of reforms," Klimkin told reporters.

Trump suggested during the election campaign that he would consider lifting sanctions imposed on Russia by his predecessor, Barack Obama, in response to its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine and the Kremlin's support for separatists in the country's east.

But Tillerson and other senior U.S. administration officials have publicly voiced a tougher stance since Trump's inauguration on January 20, saying that Russia must return Crimea to Ukraine and de-escalate violence in eastern Ukraine.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meeting.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the meeting that Tillerson told Klimkin the U.S. sanctions against Russia would remain in place until "aggression is ceased," until the Minsk peace deal to end fighting between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists is implemented, and until Moscow returns to Kyiv control of Crimea and separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine.

Klimkin, who described his talks with Tillerson as a "very good meeting," was due to testify later on March 7 before a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing that was focused on Russia.

Ambassadors from Georgia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland are also scheduled to testify at the Senate committee hearing.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-says- us-tillerson-pledges-support-vs- russia-aggression/28356188.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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Edge data centres will account for most of the telecom server market growth and is projected to reach US$14 billion by 2026 according to a new report from DellOro Group.
AIM: MARL

TSX-V: MARL







8 March 2017



Granite House, La Grande Rue,

St. Martin, Guernsey, GY1 3RS

Channel Islands





Hot Maden Gold Copper Project- National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Preliminary Economic Assessment now Lodged on SEDAR

Highlights (100% Project Basis)

Post-tax discounted NPV for US$1.37 billion (8% discount rate).

Post-tax IRR 153% excluding acquisition costs.

Total Capex (Initial + Sustaining) of US$261M

Mariana Resources Limited ('Mariana' or 'the Company'), the TSX.V and AIM (MARL) listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey, South America, and Ivory Coast, is pleased to announce it has filed on SEDAR the National Instrument 43-101 technical report for a Preliminary Economic Assessment dated 1 March 2017 ("PEA" or the "Study") of the high grade Hot Maden gold-copper project in NE Turkey. Both the technical report and required consents can be accessed via the link below:

Link : http://media.wix.com/ugd/24ee23_0cf311ae3c2d437e80310ec214d238b5.pdf

MARIANA RESOURCES LTD.

"Glen Parsons"

Glen Parsons, CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

**ENDS**

Qualified Person

The technical and scientific information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved for release by Eric Roth, the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and for the purposes of AIM rules. Mr Roth is the Company's Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director and holds a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from the University of Western Australia, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), and is a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Dr Roth has 25 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation.

Glen Parsons (CEO) Mariana Resources Ltd +61 2 9437 4588 Eric Roth (COO) Mariana Resources Ltd +56 9 8818 1243 Karen Davies (IR) Mariana Resources Ltd (Canada) +1 604 314 6270 Rob Adamson RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0041 Will Souter RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0050 In U.K. Oliver Stansfield Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5061 Jonathan Evans Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5016 Camilla Horsfall Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3224 Megan Ray Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3203

About Mariana Resources

Mariana Resources Ltd is a TSX.V and AIM (MARL) quoted exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of gold, silver, and copper projects in South America, Turkey, and Ivory Coast.

Mariana's most advanced asset is the Hot Maden gold-copper project in northeast Turkey, which is a joint venture with Turkish partner Lidya Madencilik (30% Mariana and 70% Lidya) and which is rapidly advancing to development. On January 17, 2017, Mariana released the results of a Preliminary Economic Study ("PEA") which demonstrated exceptional potential economics for the Hot Maden Project (after-tax NPV and IRR of USD 1.37B and 153%, respectively) based on a development scenario incorporating a 1Mtpa underground mining / processing operation and the production of two saleable concentrates (a copper-gold concentrate and a gold-pyrite concentrate). This PEA was based on the updated (July 25, 2016) mineral resource estimate of 3.43 Moz gold equivalent (Indicated Category) and 0.09 Moz gold equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) in the Main Zone, as well as a maiden 351,000 Moz gold equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) resource in the New Southern Discovery. Elsewhere in Turkey, Mariana holds a 100% interest in the Ergama gold-copper project.

On October 7, 2016, Mariana announced the signing of a binding Term Sheet to acquire an indirect 80% interest in Ivory Coast-focused private exploration company Awale Resources SARL ("Awale"). Through the transaction Mariana will gain an immediate foothold in an established exploration portfolio with known gold mineralisation and artisanal gold workings, and which comprises i) 3 granted contiguous licenses (1,191 km2) in the Bondoukou area, and ii) 4 licenses under application (1,593 km2) in both the Bondoukou and Abengourou areas. The Boundoukou concessions lie along the southwestern extension of the Birimian Bole-Nangodi greenstone belt in adjacent Ghana, host to a number of high grade orogenic gold deposits.

In southern Argentina, the Company's core gold-silver projects are Las Calandrias (100%), Sierra Blanca (100%), Los Cisnes (100%), and Bozal (100%). These projects are part of a 100,000+ Ha land package in the Deseado Massif epithermal gold-silver district in mining-friendly Santa Cruz Province.

In Suriname, Mariana has a direct holding of 10.2% of the Nassau Gold project. The Nassau Gold Project is a 28,000 Ha exploration concession located approximately 125 km south east of the capital Paramaribo and immediately adjacent to Newmont Mining's 4.2Moz gold Merian project.

In Peru and Chile, Mariana is focusing on acquiring new opportunities which complement its current portfolio.

Hot Maden Mineral Resource Estimate - Main Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Indicated Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 463,000 1.1 1.1 0.3 2.4 17,000 5,000 36,000 Main Zone HG 4,501,000 3.9 1.9 0.2 6.3 570,000 87,000 908,000 Main Zone UHG 2,086,000 32.7 3.5 0.1 36.9 2,195,000 73,000 2,476,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 17,000 7.5 3.1 3.6 11.2 4,000 1,000 6,000 Peripheral Lodes 60,000 2.1 0.4 0.4 2.5 4,000 5,000 Total 7,127,000 12.2 2.3 0.2 15.0 2,790,000 166,000 3,431,000 Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 395,000 1.7 0.9 0.03 2.8 21,000 4,000 35,000 Main Zone HG 31,000 3.9 1.6 0.1 5.8 4,000 6,000 Main Zone UHG 6,000 39.1 2.1 0.01 41.6 7,000 8,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 4,000 1.7 0.4 2.4 2.2 Peripheral Lodes 282,000 3.2 0.9 0.1 4.3 29,000 2,000 38,000 Total 718,000 2.7 0.9 0.1 3.8 62,000 7,000 88,000



Hot Maden - Southern Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** South Zone LG 396,000 2.8 0.7 0.0 3.6 35,000 3,000 46,000 South Zone HG 583,000 5.3 0.7 0.0 6.1 98,000 4,000 114,000 Main Zone UHG 224,000 22.2 1.0 0.0 23.4 160,000 2,000 169,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 44,000 9.0 1.0 3.2 10.2 13,000 15,000 Peripheral Lodes 104,000 1.9 0.3 0.0 2.2 6,000 7,000 Total 1,352,000 7.2 0.7 0.1 8.1 313,000 10,000 351,000

*Au Equivalence (AuEq) calculated using a 100 day moving average of $US1,215/ounce for Au and $US2.13/pound for Cu as of May 29, 2016. No adjustment has been made for metallurgical recovery or net smelter return as these remain uncertain at this time. Based on grades and contained metal for Au and Cu, it is assumed that both commodities have reasonable potential to be economically extractable.

*-The formula used for Au equivalent grade is: AuEq g/t = Au + [(Cu % x 22.0462 x 2.13)/(1215/31.1035)] and assumes 100 % metallurgical recovery. **-Au equivalent ounces are calculated by mulitplying Mineral Resource tonnage by Au equivalent grade and converting for ounces. The formula used for Au equivalent ounces is: AuEq Oz = [Tonnage x AuEq grade (g/t)]/31.1035

Safe Harbour

This press release contains certain statements which may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this press release and include, without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, the realization, cost, timing and extent of mineral resource estimates, estimated future exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, and requirements for additional capital. The words "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecasts", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "may", "will", or similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the effects of general economic conditions; the price of gold, silver and copper; misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements; risks associated with international operations; the need for additional financing; risks inherent in exploration results; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters; currency and commodity price fluctuations; title matters; environmental liability claims; unanticipated operational risks; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; political risk; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's annual financial statements for the most recently completed financial year which is available on the Company's website at www.marianaresources.com . Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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It has been claimed that MI5 helped build a spyware attack for Samsung TVs.

The claim, by the notorious website Wikileaks, was part of alleged revelations about the work of the American intelligence agency, the CIA.

Wikileaks said it had begun the largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency and focussed on its wide-ranging hacking tools.

The website said: "'Year Zero' introduces the scope and direction of the CIA's global covert hacking program, its malware arsenal and dozens of "zero day" weaponized exploits against a wide range of U.S. and European company products, include Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones."

Adding more in its press release, Wikileaks said: "The attack against Samsung smart TVs was developed in cooperation with the United Kingdom's MI5/BTSS. After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a 'Fake-Off' mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on.

"In 'Fake-Off' mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server."

The BBC reported that a spokesman for the CIA would not confirm the details.

"We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," he said.

It is also claimed that a specialised CIA unit was set up to target iPhones and iPads, allowing the agency to see a target's location, activate their device's camera and microphone, and read text communications.

The unit is also reported to have made use of further iOS "zero days" obtained from Cheltenham-based GCHQ, the NSA and FBI.

"It is longstanding policy that we do not comment on intelligence matters," GCHQ told the BBC.

"Furthermore, all of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework, which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate."
E. Scott Campbell, a deputy sheriff with the Pittsylvania County Sheriffs Office, is a 2015 graduate of DCCs cybercrime investigation certificate program and credits the college for providing eye-opening information on how online crimes are committed.

Over the last 25 years or so, I have attended DCC off and on, along with other out-of-town community colleges and universities, obtaining degrees and college credit in areas from architectural drafting, fire, science, paramedical studies, and criminal justice administration to OSHA and human resource courses, Campbell said. My latest experience with the Cybercrime Investigation Program was no exception.

The colleges cybercrime program requires a series of general education courses, including college composition, introduction to computer crime, computer forensics, and network security basics. Cybercrime Investigation requires courses such as introduction to criminal law, constitutional law, and criminology, which is consistent with coursework and learning outcomes associated with administration of justice studies, while the Cybersecurity Certificate places a heavy emphasis on theory associated with computer operating systems, networking systems and communication, firewall protection systems, virtual infrastructure, and basics of cyber law.

Given Deputy Campbells workload, community, and family obligations, I was amazed at his performance in achieving his Associate of Arts and Science in Administration of Justice and three certificates: one in law enforcement and two in the cybercrime investigation areas, Associate Professor of Administration of Justice John Wilt said.

Wilt has been a member of the American Society for Industrial Security International for 35 years and has held the Certified Protection Professional designation since 1985. Wilt also holds a lifetime certification as a certified security trainer.

Campbell explained that he arrived at the decision to pursue these certificates because of emerging trends.

Some years ago, professor Wilt made the comment to me that his studies of criminal trends indicated that cybercrime investigations would be in very high demand and that Danville Community College was working extremely hard to bring this educational and professional opportunity to our area to meet those demands, Campbell said. The cyberattacks started almost daily not long after that. It was obvious that we in law enforcement needed to learn new ways and techniques involving data and information technology in order to follow the digital footprints and evidence versus the physical footprints and evidence we could plainly see at ordinary crime scenes.

I quickly learned that the tools I had used for over 23 years in law enforcement investigations were becoming obsolete and had shifted from the days where you could go knock on doors and walk the streets asking questions to solve a crime to criminal activity occurring in cyberspace, Campbell said.

The challenge then became getting to that crime scene, he explained.

I remember reading about former Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Robert Mueller reporting that cybercrime had superseded the drug trade in funding terrorism, Campbell recalled. I thought to myself about the resources I knew were needed and allocated to combating the drug trade alone. Thats when I decided to expand my law enforcement expertise.

Campbell said that his coursework at DCC presented eye-opening information on cybercrimes and how they are committed.

It provided a basic introduction to the nature of computer crimes, computer criminals, up-to-date laws, investigative techniques, and emerging trends, Campbell said.

Wilt said civilian examiners working for state and local law enforcement agencies often have starting computer forensics salaries between $50,000 and $75,000. On the private side, new forensic examiners with limited experience often start in private consulting firms between $50,000 and $60,000.

Danville Community Colleges Cybercrime Investigation Certificate Program consists of 38 credit hours. More information about the program is available at www.danville.edu/Departments/A&S/Academics/Cyber.htm or by contacting Wilt at (434) 797-8468 or jwilt@dcc.vccs.edu.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 8, 2017) -

Highlights:

Akwasiso drilling campaign underway to upgrade 3.85 million tonnes of Inferred Resources containing 193,000 ounces of gold to an Indicated classification



Significant intersections received for Akwasiso drilling, including: 7 metres at 13.05 g/t gold 11 metres at 3.21 g/t gold 54 metres at 1.70 g/t gold 33 metres at 1.50 g/t gold



Akwasiso deposit is situated on a current mining lease and supplementary permitting is expected to be complete in H2 2017



Project 5 Million under construction and expected to be completed a quarter ahead of schedule



Expansion capital costs are fully funded from current internal resources and cash generated from operations



Asanko Gold Inc. ("Asanko" or the "Company") (TSX:AKG)(NYSE MKT:AKG) is pleased to announce positive initial results from the Akwasiso drilling campaign, which is currently underway targeting an upgrade of 3.85 million tonnes ("Mt") of Inferred Resources containing 193,000 ounces of gold to an Indicated classification.

Akwasiso is a large scale satellite deposit located 5 kilometers north east of the processing facility, which is in the process of being upgraded to increase throughputs from 3.6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 5Mtpa. The plant upgrade, "Project 5 Million", is tracking well ahead of schedule and expected to be completed and ready for commissioning at the beginning of Q4 2017. The project's capital costs, including the opening up of Esaase and the installation of the overland conveyor belt over the next two years, is fully funded from existing cash resources and cash generated from operations over this period. Project 5 Million is expected to further increase gold production in 2018 as well as lower All-in sustaining costs ("AISC").

Mining of the Akwasiso deposit is expected to commence during 2018 to augment mill feed from both the Nkran and Dynamite Hill pits, providing mining flexibility in anticipation of the commissioning of the Esaase pit and overland conveyor in H2 2018. The Akwasiso incremental, at surface oxide ounces are expected to have a lower cost profile than the current Nkran operations, thereby contributing to lowering AISC in 2018. The Akwasiso deposit is on an existing mining permit and only requires a supplementary permit application, which is well advanced. Asanko anticipates receiving full permits for Akwasiso in H2 2017.

Peter Breese, President and CEO, commented, "The results received so far from the Akwasiso infill drilling program support a significant upgrade of Inferred resources to the Indicated classification. These near-surface, incremental oxide ores are cheap to mine and process and will form part of the 2018 mine plan, along with Nkran and Dynamite Hill, to supply 5Mtpa of ore to the processing plant once the plant upgrades have been completed. The plant upgrades, which will be funded from internal cash resources, are currently tracking well ahead of schedule and we expect hot commissioning to commence early in Q4 2017.

Since we received the more conservative resource model for Nkran, which we published in February 2017, Asanko has now embarked on a pit optimization process to establish the optimal NPV for all eleven pits making up the Asanko Gold Mine Mineral Reserve base. This optimization will be included in the new feasibility study that is due for publication in Q2 2017."

The infill drilling campaign is close to completion, with 4,437 meters of the planned total of 4,800 meters drilled. Intersections are shown in Table 1 (refer to the Appendices at the end of this release), and highlights include a number of 30-50m mineralized zones evident in boreholes 016 and 018, as well as high grade intercepts. Upon receipt of all assays, the Akwasiso Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") will be revised and an updated pit design will be completed. Two cross sections showing key intercepts are also included in the Appendices.

Akwasiso is a satellite deposit which was acquired in Q3 2016 and is situated within the Nkran Shear corridor five kilometers north east of the Nkran Pit. The deposit shows similar geological characteristics to Nkran, with at least three mineralized structures within a sandstone-siltstone sequence and an intrusive granite which hosts shallow dipping quartz veining.

A successful drilling program in Q4 2016 delineated an initial MRE which was published on February 24, 2017 as part of the updated Global Mineral Resource and Reserve Statement for the Asanko Gold Mine.

Table 2: Akwasiso Mineral Resource Estimate, as at December 31, 2016

Cut-off grade 0.5 g/t Au Tonnes Mt Grade g/t Au Moz Indicated 4.61 1.20 0.18 Total Measured and Indicated 4.61 1.20 0.18 Total Inferred 3.85 1.56 0.19

Qualified Persons Statements

Phil Bentley, Asanko Executive: Geology and Resources (Pr.Sci.Nat.) is the Asanko Qualified Person under NI 43-101 guidelines who assumes technical responsibility for Mineral Resource contents of this news release. The December 2016 MRE for Akwasiso was prepared by Charles J. Muller, B.Sc. Geology (Hons), PR.Sci.Nat., MGSSA, a Director of CJM Consulting Pty Ltd. ("CJM") of Johannesburg, South Africa. The MRE is reported in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 requirements and the South African Code of Reporting of Exploration Results (SAMREC), which is consistent with the CIM Estimation Best Practice Guidelines in Canada.

Enquiries:

For further information please visit: www.asanko.com or email: info@asanko.com.

About Asanko Gold Inc.

Asanko's vision is to become a mid-tier gold mining company that maximizes value for all its stakeholders. The Company's flagship project is the multi-million ounce Asanko Gold Mine located in Ghana, West Africa. The mine is being developed in phases. Phase 1 commenced gold production in January 2016 and declared commercial production on April 1, 2016. Ramp-up to steady state production was achieved in Q2 2016.

Asanko is managed by highly skilled and successful technical, operational and financial professionals. The Company is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighbouring communities.

Forward-Looking and other Cautionary Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals, possible future mining, exploration and development activities, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices for metals, the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses, the timely renewal of key permits, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, mining rates and recovery rates and the lack of availability of necessary capital, which may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to it or at all. The Company is subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note to US Investors Regarding Mineral Reporting Standards:

Asanko has prepared its disclosure in accordance with the requirements of securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of US securities laws. Terms relating to mineral resources in this press release are defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects under the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. Asanko uses certain terms, such as, "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources", "inferred mineral resources" and "probable mineral reserves", that the SEC does not recognize (these terms may be used in this press release and are included in the public filings of Asanko which have been filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in Canada).

Appendices to News Release dated March 8, 2017

Please click here to view 2 cross sections from the Akwasiso Infill Drilling: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1088200m1.pdf.

Please click here to view Table 1: Akwasiso Infill Drilling Campaign - Results received to date, March 8, 2017: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1088200t1.pdf.
After-Tax NPV of C$306 million and IRR of 25% at US$1,225 per ounce

TSX:TML

Highlights (all currencies are reported in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified):

The PEA benefits from a 37% increase in the Life of Mine ("LOM") gold production profile, while taking a conservative approach with respect to operating and capital costs compared with the 2012 PEA;

Average annual production of 87,850 oz Au over a 13 year combined open pit and underground mine life; peak production exceeding 100,000 oz per year Au from years three to six;

LOM head grade of 3.8 g/tonne (Au), an increase of 33% from the 2012 PEA; and

Total cash cost is estimated at US$518 per equivalent gold ounce ("AuEq") and an all-in sustaining cost ("AISC"), as defined by the World Gold Council, estimated at US$566 per AuEq;

TORONTO, March 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Treasury Metals Inc. (TSX: TML) ("Treasury" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results from an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") integrating recent engineering and incorporating the 2015 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate from its Goliath Gold Project ("Goliath" or the "Project").

"The updated 2017 PEA benefits from increased mineable resources and a higher grade profile while using a more conservative approach related to all mining costs, capital costs and dilution compared with the 2012 PEA. As such, Treasury will confidently move forward with a Feasibility Study in addition to the other development activities set forth in our March 1, 2017 corporate update. The revised PEA is the result of all the considerable progress made at Goliath over the past five years and represents a key milestone in the path towards a production decision," said Chris Stewart, President and Chief Executive Officer of Treasury.

Goliath is located in northwestern Ontario, lying 20 kilometres east of the city of the Dryden. The total area of the Project is 49 km2 and is owned 100% by the Company. The site benefits significantly from excellent access to infrastructure and is directly adjacent to the Trans-Canada highway and Canadian Pacific Railway. The Project has access to electrical and natural gas power, rail, paved roadways to site and several nearby communities.

The optimized mining plan used in the PEA envisions an initial open pit generating immediate revenues to fund underground development. Underground ("UG") production begins in the second year with the open pit operating over an additional 7 years at a reduced output to supplement UG production to a total of 2,500 tonnes per day over the course of a 13 year total mine life. Total gold production is estimated at 1.14 million ounces of gold and 2.0 million ounces of silver. Initial capital to fund construction is estimated at C$133.2 million with an additional C$132.5 million in sustaining capital over the LOM primarily to fund the underground expansion.

The mine is proposed to produce an average head grade of 3.81 g/t gold and 10.55 g/t silver with Open Pit and UG mining producing average grades of 1.58 g/t and 4.87 g/t of gold, respectively. The infill diamond drilling programs completed since the PEA completed by Treasury in 2012 (the "2012 PEA") has resulted in improved project economics and overall confidence in the mine plan. The stripping ratio of waste rock to mill feed has been reduced to 6:1, which represents a 35% improvement over the 2012 PEA. This stripping ratio does not include pre-production stripping of approximately 1.3 million m3 cubed of overburden material. All mined ounces in the open pit are within the Measured and Indicated categories. Seventy per cent of the mineable ounces within the Underground are classified within the Measured and Indicated categories which represent a significant increase from the 2012 PEA. UG production is envisioned to be carried out at an average rate of 1,600 tonnes per day using the long hole stoping method on 30 metre sublevels. Average UG operating costs have been estimated at $77/tonne, a 28% increase over the cost assumption in the 2012 PEA.

Goliath PEA Overview

The 2017 PEA was prepared by CSA Global Canada Geosciences Ltd. ("CSA Global") with the assistance of P&E Engineering Consultants and the Company's operations and exploration teams in collaboration with a range of industry consultants (see Qualified Persons section below).

The PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 and the technical report that summarizes the results of the 2017 PEA will be filed on the Company's website and on Sedar (www.sedar.com) within 45 days of this press release.

PEA Assumptions and Economic Results (Base Case Metrics)

Table 1 presents a summary of the life-of-mine gold production information and other key highlights of the Project. All amounts are in Canadian Dollars except the realized gold and silver price which is quoted in US Dollars. All grade and oz. values are quoted separately as gold and silver unless specified as equivalent ounces, with 1 oz Au = 110 oz Ag, calculated by base case metal prices as listed in Table 1.

Table 1

Project Parameters Unit Amount Gold Resources



Gold and Silver Production  Recovered Resources Oz 1,142,000 and 2,075,000 Cut-off Grade  Open Pit and Underground Au g/tonne 0.55 and 2.10 Average Mill Feed Gold Grade Au (g/tonne) 3.81 Average Mill Feed Silver Grade Ag (g/tonne) 10.55 Average Open Pit Gold Grade (Au) Au (g/tonne) 1.58 Average Underground Gold Grade (Au) Au (g/tonne) 4.87 Average Gold Grade AuEq (g/tonne) 3.91 Operating Metrics



Total Tonnes Mill Feed Produced Tonnes 9.8 million Tonnes Mill Feed Produced breakdown OP and U/G

3.18 and 6.60 million Mill Feed Production Rate tpd/tpa 2,500 tonne/day or 875,000/yr Dilution (Open Pit)

25% Dilution (UG)

15% Strip Ratio (excluding 1.3 million m3 of pre- production overburden stripping) Waste:Mill Feed 6:1 Gold Recovery (Processing) % 95.5% Silver Recovery (Processing) % 62.6% Average Gold Production Oz/year 87,850 Average Silver Production Oz/year 160,000 Average Gold Production (Au Equivalent) Au Eq 90,000 Peak Production (Year 6) Au 111,800 Mine life Years 13 years Financial Metrics



Realized Gold and Silver Price (Base Case) US$/Oz $1,225 and $17 Total Initial Capital Expenditures C$M $133.2 Total Sustaining Capital (Including U/G) C$M $132.5 Cash Operating Cost US$/Oz $518 All in Sustaining Cost (AISC) US$/Oz $566 Mining Costs  Open Pit and UG $/tonne Open pit $3.45 and UG $77 Milling Costs and G & A costs $/tonne $18.15 and $2.85 Open Pit Waste Mining $/tonne $3.30 Overburden Removal $/m3 $6.00 Exchange Rate US$ C$1.32

Cautionary statement required by NI 43-101

According to the cautionary statement required by NI 43-101, it should be noted that this assessment is preliminary in nature as it includes Inferred mineral resources that cannot be categorized as reserves at this time and as such there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment and economics will be realized.

Project Economics

CSA Global concludes that under base case assumptions of 2,500 tpd production and US$1,225 per ounce (base case  3 year trailing average gold), the Life of Mine post-tax net present value (NPV) of $306 million based on a 5% discount rate, internal rate of return (IRR) of 25.0% and a payback of 4.1 years. The payback includes all UG mine development costs.

The following table summarizes the base case compared to various metal price assumptions:

Pre-Tax NPV and IRR Sensitivity to Gold Price

Gold Price (USD) NPV (5%) (CDN$M) NPV (7.5%) (CDN$M) IRR Payback from Production US$1,150/oz $356.7 $268.3 26.3 4.0 US$1,200/oz $402.4 $306.2 28.7% 3.8 Base Case US$1,225/oz $425.3 $325.2 29.9% 3.7 US$1,275 $471.0 $363.2 32.3% 3.5 US$1,350 $539.4 $420.1 35.7% 3.2 US$1,500 $677.0 $534.3 42.3% 2.8

Post-Tax NPV and IRR Sensitivity to Gold Price

Gold Price (USD) NPV (5%) (CDN$M) NPV (7.5%) (CDN$M) IRR Payback from Production US$1,150/oz $254.6 $185.1 22.1% 4.6 US$1,1200 $288.9 $213.6 24.1% 4.3 Base Case - US$1,225 $306.1 $227.9 25.0% 4.1 US$1,275 $340.4 $256.4 27.0% 3.9 US$1,350 $391.8 $299.1 29.8% 3.6 US$1,500 $494.9 $384.8 35.2% 3.2

Net Cash Flows

C$ Million Yearly Average Yearly Average for Yr 3 to 9 LOM Total Net Metal Revenue $134.2M $166.1M $1,187M Operating Cost $58.5M $67.2M $812.7M Transportation, Royalties and Refining $0.6M $0.78M $9.3M Capital Costs $18.6M $11.0M $265.7M Pre-Tax Cash Flows $48.6M $81.1M $729.5M Corporate Tax $18.8M $24.0M $254.5M After-Tax Cash Flow $36.3M $63.5M $545.0M

Project Improvement and Future Trade-off Studies

Resource Expansion: The resource remains open both at depth and on strike. The PEA has also taken a conservative approach to the exclusion of several areas of inferred resources. Specifically, the PEA has excluded two zones of mineralized material that are separated approximately 300 metres from the underground main resource area to the east and west, respectively. These areas represent approximately 84,000 oz combined and highlight the potential of resource expansion via open strike extensions.





Reduction and Optimization of Capital Expenditures: Availability of used equipment on the market and/or the option of leasing equipment have potential to significantly reduce capital costs. For example, used Open Pit, UG equipment, and used milling equipment such as a SAG Mill could be sourced and would replace more expensive and long lead time expenses used in the PEA. As the Project progresses, there will be continual options to explore using leased equipment and/or contract mining to lessen the upfront investment needed depending on the market conditions as the project is initiated. The Company will continue throughout the Feasibility study to evaluate all potential options to increase the economics of the project.





Mine Plan Optimization: Presently, the UG development costs in the PEA are based on contractor rates for certain equipment and personnel. With the purchase of equipment and use of company personnel, the overall UG development cost could be significantly reduced in the sustaining capital section. Further optimization of open pit mining phases, along with the current infill drilling programs, could help to reduce the stripping ratio in the initial years while providing optimized grade directly to the mill in the initial years of production. In conjunction with optimized phase design, the PEA has also elected to not use any low grade stockpile. Further optimization of mining could make use of a low grade stockpile to provide an increased open pit head grade being fed to the mill prior to the initiation of UG mining.





Process Optimization: Further optimization of the gold processing plant could help to improve economics by reducing operating costs and increasing gold recoveries. It has been recommended to study the use of oxygen injection into the leaching circuit to both speed leaching times and reduce cyanide consumption. A further advantage is the ability to operate the slurry leach circuit at a lower pH that favours the carbon adsorption step and together with the accelerated leach kinetics can allow a significant drop in leach tank volume requirements, significantly lowering capital costs.

The Company announced a detailed corporate update and project development strategy on March 1, 2017 to further advance the Company's Goliath Gold Project. The Company's key objectives for Goliath and proposed timelines related to a Feasibility study and mine permits were provided in that report.

The Company will provide additional details related to Tailings Management and Closure process in conjunction with the filing of the PEA on Sedar in April 2017.

Proposed Mining Plan

In a similar method to previous studies, the PEA proposes an initial open pit mining plan to take advantage of mineralized material at surface. Revenues generated from open pit mining will be used in the development of the underground operations. In an effort to optimize the mill head grade, the PEA envisions that UG mine development will start immediately in year one with the objective of creating underground mill feed by year two. It has been proposed that once UG production is online the open pit production will decrease over an 8 year period to supplement the UG mill feed to the nameplate capacity. As proposed, the open pit will operate over an 8 year mine life and uses no significant stockpile from the storage of low grade material. This will have the additional benefit of reduced re-handle costs for the low grade stockpile that was proposed in previous studies.

Total gold production is estimated at 1,142,000 ounces of gold and 2,075,000 ounces of silver of which it is proposed that 154,700 ounces of gold will be from the Open Pit and 987,300 ounces of gold will be produced from the Underground. The PEA is based on an average milling rate of 875,000 tonnes per year, or 2,500 tonnes per day with an average head grade of 3.81 g/t gold and 10.55 g/t silver. Metallurgical and optimization studies continue to indicate high recoveries using a traditional Carbon in Leach (CIL) circuit and estimated overall recovery of 95.5% for gold and 62.6% for silver.

Initial capital to fund construction is estimated at C$133.2 million with an additional C$132.5 million in sustaining capital over the LOM primarily to fund the underground expansion. The main increases in the capital costs since the 2012 PEA came from advanced engineering studies to support the mine permit process and the major cost changes attributed to the tailings facility, closure costs and open pit pre-production costs. The total mill facility includes costs associated with a backfill plant for underground production and the Company will make use of existing office, warehousing and electrical facilities onsite to minimize capital costs needed for construction.

Advanced engineering studies also helped to revise operating cost estimates. The PEA has defined a $18.15/tonne processing cost, $3.45/tonne for open pit ore mining, $3.30/tonne for open pit waste mining and $77/tonne for underground mining costs. Underground development costs have been estimated at $6,000/lateral metre and $4,500/lateral metre for contractor and owner rates, respectively, with a total of 14,725 total metres needed for capital development.

Metallurgy and Processing

A standard carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit with gravity extraction is considered the base case for the proposed processing facility. An average of 2,500 tonnes per day will be primary crushed with a jaw crusher and then ground to the target leaching P80 of 106 microns using a single stage SAG mill and classifying cyclones. A gravity circuit consisting of a scalping screen and centrifugal concentrator will be fed from the cyclone feed distributor. The gravity concentrate will be batch treated in an intensive leach reactor (ILR) with the pregnant solution treated by electrowinning. Cyclone overflow will pass through a trash screen prior to entering the carbon in leach (CIL) circuit.

The PEA has provided for a 24 hour leaching residence time in the 6 tank CIL circuit with a cyanide detoxification circuit to be used prior to discharge to the tailings facility. Average processing costs have been estimated at $18.15/tonne over the course of the mine life.

All metallurgical testing to date, which includes Teck Resource's previous 2,375 tonne bulk sample and the most recent 420 kg representative sample, has shown extremely positive results for this proposed circuit. Recoveries are estimated to be 95.5% for gold and 62.6% for silver.

Goliath LOM Production Profile

The attached chart provides an overview of the gold and silver production.

Pre-Production Capital and Sustaining Capital

C$M Initial Capital Sustaining Capital Total Capital Processing Plant $90.7M $12.4M $103.1M Tailings $11.1M $10.0M $21.1M Open Pit Pre-Production $12.5M $0.0M $12.5M Open Pit Equipment $17.0M $1.6M $18.6M Underground $0.0M $96.3M $96.3M

2015 Mineral Resource Estimate

The following table summarizes the 2015 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate in the "Measured", "Indicated" and "Inferred" Resource categories. The report is available on the company's website and on www.sedar.com.

Mineral Resource Estimate Statement (1-8)























Category Cut-off AuEq g/t Tonnage Au (g/t) Contained Au (oz) Ag (g/t) Contained Ag (oz) AuEq (g/t) Contained AuEq (oz) Open Pit Measured 0.35 1,015,000 1.90 62,100 7.8 256,000 2.00 65,200 Indicated 0.35 17,174,000 1.22 675,700 5.2 2,869,000 1.29 710,400 M+I 0.35 18,189,000 1.26 737,800 5.3 3,125,000 1.33 775,600 Inferred 0.35 1,351,000 0.99 42,800 4.3 186,000 1.04 45,000 Underground Measured 1.90 103,000 7.32 24,200 23.1 76,000 7.60 25,100 Indicated 1.90 2,264,000 4.84 352,400 14.4 1,044,000 5.02 365,000 M+I 1.90 2,367,000 4.95 376,600 14.7 1,120,000 5.13 390,100 Inferred 1.90 2,120,000 4.22 287,300 10.9 743,000 4.35 296,300 Total Measured 0.35& 1.90 1,117,000 2.40 86,300 9.2 332,000 2.51 90,300 Indicated 0.35& 1.90 19,437,000 1.65 1,028,100 6.3 3,913,000 1.72 1,075,500 M+I 0.35& 1.90 20,554,000 1.69 1,114,400 6.4 4,245,000 1.76 1,165,800 Inferred 0.35& 1.90 3,470,000 2.96 330,100 8.3 928,000 3.06 341,300





















Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred resources as an Indicated or Measured mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured mineral resource category. The mineral resources in this press release were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council. A gold price of US$1,397/oz and silver price of US$22.93/oz based on the April 30, 2015 three year trailing average prices and an exchange rate of US$1.06=Cdn$1.00 were utilized in the AuEq cut-off grade calculations of 0.35 g/t AuEq for Open Pit and 1.90 g/t AuEq for Underground mineral resources. Open Pit mining costs were assumed at Cdn$5.00/t for mineralized material, Cdn$3.15/t for waste rock and Cdn$2.00/t for overburden, while Underground mining costs were assumed at Cdn$70.00/t, with process costs of Cdn$13.81/t, G&A of Cdn$2.72/t, and process recoveries of 95% for gold and 70% for silver. The Au:Ag ratio used for AuEq was 82.68. A bulk density model averaged 2.76 t/m3 for mineralized material. Totals in the table may not sum due to rounding.

Qualified Person



Technical information related to the PEA contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Douglas Roy, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., an Associate Mining Engineer with CSA Global, who is an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, with the ability and authority to verify the authenticity and validity of this data. The PEA technical report will be filed on Sedar within 45 days. Technical information in the press release has also been reviewed and approved by Mark Wheeler, P. Eng., Director Projects, who is a Qualified Person for the Goliath Gold Project under the definitions established by National Instrument 43-101.

The 2015 Mineral Resource Estimate was prepared by Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., Antoine Yassa, P.Geo., and Yungang Wu, P.Geo. of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. of Brampton, Ontario, Independent Qualified Persons ("QP"), as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

To view further details about the Goliath Gold Project, please visit the Company's website at www.treasurymetals.com.

About Treasury Metals Inc.:

Treasury Metals Inc. is a gold focused exploration and development company with assets in Ontario, Canada and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the symbol "TML". Treasury Metals Inc.'s 100% owned Goliath Gold Project in northwestern Ontario is slated to become one of Canada's next producing gold mines. With first-rate infrastructure currently in place and gold mineralization extending to surface, Treasury Metals plans on the initial development of an open pit gold mine to feed a 2,500 per day processing plant with subsequent underground operations in the latter years of the mine life. Treasury Metals is currently in the mine permit process and working towards completion of a Feasibility Study on the Goliath Gold Project.

Follow us on Twitter @TreasuryMetals

Forward-looking Statements

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expect, are forward-looking statements. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Treasury Metals disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save and except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Treasury Metals Inc.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, facing 10 little-known opponents, was gliding to a second term Tuesday in an election that tested his clout as Los Angeles voters weighed a sweeping anti-development measure that he fought to defeat, according to early returns.With less than 5 percent of the vote counted, Garcetti declared victory in remarks to cheering supporters in Pico-Union."Thank you for giving me the honor of being your mayor for another term," he said late Tuesday night.Eight City Council seats were also at stake in Tuesday's primary, with incumbents across the city all taking an early lead over their challengers.In a season when Donald Trump's tumultuous presidency has dominated politics worldwide, it has been hard for Garcetti and others on the L.A. ballot to capture the public's attention.Garcetti spent more than $3 million trying to burnish his image for an election he stood little chance of losing. His goal was to win not just another term, but also a solid affirmation of hometown support that could strengthen his standing to run for statewide office. He governs a city of nearly 4 million people, but is barely known outside Southern California.In his campaign, Garcetti stressed his record raising the minimum wage, cutting business taxes and backing ballot measures to expand public transit and house the homeless.The recent surge in homelessness and an uptick in crime threatened to dampen Garcetti's support, even if he was widely expected to win the majority vote that he needs to avoid a May 16 runoff.Public anxiety over explosive growth of development in Hollywood and other neighborhoods fueled support for Measure S, which would hinder some major real estate projects. Passage of the measure would be a blow to the pro-development mayor, but preliminary returns showed it losing by a wide margin.A liberal Democrat, Garcetti also faced criticism from immigrant rights advocates who accused him of failing to speak out forcefully enough against Trump, a charge he denied. They criticized him for resisting labeling Los Angeles a "sanctuary city" for immigrants in the U.S. illegally.On Tuesday night, scores of protesters gathered outside Garcetti's election celebration at the Pico-Union office of Laborers International Union of North America Local 300."Sanctuary is our demand, Mayor Garcetti take a stand," they chanted.Garcetti has sought to raise his national profile in recent weeks by denouncing Trump's immigration policies in television news interviews."He's out there defending the cause," Romario Ortiz, 27, the son of immigrants from Guatemala and El Salvador, said Tuesday after voting for Garcetti at an Echo Park polling station.Only one of Garcetti's challengers, Democratic political operative Mitchell Schwartz, posed at least a minimal threat. Schwartz spent nearly $700,000 on the contest, much of it for final-week mailings to voters. It has been many decades since that kind of small-scale campaign has succeeded in an L.A. mayor's race.The other two citywide elected officials, Controller Ron Galperin and City Attorney Mike Feuer, were running unopposed Tuesday, as was Councilman Bob Blumenfield in the West Valley.But City Councilmen Gil Cedillo, Paul Koretz, Curren Price, Mike Bonin, Mitch O'Farrell and Joe Buscaino were all facing challengers. In the East Valley, 20 candidates were vying for the open council seat last held by Felipe Fuentes.Cedillo, who served 14 years as a state lawmaker before winning his council seat four years ago, was facing one of the most serious challenges, from bike activist Joe Bray-Ali. But the first round of election returns found that even Cedillo stood a chance of winning a majority and avoiding a runoff.One sign of concern among Cedillo supporters was a late $80,000 expenditure by a Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce committee on Spanish-language radio ads promoting the Eastside councilman. The ads focused on his work supporting immigrants in the country illegally.At Cedillo's party Tuesday night in Highland Park, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said a runoff looked unlikely."He's a fighter and I think the people recognize that," said Villaraigosa, now a candidate for governor.Price, one of three blacks on the council, was trying to fend off two Latino challengers in his district just south of downtown. The district has become a test of black political power in recent years as the Latino population has steadily risen. Initial returns showed Price easily avoiding a runoff.Koretz, Bonin, O'Farrell and Buscaino were each defeating their opponents handily in early returns. In the open East Valley district, early returns showed Karo Torossian and Monica Rodriguez best positioned to make a May runoff.The trickle of voters at city polling stations captured the city's prevailing attitude toward the election: indifference."Four people in line at my polling place is four more people than I thought would be at my polling place, so that's something," University of Southern California graduate student Alex Amadeo wrote on Twitter.The city's elected officials normally serve four-year terms. But because of a shift in the election calendar, winners of this year's elections will serve 5{ years. Starting in 2020, city elections will coincide with state and federal elections.
The mayor of New Jersey's third-largest city was indicted on Monday alongside three public works supervisors on charges they conspired to have city employees perform work on a private property connected to the mayor's family.A defiant Jose "Joey" Torres, serving as the Democratic mayor of Paterson under a cloud of suspicion and several state and federal investigations, proclaimed his innocence and vowed to fight the charges.But at a press conference held after the indictment was unsealed on Tuesday, state Attorney General Christopher Porrino said evidence showed Torres "treated city workers like his personal handymen" and "city dollars as if they were his own."The attorney general said the charges were part of an "ongoing" investigation into improper use of city employees and overtime pay in Paterson, a beleaguered city with a long history of public corruption.Authorities also charged two DPW supervisors -- Joseph Mania, 51, of Randolph, and Imad Mowaswes, 52, of Clifton -- as well as assistant supervisor Timothy Hanlon, 30, of Woodland Park.
Hawaii is expected to become the first state in the nation to challenge President Donald Trump's revised travel ban.In a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu today, state attorneys said they would be asking a federal judge as soon as Wednesday to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the new executive order.Ismail Elshikh, imam of the Muslim Association of Hawai'i, is listed as co-plaintiff.Trump's revised order, issued Monday, continued to impose a 90-day ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority nations but removed Iraq from the list of countries of origin. It also exempts permanent residents and current visa holders, and discontinued language offering preferential status to persecuted religious minorities.State Attorney General Doug Chin could not be reached for comment late this afternoon, but in a news release this evening he confirmed the state's next move. "The state of Hawaii intends to pursue legal action regarding President Trump's new travel ban, which was issued yesterday," he said. "The state, together with the Department of Justice, asked Judge Derrick K. Watson for an expedited briefing schedule on a motion for temporary restraining order. If Judge Watson agrees, this schedule will allow the court to hear the state's motion before the new travel ban goes into effect on March 16, 2017."He said the state anticipates filing a second amended complaint and a motion for temporary restraining order soon.Neal Katyal, a Washington D.C., attorney who is representing the state, today tweeted: "Here we go. Proud to stand w/State of Hawaii challenging Pres.Trump's 'new' Executive Order issued yesterday."According to the web site of Katyal's firm, the state today filed a joint motion setting out a proposed court schedule. Under the schedule, the temporary restraining order would be filed Wednesday. The U.S. government would file their opposition Monday and oral argument would be held March 15. The district court has not yet ruled on the request, according to the web site.Chin appeared at a press conference at the Muslim Association of Hawai'i mosque in Manoa earlier today, but he did not mention the suit.Chin urged people to stand up against the executive order, which he earlier described as "Muslim Ban 2.0." He said Trump has sold the executive order under the pretense that it is essential for national security and safety. But Chin said that's not what it's about."It's about discrimination," he said. "It's discriminating against people based on their national origin or based on their religion. It's disenfranchising people who are not of the majority race or majority religion. It puts them in a place that smears their culture or a religion that is not accepted by everyone else. And that's wrong."
On Tuesday, in the morning, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey received His Excellency Mr Fook Seng Kwok, High Commissioner of the Republic of Singapore to Australia and Mrs Pearl Lee.

In the afternoon, at Government House, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey hosted a luncheon in honour of the arts sector in Queensland. Guests included: the Honourable Justice David Thomas, Deputy Chair, Queensland Ballet; Mr Chris Freeman AM, Chair, Queensland Performing Arts Trust; Emeritus Professor Roly Sussex OAM; Ms Linda Apelt, Chair, Screen Queensland; Mr David Conry, Chair, Queensland Museum Network Board; Ms Leilani Pearce, Chairperson, Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts; Dr Sally Pitkin, Chairman, Opera Queensland; Mr Greg Wanchap, Chairman, Queensland Symphony Orchestra; Emeritus Professor Richard Fotheringham, Deputy Chair, Queensland Theatre Company; and Ms Cecily Pearson OAM.
The second International Counter Ransomware Initiative Summit drew together 36 nations and the E.U. to commit to share more information, establish international standards to disrupt illicit payments and coordinate other efforts to combat the threat.
The presidential election. Hundreds of pollsters, thousands of polls, masses of analytics applied in various models, and yet nearly all called it wrong. Did big data fail?

Predictive policing. Advocates say data models of police activity can highlight potential trouble spots and drive smart allocation of assets. Critics say its a way to worsen existing bias and deepen community divides.

Relying on data-driven systems, Michigan wrongly sent letters to 12,000 residents telling them their Medicare benefits had been cut. Not big data, but still an example of data efforts coming up short.

Associated Press photo by Byron Rollins

Vision of Data For several years, government IT has preached (and been preached to) in words along the lines of: Data will fix everything. Shall we now amend? Proposed revised credo: Data will improve many things in government,

if used with proper care by thoughtful, well trained analysts.



Its a little wordy, but probably closer to the truth. In the real world, this revised and somewhat more modest vision of data works like this:



You need to formulate the questions properly. They have to be technically translated in the right way and the models have to be used, and then the data itself has to have some accuracy."

 Rod Davenport, chief technology officer, Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget



There may be some overselling going on, some hubris among the proponents of these things. You have to systematically evaluate how effective the data analytics are compared to more conventional approaches. The only way to know that is to remain agnostic and when you do apply it, perform a real evaluation on how well it is doing, especially compared to the status quo."

 Daniel Nagin, professor of public policy and statistics, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University



We have run a lot of our public institutions on anecdote and gut feeling. In almost any government situation, data can help to give you some insight into why that reality looks the way it does. Its less about the limitations of the technology and more about the skills of the user. It comes down to the skills and experience of the people who are setting up the analytic models and the policymakers who are there to help interpret the results."

 Rick Howard, vice president in government and education, Gartner Research



We need to be humble and realistic about the kinds of problems data can solve. In situations where data is the bottleneck, we should have more and better data. But in government, so much depends on factors not contained within the data. Improving the data is definitely worth it, but it will not always solve the entire issue."

 Kentaro Toyama, professor, School of Information, University of Michigan



We can ask data to manage Medicare, to police our streets and to predict our elections, and data can help do all those things. At the end of the day, though, the government technologists at the heart of the data enterprise will be the ones who determine whether the effort succeeds or fails.









Data is the watchword of the progressive gov tech professional today. If we can put a number to a problem  quantify it, catalog it, assault it with an avalanche of analytics  all will be well.Sometimes data doesnt deliver, or at least it appears to come up short. What does this say about data-driven government? Are we asking too much of big data? There are people out there who have oversold the potential of data to transform how we deliver government services, said Paige Kowalski, a policy director at the Data Quality Campaign, which promotes effective data use within education.Data advocates are steadfast: When data doesnt deliver, its because people are using it wrong. Garbage in, garbage out, runs the old adage.Three instances offer an opportunity to explore the apparent limitation of the data-driven mindset:Examples like these can give data a bad name, maybe make people question whether analytics are in fact the wisest way to govern. Well give away the ending now and say that this is probably the wrong conclusion: Data works.What all these [examples] show us is that data in and of itself isnt enough. The quality of the data is always of prime consideration. The skills of the analysts and the people who do the data modeling really have to be up to the task, said Rick Howard, a Gartner research vice president in government and education. Its all in the formulation of the question. If you ask the wrong question, building data models isnt going to give you the right answer.Lets see how this plays out in practical terms.of Harry Truman hoisting a flubbed headline used to be the icon for how the media can call an election wrong. Maybe a new image will emerge to express the epic polling flub of 2016.In the days before the election, Reuters gave Hillary Clinton a 90 percent chance of victory.said 98 percent, the Princeton Election Consortium 99 percent,85 percent and Nate Silver, whose 538 blog was more conservative than others, still gave Clinton a 71 percent chance of victory.How can so many smart people, armed with so much data and equipped with the finest in analytic tools, be so very wrong? Surely data isnt all it is cracked up to be  or maybe the data was faulty.It seems clear that the data being fed into those models had some flaws in it, said Alex Howard, deputy director of the Sunlight Foundation. Human nature as of yet cannot be reduced to a series of ones and zeros. We cannot always expect rational actors. People make decisions against their own interests and against common sense.What exactly was wrong with the data?The pollsters collecting data didnt sample the right populations in the right way, and respondents might not have been entirely truthful, said Kentaro Toyama, a professor at the University of Michigans School of Information and author ofHe pointed to statements by GOP activists saying the polls understated Trumps support because voters dont want to admit to backing him.It may be too that there is something fundamentally flawed in the presidential polling models.Its not like we were measuring actual voting behavior. We were measuring public opinion and taking that as the sole indicator of voting behavior, said Daniel Castro, director of the Center for Data Innovation and columnist forThere should have been more information on the number of attendees at rallies. There should have been analysis of peoples social media comments. There could have been facial sentiment analysis at rallies. There are lots of other data sources out there that could have been used. Thats big data, and we didnt have that in this case, he said.Big data isnt just about the volume of information but about the frequency, the iterations. Big data models a scenario tens of thousands of times, whereas presidential elections happen only once every four years. So that piece was missing too, Castro said.Some say the electorate may simply be too complex to poll with any accuracy.This is not a failure of big data. This has nothing to do with data analytics, said Daniel Nagin, professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon Universitys Heinz College. This reflects the fundamental difficulty of getting a representative sample of people in a large, complex society.When pollsters read the data wrong, they raised a few hopes and broke a few hearts, but the implications of data gone bad (if thats what this was) can sometimes be far more profound. Take for instance the case of predictive policing.to use historical crime data, sophisticated algorithms and heavy-duty analytics to help police make best use of their resources. When successful, predictive approaches allow police to work more proactively with limited resources, but the technique is riddled with vulnerability, according to a Rand Corp. report.As the report notes, some descriptions of predictive policing make it sound as if the computer can foretell the future. It cant. Nor can analytics actually stop crime. Actual decreases in crime require taking action based on those predictions.At its heart, predictive policing promises to expand by mechanical means the same sorts of strategies long used by cops on the beat: Watch for the hot spots, the places where trouble happens, the people typically found nearby. Keep an eye on those. When escalated to the level of big data, however, this approach raises concerns among human rights advocates.If 90 percent of rapes are committed by men, should we lock up all men? asked Nik Rouda, senior analyst at the IT analysis firm Enterprise Strategy Group. The absurd example makes a bigger point: History itself cant be a basis for crime prevention. The important part is in finding the balance. Big data analytics are tools. How you interpret them and how you use them can have a serious impact.Most concerns around predictive policing have to do with the origins of the data that feeds the analysis. We assume that crime reports are representative and random, but they can actually reflect institutional biases. Often those crime statistics are the result of where you put the police in the first place, said William Isaac, a consultant to the Human Rights Data Analysis Group.If cops concentrate their patrols in a certain neighborhood, thats where the crime stats will pile up. When you predict the future based on the past, you are guiding future law enforcement to go to the same places and take the same actions. You perpetuate the existing bias in terms of where and how police take action, said Nancy La Vigne, director of the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Analytics will reflect this, more police will be deployed and the cycle perpetuates.The end result may be a policy that conforms to the data, but generates undesirable social outcomes. Statistically speaking, there may be crimes that are committed in neighborhoods where minorities are the majority residents. So if you take a very innocent reading of the data, you start stopping and frisking black and Hispanic people, Toyama said. As a society, we are not comfortable with running a program that is effectively racist, just because thats what the data says.This issue here is not with the data, some would argue, but rather with how one puts that data to use. Many shudder at a sci-fi vision of pre-crime, where police act against an individual based on a statistical model suggesting that person could commit a crime in the future. Stopping short of such scenarios, is it possible to put analytics to work in the service of law enforcement without deepening existing social imbalances? Many say it is.If you see a high volume of robbery and assault around transit points, you should station police there for public safety. That just makes sense. If we see violent assault around burglaries, those data analytics should inform where and how law enforcement responds to that, Howard said. But those policy decisions cant be made simply because an engineer somewhere wrote some software and marketed it to a police department.Rather, crime data should be used to drive policies beyond policing. Why do we only see drug arrests in this neighborhood? What are the social conditions and what are we going to do about it? said Castro. Are we just going to do more policing? Or are there are things we need to do to solve those problems?Maybe predictive policing can work, some suggest, if its implementation goes beyond the mere matter of cops on the beat. Do you police more, or do you put in more social programs and support? Do you want more drug treatment programs, more jobs programs? Then it starts to become political, said Rouda. Do you treat the symptom or treat the cause? That is not a data issue. Its a policy issue.Just as with the election, where pollsters failed to use tools such as social media monitoring and facial sentiment analysis, some say the way to make predictive policing better is to make it bigger  to incorporate more varied data, beyond historical crime statistics.Scenario: What if big data could find a correlation between paydays, local bar revenues and domestic violence calls? If you use it to really think about what is happening in these places, if you draw in additional data and you use all that information to better engage businesses and community members  now you are talking data, La Vigne said.its equally true that small data projects can cause big headaches for government technology professionals. Michigans Medicare fumble was nothing on the scale of misreading the national election, but its a good example of how even the best-intended data-driven effort must be approached with caution.In June 2016 the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget adjusted its data systems in order to help certain Health and Human Services functions conform with federal statutes. As a result, some 12,000 people got letters incorrectly stating that their benefits had been cut.It was related to the systems ability to match up data across multiple data sets, said Linda Pung, the departments general manager supporting health and human services. It basically caused a business rule in the system to be changed, unintentionally, which caused those letters to go out.Some see in this episode a warning to IT leaders about the possible shadow side of data-driven everything. We have these very large interconnected systems now, and so a small error in one part of the system can trigger an avalanche of errors across multiple systems, something that could not have happened in a paperbound world, Nagin said.Others read into this incident a reminder to IT leaders that they must pay even closer heed to the data imperative. Just about any law or policy or regulation will have a digital component, for good or ill, Howard said. Digital services are going to be part of our lives and it is wholly rational to expect government to measure how effective those services are. If they are not building in the capability to extract data  to understand performance, to understand usage, to understand where and how people opt in and drop out of a particular service  they are making a mistake.Michigans IT team meanwhile said the takeaway here has to do with degrees of diligence. When you are making changes to a system, when you are trying to integrate data and report on that information, you have to have a really thorough test plan, a thorough process you go through to determine everything you need to test before you release that change, Pung said. Then you need to try to find and fix those unintended consequences.
(TNS) - Lights often burn late in the decrepit 100-year-old building in Atlanta, Kan., population 194.After long days at full-time jobs, Darren Grow and friends have been coming to the building about five nights per week since Christmas, trying to reconfigure a retired military vehicle into something they can use to fight fires.No way we could ever afford to buy something like that, ready to fight fires. It would be hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Grow, volunteer fire chief for a region of Butler County. We just have to figure out how to do things, ourselves, with whatever weve got.Some nights, Jim Unruh and others gathered in a similar building, smelling of the smoke from a fire theyd just spent hours subduing. Checking and repairing equipment had to be done before they could head home for showers.(Our equipment) has to be ready to go all the time. What if a call comes out for a (house) fire that night? said Unruh, a volunteer fire chief based out of Marquette. Its up to us.About 90 percent of Kansas is protected by volunteer fire departments.Eric Ward, Kansas Forest Service fire specialist, doubts most Kansans know the challenge volunteer firefighters face or how much they offer.Weve probably got around 16,000 firefighters in Kansas, but at least 13,000 of them are volunteers, Ward said. Thats a lot of people missing their kids ball games, leaving just as theyve sat down for Christmas dinner or walking out of church because their pagers gone off. Its not just time fighting fires, either. Theres such a huge commitment to time behind the scenes.Kansas has more than 600 fire departments. Only about 30 of those  all in communities with populations of 10,000 or more  have full-time paid staff.The rest are groups like those led by Grow and Unruh.Ward said that, economically, pure volunteer departments are about the only option for smaller towns and rural areas.It takes more than $250,000 just to pay the salaries of two firefighters on duty all the time, Ward said.Most (fire departments) are supported by taxes, and you just cant raise taxes high enough in most areas to fund something like that, Ward said. Many of our (volunteer) departments have an annual total budget of $10,000 to $20,000. That means money is always, always one of their biggest challenges.Randy Huffman, a fire chief for a volunteer district in Cowley County, is glad his unit gets about $58,000 annually from local property taxes. But, he stresses, nothing about fighting fires is cheap.The special jacket, pants, gloves and helmet needed by every volunteer costs $4,000. Getting back and forth from fires can get expensive, too.Last year, I was spending $3,000 a month for fuel the first three months of the year, Grow said. Its not uncommon to ruin a tire or two on a run, and you figure theyre $500 a pop.That doesnt leave a lot of money for big-ticket items.It sure makes it hard to buy things when a (truck for fighting grassfires) costs in the neighborhood of $150,000, and you can spend $225,000 for a plain Jane fire engine, said Hoffman. You have to figure better ways to get more from your money.Rick Mitchell, Barber County volunteer fire chief, said his crew relied heavily on members who are mechanics/magicians to repair equipment after last years 390,000-acre Anderson Creek Wildfire. Most was fixed within a few days.As well as simple repairs, most volunteer departments also have become good at custom building machines to fit their needs.Unruh said volunteer departments, especially those covering remote areas, are constantly looking for ways to haul increased amounts of water.His groups biggest tanker holds about 5,000 gallons of water. That means the frame, drive train and engine have to be able to tote that 40,000-pound payload.That seems really huge, he said of the water, but Ive been on fires when we needed to head out and refill it two, three or four times.With funding in short supply, volunteer fire chiefs depend heavily on discounts and gifts.Were really fortunate we have a guy whos great at writing grant proposals, Hoffman said. Im guessing weve received in the neighborhood of $250,000 in the past 20 years. Thats not a lot per year, but its really helped a lot.Part of Wards state job is helping volunteer departments secure funding, often from federal programs. One option is a matching share program in which he can get up to $5,000 in federal money to match what a department can pay.Another program locates machinery not being used by other government groups, like the military, and gets it to volunteer fire departments in Kansas. Often its a heavy-duty truck or vehicle that volunteers like Grow can adapt to fighting fires. The Kansas Forest Service also helps find homes for used firefighting equipment.For instance, there are bigger fire departments (in cities) that can afford to replace their fire hoses, Ward said. It used to be that stuff had to be destroyed because of liability fears. Now, it can be used by somebody else. Some of that gear may be 15 years old, but theres almost always some smaller department that really needs it.Even with all of the programs, Ward said hes confident many volunteers pay for a lot of parts, fuel and gear out of their own pockets.As tough as it is for Kansas volunteer programs, most acknowledge it could be worse.Steve Hirsch, a volunteer fire chief from Oberlin, is vice chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council, which requires him to tour fire departments around the nation. Hes pleased with progress Kansas has made helping departments the past 20 or so years.Some of the programs and funding we have in Kansas arent that way someplace else, he said. There are still places in this country where the department also has to conduct their own fundraising projects to (totally fund) their departments.While many Kansas departments also have fundraisers, that money often goes toward special projects.The biggest donation Kansas volunteer firefighters make is their time. Hoffman and Grow said their groups probably spend more time tending equipment than going out on calls. Some fire groups meet weekly and have regular training sessions.The number of calls varies from department to department. Hoffman estimates his crew gets called out 250 times a year, since they also attend things like car crashes, emergency medical needs and fire events being handled by the Winfield Fire Department.Even rural areas have challenging times.Back in 2011, we got called out 22 times in 11 days, said Troy Wolf, fire chief of a volunteer group based out of Johnson City, which is near the Colorado state line. The alarm would go off, and youd see people just drop their heads, but then theyd get up and get going.Most volunteer fire chiefs say the volunteer spirit remains pretty strong in their areas.The time a fire occurs often determines how many people show up for the battle. Both fire chiefs know theyll get more help at a midnight fire than one that happens midday.Hoffman said there are employers who wont let workers off to go battle a blaze. Some that do will dock the missed time from the volunteers paycheck.Some volunteers travel sizable distances to get better-paying jobs, making it difficult to get home in time to help with a fire.Unruh has volunteers who work in McPherson and Salina, both about a 40-minute drive away.But you know, we still have guys who will leave their job and drive back to help us with a fire, Unruh said. If they have time, theyll drive back to work and finish their day. Theyre pretty dedicated.As well as their staffs, rural fire chiefs said they can usually count on the people they serve to assist if needed. Residents will donate bottles of water or sack lunches to volunteers. Farmers will haul huge tanks of water or fill the firetrucks with fuel brought from their farms, for free.This winter, Grow said, he went to a fundraiser for the tiny volunteer department at the Butler County village of Latham, population 150. He said the rural community surrounding the town raised around $12,000 for the fire department.Wolf said alarms have barely sounded in his district when his cellphone rings with people asking what they can do to help.We had that big 38,000-acre fire in 2011, and we had all kinds of water trucks and 40 tractors come to help  40, Wolf said of farmers willing to disk or plow fire breaks. You know, theyre out there putting their lives on the line just like we are. If their tractor dies and it burns up, thats a lot of money, but theyre out there.Knowing theres that kind of support helps keep many volunteer departments going.I grew up around it because my dad was a fire chief for 24, 25 years, but I know a lot of us see it as a way to give back to our communities, Grow said. Its always a struggle, all of it, but if volunteers dont step up and take care of things, who will? Its up to us.Michael Pearce: 316-268-6382, @PearceOutdoors2017 The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)Visit The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.) at www.kansas.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Multiple news organizations are reporting that the new administration is proposing half a billion dollars in cuts to NOAA. This comes after, if I remember this right, three years of record earth temperatures.One way to eliminate bad news on climate change's impacts is to cut the budget for the agency funded to investigate and report on what they find.The "sad" part of this is that rebuilding the capability will take much longer than the stroke of a pen to eliminate it. To the rest of the world, we must be looking like ... buffoons? Actions like this make America "exceptionally what?"
(TNS) - In a ruling that could have dramatic financial consequences, Floridas high court sided Thursday with Miami police officers fighting to undo unilateral cuts to their salaries and pensions made years ago during a financial crisis.The Florida Supreme Court, in a 4 to 1 decision, quashed a lower court ruling that upheld Miamis 2010 declaration of financial urgency, a rarely-utilized state law that allowed administrators to force open union contracts and impose sweeping concessions on public employees. The controversial move capped pensions at $100,000, cut salaries by as much as 12 percent, and saved the city  at the time under a securities fraud investigation and teetering on bankruptcy  more than $100 million in labor expenses.But it also sparked multiple legal challenges, including one by the citys Fraternal Order of Police arguing that Miami officials failed to exhaust other viable options and skipped a key procedural step before unconstitutionally shredding contracts. The union lost cases before the Public Employees Relations Commission and First District Court of Appeal over the last seven years, but won Thursday at the highest level  raising questions about whether the city could be on the hook for millions in back-pay.The Florida Supreme Court has spoken, said Lt. Javier Ortiz, president of Miamis police union. The City of Miami wronged our police officers of over $100 million dollars in pay and benefits. Its time for the City to make good on their past commitments to employees.During the recession, when the salaries and pensions of public employees became an anchor on strained finances, a number of local governments used Floridas financial urgency statute to force open employee contracts and free up new money by cutting pay and pensions without bargaining. Similar situations played out at the Manatee School District, in Naples, and in Hollywood, where firefighters won a case against the city in 2014 before the Fourth District Court of Appeal. The Hollywood decision conflicted with rulings in the Miami case and ledthe Supreme Court to take up the issue.Miamis firefighters also challenged the city, which declared financial urgency three years in a row, even simultaneously lowering taxes in 2011. Their case, while active, was put on hold in order to await Thursdays decision.You can declare fiscal urgency, and its understandable to address a crisis. But that doesnt give you the ability to go in and completely tear up contracts, said Mark Richard, a labor attorney whose Miami firm represents dozens of public bargaining units across the state, including Miamis firefighters. The Supreme Court stepped in, threw a yellow flag and said This is a foul. The courts ruling doesnt specifically say that Miami officials violated the Constitution or state law in the way it applied the statute in 2010 after shady financial practices and a national recession left the city in dire straits. Then-city manager Carlos Migoya, facing a budget hole of more than $100 million, said alternatives suggested by its unions, like hiking taxes and deploying dozens of red light cameras, were too little too late, and poor solutions for a city facing double-digit unemployment levels.But the justices did rule that city officials were required to prove that no other reasonable means existed to make up its budget shortfall and preserve its union contracts. And the court said the city was legally obligated to go through Floridas impasse dispute-resolution procedure for public contracts before forcing open its union agreements.Whether the city complied with the former is arguable. That it didnt do the latter is indisputable.This is total vindication, said Ronald J. Cohen, an attorney who represented the Fraternal Order of Police against the city.For the city, which thanks in part to financial urgency is now flush with reserves and in its best financial shape in decades, the implications of Thursdays ruling could be significant. Administrators estimate that cuts to police contracts alone saved more than $100 million, an amount that leaves out the value of the changes to the firefighters contract, although both unions have since signed new agreements.When City Manager Daniel Alfonso learned of the courts opinion during the middle of a labor negotiation session with the citys firefighters Thursday morning, he let union president Freddy Delgado know that we may have less money to negotiate with.But by mid-afternoon, Miami City Attorney Victoria Mendez was stating publicly that the city was pleased that the Supreme Court has clarified the process. Alfonso said the city the city expects the case will go back to the lower courts, possibly to the states Public Employee Relations Commission, for further deliberation.We think eventually well prevail, he said.Mayor Tomas Regalado, whose first year in office was consumed by digging out of a fiscal crisis, said Thursday that its likely the ruling wont resolve anything, and the case will continue on until hes out of office. But he said a future in which the city pays out millions in back-wages is highly unlikely.If anything, the two sides could hash out a settlement following Thursdays decision. Ortiz, the union president, said Miamis police want to work with the city in resolving this once and for all.This is going to be a looooong process, Regalado said. The next mayor will have to deal with it, but I still think we were legitimate in calling for fiscal urgency.2017 Miami HeraldVisit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) - Nine years ago, Union Pacific Railroad supervisor Ricky Durrant was called to a ghastly scene in Southern California.A Metrolink commuter train had run head-on into a freight train, killing 25 people. The UP train had just come out of tunnel. Our guys said, We saw a flash of white and said, Ahh, sh-- and hit the brakes, two seconds before impact.Federal investigators concluded the Metrolink engineer had been texting on his cell phone and failed to see a red track light.The Chatsworth crash sent shock waves through the industry. A month later, Congress passed a law requiring major passenger and freight railroads to install a computer-based crash avoidance system that will take over control of trains and bring them to an emergency stop if the engineer makes an error that could cause a crash.The system, based on global positioning technology, tracks where trains are, constantly feeding the computers in the locomotive cab with information about how fast the train should be going and what is happening on the tracks ahead.Nearly a decade later, amid recriminations, that mandate has not yet been met.Federal officials set an initial 2015 deadline for full rollout of the new navigation system, called Positive Train Control, or commonly PTC. However, industry representatives persuaded officials to extend the deadline to 2018, with the provision that it might be extended again  to 2020.Critics say the railroads are taking too long and federal officials are letting them get away with it. Railroads counter that PTC is hardly the plug and play technology that some critics want to believe. The system is both costly and complicated to design and install, they say.Durrant, a 46-year UP veteran, now finds himself at the center of UPs modernization efforts.As general director of PTC implementation, he heads an Omaha-based team that is teaching 9,800 engineers from Roseville to Chicago to use the new system.Durrant has a midwestern twang and a laid-back air, but says he was put on the PTC team for a reason. I will work my way through barriers even if I have to walk through people, he said.UP said it has spent more than $2 billion on PTC since the mandate was issued, and ultimately will invest $3 billion. That includes installing signal stations along 20,000 miles of tracks, wiring computers into 5,600 locomotive cabs, setting up communications offices, and training 40,000 employees.The safety effects could be notable in Northern California. UP, a freight giant with a major railyard in Roseville, runs 10,000 freight trains a year through the Sacramento region, many of them sharing tracks with Amtrak, Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin service passengers trains.Its freight trains run through downtown Sacramento as well as rural areas designated high-risk for derailment, including the Dunsmuir site of an infamous chemical spill in 1991, the Feather River Canyon, and Donner Pass.In November, the Federal Railroad Administration warned railroads publicly they need to step up the pace to meet the 2018 deadline. Recent FRA progress reports suggest that UP is among the railroads that are lagging.Durrant and other UP officials say thats not really the case. FRAs way of presenting the data doesnt fully capture UPs progress, they say, because it counts only fully completed tasks.The FRA database shows that only 111 locomotives of Union Pacifics 5,656 locomotives are equipped with the new system. UPs Durrant counters that 3,610 locomotives in effect are PTC-equipped, minus the black box crash recorder, which got held up because of a supplier-related problem that has since been resolved. Once those get installed in the coming months, the federal data will reflect that, UP said. Last week, in the Roseville yard, teams of electricians wired PTC circuitry into locomotive cabs.And while the federal reports say Union Pacific does not have PTC in operation on any of its tracks, that also is not the case, the railroad says. The first PTC-equipped locomotives are running on 12 percent of UPs tracks, much of that in California, including in the Sacramento area, in demonstration or testing mode. That progress will be reflected once the FRA approves the operations safety plan that UP has submitted to the feds, UP says.Durrant says UP intends to meet the 2018 deadline. That means adding solar panels to power the wayside signals being installed in some rural sections of tracks that are not electrified, and teaching PTC the proper braking levels for smaller, lighter trains. Right now, our plan is to be done by the end of next year, he said.BNSF, the other major freight rail hauler in the West, similarly reports it expects to make the 2018 deadline, as does Amtrak, which operates the Capitol Corridor passenger trains through Sacramento. That includes an unusual amount of interaction among freight and passenger railroads, all of which must design PTC systems that can communicate with each other so each can share tracks.Visiting the Roseville diesel locomotive yard last month, Durrant described the effort as more than just a numbers game. Its also culture change, he said. Engineers as a breed are tradition-bound and take pride in handling their machines their way.But they have generally embraced the idea that they will now have a computer as copilot, even though it will be looking over their shoulder and ready to take train control out of their hands.Weve had very little push back because they can see where this can be a good thing, he said.Durrant, an eighth-generation railroader who has worked as a switchman, surveyor, fireman, engineer and train master, calls PTC the biggest safety change of a generation.I love it, he said. As an engineer, its like a Garmin (GPS system) on steroids. Its giving me information I never had before allowing me to know what I need my train to be doing miles before it has to be done.Normally, engineers can see little more than a mile or two ahead  if weather and terrain allow that much. In contrast, the PTC screen shows them whats happening in detail five miles ahead, where the track switches are, where the curves are, whether signals ahead are red or green, and how fast or slow they need to have their train going at every point.If the engineer heads too quickly into a turn or fails to stop soon enough for a red signal, the PTC monitor in the locomotive cab will flash a warning and give the engineer a 60-second countdown to get his train under control, Durrant said. If the engineer fails to do that, PTC will take over and stop the train.PTC is not a panacea, however. It cant tell if a track ahead is broken. It also cant stop a train from hitting a car crossing the tracks or stop trains when a pedestrian walks onto the tracks. Nor can it do anything about a train malfunction, such as the broken axle that caused an oil train to explode in Casselton, N.D. in 2013.PTC would not have stopped a fiery oil train derailment in Mosier, Oregon last summer  caused by broken bolts  that forced evacuation of residents within a quarter mile of the tracks. (That crash helped persuade the Benicia City Council to say no last year to a Valero Refinery plan to run oil trains daily through Northern California, including downtown Sacramento.)PTC also would not have prevented a freight train carrying cans of tomato products from derailing south of Elk Grove last month, sending 22 cars into a flooded field next to the Cosumnes River. That incident appears to have been caused by a slumping track on waterlogged ground underneath the train.The PTC technology should, however, prevent trains from crashing into each other, like they did in Chatsworth, as well as derailing because of excessive speed.The National Transportation Safety Board concluded PTC would have prevented a 2015 Amtrak crash in Philadelphia that killed eight and injured more than 200. In that incident, the engineer was distracted and allowed his train to go into a curve twice as fast as it should have.PTC also likely would have averted an incident on the Capitol Corridor line in December near Davis where a passenger train apparently went through a track switch at a high a speed, causing the train to jolt violently, injuring five people.Metrolink, whose 2008 crash helped prompt the federal PTC mandate, is among the earliest adopters nationally. Officials report they have run trains 70,000 miles with PTC since 2015, and say there have been a handful of times PTC stopped a train because engineers were not slowing the trains appropriately. Those instances led to further training for engineers, Metrolink officials said.Los Angeles attorney Ronald Goldman, whose firm Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman represented victims in the Metrolink crash as well as others, said he fears the federal government will let railroads delay full implementation a second time, leading to more lives lost from crashes that should have been prevented.My (sense) is that the current delay will result in further delay, and each and every member of Congress and the administrative bodies who vote for it will have blood on their hands, he said.National Transportation Safety Board officials, who say they have been calling for a PTC-like system for 45 years, this year urged railroads not to apply to federal officials for an extension to 2020.Safety delayed is safety denied, and every day without these lifesaving advances holds the possibility of another accident like the ones in Philadelphia and Chatsworth, the NTSB says on its website.For its part, the Association of American Railroads, which serves as the voice for the industry, will only say railroads are on track to have the system installed by 2018, but officials there declined to say if that means the system will be tested and fully operating by that date.At Union Pacific, Durrant said his rail company sees the federal mandate as merely a step among many toward improved safety. UP officials are studying whether cruise control can be integrated into PTC systems, allowing the train to automatically adjust its speed as it travels.Were in the baby step of the whole product, he said. Where we go with it, nobody knows yet.Tony Bizjak: 916-321-1059, @TonyBizjak2017 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
What a difference a year can make. Organizers of the Envision America technology initiative say the momentum around civic technology and data-driven government has ramped up significantly since they held their first event in 2016.A project of the nonprofit Envision Charlotte organization, Envision America came to life as part of former President Barack Obamas $160 million smart cities initiative, announced in fall 2015. In its second iteration, a workshop held March 6-8, 2017 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte brought together teams from 10 cities. This year they came not just with enthusiasm and curiosity, but also with practical ideas.Last year, smart cities was still new for people. Industry talked about it, IBM and Cisco understood it, but the cities hadnt adopted the idea, said Amy Aussieker, executive director of Envision Charlotte. This year we are further down the pipe.The 10 cities were selected from a pool of more than 40 applicants. While they brought to the table diverse civic needs and various levels of sophistication, all shared a mindset bent on practical achievement. Last year it was: We know we want to do something, but we dont know what," Aussieker said. "This year, they have started actual projects."The team from Jackson, Miss., for example, brought water issues to the table. They have very old pipes, they dont know where all their pipes are, and they have a lot of water loss, said Aussieker. Theyre eyeing sensors as a possible fix."Detroit officials, on the other hand, came seeking smart solutions to transportation. They want to make it easier for people to ride different modes with a single payment. Eighty percent of their tickets are cash, people dont just walk up with their phones to pay," she said. "So they want a system that can work across different modes within that environment."As for the other participating cities, Birmingham, Ala., needs a better way to identify and manage more than 16,000 tax delinquent parcels; Burlington, Vt., wants to build a secure, permission-based analytics platform for all city data; Chula Vista, Calif. is looking to forge a citywide Telecommunications Master Plan (TMP) to support future connectivity, data capture, analytics and operational needs; and Providence, R.I., wants to create a 1.3-mile enhanced bus corridor through the heart of the city, with an all-electric fleet of 30 new buses.While their needs may vary, the participating cities do share certain elements in common as they seek technology fixes for urban ills. For one thing, they all are struggling to find their footing under a new administration.The political climate has changed. Last year there was a lot of federal support for these things. This year cities dont know if they are going to have that support, so they are thinking more independently. Last year we had more federal panels. Now the cities are talking about ways to do this themselves, Aussieker said.In fact, political changes have had a direct impact on the Envision America event itself.Long Beach, Calif., was chosen to participate, but representatives were unable to attend. That city is one of many effectively boycotting the state of North Carolina over HB2, the so-called bathroom bill that gives a conservative and some claim discriminatory reading to transgender issues.Envision America is backed by a slew of corporate supporters including AT&T, Bank of America, Cisco, IBM, Intel, Itron, Microsoft, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., SAS, Siemens, PTC/Thingworx, Wells Fargo and Philips Lighting.In 2016 organizers asked these backers to avoid talking about products, but in this years event they reversed that stance, at the request of the participating cities.Last year we didnt want a lot of the partners to do sales pitches," Aussieker said. "But the cities came back and said they wanted to know what new products are coming out so that they can integrate those into their thoughts as they go forward.Philips Lighting stepped up to describe ways in which intelligent lighting can actually drive economic activity. IBM talked up its artificial intelligence platform Watson, in a push to help cities see how data can be used to drive smarter decision-making.Charlotte itself has been moving in that direction through its Envision Charlotte efforts. One program involved the installation of smart power meters on 64 large buildings in the city.A lot of cities say they want to reduce energy use by 20 percent, but how do you measure it? How do you know whether anything works? Measuring is huge for us, said Aussieker.The smart meters generate a granularity of data previously unavailable. If you use the traditional meter, you get billing data. With smart meters, you get 15-minute interval data, which allows you to make smarter decisions," she said. "Why is the energy spiking every day at 10 oclock? Interval data is key when you are trying to get energy efficiency."Charlotte also has distinguished itself in the degree to which officials have made partnering a key element of their smart-city agenda. They describe it as public-private-plus, the plus being universities and utilities, two key players often left off the smart-city team.If you are going to focus on energy, you have to have the utilities there, Aussieker said. And the universities are some of the most underused assets cities have. You have a wealth of information there, plus you have an opportunity to bring in the students who will be your future workforces and give them the chance to work with corporations on businesses on real-life projects.Those real-life advances being made in Charlotte are a draw for Envision America participants, many of whom come looking to leverage others successful experiences.Last years event offered a great opportunity  to develop some strategic thinking around our approach to smart cities, Pittsburghs Chief Resiliency Officer Grant Ervin said in a press release. Providing the space to meet with leading cities and cutting-edge companies was a great network-building and learning opportunity.Organizers say they are hopeful that by simply making contact with one another, cities on the cutting edge of the smart endeavor may be able to up their game. Cities learn from each other. This is the nitty-gritty stuff. These are the people who are actually implementing these projects. If someone can say  Hey, how did you handle the kiosk in the historic district?  that has tremendous value, Aussieker said.Looking ahead, Charlottes tech promoters will be casting their gaze overseas. Having heard from leading U.S. cities, they say they now are eager to take a lesson from the European Union, where data-driven government is even more firmly entrenched.
(TNS) -- CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Republican majority in the Ohio House is moving again to get rid of the state's renewable energy rules.In a bill sponsored by a Cincinnati Republican and released late Tuesday, the House would make voluntary the mandates that now require power companies to generate or buy and sell a percentage of power from wind, solar and other renewable technologies.The 73-page bill, as sponsored by State Rep. Louis B. Blessing would:Allow any customer who has signed a contract with an independent power company to avoid paying the delivery company any extra charges for green power.This provision appears to be aimed at American Electric Power's plans to build 900 megawatts of wind and solar (about as much power as the Davis-Besse nuclear plant generates) and have customers pay for the construction.Leave it up to each power company to decide what percentage of the power it sells has been generated by renewable technologies such as wind and solar.The law currently demands that by 2026, 12.5 percent of the power sold must be from renewables. The standards under this proposed legislation would be completely voluntary and there would be no penalties for companies that chose not to sell green power. The bill eliminates all fines since the standards would become voluntary benchmarks. And in 2026, even the voluntary benchmarks would disappear from the law.The legislation continues rules on "Renewable Energy Credits, or RECs, but appears to effectively kill the value of RECs in future years.What are RECs? Starting in 2009, power companies could buy the RECs in a market rather than build their own wind and solar. The REC market was designed to be a source of money for independent companies building wind and solar.The bill would also:Allow large commercial or industrial customers to opt out of utility-sponsored energy efficiency programs.This is an expansion of the current law, which allowed only industrial customers to opt out. But residential customers are not permitted to opt out of the programs, as the bill is now written.In testimony before the General Assembly last fall on a similar bill, Ohio Consumers' Counsel Bruce Weston asked lawmakers to authorize his agency to opt residential consumers out of the programs if residential charges became too high.Utilities now, say critics, have figured out ways to profit from the consumer energy efficiency programs.Weaken energy efficiency standards, standards that once demanded the utilities to reduce peak demand in their systems by 22 percent by 2025, compared with 2009 demand, by helping customers use less power through adoption of more efficient appliances, heavy equipment and lighting.Reduce the overall peak demand to 17 percent by 2027. In addition, electric utilities would be able to count upgrades in their own equipment -- new transformers or switches, for example, as upgrades in energy efficiency.As originally written in 2008, the mandate was aimed at forcing utilities to help customers reduce consumption through new more efficient technologies, whether in the home or in the factory.The bill is said to be "fast-tracked," meaning the House intends to conduct hearings soon and set a vote on the legislation. The House leadership believes it has a veto-proof majority, meaning it can override a veto by Gov. John Kasich.Kasich vetoed similar legislation during the Christmas holidays and is expected to veto this bill.
Five years to the day after New York Citys Open Data Law was signed into law, the municipality marked the legislations anniversary on Tuesday, March 7, with something for newbies  the launch of a new, user-friendly home page for the NYC Open Data Web portal.The home page , the city said via news release , is an easier entry point for data novices to get acquainted with city data and to empower New Yorkers to understand how their city works through the information it produces.Now being tested in beta mode, the new website features how-to guides to getting started with city data sets and analysis tools; a public calendar of civic tech and data events; a new customer support app for asking questions, requesting new data and tracking the status of issues; and information on the citys open data policy.It was developed by the citys Open Data team in partnership with the Department of Information Technology (DoIT) NYC Gov Lab & Studio UK Team.In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio called open data a window into whats happening in every neighborhood in our city.This is information that belongs to New Yorkers, and through the new home page, its easier than ever to find, understand, and use it. Were proud to be doing our part putting this information up  now, we want even more New Yorkers to discover, benefit and build from it, said de Blasio, a frequent critic of the Trump administration.In fact, the news release highlighted the uncertainty of open data at the federal level  noting that the Trump administration removed all data sets from the White House Open Data portal, and hasnt precisely indicated its exact position on the issue.By contrast, the city said in the release that New York City Open Data is here to stay," and invited New Yorkers to take part in a week of celebrations commemorating the anniversary and presented in collaboration with the civic tech community.Its Open Data Week will end with a pilot Open Data for All workshop , to teach data analysis skills using city data. (Find a list of the week's events at www.open-data.nyc .)Anne Roest, commissioner of the department of IT and telecommuncations, said a culture of open data has blossomed and New Yorkers are the better for it.Our task now is to make sure everyone knows that data isnt just something for tech experts. Democracy thrives when data is accessible and available to all, Roest said in a statement.Alex Howard, deputy director of the Sunlight Foundation, the open government advocacy nonprofit, praised New York City for its work on open government.Over the last decade, New York City has shown that improving public access to public information using modern technologies is not a Republican or Democratic idea: it's an American one, based upon shared democratic principles, Howard said.Stephen Larrick, the foundations open data lead, said the new website shows New York has realized that simply making data available is not sufficient and continues to lead in civic tech To meet resident needs and ensure impact on the ground, addressing the issue of data poverty that the city has rightly prioritized, open data releases must connect to community dialog, civic engagement and user feedback, Larrick said.Miguel Gamino, the citys chief technology officer, echoed the mayors sentiments.It will now be easier than ever before for New Yorkers to engage with more than a thousand data sets to learn more about where they live, work and play, Gamino said.The launch of the new home page comes five years after passage of Local Law 11, known as the Open Data Law, by the New York City Council.It mandates all public city data be made available online by the end of 2018. Since its passage, the number of individual data records accessed through the city portal has risen from 3.2 billion in its first year to more than 258 billion during the last 12 months.Over the duration of the legislation, 1.7 million data sets have been downloaded.Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver pointed out that city computer resource centers are working with the Mayors Office of Data Analytics and tech partner Carto to create user-generated maps and graphs using data from the TreesCount! 2015 street tree census.He called open data rocket fuel for volunteer engagement, and said the partnership with Carto is helping us grow a new generation of green New Yorkers.John Kaehny, co-chair of the NYC Transparency Working Group  and part of the stakeholder group that crafted the open data law  said the anniversary is a reminder that innovation, hard work and commitment can make any government more open, responsive and effective.Government is the publics business," Kaehny said, "and we greatly appreciate Mayor de Blasios efforts to fund and empower his open data team to make the New York City Open Data initiative a powerful tool for good."
Its Monday morning. The Muslim travel ban is three days old. Stories of refugees coerced into signing away their green cards, children separated from parents, doctors denied entry into the land of the free dominate the airwaves. Protests have erupted in airports from SFO to JFK. Court orders are ignored. Chaos reigns.There are moments in ones life when you know everything has changed.I hop on a video chat with the founder of CrowdJustice . The plan had been to roll out the crowdfunding platform for public interest legal cases in the U.S. in a couple weeks. We decide to speed that up and launch in 18 hours. There are two brothers fleeing war in Yemen that were headed to Michigan to reunite with their father. Instead they are forced to give up their visas at Dulles and put on a plane to Djibouti. They need help. The site that turns  legal cases into publicly funded  and backed  social causes " takes on their case.While moments of darkness have been the soundtrack for much of the year, two trends have given me a lot of hope. People that have never been politically active are showing up at town halls and peaceful protests around the nation in record numbers. And, a new generation of civic-minded tech entrepreneurs are taking center stage  helping empower people with modern online tools and working to fix structural problems to make our government more transparent and accountable.Both the Trump and Bernie movements tapped into a very real feeling that Americans are being left behind. That theyre stuck on the sidelines and nobody is listening. Many in the technology industry have been working on these issues for years and more are joining since the election. This is an exciting moment to be at the intersection of technology and government. Countable has made contacting your elected officials and keeping tabs on policies as easy as swiping left or right. The app, which launched in 2014, has suddenly shot up to No. 2 in the app store in the past month.California has recently announced a new digital services team to streamline bureaucracy and lead a user-centric revamp of the child welfare system in the worlds sixth largest economy.A new data collection tool on police use of force  developed by data scientists from Bayes Impact in collaboration with police officers  is shining a light on some of most serious issues facing our country.The city of New York unveiled the first images of its 258,000-square-foot civic tech hub late last month. Civic Hall will be located in the heart of Union Square. And a new VC, Ekistic Ventures, is looking exclusively for ideas and young companies to invest in to help improve our cities.The Silicon Valley-based startup OpenGov has seen a surge in interest from state and local governments for its cloud-based software. The Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup is revolutionizing budget planning, improving internal data management, and making critical information accessible to citizens and elected officials to modernize government.Tech has even managed to bridge the partisan divide. Working with the NAACP, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., and former state Sen. Sam Blakeslee, R-Calif., announced the national expansion of a new online video platform for state government, Digital Democracy, which empowers advocates, journalists and everyday citizens.Our democracy and our institutions are being tested. But an engaged citizenry and a new tech industry are giving me a lot of hope. The power of activism empowered by technology is clear and we are seeing results that matter. Less than a week after the Yemeni brothers were illegally forced out of the U.S., the Virginia attorney general and governor joined their cause. Their stories became national headlines as part of a bigger movement for justice. The 19- and 21-year-olds won their case and are now starting new lives in Michigan with their father.
Chief Data Officers For information on which state and local governments have a chief data officer, check out our interactive map.





Direction from the Top Officials in El Paso, Texas, recognize datas worth.



Data drives my decisions. Trust God. Everybody else has to bring data, City Manager Tomas Tommy Gonzalez told newspaper El Paso Inc., shortly after being hired in summer 2014.



That December, he brought in Nancy Bartlett, with whom hed worked in Irving, Texas, where she was managing director; and in February 2015, Gonzalez announced a restructuring of city government that eliminated several positions including two deputy city managers.



As El Pasos CPO, Bartlett reports directly to Gonzalez. The police, fire, IT and human resources departments as well as the offices of performance, and management and budget report to her.



Since her arrival, El Paso has improved parks special events permitting times, which originally required an average of 14 staff-customer contacts and three weeks. El Paso first cut the process to one staff contact that typically took around five minutes before migrating it completely online.



In another series of cuts, El Paso saved more than $500,000 a year by eliminating unused city landlines.



Bartlett agreed that depending on size, not every city may need a CPO, but she said every city needs to keep its structure and practices current.



Every organization can improve. Every organization has redundancies and every organization has people who say, Weve done it that way the past 30 years, I dont know why we cant keep doing that, Bartlett said. Every organization needs people who can pay attention to that, somebody who can stay on top of it at that level.







On the Rise

The Seattle Story In the northwest, Jim Loter, Seattles director of digital engagement, reports to the citys chief technology officer, Michael Mattmiller. Loters office oversees Seattles open data and seattle.gov website teams, city digital communications, and civic technology like the recent Let It Snow hackathon aimed at improving communications during weather emergencies.



He said having a director of digital engagement shows Seattle is serious about engaging the public on things that elsewhere might be considered infrastructure or behind the scenes  and he cautioned against equating his work to that of a CDO, though some of his duties overlap with that roles. An appropriate term for the work his office does is advocate, Loter said.



I think we recognize people want to connect with the government in different ways and in ways that we perhaps havent been completely supportive of, Loter said. I think part of the evolution of my job over the next few years is going to be realigning the citys traditional forms of communication around the tools and the platforms the public is actually using and to provide their feedback.









Eye on Performance

Monitoring snowplows in real time to keep residents moving, streamlining park maintenance and working to improve highway safety are all ways state and local agencies leverage data to generate results for taxpayers.But each agency has a slightly different approach to data, based on its organization and where it is on the journey from warehousing, an early collection step, to visualization and analysis.Similarly, officials at different agencies who interact with data may hold the same title but have varying responsibilities; and as agencies data operations mature from collecting to analyzing, those same officials may see their positions and duties evolve to meet new demands.Three positions in government tend to work most closely with data.The chief data officer (CDO) is the gatekeeper for big data  managing it, keeping it secure, assessing it for privacy risks, but also overseeing raw data creation, collection and analysis.Gartner predicted in January 2014 that by 2015, 25 percent of large global organizations would appoint CDOs. In that time period, nearly a half-dozen federal agencies did so. The upward trajectory was noted by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, which proclaimed 2015 the Year of the CDO.The(CPO) focuses less on data for datas sake. The CPO is charged with analyzing business practices to determine how an organization is performing, and data is increasingly the shiniest tool to use.CPOs, like some CDOs, may not be completely hands-on. They may take something of a consultant or advisory role, letting agency departments actually crunch the numbers and create the data streams, then stepping in to help them understand what the results mean. But dont let that fool you.Since the CPO role began to be distinguished from that of a CFO more than 15 years ago and the fed minted its first CPO in 2009 in the Office of Management and Budget, the position has become increasingly high profile.The(CAO) is a position more common to education, but not unknown to municipal, county and state agencies.In academics, however, as officials at the Texas Education Agency (TEA) point out, titles can differ. At TEA, its CAO is the deputy commissioner of academics and its CDO is the deputy commissioner of technology.In education, the CAO is charged with deploying data-driven decision-making to improve student and school district performance. In practice, this means gauging how pupils and employees are doing using various metrics including, yes, student testing.At TEA, the CAO leads student assessment activities, ensures districts and charter schools comply with state and federal accountability requirements, and analyzes and interprets data to help districts develop strategic plans.Agencies have tended to create positions to handle data as they are needed, endowing each with duties that reflect their current missions and sometimes a sense of how the roles may evolve.Gartner Research Director Alan Duncan said he rarely encounters the CAO role, and sees the CDO position as by far the most ascendant of the three as agencies move into data and analytics. Duncan sees CDOs as ambassadors for the new culture of evidence-based decision-making, and he noted that only 9 percent of CDOs across the industry come from traditional IT backgrounds.Gartner is projecting growth of 1,600 percent in CDOs across all industry sectors over the next two years  not just government agencies  and expects by 2019 that 90 percent of large organizations will have one. Tom Schenk , chief data officer of Chicago, characterized his work as largely traditional IT, building and managing databases and managing data itself from birth to visualization. While Chicago is ahead of many cities when it comes to data, city leadership is increasingly aware of whats possible.As other cities are doing more interesting things  more mayors are starting to ask, Why are we not engaging with data-driven decision-making? Schenk said. And datas rise on the municipal level means mayors with CDOs in place are increasingly empowering them with a broader sense of responsibility.Elsewhere, Schenk said size can be a key factor in shaping a jurisdictions approach to data-driven government.It seems most of the time that mid- and smaller-sized cities focus on a CPO as opposed to a CDO. The CPO is focused on outcomes, whereas a small or midsize city does not have as many data sets, he said.By contrast, the CAO role can sometimes have a warning flag built right into its title. Sometimes chief accountability officers and chief data officers have to battle with the notion that Im here to judge you, versus Im here to help, Schenk said.Mark Greninger, Los Angeles Countys CDO, was hired in mid-2016 and is the agencys second CDO since it created the position about three years ago. He reports to the countys CIO, whose post has been realigned to be part of the chief executive office. Greninger is charged with managing open data streams, cross-departmental data sharing and compiling countywide statistics, as well as leveraging the information to support data-driven decision-making.The goal is to change outcomes rather than to affect programs, he said. Data-wise, L.A. County is moving toward predictive analytics and would ultimately like to embrace prescriptive analytics as well, but this is likely a few years away.First, you have to be able to predict things. The first thing that were trying to do is link our systems together, Greninger said, pointing out that privacy and security are key concerns at the outset.Ultimately hed like county data to paint a fuller picture of why the agency operates the way it does. Right now, an expenditures portal just tells you what we spend money on but not what why we do, he said.In San Diego, Maksim Pecherskiy is the citys first CDO, hired shortly before the citys open data policy was enacted in December 2014. He reports to the citys director of performance and analytics, which is a couple of reporting degrees removed from the mayor. The open data policy, Pecherskiy said, expressed the mayor and City Councils desire to push the values of transparency and innovation.So far, San Diego has hit all the policys timelines, but by December 2019 the city will be expected to make open all data that is considered releasable.Pecherskiys colleagues in San Diegos Performance and Analytics Department include a data expert and a data scientist. Others in his department are focused on performance and the implementation of programs like Lean Six Sigma.Our one-line motto is to help people get and use data. And so, a lot of data we have is complex and it needs to be described well enough to somebody whos not going to open up a Python notebook and write a bunch of code, he said.Leigh Tami is Cincinnatis CPO. She joined the city in April 2015 as a data analyst and in July 2016 became its second-ever CPO. The citys CDO reports to and works closely with her, and she reports to City Manager Harry Black.Tami sees data as a means to an end, and she thinks its significance will only grow.What I tell departments all the time is that the world is changing and really the only thing we know is, big data isnt going anywhere, that IT isnt going anywhere, said Tami, originally a lawyer by trade.Like Nancy Bartlett, CPO for El Paso, Texas, Tami is focused on performance  working with Black to write data-based performance agreements with department heads  but also on making sure residents know how their city is doing.Cincinnati, which has been warehousing data in earnest for more than six months, went live in December with CincyInsights , a new portal that reimagines 15 key data streams into visual dashboards. One tracks snowplows, another plots trash pickups every 10 minutes, while a heat map shows emergency medical responses citywide.By late 2017, Tami said she wants the city to be fairly immersed in predictive analytics and widening its grasp of data. Im really interested in looking at traffic data, she said. I think the conversation in all cities is becoming around transportation and traffic and what the future of transportation and infrastructure is.Leigh TamiIn Vermont, Susan Zeller is the states first CPO, a position shes held for three years. She reports to the secretary of administration, whom she described as the governors right hand. Zeller trains employees on producing data to inform the budgeting process, as well as the annual report, but her primary responsibility is performance-based budgeting.You cant improve what you cant measure, and you cant measure if you dont have any data, Zeller said.Zeller and Casey Cleary, a state enterprise architect in its Chief Technology Office, said the state is somewhat hamstrung by its size  a population comparable to the city of Boston  and has a long way to go to be considered a complete data user or pioneer.Vermont has a strategic plan that will likely be redone by the new administration, and is working on a statewide data governance program. It has also rolled out two data governance programs.But a statewide data portal remains in the testing phase, and Zeller said she and Cleary still find resistance to releasing data from state departments unconvinced of its value and worried about a breach.Im so tired of asking for data and getting a PDF that I cant do anything with. Were so afraid that well let something out that shouldnt get out that we let nothing out, Zeller said. Its not bleeding edge, its not even leading edge. Were behind the leading edge; were in the middle of the pack. If were going to stay in the pack, we need to keep moving forward.Its a struggle, to say the least, said Cleary, who described much of his work as marketing, education and outreach, informing state staffers of the value of information management.Its starting to form. Were getting there. Now its the molding and the governance. How does information get uploaded, what format should it be in, how can it get shared? he added. Right now, were ironing out those details from a statewide strategic level to say, This is how Vermont as a state handles its data.
(TNS) -- Oregon lawmakers may kill a tax break just two years after they voted unanimously to create it.That's because the intended beneficiary, Google Fiber, has backed out of plans to serve the Portland area The proposed reversal has drawn pushback from other tech and telecom companies that say they invested in their Oregon networks in anticipation of the same tax discount the state offered to Google. A repeal now would qualify as bait-and-switch, they complain."In our opinion this represents nothing other than bad faith on the part of the Legislature," said Brant Wolf, vice president of the Oregon Telecommunications Association, at a hearing of the House Revenue Committee late last month.The issue originates in 2015, when the state Legislature approved a bill exempting internet service providers from an unusual Oregon property tax - provided those companies offer online connections of roughly 1 gigabit per second. Lawmakers had acted at the behest of Google Fiber, which said it would not offer service in Portland if it were subject to the tax Last year, though, Google Fiber scuttled those plans. The company apparently decided that stringing high-speed fiber-optic cables through neighborhoods was too expensive. So Google is exploring wireless service instead in several parts of the country - though apparently not in Portland.Meanwhile, Comcast and Frontier Communications each applied to take advantage of Oregon's tax break - based on very limited gigabit offerings. Neither won approval from the Department of Revenue, but Comcast is challenging the ruling and will soon roll out a new gigabit service that would almost certainly qualify. Frontier says it will file for the tax exemption in November.So lawmakers are rethinking their approach. House Bill 2770 would repeal the 2015 gigabit tax break outright, while House Bill 2063 would set a minimum investment threshold to establish eligibility for the tax break, and a maximum price for the internet service. (Lawmakers have not yet suggested dollar amounts.)The city of Portland, which campaigned for the tax break in 2015, now says it wants it repealed. Portland says advancing technology has brought down the cost of deploying high-speed internet service to the point where a tax break is no longer needed to finance it.Wendy Johnson, from the League of Oregon Cities, testified recently before a House committee that internet service providers are adding gigabit service in Oregon and other states without the benefit of any new tax breaks."Companies are expanding already," Johnson testified. "It's just not the service that we anticipated this exemption was needed for."The exemption applies to the unusual way Oregon assesses the value of cable TV and internet networks. Known as "central assessment," the practice taxes companies' intangible assets, such as the value of their brands.Oregon local governments want to hold onto tax revenue worth several million dollars a year. But telecom companies say they planned their investments in anticipation of saving that money.Frontier spent $2 million on upgrades in Washington County in anticipation of the tax break according to the Wolf, from the telecom association. Taking away the tax break now, he said, would have a "chilling effect on any future investment they might choose to make in this state."The gigabit tax break has been fraught from the beginning. Google Fiber said language in the original legislation accidently excluded the company , prompting lawmakers to write a new bill. Then last year, legislators said they were appalled to see Comcast and Frontier applying for the tax break without evidence of additional investment in their Oregon networks.At a hearing last month, Oregon Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, claimed he was unaware of the gigabit tax break when he joined the rest of the Legislature in voting for it in 2015."I've got to be honest with you," Nosse said during the Revenue Committee hearing. "I don't remember this gigabyte exemption in the bill, actually. If I'd been paying slightly better attention I might have voted differently on it, actually."House Revenue Committee Chairman Rep. Phil Barnhart told last month's hearing that he's unpersuaded by telecom companies' testimony that they need the tax breaks to keep investing in Oregon."The issue here is the richness of the tax break and the need for it," said Barnhart, D-Springfield. "I expect all businesses who have enjoyed a tax break of any kind to claim it's valuable and necessary. What we need, though, is data that establishes that and so far we haven't received any."Update: This article has been updated to clarify that while the Department of Revenue rejected Comcast and Frontier's applications for the tax exemption, each company still hopes to receive the tax break. Comcast is challenging its denial and Frontier hopes to win sign-off from Revenue this fall.
(TNS) -- San Bernardino County, Calif., Supervisors are considering approving a roughly $122,000 contract for the 12-month body-worn camera pilot program outfitting 60 to 70 deputies between two stations including Apple Valley.The proposed contract itself, with Georgia-based Utility Associates Inc., will span 18 months and begin immediately to afford ample time "to complete infrastructure design, hardware and software installation, uniform modifications, system testing and other program requirements that need to be met before the pilot project commences," a county staff report noted.The order is for 80 cameras in total, with the 10 to 20 not being deployed to be used for training and replacement purposes, San Bernardino County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller said Monday.The contract comes before the board two weeks after Sheriff John McMahon revealed in a sit-down with this newspaper that the trial run was "real close."Based on the proposed contract, and the planned length of testing, it would appear that the long-awaited pilot program would officially launch by fall, if not earlier."We started talking about this years ago and have been studying how this will impact the department," McMahon told this newspaper Feb. 21. "We're really getting there. The money is there to purchase the equipment and to modify our deputies' uniforms to fit the cameras."The contract with Utility Associates, the recommended consultant of three received proposals, would be paid through the Sheriff's Department Federal Seized Assets Fund. But if authorities decided to implement body-worn cameras throughout all stations countywide, to its more than 1,800 sworn-in members, the costs would certainly require significant and ongoing discretionary general funding.While the momentum for body-worn cameras is at a high point, it wouldn't be the first test run for the department; Miller told this newspaper nearly three years ago that authorities had equipped deputies in Victorville and Rancho Cucamonga with cameras between February 2012 and May 2013.Although the experiment produced some encouraging results, there were also headaches: The camera didn't always point toward where deputies were looking and some deputies complained about the comfort, McMahon said.Then calls to re-visit the feasibility of the cameras grew louder in April 2015 in the wake of the televised beating by deputies of Apple Valley resident Francis Pusok, who had led authorities on a wild chase by horseback.First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood and 3rd District Supervisor James Ramos, in a joint statement sent to reporters days after the Pusok incident, encouraged McMahon to roll out the pilot program as soon as possible and recommended to the board a larger-scale program for consideration.Lovingood, who's now the board chairman, said Monday that he believed there was support for the pilot program.In the era of smartphones, which can be "selectively turned on and off," he said, body-worn cameras would allow for "both sides of the story" in deputy-public interactions."I think this will lower liability," he said.Yet he also suggested it could create certain dilemmas, such as making public record of the inside of residents' homes for calls that might be as innocuous as an unfounded disturbance. The data collection aspect could present an overwhelming burden too, he said, requiring officials to weigh the benefits and costs."We look forward to the pilot project," he concluded, "and to be able to measure the outcome."For the department, the fast-evolving technology and massive back-end data requirements have been a hurdle, while the costs of the cameras themselves are relatively modest  $500 to $1,000 each deputy on average.Utility, the proposed contractor, has been around since 2001 and says it specializes in software for public safety, transit and utility companies in the U.S.If approved by the board, the contract outlines a series of deliverables that would precede deputies actually donning the cameras, including development of policies for video, retention and recording; fitting and measuring officers; training administrators, legal staff and deputies; and more technical groundwork such as visiting substations to collect access point data and configuring VPNs and firewalls.At the conclusion of the 12-month pilot program, authorities and county officials will evaluate the body cameras' effectiveness and the system's long-term financial impact before deciding next steps.Far smaller police departments in Rialto and Barstow have already implemented cameras, reporting positive results such as drops in citizen complaints. In Rialto, use-of-force by officers plummeted 59 percent over a year period, according to a study by the Police Foundation.According to a copy of Utility's response to the county's request for proposal, a wider rollout after a well-received evaluation would likely lead to a five-year contract with a consultant, although it's also possible that officials could abandon body-worn cameras altogether.
Sergio Marchionne says Ferrari "has to" return to the famous team's Schumacher-like glory years.

Until now, the Italian team has kept an awkward silence ahead of the 2017 season, but the new red car is performing well and Lewis Hamilton thinks Ferrari is even the "favourite".

"It's nine years that we haven't won (the title) -- this would be the tenth," president Marchionne is quoted by Italy's La Repubblica.

"It will end. There is still room to correct the problems. Ferrari has to go back to being unbeatable, as when (Michael) Schumacher was here," he insisted.

Marchionne's newly declared optimism coincides with the results of winter testing, with most experts thinking Ferrari could be at least on par with Mercedes this year.

The 64-year-old said at the Geneva motor show: "The new car is reliable, credible. It is a huge step forward.

"I've been following the results of the Barcelona test and things are going well. The drivers (Sebastian) Vettel and (Kimi) Raikkonen are happy," said Marchionne.

"Objectives? Winning for sure, but when it happens I cannot say. But I'm happy with how the car goes -- it's a better car than last year, and not just because they have changed the rules but with how it was designed and put on the track," he insisted.

Marchionne was also asked about F1's new Liberty Media era, after the end of the long Bernie Ecclestone reign.

"We must be very grateful to Bernie Ecclestone for what he did for the sport. But we should not talk about him in the past -- he is still alive," He said.

"As for the new people who have come into the sport, as I understand it the fans are being considered much more. (Ross) Brawn? He is a great manager with a lot of experience."

(GMM)
Eric Boullier has moved to play down the severity of the rift between McLaren and Honda.

Reports from Barcelona on Tuesday said "huge" pressure had opened up between the two sides as Honda grapples with engine problems for the third consecutive year.

But McLaren boss Boullier said McLaren and Honda are sticking together.

"We have a contract," he said. "A long term contract, and we want to build on it even if it is not ideal times.

"Seriously, we don't think about these things. Even if there are difficulties, a separation is absolutely not an issue."

And while he admitted that every McLaren-Honda fan is right to be "losing patience" with the situation, Boullier said the current problems are not as bad as 2015.

"It seems complicated to the outside world," the Frenchman is quoted by Germany's Auto Bild, "but internally, two problems are always the same.

"We know we can solve this problem. We must be able to rely on our partner, and we do.

"For Australia we will have a new engine and we hope that all the problems are solved. What I don't know yet is if we can have it (the new engine) this week," he is quoted by Spain's El Pais.

Some reports, however, insist that separate to Honda's problems, the new McLaren chassis is also not handling well around Barcelona.

"I read some articles and I think of Donald Trump and his 'fake news'," Boullier smiled.

"We have a good car, even though the McLaren here is not the McLaren you will see in Australia.

"But the forecasts at the moment are that we will probably have to change some engines in the first races," he admitted.

(GMM)
James Allison has emerged in the Barcelona paddock wearing Mercedes colours for the first time.

The highly rated engineer missed much of the 2016 season after his wife suddenly died and his relationship with Ferrari soured.

Now, he is basically replacing the Williams-bound Paddy Lowe as Mercedes' technical chief.

"His skills and personality perfectly complement the team," team boss Toto Wolff told Italy's Corriere della Sera.

"We share the same spirit. For a long time we thought he was the right man for our type of organisation, but he was not available.

"He comes from a terrible period with his family tragedy and last year in which Ferrari did not meet the expectations of president Sergio Marchionne. But he is very motivated and we will help him turn the page," Wolff added.

Just as Allison leaves, Ferrari seems to have surged in performance, and Wolff does not disagree.

"Yes," he said, "although I still don't know who will be our strongest rival. But Ferrari is proving to be very fast.

"Red Bull is still difficult to judge but they will be there," Wolff added.

On the other hand, someone who isn't 'there' - in the paddock - in 2017 is F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

"Bernie took this sport to global levels," Wolff said. "It's strange without him, but we will have to get used to it."

Ecclestone has been ousted by the new Liberty Media era, and already there are fans in the Barcelona paddock and teams being allowed to post video to social media.

It is also said that Liberty wants to stop the huge bonuses being paid to the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.

"We are yet to speak about it," Wolff insists. "The new owners are still in the learning phase."

(GMM)
Gene Haas thinks the F1 midfield will be a closely fought competition in 2017.

The American team owner lends his surname to the small, Ferrari-linked F1 outfit, which for 2017 has replaced the hapless Esteban Gutierrez with Kevin Magnussen.

"Kevin is a unique personality," Haas said in Barcelona, according to Sportbox.

"He is both aggressive and calm and I think an excellent complement to (Romain) Grosjean.

"I think he will work well with Grosjean and bring us more points than we had last year."

Haas was also asked where his team slots into the likely 2017 pecking order, and said the midfield will be a tight battle.

"I see the situation this way: the three top teams are Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, within one second. From fifth and 15th place it can be as little as a few tenths, so it could be a very intense year," he added.

(GMM)
Paul Hembery will be seen in the F1 paddock less often in 2017.

Since Pirelli has been F1's official tyre supplier, the Briton has been the Italian marque's prominent chief.

But he has now been named the new boss of Pirelli Latin America, although Pirelli said he will continue to oversee the "coordination of motor sport activities".

However, the more prominent Pirelli F1 official in the paddock will now be Mario Isola, who is "head of car racing".

Isola told reporters in Barcelona that Hembery will continue to have an important F1 function, including liaising with the FIA and FOM.

"I think this will remain Paul's responsibility, including working with the F1 Commission and so on. I would be glad if he will continue to deal with these issues, and I'll do the rest," he smiled.

(GMM)
Why TJAC now? Rebels question Kodanda

The split in Telangana Joint Action Committee, which had spearheaded the movement for separate Telangana state, has been formalised with the suspension of rebel leaders Pittala Ravinder and Nallapu Prahlad, besides the resignation of woman leader Tanveer Sultana.

It was pretty evident that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi is behind the split in TJAC, so as to weaken its chairman Prof M Kodandaram, who raised a banner of revolt against chief minister and TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao.

After the government successfully thwarted the rally of the unemployed using the police force, the TRS leadership managed to wean a few leaders away from Kodandaram.

Now, the rebel leaders have started attacking Kodandaram questioning the very purpose of continuing the TJAC.

There has been a talk all over the state as to whether there is any need for TJAC now, as the Telangana state was formed. Yet, Kodandaram unilaterally decided to continue it for his selfish interests, they said.

However, they did not say why they have been associated with Kodandaram all these days when they felt that there was no need for TJAC.

And the rebel leaders accused Kodandaram of indulging in corrupt practices.

We know how suitcases come to his residence and how he is secretly holding meetings with the leaders of a particular caste. We will expose him soon, he said.

Dont be surprised, if leaders like Pittala and Prahlad would get plum posts in the government sooner or later!
I was stunned last week when I saw this comment posted under a letter to the editor on the News & Record website:

The Connecticut Hoax was a False Flag to take away the guns of law abiding citizens and Holder was behind the scenes.

I thought perhaps Id misunderstood, so I asked for clarification:

Let me be sure I understand. Are you saying that the murders of 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School was, in your opinion, a hoax?

She replied:

They are not dead but alive and well. No one in Sandy Hook has a mortgage and our government is complicit. That school had been closed 3 years before and there was no internet in the school. It was a staged event. I lived in Connecticut in the 70s and knew where the school is located. There was no such person as Adam Lanza.

This woman regularly engages in discussions on our site, adding views that I consider to be on the right-wing fringe but not beyond. Except this time.

The Sandy Hook hoax meme is outrageous because the event it purports to deny was so tragic, claiming the lives of 20 precious little children in December 2012 at the hands of a mentally disturbed Adam Lanza.

The murders prompted legislative efforts to restrict access to firearms by people like Lanza, but they largely failed in the face of the usual political opposition.

Anyone who contends those children are alive and well not only dismisses the grief of their families but also must believe in a massive conspiracy involving the towns residents, school officials, police, medical personnel, funeral homes, media and on and on endlessly.

One of the leading perpetrators of this falsehood is Alex Jones, operator of the Infowars website. Hes also contended that 9/11 was an inside job, the moon landings were faked, Barack Obamas birth certificate was a forgery and the Oklahoma City bombing was staged by the government.

One loyal follower of Jones reports is President Donald J. Trump, whom Jones claims to advise.

Indeed, when Trump lodges wild claims, they often have appeared on Jones site first.

As recently as December 2015, long after Jones had launched his conspiracy theories, Trump appeared on his radio show and gushed, Your reputation is amazing. I wont let you down, according to an article in The New Yorker.

Jones wont let Trump down. His organization is strongly supporting Trumps allegation that Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump Tower before the election.

Donald Trump is in essence correct that the intelligence agencies and some in the law enforcement community on the side of the FBI were in fact illegally trying to access, monitor his communications with his aides and with other people  all of this with an end of trying to destroy and discredit his presidency, an Infowars article by Paul Joseph Watson reported Monday, quoting former CIA analyst Larry C. Johnson.

The site also posted a video titled The Deep State War on Trump, using a term that refers to the intelligence community and Washington bureaucracy.

Jones himself posted a video Sunday explaining why the military will ultimately support Trump against the attempted coup by the shadow government.

Interestingly, Infowars also has been friendly with Russian media, running a headline in November that proclaimed, Russian TV: Infowars is the most influential media outlet in America. In January, it reprinted an RT story in which U.S. intelligence reports of Russian hacking were said to be reminiscent of a witch hunt, quoting a Kremlin spokesman.

An Infowars video posted with that story was titled, Trump vs. The Intel Communitys Fake News.

It makes clear that, to Infowars, the Kremlin is a more credible source of information than are American intelligence agencies. Or at least the Kremlins message is more in line with its own.

Trump puts his faith in news and commentary generated by Jones and Stephen Bannon, the former Breitbart chairman whos now a senior policy adviser in the White House and a member of the National Security Council. And Trump slams sources like The New York Times, Washington Post and CNN as fake news and enemies of the people.

Trump hasnt embraced the Sandy Hook hoax story, but he hasnt denounced it. The school board in Newtown, Conn., last month approved a letter asking him to do just that but wants to wait for support from other local governing bodies before sending it. Some members expressed concern about feeding the hoaxers.

Theres good reason to fear believers in alternative facts, who hold immense power in our nation today.
On his 14th day as a World War II rocket-crew chief, Edwin J. Canter was shot off the rocket truck by a Japanese sniper on Iwo Jima.

Rocket trucks always drew an angry fusillade of counter-battery fire, so my buddies knew they had to get me away from the launch site fast, he says.

A U.S. Coast Guard motion-picture crew happened to film my buddies as they tried to move me to a safer place, he says. However, when enemy shells started coming in, my buddies dropped me and dove for cover. I was wounded again, this time by shrapnel. The two Coast Guardsmen were killed.

Canter underwent surgery on the beach and was placed aboard a hospital ship which took him to a hospital on Guam. He was later moved to a hospital in Hawaii, and finally to hospitals in Oakland, Calif., and Norfolk, Va.

Even though the film crew perished, the film survived and made its way into numerous newsreels in the states. The real-life scene eventually became part of the 1949 movie, Sands of Iwo Jima, starring John Wayne.

Now in his 97th year, Canter seems more like an educator than a Marine  as he should. After graduating from Appalachian State University, he served Wilkes County Schools for 35 years  eight as a teacher and 27 as a principal.

An undergraduate and masters degree isnt all he received as a Mountaineer. While they were college seniors, he and a Forest City coed, Ruth Bridges, were married in June 1948.

One daughter, Rachel Canter Yarbrough, and her husband, Jack, live in Greensboro. They have two children  Ryan and Rebecca.

Canter was born Dec. 31, 1920, in North Wilkesboro and graduated from Millers Creek High School in 1938.

He hasnt strayed far from his mountain roots, excluding his travels as a World War II Marine. He makes his home nowadays on Brushy Mountain Road in Moravian Falls.

I joined the Marine Corps in Winston-Salem on July 7, 1942, he says.

After boot camp, he went to Sea School, then to the USS Santa Fe.

We entered combat against the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands in July 1943, he says. We bombarded Attu and Kiska initially and supported the U.S. landing at Kiska in August 1943.

Marines manned 20 millimeter gun turrets on the cruiser, and it wasnt long before I had a perforated ear drum, Canter recalls. After that, we spent four months patrolling the area to prevent Japanese naval operations.

After Canters tour on the Santa Fe, he completed infantry training at Camp Elliott in California. From there, he shipped out to Camp Beaumont, on Hawaiis Oahu island, where he underwent 4.5-inch rocket training. Upon completion of that training, he was assigned to the 1st Rocket Detachment, 4th Marine Division  destinations Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.

Iwo Jima was the deadliest battle in history for the Marine Corps, almost 7,000 Marines were killed in action.

Canter and his rocket detachment went ashore Feb. 20, 1945, the day after Operation Detachment, the U.S. Marines invasion of Iwo Jima, was launched. Four days into the battle, the Stars and Stripes went up on Mount Suribachi. Ten days later, Canter went down. Even though the battle for Iwo Jima would go on until March 26  for Canter, the war was over.

In addition to his Purple Heart (he should have been awarded two purple hearts), his Marine Corps decorations include presidential unit citations for Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima; Navy unit commendation for Iwo Jima; and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon with four stars.

It would be difficult for a Wilkes County resident to miss meeting Canter over his 96 years. He was inducted into the Wilkes County Hall of Fame in 2015.

His associations include the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1142, Disabled American Veterans, Wilkes Business and Professional Club, American Legion, Kiwanis Club, Wilkes County Retired Teachers Association and Marine Corps League.

A charter member of the Brushy Mountain Fire Department and Brushy Mountain Ruritan Club, he is an active member of Wilkesboro United Methodist Church, where he has been a member since 1959.
GREENSBORO  A 22-year-old man ran naked from the Red Roof Inn Greensboro Coliseum today when police arrived to arrest him in a March 1 shooting.

After a brief chase, police arrested Damian Dequnn Bennett, who has no permanent address, according to a police news release.

He is accused of shooting two people in a car earlier in the day.

Two people were shot at the Great Stops at 2410 E. Market St. at 4:15 a.m., said Capt. Nathaniel Davis. It's unclear if the vehicle was parked when the shooting occurred.

A third person was in the vehicle but police believe they were not injured.

The two who were shot came to an area hospital, Davis said, though he declined to identify which hospital. One person is in serious but not life-threatening condition. The other was treated and released. Davis declined to release the gender or ages of the victims for their safety. He said they were targeted.

The shooting followed a domestic dispute between Bennett and his girlfriend, according to the news release.

He faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, discharge of weapon into an occupied vehicle causing serious injury, discharge of a firearm in the city, trafficking cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of a stolen firearm and two charges each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and possession of a firearm by a felon.

He remains in the Guilford County jail without bail.

Posted 11:55 a.m. March 1

GREENSBORO  Police are searching for a man accused of shooting two people in a car this morning.

Two people were shot in a car at the Great Stops at 2410 E. Market St. at 4:15 a.m., said Capt. Nathaniel Davis. It's unclear if the vehicle was parked when the shooting occurred.

A third person was in the vehicle but police believe they were not injured.

Both people came to an area hospital with gunshot wounds, Davis said, though he declined to identify which hospital. One person is in serious but not life-threatening condition. The other was treated and released. Davis declined to release the gender or ages of the victims for their safety. He said they were targeted.

Police are searching for one suspect in the shooting, Davis said.
RALEIGH  Activists implored a state legislative panel Tuesday to soften or scrap a bill that would make life more difficult for unauthorized immigrants and local governments that dont cooperate in apprehending them.

The N.C. House Judiciary II Committee got an earful from immigration lawyers, health care workers who treat unauthorized immigrants and several other advocates who oppose the measure titled the Citizens Protection Act of 2017.

Youre keeping my patients from coming to me, said Dr. Alison Stuebe, a Chapel Hill obstetrician who said some of her patients  either undocumented or related to someone who lacks proper credentials  were so afraid of arrest they fail to keep appointments critical to their own health and to that of the fetus.

The bill under consideration would withhold six types of state tax money from local governments that give sanctuary to unauthorized immigrants, make it easier to keep such immigrants in jail until their status is sorted out, and require the state Attorney General to move quickly to investigate local governments accused of not complying with state laws involving immigration.

Sources of revenue that could be withheld from a non-complying community include tax collections on the sale of beer and wine, telecommunications services, tires, and piped natural gas, as well as state Department of Transportation aid to municipalities.

The proposal also would allow any resident of a community that he or she believes is ignoring such laws to file a lawsuit against that local government to force the issue.

And in a variety of situations, it would make it easier for authorities to keep unauthorized people in jail awaiting final action on their case by denying bail under the theory no condition of release will reasonably assure they wouldnt flee.

To that point, the committee of eight Republicans and four Democrats heard powerful testimony from Caldwell County resident Chris Storie, whose brother was killed in a 2011 car wreck caused by an intoxicated, undocumented immigrant who fled prosecution twice  once from the hospital shortly after the crash that occurred during a Kill Devil Hills vacation, and then a second time after he was taken back into custody but a judge lowered his bail to an amount he could afford.

If he was a citizen, he wouldnt have known how to flee like illegal immigrants know how to do, Storie told the committee.

Storie was the lone speaker to vigorously support the measure at Tuesdays meeting, but her personal story put a human face on the other side of the problem.

The committee has a strong Guilford County contingent with three of its 12 members hailing from the Triad, including Reps. John Blust (R-Greensboro), John Faircloth (R-High Point) and Pricey Harrison (D-Greensboro). Blust chairs the committee and Faircloth is one of several vice chairmen.

Blust said he had come into the meeting thinking that the committee might vote Tuesday on the proposed measure, House Bill 63, but decided to delay that until the committee meets again next week.

We clearly dont want to rush something through, Blust said.

The bill introduced by state Rep. Harry Warren (R-Salisbury) also would crack down on people who provide counterfeit drivers licenses and other fake IDs to anybody, regardless of their immigration status.

After the meeting, Harrison said that as the proposal now stands, she believes it is full of holes with a strong potential to trigger miscarriages of justice.

Were going down a road where its probably going to be declared unconstitutional, she said. And Im troubled by the overall signal it sends to the immigrant community.

Stuebe, the Chapel Hill obstetrician, said after the meeting that if legislators could not find reason enough to question the proposed measure by calling on their basic sense of humanity, they should consider the many thousands of dollars it costs the government when an impoverished newborn spends weeks in intensive care with health problems triggered by the mothers failure to receive proper medical treatment before birth.
Our state legislators in Raleigh are taking a giant stride toward ensuring fair elections in North Carolina through their consideration of House Bill 200, which calls for a nonpartisan redistricting commission. The anti-gerrymandering bill mandates that No district shall be drawn for the purpose of favoring a political party, incumbent legislator, or member of Congress, or other person or group, or for the purpose of augmenting or diluting the voting strength of a language or racial minority group.
WASHINGTON  When House Republicans unveiled on Monday a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, one thing was immediately clear: the new approach could create a major shift in taxes for low-and-middle income people while delivering a big tax break to the rich.

Republicans have long criticized the ACA for creating a whole new system of tax credits based on individual income levels intended to help people buy health insurance on established health-care exchanges. The new plan replaces those credits with a fresh series of tax subsidies based on age and income that are intended to make it easier to buy insurance on the private market.

The GOP proposal would also eliminate the complex web of tax increases established by Obamacare on people and companies -- everything from tanning salons to medical device manufacturers -- that help pay for benefits in the current law, like free breast cancer screenings, preventative care, and allowing people to remain on their parents' insurance until the age of 26. They'd also help underwrite the cost of prohibiting insurers from banning those with pre-existing conditions.

The combination of maintaining the most popular and well-known portions of Obamacare -- and cutting taxes -- is expected to cost the federal government as much as $600 billion over 10 years, according to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation.

But, Republicans say, their plan is a silver bullet aimed at remedying years of unfair tax increases and uneven health coverage for people across the income brackets. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., called the GOP plan a chance to "equalize the tax treatment of health care for all Americans."

So far, Republicans have not released critical details to back up those promises. They have not revealed any detailed accounting on how different income and age groups will be affected by the GOP plan and how much the plan will cost the government. That information is typically revealed along with any major legislation. But GOP leaders have not yet said when they will make it public.

Here's what we do know: The GOP plan would provide major tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent of the population. Low-income people are most likely to see their credits slashed while middle-income earners could have access to bigger, better credits down the line.

Taxpayers should also prepare for more tax changes in the future as Republicans plan to stall a tax on high-value employer coverage known as "Cadillac plans." That planned 40 percent tax on pricey health-care plans may be necessary to offset the cost of those popular benefits that Republicans have vowed to protect.

There are also still many unanswered questions about whether the GOP approach can avoid creating a huge budget deficit over the long haul. Democrats and some conservatives don't necessarily believe the math will add up.

Here are five ways the GOP proposal would change the tax system:

1. This is a major tax cut for the rich. House Republicans plan to eliminate nearly every tax increase that was included included in the ACA, many of which were levied on high-income earners. Democrats insist that some tax increases were necessary to offset the cost of expanding coverage and overhauling the health-care system to ensure people received a minimum level of coverage.

Republicans say they've found a way to pay for wider coverage that doesn't include taxes on the on the rich, which are the backbone of the current system. The new GOP plan would repeal two of the biggest-ticket taxes in the ACA: a 3.8 percent tax on investment income; and a 0.9 percent levy on income over $200,000 for individuals and $250, 000 for married couples filing jointly. Those two taxes hit fewer than four million households making up the top 2.5 percent of taxpayers, according to IRS data.

"Those taxes raise over $300 billion over a decade," said Scott Greenberg, an analyst at the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation "The impacts of those taxes are largely on high-income households."

Wealthy earners would also benefit from a rule to halve the penalty on using money from a Health Savings Accounts on expenses related to health care. Current limits allow individuals to directly transfer up to $3,400, and families up to $6,750, into an HSA without paying any taxes on the income.

"They're very attractive to highly compensated individuals who have already maxed out other tax-preferred retirement plans," said Gordon Mermin, a senior research associate at the Tax Policy Center. "They can use it in retirement as a retirement account. If it turns out they have health expenses and use it for that, then they're not paying tax at all."

Wealthy people already make up the majority of people using the accounts. Families earning over $60,000 made up nearly 65 percent of the total that contributed in 2014, according to recent data from the Treasury Department. Nearly two-thirds of those people earned between $75,000 and $200,000.

2. Lower-income workers are going to feel the biggest squeeze. The poorest workers would see a nearly opposite scenario under the GOP plan. Most estimates say they would be the hardest hit.

Low-income people traditionally do not participate in the Health Savings Account program and often rely more heavily on the existing tax subsidies.

"The folks who lose the most under this proposal are the low income people who qualify for a relatively large tax credit today," Mermin said. "It will either mean they will be paying a lot more for their plans or buying a plan that covers a lot less. They could wind up with a much higher deductible."

The GOP plan calls for tax credits ranging from $2,000 per year for those under 30 to $4,000 per year for those over 60. The full credit would be available for individuals earning up to $75,000 a year and up to $150,000 for married couples filing jointly. The credits would phase out for individuals earning more - for each $1,000 in additional income, a person would be entitled to $100 less in credit, meaning a 61-year old could make up to $115,000 and still receive some credit.

But Mermin and other analysts said that most low-income people, regardless of age, receive much higher payments under the current law.

"This new health insurance credit is likely to be less helpful for low-income folks but more helpful for those who currently don't benefit from the current premium tax credit," Mermin said.

The plan could also have major impact on people who might want to use Medicaid in the 31 states and the District of Columbia that accepted expanded ACA benefits. Starting in 2020, those states would only receive the full federal reimbursement for people who qualified for the program by that date. The rest of the population would be subject to strict new per-capita caps on how much each state would receive for Medicaid.

3. There may be more tax changes to come. The question of the day in GOP circle is what will happen to a 40 percent tax on expensive employer-provided insurance, known as the Cadillac Tax. House Republicans decided to delay the start of that unpopular but valuable tax from its scheduled implementation date of 2020 to 2025.

That five-year delay may not seem significant. But some tax experts say it looks like a convenient way to make the legislation more appealing to conservatives today while hiding a tax increase that could be coming in the future.

"It certainly looks like the type of provision you'd put in the bill if you're worried about long- term deficits rather than short-term deficits," Greenberg said.

4. All of these tax changes could create a big deficit headache. Some conservatives would rather see the "Cadillac Tax" disappear entirely -- but that would risk violating Senate rules. Republican leaders chose to use a quirk in the budget rules to vote on the health-care law without the threat of a blockade by Democrats. The unusual process means the bill needs only 51 votes for passage -- but only if it doesn't add to the deficit after 10 years.

Adding the Cadillac Tax back in 2025 could help Republicans balance the budget. But only if they don't decide to delay it again in 2025.

Republicans aren't exactly denying this might be a budget gimmick. Some GOP lawmakers and staffers have privately acknowledged they're delaying the "Cadillac Tax" to push the increase off as far as possible without creating an even bigger hole in the deficit.

"We don't know if that's going to be in the final combination of this thing or not -- there's still a lot of conversation we need to have," Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) told reporters on Tuesday.

5. Democrats and even some conservatives are skeptical the math will work out in Republicans' favor. The GOP plan was already under attack from both sides of the political spectrum from the moment it was released. On the one hand, Democrats are betting the GOP plan will fail because the tax changes would cost too much. On the other, conservatives are calling the plan "Obamacare lite" for replacing the old system of tax credits with a new one and leaving intact the "Cadillac Tax."

Democrats argue that cutting tax hikes on the wealthy and eliminating penalties on employers who don't provide health insurance -- and individuals who don't buy coverage -- makes it impossible to pay for the parts of the law people do like. They say insurance companies will raise prices if there aren't enough employers offering coverage and individuals decide not to buy insurance. Insurance companies won't have any other way of paying for expensive benefits.

"This is not an honest or responsible attempt at legislating, but rather a devastating future for millions of hard-working Americans," said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee. "The Republican repeal bill would give huge tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans - including health insurance companies and their CEOs - while reducing health care tax credits for millions of low-income Americans and seniors."

Conservatives say they can't back a bill that leaves any vestiges of Obamacare intact. Members of the influential House Freedom Caucus and outside groups like the Club for Growth all slammed the House GOP plan for replacing old subsidies with new tax credits.

'Obamacare Lite,' 'RINOcare': Conservatives rebel against GOP's ACA bill

"It creates a new entitlement through the refundable tax credits," said FreedomWorks policy analyst Jason Pye said in a statement. "It allows insurance companies to assess a 30 percent penalty on those who don't keep continuous coverage for 63 days, which is an individual mandate by another name."

healthcare-taxes

Washington Post News Service (DC)

3/8/2017 5:45:25 AM Central Standard Time
The Land Conservancy of Ridgefield has received national accreditation from the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, making it one of the 19 land trusts in the state to receive such recognition.

Accreditation demonstrates the Land Conservancy of Ridgefields commitment to permanent land conservation in our community, said Joan Corley, president of The Land Conservancy of Ridgefield. Only 372 land trusts in the country are accredited by the national commission. In Connecticut, 19 of the 137 land trusts are recognized.
With California voters having legalized recreational marijuana last November, and medical marijuana having been legal for many years, Los Angeles (like Denver with the encouragement of Colorado voters) is pioneering how the rest of the country could beneficially regulate and tax cannabis.

City leaders in Los Angeles are asking voters to approve Proposition M, a wide ranging measure that would establish a new licensing structure, lower the tax on medical marijuana, levy a tax on newly legal recreational marijuana and encourage opportunities for minorities in the growing marijuana industry. Proposition M has the support of the marijuana industry, elected city officials and traditional media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times.

Cities around the country confronting how to license, tax and regulate cannabis are watching what happens in Los Angeles. Voters will decide the measure March 7.

Related: How Do We Measure the Statistical Significance of Legal Cannabis?

Replaces existing law

In 2013, when only medical marijuana was legal in California, Los Angeles voters approved Proposition D limiting the number of medical cannabis dispensaries to 135 and imposing a 6 percent tax on medical marijuana sales. Proposition M would repeal much of the 2013 measure while expanding regulations to govern the recreational marijuana industry. If approved, Proposition M will:

Reduce the tax on medical marijuana from 6 percent to 5 percent

Set a 10 percent tax on recreational marijuana sales

Set a 1 percent to 2 percent tax on businesses involved with the cultivation, transportation, testing and research of marijuana

Mandate minority-owned businesses be included among licensed marijuana dispensaries

Impose tough penalties for growing and distributing marijuana outside the regulated, legal process  even granting utilities the right to cut service to illegal marijuana shops

The new proposition gives the city council latiatude to make changes without requiring voter approval.

A Model?

Much like Denver before it, Los Angeles is a test case studied by civic leaders who must devise workable regulations for the cannabis industry poised to grow rapidly in the eight states that have legalized recreational adult use. Given its size and the fact both medical and recreational marijuana are now legal, many believe Los Angeles will become the cannabis capital of the United States, if not the world. Even High Times magazine is relocating there.

In an editorial supporting Proposition M, the Los Angeles Times editorial board noted an opposing measure, Proposition N, was written by the cannabis industry. However, backers of that proposal have now backed Proposition M  although that support came too late to remove Proposition N from the ballot.

The Times board wrote that Proposition M best serves customers, communities and businesses either involved in or affected by the legal marijuana industry.

Related: Marijuana Industry to Create 283,000 Jobs by 2020, Report Projects

Follow dispensaries.com on Instagram to stay up to date on the latest cannabis news.

Related:

Los Angeles Referendum Set for New Marijuana Regulations

Marijuana Industry to Create 283,000 Jobs by 2020, Report Projects

Marijuana Lobby Grows As Legalization Spreads Throughout Country



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Meeting of the meats: Katzs corned beef on a Black Tap burger. Photo: Konstantin Sergeyev

I love the idea of collaborations, says Jake Dell, the 29-year-old owner of Katzs Delicatessen. Whenever any chef calls me about one of these things, I say I have two rules: Make it your own, and it better be fucking good!

A few notables who have passed muster with young Dell: Daniel Boulud, who combined Katzs pastrami with bone marrow for a dish at DBGB; Joe Ng, who stuffs egg rolls with that same spiced and smoked miracle meat at RedFarm; and the freewheeling folks at Speedy Romeo, who top off an everything-bagel-crust pizza with the salty stuff. Theyre all phenomenal, says Dell.

A couple weeks ago, Dell got another one of these collaborative calls, this time from Black Tap chef-owner Joe Isidori, who was able to extricate himself from milkshake mania long enough for a sit-down at Katzs. He had this vision, says Dell. We went back and forth for a while. As a parting gift, Dell sent Isidori home with some housemade supplies from the Katzs kitchen to play around with. A few days later, they reconvened at Black Tap to taste the results: an eight-ounce Pat LaFrieda brisket-blend patty, with Swiss and Black Taps signature gochujang-spiked special sauce, plus Katzs corned beef, sauerkraut, and full-sour pickles  all of it wedged into a Martins potato roll.

Its a Jewish kid from the East Village and an Italian kid from Yonkers collaborating on a sandwich for an Irish holiday, says Isidori, summing it up. It might not exactly be kosher, but it couldnt be more New York.

(The Reuben burger will be available at all Black Tap locations March 17 to 19 for $18,* including fries or onion rings.)

*The price of the sandwich has been updated to reflect new information provided by Black Tap.
The Nourish Kitchen & Table team. Photo: Courtesy of Nourish Kitchen Table

Today, on International Womens Day, women across America are striking for A Day Without a Woman  a one-day demonstration encouraging women to take the day off from paid and unpaid labor, and also to avoid shopping, with exceptions made for small, women- and minority-owned businesses. While the strike extends to virtually all lines of work, the economic aspect directly impacts restaurants, especially those owned and staffed primarily by women.

Some owners are closing their restaurants; others are supporting the mission of the strike through fundraising. It would be silly to strike when Im a woman who owns a small business, especially one named Annisa [which means women in Arabic], says chef-owner Anita Lo. We are donating the proceeds from sales of the Annisa cocktail and a special appetizer created by Mary Attea, my chef de cuisine, to Off the Sidelines, Kirsten Gillibrands organization to help women run for office. That appetizer is a spring pea soup with hearts of palm, snow crab, and tarragon.

Alex Raij is taking a similar approach at Txikito, El Quinto Pino, La Vara, and Tekoa, donating all proceeds from Montserrat (a red vermouth cocktail) and Navarran rose (also red) to Planned Parenthood. Shes supporting any staff members who want to take the day off.

One New York restaurateur is offering women paid time off to attend the rally: Mark Gibson, the owner of the Wren, has arranged for men to cover the shifts of all female staffers, and to wear red in solidarity. Hes paying all the female salaried staff members their standard weekly rate, and hourly staff based on the hours they were originally scheduled to work. The women of the Wren plan to meet at the restaurant and march together.

Casellula, a wine-and-cheese bar in Hells Kitchen, will also stay open without its striking female staff members, which include its general manager, head chef, and pastry chef. In their place, the restaurant will have a few guest servers, like Broadway performer Matthew Scott, and theyll donate all their tips to Shining Hope for Communities.



A collective of mostly women-owned dessert concepts is banding together to donate a portion of todays profits to Girls Rising  Blue Marble Ice Cream, One Girl Cookies, La Newyorkina, Ample Hills Creamery, Megpies, and the Good Batch. (This is actually a formal group called Sweet Up, and they meet up to talk shop regularly.) Butter & Scotch will close between 3:30 and 8 p.m. so its ragtag team of feminists can attend the rally, and then open afterwards for a party, donating $2 of each Winter of Women cocktail to Planned Parenthood.

Mah-Ze-Dahr owner Umber Ahmad is keeping the doors of her bakery open, because, For us, every day is Womens Day. She hopes that New Yorkers use their purchasing power to support female-owned businesses. As a woman entrepreneur and business owner, I dont have a choice about whether to stay home today or not, because my company, my employees, and my customers depend upon me doing my job. Rather than opt out of working, Im choosing to participate in commerce as a way to support other women. I hope many women today will come out and support womens integral role in society, by showing up at the doors of all women-led businesses. If our women on staff choose to protest today instead of come to work, all I hope is that they realize the impact they are having on the reality of women in this world, especially those who stand by them every day.

At Nourish Kitchen & Table, Marissa Lippert is selling Watergate Cake with Impeachment Frosting  a new pastry thats a riff on a historic recipe, with pistachio cake, mascarpone cream, and pistachio brittle  and donating a portion of the proceeds to the Womens Center for Education and Career Advancement. While well be doing business as usual, well be busting ass because thats what we do best  our kitchen is 75 percent women, she says.

Grub Street will continue to update this post throughout the day.
Just a humble waffle cook. Photo: Ric Feld/Ap

Joseph Rogers Sr., creator of one of Americas largest restaurant chains and a key figure in spreading the Souths roadside-diner culture, has passed away, at the age of 97. He founded the Waffle House empire in 1955 with his Atlanta neighbor Tom Forkner after returning from the war and grilling burgers as a short-order cook up in New Haven, Connecticut. By the end of the 70s, their single diner had exploded into a 400-restaurant chain, and today its obviously spread well beyond the South, to more than 2,100 locations in 25 states, each sporting that iconic yellow-block sign.

Im not an executive, Im a waffle cook is a belief Rogers expressed even as late as 2004. The menu (complete with pics) of cheap comfort food has always attracted a vast and loyal fan base  the burgers, coffee, eggs, T-bones, waffles, and of course the hash browns you can order scattered, smothered, covered, peppered, diced, and about a million other ways. Devotees over the years include breakfastarians, drunk college kids in the middle of the night, Kid Rock (who got arrested there), Insane Clown Posse (who also got arrested there), chef Sean Brock (who once took a turn at the grill), and Anthony Bourdain (who praised it as a place you can go no matter how wrecked and obnoxious you are and they will still be nice to you). Bon Appetits Andrew Knowlton has even shamelessly labeled it my favorite place to eat, arguing that like America itself, its filled with people from all walks of life, all races and classes, looking for a little bit of happiness and a personal connection.

Rogers is survived by his wife of 74 years as well as by Forkner, whos now 99. Rogerss son Joe Junior, currently Waffle Houses chairman, paid his dad tribute in a statement that noted: My father genuinely loved every customer who walked into a Waffle House  The customer always came first for him, and he made sure the customer came first for everyone who worked with him.
Le Bernardin. Photo: Liz Clayman

Our newly updated list of the absolute best places in town for a bite of classic haute Parisian (or Lyonnaise, or Provencal) cuisine includes a couple of New York landmarks that we feel transcend the classic less-than-haute bistro label, and deserve a place in the citys great pantheon of what my dear, departed Upper East Side grandmother used to call those fancy French joints. Here are the absolute best places in New York City for everything from a bite of ile flottante or sole Meuniere, to a furtive midnight platter of steak frites.

The Absolute Best 1. Le Bernardin

155 W. 51st St., nr. Seventh Ave.; 212-554-1515 To the staunchly conservative Francophiles who dare suggest that this seafood-themed, fusion-tinged, quintessentially New York restaurant is not really French at all, the chef and co-owner, Eric Ripert, has a stock reply. Its so silly, he says. Look at our technique. Hes talking, of course, about the first-class kitchen, which is stocked with sauciers, fish cooks, and pastry chefs, all of them skilled in the delicate and ancient art of haute cuisine. Hes talking about the dining room, which  both in service and style  remains as close to the Parisian three-star ideal as any dining establishment in this increasingly one-star town. And hes talking about the ever-evolving menu, which still contains some of the finest examples of grand French cooking (sauteed Dover sole, lobster a lamericaine, truffled squab with red-wine sauce, the desserts) that money can buy.

2. Le Coucou

138 Lafayette St., at Howard St.; 212-271-4252

Fans of the uncluttered, traditional style that Daniel Rose cultivated during his time in Paris (he comes to the big city by way of Paris and his hometown Chicago) might be slightly taken aback by the baroque grandeur of this downtown dining room, which the restaurateur Stephen Starr and his designers have fitted with all the trimmings, including a state-of-the-art open kitchen populated by toque-wearing cooks, wagon-wheel-size chandeliers hanging from the tall ceiling, and a series of long, plush banquettes. But theres no quibbling with the elevated examples of traditional cuisine bourgeoise on the menu, like quenelle de brochet poured with bubbling lobster sauce, slivers of veal tongue dabbed with caviar and creme fraiche, and that old rustic delicacy tout le lapin (all of the rabbit), which Rose and his army of cooks prepare three equally impressive ways: as an elegant, gourmet roulade; roasted with mustard sauce; and bubbled in a meat-and-vegetable stock, which tastes, when you close your eyes, like the essence of classic French country cooking.

3. Daniel

60 E. 65th St., nr. Park Ave.; 212-288-0033

Photo: O. Frankenn

The great master of haute uptown cuisine installed a glittering new kitchen at his venerable flagship establishment a while back, and the endlessly proliferating (and pricey) tasting-menu options continue to attract big-money gastronauts from far-off places like Dubai and Beijing. But the best way to experience the essence of what certain plutocrats around the neighborhood like to call our local canteen is to belly up to the bar just outside the ornate dining room early on some weekday evening, call for one of the inky northern-Rhone wines from around Daniel Bouluds native Lyon, and bargain with your bartender for an a la carte taste of dishes from the old French canon, like wood-roasted pigeon (if its on the menu), opulent helpings of veal with artichokes, and dainty portions of suckling pig that the kitchen simmers in milk and garnishes with the freshest farm vegetables from upstate.

4. Frenchette

241 W Broadway, nr White Street, 212-334-3383

Photo: Hanna Pavlova

Riad Nasr and Lee Hansons much-praised Tribeca brasserie, which opened in the spring of 2018, isnt the most ambitious restaurant around town, nor is it the most antically theatrical, and their mentor, Keith McNally, would certainly have questions about a few of the aesthetic choices in the clamorous, sparely decorated dining rooms. But the return to the kitchen of these two great masters of what could be called New York brasserie style is certainly one of the most edifying comeback stories in recent memory. And for those of us who are fans of classic, chef-centric specialties like grainy, perfectly turned pork rillettes, or roast country chicken, or calves brains prepared in the Grenobloise style, so is the cooking, which combines the elevated qualities of first-class ingredients and age-old technique with the timeless, comforting pleasures of a good old-fashioned feed.

5. Batard

239 W. Broadway, nr. White St.; 212-219-2777

The chef, Markus Glocker, is Austrian, but depending on the season and on the chefs mood, you will find the the prix fixe menu at Drew Nieporents elegant, Michelin-approved Tribeca establishment peppered with numerous elevated renditions of French classics, like steak tartare, braised porcelet shoulder, and numerous tarts for dessert. Its not the kind of traditional, restaurateur-chef collaboration that you see much anymore in this increasingly transient dining town. And at $95 (or thereabouts) for four courses, you wont find a better gourmet deal in the city. Theres no corkage fee on the first bottle you bring through the door, and if you have the funds, Nieporents collection of Burgundies remains as impressive as ever.

6. Gabriel Kreuther

41 W. 42nd St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-257-5826

Photo: Tirzah Brott

Gabriel Kreuther is one of the masters of the vanishing art of haute cuisine in the city, and the much-praised fine-dining portion of this elaborate midtown destination has its refined charms. But if you work or live in the vicinity of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street, chances are youre spending a lot more time in the elegantly appointed, somewhat more modestly priced lounge portion of the restaurant. The libations (cocktails and wines) in this elegantly casual space are worth a special trip (the Alsatian whites, the Martini), and so are Kreuthers bar-menu riffs on the great Alsatian comfort dishes of his youth, like tarte flambee (there are numerous varieties), truffled liverwurst, and pots of tripe braised to a happy tenderness in red wine, and served, in the ancient Alpine tradition, with a crunchy gratine top.

7. La Grenouille

3 E. 52nd St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-752-1495

Photo: Aurora Rose/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Its true that the Masson family, whove presided for decades over this last of the venerable midtown French restaurants, has been in a state of not-so-quiet turmoil in recent years (the matriarch, Giselle, died at the age of 89 in 2014, and the former front-of-the-house man, older brother Charles, was banished from the premises). Its also true that the quality of ageless mid-20th-century specialties on the famous frog-decorated menu  like lobster bisque, grilled sole, and crepes flambees  can go up and down with the passage of time. But the clientele is as loyal as ever, the famous flowers are still delivered each morning to be placed in tall vases around the famous dining room, and as long as the family manages to hang onto the midtown townhouse off Fifth Avenue, the gilded, rose-scented, essentially French pleasures of this fin de siecle fine-dining landmark will endure.

8. Balthazar

80 Spring St., nr. Crosby St.; 212-965-1414

Photo: Daniel Krieger

After all these years, Keith McNallys endlessly discussed, much-imitated masterpiece is that rare Franch restaurant which manages to out-glow many of the real-life brasseries and bistros that youll find near the banks of the Seine, while remaining, in spirit and style, the epitome of New York bustle and chic. Despite the endless waves of competitors and the increasingly crowded number of tables on the dining room floor (along with the slightly shrinking portions on the plates), there is still no more Parisian breakfast available anywhere around town, in our humble estimation (the croissant, the fish bowl sized cafe au lait, the omelette with herbs, the eggs en cocotte), than the one you can get here beginning every morning at 7:30 a.m. Theres no better place for a faux-Parisian lunch either (although its best to make it a late lunch to avoid the crowds), or to enjoy consistently satisfying versions of everyday French bistro classics (moules frites, steak au poivre, lescargot, the excellent steak tartare), followed by a baguette or two for the road from the superb bakery next door.

9. Vaucluse

100 E. 63rd St., at Park Ave.; 646-869-2300

Photo: Tirzah Brott

Michael White is one of the citys great pasta savants, but at this pleasantly gilded Park Avenue establishment, he and his seasoned team of cooks turn out a variety of durable French classics designed specifically for a certain kind of settled, uptown Francophile palate. Go at lunchtime when, in the words of one our neighborhood spies, it doesnt feel like youre eating dinner in the middle of a train station, and pay attention to the hors doeuvres section of the menu, which is chocked with familiar delicacies like smooth rounds of foie gras terrine, excellent escargots from Burgundy dressed with bits of roasted bone marrow, and a superior steak tartare, which is best enjoyed with a side of golden, crunchy frites, served with a proper uptown flourish in a silver cup.

10. Bistro Pierre Lapin

99 Bank St., at Greenwich St.; 212-858-6600

Harold Moore has long been one the citys masters of classic French cooking, and at this homey, satisfying, deceptively sophisticated neighborhood joint in the West Village he indulges his passion for the bountiful cream- and butter-soaked favorites of the old French canon. Most everything on the crowded menu is worthy of consideration provided youre not on a diet, but pay special attention to the old fashioned plats classiques like lamb chops served with stiff helpings of potato gratin, vats of traditionally prepared coq au vin and cassoulet, and Moores famous roast chicken for two, which the kitchen prepares with slivers of truffle inserted under the crackly skin, a boat of foie gras leavened bread stuffing on the side, and several heaping spoonfuls of smooth, buttery pommes puree.

11. La Mercerie

53 Howard St., at Mercer St.; 212-852-9097

Photo: Jemma Hinkly

Like all great Parisian cafes, Marie-Aude Roses stylish little downtown dine-and-shop operation (its located in the front of a Soho boutique) has a little something for everyone  including, if you wish, bundles of fresh-cut flowers that you can order when you arrive for your lobster salad or bowl of chestnut veloute, and pick up after youve finished eating. Our favorite meal is breakfast, when the kitchen serves bowls of creme anglaise with slices of warm brioche and the sun slants into the room in a particularly Parisian way, but you can get a superior version of boeuf bourguignon starting at lunchtime, along with a fine selection of that durable Breton-style speciality, buckwheat crepes, which the kitchen folds with creamed chicken, and serves, speckled with sugar and a squeeze of lemon, for dessert.

12. Benoit

60 W. 55th St., nr. Sixth Ave. , 646-943-7373

Photo: Pierre Monetta

The greatest of all French masters, Alain Ducasse, has never managed to find the key to the frazzled, finicky, New York dining palate, so at this much-reworked midtown outlet of his well known Parisian bistro, he and his longtime lieutenant, Laetitia Rouabah, stick with the tried and true basics that have satisfied generations of diners on both sides of the Atlantic. You wont find a better cassoulet in this part of town than the properly sturdy one you can get here; not to mention servings of escargot drenched in garlic and parsley butter by the dozen; soft, bouncy quenelles en brochette set in puddles of orange Nantua sauce; and decorous slabs of the house pate en croute prepared according to Lucien Tendrets original recipe which, as the loquacious servers will happily tell you, dates all the way back to the year 1892.

13. Le Veau DOr

129 E 60th St., nr. 212-898-8122

Photo: Sophie Fabbri

Catherine Treboux runs this venerable midtown restaurant, just north of Bloomingdales, as a kind of living museum to that mostly vanished era when French cuisine ruled the upper levels of the dining world in New York. The menu hasnt changed in what seems like centuries, and if you ask politely, Mme. Treboux will point out various tables where ancient bold-face names used to dawdle over their Champagne and cigarettes, including the exact banquette in the back corner of the room where Hemingway used to sit when he dropped in for a bottle of wine (or three). The specialities of the house are the same now as they were back then  coq au vin, sole amandine, veal in its various forms (the tripe a la mode de Caen is legendary among old-time tripe connoisseurs), and a near-perfect rendition of that most magically French dessert of all, lile flottante.

14. Le Coq Rico

30 E. 20th St., nr. Park Ave. South; 212-267-7426

Photo: Tirzah Brott

The founder of this small, Paris-based restaurant empire, Antoine Westermann, has long been known for his facility with what is, next to cheese, that most Gallic of proteins, the barnyard chicken. So its no surprise that the roasted, broiled, and fricasseed birds are great at this bustling, Flatiron establishment  get the classic Alsatian Baeckoff for the table if youre feeling flush, or the exceptional coq au vin for lunch, and although excellent versions of roast goose and whole quail pop up on the menu  save plenty of room for the old ancien regime desserts like baba au rhum, profiteroles, and a giant to share mille-feuille which is the size of a small toaster.

15. Lafayette

380 Lafayette St., at Great Jones St., 212-533-3000

Photo: Paul Wagtouicz

Like some of the citys other trendy brasseries, Andrew Carmellinis version offers plates of fresh oysters, newfangled versions of duck au poivre, and twirls of skinny golden frites in soft paper cones. Unlike the others, theres also a Balthazar-like boulangerie up front, where you can purchase fresh-baked croissants and pointy baguettes and ogle trays of overpriced pastries displayed under glass. The tall, airy room on Lafayette Street features Continental-style picture windows and spacious coffee-colored banquettes, and its easily the prettiest, most workable space that Carmellini and his team have occupied since they began hatching restaurant ideas years ago.

16. Dirty French

180 Ludlow St., nr. Houston St., 212 254 3000

Photo: Carolyn Griffin

As the name indicates, the focus at this restaurant is on French cuisine, although the Dirty influences appear to come from all over the map. The enticing, beautifully scripted menu is divided into the usual timeless categories (Hors dOeuvre, Salade, Poisson, etc.), but look closely and youll see mille-feuille with seasonal curry and green garlic, duck a lorange with ras el hanout and preserved orange, and a lamb burger with cumin onions. Die-hard fans of rich French cooking will enjoy the sturdy lunchtime croque monsieur, however, and dishes like the steak frites and the cote du boeuf (the former featuring a bone-in New York strip and a lavishly rich green peppercorn sauce, the latter a small boat of classic Bearnaise).
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Nokia has introduced two new smartphones at MWC recently, but neither of those is the flagship offering many have been hoping for. However, the brand is clearly working on a top of the line device of its own, judging by the number of leaks we've seen regarding a Nokia 8. And now we may know when to expect this to hit the market.

According to a new rumor out of China, Nokia will release its flagship smartphone in June. This will come in two different sizes (thus emulating Apple's, Samsung's, and Google's strategies), with similar (if not identical) specs. Both will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chipset, and both should get either 4 or 6GB of RAM depending on which model you buy.

Nokia 6

As for build materials, expect to see metal unibodies. Dual rear cameras should be on the back of at least one of the handsets, even though we won't see PureView or Carl Zeiss branding on them. The former can't be used because of Microsoft, while on the latter Nokia Mobile itself tweeted that it's out of the question. Obviously this doesn't mean the cameras won't be good, but we do admit missing both of those brands in the past few years. Anyway, the new flagship Nokias should apparently have snappers with at least 23 MP resolution.

Being the top of the line models that they will be, you'd assume they'll also be quite expensive - and it turns out that's just the case. The rumors in China claim the smaller one will go for CNY 4,000 or more (that's currently $579 or 549), while the bigger one will retail for at least CNY 4,500 ($652 or 617).

Don't forget to take all of this with a grain of salt, since it's just an unconfirmed rumor for now. That said, the mentioned release timeline makes sense considering that Samsung is probably hoarding SD835 chipsets in the initial production run, which means other companies will only be able to launch products powered by that from late May to early June. This is in fact the exact release window for the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, another SD835-powered phone, and so it makes sense for the Nokia 8 (or whatever it will be called) to be out at around the same time.

Source 1 (in Chinese) | Source 2 | Via
ZTE is about to feel the heavy boot of the US Department of Justice after it violated the trade sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The Chinese company imported smartphones with Qualcomm chipsets for years, including during the ongoing investigation. For this offense the company has to pay $892 million fine with $300 million to be paid if the agreement with the DOJ is violated, totaling to $1.19 billion.

ZTE Axon 7 - one of the phones, sold in Iran

The US trade sanctions against Iran and North Korea are some of the oldest embargoes the USA has against other countries because of their nuclear programs, among other reasons. But ZTE decided to sell its phones in Iran with the American-built Qualcomm chipsets, automatically violating the embargo. Also, telecommunications equipment was sent to North Korea in 283 shipments, Reuters reports.

The Chinese company knowingly did these actions for five years, and the US had to either sanction the company itself or reach an agreement. ZTE pleaded guilty, agreeing to $892M fine with additional $300 million to be paid if it violates somehow the agreement with the Department of Justice.

The company also agreed to a 3-year probation period with an independent monitor verifying its export practices and ZTE has to cooperate with the DOJ if theres a criminal investigation into its behavior. Another part of the agreement is that ZTE has seven-year suspended denial of export privileges if there are further violations.

Source (DOJ)  Source (ZTE) | Via
Billboard charting powerhouse contemporary Gospel trio Half Mile Home is known for their gorgeous blend of gospel and R&B sounds. The Ohio natives are celebrating five consecutive weeks in the Top 20 on Billboard's Gospel Airplay chart with there uplifting hit song, "Thinking Of Me," which is currently sitting at No. 16 (week ending March 18). Additionally, "Thinking of Me" has spent 29 weeks in the Top 30 on the BDS radio chart and is the second single from the group's fourth album DON'T JUDGE ME that was released in July 2016 which debuted at No. 11 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart.

"Thinking of Me" is the follow-up to Half Mile Home's "More Than Enuff," the first single from DON'T JUDGE ME, which peaked at No. 11 on Billboard Gospel Singles chart. "Thinking of Me" is a heart-warming song that delivers Holy Power in triplicate through the anointed lead and harmony voices of Terence "Buttons" Burton, Darryl "Deaken" Brownlee and Todd Burton. The song is composed by brothers Terence and Todd with frequent co-writer David "Ready Writa" Felder.

In support of their new single the group is embarking on a promotional radio/press tour beginning this month hitting markets and events such as The Stellar Awards in Las Vegas, Atlanta for Babbie's House TV appearance (April 13) and The Steeple Awards (April 22), Pensacola, FL (April 28), Cleveland, OH (May 13) and Cincinnati, OH for the I Hear Music Conference (May 19) to name a few.

Half Mile Home launched onto the scene in 2004, with their first studio album, The Movement (Malaco Records). Their second studio album, Change My Lyfe (Bungalo/Universal) was released in 2010, while the third studio album, Church Muzik & Inspiration (Church Boy Muzik/Selecto Hits), was released in 2013 and peaked at No.9 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart.

Listen to "Thinking of Me": https://soundcloud.com/halfmilehome/thinking-of-me

Don't Judge Me - iTunes Link:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dont-judge-me/id1083950166?ls=1&app=itunes

Don't Judge Me - Amazon Link

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BPH13B6?ie=UTF8&keywords=Don%27t%20Judge%20Me&qid=1463515601&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

Half Mile Home's Website and Social Media Handles:

Website: www.halfmilehome.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/halfmilehome3

Twitter: www.twitter.com/halfmilehome

Instagram: www.instagram.com/halfmilehome

YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/halfmilehome

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From Gallup-Healthways March 7, 2017

This report, part of the Gallup-Healthways State of American Well-Being series, examines well-being across the nation, with 189 communities ranked based on their Well-Being Index score. The report analyzes how well-being varies by community, as well as who leads and lags across the five elements of well-beingpurpose, social, financial, community and physical. The data and insights from this report can be used as a call-to-action for communities around the country, leveraging it to benchmark and identify opportunities for well-being improvement.

In 20152016, many of the top well-being communities hail from California (seven in the top 25), Colorado (three), Texas (three), Florida (two) and Virginia (two). There is strong consistency historically, as 17 communities returned to the top 25 in 2015-2016, as compared to 2014-2015. The highest well-being community in the country in 20152016 is Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL, with a well-being score of 66.3. Barnstable Town, MA was number two, followed by Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA, Urban Honolulu, HI, Charlottesville, VA, North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL, and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA. Naples is a community with a track record of high well-being, and this is its second consecutive year as number one. Boulder, CO and Provo-Orem, UT are the only other communities to be in the top spot multiple times since measurement started in 2008. In 20152016, Naples had the countrys highest number of residents thriving in community well-being, highest rates of healthy eating, lowest rates of daily stress, and lowest lifetime diagnoses of depression.

Other leading communities include El Paso, TX, Visalia-Porterville, CA, and Naples for purpose well-being; Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC, Barnstable, and Naples for social well-being; Sarasota, Anchorage, AK, and Honolulu for financial well-being; Naples, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Cruz for community well-being; and Barnstable, Boulder and Naples for physical well-being.

In terms of low well-being, California (three), Ohio (three), Oklahoma (three), Arkansas (three), and Texas (two) each had multiple communities that ranked in the lowest 25. Fort Smith, AR-OK, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Topeka, KS, Canton-Massillon, OH, Flint, MI, Chico, CA, and Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX all had Well-Being Index scores of 59.5 or less in 20152016. Fort Smith had the countrys lowest social, financial and physical well-being in 20152016; while Burlington-South Burlington, VT was lowest in purpose well-being and Fayetteville, NC was lowest in community well-being.

PDF: 2016 Community Well-Being Rankings (Urban Honolulu #4 with a score of 65.4)

PDF: State by State Reports (Hawaii #1 with a score of 65.2)
The questionnaire, the instrument used to collect the data.

The analytics, the algorithms and intellectual property that does the analysis of the data collected.

The report: its contents and presentation.

THE POWER OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Peter Drucker was one of the first business thinkers to identify that organisational success is built on the collective strengths of those in the organisation. He stated: It takes far less energy to move from first-rate performance to excellence than it does to move from incompetence to mediocrity. Indeed, research shows that over 80% of all employees dont get the opportunity to do what they do best every day, which subsequently has a negative impact on engagement and execution. Strengthscope, also offered by Talent Tools, enables employers to discover the strengths of their employees individually and collectively and understand how these combine with skills, knowledge and experience to unlock peak performance. Strengthscope is the key for employers to identify your own strengths and play to them every day at work, and then identify employees strengths to create a positively engaging workplace, says Hudson.

THE ENTREPRENEUR IN YOU

The Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile feedback report provides scores on 14 discrete scales that fall within two broad domains: the personality characteristics and motivations that often distinguish entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs; and the cognitive and behavioural skill dimensions that indicate how entrepreneurs typically approach tasks and the abilities they demonstrate. Examples include:

 Independence: the desire to work with a high degree of independence

 Preference for limited structure: a preference for tasks and situations with little formal structure

 Non-conformity: a preference for acting in unique ways; an interest in being perceived as unique

 Risk acceptance: a willingness to pursue an idea or a desired goal even when the probability of succeeding is low

 Action orientation: a tendency to show initiative, make decisions quickly, and feel impatient for results

TALENT TOOLS

Based in Brisbane, Talent Tools has been providing scientifically validated workplace assessments for every stage of the employee life cycle throughout Australasia for over 10 years. Talent Tools is a one-stop shop for workplace diagnostic and developmental reports, training resources, accreditation training and in-house workshops. To arrange a free, no obligation 20-minute strategy session, email: Based in Brisbane, Talent Tools has been providing scientifically validated workplace assessments for every stage of the employee life cycle throughout Australasia for over 10 years. Talent Tools is a one-stop shop for workplace diagnostic and developmental reports, training resources, accreditation training and in-house workshops. To arrange a free, no obligation 20-minute strategy session, email: [email protected] talenttools.com.au or call 1800 768 569 or 61 7 3103 0177.

chometrics as a science may have its roots in Cambridge as far back as 1886, but today psychometric tools and assessments are helping businesses navigate a rapidly changing worldIf were going to emerge from the worldwide economic slump, entrepreneurs will lead the way. That was the 2012 prediction of Sangeeta Badal and Joseph H Streur of global consultancy Gallup.For those who view entrepreneurialism as something that thrives in start-ups but flounders in larger organisations, think again. Although entrepreneurship has been hailed as a crucial engine of economic growth, the concept of an entrepreneurial mindset does not just apply solely to business owners. Entrepreneurially minded employees, sometimes referred to as intrapreneurs, are shaking up established norms across all business sectors.But how do you know if you or one of your team has the traits of an entrepreneur? The search for individual differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs, and between more and less successful entrepreneurs, has to this point produced an inconsistent body of research with limited empirical evidence.Enter a psychometric instrument known as the Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile (EMP). The original goal of the tool was to identify and measure a set of variables that clearly distinguished between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. The EMP takes less than 10 minutes to complete online, and the report it generates, while comprehensive, is easy to understand. The normative data enables individuals and teams to compare their results with those of entrepreneurs and corporate leaders across all industry segments. The report also includes constructive strategies to promote the entrepreneurial skills of both managers and individual contributors.The EMP is one of several psychometric assessment and diagnostic tools offered by Talent Tools The core purpose of the field of psychometrics remains largely unchanged. It can include the measurement of innate traits, such as personality characteristics and behavioural traits, as well as innate skills, such as strengths in numerical or verbal abilities, values, attitudes, bias, and much more.Sharon Hudson , founder of Talent Tools, says the range of psychometric assessments and diagnostic tools on the market today is much wider and deeper than it once was. Computergenerated reports made the real difference to usefulness of psychometrics in the workplace, she tells HRD. The days of completing a form and turning the page to see how to add up and apply the scores, or turning to the page with your result in the accompanying booklet, are long gone.However, identifying the option best suited to your needs can be daunting. Hudson says its critical to firstly choose a tool that is fit for purpose. In the workplace environment, she adds, this cuts down the contenders very quickly. The majority of instruments on the market are aimed at whole of life with relevance to your work, she says. What you need is a product specifically designed for workplace applications, which will also have relevance away from work.From there its critical to assess both the validity and reliability of tools.When we talk about the validity of a tool, we are talking about how closely the questions/choices correlate with the test intent, says Hudson. For example, if Im assessing social reasoning then mathematical equations are unlikely to yield any useful data. Are we testing what we say we are testing?The reliability of the instrument means ensuring that if the assessment was done on the same person, under the same conditions, on several occasions over a period of time, the results would be either stable (reliable) or erratic (unreliable).Hudson suggests there are three components of any assessment that need to be run through a validity and reliability check to ensure its a rigorous tool:This can be a challenge, because different assessment purposes and outcomes require different initial data input. Hudson explains: For example, if I want to get to your unconscious natural self, say for a personality or behavioural diagnostic, to get past your conscious minds filter and get to your unconscious level I need a tool which is low in face validity. This is where it is not obvious what the outcome is going to be from considering the question and the available answer options. If the assessment is like Strengthscope [see box above], which wants your conscious response and is searching for what energises you, then an instrument with face validity is more likely to get accurate responses to analyse. The instrument is paramount, because once the data has been gathered, that is what is going to be analysed and used to populate the report. The data cannot be improved upon, only analysed and presented.This is a great unknown as it is never seen nor shared to any great extent. A good indicator of a rigorous analysis is whether the system has an inbuilt safeguard to not provide a report if the data does not meet strict consistency protocols or standards, ie garbage data in, no report out.Does it provide the information you need to fulfil the purpose for which it was obtained? This goes to author Stephen Coveys advice to begin with the end in mind. Even then, it is not difficult to design aesthetically appealing reports that are easy to read and contain seemingly relevant content. But regardless of how good the report looks, if the original data is poor and the analytics weak, it could be inaccurate and misleading.Hudson adds that a solid foundation tool can ensure that HR decisions can be made at the individual, team and organisational levels throughout the employee life cycle  thus negating the need for a different product each time specific individual or team data is required.She believes the best foundation tool is Extended DISCs groundbreaking FinxS System.Once the individuals data is collected through the online questionnaire, which takes around 12 minutes to complete, the system uses sophisticated algorithms to analyse the data and provide the results compared to a continually growing database of workplace competencies. At last count there were approximately 1,500 competencies available.This enables the company to determine the relevant measurements for the role and to measure against those same competencies for recruitment, onboarding and performance management. This consistency is often lost in organisations when they use one set of competencies to recruit, another in their performance assessments, and yet another in their 360-degree feedback initiatives.Using FinxS enables the organisation to use the same competencies throughout its assessment processes.Psychometric tools such as FinxS are also utilising insights gleaned from big data. Employees with a certain profile warning signal can be identified throughout the organisation. For example, someone with a high consciousness and high need for autonomy profile, but who lacks clear direction from management, will be performing below their capability. Low job satisfaction and disengagement typically follow. FinxS can mine the organisations talent data to identify profiles that meet this criteria, enabling management to take corrective action.This is a real breakthrough in talent management, especially in multinational organisations where this issue can easily go unnoticed, Hudson says.Market-leading suppliers conduct ongoing research and longitudinal studies to identify patterns and trends in the worldwide data collected by their instruments. From this they can pose and test hypotheses and make new discoveries.Becoming accredited and staying abreast of developments is really important to getting the most from your investment, Hudson adds.Talent Tools accreditation training takes a blended approach, usually consisting of one or two days of training  including selfpaced online learning via a learning app  and then a training workshop or live online learning. Talent Tools practitioners also enjoy ongoing support and regular system and application updates.
(Reuters) President Donald Trump plans to meet with a group of infrastructure business leaders at the White House on Wednesday, a person briefed on the meeting said.

During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would push for a $1 trillion infrastructure program to rebuild roads, bridges, airports and other public works projects.

To read the entire article, click here.
Tuukka Yla-Anttila, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, told YLE on Tuesday that he cannot fathom a circumstance in which such a referendum is held in Finland.

Sampo Terho, the chairperson of the Finns Party Parliamentary Group, has raised eyebrows by promising that the Finns Party thoroughly explore the possibility of campaigning in the next parliamentary elections on the promise to hold a referendum on Finlands membership in the European Union.

Yla-Anttila estimated in an interview on YLE Radio 1 that withdrawing from the European Union  or even organising a referendum on the withdrawal  is impossible due to the political climate and voting system in Finland.

You can make all kinds of promises, but theres no way such a referendum will be held in Finland, he stated. Youd have to go over quite a few hurdles before it becomes a real possibility in the multi-party system of Finland.

His assessment was echoed by one of the party comrades of Terho, Vesa-Matti Saarakkala (PS). Saarakkala estimated in a blog entry yesterday that campaigning on the membership referendum would cast serious doubts over the partys ability to form a ruling coalition in the wake of the next elections.

It would also be an election stunt no longer befitting of the Finns Party, he said.

What would be the share of votes required to enable our party to demand in the coalition negotiations that other parties (I presume that our party will not receive over 50% of votes) agree to add the EU referendum to the government programme? We were afraid and unable to oppose the third Greek bailout even after receiving 17 per cent of votes in the previous parliamentary elections, reminded Saarakkala.

Terho has assured that the decision on whether or not to introduce the issue to the platform would be made democratically  most likely by the party council of the Finns Party. He has also yet to confirm whether he would vote for or against the withdrawal in the event that the referendum was organised.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Jarno Mela  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
BUSINESS owners were given a tour of locations in Henley which have appeared in Midsomer Murders.

They walked in groups along New Street, Thames Side, Bell Street, Hart Street, Duke Street and Market Place and stopped at seven places where the ITV drama series has been filmed.

The tour started at the Hotel du Vin in New Street, the outside of which has appeared in several episodes, before walking along the River Thames to Henley Bridge.

During the 2004 Henley Royal Regatta, crews filmed several scenes on the Henley reach for an episode called Dead in the Water, which took place at the Midsomer Regatta.

The opening shot depicted the regatta site from the bridge while DCI Tom Barnaby and his wife Joyce, played by John Nettles and Jane Wymark, were shown enjoying a picnic on the riverbank.

In the episode, a race at the regatta is interrupted by the discovery of a body which turns out to be that of Midsomer Rowing Clubs chairman and Barnaby, who was attending for pleasure, is pressed into action.

Five-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave, who is now the regattas chairman, made a cameo appearance as himself.

The tour then passed the Cau steak restaurant in Hart Street, which appeared in the 2005 episode Down Among the Dead Men.

At the time, this was the La Bodega restaurant, which was renamed Cafe Vintners for the show.

Barnaby was shown purchasing drinks there while attempting to solve the murder of a parish council clerk.

The group then moved on to the Argyll pub in Market Place, which featured in the episode Last Years Model in 2006.

Barnaby and his sidekick Sgt Ben Jones, played by Jason Hughes, dropped in for a pint while consulting a psychiatrist for help defending a woman wrongly accused of murder.

Landlord Neil Ainsworth has put up a brass plaque to commemorate the filming and launched Midsomer Ale in 2014, which tourists can pour for themselves.

He says up to 100 people visit the pub every week in the summer because of the Midsomer connection and that Hughes occasionally returns for a drink. The tour also passed Tudor House Antiques in Duke Street and butchers Gabriel Machin in Market Place, the exteriors of which featured in the episodes A Sacred Trust (2012) and The Magicians Nephew (2009) respectively.

For the latter, Machins was temporarily renamed Anton Thorneycrofts. The group stopped at the town hall, which doubled as Causton court house in Last Years Model and as an auction house in the 2009 episode The Black Book, which centred on the deaths of several owners of rare artworks.

A house on the corner of West Street and Kings Road featured as the outside of a solicitors office in Down Among the Dead Men. The morning was organised by Henley Town Council as part of a campaign to help businesses make the most of tourism related to Midsomer Murders.

It also included a seminar at Hotel du Vin where participants could exchange ideas.

Tourism consultant Sarah Osborne, who led the event, said: Everyone really enjoyed it and I think some people learned a lot as they didnt realise how closely Henley was connected with Midsomer.

We started running Midsomer tours of Henley last year and they were a huge success in pulling international tourists away from the usual places like London.

People love it because its so quintessentially English and its not just about one or two specific locations. They feel like theyre in Midsomer just by coming here, so every business can benefit.

The Loddon Brewery at Dunsden also appeared in the 2011 episode The Night of The Stag in which a tax inspector is murdered and dumped in a cider vat.

The brewery now produces its own Night of the Stag beer and attracts scores of Midsomer fans every week during the summer.

Other places to have appeared include the Crown Inn, Crown Garage and the RAF base at Benson, the Henley Business School at Greenlands, near Hambleden, the Leatherne Bottel restaurant at Goring and St Nicholass Church in Remenham.

l Midsomer guided tours in Henley will begin on Saturday, March 18. The tour will begin at 11am inside the Argyll. Tickets cost 12 on the day or 10 if booked in advance (half price for children). For the full list of dates, to book a tour or for more information, visit www.theargyllhenley.co.uk/

midsomer-location-tours
Judge John OConnor had found the teenager guilty of arson of a car, a charge he denied. (Stock picture)

A Teenager whose anger erupted in court after he was found guilty of burning out a car in Dublin has been readmitted to bail.

The boy (15) was remanded in custody last week after he began cursing at his mother. He faced his latest hearing yesterday at Dublin Children's Court and apologised.

Bail was granted to the boy and updated pre-sentence welfare reports were ordered.

Judge John O'Connor had found him guilty of arson of a car near his north Dublin home last April, a charge he denied. He had pleaded guilty to breach of the peace.

Harm

Gda James Flynn said he attended the scene and the blaze was being put out. Gardai had been looking for the youth, whose mother reported that he had gone out to self-harm.

He returned home, where he was angry towards his mother. Judge O'Connor was told that, when he picked up a pipe, he had to be arrested.

While he was being taken to a garda station, he said he had burned out the car with a lighter and said it was "just a junkie's car", Gda Flynn alleged.

The boy also told the arresting garda that "I will burn out all the cars at Coolock Garda Station".

The burned-out car was believed to have been registered in a false name and had been used by youths in the area, the judge heard.
A mother planning to deliver naturally following a C-section 14 months previously lost her baby two days after birth.

Denise Farrell said she was unaware of the danger of uterine rupture "until it happened", an inquest into her baby's death heard.

Baby Sadhbh was born by emergency vacuum delivery on September 26, 2014 at Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.

Severe

She was limp on arrival and had suffered a significant brain injury, the court heard.

Mrs Farrell described intense pain in the lead-up to delivery.

She had a C-section with her first child, Donagh, in July 2013.

At one point, the pain was so severe she vomited and told her husband, Cathal, to fetch the midwife. "This was my first actual physical labour. I didn't know what to expect," she said.

Midwife Jennifer Callanan monitored Mrs Farrell in the hours leading up to the birth.

She was aware of the patient's history and said the planned delivery was a "trial of labour", meaning the mother would be monitored for uterine rupture.

"I had no concerns, there was nothing to alarm me," she said.

The onset of labour was faster than any the midwife had experienced, Dublin Coroner's Court heard.

Baby Sadhbh was born, but she was limp and not breathing.

She was later transferred to the Coombe Hospital in Dublin, where she died two days later.

The inquest heard that the placenta had not been delivered and Mrs Farrell was taken to theatre to have it removed.

Horrendous

"A doctor pressed on my abdomen. I felt the most horrendous pain," she said.

The inquest heard from consultant paediatrician Dr Pauric Curran, who saw baby Sadhbh and found her to be in a coma due to brain impairment.

Later, she developed multiple organ dysfunction and died.

The inquest was adjourned to hear evidence from witnesses.
Insects were found crawling around in a box of sweets bought at a cinema in Tallaght in Dublin, a court has heard.

Irish Multiplex Cinema (IMC) Tallaght Ltd was convicted and fined 700 after pleading guilty at Dublin District Court to selling contaminated food that was unsafe for human consumption.

The prosecution was brought by the Health Service Executive (HSE) under an EU law regulating food safety.

Complaint

It came after a complaint about the cinema, in the Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght, was made to environmental health officer Fiona Healy.

Outlining the facts of the case, solicitor Adrian Lennon, for the HSE, told Judge John Brennan that the case related to IMC Tallaght, which could be described as a low-risk food retailer selling confectionery, soft drinks and popcorn.

On December 8 last year, customers bought sweets at the cinema, which were put into a cardboard container that they later brought home.

"When they were getting to the bottom, they discovered a lot of insects crawling among the sweets," Mr Lennon said.

This rendered the product unsuitable for human consumption.

IMC Tallaght's solicitor told the court that the sweets were a small quantity that had come from a larger mass provided by a third-party supplier. That product line has now been discontinued, the court heard.

The food hygiene offence could result in a class-B fine of up to 3,000, the court was told.

Judge Brennan said it was a serious matter as the defendant is a large business with thousands of consumers going there on a regular basis. That, he said, has to be taken into account as an aggravating factor.

He also said it must have been particularly discommoding for the cinema-goers to find the insects in the sweets.

Appropriate

However, he noted the cinema had no prior criminal convictions, the quantity was very small, and there was a third-party supplier.

They had discontinued the product line and had taken appropriate action, he said.

He imposed a 700 fine and ordered that it must be paid within three months.

Judge Brennan ruled that, due to the guilty plea being entered on the first day the case was before the court, he was not going to order the cinema firm to pay prosecution costs.
Dublin City Council is scrambling to organise talks with trade unions and Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) in an attempt to avoid a planned strike.

Council officials failed to respond yesterday to questions about who would attend the scene of major emergencies should DFB members strike as planned on March 18 and 27.

A serious dispute has arisen over plans to dismantle DFB's ambulance call and dispatch function.

Stoppages

The 24-hour work stoppages have been scheduled to begin at 9am on both days.

Trade union Siptu, which represents the vast majority of the 800 workers involved, announced its strike action on Monday .

Impact, which represents more than 80 DFB members, announced yesterday that it would also join the strike.

"The members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action to oppose an attempt to break up the DFB Emergency Medical Service by removing its ambulance call and dispatch function," Impact said in a statement.

Both Siptu and Impact said yesterday that they had received no further contact from the council concerning talks to resolve the dispute, and added that they were available.

Last night, the council issued a statement calling for the intervention of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

It said it was "very disappointed" with the decision by the unions to serve strike notice.

The council said there had been "extensive consultations" with unions on the matter over the past two years.

It stressed that it had not sought to impose the change.

"The unions have nevertheless served strike notice, which is regrettable," it said.

The council added that it had asked the WRC to intervene "as a matter of urgency" to try to resolve the dispute.

Service

It pointed to a Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) review published in December 2014 that it said expressed the view that current emergency ambulance control centre arrangements in the Dublin area were not configured to provide the best possible service to patients.

A spokesperson for Dublin Airport said it had a dedicated fire team that would not be affected by the un ions' strike action.
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Is there anything more American than the DAR?

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, with more than 170,000 members, is one of the largest womens organizations in the United States.

Dont let the white-gloved, tea-sipping stereotype fool you. DAR supports education, historic preservation and patriotism through service to active military, veterans and new citizens.

Members are as young as 18, and many are involved, well-educated and accomplished women. They encourage good citizenship by recognizing outstanding students and community members and sponsor the time-honored history essay contests for students. They collect comfort items for VA hospitals and mark historic properties for future generations.

DAR grew out of the late-nineteenth-century fervor of the Colonial Revival after the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia. Millions attended and suddenly the art and architecture, personal possessions, and histories of our founders became American treasures to preserve.

The period was one of national divide not so unlike our current time. First Lady Caroline Harrison and others sought a way to unify Northern and Southern ladies who shared a common heritage through the War for Independence. On Oct. 11, 1890, four women representing New York, Illinois, West Virginia and Kentucky met in Washington, DC and elected Mrs. Harrison as their first President General.

Like so many ladies before me, I set out to find my own American patriot in the aftermath of the American bicentennial of 1976. I joined the John Hoyle Chapter of DAR three years later, having documented my lineage to Wilkison Lane, a soldier from Bedford, PA.

Since then Ive proven my descent from six more Revolutionary War ancestors and have served as a state chairman and chapter regent.

Im currently chapter registrar, helping prospective members to complete their paperwork. The challenge is to prove direct descent from a person who served the American Cause either through military service or public service such as contributing supplies or treating the wounded. The documentation process can involve sleuthing through Bibles, wills, church records, books, vital records and more.

The society, headquartered in Washington, DC, maintains a renowned library and museum open free to the public. DAR Constitution Hall is a world-class performance venue.

DAR is growing, by the way. The year 2013 saw 13,906 members were added to the rolls, an all-time record. Members are women who can prove direct lineal descent from a patriot who aided the American Cause from 1775 to 1782. Members join without regard to race, religion, creed or ethnic group.

Our 103-member chapter now has ten prospective members working on their papers.

As registrar Ill help host a prospective members tea April 2 at Maple Grove. If you or anyone you know is interested in DAR, please contact me at tamra@tamrawilson.com.

Tammy Wilson is a writer who lives near Newton. You may contact her at tamra@tamrawilson.com.
A Winston-Salem man was convicted Wednesday morning of fatally shooting his neighbor, a result of a long-standing feud between the two men.

Jose Augustiniano Rodriguez, 50, of the 2700 block of Urban Street, pleaded guilty in Forsyth Superior Court to second-degree murder in the death of Genaro Mariche Bracamontes, 54, on March 8, 2015.

Judge Beecher R. Gray of Forsyth Superior Court sentenced Rodriguez to 20 years and four months to 25 years in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Ben White said Rodriguez and Bracamontes had argued for months because Bracamontes had accused Rodriguez of stealing a music CD. On March 8, 2015, Rodriguez went to the house of Alma Prudente, a friend of his, to hang out and drink beer, White said.

Bracamontes went over to Prudente's house to ask Prudente to move her car from in front of his house. White said Rodriguez came out of the house, pulled a revolver out and shot Bracamontes. Bracamontes' wife, Felipa Toribio, and Prudente both saw Rodriguez shoot Bracamontes. Prudente told Winston-Salem police that Rodriguez said, "Tiger, I"m going to kill you," before he shot Bracamontes. Tiger was a nickname for Bracamontes, White said.

After the shooting, Rodriguez started punching and kicking Bracamontes, saying "I told you you were going to pay me back," Prudente told police, according to White.

When Winston-Salem police officers placed him in a patrol car, Rodriguez started making statements in Spanish that were recorded by the patrol car's camera and audio recording device. White said Rodriguez admitted killing Bracamontes.

"I did what I did, and I ate that guy. That's it," White quoted Rodriguez as saying in the patrol car. White said Rodriguez appeared to be using Spanish slang to mean he killed Bracamontes.

Paul James, Rodriguez's attorney, said there's no excuse for what Rodriguez did, but he noted that both men were drunk and that Rodriguez told police that Bracamontes had physically assaulted him months ago and had threatened to kill him. Rodriguez bought the gun to protect himself, James said.

White said nothing makes up for the fact that Rodriguez killed Bracamontes.

"The defendant took this to an incredible leap of violence and anger," he said.
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We Indians are a prickly lot and get easily riled by others acting in their own self-interest. So, its not surprising that offended voices are being volubly, cacophonously, raised over a misreported travel advisory for Americans travelling to South Asia, issued by the US State Department. Among other countries in the region, it mentions India.

Lost in the caw-caw of faux nationalist outrage are two simple facts. First, the object of misplaced ire is not a country-specific travel advisory but a mere mention in the periodically revised Worldwide Caution note on the US State Departments website. Second, the primary concern of the US government is to ensure the safety and security of American citizens; in fulfilling that task it has no obligation to be nice to others.

The purpose of the Worldwide Caution is to inform Americans about the US State Departments current assessment of the global threat of terrorist actions, political violence and criminal activity against US citizens and interests abroad. The Worldwide Caution note that was posted on March 6, 2017, replaces the one posted on September 9, 2016.

In the paragraph on South and Central Asia it says: US citizens should avoid travel to Afghanistan, as no region in the country is immune from violence. A number of established terrorist organisations, indigenous sectarian groups, and other militants pose a danger to US citizens in Pakistan. Extremist elements are also active in India, as outlined in a recent emergency message. Terrorists have hit a wide variety of targets and institutions in Bangladesh.

A general cautionary note is different from Travel Warnings, which have been in effect for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh since 2016 when they were last updated. An Emergency Message is issued in the context of immediate events. For instance, the US Consulate in Chennai issued an Emergency Message when widespread violence was feared in the aftermath of Jayalalithaas death.

No, the US is not trying to put down India. The US is trying to do its job of protecting its citizens because it attaches value to American lives. This will likely sound strange in India where Indian lives are treated as worthless by the Government machinery which does not believe that it owes it to the people to tell them the truth and alert them about the reality.

Yes, terrorist organisations are not on the rampage in India as in Pakistan and Afghanistan, or gaining ground as in Bangladesh. But they exist from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. West Bengal is now a haven for Islamists as is Kerala. Even as I write, theres a standoff happening in Lucknow between the police and a suspected terrorist involved in the derailing of trains.

Islamist terrorists in India, as those in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, would strike at Americans and US targets if they got the opportunity to do so. The attack on the American Center in Calcutta did happen and cannot be wished away.

Could we then please stop carping and learn a lesson from the US? That would be to make the Government of India more mindful of the safety and security of Indian citizens at home and abroad. Indian lives matter, and its time the Government of India and its agencies were made to realise this. And no, its silly to suggest that India should respond with an advisory, telling Indians to avoid travelling to racist America. That would be laughable.

Kanchan Gupta is commissioning editor & commentator, ABP News

The views expressed are personal
Born in Milwaukee, USA and based in Udaipur, Rajasthan  photographer Waswo X Waswos sepia-toned pictures have garnered much acclaim over the past decade. He often collaborates with other artists such as Rajesh Soni and Rakesh Vijayvargiya, aka R Vijay, who hand-colour and recreate his photographs as paintings. The end result is artwork that is contemporary, but still incorporates an element of nostalgia. At his upcoming show, Photowallah, viewers will be presented with a wide selection of Waswos photos that were produced at his studio in Udaipur. The exhibition will include prints from three series  A Studio in Rajasthan, Gauri Dancers, and New Myths. Excerpts from an interview:

 Waswo X. Waswo, The Flower Seller, 2015, black and white pigment print hand-coloured by Rajesh Soni. (Tasveer )

A lot of your art is centered around Hindu deities...

I wouldnt say a lot, but yes, a few [of my works] have [Hindu deities]. In the current Photowallah exhibition at Tarq, we have an image of Shine Shivan (an Indian artiste) performing as Kali. Shivan visited our studio in the village of Varda (Rajasthan), and he was keen on portraying Kali. In the past, we have also referenced both Krishna and Hanuman, but more in a symbolic way than a spiritual manner, with Krishna representing the playful and flirtatious side of masculinity, and Hanuman showing the aggressive and warlike side of masculinity. But no, Im not at all spiritual in the new age sense. I have immense love for Hinduism, its rituals, stories and imagery. I dont follow any particular teaching.

 Waswo X. Waswo, Feathers For Sale, 2008, black and white pigment print hand-coloured by Rajesh Soni. (Tasveer)

Many art critics have called you a Gora Sahib. How does it make you feel?

Some critics seem very prejudiced against me, as I am a white outsider who has gained entrance into the Indian art scene, and for them Indian art has a purely racial definition. Others are well-meaning, but still tend to approach me as a white bossman for whom Rajesh and Rakesh are mere workers. This is far from the truth. There is no contract between the three of us. We act as individuals that connect on an artistic level.

Where do you draw the visual references for your collaborative works?

Nearly all of the photographs and miniatures are fully conceptualised by me, but that isnt to say that Rajesh and Rakesh do not have their inputs. They often guide me on cultural matters, and also give suggestions on aesthetics. Sometimes, after a shoot, Rajesh sits with me and we discuss which photograph would be the final one. Hes got a good eye. When I am having difficulty deciding between two images that I like, it is Rajesh who often picks the final.

Highlights Waswo X Waswo: Photowallah will be presented at Tarq, Coloba, from March 9 to March 23. From 11am to 6pm.

Your work sometimes has been criticised for its unconventional style. Does that bother you?

Those critics dont understand the historical part of the posed portrait and the use of backdrops, nor do they understand how Im playing with that history. This is the type of thing I like to talk about when Im invited to speak. Its just a confusion of what photography is and can be. Too many people expect photography to be like a socio-documentary, so when it is not, they are just befuddled.

Your work mostly captures rural life. What about rural areas fascinates you?

I grew up in a rural area near Milwaukee in Wisconsin (USA). When I was young, I had chickens, cows and horses for neighbours. My mother was the daughter of a farmer. She and my dad operated a small family-owned grocery store. So, I come from humble rural roots. Part of my inspiration is also how photography developed in India historically. In the old days, when photography was an exclusive domain of the rich, dignified portraiture was reserved for royalty and colonial overlords. I try to counter that. Everyone I photograph gets a copy of their portrait, and most of the time, they are delighted with the result. Our work becomes a kind of playful theatre, where the actors play the role of themselves.

What was your idea of India before you settled here and what do you think of the country now?

When I first came to India in 1993, some of the stereotypes [Id heard] were somewhat true. Connaught Place in Delhi still had cows wandering around everywhere, and there were snake charmers on the pavement. There were hardly any cars. I remember Delhi was filled with Bajaj scooters and bicycles, and the occasional Ambassador taxi. Of course, all of this has changed dramatically, and its become difficult to find the old India. However, there are still people who cling to the stereotypes, but I think most people in the West now have the idea that India is an advanced country that offers real competition to the West. Things and conceptions have changed on that side of the pond, too.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.

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Dimple Yadav had a faltered entry in politics. Her first scripted speech in Lok Sabha was such a disaster that it went viral on YouTube as Dimple Yadavs hilarious mistakes in Parliament.

Dimple fumbled a dozen times, apparently for her inexperience in public speaking. BJP leader Rajeev Pratap Rudy, sitting behind her, chuckled but stood up to appreciate her and congratulate Mulayam Singh Yadavji for his bahus speech.

But thats history.

The 2017 assembly election is Uttar Pradesh has seen Dimple emerge as the star campaigner of Samajwadi Party. She has also commanded more spotlight than many seasoned leaders across political parties.

Now, she draws more crowd than me, more applause than me, her husband and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said. He is not exaggerating.

Dimple, 39, wasnt just the top woman campaigner, leaving former CM and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati behind in election tours and rallies. She also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and turned Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shahs metaphorical Kasab, an acronym for the Hindi pronunciation of Congress-SP-BSP, on its head.

Her version of Kasab, underlining peaceful coexistence, prevented Shah from using it often while Akhilesh borrowed it for his rallies.

Admirers say Dimple doesnt read out anymore. At every rally venue, she spoke eloquently and impromptu, using her hand gestures and eye movements to good effect.

Her evolution has not escaped YouTube, which is now flooded with videos that show her as a skilled politician, drawing cheers, claps and slogans such as Dimple bhabhi, jeet ki chabhi (Sister-in-law Dimple is the key to victory).

Dimple hasnt had the best of starts in politics. In 2009, she lost the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat, vacated by Akhilesh, to Congress Raj Babbar. But she won the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, also vacated by Akhilesh, without a contest in 2012.

Today, she has virtually made the red SP cap a fashion statement after putting it on for the first time during the release of the party manifesto for 2017.

Dimple Rawat and Akhilesh Yadav met at a party in 1995 and love blossomed. This was shortly before Akhilesh left for Australia for higher technical studies. They married in November 1999.

Months after, Akhilesh won his first Lok Sabha election, a by-poll for the Kannauj seat. Dimple chose to be a genteel Yadav bahu as Akhileshs stature in the party rose.

Till February 8, 2017, Dimple had campaigned only for herself  first in Firozabad and then in Kannauj in 2012  and never addressed an election rally. She came out after Akhilesh won the family feud and overshadowed party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. She addressed about 55 rallies from the very first of the seven-phase polls.

Her first campaign for a party candidate, on February 8, was meticulously planned. Akhilesh made party MP Jaya Bachchan introduce Dimple at a rally for Anshu Rani Nishad, the partys candidate for Bah (Agra). Dimple took over after Bachchan said: Dimple is your daughter-in-law, and gift her victory.

Her campaign ended with a special appearance during Akhilesh-Rahul Gandhis joint rath yatra through the streets of Varanasi. She turned out to be the main crowd-puller, this quality attributed to her charisma and refined vocabulary.
Polling for the second and final phase of assembly elections for 22 seats in Manipur began on Wednesday amid incidents of violence.

Fate of 98 candidates, including chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and rights activist Irom Sharmila, who is contesting against him from Thoubal, will be decided by 7.77 lakh voters in this phase.

We will get a clear mandate. This election is something like a referendum, both in the hills and the valley, CM Singh told ANI after casting his ballot in Thoubal early morning.

Other prominent candidates in the fray for the final phase are deputy CM G Gaikhangam and state Congress president TN Haokip. Besides Sharmila, three other women candidates are also in the fray.

A poll official and two Assam Rifles jawans were injured in two IED blasts in Aishi and Ashang Khullen villages in the Phungyar constituency of poll-bound Kamjong district on Tuesday afternoon.

In a separate incident, former Congress minister and National Peoples Party (NPP) candidate Phungzathang Tonsings house in Churachandpur was torched by an angry mob in post-poll violence on Tuesday evening.

Voting will take place at 1,151 polling stations in 10 valley and hill districts of the state. Nearly 6,000 security personnel are manning the polling booths.

The first phase of polling for 38 seats on March 4 had witnessed a high voter turnout of 86%.

The election commission has announced re-polling at 34 polling stations where voting took place on March 4. Re-polling will be held on March 9.
Polling for the second and final phase of assembly elections for 22 seats in Manipur ended on Wednesday with over 86% voter turnout. Over 86% polling was recorded in the first phase as well for 38 seats.

Sporadic incidents of violence between workers of rival political candidates were reported from some polling booths.

Five people, including two women, were injured in a blast near Kasturi Bridge in Imphal West district on Wednesday at 6:15 pm. More details are awaited.

Fate of 98 candidates including chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and rights activist Irom Sharmila, who is contesting against Singh from Thoubal, will be decided by 7.77 lakh voters in this phase.

We will get a clear mandate. This election is something like a referendum, both in the hills and the valley, Singh said after casting his ballot in Thoubal. We will get at least 36 seats.

Sharmila who is contesting on a Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) ticket went to most polling stations in the constituency and interacted with voters, especially women.

The response of the people is positive, she said.

Other prominent candidates in the fray for the final phase are deputy chief minister G Gaikhangam and state Congress president TN Haokip. Three women candidates are also in the fray, besides Sharmila.

Voting started around 7am at 1,151 polling stations on Wednesday. Over 12% of people cast their votes within the first hour.

Polling booth officer dies

A polling booth official, wounded in bomb blasts by militants near the India-Myanmar border in Kamjong district of Manipur on Tuesday evening, died on Wednesday.

This is the first instance of poll-related casualty in Manipur this year.

According to the state election office, poll official H Ramkating, who used to work as an assistant teacher in a primary school in Ukhrul district, was njured in the blast which went off near in Ashang Khullen village.

Click here for full coverage on assembly elections 2017

In a separate incident, an angry mob torched motorbikes parked inside former Congress minister and National Peoples Party (NPP) candidate Phungzathang Tonsings house in Churachandpur in post-poll violence on Tuesday evening.

The election commission has announced re-poll for 34 polling stations where voting took place on March 4. Re-poll will take place on March 9.
People in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Manipur voted on Wednesday, ending the month-long assembly elections in five states on a high note.

The second and final round of elections for 22 seats in Manipur recorded 83% voter turnout, which is a tad lower than the 86% in the first phase for 38 seats.

In UP, the turnout for the seventh phase was 60.03%.

The final phase was the smallest in UP with 40 constituencies spread over seven districts, including Prime Minister Narendra Modis parliamentary constituency, Varanasi.

The BJP had put maximum efforts to win the five seats within Modis Lok Sabha constituency. The Prime Minister camped in Varanasi for three days, while about 20 ministers from his council canvassed in the region.

The BJP faces a stiff challenge from the Samajwadi Party and Congress, which are contesting the polls as allies, and the BSP of four-time chief minister Mayawati.

In Manipur, the BJP is looking to defeat the Congress, which has been ruling the state for the past 15 years.

The final phase pitted three-term chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh against human rights activist Irom Sharmila, who is contesting against him from Thoubal.

We will get a clear mandate. This election is something like a referendum, both in the hills and the valley, Singh said after casting his vote. We will get at least 36 seats.

Sharmila, contesting on a Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) ticket, went to most polling stations in the constituency and interacted with voters, especially women.

The response from the people is positive, she said.

The voter response in Varanasi is mixed. Many of them rooted for chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is also the Samajwadi national president. Others preferred Modi.

Candidates hardly matter to me. I voted for Modi since he promises development and has started various development projects in Varnasi. If the BJP comes to power, development will flow in Varanasi, said a shopkeeper in the temple town by the Ganga.

Voting caught pace by noon. By 3 pm, the turnout crossed the 50% mark. No untoward incident was reported from any booth.

Manipur recorded long queues since morning outside most of the 1,151 polling stations. Over 12% voters exercised their right within the first hour.

Voting was by and large peaceful. But a booth official  primary school teacher H Ramkating  wounded in a bomb blast in Kamjong district on Tuesday afternoon died the following day. This was the first instance of poll-related death in the state these elections.

The poll results for UP, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Manipur will be declared on Saturday.
The final round of voting on Wednesday will be another test of alliances that Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stitched together to expand its social base for poll gains in Uttar Pradesh.

Forty assembly seats in Poorvanchal, or east UP will vote in the seventh round of polling and the BJP, looking to make a comeback in the state after 15 years, is expecting a good show.

Poorvanchal has 89 seats, 49 of these were voted for on March 4.

We will sweep the region, union minister Santosh Gangwar told HT. There is an overwhelming support for the BJP among all sections of the society.

The party has joined hands with the Apna Dal of union minister Anupriya Patel and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party of Om Prakash Rajbhar.

Both hold sway over the Kurmi and Rajbhar communities, which are among several other backward classes (OBC) with a significant presence in east Uttar Pradesh.

The BJPs sweep of the state was instrumental in its victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha election but the party has been marginalised by regional players in state politics.

The BJPs winning formula rests on overwhelming support among upper castes, its traditional base, extremely backward communities and the non-Jatav Dalits, party sources say.

In 2012, the ruling Samajwadi Party bagged most of the seats except in Varanasi and Chandauli districts. The BJP, which was nowhere in the picture, is looking to reverse the performance this time, with the help of allies and new caste groups, whose support it hopes to get as Modi, too, is an OBC.

Modi held road shows, addressed several rallies and spent three days in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi in a final push for Poorvanchal.

The expectations are similar to ones the BJP had from the 2015 Bihar election, which ended horribly for the party.

It had formed a rainbow coalition with OBC leaders like Upendra Kushwaha and Dalit politicians like Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi but the arrangement didnt work.

The BJP expects Uttar Pradesh to be different.

To avoid a Bihar-like embarrassment, the BJP needs to sweep Poorvanchal to make up for the first two rounds, party sources said.

As many as 140 seats in Muslim-majority districts of western Uttar Pradesh went to the polls in the opening rounds.

As election moved east, the concentration of the minority community, considered the vote base of the ruling Samajwadi Party, declined and that of OBC voters grew.

Perhaps that explains Modis kabristan versus shamshan remark, a blatant bid to polarise voters.

Addressing a rally on February 19, Modi said if a kabristaan (graveyard) was given to a village, a shamshaan (cremation ground), too, should be provided, a dig at the ruling SP, which the BJP accuses of being biased in favour of Muslims.

The aim was to consolidate partys grip over the majority population, a party poll strategist said.

Though non-Yadav OBCs of Poorvanchal are known to back Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party, a large section voted the BJP in the Lok Sabha election. The BJP had played on Modis caste, projecting him as the son of a backward.

The BJP expects the Modi magic to carry into the state election, but if it doesnt happen, the party will struggle to get a majority on its own.

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Indias top slot as the favourite business process outsourcing (BPO) destination in the world is being challenged by tiny nations like Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and others, besides big brother China and other east European countries.

The latest to join the league is Bangladesh.

Riding the low-cost advantage, several of these countries are making a huge effort to garner an increased share in the growing global BPO, now known as BPM  business process management, market. Indias share in this $186 billion global industry is as big as 36% but the threat of other countries eating into Indias share is looming large.

To the industrys surprise, Bangladesh, represented by the state-run Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority was one of the sponsors of the annual Nasscom India Leadership Forum (NILF) 2017, held in Bengaluru last month.

Its about aspirations of small countries to have their portion of the growing pie in the BPM industry. Bangladesh too is one of them. Bangladesh participated in the NILF, sponsored the event to see how India is doing on this front. The Bangladesh minister spoke to us and sought assistance for developing BPM sector in their country, said Raman Roy, the vice chairman, Nasscom.

However, it will be a challenge for India to maintain its leadership position as major countries like US, UK continue to look for low-cost options towards south-east Asian countries to remain competitive in the global market. India gets 65% of the total outsourcing business from US.

The top 7 globally accepted locations in specific order are India, China, Philippines, Malaysia, Brazil and Indonesia. China is soon becoming the favorite for basic low value services, Philippines is preferred destination for financial services and voice-based support. It is also soon gaining ground in high value services like engineering and legal BPO, said Deepak Kapoor, founding member, Business Processing Industry Association of India (BPIAI).

He said Malaysia is a preferred destination for gaming and animation services, Brazil is picking up in financial services and voice based customer support, and Indonesia in engineering services, gaming and animation.

Base-level back-office payroll and data entry will go to rock-bottom-wage emerging countries like Vietnam and Uruguay over time, and countries like Philippines, Brazil, Malaysia will move up to complex software and product development services, Kapoor said.

While quoting the findings of his research firm Golden Sparrow Inc, Kapoor said about 2-3% recent business shift is seen in financial services and voice related work from India to destinations like Philippines. Another 2% business is being lost to European destinations, he said.

According to BPM experts, although India will continue to dominate the BPM space, there are reasons why the US and other global firms look for other destinations in addition to India.

For voice work, the Philippines has a better voice/accent environment even though it is at a cost disadvantage to India. For some kinds of work, close proximity and time zones advantage near shore locations is preferred over India, said Peter Bendor Samuel, CEO of Everest Group, a Dallas-headquartered management consulting and research services firm.

Citing concentration risk as another reason, Samuel said some firms feel that they are overly concentrated in India creating increased risk in the event of natural disasters or large currency swings for these firms a more geographically dispersed location strategy makes sense.

Although these alternate locations have taken some share from India such as Mexico, Costa Rica and for Europe, Poland, we believe that these share gains will level off as these alternative locations are priced higher than the low cost high skilled Indian labour pool, Samuel said.

According to Nasscom estimates, a total of 1.1 million people work in Indian BPM industry. More than 500 companies in India are offering outsourcing services in 35 languages to over 66 countries. About 200 MNCs operate out of India in this industry.

Key facts about Indias BPO industry India rules the BPM industry with 36% global share A total of 1.1 million people work in BPM industry in India More than 500 companies in India offer outsourcing services in 35 languages to over 66 countries. About 200 MNCs operate out of India in this industry. During the current fiscal 2016-17, Indian BPM industry is set to register 8.1% growth (at $28 billion) In 2015-16, global industry growth was registered at 3.1% (at $186 billion) Indian BPM industry is projected to grow at the rate of 8-10% and become $54 billion industry by 2025

According to Phill Fresht, the CEO of US-based HfS Research agency, Philippines has very strong skills in voice and multi-language while Sri Lanka is low cost and has strong finance talent.

Indias dominant position is being challenged by small countries because of cost and niche expertise. Philippines has a very strong culture for customer service delivery; Eastern Europe is for specific IT skills and China for specific programming skills, Fresht said.

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As many as 2,400 public sector bank branches have reported suspicious high-value transactions after the government announced demonetisation of 500 and 1000-rupee bills, officials have said.

These transactions were carried out between November 8, when the government made the demonetisation announcement, and December 30, the last day of exchanging the withdrawn banknotes.

Officials said most of the banks which have reported the suspicious transactions are in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal and there are allegations that a section of bank employees were involved in money laundering.

A transaction above Rs 2.5 lakh by an individual is considered high-value and the Income Tax department have already started sending out notices to individuals under the scanner.

Prime Minister Narendra Modis shock announcement had led to a rush in banks by people and business houses to exchange the old notes, besides sparking a crippling currency shortage.

Modi had described the exercise as a surgical strike on black money though opposition parties were highly critical of the government over the cash crisis.

A senior government official said that over 70% of the depositors at the branches under scanner carried out transactions of more the Rs 2.5 lakh.

Details of all high-value transactions have been sought by the department of financial services and these will be scrutinised with a fine toothcomb, not only to identify the customers but also to examine if bank officials have had any role to play.

The Central Vigilance Commission and the Reserve Bank of India are also looking into the functioning of some private sector banks.

A senior government official, who did not wish to be identified, said recordings of closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) will be examined to zero in on potential instances of money laundering.

Central vigilance officers (CVOs) have also been asked to submit their reports separately. A weekly meeting is being held with all CVOs and the senior finance ministry officials.

Finance ministry sources said that all these branches have also come under the scanner of the Income Tax department and the department of financial services.

Regular meetings are being held with the CVOs, we will decide on the future course of action based on their reports, GC Murmu, additional secretary, department of financial services told Hindustan Times.

The finance ministry could come up with a new guideline on governance and frauds based on the reports provided by the CVOs. Meanwhile, the CVC is expected to put in place a new manual to address cyber frauds within April.

The CVC has already circulated the draft manual to banks and other stakeholders for their comments.

Since November 8, about 400 officials of both public and private banks have been suspended for alleged money laundering. Notices have been sent to all the suspended officials seeking their response.

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A hard-boiled, tangy candy from an Indian company better known for making pan masala is giving sleepless nights to billion-dollar leaders of the confectionery market.

The Pulse candy from Dharampal Satyapal (DS) Group has registered sales worth Rs 300 crore since its launch in mid-2015, leaving more established multi-nationals scurrying for new market strategies.

The candy market in India, worth Rs 6,600 crore, is growing at an annual rate of 12-14%. Italys Perfetti, which makes Alpenliebe, Chlor-mint, Mentos candies and Happydent chewing gum, leads the market with more than Rs 2,000 crore in annual sales.

Parle, ITC Ltd and Wrigley are the other major players in the segment.

But its Pulse that is racing up to competition.

Priced at Re 1, the candy clocked Rs 100 crore in revenue within eight months of its launch. It has now become the centrepiece for the DS Group, which also makes Rajnigandha pan masala, Catch spices and Pass Pass mouth freshener.

The hard boiled candy brands that Pulse competes with include Parles Mango Bite and Perfettis Alpenliebe, besides some local brands.

Last year, Parle launched the Spicy Kaccha Mango Bite to grab a slice of the lucrative hard-boiled candies (HBC) market.

Mars Inc-backed Wrigley is looking to lure Indians with new offerings.

Wrigley already has a product in the HBC segment, Solano, but with a negligible market share. Known for its oral-care range Orbit that commands over 90% market share, Wrigley plans to focus more on the confectionery business.

It is a great opportunity that exists. In the coming years, the confectionery business will be one of our priority businesses. We have research and development in India based on which we are evaluating opportunities to expand this space, MV Natarajan, managing director at Wrigley India had earlier told HT.

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A 30-year-old woman hammered her husband to death at their home in outer Delhis Narela late Monday night. The woman was upset with her husband, who had reportedly thrashed her when they had a quarrel in the evening.

The couples six-year-old daughter was a witness to the brutal murder, but she kept quiet out of fear, police said. Their two younger children were sleeping in the same room at the time of the murder.

The deceased, Kamal, an orphan, married Hansi seven years back. Hansi has mental illness and has been receiving treatment at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), said police.

Read: Delhi: Man with two wives locks one in room, beats, tortures, beheads other

Police said she is also short tempered. Kamal, 32, had apparently forgotten to bring Hansis medicines while returning from a factory where he works, which led to the quarrel.

During the fight, Kamal had beaten up Hansi. So she was angry and waited for Kamal to sleep before using a hammer to repeatedly hit on his head, MN Tiwari, DCP (Rohini), said.

Investigators said Hansi also attacked her husband with a pair of scissors after throwing away the hammer. Blood stains on her face and in the rooms wall were found by the police on Tuesday morning.

The woman then spent the entire night at the house, even walking out of the house to watch a wedding procession passing by. A few women had asked her about the blood on her face, but she brushed aside the topic.

Read: Man beheads wife suspecting affair, roams with her head in Rajasthan village

On Tuesday morning, the woman performed her household chores, but when she could not contain the alleged guilt, she walked over to her mothers home in the neighbourhood and narrated her crime to her, said the DCP.

Hansis mother rushed to her daughters house as she could not believe what she had heard. The commotion that followed on discovering the murder drew the attention of the neighbours. Someone soon informed the police and a team was sent to the spot.

Hansi was arrested from there itself. Her interrogators said she was incoherent during questioning. Police have seized the weapons used in the crime and registered a murder case at Narela police station.
Delhi University professor GN Saibabas family was very sure that he will be acquitted. But a life term in prison on Tuesday has come as a rude shock. The thing that worries them now is his deteriorating health and whether he will be able to get his medicines on time in jail.

The family will be moving the Nagpur bench of the High Court against the sessions court order in Maharashtras Gadchiroli.

An English professor at Ram Lal Anand College, Saibaba (49), was on Tuesday convicted along with five others under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He was first arrested in 2014 for alleged Maoist links. He was then suspended from service.

When he was in jail he was not given medicines due to which his left hand had paralysed and his spine needed treatment. A few weeks back also he had to be admitted to the ICU and was detected with acute pancreatitis. The doctor had advised that he should go for a surgery in two weeks time to remove the stones from gallbladder, said AS Vasantha Kumari, Saibabas wife.

Saibabas lawyer made an appeal to the court on Tuesday to allow him his medicines, but the court did not grant permission. In his earlier stint at the jail, Saibaba had complained about his medicines not being given. The family had to get permission from the court so that he could get his dose of medicines.

He takes 10 medicines a day including those for blood pressure, heart, infection and hand and spine problems.

Vasantha says after the punishment was announced Saibaba was not even allowed to meet his brother, who was present with him in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.

This judgment is a clear way of state impression and violation of human rights. It looks like the state is using the judgement as a landmark to silence those voices who speak against them, she said.

For Saibabas 19-year-old daughter, the news has still not sunk in, but says she will stay strong and fight.

After the final argument my dad had come and told me that the judges had dismissed the electronic evidence saying there is nothing concrete. So I am just not able to understand this judgement, said Saibabas daughter, a student of a DU college.

The teenager says that the 10 months he was out of prison also went by with hospital visits and fighting for his reinstatement. On February 14, 2017 the college had written to Saibaba saying that his suspension is further extended by 180 days.

They say now the battle is tough for them not only emotionally, but financially as well as the college just pays them 50% of the salary. As per law during suspension he is liable to get 75% of his total salary.

The committee of civil rights activists formed to fight for the release of Saibaba also says that this is not a fair treatment.

The judgement will be challenged in the court. We are apprehensive about his health. Earlier also he was not given his medicines, now that he is going to the jail with conviction the concern is more, said Hany Babu, an English professor at DU and member of the committee.

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New Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government tabled the Delhi budget for 2017-18 on Wednesday. The government claimed that Delhis growth rate had slowed down due to demonetisation, however, its outcome budget will help to extract benefits out of the different expenditures.

Though state budget has a limited impact as compared to the Union Budget, here is how it will affect you:

Patients: Additional Mohalla Clinics and polyclinics will mean that primary healthcare will come closer. You will receive free consultations, medicines and tests without going to the big, crowded government hospitals. In several government hospitals in Delhi, the patients load is so high that beds have to be shared by two or even three patients. Increase in the number of beds will mean that you will get a bed to yourself even in the government hospitals. Now, you will not have to wait for expensive tests and surgeries at Delhi government hospitals and diagnostic labs to provide these for free to patients coming to its hospitals. All Delhi citizens will be covered under the health insurance which will provide at least Rs 1 lakh cover at very little premium.

Students: Students in over 1,100 government schools will get bananas and boiled eggs in their midday meals. Girl students will get midday meals till Class 12. Government is planning 400 new libraries and two computer rooms in each school. Government is also coming up with pharmaceutical university.

Teachers: Teachers will be provided tablets to track the progress of students. The government has also promised to renovate staff rooms in government schools.

Air Travellers: For those travelling to smaller cities, the airfare will get cheaper as the government has slashed tax on air turbine fuel (ATR) from 25% to 1%.

Commuters: Traffic congestion likely to be reduced as the construction will begin for underpass at Ashram and Mahipalpur. Work on Metro phase-III and Barapullah phase-III to be completed this year, further decongesting central Delhi. Municipal bodies has also received greater allocation this year.

Women: Sanitary pads to get cheaper as the government has cut the value added tax on it from 12.5% to 5%.
Gold worth Rs 50 lakh has been seized by the customs officials at international airport here.

About 1.7 kgs of gold was seized in three incidents reported in the past two days.

In first case, a passenger was intercepted after his arrival from Bangkok. He was allegedly found carrying 435 gms of gold by hiding it inside leather sandals worn by him, a press release issued on Wednesday by the customs said.

The accused hails from Punjab.

In another instance, two passengers, including a Thai national, were stopped for checking by the customs. They were allegedly carrying Kadas (gold bangles) made of the yellow metal, it said.

The gold bangles, weighing 532 grams, were seized, the release said.

The customs officials also recovered 700 gms of gold from a passenger who had come from Dubai. The accused had concealed gold in rectum, it said.

In all these cases, gold items valuing about Rs 50 lakh have been seized.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government tabled the Delhi budget for 2017-18 on Wednesday. The government claimed that Delhis growth rate had slowed down due to demonetisation, however, its outcome budget will help to extract benefits out of the different expenditures

According to the economic survey, Delhis economic growth is estimated to slow down to 8.26% during 2016-17 from 8.82% the previous year. Despite the fact that the Delhi government failed to achieve the budgetary goal of Rs 24,000 crore for the current financial year, finance minister Manish Sisodia was expected to increase tax collection target in his budget proposal for 2016-17. However, no new taxes were levied and segments like Municipal bodies, Delhi Women Commission have been given enhanced allocation. Education and health continued to be the focus areas for the government with clean energy and water supply also receiving attention.

Here are the highlights of the budget day:

3pm: Delhi finance minister says demonetisation resulted in reduced GDP and lower target of tax collection.

2.56pm: Manish Sisodia addresses press meet after tabling the budget in the Assembly; Says Delhi first to present and outcome budget where accountability will be fixed within departments.

The first ever "Outcome" budget. A new experiment to make budgeting transparent n directly accountable to people  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 8, 2017

2.45pm: Vijender Gupta says government not answering questions about the schemes announced earlier; claims government has failed to come up with a blue print to implement schemes. Gupts says the budget presented by the AAP government is a jugglery of words and figures and lacks commitment and enthusiasm.

2.31pm: Vijender Gupta claims existing minimum wages not implemented by the government, Gupta says government shifting budgetary goalposts each year and calls it a zero outcome budget; says government recycling old plans instead of coming up with new ideas.

2.29pm: Vijender Gupta alleges corruption Mohalla Clinics, says the government must first improve upon the existing clinics.

2.26pm: Leader of opposition in Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta says AAP governments budget lacks vision adds that the government does not have a development road map.

1.44pm: Budget speech concludes and reactions pour in. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hails cut in tax on air turbine fuel and sanitary napkins. Watch here:

Reacting to the budget chief minister Arvind Kejriwal says clean AAP government is saving public money.

1.45pm: Tax on air turbine fuel to be reduced to 1% from 25%. Sisodia says tax reduction on ATF is aimed to improve connectivity with northeast areas.

1.39pm: Tax on sanitary napkins costing above Rs 20 to be reduced from 12.5% to 5%.

Gender expert Ranjana Kumari on Delhi budget: "Some good moves but more to be done for equal participation of women"@htdelhi #womensday  Heena Kausar (@heenakausar19) March 8, 2017

1.37pm: No new tax proposals this year. This is unlike 2016, when the Aam Aadmi Party government revised value added tax making goods like ready-made garments, sweet and salted snacks, watches, battery-operated rickshaws and marbles cheaper in the open market. HT had reported on March 1 that the budget this year was unlikely to have new tax proposals.

1.35pm: Sisodia announces plan for single window system for film shooting in Delhi, says riverfront along Yamuna to be developed; allocates Rs 119 crore for tourism and culture.

1.32pm: Both and rural and urban villages to be included in Delhi village board. Rs 20 crore allocated for development of Chatth ghats in Delhi.

1.29pm: Government to focus on solar energy and waste to energy plant. Sisodia announces Rs 2,194 crore for this, also says, We are continuously monitoring pollution, number of centres to be increased from 6 to 26.

1.27pm: Rs 3,113 crore allocated for housing and slums, an increase of 21% over last year. Last year, DSIIDC was asked to build roads and drains in unauthorised colonies of Delhi and Rs 300 crore were allocated for this project.

1.23pm: More than 12 lakh zero water bills last year. Based on 20,000 litres of water free scheme. Rain water harvesting to be encouraged, says Sisodia.

1.19pm: Rs 2,107.9 crore allocated for water sector. Rs 2,108 crore allocated for water supply and Yamuna cleaning. Last year, the government allocated Rs 676 crore for providing piped water in 300 new colonies.

Finance minister Manish Sisodia says work on to provide 24/7 water supply. (Ravi Choudhary/HT FILE)

1.17pm: 27% increase for funds under social welfare. Sisodia says budget for Delhi Commission for Women increased by three times to Rs 120 crore.

1.12pm: Consultants appointed for elevated corridors proposed last year. These corridors include Barapullah Nallah phase-II from Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium to INA (Aurobindo Marg), Barapullah Nallah phase-III from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar, two elevated BRT corridors  one along Anand Vihar Terminal to Peeragarhi (East  West Corridor  29 Kms) and the other from Wazirabad to Airport (North South Corridor  24 Kms).

1.10pm: Rs 100 crore allocated for development of bus terminal and depot. Rs 5,506 crore for public transport.

1.07pm: Rs 5,736 crore allocated for health sector in 2017-18. Last year, the government had earmarked Rs 5,259 crore for the health sector, a hike of 10% over the previous year. It announced 1,000 mohalla clinics, and 10,000 additional hospital beds to be provided over two years.

Sisodia says 23 polyclinics have been started, number to reach 150 by next financial year. (Raj K Raj/HT FILE)

1.02pm: Early childhood learning centres will also be opened. In a childs first 2-6 years, if we concentrate on their learning abilities and develop those, it will benefit. Ten early childhood centres to be opened on a pilot basis, says Sisodia.

12.59pm: Rs 182 crore for extra computers in Delhi Government schools. Teachers to get Tablets to track student progress.

12.55pm: Rs 100 crore allocated for 400 new libraries in Delhi Government schools. Banana and boiled egg to be served in midday meals.

12.50pm: 10,000 new classrooms proposed in next financial year. Nursery classes will start in 156 schools. Last year about 8,000 new classrooms were announced.

"Banana and boiled egg to be part of mid day meal," says @msisodia #delhibudget2017 @htdelhi  Faizan Haidar (@FaiHaider) March 8, 2017

12.48pm: MCDs get Rs 7,571 crore, about 15% of the total budget outlay. AAP will make its debut in civic body elections due next month.

12.47pm: Total budget outlay for 2017-18 pegged at Rs 48,000 crore. Last year this was Rs 46,600 crore.

12.45pm: Budget presentation begins. There might be mistakes as this is first time any state is implementing outcome budget, Sisodia says.

Education Is most important factor for this government, says Sisodia. (Raj K Raj/HT file)

12.44pm: Sisodia says outcome budget will look at how many get the benefits of the different expenditures.

12.42pm: Traditionally the focus of the budget on allocations, not about how many people will benefit from the expenditures. Earlier we discussed the planned budget, with little to no discussion on the non planned expenditures, which make up more than half of the budget. So outcome budget, says the Delhi finance minister.

12.40pm: The outcome budget for the first time in the country. The outcome budget will be like a contractual agreement between the government and its departments. says Sisodia.

12.38pm: Sisodia is discusses the economic and financial health of Delhi over the last year and presents projections for 17-18. Though the growth rate of GSDP had slowed down a little last year. It is expected to catch up this year.

12.35pm: Despite note ban, Delhis (Gross State Domestic Product) GSDP likely to increase, says Sisodia.

12.32pm: Sisodia attacks demonetisation in the Assembly. Decision of note ban seems to be taken by spinning the coin. Demonetisation affected the city badly, he says.

12.29pm: Sisodia highlights Chunauti Mission as an achievement of the government, where over 1 lakh non reader students were taught to read. Says quality education for poor and rich has been the governments goal.

12.26pm: I am happy that we can see the outcomes of the expenditures from the previous budgets. This government has been applauded on national and international forums for its work in Delhi, says Sisodia.

12.22pm: Now EWS admission wont happen on reference basis. We have ended that system, says Sisodia. We have started 9 new vocational colleges, he adds.

Sisodia says, have worked to ensure that EWS students get to enjoy the benefits of the 25% reservation. (Sonu Mehta / HT Photo)

12.20pm: We have created the budget outside the tradition of using planned and non planned expenditure, as common man may not be able to understand this, says Sisodia. This is the first outcome budget of Delhi, he says. Adds that there will be quarterly monitoring of outcome to ensure performance.

12.15pm: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia begins his speech, says We have increased minimum wages by 37%.

12.10pm: Last year, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government allocated Rs 10,690 crore  22.9% of the total budget outlay for 2016-17  to the education sector. The focus was on teacher training programmes and physical infrastructure.

12.05pm: Delhi cabinet members led by Arvind Kejriwal leave for Delhi Assembly.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and finance minister Manish Sisodia arrive for the budget session. (Sonu Mehta/HT)

12.02pm: Budget session about to begin, chief minister Arvind Kejriwals arrival awaited.

12pm: Plan budget for 2016-17 was Rs 20,600 crore. These funds were to be used for new projects and infrastructure development.

11.55am: Delhis total budget allocation for 2016-17 was Rs 46,600 crore.

11.44am: Deputy CM and finance minister Manish Sisodia reaches Vidhan Sabha. He will present the budget at 12pm.

11.40am: Protests outside chief minister Arvind Kejriwals house ahead of Delhi Budget 2017.

11.34am: Ministers Kapil Mishra and Imran Hussain arrive at Delhi Assembly.

11.27am: Budget speech to be read by finance minister Manish Sisodia.

11.23am: Delhi government to present the budget at 12 noon in a departure from the practice of presenting it in the second half post tea break.

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On International Womens Day, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unfollow those accounts that abuse and threaten women on Twitter.

Sending out his wishes to mark the day, Kejriwal took to microblogging website Twitter and said, Happy womens day to all. On this day, I urge Honble PM to unfollow all those who abuse n threaten women n take strong action against them (sic).

Happy women's day to all. On this day, I urge Hon'ble PM to unfollow all those who abuse n threaten women n take strong action against them  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 8, 2017

Kejriwals tweet on womens day created a furore on social media with his supporters retweeting him while many others criticized him for himself following Somnath Bharti, an AAP MLA who has been accused of domestic violence by his estranged wife.

This isnt the first time that the Delhi CM has targeted the PM on social media. Kejriwal is engaged in a bitter fight with the Center and has accused the PM of not letting Delhi government work in peace.

Kejriwal had taken to Twitter after the violence allegedly triggered by RSS student wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Delhi University February 22. Lady Shri Ram College student Gurmehar Kaur had reported receiving rape threats and abusive messages after she protested against ABVP on social media.

Will meet Hon'ble LG today at 2.30 pm to demand action against ABVP goondaism n rape threats to @mehartweets  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 28, 2017

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The Islamic State (IS) has arrived in India. The country experienced its first successful IS-inspired terrorist attack with a bomb blast in a Madhya Pradesh train on Tuesday. Fortunately, the blasts casualties were limited to 10 injured people. More important is that, so far, it does not seem to violate the IS past record of having never directly masterminded an attack on India. All IS activity in India, so far, has been carried out by Indians who became self-radicalised through the Internet and media. Nonetheless, New Delhi cannot afford to be complacent.

The militant ripples created by IS reached India some years ago. There have been multiple cases of radicalised Muslim youth, inspired by IS, being apprehended by police before they could carry out an attack. In the case of two brothers arrested in Gujarat, they had communicated directly with IS. Until now, and it is a commendable record, all such IS modules were arrested before they could attack.

The IS-inspired terror cell that carried out the Ujjain train attack is noteworthy for two reasons. One is that they were able to carry out an attack before being arrested. This could be an indicator that such groups are finding means to get around the pre-emption strategies of Indian security. This is dangerous: One of the problems afflicting counterterrorism efforts in Europe is a near halving of pre-emption rates. Two is the size of the cell. Already, eight people have been named as members of the cell, much larger than previous IS cells who are rarely more than one or two strong.

There continues to be little evidence that IS leadership in Iraq sees India as a priority. IS strange, apocalyptic version of Islam calls for the re-creation of the Caliphate, starting with West Asia. Its maps mark out a future Khorasan province that covers Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of India. However, says Princeton Universitys Cole Bunzel and a leading expert on IS, there are only passing mentions in the speeches of IS leaders.

There is no love for India, however. IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at one point said last year, Where is the relief of the rulers of Mecca and Medina for the Muslims in China and the Muslims in India against whom the Hindus commit the worst of crimes daily, including murder, burning, rape, severing of joints, looting, plundering, and imprisonment?

But the latest issue of ISs Al Naba newspaper, with IS slowly losing ground in Iraq and Syria, called upon its foreign fighters to attack Western countries and targets in the Arab world. India did not figure in this or its earlier copies.

New Delhi is almost certainly relieved that IS has other targets in mind. But this has not stopped a few dozen Indian Muslims to physically try and join IS ranks. Many of those have since tried to leave IS, complaining of being treated shabbily and horrified at the violence that permeates the terrorist nation.

The greater problem, which the Ujjain train blast highlights, is radicalisation of a few youth via the Internet and social media. The result are terrorists who thankfully have no training, little ability to access explosives and whos real weapon is only their violent dedication to a strange cult in another part of the world. With indications that IS may soon be militarily defeated by the end of the year, India may experience a fall in IS-inspired activity. But it is likely that another group will rise to take its place.
Engineering students can be expelled for mocking the caste, ethnicity or sexual orientation of college mates, as the regulator has expanded the definition of ragging ahead of the new academic session.

Ragging is rampant in such colleges where freshers are often humiliated by senior students and even abused physically. There have been instances when students have died or ended their lives unable to bear the pressure.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has identified a set of pejorative words in a notification released on February 22, a copy of which is with HT.

The notification defines ragging as any act of physical or mental abuse (including bullying and exclusion) targeted at another student (fresher or otherwise) on the ground of colour, race, religion, caste, ethnicity, gender (including transgender), sexual orientation, appearance, nationality, regional origins, linguistic identity, place of birth, place of residence or economic background.

The guilty could be barred from classes for a certain period, thrown out of the college or in extreme cases, lose admission, which will make the student ineligible to study engineering anywhere in the country.

Read | Kerala: Two students in hospital after ragging, accused on the run

Over the last few years, universities and colleges reported a sharp rise in discrimination on grounds of region or caste, AICTE sources said.

More than two million students are enrolled in AICTE-approved 10,000 institutes in the country.

The notification would act as a deterrent, Delhi joint commissioner of police (operations) Robin Hibu said, adding students often complained to him about name-calling and taunting.

Such cases happen because of the lack of awareness and concern about other communities, said Hibu, also the nodal officer for Northeast residents who often face harassment in the Capital.

The notification holds for all engineering and technical colleges -- government, government-aided and private -- across the country.

This is the first expansive definition of ragging by AICTE after it came out with a set of rules in 2009 to check the widespread menace.

Colleges offering technical education, engineering technology, including MCA, architecture, town planning, management, pharmacy, hotel management and catering, and such programmes will have to follow the directive.

Last year, the University Grants Commission, the higher education regulator, barred use of such words in central universities.

It is a good move. It is necessary to make students aware and conscious about how they behave with other students and do not indulge in any act of harassing or bullying, an official from Delhis Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology said on condition of anonymity.

The citys Indian Institute of Information Technology director Pankaj Jalote said it was necessary to sensitise students on issues of gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

While rules can be made and should be made, sensitising and educating students should be a priority, Jalote said.

Read | Seniors or foes? How ragging in our colleges is pushing students to the edge

(With inputs from Gauri Kohli)

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Bobby Ramani (27), a Lucknow University alumnus, left a fulfilling career to set up a school for specially abled children.

Bobby was doing well at a real-estate company. She would come home every day, look at her differently abled brother and try to cheer him up. However, her brother would never seem very happy unless Bobby took him for a drive. After all, autistic kids love fresh air, music and long drives.

On one such evening, Bobby realised that she was not fully satisfied with what she was doing. Making money is not all that matters after all, she thought. So she decided to establish an organisation for differently abled children, especially those from the below poverty line (BPL) segment.

Since 2014, Bobby Ramani has been running a school catering to 45 specially abled children in Lucknow near Smriti Vihar Park, Indira Nagar.

I set up I Support Foundation for persons with disabilities. It aimed at developing them in a holistic way. The foundation is a central government-funded NGO aimed at educating and developing underprivileged autistic children, said Bobby, a post-graduate in social work.

Since 2014, she has been running a school catering to 45 specially abled children in Lucknow near Smriti Vihar Park, Indira Nagar. The aim is to help these children reach their highest potential, and become more and more self-sufficient, she said.

According to Bobby, ignorance and the laidback attitude of the people are the biggest challenges in her line of work. This attitude alone led to every other issue that followed, Bobby said.

Surveys indicate that 30 to 40 million Indians suffer from psychiatric problems that require urgent attention. However, there are only 500 psychiatrists, 400 clinical psychologists and 100 psychiatric social workers available to provide them cosmopolitan health care. Most of the mentally ill are cared for by indigenous healers. If these are an all-over estimate, imagine the figures we would get if we focus on rural areas, she added.

Families often grow frustrated with specially abled children due to the lack of services available and the extra care and patience required in bringing them up. A lot of times, they end up blaming such kids and take out their anger and ignorance on them.

We at I Support Foundation are committed towards making Lucknow and the country a friendly place for the differently abled, she said.

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Lack of finances usually stops a woman from applying to a business school. Ambition to earn money and get a top job drives her decision to go for a masters in marketing, accounting or management. There are a number of reasons why women are underrepresented in MBA classrooms, reveals a white paper on lack of gender parity in MBA programmes, What Women Want: A Blueprint for Change in Business Education, by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

The share of women in MBA classrooms remains well below parity with men at 37%, though the ladies are achieving parity (52%) in masters programmes in marketing, accounting and management. Numbers of such programmes have also grown in recent years. Despite greater shares of women choosing non-MBA masters programmes over MBA programmes, data shows that women hold the MBA degree in higher regard than men, and view the degree as a passport to wider career advancement.

The paper explores challenges women face in the business school application process and also gets insights on motivations of men and women to pursue graduate business degrees. Theres a perceptible difference between Western women and others from emerging economies like China and India when it comes to motivations and approaches to applications (to B-schools). When compared to men, Western women differ considerably from males but in India and China their motivational behaviours closely resemble those of male applicants.

Women are early planners, likely to chalk out their graduate management education plan during their undergraduate years. They are also more pragmatic and focused on outcomes in their approach to pursuing graduate business education. Schools are important, especially those offering flexible programme formats or better job opportunities. Western women are also more likely than men to be motivated by the desire to advance more quickly and earn more money.

Money is a major issue. About 29% of female respondents say finance is on top of their minds when they think about graduate business school. Lack of money prevents many from pursuing a business degree and when theyre applying for finance programmes most women look for scholarships and financial aid. Compared to this, 33% males say they usually delay acceptance because they are waiting for responses from multiple B-schools. US seems to have the widest gender gap. More than a third (38%) of female survey respondents cite financial reasons as their number one reason for not yet accepting their admissions offer compared to 20% of male respondents.

Interestingly getting the money to pay for schools is a bigger challenge for men than for women in both India (8% Indian women versus14% Indian men) and China (9% Chinese women versus 11% Chinese men).

The findings of the paper are based on insights collected from GMACs Global Graduate Management Education Candidate Segmentation Study conducted in 2016 in partnership with IPSOS, a global market research firm. The survey sample included 5,900 female and male applicants representing 15 countries worldwide.

The paper clearly reveals women are distinct from men in what they are seeking from their business education experience and their behaviours differ between countries and behaviour types, Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC says. The papers data and insights, he suggests, can help B-schools develop even bolder strategies for increasing the number of women in their classrooms and achieve the gender parity seen in other sectors of graduate education.

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The Rs8 lakh licence fee for restaurants and bars and the hike in liquor prices by 20% to 25% is likely to hit Gurgaons nightlife hard. Restaurant and pub owners fear loss of business as regular party-goers are likely to go over to neighbouring Delhi. Establishments serving liquor are already allowed to operate till 1am in Delhi, where the price of liquor is also cheaper.

Read more: High spirit: Foreign liquor in Gurgaon to cost 50% more

Speaking about the hiked charges under Haryana governments new excise policy, Randeep Dhingra, owner of the bar and restaurant Twist at CyberHub said, The government has increased as much as they could. It is not just the extension fees; we will have to shell out a total of Rs35 lakh per annum to sustain in the market.

Shiv Karan Singh, managing director of Circus, a restaurant and bar in CyberHub, said, Who will want to pay extra to party in Gurgaon? People will go to Delhi and those who come here from Delhi will no longer visit the city. We will be hit. Now, people from Gurgaon will start visiting Delhi to enjoy drinking.

On September 18, 2013, the Haryana excise and taxation department had decided to extend the deadlines of pubs and bars from 12 midnight to 1am, making Gurgaon the only place in the national capital region (NCR) where establishments could stay open till that time.

However, now that Delhis restaurants and bars have similar timings, people have already stopped coming to Gurgaon as the closing time remains the same and they dont have to risk driving back to Delhi drunk, Singh said.

Echoing the sentiment, Tanay Chatterjee, a senior MNC executive and a regular partygoer said, Who will spend so much on liquor when Delhi is just a half-an-hour drive? We would prefer to party in the capital instead of our area.

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With the final verdict in the case of the violence at the Maruti Suzuki plant in 2012 expected on March 10, the district administration has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 near the plant from March 10 to 15.

Awanish Kumar Dev, general manager (human resources) of Maruti Suzuki, was burnt to death and several executives injured in the violence in the car plant allegedly triggered by workers on July 18, 2012.

The police had arrested 147 workers in connection with the case, which is under trial at the district court. A total of 145 were charged in the case.

Hardeep Singh, deputy commissioner, on Tuesday ordered the imposition of Section 144 CrPC within 500 metres of the Maruti Suzuki plant in Manesar.

The order will remain in force from March 10 to 15. The prohibitory section bars assembly of more than four people and carrying of arms and weapons of any kind in the specified area.

The section was enforced after members of several workers unions held a meeting at Manesar on Tuesday and warned of protest if the court verdict was anti-workers. The unions decided to hold a meeting on the evening of March 10 and launch a protest if the decision was not in favour of the workers.

Several unions are in favour of the jailed and undertrial workers. They have unanimously decided to protest if the verdict is not in the workers favour. Workers will boycott food at the companys premises on March 9, said Kuldeep Janghu, general secretary, Maruti Udyog Kamgaar Union.

The DC said the police have been duly informed for arranging adequate force due to the possibility of an adverse law and order situation.

Of the 145 workers, 11 are still in jail while others were released on bail in different hearings. But all are facing trial. The workers were accused of various charges, including rioting with weapons, murder, attempt to murder, unlawful assembly, assault and trespass. Violence was triggered after a tussle between workers and the management over various demands.

Several executives, managers, and supervisors were attacked and huge losses were caused to the plant after its offices were set on fire.

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Taking up a taboo head on is no mean feat. And bringing it to spotlight is braver still. While we all know that mindsets need to change to protect our women and children, we rarely do anything about it. But filmmaker Madhureeta Anand is different.

She is trying to initiate a discussion that we have long avoided, the one we dont want to have. Not yet. But she brings it to our faces anyway by asking us to reflect on all that we are watching on the dark web.

While at it, she also informs about the ills of indiscriminate, mindless watching ofpornthere it goes, the word we dare not say out loud.

Know Your Porn is her upcoming web series of five episodes focusing on responsible and informed viewing of pornography. A filmmaker by profession but a social campaigner at heart, Anand aims to collect Rs 10 lakh by April 20 through crowdfunding  money that shell put into the making of the series and building a campaign around it.

This International Womens Day, we talk to the 43-year-old filmmaker about her motivations, the release date of the web series, the perils of porn and how change begins at home.

What motivated you to do make this web series?

Madhureeta has directed two feature films and about 30 documentaries.

There are so many instances of pornography addiction that nobody even notices, there is a massive consumption of child and rape porn which is very worrying and illegal, and then there are people who try to replicate in real life what they see in porn, which is entirely impossible.

Watching this kind of sexual content indiscriminately is having a far-reaching negative effect on society across fronts, including the safety of women or children. I felt that we needed to start a discussion to create an environment where people can speak out. But most people are so skittish about it. I felt somebody should do it and if no one is going to do it, then I will.

What does it aim to achieve?

To create awareness and start a discussion. We are passing no moral judgment. In the case of pornography in India, people are not making informed choices. We want to inform and empower the watchers of porn to make the right choice.

How have you researched your data and source material?

Madhureeta Anand with popular web series actor Sumeet Vyas (C).

While researching for my next film, which is also about sex, I spoke to a lot of men, women and sex workers across India. Then Ive consulted lawyers, educationists and people who have researched on porn extensively. Weve also taken a lot of data from online surveys.

Will it be a documentary style web series?

Yes. It is non-fiction. Itll have visuals, text and music. Each film will be for about two to three minutes. We want it to go on all WhatsApp groups where people are watching porn. There are no interviews because most people who are going to watch it will do it in public space but without letting others know. So we are not going to put in anything that requires them to plug in headphones.

Are five episodes enough to spread awareness on all issues related to porn?

Know Your Porn will be up for viewing by the first week of June.

It is just a conversation starter. We are addressing the five major problem areas. After this, there will be more. But for now I do not know what those would be or when Ill make them.

We are going to build a social media campaign around ita Facebook page and an email address where men can write, ask questions. I have also tied up with two NGOsMenEngage and Azad Foundation. They will carry it to the men and do workshops around it.

When will it be made available for public viewing? How can people access it?

It will be up by the first week of June. The script and research are ready. Other than circulating on WhatsApp groups, Ill be putting it up on my YouTube channel ma Films. It will also be given free to NGOs, schools, colleges and every person who puts money in our campaign.

Why crowdfunding? Why didnt you look for an investor?

Crowdfunding is a great way to get people involved. It works well when you are supporting a cause. If I had an investor, Id have had to pay him back. That would have meant charging people for watching the films. They couldnt have travelled far then. Since porn is free, we decided this should also be free.

The author tweets @sneha_bengani

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more

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One person was killed and two others were injured when a wall collapsed during a fire in a unit of Dishman Pharma near here on Wednesday, fire officials said.

A fire broke out at the processing unit of the chemical plant of Dishman Pharma at Sanand GIDC. The blaze caused a blast, chief fire officer MF Dastur said.

When people were rushing out of the unit after the blaze, a wall came crashing down, trapping three persons. One of them died on the spot, while the two others escaped with injuries, he said.

The fire was possibly caused because of some chemical reactions going wrong in the mixing unit, but exact cause is yet to be ascertained, Dastur said.

Fourteen fire tenders -- 10 from Ahmedabad and fours from nearby towns of Sanand, Bavla and Dholka -- took nearly 90 minutes to douse the flames, he added.
A Jaipur court on Wednesday convicted three persons but let off former RSS member Aseemanand and six others in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case in which 26 witnesses turned hostile.

The quantum of punishment will be decided on March 16.

Three persons were killed and 15 injured in an explosion at the famous shrine of Sufi saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti in Rajasthans Ajmer on October 11, 2007.

NIA court judge Dinesh Gupta found Rashtriya Swayamsweak Sangh members Sunil Joshi and Devendra Gupta guilty of planning the blasts  one of the two bombs didnt go off -- and Bhavesh Bhai Patel of planting the explosive.

The court acquitted Aseemanand, also an accused in the Samjhauta Express and Mecca Masjid blasts, and others, giving them the benefit of doubt.

The three blasts, within months of each other, came to be known as acts of Hindu terror -- a term that triggered a furious political debate --- because of the arrests of the members of the right-wing outfits.

We will examine order of the court and take a call accordingly in due course. At the moment, it will be too premature to say anything, NIA director-general Sharad Kumar said.

The National Investigation Agency took over the probe from the Rajasthan anti-terrorism squad. Initially, police blamed Islamic terror groups but later a confession by Aseemanand shifted the focus on Hindu groups.

A total of four charge sheets were filed.

Gupta and Joshi were members of the RSS and worked together in Madhya Pradeshs Indore and Mhow from 1998 to 2003, one of the charge sheets said.

A native of Ajmer, Gupta moved to Jamtara in Jharkhand in 2003 and stayed there till 2008 but the two kept in touch and met several times till Joshis death in 2007, the court was told.

Joshi was shot dead on December 29, 2007.

The SIM cards and the mobile phones used for detonating the two bombs were bought from Jharkhand, where Gupta was working as an RSS zila pracharak, or district head of publicity. Public prosecutor Ashwini Kumar Sharma said 26 witnesses, crucial to the case, turned hostile.

The court did not find Aseemanands confessional statement a basis enough for his conviction. Notably, Aseemanand retracted his statement three months after giving it, Sharma said.

Aseemanand was a victim of political conspiracy, his lawyer Jagdish Rana said. There was a conspiracy to frame a person from a particular community for a particular kind of crime, he said.

Of the 13 accused, three are still absconding.

A member of right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat, Assemanand has been in jail since December 2010 after his arrest in the Mecca Masjid blast. The explosion in the Hyderabad mosque on May 18, 2007 left 14 people dead.

He also faces charges in the 2007 Samjhauta case. Sixty-eight people were killed on February 18, 2007 when explosions ripped through the express train that runs between India and Pakistan

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The Union government has made the 12-digit Unique Identification (UID) number must for poor women to get cooking gas connections and defence pensioners to receive their payments, in notifications released this week.

The move is expected to draw criticism from activists who say the enrollment to the Aadhaar programme should not be a condition to receive state benefits.

Women below the poverty line (BPL) will need to present their Aadhaar cards if they want free cooking gas (LPG) connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a gazette notification said.

...The use of Aadhaar as identity document for delivery of services or benefits or subsidies simplifies the government delivery processes, brings in transparency and efficiency, said the government notification.

In a similar notification published in the gazette on March 6, the government said Aadhaar will be mandatory for all retired defence personnel and family members of deceased ex-servicemen to receive pensions.

The BPL women have time till May 31 and military pensioners have time till June 30 to enroll using the UID.

Sources in the oil ministry, the nodal authority for PMUY, said that oil marketing companies will facilitate the process of Aadhaar application for BPL families.

This move comes after the government mandated Aadhaar last year for claiming subsidy on LPG cylinders.

There are nearly 30 lakh defence pensioners in the country with the total pension budget amounting to Rs 80,000 crore after the implementation of the one rank-one pension (OROP).

There is a clear Supreme Court order that public service cannot be denied because of Aadhaar, but the government continues to violate it. By doing this, the government is excluding people who need these services the most, said Anjali Bhardwaj, founder of Satark Nagril Sangathan.

The government has made Aadhaar cards mandatory for several social welfare schemes, including mid-day meals, subsidised rations and LPG connections.

As part of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, announced in the Budget 2016, five crore LPG connections will be provided to BPL families over the next three years. A sum of Rs 8,000 crore has been set aside for this scheme.
A 42-year-old Indian in the US has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for plotting terror attacks in India by providing material support and resources to the Khalistan movement.

Balwinder Singh was a member of two terrorist groups and provided material support to intimidate the Indian government and harm persons who were not supporting the groups cause, said US attorney Daniel Bogden .

Singh was sentenced by US district judge Larry Hicks in Reno to 180 months in prison on Tuesday, Bogden added.

This case is an example of multi-law enforcement agencies working together to protect the United States and our foreign allies from a terrorist act, Bogden explained further.

Singh, who also went by the alias Jhaji and Baljit Singh, is a citizen of India and a permanent US resident. He had pleaded guilty in November last year.

According to court documents, between September and December 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India.

In October 2013, Singh and his co-conspirators agreed that one of them would travel to India and carry out a terror attack likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian government official.

In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles and a laptop and supplied them to a co-conspirator.

The co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok in December 2013 but law enforcement prevented him. After these events, Singh continued to plan the terror attack in India until Singhs arrest in December 2013.
The budget session of Parliament will resume on Thursday even as the political class waits with bated breath for the outcome of the five assembly elections.

While the result of the Uttar Pradesh poll is likely to impact the fate of the session, Opposition parties are trying to leverage the recent civic body polls in Maharashtra and Odisha and the developments in Tamil Nadu to stitch together a larger unity against the BJP.

The Opposition will meet on Thursday to chalk out its strategy. The session, starting on Thursday, will continue till April 12.

The session is like to see a stormy start as home minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to make a statement on the detection of an alleged ISIS module in UP, a claim refuted by the state police.

Read: ISIS module behind blast in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train in Madhya Pradesh

The Prime Minister, along with the home minister, should make a statement on the ISIS issue. We will also raise issues of farmers distress and the controversial statements of BJP and RSS MPs apart from an increase in ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir, said Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader in Lok Sabha.

Opposition sources added that talks are on with Shiv Sena, the BJPs biggest ally in the NDA, to join the Opposition on a case-to-case basis to attack the BJP.

The Sena has seen how the BJP has crept into its turf in Maharashtra in the last civic body polls. The Sena wants to be more vocal against the BJP on a number of issues even as it is a part of the NDA government, said an Opposition leader who has opened communication channels with the Sena.

Opposition parties are also waiting to see how the AIADMK  the third largest party in Lok Sabha  acts after the bitter power struggle in its organisation last month following the elevation of Sasikala as general secretary.

Read: AIADMK defends Sasikalas election as general secretary

According to a Congress leader, the partys three MPs in Rajya Sabha and 10 in Lok Sabha belong to former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvams side. We hope that the other AIADMK MPs will lend support to the Oppositions issues as the BJP was perceived to be backing Panneerselvam, said a Congress leader.

The Biju Janata Dal, another party which lost ground to BJP in its fiefdom, announced it will chart its own path. The fiercely anti-Congress BJD wants to play the role of a constructive opposition party.

We have specific views on issues like the violence in Delhi University and Aadhaar, said BJDs Lok Sabha leader Bhartruhari Mahtab.

The Congress, meanwhile, will also take a call on its earlier threat to boycott Modi in Parliament for his attack against former PM Manmohan Singh during his reply to a debate on the motion of thanks to the Presidents address in the first half of the budget session.

The party has also decided to raise the issues of hate attacks against People of Indian Origin (PIOs) in the US and question Modis silence on such assaults.
PATNA: The lone one-stop crisis centre for women in Bihar has not been running effectively owing to lack of resources.

The facility in Patna is one of the 600-odd Nirbhaya centres opened across the country to provide rape victims medical, police and legal facilities under one roof.

The Union ministry of women and child development had planned Nirbhaya centres in every state as a tribute to the victim of December 16, 2012 Delhi gangrape case. Each centre was to be given financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh for a unit launched in tandem with a hospital, besides Rs 46 lakh for a small permanent counselling structure.

But the state capital-based centre, which is located at Chhajju Bagh, has no such facility. If the victim needs to stay back for a night in the city, she is offered space at the short stay home in Patliputra Colony, about 6 km away from the Nirbhaya centre.

As the city celebrates the International Womens Day on March 8, the plight of Nirbhaya centre proves that not much has changed with regard to such facilities.

Though inaugurated on December 9 last year, the Patna centre has failed to take off. The reason is lack of resources. It has nothing except a room with four beds. Neither have any of the promised facilities been provided, nor have officials been employed. Instead, the crisis centre for women has been given added responsibility to manage things, including legal aspects, a social welfare department official, who did not want to be quoted, said.

The centre does not have listed doctors or nurses, but just first aid kits. While such centres should have been equipped with facilities for medical examination of victims, each case brought here is referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). To add, there is no person manning the centre after 5 pm.

A Jehanabad case brought here was taken to PMCH and then remanded in a short stay home, which is meant for protecting women and adolescent girls from human trafficking and providing security to women victims of domestic violence, said an official.

Though four homeguards were appointed to provide protection to the inmates, they have already resigned and now the crisis centre for women was at the disposal of a lone caretaker, the official added. The centre needed an in-residence official, the post of which was vacant, the official said.

Pramila Kumari, project coordinator, women helpline, said the victim from Jehanabad was shifted to short stay home for security reasons.

We could not leave her alone at the Nirbhaya centre. Not just that, even basic facilities are not available. There is neither a kitchen, nor are there utensils to serve them food, she said.

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Christian population in Arunachal Pradesh rose from less than 1% in 1971 to more than 30% in 2011, official census data show, numbers which appear to back Union minister Kiren Rijijus controversial comments about a radical demographic change in the northeastern state.

Manipur, another state in the region, also saw Christian population rise from around 19% in 1961 to more than 41% in 2011, census data showed.

Rijiju had sparked a controversy after referring to the growing Christian numbers in Arunachal Pradesh  his home state -- and linking them to conversions. Hindu population is reducing in India because Hindus never convert people, he had said.

However, there is no clear official reason for the rise in the Christian population in these states. While Rijiju cited religious conversion as a possible reason, some experts say this could be because of migration.

Opposition parties had slammed Rijiju for his comments and the Congress had accused the BJP of converting Arunachal into a Hindu state.

Arunachal Pradesh

In Arunachal Pradesh, the biggest state in the region, the share of Other Religions category which comprised of two-thirds of Arunachalis in 1971 dropped to 26% in 2011 from as much as 64% in four decades ago.

Other religions include tribal faiths including the indigenous Donyi-Polo (Sun and Moon) whose followers worship the celestial objects.

The decadal growth rate of Christian population in the state has been more than 100% all through.

The population of Arunachal Pradesh is 1.3 million, according to the 2011 census.

Manipur

In Manipur, with a population of 2.8 million, the Christian numbers have surged.

Hindus constituted around 62% share of the Manipuri population in 1961 while Christians had a 19% share. In 2011, both Christians and Hindus have almost equal share  around 41%.

Taken together, the two states constitute just 0.3% of the Indian population. Further, total Christian population stands at 2.78 crore, around 2%.

For the RSS, these findings buttress their claims and concerns of an imbalance in growth rates and the so-called shrinking of Hindu population.

As the Census figures show, there is a huge disparity in the way the Christian population has grown and the Hindu population has shrunk. There is no denying the role of missionaries who convert people in this. But off late there is an awakening of the indigenous people and the Sangh is only making them aware of this (conversions), Arunachal unit state secretary of the RSS Nido Sakter told HT.

JK Bajaj of the Centre for Policy Studies also said the growth of Christianity is the result of aggressive proselytisation undertaken by the Church mainly in the period following Independence.

In Arunachal Pradesh, there have been regular reports of conversions by force, especially among the Nocte and the Wancho tribes, he said.

Not all agree that conversion alone is responsible for the growth of Christian population.

Amitabh Kundu, professor at Institute for Human Development, said migration could be another reason.

One needs to take a closer look at migration figures from the Census and check how much of this increase can be attributed to in-migration of Christians from other states before drawing conclusions.

He, however, added that since literacy rate of Christians is higher than other religious groups, which means their fertility rate would be low.

Hence, natural growth cannot alone explain this increase, which points to conversion as a possible explanation.

An RSS functionary who has earlier served in Manipur also said that migration of Christians from other states is a contributing factor.

He also raised concerns over the census enumeration, pointing out that in certain far-flung areas, some tribes have been incorrectly listed as Christians.
PATNA: Four Maoists, including a self-styled zonal commander, were killed in a fierce gunbattle with security forces in Banskatwa forest area in Bihars Gaya district on Wednesday.

This is the first big achievement of CRPFs elite CoBRA unit since it lost 10 soldiers in an ambush by the Maoists in neighbouring Aurangabad district on July 10, 2016.

CRPF officials said this was the second encounter between Maoists and security forces within two weeks in the state.

On February 21, self-styled sub-zonal commander of CPI (Maoist) Mantu Khaira, who carried a reward of Rs 50,000, was killed by the special task force (STF) of Bihar police in Banka district.

The Wednesdays operation was conducted by a small team of CoBRA following a tip-off from the states inspector general (operations) about a possible Maoist attack in Gurpa police station area in Gaya district, 5 km from Jharkhand border.

Acting on the information, a CoBRA team, comprising 60 personnel, was mobilised in the interiors of Banskatwa, 200 km from state capital Patna. As security personnel cordoned off the forests in the hilly axis between Banskatwa and Thamkola villages, a group of armed insurgents fired indiscriminately, triggering a gunbattle, said IG (operations) Kundan Krishnan.

The encounter lasted about an hour. On finding the security personnel zeroing-in on them, the Maoists fled, he said, adding that there was no report of injury to securitymen.

Bodies of the Maoists, along with four regular weapons, including two Insas rifles, SLR and AK-47, were later recovered from the encounter site. Additional reinforcements have been sent to the area to assist the CoBRA in scouring the area for the remaining Maoists.

CRPF officials said two of the killed Maoists had been identified as Anil alias Deepak and Rajesh Ravidas. Deepak was the zonal commander of Magadh area committee action team, while Das was sub-zonal commander, east Magadh sub-zone. Both are residents of Gaya.

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An incident that occurred at the sadar hospital in north Bihar district headquarters town of Muzaffarpur on Tuesday brought back to mind harrowing August 2016 images of Odisha tribal Dana Manjhi carrying on his shoulder the body of his wife, after being denied a vehicle to carry it to his village for her last rites.

The husband of a female patient, who died late on Tuesday evening, had to carry her dead body for nearly 500 metres before they could hire an autorickshaw, after the hospital administration failed to provide an ambulance or a mortuary van, to take the body home.

The woman, Shyama Devi, had been admitted to the Muzaffarpur sadar hospital for treatment on February 18. However, she succumbed to her ailment on Tuesday evening, according to her husband, Suresh Mandal, a resident of Shivpuri colony of the town, who is a daily wage labourer.

Mandal told reporters his wife was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital, where she breathed her last on Tuesday evening. Thereafter, we pleaded with the hospital administration to provide us an ambulance to carry her body to my rented house, but the authorities refused, he said.

I was left with no option other than to carry my wifes body on foot with the help of some of my relatives to a place where we could hire an auto-rickshaw. This, too, proved difficult as none was ready to carry a dead body. Finally, a kind-hearted auto-rickshaw driver agreed to help me, he said.

Dr NK Chaudhury, deputy superintendent of the hospital, said he had no information about the incident. However, I should make clear that ambulance is provided to carry a patient to another hospital and not to transport a dead body, he stated.

However, Muzaffarpur civil surgeon Dr Lalitha Singh had a different version of the incident. Yes, I have been informed about the matter. The driver of the mortuary van was absent. So, the vehicle could not be given. But we made arrangements for hiring an auto-rickshaw from hospital funds, she said.

District magistrate Dharmendra Singh could not be reached for his comment as he was busy in a meeting.

Sources said this was not the first incident of denial of such facility at the hospital in the last six months. Earlier, a plaster encased patient was forced to crawl on the floor of the hospital in search of ambulance after he was referred to the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, Muzaffarpurs premier hospital, in August 2016.

In another such incident, police officials had to lug an injured youth to police vehicle for being transported to another facility, after denial of a stretcher.
Politicians are increasingly exploiting a loophole in election law that enables them to reach out to voters through social and electronic media in constituencies where campaigning has ended by delivering political speeches from non-polling areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav cleverly used this loophole to send a message to the voters of Uttar Pradesh, a day ahead of the seventh and final phase of polling in the state.

Modi accused the Akhilesh Yadav government of slow development works in Uttar Pradesh, while inaugurating multiple projects at Bharuch in Gujarat and addressing a function to commemorate the centenary celebrations of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India in Delhi on Tuesday.

Gandhi used a Congress convention in Delhi to launch a blistering attack on the Prime Minister for conducting back-to-back road shows in Varanasi while Akhilesh hit out at Modi in Lucknow during a press conference on the issue of rape accused and absconding ministerial colleague Gayatri Prajapati.

According to the Representation of the People Act 1951, convening, holding or attending, joining or addressing any public meeting or procession are prohibited for 48 hours till the conclusion of polling in an election going area.

Similarly, there is also a bar on displaying or propagating through cinematography, television or other similar apparatus any election matter that could influence or impact the poll outcome. The Act also says any person contravening these provisions could either be punished with imprisonment up to two years or fined, or both.

But the poll panels hands appear to be tied.

If a statement is made outside the area under model code of conduct, it does not result in violation unless there is a reference to poll going area. In February, we issued a strong advisory to all political parties not to mix religion and caste with campaign, chief election commissioner (CEC) Nasim Ziadi told HT in an interview last week.

Of late, political parties are giving due consideration to our advisory. We have introduced pre certification of print media ads. If one party gives an ad on the day of the poll making an allegation about another, the other cannot rebut it. The damage is done. That is what pre certification is. We have written to the law ministry to amend the section 126. It is not possible to filter electronic signals. We had toyed with the idea, he said.

Former CEC SY Qureshi admitted that the political class is using this loophole (in the Act).

As of now, nothing can be done legally, he told HT.

During the separate functions in Delhi and Gujarat, Modi made several references to Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh.

I was in Uttar Pradesh recently, attending election rallies in different places. People there showed me some incomplete structures..In Kashi (Varanasi), there is a structure pending completion for the past 13 years. I told them it would have been better had this been handed over to the Centre. I would have come and completed it, the PM said in Bharuch during an official programme.

In Delhi, Modi recalled how Paramhansa Yogananda, who founded the Yogoda Satsanga Society in 1917, is still remembered in Kashi and his teachings, which are as pure as Maa Ganga, continue to flow within many in the holy city where he spent his childhood.

The Prime Minister also lamented that some people tend to link spirituality to religion and asserted that the two are very different. Indias spirituality is its strength. But, it is unfortunate that some people link spirituality to religion. But both spirituality and religion are very different, he said.

The remarks came in the backdrop of a raging debate over attempts by political parties to polarise society on the lines of religion, especially during elections.

Addressing the party convention in Delhi, Gandhi said, For the first time, a Prime Minister thrice held road shows in a state election. It was a retake of road shows. But let me tell him that Banaras has made up its mind. People of Banaras and Uttar Pradesh have understood Modis politics of lies and will hand him and the BJP a resounding defeat. He can visit as many times as he wants.

Gandhi also took on Modi over his Maa Ganga comment in which he called himself the son of the holy river. Modiji ne kaha ki Maa Ganga ne apne bete ko Banaras bulaya hai (Modiji said Mother Ganga has called her son to Banaras). Maa Ganga belongs to all Indians. That shows Modijis level of arrogance.

In 2014, the Congress leader said Modi sought votes in the name of Maa Ganga, and then abandoned her after winning the elections.

For his part, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister addressed the news conference in Lucknow to talk about governor Ram Naiks letter to him asking why rape accused Gayatri Prajapati was still in his cabinet.

While Akhilesh spoke on the Prajapati issue, he also used the opportunity to hit out at Modi.

I thank (the) people of Varanasi for giving us historic support during the road show and forced the PM and BJP to hold more road shows.I often say those who fail in examinations go for a repeat, he told reporters.

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The National Green Tribunal today slapped a Rs 50,000 fine on a scientist from the Environment Ministry but withdrew it later, warning officials against passing the buck on matters relating to the cleaning of Ganga.

A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said in future any such act will follow a penalty of Rs 50,000, adding it felt very sad on the way this important issue was being treated by the bureaucrats.

The benchs reaction came after a scientist appearing for the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) failed to answer its query on what would be the minimum flow required for the river.

He refuses to answer the same which we find totally undesirable. A scientist working with MoEF is expected to know basics of environment... Why did you come here if you know nothing? Dont waste the time of five judges, the bench said.

The bench imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the official but later withdrew its oral order, saying we are leaving you today.

When the same question regarding the minimum flow of the river was posed to the counsel appearing for the Ministry of Water and Resources, he also failed to answer.

The tribunal asked how was the ministry planning to control pollution in Ganga if it did not know the basics. The tribunal is feeling very sad that you all (officials) are treating it in such manner, the bench said.

It said that everyone comes here from every department and says that he knows nothing. If any officer says in this court that he is not supposed to know and it is someone elses responsibility, this will be the order (Rs 50,000 penalty).

The green court also cancelled a bailable warrant issued against Kanpur municipal commissioner after his deputy appeared before the court.

The bench, however, directed the official to make sure that counsel and concerned official remained present before it during the hearing of the matter.
The ruling BJP on Tuesday brought a privilege motion against Congress MLA Kuldeep Sharma, who was assembly speaker under the previous Congress government, after he accused the government of being involved in rampant illegal mining in the state.

Sharma, who was speaking during the discussion on the budget in the state assembly, pointed out various flaws in the government functioning and said that illegal mining was rife from Yamunanagar to Palwal, in which people of BJP government as well as some officials were involved.

The remark instantly evoked aggressive reactions from the treasury benches with almost all the MLAs, including Umesh Agrawal, Manish Grover, Nayab Saini, Krishan Panwar and Gian Chand Gupta, refuted the allegations and sought to know the names of all those who were involved.

The House saw further ruckus when the leader of Opposition Abhay Chautala and several other INLD MLAs, including Jaswinder Sandhu and Zakir Hussain, stated that it was a serious allegation and that Sharma must give out the names of the members as well as officials involved in it.

Though House passed a condemnation motion against Sharma for his remarks, it was plunged in a din it as INLD members stuck to their demand for befitting action against Sharma.

They were immediately joined by the BJP MLAs and ministers, including education minister Ram Bilas Sharma, agriculture minister O P Dhankar, health minister Anil Vij, who maintained that hiding the names of corrupt people was also a crime, hence need of a privilege motion as well.

Gupta moved a breach of privilege motion which was sent to the privilege committee of the House by speaker Kanwar Pal.

However, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Congress legislature party leader Kiran Choudhry and several Congress MLAs, including Karan Dalal and Lalit Nagar, held that the government could find out the accused if it wanted to.

ROW OVER HEALTH VARSITYS NAME

Earlier too, the House witnessed a din after Kuldeep Sharma said the government had changed the name of Kalpana Chawla Health University to Pt Deendayal Upadhyay health university. The treasury benches reacted sharply to it with the health minister repeatedly saying that it was the Kalpana Chawla Medical College in Karnal while the upcoming health university was named after Pt Deendayal Upadhyay.

Karnal medical college was named after astronaut Kalpana Chawla long ago, while the upcoming health university, which did not have a name, was named after Pt Deendayal Upadhyay adopting proper proceedure, Vij said and asked Sharma if he had been herding sheep during his stint in previous government.

UPROAR OVER SIR CHHOTU RAM

Earlier, the House witnessed ruckus when BJP MLA Prem Lata, while mentioning about a scheme launched in the name of Sir Chhotu Ram, said that other parties only used him for political purpose, but otherwise forgot him.

Irked over the remark, Abhay held that though the MLAs husband, Union minister Birender Singh, was grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram, he as a Congress leader got inaugurated institutions in the name of Gandhi family members.

Congress MLA Karan Dalal whipped up an intense debate when he said that INLD supremo Devi Lal had termed Sir Chhotu Ram as a traitor, evoking sharp reactions from INLD MLAs.

Prem Lata, however, said her husband intentionally did not use his grandfathers name as he was unlike other politicians who used their forefathers names for their political interests.

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From the last phase of assembly election to updates on anti-terror operation in Lucknow, watch out for the following news:

1. UP polls: BJP pins hopes on Modi magic as final round of voting begins today

The final round of voting in UP today will be another test of alliances that Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stitched together to expand its social base in the state. Forty assembly seats in Poorvanchal, or east UP will vote in the seventh round of polling and the BJP, looking to make a comeback in the state after 15 years, is expecting a good show. We will sweep the region, union minister Santosh Gangwar told HT. There is an overwhelming support for the BJP among all sections of the society.

Read the full story here.

2. Irom Sharmila and Ibobi Singh face-off in Phase 2 of Manipur polls

The second phase of polling for the Manipur assembly will be held in 22 constituencies in the districts of Thoubal, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati. This round decides the political future of human rights activist-turned-politician Irom Chanu Sharmila and chief minister O Ibobi Singh who are contesting the Thoubel constituency.

Read the full story here.

3. AAP government to table Delhis budget, focus expected on education and health

Arvind Kejriwals government in Delhi will present its third budget on Wednesday. As in previous years, the focus of the budget allocation is expected to remain on education and health. In his address on Monday, Governor Anil Baijal said the Delhi government started work on constructing 8,000 new classrooms and 20 new schools, of which 14 schools were completed. He said 100 mohalla clinics were established and that their number would increase to 1,000 clinics in six months.

4. Emergency UN Security Council meeting on North Korea

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on North Koreas latest missile launches. The meeting was requested by the United States and Japan after Pyongyang launched at least four ballistic missiles, three of which fell in the sea close to Japan. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the latest missile tests and urged Pyongyang to refrain from further provocations. The launches were the latest in a series of tests that violate UN resolutions barring Pyongyang from developing missile technology.

5. Mumbais mayor to be picked today

The next Mayor of Mumbai will be elected on March 8. With no indication yet of any post-poll alliance in the BMC it remains to be seen what strategies the political parties adopt for the mayors post. In the recently-held BMC polls, the Shiv Sena won 84 seats, BJP 82, Congress was relegated to the third spot with 31 seats, NCP got nine and Raj Thackerays MNS won seven seats.

6. Uphaar victims body moves Supreme Court about Sushil Ansals sentence

The Supreme Court will hear a plea by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy which seeks a modification of the courts order that sentenced Sushil Ansal to the period that he has already spent in jail.

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7. Anti-terror operation ends in Lucknow, suspected ISIS inspired militant killed

A suspected militants body was recovered after an anti-terror operation that lasted nearly 12 hours on the outskirts of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, police said early on Wednesday. Uttar Pradesh anti terror squad (ATS) inspector general Aseem Arun said the militant was a member of the Indian module of the Islamic State group called Khorasan.

See the full story here.

8. Womens Day: Stop the tokenism and think of lasting ways of empowering them

In 2017 Indian women are hardly empowered and lag far behind men on several crucial parameters including health, safety, and the most glaring of them all, economic participation. India has one of the worst gender gaps in the world when it comes to labour force participation. Education levels in both urban and rural areas are declining. There are two glaring reasons for the sorry figures. The first is the pressure on all women of all ages to get married. We as a society remain obsessed with marriage. The second reason for womens low participation in the workforce is concern for their safety.

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9. Dimple 2.0: Evolution of a bahu into a star campaigner

Dimple Yadavs first scripted speech in Lok Sabha was such a disaster that it went viral on YouTube as Dimple Yadavs hilarious mistakes in Parliament. But thats history. The 2017 assembly election is Uttar Pradesh has seen Dimple emerge as the star campaigner of Samajwadi Party. She has also commanded more spotlight than many seasoned leaders across political parties.

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10. WikiLeaks CIA Files: Is my smart TV spying on me? How worried should I be?

The publication by WikiLeaks of documents it says are from the CIAs secret hacking program describe tools that can turn a world of increasingly networked, camera- and microphone-equipped devices into eavesdroppers. How worried should consumers be and can they prevent devices from communicating with spies?

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The G4 countries  India, Japan, Germany and Brazil  on Tuesday asked the United Nations to speed up security council reforms, saying, with ill-concealed frustration, they were willing to discuss anything, even old and rejected ideas, to advance the process.

The G4 nations are four countries which support each others bids for permanent seats on the United Nations security council.

Collate all options and place them on the table for all member states to seriously begin negotiations, said Indian permanent representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin in a statement on behalf of the group.

Read: India, G4 nations retiterate unwavering commitment to UNSC reforms

It is time to get started, he added, reflecting the groups combined frustration with a process that has moved with glacial pace. For our credibility to be sustained, it is time for honest engagement and exchange on the basis of a text.

The text is UN-speak for a formal proposal on paper that member countries can discuss, parse and reject in total or part, and will be a first major step in what has been a slow process and will likely to be one because of lack of unanimity.

India and the other three G4 countries are leading contenders for permanent membership of an expanded UNSC, the world bodys top decision making organ, that will be more representative of the world.

There are others who oppose expanding the permanent membership and have suggested other options, including membership with full veto power of the current permanent members.

Read: High time to reform UN Security Council: Ban Ki-moon

G-4 will not insist on veto for new members, the Indian representative said reiterating -- according to official sources on background -- an old position.

While the new permanent members would as of principle have the same responsibilities and obligations, as current permanent members they will not exercise the veto until a decision has been taken during a review, Akbaruddin said.

An Indian diplomat in Delhi said this was an old position, adding, Basically our focus strategically was on moving the process ahead with a text; rest is all tactical.
Uttar Pradesh Police say they have killed an Islamic State-inspired man suspected of planning the bombing of a train that injured eight people in Madhya Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad inspector general Aseem Arun said the militant was a member of the Indian module of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group called Khorasan. The ATS engaged the suspect in a 13-hour gunbattle overnight on Tuesday after tracking him down at the home of a Muslim cleric on the outskirts of Lucknow.

A police officer identified the suspect as Saifullah, and said he was wanted in connection with Tuesdays train blast near Bhopal.

Here are photos of the ATS operation and the building where the suspect was hiding:

The ATS reached the clerics house in a thickly populated locality on the outskirts of Lucknow around 2pm after specific inputs. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

The commandos came under a volley of fire when they moved in, forcing the officers to use stakeout and stealth. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

After a nine-hour sporadic gunfight, police said the suspect was wounded but still holed up in the house. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

About 300 police personnel, including ATS commandos, were engaging the militant in Lucknows Kakori area. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

Members of the press and others look on as an operation against a suspected Islamic State-inspired militant continues. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

Police officers make a hole in a wall of the building where the suspect was hiding to send in optical fibre cameras. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

Items seized from the building where the militant was holed up. (ATS handout)

Holes created by the Uttar Pradesh Police to send in optical fibre cameras into a building where they said an Islamic State-inspired militant was hiding. (ATS handout)

The body of the suspected militant being taken away by the police. (ATS handout)

A daily schedule found at the building where the suspected militant was hiding. (ATS handout)

A map of the Indian Railways found from the house where the suspected militant was holed up. (ATS handout)

Security forces after the operation against the suspected militant concluded. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)
The Jammu and Kashmir police chief on Wednesday warned of consequences for families of militants if relatives of policemen were attacked.

The warning by director general of police SP Vaid comes two days after 10 gun-wielding militants ransacked the house of a police officer in Shopian and warned his family of serious consequences if he did not quit his job.

We have always been nice to the families of militants and have always asked them to get their children to surrender and rehabilitate, but they have attacked our families. They should realise their families live in Kashmir only, he said.

Vaid said the militants beat up the family and broke many electronic gadgets and household items. The house belongs to a deputy superintendent of police currently posted in Srinagar. Police claimed the militants were local boys.

The militants have been identified and an FIR has been registered, he said.

Vaid said it was a rare incident as families of policemen were not usually harassed. Policemen from Jammu and Kashmir have been in the line of fire since the 90s. But this is first time that militants have misbehaved with our families.

During the summer unrest last year that began after the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, militants had issued several warnings to the local police to stay away from protests and not harass the participating youth.

In the days and months after Wanis death, several policemen were killed in assaults that ranged from shootings, stone-peltings to grenade attacks. Just three days after the July 8 encounter, a local policeman drowned when protesters pushed his vehicle into a river.

In December last year, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Rashid Bhat had warned family members of policemen. If you touch our families, we will not spare yours, he said in a video message

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The BJP on Wednesday hailed security agencies after a suspected ISIS terrorist was gunned down by the UP Police in Lucknow, saying the operation was an example of various police organisations working in tandem against terrorism.

It also accused opposition parties of doing politics over the incident and said they should draw a lesson from how several central and state police agencies worked together to carry out the operation.

We hail security agencies for the operation. Terror group ISIS poses a potent threat to India and our agencies have again underlined their resolve to finish it. It is unfortunate that some political parties are doing politics over it, BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

Noting that the NIA, a central agency, besides Telangana and Madhya Pradesh police coordinated with each other in the operation, he claimed that it was an example of Team India spirit which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often spoken about.

The suspected terrorist, Saifullah, was killed today after 12 hours of operation in Lucknow. He is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said.

Two suspected terrorists arrested from Kanpur and Unnao were taken to Lucknow by a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad for further questioning.
Uttar Pradesh police commandos shot dead early on Wednesday a lone gunman who they said was influenced by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

The death ended a 13-hour standoff in a crowded locality on the outskirts of Lucknow, which left many questions unanswered and prompted the Centre to censure Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh police for jumping to conclusions.

Officials in both states should have exercised restraint before airing premature comments. We may hand the probe into the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast and subsequent arrests and the encounter to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a senior home ministry official said in New Delhi.

Police of both states had claimed to have found IS links to the 23-year-old slain man, Saifullah Khan, and about seven arrested suspects after a low-intensity train explosion in Madhya Pradesh that wounded 10 people on Tuesday morning. They said these men were from an IS module active in India.

Additional director general of police (law and order) Daljit Chawdhary told reporters on Wednesday evening that there was no evidence the suspects had any direct connection with IS, but could be self-radicalised sympathisers of the terrorist group.

Their head is Atiq Muzaffar, who was arrested in MP. Two laptops recovered from them suggest they were deeply influenced by IS literature they read on the internet, he said.

There is no evidence of any outside funding or any external support. They were self-reliant.

The operation by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) began at 2pm on Tuesday and ended about 3am the next day. Locals said police had come knocking at the door of Saifullahs rented room four hours before the ATS team arrived.

The wife of Saifullahs neighbour, a driver, had earlier in the day dialled 100 to lodge a domestic violence complaint against her husband. In the course of investigating the abuse case, the police questioned Saifullah and took his identity card.

The card and information extracted from suspects arrested in MP for the train blast helped police put two and two together and raid the house to capture Saifullah, who they said refused to surrender and fired at the commandos.

UP director general of police Javeed Ahmed comes out from the house where a suspected ISIS terrorist was killed in an encounter with the ATS personnel at Thakurganj outskirts of Lucknow on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)

The commandos inserted a micro-camera through a hole drilled on the roof to pinpoint Saifullahs position. The camera picked up objects that made it appear there was more than one person inside.

ATS inspector general of police Asim Arun, who led the operation, said: He fired at least 62 rounds whenever the police team tried to barge in. Our commandos shot in retaliation.

After chilli bombs and teargas shells lobbed inside failed to draw him out, police drilled holes in an iron door of a storeroom behind which Saifullah has hiding. The man was shot through the holes.

The ATS team recovered explosives, materials used in preparing bombs, firearms, cartridges, knives, three passports, six mobile phones, IS flags and literature and a railway route map of India.

Officers said the seized material point to the suspects IS links.

Earlier in the day, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan too said in Bhopal that those behind the train bombing had IS links. We have proof. The explosives discovered have IS markings.

But the Centre asked police in both states not to draw conclusions until investigations were concluded.

Indias leaders say the IS group does not have influence in the country of more than 1.2 billion people, which has a large but traditionally moderate Muslim population. There have been some reports of Indians going to fight for the group in Iraq and Syria, but the numbers are low relative to the size of the population.

UP director general of police Javeed Ahmad and NIA sleuths visited the slain suspects house on Wednesday.

Saifullahs father Sartaj Khan refused to accept his sons body, branding him a traitor.

Police have made several arrests over the train explosion. Closed-circuit television footage from near the train explosion site helped police identify the suspects.

(With agency inputs)
Mohammed Kayyum knew the house where the alleged ISIS militant Saifullah stayed like the back of his hand. The ATS commandos couldnt have found a better cartographer than him to locate where exactly in the house Saifullah was firing at them from.

Using maps as an education tool is a part of the job of primary schoolteacher Kayyum, who lives in the house next to the one Saifullah had rented to allegedly control ISISs North India operations. He tutored the commandos on the layout of the house, eventually helping them shoot Saifullah through holes drilled in an iron door leading to a storeroom.

Kayyum had a picture of the interiors of the house in his mind because its owner  Badshah Mehboob, a zardozi worker in West Asia  depended on him for renting out the rooms through a local real estate agent and dealing with tenants. Saifullah and two others moved into a unit 46 days ago for a rent of Rs 3,300 a month and had promised to increase it to Rs 5,000 after two months.

The militant was first firing from the main room. Later, he locked himself inside a small storeroom behind an iron door when the commandos hurled chilli bombs and tear gas shells. The commandos were finding it hard to target him because he was behind the iron door, a senior police officer said.

The commandos barged into the room after Kayyum gave us an idea of the layout. Kayyums house, adjacent to Saifullahs, was also vacated as we felt the militant might blast his way out from there. We drilled through the iron door and managed to neutralise the militant, he added. The ATS commandos were not sure about the number of militants present in the house. A micro-camera they had drilled through the roof made them think there were two people inside  one moving about and the other still.

After they killed the militant, the commandos discovered Saifullah had placed his shoes below a sack to give the impression of a man lying unconscious on the floor.
Rihai Manch, an advocacy group that takes up cases of minority members wrongfully arrested in terror cases has cast doubts on the Lucknow encounter that ended Wednesday morning, and has described it as a tactic by the central government to polarise the last phase of election in UP in the BJPs favour.

It claimed that it had predicted such a scenario ahead of polls to help the BJP. The UP Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) shot dead a suspected militant in an operation that lasted nearly 12 hours on the outskirts of Lucknow early Wednesday.

Rihai Manchs general secretary Rajeev Yadav said in a statement that the entire story leading to this action was riddled with loopholes, making it a case of political gain.

A similar attempt was made in Sambhal in the first phase of election but the Jat voters punctured the plan, said Yadav. Such a questionable action on eve of election shows the desperation on part of the Modi government, he said.

Manch which claims it is engaged in political mobilization against wrongful Muslim youths, has been fighting cases across the country on behalf of those it believes have been wrongfully arrested in terror cases. It came into existence after the Batla House encounter in Delhi in September 2008.

Yadav pointed out the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train Tuesday morning that set off the chain of events leading to the Lucknow encounter, was attributed to a tubelight blowout in one of the compartments. Passengers spoke about it on camera, so did SP GRP Krishna Veni who initially said that the blast was caused due to an electrical short circuit.

But the narrative changed after the Madhya Pradesh home minister Bhupendra Singh described the blast a terror strike.

Similarly, UP police were at pains to answer some straight question, said Yadav. The police has maintained it tried for surrender of youth holed up in the house, they even made his uncle to talk to him over phone, he said.

But no one is explaining how did the police know the name of terror suspect and where did it get the phone number of his uncle as well that of Saifullah who was killed in the action.

Some reports say the police made the gunman Saifullah speak to his brother who implored him to surrender.

He said the Manch had predicted that the security agencies would stage something like this to improve political fortunes of the BJP in this election. Before the sixth phase of polling the agencies were creating an atmosphere claiming the Prime Minister could be attacked. In the run up to the first phase of polling, a team of the special cell of Delhi police stayed in Sambhal to arrest Mohammad Usman following arrest of two persons in Gujarat.

The Madhya Pradesh police had zeroed in on four men from CCTV footage at Bhopal railway station. They were picked up from Pipariya in Hoshangabad district earlier.

These men are from Aligarh and Kanpur in UP.
Police were yet to procure proof that Saifullah  a terror suspect killed in a 12-hour standoff with security personnel in Thakurganj near Lucknow  was directly affiliated to the Islamic State, additional director general (law and order) Daljit Chaudhary said on Wednesday.

Bomb-manufacturing equipment, passports, ID cards, eight pistols, timers, wires and over 600 live cartridges were among the articles recovered from the site of the encounter, he told mediapersons at a press conference in Lucknow.

However, Chaudhary denied reports that 23-year-old Saifullahs alleged Islamic State module received financial support from the international terror group. They were not provided with any external financial aid. They were mostly self-radicalised, the police officer said, adding that many youngsters like the slain terrorist have been exposed to the Islamic States propaganda through the social media.

Chaudhary claimed Atif Muzaffar, who was arrested from Madhya Pradesh, was helming the suspected Islamic State module that Saifullah hailed from. Six others were also arrested across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Inspector general (Anti-Terrorism Squad) Aseem Arun said Saifullah was given ample opportunities to surrender. We initially tried flushing him out with chilli bombs. We began firing only when he shot at us when we tried to enter, he added.

Saifullah and the other members of his group are suspected of carrying out an attack on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train on Tuesday morning.

Ten people  including two teenage girls and two women  were injured in the incident. Home ministry sources said the investigation into the Lucknow encounter is likely to be handed to the National Investigation Agency.

Earlier, Saifullahs father Sartaj had refused to take his body, maintaining that a traitor cannot be my son. A traitor cannot be related to me, let alone be my son, he said.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated security officers for solving the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast case. A timer was used, and terrorists were nabbed. I congratulate the officers involved. This was possible only due to coordination between the police and the Anti-Terrorism Squad, he said.
The Supreme Court asked the Centre on Wednesday to release funds for the fencing of India-Bangladesh border to prevent a cross-border influx of illegal Bangladesh nationals.

The bench also fixed April end as the deadline for the Hajela committee to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to identify the original residents of Assam.

When Prateek Hajela, who is also coordinating the committee for Assam, informed the bench that the task would take time, the court told the state government to cooperate.

Whatever manpower and money it requires, you must give it, the bench said.
The countrys top anti-terror agency on Wednesday released two Pakistani boys arrested on charges of aiding the September 18 Uri attack and handed them over to the army to be sent back home.

Clearing the two classmates of all charges, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed didnt have terror links and strayed into India after a quarrel with their parents.

Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed have been released and handed over to the Army 16 Corps Hqr today ie 8-3-17 for sending them back to Pakistani authorities, the NIA said in a statement.

The 16 Corps guards the Line of Control, the de facto border between the two countries, in Jammu region.

As reported by HT on March 3, the agency was to file a closure report in a special court in Jammu on Wednesday. The two runaways, who are 16 and students of Class 10, were lodged in Jammus Kot Bhalwal jail.

They were nabbed from close to Gawathan area of Uri in northern Kashmir two days after suspected Pakistani militants attacked an army base and killed 19 Indian soldiers.

Awan and Khursheed fled their villages in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after they got to know that the parents of a girl they had harassed were looking for them, HT wrote on September 23.

An NIA officer had told HT they would mention pressure from parents for studies, and not the girl, as the reason for the boys fleeing their homes.

They were nabbed by villagers and handed over to army, which said the boys had guided the Uri attacker to cross the line of control.

Investigation carried out by the NIA revealed that the two suspects had crossed over to the Indian side after altercation with their parents due to pressure of studies, the statement said.

Their statements, data gathered from their mobile phones and other evidence did not reveal any linkage of the suspects with the attackers at Uri. Further investigation is continuing in the case, the NIA said.
The Bihar government was put to some embarrassment when a ruling party legislator pointed out that an orthopaedic surgeon was heading the admission committee of a government blind school in Patna.

The legislators revelation in the Bihar legislative assembly had the members in splits. It also prompted social welfare minister Manju Verma to immediately assure the house of taking immediate corrective steps to change the committee.

Senior JD(U) legislator Shyam Rajak on Tuesday informed the house how instead of an ophthalmologist, an orthopaedic surgeon was the head of the admission committee of the Kadam Kuan blind school for boys.

What will the orthopaedic surgeon do? Will he check the bones of blind students? The committee should have been headed by an eye specialist, so that blind students applying for enrolment can be properly examined on severity of their visual disorder, he said.

Raising the issue through a call attention motion, Rajak also demanded appointment of regular teachers in three blind schools of the state and opening of plus-two and residential schools for blind girls.

The minister said she would look into the demands. Verma also promised that the government would ensure qualified writers for visually impaired students, including those who suffered from partial visual impairment, to write their examinations.

She, however, did not give a categoric reply on the appointment of regular teachers against 14 vacancies in Patna and Darbhanga blind schools for boys, saying the matter was sub-judice.

The minister also assured the house to take corrective steps to improve facilities at the Darbhanga blind school, which BJPs Sanjay Saragi said was in a deplorable condition.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Somnath Temple in Gujarats Gir-Somnath district this morning and offered prayers.

Modi, who is one of the trustees of the Somnath Temple Trust, performed Jalabhishek to offer his respects to Lord Shiva amid chants by the temple priests.

He was accompanied by trust chairman Keshubhai Patel and BJP national president Amit Shah, also one of the trustees, during the puja that went on for nearly 15 minutes.

The PM along with Patel and Shah then headed to the temples office to attend a meeting of the trust.

Modi is on a two-day visit to Gujarat since Tuesday.

He had dedicated ONGC Petro additions Ltds (OPaL) Rs 30,000 crore plant to the nation at Dahej Special Economic Zone on Tuesday.

He had also unveiled a plaque to dedicate to the nation a four-lane cable-stayed (bridge over river Narmada in Bharuch district.
If the BJP and the Congress come together, they can pass any bill in Parliament. Then why is it that the womens reservation bill, first introduced in 1996, is yet to see the light of the day?

India has failed the womens test and the blame game is as thick as ever. During the UPAs 10-year rule, the Opposition had often accused the Congress of developing cold feet to push the landmark bill that aims to reserve 33% seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. Now, the Opposition is pointing a finger at the BJP.

The bill came closest to reality when it was passed in Rajya Sabha in 2010. On March 9, 2010, the Upper House had to overcome protests from Rashtriya Janta Dal and Samajwadi Party and throw out an RJD MP to pass the bill. Hours after the passage of the bill, Congress president Sonia Gandhi gave interviews to select TV channels and expressed hope that the bill would also be passed in the Lok Sabha.

Since then, the biggest reform in Indias parliamentary practices has been lying in cold storage.

The latest announcement on the legislation came from information and broadcasting minister Venkaiah Naidu who said, Once we (BJP) get a majority in Rajya Sabha, we will get the bill passed.

The statement drew widespread criticism instantly. Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi dubbed it as a gimmick. If the BJP was serious about the issue, they could have easily passed the Bill in the Lok Sabha first, where they enjoy a majority by themselves, argued Chaturvedi.

There have been many proposals on how to roll out reservation for women. The draft bill said that by rotation, a seat will be reserved for women. In other words, a parliamentary seat will be reserved for one in three consecutive polls. Some parties had even proposed to add 181 Lok Sabha seats (one third of the existing strength of the Lower House) and earmark these seats for women.

Personally, I think it is a very complex issue and very difficult to put into place, because different political parties want reservation within reservation and so on. Implementing reservation would require understanding between the government and the opposition, says Sudha Pai, former JNU professor.

Parties like RJD, JD(U) and Samajwadi Party had earlier maintained that they are not principally opposed to the womens reservation bill but the legislation must also allow a quota for women from underprivileged section. Backing this quota within quota demand, these parties had argued that there is no need for women from affluent section. Did Sonia Gandhi or Indira Gandhi require reservation to come to Parliament? JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav had once famously remarked.

The BJP had committed itself to the womens reservation bill in its election manifesto in 2014 but has done little. The BJPs ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) refrains from commenting on the issue, dubbing it as a purely political decision. Articulating the Sanghs views on the issue, a functionary said, the organisation believes that women should be given a larger role in decision making and in development of the nation. As equals, they can contribute towards nation building.

The Congress, the largest Opposition party, has been a vocal supporter of womens quota as it has been an unfulfilled dream of its late leader Rajiv Gandhi. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi maintained that If you give women their rights, they can protect themselves.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too, time and again, has batted for womens empowerment. After his party came to power in May 2014, the governments vision for the women reservation bill was spelled out by President Pranab Mukherjee when he addressed the current Lok Sabha for the first time.

My government recognises the important role our women play in the development of our society and growth of the nation. It is committed to providing 33% reservation to them in Parliament and state legislative assemblies, Mukherjee said in his speech to the joint sitting of Parliament.

But beyond the Presidents speech, the government hasnt pushed the bill.

The Bill was adopted by the Rajya Sabha in 2010. The distance between the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is just a five minute walk. But the Bill has not moved for seven years. The Womens Reservation Bill is a victim of patriarchal power to ensure the status quo of male entitlement, said CPI(M)s politburo member Brinda Karat.

She blames the governments lack of political will for the delay in passing the womens quota This Government is a one-man band and the finger of accusation most definitely points to Mr. Modi.

Before every Parliament session there are statements, closed door meetings and negotiations on many other bills. But the womens reservation bill is not among these discussions.

The bill that was passed in the Rajya Sabha has also lapsed.
A lone gunman suspected to have been inspired by Islamic State terror outfit was shot dead in Lucknow after a 13-hour-long overnight gun-battle in Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh anti-terrorism squad said on Wednesday.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition, besides an IS flag and literature related to the outfit, were recovered from the room where Saifullah alias Saiful, 23, was gunned down in Lucknows Kakori area late on Tuesday night.

Though several Indians, mostly from the southern state of Kerala, are suspected to have joined the Islamic State in Syria, it is the first time security forces are linking a home-grown militant to the outfit, which has overran large parts of Syria and Iraq in its quest to establish a caliphate under strict Islamic laws.

In 2015, the IS announced setting up of its unit in the Khorasan province, a region that includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and parts of northwestern and western India.

Police said Saifullah was also allegedly the mastermind behind a bomb blast in a train Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday which injured eight people, two of them seriously.

UP police sounded a statewide alert following the twin incidents and the arrest of three suspected accomplices, all from the Uttar Pradesh.

Preliminary investigations suggested that IS had built a network in the state and was being controlled from the house where Saifullah was killed, police said.

UP director general of police Javeed Ahmad ordered raids at guest houses, hotels, railway stations, bus stations, airport and dhabas located on highways. Police have also been asked to detain all suspects for interrogation.

The encounter

An ATS team arrived at the house in Kakoris Haji colony following a tip off regarding the of a militants presence.

The ATS team surrounded the house when the militant opened firing on them following which a team of commandos trained for such operations was called in to the house adjoining a mosque.

ATS inspector general of police (IGP) Asim Arun, who led the operation, said security forces had asked the suspect to surrender.

He fired at least 40 rounds of bullet on the team from inside whenever they tried to barge in into the room. The commandos also retaliated, he said.

Arun said the ATS team lobbed chilli bombs to force out the militant but he continued resisting till the end. He said the ATSs priority was to catch the militant alive for extracting information on more sleeper modules and activities of the group across the country.

A micro-camera drilled through the roof gave the impression of presence of two people, adding to the confusion. But the commandos then drilled two bigger holes on a wall to get a clear picture, officials said.

Arun said the items seized from the house include at least 650 live cartridges, eight automatic pistols, explosives and two walkie-talkie sets besides the ISIS flag.

He said a team was analysing the recovered items and scanning calls details of the mobile phones found on Saifullah.

Meanwhile, Saifullahs family has refused to accept his family.

Questions about the encounter

Rihai Manch, an advocacy group that takes up cases of minority members wrongfully arrested in terror cases, has, however, cast doubts on the Lucknow encounter and has described it as a tactic by the central government to polarise the last phase of election in UP in the BJPs favour.

It claimed that it had predicted such a scenario ahead of polls to help the BJP.

Rihai Manchs general secretary Rajeev Yadav said in a statement that the entire story leading to this action was riddled with loopholes, making it a case of political gain.
In an act of moral policing, a group of Shiv Sena activists on Wednesday allegedly chased away young men and women who were sitting in the Marine Drive area in Kochi.

The police said five activists of the Shiv Sena were taken into custody in connection with the incident which came in for condemnation from the ruling CPI(M) and opposition Congress.

Malayalam TV news channels aired video footage showing a group of marching Shiv Sena activists, wielding sticks and chasing away the young men and women from Marine Drive, a tourist spot.

The incident occurred allegedly in the presence of police.

Kochi mayor Soumini Jain condemned the incident and asked the police to take strong action against the accused.

It is sad that young men and women were targeted on International Womens Day. I strongly condemn it. I have asked the police to register a case against the culprits under the sections dealing with violence against women, she said.

Congress MLA PT Thomas said the issue will be raised in the state assembly on Thursday.

We cannot agree with this kind of moral policing. Unfortunately, police personnel were seen standing as mute spectators when the women and men were being chased away by the hooligans on International Womens Day. The culprits should be arrested immediately, he said.

CPI(M) MLA M Swaraj said such incidents of moral policing will not be tolerated in Kerala. Swaraj, who is also a Democratic Youth Federation of India leader, said the activists of the outfit held a protest march at Marine Drive following the incident.
Sri Lanka will release Indian fishermen held for poaching as the two countries try to defuse tension along their maritime border after the killing of a fisherman, an official said on Wednesday.

Local authorities will free 85 Indian fishermen held in custody since early this year without pressing charges, with India expected to reciprocate and release all 19 Sri Lankans in their custody.

The move follows Sri Lankas announcement on Tuesday that it had agreed to a joint investigation into the killing of an Indian fisherman in the narrow strip of sea between the two countries.

The victim, who was reported to be 21, was shot dead on Monday and Indian fishermen have said the Sri Lankan navy was responsible -- an allegation Colombo has flatly denied.

Fishermen from the two countries often stray into each others waters, creating diplomatic difficulties, though most are detained. It was the first death in six years.

The incident has triggered protests in Rameswaram where the victim was from.

India and Sri Lanka are separated by the narrow Palk Strait, which is a rich fishing ground. In 2014, Sri Lanka passed the death penalty on five Indian fishermen convicted of drug smuggling, but they were later released to Indian custody.
The Supreme Court asserted on Wednesday that a person can be detained for a year  without trial or bail  under the preventive detention law only in the rarest of rare cases.

Pulling up the Telangana government for detaining a thief who, according to enforcement agencies, habitually stole saris from showrooms, a bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar threatened to release the man if the local police did not withdraw the detention order.

It is a drastic measure. It needs to be applied in rarest of rare cases when there is a serious threat to society, the bench told Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar who on behalf of the state justified the detention .

One year behind the bar will give him senses, Kumar said.

But, the CJI said: We are not inclined to allow you to detain him further. Even otherwise you cant use preventive detention against such persons. 

Ch Eliah has been in jail since March 19, 2016 under the Andhra Pradesh Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Dacoits, Drug Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic and Land Grabbers Act 1986. As per law, an alleged violator can be kept in jail for a year with no trial. However, the State Advisory Board has to confirm the detention under the statute.

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Ten Sri Lankan fishermen have been arrested by the Indian Coast Guard for allegedly fishing in Indian territorial waters, a fisheries official said on Wednesday.

The fishermen hailing from Neduntheevu in the Palk Strait were detained late on Tuesday night, Nagapattinam joint director of fisheries Amala Xavier said.

They were brought to Nagapattinam by the Coast Guard personnel and later taken to nearby Karaikal on Wedenesday morning, he added.
Cab hailing app Uber will bar from its platform drivers who are found to be indulging in improper sexual conduct, discriminating or abusing passengers as part of its community guidelines.

Uber will also bar riders and has threatened to deactivate the app of those who abuse drivers, damage the car/phone, intentionally spill drinks and food, smoke inside the vehicle or vomit inside the car after excessive drinking.

The guidelines come in the wake of increasing reports of misconduct by drivers in India as well as globally.

As our community guidelines make clear, you shouldnt touch or flirt with other people in the car. As a reminder, Uber has a no sex rule. Thats no sexual conduct with riders, no matter what. And you should never hit or otherwise hurt a rider, the guidelines said.

Drivers will also be barred in case of unwanted contact with a passenger after the trip is over or if they are found to be breaking local laws.

In case such problematic behaviour comes to Ubers notice, actions of the drivers/riders will be investigated and, if confirmed, lead to permanent deactivation of the account, it added.

Drivers can lose access to Uber if quality of their service suffers based on star ratings, cancellation and acceptance rates.

The guidelines are being released in 11 languages in all 26 cities where Uber operates in India. Uber has more than 2.5 lakh vehicles associated with it across major Indian cities.

In 2015, Uber was banned in Delhi after the alleged rape of a 27-year old woman executive.

Ola, its Indian competitor, also faced flak after the alleged rape of a Japanese tourist.
The partial blinding of six young men over the weekend during protests in Tral has underlined the continued use of pellet guns in Kashmir despite criticism, calls for ban and even assurances from security forces.

The six were injured on Sunday when security forces fired pellets at protesters who were allegedly trying to hamper a counter-insurgency operation in Tral in which two militants and a policeman were killed.

A senior ophthalmologist at Srinagars SMHS hospital where they are admitted told HT that the injuries were bad and the patients would have to undergo at least two rounds of surgeries before ascertaining whether vision will be restored or not.

Hospital figures show that more than 6,000 people have suffered pellet wounds with at least 1,100 eyes injuries in the unrest that began on July 8, 2016, after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

The use of the non-lethal weapon in Kashmir drew international condemnation by rights groups and called for restraint  including an appeal by home minister Rajnath Singh. The minister urged the youth not to engage in stone-pelting and also asked security forces to refrain from using pellet guns against protesters.

Amnesty International in its annual report described pellet guns as inherently inaccurate and indiscriminate.

As an alternative measure, the CRPF proposed the use of a modified version of pellet guns with a deflector. The new design would ensure that gunshots are directed at the lower body, saving the face and eyes of stone-pelting protesters.

In February, CRPFs Srinagar-based IG Ravideep Sahi told HT that the force had nearly 800 pellet guns and deflectors would be installed by the end of March or early April. We have tested the deflector and it was found satisfactory, Sahi said.

Last month, the eyes of two teenaged boys were partially damaged when security forces used pellets to disperse a mob in Kulgam during an encounter. But while victims grapple with their blindness, the personnel on the ground say without pellets it would be very difficult to tackle to the violent stone-pelting mob.

Its very simple. If pellets are not used, then bullets will be used  which will take lives, said a CRPF officer on the condition of anonymity.

The officer, who has been at the forefront of stone-pelting protesters many times, said: The motive of the mob here is to lynch us and snatch our weapons  unlike in any other agitation elsewhere in the country. To keep them at bay, you need something which causes minimum bodily harm, not fatal.

The protesters, he added, are immune to crowd-control measures like tear-gas and rubber bullets. If pellets are not used, and the protesters feel there is no restricting force then the situation on the ground deteriorates further.

A recent report by a national daily stated that 5,000-odd pump-action guns and six lakh pellet cartridges would be issued to the CRPF in Jammu and Kashmir.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had reacted on Twitter to the news of increased number of pellet guns in Kashmir: So much for the assurance that pellet guns would be used in rarest of rare cases.

Sahi said every situation on the ground had a graduated response and pellet guns were fired only if the situation took a very dangerous turn.

He added that pellets were fired after issuing necessary warning to and firing tear-smoke shells at the protesters.

Asked about mitigating the effects of pellets, director general of state police, SP Vaid, outlined a four-point suggestion.

First, it should not be used as a first resort but as a last one, short of opening fire. Second, the weapon should be used only by an officers order, said Vaid.

He also said the weapon should not be fired from close range (which often leads to fatalities) and that the police and CRPF should start using the modified pellet guns  fitted with new deflectors  as soon as possible.

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President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday lauded the invaluable contribution of women in development of the country and asked people to reaffirm their commitment towards gender equality.

Warm greetings & best wishes to women in India & in all parts of the world on the occasion of International Womens Day. Generations of Indian women have made an invaluable contribution to the development and progress of our country, Mukherjee said on Twitter.

Warm greetings & best wishes to women in India & in all parts of the world on the occasion of International Womens Day #PresidentMukherjee  President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) March 8, 2017

The President said: On this day, I call upon people of India to reaffirm their commitment to gender equality & true empowerment of women.

In his message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also appreciated indomitable spirit, determination and dedication of Nari Shakti (Women Power).

Modi said the central governments various initiatives seek to facilitate economic-empowerment and social equality as far as women are concerned.

Government of Indias various initiatives seek to facilitate economic empowerment, self-reliance & social equality as far as Nari Shakti is concerned.

Saluting the indomitable spirit, determination & dedication of Nari Shakti on International Women's Day.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2017

Saluting the indomitable spirit, determination and dedication of Nari Shakti on International Womens Day, the Prime Minister said on the micro-blogging site.
Nine minor inmates of a state-run welfare home for women in Malda of north Bengal escaped on Tuesday night before four of them were captured by the security personnel in an incident that brought into focus miserable conditions that they are forced to live in.

Of the five who managed to flee, one is a Bangladeshi. Police has launched a hunt for them.

Read: Deranged girl battered, buried in WB welfare home

The incident took place even before the state managed to recover from the shocks of CID busting two baby selling rackets from welfare homes in south Bengal in November 2016 and February 2017.

The minors fled the Malda home around midnight after climbing to the rooftop and then scaling the boundary wall with saris and ropes. Two of them sustained injuries in the leg after they fell from the roof.

The district Child Welfare Committee chairperson could not explain how the minors managed to escape despite several persons guarding the place at night. (HT Photo)

Four Indian and a Bangladeshi national have fled from the welfare home. I have to accept that the girls took the advantage of lack of proper vigilance at night, said Englishbazar MLA Nihar Ranjan Ghosh.

Sources told HT that the home in Baluchar area under Englishbazar police station can decently accommodate only about 30 inmates, but as many as 77 girls are forced to live there. As a result, they did not get enough food and even space to sleep properly.

Read: Delhi shelter home horror: Male staff monitor women changing, sick made to work

Unable to put up with the hardship, some of the girls decided to escape.

The chairperson of Child Welfare Committee of Malda district, Chaitali Ghosh Sarkar, accepted that there more than double the approved number of boarders were staying there. Due to some unavoidable circumstances we were bound to keep 77 boarders at the welfare home, she said.

On Wednesday morning when Malda district magistrate S K Dwivedi and some other senior officers went to the welfare home they were greeted by local agitators who staged a gherao. They could enter the home only after local councilor Prasenjit Das pacified the agitators.

Read: 12-year-old girl raped repeatedly in WB state-run welfare home

The boarders came from different walks of society. Many of them have the tendency to escape from government-run shelter homes that they view as bondage. There two National Volunteer Force personnel, two night guards and some other employees look after the security of the boarders. I dont know how the girls managed to flee away, said the district CWC chairperson.

A senior officer of the district administration told HT that prima facie they have found several drawbacks in the operations of the welfare home.

Till a few years ago the welfare home was situated near Sukanta crossing area of Malda town. Later it was shifted to the new building that can accommodate fewer girls. The shelter was home to both types of children -- juveniles violating law and those who need protection.
The arrest of the district child protection officers (DCPO) of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri along with a member of Darjeeling district Child Welfare Committee (CWC), on charges of involvement in the recently-busted child trafficking racket, has revealed how a couple championing child rights increased their clout in the two neighbouring districts of north Bengal over the past several years to tweak with the child protection norms.

While Mrinal Ghosh, the DCPO Darjeeling, and Debashis Chandra, a member of CWC for the district, were arrested on March 3, Ghoshs wife Sashmita, the DCPO Jalpaiguri, was arrested on March 6.

Read: Bengal trafficking racket: CID arrests child protection officer, doctor

In total seven persons have been arrested so far in connection with the racket, including three persons associated with the North Bengal Peoples Development Centre (NBPDC), an NGO based in Jalpaiguri.

Bengal has been rocked by two baby selling rackets in November 2016 and February 2017. CID is investigating both. (HT Photo)

Mrinal Ghosh worked as both the chairperson of CWC and the DCPO in Darjeeling during the second half of 2013 and first half of 2014. Moreover, the existing CWC (tenure 2015-2018) has two members who are employees of CONCRN, an NGO on which he had control, a former member of Darjeeling district CWC told HT on condition of anonymity.

Both Mrinal and Sashmita are senior office bearers of CONCRN.

The implications are serious. While the DCPO is the nodal administrative officer of a district, the CWC is the custodian of a guardian-less child and wields the same powers as a metropolitan magistrate.

Read: How the gang of 13 CID sleuths busted the baby selling racket

According to the Juvenile Justice Act, CWC is the final authority to dispose off cases for the care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of children... The adoption process has to take place in presence of DCPO and CWC member.

The very fact that both the crucial positions were held by the same person removed all checks and balances, said a Siliguri-based child rights activist.

The situation became murkier since both the members of CWC (2015-2018 tenure) helped in continuation of the same nexus. The current CWC of Darjeeling must be immediately scrapped, said Basanti Banerjee, former member, Darjeeling CWC.

Thats not all. Mrinal Ghosh was the only candidate when he applied for the post of DCPO of Darjeeling in 2012. AT that time he was also the CWC chairman of the same district.

Read: After trafficking racket busted, CID finds skeletons of babies at Bengal NGO

On April 3, 2012, Darjeeling NGO Network sent a letter to Krishna Tirath, former union minister for women and child development, alerting her about the non-inclusive and non-transparent manner of the selection process. In protest, Anuja Mukhia (Ghalay), a member on the selection committee (who was also a CWC member) withdrew from the interview panel for selection of DCPO and sent a letter on April 4, 2012 to the district social welfare officer.

But the interview went on without her and Ghosh was selected. Child rights activists told HT that they demanded that the position should have been advertised in local language newspapers.

Right now, of the five members of Darjeeling CWC, Chandra, a visiting doctor at NBPDC, was a close friend of Ghosh, while Tapas Karmakar and Mohan Lal Jha are employees are CONCRN. As a result, when a new CWC was formed in Darjeeling in 2015, Ghosh had almost unchallenged authority as three its five members were his close aides.

Both Karmakar and Jha denied that Mrinal Ghosh had any influence in their selection as CWC members. But they admitted that CID sleuths have already quizzed them. Both declined further comments as the case is being investigated.

Speaking to HT on condition of anonymity, several former members of the CWCs in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri recalled how the Ghosh couple kept increasing their clout in all three committees to look after children up to the age of 18  the district child protection unit (DCPU), the CWC and the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

Mrinal Ghosh became a member of the Darjeeling CWC in 2008 and acted as the de-facto head since 2009 after the chairperson resigned. His wife was a member of JJB Darjeeling at that time. The NGO CONCRN they were associated with work with children around railway stations.

Strangely, meetings of Darjeeling CWC were held in Jalpaiguri district in the office of CONCRN, a former member of Jalpaiguri district CWC told HT.

While the writ of the Ghosh couple ran in Darjeeling, the Jalpaiguri CWC was not in their control. Sashmita Ghosh had to answer several queries from CWC members and the racket was busted in this district, a former CWC member told HT.

In 2016, Ghosh was facilitated by the state government for his role in child welfare.

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The mayoral election will be held in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation at 12 pm on Wednesday. The special general body meeting of 227 newly-elected corporators will elect mayor by show of hands. The mayors or Mumbais first citizens tenure is for two and a half years. Shiv Sena candidate Vishwanath Mahadeshwar , who is supported by BJP, is a three-time corporator from Santacruz and college principal. Hemangi Worlikar is Senas deputy mayor candidate. However, for Vishwanath Mahadeshwar the ride from nomination to mayor election date has not been smooth. He has been alleged to have grabbed a flat meant for BMC employees and have obtained salary from government-aided college during elections. While the Sena has denied such allegations, both the cases are in court. Sena has planned a victory march in an open bus from BMC headquarters to Hutatama Chowk after the mayor elections.

Mayoral election proceedings begin in civic hall in Mumbai. (HT Photo)

As it happened...

4.32 pm: Sena candidate Hemangi Worlikar poised to win the deputy mayoral election.

4.30 pm: BJP supports Sena for deputy mayor position

4.06 pm: NCP does not vote for Congress candidates in mayor and deputy mayor elections.

4.05 pm: Deputy mayor proceedings start. Congress votes for their candidate Vinni Dsouza.

3.51 pm: 218 corporators participated in the voting procedure for mayoral election, of which 16 abstained from voting. Another 8 were absent from the meeting and one corporator was not present inside the civic hall at the time of voting

3.43 pm: Mayor announces deputy mayor candidates after scrutinising nomination forms of Sena candidate Hemangi Worlikar and Congress candidate Vinni Dsouza.

3.41 pm: Proceedings to elect deputy mayor to begin now.

3.40 pm: The newly-elected mayor announced group leaders of five political parties, doesnt announce MNS group leader

3.29 pm: New Mumbai mayor promises corporators to speed up several projects in BMC.

3.25 pm: Mahadeshwar gives a winning speech at the floor of house, thanks Thackerays for believing in him

3.19 pm: Outgoing mayor Snehal Ambekar felicitates Mahadeshwar.

3.18 pm: Despite showing support for each other, Shiv Sena corporators raise slogans cheering Bal Thackeray and their BJP counterparts raise that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi

3.14pm: Geeta Gawli also voted for Mahadeshwar.

3.02 pm: Vishwanath Mahadeshwar wins by 171 votes, becomes Mumbais 76th mayor.

3.01 pm: Procedure of casting votes through video-recording and signatures over.

2.33 pm: Samajwadi Partys six and NCPs nine corporators have abstained from exercising their voting rights in mayoral election.

2.05 pm: Manoj Kotak, BJP leader, said as per BJP Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelars order, they have voted for Shiv Sena.

1.51 pm: Independent corporator Mumtaz Rehbar Khan from ward no 102 at Bandra, who had supported BJP, does not vote for Shiv Sena and stays neutral

1.50 pm: Voting by show of hands is over. Corporators are appearing before the camera one by one to formally cast their vote.

1.32 pm: Announcement of Mumbai mayor just a formality now. Shiv Sena gets over 160 out of 227 votes with support of BJP

1.28 pm: Commuters face traffic snarls as supporters gather outside BMC headquarters.

1.20pm: Voting process underway. Official announcement yet to be made. Shiv Sena candidate Vishwanath Mahadeshwar likely to be winner.

MNS corporators are absent during Mumbai Mayor's election in BMC house.  ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

12.45 pm: Shiv Sena corporators one by one sign in favour of party candidate Mahadeshwar.

BJP corporators vote for Shiv Senas candidate in BMC mayoral elections. (HT Photo)

12.34 pm: BJP votes for Shiv Senas mayor candidate

12.33 pm: As none of the nominations were taken back the outgoing mayor Snehal Ambekar starts the proceedings again.

12.27 pm: Sena MP and party secretary Anil Desai and Sena legislator Anil Parab present in BMC civic halls viewing gallery for the Mayoral election proceedings.

12. 20 pm: Mayoral candidates are Vishwanath Mahadeshwar from Shiv Sena and Vitthal Lokare from Congress.

12.18 pm: Ambekar gives 15 minutes to mayoral candidates to withdraw their candidature.

12.17 pm: Outgoing mayor Snehal Ambekar announces the mayor candidates after scrutinising nomination forms of Shiv Sena and Congress nominees.

12.13 pm: House proceedings begin.

Commuters face traffic snarls as supporters gather outside BMC headquarters in Mumbai. (Kunal Patil/HT)

12.10 pm: Corporators across all parties shout slogans in the civic hall.

12.03 pm: BJP corporators enter the hall while raising slogans in support of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

12.01 pm: Shiv Sena corporators enter civic hall for the mayoral election.

11.55 am: They leave for the House for the mayoral election.

11.50 am: Shiv Sena corporators hold an internal meeting in BMC HQ.

11.43 am: Heavy police bandobast outside BMC headquarters ahead of mayoral election.

11.38 am: Mahadeshwar arrives at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters. Voting to begin at 12pm.

10.24 am: Shiv Senas mayor candidate Vishwanath Mahadeshwar leaves from his home for BMC headquarters as the mayoral elections are to be held today.

READ MORE

Winning Mumbai mayoral election was easy, tough job ahead for Mahadeshwar

Senas mayor candidate accused of grabbing flat, drawing salary

Shiv Senas mayoral candidate is 3-time corporator, soft-spoken academician

Mumbai mayor election set stage for another BJP-Sena tiff
The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested an accused who was externed from the city limits for two years on finding 68 grams of Mephedrone (MD) or Meow Meow drugs in his possession worth Rs 1.34 lakh.

ANC chief, deputy commissioner of police, Shivdeep Lande said the Azad Maidan unit of the ANC made the arrest. The accused is identified as Kamran Javed Shaikh, 29, a resident of Rehamaniya Crystal, Nishan pada, khadak, Dongri was externed for two years from the city limits from the Dongri police station because he was a repeat offender. Shaikh has two previous cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and 3 other cases under the Indian Penal Code against him

The ANC team led by inspector Santosh Bhalekar nabbed him from Wadibunder area. Apart from the drugs, a Honda maestro motor cycle worth Rs 40,000 has been seized from him. He has been booked under section 8(c) read with 22 (c) of the NDPS ACT.

READ MORE

Mumbai businessman arrested with 1kg of Mephedrone in Andheri

In Mumbai: Four arrested for smuggling mephedrone worth Rs48 lakh
BMC polls: New Mumbai mayor promises to speed up projects, Senas deputy mayor candidate poised to win

Shiv Sena candidate Vishwanath Mahadeshwar , who was supported by BJP, is a three-time corporator from Santacruz and college principal. Read

Winning Mumbai mayoral election was easy, tough job ahead for Mahadeshwar

Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, a three-time corporator has become 76th mayor of Mumbai. The mayoral election turned out to be a cakewalk for the Shiv Sena after its ally-turned-rival BJP decided not to contest. Read

Illegal land deal: Will file FIR against Eknath Khadse, Maharashtra govt to Bombay HC

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay high court that the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) will register an FIR against former state revenue minister Eknath Khadse over allegations of corruption in MIDC land deal case. Read

Beach clean-ups in Mumbai inspired global Clean Seas campaign: UNEP head

The Clean Seas global campaign that was launched in Indonesia during the last week of February was inspired by beach clean-up efforts in Mumbai over the past 18 months, said top officials from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on Tuesday. Read

Three-year-old Mumbai boy dies after boiling water falls on him

After battling for life for over two weeks, a three-year-old boy died on Monday after a utensil filled with boiled water fell on him at his Santacruz residence recently. He sustained 50% burns and was declared dead at a government hospital in Goregaon. Read
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay high court that the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) will register an FIR against former state revenue minister Eknath Khadse over allegations of corruption in MIDC land deal case.

Special counsel for the state, senior advocate Niteen Pradhan also said the Pune police was inept at probing cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and accordingly, the probe into the case against Khadse and his family members will be transferred to the Maharashtra ACB.

A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Revati Mohite-Dere directed that the ACBs probe be conducted independently and expeditiously, and that the ACB must not let the previous findings of the Pune Police or the state appointed Judicial Commission weigh upon its own probe.

The bench also directed that the probe be supervised by an officer not below the rank of Additional Director General of the ACB.

The state however, initially objected to such mandatory supervision saying that it was unnecessary since the ACBs probe would be an honest one.

Pradhan argued that one could repose trust into the probing agency for if the ACB wasnt believed to be corruption free, then no other state organisation could be considered incorrupt.

The states decision to transfer the probe to the ACB and to register an FIR comes after much prodding by the HC as initially it had submitted that it wished to wait for the Judicial Commissions report to ascertain if Khadse had a role to play in the land scam.

In February this year, the state had told the court that the Pune police had not detected any prima facie cognisable offence in the case.

On Wednesday, advocate Pradhan informed the court of the transfer of probe but initially argued vehemently against registering the FIR.

He urged the court to allow for the transfer of probe and to give ACB the liberty to decide, on the basis of its findings, whether or not an FIR was warranted against Khadse.

The bench, however, refused to make any such concession and said it will only accept the states submission on transfer of probe if it committed to begin the probe by registering an FIR.

The bench also decided against disposing of the case so that it can keep track of the ACBs progress in the case.

The court was hearing a plea filed by a social activist Hemant Gavande alleging, among other things, that Khadse had purchased a three-acre plot at Bhosri, owned Industrial Development Corporation in the name of his kin for Rs 3.75 crore as against the market price of Rs 40 crore.

Gavande had first made these allegations in July 2016 and Khadse was forced to resign from his post of the state revenue minister soon after.

The judicial committee, headed by retired Bombay HC judge Dinkar Zoting was constituted to conduct an inquiry.

Gavande however, approached HC arguing that besides the commission, the state police too must act upon the complaint that he had registered against Khadse on the above allegations.

HC had then directed the police to act upon the above complaint and is likely to take up the matter for further hearing on April 3.

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With the Bombay high court asking the state government to build a new prison in Mumbai, the focus is back on the overcrowded prisons in and around the city.

Mumbai has two prisons (Arthur road jail and Byculla womens prison) while Navi Mumbai has one (Taloja jail) and Thane has two (Thane central jail and Kalyan jail). Of these, Arthur Road is by far the most overcrowded. According to the prison department, the jail currently houses 2,680 inmates, more than three times its capacity of 804. Thane central jail is next most crowded; it has room for just 1,105 inmates but actually houses 3,056. Even Byculla womens jail, the least crowded of the five, houses 81 more inmates than the 200 it has room for.

Official blame overcrowding on the high crime rate in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and the fact that setting up a new jail is far from easy. The authorities are looking at expanding existing facilities and adding more barracks as setting up a new jail involves a lengthy process and acquiring numerous permissions. Additional director general of prisons BK Upadhyay told HT that there were plans to build two new barracks at Arthur road jail that would increase its capacity by 300 to 350 inmates.

The number of people under trial also far exceeds the number of convicts in jails across the state. While video conferencing is an option if the inmate is far away from a court, the rules say that under-trials in city jails must be produced in court. Once they are convicted they are shifted out of the city; gangster Arun Gawli, for example, was moved to Nagpur jail after he was convicted.

While prison departments 2017 figures showed that Maharashtras jails were 30% over capacity, according to National Crime Records Bureau figures from 2015, Maharashtras jails were 12% over capacity on average. According to the NCRB, Dadra and Nagar Haveli had the most crowded jails (177% over capacity), followed by Chhattisgarh (134%), Delhi (127%), Meghalaya (178%), Uttar Pradesh (69%), Madhya Pradesh (40%), Uttarakhand (36%), Kerala (18%), Punjab (18%), Jharkhand (14%), Maharashtra (13%), Himachal Pradesh (11%), Assam (10%), Haryana (9%), West Bengal (3%) and Rajasthan (2%).

Also read: No more phone calls for Maha inmates: Prison dept to install 39 mobile phone jammers

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The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested a Delhi-based courier agent on Tuesday in connection with the antique smuggling case that was unearthed on February 7.

Pushpender Singh, 35, is the third person to be arrested in this case. The smuggling of Indian antiques came to light after the DRI arrested a US-based businessman of Indian origin Vijay Nanda in February. Nanda allegedly tried to smuggle out antiques from the country. He was nabbed after the police recovered several antiques from his godown in Byculla. His accomplice, Udit Jain, was also arrested on March 3.

We searched Singhs premises and recorded his statement on Tuesday. He confessed that he used the IEC (Import Export Code) of his firms to help Jain and Nanda smuggle antiques to Hong Kong and Taiwan. He has also admitted mis-declaring them as handicrafts and artificial rings to hoodwink the authorities, said a high-ranking DRI officer. The IEC Code is unique 10 digit code issued to Indian companies while permitting them to import and export.

Singh has been sent to judicial custody.

The DRI had earlier arrested Jain as a part of the Deendayalan syndicate in Chennai for smuggling antiques and old paintings. Deenadayalan is an alleged idol smuggler in Chennai who, sources claimed, works with Subhash Chandra Kapoor who is an infamous idol smuggler in New York.

Kapoor was arrested at a German airport in 2012 after Interpol issued a red corner notice (international arrest warrant) against him. He was extradited to India based on the information provided by the DRI and is currently in a Chennai jail.

DRI seizes cigarettes smuggled in as toys

Acting on a tip off, DRI examined a consignment lying at the Mumbai International Cargo Terminal (MICT) at, Dronagiri, Nhava Sheva and discovered a concealment of smuggled international brand cigarettes - Dunhill, Gudang Garam, 555 and Benson and hedges. The consignment  that were declared to be toys in the packaging  is worth Rs84 lakh, claimed sources. They were packed in cartons used to package toy cars which was then wrapped with plastic laminating film to conceal its odour and stuffed into corrugated boxes. Sources from the DRI said that of the total 133 such cartons, only 92 of them contained toys.

Read: US bizman arrested in Mumbai came to India to arrange smuggling of antiques

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Drivers of app-based taxis who have united as the Action Committee of Maharashtra said the Maharashtra City Taxi Rules, 2017 would further reduce their already falling incomes. In effective since March 4, the state governments new rules aim to regulate app-based taxis and control their dynamic pricing. They include lower and upper limits on fares and a daffodil-yellow colour for the cars, to distinguish them from ordinary tourist cabs. They also make permits mandatory for all app-based cabs and public transport badges for all drivers. A permit will cost Rs25,000 for vehicles under 1,400cc and a whopping Rs2.61 lakh for those with more powerful engines.

Prafulla Shinde, 27, a member of ACM who has been driving an app-based cab for the past three years, said, Ola and Uber had committed to a monthly income of Rs 1.25 lakh for us, which is why thousands of people bought new cars. But now it is difficult to earn even Rs500-1,000 a day because of reduced incentives and various penalties imposed by the companies. Many drivers have been unable to pay their EMIs for the past few months. How will they pay for new badges, permits and paint?

ACM members said that their main demand to Ola and Uber was the implementation of a uniform incentive scheme for all types of cabs in their fleets and equal treatment for company-owned cabs and those owned by drivers. Another demand is the scrapping of penalties for refusing rides and other reasons. Members said they had already presented their demands to the government, Ola and Uber but were yet to hear back.

According to a source, more than 9,000 drivers of app-based taxis have registered with ACM. Until recently, they were scattered across 42 groups, three unions and a NGO, but came together to take on the government and their employers.

They have planned a series of strikes, the first of which is on Friday. A source said the drivers will first protest outside Olas office at Andheri on Friday morning before taking their protest to Ubers office and Azad Maidan. Both Ola and Uber refused to comment on the issue.

ACM members claimed that their agitation would spread as they received support from their counterparts in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune. Leaders of taxi unions from these cities will travel to the city for Fridays agitation.

Read: Ola, Uber drivers strike a signal of more to come?

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While Mumbais Arthur Road jail houses more than three times the number of inmates it has space for, a proposal to set up a new jail at Mandala village near Mankhurd remains in limbo as it awaits the approval of the state government. The plan for a second jail was set in motion in 2014. Initially, the prisons department had a hard time finding a suitable location. After much effort, a plot at Mankhurd was chosen but according to additional director general of prisons BK Upadhyay the proposal is still awaiting clearance from the state government.

Sources said the site at Mankhurd was selected after considering several security-related aspects such as high-security installations or high-rises in the vicinity. High rises around Arthur Road jail, incidentally, continue to pose a security concern.

The new jail would ease the pressure on the overcrowded Arthur Road jail and also reduce the burden on the police, who have to ferry under-trials to city courts not just from Arthur Road jail but also those in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan, a source said.

Thane and Taloja jails, the source added, posed an additional problem because were especially lawless. In June 2013, gangster Abu Salem was shot at in Taloja jail. It was later found that the shooter, Devendra Jagtap, had accepted a contract to kill him from gangster Chhota Shakeel, and the two had spoken on a mobile phone that had been smuggled into the jail.

Arthur Road jail, however, hasnt been free of such problems. In 2010, Salem and 1993 blasts accused Mustafa Dossa clashed there, after which Salem was shifted to Taloja jail. In April 2014, Uday Pathak, the main accused in the 2011 Kurar quadruple murders, was found to be running a gang using a mobile phone he had smuggled into Arthur Road jail.

Also read: In Mumbai: 9,848 inmates stuffed in 5 jails having room for just 4,773

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After battling for life for over two weeks, a three-year-old boy died on Monday after a utensil filled with boiled water fell on him at his Santacruz residence recently. He sustained 50% burns and was declared dead at a government hospital in Goregaon.

According to the Santacruz police, the incident took place on February 17 around 7.30 pm when the deceased identified as Hemant Prem Singh, 3, was playing at his home in Phoolwali chawl in Gazdar Band in Santacruz west. He succumbed to his injuries on Monday evening (March 6) around 5.30 pm, said the police.

A police official from Santacruz said, Hemants mother was busy feeding her one-year-old boy while he was playing near the gas stove. Her mother had kept rice in a utensil containing boiled water to cook it. Hemant pulled the pipe of the stove and the utensil containing boiling water fell on him.

Hemant suffered burn injuries on his neck and abdomen. He was rushed to Sion Hospital by his parents and later shifted to a municipal hospital in Goregaon on Monday for better treatment. However, Hemant died the same day he was shifted to the second hospital.

The Santacruz police have registered a case of accidental death. An official investigating the case said the mother cannot be held negligent adding it was an unfortunate incident. Hemants father works at a food stall.

READ MORE

Gurgaon: Toddler dies after falling into bucketful of scalding hot water

13-year-old girl dies after fasting for more than two months for Jain ritual
A 17-year-old girl was gang raped by two men at an open ground in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) late on Tuesday.

The accused allegedly drugged the minor before raping her.

A case of kidnapping and gang rape has been registered with the Vakola police.

The complainant said that she was waiting near Mithi River around 9.30pm after visiting a relative near a Ravi hotel in Vakola when the two accused arrived on bikes.

They were both around 25 years of age and one of them was her friend, she told the police.

The two accused then asked her to accompany them for a ride which she refused a couple of times. But when they offered to drop her home in Kurla, she accepted it, said an officer from Vakola police station.

The duo then took the minor to Bandstand where they offered her a drink laced with sedatives, added the official. After drinking it, she began to lose consciousness. The accused then took her to an open ground at BKC and raped her and fled the spot.

The girl said that it was pretty late in the night and even though she tried to cry out for help, no one was around to hear her. She managed to hail a taxi early on Wednesday and reached home.

She then informed her aunt, who then filed a complaint with the Kurla police station. The officers arrested the two accused and transferred them and the case to the Vakola police station.

The police have booked the accused under section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence), 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (G) (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code along with relevant sections under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012.

Read: Compensating rape victim is govts obligation, not charity: Bombay high court

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Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, a three-time corporator has become 76th mayor of Mumbai. The mayoral election turned out to be a cakewalk for the Shiv Sena after its ally-turned-rival BJP decided not to contest. However, the problems are not over for Mahadeshwar and his party. They are probably just starting.

To begin with, Mahadeshwar is facing allegations of occupying a flat where he is staying currently by making its owner Gajanan Pandit, a retired BMC employee, sell it to him forcibly. Mahendra Pawar, an independent candidate contesting opposite Mahadeshwar has taken the matter to court. Further, a Congress leader Dharmesh Vyas has alleged that Mahadeshwar has been drawing salary from a government-aided college even during the period when he was contesting election. Mahadeshwar is principal of the college. Though the Shiv Sena has denied both the allegations, the legal battle would decide Mahadeshwars fate.

On the political front, he will have to face an aggressive BJP, which has just two members less than Sena in the civic house. The Sena has 84 while the BJP has 82 members. The next two years are likely to witness constant tussle between the Shiv Sena and the BJP in the civic house with the latter trying to corner the ruling party over various issues. An indication of the same was visible on Tuesday when BJP legislators in state Assembly demanded investigation into the roads scam by a special investigation team. Since the Sena doesnt have a clear majority, it will have to cobble up numbers every time when the civic house would be passing any proposals or resolutions. It will have to get BJP on board or woo smaller parties like MNS and NCP to get its proposals passed.

Both Mahadeshwar and the Shiv Sena will have to tread cautiously and at the same time will have to try and fulfil expectations from the citizens which seems to be a tough job as of now.

READ MORE

BMC polls live: New Mumbai mayor promises to speed up projects, deputy mayoral election begins

Senas mayor candidate accused of grabbing flat, drawing salary
The 23-year-old man who shot dead a 22-year-old woman at a private hospital in Ghaziabad on Tuesday evening was stalking her for the past couple of months. The man shot himself dead after killing the woman.

The investigating officers said Jyoti Gautam worked as a receptionist at Life Line Hospital in Vijay Nagar but was on leave for the past several days as she had to appear for her graduation exams.

She had come to the hospital to meet her friend Priyanka when Bobby barged in with a countrymade weapon.

He had a verbal altercation with the woman who again refused his proposal. An infuriated Priyanka tried to push him out of the hospital. But the man took out a countrymade weapon and fired at Jyoti. He then loaded another cartridge and shot himself. Since I was not in the hospital at that time, Priyanka narrated the incident to me. She is in shock since the incident, said Sunil Kumar Sharma, hospital owner.

Sharma added that Jyoti was not an employee of the hospital but came to the hospital as she wanted to pursue nursing in future.

The weapon that Bobby brought along was new and he also had two cartridges with him  one he used to kill her and the other, himself. It seems like he had planned the attack and followed Jyoti to the hospital. Bobby and Jyoti were neighbours, Sharma added.

Before the shooting incident, the conversation between Bobby and Jyoti lasted barely a minute after which shots were fired.

The police said Bobbys parents had died several years ago and he was staying with his grandparents in Vijay Nagar. None of his family members arrived till late night at the hospital. Both Bobby and Jyoti are residents of Sector 9, Vijay Nagar.

Bobbys landlord Amar Singh said Bobbys grandparents had gone to their ancestral place in Aligarh for the elections and Bobby was staying with his two brothers.

On the day of the incident, Bobby did not go with his brothers who work in Delhi. I saw him around 2.30pm on Tuesday sitting with his friends in a park. Around 7pm, he came running to the room and went inside. Then, he rushed out and locked the room. I stopped him and asked him about the pending rent. He said he will come back soon, Singh said.

Later, Bobby went to the hospital and allegedly shot Jyoti and himself.

I have never seen or heard about the three brothers being involved in any controversy or police case. They go early morning to work and return late night. Their schedule is the same every day. They also had cordial relations with neighbours, he said.

The residence of the accused, victim and the hospital are located within a radius of 200 metres and is in the vicinity of Vijay Nagar police station.

Following the incident on Tuesday, the police had also lodged an FIR of murder against Bobby.

The case will come to an end as the accused person is dead. The FIR has been filed by the hospital owner. We sent the bodies for a post mortem examination and the medical reports are awaited, said Neeraj Singh, station house officer, Vijay Nagar police station.

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Sucheta Singh, the woman sarpanch of Lalitpur Tibra village of Ghaziabad, will be trying to recycle sewage for agricultural purposes in her village. She is one of the eight women sarpanchs from Ghaziabad who attended the Swachh Shakti  2017 conclave held in Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat, and addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The women members were selected for their exemplary work in their respective villages.

As a sarpanch, we have been celebrating the first Sunday of every month as cleanliness day. Villagers take up mass cleaning and spread awareness on that day. After the cleaning drive, we also distribute sweets among villagers. From the conclave, I have taken up the idea to install a sewage treatment plant, which will help us save water and the recycled water can be used for water agricultural fields, she said.

Apart from spreading awareness, Singh has also got constructed 10 public toilets in her village to support the cleanliness drive launched by the government.

The conclave in Gujarat was an eye opener as we shared ideas and met other women sarpanchs who came from all parts of the country. In my village, we have constructed 80 toilets with public funds. From the contribution of villagers, we have come up with dustbins and streetlights on every pole available, said Neetu Singh, sarpanch from Kazampur village in Razapur block, Ghaziabad.

We also made a unique arrangement to save water in our village. We have connected all drainages and dug up a pond where the sewage gets collected. This helps in conserving groundwater as well. After attending the conclave, we came to know where our work stood. Now, I feel more encouraged, especially after PM Modis address about educating the girl child, cleanliness and gender equality, she said.

The women sarpanchs from Ghaziabad will return in another couple of days after they visit development blocks and villages in Gujarat.

Of the eight sarpanchs who attended the conclave in Gujarat, two are from Loni, three from Murad Nagar, two from Razapur and one from Bhojpur block in Ghaziabad district. They also attended a programme held at the riverfront park in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, said Mohammad Farrukh, district consultant, Swachh Bharat Mission.

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The Uttar Pradesh police have sounded an alert after a gunman, suspected to be inspired by the Islamic State (IS) terror outfit, was shot dead in Lucknow following a gunbattle on Wednesday. The police in NCR areas of Noida and Ghaziabad have stepped up security measures following the alert, and also in view of the vote counting and upcoming festivals.

We have asked all police stations to be alert and to perform checking of hotels, dhabas, bus terminals and areas around railway stations for suspicious objects and persons. There is already an alert ahead of the vote counting and Holi festival, but security has been strengthened further after the Lucknow incident, Deepak Kumar, the senior superintendent of police (SSP), Ghaziabad, said.

The UP director general of police, Javeed Ahmad, also sounded an alert and ordered raids of guest houses, hotels, railway stations, bus stations, airport and dhabas located on highways. The police have also been asked to detain all suspects for questioning.

The Gautam Budh Nagar police enhanced security and sensitive areas in Noida and Greater Noida were placed under a close watch. Officials said there will be regular vehicular checks in the city and paramilitary forces have also been stationed at strategic locations across the city.

Although we have not received any particular intelligence, we have stepped up security measures in the city. Security was to be strengthened due to the announcement of the assembly election results on Saturday, which is followed by a number of festivals, Dharmendra Singh, SSP, Gautam Budh Nagar, said.

The police said that announcement of the election results may escalate tension in some areas. Some hamlets in the district are communally sensitive, and we are keeping a close watch on these areas, the SSP said.

During the gunbattle, a huge cache of arms and ammunition, an IS flag and literature were recovered from the room where Saifullah alias Saiful, 23, was gunned down in Lucknows Kakori area late on Tuesday night. The operation was taken up by UP anti-terrorist squad.

After the incident, we have deployed our teams in the state and western UP as well. Since interception of such operatives is a specialised task, we are working in close coordination with other Central agencies as well, an officer from UP-ATS said.
Pakistans high commissioner Abdul Basit on Wednesday said the Kashmir issue can be resolved only through dialogue and it cannot be compared with Balochistan.

He was interacting with students at the IIMT group of colleges campus in Greater Noida on Wednesday.

When asked about human rights violations in Balochistan by Pakistan, while Pakistan keeps intervening in the Kashmir issue over alleged human rights violation by India, Basit said, Oranges cannot be compared with apples.

Last year, during the Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a remark of alleged human rights violation by Pakistan in Balochistan, which started a war of words from both sides.

Basit also said the Kashmir issue has been identified by both nations and successive governments are trying to resolve it through dialogue.

Speaking at the conference, Basit said, Our generation has failed in building cordial relations between India and Pakistan, the world sees our two countries as hostile neighbours, enemies, but the onus is on the coming generation to better Indo-Pak relations.

We had spent 70 years fighting each other. Now the youth of both nations have to decide whether they want to keep fighting with each other in future as well or dispense their biases and start anew, the high commissioner said.

Terrorism is a problem that both India and Pakistan face. Not only Pakistan, but even India cannot realize its aspirations if peace is not established in the region, he said, adding that talks between the nations is the only way to end this deadlock.

If we allow our disputes to grow rather than sit across a table and discuss them, the problems between our two nations can never be settled, he said and termed terrorism a regional problem.

According to a study, in all these years, Pakistan has suffered a loss of $120 billion due to terrorism. Pakistan is working to counter internal and external terrorism, he said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the Pakistani diplomat said, We are confident to fight terrorism from within.
The impact of climate change is one of the most critical concerns today. Some argue that the day of reckoning has already arrived  according to the United Nations, 90% of recorded major natural disasters from 1995 to 2015 have been linked to climate and weather. The economic costs have been huge. Take the 2015 Chennai floods; a study by Swiss Re suggests that the floods caused an economic loss of $2.2 billion (including insured losses of $755 million), making this the second costliest insurance event in Indias history.

Extreme climatic events are impacting businesses around the world by damaging infrastructure and disrupting supply chains. Ironically, this complex challenge gets incorrectly classified as a long-term threat and is often excluded from contemporary corporate decision-making.

This is problematic for corporates and the communities they serve. The Paris climate accord requires immediate action to reduce dependency on fossil fuel. By postponing action, corporates are exposing themselves to a variety of risks.

Corporate India, at a minimum, has to urgently familiarise itself with the significant amount of work that has been done by governments and the scientific community to understand and explain climate change impacts.

Corporates can supplement the available government research with specific studies commissioned by them to evaluate the impacts of climate change in the areas where they operate.

The growing risks of climate change make it incumbent upon corporates to enhance their strategic focus on the traditional three Rs  Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. This is integral to the increasingly popular concept of the circular economy, where resources are circulated within the system releasing minimal waste, and which emphasises sustainable supply chain management. As the pressure on natural resources grows, it is companies that learn to do better in a resource-constrained environment that succeed.

To help in the migration to more climate-friendly processes, corporates can consider adopting measurement frameworks and tools such as an internal carbon price for business planning. A shadow carbon price is useful in evaluating different scenarios while taking operational decisions, and highlights the regulatory and asset obsolescence risks of future investments.

Corporates must also embrace the business opportunities associated with the adoption of new climate friendly technologies. With sharp declines in cost, these present corporates an unprecedented opportunity to leapfrog to a more sustainable future; this is not dissimilar to the manner in which corporate India has embraced mobile communications technology.

In the proximate future, corporates will be obliged to disclose the risks they face from climate change impacts. Indeed, regulators around the world are already evaluating the extent to which corporates must accurately forecast and disclose to their investors and other stakeholders the vulnerability of their businesses to climate change.

It is because of these critical impacts on their strategies that many forward-looking corporates are now locating action on climate change within their strategy development departments. Indeed, the sustainability agenda is now becoming a part of mainstream corporate strategy development.

This year is likely to see Indian CEOs, particularly from companies that have an international footprint, tested for their ability to offer visionary leadership in responding to climate change.

Mukund Rajan chairs the Tata Global Sustainability Council and Abhishek Goyal is member, Tata Sustainability Group

The views expressed are personal
Chandigarh: With the city seeing a snatching a day this year (40 snatchings in 59 days) so far, a pattern has emerged where elderly women are easy prey and are targeted in the same modus operandi. The snatchers first do a recce and ensure they know a safe route to escape.

After the snatchers on a bike spot an easy prey, usually, an elderly woman, the pillion rider steps down and starts conversation. The driver stays away at a convenient distance. HT recounts some recent instances where this has happened. In all instance, there has been a perfect escape

March 6

Gold chain of Urmila Biswal, 56, snatched in Sector 41-B. She was standing near the gate of her house when a motorcycle stopped near her. The pillion rider snatched her chain and the duo fled.

February 27

Gold chain of Krishna (55) snatched in Sector 40. The victim was standing outside her house with her neighbours. The pillion rider stepped down and enquired if she had called painters to her house.

February 10

Two unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants snatched the gold chain of a 50-year-old Shanti Devi in Sector 47.

January 30

Kanta Bhatia, 62, another victim of snatching in Sector 42. The victim was standing outside the house of her neighbour at around 1 pm.

January 16

Unidentified miscreant targeted Saroj (60), a resident of Khuda Lahora, after he snatched her gold chain in near her house in the locality

POLICE VERSION

Cops are visiting residents homes to ensure residents stay vigilant. We are trying our best to arrest these snatchers. Public cooperation is also needed.
Going by their unsavoury experience with militant Jagtar Singh Hawara, Chandigarh police do not want him back in Burail jail.

Submitting its reply in connection with the plea of Hawara to transfer all cases registered against him in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to one place, Chandigarh Police have requested Punjab and Haryana High Court to dismiss his plea.

Police submitted that since Hawara managed to escape from Burail Jail in 2004, the possibility of repetition of the incident cannot be ruled out and there can be a law and order problem in Chandigarh if he is shifted to Burail jail. Police said Hawara was a dreaded Babbar Khalsa terrorist, who was trained in Pakistan.

As per police trial in two criminal cases registered against Hawara in Chandigarh is yet to start. Hawara was convicted in the 2004 jailbreak case.

Police termed Hawaras contention as wrong that his stay in Tihar jail was causing impediments in trial of cases in Punjab. They said Tihar was an appropriate option for the militant as security arrangements were better there.

Hawara in his plea had sought his transfer to a place where all his pending cases can be transferred in order to expedite the trials. He averred that there was little progress in some cases as he is not being produced before the court on regular basis.

Hawara had preferably sought his transfer to a jail in Punjab, claiming that most of his cases were in the state. Hawara contended that after the decision of a criminal case pending in the court of an additional sessions judge, Delhi, there is a possibility of him being shifted to Chandigarhs Burail Jail as he is a convict in former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh murder case.

Punjab and Haryana governments are expected to submit their replies too.

Terrorists Jagtar Singh Tara, Jagtar Singh Hawara, Paramjit Singh Bheora, along with a murder convict, Devi Singh, had escaped from the Burail jail in January 2004 by digging a 104-foot tunnel.

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Dera Sacha Sauda followers gave police more time to solve the murder of Satpal Kumar (65) and his son Ramesh Kumar (35) by two unidentified men at the canteen of sects congregation centre in Jagera village near Khanna on February 25.

A large number of premis attended the bhog ceremony of father-son duo on Wednesday and agreed to extend the deadline they had set for the police to arrest the guilty. At the cremation of the victims on March 1, the dera followers had given police five days to solve the case.

We have full faith in the police and they have assured us to crack the case soon. The police say they are close to nab the culprits and needed some more time, said Sarwan Kumar, a member of the political affairs wing of the dera.

Two bike-borne gunmen killed Satpal and Ramesh and dera followers blocked the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road for two days. The followers agreed to cremate the bodies only after the intervention of director general of police (law and order) Hardeep Singh Dhillon.
Gangster Gurpreet Singh Sekhons desire to do something unique which militants could not achieve during terrorism days in Punjab led to the Nabha jailbreak, reveals the challan presented by Punjab Police in a Nabha court, copies of which were given to the accused on Tuesday.

The accused also wanted to operate from foreign shores by joining hands with Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Singh Mintoo, who has links with militants settled abroad.

The trial has been now been shifted to Patiala as Punjab Police have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which can only be tried in a sessions court.

The accused had planned to shift their base to other courtiers after fleeing from the jail, said Nabha deputy superintendent of police Jaskirat Singh Ahir. He said the challan had been presented on basis findings by the special investigation team (SIT).

During his stay in the Nabha jail, Sekhon befriended Mintoo and expressed his desire that he wants to do something unique which no militant had done before. To this, Mintoo floated the idea of jailbreak. Earlier, the Sekhon had planned to flee from a court during a hearing in a murder case, stated the police challan.

At least 10 armed men broke into the premises of the high-security Nabha jail and freed six gangsters, KLF chief Mintoo on November 27.

The jailbreak was executed as per plan but Mintoo was arrested in Delhi the next day. Sekhon, who was planning to shift to Hong Kong, was arrested by the police from Moga on February 5.

The police have also presented challan against two jail officials  Bheem Singh and Jagmeet Singh  who were terminated dereliction in duty.

Besides Sekhon and Mintoo, challan was presented against Tejinder Sharma of Nabha, Bikkar Singh of Ferozepur, Palwinder Singh Pinda, Jagatvir Singh of Rampura Phul, Naresh Norang of Rajasthan, Charanpreet Singh, Harjot Singh, Ranjit Singh, Mohd Asim of Uttrarkhand, Kulpreet Singh Neeta Deol, and Sunil Kalra of Ludhiana.

The police had arrested 21 accused, including two jail officials, in the case who are lodged in the Nabha jail.

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Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Tuesday arrested the alleged kingpin of a Bihar-based gang involved in leaking question papers of entrance tests for various government jobs across the country.

Accused Kuresh Kumar Diwedi, 40, who is allegedly a local Congress leader in Bihars Arwal district, was produced in an SAS Nagar court, which sent him to a days remand.

Besides leaking recruitment exam papers in Delhi and Telangana, Diwedi facilitated 17 candidates for 100 posts of sub-divisional engineer (SDE) in the Punjab irrigation department, said sources. The examination was conducted by the Thapar University, Patiala, on October 16, 2016. The accused allegedly kept the candidates original documents as security, to be returned on payment of 25 lakh after selection.

We have investigated the accused. He is one of the major kingpins of the recruitment paper leaks held in other states, like Delhi, Haryana and Telangana. Other conduits are on the run. We are trying to nab them as well, said VB additional inspector general (AIJ) Surjeet Singh.

VB officials said the gang charged anything between 10 lakh and 25 lakh per candidate. They allegedly eyed around 25 candidates in order to earn at least 2 crore per examination paper.
The Punjab and Haryana high court has observed that the University Grants Commission might convert Panjab University into a resort, if it (the UGC) was going to adopt different yardsticks to release funds to it than it does for other universities.

The bench of justice SS Saron and justice Darshan Singh was hearing PUs petition against the UGC for not releasing Rs 30 crore grant to it despite the HC order of January 19.

PU is facing an unprecedented fund crunch and paid February salaries to teachers only on Tuesday.

Panjab University has always functioned on a deficit budget (expenditure more than revenue), but before 2014, the UGC would ease the crunch with an ad hoc annual grant from its plan budget, apart from its regular annual funding of about Rs 170 crore to the university.

Read | Shut Panjab University today, why wait for three months, HC raps UGC

For the Centre, Punjab, UT (Chandigarh) are not part of it. Be it airport (Chandigarh airport issue), colleges (affiliation-related issues) or now PU, they have different yardsticks for them and different for others, the HC bench observed.

Let it be closed as centre of learning The students could be shifted to Punjabi University (Patiala) and GNDU(Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar) ..UGC may convert it into a resort, the bench added.

The observations came after V-C AK Grover informed the court that all other institutes were given 15% additional over their 2015-16 grant, except PU.

Previously, varsity counsel senior advocate Girish Agnihotri had told the court, The future of 2.5 lakh students is at stake.

At this, the HC rebuked the UGC for not complying with court direction and orally asked as to why the salaries of UGC officials should not be attached till the grant was released.

The UGC told the court that it had approached the Supreme Court against the January 19 order. At this, the HC bench observed that even a fresh direction could be challenged.

Counsel for Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) Karanbir Singh Khehar told the HC that the UGC was facing contempt as the appeal against the January 19 order was filed after the four weeks period to comply had expired.

Exam fee used to pay salaries

The bench also directed the varsity to release salaries using the exam fee and the varsity complied by evening.

Stop of ad hoc grant key cause of crisis

Panjab University has always functioned on a deficit budget (expenditure more than revenue), but before 2014, the UGC would ease the crunch with an ad hoc annual grant from its plan budget, apart from its regular annual funding of about `170 crore to the university.

Since this has stopped, the fund situation has become increasingly precarious. The university receives a fixed annual amount of Rs 20 crore from the Punjab government. The varsity generates about `200 crore annually from tuition fees, examination fees and property rentals.

On Tuesday, the court was told that the total salary expenditure of university for the current year is estimated at Rs 306 crore, of which Rs 264 crore has been disbursed till February 2017.

Last available figures show that 2015-16 ended with a deficit of Rs 41 crore even after receiving a partial grant worth Rs 26 crore on the last day of the fiscal 2015-16 on March 31.


Sometimes, people who are good friends or partners end up working together. At times, this equation can lead to friction. Recently, while talking to Hindustan Times, Vidya Balan spoke about not working with her husband, producer Siddharth Roy Kapur. She said, Sidharth does a great job as a producer. I think saath mein kaam nahi karein toh accha hai (its better we dont work together). I get passionately involved in my work. I start taking everything personally. So, then, you might see that we are having fights at home. I think it (their home) will become a war zone. I marvel at couples who work together. I cant imagine that. I personally feel its healthy if you dont.

Drawing a line

Vidya, as experts agree, is right. Consultant psychiatrist, Ambrish Dharmadhikari says that when it comes to a bond that is both personal and professional, it is possible that one person crosses boundaries and hurts the sentiment of the other.

At the same time, Dharmadhikari says that keeping both relationships apart helps, but good communication and honesty is important. He says, Friends or people in relationships, who work professionally should learn to accept difference of opinion in an open manner. They should keep professional matters out of the personal domain. Trust is important in making such relationships work. Trust helps such people in an unbiased way.

Relationship expert, Riddhish Maru says, People who are friends or partners with someone they share a professional relationship with know each others nature, strength and weaknesses. So, if your partner, with whom you are having differences, is also your boss, you dont have an option but to adhere to his or her diktats. But, if its the other way around, both the concerned people will have to keep their egos aside and find an amicable solution to their differences.

Playing it safe

On the other hand, since you are friends or in a relationship with a person you have to deal with professionally, you may not want to portray that all is not well between the two of you. What do you do in such a situation? Dharmadhikari says, To deal with these issues before they go out of hand, one should look for signs such as avoiding each other, fighting over trivial issues, bringing personal matters in the profession sphere or vice versa, using professional or personal advantage to win arguments and taking office fights home or to office.

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Visitors to Chile were up 26% in 2016 to 5.64 million. From the various volcanoes scattered across this South American country  which stretches more than 2,600 miles (4,000km) from north to south  to the arid Atacama desert and its salty scenery, Chile promises stunning natural scenery and unforgettable travel experiences.

Mysterious Easter Island

More than 2,000 miles (3,000km) off the Chilean coast, one of the worlds most remote inhabited islands intrigues travelers with its mysterious stone statues. Whether arriving on Easter Island by plane from Santiago or by boat, visitors are curious to find out how these monumental statues, known as moai, ended up on this isolated island.

With a total area of just 63.2 sq mi (163 sq km) the island can be easily explored by scooter, for example. It has a selection of hotels, most of which require a comfortable budget, but lower-cost campsites are also available.

Sunset at the Salar dAtacama

Pink flamingos in the Atacama salt flats. (Istock)

Starting from San Pedro de Atacama, adventurers can enjoy a day filled with amazing sights as they head off to discover one of Chiles most iconic natural attractions. This salt flat, which is one of the worlds largest sources of lithium, is at its most stunning at sunset.

The landscape seems unreal and otherworldly, with salty deposits that look almost like snow. Pink flamingoes are the star attraction, often seen strolling around the lagoon.

Climbing the Villarrica volcano

Hiking to Villarrica volcano. (Istock)

Look out for organized hiking and trekking trips to the summit of one of Chiles most active volcanoes, rising to an altitude of 2,847 metres (9,341 ft). Accompanied by a professional guide, travellers can get an up-close look at the volcanic crater.

The summit is reached by ski lift or on cross-country skis. In winter, its possible to descend by snowboard or sledge. Once at the summit, visitors are rewarded with incredible views, looking out over the regions lakes and volcanoes.

Chilean wine tasting in the Colchagua Valley

Sample Chilean wine in Colchagua Valley. (Istock)

The Colchagua Valley is a great place to combine wine tasting with a scenic excursion. Chilean wine is recognized for its quality all around the world, and the Colchagua Valley  a two-hour drive from the capital, Santiago  is a perfect place to sample the countys delights. Day trips take visitors around the regions cellars, sampling its renowned cabernet sauvignon.

Experience the El Tatio geyser field

Visit the El Tatio geyser field at dawn. (Istock)

San Pedro de Atacama, which shares its name with the famous Chilean desert, is also the starting point for excursions to another of Chiles sensational natural sights: its geysers. In general, tourists arrive before sunrise to admire the columns of steam rising from the geysers in the cool morning air. The steam plumes then disappear as the air warms up. Visitors can even take a dip in a thermal pool of hot geyser water.

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Nope. How much ever you want it to be, its not India. In fact, India is no where on the list (we have a feeling that it did not qualify for the ranking).

Its Switzerland! The land of the majestic Alps has been named the worlds best country, based on a survey that polled more than 21,000 people from 36 countries.

The results of the US News & World Reports report offer a glimpse into the global reputation of countries around the world  and the current political climate.

Questions were aimed at evaluating countries across 65 attributes that were grouped into nine subrankings: adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power and quality of life.

Switzerland made its debut as the worlds top country this year, driven largely by positive global perceptions of its social systems, protection of human rights and business-friendly environment, notes US News & World Report.

Rounding out the top five spots are Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan and Sweden.

Of particular note, the US slipped from fourth spot in 2016 to seventh this year, with nearly 75% of respondents saying they had lost respect for the country, in large part because of the toxic tone of the 2016 presidential campaign.

The global survey was commissioned one week after the US presidential election last November.

The survey also went so far as to ask respondents who they would have voted for in the US election, were it global. The result? About 60 % of people would have backed Hillary Clinton.

Worldwide, support for Trump was lowest among respondents in Mexico and South Korea.

But in Russia, the US President would have also been the overwhelming favourite, taking 83% of the vote, as well as in China (54%).

Other interesting findings from the report show that four of the top 15 countries are led by women (Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Denmark).

Likewise, some of the issues cited as the most important in the world today ranged from income equality, gender inequality, climate change and the war in Syria with no clear consensus, while nearly three out of four respondents said a new generation of leaders is needed around the world.

Here are the top 10 countries in the world 2017 according to US News & World Report:

1. Switzerland

2. Canada

3. UK

4. Germany

5. Japan

6. Sweden

7. United States

8. Australia

9. France

10. Norway

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Actor Karanvir Bohra, who essays the role of Rocky Akhilesh Raheja in Naagin 2, met with an accident on Tuesday. He was on his way to Bhuj where he was scheduled to shoot a song for his upcoming film, Hume Tumse Pyaar Kitna.

Karanvir was accompanied by his co-star Priya Banerjee and his sister Meenakshi. Luckily they escaped with minor injuries. Karanvir cancelled his shoot and returned to Mumbai.

With the grace of God there are no injuries except for a slight back pain due to the sudden jerk. A speeding truck was coming from the wrong side and we managed to swerve to the right on to the pavement in an attempt to avoid the truck and hit a lamppost. The speed of the car was roughly 90-95 kms/hr, as I had asked my driver to not drive above 100kms/hr, said the actor in a statement.

Maybe for 50 meters we kept driving on the pavement. The car is completely smashed and its a miracle we survived. We were actually going to shoot just the title track of the movie and that is all that is left for the film to complete, the statement further said.

Talking about the film he is working on, Karanvir said, It is a tribute to Sonia and Rajiv Jis love story, but it is fiction. Neither does it have any political agenda nor is it an attempt to grab eyeballs. It is a simple story which is made to create a different content for the audience. It is a tribute to love & peace worldwide.

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International Womens Day means different things for different people - while some believe it is futile to celebrate just one day and not care for their emotions for the rest of the year, others believe the celebrations are important to remind women of their power and importance.

We reached out to TV actors in India to ask them what they think of this special day for them. Among all the comments, one thought all of them agreed on is this: That its time we treated women as equals and gave them the respect due to them.

Here are a few comments from our popular TV stars.

Priyal Gor



I feel really blessed because my parents have brought me up as an independent girl. I have been working since I was a 15-year-old girl, which has helped me a lot. Parents play a crucial role in making their daughters independent. However, our society still doesnt respect women. Although our shows are women-centric, they do not necessarily educate men to respect women. Women of this generation are independent and proud of themselves but the men in our society still expect to be the head of the family. I dont know if Womens Day is actually helpful because the perception in regards to women has not changed much. A man will feel insecure if the woman is ahead of them whether it is in their careers or in monetary gains.

Aishwarya Sakhuja



The fact that we need to celebrate a day dedicated to women clearly shows that we are still not a society that champions equality. Why do we need Womens Day? Why cant we treat women as special all the time. The equality has to come every day. Every woman needs to understand that women empowerment comes from within themselves. We need to believe that we can do whatever we want and even exceed our own expectations. One needs to understand that its not about who is more powerful and no NGO can help you unless you want to help yourself. Even in the television industry we need to stop showing saas  bahu drama where the highpoint of the show is if a female lead forgets to add sugar in the tea. We need to stop showing women so weak and stranded.

Shoma Anand



I feel it is important to celebrate Womens Day because we need to feel proud and celebrate the day for our success. In India, women have carved an identity of their own, and contributing to the betterment of the society. Even in our industry there are so many shows that promote women empowerment. I wish every woman respects other women in her life and helps out a woman in need. Only then will we be truly empowered.

Aditi Sajwan



I feel Womens Day is overrated. If we look at the current situation, we are still backward when it comes to womens empowerment, womens education or their rights. In our country, women are financially dependent on men. They need to stand on their own to get that respect for themselves. Secondly, our society is still to look at women and their clothes differently. We are still judged by the type of clothes we wear or how we behave, and then blame us for all the violence committed against us. In our industry, actresses are independent but it is not portrayed on screen. It is very important to make men understand that everyone is equal. Every woman needs to stand up for herself and keep her head high. I wish they strongly communicate and create uniqueness in their own space.

Niti Taylor



Today, many women match steps with their male counterparts. I support and raise my voice against violence against women in many ways. Our society must understand the needs of women as well.

Helly Shah



Women can do anything and everything. They just need to be brave, fearless and believe that they are equally powerful and capable of doing whatever they want to do. They can bring the change the world requires. We should be strong enough to take our decisions and take a stand for ourselves.

Tanya Sharma



Womens Day should be celebrated all through the year. I wish we become more fearless and more independent. Cheers to all the lovely women, we are strong and we are just too awesome for this world.

Roop Durgapal



Our scriptures say, Where Women are honoured, divinity blossoms there, and where women are dishonoured, all action no matter how noble remain unfruitful. A woman completes the man and brings life on earth.For harmony and balance in a society, women need to be given equal status, respect and importance.

Mahika Sharma



A woman has the power to give life. If we dont exist, flowers would have no meaning, the moon would not be important any more, and pearls would be worthless. Beauty, fragrance, emotions are from us. Without us life will be like rocks or deserts.

Parineeta Borthakur



We are three sisters. My mother always used to say that my father was immensely happy when we were born. We need more men like my dad in our society. Women need to teach their brothers, sons, husbands and the entire male community to respect women as they have come from one, and you will get your next generation from one.

Gulfam Khan



March 8 is generally celebrated as Womens Day, but in all fairness the world is all about the feminine energy. Mother Earth, Jag Janini... whatever you call her, women rule the birth cycle, and that is the reason every day is as much a womans day as it is a mans day.

Shalini Kapoor



A day for appreciating womens contribution and celebrating it is very important. I am not a feminist. I never doubt or question a mans contribution. But I believe we need to celebrate womanhood every day of the year. And yes, I do raise my voice against violence, not gender.

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A bus plunged into a ravine outside Ecuadors capital on Tuesday, killing 11 people and injuring at least 25 others, authorities said.

There are 11 dead at this time, in the crash in Guayllabamba, the Emergency Office said in a post on Twitter. Twenty-five are being tended to medically.

Traffic accidents are one of mountainous Ecuadors leading causes of death.

In January, at least 20 people died and 17 were injured when a school vehicle collided with a long-distance bus in southwestern Ecuador.
The latest dump from WikiLeaks of CIA documents detailing the US spy agencys ability to exploit vulnerabilities in smartphones, computers and widely used devices such as wi-fi routers is being described by experts as bigger than Edward Snowdens leaks on the National Security Agency.

WikiLeaks has said it obtained the trove of documents from one of the former US government hackers and contractors among whom the files had circulated in an unauthorized manner.

Most of the CIAs programs exploited zero day vulnerabilities, or undisclosed weaknesses in software that can used by hackers to affect or gain access to data or programs. It is so-named because the weakness is not known till it is exploited by hackers, leaving the softwares author zero days to create patches to address the vulnerability.

Here are five things you need to know about the of leak of nearly 9,000 documents from the CIAs Center for Cyber Intelligence about the agencys cyber-espionage efforts.

1. Encrypted chat apps havent been compromised but smartphones are vulnerable:

The CIA has not yet cracked the end-to-end encryption tools of apps such as Signal and WhatsApp, which are used by more than a billion people, but the spy agency can compromise the smartphones used to send and receive messages through such apps. This means the CIA can access data, videos, images and even the camera and microphone on the devices.

The CIA/Wikileaks story today is about getting malware onto phones, none of the exploits are in Signal or break Signal Protocol encryption.  Open Whisper Systems (@whispersystems) March 7, 2017

The story isn't about Signal or WhatsApp, but to the extent that it is, we see it as confirmation that what we're doing is working.  Open Whisper Systems (@whispersystems) March 7, 2017

2. How vulnerable are your smartphones?

According to WikiLeaks, the CIAs Mobile Devices Branch has developed numerous attacks to remotely hack and control popular smartphones, which can be instructed to send the users geo-location, audio and text communications as well as covertly activate the phones camera and microphone.

A specialised CIA unit targeted Googles Android software, which powers almost 85% of the worlds smartphones (including millions of devices in India). As of 2016, WikiLeaks said, the CIA had weaponised 24 Android zero days that it either developed itself or obtained from GCHQ, NSA and cyber arms contractors.

Another unit targeted iPhones, which have a minority share of less than 15% of the global market, and iOS devices because of the popularity of iPhones and Apple devices among social, political, diplomatic and business elites.

3. What other devices can the CIA access?

According to WikiLeaks, the spy agency can target computers running on Windows, Apple products running iOS, and even smart TVs from manufacturers such as Samsung. As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations, WikiLeaks said.

WikiLeaks said the CIA and Britains MI5 had developed Weeping Angel, which could be used to turn smart TVs into covert microphones. It added that Weeping Angel places the target TV in a Fake-Off mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on, and the TV operates as a bug, recording conversationsand sending them over the internet to a covert CIA server.

Graphic outlining technical objectives of CIA hacking schemes, according to a new document release by WikiLeaks. (AFP)

4. Who were the targets of the surveillance?

WikiLeaks said it was redacting ten of thousands of CIA targets and attack machines throughout Latin America, Europe and the US. Among the list of possible targets were Asset, Liason Asset, System Administrator, Foreign Information Operations, Foreign Intelligence Agencies and Foreign Government Entities and references to extremists or transnational criminals were notably absent, it added.

5. Are you at risk?

If you own an iPhone, Android smartphone or tablet, Windows computer or Samsung smart TV, its vulnerabilities could theoretically be exploited by the CIA. But unless you are a target of the US spy agency, its unlikely someone at Langley is snooping on you.

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Five mosques in the US have received intimidating messages, including a bomb threat and one saying death is waiting for you and your kind, prompting calls for increasing security at Muslim facilities.

A mosque in Lexington, Kentucky, stepped up security following a bomb threat it received this weekend.

The bomb threat against Lexingtons Masjid Bilal was received through the mail on Saturday from Sheffield, England, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a Facebook post.

The letter contained a green index card wrapped in a blank sheet of paper with the words, An explosive device will be placed at your mosque very soon! written on it.

The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on leaders of local mosques to improve their security measures after four mosques were threatened.

One mosque received a message threatening death for you and your kind from a self-declared Muslim slayer, Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell was quoted as saying by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Three other mosques received identical emails threatening widespread attacks against American Muslims on March 15, Mitchell said.

The Greenview Madani Center, a mosque in Lawrenceville, recently received a mailed handwritten letter from a Muslim slayer with the message, Death is waiting for you and your kind, along with a crudely drawn picture of a decapitated person. The mosque alerted local law enforcement about the letter.

Masjid Omar bin Abdul Aziz in Norcross, Al-Farooq Masjid and another Atlanta-area mosque received a threatening email on February 18.

The emails, with the subject line your one warning, stated in part, ...Muslims, Mexicans, blacks will (be) hunted nationwide until (they) are dead and gone... plan to run or die, this is a kindness that we give you all warning, take it and go.

While the perpetrators are being sought, mosque leaders should do all they can to protect their houses of worship by working with local law enforcement authorities, installing security cameras and employing security officers during the daily prayers, Mitchell said.

Also recently, two mosques in the US state of Maryland received threatening letters calling for the slaughter of Muslims. Two Islamic centres in Silver Spring, Maryland, received the violent threats by mail.

The mosque incidents come amid a wave of bomb threats to Jewish community centres in New York, Michigan, New Jersey and other states.
When scriptwriters of the popular TV series Homeland had hackers kill the US Vice President by manipulating his pacemaker to induce a heart attack, viewers dismissed it as science fiction.

Next, when former US vice president Dick Cheney got his pacemakers wireless capabilities disabled to prevent potential assassination attempts, people called it paranoia.

Now, its not science fiction anymore. Healthcare was the most targeted industry by cyber hackers in 2016, more than finance, government installations, defence and other critical instalments, Menny Barzilay, CEO, 42 Global, told HT at MEDinIsrael, a conference on medical innovation.

Since 2008, every year a new medical device is being hacked, which is a very real threat to human life, said Barzilay.

Israel is at the forefront of cyber security, with companies such as Adallom offering security technology to track patterns and anomalies that could be potential security breaches for remote servers, including those running Microsofts or Googles cloud services.

With hackers moving from finance to the less protected healthcare industry, cyber-security companies are increasingly providing tailor-made solutions to healthcare providers.

Healthcare is an easier target that provides hackers with a lot of valuable information, including social security numbers and personal data, which can be used for identity and insurance fraud, said Gilad Zahavi, director of Intelligence Operations at SenseCy, which provides cyber threat intelligence solutions for healthcare.

Health records fetch hackers 10 times more than credit card details on the Dark Web. Credit card records sell for an average of USD 2, while medical records fetch USD 20 in the black market because credit cards can be cancelled quickly while social security numbers and personal data can be used for identity theft, says Zahavi.

With the spotlight on hacking threat, the US Food and Drug Administration issued guidelines (https://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/UCM482022.pdf) a little over two months ago for manufacturers to protect internet-connected medical devices against potentially fatal attacks.

Hacking threats to pacemakers, defibrillators, intravenous fluid pumps, scanners and hospital networks has led many start-ups like SenseCy to focus on cyber intelligence tailored for healthcare for more than two years.

We collect information from all web platforms, including open sources, Dark Web forums, Dark Web marketplaces, mobile applications and closed and hidden social media groups, among others, to issue real-time alerts on leaked data, actionable intelligence on illegal drug and medication trades and insider-threat monitoring, says Zahavi.

Insiders committed over 43% of all privacy violations of patient health records in 2016 and 59% in January 2017, according to a report by Protenus, which works in patient data security.

The threat of ransomware, a malicious software that blocks access to a computer system until a ransom is paid, usually in bitcoins, also peaked in 2016.

Along with defence and transportation, healthcare was among the top three sectors most attacked by ransomware, says Zahavi. Apart from known families such as Locky, Cerberus and CryptXXX, a staggering number of new families and more than 44,000 new variants known to ransom have emerged over the past year.

What gives Israel an edge is the several years of experience in elite army intelligence units and proficiency in 14 languages, including Russian, Chinese, Farsi, Arabic and many European ones, besides the analysis, says Barzilay.

If its a device, its hackable. Attackers need to be successful once. In security, you have to be successful all the time because if you cant event an attack, people die, he says.

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Terrorists disguised as doctors stormed Afghanistans largest military hospital in Kabul on Wednesday and battled security forces for hours, killing 38 people and injuring 70 others in an attack claimed by Islamic State.

Dense clouds of smoke billowed out of the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, located across the road from the heavily fortified US embassy, and explosions and gunfire rattled Kabuls diplomatic district. Medical staff hunkered down in hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media.

Dramatic footage on television showed helicopters dropping Afghan special forces on the roof of the multi-storey hospital as some hospital staff cowered on the ledge of a window.

The attack in the capitals central Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood has killed 38 people and wounded more than 70, the Italian-run Emergency hospital said in a statement.

Watch | Afghan special forces dropped on the roof of the hospital by helicopter

The dead included doctors, patients and hospital staff, officials said. A seven-year-old boy was among the seriously injured.

A statement from Islamic States Amaq news agency said its fighters had attacked the hospital. The group also posted photos on social media that it said were taken by its fighters within the hospital.

A spokesman for the more powerful Afghan Taliban spokesman denied responsibility, saying the insurgency had no connection with the attack.

The Taliban is known to distance itself from attacks on medical facilities.

Afghan policemen leap from a vehicle as they arrive at Afghanistan's largest military hospital, which was attacked by Islamic State fighters on March 8, 2017. (AFP)

Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us, a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

Hospital administrators told AFP that three men wearing white laboratory coats began spraying bullets after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a backdoor entrance, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility.

I saw one of the attackers, armed with an AK-47 and dressed as a doctor, shooting at patients and guards on the third floor, hospital nurse Abdul Qadeer said.

They shot my friend but I managed to flee...I had to jump over the barbed wire to escape.

At least two other loud explosions  including one that the defence ministry said was a car bomb in the hospitals parking lot  were heard as Afghan special forces launched a clearance operation that lasted around six hours.

The attackers were gunned down after special forces landed on the hospitals roof in a helicopter.

Smoke rises from the military hospital in Kabul that was attacked by Islamic State fighters on March 8, 2017. (Reuters)

Criminal act

The raid highlights how Afghanistans warring parties, including government forces, have repeatedly targeted medical facilities, decimating the countrys fragile health system and preventing conflict-displaced civilians from accessing life-saving care.

This egregious and morally reprehensible attack targeted people at their most vulnerable, while they were receiving treatment in the hospital, and also targeted the medical staff caring for them, said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

This cowardly attack reflects a fundamental rejection of the most basic principles of humanity. Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

India described the attack as a deplorable expression of the designs of terrorists. The external affairs ministry said in a statement that India will continue to support Afghanistan in fighting terrorism.

The heinous attack on a hospital is the most deplorable expression of the diabolical designs of terrorists and those who continue to provide safe havens and sanctuaries to terrorists, the statement said.

Afghan security forces stand guard outside the military hospital in Kabul that was stormed by Islamic State fighters on March 8, 2017. (Reuters)

The assault came just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul. Dozens were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker sneaked in.

In the second attack last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The carnage underscores rising insecurity. Afghanistan is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the governments repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent ghost soldiers on the payroll, have been struggling to beat back the Taliban since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

An Afghan man cries outside the military hospital in Kabul that was attacked by Islamic State fighters on March 8, 2017. (Reuters)

Kabul last month endorsed US Gen John Nicholsons call for thousands of additional coalition troops to hold off the militants before the spring offensive.

Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be first major test of military strategy for President Donald Trump, who is yet to announce his policy for the war-torn country.

The Islamic State has established a solid presence on Afghanistans border with Pakistan and mounted several high-profile attacks on civilians in Kabul over the past year, including some on prominent Shia targets.
Police in Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday they shot dead a member of the Islamic State group in the capital, the latest suspected jihadist to be killed by security forces.

Officers were called at 6 pm (1500 GMT) on Tuesday to an apartment in Riyadhs Al-Rayan district, where the suspect was flaunting his support for the extremist group, the interior ministry said in a statement.

He started to resist and waved a gun which he was carrying, forcing police to eliminate the threat he posed, the ministry said.

Another suspect was arrested.

IS has claimed a series of deadly shootings and bombings since late 2014 in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia.

Most attacks have targeted the Shia minority and security forces, killing dozens of people.

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has called for attacks against Saudi Arabia, a member of the US-led coalition battling the group in Syria and Iraq.

On January 7, Saudi officers shot and killed two suspected jihadists including an explosive belt maker during a police operation in northern Riyadh.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus wife set off a social media firestorm Tuesday, the eve of International Womens Day, by suggesting that men should be celebrated too.

As we mark International Womens Day, lets celebrate the boys and men in our lives who encourage us to be who we truly are, who treat girls & women with respect, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau wrote on her Instagram account.

She posted a photo of herself and her husband -- who proudly declares himself a feminist -- showing them holding hands and gazing into each others eyes.

Gregoire Trudeau urged women to post a photo with their male ally.

Joining in this way could help create a movement that inspires more men to join the fight to build a better tomorrow with equal rights & opportunities for everyone... because #EqualityMatters, she wrote.

Her post attracted plenty of blunt criticism.

Ive never had to have my hand held, conservative MP Michelle Rempel tweeted. Womens day is about women, not men!!

A woman from Vancouver added, This is so problematic I dont even know where to start.

anyone else see sophie trudeau's post about international women's day and celebrating our male allies? no. no no no.  nikki alex basset (@nikkialexbasset) March 7, 2017

International womens day is a day to celebrate intersectional feminism and acknowledge the strides women have taken for equality while simultaneously acknowledging the active misogyny women and women identified individuals encounter on a daily basis. It is NOT a day about men.

Sophie Trudeau on FB rn calling to celebrate men on International Women's Day tomorrow. Liberals are weird.  Lara Witt (@Femmefeministe) March 7, 2017

Gregoire Trudeau seemed to take the criticism in stride, saying in a post Tuesday night, Well, now were having a conversation!

No, Sophie Trudeau, #IWD is not about celebrating men for doing, what, the bare minimum? https://t.co/cr9UBb9yrF  Mariam Ibrahim (@mariamdena) March 7, 2017

Our goal is gender equality, and fighting for it is going to require men and women working together -- raising our boys and girls to make a difference, hand-in-hand. This is about recognising that we should be allies on this journey, she said.

Sophie Trudeau: lets use international women's day to celebrate men

me: ?????????????????????????  jessica (@yessicaa___) March 7, 2017
The Madhesi Morcha, an alliance of seven political parties that has been protesting against Nepals Constitution since 2015, threatened on Wednesday it would withdraw support to the government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda if its demands are not addressed in seven days.

Top leaders of the Morcha called on Prachanda and handed over a five-point memorandum listing their demands, including the scrapping of plans to hold elections to local government bodies on May 14.

The Morcha backed Prachanda when he formed his government in August last year after finalising a three-point pact to amend the Constitution to make it more inclusive and Madhes-friendly.

The ultimatum came three days after three Morcha cadres were killed in police firing during a fierce clash in Saptari district. The violence erupted when Morcha activists attempted to disrupt a campaign launched by the main opposition party, CPN-UML.

The promulgation of the new Constitution in 2015 triggered fierce rivalry between the CPN-UML and the Madhesi Morcha. The CPN-UML leadership accused the Morcha of being a pawn of foreign powers. It has also been indifferent to the Morchas demands to amend the Constitution.

Besides the scrapping of polls to local government bodies, other demands included in the Morchas memorandum are an assurance regarding the amendment of the Constitution, keeping the local structure within provincial jurisdiction and implementing the three-point agreement reached when Prachandas government was formed.

Sadbhawana Party co-chairman Laxman Lal Karna said the Morcha also wants the three cadres killed in police firing to be declared martyrs. The Morcha also demanded the formation of a commission to investigate the killings.

Prachanda's chief political advisor, Chakrapani Khanal, said the prime minister had assured the Morcha leaders that their demands will be addressed after he holds discussions with the ruling parties and the opposition.
Philippine lawmakers on Wednesday said foreign secretary Perfecto Yasay lied to them about being an American citizen and he must stand down, more than eight months after his appointment.

The decision by the Commission on Appointments threw the Philippines diplomatic leadership into turmoil, with lawmakers ruling that Yasay had been sacked but the foreign affairs spokesman saying that was not yet clear.

In an extremely rare move, the congressional body unanimously voted to reject Yasays nomination following tense confirmation hearings in which he admitted to misleading the lawmakers.

He was not telling the truth. He was not being forthright in the question and answer portion of the (confirmation) hearings, Senator Panfilo Lacson told reporters after announcing the decision.

Yasay, appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte at the start of his administration on June 30 last year, told an initial hearing that he had never been an American citizen.

But on Wednesday Yasay faced the commission again and was grilled over documents that showed he obtained US citizenship in 1986.

The documents also showed Yasay renounced the American citizenship at the US embassy in Manila days before his appointment as foreign secretary.

Yasay, who worked as an immigration lawyer while living in the US, insisted he never lied about his citizenship but apologised for inadvertently misleading the commission.

I may not have fully disclosed what was required in my answering this question but this is really normal in a process like this, Yasay said.

You get nervous, you somehow come up with answers that you do not intend.

Lacson said Yasay could not be reappointed and warned he may face perjury charges.

This would mean Duterte would have to find a new top diplomat at an important time for the Philippines while it holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

However, when asked whether Yasay had been effectively sacked, and if this was immediate, foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose said via text message: Thats what were trying to determine.

The revelations that Yasay, Dutertes dormitory roommate at university decades ago, had US citizenship are ironic given the presidents repeated anti-American tirades.

Yasay also regularly criticised the US as he helped steer Dutertes foreign policy away from the Philippines former colonial ruler and towards China instead.

We cannot forever be the little brown brothers of America, Yasay said last year.

Yasay also posted a long statement on Facebook in October headlined: America has failed us.

Breaking away from the shackling dependency of the Philippines to effectively address both internal and external security threats has become imperative in putting an end to our nations subservience to United States interests, Yasay wrote.
The Theresa May government faced another defeat  the second in a week  when an amendment to the bill seeking to authorise it to trigger the process for exiting the EU was passed in the House of Lords on Tuesday night, but ministers insisted it did not change anything.

May has committed the government to begin the process to leave the European Union by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of this month. The bill with two amendments will now go to the House of Commons early next week, when the government hopes to overturn the amendments.

The latest amendment was to commit the government to give a meaningful vote to Parliament on the terms of the final deal with Brussels on leaving the EU. May and her ministers have said so verbally, but the lords wanted it to be mentioned in the bill.

The first amendment passed last week was to secure a commitment on the continued stay of EU citizens in Britain after Brexit, but the May government has refused to do so until a similar commitment is available about the future of British citizens EU countries.

Tuesdays vote against the government saw the leading ruling party lord, Michael Heseltine, known for his pro-EU views, again voting for the amendment. For his stand, he was on relieved of five advisory posts in the government on Wednesday.

He later said May was "exercising her perfectly legitimate right to get rid of opposition in any way she finds appropriate", but added: "Whether it's a wise thing to do is a matter for her not for me.

"I have been hugely proud of the work I have done for David Cameron and now for this prime minister, and if they don't want me to go on they must sack me. I did write a newspaper article the other day setting out exactly what I intended to do, so I think they could have told me this would be the price, but let me make it quite clear; I would still have voted as I did tonight.

"Sometimes in politics there are issues which transcend party politics; in the end you have to be your own person. I believe our interests are intertwined with Europe. I am not prepared to change, said Heseltine, who famously walked out of Margaret Thatchers cabinet in 1986 over the Westland controversy.

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Manhattans top federal prosecutor launched a new personal Twitter feed, and one of his first posts was a reference to decade-old political interference at the Department of Justice.

US Attorney Preet Bharara started his latest social media feed last week by adding USAtty before his name in his previous handle to conform with new Department of Justice guidelines.

On his work Twitter site, he gave a shoutout to roughly 260,000 followers, urging them to follow his personal account: @PreetBharara. By late Tuesday afternoon, nearly 7,000 people had.

In his profile, the India-born prosecutor described himself as Patriotic American & proud immigrant. Movie buff. @Springsteen fan.

The outspoken Bharara, 48, was appointed to his job in 2009 by Democratic president Barack Obama and was kept on as US attorney after meeting with Republican President Donald Trump.

On Monday, the prosecutor wrapped humour around footage from The Associated Press of a Senate hearing that focused on whether federal prosecutors were fired for political reasons.

This Senate hearing on political interference @ DOJ was 10 yrs ago today, Bharara wrote. Is that me in background? Boy Ive aged.

This Senate hearing on political interference @ DOJ was 10 yrs ago today. Is that me in background? Boy I've aged. https://t.co/i1248gqwIk  Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 7, 2017

The prosecutor is known as tough on insider trading and public corruption, and he mixed humour with serious subjects in his first dozen tweets, just as he does in numerous speeches he delivers each year. His first re-tweet was of a follower who suggested all his tweets be commentary about Bruce Springsteens set lists.

Not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all, Bharara wrote.

As he watched the movie Wall Street, he sent along a quote from the films brash character Gordon Gekko, someone he had referenced at a news conference about insider trading years ago: Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works, Bharara quoted Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, as saying before the prosecutor added his own observation: Well, not always.

More Gekko: "You got 90% of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. We make the rules, pal."  Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 6, 2017

This is my personal Twitter account. Stay tuned...  Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 3, 2017
Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obamas health care law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered.

Governors, especially those from political battleground states, were generally cool to the bill put forth in the Republican-controlled US House. Some signalled that they would continue working on their own legislation to compete with the measure introduced Monday.

Weve said all along, Work with the governors, that it should be a governor-led effort and for the Congress to rely on the governors, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval said Tuesday. Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesnt include anything that the governors have talked about.

Republican governors lead 33 states, across all regions, and represent states pivotal to President Donald Trumps victory in November, including much of the upper Midwest. Their role in the health care debate could influence the biggest public policy changes this year and help determine the partys future.

At the heart of their criticisms is that the House plan would jeopardize coverage for roughly 11 million people covered through the Affordable Care Acts Medicaid expansion. The law allowed states to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income individuals and their families at costs borne largely by the federal government.

Phasing out the federal supplement for Medicaid would hit hardest in states where governors chose to participate in the expansion, such as Michigan, Nevada and Ohio. The House bills provision to shift the federal Medicaid commitment to those states would shrink the number of people eligible for coverage and require states to drop people from coverage or risk incurring huge costs rapidly to keep them enrolled.

Phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug-addicted, mentally ill and working poor who now have access to a stable source of care, said Gov. John Kasich of Ohio.

Michigan, Nevada and Ohio alone have added a combined 2 million to Medicaids enrollment since that part of the law took effect in 2014.

The GOP governors expressed some of the same reservations as Democratic governors in states that expanded Medicaid, fretting about higher costs and fewer people covered.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Democrat, warned against any health measure that kicks residents off Medicaid and leaves them in the cold. The state has been carried by Republican presidential nominees for the past five elections and has added 175,000 residents to Medicaid coverage.

Another problem some Republican governors see with the bill is in converting Medicaid coverage from an open-ended federal entitlement to one that operates under a per-capita cap. A cap would not account, for instance, for rapidly rising drug costs, a big part of a states Medicaid budget. GOP governors have suggested that any change in the law should give them more autonomy to account for such changes.

I would have liked to have seen more flexibility being given to the states, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters Tuesday. Im going to continue to look at that.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker echoed the more muted response from his peers, calling the House bill an important first step.

We will continue working with the Trump administration, the Congress and governors across the country, as we seek a personalized, patient-centered plan that treats people as humans and not like numbers, he added.

Walker, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has been working with governors such as Kasich to draft a proposal that would effectively put states in charge of their Medicaid programs but require the federal government to continue financing them.

The governors alternative could become a viable measure in the legislative debate, should it gain Senate sponsorship. The governors working on it have met with senators and staff on the Senate Finance Committee.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is already sounding some of Kasichs concerns. In a letter sent Monday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Portman wrote that House legislation does not provide stability and certainty for individuals and families in Medicaid expansion programs or the necessary flexibility for states.
Captivated by the idea of fighting jihadists, or dedicated to starting a revolution, foreigners have diverse reasons for joining the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.

The group is the key component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces alliance, now advancing on the Islamic State groups stronghold of Raqqa.

Hundreds of foreign fighters have fought alongside the YPG in Syria, of whom at least 25 have been killed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor says.

Kimmy

Kimmy Taylor, a 27-year-old British citizen, travelled to northern Syria in 2016 to write about womens rights after studying politics at university in Sweden.

She had planned a 10-day visit but, after just three days, she decided to stay.

Kimmy says she fell in love with the system of autonomous administration Kurdish authorities have implemented across northern Syria, describing it as an answer to everything that Ive seen wrong with the world.

I thought, why am I reading books in Sweden about politics when I can live in a revolution? she tells AFP excitedly, a checkered black-and-white scarf wrapped around her head.

Kimmy has taken courses in the Kurdish language, the ideology of democratic confederalism and military affairs with the YPGs female arm, the YPJ.

After I was on the front line for some months, I joined the YPJ media team and now were in Raqqa province, she says, describing her daily routine of taking, editing, and publishing photos of the battle.

Workers oversee the printing of books at a printing company in Kurdish-majority Qamishli in northeast Syria. (AFP File Photo)

She says witnessing IS lose Raqqa city would be a dream.

Maybe this hasnt happened in history before -- that normal people have... created a peoples army and defeated a group that is like Daesh. Its incredible, she says, using an Arabic acronym for the group.

Although she misses her family, friends, and good chocolate, Kimmy has no plans to leave: I know if I return to Europe, Ill be bored after one week.

Firas

Firas Vancouver, 23, was working as a correctional officer in a high-security prison in Victoria, Canada when he started learning about the YPG.

It was a tough job, you see kind of the dark side of humanity, Vancouver says.

One of the main factors of me coming here, getting on a plane and joining the revolution, was seeing the struggle through internet, on TV, on the news, he adds.

Sporting short spiky hair and some stubble, Vancouver says he emailed the YPG directly, who responded encouraging him to travel to northern Syria.

It was probably less than a month from when I sent the first email that I was on a plane to start my journey, says Vancouver.

He says he hopes the presence of foreigners alongside the Kurdish fighters will force Western governments to pay attention and provide more support for Rojava and the struggle here with YPG and YPJ.

Rojava is the Kurdish name for Kurdish-majority parts of northern Syria.

We werent forced to come here. We volunteered to come here. And the Kurdish people -- you can tell -- they see that and show us a lot of love, he says.

Roger

At 20, Roger Benjamin -- now known as Jakdar Kawa, or Fighter Kawa in Kurdish -- is one of the youngest known foreign fighters.

His thick curly black hair swept up in a voluminous do, Roger tells AFP there are three reasons he left the United States a month ago for northern Syria.

Number one, any kind of medical help I can give. I have some kind of experience with that. Number two, fight IS, cause seriously theyre very bad people, he says.

And number three, just to see what direct democracy is like. If you look around at the village, the people, the culture, whatnot. Take it in. I want to see how it works, this political system.

A Kurdish man reads a book at a library in Kurdish-majority Qamishli in northeast Syria. (AFP File Photo)

He speaks quickly, hitting his fist into his hand for emphasis: So far, theyre really pounding it in about ideology and language. They really want us to assimilate to the culture, to get to know the Kurdish people, who they are, the YPG.

Benjamin says he admires YPG fighters killed in battle because theyre dying fighting for what they believe in.

If theres any way I could die, it would be that.

Maxime

Maxime, a French citizen, is in northern Syria for his second stint with the YPG.

The 27-year-old fought alongside the group in 2015 in Tal Abyad, near the Turkish border, but broke up with his girlfriend in December to return for a longer stay.

If I have to stay a year, two years, three, or even 10, I will stay for 10 years to support this revolution and help people, he says.

The YPG facilitated his entry into Syrian territory, where he joined the International Freedom Battalion, a unit of foreign fighters.

Were not here to impose our ideas, whatever they are, but the people are asking for us to liberate them, he says.

We will liberate them and try to establish a more humane system.
Two bomb blasts, from an apparent suicide attack, hit a wedding party in a village near the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday, killed at least 23 people, a local government official said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Hajjaj, 20 km (14 miles) north of Tikrit.

In November Islamic State bomb attacks hit Tikrit and Samarra, both north of Baghdad, as an apparent diversionary attacks as Iraqi forces drive back the jihadists in their stronghold of Mosul.
Tulsi Gabbard, the first and only Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, on Wednesday accused CNN of sensational and false reporting about religions after it aired a show which allegedly portrayed Hinduism in a negative light.

CNN on Sunday aired the first episode of a new series called Believer hosted by Reza Aslan. For this episode, Aslan apparently sought to find sensationalist and absurd ways to portray Hinduism, Gabbard, the Democratic lawmaker from Hawaii, wrote on Facebook.

The show explores the facts and myths behind the Aghori, a mystical Hindu sect known for extreme rituals.

Aslan and CNN did not just throw a harsh light on a sect of wandering ascetics to create shocking visualsas if touring a zoobut repeated false stereotypes about caste, karma and reincarnation that Hindus have been combating tirelessly, she alleged.

CNN promotional materials and trailers that included a scene showing a group of Hindus under a caption, CANNIBALS, perpetuated bizarre and ugly impressions of Hindus and their religion, she charged.

"I didn't know I had to bring a chicken." Check out this hilarious deleted scene from #Believer with the Aghori guru I ran for my life from. pic.twitter.com/qcCU5Pmzsr  Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) March 6, 2017

The three-term Congresswoman, said while good people across the country are working hard to increase mutual understanding and respect between people of different religions, she is very disturbed that CNN is using its power and influence to increase peoples misunderstanding and fear of Hinduism.

CNN knows well that sensational, and even false reporting about religions only fosters ignorance that can lead to terrible consequences, she said.

Indeed, Hindus are still reeling after witnessing terrible hate crimes in the last few weeks alone. Our nation celebrates religious pluralism and diversity, and CNN must do more to foster greater respect for people of different religions, she said.

Gabbard hoped that CNN and Aslan will engage with the Hindu community moving forward to resolve the pain and outrage that the Believer episode has engendered in the community.

In a statement, Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) - USA strongly condemned the airing of the show.

Documentaries like these are a threat to religious harmony in this country. CNN chose to air this blasphemous story despite nationwide request from the community to stop airing, it said.

The show by Reza Alsan is an affront on the ethos of Hinduism and without understanding the foundational aspect of the religion, the anchor only sought to denigrate the religion by showing Cannibalism and talks about a fringe sect called Aghoris in India,OFBJP said.

The story Believer reflects poor understanding of Hinduism on host and sends wrong message to the viewers about Hinduism and its philosophy, it said.

However, an eminent Indian American Muslim alleged that certain Hindu groups are distorting the contents of the documentary.

The Hindu Student Council (HSC) said the documentary focused on the rare Aghora sect, which uses ritual practices with physical objects to invoke Divine grace.
Organisers of Januarys Womens March have called for women to take the day off and encouraged them not to spend money to show their economic strength and impact on American society.

A Day Without a Woman on Wednesday is the first major action by organisers since the nationwide marches held the day after President Donald Trumps inauguration that drew millions of women into the streets in protest against misogyny, inequality and oppression. Though it is unclear how many women could participate, thousands across the country have signalled their support and interest online and to employers.

The event coincides with the UN-designated International Womens Day, and organizers say they want to stand with women around the globe who supported their efforts January 21 with similar protests in cities around the world.

Spokeswoman Cassady Findlay said organizers were inspired by the recent Day Without an Immigrant protests held last month. She said the action is aimed at highlighting the effect of women on the countrys socio-economic system and would demonstrate how the paid and unpaid work of women keeps households, communities and economies running.

We provide all this value and keep the system going, and receive unequal benefits from it, Findlay said.

Findlay said it is important for white women to be in solidarity with minority women.

Throughout history, the strikes that have the biggest impact are the ones when people who are already the target of oppression participate, she said. Its when women of all backgrounds strike and stand together that were really going to see the impact.

On January 21, a crowd fills Independence Avenue during the Women's March on Washington, in Washington. (AP File Photo)

Unlike the Womens March, Wednesdays protest focuses on the absence of women, who are being steered to local rallies and community groups and away from work or shopping in stores or online. Organizers also are asking women to wear red to signify love and sacrifice.

More than a million people, mostly women, turned out nationwide for the Womens March. In New York, organizers are planning a gathering in Central Park at noon. International Womens Day rallies also are planned in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Washington and Berkeley, California.

School districts including Prince Georges County in Maryland, the Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools in North Carolina, have canceled classes in anticipation of employee participation. In Utah, as many as 1,000 women are expected to gather at the Capitol to remind lawmakers they are watching their actions on womens issues.

In Providence, Rhode Island, the municipal court plans to close because the demonstration in the city would leave the court without enough staff to open. Lovely Monkey Tattoo, a woman-owned tattoo parlor in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, is offering female-centric tattoos with messages like, Neverless, She Persisted for $50 to $100, with proceeds going to the Ann Arbor chapter of Planned Parenthood.

Some businesses have said they will either close or give female employees the day off. The event website provides templates for out of office emails, and an employer letter. The site has had more than a half-million visitors, and more than 60,000 had clicked on the letter template by Tuesday afternoon.

Organizers noted that only a fourth of participants in the Womens March signed up in advance to participate.

The role of women in American society is significant. According to the U.S. Census, women make up more than 47 percent of the workforce and are dominant in such professions as registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists. They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, as well as lawyers and judges. Women also represent 55 percent of all college students.

Still, American women continue to be paid less than men, earning 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data.
Grummans F6F Hellcat was perfectly suited to young American naval aviators battling Zeros in the Pacific.

Rarely has there been a combat aircraft so perfect for its time and place as the Hellcat. No more outstanding example of skill and luck joining forces to produce just the right aeroplane is to be found than that provided by the Grumman Hellcat, wrote legendary British test pilot Eric Winkle Brown in his book Wings of the Navy. This bluff, sensible, utterly workmanlike shipboard fighter arrived in the Pacific theater in August 1943 and went to work straight out of the box. The Hellcat immediately challenged what had been the most powerful naval air arm on the planet and beat it like a bongo, racking up by far the highest kill-versus-loss ratio of any airplane in American service during World War II (19-to-1, based on claimed shootdowns). It resoundingly won the most one-sided, humiliating air battle of any warthe Marianas Turkey Shoot. Unlike other fighters that went through lengthy series of engine, airframe and armament changes, the F6F was hardly modified or updated thereafter, and there were only two basic versions of the airplane during its entire lifetime: the F6F-3 and -5.

The Hellcats initial development proceeded virtually without incident. The fighter proved to be as tough, reliable and durable as a Peterbilt. It was viceless and turned out to be the ideal airplane for young, inexperienced ensigns to operate from aircraft carriers. Grumman claimed it had been designed to be flown by 200-hour farmboys. In combat for just under two years, the Hellcat was as unbeatable on the day it stood down as it had been when it arrived for its very first mission.

Yet despiteor perhaps because ofsuch a straightforward, matter-of-fact career, the F6F got far less respect and fandom than did its more stylish rival, the Vought F4U Corsair. The Corsair was an arrogant, long-nosed Shelby Cobra; the Hellcat was a looming Ford F350 dualie pickup. The Hellcat flew in combat for 24 months and then essentially disappeared, never to fight again (other than an odd Korean War experiment and a few minor missions for the French over Indochina). The name of the top Hellcat ace, David McCampbell, is far less familiar than those of Dick Bong, Gabby Gabreski, Pappy Boyington and other pilots of more glamorous fighter types. No Hellcat ever Reno-raced or starred in a TV series. No Hellcat ever had the panache of a Sea Fury, a Hose-Nose, a Tigercat or Bearcat. Three Hellcats (with a fourth as spare) lasted just two months as the first Blue Angels team aircraft before being tossed aside in favor of Bearcats. Oh, the ignominy

The Hellcat began life as a proposal that Grumman build a Wilder Wildcat. Clean up the dumpy F4F airframe, add some firepower, get rid of the hand-cranked 1930s landing gear and slap on a bigger engine. Then came reports first from actual air combat over France and Britain, and then input from U.S. Navy and Marine pilots who had flown against the Japanese. Grumman engineer Jake Swirbul flew to Hawaii in 1942, soon after the Battle of Midway, and had a sit-down with Commander John S. Jimmy Thach, the Wildcat ace who developed the famous Thach Weave defensive maneuver.

Grumman had already decided that the need for armor plate, additional guns, greater range and a big ammo and fuel load meant they had to deliver more than just a Super Wildcat; after all, the F4F was a mid-1930s design that came close to being built as a biplane. Thach and other pilots told Swirbul they needed a more powerful engine than the 1,700-hp Wright R-2600 with which the prototype XF6F-1 had been fitted. The obvious answer was Pratt & Whitneys magnificent new 2,000-hp R-2800. A turbocharged R-2800 was mounted on the prototype, which became the XF6F-2, followed by the XF6F-3 with a two-stage supercharged version, and Grumman never looked back.

The myth persists that the move to the R-2800 resulted from flight tests of the famous Akutan Zero, the intact Mitsubishi A6M2 salvaged from the Aleutians, but its not true. The first flight of the production version of the F6F, in October 1942, took place just two weeks after flight-testing of the Akutan Zero began in San Diego. Its laughable to think that the Navy flew the Zero and instantly decided the F6F needed a bigger engine, acquired the still-rare Pratt & Whitney, had Grumman rework the Hellcat airframe to carry it and then created a production version all within two weeks. The Akutan Zero affected Hellcat air combat tactics, but had nothing to do with its development.

More than a thousand F6Fs had been built before the airplane got a name. It was generally referred to in Bethpage during that time as the Super Wildcat. Tomcat had been considered, but in the mid-1940s that was considered a bit too risque. It would take a couple of generations before the concept of a randy animal was considered appropriate. Roy Grumman himself chose the name Hellcat, so profanity trumped sexuality.

The Hellcats strength, literally, was its simple and straightforward design. In those days, Grummans credo was Make it strong, make it work and make it simple. The prototype XF6F-3 became the production F6F-3 nearly untouched, and the only other Hellcat upgrade, the F6F-5, mounted an R-2800-10W that had an additional 200 hp. There were night-fighter, photoreconnaissance and export variants, but the basic airframe and engine remained untouched throughout the Hellcats combat career.

A Hellcat can be drawn with a ruler. Its big wings are simple geometry-class trapezoids, and its fuselage and empennage are all straight lines. The Hellcats wings are the largest of any WWII single-engine fighter, Allied or Axis, and its often overlooked that the F6F was a huge airplane. The P-47 was larger, but only by inches. The substantial wing area and consequent low wing loading made comparatively slow carrier approach speeds possible5 mph slower than a Wildcat, in factand rendered the Hellcat at least adequately maneuverable for such a big airplane.

Armchair aviators often make too much of the importance of maneuverability for a fighter during WWII. Royal Navy test pilot Winkle Brown rates the important elements of a fighter, in descending order, as speed, climb rate, firepower, armor protection, pilot visibility andlast of allmaneuverability. What he means is that if you have the speed and rate of climb to choose when and where to initiate or break off combat, maneuverability can be nullified by two words: Dont dogfight.

In fact, if the Hellcat had a flaw, it was excessive longitudinal stability, at least initially. The big bird didnt want to turn. The F6F-3s ailerons were unpleasantly heavy and ineffectual at high speeds, though the addition of aileron spring tabs to the F6F-5 cured this affliction. (Spring tabs are a kind of automatic trim tab. As an aileron is deflected down, a small control surface on that ailerons trailing edge is deflected up, and that movement into the relative wind boosts the ailerons downward movement. The reverse happens on the up aileron.)

The big wings ample wetted area also kept the Hellcat comparatively slow. The 386-mph maximum speed of even the late-model F6F-5 was far below the F4U-4 Corsairs 452 mph, and the P-38L, P-47D and P-51D all had top speeds well into the mid-400s. But the Hellcats main opponent was the 331-mph Zero, so this wasnt much of a problem.

Its worth noting, however, that while the F6Fs claimed shoot-down ratio over the Zero was 13-to-1, it scored a less impressive 3.7-to-1 against the Zeros successor, the 1,820-hp Mitsubishi J2M Raiden. Flown by pilots of equal skill, the two would have been closely matched.

Many arent aware that Hellcats also served in the European theater. Both U.S. Navy and British Fleet Air Arm Hellcats flew ground-attack missions during the August 1944 invasion of southern France, a campaign largely forgotten because all eyes were on the far more spectacular breakout from the Normandy beachhead. Carrier-launched FAA Hellcats also flew top cover for a major bombing mission against the battleship Tirpitz on April 3, 1944, when the German supership was preparing to venture out of its Norwegian fjord. British Hellcats supposedly tangled with Luftwaffe Me-109Gs and Fw-190As on May 5, 1944, but after-action reports were typically confused. The Luftwaffe claimed three Hellcats downed for the loss of three Messerschmitts, while the British claimed two F6Fs lost in what might have been a midair collision. The combats were brief and inconsequential, though Hellcats did shoot down several German bombers over France.

A Messerschmitt or Focke-Wulf versus Grumman air battle would have been an unfair fight in any case. A WWII carrier-based airplane was a collection of compromises. It was designed to live and be serviced aboard a ship and to use an 800-foot runwayor 500 feet in the case of escort carriers. With folding wings, a tailhook, heavy landing gear and design features optimized for survival over vast ocean distances, an F6F probably would have been no match for a well-flown Fw-190.

The Navys carrier-borne fighter was the Hellcat, and that was it. In June 1944, Task Force 58, in the Philippine Sea, had 450 fighters, all Hellcats. At the October 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf, Task Force 38 had nearly 550 fighters, and every last one was a Hellcat. Such complete standardization made servicing, arming, maintaining and flying the airplane as easy and seamless as possible.

Corsair enthusiasts will of course protest that their favorite Navy fighter was demonstrably the better airplane. Judging by sheer performance numbers, thats true. The F4U was substantially faster and had a better rate of climb, range and ceiling than the F6F, and of course it went on to do yeoman work in the Korean War while the only Hellcats still flying were advanced trainers and drones. But the Corsair went through a lengthy and troubled development period and ultimately turned out to be a difficult-to-manage carrier plane with some unfortunate stall characteristics (the reason the original Blue Angels chose the F6F over the F4U).

In truth, the two airplanes represented two quite different approaches to the challenge of developing a Navy fighter. The Corsair sacrificed cost and certain handling qualitiesnotably the ability to approach and land successfully on a carrierin exchange for maximum performance, while the Hellcat was designed to provide economy and manufacturability plus good performance and competent carrier-deck handling. The Corsair was unforgiving to fly, the Hellcat was easy. This was not a trivial consideration at a time when the Navy was welcoming aboard thousands of new young ensigns.

Grumman cranked out so many F6Fs that the Navy had to ask the company to slow down. At one point a rumor circulated that Grumman was going to lay off workers because they didnt need to build so many Hellcats. So the entire factory crew worked harder than ever, each employee trying to prove that he or she didnt deserve to be cut, and the awkward result was another new monthly production record.

Grumman built 12,275 Hellcats in just 30 months. Thats better than 16 airplanes a day for a six-day workweek. At the height of production, Grumman was turning out a Hellcat every hour, a record that has never been equaled. Hellcats were also a bit of a bargain: Despite their near-identical engines, the Navy could buy five F6Fs for the price of three F4Us. In 1944 and 45, the Japanese faced 14 enormous Essex-class carriers plus 70 light and escort carriers, all of them packed tight from hangar deck to flight deck with Hellcats, endless Hellcats, flown by superbly trained, combat-experiencedwell, maybe they were farmboys, but theyd grown up handling John Deere combines and driving Dads 36 Ford.

Grumman had no media-star designer, no Kelly Johnson, Ed Heinemann or Alexander de Seversky. Leroy Grumman himself, an ex-Navy pilot and MIT graduate, did the brilliant conceptual work on the Hellcat. His partner William Schwendler refined it, and much of the real engineering was done by Richard Hutton, widely admired in the industry but hardly a household name. The third founding partner of the company, Leon Jake Swirbul, was a manufacturing and production specialist with a remarkable ability to keep the workforce so devoted that Grumman had the lowest personnel turnover rate of any WWII airframer.

Unlike many other aeronautical engineers, Roy Grumman was a Pensacola-trained pilot, and he stayed current by flying the company hack, a civil version of Grummans short-coupled and demanding F3F biplane fighter. During the Hellcats heyday Grumman, then 50, showed up at the production test pilots ready room one day and announced that the Old Man wanted to fly an F6F. Nobody was about to say no to the boss, so chief test pilot Connie Converse gave him a thorough cockpit checkout and then sent Roy out to terrorize the skies over Long Island.

He returned an hour later, proudly taxied up to the flight line and swung his Hellcat into its parking slotwith the flaps still full down, in their approach and landing position. Careful pilots consider this to be a no-no, because drooping flaps are vulnerable to damage from prop blast or stones thrown back by the wheels while taxiing. Grumman company pilots who committed this minor sin were required to stuff a dollar bill into a petty-cash jar. Somebody pointed out that this applied to the boss as well. Roy Grumman gave the jar $5, saying that should also cover the cock-ups nobody saw him commit while he was flying.

Apparently, no Republic or Chance Vought pilots, Grummans next-door and across-the-Sound neighbors, spotted Leroy during his F6F joyride. Grumman test pilots often had such a hard time getting their work done while being bounced by Thunderbolts and Corsairs over Long Island that the company took to painting TEST in large letters on the fuselage of F6Fs that were involved in serious flight-test programs. The four letters meant, Go bother somebody else, we have work to do.

Roy Grummans best-known contribution, originally designed for the F4F Wildcat but used nearly unchanged in the F6F, was the patented Sto-Wing folding system. Grumman came up with the concept of the skewed-axis pivoting joint that is at the heart of the wing-folding system by using two partially straightened paperclips stuck like wings into a rubber eraser fuselage, which is easier said than done. Grummans original eraser and paperclips survives to this day, embedded in a cube of Lucite atop a marble plinth in the main lobby of the Bethpage facility of what is now the Northrop Grumman Corporation.

Its far easier to imitate an F6Fs folding wings by sticking your arms straight out to the sides. When the locking pins are hydraulically retracted, a Hellcats wingsyour armsfall down and arc back, nearly brushing the flight deck in their smooth swing. None of their motion is upward like conventional carrier airplane folding wings, and the weight of the wings provides nearly all the momentum needed to complete the fold. This meant two deck crewmen could handle the swing of a Hellcat wing and secure it in place.

Early in the design process, Grumman heard from Navy pilots how important good over-the-nose visibility wasone of the Corsairs failingsso they simply jacked up the Hellcats cockpit and carried the forward fuselage and engine cowling up to it at an angle. This was a benefit during any kind of turning fight, when a pursuer might actually be shooting at a target that was slipping below his nose. If a tail-chasing pilot was pulling 5 or 6 Gs and trying to light up a hard-turning target, his machine-gun rounds were actually following a downward parabola. Not being able to see what they might or might not be hitting was a serious disadvantage.

Having been a naval aviator, Roy Grumman specified that the absolute last thing to fail on a Hellcat should be the cockpit. He and his engineers protected an F6F pilot with 212 pounds of armor plating plus two more big sheets bracketing the oil tank just ahead of the instrument panel. Typical quotes from pilots whod brought home battle-damaged Hellcats were: Mostly holes where the airplane used to be, and More air going through it than around it. One F6F landed with 200 bullet holes.

After the war, most F6Fs were quickly relegated to training and Reserve squadrons, though radar-equipped F6F-5Ns were retained as night fighters. The Hellcats combat swan song for the U.S. came over Korea, when six radio-controlled F6F drones, each carrying a finless one-ton bomb, were sent one at a time against a North Korean bridge and a railway tunnel in August and September 1952, flown by a controller in an accompanying two-seat AD-2Q Skyraider. These missions were really proof-of-concept tests, demonstrations rather than serious raids, and they did little damage to anything other than the Hellcats.

The Navy had substantial experience with remote-control Hellcat drones, having converted a number of the readily available, expendable and dependable fighters soon after the war ended. Most were painted a vivid red or orange, occasionally yellow. Four pilotless F6F-5Ks, as the variant was designated, were used during the first Bikini A-bomb test, in July 1946. They were flown through the blast cloud after the explosions shock waves dispersed. One went out of control and crashed, and control airplanes picked up two of the three survivors after they emerged from the roiling column of smoke, dust and superheated air. The third Grumman was eventually spotted by radar cruising happily along some 55 miles from Bikini. It too was intercepted and led back to nearby Roi Island, where the three drones were safely landed.

Even today, the contribution of Hellcat drones is felt in air combat: The very first AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles were shot at F6F-5Ks flying above the China Lake Naval Ordnance Test Station during 1952 and 53. The first 12 Sidewinders scored clean misses, but in September 1953 the 13th came within 2 feet of its Hellcat target, which would have destroyed the airplane had the inert test missile been fitted with its proximity fuze and warhead. Sidewinders remain the air combat weapon of choice for every air force that can get their hands on them, and thanks to the Navy, its predicted they will stay in the U.S. inventory through most of the 21st century.

Today, five F6F Hellcats are still flying, in the hands of Tom Friedkin, the Commemorative Air Forces Southern California Wing, Paul Allens Flying Heritage Collection, the UKs Fighter Collection and the Yanks Air Museum. Compared to all the Mustangs, P-40s, Wildcats and Corsairs that show up for airshows and local fly-ins, Hellcats are among the hens teeth of U.S. warbirds. Theyre rare in part because they had no foreign operators who might have preserved them, beyond the Royal Navy and the French and Uruguayan navies, and because they had no civilian utility as firebombers, aerial sprayers, air racers or executive transportsapplications that have saved everything from Bearcats and Tigercats to B-17s and B-26s. Lets admit it, too, Hellcats just arent as colorful and sexy as more frequently restored types.

This may change, however. Three more F6Fs are undergoing restoration to flight status (the Yanks Air Museums second Hellcat plus airplanes owned by collector Jack Croul and the Collings Foundation). With the flying fleet eventually to grow by more than half, we could be on the cusp of a Hellcat renaissance. For the airplane that won the Pacific air war and was crucial to securing the islands from which B-29s could fly, its about time.

The Battle of Palmdale On a sunny August day in 1956, an F6F-5K Hellcat took off from Naval Air Station Point Mugu, northwest of Los Angeles. A pilotless drone, painted bright red with big yellow camera pods on the wingtips, the Hellcat was on its way to the test range to be targeted by air-to-air missilesprobably AIM-7 Sparrows, which were then under development. A pilot on the ground controlled it, much as present-day UAVs are flown. The tired old Grumman made a straight-out departure from Runway 21 and climbed out over the Pacific, which lapped nearly at the departure end of 21. It soon became apparent that controller and drone were not communicating. The red Hellcat made a stately turn to the leftsoutheastas it continued to climb, despite the controllers constant turn-right command. To the southeast lay the sprawling LA metropolis, hundreds of square miles of cityscape that now lay directly in the path of a runaway 6-ton pilotless fighter filled with more than 200 gallons of aviation fuel. The Navy needed help, and it lay close at hand. Just five miles north of NAS Point Mugu was Oxnard Air Force Base, home of the Fighting 437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. The 437ths rocket-equipped Northrop F-89D all-weather interceptors were tasked with pulverizing any Soviet bombers that might approach the California coast, and they were ready to do it day or night, good weather or bad, anytime, anywhere. Bring it. A 12-year-old piston-engine fighter cruising at probably 200 mph, unable to even make evasive maneuvers on a California summer day, should be good for a few minutes of live-fire practice, so the Air Force scrambled two F-89Ds loaded with a total of 208 2.75-inch Mighty Mouse air-to-air rockets. The radar-equipped Scorpions caught up with the Hellcat at 30,000 feet, over the fringes of populated LA. The Grumman was maneuvering mindlessly, first turning toward the city, then away, then going deeper into outlying suburban areas. The two F-89D pilots and their back-seat radar operators needed to destroy the Hellcat before it decided to head for Hollywood, and they couldnt wait too long to do it. Now the Hellcat was veering toward the western end of Antelope Valley, an area as sparsely populated in 1956 as its name suggests. But then it turned southeast toward downtown LA again. Time to lock and load. First one jet and then the other got the Grumman in their windscreensthey had no gunsights, since the Scorpions supposedly had some sort of automatic fire control for their unguided rocketsand then the Fighting 437th ripple-fired, loosing intermittent salvos of Mighty Mice. Was ever a weapon so appropriately named? Every rocket missed, though they did set a 150-acre brushfire on the ground. A second firing run did no better, although it too set a string of fires, one between an oil field and an explosives factory. A third try emptied the Scorpions big wingtip rocket pods: 208 rockets, zippo hits. The last group of salvos, however, became the talk of Palmdale, Calif., where they riddled houses and cars. There were no injuries, fortunately, but the blazes they set took 500 firefighters two days to extinguish. Meanwhile, the Hellcat declared itself done with this game. Its big R-2800 whickered to a stop, out of fuel, and the old warrior crashed into the empty Mojave Desert east of Palmdale, taking out some power lines as it went down.

Frequent contributor Stephan Wilkinson recommends for further reading: The Grumman Story, by Richard Thruelsen; F6F Hellcat at War, by Cory Graff; Grumman F6F Hellcat, by Corwin Meyer and Steve Ginter; and Grumman F6F Hellcat, by David Anderton.

This feature was originally published in the July 2014 issue of Aviation History. To subscribe, click here.
Pearl White Ward abandoned business school for the cockpit, then made a living jumping out of it.

I always told my mother I was going to make something of myself, Pearl White Ward said in a 1997 interview in the Ritchie County Gazette. But neither Pearl nor her mother imagined that she would become one of Americas pioneer female pilots and parachutists.

Born in Cumberland, Md., on April 4, 1914, Pearl lived with her grandparents in a small community near Smithville, W.Va., after her parents divorced. By age 12 she was already earning money doing housework, washing and ironing, and taking care of children. After her mother remarried, Pearl also worked in the familys grocery store in Smithville. But she dreamed of becoming a secretary.

At 14 Pearl traveled to Marietta, Ohio, to attend business school. When that school abruptly closed just two months later, a classmate invited Pearl to return with her to Washington, D.C., to attend a school run by her father, Strayers Business College. Pearl recalled, I didnt have anyplace to stay, so the director of the school gave me the name and address of a student, Sunny Olson, whose parents wanted to keep a student as a companion for their daughter. When she arrived in D.C., Pearl re membered, I walked up to that big front door and was let in by a woman in a uniform. She was a maid, but I didnt know that at the time. Id never heard of such a thing.

She did very well in school. The teachers were extremely encouraging, she said. They would stay after hours to help me.

One day Pearl saw a newspaper advertisement that read, Learn to Fly! $45! She went to Beacon Airport in Alexandria, Va., and signed up for lessons, paying for them with her lunch money and a small sum her father had given her. Though the minimum age for lessons was 21, no proof was requiredso the 15-year-old got away with claiming she was 21.

Instructor Johnny Evans taught her to fly in an Aeronca C-2, an ultralight nicknamed the Flying Bathtub because of its odd fuselage shape. Equipped with a 36-hp engine, the C-2 topped out at about 75 mph. Pearl soloed after just 2 hours of instruction. Johnny and I had landed and I started to get out, she recalled, and Johnny hollered: Sit where you are! Its all yours! I yelled out, Oh no! but he just repeated himself, and off I went.

Flying became Pearls new passion, and she soon dropped out of business school. As her skills increased, she found work as a barnstormer. Id fly the plane upside down over a field and grab a rag off the top of a 30-foot pole, she said. Id also do spins and loops, wingovers, S turns and wing-walking.

Pearls frequent performances brought her public recognition and bolstered her confidence. My head grew so big I couldnt scratch it, she observed with a laugh. That changed when she encountered Amelia Earhart at a New York airport. She was very mannish looking with short red hair and a freckled face, Pearl recalled. I asked her in a smart-aleck tone, Well, what do you think of my flying? She said, Well, young lady, if you live long enough, you might make a good pilot. She took some of my ego away, which was the best thing that ever happened to me.

In 1928 Pearl met Eddie Butler, owner of a traveling airshow, who offered her a job parachuting out of an airplane for $300 per jump. She had no training or experience before she jumped in public the first time. Butler simply explained how a parachute worked, saying: Heres the rip cord. When you leave the plane, count to 10 and pull it. Dont lose it, or it will cost you $5. Of her first performance, Pearl recalled, There was a big crowd, and I gave them quite a show.

She traveled up and down the East Coast from 1928 until 1935, doing aerobatics, wing-walking and parachuting. To heighten the drama at one show, she jumped while holding an open sack of flour, sending a white streak across the sky.

All went well until her 27th jump, in Galax, Va. I had a feeling about the two parachutes I was to use at the airshow in Galax, Pearl said. They were old and all patched up. Pearl told the pilot she didnt want to jump, but When I got up there and over the place to jump, he said, Jump or Ill push! I didnt think he would, but he put his hand on my back and pushed me out. From 2,000 feet, if the chute doesnt open you only have 20 seconds.

The first time she pulled the rip cord, nothing happened. Spinning through the air, she pulled it a second timeagain, nothing. And still no chute on the third pull. Seeing the ambulance racing across the field and hearing the crowds screams. She yelled, Im going to get killed! then pulled the cord a fourth time. Finally it opened, but not in time for a safe landing.

When I woke up in the hospital a week later with everything white and flowers all around, I thought I had gone to heaven, Pearl recalled. She learned that she had a broken back. Pearl was soon flown to Washington, where she would spend three months in the hospital. Her mother, who until then hadnt been aware of her daughters barnstorming career, visited her, and Pearl vowed that she would never jump againa vow she didnt keep.

She would make one more jump, her 28th, in the summer of 1935, while attending the Ohio River Festival in Ravenswood, W.Va. When parachutist Babe Smith, who was scheduled to jump, didnt show up, Pearl agreed to take her place. Despite landing in a crab apple tree, she escaped injury this time.

Pearl moved back to West Virginia late that summer and married Exell Ward. They started two Wards Sandwich Shoppes, one in Smithville and the other in Harrisville. In the early 1940s, the couple moved to Lake Charles, La., where they operated several eateries before acquiring an exclusive spot on Broad Street for an establishment they named Wards Plantation House. Its menu featured a photo of Pearl in her parachuting outfit.

Despite all the work involved in running their restaurant, Pearl didnt give up flying completely. The Wards purchased a Luscombe airplane, and Exell took flying lessons. Pearl soon became involved with the Lake Charles chapter of the Civil Air Patrol, serving as squadron commander for eight years. In addition she belonged to the OX5 Aviation Pioneers, a group whose members had to have soloed a plane with a Curtiss OX5 engine prior to 1941, and the Ninety-Nines, the women pilots organization founded by Amelia Earhart.

In 1973 Pearl and Exell sold their restaurant and returned to West Virginia, where they bought a house in Parkersburg. Just 10 days later Exell died. Pearl remained involved in aviation late in life, serving as squadron commander of the West Virginia Civil Air Patrol from January 1, 1977, to April 1, 1980. A 1980 article in the Parkersburg Sentinel summarized her contributions: Colonel Ward obtained four new aircraft for use in search and rescue, added several vehicles for use in ground search, and made extensive improvements to the wing headquarters building and its furnishings at Kanawha Airport in Charleston during her tenure as wing commander. Pearl White Ward died on April 10, 1999, at 85.

Originally published in the July 2014 issue of Aviation History. To subscribe, click here.
Romanian fighter pilot Dan Vizantys exploits were largely forgotten by his countrymen in the aftermath of World War II.

On August 24, 1944, a poignant radio exchange took place between two fighter aces who, until the previous day, had been allies, comrades in arms and close friends. One of them, Captain Dan Vizanty, commanded Fighter Group 6 of the Royal Romanian Air Force (RRAF). The other, Colonel Eduard Neumann, led the Luftwaffes Romanian Sector Fighter Command. As Vizanty re called it, Neumann informed him:

Dear Vizanty, in half an hour I will launch a strike on Bucharest. What will you do?

Without hesitation, I answer: Ill order the planes to take off.

Neumann: I understand, everybody has to do his duty.

I answer: There is no alternative. Sad reality. If God helps us, we will meet again one day to remember only the good times spent together.

Remarkably, 35 years after this discussion took place, the two protagonists would indeed meet again, at the International Fighter Pilot Convention in Munich, Germany.

Born on February 9, 1910, in Botosani, Romania, to an old Moldavian family of Greek heritage, Dan Vizanty hoped to become an actor in his youth. Following two years of studying drama, however, his ambitions turned to flying, a decision destined to supply him with drama aplenty.

After graduating from the Military School of Aviation at Cotroceni in 1931, Vizanty was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant aviator (second lieutenant), subsequently earning his air traffic control license and, in 1932, his military pilots license. He went on to qualify as a fighter pilot in 1934, was promoted to lieutenant on October 16, 1936, and to captain on April 17, 1939. During this period he flew a mixed bag of aircraft, including the French Morane-Saulnier 35 and 230 trainers, Potez 25 two-seat fighter-bomber, Romanian-built SET-7 trainer, British de Havilland Tiger Moth trainer, Canadian Consolidated Fleet Model 1 trainer, Italian Nardi FN.305 fighter-trainer, Polish PZL P-11f fighter and German Heinkel He-112 fighter.

When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Romania joined in as its ally. Vizanty later wrote in a magazine article that World War II represented an extraordinary and very difficult fight for any military, which during the same conflict, fought in the beginning against the USSR in the East, the Anglo-American alliance inside the country and in the end, in the West, against the Germans.

From the beginning, Vizanty distinguished himself as commander of Fighter Squadron 43 during the campaign to regain possession of Bessarabia. The units P-11fs were already obsolescent, but between June 1941 and August 1942, Vizanty displayed boldness and daring in the course of more than 50 missions.

From August 1942 to August 1943, Vizanty served as chief officer for SubSecretary of State of the Air Force General Gheorghe Jienescu. After the massive American bomb strike on the Ploesti oil refineries on August 1, 1943, Jienescu sought to upgrade Romanias air defenses in anticipation of further attacks. Vizanty was given command of Fighter Group 6 and tasked with protecting Bucharest and the refineries in the Ploesti-Campina region. Initially based in Pipera and later in Popesti-Leordeni, the group flew IAR 80s and 81s designed and built by the Industria Aero nautica Romana at Brasov.

In spite of their technical and numerical inferiority, Fighter Group 6s three squadrons (59, 61 and 62) were credited with shooting down more than 90 four-engine bombers and 45 fighters while defending their home territory. Vizanty became a triple ace, downing 12 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators, as well as three P-38 Lightnings.

Due to the toll taken on its bombers by Romanian and German fighters, as well as by intense anti-aircraft artillery fire, on June 10, 1944, the Fifteenth Air Force sent more than 100 P-38s to dive-bomb Ploesti. The plan was to come in at low altitude at an early hour0800surprising the defenders and attacking the refineries and any Axis aircraft on nearby airfields. The colossal Lightning strike proved to be a colossal failure. Early radar warnings sent Romanian and German fighters scrambling up to intercept the Americans.

For Vizanty and the IAR 81C pilots of Fighter Group 6, June 10 was their Day of Glory, but their opponents in the 1st and 82nd Fighter groups would call it the Blackest Day. The Romanians claimed 24 planes and lost just threeall apparently at the hands of the same pilot, 2nd Lt. Herbert Hatch of the 71st Squadron, 1st Fighter Group.

Stub Hatch, who was credited with five Focke-Wulf Fw-190s (the Americans often confused the IAR 80/81s with Fw-190s), would mention in his autobiography, An Ace and His Angel, the merits of Vizantys fighter group and the outstanding performance of the IAR 81C. For decades the Fifteenth Air Force believed the 50 percent casualties its Lightning units suffered that day were all at the hands of the Luftwaffe. It was not until the early 1980s that Hatch discovered who his adversaries had really been.

With the truce on August 23a crucial moment in Romanian historythe country changed sides politically as well as militarily, thereafter fighting alongside the Allies. Captain Vizanty became commander of Fighter Group 1 but also retained command of Fighter Group 6. Both groups operated from Popesti-Leordeni, defending the Romanian capital from Luftwaffe attacks and adding 25 German aircraft to their joint tally.

Vizanty interceded when 1,590 American, British and Canadian airmen, with my help, were released and sent to Foggia, Italy, after the truce of August 23, 1944, before the Soviet military invaded Bu  charest. Eager to establish contact with the Americans, Vizanty entrusted the job of flying the highest-ranking American POW in Romania, Lt. Col. James Gunn III, to fellow ace Captain Constantin Cantacuzino, who squeezed Gunn into the radio compartment of an Me-109G and delivered him to Allied territory.

From September 8, 1944, until the end of the war, Vizanty led Fighter Group 1, which by then was using Me-109Gs ironic, considering that his new enemies, the Germans, were flying the same models. Just after the German surrender, on May 10, 1945, the Romanian ace was promoted to lieutenant commander. By then he had accumulated more than 4,600 flying hours and racked up 16 air-to-air victories. According to the system used by the RRAF, which gave credit for shared kills and multi plied credits for multiengine bombers, his official score stood at 43. In recognition of his piloting skills, leadership and outstanding heroism in the war, Vizanty was awarded the highest military honors. Among them was the Order of Michael the Brave, 1st Class, Romanias highest military decoration. According to Denes Bernads book Rumanian Aces of World War 2, He was one of only three surviving officers flying the Rumanian-designed aircraft to receive this award, and the only recipient to participate in the fighting against the Americans.

When the Communist regime was installed in Romania after the war, Vizanty was forced to retire from the air force. In 1961 he was sentenced to five years imprisonment for plotting against social order, but after two years was given an official pardon. Immediately upon his release, Vizanty sued the Communist government, demanding restoration of his civil rights and the goods seized from him during his incarceration. Although he actually won the lawsuit, the government subsequently relegated him to a number of jobs unconnected with his trainingfrom salvaging war wrecks to planting medicinal plants and working as a technician, mechanic, crane operator and junior engineer.

Like most officers who had been commissioned in the Royal Romanian military, Vizanty was largely ignored by his countrymen in the wars aftermath. His exploits received more acknowledgment in France, however, where in October 1976 he became an honorary member of the international aeronautical association Les Vieilles Tiges. After immigrating to Paris, in June 1977 Vizanty was given another award, the Silver Medal of Paris, presented to him by the mayorand later president of FranceJacques Chirac. In exile, the ace became a journalist, but he still remained devoted to his homeland, often writing about Romanian aviation.

Vizanty died in Paris on November 12, 1992. In 2010, the centennial of his birth, Daniel Focsa published Dan Vizanty: The Destiny of a Fighter Pilot. The Museum of Aviation in Bucharest also developed a photo-documentary exposition exploring Vizantys many accomplishments. That exhibitThe Rediscovered Ace was presented at the Military Museum in Bucharest in November 2012.

Originally published in the September 2014 issue of Aviation History. To subscribe, click here.
A top-secret operation in Australia helped fill the intelligence gap on Japanese air power.

The Japanese invasions of the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore were swift and brutal, giving imperial Japan control over most of the Pacific by the end of January 1942. On February 19, Japanese carrier planes raided the northern Australian city of Darwin, in what was considered a prelude to an invasion. Throughout the Commonwealth, Australians braced themselves for a desperate fight for their homeland. In the months that followed, there would be dozens of additional air raids on the island continent.

So when the Brisbane police began getting phone calls from citizens claiming that Japanese Zeros were flying overhead in 1943, the authorities chalked it up to nerves. Any airplanes operating over the city were from the nearby military airfield at Eagle Farm, they told the anxious callers, and they all belonged to the good guys. In fact, the police were only half right. That was a Zero soaring overheadflown by an Allied pilot. Whats more, there were other Japanese aircraft stored in a hangar at Eagle Farm, participants in a top-secret operation that would prove instrumental in turning the tide in the Pacific air war.

In the early days of World War II, the Allies possessed scant intelligence about Japanese air power or aircraft. Tight budgets, which limited intelligence gathering, a preoccupation with the German threat in Europe and a dismissive attitude toward the Japanese combined to result in an information void. In December 1941, Pearl Harbor proved the folly of that mistake.

Correcting the oversight became the responsibility of the newly formed Technical Air Intelligence Unit (TAIU). Authorized by Maj. Gen. George Kenney and supported by General Douglas MacArthur, this team of U.S. Army Air Forces, U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Army personnel took on the job of recovering, rebuilding and flying downed or captured Japanese aircraft. To run the operation, MacArthur tapped Major Frank McCoy, an Oklahoma born lawyer whose tough, logical thinking was masked by courtly manners. McCoy recruited Lieutenant Clyde Gessler, an engineer with a near-photographic memory and a knack for figuring out where some odd fragment might fit into the overall picture. Armed with letters signed by MacArthur giving them carte blanche for whatever equipment, personnel or transportation they needed, the team set off to sites where Japanese airplanes, or pieces of planes, could be found.

Initially the wreckage the TAIU salvaged came from planes downed behind friendly lines. Usually these were discovered deep in the jungle, where simply spotting a wreck, much less recovering it, was an achievement. But as the Allies began to push the Japanese off their island strongholds, the TAIU team also started collecting aircraft abandoned at airfields.

Moving the aircraft demanded equal parts ingenuity and brute force, especially in the tropical heat and humidity typically experienced on Pacific islands. Team members had to manhandle the fuselage, engines and other components onto barges, then float them out to ships for transport to Australia.

Gessler kept a wartime diary, which though informative is generally sparse on details due to security concerns. He does complain, however, about some of the difficulties the teams encountered, like the time when a fully loaded barge sank and they had to try to recover the engines, airframes, tail sections and wings on it using little more than a portable A-frame crane and swimmers who could hold their breath for a long time. Once the bits and pieces arrived in Brisbane, mechanics, draftsmen, avionics technicians and airframe and power plant specialists all went to work in Eagle Farms Hangar 7. The airfield was a major military facility where many Allied operations were headquartered. Located away from most of the action on the field, Hangar 7 was positioned 90 degrees from the other hangars, so outsiders couldnt see much. Inside it was part aircraft factory and part storage depot, where technicians and mechanics worked to reconstruct the wrecks.

Often as not, soldiers had scavenged the wreckage before the TAIU team arrived, which made it even harder to put the puzzle pieces together. Then there were the challenges resulting from cultural differences. Japanese engineers often approached aeronautical and mechanical problems from a different mind-set than Allied engineers, and few personnel could decipher Japanese, so any written information found on the components was largely useless.

The secrecy of the project was inevitably breached (and the frantic phone calls to the Brisbane police began) once the reconstructed planes became airworthy. On July 20, 1943, Captain William Farrior took off in a Mitsubishi A6M3 Model 32 Zero, accompanied by Allied aircraft flying shotgun to prevent some sharp-eyed pilot who wasnt in on the secret from shooting him down. Base personnel had by this time learned a bit about what was going on in the half-hidden hangar. There are stories of work stopping on the base whenever Hangar 7 planes were flying, with airmen looking on as Zeros and a Nakajima Ki.43 Hayabusa fighter engaged in mock dogfights with P-47 Thunderbolts and Spitfires.

According to Gesslers diary, the pieced-together planes were tested for speed, rate of climb, maximum altitude, diving, maneuverability, fuel consumption, range, horsepower and fuel efficiency. The team promptly passed on information about the enemy aircrafts capabilities and vulnerabilities to Allied aircrews and airplane designers, who were quick to exploit the intelligence.

One of the most important aspects of the TAIUs work was developing accurate visual recognition materials and identification names for enemy planes. In most cases the Japanese designations were either unknown or unpronounceable to Allied troops. McCoy called on Tech. Sgt. Francis Williams to find a way to make it easier for Allied personnel to quickly identify and report sightings via code names. Williams suggested using common first names: male names for fighters and floatplanes; female for bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and flying boats; and names starting with T for transports. Most of the names came from friends and family members: Betty, Fred, Nate. The Zero became Zeke; the Hayabusa became Oscar. One of the first names selected did not stick. When Hap was chosen to honor General Henry Hap Arnold, he was less than flattered. The name was revised to Hamp, but eventually finalized as Zeke 32, since it was essentially a clipped-wing Zero variant.

Paired with accurate silhouettes of the planes, the new recognition schemeofficially the MacArthur Southwest Pacific Code Name Systemgrew to more than 50 names. McCoy would later be called on to develop a similar naming system for Soviet aircraft during the Korean War.

The TAIU project initially focused on flying capabilities, but it also gathered other information. Analysis of metallurgy told where core materials had been mined. Data plates identified manufacturing plants and gave rates of construction, data that went to mission planners organizing bombing raids.

In 1944 the project moved to Anacostia. Fighters, bombers, recon planes and transports also went to other locations for testing and evaluation. Most of those aircraft were later scrapped, but a few went to museums, including the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

McCoy and Gessler remained lifelong friends. Typical of their generation, they rarely mentioned their wartime activities to their families. After Gesslers death, his daughter discovered a Zero instrument panel in his garage. It seems his mechanics had given it to him as a farewell gift. McCoys son now has the letters that General MacArthur signed, authorizing the TAIU team to take whatever they needed, hanging on a wall in his home.

As for Hangar 7, it still standsnear the edge of what is now Brisbane International Airport. Today the Eagle Farm Aviation Society, dedicated to the history of the TAIU, hopes to see it restored as a museum chronicling the secret project that put Zeros in the skies over Brisbane.

Fran Severn is a freelance writer, editor and pilot with more than 300 published articles to her credit. For more information about the TAIU, visit the Eagle Farm Aviation Society website at hangar7.org.au.

Originally published in the July 2014 issue of Aviation History. To subscribe, click here.
US has reassured Beijing that the deployment of an extensive missile defence system in South Korea is not a threat to China. The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system is known as Thaad. This system is designed to protect South Korea and US troops based there.

China fears that the Thaad advanced radar capabilities could threaten Chinese military operations. The BBC reports the first stage of the Thaad deployment came after North Korea launched four ballistic missiles. The UN Security Council condemned the North Korean action.

The Council threatened to take further sanctions against North Korea. Three North Korean missiles came down inside Japan's exclusive economic zone. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump stated the region had entered a new stage of threat.

More details about the Thaad

The Thaad shoots down short and medium-range ballistic missiles in the final phase of their flight. It uses hit-to-kill technology - where kinetic energy destroys the incoming missile. The Thaad has a range of 200km and an altitude of 150km.

When the enemy launches a missile, the Thaad radar system detects the attack, then, it launches an interceptor missile. The enemy projectile is destroyed in the final phase of flight. The launcher trucks can hold even eight interceptor missiles.

South Koreans living in places which will host defence batteries are concerned they could become targets. China stated that Thaad goes far beyond what is required for defence. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the Thaad system is not a threat to China.

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China has announced its call out for North Korea to cease its nuclear and missile tests, hoping to discharge the materializing intense condition between the country and U.S. as well as South Korea.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed that the U.S. and South Korea should put a stop to their annual joint military drills, which consistently intimidates the North, as reported by the BBC. This is expected to ease the intense relationship between the countries and also worries shared by many nations including China.

Wang made the comments on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's parliament in Beijing. This shout out is made right after the deployment of the U.S. advanced anti-missile defense system in South Korea, addressing concern that it may result in regional security balance demolition.

The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system by the U.S. is a response to the move of North Korea's test-launched four missiles on Monday that shocked the world. Thaad is designed to protect South Korea, and US troops based there, from North Korean missile attacks. It is also known that the launcher trucks can hold up to eight interceptor missiles.

In response to China's comment, the U.S. Statement Department has clarified that the anti-missile system is not a threat to China, but a response to North Korea's recent provocations, as reported by CNBC.

"Given North Korea's recent behavior, we're not at the point where we're looking at direct engagement with them," State Department spokesman Mark Toner cited in Bloomberg. "We're not rewarding that behavior in any way, shape, or form."

In the same note, Bloomberg also pointed out that Kim has pushed forward his efforts to acquire the ability to hit the continental U.S. with a nuclear warhead since six-party talks went down in 2009. North Korea warned this week that U.S.-South Korea war exercises were the main reason leading to the brink of a "nuclear disaster."

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Sony, the Japanese tech giant recently unveiled the best and finest smartphoone in the tech market. Sony Xperia XZ Premium is incorporated with topmost display and camera technology. The Xperia XZ Premium brings-in the world's first 4K HDR display for a Smartphone and is equipped with new Motion eye camera technology.

Design: Sony claims that the Xperia XZ Premium is "A reflection of beauty." The phone is so well designed that it pleasing to the eye and gentle to touch. The premium glass loop surface creates a mirror effect that reflects the world around the user. The phone made with the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back gives beauty and durability.

The Japanese tech giant has Is seen expertly crafting the Xperia XZ Premium such as the top and bottom edges with diamond cut along with a stainless steel camera lens ring, for a premium appearance that radiates sophistication.

Display: Sony has incorporated a 5.2-inch 4K HDR display in the Xperia XZ Premium which is claimed to be the first Smartphone with such an amazing type of display. Sony claims that the 4K HDR display is vividly clear than ordinary screens, because the company uses BRAVIA TV technology.

Camera: Sony Xperia XZ Premium is equipped with the new Motion eye camera which is claimed to be the company's decades of innovation. The camera is found to be built using know-how from  and Cyber-shot ranges, for images and videos that are simply incredible to see. Sony's unique super-resolution examines each pixel and reproduces the ones that are missing.

The phone has a 19MP rear camera with an aperture of f/2.0 and comes with SteadyShot and an 'Anti-distortion' shutter. The front end of the handset is incorporated with 13MP camera lens. The Motion Eye camera is claimed to be unique which is capable of recording 960 frames per second, for Super slow motion playback and is four times slower than videos from other smartphones.

Hardware: Sony Xperia XZ Premium is embedded with Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 quad core processor with Adreno 530 GPU paired with a 4GB of RAM and 32GB and 64GB internal storage options. The device is also provided with a slot for microSD card with by which the phone storage can be expanded up to 256GB. The Sony Xperia XZ Premium comes with an Android 7.1 Nougat OS and a 2,900mAh non removable battery with quick charge support.

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Gunmen disguised as doctors attacked a military hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 30 people and left many injured. The assault took place this Wednesday morning, it was claimed by the Islamic State. A suicide bomber detonated explosives, then gunmen opened fire on guards located inside the fortified medical compound.

Several attackers were able to reach the second floor, where they fought against Afghan special forces. Military officials stated the attack was quelled by about 4 p.m. The Washington Post reports more than 50 people were wounded in the assault.

The attack on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital followed a pair of similar attacks that took place a few days ago. Those attacks were claimed by the Taliban. The terrorists chose the right moment to attack the military hospital, when there was a ceremony. Most of the casualties were civilians.

More details about the attack

Security officials stated the attackers were wearing doctors' uniforms, and one witness said he saw a man dressed in a doctor's coat pull out a Kalashnikov rifle and open fire. Government forces were locked in sporadic exchanges of fire inside the hospital. Television showed one Afghan military helicopter landing on the roof of the main compound and dropping reinforcements.

Regional groups claiming allegiance to the Islamic State have claimed several bombings, including one that killed 22 people outside the Supreme Court. The terrorists attacked when there was a ceremony in Kabul marking the third anniversary of the death of Afghanistan's anti-Soviet militia leader, Marshal Fahim Khan. Government officials attended the ceremony accompanied by large numbers of armed guards.

The region near the military hospital was deserted and quiet before the terrorist attack. Security and emergency vehicles had difficulty reaching the attacked hospital from other places of Kabul. The Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, was speaking at a ceremony honoring International Women's Day when the terrorist attack occurred, he urged women to stand up to such attacks.

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B usiness rate hikes threaten to destroy some of Londons best-loved high streets, say campaigners. In Islington more than 13,000 people have signed a petition calling for next months increases to be delayed because of the devastating impact on small independent shops.

Campaigners claim many smaller businesses in streets such as Upper Street and Camden Passage  both famous for quirky, one-off shops  will face closure as rates are adjusted to reflect higher local property values. Islington shopkeepers face rises of up to 45 per cent, among the biggest in the UK.

The petition, raised by the Islington Chamber of Commerce and the Angel Business Improvement District warns that independent shops will be driven out of business by the move, leaving empty premises across the borough. The groups want the increase frozen until after Britain has left the European Union. As a Plan B the petition asks Chancellor Philip Hammond, who today delivered his first spring Budget, to offer small businesses more government assistance to help pay the higher bills.

Councillor Asima Shaikh, who helped deliver the petition to the Treasury, said the new rates could have a destructive effect on high streets, forcing smaller firms from cafes and pubs to boutiques and bookshops out of business.

Christine Lovett, chief executive of the Angel Business Improvement District, said: Our high streets are the lifeblood of our communities. They are also places where fledgling businesses cut their teeth and grow.

As it is, our vibrant high streets are threatened by online shopping, high rents and the uncertainty of Brexit. The Governments huge business rate rises could be the final straw for our smaller independents.

The Government has based next months bills on the revaluation of properties throughout Britain. It says using up-to-date valuations is the only fair way to tax businesses, and insists that many firms will not see their costs increased. Across London, however, where values have rocketed, higher rates will inevitably apply.

And of course, the property market would feel the knock-on effects of such business closures. A thriving high street full of quirky, independent shops exerts a powerful influence on residential property values, with people scrambling to move into areas such as Bermondsey and East Dulwich as their de facto high streets improve.
C alls for relief on stamp duty charges that would boost movement in the property market were ignored in Chancellor Philip Hammond's Spring Budget today.

Despite the Government's own admission in last month's Housing White Paper that the property market was "broken", tax thresholds will remain at the levels introduced in 2014.

Currently, home buyers are liable for the tax when purchasing a residential property or a plot of land costing more than 125,000, or 40,000 for a second home.

In London, where average asking prices stand at almost 625,000, the total stamp duty payable is an eye-watering 21,250.

Even the duty payable on a starter home costing 350,000 adds 7,500 to the cost of buying.

Price of property Stamp duty payable Up to 125,000 Zero The portion from 125,001 to 250,000 2% The portion from 250,001 to 925,000 5% The portion from 925,001 to 1.5 million 10% Anything above 1.5 million 12%

Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agent Jackson-Stops & Staff, says: Homeowners are left feeling disheartened and frustrated once again today, as Philip Hammond neglects to address the stamp duty elephant in the room.

"Despite evidence showing the housing market has slowed since the stamp duty reform of December 2014, and the more recent three per cent second home surcharge, the Government is sticking to its guns and refusing to give the nation a break."

Currently, stamp duty is charged in bands, with zero per cent on the first 125,000 of the purchase price, two per cent between 125,001 and 250,000, five per cent from 250,001 to 925,000, 10 per cent from 925,000 to 1.5 million, and 12 per cent above that.

These thresholds are set to remain in place at least until November, when the Chancellor will unveil a combined Budget and Autumn Statement.
News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits.

Tuesday, October 25, 4:30  7 p.m.

Orr Area EMS Open House

Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798.

Orr Fire Hall

4540 Lake St., Orr

Tuesday, October 25, 12  6 p.m.

Essentia Health Job Fair

Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org.

901 9th St. N., Virginia
People around the globe rely on horses, mules, and donkeys as part of their livelihoods and for the everyday tasks of living.

In parts of Kenya, donkeys are essential to help transport water from streams and other waterways to peoples homes, sometimes many miles away. A serious drought in the region has caused the government to declare a national disaster, but emergency relief is prioritized for humans, not the working equines who help them.

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Brooke is a UK-based charity that helps working horses and donkeys by assisting the people who own and use the animals. They provide training on care and veterinary procedures along with specialized skills like proper tack and equipment fitting. In response to the drought in Kenya, Brookes team in Nairobi have stepped up their efforts to bring water to 13,100 donkeys in the affected areas. The drought has also had an impact on the availability of food for the donkeys, so the team will also be bringing hay and feed to approximately 800 donkeys.

Working donkeys are vital to peoples livelihoods here, says Dil Peeling, Director of Animal Welfare and Sustainability at Brooke. They carry water and food for families, fuel and building materials. They help people earn the money they use to put food on the table and children in school.

Brooke estimates that by feeding and watering these donkeys in the drought-afflicted regions of Kenya, they will be helping 80,000 people who rely on them.

The organization has set up an emergency appeal on the charitable crowdfunding site justgiving.com to help finance the extra efforts in Kenya. To help, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Brooke-Emergency-Appeal-Kenya-Drought and read more about Brookes work around the globe at thebrooke.org.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com
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A couple has been arrested for the murder of a 19-year-old man in Oak Cliff, TX last week. According to Dallas News, Dallas police obtained footage of the pair incriminating themselves while broadcasting via Facebook Live. In the recording, which you can see below, the couple shows off firearms and ammunition, and they allude to having recently shot someone.

The couple, 17-year-old Hakeem Leprince Griffin-White and 27-year-old Ashely Ann Coleman, were arrested on Sunday. They have each been charged with one count of murder. Coleman is being held on $500,000 bail, and police said Griffin-White is being held for the same amount, though jail records list his bail at $200,000.

They have each been charged for the murder of Drekeiston Alex, who was shot in the middle of the street on Thursday afternoon. He attempted to run away but collapsed soon after he was shot. He was taken to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, where he was pronounced dead.

Officers had released surveillance footage  see below  of the shooter, who can be seen dressed in all black. He fled in a red Chrysler PT Cruiser that was driven by another person. Several witnesses reportedly told police that the PT Cruiser belonged to Coleman.

Police went to an address provided by a witness, where a chase ensued involving the PT Cruiser as well as a U-Haul truck. The PT Cruiser got away, but officers eventually stopped the U-Haul truck, whose driver said that the couple driving the PT Cruiser had offered to pay him to help them move. After surveilling the same address, another vehicle pursuit began when a white sedan appeared at the house and then drove off. During the chase, the passenger in the sedan exited the car and ran off. The driver of the car would reveal to police that a woman had paid him to drive her to her home. He then led police to an address where they found the PT Cruiser. The extent to which the couples self-incrimination on Facebook Live was connected to their arrest is unclear. An Instagram pic, posted last week, showing the couple each holding weapons of the couple was shared by Dallas News. Im his Bonnie he my Clyde, Coleman wrote in the caption. Coleman and Griffin-White both alluded to the possibility of them being murder suspects via Facebook status updates they each wrote on March 3, a day after Alexs murder and two days before their arrests. Why Would I Kill Somebody While My Gurr Son Inna Car Df, wrote Griffin-White, while Coleman, with the help of crying emojis, pleaded her innocence: Im Far From A Murderer. I Swear To God Its All An Image. It turns out that Coleman is a rapper, who operates under the name Mamme Kash. She holds a pistol and makes death threats in her most popular video, entitled Shots Fired, which is meant to be a diss aimed at Dallas-bred female rapper Asian Doll.

Bonnie & Clyde
An irate Lars Ulrich says the US President should be focused on building metaphorical bridges instead of wanting to fuel hostility by erecting the controversial wall at the Mexican boarder.

In an interview on Mexican TV, the Danish-born drummer wore his heart on his sleeve when asked about the controversial plans to build the wall. "I dont think the world needs any walls. I think we need to bring people together," Lars stated.

"Metallica travels all over the world, and through music we try to bring people together. So whether were in Mexico or whether were in Asia or whether were in Europe or whatever, we encourage as many different people from as many different backgrounds to come together and share music and life and culture and all these experiences.

Being one Danish guy, being asked an opinion, I dont think any walls are necessary, and I think that, increasingly, as far as Metallica traveling all over this beautiful planet, we break down barriers with music.

You can watch the full interview here - and fear not because only the introduction to the interview is in Spanish:



Earlier this year, the band's guitarist Kirk Hammett also attacked the former reality TV star turned politician. Taking to Twitter, he had this to say about Donald Trump and the Alt-Right: Pay attention people! Stand up for truth, compassion and togetherness. Dont settle for anything less. Reject lies, fear-mongering, misguided anger. The system wants us divided, so its easier to control us emotionally.
A unique anthology of art, comics and illustrations to highlight the need to repeal the Eighth Amendment was launched last night in Dublin on the eve of International Women's Day...

MINE is an anthology with over 30 contributors; and the stories and art within the pages represent creative responses to the struggle for repealing the Eighth Amendment in Ireland from a wide range of perspectives, both female and male.

The MINE anthology launch at the Workman's Club on Tuesday, 7 March featured speeches and performances from actor and writer, Tara Flynn, who contributed the foreword to MINE; writer Sarah Maria Griffin, who recited her poem 'We Face This Land'; Linda Kavanagh, Abortion Rights Campaign spokesperson; and Karen Harte, artist and creator of the MINE anthology.

We are so excited that the launch of the MINE anthology has finally arrived, and we can share this wonderful collection of art, comics and illustrations which is an artistic response to the struggle for reproductive rights and the campaign to repeal the 8th amendment," Karen Harte said, speaking shortly before the launch.

We will bring together contributors, artists and activists to celebrate the launch and continue to raise much needed funds for the Abortion Rights Campaign and the hugely important work they do in promoting national support for a referendum to repeal the 8th.

Alternative female pop duo,  MAK performed on the night too. The band has appeared at a number of acclaimed Irish festivals including Body & Soul, Electric Picnic, Other Voices, Knockanstockan and Another Love Story, and were named one of the State Faces of 2016 by State Magazine and one of GoldenPlec's Plec Picks 2016.



The four-piece female band Mongoose also took to the stage on the night to perform their up-beat, acoustic melty-pot music, with flavours of jazz and folk.



Copies of the MINE anthology, merchandise and prints from the anthology, were available to purchase on the night, with all the proceeds going to the Abortion Rights Campaign. For more information visit the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MineAnthology.
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U.S. gasoline consumption may have peaked in 2016, driving the Gulf Coast refiners to increasingly look to export markets in Latin America and even Africa to help unload excess fuel.

Last year, U.S. motorists consumed a record 9.33 million barrels a day of gasoline, surpassing the previous high in 2007 of 9.29 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Department. But gasoline consumption has already fallen sharply this year, down more than 6 percent in February from last year.

The fear for refiners is the combination of fuel-efficient vehicles, electric cars and steeper prices at the pump will push U.S. consumption downward over the long term.

"The U.S. is going to produce (and import) considerably more crude than we're able to consume," Phillips 66 chief economist Horace Hobbs said. "This leaves us with a substantial excess of gasoline that our refineries can produce."

The Energy Department projects U.S. crude production will grow 9 percent by 2018, while gasoline consumption will peak soon - if not already - and fall about 25 percent through 2040. Fuel exports, however, are projected to rise through 2040.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, said that U.S. refiners have expanded capacity in recent years, and it now exceeds domestic demand. That leaves Houston-area refiners in stronger positions because of their easier access to foreign markets from Gulf Coast ports, according to Kloza and other analysts speaking at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference.

More Information Broken Motiva marriage Royal Dutch Shell and state-owned Saudi Aramco successfully negotiated the dissolution of their 50-50 joint venture, Houston-based Motiva Enterprises. Aramco gets:  The nation's largest oil refinery, the 600,000-barrel-a-day Port Arthur Refinery  24 distribution terminals  Ownership of the Motiva Enterprises brand  Exclusive rights to sell Shell-branded gasoline in eastern Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C. and most of Florida Shell gets:  The 235,000-barrel-a-day Norco Refinery in Louisiana  The 230,000-barrel-a-day Convent Refinery in Louisiana  $700 million cash  $1.5 billion in debt reduction  11 distribution terminals  Rights to sell Shell fuel in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, the Florida Panhandle and the northeastern U.S. See More Collapse

Hobbs said that excess "works out really nice with the increasing Latin American demand."

More foreign investment is coming to Gulf Coast refineries as well. State-owned Saudi Aramco announced this week it will take sole ownership of the nation's largest oil refinery in Port Arthur within the next three months.

Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell said they negotiated the dissolution of their two-decade joint venture, Houston-based Motiva Enterprises, which owns three refineries in Texas and Louisiana, including the massive Port Arthur Refinery. Aramco gets the crown jewel in Port Arthur to itself, while Shell will own the Convent and Norco refineries in Louisiana.

The combined refining capacity in just Texas and Louisiana is greater than each of the world's third, fourth and fifth largest refiners - Russia, Japan and India. Mario Rodriguez, founder of Los Angeles refiner NTR Partners, acknowledged the advantage in the South.

"Today the most competitive and complex refining system in the world is in the Gulf Coast," Rodriguez said.

For the first time, the U.S. in December averaged more than 1 million barrels of gasoline exports a day, most from Gulf Coast refineries. That's a nearly 60 percent increase from a year prior.

Major customers include Latin America and Canada. Recently, some shipments have gone to Nigeria and other West African nations. Some West Coast refiners have even started shipping gasoline to Singapore to supply Asian markets.

Slightly more than half of all U.S. gasoline exports go to Mexico, which in December bought 500,000 barrels a day from U.S. refiners, up from 185,000 barrels a day in 2013.

With Mexico's growing population and middle class, smaller Texas companies are even trying to build new refineries with the sole purpose of exporting fuel to Mexico and other Latin American nations.

Austin-based MMEX Resources Corp. said Tuesday it wants to build a $450 million refinery near Fort Stockton in West Texas to take advantage of booming Permian Basin production. Likewise, The Woodlands-based Raven Petroleum said last year it hopes to build a $500 million refinery east of Laredo to export nearly all of its fuels to Mexico.

MMEX CEO Jack Hanks said there's limited pipeline infrastructure to move the Permian crude, so it makes sense to refine it locally for export to Latin American markets.
Peter Thiel, the technology investor and adviser to President Donald Trump, questioned the global push toward restricting carbon emissions as "groupthink" while speaking Tuesday at the CERA-Week by IHS Markit energy conference.

"I'm not sure I'm an extreme skeptic of climate change, but I have my doubts about the extreme ways that people try to push it through," he said. "Even if climate change is quite as bad as people think it is, if we groupthink, we're more likely to misdiagnose the problem. Maybe it's methane emissions, and the real problem is eating steak."

The question of how the Trump administration will handle climate change is a central issue for energy companies, as they face the prospect of a shift to a lower-carbon economy.

Trump has promised to roll back policies of former President Barack Obama, including his Clean Power Plan, and is considering whether to pull the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.

Thiel offered little insight on where Trump might ultimately end up on that decision. But as a close associate of the president, who worked on his transition team, he is believed to have his ear on a wide range of issues.

A co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook, Thiel is known for his contrarian points of view and seeking investments missed by mainstream investors. He commented during his talk with Daniel Yergin, who leads the CERAWeek conference each year, that he was surprised hydraulic fracturing had generated the profits it had considering the degree of competition within the energy space.

"There is not necessarily a link between great innovation and great economic reward," Thiel said.

Like most industries nowadays, energy companies have been nervously trying to figure out what Trump will mean. Yergin said it was among the first questions he got when talking with attendees in the lead-up to this year's event.

The common thinking is Trump's pledge to grow American jobs and reduce regulation should be good news for an oil and gas industry that was hit with climate change regulations during the Obama administration.

Already, Trump has approved the long-delayed Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines and signed executive orders expected to aid fossil fuel production.

"Congress and the White House are going in the right direction, and it's a different direction from what we've seen the last eight years," said Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, adding that the Keystone and Dakota Access decisions "were early signs he's serious about this."

Thiel has become a controversial figure in liberal Silicon Valley for his support of Trump, including a $1.25 million donation to Trump's campaign in October. Critics called on Facebook to remove Thiel from its board of directors, prompting a response from CEO Mark Zuckerberg defending Thiel.

"We care deeply about diversity," Zuckerberg wrote. "That's easy to say when it means standing up for ideas you agree with. It's a lot harder when it means standing up for the rights of people with different viewpoints to say what they care about."

But among the oil and gas executives who dominate CERAWeek, Thiel faced a more politically conservative audience.

Asked about what the Trump administration would mean for the oil and gas industry at the conference Tuesday, Pioneer Natural Resources executive chairman Scott Sheffield said, "hopefully better than the last eight years."
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A pipeline spewing natural gas into Alaska's Cook Inlet may have started leaking in December, two months before the leak was spotted from the air, according to a federal pipeline safety office.

The estimate of when gas started leaking into winter habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales was issued in a proposed safety order last week by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration that the agency confirmed Tuesday.

Processed natural gas continues to leak from a Hilcorp Alaska pipeline that supplies four oil platforms in the inlet south of Anchorage - at a rate estimated by the company at 210,000 to 310,000 cubic feet of gas daily.

A Hilcorp helicopter crew Feb. 7 spotted gas bubbling to the surface about 4 miles off shore.

However, the company in late January reported that it had detected increased gas flow through the pipeline in January and started looking for a leak, according pipeline safety office's report.

A subsequent analysis of gas flow indicated the pipeline likely began leaking in December, the agency said.

The agency late Friday issued the proposed safety order requiring the line to be repaired by May 1 or shut down.

Hilcorp has 30 days to respond. Company spokeswoman Lori Nelson said Hilcorp had no immediate comment.

The pipeline is in 80 feet of water. Repairs by divers cannot be made in current winter conditions that include sea ice, severe weather and extreme tides, according to Hilcorp.

The company told the federal pipeline office that safe diving operations cannot start until late March at the earliest.

Shutting the gas pipeline down is not an option, Hilcorp said. Before the pipeline carried natural gas, it moved crude oil. Without pressure in the line, seawater could enter and allow residual crude oil to leak, the company said.

Houston-based Hilcorp purchased the pipeline and other oil and gas facilities from XTO Energy in September 2015.

Besides endangered beluga whales, Cook Inlet is home to salmon and other fish. Hilcorp last week said its modeling consultants conclude that only tiny amounts of natural gas likely are dissolving into the water.

Environmental groups contend that the leaking gas is a threat to belugas and their prey. Two environmental groups have given formal notice that they intend to sue Hilcorp Alaska over the leak.
HANLONTOWN, Iowa - An Oklahoma-based company has blamed an errant excavator for damaging a pipeline in northern Iowa that spilled nearly 47,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

Magellan Midstream Partners released a statement Tuesday saying the excavator apparently didn't check with regulators about the location of underground utilities, as required by Iowa law.
The day after House Republicans unveiled their long-anticipated blueprint to replace the Affordable Care Act, dismay was swift and loud from not only those who said it went too far but also others who said it did not go far enough.

On one side were those like Stacey Pogue, a senior policy analyst for the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin, who said there is little doubt that many Texans will lose ground under the proposal. The American Health Care Act attempts to swap income-based federal help to pay for insurance with a system that is mostly age-based.

"There are definitely going to be people who lose coverage, especially the low- and moderate-income people, especially older people," she said Tuesday.

She worried that in a state that already leads the nation in the number of uninsured, a repeal of existing protections and financial assistance will fuel a new spike. People who have gained coverage under the law known as Obamacare could lose it as it becomes too costly with too little help.

"We will definitely be going backwards," she said.

From another corner of the political ring, Dr. Deane Waldman, director of the Center for Healthcare Policy at the Conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, was equally incensed for a very different reason.

"This isn't repeal at all, this isn't replace at all," he said. "This is amend and enhance."

He contends that for all the Republican promises to get rid of Obamacare, what was presented Monday evening was simply a rejiggering of federal entitlements. He is in the camp that believes the government has no business being involved in creating assistance programs for people to buy insurance.

"Repeal every single word," he said was his preferred tactic. He said a state like Texas, with its resistance to federal meddling, should come up with a way to free up money and give it to people so they can make their own health-care purchases.

Similarly, numerous conservative groups in Washington voiced strong displeasure, some calling it "Obamacare Lite" or "Obamacare 2.0." Michael Needham, CEO of Heritage Action, the influential activist arm of the Heritage Foundation, told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday it was "bad politics, and more importantly, bad policy."

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands and one of the chief architects of the plan, has been leading the charge for years to dismantle the ACA. While not addressing the pushback directly, he said in an emailed statement: "This is Obamacare-gone. Our legislation includes ideas championed by Republicans for years. Tax credits have been a part of every major Republican plan for years."

President Donald Trump voiced his support on Tuesday, as did Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price.

The collision of opinions came as policy analysts and politicians of all stripes busily pored over the new proposal throughout the day, crafting their responses.

The biggest impact for Texans will likely be felt in the proposal to eliminate the mandate that currently requires nearly all to buy health insurance as well as the change to how federal assistance is applied, using refundable tax credits that rise as people age and presumably use more health care.

In a last-minute pivot by Republicans, the plan will include some provisions to limit the amount of assistance high-wage earners get.

Under the plan, participants under 30 will receive tax credits of about $2,000 while those in their 30s would get about $2,500 and those in their 40s will get $3,000. As people reach their 50s, the tax credits would rise to $3,500 and those over 60 would get roughly $4,000.

Among the popular parts of the existing law that would remain include the prohibition against denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay on parents' plans until age 26.

But the Republican plan would eliminate the current tax penalty for not securing insurance and instead replace it with a 30 percent surcharge to rejoin coverage if previous plans lapse. Supporters tout that as a "continuous coverage incentive."

Some are skeptical the measure will work as intended. Health economist Vivian Ho of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy said she is worried the insurance industry would balk and further restrict offerings if people are jumping in and out of the market.

Others warn that poorer people who let their coverage lapse would simply do without because they cannot afford the surcharge and those with more means would just wait until they get sick and pay the surcharge. That could lead to only sicker people seeking insurance which will cost insurers more to cover.

Dr. Andrea Caracostis, CEO of Hope Clinic, which serves many of those newly low-income insured, said Monday night the news "brought tears to her eyes."

Her concern, like Ho's, was how the loss of the mandate requiring insurance - deeply unpopular among critics of the law - would play out badly over the long run for those with limited means.

Caracostis said people without insurance would skip doctor visits, which would take a toll on those with chronic conditions and ultimately cost everyone more.

"We're already drowning in a diabetes epidemic. We're drowning in a hypertension epidemic," she said. "The whole point of the ACA was to raise the next generation of healthier Americans."

Texas, a state that has relied heavily on the ACA's income-based subsidies, has seen its uninsured rate drop from about 26 percent before the law to around 19 percent last year.

In Texas, 913,177 people received federal subsidies of an average of $271 per month, according to analysis late last year by the Kaiser Family Foundation. That translated to a total of $2.9 billion - third most in the nation - that went to help people in the state buy insurance, the same study showed.

The actual cost of the bill remains unknown as it was introduced before the Congressional Budget Office could predict price or how many people would be covered, leading to speculation that Republicans are worried about fallout once people learn what the changes will mean.

"It is possible that the cost per person will be higher than the cost per person under Obamacare," said Ho.

Pogue said older Texans could be hard hit as the new plan increases the amount they can be charged. Currently, an older plan holder can be charged three times that of someone younger, under the new plan that would rise to five times.

Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said for those with lower incomes the math of a flat tax credit does not always work.

For instance, a 25-year-old in Houston who makes $12,000 a year can currently buy an individual benchmark silver plan for $2,945 per year but also be eligible for a $2,700 subsidy and assistance toward any deductible. Under the Republican plan the same Houstonian would receive $2,000 tax credit with no deductible help. That would mean he or she would pay $945 out of pocket compared to the current cost of $245 for a comparable plan.

"It is like dropping a 10-foot rope in a 20-foot hole," Pollitz said.Sky Canaves and Nicole Cobler contributed to this report.
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Bill Dowling, the beloved former Houston fire captain who lost both his legs battling a five-alarm blaze that killed four firefighters in 2013, died Tuesday of complications from his line-of-duty injuries. He was 43.

Another 13 were injured in the tragedy that sparked a damning investigation that found problems with the department's personnel accountability, tactics and communications.

In the aftermath of the deadliest fire in the department's history, the father of three earned the nickname "Iron Bill" for his calm in the face of fiery danger.

"The men and women of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association mourn the loss of our brother Captain William "Iron Bill" Dowling," the union said in a statement Tuesday night.

"As we begin to reflect on Captain Dowling's life, we remember why we call him 'Iron Bill.' The incredible strength and bravery he showed as he and his family rebuilt his life - and theirs - after his injuries inspired us all."

The fire department chimed in with similar sentiment.

"Please keep the Dowling family and all of the men and women of our fire department in your prayers," HFD said in a statement.

The retired fireman - who'd moved to Colorado last year - was hospitalized for pneumonia and cellulitis just before his death, his family wrote on Facebook.

"He's struggling really hard and needs a major intervention. He is very anxious and has not rested well, going on four days," his family posted Tuesday morning. "Please go to God and ask for immediate healing and peace."

HFD Fire Station 68, where Dowling worked, shared a statement honoring their fallen comrade.

"At this time, we ask that you keep the Dowling family, the members of Fire Station 68, and the members of the Houston Fire Department in your thoughts and prayers," the station said. "Memorial service and other information will be provided as it becomes available."

The mid-day inferno in 2013 that took Dowling's legs and left him with brain damage had been smoldering for hours before firefighters were called to the scene of an Indian restaurant and attached motel.

About 15 minutes after crews swarmed the Southwest Inn on U.S. 59, the building's roof collapsed, trapping at least five firefighters inside.

Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, Matthew Renaud and Anne Sullivan all died.

Another 13 were injured, including Dowling, whose legs were crushed under burning debris. As flames surrounded him, he radioed to rescuers outside, "I'm burning."

He wasn't rescued from the rubble till 40 minutes after the roof collapsed.

For the next six months, Dowling fought for his life in the hospital. When he finally got home, he still couldn't talk and had unhealed wounds.

A year after the devastating fire, Dowling's wife Jacki urged the department to heed the lessons of that morning's losses.

"If we don't listen to (this tragedy), we'll be setting them up for it to happen again," she said.

As news of his death began to spread online, friends and fellow firefighters shared their grief.

"The Lord received a great man today. Rest easy Iron Bill. You will never be forgotten," Lance Wilson wrote on Facebook.

"I'm devastated. My heart is truly broken today," wrote fellow first responder BK Klev. "What an amazing family and a true hero to so many."
Dr. Ron DePinho, MD Anderson Cancer Center's embattled president, has submitted his resignation, five years after he came to Houston promising to elevate the institution's drug development efforts.

DePinho announced the resignation in a sometimes emotional video emailed to MD Anderson employees early Wednesday afternoon. The institution subsequently posted the video and a statement by University of Texas Chancellor William McRaven thereafter thanking him for his service.

LAYOFFS: MD Anderson cutting staff by 1,000 workers via layoff, retirement

"I believe it is time for a change in leadership at MD Anderson," DePinho said in the video. "As a result of months of self-reflection and deep engagement with the chancellor and our Board of Visitors, it became clear to me that this great and noble institution needs a new president who will inspire greater unity and a sharp operational focus on navigating the tectonic changes in healthcare delivery and economics."

Gary Coronado/Houston Chronicle

DePinho said in the video he informed McRaven and regents he's resigning "effective as soon as possible," but wrote in accompanying comments that the chancellor has asked him to stay in the job until the end of the Texas Legislative session. A spokeswoman said the end date is being discussed.

DePinho called the presidency "a tough, tough job," and said he pushed "all of you and the institution very hard." He cited achievements such as the extension of MD Anderson's global reach "to a network of premier institutions that touches nearly one-third of the human population" and his Moon Shots program that selected difficult cancers to try to cure.

TROUBLE: MD Anderson Cancer Center's financial woes deepen

He acknowledged "there was a cost for that change, and I have added to that cost."

"I could have done a better job administratively, a better job listening, a better job communicating," DePinho said. "Forgive me for my short comings. I regret them, but I was, and continue, to be committed to saving lives and reducing suffering, to help MD Anderson accelerate the march towards prevention and cure, particularly for the underserved. I've done my very best."

The spokeswoman said it is not yet clear whether DePinho will serve MD Anderson in another capacity at the end of his presidency.

DePinho's leadship at MD Anderson was marked by change, criticism and challenges. Read more about how his focus on research and curing cancer has roiled faculty but energized the hospital at HoustonChronicle.com.
As marches around the world celebrate the International Women's Day, Houstonian award-winning writer and educator Jasminne Mendez reflects on marching in an uncommon, intimate and profound way. Can you relate to her thoughts?

***

I sat by a small lake at Buffalo Run Park near my home in Missouri City, Texas a few Saturdays ago reading Jamaica Kincaid's memoir My Brother, because I needed to get lost in a world not my own.

I spent the afternoon with the sun on my face and my head in a book reading about a man who dies of AIDS, occasionally staring out at the water, and watching families of all colors walk up and down a trail.

I went because I needed to find some peace amidst the chaos. I needed to take a moment to take care of myself so I could decide what I would do next, after the Women's March last month, after the inauguration shortly before, to survive the next four years.

I went to the sister march here in Houston, TX, because I felt I needed to do something and I felt like it was a good place to start. While I was there, I felt such joy and hope and community that it made me believe that we as a nation could actually come together and affect change.

And then the executive orders began, and my social media went from pictures of protests to posts filled with outrage and despair.

Over the next days and weeks, I became immobilized by fear, anxiety and anger. I wanted to make sense of what I was reading, and I wanted to do something more meaningful, but I didn't know what it was or if my small actions would matter. I felt so overwhelmed that my heartburn and indigestion are flaring up again. My body is physically reacting to this stress and it's causing so much pain and discomfort that it's keeping me up at night.

It was on one of those sleepless nights that I reached out to an old high school friend and sent her a message via Facebook.

She and I haven't spoken in a few years, but I wanted to know how she was doing. I was worried about her. I was scared for us. As women of color in America today we have always been, but are now more than ever, in clear and present danger. I wanted to know if she was ok.

She and I are only in our early thirties but have been fighting chronic illness and mental health issues since our 20s.

As we chatted and caught up on the last five or six years of our lives--the hospital stays, the meds, school, jobs and relationships--I realized something: neither she nor I were ever supposed to survive this; we were never meant to have made it this far.

James Nielsen/Staff

You see, I am a child of immigrants. My parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic in 1980 hoping to build a family and provide a better life for themselves and their future children. My parents and grandparents survived the Trujillo regime but were still scarred by it, so they came in search for something better.

My father joined the U.S. Army because even with a bachelor's degree, he couldn't find any other work. He served this country for twenty-two years while my mother nurtured our home and us.

My friend was raised on food stamps and welfare by a black single mother who did the best she could.

By all accounts, we were "at-risk" kids. We were never supposed to make it this far. But we enrolled in advanced placement classes, participated in extra-curriculars, volunteered and graduated high school with honors. She went to Stanford on a full-ride and I went to UH on a full scholarship as a Gates Millennium Scholar. But what we didn't know was that this desire to be more, do more and be accepted by our white peers, white teachers, white society, was killing us from the inside out. Half way through college my friend suffered a mental break, was hospitalized, and eventually diagnosed with Bi-polar disorder. After I graduated with my bachelor's, I began to suffer from chronic pain and fatigue. Within a few months, I was diagnosed with scleroderma and later on with lupus.

Our bodies could no longer contain the daily traumas we were forced to endure. We had pushed ourselves so hard to be twice as good only to be considered half as much, that it broke us.

And yet, we resisted the self-destruction of our own bodies. We fought and are still fighting to survive it every day. Right now, she is finishing her Master's degree in New York and teaching herself code so she can start a new career, and I am working on a second Master's degree, a second book and am teaching creative writing.

So as I sat on the dewy grass and read Kincaid's memoir about poverty, illness and death, and as I thought about my friend and our personal successes and our physical trials and tribulations, I realized that my WHOLE LIFE has been a woman's march.

Since the day I was born I have been marching. I march into predominantly white spaces and ask/demand/beg/hope they make room for me.

I march into grocery stores, schools, and businesses that blatantly ignore me, judge me and follow me too closely just because of the color of my skin.

Every day I get out of bed and head out into the world, I am a woman's marchparty of one.

Although I may not know what my next course of "action" will be, I know I will continue to work, and live, and be in, and take care of this body. That is my protest. That is my resistance. Because like I said... I was never supposed to survive this in the first place, but I will because even my own body has tried to kill me and failed.

***

Jasminne Mendez is an Award Winning Author, poet and educator from Houston.
I am sitting in the middle of Midway in Chicago, waiting for my flight back to Houston. I am in the midst of Midwesterners. Many are heading to Florida, ready to leave Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska. They tell me they save a ton of money flying through Houston. None of them has visited Houston properly. I want to ask them why, but they are obsessed with Florida. They make it sound like the answer to everything.

Every city has its PR issues. On Facebook, when I tell them I am going to Chicago, my friends quip: "Don't forget your bulletproof jacket," and "No one goes there this time of year  even the residents leave." I know it is all in good fun, but it hits me that it takes a lifetime to know your own city, much less another. They sound like Chicago is just one or two things. I want to tell them it is more like our city than not: A mosaic that spreads across the flat land, with skyscrapers and coffee shops and suburbs and museums and traffic and people from all over the globe. I know everything is supposed to be bigger in Texas, but Chicago has a lot of big buildings and big hotels and a big lake that looks like an ocean, so sometimes outsized ambitions are fueled wherever you go: Maybe inspired by nature, hubris, wild desire. Sometimes, you don't know why. You just see the result.

Even Henry David Thoreau, who traveled much in Concord, Massachusetts, realized that every place offers a lot to wrap your mind around, even if you are used to the idea that maybe you have it all figured out. Luckily, you can get humbled quickly if you get too comfortable in that seat: Everything changes, even places you think never will. Climates cool off and warm up, people move out, move in. Businesses fade away, pop up.

When I left Houston, it was warm, and when I arrived in Chicago, it was in the 30s, and when I was leaving the airport after landing I got all excited because I saw a few snow flurries doing pirouettes in the wind. But then they calmed down, never returned  a big tease. The next day it dipped down to 24, then warmed up, up, up, until it was in the 60s when I left. In Houston, it was colder and rainier, as if two of my favorite cities changed costumes, for a bit, just for me. The pilot tells me that when I return to Houston it will be windy, just like Chicago, and 74 degrees. Winter, I think, is so over.

I left to attend a conference on crime in American literature. A lot of people have been shot in Chicago. The papers tell me the numbers are rising. When I was there, a 14-year-old boy was shot. He is going to live, but that is no way to grow up. I am told that there is the city, and then a dangerous part of the west side, and then the expensive western suburbs of Oak Park and River Forest. The south side has a lot of shootings, too. So, you drive away from the city, see Victorian ruined houses in the west on the way to where Ernest Hemingway and Frank Lloyd Wright lived for a time.

Mark Mulligan/Staff

When you take this drive, you wonder how things got so out of hand. How things can get so bad, or then be so good, a stone's throw away from each other. I think of how when I was growing up, Greenspoint Mall was new, kind of glamorous, with high-end jewelry stores where I remember seeing rows and rows of shimmering emeralds at Christmas. Now, I would be afraid to go there. I have been told how dangerous it can be: Purse snatchings, car robberies, shootings and worse. You wonder how that happens, and then you remember that somehow, even if it is unintentional, we let it happen.

Instead, I go to a safer mall, shop online, vow to give up shopping entirely, if that is even possible.

Sometimes, it seems like there is a shooting every day in Southwest Houston near where I work. You hardly ever hear what happens to these victims. Rarely is it explained why so many lives are lost in Chicago, why violence occurs at this level. We hear statistics, but few stories. It is hard to figure out how people become statistics if you don't know their stories. It is hard to write a gripping narrative when you are living in a neighborhood with that much violence. Maybe you are just trying to survive or get out. It is hard to be a reporter and go somewhere worrying that you might be shot, no matter how compelling the tale.

For example, we need more books like Houstonian Mark Dostert's Up in Here: Jailing Kids on Chicago's Other Side, a gripping first-hand account of his encounters with children incarcerated usually for things that are "gang-related." They are so used to the scars, both physical and psychological, that come with being harmed and often shot, that at one point Dostert admits that he stops asking about them, so frequent are their appearances. He provides a microcosm of moments that happen to us as individuals that seem to spread to how we handle things communally. You hate that this is how things are, but you cannot look away. At least not forever.

Instead, you drive through the western part of Chicago, watch people hanging out on the street with no apparent destination, wrapped in coats, smoking, and you wonder if they have lost someone in a shooting or a knife fight, and what will happen to them after you drive on by, shifting your gaze to the Hemingway museum, Scofield Park, the Frank Lloyd Wright houses there for you to tour, so you can think about architecture, stained glass, decor.

At the conference, I stay at the Palmer House Hilton. This is a beautiful hotel, with a lot of history. When you walk down the hall you see pictures of all the stars who performed in the Empire Room: Judy Garland, Vic Damone, Andy Williams, even Sonny and Cher. They look very glamorous in the photos, but I feel all wistful when I look at them, because you know that even with their beauty and talent and creativity, tragedy was around the corner, in one form or another, for most of them.

Sometimes when I teach what I loosely call "Nature Writing," I draw a straight line on the board and put NATURE on one side and CULTURE on the other. Then, in a huge but efficient act of oversimplification, I talk about capital-R Romanticism, Transcendentalists and the American Renaissance, and the vague way that some of those authors thought that the closer you were to nature, and the further away you were from culture and artifice and civilization, the better off you were. You were closer to God, purity, the origins of things. Once you got all caught up in things that man had made, well, you got off track, lost your mind and your spirit, forgot how to see things.

They had a point.

Yet there are few things as dazzling as a great city, whether on the Gulf Coast, or the Gold Coast, looming large, overshadowing the suburbs that stretch out in all directions. I know it feels like we have just accepted urban violence in certain areas as the new normal, whether it is at Sharpstown Mall or South Side Chicago.

Maybe this is in our nature, this shrug of acceptance. I am not sure.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

I know there have been vague pronouncements from President Trump about helping Chicago with this terrible problem, and I have no idea what will happen with that. Honestly, I hope something can be done, even if I don't know what that should be.

But maybe, like me, you are a little tired of the voices of politicians, no matter if they are Rahm Emanuel or President Trump.

When I left for Chicago, I had a moment when I wondered what it would be like to have no politicians, but instead, a pride in our cities knowing that they are national treasures just like our national parks, and that just as we cannot let our national parks be turned into urban landscapes, we cannot let our cities turn into jungles of violence, and that our indifference to the violence in our big cities is a profound rejection of a significant part of our communal selves. It is like ignoring the felt tumor and never going to get treatment, then wondering why you eventually lose a limb. We shouldn't want to write off entire communities that make up the jigsaw puzzle of our cities whether they are Houston or Chicago. And maybe that starts with trying to understand what it is like to live in these areas, with names and faces and explanations, and not just numbers that are crunched, distributed, forgotten.

Geography seems to set us apart sometimes: We are proud in Texas of our southern charm, our westward gaze, the hustle of the city, the sprawl of the suburbs, the surprise of nature asserting itself at Buffalo Bayou Park, the Arboretum, Bayou Bend. My friends in Chicago explain to me their Midwestern selves, and I find them funny, kind, sophisticated, down-to-earth. And I loved watching them walking, the strong "t" at the end of words that Chicagoans always pronounce, the honk of horns on their streets.

But if our cities have common problems, it would be an amazing feat to work together to solve these symptoms of the ills that plague urban life. This is my wish. And then I think we might see that Chicago and Houston have similarities that could lead to solutions to the problems we both have, and that there are not so many degrees of separation to note, no matter what time of year, no matter what the weather.

Doni M. Wilson is an English professor and writer in Houston and has a high schooler named Christopher. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.





Once you got all caught up in things that man had made, well, you got off track, lost your mind and your spirit, forgot how to see things. Why not Bookmark Gray Matters?


Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN -- With little fanfare and no debate, the Texas Senate unanimously passed a bill that would shield sermons from government subpoena powers Wednesday.

Senate Bill 24, listed among Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's priorities, bars the government from compelling the production or disclosure of a sermon delivered by a religious leader in a civil action or administrative proceeding.
AUSTIN -- Four state prisons could be closed or mothballed as Senate and House budget writers move ahead to drastically downsize state spending and save more than $40 million in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice budget, lawmakers confirmed Wednesday.

The move, if it becomes part of the final state budget as legislative leaders have recommended, the shift would mark the largest such move in state history -- closing as many prisons in the next year as the state has shuttered in the past five.

It also marks a tangible effect of the state's budget woes. Last Friday, the House's chief budget writer, John Zerwas, R-Richmond, said the House is looking for $4 billion to cut from its initial proposal, and Senate leaders have said they are looking for almost as much.

While officials two weeks ago confirmed the 500-bed Ware Unit in Colorado City was likely to be mothballed, the Bartlett State Jail in Williamson County, the West Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility outside Brownfield and the Bridgeport Pre-Parole lockup northwest of Fort Worth now are listed for possible closure.

In addition, under the proposal, the 600-bed Rudd Unit in Brownfield would be repurposed from a prison to an intermediate sanction facility, where parole violators are housed for not following the rules.

The Bartlett facility houses just over 1,000 convicts, the Bridgeport center has 200 and the West Texas lockup holds about 275 offenders.

In all, officials confirmed that more than 2,700 prison beds could be taken off line in the move, reducing the size of Texas' prison system to about 145,000 -- 10,000 less than its capacity just three years ago.

Senate and House leaders who oversee Texas' criminal justice system confirmed that work groups tentatively have signed off on the closures to address demands by the leadership in both chambers to find as much as $2 billion more in budget savings to ensure that funding is available for other critical programs, such as health care and child protection.

"The Senate work group is recommending this plan, yes," said Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston. "The state has excess (prison) capacity at this point, so we can do this without affecting public safety at all."

House Corrections Committee Chairman James White. R-Hillister, said the House is moving to do the same. "The bottom line is that we have to tighten up operations, and this is a result of that.," he said. "We have no choice."

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Oscar Longoria, D-Mission, said a decision on the downsizing of prisons will be made in coming days by a subcommittee he heads that has been working to tighten the criminal justice budget. He said the proposed cuts have been closely reviewed and discussed.

The final decision on the cuts will be made by the Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees. Senate Finance Committee Chair Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said whatever the final cuts are, the budget must fit within available revenues.

"As I have said before, we are looking at everything,"' she said.

More than 400 employees would be affected by the prison cuts, but officials said many would be offered jobs at other lockups. The Bartlett and West Texas ISF units are run by private contractors.

Texas operates 109 state prisons, jails and other lockups statewide. It is the largest state prison system in the nation.

Most of the lockups on the list for possible closure were opened in the 1990s during Texas' massive building program that tripled the size of its prison system in five years, to allow the state to avoid court fines and litigation to address chronic overcrowding.

In recent years, treatment and rehabilitation programs have proven successful at lowering recidivism rates, resulting in the state incarcerating more than 10,000 fewer convicts than it did a decade ago.

In 2012, the century-old Central Unit in Sugar Land became the first prison in state history to be closed. Two years later, the 2,100-bed Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility and the 2,200-bed Dawson State Jail were closed.

Last December, the state closed the 400-bed South Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility near Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston, and transferred its operations to the Kegans State Jail several blocks away, at the northern edge of the downtown.
Houston Police

A Wisdom High School teacher was arrested Tuesday and charged with having an improper relationship with a student, the Houston ISD says in a news release.

School district police first investigated reports that Albert Lee Randall had such a relationship in February, when administrators learned of allegations about the special education teacher. Randall was then removed from the campus and an internal investigation was started. School administrators also alerted HISD Police and Child Protective Services.
A 32-year-old Spring man is accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old runaway from California at his home in northern Harris County, according to the sheriff's office.

Ash Morgan Arthur was arrested Saturday after deputies responded to family members' request for a welfare check at his residence in the 23400 block of Fox Run.
Authorities and a private attorney are investigating the death of a 26-year-old Pearland man who was found hanging in his Seabrook city jail cell a day after being arrested on a weapons charge.

The family of Richard Aycock has hired an attorney to investigate the circumstances of his death on Saturday. "There is no possible way he could have done anything like that," said his mother, Joann Medina, 43, of Pearland. "He's a very positive, outgoing child."

Medina said Aycock was engaged to be married, had a new job, had just bought a dog and was turning his life around after a few scrapes with the law.

Medina was especially offended by harsh comments about her son made by police Sgt. Don Hough when she, her husband, Ricardo Medina, 48, and Aycock's fiancee, Nicole Tristan, 44, tried to visit Aycock in the Seabrook jail.

Joann Medina said Hough identified himself as the owner of license plates Aycock was accused of stealing and told Aycock's fiancee, "My son's life wasn't worth 25 cents, he's a lowlife, he's a liar."

Joann Medina said, "It was pretty devastating.  It was very personal."

She is also concerned about a statement her son made during a phone call early Saturday with his fiancee.

He told her that Hough had visited him in his cell and that "it didn't go well," Joann Medina said.

"An officer should not investigate a crime that is suffered by himself, his family or his friends," said Randall Kallinen, the attorney hired by the family. He said Hough's visit could have affected Aycock's mental state.

Vows to be thorough

Seabrook Police Chief Sean Wright said he could not comment on an investigation.

"I can tell you that anybody that had contact with him will be part of the investigation," Wright said.

Wright said Aycock was found hanging from a sheet tied to a bunk bed in his cell about 6:30 p.m. Saturday and was pronounced dead at the scene, a day after his arrest on the weapons charge.

The Texas Rangers and the Seabrook police department's criminal investigations division are investigating the death, police said. The investigation will be monitored by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

"Our civil rights division will review all evidence to determine if a crime was committed," said Natasha Sinclair, chief of the Harris County District Attorney's Office civil rights division.

"We assist, support and aid all investigations of in-custody deaths. We will learn all the facts about this man's death,"

The day of his arrest, Aycock was driving a pickup in Seabrook, a city on Galveston Bay about 35 miles southeast of downtown Houston, and towing a trailer while working for a landscaping company, Kallinen said.

The trailer's license plates had been stolen earlier that morning, said Dane Schiller, spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Kallinen said the plates belonged to Hough, which was confirmed by Wright and Schiller.

Had warrants

Aycock, who was convicted of burglary in Waller County in 2015, initially misidentified himself as his twin brother, Van Aycock.

He was arrested for possession of stolen property, Schiller said. Police discovered an AR-15 rifle under the rear seat of the pickup, he said.

Aycock was fingerprinted at the city jail, revealing his true identity and three outstanding arrest warrants in Brazoria County, Schiller said.

The district attorney's office declined to prosecute the possession of stolen property charge and pursued the charge of a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Wright said Aycock was screened for suicidal tendencies using a standard form but not the improved form promulgated by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards after the suicide death of Sandra Bland in the Waller County Jail in 2015, which sparked national scrutiny and weeks of protests.

Wright said city jail personnel were not trained in suicide screening, and there were no special facilities for prisoners at risk of suicide because most prisoners were kept only 24 to 48 hours before being transferred to the county jail.
Professional cutting horses have never actually worked on a ranch running cattle, but they've trained all their lives to act like it. Roy Carter teaches that instinct - how to separate a cow from the herd.

"When it starts following the cow with his ears," says Carter, a cutting horse trainer with deep crags in his face and a turkey feather in his flat-brimmed hat, "then you know you're getting somewhere."

Carter, 65, has been coming to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo since he was a kid - his father worked on a farm on Westheimer Road, back when it wasn't full of strip malls. By age 13, he'd gotten into bull riding, and had his face bashed in during one competition, requiring reconstructive surgery. A few years later, he broke his neck and his back.

"I went out and sat in my car for two hours and cried, thinking of what I was going to do for a living," he recalls, after a visit to the doctor. "And then I went out and rode bulls for another 13 years."

He hadn't gone to college, so bull riding was among his only options. He loved it more than anything, and it paid the bills. "I didn't save any money," he says, "but I always had money in my pocket."

Carter finally quit bull riding in 1985. It wasn't the injuries, he says, just time, and a weariness with constant travel. The next best thing was training cutting horses, so he trained under the best in the business, Keith Barnett - everybody seems to know each other in this industry, since you've either taught or been taught by or trained horses for most everybody else.

"He's a legend," say at least three people who pass by Carter as he leans on a stall door in the recesses of NRG Arena where horses wait their turn to show.

The money's a little steadier in the training business than it is riding bulls, but it's by no means assured. Cutting horses are a luxury good: Most are owned by folks with expendable income who just like to compete on the weekends, and a good one can go for upward of $100,000. One of Carter's clients flies in from Idaho a few times a year to ride the horse he trains for her.

Around Houston, the business sank a little during the oil bust, as energy executives cut back on those little extravagances. It's coming back, says Johnny Causey, chair of the rodeo's cutting horse committee. But then there's always the risk of having a few bad shows, not bringing in the prize money you're counting on - if that goes on long enough, you start losing your reputation, and your horses won't sell for as much.

That hasn't happened for Carter, who now trains 22 horses at his ranch in Perrin, a tiny town in North Texas. Still, he stays diversified by breeding bucking bulls as well, about 30 of them, which he leases out to rodeos around the state. They're friendly when they're not trying to kill you, he says.

On Tuesday, Carter was showing one of his clients' horses, a dark brown 5-year-old mare with a small star on her forehead named Freckles Powder River. She's small and skittish - Carter had to treat her gently for a long time, before she learned to trust. "She didn't like herself when I got her," he says.

After walking her in circles to keep her calm while other horses took their turn, Joenell, Carter's wife, handed the mare off to him. Hunched in the saddle, Carter rode her forward into the milling herd, and went straight for a brown cow with a big white stripe on its face.

Cutting horse judging is a subjective process. There are a few rules: You've got to single out a cow and keep it away from the rest of the herd until it comes to a standstill. After that, it's mostly style - how the horse moves, low to the ground, pivoting on its massive haunches, springing forward with explosive speed to counter every desperate end run.

By those metrics, Freckles Powder River did well. But she didn't get a chance to show off as much as Carter would've liked, and by the end, he knew he wouldn't be winning any money in this division. "These cattle are faking everybody out," he said, after handing the mare back to Joenell.

If he goes home without ending up in the winnings this year, Carter won't panic. "Unless it happens consistently!" he says, with a big laugh.

But after this long, he doesn't have as much to prove. "I'll be honest. I've done very, very well. And I'm about at the end," Carter says. "Youth always takes over."
In a move welcomed by criminal justice advocates and experts, the Harris County Sheriff's Office is strengthening jail policies to improve prisoner safety after an inmate killed himself in the jail last month.

Vincent Dwayne Young, 32, was found dead in his cell Feb. 13 after hanging himself with a bedsheet. Inspectors from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards subsequently declared the jail out of compliance with minimum state standards because jailers had not checked on Young as often as required by state law.

"Observation is key to operating these jails effectively, efficiently and safely," TCJS Executive Director Brandon Wood said Tuesday. "And it's an area where there is little leeway granted."

The sheriff's office has since fired the deputy responsible for the checks that night and referred the case to the Harris County District Attorney's Office for review. Investigators with the Texas Rangers are also probing the death - the first suicide in the jail this year.

"The Harris County Sheriff's Office is committed to ensuring the safety of all residents, including those housed at the county jail," Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a statement Tuesday announcing a series of measures aimed at preventing future jail deaths. "Our sincere condolences are extended to Mr. Young's family."

The new measures include requiring watch commanders to conduct weekly, random audits comparing detention officers' written records on inmate observation rounds with video to verify the detention officers' accuracy.

Supervisors also must confirm that detention officers obtain firsthand evaluation of the inmates' attitudes and temperament and observe the physical, mental, and emotional condition of each inmate to detect signs of distress or need for medication or special services.

Inadequate jail checks

The sheriff's office is seeking funding to install additional video surveillance cameras in health services cells, the department's statement said. The department is exploring technology applications that may assist in ensuring observational rounds are conducted in compliance with policy.

The last time jailers had checked on Young was at 5:56 p.m., Feb. 13, Wood said. Jailers discovered the inmate hanging in his cell at 7:10 p.m. Under state standards, he should have been checked every 30 minutes, and the sheriff's internal policies call for checks of medical inmates every 25 minutes.

A Chronicle investigation into the Harris County jail in 2015 found dozens of instances in which jailers skipped required cell checks or faked records, a pattern that experts called a serious problem at county jails statewide.

The changes announced Tuesday come as jail staff has made efforts to lower inmate suicides, particularly after a trio of deaths in 2014.

An audit performed by a national expert on jail suicide, however, found that the facility's suicide rate is about a third of the national average. Across Texas, 175 inmates have killed themselves in county jails since Sept. 1, 2009, when state officials began tracking those numbers.

Lapsed jail checks have bedeviled the department in the past. An inmate, Alex Guzman, killed himself in March 2013 as the two jailers who were supposed to be watching him ate pizza and studied online classes required for their jailer's licenses.

'An earnest effort'

The issue of inmate safety and observation also gained nationwide attention after the high-profile death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old inmate who hanged herself in the Waller County jail three days after being arrested in a traffic stop. A subsequent investigation found county jailers had failed to observe her properly and falsified jail logs.

Of the nine jails currently listed on the TCJS's website as being out of compliance with state standards, four of them were cited for not completing jail checks in a timely manner, Wood said.

Corrections experts said they are hopeful the measures will prevent future tragedies.

Diana Claitor, of the Texas Jail Project, an Austin-based group advocating for Texas jail inmates, cheered the measure as well, particularly given the logistical challenges facing Harris County, which runs one of the state's largest jails.

"It sounds like an honest or maybe an earnest effort to correct some of these problems of especially ... inmates being overlooked," Claitor said. "It's true in these enormous facilities you need more supervision of the actual staff."

"As a first step in the process, as a first set of preventative measures, I think it sends a very important signal," said Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer specializing in jail issues at the University of Texas at Austin's Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. "That the real goal is to change the culture of the facility, so the staff understands this is a critical part of their job."

Young's suicide prompted a protest and public criticism for the sheriff's office after his death.

On Tuesday though, a prominent civil rights activists and law enforcement critic applauded the promised changes.

"I applaud Sheriff Gonzalez for being very transparent in this investigation. I applaud him for being supportive and attentive to the family," said Quanell X, a frequent law enforcement critic who joined Young's family in a protest of jail policies last month. "I believe he did a great investigation, and those changes he's going to be making will only benefit the jail, his administration, his department and the citizens of Harris County."
AUSTIN - The new chairman of the Texas House committee that oversees special purpose districts, state Rep. Jim Murphy, a Houston Republican, is the long-time administrator of a special purpose district.

His assumption of the chairman's seat comes as some taxpayers are urging lawmakers to restrict the powers and require more transparency of special purpose districts, which are mini-local governments often created at the behest of developers that can sell bonds and raise taxes to pay for infrastructure and other amenities.

Murphy is general manager of the Westchase District, a 4.2-square-mile municipal management district in west Houston that levies a property tax on commercial property owners to supplement city services. Businesses in the district include Amegy Bank, Brown & Gay Engineers, Chevron, Honeywell, and Schlumberger.

Ann Witt, who lost a 2012 primary election to Murphy in which she tried to make an issue of Murphy's campaign contributions and contracts awarded by Westchase, said she "wouldn't recommend" Murphy to head the Special Purpose Districts Committee.

Witt's daughter, Ellen, who worked on her campaign and is a former employee of then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, went further, saying Murphy's chairmanship is improper. "The speaker of the House essentially is condoning Mr. Murphy's clear conflict of interest, which is disappointing," she said.

Jason Embry, an aide to Straus, dismissed the claim. "The speaker has full confidence in Chairman Murphy's leadership and his integrity," he said.

Murphy said in an interview that he's open to all points of view. "I think that my experience or expertise is a tremendous value-add to the committee's work and to the state of Texas," he said. "I have a reputation for fairness on all kinds of complicated legislation. We are going to listen to both sides."

MUD concerns

The current legislative session could be a busy one for his committee. Concerns are mounting about special purpose districts, in general, including one particularly common type, municipal utility districts, commonly known as MUDs. There are over 900 MUDs in Texas, including 389 in Harris County, 146 in Fort Bend County and 85 in Montgomery County.

MUD advocates such as the Association of Water Board Directors-Texas say MUDs spur growth and development and keep home prices low by enabling developers to recover their infrastructure costs through the sale of tax-exempt bonds.

Several residents told lawmakers last year in the run-up to the legislative session that MUDs and other special purpose districts lack transparency, have cozy relationships with developers, and in many cases do not have websites to post detailed financial data on how much revenue they're collecting and how it's spent.

So far this session, lawmakers have filed more than 200 bills about special purpose districts. They include legislation from Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, to require board meetings to be held within the boundaries of the district. Many districts hold meetings at the offices of law firms, requiring residents to drive long distances. The bill's goal is to encourage people to run for water district board seats.

Also, Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, has filed a bill to place restrictions on the use of "rent-a-voters" - the practice in which developers recruit people to move onto vacant land in mobile homes so they can vote in favor of MUD bonds.

Proposed restrictions

Nigel Brooks, president of the Pearland Stonebridge Homeowners Association, located within Brazoria County MUD 28, has asked several legislators to require MUDs to spend part of their tax revenue on parks and recreational facilities and prohibit them from annexing non-contiguous land unless current voters approve it.

So far, he's received one response, and no commitments yes or no. "I don't think anything is going to get done until the Legislature does something and I don't feel too confident they will do it," Brooks said, adding that a more realistic option may be to win majority control of MUD boards through elections.

On the other side, the Association of Water Board Directors-Texas has three lobbyists: Merry Leonard, the group's executive director, and two attorneys from Houston who represent numerous special purpose districts, Camm "Trey" Lary III of Allen Boone Humphries Robinson, and Howard Cohen of Schwartz, Page & Harding.

The group has a two-page listing of legislative principles for this session that includes opposition to any attempt to limit a district's authority to incur debt and levy taxes.

Addressing concerns

Murphy said he is working on legislation to address concerns that residents outlined to the Special Purpose Districts Committee last year. They requested that the Legislature boost the requirements to create a municipal management district, give major property owners the power to recommend appointments to a district's board of directors, and lower the threshold for citizens who want to dissolve a district.

Murphy said he is drafting the bill and it will be his only piece of legislation that will come before his committee.

He encouraged residents with an interest in special purpose districts to express their views to him. "People who want to see certain things done or not done should just stay tuned," said Murphy.

Murphy became an employee of the Westchase District, with the title of president, when the Legislature created it in 1995. Its boundaries partially overlap with Murphy's House District 133 in West Houston. Before he ran for the seat, he was in possession of an opinion from then-Attorney General Abbott on an earlier potential conflict: Could the president of a municipal management district also serve in the Legislature?

Abbott, citing the state Constitution, said an employee of a district could not serve in the Legislature because his or her job was a "position of profit" - defined as a "salaried non-temporary" government job.

But a person could work as an "independent contractor" for the district and serve in the Legislature, Abbott found.

So Murphy, after winning election in 2006, resigned as president, formed a company called District Management Services and contracted with the Westchase District to serve as general manager. The company received $944,342 in fees from the district over the past three years, according to documents obtained through a public records request. Murphy said his company has no employees, but pays an attorney and an accountant and incurs other business expenses.

He said he has done consulting work for other special purpose districts and real estate clients, but state law doesn't require him to disclose them on his annual ethics statements and he doesn't have any clients currently

Murphy has filed seven bills dating to 2007 to create municipal utility districts in Harris County. Three became law. Of the other four, it was the Senate's companion version that became law, all carried by Sen. Glenn Hegar, the Katy Republican who is now the state comptroller.

Last Thursday, at his first meeting as committee chairman, Murphy noted that he filed a bill in 2015 - which died in the House - to require local governments and special purpose districts to provide financial and debt information to the state comptroller so it could be posted online.

Daphne Scarbrough, a critic of Montrose Management District, where numerous commercial property owners have petitioned to dissolve the district, said she would reserve judgment on whether Murphy should be chairman of the Special Purpose Districts Committee. "I don't think it looks good, but I don't want to prejudice it because I have not talked to him yet about any of this," she said.
A Harris County sheriff's deputy is under internal investigation after a defense attorney accused him of withholding evidence from lawyers for at least the past 10 years by using two different names.

Lawyer Paul Morgan had asked Harris County's district attorney and sheriff to investigate deputy Jeurel Sims, who is also known as Jeauel Sims in official documents.

Morgan said Sims revealed in court last week that sustained complaints about his behavior as a deputy were not found in the district attorney's database because they were filed under a misspelling of his name.

The discrepancy, which has apparently continued since 2007, was disclosed during a trial in which one of Morgan's clients was facing a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

"Officers cannot just go into a courtroom and lie. That's what happened here," Morgan said. "They put a man's life and liberty at jeopardy. They lied about a major dope case that almost subjected (the client) to 25 years in prison."

Withholding information that might help a suspect on trial is against the law under the landmark Supreme Court case, Brady vs. Maryland.

The Sheriff's Office said only that the situation is being investigating by internal affairs.

The District Attorney's Office said they are referring the matter to their public corruption division, the section of the office that typically investigates officials accused of wrongdoing.

Sims and his partner, Megan Gonzalez, did not respond to requests made to the sheriff's office for comments.

Case accusations

Morgan is accusing Sims of withholding the truth at several points in the case including the arrest, during testimony and after he revealed that he was known by two first names.

"Deputy Sims misrepresented material issues of fact in his offense report, made material misrepresentations to the District Attorney's Office and is using a false name to conceal his history of internal affair complaints," Morgan said in the letter demanding an investigation.

Morgan said Sims and Gonzalez did not include in their reports that they were both present when his client was arrested last year. By not disclosing how many officers there were, the deputies limited the possible witnesses for Morgan to question about what happened.

Because Morgan's client was arrested with another suspect who has since reached a plea deal, the attorney pulled that file, too. He found that Gonzalez filed the same report as Sims but omitted Sims entirely.

"Both deputies went to great lengths to conceal the partnering deputy," Morgan said.

He said the pair did not tell the DA's office the whole truth when charges were filed or when the case went to trial. They also apparently did not tell their supervising officer, according to court records.

But the most stunning allegation surfaced when Sims testified that his name discrepancy may revolve around incorrect spellings on his computer log-on and paperwork.

"There has been an issue there," he testified. "It's been like that since I have been working here."

Morgan said the two deputies then lied to the judge about discussing the case outside of the courtroom, a violation of the judge's order restricting interaction among witnesses.

After those revelations, state District Judge Jan Krocker encouraged the prosecutor and Morgan to work out a plea deal. Morgan's client pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was given credit for the time he had served in jail awaiting trial.

Morgan also told the prosecutor during the trial that he believed Sims had at least two sustained complaints - one for running a red light and causing a major wreck and another for time card violations.

'Truly frightening'

The prosecutor said those incidents were not in a database that the district attorney's office keeps on so-called Brady information, which is any information or evidence that could help a suspect during trial. The complaints against Sims could have been used to question the veracity of his testimony, Morgan said.

The latest admission surprised other criminal defense lawyers around Houston.

"If you will lie to a district court judge, then you would have no problem looking at a jury and lying to a jury about what happened in order to get a conviction," said Pat McCann, a past-president of Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association. "And that is truly frightening."
Once upon a time, the Texas Senate was regarded as the stately grown-up body of the Legislature and the lower chamber was affectionately referred to as the Animal House.

No more. These days, if you want leadership in Austin, you look down, not up.

Take education policy.

This week, the House's public education chairman, Houston Republican Rep. Dan Huberty, filed a $1.6 billion proposal that, while imperfect, takes an important first step in addressing some nagging inequities that have dogged the Texas public school finance system for decades.

On Tuesday, his committee heard initial testimony on the bill that would make modest but helpful changes, such as clearing out some of the cobwebs in funding formulas and boosting funding for long-neglected dyslexic students.

What were they doing over in the mature chamber?

The Senate's Committee on State Affairs was hearing lengthy testimony on a bill regulating potty time for Texans.

The bill requiring people to use restrooms in government buildings and public schools and universities that match their birth gender is resoundingly opposed by the Texas business community, including many who fear the disastrous economic consequences North Carolina saw after passing similar legislation.

It is a top priority for the Senate's leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who acknowledges that transgender Texans pose no special threat but has continued to push the bill as an issue of privacy and safety, arguing that it will keep sexual predators from getting a "free pass" into women's restrooms.

Of course, state laws already exist to protect us from sexual predators and almost any other kind of harm.

Never mind. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said recently her decision to sponsor the legislation was "spiritual."

And Patrick is likening his support of it to the courageous stance of Texas heroes who died at the Alamo.

Yes, he did.

And when one of the state's most powerful elected officials isn't fretting about bathrooms, he's toying around with the latest voucher in sheep's clothing.

Whether they're called vouchers or savings accounts or tax credit scholarships, they're about one thing: putting public money into private hands - a notion that is rejected in session after session in this state.

In other states that allow them, those private hands lack transparency and generally are not held accountable for how they spend the funds.

Overall, voucher schemes have produced lackluster results at best when compared with traditional public schools.

Still, that hasn't kept many top Republicans from calling "school choice" the civil rights issue of our time. Indeed, education may well qualify for that designation.

But vouchers offer no real solutions for students trapped in failing schools, largely because they can't come close to covering tuition at quality private schools.

When the state of Texas ponies up the money to send at-risk kids to St. John's, then we'll talk.

For now, like the transgender bathroom issue, it's another solution looking for a problem.

"It is a little bit disheartening that the Senate is not taking the real issues seriously that we should be addressing in these 140 days that we have," said Chandra Villanueva, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income Texans.

She said she's got some problems with Huberty's education bill, such as not actually increasing the basic allotment permanently in the statute, and in tweaking transportation funding in a way that may dissuade districts from offering transportation.

But overall, she's glad Huberty is at least attempting school reform this session while the Senate is inclined to wait.

Thank the Lord for the House, starting with Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, who appointed Huberty to chair public education.

Huberty recently made headlines when he said at a Texas Tribune event that vouchers were dead on arrival in the lower chamber. He said the issue had been studied and debated, and there simply wasn't the support for it in the House.

"Why don't we talk about the real issues?" the Houston Republican asked. "The discussion needs to be about the 5.3 million children that are in our system today."

That, my friends, is what a grown-up sounds like - in case some of the kids in the upper chamber forgot.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved sweeping new NASA legislation Tuesday, charting an ambitious course to the moon, Mars, "and beyond" while a slew of private space ventures vie for a bigger piece of the action in deep space.

The 146-page bill, shepherded through Congress by a number of prominent Texas Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz, seeks a balance between the government space agency and private sector upstarts like Blue Origin and SpaceX, which have set their sights on taking tourists to the moon.

Having cleared the Senate last month, the $19.5 billion NASA bill - the agency's first major legislative tune-up in seven years - is bound for the White House, one of the first major policy initiatives from Congress to hit President Donald Trump's desk. Both House and Senate versions passed on unanimous voice votes.

The bipartisan bill, following a Senate collaboration between Cruz and Florida Democrat Bill Nelson, would advance NASA's development of the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket and Orion crew vehicle for deep space exploration. It also would support development of commercial vehicles to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, ending the United States' reliance on Russian launches.

Cruz said the bill provides "much-needed certainty" to the missions of the International Space Station and Johnson Space Center.

"We are also making a serious commitment to the manned exploration of space, laying the groundwork for the Mars mission and enabling commercial space ventures to flourish, all of which will foster extraordinary economic growth and job creation throughout Texas," he said.

It also is a boon for Cruz, who heads a Senate subcommittee on science and space. Coming off a spirited White House bid in 2016, Texas' junior senator, who faces reelection next year, is known better as a national conservative crusader than for space exploration or pork-barrel projects.

"It's a feather in his cap," said Bob Mitchell, president of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, which worked with Cruz on the legislation.

House aides said the bill also represents a compromise of sorts, spelling out the space agency's "horizon" goal of sending humans to Mars, with or without the intermediary step of putting astronauts back on the lunar surface - a mission that got short shrift from former President Barack Obama, who famously said, "We've been there before."

A return to the moon, more than four decades after the Apollo lunar program, could be a logistical stepping stone, particularly if it becomes a focus of the incoming Trump administration. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, along with Blue Origin founder Jeffrey Bezos and other commercial space operators, are stepping forward to offer their services.

Despite widespread support in Congress, the NASA bill was delayed in the House one week to give the incoming Trump administration a chance to weigh in, according to GOP House aides.

The bill authorizes $19.5 billion for NASA this year, about $200 million more than the agency's current budget.

That could run afoul of a White House call for across-the-board cuts in discretionary non-defense spending for the rest of 2017. The potential for NASA budget cuts remains to be seen as the government runs up against an April 28 spending deadline.
After Alice Radosh's husband of 40 years died in 2013, she received, in addition to the usual condolences, countless offers of help with matters like finances, her car and household repairs. But no one, not even close friends or grief counselors, dared to discuss a nagging need that plagues many older women and men who outlive their sexual partners.

Radosh, 75 and a neuropsychologist by training, calls it "sexual bereavement," which she defines as grief associated with losing sexual intimacy with a long-term partner. The result, she and her co-author Linda Simkin wrote in a recently published report, is "disenfranchised grief, a grief that is not openly acknowledged, socially sanctioned and publicly shared."

"It's a grief that no one talks about," Radosh, a resident of Lake Hill, New York, said in an interview. "But if you can't get past it, it can have negative effects on your physical and emotional health, and you won't be prepared for the next relationship," should an opportunity for one come along.

Yes, dear readers of all ages and the children of aging parents, many people in their golden years still have sexual urges and desires for intimacy that go unfulfilled when a partner becomes seriously ill or dies.

"Studies have shown that people are still having and enjoying sex in their 60s, 70s and 80s," Radosh said. "They consider their sexual relationship to be an extremely important part of their lives. But when one partner dies, it's over."

In a study of a representative national sample of 3,005 older American adults, Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau and co-authors found that 73 percent of those ages 57-64, 53 percent of those 65-74 and 26 percent of those 75-85 were still sexually active.

Yet a report published by the United Kingdom's Department of Health in 2013, the National Service Framework for Older People, "makes no mention of the problems related to sexual issues older people may face," Radosh and Simkin wrote in the journal Reproductive Health Matters. "Researchers have even suggested that some health care professionals might share the prejudice that sex in older people is 'disgusting' or 'simply funny' and therefore avoid discussing sexuality with their older patients."

Radosh and Simkin undertook "an exploratory survey of currently married women" that they hope will stimulate further study of sexual bereavement and, more important, reduce the reluctance of both lay people and health professionals to speak openly about this emotionally and physically challenging source of grief.

As one therapist who read their journal article wrote, "Two of my clients have been recently widowed and felt that they were very unusual in 'missing sex at my age.' I will use your article as a reference for these women."

Another wrote: "It got me thinking of ALL the sexual bereavement there is, through being single, through divorce, through disinterest and through what I am experiencing, through prostatectomy. It is not talked about."

Prior research has "documented that physicians/counselors are generally uncomfortable discussing sex with older women and men," the researchers noted. "As a result, such discussions either never happen or happen awkwardly."

Rather than studying widows, Radosh and Simkin chose to question a sampling of 104 currently partnered women age 55 and older, lest their research add to the distress of bereaved women by raising a "double taboo of death and sex."

They cited a sarcastic posting from a woman who said she was not a good widow because "a good widow does not crave sex. She certainly doesn't talk about it. Apparently, I stink at being a good widow."

The majority of survey participants said they were sexually active, with 86 percent stating that they "enjoyed sex," the researchers reported. Nearly 3 in 4 of the women thought they would miss sex if their partner died, and many said they would want to talk about sex with friends after the death. However, "76 percent said they would want friends to initiate that discussion with them," rather than bringing it up themselves.

Yet, the researchers found, "even women who said they were comfortable talking about sex reported that it would not occur to them to initiate a discussion about sex if a friend's partner died." The older the widowed person, the less likely a friend would be willing to raise the subject of sex. While half of respondents thought they would bring it up with a widowed friend age 40 to 49, only 26 percent would think to discuss it with someone 70-79 and only 14 percent if the friend was 80 or older.

But even among young widows, the topic is usually not addressed, said Carole Brody Fleet of Lake Forest, Calif., author of "Happily Even After" who was widowed at age 40. In an interview she said, "No one brought up my sexuality." Fleet, who conducts workshops for widowed people, is forthright in bringing up sex with attendees, some of whom may think they are "terrible people" for even considering it.

She cited "one prevailing emotion: Guilt. Widows don't discuss the loss of sexual intimacy with friends or mental health professionals because they feel like they're cheating. They think, 'How can I feel that?' But you're not cheating or casting aspersions on your love for the partner who died.

"You can honor your past, treasure it, but you do not have to live in your past. It's not an either-or situation. You can incorporate your previous life into the life you're moving into. People have an endless capacity to love."

Radosh urges the widowed to bring up grief over the loss of sexual intimacy with a therapist or in a bereavement group. She said, "Even if done awkwardly, make it part of the conversation. Let close friends know this is something you want to talk about. There is a need to normalize this topic."
WASHINGTON - Republican efforts to revise the Affordable Care Act met with widespread resistance Tuesday from conservatives in and out of Congress, moderates in the Senate and key industry stakeholders, casting doubt on the plan's chances just one day after House GOP leaders released it.

The most imminent and serious threat to the plan crafted by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was the growing backlash from conservative lawmakers and powerful outside groups who argue the draft is nothing more than "Obamacare Lite," a disparaging reference to the former president's signature 2010 domestic achievement.

The lawmakers do not represent a majority of Republicans in either chamber of Congress, but there could be enough of them to scuttle any health-care bill they oppose - and several said Tuesday they intend to use that leverage to force major changes to the measures. Their efforts could begin Wednesday morning at markups of the legislation before the House Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce panels.

But President Donald Trump - who weighed in backing the plan on Twitter - said at a meeting with House Republicans on Tuesday afternoon that he would work with them to secure passage of their plan.

According to several attendees, Trump made clear that he wants the House bill to be approved and land on his desk largely intact. He pledged to become personally involved in persuading skeptical lawmakers, and warned that failing to pass the legislation would result in trouble at the ballot box for Republicans who pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare.

"The president said very clearly ... this is the bill he wants on his desk, and he wants to get this done quickly," said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the House GOP chief deputy whip, who attended the meeting. "The president is paying attention to what people are saying and doing, where they're saying it and doing it. He is highly aware and has a highly attuned ear to what is happening in the press, and has a real understanding of the challenges in order to get this bill on his desk."

As if to prove it, Trump targeted Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., - who has emerged as the bill's chief skeptic - with a tweet Tuesday evening: "I feel sure that my friend RandPaul will come along with the new and great health care program because he knows Obamacare is a disaster!"

The margin of error is slim for House and Senate GOP leaders. In the House, Ryan can afford to lose only 21 GOP lawmakers. In the Senate, which is using an unusual parliamentary procedure that requires only a simple majority for legislation to be approved, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., must persuade all but two Republicans to support the plan.

The long-anticipated debut of the House GOP plan was far from seamless. Less than 24 hours after its introduction, fierce criticism emerged from conservatives about the proposal's chief elements: income and age-based tax subsidies, as well as a redesign of the way that states that expanded their Medicaid coverage under the ACA receive payments. Part of the blowback came from the fact that no cost estimates have yet been provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

The speaker vowed to pass the legislation, pushing back on the idea that it was crafted behind closed doors without input from fellow Republicans. To do so, Ryan will have to appease conservatives inside and outside of Congress, who made themselves heard loudly Tuesday.

Republicans belonging to the roughly 30-member hard-line House Freedom Caucus attacked the bill outside the Capitol on Tuesday. Several said they saw the measure as a starting point for negotiations, even as they demanded that leaders take up the 2015 legislation that passed the Republican Congress and ultimately was vetoed by President Barack Obama. Nonpartisan congressional budget analysts estimated that bill would cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance coverage almost immediately.

Lawmakers may also be persuaded by outside groups such as Heritage Action for America, the Club for Growth and FreedomWorks, which came out strongly against the leadership proposal Tuesday, dubbing the plan "Obamacare Lite." Those groups are adept at riling up the GOP base against Republican leaders and could cause significant headaches for Ryan.

"The House Republican proposal released last night not only accepts the flawed progressive premises of Obamacare but expands upon them," Michael Needham, the head of Heritage Action for America, said in a statement Tuesday.

"Congressional Republicans should fully repeal the failed law and begin a genuine effort to deliver on long-standing campaign promises that create a free market health care system."
AUSTIN - The first attempt to tweak the state's school funding system since the Texas Supreme Court declared it constitutional but deeply flawed last year enjoyed a warm reception in a House committee this week even as advocates said it needed more work.

Though the $1.6 billion plan generally won praise Tuesday during a three-hour hearing in the House Public Education Committee, some called on lawmakers to do more to protect the handful of school districts that stand to lose money under the proposed bill, while others urged them to rethink how the state spends money on transportation and study how much is needed to adequately fund teaching students with dyslexia.

"We understand that there are always winners and losers, but we'd like to look to have a bill that has no losers," said Christy Rome, executive director of the Texas Schools Coalition, which represents 140 school districts from small systems to Austin Independent School District, many of which have sued the state over school funding.

Following the hearing, committee Chairman Dan Huberty, R-Humble, said he plans to revise his bill to soften the blow to the few school districts that would lose money under the plan.

Huberty's bill would boost education spending by $1.6 billion. Specifically, the bill calls for increasing per-student funding, factoring in per-pupil transportation funding and adding money for each student diagnosed with dyslexia.

Some districts are caught in "the perfect storm," Huberty said, because they give up money to the state's recapture program, are losing out on funds from the expiration of a years-old program to offset tax cuts and are losing property values. He said he will spend the coming days figuring out how to give those districts a "softer landing."

"I'm excited about it. There's some work that we need to do," he said.

Panhandle district hurt

One of those districts is Fort Elliott Consolidated Independent School District, which educates about 160 students in a 300-square-mile area in the Panhandle. Because the area is property wealthy when the oil industry is doing well, the district gives up the bulk of its tax revenue to poorer districts as part of the state's so-called "Robin Hood" or recapture provision aimed at equalizing funding between districts. Fort Elliott also is poised to lose funds with the expiration of the state's system to offset revenues lost with a 2006 tax cut.

"We're small. We believe we should share. We just don't want to go broke doing it," said Bret Begert, president of the school board at Fort Elliott CISD, one of the 5 percent of school districts that stand to lose money under the bill. Without legislative intervention, the school district can operate for only two years before it runs out of savings, he said.

Dozens of groups representing parents, teachers and school districts testified during the hearing, almost all in favor of the bill. Several said that while they understand change will take time, lawmakers should ensure the state puts more money into education. Under current law, the state's share of education funding will slip from 48.5 percent in 2007 to 38.8 percent in 2019.

Others said lawmakers should take time to figure out how much the state should allocate to adequately educate children and build those numbers into the formula.

"You need formulas that reflect the varying costs that different kinds of districts face," said Paul Colbert, a former Houston state representative who developed the education funding formula in 1984.

HISD hit hard

Officials at Houston Independent School District, for example, are reeling this year because it is expected to pay the state $77 million in recapture or permanently lose more than $8 billion from its property tax rolls. Houston ISD faces recapture because, according to the state's funding formula, the district is deemed property wealthy even though most of its student population is economically disadvantaged.

"The reason they're paying too much in recapture is because the formulas are wrong," said Colbert, who added the formula is either outdated or was inadequate to begin with and needs a revamp.

While lawmakers have acknowledged inadequacies in the funding formula, Huberty said he sees this year's legislation as the first step in a two- or three-session fix to adjust how the state funds education.

"We can't fix the entire school finance system this year, but we can start trying," Huberty said.

He said he plans to bring the bill back up for discussion next week and hopes to pass it out of committee a few days later.
Lunar base is logical

Regarding the "Uplifting science" editorial (Page A16, Friday), and the extensive article "Space X sends a message to NASA" (Page A1, Sunday), both were supportive and informative reviews of our Lyndon B. Johnson NASA Center for Human Spaceflight Activities.

However, I would submit that a central strategic aspect of the discussion is being neglected which will come back to haunt us much as Sputnik did in the late 1950s. We are not giving due weight to the value of establishing a permanent manned lunar base both for deep-space exploration and the maintenance of the security of our planet. Just wait for the Chinese to land on the moon and do just that - much sooner than anyone publicly recognizes.

Bill Sharman, Houston

Counting republics

Regarding "We should celebrate 'revolt' of state AGs" (Page A17, Friday), Charles Krauthammer's column ends with: "There's a reason that after two and a half centuries the French are on their Fifth Republic and we are still on our first."

It is true that such a statement is what we tend to read in the history books and like to believe about ourselves as Americans.

However, such a statement is not really correct. We had a Civil War. Arguably, we are thus on our Second Republic. A few might even argue we are on a Third Republic, i.e., the second being the U.S. government that existed during the Civil War and then the third coming about when the nation was once again unified just after the Civil War. Perhaps a small point worth considering.

Bill Buck, Houston

Insurance versus care

Regarding "GOP offers health plan" (Page A1, Tuesday), health care in America is very expensive. Most if not all Americans have access to some type of health care. Note that I said health care and not health insurance. There are free clinics and emergency rooms if nothing else. Not an efficient or good way to provide health care. What Obamacare attempted to do was provide "affordable" health insurance to pay for expensive medical care for most of the country. This is the problem facing the GOP now, how to provide "affordable" health insurance to pay for increasingly more expensive health care.

As the price of health care goes up, so will the cost of health insurance. There appears to be no end to this spiral.

Gonzalo Martinez, La Porte

Moral foundation

Regarding "SB 6 preserves the safety and dignity of women and children" (Page A31, Sunday), when state Rep. Lois Kolkhurst has the gall to write, "Texas was built on a moral foundation. Sam Houston spoke of 'doing right'", well, that is when I became angry. If she wants to do what's right, then properly fund education. If being moral is part of the fabric of her being, then make sure Texans have access to quality, affordable health care and women aren't dying.

She may not be comfortable with transgender people, but that does not give her the right to create a madeup problem that she is claiming to solve. Moral foundation? Give me a break.

Rachel Gutow-Elli, Houston

Sessions on the hotseat

Regarding "Sessions questions" (Page A33, Sunday) the editorial of on Attorney General Jeff Sessions was right on the money. Not only did Jeff Sessions lie under oath to Congress, but his contact with a top Russian spy and spy recruiter was treason. He should resign immediately and be charged with treason and lying under oath.

Stephen Mohyla, Cypress
Good diversion

Regarding "Trump: Obama tapped his calls" (Page A1, Sunday), just when we thought it could not get more sordid, President Donald J. Trump spins another whopper! With his claim that former President Obama, "the bad (or sick) guy," wiretapped his phones before the election. His demand that Congress launch an investigation has caused the FBI director to, in effect, call the president a liar.

Probably in an effort to divert attention away from the widening circle of Trump associates with the mysterious Russian disease, the president seems to have no limits of shame and no limits to what he expects the American public and media to swallow. Casting aspersions on any reports of Russian relationships, Trump seems desperate to tell bigger and bigger lies.

When is the media going to stand up and start calling his statements what they are: pitiful, pathetic lies. They should refuse to go along with his efforts to slander and defame good people. If this does not rise to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors" it has to be getting awfully close!

Bill Turney, Houston

Line crossed

President Trump has taken his tweeting of alt-facts to a new level, accusing President Obama of wiretapping his Trump Tower phones. There is a difference between First Amendment free speech and blatant lying to Americans, and President Trump has now crossed that line.

At a minimum, if President Trump cannot substantiate his accusations, he owes a public apology to President Obama. It would also be justified and appropriate to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Trump for conduct unbecoming of a president. His short-lived grace period is over, and it's time we hold President Trump accountable for his unacceptable and internationally embarrassing conduct.

Dave DiCamillo, Tomball

Alleged spying

Regarding "Trump: Obama tapped his calls" (Page A1, Sunday), we have truly entered wonderland when the press expends so much time, effort and ink reporting the blatantly false statements of the current occupant of the White House.

He who so brazenly proclaims that the press is the enemy of the people is himself the purveyor of so many falsehoods that the Fourth Estate would do well to begin simply ignoring him and reporting only verified and verifiable facts.

President Donald J. Trump is the epitome of the emperor who has no clothes and is an embarrassment to the nation.

Bill Bentley, La Porte
Cursive writing is looping back into style in schools across the country after a generation of students who know only keyboarding, texting and printing out their words longhand.

Alabama and Louisiana passed laws in 2016 mandating cursive proficiency in public schools, the latest of 14 states that require cursive. And last fall, the 1.1 million-student New York City schools, the nations largest public school system, encouraged the teaching of cursive to students, generally in the third grade.

Its definitely not necessary but I think its, like, cool to have it, said Emily Ma, a 17-year-old senior at New York Citys academically rigorous Stuyvesant High School who was never taught cursive in school and had to learn it on her own.

Penmanship proponents say writing words in an unbroken line of swooshing ls and three-humped ms is just a faster, easier way of taking notes. Others say students should be able to understand documents written in cursive, such as, say, a letter from Grandma. And still more say its just a good life skill to have, especially when it comes to signing your name.

That was where New York state Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis drew the line on the cursive generation gap, when she encountered an 18-year-old at a voter registration event who printed out his name in block letters.

I said to him, No, you have to sign here,' Malliotakis said. And he said, That is my signature. I never learned script.'

Malliotakis, a Republican from the New York City borough of Staten Island, took her concerns to city education officials and found a receptive audience.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina distributed a handbook on teaching cursive writing in September and is encouraging principals to use it. It cites research suggesting that fluent cursive helps students master writing tasks such as spelling and sentence construction because they dont have to think as much about forming letters.

Malliotakis also noted that students who cant read cursive will never be able to read historical documents. If an American student cannot read the Declaration of Independence, that is sad.

Its hard to pinpoint exactly when cursive writing began to fall out of favor. But cursive instruction was in decline long before 2010, when most states adopted the Common Core curriculum standards, which say nothing about handwriting.

Some script skeptics question the advantage of cursive writing over printing and wonder whether teaching it takes away from other valuable instruction.

Anne Trubek, author of The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting, said schools should not require cursive mastery any more than they should require all children to play a musical instrument.

I think students would all benefit from learning the piano, she said, but I dont think schools should require all students take piano lessons.

At P.S. 166 in Queens, Principal Jessica Geller said there was never a formal decision over the years to banish the teaching of cursive. We just got busy with the addition of technology, and we started focusing on computers, she said.

Third-graders at the school beamed as they prepared for a cursive lesson this past week. The 8-year-olds got their markers out, straightened their posture and flexed their wrists. Then it was swoosh, curl, swoosh, curl, as teacher Christine Weltner guided the students in writing linked-together cs and as.

Norzim Lama said he prefers cursive writing to printing cause it looks fancy. Camille Santos said cursive is actually like doodling a little bit.

Added Araceli Lazaro: Its a really fascinating way to write, and I really think that everybody should learn about writing in script.

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Former Florida governor Jeb Bush said Missouris public-education system could use some upgrades, and he suggested Thursday lawmakers look to the Sunshine State for examples.

JEB BUSH

The former presidential candidate met with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and lawmakers to discuss a slew of school-choice measures moving through the state Legislature.

A longtime school-choice advocate, Bush promoted charter and online-school expansion under his leadership. Florida also adopted the first statewide voucher program in the country.

Missouri Republican lawmakers hope to follow in his footsteps with proposals to expand charter schools and online education and to create education savings accounts, which transfer public dollars to parents through bank accounts. That money can be used for private or charter-school tuition, textbooks, online classes or tutoring.

Greitens said he and Bush spoke about expanding access to online courses. Greitens said offering more online classes will enable students in rural districts to take Advanced Placement classes that might not be offered in smaller schools.

Last week, the Missouri House passed a bill allowing students to take online courses paid for by the school district or charter district in which they are enrolled. The district will pay for classes only if the course isnt offered at the school or if there is a scheduling conflict that would prevent a student from taking it during the school day.

Critics of school choice say theres little accountability for student performance when money is spent on independently run charter districts or online operators.

Bush admitted implementing more choice measures such as charter-school expansion wont be a perfect process but said the benefits outweigh the costs.

There are bad actors out there, he said. But you cant regulate everything to the point where you have no innovation at all. Theres a balance between giving charter schools the freedom to innovate while making sure that taxpayer dollars are protected.

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Veteran Conservative MP Ed Fast received a standing ovation in the House of Commons Tuesday before he even had a chance to speak.

Fast, the Tories environment critic and former international trade critic, suffered a stroke at his home in Abbotsford, B.C. in December.

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A popular and gregarious figure, Fast was responsible for making Environment Minister Catherine McKenna crack up in question period last year, and memorably hugged his Liberal predecessor on the floor of the House last fall to mark the signing of the Canada-EU free trade deal.

As he rose for a members statement before question period, MPs of all stripes rose with extended applause.

It is so good to be back in the House with my parliamentary family, Fast began, thanking his colleagues for their kind words and prayers.

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But it wasnt all roses.

Alas, upon my return, I find that the ship of state has run aground on a massive iceberg of deficits and broken promises, he said. Listing to the left, the good ship Sunny Ways is awash in a sea of red ink and carbon taxes.

Fast charged that the captain, meant to be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has thrown his hapless first mate for democratic reform overboard while two other shipmates were dispatched on the diplomatic lifeboats the McCallum and Dion. That reference, of course, is to the cabinet shake-up in January that saw beleaguered democratic institutions minister Maryam Monsef replaced, and led to veteran Liberals Stephane Dion and John McCallum heading for diplomatic posts.

"Mr. Speaker, its so good to be back in this House."

Diving for the last lifeboat, the captain realizes he does not have the cash for access, and was last seen elbowing his way to the front of the line, Fast went on  a shot at the prime ministers questionable fundraising and an apparent callback to so-called elbowgate controversy.

Fast said it all amounted to a disaster of "Titanic" proportions.

As the panicked caucus orchestra plays and the good ship Sunny Ways slowly sinks under the sea, I can hear the captain singing My Heart Will Go On, Fast concluded, sparking more laughs.

Mr. Speaker, its so good to be back in this House.

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A little later, Fast rose in question period to accuse Liberals of not coming clean on the costs of phasing in a federal price on carbon. He referenced a heavily redacted memo from Finance Canada that sheds light on the expected costs to Canadian households of the Liberals carbon plan, as reported by the National Post.

To the prime minister, why the cover-up and when will he finally release the unredacted report outlining the harm this tax will inflict on Canadians? Fast asked.

Trudeau welcomed Fast back to the House but didnt go easy on him.

PM references Fast's 'downtime'

The prime minister said Fast didnt use his downtime to learn that investing in reducing carbon emissions is a way of creating opportunities for Canadians and opportunities to grow the economy.

Fast again called on Trudeau to release details of the carbon tax report and let Canadians judge for themselves.

Canadians did judge for themselves in the 2015 election where they rejected a vision that did not understand that the way to build a strong economy is to invest in a cleaner environment, Trudeau responded.

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UPDATE- Mar. 9, 2017: Jared Matthew Eliasson, 28, has been charged with attempt to commit murder, possess offensive weapon dangerous to public, and aggravated assault. Police say tips from the public led to his arrest.

UPDATE - Mar. 8, 2017: Investigators now believe the suspect vehicle they are looking for is a silver Pontiac Wave, not a Chevy Aveo. The investigation continues.

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Mar. 7, 2017 - The Edmonton police are looking for help identifying a suspect who attacked a woman with a crowbar, after she honked at his stopped vehicle.

The situation unfolded at about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the King Edward neighbourhood, said a police news release, which included photos from a dash-camera of the suspect car.

A 34-year-old Edmonton woman was driving northbound on 87th Street and encountered a silver Chevrolet Aveo that was stopped in the eastbound lane as she was trying to turn onto 77th Avenue.

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She honked her horn before passing the car, said police.

The Chevrolet then followed her to a nearby home, where the woman left her vehicle to go inside.

A male suspect allegedly ran up to her and struck her on both arms with a crowbar. Paramedics treated and transported the woman to hospital, where she underwent surgery for broken arms, said police.

"No road rage is acceptable, but when you have a mother who was just on her way home after dropping off her husband at work when she encountered this violent individual, you know it gives us all pause in the police service,'' said Scott Pattison, a police spokesman.

Police said they're looking for a white man, about 30 years old and 6'1" tall with a medium build, brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a grey tuque, blue jeans, and a dark-coloured jacket.

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Investigators are also hoping to speak with two witnesses who were walking across the street: a woman with a long white coat, and a male walking two dark-coloured dogs.

The suspect vehicle is described as being a mid-2000s, silver, four-door Chevrolet Aveo with a seven-digit Alberta licence plate that starts with the letter "B." It also has a small fin/spoiler on the rear hatch and steel, winter rims on the tires.

With a file from The Canadian Press

Related on HuffPost:

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If you want to see the perfect marriage of Ukrainian and North American culture, head to Saskatoon, which boasts potentially the world's only drive-thru perogy restaurant.

At Baba's Homestyle Perogies, a largely Ukrainian kitchen staff hand-churns out as many as 10,000 perogies, 120 litres of borscht and 3,000 cabbage rolls every day, according to Canadian Geographic.

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The family-owned business is basically a Saskatoon institution, popular with locals as well as tourists.

"It's part of Saskatchewan culture," owner Rob Engel told the magazine. He took over the business in 2006, but Baba's has been cranking out perogies for nearly 40 years.

Happy National Perogy Day! (yesterday). I grabbed a drive-thru meal at Baba's Homestyle Perogies in #YXE#ExploreSaskpic.twitter.com/JbjoD64tVw  Saskatchewanderer (@SkWanderer) October 9, 2015

While Baba's sells a variety of hot meals in store and for delivery, Engel told the Food Network his favourite is the Super Combo  five perogies, two cabbage rolls and one smokie, served with ground bacon, chives and sour cream.

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One of the kitchen staff, Oksana Plesovskykh, moved to Canada from Ukraine with her husband and daughter in 2007 and told CBC News that she had never made perogies before she started working there.

Not only can customers drive up to the restaurant's window, but they can also take bags of frozen perogies home. And that has made the company a partner for a lot of charitable and community organizations looking to raise money, from preschools and Air Cadets to Irish dancing groups.

But while the perogies are beloved, Engel told CBC News that their recipe is nothing special.

"Our recipes are not that different than anybody's own baba would make in their own kitchen."

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Pierogi Recipes See Gallery
Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitchs proposal to legalize mace and pepper spray wouldnt actually protect women, say critics.

Ending violence against women is not about improving lighting, having rape whistles, or legalizing pepper spray. Ending violence against women is about ensuring that women live in a society that respects them, said Sambriddhi Nepal, manager of fund development for Vancouver's WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre.

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Pepper spray wont end sexism, she told The Huffington Post Canada in an email.

Leitch wants to make it legal for Canadians to carry mace and pepper spray. "Do I think that this policy change will solve the problem of violence against women overall? Of course not, the Ontario MP said in an interview with HuffPost. But I do think this is an important step.

Leitch said she cant answer why pepper spray and mace are illegal to carry.

Devices that contain such substances have been banned since 1978 because they can be used as weapons to incapacitate someone as part of a robbery or sexual assault, explained Ian McLeod, a spokesman for the federal justice department.

Pepper spray can "cause serious damage," according to Const. Marc Soucy, media relations officer for the Ottawa police, who added that officers must undergo training before carrying it.

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Leitch said that legalizing it is a common sense change that will empower women and men to be able to defend themselves."

But violence doesnt happen because women cant defend themselves, Nepal said.

Violence against women happens because perpetrators assault women, she said. We need to be holding perpetrators accountable.

"Its not the solution for everything that happens when it comes to violence against women and girls."  Kelly Leitch

According to Leitch, there is a wide range of reasons that women experience violence, but she said, "Im not going to get into a laundry list of items."

Ive put forward an idea, one step, for very specific situations. Its not the solution for everything that happens when it comes to violence against women and girls.

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Leitchs proposal is also concerning to Kate McInturff, a senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives who writes its annual report on the best and worst cities for Canadian women. She said the policy furthers the myth that women are largely assaulted by strangers in public places.

'Sounds like an episode of Law and Order'

This sounds like an episode of Law and Order, with someone walking through a dark alley clutching their purse, McInturff told HuffPost. And the reality is that women are in much greater danger when theyre getting a ride home from a friend, or studying in their dorm room, or even in their family home. So, its really not addressing the majority of situations.

Only about 16 per cent of police-reported violence against women is perpetrated by a stranger, according to Statistics Canada.

Canadian women are most likely to be attacked by their husbands and boyfriends, the data says. And the Canadian Womens Foundation estimates that once every six days, a woman is murdered by her partner in Canada.

We dont look at drunk driving and say pedestrians are the problem. We say that drunk drivers are the problem.  Kate McInturff, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Racism and racial inequality is also a factor  indigenous women are six times more likely to be killed than other women.

Violence against women is one of the only violent crimes where we ask the victim to provide the solution, McInturff said. We dont look at drunk driving and say pedestrians are the problem. We say that drunk drivers are the problem.

Both Nepal and McInturff agreed that funding services for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence would be a better way to tackle the issue.

And the organizations that do that work need money. According to Oxfam, Canadas Status of Women department is sorely underfunded. Under former prime minister Stephen Harper  who named Leitch as Status of Women minister  womens organizations saw all federal funding cut for any work that involved advocacy, general research or lobbying the government.

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Resources should be invested in not only supporting survivors of sexual violence through counselling, victim services and support groups, but also on shifting society to ensure that women dont experience future violence, Nepal said. We should also invest in education programs for our youth.

Leitch said she believes access to pepper spray and services for survivors are both important.

This isnt an either or for me, she said. And anyone who depicts it as that is missing the boat.

When asked if she would pair the pepper spray policy with additional funding for womens organizations, Leitch said that she had to run and ended the interview.

Focusing on something a victim can do to prevent her own victimization is really going in the wrong direction, McInturff said. We need to look at who is perpetrating the crime and figure out how to stop them from perpetrating that crime.

Also on HuffPost

30 Shocking Domestic Violence Statistics See Gallery
Canadas publicly-traded marijuana companies saw their stocks dive Wednesday, after the Liberal governments point man on legalization cautioned the government will take its time on the move.

Ontario-based Canopy Growth -- which bills itself as the worlds largest medical marijuana producer -- saw its market value plunge nearly 18 per cent between Mondays close and Wednesday morning, to around $1.53 billion. Thats a market value loss of more than $300 million.

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Most other marijuana stocks fell Wednesday as well, with Aurora Cannabis down 6.7 per cent, OrganiGram down 12.6 per cent and Supreme Pharmaceuticals falling 11.2 per cent as of 11:30 am ET Wednesday.

Bill Blair, the parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, told Bloomberg news the government wouldnt rush marijuana legalization. While the bill is still expected to land in Parliament in the spring as promised, a lot of regulatory work will remain to be done, Blair said.

We will take as much time as it takes to do it right, the former chief of Toronto police told the news service. Im pretty reluctant to suggest a specific time frame, frankly, because I dont know how long this will take in each of our 10 provinces and three territories.

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Those comments appeared to take a heavy toll on marijuana stocks Tuesday and Wednesday. Analysts say traders had already priced in the expectation that these companies would be selling recreational marijuana in Canada in the near future.

If they delay, theres going to be a lot of eggs that are going to break in this business, BCMI Research analyst Chris Damas told Bloomberg. The valuations are extreme.

Some investors are betting there is a bubble in Canadian marijuana stocks, created by excessive optimism about the prospects of legal weed.

Damas suggested marijuana producers may be overproducing, in order to get in on the recreational pot market. There could be a "huge amount" of excess cannabis if the government delays legalization, he said.

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Marijuana stocks traders were already facing regulatory uncertainty in the U.S., after the White House suggested it is opposed to recreational marijuana.

In a recent interview, Blair made it clear that the legalization bill is only the first step in the process.

The responsibility for determining the regulatory framework and the environment for distribution really rests with the provinces, he told the London Free Press.

Within our constitution, thats their responsibility . . . whatever systems the province choose to put in place, we want to make sure it is an effective regime for keeping this out of the hands of kids and competing effectively with organized crime.

Blair said he has met with supporters of the marijuana dispensaries that have popped up in some Canadian cities, reminding them their activities remain illegal for now.

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Petra Shim already knew a few years ago that there was no way shed be able to afford a house in Toronto.

And if I could afford it, I would probably be mortgage-poor, the 28-year-old told The Huffington Post Canada.

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But Shim, who works in Toronto as a brand manager for an alcohol company, also didnt want to wait any longer to enter the real estate market for fear of missing out completely.

She decided to partner with her brother Brennan, and the two began looking for houses outside the city. Shim lives in Toronto, but the two siblings wanted a house in a community they could eventually see themselves in, and planned to rent out in the short term.

They settled on a $225,000 fully detached house in Brighton, near Prince Edward County  a picturesque area close to Lake Ontario, and now home to hip boutique hotels like the Drake Devonshire.

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We wanted something that would be ready to rent right away, Shim explained. You get a lot of army families there, you get a lot of seasonal short-term renters in that area, so we knew we could get long term or short term.

Shim and her brother are part of a growing trend of what you could call alternative home ownership  finding new ways to own a home when the ones in your community have become just too expensive.

Buying a home with friends or family is one of these options, and can help you get on the property ladder sooner  if you can find someone willing to share that purchase with you.

Of course, there are risks. When you go in on a mortgage with friends, everybody has to be able to service that debt. What happens when someone loses their job? asks Dilys DCruz, vice-president of community banking at Meridian Credit Union.

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Jessica Moorhouse, an award-winning financial blogger, adds: You definitely have to be careful when mixing money with friends, she says. Dont let emotions get in the way.

Meridian recently decided to get in on this action, launching a Friends and Family mortgage option that it describes as ideal for friends, couples, a parent and child, as well as multi-generational families who may not qualify for a conventional mortgage on their own.

The lender is by no means the only one offering such products these days, with buyers being offered Genworths Family Plan and the mixer mortgage from Vancity Credit Union, among others.

'Ask yourself why you want to own a house'

It makes sense to buy an investment property in a nearby city or on the outskirts of town, suggests Limor Markman, a money expert and contributor to the bestseller Whos Going To Stop Us Now?

Ask yourself why you want to own a house, she said. If its to raise a family, thats one thing. But if your goal is to build equity in a home that will one day be yours, then an investment property will get you all the benefits of buying a home.

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Thats what John Harvey, 26, has done. He works in research and operations for an investment management company and covers a mortgage for a house he doesnt live in. Or rather, tenants pay it for him.

Harvey rents a condo in Ottawa with his wife, but they own a two-unit rental property in Timmins, Ont.

Buying an investment condo in Ottawa doesnt pay off, he explained, because rent wont cover the mortgage costs. (The same is often true in many higher-priced markets like Toronto and Vancouver.)

If you rent a condo in Ottawa, whoevers renting that property to you is losing money and subsidizing the tenant more or less. So you actually [get] far more ahead as a renter than an owner in Ottawas condo market.

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Harvey began looking at buying property in his hometown of Timmins when a friend was looking for a short-term rental in the area a few years ago.

He found that rents were relatively high compared to ownership costs  he bought a fully detached house for $122,000, and it brings in $2,000 in rental income each month.

Harvey had decided he wanted to start investing as early as possible, and began looking at real estate.

I think thats the best strategy  rent and save your extra money."  John Harvey, investment property owner

The thing about rental investing is that the bank will lend you most of the money, so if you have 20 per cent down, the bank will lend you the rest, so its a good way to get kickstarted, he said.

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If you are investing in a stock portfolio, you cant exactly borrow 80 per cent of the value, and you probably shouldnt.

He chooses to rent in Ottawa for the flexibility, and because he and his wife dont need a lot of space yet.

Plus, Harvey said, it can end up being more expensive to own than rent in the local market  especially if you dont know if youll be there permanently.

If youre going to be moving houses multiple times within a five-year period, youre just burning money through lawyer fees, real estate agent costs, and moving costs and everything.

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Harvey said he could rent a nice condo for less than what his landlord would be paying each month to own it (assuming theres a mortgage).

Thats exactly the situation you want to avoid if youre buying to rent out, said Markman  make sure you have positive cash flow from your property. That is, the rent should cover your mortgage, condo fees, property taxes and any other associated costs. That way, your tenants will cover your expenses and build the equity in your home for you, Markman says.

Path to prosperity

Markman says buying an investment property is a good way to get used to the idea of passive income  making money from things other than your salaried job. Learning to accumulate wealth through different avenues can be a path to prosperity.

Meridians DCruz points out that when it comes to investment properties, the old realtor adage  location, location, location  is especially important. Make sure the property you buy is desirable as rental housing.

If its a lower-cost property, then what is the resale market like? What is the renters market like?

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DCruz notes there are risks with this strategy, including a decline in income: You could lose your job, or your tenant, or both, and be stuck with both mortgage payments and rent to pay.

"Be patient. Youre not going to be a homeowner tomorrow.  Jessica Moorhouse, financial blogger

Markman admits buying an investment property can be a little scary, but its not an overly challenging thing to do.

But for those who cant afford to buy a property on top of renting, Harvey said theres nothing wrong with that. If he lived in a more expensive city, he said he would definitely still be a renter.

Theres the old adage that a mortgage is a forced savings in a way, but also if youre owning over renting, youre going to be spending more money every month [towards] your mortgage payment and your housing expenses, he says.

I think thats the best strategy  rent and save your extra money.

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Go back to where you came from.

Its one of the more absurd comments flung by racists  and especially absurd if where you came from is Canada.

In their short film, Where Are Your Feathers?, filmmakers Melanie Lumsden and Widia Lariviere interview indigenous women about the craziest comments theyve heard about their heritage.

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The film is being showcased this week by Wapikoni Mobile, along with six other films by indigenous women, in celebration of International Womens Day.

Wapikoni Mobile is a travelling audio-visual studio that teaches filmmaking, music and sound recording, and video editing to young people on First Nations. Every day this week, Wapikoni will stream a short film made by an indigenous woman for free on its website.

In her film, Lumsden wanted to point out how ridiculous and absurd racism is, without making it miserable or heavy, she told The Huffington Post Canada in an interview. Its already heavy.

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Lumsden is a member of the Inuvialuit Nation and grew up in Gatineau, Que. She's directed three documentaries with Wapikoni about self-determination, racism and discrimination.

I think indigenous voices are often underrepresented and this is a way  to make subjects that we care about more known and shared, Lumsden said. For a long time, indigenous stories and our common history of colonialism  were not really well taught or talked about in schools.

There is more than a million indigenous people in Canada. Its more than time to hear what we have to say.

Lumsden added that while Wapikoni is a very empowering environment for indigenous women to work, thats not always the case in the film industry.

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Theres a lack of credibility and visibility and knowledge about our realities that create spaces where we are taken less seriously, she said. Its important for organizations to question themselves and broaden their views and approaches and be open to different perspectives.

Its time for things to change. And its changing today.

I hope 10 years from now indigenous women leaders will have the space they need to have and deserve to have in society.

Its time for things to change. And its changing today.

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I'm often asked what we can do to reach true equality -- a world where women and men were equally represented in everything from government to business.

If I had to pick one single thing we could address, I'd say confidence. Simply put -- men have it. Too often, women don't.

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It starts very early. When I was growing up, we didn't have a lot of mentors or even positive role models, showing us that women could compete and win in any field they chose.

For me, the role model I did find was on TV -- Mary Tyler Moore, who played a woman in a male-dominated industry who succeeded on her terms. She gave me confidence that I could do the same. But then as now, she was the exception, not the rule. And that's a shame, because it undermines confidence.

I see this when we're talking to bright, accomplished women about running for office. Women who could make a real difference in government.

We've had some success moving towards equality in government. Forty per cent of my cabinet is made up of women, as are 50 per cent of the civil service, including a woman at the head. The speaker of the legislature, chair of our government caucus and the head of BC Hydro - all women. And every single one of them is in that position because they deserve to be.

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In business, government, or anything else, it starts with giving young women the confidence that they can compete - and win.

But when I approach women and ask them to consider running for office, they say, "I don't know."

They worry they don't know all the answers to every question, about their other responsibilities to their family and job, and they worry that someone else would be better suited or more qualified. They don't have confidence in themselves.

When I ask a man, they say "it's about time." They can't believe it took us so long to ask.

Confidence matters. And if you don't think a premier can struggle with confidence... try standing next to Kate Middleton and not having second thoughts about your appearance.

That's the culture we grow up in. We're bombarded with messages, both implied and overt, that what really matters is how we look.

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On this International Women's Day it's important to celebrate and recognize successful women. Young women, girls need to see others succeeding in fields that traditionally have been dominated by men.

It's important for young women to see other women in politics and government. It's important for young female athletes to see women cheered in packed stadiums and arenas. And it's important to connect bright, budding young entrepreneurs with mentors who can show them the path to success.

If you don't think there's a barrier, consider this: in the United States, there are more CEOs of Fortune 500 companies named John, than there are CEOs who are women.

Take a moment, and let that sink in.

We can connect young businesswomen with the support, experience, and knowledge to help reach the next level. Or, we can encourage more young moms to name their daughters "John."

In business, government, or anything else, it starts with giving young women the confidence that they can compete -- and win.

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This is important, because we're all better off when women succeed. Not because women are better at making decisions than men, or that women care about different things than men.

It's important because women bring different experiences to the table. Whether that's the cabinet table, or the boardroom of a company responsible for thousands of jobs -- I think you'd want the benefit of the biggest range of experience you can possibly get.

We need to work together to make sure the next generation of young women have the confidence to know they have the same opportunity -- and the same right -- to find a seat at that table.

Maybe even at the head.

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Reading and watching the stories arising around International Women's Week, I was struck by the divisiveness around the meaning of feminism and how it translates into behaviour. Emma Watson, who is a passionate advocate for feminism, was criticized for her Vanity Fair poses.

Articles also regularly question whether Justin Trudeau is a feminist or a hypocrite (depending on his actions on a particular day). Sophie Gregoire Trudeau is currently being criticized for suggesting that women thank the men in their lives and hold their hands on International Women's Day.

A post shared by Sophie Gregoire Trudeau (@sophiegregoiretrudeau) on Mar 7, 2017 at 7:20am PST

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I am an advocate for equality and advancement of women. To me, feminism and feminists speak to this desire for equality, recognizing that we have not achieved equality until both women and men can fully achieve their potential without discrimination and barriers.

Although we have made progress, equality for women has not been fully achieved anywhere in the world. In many countries women are still subjected to forced marriage, violence, and exclusion from education and decision-making in their homes, communities and governments. In Canada, women are still subjected to violence in their homes, there are many missing and murdered aboriginal women, we do not have earnings parity, nor are we equitably represented in leadership roles or on boards.

Does posing for Vanity Fair make Emma Watson any less a feminist or an advocate for women's equality? Not in my books, unless there is a rigid code of behaviour that is required of feminists. Over the years, feminists have marched in the streets, burned bras, refused to wear make-up and excluded men, along with many other approaches. Restricting acceptable behaviour seems counter to the idea of feminism, which should give women the choice of how they express their personality and feminine side.

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If I choose to bare my upper body hidden behind a justice's robe, as did former Prime Minister Kim Campbell when she was justice minister, should that disqualify me from being a feminist? I believe it is time to accept there are multiple ways to express our support for equality and be able to fully express our selves in any way that is legal. If feminism demands a particular code of behaviour, we will be recreating all of the behavioural norms that have kept women from achieving equality over the decades.

Women were once supposed to be nice, dress modestly, not wear pants, and stay in the home, raise the children and cook and clean. We will recreate the very barriers that we have fought to eliminate over the decades.

Is Justin Trudeau any less a feminist because he has not magically overnight created gender equality in Canada? Can he legitimately speak to other world leaders who do not share his views of equality? Is he a hypocrite because he has not achieved equality in Canada or taken enough steps in that direction, even though we are aware equality will not happen overnight?

These are different but equally challenging questions. We need men to support equality for women. This is not a women's issue, but a human rights issue. When a leader speaks out, he/she can have tremendous influence. Male leaders can influence their peers and encourage them to take action. We can ask our leaders to take specific actions that will advance equality.

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Be bold -- stand up and end this harmful debate around feminism. Let us support Emma Watson and all of the other women and men of all ages who believe in equality and advocate for it through their words and actions, instead of criticizing their dress or their behaviour that is allowing them to freely express themselves. We see a lot more provocative dress at the Oscars without criticism -- is this because the actors have not called themselves a feminist?

We do not have to agree on a definition of feminism beyond the fundamental desire to achieve equality. We can be open and accept our many ways of expressing our feminism. Offer support to men and women who take leadership to advance equality whether they call themselves a feminist or equality seeker. Let us expend our valuable time and energy on achieving equality instead of creating more barriers.

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Millions of girls and women around the world are unaware that it's International Women's Day. It doesn't tend to come up in places where females have little voice or choice.

But it's for these girls and women that World Vision does much of its work.

I wanted to share this story from a county in Kenya. It's about a new "coming of age" ceremony for girls, who would traditionally have been at risk of a rite of passage known as female genital mutilation.

And, as you'll see, men and boys also play a critical role in supporting girls on this new path.

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Here is the story by Kathryn Reid, with photography by Jon Warren:

Traditions are strong among the Pokot people of northwest Kenya, keeping the community close and identity strong.

But one tradition can be deadly.

Female genital mutilation, also known as "cutting" or "female circumcision," is used around the world. There is no health benefit to this procedure. Yet more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, in 30 countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Painful and dangerous

FGM is the practice of cutting off a girl's external genitalia, usually with a razor blade or knife. There is typically no anesthesia used, or disinfectant for the tools. "The cut," as it's known, can cause a list of painful, often life-threatening complications.

The horror of the event can affect a young girl for years. She recalls the terror of being physically restrained against her will, often with no sense of what's about to happen.

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A childhood torn away

Following the procedure, a girl's life changes overnight. She's now considered ready to marry, even if she's only 12 or 13. She's offered as a wife for a "bride price" of goats, cows or camels paid to her family.

The girl is at increased risk for birth complications, putting her pregnancies in jeopardy and babies' lives at risk. Here's one example of what can happen.

Despite being outlawed in 2011, girls in remote Kenyan communities are still undergoing the cut, most often during the December school holiday. But some people are working hard to change this rite of passage.

Recently, World Vision offered families a chance to be part of a new kind of ceremony, for teen girls and boys alike.

A new rite of passage

It was held on a bright day, last December, in Kenya's West Pokot County. Nearly 500 teen girls and boys were surrounded by their families, teachers, religious leaders, and even government leaders who had been invited.

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The big day has arrived.

"On behalf of all girls, we will throw away FGM," said Sharon Cherop, who spoke at the ceremony. She reminded the girls of the teaching they had received about their rights, their choices, and the support they will receive from their communities.

"I know my rights," the girls have learned to say. "I will tell my father. I will tell World Vision. They will say 'no, you don't have to give in.'"

Sharon Cherop reminds the girls of their rights

"You should not undergo pain without gain," the teens chant along with a school principal and biology teacher, who taught them about the health effects of FGM. "Don't mar God's creation with FGM," said their teacher. "God has made boys and girls the way he wants them to be."

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"No pain without gain," chant the students, with their teachers.

Graduates at the ceremony receive certificates and congratulations from "Papa Culture," William Lopetakou. A community elder and cultural ambassador of the Pokot people, he teaches teens that respect for their culture doesn't mean they must follow harmful cultural practices like FGM.

"When culture holds you back and causes pain, we throw it away," he says.

'Papa Culture' encourages the youth to 'throw away' culture that causes pain.

Gladys Koyet is headmistress of the high school where the program was held, and joins local musicians and civic leaders to celebrate graduates. Because the program is held in December, it's a safe haven from FGM for girls who might otherwise go home during the long Christmas holiday.

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The school headmistress (brown cape) helps keep girls safe.

As a teenager, Teresa Cheptoo ran away from home to avoid FGM. World Vision helped her to attend the very first alternative rite of passage ceremony in 2007, and to continue her education. Now she works as manager of this program.

Teresa Cheptoo fled FGM, and now helps other girls.

"There were only 20 of us girls when I went through the program in 2007," she says. "At the event, there were no elders, chiefs, government officials, and only one pastor." Teresa says while much has improved, FGM is still a threat.

Chief Samuel Chemonorey, a leader in this county, has put his life on the line to stop FGM. Several years ago, he was beaten and his leg broken when he tried to protect one young girl who had run away from home to avoid undergoing FGM. About 100 girls and boys from his location graduated at the alternative rite of passage in December.

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Putting his life on the line for girls' rights.

Papa and Mama Culture, flanked by community leaders and dignitaries, encourage program graduates, and those in the audience, to end FGM. A World Vision staff member encourages teens to stay in school, so they can come back to be the teachers, doctors, pastors and business leaders their communities need.

The ceremony has come a long way forward.

The teens are led in a dance to celebrate their graduation at the ceremony. They've learned about the harmful physical and mental effects of FGM, their right to avoid it, and how to get help.

The young people celebrate their progress through a dance.

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"It is just a few years from today and there has been a lot of positive changes for persons living with disabilities and their families in Canada.

We have a new Canadian Disabilities Act. Our government has signed the UN Protocol to Safeguard the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Across the country, there have been sweeping changes to disability benefits so no one is forced into a life of poverty.

The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) uptake is at an all time high. Individuals are selecting their own supports instead of relying on supports that suit bureaucratic needs and timetables. The annual disability pride parade attracts thousands of visitors to cities across the country every year.

It is a new era for individuals with disabilities and their families."
Once upon a time, anti-Semitism was theoretical for me. I did once see neo-Nazi skinheads in Berlin and occasionally heard kids complain about being "Jewed out of money" when I was young, but mostly I learned about it by studying the past.

Nowadays there are bomb threats against Jewish community centres and swastika sticky notes on condo doors in my Toronto hometown.

Yes, right here in Not-America.

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The bomb threat was called into Toronto's Downtown Community Jewish School, a kindergarten-to-Grade 6 school located inside the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, which also houses a daycare. It is part of a wave of anti-Semitism that has rocked North America in recent weeks, including 20 bomb threats Tuesday and early Wednesday.*

Even as the Toronto community centre was being evacuated Tuesday morning, the same was happening at a JCC in the nearby city of London, Ont. and across the U.S. at JCCs, a Jewish day schools and Anti-Defamation League offices across seven states.

Later that night and into the morning hours, there were bomb threats to JCCs in three more states and a in Vancouver.

All of the threats turned out to be false, but the state of affairs has gotten so bad that HuffPost U.S.'s article began "More Jewish institutions received bomb threats Tuesday, ending a short lull in incidents since Friday when the FBI arrested a man accused of making eight threats."

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But there have been 122 bomb threats on Jewish organizations, according to the Times of Israel, "in three dozen states since Jan. 9 as well as a rash of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries, including in St. Louis, Missouri; Philadelphia; and Rochester, New York."

This is what one of those recordings sounds like: "In a short time, a large number of Jews are going to be slaughtered. Their heads are going to be blown off from the shrapnel. There's a lot of shrapnel. There's going to be a bloodbath that's going to take place in a short time. I think I told you enough. I must go."

Two weeks ago, Jewish residents in a Toronto condo had their mezuzahs vandalized and found notes on their doors reading "no Jews" and with hand-drawn swastikas.

"There is no place for these acts of hatred, the acts of discrimination, these acts of anti-Semitism," Toronto Mayor John Tory said at a subsequent press conference. "When this happen, we have to stand together with the men and women of the Jewish community and say this is not who we are, this is not acceptable in the place where we live together."

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The same time this was happening to Jewish residents, anti-Islam protestors were surrounding a Toronto mosque.

And just this past weekend, anti-Islamic protests and counter-protests sparked clashes over the weekend in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal, while last Thursday CTV reported that a man in Oshawa was reportedly yelling racial slurs at an 11-year-old Muslim boy in his schoolyard.

And we're still only weeks from the horrific mosque massacre in Quebec, and a subsequent pro-Islamophobia rally in Toronto sponsored by wannabe Brietbart website The Rebel and attended by wannabe Trump Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch, infamous for her desire to give new immigrants a "Canadian values" test.

"It's good to be in a room with severely normal people," Kellie Leitch told the crowd. https://t.co/Pp15Vv9cW1 Another bizarre Rebel event.  deBeauxOs (@deBeauxOs1) March 6, 2017

Maxime Bernier, another Conservative candidate who this week, unintentionally or otherwise, tweeted out a popular alt-right "red pill" meme, argues "Our immigration policy should not aim to change the cultural character and social fabric of Canada, as radical proponents of multiculturalism want."

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Then there's Trump.

That these incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia -- along with xenophobia, anti-black racism, homophobia, transphobia and misogyny -- have been surging since Trump announced his presidential campaign is a fact. A CBC Marketplace investigation of the "Trump effect" found that "in the last year, the amount of intolerant and racist language Canadians use online -- in places like Twitter, in comments sections, web forums and blogs -- has increased 600 per cent."

The first time I was ever harassed on Twitter by alt-right Nazis was a year ago when I wrote "A Jewish Response To Trump Being Called Hitler."

My concern at the time was that Trump "is exposing a racist ugliness, and dangerously inflaming it. Who knows how big the fire might get?"

That fire has grown a lot since Trump took power, and has been flanked by far-right Canadian politicians and publications, because hate begets hate.

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When CBC asked Jewish resident Helen Chaiton, daughter of Holocaust survivors, about the rising incidents of of anti-Semtism, racism and Islamophobia, she said, "It's the tip of the iceberg. We don't even know the extent that it goes down deep."

That's the scary part. And, indeed, instilling fear is their goal.

We need to come together to extinguish this hate before it consumes us all.

In the past, people with these opinions were discouraged from openly exhibiting such hatred. Now that they've been encouraged by like-minded leaders, they revel in it at rallies, in comment sections and on social media, eager to show off how not "politically correct" they are by denouncing marginalized minorities.

And as we are increasingly seeing, some are taking this white nationalist fervour further than words. People are getting hurt. People are being killed.

We know this is how it starts. We know our history. There's no more looking the other way.

But here's the thing to remember -- people who hate minorities are themselves a minority. We have the numbers and we need to come together to extinguish this hate before it consumes us all.

*This post has been updated

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It is certainly a step in the right direction and an appropriate, rational foundational pillar from which to build.

Campaign 2000, a national organization whose mandate is to end child poverty in Canada, is asking the federal government to tabulate how much it costs to raise a child in this country and to then use that number to help guide policy-making and address the growing chasm between the rich and poor -- especially among Canadians in that demographic who have children.

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Undoubtedly, coming up with a fair and equitable number of how much it costs to raise a child that represents an average -- given divergent household incomes, etc. -- will present a challenge, but it makes sense in my opinion and it should serve as a starting point.

As a mother and an entrepreneur who has worked for more than 15 years in the parenting space -- especially during times when "parenting" was not considered as relevant or headline-grabbing a topic as it increasingly appears to be -- I can tell you from experience, observation, feedback received, books and from other parents that there is so much more Canada can and should be doing as a country to support its most valuable resource -- new, home-grown Canadians (babies) and their families.

Here are some ideas, including those that may be construed as way out-of-the box:

1. Recognize stay-at-home parents as a salaried career

Parents who consciously choose to raise their children themselves should be lauded, applauded and supported. They currently are anything but in this country. Some would argue that these parents are effectively penalized for making this important life, career and family choice. Why not treat stay-at-home parenting as a career? It may not be for everyone, but it certainly provides an excellent option to actually be actively involved in how your child is raised without having to constantly consider finances.

2. Make pre-natal classes mandatory across Canada.

Still confounding to me that the most important job anyone will ever undertake in their life is often something many enter into completely blind. Not only are pre-natal classes not mandatory in Canada, they are also not readily available in various communities, the information not streamlined and the resources used largely out-of-date.

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All of the above, by the way, is the reason I became an entrepreneur in 1997 -- when my first son was six months old. The idea came to be during pre-natal classes in 1997 -- creating DVDs about how to care for a baby from birth to six months (Bringing Baby Home DVD) and then later -- pre-obesity debate, a second DVD on optimal nutrition for babies and toddlers (Yummy In My Tummy DVD) -- resulted from being aghast at how poor the quality of resources available for new parents in Canada was. Both award-winning DVDs, created in English and French, feature advice from leading Canadian medical and healthcare experts.

3. Research current best-practices in child-rearing and related government policy and adopt them.

Why re-invent the wheel? Let's look in particular at the Scandinavian countries, whhich seem to have got it logically figured out when it comes to raising children. Let us then compare apples to apples and see what can be tried here that has proven successful elsewhere -- instead of throwing money into countless studies and other investigations that rarely, if ever, bear fruit or get executed.

4. Standardize parenting information available for couples considering starting a family.

The math equation (cost of raising a child) is one thing. But let's move the dial forward even further, by targeting couples who are toying with the idea of potentially becoming parents and give them a sense of the reality of what it means to be a parent via standardized resources from trusted sources. Bottom line, parenting is hard work. It is a life-long commitment. You better be ready for it. Go in with both eyes wide open. It is also the most rewarding and phenomenal gift anyone could every be given.

5. Strengthen parenting resources within communities to support child-rearing.

It takes a village to raise a child. That truth continues to hold true. The challenge in 2017 is that the village is distinctly different. We need to do a better job of supporting parents within communities -- face-to-face contact, human interaction and not just social media to truly help them raise their kids. Even entering my 20th year of being a mom, I learn things every single day about parenting that is useful somehow and in some way. With people living further from their families, and a host of other reasons, strengthening communities should be at the heart of supporting parents in their job.

The "working poor" we often hear about include many mothers and fathers, struggling to make ends meet, each and every day. Then there's the dire lack of affordable daycare and the outright shortage in many communities of actual daycare spaces -- both of which further exacerbate this issue.

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Child poverty should make us all ashamed. Every single day that it continues to be a stark reality in this country should make each of us stop, think and be moved to action.

Supported parents will more than likely raise supported children. There are no guarantees, of course, but it's high time we changed our approach from the status quo -- which, at best, is unacceptable.

Do we really have to wonder why the number of babies being born in Canada is going down?
Blog by Christine Hughes, Women's Rights Knowledge Specialist at Oxfam Canada

Women's movements in over 125 countries-- including Canada -- have successfully pushed their governments to pass laws that aim to address and prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG). In a world where 1 in 3 women have experienced physical or sexual violence, these laws are important. They send the message that VAWG is unacceptable and punishable. And women in countries with VAWG laws have longer life expectancies and a lower likelihood of experiencing violence.

It's increasingly evident, however, that many governments are not keeping the promises enshrined in the laws they have passed. The potential of laws to help eliminate VAWG is going unrealized because implementation is failing. And governments are failing women and girls as a result.

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On International Women's Day, Oxfam launches a new report, "Legislative Wins, Broken Promises." Based on a seven-country research project led by Oxfam Canada, the report focuses on problems with access to services and to justice that these laws are supposed to provide for women and girls who experience violence.

Using case studies from Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, India, Malawi and Nicaragua, the report takes a comparative look at the most problematic "implementation gaps" and the reasons for them. Drawing on more positive examples from Burkina Faso and the Dominican Republic, it presents lessons for how to improve implementation and how to strengthen influencing.

The gaps revealed between the law and on-the-ground realities come as little surprise to those who work on ending VAWG and supporting survivors. Law enforcement and judicial actors are not following the processes required that would protect survivors from further harm and allow them access to justice.

For instance, a senior civil servant in Benin exposed the corruptive influence of some politicians: "When there's a rape of a child in a village, it's the congressman who starts phoning around so that the procedures aren't followed." Infrastructure and services are totally inadequate to meet survivors' needs for support, or to handle perpetrators. And survivors are often blamed, re-victimized or dissuaded from using the law. A police officer in India stated, "There is a systemic effort to dissuade her from filing a case... We don't want a bad ending for a marriage."

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We must continue in our struggle to get governments to live up to their obligations.

Does any of this sound familiar? It should. Although arguably different in degree and detail, similar problems are happening in Canada, especially in relation to sexual assault and domestic violence.

A recent in-depth investigation by the Globe and Mail revealed that, on average across Canada, one in five allegations of sexual assault are dismissed by police forces as "unfounded," which essentially means a crime was neither attempted nor occurred. However, research shows that only two to eight per cent of complaints are actually false. The overriding problem here is not with survivors or their reports, but rather with how police forces handle them.

Meanwhile, a woman is killed by her intimate partner every six days in Canada on average. The horrific triple murders of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam in Wilno, Ont. in September 2015 reveal serious failures of a system that could have prevented this tragedy. In the previous decade, four women had filed police complaints about the perpetrator, but charges were often struck and his sentences were sometimes reduced. And three years prior to the murders, he served only a few months in jail for assault and uttering threats against one of the subsequent murder victims. The only protection she had upon his release was a 500-metre restraining order and a "panic button," which proved all but useless in the rural area where she lived.

There is a great deal uniting women and girls in Canada with those from the countries included in Oxfam's "Legislative Wins, Broken Promises" report. They live in countries with relatively strong VAWG laws, yet the problems they face in accessing justice and services reflect serious deficiencies in the implementation of laws that ostensibly promote their right to live free from violence, social norms that still condone violence and a culture of silence around it, and insufficient focus on prevention.

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The report provides a telling analysis of why these laws are not being effectively put into practice. From insufficient training, to problematic social norms, to claims about lack of financial resources, to inadequate involvement of women's rights organizations, the research revealed several starting points to address the problems, and several entry points for advocacy.

Laws on paper are one critical step in efforts to address VAWG, but evidently we must continue in our struggle to get governments to live up to their obligations. Laws can have a significant impact on reducing the prevalence of violence only if duty-bearers implement them effectively, backed up by adequate resources and political will, in collaboration with women's rights organizations.

Oxfam supports gender-transformative work in over 40 countries to prevent and address Violence against Women and Girls.

Strategies focus on strengthening women's rights organizations, transforming attitudes and social norms, promoting the enactment and implementation of laws and policies, and providing support for survivors.

Christine Hughes is a Women's Rights Knowledge Specialist at Oxfam Canada, and author of the "Legislative Wins, Broken Promises" report.

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Download the full report (in English) here. Executive summaries of the report in English, Spanish and French also available.

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The Blog What Passes For Feminism These Days Needs To Do Better

Feminism: you in danger, girl. Blogger Tara K. Reed explains why she struggles with the term feminist as a woman with a disability and why she would like to see a change in how the term is used among millennials and in pop culture.
The image bears a striking resemblance to a scene from Denis Villeneuve's thriller Sicario. Two vans with tinted-glass windows cruise through the busy streets of a Mexican city, followed closely by a federal police pickup. Two armed officers in full combat gear stand in the cargo area, watching over the convoy.

The passengers inside the vans, however, are not undercover CIA operatives, but a group of Canadian students from the University of Toronto (UofT), on their way to a meeting at the Federal Police' Tactical Operations Center in Iztapalapa, Mexico City's most populous borough.

Last month, UofT sent ten criminology students to Mexico City to learn about the intricacies of Mexico's organized crime conflict. Over ten days, the Canadian students met with Mexican academics, human rights activist, former directors of national intelligence, law enforcement agents, Canadian diplomats involved in bilateral security cooperation and other experts on Mexico's organized crime challenges. Throughout the meetings, participants often brought up a straightforward question: Why should Canada care about the Mexican cartels?

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The election of Donald Trump has produced an unexpected transformation in the structure of Canada's relationship with Mexico. For the first time in 23 years, authorities in Ottawa and Mexico City cannot rely on the leadership of the U.S. to act as a bridge between the two countries and set the path for future cooperation.

Ever since the U.S. presidential election, Canadian authorities have worked to reassure stakeholders that Canada will not neglect its relationship with Mexico. However, if the current U.S. administration turns its back on its southern neighbour, Canada may be compelled to rethink its relationship with Mexico, including in the sphere of cooperation on security-related issues.

Canada has a vested interest in the political and economic stability of Mexico. According to the Canadian government international's gateway, "Canada and Mexico are each other's third largest trading partner, with two-way merchandise trade reaching over $37.8 billion in 2015. Canadian direct investment in Mexico reached over $14.8 billion in 2015, while Mexican direct investment in Canada totaled $1.4 billion."

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Several well-known Canadian firms such as Scotiabank, Bombardier and Blackberry have significant investments in Mexico. However, the stakes of these companies in Mexico pale in comparison to those of Canadian mining firms. According to Deloitte "of the total foreign mining businesses in Mexico, 73 per cent are Canadian, representing 44 per cent of Canada's total investment in the country."

These companies are particularly vulnerable to Mexican cartels which have metamorphosed from drug trafficking organizations into sophisticated protection rackets. Canadian firms' extraction and transportation of minerals in Mexico often take place deep within rural cartel strongholds where crime syndicates tax businesses for the right to operate, often in complicity with local authorities.

From a broader perspective, the Mexican cartels also present a greater menace to security and stability through North America. A simple theorem seemingly ignored by Trump acolytes is that political and economic turmoil in a country tends to spill over into its neighbours.

Dr. Monica Serrano, an expert on security at El Colegio de Mexico, a Mexico City research institution, explains "some problems are intermestic by nature, they are of both international and domestic concern. Countries affected by these issues should have a say in the formulation of strategies meant to address them."

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The rise of Mexican cartels can have ramifications in Canada that exceed drug-related problems commonly associated with them. Cartel activities can have a direct impact on immigration, human trafficking, money laundering and cybercrime in Canada. In fact, one of the most important areas of cooperation between the RCMP and Mexico's Federal Police comprises crimes involving online sexual exploitation of children.

Over the past ten years, Mexico has been flooded with illegal weapons smuggled from the U.S.

The cartels also pose a direct threat to the safety of 1.9 million Canadians who visit Mexico every year. Last January, cartel gunmen opened fire at a music festival in Playa del Carmen organized by Torontonians Philip Pulitano and Craig Pettigrew. Five people died in the attack including Canadian bouncer Kirk Wilson. Apparently, the attack happened in retaliation for organizers' refusal to pay protection money to Los Zetas, one of Mexico's most brutal cartels.

By observing the impact of organized crime in the Mexico-U.S. border, Canada can also anticipate and come up with solutions for problems at its own border with its Southern neighbor. The evolution of illegal gun trade clearly illustrates this argument.

Over the past ten years, Mexico has been flooded with illegal weapons smuggled from the U.S. The demand for arms by crime syndicates in Mexico, where gun laws make the legal purchase of weapons extremely complicated, has undeniably fueled this trade.

Canada faces a similar problem, albeit, at a much lower scale. In 2005, 70 percent of guns used in homicides in Toronto were automatic weapons smuggled from the US. According to the Canadian Border Services Agency, Canada has experienced a continued increase in gun seizures.

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While the number of guns seized by Canadian agents, 316 in 2015, does not compare to the 40,000 weapons seized in Mexico between December 2012 and July 2016, an increase in the demand for firearms in Canada could drive-up gun smuggling through its 5,526-mile Southern border.

Ultimately, Canadian authorities consider that a long-term solution to Mexico's organized crime problems requires a significant transformation of the country's legal institutions. Unlike the militaristic approach of the U.S. to combating the Mexican cartels, Canada has invested in the strengthening of Mexico's criminal justice system, through initiatives such as the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program.

The success of this type of projects, however, relies on a strong commitment to cooperation from both countries. As Annie Chen, a fourth-year Criminology student at UofT explains: "The increasingly interdependent and globalized international system favors collaboration, and countries that isolate themselves will suffer politically and economically. Canada cannot afford to ignore pressing security issues in Mexico."

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The five things you need to know on Wednesday, March 8

1) TAKING A PHIL PILL

Its Philip Hammonds first and last spring Budget. And the Chancellor is determined to use his image as a penny-pinching accountant to maximum advantage, as he tries to steer the British economy and finances through both Brexit and deficit reduction. Boring is good, he has told colleagues. The Treasury photo last night of him at his desk was a sharp contrast to the Byron Burger-munching showiness of George Osborne. As the Mogadon man of this Government, Hammond's whole Phil-osophy is to calm things down, look at the big picture and shun gimmicks.

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But does boring also mean leaden-footed? Hammond resisted calls in the Autumn Statement for an injection of funds to the NHS and social care, yet today looks set to deliver at least an extra 1.3bn (as well as a review looking at Japanese and German-style care systems). Labour may say thats too little, too late. The Chancellors defenders point out that both he and No.10 were still learning on the job last November.

The FTs George Parker has a fascinating piece on relations between May and Hammond, pointing out the Chancellor felt No.10 was all over him ahead of the Autumn Statement. Relations are now more respectful, insiders say. The Sun points to a boost for boozers, with a business rates relief plan for hard-pressed pubs. But will he go ahead with insurance hikes and a self-employed National Insurance rise? And will he use tax rises to help amend the new schools funding formula that has upset both Tory and Labour MPs?

Meanwhile, its International Womens Day and the PM has told Mumsnet there will be more cash to combat domestic violence. But there will also be a fresh lobby of Parliament by Waspi women, those born in the 1950s who lost out on their state pension when the government equalised the retirement age at 65 for both men and women. Few are expecting a rabbit out of Big Phils Budget hat on that one. But imagine if he did...

2) TAKING THE MICHAEL

Hezza has found out the hard way that you dont defy Theresa May and get away with it. Lord Heseltines decision to rebel and back the Lords meaningful vote amendment on the Brexit bill was followed last night by the smack of firm government. The Chief Whip in the Lords told him he had been sacked from the five various advisory roles to ministers he held on such matters as regeneration and infrastructure.

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Many Tory MPs will be delighted by the pour encourager les autres approach of No.10. It underlines that May was particularly brutal in her sacking of George Osborne, Michael Gove and Nicky Morgan. But others will wonder just whether it was worth it, given that even critics of Hezzas strong pro-EU views recognise the man has decades of experience on getting things done in areas May wants to promote (industrial strategy, planning, reviving towns and cities). It seems odd that the former Cabinet minister who started regeneration of both London docklands and Liverpool and pushed through the M40 extension to Birmingham (three achievements that few MPs can match in terms of long-term impact) is now surplus to requirements.

On the Today programme, Heseltine said he hadnt actually been contacted by No10. He said he had done three, four days a week over the last 6 years. I know that Business Secretary Greg Clark, in his various jobs, has welcomed Hezzas desk being near his ministerial offices. Heseltine told the BBC that Ive had no relationship with No.10 since the new Prime Minister [took over] He added the bombshell: Ive never met Theresa May, though he conceded shes doing well in the polls.

3) TIME GENTLEMEN, PLEASE

The BBC has a recording that appears to capture Surrey council leader David Hodge admitting he had secured a gentlemans agreement with ministers over social care funding. Quick recap: Hodge ditched a plan to hike council tax by 15%, Jeremy Corbyn revealed leaked texts from Hodge showing he had a new memorandum of understanding with Whitehall, but Theresa May denied there was any sweetheart deal to give preferential treatment to a Tory council.

The BBC Surrey tape reveals that Hodge told his councillors he had direct dealings with Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, including a conversation with the minister in his car outside Downing Street. Javid then went into Number 10 and spoke to Chancellor Philip Hammond before relaying back some things which they could say, and some things which they couldnt say. In an extract of the recording, Hodge said if the "gentleman's agreement" is not "honoured" then the council will have to "revisit this in nine months or a years time.

It looks like the Government was canny enough to ensure that any new funding on social care would be for all councils, not just Tory ones, but you can bet Labour will be hitting this hard. With Corbyn needing an easy warm-up to the much more difficult task of responding to the Budget (remember its the Leader of the Opposition, not the Shadow Chancellor, who answers on Budget day), it looks like a cert for PMQs.

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BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR

Watch this robot solve a Rubiks Cube in record time. Ed Miliband eatcha heart out.

4) ALF, DARN IT

The cries of shame! went up as the vote came in, confirming the Commons had defeated a mini-Tory rebellion on child refugees. The Government had a majority of 20 votes as it fended off the amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill, which would have forced councils to identify if they had space for unaccompanied minors following the closure of the Alf Dubs scheme.

In the end just Heidi Allen, who tabled the amendment, and two other Tory backbenchers (Nicky Morgan and Tania Matthias) defied their whips. At least seven others who had spoken out beforehand - David Burrowes, David Warburton, Will Quince, Anna Soubry, Victoria Borwick, Tim Loughton and Derek Thomas - opted not to back it.

Labour MPs mutter that this just proves you cant trust Tory rebels. Burrowes argues that he abstained because ministers conceded that they would publish a safeguarding strategy. Other Tories privately say Allen is now seen as so toxic in the party that they cant back her. Yet it underlines once more that a mix of strong whipping and entreaty can ensure a Commons majority that works for everyone (in No.10).

5) EXPEL SPREADSHEET

More than 10 suspended members of the Labour party are facing expulsion over anti-semitism after its NEC disputes committee decided to refer them for a formal disciplinary hearing. Among those are Jackie Walker, whom HuffPost revealed had made various remarks about Holocaust Memorial Day and security in Jewish schools last year. Walker was removed as Momentums vice-chair and yesterday received virtually no support from allies of the groups founder Jon Lansman.

Meanwhile, Labours unorthodox approach to party discipline over the Brexit bill continues. Remember several members of the junior frontbench (including three whips) are still in post despite defying a three-line whip. John McDonnell (fresh from his lively exchanges with members of the PLP on Monday) has told the Eastern Daily Press that he hopes Clive Lewis - who quit as Shadow Business Secretary to vote against the bill - will be back with us soon in the Shadow Cabinet. There will be a role for Clive almost certainly in the future, and we will be talking to him about that shortly.

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As for Labours big vision more widely, backbencher and womens PLP chair Jess Phillips today takes part in our Commons People Live event to discuss her book, Everywoman. Its all part of our International Womens Day events, and our month-long All Women Everywhere series. Get away from the post-Budget white noise by tuning in from 4.30pm on our Facebook page HERE. Jess has also done us a vlog HERE.

If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox.
Girls learning in Niger. Credit: Tagaza Djibo/GEM Report

It's International Women's Day. As people in different cities rally for gender equality, not enough changes are being made to help the poorest girls pick themselves up from the bottom of the education ladder in many parts of the world. This blog draws together a list of the ten worst performing countries for female education using updated data from the GEM Report's WIDE database, renewing a list we posted in 2012. We hope it will help those advocating for girls' education to focus their efforts.

What does it show?

Appallingly, in the bottom ten countries, the poorest 20% of young women in their early twenties have spent less than one year in school. At least six out of ten of the poorest 20% of girls have never been to school. When the bottom ten countries includes those also in the top ten for the largest populations in the world, such as Nigeria and Pakistan, these figures become seriously concerning.

South Sudan stands out for being in the bottom and second from bottom place for both girls and young women. Only one in ten of the poorest young girls in the country have been to school; young women have only made it through one term in school if they're lucky.

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In addition, as the 0 mark indicates below, six out of the ten bottom countries in both categories are conflict affected, with education clearly suffering as a result.

Among the bottom ranked thirty countries listed below, no young women has acquired more than 3.6 years of education. No wonder, then, that our last Report said it would be half a century before the new global education goal is met - way past the 2030 deadline.

Have times changed?

Since 2012, when we last posted this ranking, there has been considerable movement among countries in the bottom ten.

For example, Somalia does not appear in the tables, where it last sat in bottom place. This is because of the lack of recent data given the security situation.

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Nigeria has moved towards the bottom. It dropped 8 positions on this list for the poorest girls' education, and 19 positions for the poorest young women's education. The apparent trend may be spurious, as the data used in our last ranking appeared to paint too optimistic a picture. However, this data from 2013 confirm the longer term stagnation in the situation of poor girls in the country.

There are some notable positive movements on the list too. Comparing the right hand side of the above table to the left for Afghanistan, for example, shows that there is greater progress for girls than there were for the older generation that lived through the Taliban regime, but still this leaves almost seven out of the ten poorest girls without any education.

India has come off the list of the bottom 30 altogether, thanks to achieving gender parity in both primary and secondary education - the only country in South and West Asia to be able to say that.

The Gambia has made huge leaps, climbing 8 positions for the poorest girls, and 17 positions for the poorest young women. The Gambia, like Sierra Leone, whose position has also improved in the above table, included a gender goal in their education plans in both 2000 and 2012. Our 2015 Report showed that this helped increase girls' enrolment, effectively reversing the gender gap.

Why we must zoom in on the poorest girls

The list above would be very different if it just related to girls education, and not the poorest girls, as our WIDE database shows. If you look at gender breakdowns without including breakdowns on wealth, for example, girls on average are doing quite well in most parts of the world as our 2016 Report showed.

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Around one in five women worldwide is disabled. For me growing up in Africa as a disabled female I faced a double jeopardy and was left vulnerable by the system. For disabled women gender-based violence and disability discrimination combine to create brutal barriers to wellbeing. Unfortunately, too many development programmes meant to prevent gender-based violence do not consider the unique dangers and challenges faced by women with disabilities. Without specific attention and solutions, disabled women have been left behind and at risk. ADD International, a disability rights organisation for whom I am an Ambassador, have today launched a new paper documenting the invisible violence disabled women face and ways in which it can be prevented.

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Disability Stigma.

Disability has its own stigma, present in every society, but in parts of Africa and Asia discrimination towards disabled people can be particularly oppressive. In areas where research and technology aren't readily available people can't access explanations for conditions. This lack of understanding can cause misconceptions about disability, with devastating consequences. People in my village believed I was cursed by God and my family I and were greatly marginalised and forced to flee from the village, for fear that we would bring bad luck to the whole community. This stigma is often internalised by disabled people, stripping millions of their aspirations and agency. I remember so often when society told me that I would not make a good wife because I was different - this defined me because I couldn't do the chores expected of a 'wife'; walk long distances to fetch water or collect firewood. This disqualification left me vulnerable but I was lucky to have a family that cared and supported me to get an education and provided me with a safe environment.

Invisible Violence.

Women with disabilities around the world experience much higher levels of violence, for longer periods of time and with worse physical and mental outcomes than women without disabilities. It broke my heart to recently read about a lady who was raped and her family were afraid to report the case because of shame on two levels; one that she has cerebral Palsy, two the rape itself. Where is justice for such women who suffer such brutal violence?

Most incidents of violence are not reported to the police. Disabled women often feel trapped especially when the manipulator and abuser is someone they rely on. Disabled women and girls often have crushingly low self-esteem; many women fear that reporting incidents of abuse might lead to them being abandoned, having their children taken away, losing financial support and care, and increased isolation. Even when women do report violence they face considerable obstacles in accessing support and justice. Stigma and impairment-specific challenges - such as complications in identifying the perpetrator and communication difficulties - create multiple barriers to justice.

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ADD International supports disability activists in Africa and Asia who are working to protect disabled women and girls. For Grace, who lives in a part of Uganda where some people believe that unprotected sex with a disabled woman will cure HIV, every time she leaves her house she is incredibly vulnerable. Grace is 20 years old and blind. She lives on her own in a bare room on the back streets of a slum in Gulu. She was rejected by her family and has learned to fend for herself with few resources.

"Everything I do, I do it on my own. As a child, I was buying clothes and food for myself, doing everything for myself. Now, when I am sick, there is no one to care for me. That is what always makes me roll my tears."

In some communities, it is believed that when a man has sex with a disabled woman without her consent he is doing her a favour because she is 'unwanted' goods. Disabled women are raising children in the streets where they are continually abused with no law to protect them. Dorothy, one of the disability activists we support in Gulu, says of Grace,

"She is not living in a good situation. It's a slum area. The environment predisposes her to sexual violence. Anybody can come at night and just rape her and the story ends there. No one cares. So, it's really alarming."

Luckily Grace found help with the local network of disability activists funded by ADD International. They run programmes that support disabled women by educating them on how to stay safe and train local law enforcement in how gender-based violence uniquely impacts disabled women. But there are still millions of disabled women and girls suffering abuse each day.

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This Must Change.

Development agencies, power holders and service providers need to build into their programmes the right protection for disabled women. It will require sustained global focus, momentum and action. But if we are serious about fulfilling the global aspiration to 'leave no one behind' then it must be done.

You can read ADD International's new reporthere.

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
This International Women's Day never has there been a time when women's rights have been more challenged.

Since 1915, the question of women's rights in areas of conflict and post conflict times has posed many obstacles

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Many countries and people have worked very hard over the last hundred years to get some resolution on the issue of women being used as a tool of war. There has been a focus to involve women in peace talks at every level. Recently, with the support of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Lord William Hague, we saw more concrete agreements by countries in the United Nations.

In times leading up to conflict, during conflict, and post conflict when families are trying to flee war torn areas, the institution of education is often completely lost. Many times the schools become headquarters for the peacekeepers. Furthermore, only 2% of humanitarian aid is spent on education. What does that say to all of those families and individuals disrupted? Millions of people are deprived of education, but education is critical - as critical as food and nutrition. Without education, the future negative consequences to these victims continue. It is very difficult to makeup a lost education to these people.

Women and children suffer the most during global displacement

The numbers of displaced people has not been this high since 1945. The majority of displaced people are women and children who have no access to a home, food, clean water, and education. It is an adversity that women assume the brunt of childcare and often becomes ill in these inadequate situations. There are few hospitals and/or medical assistance, and children are most vulnerable with the lack of security, safety and nutrition.

Every day that a child misses proper education and nutrition, their long-term life is marred. This is a heavy burden on the mothers that are just trying to survive and who worry about the futures of their children.

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Women and children a priority in peace talks

The United Kingdom has played a leading role with Scandinavian countries and others to ensure that peace talks include the rights for women and children. The focus is not just on peace and rebuilding, but also on women and children suffering the consequences of conflict. Part of the peace negotiation talks include safety and nutrition, opportunity to flee war torn areas, medical facilities for illness, disease, wellbeing and prenatal, access to education, and investment to rebuild communities and create jobs.

What Brexit means for women

Another threat to women in the UK is the result of the referendum with Britain leaving the European Union. This vote casts a shadow of doubt on the stability of human rights of women, maternal/paternal leave, equal access to employment and salaries, and many other issues that make the United Kingdom a recognized leader in the world. Many women around the world have united to ensure more balanced rights of women on topics ranging from equal access to education and medical services, to including 30% representation of women on corporate boards.

We must work together globally to ensure the rights that women have fought to gain over the years are not taken away and we must continue to strive for equality. We have to build an equal future with men and women working equally around the globe.

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
Blend Images - Terry Vine via Getty Images

I watched the passionate argument made by Riz Ahmed about the lack of diversity and representation in the media. He seemed to hit the nail on the head when talking about how a failure to represent was leading to alienation and potentially extremism for some. I've heard similar arguments made before by Muslims up and down the country, who like myself, are concerned not only about the lack of diversity, but also the lack of equal opportunity in employment more generally, as well as everyday issues such as falling living standards and educational underachievement. At the heart of Riz Ahmed's message was the claim that 'people are looking for the message that they belong'.

Yet that sense of belonging is hard to cultivate when successive governments have only ever been concerned with one issue when dealing with the Muslim community; extremism. Undoubtedly, it is a dangerous menace that must be dealt with, yet it would appear that the government and policy makers have come to only view the Muslim community through this narrative, meaning that issues like lack of opportunity and barriers to achievement, have come to be viewed as less important at best, or non-existent at worst. Never mind that Muslims are poorer, more likely to live in some of the most deprived areas in the country, with a Muslim Council of Britain report finding that 'almost half of the British Muslim population resides in the bottom 10% local authority districts for deprivation'. These issues seem to matter a lot less, to those who think that Muslims must simply own the problem of extremism, and that is the be all and end all.

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Given such socio-economic deprivation, is it little wonder then that Muslims are underrepresented in the media, with BBC director general Tony Hall claiming that both his own organisation and others favoured the 'well-connected and well-off from the South East'. Yet the message of belonging that lay at the heart of Riz Ahmed's plea for diversity in the media is part of a wider struggle, a struggle for equal opportunity and the need to highlight the inequality that British Muslims have to contend with in areas such as education and employment.

These issues cannot be viewed as less important, or as issues that can be dealt with at a later date, whilst many become preoccupied with simply treating the Muslim community as a 'suspect community'. A preoccupation that plays into the very narrative of the extremists. It requires us to look beyond the fear that a tiny minority have helped to create, and to engage with the everyday struggles millions of Muslims face, struggles for a better future, helping us to realise that we have a lot more in common than divides us. Issues such as a lack of diversity in the media, poverty and educational underachievement matter, because unless addressed, they will continue to add to the isolation and marginalisation that extremists thrive off.

I've seen plenty of campaigns and events aimed at the Muslim community dedicated to combatting extremism. Yet when I sit with friends I realise the sheer gap between what defines the lives of ordinary Muslims, desires for a sense of belonging, for equality, for a sense that we matter too and what governments and others think has come to define them.

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Beverley Bryant, Director of Digital Transformation at NHS Digital, and Digital Leader of the Year in the Women in IT Awards, explains why International Women's Day is important to her.

This Wednesday is International Women's Day, with the theme 'Be Bold for Change'. As a female leader in technology, which is traditionally a male dominated industry, this time of year is important to me. It leads me to reflect on my own experiences and also the things I can and should be doing to support other women to succeed in the world of technology.

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My job has a fancy title, but basically what I am here to do is to support the development and application of technology that makes the NHS better. Better for patients; better for staff; and better for taxpayers.

But making things better is a big job, and it is impossible to create usable solutions for the entire population, if half of that population is under-represented around the decision making table. Getting more women into industries where they are traditionally under-represented and supporting talented women to be the best they can be isn't just good for those women, it is good for everyone.

And at a time when we are focused on doing more for less, it becomes more vital than ever to recruit the best talent. And that means working from a pool of all the available talent, not just one demographic.

If you work in a male dominated industry then for a woman there is something about being bold to even enter into your profession. That isn't how it should be, but for a lot of women, making your way in a profession where you aren't traditionally represented feels like a huge mountain before you have even started. It is difficult to see yourself in a job if there is nobody like you succeeding in that role.

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On a personal level, being bold for change has also been a bit of a recurring theme in my own professional life.

My first Be Bold for Change moment was when I decided to move to Japan to fulfil my dreams of being a translator. My next was when I decided to change career and go into the traditionally male world of technology. The thing I loved about translation was also the thing I loved about my new career in technology. It was the ability to create meaning from complexity, and in technology I also had the chance to do some really creative and innovative thinking to solve big, real world problems.

Later, as I progressed in my career, one of my boldest moves was when I was working in the Department of Health as CIO. The more time I spent working with NHS organisations the more I realised that I absolutely had to just get out there and work with clinicians and other frontline staff, where I could learn more about what it is that actually makes technology work (and not work) on the front line.

I begged my managers to let me go onto secondment to a local NHS organisation. I found myself working on areas like commissioning, which I had no experience of, but it helped me enormously with my development. I needed to take all of my problem solving skills and apply them to something new, and I also had to prove myself again in a new environment. But, most importantly, I learnt first-hand how the NHS works in reality, the challenges they face and how technology can help to make things more efficient.

Now, as a Board member at NHS Digital, I have a responsibility to support my organisation to be bold and to make sure we support our women to be the best they can be. I am aware that I have a role to play in empowering the organisation to make the right choices that help women to be able to meet their full potential.

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There is a role for all leaders, in all sectors, to recognise and nurture talent wherever it comes from, and to encourage a diverse and representative workforce. If you are a leader in your organisation, at whatever level, think about when you last did something to support a talented person working through the ranks. That's how you develop and keep the best people in your organisation and it is worth taking the time to invest in these people.

Basically, being bold is the only way that you can create and lead change to your own design. Change is, in itself, always scary. That's why International Women's Day is asking people to make a pledge. Because making a commitment to change is brave and bold and is the only way that we will collectively make things better. My pledge is to continue, as part of the Board at NHS Digital, to champion gender parity across my organisation. What's yours?

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
Until recently I was employed by a council as a community worker in a deprived community - it consisted of around 4000 people and many of its homes were owned by the local authority who were obliged to house people with many needs in that one area. This included residents with physical and mental health problems as well as a smaller number with addiction and anti social behaviour issues.

There were a smaller group of what I would describe as hardened criminals who dealt in drugs and were prepared to physically intimidate residents and rivals if required.

They dominated the public spaces and often dealt in drugs openly - probably aware that few residents would take issue with them since most in the community were scared of them. They drank heavily and often behaved in a threatening and abusive way to each other and to local residents and shop keepers.

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The children of the many families living there had to witness this behaviour on a daily basis - on their way to and from school and if they ventured into the local shops - which many of them were frightened of doing. These children were - and are - being brought up living with this experience. It is normal to them.

As an ex police officer I would work with the council and police as much as I could to get action taken against this small number of criminals - but it was an uphill struggle to get decisive action taken - for many different reasons. It did not take long for these criminals to become hostile to me and to stop what they were doing when I was nearby.

The neighbourhood policing team consisted of very occasional visits by a PCSO, who when she was there, would tend to avoid the area where the problems occurred. In many respects I didn't blame her since these particular individuals were unpleasant to deal with at best. That and also I suspect she was not given the appropriate amount of support by her managers and it is my experience that PCSOs are often not empowered and in a position to take decisive action.

The problem was that even though this arrangement provided virtually no neighbourhood policing in reality - it most likely allowed police managers to 'tick the box' for neighbourhood policing and at the same time prevent more effective arrangements being put in place.

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The housing managers had an opportunity at one stage last year to evict the main culprit from his house but the police intervened and effectively stopped the eviction because it was convenient for them to have this particular person in that community.

Of course this left him in place to continue to intimidate residents and deal in drugs as he saw fit - leaving residents to suffer his behaviour - leaving families and children to suffer the consequences - and leaving him further empowered because he had not been evicted.

I should say at this point that when I was a police officer I am not sure I appreciated how valuable neighbourhood policing could be. I imagine some of my attitudes to it at the time would embarrass me these days - but now I have seen it from the other side.

If the local police actually cared about the situation (or were allowed to care) then they would have ensured that a suitably empowered and equipped officer - or officers - actually spent a lot of time in that community. This officer would have challenged the behaviour of these people and ensured that they did not feel free to intimidate the community without consequences.

This would lift the responsibility of ordinary residents having to initiate action themselves and risk their windows being put in - or worse. Residents might feel inclined to help police in different ways if there was a relationship with them.

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Instead the local police seemed to be dismissive of the needs of that community and were indifferent at best to the situation.

I doubt that this is the only community suffering in this way in the UK. I suspect that, nationally, neighbourhood policing is also suffering because of the cuts to police funding.

I know that neighbourhood policing has for many years been the 'poor cousin' of policing to all the more glamorous and exciting forms of police operations.

Poorer communities are often looked down upon by some officers - as deserving the poor quality of life they experience - because that view is often mirrored in the rest of society. Poor people deserve all they get after all.

It is a mystery what the new elected Crime Commissioners are doing about all this (if anything) since they all seem to keep a low profile when there is public debate or policing issues come to light.

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It is also my experience that police resources will be directed at more influential communities - the ones where the money is - the ones that need it least. These are the wealthier places where the more confident people live - the ones that know other people of influence and can get things done - for themselves. These are the areas that need neighbourhood policing the least.
International Women's Day celebrates the huge contribution that women have made to all sectors of society and a couple of weeks ago I watched an inspiring film about just this. As I watched the film Hidden Figures, I was overwhelmed at what was achieved under such a turbulent and difficult, political backdrop. And, as we sit here today in 2017, I reflect on what we have achieved for women within the security sector.

We've seen huge leaps but there's no denying that we have a long way to go. Not only is there a huge gender imbalance within the technology sector as a whole, but women make up just 10% of the global cyber security workforce. This year's slogan for International Women's Day is about being bold - so how can we champion for change in the security sector and make a difference for women?

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Education for the real world...

This year I've already seen some encouraging signs. In January, GCHQ announced its tech skills competition for teenage girls as part of an initiative designed to encourage more women to join the fight to protect the UK from cyber attacks and hackers. I strongly believe that we must start to encourage girls early on - that a career in security can be just as fulfilling as alternative roles that may be much more familiar to them.

Just recently announced was the "cyber curriculum" that will mix classroom and online teaching with real-world challenges and hands-on work experience. This new style of education for cyber security provides an approach for students to really get to the heart of a challenge, and flex their learning as threats constantly change.

In the same way that the school curriculum is mixing up its teaching, University cyber security courses also provide real world examples. Last September, Warwick University announced a module for its Cyber Security master's course which addresses key strategic cyber security issues relating to business, particularly from the perspective of an organisation's Chief Information Security Officer. This is great for women who want to get into top positions in the tech/security space as the course can also be balanced around family life and other commitments as it's also available to be studied part time.

The role of women in 'new collar' jobs

While many of us promise our children that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up, the numbers seem to tell a different story. The truth is that women hold just over 14% of STEM roles in the UK despite making up half of the population. We can further increase diversity in leadership by reinforcing that woman can have tech careers that sit outside developer or engineering roles.

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Many of today's twenty-somethings don't realise that they have the potential to hold a technology role, without the need to code. There are skills required between professional careers and trade work, meaning they combine technical skills with a knowledge base rooted in higher education. Ginni Rometty, CEO, IBM most recently described a new type of role that we will all be playing - this idea of 'new collar' jobs. A marriage of machine and wo(man), adapting your skillset to fit the current environment and similarly, aligning what is taught in school with what is needed with business.

Popular culture and being bold

I am comforted by the fact that outside of my sector, popular culture is really starting to recognise the contribution of women in the technology industry, past and present. Last month, we saw 20th Century Fox's Hidden Figures tell the story of the Space Race from a new perspective, uncovering the contributions of three afro - American female mathematicians. More and more women are entering both regular and high level positions in tech, and this is partly down to visibility of women in STEM roles.

I always tell my girls that they can be anything they want to be and I am committed to making this a reality in the security sector. Cyber security skills initiatives, such as those from the UK Government, are important for raising awareness for this crucial area of work. What I think will take longer to change, is the entrenched stereotypes created for women and imparted on populations. It is clear there needs be a new status quo when it comes to women in security, technology and all other blossoming STEM careers. This is definitely what we need to work towards if we are going to attract women to this sector and start to fill the 1.5 million cyber security jobs expected to be open vacancies worldwide by 2020.

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
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In the midst of these challenging times for women in the U.S. and around the world, women have risen up as some of the strongest voices of dissent. We have spoken, we have marched, we have persisted. And today, women across the U.S. will strike as part of a #DayWithoutAWoman.

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We're living through a major flash point in the ongoing effort to secure women's health and rights around the world. So this International Women's Day, let's take a moment to celebrate women and look at where things really stand for women's health and rights.

From the millions of women who marched the day after inauguration in what was reported to be the largest act of resistance in U.S. history, to the demonstrations at airports and town hall meetings across America, millions of women have shown their defiance against politicians who would take away women's and civil rights. We were inspired by the seas of pink overflowing the streets during the Women's March - not just in Washington, but in Boise, Portland, Dallas, and towns around the country. The march was an affirmation of the principle that are all connected - we are women, immigrants, refugees, transgender people, Muslims, and so much more. Best of all, the millions who marched that day are determined to keep the momentum going.

Yet despite this strong showing around the country and the world, it seems everywhere we turn, extreme politicians are creating new hurdles for women seeking health care. Even though we know that blocking patients' access to health care at Planned Parenthood is both dangerous and deeply unpopular, Congress introduced a bill Monday night to do just that. The truth is that this bill would have a disproportionate effect on the people who already face structural barriers to care, including people of color, immigrants, young people, and members of the LGBTQ community. Those with overlapping identities face multiple barriers.

We're also seeing these attacks play out globally. Mere days after the historic march, President Trump's administration reinstated an expanded version of the global gag rule, which not only slashes family planning funding, but affects global health assistance writ large, including vital, lifesaving health programs addressing HIV/AIDS, Zika, maternal and child health and more. A problem many had once assumed was restricted to the reproductive health community has become a problem for everyone in the global health community.

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Through it all, women have been and will continue to be at the forefront of the resistance to these harmful policies and more. We're encouraged by the bold leadership on display from girls as young as six-year-old Sophie Cruz, who led a rousing incantation of "si se puede" at the march in January. While others talk about building a wall, Sophie is hard at work building bridges as she shares her family's experience as undocumented immigrants. When the administration enacted a Muslim ban, Muslim and non-Muslim Americans alike stepped up with fierce critiques not only of the policy, but the often Islamophobic and racist rhetoric surrounding it.

In countries around the world, others are defending the very right to call themselves girls and women - like Cleopatra Kambugu, a transgender woman who was forced to flee Uganda when she was painfully outed in a national media outlet there after the passage of an extreme anti-gay law. Cleo is now living in Kenya, where she is an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights and inclusion. Women who already held high positions of power are using their stature to champion others, as Lilianne Ploumen did when she founded the She Decides initiative to mitigate the catastrophic impact of the global gag rule. While President Trump's administration plays politics with the lives of vulnerable women around the world, Lilianne is raising funds to protect as many lives as she can by increasing access to comprehensive reproductive health care.

In her "Sikh Prayer for America", Valarie Kaur asked: "What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?" New leaders have emerged out of the maelstrom of the day, and more will come. This year, on International Women's Day, we celebrate the defiant women leading the resistance. We need to have each other's backs. We cannot give in to the threats and intimidation. We fight. We resist. We defy.

Cecile Richards is President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund

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Latanya Mapp Frett is Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Global

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
To mark International Women's Day this year, United Colors of Benetton is taking an unprecedented step. For more than 50 years this iconic brand has campaigned on difficult social issues, recently focused on women under its Women Empowerment Program.

Now, we've turned to the developing world for our latest global campaign for gender equality.

Benetton was one of the very first global fashion brands to move into India and is now the leading international player. India is, after Italy, now the company's most significant global market. But we can't aspire to empower women if we ignore the challenges of millions across India and this sub-continent. Instead we've chosen to take their voice to the world.

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This week we're rolling out a global campaign, under the hashtag #UnitedByHalf, for gender equality. Developed in India this is deliberately challenging because we'd like to help change gender stereotypes there and everywhere. http://www.benettongroup.com/media-press/press-releases-and-statements/benetton-launches-gender-equality-campaign-from-india-challenging-social-behaviours/

UnitedByHalf focuses on men seeing women as equal partners, which is important because we believe there has been too much focus on women themselves. Benetton India started to address this last year, with a campaign entitled #UnitedbyDonts. This challenged how women are often blamed for inciting hostility and even violence for everyday behaviors we take for granted in the developed world.

Now, with #UnitedByHalf, we want to challenge men. Social sterotypes and taboos limiting women in India and elsewhere will never change without the support of men. So we're calling on men to accept women as equal partners - in every aspect of their lives. And Benetton India is particularly well placed to do this because menswear is the biggest part of our business in India - and our customers are generally men in forward-looking urban centres who want India to be a leader in the new global economy.

The video created as part of #UnitedByHalf in India brings to life our vision of a world in which men and women everywhere can be equal partners, unrestricted by social taboo.

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Of course, we know that talking about the issue alone is not enough. Poverty is at the root of the problem and disproportionately impacts women in developing countries. So as well as giving these women a voice, we are also trying to help them in very practical ways. For example, we are now embarking on a number of practical projects to help female textile workers gain greater control of their lives.

These initiatives, which we call the Sustainable Livelihood Project, also fall under Benetton's Women Empowerment Program and are starting in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

By directing funding to improve the conditions of female garment workers, we hope to help them genuinely become more equal partners to men - and so stronger, and less vulnerable, both at home and in the workplace.For example, our project with UN Women in Bangladesh, will support around 5,000 women working in textile factories. By organizing training courses, we hope to strengthen their professional skills and also help them to become more financially literate and independent. And at the same time we will start a dialogue with their employers aimed at increasing their safety at the workplace and in its surroundings.

In Pakistan, we have another project starting to support around 1,500 women living in the manufacturing district of Sialkot. This will prioritise women who are unemployed, working at home or in the fields and belonging to ethnic and religious minorities. In partnership with UN Women, the aim is to help each get their own ID - enabling them to vote, open a bank account or access training courses - and then we'll help them find proper employment.

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#UnitedByHalf has already been running for nearly a month in India. We launched it on Valentine's Day, with backing from leading voices and celebrity influencers, and it's been hugely well received. Now we need to build on this, and change minds across the world.

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
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Just when it seemed that the UK Government's cruel disregard for disabled people could not have been clearer, the Department for Work and Pensions 'quietly' announced another devastating barrage of cuts to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) at the end of February, ultimately excluding an estimated 160,000 people from vital financial assistance. To do so on the same day as two important by-elections, with the eyes of the news media elsewhere, is utterly shameful. Sadly, after seven relentless years of Tory austerity, which has ruined public services and inflicted poverty on millions, this latest move should have come as no surprise.

The Personal Independence Payment, which is gradually replacing Disability Living Allowance, helps with the extra costs of living with a long-term health condition or disability. With the leading disability charity Scope estimating that having a disability makes life 550 more expensive every month, this assistance is absolutely essential for people with disabilities to live independent and fulfilling lives. It may be the difference between a home-cooked meal and joining the increasingly long queues at a food bank; it may be the difference between paying for transportation to an important medical appointment and being forced to miss it; it may be the difference between making home modifications to accommodate complex needs and being a prisoner in your own home.

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While the overwhelming characteristics of Theresa May's blundering Brexit government are uncertainty and confusion, one thing is crystal clear - these new restrictions are targeted squarely at those suffering from mental health conditions, including autism, dementia and schizophrenia. Invisible disabilities such as these are too often overlooked and misunderstood, and yet can be just as debilitating as many physical conditions. This was starkly exemplified last week during an LBC Radio phone-in when a clearly distressed caller spoke of his despair over the new raft of cuts. In a scenario that has become all-too-familiar in the Tory era, he recalled friends suffering from mental health conditions who had attempted suicide following removal of their financial support. That the Government's approach forces him to think "People hate us. People hate our guts", is a damning indictment of seven years of division and failed policies.

Indeed the Government has not been shy about targeting sufferers of mental health conditions with these changes, sending a dangerous message to the public that some disabilities are more worthy of support than others, and adding to the increasingly negative perceptions of disabled people that this Government has actively perpetuated. This blatant disregard for the suffering of millions of people is not only deeply divisive, but calls into question whether the Government's disability policies are founded on outright cruelty, or just sheer ignorance. As the SNP's Disability Spokesperson, I meet with disability charities and activists, and disabled people, on a regular basis and what almost always comes up is the need for a change in society's perceptions of people with disabilities. This latest move by the Government, which tells the public that people with certain types of disability do not deserve the same care as others, is therefore a misinformed step in the wrong direction.

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I was one of several MPs that recently challenged the Government in Parliament over the cuts, but received little reassurance for the people and their families who will now struggle to make ends meet. While the Government claims that the changes will not impact those currently receiving PIP, it fails to acknowledge that new claimants will lose out under the tighter regulations, and will be left without the support they so desperately need. Even those who do currently receive PIP now face living with the spectre of reassessment - on new, harsher terms - hanging over them, which will undoubtedly serve to exacerbate their mental health conditions further.

Disgust at this new low has come from dozens of disability organisations and across the political spectrum. Highlighted recently by the Scottish Government's disabilities delivery plan - A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People - the SNP is committed to upholding the rights and dignity of people with disabilities. But when condemnation of the changes has come from some rebellious Tories themselves, and from the right-wing Bow Group think tank, the Government should really question the morality of this move.

In the absence of a U-turn, the democratic way forward is for the Government to commit to a debate in Parliament, where MPs can stand up for the thousands of people in my own constituency, and in constituencies across the country, who will be impacted by this policy. Accordingly, I have written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Damian Green, urging a fundamental re-think of the policy and calling for a much-needed debate. To push through this devastating change without the opportunity for debate is simply wrong - not least because the Government explicitly promised not to bring in further disability cuts during this session of Parliament.

For too long this Tory Government has consistently and deliberately undermined the rights and dignity of disabled people, who have unfairly borne the brunt of the Government's failed economic policies. This shameful step is a new low for a Government whose treatment of people with disabilities has already been condemned internationally by the United Nations. At a time when it has been revealed that Government departments have wasted 600 million of taxpayers' money on fruitless spending - including 103 million on eight helicopters which were not fit for purpose, and tens of millions of pounds on developing overseas embassies which never materialised - it is truly disgraceful that, yet again, it is society's most vulnerable people who will suffer as a result of this Government's failures.
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In honour of International Womens Day, Im going to try and dispel some myths surrounding travelling abroad (particularly alone) as a woman. It can be daunting, but with a little bit of planning and a few safety measures in place theres absolutely no reason you shouldnt travel wherever you like and have an amazing time while doing it.

Pre-Departure

Ill confess, Im a planner, and when I travel I make no exception to that rule. Im the kind of person who will spend hours scouring the internet finding out as much information as I can about the location, price, and standard of accommodation before I book. Even when I spontaneously booked a weekend trip to Manhattan the day before I left whilst on my year abroad, I still took the time to weigh up numerous different neighbourhoods and hostel options before I spent the extra $30 necessary for a single room and convenient Subway access. Think about the kind of activities you will be doing, make sure you budget appropriately and have enough money for your whole trip and get insurance that covers you for everything youre doing.

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If youre planning a longer trip to somewhere unfamiliar, its worthwhile spending time researching the country you are visiting, the neighbourhood of the city youre planning to stay in, and everything about your accommodation. Is there a 24-hour reception? Will you have somewhere to store valuables? Are you in a shared room? Have a think about the number of people youre comfortable sharing with (some hostels have single rooms all the way up to eighteen bed dormitories) and whether youd prefer single or mixed sex accommodation.

Technology can fail, so as well as taking a picture of your passport and all other travel documents and reservations on your phone (and backing them up!) keep a small notebook with the contact details of your accommodation, details of the nearest British Embassy or Consulate (or nearest consulate that can provide assistance to British citizens if youre going really off the beaten track!), and how to reach any contacts you may have in the area.

This all sounds like a lot, but I know from experience having the re-assurance that all of the above is done makes your trip a lot more smooth-sailing and fun.

While Travelling

Theres nothing more you need to do in many cities that you wouldnt do normally in say, Birmingham or London. Be wary of new people, and exercise normal levels of caution even concerning fellow solo travellers. Hostels, in particular ones that have a schedule of social activities, are a great way to meet new people and are therefore often the best option for solo travellers. Activities will be led by co-ordinators so youll have the option of reporting any concerns to them. Basically, use your common sense and dont be afraid to report anything suspicious about fellow travellers to your accommodation staff or the local authorities. Be careful what information you disclose, just like you would at home, and dont tell strangers too many details about your accommodation and travel plans.

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On the streets, use the same methods to keep valuables safe as you might at home. For example, you wouldnt walk down an alleyway at night texting, with your smartphone out in the open, at home so dont do it overseas! Its advisable to leave valuables like your jewellery and passport locked in your accommodation, I personally only ever take one form of identification out with me at a time and leave any cards (even shop loyalty cards) that I can at home or in my accommodation.

When using transport, let someone know of your plans and if they change. Research travel options in your destination and decide whats fastest, most assessable or convenient, and safest. Ultimately, its worth paying $5 more for an Uber if you feel unsafe taking the Subway late at night and there may be some places where public transportation in general is too risky for solo female travellers. When travelling I always text a friend or family member the details of my journey and let them know when Ive arrived safe, apps like Uber or Lyft are great where they are available because you get the details of the driver and car of your ride before they pick you up. I always screenshot this information and send it to a friend. If theyre not available, use taxi services recommended by your accommodation provider and never hitchhike or accept rides from strangers.

If the worst happens

Unfortunately, you can take all the precautions in the world and still be a victim of a crime. The first thing to remember is this shouldnt put you off travelling, a vast majority of trips made by women pass without incident. What happened is not your fault, and you should never blame yourself for the actions of a criminal. Your first instance should be to find support, either from local authorities or from the British Embassy. You should not keep the crime to yourself, as not reporting it until you return to the United Kingdom may mean the local authorities may not be able to take action. If youre unsure about the reliability of the local authorities or how the legal proceedings work, seek advice from the nearest Embassy, Consulate, or High Commission.

Ultimately, travelling alone has always been an incredible experience for me. There is a wide array of support available to you if you are a victim of a crime overseas and you should not let the small possibility of anything bad happening put you off a great experience. All you can really do when travelling is plan well and exercise appropriate amounts of caution when you arrive  dont let your guard down because youre sunning yourself for two weeks in Zante!

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A delightful concoction of contradictions, the Philippine Islands are home to many. With immaculate and alluring white beaches lining the edges of the islands while the grubby and swarming cities bustle with traffic and pollution, the Philippines is certainly not perfect. However, it's the kindness and the warmth of the Filipino culture that makes us distinctive. The Malasimbo Music & Arts Festival (March 10-12) in Puerto Galera is the complete and utter embodiment of all things Filipino.

With escalating attention towards Western culture and a fervent desire to have the latest Western trends on the Filipino soil, it would seem as if any festival celebrating Filipino culture would've been abandoned a long time ago. However, with the Malasimbo Festival, the remarkable combination of both local and international music is embraced and culture is explored deeper in ways that cannot be imagined.

Festivals are often perceived as having raucous teenagers, excessive drinking and deafening music. However, this idyllic and tranquil festival combines the best of both worlds. Deemed as the ultimate festival for families, the artists span different genres including jazz, reggae and soul. From Goldie to Jose Gonzales, the festival is considered a 'record label platform' with the aim of discovering new local soul jazz and electronic music. Malasimbo's live performances include Alfredo Rodriguez (an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist and Quincy Jones protege) and Tennyson (a Canadian electronic music sister-brother duo). If live music isn't your thing, the silent disco includes the best international and local DJs, in conjunction with watching numerous people dance like there's no tomorrow with absolutely no music playing out loud. (An image which will make you laugh endlessly.) Alongside that, if the booming music ever gets too much, there's even a six-day yoga retreat at the Malasimbo grounds (March 8-13) to help relax anyone's soul.

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The Philippines isn't just purely known for its astonishing music but for its distinctively beautiful visual arts. The fundamental component in the Malasimbo Magic is the plethora of art installations and lights that facilitate the transformation of the venue into a soothing tropical wonderland at night. The emphasis on contemporary Filipino and international artists has been highlighted by using their artworks, embellishing the foothills with an authentic and unique look. To keep the momentum of vibrant nature going, new artists continuously join the Malasimbo resident artists with their various pieces.

Furthermore, the government's "More Fun in the Philippines" campaign has seen vast amounts of effort poured into marketing and branding in an attempt to increase tourism. Hence, it's no surprise that the Malasimbo Festival partnered with the Department of Tourism and was endorsed heavily, sparking the rapid development of the country's culture and arts. Included as one of the key events in the "Visit the Philippines Year 2015" national campaign, the Malasimbo Festival is certainly not to be missed. As a coastal town with numerous delightful pocket beaches, enormous neon-lit palm trees, and a scintillating ocean for snorkeling and diving, the festival's location on Puerto Galera is undeniably Instagram worthy.

With emphasis on eco-cultural tourism and the environment, every ticket sold results in the planting of a mangrove seedling which supports the continued development of the region's natural sights. The d'Aboville Foundation's community program in honour of the island's indigenous Mangyans has workshops on the Mangyan language and their handcrafted baskets and jewellery. Thus, not only does the festival highlight the beauty of the Mindoro landscape but the beauty of the indigenous people too.

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From injunctions to domestic violence protection orders, domestic violence protection notices and criminal laws, legal protections for people suffering from domestic violence and abuse are a piecemeal combination of criminal and civil laws which often fail to protect victims.

Theresa May has announced plans to change this. Her major consultation on domestic abuse is intended to result in a Domestic Violence and Abuse Act. This would both consolidate other relevant legislation and introduce new measures to help victims. Any attempt to improve our law - which doesn't take account of the fact that non-physical forms of violence and abuse are often just as serious as physical harm - is to be welcomed. But, if she really wants to help the millions of victims, the Prime Minister must ensure this focus on the law goes hand in hand with a commitment to ensure domestic violence prevention and support services, including policing, are properly funded.

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The Prime Minister has shown a commitment to tackling domestic violence throughout her period as Home Secretary and now Prime Minister. She introduced legislation which criminalised 'controlling or coercive behaviour', thus intending to enable perpetrators of non-violent domestic abuse to be brought to justice. This law filled a terrible 'legislative gap', which had meant victims who experienced severe, long-term abuse in the context of an ongoing relationship but who did not suffer any physical injury were left without legal protection in the criminal courts. There are still concerns about how this law can be evidenced in court, and the law continues to contain a 'hierarchy of harm' whereby physical violence is still deemed to be more serious. The law still does not adequately recognise the psychological impact of domestic violence and abuse - the maximum jail sentence that can be imposed for controlling or coercive behaviour is just five years. Ongoing, inescapable abuse by an intimate partner is deeply traumatic and often leads to long-term psychological health problems. It is therefore vital that any new legislation reflects the severity physical and psychological harm.

A single piece of legislation has the potential to hugely improve the measures that are currently available to tackle domestic violence and abuse. It could make the law more straightforward whilst at the same time sending a clear message that behaviour of this type is both criminal and is taken seriously by all the agencies involved.

But Theresa May must realise there are other, more pressing matters when it comes to addressing domestic violence, not least the cuts in policing and other services which are having such a detrimental impact on domestic violence victims. The Prime Minister announced plans to increase funding for refuges in November of last year, but the pot of cash that refuges can bid for is only temporary and has been condemned by women's groups as 'too little too late' Women's Aid report that 17 per cent of all refuges in England have closed since 2010, and so this money is not enough to overcome the tide of funding cuts, and does not provide a long-term solution. There has been a huge reduction in specialist services for black and minority ethnic women, despite the fact that research indicates that nine out of ten BME survivors prefer to receive support from a specialist service who understand their culture and specific needs.

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Many people are also concerned about the way the existing law on domestic violence is policed and enforced, and the continuing reluctance of victims to report the abuse or participate in the criminal justice process. It's all very well having better laws in place, but they rely upon victims coming forward, something many still find difficult, particularly those from BME communities or in same-sex partnerships. Legislation in itself won't change this, and may simply end up diverting resources away from trying to improve the operation of the law in this area.

I would also urge Theresa May to consider all relationships when developing these new laws. The offence of controlling or coercive behaviour covers all situations where the victim and perpetrator are 'intimately connected', not just romantic relationships, leading to concerns that the offence is too broad and does not address the gendered power dynamics typical in abusive intimate relationships. The statutory guidance makes it clear that this abuse is often by a man towards a woman, but other government policy takes a gender-neutral approach. It is important that any new legislation in this area is able to respond to the difficulties which arise due to societal gendered power imbalances, whilst at the same time being able to provide protection for male victims and those in same-sex relationships.
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It's finally happened...

After years of campaigning for just how vital a compulsory healthy relationships education is for our young people, the government has finally agreed. In a much-anticipated statement, Justine Greening declared that all primary schools will be required to teach students from the age of four about safe and healthy relationships.

The move promises to educate our school children about the realities of sexting, revenge porn, healthy relationships and more. Me, and a whole host of campaigners and charities have just breathed a huge sigh of relief.

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The situation has been dire for too long. Last year I spoke at the Generation Sext Conference in Edinburgh and laid out my concerns. I penned 'Sexting, Strangulation and Our Teens' on the Huffington Post and I was interviewed by Kaye Adams on the BBC. I told them all the same thing; that being taught how to identify healthy relationships and toxic relationships is crucial to young people's growth and self-esteem, and self-esteem is the only tool with the power to combat Domestic Abuse.

For quite some time me and my team have attended and hosted countless meetings, created campaigns, designed workshops, sat with MP's and celebrities and formed an All-Party Parliament Group working tirelessly to have healthy relationships taught as compulsory and it has now, finally been achieved.

This is so crucial to the wellbeing and safety of the next generation.

Why? If children cannot identify a healthy relationship then the chances are, they can't identify a toxic one either. Toxic relationships are quite literally destroying the lives of our young generation. There have been times I've wondered why the whole country isn't up in arms over how many British children are falling through the cracks because they haven't been properly equipped, supported or educated. 1 in 5 U.K teenage girls have already been assaulted by a boyfriend. Recent surveys reveal that approximately 40% of our young people are already being subjected to relationship abuse in their early teenage years.

This new law makes it mandatory for all secondary schools, including academies, private schools and religious free schools to make the age-appropriate sex and relationship education to teach healthy relationships and sex education as compulsory above the age of four.

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Until now, sex education had been taught as part of biology in some schools and as Sex and relationship education (SRE) from the of age 11 onwards. Now, it will be taught alongside maths and history; exactly where it should always have been.

After all, what is the point in education if children can't access support, knowledge, counsel and information about the things that are fundamental to their wellbeing and safety? How long can we continue to read about teenage girls being murdered by their partners or incidents of revenge porn that have resulted in depression and suicide (not to mention the millions of children that are exposed to Domestic Abuse at home and are never given the tools to know how to cope emotionally) and not teach them how to avoid being another statistic?

Still, as elated as I am, I do think this requires some caution and care. In educating our children about healthy relationships this must be a real push for change, not just another ticked box. A measure that we work at, deliver effectively and expertly and measure its impact; improving it as we go. The thought of all of this hard work resulting in dull and dreary lessons that make little or no impact on a young person's life is unthinkable.

At London-based charity Strength With In Me Foundation (S.W.I.M), they are ready for this next giant step. Head of Communications Daniella Maison says, 'We've worked hard to make sure the lessons we deliver up and down the country are change-making. It's so important that we sensitively tackle the controversial area of Domestic Abuse and relationships using a combination of imaginatively designed and age-appropriate interactive techniques. By giving children accurate and relevant information that is both 'on time' and age-appropriate, we work to provide a firm foundation for them to make informed choices about their relationships.'

This is what is needed; Healthy Relationships lessons that are engaging and interactive and aim to promote a balanced, healthy approach to a sensitive area which can sometimes attract strong, biased and inaccurate opinions. In 2002, the government introduced 'Citizenship' classes as compulsory in U.K schools as a means of promoting identity and culture. Not long after, they were being labelled as a 'waste of time' 'non-subject' and 'wishy-washy' by teachers and academics because it failed to teach 'core values'. Our schoolchildren must not be the guinea pigs when it comes to Healthy Relationships and Sex Education; we need to make sure this is a push towards tangible change.

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I'm thrilled that between now and September 2019 moves will be implemented in every school in the U.K. I hope it spreads to every national curriculum out there. My only proviso is; if we are really going to make a serious dent in the number of children being presently being failed by the lack of Healthy Relationships education, then this has to be a major revolution in education. We owe it to our children.
This year's International Women's Day comes at a crossroads for female pilots.

On one hand, of the 130,000 commercial pilots flying worldwide today, only approximately 4,000 - or 3% - are women. As in many other STEM-based industries, woman remain woefully underrepresented.

Yet with 617,000 more pilots needed to service the growing global commercial aviation industry by 2035, the need for more female pilots has never been greater.

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There's no single reason for this lack of female representation. In some markets, certain cultural and attitudinal barriers still prevail, with piloting still very much seen as a male, macho profession.

Misconceptions that as a pilot you are inevitably pulled away from home for weeks on end - making it impractical to both fly and raise a family - also tend to put prospective aviatrixes off.

Many commercial pilots also started their aviation career in the military (again, male dominated) while others believe pilot training is inexpensive and inaccessible.

But the reality is that piloting is one of the most fulfilling and rewarding career paths available, and that gender and background are irrelevant in the skies. The job is about confidence, hard-work and desire.

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I knew I was good enough for this job and now as a First Officer for Air Arabia, having had the opportunity to visit the likes of Russia, North Africa, Europe and the wider Middle East as part of my job, I've never looked back.

What can the industry and wider society do to get more women flying? The first hurdle to overcome is an educational one. Starting from a young age girls must be fully encouraged to pursue an follow through with STEM subjects, and female accomplishments in STEM fields fully highlighted and championed.

This ties into to the need for more visible female industry role models. Thanks to the gender imbalance within the industry, female accomplishments and achievements tend to get drowned out.

Yet from Amy Johnson to Valentina Tereshkova, women have a rich history within the aviation and aerospace sector. Today's inspiration is the likes of 26-year-old Kate McWilliams, who recently became the youngest commercial aviation Captain in the world. It is vital these women's' stories are celebrated as a means of inspiring the next generation.

The sector must also work harder to make piloting as accessible for women as possible. I was lucky in that my pilot training school, Alpha Aviation, offered financial assistance to students and a range of training methods, such as the innovative Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) which can fast-track the process of becoming a qualified pilot.

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I was also fortunate that Alpha Aviation identified the need for more female pilots (with some of their course intake being 20% female) which in turn afforded me the opportunity to learn to fly with other like-minded women.

India is arguably the shining example of accessibility, offering female pilots an extended support system that helps them balance their roles as pilots, wives, partners, mothers and daughters.

The result? A world-leading 12% of Indian commercial pilots are women. Yes, still gross underrepresentation, but the increased female representation in India is indicative of the importance of an institutionalised support structure in helping encourage women to fly.

Mindsets are continuing to shift and progress is being made. Recently a Royal Brunei Airlines plane piloted by an all-female crew landed in Saudi Arabia, a landmark moment in the history of aviation - and a moment of personal pride for me, as a fellow woman from a conservative Middle Eastern background trying to counter antiquated stereotypes.

As the number of women pilots slowly creeps up, I hope that a new generation of female aviators can step up as to solve the impending pilot shortage, and that progress can be achieved not just for women but the industry as a whole.

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HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
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It's International Women's Day, an opportunity for us to celebrate the advances being made in women's rights and call for more action to achieve gender equality. In the Northern Ireland Assembly election last week, the number of women MLAs increased marginally to 30%. While any increase is to be welcomed, we're a long way from our devolved government protecting the rights of the female half of the population. This is perhaps unsurprising though, in a region which treats women as criminals for accessing abortion.

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Abortion is a healthcare and a human rights issue. Right now, in 2017, in Northern Ireland, women are still being hauled before the courts for accessing abortion. This is down to archaic and discriminatory 19th Century laws which mean that abortion is unlawful in almost every circumstance in this part of the UK. Last year a woman was convicted under the 1861 Offences against the Person Act for "procuring" and taking abortion pills obtained over the internet. Now there's another attempted prosecution - this time of a mother, who bought abortion pills for her 15-year-old daughter.

Both cases are stark reminders of how far behind Northern Ireland is on women's reproductive rights. Amnesty has welcomed the court decision to grant a judicial review of the decision to prosecute this mother - she is not a criminal, her daughter is not a criminal and our law must stop treating them as such. Amnesty, alongside others, will go to court in May to support this woman's case and mount a direct challenge to the criminalisation of abortion.

These laws in Northern Ireland not only force women to resort to desperate measures, but they continue to exert a chilling effect on the medical profession, who are already torn between their desire to help women and to avoid prosecution.

Both the Northern Ireland and Westminster governments have shirked their responsibilities to women and to bringing our laws, which carry the harshest criminal penalties in Europe, in line with human rights standards. However, there is a spotlight on this issue: a court ruling in 2015 that Northern Ireland's abortion laws breach women's rights, and attempts last year to introduce some reforms, show that the need for change is increasingly recognised. We will continue to work both via the courts system and Northern Ireland Assembly to bring about much-needed and long-overdue reform.

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The situation for women in Northern Ireland is mirrored in the Republic of Ireland, where today many will strike for repeal of the 8th Amendment of the Irish constitution which gives equal rights to a foetus as to a woman. Every year, thousands of women are forced to travel abroad to have an abortion. The Republic of Ireland's laws on access to, and information about, abortion are, like in Northern Ireland, among the most restrictive in the world. Women and girls cannot legally have an abortion in Ireland unless there is a "real and substantial" risk to their life. Outside of this narrow ground, women who can afford it and have the necessary travel visas, can access abortion services in the United Kingdom and neighbouring European countries. Others illegally import and self-administer abortion pills without the recommended medical supervision.

The Strike 4 Repeal is an action calling on the Irish Government to hold a referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment. It is a great opportunity to demonstrate solidarity and send a message that women can't wait for the basic human right to healthcare.

Something is happening right across the island of Ireland. People are speaking out and mobilising like never before to show there can be no hiding from this issue. The silence and shame which has surrounded abortion for too long is over.

On this day of reflection, advocacy and action, let's resolve to play our part in standing with women in both parts of Ireland and join their calls for an end to these outdated abortion laws.

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Grainne Teggart is Campaign Manager in Northern Ireland for Amnesty UK

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
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The second chamber of Parliament have added two amendments to the so called 'Article 50' bill. The first was to guarantee the rights of EU citizens in Britain, and the second was to allow Parliament a meaningful vote on the final deal reached between the UK and the EU, following the negotiations. This has led to a backlash from the government and Leave.EU, among others. Some are calling for reform, others for the House to be abolished. Now, I am in favour of House of Lords reform, and have been vocal on this for years. The 1999 House of Lords Act did little to reform the House. It would be good to see the second chamber in some way more representative of the electorate. However, that is not the issue now. The issue here is with the House of Lords' current arrangement, should it listen to the threat of the government, or should it be doing its constitutional duty and making amendments that it feels right? I would argue the latter.

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As I said, I am in favour of Lords reform. However, that is not the issue at hand. These amendments may form a trigger for reform in the future, but at the moment, this issue needs to be considered under the current constitutional arrangement. The House of Lords are the second chamber of Parliament. They are inferior to the House of Commons, and are aware of this. Any amendments made by the Lords can be changed when the bill goes back to the Commons. There are three readings of a bill. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 have given the Commons superiority in that they allow for the Commons to bypass the Lords, in certain circumstances, if there is a dispute between the two Houses. Therefore, in theory the Commons could pass the bill without the Lords amendments if they did this at the second reading, although it may delay triggering Article 50 by a year.

We have seen the threats from the government. The government is basically telling the House of Lords to not do its job. To simply sit back and allow the first chamber to do as it pleases. Why? They argue that the referendum was direct democracy, and Parliament must not frustrate the 'will of the people'. The role of the House of Lords is to scrutinise bills and make amendments, so in effect, the government is telling the Lords to not perform its constitutional duty.

This is severely problematic. I believe a benefit of the Lords is to ensure checks and balances against any Parliament. There is a constitutional right to propose amendments and debate the bill. The Lords have the right to vote for any amendments, even if the Commons are opposed. This is good for many reasons. Firstly, it allows the Commons to think on the matter again. For instance, it is expected that more Conservatives may rebel on the EU citizens issue during the second reading. This process allows the Commons to reconsider the key issues relating to the bill. With the support of the Lords, many MPs may feel in a stronger position to rebel against their party's position, voting with their conscience rather than their whip. On issues such as EU citizens right to remain in the UK this is very important, as it has the potential to impact on the lives of individuals and families.

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Secondly, as previously stated the Lords allows for checks and balances. Brexit covers a lot of territory, from fishing policy, to fundamental rights, from research and innovation, to trade. This is a very important process for the country, and therefore, we need to get it right. The original bill which was less than a page was shambolic. Brexiteers who want Brexit at any cost need to consider the breadth and depth of issues here. The House of Lords has considered some of these issues, and in doing so, voted for the meaningful vote amendment. Theresa May implied no deal is better than a bad deal, suggesting that after the two years Britain may rely on WTO rules. With trade and business being so closely intertwined with the EU, falling back on WTO rules could be a disaster. The Lords and Ladies have a right to express those fears. If the Lords were to accept the governments position, it allows for an unfettered amount of power by governments with a large majority. The House is right to question, and is performing its constitutional role by doing so. This is not a matter of opinion, but the foundations of the UK's constitutional arrangement, and the Lords are acting to prevent a potential abuse of power.
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The 2017 Assembly Election in Northern Ireland was needed for a number of reasons. On the surface, it was needed to right an economic scandal. But for many young people it was also needed to prompt social change. To this end, young voters like me have, for the first time, been voting above tribal lines to secure progress in Northern Ireland.

In the snap election for Northern Ireland's devolved government, many young unionists - myself included - voted nationalist for the first time in the name of equality. In a preferential vote, I voted for the Alliance Party, the SDLP and Sinn Fein, three parties without unionist agendas. As a unionist, it's unconventional that I've aligned myself with parties which do not defend Northern Ireland's union with the UK. But this is not because I've lost faith in the United Kingdom, far from it. But because I feel that unionism is now the price of progress in my country.

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For many young people this election has been an opportunity to challenge the iron fist of the country's leading party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The DUP's draconian views on same-sex marriage, abortion rights and as Eurosceptics has pitted them firmly against the tide of young opinion. However, as the DUP are strongest arm of unionism in Northern Ireland, many voters have been forced to make a choice between their position as unionists (to an extent a question of nationality) and their desire for social progress. For me, it has to be the latter.

Equal marriage is the core issue for many of us. The DUP have for years acted as an obstruction to equal marriage through the use of the Petition of Concern - a political veto. The Petition of Concern can be used to block policies when it has a backing of at least 30 MLAs and has been used consistently by the DUP to reject equal marriage in Northern Ireland.

But the results of this election marks a significant development. After seismic losses for the DUP, they now occupy only 28 seats in the assembly - ten seats less than before and two below the requirement for the Petition of Concern. This means they no longer hold the sole power to veto same-sex marriage. Their strength as a unionist party has been weakened and the door is now open for a much more equal and progressive society.

For me, I will always defend Northern Ireland's union with the UK. I do not take for granted my access to the NHS nor the incredible development opportunities available for British young people, such as DFID's International Citizen Service. I believe Northern Ireland's youth are stronger in the UK and I will always, at heart, be a unionist.

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But I am also pro-equality, progress and a human rights advocate. For too long Northern Ireland has suffered under the heavy hand of social conservatism, becoming a dark spot for inequality surrounded by countries who have taken those important steps forward. I believe now is the time for change. But while the unionist leaders of Northern Ireland reject equality, then I feel the price of this change must be unionism.
I was 18 years old, I had just lost my job; no money, no place of my own; and my boyfriend was at college. I wasn't ready to have a child, and I was absolutely terrified. I was lucky though, because I had a supportive partner and family. I was lucky I had a health service which recognised my right to decide what happened to my body and my right to professional support. I was lucky to live in a country where the government did not consider it a criminal offence to choose.

This does not mean that choosing to have an abortion wasn't difficult or isolating. That I haven't faced abuse for my choice, or that writing this won't get me more. It is a sad fact that legality in the UK has had little impact on the chastisement people - especially women - face for talking about our reproductive rights. The shaming is very real, you only need to look at the aggressive demonstrations outside clinics to start to understand it. If we forget the struggle for basic reproductive rights we will never change those attitudes. If we forget, we refuse the vital solidarity that women around the world are still fighting for.

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In Ireland, the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution outright bans abortion. People who conceive are stripped of self-rule over what germinates inside their ovaries. Hence, "Repeal the 8th" is a grassroots campaign to legalise safe abortions and establish reproductive freedom. Today, the campaign is calling for a strike as an international show of solidarity.

Graffiti supporting the campaign to "Repeal the 8th"

I'll be supporting the Strike For Repeal because our sisters in Ireland and across the world have a fundamental right to choose what happens to their bodies, to access free healthcare and to access safe abortions. The alternative is simply not unacceptable: it means people dying because of maternal complications; serving 14 years in prison for administering their own abortions, or having to take loans to have them administered elsewhere.

Having an abortion can have a huge impact on someone's mental health. For me, it was a mix of anxiety exacerbated by periods of no sleep. For others it manifests in different ways, but no matter how it does, the excess pressure placed on those who do not have access to safe and fair terminations is unnecessary and inhumane.

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To stay silent on this is to accept that the state should control our bodies, that healthcare should be available to some and not to others. To watch tomorrow go by and not support a call for international solidarity is to be complicit in the actions of a government which values foetuses more than women. It is to perpetuate a narrative about women's bodies which says we don't know best, we cannot be trusted and that we are worthless.

So today - take to the streets, find local actions, walk out of your workplace, don't do domestic labour and wear black. Stand with women who have no other choice and stand up for the rights we all deserve. Be loud and be clear, it is time to repeal the 8th.
Andrew Cribb

As you read this, I want you to imagine your mother, or your sister, or your daughter.

Or I want you to imagine that this is happening to you.

You are walking down the street, minding your own business. You're on your way to university, school or work. You have big dreams of what you would like to achieve with your future. You're thinking about your children or what you want to do tomorrow. Suddenly a loud noise disturbs your train of thought. You turn. It's a group of young men, they're looking you up and down with lecherous looks on their face. Discomfort starts to wash over you. You feel threatened. You feel disrespected.

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You put your head down and feel a large flush of anger. You feel humiliated and degraded. The insult from their absolute lack of shame in treating you this way is unbearable. What is so unbearable about it is that this is not the first time that you have been treated this way. It is not even the 400th time. This has happened thousands of times. In many different ways and many different forms. Whether it's the sleazy looks looking you up and down, having a man walk past you way too close, having inappropriate sexual comments made or being physically grabbed in the street, the constant violation is excruciating.

You experience this wherever you go, whatever country you're in. You begin to ask questions. You ask why, why are the men treating you in this way.

'Well,' they explain laughing, 'this is what they do to girls here.'

You hear stories of women being referred to as being like furniture. That women have no value, they're just sexual objects and are left to be treated as much.

You learn that this is what the street harassment is about. It's a about a public display of aggression and entitlement. A public show of men showing you as a woman, that you are worthless.

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This means that they can lewdly stare at you without concern for how that makes you feel.

It's like you are just a zoo animal.

You begin to ask more questions and you learn that these violent attitudes play out in all spheres of women's lives. It happens in the home, at work and on the street.

You hear endless stories of men hitting their wives, being emotionally abusive and feeling entitled to do so. It's normal to hit women, they tell you.

You find yourself on a beach in Madagascar where it is explained to you that the sexual assault of young girls by male members of their family is so common that it is becoming cultural. In Mauritania you learn that women can face jail time for sex outside of marriage, even if they have been raped. In Colombia young girls explain how sexual assault is so common that they think it is normal.

In northern Iraq, a woman tells you a story about how a man she knew, cut off the head of his mother, just because she was seen talking to a man. In Gabon, a woman explains how it is to hard to work because of the sexual harassment. Syrian women in Lebanon tell you the same thing.

A friend from South Africa tells you how her boyfriend told her she was lucky he didn't rape her. In the Republic of Congo, they explain how girls working as prostitutes get raped and in Morocco women explain how they don't like to walk on the street because the harassment is just so bad.

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In the Maldives women describe how they are loosing their freedom due to growing extremists ideas and in Iran you discover that there are women who have already lost their freedom due to extremist ideals. In the US, you learn that men who sexually assault women can get elected as President and in the European Parliament men from Poland can publicly declare that women should earn less than men because they are weak.

In France women explain how sexual harassment is a daily occurrence and in Mozambique there are girls sexually harassed by their teachers, just to pass the grade. In Zimbabwe, you find that there are women who just don't say anything at all because they have been told that good women don't speak.

In India, every single woman and girl you meet has a story of sexual assault or harassment. In Turkey a man explains to you how Middle Easterners think all Western women are whores, especially the blond ones. A Nigerian man stands over the top of you telling you to not dare compare yourself to a man.

You try to complain, to raise your voice against this abuse. But you are shut down. You're told that you are exaggerating or accused of hating men. You are blamed and told it's your fault. You have made the men treat you in that way. You have made them degrade and humiliate you.

So just be quiet.

Again, you gather the strength to go out on the street and go about your day. You'll try and ignore the lecherous stares and try to feel like your human.

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But then it starts again. A man sits too close to you in the taxi and laughs when you complain. You get out of the taxi because you are so uncomfortable. You see a man looking at you up and down on the street. Another shouts at you as he walks past. Then another lecherous stare and then another.

No consideration for how this makes you feel.

It's like you are just a zoo animal.

What would you do, if this was happening to you?

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
For today's International Women's Day, organisers have called for #ADayWithoutAWoman, for women to back unifying principles by wearing red, ceasing work and avoiding spending money.

#ADayWithoutAWoman - a call for collective menstrual leave?

For me, having closely followed stories of female workers rights of late, this sounds like an explicit call for collective menstrual leave. And rightly so. Menstruation, I believe, needs to be at the heart of the new international feminist movement if we are to deeply understand the rights and needs of 50% of the world's population.

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We can no longer ignore something that connects us so profoundly to nature, so profoundly to one another, and so profoundly to the power of the feminine.

Paint the town red for a menstrual revolution

So if, like me, you're wearing red in support of Women's Day, let's wear it for the beginning of a much needed menstrual revolution, to raise awareness and create a new shared narrative on menstruation. Red as a symbol of blood. Of violence, suffering, hope and faith. Of life, death and renewal - the intrinsic language of menstruation. Red as a reminder of the cycle of life, a reminder of the human condition and of being part of, not in control of, nature. Red because respect for the feminine begins with respect for the menstrual cycle.

For Aunt Flo

And let's wear red for our female ancestors, we can empower ourselves that menstruation is the origin of symbolic culture where, according to anthropologist Chris Knight, women of a hunter/gatherer tribe would paint themselves in red ochre in a menstrual display of solidarity, a ritual that enabled women to ensure that each of them were looked after and their bodies respected in a collective time of rest or, collective menstrual leave.

Menstrual Leave for the entire month....

International Women's Strike organisers also call for us to cease paid or unpaid work and avoid spending money today. This is not dissimilar to what Zambia, the first African country to offer monthly menstrual leave, recommended to women they do with their 'mothers' day' time. Debates rage - mainly amongst women -in response to the individual companies and countries that offer menstrual leave. Critics say it's bad for business and productivity, that women are given an excuse to 'be lazy'. Advocates say period cramps are debilitating and hinder work and productivity.

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I say that the current debate around menstrual leave is important but is missing something - the positive impact on the rest of the month. Just as today's strike is not confined to one day and is intended to celebrate and galvanise action, and just as the moon is not always full, menstruation is not just about one day a month of physical symptoms. Menstruation describes the entire monthly cycle.

When nature rests during winter it enables productivity in spring, manifestation in summer, and a fruitful autumn. We all know that we need rest in our own daily winter, at night, ready for spring the next morning. In women, the cycle is monthly, as well as daily. 'Rest' is imperative in the winter of menstruation in order to capitalise on productive creativity for the rest of the month.

Free Period? What does rest look like in a 24/7 culture?

I would argue that, rather than seen as a day off, a period is very much 'a day on' (no excuse offered for the pun) - a day - or perhaps more realistically, simply an hour or two, every month, to ritually 'potentize', introspectively, the action from the previous month and prepare for the next month. Let's try this today. Let's take time to reflect, at least, on our achievements of last month and set clear and bold intentions for the new. Let's see the period as a period of rest from 'doing'. A time 'to be'. Let's start to see it as our human right to a free period.

Join the menstrual revolution

I call upon all of you joining the International Women's Strike today to #BeBoldForChange and openly embrace menstruation - learn a new narrative for it and ways it can empower us.

Lets wear red as a symbol of liberating the period from taboo - where we will collectively raise awareness of the menstrual cycle. Let's demand of ourselves, our families, and our employers that menstruation be considered a free and sacred period. Certainly it reimagines the UN's goal for their 'changing world of work' Planet 50-50 by 2030.

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HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
Thinking about the legacy of the USSR, I never cease to be amazed at the professionalism with which Communist propaganda permeated every walk of life. Ideology worked on all levels, touching everything, manipulating people's deepest emotions, consciousness and sense of identity.

Even gender was manipulated to promote Communist ideology. So skilfully and professionally was this done, that most would not have suspected. On the contrary, the message put to society was that everything was being done transparently, that the USSR was just the same as anywhere in the world, and if anything, a lot better.

International Women's Day on 8 March is observed worldwide as a day promoting the struggle for women's rights. In the USSR, it was celebrated as 'women's day', without any particular fuss about its origins. If its history was mentioned, it was merely to prove that women's rights were alive and well in the USSR, that the sexes were equal, that women enjoyed equal opportunities and even certain privileges over men. This was to some extent true: women in the USSR indeed had many opportunities and rights. In the late Soviet period, for instance, women could go on maternity leave in their seventh month of pregnancy and spend three years at home with their babies. During half of this time, they would receive a salary, and their job would still be waiting for them, when they returned to work.

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The manipulation lay elsewhere: it was in the approach, in the way this public holiday was presented, in being imbued a different status.

Human beings have a fundamental need to be recognised for who we perceive ourselves to be and for who we wish to appear. This is true in all senses, starting with the recognition of our gender identity, name and appearance, to our occupation, the significance of our work and its results. Based on this basic human need for recognition, the Communists developed a structure within which everyone was recognised. This structure was extremely effective in promoting individuals' positive sense of self-worth. However, in receiving such recognition, we feel more trusting and open to dialogue with those that have recognised us, and we are even prepared to accept their interventions that aim to control and change us. Labouring under the delusion that all this is being done in order further to encourage the qualities that have been recognised in us, we might well not notice the manipulation to which we are being subjected. Coming from an extremely authoritarian and powerful state, however, the recognition was highly valued and never questioned.

Women's Day became the day when the 'feminine' was honoured, when individuals were feted for belonging to a certain sex: women were celebrated and congratulated for their gender. In many post-Soviet countries, this is still the case today. This process can be seen as one of recognising identity through gender. What followed, however, was yet more sophisticated ideological manipulation. People of a certain gender category, it was maintained, were obliged to demonstrate certain qualities in order to be part of that particular Soviet community. These messages were skilfully mingled with an emotional field built up with the aid of statements about Soviet women's exceptional beauty, about how desirable they were, and what amazing mothers, sisters, girlfriends, daughters and wives.

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All this helped create an effect of unity, cohesion and resemblance, hence, of manageability. This is perhaps why, even in the most well-intentioned social circles, there was simply no place for any discussion around non-traditional sexual orientation. It was seen as a disease, a deviance: people of non-traditional sexual orientation were punished and treated medically.

In the same way, 23 February, which was 'Soviet Army day' in the USSR, was turned into 'men's day'. This remains the case in present-day Russia, with men being celebrated independently of whether they served in the army (or not). The masculine is here recognised through a clear delineation between gender qualities and roles. The fundamental role ascribed to the male is that of patriot and defender of the Fatherland. The female is there to assist the man in this task. In this way, gender was virtually deemed a profession down to the fundamental assumption that in case of war, all men would be called up to serve in the army, and the young childless women would help them.

For example, whilst studying literature at university, I also was required to undertake an in-depth medical course. Working at a hospital in the evenings, I received a military nursing certificate. The state had my details, they knew what size uniform and boots I would require in case of war. I did not believe that war would actually break out, but I used that opportunity to gain useful skills, sometimes joking that I hoped I would be given boots a size larger than that registered in the system.

While gender could be said to have been approached as a profession, then professions themselves also played a part both in defining distinct communities and in ideologically bringing them together. From dentists to miners, every profession had its special day. The Communists created an illusion that everyone had their own, important place, albeit always within certain boundaries. When everyone is defined within certain parameters, it is much easier to promote an ideology, to manipulate society, public opinion and the opinion of various groups.

In many post-Soviet communities, these traditions and tendencies still function today as something of a legacy. Whether this is purely due to inertia, or to the same aims that the Communists pursued in maintaining the tightest possible control over the people and in promoting the authorities' ideology, it is hard to say.

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Those who work on conflict transformation and peacebuilding in Central Asia, Ukraine and the Caucasus should however be mindful of the mechanism of creating and strengthening in people a profound sense of group belonging. Inherited from the Communists, it is still functioning today, just as it was in Soviet times. The only thing that changes is the ideology and the accompanying messages, depending on who is conferred recognition for what, and by whom.
Early in my career, I recognized that to be a successful leader, I needed to find my voice. It's a vital skill for women at work, and it's top of mind for me this International Women's Day as we're challenged to "be bold for change," not only for a single day but throughout the entire year. Finding your voice means sharing an opinion, supporting progress, celebrating achievements, and championing equality. So I want to challenge all of us, both men and women, with five ways that we can have a voice, be bold together and create real change this year:

Embrace what terrifies you. An early mentor inspired me to do one thing every day that terrifies me. It's one of the best pieces of career advice I ever received. When you push beyond your comfort zone, it can shape new attitudes, change perceptions, and help women forge bolder paths in their careers. Afterall, risk taking is a lot like physical fitness. It requires discipline and exercise to build this skill, so you have to start doing the work. Speak up in your next meeting, present your newest idea to a senior executive, or raise your hand for the job that no one else will take on. Take action, even if it scares you.

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Celebrate women shattering the glass ceiling. Inspiring women work in all industries, but we need to do a better job sharing their stories and encouraging younger women in the workplace to pursue leadership roles. I have been inspired by women like Indra Nooyi, who is a great example of a successful female executive skillfully leading Pepsi whilst raising a family. Indra has spoken openly about the importance of her role as a business woman, wife, mother, and daughter. This kind of transparency is critical for women in business and proves that work-life balance is really more of a puzzle. By spotlighting more female leaders, we can help demystify the many paths to these roles.

Pay it forward as a mentor or executive sponsor. If you have ever been mentored or sponsored throughout your career, it's time to pay it forward! Both male and female executives need to step up and take active roles in mentoring to promote a more diverse, successful workplace. I have been mentored by extraordinary leaders over the years who supported high-potential female talent. These relationships can help challenge and inspire you, but mentees must also be active participants in the dialogue. Show up for the conversation with a specific skill in mind that you want to develop or project that you're stuck on and work towards a solution.

Be a problem solver and share your "wins." At Yahoo I work with a smart, talented team and I encourage them to be proactive problem solvers. I also challenge women that I mentor to focus on areas where they can deliver measurable results and impact their business. Regardless of their level, I ask them to identify challenges and present plans that address them. It's difficult to argue with results and it's time for more women to regularly speak up about their achievements - after all, discussing success is expected in business!

Recognize brands that play a part. Advertisers are stepping up their game and seeking to empower women in their campaigns. Who can forget the inspiring #LikeAGirl program from Always? Adidas also launched a recent campaign, Unleash Your Creativity, that tells the stories of fifteen female athletes focused on defying convention. These campaigns show that we're moving in the right direction, but I believe this is just the beginning and a sea change is ahead for the advertising industry.

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The more we speak up and find our voices, the more we develop that muscle, and it soon becomes second nature. Starting on International Women's Day, I encourage everyone to be bold, speak up, and play their part to celebrate women year-round. We must work together to change biases and build a positive culture for women, not only in workplace but around the world.

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
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If you ask someone to describe what a wildlife filmmaker looks like, I suspect they'd paint a portrait of a man with a beard and a big camera wearing camouflage gear. But I'm a wildlife filmmaker - I'm a petite, 38-year-old woman, and there are plenty of others like me.

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I've worked as a wildlife filmmaker for the BBC Natural History Unit for the last 13 years, most recently producing and directing a film about Islands that opened the recent David Attenborough series Planet Earth II. In the three and a half years of making the episode, I camped in the world's largest penguin colony, watched racer snakes hunting down baby marine iguanas on a remote beach in Galapagos and got eaten alive by mosquitos in the Seychelles (it was not an island paradise experience...).

When it broadcast in November last year, 'Islands' became the most-watched wildlife show for more than 15 years, attracting more than 12 million viewers, and was the most requested programme on iPlayer for the whole of 2016. Something many people commented on, was how "nice" it was that it was produced / directed by a woman.

I guess it's easy to assume that natural history filmmaking is a very male-dominated world. Sir David Attenborough is the face of natural history broadcasting in Britain, and we get very used to seeing male cameramen struggling in filming hides as part of 'making-of' segments. But the story behind the scenes is a very different one, for wildlife filmmaking - and indeed documentary filmmaking in general - is an environment that is rich in women and has been for many years.

The first female television producer at the BBC was Mary Adams who joined the corporation in 1936. She was a 30-year-old former research scientist, married (at a time when most professions barred married women from work) and she had a rich and successful career as a documentary producer and commissioner in the field of science. It was Mary Adams who spotted a young David Attenborough in 1952, and later commissioned Zoo Quest, a series he proposed in conjunction with London Zoo, which first brought Attenborough to the television screens.

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In my 13 years at the BBC, there have been many highly talented female wildlife film producers to draw inspiration from, including Martha Holmes (The Blue Planet) and Vanessa Berlowitz (Frozen Planet, Planet Earth). Many among the commissioning team and controllers for science and natural history have been female - indeed the current head of BBC content is a woman, Charlotte Moore.

Granted, the presence of women on-screen in science and natural history seems somewhat less common than seeing male presenters but when they do appear, they can be hugely inspirational. Watching Martha Holmes don a bubble helmet for the series Sea Trek in the early 1990s was a major factor in me wanting to learn to scuba dive and ultimately do a PhD in fish biology.

On Planet Earth II, more than half the production team were female, including all the production co-ordinators and many of the researchers and directors on location. For our penguin filming on Zavodovksi Island (the most remote and 'committed' shoot of the series) it was a woman who advised on field/camp safety, and one of the three boat captains that sailed us 8 days through the volatile Southern Ocean, was a female. This is something that would have been incomprehensible 40 years ago, as women were actively discouraged from working in Antarctica - women didn't over-winter on British science bases until the 1990s.

There are still areas where women are very under-represented in documentary filmmaking. For example, you see relatively few female wildlife camera operators in broadcasting, and there is no doubt in my mind women often have to work harder to 'prove themselves' in the field, compared with men. But women can be excellent team leaders, and highly creative storytellers. I'm hopeful that, one day, the stereotype of 'producer/director' may just as easily be female.

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HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
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Our tax code is too long and far too complex. Since 1997 the total volume of tax regulations has more than trebled, to over 21,000 pages. The vast majority of that new red tape was created when Gordon Brown was Chancellor, but it continued to grow under George Osborne.

The result is one of the most complex tax codes in the world. That's bad for the economy, because it adds needless costs for business, but it's also bad for generating tax revenues, because it increases the opportunity for tax evasion, whilst making the cost of policing the whole system more expensive.

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There is a better way. A simpler tax system is easier to comply with, cutting costs for business and saving millions of taxpayers valuable time.

Simple tax systems are also easier to police, as both the motivation and opportunity to evade tax are sharply reduced. Every time a new regulation is imposed it creates another potential loophole. So why not just remove the opportunity? Indeed, Lord Lawson's tax simplification in the 1980s actually resulted in rising tax revenues.

So simplifying the tax laws is good for economy, reduces the opportunity for tax evasion and is a more efficient way to generate the tax revenue we need. It's also the best answer to Labour's gesture politics of forcing some taxpayers to publish their tax returns.

So what needs to happen? Philip Hammond has announced that in future there will be one budget statement a year. He is also clearly a sceptic about generating lots of little eye-catching initiatives. He's right on both counts.

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But what more should be done?

First, end the recent habit of retrospective tax regulations. Trying to impose rules retrospectively on people and companies for past arrangements is unfair, hideously complex and costly to police.

Second, allow the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) to review each tax from scratch. To date too many reforms have been incremental and yielded too few real benefits, either in cutting red tape, or in making tax collection efficient. Allow the OTS a freer hand to completely overhaul a tax. They might even propose to scrap some which are costly to collect or merge others.

VAT - our sales tax - would be a good start. After all any tax that needs the High Court to determine what is a cake and what is a biscuit, all for tax purposes, needs re-thinking. I'd put business rates and inheritance tax on the list, as well.

Third, be ready to be innovative about corporate taxes. Our current system dates back to the 1920s, in charging companies based on where they produce their goods. Nearly a hundred years on, this system is ill suited to a global market where companies can shift money made, around the world.

Some people, notably in the USA, are proposing we tax companies based on where their goods are sold, not where they're produced. Called a destination-based cash-flow tax it would prove far harder for companies to avoid.

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Clearly if the US administration were to proceed alone, it could prove hugely disruptive to the world economy and would create an incentive for companies to relocate there.

However, if it were implemented globally it could end the worst excesses of multinationals failing to pay their fair share.

The proposal is far from perfect and it could cause serious disruption for some business sectors. However the current approach, of tinkering with a tax that's not designed for globalisation, simply isn't working. We need to be prepared to think outside the box.
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Businesses are complaining about taxes again, but why should you care? This is just the background music to the annual budget ritual, isn't it? And don't the bosses have plenty of lobbyists to speak up for them?

Well no, in fact the upgrading of business rates and the fierce debate it has sparked raises important questions about political mismanagement and corporate power.

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The bone of contention is the contribution local businesses make to the local services they use - a bit like the council tax we all pay. This is based on the rateable value of the property the business occupies, rather than any indication of its earning potential.

The relative value of different properties, and hence the value on which the tax is charged, change all the time. Improved transport connections or gentrification raises the rentable value of property while economic decline reduces this. Every five years a revaluation takes place, usually timed for the beginning of an electoral cycle, thereby saving political embarrassment. Except this one was due in 2015 and the Tories shelved it for fear of damaging their electoral prospects.

So this revaluation is two years late and is having more impact than usual - and causing more of an outcry. Because of the grossly unbalanced nature of our economy, this revaluation will see rates in London and the South East rise while those in rural and less thriving urban areas fall.

But there is a bigger picture here. As well as avoiding the revaluation the Tories have embarked on a policy of imposing ever increasing cuts on local government. This is in spite of the fact that local authorities provide the most expensive services we all rely on for a civilised society: health care, social care, and education as well as waste collection and much of our road network. Local government also regularly scores best in tests of public efficiency.

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In return for these cuts the government has 'allowed' local councils to hold on to 50% of business rates, which were previously levied locally but invested nationally. The Tories' decision to make local authorities responsible for finding their own income puts pressure on them to agree to business development, no matter how destructive, since this is one of few areas where they can actually increase their income.

None of this is likely to help the local businesses that give life and variety to our local communities. In spite of any number of shopping tsars, independent businesses continue to struggle and many fail to survive. So what could Greens do to help them?

We are strongly committed to revitalising local economies and have several key proposals.

We should shift to annual revaluation to smooth out the changes in rates and take the discussion out of the political cycle.

Paul Johnson of the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) supports what has long been a central plank of Green thinking, backing a move towards a Land Value Tax for property -- something that would shift the burden of local tax to the owner of property rather than the tenant.

We should increase the power of local government over a wider range of taxes, combined with a national framework for redistribution. Only this can prevent the suffering of local services under the cosh of central government austerity.

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Wednesday 8th March is the International Women's Day. The campaign theme this year is 'Be Bold For Change', and the IWD website asks people all over the world to fight for a better, more inclusive, gender-equal world.

There are many reasons to get involved in the fight for gender equality in 2017, not least because pussy-grabber-in-chief's ascension to 'leader of the free world' normalises misogyny at all echelons of society and speaks volumes about the way we regard gendered violence.

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Should the UK Government be interested in taking up this call, I have a proposal for them: get rid of the restrictions on Child Tax Credit that are due to come into effect in 4 weeks and which force women to prove that they were raped in order to claim benefits. This policy is counter to the very idea of a more gender-equal world.

The Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 restricts entitlement of Child Tax Credit to up to two children. There are a number of exceptions to this rule, one of which is if a subsequent child is born as a result of rape or if the woman is in a coercive relationship. In this case, a woman is required to justify her rape or that she is in a coercive relationship to a Government-approved third party professional in order to pursue her tax credit claim. This third party professional has to assess if the claim has "demonstrated that their circumstances are consistent with those of a person whose child has been conceived as a result of non-consensual sex". This policy was first announced in George Osborne's summer 2015 budget, and will come into effect on 6th April 2017.

The announcement of such a policy caused a stir, as expected from such a disturbing and poorly thought-out rule. SNP MP Alison Thewliss has led a fantastic campaign and Commons debate against the 'rape clause' and two child policy, a 2016 petition gathered over 10,000 signatories, and women's rights groups have spoken out on the issue. By way of answer, the government consulted with experts in the field and published a response to these concerns (interestingly, this was quietly published on 20th January 2017, the day of said pussy-grabber-in-chief's ascension to 'leader of the free world', so we were all conveniently looking the other way).

The Government response is pitiful. It makes clear that despite the efforts of MPs, campaigners for women's rights, and the experts consulted to highlight how harmful this policy will be, the Government continues to regard the rape clause as necessary and justified in its pursuit of a benefits system that is tailored to the Tory target voters who pay into it, at the expense of those who rely on it. To quote Rachel Krys, co-director of the End Violence Against Women coalition: "this whole policy betrays a lack of understanding about sexual and domestic abuse."

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As raised in the consultation on the policy, and subsequently brushed off in the Government response, asking women to re-live the trauma of a rape and to speak of it to a third party just to support a claim for benefits is shocking. The Government has acknowledged that those consulted "were concerned about the claimant having to talk to anyone about their experience" (p.10) and that "many [stated] that it was unacceptable for Government to ask women to re-live the ordeal of a rape just in order to make a claim for benefit" (p.9). The Government response? That the DWP and HMRC will pursue the policy anyway but will be "mindful of the sensitivities involved" (p.9). This, quite simply, is not enough.

The very idea of a third party deciding whether or not the claimant has demonstrated that she was raped necessitates an assessment of her story in some fashion, which would be an incredibly traumatic experience to force a rape survivor to go through. Forcing a survivor to speak to anyone at all about her rape it, let alone a third party professional in the context of a tax credit assessment, shows a lack of understanding on the part of the Government of the stigma attached to sexual assault, and of the long-term mental health implications of sexual assault on the survivor. Women who have been assaulted (when they do speak out) are routinely not believed; if a rape survivor is in need of such an assessment, it can be deduced that she did not go to the police previously and so her reasons for doing this - whatever they may be - must be considered. Our "mindful and sensitive" Government's policy, however, places the onus again on the survivor to seek out a police officer, social worker, counsellor, or other approved professional to justify her story to, in full knowledge that her claim may be invalidated.

Further, the Government's response of 20th January speaks of guidelines that such third parties will follow to assess a claim of rape. This implies standards of proof in order to judge whether a claim is valid, which again demonstrates a rather profound lack of understanding of sexual assault. Participants in the Government's consultation have already raised the very valid point of third parties having pre-conceived perceptions of what a victim should look like (though, as above, the Government disappointingly responded by brushing off these concerns). Rape cases can be nuanced and complex, and non-conforming with popular ideas of what rape and rape victims look like. This casts doubt on the workability of the rape exception. Indeed, as Nicola Sturgeon has stated: "We can only come to the conclusion that, as well as being morally unjustifiable, the rape clause proposal is completely practically unworkable as well."

As the Government have noted, removing the rape exception would be wholly unfair on victims of rape who cannot claim Child Tax Credit for a child conceived as a result of the assault. As noted here, it does not seem possible for the rape exception to avoid being incredibly damaging to women survivors because of the need for an assessment of their claims, however informal such an assessment is. The rape exception cannot but harm the women it is intended to help, and thus the restrictions on Child Tax Credit cannot avoid putting women in danger.

If the proposed policy surrounding rape exception is the best that can be done to mitigate the danger that such an exception will put a significant number of women in, then there cannot be an ethical argument for restricting Child Tax Credit entitlement. The policy must be stopped.

International Women's Day is about touching base with the current state of affairs for women in the world, assessing what still remains to be done, and fighting for gender equality. Challenging the Government on a policy that cannot but harm women who have already endured rape or a coercive relationship is one concrete action that we can take.

Alison Thewliss MP is still fighting the 'rape clause' and two child policy. Nicola Sturgeon has stated that it is "vital that the Tories hear a clear and unambiguous message that the plans should be ditched - and not just the rape clause itself but the whole two child policy". We can support these women and the hundreds of others across the UK who disagree with this policy or would be harmed by it by making our voices heard on the issue and contacting our political representatives. And, importantly, we can make a concerted effort to keep informing ourselves on, and speaking about, political developments in the field of women's rights.

Ask your MP about the policy, and about what is being done to avoid re-traumatising rape survivors who need to claim Child Tax Credit. Speak up and speak out the ways in which our representatives fail women. Be positive about what we can achieve this International Women's Day, because giving in certainly won't help us fight systematic patriarchal oppression.

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Faith takes you to interesting places. I grew up in a family where three generations had all followed a calling to serve God in far off countries. China, Venezuela, the Belgian Congo, Tanzania and Zambia had drawn in various members of my family. My uncle, Jim Ford served in the forces in east Africa during WW2 and felt the call to return as a missionary. He ended up spending most of his life in Zambia. The blue airmail letters home to his sister, my mother, were part of the fabric of our household. For that reason, when the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) asked me to visit Zambia for their Lenten appeal 2017, I was more than inclined to say, 'yes.'

SCIAF wanted to let their supporters know about their work in Zambia and how small donations to their WEE BOX appeal make a huge difference to the people there. Along with their local partners at Caritas Zambia they are changing the lives of poor farming families . Although Zambia produces copper in the north of the country, farming is still the staple industry of the vast majority of the population. Maize (though not an indigenous crop to Africa) has become vital to the food supply and in years where the rain doesn't come and the land brings scant reward for labour, a shortfall in maize production leads quickly to widespread hunger.

It wasn't difficult for me to get the story. On my first day in Lusaka we went out to join the Zambian Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference at their morning coffee break. Sitting with Bishop Evans Chyemba from Mongu Diocese, he was at pains to tell me how SCIAF helped. "Mongu is in a semi-desert," he told me, "The land is very sandy, but also prone to flooding" He said that through their work with SCIAF and Caritas many people are learning new ways of farming using sustainable organic farming techniques so they can grow more food and improve their soil.His colleague Bishop Kasonde sat with him and explained how this help wasn't limited to those in his own flock but was aimed at "Empowering farmers to become better farmers.'" It was becoming clear to me how the faith of Scottish parishioners was really improving the wellbeing of people thousands of miles away.

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It didn't take me long to meet the farmers themselves. Leaving the city behind we travelled down to Livingstone and out into the little village of Siakasipa. There we gathered in the school house, a simple structure with a blackboard and some old desks and chairs over a dirt floor. The villagers arrived carrying a gift of 'chiwatu' - a sweet milk beer and we sat down to introduce ourselves. By custom in these parts the locals are asked if someone would like to offer a prayer and soon one of the villagers stood and thanked God for the changes they have seen and for the life they now enjoy. Even before we heard their personal stories I was moved by the authenticity and simplicity of their faith. Seeing and hearing gratitude from people who, in our eyes, have so little is one of the most moving experiences I can recall.

In the hours that followed the locals explained to us how their lives had changed for the better. The partnership between them and SCIAF is slowly changing their expectations of what the land can yield and how they can improve their lives. Vulnerable, small fields at the mercy of drought and floods have begun to change the way they are farmed thanks to the support of the Catholic community in Scotland. Christians believe that Faith can move mountains. Perhaps we won't see mountains moving overnight but the land is shifting, slowly and certainly in a good direction.

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Bob and I had planned for quite a while to become foster carers and purposely bought a bigger house. Soon after we had been cleared to foster we went from zero children to three siblings, which was a bit of a shock to the system. Our daily routines changed drastically, and there was an overwhelming sense of responsibility knowing that we had to look after these three little people.

The first few weeks were hectic - meeting with the school, social workers, opticians, GPs, dentist etc., Fortunately our families are very supportive and helped us immensely. We were also blessed with working alongside brilliant social workers both at our fostering agency TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust) and Local Authority Social Services, they have all helped us so much.

We have four Miniature Schnauzers - Arthur, Betty, Margaret and Mary. At first the children were petrified of them, but now each has a favourite. The dogs helped them to develop an element of responsibility, as they recognise when they need to be fed and cared for and often act upon this.

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It has now been two years since the children came into our lives and we still love fostering as much we did on day one. Happily, about a year ago the children were placed with us permanently, which enabled us to plan our futures and think about what steps to take next in being able to really give the children the best possible start in life.

As a family we have developed and learned so much about each other and ourselves. We have discovered that children don't really want materialistic things in life, they would much prefer having time spent with them. By offering them our time and attention they have really blossomed as individuals. We found that education isn't just gained in school, holidays, meals in restaurants, trips to the park or even just visiting friends and family all enabled the children to learn new things.

It's been a real pleasure to watch the children gain confidence and grow into the people that they are today. Each of them has succeeded in their own way, from learning to read, interacting with others, performing on stage and horse riding to name a few achievements. The children are doing fantastically well in school - one has moved to high school and one moved into a new school which is closer to our home. Having three children in three different schools can be a logistical nightmare at times, but we took the decision to do that as we believed it was the right step to take to improve their education.

Bob and I are getting married in October and it will be a real family affair, with the two boys as our best men and the girl as our bridesmaid.

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Latest figures show there are an estimated 5,360 armed forces veterans in London suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The amount of help available to these men and women, many of whom have put their lives on the line for their country, can be lacking, with many unable to access the support they need.

Here at City Hall, the Mayor and the London Assembly has signed up to a covenant pledging to do all they can to support vulnerable armed forces veterans after they are discharged.

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It was with interest then that I discovered the work of Veterans with Dogs, a charity that provides highly trained assistance dogs that specifically work with people suffering from PTSD.

I met up with Richard Mearns, a former Army medic who served in the Iraq War medic who has been living with the devastating effects of the illness since before 2009.

Until last year the impact of the illness on his life was tremendous. He would suffer night terrors several times a night and suffering such severe anxiety he was unable to leave the house.

The father-of-one lost his previous job and admits he found himself in a very dark place.

Since the introduction of assistance dog Ziggy though, his life has been turned around.

The incredible Labrador wakes him up during night terrors, reducing their occurrence to just once or twice a month, and is trained to sense when Richard is feeling anxious, distracting him by nibbling his hand or leading him to a quieter area. The added confidence Ziggy has given him has allowed Richard to gain full-time employment and safely navigate the daily commute to work.

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The impact of these incredible animals is huge to someone like Richard. Unfortunately though the dogs do not come cheap.

It costs Veterans with Dogs 11,000 to train a puppy like Ziggy, as well as further costs to provide CBT-style training to the owner.

Due to the high demand and the fact the charity relies solely on donations, it is dealing with a long waiting list.

Having witnessed the incredible work carried out by this charity, and seeing the obvious need for additional help among PTSD sufferers in London, I compiled a report called 'Paws for Support'.

In it I have spelled out how the Mayor could kick-start a project that would enable increased access to these incredible working dogs for many of London's most vulnerable veterans.

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A loan scheme of 1.1million from the GLA Reserve Fund - a small portion of the giant pot available - would enable 100 PTSD sufferers to get access to a dog like Ziggy.

Interest-free repayments of 91 a month over ten years would make these life-changing support animals greatly more accessible.

Should the pilot be a success, the Mayor could then use his influence to attract corporate sponsorship to expand the scheme.

There are many difficult decisions the Mayor has to make with regards to allocating cash - but providing life-changing help to armed forces veterans at no cost to the public purse seems to me like a no-brainer.

Following a successful launch of my report and a subsequent show of interest from Sadiq Khan, I will now be pushing the Mayor to kick off this pilot loan scheme.

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Women for Women International

My active interest in women's rights and the fight against domestic violence only really became acute after one of my scenes from season five of Game of Thrones aired. It was a scene in which my character - a 15 year old hostage - was raped by her captor. There was a huge response and not a particularly positive one: People were boycotting the show, multiple articles were being produced online and it was a trending topic on Twitter.

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To be completely honest, my initial reaction was satisfaction: That rape, domestic violence and systemic sexual inequality is something we are capable of talking about; that we are capable of creating and sustaining a visible public dialogue. I don't think it's easy to overstate the importance of that dialog; if, by seeing us tell that part of Sansa's story, 10 survivors of sexual violence felt empowered to talk about their experience, I'll happily put up with the Twitter storm in a teacup.

But this initial satisfaction gave way to frustration and, eventually, anger. Frustration that there continues to be such a taboo surrounding rape, given that the WHO estimates that more than one in three (35%) women, globally, experience physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. Anger that it being depicted onscreen was seen as vulgar; whilst the brute fact that, by dint of having two x-chromosomes, because of a set of genitalia determined long before I was born, there was a 35% probability at the point of birth that I would be victim of domestic and/or sexual violence. I found it vulgar that talking heads online had decided that Game of Thrones - known for its unflinching depictions of incest, slavery (sexual and otherwise) and a brother's reproductive coercion of his sister - ought not depict rape. It would be a vulgar failure on our part as storytellers, to be happily silent on a matter that affects our sisters, mothers, daughters, nieces, cousins every day, all over the world. I'm proud to be part of a show that won't be content to give unproblematic accounts of being a woman in a patriarchal society; if it falls to a fantasy show to portray the reality of domestic and sexual violence, so be it.

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From this starting point, I wanted to get more actively involved, to go out and hear these stories personally, and to see the work that's being done to bring about change. I decided to team up with Women for Women International, the charity which helps women survivors of conflict, and travel to one of the places where they focus their efforts; Rwanda.

The first day in Rwanda was a crash-course in Rwandan history, particularly the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Although I was familiar with this horrific chapter in Rwanda's recent past, it was difficult to reconcile the violence with my initial impression of Rwanda; that it seemed, frankly, calm and serene. While there appeared to be few noticeable scars from the atrocities, our guide, Serge was quick to show us just how much the people had been affected, and continue to be, by the genocide.

In just 100 days, following the assassination of the President Habyarimana (a member of the Hutu-dominated MRND party), around one in every seven Rwandans was slaughtered by fellow civilians; one million citizens murdered by their friends, neighbours, work colleagues due to the divide between Hutus and Tutsis - ethnonational identities that were themselves a hangover from Africa's colonial past. Amongst the many places we visited on that first day was the Sainte Famille Church. The church had initially been a refuge from the fighting for both Hutus and Tutsis, but, over the course of several months, the priest delivered hundreds of Tutsis, both adults and children, to the Hutu militias. One of the points that was emphasised during the visit was the role sexual violence played in the conflict. In addition to aiding the militias kill Tutsi refugees, the priest from Sainte Famille Church was convicted of raping the female refugees; one thing that Serge said and that stuck with me, was that the men of the Hutu tribe would claim that by raping these women, they were 'liberating' them.

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Justine Mbabazi, Social Empowerment Manager for Women for Women International - Rwanda, explaining the content of the class to Sophie Turner. The class is taking place in a local primary school in Mubano village (Masaka Sector), central Rwanda. During the year-long programme, women come together in classes of 25 to learn a marketable job skill (such as tailoring, brick-making or poultry-keeping) as well as business training to turn their chosen skill into a stable income. They also learn practical knowledge about health, nutrition and about their rights on key issues like voting, access to land and domestic abuse.

While these broad stories were horrifying, retelling a complete humanitarian catastrophe, we also paid a visit to the Nyamata Church memorial, where the brutal, personal nature of violence was brought to the fore; amongst the clothes and remains of the victims, amidst the bones, discarded shoes and skulls, there was the coffin of a woman who had been brutally raped with a blunt instrument with such force that it came out the back of her head. Words are insufficient, but being there was so graphic and harrowing, I was shocked and sickened into action. These are not issues that we can let slip silently into the background of conflicts and societies around the world.

Our second day in Rwanda marked a distinct change from the day before; we visited and sat in on one of the Women for Women International classes. If the first day was overwhelming and slightly paralysing - bearing witness to the breadth and depth of the cruelty endured by the Rwandan population, particularly the women - the second was uplifting and energising. It was hugely inspiring to see women, often born into difficult circumstances, motivated to empower themselves, to learn necessary, emancipatory skills and to improve their lives. The atmosphere in the class was incredible; the result not only of the dancing, singing and chatting between the women, but of the sense of solidarity and mutuality - it felt like a community rather than a class.

There was a trainer leading the discussion, but she was not the only person talking. The women would help each other out; learning from each other and developing together. Women for women in all aspects.

One of the most stark awakenings I took from the trip was an appreciation for the opportunities I have as a woman from the global North. The woman in the classes were all taught very basic but necessary skills ranging from household saving - each woman who joins the programme is helped to set up a personal bank account and receives a $10 monthly stipend, fostering the beginnings of financial independence - to dealing with domestic violence and the rights to which they are entitled. Women for Women International do a great job cultivating relationships with businesses and members of the third sector in Rwanda and can therefore establish a connection between the women they work with and these organisations, culminating in a placements for the women and the opportunities that come with employment. The course is comprehensive - lasting a year - and each class is made up of in the poorest women from the affected communities; it makes a massive difference to these women and their lives.

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Sophie Turner trying traditional Rwandan basket weaving at the Women's Opportunity Centre in Kayonza District, eastern Rwanda. One of the members of the weaving cooperative, a graduate of Women for Women International's year-long training programme, teaches Sophie how to weave using dried grass.

Later on we went on to visit the Women's Opportunity Centre; a place in which a lot of women work in cheese and yoghurt production and also artwork and basket weaving. One of the women I met there was called Immaculee. She was a loving, overwhelmingly positive, successful woman so it was with a familiar combination of disbelief and grief that I learnt about her dark, deeply personal, experience of Rwanda's recent past. She was a direct victim of the genocide; her family had been brutally murdered and she herself had been captured, beaten and eventually raped. She still had the scars from her beatings on her skin and bumps on her head. Watching the smiling, welcoming woman I had met break down as she recounted her personal history was another devastating reminder that we have a duty to make sure voices such as Immaculee's are heard. Both her aspiration and her anguish. Through her time with Women for Women International she has developed strong textile skills and now has her own business of making bags and duvet covers; again, words seem a bit insufficient in conveying how proud I was to see someone who has been through as much as her thriving and embracing an opportunity for entrepreneurism that must, at one point, have seemed impossible.

What I've taken away from my trip with Women for Women International is just how important relationships are for women. Bringing women together, especially survivors of traumatic experiences, and granting them access to the sort of support system Women for Women International provides has a transformative impact. It's not merely about healing the wounds of past injustice and oppression, it's about ensuring women everywhere are put in control of their future - political, entrepreneurial, financial and reproductive. Being a sponsor can change a person's life for the better; standing with someone, providing support to them under extraordinary circumstances, can make a huge difference for their emotional and their mental health. That's why I'm sponsoring Felicite in Rwanda through Women for Women International's year long programme; I want to play my part in ensuring she is given the knowledge, means and encouragement to take control of, and improve, her life.

So please help these women. Here's how you can.

Join the sisterhood at womenforwomen.org.uk/sisters and lend your voice to create a chain of inspiration. Together we will use the power of our collective voice to support women in war-torn countries, letting them know they are not alone. Join the sisterhood and take a stand against the injustices they face.

Sponsor a sister and help change the world one woman at a time. Your monthly gifts of 22 could help support her through a year-long training programme that will give her the skills to support her family and transform her life.

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today

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If 2016 was a year of great social and political upheaval, will 2017 be the year that women and girls worldwide pay the price?

In recent months, you'd be forgiven for coming to that conclusion. And like me, you will probably spend some of today reading about all the reasons why - from Trump's global gag to the epidemic of sexual harassment in universities.

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But in amongst this deeply worrying global context, the year so far has seen a quiet but steady stream of good news too. For me, as we mark International Women's Day today, it's important to draw strength from these rays of light as we steel ourselves for battles ahead.

Let's start in Malawi, where, in a scarcely reported but monumental change, child marriage was outlawed by an historic amendment to the country's constitution voted through on February 14th. In a country where nearly half of girls are married before 18, this is a potentially life-saving change for millions of future Malawian women.

The victory followed a campaign by young Malawian activists, trained by Plan International UK with funding from the UK government's Department for International Development.

Memory, 20, was one of the campaign's leaders. "Our campaign to end child marriage in Malawi started off small. It was a grassroots campaign led by my fellow young campaigners and I who unfortunately know too well the damage child marriage and other acts of violence against girls cause," she explains. "People from all across the world listened to stories of my sister, who at just 11 was forced into marriage."

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More than 40,000 people worldwide signed a petition of solidarity with the Malawian campaigners, which Memory presented to the First Lady of Malawi last summer. Just a few months later, the young women activists of Malawi secured a victory a Pankhurst would be proud of.

Closer to home, women and girls have also had cause to celebrate legislative change. Last week, the government confirmed its backing for an overhaul of the dated curriculum of 'sex education' in England. And not a moment too soon.

Research by Plan International UK has shown a doubling of reported sexual offences in schools in recent years; the revamped package of sex and relationships education will help to tackle this urgent challenge.

As another young Plan International campaigner, Arifa, 19, tells me, "If children are going to be taught about the mechanics of sex, we need to educate them on issues such as consent, grooming and the dangers of technology too."

What especially inspires me about these two victories is that both respond to the demands of girls and young women themselves. These are examples of politicians actually listening to young women, a group all too often forgotten.

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The challenges still faced by women and girls are immense. But my feeling this year is that if those in power can do a little more listening, especially to young people, we may see more progress yet. Twice as many young Brits call themselves feminist than those of their parents' generation. Change isn't linear, but it will come.

To support Plan International UK's new campaign to improve sexual and reproductive health services in Uganda, please visit plan-uk.org/youngmothers

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today
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In today's world of highly divergent and contrasting political opinion, the concept of free speech is imperative for a fully functioning democracy to dispel any threat of authoritarianism. Though free speech certainly continues to exist in the Western world, recent events at British universities - the cornerstone of education for future generations - suggests a gradual, and concerning, encroachment upon it.

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A recent study published in the Free Speech University Rankings has revealed that over ninety percent of British universities have been involved in restricting speakers on their campuses this year. Indeed, the results displayed that almost two-thirds of all the universities in the U.K. studied were 'severely restrictive' of free speech. Worryingly for proponents of free speech, this is an upward trend: the proportion of high-concern or "red" universities has risen this year to 23.5 percent up from 15 percent in 2016. This erosion of free speech - manifested in actions such as the banning of certain newspapers on campus - has prompted public criticism on the way in which universities handle free speech.

The creation of 'safe spaces' within a university - an environment whereby students are protected from negative discrimination and inimical speech - is partly understandable in its aims of preventing disharmony and discord, but is a fundamentally flawed concept. For the active forbiddance of others that hold a different viewpoint - even if projected in a manner that may be perceived as controversial - is a form of discrimination and exclusion in itself: ironically, the very things that proponents of 'safe spaces' tend to rally against. The university experience is one where learning should be prioritized and fostered - being exposed to opinions that differ from one's own is a vital component and simply unavoidable component of this.

A collection of other examples suggests the very gradual erosion of free expression of. The song 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke has been banned from several universities across the country, including Leeds and Edinburgh, due to its explicit nature. In the field of politics and activism, a UKIP politician was prevented from speaking at the University of East Anglia, and writer Julie Bindel - a feminist well known for her criticism of gender reassignment surgery and transgenderism - was branded a 'vile transphobe' by the NUS and was banned from speaking at Manchester University.

Further examples of the barring of public figures exist: the spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims and a campaigner for feminism and secularism, Maryam Namazie, had been banned from speaking at Warwick University due to being overly "inflammatory". The protests midway through author Yaron Brook's speech at my place of study, Exeter University, is another of several examples of the irrational suppression of viewpoints that conflict with those of protesters. Rather than encouraging open debate and the resultant learning from others' beliefs, a dangerous culture of censorship and incarceration of legitimate beliefs is slowly forming.

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The sharp increase in universities' willingness to increase inclusivity and harmony (though paradoxically creating the opposite effect) is not confined to the U.K. In the United States, 'free speech zones' have been specially designated to deliver protests or speeches - last year, a man was forbidden from praying at Clemson University due to being outside the university's 'free speech zone'. In 2014, a student from Citrus College in California was threatened with expulsion from campus having been caught petitioning against the spying of the National Security Agency outside of the school's designated free speech zone. Numerous other instances abound, but the intercontinental trend of silencing opinions that are viewed as unconventional or subjectively disagreeable is clear.

The problem may rest upon universities' desires to maintain their students' satisfaction, and consequently their national rankings. As explained by Baroness Wolf, professor at King's College London, "universities are increasingly nervous about anything that will create overt dissatisfaction among students, because they are being told that student satisfaction is key." Recent governmental plans to give student satisfaction a far higher level of influence in the university ranking system has prompted widespread criticism from politicians and academics alike, describing the proposition as 'fantastically dangerous'.

University education must not be treated as a business through prioritizing the satisfaction of their students (perhaps 'customers' a more apposite term) over the formative learning experience that is the very essence of studying at university.

The NUS and proponents of 'safe spaces' respond through their strident assertions of the differences between 'free speech' and 'hate speech'. This is, of course, a valid point and individuals who explicitly incite hatred and encourage violence should rightfully be banned. However, the lines between 'free' and 'hate' speech must not be blurred, and a clear distinction should be made between those who purposefully provoke with hate, and others who are naturally opinionated and hold unorthodox views. The former encourages destruction, the latter constructive learning; it is vital to not conflate the two.

To be able to learn new aspects of life and change our perceptions, we must be able to view political and cultural debates through several different lenses- and strive to not intentionally be guided by a single one. Universities' intentions to protect students from discrimination and hurt is understandable, though paradoxically creates more harm than good. Narrowing the opportunity to be exposed to diverse views restricts their ability to learn and leads to the reinforcement of their beliefs without challenge; immunizing students from the intellectual and political debate leaves them ill-equipped for the future.

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Family and friends of a man who died after being shot by a police officer are urging more witnesses to come forward.

Lewis Skelton, 31, died as a result of two gunshot wounds after being shot by a police officer in Francis Street in the city centre at 9.30am on November 29, last year.

Police were initially called to Holderness Road after reports of a man carrying an axe in the area. He was tasered before being shot and later died of his injuries in Hull Royal Infirmary.

Now, close friend Eddy Barby and Lewis' family members are setting up a Facebook page to allow further witness to come forward.

"We need witnesses to come forward and to find out what upset Lewis that day," said Mr Barby, 29. "The IPCC have got witnesses to come forward but there are still more people we need to hear from.

"I'm not against the police at all, but we think what they did that day was wrong, and we want to find out the full story. We want justice for Lewis."

(Image: Katie Pugh)

Mr Barby became friends with Lewis during their school days at Kelvin Hall, and their friendship continued until Mr Barby joined the Army two years ago.

The dramatic events in November unfolded close to Mr Skelton's home in Durham Street when police were called to Holderness Road, near the Post Office, at 9.20am. He was later tracked down by police near Freetown Way, where he was seen with an axe.

Mr Skelton was tasered by police but it is understood he continued to approach officers before they opened fire.

The shooting was the second time in the history of Humberside Police that an officer has killed someone. Simon Murden was shot on March 22, 2005 after driving his car the wrong way along the A63.

Mr Barby said: "We know Lewis spoke to people while he was walking with the axe and we want to know what was said.

"We also want to hear from people who spoke to Lewis the day prior to him being killed, so we can find out what it was that upset him so much and the lead up to him doing something that was so out of character.

"The family don't have the strength at the moment to start getting people to come forward, but I know I'm strong enough and want to help get the justice the family needs.

"Lewis was a good lad and he didn't deserve it to end this way. Everyone who knew him knows how much of a good lad he was regardless. He's missed by hundreds of people."

A Facebook page is due to go live in the next couple of days, and people who wish to join can search for 'Justice for Lewis Skelton'.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is continuing its investigation into Mr Skelton's death and says it has spoken to numerous witnesses - but still want to speak to more.

A spokesman told the Mail: "Our independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Lewis Skelton is progressing well.

"We have gathered accounts from officers involved. We have spoken to a significant number of members of the public who came forward after witnessing events that morning, and are grateful for their assistance.

"We would still welcome any further information anyone has that may help our ongoing investigation. We are keeping Mr Skelton's family, Humberside Police and relevant officers informed as the investigation continues."
Volunteer in Reno County

The Volunteer Center of Reno County, a United Way Agency, is a central clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities in Reno County.
Are you ready? Of course you are not! That is why I wrote this. But here we go

Hand Craft 25 business cards for your trip: It is too tough to order and ship and meet you and all that mumbo jumbo. GO to the store right now and cut out cardboard paper and handwrite your info with a quote on white poster board. Very simple. Cut them out in different shapes. Some hearts. Some squares. Some circles. Write your @koshadillz your email, number, and a quote on the back. If you run out, email the person.

Follow everyone: Dont be so concerned about helping yourself. Lots of artists are like follow me and so obsessed with numbers. If you are at that level, you are thinning wrong anyway. It is an easy way for them to contact you if you are interested or they are. It makes a lot of people happy, as we validate ourselves through following and being followed a lot.

Interview people that are new: I dont know what youll use it for, but I have been interviewing people for like 7 years at SXSW. From Murs to Tech 9 to random people. Email it to the person. Great way to follow up with them, and create a special bond. If it is Nardwuar, tell him you know Kosha Dillz, and hell probably let you do it.

Hello My Name Is stickers: Go buy the stickers and rock n roll with them. Write your name on them and actually stick them on people. You can also wear it so people know who you are if you are shy. Put them on poles. 100 of them cost about $5 bucks in staples or office depot. A permanent marker and your fine.

Battery Powered Sound System: The biggest people in the world have busked. Justin Bieber did it. I got a $50,000 commercial doing it, and also earned over a million views with Roman Atwood. I meet people all the time, and fund lots of my downtime travel with it. It cost about $200 bucks, and you can play it with an Aux cable and a mic. Get ready to play SXSW like never before. You can play outside for hundreds of people and inside for 20 people. You can play 8 shows this week, or play 1. The people from Jimmy Kimmel hit me back on the email because I told them I did this. Not because I have a single on Billboard. Trust me. The big people are all playing The biggest people in the world have busked. Justin Bieber did it. I got a $50,000 commercial doing it, and also earned over a million views with Roman Atwood. I meet people all the time, and fund lots of my downtime travel with it. It cost about $200 bucks, and you can play it with an Aux cable and a mic. Get ready to play SXSW like never before. You can play outside for hundreds of people and inside for 20 people. You can play 8 shows this week, or play 1. The people from Jimmy Kimmel hit me back on the email because I told them I did this. Not because I have a single on Billboard. Trust me. The big people are all playing

Burn a few blank cds in your computer: If you dont do this, dont think you need a great cover. You dont need some gangster mixtape cover like 6th street rap music cds. You can get the Deli Magazine pages or Austin Chronicle and put tape around your burnt CD and give to a band that you want to tour with. As a burned CD in a newspaper, you will stick out from the 80 cds people of the press get. Give that to NPR.

Buy them tacos not tequila: Dont worry about buying someone a drink man. I have been clean and drink-less for over 12 and a half years and I have yet to buy people drinks. Be creative. Meet someone and buy them tacos or metal pizza. People appreciate you nurturing their stomach. It is a thing to do.

Home Depot poles for two posters: Walk through the street with a utility pole and your posters. Use big permanent marker to advertise your brand or set time and walk through the street with it. You can totally do that!

Daily Notes and tag your emails: I tag my notes daily and can always search them in my email. Nice to meet you at SXSW john. When I search that in my email it always comes up. When you run out of stuff, you can always follow up with people. Youre awesome SXSW human being. Nice to link. Save that note and then you can see how many people you emailed. Staying in order is more important than having 5 million fliers, although that has its efficient way of doing things.

Automated Email response: People may be emailing you left and right. If you have an automated response, it is better than a secretary youd have to hire. You can at least get them the right info of how to reach you with your number and cry for help within said automated response.

HI. I will be traveling to SXSW in Austin and you probably just met me. If you want to reach me hit me at 732-555-555. For any booking contact my agent eva@fatabooking.com . If this is my landlord, Im not paying rent. If this is my mom, call me mom, dont email me. Relieve yourself of all duties so you can focus on being present, but also, be available if it is seriously that important.

A place to stay: If you dont have a place to stay I think you should just stay outside of town a bit and get an air b n b or a motel. Stay out of town about 30 minutes or even 45 minutes and kick it. If you need to sleep in your car, there is nothing wrong with that. You can go out of town to a rest stop, keep the AC on, and take a $12 shower the next day at the rest stop. If you dont have a place to stay I think you should just stay outside of town a bit and get an air b n b or a motel. Stay out of town about 30 minutes or even 45 minutes and kick it. If you need to sleep in your car, there is nothing wrong with that. You can go out of town to a rest stop, keep the AC on, and take a $12 shower the next day at the rest stop.
The list of mentoring organizations for this year's Google Summer of Code has been posted and there's a record number of them. The list includes large and well known projects together with smaller and less familiar ones.

Google Summer of Code, which is a global program focused on bringing more student developers into open source software development, was initiated in 2005. Using a completely online method of working, it is targeted at university students aged 18 and over who want to spend their 3-month summer break on a programming project for the organization they are paired with through the program.

To date over 12,000 students from 127 countries have spent their summer break writing code and learning about open source development while getting paid a stipend funded by Google. Over 568 open source organizations have been involved and Google Summer of Code has produced over 30 million lines of code.

According to the Google Source blog this year there were more than 400 applications from open source organizations and projects and 201 were chosen, 18% of them new to the program.

At the end of last year's GSoC Mary Radomile, Open Source Programs posted some facts and figures about the mentors, writing:

Mentors are the lifeblood of our program. Without their hard work and dedication to the success of our students, there would be no GSoC. A merry band of volunteers, mentors work with students for more than 12 weeks  remotely, across multiple time zones, giving their time, expertise and guidance in addition to a regular full-time job for an average of 7.45 hours a week.

From a total of 2,524 mentors more than 1,500 were assigned to an active project, The youngest was 14, the oldest 78 and the average age was 32. While they came from 66 countries the US was the top mentoring country with 442. Germany was second with 190, India third with 98 and UK and France in joint fourth place with 89.

All of the mentoring organizations that took part in the recent Google Code-In, Google's contest for students between 13 and 17 are also accepting students for GSoC. This also broke record with 1,340 students from 62 countries completing 6,418 tasks for 17 open source organizations. The 34 Grand Prize Winners, two students from each organisation came from 16 different countries. India, with 9 student; United States with 5; and Indonesia and Russian Federation with 3 each were the best represented. The list of winners was also noteworthy for including an African student for the first time.

Having learned to code over the previous two years through books and online sources,17-year old Niji Collins Gbah from Cameroon completed 20 tasks for Open MRS, which develops software to support the delivery of health care in developing countries. One of the tasks took a whole week to complete. The day after the submission period closed, the Internet in his home town of Bamenda in the English-speaking North-West of the country was cut-off. Niji has mounted a #BringBackOurInternet campaign but as this action seems to be part of the Cameroonian gorvernment's campaign of discrimination against the English-speaking regions of the country this might be a long struggle.



Students who are interested in participating in GSoC should now start to research the organizations and their lists of ideas. Unlike Google Code-In where all tasks are handed out by the organizations, for GSoC students can come up with their own suggestions. The Student Applications Period is from March 20 to April 3 with the pairing of accepted students and mentors announced at the beginning of May. Students then have a period of Community Bonding in which they get to know more about their organization's community before Coding commences at the end of May and continues until August 21st.







Comments



Make a Comment or View Existing Comments Using Disqus





or email your comment to: comments@i-programmer.info
The Licensing Board was updated about the sale on Monday.

Johnny's Beach Club Sold, Mexican Restaurant Eyed



The former Pepe's and Johnny's Beach Club has been sold to Suzanne Chung. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The former Johnny's Beach Club has been sold and will become a Mexican restaurant.

Attorney Jeff Lynch reported to the Licensing Board on Monday that Wahconah Street LLC. has purchased the bar and will turn it into a restaurant.

The secretary of state's office shows Suzanne Chung, a partner with numerous restaurants including Jae's Bistro, as one of the signatories as well as Oscar Amaya.

"They have a long-term plan of renovation to that building and re-opening that space as a restaurant," Lynch said.

Lynch expects renovation to last nine to 10 months. Wahconah Street LLC has also purchased adjacent residential properties with the intent to renovate those. Those are one- or two-family homes and the company has reached a lease-to-own deal for them.

According to land records, John Giardina sold the property on Feb. 13 to Wahconah Street LLC for $174,000.

Johnny's Beach Club has had a trying history recently when it comes to the Licensing Board. It has faced multiple sanctions over the years for various incidents and Giardina has been attempting to sell the bar for a number of years.

Chung, meanwhile, has been making multiple investments in the city of Pittsfield. She also owns 7 Winter Grill and fairly recently opened Vong's, a Thai restaurant located at the end of the same block as Johnny's Beach Club.

7 Winter Grill is set to become Jae's Asian Bistro, with the Chungs planning to move the Lenox restaurant there. But the owners are facing yet another challenge when it comes to getting a certificate of occupancy.

The restaurant has been closed for two years now and building inspectors had previously forced the construction of an elevator before it could reopen. That has been completed but Lynch says now the building inspector is demanding a new handicapped bathroom be installed on the second floor and there is a question about whether or not a performance stage on the second floor also needs to be handicapped accessible.

"The lift we have been talking about for some time has been signed off on," Lynch said.

But "we will not be able to get the certificate of occupancy to occupy either floor until the bathroom is built and the stage issue is addressed," he said.

The Winter Street restaurant had been owned and operated as Mazzeo's Ristorante for many years until that restaurant moved to South Street. The Chungs purchased the building nearly four years and opened the steakhouse, closing for renovations a couple years later. They had hoped to move Jae's Bistro from Lenox to the location last fall but still needs that certificate of occupancy.

"They've given their notice in Lenox, they are ready to open. We feel a little bit stuck right now," Lynch said.

Lynch said an application has been made to install the bathroom, which will only take a few weeks after the permit is issued, but he and his client is waiting on word about the stage, which could be more costly and time-consuming if it is determined a ramp is needed.

Lynch says the first floor, where the restaurant will be, is ready to go and the further delays are hurting his client's income. He said customers in Lenox are now not sure if he is still open.

"My client is ready to move and open up this restaurant," he said. "It is not helping my client to not be able to open in Pittsfield."

The Licensing Board has been keeping an eye on the process. The liquor license is currently inactive and the board is charged with trying to ensure there are no "pocket licenses." The city is limited to the number of all-alcohol liquor licenses it can issue to restaurants and the board wants to make sure those are being used.

"I just hope I am not sitting here in June 2017 and it is still not opening. It will be close to a year and there is a lot of pressure on us about pocket licenses," said Licensing Board member Richard Stockwell.

Lynch has been before the board repeatedly over the years providing updates, which member Thomas Campoli appreciates.

"My take on this is your client has been working on this, you have been keeping us apprised of what is going on, and that's a great thing," Campoli said.
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch speaks with staff at the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation on Monday. Welch, left, speaks with administrator Suzanne Anair, SVHC President Thomas Dee and state Rep. Mary Morrisey. Touring the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation. In the 'vault' with Dr. Matthew Vernon and the hospital's linear accelerator. Vernon explains the laser and lighting tools used to pinpoint radiation treatments exactly. PreviousNext

Congressman Tours Southwestern Vermont Medical Center



Congressman Welch later spoke at Bennington's Town Meeting and spoke at a class at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., on Tuesday.

BENNINGTON, Mass.  Green laser lines crisscrossed Dr. Matthew Vernon as he explained how Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center's linear accelerator uses precision targeting to treat cancer with radiation.



Where a typical radiation treatment takes 20 minutes or more, the oncologist said, "the machine can actually just rotate around the patient with the beam on and these stencils move in and out and shape the beam in real time so in one or two arcs we can treat the same thing in about four minutes."



"That's just remarkable," said U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., on Monday as hospital officials and staff clustered in "the vault," a room with 8-foot thick concrete walls and ceiling that contains the $4 million machine.



The shorter time in the machine has been critical for some patients who before would have had to hold themselves as still as possible for up to 20 minutes for radiation treatments, Vernon said.

"I've had patients that we've had to stop treatment or turn away because they really couldn't hold still for that long ... most people can handle three or four minutes of standing still."



Welch was in Bennington on Monday to tour some of the facilities at Southwestern Vermont Health Care and later met privately with hospital officials. He also held two town halls  at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester and at Elm Street Market  and addressed Town Meeting.



The congressman got a closeup of view of the linear accelerator, installed about a year ago, and a brief tour of the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, also on the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center campus.



The center focuses on short-term rehabilitation  getting people back into their homes, said Suzanne Anair, the rehab center's administrator. Out of 616 patients last year, the center discharged about 560 after an average stay of about 24 days.



"Those were all patients that go back into the community," she said. "I think we're No. 1 in the state for short-term rehab."



Anair believes the center's high rating is because of its ability to offer services seven days a week and have a full complement of rehabilitation staff.



The nursing center has about 100 patients and 175 full- and part-time employees, which can increase depending on the census. Many of the patients for short-term rehab come in for hip or knee replacements or issues related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. About half the patients are on Medicaid and a third on Medicare for short-term rehab.



"We try to get the residents home," said Thomas Dee, president and CEO of Southwestern. "The idea is that it's no longer living your whole life in a hospital or in long-term care."



SVHC is in the process of "absorbing" an 80-bed nursing home in Hoosick Falls, N.Y., that has good quality care but is suffering from financial challenges. Dee said New York State regulators are reviewing that now. The medical center also has a new team of orthopedic doctors, some previously associated with NARH, and opened a health-care center in Pownal near the Massachusetts border.

Dee said the health care system is servicing a population of about 80,000.



"Health care knows no borders," he said.
Thomas Simon, director of student support services, interim Drury Principal Timothy Callahan and Superintendent Barbara Malkas explained the grade relocations at a presentation last week. A new 'school within a school' will be located in the back corridor at Drury High School PreviousNext

North Adams School Committee Votes to Reconfigure District



Superintendent Barbara Malkas answers questions at last Thursday's presentation about moving grades.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The School Committee on Tuesday approved a grade reconfiguration that will move Grade 7 to Drury High School.



The changes will also allow the school district to move the pre-kindergarten program out of Johnson School and into the three elementary schools.



"I really like the idea that they said it would be a team environment and that staff and faculty will be involved in how this shapes up," Mayor Richard Alcombright said of bringing of Grades 7 and 8 together. "I think what I'm most pleased about ... I think this gives us the opportunity to eliminate a waiting list for preK and it will allow all the kids that really want to come into preK to do that. ...



"I think that's a really good thing because I hear from our teachers all the time just how important that is to get that basis before they enter kindergarten."



The reconfiguration will be implemented at the beginning of the next school year.



The proposal was dependent on the Massachusetts School Building Authority signing off because the state agency had approved the Colegrove Park Elementary School project based on a K-7 configuration. The $30 million school project is still under MSBA purview until the project audit is completed.



"They have accepted that proposal and will provide that in writing in the next few weeks," reported Superintendent Barbara Malkas. Verbal approval had been offered during a conference call late Tuesday afternoon, she said.



School officials last Thursday had run through the changes to a crowd of about 60-70 parents and community members in the Drury auditorium. Questions were submitted on index cards and most concerns centered around the promixity of seventh-graders to older students at Drury and on the bus, preK children interacting with older peers, programming and transportation.



School officials say moving preK and Grade 7 reduces transitions between schools over the course of a student's education; keeps the majority of students in their neighborhood schools; and creates developmentally appropriate grade spans for elementary, junior and senior high.



The preK program for 3- and 4-year-olds would move out of the 1898 Johnson School that is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are 127 children in five classes and the program is considered special education with a limit on how many typically developing children can enroll.



"The whole purpose is to provide a social, emotional and learning environment for children who are having learning challenges," Thomas Simon, director of student support, said at last week's presentation.



Two classes each would move to Greylock and Colegrove; one would move to Brayton with the potential for adding a sixth class. Each school would be able to contain the preK and kindergarten classes in a way to separate them from older grades to some extent.



"It requires a lot of capital improvement," Malkas had said of Johnson. Teachers have "done a very admirable job in a building that was not built to have the kind of infrastructure needed for 21st-century learning."
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Former Standard Products Division of NXP combines experience, product and operational excellence with customer focus and ambition

Nexperia, the former Standard Products division of NXP, today announced the formal completion of its launch as a separate entity. Headquartered in Nijmegen, Netherlands and backed by a consortium of financial investors consisting of Beijing Jianguang Asset Management Co. Ltd and Wise Road Capital Ltd, Nexperia is a stand-alone, world-class leader in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs, retaining all the expertise, manufacturing resources and key personnel of the former NXP division, while bringing a new focus and powerful commitment to these product areas.

Nexperia, which will produce around 85 billion devices a year and in 2016 had revenues exceeding US$1.1B, addresses three key trends: power efficiency; protection and filtering; and miniaturization. The Automotive sector is very strong for Nexperia and most of its products are AECQ101 qualified. Other important markets include portable devices, industrial, communications infrastructure, consumer and computing. A significant portion of the companys revenue is delivered through distribution channels.

Nexperia CEO Frans Scheper, formerly EVP and GM of NXPs Standard Products Business Unit, comments: Our history ensures that Nexperia is already regarded as a strong industry leader in Discretes, Logic and MOSFETs, which consistently delivers highly reliable and innovative products to our global customers. Under the new ownership and with a renewed sense of vigour we will invest in product development and best-in-class manufacturing practices and facilities to ensure that Nexperia becomes the byword for efficiency and quality. Together with our engaged and motivated employees this will enable us on a daily basis to exceed the needs and expectations of our customers.

Nexperia has two front-end manufacturing facilities, in Manchester, UK and Hamburg, Germany, and three back-end packaging plants in Guangdong, China, Seremban, Malaysia and Cabuyao, Philippines. It currently employs about 11,000 personnel worldwide including an established and successful leadership team. Scheper continues: Because Nexperia will continue to source its front end and back end production from its current manufacturing sites, there will be no disruption in our supply chain or other processes, so customers and partners can be fully assured that they will continue to receive excellent products and exceptional service.

The company has an extensive IP portfolio and is certified to ISO9001, ISO/TS16949, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001.




This Isnt Our Last Love Letter



Dear Don Don,

Way back in 92



I walked into the room and knew



Never felt this way before



I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes



And the feeling grew



As I took a seat I knew



A love that would have my heart



Forever



I knew



Way back in 92





They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true



We were the exception to that rule



Our love had no where to hide



A spark set fire



As if this is how the universe started





I never doubted our love or what we could do



Together we grew



Forming a bond everlasting



That became our glue



My euphoria was YOU



Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared



For how fortunate we were :



to have and to hold

through sickness and in health

Til death do us part



Until we are together again



This isnt our last love letter



I love you with all my heart and soul



Yours forever,



Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow)





Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus.









A True American Hero

I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus.



I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years.



I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years.

But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us.

In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about.



Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle.

I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life.

I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life.

No one will ever do what he did.

I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO





David Jurist

IMUS IN THE MORNING

FIRST DAY BACK!
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This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of American cartoonist and writer, Will Eisner. Important exhibitions have been organised to commemorate his artistic legacy  including one in Angouleme, France at the Musee de la Bande Dessinee and another in New York at the Museum of Illustration.

In the course of his long career, Eisner (19172005) had a lasting influence on comics, not only through his works  from The Spirit in the 1940s to A Contract with God in 1978  but also by initiating new ways of thinking and talking about the format. Championing and teaching sequential art, he also contributed to the popularisation of the term graphic novel.

This catch-all label now refers primarily to the format, but also a literary genre, the most celebrated examples of which are marked by a sense of seriousness and ambition  Art Spiegelmans Maus, for example. As the term has spread since the 1980s, however, its outlines have become blurry. The ambition of the expression graphic novel was initially one of distinction  its promoters wanted to break with a mainstream comics production they saw as childish.

Poster for the Will Eisner exhibition in Angouleme, France (Angouleme Museum of Comics)

The expression graphic novel was born in the 1960s, introduced by the comic critic Richard Kyle in 1964 in a small-press article about the future of comics. It then circulated through various fan publications. There were just a handful of direct and explicit uses of this expression in published works between 1971 and 1978.

In late 1971, The Sinister House of Secret Love, a DC Comics book, put the expression on the cover of its second issue. This very brief attempt at a gothic romance comic was the first publishing use of the graphic novel label.

Then in the summer of 1974, comics creator Jack Katzs black-and-white magazine The First Kingdom, originally presented as a long science-fiction and fantasy story, was rebranded as a serialised graphic novel.

In 1976, the label was used in the paratext (title pages, flaps of cover jacket) of two large-format hardcover books in black and white, loosely related to the Sixties underground comix movement. Beyond Time and Again by George Metzger reprinted pages from a science fiction strip which previously appeared in the West Coast alternative press. In Bloodstar, Richard Corben adapted in comics a fantasy short story of Robert Howard, creator of Conan.

Jack Katzs black-and-white magazine The First Kingdom, published in 1974

Also in 1976, the digest periodical Fiction Illustrated was launched by editor and writer Byron Preiss. On its back cover it claimed to be Americas first adult graphic-novel revue. Over four issues it published standalone comic stories in colour.

At last, in 1978, Will Eisners A Contract with God was published. In a book format with sepia-tone pages, it offered four semi-biographical stories about a Bronx tenement and its inhabitants in the 1930s. Its cover presented it as a graphic novel.

All of these books are quite different from our contemporary Eisner-influenced definition of the graphic novel. Theyre also quite different from one another. In black and white or in colour, in classical frame sequences with balloons or using other text/image combinations, serious or satirical in tone, periodical or one-shot, large or small, these books dont look like each other, either in format or in form.

Their diversity reflects the main currents of the then-emerging US comic book field. Their inspirations reveal the shared structuring influences of the actors of this movement. These are not autobiographical tales or memoirs like one imagines when considering contemporary classic graphic novels such as Maus or Fun Home, for example. On the contrary, theyre genre stories (science fiction, fantasy, noir), building on themes, narrative tropes and references taken from comic books, from their pulp magazines ancestors or from cinema.

But above all, these books  be it The First Kingdom, A Contract with God or Bloodstar  all share a similar ambition for their form, the comics.

In Bloodstar, published in 1976, Richard Corben adapted in comics a fantasy short story of Robert Howard, creator of Conan.

In 1964, R Kyle wanted to bring the comic book out of the juvenile field, for it to take its place in the literary spectrum. In 1976, Byron Preiss, in the introduction to the first issue of Fiction Illustrated, set a similar goal for his initiative: Fiction Illustrated aspires to be adult in its audience and approach, to be a place where new concepts and characters can be presented without concession to the needs of a childrens market or a particular genre.

When one considers the early graphic novels mentioned, it appears that the claim for works to be adult is understood differently by their creators. They form a homogeneous group only in their common rejection of the mainstream production of their time. They try first and above all to distinguish themselves from mainstream comic books because they consider that its format, newsstand distribution and themes (chiefly super heroes) prevent any hope for artistic freedom and recognition. In Fiction Illustrated #1, Byron Preiss wrote: Most of the comic books are marketed to and identified with children because theyre produced for children.

In a similar manner, in his preface to A Contract with God, Will Eisner considered that: Certainly, there was more for the cartoonist to deal with than super heroes who were preventing destruction of the earth by super villains.

Image from Will Eisners 'A Contract with God' (Will Eisner Studios)

The common feature of these graphic novels is in what they try not to be: not to be a comic book (but a magazine, a digest, a hardcover book), not to be a super hero story (but a space opera or heroic fantasy saga, a detective story or a realistic life account), not to be childish.

Of all the graphic novels discussed here, only Eisners had a real symbolic and editorial destiny. A Contract with God is considered a landmark in the evolution of the form and has been constantly reprinted since its first publication. The others have rarely or never been reprinted; theyre seldom discussed and considered in the modern historiography of graphic novels.

Recommended Iranian writer faces six years in prison for unpublished novel

Of the different and competing approaches taken by the early graphic novels, its the one championed by Eisner that prevailed. From our contemporary perspective, a true and literary ambitious graphic novel could hardly be, like Bloodstar, about a barbarian fighting a giant worm. Yet a historical examination reminds us that works that pioneered the use of the term graphic novel didnt so much try to emulate legitimate literature as aim for a distinction and an emancipation within the comics field  to be able to freely tell stories, whatever they may be, without having to take into account an audience of children or to limit ones ambitions.

But its no surprise that only the work that most closely conforms to literature is the one thats remembered.

Jean-Matthieu Meon is a lecturer in information and communication sciences at CREM, University of Lorraine, France. This article first appeared on The Conversation (theconversation.com)
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Special agent Dana Scully would never pick up a copy of We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere. Indeed, it seems surprising that Gillian Anderson, who played Scully in The X-Files, would write this quasi-self-help book aimed at guiding women on a path of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. While on stage and screen she plays strong and complicated characters, the 48-year-old mother says she does feel fragile at times.

There were maybe two or three points in my life where I have felt like the decisions that I was making werent good, she says. In a way I was my own worst enemy.

Whether it was the pressure of the intense production schedule for The X-Files, self-doubt about her appearance during a photo shoot or the worries of motherhood, Anderson says she suffered  and still suffers  from episodes of light depression. At these times she thinks there's got to be another way of doing things.

We: A Manifesto, which is co-authored by journalist Jennifer Nadel, offers another way. In fact, it offers several. The book lays out around a dozen principles and practices that women should follow to live happier, more productive lives  such as recognising and being grateful for what they have rather than focusing on the negative. Below I catch up with both women about how the book came about and what makes it ever more so essential now.

Recommended Gillian Anderson throws her name into next James Bond ring

Why did you decide to write this book now?

Anderson: I started paying attention to articles talking about the statistics of self-harm and depression in women; women talking about societal pressures to behave in certain ways and the impact that was having on their lives. I started thinking of a book that might address that. Jennifer and I have known each other for about a decade and she said she was thinking about the same things.

Were you thinking of your own daughter when you were writing this book?

Anderson: Im sure I was, but I also feel like I was as much talking to my younger self. Not that I dont need to hear everything that is in this book now. This book hopefully will be resonant for women of all ages. And we dont consider ourselves to be experts on any of this. Im still struggling on a daily basis on decisions I make and the way I react to things and the choices that I make. I make mistakes all the time and have to reassess and apologise, so its not us standing on a soapbox. Its just saying: These principles are out there, theyre universal  and we can start to do things differently.

Is feminism relevant to 21st-century fiction? Show all 4 1 /4 Is feminism relevant to 21st-century fiction? Is feminism relevant to 21st-century fiction? 605785.bin Is feminism relevant to 21st-century fiction? 605786.bin AP Is feminism relevant to 21st-century fiction? 605787.bin Frantzesco Kangaris Is feminism relevant to 21st-century fiction? 605788.bin Colin McPherson

The word manifesto makes this an ambitious title.

Jennifer Nadel: Manifesto is a word that we are seeking to reclaim. It's often thought of in a very masculine way. This is not just a self-help book. Its also a book about how were all living today, so the word manifesto is unashamedly there. Two years ago, people were very unsure about the word, and we had a lot of long conversations with publishers about it. It was Gillian who completely stuck to her guns and said, thats what the books called. And then Brexit happened in the UK and Trump was elected in the US. No ones saying, Why do we need a manifesto? anymore.

Politics isnt usually discussed in this kind of book.

Nadel: Were living in a me culture but spirituality for me isnt just about trying to make my life better and gaining my own inner peace. Its about trying to bring those same qualities into the world. One of the lies that were all fed is that what each of us do individually in our lives doesnt have an impact on anyone else. But we are connected and what we do on one side of the world has an impact on women in another.

Anderson: There are various charities that I do work for and its very easy in taking a platform and speaking out to feel that I have an answer. Part of this work is about acknowledging that one doesnt always know whats best for other people, even though it may feel courageous when theres a bit of righteous indignation in there.

We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere by Gillian Anderson, Jennifer Nadel

Why address this book just to women?

Nadel: Men could gain from these principles, no question. But its women who are most adversely affected by the current way we do things. Globally women do 75 per cent of the work, receive 10 per cent of the pay and earn 1 per cent of the property. I think women are a good place to start.

Gillian is a strong advocate for equal pay for women in Hollywood.

Anderson: Yes. I started to become vocal about it because of my own experience working in the industry and being offered less than 50 per cent of what a co-worker was, first in the original X-Files series, then in the reboot. I decided to speak out.

Do you see the acting roles you choose linked to your feminism?

Anderson: I recognise that I have a tendency toward certain types of characters. A good handful of the characters I have played are quite damaged. I dont necessarily know if all of those would be considered to be feminists. I do recognise that there is part of me that is attracted to very complex real and recognisable and sometimes powerful female characters.

Do you like the idea of a Scully effect which credits the character with prompting more young women to go into the sciences or law enforcement?

Anderson: Yes! Absolutely. Its an extraordinary thing. But much of that has to do with the character that was created by Chris Carter. Its wonderful to be associated with but its much more to do with the character that was written than necessarily anything I did.

Is The X-Files gone forever?

Anderson: Probably not.

Do you have anything in the works?

Anderson: Not to be discussed here. But thanks for asking.

Carole Burns is the author of The Missing Woman and Other Stories, winner of the Ploughshares John C. Zacharis Award

 The Washington Post
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Elle sees Basic Instincts notorious Paul Verhoeven direct Frances icon of icy transgression, Isabelle Huppert, in what sounds like their ultimate provocation. This is a film in which Hupperts Michele not only seems unbothered by her rape in her Paris apartment at its start, but later seeks out her rapist for sadomasochistic mind-games and orgasmic sex.

The always conservative Oscars blanched at Elle as Hollywood stars from Nicole Kidman to Julianne Moore did when Verhoeven sought them to audition for Michele. But the Best Actress nominations couldnt ignore Hupperts wholly original portrayal. Publicly associated with the crimes of her serial killer father when she was ten, this overdose of shame maybe makes Michele immune to it. All we know is that she doesnt care what anyone thinks. Even as shes raped, she defines herself.

When I meet Huppert in her London hotel room, she seems physically small and anonymous, her formidable on-screen potency switched off. The ironic intelligence she shares with Verhoeven remains alert, though. Whether as the syphilitic, matricidal antiheroine of Bertrand Bliers Violette Noziere (1978), or masochistic and violent in Michael Hanekes The Piano Teacher (2001), her award-winning roles have repulsed Hollywood. As she once said, I like exploring monstrous instincts. So is Michele one of Elles monsters?

Huppert as Michele with her cat who witnesses the rape with an intrigued, passive expression in 'Elle'

No. No, no, Huppert says, surprised. I dont see her or act her as a monster. The only thing that makes her a bit apart from my world, at least, is that shes not afraid. And thats not so common. Thats really far from me. Im afraid of everything, and, especially after what happened to her, I would never live alone in that big house in the suburbs of Paris. Never! Thats the most male side of her  Im afraid I have to say, she laughs wryly. Because a man, in general, is less scared to be alone in a big house than a woman.

Huppert is careful to separate her private life  where she has been married for 35 years to the film-maker Ronald Chammah, raising three children and occasionally leafing through philosophy books, a little like her professor in last years Things To Come  and her risky art. She only shares Micheles dangerous freedoms up to a point.

As an actress yes, for sure, she says. But frankly, I really dont feel Im taking any risks. I just do great roles in great films. I must be naive or whatever, because I dont see the problem with that.

Shame isnt enough to stop us doing anything at all, Michele says, a bit after shes rung her rapist to pick her up after a car-crash. In Elles wild, freeing fantasy, she simply doesnt have the shame which makes rape worse. Instead of a perversion, her actions feel like a victory. Oui, oui, a victory... Shes not a victim, she doesnt want to be a victim, Huppert says. But what I like about her is that on the other hand shes also not the caricature of the revenge girl, taking the gun and shooting the guy. Its a bit like psychoanalysis, where the unconscious drives you more than anything else. Its really a psychoanalytical film, I think. You are being pushed by a thing that you dont even know.

Verhoeven, who also directed 1992's 'Basic Instinct', was untypically careful to avoid exploitation in 'Elle's' rape scene (Trafalgar Releasing ) (Trafalgar Releasing)

Huppert gives Elle subtle grace notes. Though most reviews claim Michele blithely picks herself up after her rape, still bleeding, and gets on with her day, she tidies up clumsily. Theres shock beneath her sangfroid.

She must be in shock, yes, Huppert agrees. Who wouldnt be? But she has her own way to come to terms with that. By first of all putting all the pieces back together, sweeping with the broom, and then ordering sushi. I dont really have explanations for that. I certainly wouldnt react the same way. Eventually as we step more into this womans life, we understand that she was confronted with violence by her father when she was a little girl, she has a crazy mother. She has so many things to control. The whole movie is about the fact that there is no really satisfying explanation. But she shares a quest for love, maybe. I think whats really touching in the film is that [in the rapes aftermath] she wants to create a connection with her fathers violence. The film says a lot about family ties.

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The rape itself is only heard, at first, then briefly recalled later. Verhoeven, who was driven out of his native Netherlands after scenes including a gay gang-rape in Spetters (1983) and included female rape in the infamous Showgirls (1995), was untypically careful to avoid exploitation.

The balance and subtlety of the script, he tells me, and of Isabelle Huppert to hold that together, means we didnt fall into that trap. I kept it extremely short, to avoid facing any thought of sexuality in the rape. I felt it needed a subtle approach. There were probably other movies when I was younger when I didnt feel it so necessary to be nuanced  lets put it that way.

From the more rigid, no-platforming end of feminism to permanently outraged right-wing newspapers and most of the social media in between, our official morality seems desperate to limit our permitted reactions to life, and sex especially. As Michele experiences what Verhoeven calls a very powerful orgasm in later, consensually violent, sex with her rapist, Elle takes us on a trip past these absolute edicts. As in all Verhoeven and Hupperts liberating work, characters are free to behave as they want.

Absolutely, Verhoeven agrees. This movie is outside the discourse about rape, especially in the United States. Were not even thinking about that. This woman happened to be this way, and she finds her own solutions, and she doesnt even want to hear about compassion. She is able to integrate [the rape] in her own life, and work with it, and work against it, and perhaps find out about what happened. But she doesnt need anybody else. Its her own justice. Youre talking about a very specific character, and not rape in general.

There is an anarchy to Verhoeven, in bridge-burning films such as Spetters and Showgirls, which was born in his childhood under Nazi occupation in The Hague. He knows the world is chaotic, and you just have to let people get on with surviving it.

Yeah, he agrees. And you can change it a little bit here and there, but in the next generation or two it becomes chaotic again. You can see that clearly in politics today. After witnessing the war in The Hague, and seeing all the destruction and the dead people, there was a feeling after 1945 that there was stability, at least in Western Europe. And now it feels like were going back into the kind of chaos that must have reigned in the 1930s.

Verhoeven (right) has described Huppert (left) as the best actress he's ever worked with (Rex) (Rex Features)

Verhoevens Turkish Delight (1973) was one of Hupperts inspirations as an actress, and they didnt need to discuss her performance in Elle. She understood what to do. What I like most about Paul is his huge irony, she says happily, and the flick between that and the films emotion. For me this movie is quite touching. Because its a quest for love, its a quest for life. But I like how Paul keeps a distance so you go away from any sentimentality, any psychology, and stupid explanations.

Elle is also, unexpectedly, a comedy. Yeah, sure, Huppert says. Its not only a comedy, but its very funny, because the situations were funny, and the little details. You know, like the man at the Christmas meal, when he right away put his hand on my hand  ooh, my God! Michele has exactly the reaction I would have personally, to many, many situations. Instead of being serious, instead of doing [dismayed gasp], Oh, she goes [with amused surprise], Oh! Its very nuanced, the irony, but its very important.

The prolific Huppert had another film at last years London Film Festival, where we met. In the much lighter Souvenir, she plays a former Eurovision one-hit wonder, dragged out of whisky-fogged retirement by the love of a smitten young boxer. Hupperts performance shares one quality with Elle which is particular to her. The camera silently observes her as an intelligent, self-sufficient woman, busy thinking her own thoughts.

Thats the best compliment you can tell me, she laughs. But maybe this is something I provoke. Its like the scorpion, I dont know how to do otherwise. Its certainly something I did in Things To Come, and Elle, and Souvenir. Certain roles dont provoke that as much, but when they do, its very organic with me. Because its also what the camera allows you to do. The camera is really like an X-ray of your thoughts, and you have to use that as much as you can. Its really pleasurable.

Is she thinking the characters thoughts?

You have so many layers of thinking when you act, she considers, its very strange  you think what you act, you think what the character thinks. You dont think at all, in a way. So its a very complex substance of thinking when you act, I would say, because its between something completely unconscious, and something super-conscious. Its almost like when you are drunk, or a little bit drugged. Its a super-awareness of the world.

For all her wry dialogue in films like Elle, in some of her best work, Huppert says nothing. So often stone-faced where other actresses are compelled to charm, she could be the last silent movie star. If you always talk, and take, she says, sometimes in movies, everythings always full. Its nice to have a bit of emptiness.

There is one other way in which and Hupperts triumphant, iconoclastic new film denies Hollywood convention. She is 63, and Verhoeven 78, but both are at their peak.

Its to keep other things that are much less pleasant, like the end of life, at bay, Verhoeven explains of his continuing conviction. I feel that if I did not work, then dark thoughts would invade my brain. And Im still naturally curious. And in fact, by having to learn French and going to France where I knew almost no one to make Elle, there was fear, but all of the talents that you have are activated to get through it. Fear is creatively excellent. Its about living in the moment, and standing at the door that you open, and not knowing where it will lead.

Elle is in cinemas from 10 March
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Always honest and never predictable, Cate Blanchett does not mince her words and actively embraces the elephant in the room.

In classic Blanchett fashion, the two-time Oscar-winning actor has declared her morale compass is situated in her vagina.

Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Blanchett was asked where her so-called moral compass lied.

Describing Anton Chekov play, The Present, which Blanchett is currently starring in on Broadway, she said: "It's all about as you move forward in life, what's your moral compass. Where does kindness and humanity sit in a really brutal world."

But when the host, Colbert, pressed her about where this ethical compass was located and where kindness lived in a brutal world, she donned a silly voice and retorted: "It's in my vagina."

The comment garnered a massive round of applause from the audience and Blanchett jokingly stood up, thanked them and walked away before returning to her seat.

Bechdel Test Pass/Fails Show all 10 1 /10 Bechdel Test Pass/Fails Bechdel Test Pass/Fails PASS: Frozen It features two central female characters, Anna and Elsa, discussing the isolationist policies of Arendelle, plans to build a snowman, and the time Elsa locked their civilization in an eternal winter Disney Bechdel Test Pass/Fails FAIL: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Contains fewer than two named women so fails the test on first criterion. Rex Bechdel Test Pass/Fails PASS: August: Osage County Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts head strong female cast in family saga featuring multiple conversations about the characters relationships, which do not centre on a man Bechdel Test Pass/Fails FAIL: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Kenneth Brannagh's blockbuster includes two named women (Katya, a Russian assistant, Kathy, the protagonists fiancee) but they do not speak to each other throughout the entire film Rex Bechdel Test Pass/Fails PASS: American Hustle American Hustle passes but only due to a single scene where a con artists wife, played by Jennifer Lawrence, discusses nail polish with a politicians wife, played by Elisabeth Rohm Rex Bechdel Test Pass/Fails FAIL: The Hangover Part 3 The wives of Doug and Stu are both named and do have a conversation but its about Alan, Zach Galifianakis character Bechdel Test Pass/Fails FAIL: Noah Russell Crowe Biblical epic scrapes in due to scene where Noahs wife Naameh (Jennifer Connolly talks to adopted daughter Ila (Emma Watson) about her pregnancy Rex Bechdel Test Pass/Fails PASS: Blue Jasmine Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) and Ginger (Sally Hawkins) have multiple conversations about something other than a man, mostly about Jasmine herself Bechdel Test Pass/Fails FAIL: Gravity Gravity fails, despite delivering a strong female role for Sandra Bullock, since its isolated outer space setting limits her opportunities for female bonding Rex Bechdel Test Pass/Fails FAIL: The Avengers The Avengers fails because none of its female characters talk to each other at any point AP

Chekovs play, which stars Blanchett alongside an all-Australian cast, is directed by Andrew Upton, her husband, with whom she jointly ran the Sydney Theatre Company with for five years.

Blanchett, who is also a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, has often vented her frustrations about Hollywood and stole the show with her acceptance speech for an Oscar back in 2014. Accepting the accolade for her role in Blue Jasmine, she called out Hollywoods tendencies towards sexism and emphasised the fact people want to see women in lead roles.

"Female films with women at the centre - people want to see them, they earn money. The world is round people! the Australian actor told the audience.
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Samuel L Jackson - who is currently promoting the film Kong: Skull Island - has criticised the casting of black British actors in films concerning Americans race relations.

Speaking to New York radio station Hot 97, the actor spoke candidly about the film Get Out, which stars British actor Daniel Kaluuya - best known for his role in Black Mirror episode Fifteen Million Merits - as an African-American man who interacts with white liberal Americans.

I think its great [Get Out]s doing everything its doing and people are loving it, Jackson told the station. But I know the young brother whos in the movie, and hes British.

"So, there are a lot of black British actors in these movies. I tend to wonder what would that movie would have been with an American brother who really feels that.

Daniel grew up in a country where theyve been interracial dating for a hundred years What would a brother from America have made of that role? Im sure the director helped, but some things are universal, but [not everything].

He reasoned: [British actors] are cheaper than us, for one thing. They dont cost as much. And they [casting agents and directors] think theyre better trained, because theyre classically trained.

Films to get excited about in 2017 Show all 13 1 /13 Films to get excited about in 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Director: Rian Johnson Rian Johnson Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Lupita Nyong'o Plot: No details yet, but it will continue directly on from Rey coming face-to-face with Luke at the end of The Force Awakens. Release Date: 15 December 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Thor: Ragnarok Director: Taika Waititi Taika Waititi Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Mark Ruffalo Plot: Story details are minimal as of now, but Thor's third return to screen has already been teased to feature a loose adaptation of the famous 'Planet Hulk' storyline. Release Date: 27 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 You Were Never Really Here Director: Lynne Ramsay Lynne Ramsay Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Alessandro Nivola Plot: A war veteran's attempt to save a young girl from a sex trafficking ring goes horribly wrong. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Annihilation Director: Alex Garland Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A biologist's husband disappears. She thus puts her name forward for an expedition into an environmental disaster zone, but does not quite find what she's expecting. The expedition team is made up of the biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Wonderstruck (image from Far From Heaven) Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Amy Hargreaves Plot: The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Mother (image of Darren Aronofsky) Director: Darren Aronofsky Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, and Ed Harris Plot: A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (image from The Lobster) Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Alicia Silverstone Plot: A surgeon forms a familial bond with a sinister teenage boy, with disastrous results. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Blade Runner 2049 Director: Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, and Jared Leto Plot: Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. Release Date: 6 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Lady Bird (image of director Greta Gerwig) Director: Greta Gerwig Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Lucas Hedges Plot: The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (image of director Steven Spielberg and star Mark Rylance) Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Mark Rylance, Oscar Isaac Plot: The Kidnapping Of Edgardo Mortara recounts the story of a young Jewish boy in Bologna, Italy in 1858 who, having been secretly baptized, is forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents' struggle to free their son becomes part of a larger political battle that pits the Papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 How to Talk to Girls at Parties Director: John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell Cast: Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, and Nicole Kidman Plot: An alien touring the galaxy breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Dark Tower Director: Nikolaj Arcel Nikolaj Arcel Cast: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor Plot: Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world. Release Date: 28 July 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Suburbicon Director: George Clooney George Clooney Cast: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A crime mystery set in the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, where the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and betrayal. Release Date: 24 November

Jacksons comments angered Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor John Boyega, who responded on Twitter saying: Black brits vs African American. A stupid ass conflict we don't have time for.

Numerous black British actors have been cast in Hollywood films concerning race relations, including David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King in Selma and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave.
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The Lost City of Z is the new film from acclaimed filmmaker James Gray (The Yards, We Own the Night) and we are happy to exclusively unveil a brand new clip taken from the action adventure.

Based on the book of the same name by David Grann, the film details real events about British explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett who was hailed as one of the great archaeologists of the Victorian era.

Surviving in the South American wilderness for years at a time, Fawcett - played in the film by Charlie Hunnam - mapped huge swathes of the unexplored Amazon and ventured into regions no other explorer dared to go.

Films to get excited about in 2017 Show all 13 1 /13 Films to get excited about in 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Director: Rian Johnson Rian Johnson Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Lupita Nyong'o Plot: No details yet, but it will continue directly on from Rey coming face-to-face with Luke at the end of The Force Awakens. Release Date: 15 December 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Thor: Ragnarok Director: Taika Waititi Taika Waititi Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Mark Ruffalo Plot: Story details are minimal as of now, but Thor's third return to screen has already been teased to feature a loose adaptation of the famous 'Planet Hulk' storyline. Release Date: 27 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 You Were Never Really Here Director: Lynne Ramsay Lynne Ramsay Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Alessandro Nivola Plot: A war veteran's attempt to save a young girl from a sex trafficking ring goes horribly wrong. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Annihilation Director: Alex Garland Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A biologist's husband disappears. She thus puts her name forward for an expedition into an environmental disaster zone, but does not quite find what she's expecting. The expedition team is made up of the biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Wonderstruck (image from Far From Heaven) Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Amy Hargreaves Plot: The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Mother (image of Darren Aronofsky) Director: Darren Aronofsky Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, and Ed Harris Plot: A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (image from The Lobster) Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Alicia Silverstone Plot: A surgeon forms a familial bond with a sinister teenage boy, with disastrous results. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Blade Runner 2049 Director: Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, and Jared Leto Plot: Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. Release Date: 6 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Lady Bird (image of director Greta Gerwig) Director: Greta Gerwig Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Lucas Hedges Plot: The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (image of director Steven Spielberg and star Mark Rylance) Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Mark Rylance, Oscar Isaac Plot: The Kidnapping Of Edgardo Mortara recounts the story of a young Jewish boy in Bologna, Italy in 1858 who, having been secretly baptized, is forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents' struggle to free their son becomes part of a larger political battle that pits the Papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 How to Talk to Girls at Parties Director: John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell Cast: Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, and Nicole Kidman Plot: An alien touring the galaxy breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Dark Tower Director: Nikolaj Arcel Nikolaj Arcel Cast: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor Plot: Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world. Release Date: 28 July 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Suburbicon Director: George Clooney George Clooney Cast: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A crime mystery set in the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, where the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and betrayal. Release Date: 24 November

The more he explored the jungle, the more he realised that the Amazon and its people were not what others assumed them to be, connecting with the indigenous tribes in ways nobody expected.

Gray's previous film was 2013's The Immigrant which starred Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Renner and his We Own the Night lead Joaquin Phoenix.

The Lost City of Z poster

Co-starring alongside Hunnam in The Lost City of Z is Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller and Tom Holland.

The film is released on 24 March
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This time last year, Hillary Clinton was poised to be the next President of the United States. When she was defeated in November, her speech to little girls, that they should believe in themselves and never give up, rang around the world.

The victory of Donald Trump has organised and mobilised millions of women, however - including the global womens marches, the largest and most peaceful protests in history.

Progress is not inevitable but it has been made. In the UK, Theresa May has become the second female Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, and the new UK-based Womens Equality Party has around 50,000 members.

Individuals have made big strides for democracy and gender equality. Gina Miller gave pause to Brexit as she won her case in the Supreme Court and forced Parliament to focus on the democratic process. In the US, Michele Dauber will not let us forget the harrowing Stanford rape case and is working tirelessly to recuse the judge who gave the perpetrator just three months behind bars.

While many men and women in the world watch on, fearful and hopeful for the future, let's not forget those who struggle on with their mission every day to make their own contributions. On International Womens Day 2017, we hope you find the following collection of interviews and features about strong women something to motivate and inspire you over the coming year.

Gina Miller

The entrepreneur and campaigner faced a torrent of abuse when she entered a legal battle to force Parliament to consult when it comes to trigger Article 50, which signals the UKs departure from the European Union.

Further battles lie ahead. She warned the government should have another vote written into the Article 50 bill now.

"The Government tried to ignore the law once before, doing it twice would be incredibly careless," she says.

 Gina Miller reveals shocking abuse since launching Article 50 Brexit legal challenge

Deborah Alessi

Alessi and her husband set up Face Forward, a charity which offers life-changing plastic surgery to domestic violence survivors, in 2007. It has helped people such as Audrey Mabrey, who was beaten up and set on fire by her boyfriend, leaving her with burns over 80 per cent of her body. Domestic violence is still a massive, global epidemic. Three women in the US are murdered every day by their former or current intimate partners.

Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Show all 13 1 /13 Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ida Wells An African-American journalist and activist born in Mississippi in 1862, she wrote prolifically on the fight for womens suffrage as well as the struggle for civil rights. She documented the practice of lynching black people in the southern states showing how it was often used as means of controlling or punishing black people who competed with whites rather than as a means of justice for crimes. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lotifa El Nadi Egypts first female pilot born in 1907 in Cairo. Although her father saw no need for her to pursue secondary education, expecting her to marry and have a family, she rebelled and worked as a secretary and telephone operator at a flying school in exchange for lessons as she had no other means to pay for the training. Her achievements made headlines around the world when she flew over the pyramids and competed in international flying races. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Frida Kahlo A Mexican painter and activist born in Mexico City in 1907, her work has been celebrated internationally as emblematic of Mexican national and indigenous traditions and by feminists for its honest depiction of female experience. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lina Bo Bardi A Brazilian architect, born in Italy in 1914, she devoted her life to the promotion of the social and cultural potential of architecture and design. She is also celebrated for her furniture and jewellery designs. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Olga Skorokhodova A Soviet scientist born into a poor Ukranian peasant family in 1911, she lost her vision and hearing at the age of five. Overcoming these difficulties in a remarkable way, she became a researcher in the field of communication and created a number of scientific works concerning the development of education of deaf-blind children. She was also a teacher, therapist and writer. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Miriam Makeba A South African singer and civil rights activist born in Johannesburg in 1932, she was forced to work as a child following her fathers death. She became a teenage mother after a brief and allegedly abusive marriage at 17, before she was discovered as a singer of jazz and African melodies. After becoming hugely successful in the US and winning a Grammy, she became involved in the civil rights struggle stateside as well as in the campaign against apartheid in her home country, writing political songs. Upon her death, South African President Nelson Mandela said that her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Sally Ride An American astronaut and physicist, she was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and joined NASA in 1978 after gaining her PhD. She became the first American woman and the third woman ever to go into space in 1983 at the age of 32. Prior to her first space flight, she attracted attention because of her gender and at press conferences, was asked questions such as, Will the flight affect your reproductive organs? She later worked as an academic at the University of California, San Diego. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Halet Cambel A Turkish archaeologist born in 1916, she became the first Muslim women to compete in the Olympics in the 1936 Berlin games as a fencer. She declined an invitation to meet Adolf Hitler on political grounds, and after the conclusion of the Second World War, she trained as an architect and later worked as an academic in Turkey and Germany. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ada Lovelace An English mathematician and writer born in 1815, she became the worlds first computer programmer. The daughter of poet George Byron, she is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine, and was the first to recognise the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, creating the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Rukmini Devi An Indian dancer and choreographer credited with reviving Indian classical dance, she was born in 1904 and presented her form of dance on stage even though it was considered low and vulgar in the 1920s. She features in India Todays list of 100 people who shaped India having also worked to re-establish traditional Indian arts and crafts and as an animal rights activist. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Cecilia Grierson An Argentine physician, reformer born in Buenes Aires in 1859, she became the first woman in Argentina to receive a medical degree having previously worked as a teacher. Women were barred from entering medical school at the time, so she first volunteered as an unpaid lab assistant before she was allowed to train as a doctor. She was acclaimed for her work during a cholera epidemic before going on to found the first nursing school in Argentina. The harassment she experienced at medical school helped make her a militant advocate for womens rights in Argentina. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lee Tai-young Koreas first female lawyer and judge born in 1914 in what is now North Korea, she was also an activist who founded the countrys first legal aid centre and fought for womens rights throughout her career. Her often mentioned refrain was, No society can or will prosper without the cooperation of women. She worked as a teacher, married and had four children before she was able to begin her legal career after the Second World War, becoming the first woman to enter Seoul National University. She also fought for civil rights in the country and was arrested in 1977 for her beliefs, receiving a three-year suspended sentence and a ten year disbarment. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Suzanne Lenglen A French tennis champion born in 1899, she popularised the sport winning 31 championships and dominating the womens sport for over a decade. She was the first female tennis celebrity and one of the first international women sports stars, overcoming a childhood plagued with ill health including chronic asthma  which continued to plague her in her adult life. At 15, she became the youngest ever winner of a major championship and lost only seven matches during her entire career. She received widespread criticism for her decision to turn professional, but defended her right to make a decent living in the days when the grand slam tournaments paid a relative pittance to the winners.

Cindy Gallop

Cindy is badass and kickass too. The pioneer of gender equality-friendly adult erotic videos, providing a necessary counter to hardcore porn as sex education, rose to fame in 2009 for her Ted Talk about having sex with younger men. She decided to own the term "cougar" and said she "actively looks forward to dying alone". She talks to The Independent about porn, role models, raising cash and how women can enjoy sex more.

Andrea Arnold

The Academy Award winning filmmaker spills on the incredible process of researching and casting her ultimate American road trip.

Its an important interview in light of the fact that there are so few women film directors.

Esra Alhamal

This Saudi travel blogger will not let her hijab or other people's prejudices stop her from venturing around the world and promoting a positive image of Islam.

"When you wear a scarf you are a visual representation of Islam," she says. "You need to be even nicer than your usual self just to give an even nicer message. That can be exhausting sometimes."

Vicky Lee

The founder of Londons oldest trans nightclub tells The Independent what it was like to create a place where people could wear what they wanted, meet like-minded clubgoers and have fun back in the 1990s.

"And as a trans person all I ask for is that were given the same opportunities and rights as everyone else, whether that is the right to wear nice frocks on a night out or to be a pilot or a doctor or a nurse," she says.

Women at work around the world Show all 25 1 /25 Women at work around the world Women at work around the world Coventry, United Kingdom Cilene Connolly, 32, a Royal Mail postwoman, poses for a portrait during her postal round. "Fortunately, I haven't been faced with gender inequalities in my role as a postwoman," Connolly said. "I've had a great response from my customers for being a female delivering their post, women in particular are always pleasantly surprised to see a female face." Reuters Women at work around the world Los Angeles, California Tara McCannel, 44, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Ophthalmic Oncology Center at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "Knowledge, in abilities, in how the clinical practices go, in appearance," McCannel said."Women just can't be themselves or just think: 'Oh I'm just going to do my work,' and focus on the job. There are these other things that need to be considered because it's not completely equal even though things are getting better. Reuters Women at work around the world Almaty, Kazakhstan Julia Argunova, 36, a mountaineering instructor, poses at 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) above sea level in the Tien Shan mountains. "Physical strength benefits male colleagues in some situations on harder routes. But, women are more concentrated and meticulous. In general, women are better at teaching. My main professional task is to teach safe mountaineering." Reuters Women at work around the world Moscow, Russia Pilot Maria Uvarovskaya poses for a photograph in the A320 flight simulator at the Aeroflot training centre at Sheremetyevo airport. "Much more can be done by the women themselves to solve such problems (gender inequality)," said Uvarovskaya. Reuters Women at work around the world Santiago, Chile Claudia Concha Parraguez, 45, a pole dancing instructor, poses for a photograph in a gym. "Some students with low self-esteem smile more and feel beautiful after training. But because of the poor mentality of their husbands, who do not see this activity as a sport and associate it with something sexual, they stop attending classes," Parraguez said. Reuters Women at work around the world Seoul, South Korea Jeung Un, 27, a freelance photographer, poses for a portrait at a site which protesters have occupied. "Most news outlets prefer to employ male photographers. I feel strongly about gender inequality. When I cover violent scenes, sometimes I am harassed and hear sexually-biased remarks," Reuters Women at work around the world Nice, France Merylee, 26, a soldier does her rounds on the sea-front. The parity in the army already exists, it is the uniform that takes precedence over gender," Merylee said. Reuters Women at work around the world Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Lina Maria da Silva, 62, a babysitter, poses for a photograph with the children she takes care of at her home in the Cantagalo slum. "I've never suffered mistreatment at work. I have always felt a lot of affection from the families I have worked with," Silva said. Reuters Women at work around the world Nairobi, Kenya Christine Akoth, 38, a metal painter: "I have experienced gender bias at my work where sometimes I'm denied contracts because of who I am and maybe my marital status. Some female colleagues have been treated unfairly because of their sex and even exploited," Reuters Women at work around the world London, United Kingdom Dr Catherine Reynolds, 37, a scientific researcher at Imperial College: "Women are very well represented at junior levels in Biological Sciences research. At a senior level it is still true that there are fewer female professors in science, but the gap is slowly closing," Reynolds said. "More policies that promote flexible working and that support staff in taking career breaks (both men and women) are an essential way in which it is possible for employees, especially those with young families, to realise their full potential in the workplace." Reuters Women at work around the world Amman, Jordan Khawla Sheikh, 54, a plumber and a certified trainer, poses at her home's basement, where she gives plumbing training courses to other women. "Housewives are more comfortable to have a woman plumber in their house in the absence of their husbands," said Sheikh. "To tackle gender inequality, I think that all operating sectors must provide equal opportunities for men and women in all fields and each woman must believe in her capabilities and skills that she has in order to convince the others." Reuters Women at work around the world West London, United Kingdom Sarah Hunter, 31, England women's rugby captain and RFU University Rugby Development Officer for the South West, poses for a photograph at The Stoop rugby ground. "I think that if weire the right person for the right job in the workplace then so be it and the same for men," Hunter said. "Iive worked for the RFU, and being what is deemed as a male sport perhaps in the past, I was welcomed into that environment and I personally havenit experienced gender inequality in the workplace, so I think that Iive been very fortunate in the career that Iive had and in the jobs that Iive had that Iive been seen for the person that I am and not for the gender that I am." Reuters Women at work around the world Agusan del Sur, Philippines Filipina Grace Ocol, 40, is a backhoe operator. Ocol, a mother of three, said, "There are a few female workers that can drive big trucks and backhoe. If men can do it, why can't women do it? I'm better than the men, they can only drive trucks here but I can drive both." Reuters Women at work around the world Hasaka, Syria Laila Sterk, 22, is a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) female fighter: "Before becoming a fighter, I was suffering from inequality in society. But after joining the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), I didn't encounter that anymore," said Sterk. "This is due to the fact that when men want to join the SDF they attend educational courses about women fighting alongside them. Therefore the woman fighter leads the military campaigns just like any man." Reuters Women at work around the world Andernos, France Valerie Perron, 53, an oyster farmer, poses for a photograph on her boat. "It must not be forgotten that it is women, moms, who raise the boys. It is therefore up to us to change the mentalities by raising the boys at their youngest age, in a spirit of parity and equality with the woman. We must change the mentalities of early childhood education. A boy can play with dolls and a little girl with small cars," Perron said. Reuters Women at work around the world Kathmandu, Nepal Januka Shrestha, 25, a Tuk Tuk driver, poses for a picture. There is no difference in a vehicle driven by a woman and man. While driving on the road people sometimes try to dominate a vehicle especially when they see a woman driving it. People have even used foul language toward me. When this happens I keep quiet and work even harder to prove that we are as capable as men," Shrestha said. Reuters Women at work around the world Hanoi, Vietnam Phung Thi Hai, 54, carries bricks at a factory. Hai is among a group of 25 women working at a brick factory where she has to move 3,000 bricks a day to the kiln. "How unfair that a 54-year-old woman like me has to work and take care of the whole family. With the same work male labourers can get a better income. Not only me, all women in the village work very hard with no education, no insurance and no future," Hai said. Reuters Women at work around the world Mexico City, Mexico Jauna Diaz, 43, a street sweeper, poses for a photograph as she woks on the street. "In my previous job my boss gave preference to male colleagues and women always were paid later. Thats why I changed jobs," Diaz said. "To tackle gender inequality I think there needs to be more communication and information about women's rights in the work place." Reuters Women at work around the world Istanbul, Turkey Serpil Cigdem, 44, an engine driver, poses for a photograph at Yenikapi station. "When I applied for a job 23 years ago as an engine driver, I was told that it is a profession for men. I knew that during the written examination even if I got the same results with a male candidate, he would have been chosen. Thatis why I worked hard to pass the exam with a very good result ahead of the male candidates. In my opinion, gender inequality starts in our minds saying itis a male profession or itis a men job," said Cigdem. Reuters Women at work around the world Beijing, China Deng Qiyan, 47, a mother of three and a decoration worker at contraction sites, poses for a photograph at an apartment building under construction. "Sometimes (gender inequality) happens. But we cannot do anything about that. After all, you have to digest all those unhappy things and carry on," Qiyan said. Reuters Women at work around the world Lima, Peru Rocio Larranaga, 53, a surfer and surf instructor, poses for a photograph at Redondo beach. "I am the first woman to represent my country in national and international competitions since 1977," said Larranaga. "In 1995 I became a surf teacher. Lots of women surf and they are very good at it. I hope that in the future women have the same quota as men in professional competitions." Reuters Women at work around the world Tunis, Tunisia Chrifa Nimri, 69, a fisherwoman, arranges a net after returning from fishing at the seaport Sidi Bou Said. "At the beginning of my fishing career all the world told me that the trade was for men but now all my colleagues respect and call me captain," Chrifa said. Reuters Women at work around the world La Paz, Bolivia Elizabeth Mamani, 36, a reporter at Radio Union, poses inside Bolivia's national congress building. "When I started in this job, I did feel discrimination (from officials who controlled the access of members of the press to events). To counter discrimination in this profession, we as women, must excel, we must prepare ourselves in every field," Mamani said Reuters Women at work around the world Karachi, Pakistan Mehwish Ekhlaque, 26, a bike rider and trainer, poses for a photograph with her bike. "When I planned a Pakistan Bike Tour many of my male colleagues gave me a piece of advice not to do it as it's neither safe nor easy for a woman. But I did it," Ekhlaque said. Reuters Women at work around the world Tokyo, Japan Shinto priest Tomoe Ichino, 40, poses for a photograph at the Imado Shrine. In general, people think being a Shinto priest is a man's profession. If you're a woman, they think you're a shrine maiden, or a supplementary priestess. People don't know women Shinto priests exist, so they think we can't perform rituals. Once, after I finished performing jiichinsai (ground-breaking ceremony), I was asked, 'So, when is the priest coming?'," Ichino said. "When I first began working as a Shinto priest, because I was young and female, some people felt the blessing was different. They thought: 'I would have preferred your grandfather.' At first, I wore my grandfather's light green garment because I thought it's better to look like a man. But after a while I decided to be proud of the fact that I am a female priest and I began wearing a pink robe, like today. I thought I can be more confident if I stop thinking too much (about my gender)." Reuters

Rebecca Amsellem

Women in France work the equivalent of 38.2 more days each year than men for the same salary. Amsellem, founder of Les Glorieuses group, spearheaded a campaign to raise awareness about gender inequality.

Reminiscent of Iceland in the 1970s, she ended up organising a mass walkout of women from all sectors to close the countrys pay gap.

Diane Bryant

Big corporations are still dominated by men, especially in STEM areas. Intels executive vice president Diane Bryant spoke to The Independent about her extraordinary journey from homelessness to becoming one of the most powerful women in business.

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

Andrea Chandler

If youve ever wondered what you are doing in the 9 to 5, read Chandler's story. She dropped out of the Navy to become a farmer in a small town in Virginia and created a mass following for her brilliantly dry-humored twitter account.

Her social media include lessons on sheep and electric fences, how smart animals are, the pitfalls of mating, and being showered in blood when trying to kill livestock.

Michelle Kennedy

The founder of dating app Bumble has also co-created another app to match mothers with similar interests and experiences. App "Peanut" was inspired by her own experience of loneliness after having her first baby.

"I wanted to just hang out with another woman who could tell me: dont feel guilty, sometimes this is boring.'"

Sex toys designed by women - in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Sex toys designed by women - in pictures Sex toys designed by women - in pictures The Vesper designed by Ti Chang Sex toys designed by women - in pictures US sex toy designer Ti Chang Sex toys designed by women - in pictures The Vesper is produced in silver, rose gold and gold. Sex toys designed by women - in pictures The PopDildo which can be used for semination Sex toys designed by women - in pictures Sex toys designed by women - in pictures The Fin clitoral simulator designed by Alex Fine and Janet Lieberman Sex toys designed by women - in pictures Sex toys designed by women - in pictures

Cindy Chupack

The Sex and the City writer was arguably one of the women writers who helped create the new normal for modern women: it was ok to talk about sex and abortions over brunch. Chupack tells The Independent about the male-dominated writing room of Modern Family and how she struggled to make her voice heard, how she felt about winning awards and finally getting the green light to direct her own film.

"Maybe thats a false humility that women have and we need to get over, but I respond to the feeling that your work could always be better, you hope its good, but you know it could improve."

Michele Dauber

Almost everyone remembers reading the harrowing statement last summer of a young woman who was sexually assaulted by Stanford athlete Brock Turner. He was given just a few months in prison.

Dauber, the woman behind the movement to remove the judge in the case, has never given up. She said she is "100 per cent confident" her movement will succeed, as the judge has a history of bias in cases of violence against women.

"The probation officer said that Brock 'surrendered a hard earned swimming scholarship'; its nonsense and insulting to the victim and to women everywhere," said Ms Dauber.
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Trinidadian DJ and producer Jillionaire has dropped the gorgeous video for his new track 'Sunrise' - a summer banger created with Fuse ODG and Fatman Scoop.

Filmed in Dakar, Senegal, the video follows two young lovers in their dance of a journey that takes inspiration from Gris Gris wrestling.

We caught up with Jillionaire to see how he put the song together and what he's going to be up to for the rest of the year.

Check out the video and read our Q&A below:

Jillionaire Q&A

What are you listening to at the moment?

Right now, I'm listening to the news on National Public Radio. Music wise I've been listening to SiR and the new Future album.

What's it been like going back to work with Fuse?

Fuse is a great artist with really good energy, he's really easy to work with in the studio, and we've done a handful of shows with him as well.

Do you think there are trends when it comes to pop music? Between 2014-2016 we heard a lot of Balkan samples, this year looks set to take a lot of cues from Ghana ['Sunrise' by Jillionaire, 'Shape of You' and 'Bibia Be Ye Ye' by Ed Sheeran]

Coming from Trinidad I've always had African influences, Indian influences, European influences. We've always been exposed to various genres of music.

Right now I'm just trying to bridge the gap between the pop world and the diaspora and provide some context for artists that may be coming out of niche markets like the Caribbean.

How do you begin creating a summer jam like 'Sunrise' - are there any special ingredients?

A lot of luck and good vibes! I'd worked on the beat with my production partner and had it for a while, I was in London doing a session with Scoop and reached out to Fuse, who happened to be in town and came straight over. We tracked all the vocals that night! It was magical having everyone in studio and working together.

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When and how did you first meet Fatman Scoop?

I met Scoop a few years back in Trinidad through Machel Montano. We hit it off and have remained friends.

What's the best party you can remember?

March 6th 2016 - Havana, Cuba. We played a concert to half a million people, but then we did a sweaty after party in the back room of a restaurant and that was really bananas.

What are your plans for the rest of 2017?

Working on more music. Some clothing stuff. A handful of art projects with friends. And exploring as much as I can!

'Sunrise' - the new track from Jillionaire, Fuse ODG and Fatman Scoop - is out now
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Zayn Malik has teased some new music by soundtracking a dancing dog gif on Twitter.

The former member of One Direction put out his solo debut Mind of Mine in 2016, and followed that with a recent Taylor Swift collaboration for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack.

Malik has since uploaded a hint of brand new music and promised that there is "more to come".

Malik's producer Malay, who worked with the artist on a collaboration with acclaimed Indian composer AR Rahman [Slumdog Millionaire], recently spoke about what they'd been up to in the studio.

"I thought it would be fun to have a platform that was maybe a little less pressure for the artist and then me having the challenge and the fun of creating a new sound.

"The other part of what I'm doing is representing a little bit more of the culture subliminally with Zayn [Malik].

"We're talking about doing a song with him and AR Rahman together and I'm having Zayn in Urdu. It's real similar to Hindi but it's Pakistani language. It's a modern-sounding song, but for him to sing in that language is kind of powerful."

From beef to BFFs to beef again: Kanye West and Taylor Swift Show all 6 1 /6 From beef to BFFs to beef again: Kanye West and Taylor Swift From beef to BFFs to beef again: Kanye West and Taylor Swift September 2009 NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Kanye West (L) jumps onstage after Taylor Swift (C) won the "Best Female Video" award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images) From beef to BFFs to beef again: Kanye West and Taylor Swift September 2009 NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 13: Kanye West (L) jumps onstage after Taylor Swift (C) won the "Best Female Video" award during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on September 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images) Christopher Polk/Getty From beef to BFFs to beef again: Kanye West and Taylor Swift February 2015 LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 08: (L-R) Recording Artists Taylor Swift, Jay Z and Kanye West and tv personality Kim Kardashian attend The 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at the STAPLES Center on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS) From beef to BFFs to beef again: Kanye West and Taylor Swift August 2015 LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 30: Recording artist Kanye West (L) accepts the Video Vanguard Award from recording artist Taylor Swift onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) From beef to BFFs to beef again: Kanye West and Taylor Swift April 2016 Kanye West drops 'Famous', which includes the controversial line 'I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that bitch famous' From beef to BFFs to beef again: Kanye West and Taylor Swift July 2016 Kim Kardashian releases of audio of Tayior Swift approving the lyrics to 'Famous' Getty

Malik's song with Taylor Swift was well-received, and described by iTunes as "two of pop's brightest stars [teaming up] for a passionate duet".

Within hours of its release it hit the No.1 spot on the US iTunes chart, while a teaser of the song featuring footage from the film racked up millions of views.

The song was recorded at musician and producer Jack Antonoff's home; he said the song "came together very quickly" and was co-written with Swift and American hip hop artist Sam Dew.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trumps ongoing feud is no secret and the pair often vent their frustrations about each other on Twitter for all to see.

But according to the Hollywood actor, who served two terms as the Republican Governor of California, this animosity comes from a place of love.

Floating a new theory about the president, Schwarzenegger, who revealed he was stepping down from hosting The Apprentice last week, went so far as to suggest Mr Trump was in love with him.

President Trump, who hosted The Apprentice for 14 years before Schwarzenegger took over, has often attacked his successor in Twitter tirades.

Appearing on US SiriusXM radio show, Schwarzenegger was pressed about why Mr Trump has a fixation with him.

Schwarzenegger simply replied: I think hes in love with me.

Youve had a long relationship with him, the host replied, prompting Schwarzenegger to simply say: Oh, yes.

The actor was asked to elaborate on where this infatuation came from but declined.

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

One theory which has been floated as a potential reason for Mr Trump's apparent hatred for Schwarzenegger is the fact he apparently wanted Ivanka Trump, his third child who is said to be his favourite, to take over from him on the show.

Alongside her brothers Eric and Donald Jr, Ms Trump was a mentor and judge on the show, and Mr Trump reportedly thought she would be the perfect candidate to host.

The billionaire property developer, who continued to be an executive producer for the show after his election, launched the reality TV series in 2004 and continues to hold it dear to his heart.

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The highly public spat started after Mr Trump mocked Schwarzenegger in January after the premiere of the new season. Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got swamped (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT, he wrote on Twitter. So much for being a movie star.

While Schwarzeneggers debut episode attracted 4.93 million viewers, Mr Trumps debut episode in 2008 was watched by 11.08 million and his last amassed 6.1 million.

After Schwarzenegger announced he was quitting the show, citing Mr Trumps baggage, the President snapped back and claimed the actor was "fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings.

Since revealing he was quitting, Schwarzenegger has said the programme was somewhat tainted by Mr Trumps presidency.
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Britains solar industry is facing devastation and consumers could see energy bills rise after the Chancellor Philip Hammond refused to listen to pleas to cancel a planned tax hike of up to 800 per cent on rooftop solar schemes.

The Solar Trade Association described the Governments refusal to bend over the increase  due to come into force in April  as nonsensical and absurd.

Bizarrely, state schools with solar panels will be forced to pay, while private schools will remain exempt.

Mr Hammond barely mentioned the energy sector in his speech  apart from a promise to help the oil and gas industry maximise exploitation of the remaining reserves in the North Sea.

According to the Governments own figures, solar power is expected to become the cheapest form of electricity generation sometime in the 2020s.

But the UK solar industry lost 12,000 jobs last year and there has been an 85 per cent reduction in the deployment of rooftop solar schemes.

So the sector had hoped the Government would listen to their request to drop the huge increase in business rates affecting rooftop solar from next month.

Some 44,000 solar microgenerators who are currently exempt from business rates could be faced with a bill of hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds.

Speaking after reading the detail of the Budget in Treasury documents, Leonie Greene, of the Solar Trade Association, told The Independent: Fair to say we are dismayed. We are facing an extreme business rate rise of up to 800 per cent.

Listening to what the Chancellor said today, there was no mention of energy apart from oil and gas.

I have to say we are astonished because deployment of solar is at a six-year low.

This is slightly less than helpful for the British solar industry its absurd. Energy tax policy is going in the opposite direction to how we know energy needs to change and how it is changing.

What he is doing is advantaging old technology and disadvantaging new ones. Its nonsensical.

The tax hike affects businesses that install solar panels and use the electricity themselves.

But Ms Greene stressed consumers would end up paying more for their energy because of the overall downturn in the industry, which she said was also being shut out of the wholesale power market.

That is crazy because it is the cheapest and most popular source of energy. What that means is consumers are paying more. We are taking away the competitive pressure solar has put on other technologies.

We need something to change for the solar industry. We are just trying to get a level playing field with fossil fuels.

 Philip Hammond made a litany of gags in his Budget 2017

James Court, head of policy at the Renewable Energy Association, said technologies like solar are unstoppable.

But he warned: The UK is going to be left behind while the rest of the world is steaming ahead with renewable deployment.

Solar and onshore wind are potentially already cheaper than new gas and certainly cheaper than new nuclear, so we are locking ourselves into an overly fossilised and more expensive energy future.

In his speech, Mr Hammond made no mention of the solar industry, climate change, the environment or air pollution. There had been hopes that he would increase taxes on polluting diesel vehicles.

But he did say he had heard the calls by North Sea oil and gas producers and the Scottish government to provide further support for the transfer of late-life assets.

As UK oil and gas production declines it is essential that we maximise exploitation of remaining reserves and so we will publish a formal discussion paper in due course, Mr Hammond said.

Other key decisions affecting renewable energy, such as the price levied on carbon emissions by big companies after Brexit, were also put off until later, creating uncertainty that could dissuade potential investors.

ClientEarth, a group of environmental lawyers that has twice successfully taken the Government to court to force it to come up with an effective plan to reduce air pollution, said the Budget showed Mr Hammond had failed to grasp the severity of the UKs air quality crisis.

James Thornton, ClientEarths chief executive, said the Government should have imposed a new charge on new diesel vehicles to send a strong signal that it planned to deal with the public health problems caused by air pollution.

Despite being ordered twice by the courts to take urgent steps to tackle the countrys air pollution crisis, it seems the Treasury has still not grasped the urgency of the situation, he said.

We fear that Government plans [on air pollution], which are due out next month, may well fall short of what is needed.

A Treasury document issued in support of the Chancellors statement to the House of Commons said the Government was committed to improving air quality and would continue to explore the appropriate tax treatment for diesel vehicles.
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The modelling and fashion industries are developing, theres no doubt about it. But that doesnt mean theres not still a lot more work to be done.

And one area in particular where theres still much progress to be made is representation of transgender models.

Last year, a reality TV series that followed the lives of transgender models, Strut, was broadcast in the US - and produced by Whoopi Goldberg.

Recommended Vogue Paris features transgender model on its cover for first time

In 2015, Hari Nef made waves when she was signed to major agency IMG Worldwide and earlier this year starred in a campaign for L'Oreal Paris too.

And now there exist not one but multiple modelling agencies devoted to transgender models, one of which is Trans Models.

The New York-based agency was founded in 2015 by 27-year-old Peche Di, from Thailand, and now has 19 models on its books.

Di decided to start Trans Models after struggling in the modelling industry as a trans woman for over 10 years: During that time, I couldn't find an agency that wanted to represent and sign me, Di told The Independent.

She was getting sporadic jobs, including walking the catwalk for prestigious department store Barneys New York, but still couldnt get representation.

But one of Dis main motivations for starting the agency was to provide a platform to speak out about the discrimination she and other trans models face.

She believes that the industry is not diverse enough and focuses too much on straight, white, slim, cisgender models. The industry is not inclusive enough yet, Di says, and reveals shes had jobs taken away from her when the client discovered she was trans.

Di also maintains that transgender models are paid less: Ive experienced pay discrimination myself - there have been times where Ive asked other models doing the same job as me what they were being paid, and I was being paid less.

Di never set out to become a spokesperson for transgender models and yet that is what she has become.

A self-confessed very shy person, Di goes to classes to overcome her anxiety.

She grew up in Thailand, where popular culture encouraged bleaching skin in a bid to appear caucasian.

Di is still struggling with this now: I felt like I decreased my own self of loving, caring and worth, and I have to build that up again.

Shes certainly making an impact though - Di was named in Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Fashion & Style category, and her models have featured in campaigns for Budweiser and Smirnoff as well as i-D magazine and Time Out New York.

Di acknowledges that theres still a way to go, but shes encouraged by the progress trans models have already made.
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An Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge has called for a ban on social media sites in Pakistan, due to the spread of blasphemous images online.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui also wants people found to have posted blasphemous content online to have their names added to the Exit Control List, thereby prohibiting them from leaving the country.

I will go to every extent to bring this case to its logical end and if needed I will even ban social media in Pakistan, he is reported to have said.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

Justice Siddiqui claimed that he had been unable to sleep since seeing the offending content, and also compared blasphemers to terrorists.

The blasphemous pages are being removed with the help of Facebook officials.

Blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad is punishable by death in Pakistan, which has a number of religious offences listed in its penal code, including wounding religious feelings, derogatory remarks and defiling the Quran.

Recommended Pakistan blasphemy laws increasingly used to settle petty disputes

Just Siddiqui also appealed for the support of Pakistans Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, asking him to take some steps in his own supervision to eliminate the evil, even at the cost of blocking the entirety [of] social media.

Salman Shahid filed the case, alleging that five bloggers, Salman Haider, Ahmed Waqas Goraya, Asim Saeed, Ahmed Raza Naseer and Samar Abbas, were spreading blasphemous content through pages on social networks.

Over 2,000 people are rallying in Islamabad, calling for the government to take stern action.
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The CIA had a special programme allowing it to trick people into thinking they had been hacked by other countries, according to WikiLeaks.

The agency was cataloguing the hacking methods of outside cyber attackers, including those from Russia, according to files published by the organisation. Once it had them catalogued, it could use them to break into other countries or people's computers or phones  making it look like a different country had done so.

WikiLeaks made specific reference to the Russian Federation. Tensions between the US and Russia have escalated in recent months, in particular since American intelligence agencies blamed the hack of Democratic emails  credited with swaying the election of Donald Trump  on the country.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

The project, called UMBRAGE, is just one of a range of different hacking tools that appear to be have been revealed by the leak. The files also include details on programmes for hacking into iPhones, laptops and even smart TVs and turning them into listening devices  though none of the details have yet been confirmed.

UMBRAGE works in part by getting around the problems of those hacking techniques. Any cyber attack inevitably leaves a trace of how it was done  but by cataloguing other hackers' tricks, those traces could look like they come from someone else entirely.

"The CIA's Remote Devices Branch's UMBRAGE group collects and maintains a substantial library of attack techniques 'stolen' from malware produced in other states including the Russian Federation," WikiLeaks wrote in its release. "With UMBRAGE and related projects the CIA cannot only increase its total number of attack types but also misdirect attribution by leaving behind the "fingerprints" of the groups that the attack techniques were stolen from."

The UMBRAGE project includes a variety of cyber weapons, including tools that can allow data to be deleted, webcams to be spied on and various other survey techniques, according to the documents.
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The head of general surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center had a remarkably simple idea not long ago: What if the department suggested that surgeons limit prescriptions of narcotic pain pills to a specific number for different kinds of operations?

The results were dramatic: The number of pills prescribed by doctors for five common outpatient surgeries dropped by 53 percent, and patients didn't consume all the pills they were given, according to a study that will be published this week in the journal Annals of Surgery.

Even veteran surgeons really had no idea how many opioids to send home with their patients, said Richard J. Barth, who is chief of general surgery at the medical centre in New Hampshire and led the team that conducted the study.

There werent really operation-specific guidelines out there before, Barth said. Doctors are very data-driven, and if there are specific guidelines, people are going to follow them.

Overprescribing of opioids by doctors and other health-care providers is widely blamed for helping to start the epidemic now gripping the nation. Nearly 180,000 people have died of overdoses of prescription narcotics since 2000, and tens of thousands more have succumbed to overdoses of heroin and fentanyl as the crisis has evolved.

In recent years, a variety of interventions has been aimed at curbing over-prescribing. Prescription-drug monitoring programmes, now established in every state except Missouri, ask or require prescribers to check databases that show their patients' purchases of controlled substances, in an effort to cut down on doctor shopping and encourage physicians to offer fewer pills. Insurance companies have begun notifying doctors who are heavy prescribers of opioids in an attempt to bring them more in line with norms. And emergency-room physicians have been making a concerted effort to send patients home with the fewest possible opioids needed to control their pain.

Few if any of these projects are as simple as the effort undertaken by Barth and his colleagues. To come up with recommendations to pass along to surgeons, they first surveyed people who underwent one of five outpatient surgeries: partial mastectomy, partial mastectomy with a lymph-node biopsy, gall-bladder removal and two kinds of hernia repair. They discovered that the patients consumed only 28 percent of the opioids they were prescribed and that there was a wide range in prescribing habits on the part of the doctors.

Based on the results, they suggested to surgeons, orally and in writing, that they limit the number of narcotic pills to five and 10 for the two breast operations and 15 for the other three. They also told patients that they would most likely be able to manage their pain with nonnarcotic painkillers such as acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen.

The goal was twofold - to prevent long-term use of the painkillers by patients and to help block diversion of the pills to illegal users, who, Barth and his colleagues said, consume as much as 71 percent of legitimately prescribed opioids.

A follow-up survey of 224 patients showed that the total number of pills prescribed dropped from 6,170 before the education initiative to 2,932 afterward, a 53 percent decline. The average difference was greatest for partial mastectomies - the number of pills dropped from 19.8 to 5.1 for partial mastectomies and from 23.7 to 9.6 for partial mastectomies with a lymph-node biopsy.

Only one patient came back for a prescription refill.

From the surgeon's standpoint, helping people unfortunately has the side effect of causing pain, and we want to relieve patients of their pain, Barth said. Physicians are also under pressure from satisfaction surveys, conducted after procedures, that ask patients to rate how well providers managed their pain.

When the researchers surveyed 148 of the patients to determine the number of opioid pills they took, the numbers were equally startling. That group had been prescribed 1,913 pills but took only 656.

Most doctors say: I want to take care of their pain, and I dont want them to have to come back and get a refill. So Im going prescribe them a lot, Barth added. The problem is there is a lot of cost to society.

The study was not set up as a randomised controlled trial and therefore cannot definitively link the results to the education effort. But Barth noted that just four of the 34 surgeons in the study wrote half of the excessive prescriptions, and those surgeons had missed the education effort.

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The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. 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The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. 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Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. 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The research team is now compiling similar data for more-serious inpatient surgeries to determine whether they can curb over-prescribing when those patients are sent home to recuperate.

I think [the idea] has potential to have a big impact, Barth said. This could easily be done by other general surgeons all across the country.

The Washington Post
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On International Women's Day, Iceland became the first country in the world to force companies to prove they pay all employees the same regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or nationality,

The country's government announced a new law that will require every company with 25 or more staff to gain a certificate demonstrating pay equality.

Iceland is not the first country to introduce a scheme like this - Switzerland has one, as does the US state of Minnesota - but Iceland is thought to be the first to make it a mandatory requirement.

 International Women's Day 2017: Everything you need to know

Recommended Iceland police warn drivers to stop looking at Northern Lights

Equality and Social Affairs Minister Thorsteinn Viglundsson said that "the time is right to do something radical about this issue."

"Equal rights are human rights. We need to make sure that men and women enjoy equal opportunity in the workplace. It is our responsibility to take every measure to achieve that," he said.

The move comes as part of a drive by the Nordic nation to eradicate the gender pay gap by 2022.

In October, thousands of female employees across Iceland walked out of workplaces at 2.38pm to protest against earning less than men. After this time in a typical eight-hour day, women are essentially working without pay, according to unions and women's organisations.

Iceland has been at the forefront of establishing pay equality, having already introduced a minimum 40 per cent quota for women on boards of companies with more than 50 employees.

The country has been ranked the best in the world for gender equality by the World Economic Forum for eight years running, but despite this, Icelandic women still earn 14 to 18 per cent less than men, on average,

This compares to the UK's gender pay gap stands at 17.5 per cent and the average of the OECD group of industrialised nations of 15.5 per cent

Should the new legislation pass through the Icelandic parliament as expected, the government wants to implement it by 2020.

Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Show all 13 1 /13 Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ida Wells An African-American journalist and activist born in Mississippi in 1862, she wrote prolifically on the fight for womens suffrage as well as the struggle for civil rights. She documented the practice of lynching black people in the southern states showing how it was often used as means of controlling or punishing black people who competed with whites rather than as a means of justice for crimes. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lotifa El Nadi Egypts first female pilot born in 1907 in Cairo. Although her father saw no need for her to pursue secondary education, expecting her to marry and have a family, she rebelled and worked as a secretary and telephone operator at a flying school in exchange for lessons as she had no other means to pay for the training. Her achievements made headlines around the world when she flew over the pyramids and competed in international flying races. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Frida Kahlo A Mexican painter and activist born in Mexico City in 1907, her work has been celebrated internationally as emblematic of Mexican national and indigenous traditions and by feminists for its honest depiction of female experience. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lina Bo Bardi A Brazilian architect, born in Italy in 1914, she devoted her life to the promotion of the social and cultural potential of architecture and design. She is also celebrated for her furniture and jewellery designs. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Olga Skorokhodova A Soviet scientist born into a poor Ukranian peasant family in 1911, she lost her vision and hearing at the age of five. Overcoming these difficulties in a remarkable way, she became a researcher in the field of communication and created a number of scientific works concerning the development of education of deaf-blind children. She was also a teacher, therapist and writer. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Miriam Makeba A South African singer and civil rights activist born in Johannesburg in 1932, she was forced to work as a child following her fathers death. She became a teenage mother after a brief and allegedly abusive marriage at 17, before she was discovered as a singer of jazz and African melodies. After becoming hugely successful in the US and winning a Grammy, she became involved in the civil rights struggle stateside as well as in the campaign against apartheid in her home country, writing political songs. Upon her death, South African President Nelson Mandela said that her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Sally Ride An American astronaut and physicist, she was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and joined NASA in 1978 after gaining her PhD. She became the first American woman and the third woman ever to go into space in 1983 at the age of 32. Prior to her first space flight, she attracted attention because of her gender and at press conferences, was asked questions such as, Will the flight affect your reproductive organs? She later worked as an academic at the University of California, San Diego. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Halet Cambel A Turkish archaeologist born in 1916, she became the first Muslim women to compete in the Olympics in the 1936 Berlin games as a fencer. She declined an invitation to meet Adolf Hitler on political grounds, and after the conclusion of the Second World War, she trained as an architect and later worked as an academic in Turkey and Germany. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ada Lovelace An English mathematician and writer born in 1815, she became the worlds first computer programmer. The daughter of poet George Byron, she is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine, and was the first to recognise the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, creating the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Rukmini Devi An Indian dancer and choreographer credited with reviving Indian classical dance, she was born in 1904 and presented her form of dance on stage even though it was considered low and vulgar in the 1920s. She features in India Todays list of 100 people who shaped India having also worked to re-establish traditional Indian arts and crafts and as an animal rights activist. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Cecilia Grierson An Argentine physician, reformer born in Buenes Aires in 1859, she became the first woman in Argentina to receive a medical degree having previously worked as a teacher. Women were barred from entering medical school at the time, so she first volunteered as an unpaid lab assistant before she was allowed to train as a doctor. She was acclaimed for her work during a cholera epidemic before going on to found the first nursing school in Argentina. The harassment she experienced at medical school helped make her a militant advocate for womens rights in Argentina. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lee Tai-young Koreas first female lawyer and judge born in 1914 in what is now North Korea, she was also an activist who founded the countrys first legal aid centre and fought for womens rights throughout her career. Her often mentioned refrain was, No society can or will prosper without the cooperation of women. She worked as a teacher, married and had four children before she was able to begin her legal career after the Second World War, becoming the first woman to enter Seoul National University. She also fought for civil rights in the country and was arrested in 1977 for her beliefs, receiving a three-year suspended sentence and a ten year disbarment. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Suzanne Lenglen A French tennis champion born in 1899, she popularised the sport winning 31 championships and dominating the womens sport for over a decade. She was the first female tennis celebrity and one of the first international women sports stars, overcoming a childhood plagued with ill health including chronic asthma  which continued to plague her in her adult life. At 15, she became the youngest ever winner of a major championship and lost only seven matches during her entire career. She received widespread criticism for her decision to turn professional, but defended her right to make a decent living in the days when the grand slam tournaments paid a relative pittance to the winners.

Mr Viglundsson said there had been opposition to the law from those who said it represents unnecessary bureaucracy.

"It is a burden to put on companies to have to comply with a law like this," he acknowledged. "But we put such burdens on companies all the time when it comes to auditing your annual accounts or turning in your tax report.

"You have to dare to take new steps, to be bold in the fight against injustice."

Additional reporting by Associated Press
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A couple have been detained in the United Arab Emirates for having sex outside of marriage, according to a relative.

The South African man and his Ukranian fiancee were reportedly arrested after a doctor in Abu Dhabi who treated Ms Nohai for stomach cramps discovered she was pregnant.

Emlyn Culverwell 29, and Iryna Nohai, 27, have not yet been charged by authorities in the Islamic country, who are reportedly still investigating.

South Africa's foreign ministry said it was unable to help the couple as it is a matter of domestic UAE law, the South African News24 website reports.

Mr Culverwells mother, Linda, said she was unable to get any answers from either the authorities in Abu Dhabi, the South African Embassy in the UAE or the South African consulate there.

Mr Culwerwells employer, Yas Waterworld, told his family formal charges have not yet been brought because Ms Nohai is apparently undergoing further tests to determine how long she has been sexually active.

For heavens sake, how can they supposedly determine that? his mother said.

It must feel as if she is being raped by the authorities.

The only thing they did which was wrong, was to fall in love. It makes no sense.

We are trying to get messages to the two to say we love them and that they shouldnt be worried... what concerns me most, is that we actually havent got a clue how they are. All the Department of International Relations is prepared to say is that we have to be patient, but there are three lives at stake here.

A spokesperson for the department, Nelson Kgwete, said the couple was being prosecuted in terms of UAE laws and that the South African Government could do nothing about it.

The South African Government is aware of the case, but unfortunately cannot provide legal assistance. As [the] department all we can do is monitor the situation and try to ensure that they are fairly treated."

In 2008, a British couple, Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer, were given jail sentences for having sex in public in the UAE after they were caught together on a Dubai beach  although they had their sentences suspended when they signed a court document agreeing to marry on their return to England.

The promised marriage did not happen, not least because Mr Acors had a wife already.

In the UAE, all sex outside marriage is illegal, although in Dubai, a blind eye is usually turned to unmarried western couples who co-habit.

An unmarried woman who gives birth in the UAE may encounter problems registering the birth of her child, according to advice from the British Government, which says: To get a birth certificate from the UAE authorities, you must provide a marriage certificate and the authorities may compare the date of the marriage against the estimated date of conception.
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Bright pink water flowed through Canadian town's taps prompting complaints from residents and forcing the mayor to issue and apology.

Caused by Potassium permanganate, a chemical used in the standard water treatment process, there was no significant health risk to the residents of Onoway, Alberta.

But Mayor Dale Krasnow said in a statement that the town "could have done a better job communicating what was going on."

Though water took on a startling pink hue on Monday, townspeople were not informed of the cause until the following morning.

Potassium permanganate is used worldwide to remove iron and hydrogen sulfide from water supplies. Hydrogen sulfide is corrosive and highly poisonous, and has a distinctive, foul odour of rotten eggs.

Potassium permanganate is relatively benign, although large quantities can cause skin irritation.

However, there are no reports of any adverse medical effects in Onoway. The small town has a population of around 1000, and is located 40 miles northwest of the city Edmonton.

Mayor Krasnow suggested the problem was caused by a faulty valve, "stuck allowing the potassium permanganate to get into our sump reservoir and thereby into the Towns water distribution system."

He said: "Immediately and throughout this entire process our staff have been in contact with Alberta Environment, and today our discussions have included Alberta Health Services.

"We were never advised by Alberta Environment to issue a public advisory and all indications are that there was never a public health risk."

Townspeople were asked to keep all their taps running until water turned clear, flushing out the chemical agent from the system.

In pictures: Flint water crisis Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Flint water crisis In pictures: Flint water crisis Anthony Fordham picks up bottled water from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to deliver to a school after elevated lead levels were found in the city's water in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Michigan National Guard Staff Sergeant William Phillips (L) assists a Flint resident with bottled water at a fire station in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents Arthur Woodson, left, and Tony Palladino Jr. protest the arrival of Flint native and filmmaker Michael Moore as Moore accuses Gov.Rick Snyder of poisoning Flint water during a rally outside of city hall in Flint AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents pick up bottled water and water filters at a fire station in Flint. Michigan National Guard members were set to arrive in Flint to join door-to-door efforts to distribute bottled water and other supplies to residents coping with the city's crisis over lead-contaminated drinking water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard Flint prepare to give Flint residents bottled water at a fire station in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis Justin Roberson (L), age 6, of Flint, Michigan and Mychal Adams, age 1, of Flint wait on a stack of bottled water at a rally where the Rev. Jesse Jackson was speaking about about the water crises at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis A man sits next to a stack of bottled water at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint 2016 Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis The top of a water tower is seen at the Flint Water Plant. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Michigan and ordered federal aid to be used to help state and local response efforts to an area affected by contaminated water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Rosie Wright, center, rallies with the crowd over Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Rick Catherman participates in a rally around Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP

Though he emphasised there was no cause for alarm, Mayor Krasnow apologised for the way the situation was handled.

He said: "Could the Town have done a better job of communicating what was going on yesterday to our community  absolutely, without a doubt. And we do apologize for that.

"This is a situation we can certainly learn from and develop a strategy for better response and communication should we ever face the same or similar situation in the future."
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The Crown Prosecution Service has agreed to review its decision not to prosecute a far-right activist known for making vitrolic speeches against the "Jewish world order".

In a July 2015 speech to an anti-Shorim rally on Whitehall, Jeremy Bedford-Turner said all politicians are nothing but a bunch of puppets dancing to a Jewish tune, and the ruling regimes in the West for the last one hundred years have danced to the same tune.

He claimed the West were slaves to the Zionist agenda which he said was responsible for the French Revolution and both World Wars.

He said the period during the Middle Ages when Jewish people were forbidden from entering England was a merry time for the country and called for them to be banned once more.

Gideon Falter, the chairman of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA), witnessed the speech and reported it to the CPS.

But after five months it decided not to prosecute the case  arguing that prosecuting Mr Bedford-Turner would breach his right to freedom of speech.

Following a 13-month campaign by the CAA, two days before they were due to appear in court to face a judicial review, the CPS agreed to look again at their decision not prosecute Mr Bedford-Turner.

In documents submitted to the High Court on the eve of that review and seen by The Independent, the CPS has admitted the decision was legally wrong and agreed that it is appropriate a fresh decision is made because free speech does not extend to hate speech.

It agreed to consult the CAA in future when making decisions regarding similar cases against Jewish people and whether it can be regarded hate speech or free speech.

Brian Kennelly QC, the barrister preparing to take the CAAs case to the High Court pro bono, told The Independent there is a concern that the CPS is too slow to act against hate speech and waits for actual threats of violence even though the law does not require it.

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. 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He said the CPS was quick to act in cases such as that of Luciana Berger Berger, a Jewish MP, who has been repeatedly targeted by far-right trolls online.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine was jailed for two years in December, after being found guilty of racially motivated harassment against Ms Berger.

But Mr Kennelly said "the CPS have been less willing to take action is in relation to pure hate speech."

He added: "Under the law there is a prohibition to inciting racial hatred so under the Public Order Act if someone uses threatening or abusive words or behaviour aimed at a racial group intended to stir up racial hatred is guilty of an offence.

The fact that the CPS had agreed its decision was wrong before the matter could go to court showed they really were concerned that they had got the law wrong, he said.

To win a judicial review you have to show the authority got the law wrong or did something totally irrational  not just wrong but so wrong no rational decision maker could make that decision, he said.

Although there is a route by which you can challenge a Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), he added that it was "very difficult to succeed because of that threshold".

This was especially prevalent when "the DPP is involved because the courts have said many times they do not want to second guess the DPPs decision not to prosecute someone - that is a matter for his or her discretion, he said.

A spokesman for the CPS told The Independent: We have agreed that the prosecutors original decision not to charge should be reviewed by a more senior lawyer within the CPS. This decision follows the receipt of new advice from counsel concerning the way in which ECHR issues were considered as part of the decision making in December 2015. It would be inappropriate to comment further on the case at this time.

Tackling hate crime is a priority for the CPS. In 2015/16 we prosecuted a record number of cases and made sure that more offenders than ever before had their sentences increased for crimes relating to race or religion.

We work closely with leading organisations from the Jewish community to ensure that prosecutors are aware of the changing nature of anti-semitism in the UK.
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When Gabriella Gillespie was six her father killed her mother; when she was 13 he took her and her sisters to his native Yemen and sold them as child brides.

Her 17-year-old sister Issy killed herself on her wedding night rather than marry the man in his 60s to whom she had been promised.

Dressed in her wedding finery, she hurled herself from the roof of the building where guests had gathered to celebrate.

Despite her sister's suicide Gillespie was not spared. She spent a decade trapped in a violent marriage with a man who raped and beat her so badly she was left at death's door many times.

Gillespie eventually fled back to Britain with her five children.

But her father, who had threatened to kill her for dishonouring the family, continued to hunt her until his death six years ago. She published her memoir, A Father's Betrayal, in 2014.

I decided to speak out because I want people to understand what really happens to young girls when they are taken out of this country and sold as child brides, said Gillespie, who won the True Honour Award on Tuesday night in recognition of her courage in campaigning against honour-based violence.

She says British girls - from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds - are still being taken abroad and married off as children.

I don't think people understand the true horrors of what they go through. The trauma is with you for life, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

I have moved on and am very blessed with the life I have today. But some wounds will never heal.

British childhood

Gillespie, now 52, and her three older sisters grew up with their English mother and Yemeni father in the Welsh city of Newport.

Their childhood was very British - they did not speak Arabic and knew little about their father's homeland.

Gillespie, who was named Muna by her parents but changed her identity after fleeing Yemen, remembers her early childhood as happy.

But one day her mother vanished. A year later their father was jailed for manslaughter and the sisters moved to a foster home until his release four years later.

Gillespie says they did not believe their father had killed their mother and it was many years before they learnt the truth.

In May 1977, on her 13th birthday, her father announced he would take his three younger daughters on a fantastic holiday to Yemen. They had never been abroad and were wildly excited.

Gillespie knew so little about Yemen that she wore a crop top, miniskirt and platform shoes for the trip.

She realised something was wrong as she stepped off the plane. We were just terrified as soon as we got there, she said.

Their uncle confiscated their passports and kept them under lock and key. Within a fortnight Gillespie's 14-year-old sister Yas was married off, but was soon returned as damaged goods after trying to kill herself.

The sisters ended up living in a mountain village where the houses were made of mud, there was no running water, no electricity, no cars and nobody spoke English.

We learnt Arabic very quickly, we learnt how to cook, how to clean, how to fetch water, how to dress, how to not answer back. We learnt very quickly how to be proper Arab girls, she said.

You had no choice but to learn because if not you'd get beaten to a pulp.

Child rape

Gillespie said almost all the girls in her village were married by the age of 15. Some were wed as young as eight or nine, and some died on their wedding night.

These girls are being raped by their older husbands, she said. And many of these girls, if they don't die on their wedding night, they are torn and left with lifelong injuries.

To consummate the marriage the young girl is placed on a throne covered with a white cloth, Gillespie said. Afterwards the bloodied cloth is displayed proudly to the family.

If the bride doesn't bleed and prove that she is a virgin she is returned to her family and killed, Gillespie said.

Girls are so terrified of not bleeding they sometimes carry vials of animal blood as a precaution.

Violent marriage

Gillespie was sold to the son of an extremely wealthy man with an appetite for alcohol and drugs. It was a very, very violent marriage, she said.

One night he broke her nose, dragged her through broken glass, beat her unconscious and raped her as their young children slept nearby. On another occasion she ended up in hospital for a week. He even attacked her when she was pregnant.

Gillespie was warned that if she left the marriage her children would remain with her husband, as is customary in Yemen.

As the violence escalated, village elders intervened, shaming her father into taking his daughter back.

But the cruelty continued. At one point her father brandished a gun, telling her: Today I'm going to kill you the same way I killed your mother.

Women at work around the world Show all 25 1 /25 Women at work around the world Women at work around the world Coventry, United Kingdom Cilene Connolly, 32, a Royal Mail postwoman, poses for a portrait during her postal round. "Fortunately, I haven't been faced with gender inequalities in my role as a postwoman," Connolly said. "I've had a great response from my customers for being a female delivering their post, women in particular are always pleasantly surprised to see a female face." Reuters Women at work around the world Los Angeles, California Tara McCannel, 44, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Ophthalmic Oncology Center at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "Knowledge, in abilities, in how the clinical practices go, in appearance," McCannel said."Women just can't be themselves or just think: 'Oh I'm just going to do my work,' and focus on the job. There are these other things that need to be considered because it's not completely equal even though things are getting better. Reuters Women at work around the world Almaty, Kazakhstan Julia Argunova, 36, a mountaineering instructor, poses at 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) above sea level in the Tien Shan mountains. "Physical strength benefits male colleagues in some situations on harder routes. But, women are more concentrated and meticulous. In general, women are better at teaching. My main professional task is to teach safe mountaineering." Reuters Women at work around the world Moscow, Russia Pilot Maria Uvarovskaya poses for a photograph in the A320 flight simulator at the Aeroflot training centre at Sheremetyevo airport. "Much more can be done by the women themselves to solve such problems (gender inequality)," said Uvarovskaya. Reuters Women at work around the world Santiago, Chile Claudia Concha Parraguez, 45, a pole dancing instructor, poses for a photograph in a gym. "Some students with low self-esteem smile more and feel beautiful after training. But because of the poor mentality of their husbands, who do not see this activity as a sport and associate it with something sexual, they stop attending classes," Parraguez said. Reuters Women at work around the world Seoul, South Korea Jeung Un, 27, a freelance photographer, poses for a portrait at a site which protesters have occupied. "Most news outlets prefer to employ male photographers. I feel strongly about gender inequality. When I cover violent scenes, sometimes I am harassed and hear sexually-biased remarks," Reuters Women at work around the world Nice, France Merylee, 26, a soldier does her rounds on the sea-front. The parity in the army already exists, it is the uniform that takes precedence over gender," Merylee said. Reuters Women at work around the world Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Lina Maria da Silva, 62, a babysitter, poses for a photograph with the children she takes care of at her home in the Cantagalo slum. "I've never suffered mistreatment at work. I have always felt a lot of affection from the families I have worked with," Silva said. Reuters Women at work around the world Nairobi, Kenya Christine Akoth, 38, a metal painter: "I have experienced gender bias at my work where sometimes I'm denied contracts because of who I am and maybe my marital status. Some female colleagues have been treated unfairly because of their sex and even exploited," Reuters Women at work around the world London, United Kingdom Dr Catherine Reynolds, 37, a scientific researcher at Imperial College: "Women are very well represented at junior levels in Biological Sciences research. At a senior level it is still true that there are fewer female professors in science, but the gap is slowly closing," Reynolds said. "More policies that promote flexible working and that support staff in taking career breaks (both men and women) are an essential way in which it is possible for employees, especially those with young families, to realise their full potential in the workplace." Reuters Women at work around the world Amman, Jordan Khawla Sheikh, 54, a plumber and a certified trainer, poses at her home's basement, where she gives plumbing training courses to other women. "Housewives are more comfortable to have a woman plumber in their house in the absence of their husbands," said Sheikh. "To tackle gender inequality, I think that all operating sectors must provide equal opportunities for men and women in all fields and each woman must believe in her capabilities and skills that she has in order to convince the others." Reuters Women at work around the world West London, United Kingdom Sarah Hunter, 31, England women's rugby captain and RFU University Rugby Development Officer for the South West, poses for a photograph at The Stoop rugby ground. "I think that if weire the right person for the right job in the workplace then so be it and the same for men," Hunter said. "Iive worked for the RFU, and being what is deemed as a male sport perhaps in the past, I was welcomed into that environment and I personally havenit experienced gender inequality in the workplace, so I think that Iive been very fortunate in the career that Iive had and in the jobs that Iive had that Iive been seen for the person that I am and not for the gender that I am." Reuters Women at work around the world Agusan del Sur, Philippines Filipina Grace Ocol, 40, is a backhoe operator. Ocol, a mother of three, said, "There are a few female workers that can drive big trucks and backhoe. If men can do it, why can't women do it? I'm better than the men, they can only drive trucks here but I can drive both." Reuters Women at work around the world Hasaka, Syria Laila Sterk, 22, is a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) female fighter: "Before becoming a fighter, I was suffering from inequality in society. But after joining the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), I didn't encounter that anymore," said Sterk. "This is due to the fact that when men want to join the SDF they attend educational courses about women fighting alongside them. Therefore the woman fighter leads the military campaigns just like any man." Reuters Women at work around the world Andernos, France Valerie Perron, 53, an oyster farmer, poses for a photograph on her boat. "It must not be forgotten that it is women, moms, who raise the boys. It is therefore up to us to change the mentalities by raising the boys at their youngest age, in a spirit of parity and equality with the woman. We must change the mentalities of early childhood education. A boy can play with dolls and a little girl with small cars," Perron said. Reuters Women at work around the world Kathmandu, Nepal Januka Shrestha, 25, a Tuk Tuk driver, poses for a picture. There is no difference in a vehicle driven by a woman and man. While driving on the road people sometimes try to dominate a vehicle especially when they see a woman driving it. People have even used foul language toward me. When this happens I keep quiet and work even harder to prove that we are as capable as men," Shrestha said. Reuters Women at work around the world Hanoi, Vietnam Phung Thi Hai, 54, carries bricks at a factory. Hai is among a group of 25 women working at a brick factory where she has to move 3,000 bricks a day to the kiln. "How unfair that a 54-year-old woman like me has to work and take care of the whole family. With the same work male labourers can get a better income. Not only me, all women in the village work very hard with no education, no insurance and no future," Hai said. Reuters Women at work around the world Mexico City, Mexico Jauna Diaz, 43, a street sweeper, poses for a photograph as she woks on the street. "In my previous job my boss gave preference to male colleagues and women always were paid later. Thats why I changed jobs," Diaz said. "To tackle gender inequality I think there needs to be more communication and information about women's rights in the work place." Reuters Women at work around the world Istanbul, Turkey Serpil Cigdem, 44, an engine driver, poses for a photograph at Yenikapi station. "When I applied for a job 23 years ago as an engine driver, I was told that it is a profession for men. I knew that during the written examination even if I got the same results with a male candidate, he would have been chosen. Thatis why I worked hard to pass the exam with a very good result ahead of the male candidates. In my opinion, gender inequality starts in our minds saying itis a male profession or itis a men job," said Cigdem. Reuters Women at work around the world Beijing, China Deng Qiyan, 47, a mother of three and a decoration worker at contraction sites, poses for a photograph at an apartment building under construction. "Sometimes (gender inequality) happens. But we cannot do anything about that. After all, you have to digest all those unhappy things and carry on," Qiyan said. Reuters Women at work around the world Lima, Peru Rocio Larranaga, 53, a surfer and surf instructor, poses for a photograph at Redondo beach. "I am the first woman to represent my country in national and international competitions since 1977," said Larranaga. "In 1995 I became a surf teacher. Lots of women surf and they are very good at it. I hope that in the future women have the same quota as men in professional competitions." Reuters Women at work around the world Tunis, Tunisia Chrifa Nimri, 69, a fisherwoman, arranges a net after returning from fishing at the seaport Sidi Bou Said. "At the beginning of my fishing career all the world told me that the trade was for men but now all my colleagues respect and call me captain," Chrifa said. Reuters Women at work around the world La Paz, Bolivia Elizabeth Mamani, 36, a reporter at Radio Union, poses inside Bolivia's national congress building. "When I started in this job, I did feel discrimination (from officials who controlled the access of members of the press to events). To counter discrimination in this profession, we as women, must excel, we must prepare ourselves in every field," Mamani said Reuters Women at work around the world Karachi, Pakistan Mehwish Ekhlaque, 26, a bike rider and trainer, poses for a photograph with her bike. "When I planned a Pakistan Bike Tour many of my male colleagues gave me a piece of advice not to do it as it's neither safe nor easy for a woman. But I did it," Ekhlaque said. Reuters Women at work around the world Tokyo, Japan Shinto priest Tomoe Ichino, 40, poses for a photograph at the Imado Shrine. In general, people think being a Shinto priest is a man's profession. If you're a woman, they think you're a shrine maiden, or a supplementary priestess. People don't know women Shinto priests exist, so they think we can't perform rituals. Once, after I finished performing jiichinsai (ground-breaking ceremony), I was asked, 'So, when is the priest coming?'," Ichino said. "When I first began working as a Shinto priest, because I was young and female, some people felt the blessing was different. They thought: 'I would have preferred your grandfather.' At first, I wore my grandfather's light green garment because I thought it's better to look like a man. But after a while I decided to be proud of the fact that I am a female priest and I began wearing a pink robe, like today. I thought I can be more confident if I stop thinking too much (about my gender)." Reuters

She finally escaped and went into hiding with her children, terrified her father would find them before the British Embassy could get them out of the country.

He had people looking for me, she said. We knew what he was capable of. We had seen the ugliness in his heart.

After returning to Britain in 1992, she and her children changed their names and kept a low profile. She only went public after her father's death.

The True Honour awards are made by the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation, a British charity that supports victims of honour abuse and forced marriage.

Gillespie said she decided to publish her story because she wanted to prevent other girls suffering the same fate.

This is what breaks my heart. It is still happening, she said. We need to speak out.

Reuters
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The Chancellor Philip Hammond set out to deliver an upbeat Budget on Wednesday.

Despite the threat posed by Brexit to the economy, he said growth would be higher  and borrowing lower  than forecast in November.

He allocated extra money for social care, free schools and promised to relieve some of the pressure on those faced with increasing business rates.

Domestic violence organisations are set to receive around 20m while a new 5m fund will be created to aid mothers returning to work after a long career break.

But he also announced an increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICS) for the self-employed.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was a Budget of utter complacency about the state of our economy while others described his more positive measures as potentially unsustainable or a drop in the ocean.

So, on balance, do ordinary people feel optimistic?

The self-employed person

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, 41, solicitor (Shola Mos-Shogbamimu) (Shola-Mos Shogbamimu)

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, 41, is a self-employed solicitor and the founder of Women in Leadership Publication.

She said the NICS hike more than cancels out any gains for women in the Budget.

She said: Im really trying not to rant. I find the stance of Chancellor Hammond for making these changes really quite hollow. It really doesnt ring true. Hes making this change on the basis that [lower National Insurance for self-employed people] is no longer justified by benefit entitlement, but youre still not comparing like for like. The types of benefit that self-employed people get is, as far as I am concerned, non-existent compared to employees.

I think it is going to be harder with the NICS increase. It will be harder on the self-employed. If I speak personally, theres more going out than for me to retain.

Im also looking at it from the perspective of a woman. I feel the overall impact of this Budget does not draw us any closer to economic equality for women. I am not seeing it. And I think it directly contradicts the position I felt that Theresa May put forward about what she is trying to do.

Things are already economically difficult for everybody, and you now get a Budget that... is taking so much away from people who are marginalised, women are one group, the self-employed are another group. Women are a good portion of the self-employed, because we tend to work from home, we have businesses, all of that. It is like double discrimination quite frankly.

She added the NICS increase cancelled out policies meant to help women who work, like a childcare allowance and increased free nursery hours.

Its like giving something with one hand and taking it away with the other, she said.

I think the Government needs to be paying attention, it needs to be listening. Thats the problem here, they are not listening. I would have liked to have seen favourable types of tax cuts that impact the services we rely on, and that would help to advance womens equality, as entrepreneurs and even as stay-at-home mums. I would have liked to have seen that, but I did not see that.

The young, single, employee

Mark Edger, 30, producer (Mark Edger)

Mark Edger, 30, is an Associate Producer at Wild Blue Media TV. He lives in London and said the Budget did not seem relevant to him.

He said: At the moment, I dont feel particularly affected by anything that Mr Hammond said. I dont believe anything that has been announced today is going to affect me in any way.

However, he said he did not mind this, and did not feel strongly that people in a his position need new policies to help them.

I dont think theres anything that hasnt been addressed that should have been particularly, he said. I feel entirely ambivalent towards it, if I am perfectly honest. I dont see how this is going to have any effect on my day-to-day life.

On a more general level, he said he felt the Budget was angled in the right direction, but he was sceptical of some of the claims and promises made.

Im entirely for a fairer redistribution of wealth through the population and making sure people who can shoulder more of the burden, do shoulder that. But that seems obvious to me.

[Hammond] seems to be widely positive about the economy but I dont know if I believe him. I mean obviously hes going to say were going to be better off outside the EU because thats whats been decided. I think it would be essentially insane of him to suggest anything else. But I think that remains to be seen. When Article 50 is triggered, that is going to be the real litmus test of the economy.

The single mother

Helen Kunda, 31, with her four-year-old son (Helen Kunda)

Helen Kunda, 31, is a teacher with a four-year-old son. She lives in London and said aspects of the Budget seemed very positive to her, although she felt some things were left out.

But she feared Mr Hammonds promises could prove unsustainable, or to be little more than a drop in the ocean.

She said: I like the returnships  5m to get women back into the workplace after they have had a career break.

She added that a lot of single parents in particular end up in a situation where when they have had a child, they cant afford to go back to work.

They cant justify the cost of childcare, because the costs are almost the same as their take home pay. So I think its really good this money has been set aside for returnships, she explained.

She added that she was also happy to hear 20m has been set aside to tackle violence against women.

Thats really good. Although I was discussing it with a colleague and she said maybe that is a drop in the ocean. But I suppose at least its a start even if it is a bit gimmicky maybe.

One of the things likely to impact Ms Kunda the most are changes to childcare entitlement for working parents.

She said: [Tax free childcare] is very good, thats very positive. Im a teacher but I find a lot of my take home pay goes on childcare.

The 30 hours of free nursery time for three and four year olds is going to be really helpful but she said there were issues surrounding whether it is actually going to be sustainable in practice.

She also felt that some important issues were essentially left out of Mr Hammonds Budget.

I think housing is a massive issue. Particularly in London. I mean, I rent a flat, but to buy it would be something ridiculous like 15 times my annual salary, and its only two bedrooms. I feel like if Im going to get on the housing ladder Im going to have to move away from my support network and my family. There have been schemes introduced but there could be more.

The married couple with children

Han-Son Lee, his partner Jess, and their child (Han-Son Lee)

Han-Son Lee and his partner Jess are in their 30s and have one child. Han-Son works in the City, in addition to running daddilife, an online community for fathers, and Jess is self-employed.

Han-Son said the Budget was ambiguous and could result in broken promises.

He said: Its one of those Budgets that leaves a lot more questions than answers.

From a familys point of view, the free schools pledge sounds like a good thing on paper, but looking at the details I have concerns about universities sponsoring those free schools at a time when their funding is being called into question. It would be interesting to see the details of how that is actually going to be put into operation.

My partner Jess and I are both working parents and it was great to hear Mr Hammond extend nursery care to 30 hours, but again  and this is kind of supporting my first point about more questions than answers  weve both been to four or five nurseries in the last week alone and to be honest with you none of them have actually offered it, largely because they are not sure of the details themselves.

He added that there is a general state of confusion about how an extra 15 hours are going to be allocated. So actually it is another one of those things that sounds good in theory but I havent actually seen the benefit in any of the nurseries so far that we have visited.

He said: It is all very good creating the policy, but if there isnt the detail and the delivery of it at a local level, it is just another one of those broken promises really.

While Han-Son felt the changes to schooling and childcare were a mixed bag, he strongly condemned the rise in NICS for self-employed people.

Because Jess is self-employed, the rise in NICS is going to hit us massively, and at a time when were pretty stretched in terms of our own mortgage payments and bills... you know it is going to be a pretty big increase in terms of NI... Its really going to hit families quite hard, especially those that are trying to create more flexible conditions to work and look after their children by creating their own companies and going self-employed. It feels like its hitting parents really hard in an area where there should be more support and more encouragement, to encourage more entrepreneurs and to encourage more flexible workers.

The small business owner

Kate Hills, 47, runs a small business (Kate Hills)

Kate Hills is the CEO of Make It British, which supports UK manufacturing and British-made brands. She said that while the Budget is fairly good for small business owners, the Government could still do a lot more.

She said: Rate cuts are good news for manufacturers: thats one of the things I hear from them more than anything else.

The focus is good, theyre helping small and medium sized enterprises, but for manufacturers in particular it would have been great to see a special rate reduction.

If the Government wants to try and help they should look at how much manufacturing could add to the economy. For example, the textile sector does still turn over 9bn in the UK every year.

But the rates they experience are much higher than a business thats working in the service sector.

Referring to the 1000 discount on business rate bills for many British pubs, she said: You can now drink for cheaper, but youve got to pay the same for your British-made clothes.

The pensioner

Philippa Watt, 60, retired (Philippa Watt) (Phillipa Watt)

Philippa Watt, 60, worked in marketing for three decades before spending her final ten years of work as a teacher. She is now retired, and is concerned the Government is not providing enough social support for elderly people like her mother and her mother-in-law, both in their 90s.

She said: Theres a massive problem with caring for older people, and the Government is not getting to grips with it.

The Tories have put up 2bn in social care funding over the next three years, but Ms Watt points out that since 2011 the social care budget has been slashed by twice this amount.

It feels like a drop in the ocean. It feels like a sop. Theyve already taken 4.5bn out of the system, she said. We need long term structural change which doesnt separate health and social care from the NHS. Theres been loads of emphasis on childcare in the last two decades: it seems to me youve got to do the same kind of job with child care.

She also criticised the Tories violation of their manifesto pledge not to raise National Insurance.

Theyre wiggling around on the basis they didnt explicitly say it, but most people know the phrase National Insurance, and not class this and class that, she said. You cant make these headline statements and then not expect somebody to bite you on the ankle.

But she said she approved of Jeremy Corbyns response: Hes the conscience of the people, if you like. Despite all this shenanigans, shoving money here and there, there are thousands of people to whom it doesnt matter if its the day before, the day of the Budget, or the day after: theyve still got nothing.
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Wednesday 8 March is International Women's Day, an event held around the world to commemorate the struggle for women's rights.

Here are five facts about the day:

1. Originally called International Working Womens Day, it was first celebrated on February 28, 1909, in New York in remembrance of a 1908 strike of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union when 15,000 workers, including many immigrants, marched through the city's lower east side to demand social and political rights.

2. The first modern International Womens Day was held in 1914, five years after its inception, on March 8. The day was chosen because it was a Sunday, which the majority of women would have off work allowing them to participate in marches and other events, and has been celebrated on that date ever since.

 All you need to know about International Women's Day 2016

3. The day was declared a national holiday in the Soviet Union in 1917, and was predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted by the UN in 1977. Since 1996, the UN has assigned a theme to every IWD. This years theme is Be bold for change.

Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Show all 10 1 /10 Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Katherine-Hepburn.jpg Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day betty.jpg Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Emmeline_Pankhurst2.jpg Creative Commons Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day nawal.jpg Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day FullerDaguerreotype_1.jpg Creative Commons Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day germaine.jpg Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day naomi-wolf.jpg Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Rebecca_West.jpg Creative Commons Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day aung.jpg Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day atwood.jpg Getty Images

4. According to the UN, it is a day when women are recognised for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.

5. The day is now an official holiday in several countries including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam and Zambia and for women only in countries including China, Madagascar and Nepal.
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An international manhunt has been launched for a romance con artist suspected of scamming a British man out of 200,000 after meeting him on a dating site.

The woman met her victim, a 43-year-old Manchester man, on Match.com before convincing him to hand over vast sums of cash.

She reportedly spoke with an American accent and claimed to be a 35-year-old from the Bahamas who worked in South Africa, but police do not know her real identity or age.

Recommended These are the online dating profiles most likely to be scammers

The brunette is said to use three different names  Christy Dunn, Martha Cameron and Miranda Stinson  and is believed to have links to the Bahamas, South Africa, Botswana, London and Bristol.

Avon and Somerset police issued a photograph of the woman ahead of a Crimewatch appeal broadcast last night.

Detective constable Simon Da Costa said the woman met her victim in February 2014, communicating with him through the websites direct messaging facility and then with video calls via Skype.

Within ten months of them meeting online, the offender made multiple requests to the victim for money," he said.

The victim was manipulated into giving this money firstly by the promise of a relationship, then emotional blackmail and the promise of the return of his money, and finally by threats.

We really need to find this woman, so if you have information about where she may be, or if you have also been a victim, please call us.

Some of the money was paid into accounts with links to Bristol, but police believe the scam is likely to be part of a wider criminal operation targeting lonely and vulnerable people online.

Recommended Dating fraud reported once every three hours

So-called romance fraud has increased dramatically with the rise of online dating, and fraudsters are believed to have stolen nearly 40m from Britons looking for love last year, according to official crime figures.

An estimated 8 million adults in the UK used online dating sites in 2016  a huge increase from just 100,000 at the turn of the century.

On average, victims of romance scams are conned out of around 10,000.

Overseas criminals posing as suitors targeted almost 4,000 wealthy Brits in 2016 according to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.

Both men and women are targeted, with at least 39 per cent of those duped thought to be men.

Investigators fear these statistics could be the tip of the iceberg as many victims are too embarrassed to tell their family and friends they have been swindled and do not report the scams to the police.

All dating websites warn users not to send money to people they have not met, but cyber psychologist Monica Whitty of the University of Leicester said: It is not the case that stupid people fall for romance scams  they can be very clever.

Match.com gives detailed advice to its users on how to spot the signs of a potential fraudster.

The website states: Our customer care team works hard to ensure that unwanted accounts are removed from the site. Our moderation team manually check photos and personal ads across the site and a built-in screening system helps identify suspicious accounts, remove them and prevent re-registration.

"While we are confident that our measures ensure a high level of security, we urge members to maintain vigilance while dating online and report any suspicious profiles to safeguard other members.
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It was September 2012 when the Taliban beheaded Walid Duranis grandfather. The corpse was dumped in a ditch in the Ghazni province of Afghanistan with a note pinned to the severed head: either the Durani family stopped supplying the American military with oil and electricity, or the next eldest male would face a similar fate.

Walids father had been kidnapped by a different group of insurgents six months previously, so that person was Walid. He was 14 years old.

The threat caused his mother to bundle him into a car that same day, which took him across the border to Pakistan. From there, relatives put him aboard a plane that brought him to Heathrow. His escape was so precipitate and disorienting that Walid admits he had no idea where he was when he arrived.

I couldnt speak any English back then, he says. All I had was my brother-in-laws telephone number.

Walid applied for asylum seeker status. He was rejected but, as a minor, was allowed to stay in the UK. He began school, learned English and befriended the son of a local building and development company, who took Walid on as an apprentice. He also studied bricklaying one day a week at college, at which he excelled.

The dedication and determination he showed in his new vocation led him to be nominated in the 2016 Young Builder of the Year Awards. Walid received a commendation and was among 16 youngsters who were invited to the Houses of Parliament in order to receive a certificate from Lord Bird, the founder of The Big Issue magazine.

However, Walids luck changed when he turned 18; as an adult, he no longer has the right to remain in the country. The immigration judge in his original trial had declared the 14-year-old an economic migrant, and the Home Office has repeatedly denied his applications as an asylum seeker on the grounds that he must prove his claims of persecution with paperwork.

Walid, who lives in Fleet, Hampshire, has tried to obtain proof of his grandfathers death, but has hit a brick wall.

The police are so corrupt in Afghanistan that I can't get any documents without paying a substantial bribe, he said.

Calais refugee camp evacuation Show all 15 1 /15 Calais refugee camp evacuation Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees run past a fire in the makeshift migrant camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais, October 2016 AP Calais refugee camp evacuation French authorities say the closure of the slum-like camp in Calais will last approximately a week in what they describe as a "humanitarian" operation, October 2016 AP Calais refugee camp evacuation A painted message saying 'Bye Jungle' on a tent in the camp in Calais, October 2016 Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees set rubbish bins alight as a protest in the makeshift camp 'the Jungle' in Calais, France, October 2016 EPA Calais refugee camp evacuation French riot police advance through tear gas and smoke from a fire to disperse refugees throwing stones and lighting fires at the Jungle migrant camp Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation French CRS riot police secure an area on the eve of the evacuation and transfer of refugees to reception centers in France Reuters Calais refugee camp evacuation Journalists run away from smoke during clashes near a makeshift refugee camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais AP Calais refugee camp evacuation French CRS riot police secure an area on the eve of the evacuation and transfer of refugees to reception centers in Franc Reuters Calais refugee camp evacuation Migrants queue for transportation by bus to reception centres across France, from the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees line-up to register at a processing centre in the 'jungle' near Calais, northern France, as the mass exodus from the migrant camp begins PA wire Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation French far-right Front National (FN) party's member of parliament Marion Marechal-Le Pen (L) delivers a speech next to a banner reading "They arrive in Vaucluse, no migrants in our place" as she attends a rally against the hosting of refugees in La Tour d'Aigues Getty Images Calais refugee camp evacuation French police forces secure the area near the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees carry their belongings and transfer to reception centers in France

Besides, death certificates dont really exist there. The country is too chaotic.

Having exhausted his legal recourses, and with his final appeal having been rejected late last year, he now faces deportation at any moment, leaving the Afghan teen tearful and desperate.

I have no one left in Afghanistan, he said. My family has all escaped to Austria, but I cant join them because I dont have a passport. What will I do if they fly me back to Kabul? I will have to live on the streets.

A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent: We do not routinely comment on individual cases.
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Theresa May faces a major Budget backlash after ripping-up an election manifesto pledge to freeze National Insurance and instead hitting 2.5million self-employed people with an unexpected tax hike.

The rise unveiled by Chancellor Philip Hammond was branded a rip off for the countrys hardest workers, with critics  including Tories  warning it would hit low paid earners the hardest.

Many raised concern that the likes of cabbies or fast-food delivery drivers toiling in the "gig economy" for low rates, and with little choice but to accept self-employed status, would be the worst affected.

Mr Hammonds aides desperately tried to deny the increase represented a broken promise, but the Tories 2015 manifesto clearly and repeatedly stated the party would not push up National Insurance contributions NICs.

The hit will be made all the more unpalatable by news that ex-chancellor George Osborne, in office when the NICs pledge was made, is now earning 650,000 a year working four days a month for investment firm Blackrock.

The NICs rise  squeezing an average of 240-a-year more from those affected  was contained in a Budget that hit the self-employed, entrepreneurs and shareholders for money to fund more social care and education schemes and help firms pay business rates.

The full extent of the damage to government finances from Justice Secretary Liz Trusss change to compensation-payment rules was also revealed on Wednesday  a cost of almost 6bn which will have to be raised from extra borrowing.

The Chancellor tried to focus on the good news that the economy will grow faster than expected next year according to official forecasts, but could not hide a Brexit hit dragging growth down in the run up to 2020.

 Chancellor Philip Hammond sets out budget for 2017

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Hammond attempted to frame the NICs rise as one needed for the sake of fairness.

Employed and self-employed alike use our public services in the same way, but they are not paying for them in the same way, he said.

The lower National Insurance paid by the self-employed is forecast to cost our public finances over 5bn this year alone.

After the Tories pledged to freeze NICs, VAT and income tax in their 2015 general election manifesto, Ameet Gill, an aide to then-leader David Cameron, said the promise was probably the dumbest economic policy that anyone could make.

Nonetheless the partys manifesto stated four times that the Tories would not increase NICs once in power again, in a move that may have helped convince millions to vote for the party.

Mr Hammonds NICs change will now see some 2.5 million self-employed people hit  of which the bulk, 1.6 million, are basic-rate taxpayers  to raise more than 2bn over four years for Treasury coffers.

Confronted over the broken promise and asked if voters had been misled, Mr Hammonds spokeswoman argued that legislation  published after the election  had made clear only those employed, and not self-employed, would have their NICs frozen.

She said: The manifesto is not the place you should be looking for it, you should be looking for it in the legislation.

 Budget 2017: Gags and gaffes from Philip Hammond's first budget

She added that the change had been necessary so the Chancellor could create a strong sustainable and fair tax system.

Officials also claimed that previously announced change to NICs which will kick in at the same time as the tweak announced by Mr Hammond, will mitigate the impact so that only 1.6 million people will lose out overall.

Tory former minister Andrew Murrison MP said he had concerns adding that it's very important to ensure that we don't disadvantage self-employed people and calling for reassurance that plumbers and electricians and plasterers will not be disadvantaged.

Fellow Tory MP Tom Tugendhat also said: I come from a political tradition that believes in small government, that believes in low taxes, that seeks to encourage entrepreneurship and enterprise.

Philip Hammond steps out of 11 Downing Street for his first Budget (Reuters)

And though indeed these are very minor figures that we're seeing here  a percentage point here or there, two over two years  they speak to a tone that is not entirely helpful. In that I would urge a rethink, because the self-employed, the startup, the people who are taking risks and are carrying it themselves, those are the ones we should encourage.

But the clear U-turn was leapt upon by political opponents and business groups alike with shadow Chancellor John McDonnell accusing Mr Hammond of trying to claw 2bn in tax from middle and low earners and vowing to oppose it.

Liberal Democrat Susan Kramer said: This is a tax on builders, taxi drivers and window cleaners, some of Britains hardest working people.

Chris Bryce, chief executive of the self-employed association IPSE, said: If you are one of the hardworking self-employed people who face a significant increase on your tax bill, you might feel that the Chancellor has it in for you.

Gerard Coyne, challenger for the post of general secretary of Unite the union branded it a rip-off by a rotten government, while entrepreneur Ed Molyneux called it potentially devastating for freelancers and contractors.

Mr Hammond also announced a tax-grab on business owners with a large reduction in the total amount of dividends, from 5,000 to 2,000, that they can receive from their firms before tax.

There was also an increase in VAT for people making phone calls from mainland Europe. While Mr Hammond stuck to plans to freeze fuel duty, there were hints in the small print of the Budget book of a potential tax rise to come for diesel car drivers.

Officials also reluctantly confirmed that changes to regulations relating to personal injury compensations, recently signed off by Ms Truss, would see the cash-strapped Government having to borrow almost 6bn over the Parliament to cover the cost of potential claims to the NHS.

A spokesman said: It will be taken account in the [Office for Budget Responsibilitys] borrowing forecast.

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

Other spending commitments included a 435m package of help for firms to play business rates, some 2bn for social care, 330m to help hospitals run more efficiently, a one-off 120m fund to ease pressure in A & E departments, more than 1bn for new free schools already announced and a further 260m for repairs to existing schools.

In released forecasts, the independent OBR now expects lower growth in 2018-19, 2019-20 and in 2020-21, with the spectre of Brexit hanging over the country.

Official documents again made clear, as they had done at the Autumn Statement, that all growth forecasts are still based on the Government not adopting a policy that will push immigration down to Theresa Mays stated goal of lowering it to the tens of thousands.
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People could be given tax relief to encourage them to put money aside for their care in old age under a plan to be considered by the Government.

Philip Hammond announced that a green paper on the long-term funding of social care would be published later this year. He ruled out imposing a death tax on peoples estates to pay their social care bills when they die but raised the prospect of radical reform for the way care for the elderly is funded.

The Chancellor is believed to be interested in a proposal to urge people to put savings into tax-free Care ISAs, which could also attract a government bonus.

Recommended The 7 most important things you need to know about the Budget

The Treasury could allow tax-free withdrawals from pension funds if the money were spent on care. The downside is that many households will see their incomes squeezed for the foreseeable future and will have little spare cash to set aside.

Mr Hammond insisted that a death tax had never been on the Governments agenda. However, it is believed that Downing Street wanted all options to be considered during a review being led by the Cabinet Office. Mr Hammond has now killed off the proposal.

Some Tories believed they would have been accused of hypocrisy if they had revived an idea they branded a death tax when the Labour Government put it forward during all-party talks ahead of the 2010 election.

A levy on peoples estates would redistribute wealth. It would pool risks and reduce the unfairness of a system in which half the population spends under 20,000 on care but one in 10 must find more than 100,000.

 Budget 2017: Seven key points

However, it would reduce the amount that better off people could hand down to their families when they die.

Ministers admit that the 2bn extra for social care over three years announced in the Budget will provide only a stop-gap solution and that reform is needed because the number of over 75s will rise by two million in the next 10 years.

Care ISAs have been championed by Baroness Altmann, the Tory former Pensions Minister. She said: Taxpayers simply cannot afford to support increasing numbers of elderly people, but the money must come from somewhere.

Encouraging everyone to save for later life care, which one in four will need (and one in two of many couples), would signal that care costs must be planned for and incentivising such savings is vital in our ageing population.

Responding to the Budget, Lady Altmann said the extra 2bn for local authority care budgets might not be enough to relieve pressure on the NHS and was just a sticking plaster on a weeping wound.

Care ISAs could be combined with a lifetime cap on the amount an individual would have to spend on social care, with the rest met by the state. After a review headed by Sir Andrew Dilnot, the Conservatives backed the idea of a 72,000 limit.

It was included in the Tory manifesto at the 2015 election but shelved until 2020 two months after they won power. It could now be revived to stop families running up huge care bills care when an individual has savings of more than 23,500 and does not qualify for state help under the current system.

Other options to be studied by the review include a German-style national care fund, into which employers and workers pay.

 Jeremy Corbyn confronts Theresa May on how much social care budget has been cut

This could be achieved through a rise in national insurance contributions (NICS). But Mr Hammond has already provoked controversy by raising them for the self-employed in the Budget, and so may be wary of going down this route.

Another system is Japan's, in which over-40s must pay into an elderly care insurance system according to incomes and where they live. Over 65s see their premiums deducted from their pensions.

A sensitive option would be to extend NICS to pensioners and use the proceeds for state-funded care.

They are currently exempt but pensioner incomes are now bigger than average incomes. Such a change could be introduced without hitting pensioners on low incomes.
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MPs have raised concerns over tougher knife crime sentencing guidelines due to the substantial impact it could have on the escalating prison population in Britain.

In a report from the Justice Select Committee in Westminster, the MPs said the Sentencing Council  the independent body responsible for issuing the guidelines  expected the new draft guidelines on knife crime to increase the number of custodial sentences handed down.

It comes after the latest figures from the Council of Europe claimed Britain had the largest prison population in western Europe at 95,248.

Recommended Tougher knife crime sentences face delays to avoid prison overcrowding

The committee considered three sets of draft sentencing guidelines, including possession of a bladed article or weapon, threatening with a bladed article or offensive weapons and bladed articles and offensive weapons.

Under draft guidance the offences all carry mandatory minimum sentences if six months imprisonment for an adult or four months for those aged 16 and 17. Just two years ago in response to concerns over knife crime in Britain, similar sentences were introduced for second or subsequent possession offences.

Sir Bob Neill, chair of the Justice Select Committee, told The Independent that there are good reasons for increasing sentences to deter the growth in knife crime.

He added: We appreciate how difficult it is for the Sentencing Council to predict the impact of new guidelines, but we are concerned about the prospect of a substantial increase in the number of custodial sentences if the draft guidelines are introduced in their present form without a better understanding of their impact.

We think that the Ministry of Justice should be asked to clarify how any increase in the prison population would be accommodated.

Using data from the Sentencing Council, the report adds the information indicates a steady increase in the use and length of custodial sentences for possession offences over the past decade.

The MPs on the Justice Committee recommend that the council should ask the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to consider how any predicted increase in the prison population though these new sentencing guidelines might be accommodated.

Richard Burgon, the Shadow Justice Secretary, said that knife crime continues to blight society and it is right that those carrying knives face prison sentences.

He continued: Ministers pledged tougher action on sentencing, but they are failing to provide adequate resources to make this a reality.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: We are clear that those who carry knives should feel the full force of the law. These new guidelines will help ensure sentences reflect the devastation caused to families and communities.
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Sacked Tory grandee Lord Heseltine has revealed he has never met Theresa May despite having been a government adviser since the Prime Minister took office.

The ex-Conservative cabinet minister said he had no relationship with Downing Street and had been getting on with his job of promoting the devolution agenda.

Lord Heseltine was sacked after voting for and helping to pass a plan to give Parliament, and not Downing Street, the final say over Brexit, inflicting a humiliating defeat on Ms May.

Recommended I warned Theresa May about her destructive approach to immigration

In an interview he said the British public should understand that every other Parliament of every European Union nation would vote on the Brexit agreement, but that British MPs are being blocked from doing so.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Today programme he told how he had been at dinner with his wife when he received a text summoning him to a meeting with the Lords Chief Whip.

The former Deputy Prime Minister said he was given no warning he would lose his job, given to him by David Cameron, but accepted that it had been widely speculated upon in the press and that some Tories had called for it.

He said: I heard nothing from Number 10. Indeed Ive had no relationship with Number 10 since the new Prime Minister.

Im not complaining I was getting on with the job that I was doing.

 Theresa May suffers second defeat in Lords over Brexit

Lord Heseltine was instrumental in bringing down Margaret Thatcher who, like the current Prime Minister, had a reputation for centralising power in her own office. Ms Mays administration has been dogged by claims that the Prime Minister only deals with a small inner circle of trusted aides.

He added: Ive never met Theresa May and so I cant make a judgement. Shes doing very well in the polls, public opinion approves of what shes doing, so Im not going to get involved in a tick-tack of personalities.

Downing Street later questioned Lord Heseltine's claim, with the Prime Minister's spokesman saying: "My understanding is that the PM has met Lord Heseltine."

On Tuesday Labour, Liberal Democrat and crossbench Lords joined forces with Tory rebels, including Lord Heseltine, to push through what has come to be called the meaningful vote amendment to the Article 50 Bill, by 366 to 268 votes.

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 proposal, which still needs approval in the Commons to be written into statute, would force Ms May to seek Parliaments backing for any withdrawal deal she agrees with the EU, or to pull Britain out of the EU with no deal at all.

Lord Heseltine said he had been meticulous in not talking to the press up to now, but said the point comes in life when you have to do what you believe to be right.

He said: I just dont think people really understand  every European Parliament is going to have to ratify any new deal  all the nation states of Europe are all going to have to do it.

The idea that we are not going to have the right to do that in our Parliament and influence that...the Prime Minister has said there will be a process, but why cant it be in the statute? Nobody knows whats going to happen, so make it certain.
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Philip Hammond has promised the NHS will receive 425m in government investment over the next three years  but the way these funds are allocated could in fact lead to further NHS privatisation, campaigners have warned.

Sarah Carpenter, national officer for health at trade union Unite, said she feared the Government was trying to privatise the NHS through the back door by funding shady reforms in the guise of giving extra money to the health service.

What theyre trying to do is potentially be able to say theyre giving money to the health service, but actually giving money to a part of it no ones heard of, Ms Carpenter told The Independent.

The Chancellor announced a 325m funding boost for controversial sustainability and transformation plans (STPs), which have been drawn up in 44 areas of England.

The plans are meant to reform services by saving money, but have proved unpopular in some regions because they will lead to department and hospital closures.

STPs create separate health economies that become very attractive to large private sector companies who have interests in running health services, said Ms Carpenter.

The fact the only funding given to health is to put money into STPs gives us concerns about [the Governments] motivation, she said. STPs are quite sneaky in themselves. Theres are no structures, no accountability... Its all very shady.

 Philip Hammond claims the Tories are 'the party of the NHS' during Budget 2017

Mr Hammond said 100m would be given to combat overcrowding in A&E departments by employing GPs in hospitals to stop patients with less serious conditions taking up doctors time.

He also promised an extra 2bn for social care in this years Budget, saying the funding boost would help ease pressures faced by the health service. We are the party of the NHS, he told MPs.

The British Medical Association (BMA) warned that the promised funding for STPs fell short of how much was needed to deliver the plans, which often involve costly building projects.

The chancellors announcement of 325m of funding for some STPs is unlikely to go far enough, and we know that the plans need at least 9.5bn of total capital funding to be delivered successfully, said BMA council chair Dr Mark Porter.

Robert Breedon, a lawyer specialising in health and social care who worked for the Department of Health for five years, told The Independent it was likely private sector companies would step in to fill the gap in STP funding.

The 325m for STPs will help some of the transition work, but if youre talking about significant system changes, it needs money, and there are private sector companies out there who are prepared to make that investment, he said.

Mr Breedon, a partner at law firm Gowling WLG, said private funding in the health service could be beneficial as large businesses could bring expertise in how to manage services.

People are getting a bit nervous about it, he said. But if you want to drive the change, and the only source of that money is the private sector, it seems to me to be cutting off your nose to spite your face to ideologically say: No, we dont want that money.

Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis  except themselves Show all 6 1 /6 Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis  except themselves Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis  except themselves The elderly We acknowledge that there are pressures on the health service, there are always extra pressures on the NHS in the winter, but we have the added pressures of the ageing population and the growing complex needs of the population, Theresa May has said. Waits of over 12 hours in A&E among elderly people have more than doubled in two years, according to figures from NHS Digital. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis  except themselves Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs Jeremy Hunt has called for a honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments, saying that around a third of A&E patients were in hospital unnecessarily. Mr Hunt told Radio 4s Today programme the NHS now had more doctors, nurses and funding than ever, but explained what he called very serious problems at some hospitals by suggesting pressures were increasing in part because people are going to A&Es when they should not. He urged patients to visit their GP for non-emergency illnesses, outlined plans to release time for family doctors to support urgent care work, and said the NHS will soon be able to deliver seven-day access to a GP from 8am to 8pm. But doctors struggling amid a GP recruitment crisis said Mr Hunts plans were unrealistic and demanded the Government commit to investing in all areas of the overstretched health service. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis  except themselves Simon Stevens, head of NHS England Reports that key members of Ms Mays team used internal meetings to accuse Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, of being unenthusiastic and unresponsive have been rejected by Downing Street. Mr Stevens had allegedly rejected claims made by Ms May that the NHS had been given more funding than required. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis  except themselves Previous health policy, not funding In an interview with Sky Newss Sophy Ridge, Ms May acknowledged the NHS faced pressures but said it was a problem that had been ducked by government over the years. She refuted the claim that hospitals were tackling a humanitarian crisis and said health funding was at record levels. We asked the NHS a while back to set out what it needed over the next five years in terms of its plan for the future and the funding that it would need, said the Prime Minister. They did that, we gave them that funding, in fact we gave them more funding than they required Funding is now at record levels for the NHS, more money has been going in. But doctors accused Ms May of being in denial about how the lack of additional funding provided for health and social care were behind a spiralling crisis in NHS hospitals. Getty Images Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis  except themselves Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours Mr Hunt was accused of watering down the flagship target to treat all A&E patients within four hours. The Health Secretary told MPs the promise  introduced by Tony Blairs government in 2000  should only be for those who actually need it. Amid jeers in the Commons, Mr Hunt said only four other countries pledged to treat all patients within a similar timeframe and all had less stringent rules. But Ms May has now said the Government will stand by the four-hour target for A&E, which says 95 per cent of patients must be dealt with within that time frame. Getty Images Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis  except themselves No one Mr Hunt was accused of hiding from the public eye following news of the Red Crosss comments and didnt make an official statement for two days. He was also filmed refusing to answer questions from journalists who pursued him down the street yesterday to ask whether he planned to scrap the four-hour A&E waiting time target. Sky News reporter Beth Rigby pressed the Health Secretary on his position on the matter, saying the public will want to know, Mr Hunt. Sorry Beth, Ive answered questions about this already, replied Mr Hunt. But you didnt answer questions on this. You said it was over-interpreted in the House of Commons and you didnt want to water it down. Is that what youre saying? said Ms Rigby. Its very difficult, because how are we going to explain to the public what your intention is, when you change your position and then wont answer the question, Mr Hunt. But the Health Secretary maintained his silence until he reached his car and got in. Getty

Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust health think tank, welcomed the idea to put GPs in A&E departments to help treat less sick patients, but questioned whether there were enough GPs to make the policy a reality.

Louise Irvine, a GP and health campaigner, told The Independent the money should go directly into funding and training more family doctors.

"A triage centre isnt going to do anything to reduce demand. The people who are the experts par excellence at dealing with primary care issues are GPs, so thats where the money should go, into developing general practice so we can recruit more GPs and have them in our surgeries, she said.

This is a completely stupid idea, its going to waste money, its taking money away from general practice into a spurious, un-evidence based, fancy-sounding notion that makes the government sound like its doing something when its not."
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Britains economy is being kept afloat by an unsustainable spending binge last seen just before the crash, the Treasury watchdog has warned.

The independent Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) highlighted the danger of the savings ratio going negative for the first time since the middle of 2008.

It means people are spending beyond their means on credit cards and by dipping into their savings, to cope with an incomes squeeze.

Recommended Philip Hammond breaks Tory manifesto promise not to raise NICs

The last time there was a negative ratio was in the early part of 2008  which was followed by the financial crisis and the deepest recession since the Second World War.

At a post-Budget briefing, the OBR also highlighted the economic pain ahead with disposable income per person forecast to fall by 0.7 per cent in 2017.

That meant households were poised to go further into debt  a total set to reach 153 per cent of disposable income by 2022, up from 149 per cent on the OBRs forecast in November.

Meanwhile, the Resolution Foundation think-tank said the average person would have 900 less in their pocket or purse in 2021 than was forecast a year ago.

On the plunging savings ratio, Sir Charles Bean, a member of the OBRs budget responsibility committee, said: The important thing is that that is not sustainable.

He added: The savings ratio has fallen very substantially, back to the sort of level that we saw very early on in the financial crisis.

The financing of that has been partly by some consumers taking out more debt - we have seen credit relatively strong recently.

Equally, there have been some households which have been running down their savings.

Only higher productivity and wage growth  neither of which are anticipated  could allow the spending binge to be sustained, Sir Charles said.

The OBR also dismissed Theresa Mays lingering promise to reduce net migration to tens of thousands in the next five years, despite Brexit.

Around 525,000 foreign workers would account for the vast majority of the 700,000 predicted rise in employment to 2021-22, as inward migrants are disproportionately of working age.

And the watchdog warned the Government was not on course to meet its flagship target to balance the books as early as possible after 2020.

The Budget deficit was likely to be as high as one per cent in 2021-22, even before the impact of an ageing population and rising healthcare costs.

Although borrowing this year would be 16.7bn lower than originally forecast, at 51.7bn, this was largely due to one-off factors rather than an improved economic performance.

With no change in long-term growth potential, higher than expected growth in 2017  at two per cent - simply meant lower growth in the years to follow, as spare capacity is used up.

On Brexit, the OBR said there was still no meaningful basis on which to judge the impact  despite the Prime Minister vowing to pull out of the EUs single market and customs union.

But it did forecast a lower trade intensity of UK economic activity for the next decade, as Britain strove to negotiate new trading arrangements after withdrawal.
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A damning UN report released last year stated that the UK Government enacted systematic violations of the rights of people with disabilities due to their welfare reforms in the period 2010 to 2015.

The reports findings were rejected by the current government, with little sign of major reform in response that would bolster support for people with disabilities.

While further cuts to people with disabilities' personal independence payments (PIP) were scrapped in 2016, a further 30 cut to the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) is scheduled by the government this year. In February the head of Theresa Mays policy unit, George Freeman MP, was criticised for saying that welfare spending should prioritise really disabled people.

The UNs report concerns the welfare reforms of the coalition government of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, that were part of their broad agenda of austerity. These included cuts to disability benefits and social care budgets, and the bedroom tax, all facets of the welfare state that help people with disabilities live independent lives.

As a result of these reforms, the report found that the threshold of grave or systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities has been met in the State party.

The Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green rejected the reports findings, saying at the heart of this report lies an outdated view of disability which is patronising and offensive. We strongly refute its findings."

The UN measures success as the amount of money poured into the system, rather than the work and health outcomes for disabled people. Our focus is on helping disabled people find and stay in work, whilst taking care of those who cant."

However, the UN committee stated in its findings that it cross-checked facts that appeared to be controversial with a multiplicity of sources, including reports and data from governmental and non-governmental departments, independent experts, universities and service providers.

The report found that disabled people's hardship as a result of the policies resulted in "arrears, debts, evictions" and cuts to essentials such as "housing and food".

The report also called attention to the scape-goating of people with disabilities who rely on government support, who are regularly portrayed as lazy, committing fraud as benefit claimants and putting a burden on taxpayers who are paying money for nothing'.

"Persons with disabilities continue to experience increasing hostility, aggressive behaviour and sometimes attacks to their personal integrity," the report said. "The reforms have resulted in people experiencing increasing reliance on family and kinship carers, reduction in their social interaction, increased isolation and, in certain cases, institutionalization."
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Barack Obama is reportedly "furious" about Donald Trump's allegation that he ordered the placing of wiretaps in Trump Tower ahead of the presidential election.

The former US leader was said to be "livid" after his successor accused him of being a "bad, or sick, guy", while failing to provide any evidence his Democratic predecessor had ordered a surveillance operation.

While Mr Obama has kept a relatively low profile since leaving office, aides told The Wall Street Journal that Mr Trump's accusation - which he made without producing any evidence to back up his claim - has crossed a boundary because it questioned the former leader's integrity and that of the office of president itself.

 Trump spokesperson complains everyone believes Obama and no one believes Trump

It follows a string of tweets from Mr Trump over the weekend, that accused the then-President of wiretapping his New York office in 2016.

"Terrible!" he said. "Just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!"

He added: "Is it legal for a sitting President to be 'wire tapping' a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A new low!"

Mr Obama's spokesman, Kevin Lewis, flatly denied the suggestion that anything underhand had taken place.

"A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice," he said.

"As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any US citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false."

 Former director of national intelligence denies there was a 'wiretap' at Trump Tower

Mr Trump flung another accusation at Obama earlier this week, tweeting: "122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from [Guantanamo Bay], have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!"

That claim has been proven false. 113 of the so-called 'vicious prisoners' released from extrajudicial detention were set free by President George Bush, and only nine (or six per cent) by the Obama administration.

Mr Trump's camp was quick to fire back at claims these tweets were unbecoming. "Trump's people think Obama is at war with them," the media baron and Trump ally Christopher Ruddy told The WSJ.

"This president has been under siege since Day One from both the press and Obama loyalists and hes reacting to it. I dont think theres any doubt that Obama loyalists inside the administration and outside are giving Donald Trump a lot of grief and a lot of problems."
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By now, everyones aware that Ben Carson likened slaves to immigrants during a staff speech Monday to mark his first full week as secretary of housing and urban development. The comparison did not play nicely on social media. (On Twitter, actor Samuel L. Jackson announced his disapproval with a phrase that cannot be reprinted here.)

But Carsons remarks about slavery were not his only statements to receive scrutiny.

As a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1987, Carson famously separated infant twins conjoined at the head. But on Monday, he told a factually wrong parable about the brain. Specifically, Carson said, the brain was incapable of forgetting and could be electrically stimulated into perfect recall - a statement that, even though made by one of the most famous former neurosurgeons alive, was far more fiction than science.

It came in an anecdote meant to motivate the federal employees, a bit Carson developed on the public speaking circuit. He described the brains surprising power as a way to show the audience that they were more capable than they believed.

Except his description did not hit the mark. It remembers everything youve ever seen. Everything youve ever heard. I could take the oldest person here, make a little hole right here on the side of the head, Carson said, circling his left temple with a finger, and put some depth electrodes into their hippocampus and stimulate. And they would be able to recite back to you, verbatim, a book they read 60 years ago. Its all there. It doesnt go away. You just have to learn how to recall it.

He went on: It can process more than 2 million bits of information per second. You cant overload it. Have you ever heard people say, Dont do all that, youll overload your brain. You cant overload the human brain. If you learned one new fact every second, it would take you more than 3 million years to challenge the capacity of your brain.

The insinuation that Carson could zap a patient into reciting, from cover to cover, a book read in 1957 was not true, experts said.

Using electrodes placed in the human brain to implant memories or to recall forgotten memories is simply not possible at this time, Darin Dougherty, a psychiatrist and the director of Massachusetts General Hospitals neurotherapeutics division, told Gizmodo.

Recommended Ben Carson referred to slaves as immigrants and people are outraged

Dan Simons, a University of Illinois psychologist who studies attention and memory, told Wired that Carsons claim was utter nonsense. Simons said it failed on nearly all counts: Humans cannot recall large swaths of text unless memorised for that purpose. Doctors cannot force patients to remember anything in crystal detail, even with deep brain stimulation. No human brain holds within it a perfect and permanent record of our experiences, the psychologist said.

Exactly where the brain holds memories is a question with century-old roots, and it is likely a function of the memorys age. The hippocampus is thought to play a part in long-term recall, but does not itself store old memories. And though recent studies indicate that electrically stimulating the hippocampus can boost performance on memory tests, this was not the same as triggering decades-old recollections.

(A technique called optogenetics has allowed scientists to implant false memories by shining light into altered brain cells via fibre optic cable. The same technique can restore memories in mice suffering from a chemically induced approximation of amnesia. But the amnesiac brains on the receiving end of the fiber optic cable must belong to mice. And none of their lost mouse memories were ancient, or so detailed as a novel.)

This was not the first time Carson has made similar claims. The brain-as-perfect-recall-device also appeared during a speech Carson gave in 2011, at conference called the Celebration of Creation held by the Adventist News Network. In his book One Nation, Carson repeated the idea that he could stimulate an 85-year-old man into reciting an entire book that the man read in his 20s.

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

Carsons public opinions have not always aligned with his famous credentials in medicine. He has been criticised in the past for raising doubts about vaccine safety. He called climate change irrelevant in a November 2014 interview.

And Carson once proposed that the Old Testament prophet Joseph built the Great Pyramids of Giza to store grain, as The Washington Post reported in 2015, based on the doctors interpretation of the Book of Genesis when, in fact, the ancient Egyptians constructed the pyramids, which are not hollow, for pharaohs to use as royal tombs.

The Washington Post
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Chinese authorities have granted preliminary approval for dozens of Trump-branded businesses, expanding his commercial empire and raising further conflicts of interest, say lawyers.

The 38 trademarks include new hotels, spas, escort and concierge services, massage parlors, personal security services and insurance, according to public documents.

The Presidents lawyers applied for the trademarks in April last year, at the same time the then Presidential candidate Trump was accusing China of "ripping off" the US and deliberately manipulating its currency to its own advantage.

Recommended Trump family say they will continue with foreign deals

If there is no objection, the trademarks will be formally registered after 90 days.

Ethics lawyers argue that if the Trump trademarks receive any special treatment due to their association with the President, it would violate the US Constitution, which prohibits those in public office from accepting anything of value from foreign governments, unless they are approved by Congress.

Congress has not approved the China trademarks.

Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Show all 20 1 /20 Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters yell as protesters are removed at Trump rally in Texas on February 11 Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen A supporter dressed as a border wall before the rally Reuters Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen A man is restrained after assaulting members of the media including a BBC cameraman at the rally AP Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen President Trump arrives for a rally in El Paso AFP/Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Trump supporters react as a couple are escorted from their seats Reuters Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen A supporter shows off a Trump doll while waiting for the rally Reuters Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Linda Padilla Dewiler, originally from Mexico, poses with a sign as Trump supporters gather to attend his rally AFP/Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen A supporter sports political badges on his cap Reuters Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters hold signs, one holds an Israel flag, as they cheer for the president AFP/Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen President Trump addresses the rally AP Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen President Trump addresses the rally in front of a large "FINISH THE WALL" banner AP Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen President Trump addresses the rally as supporters hold pro-border wall signs Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen President Trump addresses the rally as supporters hold pro-border wall signs AP Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters cheer at the rally AFP/Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters cheer during the rally AP Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters cheer at the rally AFP/Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters cheer at the rally AFP/Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters cheer the president AFP/Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters cheer the president AFP/Getty Trump Texas rally: Lies, executing babies and attacks on BBC cameramen Supporters wait for the president to arrive at the rally Getty

Norm Eisen, who served as chief ethics lawyer for former President Barack Obama, told The Independent that the initial registration of a long-denied Trump trademark "certainly seems to run afoul of the foreign emoluments clause" of the US Constitution.

"I anticipate that these issues will enter into our litigation," he said.

"When Trump is profiting from these valuable Chinese benefits [...], how can we be sure he will advance US interests in his engagements with that country, for example by staunching the flow of American jobs out from the US to China?"

Richard Painter, who served as chief ethics lawyer for George W Bush, said a trademark in itself was not likely to be a violation of the constitutional emoluments clause, but he questioned why so many were granted over such a short period, and whether there was "an accommodation in at least some of them."

They have already filed a lawsuit to challenge the Presidents alleged conflicts of interest.

China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce, which oversees the Trademark Office, and Trump Organization general counsel Alan Garten did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Independent.

Spring Chang, a founding partner at Chang Tsi & Partners, a Beijing law firm that has represented the Trump Organization, declined to comment specifically on Trump's trademarks. But she did say that she advises clients to take out marks defensively, even in categories or subcategories of goods and services they may not aim to develop.

"I don't see any special treatment to the cases of my clients so far," she added. "I think they're very fair and the examination standard is very equal for every applicant."

The Trump Organisation is being run by Mr Trumps two oldest sons, Donald Jr and Eric Trump, whilst he is in the White House. He was urged to divest from his businesses and place assets in a blind trust but has not done so. The trust, of which he is the sole beneficiary, is being run by Donald Jr and longtime associate Allen Weisselberg. The President can revoke the trust at any time and stands to benefit financially from it after his term is over.

His sons have continued to expand the Trump brand since Inauguration; in Canada and Dubai. Taxpayers have reportedly spent millions on security costs for the sons on their business trips around the world.

Agencies contributed to this report.
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Some of the claims in a controversial dossier linking Donald Trump to the Russian government appear to have been verified by US media outlets.

Compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, the document set out months of leads and unverified intelligence reports linking the US President and his associates to the Kremlin.

Mr Steele returned to work at the London-based Orbis Business Intelligence, where he is a director, earlier this week.

He did not comment on the dossier which was compiled as oppositional research, first on behalf of Mr Trump's rivals for the Republican presidential candidacy and later for the Democrats.

Mr Trump has called the report, fake news.

One of the allegations set out in the document claimed a senior Russian diplomat, Mikhail Kalugin, was withdrawn from Washington to avoid exposing his involvement in US presidential election operations.

Moscow feared his heavy involvement in the US presidential election operation, including the so-called veteran's pensions ruse, would be exposed in the media there, it stated.

It was referring to allegations that Russia's Federal Security Service funnelled payments disguised as pension benefits into the US. This money was then allegedly used to fund a hacking operation.

Mr Kalugin was withdrawn from his role in the economic section of Russia's Washington embassy in August 2016, and subsequently returned to Moscow.

Russian officials have nonetheless derided the dossiers assertions.

Speaking shortly after it was published, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Mr Kalugin had left Washington as part of a planned rotation. She called the report mind-numbing gibberish and inhumane nonsense.

However, the McClatchy publishing company has reported two sources with knowledge of multi-agency investigations into Kremlin influence on the US elections, have confirmed that Mr Kalugin was under scrutiny when he departed.

The revelation came as it emerged that Mr Trump met with Russias US ambassador last April at the height of the presidential election, despite his repeated and strenuous denials of any meeting with Kremlin officials before his inauguration in January.

News reports from the time which have now resurfaced, also suggest that Mr Trump met briefly with Vladimir Putins representative in Washington around six months before polling day.

Photos from that day also appear to prove that Sergey Kislyak, the Kremlins man in Washington, was at a speech given by the US leader.

During a press conference at the White House last month, Mr Trump addressed allegations of his links to Moscow.

Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia, he said. Haven't made a phone call to Russia in years. Don't speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn't. I just have nobody to speak to.

I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does.

Mr Trumps new Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, agreed to step aside from all investigations of Russia's interference after it emerged he met twice with Mr Kislyak during the election campaign.

The US President's former national security adviser Michael Flynn was also forced to resign after it emerged that he had discussed lifting sanctions on Russia, with the country's ambassador Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak, before taking office.

It is illegal for a private citizen to conduct diplomacy on behalf of the US.
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FBI Director James Comey has warned citizens that "absolute privacy" does not exist in the US and he argued in favour of weakening encryption technology to allow the FBI to access devices and assist them in their investigations.

His comments have raised concerns regarding FBI procedures as well as private industry cybersecurity.

Mr Comey noted during a Boston College conference that the FBI has been unable to open 43 per cent of the 2,800 devices obtained in various investigations due to encryption.

He came under fire during the 2016 election regarding his agencys handling of the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private server for State Department emails.

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His comments also come in the wake of President Trumps tweets over the weekend which accused the Obama administration of illegally wiretapping Trump Tower during the election.

Robert Cattanach, a partner specialising in cybersecurity at the law firm Dorsey & Whitney and a former trial lawyer at the Department of Justice, told The Independent that as a practical matter this [no absolute privacy] is a fair observation...by any tech savvy citizen."

Mr Cattanach said the key word is absolute.

He added that people were still entitled to a "reasonable" amount of privacy based on the Fifth Amendment in the US Constitution, therefore Mr Comey's concerns were not likely to have an impact on the way courts rule about privacy.

It would be foolish to think that anything I said or did is fully private even through encrypted devices, said Mr Cattanach.

Mr Comey also said that reasonable expectation of privacy in our homes, in our cars, in our devices...is a vital part of being American, but that a judge could compel anyone to testify about private communications.

However, Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based digital rights advocacy group, told The Independent that the freedom to have a private conversation  free from the worry that a hostile government, a rogue government agent, or a competitor or a criminal others are listening  is central to a free society.

Ms Cohns is concerned about Mr Comeys comments because there is nearly universal consensus from technologists that its impossible to build weaknesses or access mechanisms into technology that can only be used by the good guys and not by the bad.

In other words, if Apple weakens security for the FBI to access more of the 2,800 devices, other world governments who do not have the same human rights and rule of law protections might also be able to access the same devices.

Both Ms Cohn and Mr Cattanach are concerned by Mr Comeys comments regarding the impact on private sector businesses.

Though Mr Cattanach did not interpret Director Comeys comments as having an underlying agenda to make it easier for the FBI to violate the "reasonable" expectation of privacy that Americans are afforded, he does feel that a companys trade secrets are much more easily obtained by competitors if weakened cybersecurity measures are pushed forward.

Ms Cohn explained that banning US companies from offering strong security will send them abroad for a foreign product that is not governed by the US, which could undermine their cybersecurity protections.

Mr Comey did not address President Trumps wiretapping accusations in his Boston College speech but confirmed he would finish the remaining six and a half years of his term at the helm of the FBI.
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Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama's healthcare law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered.

Governors, especially those from political battleground states, were generally cool to the bill put forth in the Republican-controlled US House. Some signalled that they would continue working on their own legislation to compete with the measure introduced Monday.

We've said all along, 'Work with the governors,' that it should be a governor-led effort and for the Congress to rely on the governors, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval said. Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesn't include anything that the governors have talked about.

Republican governors lead 33 states, across all regions, and represent states pivotal to President Donald Trump's victory in November, including much of the upper Midwest. Their role in the health care debate could influence the biggest public policy changes this year and help determine the party's future.

At the heart of their criticisms is that the House plan would jeopardise coverage for roughly 11 million people covered through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. The law allowed states to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income individuals and their families at costs borne largely by the federal government.

Phasing out the federal supplement for Medicaid would hit hardest in states where governors chose to participate in the expansion, such as Michigan, Nevada and Ohio. The House bill's provision to shift the federal Medicaid commitment to those states would shrink the number of people eligible for coverage and require states to drop people from coverage or risk incurring huge costs rapidly to keep them enrolled.

Phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug-addicted, mentally ill and working poor who now have access to a stable source of care, said Governor John Kasich of Ohio.

Michigan, Nevada and Ohio alone have added a combined 2 million to Medicaid's enrolment since that part of the law took effect in 2014.

The GOP governors expressed some of the same reservations as Democratic governors in states that expanded Medicaid, fretting about higher costs and fewer people covered.

Obamacare supporters demonstrate against Donald Trump at a rally in New Jersey (Stephanie Keith/Reuters) (REUTERS/Stephanie Keith)

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a Democrat, warned against any health measure that kicks residents off Medicaid and leaves them in the cold. The state has been carried by Republican presidential nominees for the past five elections and has added 175,000 residents to Medicaid coverage.

Another problem some Republican governors see with the bill is in converting Medicaid coverage from an open-ended federal entitlement to one that operates under a per-capita cap. A cap would not account, for instance, for rapidly rising drug costs, a big part of a state's Medicaid budget. GOP governors have suggested that any change in the law should give them more autonomy to account for such changes.

I would have liked to have seen more flexibility being given to the states, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson told reporters. I'm going to continue to look at that.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker echoed the more muted response from his peers, calling the House bill an important first step.

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

We will continue working with the Trump administration, the Congress and governors across the country, as we seek a personalised, patient-centred plan that treats people as humans and not like numbers, he added.

Walker, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has been working with governors such as Kasich to draft a proposal that would effectively put states in charge of their Medicaid programmes but require the federal government to continue financing them.

The governors' alternative could become a viable measure in the legislative debate, should it gain Senate sponsorship. The governors working on it have met with senators and staff on the Senate Finance Committee.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman is already sounding some of Kasich's concerns. In a letter sent Monday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Portman wrote that House legislation does not provide stability and certainty for individuals and families in Medicaid expansion programs or the necessary flexibility for states.

AP
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The Statue of Liberty has suffered a "temporary, unplanned outage", losing all lights apart from her crown and torch.

Women's March activists behind today's A Day Without A Woman Protest were quick to claim the black-out as "Lady Liberty... standing with the resistance."

But the National Parks Service has said the outage was simply due to construction work on a new emergency backup generator.

According to the New York Post, the lights shut off around 10pm Eastern Standard Time, and weren't restored until roughly 11.30pm.

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New York Harbour was left in darkness as light from the 46-metre edifice formally known as Liberty Enlightening the World blinked out.

The statue is seen by many Americans as a symbol of liberty and the American dream. She holds a torch in her left hand and a tablet representing the law in her right, while a broken chain coils around her feet.

A sonnet including the famous lines "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" is inscribed at her base.

Women's March campaigners therefore claimed "Lady Liberty" as an anti-Trump protester, thanking her for "standing with the resistance" in a tongue-in-cheek post on Twitter.

In a statement, National Parks Service public affairs officer Jerry Willis said: "A portion of the lighting system that illuminates the Statue of Liberty experienced a temporary, unplanned outage tonight.

"The outage was most likely due to work related to an ongoing project to activate a new emergency backup generator that is part of our last remaining Hurricane Sandy recovery projects.

"We will be able to confirm the cause when crews return to the island Wednesday morning."

The hurricane caused $33 billion of damage across New York State in 2012.
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Dr Khaled Almilaji, a Brown University graduate student, has been stuck in Turkey since January because of President Trumps travel ban on Syrian citizens entering the country while his pregnant wife is in the US. He now plans on moving to Canada.

The latest form of the executive order, signed early this week, enforces a 90 day ban on visa issuance for citizens from Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Syria.

Dr Almilaji told the Providence Journal that the latest order stops any hope that I can get out on another visa, in at least the next three months and beyond that he is concerned about further restrictions.

He had initially travelled to Turkey at the beginning of the year to check up on his humanitarian projects. Dr Almilaji has helped to set up underground hospitals in the rebel-held areas of Syria to serve those fleeing the conflict. In 2014, he worked to provide polio vaccines to nearly 1 million Syrian children.

His humanitarian work stems from being jailed and tortured for six months early on in the Syrian conflict. Dr Almilaji was freed in 2011 because his jail became too crowded and he subsequently fled to Turkey.

In 2016, Dr Almilaji came to Rhode Island on a student visa and full scholarship so he could get his Masters in Public Health at Brown University.

Dr Almilaji told to the Providence Journal that his student visa had been revoked even before the first executive order banning travelers from Syria had been signed on 27 January.

NBC News reported on 28 January that at least 40 student visas had been revoked by immigration officials prior to the first executive order.

Dean of the School of Public Health Dr. Terri Fox Wetle told The Independent that Dr Almilaji is a beloved member of the School of Public Health community and we have worked hard to help him return to Brown to complete his MPH studies.

However, she noted that his return to the university was unlikely due to the travel ban. Dr Wetle said her school is helping Dr Almilaji find a public health program in Canada in order to complete his studies. He is currently waiting to hear about a scholarship to a school in Canada.
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Virginia Senator Tim Kaines son has been arrested in Minnesota for second-degree rioting after an altercation broke out during a pro-Donald Trump rally.

Linwood Kaine, 24, was arrested along with five others and has since been released from the Ramsey County jail. Further investigation is pending.

Senator Kaine was Hillary Clintons running mate in the 2016 presidential election.

The rally was attended by approximately 400 people and took place in the State Capitol building, according to Minnesota State Patrol.

Thirty minutes into the event, it was interrupted by 50 anti-Trump protesters at the State Capitol building who blew horns and chanted. A smoke bomb also went off at that point, according to the Pioneer Press.

Mr Kaine was seen with a group of four other people who set off fireworks in the building and then fled the scene.

 Clinton and Kaine Hit Campaign Trail Following DNC Nomination

He was taken with some force a block away, St Paul police spokesperson Steve Linders said.

No charges have been filed against Mr Kaine as yet, but city attorney Samuel Clark is reviewing the case to decide whether to file misdemeanor charges against him.

A spokesman for Senator Kaine sent a statement to the Washington Post which said, "We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues. They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully."

Mr Kaine attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and Senator Kaine is originally from St Paul.

The Senator and his wife, Ann Houlton, have two other children: Anelia, 24, and Nat, 26, a Marine.
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Donald Trump met with Russias US ambassador last April at the height of the presidential election, it has emerged, despite, repeated and strenuous denials of any meeting with Kremlin officials before his inauguration.

According to news reports published at the time that have now resurfaced, Mr Trump met briefly with Vladimir Putins representative in Washington around six months before polling day.

Photos from that day also appear to prove that Sergey Kislyak, the Kremlins man in Washington, was at the Trump speech.

The reports directly contradict the Presidents repeated denials about contact with Russian officials prior to his election.

Sergey Kislyak met with many members of Mr Trump's team (Getty)

The meeting between the two men took place while Mr Trump was at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on 27 April, 2016.

Mr Kislyak was said to have been seated in one of the front rows for the then-Republic candidates speech.

Mr Trump used the event to outline his policies on trade deals with China, the Islamic State, the military and international security from Europe to Asia.

He also called for better relations with Moscow: I believe an easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia, from a position of strength, is possible. Common sense says this cycle of hostility must end.

Mr Kislyak told Politico after the speech that the billionaire New York property tycoon made some intriguing points, but we need to understand what is meant in the implementation.

Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Show all 14 1 /14 Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A lesbian couple kisses in front of mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a barbecue bar 'Keule Ruke' on May 19, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Barcroft Media/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A lesbian couple kisses in front of mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a barbecue bar 'Keule Ruke' on May 19, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Barcroft Media/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - NOVEMBER 23: A woman walks past a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A woman walks past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A child walks past a graffiti depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a bar in the old town in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, May 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural People walk past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A man photographs a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A young woman walks past a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the slogan "make everything great again," in reference to Trump's campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again," on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A morning commuter stops to look at a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Restaurant owner Dominykas Ceckauskas pose next to a mural on the wall of his establishment depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. / AFP / Petras Malukas (Photo credit should read PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images) Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A passerby photographs a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Getty

The Trump administration has issued more than 20 denials of contact with Russian officials, stretching back to last summer.

During a press conference at the White House last month, Mr Trump addressed allegations of his links to Moscow.

"Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia, he said.

Haven't made a phone call to Russia in years. Don't speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn't. I just have nobody to speak to.

 Ex-MI6 agent behind Trump Russia dossier breaks silence

I spoke to Putin twice. He called me on the election. I told you this. And he called me on the inauguration, a few days ago.

We had a very good talk, especially the second one, lasted for a pretty long period of time.

I'm sure you probably get it because it was classified. So I'm sure everybody in this room perhaps has it. But we had a very, very good talk.

"I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does.
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Donald Trumps travel ban on six Muslim-majority countries will be challenged in court by the US state of Hawaii.

A court motion filed on Tuesday revealed the Pacific Ocean state intends to seek a temporary restraining order against the Presidents new executive order.

The Trump administration this week issued a fresh ban that supplanted an earlier, more-sweeping one, which was successfully challenged in court by the state of Washington.

Recommended Trump signs new travel ban executive order targeting six countries

Travellers from Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iran, Somalia and Sudan will be subjected to a 90-day ban on visiting the US.

The new directive aims to address legal issues with the original order, which caused confusion at airports, sparked protests around the country and was ultimately blocked by federal courts.

In stark contrast to the chaotic manner in which the President's first order was rolled out, the amended measure was accompanied by a sober televised appearance by three of his most senior officials.

The ban doesn't go into effect immediately, giving the world time to assess its impact.

But the scaled-back order still faces critics who question whether it actually will make the US safer.

The new order also temporarily shuts down America's refugee program, but eliminates many of the original order's most contentious elements.

It removes Iraq from the list of banned countries and makes clear that current visa holders will not be impacted.
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The UNs human rights chief has denounced Donald Trumps new immigration ban and attacks on journalists and the judiciary in an unprecedented assault on the US President.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, voiced his concern over the administrations handling of a series of human rights issues including the treatment of immigrants and Muslims.

Greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities, he told a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva.

 Donald Trump signs revised travel ban

Vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims, and false claims that migrants commit more crimes than US citizens, are harmful and fuel xenophobic abuses.

Mr al-Hussein was speaking days after Mr Trump announced the creation of a new agency to deal specifically with crimes committed by aliens and pledged to publish a regular list of offences by non-US citizens.

The President has also unveiled his new immigration ban, cutting the number of targeting Muslim-majority countries from seven to six, lifting the indefinite ban on Syrian refugees, exempting green card holders and omitting the preference for religious minorities.

Despite the changes, Mr al-Hussein said the executive order was part of a raft of policies that could see children detained and families ripped apart by deportations without regard for years spent in the US or family roots.

Expedited deportations could amount to collective expulsions and refoulement, in breach of international law, if undertaken without due process guarantees, including individual assessment, he added.

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 human rights commissioner also took aim at Mr Trump for his frequent attacks on the press, seeing critical outlets excluded from briefings or banned from asking questions, and unfavourable coverage dubbed fake news.

I am dismayed at attempts by the President to intimidate or undermine journalists and judges, Mr al-Hussein said, alluding to the assault on members of the judiciary that opposed Mr Trumps initial travel ban.

The US was among more than 40 countries examined in a wide-ranging speech on Wednesday, where the UN was warned that 2017 could prove to be a pivotal year for human rights amid terror attacks, security crackdowns, populism and the rise of authoritarian-minded leaders.

Europes response to the refugee crisis was targeted by Mr al-Hussein, who sounded a warning over plans to increase cooperation with the Libyan government in efforts to reduce boat crossings over the Mediterranean Sea.

Many ordinary people in Europe have welcomed and supported migrants, but political leaders increasingly demonstrate a chilling indifference to their fate, he said.

I am particularly disturbed by lurid public narratives which appear deliberately aimed at stirring up public fear and panic, by depicting these vulnerable people as criminal invading hordes.


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Chinas foreign minister has a plan to ease tensions in East Asia: North Korea should stop testing missiles and the United States and South Korea should stop joint military exercises, he has said.

The comment was made at a news conference in Beijing two days after North Korea test-fired four missiles and the US and South Korea deployed a new missile defence system that Beijing opposes, raising regional tension and renewing questions about Asia policy under President Donald Trump.

Chinas suggestion is, as a first step, for North Korea to suspend nuclear activity, and for the US and South Korea to also suspend large-scale military drills, said Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister. The plan could get all sides back to the negotiating table, he added.

Mr Wang likened the US and North Korea to trains at risk of collision. The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming towards each other with neither side willing to give way, he said.

The question is: are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains.

In his portrayal of the tensions in the region, China is the signalman working to avert disaster  not, as some US observers might have it, a conductor in its own right.

What Mr Wang proposed is not new  North Korea has pitched suspension for suspension many times and the US has balked.

However, this is the first time it has been raised under President Trump, presenting some new possibilities, said John Delury, an assistant professor at Seouls Yonsei University.

We dont know what Trump is going to do about North Korea, he said. There is a policy review underway now and it looks like all options are on the table.

At the heart of all this is a question about Beijings role in the relationship between China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and the United States, particularly as the US charts a new foreign policy under Mr Trump.

Last month, North Korea tested a solid-fuel rocket that it claims is part of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States. The country was then linked to the assassination, in Malaysia, of ruler Kim Jong-uns half brother, Kim Jong-nam, who had been under Chinese protection.

Inside the daily life in North Korea Show all 19 1 /19 Inside the daily life in North Korea Inside the daily life in North Korea People reading a newspaper at the metro station Inside the daily life in North Korea Thoughts of the leaders on the tram. They have about a dozen of these on every tram, all with different thoughts Inside the daily life in North Korea Young people training for a big upcoming festival Inside the daily life in North Korea People at the Pyongyang's annual marathon Inside the daily life in North Korea Many stars on one of the trolleys in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea An intimidating poster in a primary school in North Korea. Inside the daily life in North Korea Solar panels installed on a street lamp. Inside the daily life in North Korea A poster on the window next to one of the venues we visited in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea Kids playing football next to the Arch of Triumph. After a while tourists were allowed to join, so some of us did Inside the daily life in North Korea Class in an educational center in Pyongyang (where people over 17 years old can attend any classes they choose after school, for free) Inside the daily life in North Korea People waving at me during the Pyongyang marathon Inside the daily life in North Korea People having a great time dancing at a public park Inside the daily life in North Korea A metro driver in a metro station in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea Fireworks to mark the birthday of the Eternal President Kim Il Sung on our last night in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea My wonderful tour guide at a public park Inside the daily life in North Korea One of the parks in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea A person rowing some boats for the day at a river in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea The National War Museum Inside the daily life in North Korea Public park in Pyongyang

On Monday, as Chinas National Peoples Congress opened in Beijing and joint US-South Korea military exercises got underway, Pyongyang launched four missiles  target practice, it said.

All sides have condemned North Koreas actions. What nobody can agree on is what to do next.

China says the conflict should be solved by the US and North Korea  the speeding trains themselves. But the US has long argued that the conflict cannot be solved without more help from China, North Koreas last real ally.

North Korea and China were once as close as lips and teeth, Mao Zedong said. While they are still technically allies  Mr Wang resurrected Maos lips and teeth line today  China is frustrated by North Koreas nuclear theatrics and exhausted by its economic woes.

After Februarys rocket launch, Beijing closed loopholes in an existing effort to curb North Korean coal imports, a sector seen as a financial lifeline for the Kim regime.

Chinese experts insist that Beijing has few remaining options when it comes to Pyongyang, mostly because North Korea sees the development of its nuclear programme as the only way to protect against the US  they would rather have no coal, or no cash, than cease to exist, the theory goes.

Even if China stops oil aid to North Korea, it will still not give up developing nuclear weapons, said Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, in Beijing. We cut off coal imports from North Korea and its economy was affected, however, North Korea can have nothing, and it will still believe it needs nuclear weapons to stop the US.

Indeed, despite their many differences, Beijing and Pyongyang share a belief that the presence of US troops in South Korea is the root of regional conflict  a fact highlighted this week when China lashed out at the US and South Korea over the deployment of a new anti-missile system.

The US and South Korea say the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is necessary to shoot down North Korean missiles. China believes it could be used to spy on Chinese airspace and has called the project a strategic plot.

 Kim Jong Un 'will press the button' if his rule is threatened, North Korea defector reveals

Though Mr Trumps precise plans are unknown, the administrations comments on North Korea so far suggest they think its up to China to play a bigger role. The THAAD deployment, however, could make it tougher to get them on board.

Experts said Mr Trump seemed unlikely, for now, to accept Mr Wangs proposal. There is very little possibility that they will get back to talks, said Zhang Liangui, who studies North Korea at the Communist Partys Central Party School.

That means the next move will likely come from Washington  and depend on Trump. We just hope that the US can solve this, Mr Zhang said.

 The Washington Post
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Malta's famous Azure Window rock formation has collapsed into the sea in what the country's prime minister described as a "heartbreaking event".

Known in Malta as Tieqa tad-Dwerja, the Azure Window arched over blue seas popular with divers and featured in countless tourism brochures.

It collapsed along with the its flanking stacks as Malta was hit by rough seas and stormy weather.

Several people shared their memories of the limestone arch on social media.

Geologists had long warned that the structure, on the north-western coast of the small island of Gozo, was eroding fast and the authorities had banned visitors from walking on top of it.

Gozo resident Roger Chessell went to the coastline in the morning to take pictures and told the Times of Malta: "There was a big raging sea beneath the Azure Window.

"Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea with a loud whoomph, throwing up a huge spray. By the time the spray had faded, the stack had gone too."

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in a Tweet that the famous Mediterranean landmark had always faced destruction because of natural corrosion.

"That sad day has arrived," he wrote.
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Geert Wilders has appeared back in front of the cameras as he tries to regain lost ground just a week before the Netherlands heads to the polls.

During a protest outside the Turkish Embassy, he branded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an "Islamist" and a "dictator".

A few dozen protestors turned out on a rainy day in the Hague to support Wilders. The leader of the Freedom Party (PVV) unfurled a banner saying Stay away. This is our country in Turkish and Dutch.

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu was planning to campaign in the Netherlands to encourage Dutch-Turkish dual nationals to vote in an April referendum to expand Mr Erdogan's powers.

Wilders seized on the opportunity after his lead in the polls, which he has held for months, evaporated.

In the name of freedom, we need to say: Stay away, you are not welcome, this is our country, the far-right leader told journalists. Lobbying for a dictator is not allowed on Dutch soil. We wouldnt allow it either for ministers from North Korea or Saudi Arabia and also not for that other dictatorial regime Turkey".

The appearance comes after a surprise visit to the town of Volendam on Friday. After initially suspending his campaign over a security scare, Wilders declared late last week that he would go out and meet supporters again.

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

Yet he is still abstaining from almost all political debates and in-depth interviews with the Dutch press. Last Sunday, eight Dutch party leaders debated with each other live on television. Wilders was absent.

Following the debate, Prime Minster Mark Ruttes Liberal VVD party managed to surpass Wilders in the polls. Peilingwijzers poll of polls now predicts VVD will win 16.4 per cent of the vote, with Wilders' party set to win 14.6 per cent.

The conservative Christian Democrats (CDA) are also winning over PVV voters after the party tacked to the right. Leader Sybrand Buma announced over the weekend that he wants pupils to learn the national anthem  the Wilhelmus  at school and that they should stand up while singing it. The CDA is now predicted to capture 12.1 per cent of votes.

Hanne van Zon, a retired IT worker, was one of the few supporters to brave the rain. The 69-year-old carried an umbrella covered in a Dutch flag and came out to support Wilders because she is worried about Islam. I hope people who all agree on Facebook actually get off their sofa and vote on 15 March  that will definitely give him a lot of extra votes, she said.

Ms Van Zon isnt sure she believes Wilders is losing voters saying she was sceptical of the news media. If I see he is falling in the polls, I think, is that really true?

Yet it was the media that turned this small protest into a campaign event. Reporters outnumbered the few dozen Wilders supporters, several of whom belong to the extreme anti-Islam Pegida movement.

The PPVs one page party platform calls for the closing of all mosques and the banning of the Quran.

With only one week to go until voters head to the polls, the field remains extremely divided. There are 28 parties running and 11 parties are set to capture at least four seats in the 150-seat parliament. Almost all political parties have excluded the possibility of ruling with Wilders PVV. That will make forming a governing coalition tricky.

The Dutch election is seen as a bellwether for elections in France and Germany later his year. Both countries also have populist anti-immigration politicians who are looking to shake up European politics.
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Germany must decide if it is friends with Turkey, the Turkish foreign minister has said, after a breakdown in diplomatic relations that culminated in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing Germany of Nazi practices.

Germanys foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu were good, honest and friendly, but also hard and contentious.

However, Mr Cavusoglu said although Turkey wanted to remain friends with Germany, Germany must decide if Turkey is a friend or not. He said Turkey would then take steps accordingly.

The talks come after German municipalities cancelled several rallies in support of a Turkish referendum to give Mr Erdogan sweeping new presidential powers.

 Germany's Turkish Community holds huge rally in Cologne in support of Erdogan

Some rallies have gone ahead, with Mr Cavusoglu himself addressing a crowd in Hamburg and repeating Mr Erdogans assertion that Germanys practices are similar to those of the Nazi era.

About 1.4 million people of Turkish descent living in Germany are eligible to vote in the referendum Turkey is to hold next month.

There are lines that should not be crossed, and one of those is the comparison with Nazi Germany, Mr Gabriel said.

Mr Cavusoglus comments echo those made over the weekend by Mr Erdogan, who said: Germany, you dont have anything to do with democracy. These current practices of yours are no different than the Nazi practices of the past.

Mr Erdogan followed up his comments by saying he will stir up the world if he is banned from giving speeches in Germany.

Now they think Tayyip Erdogan wants to go to Germany. I will go if I want to, Mr Erdogan said. If you dont let me in, or restrain me from giving a speech, then I will stir up the world.

Mr Cavusoglu said he had discussed a possible venue for the Turkish Presidents rally in Germany with his counterpart.

In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: Turkey coup attempt In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Erdogan attends the funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih mosque on July 17, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey Burak Kara/Getty Images In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soldiers involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge with their hands raised in Istanbul on 16 July, 2016 Gokhan Tan/Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A civilian beats a soldier after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 REUTERS/Murad Sezer In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Surrendered Turkish soldiers who were involved in the coup are beaten by a civilian Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soliders involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave flags as they capture a Turkish Army vehicle Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People pose near a tank after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Brigde Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A Turkish military stands guard near the Taksim Square in Istanbul Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Pierre Crom/Twitter In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers secure the area as supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim square AP In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Murad Sezer/Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers detain police officers during a security shutdown of the Bosphorus Bridge Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish Army armoured personnel carriers in the main streets of Istanbul Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Chaos reigned in Istanbul as tanks drove through the streets EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media in the resort town of Marmaris Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of President Erdogan celebrate in Ankara following the suppression of the attempted coup Reuters

It came as Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders sought to revive his parliamentary campaign by denouncing Turkeys president as a dictator and protesting against plans for similar Turkish rallies in his country.

Mr Wilders led a small rally of a few dozen activists outside the Turkish embassy as he tried to recover from his anti-Islam Freedom Partys slide in the opinion polls just one week before a parliamentary election in the Netherlands.

Leave us alone, lobby in your own country, and stay away, Mr Wilders said of Mr Cavusoglus plan to hold a rally in Rotterdam.

Mr Erdogan is a mere dictator, he added. We would not allow lobbying for North Korea or Saudi Arabia in our country either, he said, calling for the entire Turkish cabinet to be declared persona non grata.

Mr Wilders opposition right-wing Freedom Party, which wants to shut mosques, ban the Koran, quit the European Union and stop Muslim immigration, led opinion polls for most of last year but is now losing ground to the conservative Christian Democrats (CDA) and the far-left Socialists.

Adding to tensions, Turkey has not allowed any German consular access to a German newspaper reporter arrested in Istanbul.

Mr Erdogan has accused Deniz Yucel of being both a German spy and a representative of the outlawed Kurdish rebel group PKK, a claim Berlin has dismissed as absurd.

Mr Yucel, a reporter for Die Welt, was detained in Istanbul last month over his reports about a hacker attack on the email account of the countrys energy minister.

Mr Gabriel said he pushed for access to Mr Yucel, who has both Turkish and German citizenship, and lobbied for his release.

Even before the current rift, relations were already strained between the two countries over Germanys criticism of Mr Erdogans crackdown following a failed coup as a flow of Turkish diplomats and soldiers sought asylum in Germany.

Germany has suggested it may not extradite suspects wanted by Turkey in cases it considers politically motivated, which has prompted Mr Erdogan to accuse Germany of having become a shelter for terrorists and having no regard for other countries national security issues.
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Celebrated worldwide, International Womens Day marks all the progress women have made in the battle for equal rights and acknowledges how far they still have to go.

Women across the globe are honouring the day in their own ways.

In the US many are participating in the #ADayWithoutWomen strike against Donald Trump, which has forced two US school districts to close their schools for the day because so many female teachers were going to strike. Around 25,000 students are affected.

This strike is the latest in a long history of industrial action by women, but it was one march that happened exactly 100 years ago that has arguably had the greatest impact.

Although the first recorded Women's Day was organised by the Socialist Party of America in New York on 28 February 1909, it was a solidarity protest by a group of female textile workers in Russia in 1917 that changed the course of European history.

It is the anniversary of their demonstration which is now used to celebrate the day.

On 8 March (23 February in the old Russian calendar) 1917, tens of thousands of women took to the streets of St Petersburg  then called Petrograd  carrying banners demanding the Tsarist government feed the children of the defenders of the motherland.

Russia was in a state of near collapse as the First World War placed an intolerable strain on the already weak economy. On the Home Front famine loomed and women from working in the cities factories had had enough.

By the middle of the afternoon female textile workers from the Vyborg side of city had gone out on strike shouting "bread" and "down with the Tsar".

They were later joined by men working in the factories and soon around 100,000 workers were out in force in Nevsky Prospekt  the main street in the city  demanding an end of the Romanov dynasty which had ruled Russia since 1613.

Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Show all 13 1 /13 Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ida Wells An African-American journalist and activist born in Mississippi in 1862, she wrote prolifically on the fight for womens suffrage as well as the struggle for civil rights. She documented the practice of lynching black people in the southern states showing how it was often used as means of controlling or punishing black people who competed with whites rather than as a means of justice for crimes. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lotifa El Nadi Egypts first female pilot born in 1907 in Cairo. Although her father saw no need for her to pursue secondary education, expecting her to marry and have a family, she rebelled and worked as a secretary and telephone operator at a flying school in exchange for lessons as she had no other means to pay for the training. Her achievements made headlines around the world when she flew over the pyramids and competed in international flying races. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Frida Kahlo A Mexican painter and activist born in Mexico City in 1907, her work has been celebrated internationally as emblematic of Mexican national and indigenous traditions and by feminists for its honest depiction of female experience. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lina Bo Bardi A Brazilian architect, born in Italy in 1914, she devoted her life to the promotion of the social and cultural potential of architecture and design. She is also celebrated for her furniture and jewellery designs. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Olga Skorokhodova A Soviet scientist born into a poor Ukranian peasant family in 1911, she lost her vision and hearing at the age of five. Overcoming these difficulties in a remarkable way, she became a researcher in the field of communication and created a number of scientific works concerning the development of education of deaf-blind children. She was also a teacher, therapist and writer. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Miriam Makeba A South African singer and civil rights activist born in Johannesburg in 1932, she was forced to work as a child following her fathers death. She became a teenage mother after a brief and allegedly abusive marriage at 17, before she was discovered as a singer of jazz and African melodies. After becoming hugely successful in the US and winning a Grammy, she became involved in the civil rights struggle stateside as well as in the campaign against apartheid in her home country, writing political songs. Upon her death, South African President Nelson Mandela said that her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Sally Ride An American astronaut and physicist, she was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and joined NASA in 1978 after gaining her PhD. She became the first American woman and the third woman ever to go into space in 1983 at the age of 32. Prior to her first space flight, she attracted attention because of her gender and at press conferences, was asked questions such as, Will the flight affect your reproductive organs? She later worked as an academic at the University of California, San Diego. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Halet Cambel A Turkish archaeologist born in 1916, she became the first Muslim women to compete in the Olympics in the 1936 Berlin games as a fencer. She declined an invitation to meet Adolf Hitler on political grounds, and after the conclusion of the Second World War, she trained as an architect and later worked as an academic in Turkey and Germany. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ada Lovelace An English mathematician and writer born in 1815, she became the worlds first computer programmer. The daughter of poet George Byron, she is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine, and was the first to recognise the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, creating the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Rukmini Devi An Indian dancer and choreographer credited with reviving Indian classical dance, she was born in 1904 and presented her form of dance on stage even though it was considered low and vulgar in the 1920s. She features in India Todays list of 100 people who shaped India having also worked to re-establish traditional Indian arts and crafts and as an animal rights activist. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Cecilia Grierson An Argentine physician, reformer born in Buenes Aires in 1859, she became the first woman in Argentina to receive a medical degree having previously worked as a teacher. Women were barred from entering medical school at the time, so she first volunteered as an unpaid lab assistant before she was allowed to train as a doctor. She was acclaimed for her work during a cholera epidemic before going on to found the first nursing school in Argentina. The harassment she experienced at medical school helped make her a militant advocate for womens rights in Argentina. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lee Tai-young Koreas first female lawyer and judge born in 1914 in what is now North Korea, she was also an activist who founded the countrys first legal aid centre and fought for womens rights throughout her career. Her often mentioned refrain was, No society can or will prosper without the cooperation of women. She worked as a teacher, married and had four children before she was able to begin her legal career after the Second World War, becoming the first woman to enter Seoul National University. She also fought for civil rights in the country and was arrested in 1977 for her beliefs, receiving a three-year suspended sentence and a ten year disbarment. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Suzanne Lenglen A French tennis champion born in 1899, she popularised the sport winning 31 championships and dominating the womens sport for over a decade. She was the first female tennis celebrity and one of the first international women sports stars, overcoming a childhood plagued with ill health including chronic asthma  which continued to plague her in her adult life. At 15, she became the youngest ever winner of a major championship and lost only seven matches during her entire career. She received widespread criticism for her decision to turn professional, but defended her right to make a decent living in the days when the grand slam tournaments paid a relative pittance to the winners.

Russian troops attempted to repel the crowds but most were inexperienced, ill-equipped reservists because the experienced soldiers were away on the front lines.

As a result they could do little more than attempt to frighten the protesters. Many, angry at the poor state of the army, sided with them.

This weakness emboldened the protesters who came back in force over the coming days and revolutionaries  who had been agitating for change for decades  gave speeches calling for the end to Tsardom in the citys main squares while the authorities looked on powerlessly.

Tsar Nicholas IIs ministers begged him to return the capital and resign but the autocrat, who was 500 miles away on the front line, refused and instructed them to crack down on the protesters.

Peaceful protests soon turned to riots and spread to other parts of the country. One by one regiments of the Tsars army began to mutiny as protesters smashed police stations, the headquarters of the secret police, the district court and seized the weapons arsenal.

Protests soon spread to other cities as discontent grew. Pictured: People demonstrating in Moscow (AFP/Getty Images)

By 15 March Nicholas was finally persuaded to sign the order formally abdicating on behalf of himself and his young son Alexei.

His brother, Grand Duke Mikhail was set to take over, but after realising he would have no support as ruler, the next day he declined to accept the crown.

Instead he handed power over to the Provisional Government  which immediately granted women the right to vote on the same terms as men.

But after taking the reigns of power, they quickly became equally unpopular as it remained committed to staying in the war despite Russia being near in a state of near economic collapse and struggled to solve the food shortages.

Just eight months later on 7 November, the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin staged a coup d'etat, storming the Winter Palace and seizing control of the government.

Recommended Why a small Yorkshire town is marching against Donald Trump

Following the murder of Nicholas and his family in 1918 and a bitter civil war between 1917 and 1922, the Bolsheviks were able to establish the worlds first Communist state.

It lasted until 1991, triggering decades of fear and tension with other world powers.

The Communists made the day a national holiday in Russia in 1917 but it remained a working day until 1965, when the Soviet government decreed it a holiday.

Historians have debated whether the first Russian revolution of 1917 was as spontaneous as it seemed or whether it was orchestrated by socialist agitators.

But this was a day when demonstrations by a few thousand angry women began the downfall of the most powerful empires on Earth.
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Russian women may have been at the forefront of the country's 1917 revolution, but almost a century on, female prisoners are expected to perform dances and take part in beauty contests to celebrate International Women's Day.

The convicts put on the shows for visiting relatives according to Russian news agency Interfax.

International Womens Day holds a particular place in the country's history.

On 8 March 1917, female textile workers started a protest in the capital of the Russian Empire Petrograd, now known as St Petersburg, demanding bread and peace.

By midday, they were joined by tens of thousands of women, calling for the end of the Czarist regime, food shortages and an end to the war.

The strikes are widely considered to be a key catalyst for the Russian Revolution, which led to the collapse of the empire, the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II and the foundation of the Communist state.

Made a public holiday in the Soviet Union since 1965, modern Russia continues to come together every year to remember the importance of women in society.

Men and women alike offer gifts, flowers are chocolate to their females friends, mothers, sisters and daughters.

Office workers celebrate International Womens Day, which comes before a bank holiday in the country.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. 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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

However, this years events are expected to be less extravagant than in previous years, when the country benefited from high oil prices.

An human resources worker at a major Russian company, Irina, who asked not to disclose her surname, told Agence France Presse that her "company used to allocate a big budget for this holiday and took as many as 500 women out to a restaurant."

But she said "that was before the 2008 economic crisis. Now the men have a whip-round to buy us flowers and chocolates."

In recent years, social media has made women able to show off their gifts and compete about who received more flowers.

According to the 360 TV website, women can now rent huge bouquets of roses for up to 10 minutes, just enough time to take a picture and post it on Instagram.

The website reports that some took the idea even further, offering mens shoulders and other luxury objects for rent to feature in the picture.

Each 10 minutes lease cost up to 1,000 rubles (14), a price to pay for those hoping the pictures will get them hundreds of likes on social media.

President Vladimir Putin is known to respecting the tradition of celebrating the day.

This year, he will celebrate the occasion by meeting midwives and pregnancy therapists at a centre in western Russia, according to The Kremlins website.
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Women and pro-choice campaigners in Ireland are going on strike to protest the countrys strict anti-abortion laws.

Protesters will gather at OConnell Bridge in central Dublin and in other cities across Ireland and worldwide to demand a referendum on abortion, which is a criminal offence under the Irish constitution.

Organiser Avril Corroon told The Independent the event was not a form of industrial action but a social strike, inspired by mass protests in Poland that led the government to reject proposals for a near-total ban on abortion.

She said people had been encouraged to take a day off to take part in demonstrations, but those unable to do so could show support for the cause by wearing black, posting on social media and staging coordinated walkouts at 12pm.

Abortion is a workplace issue, said Ms Corroon. Not everyone is in a position to take a day off work, which is why we need new reproductive health laws.

It is estimated that 12 women travel from Ireland to Great Britain every day to access a safe and legal termination.

Women who have abortions in the Republic of Ireland face up to 14 years in prison.

This is the case for all pregnancies, including those conceived as a result of rape or incest, or where the foetus cannot survive outside the womb due to a fatal abnormality.

Ms Corroon said protesters were calling for a referendum on whether Ireland should repeal the 8th amendment of its constitution, which recognises the right to life of an unborn child.

The Citizens Assembly, a group of 99 unelected representatives, are currently debating the future of the amendment. The results of a ballot next month will be given as a recommendation to parliament.

But Ms Corroon said this was not good enough: Why would you ask 99 people when you could ask all of us?

Student walkouts and demonstrations have also been planned at Irish universities including University College Dublin, where Kim Harte is a student.

Ms Harte, dressed in black for the protests, told The Independent she and her classmates planned to walk out of lectures at 12.30 to join a rally on campus, before travelling to the city centre for the march.

Women should have access to free, safe and legal abortion. Bodily autonomy is a right, she said. The 8th has already caused women, such as Savita Halappanavar, to lose their lives and this is why it must be repealed.

Ms Halappanavar died in October 2012 at a hospital in Galway after she was refused an abortion despite complications to her pregnancy.

Similar protests have also been planned at universities in the UK such as Royal Holloway, Oxford and Cambridge and in other cities across the world, including Melbourne, Berlin, Lyon and at the Irish embassy in London.

Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights Show all 5 1 /5 Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights REUTERS Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights REUTERS Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights REUTERS Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights REUTERS Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights REUTERS

Around 100,000 women dressed in black staged an all-out strike and joined protests in more than 60 cities around Poland last October.

Women in the US are also taking part in a day without women on International Womens Day, following mass protests on 21 January, the day after Donald Trumps inauguration as President.

Abortion has been a divisive issue for decades in Ireland where, after large street protests from both sides of the debate, a complete ban was only lifted in 2013 when terminations were allowed if a mother's life was in danger.

However governments have been reluctant to tackle an issue they fear may alienate conservative voters, despite a waning of the influence of the catholic church.

In 2015, Ireland became the first country to adopt gay marriage by popular vote.

Icelandic women first staged a strike in 1975, with 90 per cent of the countrys female population refusing to work, do childcare or housework as they demanded equal rights with men.
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The UNs human rights chief has attacked the chilling indifference to the deaths of thousands of refugees shown by European leaders as the crackdown continues across the continent.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that although heroic efforts are underway to save lives in the Mediterranean, governments are turning their backs on those who survive the treacherous journey.

Many ordinary people in Europe have welcomed and supported migrants, but political leaders increasingly demonstrate a chilling indifference to their fate, he told a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva.

 Calais's refugee children have a message for the UK government

I am particularly disturbed by lurid public narratives which appear deliberately aimed at stirring up public fear and panic, by depicting these vulnerable people as criminal invading hordes.

The issue became a topic of debate during the EU referendum, when Nigel Farage unveiled a poster depicting migrants being escorted through Slovenia by police with the caption breaking point.

It followed criticism of David Camerons description of a swarm and bunch of migrants, while a Sun columnist compared refugees to cockroaches.

More asylum seekers are dying attempting to reach the continent than ever before but those who survive the journey face border closures and tightening legal restrictions making it ever more difficult to gain asylum.

The British Government has scrapped a programme to resettle unaccompanied child refugees, while Hungary is building a new fence to keep out migrants and the EU is considering initiatives to keep refugees in war-torn Libya.

The vast majority of boats are launched by smugglers in the country, where a fragile government has been unable to regain control of territory controlled by rival armed groups including Isis.

In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A baby being taken on to MSF's Bourbon Argos ship from a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A refugee boat carrying 101 people being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A refugee boat carrying 101 people being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos all images by Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A baby among refugees on a boat carrying 185 people off the coast of Libya Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea Migrants and refugees sleeping after being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos ship Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A crew from MSF's Bourbon Argos ship rescuing a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees off the coast of Libya, at sunrise Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A woman in a stretcher being lifted onto MSF's Bourbon Argos ship from a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees off the coast of Libya Lizzie Dearden

Libyas agencies, including the coastguard, are themselves accused of torturing, abusing and killing migrants forcibly returned to land and imprisoned in squalid detention centres.

Despite a growing body of evidence raising concern from the UN and humanitarian groups, Britain is among the countries training the Libyan coastguard, while world leaders have agreed to help bolster its capability and Italy has pledged millions of euros in funding for anti-smuggling initiatives.

Mr al-Hussein said he was concerned at calls to establish processing centres for asylum seekers in North Africa and engage external actors in migration issues, with little regard for human rights.

Migrants apprehended at sea by the Libyan coastguard or similar agencies may be put at risk of further violence, he added.

I reiterate the importance of abiding by the principle that people must not be sent back to countries where they may face torture, persecution or threats to their life.

Crossings over the Central Mediterranean have increased after the EU-Turkey deal was imposed to stop refugees taking boats over the Aegean, and countries along the Balkans route from Greece to western Europe closed their borders.

A migrant injured at the Hungarian border being treated at an MSF facility in Serbia in February (Tahir Mirza/MSF)

Hungary is building a new and reinforced fence to keep refugees out, while passing a new law allowing all asylum seekers on its territory to be detained and forcibly returned over the border to Serbia.

Mr al-Hussein hit out at the toxic notions of so-called ethnic purity put forward by anti-immigration leaders including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, warning that they hark back to an era in which many people suffered atrociously, Hungarians included.

More than 40 countries were examined in a wide-ranging speech on Wednesday, where the UN was warned that 2017 could prove to be a pivotal year for human rights amid terror attacks, security crackdowns, populism and the rise of authoritarian-minded leaders.

Mr al-Hussein launched a wide-ranging attack on Donald Trump, voicing his concern over the Presidents new immigration ban, attacks on the press and judiciary and the administrations handling of a series of human rights issues.

Greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities, he said.

Vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims, and false claims that migrants commit more crimes than US citizens, are harmful and fuel xenophobic abuses.
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Vladimir Putin has marked International Womens Day by praising Russia's female population for their beauty, tenderness and for always being on time.

The Russian President is not known for his progressive attitude towards women, having approved a controversial law to decriminalise domestic violence and once causing a storm when he said he "envied" a politician who was accused of multiple counts of rape.

Following messages from other world leaders including US President Donald Trump, the Kremlin put out the message on behalf on Mr Putin, congratulating all Russian women.

It opens in the form of a letter: Dear women, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, wives, friends, our nearest and dearest ones, please accept my heartfelt congratulations on International Womens Day!

You fill this world with beauty and vitality, giving warmth and comfort, cordiality and harmony with your tenderness and generosity of spirit.

Mr Putin, who is divorced with two adult daughters aged in their thirties, continued: You care day and night for your children, grandchildren and your family. Even today, on International Womens Day, you are still caught up in your routine, working tirelessly, always on time. We often ask ourselves, how do they manage it all?

The former KGB agent, who is rumoured to have been in a relationship with former rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva for many years, went on to remind Russian citizens how women have been celebrated in the arts for centuries.

Recommended Putin signs law partially decriminalising domestic abuse in Russia

Most importantly, we love and treasure you. No wonder men have been celebrating women in music and poetry for centuries. Konstantin Balmont, a Russian Silver Age poet, described women in a vivid and precise manner: A woman  with us when we are born, a woman  with us in our last hour, a woman  our standard during battle, a woman  the joy of open eyes.

"We always turn to women for inspiration and consolation, and always find it. Women give us life and perpetuate it in our children."

International Womens Day was an important celebration of the contribution women made both as workers and homemakers in the former Soviet Union before the UN adopted and promoted it more widely in the 1970s.

Mr Putin's message received a mixed reception of Twitter. Although some women thanked him for the sentiment, other replies included: But your country does not hold a man criminally responsible now when he beats his wife. How is that respect for women?

Mr Putin once responded to reports of his long-rumoured affair with Ms Kabaeva, who is almost 30 years his junior, by saying: In other publications of the same type, the names of other successful, beautiful young women from Russia are mentioned. I think it wont be unexpected if I say that I like them all  just as I like all Russian women.

And the President replied when asked what he made of a topless protest by the activist group Femen: I liked it. I did not catch what they were shouting. I did not even see if they were blondes, brunettes or chestnut-haired.

In 2006, a journalist overheard Mr Putin telling Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose then president, Moshe Katsav was accused and later convicted of raping and sexually harassing female subordinates. Greetings to your President  what a mighty man he turns out to be! He raped ten women  I would never have expected this from him. He surprised us all  we all envy him.

A Kremlin spokesman later admitted that those words were pronounced by Mr Putin, but suggested elements of the joke had been lost in translation.
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Militants disguised as doctors have killed more than 30 people in an attack on a military hospital near the US embassy in Kabul with bombs, grenades and guns.

Isis claimed responsibility for the assault on the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital as battles between jihadis and security forces continued on Wednesday, leaving at least 50 wounded.

The terrorist group, which is competing with the Taliban in Afghanistan, claimed its commandos had killed more than 100 people at the 400-bed facility for wounded soldiers.

Photos apparently taken by one of the militants showed him wearing a surgical mask and suit, while armed with a gun and machete.

An Isis propaganda image claiming to show one of the militants who attacked a military hospital in Kabul on 8 March

Isis published a graphic image claiming to show the bodies of three medical staff lying on the hospital floor on its Amaq propaganda channel.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the rear of the complex before three gunmen armed with automatic rifles and hand grenades entered through the breach.

The gunmen, dressed as medical personnel, had taken position on upper floors of the hospital and engaged special forces sent to the scene, officials said.

A worker at the hospital told Reuters he saw one gunman dressed in a white doctor's coat take out a concealed AK-47 and open fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker.

Abdul Qadir also heard firing from several other parts of the hospital, which treats military casualties from around Afghanistan.

Security forces blocked off the area around the hospital, which sits near a busy road junction in the Afghan capital, and a second explosion was heard during battles.

War artists in Afghanistan Show all 6 1 /6 War artists in Afghanistan War artists in Afghanistan Work by Matthew Cook Matthew Cook War artists in Afghanistan War artists in Afghanistan Work by Jules George Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Embedded: Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Work by Jules George Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Trooping the colours: Jules George was inspired by his father and grandfather to witness and document war, if not to wage it Jules George

General Dawlat Waziri, a spokesperson for the Afghan defence ministry, said government troops had taken full control of the facility after several hours of fighting.

He said there more than 30 killed and more than 50 wounded at the hospital, which is the largest military clinic in Afghanistan.

It lies across the road from the heavily fortified US embassy and around the corner from the Afghan Supreme Court, emphasising warnings by government officials that high-profile attacks in Kabul are likely to escalate this year.

President Ashraf Ghani confirmed the assault during a speech to mark International Womens Day, saying: There is an ongoing terrorist attack in a hospital which tramples all human values.

"In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan."

The Nato-led Resolute Support mission said it was ready to assist Afghan security services.

A spokesperson for the US embassy condemned the attack, saying it demonstrated a "blatant disregard for human life by those seeking to disrupt Afghanistans democratic progress".

Smoke billows from the Sardar Daud Khan's Hospital during an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, on 8 March (EPA)

"Targeting a medical facility providing care for the brave Afghans working to protect their fellow citizens has no possible justification in any religion or creed," a spokesperson added.

"We extend our deepest heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims of this senseless and cowardly act."

Afghanistan has been hit by a wave of terror attacks in recent months as Isis competes with the Taliban and al-Qaeda in a continuing Islamist insurgency in the country.

Last week saw dozens killed and wounded in coordinated attacks on a police station and an office of the intelligence service in Kabul.

That attack was claimed by the Taliban, who are seeking to expel foreign troops, defeat the US-backed government and reimpose Sharia law under their Islamic Emirate after being ousted from Kabul in 2001.

Dozens have been killed in recent days in fighting across Afghanistan, from Kunduz and Baghlan in the north to Farah in the southwest and Helmand and Kandahar on the Pakistan border, as the Talibans insurgency continued.

In February, Isis gunmen massacred six Red Cross workers and the group also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing struck the entrance to the Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 40 more.

Its affiliate in the region is called Wilayat Khorasan and has claimed responsibility for attacks including suicide bombings and mass shootings targeting police, the military, officials, Shia Muslims and civilians.
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Drugs are flooding into the Gaza Strip at an unprecedented rate, forcing the ruling Hamas group to seek tougher smuggling penalties.

The quantity of marijuana and prescription painkillers such as Tramadol which were seized in Gaza in January was as much for the whole of 2016, officials said.

Eight major dealers were arrested in one of the biggest police stings to date in which they seized more than 100 kg (220 pounds) of marijuana, worth as much as 4m on the streets of Gaza, and 250,000 tablets of tramadol, which sells for between 130 and 170 shekels (30-40) for 10 pills.

Palestinian and Egyptian gangs move marijuana and painkillers from Egypt into the narrow strip of land with a population of two million where one in four men are unemployed.

Psychiatrist Fadel Abu Heen, who works with people in the occupied territory, says for many, drugs offer an escape.

She said: "They think Tramadol will change the reality and will make them feel at peace. They want to lose awareness and any feeling of reality."

Until they were destroyed by the Egyptian government in 2014 and 2015 drug runners would use a network of tunnels Palestinians and Egyptians had built under the border to move everything from food and consumer goods to cars, cattle and rockets.

The area has been blockaded by land, sea and air by Israel and Egypt since 2007.

Now drugs are moved inside cooking gas canisters or washing machines. Sometimes, small quantities are thrown or catapulted from Egypt into Gaza.

There are kilometres of tubes used to move small packages, and in some cases drugs are shipped inside goods imported from Israel.

Gaza's junior mechanics Show all 13 1 /13 Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics The hands of Palestinian Mohammed Jundeya, 17, are seen as he works in a car repair garage in Gaza City Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Mohammed Yassin, 18, works in a car repair garage Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Tamer Yassin, 17, works in a car repair garage Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Tamer Yassin, 17, works in a car repair garage Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Ali al-Batniji (R), 18, poses for a photograph in a car repair garage in Gaza City Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Ali al-Batniji (R), 18, is reflected in a mirror as he works in a car repair garage in Gaza City Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Mohammed Jundeya, 17, works in a car repair garage in Gaza City Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Abed al-Majeed Reheem, 18, poses for a photograph in a car repair garage in Gaza City Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Abed al-Majeed Reheem (R), 18, works in a car repair garage in Gaza City Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian boy Mohamoud Yazji, 16, who works as apprentice mechanic, repairs a car at a garage in Gaza City Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian boy Mohammad Dader, 12, who works as apprentice mechanic, helps his employer at a garage in Gaza City Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Mohammed Yassin, 18, poses for a photograph in a car repair garage Reuters Gaza's junior mechanics Gaza's junior mechanics Palestinian Ali al-Batniji (R), 18, works in a car repair garage Reuters

"It is a problem but not a phenomenon," said Ahmed Al-Qidra, head of Gaza's anti-drug squad. "We suffer from it just as most countries all over the world."

But he said the probably was getting worse because sentencing for drug dealing in the territory were getting more lenient.

Officially the law allows for life sentences and even the death penalty for drug dealing but this is rarely applied.

Yehya Al-Farra, an aide to Gaza's attorney-general, said the courts needed to get at least at tough as they were in 2009 when one dealer got 15 years in prison.

"The dealer who sells poison is a killer of the soul, he is the same as the killer who uses a gun or a knife," he said. "Therefore, the law states that a punishment up to the death penalty can be applied."

He and Mr Qidra have called for more recruits to the anti-drug squad and more medical facilities to treat addicts.

Inside a Gaza prison, convicts urged men to reject drugs. A 26-year-old barber said he started taking half a tramadol a day after a friend offered him some. Soon he was addicted.

"I urge young people ... to give up bad friends, otherwise they will be destroyed like me," he said. "I was a respected man who knew a loser friend and I became a loser myself."

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Israel Defence Force (IDF) prosecutors have appealed against the "excessively lenient" 18-month sentence given to a soldier for killing a wounded Palestinian attacker.

In an appeal, Israel's Military Advocate General said Elor Azaria "should receive a harsher sentence" of between 36 to 60 months, "or the punishment determined by the minority opinion at the military court (30 months)".

A majority of two judges sentenced Azaria to 18 months in prison for manslaughter after he fatally shot Abd Elfatah Ashareef, a 21-year-old Palestinian attacker who was lying on the ground unable to move after being wounded.

The military court rejected his contention that he believed the man still posed a threat, admitting into evidence video of the shooting recorded by a Palestinian activist.

The minority opinion of the third judge argued he should have received a much harsher sentence, closer to the prosecution's demand of no less than three years.

The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child

His sentence is excessively short and is inconsistent with the appropriate level of punishment for his actions," the appeal states.

"The respondent received a lenient sentence that is not in line with his actions and the severity of these actions, is not in line with the level of punishment common in similar cases, and furthermore, is not in line with the level of punishment common in less severe cases."

It added: "In its verdict, the military court delivered a decisive and clear message about the sanctity of life and the purity of arms, and emphasised that the needless killing of a person, even if he is a terrorist, is illegal, morally wrong and goes against the IDF's values."

The military appeal was sparked by Azaria's own appeal against his manslaughter conviction, which prompted three of his lawyers to resign.

In a statement, they said he had received a "fantastic and seemingly impossible" sentence and appeared to suggest he should not put it at risk.

Azia's sentence was postponed as a result of his appeal.

This is vindictive, despicable and repulsive revenge that comes as a response to Elors own appeal, Azor's lawyer Yoram Sheftal told Channel 2 News Online. If Elors appeal hadnt been filed, this one would have never been submitted.
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American, Russian and Turkish military commanders are attempting to deescalate a worsening proxy war in Syria but there are concerns orders to stop the violence may not be heeded by rival groups.

Senior generals held a surprise meeting in Antalya after weeks of battles between regime, rebel and Kurdish factions supported by their international backers to fight Isis.

There was little sign of progress after talks between General Hulusi Akar, General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov.

 Donald Trump open to working with Moscow to fight Isis in Syria

The Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said the meetings would continue on Wednesday.

There is a need for an effective coordination in the efforts to clear Syria of all terror groups because so many countries are involved there, he told reporters. If we cannot establish coordination, the risk of a conflict that we would not desire can emerge.

Recommended Isis defeat in northern Syria opens deadly new phase in civil war

A spokesperson for General Dunford said "the current situation of the fight against all terrorist organisations in Syria with an effort to wage a more effective fight against [them] was discussed.

The Russian defence ministry said commanders talked about the current situation in the fight against terrorist organisations in Syria in the context of raising the efficiency of confronting all terrorist organisations in the future and "underlined the importance of taking additional steps to prevent incidents during operations.

The definition of terrorist has become a contentious one during the six-year Syrian civil war, with Bashar al-Assads government and its supporters using the term to describe all opposition groups, including those supported by Turkey and the US-led coalition.

The Syrian government has used the label to justify operations including the offensive to retake eastern Aleppo, which provoked global condemnation over indiscriminate bombing in civilian areas.

The converging frontlines near al-Bab between parties in the Syrian civil war. Territory controlled by Isis is seen in black, the Syrian government in red, Turkey-backed opposition in blue/green, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic forces in yellow and Kurdish territory occupied by government forces in orange (Liveuamap)

Washington is mainly supporting an alliance led by Kurdish groups, who are considered terrorists by Nato ally Turkey because of their links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), while groups backed by Ankara include Islamist factions accused of war crimes.

Success in driving Isis out of former strongholds including Manbij, al-Bab and Jarablus in northern Syria has brought the warring groups face-to-face with deadly consequences.

Free Syrian Army rebels supported by Turkey have attacked the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which has the US backing as its most effective ally on the ground.

Both groups oppose the Assad regime, which has launched an offensive on enemy-controlled territory with allies including Russia, Iran and Lebanons Hezbollah militant group.

The fight against Isis has made the groups uncomfortable allies but the so-called Islamic State's impending defeat in northern Syria is letting former divisions escalate into open conflict along new frontlines.

Haid Haid, an associate fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, said that while the talks were a positive sign of cooperation between international players, the impact on the ground could be limited.

The three main parties are willing to sit and talk, which means at least there is some kind of common ground and the possibility of an agreement in future, he told The Independent.

In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Women and children celebrating after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A man cuts the beard of a civilian who was freed from Isis by the SDF in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Women carry newborn babies while running after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman freed from Isis hugs an SDF fighter in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman adding her veil to a pile of niqabs burning in Manbij, Syria, after being freed from Isis on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Children celebrating on top of a lorry after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A man and child freed from Isis by the SDF in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman carrying her children walks towards SDF fighters after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman and child freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij An SDF fighter kisses a crying man who was freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Hundreds of civilians freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters

But clashes continue to happen because of the tensions that are already there.

Its difficult to control groups on the groundif something happens, people will start shooting immediately.

In efforts to calm the situation, the SDF has pledged to hand some territory around Manbij to regime forces that intend to act as a buffer between Turkish and Kurdish forces.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish President, has made his aim to drive the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) out of territory along the border clear and threatened an advance on the SDF-held city of Manbij.

We can clear Manbij together, then we can clear Raqqa together, he said.

But the US has been pushing the SDF to fight towards Raqqa, Isis de-facto capital, which would prevent a hugely symbolic victory for the side that manages to retake the city.

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters hold up their weapons just before the offensive on Raqqa (Reuters/Rodi Said)

Several hundred members of American special forces have been embedded with the SDF ahead of the expected assault, but there is concern that the alliances success in isolating Raqqa would falter in a full offensive on the heavily reinforced stronghold.

The Turkish Prime Minister voiced his opposition to the US choosing to cooperate with the YPG over Turkey, saying: If this operation is carried out in this manner there will be a cost for Turkey-US relations, because the YPG is a terrorist organisation.

American defence officials said decisions over the Raqqa offensive had not been discussed with Turkish commanders in Antalya.

More than 130,000 civilians have been displaced by the fighting or fled Isis territory in recent weeks, the Manbij civil affairs council said, calling for urgent aid efforts.

Mr Haid said that while competition for territory continues between Isis, the Syrian government and rebel groups backed by Turkey and the US, clashes are unlikely to stop.

The offensive on Raqqa will happen, but what will happen after that? he asked. Who will control those areas?

All those open questions are still pending and the answers will indicate whether this proxy war will be over or escalate in the future."
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This Saturday a very peculiar hotel will take its first bookings. On the edge of Bethlehem it claims to offer the worst view of any hotel in the world  because of its location along Israelis separation barrier, a 400-mile wall that cuts through the West Bank.

Filled with provocative art, the Walled Off Hotel is the latest curve ball from world-famous graffiti artist Banksy.

Theres just one problem: theres already the Banksy Guest House in Bethlehem. It opened a decade ago.

Banksy, whose work adorn parts of Israels separation wall, is claimed to have given a family-run guesthouse verbal consent to use his name (Getty) (David Silverman / Getty)

Claire Anastas is a Palestinian Christian born and bred in Bethlehem. She and her husband were until recently owners of the only hotel along the separation barrier. Their small guesthouse, an apartment with four rooms that adjoins the Anastass own home, lets you experience for a night what the family endure daily  waking up to the sense of being imprisoned by the wall.

The guesthouse was originally called the Walled Guest House but Anastas says in 2007 she bumped into Banksy as he was painting a dove in a snipers crosshairs in a street near her home.

He was painting the tail and I wanted to thank him for this message of peace, says Anastas. He introduced himself, was so kind and smiled at me and said, Yes these are all my paintings.

One Palestinian graffiti artist fears Walled Off Hotel is making a Disneyland of the occupation (AFP/Getty) (THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

She says he gave her permission to sell prints of his paintings and use his name to market her hotel. She went on to call her lodgings Banksys Guest House on her website, though most know it as the Anastas House.

Is she therefore surprised that Banksy has opened a walled-in hotel so close to her own? Maybe now he forgets, Anastas says. He met so many people.

Its going to hurt mine  of course, she adds. But Anastas has bigger worries. She has only what she claims is a verbal agreement with Banksy to use his name for her own guesthouse.

Most tourists who stay with the Anastases find their house by chance. Some are led to the barriers 8-metre-high concrete walls, which divide Bethlehem from nearby Jerusalem, on a hunt for Banksy. Several of the artists stencils, such as that of a girl frisking a soldier, can be found in the vicinity. If they are able to tear themselves away from the diverse, moving graffiti that colours the walls here in Bethlehem, they might find Claire Anastas or her husband Johnny at their home and adjacent souvenir shop.

Claire Anastass Banksy Guest House is an altogether simpler affair (Claire Anastas)

This was once a busy road and Johnny Anastas ran a successful mechanics business here. But after Israel put up the wall during the Second Intifada 2000, with the express aim of warding off terrorist attacks emanating from the West Bank, his business folded. They decided to open a gift shop and guesthouse after the sudden loss of the familys main source of income.

A guest who stayed at the Anastas lodgings recently described it as a truly memorable and special experience on TripAdvisor while others praised the breakfast, and the homeliness of the rooms. But such things arent really the point. The Anastas hotel offers a stark glimpse of what life behind the wall is like for Palestinians and apart from aiding the family financially, they say that tourists staying have deterred once-frequent night-time raids by Israeli soldiers.

Claire Anastas concedes that it is possible that Banksys team had forgotten about, or werent aware, of her hotel. But most Bethlehem locals we spoke to knew of it.

The first Anastas heard of Banksys Walled Off Hotel was last Friday when the artists plans were announced to the media. She thinks it weird that no one from Banksys team contacted her first: Its online. And they can find it on [Google Maps], because we put it there.

The Independent asked Banksys representatives whether he had known of another walled-in hotel in the area before opening his own. They declined to comment.

Johnny Anastas took to the hospitality trade after Israels wall interrupted his business as a mechanic (Darren Loucaides)

The Anastas family arent the only locals with concerns about Banksys new hotel, however.

The idea to make this kind of hotel an interesting place for arts  I support this, says Muhannad Al Azzeh, a local graffiti artist who was born in Dheisheh refugee camp, close to the wall. But Im against what people are saying  that this could be a [profit-making] business for Banksy.

Al Azzeh is one of many local artists who are against having the barrier painted altogether; since Banksys first visit in 2005 parts of the walls have been covered in eclectic graffiti and murals by international and Palestinian artists. I want people to see an apartheid wall, a military wall, says Al Azzeh. I don't want them to discuss whether this painting is by Banksy, or whichever artist. I dont want to forget all the Palestinian people killed there... when Israeli soldiers shot them.

Whats more, some of the work by Banksy and other artists in the new hotel crosses a line for Azzeh. The painting of an Israeli soldier and Palestinian civilian fighting with pillows above a bed in one of the rooms trivialises the conflict, he says. And the much vaunted idea of Israelis visiting the hotel to have a new viewpoint on the conflict doesnt impress him.

I am completely against inviting Palestinians and Israelis to spend the day together in the hotel, he says, adding that to him, such an approach does not tally with the struggle against occupation.

I see how [Banksys] work brings a lot of people to Bethlehem to see the wall and the city, says Ayed Arafah, another local artist. But now all the people who come to take photos of the paintings and graffiti... its become like Disneyland. Like you are living in a zoo.

Banksys representatives declined to comment when asked whether the artist had considered locals opinions before launching his hotel.

As for Claire Anastas, shes holding out hope that Banksy will offer to support her humble hotel alongside his own. Guests have spoken warmly about her lodgings but Anastas says there are too few of them: Once a month I have one guest come for one night. Its not enough, at all, she says. I want to ask [Banksy] if he will help us as we are struggling.

Or if he wants me to change the name, I will do it, she adds. I dont want more trouble.
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Donald Trumps chaotic start as US President is now impacting British tourists to Washington DC who hope to visit the White House.

The President and First Lady, Melania Trump, jointly announced the resumption of public tours at their new home. After an intense security screening process, visitors can take a 45-minute self-guided tour.

According to the official White House statement, visitors from the UK and elsewhere can apply for places, saying: If you wish to visit the White House and are a citizen of a foreign country, please contact your embassy in Washington, DC for assistance in submitting a tour request.

But the British Embassy in the US capital quickly repudiated the announcement, citing the State Department: The White House website states that foreign nationals interested in touring the White House should contact their Embassy to arrange a tour.

However, the Embassy has been advised by the US Department of State that this is on hold.

We are therefore unable to process any applications at this time.

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A father from west London, Julian Eccles, visited the White House during the Obama administration with his elder son in 2009, and expressed disappointment not to be able to repeat the experience with his younger son on a similar trip this year.

There seems to be a rupture in White House-State Department relations here, he said.

"Perhaps I should call Nigel Farage."

British travellers are able to visit the US Capitol Building, home of the Senate and House of Representatives, without fuss.

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

They can also book a tour of the Pentagon, though they are advised to submit the British Embassys address instead of their home address.
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Ever been to a hotel and wished theyd change the decor? Lilit Marcus did. When she was given a preview tour of the renovated The Renwick hotel in New York, she noticed something strange.

The Renwick had been redesigned to honour the famous literary and creative names who had stayed there since the building's opening in 1928 as studio space for aspiring writers. There were suites dedicated to previous residents F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, and Thomas Mann. But, she realised, there wasnt a single woman.

Lilit says the key to hotel feedback is simple: just tell them (Lilit Marcus)

Marcus, a journalist, decided to speak up. I was afraid David [Israel, the operations manager] would think, 'Ive just spent loads of money on a hotel and some feminist didnt think it was right, she says. He was reserved when I first brought it up  I think he wasn't sure if I was kidding or not. At the end of the tour I said, 'Call me when there's a Gertrude Stein suite.' But it was an offhand comment and I didn't really think it would happen. I came out of that hotel really thinking that Id offended him.

I went back and sent him an email saying that I hadnt meant to be rude, but it was a genuine question. I think a lot of women feel that way, that its too forward to be seen to complain.

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In fact, the hotel did have a link to a female author  Gertrude Stein had lived there. Stein was an American-born novelist, poet and playwright who later moved to Paris where she became part of a creative set that included Picasso, Hemingway and her Renwick stablemate, Fitzgerald.

A few weeks later, Israel emailed Marcus back. She was right, he wrote. They had messed up, and they wanted to open a Gertrude Stein suite.

"As we learned more about how much Stein supported local artists and the arts community, something very important to us at The Renwick, it felt obvious that we would honor her," Israel told The Independent. "It was really the story behind her life, her connection to the arts in general and how connected she was to the other writers who had lived in the property and were featured already."

It wasn't a deliberate oversight, he says; the design team had researched the hotel's literary connections, and while Steinbeck and Mann were well known to have lived there, and Fitzgerald had written letters from the bar, Stein's history was less obvious. "It took more digging and dot connecting, and Lilit both alerted us to it and also provided interesting insight into how she was connected to some of the others," he says. "When we found out, we jumped at the chance to feature her."

The newly opened Gertrude Stein suite includes photographs of the author and her partner Alice Toklas, the famous line of poetry A rose is a rose is a rose repeated on the bedroom wall, and an illustration of Stein based on a Picasso painting. The Renwicks bar has even created a cocktail in homage to the author. The Gertrude is made from Pimms, camomile, elderflower liqueur and lemon soda.

Every detail has been so well considered, says Marcus. They could have just put up a couple of photos.

The Stein suite is the first room the hotel has dedicated to a female author (Sean T Ackley) (The Renwick)

The Renwick may have been her first hotel intervention, but it hasnt been the last. A few months ago, I stayed at Morrison House in Alexandria, Virginia. The hotel has a literary theme and as its turn-down service they leave you a menu of five books to choose from, she says.

Of course they were all written by men, so I asked why. The next night, Maya Angelou and Harper Lee books had been added to the list.

Guests should never feel awkward about speaking up, she says, because sometimes hotels simply dont know what guests  especially female ones  want.

I always wonder if Im being a pest or whether theyre just placating me, but sometimes its a question that they genuinely hadnt considered before and theyre glad someone brought it up. And not every hotel has a woman on its board or knows what a female solo traveller might want. Sometimes Im like, Oh the idea of an all-female floor is nice, but you could do more than just making things pink'."

So what does a woman want, when it comes to hotels? Marcus doesn't claim to speak for her gender, but she has some thoughts.

The hotel has even created a cocktail in honour of Gertrude Stein (Sean T Ackley) (The Renwick)

"So many things in hotels are obviously made with men in mind. Only a man would think that a single small bottle of 'hair and body wash' would be suitable for both purposes, and too many hotels have tried to overcorrect how they appeal to women by making everything pink and shiny.

"Really, a woman wants what just about any other traveller wants, which is to feel comfortable, safe and included. I just stayed at the Langham London and was touched that they had single place settings at breakfast and didn't make a fuss about me wanting to eat alone. That seems like a small detail, but when you've spent so much of your life having people say, 'Oh, just one?' and making you feel like an insect, small things can go quite a long way for the solo female guest."

Israel thinks she's doing the right thing. "This hotel is not for us, its for our guests and we are always listening," he says. "We take all feedback into consideration." Time to make your feelings heard.
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We tend to think of aviation as a male-dominated industry, but plenty of women have broken glass ceilings to make a difference. To celebrate International Womens Day 2017 here are six women who made the modern flying experience not only possible, but also comfortable and safe. Next time you fly, you know who to raise a glass to.

The days of lugging your suitcase around were ended by Debrilla M Ratchford (Getty)

Debrilla M Ratchford: wheeled suitcases

When 25-year-old United Airlines flight attendant Debrilla Ratchford noticed her passengers were having trouble carrying their luggage through the airport, she set to work to find a solution. I go in airports all over the country and see passengers struggling with their suitcases, lugging them out of cabs through the terminal all the way up the staircases, Ratchford told the Washington Post in 1978. That year she received a patent for her solution: a luggage system consisting of a wheeled bag and a skyhook that allows additional bags to connect for easy portability. While luggage company executive Bernard Sadow was the first to think of attaching wheels to the bottom of a suitcase, it was Ratchford who expanded upon the concept, making them properly wheelable and suited to a public increasingly packing more bags. The easy-rolling cases we see all over airports today are adapted from her designs.

Miriam E Benjamin invented the airplane call light (British Airways)

Miriam E Benjamin: cabin crew call light

When youre stuck in a window seat but in need of a drink, thank Miriam E Benjamin for making the overhead call button possible. A teacher from Washington DC, Benjamin filed a patent in 1888 for a Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels, allowing guests in hotel bars and restaurants to summon waiters by pressing a button, which then lit a light attached to the chair. Benjamin became the second African-American woman to gain a US patent (following Judy W Reeds 1884 invention of a dough kneader), and her system was quickly adapted by the US House of Representatives. The familiar ding-dong of the flight attendant call button on aeroplanes is simply her Gong and Signal Chair network brought to the skies.

Germaphobe? Thank Lupe Hernandez for hand sanitiser (Cynthia Drescher)

Lupe Hernandez: hand sanitiser

Hand sanitiser isnt an essential component of modern flying, but it should be. In 1966, Hernandez, a student nurse from Bakersfield, California, brainstormed ways to easily cleanse without the need of a sink, soap, or water. She settled on rubbing alcohol as a gel, which cleans by evaporating bacteria. While the classic combination of soap and water still proves most effective against spreading germs, Hernandezs invention of hand sanitiser gel is now a must-have for any passenger wary of what lurks on aeroplane tray tables, arm rests and toilet door handles. Dont want to catch norovirus on your flight? Thank Lupe.

Suzanne Golding invented the eye mask, though she probably didn't intend this (sxates/Flickr) (sxates/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0))

Suzanne Golding: eye mask

Suzanne Golding knew that the key to surviving longhaul flying is a good rest on the plane. And the eyemasks youre handed out today on long flights are down to her. In 1951 she invented a reusable, vaguely bra-shaped mask which would block out light. As evidenced from the flimsy masks handed out in amenity kits these days, not a whole lot has changed since Goldings original invention.

Maria Beasley invented the life raft  thank her in a crisis (Wikimedia Commons)

Maria Beasley: life rafts

Emergency landings are something no one wants to think of, but life rafts  deployed during landings on water  were invented in 1880 by Maria Beasley of Philadelphia. A serial inventor, Beasley imagined her collapsible rafts with slatted bases for boats, and obviously todays life rafts look slightly different from her designs, but modern versions of her raft are stowed in most commercial airliners today.

You can thank actress Hedy Lamarr for your inflight WiFi (Getty)

Hedy Lamarr: inflight WiFi

Yes, that Hedy Lamarr. The glamourpuss actress of Hollywoods golden age was also a prolific inventor. Appropriately enough for the woman who starred in My Favourite Spy, her most famous discovery was frequency-hopping, spread-spectrum technology, which she patented in 1942 as a Secret Communication System originally designed to help Allied torpedoes reach their targets during World War II.

Sound familiar? That technology now forms the basis for wireless communication  everything from Bluetooth to GPS. Without her efforts 75 years ago, WiFi  and inflight WiFi  might not exist today. So next time you manage to update your Facebook from 38,000 feet or get ahead of work, you know who to thank.
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Almost as soon as I set foot in the European Parliament, I saw Nigel Farage. Like one of the four horseman of the Brexit apocalypse, he appeared as I turned the corner, chatting amiably with two male colleagues, looking every bit the Brussels bureaucrat.

Farage was a big part of the reason I was nervous to be there in the first place; as one of only two UK press delegates to the International Womens Day conference in Brussels, I was prepared to be instantly unpopular. Farages nemesis, Gina Miller, meanwhile, was one of the reasons I was there: she was speaking on the impact of Brexit on ordinary women, and it felt strange to see both members of 2016s most hyperbolic British news stories in such close proximity to each other.

The European Parliament is a huge, cavernous place and the room that we  a group of mainly female journalists from across the EU  took our seats in seemed, at first, intimidatingly large. The list of delegates was comprehensive: Latvian TV, the Times of Malta, Radio Romania, the Slovak Spectator, Berlin Business, Hungarian ELLE. We have an interpreter for every language, the moderator announced proudly, pointing to a slew of shadowy figures behind red neon signs proclaiming GERMAN, LITHUANIAN, CZECH, FRENCH, ENGLISH and so on. Each visitor is supplied with a set of headphones which connects to those surrounding interpreters, who are ensconced behind black soundproof glass with microphones, translating in real time as panellists speak.

Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Show all 13 1 /13 Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ida Wells An African-American journalist and activist born in Mississippi in 1862, she wrote prolifically on the fight for womens suffrage as well as the struggle for civil rights. She documented the practice of lynching black people in the southern states showing how it was often used as means of controlling or punishing black people who competed with whites rather than as a means of justice for crimes. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lotifa El Nadi Egypts first female pilot born in 1907 in Cairo. Although her father saw no need for her to pursue secondary education, expecting her to marry and have a family, she rebelled and worked as a secretary and telephone operator at a flying school in exchange for lessons as she had no other means to pay for the training. Her achievements made headlines around the world when she flew over the pyramids and competed in international flying races. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Frida Kahlo A Mexican painter and activist born in Mexico City in 1907, her work has been celebrated internationally as emblematic of Mexican national and indigenous traditions and by feminists for its honest depiction of female experience. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lina Bo Bardi A Brazilian architect, born in Italy in 1914, she devoted her life to the promotion of the social and cultural potential of architecture and design. She is also celebrated for her furniture and jewellery designs. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Olga Skorokhodova A Soviet scientist born into a poor Ukranian peasant family in 1911, she lost her vision and hearing at the age of five. Overcoming these difficulties in a remarkable way, she became a researcher in the field of communication and created a number of scientific works concerning the development of education of deaf-blind children. She was also a teacher, therapist and writer. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Miriam Makeba A South African singer and civil rights activist born in Johannesburg in 1932, she was forced to work as a child following her fathers death. She became a teenage mother after a brief and allegedly abusive marriage at 17, before she was discovered as a singer of jazz and African melodies. After becoming hugely successful in the US and winning a Grammy, she became involved in the civil rights struggle stateside as well as in the campaign against apartheid in her home country, writing political songs. Upon her death, South African President Nelson Mandela said that her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Sally Ride An American astronaut and physicist, she was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and joined NASA in 1978 after gaining her PhD. She became the first American woman and the third woman ever to go into space in 1983 at the age of 32. Prior to her first space flight, she attracted attention because of her gender and at press conferences, was asked questions such as, Will the flight affect your reproductive organs? She later worked as an academic at the University of California, San Diego. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Halet Cambel A Turkish archaeologist born in 1916, she became the first Muslim women to compete in the Olympics in the 1936 Berlin games as a fencer. She declined an invitation to meet Adolf Hitler on political grounds, and after the conclusion of the Second World War, she trained as an architect and later worked as an academic in Turkey and Germany. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Ada Lovelace An English mathematician and writer born in 1815, she became the worlds first computer programmer. The daughter of poet George Byron, she is chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine, and was the first to recognise the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, creating the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Rukmini Devi An Indian dancer and choreographer credited with reviving Indian classical dance, she was born in 1904 and presented her form of dance on stage even though it was considered low and vulgar in the 1920s. She features in India Todays list of 100 people who shaped India having also worked to re-establish traditional Indian arts and crafts and as an animal rights activist. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Cecilia Grierson An Argentine physician, reformer born in Buenes Aires in 1859, she became the first woman in Argentina to receive a medical degree having previously worked as a teacher. Women were barred from entering medical school at the time, so she first volunteered as an unpaid lab assistant before she was allowed to train as a doctor. She was acclaimed for her work during a cholera epidemic before going on to found the first nursing school in Argentina. The harassment she experienced at medical school helped make her a militant advocate for womens rights in Argentina. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Lee Tai-young Koreas first female lawyer and judge born in 1914 in what is now North Korea, she was also an activist who founded the countrys first legal aid centre and fought for womens rights throughout her career. Her often mentioned refrain was, No society can or will prosper without the cooperation of women. She worked as a teacher, married and had four children before she was able to begin her legal career after the Second World War, becoming the first woman to enter Seoul National University. She also fought for civil rights in the country and was arrested in 1977 for her beliefs, receiving a three-year suspended sentence and a ten year disbarment. Google marks International Women's Day with 13 amazing women Suzanne Lenglen A French tennis champion born in 1899, she popularised the sport winning 31 championships and dominating the womens sport for over a decade. She was the first female tennis celebrity and one of the first international women sports stars, overcoming a childhood plagued with ill health including chronic asthma  which continued to plague her in her adult life. At 15, she became the youngest ever winner of a major championship and lost only seven matches during her entire career. She received widespread criticism for her decision to turn professional, but defended her right to make a decent living in the days when the grand slam tournaments paid a relative pittance to the winners.

Some speakers were more popular than others (a direct descendant of that famous Eastern European immigrant Marie Curie talking about her own work in nuclear physics drew a sudden admiring gaggle of schoolchildren who filed out once she was done), but none more so than Gina Miller. She is a woman with undeniable presence, who was spirited in and then spirited away as soon as shed finished her panel, and unsurprisingly she expressed a strong feminist concern about womens rights after Brexit.

What was surprising, however, was her passionate plea not to resort to women-only networks as a solution to sexism in the workplace, something which many had voiced support for throughout the conference: same sex networks cant solve the problem of sexism in a society where most men are in the top positions, she said. I always say: get the men to mentor the women, she added. That way, both will learn We shouldnt forget that women and girls need male role models as well as female ones.

Miller is particularly concerned about nuanced sexism, she said, which can, in many ways, be more damaging than the overt sexism we used to find acceptable. When an attendee asked her to elaborate, she told a story about a young, newly qualified barrister who had arranged to meet with her.

Her male colleagues said to her, What a shame you didnt go last week when youd just got your hair done, she said. I would never have judged her for the way she looked. But that planted seeds. It suggested women wont treat other women with respect. And it suggested that what a professional woman looks like has everything to do with her grooming.

 Theresa May puts down Jeremy Corbyn on International Women's Day

How do you legislate for gender equality at EU level when a quarter of member states dont even have any formal laws on maternity leave? The question of cultural relativism reared its head repeatedly throughout the debates. After I delivered my own speech, a Lithuanian journalist asked me how I can use the word feminism in my articles without provoking deluges of abuse (I still get the abuse, by the way, but not to the extent that she described the reaction in her own country.) I get Facebook messages to my personal account calling me frigid, she said. Another woman, from the Czech Republic, came to ask me at the end how I stopped abuse for being a female journalist from affecting my mental health. I get insults, speculation about my sex life, she said. I refused to sign up for Twitter despite pressure from my bosses because I was afraid it would accelerate the abuse. After I showed them what I get on Facebook, they backed off because they said they could see what I meant.

Its a very different story in Iceland, where we heard that Icelandic culture is essentially feminist, and that, impressively, it became that way within a generation. Hanna Birna Kristjansdottir, Icelandic chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and also the chair of the Executive Board of Women in Parliament, commented that when she was born there was one woman in the Icelandic parliament, and by the time her first daughter was born, 50 per cent of the parliament was female. Change can happen, and it can happen quickly, she said  which makes one feel a little ashamed of the stagnation in British politics, especially within the left-wing parties which supposedly stand for gender equality. This woman, after all, came from a self-described centre-right conservative party in her own country.

But how did change happen so quickly? Largely because of the introduction of laws surrounding parental leave from work after a child is born, apparently. In Iceland, paternity leave operates on a use it or lose it basis: three months are given to the woman, three months are given to the man, and three months are intended for the parents to take together. No parental leave is transferrable, so if a man doesnt use his share, its gone forever.

Socially, its unacceptable for a father not to take his paternity leave in Iceland, said Kristjansdottir. People would judge a man very harshly if he chose not to take it  theyd ask, Whats wrong with you? Do you not want to be with your family? Crucially, the government supplies 80 per cent of the persons usual salary while theyre on parental leave, in order to incentivise men to take it even when they are the main breadwinners.

What about that 50 per cent female parliament  surely that happened because of positive discrimination and strict quotas, something many feel uncomfortable about advocating? Not so, according to Kristjansdottir, who said that there are no quotas in the Icelandic parliament. Some parties have their own quota system (hers doesnt), but no party would ever go out to the ballot box with less than 50 per cent women. Culturally people would find that very odd. No one, male or female, would vote for a party that was 80 per cent male.

Such words make it feel like Iceland is a million miles  and a good few decades  away from Poland, whose MEP Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke stood up last week in the very same place and stated that the gender pay gap wasnt just acceptable, it was preferable: Of course women must earn less than men, he said. Because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent, they must earn less. Is it any wonder it sometimes takes months to get very simple things done in these cavernous rooms?

Recommended MP Jess Phillips reads out names of 120 women killed by men last year

As I made my way back to the Eurostar terminal, the skies opened and the streets were suddenly awash with torrential rain. Sheltering under the eaves surrounding Brussels Midi Station were dozens of apprehensive people crouched on mattresses, in blankets or sleeping bags, arranged in neat little colourful rows, a community of the destitute far bigger than Ive ever seen in Britain.

A woman was curled up under a clearly homemade blanket half-asleep, and as I went past a child emerged from beside her and pointed and laughed at me struggling in the rain with my loud suitcase. He was only two or three years old, and clearly homeless.

Womens situations across the EU are undoubtedly diverse. But some stories of poverty, of immigration and of prejudice are playing out much closer than we would like to admit. Brussels, just two hours on the train away from the UK, has a landscape scarred by terrorism: army trucks positioned outside the stations, police officers in bulletproof vests surrounding the tourist attractions, a man in army fatigues clutching an AK47 outside the European Parliament. In this sort of environment, it is so easy to let prejudice fester. And if we dont work actively against it, then women  as always  will be the first victims.
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Regarding the Budget today in which the Chancellor stated that the self-employed need to contribute NIC, I have to say that I find such a comment extremely insulting. Since 2001 I have contributed 645,000 in turnover subject to VAT (129,000) and in order to do so I have had to pay 70,000 in training (with 14,000 in VAT) for the privilege.

In theory, employment law should require employers in my given profession to provide contracts. But due to deficiencies in those laws, employers turn a blind eye to requirements and most of us have to resort to self-employment  this is not out of choice.

It is a great pity that the Government chooses to pick on the individuals who earn little more than minimum wage yet provide substantial taxable turnover. They should pursue the issue of corporate tax avoidance with equal vigour. Then perhaps the UK would be in a better place, both morally and financially.

Julian Nicholls

North Tyneside

We should pay tribute to the trials women have faced

International Women's Day is a time to reflect and pay tribute to the women who strode tirelessly on the path to systematically eliminate hatred, human rights abuses, social exclusion, gender inequity, religious intolerance and cultural marginalisation.

This has become more important with the steady influx of women refugees and girls. Women suffer disproportionately from the societal grievances that scar our planet and that should be expunged from our societies.

Also we must not forget the fact that climate change has had an unbearable impact on women, exacerbating sexual harassment, violence, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, homophobia, xenophobia, exploitation, economic poverty, famine and vulnerability to traffickers, smugglers and terrorists.

The media should champion the universal sexual and reproductive rights of women and instigate a cultural revolution that ushers in a new era of inclusiveness and egalitarianism for the betterment of mankind.

Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London, NW2

I thought the point of leaving the EU was to give control back to Parliament?

With regards to the House of Lords' decision to allow Parliament the final say on May's Brexit deal, surely this is what Leave's Take Back Control campaign was all about, making sure that Parliament made decisions and not the EU.

The actions of May and her Brexiteers show what a lie this was. She is an unelected Prime Minister who, I believe, lacks the mandate to make the wide-reaching decisions that will affect the country for decades to come. If she wants to succeed with Brexit then she needs the support of Parliament, otherwise she should go to the polls and test out her version of a hard Brexit and see what the voters response would be.

The people or Parliament should decide.

Nicki Bartlett

Cardiff

It is time for Northern Ireland to move away from Britain

Siobhan Fenton makes a powerful and valid point when she claims that a united Ireland is inevitable. There are only two workable political ways of organising the British Isles: a unity of all the isles (with fair devolution to the four nations) or a united Britain and a united Ireland, as distinct countries. Britain united to a bit of Ireland is not workable in the long term, especially now that Britain is leaving the EU.

The former option was precluded first by Britain's appalling behaviour in Ireland, which led to Eire's break off, and now by our break from the EU. The only way for Ireland to avoid Mrs May's economically and politically damaging border controls is for Northern Ireland to consider a new political arrangement in which it secedes from Britain.

Francis Beswick

Stretford

Theresa May 'Christian' principles need to be questioned

Let us not forget that Theresa May also said that if push came to shove she would press the nuclear button.

What would Jesus make of that?

Maggie Dyer

London, NW2

We need to take mental health seriously

As someone who has experienced mental ill health, I know how important it is to receive the right support, at the right time. I also know that being able to work has been an imperative part of my recovery and an ongoing positive factor in staying mentally well. I passionately believe that as a society we should be creating mentally healthy workplaces, and giving people with mental health issues the opportunity to feel able to work.

Last week, an open letter to The Independent from a number of doctors associated with some of Britains leading mental health organisations made a case for increased mental health awareness training for job centre staff. This was set in the context of calls for reform of welfare and employment services made in advance of the spring budget announcement. This is a pertinent recommendation, given that unemployed people are disproportionately impacted by mental ill health. Those out of work for more than 12 weeks show between four and ten times the prevalence of depression and anxiety.

At a policy level, this groups letter also called for the development of statutory support for creating psychologically healthy workplaces, an idea that I wholeheartedly support. Encouragingly, many businesses are already taking it upon themselves to improve their approaches to mental health, as was evident at last weeks Mental Health in the Workplace event run by the Institute of Directors. The business case is undeniable: mental ill health is the third biggest cause of absence in the workplace and is the cause of an estimated 15 million days of leave, costing employers around 26bn per year. The human cost cant necessarily be quantified in the same way but anecdotally we know that mental ill health can cause untold levels of distress and suffering. It is therefore vital that we upskill people in the workplace to look after their own and others mental health.

Through my 18 years of experience as a mental health advocate I am committed to establishing parity of esteem between mental and physical health and I believe that good quality training can aid this. As a society we need to empower people from all walks of life to confidently deal with mental health issues, just as they are able to with their physical health. By campaigning to upskill individuals in Mental Health First Aid for example, I too am advocating for psychologically supportive workplaces throughout the country. If one in ten people are trained in Mental Health First Aid, I believe we can create a supportive workplace culture conducive to good mental health and wellbeing.

Poppy Jaman  CEO of Mental Health First Aid England, non-executive director of Public Health England and Programme Director of the City Mental Health Alliance
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Wednesday 8 March marks International Women's Day, with festivals, concerts and exhibitions among the numerous events planned around the world to celebrate the achievements of women in society.

The annual event has been held since the early 1900s, The earliest celebration was held in 1909 in New York. The Soviet Union declared it a national holiday in 1917. It was predominantly celebrated in socialist and communist countries until it was adopted in 1977 by the United Nations.

Reuters photographers have been speaking with women in a range of professions around the world about their experiences of gender inequality.

Women at work around the world Show all 25 1 /25 Women at work around the world Women at work around the world Coventry, United Kingdom Cilene Connolly, 32, a Royal Mail postwoman, poses for a portrait during her postal round. "Fortunately, I haven't been faced with gender inequalities in my role as a postwoman," Connolly said. "I've had a great response from my customers for being a female delivering their post, women in particular are always pleasantly surprised to see a female face." Reuters Women at work around the world Los Angeles, California Tara McCannel, 44, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Ophthalmic Oncology Center at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "Knowledge, in abilities, in how the clinical practices go, in appearance," McCannel said."Women just can't be themselves or just think: 'Oh I'm just going to do my work,' and focus on the job. There are these other things that need to be considered because it's not completely equal even though things are getting better. Reuters Women at work around the world Almaty, Kazakhstan Julia Argunova, 36, a mountaineering instructor, poses at 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) above sea level in the Tien Shan mountains. "Physical strength benefits male colleagues in some situations on harder routes. But, women are more concentrated and meticulous. In general, women are better at teaching. My main professional task is to teach safe mountaineering." Reuters Women at work around the world Moscow, Russia Pilot Maria Uvarovskaya poses for a photograph in the A320 flight simulator at the Aeroflot training centre at Sheremetyevo airport. "Much more can be done by the women themselves to solve such problems (gender inequality)," said Uvarovskaya. Reuters Women at work around the world Santiago, Chile Claudia Concha Parraguez, 45, a pole dancing instructor, poses for a photograph in a gym. "Some students with low self-esteem smile more and feel beautiful after training. But because of the poor mentality of their husbands, who do not see this activity as a sport and associate it with something sexual, they stop attending classes," Parraguez said. Reuters Women at work around the world Seoul, South Korea Jeung Un, 27, a freelance photographer, poses for a portrait at a site which protesters have occupied. "Most news outlets prefer to employ male photographers. I feel strongly about gender inequality. When I cover violent scenes, sometimes I am harassed and hear sexually-biased remarks," Reuters Women at work around the world Nice, France Merylee, 26, a soldier does her rounds on the sea-front. The parity in the army already exists, it is the uniform that takes precedence over gender," Merylee said. Reuters Women at work around the world Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Lina Maria da Silva, 62, a babysitter, poses for a photograph with the children she takes care of at her home in the Cantagalo slum. "I've never suffered mistreatment at work. I have always felt a lot of affection from the families I have worked with," Silva said. Reuters Women at work around the world Nairobi, Kenya Christine Akoth, 38, a metal painter: "I have experienced gender bias at my work where sometimes I'm denied contracts because of who I am and maybe my marital status. Some female colleagues have been treated unfairly because of their sex and even exploited," Reuters Women at work around the world London, United Kingdom Dr Catherine Reynolds, 37, a scientific researcher at Imperial College: "Women are very well represented at junior levels in Biological Sciences research. At a senior level it is still true that there are fewer female professors in science, but the gap is slowly closing," Reynolds said. "More policies that promote flexible working and that support staff in taking career breaks (both men and women) are an essential way in which it is possible for employees, especially those with young families, to realise their full potential in the workplace." Reuters Women at work around the world Amman, Jordan Khawla Sheikh, 54, a plumber and a certified trainer, poses at her home's basement, where she gives plumbing training courses to other women. "Housewives are more comfortable to have a woman plumber in their house in the absence of their husbands," said Sheikh. "To tackle gender inequality, I think that all operating sectors must provide equal opportunities for men and women in all fields and each woman must believe in her capabilities and skills that she has in order to convince the others." Reuters Women at work around the world West London, United Kingdom Sarah Hunter, 31, England women's rugby captain and RFU University Rugby Development Officer for the South West, poses for a photograph at The Stoop rugby ground. "I think that if weire the right person for the right job in the workplace then so be it and the same for men," Hunter said. "Iive worked for the RFU, and being what is deemed as a male sport perhaps in the past, I was welcomed into that environment and I personally havenit experienced gender inequality in the workplace, so I think that Iive been very fortunate in the career that Iive had and in the jobs that Iive had that Iive been seen for the person that I am and not for the gender that I am." Reuters Women at work around the world Agusan del Sur, Philippines Filipina Grace Ocol, 40, is a backhoe operator. Ocol, a mother of three, said, "There are a few female workers that can drive big trucks and backhoe. If men can do it, why can't women do it? I'm better than the men, they can only drive trucks here but I can drive both." Reuters Women at work around the world Hasaka, Syria Laila Sterk, 22, is a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) female fighter: "Before becoming a fighter, I was suffering from inequality in society. But after joining the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), I didn't encounter that anymore," said Sterk. "This is due to the fact that when men want to join the SDF they attend educational courses about women fighting alongside them. Therefore the woman fighter leads the military campaigns just like any man." Reuters Women at work around the world Andernos, France Valerie Perron, 53, an oyster farmer, poses for a photograph on her boat. "It must not be forgotten that it is women, moms, who raise the boys. It is therefore up to us to change the mentalities by raising the boys at their youngest age, in a spirit of parity and equality with the woman. We must change the mentalities of early childhood education. A boy can play with dolls and a little girl with small cars," Perron said. Reuters Women at work around the world Kathmandu, Nepal Januka Shrestha, 25, a Tuk Tuk driver, poses for a picture. There is no difference in a vehicle driven by a woman and man. While driving on the road people sometimes try to dominate a vehicle especially when they see a woman driving it. People have even used foul language toward me. When this happens I keep quiet and work even harder to prove that we are as capable as men," Shrestha said. Reuters Women at work around the world Hanoi, Vietnam Phung Thi Hai, 54, carries bricks at a factory. Hai is among a group of 25 women working at a brick factory where she has to move 3,000 bricks a day to the kiln. "How unfair that a 54-year-old woman like me has to work and take care of the whole family. With the same work male labourers can get a better income. Not only me, all women in the village work very hard with no education, no insurance and no future," Hai said. Reuters Women at work around the world Mexico City, Mexico Jauna Diaz, 43, a street sweeper, poses for a photograph as she woks on the street. "In my previous job my boss gave preference to male colleagues and women always were paid later. Thats why I changed jobs," Diaz said. "To tackle gender inequality I think there needs to be more communication and information about women's rights in the work place." Reuters Women at work around the world Istanbul, Turkey Serpil Cigdem, 44, an engine driver, poses for a photograph at Yenikapi station. "When I applied for a job 23 years ago as an engine driver, I was told that it is a profession for men. I knew that during the written examination even if I got the same results with a male candidate, he would have been chosen. Thatis why I worked hard to pass the exam with a very good result ahead of the male candidates. In my opinion, gender inequality starts in our minds saying itis a male profession or itis a men job," said Cigdem. Reuters Women at work around the world Beijing, China Deng Qiyan, 47, a mother of three and a decoration worker at contraction sites, poses for a photograph at an apartment building under construction. "Sometimes (gender inequality) happens. But we cannot do anything about that. After all, you have to digest all those unhappy things and carry on," Qiyan said. Reuters Women at work around the world Lima, Peru Rocio Larranaga, 53, a surfer and surf instructor, poses for a photograph at Redondo beach. "I am the first woman to represent my country in national and international competitions since 1977," said Larranaga. "In 1995 I became a surf teacher. Lots of women surf and they are very good at it. I hope that in the future women have the same quota as men in professional competitions." Reuters Women at work around the world Tunis, Tunisia Chrifa Nimri, 69, a fisherwoman, arranges a net after returning from fishing at the seaport Sidi Bou Said. "At the beginning of my fishing career all the world told me that the trade was for men but now all my colleagues respect and call me captain," Chrifa said. Reuters Women at work around the world La Paz, Bolivia Elizabeth Mamani, 36, a reporter at Radio Union, poses inside Bolivia's national congress building. "When I started in this job, I did feel discrimination (from officials who controlled the access of members of the press to events). To counter discrimination in this profession, we as women, must excel, we must prepare ourselves in every field," Mamani said Reuters Women at work around the world Karachi, Pakistan Mehwish Ekhlaque, 26, a bike rider and trainer, poses for a photograph with her bike. "When I planned a Pakistan Bike Tour many of my male colleagues gave me a piece of advice not to do it as it's neither safe nor easy for a woman. But I did it," Ekhlaque said. Reuters Women at work around the world Tokyo, Japan Shinto priest Tomoe Ichino, 40, poses for a photograph at the Imado Shrine. In general, people think being a Shinto priest is a man's profession. If you're a woman, they think you're a shrine maiden, or a supplementary priestess. People don't know women Shinto priests exist, so they think we can't perform rituals. Once, after I finished performing jiichinsai (ground-breaking ceremony), I was asked, 'So, when is the priest coming?'," Ichino said. "When I first began working as a Shinto priest, because I was young and female, some people felt the blessing was different. They thought: 'I would have preferred your grandfather.' At first, I wore my grandfather's light green garment because I thought it's better to look like a man. But after a while I decided to be proud of the fact that I am a female priest and I began wearing a pink robe, like today. I thought I can be more confident if I stop thinking too much (about my gender)." Reuters

Reuters
An estranged Irish couple who have staged a "Titanic" divorce court battle over a 576 million euro (500,000) holiday home in rural Ireland are negotiating, a judge has been told.

Margie Hanley, 56, and estranged husband Michael, 60 - who lived together in Wentworth, Surrey, in the UK - both want the house they jointly own in the village of Cornamona, County Galway.

Mr Justice Holman has analysed evidence at a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London over the past two days.

He was scheduled to hear closing legal arguments from lawyers on Wednesday before making a decision.

But the judge postponed the start of the third day of the hearing after a barrister leading Mrs Hanley's legal team told him lawyers on both sides are "talking".

Stewart Leech QC said Mr and Mrs Hanley are engaged in "constructive negotiations" aimed at resolving issues.

Mr Justice Holman said on Tuesday the couple, who also have an apartment in Florida, would split cash and assets totalling between 11.5 million euro (10 million) and 16.1 million euro (14 million).

He said they had together run up lawyers bills of more than 922,000 euro (800,000) on their ''Titanic battle'' - and he described the figure as ''phenomenal''.

Mr Hanley, who has retired after a career with multinational conglomerate GE, has told how their 33-year marriage hit the rocks after he discovered his wife had an affair.

Mrs Hanley, who denies adultery, said Mr Hanley had told her she could have the house in Cornamona and was ''punishing'' her.

The judge has heard the couple had lived in Europe, the Far East and the United States because Mr Hanley's work had taken him abroad.

They had built the house in Cornamona about 16 years ago and had gone there for holidays and at Christmas.

Mr Hanley had been living at the Cornamona house for the past few months and wanted it to be a retirement base.

Mrs Hanley, who still lives in Wentworth, says she should have the Cornamona house because generations of her family have lived in the village.

Mr Justice Holman heard there had been suggestions of Mrs Hanley living elsewhere in Cornamona.

He also raised the possibility of the pair, who have grown-up children, using the house at different times of the year.

But Mrs Hanley told him: ''We are getting divorced. The village isn't big enough for both of us.''

Mr Justice Holman had urged the Hanleys to try and reach agreement several times during the hearing.

He told them on Wednesday: "If at all possible this should be resolved by negotiation."

Mr Leech and Stephen Trowell QC, who is leading Mr Hanley's legal team, were due to summarise opposing arguments before the judge delivered a ruling.
AIG have chosen to relocate its European headquarters to Luxembourg from London in the wake of Brexit, according to reports.

The development will come as a blow as it is understood that Dublin was in the running as a base for the global insurance giant.

The AIG workforce in Ireland is currently around 400, in roles such as IT, treasury and asset management.

Establishing a new company in Luxembourg will result in some changes at a Europe senior leadership level but wider impacts are expected to be minimal. There will of course be some positions to fill in our Luxembourg operation but this will be a gradual process over the next two years, a spokesperson said, according to the Financial Times.

AIG's chief financial officer, Sid Sankaran, the chief executive of its consumer division, Kevin Hogan, and Declan O'Rourke, the head of AIG's operations in Ireland, met with Finance Minister Michael Noonan last December to discuss a possible move to Dublin.

Mr Sankaran and Mr Hogan are both board members of AIG.

Insurance Ireland has called for a review and redoubling of efforts by the Irish Government to secure investment opportunities arising from the UKs decision to leave the European Union.

Kevin Thompson, CEO of Insurance Ireland, stated Ireland has developed into an international hub for insurance with an availability of talent, a well-developed support ecosystem and Single Market access, among many other strengths.

"These strengths must be maximised to avail of any Brexit dividend but equally, any deficiencies must also be considered and addressed. It is vital that a review is undertaken of the current interactions of the state and its agencies with prospective international insurance investors. This review should be conducted immediately to enable the industry and state agencies to capitalise on any opportunities that exist from insurance companies seeking to establish an international insurance presence in Ireland.

More to follow...
Guinness brewers Diageo raised fears with the Government that a post-Brexit hard Border would present a 'particularly difficult challenge' to them. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Guinness brewers Diageo raised fears with the Government that a post-Brexit hard Border would present a "particularly difficult challenge" to them.

Executives told of their concerns about the potential additional costs in their cross-Border operations if there's a return to customs controls at a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan.

He was told how Diageo brews beer in Dublin and sends it to Belfast to be canned before it's returned across the Border for export through Dublin Port.

"The prospect of Northern Ireland being outside the Customs Union is a particularly difficult challenge for such an integrated operation," a department official wrote in the minutes of the meeting.

"The additional costs of even a 30-minute delay could be hugely significant for a company with 200 truck movements per week," she added.

Records released under a Freedom of Information request show Diageo wanted to use the meeting to discuss its "unique perspective" on Brexit. In an email the firm estimated it supports around 18,900 jobs in Ireland and generates more than 1bn worth of exports.

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The meeting was arranged for October 5, 2016 and the minutes note that even then Diageo's "working assumption" was that there would be a hard Brexit.

This was later largely borne out when British Prime Minister Theresa May set out her strategy for Brexit in January.

Mr Flanagan was told Diageo employs around 1,200 people in Ireland, 500 of whom work in the North.

He outlined the Government's Brexit contingency plan to the Diageo representatives.

A key goal for the Government in the upcoming Brexit negotiations is that there is no return to a hard Border.

Last night, Diageo country director Oliver Loomes said a hard Border "would be very unwelcome" as it has facilities on both sides. He said there are approximately 13,000 Border movements a year associated with those facilities.

"The real harm would be to smaller companies and farms, many of whom are part of our supply chain. They would face enormous disruption and very significant additional costs that could threaten jobs and livelihoods," Mr Loomes warned.

"Diageo's focus is to work with both the British and Irish governments on Brexit, who I know are keen to find a solution on the Irish Border issue."

The British government last night suffered a second Brexit defeat in the House of Lords with members demanding a "meaningful" parliamentary vote on the terms of withdrawal from the EU.

Mrs May's government will seek to overturn the defeat when the Bill returns to the Commons.
When gardai carried out a search of a house in Mountrath last year they found nine rolls of plastic silage wrap, which had been stolen from a farm the previous month.

Arising from the search a 37 year old farmer Garrett Kirwan with an address at Ringstown, Mountrath came before Portlaoise District Court last Thursday (2 March).

He pleaded guilty to a charge of handling stolen property valued at 720 at his home on 13 July last year.

Inspector Jer Glavin told the court the nine rolls of silage wrap seized at Mr Kirwan's house was just some of the property that was taken from a farmyard in June, with no connection to Mr Kirwan to that crime.

Barrister Colm Hennessy instructed by solicitor Tom OGrady said that Mr Kirwan is self employed and works in the agriculture business. He said he travelled around in a van with his telephone number on the side of it.

Mr Hennessy said that on 10 July Mr Kirwan received a telephone call from three individuals who wanted to meet him. When the meeting took place, which was not by prior arrangement, said Mr Morrissey, the men put nine rolls of silage wrap in the back of his client's van.

No money actually changed hands and he was getting them at half price 360. When he got home he got his son to put them in a shed. All nine rolls were recovered, said the Barrister.

Judge Alan Mitchell asked: People just came and put the bales in the back of the van?

Mr Hennessy said that Mr Kirwan had on several occasions tried to ring the people who gave him the silage wrap but got no answer to his calls.

They told him that they had already sold 200 rolls of wrap locally. He also uses those wraps. He never saw the people again. They never returned for the payment. The next thing he knew was when the gardai called to his home.

Judge Mitchell said: He had them for three days. Why didn't he ring the gardai to say that something suspicious had happened? Three men put silage wraps into his van?

Mr Hennessy said: He just wasn't thinking straight. He has no previous convictions. To find himself in court is totally incomprehensible to him. This will damage his reputation in rural Ireland.

The Barrister said that his client is a self employed Artificial Insemination (AI) Technician, one of only five in Laois and his reputation is in tatters. He said that the defendant's bank had suspended his credit line pending the outcome of the court case.

Mr Hennessy handed in a number of testimonials from people about his client's good character and standing.

He said: They say that he is honest, reliable, trustworthy, well known and well liked.

Judge Mitchell said: If he is held in such high regard he should be able to overcome this bump in the road.

Mr Hennessy said that the incident had affected Mr Kirwan's wife and children and also handed in a letter from the children's school.

He also said that Mr Kirwan had 1,000 with him in court as a show of remorse for his actions.

The defending barrister also said that Mr Kirwan was: utterly ashamed, embarrassed and absolutely disgusted with himself. It's going to take him a very long time to restore his credibility.

Judge Mitchell rejected the offer of 1,000 saying: There is an unwritten law of trust in the farming community. It is considered a serious breach of that trust to steal property and then in turn for other farmers to accept and buy the stolen property. There's a lot in the agricultural community and in rural Ireland saying that there are not enough guards around. But people like your (Mr Hennessy) client lead to a lot more thefts taking place. Everyone has to go in and buy their own bales of wraps. But he took them at half the price.

Judge Mitchell said that he didn't want the message to go out that those who offered money in court for their remorse would be treated any differently than those who come before the court with nothing.

Mr Hennessy said that the court has to send out a signal in relation to such offences. He said that Mr Kirwan's appearance in court is a deterrent in itself.

His reputation is on the floor and it will take come time for to restore it. His bank might say good luck and good bye, that they don't want to deal with him again. It was an act of naivety and stupidity, said the Barrister.

Judge Mitchell said that he noted the problems that the issue had brought to bear on the defendant's family, however, he said that Mr Kirwan brought these problems on himself.

Insp. Glavin said that thefts from farms is a huge rural issue. Without people receiving stolen goods there wouldn't be a market for them and in turn for people to go out and commit the crimes.

Mr Hennessy asked Judge Mitchell not to make Mr Kirwan, the poster child for rural crime. It was an isolated incident.

This is not an isolated case, replied Judge Mitchell, It is for your client. This offence is an attack on the agricultural industry and agricultural communities.

Judge Mitchell went on to convict Mr Kirwan of the offence and fined him 720, the amount the bales were valued at, and fixed recognisances in the event of an appeal.

Before disposing of the case Judge Mitchell said that he hoped the farming community would remember a quote from the Bible: Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
The Irish agri-food industry is 'clutching at straws' talking about opportunities from Brexit, IFA President Joe Healy has said.

IFA outlined its policy paper on Brexit, stating that no other Member State or sector is as exposed to the impacts of Brexit as the Irish agri-food sector is.

Joe Healy said that the implications of a hard Brexit are stark, with the Irish meat sector facing a 1.5bn fall in exports, with dairy exports falling by over 600m.

"Brexit presents the biggest threat in our lifetime and no other sector is as exposed to Brexit as the agri-food sector."

IFA Chief Economist Rowena Dwyer said Ireland is already feeling the impact of Brexit. The Irish agri-food industry, she said, is exposed to the impact of Brexit as 40pc of our agri-food exports are destined for the UK market, while the land border with Northern Ireland means there is a huge amount of cross-border co-operation on food processing and trade flows and the high tariff protection that applies to major agricultural products.

The IFA said that Irish agriculture must be first in the Government's and EU's negotiating position. With 22m farmers and 40m related jobs, there is a wider strategic objective here to maximise the future value of the EU farming and food sector, Healy said.

IFA said the key priorities for the farming and the food sector are the maintenance of the closest possible trading relationship between the UK and EU, while preserving the value of the UK market; and a strong CAP budget following the UKs departure, which is critical for farm incomes, farm output and economic activity in rural Ireland.

It says that if the UK exits the Single Market and Customs Union, there must be a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the EU and UK, which would include tariff-free trade for agricultural products and food; the maintenance of equivalent standards on food safety, animal health, welfare and the environment; and application of the Common External Tariff for imports to both the EU and UK.
Diane Bryant is the executive vice president and general manager of Intels Data Center Group, one of the most powerful people at the Silicon Valley tech behemoth and, according to Fortune's 2016 list, one of the 50 most powerful women in business.

Yet, at the age of 18, she was homeless and seemingly destined for a career in hairdressing.

My dad kicked us out of the house because he said that at 18 youre legally an adult, and he didnt want any more financial responsibility for us.

The same applied to Ms Bryants older sister. Unfortunately, Dianes February birthday meant she was was out on her ear four months before her high school graduation. After couch-surfing at friends and relatives houses, she enrolled at a community college, which were free to attend at the time.

At community college, I was sat next to a guy in my Calculus II class, who told me I should be an engineer because it was the highest starting salary you could make with just a Bachelors four-year degree. The one thing I knew in life was that I was not going to be poor, I was never going to be reliant upon anyone for money. So I thought that sounded like a fabulous career, even though I had no idea what an engineer was.

From there, she converted her major to engineering, transferred to UC Davis, graduated with an engineering degree and joined Intel. Not bad for someone who had been expected to get married and have kids right out of high school.

Joining the company, however, was quite the culture shock.

Silicon Valley in the mid-80s was very rough-and-tumble. We call it the Wild Wild West of Silicon Valley. Lots of cursing and slamming your fist on the table in order to get your way and having that real bravado. The first thing I learned to do was swear, to get really angry, even if Im not angry - just act angry and swear to make sure the people hear you and recognise that youre serious.

Im a girly girl, so being surrounded by men all day at work, you certainly have those lows. I think you always wish you had more people like yourself around you. You think, Oh, I wish there was someone like me I could really talk to. It can be sort of isolating or lonely in that regard, but I ended up becoming one of the guys, so that was the solution.

I always get people who say Youre not being yourself, you sold out, but its like, youre the minority. You either sense your environment and figure out how to adapt to the norm or you resign yourself to being pushed to the outskirts of the conversation.

Read More

Susan Fowler's account of her time spent working as an Uber engineer suggests that the culture hasn't change too much.

In the early days, Ms Bryant would typically be the only woman engineer in meetings, and says that trying to adapt and fit in was a very uncomfortable experience. She was never going to back away from the challenge though, as that would have meant changing occupation.

As a minority in any industry, theres always those moments when you think Oh my gosh, what am I doing? Is this really for me? Should I try something else? Should I move on? No, lets figure it out and make it happen. I guess Im gritty.

She recommends watching Angela Lee Duckworths TED Talk on grit, which she believes is severely lacking in the younger generations. However, shes not sure how to fix it.

What Ms Bryant does know is that engineering is suffering from a lack of diversity.

When I graduated from college, the proportion of women in engineering was 18pc. Today, the latest stat we heard is that figures down to 14%. I am mystified that the number of women getting into engineering remains so low, because I cant think of a more rewarding occupation.

It is an occupation that continues to suffer from a lack of diversity on two fronts. Its a rewarding career and you would want others to join in, and diversity of thought and diversity of opinion is incredibly important for innovation.

You cant innovate and have an impact on the worlds population if your organisation isnt reflective of the worlds population. You cant have singular opinions, singular backgrounds, singular race, gender, ethnicity, religion. You cant have this homogeneous environment and expect to innovate for the world at large. Diversity is extremely critical.

Intels CEO Brian Krzanich made a commitment at CES 2015 to invest $300 million to bring the companys population on par with the worlds population when it comes to tech by 2020. Ms Bryant is driving the change.

When I became a vice president at Intel it was 2004, and at that time women were 4% of the VP population. We would fit very nicely in a 5x7 photo. There were only 13 of us! I still have that photo on my desk - the 13 women who made it to VP!

Our head of HR, who was also a VP, said This is ridiculous. We have to change this. Weve got to get to parity so the VP population matches the population at large. So we sat down and we vowed to become advocates for the next tier of women inside of Intel.

Were going to advocate for that next tier until they become VPs, and then theyll grab the next tier, and were going to literally invest in getting them into the position they need to be in, in order to get promoted and excel at Intel.

So Intels Network of Executive Women (INEW) was formed.

Read More

Fast-forward 13 years and today, the women population of VPs matches the overall population. 21pc of all VPs are women, consistent with the overall population. Weve closed that gap strictly through advocacy.

Strictly through reaching down to that next high-performer and saying, Im going to know you, Im going to know what youre good at and Im going to make sure your next job at Intel is a job that fully takes advantage of whatever your strength is and gets you to that next opportunity. And Im going to put my credibility and my reputation and my job on the line. Im going to stand stand up there and fight for you, for that next opportunity.

Because it is a pyramid. There are fewer next opportunities as you move up the ranks. Getting to the next ranks, you need to have someone up there advocating for you. Without an advocate, its just easy to swim around and never find your roots, never find that opportunity.

Ms Bryant points me towards a particular passage in Decoding Diversity, an Intel-sponsored study exploring why, after so many years, the technology industry still suffers from a lack of diversity.

The key differences between a mentor and a sponsor? A sponsor advocates for someone to be more visible, more recognized, and engaged in a way that suits their unique skills. A mentor provides guidance, advice, and wisdom, but does not necessarily advocate on ones behalf.

Ms Bryant believes that men naturally advocate for other men like them in the tech industry, while women tend to be mentored.

They say a woman on average will have 23 mentors in their career, but never an advocate. Theres just a very different approach in many businesses where the legacy of the profession is traditionally male or traditionally white male. You see it too with underrepresented minorities.

However, Ms Bryant believes there are reasons to be positive.

I do think there is change afoot. I do think it is driven by recognition that technology can have a true impact on peoples lives. Women want to change the world, men want to rule the world. So if you can show women and girls how they can actually change the world for the better, we can pull them into the world of technology.

My hope is, as it becomes more apparent that the way to have a positive impact is through technology, that will invite more women in. I think women do want to feel that theyre contributing to a greater cause. Thats my hope.
Bank of England Deputy Governor Charlotte Hogg failed to disclose a family link to Barclays Plc when she was hired in 2013. Photo: Bloomberg

Bank of England Deputy Governor Charlotte Hogg has found her appointment at the centre of controversy after she failed to disclose a family link to Barclays Plc - in breach of the bank's code of conduct.

Ms Hogg, who took over as the deputy in charge of markets and banking this month, revealed in a letter to the UK parliament's Treasury Select Committee that she didn't tell the BoE her brother worked for the bank when she was hired as chief operating officer in 2013.

She also didn't mention it in her application for deputy governor, a job that involves some supervision of UK financial institutions. The declaration was only made after her appointment, in a questionnaire she completed for the committee.

Hogg, daughter of former MP Douglas Hogg, said she takes "full responsibility for this oversight" and apologised for not giving accurate information at her appointment hearing last month.

Her family links dominated the hearing, which said that "steps must be taken" to avoid conflicts of interest.

The omission shines a spotlight on the BoE's own compliance processes. "We've gone from being concerned about Ms Hogg's error, to being concerned about the bank's response," said MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Last week, Hogg told MPs that she was "in compliance with all of our codes of conduct. I know that; I helped to write them". She also said it's a possibility that she would excuse herself from some discussions on Barclays. Her brother Quintin Hogg works as a director at Barclays Investment Bank.

The chairman and deputy chairman of the BoE's Court, its governing body, were grilled on the issue at a separate hearing yesterday, where they said it would be discussed, but tried to downplay the seriousness of the offence.

Deputy chairman Bradley Fried said it was an "unwilful act of omission". "I definitely don't believe it's a hanging offence," Fried told the select committee. "It's terribly unfortunate. It warrants grumpiness." "It was just an honest mistake," said Anthony Habgood, court chairman. Ms Hogg said in her letter that the chairman had acknowledged "no actual or potential conflict of interest has arisen".

However, with her new role giving her an expanded remit, she plans to discuss the issue with the BoE's MPC, Financial Policy Committee and Prudential Regulation Committee to allow them decide if further steps are necessary.

In 2015, controversy surrounded Gertjan Vlieghe's MPC appointment. The Brevan Howard Asset Management economist planned to retain rights to future payouts from the firm but later announced he'd sell his interest. (Bloomberg)
Cosmopolitan Editor-in-Chief Farrah Storr opened her keynote speech with a tale about how her mother used to religiously buy the glossy magazine.

"I grew up in an inner city suburb outside Manchester with skyscrapers of Cosmopolitans lying around the house," she told the crowd at DMX at the Aviva Stadium.

"The shopkeeper would hold on to a copy for my Mum and she would come home and devour the magazine. She got all her fashion and beauty advice from Cosmo. I don't really want to think about it but she probably got all her sex advice from it too."

The packed President Suite - primarily full of women - warmed to the editor who explained how she faced the difficult task of 'resetting' Cosmopolitan when she was appointed to the role.

Despite facing a print culture who saw digital as a competitor rather than a collaborator, Storr has managed to make Cosmo visible across a range of online social platforms since her appointment.

Her efforts have managed to return Cosmo to the number one women's magazine slot in the UK for the first time in 17 years.

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"I think it's ludicrous that papers like the Guardian charge you for their content. Snapchat and Twitter and the digital sphere are not our enemies," she said.

"If you're serving content, wherever you're serving it, it should all feed back at some point."

Just under 1,000 guests are attending Ireland's largest marketing conference DMX Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.

For the delegates, manoeuvring around the speakers rooms has been made easier by assigning relevant names and colours - with helpful related arrows - to each of the five streams.

At the heart of the activity is the blue President's Terrace where big brands and global impacts are being discussed by speakers such as Social Chain's Steven Bartlett, and Lego's Peter Kim.

Atom Bank's Lisa Wood also showcased her financial firm's innovative digital offering for her customers. The DMX crowd heard how to build a 'Customer Obsessed Brand' from Atom's Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) - not to mention her thoughts on rapidly advancing technology, including AI and virtual reality.

"Virtual reality is going to become more commonplace - it's going to become more than just a fad," she said.

"As a consumer, if I don't want to go out in the pouring rain and I want a new way to do my weekly shop from my living room, that's going to become an option."

HubSpot's Christian Kinnear and Tourism Ireland's Mark Henry also feature as part of the red President's Suite stream where the future of retail and tech is explored.

The other three streams in the Henry Dunlop (green), O'Connell (yellow) and Aviva Box 442 (orange) where speakers such as YouTube's Ross Mooney and BBC's Richard Bowman discuss the evolution of collaboration, key leadership skills and the death of digital.

Social Chain's CEO and co-founder Steve Bartlett spoke to independent.ie before the DMX event kicked off and we asked: What is unique about the way your company tailors 'The Thunderclap' that had led to such dramatic wins?

"With the Thunderclap, this was one of those times where we looked at the conventional way of how things were done. In this case, advertising, and we thought there was a better way for it to be done, so we went with our instinct," Mr Bartlett told independent.ie.

"This is something that weve always done throughout the history of the company, and its no surprise that this way of thinking has led to great results for us, when we first executed a Thunderclap, nobody had ever advertised on Twitter, on communities like that, in that way before, so how could a book tell us the correct way for that to be done?

"It couldnt, so we had to trust that we, as young people, with a great understanding of how that platform and those communities worked, would understand the best way to talk to other young people and have the most impact.

What draws clients to Social Chain - why is it so unique?

"At Social Chain, we own such a diverse and large range of communities online that we are lucky to be able to tailor each campaign to the client, offering them communities which fits their target audience," said Mr Bartlett.

"We have access to deep data that pins down the demographics of our audience, utilising industry leading social software such as Crimson Hexagon and Tubular.

"When Dom and myself started Social Chain, we knew we were onto something special. For a while we never actively targeted the media, we started out working with some of the biggest clients and as this expanded, the media cottoned on that something pretty unique was happening.

"The media has definitely steered our trajectory, we never felt the need to shout about what we were achieving, so the media focused more on our culture, people and the environment in which we worked. Social Chain follows an unconventional model in terms of how we employ, our office space and our ethic here, so that in itself attracted a large degree of attention."
Jeff Stokes and Pia Bang, who once owned the Unicorn restaurant in Dublin. Photo: Kieran Harnett

One-time restaurateurs to the rich and influential, Jeff Stokes and Pia Bang, have held onto their 800,000 family home after the High Court approved personal insolvency arrangements for the couple this week.

The couple will have 12m in debt written off in exchange for agreeing to pay creditors 145,000, under the terms of the scheme.

The bulk of the money will go to the biggest creditor, Dunbar Assets, formerly Zurich Bank.

The couple had already lost control of prized assets, including the famous Unicorn restaurant and investment property in Dublin that has been repossessed.

The Unicorn has been one of the most fashionable restaurants in Dublin for decades, playing host to the likes of former US president Bill Clinton and rock star Bono. But the family has been mired in financial troubles in recent years.

Revenue is a preferred creditor in insolvency cases. It is understood the tax bill involved in the case of Mr Stokes adds up to around 75,000. Unsecured creditors will get just cents in the euro under the scheme.

Revenue is not a creditor of his wife Ms Bang, it is believed. It is understood that Danish-born Ms Bang will retain her one-third interest in a Danish buy-to-let property and a site in Denmark, under the terms of the deal approved by the High Court.

It is also understood that debt secured on her share of the assets is more than the value of the interest. Debtors usually have to give up any claim on valuable assets to benefit from debt write-offs.

Investments

Under the new insolvency regime brought in after the financial crash, the former owners of the upmarket Unicorn restaurant in Dublin needed the written consent of their secured creditors before the arrangement could be approved, because their debts were greater than 3m.

Following the arrangement, hammered out by personal insolvency practitioner (PIP) Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, the couple will hold on to the family home, in Kilternan, in south County Dublin, which is valued at around 800,000.

There is a 680,000 mortgage on the house. The High Court-approved debt write-off will free the couple from their non-mortgage debt, which was linked to business and property investments.

The scheme was backed by creditors at a meeting on January 10 and approved by Justice Marie Baker at the High Court.

The bulk of the 12m debt was originally owed by the couple and their once high-profile twin sons, Simon and Christian Stokes.

The twins were declared bankrupt back in 2015. The brothers operated the exclusive Residence club and Bang restaurant.

In 2014, Christian and Simon Stokes, and Jeff and Pia, consented to a 14.7m judgment being entered against them arising from various loans and guarantees. Dunbar Assets Ireland said the money was owed under what it called the "Consolidated Stokes Facility", created following a 2011 restructuring of loans and guarantees.
Irish agri group Origin Enterprises has acquired assets from UK-based Bunn Fertiliser in a deal expected to cost around 18.2m (21m).

Bunn is a provider of prescription fertiliser and nutrition-management systems to the farming sector.

The company recorded turnover of 127m last year, but its earnings before interest and tax were just 2.8m.

Origin said it had acquired the fertiliser activities and "certain assets" of Bunn in a move it said would enhance efficiencies.

Origin will pay an initial 14.2m to Bunn, but the final value of the transaction is expected to rise to 18.2m.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including obtaining clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK.

The purchase is being funded by existing loan facilities that Origin has. Origin said it expected the purchase would yield a return within the first full year of ownership.

"Bunn advances the group's capacity to manage supply chain complexity as well as providing complementary customer and product channel access," said Origin chief executive Tom O'Mahony.

"Bunn is an excellent business with a dedicated commitment to addressing the crop yield, quality and soil fertility requirements of primary producers," Mr O'Mahony added.

Origin will issue half-year results for the year ended January 31 on Thursday.

The company said it had seen "an encouraging start" to its financial year, which it said was due to improved weather conditions. Shares in Origin were trading down slightly yesterday at 6.50 per share following the announcement of the Bunn deal.
The sale of 25pc of the bank is Government policy, but that could change if the Government falls. Stock image

Ordinary investors will be able to buy shares in AIB on the same terms as large financial investors when the Government sells a 25pc stake in the bank later this year, but they'll likely need at least 10,000.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan updated the Cabinet on the planned sale at a meeting yesterday.

The minister said the key objective of an initial public offering (IPO) would be to maximise the return for the taxpayer on its investment in AIB.

The proposed sale of State-owned shares is not a true IPO, which would raise funds for the bank itself and be run by its directors.

Instead, it's a structured sale on the Dublin and London Stock Exchange of part of the Government stake in the bank.

The minister told the Cabinet that his officials, together with Rothschild and the other banks managing the share sale, are examining options that will give individuals the opportunity to participate in an IPO at the same price as institutional investors.

It is likely interested retail investors would be able to apply for shares through designated intermediaries or brokers, similar to what happened in the Aer Lingus IPO in 2006.

A minimum investment threshold will be considered, and small investors won't be offered incentives to buy the shares, the Department of Finance said.

In the Aer Lingus stock market flotation, ordinary investors had to put in a minimum of 10,000, a size that in practice excludes many potential retail investors.

The minister said the Department of Finance has made substantial progress with preparations for a potential transaction, and in effect confirmed that May or June this year is the expected timing for the long delayed share sale.

The raft of international and domestic firms acting as advisers on the planned deal have been appointed until July 2018, however, which means timing could shift depending on market conditions.

Last week, AIB announced pre-tax profits of 1.7bn for the year to the end of 2016 and proposed a shareholder dividend of 250m. The dividend is AIB's first since 2008 and the first from any Irish-listed lender since the crash.

While the Government is pushing ahead with its plan to reduce taxpayers' stake in the bank, that policy is likely to be put on hold if the Government falls.

CEO Bernard Byrne said last week the ultimate decision to push ahead with a sale this year was in political hands because the shares were State owned.

"At the end of the day this is fundamentally a political decision," Mr Byrne said.

He said AIB was confident that conditions were positive for the planned share sale.

The sale of 25pc of the bank is Government policy, but that could change if the Government falls.
"Blanket protection" provided by the US in relation to the collection and use of "foreign intelligence" data is extraordinary in the "best sense" of that word, a former director of compliance with the US National Security Agency (NSA) has told the High Court.

Acting as an expert witness for Facebook, the former official, John Delong, said a 2013 letter from the NSA inspector general noted just 12 substantiated instances in 10 years of intentional misuse of the so-called signals intelligence authorities of the NSA.

In one case a government employee targeted the phone number of her foreign-national boyfriend, he said.

Because that was "clearly not foreign intelligence" the employee's actions were directly investigated and she resigned before disciplinary action was imposed, he said.

Signals intelligence serves "a critical role" in protecting the US, its allies and partners around the world, he said.

Paul Gallagher SC, for Facebook, cited Mr Delong's detailed report on Tuesday in his continuing arguments opposing action by the Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon, whose case is aimed at having the Court of Justice of the EU decide on the validity of European Commission decisions approving transatlantic data transfer channels known as standard contractual clauses (SCCs).

She initiated the proceedings after making a draft finding in May 2016 that Austrian lawyer Max Schrems had "well-founded" objections to transfer of his personal data from Facebook Ireland to its parent in the US, Facebook Inc.

The case continues before Ms Justice Caroline Costello.
There are currently 1,300 post offices around the country, and the semi-State company is losing up to 12m a year from its branch network. (Stock image)

THE head of An Post has warned that a significant number of post offices will close.

And he warned that a large numbers of postal workers are set to be laid off.

An Post boss David McRedmond also revealed that the price of stamps will go from 72c to 1.

His comments come after rural groups reacted with fury to a recommendation in a report for Government that up to 80 post offices may have to close.

A group devising a future strategy for An Post, chaired by businessman Bobby Kerr, has said 80 offices may have to close.

Asked if 80 post offices, mainly in rural areas, would be shut down, Mr McRedmond would not put a number on it.

There will certainly be a significant number of closures, he said on the Today With Sean ORourke programme.

Mr McRedmond said that after the post office closures there will still be a large number of branches per head of the population.

An Post is currently considering Kerr report and the level of closure in conjunction with consultants McKinsey. An Posts board will decide on this in the next few weeks, he said.

The emphasis will be on co-locating post offices and providing post offices in supermarkets, he said.

He revealed that An Post is losing 10m a year, but denied reports that the semi-state company would not be able to pay its 9,000 staff next month.

He said the overall staff numbers in An Post have fallen by 1,700 in the last decade, and hinted that a similar redundancy drive will see a similar number laid off in the next few years.
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With a background in engineering and maths and as well as a Masters in Theoretical Physics, Grainne Walsh is not your typical craft brewer as she explains on this weeks Ready Business podcast.

She started in IT and fell along that path leading her to work for Amazon in Dublin but she still wasnt happy with her career choice.

After jumping around jobs, I was always finding something that was wrong and although I was having a great time with Amazon, I just could not settle.

Beer  and especially local flavours and their provenance  was something that had been a great passion for her and in 2005 she started tinkering with her own home brewing, developing her knowledge and expertise all the while.

But at Amazon she was getting itchy feet and as she says, While people were dreaming of IPOs, I was dreaming of IPAs.

She decided to leave to pursue her real passion and when she told her boss, he thought it was a very cool thing to be doing. Tech and craft beer have a lot of synergy in many ways with the attention to detail and geeky side, she says.

Grainne moved back to her home county of Waterford wanting to strike out on her own, leaving the 9-5 behind for good. Sometimes starting out is the hardest bit, she believes.

Metalman Brewery started three months later with an American style pale ale and hasnt looked back since. Although its a crowded market now with more craft breweries in Ireland than ever before, theyve expanded their sales and marketing and brewing capacity.

Were working a lot on exporting our beers to foreign markets, she explains. And were looking to build a proper Waterford brewery in the city where people can visit, find out our story and taste the beers on-site.

If she can get a photo op with Jeff Bezos sipping their beers in their brewery then shell know her career path from Amazon to Metalman has come full circle.

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Songwriters who have penned hits for artists such as Beyonce as seeking more royalties

The writers who craft songs for artists from Garth Brooks to Beyonce will tell judges this week that the increasing popularity of streaming services like Spotify will destroy their profession unless they get more royalties.

In a hearing scheduled to begin today, songwriters will try to persuade judges on the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington DC to adopt a new standard that could earn them a higher rate from streaming. Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, Pandora Media and Spotify are countering with their own proposals.

On-demand streaming has boosted overall industry sales, surpassing iTunes and physical CDs as the largest source of revenue for the music industry.

More than 100 million people around the world pay for a service of some kind, with Spotify and Apple Music attracting the lion's share.

Songwriters say the shift has cut their pay and see the hearing as their best chance to propose a palatable status quo which will last five years.

"We should get compensated every time someone streams a song," said David Israelite, ceo of the National Music Publishers Association.

"The structure is a complicated formula that's about percentages of revenue, and we don't think that works well for us, or that it's fair."

While recording artists have turned to touring to make up for lost CD sales, songwriters have no similar recourse. The number of composers working in Nashville has shrunk to less than 400 today from around 3,500 about 13 years ago, according to Lee Thomas Miller, one of the songwriters who may testify. "Spotify or Pandora will play a song millions and millions of times, and those are worth $10," said Miller, who has written hits performed by country stars like Brooks, Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley.

"The business of songwriting and publishing is over unless they change the way we get paid."

It's a familiar refrain. The music industry has been fighting internet companies for almost 20 years. Growing record sales still have a long way to go to recover from the shift from CDs to pirated songs, iTunes and free videos on YouTube.

All five streaming companies blame record labels, publishers and others for keeping too much of the money. Apple has proposed a per-streaming rate, but the writers say it's too low. (Bloomberg)
THE managing director of British car brand Vauxhall, which is being bought by Peugeot from General Motors, has said its British production sites are key to the brand's heritage and sales.

Cars sold here and in the rest of the Europe as Opels trade under the Vauxhall brand in the UK, something the takeover by PSA could cast into doubt.

"A key part of the brand heritage is that there is UK manufacturing," Rory Harvey told reporters at the Geneva auto show.

Peugeot-maker PSA has agreed to buy GM's European division, prompting concerns about the future of the British brand's car and van plants.

In Ireland, Opel and PSA's Peugeot and Citroen brands trail mid-market rivals like the top selling Toyota, relative new comer Hyundai and Volkswagen.

PSA Group said on Monday it had agreed to buy loss-making Opel from General Motors, creating Europe's second-biggest carmaker behind Volkswagen and sparking speculation over further consolidation.

However, in a sector facing seismic changes including the rise of electric vehicles, automated driving and car-sharing, executives at the Geneva auto show said such trends eclipse even big mergers, like the PSA deal.

Some executives at the event in Geneva said the deal was unlikely to alter the landscape on its own, with changing consumer habits and new rivals in Silicon Valley and China all likely to have a much bigger impact on carmakers.

"My feeling is that the industry as a whole and brand positioning will change in the next 10 or 15 years, and that comes in addition to traditional consolidation," said Herbert Diess, head of Volkswagen's passenger car division.

"We are really in a transitionary phase for the industry. There are new competitors on the horizon like Tesla or Chinese ventures," Mr Diess told reporters, adding that he did not expect a wave of Opel-style mergers.

Volkswagen is investing billions of euro in electric vehicles, automated driving and new mobility services, in part as it tries to recover from a costly emissions test cheating scandal that has hit demand for diesel vehicles.

Karl Schlicht, head of European sales at Japan's Toyota, also played down the impact of the PSA-Opel deal, which brings together carmakers with a heavy focus on diesel and low-margin fleet vehicles.

"We ran a counter strategy in Europe which may not look as successful for some past years because our volumes were a bit lower, but in terms of where we want to end up, it's turning out to be a good strategy," he said, referring to Toyota's investment in hybrid vehicles.

Toyota forecasts its European sales will rise 5pc this year while the market is expected to grow just 1pc.

BMW boss Harald Krueger, however, said the cost of investments in new technologies could spur deals among smaller carmakers.

Some industry analysts also say an enlarged PSA could actually ease the pressure on rivals if ceo Carlos Tavares can turn a profit at Opel with tactics that worked at PSA.

In the three years since he took the helm at PSA, its existing brands - Peugeot, Citroen and DS - have significantly increased pricing relative to benchmarked rivals, sometimes at the expense of sales.

A similar approach at Opel, could give the entire European mass-market car industry some breathing space. (Reuters)
The US government has slapped $1.2 billion in fines on Chinese telecom giant ZTE for violations of US export controls for selling goods to Iran and North Korea

Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE has agreed to plead guilty and pay $892m to settle with US authorities over allegations it violated laws restricting the sale of US-made technology to Iran.

ZTE will plead guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, among other charges, in the agreement with the US Department of Commerce, Department of Treasury and Department of Justice.

The Commerce Department investigation followed reports by Reuters in 2012 that ZTE had signed contracts to ship millions of dollars worth of hardware and software from some of the best-known US technology companies to Iran's largest telecoms carrier.

"ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company," ZTE chairman and ceo Zhao Xianming said. (Reuters)
Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and Samuel L Jackson attend the European premiere of "Kong: Skull Island" at the Cineworld Empire Leicester Square on February 28, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

Samuel L Jackson attends the European premiere of "Kong: Skull Island" at the Cineworld Empire Leicester Square on February 28, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

Samuel L. Jackson's love for Ireland is no secret.

The legendary actor told Independent.ie that he has been coming to Ireland for decades, and that he loves taking a trip to one of Dublin's most famous spots.

When asked what it is that makes him keep coming back to our fair isle, Jackson said: "It's beautiful. I like the spirit of the people."

"I used to go to the Dublin Theatre Festival when I was a young actor in New York. It seemed like I was always in a play that they wanted to have at the festival so I had the chance to do that too.

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"I love going across the Ha'penny Bridge to the Woolen Mills and get some good sweaters over there!"

The Oscar nominated actor is set to take on the role of Colonel Preston Packard in Kong: Skull Island, alongside Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and John C. Reilly.

Filming for the movie took place across Hawaii, the Gold Coast and Vietnam, which Jackson (68) said "was pretty excellent."

"We started sometime in October (2015), so I pretty much missed winter in the US, which was great. It was nice and hot in Hawaii and Australia, beautiful and hot in Vietnam."

"It's great to be able to go to those places and be able to see typography and experience and the climates."

Kong: Skull Island is released in Irish cinemas on Thursday 9 March.
The number of homeless women has almost doubled in two years, sparking calls for a focus on women in the Government's homelessness policy.

Focus Ireland is using International Womens day to highlight a 96pc increase in the number of women homeless in Ireland, which now stands at 1,997.

This compares to January 29105 when 1,017 women were homeless.

In the same period the number of men who are homeless, who make up the majority of homeless persons in Ireland, increased by 40pc.

According to the latest figures available there are 2,763 homeless men in Ireland, accounting for 58pc of the country's homeless population.

The charity's director of advocacy Mike Allen said the figures show the need for a targeted strategy from Dublin.

The housing crisis has seen the crisis continue to grow to unprecedented levels as a record number of 7,167 people are now homeless in Ireland. One of the striking aspects of this is the increasing and terrible burden of homelessness that is visited on women and children," he said.

In light of the rising number of women and children who are homeless one thing we really need to change is that there is practically no mention of women in homelessness policy.

"We need government housing and homeless policy to have greater acknowledgement of the often specific pressures that effect women and can cause them to become homeless. This would help all work towards preventing homelessness from happening in the first place or where it does occur to ensure that it is for as short a time as possible.
One of the country's top diplomats has hit back at a British newspaper's suggestion that Ireland is not a real country.

A column in 'The Times' of London claimed "Ireland itself has a tenuous claim to nationhood".

Under the headline 'Britain is the authentic nation in this battle', columnist Melanie Phillips said Unionists in Northern Ireland are "not British" and were "the bit that got tacked on to Great Britain to make the UK."

She continued: "Does that mean Westminster should tear up the Good Friday Agreement and bid farewell to Northern Ireland?

Ireland, you're not a proper country. Melanie Phillips says so pic.twitter.com/2GgVqmObHJ  Ian Prior (@ianprior) March 7, 2017

"No, because it has an obligation to the Unionists; and because the claim to unite Ireland is tenuous since Ireland itself has a tenuous claim to nationhood, having seceded from Britain as the Irish Free State in 1922."

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Irish Ambassador to Britain Dan Mulhall challenged the views of Ms Phillips.

In a letter to 'The Times', Mr Mulhall says Ms Phillips's claim is "a strange farrago" and "beyond bizarre".

"Ireland is an ancient nation whose destiny has been shaped by our island location Since independence, we have enjoyed an unbroken century of democratic rule coupled with significant economic and social progress, notably in the decades since we joined the EU in 1973.

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"Ireland also possesses a distinctive culture and a strong sense of identity. We have also played an active international role through our UN membership, our involvement in peacekeeping and our development aid programme. Such are the elements of nationhood in today's world. There is nothing tenuous about that."

Meanwhile, Mr Mulhall will now become our Ambassador to the USA. He will be replaced in London by Adrian O'Neill.

Geraldine Byrne Nason, at present in France, moves to the United Nations in New York.
Two gardai called to an alleged traffic accident which led to nine people putting in claims for whiplash told the High Court they saw no collision debris at the scene.

Garda Colm Dolan and Detective Garda Ciaran Marks were giving evidence on the fourth day of an appeal against the awarding of between 3,000 and 8,500 compensation to seven of the nine for neck and back injuries arising out of the August 2008 accident on country road near the border at Silverstream in Monaghan.

All nine, along with a tenth man who did not sue, were travelling for a night out at the dogs in Dundalk when they say a car hit the bus from behind and sped off without anyone getting its registration.

The brought the case against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) which compensates victims of uninsured or untraced drivers.

The nine who sued were the bus driver David Morgan (40), Paul Campbell (38), his wife Deidre Campbell (40), Lyndsey Gervin (33), her sister Amanda Gervin (44), Joanne McGirr (35), her sister Fiona McGirr (38), Kevin Kernaghan (43), all from Coalisland, and Bernadette McBride (58), mother of Ms Campbell, from Glasslough, Co Monaghan.

All except Mr Campbell and Mr Kernaghan were awarded between 3,000 and 8,500 compensation in the Circuit Court which the MIBI appealed to the High Court.

Mr Campbell and Mr Kernaghan lost in the Circuit Court and cross-appealed.

All appeals were heard together by Ms Justice Marie Baker who, following the completion of evidence on Wednesday, reserved her decision.

Garda Dolan told the court when he arrived on the scene at around 8pm, everybody was out of the bus and the driver, Mr Morgan, seemed upset and nervous.

The only information about the car which allegedly hit the bus came from Mr Morgan and all he could remember was it was green, or maybe blue, the garda said.

Other than a small dent on a step at the back of the bus, the officer could find no evidence of collision debris, which he would have expected to find, in or near the vehicle.

Det Garda Ciaran Marks said he likewise found no debris such as glass which you would typically expect to look for at the scene of a collision.

Asked about the evidence of Paul Campbell, who said he had pointed out glass to one of the officers, both gardai said no one had pointed out any debris to them.

Fintan Smith, a claims handler with FBD Insurance, which had been allocated this case on behalf of the MIBI, said a Facebook page which contained information about one of the nine, Lyndsey Gervin, was completely public up until just after she gave evidence some two weeks ago.

Ms Gervin had told the court she had not been able to go back to the gym because of the 2008 accident.

But her Facebook entries showed in 2013 she was back in the gym, the court heard.

She had claimed her Facebook profile was private but Mr Smith said he had accessed it the evening after she gave evidence and it had been public up until shortly after she was recalled to give evidence about the 2013 entries.
An estranged Irish couple who have staged a "Titanic" divorce court battle over a 600,00 holiday home in rural Ireland are negotiating, a judge has been told.

Margie Hanley, 56, and estranged husband Michael, 60 - who lived together in Wentworth, Surrey - both want the house they jointly own in the village of Cornamona, County Galway.

Mr Justice Holman has analysed evidence at a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London over the past two days.

He was scheduled to hear closing legal arguments from lawyers on Wednesday before making a decision.

But the judge postponed the start of the third day of the hearing after a barrister leading Mrs Hanley's legal team told him lawyers on both sides are "talking".

Stewart Leech QC said Mr and Mrs Hanley are engaged in "constructive negotiations" aimed at resolving issues.

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Mr Justice Holman said on Tuesday the couple, who also have an apartment in Florida, would split cash and assets up to 14 million.

He said they had together run up lawyers' bills of more than 900,000 on their ''Titanic battle'' - and he described the figure as ''phenomenal''.

Mr Hanley, who has retired after a career with multinational conglomerate GE, has told how their 33-year marriage hit the rocks after he discovered his wife had an affair.

Mrs Hanley, who denies adultery, said Mr Hanley had told her she could have the house in Cornamona and was ''punishing'' her.

The judge has heard the couple had lived in Europe, the Far East and the United States because Mr Hanley's work had taken him abroad.

They had built the house in Cornamona about 16 years ago and had gone there for holidays and at Christmas.

Mr Hanley had been living at the Cornamona house for the past few months and wanted it to be a retirement base.

Mrs Hanley, who still lives in Wentworth, says she should have the Cornamona house because generations of her family have lived in the village.

Mr Justice Holman heard there had been suggestions of Mrs Hanley living elsewhere in Cornamona.

He also raised the possibility of the pair, who have grown-up children, using the house at different times of the year.

But Mrs Hanley told him: ''We are getting divorced. The village isn't big enough for both of us.''

Mr Justice Holman had urged the Hanleys to try and reach agreement several times during the hearing.

He told them on Wednesday: "If at all possible this should be resolved by negotiation."

Mr Leech and Stephen Trowell QC, who is leading Mr Hanley's legal team, were due to summarise opposing arguments before the judge delivered a ruling.
The fishermen have denied charges before Cork District Court lodged following a Garda investigation into the use of migrant or non-EU workers within the Irish fishing industry. (Stock picture)

IMMIGRATION and work permit charges were dismissed against two Irish fishermen who used a marine agent to hire Filipino sailors to work on their Cork-based trawler.

Pat O'Mahony (51) and Leonard Hyde (63) had insisted to Cork District Court they understood the UK agency they hired would ensure full compliance with all Irish visa, work permit and passport regulations.

Both also vehemently insisted that the two Filipino fishermen involved were treated with every consideration and respect while they worked on the 'Labardie Fisher' trawler operating from Crosshaven, Co Cork in 2015.

The men told the two day trial that, had they any inkling the two Filipino sailors were not legally entitled to work in Ireland because they had entered via Belfast, they would never have contracted for them.

Judge Aingeal Ni Chonduin dismissed all charges against the men after the trial heard that other fishermen who used the same agency and route to bring Filipino sailors into Ireland to work on other trawlers had those workers even given safety training by State agencies.

One Irish trawler had used the same route and procedures to hire Filipino sailors ten years before the two Cork trawler operators.

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Since 2015, an inter-department working group has overhauled work permit arrangements for Filipino nationals in the Irish fishing sector.

The judge said that "mind set" was a central issue to the case - and she had a doubt whether the men ever realised what they were doing was not in proper compliance with regulations.

Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation (ISWFPO) official, John Tatten, told the trial that, as far as he understood in 2015, what the two men had done was entirely in compliance with regulations.

He pointed out that other fishermen in Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England were engaged in widespread recruitment of Filipino sailors.

Another trawler operator, John Walsh, said he had three Filipino workers brought into Ireland before 2015 - and the trio are still working with him and in full compliance with work regulations given an industry overhaul two years ago.

"They (Filipinos) are the best people in the world- I would take a bullet for them. They are fantastic workers."

Mr Hyde and Mr O'Mahony described the ordeal they faced over the Garda investigation and subsequent prosecution as "a two year nightmare."

Cork District Court was packed with up to 30 fishermen from all over Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Donegal who wanted to support the duo.

All cheered as Judge Ni Chonduin dismissed all charges within minutes of the closing arguments.

"It was two years of absolute torment," Mr Hyde said.

"You have no idea - it was hard, very hard. Trying to fish and put up with all of this.

"We didn't do (what was alleged) and that was it.

"Health-wise it has been very stressful for all of us and our families. You could see that today - everyone was very stressed."

Mr O'Mahony said it had been two very difficult years.

"We are just very thankful it is all over, lads. We want to say thanks to everyone for the support. We just want to go back fishing now and do our jobs.

"The support (from fishermen) was brilliant - absolutely brilliant.

"It was a life-changer for us. We are used to fishing and not walking up these (courthouse steps). We never harmed anyone in our lives. So thank God that justice was done.

"I am in shock to be even here today, to be honest. I didn't knowingly facilitate this. The agent told us he took care of everything.

"I am not passing the blame. I just done what everybody else (in the fishing industry) had done. Bigger fool me," he said.

Defence solicitor David Browne said migrant worker issues were very complex and confusing at the time.

"Things were very difficult at that stage (2015). It was hard for lawyers let alone fishermen to know what was right and what was wrong.

"We are very relieved to have it all over. They are also very thankful for the support from all their colleagues, friends and families. They just want to put this matter behind them now," he said.

In statements to Gardai, Mr Hyde revealed that when Filipino national Demie Balbin Omol (40) got seriously ill just six weeks after arriving in Ireland in 2015, his wife wanted him to move to their home to recuperate.

While the man was in hospital, he was visited, provided with cash, credit to phone home and even pyjamas.

Both men also insisted to Gardai that the Filipinos were provided with whatever food they liked, cash for groceries and sundries, phone credit so they could call home, wifi, TV services and regular time off.

Both also had full control of their own passports and could leave the trawler at any time when it was berthed in Cork.

The trawler operators said they had entered a contract with a shipping agent, Diamond Marine, in 2015 for the supply of the two trained Filipino fishermen for a monthly fee of $1,075 per worker.

The agent then paid an agreed amount of this money to the men's families in the Philippines.

Both trawler operators also paid the agent a substantial upfront fee.

"We couldn't get any Irish staff," Mr O'Mahony told Gardai.

"There are 90pc of the Irish boats... who cannot get enough Irish staff. It was a gun to the head - we couldn't get Irish staff (for the trawler)."

Both men denied charges lodged following a Garda investigation into the use of migrant or non-EU workers within the Irish fishing industry.

Mr O'Mahony of Eltin's Wood, Kinsale, Co Cork and Mr Hyde of Four Winds, Weaver's Point, Crosshaven, Co Cork denied a charge of knowingly facilitating the entry into the

State in March 2015 of a person whom they knew or had reasonable cause to believe was an illegal immigrant or a person who intended applying for asylum.

They were also charged with employing a foreign national at Hugh Coveney Pier in Crosshaven between March and June 2015 without having an employment permit issued by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The State had argued that two Filipino nationals working on the trawler 'Labardie Fisher' did not have valid work permits for Ireland.

Both had arrived in the UK and had then gone to Belfast in March 2015.

They were collected by Mr O'Mahony at Belfast Airport and driven, along with the shipping agent, south to Cork.

They began fishing duties immediately on arrival.

In a voluntary Garda interview on January 21 2016, Mr O'Mahony insisted they had been assured all visa, work permit and passport requirements had been looked after by the agent.

"As far as I was concerned, the agent did all that," he said.

Mr O'Mahony had no inkling about the lack of proper permits for the men - and even posted social media messages from Belfast Airport as he awaited their arrival.

His first act after collecting the men was to take them for a meal.

Mr Hyde, in his voluntary Garda statement, insisted he understood the agent had taken care of all such details and requirements.

Mr Hyde said he had never before contracted for non-EU workers.

Judge Ni Chonduin dismissed all the charges as she said there was nothing she could find in the contract agreed with the agent which said the agent's responsibilities ended at the UK border.

She also noted that a substantial sum of money had been paid to the agent by the Cork fishermen.

But the judge added that it was "surprising" legal advice had not been taken in respect of that agent's contract.
Roy Webster (38) with an address at Ashbre, Killoughter ,Co Wicklow pictured at a previous court appearance.(Image: Collins Courts)

A married cabinet maker beat a mother-of-three to death with a hammer after she threatened to reveal all about a sexual encounter they had, the Central Criminal Court has been told.

Roy Webster (39) struck Anne Shortall (47) about the head when she made the threat after saying she was pregnant and asked him to pay for an abortion.

Mr Webster, a father-of-two, tied her up after the assault and brought her home, leaving her body in his workstation in a shed while he spent the weekend with his family.

Ms Shortall owed thousands in rent arrears and unpaid bills at the time she was killed, a lawyer for the prosecution said.

The jury heard gardai found the body four days later when the accused made admissions.

Paul Greene SC was delivering his opening speech as Mr Webster went on trial today.

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Mr Webster admits the manslaughter of Ms Shortall but denies her murder.

Mr Webster of Ashbree, Ashford, Co Wicklow is accused of murdering Ms Shortall on April 3, 2015 at The Murrough, also in Wicklow.

Mr Greene said it would be alleged that Mr Webster used a hammer to inflict serious injuries resulting in the death of Ms Shortall.

The blows were about her head and Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis would give evidence that there were likely nine blows by a hammer to the head although it was suggested by the defence that there were fewer.

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Mr Greene said Ms Shortall was a separated woman with three adult children and had been in the process of divorcing her husband.

This afternoon, a mechanic, Jamie Shortt, said in evidence he had worked with the accused and they were among a group of five people who went out for a Christmas work do on the night of December 20, 2014.

He met his ex-boss Robert Fox, and the accused in the Woodpecker in Ashford for dinner and drinks. His father and another man met them and they went to another pub, The Bridge before ending up in The Forge.

It was a busy night and he did not see much of the accused there but did see him talking to a woman just inside the door. He did not recall who she was or what she looked like.

They were still there when Mr Shortt left.

Some time later, Mr Shortt and Mr Webster were working in a garage together and had some chit chat. Mr Shortt asked him about what he did that night.

He said he went to a party and stayed on a couch and went home the next day, Mr Shortt said.

Cross-examined by Brendan Grehan SC, defending, Mr Shortt said it had been a normal Christmas do and he and the others had had a good lot to drink.

He said he did not really know the accused that well but agreed he described him in a statement as 100pc and genuine.

He came across as OK, he told the court.

Mr Webster was a married man who had a four year old daughter and his wife was pregnant with their son at the time.

The case had its genesis in events that took place on December 20, 2014, Mr Greene said. Mr Webster was with friends for a meal and drinks in a pub and was seen to engage in a conversation with Ms Shortall.

They had a sexual encounter back in her flat and he got a taxi back home to his family early the following morning.

That was that and events went on with some degree of telephonic contact and efforts made by Ms Shortall to get in touch with Mr Webster almost exactly two years ago, Mr Greene said.

She tried to make contact through a mutual acquaintance on Facebook and by calling his landline.

It would appear that Ms Shortall was in a very difficult place financially; she had very significant arrears of rent on her accommodation in Wicklow, leading to increasing demands on her by the agent of her landlord, Mr Greene said.

Ms Shortall had significant debts - a couple of thousand euros in rent arrears and the same on her ESB bill, Mr Greene said.

He own means of support had fallen away; her children were adults and she was no longer married.

In contact with Mr Webster, she indicated that she had become pregnant by their encounter at Christmas time, she wanted to terminate the pregnancy and she wanted financial assistance.

They arranged to meet on the afternoon of April 3, the day of the fateful occurrence. It would be alleged Mr Webster requested some proof from Ms Shortall that he was responsible for the pregnancy and that she was indeed pregnant.

The accused was a skilled craftsman and used a silver van with his name and business name on it.

Mr Greene said on April 3 he was working in Wicklow and was to be paid the balance on an account. By an unfortunate coincidence, that was Good Friday, the banks were closed and the realisation dawned on Mr Webster and the person for whom he was working that the balance could not be discharged, Mr Greene continued.

That day he also had to pick up a book for his daughter for her birthday and there would be evidence that he was in Wicklow Town until about 2pm.

This time was significant because the next thing we know about Mr Webster was that his van arrived back about 3.40pm the court heard.

The prosecution would say the defendant and Ms Shortall arranged by text to meet near the Leitrim Lounge pub, not far from the industrial area known as the Murrough.

There would be evidence that the two travelled down to the Murrough and were observed by an eyewitness in conversation.

It appears there was a disagreement with respect to the question of the pregnancy and the question of whether the money should be paid over, Mr Greene said. It will be alleged that threats were made by the late Ms Shortall that she was going to reveal all about their encounter.

The argument continued and Ms Shortall was struck on the head by Mr Webster a couple of times likely to be twice.

It appears that in the van, Mr Webster secured her hands behind her back with duct tape and put duct tape around her head and other parts of her body, Mr Greene said.

It would be alleged he transported her back to the work premises contiguous with his home.

Efforts were made by Ms Shortalls family to locate their mother, their sister. The lead they had was the accuseds number which was on Ms Shortalls phone.

He was interviewed on April 6 and gave a witness statement to gardai. When suspicions focused on him, he admitted to them in April 7 that the late Ms Shortalls remains were down in his work station.

The gardai went there and the remains were found.

Mr Greene advised the jury that the accused is presumed innocent of the murder charge.

Brendan Grehan SC, for the defence, then made a number of admissions on behalf of Mr Webster.

Among these, he admitted that he met Ms Shortall by arrangement outside the Leitrim Lounge and drove her a short distance away to the Murrough.

He admitted that there he assaulted Ms Shortall and was responsible for her death. He admitted tying her hands in front of her with tape and also put tape on her head.

It was admitted he lied in his initial contacts with Anne Shortalls family and the gardai.

The trial, which is expected to take two weeks, continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of five women and seven men.
Two brothers who were at a farm when their eight-year-old sister died after she was hit by a tractor bucket have settled legal actions for 30,000 each.

Paula Dinsberga lost her life as she was staying on the farm outside Charleville, Cork, as her parents attended a wedding in Latvia, the court heard.

It happened on September 28, 2014, when Paula and her friend ran in front of the tractor. The driver braked and the bucket fell off, instantly killing Paula and injuring her friend.

The news of the tragedy had to be broken by gardai to Paula's parents, Linda and Raivo Dinsberga, when they flew in from Latvia later that evening.

In the High Court, Mr Justice Kevin Cross said what happened to Paula was terrible and devastating for them all.

The judge approved the settlement of 30,000 each in the cases of Paula's twin brothers, Rainers and Patriks, who were on the farm at the time. The boys, who were nearly six at the time, suffered an abnormal grief reaction and nervous shock.

Rainers and Patriks, now eight, of The Orchard, Hansfield, Dooradoyle, Limerick, through their mother Linda Dinsberga, sued the tractor owner Liam Guiney of Rusheen, Newtownshandrum, Co Cork.

They also sued the tractor driver, Edgars Pliesmanis, of Owenmore Drive, Raheen, Co Limerick, as a result of the accident.

Mr Pliesmanis's 11-year-old daughter was injured in the same incident.

It was claimed there was an alleged failure to ensure the children were corralled in a safe section of the farm and an alleged failure to warn them of the necessity of avoiding the tractor.

It was further claimed there was an alleged failure to ensure the bucket of the tractor was properly attached before permitting it to be driven.

The claims were denied. John Lucey SC, for the boys, said it was a very tragic case.
A mother-of-four is waiting to see whether she has won a "titanic" divorce court struggle over a 600,000 holiday house in her "ancestral territory" of rural Ireland.

Margie Hanley (56) and estranged husband Michael (60) - who lived together in Wentworth, Surrey - both want the house they jointly own in the village of Cornamona, Co Galway.

They have staked rival claims to a judge at a public hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London over the past two days.

The judge said the couple, who also have an apartment in Florida, would split cash and assets of up to 14m.

He said they had together run up lawyers' bills of more than 800,000 on their "titanic battle" - and he described the figure as "phenomenal".

Mr Hanley, who has retired after a career with multinational conglomerate GE, told how their 33-year marriage hit the rocks after he discovered that his wife had an affair.

He has been living at the Cornamona house for the past few months and wants it to be a retirement base.

Mrs Hanley, who denies adultery, said Mr Hanley had told her that she could have the house in Cornamona and was "punishing" her.

She said her 92-year-old mother still lived there and was the oldest person in Cornamona.

"It's where I have been all my life - generations of my family... Life is full circle. It's where I started out. It's where I ended," she said.

Mrs Hanley said the house was her "backbone".

"It's like my fifth child. If I were to lose it, it would be like losing a child," she said. "It's my heart, my soul, my life."

The judge said Mrs Hanley felt that Cornamona was her "ancestral territory".

Mr Hanley said he wanted to live in the Cornamona house and denied that he was trying to hurt Mrs Hanley. He said he had "cherished memories" of Cornamona.

Mr Justice Holman heard that there had been suggestions of Mrs Hanley living elsewhere in Cornamona.

But Mrs Hanley told him: "We are getting divorced. The village isn't big enough for both of us."

Mr Justice Holman is scheduled to hear legal argument from lawyers today before making a decision.
Victims of Clondalkin fire. (From left clockwise) Holly (3), AnneMarie (27), Biddy (aged in her 30s), Jordan (4) and Paris (2) O'Brien

A devastating apartment fire which stole the lives of a pregnant woman and three children is the second tragedy to hit the family.

AnneMarie O'Brien (27) who was seven months pregnant, her daughter Paris (2) and three-year-old Holly O'Brien were killed after the fire broke out at an accommodation in Kilcronan Avenue, Clondalkin around 2.30am last night.

Jordan O'Brien (4) died later this afternoon as a result of his injuries.

Jordan and Holly's mother Biddy O'Brien, who was visiting the apartment, remains in a critical condition.

A cousin of the family spoke to Independent.ie and said told of how this is the second fire tragedy to hit Annemaries family.

A brother of hers named Andy died in a container fire in Bray some years ago, Joanne said.

When Andy died a few years ago it was so hard on all of us and I cant even describe how bad [last nights] tragedy has made us feel.

News reports from January 2011 show that Andrew O'Brien, who was 20 at the time, died in the tragic blaze on the grounds of Bray's Christ Church.

His remains were found in a prefab to the rear of the church on the morning of Tuesday, January 25. Firemen were called to attend to the burning outhouse at around 4 a.m. By 5 a.m. that morning they had discovered his body.

It was impossible initially to tell whether the victim of the blaze was male or female. DNA analysis later confirmed that the deceased was Andrew.

At the time of his death, Annemarie wrote a message of tribute to him on Facebook.

Love you Andy,' she wrote. 'Sleep tight bro. Thinking of you always. Miss u more than anyone could imagine. RIP, she had added.

Originally from the Fassaroe area, Andy O'Brien had been sleeping away from home for a number of nights, at a number of locations, including the place where he ultimately lost his life.

The shed on the church grounds was often used as a shelter for people with nowhere else to go.

Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone said her thoughts and prayers were with all those affected by the Clondalkin fire.

Local councillor Trevor Gilligan (FF) said: It is an awful case. Im a councillor here in Clondalkin nearly 15 years and its a terrible tragedy."

Sinn Fein TD Eoin O Broin said in a statement: My thoughts are with the bereaved families, friends, and members of this tight-knit local community this morning. The death of two young children and a young woman is a tragedy and the people here in Kilcronan are numb with shock and sadness at this devastating loss of life.

"My thoughts are also with those seriously injured in the fire who are being cared for in hospital.

I would like to commend Dublin Fire Brigade and the emergency services who attended the scene in the early hours. The community here in Kilcronan is resilient and will come together to comfort those who have lost loved ones in this fire.

Kilkenny Fire Brigade wrote: Our thoughts are with the family & friends of those who died this morning in Clondalkin fire. Also for the first responders present.
An Irishman who was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a young girl in Colombia was arrested thanks to a citizen's tip.

The 50-year-old man was arrested last Friday evening by police in the upmarket El Poblado district in Medellin.

A police spokesperson said the Irish national was allegedly sexually assaulting the minor when a person in the building became aware of the incident. Members of the Policia Nacional raided the property where they discovered a 19-year-old local woman taking pictures of the man carrying out the alleged sex attack.

"Through a citizen's tip-off, units captured a woman (19) and a man (50), of Irish nationality, who were in the company of a 12-year-old child performing sexual acts," the spokesperson said. The Irish national and his female accomplice have since been handed over to the public prosecutor's office, where they are being investigated for the sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14.

The man was paraded before a media briefing on Friday evening where a number of items including a camera, mobile phones and condoms were also laid out on a table.

Colombian authorities have not yet released the man's identity as the matter is still under investigation.

The victim has since been placed into foster care while authorities attempt to locate her family.

However, officials have not yet been able to contact the child's relatives.
Tributes at the site where remains were discovered. Photo: Ray Ryan

A scoping exercise to examine if the Commission of Investigation into mother and baby homes should include more institutions was promised yesterday.

The Cabinet agreed that an exploratory exam should be carried out after calls for more county homes to be included in the investigation.

It followed the public outcry in the wake of the discovery of human remains at a former mother and baby home run by the Bons Secours sisters in Tuam, Co Galway.

The Government has made no decision as yet on the extent of the proposed scoping exercise.

But more details would be made public by Children's Minister Katherine Zappone after the St Patrick's weekend and it should last for around six weeks.

The Commission is currently charged with examining 14 mother and baby homes as well as a sample of four county homes where unmarried mothers may have been sent.

The Justice for Magdalenes group has claimed the "mistreatment and forced separation" of mothers and babies extended to the "hands of adoption agencies, national maternity hospitals, Magdalene laundries and many other institutions".

However, the group Irish First Mothers, which represents more than 60 women who were in mother and baby homes, said that it was against any extension of the remit of the Commission, which it felt would be unwise.

"The Commission is too close to completing its work and is already overburdened," it said.

"People who are affected and still living deserve the Commission to hit its February 2018 deadline," it added.

"We hope that the Commission can as much of its remaining work in public as practicable. Some members have offered public testimony."

A spokeswoman for the Commission said yesterday it would not comment on calls to expand its terms of reference.

Read more: Poignant video pays tribute to 796 babies who died in Tuam Mother and Baby home

It was also confirmed the Commission's proceedings will continue to be held behind closed doors for now.

This is despite demands that at least some of its hearings be carried out in public.

Asked about calls to have the proceedings in public the spokeswoman told the Irish Independent that there are no plans to do so at present.

She said the Commission of Investigations Act does allow for public hearings.

Meanwhile, discussions have taken place between the coroner in Co Galway and gardai in the wake of the Tuam discovery.

The Commission referred the issue to the coroner but it is unclear what level of involvement the gardai will have in examining the issues around the remains of children aged between two weeks and three years which date back to the last century.

Speaking in the Dail, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the era of mother and baby homes was a "social and cultural sepulchre" or tomb.

He described the discovery of the remains of children in Tuam as a "chamber of horrors".

The Coalition of Mother And Baby Home Survivors said they were seeking a meeting with the Taoiseach.

Read more: 'Nuns forced me to change my baby's name so he'd be easier to sell' - Woman relives mother and baby home horror

Spokesperson Paul Redmond said they wanted him to meet with representatives of the survivor community to resolve the outstanding issues facing elderly, and dying Irish citizens, who have been through enough in their lives and who need acknowledgement and some substantive movement by the Government before it too late for them.

"Ireland needs to acknowledge the real scale of the horrors and the deaths of 6,000 children," he said.
There has been widespread anger after Limerick's Treaty Stone monument was targeted in a graffiti attack.

Photos, posted online by Limerick Live 95 FM, show the landmark at the Clare end of Thomond Bridge, covered in blue paint.

The pictures were sent to the local station by a listener and they were met with outrage online.

Local councillor Daniel Butler (FG) said: "Absolute disgrace. Angered & appalled an iconic symbol of our treaty city is treated with such disrespect. Let's as a city find the culprit!"

Video footage from Live 95fm's @nic_quinn at the scene of the vandalism of the Treaty Stone earlier this morning. #L2Day pic.twitter.com/pPp34htSTJ  LimkToday Live 95FM (@LimerickToday) March 8, 2017

Reporter Carol Byrne tweeted: "Terrible to see such vandalism to Limericks iconic treaty stone." And local historian Sharon Slater asked: "The purpose of this vandalism is to what?! There is no protest here, just destruction of an iconic #Limerick symbol."

Shortly after 10.30am Limerick Civic Trust confirmed that their team was on the scene cleaning the monument.

A garda spokesman confirmed to Independent.ie that they are investigating the incident: "The Treaty Stone at Clancy Strand, Limerick was damaged overnight 7th/8th March 2017. It appears that blue paint was daubed on the stone. No other damage was caused .

"Investigations are currently underway by the Gardai at Mayorstone in Limerick."

Traditionally it is said that it was on this rock that the Treaty of Limerick was signed in the sight of both armies at the Clare end of Thomond Bridge on October 3, 1691.

The treaty marked the surrender of the city to the army of William of Orange. Under the terms, a promise was made to respect Catholicism, but the treaty was rejected by the English and Irish Parliaments and its terms were ignored. Thus Limerick became known as The City of the Broken Treaty.

The stone now rests on a pedestal that was first erected in May 1865 by the then mayor of the city John Rickard Tinslay.
Smoke damaged vent at the apartment where a woman and two children died in a fire ,on Kilcronan Avenue in Clondalkin (Image: Frank Mc Grath)

Gardai pictured at the scene apartment fire on Kilcronan Avenue in Clondalkin. Photo: Frank McGrath

The four-year-old boy critically ill following a fire in a Dublin apartment complex last night has died from his injuries this afternoon.

A pregnant woman and two young girls lost their lives in the tragic fire in a Dublin apartment complex overnight.

Jordan OBrien is the latest victim of the tragedy in Kilcronan Avenue, Clondalkin.

The four-year-old passed away earlier today in Crumlin Childrens Hospital while his mother, Biddy O'Brien, remains in a critical condition in St Jamess Hospital.

Expand Close Victims of Clondalkin fire. (From left clockwise) Holly (3), AnneMarie (27), Biddy (aged in her 30s), Jordan (4) and Paris (2) O'Brien / Facebook

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Whatsapp Victims of Clondalkin fire. (From left clockwise) Holly (3), AnneMarie (27), Biddy (aged in her 30s), Jordan (4) and Paris (2) O'Brien

AnneMarie O'Brien (27) who was seven months pregnant, her daughter Paris (2) and three-year-old Holly O'Brien were killed after the fire broke out at an accommodation around 2.30am last night.

Holly is the daughter of Biddy who is fighting for her life and the sister of Jordan who has now passed away.

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All five are Irish and from the south Dublin area.

Joanne Moore, a cousin of the family told Independent.ie that Jordan passed away at around 4pm.

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Im on my way back to the hospital now because weve gotten some very bad news.

Jordan passed away about an hour ago, its very sad and were all devastated.

Its very hard and were just trying to get on to things and to grieve. Im cousins to all the people involved in the tragedy.

Sources say Biddy O'Brien was visiting AnneMarie when the fire broke out at the first floor apartment.

While the scene still has to undergo a full technical examination, it is believed the cause of the fire was accidental and possibly electrical.

Sonas Domestic Violence charity, which operates supported housing for women and children who are the victims of domestic abuse at the Cluainin Cronan complex where the fire occurred, paid tribute to the deceased.

"Our sympathies and condolences are with the relatives and friends of the deceased and all those impacted by this awful tragedy. We are devastated by the tragic loss of life which occurred as a result of fire in an apartment in our supported housing complex in Clondalkin," CEO Fiona Ryan said.

"We are currently supporting other families in the apartment complex including those unable to return to their homes because of fire damage, for whom we are sourcing alternative accommodation," she added.

Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Smoke damaged window at the apartment where a woman and two children died in a fire ,on Kilcronan Avenue in Clondalkin. (Image: Frank Mc Grath) Emergency services at the scene of an apartment fire in Dublin which claimed the lives of a woman and two children. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire Flowers are left at the scene of an apartment fire in Dublin which claimed the lives of a woman and two children. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Smoke damaged window at the apartment where a woman and two children died in a fire ,on Kilcronan Avenue in Clondalkin. (Image: Frank Mc Grath)

Flowers have been laid at the scene as people continue to come and pay their respects throughout the day. Bouquets and a teddy bear were left at the front door of the complex.

Local resident Anne Keogh was among those at the scene.

"I just wanted to pay my respects, it's so sad," she said.

"We just wanted to say bye."

Emergency

Fire tenders from Tallaght, Rathfarnham, Dolphins Barn and Donnybrook, as well as a fleet of ambulances from Dublin Fire Brigade and the National Ambulance Service, were sent to deal with the serious fire and casualties at the Cluainin Cronan complex.

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Three neighbouring apartments accommodating seven residents had to be evacuated during the fire.

Two others, who were in the accommodation unit were taken to hospital as a precaution due to smoke inhalation.

The scene was sealed off this morning and a technical examination of the area was due to take place later today.

The fire broke out in a first floor unit where the windows appeared blackened this morning.

An air vent at the side of the complex on the first floor was also blackened by the thick smoke that poured out of it during the blaze.

Many other windows in the complex remained open this morning, indicating how the smoke from the fire had permeated the building.

Gardai preserved the scene pending a forensic examination by members of the garda technical bureau to establish the cause of the fire.

At the scene today Garda Inspector Ken McLaughlin of Clondalkin garda station said Gardai and Dublin Fire Brigade would carry out a full investigation.

He confirmed all five involved in the fire were in the one apartment at the time of the incident.

Were at the scene of a terrible tragedy here this morning and I would like to express our sincere sympathies for the families of those that are involved in this incident, he said.

There was two adults and three children involved in this terrible incident.

At the moment were keeping an open mind on the incident, he added.

Earlier, local Sinn Fein councillor Mark Ward said the news of the deaths and critical injuries were shocking and horrific.

For a young woman and two children to lose their lives like this is incomprehensible, he told Independent.ie.

It is understood the first fire service crews were on the scene within five minutes this morning.

A team from Dublin Fire Brigade arrived and were seen in discussion with gardai before they entered the building to begin their surveying.

Two women who arrived with flowers said they did not know the family who were in the apartment but lived nearby and wanted to pay their respects.

Its an awful tragedy and we just wanted to express our support. Its terrible news, they said.

999 calls

A spokesman for Dublin Fire Brigade said a number of 999 calls were made about the blaze, with the first alert coming in at 2.33am.

We got numerous calls in about it which would indicate that the fire was noticeable. The fire alarm in the apartment had also gone off, a spokesman said.

As long as I have been a councillor it is one of the most terrible tragedies I have ever come across. I have lived in an apartment for many years so this is something that you dont want to read.

I would like to pass my condolences on to the family and friends of these people.

Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone said her thoughts and prayers were with all those affected by the Clondalkin fire.

Local councillor Trevor Gilligan (FF) said: It is an awful case. Im a councillor here in Clondalkin nearly 15 years and its a terrible tragedy."

Sinn Fein TD Eoin O Broin said in a statement: My thoughts are with the bereaved families, friends, and members of this tight-knit local community this morning. The death of two young children and a young woman is a tragedy and the people here in Kilcronan are numb with shock and sadness at this devastating loss of life.

"My thoughts are also with those seriously injured in the fire who are being cared for in hospital.

I would like to commend Dublin Fire Brigade and the emergency services who attended the scene in the early hours. The community here in Kilcronan is resilient and will come together to comfort those who have lost loved ones in this fire.

Kilkenny Fire Brigade wrote: Our thoughts are with the family & friends of those who died this morning in Clondalkin fire. Also for the first responders present.

RTE broadcaster Des Cahill said: Reading the Sportsnews on @morningireland seemed so irrelevant, as it immediately followed breaking news of the tragedy in Clondalkin. RIP.

Gardai are appealing to witnesses to contact them at Clondalkin Garda Station on 01-666 7600, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

In a separate incident a number of casualties were brought to hospital after a domestic fire on Dominic Street in Dublins north inner city.

Four people were injured and several others were rescued.

Three of the four were treated for smoke inhalation. The fire broke out around 3am.

Four units of Dublin Fire Brigade attended the scene of the fire, which was brought under control this morning.

A number of tributes have been posted online to the victims of the blaze.
A 76-year-old man has been killed in a single vehicle collision in Drogheda, Co Louth this evening.

The accident happened at around 7.30pm at the Roadhall roundabout, North Rd, Drogheda.

He was the only person travelling in the car and was taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The road is currently closed to facilitate a forensic investigation.

It is expected to reopen at midnight and local diversions are in place.

Gardai are appealing for witnesses to contact Drogheda Garda station on 041 9874200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
A garda has been arrested after he was accused of sexually abusing his own children, it has emerged.

A spokesman confirmed that the officer, aged in his 40s, was arrested on Monday for "alleged sexual assault offences".

The suspect was detained at a station in the South East of the country under the provisions of Section 4  Criminal Justice Act 1984.

He was later released without charge and a file will now be prepared for the information of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Irish Daily Star is reporting that the abuse claims came to light after a female relative made a formal complaint to gardai several months ago.

A source told the newspaper that the assault was being taken seriously.

Last year it emerged that a garda in a separate division was being investigated over the alleged sexual assault of a young girl.

He had earlier been investigated over the alleged rape of an adult woman. The DPP directed that there be no prosecution in this case but the investigation into the alleged assault on the minor is ongoing.
Police are appealing for the public's help after a "dangerous" man accused of murder and with an extensive history of violence was released from prison by mistake.

The PSNI said it strenuously objected to bail for Michael Lawrence Smith's and it was subsequently refused.

The 38-year-old who is currently on remand for murder was released "erroneously" by the Prison Service from Maghaberry on Tuesday, police said.

He is described as being of medium build, 1.87metres tall and 106kg in weight with brown eyes and brown hair. Distinguishing Marks include scars on his arms, shoulders, head, neck and right cheek.

As well as being on remand for murder he is awaiting trial on a number of other offences.

Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes said: Michael Smith, who is deemed as dangerous, was last seen in the Belfast area at 2pm on Tuesday 7 March.

He has an extensive history of violence and I would urge the public not to approach him but contact police immediately.

I would ask Mr Smith to hand himself in to the authorities without any further delay and ask anyone who knows of his current whereabouts or who has any information to contact police on 999.

A Prison Service Spokeswoman said: The matters surrounding the erroneous release of Michael Lawrence Smith are currently under investigation. The Prison Service would urge anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact the Police immediately.
Buildings at the site of the Sisters of Charity Magdalene Laundry in Donnybrook. Photo: Tony Gavin

The Religious Sisters of Charity have said they are not concerned that former residents may be buried in unmarked graves on the site of a former Magdalene Laundry in Dublin 4.

An Gibraltar property firm is due to build an apartment complex on The Crescent in Donnybrook and in a planning application concerns were raised during the archaeological assessment about "the potential for burials in the area".

The assessment reads:

"There are no clear records as to what happened to some of the women who operated within the laundries once they died. It remains a possibility that some are buried within the area of the proposed development."

It also warns that "ground disturbances ... will have an adverse and negative impact on archaeological deposits ...This includes possible burials relating to the former use of the site as a Magdalene Laundry."

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A significant archaeological of the site after demolition of the building was reccommended.

However, in a statement to RTE the order said that all who died during the operation of the laundry can be accounted for and that there is a private cemetery on the grounds. All records were checked by the by the McAleese Commission.

Meanwhile, Galway Co Council has moved to clarify that there are no records to suggest human remains were discovered during the construction of a housing estate on the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam.
Lorraine Clifford-Lee says issue has reached crisis levels in towns like Balbriggan. Stock image

LASERS should be used to deter aggressive seagulls from nesting in urban areas, the Seanad has heard.

Thats according to Fianna Fail senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee, who today claimed children and older people have been attacked in some of Dublins coastal towns.

She told colleagues that seagulls need to be discouraged from nesting in urban areas.

Ms Clifford-Lee, who narrowly missed out on a Dail seat last February, said she is not in favour of extreme measures such as a cull on seagulls.

But she said scientists in the UK have examined the use of lasers to tackle the issue.

The lasers are harmless screening devices and are not designed to injured the birds, Ms Clifford Lee said.

She cited the fall in fish supplies as a factor in seagulls nesting in towns rather than cliffs.

Balbriggan, which has a population of 26,000 approximately, has seen the problem become worse in recent years.

A strategy is needed, Ms Clifford Lee said, adding that she has raised the issue with Minister Heather Humphreys.
The Revenue is facing the bill because of the Official Languages Act, which was introduced in 2003. (Stock picture)

The Office of the Revenue Commissioners is spending 60,000 to translate its new website into Irish - despite just a few hundred people using the service in the country's first language.

The Revenue is facing the bill because of the Official Languages Act, which was introduced in 2003.

State agencies must have significant amounts of Irish content on their websites.

Compliance with the Act has cost taxpayers millions of euro.

Data supplied to the Irish Independent shows the Revenue Commissioners' existing website had 849,178 unique visitors in the 12 months to the end of February.

Clicked

But just 166 of those landed on an Irish language page when they clicked onto the website.

The figures also reveal that of the pages currently on the website that are available in both English and Irish, the English-language versions attracted 429,000 views from visitors in the 12 months to the end of February, while the Irish-language versions attracted just 458 views.

The Official Language Act aims to see 250,000 people using Irish outside the education system on a daily basis by 2030.

According to the 2011 census, 77,185 people - or 1.6pc of the 4.58 million population that year - were speaking Irish on a daily basis outside the education system.

A spokeswoman for the Revenue Commissioners said the agency is spending 1.7m revamping its website.

The last time it got a makeover was in 2008.

It's currently seeking a service provider to translate about 600,000 English words on the website into Irish as part of the overall redesign.
Sinn Fein have blasted Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire for delivering nothing but "waffle, waffle, waffle" to the Stormont crisis talks.

Michelle O'Neill, who has replaced Martin McGuinness as leader of the party in the region, said she cut a meeting short with Mr Brokenshire because of the "waffle".

Talks are being held between Stormont's political parties and the Secretary of State in a bid to restore the power-sharing executive. Parties have just three weeks to reach a deal.

One of the main issues raised by Sinn Fein with Mr Brokenshire was the need for financial assistance to deal with inquests into deaths during the Troubles.

"We needed a fundamental change in approach from the British Government. We made that very clear to James Brokenshire today. All he did was waffle, waffle and more waffle in relation to how we are going to go forward and give families what they need, which is access to due process as per the request of the Lord Chief Justice," Ms O'Neill said.

She added: "We called the meeting to an end because we had more waffle. We called the meeting short and asked him to go and reflect on that."

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Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said that money for legacy inquests had been set aside, at the request of the Lord Chief Justice, as part of a previous Stormont agreement, know as the Fresh Start Agreement.

He added: "Some families have been waiting 45 years. This affects all victims regardless of who the perpetrators have been. They need to get those inquests underway. They have been delayed, stopped and prevented because the British refuse to give the funds.

"(On Monday) (Mr Brokenshire) said he would reflect on that. It is clear that if he had reflected he had come to no good conclusion."

Sinn Fein has met with the DUP and further meetings are planned, said Mr Adams. He added this was an indication that issues were being tackled.

Earlier, former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Hain said Prime Minister Theresa May must call an urgent summit to restore the Northern Ireland Executive or direct rule will be inevitable.

However, a senior Government source told the Press Association there was no reason for Mrs May to become intensively involved in post-election talks at this stage.

The source said the more sensible approach is for Mr Brokenshire to take the lead, as previous secretaries of state have done in the past.

However, Mrs May's involvement at some stage in the future has not been ruled out.

Mr Brokenshire and Irish foreign minister Charlie Flanagan have been mandated by the British and Irish governments to lead the talks.

The Government source also disputed Lord Hain's comments that the London and Dublin Governments had "taken their eyes off the ball" and said that under the current Government there have been two major political agreements and the longest period of unbroken devolved government since the 1960s.

Last week's Assembly election ended the unionist majority at Stormont, with Sinn Fein now just a solitary seat behind the DUP.

DUP party leader Arlene Foster met with her MLAs for the first time since the election.

Following their meeting she said she was "delighted" with the support she had received from her colleagues.

She added that she was looking forward to going into the negotiations to "get a good deal, not just for unionism but for all the people of Northern Ireland".
The desert location in Utah, where Galway student Ilaria Cinelli led a team of six astronauts to prepare for a manned mission to Mars

An NUI Galway student led a "mission to Mars" in an extreme assignment into the Utah desert that replicated technological explorations of the red planet.

PhD student Ilaria Cinelli was tasked with leading a mission exploring how people would cope if they lived on Mars. The work was undertaken from the Mars Desert Research Station in the Utah desert in the USA.

Ms Cinelli, originally from Italy, studies in the college of engineering and informatics in Galway.

She explained that the extreme conditions created in the Utah desert were down to a lack of basic supplies - such as food, water, electricity and wifi.

"The purpose of this mission was to investigate the impact of isolation on human behaviour, performance and leadership," Ms Cinelli said.

"The Mars simulation experiment is aimed at increasing the physiological and technical autonomy of the crew in preparation for an actual long-term mission over a number of years," she added.

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During the mission, Ms Cinelli and her team of six were tasked with engineering ways to sustain themselves without support.

It is similar to the challenge that faced the character Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, in the blockbuster movie 'The Martian', where he is left behind on Mars and forced to fend for himself.

"The mission was the first for most of the crew, who had never experienced living in such an extreme environment before," Ms Cinelli said.

"They made great progress throughout the mission by stepping outside of their comfort zone, overcoming stress, increasing control and overall performance," she added.

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Ms Cinelli, in her role as commander, was tasked with logging the behavioural changes of her crew in order to predict future human behaviour on Mars.
Aoife Winterlich who died having been swept into the seat at Hook Head.

A tragic scout who was swept into the sea then fell 45 feet after reaching the door of a coastguard helicopter during a rescue operation.

An incident report from the Air Accident and Investigation Unit Ireland (AAIU) into the circumstances surrounding the death of Aoife Winterlich (14) has found that the winchman who opted to lift her and a second teen out of the water simultaneously made a "sound decision".

Aoife, from Walkinstown in Dublin, was with her scout troop walking along the coast at Hook Head, Co Wexford when she was swept into the sea, alongside another boy.

The male teen stayed with her and told investigators that she was unresponsive from shortly after they entered the water.

The Irish coastguard centre in Dublin received a call at 02.04pm and were told that a "number of kids" were in the water and a helicopter from a Waterford base was dispatched. The crew arrived on the scene minutes later, at 2.13pm and a winchman entered the water less than a minute later.

When he reached her, Aoife was "pale and unresponsive" he told investigators. The second teen was supporting her, anxiously keeping her head above water, despite the risk to his own safety. He tried to perform CPR on her before the rescue team arrived on scene. Investigators praised the teenager for his "exceptional effort" and for staying with his scouting pal during the ordeal.

On his arrival, the winchman said Aoife seemed to be drifting under the water and he was concerned, based on previous experience that the casualties would stop trying to swim on arrival of rescue services.

"The winchman was also concerned that if he winched one casualty to the helicopter, that the other would not be able to remain afloat until he returned," the report states.

When deciding to winch both to safety at the same time he "considered that his only option" according to the report.

However, as the winchman and the two teens reached the door of the helicopter and were about to be recovered Aoife slipped through the strop (a type of harness used in rescues of this type) being used to lift her and fell approximately 45ft into the sea. She was in the water for 31 seconds after the second fall.

The winchman immediately returned to the water and successfully transported her to the helicopter.

Afterwards the crew spent time looking for a third casualty in the water before the male teen told them there was only the two of them and the helicopter then made its way to hospital.

Photographic and video evidence from the scene of the accident were handed over to investigators. Some show the choppy condition of the sea around the time of the accident, others show the incident itself. The footage shows the tragic teen's jacket was pulled over her head and off her during the second fall and was never recovered.

The AAIU noted that due to the high risk nature of rescue operations "there is always the possibility for a scenario to develop that has not previously been trained for".

It also highlights that there is no specific guidance on winching an unresponsive casualty from the water and the unit has recommended that guidance be prepared for all search and rescue teams about the risks associated with winching casualties, whether conscious or unconscious, by use of a helicopter rescue strop.

"The Investigation considers that the winchman made a reasonable decision given his perception of the prevailing circumstances, the imminent risk to life and the consequent time pressure that he faced," the report states.

"The Investigation acknowledges the challenges faced by the winchman in placing each casualty into a separate rescue strop and preparing them for winching in a rolling sea and trying to secure both casualties during the winching process."

Aoife died in hospital a number of days after the accident, on December 10.

The report also notes evidence from the post-mortem which found no evidence of primary or traumatic brain injury. Evidence was found of a "period of somatic survival following resuscitation following a near drowning episode".

At her funeral her brother Martin paid tribute to her as the 'teen that we all wanted to be'.

Aoife was quick to embrace new ideas, concepts and experiences, constantly evolving and always trying to figure out what she wanted to be, he said.

Compassion was one of Aoifes many virtues  always seeing the value in everything and everyone. Wise and mature when she needed to be, less so when it suited her, Aoife wasnt your average person, she was the 14-year-old we all wanted to be but didnt have the guts, he added.
The introduction of a warning system for those found to be wasting water has been tabled in a bid to prevent a flurry of cases being brought before the courts. Stock Image

Water wasters will escape penalties entirely if they can produce evidence within six months that they have taken the necessary steps to restrict their usage.

The introduction of a warning system for those found to be wasting water has been tabled in a bid to prevent a flurry of cases being brought before the courts.

The "grace period" of at least six months may even be extended if water wasters can convince Irish Water they are not responsible for large-scale leakages on their properties.

In a draft report circulated to the Oireachtas water committee, chairman senator Padraig O Ceidigh said any charge for so-called 'excessive usage' should be rolled-out in a similar way to the levy on plastic bags.

"Users who would otherwise be liable to an excessive usage charge will be provided with a grace period of at least two quarters to reduce leakage below the appropriate threshold," the report said.

"This grace period may be extended in certain circumstances with the approval of Irish Water," it said.

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Sources in Fianna Fail and Fine Gael last night said they are favourable towards establishing a warning system.

The proposal means few households will ever end up being penalised for so-called 'excessive usage'.

Its details emerged as Housing Minister Simon Coveney gave his clearest indication yet he is prepared to overhaul a 2007 piece of legislation to ensure Ireland meets its EU requirements in relation to excessive usage.

A spokesperson for the minister said, however, there would need to be "fundamental changes" to the law in order to ensure Ireland meets its EU requirements.

The act provides for a 5,000 fine and/or a three-month prison sentence for offenders.

But the news of the six-month reprieve means such penalties are unlikely to be enforced.

Mr Coveney has also given the backing to a request from the committee to extend its deadline for the final water report by four weeks to April 14.

Read more: Water deal back on table as FG softens its stance on wastage penalties

This means the Dail is likely to vote to scrap water charges in early May, when the country could potentially have a new Taoiseach.

The 33-page report, compiled by committee chairman and senator Mr O Ceidigh, indicates that compromise is being reached in a number of key areas.

All parties except Fine Gael clearly state their preference for the one million households that have paid their bills to get a refund. The report details that Fine Gael still favours the idea of chasing householders which haven't paid.

But the party accepts this approach creates the prospect of administrative costs.

Differences still remain within the committee, with some parties expressing their opposition to the continuation of the metering programme.

Fine Gael TD Kate O'Connell - a member of the committee - said she hopes it doesn't take too long for the committee to reach a compromise.

"There's no reason to end all the work we've done over the last 10 weeks right now and have no solution," Ms O'Connell said.
Members of the 55th Infantry Group pictured during training exercises in preparation for the deployment to the Golan Heights. Photo: Mark Condren

Last year she was the face of the military in a very successful recruitment campaign for the Defence Forces.

Now she is about to become a platoon sergeant with an Irish peacekeeping group being deployed in one of the most sensitive areas in the world - the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel.

Sgt Valerie Cole (31), from Annaduff, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, will serve for six months with the 55th Infantry Group in the Undof (United Nations disengagement observer force) mission.

It is not everybody's idea of a perfect location in the sun.

But Sgt Cole says she is "really looking forward" to her deployment in April and describes the Golan mission as a challenge she has always wanted to tackle. She was also the central figure in a promotional video used by the Defence Forces in 2016.

But yesterday, she was relying on her training and experience, including an overseas stint in Chad in 2009, as she put her platoon through its paces at the Glen of Imaal in the Wicklow mountains.

The exercise is part of three weeks of field training at Kilworth camp in Cork and the Glen, during which commanders and soldiers are put through scenarios based on potential threats they could encounter in the mission area.

The programme ranges from anti-ambush tactics using advanced weapon systems, to coping with simulated explosive and air strikes, to detailed planning and traditional peacekeeping methods.

While almost a third of the 130-strong group are first-timers overseas, Regimental Sgt Major John Murray (57) is undertaking his 15th mission abroad, including nine tours of duty in Lebanon.

While he says the challenge presented by the Golan is similar to his first peacekeeping mission in 1981, the young soldiers in the 55th infantry group are better educated and have broader skill sets.

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He is from a Newbridge, Co Kildare, family with a strong military tradition, his grandfather having removed the British flag from Parkgate military barracks in Dublin while serving under Michael Collins at 22 years of age, as the youngest sergeant major in the State.

The officer commanding the group, Lieutenant Colonel David Cowhig, says it will deploy in an area that is stable at the moment, although developments elsewhere in Syria are carefully monitored.

The primary responsibility is to act as the Undof force reserve company, which includes a small and highly mobile quick reaction force.

The force is also currently carrying out contingency planning to re-occupy some of the posts lost in the past but he cannot say if those plans will be implemented during his deployment.

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Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Mary Carroll is currently in charge of the 54th Infantry Group serving with the Undof mission in the Golan Heights.

She is the first female Irish officer to take command of an overseas unit and also the first woman to command armed troops in the history of the mission, which has existed since 1974 in response to the Syrian-Israeli war.

But she thinks it is regrettable in 2017 that "my appointment is newsworthy at all".

Nine of the 130 soldiers deployed with the 54th Infantry Group are women, and she says she is filled with pride when she sees female colleagues acquitting themselves so well in a challenging environment.
I didn't see Coronation Street last Wednesday. It is too soon for me to watch anything that even remotely resembles my own experience. In the popular soap, Michelle Connor, played by Kym Marsh, went into labour at 23 weeks, her waters breaking at her baby shower in true soap style. She was rushed to hospital and delivered her baby to his inevitable death, in a maternity ward surrounded by the sound of crying newborns.

By all accounts it was well handled and sensitively portrayed, unsurprising given that the actors involved have experienced late miscarriages - both Kym Marsh and Simon Gregson, who plays her husband Steve McDonald, lost babies at 21 weeks. Social media was awash with women praising the storyline and sharing their experiences and the media responded to the interest by calling on miscarriage and stillbirth support groups to advise people on how to respond to women in a similar situation. Women like me.

Last March I gave birth to a boy at 19 weeks, but his heart had stopped beating a week or so before that. Maybe I am imagining it but I believe I can pinpoint the very moment he died. It was a Tuesday evening. I was lying in a warm bath and I felt a couple of slow movements and then nothing. Experts will say that it was too early to feel anything at that stage of pregnancy, but I thought I had been feeling flutters from about 15 weeks. I started to get a horrible sense of foreboding at about 17 weeks and that night in the bath I just knew that the baby I was carrying had perished.

My husband told me I was worrying too much and reassured me somewhat. He's right, I told myself, all pregnant women worry - particularly 41-year-old pregnant women. I took comfort in remembering what the consultant had told the 12-weeks-pregnant me at my check-in visit at Holles Street: "At this stage, there is a less than 1pc chance of anything going wrong with this pregnancy." I tried to put all thoughts of doom out of my mind and went to bed.

As soon as I dropped my then three-year-old daughter to creche the next morning I rang the Merrion Fetal clinic to book a scan. I didn't have a consultant to call as I was a public patient at the midwife-led clinic at the National Maternity Hospital, as I had been with my daughter. I made an appointment for a 'reassurance' scan for the Friday and busied myself with work and mothering for the intervening couple of days.

A colleague dropped me to the hospital after a meeting. I mentioned half-jokingly that there would probably be bad news. I went in and sat in the waiting room until I was called. I lay on the bed as the midwife applied gel on my stomach and asked me if I wanted to know the sex. I just want to see if the baby is alive, I told her. She went quiet.

As she moved the transducer over my stomach we could see the baby curled up. There was a bit of movement and for a tiny moment I started to hope. But it was just my pulse. The silence was deafening. That horrible, empty silence that is every pregnant woman's worst nightmare. It sucked the oxygen out of the room and I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. Even though I had been expecting bad news, the silence shocked me. I forced myself to stay calm. "It's dead, isn't it?" I said. "I knew it would be dead."

I can't remember exactly what she said after that but she was so very nice to me. And I felt sorry for her having to share in this horrific moment. I felt sorry for the other women in the waiting room who had to see my face as she led me in to the special room they have for people whose babies will never take a breath. I felt sorry for my devastated husband when he came to get me after I broke the news and I felt most sorry for my three-year-old daughter who would be so disappointed that she was never going to meet her much anticipated brother or sister.

I chose to spend the weekend at home before I went in to the hospital to begin the process of delivering the baby and I will always be grateful that I had that precious time. To say goodbye, to try and get my head around what was happening, to give the poor little mite inside me some time with his family.

I don't let my mind go back to the rest of the story. It is still too raw and too scary. It is too precious and it is too soon to share. I will some day, because the only thing that got me through the experience was reading the stories of others who had lost babies so late. I wanted all their intimate gory details so I would know what to expect. The thought of delivering a dead baby scared me so much and reading their stories helped me. It made me feel less of an anomaly - and less alone. It gave me a context for the horror and the disappointment and the shock. It wasn't just me. This happened to other women, too, and they survived.

But the majority of experiences I read, while they did help me feel less alone, they also made me feel like an outlier. Because unlike Michelle in Coronation Street, I wasn't desperate to meet my perished baby and hold him tight for as long as I could. I was terrified. Terrified of what he would look like. Petrified of my reaction. Horrified at the idea of unleashing the tide of overwhelming grief and trauma that I am still keeping at bay.

I didn't want to do any of the things that the wonderful bereavement nurse and the incredibly kind chaplain suggested. I didn't want to name the baby, I didn't want to take pictures, I didn't want to have a funeral, I didn't want to see him, I didn't want it to be real.

But I trusted them - and the advice of my amazing friend who had herself recently lost her baby - and I did some of those things. And as it turned out, naming the baby has made it much easier for my daughter to process the event. But, unless it comes from her, I dread hearing that name. It hurts every cell in my body to hear it. It hits me at a visceral, cellular level, in the same primal place as did my daughter's newborn cries.

The advice given by some of the support groups in the wake of the Coronation Street story suggests using the baby's name when talking to bereaved parents. To me, that would be like a sucker punch. That name reminds me that maybe everything I believed about myself was a lie: that I was strong, that I was healthy, that I was lucky, that life would be good to me. It brings me to a place where I feel like damaged goods, like a faulty woman because I failed to sustain that poor little baby's life and in that I let down my husband, my parents, my daughter, our family - all the people who were excited at the thought of our new baby, the baby that would have been their son, grandson, nephew, cousin, their baby brother.

Which is why I decided to write this piece. Not to criticise that advice - because I know that it is good advice probably for the majority of women - but to add another voice to the conversation. To share a part of my still unfolding story in the hope that it might be a balm to some other woman reading this who doesn't want to talk about her baby with anyone, even her closest friends. To pay it forward for the stories that helped me.

One piece I read in particular soothed me. It was an essay by the American writer Ariel Levy. She too gave birth at 19 weeks, in a hotel bathroom on a press trip to Mongolia. Her baby lived for a few minutes and her essay is one of the most compelling, honest, irreverent pieces I have ever read. It made me laugh and cry and, for some reason, it made me feel like less of an outlier. She describes her moments with her son as "black magic" and I really like that phrase. Seeing my 19-week-old baby boy was awesome in the real sense of the word. I bore witness to a miracle arrested, putting my eyes on a being that was not of this world and was not yet mine to see. Those moments I spent with him opened a vortex that can never be closed. It was both unnatural and supernatural. Like black magic.
The world's press get a close look at all the new models for 2017 at this year's Geneva Motor Show. Photo: Getty Images

This year's Geneva Motor Show can, I think, be summed up with six words.

They are: 'Takeover', 'SUV', 'Autonomous', 'Facelift', 'Hybrid' and 'Electric'.

And despite all that appearing to provide a sumptuous menu of metal, it was short on truly outstanding cars.

There wasn't the sort of car here you'd talk about, tell people back home about, remember vividly when away from the gala and the glitz.

So here are the props that shaped it and my memories of Geneva 2017.

TAKEOVER: The show was, of course, dominated and to an extent overshadowed, by the news of PSA's takeover of Opel/Vauxhall - a seismic development for the business and all concerned in both companies.

The takeover makes the new alliance the second largest in Europe after Volkswagen.

On the stands it was difficult to gauge the mood of what it will all mean. Everyone is being ultra cautious; most are saying it is too soon to know what the medium term will produce. There are fears and there are hopes.

Overall, though, it has been a good few days for PSA (Peugeot and Citroen), and more particularly Peugeot as its 3008 SUV, just arrived in Ireland, was voted European Car of the Year.

As well as that PSA, to their credit, has just published 'real-world' fuel consumption figures for 1,000 Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars. In totaly 58 models were involved. They are asking people at the show to log on to their country's respective websites so they can check their average consumption.

The web-based application lets you view the data for your model.

So far this is possible only in France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain and Switzerland but we'll all get it over time. And about time. Others please copy, as they say. The days of fantasy MPG are nearing an end.

SUV: Everywhere you look there is an SUV of some, shape or size. And if they are not SUVs they are crossovers or coupes/estates/hatchbacks trying to be crossovers.

There is no stopping the trend. We're going to buy more and more and more of them for a long, long time.

Autonomous: I was surprised some of the cars didn't drive themselves to the show such was the talk and exposition of autonomous drive elements highlighted at nearly every second stand.

Facelift: I've seldom come across a show that had so many 'revised' models as opposed to brand new. It can happen that a generation of cars hit mid-life around the same time.

Hybrid: These are the 'bridge' cars to an electric future in many people's eyes. And there are lots of them here from small to large, such as the Lexus LS 500h.

Electric: A modern carmaker can't afford to be without an electric car of some sort or shape, be it concept or imminent.

A few appear to be trailing a little but Jaguar's I-Pace electric SUV shows just how much of a role electric power will play. I thought there would be more - Volkswagen had a good show of strength on that front - but I'm certain lots will arrive next time.

Overall, however, the show didn't ignite the sort of enthusiasm I expected.

We've come to expect so much from cars now that we're disappointed at anything less than spectacular.
From design shops to 'breakfast' at 3pm, Poland's capital is abuzz with creativity, says Travel Writer of the Year Yvonne Gordon.

"It's big - these places are really trendy," says Kuba Wesolowski.

We're standing outside two hummus bars. There are so many of these, my walking guide tells me excitedly, that newspapers regularly rank the 'best hummus bars' in Warsaw.

It's not what I expected on my first visit to the Polish capital, but this is only the start. Before arriving, I had a grey, austere image of Warsaw, so I was surprised to find a city full of colour and design trends, with an exciting, creative buzz. Even the first guidebooks I see, in design shop Pan Tu Nie Stal (pantuniestal.com), are 'alternative guides' to the city, with locals giving their own subjective take.

We stop at a cafe called Charlotte (bistrocharlotte.pl) and are lucky to get a table before a queue forms - and it's only mid-afternoon on a weekday. This is Saviour Square (above), nicknamed by locals as 'Hipster Square', although there isn't a man bun or beard in sight - Kuba explains that in Warsaw, a 'hipster' means a rich kid, with the latest Mac and expensive clothing with no labels (another trend).

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People flock to Charlotte for its jazzy French music and playful vibe - on the centre of each table are three huge, old-fashioned jars of spread; white chocolate, orange and strawberry. Taking a big dollop of white chocolate for his croissant (we're having 'breakfast' at 3pm - another thing to do in Warsaw), Kuba explains how capitalism arrived in Poland, along with a slew of fast-moving trends, after Communism ended in 1989.

Food is a good example. "When capitalism came in, pizzas were thick dough with ketchup, always ketchup," he laughs. "That was the pizza trend. Then, when there was more money, it was sushi. Now, it's hummus or falafel in pitta bread. It's all organic, eco, Fairtrade and slow food."

After 'breakfast', we walk along the designer shopping street, Mokotowska - where small boutiques sell jewellery and high-end fashion. The cool labels here are Polish, not international, and most prices are in the hundreds rather than thousands. Fragrance shop GaliLu (galilu.pl) has hundreds of tempting bottles lined up on shelves, and between the boutiques there are salons, flower shops and patisseries.

Warsaw is a city where visitors can design things too. If you feel creative, at Mo61 Perfume Lab (below, mo61.pl) you can create your own perfume from hundreds of bottles of scents. Trained staff guide customers, starting with a base like sandalwood or white tea, adding a flower note such as daisy or jasmine, then an aromatic note like pink pepper or vanilla to give character. It can take from 20 minutes to two hours to make the perfect scent.

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Elsewhere in the city, design and drinks mix at Pies Czy Suka (Szpitalna 8), where you can drink molecular cocktails that seem like chemical experiments, buy designer household items... or both. At the old-fashioned E.Wedel chocolate lounge (wedelpijalnie.pl/en), you design your own hot chocolate - picking a base of either milk, white or bittersweet, adding flavours like cranberry or salted caramel, and finishing with cream, ice-cream or alcohol.

It's refreshing to explore a city where, sometimes, what you expect to be a trend is the opposite. A flagship Burger King has opened at Constitution Square, with Communist interiors - marble walls and huge chandeliers. Meanwhile over at the Michelin-starred restaurant Atelier Amaro (atelieramaro.pl), where you'd expect chandeliers, I'm served a box of soil and an implement to dig- out my starter of garlic, sorrel root and Jerusalem artichoke (thankfully, most of the other delicious courses come on plates). Meanwhile the old milk bars -self-service canteens where you get cheap, plain food like soup and dumplings - are even having a renaissance.

Nowhere is Warsaw's mix of styles more evident than in its buildings. Shiny new glass and steel structures sit alongside huge, grey, Soviet-era blocks, while in the colourful Old Town, tourists admire buildings from the 13th century plus the old marketplace, Royal Castle and St John's Archcathedral, all painstakingly reconstructed after WWII damage.

A good way to appreciate the mix is the viewing platform of the Palace of Culture and Science. Skyscrapers like the 52-story Zlota 44 by Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind sit near the ornate older buildings along streets like Aleje Jerozolimskie. The Palace of Culture itself was a 'gift' from the Soviets in 1955 - though Kuba tells me it's still controversial; older people see it as a symbol of Soviet dominance but young people see it as cool.

Seeing the cool factor in something old is another trend. Designer Malgorzata Kotlonek-Horoch of Goshico (goshico.com) started designing felt bags using old Polish embroidery styles - they became so popular, a felt-bag trend was born. Now every shop in the city has copies.

Meanwhile, at Praga, a run-down suburb on the city's east side - formerly a no-go for visitors - old industrial spaces like Soho Factory are home to design companies, architects, the Neon Museum (neonmuseum.org) and cool dining space Warszawa Wschodnia (gessler.sohofactory.pl).

Even Google has a new Campus in Praga - in a former vodka distillery. But as any global company that moves here will find, this is a city that, rather than trying to follow any global trends, is most definitely setting its own.

3 must-dos...

Palace of Culture

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Polands tallest building, this Socialist-Realist palace is home to four theatres, two museums, a cinema, two bars, a pool, two public libraries and more  take a tour to see the underground rooms, ballrooms and 30th-floor viewing deck (or you can just visit the deck without a tour). See pkin.pl.

Polin Museum

If you see just one museum, make this it. Set over eight galleries, the Polin Museum tells the story of the history of the Jews going back 1,000 years, not just the Holocaust. Each gallery is different (one is even a street) and interactive exhibits will keep your attention. Fascinating. See polin.pl.

Old Town

Worth seeing for its medieval architecture, cobbled alleys, city walls and moat, Warsaws Old Town was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt. The Market Place has 17th-century merchants houses and you can also see the Royal Castle. Walk from here along the Krakowskie Przedmiescie.

Get there

Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) flies from Dublin to Warsaw Chopin Airport and Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from Dublin and Shannon to Warsaw Modlin. For more on what to see and do in Warsaw, see warsawtour.pl or for Poland info, see poland.travel.

Where to stay

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With a central location opposite the Palace of Culture, the Polonia Palace (above) is one of the citys oldest hotels and rooms are cosy but modern (doubles from 275PLN/64; poloniapalace.com). Or book a trendy studio with kitchenettes at the H15 Boutique Hotel (doubles from 360PLN/83, h15boutiqueapartments.com).

What to pack

Warsaw is quite casual, even in top-end restaurants. Pack comfy shoes if you'll be doing a lot of walking and appropriate clothing if visiting churches. Seasons are well-defined, but prepare for temperatures that can rise to 30C or more in July and August, and drop to -3C in winter.

Yvonne Gordon was named Irish Travel Journalist of the Year 2016 at the Travel Extra Travel Journalism Awards.

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Captain Louise Gilroy and First Officer Amy Cunningham on flight EI162. Photo: MaxwellPhotography.ie

Turnaround Coordinator Eileen Quinn liaises with Cabin Service Manager Fiona Power ahead of Aer Lingus flight EI162 which departed for London Heathrow from Dublin at noon today.

Dublin Airport Duty Manager Sharon Carlyle leads the Flight Crew, Cabin Crew and Guest Service Agents ahead of Aer Lingus flight EI162. Photo: MaxwellPhotography.ie

Aer Lingus operated a flight from Dublin to London with an all-female team, in celebration of International Women's Day.

Flight EI162 departed for London Heathrow at noon, piloted by Captain Louise Gilroy and First Officer Amy Cunningham (below).

The pilots were joined by an all-female cabin crew, with operational roles including Turnaround Co-ordinator, Flight Operations Officer, Dublin Airport Duty Manger and Guest Service Agents all carried out by women.

40 years since Grainne Cronin became Aer Lingus's first female pilot, 10pc of the airline's pilots are now female. In total, the airline says it employs some 2,000 female staff.

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"We need more women in visible leadership positions, who will challenge the norms and find new ways of working if our industry is to keep apace with change," said Captain Gilroy.

"I hope that young girls and women will see opportunities for them in a career in aviation or aerospace.

International Women's Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year's theme is #BeBoldForChange. For more details, visit internationalwomensday.com or follow #IWD2017.

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British Airways plane sat on the tarmac at Gatwick for more than five hours due to a shortage of loo roll.

Passengers on BA flight 2153 from London to Barbados were delayed because their aircraft had not been prepared satisfactorily, forcing the airline to assemble a new ground crew to restock the likes of toilet paper and headphones.

The Boeing 777, which can carry 280 passengers, was due to leave the London airport at 1.40pm on Sunday but did not depart until 6.51pm. It arrived at Bridgetown just before midnight, five-and-a-half hours later than scheduled.

Under European legislation on flight delays, each of the travellers is entitled to compensation of 520 - or 600, meaning the carrier could be left with a bill for up to 145,600 (or around 168,141). The delayed outbound flight meant that the return service also left nearly six hours late, taking potential compensation to 291,200, or approximately 336,000.

Annabel Cliffe, one of passengers flying from Gatwick to Bridgetown, tweeted an hour into the delay: Sat on plane @ Gatwick delayed with no idea of departure for wrong headphones!! Really? #Notgoodenough.

Three and a half hours later she added: Loo roll and passengers now back on board!! Over 3 hrs late and counting will we ever leave LGW!!?

@British_Airways BA2153 loo roll & passengers now back on board !! Over 4 hrs late & counting will we ever leave lgw!!?  Annabel (@AJCliffe1) March 5, 2017

Another flier, Bill Murray, tweeted: Utter shambles. BA cost cutting means were all disembarked due to shortage of bog roll. Congrats - BA laughing stock.

Severely delayed because they forgot the loo rolls, said a third, Paul Kaye.

@British_Airways BA2153 severely delayed because they forgot the loo rolls!  Paul Kaye (@paulkaye100) March 5, 2017

One of the inbound travellers tweeted that she was told the wrong kind of cleaners had caused the delay.

A spokesperson for BA said: We are sorry customers were delayed after some of the many items needed for the flight werent loaded onto the aircraft."

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Malta's iconic 'Azure Window' has collapsed following a storm.

The world-famous sea arch, which featured in Game of Thrones, is reported to have collapsed into the sea at around 9.40am this morning.

The news was described as "heartbreaking" by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a tweet sent shortly afterwards.

"Reports commissioned over the years indicated that this landmark would be hard hit by unavoidable natural corrosion," he said.

Maltese public shocked by Azure window collapse - Gozitans go to see for themselves - https://t.co/WoJNSMX24H pic.twitter.com/xK6Ef6Qi5F  Television Malta (@TelevisionMalta) March 8, 2017

"That sad day arrived."

Locals were streaming to the see the sight for themselves this morning, according to a report in the Times of Malta. The police have since issued a Facebook appeal advising people to avoid the area, it adds.

The 50m Azure Window, located near Dwejra Bay in Gozo, was one of the Maltese Islands' most distinctive sites, attracting thousands of tourists every year.

Its fame grew thanks to HBO's Game Of Thrones, where it served as backdrop for the wedding between Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen.

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In recent years, however, concerns about the landmark's condition had grown - with access forbidden due to falling rocks.

A three-month geological study published in 2013 concluded that erosion was inevitable at the site, and today, photos appear to show that both the arch and its supporting stacks have been wiped off the map completely.

We are deeply saddened to lose such a magnificent landmark," says Peter Vella, Director of the Malta Tourism Authority for the UK and Ireland.

"The Azure Window was a spectacular site and a natural wonder. Although this is a very sad day for Malta & Gozo, Dwejra still has other great sites for tourists, such as the inland sea and the Fungus Rock.

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The trick to cheaper flights? Dip into one of the growing number of fares comparison sites, says Nick Trend.

How quickly things change. Ive had to book a few different flights recently  including returns to Madrid and to Rome.

For years, the standard options on routes like these would have been easyJet or Ryanair; or possibly BA, or the rival national airline for the destination concerned.

This time Ive ended up travelling on Vueling  a Spanish low-cost airline  for the Rome visit, and Norwegian to and from Madrid. These were options which didnt exist a year or two ago on these routes.

So how do you keep up with changes like these?

Because of the way the market operates, the strategy for finding the best-value short-haul flights is different than for long haul. Instead, your starting point should be a fares-comparison site which will give you an overview of the airlines operating any particular route, and a guide to the latest fares available.

The best of these are skyscanner.ie and google.ie/flights, which is steadily becoming a more and more powerful tool.

I personally find Skyscanner easier to navigate, but Im getting to like the rather slicker Google interface and the way it keeps adding helpful extras  for example, it now has an indication of whether, and by how much, a flight is subject to delay.

Other price-comparison sites to try include travelsupermarket.com, kayak.ie - which recently launched an Irish site - and cheapflights.co.uk.

But none of these sites is perfect, and you need to be wary of a few things when using them. Here are some booking tips:

Go direct

A critical point to look out for is the booking links you are offered.

Nearly always, as well as (or instead of) a direct link to the airline concerned, you will be offered links to online agents which can book the flights for you. For flight-only bookings on short-haul routes, these will nearly always be more expensive and are unlikely to offer any advantages.

So always book direct with the airline concerned. If there is no direct link to that airline offered, find one.

Watch out for stopovers

Be wary of indirect flights. Most sites offer options which include a change of flight. For those travelling from regional airports with fewer flights to choose from, this may be a good option.

But dont book such flights accidentally  it can add hours to the flight time.

Check the airports

Most fares are listed as singles, so it can be cheaper to fly out with one airline, and back with another. But this sometimes involves returning to a different airport than the one you flew from.

Remember the extras

As well as the headline fare, extras  booking a seat, hold baggage, credit card fees, etc  cost different amounts with different airlines.

Comparison sites cant give the final breakdown for all options, so if you want to be sure you have the cheapest flights, check these extra costs.

Read more:

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Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Go somewhere different.

With the current exchange rate and the short drive across the border, there has never been a better time for a staycation in Northern Ireland.

If you want to see the best of whats packed into this wee country, take the unforgettable Causeway Coast road trip.

Giants, Game of Thrones and gorgeous beaches. Still need persuading? Take a look at the top 5 reasons your next break away should be to the Causeway Coast:

Beautiful beaches

We are spoiled on the island of Ireland with some of the most stunning beaches in the world and Northern Ireland is no exception. Portstewart Strand along the Causeway Coastal Route was the only Irish beach to make CNNs list of the best beaches in the world.

While Portstewart might arguably be Northern Irelands favourite beach come the summer months, the adjoining beach town of Portrush in Co. Antrim has equally impressive views of the North Atlantic and has some of the best restaurants in the area.

Looking for something a bit more secluded? Make sure to check out Whitepark Bay which lies between two headlands on the North Antrim Coast.

The Land of Ice and Fire

Northern Ireland has made a name for itself as a top filming location thanks to Game of Thrones. The HBO programme has received worldwide acclaim and Northern Ireland has become a must-see destination for fans.

When you think of Game of Thrones locations, your mind first jumps to the iconic Dark Hedges which is just 20 minutes from the Giants Causeway.

Northern Ireland is home to several locations from the hit series from Downhill Strand near Castlerock to the Binevenagh Mountains. Make your way along the Causeway Coast spotting the best of Westeros: You can even book yourself in for a guided Game of Thrones tour.

Ancient Antrim

Some of the oldest and most unique tourist destinations are located along the Causeway Coastal Route. Dunluce Castle stands on a basalt stack 100ft above the North Atlantic with only an arched walkway connecting it to the mainland.

It dates all the way back to the 13th century and might be the best place in Northern Ireland to watch the sunset: youll just have to decide for yourself.

Next along the Coastal Route is the destination that really needs no introduction: the Giants Causeway. The volcanic marvel is made up of over 40,000 interlocking basalt stacks and was formed millions of years ago!

Relive the myth of Finn McCool at a stop along the Causeway Coast that definitely cannot be missed.

Fantastic food

Dotted along the Causeway Coastal Route are some of the best restaurants In Northern Ireland and given you are never more than half an hour from the sea, the fresh fish is a real treat.

Stop in one of the beach towns along the route for unrivalled seafood and even better views. Why not take a food tour? North Coast Walking Tours offer guided walks around the towns of Bushmills, Rathlin and Ballycastle giving you a taste of the best of the Causeway Coast.

For authentic Antrim eating, stay at Bushmills Inn. The hotel serves up local delicacies and promises guests a true taste of Antrim. Come for the food but stay for a glass of the hotels own personal cask of whiskey!

Cool coastal views

The untamed coastline along the Causeway Route makes for some of the most dramatic and incredible views in all of Ireland. With an almost 30ft drop below, crossing Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is not for the faint-hearted but out on the sea stack, unrivalled views of the North Atlantic make it all worthwhile.

While Mussenden Temple may be set on surer footing, the views of the beaches of Portstewart and Portrush to the east and Donegal to the west make the Co. Derry site equally breath-taking.

If you are after something a bit different, take the ferry across to Rathlin: Northern Irelands only inhabited offshore island to see a unique view of the whole Causeway Coast out at sea. Dont miss Rathlin West Light, Irelands only upside down lighthouse!

And thats not all! There is so much more to see and do along the Causeway Coastal Route from the historic walled city of Derry~Londonderry to the nine Glens of Antrim.

Prepare for the experience of a lifetime as you explore Northern Irelands dramatically beautiful Causeway Coastal Route. With its breathtakingly unique places, like the Dark Hedges, Portstewart Strand, the Giants Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, experience a short break packed full of unforgettable moments.

To discover the beauty of the Causeway Coastal Route on a short break, click here.

Sponsored by:
File photos of George and Amal Clooney, as Human Rights lawyer Amal Clooney has revealed she is happy to receive extra publicity because of her marriage if it helps shine a light on certain issues.

Human Rights lawyer Amal Clooney said she is happy to receive extra publicity because of her marriage to Hollywood star George Clooney if it helps shine a light on certain issues.

The British-Lebanese barrister will urge the United Nations to investigate Islamic State (also known as ISIS) for the crime of genocide against Yazidis in Iraq on Wednesday.

Speaking to BBC Outside Source, the 39-year-old said she had spoken to young girls who had been "raped and enslaved by ISIS".

"It's been the most harrowing testimony I've ever heard. We know it is genocide, the UN has said so.

"In other words ISIS are trying to destroy them as a group."

Amal, who is expecting twins, married actor Clooney in Venice in September 2014.

Asked what she thought of the extra attention her cases now received following the marriage, she said: " There's lots of my work that takes place behind closed doors that is not ever seen.

"I think If there are more people who now understand what's happening about the Yazidis and ISIS and if there can be some action that results from that those clients then I think it's a really good thing to give that case that extra publicity that it might get."

She added: "But If you don't have a good case and don't have a good message then shining a light on it is not going to get you very far."

Last month, George, 55, said he was "really happy and really excited" at the prospect of becoming parents.
To mark International Women's Day, we asked six Irish women what feminism means to them today.

Fatti Burke, Illustrator

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"For me, feminism means equality and respect for all women worldwide - no matter their orientation, social status, religion or colour. The best thing about being a woman in Ireland today are the other women that I get to meet - online and in real life. Solidarity and support are big cornerstones of modern Irish feminism, and I know so many amazing women here who have my back when I need them. The worst thing is having to protest for basic human rights.

No one person or event in particular shaped my ideas about women's rights - I was just raised with the idea that I am no less than my brothers and that I am capable of whatever I want to achieve. My mind wasn't always clear on the complexities of feminism, and may have been misguided in the past, but having access to wonderful educational resources online has really solidified my beliefs in recent years.

I can't speak for women worldwide, but in Ireland our most pressing issue is the fact that we are being denied bodily autonomy. This, along with the climate of everyday sexism and rape culture we inhabit, cements the notion that we are just vessels for other people to have control of. In one word, I'd describe feminism as equality."

Jane Swarbrigg, Director of Inglot Ireland

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"I strongly believe in equal rights, recognition and reward for women in every walk of life. Equality should be a given but sadly we often have to fight to attain whats most important in this world.

Feminism in my eyes is about power and the liberation of all women to ensure they always have a choice and a voice!"

Louise O'Reilly, Model and Blogger

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"Yes, I would consider myself a feminist. To me it's so broad, from supporting other women and celebrating their successes up to highlighting equal rights and human rights.

Working in the line of work I do, I think it's important to note that femininity and feminism are not mutually exclusive either. For example doing a beauty shoot or wearing a particular look doesn't make me any less of a feminist - the two can co-exist."

Danielle Winckworth, Creator of White & Green

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"I definitely consider myself a feminist.

Feminism to me is really just about equal rights. The misconception a lot of people have about feminism is thinking women deserve more or should be regarded as more than men, but this is absolutely not the case. It is simply about giving women a choice.

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I still think we have a long way to go in Ireland in terms of freedom of choice and wage inequality. But overall, being a woman here is great and there is a lovely sense of empowering each other. We have amazing, strong and successful women in Ireland now more than ever!"

Hilary O Hagan-Brennan, Executive Chef at 3FE

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"I do consider myself a feminist. To me, it means a society where your gender does not restrict you from success, whether that be education, employment or happiness. I feel really strongly about the employment one personally as I'm chef and its and a notoriously male dominated field with a lot of disparity when it comes pay and recognition for women in the industry. In my eyes we are all just chefs.

I have just returned from speaking at the Parabere Forum on behalf of Athru in Barcelona, a symposium promoting gender parity in the food industry. Athru was a symposium set up by some peers in the industry to address inequality in the culinary arts. Being a woman in 2017 is empowering."

Emma Fraser, Co-founder of Nine Crows and NotAnother Agency

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"For me, feminism is simple. If you believe men and women are equal and should be treated so then you are a feminist. It's as simple as that.

The best thing about being a woman in Ireland in 2017 is that we have the opportunity to be part of changing history and making this country a safer place for future generations of women. The energy around the repeal the 8th campaign is inspiring and it's the starting point for the women of this country standing up and saying, 'You can't do this to us anymore, we are here and we are not going anywhere until we get what we deserve'. I feel very privileged to be part of a generation that will witness changes that women have been fighting for for years. It is only the beginning and the repealing the 8th amendment is only the first step.

The worst part of being a woman in Ireland is that we don't have control over our own bodies. I also find that cat-calling women on the street is still accepted in our society, which is unacceptable and needs to be changed.

I was raised and influenced by strong, independent women. My mother and grandmother taught me to be strong and that I was able to achieve anything I put my mind to. I was given the tools to have the confidence to work for myself in a world dominated by men. I am influenced daily by the strong women of this country who have been fighting for their rights for years and years."
At least 19 people have been found dead at the scene of a fire in a shelter for children near Guatemala City, officials said.

A spokesman for Guatemala's volunteer fire departments, Mario Cruz, said that firefighters were still extinguishing parts of the blaze.

But he said that so far 19 bodies have been found and about two dozen people were being treated for injuries.

The national police department said a total of 38 people had been injured, while the country's health ministry said that 14 were in a serious condition with severe burns.

Dr Carlos Soto, the director of the Roosevelt Hospital where some were being treated, said the most severe cases, all apparently girls, had suffered life-threatening burns.

The shelter has been criticised for overcrowding, alleged abuse and escapes in the past.

The prosecutor for children's rights, Abner Paredes, said initial reports suggested the blaze started when some began setting fire to mattresses in the shelter, known as the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home.

There were reports of escape attempts on Tuesday at the shelter, which was created to house children who were victims of abuse, homelessness or who had completed sentences at youth detention centres and had nowhere else to go.

While the shelter was built to house 500 children and adolescents, it held an estimated 800 at the time of the fire.

AP
A 22-year-old British backpacker who was allegedly repeatedly raped and held captive in Australia has been released from hospital and is recovering with friends and family.

Queenland Police issued a statement to clarify that the alleged ordeal occured between February 3 and March 5 at various locations in Queensland.

"Police will allege the Manunda man met the woman on January 27 near Cairns and the offences occurred between February 3 and March 5 at various Queensland locations. An earlier statement indicated a different timeframe, however, this was incorrect information and has since been clarified," the police statement said.

A 22-year-old man faced Roma Magistrates Court on Monday after being charged with various offences. He has been remanded in custody and is due to reappear in court on May 23.

Backpacker who was raped, bashed and choked during a hostage ordeal has been saved by a routine traffic stop. https://t.co/vzWoLKfCdF #7News pic.twitter.com/8FlWBF43zX  7 News Queensland (@7NewsQueensland) March 7, 2017

The 22-year-old woman was found with fractures to her face and strangulation marks to her neck on Sunday when police pulled over the vehicle she was driving in the outback in Queensland after she failed to pay at a petrol station.

She told officers she had been held captive by a man she had met at a party in Cairns.

He subsequently damaged and invalidated her passport, possibly to prevent her escape, Queensland Police said.

Officers believe they saved her life after arresting the suspect who was hiding under clothes in a small alcove in the rear of the vehicle.

Detective Inspector Paul Hart told a press conference on Tuesday: "Police were really just attending a routine job in relation to a driver that was unable to pay for petrol."

But they noticed she had various injuries and was "overly alarmed" by the officers' presence when they pulled her over in Warrego Highway, Mitchell, around 300 miles from the east coast city of Brisbane.

"She advised that over a period of weeks she had been held against her will by the male person located in the vehicle," the officer said.

"It was established they had previously had a relationship but at some point it had soured and he basically deprived her of her liberty and committed a number of offences against her as they travelled around the state.

"What she has experienced is no doubt horrific and terrifying and we commend her for taking the opportunity to speak to our police.

"We have potentially saved this young girl's life. Given what's happened to her, the extent of what's happened over the period of time, anything might have transpired."
US President Donald Trump appeared to reinforce his campaign support for the continued use of Guantanamo Bay, decrying the release of detainees who returned to the battlefield.

The tweet was the first time Mr Trump had mentioned the detention centre since he took office.

He said: "122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!".

While the tweet pins the blame on the wrong president - the bulk of detainees who returned to the fight were released under then-President George W Bush - it also suggests that Mr Trump has not given up on the idea that Guantanamo should remain an active facility.

There has been no recent discussion of the draft executive order that surfaced shortly after Mr Trump took office. The draft, which was obtained by the Associated Press, endorsed the continued use of Guantanamo to hold enemy combatants including those from al Qaida, the Taliban and the Islamic State group.

During his campaign, Mr Trump said he not only wanted to keep the detention centre open, but "load it up with some bad dudes". He returned to that thought in an early January tweet, calling for an end to detainee releases, insisting that dangerous people should not be allowed back on the battlefield.

Asked on Tuesday about the status of the executive order, the White House declined to comment or say if one is in the works. When the draft leaked out in January, the White House said it was not official.

Commanders at Guantanamo have made clear that if needed they have the space and ability to take on more detainees. At its height in 2003 the facility held about 680 prisoners.

"I'm confident that I will get a little more notice than 'there is a plane in the air that's going to land in four hours' or whatever the case may be. The few days, if that's all I have, will be adequate for me to receive a small number of detainees," said Rear Admiral Peter J Clarke, the commander at the detention centre.

There is immediate room available for 150 prisoners in Camp 6, as well as about 80 cells in the adjacent Camp 5, where the military is building a new detainee medical clinic. There is also unused space encircled by razor wire and empty guard towers in nearby Camp Delta.

The US, however, has not been capturing a large number of prisoners as it did in the early days of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, so it is not clear where the Trump administration would find many new people to put in Guantanamo.

Former President Barack Obama had promised to shut down the facility and had pressed the Defence Department to get more of the detainees transferred out to other nations.

There were 201 transfers during his eight years in office, and the 41 detainees who now remain include 10 who are facing criminal charges and five who are currently eligible for transfer.

The Obama White House and human rights groups argued that Guantanamo was a waste of money and a "recruiting tool" for terrorists.

Mr Obama called for a plan to close the facility and transfer the remaining detainees to a prison in the United States.

The plan, which considered more than a dozen locations in the US and laid out potential construction costs of up to 475 million dollars (389 million), hit a wall of opposition from Congress, which passed a law prohibiting the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to America.

AP
Journalists stand outside entrance of the Santo Tomas public hospital in Panama City. (AP/Arnulfo Franco)

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is in critical condition Wednesday after undergoing two brain surgeries.

The 83-year-old underwent the first procedure on Tuesday morning to remove a benign tumour from his brain.

But after that surgery, doctors discovered a haemorrhage that forced them to go back in that afternoon, his daughters and lawyer said.

He was listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit of Santo Tomas public hospital in Panama City, attorney Ezra Angel said.

Mr Angel said that doctors had succeeded in stopping the bleeding during the second procedure and Mr Noriega was returned to intensive care.

"He is sedated," the lawyer said.

"His condition is critical after undergoing a (second) open brain surgery in less than eight hours."

Officials at the hospital did not comment or return calls.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Noriega's daughters, Thays and Sandra Noriega, said their father was returned to the operating room after doctors detected bleeding following the first operation to remove the tumour.

The tumour was detected in the months after Mr Noriega returned to Panama in December 2011 and was imprisoned for corruption and the killings of political opponents during his reign in the 1980s.

Doctors have said it grew unexpectedly recently and threatened the life of the former dictator, who has also suffered from vascular ailments and uses a wheelchair.

Mr Noriega was transferred from prison to house arrest on January 29 to prepare for the procedure, which was originally scheduled for mid-February.

The former general ruled Panama with an iron fist in 1983-89. He was ousted by a US invasion in 1989 and jailed for years in the United States on drug charges.

He was then imprisoned in France for money laundering, before being returned in 2011 to Panama, where he had already been convicted in absentia.

AP
Germany's foreign minister has expressed cautious optimism that Berlin and Ankara may begin to slowly reel diplomatic relations back to normal, following an escalation of tensions that culminated with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing Germany of "Nazi practices".

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said talks at a Berlin hotel over breakfast with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the first face-to-face official meeting since the diplomatic crisis began last week, were "good, honest and friendly, but also hard and contentious".

Over the last week, German municipalities have cancelled several events in which Turkish Cabinet ministers had planned to address rallies in Germany in support of a national referendum on constitutional reform that would give Mr Erdogan more powers.

Officials have cited issues of overcrowding and fire safety, among other things.

Some rallies have gone ahead, most recently with Mr Cavusoglu himself addressing a crowd in Hamburg late on Tuesday night, though not at the venue initially planned.

Germany's federal government has expressed increasing irritation over Turkish officials using Germany as a campaign platform, though it emphasised that it was not involved in blocking the rallies and could not intercede with the municipalities that did so.

About 1.4 million people of Turkish descent living in Germany are eligible to vote in the referendum.

Setting the stage for Wednesday's meeting, Mr Cavusoglu repeated Mr Ergogan's assertion late on Tuesday, saying Germany's "practices are similar to those of the Nazi era".

"There are lines that should not be crossed, and one of those is the comparison with Nazi Germany," Mr Gabriel said.

Mr Cavusoglu toned down his rhetoric after Wednesday's meeting, saying only that it seemed Germany was allowing anti-Erdogan campaigners to express their opinions while preventing his supporters from doing so.

"This does not fit democracy," he said at a Berlin trade fair. "Germany should not take sides."

Mr Cavusoglu told reporters that the meeting was fruitful and the two sides had agreed to meet again in Turkey at a later date.

"We shared our views in a very sincere atmosphere. We expect to continue this dialogue," he said.

Adding to the tensions, Turkey arrested German newspaper reporter Deniz Yucel, who Erdogan has accused of being both a German spy and a "representative" of the outlawed Kurdish rebel group PKK - a claim Germany has dismissed as "absurd" - and has not yet allowed any German consular access to him.

Mr Yucel, a reporter for Die Welt, was detained in Istanbul on February 14 over his reports about a hacker attack on the email account of the country's energy minister.

Mr Gabriel said he pushed for access to Mr Yucel, who has both Turkish and German citizenship, and lobbied for his release.

Even before the current rift, relations already were strained between the two countries over Germany's criticism of Mr Erdogan's crackdown following a failed coup as a flow of Turkish diplomats and soldiers sought asylum in Germany.

Germany has suggested it may not extradite suspects wanted by Turkey in cases it considers politically motivated, which has prompted Mr Erdogan to accuse Germany of having "become a shelter" for terrorists and for having no regard for other countries' national security issues.

The strife comes at a time when the European Union is relying on a migrant deal with Turkey that has significantly cut down the number of migrants crossing into Europe.

President Erdogan has several times threatened to quit the deal when expressing anger over European countries.

Germany also has reconnaissance aircraft deployed at a Nato base in Turkey as part of the alliance's fight against the Islamic State group.

Following his meeting with Mr Cavusoglu, Mr Gabriel told reporters that "we agreed that neither side has an interest in permanently damaging the relationship".

He noted that Germany and Turkey had long-standing ties, and said he hoped their initial meeting would help "bring us step by step back to a better relationship".

AP
A protesting farmer tries to escape from riot police officers during clashes outside the greek Agriculture Ministry. (AP/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Greek farmers have clashed with riot police outside the agriculture ministry in central Athens Wednesday, during a protest against bailout-related income cuts.

Police fired tear gas to prevent dozens of protesters from forcing their way into the ministry building, and running clashes ensued.

No injuries were reported, and two suspected rioters were detained.

More than 1,000 farmers, most of whom had traveled overnight from the island of Crete, took part in the demonstration.

They later planned to march to the head offices of Greece's governing left-wing Syriza party.

Protesters are angry at increases in their tax and social security contributions, part of the income and spending cuts and tax hikes Greece's government has implemented to meet bailout creditor-demanded budget targets.

Greek officials are in a ninth day of negotiations in Athens with representatives of the country's European creditors and the International Monetary Fund on new required cutbacks, including further tax and pension reforms.

Government officials say they hope to strike a deal by March 20 after repeated delays in a process initially scheduled for completion last year.

Greece needs an agreement before the summer, when it faces a spike in loan repayments.
A man claiming to be the son of the slain half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in a YouTube video saying he is safe

A video in which a man claims to be the son of the slain half brother of North Korea's leader. (AP/Lee Jin-man)

A man claiming to be the son of the slain half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appeared in a YouTube video saying he is safely with his mother and sister.

Kim Jong Nam was killed by two women who rubbed a prohibited nerve agent on his face at an airport in Malaysia on February 13, according to Malaysian police.

Kim Jong Un was widely suspected to be behind his brother's murder to eliminate a potential challenger to his rule.

Subsequently, there have been worries about the safety of Kim Jong Nam's son Kim Han Sol, who described his uncle Kim Jong Un as a "dictator" during a rare 2012 interview with Finnish television.

"My name is Kim Han Sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family," the man says in English in the 40-second YouTube clip uploaded on Wednesday.

"My father has been killed a few days ago. I'm currently with my mother and my sister. ... We hope this gets better soon."

An official at South Korea's National Intelligence Service said the NIS had determined that the man in the video is Kim Han Sol.

NIS officials gave the same confirmation to the office of a politician who sits on South Korea's intelligence committee without saying how it reached such a conclusion, according to an aide.

The NIS has a spotty record on reporting developments in North Korea. But a private voice analysis institute in Seoul said there was a "high probability" that Kim Han Sol in the 2012 interview, which can also be found on YouTube, and the man in the latest video clip were the same speaker.

"It's right to determine they are the same person," said Lee Cheul-houng, head of the Transcription Analysis Laboratory.

The man in the latest video does not talk about the whereabouts of his family or how they were being protected.

The video was posted on the YouTube channel of Cheollima Civil Defence, which describes itself as a group helping North Korean defectors.

The group said on its website that it responded to an "emergency request" last month by three members of Kim Jong Nam's family and relocated them to safety.

The group expressed gratitude to the Netherlands, China, the United States and a "fourth government to remain unnamed" for providing assistance in protecting the three.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said it had no knowledge of the Cheollima group.

Malaysia has never directly accused North Korea of killing Kim Jong Nam, though it is searching for seven North Korean suspects over the case.

North Korea has denied any responsibility and accused South Korea of being behind the accusation.

The investigation into Kim's death has created a diplomatic battle between Malaysia and North Korea, which have banned each other's citizens from leaving their respective countries.

AP
Donald Trumps housing secretary has been roundly criticised for an inaugural speech to staff in which he equated slaves with immigrants chasing the American dream.

Ben Carson was confirmed as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) last week.

On Monday, he spoke of America as a land of dreams and opportunities that has drawn millions of people from overseas throughout its history.

There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less, he said. But they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great-grandsons, great-granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.

The comments of Mr Carson met with derision on social media.

Actor Samuel L Jackson led the condemnation. Immigrants? In the bottom of SLAVE SHIPS??!! he wrote on Twitter.
WHEN the bosses of some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies headed to Washington in January to meet US President Donald Trump, it had all the makings of a potentially hostile meeting.

Just weeks before, Trump had sent drug stock prices plummeting after accusing the companies of "getting away with murder" by charging too much for medicines.

But the Trump who greeted chief executives of Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Merck, Eli Lilly , Celgene and Amgen on Jan. 31 was a surprisingly genial host who even gave them a personal tour of the Oval Office, according to several participants in the breakfast.

There is no question that it was better than it could have been or we thought it could be," said one industry insider familiar with the meeting.

Trump did not repeat his public attacks on the industry. Instead, he focused on "outdated" regulations that drive costs up for drugmakers, according to participants interviewed by Reuters. The CEOs left with Trump's word that he would streamline regulations and reform the high U.S. corporate tax rate.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has held at least nine meetings with groups of business leaders, including automakers, airlines, retailers and health insurers. In early morning or late-night tweets and in speeches, Trump has lambasted many of these companies for cost over-runs, or high prices, or foreign manufacturing, often knocking down their share prices.

But Reuters interviews with nearly a dozen executives and lobbyists who have taken part in these meetings or have been briefed on them reveal a Trump who is very different from his uncompromising and demanding @realDonaldTrump Twitter handle.

When he meets the nation's top chief executives in person, he is a mix of charm and cajoling. This Trump is flexible and inquisitive, a schmoozer who remembers birthdays and often lavishes praise on their companies, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could freely discuss private meetings.

This private side of Trump sheds light on why many CEOs have expressed confidence that the Republican president is good for business, despite his share-denting public attacks. As recently as Tuesday, Trump tweeted he was working on a system to increase competition in the health industry and lower drug pricing, sending pharma shares lower.

In the White House meetings, Trump focuses much of his talk on cutting regulations, the sources said, underscoring one of his administration's key priorities - getting rid of rules imposed by his predecessor Barack Obama. He typically asks which regulations are holding businesses back from adding new jobs and promises to resolve the issues, executives say.

"He said one thing for the cameras and the door shuts and then it's like kumbaya," said one person who was briefed on a meeting between Trump and a group of CEOs.

"He likes to be seen as engaging and buddy buddy with other big important business leaders," said this person.

A former businessman, Trump runs his closed-door meetings with CEOs as if they were a corporate board meeting, attendees said. In contrast to his doctrinaire tweets, he likes to seek input from everyone at the table, and compared to former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, conversations are less scripted.

Trumps approach to these meetings is one of listening and not lecturing, said a senior White House official who has participated in industry meetings. Ive seen a president who is listening and asking questions to get to how he can create a thriving economy, the official said.

An Amgen spokeswoman said Trump made it clear that he wanted to work with the company on U.S. job creation and biotech innovation. Representatives of the other drugmakers declined to comment.

SHOWING OFF THE DRAPES

Because so little is known about how Trump interacts privately with CEOs, trade groups and company officials have begun to swap tips on how to approach their meetings with him.

There is this undercurrent of information sharing about what to expect, what to do, said one trade group official who prepared CEOs for a recent meeting with Trump. He said he has gotten a flurry of calls from other industries next in line for a White House visit.

At the end of most meetings, Trump leads CEOs into the Oval Office, showing off paintings, sculptures and the furniture, as well as the rug and curtains he has picked out. He also points out a bust of Martin Luther King Jr., which he inherited from Obama. Then he takes a group photo behind the desk.

He becomes tour guide and brings them over to the Oval Office, the same official said. Hes very proud of the Oval Office.

The White House official said Trump recognized the awe of the Oval Office.

CHAIR FOR GM, BIRTHDAY WISH FOR FORD

Chief executives of Detroit's top three automakers - General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV - were pleasantly surprised when they went to the White House for a breakfast with Trump on Jan. 24.

Since his election, Trump has frequently attacked the car companies for building in Mexico and warned U.S. firms would no longer be able to move U.S. jobs abroad "without consequences."

When Trump entered the Roosevelt Room, he greeted GM CEO Mary Barra with a playful tap on the shoulder as he gently prodded her to add jobs in the United States and later pulled out her chair before the meeting started, a review of the video transcripts of the first part of the meeting shows.

He greeted Ford CEO Mark Fields with a "Happy Birthday. It's his birthday ladies and gentlemen." Trump said it was a "great honor" to see Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Trump did not specifically ask them to build plants in the United States - as he had tweeted he would before the meeting - but instead listened to their complaints about regulations and indicated a willingness to help them, people briefed on the meeting said.

Ford declined to comment and referred to Fields' comments to dealers in January that Trump had asked for a list of regulations that automakers wanted cut or kept.

GM CEO Mary Barra said in a speech last week that Trump really listened to the automakers, while Marchionne told reporters at the Geneva auto show on Tuesday that Trump was quite willing to make our lives easier in terms of compliance and taxes in order to encourage U.S. job creation.

Trump has been complimentary of his high-profile guests - and at times playful.

After Denise Morrison, chief executive of Campbell Soup , introduced himself in one of those meetings, Trump quickly responded: "Good soup."

At another, after Target Corp CEO Brian Cornell spoke, Trump responded by pronouncing the name of the company as Tar-Jay, a common joke to make the retailer sound more fancy.
Donald Trump made another gaffe yesterday as he renewed his attacks on Barack Obama by accusing him of another terrible decision over releasing prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.

The US president said 122 vicious Guantanamo inmates had returned to the battlefield, released by the Obama administration.

In fact, only nine of the 122 were released under Mr Obamas administration, according to the September report by the director of national intelligence. The vast majority were in fact released by George W Bush.

In a series of Twitter messages, often citing Fox News, Mr Trump also defended his six-week-old administration and claimed Russia ran over Mr Obama for eight years.

Dont let the FAKE NEWS tell you that there is big infighting in the Trump Admin. We are getting along great, and getting major things done! he wrote.

He also expressed his support for Republican plans to repeal and redesign the ObamaCare health system.

Republicans intend to replace federal insurance subsidies with a new form of individual tax credits and give money to individual states to help them shape their own policies.

Fines for not having insurance will be dropped, but insurers can charge a 30pc premium on people who let coverage lapse.

Forbidding

Two of the most popular aspects of ObamaCare  allowing young adults to stay on their parents health plans until the age of 26 and forbidding insurers to deny coverage or charge more to people with long term, previously diagnosed medical problems  remain.

Democrats said there was no detail on how the scheme would be paid for and claimed it would harm poorer Americans.

Trumpcare doesnt replace the Affordable Care Act, it forces millions of Americans to pay more for less care, said Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader of the senate. Many Republicans also expressed concerns. With no Democrats expected to vote to pass the bill and four Republican seats vacant, Republicans can afford to lose no more than 21 members of their own party.

Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator, described it as ObamaCare Light, saying it did not go far enough.

The Heritage Group, a conservative think-tank, also described it as flawed, and the Freedom Caucus, a group of around 30 hardliners in the House who criticised earlier versions of the bill, met to discuss the new form and to consider presenting a list of demands to Republican leaders.

Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, brushed off a suggestion that it could lead to less coverage for low-income Americans.

Americans have choices, and they have got to make a choice, he said. So maybe rather than getting that iPhone they just love, maybe they should invest in their own healthcare.

Read more:

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
President Donald Trump is "extremely concerned" about a security breach at the CIA that led to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks publishing agency documents on its hacking tools, the White House said on Wednesday.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said at a news briefing that the Trump administration intends to be tough on leakers.

"Anybody who leaks classified information will be held to the highest degree of law. We will go after people who leak classified information. We will prosecute them to the full extent of the law," he said.

More to follow...
Emergency crews have struggled to contain deadly wildfires that have scorched hundreds of square kilometres of land in four US states, killing six people and forcing thousands of others to flee their homes ahead of the wind-whipped flames.

Fires burned in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, and warnings that conditions were ripe were issued for Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, even after powerful thunderstorms moved through the middle of the country overnight, spawning dozens of tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.

Kansas wildfires have burned about 1,000 square kilometres of land and killed one person.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said Corey Holt, of Oklahoma City, died when his tractor-trailer jackknifed as he tried to back up because of poor visibility on southern Kansas highway, and he succumbed to smoke after getting out of his vehicle. Two SUVs crashed into the truck, injuring six people who were taken to hospitals, state trooper Michael Racy said.

The vast majority of the states burned land is in Clark County, on Kansas southern border with Oklahoma, where 30 structures have been damaged, said Allison Kuhns, a spokeswoman for the countys emergency management office.

About half of those structures are near the small city of Englewood, which was one of two communities evacuated. Ms Kuhns said there had been significant cattle losses and entire ranches had been engulfed.

The largest evacuations elsewhere were in Reno County, where 10,000 to 12,000 people voluntarily left their homes on Monday night, said Katie Horner, a spokeswoman for the states department of emergency management. She said 66 people from the area were in shelters yesterday in Hutchinson, 60km north-west of Wichita.

Among them was Shelley Wilson, who fled with her disabled son and pets from a blaze that was encircling her farm.

She returned later that night with her adult daughter to retrieve her tractor. I dont know if I have a home to go home to, Wilson said at the shelter as her daughter did her best to lighten her mood. In case I needed to rebuild, I wanted to at least have my tractor.
Crowds gathered near the scene of the shoot-out in Lucknow, India (Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP)

Police in northern India have killed a man suspected of masterminding the bombing of a passenger train that injured eight people this week.

An anti-terrorist police squad engaged the suspect in an 11-hour gunbattle overnight, after tracking him down at the home of a Muslim cleric in the city of Lucknow, according to senior police official A Satish Ganesh in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Ganesh identified the suspect as Saifullah, and said he was wanted in connection with Tuesday's train blast near Bhopal in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Indian police on Tuesday arrested and questioned four suspects in Madhya Pradesh, leading to tips that drove police in Uttar Pradesh to arrest two more suspects in the city of Kanpur, about 50 miles south-west of Lucknow.

The suspects said they had been hired by a man called Saifullah, whom they said was a sympathiser of the Islamic State terror group and was hiding in a Muslim neighbourhood in Lucknow.

Police said Saifullah refused to surrender and fired on them with an automatic weapon.

Mr Ganesh said items recovered from the cleric's house included an Islamic State flag, six mobile phones and detailed sketches of railway stations in the cities of New Delhi, Lucknow, Agra and Bangalore.

The incident came amid state elections in Uttar Pradesh, the results of which are expected on Saturday.

AP
Christopher Steele, the former MI6 agent who set-up Orbis Business Intelligence and compiled a dossier on Donald Trump, in London where he has spoken to the media for the first time. (Image: Victoria Jones/PA Wire)

Christopher Steele, the former MI6 agent who set-up Orbis Business Intelligence and compiled a dossier on Donald Trump, in London where he has spoken to the media for the first time (Image: Victoria Jones/PA Wire)

The former British intelligence officer behind a dossier of allegations about Donald Trump has broken his silence and returned to work

Christopher Steele (52) who runs London-based Orbis Business Intelligence, said he was returning to work and thanked people for their support.

Speaking outside his firm's offices in Belgravia, the former MI6 agent told the Press Association: "I'm really pleased to be back here working again at the Orbis's offices in London today.

"I'm now going to be focusing my efforts on supporting the broader interests of our company here.

"I'd like to say a warm thank you to everyone who sent me kind messages and support over the last few weeks.

"Just to add, I won't be making any further statements or comments at this time."

Mr Steele, who was forced into hiding when he was named in January, read a prepared statement and did not wish to answer any further questions.

His company said it remains committed to the "secure provision" of services to clients.

The contents of the politically explosive dossier became public on January 10 when the entire 35-page file was published by BuzzFeed.

It contained claims that Russia was in possession of compromising information - known in Moscow as "Kompromat" - on Mr Trump, which could be used to blackmail or exert pressure on the new president.

The file also detailed allegations that the Trump team had multiple contacts with Russian officials during the election campaign, and that the billionaire tycoon had been cultivated by Moscow over a number of years as a possible presidential candidate, with the aim of encouraging splits within the West.

Among its more lurid allegations was a claim that the Russians held evidence of Mr Trump hiring prostitutes during a visit to Moscow to urinate on a hotel bed which he believed to have previously been slept in by Barack and Michelle Obama.

Mr Trump denounced the document as "fake news", and its veracity has been widely questioned, with Vladimir Putin himself saying it contained "obvious fabrications".

It is understood that the contents of the dossier had been shared with a number of Washington journalists but it was not published as outlets were unable to confirm the allegations.

While the existence of the report was mentioned in US media in the run-up to the election, it only became public knowledge when it was reported president-elect Mr Trump and then-president Obama had been briefed on the claims by intelligence chiefs.

Despite efforts by UK authorities to protect Mr Steele's identity, he was named the following day by the Wall Street Journal and quickly fled his home in Surrey with his family - leaving his cats in the care of a neighbour.

Orbis, which was founded by Mr Steele and another retired intelligence officer in 2009, is described on its website as a corporate intelligence consultancy which combines "a high-level source network with a sophisticated investigative capability".

The Trump dossier reportedly arose from an investigation initially funded by Republicans who were seeking to block him from becoming the party's presidential candidate, before being taken over by Democrats after his nomination.

Orbis is understood to have been hired to look into Mr Trump's alleged links with Russia after sources in the country were blamed for hacking the Democrat National Committee website.

Mr Steele is said to have passed his findings onto both US and UK intelligence in the run-up to the election due to concerns about national security for both countries.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said: "Orbis Business Intelligence has an established track record of providing strategic intelligence, forensic investigation and risk consulting services to a broad client base.

"The nature of our business, and our high standards of professionalism, dictate that we would not disclose to the public information on any specific aspects of our work. We remain fully committed to the secure provision of our services to our clients and partners worldwide.

"We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for the generous support we have received from clients and colleagues over recent weeks."

The Trump administration has been rocked by a series of disclosures about links to Russia in the months since news of the dossier broke, with Michael Flynn forced to resign as national security adviser after giving misleading information about his meetings with Moscow's ambassador before the inauguration.

Mr Steele has also been approached by the US Senate Intelligence Committee to testify in its investigation into the president's alleged links with Russia, according to reports.
The theme of this year's International Women's Day, a holiday now more than a century old, is "Be Bold For Change." It's a message intended to push people toward concrete action on gender equality. Here are the stories of five women from around the world who are doing just that in their communities.

---

England | By Karla Adam

You either just give up, or you think, 'one life at a time'

Sarah Fane is an optimist, a smile never far from her lips. Ask her about educating girls in Afghanistan, a nation where the literacy rate for women is among the worst in the world, and she beams.

If you have a massive problem like Afghanistan, you either just give up, or you think, one life at a time, says the blonde 54-year-old.

Fane lives in Aldworth, a village about 50 miles west of London. It's a world away from Afghanistan, where she has previously worked as a doctor. She remembers working at a womens clinic in 2001 and being struck by how many children, especially girls, were not in school. Before the American-led invasion, the Taliban prohibited girls from getting an education.

When Fane returned to England, she started giving talks to raise funds for work in Afghanistan, first for health projects and later for schools. She set up Afghan Connection, a charity that has raised more than 6 million pounds ($7.3 million) to fund the construction of 44 schools - often in remote, mountainous areas.

Fane travels to Afghanistan twice a year and says there's still much to do. According to UNICEF, only half of the nation's children are in school. But she has seen steady progress since she established her charity in 2002.

It's incredible to see girls say, We want to be doctors and teachers, we want to change our country, she says. "One life at a time." 

---

India | By Swati Gupta

'Why am I tolerating it?'

Vimla lost her father when she was 14. A year later, she was married to a man 16 years older than her. He began beating her on the first night of their marriage. "When a lion attacks a lamb, that is how my first night with him felt like," she said.

After years of abuse, Vimla, 64, who goes by just her first name, asked herself, "Why am I tolerating it?"

She started attending a workshop held for women and eventually began working in the slums. "The first time I saw a slum, I thought, how do people live here?" Vimla said. "It is so dirty, but I had this thing in my heart that I have to do something."

She started the Women Progress Council to educate women across 12 slum colonies in Delhi about domestic violence, health and their rights. "Once they get support, it gives them confidence," Vimla said. "They understand the unfairness and then they stand up for themselves."

Vimla lives with her husband but no longer allows him to hit her. "I am grateful to him," she said. "Because if he was not like this, then I would not be what I am now."

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Russia | By Andrew Roth

'Everyone has a story'

Women facing the threat of domestic abuse or sexual assault often don't have free use of their hands, are under immense strain, and may not be able to access their telephone to call for help. Kathy Romanovskaya, 42, a co-founder at the Russian start-up Nimb, says her company's product has those women in mind. It's fashionable ring that doubles as a panic button, allowing the wearer to discreetly send a distress signal to a support circle, including friends, parents or the police.

The product is partially inspired by personal experiences, including attacks against some of the founders and their friends.

"Everyone has a story," Romanovskaya said in an interview at the co-working space in Moscow she shares with co-founders Nick Marshansky and Leo Bereschansky. In a viral Facebook post calling for Kickstarter donations last year, she described a near-lethal knife assault 16 years earlier that she was lucky to survive.

"That episode shaped me," she said in the interview. "I literally had to scream. I was lucky my neighbor heard me. We hope this will increase the chances that the call for help will be heard."

Romanovskaya was already a well-known anti-Kremlin satirist before going into business. But she was dispirited, having exhausted all of her words and seeing no change, and was excited to make a product where you can see the result.

Nimb, which received more than $290,000 in crowdfunding, will release the rings this year.

---

China | By Emily Rauhala and Xin Jin

'Women around the whole world should unite

It was March 2015, two days before International Womens Day, and Wei Tingting was preparing to mark the occasion. She and a small group of friends wanted to raise awareness about sexual harassment on public transportation. They planned to hand out stickers on the bus but they never got the chance.

Instead, Wei and four other women were taken to a detention center on the outskirts of Beijing and held for 37 days. They were interrogated again and again about their plans to organize for LGBT and womens rights.

The Chinese government's campaign of intimidation did not work. Word of their arrest spread quickly and spurred global campaigns to #freethefive, turning them into feminist heroes. Two years later, Wei is still working for gender equality as the founder of the nonprofit Guangzhou Gender Education Center. She is also preparing a report on sexual harassment.

In China, International Womens Day has for the most part been commercialized; it's about buying flowers, not building a movement. This year, Wei hopes people will take the day to reflect on the fight for gender equality. The day is not for sales in shops, not for roses, not for vacations, she said, It's for womens rights and human rights.

"Women around the whole world should unite."

---

Egypt | By Sudarsan Raghavan

'Now, it's a critical time for Muslim artists'

Deena Mohamed is not your typical 22-year-old, and neither is her creation: Qahera, a Muslim Web-comic superheroine who wears a hijab, or headscarf, wields a sword and can fly. Her mission, in part, is to help women who face sexual harassment.

In real-life Egypt, harassment is widespread. According to the United Nations, 99 percent of women in the nation have been sexually harassed. Mohamed is seeking to change thoughts and perceptions through the stories of Qahera. Her work has gone viral on the Internet and social media, with her stories being discussed in academia as a way to alter deeply ingrained societal mind-sets.

Qahera is the Arabic name for Cairo. It also means "conqueror" or "vanquisher," appropriate for a character who is combating Islamophobia. Like many Egyptian artists, Mohamed was inspired by the 2011 populist revolts that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Mohamed was 16 years old then.

"It was very formative for me," she said. "I probably wouldn't have been interested in doing an Egyptian character if it wasn't for the revolution. Even though Qahera is largely satirical, the concept of someone actually trying to protect Egypt, a superhero that stays, is definitely part of the atmosphere of back then."

Mohamed is planning to launch more Web comics featuring Qahera. She also wants to create a comic with Qahera as a young girl to address "the way Egyptian girls are controlled within their families, and have no autonomy.

"Now, it's a critical time for Muslim artists in general," she added. "With art, you get your opinions out there in many ways."
WILMINGTON, Ohio - Thousands of miles from here, the Kremlin is denying accusations that it meddled in the U.S. presidential election. But in this town of rolling farmland and main streets shaded by grain elevators, the barrage of news coming out about the Trump's administrations ties to Russia has fallen on mostly indifferent ears.

"The Russia thing doesn't fit too well here," said Harold Rowland in between bites of his breakfast at McDonald's. "Nobody really cares."

Rowland, 75, comes almost every morning to this McDonald's on the outskirts of town to sit and talk with three other Wilmington residents who have formed an informal breakfast club.

They've only discussed Russia once in recent weeks - when former national security adviser Mike Flynn resigned over revelations about his potentially illegal contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

"He was out of bounds for sure," said Rowland, who last voted for a Democrat in 1962.

Wayne Smith, 74, said he's skeptical about all the stories about alleged ties between Trump associates and Russia.

"Is there something there? Probably," said Smith, who walks with a cane and stands up about every 10 minutes to relieve the pressure on his back, a lingering reminder of his half century working as a barber before he retired. "But Judas Priest, don't go overboard."

Smith said he thinks the media and Democrats have "made a mountain out of a mole hill" and killed off any chance for a rational discussion. When he watched Trump's joint address to Congress last week, he felt buoyed by it.

"I saw 72 percent approved or something like that," said Smith, likely alluding to a joint CNN/ORC poll following the speech reporting that about 7 in 10 who tuned in were more optimistic about the direction of the country.

"It's a start, but I wish he was more upright, more presidential," said Smith, smiling. "But you know, he still speaks our language . . . the language of the country boy."

Tom Speer, 70, seems more perturbed by the news on Russia. "Do I think it affected the outcome of the election?" Speer said. "No, but they have no business meddling in ours."

As for Flynn's contacts with the Russian ambassador, Speer said the retired lieutenant general had just "put the cart before the horse."

Still, the four men at the table said they are pleased with how Trump is running the country and remain optimistic, no matter the news coming out of Washington.

"Trump is doing great," Speer said. "He's not God or Superman, but he's done what he could with his executive orders."

After the election and Trump's inauguration, the town has been more focused on local issues. In early February, retail giant Amazon.com decided to pull a burgeoning shipping hub and plans for as many as 3,000 new jobs at Wilmington's airpark, opting instead to take a $10 million dollar tax break to relocate to Kentucky. That news dashed hopes that the town would be able to pump new life into its economy soon. (Amazon's founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos, owns The Washington Post.)

At a coffee shop six miles away and closer into town, Emma Heyo, 20, said the Russia news had barely crossed her radar, appearing only sporadically on her social media feeds.

"Russia stuff? I really don't know much about it," said Heyo, a part-time barista who is studying medical massage in nearby Dayton. "We're friendly with Putin right? And friends are better than enemies."

"To be honest, politics is something I try and avoid," she added.

Mostly white and with a population of roughly 12,000 people, Wilmington's surrounding county of Clinton has gone Republican in every presidential race since 1962, when Lyndon B. Johnson was elected. In November, it cast more votes for Trump than any other Republican candidate in the county's history. In another first, more than 70 percent of Wilmington's eligible voting population came out to the polls.

Yet there is a small core of residents who are less enamored of Trump.

The Pageturners book club, which meets once a week in the basement of Wilmington's library, had just finished their discussion of the 2016 bestseller "The Nest" by Cynthia D'Aprix before talking about a recent piece in the New Yorker titled, "Trump, Putin and the New Cold War."

"Our hair's on fire and this stuff can't come out fast enough," said Mary Thomas Watts, about the flood of news about Russia and Trump. A former journalist from Mississippi, Watts sits on the board of the library, leads the Pageturners' discussion and usually helps organize the weekly progressive happy hour at the General Denver Hotel in town.

After learning the Sessions had potentially misled Congress after saying he did not have contacts with the Russians during Trump's campaign, the group of six women and one man was incensed.

"They all have got to go," Watts said.

Watts traveled to Washington for the Women's March, while others in the group participated in a smaller march at Wilmington's courthouse on the same day. "Just imagine this group all in pink hats," said Watts.

The small group and their liberal leanings are a rarity in Wilmington, a fact they've become acutely aware of as the town turned out in droves for Trump.

Julie Butcher, member of the book club and an employee at a local insurance company said that her 14-year-old daughter has "Trump" yelled in her face regularly at school after she admitted to voting for Hillary Clinton during a mock election in the fall.

"You can't say anything, and you can't post anything because you just get attacked," Butcher said.
Indias government is keen to roll out its Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1 and is speedily laying the groundwork for immediate implementation.

On March 4, two bills (federal GST law and integrated GST law) were finalized by federal and state finance ministers in the GST council, the federal agency regulating the GST. Two more bills now need to be approved by the 36 state and union territory legislatures by March 16 when the council meets again.

Altogether, these four Draft Model GST laws provide the rules for implementing the multi-tier structure of the GST, in terms of its administration, determining federal and state shares of revenue, and the rate of taxation in each goods and services segment. These bills will need to be passed in the ongoing budget session of parliament, which ends in mid-April, for the July rollout to take place.

Once it comes into effect, the GST will function as a national sales tax, and will replace the current convoluted structure of multiple tax duties and levies. The GST will, therefore, treat India as a single market.

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GST peak rates fixed, segments yet to be decided

The GST is a tax levied on all goods and services except for alcohol for human consumption. While the federal government will levy the integrated goods and services tax (IGST) on the inter-state trade of goods and services, imported goods will still be subject to the additional customs duty. IGST combines both the federal and state shares of tax revenue, known respectively as central GST or CGST and state GST or SGST.

In March, the GST council pegged the peak tax rate at 40 percent (20 percent collected as federal GST and 20 percent state GST). This precludes the need for parliament approval for any future raise in GST rates and ensures that the final tax rate will not rise above 40 percent.

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The government has also capped the tax collected at source (TCS) at one percent under the GST framework, which will be provide some relief to e-commerce companies, who were notably worried over this provision.

The TCS was earlier proposed at one percent without any upper limit attached, which would have raised transaction costs and discouraged sellers on e-commerce platforms. States have been resolute in demanding TCS as it enables tracking of transactions on online retail platforms and ensures compliance, thereby avoiding any loss to state exchequers.

The proposed GST slabs are fixed at 5, 12, 18, and 28 percent. While the GST rates of 12 and 18 percent are defined as the standard rates, the highest rate of 28 percent will be reserved for white goods, demerit, and luxury goods.

Previously, the GST tax slabs were proposed against specific goods segments. However, besides the demerit and luxury goods segment, the remaining segments are yet to be finalized. Moreover, the GST levied on the services sector still remains a murky area as the government has not clarified rates or segments of taxation for supply of services.

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Business friendly approach, but further clarity needed

The government appears set to achieve its promises to achieve key tax and regulatory reforms after years of delay.

The GST will be a landmark regulation that will increase business efficiency in India and promote transparency, opening the way for future market reforms. Developments in Indias supply chain structure will be key as it seeks to become a manufacturing powerhouse to rival China.

At the same time, the GST laws are yet to clarify the tax structure for the services sector. This is worrisome as Indias services sector is bigger than its manufacturing sector and contributes significantly to the GDP.

The government has, however, attempted to iron out some of the obligatory hiccups accompanied by the GST. For example, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)  the governments nodal agency responsible for the IT infrastructure for the administration of the GST  will be launching an offline application tool to facilitate taxpayers to upload their invoices and file their returns.

This particularly benefits startups and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as it curtails their costs of adopting GST norms and ensuring compliance. The offline tool will also allow smooth operation irrespective of limited internet connectivity.



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Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide. An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2017 An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2017 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in India. As such, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Indian market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to stay up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.
New York, Mar 8 (Just Earth News): The rights of children must also be a cornerstone of conflict prevention, peace-making and peace building efforts, the United Nations focal point on children in armed conflict on Tuesday told the UN Human Rights Council, expressing deep concern at the scale and severity of grave violations committed against children in the past year.

In Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen thousands of children were killed and maimed as result of intense conflict, said the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, said presenting her latest report to the Geneva-based rights body.

Recruitment and use continued at high levels in those countries, as well as in the conflicts in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Nigeria, Zerrougui said.

She also warned of the impact that attacks on schools and hospitals have on childrens education and health, as well as the denial of humanitarian aid for children and even besiegement.

In her address, Zerrougui called on the Human Rights Council and the UN Member States to take all available measures to prevent violations from reoccurring.

In addition, the senior UN official also urged Member States to protect the rights of children associated with armed groups and to treat them as victims instead of perpetrators, saying Member States cannot lock up a child for his or her entire life and that prolonged detention will only create and feed grievances.

She urged Governments to follow Nigers lead to adopt protocols for the handover of children encountered in military and security operations to child protection officers.

Of particular concern is the safety of girls who are targeted for sexual violence and trafficking, and who are often stigmatized and rejected by their communities when they return after being kidnapped by armed groups.

Priority should be given to preparing and sensitizing communities to their plight, Zerrougui said.

She also detailed a number of successes during the past year  as the mandate of the Office of the Special Representative marked its 20th anniversary  including through the campaign Children, Not Soldiers and the peace process in Colombia.

On Tuesdays presentation to the Human Rights Council was the last for Zerrougui, who steps down this year as the Special Representative.

Photo: UNICEF/Abu Monassar

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. Receive information of your transactions directly from Exchanges on your mobile / email at the end of day and alerts on your registered mobile for all debits and other important transactions in your demat account directly from NSDL/ CDSL on the same day." - Issued in the interest of investors.

KYC is one time exercise while dealing in securities markets - once KYC is done through a SEBI registered intermediary (broker, DP, Mutual Fund etc.), you need not undergo the same process again when you approach another intermediary.

No need to issue cheques by investors while subscribing to IPO. Just write the bank account number and sign in the application form to authorise your bank to make payment in case of allotment. No worries for refund as the money remains in investor's account."

www.indiainfoline.com is part of the IIFL Group, a leading financial services player and a diversified NBFC. The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others.
On Saturday April 22 from 9:00 AM  3:00 PM, the Circle City (IN) Chapter of The Links, Inc. will host Real World, Real Girls, a day long event focused on empowering young women.

The days offering will feature interactive and informative activities that will focus on incorporating healthy habits to create healthy lifestyles. The program is designed for young girls of color attending middle school (grades 7-9).

Links members will be on hand to mentor and provide attendees with the necessary tools to success relative to their academic and personal lives through a series of workshops and seminars with a sensitivity to the cultural, mind, body and spiritual needs of minority teenage girls.

Research shows that teens who engage in positive social and academic activities thrive more than their peers who lack such opportunities. When teens have mentors  specifically people they can relate to  their chances for success in life are even greater. Through its programming, Real World Real Girls helps enrich the lives of local girls  immediately impacting them while also laying a foundation for future success well into adulthood.

The gathering will be held at the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, located at 201 Girl Scout Lane, Indianapolis, IN 46214 Suite J.

For additional information, visit circlecitylinks.org or call Deb Shoffner at 317-376-9271.
Its International Womens Day today. Women across the globe come together to celebrate the progress that we have made over the years and the reflect upon the challenges that lie ahead. Curving a path to overcome these hurdles and making a mark for themselves takes the centerstage as women raise issues that dare their very existence.

Reflecting upon US President Donald Trump's infamous remark grabem by the p***y, which still echoes in our ears, giving a voice to women becomes of paramount importance.

Recently, Polish politician Janusz Korwin-Mikke, drew flak women across the globe after he stated that women must earn less than men, because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent, during a debate on gender pay gap.

Disgusted over his comments, Iratxe Garcia Perez of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party launched powerful counterattack.

"I know it hurts and worries you that today women can sit in this house and represent European citizens with the same rights as you," she said. "I am here to defend all European women from men like you, she said.

Not just this, one of the statements made by him in the past read that women should not be allowed to vote. He has also been investigated for incitement to rape in 2014 over the remarks he made to the European Parliament.

Contemplating on the remarks made by the men of power, doesnt it become necessary for women to voice their opinion and concerns?

Just why we need Womens Day?

AFP

From dealing with sexism at all places to objectification and gender pay gap (the list is infinite), women have been shunned for voicing their opinion.

International Womens Day has been around for over a century; however, the date has not always been consistent. Today, March 8 has become a day to stand in solidarity with women around the world, gender parity and global celebration of achievements of women in the society. The day started off as a significant step towards unifications of women rights and working rights during the industrialisation age.

The roots of this important day reach back to 1908 when over 15,000 women took to the streets of New York City marching for voting rights, shorter working hours and equal pay.

On February 28, 1909, the first official Womens Day was observed. During the second International Conference of Working Women it was proposed and unanimously passed that on the same day, every year, each country would honour an International Womens Day, however no date was decided.

AFP

The fight for equal rights continued and the International Womens Day was observed on last Sunday of February 1913 which also witnessed Russia women joining the bandwagon. Soon after, International Womens Day was moved to March 8. The United Nations recognised the day in 1975 and since then, it has been celebrated each year.

It would be amazing if women didnt *NEED* an official day to celebrate their achievements. However, this will only happen once the original goals of International Womens Day have been fully realised.

Around the world, women still do not have gender equality whether it is regarding pay, education, healthcare, job or safety.

The WHO estimates that one in three women worldwide will experience physical and/or sexual abuse once in their lifetime.

The World Economic Forum predicts that the gender pay inequality will not close until 2186.

The United Nations also reports that only 22% of parliamentarians worldwide are women  thats a lot of men making decision for women.

On one hand, the wave of feminism is taking over the globe and on the other hand there are women who are deprived of their basic rights that challenge their very existence. It is high time that we all understand that women rights are human rights.

International Womens Day is not just a matter of optional celebration but a mandatory step towards a fairer society.

Until the goals are not met, may be just one International Womens Day every year isnt enough.
For long, speculations have been widespread that Shahid Kapoors brother Ishaan Khattar is making his debut on the big screen. Sometime back it was revealed that he will feature in Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidis forthcoming film titled Beyond The Clouds.

National award winning filmmaker Goutam Ghose, who has been roped in, not as a director but as an actor, in the film has spilled the beans on the project. Here is what he said:

As a filmmaker, it's exciting to work with another director. He has a translator to communicate his instructions from Persian to English but given his involvement, it's like we're speaking the same language. The film doesn't have any big stars, but Majidi is a star himself, he told Mumbai Mirror. Goutam Ghose also said that the movie has a mix of Indian as well as Italian actors.

ndianfilmsinfo.com The flick is about relationships and life, reportedly. The filming of the movie began about a month back. The first poster from the movie was unveiled at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. Here it is

#beyondtheclouds #majidmajidi #berlinale #eyecandyfilms #zeestudios A post shared by Ishaan Khatter (@ishaan95) on Feb 9, 2017 at 9:09pm PST

Majid Majidi is an Iranian movie director, producer as well as a screenwriter, who started his career as an actor. He is known for making hard-hitting movies, which have meaningful stories. He is known for his films such as Children Of Heaven, The Color Of Paradise, Baran and The Song of Sparrows. Beyond The Clouds is his first film in India, which will be shot in different cities across the country.

persianfilmfestival.com

Previously, during a press interaction, the Iranian filmmaker was all praises for Ishaan. He said, Ishaan is a wonderful boy. He is extremely talented and I feel, he will have a bright future in the film industry.

All the best, Ishaan!
Still think the Apple iPhone is overpriced? Maybe the fact that the device takes home three-fourths of all the profit generated by the smartphones industry -- globally -- is part of the reason why.

Reuters

According to a Strategy Analytics report published by The Korea Herald, total global smartphone profit for last year stood at US $53.7 billion. Thats every smartphone sold by every smartphone manufacturer in 2016 -- everything from ZTE to Apple, and everything in between, including Google, HTC, Huawei, Sony, etc etc. Of which Apple's iPhone alone took home a whopping US $44.9 billion! Thats huge, because

Reuters

DONT MISS: Samsung Sold Most Android Phones In 2016, But Apple Kicked Some Serious Butt!

Apple actually only occupied 14.5% of global smartphone unit share last year, way behind Samsung whose smartphones make up 20.8% of smartphones in the world. But, this is where it gets mind-boggling, Samsung only accounted for 14.6% of global smartphone profits, attracting US $8.3 billion of profit.

Reuters

So not only does Apple sell fewer iPhones in comparison to the deluge of Samsungs and Androids of the world, year on year, the Cupertino giant attracts a lions share of the industrys profit. About 80% of it. Year on year!

Apples actually underperforming compared to 2014 and 2015 where the company enjoyed over 90% of global smartphone profits. Pretty sure the rest of the chasing pack isnt complaining that Apples slipping up, but with the 10th anniversary iPhone 8 just around the corner, rumoured to be the costliest iPhone ever, dont be surprised if Apple goes back to its ruthless best, squeezing more profits out of the industry a year down the line.

Reuters

Dont know whether Apples taking all of us for a ride by overpricing the iPhone or whether the companys perfected the art of smartphone making unlike any other on the planet right now. The answer lies somewhere in the middle of the two extremes.

ALSO READ: Did You Know The Cheapest iPhone In The World Is Sold In Angola At Just Rs 27,300?
A low-intensity blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Jabri railway station on Tuesday, agencies said was the first time an Islamic State module carried out an attack in India. Ten people had suffered injuries in the explosion.

BCCL

Following the blast, police teams from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh launched coordinated operations in the two states arresting eight members of the group. Read more

1. India Offers To Temporarily Give Up Veto Power For Permanent Membership In United Nations Security Council

With little progress made in demand for expansion of the United Nations Security Council, to include more members, India and other G4 countries have offered to initially forgo veto powers as permanent members.

PTI

Speaking on behalf of the G4 at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) on Council reforms Indias Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin said, The issue of veto is important, but we should not allow it to have a veto over the process of Council reform itself. Read more

2. This Tribal Woman Who Dug Toilet Pits For Three Continuous Days Will Now Be Awarded By PM Modi

Until last year, more than half of India's rural population was defecating in open.

Salute to Sushila Khurkute, Nandgaon, Palghar, Maharashtra. She has dug for over 3 days for a toilet. @swachhbharat pic.twitter.com/BCYbMnCJbD  Param Iyer (@paramiyer_) February 10, 2017

To eradicate Open Defecation completely from our system by 2nd October, 2019 is one of the key aims of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan movement. But the real question still remains the same, how far have we come? Read more

3. After Gurugram, Rajasthan Is All Set Run Its First All-Women Staff Police Station

They fight gender bias and the evils of patriarchy on a daily basis, the Indian women police are a force to reckon. And this International Women's Day, Rajasthan is starting a new chapter on policing, by inaugurating the state's very first all women police station.

Indiatimes

Indira Gandhi inaugurated a full-fledged woman-only police station in Kozhikode, Kerala, in back 1973, and two years ago, Haryana, revived this experiment. The set up all-women stations across 21 districts, including Gurgaon which was staffed by 27 women police personnel. Read more

4. New Technology And Initiatives Now Empower Women In Rural India

Life in a city can at times, appeared to be like a world trapped in a bubble. Lets admit  there is always an air of condescension when we even think about people living in an area that has no access to proper electricity, technology, and therefore, the internet as a part of Google and Tata trusts joint initiative 'Internet Saathi'.

Indiatimes

The initiative was launched in 2015, in various states like Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and has now reached Maharashtra. Read more

5. This Is Why Modern India Needs To Discontinue The Abused #Sahayak System In The Indian Army

The tragic death of soldier Roy Mathew, a Sahayak, whose video slamming the Sahayak system which exploits the soldiers has started a demand that this centuries-old Sahayak system should be abolished.

Reuters

Sahayaks or buddies, they often garrulously refer these soldiers as are the gun-wielding soldiers given to officers to assist them in performing their duties. Read more
The tragic death of soldier Roy Mathew, a Sahayak, whose video slamming the Sahayak system which exploits the soldiers has started a demand that this centuries-old Sahayak system should be abolished.

Reuters

Sahayaks or buddies, they often garrulously refer these soldiers as are the gun-wielding soldiers given to officers to assist them in performing their duties.

But first the British and later the Indians who served as senior and officers misappropriated the assistance, these soldiers are supposed to provide and many of them allegedly ended up being the domestic help of not only the officers but also to their families.

Whos a Sahayak and how it all started?

It started in British Indian army where the highest post an Indian soldier could move up to was a Subedar. As all the officers were British and therefore they kept Indian soldiers to maintain their uniform, weapons, vehicles and other chores. With independence, British officers were replaced with Indians, but this tradition didnt die.

Reuters

Various revelations by these Sahayaks have unearthed that apart from the main duties that they are mandated to do, they do chores like boot polish, taking officers dog for a walk, taking officers wife and kids to market or wherever they wish to go. Some findings have also revealed that many of them have been tasked to do the laundry of not only the officer but his entire family.

Who can have how many Sahayaks?

According to written answer of Defence Ministry in response to the report of parliamentary standing committee on defence on the issue of Stress Management in Armed Forces, the ministry said that Sahayaks are authorised to Officers and Junior Commissioned Officers in the Army when serving with units or Headquarters functioning on War Establishment.

AFP

The scale of authorisation of Sahayak is the following:

 One for every field officer and above

 One for every two officers of the rank of captain and below

 One for every Subedar major

 One for every two Junior Commissioned Officers of the rank of Subedar and below.

The report was submitted as 31st report during the 14th Lok Sabha in 2008.

Here are the duties, the Sahayaks are supposed to perform

According to defence ministrys answer, following are the duties, a Sahayak is supposed to carry out while assisting the officer:

 To provide personal protection and security.

 To attend telephones, receive and deliver messages during operations, training and exercise and in peace.

 To maintain weapons, uniforms and equipment of Officers/Junior Commissioned Officers in accordance with custom and usage in the Army.

 To assist in digging trenches, erect bivouacs and shelters during war, training or exercise while the leaders are more busy in planning, coordination and execution of operations.

 To be of assistance during patrols and independent missions.

 To carry and operate radio sets, maps and other military equipment during operations, training cadres and outdoor exercises.

Air Force and Navy doesnt have this system

The Defence ministrys answer to the parliamentary standing committee says that apart from the Indian army, none of the other armed forces, neither the Navy nor the Indian Air Force have Sahayak system in place. But dont Navy and Air Force officers have peace postings. Of course, they do.



When the Committee asked tough question

Based on the ordeals of many jawans working as Sahayaks, the committee took ministry to cleaners and questioned the usage of Sahayaks as domestic help by the officer and his family.

The Committee noted that the jawans are recruited for serving the nation and not to serve the family members of officers in household work which is demeaning and humiliating.

AFP

The chorus like polishing the boots, and doing laundry of officers entire family is humiliating for a soldier who came to army to serve the nation and not to serve the whims and fancies of officers and their families.

The committee also cited the several instances soldiers have been seen deployed at the residences of the officers. To this, the representative of the army had answered, Would have been attending the work at home due to reverence. He is not supposed to do it technically. He is not supposed to work in the house.

The committee recommended for its abolition, but government refused

Based on these findings, the committee recommended the abolition of the sahayak system in the Army and also recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs take similar steps in para military and other organisations. The committee in its fourth report of the 15th Lok Sabha submitted the action taken report on its previous recommendations.

In reply to committees recommendation of abolition of the Sahayak system, the ministry of Defence gave it a cold shoulder and merely stated that the system should not be misused to employ sahayaks in menial house-hold work. But it refused to accept the recommendation of the committee.

Army, however, now has recommended government to abolish

Post the slew of controversies, Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat has recommended the government to abolish this age old system of Sahayaks aka buddies at least in the peace areas.

In field areas, sahayaks are still required because of the buddy-pair concept in the infantry. We proposed to the government to have buddies only in forward areas, Gen Rawat was quoted in Deccan Herald on January 15, the Army Day.
When it comes to picking the greatest women of all time, there are no set parameters. Over the years, women have scaled great heights and their achievements have become a benchmark for generations to come.

This International Women's Day, we honour all those women for their strength, courage and resilience to bring a change in this world.

#1 Tess Billington, who fought for the right vote outside the house of commons in 1906.

Facebook/JewelsProphet

#2 106-Year-Old Armenian woman protecting her home with an AK-47

Reddit

#3 Dorothea Lange's 1936 photograph of a worried migrant mother is an iconic image of the Great Depression.

#4 The legendary breakfast at Tiffany's star and Hollywood style icon Audrey Hepburn's was the definition of grace, beauty, and elegance

Twitter/SoAudreyHepburn

#5 Author, poet, rights activist Maya Angelou made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman with, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Reuters

#6 Carrie Fisher, the cultural icon for starring as Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies.

Pinterest

#7 A woman sipping tea right after a German bombing raid during the London Blitz in 1940.

Reddit

#8 Anna Fisher was eight and a half months pregnant when NASA tapped her for a mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

Reddit

#9 Sarojini Naidu  the Nightingale of India. the first Indian woman to become the president of the Indian National Congress and the only women to take part in the Satyagraha movement

#10 Princess Diana snapped by her personal photographer by Patrick Demarchelier.

#11 Ieshia Evans stood stoic across police officers during the Black Lives Matter's protests in Baton Rogue last year.

Reuters

#12 Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate.

Reuters

#13. Irom Chanu Sharmila, better known as The Iron Lady Of Manipur, ended her 16-year-long fast which she had kept protesting against AFSPA in her home state of Manipur last year.

PTI

#14 Dipa Malik bagged a silver medal during Paralympics 2016.

#15 Johanna "Hannah" Arendt one of the most influential political philosophers of the twentieth century

Twitter

#16 Mexican artist Frida Kahlo who fought all odds to follow her passion for art and painting self-portraits.

Facebook/Museo froda Khalo





#17 Ellen DeGeneres honoured for breaking barriers for LGBT community

#18 During an anti-government demonstration in 2011, Yemeni women wore headbands reading in Arabic 'I'm the next martyr.'

cryptome.org

#19 Acid Attack survivor Reshma Quereshi walked at New York Fashion Week

AFP

#20 Chavvi Rajawat, Indias first and youngest village sarpanch with an MBA degree

Twitter/@WOWclub
You'd assume a country with one of the highest numbers of child marriages in the world will try and fix it. But that's exactly the opposite of what Bangladesh did last month.

On February 17, 2017, the Bangladesh government proposed a law that permits young girls under the age of 18 to get married in special cases. But the law didn't reduce the age to 16 or 15, it did away with it altogether. In effect, the law under the special provision allows everyone from a toddler to 16 years of age to get married - legally.

To make matters worse, the law clarifies that a girl under the age of 18 can get married, even to a man who's twice her age, as long as her parents and the court allow it. Hardly, the sort of shot in the arm women's liberation needs!

interserve

The law will not only make thousands of girls vulnerable to marital rape but experts estimate it will also drastically increase cases of early pregnancy.

Bangladesh has one of highest cases of child marriages in the world.

Girls Not Brides, a coalition of nearly 650 charities, has criticised this move extensively. 'The proposed law was open to abuse since it gave no definition of the term special cases, Gthey said.

Girls not brides and the coalition it represents has worked with thousands of girls who have been rescued from child marriages and have claimed that the new move by the Bangladesh government is taking a giant step back and delivering a big blow to women's empowerment in the country.

Nothing can change the fact that this is a destructive law. But carefully drafted regulations can mitigate some of the harm to girls, said Heather Barr. a Senior Researcher, Women's Rights Division was quoted as saying in an interview with Human Rights Watch.

In Bangladesh, 52% of girls are married before they turn 18 and 18% are married before they are 15. These alarming statistics are vouching for the poor conditions of girls and the social pressure that they go through.

The pressure for child marriage is an intrinsic part of the Bangladeshi society and the girls are pushed into early marriages by their families and relatives.

opendemocracy

The Bangladesh Govt has claimed that the change in law has been proposed to challenge accidental or unlawful pregnancy of unwed girls.

(Also read: A 13-Year-Old Writes To School Principal, Requests To Save Her From Becoming A Bride!)

Meghla, 17, and Rani, 16 are just two girls who were pushed into child marriage.

Meghla married a 30-year-old when she was just 15 and gave birth to her first child two years after. Meghla's father forged her birth certificate so that she can be married before the legal age.

Getty

Most women in her family were married when they were 15 or 17. Even though she thinks good of her marriage, thinking that her husband can guide her, it necessarily doesn't mean that it's the best for her.

Getty

Rani, who's 16, was forced to marry her boyfriend when she was just 14. The harassment in her case was so severe that she can't walk around her village without wearing a hijab now.

Getty

She now spends her time studying and aspiring to be a doctor one day.

Getty

Bangladesh is full of young girls like Rani and Meghla, mostly because of the bigoted notions, The government should thereby consider the circumstances in which children under 18 can marry.

(Also read: Victims Of Racism And Riots, Rohingya Women Are Being Sold As Child Brides In Countries Like Malaysia)
China eyeing to send hundreds of rockets into space with military, scientific and commercial purposes. With the same goal, China is planning to develop rockets capable of being launched into space from an aircraft, reads China Daily newspaper citing a senior official.

Reports say that China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology has designed a solid fuel rocket capable of carrying a 100kg payload to Earths low orbit.

In order to enhance nations security, President Xi Jinping has prioritised advancing Chinas space programme. Despite all the efforts, China still lags far behind United States and Russia.

Rockets launched from an aircraft will serve as an alternative to the traditional ground launches. They can be launched quickly with added precision. The risk of weather related issues can be easily eliminated.

The US, in the past, has expressed concerns regarding Chinas advancing space capabilities for using space-based assets in the time of crisis.
Whistleblower website Wikileaks had released what it calls "Vault 7", a huge data dump of how the Central Intelligence Agency surveillance on civilians. The first full part of the series, "Year Zero", comprises 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence.

Getty Images/ File

According to the website, the CIA recently lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized "zero day" exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA.

Here is what we know so far

What did we learn about the CIA's hacking program?

WikiLeaks published documents that it says describe CIA tools for hacking into devices including mobile phones, computers and smart televisions.

How can the CIA hack a TV?

WikiLeaks said it identified a project known as Weeping Angel where US and British intelligence agencies developed ways to take over Samsung smart TVs equipped with microphones, forcing them to record conversations when the device appeared to be turned off.

Experts have long said smart TVs and other Internet-connected devices can be exploited to monitor a target.

BCCL/representation image

Are apps like WhatsApp susceptible?

No system is perfect. The WikiLeaks documents describe ways to get information in those apps on Android devices but only after gaining full control of those phones.

However, there's no evidence to suggest that CIA has figured a way to break the encryption in those apps.

Reuters

Are iPhones also vulnerable?

The documents discuss ways to get into iPhones as well. One appeared to show a list of Apple iOS security flaws purchased by US intelligence agencies so they could gain access to those devices.

Reuters/representation image

How concerned should you be?

The intrusion tools highlighted by the leak do not appear to be instruments of mass surveillance. So, it's not as if everyone's TV or high-tech vehicle is at risk.

What should I do if I'm worried?

Everybody should stay on top of software patches so all their computers, mobile phones and other connected devices are running software with the latest security updates.

Don't click links or open email attachments unless you are sure they are safe.

Balance security concerns with your need to use smart devices.

AFP/representation image

Are the WikiLeaks documents authentic?

It appears at least some are real. While the CIA has declined to comment, independent cyber-security experts and former intelligence agency employees who have looked through them say that they appear to be authentic, citing code words used to describe CIA hacking programs.

Reuters

How did WikiLeaks get the information?

This is unclear. Someone inside the agency may have leaked the information. Or, someone outside may have figured out a way to steal it.
All pooches are cute, but some have that extra 'je ne sais quoi' that makes them cuter. Case in point; this stray dog who became a monk!

(Also read: Karachi Culls Nearly 1,000 Stray Dogs To Prevent A Possible Rabies Outbreak. Seriously?)

Meet Friar Moustache, who was just another dog until he was adopted by St Francis Monastery in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Franciscan, the saint after which this order was established was known as a patron of animals and he's inspired all the monks in this monastery to reach out to pooches on the street and take care of them.

(Also read: Kill More Stray Dogs, Get Gold Coins - Bizarre New Gift Scheme Announced In Kerala!)

1. The dog now enjoys his life to the fullest.

kasper.kapronofm/Facebook

2. He even attends most of his monk duties.



3. And wears a religious habit too!

4. At the monastery, he's loved by everyone and some even call him 'creature of God'.

5. His life is all about playing and running, said a fellow monk.

6. Here's him preaching to the fishes in the pond.



7. His adoption process was initiated by a local animal rescue team and they're quite happy about it.



8. The team now hopes that this move will inspire other monasteries to help pets in need.

9. The monks too are urging all the parishioners to follow the order.

10. Isn't he adorable?

If there was a hierarchy to rate cute dogs on the scale of cuteness overloaded and cuteness personified, I guess, the dog who became a monk would top the chart!

(Also read: This Adorable Dog Is Giving Free Hugs To People In New York City And We Are Super Jealous!)
Yesterday, Nike unveiled its soon-to-be-launched 'Pro Hijab' collection for women Muslim athletes that both professional and everyday athletes helped design.

nike

The unveiling came just one day ahead of International Women's Day. The product, which took the brand a year to develop, was tested by figure skater Zahra Lari who is a Winter Olympics hopeful for next year's event to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The Nike Pro-Hijab will hit the markets in 2018 and come in three variants - black, gray, and obsidian. The hijab is created from a lightweight stretchy fabric with tiny pores that will allow athletes breathability. It will also come with an elongated back to prevent it from untucking.

nike

Needless to say, women were ecstatic to hear about Nike's new product line. Irrespective of whether they were Muslim or not, the ladies hailed it as one of the most progressive steps toward a hopeful future on social media.

Nike is launching a hijab collection line for Muslim female athletes. This is the future  pic.twitter.com/tUwF2jXu7f   (@melaninist) March 7, 2017

This is the most amazing thing!! Imagine how comfy it's gonna be - better than those other scarf things hijabis have to wear now. https://t.co/QqPfR1FlUF  Aisha Baker Parnell (@bakedtheblog) March 7, 2017

However, several women skipped attaching any importance to this pioneering work.

But before Nike, there were companies doing this work. @Capsters @Resporton_Hijab and @friniggi + more who have been doing this A LONG time.  Footybedsheets (@_shireenahmed_) March 7, 2017

Most patronising. I've been wearing a scarf and exercising fine for years, just as small businesses have BEEN making scarves for activewear. https://t.co/BFpjn8jdCR  Aaisha Dadi Patel (@aaishadadipatel) March 7, 2017

What do you think? Is Nike merely pulling off a business stunt or it is really trying to make hijabs more inclusive in sports?
Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details.
American Carnage: Fighting the Forever War

By Rebecca Gordon

March 07, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Tom Dispatch " - In his inaugural address, President Trump described a dark and dismal United States, a country overrun by criminal gangs and drugs, a nation stained with the blood seeping from bullet-ridden corpses left at scenes of American carnage. It was more than a little jarring.

Certainly, drug gangs and universally accessible semi-automatic weapons do not contribute to a better life for most people in this country. When I hear the words American carnage, however, the first thing I think of is not an endless string of murders taking place in those mysterious  inner cities  that exist only in the fevered mind of Donald Trump. The phrase instead evokes the non-imaginary deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in real cities and rural areas outside the United States. It evokes the conversion of millions of ordinary people into homeless refugees. It reminds me of the places where American wars seem never to end, where new conflicts seem to take up just as the old ones are in danger of petering out. These sites of carnage are the cities and towns, mountains and deserts of Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, and other places that we dont even find out about unless we go looking. They are the places where the United States fights its endless wars.

During the 2016 election campaign, Donald Trump often sounded like a pre-World War II-style America First isolationist, someone who thought the United States should avoid foreign military entanglements. Today, he seems more like a man with a uniform fetish. Hes referred to his latest efforts to round up undocumented immigrants in this country as a military operation. Hes similarly stocked his cabinet with one general still on active duty, various retired generals , and other military veterans. His pick for secretary of the interior, Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, served 23 years as a Navy SEAL.

Clearly, these days Trump enjoys the company of military men. Hes more ambivalent about what the military actually does. On the campaign trail, he railed against the folly that was -- and is -- the (second) Iraq War, maintaining with questionable accuracy that he was totally against it from the beginning. Its not clear, however, just where Trump thinks the folly lies -- in invading Iraq in the first place or in failing to keep Iraqs oil afterward. It was a criticism he reprised when he introduced Mike Pompeo as his choice to run the CIA. Mike, he explained, if we kept the oil, you probably wouldnt have ISIS because thats where they made their money in the first place. Not to worry, however, since as he also suggested to Pompeo, Maybe well have another chance. Maybe the wrong people had just fought the wrong Iraq war, and Donald Trumps version will be bigger, better, and even more full of win!

Perhaps Trumps objection is simply to wars we dont win. As February ended, he invited the National Governors Association to share his nostalgia for the good old days when everybody used to say we havent lost a war -- we never lost a war -- you remember. Now, according to the president, We never win a war. We never win. And we dont fight to win. We dont fight to win. So we either got to win, or dont fight it at all.

The question is, which would Trump prefer: Winning or not fighting at all? Theres probably more than a hint of an answer in his oft-repeated campaign promise that were going to win so much well get tired of winning. If his fetish for winning -- whether its trade wars or shooting wars -- makes you feel a little too exposed to his sexual imagination, youre probably right. In one of his riffs on the subject, he told his audience that they would soon be pleading they had a headache to get him to stop winning so much -- as if they were 1950s housewives trying to avoid their bedroom duty. But daddy Trump knows best:

And I'm going to say, No, we have to make America great again. You're gonna say, Please. I said, Nope, nope. We're gonna keep winning.

Theres more than a hint of where were headed in Trumps recent announcement that hell be asking Congress for a nearly 10% increase in military spending, an additional annual $54 billion for the Pentagon as part of what he calls his public safety and national security budget. You dont spend that kind of money on toys unless you intend to play with them.

Trump explained his reasoning, in his trademark idiolect, his unique mangling of syntax and diction:

This is a landmark event, a message to the world, in these dangerous times of American strength, security, and resolve. We must ensure that our courageous servicemen and women have the tools they need to deter war and when called upon to fight in our name only do one thing, win. We have to win.

So it does look like the new president intends to keep on making war into the eternal future. But its worth remembering that our forever wars didnt begin with Donald J. Trump, not by a long shot.

The Forever Wars

Joe Haldemans 1974 novel, The Forever War , which won the three major science fiction prizes, a Hugo, a Nebula, and a Locus, was about a soldier involved in a war between human beings and the Taurans, an alien race. Because of the stretching of time when traveling at near light-speed (as Einstein predicted), while soldiers like Haldemans hero passed a few years at a time at a front many light-years from home, the Earth theyd left behind experienced the conflict as lasting centuries. Published just after the end of the Vietnam War -- fought for what seemed to many Americans like centuries in a land light-years away -- The Forever War was clearly a reflection of Haldemans own experience in Vietnam and his return to an unrecognizable United States, all transposed to space.

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In 1965, Haldeman had been drafted into that brutal conflict, probably one of those that Donald Trump thinks we didnt fight to win. It certainly seemed like a forever war while it lasted, especially if you included the French colonial war that preceded it. But it did finally end, decisively, with an American loss (although, in a sense, its still being fought out by the thousands of Vietnam veterans who live on the streets of our country).

After the attacks of 9/11 and George W. Bushs declaration of a Global War on Terror, some people found the title of Haldemans novel a useful shorthand for what seemed to be an era of permanent war. It gave us a way of describing then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfelds vision of a new kind of war against an enemy located, as he told NBCs Meet the Press on September 30, 2001, not just in Afghanistan. It is in 50 or 60 countries and it simply has to be liquidated. It has to end. It has to go out of business.

More than 15 years later, after a decade and a half of forever war in the Greater Middle East and parts of Africa, al-Qaeda and the Taliban are still in business, along with a set of new enemies, including Boko Haram in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon; al-Shabaab in Somalia; and ISIS, which, if we are to believe the president and his cronies, is pretty much everywhere, including Mexico . In a war against a tactic (terrorism) or an emotion (terror), its hardly surprising that our enemies have just kept proliferating, and with them, the wars. Its as if Washington were constantly bringing jets, drones, artillery, and firepower of every sort to bear on a new set of Taurans in another galaxy.

Decades before Haldemans Forever War, George Orwell gave us an unforgettable portrait of a society controlled by stoking permanent hatred for a rotating cast of enemies. In 1984 , the countries of the world have coalesced into three super-nations -- Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Winston Smith, the novels protagonist, recalls that, since his childhood, war had been literally continuous, though strictly speaking it had not always been the same war. Smith joins thousands of other citizens of Oceania in their celebration of Hate Week and observes the slick substitution of one enemy for another on the sixth day of that week:

...when the great orgasm was quivering to its climax and the general hatred of Eurasia had boiled up into such delirium that if the crowd could have got their hands on the two thousand Eurasian war-criminals who were to be publicly hanged on the last day of the proceedings, they would unquestionably have torn them to pieces -- at just this moment it had been announced that Oceania was not after all at war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Eurasia was an ally.

Except that there is no actual announcement. Rather, the Party spokesman makes the substitution in mid-oration:

The speech had been proceeding for perhaps twenty minutes when a messenger hurried onto the platform and a scrap of paper was slipped into the speakers hand. He unrolled and read it without pausing in his speech. Nothing altered in his voice or manner, or in the content of what he was saying, but suddenly the names were different. Without words said, a wave of understanding rippled through the crowd. Oceania was at war with Eastasia!

And it had always been thus. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.

1984 is, of course, a novel. In our perfectly real country, human memories work better than they do in Orwells Oceania. Or do they? The United States is at war with Iraq. The United States has always been at war with Iraq. Except, of course, when the United States sided with Iraq in its vicious, generation-destroying conflict with Iran in the 1980s. Who today remembers Ronald Reagans  tilt toward Iraq  and against Iran? Theyre so confusing, those two four-letter countries that start with I. Who can keep them straight, even now that weve tilted back toward whats left of Iraq -- Trump has even removed it from his latest version of his Muslim ban list -- and threateningly against Iran?

Many Americans do seem to adapt to a revolving enemies list as easily as the citizens of Oceania. Every few years, I ask my college students where the terrorists who flew the planes on 9/11 came from. At the height of the (second and still unfinished) Iraq War, when many of them had brothers, sisters, lovers, even fathers fighting there, my students were certain the attackers had all been Iraqis. A few years later, when the real men were trying to gin up a new opportunity to  go to Tehran , my students were just as sure the terrorists had been from Iran. I havent asked in a couple of years now. I wonder whether today Id hear that they were from Syria, or maybe that new country, the Islamic State?

I dont blame my students for not knowing that the 9/11 attackers included 15 Saudis, two men from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one Egyptian, and one Lebanese. Its not a fact thats much trumpeted anymore. You certainly wouldnt guess it from where our military aid and American-made weaponry goes. After Afghanistan ($3.67 billion) and Israel ($3.1 billion), Egypt is the next largest recipient of that aid at $1.31 billion in 2015.

Of course, military aid to other countries is a windfall for U.S. arms manufacturers. Like food money and other forms of foreign aid from Washington, the countries receiving it are often obligated to spend it on American products. In other words, much military aid is actually a back-door subsidy to companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Being wealthy oil states, the Saudis and the UAE, of course, dont need subsidies. They buy their U.S. arms with their own money -- $3.3 billion and $1.3 billion worth of purchases respectively in 2015. And theyre putting that weaponry to use, with U.S. connivance and -- yes, it should make your head spin in an Orwellian fashion -- occasional support from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, by taking sides in a civil war in Yemen. U.S.-made fighter planes and cluster bombs have put more than seven million Yemenis in imminent danger of starvation.

War Without End, When Did You Begin?

When did our forever war begin? When did we start to think of the president as commander-in-chief first, and executor of the laws passed by Congress only a distant second?

Was it after 9/11? Was it during that first Iraq war that spanned a few months of 1990 and 1991? Or was it even earlier, during the glorious invasion of the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada in 1983, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury? That was the first time the military intentionally -- and successfully -- kept the press sequestered from the action for the first 48 hours of that short-lived war. They did the same thing in 1989, with the under-reported invasion of Panama, when somewhere between 500 and 3,500 Panamanians died so that the United States could kidnap and try an erstwhile ally and CIA asset , the unsavory dictator of that country, Manuel Noriega.

Or was it even earlier? The Cold War was certainly a kind of forever war, one that began before World War II ended, as the United States used its atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to, as we now say, send a message to the Soviet Union. And it didnt end until that empire imploded in 1991.

Maybe it began when Congress first abdicated its constitutional right and authority to declare war and allowed the executive branch to usurp that power. The Korean War (1950-1953) was never declared. Nor were the Vietnam War, the Grenada invasion, the Panama invasion, the Afghan War, the first and second Iraq wars, the Libyan war, or any of the wars were presently involved in. Instead of outright declarations, weve had weasely, after-the-fact congressional approvals, or Authorizations for the Use of Military Force , that fall short of actual declarations of war.

The framers of the Constitution understood how important it was to place the awesome responsibility for declaring war in the hands of the legislative branch -- of, that is, a deliberative body elected by the people -- leaving the decision on war neither to the president nor the military. Indeed, one of the charges listed against King George III in the Declaration of Independence was: He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the others who met in the stifling heat of that 1776 Philadelphia summer, close enough to battle to hear the boom of British cannons, decided they could no longer abide a king who allowed the military to dominate a duly constituted civil government. For all their many faults, they were brave men who, even with war upon them, recognized the danger of a government controlled by those whose sole business is war.

Since 9/11, this country has experienced at least 15 years of permanent war in distant lands. Washington is now a war capital. The president is, first and foremost, the commander-in-chief. The power of the expanding military (as well as paramilitary intelligence services and drone assassination forces, not to mention for-profit military contractors of all sorts) is emphatically in presidential hands. Those hands , much discussed in the 2016 election campaign, are now Donald Trumps and, as he indicated in his recent address to Congress, he seems hell-bent on restoring the military to the superiority it enjoyed under King George. That is a danger of the first order.

Rebecca Gordon, a TomDispatch regular , teaches in the philosophy department at the University of San Francisco. She is the author of American Nuremberg: The U.S. Officials Who Should Stand Trial for Post-9/11 War Crimes . Her previous books include Mainstreaming Torture: Ethical Approaches in the Post-9/11 United States and Letters from Nicaragua.

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook . Check out the newest Dispatch Book, John Feffer's dystopian novel Splinterlands , as well as Nick Turses Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead , and Tom Engelhardt's latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World .
The Lefts Great Russian Conspiracy Theory

By Brendan O'Neill

March 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " The Spectator " - The chattering classes have officially lost it. On both sides of the Atlantic. Of course theyd been teetering on the cliff edge of sanity for a while, following the bruising of their beloved EU by 17m angry Brits and Hillarys loss to that orange muppet they thought no one except rednecks would vote for. But now theyve gone over. Theyre falling fast. Theyre speeding away from the world of logic into a cesspit of conspiracy and fear. Its tragic. Or hilarious. One or the other.

Exhibit A: this weeks New Yorker. Its mad. It captures wonderfully how the liberal-left has come to be polluted by the paranoid style of McCarthyist thinking since Trumps victory. Its a New Yorker for a future, dystopian America thats been captured by the Evil Empire. The mags masthead is in Cyrillic and its famous dandy mascot  Eustace Tilley  has morphed into Putin. Its now Eustace Vladimirovich Tilley . Inside the mag its even more feverish. A 13,000-word report, Trump, Putin and the New Cold War, is accompanied by a drawing of a deep-red, UFO-style Kremlin hovering over the White House and firing lasers into it. Its CGI Hollywood meets House Un-American Activities in an orgy of liberal dread over Ruskies ruining the nation.

It used to be right-wingers who fretted over Russians and Reds and pinkos colonising Westerners lives and minds. Now its lefties. Trump is regularly called Putins puppet . Hes an unwitting agent of Moscow , were told. The New York Times even called him The Siberian Candidate , echoing the title of the 1962 thriller The Manchurian Candidate, in which an American is brainwashed by Korean Communists to become an assassin. Thats how some seriously view Trump: a Putin-moulded footsoldier of Russian interests wholl assassinate the American way of life, if not American citizens. I mean, Vanity Fair actually asks : Is Trump a Manchurian Candidate? These people need a lie down. You have to get deep into the New Yorkers prolix report to discover that US officials still havent provided evidence for their claim that Putin ordered the hacking of Democrat emails in order to hurry Trump to power: The declassified report [on Putins meddling] provides more assertion than evidence.

But that hasnt stopped the left McCarthyists, these Reds on the Web fearmongers, from buying into all kinds of claptrap about Putin putting Trump in the White House. In December, a YouGov survey of Democratic voters found that 50 percent of them think Russia tampered with vote tallies to help Trump. That is, White House-eyeing Putinites actually meddled with voting machines or ballot counts. Theres no evidence whatever for this. In YouGovs words , its an election day conspiracy theory. A kind of delirium is spreading.

The spectre of Putinite meddling is now blamed for everything that doesnt go the liberal elites way. Ben Bradshaw said it is highly probable Russia interfered in the EU referendum. Here, highly probable is code for I dont have a solitary shred of evidence for this but I feel it in my waters. Even the concern over fake news, which is a problem, is being bent to this broader, swirling fear of malevolent foreigners waging war on our apparently pristine politics and media. It always uses the lingo of invasion. Meet the big data billionaire waging war on mainstream media, said a Guardian report at the weekend, about a rich bloke whos setting up various news websites.

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The Guardian piece talks about the war of the bots, including Russian bots (organised by who?, it asks, menacingly ). Apparently these automated bots on Twitter and other social-media sites  a bot being a computer programme designed to say the same stuff over and over  are pumping out political messages and hashtags that have helped to change the conversation and boost support for the likes of Trump and Brexit. Whats really being said here is that my mind, your mind and the mind of anyone who doesnt love the EU or think Hillary would have made a good president have been invaded by Russian bots  organised by who? You know who!  and made to believe certain things. Richard Dawkins summed it up in a tweet about the Guardian piece : Terrifying. Sinister social-media bots read minds & manipulate votes. Explains mystery of Trump & Brexit.

Dear, dear me. What has become of these people? They really believe Putin made Brexit happen? That Ruskies tampered with vote counts in the US? That Russian computer bots read minds? Theyve lost it. Theyve gone. The very people who for years talked about the problem of conspiracy theories have become the keenest spreaders of conspiracy theories. The people who spent the past few months banging on about the post-truth politics of Brexit and Trump have shown they dont have the first clue what truth is. The people who posed as champions of logic have revealed themselves as peddlers of paranoia.

In his seminal 1964 essay The Paranoid Style in American Politics , written in the aftermath of McCarthyism, Richard Hofstadter nailed the two elements of the fearful, fact-lite political mind: first, the obsession with patterns of behaviour that might point to a conspiracy; and second, the conviction that the entire political order is under threat from some external force. He noted that McCarthy often talked about the baffling pattern of certain politicians antics, which seemed to compliment, at least, the wellbeing of the Kremlin. And he described how political paranoiacs always think civilisation itself is being menaced: The paranoid spokesman traffics in the birth and death of whole worlds, whole political orders.
Israel: Where Vision and Reality Violently Diverge



By Jonathan Cook Dustin Pfundheller, 30, an American dentist living in Singapore, was set to become the youngest person to visit every country in the world while in a full-time job. His globetrotting has taken him to 192 of the 193 recognised states, bringing his medical skills to the worlds remotest places. But in January he was barred for the second time from Israel, the only country left on his list, having previously been refused entry last year.



Despite an invitation to a dental conference in Tel Aviv, and Israelis who vouched for him, border officials banned Mr Pfundheller for 10 years. No reason was given, but lawyers suspect visits to Iran and the Arab states sealed his fate. There could hardly be starker evidence that Israel stubbornly refuses to become a normal country.



Paradoxically, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Singapore last month to promote Israel as a tolerant country, one "committed to a better world, a world of diversity."



The reality could not be more different. Arabs and Muslims have always struggled to gain entry to Israel. Palestinians are routinely abused at the borders, and thousands, especially from Jerusalem, have been stripped of the right to return home after living abroad.



But new figures show Israel is excluding other groups too. Entry denials have increased nine-fold in the past five years, topping 16,000 people last year. Among those increasingly turned away are political activists. Israel controls all access to the occupied Palestinian territories, and now regularly denies entry to solidarity activists and those who support the boycott movement.



But in practice the net is cast wider still. Recently, Israel subjected Jennifer Gorovitz, an American Jewish vice-president of the New Israel Fund, to a humiliating interrogation at airport arrivals. NIF is one of the largest funders of Israeli organisations supporting human rights and social justice. That includes assistance to groups that monitor military abuses in the occupied territories. This presumably explains why Ms Gorovitzs interrogators suggested she posed a "security threat". She finally gained admittance only after Talia Sasson, the Israeli head of NIF, pulled strings.



Ms Gorovitz wrote of her experience: "My privilege as a Jew means I never imagined that Israel could or would deny me entrance."



Such an assumption was justified. Israels Law of Return is supposed to guarantee Jews around the world the right to almost instant citizenship in Israel.



For that reason, the law is grossly unjust. It privileges Jewish access to Israel at the expense of the native Palestinian population, most of whom were expelled in 1948.



Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that Israel, a state that invested itself with the historical mission of offering sanctuary to Jews worldwide, is increasingly applying a political test to those who arrive at its borders. Israel is denying entry not only to Arabs and would-be record breakers. And it is deporting not just those such as migrant workers and African asylum seekers who might pollute the Jewish state with non-Jewish genes. Now it is openly targeting Jews whose politics do not align with the far-right government of Mr Netanyahu. Break Free From The Matrix Get Our Free Daily Newsletter It should be noted that many of the solidarity and boycott activists turned away are Jewish. Famous Jewish critics of Israel such as Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein have been barred too.



In Israels eyes, it seems some Jews are more equal than others.



The pulling up of the drawbridge comes as Israels leadership has remained largely silent in the face of a rising tide of anti-semitism in the US, fuelled by Donald Trumps election as president. Dozens of Jewish centres have received bomb threats, and Jewish cemeteries have been vandalised.



There are growing rumblings among American Jews that their interests are being overlooked by the Netanyahu government to avoid damaging relations with the new US administration. But another reason for the lack of response should be considered.



The principle of the "ingathering of the exiles", according to Israels official ideology, Zionism, assumes that Israel is the rightful home of Jews everywhere. And the largest Jewish population outside Israel resides in the US.



In November, Yaron London, a popular TV host, welcomed Mr Trumps election, pointing out that "a worldview which supports white supremacy matches our [Israeli] governments interests."



Last week opposition leader Isaac Herzog urged Israel to prepare for an influx of US Jews fleeing persecution.



But will Israels arms really be open to all Jews equally, or only to those willing to contribute enthusiastically to the tribal project?



And can Jews of conscience ignore the true cost of their migration? They can leave behind anti-Jewish bigotry in the US, but only if they bolster the Jewish bigots of Israel who lord it over the native Palestinian population.



Jonathan Cook is an independent journalist in Nazareth The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
The Time to Invest in Iran is Now



The shift in the global balance of financing power towards Russia, India and China  especially China  is opening up opportunities for Tehran



By Pepe Escobar



Its a beautiful late winter morning, the snowy Alborz mountains glittering under the sun, and Professor Mohammad Marandi from the faculty of world studies at the University of Tehran is taking me on the road, westbound.



Sprawling west Tehran is a decentralization/connectivity spectacular, with its brand new highways, metro lines, artificial lakes and megamalls. While not on the epic scale of the construction rush in Beijing or Shanghai, it is similar in spirit and comparable to whats going on in Istanbul.



The professor  arguably Irans leading political and cultural analyst and I had been on a running conversation for days on all aspects of an evolving Russia-China-Iran strategic partnership, the massive Eurasia integration project pushed by China, and its myriad interconnected challenges. Watching west Tehran go by, it was hard not to connect this new normal to the atmosphere of excitement surrounding the Iran nuclear deal struck in Vienna in the summer of 2015. But this had actually started even before President Hassan Rouhani came to power in 2013, linked to Irans stability and rising regional status, Marandi said. Cue to the former head of the Iranian National Security Councils Foreign Relations Committee and professor at Princeton, Seyed Hosein Mousavian. He has been adamant that Americas four-decade push for regime change in Iran is a failure. On the nuclear deal , Mousavian noted, regarding the Trump administration rumble, it is 170 pages, too much technicalities, they might not have time to go through different resolutions  and therefore they really dont know what theyre talking about. The implementation of the deal should have signaled the acceptance of Iran by the West  hence renewed trade and commerce. Instead, the new normal points towards the China-driven New Silk Roads, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Russia-driven Eurasia Economic Union; and towards Iran, alongside other emerging economies, seeking infrastructure finance and foreign investment from BRICS nations, especially the RIC triumvirate. In sum: look east. Tehran did sign a rash of memorandums of understanding with French industry. But the heart of the trade and investment action is China. When President Xi Jinping visited Tehran in January last year, Rouhani said , Iran and China have agreed to increase trade to US$600 billion in the next 10 years. Most deals, of course, involve oil and gas  but crucially they also span cooperation on nuclear energy and Irans positioning as an absolutely crucial hub of One Belt, One Road. Compared to it, Russia-Iran trade, at almost US$2 billion last year, is not exactly newsworthy, although rising rapidly. Post-sanctions, Russia-Iran signed almost US$40 billion in MoUs  but projects are mostly still only on paper. The problem is the overwhelming majority of Iranian companies are cash-strapped, so financing should come from Russian sources. Secret code exports  as in weapons  are back, as in the US$900 million contract for the S-300 defense missile systems, the first batch delivered to Iran last April. The real secret though in reference to incipient trade is that Russia and Iran do not have much to exchange at globally competitive rates. Russia exports mainly metals, wood, electrical machines, paper, grain, floating structures, mechanically engineered products and weapons. Iran exports agricultural and seafood products. With India, the heart of the matter is the development of the port of Chabahar. Heres where Chinas Maritime Silk Road meets Indias drive to connect the Indian Ocean to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Enter Indian investment on the Chabahar-Zahedan railway, ending in Sistan-Balochistan, close to the Pakistani border, as well as in the still-in-planning Chabahar-Hajigak railway, which translates as a direct connection to Afghanistan. All this spells out Iran blooming as a crucial integration/connectivity hub for China, India and the intersection of South and Central Asia. On the energy front, the news is also encouraging. According to the head of National Iranian Oil Company, Ali Kardor, by next month Iran will be producing 4 million barrels of oil a day (there was a peak at 4.2 million before sanctions were tightened in 2011). Iran used to be the second-largest OPEC producer. Sanctions forced it down to 2.5 million barrels a day and exports of just above 1 million. Now its back to OPECs number three, behind Saudi Arabia (10 million barrels a day) and Iraq (4.5 million). Break Free From The Matrix Get Our Free Daily Newsletter Natural gas production will reach 1.3 billion cubic meters a day by 2021. For that to happen, NIOC needs to drill at least 500 new offshore wells. The problem is NIOC is deep in US$50 billion of debt; not only because of low oil prices but also bad financial and management decisions. Royal Dutch Shell and Total are keen to strike deals, but nothing has been signed yet. Once again, I got a similar figure to what NIOC provided me roughly 10 years ago; Iran needs at least US$200 billion to upgrade its energy industry infrastructure, and to really start profiting from an astonishing US$7 trillion in gas reserves. Its fair to assume substantial funds could be provided, eventually, by the AIIB and other sources from Russia and China. Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia expects major developments in a few months. Socially, Iran is not a powder keg. The average standard of living improved roughly 70% since the Islamic revolution. Women accounted for 70% of Irans science and engineering students in 2015. The healthcare system , by 2014, was the 30th most efficient in the world, way ahead of the US (in 50th). Much will depend on the upcoming presidential elections. Former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was politely dissuaded by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, in person, from running again. Marandi confirms President Rouhani, up for re-election, is way less popular than Foreign Minister Zarif, who in turn is less popular than the number one superstar: Major General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force  whos not running for office. The reason for Rouhanis woes; his record on the economy has been far from stellar. Tehran will soon drop the US dollar in its financial and foreign exchange reports. That will certainly imply more currency swap agreements, and Iran only accepting payment for oil and gas in euros or in a basket of currencies. Iran trades mostly with China, the EU and the UAE. Trump claimed during his campaign that Iran was handed a US$150 billion gift by the nuclear deal. Not true. The Central Banks frozen oil funds repatriated since January 2016 from the UAE, Britain, India, Greece, Italy and Norway amount to less than US$10 billion. And only US$12 billion of blocked assets were released from Japan, South Korea and India, on installments. Before we arrived back in Tehran, Marandi told me that all in all,  I believe whoever invests now in Iran will have an amazing return. The time to invest is now. The RIC in BRICS are doing it. Europeans are doing it  although not much so far. And Americans are not doing it  at their loss. We wrapped it up at a traditional Iranian restaurant downtown, serving first-class food to middle and upper middle class families. The bill: less than US$30 for two. A fabulous return on investment. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Democrats Demonize the Same Russia Policies that Obama Long Championed

By Glenn Greenwald

March 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " The Intercept " - One of the most bizarre aspects of the all-consuming Russia frenzy is the Democrats fixation on changes to the RNC platform concerning U.S. arming of Ukraine. The controversy began in July when the Washington Post reported that the Trump campaign worked behind the scenes last week to make sure the new Republican platform wont call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces.

Ever since then, Democrats have used this language change as evidence that Trump and his key advisers have sinister connections to Russians and corruptly do their bidding at the expense of American interests. Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke for many in his party when he lambasted the RNC change in a July letter to the New York Times , castigating it as dangerous thinking that shows Trump is controlled, or at least manipulated, by the Kremlin. Democrats resurrected this line of attack this weekend when Trump advisers acknowledged that campaign officials were behind the platform change.

This attempt to equate Trumps opposition to arming Ukraine with some sort of treasonous allegiance to Putin masks a rather critical fact: namely, that the refusal to arm Ukraine with lethal weapons was one of Barack Obamas most steadfastly held policies. The original Post article that reported the RNC platform change noted this explicitly:

Of course, Trump is not the only politician to oppose sending lethal weapons to Ukraine. President Obama decided not to authorize it , despite recommendations to do so from his top Europe officials in the State Department and the military.

Early media reports about this controversy from outlets such as NPR also noted the irony at the heart of this debate: namely, that arming Ukraine was the long-time desire of hawks in the GOP such as John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio, but the Obama White House categorically resisted those pressures:

Republicans in Congress have approved providing arms to the Ukrainian government but the White House has resisted, saying that it would only encourage more bloodshed. Its a rare Obama administration policy that the Trump campaign seems to agree with.

Indeed, the GOP ultimately joined with the hawkish wing of the Democratic Party to demand that Obama provide Ukraine with lethal weapons to fight Russia, but Obama steadfastly refused. As the New York Times reported in March, 2015 , President Obama is coming under increasing pressure from both parties and more officials inside his own government to send arms to the country. But he remains unconvinced that they would help. When Obama kept refusing, leaders of the two parties threatened to enact legislation forcing Obama to arm Ukraine.

The general Russia approach that Democrats now routinely depict as treasonous  avoiding confrontation with and even accommodating Russian interests, not just in Ukraine but also in Syria  was one of the defining traits of Obamas foreign policy. This fact shouldnt be overstated: Obama engaged in provocative acts such as moves to further expand NATO, non-lethal aid to Ukraine, and deploying missile defense weaponry in Romania . But he rejected most calls to confront Russia. That is one of the primary reasons the foreign policy elite  which, recall, Obama came into office denouncing and vowing to repudiate  was so dissatisfied with his presidency.

A new, long article by Politico foreign affairs correspondent Susan Glasser  on the war being waged against Trump by Washingtons foreign policy elite  makes this point very potently. Say what you will about Politico, but one thing they are very adept at doing is giving voice to cowardly Washington insiders by accommodating their cowardice and thus routinely granting them anonymity to express themselves. As journalistically dubious as it is to shield the worlds most powerful people with anonymity, this practice sometimes ends up revealing what careerist denizens of Washington power really think but are too scared to say. Glassers article, which largely consists of conveying the views of anonymous high-level Obama officials, contains this remarkable passage:

In other words, Democrats are now waging war on, and are depicting as treasonous, one of Barack Obamas central and most steadfastly held foreign policy positions, one that he clung to despite attacks from leading members of both parties as well as the DC National Security Community. Thats not Noam Chomsky drawing that comparison; its an Obama appointee.

The destructive bipartisan Foreign Policy Community was furious with Obama for not confronting Russia more, and is now furious with Trump for the same reason (though they certainly loath and fear Trump for other reasons, including the threat they believe he poses to U.S. imperial management through a combination of ineptitude, instability, toxic PR, naked rather than prettified savagery, and ideology; Glasser writes: Everything Ive worked for for two decades is being destroyed, a senior Republican told me).

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All of this demonstrates how fundamental a shift has taken place as a result of the Democrats election-related fixation on The Grave Russian Threat. To see how severe the shift is, just look at this new polling data from CNN this morning that shows Republicans and Democrats doing a complete reversal on Russia in the span of eight months:

The Democrats obsession with Russia has not just led them to want investigations into allegations of hacking and ( thus far evidence-free ) suspicions of Trump campaign collusion  investigations which everyone should want. Its done far more than that: its turned them into increasingly maniacal and militaristic hawks  dangerous ones  when it comes to confronting the only nation with a larger nuclear stockpile than the U.S., an arsenal accompanied by a sense of fear, if not outright encirclement, from NATO expansion.

Put another way, establishment Democrats  with a largely political impetus but now as a matter of conviction  have completely abandoned Obamas accommodationist approach to Russia and have fully embraced the belligerent, hawkish mentality of John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Bill Kristol, the CIA and Evan McMullin. It should thus come as no surprise that a bill proposed by supreme warmonger Lindsey Graham to bar Trump from removing sanctions against Russia has more Democratic co-sponsors than Republican ones.

This is why its so notable that Democrats, in the name of resistance, have aligned with neocons, CIA operatives and former Bush officials: not because coalitions should be avoided with the ideologically impure, but because it reveals much about the political and policy mindset theyve adopted in the name of stopping Trump. Theyre not resisting Trump from the left or with populist appeals  by, for instance, devoting themselves to protection of Wall Street and environmental regulations under attack , or supporting the revocation of jobs-killing free trade agreements, or demanding that Yemini civilians not be massacred.
Washingtons Benevolent Mask Is Disintegrating By Paul Craig Roberts March 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The few weeks of Trumps presidency suffice to make clear that there will be no change this time either. Normal relations with Russia are on the back burner, if not off the stove. The material needs of the military/security complex for an enemy in order to justify its budget and police state powers, and the ideological needs of the neoconservatives for US world hegemony, are deemed to be more important than trust between thermo-nuclear powers. As for the liberal/progressive/left, they regard working to preserve life on earth as merely a pretext for being soft on Russians and those who commit treason by favoring friendly relations with Russia. The American working class has discovered that it has among Trumps government no larger a constituency than have the Russians. Having been told by corporations, which are spending billions of dollars buying back their own stock, that they are too poor to pay US wages, Trump has found that the path to economic security for the work force lies in corporate tax reduction. Identity politics marches for open borders for Muslims and Hispanics and for transgendered toilet facilities, not for bread and peace, and wants Trump impeached because he is not yet at war with Russia. Trumps Russophobic appointments, such as McMaster, Mattis, and Fiona Hill are actually worse than Obamas Victoria Nuland, Samantha Power and Susan Rice. Just as Hillary and Nuland brought regime change to Ukraine, Tillerson at the State Department has signaled regime change of the democratically elected government in Venezuela. Ecuador and Bolivia wont be far behind. Washington has never supported governments that put the interests of their peoples ahead of the interests of those who rule the US. From Africa to South America to Indonesia to Cuba to Vietnam to Iran to Egypt, Washington has always misrepresented the forces for change as communist. Washington overthrew the first democratically elected government in Iran http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cia-assisted-coup-overthrows-government-of-iran , the first in the Congo https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jan/17/patrice-lumumba-50th-anniversary-assassination , the first in Egypt http://www.timesofisrael.com/announced-as-president-of-egypt/ , and a large numbers of others. Read Stephen Kinzers The Brothers. Read General Smedley Butler who said that he and the US Marines made South America safe for the United Fruit Company and investments of the New York Banks. Read John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Washington opposes democratic change with an iron fist. Now Marine Le Pen, the favored candidate for the presidency of France in the upcoming election, is in the process of being destroyed by Washington. Marine is not on Washingtons approved list. The reasons are: (1) she speaks to French interests, not to Washingtons or the EUs, (2) she opposes the Trans-Atlantic Partnership, which gives US global corporations immunity to French laws against GMOs, and French labor, safety, and environmental standards, (3) she supports French opinion that the French are French and not European and wants out of the European Union, and (4) she wants France out of NATO, which uses France as a tool for American aggression. Washington first attacked Marine via its surrogates in the French press and government, who managed to nullify her parliamentary immunity. With this achieved, she is now accused of misuse of EU funds. The charge, of course, is a hoax, a frame-up. The charge, if it proves effective, will rely on the French presstitute medias portrayal of Marine as a fascist for representing French nationalism. Today, if a European person is loyal to his or her own country and not to the EU, the person is considered to be a nationalist, a term that has been merged with fascist. The consequence is that anyone in France who wants to represent the French is a fascist. Marine Le Pen lost her parliamentary immunity because she posted photos of ISIS victims on Twitter. The photos she posted were accurate and correct, simply the truth. But the charge is that to tell the truth about ISIS means that you are anti-Muslim, which today is like being anti-Jew, anti-black, anti-homosexual and anti-transgendered. The protection of Identity Politics now extends not only to the Muslim refugees from Americas wars who are overrunning the Western world but also to ISIS. The accurate and truthful photos violated Identity Politics. The consensus of those few in Europe who reside outside the Matrix created for them by Washington and the American presstitutes is that the CIA will not permit Le Pen to become President of France. She is a threat to Washingtons empire. If she cannot be destroyed with scandal and false charges, like Dominique Strauss-Kahn, she will be assassinated. Democracy cannot function without an honest media. Nowhere in the Western world does an honest media exist. There are a relatively few sites on the Internet media, such as this one, your site, that are independent of ruling elites and speak the truth to the extent that they can find it. But the very shadowy PropOrNot website, likely a product of the CIA or George Soros, has declared those who understand that good relations between thermo-nuclear powers are essential to be Russian agents. One dozen Russian Satan 2 ICBMs are sufficient to destroy the United States. One is sufficient to destroy France, the UK, or Texas. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/25/russia-unveils-satan-2-missile-powerful-enough-to-wipe-out-uk-fr/ Why is Washington and Washingtons European, Canadian, and Australian puppets inviting such an outcome with continuous false accusations against Russia (and China). No person with any intelligence can possibly regard the thrice elected president of Russia as the new Hitler, a Mafia Don,  a thug. Break Free From The Matrix Get Our Free Daily Newsletter By orchestrating Russophobia in the West, Washington has put all of humanity at risk. The Russians have watched Washingtons false accusations against Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Yeman, Pakistan, Iran and against Russia herselfinvasion of Ukraine. False accusations have in the 21st century always been Washingtons set-up of the target country for invasion or bombing. These provacations issued daily by the idiot Western press, the idiot Western governments, and the idiot commentators have prepared the groundwork for a misunderstanding that can result in thermo-nuclear war and the end of life on earth. When you read the New York Times, the Washington Post, or listen to CNN, NPR, or MSNBC or the British, Canadian, German, French, and Australian media, you are being indoctrinated with war with Russia (and China) and, thus, you are being prepared for your funeral. Accustomed to looking for hope from within their own country, Americans become depressed when faced with these facts. Whereas the American Oligarchy is too strong for change, the situation in Europe is more hopeful. The EU is a collection of countries that have little in common. The British have concluded that submerging their identity into something called Europe is not in their interest. Other countriesHungary, the Czech Republic, Greece and Portugalare realizing that capitalists are more rapacious than commissars and might seek salvation in reclaiming their sovereignty. The exit from the European Union, a CIA-sponsored organization, could gain momentum. NATO also could come unglued as European populations realize that it is not Russia that is the threat. The threat is that Washington is forcing Europe into conflict with Russia, a conflict in which Europe has nothing to gain. For Europe, conflict with Russia means the death of Europe. A few Europeans have gained sufficient awareness to begin asking: Why die for Washingtons hegemony? This is Marine Le Pens question, and it is now being asked by a few in Germany. As Europeans gain awareness of Washingtons insanity, the question will grow. The millions of Muslim refugees from Washingtons wars who are flooding Europe with problems are bringing home to insouciant Europeans the price of accepting Washingtons overlordship. The privatizations, which have wrecked the prospects for Latvia, Ukraine, and Greece, and that have raised costs and lowered living standards in Britain and France while concentrating income and wealth at the top of the income distribution, are a European lesson that the partial socializations of social democracy are more livable than the system of plunder that now rules. Washingtons mask of benevolence is falling away, revealing the face of greed and evil that is its true face. This face is far more terrifying than the orchestrated Russian threat. If more Europeans can gain awareness, the threat of thermo-nuclear war will crumble with Washingtons empire. Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order . The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
The United States and the Russian devil: 1917-2017 By William Blum March 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Conservatives have had a very hard time getting over President Trumps much-repeated response to Fox News anchor Bill OReillys calling Russian president Vladimir Putin a killer. Replied Trump: There are a lot of killers. We have a lot of killers. You think our country is so innocent? One could almost feel a bit sorry for OReilly as he struggled to regain his composure in the face of such blasphemy. Had any American establishment media star ever heard such a thought coming from the mouth of an American president? From someone on the radical left, yes, but from the president? Senator John McCain on the floor of Congress, referring to Putin, tore into attempts to draw moral equivalency between that butcher and thug and KGB colonel and the United States of America. Ah yes, the infamous KGB. Can anything good be said about a person associated with such an organization? We wouldnt like it if a US president had a background with anything like that. Oh, wait, a president of the United States was not merely a CIA colonel, but was the Director of the CIA! I of course speak of George Herbert Walker Bush. And as far as butchery and thuggery  How many Americans remember the December 1989 bombing and invasion of the people of Panama carried out by the same Mr. Bush? Many thousands killed or wounded; thousands more left homeless. Try and match that, Vladimir! And in case youre wondering for what good reason all this was perpetrated? Officially, to arrest dictator Manuel Noriega on drug charges. How is that for a rationalization for widespread devastation and slaughter? It should surprise no one that only shortly before the invasion Noriega had been on the CIA payroll. Its the moral equivalency thats so tough to swallow for proud Americans like OReilly and McCain. Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell also chipped in with: And no, I dont think theres any equivalency between the way the Russians conduct themselves and the way the United States does. (3) Other Senators echoed the same theme, all inspired by good ol American exceptionalism, drilled into the mind of every decent American from childhood on  Who would dare to compare the morals of (ugh!) Russia with those of Gods chosen land, even in Moscows current non-communist form? The communist form began of course with the October 1917 Russian Revolution. By the summer of 1918 some 13,000 American troops could be found in the newly-born state, the future Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Two years and thousands of casualties later, the American troops left, having failed in their mission to strangle at its birth the Bolshevik state, as Winston Churchill so charmingly put it. US foreign policy has not been much more noble-minded since then. I think, dear students, its time for me to once again present my concise historical summary: Since the end of World War 2, the United States has: Attempted to overthrow more than 50 foreign governments, most of which were democratically-elected.

Dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries.

Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders.

Attempted to suppress a populist or nationalist movement in 20 countries.

Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries.

Though not as easy to quantify, has also led the world in torture; not only the torture performed directly by Americans upon foreigners, but providing torture equipment, torture manuals, lists of people to be tortured, and in-person guidance by American instructors. Where does the United States get the nerve to moralize about Russia? Same place they get the nerve to label Putin a killer  a butcher  a thug. It would be difficult to name a world-renowned killer, butcher, or thug  not to mention dictator, mass murderer, or torturer  of the past 75 years who was not a close ally of Washington. So why then does the American power elite hate Putin so? It can be dated back to the period of Boris Yeltsin. During the Western financial looting of the dying Soviet Union the US could be found meddling in favor of Yeltsin in the election held in 1996. Under Yeltsins reign, poverty exploded and life expectancy for men actually decreased by five years, all in the name of shock therapy. The US/Western-backed destabilization of the Soviet Union allowed global capitalism to spread its misery unfettered by any inconvenient socialism. Russia came under the control of oligarchs concerned only for their own enrichment and that of their billionaire partners in the West. The transition of power to Vladimir Putin in the 21st century led to a number of reforms that curbed the disastrous looting of the nation by the oligarchic bandits. Putin and his allies vowed to build an independent, capitalist Russia that was capable of determining its own affairs free from US and Western domination. Such an orientation placed Putin in direct confrontation with US imperialisms plans for unipolar global hegemony. Washingtons disdain for Putin increased when he derided US war propaganda leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Then, the Russian leader played a crucial role in getting Iran to curtail its nuclear program and arranging for Syria to surrender its stockpiles of chemical weapons. Washingtons powerful neo-conservatives had been lusting for direct US military strikes against those two countries, leading to regime change, not diplomatic agreements that left the governments in place. Lastly, after the United States overthrew the Ukrainian government in 2014, Putin was obliged to intervene on behalf of threatened ethnic Russians in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. That, in turn, was transformed by the Western media into a Russian invasion. The same Western media has routinely charged Putin with murdering journalists but doesnt remind its audience of the American record in this regard. The American military, in the course of its wars in recent decades, has been responsible for the deliberate deaths of many journalists. In Iraq, for example, theres the Wikileaks 2007 video, exposed by Chelsea Manning, of the cold-blooded murder of two Reuters journalists; the 2003 US air-to-surface missile attack on the offices of Al Jazeera in Baghdad that left three journalists dead and four wounded; and the American firing on Baghdads Hotel Palestine, a known journalist residence, the same year that killed two foreign news cameramen. The Trump honeymoon is over for me. It was never actually love; hardly more than an intriguing curiosity; mainly that he wasnt Hillary Clinton; that he was unlikely to start a war with Russia or close down the Russia Today (RT) TV station in the US, which I and many others depend on daily; and that he was not politically correct when it came to fighting the Islamic State. Trumps moral equivalency remark above gave me some hope. But this all vanished with his appointment to high office of one war-loving, bemedalled general after another, intermingled with one billionaire Goldman-Sachs official after another; his apparent confirmation of his Mexican Wall; and, worst of all, his increasing the military budget by $54 billion (sic, sick)  this will certainly be at the expense of human life and health and the environment. What manner of man is this who walks amongst us? Break Free From The Matrix Get Our Free Daily Newsletter The word is narcissism. New York Times columnist Frank Bruni (February 28, 2017) captures this well: Why do I get the sense that fighter jets are Donald Trumps biceps, warships are his pectorals and what hes doing with his proposed $54 billion increase for the Pentagon is flexing? Will there ever be an end to the never-ending American wars? How should we react to terrorism? I hadnt planned on returning to this subject so soon, if ever, because of the distasteful experience of last summer when at least 50 of my subscribers canceled because I said that terrorism carried out by Islamics was to some extent motivated by their religion, an hypothesis rejected by what I see as the politically correct who took it to be an unjust attack upon an ancient and noble religion. The fact that I, a leftist, a comrade, would say such a thing was especially hard for them to take. Since then I have regularly received emails pointing out that neither I nor the media have the right to categorically condemn brutal terrorist actions because the terrorists are reacting to decades of Western, particularly American, violence against the Muslims of the Middle East and elsewhere; and that if only the West would stop their bombing they would stop creating new terrorists. Liberal columnists often echo these sentiments, but at the same time cannot accept the role played by radical Islamic beliefs in instigating the Islamic terror. Not every American soldier in World War II was a knowledgable and convinced anti-fascist; nor were all of those fighting in Vietnam knowledgable and convinced anti-communists; but they deeply believed in American exceptionalism. I proceed from the assumption that Islamic terrorists deeply believe in the leading tenets of Islam though many of them may have been drawn to ISIS for a variety of reasons and may have only a passing knowledge of the Koran and may only rarely enter a mosque. Why is it that terrorists routinely shout Allah Akhbar (God is great) while carrying out a bloody attack? Why is it that so much of Islam teaches that non-Muslims are the enemy, that disbelievers are to be executed? Why do they speak of their duty to perform jihad, which is usually defined as a struggle against the enemies of Islam or against the infidels? Why do they speak of martyrs, which is often used as an honorific for Muslims who have died fulfilling a religious commandment, especially those who die waging jihad, or historically in the military expansion of Islam? Why do they speak of martyrs going to paradise after dying and receiving heavenly rewards? Even being resurrected on earth, to once again die as a martyr, going again to paradise. Yes, yes, I know about the terrible crimes of the IRA Catholics and the Israeli Jews, but on the scale of human moral evolution they dont compare to the routine cutting off of heads; the whippings; demolishing 2000-year-old monuments; sternly banning alcohol, music, gays and sex; covering up womens faces; forcibly imposing religious law; and on and on, including the worst of all: the never-ending horrific suicide bombings. ISIS has done the impossible: It has made American foreign policy look almost halfway decent. Occasionally I reply to critics with something to this effect: Even if I completely accepted your premises, Id still feel that it was too late. We cant undo the harm that US foreign policy and the West have caused. The barn door is wide open and all the horses have escaped. There is an entire generation, or two generations, in the Muslim world totally committed to gaining bloody revenge against the West. It appears to be that its either us or them. Explaining the cause of terrorism is not the same as excusing it. It might be different if the terrorists focused on killing only those in the West responsible for the horror carried out against their people, but their acts of violence are largely indiscriminate; they attack Westerners at random, often with Muslim victims included; often with only Muslim victims. As Ive pointed out in the past, we should consider this: From the 1950s to the 1980s the United States carried out all kinds of very harmful policies against Latin America, including numerous bombings, without the natives ever resorting to the uncivilized, barbaric kind of retaliation as employed by ISIS. Latin American leftists generally took their revenge out upon concrete representatives of the American empire: diplomatic, military and corporate targets  not markets, theatres, nightclubs, hospitals, schools, restaurants or churches. France, the site of numerous terrorist attacks, has experimented with deradicalization centers in an attempt to combat homegrown extremism. The centers subjected those they housed to intense courses in French history and philosophy. But after five months the experiment has been abandoned as a complete failure. (8) My guess is that one reason for the failure is that French officials, like their American counterparts, were too politically correct when it came to questions of religion. If I were a teacher at one of these centers I would ask the students how they know  I mean really know  that martyrs go to paradise. They are, after all, considering sacrificing their lives for this belief. Seriously confronting this question for perhaps the first time ever, the students minds may well become somewhat confused, leaving them open for other challenging questions and thoughts. For the record: I dont support the US fighting ISIS in Syria. I dont trust the Pentagons motivation, or their choice of bombing targets. Theyre probably still into regime change. Id leave the job to Russia and its allies. William Blum is the author of: Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2. Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower. West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir. Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire. Portions of the books can be read, and signed copies purchased, at www.killinghope.org - BBlum6@aol.com Notes The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Napolitano: Obamas Alleged Surveillance Of Trump Tower Is Profoundly Unconstitutional But It Is Legal



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By Christian Datoc March 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - " Daily Caller " - Judge Andrew Napolitano weighed in on allegations that the Obama administration monitored Trump Tower during the 2016 election on Fox News Monday morning, calling the alleged actions profoundly unconstitutional but still legal. Judge Andrew Napolitano weighed in on allegations that the Obama administration monitored Trump Tower during the 2016 election on Fox News Monday morning, calling the alleged actions profoundly unconstitutional but still legal. The NSA works for the president. If the president were to ask for a transcribed copy of any of that, theyd give it to him, he continued. The President of the United States can order surveillance on any person inside the United States in conjunction with a certificate or a certification filed by the attorney general. In my view its profoundly unconstitutional but it is legal because of the statue, Napolitano stated. Think about this, if youre Barack Obama, and you have the ability by making a phone call to hear what Donald Trump is saying, are you going to bother to get a warrant? Why would you get a warrant? The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Why Donald Trump will WIN against the Media Break Free From The Matrix Get Our Free Daily Newsletter
Obamagate Wiretaps May Have Started When Bill Clinton Secretly Met With Loretta Lynch



Was Arizona airport tarmac meeting between Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch the beginning of Obamagate leaks?



By Alex Christoforou March 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - How much did Hillary Clinton know, regarding the Trump Tower wiretaps and FISA warrants ( assuming they existed )? What we know: The first FISA request came right after former Attorney General Loretta Lynch met with Bill Clinton on the airport tarmac in Phoenix Arizona on June of 2016. The first FISA request was denied. A week later FBI Director James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton from further investigation saying Our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. We also know (via various news reports) that a second FISA request was submitted in October of 2016 just before the US elections. On October 31st, then Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sent out a tweet saying that computer scientists have uncovered a covert server linking the Trump organization to a Russian-based server. Was Hillary Clinton tipped off to the wiretapping right before to the November 8th election? More via The Gateway Pundit  We now know that the meeting between Bill Clinton and Attorney General Lynch occurred at about the same time that the Obama administration filed a request with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) to monitor communications involving Donald Trump and several advisers. Fast forward to October 2016. Wikileaks began releasing emails of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, rolling out batches every day until the election, creating new mini-scandals. These emails were virtually ignored by the mainstream media who were in the bag for Democrat Hillary Clinton but were spread widely by websites that chose to share the truth like this one. At the same time, The Obama administration submitted a new, narrow request to the FISA court, now focused on a computer server in Trump Tower suspected of links to Russian banks. No evidence is found  but the wiretaps continued, ostensibly for national security reasons, Andrew McCarthy at National Review later notes . The Obama administration was monitoring an opposing presidential campaign using the high-tech surveillance powers of the federal intelligence services. At about this same time the leaks started coming. Liberal website Slate posted a report on October 31st titled: Was a Trump Server Communicating With Russia? The subtitle to the post read: This spring, a group of computer scientists set out to determine whether hackers were interfering with the Trump campaign. They found something they werent expecting. The article shared a story of innocent anonymous hackers who went searched the net and found the following: In late July, one of these scientistswho asked to be referred to as Tea Leaves, a pseudonym that would protect his relationship with the networks and banks that employ him to sift their datafound what looked like malware emanating from Russia. The destination domain had Trump in its name, which of course attracted Tea Leaves attention. But his discovery of the data was pure happenstancea surprising needle in a large haystack of DNS lookups on his screen. I have an outlier here that connects to Russia in a strange way, he wrote in his notes. He couldnt quite figure it out at first. But what he saw was a bank in Moscow that kept irregularly pinging a server registered to the Trump Organization on Fifth Avenue. Break Free From The Matrix Get Our Free Daily Newsletter The creative article went on to try and paint a connection with now President Trump: The researchers had initially stumbled in their diagnosis because of the odd configuration of Trumps server. Ive never seen a server set up like that, says Christopher Davis , who runs the cybersecurity firm HYAS InfoSec Inc. and won a FBI Director Award for Excellence for his work tracking down the authors of one of the worlds nastiest botnet attacks. It looked weird, and it didnt pass the sniff test. The server was first registered to Trumps business in 2009 and was set up to run consumer marketing campaigns. It had a history of sending mass emails on behalf of Trump-branded properties and products. Researchers were ultimately convinced that the server indeed belonged to Trump. (Click here to see the servers registration record.) But now this capacious server handled a strangely small load of traffic, such a small load that it would be hard for a company to justify the expense and trouble it would take to maintain it. I get more mail in a day than the server handled, Davis says. Here is Hillary Clintons tweet from October 31st The Gateway Pundit further adds Connect the dots, folks. This was a well coordinated attack on a Presidential candidate. AG Lynch met with Bill Clinton just before the first FISA request. After they were successful with the second FISA request in October, it appears Bill Clinton passed on the information to his wife to help her win the election. This scandal is about to blow wide open; its not going away any time soon. Stay tuned Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank. pic.twitter.com/8f8n9xMzUU  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 1, 2016 The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Almost everybody knows something about Queen Elizabeth II. Were familiar with her pastel suits, great hats, and her mastery of the very distinct royal wave. We know from a great deal of news coverage that she has reigned over the Commonwealth Realms for more than 60 years, which is the second-longest reign in British history. We also know that despite the Queens long reign and a lengthy marriage to Prince Philip, her hubby is still and always will be just a prince (and the Duke of Edinburgh). Another thing were certain of is that Her Majesty loves her corgis.

Besides these rather superficial facts, many of us dont know much more about the Queen. She rarely gives interviews and has not written any books, unlike her son Prince Charles. Because of this, little information is available about her personal life. What are available, if you delve a little deeper, are some strange and interesting facts about this elusive character which give some slight indication as to what its like to be a reigning monarch.

With her 88th birthday coming up just in a few weeks, here are some of the odder facts available about Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

10. She gets two birthdays

Given the meaning of the day, every individual having one birthday per year makes sense. Even so, a lot of people stretch it out to mean a full weekend or even a week of festivities, but how about celebrating it twice per year, every year? Not even during the same week, but perhaps even months apart. This is how things work for the Queen, and actually any other reigning monarch of England. Because England has so few nice sunny days, the monarchy decided that official birthday celebrations be held during the summer when the weather is more likely to be pleasant. Though having two birthdays sounds a little extreme, it makes sense given there is a birthday parade and various gun salutes in parks around London. If the weather is good, it makes for a more agreeable day for everyone involved. This is why they choose a Saturday in June for the Queens official birthday celebrations, rather than the date of her actual birthday, which is April 21. On this (likely rainy) day, she celebrates in private with her family.

9. She has owned more than 30 corgis during her reign

Most people own one beloved dog during their childhood and maybe one or two dogs as an adult, if any at all. The Queen has owned more than 30 dogs during her reign, often owning more than one at a time. Her first corgi as Queen was a gift for her 18th birthday and its name was Susan. Because the royal family breeds dogs, many of the Queens subsequent corgis are descendants of Susan. The Queen owns five corgis currently; Emma, Linnet, Monty, Holly and Willow; along with four dorgis named Cider, Berry, Candy and Vulcan. The dorgi is in fact a breed that was developed by the royals themselves, mating one of the Queens corgis with Princess Margarets dachshund.

8. A footman was once demoted for getting her corgis tipsy

Given the fact that the corgis have been known to wear rubber boots to protect their feet from gravel at the palace, its a little surprising that the footman wasnt fired, but a newspaper claims he was only demoted. Regardless, the story goes that this footman used to regularly spike the corgis water with whiskey and gin (very English) in order to amuse the other employees while the Queen was away. He was discovered when one of the older corgis eventually died and a post-mortem examination was done. The veterinarian who performed the examination found traces of alcohol in its blood and brought the information forward. The palace has never commented on how exactly the naughty footman was reprimanded.

7. She was once a Girl Guide

In 1937, at the age of 10 or 11, Elizabeth II became a Girl Guide along with Princess Margaret who became a Brownie. They were members of the 1st Buckingham Palace Unit along with a few other girls, and changed units a few times during the war. Elizabeth II served as a Patrol Leader and even a Sea Ranger, which involved taking the Queen Mother out in a dinghy. Eventually she became Chief Ranger of the British Empire and now that she is Queen she is their official patron, with the Countess of Wessex serving as the groups president.

6. She doesnt have a passport or a license, nor does she require a license plate for her vehicle

Though Elizabeth II has visited a vast number of countries, she doesnt require a passport  because, of course, British passports are issued by none other than Her Majesty herself. She doesnt require a licence or licence plate for similar reasons. You also might expect that she never drives and would only be taken from place to place by her chauffeur. This is mostly true; however she has been known to take the occasional cruise around the royal grounds in one of her many vehicles, usually a Range Rover.

5. She has Facebook

Her Majesty does not have her own personal page where you could friend or poke her, but there is an official community page for the British Monarchy. They have more than 1.1 million likes and post very frequently, often several times per day. Posts range from facts about historic landmarks to photos of baby Prince George.

4. She was the first head of state to send an email

In 1976, before most of us were aware that email was coming into existence and even before the invention of the modern day internet, Her Majesty sent her first email. It was sent over ARPANET, a precursor to todays internet, and was sent from a research facility used by the army. No other details about the contents of the email or who it was sent to have been released. Its a safe bet the email was pretty thin on LULZ and smileys, though.

3. She has survived a shooting and a stalker

On June 13, 1981, the Queen was celebrating her official birthday when shots were fired during the parade as she rode on her horse. Fortunately, the shots were blanks and her horse didnt spook too much, and so she settled her horse and continued riding. The shots were fired by a teenager who was enthralled by the assassinations of John Lennon and JFK. The teenager spent several years in a psychiatric prison following the incident.

Perhaps even more shocking, a man named Michael Fagan broke into the castle not once but twice in 1982. The first time, he got in through a maids window, startling the maid, but when she ran for help and others investigated, no one believed her. Meanwhile, the intruder was wandering the corridors of the palace and drinking Prince Charless wine. Because Fagan was unsure of where he was going and soon tired, he left. He returned several weeks later and this time when he crawled through a window, it was into the Queens bedroom. He woke her and she summoned for help immediately, resulting in an unarmed footman coming to her aid and dealing with Fagan, who was arrested soon after.

2. She has raced pigeons

This is probably one of the more absurd things on the list as many people are not aware that its even possible to race pigeons. Apparently, not only is it possible and the Queen participates, but there is in fact a long history of pigeon racing among the royals. The tradition was started in 1886 when King Leopold II of Belgium presented racing pigeons as a gift to the British Royal Family. The sport has continued and Queen Elizabeth II is a patron of several pigeon racing clubs.

1. She was a driver and mechanic in the army during WWII

This might explain the Queens joyriding around the castle grounds from time to time. After begging her father to participate in the army during the Second World War, he finally conceded, allowing her to train as a mechanic and military truck driver. At the age of 18 she was in the Womens Auxiliary Territorial Service and was known as Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor. Apparently Her Majesty performed quite well and is still the only female royal to have entered the army. She is also the only remaining head of state who served in WWII.
This is a concise list of Nigerian clerics that have been embroiled in chilling s*x scandals at different times.

Nobody is above scandals, not even tongue speaking, fiery pastors. Many Nigerian pastors have been involved in one scandal or the other.

The most rampant is s*x scandals. One has to be careful when jumping from church seeking counsel because of those addressed as men of God are wolves in sheeps clothing. There are still pastors out there who are fulfilling their calling. The careers of most men even pastors have been destroyed by women. It did not start today and will not end today. Do not forget that Samsons downfall was because of a woman.

Over the years, some Nigerian pastors have been victims of s*x scandals. Here is a list of some of them who were at one time or the other accused of engaging in illicit affairs.

1. Apostle Johnson Suleman

The latest pastor to be accused of having an intimate relationship with a lady is Apostle Suleman, the founder of Omega Fire Ministries. Social media went into a frenzy on Monday when a lady identified as Stepahnie Otobo called out the fiery pastor, claiming he impregnated her and later dumped her. She alleged that they both spent time alone in a hotel where they had intercourse among others practices.

Apostle Suleman has denied the allegations which he said were false. According to him, he has never met with the lady before even though they had discussed about her plight in 2016.

2. Pastor Chukwuma Nkwocha

Nkwocha, the General Overseer of Tongue of Fire Restoration Ministry, was arrested in 2016 for allegedly camping and defiling about 30 under-aged girls. The Lagos state command sprung into action after receiving a report that the pastor with a church situated on Jacob Taiwo Street Oshodi was harbouring some young girls and freely having unlawful canal knowledge of them.

3. Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo

In 2013, a blogger identified as Ese Walter boldly came out to accuse Pastor Fatoyinbo of COZA (Common Wealth Of Zion Assembly) of having an affair with her. Ese, who was also a member of the church claimed the man of God had an affair with her while in the UK. As if Eses accusations were not enough, another lady, Franca E. who claimed to be a victim also accused Fatoyinbo of the same thing. Addressing the scandal, the man of God said he was well aware of the accusations and subsequent uproar on social networks but that he would be ignoring it.

4. Sunday Adelaja

In 2016, the founder and senior pastor of the Embassy of God, an evangelical-charismatic megachurch in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev was enmeshed in an adultery scandal following allegations that he had extramarital affairs with at least 20 women in his church.

Adelaja denied the allegations levelled against him which he said was an attempt by some people to take over the church from him.

5. Dr Sign Fireman

In 2014, reports surfaced that the churchs General Overseer of Perfect Christianity Mission, Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, Ofuche Ukoha aka Dr. Sign Fireman, was involved in an alleged S*xual assault and killing of a 12-year-old girl in Badagry. The incident made him popular and almost tarnished his ministry.

6. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome

In 2014, it came as surprise when report surfaced that the founder of Believers Love World Ministry aka Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris and his wife, Anita Oyakhilome, were getting porced. Anita who filed for porce was said to have cited irreconcilable differences bordering on alleged adultery and unreasonable behaviour.

However, the pastor, according to an elder of the church, denied allegations of adultery and believes his wife was being influenced by bad friends who were intent on destroying their home.

7. Chris Oyakhilomes brother, Rev. Ken

Not long after the Pastor Chris porce saga, there was another report that his brother Rev. Ken, allegedly impregnated a South African lady who was a member of the Church in Randburg, Guateng, which is the headquarters of Christ Embassy, South Africa.

His reported affair with the lady was said to be an open secret among the parishioners. When the news about the womans pregnancy started making rounds, church officials reportedly fudged the issue to prevent scandal. Also, the pregnancy was reportedly aborted with the knowledge of church leaders, report says.

Source: The Info NG
Elizabeth I is one of the most iconic figures in history. She was Englands Gloriana  a virgin queen who saw herself as wedded to her country, and who brought almost half a century of stability after the turmoil of her siblings short reigns.

Flame-haired, white-faced and always lavishly dressed, Elizabeth possessed the natural charisma of her father, Henry VIII, and was the darling of her people. Her finest hour came in 1588 when she defeated the Spanish Armada, catapulting her to legendary status.

Yet for everything we know about Elizabeth, here are a few facts that might surprise you

1) Elizabeth was never meant to be queen

Although Elizabeth is now hailed as one of our greatest monarchs, she should never have got anywhere near the throne. She was not only a girl at a time when the laws of succession favoured boys, but she had an elder sister, Mary. Elizabeth was also removed from the line of succession altogether when her parents marriage was declared invalid prior to Anne Boleyns execution, and was only reinstated thanks to the kindly intervention of her last stepmother, Katherine Parr.

By the time of Henry VIIIs death, therefore, Elizabeth was third in line to the throne behind her younger brother Edward and elder sister Mary. It is one of the greatest ironies of history that Henry VIII had been so obsessed with having a son, yet his cherished boy only reigned for six years, dying of tuberculosis at the age of just 15. The second in line, Mary, did not fare much better. Her brief, catastrophic reign ended after just five years.

It was up to Elizabeth to show them how it ought to be done.

2) Elizabeth was a mummys girl

There is a common misconception that Elizabeth thought little of her ill-fated mother, Anne Boleyn. The fact that she hardly spoke of her and saved all of her praise for her adored father, Henry VIII, has often led to the conclusion that Elizabeth was ashamed of Anne.

On the contrary: all this proved was what a great pragmatist Elizabeth was. She had no wish to alienate swathes of her subjects by openly voicing her love for the woman who was still reviled as the Great Whore. Instead, Elizabeth chose more subtle ways to demonstrate her affection. For example, when posing for a portrait during her teenage years, she wore her mothers famous A pendant around her neck  an audacious stunt that would have landed her in hot water if her father had spotted it.

As queen, Elizabeth made sure that all of her late mothers relatives were promoted to the best positions at court, and she also wore a pendant necklace that contained a miniature portrait of her mother opposite one of herself.

3) Elizabeth liked to give nicknames to her courtiers

Elizabeth was as famous a flirt as her mother, Anne Boleyn. She loved to surround herself with the most handsome men at court, and also entertained various foreign princes all hoping for her hand in marriage.

Elizabeth used her femininity to bring a male-dominated court to its knees, and gave playful nicknames to her favourites. Her chief minister, Burghley, was called her spirit, and her alleged lover, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was her eyes. Rather more cheekily, she called Francois, Duke of Anjou, her frog.

4) Elizabeth used dirty tactics to outshine her rivals

Elizabeth exalted in being the queen bee at court. But although for the early part of her reign she was the most desirable bride in Europe, as her physical charms began to fade she employed dirty tactics to make sure that she kept all of the male attention to herself. Thus, while Elizabeth appeared at court bedecked in lavish gowns of rich materials and vivid colours, her ladies were obliged to wear only black or white.

No matter how attractive they might be in their own right, the plain uniformity of their dress would draw all eyes to the star of the show. To test the effect that this created, the queen once asked a visiting French nobleman what he thought of her ladies. He immediately protested that he was unable to judge stars in the presence of the sun. This was exactly the response Elizabeth required.

5) Elizabeth I took longer to get ready than any other monarch

Elizabeth was always fastidious about her appearance, but the ritual of dressing the queen became increasingly elaborate as age began to overtake her: it took her ladies a staggering four hours a day to complete the ceremony of dressing and undressing the queen.

Elizabeth had originally worn wigs that matched her own colouring, but as she grew older these were used to conceal her greying hair. At the same time, ever more layers of makeup were applied to complete the so-called mask of youth. Her face, neck and hands were painted with ceruse (a mixture of white lead and vinegar); her lips were coloured with a red paste made from beeswax and plant dye, and her eyes were lined with kohl.

Ironically, most of these cosmetics did more damage to the skin than ageing ever could. Ceruse was particularly corrosive, and one contemporary observed with some distaste: Those women who use it about their faces, do quickly become withered and grey headed, because this doth so mightily drie up the naturall moisture of their flesh.

But Elizabeth insisted that she continue to be adorned with this and other dangerous cosmetics, and only ever let her closest ladies see what lay beneath. When the impetuous Earl of Essex famously burst into her chamber before Elizabeth was dressed or made up, he was so shocked by her haggard appearance that he secretly joked about her crooked carcass to his friends. Elizabeth found out and it was said that she cut off his head in revenge  although his rebellion against her [in February 1601] probably had something to do with it.



Realistic portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. ( GL Archive/Alamy)

6) Elizabeth might have been a man(!)

Although she has gone down in history as the Virgin Queen, upon her accession it was widely expected that Elizabeth would marry. But as she continued to resist pressure from her councillors to take a husband, rumours began to circulate that there was some secret reason why she was so determined not to marry.

One of the most popular was that Elizabeth had some womanish infirmity that prevented her from conceiving. This gained such currency that a foreign ambassador bribed the queens laundresses to report on the state of her sheets so that they might discover whether her menstrual cycle was normal.

At the opposite end of the scale, there was a theory that the real reason Elizabeth would not marry was because she was really a man. According to the Bisley Boy story, the real Elizabeth had died as a young girl and been replaced by the only redheaded child that could be found. The fact that he was a boy was inconvenient, but he spent the rest of his life dressing as a woman to continue the pretence.

The Bisley Boy theory has proved a curiously enduring one, despite the lack of any reliable evidence.

7) Elizabeth is a screen star

Elizabeth has been portrayed more often in film and on television than any other British monarch. First was Sarah Bernhardt in Les Amours de la Reine Elisabeth (1912), then Bette Davis played her twice  first in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and again in The Virgin Queen (1955).

Many more actresses followed, including the iconic portrayal by Glenda Jackson in the BBC television series Elizabeth R (1971). Perhaps inspired by the Bisley Boy legend, a man was cast to play her in 1992s Orlando, when Quentin Crisp took on the role.

More recently, Cate Blanchett gave us a distinctly un-virginal Elizabeth in the films of 1998 and 2007, while Judi Dench won an Oscar for her brief but brilliant portrayal in Shakespeare in Love (1998). Helen Mirren took on the role with typical aplomb in the TV mini-series Elizabeth I in 2005. Time-travelling time lord, Doctor Who, has also bumped in Queen Elizabeth I in episodes from 1965 and 2007.
Here are nine things you should know about the Nobel-prize-winning nun who became renowned for serving the poor and dying:

1. Mother Teresa was born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in 1910 in what is now part of modern Macedonia. At the age of 18 she left home to join the Sisters of Loreto, a group of nuns in Ireland. It was there she took the name Sister Mary Teresa after Saint Therese of Lisieux. A year later, in 1929, Mother Teresa moved to India and taught at a Catholic school for girls.

2. In 1946 Mother Teresa received what she would later describe as a call within a call. She said Jesus spoke to her and told her to abandon teaching to work in the slums of Calcutta aiding the citys poorest and sickest people. In 1950 she received Vatican approval for Missionaries of Charity, a group of religious sisters who took vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and to give wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor. By the late 1970s, the Missionaries of the Charity had offshoots in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States.

3. Mother Teresa and her religious order gained international attention in 1967 when the famed journalist Malcolm Muggeridge interviewed her for a BBC TV program. Because of the popularity of the interview, Muggeridge traveled to Calcutta a year later to make a documentary, Something Beautiful for God, about Theresas House of the Dying (Muggeridge would also write a book by the same name in 1971).

4. During her life Mother Teresa received more 120 prestigious awards and honors. In 1971, Paul VI conferred the first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize on Mother Teresa, and in 1979 she won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee writes in their motivation: In making the award the Norwegian Nobel Committee has expressed its recognition of Mother Teresas work in bringing help to suffering humanity. This year the world has turned its attention to the plight of children and refugees, and these are precisely the categories for whom Mother Teresa has for many years worked so selflessly. She also received the highest U.S. civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1985.

5. During her 1979 Nobel Prize Lecture, Mother Teresa called abortion the greatest destroyer of peace:

We are talking of peace. These are things that break peace, but I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killingdirect murder by the mother herself. And we read in the Scripture, for God says very clearly: Even if a mother could forget her childI will not forget youI have carved you in the palm of my hand. We are carved in the palm of his hand, so close to him that unborn child has been carved in the hand of God. And that is what strikes me most, the beginning of that sentence, that even if a mother could forget something impossiblebut even if she could forgetI will not forget you. And today the greatest meansthe greatest destroyer of peace is abortion. And we who are standing hereour parents wanted us. We would not be here if our parents would do that to us. Our children, we want them, we love them, but what of the millions. Many people are very, very concerned with the children in India, with the children in Africa where quite a number die, maybe of malnutrition, of hunger and so on, but millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today. Because if a mother can kill her own childwhat is left for me to kill you and you kill methere is nothing between.

6. Mother Teresa was frequently denounced by secularists because of her opposition to contraception and abortion. But she was also widely criticized for allowing her charity to provide inadequate care for the poor and for potential mismanagement of charitable funds. Although she leveraged her fame to raise tens of millions of dollars for her charity, the orphanages and care centers run by her religious order were often substandard. After visiting Mother Teresas Home for the Dying in 1994, Robin Fox wrote about the experience in the British medical journal, The Lancet. Fox reported that doctors only occasionally visited the patients (the care was mostly provided by untrained volunteers) and that pain relief provided for the dying was inadequate, leading them to suffer unnecessarily. In 2008, another observer reported, I was shocked to see the negligence. Needles were washed in cold water and reused and expired medicines were given to the inmates. There were people who had chance to live if given proper care.

7. Mother Teresa has also been criticized by Christians for downplaying evangelism and espousing universalist views of salvation. For example in her book, Life in the Spirit: Reflections, Meditations and Prayers, she says:

Our purpose is to take God and his love to the poorest of the poor, irrespective of their ethnic origin or the faith they profess. Our discernment of aid is not the belief but the necessity. We never try to convert those whom we receive to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of Gods presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for this better mensimply betterwe will be satisfied. It matters to the individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes into their lifehis life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation.

When a Catholic priest asked if she attempted to convert people, she reportedly answered, Yes, I convert. I convert you to be a better Hindu, or a better Muslim, or a better Protestant, or a better Catholic, or a better Parsee, or a better Sikh, or a better Buddhist. And after you have found God, it is for you to do what God wants you to do. 

8. After her death, Mother Teresas letters revealed that she spent almost 50 years in a crisis of faith, sometimes doubting the existence of God and frequently feeling his absence in her life. The absence began to be felt around 1948, soon after she began serving the poor in Calcutta, and would last until her death in 1997. As David Van Biema wrote in Time magazine:

In more than 40 communications, many of which have never before been published, she bemoans the dryness, darkness, loneliness, and torture she is undergoing. She compares the experience to hell and at one point says it has driven her to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. She is acutely aware of the discrepancy between her inner state and her public demeanor. The smile, she writes, is a mask or a cloak that covers everything. Similarly, she wonders whether she is engaged in verbal deception. I spoke as if my very heart was in love with Godtender, personal love, she remarks to an adviser. If you were [there], you would have said, What hypocrisy.

9. For Mother Teresa to be recognized as a saint within the Catholic Church, she had to undergo the lengthy process of beatification and canonization. The process usually cannot be started until five years after the person has died, but Mother Teresa received a waiver from Pope John Paul II. Before beatification (which recognizes the persons ability to intercede to God on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name) a person must have a verified miracle attributed to them after their death. After beatification the church looks for a second miracle before proceeding to canonization. If one is found and they meet the other criteria, the pope can conduct a special Mass at which the person is recognized a saint. The first miracle attributed to Mother Teresa involved the healing of an Indian woman, Monica Besra, whose abdominal tumor was so severe that her doctors abandoned hope of saving her. After a Miraculous Medal that had been touched to the body of Mother Teresa was placed on Besras stomach, the tumor reportedly disappeared. The second miracle involved a Brazilian man who reportedly was healed of a bacterial infection in the brain after he and his family prayed to Mother Teresa for her help.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, , has commended the commencement of the new Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail project, while affirming that it is a fulfillment of one of the promises of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the electorate.

Ashafa said this on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the project in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.

He said, One major aspect of this project is generation of employment.

At least 250,000 jobs will be created through this project and people will be employed directly for the construction of the railway project.

The project will bring a positive change to the economy of the people and traders will also benefit in the development.

The lawmaker hinted that the Lagos to Kano and Calabar rail projects are also priorities of the present government, saying their approval is being debated at the Senate.

On his part, the APC National Chairman, John Oyegun, stated his optimism that the LagosIbadan rail project would hasten development through creation of jobs and economic growth.

The rail project is going to professionalise transportation and save the country from constant road repairs.

The project will advance the transportation system in the country, he said.

The rail project was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation by the Federal Government at the cost of 1.5 billion dollars (about 458 billion Naira).
Three Fulani men were among five other suspects paraded by the Oyo State Police command for allegedly kidnapping a 52-year old business woman in Ibadan.

While parading the suspects, the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Abiodun Odude, gave the names of the suspected kidnappers as Taoreed Ibrahim, 35; Wilfred Manger,32; Moshood Adams, 26; Umar Amadu, 31; and gang leader, Adekunle Folorunsho Aderopo, 31.

The CP said, In the few days that we have been here, we have been able to record very formidable achievements. The first achievement we have been able to make was the case of a woman, who was kidnapped.

Her car with other documents were taken away by the kidnappers. We have arrested five of the kidnappers and we are still working and very soon, we will get the remaining members of the gang, who had the rifles and other weapons that were used in that operation. It is a welcome feat for us.

He added that two of the suspects, Aderopo and Wilfred Manger were ex-convicts.

He said Folorunso Aderopo, 31, was released from Agodi prison in August last year after serving a jail-term, while Wilfred Manger, 32, was also released from the same prison.

The suspects trailed their victim from her office in Ojoo area of Ibadan to her house in Akobo and kidnapped her around 10pm as she was about to enter her house on February 25, 2017. She was robbed of her valuables before being driven away in her Toyota Highlander with number plate LND 954 EE. All through the journey, she was blindfolded to prevent her from knowing where they were until they entered a forest.

She was taken to Ogere forest where she was subjected to all manner of emotional and psychological torture. She was kept in the forest for two days and prevented from contacting her family. But through diligent investigation in collaboration with Lagos State Police Command, some suspects were arrested at Alausa in Ikeja, Lagos with the victims car on February 28, 2017.

While speaking with newsmen, the suspected mastermind of the kidnap, Aderopo, said he got information from a member of the gang, Moshood Adams. The suspect said, we traced her from Ojoo in Ibadan to her residence in Akobo where we dispossessed her of her valuables, including a cash sum of N100,000. So, we took her to a bush in Ogere. I was arrested in Lagos with the Toyota Highlander of the woman.

Naratting her experience, the abducted woman said,

We were coming from office at night on Saturday. Then, the gate of our house was opened. The next thing I heard was everybody should lie down. So, we all lied down. They collected all the valuables and they put me in the car, which, of course, I did not know it has tracker.

We moved for about 25 minutes and I was put somewhere. I was blindfolded till around 4a.m. In the morning, I was moved into the bush and we trekked from Saturday night till Monday afternoon. I was not given any food during the time.

Source: Naijaloaded
The Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has sealed-off a warehouse filled with foreign parboiled rice allegedly smuggled into the country and two auto dealers, assemblers in Lagos for infractions on their import transactions.

The Customs in a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the unit, Jerry Attah, yesterday said the sealed warehouse comprised of 23,000 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice.

He however declined to name the warehouse and address of the auto dealers ,assemblers.

His words, 23,000 bags of 50kg of foreign parboiled rice with a duty paid value of N149,500,000.00 were still under seal in an unnamed warehouse in Lagos awaiting relevant importation document for further necessary action.

Dwelling on the auto dealers, assembly plant also under seal, he said Demand Notices had been placed on the two other dealers.

A demand notice of over N100million has been issued to two auto dealers, assemblers under customs seal awaiting payment for infractions on their import transactions.

Meanwhile, the unit PRO said the command has placed a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N317million on the 661 pump-action rifles seized by the unit last month.

It would be recall that officers of FOU A intercepted the contraband which was imported from China but routed through Turkey en-route Nigeria containing 49 boxes with a total number of 661 pieces of pump action Rifles.

It was gathered that three persons have been arrested in connection to the contraband which was disguised as steel doors.

The Rifles are under absolute prohibition therefore its importation is illegal.

The statement further affirmed that, Also valued are, 19,171 bags of 50KG of foreign parboiled rice, four sacks of 10KG and 1 bag of 25KG with a DPV of N125million; 5381 cartons of frozen poultry products at a value of N29million; 325 Jerrycans and 165 cartons of Vegetable oil with DPV of N3.1million.

Others are six containers of 121 logs of timbers at N38million; four units of smuggled vehicles with DPV of N7.4million; 2157 new and 660 used rethreaded and used pneumatic tyres and 929 cartons of pharmaceutical /medicaments valued at N16million.

Source: Leadership
Guests were also treated to special highlights from previous editions of the GCGT competition.

Some of Nigerias finest artistes, actors and entertainers came together today, Tuesday, March 7, 2017 for the unveiling of Gods Children Great Talent (GCGT) Season 7, Africas biggest gospel talent competition for children and youth.

The media unveil event, which held at Four Points by Sheraton in Victoria Island, Lagos, revealed Uti Nwachukwu and Ayo Thompson as hosts for this years edition including judges, key partners, and sponsors of GCGT season 7.

Among notable faces spotted at the event included Darey Art Alade, Omawumi, Kaffy, Uti Nwachukwu, TY Mix, Nikki Laoye, Sensei Uche, and other celebrities.

The media unveil hosted by the City of David Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in partnership with the HOW foundation, featured exciting performances from past winners of Gods Children Great Talent competition. Guests were also treated to special highlights from previous editions of the GCGT competition.

Gods Children Great Talent (GCGT) is Africas biggest gospel children and youth talent competition. An initiative of the City of David Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God that continues to identify and celebrate talents in children and young adults from age 5 to 20 years.

The search this season covers four main categories that include Music, Dance, Comedy and Spoken word. Interested participants are to register online at www.gcgt.org and stand a chance to be selected during the regional auditions coming soon. Join the conversations across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by following @gcgtng

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The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr David Babachir Lawal, has denied reports making the rounds that he accused Christians of praying for the death of ailing President Muhammadu Buhari, over the weekend.

The SGF was quoted to have said during a service over the weekend, that Christians all over the country are praying for the president to die, so that the vice-president, Osinbajo, can take over.

Babachir, in a reaction, called for sanity and objectivity in the representation of his true speech.

All I was trying to highlight was the fact that we love each other, as well as our leaders, less and less. If we truly love each other, we would not be happy that so-and-so is ill and for so-and-so to take over, for some reasons.

That is not in the spirit of national unity. These are the things which divide us and we must not let them continue. That was what I was trying to underline. I was, in no way, accusing Christians of being hateful; I merely made an analogy. I did not kick against Christians. I have no reason to, the SGF said of the statement made at the worship service over the weekend.

This is as the SGF joined Nigerian pilgrims to pray for the restoration and perfection of President Muhammadu Buharis health and for Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at Mount Zion, Jerusalem.

Speaking to the pilgrims, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission ( NCPC), Rev Tor Uja, said having an honest man like President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the country is an opportunity Nigerians should not miss.

He said a nation like Nigeria with all the symbols of greatness can only be built to last by those who have been established on the enduring virtues of Christ.

Uja admonished Christians to live up to their calling in Christ and lead by example in being strategic in their reasoning and planning.

Source: Leadership
The outspoken and action governor of Ekiti State who is also the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, has declared Wednesday, 8th March, a public holiday in his state.

Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has declared March 8 as work free day in commemoration of the 2017 International Womens Day.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi told journalists in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday that Fayose declared the holidy to allow the full participation of women in the celebration planned for the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium on Wednesday.

According to him, the holiday will also enable men wishing to identify with the womenfolk, the opportunity to do so without hindrance.

He said the state government would sponsor the event to enable the women showcase their potentials and had a sense of belonging in the society.

NAN reports that no fewer than 45,000 women across various professions, trades as well as those in the public service have already enlisted to be part of the womens special event.

The women have also paid N500 each to buy a branded and subsidised Ankara, which has a market value of N3,500.

NAN Correspondent who visited the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, venue of the event reports that the place is now wearing a new look in preparation for tomorrow.

Source: NAN
A scholastic group of French doctors have successfully developed a cure for Sickle Cell that has plagued many families for years now.

According to BBC News, this became possible after a French teenagers sickle cell disease was reversed using a pioneering treatment to change his DNA.

The world-first procedure at Necker Childrens Hospital in Paris offers hope to millions of people with the blood disorder. The report revealed that scientists altered the genetic instructions in his bone marrow so it made healthy red blood cells. So far, the therapy has worked for 15 months and the child is no longer on any medication.

Sickle cell disease causes normally round red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body, to become shaped like a sickle. These deformed cells can lock together to block the flow of blood around the body. This can cause intense pain, organ damage and can be fatal.

The teenager who received the treatment had so much internal damage he needed to have his spleen removed and his hips replaced. Every month he had to go into hospital to have a blood transfusion to dilute his defective blood. But when he was 13, doctors at the Necker Childrens Hospital in Paris did something unique.

Doctors removed his bone marrow  the part of the body that makes blood. They then genetically altered it in a lab to compensate for the defect in his DNA that caused the disease. The corrected bone marrow was then put back into the patient.

The results in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the teenager has been making normal blood since the procedure 15 months ago.

Philippe Leboulch, a professor of medicine at the University of Paris, told the BBC News website: So far the patient has no sign of the disease, no pain, no hospitalisation. He no longer requires a transfusion so we are quite pleased with that.

But of course we need to perform the same therapy in many patients to feel confident that it is robust enough to propose it as a mainstream therapy.
The Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes has been directed by the House of Representatives to conduct an audit of car dumps and immovable forfeited assets in Nigeria.



This decision was due to a motion sponsored on Tuesday by Honourable Babajimi Benson at the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

Honourable Benson observed that the seized properties, if adequately accounted for could yield revenues for the nation.

The Committee is expected to make recommendations and submit its report to the House within six weeks.

The lawmakers also mandated the House Committee on Water Resources and Appropriations to include the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Oni and Ero dams located in Ekiti State in the 2017 budget.

They said this would ensure the provision of pipe-borne water for people living in the areas.

In another motion, two members, Honourable Segun Adekola and Honourable Henry Archibong, proposed a clear cut framework on the deregulation of kerosene.

They explained that the deregulation would help check the current hardships faced by Nigerians in getting the product.
Despite losing $15.2 million or N4.724 billion monthly, the management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), covering Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and parts of Niger, Ekiti and Kogi states, has promised to meter all its customers within five years, as directed by industry regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The promise comes as the Disco groans under monthly losses arising from a number of factors, including high technical losses, unpaid debts by Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), energy theft, vandalism, foreign exchange and a host of others.

Electricity consumers believe that the issue with estimated or crazy billing would end once the Discos obeyed NERCs directive to meter all customers, to enable all parties monitor power usage in homes and offices. Many consumers have refused to pay such crazy bills preferring to either rely on alternative power through generators or remain in darkness, a development that is a huge economic burden to all stakeholders.

Speaking with a select group of journalists in Ibadan, the Disco headquarters, IBEDC Managing Director and Chief Executive, John Donnachie, disclosed that the company required between N50 and N60 billion to meter all its customers.

He however warned that metering consumers may not be the Midas touch as being presumed, noting that effective and accurate billing cannot be achieved through metering alone, as eight in every 10 meters installed are tampered with, thus resulting in inaccurate billing and attendant huge losses to the distribution companies.

According to Donnachie, Metering is not the only solution to effective billing, as for every meter installed, 80 per cent of them are by-passed. What we need is to execute severe sanctions on power thieves and those who vandalise electricity equipment. People are not paying because there are no sanctions.

Nonetheless, he maintained that IBEDC is making efforts to meter all its customers, by investing huge sums in sub-station upgrades, new billing systems and upgrade of customer care centres and more.

Also contributing, IBEDC Deputy Managing Director, John Ayodele, said parts of the Discos plans include Correctly capture and effectively manage 100 per cent of our active customer base, which integrates our asset register and customer service for tighter control and enhanced service delivery, and meter all customers within five years.

Others are: implement a verified and robust billing system to enhance transparency and fair billing in order to achieve our aggressive Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collections (ATC&C) loss targets; Drive engineering upgrades that focus on enhanced delivery of Quality electrification to our Top 100 customers, with tools, systems, equipment upgrade.

Also, efforts are being made to improve our customer service offering by implementing a customer service index and staffing a centralised call centre for focused support and management; and employ, train & develop and reward continuous improvement through performance management tools.

On specific achievements in this regard, Ayodeji said: IBEDC has completed the metering of all identified maximum demand (MD) customers thereby delivering on NERC deadline of February 28th 2017, while 189,339 meters have been installed for MD & Non-MD Customers from November 2013  January 2017.

He added that the Disco also embarked on energy audit, replacement of faulty/obsolete meters and metering of premium customers for higher revenue drive.

However, Donnachie said efforts by IBEDC to improve serve delivery in its areas of jurisdiction are being hampered by the huge monthly losses and associated challenges, noting that Discos are being blamed for all the power issues faced by consumers.

On the losses, the IBEDC boss disclosed that the MDAs have not paid for their electricity consumption for the past three years following the privatisation of the power sector.

He said: The MDAs debts till date are in excess of N8.2 billion, while MAN is still paying the old rate of N26 instead of the new cost reflective tariff of N104.35/KwH. Also, we have not been able to pass on the forex losses to consumers, so we have a grand revenue shortfall of over N100.14 billion, and we cannot borrow from any bank.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, had promised that the MDAs pay all their outstanding debts, threatening to deduct the accruable from their budgetary allocations upon the reconciliation of the figures with the respective parties.

With regard to MAN, members had instituted a court action against the Discos, but recently agreed to an out-of-court settlement. MAN told The Guardian that despite this plethora of challenges, Donnachie is convinced that Nigerias electricity sector remains viable, if only all stakeholders will follow the privatisation modules.

Source: Guardian
As Nigeria join the rest of the world in the celebration of the International Womens Day, Ekiti State was also not left out in the celebration as the state governor decided to celebrate thw women in a different style.

The State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Wednesday said he has enacted a law prescribing a life sentence for any man guilty of battering a woman.

The announcement was made at a rally in Ado Ekiti, where he disclosed the approval of 500 million Naira for women empowerment in Ekiti State, southwest Nigeria.

Fayose said, Very irresponsible men beat their wives; this is part of what women must say no to.

I have enacted a law, if you rape an Ekiti woman you will go in for live imprisonment.

He also affirmed his administrations resolve to support the welfare of women in the state, acknowledging the various roles they play in the society.

Wife of the Governor, Mrs Feyisetan Fayose, believes women should not be neglected and asked them to take advantage of the states economic plan.

Women should be identified and appreciated by their strengths, abilities and efforts to move the nation forward.

I urge Ekiti women to lets us come together like never before to emphasis, ensure and realise the objective of women empowerment, she said.

Human rights activists at the gathering also challenged the women to be bold, especially in the restructuring process of the country.

This years theme for the 2017 International Womens Day celebration is Be Bold for Change and it is aimed at encouraging women across the world to believe in themselves.
Street hawking and begging has been banned in Kaduna State by the Government, as well as commercial motorcycle popularly known as Okada activities in the state capital and environs.

This decision was a result of resolutions reached at the State Security Council meeting held on Tuesday at the Government House.

The Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Samuel Aruwan, briefed reporters after the meeting, the Special said the decision was reached so as to maintain law and order in the state, based on credible intelligence report of security threat to lives and properties.

He explained that the ban was with immediate effect and will remain in force till further notice, while asking the citizens to be law abiding, that is abide by this and other government directives.

He said, Kaduna State Security Council has announced the enforcement of subsisting restrictions on begging, street hawking and usage of motorcycles for commercial transport in Kaduna metropolis and other urban centres in the state.

Credible reports at the disposal of security agencies have made it necessary to begin vigorous enforcement of the laws against street begging, hawking and the illegal business of motorcycle taxis, as well as safeguard lives and property.

Law enforcement agencies have been directed to begin enforcement of the restrictions against begging, street hawking and Okadas/Achabas in Kaduna town and other cities in the state.

The directive is with immediate effect and is based on cogent security concerns and the need to uphold law and order in the state.

Citizens are urged to cooperate with the security agencies as they enforce the relevant laws; the directive is clear.

The Governors spokesman said, No motorcycle is allowed to carry any passenger. Beggars and hawkers are also reminded by this notice to leave the streets.

The State Security Council meeting, which is usually chaired by Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and attended by his deputy, Heads of Security Agencies and traditional rulers in the state, is to appraise the security situation in Kaduna State.

The meeting deliberated on the situation report on Southern Kaduna where many attacks occurred in several communities which took a toll on lives and properties.

The Nigerian Air Force said it has increased air surveillance in Southern Kaduna and has also deployed 60 Special Forces to compliment the ongoing military operations aimed at restoring peace and security in the area.

The Commissioner of Police, Agyole Abeh, on his part said security operatives have taken the war against armed bandits into the forest where they are hiding, and some suspects have been arrested in connection with the attacks.

Prior to our relocation to the place, you are already aware that the Commanders were directed to move to Kafanchan to ensure that peace returns to the area and today, we are happy to tell you that we have been able to restore peace to Kafanchan and environs.

We are going to sustain this effort and we are appealing to members of the community too to assist us in achieving this objective.

However, in recent time, we have been confronted with other problems regarding the crisis in Southern Kaduna, like I earlier said in the previous briefing that some people are actually fueling these crises.

We have made arrest of people who write letters that are intended to incite people against one another. To say that, it has been written that an attack will be carried out in communities.

We investigated some of these letters and we made arrest of persons, which in due time, we will parade before you so that you will see that some of these inciting speeches and letters are actually not even done by the perpetrators of the acts.

We assure that we are going to continue to bring about law and order in that part of the state, with the efforts of the communities.

As long as they want peace to reign, they must contribute their quota to try as much as possible to speak to the youths who are the principal actors in this violence, because the only way to peace is for the people themselves to be prepared to embrace peace, accommodate themselves and live together, the Police Commissioner said.

Also, the Commander One Division Garrison, Brigadier General Samaila Isah, revealed that as part of the efforts in sustaining the peace in Southern Kaduna, the Nigerian Army would embark on a major exercise called Exercise Harbin Kunama in the area.

On his part, the State Director of the Department of State Services, Mohammed Wakili, urged the public to ignore inciting messages from the social and traditional media, aimed at fueling the crisis in Southern Kaduna.

The Kaduna State Government also said it was working with Federal Security Agencies that are taking proactive measures to flush out armed bandits and other criminal elements from every part of the state, especially now that the state is going to witness influx of people through the Kaduna Airport.
A man who brutally murdered his friend while fighting over a girl both of them were interested in dating has been sentenced by a court.

A 24-year-old man, Sodiq Salaudeen, was on Tuesday sentenced to eight years imprisonment for killing his friend during a fight over a girl friend at Ijanikin area of Lagos.

The convict was sentenced by Justice Sedotan Ogunsanya of an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, after changing the initial charge of murder to manslaughter. The judge observed that the three witnesses who testified before the court were not at the scene when the crime occurred.

The court will be relying on the statement of the defendant which showed that he had no intention to kill the deceased.

The statement read and I quote: `I used the iron from the Hausa mans shop to stab him on the left side of his chest. I only wanted to scare him because I was being overpowered by him and his friends; I did not intend to kill him.

The court is satisfied that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the defendant caused the death of the deceased, she said.

Pronouncing the sentence, the judge, however, said that Salaudeens eight-year jail term will start from the day he was first detained for the crime.

The defendant is hereby sentenced to eight years in jail with effect from April 19, 2012.

Salaudeen, who was dressed in a white attire, had an expression of relief on his face after the sentence was pronounced.

Prior to the sentence, counsel to the convict, Mr K.O. Adebayo, had in his plea for leniency told the court that the convict committed the offence out of youthful exuberance.

The defendant is a young man with an aged father who has been a widower for quite sometime.

The crime occurred as a result of youthful exuberance and there was no intention to kill.

Since the objective of punishment is to reform and not for retribution, I plea for a lighter sentence for the convict so that he can still be useful to the society, said Adebayo.

According to the prosecutor, Mr Adebayo Haroun, the convict, who was 19 years old when the offence was committed, stabbed one Tope Akinyemi with a sharp object in his chest during a fight.

The deceased and Salaudeen had attended the same secondary school and knew each other.

They developed a liking for the same girl and a rivalry developed between them which led to a fight with their friends joining.

When Salaudeen felt that Akinyemi was gaining an upper hand in the fight, he ran into the nearby kiosk of a Hausa trader to pick a sharp object which he used to stab the deceased once in the chest leading to his death, he said.

During the trial, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Insp. Festus Imoru, confirmed that the fight that led to Akinyemis death was caused by a female.

During my investigations, I got to know that the two men were asking the unknown girl out and this led to a bitter rivalry between them.

Efforts to get the name of the girl who caused the fracas was, however, abortive, said the IPO.

Source: Naijaloaded
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, on Tuesday warned President Muhammadu Buhari to stop deceiving Nigerians with phone calls regarding his health.

Buhari, who is currently on medical vacation in London, has been communicating with some high profile personalities, the last being with the former Military Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon(rtd).

In a statement by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, CNPP, the group said rather than deceive Nigerians with phone calls, the Federal Government should face governance issues that would alleviate the suffering of the masses.

CNPP noted that the continued media hype of Mr. Presidents calls to different individuals were unnecessary since he transmitted power to Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, who should not be distracted at this trying times.

The statement reads, We see the continued media hype of President Buharis phone calls and possible photoshopped pictures of individual visits to his London hospital as a distraction.

Why is Mr. President always calling from his sick bed to individuals at a time he should be resting to get well quick and return home?

If he can be talking to individuals, what is difficult about talking to the nation in a live broadcast, where some citizens can call in and get his response?.

The Presidency should stop deceiving Nigerians and know that governance must not be based on lies and propaganda.

At a time the average Nigerian does not know where the next meal will come from, we see the presidency toiling with peoples emotions rather than face governance issues to reduce the current suffering in the country.

Enough of phone calls from President Buhari. It is time for the ruling party to deliver on its campaign promises and make life better for the citizens of Nigeria.

Source: Dailypost
Nigerias economy is currently in a state of recession and the Federal Government has made it clear it will explore other ways of boosting the economy and pulling the nation out of the situation.

Nigerias NigComSat 1R provides one such avenue to scientifically boost the economy and help the nation come out of its current economic state to a more stable economy.

NigComSat-1R, a hybrid geostationary satellite with 28 transponders for providing cutting-edge telecommunication solutions that are reliable and cost-effective, is described by experts as a child of necessity capable of improving the quality of lives of Nigerians and Africans as a whole.

The quad band satellite located at 42.5 degree east with a lifespan of at least 15 years and footprints in West, East and Southern Africa, Europe and Asia is the first of its kind in Africa, especially with the existing economic prospects and mounting demand for bandwidth.

The satellites communications sub-system consists of C-band, Ku-band, Ka-band and L-band.

The satellite, at launch, was rated as the pride of Africa as it was also said to have the potentials of raking into the national treasury over $40 billion annually if put to judicious use.

The former executive chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Engineer Ernest Ndukwe noted that NigComSat-1R placed Nigeria as a strategic partner in the global ICT revolution as it has the potentials of bringing access to communication within easy reach.

Ndukwe added that Nigeria was already on the path to greatness in the global ICT sector having blazed the trail on satellite communication on the African continent as well as having gone ahead of China and India in the deployment of 3G network.

According to him, in 2010, 50 percent of the broadband connections in the country were via satellite and that the coming of NigComSat-1R was timely and a perfect calculation to reduce the cost and enhance penetration.

Challenges

NigComSat-1R as envisioned by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration was to ensure that Nigeria maintained its position as one of the ICT great nations of the world but this dream is facing challenges occasioned by lack of patronage by Nigerian organizations and industry players that matter.

As a country, we still dont have faith in our own rather we patronize products and services from abroad even in areas where we have comparative advantages.

When the Galaxy Backbone was established by government, there was a deliberate instruction to all government ministries, departments and agencies to utilize the services provided by Galaxy and it was quickly complied with. Such development has not happened with NigComSat-1R and as a result government organizations spend millions of dollars annually in buying products and services which the satellite can provide.

This has resulted in huge capital flight especially in an era when such capitals were needed to enhance the economy.

Gains/benefits

NigComSat-1R: as designed and launched in 2007 was conceived and designed to revolutionise the way governments operate, by guaranteeing a reliable and secure communication infrastructure. The possibilities tied to this are endless; from Customs and Excise payments, to national database creation and management, to e-passports. Contractors can review and bid on government jobs from around the world, and government ministries can communicate and make decisions with the push of a button, leading to a more streamlined, more transparent and more progressive government.

The satellite is built with radiation-hardened technology, high reliability, on-board software re-programmable ability, fault tolerance, redundant components and high efficiency. There are seven (7) antennas to guarantee stronger footprints, better look angles and shorter latency for intra-African communication traffic. Adequate fade margin compensation for attenuation losses by rain guarantees increased reliability and availability.

NigComSat-1R will provide broadcast operators the tools to incorporate larger channel line-ups, interactive services, high definition programming, and the introduction of hybrid multi-network delivery.

It also has the potentials to complement existing terrestrial infrastructure to ensure the provision of cost effective and high quality data, voice and video communication. With strong footprints, more powerful strength, a high number of active transponders and antennas. The satellite enables telecommunication service providers to work towards an effective transformation in the quality, delivery and possibilities of telecommunications services across the continent.

In the areas of e-education, NigComSat-1R working with other service providers in the education sector can deliver unprecedented innovations. Public and private sector providers of educational services can take advantage of NigComSat-1Rs cost effective and high quality services to provide relevant solutions and services to an even larger market. With the availability of real time data, voice, video and internet transmission, age, distance or location will no longer be hindrances to learning.

Ground breaking success stories

NigComSat-1R was recently selected to provide In-Orbit Test (IOT) and Carrier Spectrum Monitoring (CSM) services for Belintersat-1 Satellite. Belintersat-1 is a communication satellite owned by the government of Belarus.

NigComSat supported the activities of CGWIC by providing necessary facilities to test communication payload of the Belintersat-1 Satellite over Africa using the NigComSat-1R ground station infrastructure located in Abuja.

NigComSat-1R is also expected to provide CSM services to monitor the performance of Belintersat-1 and transmit the data in real-time to Belarus for the life of the satellite.

This is a big feat for Nigeria and it clearly shows that NigComSat and indeed Nigeria have developed the capacity to provide high technical services in the satellite communication industry, in addition to its traditional services of transponder leasing, broadband services, enterprise solutions, secured communications & solutions amongst others over Nigeria and other African countries such as Gabon and Cote DIvoire.

While outsiders are giving Nigeria kudos for taking such initiatives and are coming in for the services of NigComSat-1R, we as a country are still not bothered as we still prefer to go abroad to buy products and services from other similar satellites.

The internet has been termed as the fourth pillar of the Nigerian economy, contributing about 7.8 percent to the countrys GDP. This contribution can be scaled up with NigComSat-1R.

According to the Ministry of Communication Technology, 42 percent of Nigerian citizens have some form of internet access and that broadband was costing about 30 percent of a households income and half the countrys 167 million people living in unconnected rural areas making take-up of high-speed services is slow yet we have not been able to take advantage of NigComSat-1R.

In a recent survey by Philip Consulting, Nigeria spent close to $1.3 billion monthly on internet services, this amount could have been substantially saved if the NigComSat-1R services are properly deployed in the country but over the years, the satellite services have been neglected even by the government who spent a lot of money to launch it. The recent digital switch over of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) did not also take advantage of the satellite.

NigComSats managing director, Ms Abimbola Alale, was quoted recently as saying working together with indigenous companies and organizations will provide some kind of cushion effect to the challenges we have as a country. We need to solve the problem of capital flight in this era of recession and maximize the full benefits of the Nigerian communication infrastructure, the NigComSat-1R.

That surely is what is needed in this era and the 2017 budget has already set the tone in that direction but how government will work the talk is what we are waiting to see because when we believe in our abilities, we can accomplish great things.

Source: Leadership
The African Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) is one of the most prestigious award show that recognizes talent from the Nollywood industry as well as African film industry at large. This year, many actors steeped out in fancy dresses to receive their honour.

The fifth edition of the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) held on March 4, 2017 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island Lagos. The red carpet was filled with many beautiful-looking stars with those who stole their style inspiration from Hollywood stars.

Here are some more similar styles, that had people asking questions.

American actress Kerry Washington rocked her look to the Emmys and Nollywood actress Adesua definitely like the look too much, she copied it.

Angelina Jolie made a huge statement with this dress and as far as we know it, lunched the thigh-high slit fashion. Sonkele. I liked the look so much, she recreated in purple.
All Progressives Congress chieftain, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has paid a special visit to his octogenarian mother in Lagos on his birthday.

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo visited his mothers home to mark his 60th birthday today  8th of March, 2017.

He received a special cake from his mother who used that opportunity to say some short prayers of success and longevity of life for her son who is currently leading a country of 180 million people.
Paris Jackson makes her TV acting debut on Lee Daniels Fox drama Star airing this Wednesday and new behind-the-scene footage has emerged showing Paris in her role.

The daughter of late music Legend Michael Jackson is playing the role of Rachel Wallace, who Paris describes as a social media photographer chick whos really into herself. Shes just the bossiest chick in the world and doesnt care about what anybody thinks.

The 18-year-old revealed that shooting the movie was fun for her and she particularly enjoyed it because everyone was nice and welcomed her.

Everybody was so nice. The girls are amazing to work with. The second they saw me in hair and makeup, each one of them welcomed me. It was nice being welcomed so quickly, Paris said.

She also spoke about her love for the drama shell be starring in and how she got the role.

When I heard about Star, I watched the first couple episode and fell in love, she said in the clip. I met Lee and he was kind of interested in getting me on the show. This role is really opposite to me and for it being my first on-camera acting, I think its a good way for me to show my acting capabilities.
The statement credited to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, urging Nigerians to disregard another presidential directive to steer clear of the United States (U.S.) pending the clarification of its immigration policy is now a subject of controversy.

Speaking in Abuja, the minister had maintained that there was no basis for such caution, as the relationship between both nations remained cordial. But some Nigerians yesterday picked holes in Onyeamas position saying there was enough evidence that US-bound Nigerians with valid visas were being returned on next available flights.

The office of the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Abike Dabiri-Erewa had on Monday issued a statement urging Nigerians who do not have pressing needs to shun the U.S. It also claimed that citizens with valid documents were being denied entry.

The conflicting directives from two top officials of the administration obviously underscore a lack of cohesion in information dissemination within the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.

The minister dismissed the earlier information and enjoined the media to limit their sources of information on foreign affairs matters to either the spokespersons of the president or their counterparts at the ministry.

He said: On the trendy news that Nigeria should be wary of the U.S., this is not the case. If government is speaking about international relations, the most authoritative foreign affairs issues sources are the media team of the presidency or the ministry.

The American leader recently called President Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him on the good work he is doing and extended a hand of assistance to Nigeria.

It is business as usual between Nigeria and the U.S., and a very good business too. Anything else you hear is incorrect. So, any Nigerian with valid documents should travel.

But the Nigerian Coalition For Quality Governance, a non-governmental organisation, yesterday accused the minister of parading the corridors of the countrys media establishments in his effort to deny and dismiss the effects of the Executive Order of the US President Donald Trump banning nationals of select countries from the United States despite their possession of valid US visa. The group agreed that Nigeria is not officially among the countries whose citizens have been banned from entering the US, but noted that enough evidence has already surfaced that not a few Nigerians had been put on the next available planes from the US airports back to Nigeria despite their possession of all travelling documents including the US entry visa.

To the group, Mr. Onyeamas denial that Nigerians have been affected by the US presidents Executive Order may not have been unconnected with the Travel Advisory issued over the weekend by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa that advised Nigerians who have no compelling or urgent reason to travel to the US to postpone their travel plans until the new administrations policy on immigration is clear.

Dabiri-Erewas advisory had added that in the last few weeks, the office has received a few cases of Nigerians with valid multiple-entry US visas being denied entry and sent back to Nigeria with no reasonsgiven for the decision by the US immigration authorities.

It does not really matter, Dabiri-Erewa yesterday told The Guardian on telephone while insisting that she has good working relationship with the Minister. Although she would not respond to the ministers comments, she said the most important thing was for the media to analyse her message to Nigerians. My message is to Nigerians (and) I can give two examples of people returned to Nigeria. Even schools in the US are telling people not to travel because they may not be able to return.

A public commentator and journalist, Mr. Dele Agakemeh, had on a television programme Tuesday morning painted a picture of how his friend was denied entry into the United States and returned in next available flight to Nigeria through Johannesburg.

While were not questioning the right of the Foreign Minister to an issue that borders on foreign policy as this, Mr. Onyeama has undoubtedly put the wrong foot forward in calling on Nigerians to ignore this Travel Advisory in the face of verifiable evidence that Nigerians are being unfairly targeted and included in the dragnet of the US immigration authorities, the Nigerian Coalition For Quality Governance said in its statement yesterday.

On the reports that some Nigerians were turned back from a U.S airport, Onyeama dismissed the claims, saying nothing of such was received from Nigerian embassies. He added that he had engaged the U.S. consulate in Nigeria, which equally denied the allegation.

Onyeama continued: We have embassies and consulates in the U.S. which we rely on for information. We have absolutely no report from them that any Nigerian has been returned from a U.S. airport.

The minister also refuted earlier reports that over 100 Nigerians were killed in the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

According to him, no such information was received from the Nigerian High Commission in that country.

Figures are being bandied about the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa. No Nigerian was killed in the country in the course of the xenophobic attacks.

Onyeama added that since the incident began, the Federal Government had engaged its South African counterpart in trying to ensure that the incident does not repeat itself.

He noted that he would be leading a delegation to the country over the matter and brief Nigerians appropriately after returning.

Source: Guardian
The Nigerian Senate has asked the Nigeria Customs Service to stop its proposed clampdown on motorists in the country which the agency said have failed to pay customs duties.

This decision came as a motion of national importance moved by Senator Bala Ibn Naallah at the floor of the Senate in Abuja, Nigerias capital.

The Service recently issued a statement signed on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, granting an extension till April 12 for all vehicle owners in the country whose customs duty has not been paid to do so.

The Senate, at its plenary on Tuesday, said the policy was undesirable and would only worsen the hardship Nigerians were going through.

Senator Dino Melaye and Senator Philip Aduda also condemned what they describe as anti-people policy at a time Nigerians are groaning under a recession.

The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, added his voice to the debate and wasted no time in confirming the stand of the Senate.

Meanwhile, a lawmaker representing Delta Central at the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, informed his colleagues at the beginning of the plenary that he has left the Labour Party for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Senator Omo-Ageges defection has increased the number of APC Senators to 66.
South African rapper, AKA is not happy with Times Live after the publication made its agenda too obvious by writing a headline:AKA collaborates with convicted sex offender Okmalumkoolkat.

Okmalumkoolkat was last year arrested in Australia, where he served one month of his six months sentence in an Australian prison after being found guilty of indecent assault and assault with indecent intent.

AKA who wasnt pleased that it was after he had worked with Okmalumkoolkat, who designed the artwork for his latest single, Caiphus Song, called out Times Live on Twitter.

In his Twitter post, The World is Yours rapper, shared a collage photo of Okmalumkoolkat and Oscar Pistorius who was sentenced to six years in prison for murdering his girlfriend insinuating that Times Live were biased in reporting the story.

See other tweets of the rapper ranting on Twitter below:
The most talked about award show, AMVCA happened recently. Susan was said to have showed up in a pink, flowing dress which cost 1.8 million naira. The dress looked expensive alright but the style made fans doubt the price tag.

After getting various attacks, the actress decided to reply some of the fans who asked several questions, including how she could afford such a dress and more, why spend so much on an ugly dress.
Ekiti State Governor wowed people recently as he showed off his tailoring skills by sewing his own ankara dress for tomorrows International Womens Day.

The amiable Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose was in a happy mood as he celebrated ahead of the International Womens Day by sewing his ankara uniform ahead of the celebration tomorrow.

The Governor also declared tomorrow a public holiday to enable the women celebrate it in grand style.

According to him, the holiday will also enable men wishing to identify with the womenfolk, the opportunity to do so without hindrance.

He said the state government would sponsor the event to enable the women showcase their potentials and had a sense of belonging in the society.

NAN reports that no fewer than 45,000 women across various professions, trades as well as those in the public service have already enlisted to be part of the womens special event.

The women have also paid N500 each to buy a branded and subsidised Ankara, which has a market value of N3,500.

NAN Correspondent who visited the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, venue of the event reports that the place is now wearing a new look in preparation for tomorrow.
It is International Womens day, so join us as we celebrate Late Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, original name Frances Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas, also called Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti (born October 25, 1900, Abeokuta, Egbaland [now in Nigeria]died Lagos, Nigeria), Nigerian feminist and political leader who was the leading advocate of womens rights in her country during the first half of the 20th century.

Her parents were Christians of Yoruba descent. She was the first female student at the Abeokuta Grammar School (a secondary school), which she attended from 1914 to 1917. After teaching briefly at the school, she studied in England (191923), where she dropped her English names and shortened her Yoruba name to Funmilayo. Having resumed teaching at Abeokuta, she married Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, an Anglican clergyman and teacher, in 1925.

In 1932, when her husband became principal of the Abeokuta school, she helped organize the Abeokuta Ladies Club (ALC), initially a civic and charitable group of mostly Western-educated Christian women. The organization gradually became more political and feminist in its orientation, and in 1944 it formally admitted market women (women vendors in Abeokutas open-air markets), who were generally impoverished, illiterate, and exploited by colonial authorities. In 1946 the ALC changed its name to the Abeokuta Womens Union (AWU) and opened its membership to all women in Abeokuta. Ransome-Kuti became the first president of the AWU (1946) and headed its successor organizations until her death. Under her leadership the AWU became a national organization, renaming itself the Nigerian Womens Union (NWU) in 1949 and the Federation of Nigerian Womens Societies (FNWS) in 1953.

The AWU initially campaigned against price controls, which drastically limited the incomes of market women, and for fair treatment of market women by the government. It also protested a special tax on women imposed by the local ruler, Sir Ladapo Ademola II. From 1947 the organization led large demonstrations against Ademolas government, which led to his temporary abdication in 1949. The broader goals of the AWU included greater educational opportunities for women and girls, the enforcement of sanitary regulations, and the provision of health care and other social services for women. Ransome-Kuti pursued these initiatives with the intention of raising living standards for women and ultimately eliminating the causes of poverty.

Ransome-Kuti served several terms on the local council of Abeokuta between 1949 and 1960. In 1951 she ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the regional assembly as the candidate of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), which she had helped found in 1944. In 1953 the FNWS became affiliated with the Womens International Democratic Federation, and Ransome-Kuti was elected a vice president of the organization. She subsequently lectured in several countries on the conditions of Nigerian women. After the NCNC rejected her bid for a second candidacy for the assembly in 1959, she ran as an independent, which split the NCNC vote and ensured the opposing partys victory. She was subsequently expelled from the NCNC and formed her own party, the Commoners Peoples Party, which was disbanded one year later. By this time her political influence in Nigeria and her following among women in Abeokuta had declined significantly.
; is serving her second term as President after winning the 2011 presidential election. Shes one of the three who won the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in 2011. Madam Sirleaf has throughout her career demonstrated passionate commitment to hard work, integrity, good governance and has been advocating for the rights of women and the importance of education to provide a better future for her country and its people. Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the 24th President of Liberia and Africas first democratically elected female; is serving her second term as President after winning the 2011 presidential election. Shes one of the three who won the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in 2011. Madam Sirleaf has throughout her career demonstrated passionate commitment to hard work, integrity, good governance and has been advocating for the rights of women and the importance of education to provide a better future for her country and its people.

Born Ellen Eugenia Johnson in Monrovia on October 29, 1938, she is the granddaughter of a renowned Traditional Chief of western Liberia and a daughter of market woman from the southeast. She grew up in Liberia and attended high school at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. Subsequently, she studied at Madison Business College, University of Colorado and Harvard University Kennedy School of Government where she obtained a Masters Degree in Public Administration in 1971.

Her entry into politics began in 1972 when she delivered her famous commencement address at graduation convocation of her alma mater (College of West Africa) in which she sharply criticized the government and demonstrated her determination to speak the truth no matter the consequences. This was the start of a distinguished professional and political career spanning nearly four decades.

In 1975 she joined the then Treasury Department in Liberia, rising to the position of Minister of Finance in 1979 where she introduced measures to curb the mismanagement of government finances. After the 1980 military coup detat, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf served as President of the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) but fled Liberia as a result of the increasingly suppressive military dictates of the government that same year. She traveled to Kenya and served as Vice President of CITICORPs Africa Regional Office in Nairobi, and later moved to Washington, D.C. to assume the position of Senior Loan Officer at the World Bank, and as Vice President for Equator Bank. In 1992 she joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as Assistant Administrator and Director of its Regional Bureau of Africa with the rank of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

However, with her country still very much at heart, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf resigned in 1997 to return home and contest the general and presidential elections and was ranked second in votes to opponent Charles Taylor. She went into self-imposed exile in Cote dIvoire where she kept a close eye on Liberian politics. During that time she established, in Abidjan, Kormah Development and Investment Corporation, a venture capital vehicle for African entrepreneurs, and Mesuagoon, a Liberian community development NGO.

In 2003 when the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) was formed, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was selected to serve as Chairperson of the Governance Reform Commission where she led the countrys anti-corruption reform by changing the reporting mechanism of the General Auditing Commission from the Executive to the Legislature, thereby strengthening and reinforcing its independence. She resigned this position to successfully contest the 2005 general and presidential elections; resulting in her historic inauguration on January 16, 2006, as President of the Republic of Liberia.

After decades of fighting for freedom, justice and equality in Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has spent more than nine years rebuilding post-conflict Liberia. She has revived national hope by strengthening the institutions of national security and good governance, leading the revitalization of the national economy and infrastructure, including the construction of more than 800 miles of roads, and restoring Liberias international reputation and credibility.

President Johnson Sirleaf has built strong relations with regional partners and the international community, attracting investment of over $16 billion in Liberias mining, agriculture and forestry sectors, and off-shore oil exploration to provide jobs for her people. Her leadership has led to more than $4 billion in debt relief in June 2010 and to the lifting of UN trade sanctions to allow Liberia access international markets. She has increased the national budget from $80 million in 2006 to more than half a billion in 2011 and has driven annual GDP growth to at least 7 percent in the same period.

President Johnson Sirleaf is Chairperson of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance; having succeeded the founding Chair, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete in January 2012. ALMA is an alliance of African Heads of State and Government working to end malaria-related deaths. She served as Chairperson of the Mano River Union where she leads the effort for political stability and economic cooperation among Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Cote dIvoire. The Liberian leader is also Goodwill Ambassador for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Africa. She was a founding member of the International Institute for Women in Political Leadership; was designated in 1999 by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (now African Union) to serve on the committee to investigate the Rwanda genocide; was a Commission Chair for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue; and was selected by UNIFEM as one of two persons to investigate and report on the effect of conflict on women and womens roles in peace-building.

Prior to her ascendancy to the Presidency, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf served on many advisory boards, including the International Crisis Group (USA) and Women Waging Peace (USA). She is also a proud recipient of numerous prestigious awards including: the FAO CERES Medal (2008); the Crisis Group Fred Cuny Award for the Prevention of Deadly Crisis (2008) for outstanding leadership in democracy, development and peace-building in Africa; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2007), the highest civilian honor bestowed by an American President.

President Sirleaf has been recognized amid numerous honors such as 14 honorary degrees from American colleges and universities. In 2010, Newsweek magazine listed Johnson Sirleaf as one of the ten best leaders in the world; Time placed her among the top ten female leaders; and the Economist called her the best President the country has ever had.
Microsoft has warmed up to Qualcomm to make a Windows 10 PC based on its ARM chip, and now the companies are bringing Windows Server OS to ARM.

For the first time ever, Microsoft is expected to show the Windows Server OS running on an ARM server. The server runs on Qualcomms Centriq 2400, an ARM-based chip designed for cloud servers.

The server is being shown at the Open Project Compute Summit being held in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday and Thursday.The ARM-based Windows Server hardware is for Microsofts internal use. No information was shared on when Windows Server would be available for ARM servers.

The ARM-based Windows Server hardware is for Microsofts internal use. The company didnt share information about when Windows Server would be available for ARM servers.

Putting Windows Server on ARM is a big deal. Way back in 2011, Microsoft said it had no interest in putting the Windows Server OS on ARM servers. Since then, rumors have surfaced that Windows Server 2016 was being ported to ARM, but this is the first time the OS is being shown working on the hardware.

Like with PCs, current editions of Windows Server only run on systems with x86 chips from Intel and AMD. But Microsoft has been warming up to ARM on laptops and now servers. The companys Windows 10 IoT Core and Windows 10 Mobile already work on ARM chips.

Microsoft and Qualcomm worked for many years to bring Windows Server to Centriq 2400. The collaboration will continue for future generations of server hardware and software, the companies said.

The goal with Windows Server on ARM is to run next-generation Microsoft cloud services on servers with Qualcomms Centriq 2400 chips, the companies said in a statement.

Intel, which dominates the server chip market with more than a 90 percent share, will surely take notice of this announcement. Microsofts support for Qualcomm is a strong statement that the software company is ready to consider an alternative architecture for Windows Server.

Qualcomm has developed special Windows Server hardware based on its Centriq 2400 processor. The Centriq Open Compute Motherboard server has 48 CPU cores and fits into a 1U server chassis. It has multiple I/O and networking interfaces and supports the latest storage protocols.

The server is based on a new version of Project Olympus, which is an open-source cloud hardware server design developed by Microsoft in collaboration with OCP.

ARM servers havent caught on despite being hyped and tested for more than five years. ARMs server chips are mainly derived from smartphone chip design, and the low-power features could reduce electricity bills for data centers. ARM servers already run on Linux OS, but the application ecosystem is limited.

Qualcomms Centriq has an advanced design and high level of integration of I/O and networking protocols and is bringing back interest in ARM servers. The chipmaker is working with many partners to boost adoption of the technology. As Qualcomm progresses up the server ladder, rival ARM chipmakers have been dropping like flies, while server chips from some of them are being mainly used as network and storage processors.
Most of us have become resigned to Windows 10 serving up ads in many nooks and crannies. Now it seems Microsoft's latest ad platform is File Explorer.

That venerable center of most Windows users navigation can, on occasion, show an ad like the one below. The ads appear on some Windows 10 Anniversary Update PCs, and it looks like theyre going to become more common with version 1703, the Creators Update, due later this month or early next month. (This screenshot is from build 15048, a recent beta test version of 1703.)

InfoWorld

[ The essentials for Windows 10 installation: Download the Windows 10 Installation Superguide today. | Stay up on key Microsoft technologies with the Windows Report newsletter. ]

Fortunately, its easy to tell File Explorer to stop nagging you.

To get rid of advertising in File Explorer  at least, this kind of advertising  start File Explorer, click View, then Options, then in the View tab, uncheck the box marked "Show sync provider notifications."

InfoWorld

When you restart File Explorer, the ads will no longer darken your door.

Earlier this week on Reddit, poster Tall_Ships_for_Life drew interesting comments about the setting. Apparently the ads dont appear in European versions of Windows 10 (although theres a confirmed sighting of File Explorer ads in the United Kingdom) and the ads dont appear in Windows 10 Enterprise.

Poster Silversee on a different Reddit thread admonishes:

Be aware that if you follow that guide you are disabling all sync provider notifications in File Explorer, including legitimate ones. Presumably this is used by OneDrive or other services to notify you about the sync status of cloud synced content.

As a blog on Into Windows notes, "The so-called Sync provider notification feature, according to Microsoft, is designed to help users by displaying quick, easy information about things that can improve the overall experience with Windows 10." But even if Silversees observation proves correct, Microsoft may well change the way it uses that File Explorer advertising slot, and not tell anybody.

Martin Brinkmann at Ghacks.net nails it:

Microsoft makes it difficult to turn off all ads in Windows 10. Ads are not controlled using a single preference, as controls are scattered around. What makes this even more difficult is that the preferences dont necessarily reveal that they control advertisement (or suggestions) at all.

Discussion continues on the AskWoody Lounge.
Soybean (ZS) Retests Weekly Chart Triangle Resistance Ahead of WASDE Tradable Patterns - 4 minutes ago Soybean (ZSF23) is forming a daily and weekly Doji to start the week, hesitating after last weeks strong surge to triangle resistance (on the weekly chart). With ZS having reversed more than half... ZSF23 : 1453-0 (-0.63%) SOYB : 27.65 (+1.51%)

Cattle and Hog support and resistance for the week ONE44 Analytics - Sun Nov 6, 5:17PM CST You take care of the growing and we will take care of where it's going!

Lean Hogs Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Nov 6, 2:01PM CST The downtrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading below resistance level 84.675, which will be followed by reaching support level 80.675 and if it keeps on moving down below that level,...

Feeder Cattle Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Nov 6, 2:00PM CST The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 177.700, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 182.375 and 188.250

Live Cattle Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Nov 6, 1:59PM CST The downtrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading below resistance level 152.375, which will be followed by reaching support level 148.325

Soybean Oil Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Nov 6, 1:59PM CST The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 72.70, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 79.29

Soybean Meal Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Nov 6, 1:58PM CST The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 419.1, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 431 and 439

Soybean Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Nov 6, 1:57PM CST The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 1423.2, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 1512.2

Corn Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Nov 6, 1:57PM CST The downtrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading below resistance level 688, which will be followed by reaching support level 674 and if it keeps on moving down below that level, we may...
The communities of Dryden and Lansing, N.Y., have seen an uptick in self-storage development due to local demand for climate-controlled units and a reduction in available building space in nearby Ithaca, N.Y. There are at least five projects comprising more than 68,500 square feet between the two towns. Three of the projects will expand existing facilities, while two will be ground-up assets, according to the source.

4 Season Storage doubled its capacity by adding a second building at 1400 Dryden Road, and Storage Squad is developing a three-building, 46,800-square-foot facility across the street at 1401 Dryden Road. The project is the valet-style operators first traditional self-storage facility.

I-Deal Self Storage is also building a 10,500-square-foot facility on the corner of Enterprise Drive and Freeville Road. The asset will be the companys fourth location. It operates two facilities in Ithaca and one in Trumansburg, N.Y.

"From what Ive heard, our community is underserved by self-storage; were not keeping up with neighboring counties and states, Ray Burger, planning director for Dryden, told the source.

"Tompkins County has generally been left behind over the past 20 years as the storage industry has made some great advances, agreed Nick Huber, president of Storage Squad. Most areas of the state have made the transition to climate-controlled facilities. With today's technology, these are not really that much more expensive to build or run, so it is becoming the industry standard and a service customers expect. It's nearly impossible to find a vacant climate-controlled unit within 45 minutes of Ithaca. This leaves a lot of people settling for standard storage spaces and leaving their valuables to the whims of Mother Nature because they have no other option. In an area with weather like ours, that is not a feasible solution."

Two expansion projects are on tap in nearby Lansing. Airport Storage is adding 1,600 square feet to its facility on Hillcrest Lane, and United Storage intends to add 9,600 square feet to its location on Verizon Lane, the source reported.

The influx of activity is being driven in part by favorable zoning in Dryden and Lansing, while still being able to serve Ithaca customers, according to Huber. Ithaca doesn't have many areas left with the correct zoning for light industry and warehousing. That is why Storage Squad and 4 Season have targeted the Route 13 corridor between Ithaca and Dryden," Huber told the source.

Storage Squad is also planning a self-storage facility in Cortland, N.Y., according to the source. The company specializes in valet-style, pickup and delivery services to college students in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.
State Street Global Advisors is calling for companies to include more women on their boards, or be prepared for the $2.4 trillion asset manager to start voting down board director candidates at the proxy level in order to force the issue.



We are actively engaging with these companies and with our votes, Lynn Blake, CIO of global equity beta solutions at SSGA, said in an interview Tuesday. SSGA found in a study it conducted that 35 percent of public companies in the U.S. have zero female directors on their boards, compared with 36 percent in U.K. and 45 percent in Australia.

The firm has a new set of guidelines giving 3,500 public companies about a year to increase diversity on their own before SSGA starts influencing their selection of board directors at the proxy level. Blake said the guidelines are prescriptive, as SSGA wants to identify people on the board who are going to be tasked with holding the company accountable on diversity hires. The firm also wants to see transparent investor disclosure that lays out specifically how companies plan to tackle gender diversity over the long term.

This is similar to what we did around board tenure, Blake says. We put forward a specific set of guidelines about what we thought the length of tenure should be on a board and we have seen it drop consistently over several years. We think this is a model that works and were prepared to vote against board candidates if we dont see constructive engagement on this issue as well.



As a symbol of its push for more women in asset management and corporate boards, SSGA on Tuesday morning installed a statue of a young girl directly across from the Charging Bull statue in New Yorks Financial District.

SSGA, which found that when companies do have female board members they amount to just 15 percent or less of total board seats, is getting added firepower from California State Teachers Retirement System.

CalSTRS last year provided a $250 million seed investment into SSGAs SHE exchange-traded fund, an index ETF that is weighted to capture the performance of companies that have gender-diverse management teams. Chris Ailman, chief investment officer at CalSTRS, said that he wants to use the SHE ETF to show that there is money to be made when a more diverse group of decision-makers are leading companies. CalSTRS also supports SSGAs guidelines and plans to vote its proxies aggressively.

Its time to move beyond talk, Ailman said in an interview. We have made a concerted effort on diversity within our organization, we have a 50/50 gender split now and we expect to see the same from the companies we invest in.

Ailman has also indicated hes willing to make diversity a high-profile issue for companies that lag behind on inclusion. We will publicly shame companies if we need to. We did it with Facebook when they went public and had no female board members and we will do it again, he said.
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Inflation remains the primary concern for the worlds central banks, which have engaged in the broadest and fastest tightening regime in history, according to Alejandra Grindal, chief economist at Ned Davis Research.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has welcomed the NSWs Motor Accidents Injury Bill 2017 as it enters the State Parliament this week.ICA CEO Rob Whelan said the Bill would not only make the scheme fairer and more affordable for NSW motorists and road users, it will also make the scheme more sustainable for years to come.The insurers, legal, and medical representatives and other stakeholders have been extensively consulted by the Government and the regulator SIRA during the design of these reforms, Whelan said.Whelan lauded Victor Dominello, minister for finance, services and property, for championing the NSW CTP reform bill and for advocating the best interests of the people of NSW.The insurance industry supports the move to a defined benefits scheme with access to common law for the most seriously injured. These reforms will promote early intervention, recovery, and rehabilitation.NSW motorists and road users will benefit most. Insurers believe a defined benefits scheme that provides payment for medical treatment and care, while retaining some common-law entitlements and directing the majority of funds to the more seriously injured people who need them most, will reduce the need for legal intervention and will lower premiums.If approved, the new scheme is expected to take effect by December.
NSW homeowners are set to experience more affordable premiums under a new system for funding the states fire and emergency services.The NSW Government has announced that it will introduce legislation to remove the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) from insurance premiums and will see an average $185 added to council rate notices from July 01.The Fire and Emergency Services Levy (FESL) will charge NSW landowners an annual levy for funding most of the requirements of Fire and Rescue NSW and the State Emergency Service, instead of the tax on insurance companies, which is said to add some 21% to home building and contents premiums, as well as some motor insurance policies.Under the new system, residential landowners and owners of public benefit land will be charged an annual fixed charge of $100 plus an additional amount on the improved land value; while farms, industrial, and commercial landholders will get a fixed charge of $200 plus the additional amount, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.The exact amount of the levy can be determined by May 01, and will be calculated based on the value of each years emergency services budget, which will also be known on the same date.The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) welcomed the new legislation, remarking that it will benefit policyholders by spreading the funding cost to landowners. It will see their annual fire services contribution drop from an annual average of $233 to $185.The switch from an impost on insurance to a property levy will bring an end to an unfair and illogical system whereby only those who protect their assets with insurance fund these vital community services, said ICA CEO Rob Whelan.By spreading the funding cost among all property owners, not just those with insurance, the government estimates most households will be an average of $47 better off each year.
Canadian businesses and other similar large organizations might want to secure cyber insurance now  not just to protect themselves against data breaches caused by domestic hackers, but from foreign ones as well.The nations foreign affairs minister is urging Canadians to brace themselves for any destabilization efforts Russia might attempt on the country.The ministers warnings come after US intelligence agencies alleged that Russia had hacked and leaked emails of the Democratic Party during the 2016 US presidential election campaign in an effort to sway the vote in Donald Trumps favor; Moscow has denied any involvement in the matter.It is public knowledge that there have been efforts, as US intelligence forces have said, by Russia to destabilize the US political system, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told the press in Parliament.I think that Canadians and, indeed, other Western countries should be prepared for similar efforts to be directed at us.During Question Period in Parliament, Freeland was asked if Russia launched a smear campaign against her after negative articles appeared on pro-Russia media related to her grandfather of Ukrainian descent. Freeland is also an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, and has been barred from entering Russia.The federal government on Monday said that it would renew a military training mission in Ukraine for another two years, The Independent reported.Canada, under the former Conservative government, previously sent about 200 troops to Ukraine in 2015 to help train the latters troops in combatting Russian-backed separatists. According to Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, more than 3,200 soldiers have been trained through this arrangement since.
There have been plenty of insurers announcing their intentions to move beyond the UK in light of the recent Brexit vote: and finally, one has declared its destination.That one is American International Group (AIG) which today announced that it will locate an insurance company in Luxembourg to maintain its operations across the EEA when the UK leaves the European Union.Its plans will see AIG have two subsidiary insurance companies in Europe from 2019  one in the UK to write UK business and the other in Luxembourg to write business for the EEA and Switzerland.According to Anthony Baldwin, the chief executive of AIG Europe, as the UK is its largest single operation in Europe, it will continue to support European operations from the UK and it will remain a core market.This is a decisive move that ensures AIG is positioned for whatever form the UKs exit from the EU ultimately takes, he said.AIG sees opportunity in the ongoing resilience of the UK insurance market. At the same time, we are ensuring that our clients and partners experience no disruption from the UKs EU exit. Our Luxembourg company will be complementary to our existing structure and will be part of our single European module.Luxembourg, a founding member of the European Union, offers us a secure location in a stable economy with an experienced and well-respected regulator in continental Europe close to many of our major markets.The proposed restructure is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approval.
It's critical to help clients make the most of the plans they have
International insurance group XL Catlin has announced its enhanced family-friendly leave benefits package as part of its diversity and inclusion strategy and efforts to attract and retain the best talent in the industry.The new benefits package includes more paid time off for maternity, adoption, and family care. Initially, these have been rolled out in the companys four largest locations, with other offices to follow.In the US, employees will have up to 16 weeks maternity, adoption, and surrogacy leave with full pay for the primary caregiver, regardless of gender. Secondary caregivers will have four weeks of fully paid parental leave, to be taken any time during the first 12 months. Reimbursement of certain expenses will also be available to US employees that choose to adopt or have a surrogate child. Additional leave days will also be provided to care for extended family members.The company has also introduced similar leave packages in the UK, India, and Switzerland, conforming to local practices and relevant laws.XL Catlin is also instituting a workplace flexibility initiative that allows full-time and part-time employees to choose from a variety of working arrangements, including flexible working times and locations. Aside from variable working hours, employees can choose to work from home or from a different office on different days if the need arises.Eileen Whelley, XL Catlins chief human resources officer, commented: An essential element to attracting and retaining the best talent in our industry is a strong commitment to diversity and an inclusive culture which provides support for all colleagues to manage the demands of work and family and embraces flexibility in the way we work and in the way we think. We believe our new and enhanced policies will further empower our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance, giving them greater flexibility in how they work and giving XL Catlin the continued benefit of their enormous contributions.
Five homes in Wilmington, Del., have been condemned following a fire over the weekend that displaced a dozen residents.

It happened Sunday afternoon. The News Journal of Wilmington reports that city fire spokesman James Jobes says arriving firefighters found heavy smoke coming from a vacant rowhome, prompting an aggressive attack. He says the fire was fast-moving and quickly reached five neighboring homes.

Jobes says it took more than two hours to completely get the blaze under control.

No one was hurt. Fire officials say all five homes were condemned due to the extent of the fire and smoke damage.

The American Red Cross assisted 12 displaced residents. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Streets in the nearby areas remained closed Sunday night.

Information from: The News Journal of Wilmington, Del.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Homeowners Numbers
A Massachusetts man who served time in prison for defrauding Home Depot has been sentenced to more than a year behind bars for doing it again.

Robert Dooley pleaded guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud. The Salem News reports he was sentenced on Thursday in Boston federal court to 18 months in prison.

Authorities say he took items off the shelves and brought them to the return desk in exchange for store credit.

Prosecutors say Dooley, of Salem, carried out the scheme at least 40 times at stores in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts. He received more than $45,000 in fraudulent returns.

Dooley was convicted in 2007 of defrauding Home Depot out of more than $330,000 in a similar scheme and received a five-year prison sentence.

Information from: The Salem (Mass.) News

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Massachusetts
Thailands transport authorities have begun a crackdown on drivers for ride-hailing services Uber and Grab and want the military government to ban them, a transport official said on Tuesday.

U.S.-based Uber has faced regulatory hurdles around the world and when it began operating in Thailand in 2014 the Department of Land Transport said its drivers were not properly registered or insured and its payment system did not meet regulations.

But authorities have previously done little to stop Uber or other ride-hailing services as they have grown in popularity among Thais and foreign visitors in the major tourist center.

Authorities had already fined 23 Uber drivers in Bangkok this week compared to only 83 others since Uber began operations, said Sugree Carupom, an official at the department, adding that Grab drivers too have been fined, though not as many. Drivers who are caught will now also have licenses suspended for up to six months and be fined 2,000 baht ($57).

Were using stricter measures, Sugree told Reuters. The services are worrying because it is hard for the government to regulate.

The departments deputy director-general Nanthapong Cherdchu said it would ask the junta to use an emergency measure to shut down the app if need be because it was disrupting the traditional public transport system and encouraging Thais to break the law.

Uber, which has a website in Thai for drivers to sign up, said it would work with authorities to make clear the benefits of ride-sharing in the country.

Uber remains committed to creating reliable transportation for everyone, Uber spokeswoman Amy Kunrojpanya said in a statement to Reuters. Grabs representative was not immediately available for comment.

Ride booking services such as Uber and Grabs GrabCar have won popularity in the nation of 67 million for often being cheaper and less likely to refuse to take passengers to their destinations than regular taxis, but they have irked traditional taxi drivers.

Uber and GrabCar are being targeted by the authorities because they are the only two popular services in Thailand which private car owners can use to pick up passengers.

Taxi drivers in the tourist town of Chiang Mai were carrying out their own sting operations to turn Uber and GrabCar drivers in to authorities, said Chanchai Kilapaeng, the head of the local transport office.

But regular Uber client Putti Orungrochkul, a 24-year-old tech entrepreneur in Thai capital Bangkok, said banning Uber goes against Thailands stated vision of becoming an innovative and digitally-driven society.

If the government really cares about the people, they will find a middle ground, he told Reuters.

($1 = 35.07 baht)

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat; editing by Matthew Tostevin and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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American International Group Inc. plans to locate an insurance company in Luxembourg to ensure continued smooth operation of its business across the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland once the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

From 2019, AIG proposes to have two AIG subsidiary insurance companies in Europe  one in the UK to write UK business and one in Luxembourg to write EEA and Swiss business, which will have branches across the EEA and Switzerland, AIG said in a statement

AIG currently writes business in Europe from a single insurance company based in the UK, AIG Europe Ltd., which has branches across the EEA and Switzerland.

The UK is AIGs largest single operation in Europe, the company said, noting that AIG will continue to support its European operations from the UK. It described the UK as a core market in which it will continue to invest and grow.

This is a decisive move that ensures AIG is positioned for whatever form the UKs exit from the EU ultimately takes, said Anthony Baldwin, chief executive of AIG Europe.

AIG sees opportunity in the ongoing resilience of the UK insurance market. At the same time, we are ensuring that our clients and partners experience no disruption from the UKs EU exit. Our Luxembourg company will be complementary to our existing structure and will be part of our single European module, he added.

Luxembourg, a founding member of the European Union, offers us a secure location in a stable economy with an experienced and well-respected regulator in continental Europe close to many of our major markets.

The proposed restructure is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approval.

Source: American International Group

[Editors note: Lloyds of London plans to make an announcement on its new European subsidiary by the middle of April at the latest in preparation for Britains exit from the European Union. Lloyds of London insurers Beazley and Hiscox also are eyeing EU-based insurance subsidiaries, to name a few that are considering such a move.]

Related:

Topics Carriers Europe
One of the strongest industries on the market this year has been the semiconductors business. Throughout the industry, companies have successfully adapted to the changing needs of the consumer, including an increased demand for small, high-powered chips that enable Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

For those that dont know, the Internet of Things refers to the growing world of interconnected household and industrial devices. Everyday products and machines can now be embedded with sensor technology to process data or interact with other electronic devices.

For example, consumer-level IoT products include things like Amazons (AMZN) Echo smart speaker, wearable motion and activity tracking products, and advanced in-car technology. On the commercial side of the IoT market, industrial manufacturers have begun implementing sensors into machines to track performance and efficiency.

(Also Read: How to Invest in the "Internet of Things")

As demand for the microchips that power these IoT devices continues to grow, semiconductor manufacturers with a focus on IoT products will continue to benefit. With that said, weve found three already-strong stocks that are looking to benefit even more from further IoT growth.

1. STMicroelectronics N.V. STM

STMicroelectronics is a French-Italian semiconductors company that develops circuits and discrete devices for use in microelectronic devices. The company specifically tailors its tiny, low-power technology for use in a wide range of Internet of Things products. After seeing three positive earnings estimate revisions over the past 60 days, STMicroelectronics has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and is on the cusp of another solid year. Our current consensus estimates call for the company to post EPS growth of 150% on sales growth of 11% in 2017.

2. Texas Instruments TXN

Although you might recognize the brand because of its calculators, Texas Instruments is actually one of the leading suppliers of advanced semiconductors in the world. The companys IoT profile falls under its Embedded Processors division, which includes the Connectivity, Microcontrollers, and Processors categories. In its most recent earnings report, Texas Instruments saw growth of 6% in its Embedded Processors segment, and thats not to mention that it once again surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. TXN is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Story continues

3. Cypress Semiconductor Corporation CY

Cypress Semiconductor is a leader provider of high-performance digital and mixed-signal integrated circuits. Just last year, the company shelled out $550 million to acquire Broadcoms Wireless Internet of Things business and now its WICED Platform is one of the largest IoT portfolios in the industry. Currently, Cypress is sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Growth in our Style Scores system.

Bottom Line

The Internet of Things is one of the most exciting emerging tech markets in the world. Home automation products are fun. In-car technology is cool.

And while these specific products are interesting, the real moneymakers in these situations are the companies that are building the tech that powers these products. The Internet of Things needs semiconductors to function, and as the IoT grows, so too will semiconductor companies.

The best way for investors to cash in on this growing trend is to identify semiconductor companies that are not only investing in the Internet of Things, but are also displaying solid fundamentals and impressive Zacks metrics.

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Emergency crews on March 7 struggled to contain deadly wildfires that have scorched hundreds of square miles of land in four states and forced thousands of people to flee their homes ahead of the wind-whipped flames.

The fires were burning in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, and warnings that fire conditions were ripe were issued for Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, as powerful thunderstorms moved through the nations midsection overnight, spawning dozens of tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service. The fires have killed at least four people.

In Kansas, wildfires have burned about 625 square miles of land and killed one person. The Kansas Highway Patrol said tractor-trailer driver Corey Holt, of Oklahoma City, was killed Monday when his rig jackknifed as he tried to backup because of poor visibility on highway 34 in Clark County, which is on Kansas southern border with Oklahoma. He succumbed to smoke after getting out of his vehicle.

About 545 square miles of the states burned land is in Clark County, where 30 structures have been damaged, including some homes, said Allison Kuhns, a spokeswoman for the countys emergency management office. She said about half of the structures were damaged in or near the small city of Englewood, which was among two in the county that was evacuated. Kuhns said there also have been significant cattle losses and that there were entire ranches that were engulfed.

Elsewhere, the largest evacuations were in Reno County, where 10,000 to 12,000 people voluntarily left their homes Monday night, said Katie Horner, a spokeswoman for the states Department of Emergency Management. She said 66 people from the area were in shelters Tuesday in Hutchinson, which is 40 miles northwest of Wichita.

Among them was Shelley Wilson, who fled with her disabled son and pets from a blaze that was encircling her farm outside of Hutchinson. She returned later that night with her adult daughter to retrieve her tractor.

I dont know if I have a home to go home to, Wilson said at the shelter Tuesday as her daughter did her best to lighten her mood. In case I needed to rebuild, I wanted to at least have my tractor.

Several hundred more people evacuated their homes in Russell, Ellsworth and Comanche counties, which are in central Kansas.

The Kansas fires forced the closure of some roads, including two short stretches of Interstate 70 in the central part of the state. A stretch of a U.S. 54 in southern Kansass Pratt County also was closed because of smoke from a fire near a cotton gin and surrounding grassland.

In the Texas Panhandle, a pair of fires burned more than 195 square miles. One of the blazes near Amarillo threatened about 150 homes, while a larger fire in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border was only 5 percent contained as of Tuesday morning, according to Texas A&M Forest Service.

A wildfire in Gray County, which is also in the Texas Panhandle, killed three ranch hands who were trying to usher cattle away from the flames, said Judge Richard Peet, the countys head administrator. One of the three apparently died of smoke inhalation Monday night and the other two were badly burned and died on the way to hospitals, he said.

Forest Service spokesman Phillip Truitt said as many as four firefighters were hurt battling the fires Monday. He provided no details on their conditions Tuesday morning.

In northeastern Colorado near the Nebraska border, firefighters lost ground to a blaze in rural Logan and Phillips counties. They had the blaze 90 percent contained Monday evening, but only 50 percent contained Tuesday, despite working overnight to douse hot spots and flare-ups. The fire has burned more than 45 square miles of land and destroyed three homes. Nearby residents were warned to be ready to evacuate if the fire advances toward them.

More than 70 firefighters from 13 departments battled the blaze, which was reported east of Sterling on Monday morning. The fire, which was driven by wind gusts of nearly 50 mph, jumped Interstate 76 and spread into Phillips County.

Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth and Jim Suhr in Kansas City, Missouri; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Dave Warren in Dallas; and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Texas Wildfire Homeowners Oklahoma Kansas
When Jeffrey Zucker needs to get a lot done at work, he eats half a weed gummy. Far from putting him at risk of a Maureen Dowd-level stupor, the 5-milligram dose of THC he gets gives him just a slight buzz that makes him more focused and creative, he says.

Does Zucker worry that his boss might find out hes doing drugs at work? Well, no, because hes in charge. Zucker runs Green Lion Partners, a Denver-based venture firm that backs cannabis-related companies, and he says he encourages his employees to do whatever will make them the most successfuleven eat small amounts of weed-infused candy.

With recreational marijuana now legal in eight states and the District of Columbia, users have gravitated to low-dose edibles, such as brownies and mints with THC content of less than 5 milligramslow enough for a manageable high for first-time users. Often, companies market these products to first-time users or those with low tolerances. But weed sellers have found another use case for low-dose edibles: microdosing.

Microdosing refers to regularly taking small amounts of drugsgenerally, hard-to-get and illegal psychoactive ones, such as LSD or psychedelic mushroomsthroughout the day to boost creativity. Taken in such small quantities, the drugs dont make users trip. Rather, people claim the drugs improve their concentration, problem-solving abilities, creativity, and productivity and reduce their anxiety.

Some say ingesting small amounts of marijuana throughout the workday can have similar effects. And unlike LSD or mushrooms, weed is widely available and legal in many places.

Marquise Prentice, a 33-year-old director of IT at a law firm in Los Angeles, pops multiple low-dose mints per day. He says they help him with inflammation, indigestion, and managing stress and anxiety. Im not digesting a crazy amount of marijuana and falling asleep at my desk, he says. Im active all day, functioning, and completing my tasks.

People arent using drugs to get blasted into outer space, adds Christie Strong, the marketing communications manager at Kiva Confections, a California-based edibles maker. In a small amount, people are finding they are having more focus, instead of that typical cannabis experience when theyre a little distracted and hazy.

Kivas Terra Bites, chocolate-covered espresso beans with 5 milligrams of THC, are its bestseller. After hearing they were especially popular among workers and that some would have half of one before work, Kiva decided last fall to make a lower-dose productPetra Mints, 2.5-milligram mints that puts you in control.

Kiva markets the mints in part as a way for workers to enhance the workday. The small dose makes it possible to use cannabis as part of a daily routine, as there is no interference with work, focus, or energy levels, reads a guide to microdosing that the company put out with its mints. Theres also less risk theyll get you too high. (With a mint, you already intuitively know not to take a handful, says Strong.)

Employers have struggled with how to handle workers marijuana use as more states have begun legalizing it. A lot of clients are like, What do we do?' said James Reidy, an employment lawyer who helps companies with their HR and marijuana policies.

Legally, employers have a lot of leeway. Even in pot-friendly Colorado, the states highest court decided in 2015 that it was legal to fire an employee for using medical marijuana outside of work.

Companies can face liability issues if workers hurt someone or have an accident in the office while theyre under the influence. Matt Biscan, a Denver-based employment lawyer who works with dozens of companies on workplace weed policies, says many of his clients have had problems with employees coming to work acting inebriated or funny.

Yet many companies already struggling to hire in a tight labor market have backed away from drug testing, and many turn a blind eye to using outside of work, said Reidy. About a third of employers surveyed in 2015 by the Society for Human Resource Management said they wouldnt hire someone who admitted to consuming weed, even for medical reasons.

But employers tend draw the line at using at work. Many workplaces have zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policies; Kiva, citing safety concerns, is one such office. (Medical marijuana, however, has led to some confusion. What is the definition of drugs?' said Reidy. Can I have my prescription drugs that I need?)

Still, even companies that take a hard line on employee drug use may have a hard time detecting microdosers, he said. Mints dont smell, and when workers are ingesting pot in such small amounts, they dont register as high.

For certain kinds of workers, the risk of using at work is low, argues Tim Moxey, who runs Botanica Seattle, which makes low-dose mints and brownies. His companys 5-milligram mint is the bestselling edible in Washington state, according to two cannabis data analytics companies, Lemonhaze and Headset.

Im not saying have cannabis and drive a forklift. That is a bad idea, he said. If you are professionally using your brain and find it works for you, go for it. I dont have any moral objection to that.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Cannabis Drugs Human Resources
President Donald Trump threw his weight behind a House Republican plan to replace Obamacare, even as conservatives mounted their own savage attack on the bill, with one Republican senator declaring it dead on arrival in the Senate.

Trump held a White House meeting Tuesday with the House Republican vote-counting team to rally them behind the bill, setting up an unexpectedly close alliance between the president and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who defended his bill as the fulfillment of a long-running GOP promise.

I want to thank President Trump, Ryan told reporters Tuesday afternoon. Doing big things is never easy, but we have made a promise and were going to keep that promise.

And Trump told the House Republican vote-whipping team members he is proud to support the new plan. You can choose your doctor. You can choose your plan, he said at the meeting. Its called good health care.

But that united front is being undermined by the vehemence of the measures GOP critics. Senator Rand Paul derided it as Obamacare-lite, while a group of House Republicans said it would create a Republican welfare entitlement. One conservative group labeled it Ryancare and said it was merely a warmed-over substitute for government-run health care.

[Editors Note: House Republican leaders have scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. ET. It can be watched live here.]

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price acknowledged earlier Tuesday that the bill is the beginning of the process, one aimed at helping patients and business owners.

Price, speaking to reporters at the White House, said, We look forward to working with them and others, referring to conservative opponents.

This is all about patients, he said, arguing that the legislation must allow a transition from the insurance system created by the Affordable Care Act. He also argued that the Republican bills tax credits would serve to equalize the tax treatment of health benefits provided by employers and insurance that people buy on their own.

Employer health plans are excluded from income tax, while people who buy insurance on their own must use after-tax dollars.

Groups Opposed

The pressure is now clearly on Republicans to deliver their long-promised repeal, and the party seems deeply divided over this new draft measure. The bill was blasted by a number of influential conservative groups, including Heritage Action, the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, and the libertarian Cato Institute.

Everyone needs to take a step back, wrote Michael Cannon, Catos director of health policy studies and a strong critic of Obamacare. This bill is a train wreck waiting to happen.

Trump is speaking with some Republican critics of the measure, including Paul, to persuade them to back the House GOP bill.

I talked to the president this week and I had a great conversation and he said he was interested in my ideas and interested in conservatives ideas, Paul said in an interview. So I dont know. I dont think we have to be that far apart.

The president is all in on making sure the repeal bill reaches his desk, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said after meeting Tuesday with Trump.

Hes committed to doing everything in his power to make sure this law gets to his desk, he said.

Vice President Mike Pence told a pair of House Republicans Tuesday that the House bill can still be modified before passage, Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina told reporters. The most important factor is the estimate, or score, of how much the measure will reduce consumer health costs, said Meadows, who is chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.

Thats the only score that matters, he said.

The No. 3 Republican in the Senate, John Thune, acknowledged the scope of the criticism from conservatives, but said that he expects Republicans to end up at a consensus bill that can clear both chambers.

Everybody right now is trying to leverage their position, help shape and influence the bill in the shape and direction they want to see it go before its ultimately voted on, he told reporters. But when push comes to shove and the vote occurs over here, its going to be a vote for the status quo or a vote to repeal this and to move to a better way.

Dramatic Improvement

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the House draft a dramatic improvement over the status quo and said it could be on the Senate floor before mid-April if the House passes it quickly. But that may be overly optimistic.

The Congressional Budget Office has yet to provide its estimates of the measures cost, or of how many Americans will likely lose coverage under its provisions. Democrats, along with several Republicans, said they want to see the CBOs estimates before voting on the measure.

Those CBO estimates wont be available until Monday, according to the office of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

The two House committees that devised the plan will begin considering it Wednesday, and the leaders of those panels were dismissive of the criticism in a news conference Tuesday morning.

Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden said Republicans are moving in the right direction, and tartly suggested critics should actually read the bill. Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady dismissed the Obamacare characterizations, saying its Obamacare-Gone.

Wrong Direction

Even so, Ryan, Walden and Brady found themselves hastily scheduling an additional late-afternoon news conference not long after Paul and members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus scheduled their own press event to criticize the bill.

We just want a clean repeal and vote on a replacement later, Paul told Bloomberg TV. We agree on repeal, we dont agree on replace. Senator Mike Lee of Utah called the GOP draft a step in the wrong direction.

Before the day even began, an analysis written late Monday for an even larger bloc of U.S. House conservatives  the 170-member Republican Study Committee  derided a key component of a new Republican plan. It blasted as a new form of welfare entitlement the idea of offering tax credits to individuals who wouldnt otherwise have access to health insurance.

The analysis also described major concerns with the legislations continuation of Medicaid expansion, and a lack of clarity on how language preventing the use of the tax credit money for abortions can be guaranteed.

Whether Ryan and his leadership team expected such swift and decisive blowback is unclear. But theyre hoping that the rebels in their own party will feel the pressure to deliver on their seven years of promises to repeal Obamacare.

We just have to work through it all, said Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, downplaying the amount of turmoil. But he added what already now seems obvious. The bill as presented is not the final bill.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Legislation Politics
A federal appeals court on March 3 refused to revive a Louisiana levee boards lawsuit blaming dozens of oil and gas companies for damage to the states fragile coast, a major victory for energy companies and their political supporters who cast the suit as an attack on a vital state industry.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upheld a federal judges 2015 decision in favor of energy companies that argued the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East lacked legal standing to bring its damage claims, which could have cost the oil companies billions of dollars.

The board had argued that damage to the coast done by decades of drilling and canal dredging by energy companies contributed to the loss of coastal wetlands. The wetlands form a hurricane buffer for New Orleans and the authority argued their loss meant more work and expense in protecting and maintaining levees.

When the lawsuit was filed in 2013, environmentalists hailed it as an effort to hold the industry accountable.

The suit appeared to catch the industry and others by surprise. Then-Gov. Bobby Jindal joined industry leaders in calling it a boon for trial lawyers that would damage an industry thats among south Louisianas major employers.

Jindal, a Republican, mounted a partially successful effort to remove supporters of the lawsuit from the flood protection board as their terms ended and replace them with industry supporters. He also pushed for a law to prohibit state agencies and local governments from pursuing such lawsuits.

A few Louisiana coastal parishes have filed similar lawsuits that hinge on different legal issues.

Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, referenced those suits in a statement hailing the federal court ruling. This ruling is a step in the right direction, but we have many more miles to cover, Briggs said in a joint news release with the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.

Our position remains validated by yet another court decision, further proving these allegations are baseless and without merit, Chris John, president of the LMOGA said in the same release.

It was not immediately known whether the flood authority would continue to pursue the federal suit by asking for a 5th Circuit rehearing or going to the Supreme Court.

Attorneys with Jones, Swanson, Huddell & Garrison, handling the suit for the flood board, said they were conferring with their client and analyzing the opinion. In an email, Jim Swanson expressed disappointment and said oil and gas companies should pay their fair share for coastal restoration.

The firm declined to say how much money it has spent on the case. It was working under a contract in which the flood authority would not have to pay if the case is lost.

Richard Carbo, a spokesman for Jindals successor, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, said it doesnt appear that the ruling will affect the state lawsuits. Edwards has encouraged the oil industry to settle the suits to help Louisiana fund restoration efforts expected to cost tens of billions of dollars in the coming decades.

The lawsuit at issue was originally filed in state court in 2013 but the oil companies succeeded in getting it moved to federal court.

U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown ruled in 2015 that federal and state law provided no avenue by which the flood board could successfully bring the suit. Her ruling said the authoritys levees were too far from, or too indirectly affected by, the damage allegedly caused by the industry. She also said the authority had no right to sue under permits issued by the state or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that allowed the companies energy exploration or transportation activities in the first place.

A three-judge 5th Circuit panel  Judge Carl Stewart, nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton; Priscilla Owen, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush; and Gregg Costa, nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama  unanimously affirmed her ruling in a 22-page opinion.

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Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits USA Louisiana Flood Energy Oil Gas
Numerous wildfires are burning in Oklahoma and evacuations have been ordered in the states northwest.

Woodward County Emergency Management Director Matt Lehenbauer says up to 200 people had to leave their homes late in the afternoon on March 6 in Woodward County and Beaver County officials told residents of Gate, a town of about 90 people, to leave their homes. Evacuations were also ordered near Laverne and Buffalo in Harper County.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management says one fire has burned more than 151/2 square miles in Beaver County and another 62 1/2 square miles in neighboring Kansas.

Department spokeswoman Keli Cain said fires are also reported in Payne, Logan, Mayes, Beckham, Okmulgee, Osage, Stephens, Texas and Woods counties, but no injuries are reported from any fires.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Oklahoma
Kentucky lawmakers wrapped up work Friday on revising the medical malpractice system by creating panels of medical providers to review claims of error or neglect before cases go to court.

The legislation, long a priority of many Republicans, won final passage on a 25-11 vote in the Senate, two days after the proposal narrowly passed the GOP-led House. The bill, which has been sought by many in the health care sector, now goes to Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.

Under the bill, medical review panels would scrutinize the merits of malpractice lawsuits against health care providers or institutions before the cases proceed to court.

Supporters say the three-member panels would help ferret out meritless malpractice lawsuits that drive up the cost of malpractice insurance rates for the states health care industry. Those high insurance premiums are a disincentive for people to practice medicine in Kentucky, they say.

This is going to get rid of frivolous lawsuits, said Republican Sen. Ralph Alvarado of Winchester, a doctor and the bills lead sponsor. And I think the people that have legitimate cases are going to be able to get an award much more quickly.

Bevin said later Friday that he would sign the bill.

For far too long, medical providers have faced a barrage of frivolous lawsuits and this legislation is a commonsense step to rein such lawsuits in, Bevin in a statement.

Opponents say the panels would create barriers that delay plaintiffs access to courts.

They predict the measure, if it becomes law, will likely provoke legal action.

Were getting ready to pass something thats unconstitutional, Rep. Chad McCoy, a Bardstown Republican, said during the House debate this week.

The bills supporters said the House changes helped shore up the measures constitutionality.

Those changes include requiring review panels to issue opinions in nine months or lawsuits could proceed in court. The original bill allowed the panels opinions to automatically be admitted into court as evidence. Under the final version headed to the governor, trial judges would be asked to decide on the admissibility.

Each side in a dispute would select one panel member, and those two would choose the third member. Cases could bypass panel review and go directly to court if both sides agreed.

Similar measures were introduced for years but died when Kentuckys legislature was politically divided. The push to create review panels gained strength when Republicans took control of the House after last years election. The Senate is solidly controlled by the GOP.

The legislation is Senate Bill 4.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Medical Professional Liability Kentucky
USI Insurance Services (USI) has acquired Carolina First Associates LLC, an employee benefits insurance advisor located in Hickory, N.C.

This acquisition extends USIs presence as a middle market insurance brokerage and consulting firm in the Southeast region. Carolina First Associates and its employees will remain at the current Hickory location following the acquisition. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Our depth of experience in the ever-changing era of healthcare reform has helped us to understand and overcome the high costs and limited options faced by most businesses, said Samuel E. Rhodes, principal and owner of Carolina First Associates, in a press release issued by USI announcing the transaction. With this acquisition, our clients will continue to enjoy this high touch, specialized customer care, but now they can tap into USIs expanded suite of employee benefits, retirement consulting and personal risk solutions.

USI is a local and national insurance brokerage and consulting firm, delivering property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk and retirement solutions throughout the U.S. Headquartered in Valhalla, N.Y., it has more than one billion dollars in revenue, employs more than 4,400 professionals and operates out of 140 local offices serving every state.

Source: USI

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions North Carolina
United Insurance Services has added KJ Stephens and Adam Terpstra to its Granite Bay, Calif. location.

Stephens is an employee benefits agent and Terpstra is a commercial agent. Terpstra specializes in member-owned group captives and alternative risk programs, while Stephens will focus on the employee benefits needs of employers in the area.

Terpstra previously was a commercial insurance broker with Owen-Dunn Insurance Services. He was a risk engineering consultant with The Hartford Financial Services Group before that.

Stephens is new to the insurance industry, joining the agency after serving as a youth pastor for over 15 years.

Leavitt United Insurance Services is part of Leavitt Group.

Topics California
What does the Trump Administration have in store for the development of autonomous vehicles and smart roads?

With the administrations ambitious infrastructure plan still far from finalized, Hilary Rowen, a partner in the San Francisco office of Sedgwick LLP, whose practice is dedicated to insurance regulatory issues, offered some insight into what developers of self-driving cars and the insurance community can expect.

Rowen, who has testified at numerous regulatory and public hearings on autonomous vehicles, spoke with Insurance Journal on the topic.

This has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Insurance Journal: What, if any, impact will the new administration have on the development and roll out of autonomous vehicles?

Rowen: Perhaps the most intriguing and potentially far-reaching implication of the new administration is the infrastructure funding, if it is actually approved by Congress, which could lead to the construction, at least of prototype, SmartRoads.

IJ: Can you explain SmartRoads?

Rowen: SmartRoads are roads with embedded technology that allows the vehicle to actually, actively interact with the roadway. In other words, unlike the current generation of autonomous prototype vehicles, which effectively used LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and radar, and visual light cameras to sense their environment  much as analogous to the way that a human being uses their eyes, and to a certain extent, their ears to sense their environment  SmartRoad technology allows the vehicle to actually ping and interact with a roadway, usually, at least initially, contemplated to be a freeway.

The implication of this is that it could allow autonomous vehicles, both cars and trucks, to platoon in very close formation. This would allow basically a de facto increase in road capacity in that platooning vehicles can travel in much closer formation, thereby effectively increasing road capacity without building or expanding existing freeways.

IJ: Now most of the players in the development of autonomous vehicles seem to be happy with the Obama administration, to my knowledge. What do you think they may feel about the Trump administration?

Rowen: I think that, at least, the initial indications is, that they will also be happy with, at least, the new Secretary of Transportation (Elaine Chao), who, in her confirmation hearing, also expressed support for facilitating autonomous vehicles. However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

As yet, the new Department of Transportation staff and secretary have not taken any public steps with respect to SmartRoads, with respect to infrastructure, or with respect to any revisions to the guidance promulgated by the Obama administration last fall, (which) basically gave effectively a flexible and accommodating approach to the development of technology, much less rigid than the traditional rule-making approach.

IJ: What about state legislation and regulations? Do you think most states will be ahead or behind where the federal government will be on all this?

Rowen: I think there is potential for tension between the federal government and the states. Specifically, there is at least some reasonable likelihood that states, in the guise of regulating the safe use of autonomous vehicles on their roads, may impinge or, at least be perceived by the federal government as impinging upon, the federal government jurisdiction over auto safety.

Historically, the federal government regulates the safety features of vehicles as they are manufactured. The states regulate the safe use of their roads. That has been for the last 60 plus years, a pretty harmonious relationship. Basically, when I went to look, the last time the U.S. Supreme Court addressed this issue was back in the 1950s, the Navajo Freight Line Decision. This long-standing (decision) has the potential to be disrupted if the states essentially seek to impose more onerous restrictions on self-driving cars than the federal government wants to impose.

IJ: Tell us about the Navajo Decision.

Rowen: Certainly, it is actually, as many of your readers, or listeners may know, one of those classic first-year law school decisions. It involves, I believe it was Illinois statutes that required that trucks passing through Illinois to have curved mud flaps. Whereas, the national standard, and even the requirement in several states that had legislated, was for flat mud flaps.

The Supreme Court said basically that there was no federal mud flap standard. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court found that Illinois was unduly burdening interstate commerce by basically imposing a non-industry standard out of step with anyone else, inconsistent with other state mud flap requirements that basically would require trucks to stop at the border and change their mud flaps.

Illinois had attempted to justify its imposition, its statute regarding the curved mud flaps, on the grounds that curved mud flaps were safer than flat mud flaps. It was a state imposition of a safety standard the interfered with interstate commerce. Clearly, having to stop and change your mud flaps is an interference with interstate commerce.

The most recent, at least Supreme Court promulgation, that Ive run across, could be roughly analogous to what would happen if a state imposed restrictions on smart cars, self-driving cars, that would cause a car to hit a state border, and then have to stop, or automatically have its software stop it, because it could not legally venture across the state line.

Related:

Topics Legislation Personal Auto Illinois
Kristy Shen

Kristy Shen knows how to save money.

Shen, who runs the blog Millennial Revolution and who retired at age 31 with $1 million in the bank, says many people are making the same mistake when it comes to spending their money: They aren't keeping track of where it goes.

"I feel like people are not tracking the money," Shen told host Farnoosh Torabi on the podcast So Money. "And it's not because people they don't know what they're doing, or they're dumb, or anything like that. It's just  people are not tracking it. They don't know where it's going. At least that's what I found with a lot of my friends."

In fact, Shen considers not tracking your spending to be "the biggest financial mistake someone can make."

Here's Shen, who, like her husband, worked as a computer engineer:

"Some friends who ... made more money than us while working, they're looking at us and going, 'How come you're financially independent? How come I don't have money? Where did my money go? I worked longer than you and I got paid more.'"

Her travels around the world costs her and her husband, Bryce, about $40,000 a year, and she credits tracking her money with being able to stick to that budget. While she recommends the strategy, she admitted, "I know it's a pain in the a--."

Shen continued:

"Even if you blow the budget once or twice, it's not a big deal. Everybody makes mistakes. I made mistakes, too. Being able to track it allows you to see, 'Hey, look! I'm going in the wrong direction. It's not going towards my financial goal,' so then you just move back towards the right path and then you're good to go. I think tracking is absolutely paramount. That's one of the things that would help people a lot financially."

If you'd like to implement Shen's advice, services like Mint or You Need a Budget let you input your account information and track your spending automatically, online or via an app.

If you're looking for a little more control over the process, you can create your own spreadsheet. For templates, check out how one Business Insider editor tracks her money, or how a man who retired at 34 tracked his.

Story continues

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Deloitte and KPMG have bagged the most nominations following the announcement of the AsiaTax Awards 2017 shortlists today. Each is up for awards in 48 categories, though when affiliate firms and individual recognition are included, KPMG is ahead, with nominees in 55 out of a total of 70 categories. Deloitte has 50.

The awards will be held at the Goodwood Park Hotel in Singapore on Thursday May 4, following the end of International Tax Reviews two-day Asia Tax Forum.

Of the other big four firms, EY has 38 nominations and PwC has been shortlisted in 36 categories. The leading law firm is Baker McKenzie, which is shortlisted for 26 awards. DLA Piper comes next with eight.

ITR Asia Tax Awards 2017

FINALISTS

COUNTRY AWARDS

Australia Tax Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

DLA Piper

Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills

KPMG

Australia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

Grant Thornton

KPMG

Quantera Global

Transfer Pricing Solutions

Australia Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

Herbert Smith Freehills & Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills

KPMG

Cambodia Tax Firm of the Year

Bun & Associates

Deloitte

DFDL

Sciaroni & Associates

VDB Loi

Cambodia Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Deloitte

DFDL

Sciaroni & Associates

China Tax Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

DLA Piper

EY

JunHe

King & Wood Mallesons

KPMG

PwC

Zhong Lun

China Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

DLA Piper

EY

KPMG

PwC

Quantera Global

China Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

EY

KPMG

PwC

Hong Kong Tax Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

DLA Piper

KPMG

PwC

Hong Kong Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

EY

KPMG

PwC

Hong Kong Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Clifford Chance

Deloitte

DLA Piper

KPMG

PwC

India Tax Firm of the Year

Advaita Legal

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

Deloitte

Dhruva Advisors

EY

KPMG

Majmudar & Partners

Nangia & Co

Nishith Desai Associates

PwC

India Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

India Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

BMR Legal

Deloitte

Dhruva Advisors

EY

KPMG

Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

PwC

Indonesia Tax Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners

KPMG

PwC

Indonesia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Indonesia Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners

KPMG

PwC

Japan Tax Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

DLA Piper

KPMG

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Withers

Japan Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Japan Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

DLA Piper

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Nishimura & Asahi

Malaysia Tax Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

PwC

Wong & Partners

Malaysia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

PwC

Malaysia Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Deloitte

KPMG

Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill

PwC

Shearn Delamore

Wong & Partners

Myanmar Tax Firm of the Year

DFDL

KPMG

Tilleke & Gibbins

VDB Loi

Myanmar Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

VDB Loi

New Zealand Tax Firm of the Year

Bell Gully

Chapman Tripp

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Russell McVeagh

New Zealand Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Bell Gully

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

New Zealand Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Bell Gully

Chapman Tripp

Deloitte

KPMG

Russell McVeagh

Pakistan Tax Firm of the Year

Grant Thornton

HaidermotaBNR

RIAA Barker Gillette

Pakistan Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Grant Thornton

HaidermotaBNR

RIAA Barker Gillette

Philippines Tax Firm of the Year

Deloitte

Isla Lipana & Co (PwC)

Quisumbing Torres

Reyes Tacandong & Co

RG Manabat & Co (KPMG)

Salvador Llanillo & Bernardo, Taxand Philippines

SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co (EY)

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

Philippines Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

Isla Lipana & Co (PwC)

Quantera Global

RG Manabat & Co (KPMG)

SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co (EY)

Philippines Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

BDB Law

Deloitte

Quisumbing Torres

RG Manabat & Co (KPMG)

Salvador Llanillo & Bernardo, Taxand Philippines

SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co (EY)

Singapore Tax Firm of the Year

Allen & Gledhill

Baker McKenzie.Wong & Leow

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Withers KhattarWong, Taxand Singapore

WongPartnership

Singapore Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie.Wong & Leow

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Quantera Global

Transfer Pricing Solutions Asia

Singapore Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie.Wong & Leow

Deloitte

KPMG

Rajah & Tann

Withers KhattarWong, Taxand Singapore

South Korea Tax Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

Kim & Chang

Lee & Ko

PwC

Yoon & Yang

Yulchon

South Korea Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

Kim & Chang

KPMG

PwC

Yoon & Yang

Yulchon

South Korea Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Bae Kim & Lee

Kim & Chang

Lee & Ko

Yoon & Yang

Yulchon

Sri Lanka Tax Firm of the Year

FJ&G De Saram

KPMG

Nithya Partners

Sri Lanka Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

KPMG

Taiwan Tax Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

Lee and Li

PwC

Taiwan Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

Grant Thornton

KPMG

PwC

Taiwan Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Thailand Tax Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

KPMG

SCL Tax Consultants

Tilleke & Gibbins

Thailand Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

KPMG

Quantera Global

Thailand Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

KPMG

LawAlliance

SCL Tax Consultants

Vietnam Tax Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

KPMG

Vietnam Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Quantera Global

Vietnam Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

KPMG

PwC

REGIONAL FIRM, INDIVIDUAL AND IN-HOUSE AWARDS FINALISTS

Asia Tax Transactions Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

Deloitte

EY

JunHe

Kim & Chang

KPMG

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

PwC

Yulchon

Asia Tax Policy Firm of the Year

Dhruva Advisors

EY

KPMG

Yoon & Yang

Asia Tax Compliance & Reporting Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

Asia Tax Technology Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

Thomson Reuters

Wolters Kluwer

Asia Tax Innovator of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

Wolters Kluwer

Global Executive Mobility Team of the Year in Asia

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

US Corporate Tax Team of the Year

EY

KPMG

Withholding Tax Team of the Year

Deloitte

EY

Lee & Ko

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

PwC

International Tax Law Firm of the Year in Asia

Baker McKenzie

DFDL

DLA Piper

Withers

Best Newcomer of the Year

Advaita Legal

SCL Tax Consultants

Transfer Pricing Solutions Asia

VDB Loi (Indonesia)

Asia Tax Disputes & Litigation Practice Leader of the Year

Ahdianto, GNV Consulting Services

Sujit Ghosh, Advaita Legal

Oh-Young Jeon, Yoon & Yang

Yuko Miyazaki, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Nguyen Huong Giang, PwC

Anand Raj, Shearn Delamore

Vikna Rajah, Rajah & Tann

Steven Sieker, Baker McKenzie

Angela Wood, KPMG

Asia Transfer Pricing Practice Leader of the Year

Kyung Geun Lee, Yulchon

Amit Maheshwari, Ashok Maheshwary & Associates

Rahul Mitra, KPMG

Ay Tjhing Phan, PwC

Shannon Smit, Transfer Pricing Solutions

Geoffrey Soh, KPMG

Michael Tabart, Deloitte

Shanwu Yuan, Baker McKenzie

Asia Tax Practice Leader of the Year

Khoon Ming Ho, KPMG

Dinesh Kanabar, Dhruva Advisors

Dong Soo Kim, Yulchon

Shinya Matsumiya, Deloitte

Chung-Sim Siew Moon, EY

Eric Roose, Withers

Manish Shah, SKP Group

John Walker, Baker McKenzie

Asia In-house Tax Team of the Year

GE China

Infosys

PT Freeport Indonesia

Yum! China Holdings

Asia In-house Transfer Pricing Team of the Year

Infosys

Nissan

Samsung

Asia In-house Tax Director of the Year

Annie Pan, RELX Group

Asia Indirect Tax Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Asia Tax Disputes & Litigation Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Asia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year

Deloitte

EY

KPMG

PwC

Asia Tax Firm of the Year

Baker McKenzie

Deloitte

EY

Kim & Chang

KPMG

PwC
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Zebra Technologies Corporation, a provider of solutions and services designed to give enterprises real-time visibility into operations, has announced a new agreement with Jingdong Group (JD.com) and Digital China to develop a joint laboratory to conduct research and development in the Internet of Things (IOT) and e-commerce logistics.

The agreement outlines the establishment of the so-called IoT + E-commerce Logistics Lab at JD.coms pilot warehouse in Beijings Shunyi district. Zebra and its channel partner, Digital China, have been providing JD.com with innovative transport and logistics solutions, including barcode printers, mobile devices and barcode scanners in its warehouses and order fulfillment chain to give them real-time visibility into their operations.

The joint research lab is established under a shared vision of creating a practical scientific research platform to bring together the best practices, resources and talents in logistics management, data collection, mobile computing, machine vision, cloud computing and IoT, the statement said. The R&D facility is designed to enable the alliance to carry out research and development, prototype implementation, test and evaluation, and application demonstrations, leading to the development of next-generation logistics solutions.

The agreement was signed by Eddie Wu, GM, Zebra Technologies, Greater China; Bing Fu, VP, Jingdong Group and head of logistics planning and development, Jingdong Mall; Bin Zhu, associate President, Digital China, and Jun Yan, GM, loT, Digital China.

For more than a decade, JD.com has continuously invested in logistics technologies and accumulated rich experiences in technology operations and management, collaborating long-term with leading companies in the industry, such as Zebra Technologies and Digital China, said Bing Fu. We look forward to the potential of this lab with Zebra and Digital China and share breakthrough technologies in the logistics field to achieve win-win outcomes.

Zebra is committed to innovation and development, including in IoT and solutions to help organizations harness the three megatrends of IoT, cloud computing and mobility, said Eddie Wu. This will enable enterprises to gain greater visibility into their operations and real-time actionable insights to make smarter business decisions. We aim to continue our commitment in innovating with our partners and customers to develop technologies and solutions that will help make organizations as smart and connected as the world we live in. Together with JD.com and Digital China, we look forward to the results that will make a positive impact on the logistics industry.

Edited by Alicia Young
Update 1.58pm: An estranged Irish couple who have staged a "Titanic" divorce court battle over a 500,000 holiday home in rural Ireland are negotiating, a judge has been told.

Margie Hanley, 56, and estranged husband Michael, 60 - who lived together in Wentworth, Surrey - both want the house they jointly own in the village of Cornamona, Co Galway.

Mr Justice Holman has analysed evidence at a public hearing in the Family Division of the British High Court in London over the past two days.

But the judge postponed the start of the third day of the hearing after a barrister leading Mrs Hanley's legal team told him lawyers on both sides are "talking".

Stewart Leech QC said Mr and Mrs Hanley are engaged in "constructive negotiations" aimed at resolving issues.

Mr Justice Holman had urged the Hanleys to try and reach agreement several times during the hearing.

He told them today: "If at all possible this should be resolved by negotiation."

Mr Leech and Stephen Trowell QC, who is leading Mr Hanley's legal team, were due to summarise opposing arguments before the judge delivered a ruling.

Mr Justice Holman said yesterday that the couple, who also have an apartment in Florida, would split cash and assets totalling between 10m and 14m.

He said they had together run up lawyers' bills of more than 800,000 on their ''Titanic battle'' - and he described the figure as ''phenomenal''.

Mr Hanley, who has retired after a career with multinational conglomerate GE, has told how their 33-year marriage hit the rocks after he discovered his wife had an affair.

Mrs Hanley, who denies adultery, said Mr Hanley had told her she could have the house in Cornamona and was ''punishing'' her.

The judge has heard the couple had lived in Europe, the Far East and the United States because Mr Hanley's work had taken him abroad.

Earlier:

An estranged Irish couple are preparing to stake their final claims to a 500,000 holiday home in rural Ireland at the end of a "Titanic" battle in a London divorce court.

Margie Hanley, 56, and estranged husband Michael, 60 - who lived together in Wentworth, Surrey - both want the house they jointly own in the village of Cornamona, Co Galway.

A judge has analysed evidence at a public hearing in the Family Division of the British High Court in London over the past two days.

Mr Justice Holman is scheduled to hear closing legal arguments from lawyers today before making a decision.

The judge said the couple, who also have an apartment in Florida, would split cash and assets totalling between 10m and 14m.

He said they had together run up lawyers' bills of more than 800,000 on their "Titanic battle" - and he described the figure as "phenomenal".

Mr Hanley, who has retired after a career with multinational conglomerate GE, told how their 33-year marriage hit the rocks after he discovered that his wife had an affair.

Mrs Hanley, who denies adultery, said Mr Hanley had told her that she could have the house in Cornamona and was ''punishing'' her.

The judge has heard that the couple had lived in Europe, the Far East and the United States because Mr Hanley's work had taken him abroad.

They had built the house in Cornamona about 16 years ago and had gone there for holidays and at Christmas.

Mr Hanley has been living at the Cornamona house for the past few months and wants it to be a retirement base.

Mrs Hanley, who still lives in Wentworth, says she should have the Cornamona house because generations of her family have lived in the village.

Mr Justice Holman heard that there had been suggestions of Mrs Hanley living elsewhere in Cornamona.

He also raised the possibility of the pair, who have grown-up children, using the house at different times of the year.

But Mrs Hanley told him: ''We are getting divorced. The village isn't big enough for both of us.''
Update 9.20pm: The Cabinet has agreed to revise the terms of reference for the so-called 'Grace' inquiry.

It is after opposition parties insisted that what they were being asked to approve would see other alleged victims in the South East foster home overlooked.

The new terms of reference will go before the Dail tomorrow to allow for the inquiry to get underway immediately.

Update 7.30pm: Members of the Cabinet are meeting 'by phone' this evening, to approve revised terms of reference for the so-called 'Grace' inquiry.

The almost unprecedented procedure is taking place after Junior minister Finian McGrath agreed to a redraft earlier, when opposition parties insisted that what they were being asked to approve would see other alleged victims in the South East foster home overlooked.

He is insisting that no victim of abuse will be ignored.

Once Cabinet agrees to the new terms of reference tonight, they will go before the Dail tomorrow to allow for the inquiry to get underway immediately.

Update 4pm: The Government has proposed new terms of reference into the Grace foster abuse scandal which will see the other 46 children and young adults who stayed at the home included in the Commission of Investigation, writes Daniel McConnell.

Significantly, the new terms of reference will permit investigation of allegations of a systemic cover-up by the HSE in relation to failings of care of those who stayed in the home.

The new terms, seen by the Irish Examiner, were presented to and discussed with Opposition TDs a a meeting with Minister Finian McGrath this afternoon.

Finian McGrath.

According to sources at the meeting, the new terms were deemed acceptable to the Opposition.

This followed somewhat chaotic scenes this morning after Mr McGrath performed a u-turn and withdrew the original terms of reference to address Opposition concerns.

Mr McGrath had been severely criticised by TDs including John Deasy and John McGuinness for limiting the new inquiry to the case of Grace, while only committing to a scoping excerise after that for the other victims.

The new terms have allowed for more than one phase of the Commission's work, which will mean the Grace module will proceed first followed by the investigation into the other matters.

Significantly, the new revised terms reinstate earlier proposed terms of reference which were included in the Conor Dignam report.

For the avoidance of doubt, this includes recommendations of the Conor Dignam report concerning actions of the HSE in terms of investigating/protecting others and the HSE's treatment of whistleblowers, the new terms state.

Earlier in the Dail, Mr Deasy said: Members of the Dail should perhaps hold off from accepting anything said by the HSE on this matter. Deputy McGuinness and myself discovered that, in dealing with the HSE on this issue, the first casualty was always the truth. I would like to give some examples of what is, and was, a cover-up.

Mr McGuinness said: We need to find out what happened in the HSE which covered up this scandal from 1982.

We need to go back to the time before Grace and humanise this story. What about the 12 year old girl who was taken out of the foster home in question before Grace because her mother was told that she was attending school bruised, beaten and neglected?

"When she made complaints to the South Eastern Health Board in 1992 she was told to shut up and not to repeat the stories and she was threatened legally.

When she removed her child from care she had to seek care for her in Northern Ireland because the health board would not support her. How disgusting is that, yet this case will not be included in the commission of inquiry's remit. Let us put real words on this case.

"The child was battered, bruised, financially abused and sexually abused anally so that today, as an adult, she leads a life of pain and suffering. Despite this, the Minister of State does not propose to have her case investigated. We should be ashamed of ourselves, Mr McGuinness said.

Update: 2pm: A special cabinet meeting is likely this afternoon to sign off on changes to the terms of reference for the Grace inquiry.

It is after junior minister Finian McGrath bowed to opposition pressure to include more scrutiny of other people from the same home.

Meanwhile the Dail's heard claims that the HSE ran a conspiracy to hide the extent of the Grace case, or its problems handling it.

Fine Gael TD John Deasy outlined a series of cases where the Public Accounts Committee was misled on the case: They told us that the people who decided to keep Grace in placement in 96 had retired, they had not.

They told us the Gardai had stopped them publishing the report, they had not.

They told us they had apologised to Grace and her mother, they had not.

So was this a conspiracy, a cover up, yes it was.

Update 1.10pm: The Taoiseach is confident that agreement can be reached on reworked terms of reference for the Grace inquiry today, writes Elaine O'Loughlin.

Speaking in the Dail this morning, Mr Kenny confirmed that Minister Finian McGrath is redrafting the terms of reference and will have them back by tomorrow.

All 47 children that stayed in the foster home will now be included in the commission of inquiry.

Mr Kenny told the Dail that Mr McGrath "wants to get it right" and said "he can do that today by consultation" with opposition parties. He added that it may only take "a very small adjustment to satisfy people's demands".

Calling on the terms of reference to be expanded Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said "it stretches credibility" to assume that Grace was the only person who was abused in the foster home in the South East.

He said the treatment of Grace had "shocked the nation". Mr Martin said he had spoken to the whistle-blowers last night and they were "genuinely concerned " about the terms of reference.

He said the "suppression of information and the alleged cover-up" by health workers and other officials also needs to be addressed in the terms of reference.

Mr Martin pointed out that the report compiled by Conor Dignan had recommended that an inquiry look into whether or not there was any supression or attempted suppression of information between 1996 and 2016. However, the commission has only been asked to examine the period between 2009 and 2016.

"There is no explanation as to why there is that variation between Dignam and the terms of reference," Mr Martin said.

Mr Kenny told the Dail that he was adamant that "we will get to the bottom of what happened to Grace".

He added: "This is not the past, this is present."

Mr Kenny said Government had agreed to set up a Commission of Investigation and wanted to make sure that it is "right and proper".

"It's a matter of genuine public interest and considerable public concern," he said.

Update: 12.07pm: Minister Finian McGrath has informed the Dail he will revise the terms of reference of the Grace Commission of Inquiry to include all 47 children who stayed in the foster home, writes Daniel McConnell.

This morning during the debate, TDs John Deasy and John McGuinness claimed a systemic cover-up by the HSE in relation to the case.

Mr McGrath came under fire from all sides of the House to ensure the other children, some of whom suffered savage abuse, are included.

In a passionate speech, Mr McGrath said no one will be left behind.

I don't do exclusions. No one will be left behind, he said.

Formally, Mr McGrath was forced to withdraw the original terms of reference and will today circulate amended terms of referernce later this afternoon.

Mr McGrath was savaged in the Dail during the debate last night by Opposition TDs who described as a betrayal the fact the other 46 intellectually disabled people who went through the home are not included in the Inquiry's body of work, as approved by Cabinet yesterday.

Solicitors for the whistleblowers involved in Grace's case wrote to Mr McGrath last night calling for all of the others in the home to be included as well as the treatment of them and other whistleblowers by State officials.

The Irish Examiner understands the detailed 15-page letter was sent to Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath last night amid a growing backlash over the failure to formally ensure 46 other cases will also be included in the inquiry.

In a statement to this newspaper, the solicitor Mark Walsh of Kenny, Stephenson and Chapman confirmed the letter has been sent and said his clients believe the Government terms fall far short of what is required.

The second girl, who was removed from the home at the age of 12, was raped with implements over a prolonged period of time at the home, according to Waterford TD John Deasy in the Dail.

Today, this young woman cannot be operated on because so much damage was done that to operate would threaten perforation of her bowel, which might kill her, he said.

Earlier: The Dail has heard claims that the foster family at the centre of the Grace case still had children in its care until 2015.

That is six years after Grace was withdrawn from the home over fears of alleged sexual abuse at the home in the south-east.

It was previously thought that the final person had been removed from the home in 2013 - but Independents4Change TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace said someone was there for two further years.

Deputy Wallace said that the HSE washed its hands of the problem, because the final girl in the family's care was put there privately.

"For the HSE to actually say 'Oh, we didn't put anyone there's no-one in that home now' - there was a girl there in 2015! They wouldn't tell the family  'Oh, we wouldn't recommend you put her there'," he said.

"They didn't tell her why. Because they didn't want to lift the lid!"

If the claims are true, it would mean the foster family was continuing to take people into its care, a full six years after Grace was removed.

The Dail is due to continue debating the terms of reference this morning.
Violence has seeped into every aspect of life for people in Syria after six years of civil war, an Ireland based aid agency has warned.

Concern Worldwide hit out at the international community and wealthier countries after it found a 147m (170m euro) shortfall in the funding needed for protection for ordinary citizens in their homes, schools, at work or on the street.

The agency called on the UK, the US, France, China and Russia - the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - to do more to ease the humanitarian crisis.

Concern chief executive Dominic MacSorley said the lack of a guaranteed access to the war-torn country is the greatest obstacle to humanitarian assistance.

"After six years of war, violence is all-pervasive in Syria," he said.

"It is not confined to the bombing, missile attacks and wanton destruction of cities like Aleppo that we witness through news reports.

"It has seeped into every aspect of Syrian life to the point where Syrians do not feel safe in any environment, not even in their own homes," he said.

Concerns Shattered Lives

report, released as the sixth anniversary of the war approaches, comes on the back of research by Save the Children which found some Syrian youngsters are showing symptoms of "toxic stress" and are attempting self-harm and suicide in response to prolonged exposure to war.

Mr McSorley warned that humanitarian aid cannot be used as a substitute for failed diplomacy.

"Right now, it may seem like the prospect of an end to the bloodshed in Syria is impossible, but the recent disarmament process in Colombia and, closer to home, the peace process in Northern Ireland, has shown us that solutions can be found in even the most seemingly intractable of conflicts," he said.

Concerns report said that almost one million people in Syria are besieged in 16 different areas of the country.

Its report gathered first-hand accounts of the effect of the war from 65 civilians, some of whom are being supported by humanitarian aid in the north of the country.

It said violence against women in the home and sexual harassment and violence has increased across the country during the war with "many women" reporting husbands quicker to hit them, the research found.

Concern, a Dublin-based global aid agency, said the increased abuse is due to the increased psychosocial toll of the war.

It said men face greater risk of arrest, detention and harassment from the security services, recruitment into armed groups, disappearance and death.

On top of the calls for more funding from the international community and a renewed diplomatic effort, Concern said education and social media campaigning is key to stopping children from joining armed groups.

It also called for more focus on psychosocial support for girls and women and increasing the access to safe spaces.

Reporting: Ed Carty, Press Association
Tesco has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanala relating to the decision by Dublin City Council to give developer Dunmull the green light for a new Aldi store and a nursing home on the Malahide Road at Clare Hall in north county Dublin.

Tesco operates a store at the Clare Hall shopping centre and, in its appeal, said the proposal does not accord with the zoning objective for the site as it does not provide a suitable mix of uses that will provide a benefit to the area.
Rose Anne Kenny, professor of medical gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, said she has already met with Minister for Older People Helen McEntee to discuss how such a service could be rolled out and will meet with Health Minister Simon Harris shortly to discuss the proposal.

The publication yesterday of the latest findings from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) shows that 40% of older adults had experienced a fall since the last wave of data was published in 2014. The study states: 20% sustained an injurious fall necessitating hospital attendance  this equates to 60,000 people per year in Ireland.

Prof Kenny, lead researcher in the study and director of the Falls and Blackout Unit at St Jamess Hospital in Dublin, said implementing five-day outpatient services for older people at risk of falls would help reduce next winters hospital attendance figures.

She said the average hospital stay of an older person who experiences a fall is 18 days, yet international research shows as much as 80% of falls could be prevented if the risks are detected earlier.

She said opening five-day services in six major hospitals would still cost just one eighth of having to treat older people in emergency departments and beyond once they have experienced a fall. It is a resource saver, having a model like this. Its equivalent to a saving of an 18-bed medical unit in a year, said Prof Kenny.

She said implementing the service around the country need not take a long time.

We have spent the last three years training up doctors and nurses nationally to have the skills to deliver this, she said, adding that they will need to be freed up from other duties to apply those skills.

The TILDA study is examining the social, economic, and health circumstances of 8,175 community-dwelling adults aged 50 and older.

Pain is a common complaint, with one third of older adults saying they are affected, the majority with back pain.

The latest report shows a large proportion of older adults are not meeting the recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake, with marked overconsumption of food and drinks high in fat, salt, and sugar. Researchers said dietary patterns could be influenced by affordability of certain foods, meaning lower income may limit healthy food choices.

One in seven older adults experience urinary incontinence and almost one fifth of those in older age groups experience it. Just 21% of those who report fair or poor hearing use hearing aids. The report shows one in 20 older adults in Ireland experienced a major depressive episode in the last year but only 30% are prescribed appropriate medical therapy.

The rate of hospital admission among those aged 80 and above has increased significantly since earlier phases of the study.

The next wave of TILDA data is likely to be published next year.
The disputed incident at the car park of Cork University Hospital became the subject of an hour-long trial at Cork District Court where 72-year-old John Finn of Glencool Lawn, Ballincollig, Co Cork, denied charges of engaging in threatening words or behaviour and assaulting Margaret Mulcahy, by taking her phone from her and throwing it in her face.

Judge Aingil Ni Chonduin commented afterwards: Car parks bring out the worst in people.

The judge said that it was all an unfortunate incident that got out of hand but she remarked in relation to the defendant, he was wrong from start to finish.

However, because John Finn had never been in trouble before the judge said that on payment of 300 to the injured party she would strike out the charges. Solicitor, Saundra McNally, confirmed payment of this amount shortly afterwards.

Ms OMahony said that she allowed herself an extra hour before her hospital appointment to wait for one of six disabled parking spots to become available.

She said that as she waited, the defendant drove in between two cars  which in her view was not an actual parking space, hitting one of the parked cars.

I took a photo of him. He came around to the front of my vehicle. He put his hand in and tried to take my phone. We had a fight for the phone.

He threw the phone back at me and hit me in the face and shouted language and called me names. He called me a fat B and a nosy B and all this. When he flung the phone back in the car it hit me in the face, Ms OMahony said.

John Finn said he spoke to Ms OMahony before he moved into the space, something she denied. Mr Finn said: I asked her politely could you please move slightly and I could get in. She said there is no space, you cannot get in.

I knew it would be a tight squeeze. My bumper touched the car to my left. The lady shouted, Youve hit the car, he said.

He said it would have been easier if Ms OMahony had moved and he said that there was no damage to the parked car.

She said she was taking photos of me. I asked her to desist. She thrust the camera into my face in an aggressive manner.

I grabbed the phone and placed it on the passenger seat. I threw it across her lap. I told her she was being unreasonable, Mr Finn said.

Inspector Vincent OSullivan said to the defendant: You lost the head for a moment. You grabbed the phone off her and threw it back into the car and it caught her in the face. You were reckless in how you threw it.

The defendant denied that.

Both parties had permits to park in disability parking zones.
Gsoc chairwoman Judge Mary Ellen Ring publicly sought such powers, including the ability to seek a court order directing the commissioner to provide documentation, when she appeared before the Oireachtas justice committee last September.

In a report on Garda oversight, published in December, the committee called for a statutory means of redress when the gardai failed to comply with Gsoc requests for documentation.

The committee also said current legislation, Part 4 of the Garda Siochana Act 2005, did not provide for a penalty to be imposed on the gardai for failing to give reports to Gsoc within agreed time-frames. Ms Fitzgerald yesterday said the Cabinet had given approval to her to prepare draft amendments to the act, primarily in relation to Part 4.

I am committed to ensuring that we have the most effective possible mechanism for the investigation of complaints, she said. I met the chairperson of Gsoc in early January in the context of considering what changes might be desirable. I have also examined the recent joint Oireachtas committee on justice and equalitys report on Garda governance and oversight.

The justice minister also said she would consult others, which would likely include Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan.

The Department of Justice was not in a position yesterday to provide specifics on the Tanaistes proposals, but it did refer to Ms Fitzgeralds contribution last month in the Dail debate on the justice committees report.

In the debate, the minister said: I expect the forthcoming changes to mirror very closely the recommendations in the joint committees report.

Judge Ring told the committee in September that Gsoc sought a new legislative provision: That the Garda commissioner shall (must, in legal terms) supply Gsoc with information and documentation when requested.

She said if there was a failure to comply, Gsoc could then seek legal redress in the courts which could direct the commissioner to comply.

She said that while protocols drawn up in 2015 had improved the speed of Garda replies, there was a lot of room for improvement. She said there were situations where Garda headquarters conducted repeat perusals of documents before deciding to hand them over.

We should just get it, not read three times before, said Judge Ring, adding that the Garda attitude towards Gsoc was we get it when we get it. She said there was no penalty if the gardai did not comply.
Patrick Holly, aged 51, of OConnell Avenue, Listowel, Co Kerry, had been earning 800 a week and the judge branded his behaviour as appallingly avaricious.

He legitimately applied for and been receiving the benefit while out of work and ill in Kerry in 2010. However, in November 2011 and until the end of May 2015, Holly was still getting the 188 per week disability payment into his account  while earning 800 as a steel worker and residing in Reading, the sentencing hearing as told.

He pleaded guilty to obtaining payment of a disability allowance between November 9, 2011, and May 27, 2015, while knowingly concealing a material fact  that he was both residing in and employed in the United Kingdom during that period.

Over the four years, while working in the UK and also collecting disability allowance from the Irish social welfare system, the separated father of three received 35,203, the court heard.

Garda Hilary Lynch told the court confidential information had been received by a social welfare inspector in Tralee.

Under the Data Protection Act, information regarding flights taken by Holly was sought from Ryanair and this established that he used an address in the UK to book his flights  and went back and forth from Kerry Airport in Farranfore about once a month. Gardai then applied for bank records, she told Mr Rice.

In June 2016, she arrested Mr Holly when he arrived into Farranfore.

He made full admissions and was quite remorseful, said Garda Lynch.

He had agreed to pay 50 a week (the legislation laid down a sum of 29 a week) back and so far had paid 3,400, Garda Lynch said.

Brian McInerney, defending, said his client had no previous convictions.

He will reimburse the State, he said. His client had been going through a bad time when suffering significant mental health issues and out of work and his father had died. His marriage had also come unstuck.

Judge ODonnell agreed to adjourn the matter for 12 months but warned he would like to see the State reimbursed for every last euro. If there was any slippage in the agreement to repay the 50, the State could re-enter the matter, the judge said.
The girl  removed from the home at the age of 12, and having suffered severe health problems as a result of her injuries  is to be excluded from the terms of reference announced by minister of state for disability Finian McGrath.

Opposition TDs hit out at Mr McGrath in the Dail during the debate last night and described as a betrayal the fact the other 46 intellectually disabled people who went through the home are not included in the inquirys body of work, as approved by Cabinet yesterday.

Solicitors for the whistleblowers involved in Graces case wrote to Mr McGrath last night calling for all of the others in the home to be included, as well as the treatment of them and other whistleblowers by State officials.

The Irish Examiner understands the detailed 15-page letter was sent to Mr McGrath last night. In a statement to this newspaper, the solicitor Mark Walsh of Kenny, Stephenson and Chapman confirmed the letter has been sent and said his clients believe the Government terms fall far short of what is required.

The second girl, who was removed from the home at the age of 12, was raped with implements over a prolonged period of time at the home, according to Waterford TD John Deasy.

Today, this young woman cannot be operated on because so much damage was done that to operate would threaten perforation of her bowel, which might kill her, Mr Deasy told the Dail.

Her mother told the Irish Examiner: We have been fighting for years and we will keep fighting for our daughter.

Her exclusion from the terms of reference means much of the cover-up of allegations by the health system will not be included in the commissions work.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin in the Dail severely criticised the failure of the Government to include the alleged abuse suffered by others in the foster home.

Mr Howlin accused Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Mr McGrath of misleading the Dail over statements made about the terms of reference, which they said leaves room for the other cases to be investigated once the Grace module is concluded.

Mr Howlin, citing legal advice, said this is simply not the case: Ministers have been misleading in their description of terms of reference.

Despite what Mr McGrath said, the terms are not modular, they do not give the commission permission to look at other cases.

I have taken legal advice. The only power we are giving is to scope out another inquiry, that is hugely different to what Conor Dignam [in an earlier scoping report] recommended.

Independents4Change TD Clare Daly lambasted Mr McGrath for excluding the other families from the inquiry.

She said the terms of reference are an absolute stitch up and a case of the HSE protecting itself.

I have read the terms of reference and they are a betrayal of the other families, she said.

In his letter, the solicitor Mr Walsh said the experiences of 46 other people at the home; the need to fully investigate whether a cover-up occurred from as early as 1996; and the treatment of whistleblowers by the HSE, Department of Health and others must be included in any inquiry.

For no obvious reason whatsoever and to the dismay of our clients a number of Mr Dignams recommendations have been omitted from the terms of reference, the solicitor said. Our clients can, however reluctantly, only conclude that the deliberate omission of the specific Dignam recommendations is a further attempt to belittle their involvement and to sweep under the carpet the matter complained of by them.

After receiving the letter, Mr McGrath met with the whistleblower last night to hear their concerns.

However, despite hopes of including the proposed changes in the terms of reference before tomorrows vote, the minister last night confirmed the meeting was simply to hear the whistleblowers views directly.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that at least one girl, known as Ann who remained in the house as a resident until 2013, still had visits to the home until 2015, six full years after Grace was removed and 20 full years after the original decision to remove Grace was made.
US publishers Image, third only to Marvel and DC Comics in their market, announced that it will publish Clare artist Declan Shalveys Savage Town next September. The announcement was made at the Emerald City ComicCon in Seattle last week.

Shalvey has worked for all three major publishers, working with Marvel characters including Punisher, Deadpool, and Nick Fury; contributing to a new Batman series for DC last year; and illustrating the ongoing series Injection for Image.

Working as a writer on Savage Town, Shalvey will be joined on the book by Dublin artist, Philip Barrett.

Declan Shalvey

So much of my career has been superheroes, and while I love superheroes I wanted to make a comic/graphic novel set in Ireland; something original that reflected Ireland in a way that isnt often seen in comics, said Shalvey.

Ive been very fortunate to have has a lot of industry success so decided to use that in order to make such a book happen. I also love Phil Barretts work and really wanted to showcase his work to a larger audience.

A self-professed fan of crime stories, Shalvey says his book has been inspired by films such as The Snapper and The Guard: There is so much great stuff like that made in Ireland in film and novels but not in comics, so I wanted to address that.

Given his own background, Limerick was an obvious choice for the books setting.

The cover from Declan Shalveys graphic novel Savage Town.

Most Irish crime books are set in Dublin, and many are about the IRA, and I wanted to avoid those more obvious elements to my first writing project, he said.

I wanted to show a city near and dear to me. Limerick gets a bad rap, so I wanted to show the city in a different light, while taking advantage of its more recent history. I went to art college in LSAD in Limerick and lived there as a struggling comic artist, trying to build up my portfolio and break into comics. Ive very much broken in now, so I like the idea of making comic set in Limerick.

He hopes the book might open the world of graphic novels to new audiences who might be under the misconception that medium is all spandex and sci-fi: Most people think comics are superheroes and, while I love superheroes, its frustrating that the general public are unaware just how diverse and challenging the medium can be. I think the authentic Irish feel of the book will stand out to a worldwide audience as unique. I also hope that an Irish audience will embrace it.

Sample panels from Declan Shalveys graphic novel Savage Town.

There is a wealth of great talent in the country, but not a lot of avenues for which to get projects made. Im hoping Savage Town might move the needle somewhat, on how an Irish audience sees the medium, and how the medium can open up for more Irish talent. Irish creators get no support from the Arts Council, so the only way for us to build our careers as creators is to support each other. I hope Savage Town can help with that.
The latest findings from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) shows that half of those aged 54 and over with living parents are providing them with financial help, while 48% of those in the same age category are also helping out their children with money.

Prof Rose Anne Kenny, lead researcher on TILDA, said it is absolutely the case that the age profile of those supporting both parents and children is getting older.
Addressing the Dail on shocking revelations about the finding of infant remains at the Bon Secours site in Tuam, Mr Kenny failed to agree to amend the terms of the mother-and-baby inquiry. Instead, he insisted that the work of gardai and the local Galway coroner must go ahead independently while there is a need to deal with the sad legacies of the past.

In a passionate response during leaders questions in the Dail, an outraged Mr Kenny described how the Tuam site reflected the larger neglect of Irish society in years gone by.

Tuam is not just a burial ground, it is a social and cultural sepulchre. That is what it is. As a society in the so-called good old days, we did not just hide away the dead bodies of tiny human beings, we dug deep and deeper still to bury our compassion, our mercy and our humanity itself, declared Mr Kenny.

Referring to the scandal of the Bon Secours mother and baby home in Tuam, Mr Kenny said no nuns broke into our homes to kidnap our children.

Instead, he added: We gave them up to what we convinced ourselves was the nuns care. We gave them up maybe to spare them the savagery of gossip, the wink and the elbow language of delight in which the holier than thous were particularly fluent. We gave them up because of our perverse, in fact, morbid relationship with what is called respectability. Indeed, for a while it seemed as if in Ireland our women had the amazing capacity to self-impregnate.

For their trouble, we took their babies and gifted them, sold them, trafficked them, starved them, neglected them or denied them to the point of their disappearance from our hearts, our sight, our country and, in the case of Tuam and possibly other places, from life itself.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin called for a state apology for the infants buried at the Tuam site. He also demanded a commemoration be held and that the judge-led inquiry into homes be expanded to include other institutions or sites.

But Mr Kenny declined to commit to these and instead said time was needed for reflection.

However, he commended historian Catherine Corless, whose work on baby deaths helped reveal the shocking find in Tuam.

Sinn Feins Pearse Doherty called for gardai to be resourced to investigate the deaths while the TD also called for those responsible to be brought before the courts.

Mr Doherty also called on the Government to publish the second interim report of the commission investigating mother and baby homes, finished last September.
FROM Jamie Dornan reading lines of Fifty Shades of Grey in it to Tommy Tiernan envisaging the national embarrassment should Ireland ever have a president with it, Corks distinctive lilting accent has been the butt of plenty of jokes.

But its innate musicality has a captivating charm all its own, and it pairs well with compositions that may seem, culturally speaking, a million miles away from the rebel county. Harmonising swing trio The Stargazers have been performing jazz numbers from songwriters like Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin with a decidedly Corkonian folksy twist since the mid-1980.

Its an identifiable sound that we have, says Johnny Fang Murphy, Stargazers frontman. But it wasnt a conscious decision to sing in any particular accent. We never talked about it, and I never really thought about it. I just opened my mouth and sang them the way they came out.

Murphy has collaborated with a pantheon of Cork troubadours over the years, like Jimmy Crowley, with whom he played in folk outfit Stokers Lodge in the 1970s, popularising songs like Salonica and The Boys of Fairhill, and that most fervent adherent to the Corkonian sing-song, Johnny Spillane, with whom he first formed The Stargazers, for a bit of a laugh.

They were doing a revue up in UCC, and we just got together for a laugh and we played an old jazz standard called After Youve Gone, he says. We threw on tuxedos for the laugh too. It went well so we played in a pub called The Donkeys Ears, and it took off from there, really.

Now, 24 years later, with a string of singles under their belt, The Stargazers are releasing a third album, My Echo, My Shadow and Me, named for a line from We Three, a song first popularised by The Inkspots.

I couldnt have imagined lasting this long, Murphy says. We took breaks and did other things, but people kept asking and it never really went away. We do our own original material as well as covers, but we straddle that area between folk and jazz, and developed our own sound over the years. Thats why weve lasted, I think.

Lasted they have, and enjoyed some extraordinary moments along the way, which Murphy recounts with his characteristic laid-back ease. Is it true that they played a private gig for Fred Astaires daughter, Ada, on the roof of Kensington Gardens? Yes. She would have come to our gigs in Schull in The Courtyard because she had a holiday home there. She flew us over to London and put us up in a fancy hotel and everything. We had a great time.

The band has had several incarnations, always with Murphy and guitarist Chris Ahern at its core: Spillane, who played bass, left to pursue his own noteworthy career, replaced firstly by Johnnie Campbell and now by Ursula OSullivan.

Shes an amazing musician, Murphy says of a woman who originally came in as a piano player, before switching to bass. Weve stuck to that three-part harmony, acoustic music that we started out with all those years ago, but its lovely to have the female voice.

They released a single from the album last year, the wonderfully irreverent Tom Lehrer classic, The Vatican Rag. Its cheeky alright, but its a bit of fun, Murphy says. The album itself was recorded over a couple of sessions last year; we decided to record a couple of tracks by a friend of ours called David ODriscoll. We were so happy with them that we put them all on an album.

The trio have had a quiet couple of years while they focused on recording. Now theyre back gigging, and play the Everyman in Cork, De Barras in Clonakilty, and The White Horse, Kinsale. Well definitely be throwing on the tuxes, promises Murphy.

The launch of My Echo, My Shadow and Me takes place at a concert at the the Everyman Cork on Sunday with special guest, soprano Majella Cullagh
FEW in the Irish theatre world have come under the same level of public scrutiny as Michael Colgan, who is departing the Gate Theatre in Dublin at the end of the month after 33 years as artistic director. His salary of over 200,000, his choices, the kinds of plays his theatre puts on or should put on, whether or not the Gates public subsidy is exorbitant or justified: Everyone has an opinion.

You feel thats the way he likes it: Hes an old-style theatre impresario, synonymous with the elegant building on Parnell Square that he has steered for so long.

But hes also a man of artistic conviction, a man whose love of the work is often overshadowed by the public persona presiding over yet another buzzy opening night.

But to spend time in his company, in his elegant Georgian offices across the street from the theatre, is to revel in the words and worlds of great plays and great playwrights. Its a passion he has married to a producers eye, delivering a steady stream of coups over the years, from Ralph Fienness celebrated role in Faith Healer in 2005 to his renowned seasons of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter.

Yet, he admits his time is passing. If Im not past my sell-by date, Im definitely past my best-before, he jokes. The Irish theatre landscape, in step with wider trends, has shifted from being a literary to a more director-led one, in which theatre-making is the mot du jour. Its not a trend Colgan feels comfortable with.

I dont look down on it, Im not against it, he says. You have people doing concept theatre and they are not as obedient or, if I may say so, respectful to the text. I want to do A View From the Bridge as it was written; I want to do All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named DesireWhat I dont want to do is Hedda Gabler and have her coming in dressed as Spider-Man. I really dont want to set Endgame in an abattoir or Happy Days in a hair salon.

That type of theatre is now in the ascendancy. Its certainly the one that is more popular with young people but I cant really reinvent myself for that.

Michael Colgan with Ralph Fiennes at the French embassy in Dublin where Colgan received a Chevalier award for Arts & Letters. Picture: Anthony Woods

The Gate is something of a hybrid. Colgan calls it the theatre of permanent opposition. Its public funding gives it certain duties, but Colgan has always known hed had to put bums on seats. Hes grown an audience that can be nudged toward a Pinter or a Beckett, but which also must be kept coming back for regular doses of Noel Coward.

To an extent, he picked up where the theatres sole previous directorship, of Micheal Mac Liammoir and Hilton Edwards, left off. As he puts it, The real power was the building, the theatre itself. The physical building is a determinant. You dont want to do plays about crack cocaine in Crumlin. But you do Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward.

The next chapter for the Gate, to be written by his successor Selina Cartmell, is going to be fascinating to watch unfold. For the next few weeks though, the Gate will feel very much as it has done for the last three decades, with Colgan welcoming guests to a season of plays devoted to what he calls his three heroes: Beckett, Pinter and Friel.

The Beckett Pinter Friel Festival runs at the Gate until March 26.

Memories are made of this: Michaels magic moments

The Beckett Festival (1991 & 1996)

I went to see Sam [Beckett] in Paris. I wanted to get the rights for Krapps Last Tape and Endgame. I suppose I could have done it through the agent, but we were chatting away and I said, Sam Id like to do one of your plays. To be honest I said Id love to do them all. He said, You cant be serious? And I said, Actually I am. I could have asked just for Endgame, went home and done that. But because he said You cant be serious? I thought, yes, I am. That was a terrific time for me. Then in New York in 1996 I was like Caesar in Rome. Paul Newman ringing me up, all the stars trying to get a ticket. Time magazine came and wrote the best line: They came to the plays in limos or on Rollerblades, in bright summer colours or basic Beckett black.

Michael Colgan with Jermy Irons and Sinead Cusack

Juno and the Paycock (1986)

I was working on the South Bank and I got a phone call to say Donal (McCann) was on the drink again. I had to come back and he was on the rehearsal floor and people were stepping over him. I had to get him into St Pats and I used to collect him every morning. He was a tricky man, but he was magnificent. In 1988 on Broadway they said you could run for three years, but Donal wanted to go back on the drink.

Three Sisters (1990)

With the three Cusacks (Sorcha, Sinead and Niamh). You could say it was your idea, but, when they were running around the garden as children you could have said that. So I dont clap myself on the back for the idea: it was obvious. I clap myself on the back for getting them to do it, with Cyril in it. That was terrific.

Ill Go On (1986)

That night was just mesmeric. On the opening night, late night, they went crazy, someone fainted. I had a great affection for that. Thats what Im going to miss  the Becketts with Barry (McGovern). But we might do some. Its easy to do, just ourselves. Ive just done First Love with Barry. I know Beckett very well but he knows it 10 times better than I do. He is the real expert.

Faith Healer (2005)

I was with Brian (Friel) and we were talking about it opening on Broadway in 1979 and closing after 17 performances. I said James Mason must have been terrible. He said No, he was magnificent. He was so persuasive. He said it was Masons wife, Clarissa Kaye, who was awful a contortionist, not an actress. But he got me thinking about whod played the part  big mountainy men like Donal McCann. Friel led me to reread the play, and see the faith healer not as a big mountainy man. Hes a persuader, and illusionist, an actor who has to go out and perform this magic. Thats when I thought about Fiennes. Theres something charismatic about him.

Michael Colgan and Brian Friel.

Eh Joe (2006)

That is the best thing Ive ever done. Its because of Penelope Wiltons voiceover. Its just her voiceover. Its a performance by her that to me would match McCanns Captain and Sineads Masha. And we have it. I listen to it, and listen to it, and listen to it.

Salome (1988)

It was an extraordinary time with Steven Berkoff, who was very difficult. He was a strange beast. He rang me up in the second week of rehearsal saying I cant bear to look at their little faces looking at me for guidance. Im going home. I dont know what to say. He asked me would I mind going into the rehearsal room and telling them Im gone. I said, Oh no no no, Stephen, you go in and tell them. Thats your decision but Id asked you to go in and fire everyone. I then had to wait anxiously, but of course he went in and started working again. He did a brilliant job.
When Sofia Amoruso released her book, #Girlboss, in 2014, it was clear she had more than just a bestseller in mind. With its ready-made hashtag there in the title, it was a call to action. A social media movement was born.

Three years later, that movement is still going strong  formally (#GIRLBOSS is trademarked by Amoruso, and this month saw the inaugural #GIRLBOSS Rally  the language of grassroots activism deftly appropriated for an exclusive ticketed event), and informally (#girlboss has been used to tag almost 5 million Instagram posts, for everything from weight loss to clean eating; motivational quotes to skinny teas; and of course, by the tribe who identify most with the Girlboss ethos: young female entrepreneurs.)

But whats clear from both the volume and diversity of posts on Instagram and the #GIRLBOSS mission statement  its about being the boss of your own life  is that the phrase has transcended its origins as a cheerleading chant for young women in business to become the latest buzzword for empowerment.

With the Netflix series Girlboss hitting screens this April, the term is set to become even more prevalent, but with everyone from Hillary Clinton to Ivanka Trump routinely described as Girlbosses, is it time to ask whether this seemingly innocuous rallying call is doing more harm than good?

Irelands female entrepreneurs have mixed feelings. Some people are so offended by it, others just love using it, says Emma Manley, founder of Manley. While she doesnt use the term herself, shes humbled when others include her in Girlboss groupings.

And why wouldnt she be, you might ask? Well, leaving aside the fact that boss is not, and never has been a gendered term, and that any gendered prefix  woman, lady or girl  normalises the idea that a boss is typically a man; girl in particular carries implications of immaturity and inexperience, and  despite the viral success of campaigns like the Always #LikeAGirl ad  undertones of frivolity.

Running like a girl might be no bad thing, but running a business like a girl wont instill confidence in your bank manager.

And thats not an issue of gender. Theres a reason young men arent referring to themselves as boybosses, and its not just because men are innately comfortable occupying the domain of boss. As Mary McAuliffe, Assistant Professor of Gender Studies at UCD, points out: Only if you were being a little disparaging would you refer to men as boys.

While Girlboss might make the idea of female leadership seem more attainable to some, its also about making it more palatable to others. The power implicit in the word boss is qualified by the addition of girl, making this declaration of empowerment inherently disempowering. With the theme of this years International Womens Day, Be Bold For Change, those who subscribe to the Girlboss ethos might be in danger of selling themselves  and women  short.

Girlboss does not sit easy with me, as a feminist or as somebody who understands the power of language, McAuliffe says. The cultural construct of language, and the idea we have of the girl, means the phrase serves to make women unthreatening. Fiona Heaney, of fashion brand Fee G, agrees. Were bosses, were hiring people, were making money, she says. Its serious business at the end of the day, and for me Girlboss kind of trivialises that.

Entrepreneur Norah Casey says: The two words cancel each other out. Girlboss is a movement of young women in their 20s going out on their own, but the term implies that somehow thats less important to the world than young men going out on their own. It diminishes it to being a girly activity rather than an entrepreneurial activity thats adding value to society  especially in the area of social entrepreneurship, where young women are excelling.

After two years spent researching successful women to discover what makes them different, Casey is set to launch Planet Woman Academy, a learning based approach that aims to teach women practical things, like how to ask for a salary rise, how to speak up in meetings, how to have the confidence to go for a promotion, how to overcome a fear of failure.

My own common sense view was that, quite often, women were holding themselves back.

I try not to get too hung up about language because there are bigger things in life we need to fix for women, she says, but Girlboss does diminish the work women have to do in order to succeed.

As with anything that makes women feel they can take control of their own lives, I imagine there are aspects of Girlboss that are empowering, says Mary McAuliffe, but I think thats down to certain misunderstandings of feminism.

The workplace is a capitalist, patriarchal space  we havent transformed it that much. Being in the workplace is about pushing yourself forward, being demanding, but if we insist on portraying woman as pretty and non-threatening, were not really encouraging them to be those go-getters.

If women truly want to dare greatly and lead boldly, being bold enough to embrace the power of being the boss is key. Weve had #ImNotBossyImTheBoss, and #Girlboss  maybe its time for #ImNotAGirlbossImTheBoss.

Emma Manley  Founder of Manley

Emma Manley.

Growing up with two entrepreneur parents, it was never a question of could I start a business, recalls designer Emma Manley, it was just a case of get on and do it. Having worked in New York and London, she wanted to start her business in Ireland, with the support of family and friends.

My mum was also a designer, and had been a huge part of what I was doing. I moved home to work out of her studio. Six years later, Emma has succeeded in building a thriving Irish fashion business with her distinctive high-end womenswear brand, Manley. Were going through an important change in fashion in Ireland, she says.

People are tired of fast fashion; its about supporting your own now, knowing the product and where it came from. Like e-commerce and the see-now-buy-now model, its a consumer shift Emma has astutely turned to her advantage; however she is less keen to jump on the Girlboss bandwagon.

Id never refer to myself as a Girlboss, she says, but I think some women need it to spur them on and give them confidence. Im glad I dont, but I wouldnt disparage anyone who does. Just because I wouldnt use it doesnt mean Im not grateful that somebody would refer to me as that, she adds.

I think its a nice thing for people to say and it carries a lot of positive weight. If someone calls you a Girlboss, theyre not trying to offend you; theyre proud of Girlbosses and thats how they express that.

www.manley.ie.

Fiona Heaney  Founder of Fee G

Fiona Heaney. Credit:Barry Mc Call.

After years of working as a designer, successfully launching new labels for other brands, Fiona Heaney started her own label, Fee G, after her husband and business partner told her hed back her if she wanted to do her own range. He thought it was sure bet, she says, and he wasnt wrong.

14 years later, Fee G is one of the strongest fashion brands on the Irish market. Right now were not taking on new customers in Ireland, she says. Were focused on trying to grow our export share. Exporting primarily to the UK, but as far away as the Middle East and Australia, Fee G have weathered a decade of huge change for the fashion industry by staying relatively small, so we can adapt and change quickly, Fiona reveals.

I wouldnt describe myself as a girlboss, she says.

Id rather describe myself as an entrepreneur and a female leader. Why should we have to differentiate ourselves because were women? Were business people and were very successfully running businesses. I was involved in a programme for female entrepreneurs a few years ago called Going for Growth, she adds. Its a very confident group. Its not about feeling theres a need to empower women to do it  its about acknowledging women who are already doing it.

As females in the workplace, weve made phenomenal strides when you think of where our parents generation were. To put ourselves back into a box called girlboss I think actually takes us a step backwards. Fee Gs spring/summer 2017 is in stores now.

See feeg.ie for more.

Sandra McKenna  Founder of MummyPages and Sheology Digital

Sandra McKenna. Credit: Dave Meehan.

When marketing executive Sandra McKenna had her first child, the new mum had a lightbulb moment when she realised there were no Irish parenting blogs. I thought this cant be right, she says.

I researched the area; found an opportunity existed to provide Irish mums with this resource; and decided I was going to do it! With the support of her husband, Sandra has grown her Wordpress blog into a female-orientated digital platform that includes MummyPages, MagicMum and SHEmazing, between them reaching over 4.5 million unique users per month.

Our objective now is to continue growing our audience internationally, Sandra says. Weve grown from a team of two in 2009 to over 30 employees in just eight years.

I cant say Ive heard myself described as a Girlboss, she says. A female entrepreneur, a mumpreneur, a woman-in-business, yes; but never a Girlboss, thankfully.

To me it refers to someone who has achieved a level of success traditionally enjoyed by men. Its something to aspire to, and something I am role-modeling for my girls so they dream big when it comes to their chosen careers; however, I would never use the term, nor would I say Girl Astronaut or Girl Scientist. Neither Mary Robinson nor Mary McAleese were ever called Girl President.

In my mind it dumbs down the achievement, that a girl has managed to assume the role of a boss. I believe anyone can be the boss - boy, girl or transgender. I dont think its something that should be qualified by gender.

Visit mummypages.ie or shemazing.net.

Marissa Carter  Founder of Cocoa Brown

Marissa Carter.

Now at the helm of a global beauty empire, former beauty salon owner Marissa Carter has been self-employed since the age of 21.

I didnt know what an entrepreneur was when I started out, she says, but I was driven by a deep desire to be independent, financially and otherwise. Noting a void in the existing tanning market, Marissa came up with the idea for Cocoa Brown tan in 2012.

The tanning industry was stagnant, over-priced and lacking innovation when we introduced our one-hour tan, she says. It really shook up the market. Five years later, with an extended product range and 10,000 international stockists, Marissa still cant believe it when she sees her distinctive packaging on the shelves in Penneys.

I created Cocoa Brown with Penneys in mind as my ultimate retailer, so when they began selling my pink bottles, I remember thinking, here we go! she recalls. She is preparing for a move to New York in June to oversee the expansion.

Marissa sees the term girlboss as a pop cultural label for women in business. I wouldnt use it on my business card, but neither does it offend me. #Girlboss has helped create a communal feeling of empowerment, amongst millennials in particular. The childish or feminine attribute of the term, I believe, was never meant to be the point. I think what Sophia Amoruso meant was, Im a woman in business, Im powerful and Ive got this.

cocoabrown.ie.

Norah Casey  Publisher, broadcaster, author, founder of Planet Women Academy

Norah Casey. Credit: Barry McEvoy.

After leaving school at 16, Norah Casey fell into nursing for 5 years; an experience that laid the foundation for the person I am today, she says.

A fear of one day having to treat a burns victim led her to complete a burns course at a plastic surgery hospital. I faced my fears head on, she says. It was the undoing of me as a nurse but making of me as a woman. Realising nursing wasnt for her, she moved into journalism at age 23, knowing that nothing I went through in my career was ever going to be as difficult as treating a child with burns.

In 2016, after 12 years at the helm of Irelands largest magazine publishers, the former Dragon was surprised to find herself nominated for a Girlboss of the Year award. I looked at it 5 or 6 times and thought, they cant seriously be calling me that, she recalls. Its not what I would call myself.

It doesnt sound good, she continues. As a hashtag, it might be used tongue-in-cheek, but there are subtleties about the phrase that diminish girls and women in terms of what they try to achieve.

Norah is set to launch Planet Woman Academy this month, with the goal of helping women rise to the top.

I wanted to offer something digitally which would allow any woman in any organisation to learn whats holding her back, she says. If youre looking for the corporate ladder, this is going to help you. Planet Woman Academy takes place at the RDS on March 24.

See planetwomanacademy.com for more.
As parties try to muddy the waters over the latest impasse on charging for services, it is clear that this delay in finding common ground on water is populist politics at play.

Divisions between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail on how to proceed with water charges held up the government-formation talks last year. Other parties capitalised on the fury and the two main groups thus feared losing support after the backlash on water bills.

A fragile minority Government was cobbled together and the toxic issue of water was flushed down the drain and left for an Oireachtas committee to wrangle over.

For the last week, chest-thumping TDs on both sides of the water charges debate made defiant statements in Leinster House.

Fianna Fails Barry Cowen threatened a collapse of Government. Housing Minister Simon Coveney nearly called his bluff.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have failed to reach an agreed solution, and so the contentious issue of water has been parked again.

The Oireachtas water committee is to seek legal advice and been given an extension to April 14.

Numerous TDs were elected last year on a mandate to scrap water charges. Any future vote  guided by the water committees work  is likely to go that way.

It is a farce that parties will not agree some formalities to facilitate this vote.

In reality, the delay buys Fine Gael and Fianna Fail time to come to an agreement, after a rocky week in which the Government support deal threatened to collapse.

The crux of the dispute hangs on whether there should be an excess charge for water. Fianna Fail says no; Fine Gael says yes.

The latest suggestion is from Fianna Fail, which says 2007 legislation, rather than a new system, could be used to penalise households.

Micheal Martins party will do anything other than support a fresh charge, amid fears left-wing parties would take advantage of this.

Fianna Fail disagrees with EU advice, the recommendations of an expert group, and even the opinion of the attorney general. And it is basing all this on advice which it got from barristers, including one who ran for the party in a previous local election.

On the other hand, Fine Gael knows it will be criticised if it abandons the water charging regime after spending 500m spent on meters and after enforcing charges in the last government. What would follow would be a system of refunds and months of criticism.

For both sides, the politics of the day influences their decision on water. Neither can lose. This has resulted in the standoff and a decision yesterday for the water committee to delay its report. This, in turn, means water charges must be frozen beyond the March-end deadline.

In the political swamp that marks this current Dail, little stands firm and rises above the stench of a decaying Government support deal. Resolutions are sunk and left for another day.
Wednesday, March 8th, 2017 (9:13 am) - Score 2,782

Cityfibre has suspended one of their civil works contractors, KNNS, in the city of Edinburgh (Scotland). The action occurred after a dashcam video emerged that showed one of their fibre optic engineers sitting exposed in a manhole on a busy 30MPH street, with only two small traffic cones for protection.

The incident, which occurred on 27th February 2017 at 1:17pm in the Craiglockhart area, depicts the moment when a Nissan Micra appears to swerve in order to avoid hitting the man who is sat low in a manhole. So low that he is practically invisible to the trailing vehicle, which also conducts a sharp manoeuvre in order to avoid hitting him. The engineer also appears to have neglected his Hard Hat but that probably wouldnt help vs a face full of Micra.

The footage, which was obtained by Scotlands Worst Drivers  and posted on Edinburgh News, may at least come in handy as a future education tool for contractors under the title  HOW NOT TO DO IT!. Meanwhile Edinburgh City Council has condemned the case and requested that Cityfibre carry out a full investigation. The Council also claims that they werent notified about the work.

A Spokesman for CityFibre said: After an initial investigation, we can confirm that the construction worker shown in the video footage was working for KNNS, a CityFibre contractor. We have now invoked an immediate stop to all KNNS works conducted on behalf of CityFibre until the incident is fully investigated alongside KNNS management. CityFibre takes its commitment to the health and safety of its staff, contractors and members of the public extremely seriously.

Normally most complaints about the work that fibre optic / broadband engineers do tends to be centred around the unwanted disruption or damage that can sometimes be caused by civil works, much of which is often unavoidable. However we rarely see such obvious safety failings. A good contractor will know to setup proper traffic management, clear warnings and ideally some additional protection for themselves.

Just as some context. Cityfibre has recently been busy extending their existing Edinburgh CORE Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband and Ethernet network in Edinburgh to around 150km (here), although the above incident appears to reflect a maintenance visit rather than new construction. KNNS has so far declined to comment.
Major: Communication

Hometown: Brazil, IN

Student Media Involvement: Syc Creations

Favorite Food: Burgers with everything but mustard

Fun Fact: He really loves superhero movies, and wants to make his own someday
DOCSIS 3.1, the cable industrys entry in the can you top this rivalry with the telephone and wireless/cellular industries, has moved into the field en masse.

The Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification is the industrys long-term initiative aimed at incrementally increasing data carriage capabilities over its coaxial cables. Version 3.1s core promise is to provide 10 Gigabit per second (Gbps) downstream and 1 Gbps upstream capacity. Its been a big technical lift and has taken the industry several years to begin deploying it in earnest. Bulk launches began last year.

That drive continues with an important bit of news this week. Charter Communications has joined other MSOs on the DOCSIS 3.1 bandwagon. Light Reading says that President and CEO Tom Rutledge said at the Deutsche Bank 2017 Media & Telecom Conference that a request for proposals (RFP) has been released.

Details are sparse; Rutledge did not discuss the vendors or test timing. The story paints Charter as a slowpoke in the race. Other MSOs, including Shaw, Cox Communications, Rogers Communications and Liberty Global, are already testing, have tests on tap this year, or are in commercial deployment of DOCSIS 3.1.

Comcast has been very aggressive. The company recently announced rollouts to Huntsville, Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama later this year. The company has DOCSIS 3.1 plans for a number of cities, including San Francisco, Kansas City, Missouri; Salt Lake City and Denver. It already offers the standard in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami and Nashville. It will offer the modems in its entire 39-state footprint next year.

It is possible for subscribers to buy the DOCSIS 3.1 modems at retail. Multichannel News reports that Arris SB8200 is available from Amazon and through the vendors website. The product is approved by use in Comcast and Cox systems. Certification by Charter and other MSOs is pending. The initial modems support both DOCSIS 3.0 and DOCSIS 3.1. That enables MSOs to begin building momentum by deploying them in existing networks.

The telecommunications industry has shown great resourcefulness in finding ways to use software and innovative transmission techniques to increase data capabilities of deployed infrastructure. This is true both of the telephone industrys use of DSL technology to squeeze more life out of its copper cables and the cable industrys DOCSIS program. Both industries will be challenged by 5G. Though 5G ultimately will be a huge step for mobility, its first iteration will be in fixed scenarios.

Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at [email protected] and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk.
AMD has announced its upcoming Naples platform. However, the official name of the product name will not be Naples and several name options are still debated internally at AMD.

According to AnandTech, Dr. Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, the launch of Naples CPUs for data centers will be an important move for AMD, as the enterprise market can bring billions of dollars to the bottom line. If AMD will be able to rejoin the x86 enterprise niche and become again a big player in the field, it can take a significant market share from Intel as well as stop some of ARMs ambitions.

Naples is based on AMD Zen architecture. The top end processor will feature a total of 32 cores. The CPU will be capable of a total of 64 threads with simultaneous multi-threading (SMT). This will be paired with a total of 16 DIMMs (up to two DIMMs per channel for eight channels of DDR4 memory). A single Naples CPU will support 128 PCIe 3.0 lanes.

Coming with USB, internal IO for storage and other things, Naples can be considered as a system-on-a-chip (SoC). According to PC Mag, Naples is aimed to compete with Intel's Xeon processors in the PC server market. The CPU will be offered as either a dual processor platform (2P) or a single processor platform (1P). In dual processor mode the system will provide 64 cores and 128 threads.

As part of AMD's Infinity Fabric, each processor in dual mode will use 64 of its PCIe lanes as a communication bus between the processors. Bandwidth is designed to be on the order of PCIe, but the Infinity Fabric uses a custom protocol over these lanes. Each core uses 64 PCIe lanes to talk to the other, allowing each of the CPUs to give 64 lanes to the rest of the system for a total of 128 PCIe 3.0.

With eight channels and two DIMMs per channel, on the memory side the Naples CPU will support up to 2 TB of DRAM per socket, for a total of 4 TB in a single server. A single CPU provides a total memory bandwidth of 170 GB/s.
Conspiracy theorists have just found another addition to their growing number of evidences after they have allegedly spotted an alien megaship lurking by the International Space Station. The said footage which has been uploaded on YouTube shows a long bright light hovering above earth with two mysterious bright objects just below. That said, conspiracy theorists are convinced that NASA has altered the lights to make the object seem to disappear.

Alien 'Megaship' Spotted

According to reports revealed by Daily Mail, there have been a lot of alternative explanations to such occurrence like reflections from the station windows or lights from Earth that could possibly explain the sighting. However, according to the uploader of the video that goes by the name Streetcap1, the dimming at the end was sudden and he's guessing that NASA turned down the brightness a little. Additionally, a renowned UFO hunter Tyler Glockner, who allegedly runs a conspiracy site called Secure Team 10, has claimed that they have definitely seen some anomalous objects, such as the very long cigar-shaped UFO and they don't know what exactly it is.

Furthermore, in one of his statements reported by Mirror Online, Glockner continues to explain that below the alleged UFO, we have these two reflective-looking orbs or objects that are obviously under very low resolution. It was found that the reason for this was because NASA reportedly likes to give us low res videos and keep the high resolution stuff to them. The UFO hunter has also revealed that he has already monitored hundreds, likely thousands, of hours of ISS live feed footage and he has allegedly seen UFOs, ice crystals space debris and light reflections.

The End Of Conspiracy Theories?

In addition, experts say that it would appear that shortly after these objects come into view, NASA has either purposely or the UFOs do it on their own, but the objects quickly dim out. It was found that many UFOs which have been caught by the ISS's cameras can also be explained as images of space junk or satellites in the distance, and even very small flecks of paint or particles are said to have the ability of appearing like UFOs when caught by the bright light from the sun. Ultimately, in a series of allegations of NASA footage showing UFOs before cutting out, this footage remains to be the latest.
With great pride, authorities from NASA have revealed that the coldest place in the universe will soon be launched into space as they are all set with their plan. The said plan is to fly into space an ice chest-sized box, which has allegedly been designed to create the coolest spot in the universe. With the use of lasers and a vacuum chamber, the Cold Atom LAB or CAL is reportedly said to reduce a handful of atoms to temperatures only a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero. That said, NASA scientists believe that they can use this setup to study the weird physics that arises in these extreme conditions.

Why Is NASA Doing This?

According to reports revealed by the International Business Times, due to the fact that it has never been created or observed in space, scientists explain that they want to study a mysterious form of matter known as Bose-Einstein condensates. NASA experts continue to explain that Earth's gravity makes studying Bose-Einstein condensates tricky as they can only be observed for fractions of a second. However, in space, aboard the ISS, the American space agency says that the atoms can hold their wave-like forms longer, which will then provide a significant number of scientists with a wider window of opportunity to understand physics at its most basic level.

Furthermore, as per Popular Mechanics, having an increased knowledge in terms of Bose-Einstein condensates was said to have created a host of applications in science and technology. It was found that Bose-Einstein condensates could most likely be used in building better atomic clocks or quantum computers, as well as better types of gravitational detectors in order to study the dark matter and dark energy. In one of his statements, CAL Project Scientist Robert Thompson of JPL has explained that studying these hyper-cold atoms could potentially reshape our understanding of matter and the fundamental nature of gravity.

The Coldest Place In The Universe

Meanwhile, it was found that NASA's CAL would likely allow Bose-Einstein condensates to be observable for up to 5 to 10 seconds. On the other hand, experts have highly emphasized that in terms of tech advancements being what they are today; CAL is likely seen to have been developed in order to help ensuring that Bose-Einstein condensates could be observable for hundreds of seconds in the future. Ultimately, according to JPL's Kamal Oudrhiri, despite current technological advancements 95 percent of the universe still remains a mystery to humans and it is believed that successfully coming up with this project could change that perception.
Most fans of Nokia were thrilled with the new devices unveiled at the recently-concluded 2017 Mobile World Congress particularly with the return of the iconic Nokia 3310 albeit in a more modern take. However, some still wonder why the much-awaited high-end Nokia 8 was not introduced at the event. The wait may not take that too long anymore as rumors indicate that a June release is possible for the Nokia 8.

Recent rumors coming all the way from China say that the Nokia flagship smartphone will finally be launched in about three months time. HDMI Global, the company that is manufacturing the handsets for Nokia, suggested that a couple of Nokia 8 variants will be unveiled in June. The rumor also indicated that both "small and "big" Nokia flagship devices will run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor. The smaller Nokia 8 will come with 4GB of RAM and will cost 4,000 Yuan or roughly $580. The larger model will have 6GB of RAM and a price tag of 4,500 Yuan or around $650.

GSM Arena points out that the Nokia 8 will no longer use PureView cameras because of Microsoft as well as Carl Zeiss, which Nokia Mobile confirmed before in a tweet. The good news, though, is that both smartphones will have 23MP cameras at the least. Both models will also come in metal unibodies.

Nokia made a little noise during the CES 2017 held in January after rumors surfaced saying the company unveiled a mystery Nokia device. The hullabaloo actually started when a video blogger claimed that the Nokia 8 was used to demonstrate the Snapdragon 821 and Snapdragon 835 at the Qualcomm booth. Qualcomm has since denied using the yet-to-be-revealed Nokia flagship smartphone saying it used its own reference design for the tests and that the company does not disclose details of their reference hardware.
By Alwyn Scott

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) defended its proposed 737 MAX 10X aircraft on Wednesday, saying it has drawn plaudits from numerous airlines and interest from parts suppliers to rebut criticisms aired at an industry conference on Tuesday.

The comments showed Boeing's confidence about adding a fifth model to its revamped 737 product line, despite concern expressed by big leasing companies that it might have limited appeal. The profitable 737 is Boeing's top-selling jet family and is crucial to hitting financial targets Boeing has set.

"I'm frankly bullish on the airplane," Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager of Boeing's 737 MAX program, said of the MAX 10X on a call with journalists.

"The conference down south at ISTAT was important," he added, referring to the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading event in San Diego that ended on Tuesday.

But "we're listening to customers around the globe...many of whom have expressed enthusiasm for it."

Leverkuhn said suppliers are willing to build components for the MAX 10X, which needs taller landing gear to accommodate its length. "Suppliers are always interested in extending the capability of the (737) family," he said.

Boeing pitched the MAX 10X to battle huge sales of rival Airbus' (AIR.PA) A321neo, which seats more passengers than the 737 MAX 9 that Boeing is already building. Boeing rolled the first MAX 9 out of the factory on Tuesday, and plans to begin delivering it next year.

The heads of two major aircraft leasing companies said at ISTAT that the MAX 10X is not a thriller for their customers and would eat into sales of other MAX models. Lessors buy aircraft but don't operate them, meaning they have a different perspective than airlines.

Boeing already is offering the MAX 10X to airlines, though it has not yet formally decided to go ahead with it. Leverkuhn said it would be a 66-inch (1.68 m) stretch of the MAX 9, adding 12 seats and giving the MAX 10X "eye-watering economics" versus the Airbus A321neo. The plane would be timed to reach customers in 2020, and would be developed after the other MAX models.

Story continues

Leverkuhn said Boeing has built 13 MAX 8 jets, and held a key meeting with regulators on Tuesday, meaning the model should be certified soon so deliveries can begin in the second quarter.

Boeing shares were flat at $182.08 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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SAO PAULO, March 8 (Reuters) - Brazilian federal police were carrying out search and arrest warrants on Wednesday to look into the suspected buying off of witnesses in the Greenfield investigation, which is probing alleged corruption at the pension funds of state-controlled companies.

A police statement said prosecutors suspect a 190 million real ($60.9 million) eucalyptus wood supply contract was used to buy the silence of a witness who could provide evidence in the investigation, which involves Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA, a subsidiary of the Batista family holding company J&F Investimentos SA which also owns JBS.

($1 = 3.1193 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
(Adds details from prosecutor in paragraph 2, J&F comments in paragraph 6, other background)

SAO PAULO, March 8 (Reuters) - Brazilian federal police carried out search and arrest warrants on Wednesday to investigate the suspected bribery of witnesses in a corruption probe involving pension funds of state-controlled companies.

Authorities said the operation targeted Mario Celso Lopes and his son Mario Celso Lincoln Lopes, partners at pulp company Eucalipto Brasil SA, following evidence that a 190 million-real ($60.9 million) eucalyptus wood supply contract was used to buy the silence of a witness.

The arrest order against the senior Lopes was based on evidence that recent actions, including the signing of the supply contract, obstructed the investigation, prosecutors said, referring to an agreement between Lopes' company and Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA.

Efforts to reach Eucalipto Brasil SA for comment were not immediately successful. Two of phone numbers listed on the company's website appeared to be nonworking, and the company did not immediately respond to written messages.

Eldorado is a subsidiary of the Batista family's holding company J&F Investimentos SA, which also owns the world's largest meatpacker, JBS.

In an email, J&F said none of its companies were targeted by the police raids on Wednesday. Its lawyers are handling J&F's defense in the pension fund fraud case, J&F added.

The probe, dubbed Operation Greenfield, is investigating alleged fraud in connection with state-controlled pension funds' investments in FIP Florestal, which is partly owned by J&F Investimentos.

Mario Celso Lopes was one of the founding partners of FIP Florestal, in which state-controlled pension funds Petros and Funcef hold a minority stake.

Petros and Funcef invested 550 million reais in the venture between 2009 and 2010, the prosecutor said.

The Greenfield probe is one of a string of investigations into alleged corruption at major Brazilian companies and illicit activities involving private and state-run firms.

In February, federal prosecutors asked a court to block assets of two key suspects in the probe. They said defendants Joesley Batista, a member of the family that controls JBS, and Jose Carlos Grubisich Filho, chief executive officer of pulp producer Eldorado Brasil, breached an agreement related to the investigation. ($1 = 3.1193 reais) (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Matthew Lewis)
The largest automaker in the United States, the General Motors Co., is set to lay off as many as 1,100 workers at its Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan. GM will shift its production to another factory in Tennessee.

Last year, the company added 800 jobs at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant in order to build the new version of the GMC Acadia SUV. The newer version of Acadia is built on a smaller platform, that is why the production of the said car will be moved, according to Reuters.

However, Tom Wickham, GMs spokesman, said in an email statement that the Lansing factory will still continue building the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse. The production will continue after it retools for a month.

Bill Reed, the president of United Auto Workers Local 602 and the one who represents the plants workers, shares that most of the staff that will be affected by the production shift from Lansing plant are temporary workers, reported Livemint. The factory is said to employ around 3,000 hourly workers and 250 salaried workers. Reportedly, the workers were given a 60 days notice.

They say the layoffs are permanent, but I dont think it will be long before they get us the full capacity, said Reed. Were profitable and every indication is that we will get another product. Given that, Reed is hopeful that GM will add a new model to the plants assembly. If that will happen, then those laid-off workers will soon be called back again.

U.S. President, Donald Trump urged General Motors as well as other automakers to build more cars in the country. This is in relation to Trumps promise to boost jobs in the country. Back in January, GM announced that they will invest $1 billion in U.S. factories.

Meanwhile, Jobs & Hire reported that General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. entered into a partnership in order to work on the next generation fuel-cell technology.

Watch the video below:


Portland, Maine, is considering a proposal that will solve the issue of panhandling as well as jobless in the city. In an effort to give hope to panhandlers, the city of Portland is planning on offering them jobs.

The pilot program that Portland officials are cooking will initially go on for 36 weeks, according to a report posted on FOX News. The results of the pilot program will determine whether the largest city in Maine will allow it to become a main fixture on their list of social programs.

Aggressive panhandling is technically illegal under Portland's laws. The issue is affecting tourism as city government fears that it will drive away tourist, thus affecting the income of businesses that rely on the influx of visitors in the city. Residents are also against panhandlers, thinking that they are a nuisance.

Press Herald reported that panhandlers who will get the job offers under the pilot program will be asked to clean up parks and do some light labors. The pay will be $10.68 per hour, and the city will release the payment at the end of each working day.

While there is no law that prohibits visitors and residents from giving money to panhandlers, the city is trying its best to discourage them from doing so. Some cities in the United States are urging visitors and residents to donate their money to charities instead of giving them to local panhandlers.

Panhandlers are also considered a safety issue for American cities. There are concerns that some panhandlers might also turn to a life of crime if they cannot raise enough money from begging.

Some panhandlers have mental or physical issues that prevent them from securing any stable job, while some are blaming the lack of jobs for their plight. Some are also victims of abuse from residents and visitors and most are homeless. Jobs & Hire previously reported that a McDonald's crew had been fired for his cruel treatment of a homeless man.
(Adds details)

By Liz Hampton and Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON, March 7 (Reuters) - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is moving to bring U.S. shale producers and hedge funds into widening talks about how best to tame a global oil glut.

The group held unprecedented talks with fund executives on Tuesday and earlier held meetings with shale producers, including Pioneer Natural Resources Co and ConocoPhillips.

The introductory discussions were the first bilateral meetings with shale producers and investment funds, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said on Tuesday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

The two have become important players in adding production to a world awash in crude oil. Cheap financing for newer producers has forced majors to turn their focus from big, long-term projects to those that can generate quick cash for their investors.

Last November, OPEC took initial steps to widen its market reach as it sought to end a two-year price war, striking a historic agreement with 13 non-member countries, including such major oil producing nations as Russia, Kazakhstan and Mexico.

Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih separately told a group of oil industry executives at the conference that the November pact set a new "cooperative framework" for OPEC to address short-term market turmoil.

"All of us realize that such an expanded network of producers with a larger share of global production is the only way to achieve a constructive, stable market for all," he said.

The discussions with hedge funds come as their role in U.S. energy has grown. Funds have become major equity financiers of young U.S. oil firms and in some cases owners of production assets in expanding basins including the Permian in West Texas.

The outreach is expected to continue. Any decision to extend the OPEC-led production cuts beyond June would have to include the continued participation by the non-OPEC countries, Secretary General Barkindo said.

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"I think we have broken the ice between ourselves and the industry, particularly the tight oil producers and the hedge funds who have become major players in the oil market," he said in remarks on the conference sidelines.

OPEC plans to hold an event to consider the impact of oil futures on physical crude markets, Barkindo said, without providing details.

Scott Sheffield, executive chairman of Pioneer, said the meeting on Sunday between shale producers and OPEC officials reflects an extraordinary change in the relationship between the two groups, whose interests sometimes are in conflict.

"I've seen more dialogue between OPEC and shale producers this year than ever before," he said.

The November deal to reduce output is intended to shave global output by about 1.8 million barrels per day, and reduce a supply estimated to be about 300 million barrels above the norm weighing on crude prices. The six-month agreement took effect on Jan. 1.

Compliance with the production curbs among top global oil producers should improve in February from January's level, Barkindo said. Members of the production accord last month reported 86 percent of the reduction target had been met in the early weeks of the agreement.

The OPEC-led accord has helped increase crude prices by more than 10 percent since the agreement was struck in November.

OPEC plans to meet again in May.

For more coverage of the CERAWeek conference, see

(Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Brian Thevenot and Lisa Shumaker)
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BEIJING, March 8 (Reuters) - China posted its first monthly trade deficit in three years in February as imports surged at their fastest pace since early 2012, driven by its strong demand for commodities from iron ore to crude oil and coal.

China's February exports unexpectedly fell 1.3 percent from a year earlier, but imports expanded 38.1 percent, well above economists' forecasts, customs data showed on Wednesday.

That left the country with a trade deficit of $9.15 billion for the month, the General Administration of Customs said.

But China watchers have cautioned that trends in January and February can be distorted by the long Lunar New Year holidays, with business slowing down weeks ahead of time and many firms scaling back operations or closing.

The holiday began in late January this year and in February last year.

China's exports for January and February combined rose 4.0 percent from the same period last year, while imports surged 26.4 percent, suggesting there has been solid improvement in demand at home and abroad despite any holiday distortions.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected February exports from the world's largest exporter to have risen 12.3 percent, an improvement from a 7.9 percent rise in January.

Imports had been expected to rise 20 percent, after growing 16.7 percent in January.

Analysts had expected China's trade surplus to fall to $25.75 billion in February, versus January's $51.35 billion, with growing attention on its large trade advantage with the United States as new U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up his protectionist rhetoric.

(Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Kim Coghill)
The News & Record published a longer version of this editorial Sunday.

State legislators can give voters the gift of a better democracy by approving a bill introduced with bipartisan support last week.

House Bill 200 sets up an independent redistricting process. It is long overdue.

Every 10 years, if not required by courts to do so more often, North Carolina legislators take new census numbers and redraw state House, Senate and congressional districts. Its a highly partisan process: The party in power manipulates the district lines to give itself the greatest possible advantage.

Republicans controlled the exercise in 2011 and engineered districts so slanted theyve managed to build super-majorities in the legislature and to win 10 out of 13 U.S. House seats with just over 50 percent of the statewide vote.

So its remarkable that several Republican state representatives are leading this reform effort.

The problem starts at the polls, where rigged districts leave voters with few choices. This makes some incumbents complacent and less responsive to their constituents, unless ...

They face a challenge within their own party. When this happens, a challenger may contend that a Republican isnt conservative enough or that a Democrat isnt liberal enough. Party primaries often push candidates to the extremes.

Representatives of both parties can agree that democracy works better when politicians are held accountable in competitive elections.

Enlightened self-interest may be at work here as well. The Republicans hold the advantage for now, but that could change by the time the next redistricting opportunity arrives in 2021.

Before 2010, Republicans demanded a nonpartisan redistricting process, but Democrats refused. Then Democrats lost those elections in 2010 and the Republicans seized their opportunity.

Federal courts are showing increasingly less patience with partisan gerrymandering. Sooner or later, they might overturn plans that aggressively deny voters opportunities to choose representatives in fair and balanced elections.

So the best thing legislators can do is turn the chore of redistricting over to impartial experts instructed to craft compact districts without regard to partisan advantage. The people would thank them for it.
ANNA MARKAY, Winston-Salem

Honest acknowledgment

The funniest part of President Trumps big reset speech before Congress was when he said, We must honestly acknowledge the circumstances we inherited, then lied about the circumstances he inherited.

He said Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force, intending to paint a picture of deep and troublesome unemployment, of people who would love to have jobs, if only they could find them. But that 94 million is mostly Americans who dont want to work.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines not in labor force as a category that consists mainly of students, housewives, retired workers, seasonal workers interviewed in an off season who were not looking for work, institutionalized people, and people doing only incidental unpaid family work (less than 15 hours during the reference week). The BLS says that 89 million of those people arent looking for work.

The unemployment rate in America is currently about 5 percent. Trumps not going to improve that. But when the unemployment rate grows, hell blame President Obama and illegal immigrants. See if he doesnt.

Spin is one thing, but this president is simply dishonest. If I met him and he said, Good morning, Id feel the need to check my watch.

***

ROSS MECHAM, Winston-Salem

Picking laws

As I faced traffic recently, I couldnt help but smile, remembering the words of the writer of the Feb. 26 letter, Stick to academics: We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. You cant just pick the ones you want and ignore the ones you dont.

Unless the writer walks to work or considers traffic laws to be merely traffic suggestions, he undoubtedly picks laws that he chooses to ignore every single day. I would advise that he pick the log from his own eye before going after the mote in someone elses or at least use a different argument for doing so.

JOE ESKRIDGE, Lewisville

White uniforms

Im always impressed with the invited guests to the State of the Union speeches by our presidents. These honorable people are selected for various reasons to attend and some are recognized to all in attendance.

Donald Trumps recent speech before a joint session of Congress was no exception. While many were impressed with the presidents speech, I was particularly impressed with the girls group dressed in their white uniforms sitting with the other members of the Democratic Party. That was quite a statement by the Democrats, and I can only hope these girls were allowed to sell their cookies out in the lobby after the speech. I bet the big seller is the Bittersweet filled with Nuts!

Democratic women in the U.S. House wore white during the speech in honor of womens suffrage.  the editor.

******

HENRY R. LYLE, Winston-Salem

Investigation needed

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was investigated over Benghazi, several times, at the cost of millions of dollars, with the claim that she lied, which was never proved, only assumed, over and over again, even though every investigation was forced to conclude that shed done nothing wrong. She was investigated with less evidence than has already been discovered to suggest that something immoral and possibly illegal has occurred between Attorney General Jeff Sessions, President Trump and Russian authorities.

If we applied the same standards to Sessions and Trump that were applied to Clinton, we would have to conclude that they colluded with Russia to steal an election, thus committing treason against America.

Anyone who agrees with or disputes that conclusion should be eager for an independent investigation to either prove or dismiss the claims.

******

ERROL CAHOON, Winston-Salem

Agenda

Whats it all about? Is it affordable health care for all? Or is it discrimination based on religion, race, culture and sexual orientation? Or jobs, or entitlements, or immigration, or Planned Parenthood, or foreign policy, or trade, or taxes or anything progressive? Or smearing the Rev. Martin Luther King and the tenets of all major world religions and all properties of humane existence and replacing it all with the white supremacy of Big Brother? Or is it just an attempt to destroy the legacy of President Obama?

Stop the world. I wanna to get off!

******

JEREMY STULTS, Winston-Salem

Learning

My boss keeps complaining that I get to work late.

Ive never been late, I told him. No one gets to work earlier than me.

He tried to throw me by showing me my time card. But I set him straight by telling him I had an alternative time card.

He referred me to Human Resources. But I told him that Human Resources is the enemy of the company. I heard that from someone.

I have learned so much from President Trump.

***

KISMET LOFTIN-BELL, Winston-Salem

HBCUs and school choice

On Feb. 27, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made comments that distorted the history and mission of historically black colleges and universities, portraying them as real pioneers of school choice. But the existence of HBCUs is not analogous to the school-choice movement. Their existence is a reflection of the lack of access and opportunity in education for blacks. Their existence is because there was no alternative.

They were not developed to provide a better choice. They were developed to provide a choice.

Aligning HBCUs with school choice ignores the history of education in the United States. It ignores the history of keeping blacks (slaves) from being educated. It ignores the history of private-only schooling. It ignores the history of public schools shutting down to keep from educating blacks. It ignores the history of the farce of separate but equal schools. It ignores the need for the National Guard to help integrate schools. It ignores the hatred spewed at children for wanting a better education in integrated schools. It ignores the rationale for busing.

And it continues to ignore the fact that school choice has restored school segregation and has left students of color and low-income students in subpar buildings without the necessary resources and with teachers with limited training and/or support.

Lets not categorize HBCUs under school choice. Lets not ignore or forget why HBCUs exist in the first place. And lets not insult the early graduates of HBCUs by suggesting that they had a choice in education.

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[JURIST] The European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website] ruled [judgment] Tuesday that countries are not required to issue visas to refugees on humanitarian grounds even if they are facing torture or inhumane treatment. The case arose surrounding a Syrian family seeking asylum in Belgium. The court stated that while states may choose to grant asylum under their own national law, [m]ember States are not required, under EU law, to grant a humanitarian visa to persons who wish to enter their territory with a view to applying for asylum. This ruling is in direct conflict with the advice of Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi, who stated last month that member states had to grant visas on humanitarian grounds [DW report] if it could be proven that they were escaping torture and danger.

The rights of refugee and migrant populations has emerged as one of the most significant humanitarian issues around the world. In January the Slovenian parliament passed amendments to the Aliens Act [JURIST report] to enact emergency measures to deny refugees entry into the country and to expel those whom did not have their asylum claims properly assessed. In November experts questioned humanitarian conditions at Grecian migrant camps when a 66-year-old woman and six-year-old boy died [JURIST report] in a camp fire. Last April several aid organizations urged [JURIST report] EU leaders to stop deportations of migrants from Greece to Turkey and to stop detaining asylum seekers. Also in April Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] that the first deportation of 66 people from the Greek island of Chios to Turkey was riddled with an array of irregularities. In April former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged [JURIST report] world leaders to accept more refugees and to combat the growing international anti-refugee sentiments. That same month, an independent UN human rights expert encouraged EU leaders to remain steadfast [JURIST report] in their obligations to handle the recent influx of migrants to the EU.
[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Monday that the city of New Orleans could remove three statues honoring members of the Confederacy, rejecting the appeal of several historic preservation organizations and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The court stated that the appellants failed to show irreparable harm to the statues and stated that the claims wholly lack legal viability or support. The statues, which honor Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Robert E Lee and PGT Beauregard, were called a nuisance by the mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu [official website]. A fourth statue, the Battle of Liberty Place monument, had already been moved.

Debate has intensified in the past years over the acceptability of confederate symbols in everyday life. Last year a federal lawsuit was filed [JURIST report] against the governor of Mississippi challenging the state flag, the last one in the country that bears the Confederate battle emblem. In August 2015 a judge in Texas denied a request for a temporary restraining order to halt the University of Texas at Austin from relocating a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis [JURIST report]. In July 2015 it came to light that Dylann Roof, who was convicted of the murder of nine black church members in South Carolina, prominently posed with the confederate flag. Also in July South Carolina removed [JURIST report] the Confederate flag from the state house. In June 2015 the US Supreme Court ruled that state governments can restrict [JURIST report] the kinds of messages printed on specialty license plates after the Sons of Confederate Veterans argued that the Texas governments refusal to issue specialty license plates including an image of the Confederate flag violated the First Amendment.
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled [opinion, PDF] against Native American tribes seeking to stop construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) [fact sheet]. Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] rejected the arguments of the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Souix that construction of the pipeline would prevent the tribe from practicing religious ceremonies. The tribes argued [Reuters report] that the pipeline would render water they use impure and therefore prevent them from performing religious ceremonies with the spiritually impure water. This decision comes after the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provided a grant to use [JURIST report] the last piece of land necessary to construct the pipeline under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. Boasberg questioned [AP report] the merits of the tribes argument and held that the tribes didnt raise their argument in a timely fashion as the religious assertion was new in light of the Army Corps grant. In previous arguments the tribes had maintained that construction would simply threaten tribal lands.

The DAPL [informational website] is a partially constructed oil pipeline that would transport more than 470,000 barrels of oil per day over its 1,172 mile length through North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. The controversy surrounding the project is connected with its proposed proximity to multiple large bodies of water that could become irreparably contaminated should the pipeline fail. Protesters have made camp at the site since early summer and are led in part by the Indigenous Environmental Network [advocacy website] and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe [official website]. Conflict between protesters and police has been condemned by both the UN and the American Civil Liberties Union. In November the ACLU reported that police at the Standing Rock site in North Dakota used life-threatening weapons to control protesters [JURIST report]. Earlier that month a UN rights group released a statement expressing concerns that the US government is ignoring treaty rights, as well as human rights [JURIST report] of Native Americans and others that are protesting the DAPL.
Hungarian lawmakers approved legislation on Tuesday preventing those seeking asylum from moving about the country or leaving until their claims have been investigated. This legislation requires [DW report] that they instead be detained in camps. The detainment camps will be composed of converted shipping containers. Prime Minister Viktor Orban [official website] has stated [press release] that the bill was in response to recent terror attacks in Europe carried out by migrants. The law reinstates a practice that was suspended in 2013 in the face of increased pressure by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the European Court of Human Rights. The UNHCR has warned [press release] that reinstatement of this policy will further traumatize refugees. The Hungarian government claims that just over a thousand people have applied for asylum and will be placed into this new process.

The rights of migrant populations have emerged as significant humanitarian issues around the world, as millions seek asylum from conflict nations. Last month Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed concern [JURIST report] over this Hungarian legislation. In January HRW said [JURIST report] that it was against EU policy for Croatia to force asylum seekers back to Serbia. Also in January the European Commission labeled [JURIST report] the conditions on Greek Islands for asylum seekers as untenable due to heavy snowfall in the region. Ahead of the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in September UN experts urged [JURIST report] states to protect women and girls in the movement of refugees and migrants by adhering to international human rights conventions and standards. That same month HRW and Amnesty International said that the draft of the final outcome document for the UN summit on refugees fell short [JURIST report] of dealing with the issue effectively. Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said [JURIST report] earlier in September that Austria will take Hungary to the International Court of Justice if Hungary does not begin accepting returning migrants that crossed into Austria from Hungary.
The Israeli Knesset [official website] passed legislation Tuesday that would limit or eliminate entry visas or residency rights for those groups who call for economic, academic, or cultural boycotts of Israel or its West Bank settlements. The legislation could limit [press release, in Hebrew] the entry of Palestinians who are temporary residents in Israel while their applications for permanent residency are under review. The new Entry into Israel Law (Amendment No. 27) aims to increase a sense of national cohesion and discourage boycotts of the county and its goods due to the controversy surrounding the West Bank Settlements.

While Israel and Palestine have a troubled past [HRW backgrounder], the issue of settlements in the West Bank have escalated tensions in the last decade. Last month, Israel-based advocacy groups Legal Center for Arab Rights and the Jerusalem Center for Human Rights and Legal Aid asked the Israeli Supreme Court [JURIST report] to review a new law that retroactively legalizes some 4,000 settlements in the West Bank. Last November, Israels Ministerial Committee for Legislation unanimously approved [JURIST report] the Formalization Bill to legalize the West Bank outposts. In March the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said [JURIST report] that the office is concerned about the apparent extra-judicial execution of a Palestinian man in the West Bank. In January Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged [JURIST report] businesses to cease operations in Israel settlements. In August 2015 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged both sides of the conflict [JURIST report] to reconcile and move towards peace after an attack occurred in the West Bank village of Duma, where Jewish extremists allegedly set fire to a Palestinian home while a family slept inside, which killed a child and severely wounded the childs parents and siblings. The previous April HRW alleged [HRW report] that Israeli settlement farmers in the occupied West Bank are using Palestinian child laborers in dangerous conditions in violation of international laws.
FILE PHOTO: A Chinese national flag and two flags bearing the name of ZTE fly outside the ZTE R&D building in Shenzhen, China April 27, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo

By Karen Freifeld and Sijia Jiang

NEW YORK/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp has agreed to plead guilty and pay nearly $900 million in a U.S. sanctions case, drawing a line under a damaging scandal that had threatened its cut off its supply chain.

While the fine was larger than expected, ZTE, also a major smartphone maker, reported robust underlying earnings for 2016 and was upbeat in estimates for the first quarter. That and the resolution of the case helped its Hong Kong-listed shares surge 6 percent.

A five-year investigation found ZTE conspired to evade U.S. embargoes by buying U.S. components, incorporating them into ZTE equipment and illegally shipping them to Iran.

In addition, it was charged in connection with 283 shipments of telecommunications equipment to North Korea.

"ZTE Corporation not only violated export controls that keep sensitive American technology out of the hands of hostile regimes like Iran's, they lied ... about their illegal acts," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.

ZTE relies on U.S. suppliers for 25 percent to 30 percent of its components, many of which are key to its goods. It purchases about $2.6 billion worth of components a year from U.S. firms, according to a company spokesman. Qualcomm, Microsoft and Intel are among its suppliers.

"ZTE acknowledges the mistakes it made, takes responsibility for them, and remains committed to positive change in the company," ZTE Chief Executive Zhao Xianming said in a statement.

The company agreed to a seven-year suspended denial of export privileges, which could be activated if there are further violations, as well as three years of probation, a compliance and ethics program, and a corporate monitor.

It also agreed to an additional penalty of $300 million that will be suspended during the seven-year term on the condition the company complies with requirements in the agreement.

When asked about the ZTE case, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said relevant departments of the government would continue to pay attention as to whether Chinese firms were receiving fair treatment.

Story continues

"The Chinese government consistently opposes foreign governments putting unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies. At the same time, we have always asked our companies to operate legally abroad," he told a news conference without elaborating.

Tim O'Toole, a Washington D.C.-based lawyer with Miller & Chevalier specializing in sanction cases, said U.S. court documents suggest ZTE's attempts to obstruct the investigation were the main reason for a penalty significantly higher than in similar cases.

"What seems really important to U.S. regulators is whether a company or individual after the investigation starts is seen to continue to evade the sanctions and also obstruct the investigation," he said.

The investigation, spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, followed reports by Reuters in 2012 that ZTE had signed contracts to ship millions of dollars worth of hardware and software from some of the best-known U.S. technology companies to Iran's largest telecoms carrier.

Last year, the Commerce Department released internal documents showing senior ZTE executives instructing the company to carry out a project for dodging export controls in Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan and Cuba.

ZTE has replaced executives allegedly involved, including naming a new president.

The company said on Wednesday it slid to a preliminary net loss of 2.36 billion yuan ($342 million) in 2016, its first loss in four years, due to the settlement.

But without the fine, it would have logged 3.8 billion yuan in profit, 18 percent higher than a year earlier. That was better than expected, as was a preliminary estimate for the first-quarter net profit rising between 21 and 31 percent, said Cindy Lam, an analyst with UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong.

The settlement includes a $661 million penalty to Commerce; $430 million in combined criminal fines and forfeiture; and $101 million paid to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The action marks OFAC's largest-ever settlement with a non-financial entity.

The Commerce Department will recommend ZTE be removed from a list of entities that U.S. firms cannot supply without a license if it lives up to its deal and a court approves its agreement with the Justice Department.

First placed on the list in March 2016, it has continued to do business with U.S. suppliers under a temporary general license that has been extended several times, with the latest reprieve expiring March 29.

The company's guilty pleas, which must be approved by a judge, will take place in U.S. District Court in Texas.

(Reporting By Karen Freifeld in New York, Sijia Jiang and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Edwina Gibbs)
South Africa on Tuesday informed the UN [text, PDF] that it is canceling its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website]. South Africas decision to cancel the withdrawal comes in response to the South African High Court [official website] finding the withdrawal unconstitutional [judgement]. High Court Judge Phineas Mojapelo found that the decision by the national executive to deliver the notice of withdrawal of South Africa from the Rome Statute of the ICC without prior parliamentary approval is unconstitutional and invalid. The South African government called the judgement merely procedural and said that the government would continue working on leaving the ICC. Those comments by the South African government have created some doubt whether Tuesdays cancellation of the withdrawal is just temporary or if South Africa intends to stay part of the ICC.

The judgement of the South African High Court blocking the withdrawal [JURIST report] from the ICC was initiated by the opposition party, Democratic Alliance, after the government sough to withdraw from the ICC without approval from parliament. South Africa officially announced [JURIST report] its intent to withdraw from the ICC in October. Also in October, Burundi similarly voted [JURIST report] to withdraw from the ICC amid criticism the court only prosecutes African nationals. In January leaders of multiple African countries announced that they have backed [JURIST report] a strategy of collective withdrawal from the ICC.
The UK House of Lords [official website] passed an amendment [text] to the EU Notification of Withdrawal Bill [Text, PDF] Tuesday that gives the Parliament the ability to approve the negotiations of the UKs exit from the EU. The upper house also rejected [vote record] another amendment that would have required a national referendum vote to approve an agreement between the UK and the EU regarding the terms of the exit. The EU Notification of Withdrawal Bill gives the prime minster the ability to formally start the process of exiting the EU. The bill now returns to the House of Commons so that the amendments can be considered by the lower house. The Brexit minister, David Davis, has stated [Reuters report] that they will seek to overturn the amendment in the House of Commons.

The House of Commons approved [JURIST report] the bill without the amendment in early February. Uncertainty about when and how the UK will leave the EU has been widespread. Last week judges for the UK High Court dismissed a suit [JURIST report] that claimed members of parliament should be allowed to vote on whether Britain will leave the European Economic Area [official website]. A majority of UK voters expressed their desire to leave the EU [JURIST report] in June, leading to the resignation of former prime minster David Cameron.
[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein [official profile] presented his annual report [text, PDF] on Wednesday to the Human Rights Council [official website]. The report details the work done by the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) from December 1, 2015 to November 30, 2016. The Council created two new thematic special procedure mandates last year, including a Special Rapporteur on the right to development and an Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. To increase accessibility, OHCHR launched an online form for submitting information on alleged human rights violations. The Council enhanced its focus on challenging xenophobia and championing the rights of migrants, and also deepened its efforts to fight for gender equality and womens rights. Zeid reported that this has been a significant year in terms of human rights milestones:

Important milestones were celebrated during the reporting period, including the fiftieth anniversary of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development; and the tenth anniversary of the Human Rights Council. These milestones symbolize the lasting and ever-increasing value of international human rights law and standards anchored in the principle of human dignity. Nevertheless, large parts of these instruments await full acceptance and implementation by all States.

An interactive dialogue will be held [press release] by the Council with the High Commissioner later this week.

Last week the US State Department also issued [JURIST report] its annual report on human rights. Ongoing conflict and social unrest continue to create a need for international organizations to promote human rights. In December the UN Zeid expressed concern [JURIST report] for global human rights. A UN human rights expert provided a report [JURIST report] to an international conference in Thailand that same month regarding discrimination of the lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and intersex community. A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern [JURIST report] in November about possible crimes against humanity committed against Myanmars Rohingya Muslim minority. US Central Command concluded [JURIST report] that month that airstrikes carried out by the US-led coalition near Dayr az Zawr, Syria, in September did not violate international law.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy [official website], Joseph Cannataci, presented a report [text, DOC] to the Human Rights Council [official website] on Wednesday condemning modern-day surveillance legislation and expressing grave concerns regarding the threat to privacy rights in the digital age [JURIST backgrounder]. Cannataci particularly directed attention to legislation in the US, UK, France and Germany, stating that [t]here is little or no evidence to persuade me of either the efficacy or the proportionality of some of the extremely intrusive measures that have been introduced by new surveillance laws and that he does not support these laws. Cannataci expressed concern that modern surveillance legislation increasingly allow for the creation, access and analysis of personal data without adequate authorization and oversight, adding that:

While often traditional methods, such as the interception of phone calls and communications in general, are subject to judicial authorisation before the measure can be employed, other techniques such as the collection and analysis of metadata referring to protocols of internet browsing history or data originating from the use of smartphones (location, phone calls, usage of applications, etc.) are subject to much weaker safeguards.

Stressing the the universal nature of privacy rights, Cannataci also criticized the new laws as attempts by politicians [press release] to manipulate the public fear of terrorism and urged member states to [d]esist from playing the fear card and  prepare themselves to ensure that both domestically and internationally, privacy is respected as a truly universal right  especially when it comes to surveillance carried out on the Internet.

Data collection and government surveillance continues to be a contentious issue worldwide since Edward Snowden [BBC profile] revealed [JURIST report] the scale of bulk data collection in the US and the UK in 2013. In January a UK advocacy group challenged [JURIST report] the Investigatory Powers Act [PDF], which allows the UK government to record the Internet history of every citizen for up to a year. A month earlier the European Court of Justice [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that [g]eneral and indiscriminate retention of e-mails and other electronic communications by governments is illegal. In October a UN expert on free expression said claims that Yahoo allowed the US government to search hundreds of millions of consumer e-mails raise serious human rights concerns. [JURIST report]. In January 2016 the Ontario Superior Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that police orders requiring telecommunications companies to hand over cellphone user data breached the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms [text].
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By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc on Wednesday won the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming it defrauded shareholders about its ability to protect customers from at least seven norovirus, E.coli and salmonella outbreaks that erupted in 2015. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan said shareholders failed to show that Chipotle improperly concealed the seriousness of food-borne illness outbreaks, the status of a federal probe into an E.coli outbreak, and how its alleged inability to monitor food safety raised the risk of outbreaks. "There is no indication in the complaint that Chipotle's projections were inconsistent with or did not account for the company's assessments of the impact of the food-borne illness outbreaks," Failla wrote in her 47-page decision. "As long as the public statements are consistent with reasonably available data, corporate officials need not present an overly gloomy or cautious picture of current performance and future prospects," she added. Chipotle's share price fell 47 percent in just over five months from its August 2015 peak above $758. The Denver-based company was linked in November 2015 to a multistate E.coli outbreak, and the next month to a norovirus outbreak that sickened at least 80 Boston College students. It has apologized for food safety lapses, and offered free and discounted food to regain customers and their trust. Failla also rejected claims that founder and Chief Executive Steve Ells, former Co-Chief Executive Monty Moran and Chief Financial Officer John Hartung intended to commit fraud by making "highly suspicious" sales of more than $210 million of Chipotle stock in the three months before the first outbreak. The plaintiffs are led by the Construction Laborers Pension Trust of Greater St. Louis, and Germany's Metzler Investment GmbH. Their lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. Failla said the plaintiffs may try to bring their proposed class action again. A Chipotle spokesman had no immediate comment, saying the company generally does not discuss pending litigation. All of the defendants are represented by the same law firm. Ells and Moran were co-chief executives from January 2009 until last December, when Moran stepped down. Last month, Chipotle said sales rose for the first time in five quarters. Chipotle shares were up 73 cents at $405.63 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trading. The case is Ong et al v Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-00141. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
Germany-based agri-food business BayWa and Abu Dhabi-based Al Dahra Holding are investing EUR30m (US$31.6m) in the launch of a joint venture in the UAE capital for the sale of premium vegetables.

The Al Dahra BayWa venture, announced yesterday (7 March), will build a facility on a 15-hectare site if the project is given the green light by UAE authorities.

As a first step, the venture aims to produce up to 5,000 tons of premium tomatoes per year to be marketed to local food retailers, the partners said.

In the controlled climate of the facilities, vegetables can be harvested throughout the year. Water-efficient technologies will be used and, compared to traditional greenhouses, the system will save 60% of water used for irrigation, the partners said.

BayWa CEO Klaus Josef Lutz said: Through our trade network we have identified the UAE as a very profitable market with a large growth potential.

Al Dahra vice-chairman and MD Khadim Abdulla Al Derei said the venture would help to consolidate initiatives in support of the UAEs efforts to achieve security of food supply.
Colombia cocaine Antioquia smuggling trafficking drugs

Colombia is the world's top producer of cocaine, and cultivation of coca, the drug's base product, has hit record levels two years in a row.

The area under coca cultivation grew 39% in 2014 and 42% in 2015, hitting 392,897.5 acres, according to the US State Department's annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.

2015's increase was the largest single-year spike on record.

Potential pure cocaine production in 2015 was 495 metric tons  185 metric tons more than in 2014.

The Colombian government also reported seizing 421 metric tons of cocaine and cocaine base in 2016, which was 124 metric tons more than in 2015.

The jump in area under cultivation returns Colombia to levels not seen since 2007, and several areas in the country contributed heavily to the increase.

Cauca and Putamayo departments, both in the country's southwest, saw 116% and 76% increases in areas under cultivation, respectively, between 2014 and 2015. Norte de Santander, bordering Venezuela in the northeast, had an 85% increase that made it the leading coca-cultivation department in the country.

Narino, in the far southwest, and Antioquia in north-central Colombia (once home to Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel) rounded out the top five, each with increases of less than 25%.

The spike in cultivation has been driven by several internal factors, according to the State Department's report.

colombia cocaine

Rebels from the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reportedly encouraged farmers to plant more coca, believing that areas with high production would receive more benefits from the government under the peace accord the government and the rebels signed in November.

Eradication efforts have also been stymied.

Story continues

Colombia cocaine coca paste

The government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos reduced aerial eradication efforts, in part because of health concerns, and pulled back on eradication operations in areas under FARC control during the peace talks in hopes of staving off renewed conflict.

The eradication budget has also been cut by two-thirds since 2008.

Coca farmers  for many of whom cocaine is not a criminal enterprise but a livelihood  have also resisted eradication with more intensity, blocking access to their fields, relocating production into hard-to-reach areas, and resorting to improvised explosive devices to keep eradication teams at bay.

Colombia, along with Bolivia and Peru, produce nearly all of the world's cocaine.

While Colombia retains the title of top producer, the latter two countries saw increases in their own areas under cultivation as well, of 3,707 and 18,256 acres, respectively.

Those numbers reflect estimates for 2015, however, and it's very likely that the cocaine boom has intensified since those numbers were gathered, supplying a voracious US market as well as growing domestic markets in South America.

Guatemala cocaine seizure drugs

After the release of the State Department report, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported that, according to sources in Washington, Colombia could have seen an area as large as 494,211 acres under coca cultivation in 2016, the most on record.

The State Department report also notes that there "are troubling early signs that cocaine use and availability" is increasing in the US for the first time in almost 10 years.

Seizure data in the report, cited by Insight Crime, suggests that more of the drug is currently sloshing around the globe.

"Due to the lag time between coca cultivation and cocaine distribution," the State Department says, "the full impact of this surge in coca cultivation likely remains to materialize."

NOW WATCH: Why the price of cocaine in America has barely moved in decades





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Diane Greene

On International Women's Day on Wednesday, Google's Diane Greene, one of the most famous women in tech, took the stage to lead a conference of 10,000 people in tech.

Between talking up all the new products and customers for Google Cloud, Greene paused and pointed out the red ribbon she was wearing.

Then she said something fairly amazing: She basically promised to protect the women that work for her if they were ever to come forward to say they were sexually harassed at work.

Wearing red on Wednesday is a symbol of support for women, some of whom have chosen to go on strike for the day to show how valuable they are in the workplace.

"I want to pause. I'm wearing my red ribbon. I want to acknowledge that it's International Women's Day today," Greene said. The crowd burst into a minute of applause.

Greene has had a storied, decadeslong career in tech, beginning as the founder and CEO of the major tech company VMware. But she said that she hadn't always wanted to see what other women went through (emphasis ours):

"With this industry, I've been incredibly fortunate, but it was sort of an industry where I was lucky, and I chose to be kind of oblivious to what was going on. And now we're in an environment where women are having a huge impact and adding a lot of value to our industry, and women are celebrated if they raise their hand and say, 'Hey, you are missing my value. You're not recognizing what I'm doing.' At Google, we strive at Google Cloud to have an environment where no one needs to raise their hand, but no matter what, it's completely safe to do that."

She added: "I really look forward to the day when this audience is 50% women. It's more fun to have diversity."

When Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the stage, he too was wearing the red ribbon.

A time of allegations

This comes in the wake of sexual-harassment allegations that have hung over Google and Uber in recent weeks.

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Sundar Pichai red ribbon

Silicon Valley is reeling from the revelations of a "toxic culture" at Uber after a former engineer, Susan Fowler, published a blog post saying she was sexually harassed and that HR penalized her when she reported it.

Shortly after that, Amit Singhal, a top Silicon Valley engineer, stepped down from his job at Uber after it was discovered he had been accused of sexual harassment at his previous job at Google and that he did not disclose that when he was hired at Uber. Singhal oversaw Google's search engine for years and was considered one of the company's most powerful executives. He has vigorously denied the allegations.

Since then, more women at Uber have shared stories about their experiences, and women across the tech industry are speaking up. Before the allegations surfaced at Uber, Google had shouldered its share of similar allegations.

Greene's promise is a pretty powerful one, especially since fewer women than men have pursued careers in tech over the past decade, and that among the women who do, a lot don't stick around  a trend that has been dubbed Wexit.

This kind of toxic culture has been blamed in part for Wexit, and it will take people in positions of power to stand up and say, "Not on my watch."

Google Next conference crowd

NOW WATCH: Hackers and governments can see you through your phones camera  heres how to protect yourself





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The growing divide between the winners and losers of globalisation is fertile ground for populists pushing isolationist politics. Only by understanding this divide can we address it.

Populist parties are rising to power across Europe. They are already blamed for the outcome of the British referendum on leaving the EU and the backsliding with regards to the rule of law in Central and Eastern Europe.

Populist movements often adopt Eurosceptic rhetoric and campaign for a return to national politics at the expense of further European integration. In other words, contemporary populism combines nationalism and Euroscepticism as a counterbalance to the existing liberal democracy and neo-liberal economy, and speaks against further European integration.

Populism: an ideology, a style, or a political strategy?

Populism has long been a contested and ambiguous concept. Scholars debate whether it is an ideology, a style, or a political strategy. On the one hand, populists are praised as defenders of the values and needs of the hard-working majority, while on the other they are condemned as demagogues who prey on the ignorance of the uneducated.

One way to define populism is as an attempt to establish a frontier dividing the political sphere and society into two antagonistic groups  the underdog rising up against those in power, the honest people against the corrupt elite.

Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau claim that populism is not an ideology or a political regime and cannot be attributed to a specific programme. It is compatible with different forms of government. It is a way of doing politics which can take various forms, depending on the time and the place. It emerges when one aims at building a new subject of collective action  the people  capable of reconfiguring a social order experienced as unfair.

In other words, through de-ideologisation populism becomes a strategy that can be adjusted to changeable circumstances. That is among the reasons why populist parties can now be observed both on the right and left of the political scene in Europe.

Is there no alternative to inequality?

Moreover, Mouffe sees this emergence of populist parties as a reaction to post-politics, i.e. the blurring of the traditional political frontiers between right and left and the embrace of the idea that There Is No Alternative (TINA) to the neo-liberal world.

The spread of free trade, a product of post-war globalisation, was encouraged as a way to prevent future wars and keep the peace. Michael Hirsch, a former national editor for Politico Magazine, points out the fact that it made conditions more equal between countries, but at the cost of creating more inequality within countries. In the aggregate global trade does bring growth  but in the richer countries, that growth has been largely captured by elites and white-collar workers, and it often comes at the expense of people who actually make the things that get traded.

The 2008 financial crisis further deepened this divide and increased the income gap, causing the populist surge against elites who have backed neoliberal globalisation while ignoring the persistence of massive inequalities. As a result, populist parties today are able to reject the status quo on the grounds that global elites have imposed their interests on the international system; something that lower-income voters view as unfair.

In several European countries, the aspiration to regain sovereignty has been captured by right-wing populists, who mobilise people through a discourse based on refrains such as take back control (in Britain) or give back hope (in Greece). They identify threats to their traditional world, centred around national cultures, and shun the cosmopolitan culture promoted by urban elites, as noted by Jan Kubik, Director of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University College London.

Cultural divide

The predominance of neo-liberal ideology has contributed to a situation in which the left and the right are divided primarily over the question of culture. Analysing campaign and survey data at the London School of Economics and Political Science, researcher Sara Hobolt found that the divide between the winners and losers of globalisation was a key driver of the vote in the Brexit referendum. Concerns about immigration and the loss of a distinct national identity were issues that clearly split the Leave and Remain camps in Britain.

Similar divisions, as the same research points out, between the so-called winners of globalisation and those who feel left behind, can be found across Europe. While the former tend to embrace European integration and multiculturalism, the latter feel threatened by the changes that globalisation and European integration have brought about.

This division was visible, for instance, during the last election in Poland when the Law and Justice Party (PiS), a right-wing conservative party, gained power with a parliamentary majority. Other advances of populist Eurosceptic parties can also be observed, for instance, in France (Front National), in the Netherlands (the Party for Freedom), in Denmark (the Danish Peoples Party) and in Austria (the Freedom Party).

Europeans have come to accept the influx of foreign goods, ideas, art, and cuisine, but they seem less willing to welcome the influx of foreigners themselves.

In the age of globalisation, Europeans have come to accept the influx of foreign goods, ideas, art, and cuisine, but they seem less willing to welcome the influx of foreigners themselves. The accompanying cultural anxiety is proving a better guide to voters choices than issues such as inequality or economic growth.

While there is no evidence of a short-term contagion effect, Hobolt notes, there is a growing divide, both economically and culturally, between the losers and winners of globalisation. The former group favours a policy of less European integration, closed borders and fewer migrants, whereas the latter group is in favour of greater openness and international co-operation. The eurozone crisis and the Mediterranean migrant crisis have only deepened these divides.

Growing Eurosceptisism

Hobolts findings are complemented by Catherine De Vries, Professor of Politics at the University of Essex, who notes a certain paradox in the distribution of support for Eurosceptic parties across the EU.

One would expect that the countries worst hit by the crisis would be the most Eurosceptic. However, the situation is almost the reverse.

Since the crisis was framed as the crisis of the EU and its institutions, one would expect that the countries worst hit by the crisis would be the most Eurosceptic. However, the situation is almost the reverse: countries that did relatively well in the crisis (Denmark, Great Britain or the Netherlands) tend to be more Eurosceptic, while countries that suffered more (Ireland, Spain or Cyprus) are likely to see a brighter future for themselves within the EU.

The reason, according to De Vries, is that Euroscepticism is inherently linked to the assessment of the situation of the EU made through the prism of ones own member state. Accordingly, if ones member state is doing relatively well, the troubles of the Union will seem worse. Also, people will not become Eurosceptic if they believe they will be better off in the EU than outside it, no matter what their perception of the situation in their own member state is.

It is important to note that an increase in support for or scepticism towards the EU may thus not just be the result of objective evaluations of facts but also, and perhaps primarily, of the difference in perception between the current conditions and a promised alternative.

Which way forward?

The eurozone crisis revealed profound structural imbalances within the Union which led to the rise of Euroscepticism among voters and allowed populist parties to gain power across the continent. Populists in power tend to undermine democracy by weakening countervailing powers, such as the independence of the judiciary and media. Collectively, this creates an unlevel playing field for other political parties and eventually leads to their loss.

To save the EU from the growing political anger of the Europeans and to avoid the contagion of Euroscepticism, politicians will need to address current economic and political challenges, trying to reconcile radically different views on the appropriate scope and depth of integration across and within member states.

The Brussels elites seem to have realised they need to act and have produced a White Paper on the Future of Europe, presenting five scenarios for possible forms of integration. The question of which form of flexible differentiation the new model of EU integration should take will now be the subject of thorough discussion.
Donald Trump

The White House on Tuesday shot down resurfaced reports suggesting President Donald Trump met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in April, calling the accounts "disingenuous and absurd."

As revisited Tuesday by the liberal-leaning AmericaBlog, a report in the Wall Street Journal last May said Trump and Kislyak interacted at a reception that preceded a foreign-policy speech the then-Republican frontrunner gave at a Washington, DC, hotel. A handful of other ambassadors were also present at the reception.

"The National Interest hosted Mr. Trumps foreign policy speech and pre-speech reception," White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Business Inside in an email.

She added: "Several ambassadors were present. Mr. Trump was at the reception for about five minutes and then went immediately to the podium. We have no recollection of who he may have shaken hands with at the reception and we were not responsible for inviting or vetting guests. To state they met or that a meeting took place is disingenuous and absurd."

Trump hinted he favored a warming of relations with Russia in the speech, saying improved ties with Russia  "from a position of strength only  is possible, absolutely possible."

The Wall Street Journal report did not make it clear the extent of the interactions. As scrutiny has grown over his associates' ties to Russia, Trump has stressed on a number of occasions that he had no interactions with Russian officials during the campaign.

"Russia is a ruse," Trump said during a February press conference. "I know you have to get up and ask a question. It's so important. ... Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven't made a phone call to Russia in years. Don't speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn't. I just have nobody to speak to. I spoke to Putin twice. He called me on the election. I told you this. And he called me on the inauguration, a few days ago."

Story continues

Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigations involving the Trump campaign following the revelation that he met Kislyak twice during the election season, which ran contrary to a statement he made during his Senate confirmation hearing. Sanders said Friday that Trump had "zero" involvement with Russian officials during the campaign.

"The big point here is the president himself knows what his involvement was, and thats zero," she said. "And I think that he's the primary person that should be held responsible, and he had no interaction, and I think that's what the story should be focused on."

Recently, the New York Times also made note of Kislyak's presence at Trump's April speech.

The president of the Center for the National Interest, which hosted the speech, told the Times that he introduced Trump to Kislyak at the event.

But the president of the center, Dimitri Simes, said he did not think any extensive conversation took place because there simply was not enough time for one to have happened.

"There would have been no opportunity for him to talk to Kislyak separately," he said. "After the speech was over, Mr. Trump returned to the holding area and then left the hotel without any time or format for a private encounter with anyone. Again, the Secret Service managed his movements."

Trump has struggled to distance himself and his administration from the Russia-related controversy casting a cloud over the early days of his term. In February, Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser after it was revealed that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his conversations with Kislyak. And the revelations about Sessions last week sparked a firestorm that preceded Trump's Saturday tweets accusing President Barack Obama, without any evidence, of ordering a wiretap on his Trump Tower phones.

NOW WATCH: Here's how Attorney General Sessions could shut down the legal marijuana industry overnight





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The fast food giant, Dunkin Donuts, which is part of Dunkin Brands Group, Inc. DNKN, is geared up to expand further in two southern states. The company has inked multi-unit store development agreements with two franchisees whereby it plans to build a total of 17 restaurants in Alabama and Mississippi over the next several years.



The first agreement is with existing franchisee group, Birmingham Donut Holdings, LLC, which currently operates 34 outlets throughout Alabama and Florida. Per the agreement, the franchisee is to develop nine new Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Birmingham, AL, with the first one planned to open in 2017.



The second agreement is with a new franchise group, Lagunita Franchise Operations, LLC, which recently acquired five existing Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Alabama and Mississippi. Per the agreement, the franchisee is to develop five new outlets in Mobile, AL and three new in Biloxi, MS.



These agreements are in sync with the companys plan to fuel growth in these states. Currently, the states are home to about 29 Dunkin Donuts outlets. Moreover, the company is offering special development incentives like reduced royalty fees and marketing support in order to continue recruiting more franchisees in these states.



Apart from foraying into domestic markets, the company is also looking to expand its footprint internationally, especially in the emerging markets of Asia and the Middle East. Currently, the company has more than 12,200 restaurants in 45 countries globally and is on track to achieve its long-term goal of opening 17,000 restaurants. However, it is set to face tough competition from other food & beverages giants like McDonalds Corporation MCD, Starbucks Corporation SBUX and YUM! Brands, Inc. YUM that intend to follow similar strategies.



Nonetheless, going forward, Dunkins focus on improving its beverage portfolio, ongoing loyalty program, mobile ordering service and other sales-boosting initiatives also bode well for the companys top line.



Recently, the company posted strong fourth-quarter 2016 results, wherein both the bottom line and top line beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. We note that the bottom line has surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 3.56%.



Notably, shares of the company have gained over 16% in the last one year against a 2.6% decline recorded by the Zacks categorized Retail-Restaurants industry. The dip for the industry as a whole reflects the somber sales environment in the restaurants space. Nevertheless, given its focus on capturing increased market share in addition to multiple initiatives being undertaken by the company, the stock should keep performing well.

Story continues





Dunkin currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



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FILE PHOTO: Tesla Chief Executive, Elon Musk enters the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, U.S., January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump met with business leaders on Wednesday including Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk and real estate developers, as the administration seeks partnerships with the private sector to boost infrastructure spending.

During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would push for a $1 trillion infrastructure program to rebuild roads, bridges, airports and other public works projects, but he has not presented a specific plan.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said "strong public-private partnerships" would be key to rebuilding the nation's roads, bridges and airports.

"Infrastructure used to be a point of American pride, but now an overbearing, ineffective regulatory system can keep projects in limbo for years," Spicer said. "The government has wasted too much of the taxpayers' money on inefficient and misguided projects."

The White House sees infrastructure as a potential large job creator but officials have said the federal government cannot shoulder the entire burden. The administration is looking at toll roads, tax credits and other ways to spur private investment.

Major real estate and private equity executives attended the meeting, including developer Richard LeFrak, Vornado Realty Trust Chief Executive Officer Steve Roth, and Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris, the White House said.

LeFrak and Roth have been tapped to lead an infrastructure council that Trump plans to create, a spokesman for LeFrak had previously said.

The lunch with the CEOs follows his meeting on Tuesday with AFL-CIO union President Rich Trumka to talk infrastructure and other issues. The White House held a meeting of 15 federal agencies last Thursday to begin work on the administration's infrastructure plan.

Last month, Trump touted the infrastructure plan in an address to Congress.

"To launch our national rebuilding," he said, "I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States - financed through both public and private capital - creating millions of new jobs."

Story continues

Edward Mortimer, a transportation expert at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told a Senate panel on Wednesday that without action, the federal highway trust fund would face a serious shortfall starting in 2020, and policymakers would need to come up with $150 billion over six years to maintain current spending.

"This shortfall will likely result in significant uncertainty, with states possibly delaying major transportation projects," he said.

Wednesday's meeting included Vice President Mike Pence, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, as well as General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford, McKinsey & Co partner Tyler Duvall and Nature Conservancy Managing Director Lynn Scarlett, the White House said.

Scarlett said in a statement that any infrastructure package should include "natural" solutions such as reefs, dunes and wetlands. Other participants in the meeting did not comment or respond to requests for comment.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has graded U.S. infrastructure at D+ and estimated the country needs to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020.

In January, Trump signed an executive order aimed at expediting environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects, especially high-priority projects such as improving the U.S. electric grid and telecommunications systems and repairing and upgrading "critical" port facilities, airports, pipelines, bridges, and highways.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Nick Zieminski)
HOLDREGE  The biggest issue on a short agenda Monday for the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District board was how to deal with having a successful bidder to sell the district two pickups withdraw the bid.

CNPPID General Manager Don Kraus said the Gene Steffy dealership of Fremont had the low bid of $42,236 to sell two half-ton regular-cab pickups, and that bid was accepted at the February board meeting along with other vehicle bids.

In all, bids for eight 2017 vehicles totaling $211,087 from the Steffy dealership were accepted last month.

However, a letter sent by the dealership to Central since then said the bid on the two pickups was withdrawn and an alternative bid of $47,236 was presented. The new amount still was less than the second lowest bid of $48,580 from Janssen Chrysler of North Platte.

Kraus said the only other time something similar happened was in 2011 when a bidder awarded a contract for work on the E-65 Canal withdrew. Then, the board rescinded its previous approval and passed a new motion to give the contract to the second lowest bidder.

Thats what the board decided to do Monday in the case of the two pickups.

I think they have to honor their first bid or theyre out, Director Robert Dahlgren of Bertrand said about the action by Steffy.

Director William Knoerzer of Elwood asked if CNPPID could hold the Fremont business to its original bid. Legal counsel Mike Klein of Holdrege said Steffy could be sued for specific performance, but the legal costs probably would be more than the difference between the Steffy and Janssen bids.

In other business, the board:

- Was told by Irrigation Division Manager Dave Ford that recharge, using excess Platte River flows, in the E-65 and Phelps canals ended Feb. 15 because agreements with Tri-Basin Natural Resources District and the state Department of Natural Resources were fulfilled. Recharge will resume March 15-April 1 on the Phelps Canal and into Elwood Reservoir, and then resume again on May 1.

- Approved a one-year contract for services with Johnson Lake Development Inc. that is identical to the 2016 agreement.

- Approved two bids from Murphy Tractor of North Platte, $257,000 for a new 2017 John Deere motor grader and $105,000 for a new 2017 John Deere backhoe.

- Approved payment of $60,395 to Ellicott Dredge Technologies of Maryland for the first months dredge rent, installation and other fees.
The protests following President Donald Trumps inauguration, including the Pussy Hat Brigade, have less to do with alternate facts and the wall and a lot more to do with Trumps autocratic, my-way-or-the-highway outbursts  a presidential style rejected by both our tyranny-fearing founding fathers and the majority of voters in last Novembers election.

To guard against an autocrat in the White House, our ancestors in 1787 replaced the political power once held by sovereign monarchs in Europe with a popular sovereign, placing the nations political power, collectively, in the hands of the people  one half of which are potential pussy hat wearing women.

With this power shift, each American now shares responsibility for the manner in which political power is wielded and a civic obligation to challenge abuse of power in Washington. Pussy hats symbolize that personal readiness to push back against authoritarianism.

Historically, engaged Americans have aimed their anger against major close-to-home issues, not anti-democracy presidents. Tax protests in the late 18th century were followed by abolition, womens suffrage and workplace conditions protests in the 19th century.

Citizen activism took off in the 1800s, so much so, that some observers warned that the spread of popular sovereignty fever was endangering democracy itself.

By the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville, in his famous, Democracy in America, wrote, In America the principle of the sovereignty of the people is neither barren nor concealed, as it is with some other nations ... . If there is a country in the world where the doctrine of the sovereignty of the people can be fairly appreciated ... and where its dangers and its advantages may be judged, that country is assuredly America ... (where) the people reign in the American political world as the Deity does in the universe.

But Tocqueville also tempers this glowing account by pointing out some dangers associated with Americas rush toward mass democracy.

It is a constant fact that at the present day the ablest men in the United States are rarely placed at the head of affairs. ... I hold it to be sufficiently demonstrated that universal suffrage is by no means a guarantee of the wisdom of the popular choice. Whatever its advantages may be, this is not one of them.

Fifty years later, Princeton University professor Woodrow Wilson sized-up the hectic late 19th-century period of social and political change by declaring that government by the people was not working, that an elite public workforce was needed to make democracy work.

The very fact that we have realized popular rule in its fullness has made the task of organizing that rule just so much more difficult ... . An individual sovereign will adopt a simple plan and carry it out directly ... . But this other sovereign, the people, will have a score of differing opinions, Wilson wrote.

Here is the lesson de Tocqueville and Wilson provided so long ago: with the election of Trump, we are once again, as a nation, engaged in a tug-of-war between autocratic efficiency and popular government.

Efficiency has never been the foremost goal of our democracy, which is designed to be responsive to the values and traditions near and dear to liberty-loving citizens. Pussy hats are a reminder that public officials who do not understand the difference do not understand democracy.

The office of the president is no place for an autocrat.

Ronald Fraser, Ph.D., is the author of a new book, America, Democracy & YOU: Where have all the Citizens Gone?
So it begins, the only work the Nebraska Legislature is required to do  adopt a balanced budget for the next two years. The nine-member Appropriations Committee  five Republicans and four Democrats in the officially non-partisan Legislature  have begun public hearings with agency directors to scrutinize their spending plans and weigh them against the committees proposed budget and a similar document from Gov. Pete Ricketts.

This is important work with the expectation that it will take $8.9 billion to fund government during the next biennium. The committee includes: two bankers; two farmers; two non-profit executives; a labor educator; a retired podiatrist and a consultant. Thats a fairly representative mix of background and expertise. They are served by veteran legislative fiscal staff and receive prompting from the fiscal analysts in the executive branch as well.

This is difficult work given that the states Economic Forecasting Advisory Board predicts lower than expected revenue from taxes and has recommended that lawmakers lower spending by at least $298 million to keep things in balance.

The end result is usually a blend of ideas, often a compromise between what the Legislature wants and what the governor wants. The differences make for interesting political fodder and speculation as the process heads through three rounds of debate by the full Legislature and final scrutiny by the governor.

Pressing issues such as a projected revenue shortfall of more than $1 billion and the governors desire to provide property tax and income tax relief, either of which would diminish the cash flow needed to cover the shortfall. Throw in a blaring urban-rural split  perhaps the most decisive in years  and things get complicated. Farmers are adamant about receiving property tax relief, yet they want more money for schools  and not money thats going to come out of their pockets.

The Appropriations Committee has been meeting daily to craft its proposal, which features four proposed significant increases in spending: State aid to schools ($60.4 million); Medicaid ($45 million); state employees salaries and health insurance ($31.7 million); and Corrections staffing, programs and equipment ($23.4 million). The school aid is $27 million less than the governor has proposed. The Property Tax Credit Fund would take $221 million each year from general funds.

As it stands, the committees proposal would require $76 million more in general fund spending than the governors, based on two-year totals on Medicaid, child welfare aid, courts and juvenile justice, public assistance, the university and community colleges and others. That would be a 1.3-percent increase in spending over the two years.

How much of that gap between the governor and the committee can be whittled down is what creates the drama as lawmakers look to pass a veto-proof document and the governor tries to get his way. Fortunately, the committee recommends leaving $573.8 million in the cash reserve fund for 2017-18 and $566.6 million in 2018-19. Ricketts recommended leaving $503 million in the first year and $510.6 million in the second year.

That rainy day fund is what has kept Nebraska free from the budgetary woes of our neighbors to the south in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Longtime Appropriations Committee Chairman, the late Sen. Jerry Warner of Waverly, knew what he was doing when he got the cash reserve fund constitutionally imbedded in Nebraska law. It has been used more than once to force many a senator and a governor or two to hold the line. Its not the cookie jar that can be raided when lawmakers get hungry.

Its far from a perfect document right out of the chute, but it is something that lawmakers can contemplate and debate as they move forward with the work of the rest of the session. Seeing the needs and the numbers can also go a long way toward framing the much-needed debate over tax reform.

It is going to take more than just cutting to make this budget work. Everything has to be on the table, including existing tax credits, incentive programs and earmarks. In the end, it has to be fair for both sides.

J.L. Schmidt, a registered Independent, is the Nebraska Press Associations statehouse correspondent.
FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, miles of pipe ready to become part of the Keystone Pipeline are stacked in a field near Ripley, Okla. It was a nice story while it lasted. Moments from signing orders to advance the stalled Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, President Donald Trump comes up with the idea of making the projects use pipes and steel made in the U.S. He inserts a Aulittle clauseAu to that effect and vows the projects will only happen if his buy-American mandate is met. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, March 1, 2017, British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament. The British government appears to be facing more opposition to its plans for leaving the European Union, as it seems likely Tuesday March 7, 2017, that Parliament's unelected House of Lords may pass an amendment to require Parliament to approve Britain's exit deal with the EU. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, FILE)
Eni SpA E has concluded a farm-in agreement with Total SA TOT to purchase a participating interest of 50% of Block 11, offshore Cyprus.



Total will retain the operatorship of the block. The agreement has been approved by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus. Through this deal, Eni gained the right to explore an area of 2,215 square kilometers adjacent to the massive Zohr discovery in the Egyptian offshore.



The Republic of Cyprus had given the rights on Block 11 to Total in 2013 at the end of the second international bid round held by the country. The exploration well is anticipated to be drilled in the Block within 2017.



We note that this transaction has further strengthened Enis position in the country. The agreement is part of Enis strategy to grow its exploration portfolio in the strategic area of Eastern Mediterranean Sea.



Eni forayed into Cyprus in 2013 and has been operation in the nation through its subsidiary, Eni Cyprus Ltd., since. The company holds exploration rights on Blocks 9, 3, 2 awarded in the second round. Eni, the operator of Blocks 9, 3, 2, holds 80%, while Kogas holds the remaining 20%. Eni has also been selected, in the third competitive bid round, as the preferred bidder for Block 6 (where it operates with a stake of 50%, while Total holds the remaining 50%), and Block 8 (which Eni solely operates with 100% interest).



As indicated by Enis price chart, the prospects of the company look bright. The stock gained 5.6%, while the Zacks categorized sub industry Oil & Gas-International Integrated Market has registered 1.4% decrease in the last three months.







Eni carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the same space include Range Resources Corp. RRC and Unit Corporation UNT. Both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Range Resources posted a negative earnings surprise of 925.00% in the preceding quarter. It had an average negative earnings surprise of 216.81% in the four trailing quarters.



Unit Corporation posted a positive earnings surprise of 228.57% in the preceding quarter. It beat estimates in three of the four trailing quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 100.63%.



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FILE - This April 13, 2016, file photo shows the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. An alleged CIA surveillance program disclosed by WikiLeaks on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, purportedly targeted security weaknesses in smart TVs, smartphones, personal computers and even cars, and enabled snooping that could circumvent encryption on communications apps such as FacebookAos WhatsApp. WikiLeaks is, for now, withholding details on the specific hacks used. But WikiLeaks claims that the data and documents it obtained reveal a broad program to bypass security measures on everyday products. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2017 file photo, Protesters shout slogans during a candle light vigil calling for impeached President Park Geun-hye to step down in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea's highest court said Wednesday it will rule this week on whether impeached President Park Geun-hye should permanently step down over a corruption scandal or be reinstated, a decision that could radically reshape the country's political landscape. The signs read "Arrest Park Geun-hye." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
By James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's latest weapons test showed it can accurately fire multiple medium-range ballistic missiles, an attack strategy that experts said could test the advanced U.S. THAAD anti-missile system which began to arrive in South Korea on Tuesday. Advances in North Korea's banned missile program have also caused concern in Tokyo, where sources with knowledge of the government's thinking said a "swarm-like" attack using multiple missiles could overwhelm Japan's already stretched defenses. Images released by North Korean state media showed leader Kim Jong Un presiding over Monday's simultaneous launch of four ballistic missiles, which landed in seas off Japan's northwest. In response, the United States started the early deployment of its advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea on Tuesday, despite angry opposition from China. THAAD's job is to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile in its final phase of flight, either inside or just outside the earth's atmosphere. But with its specifications secret and having never been used in wartime, THAAD's ability to deal with a barrage of missiles at the same time is uncertain. "The use of multiple shots, timed ever-more-closely together, appears destined to rehearse saturating a defensive system by presenting it with an overwhelmingly complex radar picture," Joshua Pollack, editor of the U.S.-based Nonproliferation Review, said of Monday's launch. South Korean military and intelligence officials said the four North Korean missiles appeared to be an upgraded version of the Scud type - the "ER" or "Extended Range" Scud. "An advantage of the ER Scud over the Rodong is that the ER Scud is much cheaper," said Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies. "So North Korea can presumably build more ER Scuds to overwhelm THAAD," Lewis said. STRIKE CAPABILITY Most experts believe North Korea would likely need to fire off more than four ballistic missiles at one time to inundate a THAAD battery - perhaps 10, according to Michael Elleman, a U.S.-based rocket expert with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "I would be disappointed to learn that four attacking missiles would overwhelm THAAD," he said. Manufacturer Lockheed Martin declined to comment. "The specific number of threats (THAAD) can engage at once is classified, but we have successfully demonstrated the ability to engage multiple targets," Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross said. A greater concern than multiple Scud-type missiles would be if North Korea proved the ability to fire simultaneous salvos of other types of missiles that could carry heavier payload, said one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. North Korea theoretically had enough launchers to send at least 36 ballistic missiles of various types at the same time, said Joseph S. Bermudez, a strategic advisor at Allsource Analysis Inc and contributor to the 38 North Korea monitoring project. To counter that risk, South Korea, Japan and the United States have installed layers of different missile defenses that can work together to reduce the threat. "If all three nations and their assets are integrated  and they can be integrated, there are systems for doing that  then the system has a synergy that is quite remarkable," Bermudez said. In addition to the new THAAD system, South Korea also operates a Patriot PAC-3 missile defense system while Japan is upgrading its PAC-3 defenses and mulling a shore-based version of the Aegis missile-defense system used on Japanese ships. North Korea's actions have also prompted discussions in Tokyo about THAAD, which, because it is already in operation with the U.S. Army, may be an easier-to-deploy alternative to the Aegis system. (For a graphic on THAAD compared with other missile defense systems, click http://tmsnrt.rs/2mDHPnl) REGIONAL TENSIONS A deployed THAAD battery comprises four parts: The truck-mounted launcher; eight anti-missile "interceptors" which can destroy an incoming missile; a radar system, and a fire control system which connects the battery to U.S. military commanders. "The number of interceptors is limited, and the number that one THAAD system could handle at once is limited, too," said Markus Schiller, a rocketry expert based in Germany. "THAAD has fared well in tests, but has not been used in real combat, under real conditions," Schiller added. It is THAAD's sophisticated radar, which according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is the "largest air-transportable x-band radar in the world", that has spurred tensions with China. Once fully deployed in South Korea, a THAAD battery could theoretically use its radar to see and monitor activity beyond North Korea, deep into Chinese territory. Russia also worries the deployment could compromise its security, and said it would lead to a stalemate on the Korean peninsula. Separately, Moscow has criticized a ballistic missile defense shield which the United States has activated in Europe as a step to a new arms race. U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement accompanying the announcement to start deploying THAAD in South Korea that the system is "strictly defensive" and poses "no threat to other countries in the region". The U.S. military released grainy neon-green night vision video which showed a military transport plane delivering two THAAD trucks to Osan Air Force Base in South Korea. So far, only the "first elements" have arrived, with the rest due to arrive by April, Yonhap news reported. The planned location for South Korea's two THAAD launchers in the rural county of Seongju means Seoul is outside of their protective range. But with so much conventional North Korean artillery pointed at the South Korean capital, just 40 km (25 miles) from the North Korea border, Pyongyang could carry out its threat to turn Seoul into a "sea of fire" by using only its Soviet-era guns. (Additional reporting by Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO, Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and David Brunnstrom, Idrees Ali and Mike Stone in WASHINGTON; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Lincoln Feast)
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A new boys' grammar could open in Sevenoaks by 2019, a school governor has said.

The Weald of Kent School girls' annexe is on track to open in time for the new school year, but the chairman of governors said there was "the possibility" for a boys' provision within two years if the law changes to allow new grammar schools.

The news comes just after Chancellor Philip Hammond announced extra money to fund new free schools, including grammars, in today's (March 8) Budget.

Weald of Kent Grammar School chairman of governors David Bower said: "Firstly, we are obviously proceeding as if there won't be any change in the law, at least for the time being.

"That's why we got involved with the annexe rather than starting a new school  as it is girls only at Tonbridge  and the Education Secretary ruled we could not have a new grammar school, it could only be an annexe of the existing one."

He said the annexe in Seal Hollow Road, which is being built by Kent County Council, has the intention of allowing six forms of entry but Weald of Kent is only admitting three forms of girls when the annexe opens in September.

And this leaves the door open for the other half of the school to be occupied by a boys' grammar.

"There will be nothing until we have a partner to work with in the boys' part  and we would have work out how to manage it  but if the law changes next year, there is the possibility of admitting boys by 2019," Mr Bower added.

Weald of Kent is also aiming to open a sixth form at its Sevenoaks site, which will likely admit boys as the Tonbridge campus 10 miles away already does this, within the next two years.

'Extra options'

But KCC's cabinet member for education and health reform Roger Gough said he "cannot put a specific date" on a boys' grammar coming to Sevenoaks.

"We will continue to look to do it as soon as we possibly can," he added.

"There is demand for both selective and non-selective places due to the rising number of children coming through primary school, and clearly there is a need over the next few years to ensure there is increased grammar provision in West Kent  and Sevenoaks is to be part of that.

"What we have heard in the last 24 hours is another step along the path. If the legislation changes in the future it gives us some extra options."

The Conservative politician said a future facility for boys would most likely involve a partnership with another grammar school to fill the other half of the annexe.

'Unfair'

Sarah Shilling, who launched the Sevenoaks Grammar School Campaign six years ago, said: "Until there's a law change, nothing is going to happen.

"Theresa May can say she is promising as much money as she wants, but she needs to get the new law through the House of Lords.

"We are halfway there as the girls are sorted. At the moment the problem is we don't have a boys' grammar school willing to expand into Sevenoaks  but if the law is passed it won't be a problem as Weald of Kent could possibly run the annexe as an academy.

"My son just did the Kent Test and passed, and all the girls in his class who passed can now go to a local school in Sevenoaks. But he still has to travel. How is that fair?"

Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed a one-off payment of 320 million in his Budget for 140 new free schools, on top of the 500 already pledged to be created by 2020.

Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to reveal her formal grammar school proposals this spring.

'The next step'

Sevenoaks MP Michael Fallon, a Conservative Party politician, said: "This extra money demonstrates the Government's commitment to creating new grammar schools.

(Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

"I look forward to seeing more information about the details of the new policy in the next few weeks.

"Having already secured a girls' grammar annexe, a boys' grammar is the next step and I am working closely with KCC to achieve it.

"With a change in the law, I am confident that we will be able to further widen choice for parents and pupils in Sevenoaks in the next few years."

The Weald of Kent School annexe is two thirds of its way through its build and project managers say it on budget and on time to open in September this year.
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By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union cannot yet assess how much Britain should be asked to pay Brussels when it quits the bloc, as much will have to be settled by negotiation, the EU's chief auditor has told European lawmakers. In a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday, the president of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), Klaus-Heiner Lehne, put liabilities to be covered by future budgets that are mostly funded by member states at 344 billion euros (298.08 billion pounds). But he declined to calculate how much Britain's share of that EU figure should be. EU officials preparing to negotiate a Brexit treaty once Prime Minister Theresa May files for a formal divorce this month cite a working hypothesis that London may have to pay up to 60 billion euros to cover outstanding commitments before leaving in 2019. That is close to 17 percent of the ECA's total EU figure and so is similar to Britain's share of the whole EU economy. However, Lehne, a former EU lawmaker from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right party, said the British share could only be worked out after the Brexit negotiations. "Regarding an evaluation of the proportion of the figures that would correspond to the UK," he told European Parliament budget committee chair Ingeborg Graessle in a written reply to questions from the committee. "We are currently not in a position to answer as any calculation would depend on numerous assumptions, which may be part of any discussions that ensue." An ECA spokesman declined comment on the letter, which among other details showed a need for 64 billion euros over time to cover pension and other benefits due to EU employees. EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker warned Britain last month that it faced a "very hefty bill" on leaving. With last year's vote for Brexit fuelled in part by arguments over the roughly 10-billion-euro a year cost of Britain's EU membership, London is expect to argue for paying as little as possible. Brussels officials have said their priority this year is to agree at least how the final calculation will be made -- leaving exact figures to be worked out only at the end. (Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
FILE PHOTO - Visitors look at a nuclear power plant station model by American company Westinghouse at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2014 in Le Bourget FILE PHOTO - Visitors look at a nuclear power plant station model by American company Westinghouse at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2014, the trade fair event for the global nuclear energy sector, in Le Bourget, near Paris October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

By Douglas Busvine

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A deal to build six Westinghouse nuclear reactors in India is still alive, but to be viable must be ring-fenced from a financial crisis at the U.S. reactor maker and its Japanese parent Toshiba Corp, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Westinghouse would only provide reactors for the six AP1000 units to be built in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It would not carry out civil engineering work to build the entire project - an approach that led to cost overruns at its projects in the United States.

Toshiba last month booked a $6.3 billion charge arising from those overruns, forcing it to put its core flash-memory chip business up for sale and pull out of building nuclear power plants abroad.

Despite the financial crisis, Westinghouse CEO Jose Gutierrez flew in to India last week for talks with state-run National Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy that reports to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said two people who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We still have daily meetings and things are going to plan," said one, echoing comments to Reuters on Feb. 17 by India's atomic energy secretary Sekhar Basu.

Westinghouse and NPCIL did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment.

U.S.-INDIA NUCLEAR COOPERATION

Modi and former U.S. President Barack Obama made finalizing the multi-billion-dollar reactor deal by mid-2017 the centerpiece of their Washington summit last June.

That deadline will probably slip but, in an industry inured to lengthy talks, some participants now suggest a final agreement would still be possible by the end of this year.

Closing the deal would crown a U.S.-India civil nuclear accord championed by George W. Bush that had been slow to advance because of teething troubles over liability in the event of a nuclear accident.

Now, existential doubts over the viability of nuclear power at a global level threaten Modi's ambitious goal of tripling India's nuclear capacity by 2024 to wean Asia's third-largest economy off polluting fossil fuels like coal.

Story continues

Toshiba has asked a Japanese law firm to estimate the potential financial impact if Westinghouse files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from creditors and allow it to continue operating.

Indian engineering group Larsen & Toubro, a potential partner that has signed a memorandum of understanding with Westinghouse to supply nuclear plant elements and do civil works, still views the India project as viable.

"As long as the guarantees are in place, I see no reason why this won't go ahead," Shailendra Roy, head of L&T's power business, told Reuters, without elaborating on the nature of any such guarantees.

"I don't think the financial crisis at Westinghouse will affect the execution of the project," he added. "The project is on, it is viable and that is what the government has intimated to us."

"SAFEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL"

Westinghouse advertises its AP1000 pressurized water reactor, with a generation capacity of 1,110 megawatts, as "the safest and most economical nuclear power plant available".

Yet it was the same reactor that was the source of its financial problems in the United States, and construction of a fleet of AP1000s in China has also faced delays.

Critical to managing costs is ensuring that any overruns on the construction side of the project would be borne by contractors and not Westinghouse, as is the norm in India, one of the sources said.

And, while technical negotiations have reached an advanced stage, more work is needed on the commercial side of the deal that would include financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

U.S. ExIm, though, has lacked a quorum on its board of directors, preventing it from issuing loans over $10 million, and the attitude of new President Donald Trump's administration to the India reactor deal remains unclear.

Those are grounds enough for scepticism, say some nuclear industry experts and sources in India.

"I doubt that NPCIL will finalize a deal until there is clarity about Toshiba's exit, and who the new project manager would be," said Rakesh Sood, a former disarmament negotiator and now a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

For a Graphic on "Nuclear power plants in India", click: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/1/2082/4013/INDIA-WESTINGHOUSE.jpg

(Additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes and Aditya Kalra; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
General Motors Company GM has recently inked an agreement with French automaker, PSA Group, for the sale of its Opel/Vauxhall subsidiary and GM Financials European operations. The transaction, valued at 2.2 billion (around $2.3 billion), is expected to close in end 2017, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

Terms of the Agreement

The Opel/Vauxhall business has been valued at 1.3 billion which will be acquired by PSA Group. The GM Financials European business has been valued at 0.9 billion, 0.8 times the pro forma book value, will be jointly acquired by PSA Group and BNP Paribas. The two companies will acquire the business under a newly formed 50-50 joint venture.

Per the agreement, General Motors or its affiliates will subscribe warrants for 0.65 billion with a nine-year maturity. The warrants are exercisable five years after the issue date. The warrants correspond to 39.7 million shares of PSA Group, or 4.2% of its fully diluted share capital, based on a 20-day volume-weighted average share price as of Feb13. However, General Motors will not have any voting rights or governance and has agreed to sell the shares within 35 days of the exercise of the warrants.

Obligations related to the pension plans of the Opel/Vauxhall business in Europe and U.K., with the exception of German Actives Plan and selected smaller plans, will remain with General Motors. The German Actives Plan and other the selected smaller plans will be transferred to PSA Group, for which General Motors will pay 3 billion.

In relation to the deal, General Motors will take a largely non-cash special charge of $4$4.5 billion.

Benefits to General Motors

General Motors Opel/Vauxhall business has remained unprofitable over the last few years. With the sale of its European businesses, the company intends to focus on its core automotive business and development of new technologies. The company will retain its engineering centre in Torino, Italy.

Story continues

Through the sale, the company is working toward its transformation goals. The company has delivered excellent performance in terms of sales over the last three years and has projected a strong outlook for 2017. Moreover, General Motors will be increasing its share buybacks, with an aim to repurchase shares worth $5 billion this year, as part of its commitment to repurchase $8 billion worth shares.

Benefits to PSA Group

On the completion of the transaction, PSA Group will become the second largest automotive company in Europe, with an expected 17% market share, after Volkswagen VLKAY. The company expects significant economies of scale as well as synergies in purchasing, production and research and development. Annual synergies of 1.7 billion are expected by 2026, with a large part achieved by 2020. The company also expects Opel/Vauxhall to generate positive operational free cash flow by 2020.

PSA Group will own over 12 Opel and Vauxhall production facilities which employ roughly 40,000 persons. Though management has not specified any layoffs but apprehensions remain as the company is looking to reduce costs. PSA Group stated that cost cuts are expected through improved logistics, quality, energy, maintenance and security.

Price Performance

General Motors underperformed the Zacks categorized Automotive-Domestic industry in the last three months. Share price of the company increased 4.4% over the period while the industry saw a 7.1% increase.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

General Motors currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Other favorably placed companies in the auto space include Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. ALSN and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. FCAU. Both stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Allison Transmission has a long-term growth rate of 11%.

Fiat has an expected long-term growth rate of 21.70%.

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The Laredo Independent School District has released numbers showing the amount of students who received a flu shot through their flu clinics.

L.I.S.D. says they set goals this year and they are happy with the results.

Close to 10,000 L.I.S.D. students are protected from the flu this year, which is nearly 40 percent of all of the students in the district.

According to the report that is almost 5,000 more students than last year.

Health coordinator Grace Lopez says they were able to start earlier than usual this year since the shots came sooner than expected.

While she says no shot is 100 percent effective, she mentions that the shot can help ease the symptoms and speed up the recovery.

Lopez also adds that she's already meeting with her team to help reach more students next year.

The flu clinics are over for this year but they are encouraging anyone who still wants one to visit the Laredo Health Department.

Experts say if you are sick you can prevent others from getting sick by covering your cough and washing your hands thoroughly.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Gunmen wearing white lab coats stormed a military hospital in Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The attack on the 400-bed military facility, located near two civilian hospitals in Kabul's heavily-guarded diplomatic quarter, set off clashes with security forces that lasted several hours.

The brazen assault reflected the capability of militant groups in Afghanistan to stage large-scale and complex attacks in the heart of Kabul, underscoring the challenges the government continues to face to improve security for ordinary Afghans.

Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said there were "more than 30 killed and more than 50 wounded" in the attack. Afghan forces battled the attackers floor by floor, he added. The ministry said the attackers were dressed like health workers.

According to Waziri, four gunmen were involved, including two suicide bombers who detonated their explosives vests once the group was inside the hospital.

The two other attackers were shot dead by security forces, the spokesman said. A member of the security forces was killed in the shootout and three other security officers were wounded. Along with the suicide vests, the attackers also had AK-47 rifles and hand grenades, Waziri said.

Obaidullah Barekzai, a lawmaker from southern Uruzgan province, said Wednesday's attack by the Islamic State group and other similar assaults, especially in the capital, are very concerning.

"This is not the first attack by the Islamic States group, they have carried out several bloody attacks in Kabul," he said.

The U.N. Security Council condemned "the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack" in the strongest terms and underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors to justice.

Council members reiterated that "any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed." They urged all countries "to combat by all means ... threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts."

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The assault lasted for several hours, with Afghan helicopters circling over the hospital building, troops rappelling onto rooftops and security forces going floor-by-floor in a gunbattle with the attackers. By mid-afternoon, the attack was over and a clean-up operation was underway.

Abdul Qadir, a hospital worker who witnessed the attack, said an attacker in a white coat shot at him and his colleagues. Ghulam Azrat, another survivor, said he escaped through a fourth floor window after attackers killed two of his friends.

IS claimed the attack in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency.

An affiliate of the extremist group has carried out a number of attacks in Afghanistan in the last two years, and has clashed with the more powerful and well-established Taliban, who carried out another complex attack in Kabul last week.

Mohammad Nahim, a restaurant worker in Kabul, said he worries that IS militants are getting stronger. "Daesh has no mercy on the humanity," he added, using an Arabic name for the group.

Afghan security forces have struggled to combat both groups since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to an advisory and counterterrorism role.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned Wednesday's attack during an address in honor of International Women's Day, calling it "an attack on all Afghan people and all Afghan women."

The foreign ministry in neighboring Pakistan condemned the Kabul attack, describing it as a "heinous terrorist attack" and expressing Islamabad's condolences to the victims.

The acting U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, Adele Khodr, warned in a statement that hospitals, medical staff and patients "must never be placed at risk, and under no circumstances be subject to attack" and urged all parties in the conflict to abide by and "respect all medical workers, clinics and hospitals in compliance with international law."

She said that in 2016, at least 41 attacks on health care facilities and workers were recorded across Afghanistan  "an appalling catalogue of attacks that ultimately further hinders delivery of essential and life-saving health care to all Afghans across the country."

___

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
It is not known how many babies and young children died at the Home which operated from 1923 until it closed in the mid fifties.

In an extract from the Register of Deaths seen by the Kilkenny People there is a record of a three-month-old child who died at the home in February 1949 from enteritis.



The Commission has been established to investigate the experiences of mothers and children in 14 Mother and Baby Homes and a number of County Homes between 1922 and 1998.

A confidential committee has also been formed and is meeting with anyone who was a resident or worked or had specific knowledge of the homes.

Under its terms of reference, one of the Commission of Investigations tasks is: To investigate post-mortem practices and procedures in respect of children or mothers who died while resident in these institutions, including the reporting of deaths, burial arrangements and transfer of remains to educational institutions for the purpose of anatomical examination.

Thomastown is one of the four County Homes being examined by the Commission and burial arrangements for unmarried mothers and resident babies/children of unmarried mothers there must also be investigated.

The Commission will also be examining treatment of unmarried mothers and their children in the Thomastown home from 1922-1952.

Following the discovery that 796 babies and young children died at a Mother and Babies Home in Tuam, it is expected that similar excavations will be carried out at other large mother and baby homes.

A spokesperson for the Adoption Rights Alliance, who advocate for equal human and civil rights for those affected by Ireland's closed secret adoption system said that it is not yet known whether the four county homes will be included in any excavations.

All that can be said with any certainty at this stage is that the possibility of excavations cant be ruled in or out, she added.

It is not yet known how many unmarried mothers and babies were in the Thomastown County Home.

The former workhouse became St Columbcilles county home in 1923 and continued to take in unmarried mothers and their children as well as the homeless and destitute. Many unmarried pregnant women gave birth in the home and their children went to the convent school in Thomastown, unless they were adopted.

The county home took in people from a wide area that included Thomastown, Callan and Dunamaggin. The building was a county home until the 1950s. In 1957, it became the present St Columbas Hospital and has cared exclusively for the elderly since.
One of Ireland's biggest musical talent searches, the Le Crunch Apple of My Eye Song Contest, renewed its search for more hidden Irish talent in 2017.

Running over the last seven weeks and resulting in hundreds of entries from across the country, ten semi-finalists have now been chosen to go through to the next stage.

John Madigan from Mullinavat and Michael Grace from Piltown are members of the six piece band, The Willows, which made it through to the semi-finals and are in with a chance of picking up a cool 1,500 prize.

The band are hoping to get the general public behind them over the next week and see them through to the final five where they will perform at Whelans in front of a packed live audience on March 23.

Among the judges this year are Niamh Farrell, front woman of HamSandwich, Peter Dunne, organiser of the BARE in the Woods Festival and Paddy McKenna from RTE and JOE. The public have the opportunity to vote for their favourite cover version through the Le Crunch Apple website www.ouitolecrunchmusic.com. Voting is open until midnight on Friday March 10, when the five finalists will have a chance of walking away with a share of the 2,500 prize fund.

For more see www.ouitolecruncmusic.com
Cooperating

Commercial and industrial enterprises, scientific institutions and visiting researchers, private donators and sponsors: the scope of potential cooperations with the KIT is large.

From the 150 scientific institutes of the KIT arise research-based technologies, products and processes. They offer innovative solutions for large-scale, medium-sized and small-scale industry of all sectors. The technologies at the interface of science and economy are close to the market and economically advantageous.

In the field of innovation as well as in research and teaching the KIT collaborates with strong partners: in scientific networks, in alliances with numerous universities and research institutions all over the world.

Enterprises and private sponsors support the KIT: with donations, grants and foundations they enable the expansion of activities in research, teaching and innovation and make a promising investment in the future of the KIT.
SHANGHAI, March 8 (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Finance auctioned 20 billion yuan ($2.90 billion) of 5-year bonds in the interbank market on Wednesday at average yields of 3.0265 percent, above market expectations, traders said.

Market forecasts had centred around 3.01 percent and ranged from 2.95 percent to 3.07 percent.

The auction yield also came in below Tuesday's benchmark secondary market yield of 3.0387 percent for 5-year government bonds .

For stories on Chinese debt issues, click on .

($1 = 6.8985 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
BEIJING, March 8 (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday it would auction 20 billion yuan ($2.90 billion) in 7-year bonds on March 15. After the auction, the bonds will be issued from March 15 to March 16, and start trading in the secondary market on March 20, the ministry said in a statement. For stories on Chinese debt issues, click on . ($1 = 6.8998 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
* LME copper stocks nearly double since Thursday

* Chine copper imports tumble in February

* Mine disruptions in Chile, Indonesia help support

(Updates prices)

By Pratima Desai

LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Copper rose on Wednesday as funds closed positions betting on lower prices, but a higher dollar, lower imports of the metal by top consumer China and rising inventories were expected to weigh.

Benchmark copper on the London metal Exchange traded up 0.4 percent at $5,797 a tonne in official rings. A day earlier it hit a one-month low of $5,759 per tonne.

Traders said funds were cutting short positions after copper failed to break below $5,755, the low from Feb. 2, on Tuesday.

Growing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike rates next week have boosted the U.S. currency, which when it rises makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies, which could mean weaker demand. "The Fed appears determined to raise rates next week," said Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig. "But it may still depend on data, particularly the non-farm payrolls."

The U.S. monthly jobs report due on Friday includes non-farm payrolls, which are expected to rise by 190,000 in February. They come before the Fed meets on March 14-15. Copper imports to China -- accounting for nearly half of global consumption estimated at around 23 million tonnes this year -- totalled 340,000 tonnes in Feb, down 10.5 percent from January and down 19 percent from a year ago. "China remains key and we project moderate demand growth this year, mainly from the power sector," Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said in a note. "

Stocks of copper in LME approved warehouses at 288,525 tonnes have nearly doubled since last Thursday. Most of the deliveries were to warehouses in Asia, which traders say suggest the metal came from China.

However, mine disruptions in Chile, Peru and Indonesia are supporting prices. One disruption is a strike at the Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, in Chile. "After 25 days (of strikes) we can expect lower production already by some 95,000 to 100,000 tonnes, which naturally will go on rising while the strike is prolonged," Chile's Mining Minister Aurora Williams said.

Aluminium rose 0.7 percent to $1,888.50, zinc gained 0.6 percent to $2,709, lead added 0.4 percent to $2,243, tin was up 0.1 percent to $19,400 and nickel slid 0.7 percent to $10,560.

PRICES

Three month LME copper Most active ShFE copper Three month LME aluminium Most active ShFE aluminium Three month LME zinc Most active ShFE zinc Three month LME lead Most active ShFE lead Three month LME nickel Most active ShFE nickel Three month LME tin Most active ShFE tin <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Latest from GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Editing by Keith Weir and Jason Neely)
DENIZLI, Turkey, March 8 (Reuters) - The foreign exchange positions of companies in Turkey are important for price and financial stability and are being closely monitored, Central Bank Governor Murat Cetinkaya said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a business conference in the western city of Denizli, he said the long maturities of the real sector's foreign exchange debts is a factor limiting risks. He said the central bank would strengthen its efforts to closely monitor the real sector for permanent price stability.

(Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu and Ece Toksabay; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler)
(Adds outlook, background, share movement)

March 8 (Reuters) - Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc swung to a pretax profit in 2016, helped by strong output at its Inmaculada mine in Peru and a more favourable pricing environment.

Silver prices recovered last year with an about 15 percent gain while gold rose nearly 9 percent. The metals are also forecast to post their strongest year since 2014, benefiting from stronger industrial demand and attraction as a safe-haven investment amid political and economic uncertainties. Hochschild, which has mining operations in Peru, Chile and Argentina, said it expected to produce 37 million silver equivalent ounces in 2017 after exceeding its production estimates for 2016.

The company's production last year was 35.5 million silver equivalent ounces. It had expected to produce 35 million ounces. "In 2017, a further increase in output is expected with the new Pablo vein starting production and continued investment in our brownfield exploration strategy," Chief Executive Ignacio Bustamante said in a statement on Wednesday.

Hochschild reported a pretax profit of $108.3 million, compared with a loss of $256.2 million a year ago. Revenue rose to $688.2 million from $469.1 million last year. All-in sustaining costs (AISC), the total cost of sustaining production and capital expenditure, for the year was $11.20 per silver equivalent ounce, compared with its expected range of $11-$11.50. For 2017, it expects AISC to be in the range of $12.20-$12.70 per silver equivalent ounce.

The company's net debt declined to $187.4 million as at Dec. 31, from $350.5 million a year earlier.

Hochschild said its 2016 performance reflected the first full-year of production from its flagship Inmaculada mine, improved contributions from its Arcata mine and the increase in silver and gold prices last year.

The Inmaculada mine output was about 17 million silver equivalent ounces, accounting for nearly half of the company's 2016 silver output.

A Reuters poll in July showed analysts expected silver to average $17.09 per ounce this year, compared with an average of $15.68 in 2015. Hochschild Mining shares fell 3.1 percent to 224.1 pence by 0845 GMT. Spot gold prices fell to 1,213.3 per ounce, their lowest since Feb. 3. Silver fell 0.7 percent.

(Reporting by Tenzin Pema and Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair and Gopakumar Warrier)
News.com.au reports:

NORTH Korea has banned Malaysians from leaving the country until the incident that happened in Malaysia is properly solved.

There are reportedly nine Malaysian nationals in the communist country who will be unable to return home as the investigation into Kim Jong Nams murder continues.

Mr Kim, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was killed in Malaysia last month.

In the latest shot fired in a growing diplomatic row between the two Asian nations, the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, reported the ban would stay in place until Pyongyang was satisfied the case was solved.
Why Congress Goes for the "Gold" When They Sign Up for Obamacare

House Republicans Monday night unveiled their long-anticipated plan to repeal much of the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a conservative, market-based approach that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) guaranteed would drive down health insurance costs, spark competition and provide every American with access to quality, affordable health insurance.

The plan, more than six years in the making  including highly secretive talks during the past week involving top House GOP leaders, powerful conservative factions, Republican governors and the Trump Administration  seeks to achieve several central goals of the party.

Related: 3 Basic Problems Holding Up the GOP Obamacare Replacement Plan

It would finally eviscerate Obamacares much reviled individual mandate that requires Americans to purchase insurance or pay a penalty. It would phase out by 2020 expanded Medicaid benefits to poor people in 31 states and the District of Columbia. It would eliminate a requirement that larger companies provide health insurance for their workers.

And it would replace Obamacares premium subsidies for low and middle-income people with a refundable tax credit plan that would help many more Americans buy insurance on the open market. All but wealthier Americans would qualify for set premium supports ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 a year, with the highest support level going to older people who generally have higher premiums and medical costs than younger, healthier people.

Obamacare is a sinking ship, and the legislation introduced today will rescue people from the mistakes of the past, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the House Majority Leader, said in a statement.

The GOP alternative approach would also embrace ideas that have been aired repeatedly by Ryan, GOP policy analysts and President Trump himself, including tax-exempt health savings accounts, allowing insurers to sell their policies across state lines, and creation of so-called risk pools in every state to help provide coverage for hard to insure older and sicker people.

Story continues

Related: How 3 GOP Senators Could Stop Obamacare Repeal in Its Tracks

Finally, the plan would preserve two of the most popular features of Obamacare  the ban on insurance companies discriminating against applicants with pre-existing medical conditions and a provision allowing children to remain on their parents health care policies through age 26.

And yet for all the Republicans complaints about Obamacares soaring premiums, shrinking choices of health insurance plans and onerous mandates and rules, they have finally come up with a plan that is highly flawed and woefully incomplete  and lacking in vital details as to how much it will cost and how many Americans will be able to hang onto their insurance.

The House Republicans American Health Care Act creates a new set of winners and losers among consumers, with younger, healthier and wealthier people faring much better than under Obamacare while older, sicker people doing less well.

This is the result of a combination of factors, including a new tax credit premium subsidy plan that benefits a much broader income group than does Obamacare, as well as changes that would allow insurers to charge more than they can now for health care policies in the individual market and scale back the benefits they must provide.

The Republican approach would also jettison an Obamacare stricture preventing insurers from charging their oldest enrollees, in their 50s and 60s, any more than three times what they charge their youngest customers. And consumers who have a lengthy break in their health insurance coverage  either because they lost their jobs or decided to do without coverage for a while -- could be slapped with a steep 30 percent surcharge when they seek to purchase a new policy.

Related: Boehner Started Laughing When Republicans Vowed to Replace Obamacare

In the aggregate, these changes could be advantageous to younger and healthier enrollees who want skimpier (and cheaper) benefit packages, noted Sarah Kliff of Vox. But they could be costly for older and sicker Obamacare enrollees, who rely on the laws current requirements.

House and Senate Democrats have shown no indication they will support a Republican repeal and replacement effort, and they immediately denounced the House GOP plan as a serious setback in federal health care policy. Trumpcare doesnt replace the Affordable Care Act, it forces millions of Americans to pay more for less care, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said in a statement.

Among the most glaring problems of the House GOP replacement plan:

The tax credit had to be scaled back so much to placate conservative critics that its not likely to be able to match or even come close to the tax subsidies provided to low and middle-income people under Obamacare.

Related: A First for Obamacare: Majority of Americans Now Support It

Unlike Obamacare, which provides premium subsidies based on income to low and moderate income people, the House GOP plan would make the tax credit available to individuals earning up to $75,000 a year and couples making up to $150,000. Younger Americans would qualify for tax credits of between $2,000 and $2,500 while older people in their 50s and 60s would qualify for credits of between $3,500 and $4,000.

While on the face of it, older Americans would fare best of all, their higher tax credits would be offset by having to pay much higher premiums than before under Obamacare. Moreover, the 9.4 million people currently receiving premium subsidies through Obamacare exchanges get on average $291 per month or a significant portion of the $386 per month average premium for people who obtained coverage through Healthdcare.gov. Critics warn that many people would have a hard time under the GOP subsidy plan finding insurance in the private market that they could afford.

Related: Its High Time for Tax Reform, but the Republicans Are Doing It Wrong

Many conservative Republicans and outside groups have opposed refundable tax credits, largely because people with lower incomes, who pay less in income taxes, would receive the full credit even if it exceeds their tax bill. Conservative critics including Sens., Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), have dismissed the refundable tax credit as Obamacare Lite and want it stricken from any final replacement plan.

Republican leaders have yet to find a way to finance their program because business leaders and conservative groups complained too much about a proposal for raising tens of billions of dollars by imposing a cap on a highly generous tax exemption for employer-sponsored health care policies. In the short term, Republicans will leave in place a handful of Obamacare tax increases that have long been criticized by the GOP. Those include taxes on insurers, hospitals, drug companies and even tanning salons.





Theres no way of telling at this point how much the plan will cost or how many people are likely to lose their coverage. Thats because the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation have yet to complete their analysis of the plan. GOP leaders appear willing to forge ahead with committee action on their plan this week, even without the analysis.

Democrats are clamoring for evidence that the GOP approach would result in millions of Americans losing their health care coverage in the coming year or two, and want to see the CBO report first. The American people deserve to see what Republicans are trying to do to their health care, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said.

Related: Trumps Lofty Vision of Renewal Comes with a Huge Price Tag



The GOP bill includes what some moderate Republicans consider a poison pill  a one-year elimination of federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood to placate the partys influential anti-abortion forces. Although federal law prohibits Planned Parenthood from using federal funds and grants for abortion services, abortion foes argue that the federal funding is fungible and might end up indirectly supporting abortions.

Finally, the American Health Care Act would permit the 31 states with expanded Medicaid benefits for childless adults and others to continue that coverage through January 2020 when the program would be frozen and then gradually phased out. This represents a victory for the 15 Republican governors whose states opted for the expanded, federally funded Medicaid who fought to prevent an immediate end to the program.

However, some moderate Republicans are not satisfied with the compromise and are vowing to oppose the plan unless they are assured that Medicaid would be spared major cuts or converted into block grants or per capita payments to the states. On Monday, four Republican senators signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying that an earlier draft of the House GOP plan did not adequately protect people from losing their expanded Medicaid coverage.

The senators - Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska - threatened to oppose the legislation unless that Medicaid coverage was preserved. Any two of them could stop the legislation in its tracks once it reaches the Senate by opposing the measure on the floor.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), one of the companies developing the futuristic transport service dreamed up by billionaire Elon Musk, said it was exploring Indonesia as a potential site to put one of its tracks.

The so-called "feasibility study" contract is worth $2.5 million and will look into whether a hyperloop system would work initially in the capital Jakarta, and then connecting Java and Sumatra.

A hyperloop would work by propelling pods through a large tube at speeds of 750 mph using magnets. It is seen as a solution to long distance travel, but also alleviating congestion in many cities. Jakarta is the world's third-worst city for traffic, according to a study by navigation from TomTom released earlier this year.

"Indonesia, and Jakarta in particular, is one of the most densely populated areas in the world," HTT Chairman Bibop Gresta said.

"With traffic and congestion being such a big issue there, the Hyperloop will be a welcome transformation for the region."

HTT said that a hyperloop journey from Jakarata to Yogyakarta would take approximately 25 minutes, compared to nearly 10 hours via car.

The feasibility study in Indonesia comes on the back of a number of other key agreements globally for HTT, including looking into a track between Bratislava, Slovakia and Brno and Prague in the Czech Republic. HTT has also been exploring the possibility of a hyperloop in Abu Dhabi .









More From CNBC


By Yoon Ja-young

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp. (KHNP) will put more emphasis on safety to advance into the global market amid a changing nuclear power industry, its CEO said Wednesday.

"Technology is an essential part of becoming a global nuclear power company," KHNP CEO Lee Kwan-sup said. "Gaining trust by sticking to principles is also crucial."

The former vice minister for industry, trade and energy has been leading the country's nuclear power plant operator since November.

He said despite KHNP's accomplishments in the global market, including a nuclear reactor operation deal it signed in the United Arab Emirates, there have been increasing safety concerns in Korea following earthquakes that hit the southeastern part of the country last year.

"When considering the obligation to cut carbon emissions and economic factors, nuclear power generation based on safety should continue playing a huge role," Lee said.

The Seoul Administrative Court recently ordered the nuclear safety regulator to cancel its decision to extend the operation of the Wolseong-1 reactor in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, after nearby residents filed a lawsuit.

But the nuclear safety regulator appealed. KHNP also plans to participate in the lawsuit as a third party because it is closely tied to the operation. According to the company, it invested 560 billion won to upgrade the facility and enhance the reactor's safety.

"Based on our 40 years of experience in nuclear power plant construction and operation, we are rising as a global player," Lee said. He expects KHNP to become a "formidable candidate" in the global market with the successful completion of the UAE reactor currently under construction.

According to the World Nuclear Association, about 170 nuclear power plants are expected to be built by 2030, mostly in Asia and Europe, to meet emissions commitments and increasing energy demand.
Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho, left, shakes hands with American Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman James Kim before their meeting at the Government Complex in central Seoul, Wednesday. // Courtesy of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance



By Nam Hyun-woo



Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho stressed Wednesday the significant contributions of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) in increasing the two countries' mutual benefits, in an apparent effort to soothe the Trump administration's protectionist moves against Korea.



During his meeting with American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) Chairman James Kim, Yoo stressed that the volume of bilateral trade has "significantly increased" after the agreement took effect in 2011.



"The KORUS FTA has made a significant contribution in creating jobs and industrial progress in both countries," Yoo said. "Along with the Korea-U.S. alliance, the agreement positioned itself as one of two pillars of the two countries' relations."



The remark came after U.S. President Donald Trump's harsh rhetoric that the agreement is "killing American jobs." He also pledged to renegotiate the agreement.



Yoo also spent time explaining that Korea's currency policy is letting the market set the exchange rate and engaging in exceptional smoothing operations in case of extreme volatility. The remark came amid growing fears that Trump may take issue with the Bank of Korea's foreign exchange policy and list Korea as a currency manipulator.



"I hope the Korean government's plan and stance will be well delivered to the new administration, congress and private sector," Yoo said.



Regarding the United States' increasing trade deficit in Korea-bound trade, Yoo said the government will seek "balanced trade" by increasing energy resources imports, such as shale gas. Also, he promised to provide more support to Korean companies looking for infrastructure investment opportunities in the United States.



The government last year announced that Korea Gas Corporation will import 2.8 million tons of shale gas from the United States every year. According to government officials, it will amount to $1 billion. They added that the volume is "huge" given that Korea's entire LPG imports in 2016 were worth $1.22 billion.
2017 F/W Hera Seoul Fashion Week Executive Director Jung Ku-ho, left, and Fashion & Creative Industry Division Director of Seoul Design Foundation Kim Yun-hee talk during the press conference at Dongdaemun-Design Plaza in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul Design Foundation





By Kim Jae-heun

After the first launchers of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile defense system arrived in Korea, Monday, tension between China and Korea is escalating rapidly.

Seoul Fashion Week, Korea's largest fashion festival and trade show, has been obtaining 60 percent of its orders from Chinese buyers so far.

Jung Ku-ho, executive director of Hera Seoul Fashion Week, said Chinese economic retaliation seems to have had little impact on the country's largest fashion event as the number of Chinese buyers visiting Seoul is expected to be unaffected this year. The Chinese buyers normally constitute one third of all foreign buyers.

"I had a meeting with popular Korean fashion designers yesterday and they told me their sales depend a lot Chinese market," said Jung during the press conference at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, Wednesday. "It is good news, but at the same time, bad news. The numbers of contracts with Chinese buyers aren't decreasing currently; but China is definitely the biggest sales market for us." According to Jung, over 200 buyers from China will visit Seoul Fashion Week from March 27 to April 1 at the DDP.

"I am not that worried about Chinese economic retaliation against Seoul Fashion Week as it promotes a market for small-sized businesses. An annual sale for an individual fashion designer is less than 10 billion won ($8.73 million). The hottest designers now sell only three to four billion won. It is such a small amount for China to make it an issue politically," said Jung.

"However, you never know what can happen and I hope its retaliation doesn't extend any further," added the executive director.

Jung's term as the executive director for Seoul Fashion Week expires this season and he said he has not yet decided to extend it. However, he stated that Korean fashion festival must keep promoting local designers abroad, more and more, even if he leaves the position.

The director has been inviting some 150 influential foreign press members every season. They include Vogue International editor Suzy Menkes, fashion critic Diane Pernet and popular British fashion blogger Susanna Lau, also known as Susie Bubble, to widely promote young promising fashion designers during his two-year term.

"The amount of orders made here between Korean designers and foreign buyers is increasing every season. The most important thing is promoting excellent Korean designers in the world and to showcase their clothes where people gather. In order to do that, we now have to focus more on quality of design and dress," Jung said.

"Japan already produced over 10 worldly popular fashion designers in the 80s and the same for China. For the Korean fashion industry to grow, we need to have more than 10 established world-class designers and in order achieve this, we need as much promotion as possible," he said.


By Lee Han-soo

Dramatic CCTV footage shows the last moments of Kim Jong-nam's life. The video begins with Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

As Kim moves toward a ticket machine, the suspects are shown hovering in the vicinity. One woman suddenly approaches Kim from behind and holds something, possibly a poisonous spray or cloth, over his face.

Kim and the woman wrestle for a short time, and soon afterwards the women casually disappear into the crowd. Kim flags down an airport staff member and explains that he has been attacked. Kim shows no symptoms of being poisoned as he is escorted to the medical clinic.

However, it is known that he started to show symptoms inside the clinic and died on the way to the hospital.
Malaysia will send its police officers to Macao Thursday to collect DNA samples of the son of Kim Jong-nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother who was assassinated in Kuala Lumpur last week, media reports said.

Chinese-language newspapers in Malaysia, China Press and Sin Chew Daily reported that the Malaysian police will send three officers to Macao on Thursday morning to gather DNA samples from 22-year-old Kim Han-sol.

The Malaysian officers will collaborate with the Interpol in Macao and their trip will reportedly last for two days.

Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and half-brother of the incumbent leader, was assassinated with what a Malaysian investigation said was poison by North Korean agents at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last Monday.

The Malaysian police called on Kim's family to come to the country and undergo a DNA test to retrieve the body which is now kept in a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, but no one has come forward so far, possibly due to assassination fears.












Pyongyang rebuffs Malaysian police investigation result

By Jun Ji-hye

North Korea denied its involvement in the death of Kim Jong-nam, Thursday, calling Seoul's claims that Pyongyang was behind the incident a conspiracy against the North.

In its first official comment on the murder, North Korea also accused Malaysia of having infringed on its sovereignty and human rights, rebuffing the results of the Malaysian police's investigation into the case.

Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was killed after being poisoned by two women as he was preparing to board a flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Feb. 13. At least eight North Korean nationals were involved in the assassination, according to Malaysian police.

The North, however, has called the case the death of "a citizen of the DPRK bearing a diplomatic passport" through its Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), without mentioning the name of Kim Jong-nam. It said the person "fell into a state of shock before boarding an airliner and died on the way to a hospital in Malaysia."

Since the case broke out, the North has been claiming that the person who died was not Kim Jong-nam but a diplomat named Kim Chol.

The South Korean government said it is "certain" that the victim was Kim Jong-nam, considering video footage and the fact that he had used the alias of Kim Chol many times.

The KCNA said after the incident, Malaysia's foreign ministry and the hospital "confirmed he had died of a heart stroke and decided to transfer his body to the embassy exercising its right to consular protection of DPRK citizens."












The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a press statement strongly condemning North Korea's recent multiple missile launches, South Korea's foreign ministry said Wednesday.



The statement approved on Tuesday (US time) in an emergency UNSC meeting in New York expressed grave concerns over Pyongyang's "increasingly destabilization behavior" and prodded the country to comply with UNSC resolutions banning its ballistic missile launches, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and news reports.



The unanimous adoption came even as the U.S. and China, two of the five permanent UNSC members, are at odds over the deployment of the advanced American defense system THAAD in South Korea.



The North fired off four ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from near its northwestern Dongchang-ri missile site on Monday. Three of them are said to have landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone.



The latest launch was timed with the ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States. The North has long denounced the annual exercises as a rehearsal for a northern invasion.



The press statement stressed that UN member countries should redouble their efforts to implement Resolution 2321 and 2270, both adopted last year at the UNSC to dry up North Korea's foreign currency income believed to finance its nuclear weapons development, according to the ministry.



The UN document also called on the North to stop further violations of UNSC resolutions including the prohibition of nuclear tests, the ministry said.



The North is barred from testing ballistic missiles or nuclear activities under multiple UNSC resolutions. The recent missile launch came weeks after its test-fire of a new type of an intermediate range missile on Feb 12.



"Our government appreciates all UNSC members' efforts, including from China and Russia, for the prompt announcement of the council's resolute stance on the North Korean provocations," the ministry noted. (Yonhap)




The Supreme Court said Wednesday it has upheld lower courts' decision to dismiss a request from a group of progressive lawyers for the protection of a group of 12 former North Korean restaurant workers who defected to South Korea last year.

Members of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society, or Minbyun, filed a petition in May last year demanding they be allowed access to the former employees of a North Korean restaurant in China to ascertain if their defections were forced or voluntary.



The 12 employees, all women, and one male manager worked at a North Korean restaurant in China before arriving in Seoul in April 2016.

Pyongyang has claimed that Seoul's spy agency lured them, calling for an immediate repatriation, but South Korea said that they defected on their own free will.

South Korea's district and appellate courts rejected Minbyun's petition, saying the North Koreans already left their resettlement center in the South last summer and there was no evidence or circumstances indicating their freedom was restrained.

The Supreme Court endorsed the lower courts' decision this week, saying Minbyun's petition doesn't constitute a legal proceeding and the previous rulings contained no legal misinterpretation. (Yonhap)
Senior defense officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan on Wednesday condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches and agreed to coordinate on how to deal with its provocations, the defense ministry said.

Wee Seung-ho, deputy minister for policy, held a video conference with David F Helvey, US assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, and Satoshi Maeda, director general for defense policy.



They strongly condemned the North's ballistic missile test on Monday as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions which prohibit the country from carrying out launches using ballistic missile technology, the ministry said in a statement.



They also underscored that the North's missile program poses a "grave threat" to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, and vowed to strengthen trilateral cooperation to counter Pyongyang's military ambitions.



On Monday, Pyongyang test-fired four ballistic missiles, which Seoul's military assumed to be "improved versions" of Scud missiles, toward the East Sea in an apparent protest against the ongoing military drills between Seoul and Washington. (Yonhap)








By Lee Han-soo, Park Si-soo



Are family members of assassinated Kim Jong-nam in a safe place? If yes, where are they and how did they get there?



A YouTube clip suggests that at least Kim's son, Han-sol, is alive, quelling concerns over his safety following his father's assassination, allegedly engineered by North Korea, at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Airport on Feb. 13. Since then, Kim's family has been considered the next target of assassination.



"My name is Kim Han-sol, from North Korea, part of the Kim family," a black-haired Asian man says in a YouTube clip posted Tuesday. "My father was killed a few days ago. I'm currently with my mother and sister and we're very grateful to... and we hope this gets better soon."



The man showed his passport as proof. But the section containing personal information was blurred when the man brought the passport close to the camera. The clip was posted by Cheollima Civil Defense  a civic group helping North Korea defectors  with a short message: "To North Korean people."



It is unclear when and where the video was recorded. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that the National Intelligence Service verified the man to be Han-sol.



The reason he is appearing in the video is also unclear.



Since Kim's death, Han-sol has been one of the Malaysian police's most wanted men, because his father died with a fake passport identifying him as "Kim Chol." Police have tried to confirm the dead man's identity with a DNA sample from Kim's children, but none have come forward.



In a statement posted with the clip, Cheollima Civil Defense said the clip would be the "first and last statement on this particular matter and the present whereabouts of this family will not be addressed."



The civic group expressed gratitude to the Netherlands, China, the United States and an unnamed "fourth government" for helping move the family. It showed particular gratitude to Ambassador A.J.A. Embrechts, the Netherlands ambassador to South and North Korea.




Lee Jong-yul, fourth from right in the front row, chairman of the International Education Exchange Association (IEEA) Global Campus, poses with students who have embarked on a one-year course with the institution and guests during the institution's 2017 entrance ceremony at COEX, southern Seoul, March 2. Other participants are Mark Canning, cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy, and Martyn Miller, interim assistant vice president of Temple University. / Courtesy of IEEA Global Campus



By Chung Hyun-chae



Over 110 high school graduates and university students have joined the International Education Exchange Association (IEEA) Global Campus program in preparation for studying at U.S. universities next year.



They attended the program's 2017 entrance ceremony at COEX, southern Seoul, Thursday.



"I recognize the one-year course will be tough," Korea Times President-Publisher Lee Chang-sup said during the ceremony. "I can guarantee all of you will become global talents after successfully finishing the English program and going to American universities next year."



The IEEA Global Campus is an educational institution working with the IEEA, a nonprofit corporation that received accreditation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008.



With the help of the association, all students have already been accepted to one of the institution's 20 partner universities in the United States.



They include Temple, Georgia State, Washington State, Central Washington, Utah State and Southern Utah universities, the State University of New York and California State University, San Marcos.



The students will attend one of the American universities after completing the program.



So far, about 2,000 students have completed the institution's English training course called Proficiency of English for Academic Purposes (PEAP) and been admitted to U.S. universities.



"One of the benefits of studying abroad is exposure to English. If you are going to be a global citizen and work internationally, English is essential. Studying in the U.S. gives students a chance to really polish up their English," said Mark Canning, cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.



Canning took part in the event to congratulate the students embarking on the English program.



Young Hee Koo, commercial specialist of the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy, also participated in the event.



Besides them, four school officials from three of the universities attended the event to welcome the new students.

They are: Martyn Miller, interim assistant vice president at Temple University; Jacob NK Ng, executive director of global affairs at Southern Utah University (SUU); Sean Heiner, chair of the Aviation Sciences Department at SUU; and Mary Sasso, director of the International Center at the College of Southern Nevada.



"It is pleasure to be able to welcome Korean students to Temple University," Miller said during the event. "You will find everything that you need there."



The students in the pilot program will have flight training as exchange students at Hanseo University's flight training facility located at Chino, California.



"Korea's airline industry has a big demand for qualified professional pilots with fluent English communication skills and this pilot program will be an ideal program to produce needed highly qualified professional pilots for the industry," said Mathew Kim, external affairs director of the association.



Lee Gun-in, 25, who was accepted to SUU's pilot program, has a dream of becoming a police officer working for the airlines.



"During my service with the Air Force, I developed a desire to join the aviation police," Lee said. He said he wants to work for Chinese or Arabian airlines.



"I am a little older than the other students because I already served in the military. I am so excited that I am one step closer to my dream."
Riot police confront protesters during a rally in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday, against the planned deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery there. The first batch of the THAAD components arrived here, Monday. / Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo

China is intensifying retaliation against South Korea over Seoul's decision to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, while maintaining a dubious stance on North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, analysts said Wednesday.

Beijing's "two-faced" policy toward the two Koreas is evident in the current row over the deployment of the THAAD system here.

The analysts said China's retaliation is ultimately intended to show off its power in the region to U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and that Seoul should be ready to better cope with Chinese policies depending on Washington-Beijing relations.

Regarding North Korea, China apparently has been reluctant to fully exercise leverage on the isolated regime in line with South Korea's calls. Yet it has been infuriated over Seoul's decision to host a THAAD battery aimed at deterring Pyongyang's ballistic missile threats, according to experts.

They said Beijing also has been dubious in its policy against trade protectionism  Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Trump over tariffs and other protectionist measures the latter talked about, while at the same time Beijing instigated an apparent ban on South Korean businesses and their products in retaliation to the deployment.

China appears to be self-contradictory as well in picking on South Korea instead of the U.S., considering its argument that the THAAD deployment is a part of the U.S. strategy to build a missile defense system encompassing the Korean Peninsula and contain a rising China.












US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit South Korea next week on his first trip to the region that will also take him to Japan and China, the State Department announced Tuesday.



Tillerson will be in Tokyo on March 15-17, Seoul on March 17-18, and Beijing on March 18, the department said.

"In each country, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior officials to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including strategic coordination to address the advancing nuclear and missile threat from the DPRK, and reaffirm the Administration's commitment to further broaden and enhance US economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region," the department said in a statement.



The trip comes amid heightened tensions in the region in the wake of North Korea's successive missile launches and the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



While in Seoul, Tillerson is scheduled to hold talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se about how to deal with North Korean nuclear and missile threats as well as to further strengthen the alliance between the two countries.



The meeting with Yun comes after a 20-minute conversation held in Bonn, Germany, on the sidelines of a gathering of foreign ministers from Group of 20 nations last month. That was the first face-to-face talks between the top diplomats of the two allies under President Donald Trump's administration.



Government sources in Seoul said that arrangements are being made to share the results of the second meeting either through a joint statement or press conference.



Tillerson is also expected to visit a US military base or the truce village of Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border during his trip to Seoul in an apparent gesture to reaffirm the steadfast alliance between South Korea and the US. (Yonhap)




By Kim Bo-eun



The Ministry of Education said Wednesday it will extend support for the growing number of multiracial students, by designating schools to help them develop their language skills.



"The ministry will designate areas with large numbers of multiracial students as special global education zones," Education Minister Lee Joon-sik said in a briefing, at the Seoul Government Complex.



Schools with a high proportion of multiracial students will be designated as pilot schools for foreign language education and will have autonomy in drawing up and running their curricula.



The measure comes as part of comprehensive plans to narrow the education disparity between income groups.



A household survey conducted last year showed households with a monthly income of 6 million won and above spent over 10 times more on children's education than households earning less than 1 million won a month.



"A distinct gap exists between income groups in entering university, which lasts in landing jobs and ultimately in income," Lee said.



Among those in need of assistance are a growing number of multiracial children who have difficulty adjusting to school due to the language barrier, cultural differences and social prejudice  which in many cases leads to dropouts.



According to ministry data, the dropout rate of multiracial students in 2015 was 0.85 percent, which is higher than that of Korean students at 0.77 percent.



The students cited difficulty getting along with other students as the biggest reason (64.7 percent), but the second most widely cited one was that they were unable to adjust to their studies (45.2 percent), according to a survey by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family last year.



Schools with large numbers of multiracial students are sometimes shunned by teachers and in some cases Korean students transfer to other schools due to difficulty in the classroom in getting multiracial students engaged.



As a means to tackle this problem, the ministry said it will increase the number of kindergartens for multiracial children teaching Korean language and fundamental academic skills from the current 60 in 12 cities and provinces to 90 in 17 cities and provinces across the nation.



The ministry will develop a manual for the kindergartens and distribute them by February next year.



It will also expand the number of classes for children and teenagers who come to Korea after growing up abroad. The classes will teach Korean language and culture to help them adjust to school here.



Students at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies will start providing mentoring in the children's mother tongue.



Since the only law related to education for multiracial children is on the process for school transfers, the ministry is reviewing setting up a separate law or making revisions to existing ones to establish legal grounds for its plan.








Lee Hyeon-seo talks about her experience escaping from North Korea to South Korea in front of Korea International School (KIS) students at the school's campus in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 20. / Courtesy of KIS



By Sarah Se-jung Oh





Dazzling lights shimmered in the distance. What seems like an array of suns lined up and sparkled like twinkling stars across China. Though the brightness was a forbidden scene for some, Lee Hyeon-seo found inspiration, a motivation for her leaving North Korea for an unforeseeable future.



The Korea International School (KIS) held its second annual Human Rights Week in which students focused their efforts on one specific type of social justice.



This year, KIS selected a long-standing issue in Korean society: North Korean rights.



In an effort to further empower students with knowledge and trigger their passion to apply their learning to the world, students had the opportunity to listen to Lee and Park So-keel.



Lee, a North Korean defector who is now an activist in South Korea, gave students a first-hand account of what she experienced as she escaped from North Korea to South Korea.



She claimed that the term "human rights" is a novel term to her because it is not something North Korean civilians are allowed to possess. In fact, they are entitled to no basic human rights due to the tyrannical Kim Jong-un.



She additionally told the students that one prevalent method of sustaining North Korean's reverence towards the Kim family is through the manipulation of textbooks to contain false information.



Furthermore, her message proposed ways for students to take part in this issue. She argued that students like us can support NGOs who in turn help those who attempt to cross the border, which is the only tangible channel for North Koreans.



However, she cautioned us that we should avoid working directly with the North Korean government since it can create misunderstanding. Her speech also underscored the importance of South Koreans to understand the extensive time required for the gap between the two entities to unite.



Park, a researcher at the Liberty in North Korea organization, brought another perspective to the issue, informing the audience that it is vital for South Koreans to prepare for the day when North Korea decides to open up.



Nevertheless, Park strongly believes that North Korean refugees are the "holders of their own problems" as they are the only ones who have the capacity to move in and out of the country and make a change.



One of his main messages is that we have the responsibility to aid them in realizing that they are crucial in bringing justice to North Korea.



"While helping them out, we also need to have an understanding of their culture and customs in order to preclude unnecessary failures and friction."



Like Lee, Park maintains that to help alleviate the problem, students can join organizations or spread awareness through any other means, whether that is at the local or international level.



As students, we may assume that we are incapable of making an impact on our world. Yet the two guest speakers at KIS proved to students that there are vast amount of actions available.



As one student expressed, they provided students the opportunity to reflect on the incentives to take initiatives themselves.



Lee and Park have inspired us to use the resources available to cooperate with one another and believe that we are remarkable people, heading towards the twinkling lights beyond the limits.





The writer is a 10th grade student at KIS
By Jun Ji-hye

The radar system for a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery is expected to arrive in South Korea this month as the two countries speed up deployment of the system, a government source said Wednesday.

The comment came after the first batch of equipment, including two missile launchers, arrived here Monday night.

"Components needed to set up the THAAD unit will be gradually arriving here," the source was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. "As far as I know, the radar will also arrive as early as this month to undergo operational testing."

A THAAD battery consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors (eight per launcher), a fire control and communications unit, and an AN/TPY-2 radar.












By Lee Han-soo





Kim Dong-seon

The youngest son of Hanwha Group's chief received a suspended jail term Wednesday for drunken violence.

Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim Dong-seon to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and 80 hours of community service.

Kim, the son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, was charged with assaulting bar employees and obstructing police while drunk on Jan. 5.

"The collected evidence proves that the defendant committed a serious crime," Judge Lee Jong-woo said in a ruling statement. "The court decided the ruling after taking into consideration that he acknowledged his wrongdoing and expressed regret over the action."












By Lee Kyung-min

Fury erupted, Wednesday, over a district court ruling that handed down Kim Dong-seon, 27, a suspended prison term for assaulting bar employees and damaging a police vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kim to eight month in prison suspended for two years. He was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service.

The youngest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn was arrested and charged with assault, destruction of public property and obstruction of business.

Video footage released earlier showed Kim jumping over a bar table, punching a bartender in the head, slapping him in the face and pulling his hair in a bar in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, Jan. 5. Kim cursed at the employee for not coming to him immediately after he asked him to.












By Kim Se-jeong





Ed Royce

The statue was erected in 2013 in Glendale, California, in remembrance of the estimated 200,000 female victims mainly from Korea, China and the Philippines before and during World War II.Ed Royce, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California, denounced Japan, for its continuous efforts to remove a girl statue symbolizing sex slaves for the Japanese troops from his state.

"Sadly, some in the Japanese government continue to deny the existence of comfort women or the plight they suffered at the hands of the Imperial Army," Royce said in a letter which was read out loud by his colleague in front of the statue Tuesday (local time). Comfort women is a term Japan uses for the sex slavery victims.

"It is equally egregious that the Japanese government continues to support efforts to force Glendale to remove this memorial to hundreds of thousands of victims of military sexual slavery. This is unacceptable and I will continue to work with you to fight for justice and recognition for the victims of these abuses."

Japan's first suit against the city of Glendale came in 2014. Japan, along with Japanese descendants, claimed the city's move disrupted the U.S. government's foreign policy and relations with Japan.

In 2015, the district court in California dismissed the case, and the appeals court in 2016 upheld the district court's ruling. In January, the case was brought to the U.S. Supreme Court where the Japanese government filed an Amicus brief. According to news reports, Japan claimed the issue affects its "national core interest" in the brief.

Glendale also filed a brief asking the court to deny the petition.

The girl statue also represents 39 survivors living in Korea. Some are actively seeking Japan's apology and reparations, so far unsuccessfully.

The statue in Glendale was a result of the victims' efforts to raise awareness of the atrocities committed by the Japanese military. The statue was also possible thanks to Royce who spearheaded the campaign to pass House Resolution 121 in 2007, urging Japan to apologize and make reparations to the victims.

"No issue is more important to me than the fight for human rights. It's our duty to always defend free speech and seek justice on behalf of the victims of human rights abuses, both past and present," Royce said.

In Korea, a statue pushed diplomatic discord with Japan to a new level recently. The new statue in Busan angered Japan so much that it recalled its top envoy to Korea. Japan claimed new statues are unacceptable under a 2015 agreement to "resolve the issue" but the Korean government said the statues were placed by non-governmental groups.
President Park Geun-hye's home in Samseong-dong, Seoul, where she lived before becoming president / Korea Times file



By Kim Rahn

As the Constitutional Court's decision on President Park Geun-hye's impeachment is nearing, public attention is heaped on what she will and can do right after the ruling.

If the court upholds the impeachment, she will be immediately removed from office and be deprived of presidential immunity.

There is no detailed regulation about exactly when the ruling takes effect, but legal experts generally agree that it will be when the verdict is read. So, Park will become a "former" president right after the ruling.

Then she will have to vacate her residence in Cheong Wa Dae. However, without a precedent, there are no clear guidelines about when she has to leave, and this may cause an argument if she stays there longer than people think she should.












Leading presidential contender Moon Jae-in, left, talks with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a presidential hopeful from the second-largest opposition People's Party, during a ceremony to mark International Women's Day at Seoul City Hall, Wednesday. / Yonhap





By Kim Hyo-jin





Moon Jae-in, the leading opposition presidential hopeful, is taking flak from conservatives after he raised questions about the timing of the arrival of some U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery equipment.

The critics said Wednesday that Moon's position is only serving the interests of China and North Korea at a time when a resolute unified voice is needed against them.

On Tuesday, Moon reiterated that any decisions on the deployment should have been left to the next government.

"I don't understand why the government is doing it this way," Moon, the former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), told reporters.

"I believe the next government can make a rational decision that meets the interests of security and the economy through consultations with the U.S. and China. Speeding up the deployment will only leave little room in diplomacy for the next government."

Moon has said repeatedly that the deployment lacks public consensus.

DPK Chairwoman Choo Mi-ae, who is considered an aide to Moon, bristled at the government's move to hasten the deployment procedure.

"The move is intended to make it impossible for the next government to even review the plan," she said Wednesday.

Choo said she will ask the government to seek parliamentary approval and demand the convening of a National Assembly committee to discuss the issue of "procedural transparency."

However, the conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP) claimed Moon is not qualified as a presidential candidate as he disregards national security by sitting on the fence at a critical moment in the THAAD deployment.

"His ambiguity might be working for the interests of North Korea or China but it causes uneasiness among the public," LKP floor leader Chung Woo-taik said.

"There's nothing scarier than a presidential candidate who opposes a military option for self-defense running in the race."

Former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon directed his criticism at Moon, too, arguing his "strategic ambiguity" leaves the political realm divided.

It offers China an excuse to flex its muscle through economic retaliation in opposition to THAAD, he said.

"It is pathetic that opinions in politics are fragmented," Ban said. "THAAD is a representative security issue. On such an issue, both the ruling and opposition blocs should have one voice."

Some DPK members also criticized Moon.

Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung, another DPK presidential contender, urged Moon to clarify his position, saying, "A political leader should be able to persuade the public. As a presidential hopeful he should let the public know his opinion and be assessed by them."

Moon has claimed the decision-making process of operating the THAAD battery itself can be "diplomatic leverage" between Beijing and Washington.

Choi Jong-kun, a Yonsei University professor in Moon's think tank, backed him by saying the Park Geun-hye administration's rush to deploy the anti-missile system propelled Beijing's retaliation.

"The strong-headed approach to the Chinese government allows us little room for negotiation," Choi said.
By Shim Jae-yun





A few days ago, I had difficulty in using my old desktop computer. I tried all possible measures but failed to get the machine to return to normal. My last choice was unplugging and resetting it, which finally fixed it.

Like the computer, now it seems Korea Inc. desperately needs resetting. Entangled with diverse knotty problems, the nation faces a murky future without any signs of a clear solution to the difficulties. A bone of contention has been the much-disputed impeachment of embattled President Park Geun-hye.

The nation has seen division between pro- and anti-Park protesters ahead of the imminent ruling on her impeachment by the Constitutional Court. The early deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery will surely add fuel to the flaming conflict.

Park's attorneys have been proclaiming her innocence, citing she never violated the current laws. The President's supporters appear to believe their assertion makes sense. But beyond any legal dispute, the impeachment of a head of state is a political decision. And it needs broader consideration for the sake of the national interest from a long-term perspective.

Worse still, Park seems unaware of the seriousness of the current problems and her responsibility for them. The counsel team concluded she colluded with her confidant Choi Soon-sil to receive a huge amount of money from Samsung Group.

It appears Park still adheres to the 1970s when her iron-fisted late father, the former President Park Chung-hee, ruled the nation. She may believe her father built the chaebol or conglomerates, including Samsung, and it is natural for her to receive money from them.

Park refused to have face-to-face meetings with her aides, only depending on Choi in much of the affairs of state. Unable to understand the livelihood of ordinary people, she refused to listen to and accept opposing voices. Given this, nobody around her has ever dared to tell the truth because it would eventually cost them their positions. This has made them only try to read her mind; not having national security and the people's livelihood at heart.

The tragic Sewol disaster revealed the accumulated problems over the past decades since the national foundation in 1948. And such have again surfaced via the current political scandal involving Park and Choi. Impeachment can be a chance to reset the nation so it can effectively cope with the rapidly changing environment at home and abroad.

Korea Inc. faces a grave challenge from the rapid onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. What we call "hell joseon" fever is still dominating the life of young people. We are suffering from unemployment, economic disparity, aging and a declining population, and environmental hazards such as fine dust.

The nation will continue to suffer insecurity and confusion for a considerably longer time even after the court makes its final decision. Many seem to expect the court to uphold the impeachment and permanently expel Park from her post. But if Park continues to resist and tries to maintain influence by mustering support from her loyalists, she will likely maintain a high profile attitude in support of the presidential candidate from the ruling camp, in the hope he will later save her from this debacle of her own making.

The court could possibly make a different ruling by rejecting the impeachment. This might be a nightmare, as it will anger the candlelit rally participants. Their rallies have been peaceful thus far but could turn violent if the court rejects the impeachment, possibly threatening the security of Cheong Wa Dae.

The people have displayed a high degree of civility in the rallies without resorting to violent behavior. They kept order and cleaned the square where they protested, wowing citizens of the world. The Constitutional Court needs to make a wise decision in consideration of the wishes of the people.
By John Burton





When North Korea launched its new solid-fuel medium-range missile on Feb. 12, the U.S. cable news networks immediately gave the event full-blown coverage. They portrayed the launch as the first serious foreign policy test for the new Trump administration, highlighting the fact that the president was entertaining at that very moment Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the southern White House in Florida.

Speculation was rampant whether the unconventional and mercurial Trump would take some type of dramatic action in response to what seemed to be a clear provocation by Pyongyang. Instead, Trump declared that he was "100 percent" behind Japan and left it at that.

Trump's mild response was even more surprising since analysts had been predicting for weeks that North Korea was likely to challenge the Trump administration with a missile launch or nuclear test. Since then Trump has continued to adopt a largely passive attitude on North Korea despite his hardline rhetoric.

"Obviously North Korea is a big, big problem and we will deal with that very strongly," he recently told a news conference. But the only action he has taken so far has been to block a planned back channel meeting between North Korean officials and U.S. experts in New York. He even failed to mention North Korea in his first address to Congress despite warnings that its nuclear program represents his most urgent foreign policy problem.

The reality is that the Trump administration is unlikely to focus much on North Korea unless something dramatic happens, such as Pyongyang conducting a ICBM launch, which Trump vowed "was not going to happen!."

It is a rule of thumb that the White House (or any government, for that matter) cannot deal with more than four or five major issues at the same time. The Trump administration's plate is already quite full. It is focusing on three key domestic issues  ending Obamacare, tightening immigration controls and tax reform  while battling an escalating scandal over links between the Trump election campaign and Russia. In addition, the administration appears to be more interested in fighting ISIS in the Middle East when it comes to foreign policy.

In addition, the Trump administration's management style appears to be particularly chaotic despite the president's claims during the campaign that he would bring efficient business practices to government. Key positions in the foreign policy and national security team remained unfilled outside of the top spots.

Meanwhile, the domestic problems confronting the Trump are only likely to grow worse, distracting the president from fashioning a coherent policy on North Korea. Ask any expert in Washington what the president's policy will be on North Korea and they will frankly reply that they still haven't a clue. It seems that the default position, for the time being at least, will be a continuation of President Barack Obama's "strategic patience" stance on North Korea.

Indeed, Trump appears comfortable with maintaining the status quo. He has abandoned campaign talk that he would withdraw U.S. troops from Korea and Japan unless their governments paid more in shouldering defense costs.

Sticking to a traditional policy toward Northeast Asia would also reduce the chances that Trump might try to slap import duties on Korean products or renegotiate the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement as some have feared in Seoul.

One uncertainty, however, is how would Trump deal with a more leftist government in Seoul should the opposition win the next presidential election since the new government would favor a less hardline approach to Pyongyang.

Trump also needs to improve relations with China if he is to get more help from Beijing to curbing North Korea. It is noteworthy that the new administration has failed to follow up on China's important move to stop coal imports from North Korea for the remainder of this year, which Pyongyang swiftly condemned. Beijing appears to be expecting the Trump administration to reopen talks with North Korea now that China has temporarily applied pressure on Pyongyang.

But for the moment at least, the Trump administration appears to be woefully unprepared to deal with a major security crisis on the Korean peninsula. White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon's talk of the "deconstruction of the administrative state" threatens to deplete the ranks of seasoned policy experts in government, leaving a vacuum in terms of measured leadership. Moreover, the administration is failing to name nominees to important subcabinet posts, where most of the work is actually done.

The situation is frightening the foreign policy establishment. "They are starving the beast,' letting the government die from neglect," a former State Department official told me. "Come April, this becomes manifest in a draconian budget that reduces capabilities across the agencies, aside from the Defense Department."

So Trump appears willing to put North Korea in his inbox without taking immediate action for now, but what happens when the president  bereft of professional advice  faces a real crisis on the Korean peninsula?





John Burton, a former Korea correspondent for the Financial Times, is now a Washington,. D.C.-based journalist and consultant. He can be reached at johnburtonft@yahoo.com.
Dyson Founder and Chief Engineer James Dyson introduces the intelligent hairdryer Supersonic and its V9 motor. / Courtesy of Dyson



By Yoon Sung-won



Establishing a global home appliance manufacturing business is not a simple task. It requires not just business minds for profit but also ceaseless pursuits for technological innovations.



As a founder and chief engineer, James Dyson has led his namesake company to global success with leading developments in its unique motor technologies.



"I am an engineer at heart," Dyson said in an interview with The Korea Times. "It is not a particular category that interests me but the approach to inventing things that matters. This is why an experimental approach of trial and error is so crucial _ trial-and-error _ and try again with a different approach."



Under Dyson's leadership, the company has developed multiple megahit home appliances from bag-less vacuum cleaners, cord-less stick vacuums, blade-less fans and hairdryers.



Such new inventions did not come easily. Dyson said he went through thousands of failures developing the motors, which almost drove his family into bankruptcy.



"Our 5,126 failures are very memorable episodes with lots of tears and sweat. I had my house hooked to the bank and was living on the edge of bankruptcy. My wife had to support the family by teaching art," he said. "The fun thing is you never really know what working on one problem may lead to. Often it can become the solution to something completely different and very exciting."



Under the concept of "form follows function," Dyson said the company considers design only as a part of its products. Based on this policy, Dyson's research, design and development (RDD) center hires engineers and scientists instead of industrial designers, according to the company's founder. Throughout the company, about a third of its 7,000 employees worldwide are engineers and scientists.



"Good design is about how something works, not just how it looks," he said.



Dyson was born in a middle-income family in North Norfolk in Britain in 1947. He studied at the Royal College of Art in the 1960s and started his career as an engineer at an engineering company named Rotork.



"Both my parents are classics teachers, and as a teenager I studied the classics but I had a love of painting on the side," the 69-year-old engineer said. "I stumbled into engineering when I was studying design at the Royal College of Art, taking a course on architecture and structural engineering."



Dyson said he decided to start his own company, inspired by British engineer Jeremy Fry.



"He refused to fund a project I had in mind but offered me some work in design. I ended up working on a high speed landing craft _ the Sea Truck," he said. "I started with a plank of wood and had to turn the concept into a working boat. Under him, I learned the Edison approach _ making prototype after prototype until I got it right."



When he founded Dyson in 1993, its first product was the world's first bag-less vacuum cleaner named DC01. On the back of its massive hit in the global market, it has been highly praised as "the biggest hit product in Britain after the Beatles."



Motor innovation



At the center of inventions at Dyson is its heavy concentration on research and development (R&D) of core technologies. Even though it started as a latecomer in the global electronics industry, Dyson pushed to develop its own motors, called Dyson digital motors (DDM), to use them for its devices.



The Dyson chief engineer highlighted the concept of "lean engineering" at the center of the company's R&D philosophy.



"Lean engineering is to do more with less. We stick with this principle from the drawing board to the production line and to the shop shelf," he said. "Say, rather than adding material for strength, we look into the design and geometry to find other solutions to make the material stronger. It means we use far less material, it means the products are lighter and use less energy, which means we can put in more technology. That's what engineers do."



The company has invested over $360 million in building new DDMs. It runs a motor manufacturing facility named West Park in Singapore to produce more than 11 million DDMs every year.



The latest inventions of the DDM series are the V8 and V9 motors. The former operates at 110,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) and is used for its newest V8 vacuum cleaner series. The latter is a subminiature motor used for Dyson's bladeless hairdryer Supersonic.





An engineer tests Dyson's Supersonic hairdryer at the company's R&D facility in Singapore. / Courtesy of Dyson



The Dyson founder singled out the bladeless hairdryer as his favorite invention.



"It is powered by our latest, smallest, lightest and most advanced digital V9 motor," he said, "The manufacturing of the V9 is very sophisticated, we had to import a nuclear-grade cutting machine all the way from Germany to Singapore to manufacture this motor. The V9 is half the weight and one third the size of a conventional motor. With V9 motor technology, we can create a light and powerful hair dryer with its weight balanced for your hands with intelligent heat control to protect the natural shine of hair."



Besides the V9 motor, Dyson has introduced a technology called "air multiplier." It is an air projection technology that boosts the amount of air by up to 18 times. This technology has also been used for its bladeless fans, Dyson said.

Education and investment in young talented engineers has been another pillar of R&D policy at Dyson. The company has increased employment of less-experienced young college graduates.



"I started off like that," he said. "When I was in college, I started making a high speed landing craft with no experience; I have always wanted to do the same for graduates. If you get them before they go anywhere else, you can mold them as they should be without having other influences.



"I don't prefer the experienced. Experience means how something was done in the past, but we are doing new things so experience is not imperative," he said.



Dyson aims to double the size of its engineering team, which currently has some 2,000 experts, by 2020. To meet this goal, the company is striving to foster new engineers on its own by investing in education. It plans to launch what it calls the Dyson Institute of Technology at its R&D campus in Wiltshire. In this institute, young engineers can acquire their degrees in engineering while working for the company.



"Hiring the brightest minds is crucial to our growth and we don't want the UK's engineer shortage to hold us back, we are looking to double our engineering force by 2020," he said. "That's why we have taken this problem into our own hands, and opened the Dyson Institute of Technology. Some 25 passionate students will come to our Malmesbury headquarters this September earning an engineering degree while working alongside seasoned engineers inside our RDD."



Dyson is also seeking technological breakthroughs by acquiring enterprises with core technologies. In October 2015, the company acquired U.S.-based battery development startup Sakti3.



"We acquired Sakti3 in 2015 to supercharge our battery development," he said. "We share the same belief in developing core technology and together we will make the solid state battery a reality. We challenge ourselves to increase the density of today's most advanced liquid lithium ion batteries, while also being smaller, safer and longer lasting."



Korean market



Dyson highlighted Korea as an important market with many tech-savvy consumers.



"Korea is now the second fastest growing market for Dyson globally, and the growth is mainly driven by the love of the cord-free machines," he said. "Koreans are very sophisticated buyers, and love new technology and beautiful gadgets _ the Dyson Supersonic is also gaining a lot of popularity."



With its manufacturing base in Singapore, the company runs its Asian business from the country. Dyson said the company is "not going to open an office in Korea anytime soon."
KT's future business division head Yoon Kyung-rim, left, shakes hands with NH NongHyup Life Insurance CEO Seo Ki-bong after signing an agreement for joint digital healthcare insurance business at the insurer's office in central Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of KT



By Yoon Sung-won



KT and NH NongHyup Life Insurance will jointly launch digital healthcare and insurance services, the companies said Wednesday.



The former said it will combine its internet of things (IoT), big data and business know-how in the healthcare sector to the latter's capabilities in the insurance business. The two will also tap into the wearable devices market.



"Under cooperation with NH NongHyup Life Insurance, we plan to build the next-generation healthcare service model that can improve the health of the subscribers and offer economic benefits to them," KT's future business division head Yoon Kyung-rim said.



"KT will provide its best support in technology and marketing capabilities for this joint business."



Toward that end, the two signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in developing new financial technology and healthcare services as well as insurance services based on personal health data.



The agreement follows the latest trend in insurance products seeking to boost health of insurance holders and pay a part of the insurance settlement back to the subscribers.



"Under the joint research and development with KT, NH NongHyup Life will strengthen the financial technology business to secure our future growth basis," NH NongHyup CEO Seo Ki-bong said. "This will help us step up social responsibility as a life insurer that needs to promote the importance of life in an aging society."



The insurer has distributed KT's wearable Neofit device to 1,000 employees of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the National Livestock Cooperatives Federation while having monitored their healthcare achievement.



Neofit is designed to collect users' activity information and analyzes it to build a data. It automatically detects more than 100 fitness motions, according to KT. The mobile carrier said it is developing an upgraded version of Neofit.
By Lee Min-hyung



With Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates proposing a "robot tax," disputes are intensifying over whether the new taxation scheme will come at the cost of human labor.



The U.S. business tycoon called for the tax last month, underlining the raised funds from robots can be reinvested to train manpower for irreplaceable jobs such as in the medical and education sectors.



The idea, however, is raising concerns at the same time, as the robot tax may slow down companies' investment appetite and hold back innovation.



The nation's IT industry also remains poles apart over the controversial proposal.



"We need to collect taxes from robots, as they are manufacturing products and making money just like human beings do," an engineer at LG Group said. "Automation is an unavoidable trend in any given industry. One day, robots will replace most of our jobs like drones killing delivery jobs."



Companies especially in manufacturing industries will not welcome the idea, but the ongoing robot-driven automation is speeding up its penetration into our lives and replaces jobs as well as detailed roles of labor force, according to him.



"If we can collect more taxes that can be redirected to help improve our lives, this is a good idea," he said.



However, another official at the IT industry opposed its implementation for the time being, as it requires thorough reviews over how to devise different taxation methods for each robot.



"It is too early for us to implement the robot tax, as we need to set a specific taxation standard for hundreds of thousands of different robot types."



"Let's say there are hundreds of robots in a car factory," said the official. "Each robot manufactures different parts of a vehicle, and it is very tough to calculate which robots are more productive and should be levied with heavier taxes."



The official added the purpose of the robot tax sounds stunning and comes with expectations that can benefit our lives, but it is ironing out details over its implementation will not happen overnight.



"Things are even more complicated once we include robots in the software industry for the idea," she said.



Korea has yet to discuss specific legal measures over whether to introduce the robot tax, but the new proposal is talk of the IT and political town in Europe and the United States.



Benoit Hamon, a presidential candidate for France's election this year, has welcomed the idea of a robot tax as a means to offer minimum income for all the people there.




The all-new Chevrolet Cruze sedan. / Courtesy of GM Korea



By Jhoo Dong-chan

GM Korea has decided to lower the price of its recently unveiled Chevrolet Cruze sedan after unexpected delivery delays and disappointing initial orders.

According to GM Korea, the price has been cut by 2 million won, with models starting at 16.9 million won ($14,753).

"The all-new Chevy Cruze has differentiated qualities in performance, interior space and safety," GM Korea President and CEO James Kim said. "I believe the price cut will deal a refreshing blow to the nation's compact sedan market."

But industry insiders said the decision is driven mainly by disappointing orders for the Cruze since its introduction in January. In nearly two months, there were only 2,000 orders.

A GM Korea official partly admitted the claim.

"It is true that the number of initial contracts for the all-new Cruze sedan for the last two months has been slowdown," she said. "With the lowered price, however, the compact sedan model sales momentum will be boosted in the Korean market.

"The recent delay in vehicle delivery is, however, not related to the company's decision. It was just a belt-and-braces approach to ensure the vehicles' quality before they are handed over to customers."

Delivery of the Cruze resumed on Tuesday.

Motoring groups and customers welcomed GM Korea's decision.

"The model's cost effectiveness has been greatly enhanced with the price cut," a Seoul-based motor group member surnamed Park said.

"Compared with its competing models equipped with a 1.6-liter naturally aspirated engine, like the Hyundai Avante and the i30, the all-new Cruze's 1.4-liter direct-injection turbo engine has better performance and fuel efficiency. The decision is a game-changer."

GM Korea introduced the Cruze on Jan. 17. The popular sedan is the carmaker's best-selling model, with 4 million cars sold in 115 countries since its debut in 2008.

Based on next-generation compact sedan architecture developed by Opel, GM's core affiliate in Europe, the wheel base of the new Cruze has been extended 1.5 centimeters and the height 2.5 centimeters, while leg room for rear-seat passengers has been enlarged by 2.2 centimeters.

Despite its bigger size, the Cruze's empty vehicle weight is also 110 kilograms less while the body is about 27 percent stronger than the previous model, according to the official.

The carmaker's latest 1.4-liter double overhead cam (DOHC) turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces a maximum of 153 horsepower, with 24.5-kg.m torque, powers the car.

The official said the Cruze can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in 7.5 seconds and has fuel efficiency of 13.5 kilometers a liter.

The new Cruze also features advanced drive assistance systems (ADASs), including front collision alert, side blind spot alert and advanced parking assist. The vehicle's eight-inch high-definition, full-color display _ with the carmaker's MyLink Infotainment system _ offers smart navigation, while the car has a BOSE premium surround system.
BTS has been busy breaking records left and right for their latest releases and even proved that they're ready for the big leagues when they outsold the recent albums of hitmakers like Britney Spears, Fifth Harmony and even Mariah Carey. As they set out to take the world stage for their Wings tour, BTS leader Rap Monster shares the secret to the Bangtan Boys' success on the world scale.

In an interview with Idolator, Rap Monster opened up about what he thinks is the key to their popularity, even to foreign fans. He said that hard work and dedication to their craft is one of the reasons that they are slowly making a name for themselves internationally.

Rap Monster shared that since the group started in 2013, they have been very involved in their music, growing and evolving in aspects of singing, writing, producing, dancing and performing. He said they draw inspiration from the experiences of their peers from their age group, making their music very relatable especially for young people.

In terms of international appeal, he attributed their sound to western pop and hip hop roots. He said that because they want to continuously evolve, they also draw inspiration from different types of music to break cultural barriers. Their signature choreography that synchs beautifully with their songs, he said, is also what sets their performances apart from others.

When asked about what he thought about outselling popular international artists, Rap Monster humbly thanked their ARMY from all over the world for their strong show support. He said that that they are constantly driven and motivated to do better by their fans' faith in their abilities.

It can be recalled that both of the BTS' recent releases from their "You Never Walk Alone" album, "Spring Day" and "Not Today" smashed viewing records on youtube and posted fastest times to reach 30 million views on the streaming site. Aside from achieving all-kill status in Korean radio stations, "Spring Day," in particular, also took the top spot on iTunes in 13 countries and even managed to enter the top 10 of iTunes US charts, a feat that was only achieved by PSY for his Gangnam Style, Soompi reported.

BTS is currently on their "The Wings Tour; BTS Live Trilogy Episode III" which kicked off in Seoul and will take on locations like Chile, Brazil, US, Jakarta, Manila, Thailand, Hong Kong and Australia from March through May. For more information on the tour, check out Kpopstarz.
The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Ceter (JCC) in La Jolla received a fourth bomb threat on Wednesday, March 8, as the San Diego Police Department confirmed. No evacuations resulted of the threat, which was determined not credible.

Juan Thompson, a 31-year-old former reporter, was arrested March 3 in St. Louis (Missouri) on cyberstalking charges connected to the surge of anti-Semitic threats across the country, including to the Lawrence Family Jewish JCC in La Jolla. According to a statement by Southern District of New York U.S. Attorneys Office, the suspect cyberstalked a particular woman by, among other things, communicating threats to JCCs in her name.

The statement alleges that Thompson recently made eight threats to Jewish community organizations. According the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), since the start of 2017, more than 90 bomb threats have been called into Jewish institutions, including three to the Lawrence Family JCC (4126 Executive Drive) on Jan. 31, Feb. 21 and Feb. 27. The investigation into the rest of the threats remains open, with authorities stating they dont believe the suspect is behind all of them.

The case against Thompson is based on a complaint deposed by Southern District of New York FBI Special Agent Christopher Mills that details an e-mail the subject allegedly sent to the JCC in San Diego accusing the woman subject to his harassment of hating Jewish people and putting a bomb in the center at (the San Diego JCCs address) to kill as many Jews ASAP. The report alleges the e-mail was sent 10:38 p.m. Feb. 20, just hours before the evacuation of Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla.

After the threat was received, our staff practiced protocol and immediately safely evacuated the building and the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) arrived at the premises, said Lawrence Family JCC director Michael Cohen in a statement on Feb. 21.

In a different statement, issued March 3 after Thompsons arrest was made public, Cohen added, We are grateful to the authorities for their efforts and hope that very soon they will find the source/s of all the threats and are able to close the case.

SDPD media services officer Billy Hernandez confirmed to La Jolla Light that Northern Division detectives are investigating the incidents. Asked if more incidents were expected in the coming weeks or months, he replied, Its hard to say. We always have to be prepared for any situation.

For Lawrence Family JCC director Cohen, the institution is uniquely prepared to offer a safe environment for those who seek a healthy lifestyle and use its facilities.

La Jollan David Ballinger, a member of the Lawrence Family JCC who regularly swims at its aquatic center, told the Light he wasnt afraid of using the facilities. I feel fine, theyve got security there, I think theyre on top of things very well in terms of who can go through the door, he explained, adding that there is an armed guard stationed at the buildings entrance.

As a JCC, Lawrence Family is part of the Secure Community Network, an affiliate of the Jewish Federations of North America that monitors, advises and supports the safety and security of Jewish institutions. Cohen stated, In response to these recent threats across the country, we have been working closely with our local police department and national security agencies to monitor the situation and review our protocols.

San Diego City Council member Barbara Bry (District 1), who is an active member of the local Jewish community, said I am deeply dismayed by the rash of bomb threats that have occurred across the nation, and I am especially concerned about the threats made to our local JCC over the past few weeks. Bry added that after the third bomb threat Feb. 27, she dispatched a member of her staff to check on those who were evacuated to La Jolla Country Day School.

Bry, who attended an ADL security briefing at the Lawrence JCC where community members met San Diego security forces leaders to talk about the recent incidents on March 5, plans to convene a group of leaders in the Jewish community for a meeting to discuss anti-Semitism and the ways we can work together to combat it. The date and agenda for this meeting has not been announced.

SDPD agents recommend to always take threats seriously. We never know what is on the minds of the individuals making threats, wrote Officer Hernandez. Be vigilant and always be aware of your surroundings. If you see anything that is suspicious, report it to the authorities.
In preparation for the spring/summer real estate season, For Sale and For Rent self-standing ground signs are sprouting up on the corners of many streets and yards in The Village. The proliferation has led a few residents to contact La Jolla Light over the legality of the practice.

La Jolla Light reached out to community planning consultant (and resident of Bird Rock) Joe LaCava, for his expertise on the subject. Yes, he said, referring to signs in the public right-of-way. Some people think theres too much interference on the sidewalks. For others, its just too much visual clutter, especially with the mix between City parking signs, commercial signs, etc. Maybe people would be more tolerant if there was a consistency in the designs.

The San Diego Municipal Code, in LaCavas words, is silent on real estate signs. Most people interpret that to mean theyre allowed, he said.

The Municipal Code includes a section for the La Jolla Commercial and Industrial Sign Control District, in which real estate signs are not mentioned. However, it allows Freestanding Ground Signs within property lines in front yards with a setback greater than 20 feet from the street:

No part of the sign shall extend over public property or have a height exceeding 20 feet measured from the base at ground level to the apex of the sign. In the Coastal Overlay Zone, however, no part of the sign shall exceed 8 feet in height, the Code reads.

However, for LaCava, its easier than that. (For the most part) signs in the public right-of-way are not permitted, but on private property they are, he said, adding that multi-family residential development (chiefly condominiums) are allowed to put up sings directing people to the site.

La Jolla Realtors have sported a Gentlemans Agreement on real estate signs for years. The practice is not to install For Sale or For Rent signs within the 92037 ZIP code. Charles Stephens, president of La Jolla Real Estate Association (REBA), confirmed the rule.

We do have a policy with our agents and that is we do not use For Sale signs in La Jolla, he said. But if the vendor is not a member of REBA, we dont have much influence.

La Jolla resident Gale Baccaglini contacted the Light about a short-term vacation rental sign one of her neighbors posted in their front yard. Signs such as this one degrade La Jolla neighborhoods and are a slap in the face to those who are living close to short-term vacation rentals, she wrote in an e-mail.

The Light took her concerns to Michelle Aarons, owner of La Jolla Vacation Rentals Ca. (the company responsible for the sign posting), who said that in this specific case, it was the home owner and not the rental agency who requested the sign. We put signs up sometimes, depending on the location, in The Village and WindanSea we do, in other places we dont, she explained.

We have a great relationship with most neighbors and the community, and we dont want any kind of ill feeling or ill will, Aarons said, adding that most of the time whenever someone complains about a rental sign, they remove it.

Asked if she was aware of the Gentlemans Agreement not to post real estate signs in La Jolla, Aarons said she was, but thats a separate issue, because vacation rentals arent real estate, they are hospitality, were in a different arena.

The San Diego City Council has been wrestling with the short-term vacation rental issue in single-family neighborhoods for the past year. During a public debate Nov. 1, 2016 Council members voted to study a piece of legislation that would regulate whole-house year-round rentals.

LaCava said illegal sign postings in La Jolla are rarely enforced. They are just kind of tolerated. When you see Code Enforcement come out, and they dont very often, real estate signs are something they dont pay any attention to, he concluded.
Chicago people. Chicago hot dogs.

The Chicago people are coming and Greg Powers wants to provide them with the dogs they love.

Powers approached the Lake Geneva Board of Park Commissioners on March 1 with a proposal that would remedy what he sees as a shortage of Chicago hot dogs here.

A former Chicago resident, and now living in the Lake Geneva area, Powers said its hard to find a good Chicago hot dog in Lake Geneva.

Hes seeking permission to place a small hot dog food cart in Flat Iron Park.

Powers was not on the agenda, but Mayor Al Kupsik asked the board to hear out his proposal during the public comment period of the meeting.

Powers is expected to be back before the board next month.

It will be a permanent set up. It will not move, he said.

The steamer cart would dispense the skinless Vienna Beef hot dogs along with the cold condiments that go into building a Chicago hot dog, Powers said. He would also sell chips and canned soft drinks.

He said he would also be willing to listen to other suggestions.

Flat Iron Park was favored because it isnt close to any restaurants except for Sprechers, and Sprechers doesnt sell hot dogs, he said.

Powers said he would also consider taking over the Dunn Field concession stand, which sat unoccupied this summer because the former contract holder decided she could not make a go of the location.

Members of the commission warned that the Lake Geneva City Council has been less than welcoming to carts selling food in the parks. But Powers said he would be glad to take his cart proposal before the city council for a permit to operate in Lake Geneva.
WILLIAMS BAY  Ali Bond, an Illinois educator, will replace Barb Isaacson as principal at Williams Bay Elementary School.

The school board selected Bond, but cant officially approve her contract until the March 13 board meeting.

Bond, a 46-year-old graduate from Bradley University, has both a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and a Master of Arts degree in speical education, and is certified in educational administration.

Bond has worked as the director of student services in Dunlap, Illinois, School District since 2012. Previously, she was the principal and director of special services from 2004 to 2005 at Dunlap.

Bonds parents have owned a farm in Elkhorn for more than 40 years. When she saw the vacant principal position for Williams Bay, Bond said she was instantly drawn to the job opportunity.

It has been my dream to move up to Wisconsin and help them (her parents) out and be there through their retirement, Bond said. I started looking for positions, and when this one came up with Williams Bay, it seemed like such a great fit for me.

There were 50 candidates who applied for the position. After the Bays interview team narrowed the number down from 10 to four, Bond and the remaining three candidates were asked to give a technology presentation.

School Board President Jim Pfeil said he feels Bond will be the best fit for the school and community and said that the interview committee brought four exceptional candidates to the school.

After a long day and night of interviews and careful discussion, we chose Mrs. Ali Bond as our next elementary principal, Pfeil said in an email. I want to give thanks to our other three final candidates: Joe Sellenheim, Michael McCabe and Sara Andrus. They too are great educators and I wish them well. We are looking forward to Ali moving to the area and leading our elementary school for many years to come.

Community presence

Throughout the interview process, Williams Bays search committee said it would like to select someone who will be an active member of the community. Bond said she fits that description and is looking forward to integrating herself into the Bay.

I am very active in the community in Peoria and Dunlap, she said.  I am on a lot of committees within the community, from professional committees to other parts of the community. I am part of Special Olympics down here, as special education is one of my passions.

And because her parents live in Elkhorn, Bond has also participated in community service events in the area.

My parents are active in Elkhorn, she said. I help my mom out at the Elkhorn food pantry whenever I am available. I support the Elkhorn youth center and I am looking forward to getting to know what opportunities there are in Williams Bay so I can be an active member of the community.

Approach

Bond said that upon arrival, she will likely observe Isaacson and understand the current structure of the school before implementing any changes.

I think it is important to the Williams Bay School District to maintain consistency, she said. Barb Isaacson has been there for 25 years, so having someone new come aboard can be difficult, and change can be difficult. I want to make sure that I acclimate to the community and building and learn about how they do things before any major changes are put in place.

Bond said she would like to collaborate with other school officials to better understand what the top priorities are before changing anything.

I do know the board and Dr. Anderson have some ideas of improvements to be made and I am confident through my experiences that I can absolutely collaborate with them and help move forward in the direction they are going, she said. But I dont anticipate rocking anyones world and making major changes the second I walk in the door.

She said she would like to establish communication between herself and all facets of the school.

I really need to learn about how things are done there, get to know the teachers, the parents and the community and get to know the students, Bond said. And really find out what kind of improvement and what areas they see as priorities before making any changes.
This is a story of two friends.

Once close, the fates have separated them.

One friend is comfortable, living with his family in a world of relative peace.

The other faces dangers and threats to himself and his wife.

The two friends must work together over long distances as they seek to reunite their lives in a place safe and secure.

It sounds like a novel. But it isnt.

It is the story behind a recently-published novel. A book that is a dedication to the friendship between Mark Valleskey of Lake Geneva and his long-time friend Eduardo Ceballos, now of Panama City, Panama.

In a recent interview, Valleskey said he and Ceballos met while they were attending the Illinois Institute of Art, Schaumburg, Illinois.

Although Valleskey was from New Holstein and Ceballos was from Venezuela, the two men became fast friends.

We had a few classes together, Valleskey said. Hes one of those people who you talk to and you just hit it off right away.

Marketing majors

The two men majored in multimedia marketing with a focus on videography.

When youre in school, your head is full of ideas, Valleskey said. You want to do something great.

But when the two men graduated in 2006, the outside world intervened.

Ceballos was in the U.S. on a green card. When that expired, he had to return home to Caracas, Venezuela, a city of nearly 2 million people.

It never dawned on me he was leaving, Valleskey said.

Since then, political and economic upheaval have created a climate of rampant crime in Caracas and a murder rate that is one of the highest in the world.

Valleskey, who works at marketing at Bag Makers Inc., Union, Illinois, said his friend is a talented videographer who has a marketing job similar to his own. Ceballos specializes in projecting images on large buildings and skyscrapers.

Valleskey said he and Ceballos have kept close, communicating through the Internet and Skype.

Ceballos told his friend of escaping an attempted armed robbery.

And then, one night, while talking to his friend, who lived in one of the better neighborhoods in Caracas, Valleskey said he could hear gunfire over their Skype connection.

I said, dude, we need to get you out of there, Valleskey said. The two friends determined that they would find a way to bring Ceballos and his wife out of Venezuela and into the U.S. legally as permanent residents.

Research into the process, however, showed that they would have to raise about $8,000 just to cover the legal costs, Valleskey said.

The two friends decided that they needed a joint project that could raise at least some of the money they needed.

Valleskey, who has been interested in writing fiction, started Unlimited Story in 2012. He had an idea for a story. He said he and Ceballos talked it over and decided theyd make something of Valleskeys idea.

Raw idea

They didnt have the resources to turn it into a video game or a movie.

But, with the raw idea, they could make it into a book.

While Valleskey did most of the writing, he said he and Ceballos worked out the plot and characters together.

He contributed ideas and plot and character development, Valleskey said of his friend. He earned the credit on the story.

In the meantime, Ceballos took a step toward the U.S., emigrating from Venezuela to Panama City, Panama.

Valleskey said he started writing about this time in 2015. The book was self-published earlier this year and has been available for sale as of Feb. 21 this year.

Valleskey said he self-published because he didnt like the control mainstream publishers exercize over a book.

According to Valleskey, the book, Unlimited Story: Broken Lands, is a science fiction and fantasy novel about a young man named Kade living on a planet called Genesis. He fights to survive in a world that is falling apart, with only his wit, survival skills and unique strengths to keep himself alive.

He comes to the aid of some strangers, who were trying to prevent the world from falling apart. He helps them while learning more about what caused the disaster on his home world and how it might be stopped.

Ideas from games

Valleskey said that he and his friend didnt want the story to be derivative of any other science fiction novels.

Instead, they took many of their ideas from Dungeons & Dragons and video games, he said. If the book goes over well, Valleskey said he and his friend plan another three novels to complete the story. The book is available on Amazon for $14.99, Valleskey said.

For those who want more information or to buy the book:

Unlimited-story.com (most important)

Facebook.com/unlimitedstory

Twitter.com/kadeunlimited

www.instagram.com/unlimitedstory/

Link to Amazon purchasing page: http://a.co/b67DXe6 (or go to Google and enter Mark Valleskey Unlimited Story: Broken Lands.)
FONTANA  Police Chief Steve Olson was presented a plaque from the village for his 27 years of service.

Sgt. Jeff Cates will replace Olson as police chief Friday, March 10.

Olson will remain a village employee until the end of the month, however.

Because of his service to the community, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan sent Olson a thank you letter for his dedication to the police department. The letter reads as follows:

Dear Steve:

On behalf of Wisconsins First Congressional District, I am pleased to express my gratitude for your many years of service. My staff just recently advised me of your decision, and while I regret the delay in sending you this greeting, I wanted to extend my personal congratulations for your successful law enforcement career of 27 years.

Although you will be greatly missed by the Fontana Police Department and members of the community, your many years of dedicated service will not soon be forgotten. I am confident that the citizens of your community appreciate all of your hard work and sacrifice. You truly serve as a role model for your colleagues at the Fontana Police Department to follow throughout their careers.

I sincerely extend all my best wishes to you and your family. Congratulations again on your outstanding service as Chief of Police for the village of Fontana. Your service is greatly appreciated and will be greatly missed.

Sincerely,

Paul D. Ryan

Serving Wisconsins 1st District
The first-ever chaplain for the Lake Geneva Police Department said he is excited that the department is re-establishing the program.

Deacon DeSales Wisniewski served as a volunteer chaplain for the department from 1978 to about 1988. Wisniewski said it is important for police officers to have someone to talk to when they need a listening ear.

The need is there (for a police chaplain program). It could be a very silent need or it could be a need where they need to speak to someone, Wisniewski said. I cant tell you how many times an officer would come to the parish. Instead of their lunch break, they would come see me. If I couldnt help them, I would find a way to get them some help, so they would get help, not only for themselves but for their families.

Wisniewski said he was asked to serve as chaplain while visiting the police department for some coffee during the late 1970s. He worked with Father William Wentink, then head chaplain of the Rockford, Illinois, Police Department, to help him prepare for the chaplain ministry. Wisniewski was officially installed as a chaplain for the Lake Geneva Police Department in 1979.

I think there were 50 people who attended my installation, which I was surprised to see, but (the officer) support was very real, Wisniewski said. It was very welcoming. You could not help but sense the family spirit and their hard work and dedication, not only to the community but also to their families.

Wisniewski said, that as chaplain, he helped the officers deal with work-related stress and some of the things that they witnessed while handling calls.

I had an opportunity to meet many, many people and help them and listen to them, Wisniewski said. Its a matter of how a minister is able to give of his time because time is of the essence, because you never know when youre going to be called on. You can be called at 1 oclock in the morning to assist an officer.

Wisniewski said the calls that seemed to affect the officers the most were the ones involving children. He recalls one officer who responded to an accident in which a child and her parents were injured. Wisniewski said the child visited the officer and thanked him several years later.

(The girl) had taken the brunt of the accident. Years had gone by, and (the officer) never found out about this little girl, Wisniewski said. One time, she and her mother came down to the department and asked to see the officer. The girl said, Im the little girl that you took out of the vehicle years ago, and I came here to say thank you and give you a hug. The tears went down his face. Ive told that story many times because its very real. Sometimes the thank yous are few and far between.

Besides the Lake Geneva Police Department, Wisniewski also has served as a volunteer chaplain for the Walworth County Sheriffs Office. Sheriff Kurt Picknell said he has known Wisniewski for about 30 years, and he has provided a valuable service for local law enforcement officers.

Hes developed a deep genuine relationship with our men and women, Picknell said. Some of the relationships have gone on for generations. Hes developed a strong level of trust within our communities.

Picknell said it is important for a law enforcement agency to have a chaplain program.

The program allows officers and deputies to share their stories, Picknell said. Law enforcement experiences a lot of trauma from the calls that they respond to.

Wisniewski said there have been times when hes been in need of assistance. He recalls an incident that he responded to many years ago in which a mother was walking with her children near Library Park, and they were struck by a vehicle and the children died.

I walked for about two and a half hours that night, Wisniewski said. I knew friends who were chaplains in Chicago and I gave them a call, and I said, I got to talk to somebody. Nobody is impervious to those feelings. Dealing with the death of little children is not easy.

Wisniewski has been involved with the ministry for about 45 years.

He received his training at the Pulaski Monastery in Wisconsin, Queen of Peace Friary in Lake Geneva and St. Mary of the Angels Friary in Green Bay. He worked at the Queen of Peace Friary until the early 1980s and then worked at St. Francis de Sales in Lake Geneva and became a deacon in 1983. Wisniewski said he first became interested in the ministry during his childhood.

God works inside all of us, Wisniewski said. If He really wants you somewhere, He will put you there. He will put you where youre needed.

Wisniewski currently lives in Crown Point, Indiana, assisting at a parish and a hospital. He said he still keeps in touch with some of the officers that he worked with in Lake Geneva.

I still get phone calls from officers and their families and the widows and the widowers, just to talk, Wisniewski said. Theres a relationship there thats special.
To the Editor:

The state Assembly Committee on Local Government will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 8, on a bill that would give local governments the option to stop publishing a summary of their actions in your newspaper.

Assembly Bill 70 would allow local municipalities to post meeting minutes on their websites instead.

This is bad public policy under the guise of saving taxpayer dollars that would create considerable disruption for government transparency.

Supporters of Assembly Bill 70 suggest local government websites are sufficient to notify the public of their actions and that publishing meeting minutes in the newspaper limits access only to newspaper subscribers.

The fact is, however, that all legal notices published throughout the state since 2005 are already available for free to the public through WisconsinPublicNotices.org.

This comprehensive, searchable website hosted by the Wisconsin newspaper industry brings together ink-on-paper notices into one online location. This service is provided at no cost to local municipalities.

The goal of WisconsinPublicNotices.org is to enhance governments distribution of public information and assist citizens who want to know more about the actions of their local, county and state representatives.

This permanent, third-party documentation  unalterable and independent of government itself  ensures the protection of your right to know for each and every citizen.

For years, this relationship between newspapers, local municipalities and WisconsinPublicNotices.org has successfully provided easy access to government information for all citizens, whether they seek it in print or online.

Removing existing publication requirements would create holes in this invaluable statewide database while also neglecting the needs of those who lack adequate computer and Internet access.

Please tell your legislators to oppose this unnecessary barrier to government transparency.

Sincerely,

Beth Bennett

Executive Director

Wisconsin Newspaper Association
ELKHORN  By the end of his sentencing hearing, the court still had not determined if an Illinois man convicted of delivering heroin was part of a larger drug organization or if he simply acted on his own accord.

And according to Judge Phillip Koss, who gave the man a seven year prison sentence, it didnt really matter.

Koss said that regardless of whether Matthew Brown, 35, Waukegan, Illinois, was someone who stepped up to the role of dealer or took a step down from the role of supplier to deliver heroin, he still committed a terrible crime by selling heroin.

Whether he went up or down, he still stepped to that level, he said.

Koss described heroin as an insidious and treacherous drug that can easily kill those who take it.

Its like firing a loaded gun into a bar, Koss said. Youre lucky no one died.

Drug organization

According to the state, Brown was working within a drug organization that consisted of a hierarchy of dealers, drivers and users.

The organization was headed by Jamaal Shellie, who was the primary dealer, said a deputy who conducted controlled buys from Brown.

After Shellie was incarcerated, the deputy explained that Brown, going under the name bald head, had taken Shellies phone and was spreading the word that he was the new dealer in town.

The deputy arranged to buy heroin from Brown twice, once on Feb. 11, 2014 and once on Feb. 12, 2014, and had him arrested after the second controlled buy.

The deputy said that Brown told him he was not a user and that he did not display any of the signs that are typically seen with heroin use.

Furthermore, the deputy said he believed that Browns actions showed a level of experience within the drug trafficking world.

He said that Brown had cunningly learned how to access Shellies phone and pin number. He also expressed annoyance when the deputy would not get into the car during the first controlled buy, which according to the deputy, indicated that Brown knew from experience that it was a riskier type of transaction.

District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld, displaying a chart of the hierarchy of the organization, emphasized that this extensive group was seen as a business for its members.

Its clear hes a drug dealer, Wiedenfeld said in reference to Brown. He was ready to jump in and keep the business afloat when he needed to.

He also emphasized Browns previous convictions for domestic abuse and drug related crimes.

He hasnt changed his behavior, Wiedenfeld said, making Brown a danger to the public.

He told Koss that there is a great need to protect the area from the death and destruction that heroin leaves in its wake, and that a strong punishment would deter other potential dealers.

However, Wiedenfeld did not give a recommendation for sentencing.

A reckless crime

Browns attorney Patrick Cafferty gave a different account of the events.

He said that he disagreed with the states idea that this was related to the alleged drug trafficking organization.

Brown, he said, was a heroin user who recklessly saw an opportunity to use an incarcerated dealers phone to support his own drug habits.

Cafferty also pointed out that the amount of heroin Brown was caught selling was minimal, only four grams, making his crime less severe than those of Shellie.

Brown is not equivalent to Shellie or anyone else in that alleged organization, he said.

Cafferty emphasized Browns good behavior since being released on bail 1 1/2 years ago, saying that Brown has since been working on his drug addiction and even got a job.

When it was Browns turn to address the court, he apologized for his crimes, saying that what he did doesnt reflect him as a person.

I chose that drug, and it drove me to do things that were out of character for me, he said.

After a brief recess, Koss dealt his sentence.

Along with the seven years of initial confinement, Koss also gave Brown five years of extended supervision.

Its the steps you have taken that prevent this from being lengthier, he told Brown.
Pukguksong-2 north korea missile

North Korea launched a salvo of four missiles on Sunday night, potentially telegraphing a "saturation attack" intended to defeat US, South Korean, or Japanese missile defenses.

The missiles sputtered out, landing in the waters close to Japan's coast without doing any damage, and the US and South Korea quickly responded by agreeing to deploy one of the world's best missile defense systems, the Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense.

After a February 12 missile test, which demonstrated its own scarily improved capabilities, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said that the launch posed a "grave threat to our national security," but that the US was "capable of defending against a North Korean ballistic missile attack."

But experts have repeatedly told Business Insider that even the greatest missile defenses don't offer complete protection from North Korea's ballistic missiles, and as North Korea refuses to play by the West's rules, missile defense becomes increasingly irrelevant.

What North Korea demonstrated on Sunday was a salvo fire, which intends to overwhelm missile defenses with a volume of missiles. North Korea could launch hundreds of missiles from mobile launchers hidden across the country at any given moment. Some of them could be decoys. Some of them could be long-range missiles lofted higher away from earth to reenter the atmosphere at speeds no interceptor missile could hope to match.

North Korea's submarine could sail beyond the range of US and allied defenses and launch a nuke from the high seas. In short, missile defenses can be fooled, and North Korea showed on Sunday it doesn't intend to be outfoxed.

Even with the US's THAAD deployed and with constant monitoring, Kelsey Davenport, the director of nonproliferation at the Arms Control Association, told Business Insider that missile defense isn't a good enough response to North Korea's missile tests  diplomatic engagement is needed.

Story continues

North Korea missile map

"The major issue with relying on the missile defense system is capacity," Ian Williams, associate director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Business Insider.

Davenport said: "Missile defense is not a surefire way to negate the threat posed by another country's nuclear-capable ballistic missiles."

The US has 25,000 troops deployed to South Korea and more than 50,000 in Japan. Seoul, South Korea's exposed capital city, is home to 10 million civilians. No missile defense system on the planet can guarantee the safety of every one of these people.

The US just doesn't "have enough interceptors to sit and play catch with everything that North Korea can throw," Williams said. "US and allied missile defenses could likely absorb a first wave, but there would need to be coordination with strike forces to start knocking out North Korea's missiles out before they could be launched."

thaad range

The second major issue, according to Williams, is coverage. The US uses multiple layers of missile defense systems like Patriot missile-defense batteries and guided-missile destroyer ships, but they provide uneven coverage in the region.

Even Abel Romero , the director of government relations at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, told Business Insider that missile defense is not "solely the answer" to stopping threats from North Korea. China and Russia have missiles that can reach the US in less than 30 minutes, defeat all existing missile defenses, and target up to 10 separate locations with individual warheads, but no one in the US looks to defend against such attacks, according to Romero.

"As of right now, I've never heard anyone come out and say we need to build a missile defense system to defend us from Russia and China," said Romero.

Instead, the US uses diplomacy and the doctrine of mutually assured destruction to coexist with Russia and China. As the nuclear missile threat grows from North Korea, the US must find a way to coexist with it  or to defeat it before it can stage an attack.

NOW WATCH: ACLU: Here's what you should do if you're stopped by the police as a pedestrian





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March 8, 2017

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.

Previous contributors include Bret Easton Ellis, Kate Christensen, Lauren Groff, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Jesmyn Ward, Heidi Julavits, Hari Kunzru, and many others.

Paul La Farge's The Night Ocean is an engrossing novel inspired by the life of H. P. Lovecraft.

The New York Times wrote of the book:

"A beauty of a tale...A book full of pleasures...The Night Ocean emerges as an inexhaustible shaggy monster, part literary parody, part case study of the slipperiness of narrative and the seduction of a good story."



In his own words, here is Paul La Farge's Book Notes music playlist for his novel The Night Ocean:







The Night Ocean is a novel about the horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, and his friendship with a young fan named Robert H. Barlow, who went on to become a poet and a brilliant anthropologist and scholar of Aztec civilization. I wrote the book in upstate New York and New Hampshire and at a monastery on the banks of the Hudson River. I listen to music when I write, but I mostly dont remember it afterward  its as if the music gets totally used up in my memory by the writing itself. Still, here are some songs that feel related to my book in one way and another. I wouldnt recommend listening to them back to back: that way lies auditory madness.

The Mountain Goats, "Lovecraft in Brooklyn" (2008)

Heretic Pride came out after I abandoned an early version of The Night Ocean, and before I wrote the version that ended up sticking. I love the song but I felt ambivalent about its reference to Lovecraft, who did, in fact, live in Brooklyn for two years. They were without a doubt the two least happy years of his not-exceedingly-happy life, and if you read the letters he wrote to his aunt in Providence, hes so full of despair and hatred for New York City that he sounds like hes completely lost his mind. I worried that the Mountain Goats song would make my book unnecessary, because everyone would listen to it and know the story of Lovecraft in Brooklyn, and there would be nothing left for me to tell. It was a ridiculous fear. The song doesnt even tell the story of Lovecrafts time in Brooklyn.

Gilbert & Sullivan, "In Enterprise of Martial Kind" (1889)

You wouldnt necessarily guess it, but H.P. Lovecraft, whose creations include octopus-headed Cthulhu, the fishlike Deep Ones, and the fearsome, protoplasmic Shoggoths, liked light opera. In The Night Ocean, I have him sing "In an Enterprise of Martial Kind," from Gilbert & Sullivans The Gondoliers, with Robert Barlows father. I dont know if Lovecraft ever really sang that song, but it fit the mood of the scene: Barlows father was a paranoid schizophrenic whod retired from the Army to live with his family in Central Florida, and the song is about the Duke of Plaza-Toro, who runs away from battle whenever he can. It also happens that I saw a lot of Gilbert & Sullivan as a kid  although never The Gondoliers. I was even in a middle school production of HMS Pinafore, which was so bad that my parents walked out halfway through.

William S. Burroughs, "William's Welcome (What Are You Here For?)" (1990)

I got the Dead City Radio CD in 1990, as a Christmas gift from my folks. Id read Naked Lunch by then, but Id never heard Burroughss voice, that raspy singsong. I listened to this track over and over  it was, for better or worse, also my introduction to Sonic Youth  and tried to feel the deep implications of the line, "Were here to go." I suppose the question is still open, but I came back to Dead City Radio for a different reason when I was writing The Night Ocean: William S. Burroughs is one of my characters, and, as you might expect, he does a lot of talking. I tried to pick up the rhythm of his storytelling from the album, the kind of crazed, jaded wonder in his voice.

The Holy Modal Rounders, "Euphoria" (1964)

The Night Ocean isnt entirely about Lovecraft and Barlow and Burroughs; theres also a present-day love story, about the psychiatrist Marina Willett (who narrates most of the book) and her husband Charlie, a freelance journalist. At one point early in the book, Charlie tries to explain the Holy Modal Rounders to Marina: they were a psychedelic folk-music duo in the 1960s and 70s, who teamed up briefly with the Fugs. Marina isnt a fan. But Charlie is  he likes strange things, esoteric things.

I chose the Holy Modal Rounders for that moment in the novel because theyre as esoteric a group as youre likely to find; but also because I met Peter Stampfel, who is half of the duo. Hes married to the science-fiction editor Betsy Wollheim, who is the daughter of the science-fiction editor Donald Wollheim, who is a character in The Night Ocean. Donald was friends with Lovecraft; they exchanged letters, and some of Lovecrafts letters ended up in Betsys apartment in lower Manhattan. Theyd never been published and I was eager to read them, so I nagged Betsy until she let me come over and take a look at them. I ended up spending a few hours in her apartment, transcribing the Lovecraft letters, and meanwhile Peter Stampfel was walking around in (as I remember the scene) a bathrobe. I had no idea who he was, except that he collected milk-bottle tops. But just as I was leaving the apartment, he gave me a Holy Modal Rounders CD, and I felt like an idiot for not having figured it out sooner.

Meghan Trainor, "No" (2016)

This song doesnt appear in The Night Ocean. But I did play it at a dance party at Ledig House, a writers residency in upstate New York, where I did the final edits on the book. It turns out that there are a lot of dance parties, relatively speaking, at artists colonies. Probably people need to jump around after spending the whole day in their studios. Anyway, no one else wanted to be the DJ, so I volunteered, and I put this on because Id been listening to it a lot, and I like it. And people danced. Im also including it on this playlist because there should be at least one danceable song in the mix.



Paul La Farge and The Night Ocean links:

the author's website

the author's Wikipedia entry

video trailer for the book

BookPage review

Kirkus Reviews review

New York Times review

Publishers Weekly review

Washington Post review

Publishers Weekly profile of the author



also at Largehearted Boy:

Support the Largehearted Boy website

List of Online "Best Books of 2016" Lists

Book Notes (2015 - ) (authors create music playlists for their book)

Book Notes (2012 - 2014) (authors create music playlists for their book)

Book Notes (2005 - 2011) (authors create music playlists for their book)

my 11 favorite Book Notes playlist essays

100 Online Sources for Free and Legal Music Downloads

Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)

Atomic Books Comics Preview (weekly comics highlights)

guest book reviews

Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week (recommended new books, magazines, and comics)

musician/author interviews

Note Books (musicians discuss literature)

Short Cuts (writers pair a song with their short story or essay)

Shorties (daily music, literature, and pop culture links)

Soundtracked (composers and directors discuss their film's soundtracks)

weekly music release lists

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PRESS RELEASE

British Defense Ministry Rolls Out Call for Enhanced NATO-EU Cybersecurity Cooperation Against Russia

March 7, 2017 (EIRNS)The Permanent Secretary of the British Defense Ministry, Stephen Lovegrove, used a presentation at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. yesterday, to present a major British policy initiative to step up NATO-EU cybersecurity cooperation against Russia.

"Against evermore complex problems, we must bring together military and non-military responses to invigorate the strategic relationship between NATO and the EU, including cooperation on cybersecurity and boosting cooperation counter-hybrid capabilities,"

Lovegrove stated, specifically citing alleged threats from Russias "hybrid model" of warfare.

Also yesterday, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon spoke in Brussels on the same policy initiative, urging NATO and the EU to work together more closely on cybersecurity. He emphasized that Brexit would not affect Britains security cooperation with other countries. As The Hill explained,
PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Delivers First Elements of THAAD Missile Defense to South Korea

March 7, 2017 (EIRNS)Under the cover of darkness, the first U.S. elements of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system arrived in South Korea last night, bringing two mobile launchers and increased political instability to the region. The timing was perfect, as, just the day before, North Korea had launched four missiles, which splashed into the Sea of Japan, providing the backdrop against which the U.S. could show how it is defending its friends in Asia. The darkness was a way to avoid the protests that have been on-going against this regional destabilization. Deploying the system quickly now, is an attempt to make it a done deal, before a new government could come in and easily cancel the deployment.

The responses to the North Korean launches were not unexpected, with the British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, calling it a "provocative action;" South Koreas acting president, saying Seoul would swiftly deploy the U.S. anti- missile system; and the Japanese Prime Minister describing it as an "extremely dangerous action." The Guardian reports that Japan is considering either buying a U.S. THAAD system, or building its own version of the U.S Aegis ship-based system which is now deployed in the Sea of Japan.

But North Korea warned that it is the military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea that are "the most undisguised nuclear war maneuvers." In a letter to the UN Security Council the day of the tests, Ambassador Ja Song Nam said, "Consequently, the situation on the Korean peninsular is again inching to the brink of a nuclear war."

The Chinese government has been vocally objecting to the THAAD deployment for weeks, and hours after the THAAD elements arrived in South Korea, Xinhua said that "the tit-for-tat confrontation between Pyongyang and Seoul has become a sickening old play staged annually in Northeast Asia," and is crippling all of those concerned on the Korean peninsula.

Peoples Daily warned that the THAAD deployment

"will bring an arms race in the region... More missile shields of one side inevitably brings more nuclear missiles of the opposing side to break the missile shield."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said,
PRESS RELEASE

Washington, Media Hysteria Harming U.S.-Russian Relations, Kremlin Spokesman Says

March 7, 2017 (EIRNS)Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN on Monday that ongoing hysteria in official Washington and in the U.S. media is "unbelievable" and damaging to U.S.-Russian relations.

"This is something unbelievable, and I don't actually think it corresponds with our national interestsI mean both interests of the U.S. and Russia,"

he said.

Questioned on whether it was wise for Donald Trump "to make Russia such a central part of his election campaign," Peshkov replied,

"Answering your question will mean that we interfere, and we don't have the slightest intention to interfere. The only thing I can tell is that all this hysteria in public opinion, hysteria in official Washington, hysteria in American media is doing lots of harm to the future of our bilateral relationship. "Of course we'll never agree on everything, we'll continue our disagreements, but the sooner we start to talk, the better for both countries,"

Peskov said. "I think it's high time for someone in the [United] States so say, 'Listen guys, let's start to look at it from a different angle.'"

Peshkov brushed aside allegations of Russia hacking, "All that isn't true."

"No one can ignore the importance of the bilateral relationship with the U.S.," Peskov said.

"It's a very important country and it's a global player, number one, and it's [the] number one global economy, and we're all interested in a predictable, stable united America; and so, as for us, we're interested in having a predictable partner, a predictable vis-a-vis for dialogue."

"Unfortunately, we don't have a comfortable environment for the dialogue, and of course it's great pity," he said.

"We're really sorry about the situation that we are facing now. It is emotional extremism, of trying to make a toxic country out of Russia, to make a toxic ... ambassador out of Russia's ambassador,"

he said.

Still, he said he thought relations between Russia and the U.S. could recover.

"I think yes," Peskov said.
PRESS RELEASE

Military Chiefs of Turkey, U.S., Russia Meet in Turkey

March 7, 2017 (EIRNS)It is clear the Trump Administrations new Middle East policy has begun. The military chiefs of Turkey, the United States, and Russia held a tripartite meeting in Antalya, Turkey, with developments in Syria and Iraq at top of the agenda.

According to a written statement from the office of the Turkish Chief of General Staff, Turkeys chief general, Gen. Hulusi Akar, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, and Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov began an all-day meeting today, March 7. Pictures distributed by the Turkish army feature the three top soldiers sitting side by side at the head of a table of subordinate officers of all three countries.

If this is what it appears to be, it is the strongest combination of countries ever brought together to, hopefully, bring peace to the region. It is a combination which the British Empire has feared would come together for the last 200 years.

Although no details have been given, it appears that the next step will be the taking of Raqqa from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).

According to Hurriyet Daily News, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had signalled in an earlier interview with Haber TV that such a meeting of the three countries military leaders would take place.

"There is no point in doing an operation [on Raqqa] without coordinating with Russaia and the U.S. It would be futile, and the consequences may become more complicated. For that, there are military, technical negotiations going on,"

Yildirim said. He also said the government has presented its proposal for tripartite cooperation in a joint operation on Raqqa.

"We have conveyed our offer to the U.S. There has not been a formal response yet. So it would not be right to say they have other plans just by taking what has been written about the issue into account. But we will not be anywhere there are terrorist organizations. It is that clear,"

Yildirim said.

Yildirim reiterated that one of Turkeys principal concerns is to have the Syrian Kurdish PYD forces, the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), withdraw east of the Euphrates. He also said it was natural that the Syrian government forces should take control over territory freed from ISIS and where the YPG has withdrawn.

While the U.S. has, until now, backed the YPG against ISIS, Turkey considers it an ally of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside Turkey, which it considers a terrorist organization and with which it is at war.

"It is quite natural that there would be Syrian elements there after it is provided. Because it is Syrian territory," he said. "It can be the U.S. or it can be Russia. We are saying, if it is desired, we can make a triple mechanism with Russia, the U.S., and Turkey,"

he said.

"When terrorist groups like the PYD and the YPG are completely cleared, same as we did in Jarablus with the Euphrates Shield operation, or in al-Rai, Dabiq, and as we have started to do in al-Bab, Syrians will come and settle there. Life will go back to normal,"

he said.
female fighters

The Kurdish Peshmerga has been battling the ISIS terror group since it swept through much of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and one of its most unique aspects has been the use of female fighters on the front lines.

Unlike most other militaries, the Peshmerga not only allows women within its ranks, but they also serve shoulder-to-shoulder with men in combat. According to Zack Bazzi, Middle East project manager for Spirit of America, there are about 1,700 women serving in combat roles within the Peshmerga.

"We are not meant to sit at home, doing housework," says Zehra, a commander who has served for 8 years. "We are on the frontlines, fighting to defeat ISIS."

In partnership with The Kurdish Project, Spirit of America recently profiled female fighters serving on the front lines with the Peshmerga  a Kurdish word for "those who face death." The video interviews were published on a new website called "Females on the Frontline."

"From what I have observed, these women are patriots fighting to defend their families and their homelands from the threat of ISIS," Bazzi told Business Insider. "But there is no doubt that they also want to send an unmistakable message, that, as women, they have a prominent and equal role to play in their society."

Bazzi told Business Insider that individual Peshmerga units determine their own policies regarding the mixing of male and female fighters. Still, he said, most women serving in male units are accepted and fully integrated into the ranks.

"As a matter of fact, people in the region view it as a point of pride that these women share an equal burden in defense of the homeland," he said.

The Females on the Frontline site features short interviews with Sozan, Nishtiman, Kurdistan, and Zehra, four Peshmerga soldiers who have served in different roles and in varying lengths of duty.

"On our team, we women are fighting along with the men shoulder to shoulder on the front lines," says Nishtiman, a 26-year old unit commander who has served for four years in the Peshmerga. She fights alongside her alongside her husband and brother, according to the site.

Story continues

You can check out the full website here.

NOW WATCH: An ACLU lawyer tells us why you should be careful talking to the police after being pulled over





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PRESS RELEASE

Intelligence Expert Points to British Role in Witchhunt Against Trump

March 8, 2017 (EIRNS)While the mainstream media, with their unabashed intention to prevent President Trump from improving relations with Russia, have been the source, through illegal national security leaks, of most of the information available on the Obama Administrations surveillance of the Trump presidential campaign, it would be wise to heed the judgment of experienced intelligence professionals who dont share that objective. In the case of the alleged Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee, top such officials have testified that the charges are unsubstantiatedsince National Security Agency capabilities would otherwise permit precise information on the source of the hacking, and no such precision has been claimed. In the case of President Trumps charges of wiretapping of his campaign, one prominent qualified source worth listening to is Larry C. Johnson, a former analyst at the CIA, who runs a blog called No Quarter.

Mr. Johnsons blog entries of March 4 and 6 are instructive, to say the least. Johnson states that he knows for certain that at least some of the intercepted communications of Trump aides on which the New York Times reported in its Jan. 20 issue, were done by foreign entities and that this was done with the knowledge of Obama Administration officials. Johnson then discusses the arrangement between the NSA and the British spy agency, the GHCQ. (EIR exposed this program year ago, including when Edward Snowden first exploded the NSA scandaland when the Democrats opposed such police state measures). It is standard operating procedure that GHCQ intercepts communications in a way that would be illegal for a U.S. agency to do under U.S. law, and passes them on to U.S. intelligence officials. Notably, the New York Times has claimed the British provided information on Trump-Russian connections.

Johnson also stresses the very public assertions by partisans of the anti-Trump campaign, especially in the New York Times (see March 1 issue), that President Obama moved in the Fall of 2016 to loosen intelligence secrecy provisions so that information about alleged links between the Trump campaign and the Russians could be available to a wider range of officials, and thus illegally leaked.

Johnson believes, that while President Trump was incorrect that Obama personally ordered wiretaps on his office, the truth of subversive activity by the intelligence community and the President could be revealed if the following questions were asked: Was Barack Obama ever informed that senior leaders of his Intelligence Community had received information collected by British intelligence sources that provided information on Donald Trump and members of his campaign team? Did Barack Obama give the green light for this material to be used in ways that fall outside the legal boundaries? Did Barack Obama or any members of his senior team ever discuss how to take steps to prevent Donald Trump from taking the oath of office?

Johnson also suggests that the Congress request all the paperwork on Obama Administration requests to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courtto which it allegedly applied three times for permission to spy on Trump and his associates in August-October 2016. Who originated these requests and on what justification? Even former DNI Clapper says no suspicious links were uncovered (as did the New York Times).

Johnson concludes:

The groundless accusations against Donald Trump and his team are seditious. The false claims that Trump and Putin are conspiring to undermine our Democracy is more than damn lies. It poses a real threat to the foundation of our Republic.

The real question is: Who will act to stop this subversion?
Kim Kardashian West, the socialite with a famous love of selfies, has more than a few fans who cant get enough of the reality TV stars photographs.

But Carl Puia, who was arrested Monday in Glastonbury, Conn., and charged with destroying several of Kardashians books at a Barnes & Noble store, is not one of them.

The 74-year-old man is being charged with third-degree criminal mischief after pouring a red liquid over several copies of Kardashians photography book Selfish, NBC Connecticut reports.

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Six copies of the books were destroyed in the massacre and could not be revived, the Glastonbury police department said.

Selfish, a collection of Kardashians sometimes racy selfies, was first published in 2015. The latest edition of the book is more than 500 pages, and features selfies the celebrity had taken with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The incident took place on Oct. 13, 2016. Puia was arrested this week after he turned himself in.

Puia had left a note at the scene of the crime, the Hartford Courant reports, accusing the publishing industry and bookstores of selling low-quality books just for money.

Puia was released on bond and is scheduled to appear in court on March 22.
Actors at the Spanish-language TV network Telemundo have overwhelmingly voted to unionize with SAG-AFTRA, bringing to a close a protracted dispute between Hollywoods largest union and NBCUniversal, which owns the network.

SAG-AFTRA said Wednesday that 81% of eligible voters chose to unionize in a balloting process that began Feb. 7 and lasted four weeks.

Miami-based Telemundo, which was acquired by NBCUniversal in 2001, is the largest employer of Spanish-language performers in the United States, providing work for hundreds of actors on its programs.

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The vote marks a victory for SAG-AFTRA, which has been trying for years to extend union benefits to actors who work on the networks popular shows.

This is a historic moment, said Gabrielle Carteris, president of SAG-AFTRA, in an interview. Those performers deserve to have protection.

Carteris said the vote demonstrated the power of SAG-AFTRA, which formed in 2012 with the merger of two rival unions and represents about 160,000 individuals.

The union said that a total of 124 individuals submitted anonymous mail-in ballots, with 91 voting in favor of the measure and 21 against it. Twelve ballots were challenged and werent counted.

The vote was administered by the National Labor Relations Board, which chose the 124 participants based on the amount of time actors have worked on telenovela dramas and other shows.

In the weeks ahead, SAG-AFTRA is expected to sit down with Telemundo to hammer out a collective bargaining contract.

The contract is intended to primarily cover telenovela performers, including actors, guest stars, dancers and stunt workers, according to Susan Davis, a lawyer who represents the union.

Among the points of negotiation will be benefits, overtime pay and residual payments. We have every reason to be optimistic, said Davis.

A Telemundo spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday that while we are disappointed with this result, we remain committed to all of our employees and will move forward with the negotiation process after the election results have been certified by the NLRB.

The spokesperson added: We continue to be dedicated to making Telemundo a great place to work and to Telemundos long-term success.

SAG-AFTRA has asserted that Telemundo pays its performers half of what English-language actors earn on other NBCUniversal-owned networks, and that Telemundo doesnt provide its telenovela actors with healthcare, contribute to their pensions or pay standard overtime or residuals.

NBCUniversal has stated that Telemundo would start offering healthcare and retirement benefits to performers starting in 2017, but declined to elaborate.

SAG-AFTRA began its fight with NBCUniversal about 15 years ago and has kept up the pressure as Telemundo has grown in popularity. The union has argued that NBCUniversal maintains a double standard by allowing its English-language performers to unionize while refusing the same right to Spanish-speaking actors.

Last year, the union produced a commercial blasting NBCUniversal. The company refused to air the Spanish-language spot during Telemundos live broadcast of its popular Premios Tu Mundo awards show. Telemundo competes with Univision Communications for Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States. But unlike Telemundo, Univision doesnt produce original scripted dramatic content in the United States, relying instead on a program licensing agreement with Grupo Televisa, with the work covered by the Mexican actors union ANDA.

The recent Telemundo vote means more financial security and power for actors, said Pablo Azar, who has appeared in numerous series on the network, including the recent La Fan.

We have a voice now, said the 34-year-old Mexico-born actor who resides in Miami. We can actually decide how we want our future to be.

david.ng@latimes.com

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT

UPDATES:

4:20 p.m.: This article was updated to note that SAG-AFTRA has been trying for years to extend union benefits to Telemundo actors.

2:40 p.m.: This article was updated with comments and information from SAG-AFTRA leaders and members.

This article was originally published at 12:30 p.m.
Fewer people will visit California this year and next, depriving the state of $1.7 billion in spending, a new UCLA analysis finds.

A strong U.S. dollar, which makes U.S. products and services more expensive for foreign visitors, will lead to 5% fewer foreign visitors in 2017 and 1.1% fewer in 2018, according to the report, released Wednesday by the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

President Trumps travel ban could deter even more potential tourists. The impact of the friendliness of the U.S. toward foreigners is hard to measure, and to forecast, the report said.

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It may be that it makes the U.S. a more adventurous place to be, but the increased difficulty of getting visas might just do the opposite, wrote Jerry Nickelsburg, a UCLA economist.

In 2015, Mexicans made 7.8 million trips to California, Chinese made 1.1 million visits and Indians made 580,000, said the report, citing data from the Department of Commerce. In total, visitors spent $15.2 billion that year.

Over two years, $1.7 billion isnt a huge loss to an economy that generates $2.5 trillion a year. But tourism buoys some of the industries that have created the most jobs since the recession ended in California.

Leisure and hospitality  meaning restaurants and hotels  will cut 12,000 jobs this year because of the drop in foreign tourists, the forecast predicts. Thats a third of all the jobs that sector created in 2016. Retail could ax 2,300 workers, the report said.

Californians will have to get used to slower growth in general over the next three years, UCLA economists predicted. The economy will add new jobs at a rate of 2.1% this year, they said, and the annual growth rate will eventually decline to 0.9% in 2019. Thats down from an average pace of about 2.3% job growth each year since 2012.

That forecast could become much worse, the report said, if Trump manages to quickly deport millions of workers who entered the U.S. illegally. Such workers make up a significant chunk of the labor force that supplies food in California. USC estimates that 45% of farmworkers in the state are undocumented, for example.

Removing large groups of those people could easily lead to a significant reduction in production of food, in food processing, particularly the slaughter and preparation of meat products, in garment manufacturing and in residential construction, Nickelsburg found.

Natalie.Kitroeff@latimes.com

Follow me @NatalieKitro on Twitter
Quoting Hamilton, Disney CEO defends advising Trump (but criticizes Trumps policies)

Disney CEO Bob Iger quoted the Broadway smash Hamilton to defend his involvement in President Trumps business advisory council, saying he wants to be in the room where it happens.

Igers remarks at Disneys annual shareholder meeting came in response to an audience member at the Denver confab who criticized his relationship with Trump as a tacit endorsement of the presidents policies on issues such as immigration.

But Iger rejected that accusation, referring to the Hamilton number The Room Where It Happens, which is about having influence and access to closed-door meetings where policy is set.

Iger said the council gives members an opportunity to express opinions to the president that otherwise might not get a hearing from the administration. He adamantly insisted his involvement does not imply support for any specific policies and reiterated he does not intend to step down from the council position.

I made a decision I thought was in the best interest of our company and the industry, Iger said. I think its a privileged opportunity to be in the room.

Iger says he doesn't believe his membership in President Trump's business panel is a problem. "A privileged opportunity," he calls it.  Daniel Miller (@DanielNMiller) March 8, 2017

Iger, a Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, has been criticized on social media for not quitting the panel. Hes the lone entertainment executive among the group. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick left the panel under intense public pressure following the rollout of Trumps initial travel ban.

In response to a grilling from shareholder representatives over Trumps policies, Iger offered a vigorous argument for the business benefits of allowing people into the country to work. He added the he is against policies that single out particular religious groups, a reference to the Trump administrations moves that some have said discriminate against Muslims.

I happen to believe this company has benefited over the years in so many different ways, as has this country, [because of] an open and fair and just immigration policy, Iger said. We are who we are as a country because of great immigration.

He cited Disneys 2016 animated hit Zootopia as evidence of the companys humanitarian values. Zootopia, which grossed more than $1 billion, is about an advanced society of animals that deals with prejudice between its herbivore and carnivore populations.

You dont make a movie [like] Zootopia, which is preaching tolerance...unless you believe fundamentally in that ideal and that value, Iger said.

[12:15 p.m.: This post was updated to include additional quotes from Iger.]
Shares of Patrick Soon-Shiongs biotech firm plunged this week after a news report raised questions of whether the Los Angeles billionaire had used a donation to a university to artificially inflate the outlook for the companys operations.

STAT, a news group affiliated with the Boston Globe, reported Monday that Soon-Shiong and his charitable foundations gave the University of Utah $12 million for genetic disease research in 2014. The university later paid $10 million of that amount to NantHealth, a Culver City company founded by Soon-Shiong.

In November, NantHealth told investors that the company had received 524 orders for one of its key products  a genetic test known as GPS Cancer  during the last three months. One-third of those orders came from the University of Utah deal, Soon-Shiong told investors during a conference call.

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In an interview, Soon-Shiong called the STAT story maliciously false. He said his foundations had given the money to the university out of a desire to make this knowledge available to scientists throughout the world.

Im befuddled by any other motivation that could be perceived, he said.

On Tuesday, NantHealths stock closed at $4.94  down 10% for the day and down 31% since the report was published before the markets opened Monday. The stock is now trading at roughly a third of its initial offering price of $14 in June 2016.

Soon-Shiong is the second-largest shareholder and vice chairman of Tronc Inc., which owns the Los Angeles Times. On Feb. 28, he agreed to buy 950,000 Tronc shares from downtown L.A. investment firm Oaktree Capital Management, which was critical last year of Tronc Chairman Michael Ferros rejection of a buyout offer from rival publisher Gannett Co.

The stock purchase is subject to a waiting period, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When the deal closes, Soon-Shiong would control 6.7 million Tronc shares, representing an 18.5% stake in the company.

NantHealths GPS Cancer test uses supercomputers to analyze the DNA of patients tumors in an attempt to find drugs that work against their diseases.

But sales of the test so far have been slow and the companys losses continue to pile-up. In an earlier story in February, STAT wrote about how Soon-Shiong had aggressively promoted the test through a national cancer research effort he launched last year.

In a November press release, NantHealth pointed to the 524 orders for the test to tout its rapid adoption.

The work that Soon-Shiong funded in Utah did not involve the cancer test, according to the STAT report. Instead it was aimed at analyzing the genomic profiles of a thousand individuals with a myriad of rare and life-threatening diseases, including Lou Gehrigs disease, autism and different types of cancer.

A university scientist involved in the research told STAT she did not understand why NantHealth would count the work as orders for the cancer test.

But Soon-Shiong told The Times that the gene sequencing work for the university was done on the same machines that perform the cancer test.

The contract did not specify that NantHealth would perform the work. The university said it had tried to look for another provider to perform the genomic sequencing but chose NantHealth because it was the only company that met the contracts detailed requirements.

Soon-Shiong said the contract was not worded with the intention that his company would win the work. The contracts terms had been written with help from the universitys scientists, he said.

Jen Hodson, a NantHealth spokeswoman, said the agreement with the university was fully vetted by attorneys on both sides. She said the contract had been disclosed in securities filings made before the company sold shares to the public in June.

A NantHealth executive told investors during the November conference call that none of the universitys payments had been included in the companys revenues.

Julie Kiefer, a spokeswoman for the University of Utah, said Tuesday that Soon-Shiongs charitable contribution resulted in important scientific work.

The quality of the research exceeded expectations and benefited scientific discovery, she said.

Kiefer added that it was not the universitys role to advise the Soon-Shiong foundations or NantHealth on the tax consequences of these transactions.

Soon-Shiong, a former UCLA oncologist, became a billionaire after selling two pharmaceutical companies: APP Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2008 and Abraxis BioScience Inc. in 2010.

He now owns a web of biotech companies, including NantHealth and NantKwest, which sold shares to the public in 2015. He also holds a minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers.

At least two law firms said this week they are investigating whether NantHealth violated securities laws and are considering whether they will file lawsuits on behalf of investors who have lost money.

melody.petersen@latimes.com

Follow @melodypetersen on Twitter
The government agents charged with uncovering foreign secrets have had their own laid bare.

Secret Central Intelligence Agency files published Tuesday paint a portrait many would expect of government cyberespionage efforts, yet they threaten to again disrupt the nations digital spying programs.

The nearly 9,000 documents shared online by the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks show the CIA sought to observe targets conversations, online browsing and other activities by infiltrating the technology that surrounded them, including Apple and Android smartphones, laptops, TVs and even cars. Operatives worked closely with intelligence agencies at U.S. allies to develop the hacking techniques. And they borrowed ideas from adversaries and the private sector too, refining tools that originated from Russia, criminals and university researchers.

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Though its no surprise the CIA deploys malicious software to gather information about specific individuals, the documents provide the first detailed glimpse into the agencys hacking capabilities. That unwelcome spotlight on U.S. spycraft could give an edge to enemies and raise fresh troubles for both President Trump and a digital-spying community thats been battered by repeated leaks this decade. Most concerning is whether further disclosures might reveal an agency thats overstepped its bounds.

The CIA declined to comment on the files authenticity, but WikiLeaks track record in vetting leaks and initial analysis by cybersecurity experts gave credence to them.

The data confirm the CIA maintains an extensive database of cyberweapons, said Matt Suiche, a well-known hacker who founded cybersecurity start-up Comae Technologies. It also shows they are buying from third parties, and that they are closely following every advancement in cybersecurity.

For example, one file details a hacking tactic code-named Fight Club, in which the CIA loads a virus onto USB thumb drives and tries to get them installed on a specific computer by someone who has access to the targets office or home. Another passage describes turning a TV into a listening device by getting someone to infect it with a thumb drive.

Such disclosures are unlikely to have the far-reaching repercussions of those revealed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who in 2013 disclosed domestic spying that bore deep into the Internet. Those revelations frosted the ties between the nations tech industry and the law enforcement and intelligence communities. They endangered foreign relations and forced public discussion for the first time about previously inconceivable programs.

The NSA disclosures revealed an agency that conducted surveillance with a broad brush  collecting data from anyone who talks on the phone or surfs online. The CIA files, on the other hand, show spies concentrating on precision attacks that involve being close to a subject to infiltrate specific devices, limiting their application.

But for a guarded organization such as the CIA, disclosures bring unwanted attention and force tactical changes.

If true, it can certainly set back the agencys cyberprogram, said Robert Bigman, who served as the CIAs chief information security officer until 2012. After leaks by Snowden, court-martialed Army soldier Chelsea Manning and others in recent years, the Obama administration attempted to crack down on unauthorized disclosures. Yet, someone appears to have compromised a top-secret CIA software development server last year and unleashed the material to the world, experts said.

They embarrassed our intelligence community, said John Bambenek, threat systems manager of Fidelis Cybersecurity. Right now, the biggest issue is that this data got taken away from the intelligence community again  and given to [WikiLeaks founder] Julian Assange again  and how many times does this have to happen before you make this stop?

WikiLeaks said the documents had been circulating illicitly among former U.S. agents and contractors before being passed to the activist organization, which is known for publishing large, sensitive and compromised databases. Several cybersecurity experts expressed doubts about the claim, though, with some speculating that a foreign intelligence agency may have been behind the dump.

Last year, Russia fed damaging material to WikiLeaks that included emails stolen from Democratic Party leaders as well as Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, U.S. intelligence agencies found.

The FBI, CIA and NSA concluded that Moscow most likely chose WikiLeaks because of its self-proclaimed reputation for authenticity. The agencies assessed with high confidence that Russias Main Intelligence Directorate had passed Podestas emails to WikiLeaks indirectly, allowing the website to deny cooperation with the Russian intelligence agencies, which Assange has done.

Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump praised WikiLeaks at a campaign rally, saying its amazing how nothing is secret today when you talk about the Internet.

The CIA may be learning that up close this week. The WikiLeaks files contain notes by software developers trying to hack software, including online office banter such as Dude, this isnt funny code, this is good stuff. They list the capabilities of different hacking methods and offer broad descriptions of the tactics they used.

WikiLeaks says it redacted the most important details about the cyberattacks developed by the CIA  including the code that reveals the inner-workings of the malware. But just because its not out yet doesnt mean it wont be published later. WikiLeaks said it might to do so after assessing the benefits and risks.

In Bambeneks view, everything shared with WikiLeaks should be considered compromised as companies race to fix any newly disclosed flaws in their products and enemies adjust behavior to counteract CIA methods.

Theres going to be a cost to the utility of these exploits, he said.

The disclosure reveals the CIA operates at a much smaller scale than the NSA, conducting its business like any hacker outside the government would. Its tools dont appear more powerful than those of the private sector, and they build upon existing creations as any independent cybersecurity professional does.

Industry experts added that whats been released so far shows an agency sticking to its mission: Help the president make national security decisions by figuring out what other countries leaders are up to.

The Secret Service suppresses cellphones near the presidential motorcade to prevent bombs from being triggered, said Robert Graham, chief executive of of Errata Security. The Air Force flies above in a special airplane that hacks Wi-Fi on the ground. The NSA does remote hacks from across the Internet or via radio. The CIA develops relationships with people across the world, and uses them as part of its operations.

Some methods described in the documents  including taking over webcams and stealing saved passwords from Internet browsers  didnt include any indication of how, or if they had been used. Evidence of widespread dissemination of such malware could raise red flags. There also was no immediate evidence that the CIA was hacking into the devices of U.S. citizens.

If they were using iPhone exploits on Black Lives Matter protesters, now we might be talking of an abuse of power, Bambenek said.

Public advocacy groups raised questions about whether the CIA was doing enough to tell technology companies about vulnerabilities in their products. Under a practice established under the Obama administration, the government is to carefully weigh whether its better to hold onto a secret hacking technique or share it with manufacturers. Not disclosing it could leave U.S. systems vulnerable if adversaries come up with the same method.

Its simply a fantasy to believe that only the good guys will be able to use these tools, said Nathan White, senior legislative manager at Silicon Valley-funded Access Now. It is critical for governments, law enforcement, technologists, and civil society to have an honest conversation about the impact of government hacking in the digital age.

The documents appear to span a period from 2013 to early 2016, which could explain why devices popularized in the last year such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home virtual assistant speakers werent spotted in the trove.

Many tactics mentioned date back years earlier. Makers of protection software apparently defeated by CIA malware offered limited comment, saying the issues are outdated or fixed.

We will continue to monitor the situation, one such vendor, Kaspersky Lab, said.

Apple said in a statement that its initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked today were already fixed in its latest mobile operating system. We will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities, the statement continued.

paresh.dave@latimes.com / PGP

Twitter: @peard33

ALSO

Trumps wiretapping suspicions find credence in conservative media

Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions defends Russia testimony and says he didnt mislead Congress

Nominee to be No. 2 at Justice Department resists call for special prosecutor in Russia investigation

UPDATES:

7:35 p.m.: This article was updated to include comment from Apple Inc.

This article was originally published at 5:50 p.m.
Since the announcement last year that Jaap van Zweden will serve as the New York Philharmonics next music director beginning in 2018, classical music pundits have analyzed the Dutch conductors every performance with heightened attention.

Angelenos will do the same this weekend, when Van Zweden returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall to lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic through the Fifth Symphonies of Beethoven and Shostakovich.

Van Zweden still remembers the first time he conducted Beethovens Fifth.

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It was in the Netherlands in the beginning of my conducting life and I was actually terrified for a piece which has been done so many times and under so many conductors we all know, he recalls. To make it interesting, Beethoven is asking you to really dig into the piece for the lines in the music which are maybe not so obvious at first. That is the terrifying thing  that you are not able to bring those lines out so much as you wanted.

Since those early days, Van Zweden, now 56, has developed into a bold, confident conductor. His dogged quest to unearth the deepest intricacies in the symphonies of Beethoven, Bruckner, Mahler and Shostakovich reaps thrilling, often surprising performances. In 2012, while serving as music director of both the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the respected website Musical America recognized him as its conductor of the year.

A muscular, imposing figure on the podium, Van Zwedens mature conducting style crackles with energy and seethes with intensity. When he led the New York Philharmonic through a performance of Beethovens Fifth in 2015, the New York Times Zachary Woolfe praised his meticulousness, describing the performance as particularly memorable and seductive.

Navigating Beethovens Fifth is one thing. Handling constant media scrutiny is another.

In 2014, an article in the Dallas Morning News painted Van Zweden as a difficult boss with a penchant for brow-beating. A year later, when the New York Times classical music staff outlined its wish lists for the New York Philharmonics next director, Van Zwedens name was conspicuously absent. In an article covering Van Zwedens appointment, New Yorker music critic Alex Ross noted that the conductor is not a marquee name and that some patrons might find the choice mystifying.

So whereas five years ago Van Zweden answered questions about Beethovens symphonies with carefree enthusiasm, today he is aware that everything he says and does is subject to examination, and that his repertoire choices have been criticized as less adventurous than current New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilberts.

Van Zweden is still eager to discuss Beethovens music but careful to amend his statements: I also do other things. I dont want to be put in a corner where people would say this is the composer he does the most or likes the best.

The conductor adds that he is very into Wagner opera at the moment, and he is quick to point out that the night before this interview, he conducted the world premiere of a new symphony by American composer Christopher Rouse with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Van Zweden says he approached Rouses new symphony the same way he tackles Beethovens familiar Fifth. Regardless of the piece, he studies the score intensely, mining it for the hidden gems of melodic and harmonic details that he then coaxes from the orchestra.

Theres always something new to find, he says. Whenever you get up in the morning, you get up as a pupil. I want to learn more things, to discover more things. That is actually how I like to live.

Van Zwedens passion for in-depth study no doubt aided his rise. This is a man who, according to his daughter, Anna Sophia, brings symphonic scores with him on family vacations. Even with a piece as well-worn as Beethovens Fifth, he always studies and never conducts on autopilot.

Van Zwedens musical life began in Amsterdam, where he fell in love with music as a boy listening to his father play the piano at night through the thin walls of their very little house.

Wanting to make music for himself, Van Zweden picked up the violin at age 7. By the time he was 15, he moved to New York to study his instrument at Juilliard. At age 19 he was the youngest person to be appointed concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.

As a young man, Van Zweden walked into an Amsterdam bar one night and met an artist named Aaltje. It was love at first sight for the violinist, who remembers finding his now-wife of 33 years instantly mesmerizing. The city is still home for the Van Zwedens, who have four children. Their oldest, Anna Sophia, is a curator who worked closely with her father at the Dallas Symphony to establish an annual art and music festival. Their sons still live in Amsterdam. Daniel is a businessman and Alexander a student. The couples experiences with their middle son, Benjamin, who is severely autistic, led them to establish the Papageno Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping autistic children and their families. Aaltje serves as director.

Van Zweden led an orchestra for the first time at the suggestion of Leonard Bernstein, who was guest-conducting the Concertgebouw in Berlin and wanted to hear the orchestra from the back of the hall. He handed the baton to Van Zweden during a rehearsal. Bernstein saw potential in the violinists unpolished conducting skills. Lenny, as Van Zweden affectionately calls his mentor, encouraged him to pursue conducting.

The podium suited Van Zweden, and by the mid-1990s he exchanged his violin bow for a conductors baton permanently. Suddenly I became what I actually always was, he says.

Van Zweden says something clicked the moment he realized his true calling.

He uses that same word  click  to describe his relationship with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, a group of musicians who, under his leadership, have thrived and evolved into a consistently taut and nimble ensemble. The word comes up again when he talks about the musicians of the New York Philharmonic. There was this enormous click with the members of the orchestra, he says. We have made some really wonderful connections already.

That spark between the conductor and the musicians in New York has been cited as a key factor in the decision to hire him. Whether or not New Yorks audiences and critics will feel a similar click remains to be seen. Van Zweden says that in the interim, he is not overly concerned by critics lukewarm response.

I think as an artist, you have to respect the people who write for the papers because they have been there for many years and they have relationships and trust and know the artists. I completely understand that, he says. But of course I hope that when I come, and they get to know me, they can rethink a little bit their mixed feelings.

This week, Van Zweden is looking forward to connecting with the L.A. Phil. He says that part of what keeps pieces like Beethovens Fifth Symphony fresh for him is the chance to explore them with different orchestras around the world.

I think that it is always a very important moment that you realize that an orchestra has its own history and its own DNA with certain pieces, and certainly with the Fifth of Beethoven, he says. At the same time, of course I take with me from my experience and my years with these pieces. I think that the truth is in the middle. Its about that meeting. That is what is interesting.

         

L.A. Phil with Jaap van Zweden

Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111. N. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 11 a.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $92-$195 (extremely limited availability, subject to change)

Information: (323) 850-2000, laphil.org

Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

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Were it not for the renegade work of club owner, Hollywood producer and self-described showman Fred Weintraub, the lives of Bruce Lee, Frankie Valli, Neil Diamond, Richard Pryor and Woody Allen, to say nothing of the mud-encrusted hippies Weintraub captured in the film Woodstock, might have taken other turns.

Weintraub died Sunday, leaving a legacy that included founding the storied New York folk and comedy club the Bitter End, green-lighting a music festival shoot that became the documentary Woodstock and signing the young martial arts expert Lee to star in the Weintraub-produced movie Enter the Dragon.



For the record: Correction: The original caption in a photo of the Bitter End misidentified the person in it. The photo is of a young Neil Diamond and not, as originally written, Fred Weintraub.

He died of natural causes after living with Parkinsons disease, wife Jackie Dubey-Weintraub said.

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Across his 88 years, Weintraub experienced a lot of adventure, and although much of it was behind the scenes, his mark on culture runs deep.

From the mean streets of Fort Apache, the East Bronx, he wrote in Bruce Lee, Woodstock and Me, his rollicking 2012 autobiography, to an island fortress in Hong Kong; from a Cuban jail cell shared with cockroaches, to a stroll down the red carpet at Cannes shared with the Beatles, Ive pretty much seen it all. Or at least as much as any nice, Jewish, Ritalin-deprived Depression baby could ever hope to see and do.

Fred Robert Weintraub was born in the Bronx in 1928, the only son of parents who owned and operated two baby furniture stores. Weintraub, who had two sisters, inherited that appetite for retail.

After attending the Wharton School of Business, he took over the familys Darling Furniture and Toy company, where the driven entrepreneur expanded the business to 50 stores and sold it in the late 1950s. Cuba was calling, so he made a foray to Havana. He landed a gig playing piano in a house of ill repute.

While there, Weintraub recounted being arrested and falsely accused of gun-running. He spent a few days in jail and upon release, eventually returned to New York City. Greenwich Village was a center of youth culture at the time, and Weintraub needed a way to burn up the restless energy that had plagued me since childhood, he wrote in his autobiography, which was co-authored with David Fields. He took over the lease on a little Village coffeehouse that he renamed the Bitter End.

Among those who performed at the Bitter End when Weintraub owned it were Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, George Carlin, Bill Cosby and Joan Rivers. On their debut album, the folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary posed in front of the Bitter Ends famous brick wall, an iconic backdrop that has since become the de facto standard for comedy clubs.

My earliest memory of the Bitter End, Allen said in Bruce Lee, Woodstock and Me, is that people told me it was a place for young people starting out, particularly at the Tuesday night Hootenanny. I went over, and Fred, who looked like a character who stepped out of a Russian novel, was instantly very warm, friendly and encouraging.

Weintraub sold the Bitter End and started producing for TV, where his early successes include creating the seminal music series Hootenanny.

When his friend Ted Ashley became the head of Warner Bros. film studio, Weintraub was hired as an executive in charge of production. After Easy Rider did so well, they wanted to hire someone with a ponytail down to his behind, he told Variety in 1994.

Weintraub fit the bill, and the hire paid off. One of Weintraubs first projects for the company was helping to finance Woodstock after being contacted by desperate festival organizers who needed film gear but were running out of money. According to Weintraubs account in the New York Post, Warner Bros. $500,000 investment helped Woodstock earn $32 million during its theatrical run.

He had found his calling. After producing the George C. Scott vehicle Rage, Weintraub set his sights on the kind of martial arts movies earning profits in Hong Kong. With a script in hand and looking to adapt that action for American audiences, Weintraub cast the young martial arts instructor Lee.

The film, Enter the Dragon, went on to gross more than $100 million worldwide, according to Variety. Tragically, Lee died a few days after the films release.

But Lee and Weintraub had tapped an emerging market. During the American premiere of Enter the Dragon, Rob Cohen, a director and producer, told the Sunday Mail that the turnout at Graumans Chinese Theatre was notable. The audience looked like they had emptied all the jails. It was the most street audience Id ever seen.

Weintraub left Warner Bros. to become an independent producer for both TV and film, and saw success with projects including the David Carradine vehicle Kung Fu and The Dukes of Hazzard. Long a believer in shoestring budgets, Weintraub decried the excesses of the Hollywood system while making films including Black Belt Jones, Force: Five, Under the Gun and High Road to China.

In the early 1990s, Weintraub and his wife, Jackie, helped build Lithuanias film industry after the fall of the Soviet Union. Seeking a budget-conscious location to shoot the series The New Adventures of Robin Hood, the pair opened a door that producers continue to use decades later.

Weintraubs experiences, especially after turning independent, led him to make a prescient prediction to the Creators Project in 2012. In five years, therell be 10 million people paying $2 to see a new movie on its first night on the Internet, he said.

I found the business fun, he added. Its still fun.

In addition to his wife, Weintraub is survived by two daughters, Sandra and Barbara, and two sons, Max and Zachary.

For tips, records, snapshots and stories on Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email: randall.roberts@latimes.com.
Three days before traveling from the City of Light to the City of Angels, Hermes mens artistic director Veronique Nichanian sat down in her office above the luxury labels Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore flagship store. Busy putting the finishing touches on the brands first West Coast menswear show, she stopped to talk about the March 9 event, how men have changed over the years and how her 29-year tenure at the house is like having a love affair.

Here are excerpts from the conversation with Nichanian:

You have been Hermes artistic director of mens ready-to-wear since 1988 and the entire mens universe of apparel and accessories since 2009. Whats the biggest change youve seen in menswear during that period?

I think men have more confidence in themselves than before, and now they are much more likely to express who they really are because in society there is not as much judgment like, Oh, hes not wearing a tie so hes not serious. You can be a credible gentleman in denim or sneakers.

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How do you explain what  for the fashion industry anyway  is an unusually long tenure?

Its like having a love affair. Im happy with them. They are happy with me, and time flies.  My friends at different [fashion] houses dream of my job because nobody is saying to me, Veronique, dont do that or Veronique, make more ties. From the beginning, Ive had carte blanche. And when you are a creative person at a beautiful house and can do everything you want, why not? When youre happy, you dont want to go anywhere.

Speaking of being happy, the collection youre showing at the DWNTWN MEN event in Los Angeles is the spring/summer 2017 collection you showed here in Paris in June, and it has a pretty upbeat vibe to it thanks to some bright pops of yellow and fun tie-dye patterns on shirts, jackets and sweaters. Whats the backstory there?

Its been such a strange and bizarre time with the economic problems and everything. I wanted to provide some lightness, some happiness and positivity. The future should be beautiful. Thats why I absolutely wanted to have the Beatles All You Need Is Love play at the end.

How important is the music in your shows?

It is very important. Thats why I [put the soundtracks together] myself. I have been working with the same guy for 15 years. Sometimes I will tell him exactly what I want, and sometimes he will propose things. But all of the elements are important. It creates the emotion you want and links everything together.

Thats why the Los Angeles event includes a room set up like a music store to play all of our music from past shows. Hermes prints from each show will be [printed on the sleeves] of vinyl record albums, and when you choose an album, it will play the music from the corresponding show.

The house is really pulling out all the stops for the Los Angeles event. In addition to the fashion show, youve taken over a huge warehouse space in Chinatown, youre hosting a dinner, youre staging a concert and a fashion show and youve commissioned graphic artist and printmaker Anthony Burrill to create posters and slogans. Whats the purpose of it all? And why choose Los Angeles in particular?

Its about talking directly to the California people because I realize maybe they dont know the entire [Hermes] mens universe  the shoes, the bags, the clothes, the ties  Also, its a big, fun party for friends, customers and journalists. We did this in a different way in Japan in October. But we want to talk to the Americans in an American way.

And weve had events in New York and Chicago before but never anything on the West Coast. Theres such a great energy in Los Angeles, and there are so many things going on. I want to be part of that.

adam.tschorn@latimes.com

For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me at @ARTschorn.

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The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Fifty Years lobby display incorporates newspaper clippings as early as 1969 and artifacts exploring the museums genesis from a modest building to its current incarnation as a principal contemporary art venue.

Current displays include Process in the Main Gallery; the Masking exhibition in the Braunstein Gallery; and Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here in the Teaching Gallery, film screenings and public readings. Open Monday through Saturday with free admission and contributions welcome.
USC names retired aerospace executive Wanda Austin as acting president, announces Nikias departure By Harriet Ryan USC appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president and laid out a detailed plan for selecting a permanent leader Tuesday, ending speculation about whether outgoing President C.L. Max Nikias might remain in the post. Nikias, embattled over his administrations handling of a campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, relinquished his duties after a meeting of USCs board. The trustees tapped one of their own, Wanda Austin, an alumna and former president of the Aerospace Corp., to temporarily run the university. The trustees also approved the formation of a search committee and the hiring of firm Isaacson, Miller to coordinate the selection of a successor. A second search company, Heidrick & Struggles, will also advise trustees. Read More Facebook

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Ex-student sues elite Brentwood School after teacher is charged with sexually abusing him By Richard Winton A former student sued the elite Brentwood School on Monday in the wake of a female teacher being charged with repeatedly having sex with the minor, alleging that other faculty members encouraged the unlawful behavior and failed to report it to authorities. The lawsuit accuses the private school, whose students include the children of many of Hollywoods elite and L.A.s powerful, of acting negligently and allowing Aimee Palmitessa to abuse and batter the teenager sexually. The suit alleges that the student was abused in summer 2017 after one of the schools counselors offered words of encouragement to the then-17-year-old, identified in the suit as only John Doe, to engage in an illegal relationship with the teacher. Read More Facebook

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Civil jury vindicates fired Montebello school executives in whistleblower case By Howard Blume The Montebello school district is in dire straits  at risk of insolvency and under apparent criminal investigation. An outside audit in July found some teachers earning more than $200,000 a year, as well as improper raises, excess paid vacation time and inappropriate overtime, sick leave and car allowances. Fixing the district and pinpointing blame could take time. Read More Facebook

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L.A. schools fall short on safety measures, new report warns By Howard Blume After the mass shooting at Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, Los Angeles school officials reassured parents that much had been done to keep local schools safe. California had tougher gun laws, after all, and the school district paid close attention to students mental health. But a new report issued Monday by a panel convened to take a close look offers some cause for concern, flagging inconsistent campus safety measures, thinly spread mental health staff and inadequate coordination between the school district and other public agencies. With the stakes this high, we must strive to do better, said L.A. City Atty. Mike Feuer, who assembled the panel. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school district says more are graduating, but rate may not show it By Howard Blume The L.A. Unified School District has hopes of continuing its winning streak this year with another record graduation rate, but the official numbers may not show it. A senior district administrator warned the board Tuesday that graduation rates were likely to decline 2% to 3% across the state, even though L.A. Unified is likely doing better than ever in producing graduates, he said. The issue is that the state will now count high school students who transfer to adult school as dropouts, said Oscar Lafarga, who heads the districts office of data and accountability. Previously, schools treated these students as though they had simply enrolled in another high school, he said. Read More Facebook

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Betsy DeVos to California: Not so fast on that federal education plan By Joy Resmovits In April, Californias top education officials breathed a sigh of relief. After months of debate and back-and-forth with Betsy DeVos staff, they had finalized a plan to satisfy a major education law that aims to make sure all students get a decent education. The state focused on aligning its plan to fulfill the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act with Californias Local Control Funding Formula, which gives extra money to districts to help students who come from low-income families, are in the foster system or are English learners. But this week, DeVos team said not so fast. Jason Botel, the U.S. Department of Educations principal deputy assistant secretary, sent California education officials a letter asking for more information in such areas as measuring student progress, graduation rates and English learners. In an unsigned statement, the California Department of Education declared itself surprised and disappointed because officials thought  after a meeting with federal officials in Washington  that they were on the right track to get approval. Now the Every Student Succeeds Act plan will be up for discussion once again at the July meeting of the State Board of Education. The U.S. Department of Education has already approved most state plans. Every Student Succeeds is the Obama administrations 2015 replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act. Facebook

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L.A. school board sets a new goal: prepare every grad to be eligible to apply for Cal State or UC By Sonali Kohli Last month, Los Angeles school board president proposed a spate of highly ambitious mandates aimed at ensuring that every district graduate be eligible to apply to one of the states public four-year universities by 2023. By the time the L.A. Unified school board unanimously approved the resolution Tuesday, the original language had been watered down. The goal is no longer that in five years 100% of students meet the long list of benchmarks, which include not just college eligibility for graduates but first-grade reading proficiency and English fluency by sixth grade for all students who enter the district in kindergarten or first grade speaking another language. The original college-readiness goal, for example, called for 100% of all high school students to be eligible to apply to one of the states four-year universities. Now the goal seems to offer more wiggle room: Prepare all high school graduates to be eligible to apply to a California four-year university. Read More Facebook

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We have been hurt. More women say they were mistreated by USC gynecologist By Richard Winton USC student Anika Narayanan says she vividly recalls her first appointment with Dr. George Tyndall at the campus health center, alleging that he made several explicit comments during an examination she felt was inappropriate and invasive. When she came back for a second visit in 2016 after a nonconsensual sexual encounter, he allegedly chastised her, she said in a civil lawsuit and at a press conference Tuesday. He asked me if I had forgotten to use a condom again,  said Narayanan, 21. At one point, she said, Tyndall asked if I did a lot of doggy style,  she said. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unified gives inspector general brief contract extension By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school board on Tuesday extended the contract of Ken Bramlett, its inspector general, by three months, though his job is far from secure and questions remain about the future direction of his watchdog office. Board members also unanimously promoted Vivian Ekchian, who had been the runner-up for the superintendents job, to deputy superintendent  the districts No. 2 position. Both moves had elements of peacemaking between different factions on the board. Read More Facebook

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USCs handling of complaints about campus gynecologist is being investigated by federal government By Harriet Ryan The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into how the University of Southern California handled misconduct complaints against a campus gynecologist, the latest fallout in a scandal that has prompted the resignation of USCs president, two law enforcement investigations and dozens of lawsuits. In revealing the inquiry by the departments Office of Civil Rights, officials rebuked USC for what they alleged was improper withholding of information about Dr. George Tyndall during a previous federal investigation. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has been criticized for taking a less vigorous approach to examining sexual misconduct than predecessors, called for a systemic examination of USC and urged administrators to fully cooperate. Read More Facebook

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Judge to sentence woman and her boyfriend for the murder of an 8-year-old that led to L.A. child welfare reforms By Marisa Gerber A woman and her boyfriend are expected to be sentenced Thursday for the torture and murder of an 8-year-old boy whose killing in 2013 provoked public outrage, prompted sweeping reform of Los Angeles Countys child welfare system, and led to unprecedented criminal charges against social workers who handled the childs case. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 34, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the death of her son, Gabriel. A jury decided last year that her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, 37, should be executed. When paramedics arrived at the boys Palmdale home in May 2013, Gabriel had slipped out of consciousness. He had a fractured skull, broken ribs, burned skin, missing teeth and BB pellets embedded in his groin. A paramedic would later testify that every inch of the boys small body had been abused. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unifieds spending out of step with similar school systems, task force says By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school district is out of step with similar school systems, spending more on teachers pay and health benefits and less on activities that could enhance student learning, according to a new report by an outside task force. The L.A. Unified School District Advisory Task Force did not make specific recommendations, but instead posed a series of questions it said the district needs to answer to make sure its funding is aimed at providing a full opportunity for all students to succeed. What were trying to say is: Lets put the data on the table. Lets look at the truth. Lets be transparent and here are the numbers, said task force member Renata Simril. This is not to say that  we should cut teachers salaries. Read More Facebook

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Top USC medical school official feared dean was doing drugs and alerted administration, he testifies By Paul Pringle A former vice dean of USCs Keck School of Medicine testified Tuesday that he feared the schools then-dean, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, could be doing drugs and expressed concerns about his general well-being to the universitys No. 2 administrator before Puliafito abruptly left his job in 2016. Dr. Henri Fords testimony at a hearing of the state Medical Board marks the first suggestion that any USC administrator had suspicions about Puliafitos possible drug use before he stepped down. A Times investigation in 2017 found Puliafito led a secret second life of using illegal drugs with a circle of young criminals and addicts. Puliafito testified about his behavior at the hearing Tuesday, saying he took drugs with one young woman on a weekly basis. Ford said that he decided to alert USC Provost Michael Quick after receiving reports in early 2016 that Puliafito was partying in hotels with people of questionable reputation, and that he came to worry about his mental stability. Read More Facebook

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Why L.A. Unified may face financial crisis even with a giant surplus this year By Jessica Calefati With more than half a billion dollars socked away for next school year, the Los Angeles Unified School District hardly seems just two years from financial ruin. Its a scenario that is especially tough to swallow if youre a low-wage worker seeking a raise or a teacher who wants smaller classes. But budget documents show that todays $548-million surplus cannot be sustained  and that even basic services face steep, seemingly unavoidable cuts because of massive problems barreling the districts way. Theres a disconnect between the rosy short-term picture and what we know is coming, said board member Kelly Gonez. Read More Facebook

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We have failed: Top USC officials try to reassure students amid gynecologist scandal By Joy Resmovits Top administrators at USC are reaching out to students in the wake of misconduct allegations against the universitys longtime gynecologist, acknowledging failings and vowing reforms as they try to address growing outrage over the revelations. Several USC deans have sent out messages trying to reassure students and faculty that the university is committed to changing. We have failed, wrote Jack H. Knott, dean of USCs Sol Price School of Public Policy, in a May 24 letter. What happened is antithetical to everything we know is right. Read More Facebook

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Rick Caruso is named chair of USCs trustees, vows swift investigation of gynecologist scandal By Thomas Curwen The University of Southern Californias board of trustees has elected mall magnate Rick Caruso to be the new chair of the board, giving fresh leadership as the university navigates a widening scandal involving a longtime campus gynecologist. The move marks the latest effort by USC to address the case, which has sparked a criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and dozens of civil lawsuits. More than 400 people have contacted a hotline that the university established for patients to make reports about their experience with Dr. George Tyndall. In his first act as chairman, Caruso announced that the white-shoe L.A. law firm OMelveny & Myers would conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the gynecologists conduct and reporting failures at the clinic. He set an ambitious timeline for the review, pledging it would conclude before students return for the fall semester. Read More Facebook

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UC Berkeley students persistence helps win more liberal rules for in-state tuition By Teresa Watanabe Ifechukwu Okeke thought shed be a shoo-in for in-state tuition when she was admitted to UC Berkeley for fall 2016. She had moved to the United States from Nigeria in 2012 to go to Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga. By the time she got her acceptance to transfer to UC to study molecular and cell biology, she had lived in California four years. She had a California drivers license, bank account and rental records as proof. UC Berkeley, however, ruled she was a nonresident  which meant she would have to pay nearly $27,000 more. Read More Facebook

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State medical board calls former County-USC doctor a sexual predator, suspends his license By Matt Hamilton A UCLA cardiologist has been temporarily stripped of his medical license after state regulators described him as a sexual predator who assaulted three female colleagues when he was working and training at L.A. County-USC Medical Center. Read More Facebook

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Global California 2030 aims to get more students learning more languages By Joy Resmovits Tom Torlakson (Andrew Seng / Associated Press) Outgoing state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Wednesday announced a new statewide effort to encourage students to learn more languages. Called Global California 2030, its goal is to help more students become fluent in multiple tongues. Torlakson said that by 2030, he wants half of the states 6.2 million K-12 students to participate in classes or programs that lead to proficiency in two or more languages. By 2040, he wants three out of four students to be proficient enough to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy. Torlakson announced the initiative at Cahuenga Elementary School, which offers a dual-language immersion program in English and Korean. Californias public school students speak more than 60 languages at home, and 40% come to school with knowledge of a language other than English. Torlakson called his plan a call to action that invites parents, legislators, educators and community members to pool resources to expand language offerings in schools and get more bilingual teachers trained. He said the state already is working with Mexico and Spain to expand a teacher-exchange program. Fluency, the plan argues, can help students succeed economically  and language acquisition can help their overall critical thinking. The initiative builds on Proposition 58, a ballot initiative passed in 2016 that undid an earlier requirement that English learners be taught in English-immersion classes unless their parents signed waivers. Torlakson recently visited Mexico and met with that countrys education secretary. They later signed a pact to increase collaboration, particularly in language education. This [Global California 2030] is great follow-through on Toms part and very important, Patricia Gandara, a UCLA education professor who hosted the Mexico meeting, said in an email. It hands over a plan to move forward in an area in which California has a unique advantage, but must seize the opportunity. Facebook

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Jury convicts man of murder in 2015 slaying of UCLA student found inside her burning apartment By Marisa Gerber A jury on Tuesday convicted a man in the 2015 slaying of a UCLA student found dead inside her burning apartment  a gruesome stabbing case that led to a fierce rebuke of the police response amid concerns that the killing could have been prevented. The panel deliberated for about six hours before finding Alberto Medina, 24, guilty of murder, arson, burglary and animal cruelty. On Sept. 21, 2015, firefighters found the charred body of Andrea DelVesco inside her apartment after responding to the complex a block from campus. The 21-year-old student  an Austin, Texas, native known to her sorority sisters as a fearless giver who befriended others with ease  was stabbed at least 19 times, authorities said. Read More Facebook

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LAPD begins sweeping criminal probe of former USC gynecologist while urging patients to come forward By Adam Elmahrek The Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday it is investigating 52 complaints of misconduct filed by former patients of USCs longtime campus gynecologist as detectives launch a sweeping criminal probe into the scandal that has rocked the university. LAPD detectives also made an appeal for other patients who feel mistreated to come forward, noting that thousands of students were examined by Dr. George Tyndall during his nearly 30-year career at USC. More than 410 people have contacted a university hotline about the physician since The Times revealed the allegations this month. Tyndalls behavior and practices appear to go beyond the norms of the medical profession and gynecological examinations, said Asst. Chief Beatrice Girmala. We sincerely realize that victims may have difficulty recounting such details to investigators. We are empathetic and ready to listen. Read More Facebook

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At L.A.'s only school for the deaf, parents want leaders who speak the same language By Anna M. Phillips Ever since her son was 6 months old, Juliet Hidalgo has been bringing him to the Marlton School, a low-slung building in Baldwin Hills that for generations has been a second home for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Los Angeles. Marlton staff taught Hidalgos brother and sister, both of whom are deaf. The school was where her deaf son learned to make the signs for milk and food. Hidalgo had planned to enroll her daughter, taking advantage of a popular program that allows hearing children to learn American Sign Language alongside their deaf siblings. But after more than a decade of involvement, she and other family members are considering withdrawing their children. They are not alone. Read More Facebook

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Fueled by unlimited donations, independent groups play their biggest role yet in a California primary for governor By Ryan Menezes An unprecedented amount of money from wealthy donors, unions and corporations is flowing into the California governors race, giving independent groups  unrestricted by contribution limits  a greater say in picking the states chief executive than ever before. The groups have already spent more than $26 million through Thursday, the most ever spent by noncandidate committees in a gubernatorial primary, according to a Times analysis of campaign finance reports. California elections have always been expensive, and the future is even more expensive, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College and a former state Republican leader. The stakes are very real. Read More Facebook

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2 hurt in Indiana middle school shooting; suspect in custody, authorities say By Associated Press Authorities say two victims in a shooting at a suburban Indianapolis school are being taken to a hospital and the lone suspect is in custody. Bryant Orem, a spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, said in a news release that the victims in Friday mornings attack at Noblesville West Middle School are being taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and their families have been notified. He says no other information is available about the victims. Orem said the suspect is believed to have acted alone and was taken into custody. No additional information about the suspect was made public. Read More Facebook

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For new L.A. schools chief Austin Beutner, some key unions are giving no honeymoon period By Howard Blume In the less than two weeks since Austin Beutner took charge of Los Angeles schools, unions representing teachers and administrators have staged a job action and a protest. Theyve made it clear that they will not give the new superintendent the traditional honeymoon period, and they are bashing him for his wealth and lack of experience running either a school or a school district. Beutner is a billionaire investment banker with zero qualifications, local teachers union President Alex Caputo-Pearl told members in a phone alert urging them to participate in a Thursday afternoon rally in Grand Park. The board is saying that billionaires who made their money blowing institutions up and making money off it know best  not the education professionals who have dedicated our careers to working with students. Read More Facebook

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Pressure grows on Board of Trustees amid USC gynecologist scandal By Paul Pringle USCs large and powerful Board of Trustees is coming under growing pressure to provide a stronger hand as the university faces a crisis over misconduct allegations against the campus longtime gynecologist that has prompted calls for President C.L. Max Nikias to step down. Allegations that Dr. George Tyndall mistreated students during his nearly 30 years at USC have roiled the campus, with about 300 people coming forward to make reports to the university and the Los Angeles Police Department launching a criminal investigation. USC is already beginning to face what is expected to be costly litigation by women who say they were victimized by the physician. So far, the trustees to whom Nikias reports have expressed sympathy for the women who have come forward and launched an independent investigation while also publicly backing the president. Read More Facebook

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UC regents approve leaner budget for Janet Napolitano By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents on Thursday unanimously approved a leaner, more transparent budget for President Janet Napolitano, moving to address political criticism over the systems central office operations. The $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 reflects spending cuts of 2%, including reductions in staffing, travel and such systemwide programs as public service law fellowships, carbon neutrality and food security. Napolitano shifted $30 million to campuses for housing needs and $10 million to UC Riverside to support its five-year-old medical school. She also permanently redirected $8.5 million annually to help enroll more California students, as required by the state. Read More Facebook

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USCs Academic Senate calls on university president to resign after a series of scandals By Matt Hamilton The body that represents USCs faculty called on President C.L. Max Nikias to resign Wednesday in the wake of relevations that the universitys longtime gynecologist faced years of accusations of misconduct by students and colleagues at the campus health clinic. The Academic Senate took the vote late Wednesday afternoon after a fiery town hall meeting attended by more than 100 faculty members, many of whom voiced outrage over Nikias and the Board of Trustees leadership. The vote came a day after the trustees executive committee stood firmly behind Nikias, saying it has full confidence in his leadership, ethics and values. At the town hall meeting, Senate President Paul Rosenbloom said he did not think Nikias or Provost Michael Quick committed wrongdoing but that the university president deserved criticism for a lack of transparency. Read More Facebook

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Californias public universities on the way to getting a big longed-for boost in funding By Teresa Watanabe The University of California and California State University systems are poised to get major funding boosts that will help them enroll thousands of additional state students and eliminate the need for tuition increases in the coming school year. A key Assembly budget panel on Wednesday approved $117.5 million in new funds for the UC. A Senate panel approved a similar sum last week. The same committees recently approved even more funding for the Cal State system. Read More Facebook

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UC regents to scrutinize Janet Napolitanos office budget in a step toward stronger oversight By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents this week plan to scrutinize the budget of President Janet Napolitano, whose office came under political fire last year for questionable spending and murky accounting. Regents will vote on the proposed $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 during their two-day meeting, which starts Wednesday, at UC San Francisco. They also will discuss state funding, financial aid, online education and transfer student policies. Board Chairman George Kieffer said regents are stepping up to exert stronger oversight of the presidents office after a blistering state audit last year found financial problems including an unreported $175 million budget reserve. Read More Facebook

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State legislative panels approve major funding boost for Cal State By Teresa Watanabe After months of intensive lobbying, Cal State University has convinced two key legislative panels to approve funding to enroll nearly 11,000 more students, hire more faculty and expand housing aid to those without shelter this fall. An Assembly budget panel on Tuesday approved $215.7 million more for Cal State, adding to Gov. Jerry Browns proposed $92.1 million general fund increase. A Senate budget panel approved a similar increase last week. The extra funding  which went beyond Cal States own request to the Legislature of $171 million  is still subject to final budget negotiations with Brown. But the actions by the Senate and Assembly panels amount to a demand from Democrats that the governor hike higher education spending. Cal State University is the workhorse undergraduate university serving hundreds of thousands of Californians, said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who heads the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. We need more graduates for the California workforce and higher education is the ticket to the middle class. Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White hailed the actions, but said it was too soon to celebrate. The CSU has a singular focus on helping students earn high-quality degrees sooner, and the entire university community has rallied to reinforce that message to our states lawmakers, he said in a statement. The actions taken thus far by the Assembly and Senate are promising and show that our message is being received, but there is still work to be done. Funding for the University of California was not taken up Tuesday as originally scheduled. McCarty would not comment on sticking points but said he was confident that a resolution would be reached this week. Were looking to provide resources above whats in the governors budget, but negotiations are ongoing, he said in an interview. State per-student funding is not what it once was, leaving both Cal State and the UC in a tough financial squeeze. Both systems raised tuition last year after a six-year freeze on higher costs. For this year, Cal State had asked for funding to enroll an additional 3,621 students, but both the Senate and Assembly panels approved three times that amount. Cal State, the largest public university system in the nation, turned away 32,000 eligible students last year because its campuses werent able to accommodate them. The panels asked that at least $50 million of the extra funding be used to hire more tenure-track faculty to help boost graduation rates. The Assembly panel also approved one-time funding of $5 million to ease hunger on campuses and $14 million for rapid rehousing pilot projects at three campuses, offering needy students rental support and short-term case management. Other items approved include $5 million to support the CSU Long Beach Shark Labs research on sharks and beach safety and $2 million for equal employment opportunity practices. This post has been updated to include comments from Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White. Facebook

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Faculty members call for USC president to step down: He has lost the moral authority to lead By Matt Hamilton Two hundred USC professors on Tuesday demanded the resignation of university President C. L. Max Nikias, saying he had lost the moral authority to lead in the wake of revelations that a campus gynecologist was kept on staff for decades despite repeated complaints of misconduct. Read More Facebook

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Gun battle, negotiations lasted 15 minutes before Texas school shooter was apprehended, sheriff says By Molly Hennessy-Fiske Minutes after a school shooter opened fire in an art class last week, killing 10 people and wounding 13, including a local police officer, fellow officers returned fire in a protracted gun battle before isolating the suspect, the local sheriff said Monday. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset praised first responders as well as Santa Fe Police Officer John Barnes, who was working as a resource officer at the school the day of the shooting. Their actions, he said, prevented the attack from spreading to other classrooms and potentially claiming additional victims. As officials continue to probe last Fridays shooting at Santa Fe High School, students are worried about returning to the scene of the attack when classes resume next week. Read More Facebook

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6 women sue USC, alleging they were victimized by campus gynecologist By Richard Winton Six women filed civil lawsuits Monday alleging that a longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California sexually victimized them under the pretext of medical care and that USC failed to address complaints from clinic staff about the doctors behavior. One woman alleged Dr. George Tyndall forced his entire ungloved hand into her vagina during an appointment in 2003 while making vulgar remarks about her genitalia, according to one of the lawsuits. Another woman alleged that Tyndall groped her breasts in a 2008 visit and that later he falsely told her she likely had AIDS. A third woman accused the doctor of grazing his ungloved fingers over her nude body and leering at her during a purported skin exam, the lawsuit states. The wave of litigation comes as USC continues to grapple with the scandal, which legal experts said could prove costly to the university as scores of former patients come forward about their experiences with the gynecologist. Read More Facebook

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Fatalities reported in Texas high school shooting; suspect arrested, officials say By Associated Press Houston-area media citing unnamed law enforcement officials are reporting that there are fatalities following a shooting at a local high school Friday morning. Television station KHOU and the Houston Chronicle are citing unnamed federal, county and police officials following the shooting at Santa Fe High School, which went on lockdown around 8 a.m. The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the reports. The school district has confirmed an unspecified number of injuries but said it wouldnt immediately release further details. Assistant Principal Cris Richardson said a suspect has been arrested and secured. Read More Facebook

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This student followed the new L.A. schools chief on his first-day tour Melissa Barales-Lopez, a senior at Garfield High School followed Supt. Austin Beutner on his first day on the job, as he toured a variety of programs around the Los Angeles Unified School District. Heres what she took from the experience. LAUSD students and staff alike are looking for a personal champion, someone who will address and improve the difficulties afflicting their education.  What LAUSD students need is someone whos willing to listen and learn, someone who can understand the current issues affecting their schools and act to efficiently amend them, someone who can unlock the full potential of LAUSD students and enable them to reach their goals. During the entirety of his first day, superintendent Austin Beutner did indeed demonstrate a willingness to learn. Posing questions to teachers and students, Beutner engaged with the student communities he encountered to gain a better comprehension of the minutiae and nuances that distinguish each school inside an overwhelmingly large district. From inquiries about Grand View Boulevard Elementary Schools dual language program to questions regarding the services of LAUSDs after-school program, Beyond the Bell, Beutner revealed he has a lot to learn about the system. But, Beutner also showcased a willingness to tackle challenges head-on on his first day. Read More Facebook

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USC let a gynecologist continue treating students despite years of misconduct allegations By Matt Hamilton For nearly 30 years, the University of Southern Californias student health clinic had one full-time gynecologist: Dr. George Tyndall. Tall and garrulous with distinctive jet black hair, he treated tens of thousands of female students, many of them teenagers seeing a gynecologist for the first time. Few who lay down on Tyndalls exam table at the Engemann Student Health Center knew that he had been accused repeatedly of misconduct toward young patients. The complaints began in the 1990s, when co-workers alleged he was improperly photographing students genitals. In the years that followed, patients and nursing staff accused him again and again of creepy behavior, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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On his first day as L.A. schools chief, Beutner plans a day of visits across the district By Howard Blume L.A. Unifieds new superintendent, Austin Beutner, will kick off his first day of work on Tuesday with a choreographed tour of the nations second-largest school district, from the San Fernando Valley to Carson. His day is scheduled to begin at 5:15 a.m. at a school bus depot and end more than 12 hours later at a parent meeting at Garfield High School. Along the way, Beutner is expected to be joined by school district administrators, L.A. Unified board members and the vice president of the union that represents school bus drivers. Though he will be covering a lot of ground, Beutners tour has him skipping Tuesdays school board meeting, when board members are expected to discuss labor negotiations in closed session. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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Why a handful of rich charter school supporters are spending millions to elect Antonio Villaraigosa as governor By Ryan Menezes California voters have seen a barrage of sunny television ads in recent weeks touting former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosas record on finances, crime and education, aired by Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018. But the group is, in fact, largely funded by a handful of wealthy charter-school supporters. Together they have spent more than $13 million in less than a month to boost Villaraigosas chances in the June 5 primary  at a time when his fundraising and poll numbers are lagging. Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, jump-started the group with a $7-million check, by far the largest donation to support any candidate in the election. Their efforts are part of a broader proxy war among Democrats between teachers unions  longtime stalwarts of the party  and those who argue that the groups have failed low-income and minority schoolchildren. Read More Facebook

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Talking schools with L.A. Unifieds new superintendent By Anna M. Phillips Austin Beutner, who officially starts Tuesday as the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is taking on a famously difficult job at a particularly difficult time. The school board is divided and did not back him unanimously. The nations second-largest school district has deep-seated problems, including declining enrollment, lagging academic achievement and rising pension and healthcare costs that eat away at its budget. The 58-year-old former investment banker and former L.A. Times publisher has years of experience in the financial world but none as an educator. Earlier this week, he sat down with the Times education team to discuss the challenges facing the district, which has about 60,000 employees and 500,000 students in traditional public schools. He did not talk about his plans  saying repeatedly, stay tuned  but he spoke in broad terms about his mindset in approaching the tough decisions ahead. Read More Facebook

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Suspect detained, authorities search campus after reports of armed man at Palmdale high school By James Queally One person has been detained after a report of an armed man at a Palmdale high school sparked a massive law enforcement response Friday morning. The suspect was spotted at 7:05 a.m. on the campus of Highland High School in Palmdale, according to Sheriffs Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. The person was detained in a nearby parking lot, according to Nishida, who did not know whether that person was an adult or juvenile. Deputies at the scene are clearing the school methodically, and students will be transported home via school buses once the campus is deemed safe, Nishida said. Read More Facebook

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The education of Bertha Perez: How a UC Merced custodians disenchantment led to a political awakening By Robin Abcarian Its the third day of a three-day strike, and UC Merced custodian Bertha Perez is taking a break from a picket line at the universitys unremarkable entrance, an intersection with stop lights. Photos from other UC campuses this week have shown big crowds of striking service workers  members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  marching and chanting pro-labor slogans as they try to force the University of California back to the negotiating table. But here, at UC Merced, whose handful of big buildings rise from a flat expanse of farmland, the picket line is tiny, maybe two dozen workers and a few students. Its not a big-city-style show of force. Then again, a union sympathizer is banging relentlessly on a snare drum, so its noisier than youd expect. Read More Facebook

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Ref Rodriguez resigns from teacher credentialing commission By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez appears during a court appearance. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez has resigned from the states Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which oversees the integrity and quality of Californias teachers. Rodriguez faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. Separately, his former employer, a charter school organization, has accused him of improperly authorizing checks to a nonprofit under his control. Rodriguez has denied wrongdoing. Rodriguezs resignation from the state body was effective May 4, days after he cast a crucial vote as part of a narrow majority that voted to authorize contract negotiations with Austin Beutner to become superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District. Beutners first official day on the job is Tuesday. Rodriguez remains in his $125,000-a-year position on the Los Angeles Board of Education. The mission of the state body is to ensure integrity, relevance, and high quality in the preparation, certification, and discipline of Californias teachers. Critics had questioned Rodriguezs continued service on the commission, given that teachers can be suspended from work if they face criminal charges. They also can lose their jobs for lapses in personal behavior, such as excessive drinking, with the potential to affect their performance. Police in Pasadena arrested Rodriguez on a Friday afternoon in March for public drunkenness. He was not charged in the incident and has apologized. The state commission reviews teacher discipline cases and can take action to remove a teachers credential to work in a California classroom. The commission has 15 members. Rodriguezs departure was disclosed in a one-sentence announcement on the agencys website. Facebook

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School board members request for restraining order against blogger is rejected By Priscella Vega An Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a school board members petition for a permanent restraining order against a Huntington Beach blogger. Attorney Jeffrey W. Shields filed the petition on behalf of Ocean View School District trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin, 46, who alleged in court documents that Charles Keeler Johnson, 56, has threatened her on social media and at school board meetings, causing her to fear for my own safety and for that of my immediate family members. Johnson, who goes by Chuck and publishes HBSledgehammer.com, said the trustee tried to stifle his freedom of speech. He also contended that Clayton-Tarvin took his blog posts and Facebook comments too seriously and out of context, saying anyone who is afraid of metaphors has serious issues. Read More Facebook

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Deal with workers averts one-day strike that could have shut down L.A. schools By Howard Blume Los Angeles school district and union officials announced a contract agreement Tuesday night that averted a one-day strike planned for next week. The pact, which runs through June 2020, removes one labor problem from the desk of incoming Supt. Austin Beutner  whose first day on the job would have coincided with the strike. Plenty of other challenges remain. Read More Facebook

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UC labor strike expands with show of support from more unions By Teresa Watanabe Fong Chuu is a registered nurse who has assisted with countless liver transplants, kidney surgeries and gastric bypasses during 34 years at UCLA. Working with her are scrub technicians who sterilize equipment, hand medical instruments to the surgeon and dress patient wounds. They are a team, Chuu says, which is why she walked off her job Tuesday in support of those technicians and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299. The 25,000 member AFSCME local, the University of Californias largest employee union, launched a three-day strike Monday. Read More Facebook

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We are humans too: Voices of UCLAs striking custodians, hospital aides and imaging technicians By Joy Resmovits Demonstrators parade in front of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) This week, thousands of UC employees are staging a three-day strike for better pay and working conditions. On Monday, more than 20,000 custodians, cooks, lab technicians, nurse aides and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 walked off their jobs. By Tuesday, two more unions joined in sympathy strikes. The union and UC reached a bargaining impasse last year. The university has said it wont meet the workers demands. The strikers said they wanted better pay, more equity in the allocation of work, stable healthcare premiums and an end to the universitys use of contract workers. These are their stories. Read More Facebook

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Massive UC workers strike disrupts dining, classes and medical services By Joy Resmovits A massive labor strike across the University of California on Monday forced medical centers to reschedule more than 12,000 surgeries, cancer treatments and appointments, and campuses to cancel some classes and limit dining services. More than 20,000 members of UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, walked off their jobs on the first day of a three-day strike. They include custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Two altercations involving protesters and people driving near the rallies were reported at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz. At UCLA, police took a man into custody Monday after he drove his vehicle into a crowd, hitting three staff members. They were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released, said Lt. Kevin Kilgore of the UCLA Police Department. Read More Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris to skip UC Berkeley commencement in support of striking workers By Teresa Watanabe California Sen. Kamala Harris has canceled plans to deliver UC Berkeleys commencement address this weekend in support of UC workers who are on strike over wages and health benefits. Due to the ongoing labor dispute, Sen. Harris regretfully cannot attend and speak at this years commencement ceremony at UC Berkeley, said a statement from Harris office issued Monday. She wishes the graduates and their families a joyous commencement weekend and success for the future. They are bright young leaders and our country is counting on them. UCs largest employee union, the 25,000-member American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees Local 3299, launched a three-day strike Monday and had earlier called for a speakers boycott. The union and university reached a bargaining impasse last year and subsequent mediation efforts have failed to produce an agreement. The union is asking for a multiyear contract with a 6% annual pay increase while the university is offering 3% annual increases over four years. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ will deliver the keynote address instead, the university announced. About 5,800 students are expected to participate in the ceremony Saturday. Facebook

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School mural depicting Trumps bloody, severed head sparks controversy By Gary Warth A Chula Vista school mural that depicts the bloody, severed head of President Trump on a spear sparked a controversy that prompted officials to cover it and issue a response distancing themselves from the work. The statement also said the artist will alter the painting. We understand that there was a mural painted at the event this past weekend that does not align with our schools philosophy of non-violence, read the statement from MAAC Community Charter School director Tommy Ramirez. We have been in communication with the artist  who has agreed to modify the artwork  to better align with the schools philosophy. Read More Facebook

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New blackface incident at Cal Poly prompts calls for state investigation By Kim Christensen Cal Poly San Luis Obispo officials have asked the state attorney generals office to investigate after a new photo of a white student in blackface surfaced on a fraternity groups private Snapchat. I am outraged, Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong said in a video address Friday to the campus. These vile and absolutely unacceptable acts cannot continue. We must not allow these acts to define us as an institution. Armstrong said the latest photo was intended to imitate an incident last month in which a white member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity was photographed at a party wearing blackface. Read More Facebook

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More than 50,000 UC workers set to strike this week but campuses will remain open By Teresa Watanabe More than 50,000 workers across the University of California are set to strike this week, causing potential disruptions to surgery schedules, food preparation and campus maintenance. The systems 10 campuses and five medical centers are to remain open, with classes scheduled as planned. UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, plans to begin a three-day strike Monday involving 25,000 workers, including custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Read More Facebook

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New L.A. schools chief Beutner pledges to listen, learn and take action By Howard Blume New Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner proved Wednesday that hes a quick learner even without an education background. Like countless public officials before him, he appeared at an important event  his first speech and news conference  with a photogenic background of students. His message  that he would put those students first  seemed heartfelt if hardly original. Nor was it a huge surprise that he pledged to push cooperatively but unflinchingly to improve the districts academic performance and stabilize its finances. As an introduction, Beutner, a former investment banker who made a fortune on Wall Street, offered little flash, but that was partly the point. Read More Facebook

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In a school lockdown, one student takes stock of the stressful scene At the beginning of lunch one day late last month, Duarte High School, Northview Middle School, and California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley were advised by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department to go into lockdown mode due to police activity in the immediate area. Phalaen Chang, a junior at the California School of the Arts, wrote a series of notes on her iPhone while she sat in a room with her classmates. By the time the lockdown ended an hour later, she wrote, she knew which of her friends would hold open the door for others, be the ones calming others down, be the ones barricading the doors. She knew that all of them have the potential to be such strong people. Read More Facebook

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Tale as old as time: L.A. Unified superintendent pick follows a historical pattern of outside-the-box choices By Joy Resmovits L.A. Unified has long gone back and forth between picking insiders and outsiders to run the nations second largest school district. The choice of Austin Beutner, announced Tuesday, places the district squarely back in the outsider camp  months after a consummate insider, Supt. Michelle King, announced that she had cancer and would not return to the job. Check out this timeline of former L.A. superintendents to see how the school board members have changed their minds, sometimes favoring leaders who come from the world of education and sometimes executives from elsewhere, recruited to shock the system into change. At one point, the district hired someone from the military  retired Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, who served as superintendent from 2006-2008. In hiring Brewer, board members had opted for a non-educator  largely because they sought a fresh thinker, unwedded to the bureaucracy, unafraid to make bold, even unorthodox moves, reads a 2008 Times story. Facebook

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Austin Beutner named superintendent of Los Angeles schools By Howard Blume Austin Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker, on Tuesday was named superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second-largest school system. His selection was the biggest move yet by a Los Angeles school board majority elected with major support from charter school advocates. The decision came after lengthy public testimony, most of it in support of the other remaining finalist, interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian, who is well known within the school system. Beutner, 58, has no background leading a school or school district. Less than 2 years ago, a school board with a very different balance of power named Michelle King, a former teacher who rose through the district throughout her career, to L.A. Unifieds top job. Read More Facebook

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Hearing delay gives both sides more time in Ref Rodriguezs potential trial By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez and his attorneys will have more time to prepare their defense against charges of political money laundering, a judge ruled Monday. The preliminary hearing in the case had been scheduled to begin May 9, but that date will now be pushed back to July 23 per the ruling from L.A. Superior Court Judge Deborah S. Brazil. Rodriguez, 46, faces three felony charges of conspiracy, perjury and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board poised to name Beutner as superintendent By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education is poised to select philanthropist and former investment banker Austin Beutner to be the next superintendent of the nations second-largest school system. Barring a last-minute development, the only mystery is whether Beutner emerges with four or five votes from the boards seven members. Terms of his contract already have been under discussion, according to sources close to the process who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak. The selection of Beutner, 58, who has no experience managing a school or a school district, would be a signal that the board majority that took control nearly a year ago wants to rely on business management skills instead of insider educational expertise. Read More Facebook

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Teacher walkouts in Arizona and Colorado continue national debate on money for schools By Michael Livingston Following the lead of teachers who walked off the job in other states in recent weeks, thousands of teachers and their supporters took to the streets in Arizona and Colorado for the second day in a row to demand better pay and more funding for education. Read More Facebook

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Three decades before the #MeToo movement, UC San Diego led the way against sexual assault By Teresa Watanabe When Nancy Wahlig first started her fight against sexual assault, one company was marketing a capsule for women to stash in their bras and then smash to release a vile odor. Because of the very nature of society, the only person who can prevent rape is the woman herself, read a 1981 advertisement for the Repulse rape deterrent. Ideas about how to prevent sexual violence have come a long way since then, and Wahlig has helped lead that evolution on college campuses. In 1988, she started UC San Diegos Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC), the first stand-alone program at the University of California. Today, she remains the systems most senior specialist. Read More Facebook

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Andres Alonso withdraws from consideration for L.A. schools job By Howard Blume Andres Alonso, believed to be one of three remaining finalists to lead the Los Angeles school system, has withdrawn from consideration. The remaining known candidates in the confidential search are former investment banker Austin Beutner and interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian. Alonso, 60, announced his decision on Twitter on Thursday night, saying he had notified the L.A. Unified School District on Monday. The exit of Alonso, the former Baltimore schools chief, seems to solidify the front-runner status of Beutner, who also was a former L.A. Times publisher and a Los Angeles deputy mayor. He held each of those positions for about a year. Read More Facebook

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Heres why the apparent increase in autism spectrum disorders may be good for U.S. children By Karen Kaplan The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among American children continues to rise, new government data suggest. And that may be a good thing. Among 11 sites across the U.S. where records of 8-year-olds are scrutinized in detail, 1 in 59 kids was deemed to have ASD in 2014. Thats up from 1 in 68 in 2012. Normally, health officials would prefer to see less of a disease, not more of it. But in this case, the higher number is probably a sign that more children of color who are on the autism spectrum are being recognized as such and getting services to help them, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More Facebook

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UC shelves tuition increase for now, in hopes of getting more state funding By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents will not vote on a tuition increase next month, shelving the plan for now in hopes that state lawmakers will come through with more funding. Raising tuition is always a last resort and one we take very seriously, UC President Janet Napolitano said Thursday in a statement. We will continue to advocate with our students who are doing a tremendous job of educating legislators about the necessity of adequately funding the university to ensure UC remains a world-class institution and engine of economic growth for our state. Last week, Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White said the 23-campus system no longer would consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year. But unlike Cal State, UC officials have not taken a tuition increase off the table entirely. Read More Facebook

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A chemical spill, unchecked eyewash stations, poor training: Audit details Cal States lax lab safety By Joy Resmovits In May 2016, two bottles tumbled off a poorly supported shelf and broke, leading to a chemical spill in a Sacramento State University lab. The liquid got onto one students legs and soaked anothers feet. Five employees cleaned up the mess, even though no one knew for sure what it was and whether it was dangerous. They called fellow employee Kim Harrington, their union representative, to let her know what happened. Read More Facebook

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After blackface incident, minority students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo say they dont feel welcome By Hailey Branson-Potts Aaliyah Ramos was walking through the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus last year when a prospective student approached her. Ramos was the only black person, the young woman said, that she and her mother had seen that day. They asked about the quality of education and the diversity of the student body. Ramos, a mechanical engineering student, didnt want to sugarcoat the truth: Cal Poly long has been predominantly white. But she told the young woman  who also was black  that she didnt want to discourage her from applying, because that wouldnt help with diversity at a school where only 0.7% of students are African American  the lowest percentage of any university in the California State system. Read More Facebook

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El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills wins the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon By Carlos Lozano El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills has won the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon, officials said. The winner was announced early Saturday at a ceremony in Frisco, Texas. More than 600 students from the U.S., Canada, China and the United Kingdom gathered there over the last three days to compete in the 37th annual U.S. Academic Decathlon. Congratulations to El Camino Real Charter High School for another impressive victory, said Vivian Ekchian, interim superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Your academic stamina and competitive spirit to win is remarkable. The entire L.A. Unified family is so proud of you. Read More Facebook

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Anticipation mounts as L.A. school board meets over superintendent selection By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education is reconvening in closed session Friday at noon as anticipation mounts about the choice of the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. The presumed front-runner is former investment banker and philanthropist Austin Beutner, but interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian and former Baltimore Supt. Andres Alonso also are in the running. Most district insiders appear to be rooting for Ekchian, who has spent her entire career in education within the school system. After her 10 years as a teacher, her roles have included head of human resources, chief labor negotiator and regional administrator for campuses in the west San Fernando Valley. Shes managed the district since September, when then-Supt. Michelle King went on medical leave and chose Ekchian to fill in for her. King, who is battling cancer, never returned and announced her retirement in January. Numerous influential civic leaders have urged  and pressured  the board to select Beutner. Also lending their weight have been advocates for charter schools, which are independently operated, growing in number and competing for students with district-operated campuses. Four of the seven board members  enough to control the outcome  were elected with major financial support from charter supporters. Beutner has two ongoing connections with the L.A. Unified School District. The first is his leadership of an outside task force that is making recommendations on how to improve the school system. The second is his charity, Vision to Learn, which supplies glasses to low-income students. The charity and the school system are in a dispute at the moment over who is responsible for delays in providing services to students as part of a $6 million contract, half of which is paid for by L.A. Unified. Unlike Ekchian and Buetner, Alonso, who currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has no deep-seated local constituency, but the prospect of his selection has generated some excitement. While in Baltimore, Alonso was recognized for pushing for progress at low-performing schools, and for being willing to take strong action. While in Baltimore, he also weathered a test-score cheating scandal and occasionally rocky relations with the teachers union. But by the time he resigned, after six years, he and union leaders seemed to be working together without rancor. Leaders of some community groups have split from the pro-Beutner camp. They worry that Beutners approach to confronting the districts financial problems could shut out their voices or involve severe economic cutbacks that would undermine programs that are helping students. Some prefer Ekchian; some Alonso. Theyve been reluctant to speak out publicly because theyll have to work with whoever is selected, but they have tried to get the ear of board members. On Friday morning, one leader of a community group decided to come out in favor of Alonso. L.A. Unified has the opportunity to bring in an instructional leader of color with a history of success, said Alberto Retana, president and chief executive of Community Coalition, which works on behalf of low-income students and families in South Los Angeles. If we have a shot at that, we should go for it  because its in the best interests of our kids and of our community. Retana said his statement was not meant to criticize Beutner or Ekchian but to alert board members that there also is community support for Alonso. Facebook

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Cal State leader shelves proposed tuition hike: Its the right thing to do, but its not without risk By Joy Resmovits Cal State, the nations largest public university system, will no longer consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year, Chancellor Timothy P. White announced Friday. The decision is a bet that Sacramento will come through in the end. If Cal State loses that bet, it could mean cuts to campus programs. White said in an interview that Californias economy is strong enough that families should not be shouldering the burden of higher college costs. Read More Facebook

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L.A. students to participate in national walkout activities on Friday By Joy Resmovits Students are taking to the streets again Friday to protest gun violence on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. Starting at 10 a.m., students at many schools will spend 13 seconds honoring the 13 people  12 students and one teacher  killed on that day in Littleton, Colo. After that, theyll participate in a host of different activities. Within L.A. Unified, one school is having an open-mic event for students to talk about school violence, and lawmakers are visiting campuses to hear students thoughts. According to a central hub for organizing the protests  written by the students of Ridgefield High School in Connecticut  the walkouts are intended to drive the political change necessary to curb school violence. The day is also a time for students to interact on an elevated platform they have never had before, the site states. It is a day of discourse and thoughtful sharing. Bringing together communities and students to get a national discussion rolling. Organizers have suggested using the event to convey the importance of curbing gun violence to legislators. They are encouraging students to push legislation that would ban assault weapons and tighten up rules around who can buy guns and how. Over 2,500 schools nationwide are expected to participate. In L.A., some students  at campuses including Eagle Rock High School, the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts and Bravo Medical Magnet  plan to walk out. Students from various schools expect to join area marches, including those in Santa Monica and Huntington Park. Other schools are hosting career days and voter registration drives. At 1 p.m., students plan to start a rally in front of L.A. Unified headquarters. For the record: An earlier version of this article stated that 12 teachers and one student were killed in the Columbine shooting. The opposite is true: twelve students and one teacher died. Facebook

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Stabbing of popular student devastates South El Monte High School; teen friend suspected in slaying By Sonali Kohli When administrators at South El Monte High School called Jeremy Sanchezs parents to say he never showed up for class Wednesday, his father began to worry. It was unusual for the 17-year-old junior to miss school, so his father filed a missing persons report and assembled two of Jeremys close friends to look for the popular student-athlete. Their search took them to a scenic stretch of the San Gabriel River Trail, where one of the friends  a 16-year-old boy  made a tragic discovery. Among the bushes in the riverbed near Thienes Avenue and Parkway Drive was Jeremys body, punctured with stab wounds, according to Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Read More Facebook

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Racist fliers spark outrage at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo By Alene Tchekmedyian Soon after Neal MacDougall arrived on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus Tuesday, the professor noticed university police standing outside a restroom near his office. A racial slur against African Americans had been scrawled in red marker on a stall wall. Later, he discovered a series of racist fliers pinned up next to his door. Someone had also slashed posters hed hung outside his office supporting students in the country illegally. The discovery was the latest controversy on the prestigious campus  which the president said is less than 55% white  that MacDougall said demonstrates a culture of racism at the university. Last week, photographs emerged of white fraternity members, including one in blackface, flashing gang signs. Read More Facebook

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The superintendent waiting game, paying for L.A.'s College Promise, Princetons slave history: Whats new in education By Joy Resmovits Acting LAUSD superintendent Vivian Ekchian is a finalist for the permanent job. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) In and around Los Angeles: The L.A. Unified school board spent 10 hours interviewing and discussing candidates for superintendent. When they adjourned after 10 p.m., they said they would reconvene on Friday. Who is paying for Mayor Eric Garcettis much-touted College Promise, a program that promises two years of community college for LAUSD grads? In California: The Legislature is considering a proposal that would boost K-12 education funding for black students. When the cost of living is taken into account, California has the highest rate of child poverty. Nationwide: The families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School are suing Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never occurred. Princeton will name two spaces  an arch and a garden  after slaves who lived or worked on the campus. Facebook

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L.A. school board meets privately with finalists and debates choice for school district leader By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education adjourned late Tuesday after spending more than 10 hours interviewing candidates and trying to reach a decision on who would be the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. When the meeting finally recessed at 10:11 p.m., a spokesman announced only that the school board would reconvene Friday at noon. Going into the days meetings, there were apparently four finalists, according to sources who could not be named because they were unauthorized to speak. Read More Facebook

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Two Sandy Hook families sue Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never happened By David Altimari Families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School have filed lawsuits in Texas against controversial radio host Alex Jones for continually claiming the massacre never happened. Neil Heslin, the father of Jesse Lewis, and Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose son Noah Pozner died in the massacre, filed separate lawsuits late Monday in Travis County, Texas. The lawsuits allege that Jones defamed the parents by constantly calling them crisis actors and insisting the shooting was a false flag operation; they also claim Jones accusations have led to death threats against the Sandy Hook families by Jones followers. Read More Facebook

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Beutner emerges as a top pick for L.A. schools superintendent amid last-minute jockeying By Howard Blume Austin Beutner has emerged as a leading contender to run the Los Angeles school district, with backers saying he is smart enough and tough enough to confront its financial and academic struggles. Though he does not have a background in education, the former investment banker has in the last year examined some of the districts intractable problems, serving as co-chair of an outside task force with the support of then-Supt. Michelle King. Sources inside and outside the school district said Beutner appears to have more support on the seven-member board than other finalists, and his name could come up for a vote as early as Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Challenge at Chicago school construction site: Watch for 38,000 unmarked graves By Nereida Moreno A 15-year effort to build a school in Chicagos Dunning neighborhood is underway with an unusual complication: Construction workers are taking careful steps to avoid disturbing human remains that may lie beneath the soil. The $70-million school is to be built on the grounds of a former Cook County Poor House, where an estimated 38,000 people were buried in unmarked graves. Among the dead are residents who were too poor to afford funeral costs, unclaimed bodies and patients from the countys insane asylum. There can be and there have been bodies found all over the place, said Barry Fleig, a genealogist and cemetery researcher who began investigating the site in 1989. Its a spooky, scary place. Read More Facebook

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Oklahoma teacher walkout winds down despite lawmakers failure to meet demands By Washington Post Oklahomas largest teachers union has announced an end to a walkout that has drawn thousands of educators out of classrooms and to the state Capitol demanding greater investment in the states schools, which have endured the nations steepest funding cuts. The announcement Thursday from the Oklahoma Education Assn. does not necessarily end the protests at the Capitol, as teachers not affiliated with the union vowed to stay longer. Instead of a walkout, the union and school districts across the state have said they plan to send delegations of teachers to Oklahoma City to keep the pressure on lawmakers. Teachers and their supporters have also promised to push education issues to the forefront of November elections, when the state chooses a new governor. As school districts begin to reopen, the protests may lose steam. The Legislature is not in session Friday, and observers are waiting to see what happens Monday, when lawmakers return. Read More Facebook

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Most Californians are worried about school shooting threats and oppose arming teachers, survey finds By Joy Resmovits Hamilton High School student Aiyana Dabriel holds a sign during a March 14 walkout in support of the Parkland shooting victims. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Most Californians are worried that a school shooting like the one that occurred in Parkland, Fla., in February could shed blood closer to home, a new survey found. Some 73% percent of adults and 82% of public school parents said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned about school shootings. The Public Policy Institute of California surveyed 1,704 adults in the state by phone just after the March for Our Lives protest against gun violence. Latino and black respondents were significantly more likely to be concerned about school violence than white or Asian respondents, the institute found. Two-thirds of adults and public school parents said they opposed letting more educators carry weapons in school. The response differed across party lines, with 86% of Democrats and 69% of independents voicing their opposition, while 60% percent of Republicans said they would support a measure to arm educators. The poll, which had a margin of error of 3.2% in either direction, also asked Californians about school funding, educational issues in the governors race and the impact of immigration enforcement on students. You can find the full results here. Facebook

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Californias largest virtual charter school network agrees to contract with its teachers By Anna M. Phillips Nearly four years after teachers at Californias largest online charter school voted to unionize, they have reached a deal to increase pay and create job protections, according to a spokesman for the California Teachers Assn. The contract, which is still tentative and subject to ratification, is a victory for the teachers union. Although charter schools are publicly funded, most are privately managed and their employees arent protected by labor contracts. Under the terms of the contract  the result of years of negotiation and legal wrangling  approximately 500 teachers working for California Virtual Academies will no longer be at-will employees who can be dismissed for almost any reason. Their average salary will rise to just over $45,000, according to union estimates, a figure that remains far below the norm for traditional public school teachers. Still, it is an improvement over the previous average of $38,000. The accord also places a limit on the number of students each teacher is responsible for monitoring in online homeroom classes. Were very satisfied with the gains we made, said teacher Brianna Carroll, president of California Virtual Educators United. I think were going to see some extraordinary changes in our schools. According to Carroll, teachers at California Virtual Academies  better known as CAVA  had grown frustrated with the organizations foot-dragging and were making preparations to go on strike when CAVAs leadership agreed to the deal. CAVA and K12, the Virginia-based for-profit company linked to its schools, did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking for comment. The network currently operates nine virtual charter schools across California. In 2016, the charter network agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle claims of false advertising, misleading parents and inadequate instruction. The state attorney generals office had also accused K12 of controlling the charters for its own financial benefit. Neither CAVA nor K12 admitted to wrongdoing in the settlement. A year later, the state imposed a $2-million fine on CAVA after an audit found that it had misspent public funds. The network disputed the findings. Facebook

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School board approves a new formula for funding high-need schools By Sonali Kohli L.A. schools will soon get more money if they are located in neighborhoods with such problems as high levels of gun violence and asthma. The Los Angeles Unified school board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a new formula to determine how to dole out some funding to schools, based not only on the characteristics of the student populations but on the traumas that affect the communities around campuses. The new formula will be applied to $25 million in funding next fiscal year and about $263 million annually in future years  a small part of the districts $7.5 billion annual budget. Read More Facebook

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Protesters demand Ref Rodriguez resignation outside school board meeting By Sonali Kohli Students, parents, teachers and UTLA marching outside the board meeting chanting "Ref resign" pic.twitter.com/W0LRWZSIXY  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 A few dozen parents, students and teachers marched outside the Los Angeles Unified School Board meeting Tuesday, some calling for board member Ref Rodriguez to resign the week after news broke that he was taken into custody on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena bar and restaurant. Rodriguez was not cited or charged in that incident, but was held for more than five and a half hours before being released. The school board member faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. He is accused of getting more than two dozen people people to donate to his campaign for his school board seat with the understanding that he would reimburse them. He stepped down from his post as school board president after he was charged last fall, but he did not give up his seat on the board. He has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of conspiracy, perjury, and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May. He cant give his full focus to our students, said Rebecca LaFond, a Highland Park parent whose three children marched with her as she chanted, Ref resign. One daughter marched in front of her, using a drum stick to hit the bottom of a gallon-size empty water jug. Our kids deserve someone who has the utmost ethical standards representing them, LaFond said. The protests continued into the board meeting, where some addressed Rodriguez directly, calling on him to step down during public comment portions of the meeting. Rodriguez, through his chief of staff, declined to comment. Some parents outside the board meeting did not know about the charges against Rodriguez but came out to protest the possibility of sharing their school campuses with charter schools. Protesters also oppose colocation  not all of the parents are here to ask Ref Rodriguez to step down pic.twitter.com/1Co8zQ9zSi  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 Cynthia Martinez said her son, who goes to Christopher Dena Elementary School in Boyle Heights, has been bullied in the past by students from a charter school sharing the campus. She said she didnt know who Rodriguez was. Some parents and teachers are worried about losing computer labs, robotics rooms and fitness centers if they are required to share their campus with charter schools, said Ilse Escobar, a parent community organizer for United Teachers Los Angeles. The issues of Rodriguez and colocation are related, Escobar said. Rodriguez is part of a majority on the school board elected with financial backing from charter school supporters, and many parents, she said, feel that the school board is compromised if he is a part of it. Staff reporter Howard Blume contributed to this post. Facebook

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Delaine Eastin tries to gain momentum in the California governors race, one voter at a time By Seema Mehta Delaine Eastin was a sophomore in high school when a drama teacher urged her to try out for a part in The Man Who Came to Dinner. She hesitated until he told her: This is a metaphor for your whole life. If you never try out, you will never get the part. Eastin auditioned and won the role. Decades later, the advice sticks with the former state schools chief, this time in her unlikely run for governor. Despite calls for more women in leadership roles in state politics following sexual misconduct allegations in Sacramento, Eastin has been largely overlooked in the race, lagging far behind her Democratic rivals in fundraising and the polls. Read More Facebook

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Arizona high court rejects in-state tuition for DACA recipients By Associated Press Young immigrants granted deferred deportation status under a program started by President Obama are not eligible for lower in-state college tuition, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. The unanimous ruling will affect at least 2,000 students attending the states largest community college district and hundreds more at other colleges and the states three public universities. The Maricopa County Community Colleges District and state universities said they would begin raising tuition immediately for the coming school year. Read More Facebook

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New York high school students injured when bus strikes overpass By Associated Press A charter bus carrying teenagers returning from a spring break trip Sunday night struck a bridge overpass on Long Island, seriously injuring six passengers and mangling the entire length of the top of the bus. The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday on the Southern State Parkway in Lakeview, according to New York State Police. One of the six injured passengers had very serious injuries, said State Police Maj. David Candelaria. Thirty-seven other passengers suffered minor injuries. Read More Facebook

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Some good news for California in national student test scores By Joy Resmovits Every two years, the nations fourth- and eighth-graders are tested in math and reading  and newly released results from last years tests give California at least a little reason to be pleased. The 2017 results  out Monday night  were mostly flat nationwide compared with 2015, though the average score in eighth-grade reading went up. But while that improvement largely came from the increased scores of the highest-performing students, California eighth-graders showed some reading progress from the lowest levels to the highest. Read More Facebook

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Under state control, Inglewood school districts financial picture worsened By Anna M. Phillips When Eugenio Villa agreed to return to the Inglewood schools for a second tour last summer, he knew the district remained one of Californias most troubled. Inglewood Unified had been nearly insolvent when it was taken over by the state Department of Education in 2012. Six years later, its enrollment was still declining. Its school buildings were tired  some edging into decrepitude. Its test scores and graduation rates were still below the state average. And the public was out of patience. Still, Villa, who had signed back on as the districts chief business official, was shocked at what he found when he arrived in June 2017. Two years earlier, he had left the school system on what he thought was firm ground. Read More Facebook

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Charter school group drops two lawsuits against L.A. Unified By Howard Blume A charter schools advocacy group last week announced that it would end two long-running lawsuits in which it was seeking more classroom space and construction money from the Los Angeles school district. The decision, the California Charter Schools Assn. said, reflects better relations between charter schools and the L.A. Unified School District. But the move also suggests that the litigation, which already contributed to significant gains for area charters, was unlikely to produce much more. It takes time, money and effort to litigate, said Ricardo Soto, general counsel for the charter group. Maybe its better to see if we can find the time and opportunity for collaboration. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez is arrested on suspicion of public intoxication By Richard Winton Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez was arrested recently on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena restaurant, the latest trouble for an elected official who faces political money-laundering charges. Pasadena police took Rodriguez into custody on March 16, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. Officers arrested Rodriguez at about 4:30 p.m. at the Yard House restaurant and bar at the Paseo Mall and held him in jail for more than five-and-a-half hours. Rodriguez was ultimately released without being cited or charged, Derderian told The Times. Other details about the arrest were not available, she said. Read More Facebook

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Kentucky teachers rally at Capitol over state budget By Associated Press Thousands of Kentucky teachers filled the streets near the state Capitol in Frankfort on a cold, overcast Monday to rally for education funding. Teachers and other school employees gathered outside the Kentucky Education Assn. a couple of blocks from the Capitol chanting, Stop the war on public education and holding or posting signs that say, Weve Had Enough. Were madder than hornets, and the hornets are swarming today, said Claudette Green, a retired teacher and principal. Read More Facebook

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Fence builders began submitting design ideas for President Trumps promised big, beautiful wall this week, so I drove to the border Monday to meet with an expert.

I knocked on the door of a small home in the heart of El Centro, and Albert Garcia, a 76-year-old retiree from the Border Patrol maintenance crew, answered immediately and let me in.

I hadnt seen him since 2004, when I first wrote about Garcia, who spent more than two decades doing a job that never ended.

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He was a welder who fixed holes in the fence, every day, including some weekends.

Ill never forget the day I met Garcia, in August of 2004. He got to the wall at 6 a.m. that day to begin fixing five holes that had been cut overnight through the 16-foot-high fence of steel pickets. He said five holes was a light day at the office. He had fixed as many as 14 holes in a single shift, either along the chain-link or steel stretches of fencing, and hed often find blades, cutters and other tools near the breaks.

Then there were those who tunneled under the fence or went over the top using ropes. Others rushed through holes in the wall even as Garcia fired up his welder to plug the openings.

For me, the daily game of cat and mouse along this several-mile stretch of the border was a snapshot of the futility of walls, enforcement and immigration policy. But a wall has been at the center of Trumps platform since the first days of his candidacy, even though its not clear how well pay for a project estimated to cost anywhere from $12 billion to twice as much or more.

I dont think anything they make is going to hold them back.  Albert Garcia

Is there a way to build a better fence?

Garcia has his doubts, and would rather not see his tax dollars spent on a wall. And this is a man who voted, as a Democrat, for Trump. He liked the Republicans take on the economy and defense, and even immigration, up to a point.

I dont think anything they make is going to hold them back, said Garcia, who took an extended vacation at one point in his career because the daily undoing of his work was taking a psychological toll. Theyre going to come across and it doesnt make any difference. If you can see blue sky, theyll go up and over the top, or theyll crawl underneath.

Its a short drive from El Centro to the wall in Calexico, and Garcia, a native of this area, knows every paved and dirt road in the region. We passed quilted acres of farmland, and Garcia can identify every crop in the fields  alfalfa, ryegrass, carrots, broccoli, sugar beets and every lettuce variety.

He had nine brothers and sisters, he said, and his dad, who worked in produce, brought all the kids out to the fields to sample the grueling, stooped-over work done by pickers. That was his dads way of telling his kids to stay in school.

Garcia said he doesnt know any white people who work as pickers in this area, and he doesnt think any of them would if all the immigrants in the country illegally were sent home. Thats just the way it is, he said, and rather than fortifying the wall, he would recommend seasonal work visas.

The All-American Canal runs along the border just west of Calexico, serving as a second barrier for anyone coming across. As we drove the levee road against the canal, Garcias trained eye spotted things I missed.

You see that rope hanging from the top of the wall? he said.

He also spotted the remnants of a raft that was used to cross the narrow canal.

This was a rough place to work, Garcia said, because of the trees on the Mexico side. People could hide in those trees and throw things at him. He was Border Patrol, the enemy, and sometimes rocks would fly at him. He has two dreams even now. In one, the rocks are coming, and in the other, he is wrestling someone who just busted through a hole in the fence, although that never happened.

Garcia said people used to ask him for money through the fence. He never complied, but he used to give fruit to a pack of kids on the other side because they looked so skinny. Years later, he said, those same kids became coyotes and once asked if he remembered them as boys.

Garcia is no open-borders guy, and his son has been an Immigration and Customs Enforcement cop for years. He said he feels sorry for Mexicans fleeing poverty, corruption and violence, and hed probably do the same if he were in their shoes.

But some of them do become criminals, he said, and some of them do run up social service costs. As a taxpayer, he doesnt like having to pay for that.

In downtown Calexico, Border Patrol agents swarmed an area near where I saw Garcia fixing holes in 2004. One agent said three guys who jumped the wall had just been apprehended.

Garcia retired 10 years ago and said he got bored within three months. The Border Patrol then contracted the job out to a private company that wanted Garcia to come back to work. He put in four more years doing the same job, then called it quits.

We did the math together and estimated that Garcia fixed more than 20,000 holes in roughly 25 years. An estimated 11 million people are in this country illegally, but Garcias hard work kept a lot of people out, no doubt.

But if it were up to him, hed shore up electronic surveillance, modernize the wall in places and focus on building a vehicle barricade rather than a human barricade. He said humans will always find a way in, or over-stay visas, but vehicles carry drugs.

Garcia would support some form of penalties and legal status for law-abiding contributors here illegally, rather than foot the cost of mass deportation. And hed institute a seasonal work visa program so workers can cross legally as needed.

Before Trump moves forward with the wall, I think hed be wise to come west and talk to a man who knows  from years of experience  what hes talking about.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez

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Its been four years since Californias ban on the purchase and possession of shark fins went into effect. And yet, more than 60 tons of shark fins arrive at the Port of Los Angeles each year, bound for chefs and grocers in states where sales of the Asian delicacy remain unfettered.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) hopes to change that. On Thursday, he plans to introduce a bill in Congress that would prohibit the buying, selling and possession of shark fins throughout the United States. If all goes according to plan, the measure would discourage the practice around the world.

The Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act is needed to eradicate shark finning for good, Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement Tuesday.

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While California led the way with a statewide ban, there are still almost 40 states where the purchase of shark fins is legal, he said. The United States can set an example for the rest of the world by shutting down its market for shark fins, which are often harvested by leaving these animals to die a slow and painful death at the bottom of the ocean.

Experts estimate that as many as 73 million sharks become victims of the shark-fin trade each year. The fins sold for as much as $2,000 a pound in California before the ban took effect in 2013.

So far, 11 states including New York, Washington and Hawaii have joined California in banning the sale of shark fins. So have the Pacific territories of Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Nineteen shipping companies and 36 airlines around the world have stopped carrying shark fins as cargo.

Despite the California ban, federal customs authorities do not restrict the import and export of shark fins through Los Angeles or other ports in the state, according to a spokesman for Royce. The congressmans bill would change that by prohibiting the sale or possession of shark fins or any product containing shark fin.

The bill was originally introduced by Royce last June, but it didnt make it out of committee before the 114th Congress came to a close. Supporters of the bill, including Oceana, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the worlds ocean environment, believe it has a better chance this time because the 115th Congress has two years to act on it.

By allowing the sale of shark fins from foreign fisheries that have little to no regulations, were indirectly incentivizing the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning that is putting the survival of many shark populations in jeopardy, said Oceana spokeswoman Lora Snyder.

She added that more than 92% of the shark fins coming into the United States  dried, frozen and canned  enter through Los Angeles.

Shark fin soup is a delicacy that dates back hundreds of years to Chinas Ming Dynasty, where it was a symbol of status and power reserved for emperors.

Its chief culinary merit is a gelatinous texture, achieved through careful drying, precise trimming and a complex preparation method that takes several days. To enhance its bland flavor, cooks often add chicken or ham to the broth.

As Chinas middle class has grown, so has demand for the delicacy.

The Chinese government has announced that it is phasing out shark fins from official functions.

Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com

@LouisSahagun
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If you watched any television in 2010, you might recall that the Affordable Care Act cut $500 billion from Medicare over a decade.

You probably learned that because House Republicans' campaign committee blanketed the country with ads attacking Democrats for cutting $500 billion from Medicare.

"Let's save Medicare," the National Republican Congressional Committee said in one typical ad urging the election of a Republican majority.

Seven years later, Republicans are fully in charge in Washington, and a "repeal" plan being considered by the House of Representatives this week would undo large parts of Obamacare.

But it would leave the Medicare cuts in place. Womp womp.

Republicans can't help break lots of promises

People oppose Obamacare for a variety of reasons, and Republicans capitalized on all those reasons in their campaign against the law. In doing so, they made more promises than they could deliver on.

Republicans would say in one breath that Obamacare cost the government too much money and that premiums were too high, in part because its regulations required insurance to pay for too much. In another breath, they would say that deductibles and copayments under Obamacare insurance plans were too high  even though reducing those deductibles and copayments would require premiums to go up.

Obamacare was financed by raising taxes and cutting Medicare. So Republicans decried the tax increases, and they decried the Medicare cuts even more loudly.

But because Republicans (mostly) acknowledge the need to maintain some sort of health-insurance subsidy as a replacement for Obamacare, which will cost money, they won't be able to undo all the tax increases and all the Medicare cuts without exploding the deficit. Yet Republicans are also opposed to deficits.

Story continues

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

Now that Republicans run the government, we are seeing which set of concerns they choose to prioritize, given limited available resources.

The unsurprising answer is that Republicans will make a priority of repealing substantially all the tax increases in Obamacare, most of which fall on people who make over $200,000 a year. If House Speaker Paul Ryan gets his way, people who hated Obamacare because of the taxes it imposed will get nearly everything they wanted.

But much of the rest of the law would stay in place. And people who hated the law for non-tax reasons  they thought insurance premiums were too high, they didn't like being penalized for not having insurance, they didn't like cuts to Medicare  mostly wouldn't get what they were expecting.

Paul Ryan

Cuts for Medicare participants are here to stay

The House Republicans' plan would retain Obamacare's cuts to Medicare, including reductions to rates providers are paid for caring for Medicare patients and the elimination of bonus benefits once enjoyed by participants in private Medicare Advantage plans.

You might assume that's because the plan is not a full Obamacare repeal  as Sen. Rand Paul complains, it's "Obamacare lite."

Yet the "full" repeal plan touted by conservatives, which passed Congress in 2015 and was vetoed by President Obama, and which Paul said he would reintroduce in this Congress, also kept in place the cuts to Medicare benefits.

Rand Paul

Lots of other Obamacare complaints are also unaddressed by the House plan

A lot of people don't like the individual mandate in Obamacare. The House plan would repeal the existing mandate but replace it with another one payable directly to insurance companies  a 30% penalty premium if you let your health insurance lapse.

Other people were upset about Obamacare because their healthcare costs went up  perhaps for reasons related to Obamacare, perhaps for other reasons. Yet this plan has no apparent architecture for cost control. Republicans' major cost-control idea, a cap on the tax benefit for health insurance, might have helped discourage spending growth in the long run but was scrapped in negotiations over the plan.

Of course, what consumers really care about is healthcare costs borne by them, not global costs. The Republicans' plan offers more generous healthcare subsidies to some consumers. But it also cuts the subsidies enjoyed by many, especially people who live in rural areas with high healthcare costs, and people between 50 and 64  both disproportionately Republican groups.

The few people who like this plan care mostly about tax cuts

Because the House plan addresses so few of the objections to Obamacare, and because it would at the same time cut benefits created by Obamacare that many people rely on, the rollout of the plan has gone poorly.

Moderate Republican senators are wary of big cuts to Medicaid, while conservative groups like Heritage Action for America and FreedomWorks say the plan leaves too much of Obamacare's benefits infrastructure in place. Defectors from the far right and from the center threaten passage of the plan.

Grover Norquist

But a few players have praised the plan: The Wall Street Journal editorial board, the Chamber of Commerce, and the antitax advocate Grover Norquist, to name a few.

What these people praising it have in common is that they are mostly interested in healthcare policy because healthcare spending is paid for with taxes, and the plan would cut taxes, including by reducing capital-gains taxes on high earners by 3.8 percentage points.

The biggest new tax under Obamacare is on people making over $200,000, but there are also taxes on health-insurance premiums, medical devices, branded pharmaceuticals, tanning services, and more. If you operate a tanning salon, this plan has what you wanted out of Obamacare's "repeal."

It matters which half of the loaf you get

You will see Republican leaders argue that various factors constrain what Republicans can deliver on healthcare  for example, the popularity of the requirement that insurers cover people with preexisting conditions, and the limitations on what can pass the Senate with a simple majority.

Take this plan, they will say, because it's better than the status quo and we can do more later.

But the question is, better for whom?

This Obamacare-repeal plan leaves out much of the wish list of the anti-Obamacare coalition. It lacks most of the deregulatory provisions that were supposed to make insurance cheaper and offset the reductions in subsidies offered to many Americans. It would likely result in millions of Americans losing health insurance. It offers no restoration of Medicare benefits to the seniors who were activated to vote Republican over Medicare cuts in the 2010 election.

Yet curiously, some groups did not have to compromise: wealthy people, medical-device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, tanning salons.

Funny how that works, even in President Trump's newly populist Republican Party.

Update: An earlier version of this article said the House Republicans' replacement plan would keep only about 95% of Medicare cuts from the Affordable Care Act and would undo some cuts to Medicare payments made to hospitals to compensate them for providing care to uninsured people. This is incorrect; the replacement plan would undo cuts to such hospital payments under Medicaid, not the payments under Medicare.

NOW WATCH: 'They've got to make a choice': Twitter users slam a top Republican for comparing the cost of a new iPhone to healthcare





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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti won reelection Tuesday in what appeared to be one of the biggest landslides in the citys history, crushing 10 little-known rivals and strengthening his standing for a potential run for higher office.

With nearly half the ballots counted, Garcetti was holding more than 80% of the vote. If his vote share remains in that range when the tally is done, it will likely surpass the record of nearly a century of Los Angeles mayors.

With Tuesdays low voter turnout, however, its possible that Garcetti will have won fewer votes than other mayors, such as Tom Bradley.

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Thank you for giving me the honor of being your mayor for another term, Garcetti told hundreds of supporters Tuesday night at a union hall in Pico-Union.

Eight City Council seats were also at stake in Tuesdays primary, with incumbents across the city each holding a lopsided lead over their challengers as votes were tallied through the evening. In the closest council race, incumbent Gil Cedillo appeared early Wednesday to have avoided a runoff against challenger Joe Bray-Ali, receiving just under 51% of the votes with all precincts reporting.

In a season when Donald Trumps tumultuous presidency has dominated politics worldwide, it has been hard for Garcetti and others on the L.A. ballot to capture the publics attention.

Garcetti spent more than $3 million trying to burnish his image for an election he stood little chance of losing. His goal was to win not just another term, but also a solid affirmation of hometown support for a potential run for higher office. He governs a city of nearly 4 million people, but is barely known outside Southern California.

In his campaign, Garcetti stressed his record raising the minimum wage, cutting business taxes and backing ballot measures to expand public transit and house the homeless.

The recent surge in homelessness and an uptick in crime threatened to dampen Garcettis support, even if he was widely expected to win the majority vote that he needs to avoid a May 16 runoff.

Public anxiety over explosive growth of development in Hollywood and other neighborhoods fueled support for Measure S, which would hinder some major real estate projects. Passage of the measure would have been a blow to the pro-development mayor, but it was losing by a wide margin Tuesday night.

Follow live updates on the L.A. primary election 

A liberal Democrat, Garcetti also faced criticism from immigrant rights advocates who accused him of failing to speak out forcefully enough against Trump, a charge he denied. They criticized him for resisting labeling Los Angeles a sanctuary city for immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

On Tuesday night, scores of protesters gathered outside Garcettis election celebration at the Pico-Union office of Laborers International Union of North America Local 300.

Sanctuary is our demand, Mayor Garcetti take a stand, they chanted.

Garcetti has sought to raise his national profile in recent weeks by denouncing Trumps immigration policies in television news interviews.

Hes out there defending the cause, Romario Ortiz, 27, the son of immigrants from Guatemala and El Salvador, said Tuesday after voting for Garcetti at an Echo Park polling station.

Only one of Garcettis challengers, Democratic political operative Mitchell Schwartz, posed at least a minimal threat. Schwartz spent nearly $700,000 on the contest, much of it for final-week mailings to voters. It has been many decades since that kind of small-scale campaign has succeeded in an L.A. mayors race.

The other two citywide elected officials, Controller Ron Galperin and City Atty. Mike Feuer, were running unopposed Tuesday, as was Councilman Bob Blumenfield in the West Valley.

But Cedillo and City Councilmen Paul Koretz, Curren Price, Mike Bonin, Mitch OFarrell and Joe Buscaino were all facing challengers. In the East Valley, 20 candidates were vying for the open council seat last held by Felipe Fuentes.

Cedillo, who served 14 years as a state lawmaker before winning his council seat four years ago, was facing one of the most serious challenges, from Bray-Ali, a bike activist. But the first round of election returns found that even Cedillo stood a chance of winning a majority and avoiding a runoff.

One sign of concern among Cedillo supporters was a late $80,000 expenditure by a Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce committee on Spanish-language radio ads promoting the Eastside councilman. The ads focused on his work supporting immigrants in the country illegally.

At Cedillos party Tuesday night in Highland Park, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said a runoff looked unlikely.

Hes a fighter and I think the people recognize that, said Villaraigosa, now a candidate for governor.

Price, one of three African Americans on the council, was trying to fend off two Latino challengers in his district just south of downtown. The district has become a test of black political power in recent years as the Latino population has steadily risen. Initial returns showed Price easily avoiding a runoff.

Koretz, Bonin, OFarrell and Buscaino were each defeating their opponents handily in early returns. In the open East Valley district, early returns showed Karo Torossian and Monica Rodriguez best positioned to make a May runoff.

The trickle of voters at city polling stations captured the citys prevailing attitude toward the election: indifference.

Four people in line at my polling place is four more people than I thought would be at my polling place, so thats something, USC graduate student Alex Amadeo wrote on Twitter.

The citys elected officials normally serve four-year terms. But because of a shift in the election calendar, winners of this years elections will serve 5 years. Starting in 2020, city elections will coincide with state and federal elections.

michael.finnegan@latimes.com

Twitter: @finneganLAT

dakota.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @dakotacsmith

Times staff writers Seema Mehta and Ben Welsh contributed to this story.

ALSO:

Los Angeles votes: What kind of city do you want to live in?

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Updates from the campaign trail

UPDATES:

12:40 a.m. March 8: This article was updated with the latest results for incumbent Gil Cedillo.

12:05 a.m. March 8: This article was updated to say nearly half the votes had been counted.

11:45 p.m.: This article was updated with the latest results.

9:55 p.m.: This article was updated with a reaction by Garcetti and former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

8:40 p.m.: This article was updated with initial returns.

This article was first posted at 7:15 p.m.
A man involved in a dispute at a Ladera Heights gym was shot and killed by a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy Tuesday night as he swung an electric razor over his head, investigators said.

The man, whose identity was withheld pending notification of his family, was shot at least once in the upper torso after he pulled the device from his backpack and swung it by a cord while advancing toward deputies, according to Lt. Joe Mendoza. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital a short time later, Mendoza said.

Deputies from the sheriffs Marina del Rey station were called to a 24-Hour Fitness in the 5000 block of West Slauson Avenue twice on Tuesday night, according to a news release issued by the Sheriffs Department.

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Around 8:35 p.m., managers at the gym called deputies because the man was acting erratic and being vulgar toward some women who were working out, according to Mendoza. He refused to leave at first, but deputies were able to convince him to walk away. Managers at the gym told the man his membership would be suspended, and asked him to return in the morning, Mendoza said.

Two hours later, however, the man returned and resumed berating other customers, according to Mendoza. Deputies were again called to the area and confronted the man in the parking lot, where he began screaming and running around before making an aggressive motion toward a deputy, Mendoza said.

Deputies attempted to subdue the man with a Taser, but were unsuccessful. The man then began to walk away before producing what deputies described as a large item with some metal on it from his backpack, Mendoza said.

A second attempt to use a Taser failed, and the man began to swing the object over his head from a cord. A deputy opened fire as the man continued to advance on him, Mendoza said.

The item the man was holding, which was described as a tethered weapon in an earlier news release, was actually an electric razor attached to an electrical cord, Mendoza said.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.

UPDATES:

10 a.m.: This story was updated with additional information from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

This article was originally published at 6 a.m.
A Hawaiian Airlines passenger got booted off a flight Wednesday after he threatened to take someone behind the woodshed and refused to pay $12 for a blanket, officials said.

The incident began after the plane took off from Las Vegas, and a 66-year-old passenger complained that he was cold, according to Officer Rob Pedregon, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Airport Police Department.

He asked for a blanket and was told it would cost $12, the officer said. The man became upset and said he shouldnt have to pay because it was cold, he said.

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So he asked to speak with the airlines corporate office. During an in-flight call with company representatives, the man allegedly said, I would like to take someone behind the woodshed for this.

After the mans comment, the flight was diverted to LAX due to an unruly passenger, and airport police were called, Pedregon said.

Police and federal authorities met with the flight crew and passenger when the plane landed at 10:20 a.m.

Officers listened to the mans complaints and then sent him on his way. Police determined there was no criminal threat, Pedregon said.

The man managed to catch another flight, he said.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

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A Los Angeles jury awarded $5 million to a man who was wrongly identified by Sacramento police as a child sex abuser, charged and jailed for six months before the criminal case was dismissed.

Federal jurors reached the verdict Monday against Sacramento police after a five-day trial in which the Los Angeles mans attorney presented evidence that the Police Department ignored proof of his clients innocence, steered a child witness to identify him as her abuser and violated the mans civil rights.

The man, identified only as J.N. in court papers, was arrested in August 2011 after he was identified as a suspect in an Internet abuse case in which a man asked a girl to disrobe and then performed sex acts on himself while interacting via webcams.

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Attorney Jeff Dominic Price said the detective, in targeting his client, ignored basic computer evidence pointing to the real suspect.

They should have known that the man who made contact with the victim  a 12-year-old girl  was using a computer in Austria. This is a willful negligence by a detective, Price said, noting it took the jury about six hours to reach a verdict. They had absolutely no evidence against my client.

The jury awarded $5 million in economic damages and $5,000 in punitive damages. Price said the jury foreman told him that jurors would have awarded more punitive damages but the man sought only $5,000.

Sean D. Richmond, a senior deputy city attorney for Sacramento, said we are disappointed in the verdict and believe there is no reasonable basis for the size of damage award. We are reviewing all our options including appeal of the decision.

Price said the police detective, Heather Hendrickson, focused on his client only because his last name matched the one known by the victim  Noster.

According to the lawsuit, the victim met a man in an online chat room associated with Facebook in 2011. The man who contacted the girl went by Pater Noster, Latin for Our father, court records say.

Hendrickson ran the last name through criminal databases and located Prices client, the attorney said.

In March 2011, Hendrickson showed a picture of his client and five other photos to the girl. According to court records, the girl pointed to the picture of Prices client and said he is too skinny  the guy that I saw was much chunkier. But shortly afterward she said, that kind of looks like him. Hendrickson told her to draw a circle around the picture, court records show. The sequence of events was recorded on video.

Price said Hendrickson omitted the girls statement that his client was too skinny to be her abuser in submitting a search warrant affidavit. Hedrickson could not be reached for comment.

The detective reported the case to the FBI and a special agent told her the bureau would subpoena Facebook for information on the Pater Noster account, according to court papers. A subpoena was issued in April 2011. According to court filings, the FBI determined that the account was accessed from a device in Vienna, Austria.

The Los Angeles man was arrested outside his home in August 2011. He was charged with seven felony counts related to the internet activity with the girl.

Price said that his client insisted to authorities he did not have a Facebook account and that authoritiesfound no evidence of a Facebook account registered on the hard drive or being used when they searched his computer and other devices.

The criminal case came to an end in February 2012, when the girl examined an in-person lineup that included Prices client. She did not recognize any of the men and prosecutors dismissed the case.

Prices client then sued the police on allegations of unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution and fabrication of evidence.

Price said his client had a minor criminal history and suffered tremendously because of the sex abuse allegations. He said his clients name is not part of the court record because of the potential damage it could do going forward.

richard.winton@latimes.com

Twitter: @lacrimes

UPDATES:

4:57 p.m. This article was updated with an addition statement from an attorney for Sacramento City Attorneys Office
Ali Mushtaq was dancing on stage, wearing nothing but a black leather jockstrap and a smile.

It was Saturday night at the Eagle LA, a gay leather bar in Silver Lake. There were chains and whips for sale on a pool table across the room. Red flames painted on the black walls. House music booming.

Mushtaq flexed his biceps and shimmied his hips. A man shoved a few dollar bills at him, and Mushtaqs sultry visage melted into a sincere, delighted smile. He giggled as he knelt down to chat with the man.

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The 27-year-old son of Pakistani immigrants, Mushtaq, who won the title of Mr. Long Beach Leather this fall, wants to become a role model for the gay leather community  a subculture that wears leather chaps, boots, vests, harnesses and other garments to signify sexual interests.

When people first see him in his revealing leather gear, theyre often surprised. His family comes from a Muslim-majority country, and his name is Ali after all  these days, that comes with a lot of preconceptions, and being a gay, hot Middle Eastern guy (actually, hes South Asian) who wears leather chaps doesnt exactly check any of the boxes.

Theyre always trying to figure me out, he said.

People right now have this idea that Muslims ... are the enemy, the devil, that theyre this vilified group thats out to take out democracy. And its like, no, were here, were equally part of this country, and were here on the forefront of progressive change in our communities, Mushtaq said.

The modern gay leather subculture has its roots in the years just after World War II, said Michael Oliveira, an archivist at the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC. In many ways, he said, its formation was a reaction to the so-called Pansy Craze of the 1920s and 1930s  an era of vaudeville gender bending and depictions of gay men in books and on the stage as mockingly effeminate.

There was that sort of reaction that we can love other men, but we dont necessarily play those roles youre expecting us to play, that we can be gay and we can be masculine, Oliveira said.

The hyper-masculine look of Marlon Brando  especially in his role as a leather-jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding rebel in the 1953 film The Wild One  became a cultural touchstone. The growing gay leather culture often overlapped with the establishment of gay motorcycle clubs, like the pioneering Satyrs Motorcycle Club of Los Angeles, which was founded in 1954.

Today, there is a Leather Pride flag, featuring nine black, blue and white stripes and a red heart. And the leather scene is multifaceted, encompassing all genders and sexualities, people who are into BDSM and other fetishes, and the traditional motorcycle enthusiasts.

Mushtaq talks about being a leatherman in the class he teaches at Long Beach City College. And, this spring, hell compete in the granddaddy of all leather competitions:

International Mr. Leather.

:::

Mushtaq lives with his grandparents, Ruby and Abdullah Atcha, in Anaheim. (Christina House / For The Times)

Mushtaqs grandmother bustled around the kitchen, making homemade roti and lentils. When her grandson walked in carrying a black leather whip, the petite 70-year-old shook her head and grinned.

Ali, she said, laughing. Just dont get the whip on the food.

Mushtaq lives with his grandparents, Ruby and Abdullah Atcha, in a cozy Anaheim house with hand-stitched couch pillows and living room walls covered with diplomas and photos of loved ones in graduation caps.

I couldnt be the out and proud leatherman I am today without the support of my family! Mushtaq wrote on Facebook recently, alongside a photo of himself and his grandparents.

The Atchas left their native Burma, now known as Myanmar, in the 1960s after the countrys military came to power in a coup detat. They lived in Pakistan, where both Mushtaqs mother and father were born, for several years before immigrating to the United States in 1975.

The Atchas built for themselves a comfortable life, running a custom sewing business and raising two daughters. Their grandson moved in with them when he was 11, after his parents divorced. At 15, he told them he was gay.

Abdullah, 73, said that, at first, he had a hard time comprehending it. He didnt want Mushtaq to suffer the discrimination hed seen other gay people face. I dont think its easy to be a gay person anywhere in the world, Abdullah said.

But the Atchas have a few core values: Being true to oneself. Being good to others. Working hard. Getting an education.

They adore their grandson, who, they said, exemplifies all those virtues.

As long as you have an education and can stand on your own two feet, you dont worry about anybody or their opinions, Ruby said, looking at Mushtaq. We dont worry about those people.

We are learning from Ali, his grandfather chimed in. Everybody learns from everybody else. Someone else learns from you, and it keeps on going. Even though we are old, we are still at that phase of learning and understanding this generation.

Mushtaq hopes to see more people who look like himself become involved in the leather community. He is the vice president and a founding member of ONYX Southwest  the local chapter of ONYX, a growing nationwide organization for men of color within the leather community.

Mushtaq is accustomed to the probing questions from people trying to figure out his racial identity. People ask him where hes from. He says Orange County. No, they say. Where are you really from? Anaheim, he says. But where are you really from?

:::

It was a chilly morning, and Mushtaq had a special guest for his sociology class at Long Beach City College: Joel Royal, Mr. Long Beach Leather 2015.

Do you guys know what a fetish is? Royal, a tall African American in a black leather vest and leather wristbands, asked the class. Somebody tell me a fetish.

A young blonde woman blushed as she quietly offered, Foot fetish?

Royal explained that leather could be considered a fetish, something that makes the person wearing it feel very sexy and a lot more confident about who we are.

In a few months, Mushtaq will defend his dissertation for his PhD in sociology at UC San Francisco. His research aligns with his own self-exploration. The topic is fitness, and how race, class and sexuality affect it.

These days, hes spending at least five nights a week at the gym, sculpting his body for the International Mr. Leather contest in May, where hell be judged on his physique and answers to interviewers questions.

Its like, if this wayward kid from Orange County can do it, so can the person in Nebraska, so can the person in Malaysia or so can the person in Africa.

More than anything, Mushtaq wants people to be surprised, but then to want to learn things about cultures, and people, that they did not expect.

Mushtaq was introduced to the leather community while studying at UC San Francisco, where he was active in a gay country line-dancing scene.

Like his students, his grandparents too had a few questions for him shortly after he delved into a world that was like an alien planet to them.

When I first came home, my grandma was like, Why do you have ropes? Mushtaq recalled, laughing. Why are you going to the hardware store all the time?

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson

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Homeless-services advocates on Wednesday cautiously celebrated the apparent victory of Measure H, a quarter-cent sales tax increase that would fund housing and support for thousands of people currently living on the streets.

If the narrow two-thirds majority in favor holds up after all the late absentee votes and provisional ballots are counted, the victory will constitute a wave of generosity by city and county voters  giving homeless-services organizations the funds they say they need.

Voters across L.A. County have made the historic decision that Measure H is a smart investment and the right thing to do for our fellow human beings, said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose office spearheaded the measure.

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Los Angeles city voters set the stage in November by approving Proposition HHH, a $1.2-billion bond measure to provide supplemental funding for 10,000 units of permanent housing for the chronically homeless.

Measure H is projected to add about $355 million annually for homeless programs over 10 years. The money would provide support services for the new housing in Los Angeles as well as rental subsidies and services for thousands more units around the county.

Even before the final tally was in, Ridley-Thomas and Supervisor Janice Hahn introduced a motion Wednesday that would direct the countys chief executive officer to expedite the spending of that money.

The motion requires a report within 30 days on hiring of additional personnel, streamlining the flow of funds to contractors and building the data systems to measure the effects of Measure H funds. The motion is scheduled for a vote Tuesday.

Peter Lynn, executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and the authoritys board chairwoman, Wendy Greuel, also claimed victory in a joint statement thanking voters.

Through this decisive action, they have demonstrated their profound commitment to end homelessness across our communities, they said.

But with the sliver of doubt about the remaining votes, some homeless-services providers were holding their enthusiasm.

I am not ready to celebrate the passage of H yet, said Dora Leong Gallo, chief executive officer of A Community of Friends, a nonprofit that builds and manages housing projects for the chronically homeless. I am thrilled it reached its hurdle of two-thirds vote by the end of the evening, but only by 4,000-plus votes.

Measure H has received 67.44% of the votes counted thus far.

But L.A. County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan estimated Wednesday afternoon that 295,000 ballots remained to be counted, including provisional ballots and absentee ballots received at polling places and by mail. More absentee ballots could be received by mail through Friday.

Conclusive results will likely not be available until next week or later. The vote has to be certified by March 31, a spokesman for the registrar said.

Steve Barkan, campaign strategist for Measure H, said he expects the uncounted ballots to be similar to those cast at polling places on election day, which came in more than 71% in favor of the initiative.

Were still optimistic, Barkan said.

A Times analysis shows that the measure received its strongest support in the Los Angeles Basin, particularly on the Westside.

The yes vote topped 86% in West Hollywood, 76% in Santa Monica and 71% in Beverly Hills.

Voting was below the two-thirds threshold in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys and was mixed in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. Only 40% voted for the measure in the city of Santa Clarita.

Gallo said she worried that voters who were willing to pay for homeless programs may not welcome large apartment buildings for the homeless going up in their neighborhoods.

Yes, hurdles remain for community acceptance of permanent supportive housing, Gallo said, adding that groups like hers are counting on L.A.s newly reelected leaders to maintain their commitment as individual projects come up for approval.

County officials have outlined the basic strategies that would be funded, but they have not yet issued a budget showing the proportions each would receive. Those decisions would be sorted out by a panel of 50 people appointed from county government, cities and the nonprofit world, said Phil Ansell, head of the countys Homeless Initiative.

The panels first meeting is scheduled for March 23, Ansell said.

The panel would consider six main categories: subsidized housing, coordinated outreach and shelters, case management and services, homelessness prevention, income support and preservation of existing housing.

More than 250 business, nonprofit, labor, government and religious organizations endorsed Measure H, which faced no organized opposition.

Coupled with the half-cent sales tax increase voters approved in November for transportation projects, Measure H would increase the rate to 9.5% across most of the county.

Times staff writer Anthony Pesce contributed to this report.

doug.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATDoug

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Labor and business leaders declared victory Tuesday night over a bitterly contested ballot measure that would have imposed new restrictions on building apartment towers, shops and offices in Los Angeles.

As of midnight, returns showed Measure S going down to defeat by a 2-1 margin, with more than half of precincts reporting.

Defeating Measure S has spared our city from a future that wouldve meant fewer jobs, fewer funds for critical public services, fewer new homes for those who desperately need them, and even less affordable rents, said Rusty Hicks, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

The Yes on S campaign said it had already prodded the city toward key reforms, but faced stiff opposition from powerful interests at City Hall. We were up against the establishment, campaign spokeswoman Ileana Wachtel said. Its tough to fight the status quo and its tough to fight really wealthy developers.

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Neighborhood activists had championed Measure S as a way to reform a broken planning process at City Hall, arguing that it would prevent out-of-scale projects that ramp up traffic and fuel gentrification.

But opponents  including labor unions, business groups and Mayor Eric Garcetti  warned it could eliminate jobs and exacerbate the housing crisis, throwing the city into economic turmoil.

The divisive campaign doubled as a referendum on urbanist dreams of a denser, taller Los Angeles, bemoaned by critics as the Manhattanization of L.A.

More than $13 million was poured into the fight, funding billboards, television ads and an avalanche of campaign mailers.

The Yes on S campaign raised more than $5 million  about 99% of which came from the nonprofit AIDS Healthcare Foundation  to promote the ballot measure.

It was outspent by real estate developers, labor unions and other opponents who shelled out more than $8 million to try to stop it, including more than $3 million from a development company at odds with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation over a Hollywood project.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation executive Michael Weinstein said Tuesday that the Yes on S campaign was the opening gambit on a larger fight against the entrenched powers in L.A.  wealthy developers and City Hall.

This campaign will go down in the record books as one of the most successful campaigns that did not actually win the vote, Weinstein said.

As the battle over Measure S raged this year, local lawmakers hustled to speed up updates to community plans that guide neighborhood development. Garcetti pledged last fall that he would ban private meetings between developers and planning commissioners, part of an attempt to persuade Weinstein to abandon the controversial ballot measure.

We are going to hold City Halls feet to the fire on these issues, Weinstein said.

Measure S targeted the long-standing practice of changing city rules to permit buildings that are taller or denser than the established restrictions would ordinarily allow.

It would have imposed a moratorium lasting up to two years on building projects that require zone changes and other alterations in city rules. It also targeted the controversial practice of spot zoning by barring Los Angeles officials from amending the General Plan  a document that governs development across the city  to make way for individual projects in areas they would otherwise be banned.

But the campaign was hardly a dry debate between planning wonks.

At news conferences and rallies, the Yes on S campaign railed against City Hall corruption, the eviction of poor tenants, rising homelessness and the health threats to children living along freeways.

Campaign director Jill Stewart argued that the city has been deviled by a pay-to-play culture in which politicians agree to rewrite zoning rules for real estate developers who sink money into their campaigns.

When people like me bought their home they didnt think there would be a skyscraper next door to them ... because zoning was supposed to protect them, said Carole Miller, a Mid-Wilshire homeowner who supported the ballot measure. City Council has been taking all this money from developers and everybody knows it.

Opponents accused the campaign of deceptive and irresponsible tactics, frequently complaining that it was assailing problems that the ballot measure would do little to stop.

For instance, when the Yes on S campaign staged a news conference with veterans and sent out mailers that urged, House Our Vets, its critics said it would do nothing to help homeless veterans.

Garcetti, a staunch opponent of the measure, lamented that the Yes on S campaign had nonetheless plastered his smiling face on its mailers. And the Sheriffs Department demanded that it stop sending out campaign mailers that mimicked eviction notices, saying they were misleading and illegal.

Much of the debate revolved around whether Measure S would help or hurt tenants as rents continue to soar. Backers of the ballot measure argued that it would combat luxury towers that were displacing longtime renters.

Opponents countered it would squelch housing production and accelerate evictions by blocking development on land that isnt zoned for housing.

The election results seem to indicate that people understood the devastating impact that Measure S would have on our community if it passed, said Gary Toebben, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

Los Angeles voters also weighed in Tuesday on how to regulate marijuana: A ballot measure that would allow Los Angeles to tax and license commercial cannabis shops was leading by a hefty margin Tuesday night. A competing measure that was later abandoned by its proponents was trailing.

Another local measure that would allow longer leases for property at the Port of Los Angeles, championed by City Councilman Joe Buscaino as a way to help revitalize the waterfront, also appeared headed for victory.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesEmily

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12:35 a.m.: This article was updated with late results.

11:30 p.m.: This article was updated with later returns and reaction.

10:45 p.m.: This article was updated with later returns and additional reaction.

9:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction.

8:35 p.m.: This article was updated with the first batch of returns.

This article was first posted at 6:30 p.m.
Despite all the noise and fury over density, traffic and out-of-scale development this election season, the battle over Measure S turned into a rout.

Business, political and labor leaders who warned that the measure would devastate Los Angeles economy secured an overwhelming victory, with nearly 69% of voters rejecting it. The measures defeat paves the way for Mayor Eric Garcetti to continue pursuing his vision of a denser, more transit-oriented Los Angeles.

Yet in the wake of that lopsided victory, some foes of Measure S sounded wary about taking too much of a victory lap. City leaders, they say, still need to confront the issues that fueled the campaign, such as the high cost of housing and the need for better planning.

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We want to be excited about the win. But ultimately, this doesnt fix anything, said Shane Phillips, policy director for the advocacy group Abundant Housing L.A. Beating Measure S just means we dont make things worse.

Gary Toebben, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, struck a similar note.

We have nothing to be cocky about, he said. The fact is, we should just be so thankful and appreciative that the voters understood the importance of continued construction of residential and commercial projects in our city.

Measure S took aim at the citys practice of rewriting its planning rules  granting extra height and zoning changes, for example  for developers on a case-by-case basis. The proposal also would have recommended updates to the citys 35 community plans, most of which are more than 15 years old.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which sponsored Measure S, argued repeatedly that City Hall was greenlighting out-of-scale, luxury residential projects that drive up rents and are too expensive for working-class families. Developers have secured approval for those projects after showering politicians with campaign money, they said.

Opponents of Measure S consistently argued that the status quo at City Hall was undesirable, with out-of-date zoning and a lack of funds to do proper planning. But they argued that the remedies offered by Measure S would be even worse, choking the supply of new housing and causing rents to spiral even higher.

That balancing act could be seen on a website set up to oppose Measure S, goestoofar.com. The Coalition to Protect L.A. Neighborhoods and Jobs, a campaign group that set up the site, acknowledged public concerns about money in politics but argued that Measure S would do nothing to ban developer donations.

Even as they cast their ballots against Measure S, some voters made clear they were dissatisfied with the citys handling of planning issues.

Kevin Gobuty, who lives in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, said he is concerned about special interests influencing development at City Hall. But the 25-year-old student teacher said he feared the measures two-year ban on zoning changes would make a housing crisis worse.

Much of Measure S seemed like common-sense stuff about fixing up zoning, he said. But the moratorium was just a big no-go for me.

Foes of the measure also credited the mood of the electorate. Polling showed voters were upbeat about L.A.'s future and therefore less likely to back measures that could jeopardize the citys progress, said Mike Shimpock, the coalitions campaign manager.

When people feel that Los Angeles is on the right track, they are not as open to things that are going to derail it, he said. And this certainly would have derailed a lot of the resurgence thats happening.

City lawmakers also sought to undermine the Yes on S campaigns critique of the city by voting to update its community plans by 2024. And they called for a prohibition on campaign donations from developers to city candidates.

Larry Gross, who heads the tenant advocacy group Coalition for Economic Survival, said the citys elected officials should view Measure S as a warning sign. The ballot proposal got as far as it did, he said, because of inaction by the citys elected officials.

With the campaign over, city lawmakers now need to focus on protecting tenants, by halting the demolition of rent-controlled apartments and developing more affordable housing, said Gross, who campaigned against Measure S.

These developers need to recognize they cant go into communities and just bulldoze them and put up luxury housing, he said. Because the next time around, there will be another initiative which will deal with these issues directly, and will gather more support.

Meanwhile, fights over development will rage on.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is continuing to pursue lawsuits against two multistory projects in Hollywood that received key changes in city rules. The groups allies also have challenges against projects in Koreatown, South Los Angeles and the citys Westside.

Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., predicted more lawsuits in the wake of the Measure S defeat.

The city doesnt follow its own rules, said Close, who campaigned for Measure S. So youre going to see even more litigation throughout the city.

In the campaigns final days, Michael Weinstein, the top executive at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, argued that the Yes on S camp had already wrested major changes out of City Hall. On election night, he described the campaign as the opening gambit in a much longer fight over planning and neighborhood preservation.

With L.A. now working to rewrite its community plans, the debate over where to put high-density housing will likely move to the neighborhood level, advocates say.

Those community plans are central to the citys effort to accommodate population growth.

Phillips, the policy director for Abundant Housing L.A., said city leaders should build on Tuesdays election result by ensuring that those plans allow for much more housing along major transit corridors.

L.A.s boulevards, Phillips said, represent the citys best chance to build homes without displacing existing renters. But any push to allow more density could face pushback from neighborhood groups worried about traffic and increasing the burden on out-of-date infrastructure.

These fights arent going to stop, Phillips said. Figuring out where housing should go  where its appropriate and where its not appropriate  thats not going to go away.

david.zahniser@latimes.com | Twitter: @DavidZahniser

ben.poston@latimes.com | Twitter: @bposton

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During one of this winters frequent storms, sheets of rainwater spilled from roofs, washed across sidewalks and down gutters into a sprawling network of underground storm drains that empty into the Los Angeles River channel.

Normally a thin flow of treated sewage, the river swelled with mocha-colored runoff. For a time it poured into the Pacific Ocean at a rate of nearly 29 million gallons a minute.

You cant take out the streets. So what do you do? You build stormwater capture projects that get water back into the ground.  David Pettijohn, director of water resources at L.A. Department of Water and Power

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It kills me when I see all the water running off, said Deborah Weinstein Bloome, senior policy director at the environmental group TreePeople.

Bloome is not alone in lamenting the loss of what she calls free liquid gold.

As the Los Angeles region strives to cut its historic dependence on increasingly irregular imported water supplies, local officials have developed a new appreciation for stormwater.

Instead of flushing it to the sea  as the L.A. Basin has done with studied efficiency ever since the catastrophic floods of the 1930s  cities are trying to figure out how to capture and use runoff to replenish local groundwater supplies.

As matters now stand, hundreds of square miles of concrete and asphalt roads, freeways, parking lots and storm drains turn the basin into a massive funnel whenever it rains.

No single project can change that.

But a multitude of small efforts could add sieve-like qualities to parts of the hardscape.

You cant take out the streets, said David Pettijohn, water resources director for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. So what do you do? You build stormwater capture projects that get water back into the ground.

A 2012 Los Angeles ordinance requires most new developments to collect the runoff from three-quarters of an inch of rainfall  and reuse it on site or let it percolate into the ground.

The Wilshire Grand skyscraper downtown will have a 50,000-gallon cistern to collect stormwater and condensate from the buildings cooling system.

USCs new residential and retail complex, USC Village, is installing dry wells that will catch and filter nearly 200,000 gallons of runoff in a big storm, allowing the rainfall to soak into the earth instead of draining to the L.A. River and out to sea.

At the Tujunga Spreading Grounds in the San Fernando Valley, a giant excavator is scooping up piles of sandy dirt this winter to enlarge shallow basins that hold runoff released from upstream dams in the San Gabriel Mountains. The stormwater seeps through the porous soil of the spreading grounds into the valley aquifer that provides about 12% of L.A.s water supply.

Still, such projects amount to mere sips of the runoff that rushes into gutters during major winter storms.

The L.A. County Department of Public Works estimates that from Jan. 18-31, roughly 25 billion gallons of stormwater  or about 77,000 acre-feet  drained into the ocean from the Los Angeles River watershed. (The entire city of L.A. uses about 550,000 acre-feet of water a year).

During that same period, the L.A. Department of Water and Power estimates the city retained about 4 billion gallons of runoff  or roughly 12,000 acre-feet. The largest portion of that simply soaked into unpaved land, such as parks. Less than half was actively captured behind upstream dams, in spreading grounds or by small collection projects.

We havent made the progress we should have, said Mark Gold, associate vice chancellor for environment and sustainability at UCLA. The money is not there. Thats been the big issue.

Capture projects are not cheap. It is costing $28 million to double  to 16,000 acre-feet  the typical recharge capacity of the Tujunga Spreading Grounds.

The price tag for a green street project on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Pacoima is $3 million, two-thirds of which is funded through a state water bond. The project, now under construction, will collect stormwater from streets, sidewalks and a nearby public school campus and let it percolate into the San Fernando Valley aquifer. The expected recharge is 40 acre-feet a year.

Officials argue that such numbers dont tell the whole story.

We havent made the progress we should have.  Mark Gold, associate vice chancellor for environment and sustainability at UCLA

Capture programs dont just boost groundwater supplies. They divert runoff from flood-prone streets, filtering out contaminants as the stormwater seeps through the ground. That helps the region meet water quality mandates to clean up urban runoff that fouls coastal waters  requirements that are expected to cost L.A. County $24 billion over the next couple of decades.

Its not just doing groundwater recharge, said Adel Hagekhalil, assistant director of the Los Angeles sanitation bureau. You are addressing water quality. You are greening communities. Youre addressing flooding.

Four years ago, Los Angeles County supervisors scrapped a proposal for a parcel fee that would have raised an estimated $290 million a year for regional programs to capture and clean up stormwater. The fee, which would have been levied on property owners in the county flood control district, encountered stiff opposition from residents, businesses and school districts.

But as California emerges from a brutal drought, the boards new liberal supermajority is expected to draft another funding proposal this spring.

We need a good $300 million to $500 million a year to build and manage stormwater projects, Gold said. Thats probably the ballpark range that could really transform the Los Angeles region.

A 2016 study prepared by county and federal agencies concluded that an array of projects  such as building new spreading grounds and installing infiltration swales on parkway medians  could significantly boost stormwater collection.

Mark Pestrella, director of the county public works department, said an additional 300,000 acre-feet could probably be captured in the L.A. Basin.

That would be in addition to the average 200,000 acre-feet the county flood control district currently collects every year with a network of dams and reservoirs strung along some 40 miles of the front range of the San Gabriels.

Most of that runoff  which is conveyed to more than two dozen spreading grounds that recharge local aquifers  comes from the San Gabriel River watershed. That means the greatest potential for more runoff capture lies in the Los Angeles River watershed, which includes much of the city of Los Angeles and southeast L.A. County towns.

Weve always tried to move water out as quickly as possible, said Kelly Sanders, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at USC. Now were in a situation where we cant really take that water for granted.

Staff writer Matt Stevens contributed to this report.

bettina.boxall@latimes.com

Twitter: @boxall

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Shannon Block is skipping work on Wednesday.

The Brooklyn, N.Y., preschool teacher plans to stay home and write postcards to her elected representatives.

For my congresswoman and senators, because they are fighting for women and womens rights, Im going to thank them for the work, said Block, 26. For others who I dont agree with, Im going to let them know why Im striking.

Thousands of women are expected to participate in A Day Without a Woman, a spinoff of the womens march that drew millions of people across the country and around the world into the streets a day after President Trumps inauguration.

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Planners of the march are urging women around the world to stay home from work, avoid shopping or wear red on Wednesday  which is also International Womens Day  to highlight the economic power and significance of women.

Schools may feel some of the biggest effects. Roughly three-quarters of U.S. teachers are women, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Two school districts in North Carolina and Virginia have canceled classes, telling about 27,000 students to stay home because not enough teachers and staff plan to show up for work.

In Alexandria, Va., 16 public schools will be closed after 300 members  or more than 20%  of the teaching staff requested the day off.

This is unprecedented, said Helen Lloyd, spokeswoman for the Alexandria City Public Schools. Weve never had circumstances like this before.

In Chapel Hill, N.C., where three-quarters of the 2,000 school district employees are women, officials said 400 workers  including teachers, bus drivers and cafeteria staff  indicated they would participate in the strike.

We didnt do this so that they can go out and protest, said Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools spokesman Jeff Nash, explaining the districts decision to close. We did this because we knew there werent going to be enough people to safety run our schools.

The closures drew criticism as some parents scrambled to find childcare.

At Maple Street School in Brooklyn, where Block works, about half of the 45 teachers will show up to provide childcare, according to school director Wendy Cole, who says shes striking in spirit.

Ill be here because, really, that amazing balance of taking a stand and making sure people are cared for is very important, Cole said. Most of the nurturing and early education is done by women. If thats not happening, if we strike, there would be no day care. Thered be no preschools without women.

Even teachers who decide to go to work have the option of participating in demonstrations or rallies outside of school hours, such as the one retired teacher Debby Pope is helping organize for the Chicago Teachers Union.

Pope, who turns 65 this week, says shes been fighting for womens rights since 1968, when as a teenager she led a petition to allow girls to wear pants to school.

It worked  a new dress code went into effect the following year.

We stand a danger of losing so much of what women have fought so hard to gain, she said. Im talking about abortion rights. Im talking about the gains that women have made through union labor.

Others are using the national spotlight to bring attention to local issues. In Philadelphia, where public school educators have gone five years without raises, teachers plan to picket before school to publicize stagnant contract negotiations, said Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

The overwhelming majority of our members are female, Jordan said. Many of them are heads of households. They really deserve to be treated as professionals, and part of that is they should be able to earn a much better wage than they are now.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

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KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait Oil Minister Essam Al-Marzouq said on Wednesday that OPEC's compliance with an oil output cut reached last year stood at 140 percent in February, while non-OPEC members compliance was 50-60 percent.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to cut its output by about 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1 to prop up oil prices and reduce a supply glut.

Marzouq attributed the high compliance rate by OPEC members to a deep production cut by Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia has voluntarily cut by more than its share to increase confidence in the output reduction issue (agreement)," he told journalists in Kuwait.

He described OPEC's compliance as "excellent" and that of the non-OPEC members as "acceptable", adding that there was satisfaction by OPEC members with the current prices, which he described as "stable".

Kuwait is scheduled to host a ministerial meeting on March 26 comprising both OPEC and non-OPEC members to review compliance with the output agreement, the second such meeting since the deal was reached.

Marzouq said that the oil ministers of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria and Venezuela will attend the meeting, along with the OPEC secretary general.

(Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Edmund Blair)
Sounding a bit annoyed, U.S. immigration and Justice Department attorneys deny that federal officers erased or changed a statement written by a Seattle Dreamer who is fighting to avoid deportation.

Nor did Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers make up claims about street-gang connections attributed to Mexico-born Daniel Ramirez Medina when he was arrested with his immigrant father in a Seattle suburb, Des Moines, on Feb. 5, the government says in newly filed responses to Ramirezs civil lawsuit in federal court here.

Ramirezs case has garnered attention nationwide because he was enrolled in an Obama-era program that shields from deportation certain immigrants brought to the country as children. His detention also came after the Trump administration promised to crack down more forcefully on illegal immigration.

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Now 23, Ramirez was brought to the U.S. illegally at age 7 by his parents, and later obtained protective status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Known as Dreamers, those who qualify can remain in the U.S. for renewable 2-year periods without worry of being deported unless they commit a crime. Then-President Obama approved the program as a goodwill gesture to offspring who would otherwise lack a homeland.

Ramirez says hed broken no law and his attorneys say the deportation case against him is untrue and unfair.

Similar claims have been raised by a Dreamer in Mississippi who is also facing deportation. Daniela Vargas, 22, says she was targeted by ICE after recently speaking at a news conference about her hopes for immigration reform. Danielas case is representative of the mean-spirited and misguided immigration policy of this administration, said her attorney, Michelle Lapointe of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

But the government, in its responses to Ramirezs legal actions taking place in federal district and immigration courts in Seattle, says other Dreamers have been arrested and deported in recent years and the action taken against Ramirez is not necessarily a change in policy.

Ramirez had claimed that a line of his post-arrest statement was altered.

A photograph appears to also show smudge marks left by an eraser. The full sentence, which refers to orange outfits given to gang members in custody, reads: I came in and the officers said I have gang affiliation with gangs so I wear a orange uniform.

Ramirezs attorneys allege the first seven words were erased, turning the remaining line  I have gang affiliation with gangs so I wear a orange uniform  into a confession of gang activity.

Jeffrey Robins, a Justice Department assistant director, said in the court filing that the appearance of the statement can be blamed on the use of two pens.

Ramirez wrote his entire statement in ink, the initial pen that Petitioner used did not write well, and there are no indications that anyone sought to tamper with the document, Robins wrote. Moreover, the claim that an ICE contractor erased the first seven words does not make any sense both because these seven words are legible. Even without the words, it is clear that Petitioner is denying, rather than admitting, to gang affiliation.

In any event, the government maintains that Ramirez has gang ties  and that such affiliation ends his DACA status. The government alleges he has a gang tattoo, which Ramirez says is the name of his hometown, La Paz, in the state of Baja California Sur.

Robins said Ramirez also missed his chance at freedom, which is the goal of his district court action. He failed to request an initial bond hearing, but when the immigration court scheduled such a hearing, his attorneys requested it be cancelled.

Had his attorneys not taken this step, it is possible the immigration court would have ordered Petitioner released, mooting out this part of the case, states Robins. The issue may come up again in two weeks at the next scheduled immigration court session.

Last week, Ramirezs father, Antonio Ramirez Polendo, the original target of the ICE agents at the family apartment, was charged with illegal reentry into the United States. Since 2000, he has been arrested for similar violations seven times, and deported seven times. He also has a 2004 conviction for drug trafficking.

Anderson is a special correspondent.

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The killings took place at night near a dusty, desolate Las Vegas corridor.

On Jan. 3, a homeless man curled up in a blanket to protect himself from the frigid 44-degree temperature, was struck several times in the head as he slept near an intersection not far from the roar of the Spaghetti Bowl, a name locals use to describe a freeway interchange on the citys north end.

The autopsy showed he was bludgeoned with a blunt object, perhaps a hammer.

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A month later, a tragedy unfolded at the same intersection  this time on the opposite corner.

On Feb. 3, another homeless man, also nestled under a blanket to stave off the winter cold, was beaten to death as he slept in an open area near bushes.

Again, it appeared the weapon was a hammer.

The similarities between the cases prompted police to set a trap: a mannequin, wrapped in blankets like a sleeping homeless man with his head covered, was placed where the first man was killed.

The scene that quickly ensued  and captured on police surveillance video  led to the arrest of 30-year-old Shane Schindler, who on Tuesday was charged with attempted murder.

At around 3 a.m. on Feb. 22, Schindler, wearing a dark hoodie, walked to the intersection carrying a Little Caesars plastic bag, according to a police report. He spotted the mannequin covered heavily in blankets. He then hovered in the area for several minutes, and appeared to be looking around for any vehicle or pedestrian traffic.

Police say the video captured the following: Schindler approached the mannequin, pulled his hood up over his head to conceal his face and slowly pulled out of the bag a 4-pound engineers hammer. Using both hands, he raised the hammer and swung it down on the mannequins head several times.

Police, who were monitoring the surveillance footage, quickly flooded the scene and arrested Schindler.

Schindlers bail is currently set at $50,000 and prosecutors have not charged him in the slayings of the two homeless men. At a previous hearing, shortly after his arrest, prosecutors charged him with carrying a concealed weapon.

(Police have not released the surveillance video footage and only publicized Schindlers arrest last week after local media inquired.)

The police report described his interview with detectives: Schindler admitted to kicking the mannequin but didnt remember hitting it with a hammer. After further questioning, Schindler admitted to striking the mannequin, but he said he knew it was a mannequin before he struck it.

Nationwide, violent attacks targeting homeless people  most often when they sleep  have concerned homeless advocates.

In 2014, three teens in Albuquerque were charged with first-degree murder after bludgeoning two homeless men to death with bricks and wooden sticks. In 2015, a homeless man was stabbed to death as he slept in a downtown Denver alley. And last year, police in San Diego arrested Jon D. Guerrero on suspicion of carrying out attacks over a two-week period that left three homeless men dead.

Since 1999, the National Coalition for the Homeless has tracked attacks on those living on the streets. According to a report released last year, the group estimates that nearly 1,700 homeless people have been victimized  including beatings, robberies, murders  since 1999 by people who are not homeless.

Megan Hustings, director for the National Coalition for the Homeless, said negative feelings toward the homeless population have persisted for decades.

We have found that negative attitudes towards the homeless community manifest in regular discrimination and even violence, committed for no other reason than that a homeless person is seen as less than human, she said. It is our civic duty, more importantly our human responsibility, to provide safety  to these individuals.

See the most-read stories this hour 

Moreover, Shelly Nortz, deputy director for policy at the Coalition for the Homeless, a group separate from Hustings, said about the Las Vegas case, its good to see police aggressively pursuing a suspect.

But a municipal right to shelter is also needed to help homeless people avoid street violence until they can regain their footing and move into homes of their own, she said.

Last year, Clark Countys Social Services Department, which covers Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevadas most populous cities, found nearly 6,200 homeless people staying in shelters or on the streets during the two-day count and estimated more than 30,000 people experience homelessness in the southern part of the state throughout the year.

Among them, this year, were Daniel Aldape, 46, and David Dunn, 60.

Aldape was the man killed Jan. 3 near the intersection of Ogden Avenue and City Parkway. Dunns death came a month later in the same location as he slept near some landscaping bushes.

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

Twitter: @kurtisalee

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When you stroll the aisles of the Made in America Store, you might notice a conspicuous absence. There is not a single item for sale that requires a battery or a plug. That is because no electronics meet the strict guidelines of an emporium that stocks only products 100% made in America.

Still, American-made goods abound  socks and hiking boots, plastic lawn furniture, flags and decals, beer and barbecue sauce, mops and sponges. Toilet paper.

There are three aisles of toys, non-electronic, that veer toward the nostalgic: playing cards, horseshoes, marbles and jacks, boomerangs, Slinkies, perhaps their bestselling item. Checkers and Chinese checkers. (Not the kind made in China.)

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The Made in America Store is the brainchild of Mark Andol, 50, an energetic, mile-a-minute talker with silver-tinged, waved-back hair and a wispy mustache.

Andol, the third generation of a Greek immigrant family, was raised on American manufacturing. His father was an ironworker employed at the Ford stamping plant in nearby Buffalo and his mother made xylophone keys for a subcontractor of Fisher-Price, the toy company headquartered in nearby East Aurora.

The Made in America Store began with just 50 products but now stocks more than 7,000. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Andol was frustrated that his welding company, which made metal parts for industry, kept losing contracts to cheaper Chinese competitors. So on a whim, in 2010, he rented a vacant automobile dealership to showcase American products.

Sure, Mark. The world is fully of crazy people. Go for it, Andol recalls he was told.

Filling the cavernous building proved more difficult than Andol imagined. At first he carried only 50 products. He had set a standard higher than the Federal Trade Commission, requiring that the products be 100% U.S. made right down to the glue in the packaging.

The Made in America Store only sells products that are 100% American made, like these boomerangs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Andol was familiar with the certification procedures because he sometimes bid on military contracts, which give preference to U.S. suppliers under a 1941 law called the Berry amendment. He would pore over binders with letters certifying the origins of the components only to be crushed when he had to dump a product that did not make the cut.

I was so excited to find tea from the United States because Im a tea drinker, but then I found out the bags were made in Japan and I had to kick it out of the store, he said.

In homage to his mothers past making xylophone keys, Andol badly wanted to sell toys from Fisher-Price, which has its headquarters just two miles away.

They used to have model builders, toy makers, engineers working here, but now they are all gone and only the corporate headquarters is here, Andol said. I couldnt find one Fisher-Price toy completely made in America.

Other retailers are trying an all-American approach, but it is a constant struggle. Today, Andol boasts that he stocks 7,000 items, although admittedly the numbers get a boost from some products that are essentially the same but come in different sizes or colors. He has opened several branch stores and sells online.

A variety of animal toys, like this one by Wet Paw design, are among the over 7,000 products sold at the Made in America Store. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Shoppers in search of a specific item would be advised to head to Wal-Mart. But the novelty of shopping American is enough of an adventure that the Made in America flagship attracts more than 600 tour buses annually.

The store is decked out in an American theme, the walls covered with large completely American-made American flags. (The U.S. imports about $4 million in American flags from China each year.) T-shirts are plastered with the stores slogan, Because China is a long drive to work!

For all the anti-China rhetoric, some of the best customers are Chinese tourists.

The Chinese go ballistic buying stuff in there because it is made in America, not made in China, said Eric Bateman, a tour bus operator from Conrad, Iowa, who brings tourists on their way to Niagara Falls. Mark sells these great, simple things. You can buy a can opener and put it in the dishwasher and it doesnt rust.

Bringing manufacturing back to the United States  and preserving manufacturing still here  is seen as the holy grail of economic revival for many policymakers and politicians. My administration will follow two simple rules: Buy American, and hire American, Donald Trump declared at a postelection victory rally in Des Moines last year.

And yet they are elusive goals, many economists say.

We live in a world today where you have very complex interdependent supply networks, said Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School who has written extensively on the need for a U.S. manufacturing revival. One of the challenges with technology is that you have a lot of high-value components from various sources.

From experience, Andol knows that hiring American labor can be as difficult as sourcing American products. At his manufacturing shop, he is struggling to find skilled welders, fabricators and engineers, and the people he hires are undoubtedly more expensive than foreign workers.

If I took my $2.4-million payroll overseas, Id be paying $400,000, Andol said. But you need to support the country you live in too.

Andol is enthusiastic about President Trumps promises to bring back American goods, though a little disappointed that Trump and his daughter Ivanka had so much of the clothing they sell manufactured outside the U.S.

I think it is very hard, but I personally know clothing can be made here and some of what we sell is cheaper than the imports, he said.

To prove his point, Andol explains his own wardrobe. He wears Texas Jeans (which are actually made in Asheville, N.C.), Wigwam socks, Thorogood work boots. Its all made in American right down to the underwear, belt and the wallet he carries. The only notable except is what he always carries: the iPhone.

barbara.demick@latimes.com

Twitter: @BarbaraDemick

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People arrived early and saved seats. Walls of camera operators elbowed for position. It was an event anticipated from Capitol Hill to Embassy Row and especially here at Foggy Bottom.

After nearly a seven-week hiatus, on Tuesday the State Department finally held its first news briefing since President Trump took office.

For decades, foreign allies and adversaries alike had monitored the televised weekday briefings at the State Department as a core venue for the latest shifts and nuances in U.S. policy around the globe. The sessions were substantive if often dry.

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But unlike his high-profile predecessors, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has yet to grant any media interviews or hold his own news conference. He heads to Japan, South Korea and China next week and has declined to bring any reporters along, insisting the plane is too small.

His under-the-radar style has sent a message that he does not regard explaining the Trump administrations foreign policy an important part of his job.

And so, the daily briefings were put on hold. Until now.

Feels good to be back up here, State Department spokesman Mark Toner, a holdover from the Obama administration, said as he plopped a thick loose-leaf notebook on a lectern.

More than 75 reporters, photographers and department aides packed the briefing room, a far larger than normal crowd.

They shouted questions and waved their hands. But compared with reporters at sometimes raucous briefings at the White House, the State Department media maintained decorum and parried respectfully with Toner, a veteran in the role.

Toner handled himself ably, never appearing flustered. He was quick to respond to whatever the topic, with varying degrees of answers useful to reporters seeking news.

To highlight the long absence, Associated Press reporter Matthew Lee asked the first question about scrutinizing aid for the Palestinians, an issue that was news back on Jan. 20, when Trump took office and the briefings were suspended.

Lee also made a small plea for the briefings, emphasizing their importance to explain the United States to the world.

Topics on Tuesday included deployment of U.S. defense systems in South Korea and ballistic missile launches by North Korea, the administrations new travel ban against six mostly Muslim countries, and whether U.S. policy has changed on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the one China doctrine that recognizes Beijing as the sole Chinese power.

U.S. policy in some cases has been muddied after Trump seemed to suggest reversing long-standing U.S. positions.

The U.S. view of one China remains intact, Toner said, and we are evaluating where we stand on Israeli policy.

He was pressed to explain the administrations travel ban, especially over why Iranian citizens  none of whom have been implicated in terrorism in the United States  should be punished for their governments behavior.

Asked whether the State Departments voice had been muffled in an administration that has upended traditional conduct of foreign policy, Toner offered up a defense.

I assure you, the State Department voice has been heard, loud and clear, at the White House and elsewhere, he said. He thanked journalists for patience as the administration got its sea legs.

Tillerson has yet to appoint a spokesperson, hence Toners continuation in the role. Scores of other high-level jobs at State are still open, however. Trump vetoed Tillersons choice for deputy, the aide who normally would carry much of the bureaucratic burden.

Take a deep breath, Toner said in response to questions about the unfilled positions, saying officials were working to vet and hire as quickly as possible. He also batted back queries about the possibility of deep budget cuts that could cripple the institution.

Because the department handles so many issues that were priorities under the Obama administration, including climate change, human rights and womens equality, many at State fear those divisions will wither under Trump.

Secretaries of State normally fly on U.S. military aircraft or large chartered planes for overseas trips. Often a dozen or more journalists paid to go along and used the access to inform the public about meetings and negotiations.

Tillerson, however, brought only a handful of reporters on his first foreign trip last month, to the Group of 20 conference in Bonn and took only two journalists on an overnight trip to Mexico City on Feb. 23.

He is taking no accredited media on this trip to Asia next week, contending the plane is too small.

Media groups have protested, saying North Koreas recent missile launches and growing nuclear program make coverage all the more important, and thats nearly impossible to accomplish effectively without joining Tillersons entourage.

Tillerson has not asked for a bigger plane.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter
San Francisco asked a federal judge Wednesday to block President Trumps order threatening to strip federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities that bar police from enforcing immigration laws.

The city followed Santa Clara County in asking U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick for a nationwide preliminary injunction against Trumps executive order until a lawsuit against the order is heard. A hearing on the injunction request has been tentatively scheduled in Orricks San Francisco courtroom for April 5.

San Francisco is one of several local governments nationwide that have sued to block the Jan. 25 order, aimed at about 400 cities and counties that refuse to comply with federal agencies requests to hold residents who crossed the border illegally or to participate in immigration raids. San Francisco is both a city and county.

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In its motion Wednesday, San Francisco argued that Trumps order trampled on state sovereignty and exceeded his authority.

San Francisco City Atty. Dennis Herrera announces a legal challenge to President Trumps moves to strip federal funding from sanctuary cities on Jan. 31. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

With a stroke of his pen, President Trump is trying to seize the spending power that our Constitution entrusts to Congress, City Atty. Dennis Herrera said.

Herrera argued that Trump was attempting to bully cities and counties by threatening to withhold funds for programs that provide meals and medical care for seniors and low-income families.

These entitlement programs are not the presidents to take away from those in need, and San Francisco is not one to back down from a bully, Herrera said.

The motion asked the court to bar Trump from withholding funds and to rule that San Franciscos sanctuary policies comply with federal law.

San Francisco on Jan. 31 became the first city in the country to sue Trump over the order. Santa Clara County and two Massachusetts cities, Lawrence and Chelsea, followed.

San Franciscos suit said it stands to lose $1.2 billion in federal funds, mostly for entitlement programs for the poor.

Although there is no single definition of a sanctuary policy, it generally bars local law enforcement from holding individuals who are in the U.S. illegally after they have been arrested for minor crimes or asking those who report crimes about their immigration status.

Santa Clara County filed its suit days after San Franciscos and made a motion late last month for a preliminary injunction.

Santa Clara County said it had honored immigration agents requests until 2011, when the federal government stopped reimbursing local agencies for detaining immigrants.

Orrick, an Obama appointee, is considering both California suits.
The very first participant in the Day Without A Woman strike on Wednesday was none other than New Yorks most illustrious female, the Lady of Liberty.

For several hours on Tuesday night, the Statue of Liberty went dark, her body and robes entirely cloaked in darkness with only her torch shining on New York harbor.

Lady Liberty got the memo, crowed the organizers of the one-day strike, which is being held to commemorate International Womens Day, on social media. Thank you Lady Liberty for standing with the resistance and going dark for #DayWithoutAWoman.

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The National Park Service, which operates the monument, claimed that the outage was due to a technical glitch, but the timing seemed too perfect to be coincidental.

Some lights on the Statue were temporarily off tonight. Likely related to new emergency generator/Hurricane Sandy recovery project work, the Statue of Liberty National Monument official Twitter account posted early this morning.

Womens activists werent buying the explanation, especially since the National Park Service has been exhibiting some resistance to President Trump on matters ranging from the size of his inauguration crowd to climate change.

On social media, many doubted the explanation of a technical glitch. The outage, some New Yorkers suggested, was either an observation of the womens day strike or a protest against President Trumps immigration policies. Or Russian hacking.

barbara.demick@latimes.com

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The youngest son of Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Hillary Clintons running mate in her 2016 presidential bid, was one of six people arrested last weekend during a counterprotest at a rally in support of President Trump in Minnesota.

The protesters clashed with hundreds of Trump supporters gathered at the state Capitol rotunda in St. Paul on Saturday, a scene repeated at rallies in other cities around the country.

Linwood Woody Kaine of Minneapolis and four other people were suspected of lighting a smoke bomb inside the Capitol, St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said Wednesday. He said he didnt know the circumstances surrounding the sixth arrest, which was made by state troopers.

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Kaine, 24, ran from the scene and was arrested about a block away after he resisted arrest, was sprayed with a chemical irritant and was taken to the ground, according to police. Kaine was booked into the Ramsey County Jail on a recommended second-degree riot charge.

The Ramsey County Attorneys Office declined to file criminal charges, finding insufficient evidence to substantiate the charge, spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said Wednesday. The St. Paul City Attorneys Office was reviewing the case and didnt immediately reply to a message seeking comment.

Tim Kaine, a St. Paul native who is now a senator representing Virginia, and his wife, Anne Holton, released a statement following their sons arrest.

We love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues. They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully, they said.

MORE NATIONAL NEWS

Senators grill Justice Department nominee over Trump and Russia

Oil could begin flowing through Dakota Access pipeline as early as next week

A Day Without a Woman for many means a day without school

UPDATES:

10 a.m.: Updated with additional details on the incident.

This story was originally posted at 8:05 a.m.
Im Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I dont want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

Obamacare Vs. Trumpcare

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Democrats, small-government conservatives and Republican moderates in Washington have at least one thing in common: Theyre not liking the GOP plan to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, albeit for different reasons, even as President Trump and House leadership try to drum up support. Many questions about its effects on insurance coverage nationwide remain. In California, Gov. Jerry Brown said it was too soon to weigh in, but experts interviewed by The Times say millions in the state probably would lose health coverage under the replacement bill. Heres a quick guide to how things work now and how they would change.

More Politics

-- Hawaii says it will sue over Trumps new travel ban.

-- Thousands are expected to participate today in A Day Without a Woman, a spinoff of the womens march. Schools may feel some of the biggest effects.

-- Trump has talked tough on Iran, but can he bring jailed Americans home?

L.A. Voted. Well, Some of It Did.

With the percentage of voter turnout not even expected to reach the teens, it wasnt exactly a barn-burner. That in and of itself may have been as much of an endorsement of the status quo as the votes. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti declared victory in what appeared to be a landslide for what would be his second term. (Though who knows if bigger political ambitions will call later.) Meanwhile, anti-development Measure S was losing in the early voting. Here are the latest results.

Migrants on a Perilous Journey North  to Canada

They come from Ghana, Somali, Djibouti and beyond, making an arduous trip north in search for a better life. Not in the U.S., but in Canada. A small but rapidly growing number of asylum seekers have lost hope that America will accept them, so they travel in the dark of night and cold of winter to petition for protection in Canada. Reporter Alexandra Zavis and photographer Robert Gauthier spoke with some who underestimated the danger and lost fingers to frostbite.

Constable Richard Graham of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police detains a group of men, women and children who crossed into Emerson, Canada, from the U.S. in the early hours of Feb. 19. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

This Man Fixed 20,000 Holes in the U.S. Border Fence

In 25 years with the U.S. Border Patrol maintenance crew, Albert Garcia fixed an estimated 20,000 holes in the steel fence along the border with Mexico. Hes retired now, but he has some thoughts on Trumps big, beautiful wall idea. Yes, he voted for Trump. But he told columnist Steve Lopez, I dont think anything they make is going to hold them back. Heres what Garcia would do instead.

In the Company of Spies

WikiLeaks says it has the goods on how the CIA has conducted cyberespionage, and it has released nearly 9,000 documents detailing plans to hack into smartphones, laptops, TVs and even cars. The CIA wont comment on the files authenticity, but cybersecurity experts are giving credence to them. How much damage they cause could depend on what else WikiLeaks publishes.

CALIFORNIA

-- Struggling San Bernardino wrote to President Trump for help, but that has ended up only raising local suspicions.

-- To avoid hecklers, protesters and the public, Central Valley Rep. David Valadao made his constituents schedule one-on one meetings.

-- A man who has been deported at least five times is awaiting trial in a fatal car crash that claimed the life of an L.A. woman last month, according to police and court records.

-- A state senator from La Canada-Flintridge wants to limit Californians to buying no more than one gun a month.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has translated Martin Luther King Jr.s speeches into a dance program coming to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

-- A documentary about Ferguson prompts a discussion about the divide between black and white at a Missouri film festival.

-- How Logan director James Mangold transformed the end of Wolverine into a new beginning.

-- At two new movie theaters in Southern California, kids can play on a jungle gym next to their parents seats.

-- So where did he go? The podcast Missing Richard Simmons refuses to accept the official story.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

Cyd Charisse was born on this date in 1922 in Texas. She trained as a ballerina in the Russian tradition and danced her way to stardom in movies like Singin in the Rain and Silk Stockings. To her, acting was a piece of cake compared to pointe work, but if I had to give up either acting or dancing, Id choose to keep dancing. She died June 17, 2008.

NATION-WORLD

-- At the Made in America Store in New York, its a challenge to keep the aisles full.

-- North Korea barred all Malaysian citizens in the country from leaving, and Malaysia responded in kind, deepening a diplomatic crisis.

-- The teachers are unpaid and danger is ever present, but Mosuls schools are reopening.

-- To catch a killer after two sleeping homeless men were slain, Las Vegas police set out a mannequin as bait.

-- As obesity keeps rising in the U.S., a study shows more Americans are just giving up on trying to lose the weight.

BUSINESS

-- Former 20th Century Fox Film chief Jim Gianopulos has emerged as the front-runner to rebuild the struggling Paramount Pictures movie studio.

-- Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick says he is looking for a peer who can run the company with him as chief operating officer.

SPORTS

-- Legal experts say a family trust document indicates that Jeanie Buss shall remain controlling owner of the Lakers.

-- New Angels second baseman Danny Espinosa shows that he has true grit. His nickname in college was Dirtbag, after all.

OPINION

-- If you thought the Obamacare backlash was bad, Trumpcare will give Democrats a whipping boy for the ages.

-- Can you be black without actually being biologically black? Rachel Dolezal is certainly trying.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Muslim American writer Fatimah Asghar offers a poem for our times. (Poetry Magazine)

-- The best and worst countries to be a working woman. (The Economist)

-- Two shows could change the way disability is represented on television. (Pacific Standard)

ONLY IN L.A.

L.A.s City Hall has an enviable list of credits. Its played the Vatican, a secret CIA center, the U.S. Capitol and, of course, the Daily Planet in the 1950s Superman series  not to mention all the times it has cameoed as itself. These days it hosts about 50 shoots a year, and not just for film and TV. More and more, productions from streaming services are finding out that you cant fight City Hall, but you can certainly film it.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

If you like this newsletter, please share it with friends.
The Supreme Court was to have heard arguments this month in the case of Gavin Grimm, a transgender student who was prevented from using the boys bathroom at his Virginia high school. But on Monday the justices returned the case to a lower court after the Trump administration rescinded an Obama administration interpretation of federal civil rights law that had supported Grimms position.

That was a mistake.

The justices should have heard the case anyway, as both sides of the case had urged. Then it should have ruled that, under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits schools and colleges from engaging in discrimination on the basis of sex, the school must allow him to use the bathroom that corresponds to his gender identity  even if that identity is different than the one on his birth certificate.

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At first glance, the courts decision to back away from the case might seem to make sense. In ruling for Grimm, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals had emphasized that it was deferring to the Obama administrations interpretation of both Title IX and a regulation implementing the law that allowed schools to provide for separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex. The problem is that the Obama administrations guidance is no longer the official interpretation of the executive branch, having been axed last month by President Trumps Education and Justice departments in a gesture to his social conservative supporters. That means one of the questions the justices were expected to address  whether the courts should defer to such agency interpretations  is no longer raised by Grimms case.

Yet the justices still could have ruled on whether Title IX itself requires that schools treat transgender students in a manner consistent with their gender identity. In doing so, they also would have been addressing a larger question that applies to other civil rights laws: whether, as lower courts have found, discrimination on the basis of sex also includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

Their answer should be: Of course it does. And its irrelevant that members of Congress who voted for Title IX or other civil rights laws didnt have people like Gavin Grimm in mind when they voted to outlaw sex discrimination. Concepts like sex discrimination evolve over time. As the late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in a 1998 decision involving male-on-male sexual harassment (itself a concept that took time to develop), laws against violations of civil rights often go beyond the principal evil to cover reasonably comparable evils.

Justice has been delayed for Grimm and other transgender students. We hope it hasnt been denied.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook
It wasnt one single thing that drove hundreds of thousands of women  and men  to the massive marches on Jan. 21 in cities from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles. It was about a million different things. Though the overall message was overtly anti-President Trump, the individual causes were many: hands off our bodies, hate is bad, climate change is real, stop the Dakota Access pipeline, trans lives matter and so on.

Now the womens march organizers are hoping to channel that same energy into a series of work strikes, rallies and shopping boycotts across the country on Wednesday to celebrate International Womens Day. They are calling it A Day Without a Woman. The organizers are asking women to take a day off from work to participate in rallies around the country if they can. Those who cant are asked to wear red in solidarity and not shop that day.

Its more than a little gimmicky, to be sure. Remember A Day Without a Mexican, the 2004 mockumentary? Remember Lysistrata, the Greek play about one womans crazy anti-war plan?

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Still, there are real reasons for women to be angry, and hopefully the inchoate angst that propelled the January marches will focus on more specific, and immediate, threats to women. For starters, the House GOPs new and terrible plan to replace the Affordable Care Act threatens access to reproductive and family planning services and could make maternity coverage unaffordable. Is that what Trump meant when he said in his address to Congress last month that he would invest in womens health?

The president also supported paid family leave. Thats huge, as he might say. But he needs to be held to that pledge. Unlike those in the rest of the developed world, U.S. women in the workforce do not have a guarantee of paid family leave. And then there are the perennial workplace frustrations: that damnably durable glass ceiling and, despite a number of efforts on the state and federal level, female workers still get paid less for doing the same work as those with one fewer X chromosome. One solution to that problem would be to get more women in corporate Americas boardrooms and executive suites.

As for the handwringing over whether A Day Without A Woman is inherently elitist because poor women cant afford to not work, well, so what if it skews middle-class? Good for women of means standing up for those less fortunate. Besides, there are many ways to protest that dont require carrying a sign in a rally  such as voting for candidates who wont incite women to take to the streets.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Google is holding a big conference called Google Cloud Next to celebrate and promote its cloud computing efforts this week in San Francisco.

The company claimed more than 10,000 people showed up to hear the latest about its cloud platform, which has emerged as the No. 3 in the space after Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that the cloud is an "extraordinarily big bet" for the company. Eric Schmidt, who was Google's CEO and is now the chairman of parent company Alphabet (GOOGL), said: "We're here for real, you're here for real, this is an incredibly serious mission. It's something I wanted to do since I joined the company 17 years ago."

The event is also a bit of a coming-out party for Diane Greene, who is a legitimate big deal in the world of enterprise computing. She was a co-founder and the first CEO of VMware (VMW), the company that popularized a technology known as virtualization in the early 2000s. (Basically, virtualization lets you use software to run multiple computing instances on one piece of hardware, and is a foundation of cloud computing.) Greene joined Google's board in 2012, and was named the head of its cloud business in November 2015.

So it was a little surprising that the company did not have any huge news to announce in its opening keynote on Wednesday, which stretched over two hours. Probably the biggest deal was a partnership with SAP (XETRA:SAP-DE) to run that company's HANA database -- SAP's answer to Oracle's in-memory databases, and a big bet for the company for the last five years or so -- in Google's cloud.

What's really going on here? Is Google serious about the cloud or not?



Alphabet (GOOGL) investors should keep in mind that Google's cloud business is a tiny part of Alphabet's overall business.

In 2016, Google's "other" revenues amounted to $10.1 billion, or 11.2 percent of Alphabet's total. (This is different from the Alphabet "Other Bets" revenue, which includes businesses like fiber-optic internet access and self-driving car technology.)

Story continues

In its financial filing, Google breaks down those "other" revenues as:

Apps, in-app purchases, and digital content in the Google Play store;



Hardware;



Licensing-related revenue; and



Service fees received for our Google Cloud offerings.



Google Cloud is No. 4 on the list (although that doesn't necessarily mean it's No. 4 in revenue or importance).

Overall, the segment grew revenues 40 percent from the previous year. That's a lot faster than Alphabet's overall revenue growth of 20 percent. So, there's definite upside.

But some perspective is still due. Google has been selling enterprise offerings, first for productivity, and more recently for infrastructure, since 2006. And yet 88.8 percent of Google's business still comes from internet advertising, with the bulk of that almost certainly coming from search advertising. (Google does not break out search ad revenues separately.)

That core business is still growing at a very impressive rate, and has great profit margins.

So why invest in a complicated business that goes up against some of the biggest and most cash-rich names in technology, both old -- like Microsoft (MSFT), IBM and Oracle -- and new, like Amazon (AMZN)?



For a cynical take, one might turn to investor Peter Thiel's comments at CERAWeek by IHS Markit, an energy industry conference, on Tuesday night.

Thiel -- who is a board member and early investor in Facebook, one of Alphabet's fiercest competitors -- noted that he only wants to invest in monopolies. Then he talked about a hypothetical search company in Silicon Valley:

If you have a monopoly, you will tell people you are in a super-competitive business. And if you are in a super-competitive business, you will tell people that you have a monopoly of sorts. So for example, if you have a search company in Silicon Valley that I will not name, if you were to go around to CEOs saying, 'We have a bigger share of the market and higher profit margins than Microsoft ever had in the 1990s,' you wouldn't do that...You don't even talk about search. You say, 'We are a technology company with an enormous space called technology, and we're competing with Apple on smartphones, and we're competing on self-driving cars, and there's competition in everything we're doing except this one thing called search, and we never talk about that.'"

A slightly less cynical take: Investing billions in cloud computing might not make sense on a stand-alone basis, but if Alphabet is already investing billions in data center technology for its actual business, why not try and leverage some that technology into a whole new area as well, by selling it to other businesses? It's a low-risk bet. And a lot of companies are buying -- Snap, for instance, says it will spend $400 million a year on Google's cloud for the next five years.

Just don't expect Alphabet to give a clear definition of "success" in cloud, or a clear timeline for that success, to anybody outside the company.









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In the lead-up to Tuesdays election, there was a lot of hand-wringing over L.A.s identity and whether voters would cling to the citys suburban past or charge into a more urban future. Turns out, Los Angeles voters really do want a city of mass transit, taller buildings and affordable apartment housing.

They overwhelmingly rejected Measure S, a slow-growth, anti-development ballot measure that would have imposed a two-year moratorium on building projects that required zone changes and other exemptions from existing, albeit outdated, land-use rules. Proponents of Measure S took aim at high-rises in Hollywood and dense apartment complexes in West Los Angeles  projects that opponents said were smart examples of concentrating growth next to transit lines.

Voters also reelected Mayor Eric Garcetti with a landslide 80% of the vote. Garcetti has talked about making the city more dense, affordable, transit-oriented and environmentally friendly. Garcettis easy reelection is no surprise; he has avoided crisis and scandal in his first term and didnt face a serious threat from a challenger. But Measure S also was seen as a referendum on his vision of the city and his leadership in City Hall, so the failure of the measure is also a win for him.

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Last November, county voters passed Measure M, which raised the sales tax to build more rail and bus lines. City voters also endorsed Measure HHH to build housing for the homeless and Measure JJJ to allow exemptions from land-use laws if the development projects include affordable housing and pay construction workers union-level wages.

Measure S was originally supposed to be on that ballot too, but proponents moved their initiative to the March election, which typically has lower turnout and a more conservative, older, homeowner electorate. Yet Measure S still failed by a large margin. November wasnt a fluke. Los Angeles voters have now sent a message about what kind of city they want: more housing, more affordable, more public transit.

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TV ads target lawmakers on the fence over Gov. Jerry Browns plan to raise gas taxes to repair roads By Patrick McGreevy Gov. Jerry Brown talks to Steve Glazer in 2011, when Glazer was still an advisor to the governor and before he was elected to the Senate. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) With supporters of a road repair bill still counting votes, a coalition of business and labor leaders on Friday began running television and radio ads that target eight legislators who have not yet committed to vote for the measure. The Fix Our Roads Coalition is spending $1 million on a statewide, week-long ad blitz that urges legislators to vote next week for Senate Bill 1. The bill would raise gas taxes and vehicle fees to generate $52 billion the first 10 years to repair crumbling roads, highways and bridges, and expand mass transit. We are closer than ever to finally passing a transportation funding package to fix our long-neglected and crumbling roads, said Michael Quigley, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs, which is co-funding the commercials. These new ads are part of an all-out grassroots, earned media, advertising and social media campaign to support passage of this bill by next week. In addition to ads that call on legislators to support the bill, eight advertisements call on legislators by name to support the plan. Those targeted include Sens. Steve Glazer (D-Concord) and Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres), and moderate Democratic Assembly members Adam Gray of Merced, Rudy Salas of Bakersfield, Sabrina Cervantes of Corona, Sharon Quirk-Silva of Buena Park and Al Muratsuchi of Torrance, as well as Republican Catharine Baker of San Ramon. The bill needs a two-thirds vote in both houses, which would require all of the Democrats to support the measure. Cannella and Baker are being wooed by Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders to step in if one of the Democrats gets cold feet. Representatives of Cannella and Glazer said earlier this week that they were still weighing the issue. Brown and legislative leaders have called for the Legislature to act by Thursday, after which time the lawmakers head out on spring break. Facebook

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Former Assembly Speaker John A. Perezs views on the L.A. congressional race he dropped out of By Christine Mai-Duc (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Before he suddenly dropped out of the running citing health reasons, former Assembly Speaker John A. Perez was widely considered the favorite to replace Xavier Becerra in the 34th Congressional District. With Perez out, the race is wide open and isnt likely to be decided Tuesday, when 24 candidates compete in the primary. Instead, the top two vote-getters regardless of party are expected to advance to a June 6 election. (If any one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote Tuesday, its all over). Perez offered his thoughts on the race in an interview published Friday by Politico. Some of his major points: Perez said he thinks state Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez is significantly ahead of the pack and will make the runoff.

A cluster of candidates, including Alejandra Campoverdi, Wendy Carrillo, Arturo Carmona, Maria Cabildo and Robert Lee Ahn, are in a close enough race that any one of them could advance.

If Carrillo were to move forward, Perez says, the narrative in the runoff would be about which candidate is more progressive and whos an insider versus an outsider.

Perez says if he were the front runner, Campoverdi is the one Id be most concerned about running against due to her connections in Washington and her national profile, which could create a new level of viability. Facebook

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To fight against human trafficking, this state senator wants to train motel employees to spot signs of abuse By Jazmine Ulloa Former Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego). (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times) State Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) wants to increase services for human trafficking survivors and make it easier in court to put away their abusers. Flanked by prosecutors and hotel industry officials at a news conference Friday in San Diego, the former Assembly speaker announced new housing and mental health assistance for victims and introduced legislation that would require hotels and motels to train their employees to spot signs of human trafficking. Another of her proposals would expand the character evidence that prosecutors can bring forth at trial against defendants charged with selling victims for sex or labor. The bills are meant to attack a multibillion-dollar trade that has a wide sweep in California, home to three cities on the FBIs list of 13 top human trafficking destinations: San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles. National human trafficking hotline calls across California generated 1,323 cases in 2016  nearly twice as many as any other state. Atkins is among lawmakers pushing the issue at the Capitol, where legislation has focused on targeting traffickers, protecting victims and addressing what advocates say is a law enforcement culture in which child survivors sometimes are treated like criminals. But funding for victims services and programs has been an obstacle. A bill by Atkins to develop pilot projects in three counties to address the commercial sexual exploitation of youth sailed through the Legislature without opposition last year only to be vetoed by the governor. Her second bill for a statewide task force died in the Senate appropriations committee. Atkins latest proposal to provide training for motel employees follows a similar bill by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens). It failed in the last legislative session amid opposition over costs to businesses. That hasnt stopped Atkins from trying again. Hotels are ground zero for sex trafficking in this state, she said in a statement. Sex traffickers are exploiting some of the most vulnerable people in our society, including children. These victims are often hiding in plain sight, and traffickers take advantage of the fact that many hotel employees dont recognize the signs. Facebook

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State Controller Betty Yee says Californias tax collection agency has been mismanaged and needs a complete overhaul By Patrick McGreevy Citing a review that found widespread mismanagement at the state Board of Equalization, State Controller Betty T. Yee on Friday called for stripping the panel of responsibilities for tax administration and audit and compliance functions so it can focus on handling taxpayer appeals. Yees proposal came in response to an evaluation by the state Department of Finance that found board officials were improperly redirecting resources and employees to pet projects in their districts. In order to rebuild taxpayer trust, meaningful reform is essential, said Yee, who serves as an ex-officio member of the board. I urge the Legislature and the governor to strip the board members of all statutory functions and permanently move these duties and assigned staff to a separate new department under the governor. The Department of Finance review found the board had difficulty providing complete and accurate documentation in response to inquiries, and various levels of management were not aware of and could not speak to certain actions, including the informal establishment of a call center, creating an unofficial office location and inconsistent use of community liaisons. The evaluation said personnel records showed workers assigned to administrative jobs that they were not doing, having been transferred to help board members in their districts. Even though each elected board member has a $1.5-million budget to cover office costs, some members borrowed workers from the head office, taking them from jobs that involved bringing in tax money and having them instead reach out to board members constituents, the review found. The redirection of workers violated state budget rules. In addition, the reviewers said the board provided 11 different versions of its proposed sales and use tax allocation adjustment and the Department of Finance found errors and omissions throughout. Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris has opened a gubernatorial fundraising account  but she has no plans to run for governor, aide says By Seema Mehta (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) Sen. Kamala Harris opened a campaign fundraising account to run for governor in 2026, but that does not mean Californias newest U.S. senator has any plans to seek the office. Harris plans to use the account to store the $1 million in leftover funds from her successful 2014 reelection campaign for attorney general, said Sean Clegg, Harris political spokesman. Harris left her post as state attorney general mid-term when she was elected in November to the Senate seat opening created by the retirement of Barbara Boxer. She faced a March 31 deadline to shutter the attorney general account, and under election law cannot mingle money raised for state campaigns with funds raised to run for federal office. Its purely political bookkeeping, Clegg said. The 2026 date could raise eyebrows because after the 2018 gubernatorial election, that will likely be the next time the governors office is open because its occupant is termed out. But Clegg said Harris did not open an account for a lower office like lieutenant governor  as politicians in similar situations typically do  because, he said, we werent interested in being cute about it. So we designated the only potential future office one could conceivably contemplate, although were not contemplating it, he said. Were focused on the job were doing. Facebook

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This California lawmaker wants to crack down on toys and electronics that pick up conversations and personal information By Jazmine Ulloa State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), left (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press ) A California state senator wants to prevent companies from selling products that can listen in on conversations and collect personal information from unknowing consumers. Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) has filed legislation that would require manufacturers to equip their Internet-connected devices, including toys, clocks, kitchenware and electronics, with certain security and privacy features. Dubbed the Teddy Bear and Toaster Act, Senate Bill 327 takes aim at the so-called Internet of Things, the inter-networking of everyday devices that some tech and privacy experts say amounts to a growing industry with little oversight. The more we know and the more we learn about the Internet connection of all sorts of devices, many are realizing that we dont know the extent to which these devices are invading our lives, Jackson said. Under her proposal, companies would have to design their products so that they alert consumers  through visual, auditory or other cues  when they are gathering data. They would have to obtain user consent when they intend to transfer the information. And they would have to disclose at point of sale whether the devices are capable of sweeping up sensitive data, so that customers can take that into account while shopping. Most states, including California, have privacy breach laws to protect personal information. The proposal, which would extend those provisions to consumer devices, could be the first of its kind nationwide. But it is expected to garner wide opposition from retailers and manufacturers. A My Friend Cayla doll (AFP/Getty Images) Still, supporters point to growing privacy concerns. Some toys, like the My Friend Cayla doll banned in Germany, prompt children to give personal information, such as their parents names and their addresses, and their manufacturers reserve the right to target young buyers in direct marketing campaigns. Other smart devices lack the most basic security features that make them vulnerable to a hack or coordinated cyberattack. In a statement, James P. Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Kids Action, which is sponsoring the bill, said such toys and electronics can put consumers at risk. These products get rushed out to the market without the privacy issues being addressed in advance, and then consumers end up paying the price, he said. Facebook

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President Jerry Brown? Dont rule it out, governor quips By Patrick McGreevy Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislative leaders appealed Thursday for support for a proposed gas tax and vehicle fee increase to fix the states roads and bridges. (Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times) In arguing for approval of a new transportation package on Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown appeared to enjoy himself in refusing to shoot down a supporters suggestion that he run for president  even as he noted his 79th birthday is next week. Standing next to other elected officials and construction workers at the rally in in Concord, Brown argued that gas tax and vehicle fee increases are needed to address a backlog of much-needed repairs to Californias crumbling system of roads, highways and bridges. Im telling you the truth because why would I lie to you? Brown said. I dont think Im running for office. All Ive got left is lieutenant governor, treasurer and controller. Or president, someone in the crowd shouted. Brown responded that he would be 82 when the next presidential election comes around. But you know, dont rule it out, he quipped, drawing laughter and applause. Lest the comment turn into a national story, an aide later clarified the governors intentions: He was joking. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown is making appeals to legislators for votes on his new transportation plan  one district at a time By Patrick McGreevy Gov. Jerry Brown stumps for the new transportation funding plan on Thursday in the Bay Area city of Concord. (Patrick McGreevy / Los Angeles Times) Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Thursday took their campaign for higher transportation taxes and fees to the Bay Area district of state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Concord), one of the holdouts in the state Senate who has not yet committed to vote for the package. Surrounded by dozens of construction workers, Brown warned that if the transportation bill unveiled on Wednesday isnt approved this year, it may not happen in the foreseeable future. There is nothing more fundamental in the business of government than making sure the roads and bridges dont fall apart, and they are falling apart, Brown said. Glazer recently withheld his vote from a bill proposing a similar plan for repairing state bridges, roads and highways, and on Wednesday, a spokesman said he had still not committed to any plan but wanted to review the detailed proposal before taking a position. Construction workers at the rally held signs that pictured crumbling roads and said, Senator Glazer Fix This Now. Vote for SB 1. Brown said Glazer, his former senior advisor, does not disagree with the intent of the bill. He loves this plan, but he has another idea on his mind and he wants to marry the two and see if he can get some outcomes that I dont want to get into at this particular place, Brown told reporters. Sen. Jim Beall, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said Glazer wants the transportation funding bill to include a clause barring employees of Bay Area Rapid Transit from going on strike. Beall said that is a labor-relations issue that cannot be included in the bill raising taxes. You cant do that, Beall said. A spokesman for Glazer said the senator is still undecided on the bill. The senator is continuing to have conversations with the principals, said Steve Harmon, a spokesman for Glazer. He declined to comment on Bealls statement. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) said there may be similar rallies in Los Angeles and Riverside in the coming days. Two other Democrats who have not yet committed to the plan are Riverside Sen. Richard Roth and Woodland Hills Sen. Henry Stern. Brown acknowledged that there is work to do to secure the two-thirds vote needed in both houses of the Legislature to raise the base excise tax on gasoline by 12 cents per gallon, to a total of 30 cents per gallon, and to create a new annual vehicle fee that would average $51 based on the value of the car or truck. Rendon said approval of the transportation bill would cost the average California motorist an extra $10 per month, which he said is a deal compared to the current cost of $720 in annual vehicle repair costs required because of running over potholes and other rough road conditions. Hoping to force a Senate vote on the package early next week, Brown was accompanied to the Concord news conference by Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). They urged lawmakers to support the bill, which would generate $5.2 billion annually for the first 10 years for road and bridge repairs, mass transit improvements and other projects to reduce congestion. Glazer, known as a maverick in the Legislature, was Browns campaign manager during the 2010 gubernatorial election and remained a senior advisor to the governor before running for the state Senate in a special election in 2015. ---- 1:23 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from a representative for state Sen. Steve Glazer. This article was originally published at 12:42 p.m. Facebook

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Who will be Californias next governor? New poll shows Newsom leads with 1 in 3 voters undecided By Seema Mehta (Nick Ut / Associated Press) In the race to replace termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown, the largest number of voters in a new statewide poll does not favor a candidate in the race. About 1 in 3 voters said they were undecided, according to the survey by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. Among candidates who have entered the race, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom holds a strong lead with 28% of the vote, followed by Republican businessman John Cox with 18%, according to the poll, which was released Wednesday. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa clocks in at 11%, state Treasurer John Chiang at 8% and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin at 3%. Because the race is far away and public campaigning has not yet started in earnest, the poll could primarily be an indicator of name recognition. The field of candidates is also likely to grow. Newsom has several natural advantages: He was the first person to enter the race in 2015 and has a large fundraising edge. He has perhaps been the candidate most in the spotlight among the Democrats running, notably for his support of the marijuana legalization measure on the November ballot. Cox may have benefited from being the lone Republican in that version of the poll. Pollsters conducted a second version of the poll with five additional potential candidates, none of whom have announced a run for governor in 2018  San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon and former state Controller Steve Westly. Newsom still led the pack to come in at 24%. The two Republicans, Faulconer and Cox, tied at 11% each. Faulconer has said he does not plan to run for governor. Garcetti, Villaraigosa, Chiang, Steyer, De Leon, Westly and Eastin all placed in the single digits. Steyer and Westly have the personal wealth to self-fund a campaign, giving them time to decide whether to enter the race. Westly unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2006, losing in the Democratic primary to state Treasurer Phil Angelides. In the 2018 contest, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary will move onto the November general election. The poll of 1,000 registered voters in California was conducted online in English and Spanish between March 13 and 20, and has a margin of error in either direction of 3.6%. Facebook

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California legislators team up to expand John Muir National Historic Site By Sarah D. Wire Californias senators and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) filed legislation Thursday to add 44 acres to the John Muir National Historic Site. The John Muir Heritage Land Trust has offered to donate the additional land to the National Park Service, which operates the site, and the bill would authorize the agency to accept the parcel. The time John Muir spent with his daughters at their scenic home and its neighboring property played a major role in launching the national parks movement. Expanding the existing park to preserve more of this history and beauty is a fitting tribute to Muirs legacy of protecting land for all to enjoy, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement. Located about 30 miles east of San Francisco, the John Muir National Historic Site consists of Muirs Alhambra Valley home and 325 acres outside of Martinez. DeSaulnier said in a statement that expanding the property is a fitting celebration of his legacy, and will offer nature-goers greater access to enjoy the beauty of the East Bay. DeSaulnier sponsored the same bill last year, which passed the House unanimously but was not considered by the Senate. Feinstein and former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) carried the Senate version, which died after a committee hearing. Such bills often take a few attempts to pass, even without major opposition. Muirs writings helped inspire the creation of the National Park Service, starting with his lobbying of Congress to protect the Yosemite Valley from dams. He also was a founding member of the Sierra Club. Californians owe him a debt of gratitude, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said in a statement. Facebook

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Californias attorney general could investigate local police shootings under new legislation By Liam Dillon Attorney John Burris, center, comforts Robert and Deborah Mann, family members of Joseph Mann, who was killed by Sacramento Police in July, after a news conference on Oct. 3, 2016. (Rich Pedroncelli / AP) Californias attorney general could investigate local police shootings under a new bill authored by a Sacramento lawmaker. Democratic Assemblyman Kevin McCartys Assembly Bill 284 would allow local police departments or district attorneys to ask Atty. Gen. Xavier Becceras office to independently investigate police shootings of civilians. The legislation was prompted by high-profile police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., Eric Garner in New York City and last summers police shooting of Joseph Mann, a mentally ill homeless man, in Sacramento, according to McCartys office. In all three cases, local prosecutors declined to charge the officers. There is a growing skepticism and a perceived conflict of interest, of the current process of local district attorneys investigating local police, said a fact sheet on the bill provided by McCartys office. Given that they work so closely, it is a valid question of whether this is the most transparent process for the public. There is a growing appetite, both at the national and local level, to create a better and more transparent system for [police shootings] that is fair to police, families, and the community in order to restore public trust. McCartys bill would make state investigations voluntary in these cases and would be implemented only if lawmakers also give Becceras office money to pay for the effort. In 2015, McCarty tried to pass legislation that would have made state investigations of local police shootings mandatory, but that bill failed to make it out of legislative committees. This year, lawmakers have generally scaled back prior efforts to change the states rules governing police discipline and transparency. Facebook

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Former offenders will help award millions in Proposition 47 grants to rehabilitate inmates By Jazmine Ulloa We have listened to law enforcement talk about how horrible Prop. 47 is, said Vonya Quarles, an advocate for the formerly incarcerated. Now we have a chance to help the people who are hurting. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)) California officials will begin the process this spring of awarding $103 million in grants to programs for inmates centered on rehabilitation, substance abuse and reentry into society. The efforts will be funded with dollars saved from prison spending under Proposition 47, the sweeping 2014 ballot measure that downgraded six drug and theft crimes to misdemeanors and allowed defendants to renegotiate their punishments. For the large coalition of criminal justice advocates that poured millions into getting the proposition passed and that has closely tracked its implementation, this is a long-awaited step. Other states have passed similar laws, but California is the only state to invest those savings into services meant to help people stay out of prison. On the executive committee helping award the grants are formerly incarcerated people who know the system from the inside. Read More Facebook

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What would single-payer healthcare look like in California? Lawmakers release new details By Melanie Mason Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A proposal in California for a single-payer healthcare system would dramatically expand the state governments presence in medical care and slash the role of insurance companies. New amendments released Thursday fill in some key details on the universal healthcare measure proposed by state Sens. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), although the biggest political question  how it would be paid for  remains unanswered. Under the proposal, which was announced in February, the state would cover all medical expenses for every resident regardless of their income or immigration status, including inpatient, outpatient, emergency services, dental, vision, mental health and nursing home care. Insurers would be prohibited from offering benefits that cover the same services as the state. The program would eliminate co-pays and deductibles, and patients would not need to get referrals to see eligible providers. The system would be administered by an unpaid nine-person board appointed by the governor and the Legislature. A universal healthcare system run by the government has long been a dream of liberals, with many rallying behind insurgent Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders proposal for Medicare for all in the 2016 race. After a GOP effort to replace Obamacare stalled last week, Sanders said he intends to introduce a nationwide single-payer bill in the U.S. Senate. Proponents in California, who are no longer playing defense to preserve the Affordable Care Act, also touted a broader healthcare plan. With Republicans failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Californians really get what is at stake with their healthcare, Lara said in a statement. We have the chance to make universal healthcare a reality now. Its time to talk about how we get to healthcare for all that covers more and costs less. The cost  sure to be the biggest hurdle for the measure  so far remains unknown. The authors say they intend to pay for the program through broad-based revenue, but details of a funding proposal have not been hashed out. Gov. Jerry Brown sounded wary of a sprawling single-payer plan while speaking to reporters last week on his trip to Washington D.C. Where do you get the extra money? This is the whole question, Brown said. The bill is sponsored by the California Nurses Assn., which already has been rallying its members in support of the bill, SB 562. There has been a seismic shift in our political system through grassroots activism; we have an inspired, motivated base that will make its voice heard, RoseAnn DeMoro, the labor groups president, said in a statement. Facebook

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California backs San Francisco court challenge of Trump administration threat to withhold funds from sanctuary cities By Patrick McGreevy Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Wednesday he has filed an amicus brief supporting San Franciscos court challenge to President Trumps order targeting so-called sanctuary cities and counties that refuse to enforce federal immigration laws. The move marks a half-dozen times the state has filed briefs supporting legal challenges to various Trump orders. Last week, Becerra filed papers supporting a lawsuit by Santa Clara County. That case and San Franciscos challenge the legality of the Trump administrations threats to withhold federal funds from states and local jurisdictions that the administration deems to be sanctuary jurisdictions. Becerras brief cites Californias interest in protecting state laws and policies that ensure public safety and protect the constitutional rights of its residents. Threatening to take away resources from sheriffs and police officers in order to promote misguided views on federal immigration policy is reckless and puts public safety at risk, Becerra said in a statement. It is the right and responsibility of California and each state under the Constitution to determine how it will provide for the safety and general welfare of its residents and to safeguard their constitutional rights. Facebook

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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti asks the federal government to define a sanctuary city By Sarah D. Wire View Instagram post Amid a new call from the Trump administration to cut off federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck had a question for the head of Homeland Security on Wednesday: What exactly is a sanctuary city? Garcetti and Beck joined a bipartisan handful of mayors and law enforcement leaders from across the country in Washington to air their concerns about President Trumps recent executive orders on immigration to Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly. Los Angeles is among the jurisdictions  often called sanctuary cities  that dont assist with federal immigration enforcement. State and local leaders in California have said they will continue to protect people in the country illegally despite the Trump administrations threats. After the closed-door meeting, mayors and police chiefs said their main request for Kelly was for a firm definition of what the federal government considers a sanctuary city. We think that as long as were complying with federal law then we shouldnt be labeled with whatever label intimates that were not, Beck said. Were looking for clarification; we are looking to be involved in the conversation so that decisions arent made that affect us without our input. Homeland Security spokesman Dave Lapan said the department is working on a definition but does not have a timeline for when it would be finalized. Although there is no legal definition of the term, the administration has seemed to define sanctuary jurisdictions as ones that dont comply when Immigration and Customs Enforcement asks them to detain prisoners after they have served their sentences so they can be picked up for deportation. Multiple federal courts have said the detainer orders differ from an official warrant and are not legal justification for holding someone who has served his or her sentence or is no longer under arrest. Los Angeles is one of several cities in California that does not hold people for immigration officials without a warrant, and Garcetti said that is going to continue. We see it as abiding by the Constitution, because there is case law that says we cant hold people for longer than permitted, Garcetti said after the meeting. Lapan said the Department of Homeland Security is working on ways to address concerns about the legality of holding someone for immigration officials, as well as the concerns of mayors of cities that have laws instructing law enforcement officers not to comply with immigration officials. Part of having this discussion is to find out, How can we get around this? Lapan said. If we are dealing with a criminal alien, somebody who is both in the country unlawfully and has committed crimes, the best place for us to take them into custody is in a jail or prison. Thats the safest for everyone, both our officers and the communities. Garcetti also disputes the administrations assertion that it can withhold federal funds from cities that dont comply with ICE orders. Garcetti pointed to a 2012 Supreme Court decision that said the government couldnt withhold Medicaid funds if states chose not to expand access to the program under the Affordable Care Act. I think we all feel on very strong constitutional and legal footing that it was decided in the Obama administration you cant put a legal gun to the head, a financial gun to the head of jurisdictions, whether its states or localities, and take their money if you dont agree with what they are doing in a different area, he said. Garcetti invited Kelly to visit Los Angeles. We need to make sure that we also are showing the perspectives of everyday people in cities like Los Angeles, he said. Garcetti also attended California congressional Democrats weekly lunch and met privately with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) before appearing on an immigration panel hosted by House Democrats. Facebook

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Anti-discrimination measure or blow to religious freedom? California bill sparks debate on employer codes of conduct By Melanie Mason Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A measure that would bar employers from firing workers for having an abortion or giving birth to a child out of wedlock is getting pushback from religious groups who say such a bill would prevent them from requiring employees to act in accordance with their faith. Under the bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), employers would not be able to discipline or fire workers for any reproductive health decision, such as pregnancy, in-vitro fertilization or abortion. What this bill does is make sure that people can make the best healthcare decisions for themselves and for their families without the fear that theyll risk their livelihoods in doing so, Rebecca Griffin of NARAL Pro-Choice California, a sponsor of the measure, said at a Wednesday afternoon hearing at the Capitol. A teacher at a Christian college in San Diego was fired in 2012 for becoming pregnant while unmarried. The school said her pregnancy violated its employee code of conduct, which prohibited premarital sex. In 2015, San Francisco Archibishop Salvatore Cordileone sparked a backlash when he proposed a new morality clause in the faculty handbook and contract for local Catholic schools that opposed same-sex marriage and certain reproductive medical procedures. With employees being fired for code of conduct violations in other states, proponents said California should set an example for the country, Right now, while were facing a federal government that is attacking reproductive freedom at every turn and condoning the type of discrimination that this bill prohibits, we feel like this is the time for California to take a stand for our values and make sure that our workers have the best protections possible, Griffin said. But the proposal faces opposition from religious groups, who argue such codes of conduct are integral to the relationship with their workers. The bill would specifically deny religious employers our 1st Amendment protections to infuse our codes of conduct with the tenets of our faith, said Sandra Palacios of the California Catholic Conference. The reaction from religious groups was not uniformly negative. The Rev. Rick Schlosser, executive director of the California Council of Churches, which represents mainline Protestant and Orthodox denominations, pointed to the diverse positions on reproductive issues among his groups members to explain his support for the bill. Any legislation that limits peoples ability to make their own moral decisions is harmful to religious freedom, said Schlosser. But other religious groups said the measure threatened to undermine the very purpose of requiring their employees to abide by a code of conduct. An organization specifically chartered to support or oppose a specific set of beliefs or actions cannot fulfill its mission without requiring adherence to a code of conduct, wrote Jonathan Keller, president of the conservative California Family Council, in an opposition letter. Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) asked why such codes of conduct should govern a personal decision an employee makes out of the workplace. Our community covenant does say that our employees are required to uphold our biblical values, and that certainly is a round-the-clock priority for us, responded Phillip Escamilla, the public policy chair of William Jessup University, a Sacramento-area evangelical Christian college Gonzalez Fletcher, herself a practicing Catholic, said she was not trying to unfairly target religious institutions. But, she said, she was trying to combat an inherent sexism that comes with enforcing such codes of conduct. A female employees reproductive decisions  such as entering an abortion clinic or being pregnant out of wedlock  can be seen by her employer, Gonzalez Fletcher said. A males decisions to whether or not theyre going to abide by a conduct never rise to that level, she said. So that inherent difference in how women and men are treated with these types of decisions just show how little privacy women are able to maintain. The bill, AB 569, cleared the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, its first legislative threshold, on a 4-2 vote. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown, legislative leaders propose raising $5.2 billion annually to repair Californias roads and bridges By Patrick McGreevy (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Acknowledging that the states transportation system has been neglected, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Wednesday announced a proposal to raise gas taxes and vehicle fees to generate more than $5 billion annually for repairing Californias crumbling system of streets, highways and bridges, as well as to increase mass transit. It remains uncertain whether Brown will be able to muster the two-thirds vote in both houses of the Legislature needed to approve the new revenue sources, which include a 12-cent-per-gallon increase in the existing 18-cent base excise tax on gasoline. The package also includes a new, annual vehicle fee that would average about $48 based on the value of the car. The package was announced at a news conference on the Capitol steps attended by Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). California has not approved an increase in the base excise tax on gas for 23 years, according to Brian Kelly, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency. As a result, the state faces a $130-billion backlog of repairs to state highways and bridges and local streets. There is sizable money here to make things better, Kelly said. People are going to get improved neighborhood streets. They are going to get improved highways and bridges, more faith that they are traveling on safe structures. And we are going to invest to improve the congestion into our trade corridors and congestion on their commute. Assembly and Senate Republicans released a joint statement opposing the plan. Californians already pay some of the highest gas taxes in the nation, the statement said. The transportation proposal announced by the Capitol Democrats is a costly and burdensome plan that forces ordinary Californians to bail out Sacramento for years of neglecting our roads. Brown has set a deadline of April 6, the day before the Legislature leaves on its spring break, to have the new package voted on by lawmakers. Because Republicans have generally opposed the tax increases, the package may need the vote of every Democrat to get the two-thirds majority for passage. Three Democratic senators had been holding off their support before the new plan was released. Read More Facebook

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Election officials say mistake on Korean language ballots substantially smaller than previously thought By Christine Mai-Duc (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles County election officials say a mistake made on Korean-language sample ballots in the upcoming 34th Congressional District race likely affected fewer than 780 voters. The error, which listed the races 23 candidates in the wrong order on some Korean-language sample ballots, was discovered last week after Korean American voters pointed out their mail-in ballot materials looked different than English-language sample ballots sent to the same home or apartment building. Initially, election officials said they didnt know how widespread the problem was. As a precaution, they sent bilingual notices and corrected sample ballots to all 8,251 voters in the district who received Korean-language sample ballots. None of the sample ballots enclosed with actual mail-in ballots were affected, officials say. In a letter to election officials and L.A. County supervisors Tuesday, the Korean American Coalition called it a violation of federally protected voting rights. The letter asked officials to host a 24-hour hotline for Korean-speaking voters until election day, provide more information on the scope of the error and extend the mail-in voting deadline for those who had received the misprinted ballots. In a response sent Wednesday morning, County Registrar Dean Logan said the error was limited to a small number of sample ballots in a single print run of 777 sample ballots. Based on the agencys review, Logan wrote, it appears that substantially fewer than the 777 voters were affected. The registrars office says it is extending the hours of operation for its voter hotline and staffing it with Korean-speaking operators. Voters concerned that they may have been affected can call 1-800-815-2666 and select option 3 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. this weekend. Voters will also see additional signage at polls addressing the issue and Korean-speaking poll workers will be instructed to remind voters to check their ballots. Facebook

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Talks at Capitol focus on boosting California transportation funding by some $5.2 billion annually By Patrick McGreevy On Highway 1 in Big Sur, the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge has buckled, cutting off a community of hundreds from schools and isolating renowned businesses from customer traffic. (Robin Abcarian / Los Angeles Times) With a deadline looming, Gov. Jerry Brown is winding up negotiations with legislators in hopes of reaching an agreement on a plan that would provide at least $5.2 billion annually for a transportation backlog that includes repairing Californias aging and crumbling system of streets, highways and bridges, officials said Tuesday. Those close to the talks said an agreement on the package could be announced as early as Wednesday afternoon. The question remains whether Brown and leaders can muster the two-thirds vote needed to approve a phased-in gas tax increase of up to 12 cents by the April 6 deadline set by the governor. Key senators remained uncommitted to any plan as of Tuesday. And a new voter-approved rule requires a bill to be in print for 72 hours before it can be passed. The bill needs approval in both houses. Assembly Democrats were briefed on the evolving plan behind closed doors on Tuesday and some officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, said talks are progressing on a plan that would provide the bulk of money to a fix-it first program of road repairs divided evenly between state projects and those of cities and counties. Money would also be dedicated to mass transit, bicycle, pedestrian and trucking routs for ports. The proposal also would include reforms proposed by lawmakers, including Republicans, that would hold officials accountable for proper use of the money, including a requirement for regular audits, creation of an inspector general position and a ballot measure requiring new money to be spent on transportation projects. Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) authored a bill that would put a measure on the ballot, saying Tuesday such guarantees are required given the urgency of the deferred maintenance backlog, and the additional burden we are asking Californias taxpayers to carry. John Myers contributed to this report. Facebook

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Watch: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director attends community meeting in Sacramento Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown calls for countermovement against Trumps colossal mistake on climate change By Evan Halper California Gov. Jerry Brown warned that President Trump has just made a colossal mistake in gutting the federal governments effort to combat climate change, which will ignite a response Trump is unprepared to handle. It defies science itself, Brown said in a call to The Times shortly after Trump signed an executive order that aims to bring an abrupt halt to the United States leadership on global warming. Erasing climate change may take place in Donald Trumps mind, but nowhere else. Yes, there is going to be a countermovement, Brown vowed, predicting Trumps actions will mobilize environmentalists in a way President Obama never could. I have met with many heads of state, ambassadors. This is a growing movement. President Trumps outrageous move will galvanize the contrary force. Things have been a bit tepid [in climate activism]. But this conflict, this sharpening of the contradiction, will energize those who believe climate change is an existential threat. Brown and other big-state governors and mayors are moving swiftly to fill the global leadership vacuum Trump created with Tuesdays directive, which stops short of officially pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord of 2015. I see Washington declining in influence, but the momentum being maintained by California and other states aligned with China and those who are willing to do something, said Brown, who will be traveling to China soon for meetings on climate. There is a growing activism on the part of millions of people who will not stand by and let Donald Trump effectively tear up the Paris agreement and destroy Americas climate leadership and jeopardize the health and well-being of so many people. In the face of Trumps retreat on climate change, Brown said California will step up its own efforts to push others toward clean energy. We are not fully meeting the challenge of climate change yet, he said. We are doubling down on our commitment. We are reaching out to other states in America and throughout the world and other countries.  We have plenty of fuel to build this movement. This is real, Brown said of the threat created by climate change. The nations of the world have recognized it in Paris.  I will continue doing my best to work with and rouse the world community, whatever the politicians in Washington do or dont do. Facebook

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California and its allies hint at new legal battles over Clean Power Plan By Chris Megerian California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) President Trumps effort to roll back the Clean Power Plan could quickly run into legal challenges from California and its allies across the country. State Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and his counterparts from states including New York, Massachusetts and Oregon said they wont hesitate to protect those we serve  including by aggressively opposing [Trumps actions] in court. The joint statement was also issued by Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and other cities. Californias stance isnt surprising because the state joined Obama administration efforts to defend the Clean Power Plan in 2015. Further legal action could underscore the determination of local and state governments to push forward with fighting climate change even as Trump withdraws federal regulations. Read More Facebook

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Meeting climate change goals will require billions for transportation and housing improvements, reports say By Liam Dillon A major push to get Californians out of their cars and onto their feet, bikes and public transit is essential if the state wants to meet its aggressive goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, according to new reports from the state and UC Berkeley researchers. Californians will have to drive an average of 1.6 miles less a day  and regional government agencies believe it will cost billions of dollars to make the mass transit and housing improvements needed for that to happen. UC Berkeley researchers argue in a new study that a boom in dense housing across the state will bring major greenhouse gas reductions and economic growth. Read More Facebook

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California expects to be unscathed as Trump targets Clean Power Plan By Chris Megerian A solar farm in Kern County (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) Although Californias leaders may protest President Trumps announcement Tuesday that hes scrapping the Clean Power Plan, his decision is expected to have little effect on a state already marching toward renewable energy. In fact, greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation in the Golden State are already below what the federal government would have required by 2030, and theyre expected to drop even further. Rollback of the Clean Power Plan is pretty much irrelevant to California, said Frank Wolak, a Stanford University economist who has advised state leaders on climate regulations. The federal rules, enacted by former President Obama as part of his campaign against climate change, were intended to push states away from coal and toward cleaner energy sources. But that was already underway in California. Los Angeles, one of the last places in the state to rely on coal, was already planning to stop importing electricity from out-of-state coal plants by 2025. In addition, state law requires California to generate half of its electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind by 2030, and state Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) has suggested pushing even further. When it comes to fighting pollution and climate change, there are some areas where California relies on the federal government. For example, they share authority on regulating vehicle emissions, and Trumps preparation to roll back federal rules has caused alarm here. However, theres less of a concern when it comes to generating electricity. Trumps moves have caused some anxiety among California companies that are developing clean energy technologies and looking for new markets to sell them. Bob Keefe, executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs, said the Clean Power Plan would have been a huge economic catalyst. President Trump is basically telling Californias more than 40,000 clean-energy businesses and the 500,000 workers they employ that they dont matter to him, he said. Rail cars filled with coal in Wyoming (Ryan Dorgan / Associated Press) Its an open question how Trump could affect various efforts for California to integrate its electricity grid with neighboring states, an idea that has failed to gain traction so far. Advocates of the concept say regional cooperation could expand the market for renewable energy, but the lack of federal pressure to cut emissions could dampen enthusiasm in places such as Utah and Wyoming, which rely on coal. They dont have the Clean Power Plan bearing down on them, said Don Furman, who directs the Fix the Grid campaign thats seeking closer relationships among West Coast states. Ralph Cavanagh, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said he doesnt expect changes to the Clean Power Plan to harm efforts to create a regional electricity grid, because of the falling cost of renewable energy. The rationale is stronger today than it was yesterday, he said. Facebook

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California GOP lawmakers introduce bills to boost healthcare and jobs for veterans By Liam Dillon Sen. Janet Nguyen (R-Garden Grove) speaks at a press conference introducing a package of bills aimed at helping California veterans. (Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times) Republican state lawmakers unveiled a package of six bills Tuesday aimed at improving job training and healthcare services for California veterans. Our veterans have served this country bravely and it is only right for us to recognize their contribution and see that when they do come home they receive the care and assistance they deserve, said state Sen. Janet Nguyen of Garden Grove, who authored three of the measures. The six bills are: Senate Bill 410 from Nguyen and Assembly Bill 353 from Assemblyman Randy Voepel of Santee, which would expand hiring preferences. for veterans.

SB 409 from Nguyen and SB 485 from state Sen. Jim Nielsen of Gerber, which would increase mental health services and oversight at state veterans homes.

SB 411 from Nguyen, which would pay some military reservists $100 a month once they turn 50 if theyve served for 10 years or more.

SB 197 from Sen. Pat Bates of Laguna Niguel, which would waive state and local sales taxes for nonprofits that donate facilities to the U.S. Department of Defense  a measure aimed at helping construction of a mental health care facility at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. Facebook

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These Los Angeles girls went to Capitol Hill to ask the Senate to fight new immigration enforcement efforts By Sarah D. Wire Fatima, left, and Yuleni Avelica, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) during a news conference on Capitol Hill. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images) Fatima Avelica, 13, was training for the Los Angeles Marathon with her father before he was arrested by immigration agents last month after dropping Fatimas sister off at her Lincoln Heights school. Fatima had to pause repeatedly, pressing her fingers to her eyes, as she told the story to reporters at a news conference in the Capitol on Tuesday. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) handed handkerchiefs to Fatima and her sister Yuleni Avelica, 12. The girls had medals from completing the marathon dangling around their necks. Democratic senators held the news conference to urge their Senate colleagues to reject President Trumps request for $3 billion to hire thousands of new immigration agents, expand detention facilities and build a wall among the southern border as part of his pledge to deport millions of people in the country illegally. The White House has characterized the moves as necessary for public safety. Californias Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris said Trumps immigration enforcement orders are too broad, sweeping up nonviolent offenders or people accused of the civil offense of being in the country illegally. She called the executive orders, which vastly broadened who can be targeted for deportation and leaves a lot of discretion to local immigration officials misguided and misinformed. Its irresponsible to paint a whole population of people as racists and murderers and bad hombres, she said, referencing one of Trumps own lines about immigrants. Its actually ignorant and we cant afford to run our country that way. The girls father, Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez, a Mexican citizen, has lived in the U.S. for 25 years. ICE officials cited two misdemeanor convictions as the reason for his arrest. His four daughters were all born in the U.S. Fatima said the family is waiting for word every day on whether he will be deported. Fatima said she now wants to become an immigration lawyer. Its like a new marathon for me, and I know I can finish it, Fatima said, tears welling up again. But, I need my coach there. I need my dad. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blast President Trump on climate change By Chris Megerian California Gov. Jerry Brown (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown joined with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday to criticize President Trumps pending announcement to roll back climate regulations and insist that their states will push forward anyway. Dismantling the Clean Power Plan and other critical climate programs is profoundly misguided and shockingly ignores basic science, they said in a joint statement. With this move, the Administration will endanger public health, our environment and our economic prosperity. Brown and Cuomo represent the two largest states with the most ambitious goals for fighting global warming, and theyve already set equivalent targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Theyre also pushing to generate half of all their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. With or without Washington, we will work with our partners throughout the world to aggressively fight climate change and protect our future, Brown and Cuomo said. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) Facebook

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To stem rising prices, a California lawmaker is taking on how hospital chains craft their contracts By Melanie Mason Amid concern that sprawling hospital chains are leading to higher prices, a California state senator is trying to clamp down on how hospital networks craft their contracts to win market dominance. Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) is offering a measure that would prohibit hospitals from certain contracting practices he sees as anti-competitive, such as requiring health plans to contract with all affiliates of the hospital or mandating that health plans agree to binding arbitration for antitrust claims. Weve lost a level of transparency thats affected affordability and access and fairness, Monning said in an interview. Multi-hospital chains are becoming prominent throughout the country, with proponents saying such mergers make care more efficient and better coordinated. But a recent USC study found that while hospital prices in California have grown overall, the costs are higher in the states largest chains. Once you control a market, you can artificially increase costs, said Monning, adding those higher prices can spill over to neighboring hospitals, too. Competitors think if they can charge this much for a hip replacement, were going to as well, Monning said. Another study by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute found premiums in Northern California were 30% higher than those in Southern California, in part because of the dominance of a few healthcare systems in the north. Micah Weinberg, the institutes president, said hospital consolidation was a logical issue to look at, particularly because healthcare coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act is now under less threat from Congress following the failure of the House Republicans replacement bill. We have to double down on the real work, which is getting people access to quality healthcare and affordable costs, said Weinberg. One of the biggest barriers to that is the lack of competition among healthcare providers. Weinberg said much of the question is a matter of federal antitrust enforcement. Its really difficult to do things at the state level that are effective here, he said. Still, consolidation has increasingly come under scrutiny in California. The state attorney generals office under Kamala Harris, now serving as U.S. senator, investigated consolidation of hospital and physician groups, and the effect on consumer prices. Last year, the healthcare trust for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, sued Sutter Health, alleging antitrust violations. The Pacific Business Group on Health, an organization that represents major companies such as Wells Fargo and Chevron, also raised alarms on Sutters requirement that firms use arbitration to resolve disputes--or face higher rates for Sutters healthcare services. The business group is a supporter of Monnings bill, as well as the California Labor Federation. The California Hospital Assn. has not taken a position on the bill. ------------ FOR THE RECORD March 29, 2017, 1:52 p.m.: A previous version of this article reported that the Pacific Group on Health sued Sutter Health. The United Food and Commercial Workers healthcare trust filed the suit. Facebook

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Los Angeles assemblyman returns to work in Sacramento after more than two-week absence By Melanie Mason Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) After more than two weeks away from the state Capitol, Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) was back at work Monday, with his staff blaming the absence on unspecified medical reasons. Im not going to comment on what the illness was, said his chief of staff, Darryl Lucien, who added that the legislator was feeling better Monday. Ridley-Thomas, 29, was not available for an interview to discuss his absence. He originally went on leave March 7. At the time, he did not specify an illness and so Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendons office considered him to be on personal leave. Under legislative rules, those absences did not allow him to receive per diem payments  a subsidy intended to offset the costs of traveling and living in Sacramento. On March 21, he informed Rendons office that he was on medical leave, thus becoming eligible for the $183 per diem. Lucien said the original personal leave request was an error and that all of Ridley-Thomas time away from work was for health reasons. Its medical leave, Lucien said. He has a doctors note that was submitted, excusing him for the time he was out. Ridley-Thomas was not entirely absent from legislative work during that time. While on leave, he yanked one high-profile piece of legislation  a measure that would exempt tampons and other feminine hygiene products from sales tax  from a hearing in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation committee, which he chairs. The bills author, Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), said she spoke directly to Ridley-Thomas about a request to amend her bill days before that committee hearing. Lucien said Ridley-Thomas was working on a very limited basis, fielding calls from members to the extent he was able to speak with them. A fellow Democrat, Assemblyman Bill Quirk of Hayward, stepped in to chair the Revenue and Taxation panel during a March 13 hearing. A subsequent hearing on March 20 was canceled. Facebook

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Adam Schiff calls on Devin Nunes to remove himself from Russia investigation By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) on Monday urged fellow Californian Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) to remove himself from their investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Before late last week, Schiff had gone out of his way not to be critical of Nunes throughout the fledgling investigation. They have held the top positions on the House Intelligence Committee for two years, and have served in Congress together for more than a decade. This is not a recommendation I make lightly, as the Chairman and I have worked together well for several years; and I take this step with the knowledge of the solemn responsibility we have on the Intelligence Committee to provide oversight on all intelligence matters, not just to conduct the investigation, Schiff said in a statement. After much consideration I believe Chairman should recuse himself from involvement in investigation/oversight of Trump campaign & transition pic.twitter.com/jpfA1x80Si  Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 27, 2017 Nunes last week surprised many when he told reporters that conversations between Trump and his transition team may have been accidentally picked up during legal intelligence gathering. Nunes briefed the media and President Trump before informing his committee. A spokesman for Nunes, who was a member of Trumps transition team, said Monday he obtained the information from a source on White House grounds, which raised even more questions. Nearly a week after Nunes announcement, committee members still havent seen the evidence, Schiff said. There was no legitimate justification for bringing that information to the White House instead of the committee. That it was also obtained at the White House makes this departure all the more concerning, Schiff said. Nunes spokesman would not comment on calls for the chairman to recuse himself. House Democrats have called for an entirely independent investigation, but short of that were coalescing around the call for Nunes to step aside. Among others, Schiffs Intelligence Committee colleagues Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) and Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) have also called for Nunes to step aside from the investigation. The House and Senate intelligence committees are both investigating allegations that Russia tried to interfere with the presidential election and what, if anything, the Trump campaign knew about it. So far, too many people in the White House and administration, and now the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, have betrayed their duty to conduct an independent, bipartisan inquiry into the Trump teams ties with Russia, Swalwell said in a statement. Chairman Nunes should no longer be anywhere near this investigation, let alone leading it. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said in a statement that Nunes had tarnished the chairmanship. She also said it was long overdue for House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to ask him to recuse himself from the investigation. Facebook

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Blasting federal action on immigration, Californias chief justice warns the rule of law is under threat By Patrick McGreevy California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye warned Monday that the rule of law in state is under threat. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye did not mention President Trump by name in her annual State of the Judiciary speech Monday, but she blasted federal actions on immigration and warned that the rule of law in the state is under threat. In addressing the Legislature, she also called on members to end years of underfunding of the state court system. The chief justice said the rule of law has failed repeatedly in the state, including when her husbands parents were among 120,000 Japanese Americans put in internment camps during World War II. Simply put, the rule of law means that we as a people are governed by laws and rules, not by a monarch, she said. People take the rule of law for granted until it is under threat, she added. I submit to you today that the rule of law is being challenged, she said. We are living in a time of civil rights unrest, eroding trust in our institutions, economic anxiety and unprecedented polarization. Cantil-Sakauye cited a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center that California was home to 79 ethnic hate groups  more than any other state. Our values and our rules and laws are being called into question, and all three branches of government and the free press are in the crosshairs, she said. Without naming Trump, the chief justice criticized recent federal enforcement of immigration laws in which agents have gone into courthouses to take immigrants into custody. She said it was concern over the rule of law that caused her to write to the U.S. attorney general and the Homeland Security secretary recently, asking them to refrain from conducting immigration raids at or near courthouses. When we hear of immigration arrests and the fear of immigration arrests in our state courthouses, I am concerned that that kind of information trickles down into the community, the schools, the churches. The families and people will no longer come to court to protect themselves or cooperate or bear witness, she said. I am afraid that will be the end of justice and communities will be less safe and victimization will continue. The chief justice also repeated her concerns about the lack of sufficient funding for the judiciary even as legislators are adding laws by the thousands. Since 2011 when I became chief justice, 6,408 bills have become law in California, while the judicial branch budget has been shrinking, Cantil-Sakauye said. I have said before that we are on the wrong side of justice when it comes to funding our courts. Facebook

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Its not just Berniecrats: Korean voters could also swing L.A.'s congressional race in a big way By Christine Mai-Duc Robert Lee Ahn, center, is the only Korean American candidate running in a field dominated by Latinos in the 34th Congressional District race. (Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times) The crowded race to replace Xavier Becerra in the 34th Congressional District, which includes most of Los Angeles Koreatown, appears to be bringing Korean American voters out in large numbers. Thats in part because in a field dominated by Latinos, Robert Lee Ahn has a shot at becoming the only Korean American in Congress and the first Korean American Democrat to be elected to the body. Ahn, a businessman and former L.A. city planning commissioner, has raised a formidable amount of money in a short period of time, much of it from donors in the Korean American community. His campaign spent weeks helping register voters at Koreatown malls and restaurants, and says they registered more than 600 new voters so far. Part of our campaign is to build awareness and get the community more civically engaged, Ahn said on a recent Friday morning as his campaign embarked on a 34-hour voter registration drive outside the BCD Tofu House restaurant. As a Korean American, obviously thats a natural base of mine. Inside, Ahn shook hands with supporters and navigated the lunchtime rush to ask for voters support table side. Some of it may be paying off. More than a quarter of the 10,841 mail-in ballots turned in for the race so far were cast by Korean American voters, according to an analysis of surnames, birthplace and translated ballot materials by Political Data. Koreans make up just 6% of registered voters in the district. Nearly half of Korean American voters who have already cast a ballot in the race did not vote in the March 7 city elections. Ahn, who has said hell bring a business sensibility and common sense to the office, says he has been running a campaign that reaches out to all kinds of voters. But the fact that there hasnt been a Korean American in Congress for more than 20 years means his candidacy has gotten plenty of attention from the Korean American press. I think people recognize the importance and historic nature of this election, Ahn said. I think theres a hunger for a voice ... and theres a palpable frustration of not being heard, not being properly represented, and I think thats what were seeing in the early returns. But the result of those early votes so far is unclear, particularly after elections officials disclosed that a number of Korean-language sample ballots had been misprinted with the candidates listed in the wrong order. Those who used the faulty sample ballots to cast their vote could have inadvertently voted for a candidate they didnt intend to support, and officials still dont know how widespread the problem is. Ahn isnt the only Korean American candidate to energize the community in recent years. David Ryu, the first Korean American elected to the L.A. City Council, rode to victory in 2015 with the help of a wave of support from Koreatown leaders. I believe a political awakening is occurring in the Korean American community all over the nation, but especially here in L.A., said Joon Bang, executive director of the Korean American Coalition. Our community is evolving and its beginning with understanding the power of their vote. Facebook

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Nothing short of blackmail: California Senate leader denounces plan to cut funding from sanctuary cities By Jazmine Ulloa California Senate Leader Kevin de Leon. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California Senate leader Kevin de Leon on Monday called U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions move to cut federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities nothing short of blackmail. In a statement, De Leon (D-Los Angeles) said Sessions and the Trump administration stuck to alternative facts when describing immigrants and sanctuary counties and cities, where local policies limit the cooperation of law enforcement agencies with federal authorities on immigration laws. Instead of making us safer, the Trump administration is spreading fear and promoting race-based scapegoating, he said. Their gun-to-the-head method to force resistant cities and counties to participate in Trumps inhumane and counterproductive mass-deportation is unconstitutional and will fail. De Leon was responding to an earlier announcement made by Sessions at a White House press briefing. Sessions urged all states and local jurisdictions to comply with federal immigration laws and said it would be a condition for receiving federal grants. Jeff Sessions: "countless Americans would be alive today. And countless loved ones would not be grieving" if sanctuary cities were ended. pic.twitter.com/sEgH3bvPwi  BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) March 27, 2017 State leaders are still calculating the fiscal impact of the move in California, where the Senate leader has filed a bill that would prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using resources to enforce federal immigration laws. Data shows sanctuary counties have lower crime rates than comparable nonsanctuary counties #SB54 https://t.co/rKZDsB8x8E  Kevin de Len (@kdeleon) March 27, 2017 Facebook

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California National Guard official tells legislators forced bonus repayments will be resolved by mid-summer By Melanie Mason A top official for the California National Guard told state legislators Monday that he hopes lingering issues from the soldiers being forced to repay enlistment bonuses will be resolved by mid-summer. A Times investigation last year found that the Pentagon demanded thousands of soldiers repay enlistment bonuses up to a decade after going to war in Iraq or Afghanistan. The claw-back came after audits revealed vast overpayments of bonuses, due in part to mismanagement and pressure to hit enlistment targets. The Times story prompted outcry that soldiers, who were not at fault for accepting the bonuses, were now facing financial hardship. Matthew Beevers, the deputy adjutant for the California National Guard, told a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly Veterans Affairs committees that just over 1,000 soldiers currently hold debt due to the bonus recoupment. Soldiers who are affected by the repayment demand must go through a federal waiver adjudication process, which Beevers described as unnecessarily long, complex and resource-intensive. He said the state-run Soldier Incentives Assistance Center was working with those who need to navigate the complex process to get those debts waived. "[If] you got a bonus and you completed your obligation and for some reason, you werent entitled to it, weve done everything we can do ensure that those soldiers get to keep those bonuses and we continue to do that today, Beevers said. Beevers said the state is trying to locate all soldiers who may be carrying debts due to the enlistment bonus. For those who complete the federal adjudication process, around 50% get their debts waived, he said. At the end of the day, there might be 600 or so soldiers out of 16,000 who might have to pay money, which is a very very small number, he said. Facebook

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Former California legislator Henry Perea will lobby for the oil industry in Sacramento By Chris Megerian (Tomas Ovalle / For The Times) As lawmakers debate the future of Californias climate policies, the oil industry is boosting its lobbying firepower with a former Democratic assemblyman from Fresno who has bedeviled environmentalists in the past. Henry Perea resigned his Assembly seat to work for a pharmaceutical group. Now hes jumping to the Western States Petroleum Assn. as a senior vice president, a role hes scheduled to start on May 1. Henry brings us unique expertise, said a statement from Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the associations president. He understands our state, our industry and how smart public policy can ensure Californias continued leadership in environmental protections while maintaining a diverse, vibrant economy. While serving in the Assembly, Perea led the so-called moderate caucus of business-friendly Democrats. He played a key role in stalling 2015 legislation that would have created tough new targets for reducing oil consumption. Environmentalists have made progress since then, successfully pushing through legislation to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Now these issues are being debated again as lawmakers consider whether to extend the states cap-and-trade program, which is intended to provide a financial incentive to reduce emissions. The oil industry supports extending the program, but its working to ensure favorable terms and to loosen the states other regulatory plans. Facebook

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Democrats out with ads targeting Rep. Mimi Walters for supporting GOP healthcare bill By Sarah D. Wire Republicans didnt vote on their plan to replace the Affordable Care Act on Friday, but Democrats already have ads out criticizing vulnerable GOP House members like Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine for backing the bill. The Internet ads, paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, will target 14 Republicans who voted for the bill in the House Budget, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce committees. The ads will run for at least a week on social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram. Walters knowingly voted for a bill to raise premiums and deductibles, slap an age tax on older folks, and rip insurance away from 24 million hardworking Americans. Its critical that voters in Californias 45th District know where Walters stood on this harmful legislation, DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujan said in a statement. Walters, who serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, was one of the earliest supporters of the bill among the California Republican delegation. Rep. Walters is committed to improving and expanding healthcare choices, lowering costs and protecting taxpayers. Her votes in the House reflect those principles and she will not be deterred by campaign ads created in Washington, D.C., by Nancy Pelosis political committees, said her campaign consultant, Dave Gilliard. The DCCC has already announced plans to target Republican representatives of the seven California congressional districts that backed Hillary Clinton for president. Clinton won Walters Orange County district by 5 percentage points. Walters was elected for a second term with 58.6% of the vote. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown says California wont be running to the courthouse every day to fight President Trump By John Myers With many of his fellow Democrats demanding multiple challenges to President Trumps proposals, Gov. Jerry Brown said this week he will continue to support a more measured approach. Were going to fight very hard. But were not going to bring stupid lawsuits or be running to the courthouse every day, Brown said during an appearance Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press. Were going to be careful. Well be strategic. The governors interview, taped on Thursday in Washington, came at the end of a four-day visit where he sought common ground on issues ranging from transportation to disaster relief. Brown also took aim in a visit to Capitol Hill at the now-failed Republican healthcare proposal. In the interview, Brown acknowledged that he is seeking a different path forward than Californias legislative leaders and other Democrats who are aggressively pushing back on a variety of Trump proposals. Well, if everythings a lawsuit, yeah, were in trouble here. I do curb the exuberance on either side, he said. People like to escalate. Republicans do that, and Democrats also do that. So Im there somewhat as the senior statesman now, and Im going to keep everything on an even keel. The governor used the national television interview to repeat recent suggestions that California has a number of projects that are ready to go should Trump make good on his promises to fund a major infrastructure effort. But Brown staunchly defended Californias acceptance of immigrants, including those who are in the U.S. illegally. He argued that immigration has been a major boon to the states economy and invoked the teachings of Christianity to criticize Trump and his fellow Republicans. Trumps supposed to be Mr. Religious Fellow, and I thought weve got to treat the least of these as we would treat the Lord, said Brown, who trained to become a Jesuit priest in his youth. So I hope he would reconnect with some of these conservative evangelicals, and theyll tell him that these are human beings, theyre children of God. They should be treated that way. The programs host, Chuck Todd, asked Brown whether he could offer national leadership for Democrats in the Trump era. The governor, who ran unsuccessfully for president three times, said he was willing to speak out in any way he could be helpful. Following last weeks historic defeat of a bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, Brown also offered Trump advice on how to help the economically struggling states whose voters put him in the White House. Its going to take some income support from the federal government, the governor said. Its going to take healthcare. Its going to take the kind of programs that the Republican Party traditionally doesnt like. So heres the dilemma. Yes, Obama was not able to help those people in the way they felt they had a right to. But Mr. Trump, now the burden is on you. And you better figure it out, or youre not going to be there again. Facebook

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Small donations play big role in the 34th Congressional District By Christine Mai-Duc Congressional candidate Kenneth Mejia raised 90% of his money from small donors in the most recent campaign finance filing. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) More than 17% of individual contributions to all candidates in the 34th Congressional District came in small donations of less than $200, according to the latest campaign finance reports. The reports, which cover fundraising and spending between Jan. 1 and March 15, show that more than $250,000 of the $1.4 million raised by the candidates in the race came from un-itemized small donors, or those who gave less than $200 and are not named in campaign finance reports. Three candidates who raised a significant chunk of money from small donations were Arturo Carmona, Wendy Carrillo and Kenneth Mejia, all of whom are vying for votes from supporters of former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has preached the need to rid politics of special interest money. Many of the candidates have sent email pitches to supporters asking for donations of $10, $20 or $27, the amount made famous by Sanders, who often cited the number as the average donation given to his presidential campaign. Carmona, a former Sanders campaign advisor, raised the most in small donations, with $57,125, or 52% of his total. Small donors gave Carrillo $25,948, about 32% of her fundraising total and Mejia, an accountant and Green Party candidate, received nearly 90% of his total funds, or $31,957, in amounts of $200 or less. Federal law does not require candidates to itemize, or report the names of, donors who give below that amount. Alejandra Campoverdi raised $44,210 from small donors, who made up 28% of her haul, while Raymond Meza raised 48%, or $14,764 of his money from small-dollar contributions. UPDATE: 7:45 p.m. This post was updated to clarify that the numbers reported are based on un-itemized donations of $200 or less to candidates. Facebook

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Robert Lee Ahn raised the most money by far in latest campaign finance reports for L.A.'s congressional race By Christine Mai-Duc Robert Lee Ahn, left, and Vanessa Aramayo, second from left, join the other candidates for the 34th Congressional District. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles TImes) Congressional candidate Robert Lee Ahn far outstripped some of the top fundraisers in the 34th Congressional District, taking a surprise lead in campaign finance reports filed Thursday. The reports cover fundraising and spending between Jan. 1 and March 15 and will be the last numbers well have before the April 4 primary election, in which 24 candidates are running. Ahn, a former L.A. city planning commissioner, raised a whopping $338,702 in contributions and loaned himself an additional $295,000, bringing his total to more than $630,000 raised since January. Ahn, an attorney and the only Korean American candidate in the race for a district that includes Koreatown, got more than $100,000 in contributions from donors with Korean surnames. The closest behind Ahn was Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, who raised $244,766 over the same period, the majority of it from political action committees, including many donations from fellow legislators in Sacramento. Sara Hernandez, a former teacher and L.A. City Hall aide, was close behind Gomez with $224,783 raised. Alejandra Campoverdi, a former White House staffer and former Los Angeles Times employee, raised $156,432. Ahn has also spent the most money so far this year, at $352,538, and has $271,271 in the bank, more than any other candidate. Gomez ended the period with $274,830 cash on hand, while Hernandez and Campoverdi have $149,990 and $122,961 left to spend, respectively. Facebook

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Dispute in California Senate leads to ethics complaint against leader Kevin de Leon By Patrick McGreevy Then-state Sen. Isadore Hall III, left, talks with Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon in Sacramento last year. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Republican state Sen. Andy Vidak on Friday filed an ethics complaint asking for an investigation into whether Democratic Senate leader Kevin de Leon engaged in an improper cover-up of threats allegedly made by former state Sen. Isadore Hall III against a group of farmers. Anthony Reyes, a spokesman for De Leon, defended the decision not to investigate allegations against Hall. With due respect, the state Senate doesnt waste taxpayer resources investigating dubious hearsay accounts of private conversations held in hotel lobbies  and thats what Senator De Leon clearly and politely communicated to Senator Vidak, Reyes said. Any suggestion otherwise is patently ridiculous. Hall, a Democrat from Compton, was appointed in January to the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board by Gov. Jerry Brown. The appointment was opposed by farm industry groups, including the Western Growers Assn., which complained he received contributions from the United Farm Workers for his unsuccessful campaign for Congress last year. Vidak said that he had heard from multiple people that on Feb. 28, the evening before Halls confirmation hearing in the Rules Committee, Hall allegedly made threats in an obscenity-laced tirade in the lobby of the Sacramento Hyatt Hotel that he would get the farmers opposing his appointment, the senator wrote in a letter to the Senate Legislative Ethics Committee. The board is a quasi-judicial agency that rules on disputes between farm worker organizations and growers. The alleged threats were made to four farmers who are members of the California Fresh Fruit Assn., Vidak said. Vidak said he had formally asked De Leon, as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, to have the panel investigate the allegations and report the findings to the Senate. On Thursday, Vidak said, De Leon allegedly informed him that there would be no investigation. Senator De Leon told me yesterday that he and the leadership of the CFFA have worked things out so Hall wont be investigated,'" Vidak said in a statement Friday. Is this really how the Senate handles reports of threats and intimidation by someone pending a Senate confirmation vote? The association called the allegation that it worked out an agreement with De Leon baseless and false. The group said in a statement that Vidak did not talk to its members before he filed the complaint. If he did, he wouldve learned there is no agreement and that CFFA remains opposed to the confirmation of Senator Hall, the group said. Hall declined to comment on Vidaks complaint, said J. Antonio Barbosa, the boards executive secretary, responding on his behalf. Further, his testimony at his Senate Rules Committee confirmation hearing makes clear that he will be fair and impartial, make sound decisions, and speak to growers and farmworkers, Barbosa said. Reyes disputed Vidaks allegations. Chasing goofy conspiracy theories might fly on President Trumps Twitter feed, but it has no place in the California Legislature, Reyes said. In his letter to the ethics panel, Vidak says his complaint is that the Senates confirmation process of gubernatorial appointees may have been compromised in this situation. He asked for an investigation into whether credible information about potential criminal activity by an unconfirmed gubernatorial appointee has been intentionally ignored/withheld, and whether a member of the Senate Rules Committee is making arrangements with representatives of private organizations to bury investigations of gubernatorial appointees. Updated at 4:40 p.m. to include a comment from the California Fresh Fruit Assn. Facebook

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L.A.'s GOP congressman: It is hard to find a consensus on something that impacts more than 1/6th of our economy By Sarah D. Wire A handful of California Republicans had declined to take a position on the House GOPs healthcare bill, and now they wont have to. Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), the only Republican who represents L.A. County, said he was conflicted up until the vote on the bill was canceled Friday afternoon. In the past two weeks my colleagues worked to build a consensus on how best to repair our flawed healthcare system and build a patient-centered system that works for the American people, Knight said in a statement after the vote. We learned that it is hard to find a consensus on something that impacts more than 1/6th of our economy and the lives of almost every American. Saying they didnt have enough votes to pass it, House Republican leaders canceled a vote on their healthcare bill minutes before vulnerable Republican members like Knight would have had to vote on the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Knights district is among seven Republican districts being targeted by Democrats in 2018, and several of the members who represent those districts never took a stance on the bill, saying they were worried about the effects on their districts and were still hearing from constituents. Experts estimated millions of Californians would have lost insurance under the bill. Just two of the targeted members, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) and Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine), said they would vote for the bill. Walters had no comment after the bill was pulled, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee came out swinging, with committee spokesperson Evan Lukaske saying, Walters now owns this until election day. Other targeted members seemed to brush off President Trumps plan to let Obamacare go its way for a little while. Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), who didnt take a stance on the bill, said afterward Congress needs to keep working on healthcare. Congress must come together to enact legislation to stabilize our healthcare market, reduce federal spending, and ensure we are able to maintain access to healthcare for Americas most vulnerable populations. Any potential solution must be thoughtfully considered, he said in a statement. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) flirted with voting against the bill, saying he was not yet prepared to support it, but never committed either way. The [GOP bill] was an imperfect approach and I believe that we can do better, he said in a statement. We will go back to the drawing board and get this right for each and every American concerned with high costs in their healthcare and ever-dwindling choices and access to care. Facebook

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Despite threat of legal battle with Trump, California stays the course on vehicle emission rules By Chris Megerian Electric cars charge at a San Diego utility. (Rob Nikolewski / San Diego Union-Tribune) California will keep pushing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, state regulators decided Friday, even though President Trump is preparing to roll back rules in Washington. The restrictions represent a key part of Californias battle against climate change, and theyre intended to force automakers to build cleaner cars and sell more electric vehicles. Environmentalists cheered Fridays decision from the Air Resources Board. Were very disappointed by what were seeing at the federal level, so today feels warm and welcoming, said the Sierra Clubs Kathryn Phillips. California has the unique ability to set tougher standards than the federal government, but Fridays decision could put the state on a collision course with Trump. Under the presidents direction, federal officials are examining whether to loosen vehicle rules that were finalized in the waning days of the Obama administration. The California Air Resources Board meeting in Riverside this week. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) At risk is the existence of a national standard on vehicle emissions, something the auto industry has prioritized to reduce the complexity of its manufacturing operations. We should all be getting back to work on this, said John Bozzella, who advocates for international car companies as head of the Assn. of Global Automakers. Mary Nichols, chair of the Air Resources Board, questioned the industrys commitment to higher standards given their request for Trump to review the rules. What were you thinking when you threw yourself upon the mercy of the Trump administration? she said. A dozen other states have adopted Californias standards as their own, and environmentalists hope Fridays decision will foster a broader market for electric cars. This agency has seen federal administrations come
March 8 is International Womens Day. The date has roots in political rebellion, and today is no different: Its what the Womens March organizers have designated the official Day Without Women.

L.A., like the rest of America, has a proud history of important women. Here are a few you should know.

Biddy Mason: Freed slave became a real estate mogul and church founder

Biddy Mason walked to California from Mississippi behind her masters wagon. She met freed slaves in San Bernardino and went to court to win her freedom in 1856. She saved as much money as she could from her job as a midwife and bought plots of land in what is now downtown Los Angeles. She founded a daycare center and orphanage on the property and started running First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles out of her home. The first building for the church was on another piece of property she owned. When she died in 1891, she was one of the wealthiest women in the city.

Charlotta Spears Bass: Journalist and vice presidential candidate

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Born in 1875, Charlotta Bass was a pioneering journalist who became the owner, editor and publisher of the California Eagle, the longest continually publishing black newspaper on the West Coast. In 1952, at age 77, she became the first black woman to be nominated for vice president, on the Progressive Party ticket.

Mary Emily Foy: L.A.'s first female head librarian

In 1880, L.A.'s young library system was in need of a head librarian. The city found one in Mary Emily Foy, an 18-year-old whose wide-ranging knowledge made her the go-to authority for settling trivia bets at the bar downstairs from the library. She went on to become a teacher, Democratic Party leader and prominent suffragist.

Marilyn Jorgenson Reece: Freeway interchange engineer

The next time youre sitting on the freeway interchange where the 10 meets the 405, think of the woman who designed it. Marilyn Jorgenson Reece was L.A.'s first civil engineer when she joined the State Division of Highways  later known as Caltrans  in 1948. (When asked why she went into civil engineering, her response was, Well, I like mathematics, and I didnt want to be a teacher.) After her death in 2004, the interchange was renamed in her honor.

Aurora Castillo with other winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1996. (Sam Morris / For the Times)

Aurora Castillo: Environmentalist and La Dona of East Los Angeles

During the Great Depression, Aurora Castillos parents worked long hours in a laundry. Her mother dreamed that her daughter would one day work as a bank teller. Instead, Castillo founded Mothers of East Los Angeles, an environmental justice group of Latina mothers who banded together to fight a proposed state prison in their neighborhood. The group also blocked construction of a toxic-waste incinerator and a hazardous-waste storage site. The great-great-granddaughter of Augustine Pedro Olvera, Olvera Streets namesake, went on to win the Goldman Environmental Prize, known as the Nobel prize of environmentalists.

Sally Ride: Astronaut

Sally Ride answered an ad in the Stanford student newspaper looking for people to join the space program. More than 8,000 people applied that year. The L.A. native was one of the six women accepted. She started in the astronaut corps in 1979 and, in 1983, became the first American woman in space and the first to orbit Earth.

Lily Lee Chen: Mayor of Monterey Park

In 1981, Lily Lee Chen ran for City Council in Monterey Park  and lost by 28 votes. The next year, she ran again, walking door to door every night for three months. She won. The next year, she became the mayor of Monterey Park. The first female Chinese American mayor in the United States, she went on to serve with the Democratic National Committee.

Lucy Jones, former U.S. Geological Survey seismologist. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Lucy Jones: Californias Earthquake Lady

Over the course of 33 years serving with the U.S. Geological Survey, Lucy Jones was called the Beyonce of earthquakes. The Meryl Streep of government service. The Earthquake Lady. Thanks to her research and public advocacy, California is better prepared to withstand the next Big One. She retired from the USGS last year to take on even more ambitious projects.

@jessica_roy

jessica.roy@latimes.com

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Political watchers know well the famous adage attributed to the late New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, that while you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose.

But what kind of prose could possibly capture the complexities of healthcare law? Were about to find out  on the national level and here in California.

Good morning from the state capital. Im Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and this week is the first of many to come for debating the merits of just about everyones position on how to cure the many ailments of the nations healthcare delivery system.

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But whatever you do, it seems, dont call the plan unveiled by Republicans on Monday Trumpcare.

THE REPEAL AND REPLACE PLAN HITS THE STREETS

Were less concerned with labels right now and more in terms of action and results, said Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, when asked on Tuesday about the presidential moniker.

For his part, President Trump sounded supportive of the American Health Care Act, even as some in his administration sounded a bit more careful until reading the fine print.

And theres a lot of it. The proposal was unveiled without any estimates of either its cost or how many Americans it would cover -- key points that lawmakers will ultimately hear a lot about from their constituents.

GOP leadership assured that they have the support they need.

We can act now or we can keep fiddling around and squander this opportunity, said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Others were less eager to climb aboard.

This is not the Obamacare repeal bill weve been waiting for, said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

Few, though, doubt the current proposal would reduce federal authority over the nations healthcare system.

Nor do they doubt it will have far-ranging repercussions here in California.

CALIFORNIAS CHOICES UNDER THE NEW PLAN

This plan passes the buck from the feds to the state, said Lowell Brown, an advisor to health providers at the L.A. law firm Arent Fox.

No state embraced the many components of the Affordable Care Act more than California did, and thus no state will likely face as many challenges under what comes next.

As Soumya Karlamangla reports, millions of Californians could lose their coverage under the GOP proposal. The states version of Medicaid, Medi-Cal, grew to cover 3.7 million more people under the expansion offered by the federal law.

We have the most to lose because we gained the most under the Affordable Care Act, said Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group Health Access California.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who was visiting a sheriffs detention facility in Modesto on Tuesday as details started to emerge, conceded the obvious point to reporters.

Theres a lot more questions than there are facts at this point, he said.

NEW TRAVEL BAN KICKS IN ON MARCH 16

The healthcare overhaul may have masked, in some ways, the news on Monday of a revised travel ban ordered by the president.

Giving everyone a 10-day notice of its implementation, Trumps administration unveiled a plan that scraps a ban on anyone holding a valid U.S. visa or green card as well as visitors from Iraq.

The ban, which takes effect March 16, halts travel for 90 days for residents of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The refugee suspension will last 120 days.

Critics insisted the revamped order still raises troubling legal questions, but the presidents team was resolute in its defense.

Like every nation, the United States has a right to control who enters our country and to keep out those who would do us harm, U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said during an announcement alongside Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

GARCETTI POISED FOR FIVE MORE YEARS AS (SOME) GO TO THE POLLS

Tuesday was election day in Los Angeles, and the big winner was Mayor Eric Garcetti. Not only was the 46-year-old Democrat solidly on his way to a second term, this one will be longer than the last one.

Garcetti will get five years this time, as will those vying for seats on the City Council, as Los Angeles shifts away from its odd-year local elections.

Five years, of course, if he isnt elected to another job. The high-profile mayor continues to be asked about a run for governor or some other position before his city term is up.

For complete coverage of Los Angeles Countys election day -- from measures on development and homeless help to City Council races, check out The Times local election news feed.

CALIFORNIAS VOTING AGE: MAKE IT 17, SAYS LAWMAKER

Voter turnout in Los Angeles looked to be low on Tuesday, and a recent study suggested its those first voting experiences  or decisions to blow off casting a ballot  that stick with some people.

Some state legislators say they have the answer: Lower Californias voting age to 17.

The proposal was introduced on Tuesday. Assuming its approved by a supermajority vote in both houses of the Legislature, voters would have to ratify the constitutional amendment next year. California would be the only state in the nation with full voting rights  in primary and general elections  for voters under the age of 18.

A HUDDLE INSTEAD OF A HORDE FOR VALADAO

Others have faced huge crowds and shouting matches back home, but one California Republican member of Congress took the temperature of his constituents one at a time.

Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) invited locals in for one-on-one meetings on Monday, 10 minutes per meeting.

Actually, he called the meetings a chance to huddle with folks back home. And he dismissed those who said he was hiding from residents angry over what theyve seen from Trump and GOP leaders in Congress.

Weve had protesters, weve always had protesters, but our focus has always been to try to have a dialogue with our constituents, said Valadao.

TODAYS ESSENTIALS

-- Requests for legal advice at Mexicos consulates in the United States have increased 400% amid fears of mass deportations, Mexican officials said Tuesday.

-- History was made at the State Department on Tuesday: the first press briefing of the Trump administration. And no, the secretary wasnt there.

-- From the White House press briefing room on Tuesday, Spicer did something Tuesday he doesnt often do: Correct the president. Sort of.

-- The man nominated to be the second-in-command at the Justice Department testified Tuesday that he was not aware of any reason he would be prohibited from overseeing investigations into Russias meddling in the U.S. presidential campaign.

-- Alarmed by his concerns over gun violence and the activity of straw firearms purchasers, a state senator has revived a proposal to limit Californians to buying no more than one gun a month.

-- California sheriffs opposed to high-profile legislation expanding sanctuary provisions for those in the U.S. illegally said this week it would prevent immigration officials from going after violent offenders.

-- Californias reservoirs are filled with gunk, writes George Skelton, and its crowding out room for water.

-- Anthony Beilenson, a former state legislator and congressman who championed environmental causes as well as abortion rights and gun control, died Sunday. He was 84.

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Adam Schiff views documents White House says back Trump surveillance claim By Michael A. Memoli (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) traveled to the White House Friday to view documents President Trump has said partially vindicate his claim that his predecessor ordered surveillance of him during the campaign. In a statement, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said he was told they were precisely the same materials viewed previously by the committees chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), which Schiff said should now be shared with the full panel membership. Nothing I could see today warranted a departure from the normal review procedures, Schiff said, adding that he could not discuss the contents of the documents, which remain classified. Nunes was shown the documents last week by White House officials surreptitiously, then announced to reporters the next day that he needed urgently to go to the White House to brief Trump about them. Schiff, in his statement, said that the White House has yet to explain why senior White House staff apparently shared these materials with but one member of either [Intelligence] committee, only for their contents to be briefed back to the White House. Schiff also had a brief but cordial meeting with Trump during his time at the White House, a spokesman said. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters earlier Friday that other Democrats have been invited to the White House to view the materials, which he said would shed light on their investigation. Both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are conducting separate reviews of Russian interference into the 2016 election; Trump has asked each panel to also probe his own claim that his predecessor engaged in wire tapping of his phones at Trump Tower during the campaign, an assertion that has been denied by Nunes as well as the heads of the FBI and intelligence agencies. Facebook

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Mnuchin regrets plugging The Lego Batman Movie, pledges to exercise greater caution in the future By Jim Puzzanghera Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday told a top government ethics official he should not have publicly plugged The Lego Batman Movie  a film in which he has a financial stake  and promised to exercise greater caution in the future. I take very seriously my ethical responsibilities as a presidential appointee and the head of the Department of the Treasury, Mnuchin wrote to Walter Shaub, director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. On Monday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Shaub to determine whether Mnuchin had committed an ethics violation last week when he discussed the movie during an event hosted by the Axios news website that aired on C-SPAN2. Read More Facebook

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Rep. Adam Schiff says its too early to consider an immunity deal for Michael Flynn By Associated Press The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says its too early to consider an immunity deal for President Trumps former national security advisor. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) says that Michael Flynn even discussing possible immunity in exchange for protection from prosecution is a grave and momentous step because of the seniority of his former position. Schiff says the House Intelligence Committee is interested in hearing Flynns story, but there would have to be coordination with the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Justice Department on the terms. The House and Senate intelligence committees and the FBI are investigating Russias meddling in the 2016 election. The investigation includes scrutiny of Flynns ties with Russia. Read More Facebook

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Trump administration admonishes California chief justice over claim that agents are stalking immigrants By Del Quentin Wilber U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) The Trump administration on Friday fired back at Californias top judge, disputing her characterization this month that federal immigration agents were stalking courthouses to make arrests. In a letter to Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, leaders of Trumps Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security objected to her description of federal agents conduct. As the chief judicial officer of the state of California, your characterization of federal law enforcement is particularly troubling, wrote Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, objecting to Cantil-Sakauyes use of the word stalking. They said agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were using courthouses to arrest immigrants in the U.S. illegally, in part, because California and some of its local jurisdictions prohibit their officials from cooperating with federal agencies in detaining such immigrants under most conditions. Sessions and Kelly told Californias top judge that she should consider taking her concerns to Gov. Jerry Brown and the cities and counties that limit local law enforcements involvement with immigration agents. Cantil-Sakauye, a former prosecutor who rose through the judicial ranks as an appointee of Republican governors, said through a spokesman that she appreciated the Trump administrations admission that they are in state courthouses making federal arrests. Making arrests at courthouses, in my view, undermines public safety because victims and witnesses will fear coming to courthouses to help enforce the law, she said Friday. She expressed disappointment that courthouses, given local and state public safety concerns, were not listed as sensitive areas offlimits to agents. Federal policy lists schools, churches and hospitals as sensitive areas. The letter from the Justice Department officials defended the arrests of immigrants at courthouses. By apprehending suspects after they have passed through security screening at courthouses, federal agents are less likely to encounter anyone who is armed, the letter said. The arrest of individuals by ICE officers and agents is predicated on investigation and targeting of specific persons who have been identified by ICE and other law enforcement agencies as subject to arrest, they wrote. Cantil-Sakauye had asked the Trump administration on March 16 to stop immigration agents from seeking immigrants at the states courthouses. Courthouses should not be used as bait in the necessary enforcement of our countrys immigration laws, she wrote in a letter to Sessions and Kelly. Her letter did not say which courthouses had been the location of such stalking, but judges and lawyers in Southern California have complained of seeing immigration agents posted near courts. She said she feared the practice would erode public trust in the state courts. Sessions and Kelly urged Cantil-Sakauye to speak to Brown and other officials who have enacted policies that occasionally necessitate ICE officers and agents to make arrests at courthouses and other public places. Facebook

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Back in the spotlight, Hillary Clinton takes aim at Trumps budget By Evan Halper Hillary Clinton stepped back into the spotlight this week after laying relatively low since the election, and she had some advice for President Trump: Tear up the White House budget plan. Clinton was at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security to bestow an award named in her honor to Colombian leaders who helped bring an end to war in that country and elevate the role of women in the peace process. She spoke of the progress the world has made in advancing womens rights since she spoke forcefully on the issue two decades ago when the U.N. gathered world leaders to address it in Beijing. But she warned that progress is threatened by Trump. We are seeing signals of a shift that should alarm us all, Clinton said. This administrations proposed cuts to international health, development and diplomacy would be a blow to women and children and a grave mistake for our country. Clinton then raised the letter signed by 120 former generals and admirals beseeching the Trump administration not to make the cuts. These distinguished men and women who have served in uniform recognize that turning our back on diplomacy wont make our country safer. It will undermine our security and our standing in the world. A lot has changed since Clinton was on the campaign trail, but some things about her style on the stump havent. She pulled out a favorite line from last year as she began to talk about a study that backed up her point about the damage Trumps budget plan could do. Here I go again, Clinton said to whooping and cheering from an audience of mostly female students, talking about research evidence and facts. Facebook

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Seeking a way forward, Trump increasingly finds himself at odds with his own party By Michael A. Memoli (Evan Vucci / Associated Press ) President Trump won his office in spite of the best efforts of some in his party. Now, the tenuous nature of the bonds between Trump and the GOP are increasingly on public display as the president openly feuds with conservatives and White House officials debate whether to reach out to Democrats in order to restart his domestic agenda. The latest and strongest evidence came Thursday as Trump escalated his political battle against the members of the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative lawmakers who helped block the healthcare bill he backed. Early in the morning, he said on Twitter that the caucus would hurt the entire Republican agenda if they dont get on the team. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018! he added. It was an extraordinary message, suggesting that Trump might try to back challengers in primaries against lawmakers of his own party  something few presidents have tried, none with much success. Read More Facebook

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Tillerson tells NATO allies to pay more, do more to fight terrorism By Catherine Stupp Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday promised NATO allies that the United States will stand by their side but also expected them to spend more on defense and do more to fight terrorism. Tillerson participated in a day of discussions with foreign ministers from the 27 other NATO member nations, his first with the full roster of allies, who were sent scrambling last week to accommodate the top U.S. diplomat after he said he could not attend the meeting originally planned for early April. The United States is committed to ensuring NATO has the capabilities to support our collective defense. We understand that a threat against one of us is a threat against all of us, Tillerson said. But, he added, as President Trump has made clear, it is no longer sustainable for the U.S. to maintain a disproportionate share of NATOs defense expenditures. The United States is amping up pressure on NATO members to increase their defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product, in line with a 2014 agreement among the alliances 28 member countries to meet the target by 2024. Only five NATO countries meet the 2% threshold. The U.S. spends 3.61% of its GDP on defense, more than any other member of the alliance. Tillerson said that if countries have not met the 2% spending goal by the end of the year, they should at least have a concrete plan that clearly articulates how, with annual milestone progress commitments, the pledge will be fulfilled. Pressure to meet that strict deadline is likely to upset some allies. German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told reporters before Fridays meeting that he thinks it would be completely unrealistic for Germany to bring its military defense spending up to 2% of GDP. I dont know any politician in Germany who thinks that this would be reachable or desirable, Gabriel said. Germany is increasing its military spending this year to $39 billion, or 1.2% of its GDP. Gabriel rejected the Trump administrations focus on military expenditures, arguing that humanitarian aid and Germanys spending to take in refugees should be considered part of the defense budget. Tillerson also called on allies to take a greater role in the fight against terrorism. NATO can and should do more, he said. Fighting terrorism is the top national security priority for the United States, as it should be for all of us. Tillersons earlier announcement that he would skip the meeting struck a nerve among the alliance members, coming at a sensitive time when tensions between the Trump administration and NATO allies have soared. The schedule change caused an awkward protocol shuffle, with a handful of foreign ministers unable to make it to Brussels. What was supposed to be a two-day meeting was compressed into half of a day. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tried to cast optimism on the last-minute schedule change, calling it a sign of the strong transatlantic unity and flexibility of our alliance that we were able to find a date. The foreign ministers meeting is crucial because it lays the groundwork for a NATO summit with heads of state in May, which will be President Trumps first overseas trip since taking office. Tillersons day of talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels follows visits from Defense Secretary James Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence, who attempted to dispel fears that the Trump administration will seek to loosen ties with the alliance. Trump called NATO obsolete in an interview published days before his inauguration. He later insisted, during German Chancellor Angela Merkels visit to the White House earlier this month, that the U.S. will maintain its strong commitment to the alliance. Tillerson arrived in Brussels on Friday morning after meeting Thursday in Ankara, Turkey, with that countrys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss terrorism and Syria, though the leaders failed to reach an agreement on how to combat Islamic State. Facebook

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Trump weighs in on Michael Flynns request for immunity President Trumps former national security advisor, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, is seeking immunity from prosecution in return for testifying to the House and Senate intelligence committees, a congressional aide said. The development was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Gen. Flynn certainly had a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit, his lawyer, Robert Kelner, said in a statement. No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch-hunt environment without assurances from unfair prosecution. On Friday morning, Trump tweeted his support for Flynns request. Flynn was ousted as Trumps national security advisor last month after news reports disclosed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about phone conversations with Sergey Kislyak, Russias ambassador to the U.S. The calls were picked up by U.S. surveillance targeting the Russian envoy, and a description of the contents was leaked to the Washington Post after the Justice Department warned the White House that Flynn could be subject to blackmail. Read More Facebook

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Former national security advisor Michael Flynn seeks immunity By David S. Cloud President Trumps former national security advisor, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, has been seeking immunity from prosecution in return for testifying to the House and Senate intelligence committees, a congressional official confirmed Thursday. The negotiations were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. In a statement, Flynns lawyer, Robert Kelner, said Gen. Flynn certainly had a story to tell and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit. No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch-hunt environment without assurances from unfair prosecution. Trump fired Flynn three weeks into the new administration after news reports disclosed that he had lied to White House colleagues, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Sergey Kislyak, Russias ambassador to the U.S. In December, Flynn had telephone conversations with Kislyak in which he discussed sanctions that the Obama administration had recently imposed on Russia to punish Moscow for its interference in the 2016 presidential election. Flynn denied to Pence and other officials that he had discussed the sanctions with Kislyak. So far, the committees, which are investigating Russian interference and whether anyone close to Trump colluded with Moscow, have not taken Flynn up on his offer, the Journal reported. Facebook

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Trump administration appeals Hawaii judges order against travel ban By Jaweed Kaleem The Department of Justice has appealed a Hawaii court order that brought President Trumps travel ban to a national halt. The government has argued that the president was well within his authority to restrict travel from six Muslim-majority countries and put a pause on refugee resettlement. The appeal Thursday to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals came a day after U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu refused to dismiss his temporary block of the travel ban that he issued on March 15. With the appeal, the government is now fighting to reinstate the travel ban in two appeals courts on opposite ends of the country. That increases the likelihood that one of the cases will make it to the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice appealed a Maryland district judges order against the travel ban to the U.S. 4th District Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. Both rulings in Hawaii and Maryland said Trumps executive order discriminated against Muslims. Watson and U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland cited Trumps campaign promises to suspend Muslim travel to the U.S. as proof of his orders anti-Muslim bias. The Hawaii ruling is broader than the Maryland one. It blocks a 90-day pause on travel to the U.S. from nationals of six majority-Muslim countries and a 120-day moratorium on new refugee resettlement. The Maryland ruling only halted the ban on travel into the U.S. by citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over nine Western states, is the same court where a panel of three judges denied a government request last month to reverse ruling against the first travel ban by a federal judge in Washington state. Trump, in turn, lambasted the bad court and signed a new executive order on travel on March 6 that was modified in an attempt to survive court challenges. Facebook

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Senate heads for nuclear option if Democrats filibuster Gorsuch nomination By Lisa Mascaro One of the Senates most serious jobs  confirming the presidents choice for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court  has devolved into a game of political chicken. Senators are heading toward an institution-defining showdown next week as Democrats promise to try to block President Trumps nominee, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, with a filibuster, a rarely seen maneuver for high court appointments. Republicans are threatening to respond by changing long-standing Senate rules to circumvent the 60 votes that would be needed to overcome a filibuster. Instead they would allow confirmation with a simple majority. The outcome has the potential to not only shape the future of the Supreme Court  which has been without a full bench since the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year  it also could crush one final vestige of bipartisanship in the Senate, altering the upper chamber for years to come. The battle over the Supreme Court seat was always expected to be a partisan affair in todays heated political climate. But the polemics intensified after the Republican majority denied President Obamas nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, a confirmation hearing ahead of last years presidential election. Read More Facebook

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Scalias seat has been vacant longer than any Supreme Court justices in nearly 50 years By Colleen Shalby (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Its been more than 400 days since Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalias death left his seat vacant. With Republicans having blocked a vote on then-President Obamas nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, and with Senate Democrats now making plans to filibuster President Trumps nominee, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, it could take even longer to replace Scalia. Its not unheard of for a justices seat to remain empty for a considerable amount of time. Pew Research Center did the math and found that the longest gap was 841 days, in the mid-1840s, from the time of Henry Baldwins death to his replacement Robert Griers confirmation. But the last time in recent history that a vacancys duration in this range occurred was after Abe Fortas resigned in 1969. It took 391 days to fill that seat, an interval that ended in 1970 when Harry Blackmun  the justice who authored the courts landmark opinion in Roe vs. Wade  was confirmed. Blackmun was President Nixons third pick to fill that seat. The second-longest vacancy in recent years occurred in 1988. It took 237 days to fill Lewis Powells seat after he retired, with Anthony Kennedy succeeding him. Its been 58 days and counting since Trump nominated Gorsuch. Heres how his waiting time from nomination to confirmation stacks up against the current justices: Elena Kagan: 87 days

Sonia Sotomayor: 66 days

Samuel A. Alito Jr.: 82 days

John G. Roberts Jr.: 23 days

Stephen G. Breyer: 73 days

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 50 days

Clarence Thomas: 99 days

Anthony M. Kennedy: 65 days If Gorsuch is confirmed soon, he wont start considering cases until the courts new term in October.

And if hes not confirmed? Trump would nominate another successor to Scalia  theres no limit on how many times he can do that. Until Scalias seat is filled, lower courts decisions serve as tie-breakers. Facebook

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Sens. Manchin and Heitkamp become first Democrats to announce support for Gorsuch By David Savage Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota became the first Democrats to say they will vote for Judge Neil Gorsuch and not support the effort to filibuster his confirmation to the Supreme Court. Their announcements came as no surprise. Both are centrists who have to run for reelection next year in states that voted overwhelmingly for Trump. After considering his record, watching his testimony in front of the Judiciary Committee and meeting with him twice, I will vote to confirm him to be the ninth justice on the Supreme Court, Manchin said. I have found him to be an honest and thoughtful man.... I have not found any reasons why this jurist should not be a Supreme Court justice. Heitkamp said she was impressed with Gorsuchs record as a judge. This vote does not diminish how disturbed I am by what the Republicans did to Judge [Merrick] Garland, referring to the GOP-led Senates refusal last year to consider President Obamas choice to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. But I was taught that two wrongs dont make a right, she said. The Republican majority in the Senate needs six more Democrats to join with them if they hope to stop the expected filibuster of President Trumps Supreme Court nominee. It takes 60 votes to end the debate under the Senates current rules. But the 52 Republicans may vote to simply eliminate this requirement if the Democrats stand firm against Gorsuch. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to approve Gorsuch on a party line vote and send the nomination to the Senate floor. A final vote is expected April 7. Facebook

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White House invites lawmakers to see intelligence material after New York Times report By Noah Bierman The White House has invited House and Senate intelligence committee chairs to review documents that it says were recently discovered by national security staff that could help determine whether information gathered about American citizens was mishandled. White House spokesman Sean Spicer would not say whether these are the same documents that Rep. Devin Nunes, the Tulare Republican who chairs the House intelligence committee, said he reviewed last week. Nunes has refused to identify his sources. Some saw his disclosure as an attempt to give credence to President Trumps widely refuted claim that President Obama had ordered wiretaps on his phone during the campaign. Nunes said the material he reviewed suggested that intelligence agencies had incidentally collected information about Trump or his associates. He has declined to be more specific or share the information with the committee. But the New York Times reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources, that two White House officials helped Nunes get access to the documents. And now the same information may be provided to other members of the Intelligence committee. In a letter to the bipartisan group of intelligence leaders sent Thursday, White House Counsel Donald McGhan said administration lawyers would supervise the review given the sensitivity of the documents to protect the extremely sensitive intelligence sources and methods. The letter calls on the committee to investigate the possibility that classified information was inappropriately gathered and handled and whether civil liberties of American citizens were violated. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters that he welcomed the chance to review the materials, though he said he would be obligated to share them with the rest of his committee. More troubling to Schiff, he said, was the cloak and dagger stuff and circuitous route that the White House national security staff appears to have used to disseminate the materials in that secret meeting with Nunes. Schiff said White House staff may have been trying to launder information through the committee, rather than simply providing it directly to the president. If that was designed to hide the origin of the materials, that raises profound questions about just what the White House is doing, Schiff said. We need to get to the bottom of whether this was some sort of stratagem by the White House. In a letter to McGhan, Schiff said answering the White Houses questions would require asking intelligence agencies how the information in the documents was gathered. I hope you will confirm to the committee whether these materials are the same as those first shared with Nunes, Schiff wrote. 2:11: This story was updated with staff reporting Facebook

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Trumps team: A network of ties to Russia By Angelica Quintero The FBI is investigating possible coordination between people associated with the Trump campaign and Russian authorities during the 2016 election. The U.S. intelligence community has said it is confident that the Russian government directed hacking operations and intended to interfere with the U.S. election process. Take a look at how some high-profile people have been drawn into the investigation. See the graphic  Facebook

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Former RNC official is first to depart senior West Wing staff By Michael A. Memoli A former top Republican National Committee official and ally of White House chief of staff Reince Priebus will depart her West Wing post in the first significant shake-up of President Trumps senior staff. Politico first reported that Katie Walsh, the deputy White House chief of staff, will leave to take on an advisory position with political groups that were formed to support the presidents agenda from the outside. Walsh had served as chief of staff at the RNC when Priebus was party chair. At the White House, she served in a similar capacity under Priebus, tasked with overseeing the senior staff and the scheduling operation. Though White House officials denied the move was a signal of disharmony within the senior ranks, her departure spoke to issues dogging the new administration  a top-heavy operation in the West Wing and also the inability of the president to sustain the kind of grassroots support for his agenda that proved key to his electoral win. It was abundantly clear we didnt have air cover when it came to the calls coming into lawmakers, and nobody can fix this problem like Katie Walsh, Priebus told reporters later, according to Time. Facebook

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Putin: Read my lips, there was no Russian meddling in U.S. vote By Ann M. Simmons Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto during the International Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk, Russia, on Thursday. (Sergei Karpukhim / AFP/Getty Images) Calling the accusations lies, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied that Moscow meddled in last years U.S. elections. Read my lips, no, Putin said during a panel moderated by CNBC, according to a report on the news agencys website. All those things are fictional, illusory and provocations, lies, the Russian president said. All these are used for domestic American political agendas. The anti-Russian card is played by different political forces inside the United States to trade on that and consolidate their positions inside. Putins comments came as the Senate Intelligence Committee was set to begin a hearing entitled Disinformation: A Primer in Russian Active Measures and Influence Campaigns, which will focus on understanding the method of Russias active disinformation campaign and assess the extent of Moscows interference. FBI Director James Comey confirmed earlier this month that his agency was investigating Russias intrusion into the 2016 poll and whether there was any collusion between Moscow and President Trumps campaign. Read More Facebook

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Trump levels extraordinary threat against GOP conservatives; Ryan says he understands presidents frustration By Noah Bierman House Speaker Paul D. Ryan commiserated with President Trump Thursday after the president launched a Twitter assault on the group of rebellious Republicans known as the Freedom Caucus. I understand the frustration, I share the frustration, Ryan told reporters Thursday, when asked to respond to Trumps threat to campaign against fellow Republicans. Freedom Caucus members, who back limited government and have defined themselves in opposition to the Washington establishment, have been a major headache for GOP leaders. Ever since the Republicans took control of the House in 2010, conservative refusal to back key bills to fund government agencies has forced GOP leaders to negotiate with Democrats for the votes they need. Freedom Caucus members helped lead the charge against former Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). The caucus was blamed by many Republicans last week for torpedoing the leaderships plan, backed by Trump, to make significant changes to Obamacare. Still, Trumps threat to fight them in the 2018 elections was an extraordinary step. Trump had previously made electoral threats against wayward members of his party, but Thursdays tweet was especially direct, threatening to treat them the same way as Democrats. The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017 Freedom Caucus members have begun pushing back aggressively. A spokeswoman for the group argued on Twitter that Trump did not have his facts right and that Republican moderates were equally responsible for sinking the healthcare bill. View Twitter post Finding Trump supporters to challenge Republicans in a primary would be hard and could further thrust the GOP into civil war. Trump, despite low poll numbers nationally, remains popular in core Republican districts. Many members of Congress, however, ran ahead of him in their districts in the last election. The president has also suggested he might be open to cutting deals with Democrats, something the White House has discussed but not followed through on. That would also be difficult, given the rancor on the left. Ryan said Thursday that the best path is for Republicans to come together on healthcare and other issues About 90% of our conference is for this bill to repeal and replace Obamcare, and about 10% are not. And thats not enough to pass a bill, he said. What I am encouraging our members to do is to keep talking with each other until we can get the consensus to pass this bill. But its very understandable that the president is frustrated that we havent gotten to where we need to go, because this is something that we all said we would do. Facebook

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Pence casts tie-breaking vote to advance bill that would let states withhold federal funds from Planned Parenthood By Lisa Mascaro Republicans needed Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote Thursday in the Senate to advance legislation that rolls back rules preventing states from withholding certain federal funds to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. With opposition from two Republican women, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Republicans did not have enough votes with their slim 52-seat majority to advance the bill. Pence, a longtime opponent of abortion, arrived to cast the vote breaking the 50-50 tie  and will be expected to do so later Thursday on final passage. We just saw a historic moment, said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) It is a sad day for the United States Senate. The measure rolls back a regulation finalized at the end of President Obamas administration that explicitly prevented states from denying federal Title X family planning funds to clinics, like Planned Parenthood, that also provide abortion services. Under longstanding practice, no federal funds can be used for abortions, but federal family planning money can flow to the clinics to provide other healthcare services. Some Republican-led state governments had been moving in recent years to choke off Title X funds from any clinics that offered abortion service. The Obama rule sought to prohibit such practices. The bill Thursday, sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), has already cleared the House. It is part of a series of bills being passed by Congress under the so-called Congressional Review Act, which allows federal regulations put in place during the final days of the previous administration to be undone by simple majority passage. Passage by the Senate later Thursday would send it to the White House for President Trumps signature. Busy day in D.C., but always happy to make time to meet visitors touring the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/4q6JG8wP0E  Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) March 30, 2017 Facebook

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Senate committee narrowly approves Acostas nomination to be Labor secretary By Jim Puzzanghera (Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP) A Senate committee on Thursday narrowly approved R. Alexander Acosta to be Labor secretary, moving to fill one of President Trumps few remaining vacant Cabinet posts. The nomination of Acosta, a law school dean and former Justice Department official, was approved by a 12-11 vote by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. All of the panels Republicans supported the nomination; all of the Democrats were opposed. If confirmed in a full Senate vote, which is expected soon, Acosta will be the only Latino in Trumps Cabinet. A date for the final vote hasnt been set. Read More Facebook

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Follow the money and the trail of dead Russians, expert urges senators By Del Quentin Wilber (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) The Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday into Russian efforts to influence the November elections has been a long history lesson, tracing Moscows decades-long efforts to use misinformation to undermine democracies. But Clinton Watts, of the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University, provided a roadmap to better understanding the Kremlins efforts. He urged senators and the U.S. government to follow the money to figure out how misinformation websites and social media outlets are being funded. While the Russians conducted their hacking in the Internets shadows, their efforts to influence the election was hardly a secret, he said. You can hack stuff and be covert, but you cant influence and be covert, he said. You have to ultimately show your hand. And thats why we have been able to discover it online. The second way to trace Russian influence was more ominous: Follow the trail of dead Russians, he said. There have been more dead Russians in the past three months that are tied to this investigation, he added. They are dropping dead, even in Western countries. Watts didnt finish the thought but was likely referring to a spate of deaths of high-profile Russians, some of which appeared to be assassinations although others appear to have been from natural causes. With the daytime execution of a Russian politician in Ukraine last week, at least eight Russian politicians, activists, ambassadors and a former intelligence official have died since the U.S. election. Facebook

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Russia has stepped up efforts to influence elections, experts tell Senate panel By David S. Cloud (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) Moscow has stepped up its interference in U.S. and European elections, using social media, hacking and other tools to undermine public confidence and to raise doubts about the U.S as an ally, Russia experts told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. The committee was taking testimony from experts in Russian propaganda and intelligence operations as part of its investigation into Moscows meddling in the 2016 election. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the panel, emphasized that in addition to examining the broad topic of Russian efforts to influence the election, the panel also must seek to answer whether President Trumps campaign had contact with Russian officials last year, noting the the FBI has opened its own probe. I will not prejudge the outcome of our investigation. We are seeking to determine if there is an actual fire, but there is clearly a lot of smoke, Warner said. Dr. Eugene Rumer, Director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the panel that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably viewed Moscows meddling in the U.S. election as an unqualified success. Facebook

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Tillerson meets Turkish officials to seek support for battle against Islamic State in Syria By Umar Farooq Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday met for more than two hours with Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as they hoped to shore up troubled relations between their nations. Making his first trip to Turkey, Tillerson became the highest-ranking Trump administration official to hold a face-to-face session with Erdogan, an increasingly authoritarian leader who is also a NATO member and key ally in the fight against Islamic State in Syria. The meeting went longer than planned. Turkey and the United States disagree sharply on how to combat Islamic State: Washington supports Kurdish militias that Erdogan regards as an arm of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey and the U.S. consider a terrorist organization. Trying to fight against Daesh through terrorist organizations such as ... extensions of the PKK, would be like shooting yourself in the foot, Erdogans senior advisor, Ibrahim Kalin, said ahead of Thursdays meeting. Daesh is a pejorative Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Read More Facebook

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Hawaii judge extends national halt on Trumps travel ban By Jaweed Kaleem Donald Trump in San Diego in May. (John Gastaldo / San Diego Union-Tribune)) The Hawaii federal judge who brought President Trumps revised travel ban to a national halt this month extended his order blocking the bans enforcement. The move Wednesday sets the stage for the Justice Department to appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the ruling. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watsons original order halting the travel ban was issued March 15, a day before the ban was to go into effect, in the form of a temporary restraining order. At a hearing in Honolulu on Wednesday, federal lawyers asked Watson to either dismiss that order or narrow the restrictions to apply to fewer parts of the travel ban. Instead, Watson said he would turn the order into a preliminary injunction, which has the effect of extending his order blocking the travel ban for a longer period. Watson said he would keep intact the restrictions on the travel ban -- a block of its 90-day moratorium on travel to the U.S. from nationals of six majority-Muslim countries and its 120-day pause on new refugee resettlement. If the Justice Department appeals the case, it will be heard in the same court that upheld a national halt to Trumps first travel ban last month after a Seattle federal judge ruled against it. The administration has already appealed to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals a Maryland judges more limited March 16 ruling that stopped enforcement of the travel orders country-specific ban. Both the Hawaii and Maryland judges found Trumps executive order to discriminate against Muslims. They used the presidents campaign statements promising to suspend Muslim travel to the U.S. as evidence of the orders anti-Muslim bias. Government lawyers have argued that the president is not singling out Muslims but instead acting within his power to restrict immigration and safeguard national security while better vetting procedures are developed to prevent potential terrorists from entering the U.S. Trump has said hell take the case over the travel ban to the U.S. Supreme Court. Facebook

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Ivanka Trump gets formal White House role, with ethics obligations but no pay By Michael A. Memoli (Brendan Smialowski / AFP-Getty Images) Ivanka Trump is taking on a more formal White House role  with a title but not a paycheck  a move intended to quell ethics concerns raised about her status in her fathers administration. In a statement, the White House noted that the presidents elder daughter already had an unprecedented role in the administration different from that of previous presidential children. She now will take the title of special advisor to the president, and therefore assume the same responsibility to abide by ethics standards that other federal employees have, the statement said. The decision demonstrates the administrations commitment to ethics, transparency and compliance, the administration said. Although Ivanka Trump already had a West Wing office  as does her husband, senior advisor Jared Kushner  she now will have increased opportunities to lead initiatives driving real policy benefits for the American public that would not have been available to her previously, a White House spokesman said. The announcement came on a day when President Trump sought to promote his administrations commitment to empowering women. He delivered remarks at an East Room event that included other top women in his Cabinet, including U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon. Ivanka Trump held a roundtable with female business owners earlier, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said. Earlier Wednesday, leading Senate Democrats sent a letter to the Office of Government Ethics raising concerns about the increasing, albeit unspecified position Ivanka Trump had held and the potential conflicts of interest that her government position might trigger with her personal businesses, including a retail clothing brand. The letter from Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) asked the agency whether Trump would be required to divest herself of personal assets or if she could be required to recuse herself from certain functions. Trumps new position was first reported by the New York Times. In a statement to the paper, Trump said she was acting in response to ethics concerns, but noted she already had been voluntarily complying with all ethics rules. Facebook

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Russia inquiry one of the biggest congressional probes in decade, senators say By David Lauter Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), right, and Mark Warner (D-Va.). (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) The Senate Intelligence Committees probe into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election will be one of the biggest investigations in years and has already involved an unprecedented level of cooperation between Congress and U.S. spy agencies, the panels chairman said Wednesday. At a Capitol Hill news conference, the committee chairman, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, and its ranking Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, emphasized the bipartisan nature of the panels efforts, drawing a determined, though unstated, contrast with the partisan dysfunction of a parallel investigation in the House. The committee will go wherever the intelligence leads us, Burr said. And he pointedly refused to endorse White House statements that investigators inevitably will find that there was no collusion between President Trumps campaign and the Russians. It would be crazy to try to draw any conclusions at this point, Burr said. We know that our challenge is to answer that question to the American people, Burr said, referring to the issue of Trumps involvement. Warner said he had confidence in Richard Burr to run a fair investigation and produce a bipartisan conclusion. Warner said Americans should not lose sight of what the investigation is about: An outside foreign adversary effectively tried to hijack the election and favor one candidate over the other. They didnt do it because it was in the best interest of the American people, he said. "[Russian President] Vladimir Putins goal is a weaker United States. The Russian action should be a concern of all Americans regardless of party affiliation, he added. The committee staff already has reviewed thousands of pages of intelligence documents and has begun scheduling interviews with a list of 20 preliminary witnesses, who will be questioned in private before the panel holds public hearings, Burr said. He strongly implied that one of the potential witnesses is retired Gen. Michael Flynn, who was fired from his post as national security advisor to Trump after the disclosure that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about his contacts with Russias ambassador to the U.S. You would think less of us if the committee had not talked with Flynn, Burr told reporters. The witnesses, including Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and advisor, will be questioned when the committee is ready, he said. Facebook

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Justice Department watchdog finds DEA cash seizure program may pose risk to civil liberties By Del Quentin Wilber A Ukiah, Calif., police officer works with a dog to search for drugs or cash in a motorists car on May 14, 2014. (Francine Orr/ Los Angeles Times) The way the Drug Enforcement Administration seizes cash and other assets may pose a risk to civil liberties, the Justice Departments internal watchdog reported Wednesday. The Justice Departments inspector general also determined that the agency does not measure or track how its asset seizure activities advance criminal investigations. Over the last decade, more than $28 billion has been seized through the departments asset forfeiture program. The effort and others in states have generated intense controversy in recent years, with critics contending that many seizures are unfair because some who lose their assets are never charged with crimes. Law enforcement officials, however, say that seizing property and cash is a key tool in disrupting criminal organizations and compensating the victims of crimes. Former Atty. Gen. Eric Holder in 2015 limited how state and local authorities can obtain seized funds by working with federal agents. In its report released Wednesday, the inspector general examined 100 cases in which the DEA seized cash. Eighty-five of the cases involved interdiction at transportation hubs, such as airports or parcel centers. Nearly 80 of those seizures resulted from the direct observation of agents or local police. The inspector general and the Justice Department have raised concerns in the past about such stops and searches, in part, due to the potential for racial profiling. Of the 100 cases, the DEA could verify that only 44 advanced ongoing investigations, led to a new investigation, or resulted in an arrest or prosecution, the inspector general found. When seizure and administrative forfeitures do not ultimately advance an investigation or prosecution, law enforcement creates the appearance, and risks the reality, that it is more interested in seizing and forfeiting cash than advancing an investigation or prosecution, the report said. The inspector general also found that the Justice Department does not provide enough training or require state and local officers working on federal task forces to be trained on asset forfeiture policies. The Justice Department responded in a letter to the inspector general that its analysis was flawed and its sample significantly underreported the amount of seized funds that are ultimately returned. In a statement, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said, Asset forfeiture is a powerful and effective law enforcement tool, allowing the department to compensate victims, deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crimes, remove the tools of crime from criminal organizations, and deter crime. The department believes that the ongoing public debate about asset forfeiture is healthy, she added, but as outlined in our formal response, we strongly disagree with large swaths of this report and its flawed methodology that failed to address the essential role asset forfeiture plays combating some of the most sophisticated criminal actors and organizations, including terrorist financiers, cyber criminals, fraudsters, human traffickers, and drug cartels. 9:23 a.m.: This story was updated with Justice Department comment. Facebook

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Hoax. Con job. Chinese plot. Trump tweets have bashed climate science for years By Michael Finnegan President Trump signs an executive order Tuesday to rescind Obama administration policies on climate change. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) As President Trump moved to halt federal efforts against global warming on Tuesday, he avoided an important phrase: climate change. It was the same story during his campaign for president; Trump rarely mentioned it. When he pledged in May to withdraw the United States from the Paris treaty, a pact among nearly every nation on Earth to reduce the carbon emissions that cause global warming, it was one of the few occasions when Trump broached the topic. Trumps muted approach made political sense. To reject science is to risk alienating millions of moderate voters who support action to stop global warming. But before Trump started running for president, he often bluntly attacked climate science. Some highlights from his Twitter feed: Read More Facebook

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Supreme Court rules in favor of merchants who want to advertise credit card fees By David Savage Supreme Court rules on swipe fees (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)) Merchants may soon have the right to tell customers that they will pay a surcharge if they use a credit card rather than pay with cash. The Supreme Court cast doubt Wednesday on laws in California, New York, Florida and seven other states that make it illegal for sellers to impose a surcharge on credit card sales. In a 8-0 decision, the justices said these laws regulate speech and may be challenged as violations of the 1st Amendment. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said these laws do not prevent merchants from offering a discount for those who pay cash. Rather, they simply forbid disclosing that a posted price includes a surcharge of 2% to 3% for using a credit or debit card. Merchants want to pass the fees along only to their customers who choose to use credit cards, he said. They also want to make clear that they are not the bad guys -- that the credit card companies, not the merchants, are responsible for the higher prices. But the ruling Wednesday was only a partial victory for the five New York businesses, including a hair salon and an ice cream parlor in Brooklyn, that sued to challenge the ban on advertising or disclosing surcharges for using credit cards. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York had upheld the law on the grounds it was a price regulation, not a speech restriction. Roberts and the high court disagreed. What the law does is regulate how sellers may communicate their prices, he said. A merchant who wants to charge $10 for cash and $10.30 for credit may not convey that price any way he pleases. He is not free to say '$10, with a 3% credit card surcharge. But the justices did not strike down the state laws, instead sending the case back to the New York court to decide whether this speech regulation could be justified. Sometimes, laws are used to regulate the words of commercial transactions to prevent buyers from being fooled or confused. Until recently, the major credit card companies had imposed contract restrictions that prevented merchants from disclosing surcharges. But those provisions have challenged and knocked down. That in turn led to new legal challenges against the state laws which forbid sellers from disclosing these surcharges. The case decided Wednesday was Expressions Hair Design vs. Schneiderman. Facebook

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Trumps poll numbers are low. But the people who put him in office say its not time to judge him  yet By Noah Bierman Its been five months since the euphoria of a Donald Trump rally at the local arena brought optimism to this former Democratic stronghold. The snow from a long winter has begun melting into the rocky soil, and the digital sign in a torn-up parking lot blinks hopefully: Warm days are coming. President Trump has yet to deliver jobs or the repeal of Obamacare. But here, in an area crucial to his unexpected election victory, many residents are more frustrated with what they see as obstruction and a rush to judgment than they are with Trump. Give him six months to prove himself, said an information technology supervisor. Give him a year, said a service manager. Give him four years, said a retired print shop owner. Give the man a chance, said Crystal Matthews, a 59-year-old hospital employee. Theyre just going to fight him tooth and nail, the whole way. Read More Facebook

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To fight womans defamation claim, Trump cites the Bill Clinton-Paula Jones case  which the president lost By David Savage President Trump is citing Bill Clintons famous sexual harassment battle in his effort to block a California womans lawsuit claiming Trump lied about groping her in the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007. Problem is, Clinton lost that bid for legal immunity when the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 1997 that the chief executive is not shielded from responding to a civil suit regarding his private behavior. Read More Facebook

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House sends Trump bill to kill landmark broadband privacy regulations By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sponsored the repeal bill. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) The House voted Tuesday to kill landmark privacy restrictions for Internet service providers and sent the bill to the White House, which indicated President Trump would sign it and invalidate the rules before they go into effect. The measure, approved largely along party lines, repeals tough new Federal Communications Commission regulations that would require broadband companies to get explicit customer permission before using or sharing most of their personal information. The data include health information, website browsing history, app usage and the geographic information from mobile devices. The rules also tighten data security requirements. Republicans, along with AT&T Inc., Charter Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. and other providers of high-speed Internet service, strongly opposed the rules. They argued that the restrictions are tougher than those for websites and social networks that also collect and use the highly valuable consumer data, which companies use to target advertising. Read More Facebook

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U.S. commander says theres a fair chance that coalition airstrike is responsible for civilian casualties in Mosul By W.J. Hennigan Rescuers are still recovering bodies from a suspected U.S. airstrike in the Iraqi city of Mosul. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) The top U.S. general commanding the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria said that the U.S.-led coalition was probably responsible for a blast that killed more than 200 people. If we did it, and I would say theres at least a fair chance that we did, it was an unintentional accident of war and we will transparently report it to you, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend told reporters Tuesday via teleconference from Baghdad. He made the comments in response to witness reports that an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition leveled a large apartment block and killed scores of civilians, including women and children, in west Mosuls Jadidah neighborhood on March 17. My initial assessment is that we probably had a role in these casualties, Townsend said. But investigators are still trying to determine whether other factors -- possibly including repeated airstrikes in the neighborhood or an explosive device accidentally or deliberately planted near the building -- could have led to its collapse. The fact that the whole building collapsed contradicts our involvement, Townsend said. The munition that we used should not have collapsed an entire building. So thats one of those things were trying to figure out in the investigative process. Read More Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown calls Trump energy plan a colossal mistake that will galvanize climate change activists By Evan Halper Gov. Jerry Brown. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press) California Gov. Jerry Brown warned that President Trump has just made a colossal mistake in gutting the federal governments effort to combat climate change, which will ignite a response Trump is unprepared to handle. It defies science itself, Brown said in a call to The Times shortly after Trump signed an executive order that aims to bring an abrupt halt to the United States leadership on global warming. Erasing climate change may take place in Donald Trumps mind, but nowhere else. Yes, there is going to be a counter-movement, Brown vowed, predicting Trumps actions will mobilize environmentalists in a way President Obama never could. I have met with many heads of state, ambassadors. This is a growing movement. President Trumps outrageous move will galvanize the contrary force. Things have been a bit tepid [in climate activism]. But this conflict, this sharpening of the contradiction, will energize those who believe climate change is an existential threat. Brown and other big-state governors and mayors are moving swiftly to fill the global leadership vacuum Trump created with Tuesdays directive, which stops short of officially pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord of 2015. I see Washington declining in influence, but the momentum being maintained by California and other states aligned with China and those who are willing to do something, said Brown, who will be traveling to China soon for meetings on climate. There is a growing activism on the part of millions of people who will not stand by and let Donald Trump effectively tear up the Paris agreement and destroy Americas climate leadership and jeopardize the health and well being of so many people. In the face of Trumps retreat on climate, Brown said California will step up its own efforts to push others toward clean energy. We are not fully meeting the challenge of climate change yet, he said. We are doubling down on our commitment. We are reaching out to other states in America and throughout the world and other countries . We have plenty of fuel to build this movement. This is real, Brown said of the threat created by climate change. The nations of the world have recognized it in Paris  I will continue doing my best to work with and rouse the world community, whatever the politicians in Washington do or dont do. Facebook

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Trump orders government to dismantle Obamas climate change policies By Evan Halper  President Trump ordered an abrupt halt to Americas crusade against climate change. (March 29, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR) President Trump on Tuesday ordered the federal government to retreat from the battle against climate change launched by President Obama, issuing a directive aimed at dismantling the core policies that have made the U.S. a global leader in curbing emissions. The plan unveiled by Trump reflects an about-face for the U.S. on energy, and it puts into jeopardy the nations ability to meet the obligations it agreed to under the global warming pact signed in Paris with 194 other nations. It would shelve the landmark Clean Power Plan that mandates electricity companies reduce their emissions. It seeks to dislodge consideration of climate throughout the federal government, where it has been a factor in every relevant decision in recent years. My administration is putting an end to the war on coal, Trump said. I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy to reverse government intrusions and to cancel job killing regulations. Under the order, the government will abandon the social cost of carbon that regulators had painstakingly calculated and begun factoring into their decision on permit applications and rulemaking. Restrictions on methane releases at oil and gas drilling facilities would be eased. Agencies will also stop contemplating climate impacts as they launch into new projects, and restrictions on coal leasing and fracking on federal lands will be lifted. The directive, for which progressive states and environmentalists have been preparing for months, is certain to set off years of litigation and conflicts between Washington and state capitols. Some of the most far-reaching policies Trump is seeking to bring to a halt cannot be canceled unilaterally and require lengthy administrative proceedings. But others he can end with the stroke of his pen. Smoke rises from the Colstrip Steam Electric Station, a coal-burning power plant in Colstrip, Mont., on July 1, 2103. (Matt Brown / Associated Press) Facebook

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A trade war is brewing inside the White House between rival camps By Don Lee Soon after President Trump took office, an executive order was quietly drafted to suspend talks with China on an obscure but potentially far-reaching treaty about bilateral investment. After eight years and two dozen rounds of negotiations, the treaty terms were almost in final form. Pulling out after so much time and effort would send a clear message that the Trump administration meant to take a new and tougher approach to China. But the executive order never even got to the presidents desk. It was quietly shelved, according to sources inside and outside the White House, at the behest of former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn, now Trumps top economic advisor. Killing the order was a small victory for a White House faction that supports free trade and the global economy. But it was only an opening skirmish in what promises to be a long and bitter struggle over trade policy that so far is being waged behind the scenes in the Trump administration. Read More Facebook

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Supreme Court reverses death sentence for Texas inmate who could not tell time or name the days of the week By David Savage The Supreme Court set aside a death sentence on Tuesday for a Texas inmate who as a 13-year-old could not tell time or name the days of the week, concluding he should not be executed in light of his mental disability. In a 5-3 decision, the justices reversed the Texas state appeals court that had restored a death sentence given to Bobby James Moore, a 57-year old prisoner who shot and killed a store clerk in a botched robbery in 1980. At issue was whether Moore had a mental disability that would make his execution cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment. The justices banned states from executing prisoners with a mental disability, but they left states some flexibility to set the standards. But three years ago, the justices faulted Florida authorities for relying almost entirely on I.Q. scores. In the Texas case decided Tuesday, the justices said state judges had ignored ample evidence that Moore had severe mental disability as a child. That evidence was not overcome by the fact that he had adapted well in prison, they said. At 13, Moore lacked the basic understanding of the days of the week, the months of the year and the seasons; he could scarcely tell time or comprehend the standards of measure, said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. After failing every subject in the ninth grade, Moore dropped out of high school. Cast out of his home, he survived on the streets, eating from trash cans, even after two bouts of food poisoning. After fatally shooting the clerk in the 1980 robbery, he was sentenced to death. The Texas courts reexamined his sentence after the high court abolished capital punishment in 2002 for defendants with a mental disability. A state judge listened to experts and set aside Moores death sentence, But the states criminal appeals court disagreed. Its judges said Moore had demonstrated adaptive strength by living on the streets and carrying out a robbery, and therefore did not qualify as having a severe mental impairment. Ginsburg said the state judges had relied on an outdated understanding of mental disability, and her opinion in Moore vs. Texas said the state court must reconsidere its decision. Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan agreed. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. dissented. While he agreed the states authorities may have used outdated standards, Moore had I.Q. scores ranging from 69 to 79 that show he did not have the significantly sub-average intellectual functioning that would exempt him from the death penalty. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito agreed. Facebook

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The Freedom Caucus roars back to relevance to challenge Trumps agenda and strategy By Lisa Mascaro When House Speaker Paul D. Ryan pulled the plug on the GOPs Obamacare overhaul, lawmakers spilled out of the Capitol basement, angry, frustrated and stunned. But Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), leader of the conservative and rebellious House Freedom Caucus that led the fight against the bill, was uncharacteristically quiet, downplaying his political victory and mulling over the next move. After coming together to battle President Obama and becoming a driving force in the Republican Party, this 30-member-plus bloc of deficit hawks and right-flank conservatives had appeared for a while to be pushed aside by the movement that swept President Trump into office. But after helping defeat the GOP healthcare overhaul, the Freedom Caucus has roared back to relevance as a political power in the Trump era. It has reasserted itself as not just a renegade assemblage of mostly back-bench lawmakers, but as a core block of votes that Trump will need to push past the healthcare debacle to tax reform, budget battles and other issues. These guys saved the Republicans, said Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, a group that organized a North Carolina rally on Monday in honor of Meadows. As beaten and battered as they are, weve got a group thats willing to take the hard decisions. If youre going to drain the swamp, these are the guys who are going to do it. Read More Facebook

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White House stopped Yates testimony about Russian meddling in presidential election, lawyer says By Associated Press A lawyer for former Deputy Atty. Gen. Sally Yates said in letters last week that the Trump administration had moved to squelch her testimony in a hearing about Russian meddling in the presidential election. In the letters, attorney David ONeil said he understood the Justice Department was invoking further constraints on testimony she could provide at a House Intelligence Committee hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday. He said the departments position was that all actions she took as deputy attorney general were client confidences that could not be disclosed without written approval. The Washington Post first reported the letters. A person familiar with the situation confirmed them as authentic to the Associated Press. The White House called the Post story entirely false. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and part of Trumps transition team, last week announced that the committee was canceling the planned public hearing with Yates and two former Obama administration intelligence officials  the former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, and former CIA Director John Brennan. Read More Facebook

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Did Mnuchin cross an ethical line in plugging The Lego Batman Movie? A senator wants to know By Jim Puzzanghera (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) A Democratic senator wants to know if Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin committed an ethics violation when he publicly plugged The Lego Batman Movie, a film in which he has a financial stake. A former Hollywood financier, Mnuchin was asked at the end of a question-and-answer session on Friday hosted by the Axios news website to name a movie people should see. Well, Im not allowed to promote anything that Im involved in. So I just want to have the legal disclosure, youve asked me the question and I am not promoting any product, Mnuchin said at the event, which aired on C-SPAN2. But you should send all your kids to Lego Batman,  he said. The crowd laughed. But Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, wasnt amused. Hes asking the U.S. Office of Government Ethics to look into the comments. Read More Facebook

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Venezuela hits back in showdown with OAS, U.S. over democracy By Tracy Wilkinson The Venezuelan foreign minister had harsh words Monday for the regional organization that is considering sanctioning her country for its failure to hold democratic elections. Delcy Rodriguez, the foreign minister, accused the Organization of American States of wanting not to punish Venezuela but to destroy it. Rodriguez appeared at an OAS panel convened in Washington. D.C., after the United States and 13 other of the hemispheres nations united to demand the leftist Venezuelan government free political prisoners and set a date for long-overdue elections. Failure to do so, the 14 countries warned, could trigger a decision to suspend Venezuela from the 69-year-old regional body. OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro, a former Uruguayan foreign minister, has been especially critical of Venezuelas embattled government. He noted that President Nicolas Maduro canceled both a referendum that could have recalled his government and later regional elections, after the opposition made huge gains in parliamentary voting in 2015. In addition, thousands of people have been arrested for their political beliefs, Almagro said, including opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has been in jail for three years. But Rodriguez, in a speech to the OAS panel, said Venezuelas revolution continues strong. She accused Almagro of being a stooge of the U.S. government, a lying mercenary who is a traitor to everything a Latin American diplomat should represent. He lacks independence when he voluntarily bows to the wishes of the most powerful nation of this organization -- and becomes its spokesman, Rodriguez said. Although the OAS has often been accused of pro-Washington tendencies, 13 nations in addition to the United States have joined to condemn Venezuela, a significant shift in Latin America away from populist regimes. Other leftist-ruled countries, like Bolivia, have said they will support Venezuela. Rodriguez said the accusations against her government were unilateral, unjustified and biased. She called on the OAS to suspend discussion of Venezuela, but another session was scheduled to proceed on Tuesday -- the same day Maduros Socialist Party is planning big anti-imperialism marches at home. All of the countries most critical of Venezuela, including the United States, say suspension of the oil-rich, Caribbean country from the OAS should be a measure of last resort. Despite its oil wealth, Venezuela is in the throes of an economic and humanitarian disaster, with severe shortages of food and medicine and skyrocketing inflation and homicide rates. Facebook

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Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions criticizes sanctuary cities but offers no new policies By Michael A. Memoli  Decrying the safety risk posed when cities dont cooperate with federal immigration authorities, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions repeated previous statements that the Trump administration would seek to deny so-called sanctuary cities some federal grant fun Decrying the safety risk posed when cities dont cooperate with federal immigration authorities, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions repeated previous statements that the Trump administration would seek to deny so-called sanctuary cities some federal grant funds, but offered no new policies. Despite his high-profile appearance at the White House briefing room, Sessions merely reiterated Obama administration policy related to immigration. Justice Department officials said any new measures would be weeks or months in the future. The Obama administration issued instructions last July that required any cities applying for Justice Department grant programs be in compliance with federal law requiring cooperation between local, state and federal agencies with requests from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Sessions noted that any jurisdiction applying for grants from his department would have to certify that compliance. The Justice Department already has been requiring that, which indicates that police and sheriff departments which currently have Justice Department grants already have been asserting that they are meeting the requirements of federal law. Although many cities have policies that they, or critics, characterize using the label sanctuary, those policies do not necessarily mean they are violating the law. Sessions did say that the Justice Department could in the future institute additional requirements, but announced none. Fundamentally, we intend to use all the lawful authority we have to make sure that our state and local officials, who are so important to law enforcement, are in sync with the federal government, he said. He did offer a warning to jurisdictions considering adopting sanctuary status. The California legislature is considering a proposal to institute the designation statewide; Sessions, though, singled out Maryland for a similar proposal. That would be such a mistake, Sessions said, while noting Marylands Republican governor opposes the change proposed by the heavily-Democratic legislature. Sessions cited a high-profile case in San Francisco where a 32-year-old woman was killed by man who had been previously deported multiple times despite a request by immigration authorities to continue his detention to illustrate the administrations case against such policies. Countless Americans would be alive today and countless loved ones would not be grieving today if these policies of sanctuary cities were ended, Sessions claimed. Facebook

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Devin Nunes plot thickens, as his spokesman concedes he met source for surveillance claim at White House By David S. Cloud The day before the House Intelligence Committee chairman revealed that conversations by Trump transition officials may have been inadvertently picked up by U.S. surveillance, he met with the source of the information at the White House, his spokesman said Monday Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), went to the White House because there was a facility there for reviewing classified information, said Jack Langer, a spokesman for Nunes, who has refused to divulge the identity of his source. Chairman Nunes met with his source at the White House grounds in order to have proximity to a secure location where he could view the information provided by the source, Langer said. The latest news added another twist to a bizarre series of events last week: On Monday, FBI Director James Comey testified before Nunes committee that his investigators were looking at possible coordination during the presidential campaign between Russian officials and people close to Preisdent Trump. Tuesday night, Nunes went to the White House where someone showed him documents related to U.S. intelligence surveillance, according to his statement. On Wednesday, Nunes announced to reporters that he had seen evidence indicating that people close to Trump had been subjects of surveillance during the transition. He then went to the White House, saying that he needed to brief Trump about the revelations. On Thursday, Nunes apologized to committee members for not having shown the evidence to them before briefing the president. Later that day, his spokesman conceded that Nunes did not know for sure that any Trump aides had actually been subject to surveillance, just that their names had appeared in intelligence reports, which could have resulted from other people talking about them. That sequence of events could buttress Democrats claims that the episode last week was a White House ploy to shift attention away from the FBI investigation. Democrats already have been saying Nunes should be disqualified from heading an inquiry into whether Trumps aides had improper contacts with Russia. Nunes statement left several questions unanswered. One is why he would have had to go to the White House unless his source worked there, because members of Congress have access to a secure facility at the U.S. Capitol. Asked to explain Nunes actions, Langer said in an email, The information comprised executive branch documents that have not been provided to Congress. Because of classification rules, the source could not simply put the documents in a backpack and walk them over to the House Intelligence Committee space.  He added: The White House grounds was the best location to safeguard the proper chain of custody and classification of these documents, so the Chairman could view them in a legal way. Last week, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had dismissed speculation that the White House had supplied Nunes with the information, saying that the suggestion did not pass the smell test. He added, however, that he did not for sure what Nunes had told Trump or where his information came from. After Nunes apologized to members of his committee Thursday and promised to thoroughly investigate the surveillance, several lawmakers said Nunes had promised to provide them the surveillance information he had received. That has not occurred yet. In his first statement last week, Nunes said he was concerned that some Trump transition officials identities might have been improperly revealed in intelligence reports, despite rules requiring them to be kept confidential in most cases. The Chairman is extremely concerned by the possible improper unmasking of names of U.S. citizens, and he began looking into this issue even before President Trump tweeted his assertion that Trump Tower had been wiretapped, Langer said. Whether any officials names actually were unmasked is unclear. The ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) has questioned Nunes assertions about improper unmasking. But Schiff noted that he has not seen the documents Nunes claims to have seen. Schiff had no comment on the news that Nunes had seen the documents at the White House. UPDATES 10:20 a.m.: This article was updated with staff reporting. This article was originally published as an Associated Press report at 9:06 a.m. Facebook

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Venezuela in showdown with OAS, U.S. over political prisoners By Tracy Wilkinson The besieged leftist government of Venezuela is under mounting pressure after the United States and 13 of the hemispheres other leading nations demanded the release of political prisoners and other pro-democracy concessions. The Organization of American States, the regions main collective body, has threatened to suspend Venezuela because of what it called the autocratic repression imposed by President Nicolas Maduro. Maduros foreign minister, Delcy Rodriguez, will appear Monday before an OAS panel in Washington to plead her governments case. This comes after members of the Venezuelan delegation stormed out of OAS meetings last week, according to diplomats. OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro, in a report on Venezuela, noted that Maduro canceled both a referendum that could have recalled his government and later regional elections, after the opposition made huge gains in parliamentary voting in 2015. A Maduro-controlled Supreme Court then stripped the parliament of much of its power. In addition, thousands of people have been arrested for their political beliefs, Almagro said, including opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has been in jail for three years. The OAS is demanding Venezuela hold elections or risk suspension from the group, a drastic measure. The last time a country was suspended was when the military and right-wing politicians staged a coup against the elected president in Honduras in 2009. Under OAS regulations, a country can be suspended when the democratic order is altered. Venezuela is in the throes of a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis. The oil-rich country has among the highest homicide and inflation rates in the world and suffers from severe shortages of food and medicine. The Maduro government angrily condemned the OAS actions as imperialist interference and vowed to resist. Adan Chavez, brother of the late Hugo Chavez, the socialist strongman who set Venezuela on its revolutionary path, claimed the OAS was plotting a coup against Maduro. Maduro views much of his opposition as right-wing oligarchs who have long repressed the poor. Although the OAS has often been accused of pro-Washington tendencies, it is significant that 13 nations in addition to the United States are united in condemning Venezuela. This marks a shift away from populist regimes in much of Latin America. The Trump administration, which has shown little interest in Latin America beyond Mexico, did issue instructions to diplomats to find ways through the OAS to put pressure on Venezuela, according to people familiar with the matter. Those instructions came despite parallel administration plans to slash funds to the OAS and other multilateral institutions like the United Nations. Trump recently spoke by telephone to the presidents of Chile and Brazil and in both cases discussed Venezuela, the White House said. And he met at the White House with Lilian Tintori, the wife of Lopez, the jailed opposition leader, as she lobbied for her husbands freedom. The Treasury Department earlier this year slapped sanctions on Venezuelas vice president, Tareck El Aissami, alleging he was a major drug trafficker, charges he denied. Were not pushing for Venezuelas expulsion from the OAS at this time, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said late last week. However, we do think the OAS is the appropriate venue to deal with the ongoing situation in Venezuela, he said. Elections are essential to securing accountability, and the Venezuelan people deserve a voice in creating solutions to the myriad economic, political, and social and humanitarian challenges that they face. Facebook

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Trump takes to Twitter to blame GOP hard-liners over healthcare failure By Laura King (Mandel Ngan / AFP-Getty Images) President Trump on Sunday blamed fellow Republicans and two influential conservative advocacy groups for last weeks failure of the GOP healthcare plan. The president had said on Friday that it was the fault of Democrats that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan pulled the measure from consideration rather than putting it forth for a floor showdown that the GOP leadership would have lost. In a Sunday morning tweet, the president appeared to shift culpability to the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative group of GOP lawmakers who were key to depriving Trump and his camp of the votes needed for passage. Democrats are smiling over the bills failure, Trump declared on Twitter. The Freedom Caucus, he said, had saved President Obamas Affordable Care Act with the help of Heritage Action and the Club for Growth, two organizations that had opposed the GOP measure. The chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), declined to engage in any sparring with the White House, instead predicting that a Trump-led Republican effort to overhaul Obamas signature healthcare legislation eventually would move ahead. At the end of the day, the most valuable player will be President Trump, he said on ABCs This Week. Meadows also insisted there had been no conversation about any attempt to force out Ryan, who is being blamed for failing to marshal sufficient support for the measure he had spearheaded. Trump so far has refrained from public criticism of the speaker, but  again on Twitter  he specifically urged followers to watch a Fox News segment on Saturday night, featuring commentator Jeanine Pirro excoriating Ryan and calling for him to be ousted. That gave rise to speculation that Trump would seek to force the speaker to take the fall for the debacle. Read More Facebook

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After the GOP healthcare bill fizzles, Trump blames the Democrats and says he learned a lot about loyalty By Brian Bennett  President Trump addresses the cancellation of a vote Friday on the GOPs plan to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. After failing to land a deal on the healthcare bill, President Trump on Friday blamed Democrats, even though the GOP controls Congress and the White House, and made few overtures across the aisle when pushing the bill. When you get no votes from the other side -- meaning Democrats -- it is really a difficult situation, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after a revolt by Republican lawmakers forced House leaders to stop a vote in their bid to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. Trump insisted that the current healthcare law, commonly known as Obamacare, will collapse under its own weight, and then Democrats will want to make a deal with the White House. I truly believe the Democrats will come to us, Trump said. In the meantime, Trump is moving his attention to pushing through a tax reform bill, he said. We will probably be going really hard for the big tax cuts and tax reform -- thats next, he said. Trump, who has spent decades negotiating real estate deals and seeing many of them fall through, seemed sanguine discussing the effort he put into getting a healthcare reform bill passed. This was an interesting period of time, Trump said. We learned a lot about loyalty and we learned a lot about the vote-getting process. Trump stopped short of blaming House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and avoided singling out the group of conservative Republican lawmakers, who dug in their heels in opposition. Lawmakers in the House Freedom Caucus that largely stood against the bill are very good people and friends of mind, he said. I was disappointed because we could have had it, he said. Im a little surprised, he said. When asked by a reporter if he would reach out now to Democrats for ideas on how to get a deal, Trump said, No, I think we need to let Obamacare go its way for a little while. Then well see how things go. Facebook

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Tillerson will meet with NATO counterparts, after all By Tracy Wilkinson Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with NATO allies next week in Brussels, a move that could quell controversy over his earlier decision to skip a long-planned summit of the transatlantic alliance. The State Department said Friday that Tillerson added a stop at NATO headquarters in Brussels to a previously scheduled trip to the Turkish capital of Ankara. Tillerson will be in Ankara on Thursday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials to discuss the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and to reaffirm Turkeys important role in ensuring regional stability, the State Department said. The next day, he will go to NATO, the State Department said. NATO officials were attempting to put together a session with the other 27 allied nations. Earlier this week, news that Tillerson would miss the NATO ministerial meeting set for April 5-6, roiled the alliance. Administration officials said Tillerson would have to be in Washington to attend President Trumps first face-to-face meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 6-7. At the same time, Tillersons aides announced he would be traveling to Moscow the following week. Criticism was swift from European allies but also from several former American diplomats and key U.S. lawmakers, who said the decision raised questions about the Trump administrations commitment to NATO. During his campaign, Trump called the alliance obsolete, although more recently he has voiced support for it while also demanding members spend more money on defense. In response, Tillersons aides said they were exchanging possible alternative dates with NATO to attempt to arrange a meeting in which all parties could participate. It was not yet clear if next Fridays meeting will take the place of the April 5-6 session, which as of late Friday remained on NATOs formal calendar. Diplomats considered the ministerial meeting as especially important because it will lay the groundwork for a May 25 NATO summit of heads of state and government, which Trump has said he will attend. Facebook

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Charter promises Trump something new ($25-billion investment) and something old (20,000 jobs) By Jim Puzzanghera Charter Communications Chief Executive Thomas Rutledge. (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images) The chief executive of Charter Communications committed in a meeting with President Trump on Friday to invest $25 billion on broadband infrastructure while joining a trend of business leaders touting previously announced job creation at the White House. In the case of Charter  Southern Californias dominant cable-TV and Internet service provider  Chief Executive Thomas Rutledge said he expected to hire 20,000 new U.S. employees over the next four years. Charter had made the hiring promise in 2015 when it was purchasing Time Warner Cable. The new development was the time period in which it will occur. Nevertheless, Trump indicated the job creation was triggered by his election. Read More Facebook

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Threats made against Hawaii judge who ruled against travel ban By Jaweed Kaleem (George Lee / The Star-Advertiser via AP) The Hawaii federal judge who brought President Trumps revised travel ban to a national halt last week has become the target of threats. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson has received the threats since his March 15 ruling, according to FBI spokeswoman Michele Ernst. Ernst said the FBI is ready to assist but declined to provide more information. The U.S. Marshals Service also said it would not give details. The U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for the protection of federal judicial officials, including judges and prosecutors, and we take that responsibility very seriously, the agency said in a statement. While we do not discuss our specific security measures, we continuously review the security measures in place for all federal judges and take appropriate steps to provide additional protection when it is warranted. Watson, a judge in the U.S. District Court of Hawaii in Honolulu, issued a scathing 43-page opinion against the travel ban the day before it was to go into effect. He wrote that, despite the bans stated secular purpose, Trumps own words marked the executive order as a fulfillment of the presidents campaign promise to temporarily bar Muslims from coming to the U.S. The illogic of the governments contention is palpable, Watson said. In response, Trump said Watsons ruling was terrible and makes us look weak. Trump has vowed to take the travel ban case to the U.S. Supreme Court. An appeal of a separate Maryland federal judges ruling against the travel ban is currently pending in the U.S. 4th District Court of Appeals. Facebook

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House GOP gives up on healthcare bill as Trump suffers first legislative defeat By Lisa Mascaro Unable to muster enough support from his own party, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan again postponed a vote Friday on the GOPs plan to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. The move came at the request of President Trump, who just Thursday night issued an ultimatum that lawmakers should hold the vote regardless of the outcome. It was the second time House GOP leaders had to delay a final reckon
A historian from New Hampshire is hoping to start a dialogue about the Vietnam War and its impact on American soldiers.

James Wright, 77, president emeritus at Dartmouth College, is looking to start that conversation when his upcoming book, Enduring Vietnam: An American Generation and Its War, is released April 4.

He will be on tour with his new book and visit the Buena Vista Branch Library in Burbank at 7 p.m. on April 6.

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Wright, a Marine veteran who served in the late 1950s, said he had been interested for years in American soldiers who have fought in various wars and how the public treats them. In 2012, he published a book titled Those Who Have Borne the Battle: A History of Americas Wars and Those Who Fought Them.

However, Wright wanted to know more about the effects the Vietnam War had on the Americans who fought in it and how they were treated when they came back to the states.

Vietnam continues to be a war thats marked by controversy, he said. People debate angrily about the origins of the war, about the conduct of the war, about the way that the war was ended and about the consequences of the war. But I think that in this negative fog over the national narrative, we havent done a good enough job in understanding those kids who fought in Vietnam.

Wright said he spent a few years interviewing veterans who served during the Vietnam War and learning about their experiences during and after their service. He even talked with families who lost a family member during the war and what they went through.

He learned that, unlike for World War II veterans or those currently serving who receive praise and support from the public, some Vietnam veterans were either not respected when they came home, or no one wanted to talk to them about the war.

Most people did not encounter hostility when they came home, but they encountered more of an embarrassed indifference, Wright said. People really didnt want to talk to them about it. I remember one person told me that their dad, who fought at Iwo Jima, never once asked him about the war.

Though it has been more than 40 years since the Vietnam War and more people generally thank veterans for their service, Wright said he thinks there should be a greater understanding of what Vietnam veterans have gone through.

I think its time to have a conversation about that, he said.

--

Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
A divided Costa Mesa City Council approved a new contract with a municipal employees union Tuesday night, saying its terms will better enable the city to attract and retain workers.

The contract, OKd on a 3-2 vote, will provide higher pay for the 236 members of the Costa Mesa City Employees Assn. while lowering the amount they pay toward their pensions.

The union represents non-public-safety employees.

Residents and the business community demand services because we all pay taxes and we all expect our taxes to pay for improvements to our roads, to pay for maintaining our parks, to pay for safety and security in our neighborhoods and homes and our businesses, Mayor Katrina Foley said. So this contract, to me, is fiscally conservative but functional. It addresses these retention, recruitment issues head-on.

Council members Allan Mansoor and Jim Righeimer voted against the contract.

The deal will run through June 30, 2020. During that time, CMCEA members will receive steady pay increases  2.5% in each of the first two years of the deal and 2.75% in the third and fourth years.

Currently, members pay about 17.04% of their salaries toward their pensions, but that number will decline to 12% by the third year of the new pact.

We look forward to partnering with the council to begin the process of rebuilding the city workforce, remaking Costa Mesa into the highly regarded municipal employer it had historically been and providing superior services to the residents of Costa Mesa, CMCEA President Robert Gonzalez said in a statement Wednesday.

Boosting pay and reducing retirement contributions will help the city offer more competitive compensation packages to attract talented employees and keep them around for the long haul, officials said.

Doing so has been a challenge in recent years. As of Tuesday, the city had 90 vacant positions, according to Assistant City Manager Tammy Letourneau.

Every few weeks, one of our employees goes to Irvine, goes to Newport, goes to Laguna  its ongoing, Mayor Pro Tem Sandy Genis said.

Those departures, she added, basically has to do with people having to take care of their families and not being able to do it with what Costa Mesa is offering.

Mansoor and Righeimer, though, raised concerns about the financial impact  pegged at $5.65 million more over the life of the agreement than the previous CMCEA contract, which expired in June.

The additional spending is troubling, they said, given budget forecasts discussed Tuesday that show the city could face growing annual budget deficits ranging from less than $50,000 in fiscal 2017-18 to almost $8.3 million in 2021-22.

They also questioned how the new CMCEA contract could affect the citys unfunded pension liability, which stood at about $246 million in 2015.

A city staff report said the contract is not expected to affect that figure, as the outlined salary bumps fall within California Public Employees Retirement System assumptions regarding payroll increases.

That did little to assure Mansoor, though.

CalPERS has been wrong many times, he said.

Righeimer pointed out that the new deal eliminates a provision in CMCEAs previous contract that required union members to pay 60% of any increases in the citys mandated contributions to CalPERS.

Striking that component and reducing employee contributions could add up to long-term problems, he said.

Councilman John Stephens, though, described such requirements as a confiscatory contribution.

Starting in 2018, the California Public Employees Pension Reform Act stipulates that cities cant require non-public-safety employees to contribute more than 8% of their pay toward their pensions. CMCEA members have agreed to pitch in at a higher rate.

In my opinion, were the best city in Orange County, were the best city in the state of California, Stephens said. We should not have a recruitment and retention problem in the city of Costa Mesa.

Spending a surplus

Though the city could see budget deficits in future years, council members Tuesday voted on how to spend a nearly $10.7-million surplus left over from fiscal 2015-16.

On a 4-1 vote  with Mansoor opposed  council members opted to apply about $1.2 million of the surplus to meet the citys goal of having $55 million in reserve.

An additional $500,000 will go toward reducing pension debt, while $1.9 million will be used for improvements at local police and fire stations; a new trail system along Arlington Drive that will filter urban runoff; and protection, restoration and master plan implementation efforts at Fairview Park.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter: @LukeMMoney
New York doesnt have cool restaurants overlooking the Pacific Ocean like Laguna Beachs Montage or the Rooftop, or Huntington Beachs legendary Dukes. And it doesnt have a harbor with the laid-back vibe and luxury yachts of Newport.

Heck, New York doesnt even have a Hobie Surf Shop.

But lets face it: New York is, in effect, the capital of America. The art, the theater, Greenwich Village, Wall Street, Central Park, the Guggenheim Museum, New York is a plethora (that means a lot, I think) of outstanding symbols of intelligence, sophistication and influence.

Therefore, I was shocked (shocked!) to read a recent article in the citys leading newspaper about the state of education in America. Here, basically, is what the article said:

Students all over the country are graduating with high school diplomas. What that diploma should signify is that the students are smart and stuff. It should mean that they know math and language to a reasonably high level, they are ready to do college work, they are ready to function adequately on a job, and (surely this is a basic, national defense minimum!) they can get into the Army.

All too often, not so, said the article.

Nationwide, not even one-half of 12th graders are prepared to do college work. And one-fifth cant meet the standards of the Army.

Now, heres the alarming part: The article ended by saying America is losing out to countries "that do better jobs of giving their citizens the skills they need.

Its that word giving thats scary. As I see it, students get an education; I dont see how anyone can give it to them. Students get an education by going to class, listening to the teacher, doing their homework and studying for tests.

Its like surfing. No one gives surfers waves. Surfers catch them.

(Right?)

Maybe New York needs a Hobie Shop.

Steve Davidson

Newport Beach

*

If ISIS had killed as many wed do something

Im trying to make sense of all the shootings on American soil since the Sandy Hook massacre three years ago. Thats when a deranged young man walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and killed 20 children, six adults and himself.

President Barack Obama is reported to have said the senseless killings that day were the low point of his presidency. He vowed to change our culture of guns but, since that fateful day, there have been at least 1,042 mass shootings, with gunmen killing at least 1,312 people and wounding 3,764 more.

If ISIS had inflicted the same number of casualties here at home, there would be calls for war from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other in Washington. So why not a domestic war on mass shootings?

Its called democracy, and it isnt always pretty. The Dec. 2 shootings in San Bernardino should remind us all how cruel majority rule can be sometimes.

My hope is we never forget those who have been lost to crazed gunmen coast to coast. If we ever do, you can start counting the days until our American way of life is lost forever.

Denny Freidenrich

Laguna Beach
Susan Park said on Tuesday that Glendale police have not done enough to find her 20-year-old daughter, Elaine, who has been missing since Jan. 28.

The La Crescenta womans comments came following a press conference held by the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles.

Group members had reached out to Susan Park late last week to offer their help in spreading the word about her daughters disappearance.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

During the press conference, Sgt. Robert William of the Glendale Police Department said there is no evidence to suggest Elaine Parks boyfriend was involved. He said the boyfriend has been cooperative with police and given them a large amount of information including numerous statements and even security camera footage from the night Elaine Park disappeared.

After her disappearance, Elaine Parks car was found parked along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The keys to the abandoned vehicle were found inside the ignition, and several personal items, including her purse and cellphone, were also found.

William said there has been no evidence of foul play or a struggle at the site  even after a search was conducted from the ground and air as well as in the ocean.

---------------------------------------

FOR THE RECORD

3/8, 5:09 p.m.: A previous version of this story included accusatory comments made by the missing womans mother. Those comments have been removed.

---------------------------------------

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to Elaine Parks location and a GoFundMe page called Help Find Elaine Park has received over $12,000. The money was used by Susan Park to hire a private investigator, who, she said, has revealed quite a bit of information, but declined to say what it entailed.

Theres definitely foul play. I feel that theres foul play involved, Susan Park said.

Anyone with information about Elaine Park is asked to contact the Glendale Police Department at (818) 548-4911. They can also call the private investigator, Jayden Brant, at (310) 201-7613.

--

Andy Nguyen, andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
The 17th annual job fair at Glendale Community College will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 30 on Plaza Vaquero on campus, 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale.

Several employers will be at the event meeting with prospective employees. Those attending should bring a resume and dress for interviews.

The event will be free and open to the community. It is sponsored by the colleges Student Employment Services.

For more information, visit glendale.edu/ses.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

Short spring courses begin next month

Six- and eight-week spring classes will begin on April 24 at Glendale Community College. The college-credit courses subjects range from business to social science. The short courses can be found by subject at glendale.edu/schedules under spring 2017.

Courses include insurance classes, business law, international business, computer skills and office technology, real estate, freshman composition and reading English classes, library research, career planning, speech, intermediate algebra, statistics, Pro Tools, first-aid, fitness, microeconomics, cultural geography, psychology, sociology as well as U.S. history and government.

New students need to fill out an online application before registering for a course.

Summer schedule is online

The summer class schedule is now online at glendale.edu/schedules. Click summer 2017" in the drop-down term menu. The first summer classes will begin June 19 with later start dates in July for some courses.

The deadline to apply for admission to the college for summer 2017 and be eligible for priority registration is March 31. Priority registration begins April 24 and open registration is May 1 through June 16.

It is also time to plan for fall 2017. The deadline for new students to apply for admission and be eligible for priority registration for fall 2017 is April 28, with priority registration starting May 22. The fall semester will begin Aug. 28.

Looking ahead, winter 2018 will begin Jan. 8, 2018. The deadline to apply and be eligible for priority registration is Sept. 8, 2017. First-time college students must apply and complete an orientation, assessment and have a student-educational plan by the application deadline to qualify for priority registration.

High school students take college courses

Glendale Community Colleges Jump Start program provides an opportunity for high school students to take college classes, while still attending high school. Students in good standing with a cumulative 2.0 or higher grade-point average are eligible to apply and enroll in classes at the college.

Tuition is waived for Jump Start students and parking is free for those with valid drivers licenses. Students only pay for textbooks and college services fees. For more information, visit glendale.edu/jumpstart.

Swap meet held monthly

The next Hilltop Flea Market and Swap Meet at Glendale Community College will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 19 on the upper campus parking lot off Mountain Street.

The flea market is held on the third Sunday of every month and features more than 70,000 square feet of antiques and collectibles as well as jewelry, furniture, clothing, tools, toys, linens and art.

Vendors who want to set up a space can get an advance reservation for $40 or $50 on the day of the event.

For more information about the swap meet, call (818) 240-1000, Ext. 5805, or go to glendale.edu/gccswapmeet.

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Wendy Grove is public information coordinator for Glendale Community College.
Want to know where to find the best hotels, best restaurants and even the best mai tai in Hawaii? Hawaii Magazines Readers Choice Awards features places locals like to eat, stay and play, creating an insiders guide for anyone planning a trip to Hawaii.

The scenic drive to Hana is a must-do on Maui. (Tor Johnson / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Maui was voted the best island in Hawai. Readers gave the Valley Isle glowing reviews, with one respondent saying it has the best mix of quiet, natural scenery and crazy fun activities.

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Oahu finished second and Kauai third in the poll.

Lahaina in West Maui was chosen as the No. 1 city or town. (Tor Johnson / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Lahaina, the former whaling center on Mauis west coast, was selected best city or town. Now a charming town full of galleries, inns and a wealth of restaurants, its a fun diversion for folks staying at the beachfront resorts to the north and south. Much larger and touristy Honolulu/Waikiki came in second.

Waikiki Beach was voted Hawaiis top beach. (Tor Johnson / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Its probably no surprise that world-famous Waikiki Beach was voted the states top beach. Tourism to this now-bustling destination began in the early 1900s when the area was marshy wetlands full of taro. Beyond the beach, there are attractions such as Diamond Head and the Honolulu Zoo.

Fireworks explode each Friday evening beside the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach. (Tor Johnson / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Oahu has plenty of other winners in various categories. Along the beach, the sprawling Hilton Hawaiian Village is ranked as the states No. 1 hotel. A couple of neighbors, the Moana Surfrider and Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, finished second and third.

Waikikis famous Pink Palace, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, has been selected the top luxury resort on Oahu. (Tor Johnson / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Oahu has plenty of luxury hotel choices, but for readers, the islands No. 1 is its grande dame, the Royal Hawaiian, which turned 90 last month.

Rounding out the islands top three are the Moana Surfrider and Turtle Bay Resort, located in an idyllic location along the North Shore, about an hours drive from Honolulu.

The Royal Hawaiian also gets top honors in another category: best mai tai. While the drink apparently originated in California in the 1930s, the rum-based drink is widely associated with the islands. The magazines readers prefer to sip theirs at the hotels Mai Tai Bar.

Bartenders are happy to share the recipe too:

1 oz. Bacardi rum

1 tsp. cherry vanilla puree

 oz. Amaretto di Saronno

 oz. Cointreau

1 oz. Fresh Govinda orange huice

2 oz. Fresh Govinda pineapple juice

 oz. Whalers Dark Rum Float

Mahina & Suns at the Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club in Honolulu was voted the states best new restaurant for 2017, followed by Tin Roof in Kahului, Maui, and Ai Love Nalo in Waimanalo, Oahu.

Burgeoning West Oahu is becoming an alternative to Waikiki, and the Four Seasons Resort Oahu was selected as Hawaiis best new hotel. (The property used to be a J.W. Marriott.) The top three include two other Oahu choices, Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club and the Ritz-Carlton Waikiki.

Waimea Canyon State Park, on the island of Kauai, is often called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. (Tor Johnson / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Head to Kauai for the best park: Waimea Canyon State Park. With its towering red cliffs and tumbling waterfalls, it is sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and one of the top sights in the state.

Mauis Waianapanapa State Park, just off the Hana Highway, was the runner-up in this category.

While on Kauai, head to the Kalaheo area for a taste of the states best coffee. In addition to selling its wares, Kauai Coffee offers free guided and self-guided tours of its plantation. The Kauai grower and roaster obviously gives better-known Kona brands a run for their money.

The annual Merrie Monarch Festival on the island of Hawaii. (Lehua Waipa AhNee / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Cultural celebrations around Hawaii occur almost weekly, but readers preferred the annual Merrie Monarch Festival, which will be held in Hilo from April 16 to 22. The event honors King David Kalakaua, a 19th century monarch known for his love of the arts.

For the first time, Hawaii Magazine readers ranked not only their favorite places statewide, but also island-by-island, including the less-visited Lanai and Molokai.

On Lanai, the No. 1 choice for lodging is the tantalizingly-secluded Four Seasons Resort Lanai. With an enviable oceanfront location and killer views from many rooms, its a great base on Lanai, where the lodging choices are very limited. The modest Hotel Lanai in Lanai City finished second.

The ocean-side Hotel Molokai is the only hotel on the island. (Dana Edmunds / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Choices of where to stay are even fewer on Molokai, where the charming Hotel Molokai was voted best hotel, an easy choice since its the islands only hotel.

In addition to its stunning, and often empty, beaches, Molokai is also known for what many consider a shocking piece of history, the former leper colony at Kalaupapa. Despite its lovely setting, the town was built to isolate those with leprosy (now called Hansens disease) from the world.

Visitors to Molokai ride mules up a mountainside after their visit to Kalaupapa National Historic Park. The seaside community is where lepers were once isolated from society. (Dana Edmunds / Hawaii Tourism Authority)

Now a national historical park, Kalaupapa is reached either by small plane or mule. The Kalaupapa Mule Tour, a harrowing trek down the cliff face, was voted the best land activity or adventure tour in the state.

Info: Copies of the magazine may be ordered online or by calling (800) 788-4230.

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At least 19 people have been found dead at the scene of a fire in a shelter for children near Guatemala City, the spokesman for Guatemalas volunteer fire departments said Wednesday.

Mario Cruz told the Emisoras Unidas radio station that firefighters were still extinguishing parts of the morning blaze.

He said that so far 19 bodies had been found and about two dozen people were being treated for injuries.

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The national police department said a total of 38 people had been injured. The countrys health minister said 14 were in serious condition.

Dr. Carlos Soto, director of the Roosevelt Hospital where some were being treated, said the most severe cases, all apparently girls, had suffered life-threatening burns.

The shelter had been criticized for overcrowding, alleged abuse and escapes in the past.

The prosecutor for childrens rights, Abner Paredes, said initial reports suggested the fire started when some started setting fire to mattresses in the shelter, known as the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home.

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For more than a year, 80-year-old Baquer Namazi has been imprisoned in Iran, held in solitary confinement with a worsening heart condition that has twice required hospitalization.

In another part of Tehrans Evin Prison, Namazis son, Siamak, is also behind bars, sleeping on the floor because his jailers havent given him a bed, family members say.

U.S. and Iranian officials had been negotiating a possible release of American Iranian dual nationals imprisoned in Iran  including the Namazis  until talks broke down in the final days of the Obama administration, according to family lawyers.

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Now their hopes for freedom lie with President Trump, who prides himself on being a deal-maker but has rapidly escalated tensions with the Islamic Republic.

In the six weeks since Trump took office, officials in Washington and Tehran say there has been no official contact between negotiators. Trump has slapped fresh sanctions on Iran and threatened to renegotiate the deal under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program.

Although retired Army Gen. Michael Flynn  who once described Tehran as the linchpin of a worldwide anti-U.S. alliance  resigned last month as Trumps national security advisor, there are other harsh critics of Iran among the presidents closest advisors.

Iranian officials have sought to play down tensions with the White House. But the centrist president, Hassan Rouhani, is also trying to fend off a challenge from hard-liners in May elections. In the heat of the campaign, analysts say, a speedy release of prisoners seems unlikely, provoking concern among family members in the U.S.

For Baquer Namazi, time is quickly running out, said his son, Babak.

The elder Namazi, a retired official with the United Nations Childrens Fund, traveled to Iran in February 2016 to try to negotiate the release of Siamak, who had been detained the previous October. He was arrested soon afterward.

Both were convicted at a secret trial of espionage and sentenced last October to 10 years in prison. They were among several dual citizens arrested in Iran in 2015 and 2016 in what was widely seen as a bid by the countrys shadowy security establishment to undermine Rouhanis outreach to the West.

Baquer Namazi, who relatives say previously underwent triple bypass surgery, has been held in solitary confinement and was hospitalized last month for five days. Although the reasons for his hospitalization are unclear, he has a heart arrhythmia and may need a pacemaker, his son said.

Last week, Babak Namazi met with State Department and National Security Council officials in Washington to press for a renewed effort to free his father and brother. The Namazis lawyer, Jared Genser, said the officials indicated that the release of American hostages overseas was a top priority of the administration.

Analysts, however, say there has been little sign of urgency. Key positions at the State Department  the starting point for most bilateral negotiations  remain unfilled, including the special envoy for hostage affairs, a post created in 2015.

The department declined to discuss how it is handling specific consular cases, but said in an email, We call for the immediate release of all U.S. citizens unjustly detained in Iran so they can return to their families.

In January 2016, four U.S. citizens of Iranian descent were freed in a prisoner exchange with Iran that coincided with implementation of the nuclear deal. But Siamak Namazi was not among them.

At the time, a senior Iranian official told then-Secretary of State John F. Kerry that Namazi would be freed within weeks, Genser said.

But talks dragged on, finally collapsing two days before Trump took office. Now we are starting at square one, he said.

Genser noted that Trump had set a high bar for himself in dealing with Iran. When the Namazis sentences were first reported in the closing weeks of the U.S. election campaign, Trump tweeted, This doesnt happen if Im president!

But some experts question whether Trumps blustery style will work with Iran.

The last prisoner swap negotiations took more than one year of prolonged, disciplined and secret talks, said Trita Parsi, founder of the National Iranian American Council, a Washington-based group that has advocated for better ties between the U.S. and Iran.

Thus far, the Trump administration simply has not shown the political will or the competence to pull something like this off, he said.

Although the U.S. government wont go into details, there are at least two other Iranian Americans imprisoned in Iran.

Art dealer Karan Vafadari, a New York University graduate who lives in Tehran, was detained in July along with his wife, a green-card holder, family members say.

Gholamreza Reza Shahini, a San Diego resident, was convicted in October of national security crimes and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Family members say Shahini has been on a hunger strike since Feb. 15 to protest his treatment at the Gorgan prison in northeastern Iran, where he was being beaten and harassed by prison guards. The guards blew smoke into the asthmatic mans face and threatened to put him in solitary confinement unless he agreed to be treated for malnourishment, according to his sister, Fatehmeh Shahini.

He was later transferred to a clinic inside the prison, where he continues to be monitored.

His blood pressure is so low, and he is so weak he cant walk, Fatehmeh Shahini said.

She doesnt think he is doing well mentally, either. When I spoke to him on the phone [a few weeks ago] he sounded different, she said.

Genser said he had spoken to the family of another American who is in Iranian custody but declined to provide details because the family has not gone public about the case.

The whereabouts of a sixth American, Robert Levinson, are unknown. The former FBI agent from Coral Springs, Fla., went missing in Iran in 2007.

Although Iranian hard-liners are unwilling to hand Rouhani a political victory before the May elections, experts say, the precarious health of some of the prisoners might persuade the authorities to release them as a goodwill gesture rather than hold out for a prisoner swap that could take months to negotiate.

The longer Tehran holds on to the dual citizens, the more the issue becomes a humanitarian and not a political one, Parsi said. The cost of holding on to the prisoners is greater than the cost of setting them free.

Etehad reported from Los Angeles and Bengali from Mumbai, India.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Twitter: @melissaetehad

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Twitter: @SBengali

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The smoke subsided, revealing some furtive movement behind the jumble of masonry that had once been a building in this ravaged west Mosul district. It was a man. He peeked around the rubble, paused a beat, then raced to the line of crumpled sedans a few yards away.

He turned, gestured to those behind him to follow, then vaulted himself over the hood of a car and ran toward the group of Iraqi troops stationed up the street.

Stay where you are! a soldier screamed. Stay where you are!

He ordered the man to strip to see if he was wearing a concealed explosives vest. The mans pace barely slowed as he kept moving forward, shedding his coat and shirt as he went; he was down to his pants when he reached the security forces.

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Let them come, its fine. They have nothing on them, said another Iraqi soldier.

Behind the man more desperate people appeared, and what had been a fitful trickle became a flood of terrified Mosul residents fleeing a neighborhood that had become a battleground. Such scenes play out day after day in Mosul  scenes marked by chaos and suspicion, but also tenderness and compassion.

Jumah Diwan, 70, carries a white flag and a few belongings in a bag while fleeing the fighting in Mosuls Wadi Hajar neighborhood on Saturday. (Nabih Bulos / Los Angeles Times)

The fight to drive the jihadists of Islamic State from this city is unfolding with hundreds of thousands of residents still trapped inside. Their agonizing choice: stay and hope their houses arent commandeered by the combatants (making them targets for opposing forces), or race through a war zone, where constantly shifting front lines mean that an improvised explosive device, mortar round, snipers bullet or even an airstrike could cut them down.

In the heavily contested Wadi Hajar district last week, a coalition strike on a block of buildings held by Islamic State gave residents the break in the fighting they needed to escape. Soldiers kept a nervous watch as people shuffled past lugging brightly colored suitcases  an incongruous image against the muddy streets and burned-out vehicles.

The people had questions, so many questions:

Is it safe here?

Please, we cant go on, are there any vehicles to take us?

Is this the right direction?

But mostly they voiced the laments of those who had lost so much so quickly. One woman, her voice strangled with grief, repeatedly screamed that her children were gone. Another insisted, I cant breathe, before soldiers and family members rushed to steady her. One man groaned as he pointed to a blood-stained cloth on his side that stanched a wound.

A few streets away, Staff Lt. Col. Ali Husseini, the commander of a regiment with Iraqs elite Counter-Terrorism Service, barked at an officer to move away from a gaggle of families.

Dont trust them. Daesh plans and thinks more than we do  you have to always consider they can use anyone to kill you, he said, employing the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

Ive fought in Mosul from 2004 to 2010, then from 2012 to 2014, and here we are again. Ive learned enough about the people here, and I dont trust them, Husseini said.

Some residents appeared stoic in the face of the carnage.

Driving through Wadi Hajar, one Humvee stopped before a young man mopping the pavement in front of his house. Staff Maj. Ammar Ubaidi, also of the Counter-Terrorism Service, cracked open the double-shielded window of the vehicle.

What are you doing? he asked the man, who responded with a laconic, Im cleaning.

Youre cleaning? Go inside, man. Theyre throwing mortars. One of them might get you.

Children are among those fleeing fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State in Mosul. (Nabih Bulos / Los Angeles Times)

On another street in the adjacent Ghazlani district, Samim Sami, a 59-year-old former employee at the University of Mosul, watched the soldiers from the doorstep of his elegant house.

Where else would I go? Im going to stay here and make sure everything is all right, he said, laughing as he explained that he had stood under the doors frame for protection. Its only my son and I here. My daughter, thank God, left earlier and is now in Baghdad.

Other residents, one wearing a knee-length purple robe, came out to talk to Ubaidi, who greeted them and told them to stay inside.

Two blocks down, Ubaidi escorted an exhausted family to safety, leading them through a maze of armored vehicles and Humvees.

Stay close to the wall. Theres a sniper here, Ubaidi warned. The children whimpered in response.

They finally arrived at a large pickup truck that would take them to an abandoned sugar factory, a safer location until they could reach a muster point a few miles out of Mosul.

Although Ghazlani was relatively far away from the front lines, the soldiers remained tense as they watched families cram in the trucks bed, straining to fit themselves and their belongings beside an anti-aircraft gun.

Earlier, an Islamic State drone was spotted above, its arrival heralded with a gunfire volley so unremitting that it sounded like an extended snare drum roll. It was a surveillance drone equipped with a video camera on a reconnaissance mission, several soldiers said, the prelude to a barrage of Islamic State mortar fire.

They were soon proved right.

Minutes after the pickup loaded with civilians had driven away and an officer, Federal Police Commissioner Mohammad Flayeh, began to talk to a visiting reporter, he was interrupted by a high-pitched whine. He wrenched the reporter by the shirt toward the open door of a house.

But nothing came.

They missed us. It must have landed farther away, he said.

He turned to walk out of the house and took just two steps onto the patio when a mortar shell slammed into the balcony by the entrance. A shower of cinder blocks fell on Flayeh and two of his subordinates.

They dragged themselves back to the house, groaning from bruises and covered in dust. They lingered for a moment, checked to see if the sky was clear and went out again.

It would be hours before the families would reach the muster point set up a few miles south of the city on the Baghdad-Mosul highway. Even there, away from the danger, their suffering had still not ended.

Iraqis call Mosul the City of Two Springs because its fall season is as temperate as its springtime. But on Saturday, it was cold and bleak, the rain turning the side of the road where volunteers had set up an ersatz soup kitchen into mud pits.

Many had been unable to pack necessary clothing before they made their escape. Their bare feet now sank in the mud. It splattered all the way up to their shoulders, staining their clothes a grayish-brown. They congregated near a wood fire, huddling together for warmth.

Some drivers, meanwhile, drove their cars up the highway to pick up other families and drop them off at the mustering point. One lady shivered as she stepped into the warm cab of a van. In her arms, swathed in a red and white Kuffiyah, was her week-old daughter, Rahmah.

The lady devoured the first candy bar she was given, then a second. She eyed a third.

Its been months since we had anything like this, she said, a tiny smile appearing on her face.

Bulos is a special correspondent.

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Gunmen wearing white coats to disguise themselves as health workers stormed the main military hospital in Kabul on Wednesday, opening fire in patient wards and killing more than 30 people, officials said.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance while three attackers burst inside Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan military hospital and raced to the second and third floors.



For the record: An earlier version of this story spelled the NATO commanders name Gen. John Nicolson. The correct spelling is Nicholson.

Afghan commandos fatally shot one attacker but two others crouched under stairs and fired back in a gun battle that lasted hours before they, too, were killed.

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Islamic State claimed responsibility for the brazen assault, the latest in a series of deadly attacks that have displayed the militant organizations ability to strike political and military targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Dawlat Waziri, a defense ministry spokesman, said that more than 30 people had been killed and dozens wounded.

The attack was met with condemnation across the world, from the State Department to human rights organizations and the Afghan presidential palace. Targeting medical facilities is a war crime under international law.

Hamidullah Mohib, Afghanistans ambassador to Washington, called the attack an abhorrent new low.

Dressing in disguise to shoot at the sick and wounded is a cowardly, wicked act, Mohib said in a statement. These are forces of evil the world must work together to defeat.

Even as the group is under pressure in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State loyalists in South Asia are fast becoming the deadliest militant force in the region. Last month the group claimed responsibility for a blast that killed more than 70 people at a Sufi shrine in Pakistan, while Afghan officials blamed the group for killing six Red Cross workers and kidnapping two others, who remain unaccounted for.

Todays attack on the Kabul national military hospital is an unspeakable crime, Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr., commander of U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

The U.S. military last year increased its use of airstrikes in parts of eastern Afghanistan that were Islamic State hotbeds, but the militant group has proven its resilience. Security experts and Afghan officials say the group includes a high number of militants from neighboring Pakistan.

The Sunni Muslim militant group has attacked a wide array of targets, including civilians, religious minorities, human rights workers and government facilities.

Named for a former Afghan prime minister, the 400-bed military hospital in Kabuls diplomatic quarter treats military casualties from across the country. In 2011, a Taliban suicide bombing at the hospital killed six people and wounded more than two dozen.

On Wednesday, hospital staff member Abdul Qadir was changing into scrubs before a busy shift that was to include about seven surgeries. He was about to enter the operating theater when the attack began.

I heard gunshots and a guy with a gun wearing a white uniform fired at me, he said.

He saw a co-worker shot dead and watched the attacker enter a patient room and begin shooting, he said.

In a statement, Islamic States Amaq news agency called the assailants inghemasiyoun, an Arabic term meaning those who immerse themselves, a phrase the group has previously used in Iraq and Syria to describe members of a special unit whose members are trained to fight to the death.

It was believed to be the first time the group has used the term to describe fighters in Afghanistan or Pakistan, perhaps indicating the regional affiliates increasing sophistication.

Special correspondent Faizy reported from Kabul and staff writer Bengali from Yangon, Myanmar.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia

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1:50 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with staff reporting.

7:05 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the attack, counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan and quotes from officials and residents.

This article was originally published at 4:35 a.m.
The public corruption scandal that has rocked South Koreas democracy in recent months got a step closer to resolution on Wednesday as a court confirmed its plans to announce the fate of the countrys impeached president later this week.

The decision on whether to remove suspended President Park Geun-hye from office amid bribery allegations involving the countrys top conglomerate, Samsung Group, is expected Friday morning.

Its definitely an exciting time, said Joung Hwang, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Law School who has followed the case closely. When the announcement will be made on live TV, I think virtually every Korean will be glued to the screen. Its highly anticipated.

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The process to determine Parks future began not long after the National Assembly, prompted in part by public outcry over the presidents decisions, impeached the embattled leader in December.

Park, 65, South Koreas first female president, has been in power since 2013  a tenure marked by controversy and what her critics say was ineffectual leadership and an autocratic style. Park has repeatedly apologized to the public and said she never acted outside the countrys national interest.

I apologize for hurting the peoples hearts with my carelessness in supervising my associates  South Korea President Park Geun-hye

I apologize for hurting the peoples hearts with my carelessness in supervising my associates, she wrote in a statement last month to the court weighing whether to remove her from office.

The allegations against her and others atop the nations government and corporate systems have prompted widespread anger among the South Korean public. Thats led to massive but peaceful street rallies in recent months reminiscent of protests that led to the countrys democratization in the 1980s.

Millions of South Koreans  including families toting their young children  have attended the rallies across the country, calling for Parks ouster. The rallies in Seoul have been the largest, with some stretching more than a mile.

South Koreans shout slogans and hold banners reading Park Geun-hye Detention during a March 4 rally against President Park Geun-Hye in Seoul. (JUNG UI-CHEL / EPA)

Park was elected in 2012 and her downfall was swift after revelations last fall that a longtime confidant with no government title, Choi Soon-sil, gained access to sensitive government documents, including the presidents speeches.

Later came allegations that Choi, the daughter of a deceased cult leader who has been jailed in a sprawling corruption investigation, also used her close relationship with Park to extort millions of dollars from the countrys largest family-owned conglomerates, known as chaebol.

For months the judges on the nations constitutional court, which has final jurisdiction in impeachment cases, have held public hearings to weigh the myriad allegations in the impeachment case  both political and criminal.

Parks removal, which opinion surveys show the public supports, would prompt a new presidential election within two months. The countrys prime minister, Hwang Kyo-ahn, would remain, as he is now, the interim president.

If the judges were to reject the impeachment, a regular election is scheduled to replace the term-limited Park in December, and she could remain in office until February of 2018. Several candidates, including Parks opponent in the close 2012 presidential election, are preparing campaigns to succeed the embattled leader  either way.

Most everyone, it seems, has followed the scandal, and they appear eager for an outcome.

They are all waiting, very intensely, to find out how the court is going to decide, James Kim, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said of the public. My sons friends, when they were over for his birthday in February  they are 10-year-olds, and they were talking about this.

The three-month investigation ended this month, with prosecutors accusing Park of bribery. They allege she pressured payments of about $37 million to Choi-controlled firms from Samsung Group in exchange for help pushing through approval of a controversial merger between two of the tech giants affiliates.

The merger was seen as an effort to solidify third-generation dynastic control for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, grandson of Lee Byung-chul, who founded the company in 1938.

The prosecutors alleged in their final report that the president  who, for now, has immunity from criminal charges  personally instructed the National Pension Service to vote for the controversial merger at a 2015 shareholders meeting.

The core subject of this teams investigation has been the abuse of power to monopolize state affairs for personal interest and the collusive links between business and politics, said Park Young-soo, who led the investigation.

Authorities received approval to arrest Lee Jae-yong, 48, last month on charges of bribery, perjury, embezzlement, concealing gains from a criminal act and improperly diverting funds overseas. Lee Jae-yong  one of the countrys most powerful men who is reportedly worth about $6 billion  is considered heir apparent to lead Samsung.

He remains in jail, a fate his father, former Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee  himself convicted of corporate malfeasance years ago  never endured.

Samsung has denied the allegations, saying the company looks forward to the facts being settled at trial.

As a result of the investigation, dozens of other people  including several associated with Park and her government  have been implicated in wrongdoing.

The prosecutors also alleged that the president helped create a blacklist of thousands of South Korean cultural figures who were seen as critical of her administration. They alleged the presidents former culture minister, Cho Yoon-sun, and her onetime chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon, joined in the effort, which prompted a recent lawsuit against the president and others allegedly involved by hundreds of artists.

The president has declined to speak with prosecutors, unlike others involved in the investigation. She could face criminal charges upon leaving office, and her lawyer this week called the investigation unfair and politically motivated.

The courts looming decision on Park has sparked some speculation that the president, in an effort to preserve her legacy and avoid an impeachment verdict, might resign beforehand.

There are different stories going around, with some people saying shes going to resign, said Kim, the Asan researcher. Theres a whole new set of drama that could come after the announcement.

Stiles is a special correspondent.

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She is facing a potential sentence of 83 years in prison. The crime, some would say, is belonging to the political opposition that is under siege by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Figen Yuksekdag, co-chair of the countrys leading pro-Kurdish political party, is among the most prominent targets of a massive legal assault on Turkeys Kurdish opposition in the run-up to a vote on a constitutional amendment that could grant Erdogan sweeping powers.

Figen Yuksekdag in 2015. (Burhan Ozbilici / Associated Press)

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The government has already stripped her of her seat in parliament for allegedly supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). She stands accused in scores of other terrorism-related cases  as does her co-leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, who has been sentenced to five months in prison for insulting the Turkish nation.

Among Yuksekdags alleged crimes: delivering a speech in 2015 that lent support to Kurdish militias battling Islamic State in Syria, and attending the funeral of a suspected leftist militant in 2012.

Using emergency powers in place since last July, Turkey has jailed 13 HDP lawmakers and more than 5,000 of the partys workers over alleged terror links. In the Kurdish southeast, where the HDP enjoys an electoral majority, more than 80 locally elected district governments have been replaced by federally appointed caretakers, their former heads imprisoned.

In addition, dozens of news outlets have been shuttered, scores of journalists arrested, and art exhibits and cultural festivals have been banned for allegedly supporting the PKK.

The crackdown has gutted what was once touted as a political bloc that could help end the PKKs four-decades-long insurgency, which has claimed 40,000 lives.

The government is totally turning everything upside down, said Ahmet Yildiz, an author of several books on Turkeys Kurdish political movement and a researcher at the Istanbul-based Al Sharq Forum. Some [of those accused] have affiliations with the PKK, but not all of them . It all depends on how you define terror, and the government is using a political definition of terror.

Up to 20% of Turkey is ethnically Kurdish, but the minority has long been subject to restrictions on cultural expression, stoking tensions that gave birth to a leftist separatist insurgency by the PKK in 1984, led by the now imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Erdogans government enacted significant reforms, and the PKK agreed to a cease-fire in 2013. But the truce unraveled in 2015 after Turkey refused to militarily intervene in Syria on behalf of Kurdish militias who saw Ocalan as a figurehead and sought to carve out a separate state.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech on March 7, 2017, in the capital, Ankara. (Adem Altan / AFP/Getty Images)

Erdogan views the Kurdish militias in Syria to be extensions of the PKK, which both Turkey and the United States consider a terrorist organization. In her 2015 speech, Yuksekdag said that while the government believed her party was leaning on a terrorist organization, she saw no harm in supporting the militias, which have been the most effective foes of Islamic State in Syria.

She has defended her attendance at the 2012 funeral as an attempt to acknowledge the grief of mothers in her constituency. Her supporters have pointed to a 2009 speech in which Erdogan ignited hope of a political solution to the PKK insurgency by speaking of the pain of mothers who lose their children. Mothers have no ideology. Mothers have no politics, they are not rightists or leftists, he said.

At the time he made those remarks, Erdogan had enlisted Kurdish opposition figures as mediators with the PKKs head, Ocalan.

One such mediator was Ahmet Turk, a veteran Kurdish politician currently with the Democratic Regions Party who has lived through nearly three decades of what amounts to a revolving door between parliament and prison. He now doubts Erdogan ever sincerely wanted peace.

Not Erdogan, not any of the governments internalized the Kurds identity problems, or their requests for education in their mother tongue, said Turk, currently deposed from his job as mayor of Mardin and facing terror charges for alleged involvement in a regional Kurdish confederation inspired by Ocalan.

The accusations, Turk said, are aimed at trying to make the Kurdish political movement fail. They are political decisions . The government is nitpicking, they have no solid evidence.

The case against Turk is centered on wiretapped phone recordings and a secret witness, the same kind of evidence used against Kurdish leaders under previous military-dominated governments that have banned five pro-Kurdish parties in the nations history over alleged ties to terrorism.

Even Kurds who have usually been allies of Erdogans Islamist movement find themselves in the snare.

One of Erdogans most regularly touted political achievements is the lifting of a ban on women wearing headscarves. Huda Kaya, an HDP lawmaker who once faced the death penalty for protesting the ban, now finds herself being accused of terrorism for a speech that sought to bring attention to alleged abuses by the military in the southeastern district of Diyarbakir.

When reports emerged of civilians dying as a result of a months-long curfew imposed as the military battled PKK militants, Kaya traveled to the area and gave a speech saying, We are witnesses to the massacres here. We know very well who killed whom.

Prosecutors are seeking to jail Kaya for up to 25 years for the statement, which they say glamorized the PKKs narrative.

There were dead bodies in the streets, left alone to rot because of a curfew, Kaya said. Neither in humanity nor in Islam is there any place for that kind of barbarity. I only went there to call for peace, and now I face accusations of being a terrorist.

Farooq is a special correspondent.

ALSO

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The teachers are unpaid and danger is ever present, but Mosuls schools are reopening
By Victoria Bryan

BERLIN (Reuters) - Qatar Airways will not take delivery of any Airbus A320neo aircraft this year as it looks to change its order to larger A321neos, Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said on Wednesday.

The Gulf carrier has refused to take delivery of Airbus A320neos since December 2015, initially after performance issues with the aircraft's new engines.

"I have to scream at Airbus to get my planes faster. I am nearly eight destinations behind schedule because of delays in aircraft deliveries. I hope this will be resolved during this year," Al Baker told reporters at the ITB travel fair in Berlin.

Qatar Airways is around 10 aircraft short on deliveries from Airbus at present, including A320neos and wide body A350s, he said.

The Gulf carrier wants to change its order for 50 A320neo family jets, which includes A319, A320 and A321 versions, to take only the larger A321neos, which would likely be powered by CFM engines.

Asked to comment, an Airbus spokesman said, "We are working with our customers to deliver aircraft to their full satisfaction."

Al Baker said that unlike rivals, Qatar Airways was not reducing capacity growth or delaying plane orders, saying Qatar Airways had always been "prudent" in how it deploys capacity.

Rival Gulf carrier Emirates said in January it was undertaking a "modest restructuring," a month after Airbus said it had reached an agreement with the airline to postpone deliveries of 12 A380 planes over two years.

Seeking to extend its reach Qatar Airways has been buying stakes in other airlines, and Al Baker said India was next on Qatar's list, once it has finalised a deal with Italian carrier Meridiana.

Al Baker said he wanted to set up a full service Indian carrier to fly domestic routes with around 100 narrowbody planes, now that the country had opened up the airline industry to foreign investors.

Under current rules foreign airlines are still restricted to holding a maximum stake of 49 percent in Indian carriers, but other foreign investors may own up to 100 percent.

Story continues

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund QIA could own the carrier, and Qatar Airways would then take a stake, Al Baker said.

"We work in partnership. They may use us to run the airline," he said.

Qatar Airways has previously talked of investing in Indigo, but missed out on taking a stake in its IPO.

Al Baker said taking a stake in an existing carrier was off the table now, but that Qatar Airways was talking to two Indian carriers to code share with them.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan in Berlin; writing by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; editing by Mark Potter, Greg Mahlich)
All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced.  19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc.
Judicial officials in Peru have called for an investigation into whether an investment fund linked to President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski received illicit payments from the Brazilian builder
Out of the four biggest U.S. carriers, three - AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint - have already pushed the Android 7.0 Nougat update into their versions of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. However, right now, Verizon is also sending out this long-awaited OS upgrade to its variants of Samsung's flagship phone.

According to Android Police, this official update to the Android 7.0 also follows the Galaxy Beta Program, which allows select customers to test the Nougat on their phones. While Verizon was initially part of this program, it dropped out after just a month.

This has left customers with the option to either stay in the 7.0 beta or roll back to the previous Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. A month after that, the Galaxy Beta Program wrapped up, making Verizon customers no really missing out on much.

Verizon's Android updates for the Samsung S7 and S7 Edge are pretty much similar to other big-name carriers. According to a report from Sam Mobile, the update doesn't specifically say which security patch does the update bring but just given how all other U.S. carrier updates have included the February 1st, 2017 patch, it is safe to say that Verizon has included it as well.

There is the same, yet revised and more refined UI, the same multi-window change, and etc. Probably the one thing that Verizon has done is ditching its go90 app, which was a decision that many people don't think will be much of an issue moving forward.

All the consumers who happen to have a Verizon-branded Samsung S7 or S7 edge may want to check for the latest Android 7.0 updates now. Verizon also knows that the U.S. unlocked Galaxy S7 series still hasn't received Nougat just yet, but the carrier company will let you know when Samsung has finally decided to push that into place.
NASA has hosted the "planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop", earlier this week at their headquarters in Washington DC. The purpose of this workshop was to present NASA's plans for the future of space exploration to the international community.

According to PHYS, NASA's plan for the exploration of Jupiter's moons Europa and other icy moons. In future, NASA hopes to send probes to this moon to investigate the ocean that lies beneath their surface. NASA scientists believe that with the missions to the ocean world the existence of life beyond Earth will look bright.

The first mission that took place on the morning of Monday with the titled "Exploration pathways for Europa after initial In-Situ Analyses for Biosignatures". In the course of the presentation, Kevin Peter Hand, the Deputy Chief Scientist has shared the information by the 2016 Europa Lander Science Definition Team.

Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop has reported that the plan of the mission would involve searching biosignatures and signs of life through analyses of Europa's surface and near-subsurface material. The second purpose would be to conduct analyses the characteristic the composition of the non-ice-near-subsurface material. The third would be to determine the proximity of liquid water and erupted material near the Lander's location.

NASA scientists have stated that if the Lander mission detected signs of life within Europa's ice sheet, beneath by resurfacing events, the future mission most likely involving robotics submarines. Scientists hope that any finds that are indicative of life would mean that planetary protection would be a major requirement for any future mission.

The proposed mission would require the development of power sources and energy storage systems that would be suitable for cryogenic environments. Beside this planetary protection technology would be necessary to prevent contamination, and electronic or mechanical systems, reported by NASA.

However, if all goes well, the exploration missions to Europa and other icy moons are allowed to give forward the result could be immeasurable. At the same time, the possibility of life beyond Earth would be bright.


Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. RRGB plans to open a new Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brew restaurant at Albuquerque, NM on Mar 20, 2017. The outlet will be located at 2100 Louisiana Blvd. NE, Bldg. 217, in the Winrock Town Center.



Apart from signature items like Royal Red Robin Burger, Bottomless Steak Fries, Smoke & Pepper Burger and the Red's Tavern Double, the menu will also feature Freckled Lemonade. Moreover, the restaurant will serve D.G.B., Black & Bleu burger, The Marco Pollo, the Southern Charm Burger, along with a variety of salads, entrees, soups and wraps.



Currently, there are more than 550 Red Robin restaurants across the U.S. and Canada. However, the company loses out in terms of widespread international presence. While other restaurateurs like Yum! Brands, Inc. YUM, McDonalds Corporation MCD and Papa Johns International, Inc. PZZA are following aggressive global expansion policies, Red Robin seems to be lagging on this front.



Last month, the company reported mixed fourth-quarter 2016 earnings numbers, wherein the bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but the top line lagged the same. Company-owned restaurants comps declined 4.3% year over year, driven by a decline in both traffic and average guest check.



Shares of the company have recorded a decline of 26.5% in the last one year, significantly underperforming the Zacks categorized Retail-Restaurants industrys dip of 2.6% in the same time frame. This underperformance is a testimony to the challenging sales environment in the restaurants space which the company expects to continue affecting business in the first-half 2017. Thus, the company has lowered pace of unit expansion. In 2016, it impaired two Red Robin Gourmet Burger locations and anticipates closing down nine more in 2017.





Resultantly, estimates for Red Robins earnings have also been witnessing a downtrend, mirroring analysts pessimism in the stocks prospects. Current quarter and current year estimates have moved south over 59% and 14% respectively, in the last two months.



However, going forward we expect the companys initiatives such as menu innovation, focus on increasing speed of service, effective marketing strategies and remodeling programs to somewhat aid both top-line and bottom-line performance.



The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).



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Mar 8, 2017, 4:25pm ET

EPA wants to know if its emissions tests are easy to cheat

The agency\'s Office of Inspector General has outlined a broad audit of existing test and certification procedures.

The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to audit its own emissions testing programs to uncover potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by automakers.

The agency's Office of Inspector General has published a memo outlining the internal inquiry, which aims to "determine whether the EPA's existing internal controls are effective at detecting and preventing light-, medium-, and heavy-duty on-road vehicle emissions fraud."

The OIG expects to focus on the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory and other divisions directly involved in testing and certifying new cars for emissions compliance.

"The anticipated benefit of this project is to provide information to the public regarding the effectiveness of the EPA's existing internal controls for its on-road vehicle emissions testing program," the memo adds.

The notice did not name Volkswagen, but the inquiry undoubtedly intends to explain how Volkswagen allegedly implemented several generations of 'defeat' devices for seven years before regulators caught on. Notably, the cheat was discovered not by the EPA but rather a group of West Virginia University researchers funded by an International Council on Clean Transportation grant.

The agency appeared to take a more proactive approach in its ongoing dispute with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Again, however, the notice of violation was filed after signs of trouble had been reported elsewhere.

The EPA's Inspector General has not disclosed an expected time frame for completing the audit.
Mar 8, 2017, 8:30am ET

Marchionne courts VW; Mueller says 'we've got other problems'

Marchionne has turned his attention to Germany after being rejected by FCA\'s top merger candidate, General Motors.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief executive Sergio Marchionne has turned his attention to Germany after failing to engage General Motors in merger talks.

Marchionne recently predicted that PSA Group's purchase of General Motors' Opel division will naturally arouse Volkswagen's interest in a possible tie-up with FCA, as the bigger Opel-PSA entity "threatens VW most" by "creating a number-two on its heels," according to Bloomberg quotes from Geneva.

VW CEO Matthias Mueller has flatly dismissed the proposition, telling Reuters "we have other problems." The executive says he hasn't seen Marchionne "for months" and VW is "not ready for talks about anything."

Notably, VW is still working to put the diesel emissions scandal in its rearview mirror as FCA has become embroiled in a similar situation. The latter automaker recently warned investors that it could be on the hook for up to $4.6 billion in penalties if its dispute with the EPA and California Air Resources Board ends unfavorably.

Marchionne spent several years trying to convince GM and Wall Street that a merger would be beneficial for both companies, potentially saving around $6 billion in overlap costs annually. Critics argue that such numbers are more difficult to achieve in practice, however.
Celebrity solicitor Gerald Kean has offered 10,000 to kickstart a training Centre of Excellence for Laois Down Syndrome, if someone donates a site to build it.

Kean was special guest for the 11th year at the Killenard Charity Gala Ball recently, this year held in aid of the Laois branch of Down Syndrome Ireland.

After hearing of their dream to build an employment training centre for members, he immediately offered to give 10,000 if someone offered a site.

An offer was made within minutes of his pledge, Mr Kean afterwards revealed to the Leinster Express.

"It happened on the night, we did it on the night," said Mr Kean, who has supported a similar 'Field of Dreams' Centre to get up and running in his native Cork.

"I'm very keen on seeing it take off, it's going to take off. Anywhere I can help I will," he promised.

However the Laois branch now says it had to regretfully turn down that site.

"We had a very kind offer, but unfortunately it was in an unsuitable location, close to Kyletalesha landfill, so we had to turn it down. We are still looking for a donation of a site," PRO Mick Gorman has explained.

The site needs to be at least 2 acres he said, on green fields that can be developed.

The vision is of a centre offering employment training to adults with Down Syndrome in Laois, including organic horticulture and a pottery, with on-site shops sell their produce, all operated by them. Members could upskill and then work at the centre or out in the community, for a genuine wage.

The centre is vital.

"Our branch has hugely invested in early intervention for children with Down Syndrome, but we find that older people need support throughout life. Over time emotional issues can manifest, often because they have no meaningful employment for a decent wage, no reason to get out of bed," he said.

"Gerald Kean's offer has really added impetus," Mr Gorman added.
A 28-year-old Cork man has been found not guilty of slashing a fellow prisoner across the face at Portlaoise Prison.

Scott Morrissey (28), with an address listed at Cranford Pines, Ballincollig, Cork, was charged at Portlaoise Circuit Court with assault causing harm, at Portlaoise Prison on March 30, 2014. Mr Morrissey pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The alleged injured party, Mr Ray McInerney (41), from Limerick City, gave evidence that he was washing his face in his cell when the accused lunged at me with a blade, cutting him on the righthand side of the face.

Mr McInerney said that the accused then ran from the cell.

He said he was in shock after the incident, and there was a lot of blood.

A medical report on Mr McInerney read into the record by State prosecutor, Mr Will Fennelly, outlined that Mr McInerney had a laceration wound on his right cheek, running from his right ear down to the angle of his mouth.

The wound had to be sutured and bleeding-controlled. Mr McInerney received 22 stitches.

The court heard that the two men had been cellmates for two to three weeks before this, but Mr McInerney was moved a few days before the alleged assault.

Defence for the accused, Ms Geraldine Fitzpatrick said that Mr Morrissey had requested that Mr McInerney be moved, as Mr McInerney was suicidal.

Mr McInerney confirmed that he had spent a night in segregation due to suicidal urges.

However, he told the court that it was he, Mr McInerney, who had asked to be moved from the cell.

The witness informed the court that he had been washing his face before the accused came in, and then going over his face with a razor.

After further questioning, he said it could have been a razor he had in his hand when he wentto get assistance after the alleged assault.

If youre trying to imply it, I didnt cut myself, unless I used a machete, said the witness.

Evidence was also given by Garda Kenneth Allen, who interviewed the accused after arrest. In interview, Mr Morrissey said: I assaulted nobody.

The accused said he went to Mr McInerneys cell to relieve the tension between them after Mr McInerney had been moved.

He came at me with a razor so I pushed him away, said Mr Morrissey.

The accused told the gardai that Mr McInerney had been self-confessed suicidal and he, the accused, had been finding it hard to sleep when sharing a cell.

All of the States evidence was heard in one day and defence did not go into evidence. The jury deliberated for a number of hours the following day, at one point asking to see CCTV footage again.

The jury found the accused not guilty.
Judges had the difficult job of choosing winners out of 32 clever and socially aware business ideas at the county final of the Student Enterprise Awards, in the Heritage Hotel Portlaoise.

A product that could have far reaching beneficial effects for people with Dementia or Autism, has been awarded first prize in the Laois final of the 2017 Student Enterprise Awards, held in the Heritage Hotel Portlaoise on Wednesday March 8.

There were 32 businesses from seven Laois schools at the busy day, with enthusiastic and driven students explaining their business ideas to the independent judges, and mingling to view each others' work.

From chocolates to anti-bullying packs, to printed hoodies and shopping loyalty cards, the standard and variety was high, but coming out on top for the judges were the four girls from Heywood CS behind 'SenseAbility' producing a sensory blanket that is already in big demand in the marketplace.

"The biggest problem now isn't getting in orders, it's keeping up with production," beamed Ruth Bergin, speaking after the group accepted their award.

"The standard is so high, I'm glad we qualified, I don't even care about winning, it's the satisfaction of knowing we've helped people. Everyone has been so supportive," said Ellen McWey, thanking their teachers, the mentors from Laois LEO, Dragons Den's Alison Cowzer, and past winner Mark Dunne, for all their support.

With Arianna Mezzapelle and Megan Walsh, they impressed the judges as well as their fellow students and teachers at the exhibition day, with their product, their professional manner, and the thought behind it.

Announcing the award, co-ordinator for Laois Enterprise Board Sean Ryan, said it was chosen out of 70 projects across seven Laois schools, because of the work put in by the girls, the product they have created, and its potential.

The girls' teacher Paul Broderick said the project "blew me away".

"They are the most caring bunch I've ever come across, for people that age to recognise a need like that. From September they have been driving this forward, I've just been facilitating them. They put their everything into it, I'm glad they've got their award," he said.

The girls will now represent Laois at the National Student Enterprise Awards in Croke Park on May 3.

Second prize was awarded to Lockers Logic, from Mountrath Community School. Third went to HRM Model Farms, from St Fergal's Rathdowney. The Most Innovative Award went to Iomha, from St Mary's CBS. The Best Display Stand was awarded to Dressing Room One also from CBS, and the Most Promising Concept prize went to Smartsock, from Mountrath Community School.

Laois LEO is one of 31 across Ireland who hold the county finals.

"The quality is super this year," said Mr Ryan.

See next week's Leinster Express for full report and photographs.
Health management has refused to make public the plan for Portlaoise hospital because it says doing so would have a 'significant adverse outcome' on itself and would not be good for the people of Laois, Offaly, Kildare and Dublin.

The Health Service Executive and its Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has denied Laois Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley access to the plan for the hospital under the Freedom of Information Act.

Refusing access that HSE/DMHG in Tullamaore fell back on three sections of the act. The first reason for refusal was that the records requested contained matters relating to the deliberative process of an FoI body (HSE) including opinions, advice, recommendations, and the results of consultations, considered by the body.

The plan was also kept under wraps because it was deemed that releasing it could "reasonably be expected to have a significant, adverse effect on the performance by an FoI body (HSE) of any of its functions relating to management (including industrial relations and management of the staff)."

It also refused to give access because, in the opinion of the head of the body (HSE/DMHG), the record could "reasonably be expected to disclose positions taken or to be taken, or plans, procedures, criteria or instructions used or followed for the purpose of any negotiations carried out, or to be, carried on on or behalf of the Government or an an FoI body".

The HSE also refused access because the plan is currently under consideration by the Department of Health. It was decided that release of the information "may not be in the best interests of the patients who avail of acute services in the region covered by Dublin Midlands Hospital Group".

The hospital group includes hospitals in Portlaoise, Tullamore, Naas, and Dublin (The Coombe, St James, Tallaght and Rathgar).

Deputy Stanley was told that the arguments for release were that the public had a right of access to information and that it was in the public interest that bodies such as the HSE be 'open and accountable'.

However, the two summary reasons were given against release. Namely, that it was in the public interest to permit 'normal managment' by the DMHG and HSE until the process is complete. Secondly that it was in the 'broader community interest' to allow the DMHG to manage staff and services 'effectively' with the aim of providing service delivery for patients.

In refusing access, health management has stuck to a rigid stance in not allowing the public and health staff a say in what happens to Portlaoise hospital. Doctors have requested and been refused access to the plan while the public and politicians have been told by the HSE that they will only be consulted on its implementation. There has been no process of consultation with the public.

Only officials at the Department of Health, HSE, unnamed clinical experts and various health groups have been consulted.

Reacting to the refusal Dep Brian Stanley said the plan was to be released in September 2015.

The delay is not acceptable given the need to urgently set out the way forward for Portlaoise. I have tried over the past 18 months to get it released. The reasons given for the refusal of my FOI request are bogus," he said.

The TD Said the HSE work is completed on this long ago. He said the Department of Health have had their deliberations on it.

If the HSE and Government think they can present a fait accompli behind closed doors that has at the centre of it the closure of 24 hour A&E, they are wrong. This plan to reduce services will never be acceptable.

If they try to proceed with it there will be casualties, but they will be political ones," he said

Leaks from the report say that he HSE and the DMHG favour a major downgrade over investment in the hospital. The Minister for Health Simon Harris as the final say as downgrade is a policy decision.
A contaminated water supply in Portlaoise has revealed the maze that householders and Irish Water face in sorting out problems with water supplies.

Over the past three weeks a mystery substance begin to appear in the water supply of Karl and Katie Meehan's home in Portlaoise.

The family live in the heart of Portlaoise on Peppers Lane. Water meters have been installed. The family live in the upstairs parts of a large three bed terrace.

The problem grew to a point where a congealed amber substance began clogging up their household appliances.

Their mains water supply was contaminated with what were tiny beads that had a slight amber brownish hue.

The family could not drink their water, use their washing machine or other matters.

Mr Meehan said he tried to convince Irish Water and its agent Laois County Council to take action.

When contacted by the Leinster Express, Irish Water's initial response was that it was a private matter as the substance came from an uncleared water filter. Mr Meehan said there is no such filter in his house and his plumber could not locate the source.

In reply, Irish Water confirmed that the beads are not used in any of its water treatment processes.

They are however used in many private water softeners or private water filter systems in homes and businesses that are on a water supply that is considered hard, it said.

The company admitted that while meters were installed, supplies could be shared.

We note that the property referred to is a private residence that is located above a business.

At the time that properties such as those at Pepper Lane and Main Street in Portlaoise were built, they often were built to have shared or connected water supplies.

This can result in a private home sharing the supply with a property that it is either above, below or beside them and, as a result, the source of the beads entering the water supply at the property could be from any of the properties around it, it said.

Irish Water advises that the source of the beads are not from any treatment carried out by Irish Water and is not an issue that has occurred on the public network and is a private matter.

Mr Meehan said the problem began to clear on Saturday after after the Leinster Express reported on the problem on its website last week.

Even though Irish Water installed a meter at their home, Karl and Katie Meehan say they receive two bills from Irish Water- one goes to Peppers Lane and one for 94/95 Main Street. The bills were also sent to Frankie Meehan, Karl's father who died five years ago.
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Failte Ireland today launched Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Parks brand new exhibits as part of the Ireland Ancient East experience.

Today officially marked the completion of the latest improvement works at the park.

The project was grant aided by almost 30,000 from Failte Irelands New Ideas in Ancient Spaces scheme  a capital investment initiative focused on the development of compelling visitor experiences throughout the Irelands Ancient East region.

The County Kildare attraction promises to transport visitors back in time, as they are guided through the sites story via the heritage interpreters.

The improvements included the development of a multi-lingual audio device along with a costumed guided tour.

Funding was also provided to upgrade the website of this unique attraction, which is the only destination in Ireland offering a comprehensive experience of the peatlands and the history and culture of the rural communities that lived there through the ages.

Jenny De Saulles, Head of Irelands Ancient East with Failte Ireland said: These works will improve how visitors will interact with the Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park and bring the Irelands Ancient East story alive locally. The real stories from the past  as told by the guides  will give the attraction a new and engaging dimension. This project truly sums up what we are trying to do with Irelands Ancient East.

Jonathan Judge, Lullymore Heritage & Discovery Park, said: We view Irelands Ancient East as a great opportunity to showcase the unique history of Lullymore and the beauty of the wild peatlands that surround it to both the domestic and international markets.

The ancient story of how the bogs here protected the people living on the fertile island of Lullymore is truly fascinating and uniquely Irish. I would like to thank Jenny De Saulles and all of the Irelands Ancient East team for their ongoing support, recognising our potential and for promoting attractions and places that are off the "beaten track" but are true hidden gems just waiting to be discovered.

Ray Stapleton, Lullymore Heritage & Discovery Park also commented: Irelands Ancient East through match funding and mentoring has helped us bring the story of Lullymore to life. Local stories of emigration to New York at the age of 14 and forced transportation to Australia. Stories of ancient togher roads, prehistoric rituals and a 1,000 years of monastic life.

Stories of industrious Quakers wealthy landlords and a tragic young rebel leader. In more recent times the story of the men who came in search of work with Bord na Mona, worked hard, settled and changed our locality forever. Finally the story of how nature is now reclaiming some peatlands and the rich biodiversity this gifts us. This is our story - we are the best people to tell it and we sincerely thank Failte Ireland and the Irelands Ancient East team for their continued support and belief in Lullymore.

Photos to follow from the launch today.
A Moldovan man, who claimed over 30,000 in job seekers allowance under a false identity, was jailed for 18 months at Naas Circuit Court today.

Facial recognition software at the Maynooth social welfare office uncovered the fact that Ivan Zaporojan of No 111 Leixlip Park, Leixlip, had been claiming the payments under a fake Lithuanian alias for almost seven years.

The court heard that when someone applies for social welfare payments, they have to provide documentation and proof of identity. Their photo is also taken and this image is assigned to that PPS number.

When Mr Zaporojan attended the Maynooth office in 2015, the imaging software scanned his face, and matched him with the false identity.

Garda Thomas Burke was called in to investigate on behalf of the Department of Social Protection. He said the accuseds home was searched and they found an Irish driving licence in the name of the false Lithuanian identity.

It was discovered the defendant had been claiming the job seekers top up from December 2008 to September 2015. No money was paid back.

The court heard the quarry worker was co-operative and admitted the offences during garda interviews. His barrister said her client had been working in a low income job under the false name, paying his taxes, and claiming under the same false name.

She said if he had been from an EU country, he would have been entitled to work and claim the top up payments.

Gda Burke agreed that after 2012, the defendant would have been able to claim under his own name, as his country had joined the EU.

The barrister was keen to point out her client had not been double dipping or claiming under the two names. She said he was 49 years-old, had a partner and five children back in Eastern Europe. She said he also provided money for his sister in laws children.

Judge Michael OShea was informed he has no previous convictions and has a long working history. The court was told he came to Ireland to make a better life for his family.

The Probation Service viewed him as being of low risk of reoffending. His defence team said he had 1,500 in court to hand over.

Judge OShea took into account the serious nature of the offence, and the mitigating factors of the case.

He branded the accused's actions as continuous and systematic dishonesty.

In respect of the deception, this was not spontaneous, it was certainly planned and opportunistic in regard to the method of the false identity, and by the method of the false documents he had to produce, he said.

This is a substantial amount of money, its a substantial loss to the Department of Social Welfare, resulting in a substantial loss to the State, he added.

He sentenced the defendant to three years in jail on the first count, but suspended the final 18 months of the sentence.

He also handed down an 18 month sentence, but suspended the last six months of the term.

The suspensions of the jail terms were handed down on condition the defendant would not come to the attention of the gardai in the 18 months after his release.

Both sentences are to run concurrently.
2016 Leitrim Rose, Annmarie Keegan has just returned from an emotional volunteering trip to Belarus with Adi Roche and Chernobyl Children International.



The 26 year old from Aughavas, was accompanied by 17 of her fellow roses including the 2016 Rose of Tralee Maggie McEldowny.

The roses stayed in the Vesnova Children's Mental Asylum where 170 of the young victims of the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy that happened 30 years ago have been institutionalized.



Many of the children are still being born with horrific deformities and other illness's directly or indirectly linked to the radiation from the nuclear accident.

The roses spent their time working with the worst affected children giving them one to one care and attention which they don't get from one end of the day to the other.



Annmarie has followed in the footsteps of previous Leitrim Roses by travelling to Belarus and one particular hard task she had to take part in was the burial of a little girl Yana who died days before they arrived.

All of the previous Leitrim roses had a soft spot for her and were very upset to hear of her passing.



Adi Roche, voluntary CEO of Chernobyl Children said, "This is the fifth year that the Rose of Tralee Festival have sent a delegation of volunteers over to Belarus and they bring such an energy and hearts full of love to the unfortunate children of Vesnova.

They are such wonderful ambassadors for their families, their communities and to the Rose of Tralee Festival also".



Annmarie paid tribute to everyone who so generously donated and provided supplies to bring over with me.

Annmarie brought basic medical supplies such as calpol, sudo cream and nappies to the institution.

The Leitrim Rose Centre are currently taking in applications to be the 2017 Leitrim Rose.

Check out www.roseoftralee.ie for further details.
Sinn Fein MEP, Liadh Ni Riada, has brought proposals to the committee stage of the European Parliament that call for the creation of Wifi hubs in towns and villages across Europe.

The Ireland South MEP, who is the lead negotiator on the WiFi4EU project, said the initiative would help bring connectivity and investment to rural areas.

This is an important project and I would urge all communities without this type of infrastructure to keep an eye on this scheme and avail of it when it is rolled out, hopefully early this summer, she said.

It is a very simple but effective idea. It requires a relatively small investment of some 120m that, if used wisely, will have huge returns for the communities it benefits.

The basic premise is that we equip as many towns and villages as possible with free wireless internet access, centred around the main centres of public life in that area, by 2020.

It would be focused on places like parks and squares, libraries, health centres, museums or wherever people happen to congregate in a given area.

While the scheme will be dispersed in as geographically balanced a manner as possible, I feel it is important that special consideration is given to rural and peripheral areas, particularly those suffering from a lack of internet access. It may seem ridiculous that such places exist in 2017 but I can think of several in my own constituency, indeed in my own county, alone.

This scheme will bear huge benefits for peripheral communities, giving disadvantaged individuals and areas access to the internet, giving local social enterprises access to a global market, generating employment in communities that people, particularly young people are being forced to leave; the benefits are endless.

It will be used to promote things like health and e-tourism; the scheme is only as limited as the imagination of the communities it will benefit.

20m is going to be made available for the scheme before the end of 2017 and one of the most important aspects is its accessibility. We will ensure that applying to the scheme is open, easy and free of needless bureaucracy. A simple online application system will be set up and local authorities will be actively encouraged to take part.

Proposals like this are the type that were originally envisaged for the EU. A social partnership of countries working together to improve the lives of everyone from Bucharest to Ballyferriter.
A Kilnagross man said he was devastated when his long awaited surgery was cancelled last week due to a shortage of beds in Sligo University Hospital.



Dave Price was one of four patients turned away from scheduled theatre appointments on Wednesday, March 1, due to a lack of beds.



The INMO reported that 32 patients were waiting on trollies in Sligo University Hospital last Wednesday.

Mr Price said he had been waiting months for the operation on his hernia.

He said he had called the night before and was told to come in.



He explained he was in his gown, prepared for theatre, having met consultants, anaesthetists and other medical staff as part of the surgery prep when his consultant told him the shocking news that my bed was cancelled.

Dave Price said, I was floored and he added his consultant was devastated and embarrassed for me.

I thought he was kidding at first, but the Beds Manager informed him that with 32 people on trolleys, his operation had to be deferred as it was not life threatening.



Mr Price said the HSE is in tatters. He said he was in contact with a local TD and has complained to the hospital management. He commented, it is shockingly wrong.



He told the paper another lady waiting on an operation was in tears after the news.

Mr Price said he had been ready for the procedure and found it very stressful to be turned away. He hopes to have a re-scheduled appointment for later this month.

Mr Price said the hospital had to pay 100 for a taxi to take him home, as he had expected to be staying overnight.



In a statement to the Leitrim Observer, Sligo University Hospital said it regrets that it had to defer four routine elective surgeries last week as there were 32 acutely unwell patients on trollies who were waiting for admission.

As there would have been no beds for these four elective patients post-surgery, we unfortunately had to defer their surgery.

Every effort is made to re-schedule deferred surgery as early as possible.

Sligo University Hospital would like to apologise to patients and their families for any distress caused.
Elaine Bagshaw launched her campaign for Mayor of Tower Hamlets on Saturday, saying that the borough is in need of a clean-up and a resilient, bold, Liberal Democrat voice in our Tower Hall. The position of mayor is vacant following the conviction of Lutfur Rahman for breaches of election law.

Elaine lives and works in the borough and is offering new ideas and a fresh vision including:

Making sure that there are affordable homes for working families, by ensuring that all new developments in the borough include an allocation of social housing

Delivering new local facilities such as more GPs and better local transport, so that we build homes and communities in Tower Hamlets

Creating apprenticeships that pay the London Living Wage

Saving 1.5m a year by scrapping East End Life, the council newspaper

Have a zero tolerance on corruption

Elaine Bagshaw said:

Tower Hamlets is a fantastic place to live, however its still facing some deep seated problems that we need new ideas to address. It is absolutely, fundamentally wrong, that we live in the shadows of Canary Wharf, the Shard, and the skyscrapers of the City, yet Tower Hamlets has the second highest unemployment rate in London. Its inexcusable that if youre born here youll die five years before someone born five minutes down the road in the City. And its simply appalling that 49% of our children are growing up in poverty. As a regulator I have held banks to account, and supported those who fell on victim to the scandals of payday lenders. Ive also worked as a youth worker helping get young people back into education and into work. I know what needs to be done and how hard it can be. But I also know that I can deliver for our community.

More information on Elaines campaign can be found on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and web.
Another Lib Dem woman who inspires many  in fact, she makes a mission of Inspiring Women is Miriam Gonzalez Durantez.

She has written for the Telegraph about the need for men and women to work together to make life better for the next generation of boys and girls.

She outlines the threats to hard-won progress:

In the US, President Donald Trump is putting into question womens reproductive rights; in Russia, laws are being considered to decriminalise some aspects of domestic violence. Just last week, a Polish MEP declared that women should earn less than men because they are weaker, smaller and less intelligent. Breitbart, the right-wing website pioneered by Steve Bannon, now Trumps chief strategist, has claimed that birth control makes women unattractive and crazy. And so on.

Women still suffer from societys expectations:

Many still judge us, women, primarily by our commitment to set up and dedicate ourselves to our families, a commitment that is a truly personal one (and those who judge us often have not made such commitment themselves). Most accept it as natural for women to be responsible for most of the domestic chores. Some think that throwing casually sexual remarks at women at the workplace is just a bit of fun  including, incomprehensibly, fun for us. There are still too many people who never measure a womans achievements, because theyre far too busy measuring her thighs.

There are signs of hope, though:

The marches for equality in the US and around the world, following President Trumps inauguration in January, were full not only of women  but also men. And despite there now being 15 female Prime Ministers around the world, it was a man, Barack Obama, who said that Trumps comments on women disqualified him from even running a convenience store. In Iran, husbands are organising to fight for the rights of their wives. In Saudi men are taking to social media to do the same. Many do it for their daughters, sisters or wives. And many do it out of a simple instinct for justice, decency and respect.

She talks about a new campaign supported by her Inspiring Girls organisation:

This year Redraw the Balance is highlighting the lack of prominent female characters in animation  something that leads to children having an unbalanced view of society from a very early age. Only 29 per cent of all animated lead characters are women. Dora the Explorer is desperately looking for some new friends.

She concludes that the fight for gender equality is not just for women:

I do not want my children to live in a society where girls feel second rate, just as much as the fathers of those girls do not want the girls to feel second rate. Delivering a society for the next generation, free of sexism and gender discrimination, is not about women against men  it is about women and men working together for boys and girls.

You can read the whole article here.

* Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
GARDAI in Limerick have issued a warning in relation to a scam during which people are being told their computers have been hacked, putting their personal data at risk.

In one incident, which was reported to gardai, a man was duped into giving his bank account details over the phone.

It seems he was using a laptop at home when the screen went blank. At the same time he received a phone call from a person alleging to represent a web security company, said crime prevention officer, Sergeant Justin McCarthy.

The caller then offered to provide protection for the computer and sought banking details from the man.

After the victim revealed his account details and he was defrauded of a sum of money.

The Limerick Leader has learned that a number of people have been targeted by the culprits in recent weeks although it is not known how many have had money stolen.

Gardai are urging people not to give out banking details over the phone and to report any suspicious calls to their local garda station.
THE goodness and empathy inherent in Limerick people will be celebrated over seven days from next Saturday when the Pay It Forward Festival of Kindness begins.

Now in its third year, the 2017 edition of the festival was launched this Tuesday, with an emphasis on the importance of giving within the community.

Run by Pay It Forward Limerick, the festival will see a number of free events taking place across the city over the week, including a family fun day, a pamper day, as well as music and cinema events. Limerick people will also be encouraged to take the initiative with random acts of kindness themselves.

At the launch, Leader columnist Nigel Dugdale said, We are trying to inspire people across the city to do something nice for each other.

Everyone in Limerick seems to be working together and coming together recently. Its not just about economic development, its down to the people of Limerick.

This years festival will also see members of the Pay It Forward group closing the festival by marching in the St Patricks Day parade.

With over 100 volunteers behind the festival, there is no shortage of help available to this positive cause.

Also speaking at the launch, Pay It Forward Limerick ambassador, former Munster rugby player and pundit Liam Toland said, I tried to frame it in my mind, what is so special about Limerick.

The one thing that stuck with me about Limerick and the surrounding communities is that there is a unique ability present to walk toward the danger.

The festival runs between March 11 and 17, concluding with the St Patricks Day parade march.

To find out more visit www.pifl.ie.
A BUS which is touring Ireland to promote the repeal of the eighth amendment of the constitution and to promote access to abortion pills landed in Limerick on Tuesday, after making appearances in Dublin, Waterford and Cork.

The campaigners, numbering 50 in total, were met by a group of anti-abortion protesters in the city centre, who set up on the other side of the road, creating a standoff.

The busy OConnell Street traffic drew a stark line through the two groups.

The travelling Bus4Repeal group was joined by a number of Limerick women and men who showed up to support the rally, organised by Rosa - Reproductive Rights against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity.

Keep your rosaries off my ovaries, repeal the eighth and our bodies, our choice were some of the chants that echoed on Thomas Street and around OConnell Street.

In a week when hundreds of babies bodies were found in one of Ireland's infamous mother and baby homes, the Bus4Repeal is a timely action promoting women's autonomy over their own bodies and lives - without interference from Church or State, said Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Ruth Coppinger, who travelled on the bus on its first day of touring.

The pro-life group remained mostly silent throughout the demonstration, with some of the protesters praying. Some others carried large signs which bore slogans and images.

Limerick city woman Margaret Begley said that she turned up to defend life.

Im a nurse and midwife, retired. Its the most beautiful thing in the world, to see a newborn baby born. Ive nursed people from the womb to the tomb, and life is sacred at all moments, she said.

I think they [pro-choice campaigners] are very misguided. If they are sympathetic, its misguided sympathy. Were they not glad that they were born and can live their lives? she added.

The Repeal the Eighth campaign has been steadily gaining momentum around the country for the last number of years, and a womens strike is due to take place nationwide this Wednesday, March 8.

The protesters are hoping that the International Womens Day strike will prompt the government to call a referendum for the repeal of the eighth amendment to the Constitution, which deals with abortion.
THE Mayor of Limerick has strongly condemned the vandalising of one of Limericks most iconic landmarks.

Mystery surrounds the daubing of the historic Treaty Stone with purple paint.

The stone, upon which the Treaty of Limerick was reputedly signed in 1691, was splattered with paint overnight this Wednesday, it is believed.

Gardai are investigating the incident.

Mayor Kieran O'Hanlon said: "This is mindless, wanton thuggery. Who would want to deface any property? Let alone one of the iconic symbols of Limerick.

"Whoever did this should be ashamed of themselves. Their actions impact on everyone, on Limerick and I would encourage anyone who saw anything or knows who did it to contact the gardai. These types of actions have got to be stamped out," he added.

Council cleaning crews, along with staff from Limerick Civic Trust, equipped with a power washer were on the scene at 9.45am to clean up the paint.

We are fortunate that the paint is water solvent, one worker told the Limerick Leader.

The council said a water based paint, possibly art paint from a tube, was daubed all over the monument.

"From initial investigation there is no lasting damage. Street cleansing crews are power hosing down the monument," said a spokesperson.

It appears the damp weather last night meant the paint "didn't adhere to the Stone", the council said.

"A specialist will examine the Stone as a precaution," added the spokesperson.

People have expressed outrage on social media at the damage to the historic object, which is located on Clancys Strand, next to the River Shannon in the city.

I can't believe someone would do such a thing, said one comment.

Gardai at Henry Street are investigating and are viewing CCTV footage of the area. They can be contacted on 061 212400.

Classy lads, really classy. Why vandalise the Treaty Stone? https://t.co/Pzp0jcqi26  Dan O Brien (@DanBlueChief) March 8, 2017

Headless idiocy at its finest. Disgusting. https://t.co/az8zz1ReRC  Sean Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) March 8, 2017
A VIDEO of Limericks most most popular band singing to a man left blind after an unprovoked attack in a surprise session is warming the hearts of thousands of people online.

Hermitage Green played a five-hour session in the home of Brian Hogans sister in Kilteragh, Dooradoyle, on Sunday last, with the video receiving over 15,000 views to date - and a further 20,000 views on the band's own page.

Brian, who turns 40 this June, was left blind and partially paralysed by an unprovoked attack in 2009 in Nottingham in the UK, where he worked as a quantity surveyor.

In 2012, he spent three weeks in China, where he underwent stem cell infusions in the hope that one day he might be able to see and walk again. He is now living in supported accommodation through the brain injury charity, Headway.

His sister Nevis told the Limerick Leader that throughout his ordeal in the eight years since the attack music has always been Brians therapy.

When he initially came home after the attack, Hermitage Green  who started out playing Sunday sessions in the Curragower bar  came to see and sing to him in a nursing home in Limerick.

The band, who have now held sold out gigs in Dublins Olympia Theatre and played on the main stage at Electric Picnic, enjoyed a much more intimate audience in Limerick last weekend, which came as a complete surprise to Brian.

Wow, said Brian, as the band started up, to the tune of their new song Jenny.

Initially he thought his sister had bought a new sound system, as he hadnt heard them live in some time due to the difficulty in travelling to gigs as he is wheelchair bound. At the end of the first song, Jenny, he managed to stand up and warmly embrace the members of the band.

To do that is a just a testament to who they are and they are just so grounded, praised Nevis.

After the session, the band said in a message online that Brian and his family are "some of the coolest people we've ever met" and they were happy they could do this for him and his family.

They added that they are also happy he "didn't tell them to turn the CD off!"

They also played a recent impromptu gig in Castletroy, during RAG week in UL, to raise funds for suicide prevention in the city.

They will be playing in King Johns Castle on Sunday, April 30.

Brian will be giving a talk on his life and his struggle to regain his full mobility and sight to staff in Northern Trust in Castletroy this week under Acquired Brain Injury week.

The inspirational man from Ballykeeffe, who continues to remain hopeful for his future, received a special recognition award under the Pride of Ireland awards in 2014.

There were many times Brian could have given up but never once did he succumb," the judges said.
THE entire ground floor ward of St Johns Hospital in Limerick has been closed in the latest round of health cutbacks.

Management at the voluntary hospital have confirmed that due to a 2m funding shortfall from the HSE, 20 beds on the ground floor are now out of service, with chief executive Fearghal Grimes saying they have been left in an impossible position by the HSE.

The move has prompted anger, with fears the closure will have a negative impact on the University Hospital in Dooradoyle, which was again the highest in the country for overcrowding nationally on Tuesday.

This is because St Johns Hospital is a step-down facility, providing bed support to the main centre. Patients already at St Johns have been moved to the upper floors of the 100-bed hospital.

Sinn Fein Senator Paul Gavan said it was a scandal while Mayor Kieran OHanlon has called on Health Minister Simon Harris to intervene and have these beds reopened.

In a statement, Mr Grimes said the hospital has its lowest expenditure budget since 2004.

We have clearly outlined to the HSE, the negative impact this level of funding will have on services, but as of yet, no additional funding has been provided.

We very much regret we have to take these measures, but we have been left in an impossible position, he said.

Five of the beds closed this Monday, while 15 have been closed since early September 2016 due to nursing staff shortages, a spokesperson for the UL Hospitals Group noted.

UL Hospitals Group said it "acknowledges the challenges faced by St Johns Hospital, which are similar to those faced by all hospitals within the group and around the country. We look forward to working with management at St Johns Hospital to ensure that the beds closed this Monday are reopened as soon as possible".

Former Siptu official Mr Gavan said: This is an extremely serious development. It contradicts the constant stream of of promises from government politicians about additional investment.

I understand the budget for this year is below that of 2004, which puts the lie to the various government promises to tackle this issue.

Its another example of the system bursting at the seams, he added.

Mary Fogarty of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) added: Its disappointing more beds are closing when we have this crisis in the city.

And Mayor OHanlon, who represents the St Johns area on the council, said: It beggars belief we have a situation in the only hospital in the inner city and there are 20 beds closed. We are constantly hearing the Department of Health and the HSE is providing sufficient funding to keep beds and wards open.

"The University Hospital is bursting at the seams. Weve seen ambulances queuing up there as A&E is full.

There were 39 patients being treated on trolleys on Tuesday, according to figures released by the INMO.

Although the daily figures have dropped in recent weeks for the Dooradoyle facility, the figure is once again the highest for overcrowding nationally.

This Wednesday, there are 31 on trolleys in the emergency department and on wards, according to the INMO.
Apr 29, 2021, 5 PM

By Michael Baadke

Josephine Cochrane, an American inventor and socialite, was born March 8, 1839, in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Cochranes fame comes from her invention of the mechanical dishwasher, which she patented in 1886.

Cochrane was born Josephine M. Garis and raised in Shelbyville, Ill., the daughter of a civil engineer. She married William Cochran on Oct. 13, 1858  the letter e was added to the end of the last name later in Josephines career, but does not appear on the couples shared gravestone in Shelbyville.

Its said that Cochranes inspiration for inventing the dishwasher came from her disappointment at finding that her fine china was suffering damage from repeated hand-washing by her servants.

She established a workshop in a shed on her property, and designed a machine with a rack to hold the dishware and jets to dispense soapy water.

She sold early models to businesses, but was less successful in sales to homes. Her invention was displayed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition and Worlds Fair in Chicago, where it was awarded a medal in honor of its construction and durability.

Cochrane formed a manufacturing company that eventually became KitchenAid, now part of the Whirlpool Corporation. She died at age 74 on Aug. 3, 1913.

Josephine Cochrane has never been honored on a United States stamp, but she is commemorated on a 3.30-leu stamp issued by Romania in 2013, part of a set of three honoring famous women (Scott 5442).
Mar 7, 2017, 2 PM

Some of the stamps in Australias 2013 Musical Legends issue feature album covers. This se-tenant pair of 60 stamps shows Back in Black by AC/DC and East by Cold Chisel.

Listeners of a Danish radio station were asked to select the most memorable album cover of the past 50 years. Their selection, Gasolin 3, is shown on this stamp issued in 2010.

As part of a tribute to Elvis Presley, the stamp on this souvenir sheet from The Gambia depicts the cover of his 1956 self-titled album.

Images of album covers represent several decades of Israeli music on this pane of 12 se-tenant stamps issued in 2001.

The Isle of Man issued a set of stamps in August 2016 displaying the album cover art of Roger Dean in conjunction with an exhibition of his work. The 95-penny stamp shows the painting for the cover Yessongs by Yes, and the 2.08 stamp depicts Sea of Light

The logo of the Canadian rock trio Rush first appeared on the interior gatefold cover of the album 2112. Called Starman, this logo also is pictured on a stamp from Canada.

Sarah Vaughan is honored on a forever stamp in the United States Postal Services Music Icons series. The pane of 16 resembles a 45 record sleeve, and the stamp shows a portrait based on the photograph featured on the 1955 After Hours With Sarah Vaughan a

Topics on Stamps  By Denise McCarty

Music, graphic arts and pop culture are nearly limitless topics when it comes to collecting stamps, but combining all three can lead to a relatively small collection of album cover art.

More than any other postal administration, Great Britains Royal Mail has featured album artwork on its stamps, even devoting an entire set of stamps to the subject.

The 10 stamps in Royal Mails Classic Album Covers set were issued Jan. 7, 2010 (Scott 2724-2743), in various formats, including sheets of 50, a prestige booklet (with text and illustrations in addition to stamps), and a souvenir sheet that resembles a greatest hits album cover.

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In announcing the set, Julietta Edgar of Royal Mail said, For decades the album sleeve has been the canvas for some of the most imaginative graphic artists in the world, and this issue celebrates this unique art form and some of its great examples.

In chronological order by release date of the album, the stamps depicts Let It Bleed by the Rolling Stones, 1969; the untitled fourth album by Led Zeppelin (also known as Led Zeppelin IV), 1971; The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie, 1972; London Calling by the Clash, 1979; Power, Corruption and Lies by New Order, 1983; Screamadelica by Primal Scream, 1991; The Division Bell by Pink Floyd, 1994; Parklife by Blur, 1994; and A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay, 2002.

The artwork for these album covers came from a variety of sources, including photographs, existing art and even a chef. Delia Smith, an author of cookbooks and host of television cooking shows in England, decorated the wedding cake pictured on the Let it Bleed cover. The cake toppers are the members of the Rolling Stones at the time: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Brian Jones. American graphic artist Robert Brownjohn designed the album cover.

How did Royal Mail select what album covers to honor on the stamps? It asked graphic designers and music journalists to submit lists of what they felt were the most significant album cover artwork on records by British musicians.

Noticeably absent from the list are any albums by the Beatles. That may be due to the fact that Royal Mail had already pictured Beatles album covers on six stamps (Scott 2421-2426) in a Jan. 9, 2007, issue commemorating the first meeting of Paul McCartney and John Lennon in 1957.

Each self-adhesive stamp depicts a stack of Beatles albums with one album prominently displayed on the top. The stamps are in se-tenant (side-by-side) pairs. The first-class pair features With The Beatles, 1963; and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967. The 64-penny stamps show Help!, 1965; and Abbey Road, 1969. Illustrated on the 72p stamps are Let It Be, 1970; and Revolver, 1966.

Sgt. Pepper has topped many lists of the best album covers of all time, including a 2011 Rolling Stone readers poll. In announcing the results, the magazine said: The cover of the Beatles 1967 LP Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic images in the history of rock & roll. The photo was originally going to show the Beatles (in their Sgt. Peppers outfits) playing in a park. That slowly evolved into the final concept, where they stand amidst cardboard cutouts of their heroes. The band originally planned to includ Leo Gorcey, Gandhi, Jesus Christ and Adolf Hitler in the photo. Common sense kicked Hitler off the cover (though they did create an image of him), the still-lingering bitterness of Lennons bigger than Jesus comment kicked Jesus off the cover and Gandhi got the boot over concerns that India wouldnt print the album.

Pink Floyd and David Bowie, both represented on the 2010 Classic Album Covers set, were subsequently honored by Royal Mail on their own stamp issues displaying album cover art.

Released July 7, 2016, the Pink Floyd set shows the covers of The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, 1967; Atom Heart Mother, 1970; The Dark Side Of The Moon, 1973; Wish You Were Here, 1975; Animals, 1977; and The Endless River, 2014.

Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis created the designs of four of these album covers, in addition to the cover for The Division Bell pictured on a 2010 stamp.

An article in The New Yorker magazine printed after Thorgersons death in 2013 said of his prismatic triangle design for Dark Side of the Moon, As the album became a classic-rock monolith, remaining on the Billboard chart for more than seven hundred weeks, the cover became an icon of classic rock  and of modern commercial art  in its own right.

This years David Bowie set (issue date March 14) depicts the covers of Hunky Dory, 1971; Aladdin Sane, 1973; Heroes, 1977; Lets Dance, 1983; Earthling, 1997; and ? (Blackstar), 2016. There is more than meets the eye on the cover of Bowies final album. In reporting on cover designer Jonathan Barnbrooks recent Grammy win in the recording package category for Blackstar, the Los Angeles Times said, Barnbrooks design features a cut-out star on an all-black sleeve, hidden images that only reveal themselves when held to the light and at least a few secrets that have yet to be cracked.

The Pink Floyd and David Bowie sets are the first two in a Music Giants series. The designs follow the same style as the 2010 Classic Album Covers set, picturing vinyl albums emerging from the covers.

Isle of Man

Six stamps from the Isle of Man salute the work of artist Roger Dean, who has designed album covers featuring surrealistic landscapes for Yes and other bands. The stamps were issued Aug. 19, 2016, in conjunction with an exhibition of Deans work at the Manx Museum in Douglas. Both the exhibition and the stamp set are called Islands and Bridges.

Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman said,   Rogers art has a way of leading me gently into the canvas to embark on a journey of never-ending discovery. There always seems to be something new to discover, and that is where his association with music really stands out  

Unlike the stamps from Great Britain, only the paintings are shown on this Manx stamps; the name of the band, title of the album and other typography from the cover are not included. However, the country name Isle of Man appears at the bottom of each stamp in the style of the logo Dean created for the band Yes.

Half of the stamps in the set feature Yes album cover art: the 1973 triple live album Yessongs on the 95-penny denomination, the 1973 studio album Tales From Topographic Oceans on the 1.69, and the 2013 box set Yes  The Studio Albums 1969-1987, on the 1.24.

Artwork called Blind Owl Late Landing, for an unreleased album, is reproduced on the 77p stamp.

The 2.08 high denomination of the set depicts the cover of Sea of Light, a 1995 album by Uriah Heep. The 45p stamp shows Deans painting Meeting Place, which was inspired by the Isle of Man.

Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees were all born on the Isle of Man (Barry on Sept. 1, 1946, and twins Maurice and Robin on Dec. 22, 1949), and two stamp sets depict some of their album covers.

The first of these was issued July 1, 2009, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bee Gees (Scott 1326a-d, 1327a-d). One stamp in this set of eight shows a photograph of the three brothers in 1959. The others picture the following album covers: Children of the World, 1976; Spirits Having Flown, 1979; Still Waters, 1997; One Night Only, 1998; This Is Where I Came In, 2001; Number Ones, 2004; and The Studio Albums 1967-1968 box set, 2006. All of these covers feature photographs, and the names of the photographers are inscribed on the designs .

In 2013, the Isle of Man paid tribute to Robin Gibb on eight stamps (Scott 1567-1574) featuring albums from his solo career: Robins Reign, 1970; How Old Are You?, 1983; Secret Agent, 1984; Walls Have Eyes, 1985; Magnet, 2003; Robin Gibb Live With the Neue Philharmonie Orchestra, 2005; The Titanic Requiem, 2012; and 50 St. Catherines Drive, 2014. The name of the last album, which was released posthumously, comes from the address of the Gibbs family home on the Isle of Man. The family later moved to England and then to Australia.

Around the World

The Caribbean island of St. Vincent was the first to picture album covers on stamps with its Nov. 5, 1997, issue honoring the Doors (Scott 2503-2508). The 90 low denomination depicts Morrison Hotel. The cover of this 1970 album reproduces a photograph by Henry Diltz, whose work appears on more than 100 album covers.

On the Morrison Hotel photography website, Ditz said of the photograph: This was a transient hotel in Downtown LA on Hope street. The Doors didnt have permission to take this picture, so when the lobby was empty, they ran in quickly and sat behind the window. This became the Morrison Hotel album cover.

Illustrated on the other stamps are Waiting for the Sun,1968; L.A. Woman, 1971; The Soft Parade, 1969; Strange Days, 1967; and The Doors, 1967.

Graphic artists who design album covers are influenced by many sources, including other album covers.

The aforementioned London Calling by the Clash mimics the cover of Elvis Presleys 1956 self-titled album. Part of the Presley album can be seen on a stamp in a souvenir sheet from The Gambia (Scott 3444).

From Australia, the cover of Cold Chisels 1980 album East recreates the 1793 painting The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David. This album cover can be found on stamps in Australias 2013 Musical Legends issue (Scott 3820-3829), along with the covers of albums by AC/DC, INXS and Men at Work.

A 2010 stamp from Denmark (Scott 1479) features album artwork that was borrowed without permission.

The story behind the cover art started at Andys Bar in Copenhagen, where members of the Danish rock band Gasolin saw a painting of a pin-up girl and San Franciscos cable cars. They wanted to use the image for the cover of their upcoming album, Gasolin 3, but were not able to not find out who the artist was. After the album was released in 1973, Tage Hansen revealed that he had created the painting by combining a pin-up calendar by Art Frahm and a TWA poster by David Klein.

For more Scandinavian rock album covers, see Finlands stamps honoring the Agents (Scott 1416e) and the cello-playing Apocalyptica (1496c), issued in 2012 and 2015, respectively.

Tips on ways to expand a collection of album cover art on stamps will appear in a future issue of Linns.
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Leprechauns are a type of fairy, though it's important to note that the fairies of Irish folklore were not cute Disneyfied pixies; they could be lustful, nasty, capricious creatures whose magic might delight you one day and kill you the next if you displeased them.

While leprechauns are mythical beings, a rare type of insulin resistance, sometimes called leprechaunism, is very real.

Leprechaun lore

Leprechauns are often described as wizened, bearded old men dressed in green (early versions were clad in red) and wearing buckled shoes, often with a leather apron. Sometimes they wear a pointed cap or hat and may be smoking a pipe.

In their book "The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures," John and Caitlin Matthews trace leprechaun legends back to eighth-century legends of water spirits called "luchorpan," meaning small body. These sprites eventually merged with a mischievous household fairy said to haunt cellars and drink heavily.

Other researchers say that the word leprechaun may be derived from the Irish leath bhrogan, meaning shoemaker. Indeed, though leprechauns are often associated with riches and gold, in folklore their main vocation is anything but glamorous: they are humble cobblers, or shoemakers. Shoemaking is apparently a lucrative business in the fairy world, since each leprechaun is said to have his own pot of gold, which can often be found at the end of a rainbow.

According to Irish legends, people lucky enough to find a leprechaun and capture him (or, in some stories, steal his magical ring, coin or amulet) can barter his freedom for his treasure. Leprechauns are usually said to be able to grant the person three wishes. But dealing with leprechauns can be a tricky proposition.

A trickster

The leprechaun plays several roles in Irish folklore; he is principally a roguish trickster figure who cannot be trusted and will deceive whenever possible. In her encyclopedia "Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins," folklorist Carol Rose offers a typical tale of leprechaun trickery "concerning a man who managed to get a leprechaun to show him the bush in the field where his treasure was located. Having no spade [shovel], the man marked the tree with one of his red garters, then kindly released the sprite and went for a spade. Returning almost instantly he found that every one of the numerous trees in the field sported a red garter!"

In the magical world, most spirits, fairies and other creatures have a distinctive sound that is associated with them. Some entities  such as the Irish fairy banshee and the Hispanic spirit La Llorona  are said to emit a mournful wail signifying their presence. In the case of the leprechaun, it's the tap-tap-tapping of his tiny cobbler hammer, driving nails into shoes, that announces they are near.

In his collection of Irish fairy and folk tales, W.B. Yeats offered an 18th-century poem by William Allingham titled "The Lepracaun; Or, Fairy Shoemaker" which describes the sound:

"Lay your ear close to the hill. Do you not catch the tiny clamour, Busy click of an elfin hammer, Voice of the Lepracaun singing shrill As he merrily plies his trade?"

The 1825 publication of a book called "Fairy Legends" seemingly cemented the character of the modern leprechaun: "Since that time leprechauns seem to be entirely male and solitary," they note.

It seems that all leprechauns are not only shoemakers but also old male loners, which makes sense from a cultural standpoint, since that type of fairy is so closely associated with shoemaking, a traditionally male vocation. Though there is something curious about all leprechauns being cobblers (what if they want to be writers, farmers, or doctors?), this designation also fits in well with the traditional folkloric division of labor among fairies.

Leprechauns in popular culture

As with many old legends and traditions, the image and nature of the leprechaun has changed over time and has been updated (and in some cases sanitized) for a modern audience. Lucky the Leprechaun, mascot of the General Mills breakfast cereal Lucky Charms, is probably the best-known fairy of his type. The 1959 Disney movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" also influenced how many people think of the wee folk.

On the other end of the spectrum there's the homicidal leprechaun Lubdan in the "Leprechaun" horror/comedy film series (played by "Willow" actor Warwick Davis). For generations, some Irish have been annoyed by leprechauns and the ethnic stereotypes they perpetuate, and for most Americans leprechauns only appear around St. Patrick's Day.

Leprechauns offer a morality tale figure whose fables warn against the folly of trying to get rich quick, take what's not rightfully yours or interfere with "The Good Folk" and other magical creatures. Belief in leprechauns and other fairies was once widespread on the Emerald Isle, and real or not they will continue to amuse and delight us for centuries more.

Genetic birth disorder

Leprechaunism, also known as Donohue syndrome, is an extremely rare disorder characterized by abnormal resistance to insulin. (Some researchers prefer Donohue syndrome because leprechaunism may be viewed as pejorative by families, according to the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, an online catalog of human genes and genetic disorders.)

It is a recessive genetic disorder, which occurs when an individual inherits two copies of an abnormal gene for the same trait, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).

Babies with the disorder are unusually small before and after birth, according to the National Institutes of Health. They experience failure to thrive, which means they have low birth weight and do not gain weight at the expected rate. They often lack muscle mass and may also have very low body fat under the skin.

Characteristics of the syndrome also include abnormally large, low-set and poorly developed ears; a wide, flat nose with upturned nostrils; large, thick lips and a large mouth; and widely spaced, bulging eyes. Affected babies may also have an abnormally small head, or microcephaly. There may be excessive hair growth.

Most affected individuals have a skin condition called acanthosis nigricans, in which certain patches of skin, such as body folds and creases, become thick, dark and velvety.

Donohue syndrome affects the endocrine system, which regulates the secretion of hormones into the blood system. Abnormalities include excessive secretion of insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels by promoting the movement of glucose into the bodys cells. According to NORD, babies with the disorder cannot use insulin effectively and may have high blood sugar levels, or hyperglycemia, after eating and low blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia, when not eating.

Other hormonal effects include enlargement of the breasts and genitals. Other characteristics include intellectual disability, abnormally large hands and feet, an enlarged or distended stomach, enlarged heart, kidneys and other organs; and hernias, where the large intestine may protrude through the abdominal wall or into the groin. Affected babies are also more susceptible to repeated infections.

Donohue syndrome is extremely rare; only 50 cases have been reported in medical literature. It was first identified in 1948 by Dr. W.L. Donohue, a Canadian pathologist who wrote about it in the Journal of Pediatrics in 1954. In the reported cases, the disorder occurred twice as often in females as in males.

Treatment is usually directed toward the specific symptoms, according to NORD. Endocrinologists treat the hormonal issues, while dermatologists treat the skin problems, for example. Families may also receive genetic counseling.

Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and author of six books, including "Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore." His website is www.BenjaminRadford.com.

Additional reporting by Reference Editor Tim Sharp. Follow him on Twitter @TimothyASharp
U.S. telecom behemoth AT&T Inc. T is presently focused on signing multiple contracts with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). On Mar 6, as per a recent FierceTelecom report, both AT&T and CWA have finally approved labor agreement related to CWA-represented former DirecTV employees in four states. This will help the service provider solidify its relationship with its union workforce and encourage the employees to continue with the existing labor contract.

This new agreement related to DirecTV workforce was announced on Feb 16. The agreement covers 280 employees in Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico and Oregon.

On Mar 3, AT&T and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) reached a four-year tentative labor agreement with the companys Southwest wireline workforce. This four-year agreement covers over 20,000 employees in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. The agreement will be submitted to the union's members for approval, in the coming days.

AT&T and CWA have agreed to start negotiating a new contract at the earliest. The current labor contract expires on Apr 8. If the new contract gets official on or before Apr 7, 2017, every single employee under this contract will receive a guaranteed bonus of $1,000. The new deal will remain effective from Apr 9, 2017 to Apr 10, 2021.

If this proposed agreement between AT&T and CWA goes through, the former will have sealed a total of 19 different labor agreements for the 2016 and 2017 period, collectively covering over 81,000 employees. This includes 10 agreements covering nearly 7,800 former DirecTV employees. Between 2015 and 2016, AT&T successfully negotiated 25 labor contracts covering a total of 102,000 workers. In Dec 2016, AT&T completed an agreement on a new contract covering 2,000 DirecTV call center workers.

The finalization of such agreements, especially on the DirecTV side, looks impressive as AT&T is looking forward to integrate the satellite operators core operations to drive new products like DirectTV Now. Also, such labor negotiations help to avoid the long labor strikes which are common in the wireless industry.

Story continues

Latest Business Prospects

Apart from signing different labor deals, AT&T has also joined the recently hyped unlimited data plan war in the wireless industry. Other participants in the battlefield are the other three major wireless telecommunications companies in U.S. Sprint Corp. S, T-Mobile US TMUS and Verizon communications Inc. VZ.

Over the past three months, AT&T returned 3.71%, while the Zacks-categorized Wireless National industry gained 1.47%.

AT&T currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Rome built roads, such as this one, to help its military to swiftly patrol the empire. These roads also facilitated trade.

About 2,000 years ago, travelers walked along a wide, stone-paved road, some of them accidently dropping coins that would later be found by modern-day archaeologists in Israel.

That road, as well as the coins lost by ancient passersby, was discovered by archaeologists near Highway 375 in Israel in February, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

"The road that we discovered, which 2,000 years ago passed along a route similar to Highway 375 today, was up to 6 meters [20 feet] wide, [and] continued for a distance of approximately 1.5 kilometers [1 mile]," Irina Zilberbod, director of the IAA excavation, said in a statement. "[It] was apparently meant to link the Roman settlement that existed in the vicinity of Beit Natif with the main highway known as the 'Emperor's Road.'" [See Photos of the Ancient, Roman-Era Road and Coins]

Archaeologists found the road during a routine survey prior to a construction project by the Mei Shemesh company  the laying of a water pipeline to Jerusalem, the nation's capital.

The Emperor's Road was the main artery connecting the large settlements of Eleutheropolis (also called Beit Guvrin) and Jerusalem, Zilberbod said. "The construction of the Emperor's Road is thought to have taken place at the time of Emperor Hadrian's visit to the country, circa 130 C.E., or slightly thereafter, during the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132 [C.E. to] 135 C.E." (Beit Guvrin was located nearby, and along the same road as, Beit Natif.)

This idea is backed by earlier evidence: Researchers found a milestone (a stone that marks distances) near the road with the name of Emperor Hadrian, she said.

During the recent excavation, researchers found four coins embedded in the dirtbetween the road's stones. These findings included a coin from the second year of the Great Revolt (A.D. 67); a coin of Pontius Pilate, the prefect of Judea, dating to A.D. 29; a coin of Agrippa I that was minted in Jerusalem in A.D. 41; and a coin from an Arab caliphate known as the Umayyad dynasty (A.D. 661 to 750).

The four ancient coins that volunteers and archaeologists recovered during the excavation. (Image credit: Clara Amit; Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

Before the Romans arrived in Israel, most of the roads in the region were more akin to improvised trails. But once the Romans took charge, they built an international road network in the area, largely to accommodate their military campaigns, the researchers said.

Roman government leaders realized that roads helped them run and connect the empire, the IAA said. Main roads, including the Emperor's Road, branched off into secondary routes that led to agricultural settlements. The people who harvested grain and prepared oil and wine in these settlements used the roads to help them transport their goods to nearby villages and large, faraway markets.

"The ancient road passed close to the Israel National Trail, and we believe that it will spark interest among the hikers," Amit Shadman, the IAA district archaeologist for Judah, said in the statement. "The Israel Antiquities Authority and Mei Shemesh Corporation have agreed that the road will be conserved in situ [in its natural condition], for the public's benefit."

Original article on Live Science.
A natural arch in Malta called the Azure Window, which is shown here on May 20, 2014, collapsed in March 2017 after heavy storms hit the area.

A stunning natural arch that was the setting for several films and one episode of "Game of Thrones" has collapsed into the sea after storms lashed the limestone structure.

The Azure Window, found on Malta's Gozo Island, collapsed early Wednesday (March 8) after gale force winds and a heavy rainstorm roiled the area, according to news reports.

The fierce winds and rough seas erased almost all traces of the iconic sea arch.

"Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea with a loud whoomph, throwing up a huge spray. By the time the spray had faded, the stack had gone too." Roger Chessell, a resident of nearby Xaghra who witnessed the collapse, told the Malta Times.

The limestone arch reaches some 328 feet (100 meters) high and has been a popular platform for cliff divers, who can jump into one of the sinkholes surrounding the arch, including on its south side, the Blue Hole, according to a report published by Geoscience Consulting in 2013.

Like all arches subject to the vagaries of erosion, this one was doomed to die eventually. A 2013 study had found that it would fail eventually, but that collapse was not imminent, the BBC reported. In a press conference, the environment minister Jose Herrera said there wasn't anything that could have been done to prevent the collapse, as studies found no man-made interventions would have protected the arch, the Malta Times reported.

Originally published on Live Science.
Edible marijuana products such as candies and brownies need better labeling, a new study said. Some labels on marijuana edibles contain so much information that consumers feel overwhelmed. Meanwhile, other labels do not even clearly indicate that a product contains marijuana, the researchers found.

Bad labeling could be lead people to unknowingly consume marijuana, the study participants said. Some participants expressed concerns that children may mistake such products for cookies or candy, said study co-author Sheryl C. Cates, a health communication expert at the nonprofit research institute RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. [25 Odd Facts About Marijuana]

But participants also expressed concern that adults  who were, for example, guests in the home of a marijuana user  could consume edibles by mistake, because they did not recognize that the products contained marijuana, Cates told Live Science. In the study, the researchers recruited 94 people living in Denver or Seattle, asking them for their opinions on the current labeling practices of marijuana edibles. This group included 32 people who had consumed edibles in the past two months and 30 people who had consumed edibles in the past six months and preferred edibles to other forms of marijuana, such as blunts.

The group also included 32 parents who had either never used marijuana or had not used it in the past five years. The researchers included this group because they were particularly interested in what parents thought of how marijuana edibles are labeled, said the study, which will be published in the May issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy.

The researchers brought the people together to central locations in Denver or Seattle and showed them edible marijuana products that had been packaged for sale. In each of the two locations, the researchers showed the people one marijuana product. In Colorado, the researchers showed the people a gummy candy packaged in a bottle that bore a colorful image of the candy. In Seattle, the researchers showed the participants a chocolate bar wrapped in green paper with white lettering. The researchers then led discussions that elicited the people's opinions about the products' packaging. [7 Ways Marijuana May Affect the Brain]

One of the main concerns expressed by the participants was that the labels contained too much information, which the people thought could discourage consumers from reading the information, the researchers found.

Another common concern was that there was no clear indication that the products contained marijuana. For example, some participants in Seattle noted that although the label did include the statement "This product contains marijuana," that information was not easy to see on the label.

Moreover, some participants in Denver said that the product they were shown looked too much like candy. Participants also suggested that edibles should be packaged like prescription medication to prevent people, especially children, from ingesting the products by accident.

But the people in the study also found some aspects of the labeling particularly useful. For example, the participants in Seattle found it useful that the manufacturer of the product voluntarily included the following consumption advice: "Until you know the effects of this product, eat only half of a segment, and wait a minimum of 75 minutes before consuming another portion."

The participants said they thought this advice was important for inexperienced users of edibles. In fact, the participants thought that this voluntary statement was more useful than the mandatory warning statement, which said, "The intoxicating effects of this product may be delayed by 2 or more hours."

The participants said they thought the voluntary advice was more useful because it told consumers how much of the product they could eat and how long they should wait before eating more, the researchers said. [Marijuana Could Treat These 5 Conditions]

The new findings may help improve the way edible marijuana products are labeled as other states, besides Colorado and Washington, permit the sale of such products, the study said. Improving the labeling of edible marijuana products, in turn, may help prevent people from accidentally ingesting such products and ensure that consumers of such products eat safe doses of the products, the researchers noted.

Originally published on Live Science.
In an effort to calm the increasingly dangerous standoff between North Korea on one side and the U.S. and South Korea on the other, China on Wednesday proposed a solution aimed at a long-term reduction in tensions: Pyongyang puts its nuclear and missile programs on ice, while Washington and Seoul halt joint military exercises.

Related: The US Navys $13 Billion Answer to China and Russia

China appears to be a peacemaker, but it may be running scared to the bargaining table for two reasons. While the repressive dynasty that has ruled North Korea since the 1950s could not have remained in power without Beijings support, the current leader, Kim Jong-un, is acting more unstable than his predecessor and must be reined in before he ignites a new war on the Korean Peninsula.

The second reason is an acronym: THAAD.

That stands for Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense  the $1.6 billion-per-unit, anti-missile defense system that the U.S. began positioning in South Korea this week after North Korea fired four missiles on Monday said to be aimed at American bases in Japan. The missiles were described by South Korean military and intelligence officials as a version of the Scud surface-to-surface ballistic missile. All four missiles fell into the Sea of Japan, but some came as close as 190 miles from the coast, according to Reuters.

One THAAD battery includes six truck-mounted launchers, 49 interceptors and AN/TPY-2 radar, according to DefenseNews. Raytheon, which builds the radar system for the unit in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, says it has a record of flawless performance against all classes of ballistic missiles.

But the radars accuracy and detection may be what China fears as much as the disruption of the balance of forces on the peninsula. The radars coverage could extend beyond North Korea and into China. In an article written last year, when THAAD deployment was being considered, DefenseNews quoted a Chinese defense analyst as saying: THAAD deployment could bring a severe shock to the security status quo that exists between China and the U.S., as well as with Russia.

Story continues

Related: US Navy Sends a Powerful Message to Beijing in the South China Sea

South Korea has been pushing for deployment of THAAD systems because its current missile defenses allow for interception at an altitude of only 9.3 miles. THAAD would increase that range to between 24.8 and 93.2 miles, and with both systems in place, there would be a double deterrent, the Seoul-based think tank Korea Defense & Security Forum told DefenseNews.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday said that Beijings intention was to flash the red light and apply brakes to the situation, The New York Times reported. But as the Times pointed out, a 2015 proposal by North Korea for a moratorium on nuclear tests in exchange for a cancellation of joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which Pyongyang has called a prelude for invasion, went nowhere.

Beijings concern about Kim Jong-un may be more heightened than ever after the assassination of his estranged half-brother Kim Jong-nam in Kuala Lumpur and the execution of five of the North Korean leaders top security officials with anti-aircraft guns because they enraged him with false reports.

Malaysian officials have implicated North Korean agents in the bizarre killing of Kim Jong-nam; Malaysian citizens are not being allowed to leave North Korea; North Koreans are not being allowed to leave Malaysia; and a video was posted on Tuesday in which a young man claiming to be Kim Jong-nams son says he and his mother and sister are in hiding.

Related: North Koreas Missile Test Leaves Trump with Three Options

The Times quoted Foreign Minister Wang as saying of the confrontation between North Korea and the U.S.-South Korea: The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming toward each other, and neither side is willing to give way. The question is: Are both sides really prepared for a head-on collision?

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The 35-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a pregnant teen was also the father of the unborn child, who later died, as well as a 1-year-old son who was unharmed, San Antonio police said Tuesday.

According to police, Armando Garcia-Ramires, who is currently in jail on a $2 million bond, lived near the 15-year-old victim, Jennifer Delgado, who was nine months pregnant.

RELATED: Teen, unborn child killed on Northwest Side; suspected gunman hospitalized

It is unclear what motivated Garcia-Ramires to kill Delgado around 11 a.m. Monday at an apartment complex in the 1100 block of Babcock Road, but police say an unidentified woman recently discovered he was the father of both of children.

Police say the same woman first notified police that Garcia-Ramires attempted to kill himself in a wooded area near the apartment where he killed Delgado.

When officers arrived to the wooded area to investigate, they found Garcia-Ramires with a handgun, but he tossed it away when he was confronted by police because it was empty.

RELATED: 'Senseless' argument at library leads to man fighting for his life

Police later discovered he had shot himself one time through the mouth with a .22-caliber handgun, apparently in an effort to kill himself.

Upon further interviews with the unidentified woman who informed them of Garcia-Ramires's relationship to Delgado, officers went to Delgado's apartment.

They found the front door kicked in. Inside, officers located Delgado's body. She had been shot in the head multiple times and was declared dead at the scene. Her body was taken to University Hospital in an unsuccessful effort to save her unborn child.

RELATED: 35-year-old man faces capital murder charges in death of pregnant girl, 15, and unborn child

Police also found the 1-year-old son in the apartment .

Garcia-Ramires was transported to University Hospital. He was later booked into the Bexar County Jail on two capital murder charges after he was released from the hospital.

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donald trump tom price

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, the top healthcare official in President Donald Trump's Cabinet, expressed support for the House GOP's new plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act in a letter to congressional Republican leaders on Tuesday.

Price, a former Republican representative from Georgia and surgeon, said the new plan  called the American Health Care Act (AHCA)  will "align with the President's goal of rescuing Americans from the failures of the Affordable Care Act."

"These proposals offer patient-centered solutions that will provide all Americans with access to affordable, quality healthcare, promote innovation, and offer peace of mind for those with pre-existing conditions," Price wrote in the letter to the two House leaders in charge of the committees that will review the bill, Ways and Means Chair Rep. Kevin Brady and Energy and Commerce Chair Rep. Greg Walden.

The AHCA does conform to the principles laid out by Trump in his joint address to Congress, but it notably omits some ideas favored by the president, including allowing the sale of insurance plans across state lines and controls for prescription drug costs.

Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that those elements are coming in "phase 2 & 3" of the healthcare overhaul.

House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted that the letter was "GREAT NEWS" and Price "endorsed our bill to repeal & replace Obamacare on behalf of the Trump administration."

Here's the full letter:

THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WASHINGTON, D.C. 20201

March 7, 2017

Hon. Greg Walden Chairman Committee on Energy & Commerce 2125 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Walden and Chairman Brady:

Hon. Kevin Brady Chairman Committee on Ways & Means 1102 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

On behalf of the Trump Administration, I am writing in support of the reconciliation recommendations recently released for consideration by your Committees. Together, they align with the President's goal of rescuing Americans from the failures of the Affordable Care Act. These proposals offer patient-centered solutions that will provide all Americans with access to affordable, quality healthcare, promote innovation, and offer peace of mind for those with pre-existing conditions.

Story continues

Your legislative proposals are consistent with the President's commitment to repeal the Affordable Care Act; provide advanceable, refundable tax credits for Americans who do not already receive such tax benefits through health insurance offered by their employers; put Medicaid on a sustainable path and remove burdensome requirements in the program to better target resources to those most in need; empower patients and put healthcare dollars and decisions back into their hands by expanding the use of health savings accounts; ensure a stable transition away from the Affordable Care Act; and protect people with pre-existing conditions.

Achieving all of the President's goals to reform healthcare will require more than what is possible in a budget reconciliation bill, as procedural rules on this type of legislation prevent inclusion of key policies such as selling insurance across state lines, lowering drug costs for patients, providing additional flexibility in Medicaid for states to manage their programs in a way that best serves their most vulnerable citizens, or medical legal reforms. Your proposals represent a necessary and important first step toward fulfilling our promises to the American people. We look forward to working with you throughout the legislative process, making necessary technical and appropriate changes, and ensuring eventual arrival of this important bill on the President's desk.

Yours truly,

Thomas E. Price, M.D. Secretary

NOW WATCH: 'Sit down! Quiet!': Watch Trump's heated exchanges with reporters in his longest press conference as president





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By Long Island News & PR Published: March 08 2017

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos will host the 5th Annual Nassau County High School Business Challenge.

Mineola, NY - March 7, 2017 - Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos is proud to announce that the Office of the Nassau County Comptroller will be hosting its 5th Annual Nassau County High School Comptrollers Business Challenge on April 4th. The Competition will feature many of the area High Schools and over 200 students are expected to participate and present their ideas for multi-billion future businesses. This year, students have been challenged to conceptualize or develop and bring to market an APP with mass appeal in the field of healthcare, public safety or homeland security.



We want to motivate and excite our young entrepreneurs to dream up the next SnapChat, said Comptroller George Maragos. The ideas of young adults are usually the best source for incubating the companies of the future. We want those new companies to be inspired here and to stay in Nassau County.



Baldwin is thrilled to host the opening of the Comptrollers Challenge. Our goal is to provide our students with opportunities that are academically challenging while at the same time provide real world experiences. We applaud and appreciate the work of the Comptrollers Office for creating and providing this opportunity for students in Nassau County, said Superintendent, Dr. Shari Camhi.



The Challenge will be held at the Nassau County Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building in Mineola. Each high school in Nassau County is invited to participate in this event where students are asked to conceptualize a product or service APP and develop a business plan for a hypothetical start-up company and present it to a panel of local officials, venture capitalists and industry experts.



Each team must be composed of at least five (5) individuals in roles such as Chief Executive Officer, V.P. of Operations, V.P. of Finance, V.P. of Marketing and General Counsel; among any others students may feel necessary. Teams will be vying for cash scholarship prizes.
Local News, Crime, Business & Finance, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: March 08 2017

Funding will support local law enforcement tactical teams, technical search and rescue operations, and explosive detection canine units, while also safeguarding critical infrastructure across New York.

Albany, NY - March 7, 2017 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand and Members of the New York Congressional Delegation today announced over $5 million in federal Homeland Security grant funding for local governments across the state to bolster counter terrorism initiatives and strengthen public safety efforts. Funding will support local law enforcement tactical teams, technical search and rescue operations, and explosive detection canine units, while also safeguarding critical infrastructure across New York.



"This funding is essential to ensuring New York's local law enforcement and emergency response teams are prepared, trained and equipped with the tools and experience needed to protect this state," Governor Cuomo said. "These grants support state-of-the-art training and defense tactics and I commend New York's Congressional delegation for their partnership in securing this funding to help keep New Yorkers safe."



Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner John Melville said, "Providing local governments with the funds necessary to support the public safety of the communities they serve is essential to keeping our residents, and those who visit our state, safe. These programs allow our first responders to enhance their abilities to protect life and property."



The funding, administered by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, will support four key areas of proactive defense:



Tactical Team Targeted Grant Program

The State is allocating $2.97 million in funding to 30 organizations through the Tactical Team grant program, which focuses on sustaining, maintaining, and improving teams that are currently in action. Funding aims to enhance existing capabilities, specifically for improvised explosive device or counter terrorism missions. This is being done through the implementation of adopted statewide standards, set forth by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.



Active teams with more than 15 members responding to calls for service outside of a correctional setting were eligible to apply for up to $100,000 in funding. Teams with at least 10 members and an agreement with the Division of Criminal Justice Services to meet the 15 member requirement, were also eligible to apply for this funding.



Fiscal Year 2016 Tactical Team Targeted grant program awardees are:

Sub-Recipient Region Funding Amount Albany County Capital Region $95,854 City of Albany Capital Region $100,000 City of Binghamton Southern Tier $98,317 Town of Clarkstown Mid-Hudson Valley $99,999 Town of Colonie Capital Region $100,000 Town of Eastchester Mid-Hudson Valley $100,000 Erie County Western NY $100,000 Town of Greenburgh Mid-Hudson Valley $100,000 Greene County Mid-Hudson Valley $100,000 City of Ithaca (Tompkins County) Central NY $100,000 City of Jamestown Western NY $100,000 City of Johnstown Capital Region $100,000 Madison County Central NY $96,500 Monroe County Western NY $100,000 Nassau County Long Island $100,000 City of New Rochelle NYC/Metro $100,000 NYPD NYC/Metro $100,000 City of Niagara Falls Western NY $92,000 Niagara County Western NY $99,000 Onondaga County Central NY $100,000 Ontario County Central NY $99,000 Orange County Mid-Hudson Valley $100,000 City of Poughkeepsie Mid-Hudson Valley $99,995 City of Rochester Western NY $98,281 City of Schenectady Capital Region $100,000 Town of Southampton Long Island $94,810 Suffolk County Long Island $99,810 City of Syracuse Central NY $100,000 Westchester County NYC/Metro $100,000 City of White Plains NYC/Metro $100,000 Total $2,973,566

Technical Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue Grant Program

The State is allocating over $1 million in funding to eight organizations through the competitive Technical Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue grant program. Funding helps local emergency response teams enhance capabilities related to structural collapse, trench, confined space, and rope rescue response operations. Teams that provide these services could apply for grant funds for certain equipment, planning, exercise and training costs to further enhance their teams ability to respond to acts of terrorism and other catastrophic events.



Fiscal Year 2016 Technical Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue grant program awardees are:

Sub-Recipient Region Funding Amount Cayuga County Central NY $150,000 Erie County Western NY $139,000 FDNY NYC/Metro $50,000 Hartsdale Fire District NYC/Metro $149,212 Monroe County Western NY $149,836 City of Port Jervis Mid-Hudson Valley $136,760 Suffolk County Long Island $150,000 Westchester County NYC/Metro $94,212 Total $1,019,020

Explosive Detection Canine Grant Program

The State is allocating $642,776 in funding to 22 local law enforcement agencies to build or maintain an Explosive Detection Canine Team. This marks the 8th consecutive year that New York has provided dedicated federal homeland security funding to build and sustain local explosive detection canine teams. More than $3.6 million has been allocated to support this program since its inception.



The purpose of the grant program is to provide up to $50,000 in funding to successful applicants for the development of an explosive detection team or up to $15,000 in funding to sustain and/or enhance the capabilities of previously developed teams. Teams provide a visible, proactive deterrent factor in high-risk areas, such as mass gathering events and critical infrastructure sites. Local law enforcement agencies were required to compete for this funding.



Fiscal Year 2016 Explosive Detection Canine grant program awardees by jurisdiction are:

Sub-Recipient Region Funding Amount City of Albany Capital Region $7,919 Albany County Capital Region $14,310 City of Binghamton Southern Tier $14,937 Chautauqua County Western NY $15,000 Chemung County Sothern Tier $27,500 Erie County Western NY $15,000 Village of Goshen Mid-Hudson Valley $50,000 Madison County Central NY $15,000 City of Middletown Mid-Hudson Valley $50,000 Monroe County Western NY $14,200 NYPD NYC/Metro $65,000* Niagara County Western NY $14,600 Oneida County Central NY $50,000 Onondaga County Central NY $65,000* Orange County Mid-Hudson Valley $50,000 City of Peekskill NYC/Metro $50,000 Town of Poughkeepsie Mid-Hudson Valley $15,000 City of Rochester Western NY $15,000 Town of Saugerties Mid-Hudson Valley $15,000 Suffolk County Long Island $15,000 City of Syracuse Central NY $14,310 Westchester County NYC/Metro $50,000 Total $642,776

*Received awards for the development of a team and sustainment/enhancement of previously developed team.

Critical Infrastructure Grant Program

The State is allocating $394,719 in funding to eight organizations through the Critical Infrastructure grant program, which provides up to $50,000 in funding to successful applicants to protect their critical infrastructure, including special event and training sites. Awardees applied with at least two first responder agencies that had prevention or protection responsibilities at the selected site. First responders include law enforcement, fire departments, emergency management, IT professionals, or public works agencies. Applicants also specified a critical infrastructure site, submitted the completion of a risk assessment and evaluation of local first responder capabilities for the site, and proposed a budget that details how the funding would be used to mitigate the identified risks.



Fiscal Year 2016 Critical Infrastructure grant program awardees are:

Sub-Recipient Region Funding Amount City of Albany Capital Region $50,000 Town of Cheektowaga Western NY $50,000 Erie County Western NY $45,519 Nassau County Long Island $50,000 Monroe County Western NY $50,000 Suffolk County Long Island $50,000 City of Troy Capital Region $49,200 City of Yonkers NYC/Metro $50,000 Total $394,719

Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand said, "These funds will help keep communities around our state safe from threats to their security. New York is the number one terror target in the world, and we need to make sure our local law enforcement have the resources they need to protect our communities. I will always fight for the necessary resources and funds to protect New Yorkers and keep our state safe."



Congressman Eliot Engel said, With the precipitous rise is hate crimes across the countryincluding an increase in anti-Semitic threats made against Jewish Centers and violence against Muslimspublic safety has to remain a priority. For years I have fought for increased federal spending for counter terrorism initiatives in our area, and I am pleased Governor Cuomo is allocating those federal resources to projects that will keep New Yorkers safe."



Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey said, "New York continues to be a top target for terrorist attacks, and Im pleased these federal dollars will bolster our local first responders ability to quickly and decisively protect our communities. My conversations with local community leaders as well as recent bomb threats across the Hudson Valley have made clear that we should continue to invest more funds in these critical programs. As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue fighting to ensure that local law enforcement has the full support of the federal government and the resources to keep the Lower Hudson Valley safe."



Congressman Gregory W. Meeks said, "One of my main responsibilities and commitments as a Member of Congress is to protect the American people from those who seek to do us harm. Having helped secure this funding, I believe it will help meet that commitment. I thank Governor Cuomo for this announcement and always joining me in the never-ending fight to keep our communities safe."



Congressman Brian Higgins said, "Keeping our communities safe requires a coordinated effort from all levels of government. This federal funding will support programs, training, and infrastructure to help first responders and law enforcement professionals be proactive in preventing and prepared in responding to situations where public safety may be at risk."



Congressman Paul Tonko said, "This funding represents a significant investment in the safety of our communities, one of the most basic responsibilities of any government. It is important that these programs get the help they need to maintain or improve public safety and counter terrorism services across the Capital Region. With this support, our communities can rest a little easier knowing the law enforcement officials that protect us have the tools and resources they need to get the job done."



Congressman Tom Reed said, "We are happy to see that parts of New Yorks 23rd Congressional District are part of the states disbursement of federal Homeland Security Grant funding. I care about making sure that our local communities have access to funding that will help to support counter-terrorism initiatives and strengthen public safety."



Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney said, Governor Cuomo made the right call to invest here in the Hudson Valley  this critical investment will ensure our law enforcement and first responders have the tools and training they need to combat terrorism and react to dangerous situations. I look forward to continuing my work alongside the Governor to keep our communities safe from the threat of terrorism and prepared for natural disasters."



Congressman Lee Zeldin said, "With the increasing threat of domestic terrorism in our country, this funding is critical to keep our community, state and nation safe and secure. We must remain ever vigilant. Providing the funding necessary to improve our counter-terrorism, emergency preparedness and infrastructure helps New Yorkers prepare for possible threats."



Congressman Dan Donovan said, "Terrorist attacks around the world, as well as last year's bombings in Chelsea highlight the need to bolster counter terrorism programs and initiatives. These funds will help ensure that law enforcement officials have the resources necessary to combat terror threats and protect our communities. Government's number one responsibility is to protect its citizens, which is why I fought to reverse proposed homeland security funding cuts to protect programs that secure New Yorkers and all Americans."



Congressman Adriano Espaillat said, "Ensuring the safety of New Yorkers is a top priority and today's announcement is further proof of our commitment to support local law enforcement, rescue departments, tactical teams, and vital emergency service units to guarantee they are able to successfully carry out their mission to protect and serve New York residents. I commend Governor Cuomo on his efforts to bolster counter terrorism and public safety programs throughout the state, and stand ready to assist on the federal level to ensure these initiatives are implemented successfully."



Congressman Thomas Suozzi said, "Governor Cuomo and his team have done an effective job of working with the federal government to try and maximize federal support for State efforts. I look forward to continuing that partnership to ensure the residents of Queens, Nassau and Suffolk are safe and that our State receives more of its fair share of federal funds."
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Health & Wellness, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: March 08 2017

Legislator William R. Spencer, M.D. invited Steve Chassman, Executive Director of LICADD, to come before the Health Committee for an update on the 24/7 Substance Abuse Hotline program.

Riverhead, NY - March 7, 2017 - With the one year anniversary of the Suffolk County 24/7 Substance Abuse Hotline approaching, Legislator William R. Spencer, M.D. invited Steve Chassman, Executive Director of LICADD, to come before the Health Committee on Thursday, March 2nd, to provide an update on the program. The impact of substance abuse continues to devastate individuals, families and communities throughout Suffolk County. Its imperative that we maintain a dialogue with our partners in our fight against this crisis. stated Legislator William R. Spencer.

With the highest number of overdose fatalities in New York State, Suffolk County continues to battle the effects of substance abuse. In partnership with Communities of Solution and LICADD, Suffolk County launched this Hotline in April of 2016 as a resource designed to connect services to addicts and their loved ones who are seeking help.

The hotline statistics from April 2016 to January of 2017 indicate that a total of 581 calls were received. Of those 581 calls a total of 321 people, or 59%, were successfully connected to treatment or support services. The highest volume of calls came in during the months of October and January. The majority of callers were heroin abusers; alcohol abuse was the second most reported followed by those abusing three or more substances (polysubstance). The hotline also provided a total of 1,119 follow-up calls since the programs inception.

Because substance related crisis can occur any time of day or night, the Hotline, answered by LICADD clinicians, is available 24 hours a day to assist individuals and families in their time of need. The program opens the window for addicts to access needed services and begin their road to recovery. stated Executive Director of LICADD, Steve Chassman, LCSW, CASAC.

The 24/7 Substance Abuse Hotline # is 631-979-1700.
Potential buyers at a gun show in Chantilly, Virginia

At the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump's chief strategist, outlined one of the administration's core goals: the "deconstruction of the administrative state."

"The way the progressive left runs is, if they can't get it passed, they're just going to put in some sort of regulation," Bannon told an audience of conservative politicians and activists. "That's all going to be deconstructed."

Since Trump took office, the administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have made major strides toward this goal, postponing, suspending, or abandoning more than 90 Obama-era regulations on everything from gun sales to CEO pay, according to a recent report from The New York Times.

Trump has long promised to undertake what he has called "a historic effort to massively reduce job-crushing regulations"  telling a group of business executives in January that 75% of federal regulations could be nixed.

And the speed with which Republicans have begun to fulfill this promise is largely unprecedented.

"By any empirical measure, it is a level of activity that has never been seen," Curtis Copeland, an expert on federal regulatory policy who formerly worked at the Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office, told The Times.

The administration has simultaneously set up barriers to new regulations, requiring that two regulations be repealed with the enactment of any one new rule and freezing the enactment of all pending regulations. In addition, every federal agency must create a team of employees dedicated to finding rules that can be repealed.

A recent report found a dozen instances in which the administration had made changes in regulatory policy immediately following specific requests from private-industry lobbyists and executives.

The Business Roundtable, a conservative group of executives intent on influencing public policy, has made a list of 16 regulations, including those governing the disclosure of information about CEO compensation, that it would like repealed. Legislative efforts to reverse 10 of these rules are already underway.

Story continues

In an example of the success of these direct appeals, the National Rifle Association released a statement on January 24 requesting that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke reverse a rule banning the use of lead-based bullets on federal lands  the use can unintentionally poison wildlife and those who handle the ammunition. On March 2, the day after Zinke was confirmed, he repealed the bullet regulation, arguing that the rule exemplified federal overreach.

Many of Trump's Cabinet members are veteran champions of deregulation. As Bannon said at CPAC, "If you look at these cabinet appointees, they were selected for a reason, and that is the deconstruction."

As the attorney general of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, sued the EPA 14 times, largely in attempts to curtail the agency's clean air and water regulations. On several occassions, Pruitt sent letters to the EPA  and even to President Barack Obama directly  that were later discovered to have been written by oil and gas companies.

Within weeks of taking office, Trump reversed a rule designed to prohibit the coal-mining industry from polluting streams and loosened regulations of greenhouse-gas emissions by electric companies and of transparency surrounding oil and gas exploration.

Ajit Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon who is now the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has already targeted net-neutrality rules and revoked a resolution requiring the US's biggest telecommunications companies, including Verizon, to take "reasonable measures" to protect their customers' personal information from being hacked or accidentally released.

Donald Trump reverses a coal-mining regulation

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently said Trump's economic advisers "are up to our eyeballs" in regulations to be nixed. Ross is planning to work with business associations to dramatically deregulate, and he estimates the Trump administration will save American businesses "very possibly approaching a hundred odd billions of dollars."

In early February, Trump signed an executive order putting in motion a repeal of the Obama administration's retirement-savings rule, which would have required that financial advisers act in their clients' best interests.

Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, denounced the move, arguing it "will make it easier for investment advisers to cheat you out of your retirement savings."

Democrats have also condemned Trump's executive order taking aim at Dodd-Frank, the regulatory legislation put in place after the 2008 financial crash, and his recruitment of bank executives including Gary Cohn, the former president of Goldman Sachs, as his chief economic adviser and Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman banker, as his Treasury secretary to run the administration's financial policy. Both Cohn and Mnuchin are fierce critics of Obama-era Wall Street regulations.

Richard Painter, President George W. Bush's top ethics lawyer, has said the administration is championing deregulation that would benefit Trump personally.

"The deregulation of financial services will lead to more bank loans for real estate, driving up real-estate prices," Painter told The Washington Post. "That ups the value of his real-estate holdings, which the Trump organization could then sell at the top of the market."

NOW WATCH: The Trump family's lavish lifestyle is costing taxpayers a fortune





More From Business Insider


(Adds details on charges in Brazil)

By Nate Raymond

BOSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - A second Brazilian man has been charged with conspiring to launder money linked to a massive fraud out of the United States in a case that led to the discovery of $17 million in cash under a mattress in a Massachusetts apartment.

Leonardo Casula Francisco was charged on Tuesday in an indictment filed in federal court in Boston that also named another Brazilian, Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, who was arrested in January.

Casula, 30, remains in Brazil, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said. A lawyer for Casula could not be identified. Rocha's attorney, Raymond Sayeg, said his client plans to plead not guilty.

The case stemmed from an investigation into TelexFree, a Massachusetts-based company that sold voice-over-internet telephone service and was founded by James Merrill, a U.S. citizen, and Carlos Wanzeler, a Brazilian who is Casula's uncle.

Prosecutors said TelexFree was a pyramid scheme, making little to no money selling its service while taking in millions of dollars from thousands of people who paid to sign up to be "promoters" and post ads online for it.

TelexFree filed for bankruptcy in 2014. Prosecutors said 965,225 victims in the United States, Brazil and various other countries lost $1.76 billion when it collapsed.

Merrill, who was arrested in May 2014, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud charges in October.

Wanzeler fled to Brazil in 2014 and could not be extradited. In February, federal prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo filed charges against 22 people for their involvement with TelexFree, including Wanzeler and Casula.

According to Tuesday's indictment, Casula in mid-2015 asked a cooperating witness to help transfer cash earned through the fraud that was hidden in the greater Boston area out of the United States.

The pair agreed someone would be sent to the United States to deliver the money in increments to the witness, who would send it to accounts in Hong Kong where it would be transferred to Brazil, prosecutors said.

Story continues

In December, Casula sent Rocha to the United States to deliver money to the witness, the indictment said.

Prosecutors said that after a Jan. 4 meeting in a parking lot where Rocha gave the witness $2.2 million in a suitcase, federal agents followed Rocha to a Westborough, Massachusetts, apartment complex.

They returned to it after arresting Rocha to find $17 million hidden under a mattress, prosecutors said.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, additional reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis)
TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) - Japan's trade minister Hiroshige Seko and his U.S. counterpart Wilbur Ross will likely meet on March 16 in Washington, Jiji news agency reported on Wednesday.

Seko and U.S. Commerce Secretary Ross agreed by phone this week to meet as soon as possible to prepare for a planned bilateral economic dialogue, which is to be led be U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Finance Minister Taro Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister.

Seko said on Tuesday he wanted to exchange candid views with Ross on energy, trade, investment, cyber and space.

The governments of both nations are finalizing the arrangement of the meeting, Jiji reported.

The economic dialogue between the two nations will kick off in April, when Pence visits Japan.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
Lucknow: The encounter between security forces and a suspected terrorist holed up in a building in Thakurganj came to an end and the latters body was recovered.

The encounter began yesterday after the terror suspect, identified as Saifullah and suspected to be responsible for Bhopal train blasts on the previous day, opened fire at the security forces.

Though the security forces tried to flush him out of the building with chilli bombs, the attempt was futile. Civilians living nearby were evacuated before the security offensive while the police hoped to catch him alive.
Urban Outfitters Inc. URBN posted lower-than-expected earnings, when the company reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 results. Further, the companys top-line fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second consecutive quarter.

Following the quarterly numbers, the companys shares declined 1.6% during after-market trading hours on Mar 7. In fact, the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) companys shares have declined 25.1% in the past three months, underperforming the Zacks categorized Retail-Apparel/Shoe industry which has witnessed a fall of 19.6%.

This lifestyle specialty retail company posted quarterly earnings of 55 cents a share that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and fell 9.8% from 61 cents in the year-ago period. The underperformance of the bottom line can be attributed to higher SG&A expenses deleverage (up 3.5%). Even the top-line growth and lower effective tax rate failed to cushion the bottom line.

An Insight into Revenues

We observe that although net sale of $1,030.2 million came in below the consensus mark of $1,037 million, the same increased 1.7% from the year-ago figure of $1,013.4 million. The top line gained from growth in direct-to-consumer channel, a jump of $19 million in non-comparable sales, the opening of two net new outlets and sales contribution from the newly acquired Vetri Family restaurants.

Except Urban Outfitters all other brands like Anthropologie Group, Free People along with Food and Beverage segments contributed to top-line growth in the quarter. Further, the company is making all possible efforts to enhance their performance.

Net sales by brands fell 0.4% to $413.8 million at Urban Outfitters but increased 1.5% to $424 million at Anthropologie Group and 4.4% to $186.3 million at Free People. For Food and Beverage net sales came in at $6 million compared with $1.8 million in the prior-year quarter.

The companys net sales advanced 1.8% to $956 million at the Retail Segment but declined 0.6% to $74.2 million at the Wholesale Segment.

Story continues

Comparable retail segment net sales, including the comparable direct-to-consumer channel, were flat year over year. Comparable retail segment net sales rose 2% at Urban Outfitters and 1.2% at Free People but decreased 2.9 % at the Anthropologie Group. Comparable Retail segment sales were driven by robust performance of direct-to-consumer channel. However, growth was offset by negative retail store comparable net sales.

FindTheCompany | Graphiq

Margin Performance

Gross profit for the quarter came in at $340.3 million, down 2.5% from the year-ago quarter, while gross margin contracted 142 basis points (bps) to approximately 33% primarily owing to deleverage in customer delivery and logistics expense rates. Further, it was impacted by lesser initial mark-up and higher markdowns at both the Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters brands.

Management anticipates gross margin rate to decline year over year in first-quarter fiscal 2018 on account of rise in delivery and logistic expenses. Operating income declined 14.5% to $99.5 million, while operating margin shriveled approximately 180 bps to 9.7% in the quarter.

Store Update

In fiscal 2017, the company opened 29 new outlets  15 Free People stores, 10 Anthropologie Group stores and four Urban Outfitters stores. The company shuttered seven stores  two Free People store, three Anthropologie Group store and two Urban Outfitters store  in the same time frame. During the period, the company also opened two new restaurants and acquired six Vetri Family restaurants which are included in the Food and Beverage division.

During fiscal 2018, the company plans to open a total of 19 net new outlets, while shutting down seven stores to lease expiration. The company anticipates opening four net new Urban Outfitters stores, including one in Europe and three in North America; four net new Anthropologie stores, including one expanded format store; and 10 net new Free People stores. The food and beverage division is also planning to open one restaurant.

In the first quarter, the company plans to open six net new outlets, including five new Free People stores in North America, one new expanded format Anthropologie store.

Other Financial Details

Urban Outfitters ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $248.1 million, marketable securities of $111.1 million and shareholders equity of $1,313.1 million. For fiscal 2018, management anticipates capital expenditures of $90 million.

During fiscal 2017, the company bought back 1.3 million shares for approximately $46 million under the 20 million share buyback program announced on Feb 23, 2015. During fiscal 2016, the company repurchased 12.7 million shares for approximately $382 million under the same buyback program. The company still has 6 million shares remaining under its 20 million share repurchase authorization.

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks in the retail sector include Kate Spade & Company KATE, The Children's Place, Inc. PLCE and Genesco Inc. GCO, all the three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Kate Spade & Company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 14.6% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 28.3%.

Children's Place delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 36.3% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3%.

Genesco delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 31.4% in the trailing four quarters and has a long-term earnings growth rate of 9.5%.

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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Bitcoin Important Price Action to Be Seen

In short: no speculative positions.



Bitcoin is making its way into mainstream press. In an article on the CNBC website, we read:



Digital currency advocates had plenty to crow about last week when bitcoin's price overtook gold.



The event signaled a potentially important moment point for bitcoin, which is generally seen as asset that stores wealth. Bitcoin has gained more than 60 percent in price since mid-January.

Now comes a chance for bitcoin to take another step toward legitimacy.At some point this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to rule on a request from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss  the twin brothers who battled Mark Zuckerberg in court shortly after he founded Facebook  to bring a bitcoin exchange-trade fund to market. If the ETF is approved, it will give investors another vehicle to capitalize on the bitcoin craze without having to go to the exchanges where the currency is traded.While a bitcoin ETF would be huge for the currency, market experts remain skeptical that it will happen.It is not at all clear that the ETF is the actual reason for the recent Bitcoin rally. It might be the case but it is not a done deal. The more important part here might be that CNBC included Bitcoin in its Coming up this week piece. The general idea here is that Bitcoin coverage might be peaking which would also suggest that the top is near.Another side of the story is that, if the reason behind the rally is the ETF, we might have quite an important week on our hands. It seems that the market is inclined to believe that the Bitcoin ETF will be approved and hence the move up. At the same time, a report from Needham & Company, an investment bank and asset management firm, puts the odds of the ETF being approved at 25%. If the ETF doesnt receive approval, we might see a quite significant sell-off. It might also be the case that a lot of the potential upside is already in the price. The balance of odds suggests that we might see if not a move down in the next week, then at least a lot of volatility.For now, lets focus on the charts.

Bitcoin moved to an all-time high once again, coming very close to $1,300. In our recent comments, we wrote:



We saw a move above $1,200 but Bitcoin came back below this level almost immediately. On the one hand, Bitcoin is still above the 2013 top which makes the situation more bullish. At the same time, we are already after a very significant move up and the last two days have been a move up on very weak volume so far (...). This is a bearish indication.



The situation remains pretty much the same. We are at an all-time high, however, the recent price action might make Bitcoin look overextended at present and this suggests that at least a short-term correction might be in the cards.



Bitcoin went up but the move was not convincing in terms of volume. The situation is still very similar to what we saw previously. Bitcoin is above recent resistance level, however, the rally already seems stretched and we might be in for a serious correction.

On the long-term BTC-e chart, we see the recent move above $1,200. In our previous alert, we wrote:



Add the move up on average volume and the fact that Bitcoin is getting mentioned by Reuters, and it seems that we might be in for at least a temporary move down. At the same time, we see Bitcoin above the 2013 top a move that seems to be confirmed. This means that Bitcoin might still shoot up before changing tack. This is by no means certain. At present, we would prefer to see some indications of a move to the downside before opening any hypothetical positions.



Right now, were seeing yet another move up and it might be the case that this is the possible move up before a more significant correction. We have not yet seen an indication that a move down has started and it would take such an indication for us to consider hypothetical short positions. This is not the case just now. We are of the view that we might be close to a very significant top but we might still see a move up before a corrective move down. The upcoming ETF decision might serve as an important trigger in the next couple of days.



Summing up, in our opinion not having speculative positions might be favorable at the moment.



Trading position (short-term, our opinion): no positions.

Regards,

Mike McAra



Bitcoin Trading Strategist

Bitcoin Trading Alerts at SunshineProfits.com

Disclaimer

All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Mike McAra and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Mike McAra and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. McAra is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Mike McAras reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Mike McAra, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.

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El Chapo Guzman US federal court

Former Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has pleaded innocent to the array of charges against him and his next court date is May 5.

But the legal wrangling around the Mexican capo has not slacked.

In the most recent development, US prosecutors slated to face Guzman in an Eastern District of New York courtroom have asked that US authorities investigate any foreigners added to Guzman's legal team.

US Attorney Robert Capers and Arthur Wyatt, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section chief for the Justice Department's Criminal Division, argued that, based on their experience, an unvetted member of the defense team could compromise the case brought by the government.

"If a foreign lawyer or investigator that also was a member of the Sinaloa cartel was united with the defense team, [they] could travel to the United States, review the evidence that is protected, and travel later out of the United States with that knowledge," Capers and Wyatt wrote in a letter to Eastern District judge Brian Cogan.

"If a member of the cartel traveled to the United States and found out the identity of a cooperating Mexican witness, [they] could later travel to Mexico with this information and give the name of the witness to other members of the Sinaloa cartel who could kidnap or kill the family of that witness," the letter added.

El Chapo Joaquin Guzman

The letter was confirmed to Univision by Jose Refugio Rodriguez, one of three Mexican lawyers who represented Guzman in his home country.

He said that while they are not allowed to act as lawyers on Guzman's behalf in the US, they had been advising his current legal team and could visit him in the future.

Story continues

Refugio Rodriguez said it was the right of prosecutors to look into the background of members of the defense team, but he said he took issue with this specific request as it seemed to cast Guzman's Mexican lawyers as complicit with the kingpin, which he said violated the presumption of innocence.

El Chapo

In their letter, Capers and Wyatt denied that they did not trust Guzman's Mexican lawyers, but said that in the past "foreign professionals," including lawyers, had used their status to commit crimes and bribe officials.

Guzman's US lawyers  Michael Schneider and Michelle Gelernt, two court-appointed public defenders  criticized the request as a "prohibition" on foreigners joining the defense and said the prosecutors' letter did not offer legal arguments for why "the citizens of other countries are less trustworthy than Americans."

According to Refugio Rodriguez, Guzman's US lawyers have already brought a motion against the request, "because lawyers cannot be treated like criminals."

Related Video:

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android.

NOW WATCH: Here's footage of 'El Chapo' arriving to the US





More From Business Insider
MARTINSVILLE-At first, there were 13. These were veterans who wanted to honor their fallen comrades, men who saw members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines laid to rest without Taps being played, a 21 gun salute or any of the military rites they earned. And so, they went to work in Martinsville and Henry County.

Those 13 men formed the Martinsville/Henry County Honor Guard in 1973, a tradition thats stood for 44 years.

The military has cut back on expenses, they cant come here to do a military funeral for a fallen veteran every time, said Thomas Spencer, the current commander for the Martinsville/Henry County unit. If they do send someone, they can usually only send about two people.

Its not out of malice or spite, its not that Henry County is being ignored, Spencer says. The military just doesnt have the money or manpower to be at every funeral. Thats where the Honor Guard steps in.

We do the whole thing, Spencer said. We do this for the families and for the fallen veterans. It lets them know their sacrifice isnt forgotten. Its a great honor.

As the years went on, the need for the group grew as well. That original group of 13 performed between 15 to 20 services a year. By the 2000s, the number of services grew to 135 a year. Now the group has 24 active members and in 2016, they performed 148 services.

For Spencer, its an operation hes been working with for eight years now. The Vietnam War veteran served 25 years in the Army, enlisting in 1969 and getting out in 1995. Originally a member of the infantry, Spencer and his unit served near Chu Lai, a military base roughly 56 miles south of the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang.

That was a rough time for everyone, Spencer said. Where I went, most everyone got killed. I saw a lot of stuff. It took me a while to get used to it.

A bout with malaria ended his tour and directed Spencer toward a new way of serving. When he came back stateside to Fort Knox, his superiors originally recommended him for drill instructor duty.

Then the supply man came in and I need help, and the mess hall sergeant came in and said I need help. Spencer said. The mess hall sergeant talked me into being a cook.

Later on, Spencer came to Martinsville and got into the reserve. Thats how he spent his last 20 years in the service, cooking for the U.S. Army Reserve 2174th Garrison.

While Spencer was in Vietnam, his current deputy commander, Leonard Boyce, was finishing up his own tour. Boyce served in the Air Force and then later worked with the military police. But in 1966, his re-enlistment time came up and he cut his separation papers.

He came back to Virginia and started working with DuPont. After retiring from DuPont, he joined the American Legion and learned about the Honor Guard. When asked how he became deputy commander, Boyce and Spencer both laugh.

When I walked through the door, he snatched me up, Boyce said. I love doing this.

On the go operation

In 2009, the Martinsville/Henry County Honor Guard received a charter, both from Virginia and the U.S. Department of Defense. That gave them official recognition, meaning that now when they performed military rites, it was as representatives of the U.S. Armed Forces. Its an operation that includes several local groups. The Honor Guard recruits members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, AMVETS and the Marine Corps League, as well as any other veteran who feels the call. Its a full-time calling, one that sees groups members travel across the commonwealth.

We do funerals in Martinsville, Henry County, Pittsylvania County, Danville and even over the line in Stoneville, North Carolina, Spencer said. Weve been all the way to Charlottesville. Its wherever people call and ask for us to go.

During the week the two members sat down to talk with the Bulletin, in less than four days they had been at funerals everywhere from Henry County to the other side of Danville in Pittsylvania County. Its not done for money or any type of reward. There isnt a salary involved for anyone, as this is purely volunteer work. It also doesnt just involve funerals. The group has spent time at multiple schools in Henry County, teaching students how to perform the different rites.

We show them how to fold a flag, we go out to the pole and show them how to raise it, Spencer said. We also tell them what the purpose of flying half mast is and we go to youth centers and show kids how to play Taps.

To do all this, it takes a group of dedicated volunteers, which the organization could use more of. Each year, the number of funerals and requests grow and in order to cover it all, the Honor Guard needs to as well.

Just give me a call, Ive got an application waiting, Spencer said. Man or woman, it doesnt matter. I have a uniform for you.

The group, through donations, covers the cost of everything from shoes to gloves, from ties to pants, shoes, socks and even an overcoat. Its a dedicated team, one willing to leave as soon as theyre asked.

The guys we have, you make a phone call and say weve got a funeral Saturday, they say Ill be there, Boyce said. The dedication is there. Since this organization was established, all youve got to do is make a call.

Anyone interested in joining up or making a donation to the Honor Guard can call Spencer at (276)-634-7682 or Boyce at (276)-732-7540. You can also reach them through the Veterans Affairs Regional Office at 1-800-827-1000.
COLLINSVILLEAt what point is it legal to ignite explosive material in Virginia? Does a party count? What about a birthday celebration? A Henry County trial involving three men, including a former sheriffs deputy, has raised the question once more.

Joseph Ronald Bender, 34, of Axton and 35-year-old Martinsville resident Gerry Lee Dillon were charged with three felony counts of manufacturing, possessing or using fire bombs or explosive materials after a Nov. 7, 2015 incident involving Tannerite. Martinsville resident Carter Scott Campbell, 21, was also linked to the incident, charged with one count of the same offense.

According to court documents for the prosecution, Bender and Dillon allegedly admitted to contributing to the purchase of at least 22 pounds of Tannerite, a binary explosive, for use at a party at Benders home. Bender, a former Henry County sheriffs deputy, also allegedly admitted to firing a rifle to trigger two separate ignitions of several pounds of Tannerite that had been mixed with diesel fuel and gasoline. Another prosecution document alleged that Campbell admitted to firing his rifle to trigger the ignition of 19 pounds of Tannerite.

Thats where the question comes in. In Virginia, its not actually illegal to own Tannerite. In an advisory opinion issued Oct. 1, 2014, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring stated that possessing and causing Tannerite to explode, in the absence of other circumstances, is not illegal. Herring had issued an opinion in a similar case in Chesterfield County, where a man had used a rifle to shoot Tannerite in an open field. In the case, Herring argued that the material was no different than gunpowder, match heads or any other explosive material that was legal to purchase in the state.

Tannerite is the brand name of a binary explosive that is marketed as a shot indicator for firearms practice, Herrings opinion states. Other binary explosives that are similar to Tannerite are sold under different brand names. They are in common use and are sold by large sporting goods chain stores. Binary explosives are supplied as two separate powders. After the powders are mixed, they will detonate when hit with a bullet from a high-powered rifle.

So why was the Henry County case different than the one in Chesterfield? The prosecution argued that the amount used in the Henry County case made a difference.

The resulting explosions were very large and caused a great disturbance to surrounding neighbors and individuals far away from the scene, a prosecution document stated. This use exceeds the manufacturers recommended usage and is beyond the scope of any lawful usage of the Tannerite product.

Special prosecutor Thomas E. Bowers said during Tuesdays court hearing that the explosion of 19 pounds of Tannerite rattled peoples windows for a considerable distance and that the two explosions involving smaller amounts of Tannerite mixed with diesel fuel and gasoline caused fire balls. There were a lot of calls to 911 from concerned residents, he said.

Bowers was asked to prosecute the case because of a perceived conflict of interest. He currently serves as the commonwealths attorney for the city of Salem.

The reason we got out of the case is because one of the co-defendants, Joseph Bender, was a Henry County sheriffs deputy at the time the investigation began, Andrew Nester, Henry County Commonwealths Attorney, said. Thus, we felt we had a conflict and decided to step aside and get a special prosecutor appointed to handle the matter. The special prosecutor then, in conjunction with the state police, oversaw the investigation and determined what charges to make and who to charge out of this investigation. After my office turned it over to a special prosecutor we had no further dealings with the case and let the special prosecutor handle the matter until it as fully resolved.

Nester said Bender is no longer employed by the Henry County Sheriffs Office.

How much is too far?

In court on Tuesday, Bowers said the prosecution recognized the defendants were not terrorists and werent planning evil, but were having fun and it went too far.

The problem is that too far appears to be up for interpretation in Virginia, when it comes to how much is too much. In the Virginia Code section that deals with explosive material, 18.2-85, it doesnt specify an amount that is or is not legal. It simply says that explosive materials, with the exception of fireworks, is banned. Fireworks, in Virginia Code section 27-95, however, can include any firecracker, torpedo, skyrocket, or other substance or object of whatever form or construction, that contains any explosive or inflammable compound or substance and is intended, or commonly known as fireworks, and which explodes, rises into the air or travels laterally or fires projectiles into the air.

As Tannerite is an explosive compound, defense attorneys argued, it would appear theres a grey area in the law.

The wording of the statute is such that the ordinary citizen cannot know what conduct is legal or illegal under the statute, Benders lawyer, Phillip Gardner, argued.

He also argued that multiple people were involved at the party, but these three were the only ones selected to be charged. Dillons lawyers, David Furrow and Brian Mangano, agreed, arguing that their client legally purchased Tannerite and subsequently was present when it was used for a recreational and lawful purpose on private property.

As the result of a plea agreement, all three men pleaded no contest to reduced misdemeanor charges of interfering with the property rights of another. Henry County Circuit Court Judge David V. Williams sentenced Dillon and Bender each to a total of 18 months in jail, with a total of 30 days active and the balance suspended, and Williams ordered each to pay a $1,000 fine and court costs within 12 months.

Judge Williams sentenced Campbell to six months in jail, with 10 days active and the balance suspended. Williams ordered Campbell to pay court costs within 12 months. None of the defendants had a criminal record prior to this incident.

Defense lawyers said the case points to the need for the General Assembly to clarify the Virginia law when it comes to explosive material.
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SPRINGFIELD -- Business confidence in the state rose in February to a point not seen since August 2004, the business group Associated Industries of Massachusetts said Tuesday.

The group's Business Confidence Index rose seven-tenths of a point to 62.1 percent in February, seven points higher than it was a year ago.

Employers expressed optimism about U.S. business conditions and about the future of manufacturing, Associated Industries said. The U.S. Index of national business conditions rose 11.5 points during the past year, and the Manufacturing Index surged 9.1 points.

Tuesday's news follows months of positive movement in the survey, said Raymond G. Torto, chairman of Associated Industries' board of economic advisers.

"The increase in confidence was more modest than we have seen in previous months. Employers projected a generally positive view of the economy, but were also taking the measure of potential economic policy changes in Washington," Torto said. "Employers remain more optimistic about the future than about the present -- a good indicator of the potential for continued growth and investment both in Massachusetts and nationally."

Associated Industries surveys its members each month looking for a read on business conditions. The Business Confidence Index is plotted on a 100-point scale with 50 being neutral and 100 being good.

The index reached its historic high of 68.5 on two occasions in 1997 and 1998, and its all-time low of 33.3 in February 2009. The index has been higher than 50 since 2013.

Some data from the survey:

Hiring:

Business conditions:

Sell, sell, sell:

Right now:

Future looks bright:

Manufacturing:

Associated Industries President and CEO Richard C. Lord, pointed to the 2.8 percent unemployment rate in Massachusetts and the commonwealth's designation last week as the best state in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. But he said business reaction to the administration of President Donald Trump has been mixed.

"Employers are certainly enthusiastic about lower corporate taxes, streamlined regulation and a meaningful infrastructure program. They are not as enthusiastic about withdrawing from trade agreements and once again having to process major changes in health reform," Lord said.
WESTFIELD - Following a comprehensive national search, Parviz H. Ansari, Ph.D. has been selected as Westfield State University's new Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Ansari will report to President Dr. Ramon S. Torrecilha and will provide vision, planning, and leadership to shape the university's future. He will assume his new role at Westfield State on July 1.



According to Torrecilha, Ansari, as the university's chief academic officer, will most immediately provide key oversight to the university's move to a college structure and critical academic initiatives, including The Westfield State Experience, Westfield State's signature student success program that aims to increase student engagement, achievement, and retention.



"Dr. Ansari's innovative approach and influence in creating strategic relationships and student-centered advancements will benefit Westfield State's students and faculty alike," said Torrecilha. "We are delighted to welcome a senior administrator of Dr. Ansari's caliber to the Westfield State community to further enrich our academic rigor and learning environments that position our students for career and life success."

Ansari most recently served as the Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). He previously served as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs there, achieving a 10-year high point in first-year retention and a sizeable increase in student diversity. He also provided leadership for institutional reaccreditation, the reorganization of academic affairs including the creation of the international affairs division, and an online-based Winter Session and forged strategic partnerships with area community colleges.

Prior to SIUE, he served in a variety of dean positions at Rowan University and Seton Hall University, both located in New Jersey. At Rowan, he was Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences before serving as Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and the founding Dean of the interdisciplinary School of Biomedical Sciences; and at Seton Hall University, he most recently served as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. At both institutions, he was the architect of strategic plans that advanced the mission of university.

Throughout his career, he has held several teaching positions, performed research at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and completed a one-year fellowship with the American Council on Education at The George Washington University. "I appreciate the opportunity to apply my background in public and private higher education to benefit Westfield State University," said Ansari. "I am eager to help lead the institution and oversee the Academic Affairs Division and I look forward to working alongside the members of the Westfield State community, including those with whom I had such positive interactions during the search process."

Ansari holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Science in Physics from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Pahlavi University (now Shiraz University) in Iran.

Ansari assumes the role of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs following Dr. Marsha Marotta's interim service as Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Springfield skyline CT river Molnar.jpg

The Springfield, MA skyline on Oct. 23, 2016. (DAVID MOLNAR / THE REPUBLICAN)

((DAVID MOLNAR / THE REPUBLICAN))

SPRINGFIELD -- Companies that have relocated or expanded in Massachusetts over the past decade nearly always say they chose the Bay State because of its expert work force.

And more than three-quarters, 77 percent to be exact, of those companies told pollsters from the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute and MassEcon.

The survey also showed that and 64 percent rated the state as a "good" or "very good" place to do business, according to the report released on Tuesday

Forty companies relocated or expanded in Western Massachusetts, defined here as Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire counties, from 2004 through 2015. Another 21 expanded or relocated in Berkshire County.

Most of those companies in all four of the western counties were manufacturers, the study said. And most new or expanding companies in this region cited access to interstate markets in New York and Connecticut as a major reason for their expansion.

Companies outside of Greater Boston also cited the relatively low cost of housing, relatively low business costs in general.

" (Housing) costs in Greater Boston in particular are inordinately high, limiting options for low and middle-income workers," according to the report

The report cites General Electric's $200 million investment for its 400,000 square foot downtown Boston office complex which is set to employ up to 800. The report contains a list of employers who gave lengthy interviews to researchers.

Locally, researchers talked with General Dynamics in Pittsfield- the defense giant which makes products for Navy ships.

They also spoke with Jarvis Surgical in Westfield. Jarvis manufactures components for the orthopedic health care industry, including precision titanium and cobalt chrome implants for shoulders, knees, hips and spines. In 2016, Jarvis expanded using a $2.2 million MassDevelopment bond. It has plans to add to add 45 full-time positions to a workforce of more than 80 employees.

Not all the outcomes were positive, however. The report also cites Menck Windows of Chicopee which shut down in January after running out of money to make payroll.

The study's authors point to the emphasis businesses put on finding a ready work force. That, they say, is a reason to invest in education, including vocational education, to keep those skilled employees flowing.

"This report is a valuable tool for us to use to measure our successes in creating a business environment that supports employer growth and uncover opportunities to strengthen collaboration across the state to help our cities and towns increase jobs and investment," said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash in a news release. "I look forward to the solutions that we can implement with our partners across business, non-profit and government sectors to improve the business environment for the benefit of all Massachusetts residents."

The Donahue Institute is the research arm of the University of Massachusetts. MassEcon is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, Boston-based think tank.

Reasons Business Chooses Massachusetts by Jim Kinney on Scribd
Eliza Dushku, who gained fame on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Bring It On" and "Dollhouse," revealed she has been sober for eight years after battling alcoholism and drug addiction.

The 36-year-old Watertown native and Suffolk University student detailed her battle with alcohol and drug addiction at the New Hampshire Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.

She said she began to experiment with drugs at the age of 14.

"I loved the first time I took a drug because I loved how it made me feel, I loved the way it made me not feel and I didn't have to feel... It was fun and I loved it until it wasn't," she said. "Drugs didn't love me, they didn't love my family. They definitely didn't love my friends that died, I have a lot of friends that are dead."

Dushku spoke at the request of Jim Wahlberg, brother of actor Mark Wahlberg, whose youth foundation sponsored the summit.

Actress Eliza Dushku poses at the premiere of the film "Be Here Now (The Andy Whitfield Story)," at the UTA Theater on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Starburst-Candies.jpg

Starburst candies. Photo by Evan-Amos (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Pink Starburst lovers, rejoice.

Wrigley, the company that owns Starburst, has announced a limited-edition all-pink pack that will hit candy shelves sometime in April.

"On social media we're seeing people talk about pink Starburst more than any other flavor; there's even a meme about being treated 'like a Pink Starburst,'" Montei said in an interview with Mashable.

If you are an avid candy-eater, you know that getting a pack of Starbursts that has a significant amount of strawberry fruit chews is essentially the ultimate win.

The company will release single sticks as well as entire bags at Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Amazon and other retailers nationwide.

It's happening. @Starburst is releasing packages with ONLY PINK. My dreams have come true! (Sorry in advance, pancreas!!) pic.twitter.com/7vYGbjHnIj -- Debbie Fischer (@somethingfischy) March 7, 2017
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A rendering of a proposed casino in East Windsor, Conn. The casino is being developed by a joint Mashantucket Pequot-Mohegan gaming company.

(MMCT)

The tribal gaming company seeking to build a third casino in Connecticut to compete with the upcoming MGM Springfield gaming resort has released the first rendering of the project.

MMCT, which is jointly run by the tribal operators of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, formally signed a development deal with East Windsor to host the state's third casino on Thursday, 17 months after it first solicited development proposals.

East Windsor's site is adjacent to I-91 and currently houses a vacant former Showcase Cinemas theater, which MMCT officials have said they will likely demolish.

The rendering shows a revamped facility branded with both the Mohegan and Foxwoods logos. MMCT plans to include 2,000 slot machines and 50 to 150 table games at the casino, and supports a bill currently before the Connecticut legislature that would tax its gaming revenues at 25 percent.

The state's 2015 gaming act allowed MMCT to seek a site for its casino, but another bill -- currently undergoing hearings -- is required to begin construction. Two bills are under consideration: S.B. 957, supported by MMCT, and a competing bill that would open the process up to additional developers.

"SB 957 is exactly what Connecticut needs to thwart an immediate threat right across our border," Mohegan Tribal Council Chairman Kevin Brown said in a statement. "What's more, tourism-boosting provisions make this a statewide bill that will benefit every corner of Connecticut."

Tribal leaders have pitched the casino as a necessary response to protect Connecticut's gaming industry and state revenue from MGM's competition, citing a study that found MGM Springfield could cost the state 9,300 jobs.

"MGM will do whatever they can to generate whatever shareholder revenue they can, even if it means crippling a celebrated Connecticut industry," Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Rodney Butler said at the deal signing in East Windsor last week. "They would love to see us give up instead of fighting back. But we're not going to do that."

For its part, MGM has launched an aggressive public relations campaign against what it describes as the state's secretive and unfair casino process, and filed a lawsuit to block the 2015 gaming act that is currently before a federal appeals court.

"Senate Bill No. 957 deprives the state of an opportunity to even entertain competing proposals for a Commercial Casino," MGM Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel Uri Clinton said in a statement. "Consequently the State would not have the ability to compare proposals on jobs, guaranteed annual payments, or even financial support required to address the local infrastructure required to support the planned commercial casino."

The deal guarantees a $3 million initial payment from MMCT to East Windsor and at least $3 million per year in additional revenue. MMCT estimates the project would generate about $5.5 million per year in addition to the $3 million set payment.

The agreement also includes a commitment to use union labor for construction, and guarantees that at least 4 percent of the casino's workers will be East Windsor residents and 15 percent from within 25 miles of the facility, MMCT said in a press release.
Protesters packed Harvard Square Tuesday evening to speak out against a travel ban signed by President Donald J. Trump on Monday.

Hundreds held up signs opposing the order and the Trump administration as they marched from the Harvard University plaza through part of Cambridge.

The revised travel ban signed Monday is a scaled-back version of the controversial order introduced last month.

America remains closed to new refugees seeking to enter the country and new visas will not be issued to residents of six Muslim-majority countries but the order eliminates some contentious language in the first ban, the Associated Press reports.

Tuesday's rally was organized by several student groups, including Harvard Islamic Society, the Society of Arab Students.
(Adds Icahn's response, updates share prices)

By Chris Prentice

March 8 (Reuters) - A government watchdog group, Public Citizen, said on Wednesday it has asked lawmakers to investigate whether Carl Icahn violated lobbying disclosure laws, a complaint the billionaire investor denied and called a "witch hunt."

The group said Icahn may have been acting as a lobbyist when he advised President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. biofuels program. Icahn, an unpaid adviser to Trump on regulation, submitted a proposal to Trump last month to change the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard by shifting the burden of blending biofuels into gasoline away from oil refining companies, and further down the supply chain to marketers.

Public Citizen said that, because Icahn owns a controlling stake in a refinery that could benefit from the proposed change, he may have been required by a 1995 lobbying disclosure law to disclose his discussions with Trump on the subject as lobbying. The group said it has made its request for a probe in a letter sent to Congress on Wednesday morning.

"All of this has occurred with no record of any (Lobbying Disclosure Act) filings by or on behalf of Mr. Icahn," Public Citizen said in a copy of the letter provided to Reuters.

Icahn did not respond to Reuters requests for comment but described the complaint in an opinion piece on The Hill website as a "gross misstatement of the facts" and said he had vetted his activities with lawyers.

'ETHICS ROCK AND A LOBBYING HARD PLACE'

The RFS, signed into law by former President George W. Bush, requires oil companies to mix increasing levels of renewable fuels into gasoline and diesel each year - a requirement that many refiners say costs them millions of dollars. Oil companies can either blend biofuels or buy paper credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RIN), from those that have.

Icahn owns an 82-percent stake in refiner CVR Energy Inc , which along with other refining companies, has urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shift the blending obligation away from them.

Story continues

"While we are not fighting the Renewable Fuel Standard, I have for months and will continue to speak out against the misguided way in which the EPA has been administering the RFS" with regards to the agency's handling of a "corrupt" RIN market, Icahn said.

Efforts to reach the White House were not immediately successful.

"Carl Icahn is between an ethics rock and a lobbying hard place," said Norman Eisen, co-founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington who served as the chief ethics lawyer for former President Barack Obama. "If he claims he is an informal advisor, then he is subject to lobbying rules."

Icahn has disclosed his role as a Trump adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but he has not registered as a lobbyist. Several Democratic lawmakers have said they want more information about his role in the Trump administration.

Shares of CVR Energy jumped over 1 percent following Icahn's response but pared gains and was unchanged at $21.40 by 3:47 p.m. EST (2047 GMT). Share values have risen about 70 percent since the presidential election. Over that time, Icahn's stake has gained over $600 million in value, according to Reuters data.

Last week, the head of a U.S. biofuels group said Icahn told him that Trump was readying an executive order to change the point of obligation for blending under the biofuels program, something both the White House and Icahn have denied.

The White House has said it is reviewing Icahn's proposal and has not yet taken a position.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice in New York; Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson and Lawrence Hurley in Washington; editing by Richard Valdmanis and Marguerita Choy)
SPRINGFIELD -- The 2017 Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Awards will honor 27 Springfield teachers for their creativity and impact on students in classrooms across the city.

The annual awards are given to teachers throughout the Pioneer Valley who exhibit a high degree of professionalism; subject knowledge; effectiveness; creativity; student impact and support for colleagues.

"Every year we look forward to honoring our teachers of excellence," said Superintendent of Schools Daniel Warwick. "Too often teaching may seem like a thankless endeavor, but I always say our district is fortunate to have some of the best teachers the profession has to offer. Congratulations to this year's class of award winners."

School officials will honor the recipients during a regularly scheduled School Committee meeting on Thursday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The 27 recipients from Springfield are as follows:

Kara Adams, Forest Park Middle School

Elizabeth Beele, Dorman Elementary School

Sara Boissonneault, Boland Elementary School

Dylan Burakiewicz, Central High School

Jennifer Cherry, High School of Science and Technology

Sharon DaSilva, DeBerry Elementary School

Danielle Delgado, Kensington Elementary School

Samantha Edwards, The Springfield Renaissance School

Cheryl Elias, Ells Elementary School

Lisa Gaudreau, High School of Science and Technology-New Teacher Award

Jessica Johnson, High School of Science and Technology

Catherine Kabochi, DeBerry Elementary School

Terri Longo, Warner Elementary School

Ashleigh Malinowski, DeBerry Elementary School

Jonelle Monaco, Springfield Public Day Middle School

Tuyet Nguyen, High School of Science and Technology

Kelly O'Brien, Kiley Middle School

Kiaga Osborn-Johnson, Sumner Avenue Elementary School

Katie Potito, Indian Orchard Elementary School

Lynn Santa, Springfield Public Schools District

Molly Smith, Chestnut Accelerated Middle School Talented and Gifted

Sarah Stone, Central High School

John Szymczyk, Central High School

Margaret Tabb, White Street Elementary School

Lizmyra Theriault, Bowles Elementary School

Dora Tochil, Brookings Elementary School

Vanessa Williams, Freedman Elementary School

The educators will also be celebrated at a May 11 event at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. The program will feature award presentations, information about a local education project, and a teacher-appreciation video starring students from Western Massachusetts.
Montanans love their pets. So if youve bought a toy or pet bed for your dog in the last few years made by the West Paw Design company youre in good company.

For the past 20 years, Bozeman-based West Paw Design https://www.westpawdesign.com/ has been recognized around the world for its products and its practices.

A desire to make something in Montana was the spark for Columbus native Spencer Williams to buy a small Bozeman-based pet toy company in 1996.

By Chet Layman

Full Story: http://www.kbzk.com/story/34685128/montana-made-love-of-montana-and-pets-spark-success-for-bozemans-west-paw-design

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West Paw Design celebrates Montanas recognition of benefits corporation http://www.matr.net/article-68186.html

Bear Paw Development has $21.7 million impact on region in 2015 http://www.matr.net/article-71071.html
The 36-member Higher Education Task Force and the 17-member Workforce Development Task Force are to study and recommend how best to address Idahos "K-through-Career" education and job training needs beyond high school.

The Workforce Development Task Force includes members representing natural resources employers, agribusiness, food processing, advanced manufacturing, high tech, construction, aeronautics, and the energy sector.

Full Story: https://ohsonline.com/articles/2017/02/06/idaho-governor-selects-workforce-development-task-force-members.aspx
Yesterday, the United States Chamber of Commerce awarded the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce with one of its top honors: a 5-star accreditation for its sound policies, effective organizational procedures and positive impact on the Flathead Valley community.

The accreditation program is the only program in the U.S. that recognizes a chambers effective organizational procedures and community involvement. In order to receive an accredited status, a chamber must meet strict minimum standards in operations and programs, including areas of governance, communication, fiscal responsibility, government affairs, and technology.

There are more than 7,000 chambers of commerce across the country and only a small handful of them, approximately 200, are accredited. Furthermore, being distinguished as a 5-star accredited chamber recognizes the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce as performing in the top 1% of chambers in the nation.

Local chambers can be designated as Accredited, or Accredited with 3-stars, 4-stars, or 5-stars.

"It is a tremendous honor to receive 5-star recognition from the U.S. Chamber," said Joe Unterreiner, Kalispell Chamber President/CEO. "The credit is due to the outstanding volunteer business leadership we enjoy, talented professional staff, and the support of our entire community. We are looking forward to continuing to serve this community we love at the highest possible level."

Accredited chambers are reviewed every five years by the Accrediting Board, a committee of U.S. Chamber board members and chamber executives from across the country. The Kalispell Chamber began preparing for this review in the first months of 2016 and was previously accredited in 2006.
Morgan County Veterans Day Parade slated Nov. 11 Audio Article The Morgan County Veterans Day Parade will be held on Friday, Nov. 11. The parade will form at the Commons, in McConnelsville, at 9:30 a.m. and set out at 10 a.m. The American Legion Post 24 will render honors at the monuments at the Commons, Riecker Building, the Square, at...

A concert with two purposes Audio Article Wednesday, Nov. 30, a concert with dual purposes is being held at the Twin City Opera House in McConnelsville, Ohio. Its a thank-you to healthcare workers, who can attend for free, and its a benefit for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. In September 2021, Rick Shriver contracted COVID-19. He collapsed...

BOE reminder of early voting hours and polling location change Audio Article Remaining early voting hours at the Morgan County Board of Elections are as follows: from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov, 2 through Friday, Nov. 4; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5; from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6; and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m....

Lions Club announces annual Wreaths Across America Audio Article On Saturday, Dec. 17, the Chesterhill Lions Club will be joining with National Wreaths Across America in the laying of wreaths at each of the seven cemeteries located in Marion Township. The mission is to honor the local veterans who have served our nation so their families can rest assured...

Governor DeWine awards $6.7 million for domestic violence survivor programs Audio Article Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that he is awarding $6.7 million to support the work of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) to offer mobile and health advocacy services and temporary residential services for domestic violence survivors across the state. The announcement comes during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month....

CDC committee vote wont change Ohio school vaccine requirement Audio Article Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA has released the following statement: The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine to be added to the formulary or schedule of vaccines for children does not mandate this vaccine for school children. Ohio law determines...
by Larissa Faw , March 7, 2017

Dignity Health is introducing a new campaign to reflect today's fathers, who are embracing a more nurturing role, one traditionally held by mothers.

Developed with Eleven and Allison+Partners, the concept is driven by research that finds a vast majority (81%) of fathers agree that being a father is the most important role in their life. In fact, 61% of fathers have left or changed jobs to spend more time with their children.

However, the research also found that dads looking after their kids are frequently perceived as mere baby sitters who arent fulfilling a real child-rearing role. Nearly one-half of fathers (45%) said when watching their own children, others characterized it as baby sitting.

More than a third of those fathers (38%) found that characterization offensive.

The campaign is designed to address such misperceptions. "We all hold the power to heal through kindness  both mom and dads, alike," says Mark Viden, VP brand marketing, Dignity Health.

advertisement advertisement

The creative shows real-life footage of a father consoling his young daughter in a sweet, unexpected way.

The media buy includes cable and local broadcast within California, Arizona and Nevada. Digital video includes Hulu, YouTube, Opera and Millennial, as well as paid social media amplification to seed conversations around parenting.

Although Father's Day would have been a natural fit to introduce this spot, Dignity Health specifically decided against aligning with that holiday. "Fathers Day recognizes dads on one particular day, but parenting is a full-time job, 365 days a year," says Viden. "We did not want to dilute this moment in time just by tying it to a single day."
by Philip Rosenstein , March 8, 2017

The Republican health-care bill revealed on Monday has faced a rocky debut in the public eye.

Staunch conservatives dont think it goes far enough to take apart the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. Progressives, Democrats and even some Republicans find the new bill places an undue burden on the middle class and gives unnecessary tax breaks to the wealthy.

To bolster support for the replacement, the GOP nonprofit One Nation, a group focused on Senate races, launched a set of radio ads urging support for the repeal and replacement of the ACA.

The 60-second ads are the second half of a $3 million ad buy focused on building support for the new healthcare law, according to Politicos "Morning Score." The radio ads are being aired in 10 states.

The entire ad buy includes TV ads that aired in nine states, digital, print and direct mail ads.

Obamacare has been a disaster for Ohio families.  Were paying more for health care. A lot more.  Its time to repeal and replace the health-care mess voted for by Sen. Sherrod Brown.  Congress can start by eliminating Obamacares $1 trillion in tax hikes, goes the voiceover for one of the ads.

The radio ads began airing on Monday -- House Republicans plan to start marking up the new bill on Wednesday.

Five vulnerable Democrats, who are seeking reelection in 2018, are being targeted by the radio ads: Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Sen. Bill Nelson in Florida, Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Sen. Claire McCaskill from Missouri and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

The ads are also running in states where Republicans Senators could face strong challengers in 2018: Jeff Flake of Arizona and Nevadas Dean Heller. The ad buy rounds out in Utah, Tennessee and Alaska, where there are four Republican Senators who have have not shown strong support for repeal and replace.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has already said she would vote against a bill that cancels the Medicaid expansion.

One Nation is run by allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Scientists have discovered that the immune environment inside melanomas with mutations in ATR  a protein that normally identifies and repairs DNA damage caused by UV exposure  is altered in ways that promote tumor growth. They suggest that the finding could help to improve immunotherapies for melanoma and identify patients more likely to respond to them.

Share on Pinterest Researchers suggest that their study pinpoints a mechanism by which melanoma cells themselves can change the immune microenvironment inside tumors to ensure their continued growth.

Writing in the journal Cell Reports, University of California-Irvine (UCI) researchers describe how they found that tumors with ATR mutations recruit more pro-tumor macrophages and block the recruitment of anti-tumor T cells.

Senior author Anand K. Ganesan, associate professor of dermatology at UCI, explains that cancers arise not only because they acquire mutations that promote their growth but also because they are able to prevent the immune system from recognizing and removing them.

Melanoma is a cancer that usually begins in the melanocytes  skin cells that make melanin, the pigment that gives color to human skin, hair, and eyes.

Melanomas can arise anywhere on the skin, but they are more likely to begin on the legs in women and on the chest and back in men. Other common sites include the neck and face.

Cancers of the skin are the most common type of cancer by far, and while melanoma accounts for only 1 in every 100 cases, it causes the majority of deaths from skin cancer.
The newest study from the Autism Speaks MSSNG project - the world's largest autism genome sequencing program - identified an additional 18 gene variations that appear to increase the risk of autism.

The new report appears in the journal Nature Neuroscience. It involved the analysis of 5,205 whole genomes from families affected by autism - making it the largest whole genome study of autism to date.

The omitted letters in MSSNG (pronounced 'missing') represent the missing information about autism that the research program seeks to deliver.

"It's noteworthy that we're still finding new autism genes, let alone 18 of them, after a decade of intense focus," says study co-author Mathew Pletcher, Ph.D., Autism Speaks' vice president for genomic discovery. "With each new gene discovery, we're able to explain more cases of autism, each with its own set of behavioral effects and many with associated medical concerns."

To date, research using the MSSNG genomic database has identified 61 genetic variations that affect autism risk. The research has associated several of these with additional medical conditions that often accompany autism. The goal, Dr. Pletcher says, "is to advance personalized treatments for autism by deepening our understanding of the condition's many subtypes."

The findings also illustrate how whole genome sequencing can guide medical care today. For example, at least two of the autism-associated gene changes described in the paper were associated with increased risk for seizures. Another has been linked to increased risk for cardiac defects, and yet another with adult diabetes. The findings illustrate how whole genome sequencing for autism can provide additional medical guidance to individuals, families and their physicians, the investigators say.

The researchers also determined that many of the 18 newly identified autism genes affect the operation of a small subset of biological pathways in the brain. All of these pathways affect how brain cells develop and communicate with each other. "In all, 80 percent of the 61 gene variations discovered through MSSNG affect biochemical pathways that have clear potential as targets for future medicines," Dr. Pletcher says.

Increasingly, autism researchers are predicting that personalized, more effective treatments will come from understanding these common brain pathways - and how different gene variations alter them.

"The unprecedented MSSNG database is enabling research into the many 'autisms' that make up the autism spectrum," says the study's senior investigator, Stephen Scherer, Ph.D.

For instance, some of the genetic alterations found in the study occurred in families with one person severely affected by autism and others on the milder end of the spectrum, Dr. Scherer notes. "This reinforces the significant neurodiversity involved in this complex condition," he explains. "In addition, the depth of the MSSNG database allowed us to identify resilient individuals who carry autism-associated gene variations without developing autism. We believe that this, too, is an important part of the neurodiversity story."

Dr. Scherer is the research director for the MSSNG project and directs The Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), in Toronto. MSSNG is a collaboration between the hospital, Autism Speaks and Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences), which hosts the MSSNG database on its cloud platform.

Traditional genetic analysis looks for mutations, or "spelling changes," in the 1 percent of our DNA that spells out our genes. By contrast, the MSSNG database allows researchers to analyze the entire 3 billion DNA base pairs that make up each person's genome.

In their new study, the investigators went even further - looking beyond DNA "spelling" variations to find other types of genetic changes associated with autism. These included copy number variations (repeated or deleted stretches of DNA) and chromosomal abnormalities. Chromosomes are the threadlike cell structures that package and organize our genes.

The researchers found copy number variations and chromosomal abnormalities to be particularly common in the genomes of people affected by autism.

In addition, many of the copy number variations turned up in areas of the genome once considered "junk DNA." Though this genetic "dark matter" exists outside of our genes, scientists now appreciate that it helps control when and where our genes switch on and off. The precise coordination of genetic activity appears to be particularly crucial to brain development and function.

Through its research platform on the Google Cloud, Autism Speaks is making all of MSSNG's fully sequenced genomes directly available to researchers free of charge, along with analytic tools. In the coming weeks, the MSSNG team will be uploading an additional 2,000 fully sequenced autism genomes, bringing the total over 7,000.

Currently, more than 90 investigators at 40 academic and medical institutions are using the MSSNG database to advance autism research around the world.

Autism Speaks is also funding the creation of a community portal that will allow study participants to explore their genomic information and share experiences with others who have similar genetic profiles. For more about the MSSNG, visit https://www.mss.ng/.
Treatment with vaginal progesterone reduced the risk of preterm birth, neonatal complications and death in pregnant women with twins and who have a short cervix - a risk factor for preterm birth - according to a meta-analysis of individual patient data by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the Detroit Medical Center, and other institutions in the United States and abroad.

Births occurring before the 37th week of pregnancy are considered preterm. Preterm birth increases the risk for infant death and long term disability. Twin pregnancies present a five- to six-time increased risk for preterm birth.

In preparation for birth, the cervix (lower part of the uterus) thins and shortens during pregnancy. In some women, the cervix shortens prematurely, as early as the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy. The natural hormone progesterone (also called the "pregnancy hormone"), inserted in the vagina either as a gel or tablet has been shown to decrease the risk for preterm birth associated with a short cervix in women with a single fetus in previous conducted by NIH and WSU investigators.

The new study, "Vaginal progesterone decreases preterm birth and neonatal morbidity and mortality in women with a twin gestation and a short cervix: an updated meta-analysis of individual patient data," was published in Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. An accompanying video explaining the study's findings can be viewed at http://www2.med.wayne.edu/prb/progesterone.htm.

"The findings represent persuasive evidence that treatment with vaginal progesterone in women with a short cervix and a twin gestation reduces the frequency of preterm birth, neonatal complications such as respiratory distress syndrome, and importantly, neonatal death," said the study's first author, Roberto Romero, M.D., chief of the Perinatology Research Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Romero emphasized that individual patient data meta-analyses represent the "gold standard" in the hierarchy of scientific evidence to answer clinical questions.

"Currently there is no treatment for the prevention of preterm birth in twin gestations," said Sonia Hassan, M.D., a co-author of the study. Dr. Hassan is the associate dean for Maternal, Perinatal and Child Health at WSU, professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the School of Medicine, and director of the Center for Advanced Obstetrical Care and Research for the NIH's Perinatology Research Branch, hosted at Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center.

The meta-analysis included the results of six studies, encompassing 303 women pregnant with twins, all of whom had a cervical length of 25 mm or less in the mid-trimester. Of these, 159 women received vaginal progesterone and 144 received a placebo or no treatment. Women who received vaginal progesterone were 31 percent less likely to deliver before 33 weeks of pregnancy (31 percent for those receiving vaginal progesterone, compared to 43 percent for those who did not). Vaginal progesterone also reduced the rate of preterm delivery before 32 weeks and 34 weeks. All results were statistically significant.

Infants born to patients who received vaginal progesterone had a 30 percent reduction in the rate of respiratory distress syndrome, the most common complication of prematurity (from 47 percent in the placebo/no treatment group, to 33 percent in the vaginal progesterone group), a 46 percent reduction in the rate of mechanical ventilation (from 27 percent in the placebo/no treatment group, to 16 percent in the vaginal progesterone group), and a 47 percent reduction in the risk of dying in the neonatal period (from 22 percent in the placebo/no treatment group, to 11 percent in the vaginal progesterone group). These results were all statistically significant, as well.

The authors conclude that the results of this individual patient data meta-analysis represents strong evidence that vaginal progesterone in twin gestations with a short cervix reduces preterm birth, neonatal complications and neonatal death. This is the first intervention to successfully reduce both preterm birth and neonatal death.

"One of the most serious complications of multiples in pregnancy is premature birth. In 2014, the Michigan rate of preterm birth due to plurality was over 60 percent," said Kara Hamilton-McGraw, Maternal Child Health director for the March of Dimes. "Discovering a successful intervention to address premature birth in multiples could largely impact the rate of babies born too soon and those that, sadly, do not live to see their first birthday."
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Ivona Percec. Female Genital Mutilation Reconstruction: A Preliminary Report. Aesthetic Surgery Journal; (2017) doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjx045

Ivona Percec reports the use of the technique in three patients in one month."Plastic surgeons have a crucial role to play in this recovery, and it's important for physicians to be informed and prepared to address the surgical and emotional needs of women who seek care for this," Percec said. "Our procedure is simple yet effective and can help victims restore their physical and psychological sense of well-being."The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as, "any procedure that intentionally alters or causes injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons and with no health benefits."Around 200 million women have been subjected to FGM, worldwide, usually between the first week of life and adolescence, and often by their caregivers. In certain countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, it is a part of cultural ritual in to encourage female sexual fidelity.Internationally, it is regarded as a violation of human rights.FGM can also have long-term consequences, including severe pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, cysts, recurrent infections, and even death.All three patients between the ages of 30 and 33 in Percec's study, suffered from Grade II mutilation, which is defined as the partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora (the inner folds of the vulva), with or without the removal of the labia majora (the outer folds of skin of the vulva).All three women had recently immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone. In each case, the women were married but had not told their husbands they had undergone FGM as children."These women were embarrassed that they were subjected to this procedure, in particular since relocating to the United States," Percec said. "All of them were able to have intercourse, but without pleasure - usually with pain. None of them ever let their partners see their vaginal area."The technique involved separating the labia majora, which were connected by scar tissue, then suturing them to make sure they did not re-adhere to each other.The clitoris, or its remnant, which is naturally covered in mucosa tissue, was left raw to allow it regenerate the mucosa on its own. This also prevented excessive scarring and helped to bring back sensation to the area."The other key was treatment after the surgery, which included an antibiotic and pain-reducing ointment twice each day," Percec said. "It's a naturally sensitive area anyway, so using that ointment was important until the clitoris healed and formed its own mucosa again."With an average follow up of almost a year, all three patients reported improved sexual function and decreased embarrassment with their partners."Female genital mutilation is a violation of the basic rights of women and children," Percec said. "As nations around the world work to eliminate this custom, plastic surgeons can play an important role in the physical, emotional, and psychological recovery of women everywhere."The findings were reported in theSource: Medindia
When he is not giving powerful performances on the big screen, he is still winning hearts of all the lives he touches. You know a man like Shah Rukh Khan is successful when he opens his heart about his journey and you are won over by his honesty. Shahid Kamal Ahmad is one such man who was touched by SRKs magic and that was life changing for him. The former head of strategic content for Sony, UK has been a known figure in the tech industry for a very long time.

He recently shared an interesting story about his encounter with the King Khan and how that motivated him.

Six years ago today the one and only @iamsrk treated me to dinner in Langkawi. We worked on a game together. He is a complete gentleman.  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

And not only did we have dinner, afterwards he treated me to a beautiful Cuban cigar bought from the hotel. (He was filming Don 2 there)  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

At that time, I was still a kind of loser, but he showed me that nice guys can be winners. (And his work ethic inspired my life changes)  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

He showed me just how gracious and decent an extraordinarily gifted and successful man can be. Nice guys dont have to finish last.  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

I didnt like Shah Rukhs films when I was young. I was a cynic and begrudged success. He changed me. Now I smile when my wife watches. :)  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

Who was I? Just s tiny cog in a games company. A nobody. But Shah Rukh treated me with honour. I was utterly humbled.  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

When we met in London, he invited me to a private screening of the unreleased A-Team in his hotel. He *personally* brought a drink to me.  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

He showed me the power of service. I was changed. I brought that attitude he showed me in 2011 to all my future dealings with devs.  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

It wasnt a put-on. No act. That was the thing. That was just how he was. I realised I had to change from within to match that attitude.  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

Not many people will get to spend as much time as I did in the company of a legend like SRK, so I feel compelled to report his decency.  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

After Shahid shared his story with the world over Twitter, staying true to his charm, SRK had a tiny virtual encounter with him.

@shahidkamal how r u my man. Miss you. U showed respect to taking Indian film stuff into gaming. Thanks. Be well  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 4, 2017

Shahid thanked him again for transforming his life.

@iamsrk My wife just watched Dilwale and *loved* it. You transformed my life and career. Id love to thank you personally one day. God bless  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

SRK then promised to visit him as well.

@shahidkamal let me know where u r at...will come and see u. U still gaming??  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 4, 2017

@iamsrk I am making VR games now, Im just outside London. My email address is shahid@shhd.org  happy to show you VR at your place :)  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

In the end, Shah Rukh ended up winning every heart on Twitter probably!

@shahidkamal will mail and meet next time I am in London. Be well and give my love to wife.  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 4, 2017

@iamsrk I just passed on your message, I think she had a little heart attack haha.  Shahid Kamal Ahmad (@shahidkamal) March 4, 2017

You dont need more reasons to respect him, but he keeps giving you many every day, anyway.
India is swiftly becoming one of the most important and fastest growing markets for smartphones and to validate this claim, India will getting its very own trade show soon. The new trade show proposed for the Indian market is being conceptualised by the brains behind the World Mobile Congress, affirming the importance of Indias smartphone market

The new trade show will be dubbed the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) and is slated for September 2017. It is being organised by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and supported by the GSM Association (the group behind MWC).

 Reuters

IMC is being introduced to the Indian market at a time when there is a huge lack of such conferences in the South-East Asia region. Considering that the region consists of two of the worlds biggest markets for smartphones, this move will help Indian and International phone manufacturers to reach out to other regional markets as well. MWC is the worlds biggest conference and is held annually in Europe and China and never really reached out to South East Asian territories.

 BCCL

MWC is a platform for smartphone manufacturers like LG, Samsung and Sony to announce their flagship phones annually, however, Samsung opted to be absent for the 2017 edition.

India has been dominating smartphone sales in the world market and has already destroyed the sales figures of the US. India has the second most Internet users in the world and a majority of them use a smartphone to access the Internet which has attracted massive interest from companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.
Alternate Foreign Minister, George Katrougalos, participated today in the General Affairs Council in Brussels, at a crucial moment in the discussion on the future of Europe. Mr. Katrougalos, speaking ahead of the European Council of 9 March, emphasised the need to take into account the actual data pertaining to the EU legitimisation crisis, which is not due to bad public relations on the part of the EU, but rather to the deterioration of the daily life of the European citizen, as a result of the erosion of the European Social Model.

In order for this situation to be reversed, said Mr. Katrougalos, the failed policies must be re-examined. Austerity in the absence of growth leads to insurmountable impasses. Subsequently, he referred to the need for specific policy measures to be promoted, in order for European citizens trust in the EU to be regained, in a coordinated effort for social development and battling of unemployment and austerity. Supporting similar proposals on the part of France and Portugal, he stressed the need for strengthening the welfare state, the development of which must be in line with economic growth.

As regards immigration, the Alternate Foreign Minister referred to the critical nature of the situation in the Eastern Aegean and requested that an Agreement be drafted, pertaining to immigration, with countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, on the model of the Agreements that the EU has drawn up with African nations. Additionally, Mr. Katrougalos stressed the need for EU member states to adhere to the principle of solidarity, which must constitute a cornerstone of the new Dublin Regulation.

As regards the Eastern Balkans, he expressed Greeces support for their European perspective, bearing in mind of the conditionality principle and the need for promoting reform, particularly in the areas of the rule of law and the protection of human rights.

Finally, referring to EU trade policy, he argued that there is a need to respect not only European values and the European social model, but also more specific issues of national importance, such as agricultural products with protected designation of origin.
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias will carry out an official visit to Armenia on 9 and 10 March.



On Thursday, 9 March, Mr. Kotzias will visit the Armenian Genocide Museum in Yerevan, where a wreath-laying ceremony will take place. This will be followed by a meeting with the Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Galust Sahakyan, a working luncheon with Defence Minister Vigen Sargsyan, a meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia, Karen Karapetyan, at the Government Building, and a meeting with Patriarch Karekin II of Armenia, at the Patriarchate of Armenia.



On Friday, 10 March, the Foreign Minister will meet at the Armenian Foreign Ministry with his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, and sign a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Greek and Armenian Diplomatic Academies and Foreign Ministries. Following their talks, the two Ministers will hold a joint press conference.



Mr. Kotzias will then visit Yerevan State University, where he will deliver a lecture and, subsequently, be awarded an Honorary Doctorate.



Finally, Mr. Kotzias will be received by the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is organizing an International Conference under the aegis of H.E. the President of the Republic, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, on the subject of The Future of Europe, on Monday, 13 March 2017, at 10:00 a.m. , at the Foreign Ministry's Kranidiotis Amphitheatre, 1 Akadimias Street.



Alternate Foreign Minister George Katrougalos will make the introductory speech. Distinguished scholars from Greece and abroad will participate in the conference.



The conference will deal with three areas of interest, which pertain to the new challenges for Europe following the British referendum, European values and economic governance, and Democracy and the European State. The discussion is expected to focus on major issues in European current affairs, with an emphasis on the need to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the European Union, particularly in the area of economic governance. The conference aims to identify and propose the best mechanisms for strengthening the E.U.'s social dimension.

For the conference's programme, click here.
Mr. Rector, thank you very much for the invitation. If there is something that I miss as a University Professor, it is my students. I believe that the profession of University Professor is the best poorly paid job in the world. But even if it is poorly paid, it is the best. And so it is my very great pleasure to be here in Tbilisi, after 18 years, to talk to you and share my thoughts.



I am particularly pleased about the programmes of study you have at the Institute of Classical, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies -- an institution that shows the interest of young Georgians in Greek culture and the Greek language.



Interest in a culture and language that has been linked to the people of Georgia for thousands of years now. This afternoon, I asked that Prometheus be forgiven for stealing fire and iron-working methods from here, from the Caucasus. I hope it doesn't happen again.



I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk to young people.



I would also like to express my great satisfaction at the fact that, through our joint efforts, we managed to bring about visa liberalisation, to overcome the difficulties in the Schengen system for young Georgians.



Allow me to share a few thoughts that link my academic capacity with my capacity as Foreign Minister of a state that is one of the oldest members of the European Union.



We live in an era when the world is changing in two directions. One direction has to do with globalisation. Globalisation is combined with another trend -- that of fragmentation.



So on the one hand we have globalisation, accompanied by fragmentation, and on the other we have the fact that society is moving on to a new productive structure, a new manner of production, which one portion of the international bibliography refers to as the "second machine age," with the other portion calling it the "fourth industrial revolution."



What is the fundamental characteristic of this change in production? It is that physical power is being replaced, to a great extent, by intellectual power. That humankind are no longer in the first machine age, when the machine was an extension of their physical strength. Man is now in the second machine age, where his intellectual attributes are being adopted, replaced, used by new types of machines associated with informatics and other new technologies.



And what capacity do these digital machines have? They reproduce intellectual wealth and knowledge, and they reproduce it in a special way.

We have the digital machines themselves, which reproduce knowledge. After the era of the industrial revolution, when large industrial units were built, we have the opposite trend, which is the trend towards nanotechnology. A tiny robot circulates in your blood or in your intestine, and it can even photograph or alter what it finds in front of it, if it finds it to be strange.



Even in the most widespread medical treatment, you can swallow a tiny chip and it can film the body's whole medical record. So, next to the trend we had in the first machine age, which was expressed in the large machine, we now have the small machine. And this small machine is associated with new materials. New materials, let's say, like titanium. Older glasses would break if I opened them in this way. This is titanium, and it can return to its original shape. It is very simple to use.



We have the big old photocopy machine that your professors send you to for photocopies, and now we have the 3-D printer, which can produce anything from buildings to weapons. It can be very useful in construction, and very dangerous when used for terrorism.



What is more interesting to me about this new era we are living in is that machines are gaining the capacity to reproduce like natural phenomena, organic beings. You will see many machines reproducing, like plants that climb and weave themselves, like parasites, around a tree. Or machines that can replicate the movements of animals. Scientists know that one of the most interesting living things is the ant -- what we once walked past and ignored as something insignificant, unworthy of our interest.



Ant societies, which can weigh as much as 30 or 40 kilos, with considerable power when they move, with unique systems of communication, with formidable internal organization of work, with the lazy queens -- which produce an egg every second or two -- are part of this replication of nature's systems. We don't have just the replication of one movement of the hand, as in the industrial revolution. We have the replication of whole systems or whole systems of teamwork.



We have robotics, the technology that produces robots, even replicating the movements of the human being. Today, the largest producers of robotics are the Chinese. I say this for anyone who has not realised what the new technologies are producing. So this increases the importance of investments in these sectors.



On the other hand, we have the first trend; that is, the trend of the 'unification' of the world: globalisation. But there is no pure trend of globalisation. There is also the trend of fragmentation. Look at how the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke up.



In the 1990s, a debate began at the universities in California as to whether or not the nation state will survive. In fact, there was a significant trend that said that the nation state is obsolete and that from now on there will be globalisation, or at least regional integration. There was another outlook, which said: "No, the nation state can grow stronger."



My view, which I made public in a discussion we had at Harvard at the beginning of this century, was that each nation state has its capabilities, based on which -- and depending on how it uses them, depending on how proactive it is  it can survive or not.



After all, as you know from history, 6,650 nations and political entities have become extinct, and no one mourns them anymore. Life is tough, and the nation state, despite what they said, is surviving. But the nation state that is more proactive -- that has a proactive foreign policy and develops capabilities -- survives better. What capabilities? Three.



First, to perceive problems in a timely manner, which also concerns our personal lives to a degree. So, perception of the problems.



Second, production of alternative scenarios, alternative solutions. Looking for what might happen. No one being afraid or censoring himself, so that we can think outside the box.



Third, to be able to choose the best possible solution. As you know from game theory, the 'best solution' is one thing, and the 'best possible solution' is another. You may remember -- if you have seen it -- a scene from the movie "A Beautiful Mind", which was about the Nobel Laureate who made a fundamental contribution to game theory: Four men are in a bar, and five women walk in. They pair off. Four couples form. Which women is left out? The most beautiful. Why? Because each man believes that "the most beautiful woman is not for me," and they go to the second best choice. This is a classic scenario in game theory. This is why I say: "Always the 'best possible', and not the best of all."



In this new era of ours, with its new technologies, its new industrial revolution, the second machine age  which has globalisation, fragmentation  the special role of a proactive nation state and foreign policy -- I say this about us -- requires certain things. It requires a focus on the protection of the rights of the individual and of personal liberties.



Why does it require strong personal liberties? Because it is an era that needs creativity. It is an era when there should not be self-censorship. It is an era when one has to be able to put forward ground-breaking proposals. So it is not just a moral right. For me, and this was first said by the great Nobel Laureate of the poor, Amartya Sen -- "the main thing is that this freedom is also an economic necessity."



But this personal liberty must be disciplined. It must be integrated into collective efforts. We can't each of us create a foreign policy, a nation state. This freedom is manifested and protected within a framework.



This freedom of action also gives us the freedom to think about the future. We must have the right to dream. Neither individuals nor nation states can thrive without dreams, without vision, without values.



One of the problems the European Union has today -- yesterday I was at the Council of Foreign Ministers, in Brussels -- is that we limit our thinking. We are constantly thinking about whom to impose sanctions on, where we will impose an embargo, how we will force a memorandum on a country. We didnt' think of the memorandum in Greece. They imposed it on us. We are among the countries it happened to -- who suffered the memorandum. We have lost the ability to reflect on what Europe we want in the 21st century, what we want its role to be. How a young person can dream of it, and how we can make it attractive to those who want to come to our European home.



But the development of collectivity and personal liberty are not the only things we need. We need to secure our countries economically. We need to think about high technology as a social good.



We need to dream that Georgia and Greece will become energy hubs in our region. That -- beyond gas and oil -- we will develop new forms of energy, renewable energy. From wind to sea energy, of which Georgia and Greece have more than they can use.



What else do we need? Investment in education and research. The most decisive element of the new society of knowledge is the individual. Whoever cuts spending on people -- and we do this often, and it is a mistake -- is cutting into his prospects for the new era.



When I say "we invest in the individual", I don't mean cosmetics or plastic surgery. I mean education and research. Investment in the mind of the individual, in his culture, so that we aren't just "idiot specialists", as they said in the 19th century. We need to open the individual's horizons, not be afraid of 'the new', and we need to learn from history.



As I often say, if we want to look forward, history has to be a school. It mustn't be a prison. For it to be a school, we need to learn -- especially in the European Union -- that we need cooperation. We are working with the leadership and the people of Georgia to open up its European perspective and join the European Union.



In the morning meetings I had with your country's leadership, I said that when Prometheus brought fire from the Caucasus to the rest of Europe, no one asked for passports or visas. And this region of the Caucasus of Georgia was a fundamental region of what we call Europe. And don't just think of Western Europe. I remind you of the myth -- that Europa was the most beautiful woman in the world at that time, under the god Zeus, but she was born and lived in Libya, in Africa. The first time the name "Europa" appeared in history, it belonged to a beautiful woman from Africa. Not from Scandinavia, not from the Baltics, not from Germany.



The European Union is a core of states that created a socio-political model. But this socio-political model is in multifaceted crisis. It is a crisis that concerns the management of the refugee problem, enlargement and the Brexit. It is an economic and monetary crisis. The European Union has difficulty defining/determining its relationship with the rest of the world. In other words, it has trouble managing its crises, and this is because it does not have the right mechanisms  the perception of what it wants its future to be.



In our opinion, this means that the debate on the future of Europe must open up once again. And the participants in this debate must include citizens and politicians and scientists from countries linked to Europe, like Georgia.



In our foreign policy, beyond the European path and support for European integration, we follow a geometric policy, let's say. A policy of triangles. Relationships, that is, between European and non-European states. We have developed systematic cooperation, on all levels and in the most diverse political regions, in sectors that concern everything from culture and education to economy and industry. With countries like Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon. And we created this cooperation with Cyprus. That is, in each case there are two European states -- Greece and Cyprus  and one non-European state.



In this context, we agreed to promote such a relationship with Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece. A relationship that is supportive of Georgia's preparations for its European course.



We are also promoting a cooperation platform between six European countries and the Arab world -- twelve Arab countries. If you look at a map, Southern Europe -- the Balkans, Italy -- forms a continuous region with the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. This continuity existed in the past in a region of wealth and cooperation, with major trade networks and exchange of knowledge and culture.



With the passing of time, this was lost, like the Caucasus. When you talk about the Middle East today, you think only about the conflicts in the region. We are now making an effort -- with what we call the "Spirit of Rhodes" -- to develop a positive agenda in the region. That is, a positive outlook on relations. Youth relations, cultural relations, from cultural festivals to exchange of cultural goods. Forming networks between Universities and Research Centres. So I hope that we will be able to do the same with Georgia.



We have also maintained an alliance -- in a manner of speaking -- of the EU member states of the south: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece and Cyprus. The Euromed. This "alliance" was on the level of Foreign Ministers. Now it is on the level of heads of state and government. And its political outlook on where Europe needs to go coincides with the Georgia's interests as well.



We have also developed a cooperation platform for the protection of the religious communities in the Middle East. As you know, the West is always talking about its pluralistic societies, but pluralistic societies existed and exist beyond the West. In the Middle East, Judaism, the Muslim world, Christianity -- they coexisted for 2,000 years. This is now being destroyed.



Today I saw, on the hill opposite the Presidential Palace, the Christian, Orthodox, Armenian, Catholic churches. I saw a synagogue. This has also been a multicultural region for centuries now. So multiculturalism isn't something we discovered.



Finally, we formed a number of other cooperation schemes, like the one we are launching with China in April. This is a cooperation scheme that I initially called the GC10 -- ten great cultures. Ancient cultures that have influence on today's world.



Culture is a great power, you know. Next to the hard power of guns, there is culture, which is smart or soft power. And this power has an economic dimension. So we are taking the initiative to bring together ten countries. Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Italy and Greece. And we are coming together to shape this association of states with great, ancient cultures that are still playing an important role today.



In any case, in the age of globalisation and the new technological possibilities, we are following a proactive foreign policy. We are putting together cooperation schemes and alliances, new institutional systems. And gradually we want to welcome Georgia and to facilitate its participation, first of all in the European Union itself.



The Georgia we love twice over: first, because we have relations that are not just old, not just ancient, but prehistoric. But also because Georgia is a country whose territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty we must defend, together with Europe. And this is because through Georgia we are defending the highest good for the Greek foreign policy, which is international law.



If we don't want states to end up in anarchy, we need to defend international law everywhere and for any state that is in need of such defence.



Greece is not supporting Georgia's just demands because it is hostile to some third country. It isnt doing it because it doesn't "like" other countries in your neighbourhood. It is doing so because it "loves" international law more than any other country.



And we are doing it because we believe in the need to consolidate peace and stability in this region and resolve any disputes by peaceful means, based on international law.



Mr. Rector, once again, thank you very much for your invitation. Thank you for your attention. It is a joy for a teacher, who is temporarily a Foreign Minister, to talk with students. Because my gravestone will read "Professor", not "Minister".



Thank you very much.
N. KOTZIAS: My dear Mikheil, thank you very much for the hospitality. I also thank you for the positive energy that pervaded our meeting. Georgia is a great love of the Greek people. As you will have observed, I have two diplomats in our delegation named Georgia and George. What does this show? How spontaneously and deeply we are linked.

I think what we agreed on and reaffirmed is important: that the relations between Greece and Georgia are strategic. Strategic relations means that both of us will try to deepen our relationship in all sectors: in education, economy, research, energy and other fields. A strategic relationship means that we will do whatever we can to bring Georgia closer to the European Union and to transfer to you our experience and knowledge, as an old member of the European Union, and that we will also learn from you, from your experiences.

I await you and your associates, with great pleasure, in Athens, as I have already extended an official invitation to you. I await our developing, by that time, our cooperation between the various Ministries, as well as between the various Directorates of our Ministries. We have a deep belief that Georgia is a country and a people that belong to Europe, and, as I said jokingly in our talks, when we stole fire from the Caucasus, we didn't need a visa, nor did we need to go through passport control.

The open relations between our two states are millennia-old relations, not just ancient, but, as the latest scientific discoveries show, prehistoric. Moreover, as a country with a deep and great history, as a country with both positive and negative experiences from the international system, we, Greece, underscored that we maintain good relations and love many of our neighbours, but above all we love the law, and international law in particular. We are a country that is founded on international law and, at the same time, supports it. Consequently, we support your sovereign rights, your territorial integrity and independence. We want to become better acquainted with the great cultural achievements of your country, and in fact we agreed to begin -- if we can, starting this year -- the weeks of culture, and, more specifically, film events here and in Greece.

I wanted to congratulate you -- though it is a small step, it is nevertheless a step -- on the waiving of Schengen short-stay visa requirements for the citizens of Georgia. We hope that this imparts momentum to tourism between the two countries, because there really is beauty and beautiful people in both Georgia and Greece.

Once again I thank you very much for the hospitality and for the productive, creative talks we had -- talks that I hope will continue during the Greek delegation's two-day stay here in beautiful Georgia.



M. JANELIDZE: Our current relations are based on millennia-old historical ties.

Today we talked about our multifaceted collaboration and we decided that everything that concerns these relations in the sectors of culture, economy, energy, transport, science and education will be discussed on the level of the competent agencies and on the level of the Foreign Ministries of Georgia and Greece. We also talked about bilateral and trilateral cooperation that can be set up between Georgia, Greece and other sides.

On our course towards association with the European Union, we are very pleased at the help we have received from Greece. Today we talked about the next steps in this association, about the liberalisation of the Schengen short-stay visa regime for Georgians. It is very, very significant that the European Commissioner who congratulated Georgia, Dimitris Avramopoulos, is Greek. Nikos, too, has contributed significantly on this issue.

We talked about many issues, about ways in which we can deepen our relations, import good practices from Greece, so that our citizens, too, can profit from our cooperation.

We also talked about the problems that exist in regions of Georgia that are under occupation. We talked about the territorial integrity of Georgia, and about the need to resolve these problems in a peaceful manner and, of course, within the framework of international law. Greece and Georgia will do whatever is in their power to ensure more potential for cooperation, peace, stability, and to maintain the level of our bilateral and multilateral relations.

I thank you once again for your visit to Georgia. It is a great honour for us, and I am sure that this visit will impart fresh momentum to the deepening of the two countries' relations.

Finally, I invite entrepreneurs from Greece, stating that we are ready with everything necessary to support them in various sectors, such as energy, tourism and communications. We are ready for synergies to be created between Georgian and Greek companies, for trade relations between the two countries to be strengthened, and for Georgian and Greek companies to set up franchises in each other's country.
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Taipei, March 8 (CNA) A former national security official advised Taiwan on Wednesday against trying to distance itself from China while taking a pro-United States and Japan stance, as the Trump administration is unlikely to pay as much attention to such issues as human rights and democracy as previous U.S. administrations.
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Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go.

Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune...
The U.S. Air Force now has more jobs for MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones than any other type of pilot position, the head of Air Education and Training Command said last week.

"I never thought I'd say that when I joined the Air Force," Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson told reporters during a media roundtable at the Air Force Association's Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida. "So we're really in a much better footing with RPA pilot production in addition to just getting the numbers up," he said March 3.

For example, the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper family of remotely piloted aircraft are slated to have more than 1,000 pilot operators, according to fiscal 2017 statistics provided to Military.com on Tuesday. By comparison, the highest numbers in any other aircraft are 889 airmen piloting the C-17 Globemaster III and 803 flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon, said Lt. Col. Tracy Bunko, spokeswoman for AETC.

The Air Force has expanded its RPA reach since it began training enlisted airmen on the RQ-4 Global Hawk. The service announced in 2015 it would begin training enlisted airmen to operate the unarmed high-altitude reconnaissance drone. It is currently training pilots through the Enlisted Pilot Initial Class, or EPIC, program as well as the Initial Flight Training program. Just Tuesday, the service announced the first 30 board-selected airmen to become RPA pilots.

RELATED: First Board-Selected Drone Pilots Announced

The service plans to bring on even more armed drone operators, officials told Military.com in October. To sustain such a boost, Air Combat Command intends to establish new operational centers for aircraft such as the MQ-9 Reaper as part of an ambitious effort to redefine what such a "base should look like" for operations, according to a lieutenant colonel involved in planning for ACC.

Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, will host a new MQ-9 Reaper group, the service said in January, but only for mission control elements.

In September, the Air Force announced eight potential bases to host new drone units in preparation for the transition. The service is conducting additional environmental studies at Eglin AFB, Florida; Tyndall AFB, also in Florida; Vandenberg AFB, California; and Shaw AFB to host a full MQ-9 wing, as well as a maintenance group and operations support personnel, the service said.

The service has not yet decided on the location for the remotely piloted aircraft units.

The Air Force is moving to an all-Reaper drone fleet, and will officially retire the MQ-1 Predator in 2018, it announced recently.

Gen. Carlton D. Everhart II, head of Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, noted in a recent oped that pilots of all kinds remain in short supply.

The total force, manned-pilot shortage for the service -- as well as for the Navy and civilian airlines -- has become a national problem, Roberson pointed out Friday. But the Air Force hopes to bump up the total force pilot production line.

"We produced 1,108 graduates from our pilot training program last year; we're going to produce 1,200 this year," Roberson said. "And we're on our way up to producing 1,400 with the assets in the U.S. Air Force  and even that's not going to be enough to meet our requirements." He said the plan is to train 1,400 airmen in subsequent years.

On the fighter side -- in addition to procuring a new T-X trainer aircraft to replace the T-38 Talon, a contract anticipated this year -- the service is using older fighter aircraft to train pilots.

Two squadrons of F-16 Fighting Falcons will "transition into AETC and we're now going to transition them into the F-16 fighter production unit based in Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico," Roberson said. The F-16s are moving from Hill AFB, Utah, to make room for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Having those aircraft to train on will "increase our fighter pilot production rate from 235 [pilots] ... this year to 335 total force," Roberson said.

"That's going to help us in the short term just with fighter pilots, but we've still got a much bigger problem overall to address.

On the pilot training side of the house, were as low as we could be because were short on pilots; if anything we need more production and more capability, so were looking at actually expanding the number of pilot training bases...to get after that pilot shortage, Roberson said.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related Video:
How Mobilization Became the Trigger for War

[For other articles in this World War I historical series, see World War I: The Question of Blame and From Waterloo to the Marne.]

Build no more defensive forts, build railways instead.

 Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, chief of the German General Staff, 1905

Schlieffen and His Plan

The French-Russian alliance had raised the prospect that Germany might face a war on two fronts. In response, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, chief of the German General Staff, to develop a plan to successfully fight both France and Russia. The strategy Schlieffen developed would have a profound effect on both the scope and the conduct of the war.

What came to be called the Schlieffen Plan was not the first attempt to craft a German strategy to fight a two-front war. Such a strategy had already existed prior to Schlieffen. Simply put, that strategy had been "hold in the west and attack in the east." The traditional invasion route into eastern France was through the Belfort Gap or "Burgundian Gate," a relatively flat, high plateau between the northern rim of the Jura Mountains and the southernmost part of the Vosges Mountains. This was the historic invasion route from central Europe into France. It was the invasion route that German armies had taken during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Subsequently, the French had heavily fortified the area. An extensive network of new forts was built centered on the four "front-line" cities of Belfort, Epinal, Toul and Verdun.

The German General Staff reasoned that a breakthrough through the heavily defended Belfort Gap would be difficult -- a point driven home by the subsequent slaughter at the Battle of Verdun in 1916. Its strategy was to pin down or "hold" French forces on the western front while it first dealt with Russian forces in the east. Russian mobilization was expected to be slow. Germany's forces were better trained and more mobile. The combined Austrian and German armies would deliver a knockout blow to Russian forces and force Russia out of the war. Bereft of its Russian ally, France could not hope to take on the combined might of Germany and Austria, and would have little choice but to sue for peace.

In December 1905, Schlieffen began circulating his proposed plan to the General Staff. The first version of the Schlieffen Plan -- there would be many modifications -- reversed the prevailing strategy. It envisioned a rapid thrust westward with the bulk of the German army to envelop the French army and annihilate it in less than 45 days. With France knocked out of the war, Germany would then use its modern railroad network to quickly transfer troops to the east and deal with its Russian opponents.

Russia, Schlieffen believed, would need at least six weeks to mobilize. That would give the Germany army a window in which to defeat France. Even if the Russians advanced into eastern Germany, he reasoned, these gains would be short-lived and would easily be reversed.

By using its more rapid mobilization to its advantage, Schlieffen reasoned that he could bring the whole weight of the German army on each of its opponents in turn. The key to Schlieffen's plan was to engage and destroy the French army and quickly knock France out of the war. To do this, he envisaged a broad, enveloping movement into northern France that would bypass Paris, trap the French army between the German right wing and its central and left wing, and then surround it and annihilate it.

A rapid thrust through the Belfort Gap, however, was unlikely, given its extensive fortifications. There was one other alternative route, a thrust through the Meuse valley across Belgium to the English Channel and then a pivot into northern France. The Meuse Valley, or Meuse Gap, was straddled by the Belgian city of Liege, which was in turn protected by a chain of 12 forts.

The original Schlieffen Plan had called for an invasion of Belgium, and also of a tiny sliver of the Netherlands, in order to better outflank the Belgian forts defending Liege. Subsequent revisions dropped the incursion into the Netherlands. The Dutch were thus able to retain their neutrality during the war. The proposed invasion of Belgium added a political element to the Schlieffen Plan whose consequences were not fully appreciated at the time.

By invading Belgium, Germany made it a virtual certainty that Great Britain would intervene on behalf of France in the defense of Belgium. The Anglo-French accords of 1905 did not specifically obligate Great Britain to come to the defense of France in the event she had been invaded. Both the British General Staff and the British government had given private assurances to the French government, and its military, of their willingness to come to their aid, but it is unlikely that a formal treaty of alliance would have had sufficient parliamentary support or public approval to be ratified.

There are too many possible "what ifs" to speculate how both the war and its outcome might have been altered had the Schlieffen Plan never been adopted by the German General Staff. Had Germany pursued a policy of "holding" in the west, what would France and England have done? Would France have invaded Germany? At the very least, given its preoccupation with the restoration of the "lost provinces" of Alsace and Lorraine, it is likely that France would have seen German preoccupation with a war in Russia as an opportunity to take back its historic territory.

In this case, the "Western Front" might well have been limited to a relatively narrow engagement in the 25-mile Belfort Gap and not the 200 miles of trench warfare that would ultimately result. In such a narrow theater, the participation of the British army would have been superfluous. Unburdened by its 1839 treaty commitment to uphold Belgian neutrality, British involvement might have been limited to bottling up the German High Seas fleet in the Baltic and to defending the French coasts from naval attack by the German fleet. British involvement might have stopped well short of committing ground troops, much less mobilizing the manpower of the Empire.

The Trigger of Mobilization

Schlieffen's plan to knock France out of the war quickly meant that the rapid mobilization of troops was not just an important tactical advantage but a critical element for achieving victory. On Aug. 1, in response to the German declaration of war against Russia, the French government ordered a full mobilization. The Germans followed suit. On Aug. 3, after Paris had refused to answer Berlin's demand to remain neutral, Germany declared war on France.

Simultaneously, Germany informed King Albert's neutral Belgian government that "it would treat it as an enemy" if it did not permit the free transit of German troops across its land. Belgium immediately ordered a full mobilization. Less than 24 hours later, in accordance with the strategy laid out in the latest version of the Schlieffen Plan, Germany invaded Belgium. In London on the stroke of midnight, Aug. 4, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith's government, having received no German guarantees to respect Belgium's neutrality, began a full mobilization of the army and fleet, and declared war on Germany.

By the first week of August, even as Europe was still in the midst of an all-out mobilization, hostilities had already commenced. The term mobilization is used freely to describe the process of calling up reservists in each of the belligerent countries. The process, however, was fundamentally different in each country.

German military units were geographically based. Their muster stations and arms depots were local. Once a mobilization order was issued, a unit could be assembled, armed and dispatched within 24 hours. Given Germany's extensive and efficient rail network, a military unit could be on the front within 48 hours of being called up.

French mobilization was slower because the composition of French military units was geographically diverse. Muster stations for French recruits were typically farther away, requiring a train journey to the muster station and, then, once assembled and armed, a second journey to their designated deployment. That difference meant that French mobilization was, at best, 2-3 days slower than that of Germany. Most of the time, France lagged about a week behind Germany in mobilizing and deploying its troops. In both the French and German cases, reservists would have undergone some prior military training.

Russian mobilization was an altogether different process. Russia's western front was organized into six military districts. Each district had multiple muster stations. Typically, these were located well back from the front lines -- in some cases, as much as 200 miles back. Three of these military districts fronted on German territory, and three fronted on Austrian territory. In August 1914, there were approximately 5,000 miles of paved roads in Russia, less than 1% of all roads. Russian track mileage was slightly greater than that of Germany, but it had to service an area many times larger.

Reservists had to travel long distances to their muster stations, often by foot. It was only after they had arrived at the military depots that they were assigned to their military units. Only then would Russian recruits meet their fellow soldiers and, more importantly, their officers. Few of those recruits had received prior military training. More than 60% of them were illiterate.

After their activation, military units would then proceed to their front lines, again, typically on foot. The result was that Russian mobilization was inherently far slower than either the French or German process. It took Russia between four and eight weeks to mobilize its military fully. Until its soldiers were ready, Russia relied on standing cavalry units to provide a screen for its forces and to defend its frontiers.

Austrian mobilization was also regionally based. Unlike Germany, however, their regions were broader, often corresponding to provinces. Additionally, as one might expect in a polyglot empire, military units were further broken down by native language. Troops drawn from the Friuli region, for example, were organized into Italian-speaking and German-speaking regiments.

This organizational scheme also meant that Serb units from Hungary, for example, were organized into separate formations from Serb units from Bosnia. The "ethnic, geographic and language" classification of military units ensured that they were not deployed in areas that might create personal conflicts, or divided loyalties, and raise questions about their reliability. Italian-speaking troops, for example, were usually deployed on the eastern front, far away from their brethren on the Italian front.

Great Britain did not have a large standing army, nor did it rely, at least not initially, on a large cadre of reservists that needed to be called up. British mobilization consisted primarily of activating the Royal Navy to its war stations and deploying its standing troops to the front lines.

The process of mobilization was extremely disruptive to civilian life. German mobilization required between 5,000 and 10,000 trains. Each train was scheduled at a precise 20-minute interval, each carrying the maximum number of cars that would fit on the station platform to allow all troops to disembark at the same time.

French mobilization required between 5,000 and 8,000 trains, comparably organized and scheduled. When a mobilization order was given, the entire civilian railroad schedule was suspended, and the rail network was turned over to military use.

Some historians have argued that it was the generals and their rush to mobilize that precipitated the war. Had mobilization been delayed, had diplomacy been given a little more time to find a peaceful solution, a general war might well have been averted. This statement is not entirely correct, although there is some element of truth in it.

The decision to mobilize was not made by the generals but by the civilian authorities. Whether it was a hereditary monarch or a democratically elected prime minister, it was ultimately a decision made by each nation's government, not its military leaders. It was a political as much as a military decision. In every country, the announcement of a general mobilization was met with spontaneous public celebrations and manifestations of patriotic support for the government.

No doubt there were generals who argued that prudence and an abundance of caution dictated that the decision to mobilize was better made sooner than later. In that sense, they were right. The very process of mobilization, and most importantly, the varying speed at which each nation could mobilize, created a significant element of instability.

First, the decisions to mobilize were by necessity interlocking. If one party mobilized, all its potential opponents would be hard pressed not to follow suit. The first mobilization made it virtually inevitable that it would trigger a cascading effect. Secondly, the varying speed at which each country mobilized also magnified the instability of the system. A faster mobilization meant a faster deployment and represented a significant tactical opportunity. For Germany, delaying its mobilization meant it was squandering a major battlefield advantage and undermining its war plan.

For France, whose mobilization was 3-7 days behind Germany's, delay meant it fell even further behind, and its peril was magnified proportionally. Finally, the process of mobilization, once started, was impossible to stop until it had run its course. To stop a mobilization in midstride would have produced chaos, with reservists and their units stranded, and would have left that country's forces in disarray. In fact, no military staff had a way of stopping a mobilization in midstride. They couldn't have done it even if they had wanted to.

By the first week of August, millions of men were arriving on the front lines. War had been declared. The fuse ignited at Sarajevo, just 33 days ago, had reached its powder keg.

Joseph V. Micallef is a military historian, bestselling author, keynote speaker, syndicated columnist and commentator on international politics and the future.

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It doesn't matter whether you were infantry or intelligence, your military career can and should be a springboard for launching into an amazing career in the civilian sector. There are many organizations who hire Veterans as they feel it is their way of giving back to those who served. However, most organizations love hiring Veterans because they understand the product they are purchasing. The average Veteran has advanced skills in discipline, critical decision making, and work ethic. Then, given the various military occupational specialties you might even step into the job with advanced technical skills that give you a leg up over the civilian population. However, the savvy Veterans must understand how to leverage the best of these experiences in order to impress and succeed in the civilian sector.

Bridge the Civilian/Military Gap

First and foremost, let's not fail to neglect the obvious connections between one's military occupational specialty and its civilian counterpart. There is no law that says if you fixed jet aircraft in the military that you must do so in the civilian sector. Yet, make no mistake how valuable such knowledge can be in understanding your potential new role. Employers like to hire people with experience, but don't walk into the interview relying on the past.

Use your technical knowledge to do a little research before the interview and identify the similarities and differences between the military and civilian version of the job. Demonstrate to the employer that you not only have experience, but you have already used that experience to better understand the job for which you are applying. It shows initiative and it demonstrates that you have the adaptability to translate your experience into civilian use. This type of knowledge is readily available on the internet, but it might as well be Greek to those without the experience to read it in context. Use your experience to research it and win the interview.

Represent Veterans Well

Once you have landed the job, it is time to remind your employer why they like hiring Veterans to begin with. It is often said that people will rarely work harder than when they first land a job. As a Veteran, you understand the best of team play, diligent work, and professionalism. So it is time to show those off early. For jobs that require strenuous physical labor, remaining in peak physical shape in order to meet the demands should come naturally to Veterans. If the job requires complex decisions and critical thinking, then don't rush decisions just to get through the work day early. If the job requires working in a team environment, then lead by example as you avoid conflict for the greater good.

Remember, you not only represent yourself, but fellow Veterans who may come after you to seek employment. The technical skills one attains in the military are only part of what makes Veterans thrive in the work place. You need to understand how to leverage the sum of your military experience and do so early in your civilian career. For when employers see such effort, initiative, and willingness to learn, at the beginning of one's career, they can safely bet there is more to come. However, most civilian employers have come to understand that if a person is unwilling to do so upon first landing a job, then they have little reason to expect it will get better.

Veterans understand the need for making an impact on day 1 as the realities of training and combat can often be unforgiving. This is part of the sum of who you are and there is no reason to leave it out. Leverage it all and remind the world why hiring Veterans is the smartest business decision a leader can make.

For more information, contact our partners at Hiring our Heroes.
CASCADE TOWNSHIP, MI -- Custom storage manufacturer and retailer California Closets will open a new manufacturing facility at 4930 Kraft Ave. SE, just south of Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

The project is expected to create at least 61 new jobs and an investment of more than $5.7 million in the new facility, The Right Place Inc. announced on Wednesday, March 8.

The new plant will supply the company's outlets in the eastern United States. Michigan was chosen over competing sites in Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina and Indiana, according to the Right Place announcement.

"West Michigan is attractive to us due to many factors," said Eric Wolff, President - Fulfillment, California Closets in the announcement.

"The location offers proximity to our customers and supply base, but more importantly a strong talent base in manufacturing and design. The West Michigan area has been a leader in forward thinking and furniture-related industries, which fits our direction and future. "

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) is supporting the expansion with the approval of a $335,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant.

West Michigan Works! also has offered workforce development support totaling $48,000 to support the company's recruiting and on-the-job training investments.

Founded in 1978 by an 18-year-old college student who turned his innovative idea of maximizing space in his dorm room closet into a business, California Closets produces custom storage options.

California Closets has 120 showrooms and 700-plus designers in North America. It plans to grow to 300 showrooms and 1,600 designers in the next five years through a combination of company stores and franchises, according to the company's website.

"Attracting a major consumer brand like California Closets is a big win for West Michigan," said Thad Rieder, Senior Business Development Manager, The Right Place, Inc., and project lead.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The group that wants to redevelop the 103-year-old Keeler Building has some very modern plans for the downtown landmark.

Jeffrey Dombrowski of Keeler Flats LLC said he hopes to get to "net-zero," or zero energy use, by installing solar panels on the roof and a geothermal system in the alley behind the building at 56 S. Division Avenue.

Dombrowski said the energy savings will translate into lower rents they can offer the low-income tenants they hope to place in the 132-apartments they hope to build in the building, which has been vacant for more than 20 years.

Plans call for the building to be converted into 72 one-bedroom apartments, 48 two-bedroom apartments, and 12 three bedroom apartments. Monthly will range from $641 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,042 for a three-bedroom units.

Although the building will have no parking available for tenants, the project is within one-tenth of a mile of nine city bus stops and within walking distance of many downtown workplaces and college campuses. Forty-two apartments also will be set aside for persons with physical and developmental disabilities.

The ground floor and basement of the building will be developed separately as commercial space and a day care center that will offer a computer lab, vocational center, art studio, and exercise and fitness center for persons with special needs from the Kent County area in partnership with IKUS Life Enrichment Services/Indian Trails Camp.

Dombrowski, who heads the non-profit West Michigan Housing Alliance, said the plans for the Keeler Building are the culmination of two years of planning.

Another developer had planned to create offices last year, but those plans fell through last year, re-opening the opportunity.

Before he can start work on the $40.5 million project, Dombrowski needs to secure $25.5 million worth of low income housing tax credits in a competitive bidding process staged by Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The state agency will announced its choices by mid-July.

Keeler Flats LLC also will seek federal tax credits that are available for the development of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and "brownfield" tax credits that are available for the urban redevelopment projects.

The redevelopment plan got a boost on Wednesday, March 8, when the Downtown Development Authority approved his request for a "payment in lieu of taxes" that will allow them to pay 4 percent of their rental income to the city instead of property taxes. The City Commission also approved the same request on Tuesday, March 7.

Except for a video game arcade that closed in December, 2015, the Keeler Building has been vacant for more than 20 years.

In 2014, the city placed cyclone fencing barriers around the building after a pedestrian sued the city over injuries from a hole in the sidewalk. The fences also protected pedestrians from bricks that were falling on the sidewalk.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- A 19-year-old Canton man pleaded guilty in the Washtenaw County Trial last week to charges stemming from an assault on a strip club worker, records show.

Shane Morgan

Shane Patrick Morgan pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon Wednesday, March 1, according to the records.

The charges stem from an incident that took place about 12:56 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2016, at the Deja Vu strip club, located at 31 N. Washington in Ypsilanti, according to court documents.

Morgan was accused of groping the female employee at the strip club, then turning over a table on her, police said.

The table was considered the "dangerous weapon" referred to in the charge.

The 19-year-old was arraigned on the count of fourth-degree criminal sexual assault, a misdemeanor, and the assault charge, a felony, on Jan. 1 in 14A-1 District Court, records show.

A preliminary examination was waived Jan. 19 and the case was bound over to circuit court.
YPSILANTI, MI - What do Rosie the Riveter and a Hudson Commodore automobile have in common? They are part of the Ypsilanti region's history and now appear on new wayfinding signs in Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township.

"It's something we've wanted and needed for a long time," said Joe Meyers, director of the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority. "The headers on top of the sign are unique and original and very Ypsilanti."

The wayfinding project started with changes to Ypsilanti's master plan and a design contest in 2015 to solicit ideas from the community on how to best direct visitors and highlight the community's attractions and places.

The project brought together the City of Ypsilanti, the Ypsilanti DDA and the Charter Township of Ypsilanti in a partnership joined by organizations like Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation, the A2Y Chamber of Commerce and Washtenaw Community College.

Some of the signs point to community assets, businesses, or parking areas and are inscribed with "Ytown" or "Ypsi Real," with colorful icons like Rosie the Riveter in a patriotic theme and a bright yellow Hudson Commodore.

There are now 18 wayfinding signs and 19 parking signs, featuring local icons designed by William Burgard to represent the community of 20,000 residents. Burgard is a lecturer at the University of Michigan's Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design and is a former director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival.

Mary Kerr is the president and CEO of the Washtenaw County Convention & Visitors Bureau and said the wayfinding project had been in the works for three years, a result of collaboration among several partners.

The signs are helpful for visitors unfamiliar to the Ypsilanti area, and help provide a good first impression, she said.

"It sets the tone for the rest of the traveler's experience," Kerr said. "If there's clear signage along the way, you can start your visit on a positive note."

One of the signs is in front of Ypsilanti City Hall, where the DDA office is located. Meyers walks by it going to and from work, and said others positioned throughout the city and township have prompted positive feedback.

"I think it's really exciting," Meyers said. "It helps you get to the main destination points more efficiently. Having signs that all kind of look similar and bring us all together with EMU, and St. Joe hospital and bringing our downtowns together, definitely helps."

The project culminates in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday, March 10 at Ypsilanti City Hall in the upper level parking lot off South Huron St. Find out where the signs are installed here.
A screenshot of an obituary for Jamesenna Tillman is shown.

YPSILANTI, MI - Officials have identified a woman killed in a house fire in Ypsilanti last week.

Jamesenna Tillman, 65, died in the fire reported about 6:30 a.m. March 1 at the home at 914 Pleasant Drive, near West Michigan Avenue and Summit Street, said Ypsilanti Fire Chief Max Anthouard.

The fire also caused significant damage to the brick home. While a cause of the fire is still under investigation, it is not believed to be suspicious, Anthouard said.

One firefighter was hospitalized due to exhaustion during the battle with the blaze, but Anthouard said the move was precautionary. The firefighter was released from the hospital shortly after and returned to work for his next shift.

Further details on the fire were not immediately available.

Tillman, a Mississippi native, earned her bachelor's and master's degree at Eastern Michigan University and was a Detroit Edison employee prior to her retirement, according to her obituary.

"Jamie dearly loved the Lord, her family, her church family, photography, meditating on the Word of God, traveling, trying new foods, studying African culture, adorning herself in African styles, reading and researching her family genealogy," the obituary said.

She "left behind broken heart and tears" in her passing, according to the obituary.

A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. March 25, at New Christian Love Fellowship International, 1601 Stamford Road, in Superior Township.
Town Hall meeting to discuss 2017 Bay City Housing Improvement Strategy

City Manager Rick Finn speaks at a town hall meeting earlier this year.

(Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com)

Update: Bay City Commission finds no wrongdoing by manager

BAY CITY, MI -- A day after a closed session to discuss a personnel issue between Bay City Manager Rick Finn and one of his department heads, a special meeting of the Bay City Commission was called to perform the manager's final evaluation before his contract expires on June 30.

The meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, at Bay City Hall, 301 Washington Ave., is also going to be held in a closed session at Finn's request.

Timing for the meeting is interesting.

Commission President Larry Elliott, 9th Ward, said it's time for Finn's yearly review, despite the manager receiving an evaluation in August, seven months ago. Elliott said that review should have been held in March to line up with Finn's second year with the city.

Reviews are also typically planned in a public meeting and then put on a regular meeting agenda, but a special meeting was called for this review.

"That's not something we would normally do," said Commissioner Lynn Stamiris, 1st Ward.

The special meeting also comes two days after a 70-minute closed session to discuss a personnel issue between Finn and Bill Bohlen, the city's public works director. In an email to Finn last month, Bohlen accused the city manager of attempting to manipulate data for a study that recommended rates for how much residents pay for garbage collection.

The study recommended four options, all of which include rate increases over the next five years and various changes to services. Finn asked Bohlen to come up with a modified version of an option that might include an agreement with Bay County on acquiring a transfer station.

"You have asked me to create other calculations and scenarios to manipulate what is appearing to be your desired outcome and not the outcome that has been derived by the consultant."

Finn and Bohlen have declined to comment on the issue, arguing it's inappropriate to discuss "personnel matters."

In an interview with The Bay City Times/MLive on Tuesday, Feb. 6, Finn said he has always done his evaluations in a closed session, arguing it's the "better way to do it."

Elliott said the commission could agree to make comments regarding Finn's review at its conclusion.

Finn's review in August showed he was rated above average in all 10 categories that the City Commission rates him on, including his relationship with elected members of the governing body, policy execution and relationship with the citizens.

He scored a 3.872 on the 5 point scale. A 1 means the manager rarely meets the performance standard; 2 is below average; 3 is average; 4 is above average; and 5 is excellent.

Finn scored several fours and fives across the board on his evaluation. His lowest score came in the supervision category, where he was rated with a 3.42. That category examines how well the manager encourages department heads to make decisions, instills confidence in employees, and develops friendly and informal relationships with staff.

Finn's contract with the city expires at the end of the budget year, June 30. He has publicly said that he's looking for other municipal jobs in Illinois and New York -- two states where he has prior work experience.

Following Monday's closed session, the City Commission started discussions on finding Finn's replacement. A few commissioners recommended the city use the Michigan Municipal League for its search. In 2013, the city hired Atlanta-based Slavin Management Consultants for $24,000 for the search that resulted in Finn being hired.

On Tuesday, Commissioner David Terrasi, 2nd Ward, took to social media to say he wants to see the city hire its next manager from somewhere in Michigan.

"They get out state and the economics behind it," he wrote.
BAY CITY - Pastor Phil Johnson, of Apostolic Life Church in Bay City, said his church, 301 N. Madison St., just finished more than $10,000 in renovations to its office wing before high winds caused a transformer to fall, leak oil and start a small fire on the building's roof.

Bay City firefighters assess damage as Bay City Electric Light & Power trucks suspend a transformer attached to a fallen light pole that damaged Apostolic Life Church, 301 N. Madison St. in Bay City on March 8, 2017.

High winds on Wednesday, March 8, have caused a variety of utility failures and public safety hazards, including downed power lines and trees and damages to buildings. The National Weather Service issued a High Wind Advisory for Southeastern Michigan, effective until 7 p.m. Wind gusts could reach 55 mph, according to the weather service.

No one was in the office when a utility pole, just feet from the building's west wall, fell sometime after noon Wednesday. It sent a transformer into the new roof, which was installed about a month ago. The transformer then leaked fluid and caused a small fire, Johnson said.

Johnson said the church had invested more than $3,000 in the new roof. Firefighters were assessing the damage.

"Thankfully, we're covered," Johnson said.

Johnson said the building's groundskeeper, Robin Brandt, lives in a neighboring home and saw the transformer fall, then called police.

"I usually work out of here in the mornings. I thought my wife was here this morning," Johnson said. "I'm just thankful that is isn't worse than it is."
"White Boy," a documentary about a Detroit drug informant turned dealer who's served more than 29 years behind bars, is set to premier at the Detroit Institute of Arts during the Freep Film Festival at 8 p.m. on March 31.

Festival schedule and tickets

Richard Wershe Jr., who is now a 47-year-old grandfather, began working for the FBI as an informant and was later convicted of cocaine possession and sentenced to a life prison in 1988.

Wershe, who's being reviewed for possible parole this year, is said to the longest-serving, nonviolent juvenile offender in the U.S. prison system.

Director Christopher S. Rech says his documentary focuses on the actions and motives of Detroit officials who fought to keep Wershe behind bars for so long while more prolific drug dealers and violent criminals served time and were released.

"White Boy" trailer:

White Boy (FREEP Trailer) from Transition Studios on Vimeo.

Rech said there are some "groundbreaking" details about the three-decade saga in the film that many are not aware of, including claims by a former hit man that he was once approached by a Detroit police official to kill Wershe; and unorthodox efforts by a former deputy chief to deceive the Parole Board when Wershe first had an opportunity to be released in 2003.

There's also never-before-seen undercover FBI footage included in the film, Rech said.

In addition to the DIA premier, there are additional showings planned 8:30 p.m. April 1 at Emagine Royal Oak; and 3 p.m. April 2 at Emagine Novi.

Tickets for the RoyalOak and Novi showings are expected to go on sale soon.

Each of the Detroit-area viewings will be followed by a Q&A session with Rech and others featured in the documentary, including Ralph Musilli, Wershe's longtime attorney; former FBI agent and Wershe advocate Gregg Schwarz; infamous 1980s drug dealer Johhny Curry, whose gang Wershe provided the FBI information on; and former Detroit investigative reporter and "Dateline" correspondent Chris Hansen, who gave Wershe the nickname "White Boy Rick."

This may be the only premier for Rech, who said he's not a big fan of attending film festivals and hopes the documentary sells quickly. He expects nearly 1,600 people to view the film over the three-day run.

The documentary will serve as a prelude to a Hollywood film also about Wershe's life named "White Boy Rick" that is currently in pre-production with a 2018 release date.

Matthew McConaughey was cast as Wershe's father, Bruce Dern as his grandfather, Bel Powley as his sister and Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rory Cochrane as FBI agents who worked with Wershe, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The Wershe saga

It's been nearly three decades since Wershe was convicted of possession with intent to deliver more than 650 grams of cocaine, for which he was arrested in 1987. He was caught smuggling more than 17 pounds of cocaine from Florida to Michigan.

At the time, there was a harsh and since-repealed "650-lifer law" that stated anyone convicted of dealing more than 650 grams of cocaine would automatically be sentenced to life without the opportunity of parole.

Wershe was enlisted by the FBI as a paid drug informant when he was 14, and when agents told him his services were no longer needed, Wershe decided to earn money doing what he knew best with the contacts the police helped him make. He started selling drugs.

After his arrest, Wershe collaborated with the federal government in a sting that nabbed nearly a dozen corrupt Detroit police who were assisting or participating in drug deals themselves.

Some of those impacted were close to then-Mayor Coleman A. Young's administration and intertwined with city and county government.

This is partly why some believe officials fought vigorously to keep Wershe behind bars.

Because Wershe made powerful political and underworld enemies, federal officials placed him in the Witness Protection Program. While serving time in a Florida prison, Wershe was convicted of participating in an auto theft and title fraud scheme from behind bars, for which he pleaded guilty and received a five-year sentence that he's yet to serve.

Wershe met with a member of the Michigan Parole Board in February. If the full board agrees he is a good candidate for parole, there could be a public hearing in June and possible release thereafter.

Even if Wershe is released from prison in Michigan, he may be extradited to Florida to serve up to another five years behind bars.

The Florida Department of Corrections issued this statement about Wershe's statement there:

Once the Department receives the sentencing orders for Florida indicating the Florida prison sentence is consecutive to another state's prison sentence, a detainer is placed with the other state to ensure our agency is notified prior to release of the inmate, changes in location, escape status, death, etc. This process is handled by the Bureau of Admission and Release.Upon completion of the other state's sentence, Admission & Release will notify Population Management to coordinate pick-up and delivery of the inmate to a reception center here in Florida for service of the consecutive sentence.
michael ford.jpg

A board meeting to determine Regional Transit Authority CEO Michael Ford's contract renewal will take place Thursday, March 16 at SEMCOG in downtown Detroit.

(Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News)

DETROIT -- The Regional Transit Authority board is continuing to review travel expenses racked up by CEO Michael Ford as it considers whether to renew his contract to lead the entity charged with overhauling southeast Michigan's disjointed public transportation system.

Ford last week repaid the RTA nearly $19,000 after unusually high hotel, airfare, meal costs paid with public funds came to light.

"He wrote a check for a little under $19,000 for expenses," RTA spokesman Mario Morrow said.

"However, the board has not come to a conclusion of the amount of money that he may have to pay back because it's still under review."

The RTA board is scheduled to meet March 16 at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments office at 1001 Woodward Ave. to finalize the review.

Ford's contract expires in October, Morrow said.

He said the board is still considering whether to renew Ford's contract, and that the meeting next week could determine that.

"[The meeting] will be the conclusion of his performance review, which will determine if he's re-signed to a new contract," Morrow said.

Ford led the effort to put a $4.6 billion millage proposal on the November 2016 ballot to boost public transportation with new high-speed rail and bus rapid transit systems across the region. The measure was rejected by voters.

Before joining the RTA, as CEO of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority in 2015, Ford charged the agency $40,000 in taxpayer funds on meals in a five-year span.

Records showed Ford would pick up the tab for guests, colleagues and local community leaders.

Some of the RTA expenses that recently came under scrutiny include: hotel rooms costing $560 per night, $5,300 for cell phone payments and $9,305 for mileage since November 2014, according to records obtained and revealed by The Detroit News, costing about $37,000 over 2.5 years.
MLive file photo | James Buck

Health code violations Feb. 27 through March 5

Check out this list to see if your favorite restaurants recently violated any health codes.

Below is a list of Genesee County restaurants that had "priority" or "priority foundation" violations, according to health department reports.

According to Michigan food law and code, "priority items are a measurable action that directly eliminates or reduces a hazard associated with foodborne illness prevention. Priority Foundation items are specific actions to support or enable priority items. For example, you need soap for effective hand washing. Other examples might be equipment or personnel training."

These restaurants had priority or priority foundation violations in Genesee County between Monday, Feb. 27, and Sunday, March 5:

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Al's Family Restaurant LLC

Priority: Corrected during inspection. Food employees observed wiping hands on cloth aprons and cloth towels. Food employees shall be trained in proper handwashing techniques, and about the properties of cloth. Provide paper towels at workstations for hand dabbing and wiping. Action taken: Employees were informed. Cloth towels were removed from workstations and belts.

Priority: Corrected during inspection. Employee observed handling ready-to-eat foods  making a sandwich  with bare hands. Employees shall use single-use gloves, utensils, bakery papers or other approved means when handling ready-to-eat foods. No ready-to-eat foods may be touched  sandwich prep, taco prep, garnishes, bread, toast and the like. Action taken: Employee was informed. He washed his hands and put gloves on.

Priority foundation: Handwashing sink not located in south part of kitchen where walk-ins are located, where prep is now occurring. Install an approved handwashing sink.

Priority: 1. A direct connection exists between the sewage system and drains from the ice maker. 2. The receiver cup at the end of the 3-cpt sink system, sink No. 1 is not large enough to catch the water from the sinks drain, and water is dripping all over the floor. Design the sewage system in a manner that would preclude a direct connection between the sewage system and the drain from which food is placed. 1. Cut off or raise up the lines from the ice maker at the floor sink so that the lines are completely up out of the floor sink by at least 1 inch. This is to prevent contamination in the event of a backup. 2. Get a bigger drain cup/receiver for the drain line from the far left-end sink, sink 1, of the 3-cpt sink unit.

Priority: Bleach used in the establishment must be approved. Array 3.00 percent bleach is not approved. It is not labelled for food-contact use. Use sanitizers approved. Bleach must be unscented and must have on the label 1. The percent of sodium hypochlorite, 2. The EPA registration number, usually by the UPC, and 3. Instructions for food-contact sanitizing, not just home and laundry.

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Classic Coney Island

Priority foundation: Can opener is visibly soiled. Maintain food contact surfaces in a clean condition.

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Little Caesar's

Priority foundation: A test kit for quarternary ammonia is not available. There must be one here at the establishment, not the supervisor carrying one and checking intermittently. Provide a test kit to set up and monitor sanitizing solutions for warewash and wiping cloth water.

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My Brother's Keeper

Priority: Corrected during inspection. Observed cross-contamination  eggs/meats over ready-to-eat food. Action taken: Cook moved eggs/meats to the bottom-most shelf.

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Rally's Hamburgers

Priority item: An air-break exists between the sewage system and the drain line from the drive-thru pop/ice machine and the ice machine. Design the sewage system in a manner that would provide an air gap between the sewage system and the drain from which food is placed.

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Subway -- Clio

Priority foundation: Wire racks that hold clean dishes and utensils is visibly soiled. Maintain food contact surfaces in a clean condition; replace if cleaning is inadequate.

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Lennon Caf

Priority foundation: Can opener near the pizza station is visibly soiled. Maintain food contact surfaces in a clean condition. Clean after every use or once a day at minimum.

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Blessed Sacrament Church

Priority: Corrected during inspection. Food is obtained from an unapproved source  home canned yellow and red bell peppers in the 1-door arctic air refrigerator. Discard foods from unapproved source. Action taken: Jar was removed from the cooler.

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Kabobs

Priority foundation: Corrected during inspection. The handsink near the waitstation is being used for duping during the inspection and is unavailable for proper handwashing. Train all food employees that handwashing sinks shall not be used for any other purpose than handwashing. Action taken: The person in charge cleaned out the handsink, and the employees were educated about not obstructing handsinks.

Priority item: Corrected during inspection. The bleach chlorine sanitizer used in the three-compartment sink is above the manufacturers recommended concentration. Use approved sanitizers according to the manufacturers recommendations. Action taken: The bleach chlorine sanitizer solution in the three-compartment sink is within the manufacturers recommended concentration.

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Temple Dining Room

Priority: Corrected during inspection. Employees were observed handling sliced tomatoes, pickles and lettuce with bare hands on the wait staff side of the cookline. Employees shall use single-use gloves, utensils, bakery papers or other approved means when handling ready-to-eat foods. Action taken: The manager addressed this with the staff today. They are now using gloves, utensils or deli paper to prevent bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.

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El Potrero

Priority: Corrected during inspection. Observed cross-contamination in the walk-in cooler. Three flats of shelled eggs were found stored on the upper shelving above cooked fettuccini noodles and raw shrimp was found stored on the next shelf with six gallons of milk. To prevent cross-contamination, store raw foods on the bottom-most shelving separating them for cooked and ready-to-eat foods. Action taken: The six gallons of milk and fettuccini noodles were moved to the upper shelving and the shelled eggs and raw shrimp were moved to the lower shelving as required.

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Whitey's Rest.

Priority: A direct connection exists between the sewage system and a drain from the northern most ice bin at the bar (the one on legs). Line is cut off, but is down on the floor drain. Design the sewage system in a manner that would preclude a direct connection between the sewage system and the drain from which food/ice is placed. Cut off or raise up the drain line from the northernmost ice bin, which is a clear plastic hose, so that it is air gapped above the floor drain by at least 1 inch. This is to prevent contamination in the event of a backup. This ice is used to cool drinks, but that could still contaminate the drinks.

Priority: Corrected during inspection. Bleach used in the food establishment must be approved. Majestic bleach, used at the bar for wiping clothes and sanitizing, is not approved. Use sanitizers approved. Approved bleach is unscented and has on the label the percent of sodium hypochlorite, the EPA registration number, usually by the UPC, and instructions for food contact sanitizing, not just home and laundry. Remove Majestic bleach. Action taken: Majestic bleach was removed and approved bleach will be obtained. Quat is available.

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Mary Crapo Child Development Center

Priority: Corrected during inspection. All sinks are are-broken, but not air-gapped. Provide an air gap between the drainline equipment and sewer system to protect water supply. Action taken: maintenance was called and the pipes were marked with cut-off points.

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Family Life Center (Abbey Hall)

Priority: Corrected during inspection. The sanitizer concentration for chlorine sanitizer in the dishmachine is at 0ppm. Use test strips to measure proper sanitizer concentration and adjust the concentration accordingly. Action taken: the dishmachine was repaired by the onsite maintenance staff.

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MLive file photo | James Buck

For more

See health violations in Genesee County restaurants from the previous week here.

Another violation not listed in this report are "core item" violations, which usually relate to the general sanitation, facility maintenance or operational controls, according to Michigan law.

Some core item violations this week included a drinking cup in the food preparation area, cloth towels and aprons scattered about and no trash can for a hand sink.

Results from all the county's inspections can be viewed here.

The health department notes that the reports are just a snapshot of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have more or fewer violations than noted in the report, and it may not be representative of the overall compliance of the facility.

For questions or complaints about a food service location in Genesee County, contact the health department at info@gchd.us, or click here for the county's website.
Flint River.jpg

The Flint River near the Hamilton Dam is pictured in this 2013 MLive file photo. Consumers Energy plans to begin dredging contaminants from the river upstream from the dam in the summer of 2017 and is hosting an informational community meeting about the upcoming project at the Flint Farmers' Market on Thursday, March 9.

(Jake May | MLive.com)

FLINT, MI -- Consumers Energy will host a public meeting to explain details of an upcoming Flint River contamination cleanup project.

The proposed project would involve dredging and capping off a section of the Flint riverbed between Fifth Avenue and the Hamilton Dam, where manufactured gas was once produced at a riverfront factory.

The project is pending approval from the Department of Environmental Quality, according to Kevin Keane, area manager for Consumers Energy.

"Those areas this summer will be dredged to remove the by-products of the manufactured gas operation from almost 100 years ago that entered the river by underground migration and erosion. After the dredging is complete, the river bottom will be capped to protect it from high water impact and the banks will be replanted with native species," Keane said.

Work is slated to begin by the end of May and should wrap up in August or September, Keane said.

The public meeting, scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in the Ramsdell Community Room of the Flint Farmers' Market, is open to anyone interested in learning more about the project.

"It's more of an advisory...There will be some odors associated with the dredging materials. We just want to be transparent with the public and let them know what is coming and what can be expected, knowing the end result will be a vastly improved river bottom with contaminated sediments removed," Keane said.

Based on testing, crews are expecting to dredge coal tar by-product, which will create a detectable moth-ball type of smell, Keane said.

"(It) is very easily detected at concentrations way, way, way below those that are considered harmful to human health. The odors will be noticeable, but we are monitoring at multiple locations around the site and will know way in advance before any harmful levels are reached," he said. "Consumers Energy does not expect harmful levels to be reached."

The project will also impact pedestrian and vehicle traffic, closing East Boulevard this summer while dredging takes place.

Although it's a separate project funded solely by Consumers Energy, the company is cooperating with those heading the Flint Riverfront Restoration Project.

That project aims to make the river more natural-looking and user-friendly by removing the Hamilton Dam and installing several small drops in its place, as well as removing concrete banks and restoring them to appear more natural.

For more information on Thursday's meeting and the Consumers Energy dredging project, visit eastblvdmgp.org.
MT. MORRIS, MI -- Two men have been sentenced after police said they impersonated police officers in order to gain entry to a Mt. Morris apartment and steal a television and Xbox.

The two -- Zachery Chaddock, 24, and Tristan Goza, 20 -- pleaded guilty in December to amended charges of unarmed robbery.

Chaddock -- a repeat offender and the heist's "ringleader," according to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton -- also pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree home invasion.

According to court records, in the early hours of Aug. 24, 2016, the pair, wearing face masks, pounded on the door of an acquaintance's residence at Arbor Lane Apartments in Mt. Morris and shouted "open up, it's the police."

The apartment resident, Tina Manore, previously testified in Genesee District Court that she was "shocked" and allowed the knife-wielding men into the room, according to court records.

Upon finding no money in the apartment, Goza and Chaddock made off with the residents' Xbox and 50-inch RCA flat-screen television, according to court records.

The hunt for the two men ended quickly when police found the pair hiding in their apartment in the same building with the stolen goods. Chaddock was found hiding in the apartment's bath tub while Goza was in the living room.

In February, Chaddock, who pleaded guilty to amended charges of unarmed robbery and second-degree home invasion, was sentenced to spend 3-30 years in prison with nearly six months' jail credit.

On Wednesday, March 1, Goza -- who had already spent over six months in the Genesee County Jail -- received a sentence of two years of probation, provided he enroll in the New Paths treatment and mental health programs, and complete his high school diploma.

"It is always almost impossible to compare one case to another," said Goza's lawyer, Nicholas Robinson, discussing the discrepancy in the two men's sentences. "There are many variables which dictate the outcome. We appreciate the efforts of the prosecutors to find a fair resolution."

Chaddock's attorney, Jeffrey Skinner, was not available for comment.
636244943426590261-60-corvette-ignas.jpg

The "priceless" 1960 Corvette was a three-time National Corvette Show winner crafted at Dave's Collision and Car Repair in Bellaire.

(Courtesy Photo | Dave Fischbach)

BELLAIRE, MI - A group of car enthusiasts who built a custom 1960 Corvette are devastated after their award-winning vehicle was stolen and burned in Detroit last month.

The "priceless" vehicle was a three-time National Corvette Show winner crafted at Dave's Collision and Car Repair in Bellaire.

Owner Dave Fischbach, a self-proclaimed car nut who been showing classic cars for more than 40 years, said the loss of the vehicle has been hard to take.

"Right now, I've lost my desire to show cars; mine or anyone else's," Fischbach said more than a week after the Corvette went missing in Southgate. "This has broken my spirit and passion for doing it.

Ninety percent of the work that Fischbach and his team do at his small business in Northern Michigan is collision and repair work, but they began working on the Corvette in 2012 and started showing it in 2013.

The cherry red, completely modernized Corvette featured a custom paint job, 480-horse LS3 engine, automatic transmission and digital gauges.

The car was a source of pride for the staff, Fischbach said. Especially because it was their first time dabbling into total car customization.

"Car guys, they all get it," he said. "All the guys who have done cars, even those that buy their cars. But the people who build something from the ground up. They just understand the time and effort, the bloody knuckles and the sore backs. It's not like losing a child, I'd never compare it to that, but for a car guy, it's pretty darn close."

The vehicle was stolen sometime on Feb. 21 or Feb. 22 while Fischbach was preparing to attend Detroit's Autorama for the first time.

Sometime in the night, the Corvette, a one-of-a-kind trailer that once belonged to auto racer Tony Stewart and a 2000 Jeep Wrangler, were all taken from the parking lot of the Southgate Holiday Inn where Fischbach was staying.

A few days later, photos surfaced of the burnt Corvette, which had apparently been cut into three pieces. The destroyed trailer was discovered abandoned.

"They must have taken it somewhere and stripped it for parts," Fischbach said.

The Southgate Police Department is currently investigating the case, which Fischbach said he greatly appreciates. The department did not immediately return calls for comment.

He added that it's impossible to put a price on the Corvette, especially because of all the awards it had won. He hopes that the social media exposure and press coverage the crime has attracted will help bring the culprits to justice.
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business Dr Reddy's gets 13 USFDA observations for Duvvada plant The Duvvada site manufactures cytotoxic and hormonal injectables and is an important plant given Dr Reddys focus on complex generic filings. The Unit-7 received had warning letter in November 2015.
Air India

Air India can count itself lucky every time the government jumped to its rescue  and the carrier has run into rough weather more number of times than it seems normal for a flag-bearer. Recently, an Economic Times report suggested that the government was contemplating a move to create a Special Purpose Vehicle which will house the entire debt of the airline, thus leaving the company debt-free. But the question is whether the airline can be saved.

Government-owned Air India has been let down both by its owner as well as its employees. During the UPA I regime under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the airline committed colossal mistakes. It was forced to buy aircraft at a time when no new additions were needed to its fleet. The airlines busiest and most profitable routes were given to a few private sector airlines. Finally, when the airline was down on its knees, the government decided to merge Indian Airlines with it in 2007.

It has been nearly a decade since the airline has seen profits. It was only in March 2016 that the company managed to post an operating profit of Rs 105 crore but because of its huge interest payment it ended up with a loss. Over the past decade Air India has managed to pile on peak debt of Rs 51,367.07 crore in 2014-15. The company had to undertake a sale and leaseback of the wide-bodied Dreamliner aircraft to pare its debt by Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 46,570 crore which includes Rs 15,900 crore on account of aircraft acquisition.

It, however, faces a bigger problem going forward. The airline needs to repay Rs 19,000 crore by 2020-21. At the current rate the solution lies in selling more aircraft. It may be noted that sale and leaseback is a costlier option than buying an aircraft outright.

The only reason the company has stayed afloat is because the UPA government loaned it Rs 30,000 crore in 2012 for a period of ten years.

The present government is in no mood to extend the life line. It isnt keen to waste tax-payers money by throwing bad money after good.

Poor Standards

But debt is one part of the problem. Another pain point is employees or the service standards of Air India. The latest DGCA report (January 2017) shows that Air India tops the charts of passenger complaints (nearly twice that of the second player). It is at No.2 on the cancellation rate chart, next only to TruJet  a regional airline. Air India has the second worst on-time performance record after Vistara. Among the bigger airlines Air India has the lowest passenger load factor while its growth rate at 10.37 percent is nearly one-third of private sector peers who grew by 27.94 percent in January 2017.

The Solution

The government has flirted with the idea of converting part of the airlines debt into equity. However, banks didnt buy it. Reports suggest the government was also looking to have the airline listed. But given the financials, it would have been a huge embarrassment for the government to see the company list below par.

The latest solution of creating an SPV to eat up the airline debt seems unique. The newspaper report suggests that the along with the debt certain assets of the airline will also be transferred in the SPV. The airline has started work on transferring the assets and debt into the SPV.

Most of the loans of the company are working capital in nature and include Rs 7,500 crore of convertible debenture. Most of the assets that are being transferred are non-aircraft assets. These may include land and buildings of the company.

The only problem in such an arrangement is that the land and building would not be generating enough revenue to service the mountain of debt. Perhaps further development or sale of these assets might reduce the load on the airline.

Even if the debt is taken off from the books of the company, its service track record suggests that the airline would send an SOS to the government.

The Sticky Issue

Knowing the problem, it is said, is half the solution. Air Indias Chairman Ashwani Lohani seems to partly understand it. According to Lohani, it was the governments decision to buy the aircraft, so it should be its responsibility to service the debt. Lohani said in an interview that if you take debt out of the equation, the airline will beat everyone hollow  it sounds more like a boast by Kingfishers Vijay Mallya.

Companies have to bear the brunt of wrong decisions of the management but this does not mean that the promoters take the debt on their books and leave the assets behind.

However, Lohani has figured out the problem of service standards and low operating performance of the company. Its the average age of the employees. Air India has had a freeze on hiring for the last 18 years. As a result the average age of its employee is 50 years. Training such staff in a fast changing environment as far as service standards and technology goes is a Herculean task.
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business Pricing formula for natural resources in the works: Steel Secy The steel ministry is working closely with the NITI Aayog on pricing the countrys natural resources like iron ore, coking coal, coal, gas, among others in such a way that there is a clear line between profit and profiteering, said Steel Secretary, Aruna Sharma in an interview to CNBC-TV18.
Any and all records regarding, concerning, or related to the investigation of retired Gen. Michael Flynns communications with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak between October 1, 2016 and the present.



This request includes, but is not limited to, any and all related warrants, affidavits, declarations, or similar records regarding the aforementioned investigation.



For purposes of clarification, please find enclosed a CNN report regarding the investigation, which cites information that was provided to CNN by members of the Intelligence Community.



The calls were captured by routine US eavesdropping targeting the Russian diplomats, according to the intelligence and law enforcement officials. But the officials said some of the content of the conversation raised enough potential concerns that investigators are still looking into the discussions, amid a broader concern about Russian intelligence-gathering activities in the United States.



The officials all stressed that so far there has been no determination of any wrongdoing.



FBI and intelligence officials briefed members of the Obama White House team before President Barack Obama left office about the Flynn calls to the Russian ambassador, sources said.



Given that the Obama White House was (self-described as)we hope that Judicial Watch's demands of the Trump administration will be met positively. Judicial Watch announced today that itregarding records related to the investigation of retired United States Army Lieutenant General Michel Flynns communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak ( Judicial Watch v. Central Intelligence Agency et al. (No.1:17-cv-00397)).Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit after theIn its complaint; order the agencies to produce by a specific date all non-exempt records and a Vaughn index of all withheld records; and instruct the agencies to cease withholding all non-exempt records.On January 23, 2017, the establishment shot itself in the foot as CNN reported that the government was investigating Flynn, former national security adviser to President Trump:said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Judicial Watch aims to get to the truth about these crimes and we hope the Trump administration stands with us in the fight for transparency.now, THIS...is gonna be good.It's impossible to believe that there were surveillance (FISA) orders on Trump or his campaign without Obama knowing about it. Trump's right."Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the United States Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury"The Department of Treasury? Why that would have been Jack Lew:"In June 2006, Lew was named chief operating officer of Citigroup's Alternative Investments unit, a proprietary trading group. The unit he oversaw invested in a hedge fund "that bet on the housing market to collapse." During his work at Citigroup, Lew had invested heavily in funds in Ugland House while he worked as an investment banker at Citigroup during the 2008 financial meltdown. Lew also had oversight of Citigroup subsidiaries in countries including, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Hong Kong; and during his time at Citigroup, Citigroup subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands increased to 113.Lew co-chaired the Advisory Board for City Year New York. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Brookings Institution Hamilton Project Advisory Board, and the National Academy of Social Insurance. Lew was also a member of a member of the National Security Council."So why is Judicial Watch seeking spying information from the former Secretary of the Treasury, a Deep State Globalist who bet on the housing market's collapse, and, by his practice, an expert in off-shore money laundering? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Every International Womens Day, the same predictable questions and statements come up. Its the same every year.

International Womens Day has been observed since the early 1900s. Originally called Working Womens Day, it was intended to be a celebration for womens economic, political, and social achievements. What started as a political event has grown into a day celebrated by men, women and all genders across the world.

Every year the same people are outraged, amused or nonplussed by International Womens Day and every year these people say the same things.

So when is International Mens Day then?

Often said with righteous indignation. So many responses to this. My gut reaction is every day is International Mens Day!

To answer the question: first of all, use Google. Secondly, are you really so threatened by women that having a day dedicated to them outrages you?

There is an International Mens Day, on the 19th of November. It began life in 1992 and the objectives are to focus on mens and boys health, improve gender relations, promote gender equality and highlight positive male role models. It is an occasion to highlight discrimination against men and boys and to celebrate their achievements and contributions, in particular for their contributions to community, family, marriage, and child care. Its interesting to me the the number of Google searches for International Mens Day reaches its peak on International Womens Day. It would appear while some men bitch and moan about feminism run amok that they only care about their own rights when they think theyre under attack. Suddenly the day they condescendingly mock becomes a right they demand.

International Mens Day shows how the patriarchy hurts men as well as women. The society that shames men who show vulnerability is patriarchal. Pushing hypermasculinity and rape culture is patriarchal.

Paternity leave was introduced to the UK in 2003; it took that long because society still believes that children are the responsibility of the mother. When Mens Rights Activists accuse courts of favouring women in child custody battles, that is the patriarchy working against men.

I dont need a day to celebrate my gender

I understand the sentiment behind this statement but the women who say this are missing that not every woman has the same freedoms you enjoy every day. We need a day for women who came before us and fought for our rights and for the women who are struggling today. It is still illegal for a woman to drive a car in some countries  that country needs feminism. Its illegal to have an abortion in some countries  they need feminism. While some would like to believe bad stuff only happens in other countries, the fact is the UK needs feminism too. On average two women a week are killed by a violent partner or ex-partner in the UK, and an estimated 23,000 girls under 15 could be at risk of FGM in England and Wales. The wage gap exists and  depending on what career you have  will depend on just how royally youll get screwed over on your salary.

International Womens Day is sexist

No, it isnt. For a start, there is an International Mens Day and an International Transgender Day of Visibility (31st March) but that alone isnt what makes this statement ridiculous. This statement is operation on the assumption that celebrating this day is excluding men from the occasion and that simply isnt true. I saw just as many Facebook statuses, articles and Tweets from men as I did from women. Gender equality is not just a womens issue, just like gay marriage isnt only supported by gay people but by anyone with a heart. The same should be said of gender equality.

To the people who think its just another flippant invented day like National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Dont trivialise something you dont understand. If you dont understand why International Womens Day is important, read up about it and if you still cant see what the big deal is all about, maybe not voice your opinion on everyones happy IWD posts, tweets and articles. You come across as the wilfully ignorant person who asks wheres my straight flag? and when is white history month?

We all need International Womens Day

International Womens Day is important because every time it comes up, women get more hate thrown at them for simply being celebrated for their accomplishments. Every time someone questions the day, they prove why we all need it.
They would be our caller of the year if our bosses could let us play it!
U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, who represents Morgan Hill in the nations highest legislative body, was preaching to the choir, according to one attendee, at her March 4 town hall that brought a packed house to the council meeting chambers on Peak Avenue.

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Lofgren, a former immigration lawyer and a member of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committees Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, scheduled the town hall with a focus on national immigration issues. But after her brief opening remarks, she fielded questions on a variety of national topics that have gripped many of her constituents with an uncertainty about the futureincluding the Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare) and healthcare for senior citizens, public education, transportation (including High Speed Rail) and President Donald J. Trumps numerous executive orders he has passed since taking office Jan. 20.

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She opened the town hall with comments on the nations immigration policies, after telling the crowd that interacting with local constituents like them is like drinking a cold glass of water after dealing with Washington, D.C.

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We are a nation of immigrants, Lofgren said. We look back on the history of our country and immigration, and we see how immigration has enriched the United States.

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Lofgren listed off Trumps executive orders on immigration, all of which she disagrees with: the construction of a border wall, vastly increasing the number of federal border patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, building more detention facilities and reinstating a programstalled under the administration of Barack Obamato deputize local police as immigration agents.

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I think those policies are not only expensive, but also counterproductive, she said.

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Later, in response to a question from the audience, Lofgren said, The new enforcement priorities are very broad, and there is great concern innocent people will be impacted adversely. Specifically, this means Trumps administration is shifting away from a previous focus only on deporting dangerous criminals among the undocumented, toward the targeting of a much wider segment of this immigrant population, she explained.

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She worried about what would happen to the rest of the country if undocumented immigrants who have lived in her district and elsewhere in America were deported, or encouraged to flee due to federal threats of deportation.

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If 80 percent of our farm workers left, were not going to be eating any salad, she said.

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Lofgren further lamented Congress repeated failure in the past to reform immigration law. We have tried and somewhat failed to create reform of the immigration laws, which is drastically needed, from top to bottom. Its really a dysfunctional system in many ways, she said.

Friendly crowd

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The town hall was not like those held by Republican legislators in recent weeks, where national media reports have described angry crowds. On March 4, Lofgren received sustained standing ovations at her introduction by Mayor Pro Temp Larry Carr, and at the end of the 90-minute question-and-answer session. She gained loud cheers for her support for the ACA and denunciations of Trumps agenda.

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Im going to stand up for people in this community who rely on the Affordable Care Act, Lofgren said in response to one of the first questions from the audience, who submitted written queries for the congresswoman to volunteers who roamed the crowd of more than 400 people.

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The Democratic congresswoman took a few opportunities during the Saturday town hall to lob some jabs at her Republican colleagues in Congress. In response to questions asking her to do more to push back on the Trump agenda, Lofgren griped repeatedly that with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives, Senate and White House, there is not much she and her Democratic colleagues can do.

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I can speak, and I can vote. And I plan to do both, Lofgren said.

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Her answer to those who wondered what they should do about the national issues that concern them? Pick up the phone.

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Call the White House, call the Speaker of the House (Paul Ryan). Even though hes not your representative, he should be the Speaker for the whole country, Lofgren said. She later said of Ryan, in response to a question about how to deal with him, that he hasnt shown much action that backs up his stated positions on major issues, particularly ACA and the economy.

Constituents respond

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Most of those in the March 4 audience were South County residents, but many were from San Jose, where Lofgren hails from. These include Larry and Linda Ellis, who sympathized with Lofgrens views, but remain worried about the direction the Trump administration seems to be taking the country in.

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All the values I hold dear and grew up with are under assault, Larry Ellis said. He thinks healthcare and equal educationwhich some fear is threatened by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her preference for privatizationare civil rights. Preserving the environment is an obligation for the current generation, at a time when Trump and his appointees have favored rolling back environmental regulations, Larry added.

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The Ellis were taken aback by the revelationdiscussed by Lofgren during the town hallthat Republicans in Congress had a secret healthcare bill to replace the ACA (the majority party subsequently released their plan to the public March 6). They also found it unfortunate to hear Lofgren state, in response to a question on public transit, that every Republican (congressman) in California wrote to the secretary of transportation, saying (to) defund Caltrain electrification.

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Lets just screw our own state, Larry Ellis said, sarcastically.

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Linda Ellis added that at some point, Lofgrens complaint that Democrats cant do much while the Republicans are in control will not be good enough.

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I support her, but more work needs to be done, Linda said.

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Morgan Hill resident Lynne Munro also identified as a supporter of Lofgren, who she said was preaching to the choir.

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I hope people will do what she says by calling the White House and their legislators, Munro said. Its up to us to stand up and make our voices heard, and participate.

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The full video of the town hall meeting can be seen on the Facebook page titled Representative Zoe Lofgren, and on the citys youtube channel, youtube.com/user/CityOfMorganHill.
Girls in Burke County have the opportunity to choose a prom dress and accessory at no charge thanks to the women who volunteer with the Morganton Service League.

The MSL is a volunteer organization from Burke County that is made up of women who provide service to organizations and projects throughout the area.

Dating back to 1968, any woman resident of Burke County who is willing to volunteer and serve her community is able to be a member of the MSL. Their mission is to foster an interest among its members in the social, economic, educational, cultural and civic conditions of the community as well as make a difference with volunteer services, according to MSL member Tami Grossens who also served as president last year.

Service projects are a large part of what the MSL does.

We support projects through Burke United Christian Ministries, Good Samaritan, Options, United Way, Habitat for Humanity and Catawba Valley Healthy Families, said Grossens.

These are regularly supported organizations with ongoing projects and we have projects of our own that are ongoing at any time, she said.

One project the MSL has been working diligently on is the Prom Project that offers free prom dresses for eighth- through 12th-grade girls who attend Burke County Public Schools. This year, the Prom Project will be hosted at First Baptist Church from March 9-11.

According to the MSL website, the Prom Project began in 2006 and is held every Spring to help young girls in Burke County have the opportunity to have their dream prom at no charge. Community members donate everything from dresses to beauty services.

At the Prom Project, girls in Burke County are welcome to pick out a dress as well as an accessory completely free of charge.

Last year we gave away 65 dresses, Grossens said. We would love to serve even more girls this year and give away more dresses. We have approximately 400 dresses in our supply and try to continue to keep our supply relevant and attractive.

The Prom Project dress drive is an annual event where the MSL accepts donations throughout the calendar year to support the project.

We do have a fundraiser to help support the costs of the project at Catawba Brewery each year and, last year, we raised approximately $1,800 to help cover our costs.

Those who are interested in donating dresses to the Prom Project, can do so at anytime. Dresses can be dropped off at Nationwide Insurance and Clear Perspective Counseling.

Recently, the group of women in MSL finished up their annual blood drive that brought in 37 pints of blood back to the community.

We are growing our efforts every year we have a drive, Grossens said.

Grossens said volunteering with MSL in a way to join with other women in the community in effort to support others.

MSL is composed of a wonderful group of women from Burke County and it is a pleasure to work and serve among such motivated and kind women, said Grossens. We are growing in our efforts to reach out with our projects and our membership. We have a great time, while at the same time serving the community and doing good things for the community.

MLS is also preparing for the 16th annual HOP Race. This particular event has helped fund many park programs, like the new equipment at Catawba Meadows and Marthas Park.

We are really excited about some new developments and are excited for the community involvement in our projects to bring new fun to our community for our parks or services, Grossens shared.

The MSL is always seeking new membership and takes opportunities to talk with others about what they do and to welcome new members. For more information about the MSL and their projects or meetings, visit their webpage at www.morgantonserviceleague.com.
For the past nine weeks, Fremont High School theater participants have dived head-first into hustle and bustle of 1950s life in New York City as they prepare to tackle their rendition of the classic Broadway musical Guys and Dolls.

The show, which premiered on Broadway in 1950, ran for approximately 1200 performances and won a Tony Award for Best Musical. Throughout the years, the show had many revivals and was adapted into a film starring household names such as Omaha-native Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine.

The years largest musical is being held at 7:30 p.m. March 16-18 inside of the Nell McPherson Theater, which is undergoing extensive remodeling and refurbishing through the $610,000 E N C O R E Campaign which is expected to be completed prior to the start of the 2017-2018 FHS school year. Tickets cost $12.

The cast, comprised of approximately 80 students, will tell the tale of a few big-time gamblers and the women who love them. Theres Nathan Detroit, a wheeler and dealer who runs a mobile Craps operation, who has been engaged to Miss Adelaide for 14 years, but who cant seem to pull the trigger on marrying her.

Then theres heavy-betting Sky Masterson, who arrives in New York City prior to Nathan hosting a large Craps game. Both men loving the art of gambling, Sky wagers with Nathan that he can get any girl in the city to travel with him to Havana, Cuba for a nice evening out on the town.

Oh and the catch? Nathan can pick the girl Sky pursues.

So what does Nathan do? Well naturally, he selects the one girl he believes Sky cant manipulate with his charm, Sarah Brown, an idealistic but sheltered missionary who works for the Save a Soul Mission.

Ultimately, to Nathans dismay, she agrees to the Havana trip, which results in Sarah and Sky ultimately falling for one another.

It (Guys and Dolls) really surrounds the two couples and their love stories, said Choir Director Mark Harman.

This is the second time that Harman has tackled the challenge of hosting Guys and Dolls during his tenure at Fremont High School, he said during a Tuesday phone interview with the Tribune.

While much of the show remains the same from last time he directed it, this go-round hes had the chance to tweak some minor aspects of the presentation.

This is the second time Ive done Guys and Dolls, so its always pretty fun to revisit a show, Harman said. Its a chance to do some things the same, as well as doing some things a little different. Its also a time for me to revisit some of things that Ive done so I can see how Ive grown.

Harman said that rehearsals were a bit up and down in the first few weeks, largely in part to work being done on the Nell McPherson Theater sound system, which completed the first wave of the three-tier project.

I think people are going to be really impressed with what they hear in terms of coverage through the auditorium  just the overall cleanliness of the sound, he said. There used to be a lot lost in translation, but now there really isnt a bad seat in the house. This update has helped, for sure.

And while improved sound will surely enhance audience enjoyment during the 2 hour and 15 minute show  not including intermission  the real treat will be the performance from FHS actors.

First of all the music is incredible  really great, Harman said. And the story is also just a lot of fun, its a blast for the kids to play gamblers, these rough and tumbler kind of guys. Theres also a live Mission Wind Band on stage at certain points in the show  We always have such great support from our community and this is a great chance to showcase what talented, top-notch kids we have.
Investment from Chinese buyers in Canadian real estate is expected to match 2016 levels, with many expected to set their sights outside Vancouver."Barring unforeseen circumstances, we expect Chinese real estate investment in 2017 to come close to matching that of 2016. There is no firm data, but National Bank of Canada hypothesizes that Chinese invest around $38 billion annually in Canadian property, Charles Pittar, CEO of Juwai.com, said That's a tremendous boon for the country and is more than double the $16.4 billion annual value of Canada's number one export to China, agricultural products."Juwai.com, a Chinese international property portal that contains international listings and draws over 2 million visitors a year, teamed up with Sothebys to pen its latest report, China to Canada: International Home Buyer Insights.The report found that demand for conventional housing from potential overseas investors outweighs demand for luxury homes.The vast majority of users search for homes below $500,000, with those inquiries comprising 57% of Vancouvers searches, 67% of Calgarys, and 68% of Toronto and Montreals.The study also found Vancouver property searches fell 81% year-over-year in July 2016, one month after the citys 15% foreign buyer tax was announced.Perhaps unsurprisingly, interest for pricier homes in Vancouver encountered much less of a decline in interest.Properties listed at $1 million and above experienced an enquiry drop following the policy announcement, but rebounded to an 18% year-over-year increase in Q4 of last year.Toronto, meanwhile, experienced a 2% year-over-year uptick in listings searches following the announcement before ending Q4 at +18% year-over-year."As political and economic headwinds drive people from around the world to seek lifestyle and financial oases, Canada's major cities are becoming increasingly attractive real estate destinations," says Brad Henderson, President and CEO of Sotheby's International Realty Canada. "This report sheds new light on emerging trends in the motivation, influence and interests of Chinese homebuyers so that future market activity can be better anticipated."
This Panama gun mount was uncovered by Hurricane Matthew. It was installed and fitted with a 155-mm field artillery gun to bolster Charleston's coastal defenses when the United States entered World War II.
Isle of Palms is one of only two municipalities in the state to have enacted a ban on plastic bags distributed by retailers.
Exxon Mobils profits have fallen 76 percent in the past two years, largely because oil prices declined sharply. Yet the energy giant keeps rewarding investors, even at the risk of its stellar credit rating.

Exxon paid nearly $12.5 billion in dividends last year, which was significantly more than its profits. It was the 34th consecutive year of higher dividends.

How does Exxon plan to keep the string going? Its banking on the Permian Basin in West Texas and other shale plays in the U.S.

Last week, Exxons new top executive unveiled a plan to ramp up production and exploit recent gains in technology and productivity. Exxon has slashed development costs and expenses in the Permian, a crucial advantage in an era of low-priced oil and gas.

Necessity is the mother of invention, Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said at the companys analyst meeting at the New York Stock Exchange. Its a simple saying, but you can bring it to life in a lot of different ways.

Exxon, whose corporate headquarters is in Irving, is best known for tackling giant projects in difficult environments. It can spend years to bring in oil fields in deep water, arctic conditions and developing nations.

In contrast, wells in U.S. shale rock can be started quickly -- and stopped if prices fall. Exxon calls these short-cycle investments because theyre expected to generate positive cash flow in less than three years.

Through the end of the decade, short-cycle plays will get over half of Exxons capital spending on the upstream business, Woods said. Thats a significant increase and Exxon has been gearing up for this.

In 2010, it bought XTO Energy of Fort Worth, a leader in shale gas, for about $31 billion plus debt. Soon after, natural gas prices declined amid a glut of U.S. production. Exxon later wrote down the value of the asset.

With XTO, Exxon deepened its knowledge of shale gas and hydraulic fracturing. Exxon also brought in skills in planning, project management and business combinations. It cited a recent joint venture with Energy Transfer Partners, a Dallas pipeline company.

In January, Exxon bought leases on about 250,000 acres in the Permian from the Bass family of Fort Worth. Exxon agreed to pay up to $6.6 billion, primarily in Exxon shares. That addition is a big reason Exxon just increased the upper end of its production forecast to 4.4 million barrels a day.

Since 2014, the company has drilled 174 horizontal wells in the Permian, and it boosted results by running longer lateral lines and making other improvements. Total development costs were reduced 72 percent and cash expenses in the field fell by almost half, Woods said.

Exxons drilling and completion costs are 19 percent lower than the peer average, the company reported. It now has a research team working to maximize the length of the horizontal lines and transfer lessons to other fields.

While Exxon has a strong acreage position, drilling costs are important to success in the Permian, said Jack Williams, a senior vice president who led XTO Energy for three years.

I have a lot of confidence in our ability to really out-compete our competitors there, Williams told analysts.

Exxon has over 7,000 drilling locations that provide good returns at $40 a barrel for oil and $2 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas. If those commodity prices hit $60 and $3, respectively, Exxons inventory grows to over 24,000 good locations, Woods said.

Net production in the shale could grow over 20 percent a year through 2025, he said. And the pipeline venture with Energy Transfer will get product to Exxon refineries on the Gulf Coast, another efficiency gain.

Smaller shale operators have supply chains that can be chaotic, said Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University. Exxon brings such discipline to the process, along with its strength in refining, that its bound to have cost advantages.

Exxon sees synergies and value that other people arent able to extract, Bullock said. But others in the Permian are gonna learn from Exxon, too.

Woods started his career at Exxon in 1992 and was named CEO after Rex Tillerson agreed to become secretary of state in Donald Trumps Cabinet. The analyst meeting was Woods first major appearance, and he was asked whether the short-cycle focus was a paradigm shift.

The corporate philosophy has always been to find the best opportunity, he said. Now the industry is in extraction mode, not discovery mode, and in shale, Exxon can extract more value than we think our competitors can, Woods said.

Exxon isnt constrained by concerns about cash, production volume or market share. Last April, Standard and Poors cut its credit rating to AA+, and news stories emphasized that Exxon had held the highest rating since the Great Depression.

The agency was concerned that Exxon would return cash to shareholders rather than save money or pay down debt. Exxons long-term debt has quadrupled since 2013, to almost $29 billion. One analyst said its balance sheet is in the worst shape in three decades.

But Exxon doesnt have regrets. Since it merged with Mobil in 1999, its paid out $370 billion in dividends and stock buybacks. To put that in perspective, Woods said, thats more than the market value of nearly every company in the S&P 500.

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(c)2017 The Dallas Morning News

Visit The Dallas Morning News at www.dallasnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.






For the last two years, theyve been locked in a battle for supremacy of the oil market. But for a couple of hours in Houston over dinner on Sunday, the head of OPEC and leaders of some of Americas top shale producers shared a table for a rare off-the-record chat about the future of oil.

Mohammed Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, dined with 20 or so U.S. shale executives including Scott Sheffield of Pioneer Natural Resources Co., John Hess of Hess Corp., Robert Lawler of Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Tim Leach of Concho Resources Inc., according to people who attended the event and asked not to be named because it was private.

Mark Papa, the oilman who helped create the U.S. shale industry more than a decade ago, also attended the dinner at a restaurant in downtown Houston on the eve of the annual CERAWeek conference. Halliburton Co. President Jeff Miller was among representatives of the oil-service sector.

The sides agreed in principle that the market should be better balanced and lower inventories would be beneficial to everyone, according to the people. But while the shale producers signaled they werent ready to give up on the growth they see ahead, OPEC indicated it wants higher prices, even if it means enriching the shale companies, they said.

Spokespeople for Pioneer, Chesapeake, Hess and Concho Resources werent immediately available to comment on the dinner when reached outside of regular business hours. Mark Papa couldnt be reached and Halliburton declined to comment.

For OPEC, U.S. shale producers are a new source of competition, able to respond faster to price signals than traditional suppliers. Since May they have almost doubled the number of active oil-drilling rigs in the country, helping lift the nationsproduction above 9 million barrels a day for the first time in almost a year.

The International Energy Agency on Monday forecast theyll ramp up output by 1.4 million barrels a day from now until 2022 even if oil prices remain at current levels below $60 a barrel.

We are witnessing the start of a second wave of U.S. supply growth, Fatih Birol, the IEAs executive director, told Bloomberg News in an interview in Houston on Monday.

For shale companies, OPEC can determine whether they enjoy high enough oil prices to make money, as is the case today, or they face losses and even bankruptcy, as many did in 2015 and early 2016 when West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, fell to a 12-year low of less than $30 a barrel.

Daniel Yergin, the oil historian-cum-consultant who hosts CERAWeek, has described the relationship between OPEC and shale as mutual coexistence, with both sides learning to live with prices that are lower than they would like.

They are asking questions, the same questions we are asking, Barkindo told reporters on Sunday night, arriving back to his hotel. We are all learning, because this is new in the world of oil.
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For U.S. Army veteran Matthew Allgood, regaining the opportunity to smile brings satisfaction. Hes grateful for the dentist whos volunteering his services.

He told me he was going to give me implants the best he could, no matter the time or cost, Allgood said.

Allgood is one of two people receiving free dental restoration locally from Dr. Thomas B. Campagna of Caldwell Dental. The dentist is a volunteer with Rebuilding Americas Warriors (RAW), a nonprofit that provides reconstructive surgery for veterans and active military members who were wounded or disfigured in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Maggie Lockridge, RAW president, recently added dental restoration to the organizations offerings. She said returning service members with rampant tooth decay face daily challenges.

Some just stay home, Lockridge said. Theyre embarrassed because of their mouths, so they grow a beard to draw attention away. They wont smile. Their teeth break off, and its so painful.

Some of those circumstances are familiar to Aaron Moore, a local RAW patient who served in the Army National Guard. He said ongoing dental treatments have made a difference.

Theres no comparison, Moore said. I dont have severe toothaches anymore. Pretty soon, all my implants will be in and I will have my smile back.

The experience is rewarding for Campagna, who volunteered with the organization after a colleague introduced him to RAW. He said the experience of serving Allgood and Moore is rewarding both personally and professionally.

Once I got into it, I had no hesitation taking the second patient or doing it a third time, Campagna said. I feel an obligation as a private citizen to give something to people who sacrificed so much. With what I do, I help to make people healthier and build confidence.

Patients often turn to RAW after they arent eligible for VA services, Lockridge said.

The VA provides comprehensive dental care to veterans who are unemployable, were prisoners of war, have a dental disability connected to military service or have service-connected disabilities rated 100 percent disabling. Within the VA guidelines, medical professionals do what they can to help veterans with dental disabilities, according to Dr. James Buhanan, staff dentist and acting chief for the West Texas VA Health Care System.

Buhanan has worked with patients facing rampant dental decay. He said some experience the decay after drug use, but the situation also could arise from lapses in oral hygiene.

Often these young men and women go off to Iraq or Afghanistan and have other priorities besides their dental care, Buhanan said. The military provides fluoride toothpaste, but they dont use it. They have to be dentally sound before they go there.

Buhanan said decay happens when sugars and the bacteria that feed on them generate an acid attack on the teeth.

Lockridge hasnt pinpointed the source of tooth decay for RAW patients but said some showed signs a few months after returning to the United States. She said donors and dentists in a national network of more than 380 medical professionals have helped to provide new smiles.

Its done a lot of good, said David Griffin, a RAW supporter in Midland. Doctors are donating their time. We need more. Theres a big need out there when they come back and have issues.

As Campagna prepares to complete dental restoration on his RAW patients, he values the chance to make a difference for service members ineligible for comprehensive VA care.

My father was a Marine, Campagna said. When he passed away, I noticed the military likes to take care of their own. It takes free work through charities to pick up where the government cant.
Exports from Myanmars ailing prawn industry could be worth $1 billion per year by 2022 if it adopts a disease resistant strain of the crustacean from Hawaii in the United States, according to industry leaders.



U Kyaw Tun Myint, chairman of the Myanmar Shrimp Association, said at an industry meeting last month that Myanmar could reduce its trade deficit by 25 percent if it reached its targets for prawn production.



Marine Genetic LLC, a marine laboratory based in the United States, is planning to trial breed specific-pathogen-free (SPF) prawns in Myanmar with the aim of distributing to the local market, the February 22 meeting heard.



Myanmar predominantly farms black tiger prawns at its inland farms but the industry is struggling with the high costs of importing shrimp larvae from Thailand and disease that has spread through the countrys prawn stocks.



Marine Genetic LLC has set up the Best Burma company to launch the trial breeding of five million SPF prawns in Rakhine State and Ayeyarwaddy Region.



It will also share bios security systems, farming management techniques and aeration techniques with local breeders, said Dr Jim Wyban, a prawn genealogist and breeder at Marine Genetic LLC.



SPF prawns grow in both fresh and salt water, have higher survival rates and can grow up to 20 grams in their first 100 days. They can also tolerate a higher population density, up to 1.5 kilograms of prawns per square metre, which is beneficial for smaller-scale local breeders.



Prawns make up 86 percent of the global fishery market, said Wyban, adding that to capitalise on this Myanmar breeders must raise the productivity of their prawn businesses.

U Hnin Oo, vice-chairman of Myanmar Fish Federation (MFF), said Myanamrs reliance on Thailand for larvae was also hindering the industry.



We urgently need to develop prawn larvae breeding capabilities, he said.



The MFF has urged the government to include the prawn industry in its export strategy, he added.



Myanmar prawn exports reached $400 million in 2016, while regional neighbours Thailand and Vietnam earned a combined total of $6 billion from shrimp exports in the same year.



Source: Myanmar Business Today


Off-Highway Vehicles Photo courtesy www.nevada-ohv.org View Photos

Sonora, CA  The public has a chance to weigh in regarding state OHV grant money being sought by the Stanislaus National Forest.

The Stanislaus National Forest is hoping to receive state funding to help fund extra off-highway-vehicle (OHV) projects, forest-wide. They include funds for operation and maintenance of OHV trails and facilities, as well as additional enforcement patrols and visitor education. Forest spokesperson Diana Fredlund says, The Forest has been working on the applications for some of the grants offered by the state of California, and one of the requirements is that there is a public comment period. That is where members of the public can take a look at the applications and comment if there might be something missing, or something that could be changed a little bit.

Around $30-million is available via the grant program. Public comments can now be submitted through April 3. You can find more details by clicking here. After doing so you can find details about the proposed projects by searching for the Stanislaus National Forest in the agency box.
Sacramento, CA  California lawmakers will soon review a bill that would outlaw school districts denying a student lunch because their parents have unpaid lunch bills.

The main author of SB 250 is Democratic Senator Robert Hertzberg who says, What were saying is.you feed these kids. If you want to go after the parents, go after them with every legal right you got, but dont put the kids in the middle.it is not the right thing to do.

The legislation also directs schools to establish a process for notifying families about unpaid fees so that they can be collected. Hertzberg says students are publically shamed when they are not allowed a lunch, or simply given a snack instead.

He adds, We know that hunger undercuts a childs ability to learn and succeed in school. We also know that embarrassing children in front of peers can destroy their self-confidence.

Hertzberg notes that the legislation is backed by the Western Center on Law and Poverty.
Kewin Mill Road Flooding View Photos

Sacramento, CA  Governor Jerry Brown is requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration for storm damage in January that included flooding, mudslides and power outages.

It follows two earlier Presidential Disaster Declarations, related to earlier January storms and the recovery efforts at Oroville Dam. 53 of Californias counties are included in the new request, including Tuolumne and Calaveras.

In addition, the Governor has issued a statewide emergency declaration for storms that occurred in late January and February. It is unclear if a fourth Presidential declaration could be requested, as some of the later storm damage is still being assessed. The Governor is also directing the Office of Emergency Services to provide continued assistance to the specified counties.

The governors office reports that six people died in the state during the January and February storms.

Granting a Presidential declaration boosts the amount of federal funding to help in the recovery.
The U.S. House on Tuesday sent a bill authorizing $19.5 billion for NASA to President Trump that sets an ambitious course for the moon and Mars.

Congress approves NASA budget, space exploration blueprint

Bipartisan legislation headed to President Trump

Mission to Moon, Mars, extends ISS' life

READ the bill, S.442

The authorization bill won bipartisan support in the House and Senate, with Florida Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio among the co-sponsors, and Sen. Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate Space Subcommittee as the sponsor.

The bill focuses largely on space science, space technology and aeronautics. It requires NASA to submit a roadmap for human exploration, with plans for a human mission to Mars launched in 2033. It supports the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion crew vehicle projects, which are under-construction and will eventually be used for deep space exploration.

It also calls for expanding partnerships and commercial work on low-Earth orbit, including with the International Space Station, which Congress says should continue until at least 2024 and possibly 2028.

The bill continues the support for private companies to send crews to the ISS, something SpaceX believes it will do in the next year.

Here's some notable items in the bill:

Asks for a new analysis on plans to launch an Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission, which is meant to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The bill says lawmakers are not convinced the cost is worth the benefits.

Support a Mars 2020 rover,

Support a mission to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons

Supports the James Webb Space Telescope and the Wide-Field Infrared Space Telescope

Allows NASA to provide health care to former astronauts and government payload specialists for conditions resulting from spaceflights

The bill now goes to President Trump. Although the president has expressed support for the space program and space exploration, he also wants across-the-board cuts in the domestic budget. The $19.5 billion price tag is about $200 million more than the agency's budget currently.
When Christian Santiago was shot and killed, his family was told several people saw his death.

But nearly six months after the shooting, no one has come forward, and the family is begging for information.

Christian Santiago was one of 2 people found shot in a parking lot last September

He died at ORMC and deputies have not found his killer

Crimeline reward increased to $17,000

PREVIOUS STORY: Deputies investigate homicide after 2 shot in Orlando

On Sept. 25, 2016, Christian Santiago, 32, was found in a parking lot along South Orange Blossom Trail near Holden Avenue.

Santiagos family was told Christians death was seen by several people, but no one could provide details on who was behind the shooting.

We thought he was in the safest state that we could think of, said Christians sister, Adrian Santiago Wednesday. We grew up in the Bronx. We were raised in a really bad neighborhood in the Bronx. So when we heard what happened, we just thought, this must be a joke.

Since the shooting, the Santiagos say they havent heard much about what happened to Christian. They are now pleading from New York, hoping someone in Orlando will have some answers.

There are people out there that will do this to your family too. So please, if you could just remember if there is video footage, if you remember a voice, a name, a car, ANYTHING, just call Crimeline, Adrian Santiago said.

The reward for information leading to an arrest in Christian Santiagos Case has increased to $17,000.

Anyone with more information is asked to contact Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477). They can remain anonymous.
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Local schools, including charter schools, a responding in different ways to rising concerns in the immigrant communities about the evolving immigration policies of the Trump Administration that are targeting people here illegally, but who have otherwise not committed any crimes.

Houston ISD and several local charter-school operators, including KIPP and YES Prep, have publicly voiced support of immigrant students and their families, including those living in the U.S. without permission.

Local KIPP schools have been hosting immigration forums with attorneys and families. They've handed out fact sheets and phone numbers for immigrant resource organizations. Co-founder Mike Feinberg spearheaded a campaign to get nearly 100 public and charter school organizations and operators across the country to sign a letter endorsing the BRIDGE Act, which would shield from deportation youths brought to this country as children without legal permission, until Congress passes comprehensive immigration legislation. Rice University and Teach for America were among the co-signees.

PROTESTS: Hundreds rally against 'sanctuary city' bill at state capitol

Feinberg said such actions help parents and students know their schools are on their side. They also help differentiate overblown rumors from new realities, Feinberg said.

"We don't teach in a bubble," Feinberg said. "Our kids are not going to learn how to reduce fractions well if they're afraid, and they especially will not learn how to reduce fractions well if they're not coming to school."

Houston ISD has been similarly outspoken about its intentions to protect students, regardless of immigration status.

COURSE REVERSED: Houston father deported after previously given reprieve

In February, Houston ISD's board unanimously adopted a resolution expressing support and protection for students and families living in the U.S. without approval. It reads, in part "... the Board understands the stress endured by families whose integrity is threatened by the imposition of travel bans, especially if the family member directly impacted is a parent of an HISD student."

Superintendent Richard Carranza joined other district staff during a Spanish-language phone bank to answer questions from Univision viewers. Carranza, who began his academic career as an English language learner in California, often uses public speaking engagements to try to quell fears of immigrant families.

Some districts with a majority of Hispanic students  including the Pasadena and Aldine ISDs  have mostly stayed mum. Officials there said they would continue to educate their students regardless of immigration status, as required by a 1982 Supreme Court ruling.

>>>Scroll through the gallery to see which U.S. cities have the most undocumented immigrants
Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday declared a state of emergency and requested federal aid for parts of California hard hit by winter storms.

The emergency declaration applies to 53 of Californias 58 counties, including all in the Bay Area. The order mobilizes the states Office of Emergency Services to the affected areas and directs the Department of Transportation to seek federal relief for damaged roads and highways.
San Antonio Express-News

An Austin-based company will need all the outside funding it can get to bring its ambitious plans for a new West Texas refinery to fruition.

MMEX Resources Corp. announced plans to raise $450 million to build a 50,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Pecos County near West Texas Permian Basin Shale play. But the company had just $3,335 of cash on hand and had accummulated losses of $30 million as of June 30, 2016, its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the filing it said we do not currently have the cash resources to meet our operating commitments for the next twelve months.
As if Fiesta weren't festive enough, this year's kickoff event will introduce Taste of Texas, a culinary tour of the state's six culinary regions.

Taste of Texas will coincide with Fiesta Fiesta, the Hemisfair Plaza kickoff event for Fiesta on April 20. From 4:30 to 9 p.m., chefs will offer samples of regional cooking for $5-$6 a plate. For $75, VIP ticketholders will have access to all the dishes, along with beer and wine tastings. Ticket information can be found at fiesta-sa.org.
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Ever have the urge to drive a tank?

How about shoot a real tank round, a Howitzer, or fire a mortar round?

Then you'll want to check out DriveTanks, located about two hours west of the Alamo City at the Ox Ranch in Uvalde, and advertised as the "only location in the world where you can drive and fully shoot functional tanks, artillery, machine guns and other weapons of war."

The company offers packages, costing from several hundred to several thousand dollars, that allow military buffs to get the behind the wheels of real tanks from various countries including the U.S., Russia and Germany. Riders can try a "war zone tank course" with obstacles, drop-offs and a "few other surprises," according to the website.

RELATED: Six Flags Fiesta Texas kicks off 25th year this weekend

Since DriveTanks doesn't set an age limit, children as young as 8 have fired machine guns and 12 have driven the tanks, according the company's FAQ page.

RELATED: Part of the San Antonio River Walk is now an official Texas Paddling Trail

Prices include seating for up to five people, but only one driver per booking. Course runs usually last 15 to 20 minutes, plus additional time to fire the tank, as explained on their website.

"You will actually blast the real thing," DriveTanks.com promises. "Don't be fooled by imitations. you can't say that you've shot a tank, unless you really shoot a tank.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
With cool, clear water running through the Frio River, plenty of hiking trails and an outdoor dance floor, it's easy to understand why many Texans travel to Garner State Park each spring, summer and fall to enjoy its beauty.

But it's likely that not every visitor will be inclined to spend a night under the stars  cramped in a sleeping bag, inside a small tent, nestled among rocks, twigs, dirt and free-roaming wildlife.
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Forty eight southwestern Connecticut schools have been named Schools of Distinction for the 2015-16 school year by the Connecticut Department of Education.

Click through to see which schools were recognized and under what criteria.

Statewide, 116 schools were recognized as "Schools of Distinction," meaning they meet the following criteria:

- They fall into the top ten percent of schools using the Accountability Index score

- They fall into the top ten percent of schools with the highest growth for all students or for the high-needs group (free or reduced price lunch, English language learners, and students in special education)

- They fall into the top ten percent of schools (among those without growth) with improvement in Accountability Index.

More for you Connecticut now measures student performance from 12 different...

Each school could receive multiple counts of distinction in the categories of highest performance and highest growth.

Danbury, Ridgefield and Greenwich school districts hold the most schools of distinctionsix schools each.

We see the success of our schools that have been recognized as one affirmation of our ongoing efforts to enhance all aspects of teaching and learning in Danbury, Danbury Superintendent Sal Pascarella said in a prepared statement.

We are also grateful for the diligence, passion and leadership of the teachers and administrators in all of our schools, the superintendent said. We are also thankful for their remarkable efforts in meeting the needs of every student, including those with special needs and those who are learning the English language.

Local schools were also scored on the 2015-16 Next Generation Accountability System, which for the first time included year-to-year growth in English language arts and math.

"These results demonstrate that when we raise the bar for our students and educators, they rise to the challenge," Governor Malloy said in a press release.

"Together, we are reaching new heights and making significant progress in our schools. Our new accountability system is more comprehensive and holistic  allowing us to identify and replicate success and target support to the students and schools that need it most. We must continue to be steadfast in our commitment to improve outcomes for all students."
A scam that attempts to trick human resource departments to provide workers W-2 forms and confidential tax information is spreading across Connecticut, federal officials say.

The first heads-up on the W-2 email phishing scam came in late January and now, officials say, there has been an increase in the number of attempts to steal workers tax information.

Heres how the scam works: Cybercriminals use various spoofing techniques to disguise an email to make it appear as if it is from an organization executive. The email is sent to an employee in the payroll or human resources departments, requesting a list of all employees and their Forms W-2.

The scam has now spread beyond the corporate world to other sectors, including school districts, tribal organizations and nonprofits.

Two Connecticut school districts in Glastonbury and Groton were targeted. In Glastonburym someone pretending to be the superintendent sent an email to the business office requesting information on personnel W-2 forms. Officials say a phishing scam last week compromised tax information for all 1,300 employees with Groton Public Schools.

We are seeing a surge in W-2 phishing scams in New England, especially Connecticut and Massachusetts, Joel P. Garland, an IRS Special Agent said in a statement Wednesday. Thousands of employees have been impacted by these email scams, whereby Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and wage data are unwittingly turned over to fraudsters with malicious intent. IRS-CI will continue to vigorously investigate these crimes and assist taxpayers who become victims of stolen identity refund fraud.

Garland, who leads leads IRS Criminal Investigation in the six New England states, said the W-2 scammers are coupling their efforts to steal employee W-2 information with an older scheme on wire transfers that is victimizing some organizations twice.

More Information Kevin Sullivan, state Department of Revenue Services commissioner, said "No matter how official an email requesting W-2 or Social Security numbers may look, do not respond without verifying it is legitimate. Don't get scammed." The DRS provided some of the details that may be contained in the emails: Kindly send me the individual 2016 W-2 (PDF) and earnings summary of all W-2 of our company staff for a quick review. Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Home Address, Salary). I want you to send me the list of W-2 copy of employees wage and tax statement for 2016, I need them in PDF file type, you can send it as an attachment. Kindly prepare the lists and email them to me asap. See More Collapse

This is one of the most dangerous email phishing scams weve seen in a long time. It can result in the large-scale theft of sensitive data that criminals can use to commit various crimes, including filing fraudulent tax returns. We need everyones help to turn the tide against this scheme, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a statement.

Howard Schwartz, Connecticut Better Business Bureau spokesman, said criminals are focusing on consumers personal information because it has a potentially much larger payout than credit card fraud.

Schwartz said, there is no question that a single credit card can be extremely valuable, however, personal information allows the creation of several fake credit card accounts, the ability to obtain official documents and commit income tax-return fraud.

When employers report W-2 thefts immediately to the IRS, the agency can take steps to help protect employees from tax-related identity theft. The IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry, working together as the Security Summit, have enacted numerous safeguards in 2016 and 2017 to identify fraudulent returns filed through scams like this.

BBB said the W-2 scheme came to light in 2016, and has since developed a new twist in which the cybercriminal subsequently sends an additional email, asking that a wire transfer be made to a specific account outside of the company.
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Priceline is waiting for Donald Trump before booking a getaway of its own  a repatriation tax holiday that could save the travel-deal giant hundreds of millions in corporate taxes on foreign profits stashed overseas.

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said Tuesday that Norwalk-based Priceline Group, like many other Fortune 500 companies, wants clarity from the White House on its tax reform efforts before bringing the money home.

The company wants to know whether Trumps administration will give businesses a one-time holiday from the 35 percent repatriation tax rate, which the president promised during his campaign to cut to 10 percent.

So theres all this capital sitting outside the (U.S) that these guys want to bring back, said Himes, who met Tuesday with The Priceline Groups CEO, Glenn Fogel, and the companys general counsel at its headquarters.

U.S. companies have an estimated $2.6 trillion in profits parked overseas, a windfall that candidate Trump vowed to recoup as part of a tax overhaul. The last repatriation tax holiday was in 2004, under President George W. Bush, with the rate discounted to 5.25 percent on foreign profits. The tax breaks drew harsh criticism from Democrats, who complained that the companies cut jobs and enriched executives.

A request for comment was left Tuesday for the White House.

The Priceline Group, which owns the travel deal sites KAYAK and Booking.com, in addition to the dining reservation app OpenTable, said the structure of its business makes it a candidate for repatriation tax relief.

The majority of our revenue is made overseas by companies we have acquired in the past, Fogel told Hearst Connecticut Media in a statement. These companies were founded outside the U.S. and they have paid the appropriate amount of taxes in the appropriate jurisdictions on their earnings.

However, since we now own them, if they were to bring the cash into the U.S., there would be a substantial U.S. tax on the earnings, Fogel continued. We would welcome potential tax reforms that would allow us to repatriate cash earned by our non-U.S. companies into the U.S. without penalty.

In 2015, Pricelines unpatriated income held overseas was $9.9 billion, according to the Citizens for Tax Justice, a Washington, D.C., watchdog group. In 2014, it was $7.3 billion, said the organization, which found that Fortune 500 companies had been able to avoid paying $695 billion in federal taxes by keeping profits overseas.

They told me it was a hell of a lot of money, Himes said of Pricelines foreign profits, adding that a significant chunk is in Europe.

Himes, a former Goldman Sachs banker whose 4th Congressional District includes Norwalk, said he is open to a repatriation holiday if the tax revenues are used to pay for infrastructure projects. He characterized as intriguing a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., that would use the money to create an infrastructure bank.

Congressional Republicans have signaled that a tax reform package could be introduced this summer, but Himes said it remains to be seen whether the GOP can find common ground on loopholes and exemptions sacred to special interests and lobbyists.

Larry Kudlow, a budget confidante of Ronald Reagan and CNBC commentator, is pressing fellow Republicans to move quickly on tax reform. The Redding resident endorsed Trumps economic blueprint during the campaign.

Right now, to me, the most important thing that President Trump and the GOP can do is pass business tax reform, Kudlow said. The economy needs this. If we wait until the end of the year or early next year on business tax reform, you will slowdown of the economy. Get it done fast. I think politically President Trump needs a W, a big W, a win.

nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
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The unappetizing fake "carcasses" onstage at Clear Lake High School's free March 21 performance of "Scenes from The Gut Girls" will be left behind when the audience heads off to a fundraising dinner afterward to benefit the school's troupe.

The 6 p.m. show in the black box theater at the school, 2929 Bay Area Blvd, is Clear Lake's entry in District 24-6A University Interscholastic League one-act play competition.

"The public performance is a one-night-only event that's free," director Colette Currie said. "Love offerings or donations will be accepted at the door."

Then it's off to dinner.

"We will all be heading to BJ's after the show, which is a fundraising night for us, to have dinner with the cast and crew to send them off to (competition) the next morning," Currie said.

"Scenes from The Gut Girls" is a 40-minute, condensed version of a 1988 feminist play by Sarah Daniels.

The action begins in an early 20th-century "gutting shed" amid the dockyards of Deptford, in southeast London.

Noel Jones as Annie, age 16, enters and promptly sways at the stench and sight of four women whose job is butchering beef carcasses amid pools of "jellified" blood.

It's gross - and they love it

"It's gross, especially that first scene," said Currie, but the actresses forge on, no guts, no glory.

"They're loving it. They're having a good time," added Currie. "It's stage blood  corn syrup and red dye - but it is sticky. We keep plenty of rags on hand."

The character Maggie, played by Alyssa Pubentz, explains that the women "chop up animal flesh, sorting and cleaning the tubes from the hearts, livers, kidneys, lungs and that."

"Getting the meat ready for how you find it in the butcher's, basically," adds Ellen, who's portrayed by Virginia Colmenares.

There was nothing whatsoever attractive about the job "other than the pay," said Currie, but that appealed to these "loud and crude and raunchy girls" because it afforded them independence.

"I like to preach independence at an early age," Currie said. "I teach girls - and boys, too - that they have the capacity to do whatever they want. That resonates with the actors who are playing these characters, who really had to fight hard for personal freedom and personal pride."

The play shows how the livelihood of the "gut girls" was threatened by technology - such as refrigeration and automation - as well as "do-gooders," including Lady Helena (played by Haley Sutton). She tries teaching them more prescribed behavior, to prepare them for positions "in service" as maids.

Maggie balks that a gut girl gets paid in one week nearly as much as a maid get paid in a whole year.

She concludes, "Life's for the livers."

Meanwhile, Ellen considers organizing her fellow "gut girls" into a union. She doesn't like being "treated like you're not worth a light. No pay when you're ill. No compensation when you chop your hand off. Laid off with no warning."

Other gut girls are Anisha Marraudino as Kate and Isa Muniz as Polly.

Rounding out the cast are Jessie Pew, Dolly Harper, Alex Cybulski, Abella Knott, Devyn Nance, Chase Horton, Greg Forrest, Michael Korth and Riley Mundt.

Alternates are Becca Perry, Natalia Soriano, Josh Bumpas and Kent Lilly.

Crew members include Hayley Ferguson, Sean Brusdoski, Min ThuTa, Sam Warnke and Nic Agner.

The March 21 fundraising event at BJ's, 515 W. Bay Area Blvd. in Webster, will be after the show until 10 p.m., Currie said.

With each order presented with a flier from the Clear Lake High School Theatre Booster Club, BJ's will donate 20 percent of food and beverage sales to the group. Some restrictions apply.

The restaurant will begin accepting fliers at 6 p.m.

The District 24-6A contest will begin at noon on Wednesday, March 22, at Friendswood High School, 702 Greenbriar Dr, Friendswood, FHS theater director Kathy Powdrell said.

In addition to Clear Lake's "Scenes from The Gut Girls" and Friendswood's "Scenes from Golden Boy," other entries will be performed by students from Alvin, Dickinson, Clear Brook, Clear Creek, Clear Falls and Clear Springs.

Tickets for the district UIL contest are $5 at the door.

Don Maines is a freelance writer who can be reached at donmaines@att.net
For a brief period before the 2017 presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, many in the Clear Lake-area Muslim community expressed a muted wait-and-see attitude.

They were not so much optimistic as hopeful that much of Trump's campaign rhetoric about banning Muslim immigrants from coming to the United States was nothing more than that.

Two months later, following President Trump's signing of an executive order imposing a 90-day ban on issuance of new visas for citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - local Muslims fret that Trump is working to establish discriminatory policies toward Muslim Americans.

The worry has led one family to cancel spring break plans, said Imam Waleed Basyouni of the Clear Lake Islamic Center on El Dorado, who worries about past government actions such as the internment of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans in World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

"It makes us wonder what this is all about," Basyouni said. "It looks like a Muslim ban."

He said Trump's new order undermines the anti-terrorist, national security reasoning of the president's first ban, which was blocked by courts and sparked widespread protests. The first order included travel restrictions on residents of the six countries plus Iraq.

"There is no logic behind it," Basyouni said. "Before, we were told it was urgent, that it was an immediate threat, that these seven countries were evil.

"This was the rhetoric of the first executive order, and now we see that it is not going to be implemented right away and it will not be as urgent as (Trump) said before."

The revised ban takes effect March 16.

The revision states that permanent U.S. residents and green-card holders are not barred from entering the country, but according to Basyouni, whatever changes were made to the original executive order seem superficial to many in the Muslim community.

"It doesn't help us as a community, it doesn't help our national security, it does not make our country safer and it will only make us more vulnerable," he said. "This is making our community feel that this is all about targeting a specific religious group."

Dr. Mohamed Shalaby, a cardiologist who lives and practices in the Clear Lake area, is not from one of the six countries included in the revised ban. But he worries what impact the Trump administration's latest policies will have on area medical professionals from those countries and on the local communities they serve.

"This could definitely be a big loss for our medical community and their patients, who would be deprived of (physicians') services," he said.

Shalaby, 47, who is originally from Egypt and has been in the Clear Lake area for more than two decades, feels there is a danger in characterizing Muslims with generalizations that cater to Islamophobic sentiments that some hold in the United States.

"It is one more erroneous policy (from the Trump administration) instead of dealing with the root of the problem of painting these countries with a broad brush as a social threat," he said.

Basyouni shared that one family whose members belong to the Clear Lake Islamic Center canceled a spring break trip to Canada to avoid potential repercussions. The family members are all U.S. citizens, the children first-generation Americans.

Basyouni asked a man in the family why.

"He said it was because of all the stories and all the reports about Americans that are stopped at the borders, and questioned for three and four hours," the imam said. "And the last thing he wanted was for his children - his 11-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter - to see their father stopped by border security, for his children and wife to be interrogated, their personal belongings to be searched.

"He said, 'I could not look at my daughter and tell why I canceled the trip,' " Basyouni said.

An American citizen who has been at the Clear Lake Islamic Center since the late 1990s, Basyouni, 47, said such fears are becoming increasingly common among Muslim-Americans under a Trump administration.

"They don't want their children to be raised to hate the government or to be raised in way they feel they don't belong, or where they feel they are targeted," he said.

Basyouni is unsettled as he thinks of World War II internment camps for Japanese Americans that were created in response to a supposed threat.

"It can make you scared because this is the same Constitution when the Japanese were put into prison camps," he said. "We learn as we go, but I don't want my community to be a learning experience where we have to suffer where other people have suffered before."
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Warm smiles and embraces welcomed guests as they arrived in the event room at the Clubs of Kingwood to celebrate a baby shower Saturday, March 4.

While a baby shower may not seem like an extraordinary occurrence, the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy of Michelle Goertz Eby show how far one woman was willing to go to help her cousin's dreams come true.

Eby, who has served as the gestational carrier of her cousin's baby girl since July 2016, is due to give birth on March 29 at the Women's Hospital of Texas.

Eby and Laura Davis Werner are first cousins.

They grew up living in close proximity to each other. Originally from West Texas, their families moved to the Kingwood area when Eby was in middle school.

"We're both the middle child, so we've kind of always had that bond together," Eby said. "She has an older sister and a younger sister, and I have an older brother and a younger brother. Everyone's always kind of told us we are the ones that look more alike, and we are very similar. We have a lot of the same mannerisms and personality traits. We're both nurses. Her and I were always kind of more alike, I guess."

Growing up in a close-knit family, the girls developed a sisterly bond.

"Having two brothers, Michelle was with my sisters and I a lot," Werner said. "We spent a lot of time growing up together because we lived pretty close. We went on vacations together and two family reunions every summer."

Both women graduated from Kingwood High School - Eby in 1995 and Werner in 2000.

Eby and her husband, Sam, live in Kingwood with their sons, Preston, 11, and Parker, 9.

Eby works as a nurse at Memorial Hermann Northeast in Humble.

Werner lives in Houston with her husband, Blake, and 4-year-old daughter Kalyn.

Werner also is a nurse and works at Texas Children's Hospital.

Werner is noted among family members for her maternal nature and love of children. Unfortunately, she struggled with infertility for years.

"We started fertility (treatments) in 2010 and had our daughter Kalyn in 2012, after two years of trying to get pregnant through in-vitro fertilization (IVF,)" Werner said. "We started trying for another child when Kalyn was 1 (year old.)"

Three years later, after approximately six unsuccessful IVF attempts, Werner and her husband were close to giving up hope of having a second child.

"We were like, 'We can't do this again,'" Werner said. "That's when Michelle stepped in."

Eby approached the Werners about the possibility of serving as the couple's surrogate after their last IVF attempt around March 2016.

"They struggled for so many years trying to have a baby and couldn't," Eby said. "We saw them go through all the trials and tribulations of it. When their last implantation failed about a year ago, we decided to bring it up to them and see what they thought about it."

Werner and her husband were overjoyed. Once the decision was made to proceed with Eby as the gestational carrier, the women said the process has gone very smoothly.

"It was kind of like it was meant to be," Eby said. "We went through the process and everything just kind of fell into place. July 18 (2016) was when we did the implantation. So, it happened quickly."

The in-vitro implantation procedure was performed at Houston IVF. Nine days later, during their return visit, the families were thrilled to learn the implantation had taken successfully.

After finding out the baby was a girl, the Werners decided to name her Landry Michelle Werner.

"(We chose) 'Michelle' of course because we'd like to honor her," Werner said.

Four-year-old Kalyn has been involved throughout the process and looks forward to becoming a big sister.

"She wants four of everything now," Werner said. "She says, 'one for mommy, daddy, Landry and for me.' She's excited and ready to be a big sister. She's been to almost every appointment, so she's gotten to watch Landry grow on the ultrasound."

Throughout the experience, the women said they are grateful for the support of their family.

"I couldn't have done this without my husband and our boys. Our family, our parents, my grandmother, aunts and uncles, they've all been very supportive," Eby said. "They've helped us with anything we needed help with."

They feel the experience has served to strengthen the bond between their family and Werner expressed her gratitude to Eby for the gift she has given their family. It's brought them closer together, Werner said.

While serving as the gestational carrier for her cousin's baby is a major commitment, Eby said it is one she felt called to make.

"Laura and Blake are just a super sweet couple," Eby said. "There's just something about them; anyone would want to give to them because they're such a sweet family.

"We just prayed about it a lot and we felt like it was a calling, something that we needed to do. It's a big commitment, but we know it's going to be worth it."
Evelyn Rubenstein JCC of Houston and the YMCA of Greater Houston are offering a trip to Israel Sept. 3-14 for adults 55 and older.

Walt McFadden, Senior Corps Department director at the J, visited Israel in March 2014.

"It's one thing to read about the places where Jesus lived and taught," he said. "It's quite another to see them with your own eyes and touch them with your own hands. Visiting Israel affected me profoundly, and I'll always treasure the experiences I had there."

The trip begins in Tel Aviv, the first Modern Hebrew City and ends in Jerusalem, known as the center of major religions. The J and YMCA have been working closely with the Jewish Community Center Association office based in Israel to ensure that participants not only get to know the land but have many interpersonal encounters that will tie them to Israel's unique communities.

"To provide an interfaith experience in Israel is special," said Elena Dinkin, YMCA Active Older Adult director. "I was moved by my visit to Jerusalem, seeing the Wall, experiencing the preparation for Shabbat and then worshiping at a synagogue. The connection between what I had learned in my studies and then seeing it in person is so meaningful to me. I am looking forward to the opportunity to experience Israel with so many active members of the YMCA and the J."

Deadline to register is April 1.

For more information please contact Elena Dinkin at elena.dinkin@ymcahouston.org or 713-662-1315 or Morgan Steinberg at msteinberg@erjcchouston.org or 713-595-8170.

Visit www.erjcchouston.org for more information about our programs and services.

Find JCC, also, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Dear Toni:

Last week, I was laid off from my job and now I need to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. I am 74 years old and am concerned about receiving a Medicare penalty because I never did enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. My wife is 67 and has been enrolled in Medicare, since turning 65. Since turning 65, I have always worked for the same company that now does not supply retiree benefits when one is no longer working full-time. We can apply for COBRA benefits for 18 months.

With my health issues, I believe that we should apply for a Medicare supplement because of the freedom it provides from what I have read in the Toni Says Medicare column. Please explain what I need to do to get Medicare supplement for both me and my wife? Thanks, Bob from Sugar Land.

Hello Bob:

You need to file the "Request for Employment Information" form signed by your company with the local Social Security office to have your Medicare Part B started ASAP and not receive the "famous" Part B penalty because you are past 65.

Don't file this form the correct way and your Part B penalty will go all the way back to the day you turned 65.

Since you are receiving Part B for the first time, you will have a one-time special opportunity which is explained on page 83 of the 2017 Medicare and You handbook. It states, "The best time to buy a Medicare Supplement/Medigap policy is during your Medigap Open Enrollment Period. This 6-month period that begins on the first day of the month in which you're 65 or older and enrolled in Part B.

After this enrollment period, you may not be able to buy a Medicare supplement policy, if you're unable answer health question.

Your wife, Mary must answer questions to apply for a Medicare supplement because she has had Medicare Part B longer than 6 months. If Mary has health issues, then she can qualify as a guarantee issue policy.

Mary's saving grace, if she has a health issue is that you are losing your company benefits and Mary can receive a 63-day guaranteed issue period for applying for a Medicare supplement/Medigap plan. Keep your company benefit termination letter to show the Medicare supplement insurance company that you are in a guarantee issue period.

With guaranteed issue rights an insurance company must:

Sell you a Medigap/Medicare supplement policy. "You have the right to buy Medigap/Medicare supplement plan A, B, C, F, K or L that's sold in your state by any insurance company.

Cover all your pre-existing health conditions.

Cannot charge you more for a Medigap/Medicare supplement policy, regardless of past or present health problems.

Bottom line ... enroll in Part B the correct way is so important, while "still working" full-time with true company benefits whether you are the working or non-working spouse. Not only to keep from receiving a Medicare Part B penalty, but also to be able to enroll and be accepted in any Medicare supplement/Medigap plan.

America needs to realize the value of Medicare Part B.

Confused about Medicare Workshop: March 22th, at 2 p.m. at the new Toni Says Sugar Land office. 77 Sugar Creek Center Blvd, 5th floor conference room, Sugar Land, TX 77489. Seating is limited. Please RSVP 832-519-8664.

Toni King, author of the Medicare Survival Guide offers a "Thank You, Houston" $5 discount available for Houston Chronicle/HCN readers at http://tonisays.com/reader-special. Medicare consultations are available at the Toni Says office or email questions to info@tonisays.com or call 832/519-TONI (8664). Visit Tonisays.com to receive your copy of the 2017 Medicare costs and to sign up for the latest Toni Says newsletter.
With its recent $15,000 contribution to The Rose, a nonprofit for breast health care, the Tomball Regional Health Foundation has continued to push its role as a regional health care provider not just through its own services but supporting that of others to reach more people.

The Health Foundation's contribution goes towards The Rose's Empower Her sponsorship program at The Rose. The program supports breast health services, advocacy and access for women in Tomball, Magnolia, and Montgomery County.

"The Rose is able to help women in need through the generous donations from community organizations like the Tomball Regional Health Foundation," said Dorothy Gibbons, CEO of The Rose, noting the difference $15,000 makes to a community.

"Receiving this grant for a second time allows us to continue providing hundreds of sponsored mammograms to women in that region," she said.

Just last year, a Tomball Regional Health Foundation grant helped The Rose provide 15,711 procedures like mammograms or diagnostic services to 7,113 uninsured patients for little to no-cost from August 2015 through July 2016.

"The Rose's story is inspiring and we are amazed by the impact they have had in our community," said Marilyn Kinyo, Chief Administrative Officer of the Tomball Regional Health Foundation. "They help us continue to promote wellness and improve the health status for all residents in our communities by providing access to preventative care and health education. We are very excited to be a part of this effort."

The Tomball Regional Health Foundation's grant has made it possible for The Rose to reach more women who would have otherwise been unable to seek diagnostic services. Providing mammography services to women in these communities is imperative to their quality of life and with the grant that is possible.

The TRHF selected The Rose, like it's other partners, because they reach a medically underserved area within their service area, in Waller and Magnolia.

When the foundation sought to identify the medical needs of the community, through a 2012 study, it found mental health, dental care and public transportation were the most underserved in the area.

The foundation has donated more than $9 million to fund projects throughout the community since that time, including a recent $75,000 contribution to Meals on Wheels in northwest Houston.

Their funding has led to a number of other solutions including teaching CPR training to more than 25,000 students in Tomball, Klein, Magnolia, CyFair and Waller schools; therapy for disabled children; and the expansion of medical services at TOMAGWA have been expanded, to name a few.

It's also led to a wheelchair transportation program for disabled people to get them to doctor appointments, the expansion of a system to allow Fire and EMS to reduce response times and equipment for Lone Star College Tomball's pharmacy program training.

Kinyo is excited about the foundation's work, which is already well underway this year.

In just 2016, they committed to $1 million worth of projects in their service area according to Kinyo. For 2017, they've already committed $2.3 million.
ELKTON  Step back in time at the Bluewater Thumb Youth for Christ (YFC) 1950s-themed Mystery Dinner party Saturday.

The fun begins at 5 p.m. at the Elkton Missionary Church. This fundraiser event will help fund scholarships for students attending the YFC Spring Break trip to Florida.

Tickets are $25 each and are available at the YFC office in Pigeon.

The YFC Spring Break trip offers students a week in the Florida sun, trips to theme parks, time with friends, and a chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

However, sometimes financial situations prevent a student from being able to attend the trip. The YFC's goal is to never let money prevent a student from attending this trip. The Mystery Dinner party will help with this effort.

The Mystery Dinner party will be set in a 1950s diner and include a home cooked meal and desserts, along with a little 50s trivia. Youth for Christ students will act out a skit, and attendees will take on the role of detective to solve a "who stole it" mystery.

People are encouraged to dress in their best 50s attire. Prizes will be given for best dressed, solving the mystery and best trivia contestant.

For more information, or to reserve your tickets, call Janet Devoyre at 989-453-3239.
A woman was arrested over the weekend for allegedly hitting her boyfriend with a brick and damaging his vehicle, according to Laredo police.

Gladis Elizabeth Granger, 24, was charged Saturday with aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and criminal mischief in the 5900 block of McPherson Road.
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Detectives from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office arrested Gina Denise Sarver for allegedly stealing around $20,000 worth of funds from Montgomery United Methodist Church's day care facility.

Sarver, who used to be the director of the church's Tomorrow's Promise Preschool, was arrested for felony theft last Thursday in Montgomery.
Detectives identified the woman who was murdered near Conroe Tuesday, although they still are searching for anyone responsible for her death.

Deputies found Shelby Trotnic, 22, dead in the master bedroom of a home in the 12200 block of Sweet Bay Street, just south of Texas 242 east of Interstate 45 North, around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Deputies were called to the address after the caller entered the residence and discovered Trotnic dead in the home.
1 Texas execution: A paid hit man has been executed for the contract killing of a San Antonio woman in a life insurance scheme nearly a quarter-century ago. Rolando Ruiz was convicted of accepting $2,000 to fatally shoot 29-year-old Theresa Rodriguez outside her home in 1992 as she was getting out of a car with her husband and brother-in-law, who both orchestrated her murder. Ruiz was declared dead at 11:06 p.m. local time Tuesday at the Texas state prison in Huntsville. Ruizs lethal injection is the third this year in Texas and the fifth nationally.

2 Re-elected: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has claimed a second term at City Hall. The 46-year-old Democrat easily outdistanced 10 rivals and had an insurmountable lead late Tuesday. He won 81 percent of the first 70,000 votes counted while his nearest opponent had under 8 percent. Garcettis campaign benefited from an improving economy, and he helped secure new funds for rail lines and pushed for relaxed business taxes. But the city has also seen a spike in violent crime, while some neighborhoods are uneasy with L.A.s increasing density and height.
PETERSBURG -- At their February meeting, the members of the Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce elected a Board of Directors from their members and the community.

The directors term began immediately.

The president of the Chamber, the Rev. Sharon O. Wiese, was elected and will serve as temporary president of the board.

Drew Howard, Petersburg ISD superintendent; Nick Delay, pastor of the First Baptist Church; and Cindy Porter, training coordinator for Calvert Home Health; were elected from the membership. Robert Leal was elected as a community representative to the Board.

Norma Ritz-Johnson of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce will speak at the March 14 Petersburg Chamber meeting. Ritz-Johnson is executive vice president particularly involved in public policy and government relations/community development.

Her concentrations include agriculture and transportation.

She will talk the several areas of activity the Lubbock Chamber is engaged in, particularly its strategic plan, government relations and community development.

There will be a question & answer period following her remarks.

The March 14 session is a night meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be in First Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 1709 Ave. G. Chamber meetings are open to all.
Tourist arrivals in Istanbul continue to drop in 2017. The Istanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate announced travel statistics for February 2017. The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul in February dropped 12.5% compare to Feb.16 to 590 thousand travelers. 674 thousand traveled to Istanbul in February 2016. The drop in tourist arrivals to Istanbul in January 2017 was 19.2%.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul decreased 15.9 percent between January and February this year. In the first two months of 2016, a total of 1 million 366 tourists have visited Istanbul, while in 2017 the number dropped to 1 million 149 thousand tourists.

In the first two months of 2017, German tourists are the number 1 source market for Istanbul tourism. 100,285 German citizens traveled to Istanbul. Iranian (86,914), Iraqis (47,084), Russians (45,759), British (42,490) made the top 5. Other nations are: Ukraine 3.6%, Saudi Arabia: 3.4%, France: 3.4%, The Netherlands: 2.8%, USA: 2.6%, Kuwait: 2.4%, Azerbaijan: 2.3%, Turkmenistan: 2.2%, China: 2.1%, Italian: 1.8%, other nations: %45,5
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The Senate State Affairs Committee sent Senate Bill 6 to the full chamber in the early hours of Wednesday morning, following about 13 hours of impassioned public testimony.

On a 7-1 vote, Sen. Judith Zaffirini was the only committee member to oppose the controversial bill, which would require individuals to use restrooms and other facilities in government buildings based on their birth certificate, rather than gender identity. Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., a Democrat, voted in support of SB 6 after publicly backing it on Monday.

Hundreds of people signed up to testify before the committee, most of them in opposition to the bill.

Public testimony began at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday and ended at around 4:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Of the 200-plus people that testified, the vast majority included transgender individuals and their families staunchly against the legislation.

Around 30 people voiced their support for SB 6, including several families from Dripping Springs that were upset about Dripping Springs Independent School Districts decision in the fall to allow a transgender girl to use the girls restroom.

Prior to the vote, the bills author, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, revised the legislation to remove a section that would enhance punishment for crimes committed in bathrooms and updated it to include its intent to protect the privacy of women and children.

The vote capped a turbulent few days at the Texas Capitol that included dueling press conferences between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a strong proponent of SB 6, and hundreds of transgender advocates who descended on Austin this week to lobby against it.

The committees vote means that SB 6 will next advance to the Senate for a full vote, where it has support from the majority of Republicans.

However, House Speaker Joe Straus has repeatedly said the bill is not his priority, while Gov. Greg Abbott remains largely mum on the issue.
Marco Polo Hotels has appointed HR specialist, Ms. Rosemary Tam, as Group Director of Human Resources.

Previously with the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company, Rosemary joins Marco Polo Hotels to roll out talent acquisition and HR strategies for the successful hospitality group whose upscale deluxe hotel brand, Marco Polo, and upper luxury hotel brand Niccolo, are making significant headway in the region.

Formerly with W Hong Kong and Le Meridien Cyberport as Director of Human Resources, Rosemary is tasked in her new role with performance management goals, associate recruitment, staffing benefits and the deployment of HR strategies in alignment with the groups corporate vision and mission.

A graduate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hotel and Catering Management, Rosemary holds a Masters Degree in Strategic Human Resources Management from the Hong Kong Baptist University.
The Texas Education Agency ordered the San Antonio School of Inquiry and Creativity to suspend operations Wednesday, until the local charter school district can prove compliance with state requirements governing the criminal history of employees and resolve "serious and ongoing food safety issues."

The letter from Mike Morath, Commissioner of Education, ordered SASIC to suspend operations at its four campuses by close of business Wednesday. It also said the charter district will not receive any state funding while the suspension is in effect.
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After terrorizing southwest Houston neighborhoods with a two-month crime spree, four accused gang members linked to a slew of violent cases have been hit with charges ranging from burglary to sexual assault.

The suspects have been linked to at least 10 crimes and are accused of breaking into homes near Bellaire Boulevard and Beltway 8 in a series of five home invasions and three robberies, Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday.

"These people are pretty much your worst nightmare," said Stephen Hendrie, a sergeant with HPD's midwest divisional gang unit.

The four suspects all charged with aggravated robbery are: Marqus Sirls, 20; Treveon Stockton-Williams, 24; Khiana Washington, 18; and Mohagany Ireland, 20.

MULTIPLE ARRESTS: Four gang members charged with break-ins, sexual assaults

Sirls, who has a criminal record in Harris County dating back to at least 2013, is also facing two counts of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated sexual assault and burglary with intent to commit sexual assault.

Four years ago, he was arrested as a juvenile and sentenced to five years of probation for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

In 2015, he was sentenced to 10 days in jail for criminal trespassing and given deferred adjudication for stealing a woman's cell phone. Two days after his most recent arrest, Sirls' lawyer filed a motion requesting a psychiatric examination, citing a history of mental health problems including bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, a condition characterized by hallucinations and delusions.

A judge granted the motion the same day.

Sirls and his co-defendents are all gang members, according to police, who declined to offer more specifics so as not to give the group publicity. The court-appointed lawyers for Stockton-Williams and Ireland both said they were unaware of any gang involvement. Sirls' lawyer declined to comment.

CRIME TRENDS: A Texas city out-paced Chicago's 2016 murder rate and it wasn't Houston

The accused robbers were all arrested Feb. 22, thanks to a tip from a private security company that four suspects were driving a black Nissan Maxima. During the arrest, officers found two guns and stolen items.

Although the crew's recent spree kicked off Jan. 14 with a Carvel Lane robbery, they've also been linked to one Bellaire robbery in January 2016.

Acevedo cautioned that the "extremely violent" crew could be behind other robberies.

"Common sense will tell you that they've committed many more crimes," he said. "Please plaster these faces across the city."

And despite the recent string of arrests, there could be more members of the violent crew still at large.

GANG LIFE: Things to know about the 52 Hoover Crips gang

"I know that we still have more suspects that are tied to these crimes that we're looking for," Acevedo said.

He went on to encourage the district attorney to avoid pursuing "quick justice" in the cases.

"We want to make sure these people - once they're properly convicted in a court of law - that they're put away for a long time," he said.

Police officers were speaking with victims and getting their assistance identifying the suspects as recently as Friday, HPD spokesman John Cannon said.

Stockton-Williams, Ireland and Sirls were being held in the Harris County jail as of Tuesday night, while Washington is out on bail.

They're all due back in court at the end of the month.

>>>Scroll through the gallery to see things to know about one of Houston's most active gangs
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AUSTIN - After nearly a full day of testimony from hundreds of witnesses -- most in opposition -- the controversial "bathroom bill" cleared its first legislative hurdle early Wednesday morning, when the Committee on State Affairs voted 7-1 to recommend the bill to the full chamber.

A high priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's, Senate Bill 6 would require transgender people to use bathrooms in public schools and colleges and government buildings that correspond to their "biological sex" as listed on their birth certificate. It also would prohibit local jurisdictions, like cities and counties, from adopting anti-discrimination ordinances permitting transgender people from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity.

The committee, which consists of two Democrats and seven Republicans, began hearing testimony at 8 a.m. Tuesday and ended with a vote on the measure at 4:50 a.m. Wednesday. The lone no vote was Laredo Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Democrat. Sen. Eddie Lucio, a Brownsville Democrat who announced his support for the bill Monday, came under harsh criticism from his constituents during the hearing, though he promised to offer amendments when the bill reached the Senate floor.

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican who authored the bill, said her goal is to provide privacy to women. She argued that while the state's criminal code already outlaws assaulting or filming someone in a restroom, no current statewide statute addresses entering an opposite-sex bathroom.

"I'm trying very hard to craft a bill to strike a balance," Kolkhorst said. "If we don't pass this bill, what I think we'll see is a city-after-city patchwork of policy where in some cities there's really no gender identity on restrooms."

A handful of Senate Democrats, including some who did not serve on the committee, sharply criticized Kolkhorst's rationale as a solution in search of a problem. They argued that the bill would segregate and endanger transgender people by forcing them to use public bathrooms designated for the opposite sex.

Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Harris County Democrat, said Houston already has a local ordinance barring men from entering women's restrooms and vice versa that does not invoke any biological sex or birth certificate requirement.

"It just says you can't enter the bathroom of the opposite sex. If that is what your aim is, why are we doing other things - the pre-emption, referring to biological sex?" Garcia said. "That is what leads to concerns from people in my district that this is discriminatory and targets transgender children."

Panel Democrat backs bill

Lucio's decision effectively allows Patrick, who controls the Senate's calendar, to meet the 19-member threshold he needs to bring the measure to a full chamber vote as early as this week.

The hearing drew large and sustained crowds at the Capitol, including 400 people who signed up to speak for or against the bill. On orders of the committee's chairwoman, Sen. Joan Huffman of Houston, state police closed the meeting room to the general public for part of the day, prompting a Republican senator to question why there were many empty seats at the start. Recently, protesters have shouted, sang and clapped during high-profile Senate committee hearings.

No major outbursts marked the SB6 hearing, however. Transgender rights advocates showed up in droves, some driving hundreds of miles, and held a rally near the hearing room to denounce the bill as an anti-trans measure intended to discriminate against them under the guise of women's privacy.

An estimated 125,000 people in Texas are transgender, making it the state with the second or third largest trans population in the country, said Dr. Colt Keo-Meier, a licensed psychologist who opposed the bill.

Keo-Meier, who transitioned a decade ago, told the committee that SB6 would interfere with his ability to provide medically necessary information and treatment to his patients, all of whom are transgender.

"Quite literally, this bill is killing my patients," he said, adding that he would have to drop out of medical school if the bill becomes law. "I would be banned from using the restroom on campus. If you're saying I can go into the women's restroom, that's the violence we're all trying to prevent."

Business interests vs. bill

Members of prominent conservative groups, who largely are allies of Patrick and the GOP Senate, came out to support the bill, calling it essential to keep young girls and women safe in public places.

Dana Hodges, state director of Concerned Women for America, wept as she told the committee about a phone call she received years ago notifying her that she was covertly recorded undressing in a changing room.

"The camera was hiding in a small white plastic coat hook," she said, adding that she is a rape survivor. "Going through this experience was traumatic. How many more do we not hear about because women don't realize they're being videotaped with their knowledge?"

Opponents of the bill also included several big-city convention and visitor bureau chiefs who said they have heard from organizations that will cancel event contracts and avoid Texas should the bill become law.

"Perception is reality to the people," said Ron Price, the president and CEO of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau. Mike Waterman, the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau president, said, "I will tell you that the economic impact is real."

For months, Republicans have challenged the claim touted by Democrats and Texas' business community that SB6 would damage the Texas economy.

During a heated exchange, Chris Wallace, the Texas Association of Business president, defended his group's public support for a study that reported the state could lose $8.5 billion in GDP and as many as 185,000 jobs should lawmakers approve the bill.

"You have misled the public to a great degree on this study," said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican. "It's absolutely fake news for the president of the Texas Association of Business to quote a study that has a zero credibility rating."
A man arrested Tuesday alongside a woman is accused of striking her 8-year-old son more than 20 times with a stick and a leather belt while disciplining him for bad grades, according to police.

Arthur James Ransburg III, 35, was charged with injury to a child causing bodily injury, according to the Bexar County Central Magistrate's Office. The boy's mother, Ashley Michelle Carter, 27, was also arrested and charged with injury to a child by omission.

San Antonio Police Department investigators were called by the boys relative on Feb. 18 to report injuries she found on him, according to arrest warrant affidavits.

He had red and purple bruising across the lower abdomen and below, skin that peeled away from the right side of his buttocks, and bruising on the right forearm, wrist and palm.

Carter told investigators that she took her son to a house where her mentor, identified as Ransburg, lives.

Investigators said she gave him permission to discipline him because he had multiple S grades on his report card.

She said she saw Ransburg strike the boy more than 20 times, and that she did not stop him even though she was aware he had gone overboard with the spankings, police said in the affidavit.

Investigators said Carter did not help her son receive medical attention after he was struck, nor did she report the matter to police.
McALLEN  Federal prosecutors say a former U.S. Postal Service carrier on Tuesday pleaded guilty to receiving bribe money in exchange for providing addresses of postal ballot recipients in a 2014 election.

Noe Olvera, 43, accepted $1,000 for providing addresses of people on his mail route in Mission during the 2014 Hidalgo County Sheriffs race. Olvera accepted while on duty in his official vehicle and in his postal carrier uniform.
Hulu, a major U.S. brand offering streaming television shows and movies, is considering expanding its offices to San Antonio, a local county official confirmed Wednesday.

Mayor Ivy Taylor confirmed she and others from San Antonio visited with the CEO of a major brand to expand in San Antonio, though she declined to identify the company. She said the delegation included Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, along with officials from the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, TechBloc and AT&T.
Twenty-five years after he approached a 29-year-old insurance worker in the driveway of her home on the North Side, shooting her once in the face, 44-year-old Rolando Ruiz was executed at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville on Tuesday.

Ruiz was 20 when he was arrested for killing Theresa Rodriguez at the request of her husband, Michael Rodriguez, and brother-in-law, Mark Rodriguez, so they could collect $400,000 in life insurance money. Ruiz, the hit man, was given $2,000 for his role.
The Trump administration is taking credit for a massive decrease in illegal immigration last month.

This is usually a slow time of the year for illegal immigration, but the total number of people detained by Border Patrol fell an unprecedented 40 percent from January to February.

As recently as December, the two family detention centers in South Texas were so full that officials released hundreds of women and children in San Antonio over the course of the weekend. However, officials said this week that the 830-bed detention center in Karnes City and the 2,400-bed detention center in Dilley are both at less than a quarter of their capacity.

Experts said they dont know for sure why the numbers are so low, but they speculated that President Donald Trumps tough talk on immigration could be a factor. In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly attributed the decrease to President Donald Trumps executive orders announcing plans to crack down on illegal immigration.

Click here to read more about the decrease in Central American families seeking asylum in Texas.
A known member of the Texas Syndicate gang from Brownsville has been added by the Texas Department of Public Safety to its list of most wanted fugitives Tuesday.

Agapito Salinas, 45, is wanted for a parole violation and the agency is offering up to $7,500 for information leading to his capture, according to the DPS.
PARIS (AP)  Paris saw protest against a controversial new "Saint Laurent" ad campaign that rights groups say is sexist.

Campaigners are accusing Saint Laurent of sexism after an ad campaign was released that they say features women in degrading poses. They are demanding its withdrawal.
For alleged fiscal hawks, U.S. House Republicans are acting recklessly in their haste to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

It looks as if they will be voting without any scoring by the Congressional Budget Office. This will leave factors unknown that should reasonably dictate how representatives vote  how much this replacement will cost and how many Americans will be getting coverage, how many will be getting lesser coverage and how many are stripped of coverage.

The Republican plan, facing headwinds from even conservatives, repeals the individual mandate. This required people who could afford it, to get health insurance or face a tax penalty. There will be no more tax penalty, though there will be a penalty from insurance companies  30 percent more for plans  if people allow their coverage to lapse. So, unclear is how this will keep enough healthy people in plans to make them affordable for less healthy populations.

Also eliminated is the employer mandate, exacting penalties on larger employers that dont provide coverage. If this means less employer-provided coverage, this will be a serious downside.

Premium subsidies  tax credits on a sliding scale based on income  is also going away under this plan. In their place will be tax credits based on age  people younger than 30 getting $2,000 and double for people older than 60, paid in full to people earning less than $75,000 and households with less than $150,000, but capped for higher earners. Its unclear whether this will be enough subsidy.

Medicaid expansion  enacted by more than 30 states under the ACA  also increased the number of Americans covered. This new plan lets states keep their expansion, with the method of federal funding unchanged until 2020. Funding for new people in Medicaid expansion after that and for those who return would be reduced. But also under consideration is capping funding per capita based on a states previous spending.

The new plan retains popular ACA features, such as coverage for dependents until they are 26 and coverage for 10 so-called essential health benefits, including maternity care. Coverage for pre-existing conditions will remain, though if a more deregulated market means prohibitive costs, whats the point?

Without knowing if more, less or the same number of Americans will be covered, and with the overall cost a mystery, how votes can occur on this plan is an even bigger mystery. Answer those questions and public confidence is more possible. Or not.
Everyone loves a bit of bubbly, especially Italys best-known sparkling wine, Prosecco. Sales of the refreshing sparkler grew by 36 percent last year in the United States, as more and more consumers found ways to enjoy this affordable treat  with meals and casual get-togethers as well as special celebrations.

Prosecco is made using grapes grown in the Veneto region, in northeastern Italy. Like a majority of Italian and Old World wines, Prosecco gets its name from the place where it was born; the ancient town of Prosecco is about 80 miles outside of Venice. Made from the Glera grape (which was called Prosecco until 2009), Prosecco is aromatic and fruity and best enjoyed young. Typically a tad less dry than traditional Champagne, Prosecco is perfect on its own, with meals or mixed into a Mimosa or two.
Scandinavian Home has paid advertising banners and product affiliate links, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you click through and buy an item - these are stated with and asterisk and at the bottom of each post.
At least four people have been killed and dozens wounded in an attack on a military hospital close to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, and the extremist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility.

Gunmen, some of them dressed as doctors, attacked the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in the Afghan capital on March 8 and were engaging security forces inside the building, officials and witnesses said.

General Dawlat Waziri, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said an unknown number of gunmen entered the hospital after a suicide attack at the gates of the hospital. The 400-bed military hospital is located near two civilian hospitals in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul, and across the road from the heavily fortified U.S. Embassy.

Waziri said Afghan forces had fought the attackers floor by floor, and were carrying out a clearing operation on the sixth and eighth floors of the complex. He said at least one member of the security forces was killed and three others wounded.

At least three bodies of civilians and more than 60 wounded people were taken to nearby hospitals, Health Ministry spokesman Ismail Kawasi said. He added that the toll was likely to rise as ambulances were still at the scene.

The area around the hospital, near a busy traffic intersection, was blocked off by security forces. Afghan helicopters circled above.

IS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on the site of its news agency Amaq. It said, "Islamic State commandos attack the military hospital in Kabul."

Although the attack came as the Taliban ramped up attacks before the start of its annual spring offensive, a Taliban spokesman told media outlets that the group did not know anything about the attack.

"Today's Kabul attack has no connection" with the Taliban, the spokesman said separately in a tweet.

Last week, dozens of people were killed and wounded in a series of Taliban attacks on a police building and an intelligence-service compound in Kabul.

The NATO-led Resolute Support mission said it was ready to assist Afghan security services.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack during a speech on the occasion of the International Women's Day, calling it "an attack on all Afghan people and all Afghan women."

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it "strongly condemns the attack and offered its condolences to relatives of the victims.

"The attack demonstrates the blatant disregard for human life by those seeking to disrupt Afghanistans democratic progress," the embassy said on its website. "Targeting a medical facility providing care for the brave Afghans working to protect their fellow citizens has no possible justification in any religion or creed."

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
THE MDC Alliance project faces imminent collapse as its key principals clashed yesterday after MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai announced plans to field candidates in all contested constituencies and wards throughout the country, leaving his coalition partners in the cold.

Tsvangirai, who is MDC-T and MDC Alliance presidential candidate, defended his party position, saying there was nothing amiss in fielding candidates in all constituencies since the coalition partners had not yet agreed on the distribution of seats.

The alliance comprises seven partners  namely MDC-T, Transform Zimbabwe, Multiracial Christian Democrats (MCD), ZimPF, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Zanu Ndonga and MDC.

MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said his party was already on the ground selecting its candidates, with priority given to women and youths.

There hasnt been an agreement on the distribution of seats yet, but there is an agreement as to have an alliance, he said.

Therefore, our candidate selection will be for all the constituencies and wards until a time when there is agreement on the distribution of seats. When we agree, we will have to drop other candidates whose seats are distributed to other parties.

The development has left Tsvangirais coalition partners seething with anger, with MDC leader and alliance spokesperson Welshman Ncube accusing the former Prime Minister of being an untrustworthy partner bent on perpetuating Zanu PFs misrule.

The agreement which was signed specifically states which constituencies have been allocated to which of the seven parties in the alliance, Ncube said.

There is 100% agreement as to which constituencies will be contested by which party. Therefore, it will be untrue for anyone whoever it might be to suggest the absence of an agreement on the allocation of the constituencies.

What is true is that the negotiators are still negotiating the allocation of wards and that part has not been completed yet and they intend to complete it immediately after the holiday.

Transform Zimbabwe official Justin Makota echoed similar sentiments, describing the MDC-T as a dishonest broker. There is agreement regarding the distribution of the seats. So what is happening is that the MDC-T is showing some dishonesty and they are showing that they are not prepared to hold this alliance together until elections and that is the challenge that we have, he said in a statement.

This dishonesty has always been there and we know there are different camps within the MDC-T, some who would want to see the alliance working, and others wanting to see it dead.

PDP spokesperson Jacob Mafume said as far as they were concerned, there was a standing agreement on who takes what and it goes further to support Tsvangirai as the coalition leader and presidential candidate.

ZimPF leader Agrippa Mutambara said his party was given 30 parliamentary seats by the alliance, adding that nothing had changed as far as he was concerned.

But Mwonzora said the MDC-T was going ahead with the process of selecting and fielding candidates in all the countrys constituencies and wards.

We are in the process of selecting candidates in all the wards and constituencies. We will try as we can to have 50% representation for women and 20% representation from the youth. This is a double advantage if a person is both female and/or a youth, he said.

Mwonzora added that the party would not shield bigwigs and unpopular legislators.

We are not going to shield anyone. The decision on who will represent the party will come from the people, so there is no one who will say I have protection. Its all up to the people. Our presidential candidate is Morgan Tsvangirai, he hasnt changed and he was endorsed at the congress.

Yet MDC-T national secretary for elections Murisi Zwizwai dismissed Mwonzoras claims as not representative of the partys position.

Nothing has changed and the position of the party, adopted by the national council, is to stick to the alliance. The party is not dissuaded by those nicodemus remarks. Newsday

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WASHINGTON  The NACS Government Relations Conference welcomed 130 convenience and fuel retailing professionals, state association executives and suppliers to Washington, D.C., yesterday, including 30% attending for the first time. In a day full of preparation for more than 200 meetings on Capitol Hill today, the NACS government relations team walked attendees through the basic legislative process, key terminology and what a typical meeting might look like.

After attendee introductions, Jon Taets, NACS director of government relations, started the conference with some lighthearted video clips, including the School House Rock classic Im Just a Bill and a Saturday Night Live spoof of executive orders from 2014. Anna Ready, NACS director of government relations, then presented on key terminology that would aid first-timers through some of the legislative process. Among the key terms discussed were:

Sponsor and Co-Sponsor: The first member of Congress to introduce a bill is the sponsor; a co-sponsor adds their name to the legislation as a supporter.

The first member of Congress to introduce a bill is the sponsor; a co-sponsor adds their name to the legislation as a supporter. Amendment: A proposed change to a pending bill, resolution or another amendment.

A proposed change to a pending bill, resolution or another amendment. Amendment to Strip: An amendment that would strip out specific language or a provision from legislative text.

An amendment that would strip out specific language or a provision from legislative text. Markup: A meeting where committee or subcommittee members offer, debate and vote on a bill or legislative text.

A meeting where committee or subcommittee members offer, debate and vote on a bill or legislative text. Appropriations: A bill that authorizes the government to spend money.

A bill that authorizes the government to spend money. Regular Order: Rules, precedents and customs of Congress that constitute an orderly and deliberative policymaking process.

Rules, precedents and customs of Congress that constitute an orderly and deliberative policymaking process. Continuing Resolution (C.R.): A type of appropriations legislation that Congress must pass to fund the government, if it fails to pass all 12 appropriations bills.

A type of appropriations legislation that Congress must pass to fund the government, if it fails to pass all 12 appropriations bills. Filibuster: A procedure any senator can use to block legislation from being considered.

A procedure any senator can use to block legislation from being considered. Cloture: The formal process to end a filibuster, which takes 60 or more votes.

The formal process to end a filibuster, which takes 60 or more votes. Reconciliation: A process in the senate that allows a budget bill to be considered with debate limited to 24 hours and cannot be filibustered.

A process in the senate that allows a budget bill to be considered with debate limited to 24 hours and cannot be filibustered. Omnibus: A group of bills packaged together so they can all be voted on at once.

Ready reassured attendees that while theres a lot to learn, many of the processes on Capitol Hill can be related back to a convenience retailers daily work life. A sponsorship could look like sponsoring your little league team, she said. [But] in D.C., a mark-up means something completely different than in your world.

Paige Anderson, NACS director of government relations, shared a video that NACS produced that walks through the steps of a typical Hill meeting, adding that proper etiquette is to walk into an office without knocking and introduce yourself to the staffer in the reception area. She also explained the meaning of various Congressional titles, including chief of staff, administrative assistant, scheduler and press secretary.

Youll want to get to know the district stafftheyre on the front lines back home, Anderson said. [But] its the policy side thats most critical. Legislative assistants each have an issue portfolio; they are masters of everything.

Anderson noted that the legislative staff play that critical role of catching senators and congressmen up to speed on everything they need to know on issues, and although they can sometimes be young, they often move up the office ladder quickly.

Anthony Perrine, a single store owner and NACS member from Wisconsin, then shared with attendees his perspective on being a first-time attendee at the 2016 NACS Government Relations Conference. I was super nervous last year, he said. [But] if youre here, you take your business seriously. This is a perfect opportunity [to grow your business] by rubbing shoulders with industry veterans and congressmen.

And the importance of convenience retailers and suppliers connecting with and educating Capitol Hill was certainly one of the main tenets driven home throughout the day. If we dont communicate what our issues are, how will [our legislators] know? NACS chairman Rahim Budhwani asked the crowd after lunch.

Kelly Fink, NACS senior director of political engagement, also walked attendees through a new mobile app Government Relations Conference is using for the first time this year, powered by VoterVoice. The app will allow attendees to easily track their Capitol Hill meetings throughout the day today, with many visiting both Senate and House buildings.

Above all, the NACS government relations team advised conference attendees to enjoy todays experience, even if it is unfamiliar or nerve-wracking.

I want you to promise me youre going to get your photo with the Capitol building behind you. No matter how frustrating news radio is, we still live in the greatest country on earth, Anderson told attendees.
Understanding what's happening inside liquid droplets (w/video) (Nanowerk News) For most people, the drip, drip, drip of a leaking faucet would be an annoyance. But for Georgia Institute of Technology Ph.D. candidate Alexandros Fragkopoulos, what happens inside droplets is the stuff of serious science.

In the laboratory of Alberto Fernandez-Nieves in Georgia Tech's School of Physics, Fragkopoulos is studying how toroidal droplets - which initially take the shape of a donut - evolve into spherical droplets by collapsing into themselves or breaking up into smaller droplets.

Work with droplets has implications for the life sciences, where biological materials, including cells, undergo shape changes reminiscent of droplet behavior. And the findings could improve industrial processes ranging from fuel injectors to chemical processes that depend on droplet formation. In the work, researchers in the Fernandez-Nieves lab have developed a new understanding of the processes that control the evolution of unstable, donut-shaped droplets, helping them clarify the complex interplay of forces relevant to the problem.

"Surface tension drives the evolution of the droplets," said Fragkopoulos. "Fluids tend to minimize their surface area for a given volume because that minimizes the energy required to have an interface between different fluids. Spherical shapes minimize that energy, and as a result, toroidal droplets want to evolve to become spherical. We're studying how that transition occurs."

A sheet laser illuminates a toroidal droplet formed in silicone oil to help researchers image the flow field movement inside the droplet. (Image: John Toon, Georgia Tech)

Using a sheet of laser light to observe the scattering from polystyrene particles placed into droplets formed within thick silicone oil, the researchers have observed in detail how droplets change shape - and which factors set the droplets on the path to either collapse or breakup. The research, which was supported by the National Science Foundation, was reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ("The shrinking instability of toroidal droplets").

"The viscous forcing as the torus collapses exerts stress on the interface, which causes it to both have a circulation inside the torus and deform its surface," said Fragkopoulos. "We need to take into account these stresses to completely understand the evolution of the droplets."

The impetus for the experimental work was inconsistencies between theoretical predictions and computer simulation of toroidal droplet transitions. What the Georgia Tech researchers found tends to back up the simulation results. "However, the earlier theoretical work was essential in guiding the theory efforts and in illustrating what the problem was in order to correctly describe the experimental results," said Fernandez-Nieves.

"Parameters such as the aspect ratio - the overall dimension of the torus divided by the dimensions of the tube - determine whether the toroidal droplet can break up, or if it will simply collapse into itself," said Fragkopoulos. "We found that the toroidal droplet deforms a lot from the donut shape as it collapses. It flattens as it develops, which was initially unexpected. We had expected the torus to be symmetrical and nicely circular, which is not what we found."

The breakup or collapse of ordinary raindrops is known to involve the formation of a donut-like rim. However, the process is rather uncontrolled and takes place quickly, so quickly that only high-speed cameras could see it. To allow detailed study of the transition and imaging the flow field within the drops, Fragkopoulos dramatically slowed down the evolution by creating droplets within a type of silicone oil that is six times more viscous than honey. Instead of ordinary water, he used distilled water into which polyethylene glycol has been mixed to further slow the dynamics.

The water is introduced into a rotating bath of the silicone oil using a tiny needle injector. By controlling the pumping rate and where the needle inserts the water, the researchers can control the geometrical parameters of the toroidal droplets, specifically the thickness of the ring and the relative size of the hole inside it. The droplets they study range in size up to about a centimeter in diameter. "This simple strategy affords exquisite control," said Fernandez-Nieves.

Polystyrene beads in the water allow the researchers to use particle image velocimetry (PIV) to see the flow fields within the droplets, showing how the cross section deviates from circular over time.

"We are using the difference in viscosity to generate the torus," Fragkopoulos explained. "We are using viscous forces to generate the droplets, because it's important to slow down the dynamics of the torus collapse so we can have enough time and resolution to see the flow fields developing inside it."

Research into droplet formation has tended to be applications-focused. Now Fragkopoulos and Fernandez-Nieves are using their experimental and theoretical work to address other science problems.

"We are now using the methods for creating toroidal objects made from different materials to study problems in condensed matter and bioengineering," said Fernandez-Nieves. "We started working on toroidal droplets with the idea of studying how topology and geometry affected how ordered materials are affected by these aspects, and later to address how curvature affects cell behavior. We wanted to make nontrivial geometries so we could study how this affects behavior," added Fragkopoulos.
MRI-powered mini-robots could offer targeted treatment (w/video) (Nanowerk News) Invasive surgical techniques - cutting through the breastbone for open heart surgery or making a large incision to inspect an abdominal tumor - allow physicians to effectively treat disease but can lead to sometimes serious complications and dramatically slow healing for the patient.

Scientists instead want to deploy dozens, or even thousands of tiny robots to travel the body's venous system as they deliver drugs or a self-assembled interventional tool. Researchers from the University of Houston and Houston Methodist Hospital are developing control algorithms, imaging technology, ultrafast computational methods and human-machine immersion methods to harness the force from a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to both image and steer millimeter-sized robots through the body.

"We want to move from science fiction to science feasibility," said Aaron Becker, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH and principal investigator for a $608,000 Synergy Award from the National Science Foundation to develop prototypes for testing.

Aaron Becker, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Houston, is leading a project to develop millimeter-sized robots that can deliver drugs and other medical interventions noninvasively. (Image: University of Houston)

To tackle this unprecedented challenge, the award involves two additional investigators: Nikolaos Tsekos, associate professor of computer science and director of the Medical Robotics Laboratory at UH, who has expertise in MRI and computational methods, and Dipan J. Shah, a cardiologist and director of cardiovascular MRI at Houston Methodist Hospital, who brings expertise in clinical MRI and focusing the effort to find solutions that are clinically necessary and valuable.

While MRI has traditionally been used for noninvasive diagnosis, the next frontier is its use as a tool to offer noninvasive or minimally invasive treatment.

The milli-robot development and control work is an outgrowth of Becker's previous research, which was funded in part with an NSF CAREER award and demonstrated the theory behind the proposal. This grant, awarded through NSF's Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) program, will fund work to build a prototype suitable for animal testing. The MRI control and computational methods follow a previous CPS award in image-guided robotic surgeries led by Tsekos and Shah.

Their current models are up to two centimeters; Becker said the goal is robots that range from 0.5 millimeters to two millimeters. The average human hair, in comparison, is about 0.08 millimeters wide.

MRI provides enough magnetic force to steer the robots through the body's blood vessels but can't penetrate tumors or other tissue. This project is working with two designs, both powered by the MRI scanner, to address that problem, one based on the principle of mechanical resonance and the second modeled after a self-assembling surgical tool, a Gauss gun.

MRI-powered, Self-Assembled, Gauss Gun for Tissue Penetration

A key issue is real-time control, Becker said, noting that blood vessels move around in the body, making it crucial to be able to see both the anatomy and the robot as it moves in order to keep it moving correctly. Even the fastest current MRI scans are too slow for such control and have a time lag before the information is available. Developing such a system is a multidisciplinary task that must seamlessly integrate sensing with the MRI scanner, milli-robot control and close the loop by controlling the scanner to drive the milli-robots.

Ultimately, Becker said, the goal is to use the power of an MRI to steer large numbers of robots throughout the body. While one milli-robot could target a single lesion, delivering chemotherapy or another intervention, that isn't practical for a late-stage cancer, for example.
Reusable sponge that soaks up oil, could revolutionize oil spill and diesel cleanup (w/video) (Nanowerk News) When the Deepwater Horizon drilling pipe blew out seven years ago, beginning the worst oil spill in U.S. history, those in charge of the recovery discovered a new wrinkle: the millions of gallons of oil bubbling from the sea floor werent all collecting on the surface where it could be skimmed or burned. Some of it was forming a plume and drifting through the ocean under the surface.

Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have invented a new foam, called Oleo Sponge, that addresses this problem. The material not only easily absorbs oil from water, but is also reusable and can pull dispersed oil from the entire water columnnot just the surface (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, "Advanced oil sorbents using sequential infiltration synthesis").

The Oleo Sponge offers a set of possibilities that, as far as we know, are unprecedented, said co-inventor Seth Darling, a scientist with Argonnes Center for Nanoscale Materials and a fellow of the University of Chicagos Institute for Molecular Engineering.

We already have a library of molecules that can grab oil, but the problem is how to get them into a useful structure and bind them there permanently.

The scientists started out with common polyurethane foam, used in everything from furniture cushions to home insulation. This foam has lots of nooks and crannies, like an English muffin, which could provide ample surface area to grab oil; but they needed to give the foam a new surface chemistry in order to firmly attach the oil-loving molecules.

Previously, Darling and fellow Argonne chemist Jeff Elam had developed a technique called sequential infiltration synthesis, or SIS, which can be used to infuse hard metal oxide atoms within complicated nanostructures (Journal of Materials Chemistry, "Enhanced polymeric lithography resists via sequential infiltration synthesis" and Journal of Physical Chemistry C, "Enhanced Block Copolymer Lithography Using Sequential Infiltration Synthesis").

After some trial and error, they found a way to adapt the technique to grow an extremely thin layer of metal oxide primer near the foams interior surfaces. This serves as the perfect glue for attaching the oil-loving molecules, which are deposited in a second step; they hold onto the metal oxide layer with one end and reach out to grab oil molecules with the other.

The result is Oleo Sponge, a block of foam that easily adsorbs oil from the water. The material, which looks a bit like an outdoor seat cushion, can be wrung out to be reusedand the oil itself recovered.

Oleo Sponge

At tests at a giant seawater tank in New Jersey called Ohmsett, the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility, the Oleo Sponge successfully collected diesel and crude oil from both below and on the water surface.

The material is extremely sturdy. Weve run dozens to hundreds of tests, wringing it out each time, and we have yet to see it break down at all, Darling said.

Oleo Sponge could potentially also be used routinely to clean harbors and ports, where diesel and oil tend to accumulate from ship traffic, said John Harvey, a business development executive with Argonnes Technology Development and Commercialization division.

Elam, Darling and the rest of the team are continuing to develop the technology.

The technique offers enormous flexibility, and can be adapted to other types of cleanup besides oil in seawater. You could attach a different molecule to grab any specific substance you need, Elam said.
A protest over the proposed closure of Bus Eireann's Clonmel to Dublin Express bus service is planned outside Clonmel bus and rail station this Thursday evening as unions fight to save the service in talks with the company.

National Bus & Rail Union General Secretary Dermot O'Leary said the axing of the X7 route was one of the proposed cutbacks up for discussion in the negotiations with Bus Eireann and the union was resisting its closure.

Bus Eireann announced last week it was going to end its Clonmel to Dublin bus route, which boasts 8 daily services but the closure was deferred last Friday after agreement was reached between Bus Eireann and trade unions representing staff to re-enter talks at the WRC to resolve the bitter industrial dispute.

In a statement issued to The Nationalist, Bus Eireann said all plans regarding bus routes were deferred for the duration of the talks and it had no further comment to make while these discussions were ongoing.

Sinn Fein MEP Liadh Ni Riada and her party colleague Deputy District Mayor Catherine Carey will lead "a white line protest" at Clonmel's bus and rail station at 5.30pm this Thursday to protest against the proposed route closure.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said protestors would stand along the white line in the middle of the road but wouldn't block the road.

"We are hoping that not only Sinn Fein members will join this white line protest but that many members of the public will also take part", the spokesperson stated.

Meanwhile, Tipperary and Kilkenny TDs will attempt to raise the threat to the X7 bus route in the Dail today and call for the service to be retained.
A Bansha restaurant was order to close by the Food Safety Authority under Control of Foodstuffs Regulations in February.

Culleton's Fish & Chips (restaurant/cafe), Main Street, Bansha, Tipperary was one of five closure orders nationwide last month.

The order was served on February 17 and lifted on February 28.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reported that five Closure Orders were served on food businesses during the month of February for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010. The Enforcement Orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Two Closure Orders were served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010 on:

 Jalapeno Mexican Cuisine Ltd (restaurant/cafe), 46 Drumcondra Road Lower, Drumcondra, Dublin 9

 Culleton's Fish & Chips (restaurant/cafe), Main Street, Bansha, Tipperary

Three Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:

 Express Pizza (take away), 6 Lord Edward Street, Limerick

 Punjab Pantry (take away), 39 Richmond Street South, Dublin 2

 Synergy Subs Ltd t/a Subway (restaurant/cafe), Mellview House, M1 Retail Park, Drogheda, Louth

Commenting on the Enforcement Orders served in February, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI said that all food businesses in Ireland should fully understand their legal obligation to ensure consumers are not exposed to unsafe food.

Closure Orders, regardless of the legislation under which they were served, indicate that not all food businesses are complying with the law and as a result, are potentially putting consumers health at serious risk. It is highly important that food businesses have a strong food safety culture in their business, which can be achieved through ongoing training of all members of their team.

Failure to recognise the importance of food safety in a food business reflects poorly not only on that business, but also on the entire food industry. The FSAI provides significant resources to support food businesses in understanding their food safety legal obligations, but time and time again food inspectors are encountering basic errors being made by food businesses which are easily avoidable.

If food business owners are unsure of what is required of them by law, they can contact the FSAI Advice Line at info@fsai.ie or visit its website www.fsai.ie or facebook page, said Dr Byrne.

Details of the food businesses served with Enforcement Orders are published on the FSAIs website at www.fsai.ie. Closure Orders and Improvement Orders will remain listed on the website for a period of three months from the date of when a premises is adjudged to have corrected its food safety issue, with Prohibition Orders being listed for a period of one month.
The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will meet the Prime Minister of Estonia, Mr. Juri Ratas, at NATO Headquarters on Thursday, 9 March 2017.

Media Advisory

11:15 NATO Secretary General and the Prime Minister will jointly meet the press  Main entrance

The press point will be streamed live on the NATO website and available on satellite on demand via Eurovision Geneva.

Still and video imagery of the meeting will be available after the event on the NATO website.

Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @jensstoltenberg)
Tuesday, March 07, 2017 by: JD Heyes Tags: CIA , electronic surveillance , spying , Vault 7 This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) For years Deep State insiders and others familiar with the federal governments spy agencies have been sounding the alarm about the development of technology that enables constant, real-time electronic surveillance of anyone, anywhere, anytime (President Donald Trump, something to consider as you delve into who ordered it against you and why.)

Now, thanks to another whistleblower following in the footsteps for former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, WikiLeaks has provided the proof that these insiders werent kooks or conspiracy theorists  they were spot-on. (RELATED: Is Your TV Spying On You? For Millions Of Viewers, The Answer Is YES!)

According to a treasure trove of newly released documents known collectively as Vault 7 in the Year Zero series, not only does the CIA conduct improper electronic surveillance, it does through using technology that can tap into smart TVs, iPhones, Android devices, and other wireless handheld technology.

Jointly developed CIA+MI5 malware infests Samsung smart TVs to turn them into covert microphones #Vault7 pic.twitter.com/Ki0wRlgjPP  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 7, 2017

The increasing sophistication of surveillance techniques has drawn comparisons with George Orwells 1984, but Weeping Angel, developed by the CIAs Embedded Devices Branch (EDB), which infests smart TVs, transforming them into covert microphones, is surely its most emblematic realization, said a press release from WikiLeaks.

The attack against Samsung smart TVs was developed in cooperation with the United Kingdoms MI5/BTSS. After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a Fake-Off mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on. In Fake-Off mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server, it added.

So in other words, even if youve turned your TV and devices off, the CIAs technology, via wireless connections, can still transform them into listening devices, which records conversations and data and sends them to a remote CIA server for later downloading and analysis.

The governments spy agencies, then, can literally steal any and all data they want, thereby giving them the power to create false narratives, phony email traffic, fake communiques and anything else they want in an effort to blackmail or destroy anyone they choose.

A journalist getting too close to Deep State activities? No problem  the CIA has the ability to bug their homes remotely, through smart devices, or steal their data and other information that may incriminate them, forcing them into silence.

A politician who opposes expansion of the Deep States power? No problem  just a few months worth of bugging his or her devices, and the nations premier spy agency has all it needs to coerce said problematic politician into playing ball.

The CIAs Mobile Devices Branch (MDB) developed numerous attacks to remotely hack and control popular smart phones, said the Wikileaks press release. Infected phones can be instructed to send the CIA the users geolocation, audio and text communications, as well as covertly activate the phones camera and microphone. (RELATED: Amazon Echo devices spy on you in your own home police are now trying to acquire those recordings.)

And even though iPhone held a minority share (14.5 percent) of the global market, a specialized CIA unit within the agencys Mobile Development Branch produced malware that infects, controls and then extracts data from iPhones and other Apple products that are running iOS, like iPads and, presumably, iMacs and Macbook Pro laptops.

A similar unit is said to have targeted Googles Android devices, which runs the vast majority of the worlds smart phones (about 85 percent, roughly).

Year Zero shows that as of 2016 the CIA had 24 weaponized Android zero days which it has developed itself and obtained from GCHQ, NSA and cyber arms contractors, said the press release.

These techniques permit the CIA to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman by hacking the smart phones that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic before encryption is applied.

Feel violated yet? You should.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources:

WikiLeaks.org

NaturalNews.com

Newstarget.com
(Natural News) Liberals are, in many ways, in enigma. On the one hand, they worship science and criticize anyone who might even be a tiny bit skeptical of the facts and evidence they present. On the other hand, though, they resist basic science and biology when it comes to transgender issues. Even though gender and sex are defined by the reproductive organs you were born with, liberals reject this very basic concept and insist that sex is defined by what goes on inside your head. In other words, if you feel like a man then you are a man, and if you feel like a woman then you are a woman, even if those feelings contradict human anatomy.

Of course, how one feels on the inside is very subjective and lacks any real definition. As a result, it is impossible to tell how far the liberals will go in their never-ending quest for tolerance and inclusiveness. Who is to say, for example, that a woman who feels like a cat cant be a cat? Who is to say that a man who feels like no gender accurately describes him has to have a gender at all? And why should this anything goes mentality only apply to human beings?

How would a veterinarian respond to a pet owner who wanted to change his male dog into a female dog? Would the vet say no? And if the vet refused, would the liberals label him or her as an intolerant bigot?

Of course, to rational Americans, this sounds silly. Dogs cant even tell the difference between another dog and their own reflection yet alone determine what gender they prefer to be. Yet when you consider the mindset of the modern day Democratic Party, the idea of transgender cats and dogs really isnt that far-fetched. After all, many Americans treat their pets just like their children anyway, and most parents are willing to do anything to see their kids happy.

Take, for example, 17-year-old Mack Beggs, who was born a female but is now in the process of becoming a male. Beggs grandmother, who happens to be her legal guardian, has been helping her gain access to steroids for some time now, thereby assisting her in her goal of transitioning into a man. Earlier this month, Beggs, who is a wrestler in high school, drew controversy for competing in a tournament with other biological females while taking steroids, which some parents claimed gave her an unfair advantage. Beggs grandmother defended her granddaughter, saying the outrage was all about bias, hatred and ignorance.

In Brooklyn, New York, parent Jodie Patterson is also raising a transgender child, only this one is much young than seventeen years old. For all of her life up until age 3, Jodie noticed that her daughter Penelope seemed angry and unhappy. When she eventually asked her what was wrong, Penelope said that she felt like a boy but everyone thinks Im a girl. Jodie instantly accepted the fact that her daughter was a transgender child and began treating her like a boy. That whole grumpy face became happy face, she explained. (RELATED: Read about why the American College of Pediatricians says that the transgender programming of children is child abuse.)

However, just because some parents give their children hormone therapy and treat them like the gender they feel as opposed to the gender that they are, doesnt mean its necessarily healthy. Dr. Paul McHugh, who is the former psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, explained in the Wall Street Journal that transgender surgery is not the correct solution for people who feel they were born the wrong gender. Additionally, McHugh cited a study that showed that suicide rates among transgendered people who had undergone surgeries is 20 times higher than suicide rates among those who are not transgender.

Even though parents like to see their children happy and are often more than willing to assist them in transitioning to their preferred sex, its not the most wise, and certainly not the most practical decision.

Sources:

Reuters.com

CNSnews.com
Synthetic: How Life Got Made Sophia Roosth University of Chicago Press: 2017. 9780226440323 | ISBN: 978-0-2264-4032-3

In 2000, two landmark papers started a revolution in our ability to design entirely new functions inside cells. The authors took two electronic circuits  an oscillator and a switch  and built the equivalent from living matter (M. B. Elowitz and S. Leibler Nature 403, 335338 (2000); T. S. Gardner et al. Nature 403, 339342; 2000). Life became a machine. To many, including me, this was a profound moment: the beginning of the field of synthetic biology. Now an international enterprise with the potential to transform our lives, synthetic biology crosses age and organizational boundaries, and involves large corporations, small start-ups, academics and tinkerers. A 'bionic leaf' that mimics photosynthesis. Credit: Alina Chan/Harvard Medical School

In Synthetic, talented science historian Sophia Roosth describes her observations of the field's early evolution  the fruit of embedding herself in the working lives of synthetic biologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. She chronicles the adventures of players such as bioengineer Drew Endy and computer engineer Tom Knight, who championed the field. She covers highlights including whether we can patent new life and how automation is changing the way we do biology. She looks at biologist George Church's dream of resurrecting the woolly mammoth. And she examines the start of the do-it-yourself synthbio scene, in which amateurs set up labs in garages and bedrooms.

Roosth conducted some interviews at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as at the Joint BioEnergy Institute and Amyris Biotechnologies in nearby Emeryville, where metabolic engineering is the primary interest. One surprising insight that she gathered was the difference in scientific cultures. The east-coast scene, as one interviewee notes, is super all positive, group love. The west is more corporate  a reversal of expectations.

Roosth's approach sparks deep questions about the nature of life. At Berkeley, she and bioengineer Adam Arkin discussed what makes a pig gene a pig gene. He said that this isn't a meaningful question: out of context, the gene has no pigness. Thus, Roosth asks, how do we define species in the synthetic world, and what does it mean to move genes from one organism to another? More profoundly, what does 'synthetic' even mean?

Roosth delves into different interpretations. For instance, when organic chemistry was emerging in the eighteenth century, 'synthetic' referred to making organic compounds by human agency. In 2010, the biotechnologist Craig Venter claimed to have created synthetic life (D. G. Gibson et al. Science 329, 5256; 2010). His lab inserted the genome of the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides (synthesized and slightly modified) into a 'dead' cell of a closely related organism, revivifying its protoplasm (see N. Comfort Nature 502, 436437; 2013). Was the synthetic element in this process the use of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen from non-living sources? Was it that the inserted DNA had been built from a slightly altered sequence on a computer's hard drive? Or was it the act of creating a new biological cell by human intervention?

I do have quibbles. Roosth's focus is exclusively on US labs. The dearth of coverage of Europe  except for a passing comment on Dolly the sheep, cloned at the Roslin Institute outside Edinburgh, UK  makes Synthetic a little one-sided. There are other omissions. For example, Roosth hardly discusses the pioneering work by James Collins at Boston University in Massachusetts and his colleagues: they created one of the first synthetic circuits in a cell.

Yet the chapter on DIY synthbio is a welcome reminder of the excitement I remember from the late 1970s, when amateur groups helped to drive the desktop-computer revolution. Hobbyist groups are still emerging in biology, such as the non-profit SoundBio Lab, founded by synthetic biologist Michal Galdzicki, data scientist Zach Mueller and science educator Regina Wu in Seattle, Washington  my home town. I suspect that the main role of these organizations will not be in inventing new life, but in teaching the general public; less grand, but equally important.
Uber is finally ready to launch its second autonomous ride-hailing service in Arizona, now with the approval of Gov. Doug Ducey.

Citizens living in Tempe, Arizona can now hire a Volvo XC90 SUV to drive themselves to various destinations. They are all self-driving vehicles -- well, sort of. The rides will have Uber engineers on the background as safety drivers.

The Verge said that a few months back, California's Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registration of Uber to Arizona because the company did not file some of the permits needed to test their cars.

The spat between California and Uber lasted a few days. The Verge explained that California law requires companies that test self-riding vehicles, like Uber, to register for an autonomous driving permit. They will also have to publicize the number of times their self-riding car's software will force drivers to take control of the vehicle.

Uber felt the rule did not apply to them as there were no drivers present in the test. Unfortunately, this also meant California had to revoke the registration of the cars.

Interestingly, Ducey has a different approach. According to his executive order last 2015, he encouraged agencies to "take any necessary steps" that could support the operation of self-driving vehicles across Arizona.

This, of course, means Uber now has another training platform for its plans to make self-riding cars an available option for its many customers. Uber's service in Arizona is one of the company's experiments, the first being a similar test of self-driving cars in Pittsburgh last year.

Gov. Ducey will be the first rider of the self-driving Uber trip along with Anthony Levandowski, Uber Advanced Technologies Group vice president. Uber is also looking forward to launch in other cities in Arizona.
There will come a time when artificial intelligence will walk side by side with humans -- not as overlords, but as friends. A recent study reveals that the personality of a robot companion could actually influence the development growth of children.

According to New Scientist, researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel have conducted an experiment where Tega, a companion robot, is assigned to "help" children during their playtime. Interestingly, each children assigned to Tega has a different set of responses.

Goren Gorden, a team member of the research, said they want to check if the "behavior" of the robot can influence the children. Results show that Tega had subtle behavior changes while children showed quite the response.

The researchers made Tega play puzzles against 40 children. The robot companion showed a neutral personality for around 50 percent of the child respondents. If it won, it just says neutral things like "I solved the puzzle."

However, to the other half, Tega showed a can-do attitude. If it won, it says, "I tried hard and nailed it!" and when it lost, "You worked hard and succeeded!"

Tega's can-do attitude had much more impact to the second group of children. According to New Scientist, they were in fact more determined to win when they lose. Hae Won Park from MIT, the lead author of the study, said children had "grit" and actually did more attempts to solve the puzzle at the face of a competitive enemy.

Another test had Tega engage in storytelling with children. They found out that children were more attentive to Tega when the Robot was "engaged" with a story.

A storyteller would be telling stories to children that were accompanied by two Tega robots. One would look "attentive" when the storyteller told high notes of the story. The other had a normal reaction. Children actually wanted to pay attention to the "attentive" Tega than the other one.

Liz Pellicano from London's Institute for Education explained that this is a good sign because children appreciate storytelling. She warned, however, that children learn by different paces, so it is important to differentiate what method works best for each child.

The researchers hope that Tega units will be useful as a companion both at home and in the classroom, especially as a positive influence to the child.
Recent news that NASA and SpaceX are planning to send a superbug in space appears to be a very bad. After all, what if this is just a ruse to "weaponise" the bacteria for a new age of biological warfare?

However, it's more than that, as SpaceX revealed more about the true nature of the operation and the bacteria in question.

Science Alert explained that the superbug, MRSA, is a lethal superbacteria that kills more people than HIV/AIDs, homicide, emphysema and Parkinson's disease. MRSA is antibiotic-resistant, which makes it hard to kill.

NASA and SpaceX want to accelerate the evolutionary process of the superbug to predict how it will act on Earth once the right "triggers" appeared.

According to the NASA-funded study, the Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX will be launching the MRSA into orbit. The good folks at the US National Laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS) will be responsible for its cultivation.

In a report from Yahoo! News, Anita Goel, the CEO of Nanobiosym, will be helping in the study as well. Nanobiosym developed the Gene-RADAR back in 2015, a cheap "mobile scanner" that diagnoses "any" disease which will be used in the ISS to evaluate the growth of the MRSA.

In turn, Goel and the company will develop models on how to respond to the superbug once it evolves the same way on Earth. This means scientists and medical practitioners have a few years' head-start in combating the virus.

However, it was emphasized that since the MRSA has just been launched a few days back, it is impossible to see how it evolves in microgravity.
Forty animals in a neglectful state at a Fletcher residence have been seized by deputies.

The deputies went to the house for a health and welfare check on the animals after they received a call from an anonymous source who said a family had moved out of a home and left their animals without care.

Upon arriving at the 54 Maxwell Dr., Fletcher, Saturday morning, the deputies found 28 different mixed-breed dogs, four puppies and eight cats left in "appalling" condition.

There was little food and water left for them to consume. Most of the animals appear to be sick and malnourished, with injuries, mange and intestinal parasites.

Fox Carolina noted that the owner of the house voluntarily surrendered the animals to the deputies. All the 40 animals are transported and turned over to the Henderson County Animal Shelter on Stoney Mountain Road to undergo veterinary care.

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The shelter is planning to place them for adoption once they are healthy and safe.

"They don't have a voice. Who's going to speak up for these guys, and say, 'You know, I'm in a horrible situation, please come and get me,'" said Sandi Vielbaum, with Henderson County's chapter of Brother Wolf Animal Rescue told North Carolina Local News.



Vielbaum added that it is fortunate that the caller reported the incident. "When you see a situation like this going on, don't wait until it's 40 animals, call, report it," Vielbaum added.

The owner was filed with criminal and civil charges.

Meanwhile, in Lauderdale County, a woman charged with aggravated animal cruelty and financial exploitation of her elderly landlord has been granted probation, provided that she can no longer own any animal, not even a fish.

Laura Fitterman Sherwood, Times Daily reported, was arrested in 2015 after animals living in deplorable condition was found in her home -- 25 horses and donkeys, 50 hamsters, two llamas, nine dogs, four cats, three birds and 161 rabbits.

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A white rhino was brutally killed by poachers, apparently for its horn in a French zoo. The perpetrators broke into the property and shot dead a rare white rhinoceros. The poor animal was later found dead with its horn sawn off.

This incident is believed to be the first case in Europe especially with a rare white rhino in captivity. Vince, the four-year-old rhino was discovered inside his enclosure at the Thoiry Zoo and Wildlife Park. The park is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Paris.

The rhino was found dead last Tuesday, March 7. Although poachers are the suspects, there are no specific defendants yet. The poor white rhinoceros was shot three times in the head, according to police investigations.

The horns could have been removed using a chainsaw, according to a report by Reuters. Although the U.N. convention banned the rhino horn trade and is blatantly illegal in the UK, poachers are still pursuing the illegal activity due to the price tag. Reports say that a kilo of rhino horn can be sold for about $53,900 in 2015. There's also a demand for rhino horns, especially with affluent Asian countries. The horn is a popular oriental medicine ingredient.

Despite the loss, the zoo is expected to heighten its security after the incident since two more rare rhinos still resided at the zoo. Gracie and Bruno were discovered in their enclosure unharmed. Vince, the deceased rhino, came from the Netherlands and was brought to the zoo in 2012.

"This has never happened before in a zoo, either in France or in Europe," Thierry Duguet, zoo manager said in a statement. "We are extremely shocked and upset - this is supposed to be a sanctuary for the animals,"

There were staff inside the zoo during the incident but were unaware of the break in.
More than five hundred years after the famous Mayan civilization collapse, another Central American society vanished. Unlike the Mayans, who have been thoroughly studied and explored, this culture at the heart of the Honduran jungles remains a mystery.

Archaeologists say the people of the settlement suddenly buried all their sacred belongings in the middle of their city and disappeared forever, according to a report from Business Insider. No one knows what happened to them, but centuries after their departure, humans once again tread their long-abandoned land.

It was in 2015 that an excavation unearthed this lost city, according to a report from National Geographic.

Legends tell of a site as the "White City" or the "City of the Monkey God", and the mysteries that surround it are as peculiar as its name. Although archaeologists have long concluded that there's not just a single lost city but many across Central America, this particular city bears striking similarities to the stories of White City - a wealthy town that disappeared about 600 years ago.

Explorers have scoured the region for a glimpse of the White City - or Ciudad Blanca - since the 1920s. In 1940, Theodore Morde returned from his expedition with thousands of artifacts and stories of entering the great City and interacting with the indegenous people, who believed in a giant statue of a monkey god buried underground. Morde never divulged the location for fear of looting.

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Filmmakers Steve Elkins and Bill Benenson mounted their own search in 2012, this time with technology on their side. After identifying a crater-shaped valley as a potential site, the pair flew over the valley with a million-dollar lidar scanner that probed the dense jungle with laser light. The processed images revealed a terrain reshaped entirely by humans, plus evidence of architecture, earthworks, house mounds and even irrigation systems that pointed to a pre-Columbian city.

An expedition on-ground only proved the scanner images. One of the most amazing discoveries was how untouched the site was by people for so long. Animals like spider monkeys and guinea hens peeked at the explorers curiously, unfamiliar and unafraid of human presence. Ethnobiologist Mark Plotkin called it "the most undisturbed rain forest in Central America."

Some of the objects unearthed in the initial expeditions to the 1,000-year-old are remnants of plazas and pyramids, the Business Insider report revealed. On a more recent trip, researchers found nearly 500 intricately carved stone objects in what seemed like "a grave not for a person, but for a civilization."

"At the base of a pyramid we discovered an enormous cache of beautiful stone sculptures," Douglas Preston, who was part of an expedition, said. "It appears the people brought their objects, carefully laid them to rest, and then walked out of the city."

Preston recently published a book on his experience at Honduras entitled "The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story".

A number of the archaeologists and anthropologists on Preston's team believe that a disease ended the settlement, specifically European-brought diseases such as smallpox and measles. Although it's unlikely that Europeans ever made it to the city, the disease may have found its way to Central America through trade of goods.

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An NBC Bay Area investigation into hundreds of U.S. Military veterans who have been deported under a two-decades old policy has now sparked new legislation in Washington.

On Tuesday, several Congressmen, including Democratic Congressman Mark DeSaulnier of Walnut Creek, introduced a bill (H.R. 1405) in Congress to change the policy.

An NBC Bay Area investigation discovered dozens of families have been split apart -- like Enrique Salas and his daughter Stephanie Rabara -- because of a policy implemented during the Bill Clinton administration and upheld through three subsequent presidencies.

"These men are good enough to serve our country, but once they make a mistake they don't get any second chances," Rabara said. "They're just disposed of."

NBC Bay Area's Investigative Unit found the policy has led to the deportation of hundreds of U.S. Military veterans.

The veterans served the United States as non-citizen, were honorably discharged from service, then later deported for committing crimes classified as aggravated felonies.

Some of the crimes these veterans have been deported for include crimes such as simple drug possession, failure to show up in court or entering the country illegally.

Veterans who spoke to NBC Bay Area said there is a double standard at play here, pointing out that all of them served their criminal sentences, whether it be in prison, jail or probation.

Ive never lived in Mexico. Ive been in the United States since I was a year old. How can they repatriate me to a country that Ive never lived in? asked Richard Avila, an honorably discharged U.S. Marine.

NBC Bay Area's investigation found that of 70,000 non-citizens enlisted in the U.S. Military between 2009 and 2016, at least half of them never applied for citizenship, according to the Center for Naval Analysis.

Though the government does not track veterans who have been deported, the ACLU of California and a retired vet who runs a shelter for deported veterans in Tijuana, Mexico, count more than 300 who would have been forced to leave the country they fought and were willing to die for.

"I didn't realize how bad it is. And what a terrible injustice this is," DeSaulnier said in an interview with NBC Bay Area. "It's really a very poor reflection on the United States in that we ask people to do this and then the consequences, particularly highlighted in your stories."

DeSaulnier saw the NBC Bay Area investigation and said he had to act.

"It's clearly not acceptable. We need to fix it," he said. "We need to fix it in a bipartisan way."

DeSaulnier on Tuesday joined Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona in co-authoring a bill in Congress that would require the United States Department of Homeland Security to establish a veterans visa program to bring back to the U.S. all those who have served and were subsequently deported.

Grijalva introduced a similar bill during the last Congress in 2016, but that bill (H.R. 5695) failed.

"It's a reflection of Congress' inability to deal with immigration in a thoughtful way, DeSaulnier said. And its the extreme example really of people who have served this countrybe here legally and then serve this country and then be punished."

The democratic congressman said several members of Congress want to change the procedure for becoming a citizen when a person signs up to serve in the military and calls this bill a first step of many that he said are needed to fix the problem.
A local group in the East Bay coined "Alameda4Impeachment" is calling on the House Judiciary Committee to investigate President Donald Trump with the ultimate goal of driving him out of office.

Piggybacking off of Richmond, which became the first city in the nation to pass a Trump-related impeachment resolution, the Alameda-based group's resolution to call for an investigation into the president's business dealings, alleged election interference and other transgressions was unanimously passed by the city council Tuesday evening, according to the East Bay Times.

"Alameda4Impeachment" cited six reasons as to why federal officials should take a peek into Trump's alleged infractions. The wrongdoings listed by the group include behavior unbecoming of the president, violation of the United States Constitution and ethics statutes, conspiracy to compromise the integrity of U.S. elections, obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

"We have a new President whose temperament, behavior, leadership and policy directions may be a threat to our Democracy," the group wrote in its statement presented before the city. "We have reason to believe that his conflict of interest, political corruption and direct violation of the Constitution are sufficient grounds for impeachment."

The passed resolution will now be sent to Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been representing East Bay voters for several years. Lee will be asked to garner support for an investigation.

Copies of the resolution will also be sent to Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, according to the East Bay Times.

Discussions about a proposed investigation began back in February during an Alameda City Council meeting.
A Hawaiian Airlines flight that departed from Mineta San Jose International Airport for Honolulu on Tuesday was diverted back to SJC.

Hawaii Airlines Flight 43 departed just before noon after being delayed because of part replacement, the airline said in a statement. Soon after takeoff, the plane experienced an unspecified equipment malfunction, Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Ian Gregor said.

The captain then decided to return to San Jose, Gregor said. No emergency was declared, he added.

The plane landed safely around 3 p.m.

The airline said the plane was carrying 241 passengers and 11 crew members.

Earlier in the day, a small plane made an emergency landing at SJC after experiencing problems with its landing gear. No injuries were reported in that incident.
New Oakland police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick was involved in a fender bender near police headquarters on Friday, which was the end of her first week on the job, police said Tuesday.

Kirkpatrick backed a patrol car into an unoccupied parked scooter in the 800 block of Broadway just after 7:30 a.m. Friday, police spokesman officer Marco Marquez said.

There was minor damage to the scooter but there weren't any injuries, Marquez said.

"A report was taken, the chief gave a statement and went through the traffic investigation process as would any city employee," Marquez said.
San Francisco is trying to solve a significant problem for breastfeeding mothers who work in the city.

Some women have to walk blocks to find a safe place to pump breast milk or breastfeed their babies. But two San Francisco supervisors want to change that. They want to make sure breastfeeding moms have a safe place to feed or pump at work.

The city of San Francisco has had this requirement in place at City Hall for a year. Now, supervisors say they want every worker in San Francisco to have the same opportunity.

"The immunity that you're able to pass on to your children, less asthma and allergies  but more so the bonding, said Andrea Willcox, a San Francisco resident who is currently breastfeeding. "It's really important to kind of normalize it and just make it easier.

Some mothers want more privacy and more friendly policies so they can pump breast milk comfortably at work.

Supervisors Malia Cohen and Katy Tang have spearheaded efforts to require employers across the city to provide lactation rooms at work.

"All employers must have a "lactation in the workplace policy, Tang said.

Tang presented a proposal at the supervisors' weekly meeting Tuesday that would force employers to give moms a reasonable amount of time to pump milk and create basic standards for those lactation rooms.

Although there are already several federal and state laws that protect an employee's rights to pump in the workplace, the Lactation in the Workplace ordinance requires a workplace lactation policy that allows employees a process to request lactation accommodations as well as requiring new construction and renovations for lactation facilities.

New mothers who want to return to work face so many barriers, said Tang. Although there are existing lactation laws, they do not provide minimum standards, such as requiring a place to sit or an electrical outlet.

According to the California Department of Public Health, not all mothers have equal access to workplace breastfeeding support. In fact, only about half of moms have breastfeeding support in the workplace, and mothers with lower household incomes are less likely to have workplace breastfeeding support than moms with higher incomes.

By incorporating the lactation accommodation process into the hiring and leave process, it takes the guesswork out of the equation for both the employee and the employer, said Julia Parish, attorney with the Work and Family Program at Legal Aid at Work. There is now a formal way to request accommodations and more guidance for employers on what makes a suitable and comfortable lactation space.

The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce is concerned with the costs to business but is not necessarily opposed to the proposed rules.

A spokeswoman for the chamber said they would work with Tang to find a solution that will help ensure that small businesses arent set up to fail.

The Lactation in the Workplace ordinance will be assigned to a Board of Supervisors committee and then be voted on by the board in the coming months
The San Francisco Police Department announced Tuesday that officers arrested three individuals in two recent home burglaries that occurred in the Taraval District.

At 11:30 a.m. on March 1, officers responded to a report of a home burglary in the 600 block of Sloat Boulevard.

According to police, a resident woke up to find a suspect entering his bedroom, but then slammed the bedroom door shut. The resident looked out of his bedroom window and saw the suspect climbing out of the kitchen window and into the yard.

According to police, around the same time, a nearby resident heard noise coming from a neighbor's house and also witnessed a man tumbling out of the home's window and into the yard. The suspect allegedly ran toward Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, yelling "Run, run, run!"

Officers arrived at the scene to investigate and began searching for the suspects in Stern Grove. Officers then located two people who matched the suspects' descriptions and were out of breath.

Officer detained the two suspects, who were then identified by the burglary victim and the witness.

The two male suspects were identified as 20-year-old Alexis Mancia and 40-year-old Rene Garcia, both from San Francisco. They were arrested on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy and possessing burglary tools.

Days earlier, police also arrested another burglary suspect in the same neighborhood.

At 9:40 p.m. on Feb. 26, officers conducted surveillance on a suspect who emerged from a home in the 2200 block of 37th Avenue. Officers briefly lost sight of the suspect until he emerged from the tunnel entry of another residence in the 2300 block of 37th Avenue and was carrying a bag with several objects, police said.

Officers believed they had just witnessed a residential burglary and alerted other officers to move in and make an arrest. But when an officer approached, the suspect turned a corner and tried to flee, according to police.

When officers managed to make contact with the suspect, he resisted arrest, but was eventually taken into custody, police said.

An investigation revealed that the suspect was on probation and officers recovered evidence during a search of his home.

The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Joseph Depaoli, was booked into the Taraval police station on suspicion of burglary, resisting arrest and probation violation.
Two ex-convicts have been charged with attempted murder in connection with an incident in which shots were fired at an off-duty Oakland police officer as he drove on Interstate 880 in Oakland last week, prosecutors said.

The officer, who wasn't injured, was driving south on I-880 near the 16th Avenue exit at about 11:40 p.m. last Wednesday when someone started shooting at his vehicle, police said.

The officer's vehicle was struck by gunfire but the officer himself wasn't hit, according to police.

Patrol officers located the suspects' vehicle, a rented Ford Explorer, and tried to pull it over, but the vehicle's driver refused to stop and a pursuit ensued that went into East Oakland, police said.

The suspects' Ford Explorer was later found abandoned in the 5700 block of Brookdale Avenue. The suspects weren't arrested at that time, but were eventually located and arrested, police said.

The suspected shooter, 33-year-old Tsigab Hailesilassie, was arrested in the 9800 block of Edes Avenue and the suspected driver, 37-year-old Johnny Robinson of Berkeley, was arrested in the 2900 block of Fruitvale Avenue, Officer Hector Jimenez wrote in a probable cause statement.

Oakland police haven't said whether the suspects knew they were targeting an off-duty officer.

In addition to being charged with attempted murder, Hailesilassie, who works in home care, is charged with being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and Robinson, who works as a desk clerk, is charged with evading a police officer.

Prosecutors say Robinson has six prior felony convictions, all for the possession or sale of drugs.

Prosecutors say Hailesilassie has three prior convictions, one each for unlawfully taking a vehicle, possession of a firearm by an ex-felon and having a concealed firearm on his person.

The two suspects were arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court on Monday.

Hailesilassie was scheduled to return to court today to finalize his legal representation and Robinson is scheduled to return to court on March 16 to enter a plea.
When people around the world came together on Jan. 21 to speak out against misogyny in America, spectators gawked at pools of pink pussy hats and protest signs. Now, organizers are looking to make a similar splash through an International Womens Strike on Wednesday.

The time was right, said Tithi Bhattacharya, associate professor at Purdue University and a member of the International Womens Strike USAs national planning committee. This was an important opportunity for us to talk about feminism once more in this country in a very clear and politicized way.

Employees will ditch work. Students will walk out of class. Some companies may halt operations in solidarity.

Bhattacharya and her colleagues have detailed a platform focused on six key issues: gender violence, reproductive rights, environmental justice, labor rights, the development of an anti-racist and anti-imperialist feminism, and full social provisioning. According to the groups website, the organizers aim to represent and empower women who have been marginalized and silenced by decades of neoliberalism, from women of color to disabled, queer, and trans women.

But in an attempt to give a voice to some of the United States most underrepresented populations, the strike may put the women it means to defend at risk. During the "Day Without Immigrants" strike in mid-February, dozens of protesters were fired from their jobs, many of them restaurant workers or painters in low-income positions, NBC News reported.

It is the vulnerable women that will struggle the most to participate, and of course thats not something thats lost on the organizers, said Lauren Leader-Chivee, author and founder of womens empowerment group, All In Together.

For those who cannot skip work, whether domestic or otherwise, there are alternatives. Megan Shade, lead organizer for Womens International Strike Miami, said that women can stand for a few minutes at 6 p.m., though that implies a sedentary environment, which many manual workers do not have. Sympathizers can also wear red, either at home or on the job, though those with uniforms could be punished for breaking protocol.

Paulina Davis, vice chair of the New York City chapter of National Womens Liberation and a member of the Women of Color Caucus at NWL, said some women are even striking by not going above and beyond at work on Wednesday, or by not smiling at their coworkers.

For those who choose not to report to their jobs despite possible consequences, Davis said, Its up to each individual woman to decide how shes willing to strike, and to take into consideration the risks she wants to take.

Experts cited Fight for 15, aimed at boosting the minimum wage, as a movement organized primarily by vulnerable demographics who were willing to lose their jobs for what they believed. They said the United States has a history of speaking out against poor labor conditions, if the cause is worth it.

Indeed, this is not the first womens strike of its kind. For years, Global Women's Strike has organized protests on International Womens Day, which falls on March 8. But on the heels of the Womens March and with input from its leadership, "A Day Without A Woman" has garnered quite a following as the globe waits for a second act in a post-Trump system.

The strike coincides with International Womens Day, inaugurated in 1909 to celebrate American workers who protested against unfair treatment at garment factories the year before. Domestically, the holiday has become more of a flowers and chocolates celebration in recent years, according to Bhattacharya.

It shouldnt just be a sentimental day to look back at history and say, Oh, look how far weve come, and pat ourselves on the back, said Davis.

Mary Ebeling, sociology professor at Drexel University, noted that when she lived abroad, the day took a much more political tone. She chalked up some of the lack of action in the United States to its lower rates of unionization, which make it more difficult to protest against civil infractions.

Unlike the womens marches, the international strike was not founded with an explicitly anti-Trump agenda. Organizers from more than 50 countries got in contact in October 2016 to propose a global protest against mistreatment of women. But after President Donald Trump was elected a few weeks later, the strike took on a new significance.

We want everyone to be against Trump, said Bhattacharya. Anti-Trump is the sort of starting point of this movement.

But, she added, the strike promotes a core message that were not just against Trump, but were against the conditions that create Trump. She wanted to make clear that the alternative version to Trump cannot be a neoliberal version of Hillary Clinton.

Regardless of the movements intentions, in practice, it has attracted anti-Trump sentiment. Shade decided to lead International Womens Strike Miami when a fellow member of the Anti-Trump Action Committee approached her about the possibility. At Columbia University, a walk-out that will join the International Womens Strike New York City march was organized by the student group Columbia Against Trump.

To make the connections between the misogyny that a lot of people see in the Trump administration, it wasnt much of a leap, said Ebeling.

Davis distinguished between partisanship and politics and said that the strike did not appeal to a single party. When NWL organized its own strike during inauguration day, it meant to critique not only the incoming Trump administration, but also the Democratic establishment that had failed its members.

The reality is that in building this movement, we also have to be truthful about those policies that are being put forth that specifically target the erosion of womens rights, Davis continued. And so if thats whats coming out of one party disproportionately  we have to be honest about that and we do have to call that out.

For Charmaine Yoest, senior fellow at American Values and former president and CEO of Americans United for Life, a platform that is unapologetically pro-choice is partisan and excludes many women.

Are pro-life women included? she asked. Are conservative women included? Are homemakers included? Or is this yet another masquerade for liberal feminist women to claim the mantle of womens rights for themselves?

Yoest also pointed out that the strikes platform didnt lend itself to a unified message.

If youre going to strike, you need a pretty clearly designed objective, she said. She added that part of why the anti-abortion movement was making so much inroads was because its organizers had thought deeply about how best to communicate their outlook to the American public.

Ebeling countered that the idea of messaging is a thing that is made by the media and by historians."

I think its a lot to ask a large movement to have one issue and one way of presenting what theyre fighting for, she continued. If were going to have a movement based in justice, then it has to be intersectional.

But Leader-Chivee noted that the majority of Americans dont even know what intersectional feminism means, and the anti-Trump and pro-liberal movement is going to need to get more focused.

While the Womens March provided Trump critics with much needed catharsis, Leader-Chivee said, Doing regular mass demonstrations, I think, is not necessarily going to advance the aims of the folks who are participating.

Just this week, she said, the travel ban and the Republicans proposed alternative to the Affordable Care Act both provided fodder for protest for the womens movement. If the strikers chose one of those policies and fought against it instead of using vague rhetoric that covered a slew of issues, they might gain some ground.

While theres value in this collective action tomorrow, I think to really make progress,  the specifics are going to matter a lot, she continued.

But Ebeling believed that organized bursts of action, like the strike and the march, are motivating young women to get engaged and are important. She cited one of her staffers who recently resigned to run for local office as evidence.

Theyre actually kind of galvanizing millions of women to become activists and to get involved in politics in ways that they probably could have never imagined before, Ebeling said.

This is one event, one mass action in a struggle to build and continue to build a strong womens liberation movement, Davis said. I think there is room to continue to build on each of these issues in more focused ways.

Davis added that Wednesday is certainly not a beginning, and not an end.
Former President Barack Obama "rolled his eyes" at President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims that he wiretapped Trump Tower at the end of the 2016 election, a source close to the former president told NBC News.

The source, who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity and is familiar with the president's thinking, said Obama believes the claims "undermine the integrity of the office of the president," but don't undermine his own integrity, because "he didn't do it."

The source told NBC News the former president "is much more concerned by President Trump kicking people off their health insurance, not staffing the government, not being prepared for a crisis, rolling back regulations so that corporations can pollute the air and water and letting mentally unstable people buy guns with no problems whatsoever."
FBI Director James Comey says he plans to serve his entire 10-year term, even as controversy swirls over his attempt to rebut President Donald Trump's claim that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the election.

"You're stuck with me for another 6-1/2 years," Comey said during a cybersecurity conference at Boston College. He was appointed 3-1/2 years ago by then-President Barack Obama.

After Trump recently claimed that Obama tapped his phones during last year's election, Comey privately asked the Justice Department to dispute the allegation.

During his speech to law enforcement officials and private-sector business leaders in Boston on Wednesday, Comey said the FBI is renewing a focus on the challenges posed by encryption. He said there should be a balance between privacy and the FBI's ability to lawfully access information.

He also alluded to the latest WikiLeaks dump, in which the organization released thousands of documents it claimed showed secret CIA hacking tools used to break into computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs.

The CIA did not comment on the documents, which were not verified by NBC News.

Comey said the FBI can't prevent every attack, but it can find those responsible and "hold them accountable."

He also said the bureau must work on its relationship with the private sector in order to stop cyberattacks, mentioning Apple.

The tech giant and the FBI went to court over a locked iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook's encrypted phone.

Comey said the FBI was unable to open 1,200 of 2,800 devices it received and had lawful authority to open between September to November, but he also said he likes privacy, including for his private Instagram account with just nine followers.

"I love strong encryption," Comey said, and said his agency should work with humility toward finding a way with Apple to lawfully open encrypted devices.

"This isn't the 'FBI versus Apple'."

Comey didn't address Trumps claim about Obama wiretapping his phones, though sources have said he rejected it. He is also being asked to testify before a House panel investigating possible ties between Donald Trump and Russia.

He also did not respond to questions about Trumps claims during a ribbon-cutting for the Boston FBI division's new offices in Chelsea on Tuesday.
A new sketch of a suspect in two murders and three violent rapes in the Brockton, Massachusetts area was released on Tuesday morning.

According to the Plymouth County District Attorneys Office, the composite sketch was generated by DNA phenotyping and information compiled over the last two years in the investigation into three rapes and two murders.

Authorities are not sure how old or how large the man may be, so they formed the image of him at about 25 with a normal build.

Investigators want to talk to the man about the murders of Ashley Mylett and Linda Schufeldt from three years ago.

Officials said the victims were all known as prostitutes who were "picked up" by the person who raped or killed them. All of the crimes took place between 2013 and 2014.

District Attorney Timothy Cruz said there may be additional rape victims who are not coming forward out of fear.

Anyone with information is asked to contact state police at 508-894-2584.
Former House Speaker Dennis Hasterts primary accuser, identified in court documents variously as Individual A or James Doe, will seek to keep his name out of ongoing court proceedings, even if those proceedings lead to a trial in Kendall County Court.

The man, who first levelled the sensational allegations against Hastert which led to the former Speakers imprisonment, is suing Hastert to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in hush money which he says he was promised but never received.

The case dates back to the seventies, when the now-grown Doe says Hastert sexually molested him during a wrestling trip when he was 14 years old.

Doe said Hastert promised him $3.5 million to keep quiet about the incident. But after $1.7 million was paid, authorities began questioning the former Speakers unusual bank withdrawals and the entire affair was uncovered.

Hastert pled guilty to violating banking laws and is currently serving a 15 month sentence in a Minnesota prison.

Today in Kendall County where the mans lawsuit is pending, his attorney Kristi Browne said it is her clients intention to fight to remain anonymous.

It could be done by holding the trial in a closed courtroom, not publicizing the date and time of the trial, she said. Depositions similarly, it could be done by not publicizing the date and time of the deposition and the location.

Such a move would be highly unusual. Even in sensitive criminal cases, judges have been hesitant to close their proceedings. But Browne held out the possibility, even the likelihood, that the question could become a moot issue.

All I can tell you is that very few cases go to trial, and I dont expect this one to be any different , she said. I dont have a feel yet whether they are interested in trying to settle this or not.

Browne said so far, there have been no settlement discussions on Does monetary demand.

During a brief Wednesday morning hearing, Hasterts attorney John Ellis said he expects the former Speaker to be released from prison in July.
Congressman Peter Roskam's latest Telephone Town Hall was a campaign event and not official congressional business, his office said Wednesday.

Roskam held a one-hour Telephone Town Hall Tuesday night just one day after protesters, upset he wont hold an in-person Town Hall, gathered outside his City Club speech. There, reporters chased him as he refused to answer their questions.

To participate in the Tele-Town Hall listeners had to log on to Roskams campaign website or campaign Facebook page and those who were able to call in had their questions screened ahead of time.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform Executive Director Sarah Brune said holding a Tele-Town Hall through Roskam's campaign websites is no different than holding a physical Town Hall at his campaign office.

Brune told NBC 5 "this is a campaign event."

"If its meant be a Town Hall, then those from both sides of the aisle" should be encouraged to participate, she said.

Those who live in the 6th District complained on Twitter that there was little notice given for Tuesdays Tele Town Hall.

"We dont typically announce them in advance, said Roskams spokesman David Pasch.

Pasch insists the congressmans office calls every landline in the district several hours before the Tele Town Hall to notify them. Several constituents however told NBC 5 they did not receive that notice.

Pasch says the Tele Town Halls are conducted on the campaign websites because if someone asked him a question like, Why should I vote for you? or anything remotely related to campaign activity, he would not be able to answer it without violating ethics rules.

There is no rule that congressmen must conduct Tele Town Halls only through their campaign websites, according to the Ethics Office, which states that it is a congressman's choice.

The House Ethics manual states "a single event cannot, for purposes of the House rules, be treated as both political and official (p. 179 House Ethics Manual). The congressmen's activities may be either 'official' or 'political' at the Members Option."

So, since Roskam has chosen to conduct his Tele Town Halls on his campaign website and campaign FB page, then he must follow these rules:

If a Member designates an event as political by using campaign funds for it, no official resources may then be used. This means that congressional staff should not make arrangements..."

Pasch says there were more than 21,000 live participants on the call and more logged in on the livestream online. Pasch said we do not screen questions before the call and he took as many questions as possible on a wide variety of topics.

Thats contrary to those who told NBC 5 they waited, but were not called on after being asked what their question would be. Listeners also report that at one point Roskam laughed when one of the callers called Democrats crazies and uncivilized. Roskams spokesman did not respond when asked about that exchange.

Roskam has held only one in-person Town Hall since being elected 10 years ago. He has called them miserable and has compared his refusal to Sen. Dick Durbin, saying Durbin did the same in 2009 during the heat of the Obamacare debate. A spokesman for Sen. Durbin told NBC 5, while Durbin did not do traditional town halls then, he traveled the state extensively holding listening sessions on health care in 2009  when the goal was insuring more people. The House bill is so bad nobody can defend it.

While Roskam did not take the caller last night who wanted to know his position on Russian interference, a new press release from the congressman Wednesday morning announced a resolution, the Keeping Russia Out of European Elections Act.

Russia is attempting to undermine democracy and democratic institutions across the Western World, the resolution states.

The press release adds, the congressman recently toured countries along Russias borders and spoke out against Russian provocations in the Balkans.

Roskam has made one change to his Tele Town Halls after NBC 5 asked questions. He has removed the prerequisite that callers receive campaign materials in order to participate online.
Chicago Police appear to be backtracking on a major platform of their new deadly force policy, relating to whether officers should attempt to save the lives of people they have just shot.

In a recent scathing report on CPD policies, the U.S. Justice Department said Chicago officers should be required to give medical treatment to suspects shot by police. Currently, officers are only required to call for a Fire Department ambulance.

In that Justice report, investigators said CPD should equip officers with appropriate first-aid supplies, train them in their useand require officers to render aid to injured persons, consistent with the officers training.

In January, Chicago police insisted the policy was about to change. A draft copy of a new use-of-force model declaring an emphasis on sanctity of life carried a provision for officers to begin offering medical aid commensurate with their training, experience, and available equipment.

Critics argued that a change was long overdue.

There is a significant time lag, whether its two or three or four minutes, from the time the police call the firemen until the time they arrive, says attorney Victor Henderson. That three or four minute difference can be the difference between life and death.

Henderson represented the family of 23-year-old Jamaal Moore, who was shot following a police chase on Chicagos South Side. Moore was unarmed, and after the shooting police were seen standing over him as he lay dying, but offering no apparent aid.

Theyre just there like, we caught a deer or something, said Moores mother Gwendolyn Moore. Theyre happy and theyre excited about it because they were smiling, and my son is lying on the ground, and you could clearly see that he was alive.

By the time the fire department arrived and Moore was transported to a hospital, he was dead.

But now CPDs changed procedures have apparently been changed again. A new draft policy, released this week for public comment, changes the wording that officers will offer treatment, to officers may offer treatment.

We received a number of objections to the medical aid requirement, an accompanying memo states. Most notably, commenters suggested that the Department does not provide officers proper medical training or equipment to comply with this requirement, subjecting them to legal liability for providing improper care.

The memo noted that under Illinois law, officers are not civilly liable to an injured person for providing emergency care unless the officer engaged in willful and wanton misconduct. Nevertheless, a change was made.

We understand after reviewing the comments that some officers do not feel properly trained to provide medical care to an injured person at the scene, the memo stated. Therefore, we have revised this section to require officers to request emergency medical servicesbut the requirement does not extend to providing medical care, although officers remain free to do so.

In Washington D.C., Jim Bueermann, the president of the Police Foundation, a law enforcement research and training organization, said he felt CPD was going in the wrong direction on its medical aid policy.

One of the hallmarks of a healthy police department is they are founded on enhancing the public trust, Bueermann told NBC 5. If you believe in the sanctity of life, how can you give the option to officers?

Bueermann agreed that policies calling for officers to provide medical aid may represent a cultural change in some departments. But he said it was the right thing to do.

Our recommendation is that departments have policies, training, and equipment, to transition from threat mitigation, to lifesaving, he said. Weve got to change from, I stopped the threat, to now lifesaving. And if (officers) dont want to do that, theyre in the wrong job.

The Jamaal Moore case in Chicago was not an isolated incident. Rather, it was a reflection of longstanding departmental policy. Last summer, officers shot an unarmed auto theft suspect named Paul ONeal. ONeal rammed a squad car and fled on foot into a residential area, where he was shot. Body cam videos from the many officers on the scene show some checking each other for injuries, but do not show any offering medical treatment to ONeal.

There is a human being whos laying on the ground who needs to be helped, Henderson, the Moore family attorney said. And they should do everything they can to help that person, short of putting themselves in danger.

Chicagos Police union chief was among those who had been critical of the new directive.

People want the police officers to be jacks of all trades, Dean Angelo, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 said in January. They want us to do everything!

Echoing the comments in this weeks memorandum, Angelo had expressed reservations about what kind of training his members would receive.

It cant be a streaming video where you sit at roll call, you watch the tape, you grab your first aid pouch and you get in your squad car, he said. You need almost a 40 hour bloc to be proficient on those pouches.

For her part, Gwendolyn Moore said she believes those concerns beg a larger question, that all people should want to help one another, regardless of the circumstances.

You see a person in distress and you automatically want to assist them in any way you can because thats part of being human, part of caring about mankind and humanity, she said. Thats what we do!

Police department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi emphasized that the change was still in draft form. We are putting it out again for public comment, because we value community input.
A few days before Christmas in 2010, a teacher at the Edison Regional Gifted Center  a Chicago Public School in the Albany Park neighborhood  threw a holiday party for his seventh-grade class. He ordered Chinese takeout, and, because a couple of his students had food allergies, he called the restaurant several times to make sure they wouldnt use peanut products in the food.

Despite his calls, one of his students, 13-year-old Katelyn Carlson, ate the food and quickly went into anaphylaxis  a severe allergic reaction. She was immediately rushed to the hospital, but she died later that day.

Katelyns life could very likely have been saved, if only the school had had an emergency supply of epinephrine on-hand.

That was a kind of tipping point, when [Katelyn Carlson] passed away, said Lilliana DeSantiago Cardenas, who, at the time in 2010, was a program manager with CPSs Office of Student Health and Wellness.

Cardenas said CPS had already begun to explore the possibility of supplying its schools with extra epinephrine earlier that year, when the Illinois State Board of Education directed all school districts to create food allergy management policies.

But now the issue became more urgent, she said.

Everybody said, Thats it. We have to be proactive, she said.

And they were.

In an institution as large as the Chicago Public Schools system, where even minor changes can take years of committee meetings and administrator approvals, something different happened this time. Within two years of Katelyn Carlsons death, every single Chicago Public School, totaling more than 700, was given an extra supply of epinephrine auto-injector devices, along with training on how to use them and what to look for when a child suffers an unexpected allergic reaction.

First, Cardenas and her team wrote a food allergy policy, and had it quickly approved by the Chicago Board of Education in early 2011. The policy included training, every two years, for all school personnel.

Then came the issue of getting these large supplies of emergency epinephrine. The auto-injectors can be expensive  hundreds of dollars each. So Cardenas reached out to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where shed previously received grant funding for another project. She soon got the injectors covered by grant funds, as well.

State requirements, however, say that a school must have a prescription for the extra epinephrine signed by a doctor, which is a major hurdle for some smaller school districts -- but not for CPS.

We had our own physician in-house, Cardenas said, and she signed off, and we immediately started the procurement process for the [injector] pens.

The winning bidder was Mylan Pharmaceuticals, maker of the EpiPen, which is perhaps the best-known brand of epinephrine auto-injector. Its also the company that recently came under fire for raising the price of its pens. But that was not an issue for CPS.

Because we were the largest school district to ever do this project, we asked to work out a deal, said Cardenas. Thats when [Mylan] gave us a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

That deal, Cardenas says, lowered the overall cost for CPS and allowed Mylan to advertise their school program.

The next hurdle was to revamp the CPS medication policy to account for stock epinephrine. That change was passed by the Board of Education in early 2012. The new policy mandated that all school nurses get training, and thats where Cardenas joined forces with Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a professor with Northwestern Medicine and Lurie Childrens Hospital whose specialty is childrens food allergies.

We started working together on this and partnered with the Food Allergy Clinic at Lurie, Cardenas said, and we worked with them to create training with dos and donts and we recorded everything via webinar.

By the fall of 2012, she said, every single Chicago Public School had emergency epinephrine on hand and paid for, with staff properly trained on how and when to use it.

I think it worked because we truly made it a community effort, with parents and organizations and community advocates who could really vet the policy and procedures, to really make it successful, Cardenas said. We also worked very closely with community groups, doing presentations and letting them know that this resource existed.

We hit a lot of little bumps in the road, but this is by far one of my proudest things in my life, she added. I was there [at CPS] long enough to see it happen; make it happen; and see the children who benefitted it. Were saving these kids lives.
Three people were killed and at least 13 others were wounded in shootings Tuesday on the citys South and West sides.

Seven of the victims came under fire in three separate attacks along a four-block stretch of the Gresham neighborhood.

At 7:22 p.m., a white vehicle pulled up to a group of people in the 7600 block of South May, and someone inside opened fire, hitting a 56-year-old woman in the leg and grazing a 40-year-old mans head, according to Chicago Police. They were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where their conditions were stabilized. Additionally, a 36-year-old man shot in the buttocks was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, and a 24-year-old man shot in the hand declined treatment.

Shortly after 3 a.m. in the same neighborhood, officers found a 22-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds on a sidewalk in the 1100 block of West 76th Street, according to police and the Cook County medical examiners office. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:30 a.m.

About two hours earlier, a 24-year-old woman was killed and a 35-year-old man was critically wounded in a shooting about two blocks away. They were sitting in a vehicle at 1:19 a.m. in the 1300 block of West 76th Street when two people walked up and one of them pulled out a handgun and fired shots into the vehicle, authorities said. She was shot in the head and died at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park at 1:36 a.m. He suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen, chin and hand and was listed in critical condition at Christ Medical Center.

Authorities have not yet released the names of the Gresham homicide victims. Police could not immediately say if the attacks were related.

Tuesdays third fatal shooting happened about 12:45 p.m. in the Englewood neighborhood, where officers responding to a call of shots fired in the 5500 block of South Wells found 19-year-old Lavelle D. Morgan with two gunshot wounds to the neck, authorities said. Morgan, who lived nearby, was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:12 p.m.

The days latest nonfatal shooting happened about 9:40 p.m. during a robbery in the Chatham neighborhood. A 38-year-old man was sitting in a parked car in the 7600 block of South State when an armed person got into the vehicle and announced a robbery. He gave the suspect cash and attempted to drive away while the suspect opened fire, police said. The man suffered a graze wound to the right arm and drove himself to Trinity Hospital, where he was listed in good condition.

About 9 p.m. in Woodlawn, a 24-year-old man was walking east on 67th Street when he heard gunfire near St. Lawrence and realized hed been hit in the foot, police said. He was taken to St. Bernard Hospital in good condition.

About 8 p.m., someone in a white car pulled up to a 21-year-old man in the 9700 block of South Avenue L in the East Side neighborhood, and shot him in the leg, police said. He was in good condition at Trinity Hospital.

Forty-five minutes earlier, a gunman walked up to a 16-year-old boy standing outside in the 7300 block of South University in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood, and shot him in the side and buttocks, police said. The boy was stabilized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

At 6:20 p.m., a 22-year-old man was walking in Englewoods 7300 block of South Aberdeen, and someone shot him in the leg, police said. He was stabilized at Christ Medical Center.

Just before 6 p.m., two men were walking in the 1400 block of North Homan in Humboldt Park when shots rang out. One man, 20, was shot in the leg and taken in good condition to Stroger Hospital, along with an 18-year-old man in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the back, police said.

Tuesdays first nonfatal shooting happened about 4:15 p.m. in Back of the Yards. A 16-year-old boy was walking in the 5200 block of South Damen when someone shot him in the leg, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.

Nine people were shot in Chicago on Monday, killing two after a relative lull in gun violence across the city when it went more than a week without a fatal shooting. More than 560 people have been shot in Chicago this year.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel faulted Gov. Bruce Rauner for the continued gridlock in Springfield on Tuesday, urging the Republican to "just do your job."

"I think in the last 48 hours, everybody has come to the conclusion that the emperor wears no clothes. The governor," Emanuel said. "Theres nobody else. He cant blame Mike Madigan. He cant blame John Cullerton and the grand bargain. He cant blame me. He cant blame Chance. Everybodys now seen what he stands for."

The mayors comments came amid an ongoing battle over the Chicago Public Schools $215 million gap the district needs to fill in order to meet its teacher pension payment on June 30. In December, Rauner vetoed a bill that would have injected CPS with $215 million in state funding.

Based on that veto, district officials then announced a spending freeze on $46 million of non-salary funds and later filed a lawsuit accusing the state of Illinois of violating students civil rights by perpetuating an unequal funding system  adding that the school year could end as early as June 1 if the case is not quickly resolved.

"Weve gone three years without a governor that's introduced a budget," Emanuel continued, speaking at a ribbon cutting event. "Governors State now is cutting 22 academic programs. Kids for the first time in the state of Illinois are now leaving the state to go to college when we used to be a net gain. Ounce of Prevention and other social service agencies are suing the state. More people are leaving our state, and this is all under his tenure."

In a brief statement, a spokesperson for the governor responded, "Sounds like someone has a Napoleon complex."

The back-and-forth comes on the heels of Rauners highly-publicized meeting with Chicago musician Chance the Rapper, who slammed the governor for his veto, then announced Monday that hes donating more than $1 million to the beleaguered school district.

The Grammy Award-winning artists father, Ken Bennett, served as a former deputy chief of staff and director of the Office of Public Engagement under Emanuel and now works for Chicagos tourism agency. On Tuesday, Emanuel denied that he had any hand in Chances battle with the governor, as some suspected.

"I did not talk to him," Emanuel said. "The assumption or accusation or insinuation is condescending to Chance. Hes a product of Chicago, a nationally and internationally acclaimed artist. He went to Chicago Public Schools. He credits the Chicago Public Library for his ability to start putting music together."

"You dont just veto $215 million that would finally create parity for the teachers of Chicago, the taxpayers of Chicago and the students of Chicago, and I think its condescending to assume that Chance couldnt come to this conclusion on his own that this is wrong," he added.

Rauner outlined two paths to address CPS funding gap in a memo circulated Monday, plans that Emanuel quickly dismissed.

One of Rauners proposals would authorize Chicago to use Tax Increment Financing money to fund the beleaguered district. TIF funds are typically used to promote investment and economic development, but developing legislation would allow Emanuel to approve a one-time transfer of $215 million from Chicago's TIF funds to CPS. The other approach outlined in the memo would add the CPS request to Senate President John Cullertons pension reform bill.

"I would recommend the governor go back to the drawing board and one, introduce for the first time in his tenure as governor, a balanced budget. Two, dont undermine the grand bargain that you said you were for, but then called people up to your office and tell them to vote no. Three, after your commission, finally introduce legislation on a school formula that doesnt punish kids for being minority or poor, but actually helps them get ahead and break the cycle of poverty," the mayor said.

"The emperor wears no clothes," Emanuel repeated. "Gov. Edgar gave him recommendations. Gov. Ryan gave him recommendations. I have given him recommendations. Everybody has tried to give him advice. Everybody walks out with the same thing, including Chance the Rapper. Just do your job."

Facing mounting public pressure, Rauner announced Tuesday that hes willing to sign off on bills to fund CPS and reform the states pension system, even if theyre not attached to the so-called "grand compromise," an elusive bipartisan budget deal that stalled Wednesday when the Illinois Senate failed to take action.

"We dont have to do a balanced budget today comprehensively to get CPS $200 million today," Rauner said at an event in Chicago on Tuesday.

Cullerton blamed Rauner for derailing the ongoing negotiations, saying that state senators were in a "holding pattern" as bills were being amended to forge a compromise. Cullertons pension reform bill failed for the second time last Tuesday, noteworthy because all the bills in the package need to pass for any to become law.

"We could just pass the pension reform bill and pass the CPS payment bill, both of which are there," Rauner added Tuesday, indicating that he wants the Senate to vote immediately on the individual pieces of the interdependent package, which he described as "still evolving."

"These exist. These dont have to be drafted or negotiated. And its done," Rauner said. "We save $1 billion for Illinois taxpayers a year and we get $200 million right now for CPS."
A federal judge has agreed to end former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.s supervised release from prison 18 months early, at his request.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is based in Washington, D.C., issued her order Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting. The former congressman pointed out in a court filing last month that he has maintained a positive and cooperative relationship with his probation officer and has abided by all terms and conditions of his supervised release. He also said he has paid a $750,000 judgment.

Federal prosecutors did not object to Jacksons request. In a statement Tuesday, Jackson said he was pleased with the judges decision.

The judge sentenced Jackson in August 2013 to 30 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. She told him he could not possess a gun or other dangerous weapon while on supervised release and she told him to steer clear of illegal drugs and any other crime. He was also told to submit to DNA collection by federal authorities and to participate in mental health treatment.

Additionally, the judge ordered him to perform 500 hours of community service and hand over financial documents to the probation office. In their own filing Friday, the feds said Jackson has fulfilled the community service requirement and has not committed any violations while on supervised release.

The judge also sentenced Jacksons now estranged wife, former Ald. Sandi Jackson, to a year in prison followed by a year of supervised release. Sandi Jackson left federal prison six months ago.

Both Jacksons, who are now in the midst of a contentious divorce, pleaded guilty to various schemes relating to the looting of his congressional campaign fund. The former South Side 7th Ward alderman and the former 2nd Congressional District lawmaker each went to prison for diverting $750,000 from campaign funds for their personal use between 2005 and 2012.
What was previously considered a "cluster" is now a confirmed outbreak of the highly contagious mumps disease at suburban Barrington High School, Lake County Health Department officials announced Tuesday.

Officials grew concerned about the growing number of probable mumps cases in several Barrington schools, saying students who have not been vaccinated should either get the vaccine or stay home until the virus runs its course.

There were two confirmed cases and dozens more suspected as of Thursday at Barrington High School, according to principal Stephen McWilliams. Now officials have raised that number to three confirmed cases at the high school.

If you are not feeling well, stay home, McWilliams said to students and faculty.

There were more suspected cases at Prairie and Station middle schools.

With spring break approaching, and other warm-weather social events coming up, students should be particularly cautious, especially if they are planning to travel, said Mark Pfister, the Health Departments executive director.

Health officials say to look out for a low-grade fever, stiff neck and swollen salivary glands as symptoms of the virus. A person can be contagious for two days before experiencing any symptoms, they say.

The school notified parents of the confirmed cases and officials stressed this is a cluster of mumps and not an outbreak.

Im concernedits frustrating that some kids are vaccinated and some arent, said parent Diane Snyder.

In rare cases the mumps can cause sterility, meningitis or even inflammation of the brain. Health officials recommend that students and staff that are not vaccinated either get the vaccine or stay home to stop the virus from spreading.

Good hygiene is also key, health officials say, and maintenance staff at the school has been instructed to focus on high touch surfaces in the building.

Teachers have been told to look for symptoms among their students as well.
Recovery efforts in Ottawa continued Tuesday morning, including the opening of a Red Cross resource center, as the area rebuilds after a devastating tornado tore through LaSalle County last month.

The Red Cross facility is staffed with 98 percent volunteers after an estimated 500 homes in the area were damaged. Volunteers from more than 20 other agencies have come together to help assist those impacted by the storm. It is located at a former Wal-Mart location on Columbus Street.

People are just getting back to their homes and for some people their homes have been completely destroyed and condemned, said Catherine Ravenstein of the American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois. Now were in the stage where people need things like cleanup supplies.

Donated toiletries, food and other essentials are being stocked in the resource facility.

They came from the neighborhood, they came from outside of the area, they came from the realtors, they came fromyou name it, said Charlotte Hazel, the resource centers manager.

An EF-3 tornado devastated the area on Feb. 28 causing severe damagebut its not just cleaning up the Red Cross concerned about. The organization is offering emotional support to homeowners and residents, too.

They need somebody to talk to having experienced something so traumatic, Ravenstein said.

Donations are being received at the Starved Rock Community Foundation and the resource center will stay open as long as needed, officials said.
A heavy police response in Chicagos South Shore neighborhood was visible Tuesday night after reports of a man with a gun in a residence.

Police say the call came in around 8:10 p.m. and that there were no reported injuries at the home in the 6900 block of South Shore Drive.

A SWAT team was on the scene.

Some residents were still in the building, but others in the neighborhood said they could not get into their homes.

He just said to walk away from the building and you know weve just been standing out here for the last two hours, resident Brandi Roberts said.

No further information was immediately available.
Facing mounting public pressure, Gov. Bruce Rauner said hes willing to sign off on bills to fund Chicago Public Schools and reform the states pension system, even if theyre not attached to the Illinois Senates stalled grand compromise.

We dont have to do a balanced budget today comprehensively to get CPS $200 million today, Rauner told reporters Tuesday in Chicago. We could just pass the pension reform bill and pass the CPS payment bill, both of which are there. These exist. These dont have to be drafted or negotiated. And its done.

We save $1 billion for Illinois taxpayers a year and we get $200 million right now for CPS, he added.

Over the past week, Democrats have accused Rauner of derailing ongoing budget negotiations, and Grammy award-winning Chicagoan Chance the Rapper used a meeting with the governor to bring national attention to the citys underfunded public school system.

After the Illinois Senate failed to take action last Wednesday on items from its elusive bipartisan budget deal, Senate President John Cullerton blamed Rauner for inserting himself in the ongoing negotiations. Cullertons pension reform bill failed last Tuesday for the second time and was placed on postponed consideration, which is important because all the bills in the package currently need to pass for any to become law.

Last week, Cullerton noted that senators are now in a holding pattern as bills are amended to forge a compromise with Rauner and the Republicans. Now, Rauner wants the Senate to vote immediately on individual pieces of the interdependent package, which he described Tuesday as still evolving."

Rauner met Friday with Chance the Rapper, who slammed the governor for vetoing the $215 million in CPS funding last December. Rauner nixed the funding after claiming Democratic leaders backed out of a deal to pass comprehensive pension reform.

The Grammy award-winning artist then announced that hes donating $1 million to CPS during a press conference at Westcott Elementary School on Monday.

This isnt about politics. This isnt about posturing, Bennett told reporters. This is about taking care of the kids.

Governor Rauner, do your job, he added.

On Tuesday, Rauner outlined two paths for the state to immediately address CPS' $215 million funding gap.

One plan would authorize Chicago to use Tax Increment Financing money to fund the beleaguered district. TIF funds are typically used to promote investment and economic development, but developing legislation would allow Mayor Rahm Emanuel to approve a one-time transfer of $215 million from Chicago's TIF funds to CPS.

If CPS wants or really desperately needs hundreds of millions of dollars more as they claim, it seems to me a reasonable use of that money is to use TIF funds, Rauner said, noting that the Chicago Teachers Union has also pushed to use TIF money. "Its right there in cash. Nothing has to change."

The other approach would add the CPS request to Cullertons pension reform bill.

The Senate has introduced it and weve got the pension pickup bill there as well, Rauner added. "Lets go do those two things right now... or you can combine them into one bill and pass one bill because then it's paid for and some of that money, some of that savings, could go to Chicago.

Rauner also noted Tuesday that hes recently had private conversations about how to put together CPS funding today without negotiations, without politics, without new changes.
A man who beat murder charges due to a technicality earlier this year was shot to death half an hour after bonding out of the Cook County Jail late Monday on separate armed robbery charges, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

At 11:12 p.m., Kamari Belmont was released from jail after posting 10 percent of a $100,000 bond, according to the Cook County sheriffs office.

At 11:43 p.m., the 23-year-old was riding in a vehicle less than a mile from the jail when a white SUV pulled alongside him and someone inside opened fire, hitting him in the back and torso, according to Chicago Police.

At 11:57 p.m., he was pronounced dead after collapsing in the street in the 3300 block of South California, authorities said.

Belmont and two other men, 23-year-old Terrence Hogans and 21-year-old Khalil Powell, were charged with a pair of robberies that happened within an hour of each other early on May 1, 2015, police said at the time.

Hogans shot one of the victims in their first alleged robbery, which happened about 2 a.m. in the 3700 block of South Vincennes, Cook County prosecutors said at their bond hearing. That victim, 40-year-old North Side man Sorrell Marshall, died three weeks later of complications from his gunshot wounds.

The trio robbed two more people an hour later in the first block of East 21st Street, but police were able to track them down using a mobile tracking application on a victims cellphone in the 500 block of West 43rd Street, prosecutors said. As officers approached, Hogans got out of the vehicle with a handgun in his waistband and lunged at one of the officers with a forearm to the chest, authorities said. An officer shot him once in the arm and chest and he ran away, prosecutors said. The other two men were arrested, as was Hogans when he showed up at Mercy Hospital.

An autopsy didnt immediately rule on the manner of Marshalls death, but it was later ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiners office. Charges against the men were later upgraded from armed robbery to murder.

The murder charges against Belmont were dropped Jan. 27, court records show. A state statute stipulates that, after agreed upon continuances, a person accused of a crime who is still in custody must be brought to trial 120 days after making a demand.

Court records show that Belmont made a demand for trial on April 15, 2016. Between May 2015 and mid-January 2017, Belmonts attorneys and prosecutors agreed to at least 12 case continuances, records show.

When Belmonts charges were dropped, a judge set bond at $100,000 for the second robbery. He posted 10 percent and was released Monday night before the shooting.
Toppers Pizza, the Wisconsin-based pizza franchise known for its unique "house recipes" and signature cheesy breadsticks, has shuttered all five of its locations in Illinois.

Four of the restaurants were in Chicago  in the South Loop, West Loop, Wrigleyville and Bucktown neighborhoods. The fifth location was in DeKalb.

Toppers Pizza will be back in Illinois under the right circumstances and with the right franchisee partners in the future, but we are restructuring in order to focus our growth efforts in other states, the companys founder and president Scott Gittrich said in a statement.

It has been an honor to serve our Toppers fanatics in Illinois and we are proud of the quality pizza experience we've been able to share, he added. Until next time, Never Settle for crappy pizza, Illinois!

The first Toppers Pizza opened in Whitewater, Wisconsin, in 1993, and has since expanded to more than 75 locations in 13 states, according to the companys website.

With a focus on pick-up and delivery orders, the company boasts a diverse topping menu and several house recipes, including the Loaded Tot-zza with tater tots and ranch sauce, as well as a Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese pizza, among several others.

The cheesy Topperstix are also a menu staple for the franchise, which caters to a late-night crowd as many locations stay open until 3 a.m. or later.
Federal, state and local officials announced a 31 count indictment against 16 defendants, including 8 members of the so-called Orange Street Killers, in Hartford on Wednesday.

The gang was named because most of its activity was concentrated around Orange, Arbor and Cherry Streets in Hartford's Parkville neighborhood.

"These are neighborhoods. We are standing right in front of a playground where children are playing. Violence cannot and will not be tolerated in these neighborhoods," Deirdre Daly, U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said.

The charges in the indictment include firearms, robbery and drug offenses, including the seizure of 1,200 bags of heroin.

"I want you to look at who got arrested," Hartford Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said. "This is not just the neighborhood people getting arrested. This is not just Hartford people getting arrested. This is people from around the entire region that are getting arrested. And the heroin problem is not just a Hartford problem, but a regional problem if not a national problem."

The FBI and Hartford Police Department teamed up in the investigation, which also nabbed 3 members of other local gangs.

Names of 16 arrestees:

RUBEN TORRES, a.k.a. Rube, Ru, and T, 25, of Hartford

ANTWANE WILLIAMS-BEY, a.k.a. Buck, 26, of East Windsor

MICHAEL CHAPMAN, a.k.a. Nice and Mizzo, 25, of New Britain

CHARLES TURNER, a.k.a. Rell and CJ, 26, of Hartford

TAYRENCE WILLIS, a.k.a. T and T-Franklin, 24, of Hartford

TYRRYQ RODRIGUEZ, a.k.a. Ty, Little Ty and Tye Bangs, 19, of Hartford

ERIC SMITH, a.k.a. Hood, 29, of Hartford

ADRIAN CRUZ, a.k.a. Ray, 28, of Hartford

BRENDAN SALMON, a.k.a. One Eye, 23, of Hartford

NOEL MONTANEZ, 18, of Hartford

JHOVANY VALDES, 40, of East Windsor

WILLIE DEAS, a.k.a. Debo and Flee, 21, of Hartford

MARCUS GARY, 33, of South Windsor

YOLANDA LOZADA, a.k.a. Sexy, 38, of East Hartford

JAMAL JOHNSON, 29, of Hartford

BUELL FRENCH, 36, of Hartford
Wednesday is International Womens Day and on this day speeches, protests, marches, and even a call to stay home from work are all an effort to show how vital women are to the community.

Women in Connecticut are expected to stand with others all across the country to celebrate the role women play in society at various events today.

The official theme for this years Womens Day is Be bold for change, with an emphasis on the equality for women around the world.

Women's Day at the Capitol will include a program followed by lunch and panel discussion. The program is free and open to the public, but you must register ahead.

Gov. Dannel Malloy is set to speak at the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children and Seniors official Womens Day Event, also at the capitol.

In New Haven, Mayor Toni Harp is hosting a city hall reception to mark the day and march.

Connecticut could see some protests against the Trump administration and its policies, which some say are specifically anti-women.

Some women are planning to stay home as part of a symbolic demonstration called  A Day Without Women. In New London, supports of the movement are involved to meet for a "General Strike" event at the Whale Tale on Bank Street for an all-day rally.

Another way to support the cause is to shop at local businesses owned by women.

A variety of other events are scheduled throughout the state. For more information on Connecticut events, click here.
Connecticut State Police have arrested a teen accused in multiple vandalism incidents in Old Lyme and Lyme.

Victor Farrell, 18, of Lyme, was served 13 arrest warrants for various incidents from September 2016 through January 2017. Police allege that Farrell and several juveniles were involved in multiple criminal incidents at Lyme-Old Lyme High School, including breaking into and damaging a storage shed and shooting arrows at a truck in October, knocking over a port-a-potty in November, and vandalizing walls, a shed and the sidewalk with spray paint in November.

Superintendent Ian Neviaser said he cannot comment on the case because it involves students in the school district.

Farrell is also accused in other incidents, including setting a dump truck and excavator on fire on September, spray painting vehicles in October and November, and smashing property at multiple locations throughout the time period.

Farrell was held on a total of $44,500 in bonds and scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

Several juvenile suspects are also suspected in some of the cases, but will not be identified due to their age.

Dr. Kathy Clark, owner of Clark Veterinary Hospital, was victim to one of Farrells alleged crimes. On Jan. 14 she showed up to work to find her business sign smashed.

There were pieces of the sign on the ground and obviously someone had smashed it, Clark said. My initial through was, Because its made of such hard material, did somebody shoot at it?

Farrells father returned a couple of days after the incident to apologize for his sons actions and to pay for the repairs, Clark said.

It put a face on the vandalism and that theres a father hurting because of it. Obviously (hes) very upset about what his son has done.

Clark said shed like to see Farrell come by and earn the money to fix the sign, so his father isnt responsible for it.
Justin Schuch renovated his home to help him stay independent. A stair lift lets him navigate between the first and second floors and a walk-in tub made showering easy.

The tub was installed in 2012. Schuch said the first five years were problem-free. Then, in January, Schuch noticed the shower door no longer closed all the way.

"One morning I was getting into the shower and I had closed the door and I was going to latch it and the whole door just snapped and fell," he said.

Schuch called the tubs manufacturer, American Standard. The company asked him for the tubs serial number to verify it was under warranty but Schuch couldnt find it.

The agent told Schuch the serial number is located behind the seat.

Well, behind the seat is against my neighbor's property here in the condo," Schuch said.

He sent the company copies of the installation paperwork along with photos of the door. Schuch said he waited several weeks for a reply. When he called American Standard for an update, a representative told Schuch his case would be expedited.

By this time, Schuch and his wife came up with a workaround by leaning the broken door up against the side of the tub while the shower is in use. But Schuch said it wasnt a secure solution.

Each time he used the shower, his wife had to help him get in and out. It became their daily routine, and after more than a month, took a toll on both of them.

"She's six months pregnant. If I were to fall, if she were to fall, it would be a disaster," Schuch said.

He didnt know what to do next. A friend suggested calling NBC Connecticut Responds.

Our consumer team contacted American Standard on Schuchs behalf and asked the company to look into his case. Shortly after that conversation, the company called Schuch and set up a service appointment for the following week.

The technician was able to fix the door. Because it was under warranty, Schuch was not charged.

A spokesperson for American Standard told NBC Connecticut, Our customers and their satisfaction are critically important to us. We regret that Mr. Schuch experienced delays in service for a rare issue with one of our walk-in bathtubs."

Schuch told NBC Connecticut Responds he received a follow-up phone call from a company vice president, who apologized for the extended wait time. The vice president also gave Schuch his cell phone number in case he runs into any problems in the future.
Connecticut state police are searching for a suspect accused of robbing a Westbrook convenience store Tuesday night.

According to police, a lone suspect entered Jo Jos Food Mart Valero at 1309 Route 2 around 11:30 p.m. He suspect showed a black handgun and demanded money from the clerk, who complied, police said. The suspect then fled on foot. No one was hurt.

The suspect is described as male, around 6-foot, with a thin build, white facial hair, wearing white winter hat, an olive-green Carhartt-type hooded coat, dark shoes and blue pants. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact Troop F at 860-399-2100 or text TIP711 + the info you have to 274637.
Verizon Wireless customers were unable to reach town offices and departments in Old Saybrook Wednesday morning but the issue has been fixed, according to the police department.

Old Saybrook police said an unknown issue was preventing Verizon cellphones from reaching the departments non-emergency dispatch number. 911 was working as usual.

Police said other town departments were also unreachable. Service has since been restored. It was not immediately clear what caused the problem.

NBC Connecticut has reached out to Verizon for comment.
After more than 60 votes and seven years of promises, Republicans offered their long-awaited plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Now, the real work begins. Republicans must navigate a complicated path to turn their 123-page proposal from legislation to law.

A look at the process and the politics:

While House Speaker Paul Ryan believes the American Health Care Act will have the votes it needs to pass the House, other Republicans are speaking out against the bill.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Republicans have set an aggressive timetable for moving the bill.

Two House committees  Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce  plan to take up the legislation on Wednesday. Republican leaders hope the committees will approve the measure this week, allowing the full House to pass the bill before lawmakers leave for the spring recess in early April.

The legislation will then move to the Senate, where a tighter Republican majority makes the outlook even more uncertain.

Normally, legislation requires 60 votes to pass the Senate. But because Republicans hold just 52 seats, they plan to use a budget maneuver known as reconciliation to pass the bill on a simple majority.

Even that may be difficult. Senate rules require that any bill passed by reconciliation cannot increase the deficit over the long term.

Republicans said on Tuesday that they'd not received official estimates on the costs of bill from the Congressional Budget Office.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Tuesday he wants to pass the bill before the April recess, sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature. President Barack Obama signed the health care bill 14 months after entering office.

Hasbro launched its first subscription service Monday that will send a curated collection of new board games straight to consumers every three months.

A TIGHT MARGIN?

How the congressional process unfolds will depend on how Republicans maneuver through some complicated intra-party politics.

Conservative Republicans are worried about the cost of the overhaul, fearing the GOP would essentially be replacing one mandatory federal program with another.

Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas, dubbed an early draft "Obamacare Lite." On Tuesday, influential conservative groups  Heritage Action, FreedomWorks, the Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity, and Freedom Partners  came out against the proposal.

Moderate lawmakers, meanwhile, fear their constituents could lose access to health care.

On Monday, Republican senators from Ohio, West Virginia, Colorado and Alaska signed a letter saying the House bill didn't sufficiently protect "the country's most vulnerable and sickest" in 31 states that accepted federal dollars to expand Medicaid coverage under the law.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

Provisions to reverse taxes on the wealthy and deny federal funding for one year to Planned Parenthood, a major provider of women's health services, could also open swing state lawmakers to criticism.

Democrats, under pressure from their base to resist every part of Trump's agenda, are expected to lend little help.

With no Democratic support, Republicans can't lose more than two votes in the Senate and 21 in the House.

That's a margin that makes even some top Republicans admit their party has little wiggle room.

"I am going to be very anxious to hear how we get to 51 votes and how the House gets to 218," Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, vice chairman of the Senate GOP, told reporters on Tuesday.
More than 200 miles south of Dallas, school buses have been rolling through the streets of Houston equipped with camera systems paid for by Dallas County taxpayers.

Dallas County Schools installed $1 million of camera equipment on 100 Houston Independent School District buses for free.

DCS was betting the cameras would eventually turn a profit for taxpayers back home in Dallas County.

But 18 months after the cameras were installed in Houston, Dallas County taxpayers have not seen a penny in return.

Now, that camera deal is instead raising more concerns about questionable spending at DCS, the school bus agency that's in serious financial trouble.

The cameras are designed to catch drivers running past school bus stop signs.

DCS installed them in Houston as part of a trial program that DCS hoped would convince Houston ISD to split the fines collected from tickets issued to drivers who run past the stop signs.

But the Houston ISD school board ultimately decided against the deal.

In a meeting last month, Dallas County Schools board members questioned why Superintendent Rick Sorrells would bet $1 million of equipment on a deal that was not a sure thing.

"I'm just questioning the wisdom of taking that stuff  of actually getting that much equipment  before we ever sealed the deal on it," said DCS board member Kyle Renard.

Sorrells defended the plan, saying he had hopes that Houston would come through.

"So they were placed on order and we discussed that  assuming Houston was going to take place, that the Houston program was going to take off," said Sorrells.

But Houston may have been a long shot from the start. The city has not been friendly to photo enforcement programs. In 2010, Houston voters rejected the use of red-light cameras.

And before using stop-arm cameras, DCS needed the city of Houston to pass an ordinance authorizing them so they could issue citations.

"The investment never materialized. The amount never materialized," said former DCS finance manager Denise Hickman.

Hickman says in 2015 and 2016 she had huge concerns about how much camera equipment DCS was buying in hopes of future deals with other cities.

"Why are we buying camera equipment when I'm told that there's camera equipment in the warehouses? And so that was my biggest concern," Hickman said.

In that recent school board meeting, DCS staff acknowledged DCS had stockpiled as much as $16 million of cameras in anticipation of potential future projects.

Three years ago, DCS Superintendent Sorrells promised the statewide camera program DCS launched would make money for taxpayers back home.

"There is a trend that this is going to be the wave of the future. We happen to be on the leading edge of it, which is so great for Dallas County Schools. It will be great for the taxpayers of Dallas," Sorrells said back in 2014.

But, in January, DCS announced it would shut down the entire camera program outside of Dallas County, and the agency began laying off staff. Over the last several years, DCS only signed deals with only about 10 communities outside Dallas County.

Records show over the next four years, DCS owes $29 million in payments on debt the agency took on to fund the camera programs it ran outside Dallas County.

On Friday, NBC 5 Investigates went to Houston to capture video of school buses that carry DCS cameras. Just one day after NBC 5 shot video, crews began removing the Houston stop-arm cameras to take them back to Dallas County.

In a statement Tuesday, DCS told NBC 5 Investigates, "We offered a conservative and low risk plan to Houston as a trial. DCS invested in equipment for this. When the program appeared to be at a dead-end, DCS went to Houston to collect its equipment."

DCS now plans to sell those cameras back to the camera vendor with which the agency partnered on the deal.

In addition to that $1 million of equipment sent to Houston, Dallas County taxpayers paid to install and uninstall those cameras. They also paid more than $57,000 to live-stream video from the cameras for 18 months so Houston could test the system.

On Wednesday, the DCS board will meet to consider replacing Sorrells as DCS superintendent. Sorrells has said he doesn't want to comment on the situation in advance of that meeting.
A powerful conservative backlash threatened to sink the new Republican health care bill Tuesday less than 24 hours after its launch, even as President Donald Trump and congressional leaders began trying to sell the legislation as the long-promised GOP cure for "Obamacare."

"We're going to do something that's great and I'm proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives," Trump declared at the White House as he met with the House GOP vote-counting team Tuesday. "We're going to take action. There's going to be no slowing down. There's going to be no waiting and no more excuses by anybody."

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence told GOP lawmakers at the Capitol this was their chance to scuttle Obama's law, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell forecast congressional passage by early April.

But major obstacles loomed as key Republican lawmakers announced their opposition, and one conservative group after another torched the plan. The Club for Growth, Heritage Action for America, Americans for Prosperity and Tea Party Patriots variously derided the new bill as Obamacare Lite, Obamacare 2.0 and even RyanCare, in a dig at House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

The new GOP plan would repeal the current law's unpopular fines on people who don't carry health insurance. It also would replace income-based subsidies, which the law provides to help millions of Americans pay premiums, with age-based tax credits that may be skimpier for people with low incomes. Those payments would phase out for higher-earning people.

The legislation also would limit future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, about 1 in 5 Americans. And it would loosen rules that Obama's law imposed for health plans directly purchased by individuals.

Thad Miller, associate professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, said its too early to say how the proposal will affect Americans.

At this early stage, I'm not seeing a huge difference in what we are going to do and how we are going to do it from the ACA. The major changes are small and the minor changes are even smaller, said Miller. There is so much emotion around health and healthcare, people lose sight of what things really mean. When you boil down this proposal, it's not that much different. It's not plastic surgery. It may not even be a makeover. It may just be a change of clothes."

Republican supporters and opponents are all intent on reducing the role of government in health care, but some House conservatives say the new bill doesn't go nearly far enough.

For example, they are focusing on the system of refundable tax credits they denounce as a costly new entitlement. They're demanding a vote on a straightforward repeal-only bill.

The concerted conservative opposition was a remarkable rebuke to legislation GOP leaders hope will fulfill seven years of promises to repeal and replace Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, pledges that played out in countless Republican campaigns for House and Senate as well as last year's race for president. Instead, the groups that are uniting to oppose the new House legislation include many that sprang up to oppose passage of "Obamacare" in the first place.

"As the bill stands today, it is Obamacare 2.0," the billionaire Koch Brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce said in a statement. "Millions of Americans would never see the improvements in care they were promised, just as Obamacare failed to deliver on its promises."

The new GOP plan would repeal the current law's unpopular fines on people who don't carry health insurance. It also would replace income-based subsidies, which the law provides to help millions of Americans pay premiums, with age-based tax credits that may be skimpier for people with low incomes. Those payments would phase out for higher-earning people.

The Republican legislation would limit future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, about 1 in 5 Americans. And it would loosen rules that Obama's law imposed for health plans directly purchased by individuals.

Republicans are pushing forward even without official estimates from the Congressional Budget Office on the cost of the bill and how many people would be covered, although GOP lawmakers acknowledge they can't hope to match the 20 million covered under Obamacare .

Democrats say the bill would leave many people uninsured, shifting costs to states and hospital systems that act as providers of last resort. The bill also adds up to big tax cuts for the rich, cutting more than 20 taxes enacted under Obama's heath law with the bulk of the savings going to the wealthiest Americans.

"This is a tax cut for the wealthy with some health insurance provisions tacked alongside of it," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Many conservatives are hardly happier.

The new legislation is "not the Obamacare replacement plan, not the Obamacare repeal plan we've been hoping for. This is instead a step in the wrong direction," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said at an afternoon news conference with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and members of the House Freedom Caucus.

Caucus members command enough votes to take down the bill in the House, but the group's chairman, Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, struck a conciliatory tone, emphasizing they are open to negotiation and view the leadership bill as a starting point.

Notes of caution also came from GOP governors, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich arguing that phasing out expanded Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is "counterproductive" and Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois' saying he was "very concerned" that people will be "left in the lurch" under the House GOP plan.

Committee votes on the new bill are to begin Wednesday in the House, and GOP leaders hope to push it through the Senate as well soon thereafter.

Even as some Republicans expressed doubts about whether that would be possible, Speaker Ryan said at an afternoon news conference, "We'll have 218 when this thing comes to the floor I can guarantee you that." That's the number of votes needed for passage.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price appeared in the White House briefing room to defend the bill. He stood next to a small table with a copy of the new bill, just 123 pages, next to the original Obamacare legislation, many times that size. Republicans frequently criticized the Affordable Care Act as overly lengthy.

"The president and the administration support this step which we believe is in the right direction," Price said. Still, he added, "This is a work in progress."
Dallas police say a man is charged with murdering a relative in a shooting near an elementary school Wednesday morning.[[415674803,R]]

According to Tramese Jones, Dallas police spokeswoman, a 36-year-old man was shot in the 7000 block of Seco Boulevard, just steps away from John Ireland Elementary school of the Dallas Independent School District.

The man, wounded in the shooting, drove away in his black Cadillac sedan before crashing into a parked vehicle, Jones said. The man, who was not identified, was taken to Baylor Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced deceased.

Shooting this morning outside John Elem. School, Pleasant Grove. released lockdown, no DISD personnel involved. @dallasnews pic.twitter.com/9kSnOpJwxH  Anjulie Van Sickle (@anjuliegrace) March 8, 2017

A 68-year-old man was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the shooting, according to Melinda Gutierrez, Dallas police spokeswoman.

Dallas ISD police officers were among the first to respond to the scene, officials said.

Melinda Gutierrez, a Dallas police spokeswoman, updates the media on the investigation of a deadly shooting near John Ireland Elementary in the Dallas Independent School District.

The shooting was being treated as an act of family violence, Gutierrez said. No further information was released.
A bill that could solve the Dallas Police and Fire Pension crisis was filed in Austin Tuesday.

House Bill 3158 is sponsored by State Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton, chairman of the House Pension Committee, who has been negotiating with Dallas leaders on the compromise plan for months.

A run on the pension fund with lump sum withdrawal of Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) savings puts the current plan in jeopardy of insolvency within 10 years.

State lawmakers must approve changes since the fund was created by state law.

HB 3158 increases public safety retirement age to 58, allows no Cost of Living adjustments (COLA) until the fund becomes more secure, converts DROP savings to annuities with no lump sum payments and increases contributions from taxpayers and employees. It would make the fund whole within 40 years instead of insolvent within 10 years. It includes changes in governance of the fund. But it still includes a funding gap of around $450 million.

Dallas City Councilwoman Jennifer Gates, a member of the city's pension board, said the bill represents progress.

"I think that's why my colleagues on the pension board said let's continue to work with Flynn. I think that's why the city officials said let's work with Flynn's plan," Gates said.

But closing the outstanding gap is still a matter of fierce debate over which all the parties involved remain anxious.

"We need to understand what size the gap is," Gates said. "I think it's a little premature to be robbing Peter to pay Paul, like with the DART."

Dallas City Councilman Scott Griggs, also a member of the pension board, has proposed taking money from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit agency to fund the gap.

Mayor Mike Rawlings has insisted in the past that retirees who received large DROP lump sum withdrawals participate in the solution by accepting reduced future base pensions. Money promised to retirees is not reduced in the current plan. Retiree organizations threaten lawsuits if their promised benefits are compromised.

Employee union representatives want a secure retirement plan that helps attract new workers and keep current police and firefighters from leaving for other cities.

A group led by several former Dallas mayors is lobbying against tax increases on property owners to fill the gap.

Some city officials have suggested a backup plan for starting a new retirement plan and letting the troubled Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund fail, which many of the current employees and retiree groups strongly oppose.

Gates said more work is needed on a final pension crisis solution.

"We really do have to take the time to analyze the bill and who's going to be responsible for the gap," Gates said.

The crisis is blamed on years of overvalued, risky real estate investments that failed to produce sufficient return for generous interest promised in DROP savings. Recent reform of those past problems has not been sufficient to fix pending doom for the retirement fund.
Johnny Brown, Ellis County Sheriff in his third term, has resigned his position.

Brown was involved in an altercation at a Midlothian Whataburger on Jan. 1, 2017 that led to an investigation by the Montgomery District Attorney and the Midlothian Police Department which resulted in a misdemeanor assault charge being filed against the sheriff.

In a statement announcing his resignation, Brown took responsibility for his actions during the incident.

"I have accepted the judgment and sentencing of the court, and will not file a motion for new trial or appeal," said Brown.

Brown also said he plans to permanently surrender his Texas Peace Officer License and all certificates issued to him by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, ending his long career in law enforcement.

A source told NBC 5 Brown is supposed to surrender to the custody of his own jail to be booked for the assault charge Wednesday.

A statement from Ellis County Judge Carol Bush said a meeting of the Commissioners Court for Ellis County will convene soon to begin the process of finding a replacement sheriff.

See full versions of the statements from Johnny Brown and Judge Carol Bush below.
The Allen Parish Sheriff's Office says an inmate who escaped following treatment at a Kinder hospital has been captured in Newton County, Texas.

Chief Deputy Ricky Johnson tells KPLC-TV 32-year-old Kimberly Dupont, of Elton was arrested about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday by Newton County sheriff's deputies at a home between Newton and Bon Wier.

Dupont bolted from the Allen Parish Hospital around 5:30 p.m. Monday. Johnson says Dupont had complained of kidney stones and was brought to the facility for a CAT scan, but fled.

Dupont was in custody on charges of theft and simple burglary. She now faces additional charges of simple escape.

Johnson says his office is in the process of extraditing Dupont back to Louisiana.
Dallas firefighters were again called Wednesday to battle flames at the condominium destroyed in a 7-alarm fire last week.

Firefighters had been monitoring the scene at the Preston Place Condominiums, putting out hot spots. They say ashes in the remnants of the building rekindled at about 1 a.m. Wednesday.

By 6 a.m., firefighters had extinguished the fire. No one was hurt.

A fast-moving, 7-alarm fire ripped through the complex Friday night, leaving one person dead. Dallas Fire-Rescue said Tuesday damages topped $12 million and the cause of the fire remains unclear.

A body, has not been positively identified, was located near the home of Jacqueline McDonald, an 89-year-old resident reported missing after the fire.

Questions remain over what may become of residents' belongings that remain in the shell of the building. The complex will eventually be turned over to the owners, who will then determine what will happen to the building and its contents, said Jason Evans, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman.

The cause of the fire may never be determined due to the instability of the building and the massive damage inside, officials said.
A North Texas man took the journey of a lifetime and he did all on a boat.

There comes a point in every life when you can choose to take a break or take a chance. Rafe Williams, of Boyd, chose the latter and he said that has made all the difference.

It was life-changing, he said. My main reason was the bucket list trip of the Great Loop.

If you havent heard of the Great Loop, youre not alone.

I got the vague idea back in the 80s from a PBS program and sort of put the trip together vaguely in my head, he said.

Few know of this North American Adventure and even fewer have conquered it.

Theres more people [who] climb Mount Everest each year than complete the Great Loop, Williams said,

The Great Loop Cruisers Association describes the route as the continuous waterway that encompasses the eastern portion of North America including the Atlantic and Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, the Canadian Heritage Canals, and the inland rivers of America's heartland.

In total, it was 8,200 miles, Williams added. I spent 10 months traveling on the boat. Mostly singlehanded.

While Williams did most of the trip on his own, his wife, Annette, did join him for certain stretches.

I said Ill hit the fun parts,; she laughed. I loved all of Florida. Key West at Christmas and New Years was a blast.

It was a time to reflect during the sunrises, sunsets and all the moments in between.

The Winter in Key West. The Summer in Canada. Its hard to choose between the two, Williams said.

There was always the thrill of the unknown.

We had friends always talking about pirates and were like, no, theres no pirates, Annette said.

While there were no pirates, there was no lack of monumental memories.

Its a very easy lifestyle to get used to, Williams laughed. I never got tired of it.
Racing led to the fiery crash that killed two Plano students and injured a third last month, Plano police say.

Early in the investigation, Plano police said the driver of the 2016 Porsche Macan had been speeding but the connection to racing wasn't revealed until now.

Police said Samantha Sacks, 16, and Lilly Davis, 16, were killed on impact when Sacks' SUV slammed into a tree on Mira Vista Boulevard at about 11:30 p.m. Feb. 10. Kendall Murray, 16, was in the car with Sacks and Davis -- she was pulled to safety and was hospitalized in critical condition following the crash.

Plano police spokesman David Tilley told The Dallas Morning News Sacks and the driver of another car were racing along Mira Vista Boulevard when the other driver, a juvenile, stopped at the four-way stop at Wayfarer Drive. Sacks continued on, Tilley said, stirking a curb and losing control of her vehicle before crashing into a tree.

Tilly told the paper the occupants of the other vehicle pulled Murray from the SUV, likely saving her life, and that they have been cooperative and forthcoming in the investigation.

Police said charges remain a possibility in the crash.
The one witness who pleaded guilty to the alleged John Wiley Price bribery conspiracy testified against Price in court Wednesday.[[414360543,R]]

Sales consultant Christian Campbell said he knew that Price, a Dallas County commissioner, was paid through political consultant Kathy Nealy for Price's support in two big county contracts.

First, Campbell said he was an employee of Schlumberger in 2001 when the firm sought a $40 million Dallas County information technology contract.

Nealy helped Schlumberger win that contract and received a consulting deal of her own with the company afterward.

In other states, Campbell said Nealy was "not very effective," but that Price repeatedly pressured Schlumberger to pay Nealy, even for work she had done in Florida.

Price wrote letters to Schlumberger executives on her behalf, reminding them about diversity.

"Make sure you are using her," Campbell said Price once told him.

From the Schlumberger contract, Campbell said he understood that Nealy had unique access to Price that could be beneficial to another firm Campbell represented, Bearing Point.

In 2004, Bearing Point sought a Dallas County contract for digital imaging of county records.

Campbell said he urged Helena Tantillo, an executive with Bearing Point, to hire Nealy for acces to Price.

"I believed that she had the ability to influence him and do things on behalf of her clients," Campbell said. "She was likely to pay him."

On one occasion in 2004, Campbell said he paid Nealy $7,500 and evidence showed that Nealy wrote a check to Price the next day for $2,500.

Evidence showed Bearing Point was to be excluded from the finalists for the imaging contract, but Price helped keep the firm in the process and the company eventually won the contract.

Campbell agreed he entered into a corruption conspiracy with Kathy Nealy under questioning by prosecutor Walt Junker.

"What was your intent?" Junker asked.

"To buy influence with Commissioner Price," Campbell said.

"To bribe him?" Junker asked.

"Yes," Campbell replied.

As Campbell testified, Price passed many notes and whispered often with his lawyers.

In pointed cross-examination by defense attorney Chris Knox, Campbell said the only cash he ever paid directly to Price was campaign contributions that were disclosed and recorded.

Campbell agreed that Nealy's clients sometimes lost efforts to win Dallas County business. He admitted he repeatedly lied on expense reports with employers to conceal the real use of money or people attending meetings.

Knox pointed out that Price has always pushed diversity and support for minority- or women-owned business, so a letter to Schlumberger asking for that could be expected. Campbell agreed many issues raised by prosecutors were routine to Dallas County business.

Price pleaded not guilty. His lawyers claim payments from Nealy were legitimate for other purposes and the government overlooked evidence of his innocence. His trial could last months.

Kathy Nealy has been granted a separate trial to be scheduled later.

One other witness who pleaded guilty in the case testified against Price on Monday with evidence that supported government claims that Price hid income from taxes. Former art gallery owner Karen Manning said Price sold art items at her gallery. But she denied any knowledge of Price's tax returns. Manning pleaded guilty to one year of evading taxes on her own income.

In return for their guilty pleas, the government agreed to prison sentences of no more than three years for Manning and Campbell if their cooperation is satisfactory.

Helena Tantillo was convicted last year of false statements to the FBI in the case and sentenced to six months in prison.
A story destined to end in heartbreak took a euphoric twist.

A blind Labrador retriever named Sage meandered away from her home in Boulder Creek on Feb. 24 and walked into the dense wilderness of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

For the next eight days, a search and rescue effort took off as the desperate owners, who went as far as hiring a search and rescue dog team from Southern California, tried everything in their power to locate the lost pup.

The owners' exuberant break came on the eighth day, thanks to Daniel Estrada, their next door neighbor. Estrada was out on a hike with his friend Vincent Lopez, and, admittedly, they were not actively searching for Sage. They were simply enjoying a day amongst towering redwoods and trickling creeks.

However, within minutes of trekking into the dense forest, Estrada spotted a white object in a nearby stream.

"At first, I thought it was a trash bag," Estrada said. "As I looked closer, it's Sage."

Vincent Lopez

Sadness immediately flooded Estrada's heart. The firefighter-paramedic for the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department believed he was about to conduct a gut-wrenching recovery operation.

"My heart was in my stomach," he said. "I'm just thinking, 'Oh, no.'"

Estrada's friend crept closer and, much to his surprise, spotted Sage lift her head.

"Dude, she's alive," Lopez yelled.

"At that moment, sadness was gone," Estrada said. "I ran over to her. I was hugging her and giving her kisses."

Sage was too exhausted to walk, so Estrada tapped into his firefighter background. He hoisted her on his shoulders and lugged her roughly 100 yards through the stream and then another 100 yards up a heavily-wooded hill.

Vincent Lopez

A joyous reunion full of hugs ensued between Sage and her owners.

"It was so much joy," Estrada said. "There was no words to explain it. Everyone in the community was overwhelmed with joy."

Estrada was offered a $1,000 reward, but he declined the offer. He insisted that the money be donated to an animal welfare group.

"I thought the money would be better for a charitable cause," Estrada said.

Vincent Lopez

Amid a rough winter packed with damaging storms that caused tragic deaths and costly property damage throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, Sage's rescue brought much-needed happiness to a pain-stricken community.

"This story has brought everyone together," Estrada said.

Sage's determination to survive also inspired the Boulder Creek and surrounding neighborhoods to live by three important lessons, according to Estrada.

"Don't give up," he said. "Help is on the way. Love never fails."
A body found in Mission Beach this weekend has been identified as the body of Amanda Cruse, a missing tourist last seen near San Diego's iconic Sunset Cliffs.

Amanda (Mandy) Cruse, 30, first arrived in San Diego on Feb. 18, 2017 from out of town.

On that Saturday, more than three weeks ago, Cruse visited the Sunset Cliffs region on Point Loma, near Ocean Beach.

The following day, in the early morning hours of Feb. 19, Cruse may have went back to the Sunset Cliffs area, near Monaco Street.

Cruse was known to take photographs and may have been in the area to capture photos, police said.

SDPD Officer Billy Hernandez said authorities do not know the circumstances of how she went missing.

After she went missing, her family came to San Diego and started looking for answers.

She is a free spirit, her mother, Rosemarie St. Michael, said. She is very independent. She travels a lot, she goes on her own and this trip was really planned for October but shes spontaneous. She had never been to San Diego."

On Sunday, March 5, police responded to a report of a body found on the beach near the 3900 block of Ocean Front Walk in Mission Beach.

Police arrived on scene and found the body of an adult woman. The body was transported to the Medical Examiner's office, where officials identified the woman as Cruse through dental comparison.
The leader of the nation's largest sheriff's department expects federal drug agents will attempt to step up marijuana enforcement as California moves forward with legalization. But he believes there isn't the manpower to conduct widespread raids on growers and businesses selling marijuana.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell also decried California legislation that would make the state a sanctuary for immigrants in the country illegally by limiting how much local law enforcement agencies can work with federal immigration authorities. McDonnell said he doesn't want his deputies acting as de facto immigration agents, but he believes the bill goes too far and would hamper cooperation on counterterrorism and gang initiatives.

McDonnell said he expects legalization of recreational marijuana to bring additional challenges for his deputies, who patrol nearly 4,000 square miles in Southern California, from an increase in fatal traffic collisions to a rise in overdoses caused by brownies, gummies and other edibles that deliver uneven dosages of THC, the chemical compound that provides the high.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last month that federal officials would try to adopt "reasonable policies" for enforcement of federal anti-marijuana laws. Sessions has said he believes violence surrounds sales and use of the drug in the U.S. The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

McDonnell said it's likely there will be federal raids targeting the marijuana industry in California.

"To be able to set the tone, they may do that," he said.

Los Angeles sheriff's deputies have been preparing for the legalization of recreational marijuana in California, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, by studying crime rates in Colorado and Washington after marijuana was legalized there.

McDonnell said officials need to prepare for a potential "health crisis."

"We've seen an increase of the number of kids, in particular, admitted to emergency rooms for ingestion of edibles that in a young kid could be fatal," McDonnell said. "Somebody cuts a corner of a brownie, do they get the full ingestion of THC that was supposed to go into that whole plate of brownies or do they get nothing? There's no control."

McDonnell said anticipates that legalization will also drive up crime and will being heavy costs to train more officers to be able to identify drugged drivers.

"We don't have anything where it's similar to getting a blood-alcohol content level, as we would do in the field now," he said. "Without a definitive metric to be able to go to court with that  an index if you will  it's going to be difficult to go to court and get the prosecutions the way we know get for alcohol."

McDonnell, who has led the sheriff's department since 2014, also criticized proposed sanctuary state legislation, known as Senate Bill 54, that he said will have unintended consequences. Still, he said, the department must maintain a strict policy over what information it shares with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

"Our currency is public trust, and if we're out there doing the job of immigration then we lose that," McDonnell said. "It prohibits communications between local and federal law enforcement on a number of fronts, particularly focused on immigration issues."

If immigration agents can't access the county jail to arrest immigrants living in the country illegally who have committed serious crimes, they will instead be forced to make arrests at their homes or in public places, McDonnell said.

"They will not only take him, but potentially his family and anyone around who is potentially undocumented," he said. "So we're going to be pushing them into a position we're all trying to avoid and again, eroding the trust of many of our communities."

McDonnell also condemned a series of criminal justice reform measures aimed at easing overcrowding in state prisons that he attributed to a rise in violent crime.
What to Know Turnout was just above 11 percent for Tuesday's election

Voters turned down hotly debated Measure S, a proposal that would have shaped development in Los Angeles

City-backed marijuana Measure M beat our Measure N

Los Angeles voters cast ballots Tuesday to decide several citywide measures and races for mayor and city council.

Results: Click here for complete Los Angeles County election results

Mayor: Mayor Eric Garcetti proclaimed victory relatively early Tuesday night -- when early returns had already given him about 80 percent of the vote -- greeting supporters at a campaign party in downtown Los Angeles, touting his achievements over the past four years and vowing that more is to come. Garcetti faced 10 challengers, but held a significant fundraising advantage. Garcetti had raised more than $3.3 million as of March 1, dwarfing his opponents.

City Council: Los Angeles voters chose from 42 city council candidates vying for six seats, with five incumbents fighting to keep their jobs and 20 candidates looking to claim the open seat in the 7th Council District. Six members of the council were celebrating re-election victories, while Councilman Curren Price appeared to have won as well, but by a tenuous margin over activist/businessman Joe Bray-Ali.

Measure M (Yes): Los Angeles voters overwhelmingly approved a measure that gives the city tools to regulate the recreational and medical marijuana industry. The city-sponsored Measure M easily bested a competing ballot issue, the initiative Measure N, which was crafted and pushed onto the ballot by a marijuana trade group that later opted to throw its support behind the City Council's measure.

Measure S (No): The most expensive -- and in many ways the most bitter -- campaign in Los Angeles city election was not for mayor or a council seat but over Measure S, the much-debated initiative aimed at limiting development. The measure, defeated by a large margin, would have halted all General Plan amendments, or special permission to developers known as "spot zoning," for two years while the city updates its General Plan and community plans that guide neighborhood development.

Measure H: A quarter-cent Los Angeles County sales tax to fund anti-homelessness programs appeared to emerge victorious by a thin margin, but it wasn't immediately clear how many provisional, questioned or late ballots still needed to be tallied. The Board of Supervisors has declared homelessness a countywid emergency and chose the sales tax hike over a number of other funding alternatives, including a millionaire's tax, a parcel tax and a special tax on marijuana.

LAUSD: Incumbent Los Angeles Unified School District board member Monica Garcia was celebrating her re-election, but board President Steve Zimmer -- who was the target of a well-financed opposition campaign funded largely by charter-school backers -- is heading for a May runoff. Zimmer led a field of four candidates in the District 4 race, but he fell short of the 50 percent margin needed to win re-election outright. He will square off with Nick Melvoin, a teacher/attorney, who placed second in the race ahead of Allison Polhill, a former president of the Palisades Charter High School board, and public relations executive Gregory Martayan. Backers of charter schools, hoping to gain a majority of supporters on the seven-member LAUSD board, threw their financial might behind Melvoin and Polhill in hopes of unseating Zimmer. The District 6 seat is vacant thanks to the departure of Monica Ratliff, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council. The District 6 race will be decided in a runoff between charter-school-backed teacher Kelly Fitzpatrick-Gonez and activist Imelda Padilla, who was supported by United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing LAUSD teachers. Rounding out the field were former Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, parents/activists Gwendolyn Posey and Araz Parseghian, and animal-rights activist Jose Sandoval.
A quarter-cent Los Angeles County sales tax to fund anti-homelessness programs appeared to emerge victorious Wednesday by a thin margin, but it wasn't immediately clear how many provisional, questioned or late ballots still needed to be tallied.

With all precincts reporting, Measure H had 67.44 percent of the vote, just ahead of the two-thirds majority it needed to pass. The measure was short of the threshold much of Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, but it steadily gained ground as vote-counting continued, and it passed the two-thirds mark only when the final precincts reported.

The Board of Supervisors declared homelessness a countywide emergency and chose the sales tax hike over a number of other funding alternatives, including a millionaire's tax, a parcel tax and a special tax on marijuana.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who has called homelessness "the moral issue of our generation," told City News Service that "Los Angeles County has the dubious distinction of having more homeless people on its streets on any given night than any other county in the United States.

"We have a responsibility to fight homelessness and restore dignity to these people who are living in inhumane conditions."

There are roughly 47,000 homeless people countywide, according to a point-in-time count in January 2016. That total reflects a 19 percent increase since 2013, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

The number of homeless people in tent encampments on hillsides, under freeway overpasses or living in their cars on city streets countywide more than doubled over the same time period and account for nearly three-quarters of the total, according to the LAHSA data.

The ballot measure -- dubbed the Los Angeles County Plan to Prevent and Combat Homelessness -- garnered the support of more than 300 community advocates, labor unions, faith groups and other organizations, including the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles City Council and councils representing 83 percent of county residents endorsed the measure as of late February.

Opponents of the measure argued that the tax increase would fail to make a significant difference in eliminating homelessness and that taxes are already too high. However, there was no organized campaign against Measure H and no argument in opposition was submitted for the ballot.

The quarter-cent sales tax is projected to provide $355 million annually for 10 years.

The absolute numbers are large, but Phil Ansell, director of the county's homeless initiative, broke it down for voters, saying the tax would amount to "an additional tax of one dime on the purchase of a $40 sweater or $1 on the purchase of a $400 television."

The city of Los Angeles' Measure HHH -- to raise property taxes to fund $1.2 billion in bonds for the construction of supportive affordable housing -- passed in November with the support of 77 percent of voters.

But it is the county that has the programs and personnel needed to provide supportive services -- including medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment -- for individuals lucky enough to move into that housing.

Emergency shelter and short-term housing subsidies are also required to keep people off the streets.

"We are not here to manage homelessness. We are here to end homelessness," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a February rally for the county's Measure H.

Most advocates across the country now back a model called "housing first," which focuses on getting people into housing in spite of drug, alcohol or other problems they may have and then offers mental health and substance abuse treatment and other supportive services.

"It's impossible to get your life together if you're on the streets," County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in December, when the board was voting to put the measure on the ballot.

It will cost $450 million annually to provide all the support needed to end homelessness, according to LAHSA and the county board. That does not include construction costs funded by HHH and other sources.

Proponents say voters should understand that homelessness carries high costs in terms of emergency room and jail visits, among other expenses already being picked up by county taxpayers.

"It costs all of us more in one way or another if we leave these individuals in the street," Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar told the county board in December.

The county has promised to create a transparent process for spending the money should the measure pass, envisioning "an inclusive planning process which draws on the experience, expertise and wisdom of cities, homeless service providers and experts, the faith and business communities, formerly homeless individuals and county departments."

The county has committed to hire an independent auditor to report on Measure H spending and to set up a citizens' oversight advisory board to track allocations. A 10-year sunset clause is built in for accountability and assessment.

"Measure H will cost Angelenos no more than a dollar a month, on average, and this investment will help 45,000 men, women and children move from homelessness to stable housing within the next five years, and provide them with the supportive services they need to succeed in the long run," Ridley-Thomas said. "We must seize this opportunity to put an end to the crisis of homelessness once and for all."
DES MOINES  His job will be to represent the entire United States and act as an intermediary between two of the worlds most populous countries.

But some Iowa business and agriculture leaders think the state could benefit from Terry Branstad serving as U.S. ambassador to China.

Branstad, the nations longest-serving governor with more than two decades of service as Iowas chief executive, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next ambassador to China. Branstad has not yet been confirmed; that is expected this spring.

Branstad will have broad responsibilities as ambassador to represent the entire country, but some say Iowa very well could benefit from having Branstad serve in that role.

Hes been such a wonderful advocator for Iowa, said Li Zhao, president of China Iowa Group, a West Des Moines-based business that contracts with Iowa companies seeking to enter the Chinese market or build business relationships in China. I think hes going to be a fantastic ambassador, and Iowa will definitely benefit from that.

State business and agriculture leaders pointed to Branstads close relationships with both countrys presidents and his knowledge of international trade issues, particularly as they relate to Iowa farmers and businesses.

Branstad has had a professional friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping since 1984, when Branstad visited China. The following year, Xi, then a regional official, visited Iowa.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Branstad was an early post-primary supporter of Trump and did not waver when other Republicans questioned some of Trumps campaign rhetoric. And Branstads son, Eric, managed the Trump campaigns operation in Iowa.

Once confirmed as ambassador to China, Branstad will serve as a primary conduit between the Trump and Xi administrations.

Because of his relationships with both leaders and because Iowa and China are significant trading partners, Branstad could advocate for policies that benefit Iowans, leaders here say.

We all are looking forward, in ag, to having the governor there in that position, said Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, which represents more than 159,000 Iowa farm families, according to its website. While it does pose great challenges and will be very rigorous for the governor, were glad that hes taken on that duty.

Iowa exported $2.3 billion in goods to China in 2015, including $1.4 billion in agriculture products, according to the U.S.-China Business Council.

Hill said Branstads knowledge of international trade should help Iowa continue to benefit from its trade relationship with China, if not expand those benefits.

Branstad also is a frequent advocate for state policies that benefit Iowa businesses, chief among them, a 2013 package that reduced property tax rates on commercial and industry properties by nearly $400 million in fiscal years 2014 through 2016, according to the states nonpartisan fiscal estimating agency.

Iowa businesses that market goods to China hope Branstad can use his close relationship with the Chinese government to encourage international trade policies that benefit them.

We were pleased that Gov. Branstad was chosen as an ambassador to China, Ken Golden, global public relations director for Deere & Co., said in an emailed statement. Gov. Branstad understands the importance of agriculture to Iowa and the entire farm belt of the Midwest. He also understands that global trade is important not only to John Deere as an equipment manufacturer but also to our customers, especially those in agriculture.

Once he resigns as governor and becomes ambassador, however, Branstad no longer will be representing just one states goods and businesses. He will be representing an entire nation, including an administration whose stated goals very well may run afoul of Chinas interests.

Trump, for example, has stated a desire to renegotiate trade deals to make them more favorable to the U.S. And China has been accused by the U.S. of multiple violations of trade agreements in recent years.

Hill acknowledged Branstad may be required to walk a fine line but also said he thinks Branstads experience makes him the right person for the job.

I think its a two-way street as always in trade, and (Branstad) understands that, Hill said. It will be a very strenuous role that hell have going forward, certainly. But I think, knowing our governor, hell take a very measured, aggressive approach. It will be a positive approach, one that is respectful and considerate of all parties. But I think hes the right person for the job.

Branstad said he understands his role will be, on occasion, to try to encourage agreement between the Trump and Xi administrations.

Donald Trumps a businessman. He wrote a book called The Art of the Deal, Branstad said. In the end of the day, (Trump) wants to make things better for America. He wants better deals for America. But the best deal is a win-win, which would be better for America but also good for China.

My goal is to try to be the go-between between the two strong leaders, between President Trump representing America and my old friend Xi Jinping representing China, and hopefully working out some of these difficult issues. And theres a lot of issues.

Li said she is confident Branstad will be able to work through all those issues and Iowans will benefit from Branstads service as ambassador. She traveled with Branstads administration during a recent trade mission to China and marveled at the work Branstad did to foster those trade relationships.

And for Li  as with so many other Iowans who think Branstad will excel in his new role  it all comes back to that deep-seated relationship with President Xi.

The Chinese culture pays a lot of attention to relationships. We have a word called guanxi, Li said, referring to a Chinese word that literally means relationships and in Chinese business refers to a network of relationships. Its literally the key in doing business, making everything happen in China.

Gov. Branstad has the perfect guanxi with the highest-ranking officials in China. And that makes him pretty unique.
Los Angeles voters Tuesday night solidly defeated Measure S, a hotly debated initiative aimed at limiting development by blocking General Plan amendments for two years.

The initiative was the most expensive -- and in many ways the most bitter -- campaign in the Los Angeles city election.

The measure would have halted all General Plan amendments, or special permission to developers known as "spot zoning," for two years while the city updates its General Plan and community plans that guide neighborhood development.

The measure's backers argued that City Hall is plagued by a "pay-to-play" climate in which wealthy developers who contribute money to elected officials' campaigns get spot zoning requests granted while the proliferation of high-rise towers and other expensive developments have caused increases in the cost of housing.

Opponents argued the measure goes too far, saying a halt to all General Plan amendments would undercut the city's efforts to build affordable housing and housing for the homeless while severely hurting the local economy.

Officials also argued that updating the General Plan and community plans within two years is not possible.

"We have been committed for 15 months, and so many of you have joined the team. And you said we cannot let this happen to our community," Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Gary Toebben told a crowd of

Measure S opponents in downtown Los Angeles. "We cannot put people out of work. We cannot take homes away from people. We cannot let Measure S devastate our community. And so far tonight it looks like the public agreed with us."

Rusty Hicks, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, credited a wide-ranging coalition for helping defeat the measure.

"This could not have happened without business, labor and community organizations that were the true face of this coalition going around, knocking on doors, making phone calls, talking to friends and family, boots on the ground, making a difference," Hicks said.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation bankrolled the measure by supplying nearly all of the $3.2 million the campaign received this year as of March 1, compared to the roughly $5.9 million opponents of the measure have raised from developers, labor unions and other organizations.

Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Controller Ron Galperin and several City Council members, including Jose Huizar and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, actively campaigned against the measure.

Critics said the AHF's entry into the housing debate is not in its purview, essentially amounting to a misappropriation of its funds. The AHF, under the direction of its longtime CEO, Michael Weinstein, sued the city in 2016 over its approval of two 28-story towers next to its Hollywood headquarters, and some have questioned if Weinstein's battle against development is personal.

Weinstein "has sadly injected his organization into a debate over land use that has nothing to do with HIV or AIDS health care," Galperin said in February.

Weinstein defended the spending as health-related and within the purview of his mission.

"Our patients are becoming homeless and our employees have to travel longer and longer distances to get to work," Weinstein told City News Service in January. "And this is our international headquarters and we try and be good corporate citizens."

He also said, "We take an expansive view of health. We believe that the social determinants of health are equally important to the medical conditions patients suffer from."

In what was essentially an open response to Measure S, the City Council passed a number of motions this year that address some of the issues it raises.

In February, the council approved a motion that calls for an ordinance requiring the city to update its community plans every six years and requiring developers to select environmental impact report consultants from a pre-approved city list.

Both of those steps were included Measure S -- although the measure would require the city to update the community plans every five years after they are initially updated.

The city has not updated many of its 35 community plans in more than 15 years. The plans set zoning guidelines for neighborhoods and break down in detail what can and cannot be built in certain areas. But because the plans have not been updated, the council is often granting special requests to developers to build bigger or higher projects than the zoning guidelines allow.

A recent analysis by the Los Angeles Times found that 90 percent of all General Plan amendments, zoning or height district changes heard by the city's Planning Commission or local planning commissions have been granted since 2000.

Huizar acknowledged that the city's move to expedite community plan updates was a direct response to Measure S, but said he was opposed to the measure because the ban on General Plan amendments would harm the economy.

Garcetti focused on housing for the homeless in his opposition to Measure S. In January, he held a news conference to argue that city voters' passage of a $1.2 billion measure in November to build housing for the homeless would be hurt because many of the sites the city is looking at for shelters would require General Plan amendments.

"Measure S will raise rents and will stymie our work to house the homeless. We can, and we will, build a welcoming city where children can grow up and afford to live in their hometown, and their parents can be secure about providing a home for their families. Let's say no to Measure S and then let's get to work together," he said.

Jill Stewart, campaign manager for the Yes on S campaign, said an analysis by the group found that only a "minuscule" amount of affordable housing projects since 2000 have required a major zoning change or General Plan amendment.

Of all the major developments approved by the council in recent times, the Sea Breeze development in Harbor Gateway has been one of the most criticized in relation to the issues Measure S raises.

The Times reported in October that donors identified as being directly or indirectly connected to the project's developer, Samuel Leung, gave more than $600,000 in campaign donations to several members of the City Council and an independent campaign committee that supported Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The donations were made from 2008 to 2015, when Leung was seeking city approval for his 352-unit complex, according to the newspaper.

The project required a zoning change, and Garcetti and the City Council overruled planning commission officials in changing zoning rules to allow the project to move forward.
Doctors in the Central Valley say there has been an "explosion" in the increase of infants born with syphilis.

The babies sometimes lived only minutes or died within days or weeks, neonatologist Gurvir Khurana told KPCC. Khurana works at four Bakersfield hospitals.

The babies are born severely anemic, with their bodies covered in rashes and their lungs filled with fluid.

They were all born to mothers with syphilis, KPCC reported. The mothers arrived at the hospital unaware they had the disease as they had no prenatal care.

"It's been an absolute explosion," Khurana told KPCC. "It's just spreading very, very quickly. Kern County has a huge public health problem on its hands."

The Central Valley, known as a vast agricultural and low-income part of California, said the spike in congenital syphilis has been occurring over the past few years.

Read more at KPCC.
A San Jose mother who survived a plane crash in Riverside last month has died, officials said.

San Bernardino Sheriff spokesperson Jodi Miller on Wednesday confirmed the death of Stacey Pierce.

"It's a sad day today. God needed another angel," family friend Sheryll Van Gelder wrote on a GoFundMe page for Pierce. "Stacey Joanne Pierce is now at peace with her parents."

Pierce had been ejected from a twin-engine Cessna 310 that crashed Feb. 27 into a Southern California neighborhood. Silvia Farelas was the only other crash survivor. Farelas' daughter, 22-year-old Adine Farelas, died, as did Pierce's parents, Nouri and Dana Hijazi.

The crash, about a half-mile northeast of Riverside Municipal Airport, occurred as the travelers were returning from a cheerleading conference at Disneyland in Anaheim.

Four homes were damaged from the crash and fireball.

The crash investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board will likely take weeks to complete.
A gay veterans group said it has been denied permission to march in this year's Boston St. Patrick's Day parade just two years after organizers made the groundbreaking decision to allow gay groups to participate for the first time.

OutVets shared their disappointment about the decision on its Facebook page Wednesday night. The group said the reason for the rejection is unclear, but they claim it is due to the fact that the group includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender military veterans.

"This is a sad day for the LGBTQ community but also a horrible day for Veterans. We served our country with honor and distinction. But even after successfully participating in this parade and bringing honor to those who have served, we are still fighting for the respect that comes with serving our country."

The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, the parade's organizer, drew immediate condemnation from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who said he would not participate in this year's parade, scheduled for March 19, unless the council reversed course.

"I will not tolerate discrimination in our city in any form. We are one Boston, which means we are a fully inclusive city," he said. "I will not be marching in the parade unless this is resolved. Anyone who values what our city stands for should do the same."

Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, an Iraq War veteran, said the decision to bar OutVets from the parade is "outrageous and disgraceful" and called for a boycott.

"Let's just be clear, these are men and women who courageously put their lives on the line for our country," he said. "They deserve our respect as much as anyone, and if this decision is not reversed immediately, I would encourage anyone who supports freedom, equality, and the service of our veterans no matter who they are, to boycott this parade."

Democratic Congressman Stephen Lynch, who represents South Boston, said he will fight for the inclusion of OutVets in the parade and won't march unless the matter is resolved.

"The decision to deny OutVets from the St. Patricks Day parade is wrong. It is discriminatory towards the LGBTQ community and it is a disheartening way to treat men and women who dutifully served our nation in the armed forces," he said.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said he also would not participate in the parade if OutVets was excluded. He says denying veterans the chance march in a parade that honors veterans "doesn't make any sense."

Democratic State Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, whose district includes South Boston, asked the council to reconsider its decision.

The South Boston location of Stop & Shop will no longer sponsor the parade, the company announced Wednesday.

"Stop & Shop is committed to diversity and is disappointed in the decision to exclude OutVets from the South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade," the store said in a statement. "The men and women from OutVets, who bravely served our country, deserve our respect and to be included."

Dedham Savings - one of the parade's sponsors - said it is "deeply disappointed" in the council's decision not to allow OutVets to march, and said it will not be marching in the parade unless the issue is resolved.

"We believe that this decision dishonors all veterans who serve our nation with bravery and distinction," the bank said.

Anheuser-Busch also issued a statement condemning the move.

"We value equality and believe diversity enriches our workforce and our world," the company said. "We have been proud to support the LGBTQ community for more than 20 years, not only through our employment practices and marketing campaigns, but also through our association with GLAAD and PRIDE events across the country. We are disappointed to learn that OutVets, who have proudly served this country, have been denied entry to the St. Patrick's Day parade. We are evaluating our participation in this event and urge the parade organizers to reverse their decision."

On Thursday, Teamsters Local 25 released a statement saying they would not take part in the parade unless OutVets is included.

"Today, Teamsters Local 25 is informing the St. Patricks Day parade committee, that we are no longer participating in this years parade unless OutVets is included in the line-up," President/Principal Officer Sean M. OBrien said in the statement. "Our Womens Committee has been proud to walk alongside our tractor trailer for the past several years, but if the organizers shut-out certain organizations, the parade is no longer representative of the 11,000 members of Teamsters Local 25 and our families. I urge the committee to reconsider their decision to make the parade reflective of the city of Boston so that all can enjoy."

The vote left OutVets leadership stunned.

"It's disgusting and disgraceful that they would do this to their own, because we are veterans like them," said Bryan Bishop, an Air Force veteran who founded OutVets.

The council gave no reason for its 9-4 vote, Bishop said.

Emails and phone messages seeking comment from the council on the reasoning were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Ed Flynn, a member of the council, said he voted to allow OutVets to participate in the parade through the largely Irish-American neighborhood, which in the past has drawn as many as one million spectators.

"I am saddened and outraged that the Allied War Veterans Council has voted to turn back the clock on equality," he said in a statement, adding that he will ask the council to reconsider the vote.

Dan Magoon, a veteran who was set to lead this year's parade, quit his honorary position on Wednesday because of the decision to bar OutVets.

"To be a part of a parade excluding OutVets does not coincide with the work I do advocating for all Veterans," he said in a message to the Allied War Veterans Council that was first reported by Universal Hub. "I wish the parade success. The freedoms that we possess to hold such an event is due to the men and women who have spilled their blood in defense to this great nation, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, or who they share relations with."

Magoon is the founder of Massachusetts Fallen Heroes, a group dedicated to honoring the memories of Massachusetts men and women who gave their lives serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

OutVets said it has gone out of its way to conform with the parade's code of conduct the last two years.

"If we did break any rules, we were never informed," Bishop said. The only issue OutVets had with parade organizers was over use of their rainbow flag, he said. That issue was resolved.

Bishop said he heard rumblings that OutVets would be barred from this year's parade as far back as November when Brian Mahoney, the former commander of the veterans' council, died.

Mahoney had been firmly in OutVets corner.

"The only thing I can assume is that with Brian no longer there to beat the drum for us they had enough support to put us out," Bishop said.

The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council for decades fought legal battles to keep gay organizations out, even winning a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1995 backing their right to bar gay groups.

"This is a black eye on South Boston," Bishop said. "This is not who we are as Bostonians."

The Catholic Action League, which previously demanded that St. Patrick's name be removed from the 2015 parade because OutVets was allowed to participate, released a statement expressing reaffirming its opposition to LGBT groups marching in the parade.

"Whatever the reason, a parade named in honor of a Catholic saint should never be used as a venue for those who despise and reject Catholic morality, and castigate such morality as bigotry, prejudice and homophobia," Executive Director C.J. Doyle said.
Linda Gregory stopped Monday night to rescue a dog she found starving on the side of the road near her southwest Miami-Dade County neighborhood.

"I could see its bones. It was half starved. It looked like it was dead," Gregory said.

She also couldn't pass up the chance to confront a woman who lived in the home where the dog was staying with at least four others in what she considered filthy conditions.

She banged on the windows of the woman's SUV and demanded to know why the dogs were living in the conditions she says she found at the home.

She took photos of dogs held in cages and dirty conditions nearby.

Miami-Dade County Animal Services spent part of Tuesday at the house located near 167th St. and 108th Ave. documenting conditions they found.

The county says it's opened an investigation.

A man at the home who did not identify himself said he owned the dogs but wasn't abusing them. He said he was trying to make them better.

"No, they're not being mistreated. I'm getting ready to take them to the vet," he said.

The dog Gregory found has been nicknamed "Miracle" and was taken to the rescue group Everglades Angels. Cell phone video sent to NBC 6 Tuesday afternoon showed the dog still needing significant medical attention.

"He was just brought to urgent care yesterday," said Tammy Kwilecki with Everglades Angels. "Hopefully he will pull through."

The man who denied anything was being done to harm the dogs drove off at the same time as animal control.
It's was a party with a purpose Tuesday night as dozens of people joined together to help 13-year-old Giovanni Colon raise money for a much-needed surgery.

"If he doesnt get the surgery he can die," said the teens mother Jennifer Colon.

"As a child, it's hard to hear that you have a brain tumor," said Giovanni.

The 13-year-old has a low-grade Glioma. The brain tumor is treatable, but his mom says they have to travel to Boston Children's Hospital for treatment.

"Even though we have insurance, it's an out of state hospital. There's no hospital in Florida that can manage this type of tumor," said Colon.

The night was special for Gio because the tables were turned. Usually, the 13-year-old is out in the community delivering food to the homeless, baking for police officers or making care packages for soldiers. But, this time others are helping him.

"It feels good that they've come out to help me and support me. It's been rough but everyone's making it feel better," said Gio.

The Miami Heat dancers, Bernie and Billy the Marlin all stopped by to lift Gio's spirits, while a mobile video game theater and several performances entertained the crowd.

Pembroke Pines Police also attended the event to give Gio a commemorative challenge coin.

"The challenge is that he continues to fight that good fight. And, we'll have his back all throughout," said Captain Al Xiques of Pembroke Pines Police.

The family says it needs to raise more than $15,000 for the surgery. If you would like to donate, click here for Gios GoFundMe page.
As the administration of President Trump works to find money to pay for a promised border wall with Mexico, reports have surfaced that several agencies could see cuts as a result  cuts that could be seen right here in South Florida.

According to various outlets, including the Washington Post, officials are weighing cuts to several groups  including the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration. A projected 14 percent cut from the current budget of just over $9 billion for the Coast Guard is projected, along with 11 percent cuts for the TSA and FEMA.

The moves, which reportedly are being questioned by some Republican lawmakers, would raise the budgets for ICE by 36 percent and Border Protection by 27 percent. Administration officials said the process is still in early stages.

Miami's Coast Guard station deals with a variety of projects, including drug interceptions as well as dealing with Cuban migrants in the Florida Straits.

Coast Guard Lt. Commander Dave French said in a statement that the agency is working with the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies regarding the President's budget request, but would not comment on specific numbers or any possible cuts.
A fire swept through the female section of a crowded children's shelter near Guatemala City early Wednesday and officials said at least 22 girls died and dozens more were injured.

Photos from inside the shelter showed blue sheets covering sneaker-clad bodies and bits of foam mattresses in what appeared to be a smoke-stained dormitory room.

Weeping, distraught relatives waited outside the walled facility for news of their children. Shelter personnel gave them pieces of paper to write down their children's names so they could try to locate them.

The head of Guatemala's social welfare agency, Carlos Rodas, said youths at the shelter started rioting Tuesday in an effort to escape. Complaints about abuse and living conditions at the overcrowded shelter have been frequent.

Then on Wednesday, about 9 a.m., "Some of the adolescents lit their mattresses on fire," Rodas said. "We don't shirk responsibility, we accept it, but we can't get those lives back."

Julia Barrera, spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said late in the day that at least 20 children and teenagers perished. Two hospitals said they received 41 injured girls between the ages of 13 and 17, many with second- and third-degree burns. Dr. Carlos Soto, director of Roosevelt Hospital, said some of the injured had life-threatening burns.

A short time later, Sharon Avila, the spokeswoman for Roosevelt Hospital, said the 21st victim had died there. Late Wednesday, the Hospital San Juan de Dios reported another death, raising the toll to 22.

Rodas said the shelter had an official capacity of 500, but was housing at least 800 youths.

The federal government said in a statement that it had fired the shelter's director. It also said that before the fire the government had asked that youths with criminal records housed at the shelter be moved to other facilities, but that had not occurred.

A 15-year-old girl being treated for minor injuries at Roosevelt Hospital said the uprising followed rumors of an escape attempt. Some boys, or even young men who were still housed at the center after turning 18, entered the girls' area, she said. She said she fled to her dormitory's roof with others fearing the boys would attack them.

Early Wednesday morning the fire began. "I saw the smoke in the place. It smelled like flesh," the girl said.

Mario Cruz, spokesman for volunteer firefighters, said the fire appeared to have started in one of the girls' living areas and spread to another dormitory.

The government-run shelter, known as the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home, is in a rural area outside the capital. The campus is surrounded by trees and a 30-foot wall. It houses at-risk children who were victims of abuse as well as youths who completed sentences at youth detention centers and had nowhere else to go.

President Jimmy Morales' office said there would be three days of mourning and issued a statement confirming at least 15 deaths and said the cause of the fire was under investigation. The president held a moment of silence to mark the tragedy during a previously scheduled event to commemorate International Women's Day.

Attorney General Annabella Morfin said children in a protective situation should not be housed with children who have problems with the law and called for an investigation of those responsible.

Jorge de Leon, Guatemala's human rights prosecutor, said in a statement that at least 102 children had been located after escaping from the shelter and more had managed to flee. De Leon said younger children fled the shelter because they were being abused by the elder children.

"According to what they say, the bigger kids have control and they attack them constantly," de Leon wrote. "They also complain that food is scarce and of poor quality."

He called on authorities "to evaluate whether it is appropriate to have these different groups concentrated in one place."

In 2013, a 14-year-old girl was murdered at the facility. Investigators said the girl was strangled by one of the other residents.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the shelter as an orphanage.
CEDAR FALLS  A Cedar Falls man has been arrested after he allegedly meandered into his neighbors apartment with his pants down one night and then declared himself a prophet during a disturbance at a convenience store the following day.

Nicholas David Sturtz, 33, of 1129 Maplewood Drive, was arrested Tuesday for indecent exposure, trespass, disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana. His bond was set at $5,000.

According to court records, Sturtz, his pants around his ankles, walked into his neighbors apartment through an unlocked door around 5:15 p.m. Friday, alarming her and her 12-year-old daughter.

He was masturbating and refused to leave, records state.

The woman chased him around the apartment, and he sat on her couch at one point. He eventually left, and she locked the door, but he began pounding on the door and threw himself at it in an attempt to get back in, records state.

The following morning, around 8:44 a.m., Sturtz entered the Hy-Vee Gas Station, 6527 University Ave., where he threw merchandise to the floor, pulled a fire alarm and tried to hug a worker, court records state.

When police arrived, he was yelling that he was the prophet and talking about "the kingdom," and officers found a metal socket with marijuana residue.

Jeff Reinitz writes for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, another Lee Enterprises newspaper. Reach him at jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.
An 8-year-old Staten Island boy suddenly died early Wednesday of apparent complications from an asthma attack, authorities said.



Police were called to the St. George home of Naseem Douglas on Saint Marks Place shortly before 12:30 a.m. and found the child unconscious.



He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.



Police say there were no obvious signs of trauma to Douglas' body. An autopsy will be conducted to confirm how he died.



The investigation is ongoing.






What to Know WikiLeaks released what appeared to be thousands of secret CIA files in another apparent blow to U.S. intelligence agencies

An internal battle is brewing within the GOP over an Affordable Care Act replacement bill dubbed "Obamacare-lite"

Hawaii plans to challenge the White House's revised travel order

Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here.

WikiLeaks Dumps Apparent CIA Docs

WikiLeaks published thousands of documents Tuesday described as secret files about CIA hacking tools the government employs to break into users' computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs from companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung. The documents describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features intended to keep the private information of citizens and corporations safe from prying eyes. The documents describe CIA efforts  cooperating with friendly foreign governments and the U.S. National Security Agency  to subvert the world's most popular technology platforms, including Apple's iPhones and iPads and Google's Android phones.

Trump Praises Health Bill, Conservatives Skeptical

A powerful conservative backlash threatened to sink the new Republican health care bill Tuesday less than 24 hours after its launch, even as President Donald Trump and congressional leaders began trying to sell the legislation as the long-promised GOP cure for "Obamacare." Major conservative lobbying groups have registered their displeasure with the bill, deeming it "Obamacare-lite," "Obamacare 2.0" and "RyanCare" after House Speaker Paul Ryan. It's been criticized by some key members of the party in Congress, not to mention Democrats. The 100-page bill would eliminate the Affordable Care Act's mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance, the fines imposed on those who don't carry health insurance and Medicaid expansion for some beneficiaries after 2019, among other changes.

Hawaii Plans to Fight New Travel Order

Hawaii plans to challenge President Trump's revised travel order, Attorney General Doug Chin said Tuesday. The state wants to amend its existing lawsuit challenging Trump's previous order to contest the revised one, according to a motion filed Tuesday in federal court in Honolulu. The new order bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuts down America's refugee program, affecting would-be visitors and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.

Womens Strike Held Worldwide

When people around the world came together on Jan. 21 to speak out against misogyny in America, spectators gawked at pools of pink pussy hats and protest signs. Now, organizers are looking to make a similar splash through an International Womens Strike on Wednesday. Employees will ditch work. Students will walk out of class. Some companies may halt operations in solidarity. The strike coincides with International Womens Day, inaugurated in 1909 to celebrate American workers who protested against unfair treatment at garment factories the year before. In New York City, rallies and a march are planned, among other events.

Third Anniversary of MH370 Tragedy

The Australian government minister in charge of the suspended seabed search for the Malaysia Airlines jet told victims' families and friends at an anniversary church service on Wednesday that he remained hopeful that Flight 370 would be found. Darren Chester, minister for infrastructure and transport, and Angus Houston, the former Australian defense chief who coordinated the early months of the search efforts, were among around 100 who attended the private ceremony at St. John's Anglican Cathedral in the east city of Brisbane to mark the third anniversary of the mysterious tragedy.

Judge Rejects Bid to Stop Pipeline

A federal judge declined Tuesday to temporarily stop construction of the final section of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline, clearing the way for oil to flow as soon as next week. The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux had asked U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw permission for Texas-based developer Energy Transfer Partners to lay pipe under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The stretch under the Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota is the last piece of construction for the $3.8 billion pipeline to move North Dakota oil to Illinois.

Fewer Heavy Americans Try to Shed Pounds: Study

Fewer overweight Americans have been trying to lose weight in recent years, and researchers wonder if fat acceptance could be among the reasons. The trend found in a new study occurred at the same time obesity rates climbed. "Socially accepted normal body weight is shifting toward heavier weight. As more people around us are getting heavier, we simply believe we are fine, and no need to do anything with it," said lead author Dr. Jian Zhang, a public health researcher at Georgia Southern University.

Alec Baldwin's Trump May End Soon

Alec Baldwin dropped a yuge bomb on Extra! viewers Monday when he told host Mario Lopez that he might be ditching the Oval Office soon. Baldwin signed on to play the 45th commander in chief on "Saturday Night Live" while Donald Trump was still on the campaign trail. The former 30 Rock actor said he doesnt know if Americans can handle his parody much longer, as theyre already too stressed by the real man he portrays.
What to Know Lynne Stewart had been sent to prison for helping a terrorist client communicate with followers

She received a compassionate release in January 2014, three years earlier, as she battled cancer and strokes

Her most notorious client  a blind Egyptian sheik convicted in the terror case  died last month

Lynne Stewart, an outspoken New York civil rights lawyer jailed for helping a terrorist client communicate with supporters, has died following a battle with cancer. She was 77.



Stewart's husband, Ralph Poynter, says Stewart died Tuesday in the Brooklyn home where she lived after receiving a "compassionate release" from prison in January 2014.

Stewart was disbarred after her conviction.

The mother of seven was a schoolteacher in Harlem in the 1960s before launching a legal career that brought her into the public spotlight.

Her clients ranged from crooks to members of the Black Panthers, Weather Underground leaders and a former hit man.

Her most notorious client  a blind Egyptian sheik convicted in the terror case  died last month.

Stewart had battled cancer and several strokes.
Wall Street's iconic charging bull just got a new neighbor.

A bronze statue of a young girl showed up near the bull Tuesday, ahead of the International Womens Day Wednesday, according to reports.

Artist Kristen Visbal's "Fearless Girl" statue is part of an effort to get companies to add more women to their boards. State Street Global Advisors, the worlds third-largest asset manager, placed the statue as part of their campaign, Business Insider reports.

The money manager wants the companies it is spotting to have at least one woman on the board and to close gender gaps.

Alex Matthews

The bronze girl stands adjacent to the famous Wall Street statue, taking on a defiant pose as she stares down the bull. A plaque below her reads "know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference."

Lori Heinel, State Street's deputy global chief investment officer, told Business Insider that the image of the girl standing in front of the bull is a creative way to send a powerful message.

"One of the most iconic images on Wall Street is the raging bull," Heinel told Business Insider. "So the idea of having a female sort of stand against the bull or stand up to the bull just struck us as a very clever."

State Street will be sending out a letter 3,500 companies asking them to act and add more women. It said it will vote against boards if companies fail to carry out the steps to increase the number of women as board members, according to Business Insider.

Interestingly, State Street's website shows that about 80 percent of its own management positions are staffed by men.

A spokeswoman for State Street Global Advisors says the company has set specific goals to increase diversity by the end of the year.

"We know from past experience that meeting these targets will require commitment from the top, so measuring progress on diversity and inclusion is now a key part of our annual performance reviews for our senior managers," said Anne McNally.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

The mammoth bronze Charging Bull was a "guerrilla art" act, dropped in the middle of the night in Bowling Green Park in 1989, without permission, by an artist who created it as a symbol of Americans' survival energy in the face of the 1987 stock market crash. The city gave its permission for the bull to remain.

This week, McCann New York, a top advertising agency, dropped off the statue of the girl - with a city permit for at least a week. Negotiations are underway for the piece to remain there longer.
Some American women stayed home from work, joined rallies or wore red to demonstrate their economic clout Wednesday as part of a multitude of International Women's Day events held around the globe.

The Day Without a Woman protest in the U.S. was put together by organizers of the vast women's marches that drew more than 1 million Americans into the streets the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

The turnout this time appeared in many places to be far smaller. And there were no immediate estimates of how many women heeded the call to skip work.

A crowd of about 1,000 people, the vast majority of them women, gathered on Fifth Avenue in the shadow of Trump Tower to demonstrate. Women dressed in red and waved signs reading "Nevertheless she persisted," ''Misogyny out of the White House now" and "Resist like a girl."

[NATL] International Women's Day: Rallies, Marches and Milestones

"Trump is terrifying. His entire administration, they have no respect for women or our rights," said 49-year-old Adina Ferber, who took a vacation day from her job at an art gallery to attend the demonstration. "They need to deal with us as an economic force."

Rallies also took place in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, San Francisco, Boston and Milwaukee.

Schools in Alexandria, Virginia, and Prince George's County, Maryland, were forced to closed Wednesday after hundreds of teachers and other employees let it be known they would be out.

"The decision is based solely on our ability to provide sufficient staff to cover all our classrooms, and the impact of high staff absenteeism on student safety and delivery of instruction," Alvin L. Crawley, superintendent of Alexandria schools, wrote in a letter, noting more than 300 people called off work.

In Providence, Rhode Island, the municipal court closed for lack of staff members, NBC affiliate WJAR reported.

La victima aparentemente no llevaba puesto un casco.

In Washington, more than 20 Democratic female representatives walked out of the Capitol to address a cheering crowd of several hundred people.

Dressed in red, the lawmakers criticized efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi encouraged more women to go into politics, saying, "You have marched for progress. Now you must run for office."

Hundreds of women dressed in red and holding signs with photos of their local lawmakers gathered at the Utah Capitol to remind legislators they are closely watching how they handle women's issues.

Some businesses and institutions said they would either close or give female employees the day off.

The owners of the Grindcore House in Philadelphia closed their vegan coffee shop, where eight of the 10 employees are women.

"The place definitely wouldn't run without us," said Whitney Sullivan, a 27-year-old barista who planned to attend a rally.

The U.S. event  inspired in part by the Day Without an Immigrant protest held last month  was part of the U.N.-designated International Women's Day.

Women's March spokeswoman Cassady Findlay said the action is aimed at highlighting the effect of women on the country's socio-economic system and demonstrating how the paid and unpaid work of women keeps households, communities and economies running.

"We provide all this value and keep the system going and receive unequal benefits from it," Findlay said.

In New York, a statue of a fearless-looking girl was placed in front of Wall Street's famous charging bull sculpture. The girl appeared to be staring down the animal. A plaque at her feet read: "Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference." Organizers also planned a gathering in Central Park and a march through downtown Manhattan.

As part of the Day Without a Woman protest, women were also urged to refrain from shopping.

In the Bay Area, women were encouraged to flex their economic muscle and hundreds joined rallies in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland.

Several South Florida women's groups also planned several rallies, including one outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Field Office in Miami, NBC Miami reported.

Former President Barack Obama took to Twitter to acknowledge the important role of females on International Women's Day, tweeting: "@MichelleObama and I are inspired by all of you who embrace your power to drive change."

On International Womens Day, @MichelleObama and I are inspired by all of you who embrace your power to drive change. https://t.co/RJ0ZH2htU8  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 8, 2017

Trump also saluted in a tweet "the critical role of women" in the U.S. and around the world. He tweeted that he has "tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy."

On International Women's Day, join me in honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

Ivanka Trump echoed her father's sentiments, tweeting: "Today, we celebrate women and are reminded of our collective voice and the powerful impact we have on our societies and economies."

Today, we celebrate women and are reminded of our collective voice and the powerful impact we have on our societies and economies. #IWD2017  Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 8, 2017

First lady Melania Trump marked the day by hosting a luncheon at the White House for about 50 women.

The White House said none of its female staff members skipped work in support of International Women's Day.

Some criticized the strike, warning that many women cannot afford to miss work or find child care. Organizers asked those unable to skip work to wear red in solidarity.

Monique LaFonta Leone, a 33-year-old health care consultant in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had to work but put on a red shirt and donated to charity, including Planned Parenthood.

"I have bills to pay, but I wanted to make my voice heard, no matter how quiet," she said. "I also wanted to make a statement to say that women are doing it for themselves. We're out here in the workforce and making a difference every day."

Women make up more than 47 percent of the U.S. workforce and are dominant among registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists, according to the census.

They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, and the same with lawyers and judges. Women also account for 55 percent of all college students.

At the same time, American women earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data.
Two new bills that aim to promote women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields are a positive step forward, but they dont quite cut it, experts say.

The bills, recently signed by President Donald Trump, authorize the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA to use existing programs and resources to recruit women.

But existing programs are underfunded, according to some women working in what are known as the STEM fields, and the two bills do not allocate funding toward the organizations they cover. And without appropriate funding, some say, the mission of the bills is diminished.

"Its good to see backing of these programs, and to have both congress and the president support them, but the devil is in the details," said Dr. Alice Agogino, a professor of engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. "And so, its really important what the action item will be."

She questioned whether there would be a supplemental budget associated with the bills.

The first bill, H.R. 255 or the "Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act" was introduced by Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) and co-authored by Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) to "[authorize] the National Science Foundation to use its entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world."

Following the bills signing, Esty, in a statement said, "No matter how contentious or passionate our political disagreements may get, as representatives for the American people, we must never stop working toward common solutions that will improve peoples lives."

She said that the passage of the bills will "help women from all walks of life break into fields where they have been underrepresented."

The second bill, H.R. 321, or the "Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act," was co-authored by Esty and introduced by Comstock.

The bill "calls on NASA to encourage girls and young women to pursue careers in aerospace. In particular, it directs NASA to encourage women to enter the STEM fields through three existing programs: NASA Girls, Aspire to Inspire, and the Summer Institute in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research," according to a news release from Estys office.

Comstock in a statement said that young women will now have greater opportunities to pursue careers in STEM fields.

"The INSPIRE Women Act is bipartisan legislation that authorizes NASA to encourage young women to study the STEM fields and to pursue careers that will further advance Americas space missions and the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act also promotes women and jobs in STEM fields," she said.

Both bills received bipartisan backing, and Committee on Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), voiced support for both measures following their signing.

"I believe the INSPIRE Women Act and the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act will help encourage more talented young women to pursue their dreams, and change the world with their ideas," he said.

"Its important that the president continues to support this bill, and that he recognizes that [we] do still need to keep working to increase the representation of women in the STEM fields," said Dr. Stefanie Kroll, an assistant research professor at Drexel University.

Kroll, who is also the project science director for the Delaware River Watershed Initiative at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, said that without specific grant programs or funding for programs, the bills wont accomplish what theyre meant to do.

The White House and Esty did not immediately reply to requests for comment on whether there would be additional funding for programs aimed at promoting women in STEM.

In an emailed statement to NBC, NASA voiced support for the INSPIRE act.

"NASA has been and remains committed to encouraging more women to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study and employment," the statement said. "The agency supports the goals of the INSPIRE Act and will look to expand our existing successful external outreach activities. We also appreciate the growing number of private citizens who help share NASAs exciting story of exploration and discovery."

According to a NASA spokeswoman, the organization already has programs aimed at promoting women in STEM, but she said there is no new plan yet in regard to the INSPIRE Women Act.

According to the text of the bill, the NASA Administrator must submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation "a plan for how NASA can best facilitate and support both current and retired astronauts, scientists, engineers, and innovators, including early career female astronauts, scientists, engineers, and innovators, to engage with K12 female STEM students and inspire the next generation of women to consider participating in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to pursue careers in aerospace."

In an emailed statement, a spokesman for Comstock said, "We will get more info from NASA, and Congress will, of course, have the ability to seek more resources based on that report. The Congresswoman is in support of funding increases for NASA and in the STEM fields."

While signing the bills, Trump said its unacceptable that so many women have degrees in STEM fields, but arent employed. He said he thinks that will change, though.

"We need policies that help support women in the workforce, and that's really very much going to be addressed by my administration over the years, and to get more and more of these bills coming out, and address the barriers faced by female and those in STEM fields," Trump said. "We want American women who graduate from college with STEM degrees to be able to get STEM jobs that can support their families and help these American women to live out the American Dream, which they are so qualified to live out."

The NSF in a statement said it is committed to creating opportunities for women, and said the legislation reinforces current activities.

"One example of such NSF activities includes the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which seeks to transform scientific discovery into benefits for society by catalyzing the commercialization of innovations. SBIR fosters and encourages participation by women-owned small businesses," the statement said.

While signing the bills, Trump also commented on offshoring--when a business bases some of its services overseas for lower costs, or a more favorable economy--which hes brought up repeatedly in the past in relation to U.S. jobs.

"Protecting women with STEM degrees, and all Americans with STEM degrees is very important, but it also means you have to crack down on offshoring, because the offshoring is a tremendous problem that displaces many of our best American workers and brains -- the brain power," he said.

The bills were applauded by many, including Trumps daughter, Ivanka, who has been vocal about supporting women since her father first began his presidential campaign.

Proud to support the signing of H.R. 321 & 255. #ClosingTheGenderGap in STEM fields is vital to innovation and workforce development. #STEM pic.twitter.com/9VsIbTxDEO  Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) February 28, 2017

The Association of American Universities, which represents 62 different research universities in the United States and Canada, also praised the bills on Twitter.

Margaret Hart, a STEM Outreach Adviser at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, said legislation promoting or creating programs that encourage women to enter STEM fields is a great thing.

"Introducing young students to science and engaging and getting them really experience [it] is whats going to help increase the number of women that go into, and hopefully stay in, STEM" she said.

Another issue brought up by Kroll is a lack of jobs in her field: environmental science.

"I think at the university level, and the masters level, I have seen a lot more women trained in the sciences," she said. "I think part of the problem now, at least in the environmental field, [is that] there have been hiring freezes and changes in agency policies."

On the other hand, Agogino said, "They are hurting for getting good women in STEM disciplines."

Experts said that the STEM fields have seen improvements throughout the years in regard to female involvement, however they believe there are issues that still need to be addressed.

Agogino discussed the idea of a "chilly climate" toward women in STEM, and said that it has to be tackled when trying achieve to goals of inspiring and encouraging women to work in STEM fields.

"Whats troubling is the almost renewal of explicit bias that we are seeing today," she said, pointing to sexual harassment as an example.

Hart, who works with young women in the Johns Hopkins Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, said that she hasnt heard feedback of women feeling awkward in the field, but said, "Hopefully the more young girls we can get interested in the field, it can help curb that."

Agogino, who has been honored with a lifetime mentoring award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said mentoring is vital when it comes to STEM.

"We also need to have the leadership that takes gender into consideration all steps along the way," she said.

Kroll has similar beliefs to Agogino. She said mentorship seems to be the thing that really gets women to stick with STEM professions.

"Its the duty of most scientists to promote excellent students, both male and female," she said. But, they should keep in mind that mentorship of someone may encourage them to stay within STEM, Kroll added.
Mark Zuckerberg is headed back to Harvard, but this time he'll be giving the commencement speech.

The Ivy League school announced Tuesday that the Facebook CEO and Harvard dropout was chosen to address students at a May 25 graduation ceremony on the Cambridge campus.

Harvard President Drew Faust said Zuckerberg "has profoundly altered the nature of social engagement worldwide," adding that she's glad to welcome him back.

Zuckerberg went to Harvard as an undergraduate in 2002 but left after his sophomore year to pursue his company, which later became Facebook.

He had planned to return to Harvard later, but changed his mind after Facebook became a quick success. The social media giant now counts nearly 2 billion users around the world.

Director Steven Spielberg gave Harvard's commencement speech last year.
The reviews are starting to come in on the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as "ObamaCare," and aside from the Trump administration, they aren't very good to start out.

Major conservative lobbying groups have registered their displeasure with the bill, deeming it "Obamacare-lite," "Obamacare 2.0" and "RyanCare." It's been criticized by some key members of the party in Congress, not to mention Democrats.

The 100-page bill would eliminate the Affordable Care Act's mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance, the fines imposed on those who don't carry health insurance and Medicaid expansion for some beneficiaries after 2019, among other changes.

It was rolled out by House Republicans Monday, and the Trump administration threw its support behind the bill Thursday, with the president calling it "wonderful" in an early morning tweet.

But that was before statements started coming in from influential groups like Americans for Prosperity and Club for Growth. Here are selections from their statements, which all registered opposition to the bill:

"As the bill stands today, it is Obamacare 2.0. Passing it would be making the same mistake that President Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi made in 2010. Millions of Americans would never see the improvements in care they were promised, just as Obamacare failed to deliver on its promises." letter from Koch brothers-affiliated Freedom Partners and Americans for Prosperity

"Republicans should be offering a full and immediate repeal of Obamacare's taxes, regulations, and mandates, an end to the Medicaid expansion, and inclusion of free-market reforms, like interstate competition." Club for Growth president David McIntosh, in a letter calling the bill "RyanCare"

"Many Americans seeking health insurance on the individual market will notice no significant difference between the Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare) and the American Health Care Act. That is bad politics and, more importantly, bad policy." American Heritage Action CEO Michael A. Needham

Those comments were echoed by some influential GOP lawmakers, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

"The House leadership plan is Obamacare Lite. It will not pass. Conservarives (sic) are not going to take it. #FullRepeal," Paul tweeted.

"We don't know how many people would use this new tax credit, we don't know how much it will cost, and we don't know if this bill will make health care more affordable for Americans," Lee said at a news conference.

Four other Republican senators, from Ohio, West Virginia, Colorado and Alaska, took issue with the way the new bill affects Medicaid funding, arguing that while Obamacare needs to be replaced, this replacement "does not provide stability and certainty for individuals and families in Medicaid expansion programs or the necessary flexibility for states."

Notes of caution also came from GOP governors, the Associated Press reported, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich arguing that phasing out expanded Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is "counterproductive" and Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois' saying he was "very concerned" that people will be "left in the lurch" under the House GOP plan.

Members of the administration sought to assure the party, and the American people, that the bill was strong and would pass.

"This is the beginning of the process and we look forward to working with them and others," Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said, when asked about the opposition of conservative groups.

Price said the bill was following the principles of affordability, accessibility, quality care, incentivizing innovation, and empowering patients.

Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that interstate competition was coming in another phase of the health care rollout, which members of the administration echoed later.

White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said he was sure the bill will bring "tremendous long-term savings" by giving states more control over Medicaid.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office hasn't yet determined the cost of the new health care bill.
SLOAN | Woodbury County authorities on Tuesday arrested a couple in possession of a stolen car at WinnaVegas Casino Resort near Sloan.

James Souba, 23, and Samantha McCain, 20, were both booked into the Woodbury County Jail on charges of second-degree theft and possession of drug paraphernalia. Souba also was charged with possession of a controlled substance and carrying a dangerous weapon.

At about 7:30 a.m., Woodbury County Sheriff's Deputy Todd Peterson found a 1997 Saturn, which had been reported stolen Feb. 28 in Council Bluffs in the WinnaVegas parking lot and witnessed the two getting out of the car.

After calling in other officers, including a K9 unit, Peterson and a Winnebago Police officer arrested the two, who were inside the casino playing slot machines.

A baggie of methamphetamine was found in a pocket in Souba's pants, and deputies also found a sword inside the stolen vehicle, Peterson said.
A foundation named after conservative businessman, political donor and philanthropist Charles Koch has donated $2.2 million to the University of Pennsylvania Law Schools research and policy center created four years ago to promote long-term structural improvements to the U.S. criminal justice system.

The gift from the Charles Koch Foundation will enable the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice to produce innovative new research that improves criminal justice policy in jurisdictions, the school said. the funds will be distributed over the next four years.

The Quattrone Center takes an interdisciplinary, data-driven, scientific approach to identifying and analyzing the biggest problems in the justice system, and proposing solutions that prevent error and improve fairness.

With the generous support of the Charles Koch Foundation, the Quattrone Center will expand on its groundbreaking, cross-disciplinary work advancing the study of criminal justice, Penn Law Dean Ted Ruger said in a statement. These efforts will help victims of injustice caught within the criminal justice system.

The funding for the Quattrone Center will create a research initiative overseen and administered by its academic director, Paul Heaton, an economist who uses quantitative methods to study issues in legal and criminal justice policy.

To read the full story, click here.

For more business news, visit Philadelphia Business Journal.
A mother and her 2-year-old child are both in the hospital after they fell out of a second-story window in North Philadelphia Wednesday morning.

The duo fell from a window at a Philadelphia Housing Authority property along Diamond Street near 20th Street around 10:35 a.m., Philadelphia Police said. The mother either jumped out of the window while holding the child or threw the child out of the window first before jumping, according to investigators.

Medics rushed the 2-year-old boy to St. Christophers Hospital for children where he was listed in critical but stable condition, police said. Medics took the 36-year-old mother to Temple University Hospital where she is also listed in critical but stable condition.

The woman's mother, who uses a wheelchair, tried to intervene but injured her leg in the process and was taken to Hahnemann Hospital, Lt. John Wood said.

The woman's neighbor, Danielle Darden, also told NBC10 she tried to help her Tuesday when she saw her and the 2-year-old hanging from their window.

"I ran over there, got the baby from her, and brought him home," she said. "I brought him over here. I talked to her for awhile."

Darden said she tried to convince the woman to let her son stay with her for the night but she insisted she give her son back.

"I can't deny her from taking her own baby so she left," Darden said.

Police called the incident a suicide attempt. There were indications that the woman told others on Tuesday that she feared she could hurt herself, Wood said.

Neighbors told NBC10 the woman has other children who don't live at the home where the incident took place. Philadelphia Police continue to investigate.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Four people are in the hospital after a shooting led to a crash in the Germantown section of Philadelphia Tuesday night.

A man was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee eastbound on the 1100 block of E. Haines Street at 6:34 p.m. when an unidentified gunman fired two shots at the vehicle. A passenger inside the Jeep, a 25-year-old man, was shot at least once and the driver lost control of the vehicle. The Jeep crashed into a car that was traveling westbound.

The 25-year-old passenger was taken to the hospital where he is currently in critical condition. The driver of the Jeep as well as a man and woman in their 50s who were inside the other vehicle all suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

No arrests have been made. Police have not released a description of the gunman.




A march took place in Center City Wednesday night as part of a nationwide demonstration calling for equality, justice and human rights for women around the world.

Demonstrators gathered at Logan Square and marched to Thomas Paine Plaza as part of the International Women's Day strike. Organizers of the January Women's March called for women to take the day off and encouraged them not to spend money Wednesday to show their economic strength and impact on the United States.

"A Day Without a Woman" is the first national action by organizers since the nationwide marches held the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration that drew millions of women into the streets in protest against misogyny, inequality and oppression.

Wednesday's event coincided with the U.N.-designated International Women's Day, and organizers said they wanted to "stand with women around the globe" who supported their efforts Jan. 21 with similar protests in cities around the world.

Spokeswoman Cassady Findlay said organizers were inspired by the recent "Day Without an Immigrant" protests held last month. She said the action is aimed at highlighting the effect of women on the country's socioeconomics system and demonstrating how women's paid and unpaid work keeps households, communities and economies running.

"We do all of this and get paid less than men, get sexually harassed, get inadequate family leave," Findlay said. "We provide all this value and keep the system going, and receive unequal benefits from it."

Unlike the Women's March, Wednesday's protest focused on the absence of women, who are being steered to local rallies and community groups and away from work or shopping in stores or online. Organizers also asked women to wear red to signify love and sacrifice.

In Philadelphia, a rally was held at the H.A. Brown Elementary School in Kensington at 7:30 a.m. The demonstration included informational pickets stating that Philadelphia teachers -- 75% of whom are women -- don't have a contract after more than 1200 days. Female students in 7th through 9th grade at Eastern University Academy Charter School also held a rally at McDevitt Park on 3531 Scotts Lane.

Some businesses said they would either close or give female employees the day off. The event website provided templates for "out of office" emails, and an employer letter. The site had more than a half-million visitors, and more than 60,000 had clicked on the letter template Tuesday afternoon.

Organizers pointed out that only a fourth of participants in the Women's March signed up in advance to participate.

The owners of the Grindcore House in Philadelphia closed their vegan coffee shop, where eight of the 10 employees are women.

"The place definitely wouldn't run without us," said Whitney Sullivan, a 27-year-old barista who planned to attend a rally.

The role of women in American society is significant. According to the U.S. Census, women make up more than 47 percent of the workforce and are dominant in such professions as registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists. They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, as well as lawyers and judges. Women also represent 55 percent of all college students.

Still, American women continue to be paid less than men, earning 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

More than a hundred women participated in a demonstration in Center City for International Womens Day on Wednesday. The local rally was part of a global effort called A Day Without a Woman. NBC10s Cydney Long spoke to participants.
After the unexpected birth of a pair of jaguars, a Montgomery County zoo is giving the public the opportunity to name the cute duo.

The Elmwood Park Zoo announced the naming contest Wednesday to name Inka's jaguar cubs born on Jan. 24.

The birth of the cubs -- one female, one male -- was unexpected. Since the birth, the cubs have slowly grown and become "quite the handful" for their mother, the zoo said. [[415669303, C]]

The sister weighs around 10 pounds and her brother -- featuring a darker nose and darker coat -- weighs around 11 pounds, the zoo said.

"Both cubs are very vocal and very healthy," the zoo said in a news release.

Anyone with an naming idea from Aaron and Abby to Zach and Zara -- or more exotic names -- can email their ideas to naming@elmwoodparkzoo.org. Entries must be received by 4 p.m. on March 15.

The jaguars father Zean and Inka were introduced at the Norristown, Pennsylvania zoo in October 2016, said the zoo.

"Inka remains a very attentive and doting mother," the zoo said. "The cubs will not be introduced to their father due to the threat he poses to his young."

The yet-to-be-named jaguars were the first in 2017 born at an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited facility, said the zoo. [[26343834, C]]

Inka and her cubs remained out of the public eye as the naming contest took place with no plan to put them on display until summer, the zoo said. The jaguar family is expected to reside in the zoos new "Trail of the Jaguar" exhibit, said the zoo.

Carnivorous jaguars, which usually live between 12 to 15 years, are South America's biggest cats, weighing in between 100 to 250 pounds and measuring up to 6-feet long as adults, according to National Geographic. They are considered "near threatened" due to loss of natural habitat, the zoo said.
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A trio of teen vandals apologized after they used shaving cream to paint a swastika in the parking lot of a library in Berks County.

A large swastika as well as a Star of David made out of shaving cream were discovered in the parking lot of the Exeter Community Library in Exeter Township Friday.

Its very unfortunate that they either dont know or that they just dont care, said Mallory Hoffman, an employee at the library.

Staff members contacted police and firefighters who washed away the graffiti. Police launched an investigation but no one came forward. Finally on Monday, workers at the library found a letter inside the book depository which stated the following:

We are three stupid teenagers apologizing for our heinous acts against the Exeter Community Library. We are the ones who drew inappropriate images in shaving cream in the parking lot, and we are sincerely sorry. It is only now that we realize how stupid are (sic) acts were, we did not attend (sic) to hurt anyone or offend anyone. In this envelope we have enclosed fifty dollars, which we hope is enough to cover any damages, again we realize now how stupid this is and how much a generosity this library has actually been to the Community. This will never happen again, on our terms, and again we are greatly sorry, please find it in our community to forgive us. We are trying to make this right and again never meant to intentionally hurt or offend anyone. We realize that the swastika symbol can be considered a symbol of hate especially since the Holocaust and we realize how honestly irresponsible this was, we all have religious roots and did not intentionally mean this as any form of hate speech or dislikeness (sic) towards any culture. Again we wish to formally apologize.

Sincerely,

Three irresponsible teenagers apologizing for their immature acts.

We are incredibly sorry.

True to their word, the three stupid teenagers had also placed $50 in cash inside the envelope.

At best it was a thoughtless prank, said Bill Franklin, the president of the Jewish Federation of Reading. The keyword is thoughtless.

Franklin told NBC10 that education about history can sometimes prove to be eye-opening.

Like the letter says they will not do anything like this again so thats three people whose lives have been changed, Franklin said.

This months featured book at the Exeter Community Library is Rose Under Fire, a story about the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Staff members are hoping the teen vandals stop by at the library and learn more about the history of the holocaust.



Books, theyre here, theyre everywhere, Hoffman said. They can help you put yourself in somebody elses shoes.

The library is donating the $50 to the Anti-Defamation League. Police continue to search for the vandals.




A Linda Vista sandwich shop devastated by fire two years ago has begun the process of rebuilding, the owners posted to social media Monday.

The Vietnamese sandwich shop, K Sandwiches, burned down in August 2015.

An oven malfunction was the cause of the fire. Everyone was able to get out safely, but the building was a loss.

Owner Jennifer Tran told NBC 7 after the fire that when the family rebuilds the location, it will be better than before.

As of March 6, plans had been approved and construction had begun.

An opening date has not be set yet but the owners said they will post updates on Facebook.
Members of an East County Brownie troop are concerned a cookie crook may be targeting Girl Scouts, using counterfeit money to buy cookies.

While selling cookies Sunday at a La Mesa shopping center on Lake Murray Boulevard, 8-year-old Leah and her mom Amy Hayhurst said someone pulled a fast one on their troop.

Hayhurst said a Santee bank teller told her two $20 bills she had been given were fake.

"When we went to turn in the money at the bank, they told us 'Oh no! This has been happening a lot to Girl Scouts'," Hayhurst said.

A third of the money Girl Scouts collect from cookie sales goes towards give-back projects.

Leah's Brownie Troop 5064 has collected clothing for the homeless. They've also sent toys to kids in Thailand.

"It's just really sad someone would steal from us," said Leah. "We're just trying to help. We're not trying to do anything bad in the world."

Leah's troop is now keeping a closer eye on the money they receive, concerned Girl Scouts are being targeted by cookie crooks.

"I think it's kind of pathetic to target young girls," Hayhurst said. "They are the youngest in the community and doing so much to try and serve the community."

Law enforcement officials in La Mesa and Santee said they have not received any reports of Girl Scouts being duped by counterfeiters.
The family of Ryan Wilcox, a local teenager who lost his battle to cancer last year, has started a scholarship fund to honor their son's strength.

Ryan would have turned 19-years-old on March 3the same day his family launched the campaign to raise money for the Ryan Wilcox Memorial Scholarship.

He died on Sept. 3, 2016.

Then 18-years-old, Ryan's battle with cancer made headlines when his classmates posted a plea on Facebook to get the attention of his favorite superheros from the "Captain America" films.

Ryan received a surprise visit from Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Patrow, who portray, in order, Captain America, Iron Man and Pepper Potts.

NBC 7 spoke with Ryan's mother on Tuesday, who spoke of the day students at Grossmont High School rallied in honor of her son in May, 2016.

During that rally, students dressed up in Captain America garb and held a banner that read: "#RyanStrong".

"Being in that gym that day, surrounding by all of that love, it was powerful," said Amy Wilcox.

Wilcox said the scholarship will target students who exemplifies Ryan's fighting spirit.

"It'll be a student that exemplifies that same spirit, that has to overcome maybe a challenge in their life and how they deal with that challenge, and just to never give up," Wilcox told NBC 7.

She added that Ryan's death has been hard for the family but she is proud of her son.

"He never ever complained. He never let anything bring him down, he was always positive," she said. "He taught us so much about the strength of the human spirit and how powerful love can be."

The family has set up an online fundraiser to raise up to $19,000 for the scholarship. The Grossmont Education Foundation will then award $1,000 scholarships in Ryan's name to two students every year.
Assault causing bodily injury -- Heather L. Adams, 26, Mason City, two days in jail, $315 fine.

Fourth-degree criminal mischief -- Richard Van Slyke, 38, Mason City, two days in jail with credit for two days served, $315 fine, $125 surcharge, $112 restitution.

Contempt of court -- Joan A. Hester, 49, Mason City, 21 days in jail.

Marijuana possession -- Jill K. Byram, 41, Mason City, two days in jail, $315 fine.

Dismissed -- Bryan A. Kladstrup, 28, Spencer, removal of theft detection device.

Probation revocation (domestic abuse assault causing injury) -- Montez Guise, 25, Mason City, 178 days in jail.

Violation of no contact order -- Montez Guise, 25, Mason City, seven days in jail.

Violation of no contact order -- Montez Guise, 25, Mason City, 14 days in jail.

Deferred judgment revoked (driving while barred) -- Randin M. Johnson, 29, Mason City, seven days in jail.

Violation of no contact order -- Randin M. Johnson, 29, Mason City, seven days in jail (to be served concurrently with driving while barred sentence).

Violation of no contact order -- Randin M. Johnson, 29, Mason City, seven days in jail.

Violation of no contract order -- Randin M. Johnson, 29, Mason City, seven days in jail.

Driving while barred -- Charles J. Chapman IV, 27, Charles City, 10 days in jail., $625 fine.

Dismissed -- Charles J. Chapman IV, 27, Charles City, driving while revoked.

Operating while under the influence -- Michael J. Resudek, 41, Marietta, Georgia, two days in jail (may complete two-day weekend diversion program instead), $1,250 fine.

Operating while under the influence -- Chad R. Pliester, 44, Belmond, two days in jail (may complete two-day weekend diversion program instead), $1,000 fine.

Probation violation -- Brian D. Hartman, 33, Mason City, 60 days in jail.

Methamphetamine possession, second offense -- Scott A. Shafer, 44, Mason City, 30 days in jail, $625 fine (suspended).

Third-degree theft -- Amber D. Willenborg, 32, Mason City, two days in jail, $625 fine.

Driving while barred -- Mark A. Clark, 30, Mason City, six days in jail, $625 fine (suspended).

Third-degree attempted burglary -- Daniel L. Shafer, 23, Montgomery, Alabama, deferred judgment, two years probation, $625 civil penalty, $125 surcharge.

Dismissed -- Joshua T. Hobbs, 22, Mason City, domestic abuse assault (strangulation) causing bodily injury.
A San Diego businessman will match a $2,500 prize awarded to a local school for its efforts to stand up against gun violence, cyberbullying and teen suicide.

Earlier this week, Steele Canyon Charter High School won a national grand prize awarded by the Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), an organization that empowers parents, schools and community organizations on how to prevent gun violence before it happens by advocating for mental health and early prevention programs.

The school won first place in the organizations 2nd annual Say Something Call-to-Action Week for its efforts spearheaded by English teachers Jennifer Serban and Jillian West, along with 80 student ambassadors. Last October, the group planned special activities and educational events and produced videos for school-wide broadcasts that encouraged critical dialogue about preventing gun violence.

Steele Canyon High High given $2500 award by Sandy Hook Promise Foundation for anti Gun violence campaign. #nbc7 pic.twitter.com/7LLdvKGjFv  Artie Ojeda (@ArtieNBCSD) March 6, 2017

On Monday, SHP director Nicole Hockley  mother of 6-year-old Dylan Hockley, one of the children killed in the Sandy Hook massacre in December 2012  visited Steele Canyon Charter High School to present the prize, including the check for $2,500 and a plaque.

On Tuesday, Mike Hancock, owner of Mikes Metal Works, Inc., and president of the Steele Canyon Charter High School governing board, announced he will match the SHP prize. He will present his check to the school at a board meeting Wednesday evening.

Students and staff at Steele Canyon High School received the national grand prize from the Sandy Hook Promise Monday for standing up against gun violence, cyberbullying and teen suicide. NBC 7s Artie Ojeda reports.

Hancock is hoping to keep the support for the school rolling.

Hes challenging other San Diego businesses to make financial contributions of equal or greater amounts to Steele Canyon Charter High School in hopes of helping the school expand its program, and replicate the model at other local schools so students can learn to identify the signs of gun violence and teen suicide before it happens.
A former Marine and an active-duty Marine came forward Wednesday to say photographs taken of them were secretly posted online without their consent along with nude photos of other servicewomen that have led to threatening replies and a military investigation.

Former Marine Erika Butner, whose image was posted without consent to a secret Facebook page, said that the excuse that "boys will be boys" must stop.

Butner, 23, served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years until June 2016. She appeared at a news conference in Los Angeles Wednesday along with U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Marisa Woytek to applaud the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Serivce into the "Marines United" Facebook page.

Through the page, users shared nude images of female Marines, veterans and other women, some of which were taken without their knowledge. Users of the group included active-duty and retired Marines, Navy Corpsman and British Royal Marines.

Woytek and Butner each said they learned that photos of themselves in clothing were posted without their consent. Butner said she learned her photo was posted to the Facebook page in August 2016.

Butner said she contacted investigators in January and told them there was an online storage drive that contained "indecent photos of women from all military services, organized by name, rank and even where they were stationed."

The women's lawyer, Gloria Allred, said there may be hundreds of such postings and that they prompted pornographic and violent replies, including some recommending that female Marines be raped or shot.

Butner and Allred said some women who have spoken out have been attacked in what they called "victim shaming."

"Victim blaming and the excuse that some are giving that boys will be boys needs to stop, Butner said. "It is an excuse to justify the perpetrators' behavior and normalizes aggression towards women.

"I encourage all victims of this incident to come forward. You are not alone," she said.

Butner served as a radio operator with 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) from Las Vegas, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The photographs have been taken down and U.S. Marine Corps commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller has spoken to troops directly regarding the Facebook group.

"When I hear allegations of Marines denigrating their fellow Marines, I don't think such behavior is that of true warriors or warfighters," Neller addressed troops by video on Tuesday.

He added that Marines must be focused on becoming more lethal "to stay ahead of potential adversaries." There is no time off for Marines, Neller said.

"If you can't or are unwilling to commit to contributing 100 percent to our corps' warfighting ability by being a good teammate and improving cohesion and trust then I have to ask you, 'do you really want to be a Marine?,'" he asked.

It's not clear how many active-duty Marines and other service members were involved or are under investigation.

However, an internal Marine Corps document obtained by The Associated Press said a former Marine maintained the Google Drive where the photos were shared, and that it had a following of about 30,000.

Meanwhile, a former Marine, Erin Kirk-Cuomo, said servicewomen have been reporting websites like "Marines United" for more than 10 years but were ignored. She said the issue was "laughed off by military leadership and members as harmless, expected, or invited."

"This behavior is not harmless, and we demand an end to it," said Kirk-Cuomo, who recently co-founded the group Not In My Marine Corps, dedicated to sharing incidents of sexual assault and harassment.

When contacted regarding the previous reports of misconduct, NCIS told NBC 7 the agency does not discuss the details of ongoing investigations.

The investigation was first reported by the Center for Investigative Reporting. The activity was revealed by The War Horse, a nonprofit news organization run by Marine veteran Thomas Brennan.

The CIR report said that more than two dozen active-duty women, officers and enlisted, were identified by their rank, full name and location in the photographs on the secret Facebook page. Other photographs of active duty and veteran women were also posted and linked through Google Drive.

The social media accounts behind the sharing have been deleted by Facebook and Google at the Marine Corps' request.

Service members and civilians can discreetly and anonymously report a crime or pass information on Marines United to NCIS at 1-877-579-3648 or on the website.
Some 700,000 Californians are currently being exposed to contaminated water at home or at school, according to the latest data from Californias Water Resources Control Board.

NBC 7 discovered more than 3,000 of those residents are living in the San Diego region, often in poorer, rural communities located within areas of Potrero, Pauma Valley and Borrego Springs.

Because the state data doesnt account for the nearly 2 million Californians still relying on private wells or factor in contamination from Chromium-6, experts said the number of people with toxic water is likely even higher.

Escondido resident Juana Gonzalez said her kids bath time has become strictly business since her family moved into their Oakvale Park mobile home community about two years ago.

When I shower my kids, I use to give them hot baths, but not anymore, Gonzalez said. Now we just wash, rinse and get out.

The water that comes out of the taps in her mobile home is contaminated, according to state data. Levels of uranium in the water have tested at more than five times the limit the Environmental Protection Agency says is safe to drink.

Bathing with water that contains uranium is not a health concern, but Gonzalez said it still makes her uneasy. The water has also shown high levels of other radioactive material, according to the state.

The contaminated water runs into about 100 homes in the area.

There are really serious health impacts from some of these contaminants, said Laurel Firestone, Executive Director of the Community Water Center, a non-profit working to ensure communities have access to safe and affordable water. It can cause cancer (and) in the case of nitrate in very high levels, it can even cause death after a few days of high exposure.

Her organization said short-term health effects of drinking uranium-contaminated water include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as liver and kidney damage. Long-term exposure can cause cancer, particularly of the bone and liver.

In 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation making California the first state in the nation to legally recognize the human right to clean drinking water. But, for more than a dozen communities located within areas like Potrero, Ramona and Alpine, tainted water runs from the taps and that legislation is a broken promise.

NBC 7 has been covering lead water testing at schools after dangerous levels of lead were discovered at a San Ysidro elementary school. Following our coverage, at least twelve area school districts are testing drinking water quality, and lead has been discovered in at least three schools. Water is shut-off to some 18,000 students at four different school districts as further testing is done.

I think one of the most frustrating things is if this isnt an emergency, then I dont know what is, said Firestone, whose Community Water Center organization works mostly in the Central Valley. Having toxic water coming out of your tap, not being able to access water in schools, this is really basic.

Tainted water in wells and public water systems in the San Diego area contain unsafe levels of uranium, fluoride, nitrate and arsenic, according to the state data.

Click here to see San Diego area data.

In addition to those with contaminated water, another 3,511 California households reported having wells that are dry, according to the state data released January 2017.

NBC Bay Area asked state Assemblyman Devon Mathis whether the numbers are acceptable.

Were in California, the sixth largest economy in the world, but we still have third world conditions right here at home, Mathis said. I think a lot of people forget that.

The two-term Republican, who served 10 years in the Army National Guard, including two tours in Iraq, grew up in the Porterville area where dry wells have forced many residents to travel to a church parking lot on the edge of town to bathe in portable, public showers.

Thats really the question for people at home  is this acceptable? Mathis said. Here we are in the 21st century in the great state of California, one of the largest economies in the world, and people do not have water running in their homes.

While the state has made progress in getting clean, safe drinking water to rural residents, Felicia Marcus, chair of Californias Water Resources Control Board, says theres more to do.

We wont have done enough until we get the job done, Marcus said.

Although more than a million residents are estimated to be affected by contaminated water, its not something on the minds of those living in Californias urban centers.

Theres a bit of out of sight, out of mind when the vast majority of people live along the coast in large urban centers, Marcus said.

Recently, Californias Legislature gave the State Water Board authority to force the consolidation of small water districts that cant guarantee safe water on their own.

So far, only one forced consolidation has taken place, although the Board is currently looking at 70 districts as possible candidates for consolidation. Officials say there could be even more after that.

In addition to the problem of small water districts unable to adequately provide safe water, theres an issue of funding.

The Water Board has also been disbursing millions of dollars in grant money to build treatment centers and other infrastructure across the state.

But the trouble is, after treatment centers and infrastructure projects are built, many small communities dont have the resources to operate or maintain them. As a result, Marcus said state lawmakers will have to decide if they want to fund those operation and maintenance costs.

The states going to have to make a decision about subsidizing operation and maintenance for some of these small communities because the math just doesnt add up, Marcus said. Weve got to be thinking about it if our goal is to get clean, safe and affordable drinking water to all Californians.

None of these efforts can come fast enough for residents living every day contaminated water or no running water at all.

In Oakvale Park, Juana Gonzalez helps some of her less fortunate neighbors by giving them a ride to the nearest place to buy water.

Its five miles away.

It would be good if we had clean water all the time, but we dont so we have to go get it from somewhere, Gonzalez said.

With the health risks, Gonzalez said she wont let her neighbors drink the tap water. In fact, she wont even give it to her dogs.

That water is contaminated and we could get diseases. I wouldnt want that for my children or my family or anybody, she said.
A Southern California teenager who was sucker-punched in a disturbing attack captured on cellphone video got a chance to meet his idol Tuesday: skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.

Its crazy. I never thought I would meet THE legend of skateboarding, Jordan told NBC 7, standing outside of Hawks skate boarding studio and offices in Vista. Hes just a really nice, genuine guy.

The notoriously private Hawk recently reached out to Jordan and the teens father, Ed Peisner, when he heard what happened to Jordan.

On Dec. 2, 2016, Jordan was randomly attacked outside of a Wendys restaurant in Los Angeles. While he was beaten, another person stood by, filming the attack and posting it on Snapchat.

Jordan was severely hurt, suffering a skull fracture, brain bleeding, blood clots and permanent hearing loss. Doctors told Jordan his recovery will be a long, slow and difficult process. Jordan also can no longer do what he loves most  skateboard  because if he suffers a traumatic brain injury while doing so, he could die.

After hearing the teens story and learning about Jordan's passion for skateboarding, Hawk invited Jordan to visit him in San Diegos North County, at his company's Birdhouse offices.

They heard he cant skate anymore, so they just opened their hearts up. It was amazing  truly amazing, said Ed, in awe of Hawks kindness toward his son.

On Tuesday, Jordan and his dad made the drive from Calabasas, California, and the teen was reminded of how much he loves the sport.

Its my passion  the thing Ive always wanted to do, Jordan said, referring to skateboarding. Ive always just wanted to do it for life.

Although Jordan had to sit out the skateboarding session with Hawk, he was grateful for the opportunity to watch his idol in action.

He and his dad sat on a couch as Hawk and his friends raced down ramps, making high-flying tricks look like a walk in the park. Ed said it warmed his heart to see Jordan smiling again, still enjoying skateboarding  but now in a different way.

NBC 7 San Diego

Hes on cloud nine right now. It kills me that he cant actually partake in skating but its the next best thing to watch him get to meet one of his idols, he added. After everythings Jordans been through for the last few months  this is a Godsend.

As Jordan continues to recover, he and his family are hoping to spread awareness about anti-bullying.

Ed is trying to get a law passed  Assembly Bill 1542, or Jordans Law  which would crack down on bullying and violent attack motivated by the purpose of filming and sharing the attacks on social media. The bill would criminalize conspiring with an attacker to videotape a violent crime.

Assemblymember Matt Dababneh (D-Encino) held a news briefing on March 3 to introduce Jordans Law in response to a surge in these types of violent attacks.

Ed has also started the Jordan Strong website, which includes an online petition to support their anti-bullying stance, and prevent emotional, physical and cyberbullying.
If President Donald Trump's proposed budget is passed in its current form, funding to monitor and clean up toxins in the Great Lakes would virtually disappear.

In Trump's preliminary budget, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) would be slashed by 97 percent, dropping from $300 million to about $10 million. The Environmental Protection Agency is the single-largest financer of the GLRI. If the EPA funding is slashed as proposed, scientists ability to measure toxins in the water would be greatly diminished, said longtime Lake Erie researcher Jeff Reutter.

That money goes to programs like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Sea Grant College Program, which monitor toxin levels via satellite images and scientists' daily trips to buoys on Lake Erie.

Federal funding has gone up and down over the years, but Ive never seen anything of this scope, Reutter said of the proposed cuts. He has been working on Lake Erie since 1971.

Trump has vowed to roll back many environmental regulations enacted by former President Barack Obama. He proposed to cut about 25 percent of the EPA's budget and slash about 3,000 jobs, or 19 percent of the agencys staff, according to the budget outline released in late February.

Environmental justice programs and the climate protection budget would be cut by 79 percent and nearly 70 percent, respectively.

Trump and his EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, have made skeptical comments about climate change. Trump once called climate change a "hoax." Before Pruitt became the EPAs new leader, he sued the agency more than a dozen times as the attorney general of Oklahoma.

During his presidential campaign, Trump said that he is a proponent for clean water. On his campaign website, he called the need for safe drinking water one of the "real environmental challenges," as opposed to "phony ones."

The Great Lakes make up about 95 percent of the U.S.s freshwater supply, and about 20 percent of the worlds freshwater, according to the EPA. The lakes contamination could lead to economic and health consequences.

If we lose the U.S. EPA, if the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative goes away, if NOAAs satellite program goes away, so does our ability to manage all of the fresh water in the country," Reutter said. "I would be very concerned for human and environmental health. We know how important it is to protect human health, environmental health, coastal citizens and jobs.

Molly Flanagan, the vice president of Alliance for the Great Lakes, said that without funding multiple threats would arise: halted clean-up of the lakes and beaches, the inability to detect and warn people of water toxicity and the potential invasion of ocean-based aquatic species.

The proposed budget cut to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is the worst possible scenario, carrying "devastating impacts," Flanagan said.

"If you were to see cuts, you would see a number of GLRI programs grind to a stop," she said. "Thirty million people depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water, jobs and recreation."

Despite this, she said she is hopeful that Congress will step in and fight for the restoration initiative, which has historically had bipartisan support.

Two senators from across the aisle are fighting the proposed budget cuts to the lakes, their offices told NBC.

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, was just named to a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Safe Drinking Water Act and other critical issues. Sean Savett, a spokesperson for Duckworth, said she would fight the proposed budget cuts to the Great Lakes.

"Sen. Duckworth is urging the administration to prioritize funding for programs that protect the Great Lakes from pollutants and invasive species, Savett said. The Great Lakes are a vital source of clean drinking water for tens of millions of Americans and dismantling the EPA would jeopardize the safety of families across Illinois and the entire country.

Republican Sen. Rob Portman, of Ohio, also plans to continue to fight for the Great Lakes funding.

This initiative has been a successful tool in our efforts to help protect and restore Lake Erie, and Rob will continue to fight for it just as he did when the Obama administration proposed cuts to the program, spokesman Kevin Smith said.

The EPA declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to NBC's request for comment.

The EPA declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to NBC's request for comment.

Former EPA leader Gina McCarthy said the cuts to the EPA prioritize the special interests of big businesses.

It shows the Trump administration doesnt hold the same American values for clean air, clean water and healthy land as the vast majority of its citizens, she said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Scientists like Reutter worry that with a drop in federal investment, the country could see a return to the 1960s, 1970s condition of the Great Lakes, when they were contaminated with industrial waste.

The EPA, NOAA and the National Sea Grant College Program, like the one Reutter works for at Ohio State University, have provided information about toxic algae blooms that build up as a result of high levels of phosphorus in the water.

Most of the blooms that form today are from agricultural runoff, but historically they have also been caused by poor sewage.

The industrial waste from the 1960s and 70s, such as PCBs, mercury and metals, has seen improvements in recent decades, but the issue of blooms remains. According to Reutters estimates, to reduce the imminent threat caused by blooms, phosphorus levels in the lakes need to be reduced about 40 percent.

Next week, more than 100 Great Lakes advocates will make their annual trip to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress. This year, they will urge them to push back on the Trump administration's cuts. While the president proposes the budget, it is up to Congress to revise and pass it. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, 2017.

Flanagan said that they're ready to counter the threatening cuts.

"We're not gonna go down without a fight," she said.
Two contemporary operas at the Kennedy Center this month deal with current issues, so its an appropriate time for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an opera enthusiast, to address an audience there.

Dead Man Walking addresses the death penalty while Champion deals with homophobia. Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Ginsburg will be on stage rather than in the crowd at the Kennedy Center for Justice at the Opera, a discussion of how crime, justice and human rights have been addressed in operas, like in the classic Carmen, an iconic role for Ginsburgs friend, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, who also stars in Champion.

I describe that as the ultimate plea bargain, because here's Carmen and she is being carted off to jail and she negotiates a deal with Don Jose, Ginsburg said.

I hadn't thought of it in those terms, but thats exactly what happens, Graves said.

Ginsburg herself will be the subject of a one-hour opera being produced in the summer at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, New York. Composer and lawyer Derek Wang was in law school when he came up with the idea for Scalia/Ginsburg, Ginsburg said.

He's reading cases in constitutional law with Ginsburg on one side and (Antonin) Scalia on the other, she said. He decides this could make a very funny opera.  In the libretto, there are words that are straight out of our opinions or speeches, and the composer's the librettist has tried to portray two people who have some very different views on some very important things and yet they genuinely like each other.

Justice Scalia, who died suddenly last year, was a friend with whom she shared her love of opera.

Ginsburg is no stranger to the limelight, and while diva is what she dreamed of being as a teenager, there's another nickname her young fans have given her.

The Notorious R.B.G., she said. When that started a few years ago and people said, 'What do you think about it?' and I said, 'Well, the Notorious B.I.G. the rapper and I have something in common."

Both were born and bred in Brooklyn.

The nickname was started in 2013 by New York University law school student Shana Knizhnik, who was angry over what she saw as the Supreme Court's weakening of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Ginsburg said.

I had written a strong dissent, Ginsburg said. She took my bench announcement of my dissent and put it up, and thats how it started.

Knizhnik put it up on her Tumblr blog and has kept it alive with thousands of fans following it.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a proposed law to make the D.C. area's many federal government buildings friendlier to mothers.

It would require each building to have sufficient lactation spaces for breastfeeding.

About a year ago, News4 I-Team found several federal government facilities in D.C. lacked the number of breastfeeding spaces required of federal complexes for employees and visitors, including buildings used by the House itself.

The bill approved by the House Tuesday evening would boost the number of spaces at federal buildings nationwide, which would mean the government would follow the same requirements it makes of private employers.

It's unclear if it would lead to immediate changes to the Capitol complex itself. The I-Team investigation found Congress woefully lacking in space for new moms.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) drafted the legislation and said, "Considering millions of people visit federal sites across the country, and particularly here in the nations capital, visiting nursing mothers should also have access."

The Senate also has to approve the bill.
Women stayed home from work, wore red and joined rallies in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday for International Women's Day and the "A Day Without a Woman" boycott.

To demonstrate women's strength and impact, organizers of the Women's March on Washington called for women to take Wednesday off from paid and unpaid work and avoid spending money.

"We provide all this value and keep the system going and receive unequal benefits from it," boycott spokeswoman Cassady Findlay said.

Several schools in the D.C. area closed because so many staffers requested the day off.

Before noon, a crowd marched from Freedom Plaza in downtown D.C. to the White House, holding signs and chanting "This is what democracy looks like."

More than 20 Democratic women lawmakers walked out of the Capitol to speak to several hundred spectators who gathered. The lawmakers dressed in red, as did many of the people who cheered them on.

"We are resisting President Trump and congressional Republicans and letting them know we will not go back," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday and asked followers to join him in "honoring the critical role of women" in the U.S. and around the world.

I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

A digital billboard attached to a truck was circling the Capitol. We Stand With the Women Striking  Not the Sexual Predator in the White House," the sign said. The anti-sexism group UltraViolet said the truck will be driven near the Capitol, White House and Trump International Hotel from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Schools in Alexandria, Virginia, and Prince George's County, Maryland, were closed to students. Single mother Michelle Haney said she was frustrated to be informed Tuesday evening that her daughter's high school would be closed.

"She should be in school today. She's losing education," she said. "I'm a woman and yet I've got to take my daughter to school with me. I didn't get the chance to take the day off. Why should they?"

The "A Day Without a Woman" demonstration led to school closures in our area. News4's Mark Segraves talked with a school board member and parent who questioned the school districts' decisions.

The White House said none of its female staffers skipped work in support of International Women's Day. Everyone has "shown up" and is working hard to advance Trump's agenda," spokesman Sean Spicer said.

At 3:30 p.m., organizations held a "Women Workers Rising" rally outside the U.S. Department of Labor. They called for pay equity and an end to workplace violence and harassment.

Protesters are gathering outside the Department of Labor, calling for equal pay, end to discrimination #ADayWithoutAWoman pic.twitter.com/9o2H8ukmqI  Meagan Fitzgerald (@MeaganNBCDC) March 8, 2017

"A Day Without a Woman" is the first major action by organizers since the nationwide marches held the day after Trump's inauguration. The marches drew millions of women into the streets in protest of misogyny, inequality and oppression.

Though it is unclear how many women will participate on Wednesday, thousands across the country signaled their support and interest online.

Organizers of the strike suggest those who are looking to participate take the day off from paid and unpaid labor, only spend money at small, women- and minority-owned businesses and wear red, a color they say represents revolutionary love and sacrifice.

Wednesday's Day Without a Woman protest is closing schools and affecting businesses. News4's Shomari Stone reports.

The event coincides with the U.N.-designated International Women's Day, and organizers say they want to "stand with women around the globe" who supported their efforts Jan. 21 with similar protests in cities around the world.

Some DC-Area School Systems Cancel Classes

Public schools in Prince George's County and Alexandria were closed.

As of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, about 1,700 teachers and 30 percent of the transportation staff had requested leave, the CEO of Prince George's County Schools said in a statement.

"We cannot transport students and provide safe, productive learning environments without adequate staff. As a result, schools will be closed tomorrow for students," Dr. Kevin Maxwell said in a statement. "We apologize for the inconvenience this will surely cause to many families."

Local business owers and nonprofit groups are preparing for Wednesdays A Day Without A Woman. Organizers of the one-day event are asking people to take the day off to spotlight the indispensable role women play in society. News4s Meagan Fitzgerald reports.

More than 300 Alexandria school staffers requested the day off.

Alexandria school district spokeswoman Helen Lloyd said Wednesday that staffers were within their rights to take leave.

"Personal leave is taken for a personal reason, and so we tend not to judge that," she said.

"This is not a political decision," she added about schools being closed.

Virginia Del. Bob Marshall sent a letter to the state attorney general asking him to determine whether the Alexandria schools superintendent acted properly in closing schools and whether the superintendent had the authority to deny the staffers' requests for leave.

In Fairfax County, public school board member Elizabeth Schultz spoke against the decision to close schools.

"I think it's 100 percent politically motivated. International Women's Day is something that has been celebrated for years, but this is the co-opting of a day that is meant to celebrate women. Instead, it is to supplant it with political motivation. For what end? What is it exactly these women are protesting?"

Also, Center City Public Charter Schools announced Tuesday that all six of its schools in D.C. will be closed "due to the large number of staff requests for time off to participate in A Day Without A Woman."

The schools are located in the neighborhoods of Brightwood, Capitol Hill, Congress Heights, Petworth, Shaw and Trinidad.

The D.C., Fairfax County and Montgomery County school districts did not see a higher than usual number of staffers take a day off on Wednesday, representatives said.

Local Businesses Bring Attention to 'A Day Without a Woman'

Washingtonian created a map of women-owned businesses in the area.

Pizzeria Paradiso, which has locations in Dupont Circle, Georgetown and Old Town Alexandria, will serve only half its food and beer menus and will donate half of the day's proceeds to My Sister's Place and the National Organization for Women.

"The gender as a whole is not valued in the society equally to men," owner Ruth Gresser said about why she chose to participate.

Several other restaurants in the area are observing the day with discounted or free drinks for women. DCist has compiled a list.

Organizers Suggest Ways to Participate

Strike organizers suggest spending the day attending rallies and marches for International Women's Day by supporting or volunteering with local groups.

"While the most impactful way would be to take the day off, we realize that many women in our most vulnerable communities or whose jobs provide essential services, including reproductive health services, will not have the ability to join the strike," Fendlay said. "We strike for each of them, and we look forward to seeing the creative ways both men and women will showcase their support."

Organizers suggest men participate by calling to government and workplace decision-makers to extend equal pay and adequate paid family leave for women, that businesses close for the day or give female workers the day off, and that households that rely on caregivers, nannies and housekeepers grant a paid day off.

Organizers also said the day acknowledges that transgender and gender nonconforming people, as well as women with disabilities, face heightened levels of discrimination, social oppression and political targeting.

A similar protest took place across the country on Feb. 16 when people protested Trump's immigration policies in "A Day Without Immigrants." Many D.C. restaurants closed for the day to show the importance of immigrants in our daily lives.

The event coincides with the U.N.-designated International Women's Day. German airline Lufthansa had six all-female crews flying from several cities in the country to Berlin. Sweden's women's football team replaced the names on the back of their jerseys with tweets from Swedish women "who have struggled to gain ground in their respective field." Finland announced plans to create a $160,000 International Gender Equality Prize. Women also held rallies in Tokyo and Madrid.

The role of women in American society is significant. According to the U.S. Census, women make up more than 47 percent of the workforce and are dominant in professions including registered nurses, dental assistants, cashiers, accountants and pharmacists. They make up at least a third of physicians and surgeons, as well as lawyers and judges. Women also represent 55 percent of all college students.

Still, American women continue to be paid less than men, earning 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. The median income for women was $40,742 in 2015, compared with $51,212 for men, according to census data.
The Bender Jewish Community Center in Montgomery County, Maryland, received its sixth bomb threat of the year Tuesday, the same day a bill was introduced in the Montgomery County Council to increase security at JCCs in the county.

The Anti-Defamation League and several Jewish community centers across the country got bomb threats Tuesday, adding to the scores they have been plagued with since January. Over the course of Monday evening and Tuesday, there were eight emailed or phoned-in bomb threats in six states plus Ontario, the JCC Association of North America said.

The email bomb threat prompted immediate action Tuesday morning at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington. It was the sixth threat they've received since January.

We got our first telephone bomb threat Jan. 8, Bender Chief Executive Officer Michael Feinstein said. Since then we conduct a sweep every morning. Today we conducted a second sweep to make sure it's safe.

They didnt let the threat disrupt operations.

We didnt close at all, Feinstein said. We were able to keep operating as normal and we alerted the police and the FBI and forwarded them the email bomb threat that we received.

Parents of the children who attend preschool at the JCC were notified of the threat.

We are very prepared, said Ora Cohen Rosenfeld, head of the JCC preschool. We do drills with the children so the parents feel very secure with their children being here.

A bomb threat disrupted the day at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville Feb. 27.

As a result, on Tuesday the Montgomery County Council began considering a $225,000 supplemental community grant for the Jewish community requested by County Executive Ike Leggett to install more security cameras and to replace old windows in school rooms with new ones that resist bomb blasts.

I am confident that our council will take this step, Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner (D) said. I have conveyed to the county executive that to the extent to which the Muslim community is targeted as well that we would expect the county executive to come forward with a request to address that issue.

The grant money was originally scheduled for next year but was moved up for consideration at a hearing next month because of the recent threats.

We have always been a very strong community, particularly here in Montgomery County, said Meredith Weisel of the Jewish Community Relations Council. We are very grateful to the council, and for the county executive in particular, who have recognized the threat.

Federal officials have been investigating more than 120 threats against Jewish organizations in three dozen states since January and a rash of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries.
MASON CITY | A man accused of killing two Mason City residents last year was one of two inmates recently disciplined for fighting at the Cerro Gordo County Jail.

Peter Veal, who faces two counts of first-degree murder, and another inmate Montez Guise, 25, of Mason City, were charged Saturday with misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals said the incident happened at 3:13 p.m. in the male maximum-security unit at the facility on Lark Avenue.

Veal, Guise and four other prisoners were in a common area at the time.

Aftermath of Highlands homicides detailed in Mason City police documents MASON CITY | Court documents shed new light on the moments after Mason City police were call

Only Veal and Guise were involved, Pals said.

He said all inmates in the unit complied with jail staff's order to go back into their cells, which open into the common area.

They weren't seriously injured and no weapons were involved, Pals said.

In addition to the criminal charge, Veal and Guise also were disciplined for violating jail policy.

Kavars and Christensen were found dead at 1620 N. Hampshire Ave.

Mason City man faces charges after allegedly kicking in door at home MASON CITY  A Mason City man faces several charges after an event Saturday evening in which

Veal will remain at the Mason City jail until staff receive a court order to transfer him to the licensed forensic psychiatric hospital, where he will be treated until he is deemed competent to participate in court proceedings.

Guise is being held for suspicion of felony burglary, violating a no-contact order and several outstanding warrants.
The youngest son of U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate in her 2016 presidential bid, was one of six people arrested during a counter protest at a rally in support of President Donald Trump in Minnesota.

The protesters clashed with hundreds of Trump supporters gathered at the State Capitol rotunda in St. Paul last Saturday, a scene that played out during rallies in other cities around the country.

Linwood Kaine was arrested on suspicion of second-degree riot, The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Linwood Kaine was released from the Ramsey County Jail Tuesday.

Tim Kaine, a St. Paul native and U.S. senator for Virginia, expressed support for his three children in a statement, saying they all understand the responsibility of expressing their political views peacefully.
Is he or isnt he?

Will he or wont he?

Should he or ...

Oh, lets stop. You all get the picture.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine sounds like someone revved up to run for mayor. But will he get in? And, realistically, could he win?

Last Friday on the WAMU Politics Hour, Racine came within a toe of stepping up to the start line for the 2018 race against incumbent Mayor Muriel Bowser: I am having conversations with folks around town to get a sense as to what it would take to run for another position. Im nowhere near making a decision on that. Period.

But Racine was fully engaged talking about his public service and any future campaign. In regards to that decision, he told your Notebook and WAMUs Kojo Nnamdi, I sure hope that the callers, the audience out there can hear my passion.

Theres not another position Racine would seek other than mayor. Hes not going to run for the council and certainly not Del. Eleanor Holmes Nortons House seat. But the election map and math that he would need to defeat Bowser could be daunting.

Still, on Friday he was much farther down the campaign trail than just last Christmas. Back then he told the Politics Hour he would make a decision this summer whether to run for re-election or any other office, or simply return to the private sector.

During last weeks Politics Hour, Racine methodically but aggressively walked through issues such as affordable housing and code enforcement, drug addiction policies, consumer and regulatory affairs and campaign ethics.

I love being attorney general of the District of Columbia, Racine said. We have a tremendously talented team, focused on doing the public interest, using the law to actually uplift the peoples lives, especially our most vulnerable citizens, so thats where my focus is, Tom.

Maybe all true, but it was immediately after that sentence that Racine disclosed he is having conversations with folks around town on a possible run for that other office.

So how realistic is a run? There are lots of speed bumps. What has the mayor done that you would throw her out of office? one Bowser insider posed to The Notebook.

The insider checked off a lot of questions and campaign issues: Are enough of the mayors 2014 backers so dissatisfied as to walk away? Is there any sign of broad dissatisfaction in a booming city? Crime may be a serious issue in some areas, but overall is it a significant factor? The city has balanced budgets and a growing economy, and schools and services are improving. Why change horses, the adviser asked. Bowser likes the job and can be a fierce campaigner. Could Racine match that?

There are certainly political insiders who oppose Bowser, including those aligned with Vincent Gray, former mayor and current Ward 7 D.C. Council member. But while there are complaints against Bowser, are there the votes to defeat her?

Racine notes that Bowser won in a year where Gray was ahead until The Washington Post strongly backed her and U.S. Attorney Ronald Machens scandal case broke a month before the primary. More recently, the Washington Post editorial writers called Bowser feckless for her handling of the paid family leave law. Feckless, in case you dont know, means without character.

Most political observers say the Democratic primary winner has to carry wards 1, 2, 3 and 6. And that doesnt even count Ward 4, Bowsers home ward. As the incumbent, Mayor Bowser can wait until later this year to begin her re-election campaign. She already has said she will run.

Meanwhile, Gray, who would like to be mayor again, always waits late to start his campaigns. He can keep his Ward 7 seat while running for mayor. But he faces a major hurdle. Although he was not charged in that 2010 campaign scandal that sunk his re-election chances in 2014, many believe Gray would have a hard time recapturing enough voters (white and black) who turned against him back then. Some of them voted for Bowser even though they thought Gray had been a good mayor overall.

And what of Racine? Hed have to get in sooner rather than later.

He would have to raise money from businesses, lawyers and groups reluctant to oppose a sitting mayor except under severe circumstances. And unlike his race for attorney general, he essentially wont fund it himself. Hed have to build a campaign organization, get better on the stump than his lawyerly persona allows now, and prepare to go all out seven days a week. Racine has privately said hes prepared for all that.

Id bet that Karl is testing the waters [now] to gauge his chances of running and winning, the Bowser supporter said.

Racine likes being attorney general  the public policy initiatives, the national recognition on issues like immigration and consumer affairs  but if he runs and loses for mayor, hed be out of elective politics.

One final calculation: If Racine were to get in, would that encourage or discourage Grays entry? Would they split the vote enough to allow Bowser to win? In this scenario, Bowser is the incumbent with the most steady base and ability to build it.

Given all this, Racine has a clear shot if he simply runs for re-election as attorney general. (He was supported in his first race by Bowser herself.)

Lets go back to that December discussion with Racine on the Politics Hour.

Im just two years into this [attorney general] job. Im not a career politician, so I dont really think about whats the next office, Racine said then. Thats not my thinking. My thinking is really focused on how to build a strong, independent attorney general office. Nonetheless, you can be assured that I will be making important decisions related to whether to run again in the next six months, and youll be the first to know.

And to that last comment on the radio, you could hear your Notebook mutter, I doubt it.

Tom Sherwood, a Southwest resident, is a political reporter for News 4.
A federal judge in Honolulu is allowing Hawaii's amended lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's revised travel ban to move forward.

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson on Wednesday granted the state's request to continue with the case and set a hearing for March 15  the day before Trump's revised ban is due to go into effect.

Hawaii filed the amended federal suit Tuesday night. It says the order will harm the Muslim population of Hawaii.

The state's previous suit had been on hold while a nationwide injunction on the initial ban remained in place. Watson granted the state's request to lift the stay so it could file the amended lawsuit.

The new order bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuts down America's refugee program, affecting would-be visitors and immigrants from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.

Hawaii's lawsuit had been on hold while a nationwide injunction on the initial order remained in place. This is the second time Hawaii has asked a judge to lift the stay in order to file an amended lawsuit.

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu allowed the state to file an amended lawsuit adding the Muslim Association of Hawaii's imam as a plaintiff. The mother-in-law of Imam Ismail Elshikh is a Syrian national living in Syria, according to the lawsuit that details the effect the order would have had on Elshikh's family and others in Hawaii.

According to the motion, attorneys for the government had no position on the request to file another amended lawsuit.

Hawaii plans to file its amended lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order on Wednesday.

Tuesday's motion proposes a hearing on March 15, a day before the revised order goes into effect.

Hawaii has hired a Washington, D.C., law firm to help. Josh Wisch, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said last month the firm is giving the state a 50 percent discount.

"This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0," Chin said in a statement Monday. "Under the pretense of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees. It leaves the door open for even further restrictions."
Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama's health care law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered.

Governors, especially those from political battleground states, were generally cool to the bill put forth in the Republican-controlled U.S. House. Some signaled that they would continue working on their own legislation to compete with the measure introduced Monday.

"We've said all along, 'Work with the governors,' that it should be a governor-led effort and for the Congress to rely on the governors," Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said Tuesday. "Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesn't include anything that the governors have talked about."

Republican governors lead 33 states, across all regions, and represent states pivotal to President Donald Trump's victory in November, including much of the upper Midwest. Their role in the health care debate could influence the biggest public policy changes this year and help determine the party's future.

At the heart of their criticisms is that the House plan would jeopardize coverage for roughly 11 million people covered through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. The law allowed states to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income individuals and their families at costs borne largely by the federal government.

Phasing out the federal supplement for Medicaid would hit hardest in states where governors chose to participate in the expansion, such as Michigan, Nevada and Ohio. The House bill's provision to shift the federal Medicaid commitment to those states would shrink the number of people eligible for coverage and require states to drop people from coverage or risk incurring huge costs rapidly to keep them enrolled.

"Phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug-addicted, mentally ill and working poor who now have access to a stable source of care," said Gov. John Kasich of Ohio.

Michigan, Nevada and Ohio alone have added a combined 2 million to Medicaid's enrollment since that part of the law took effect in 2014.

The GOP governors expressed some of the same reservations as Democratic governors in states that expanded Medicaid, fretting about higher costs and fewer people covered.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Democrat, warned against any health measure that kicks residents off Medicaid and leaves them "in the cold." The state has been carried by Republican presidential nominees for the past five elections and has added 175,000 residents to Medicaid coverage.

Another problem some Republican governors see with the bill is in converting Medicaid coverage from an open-ended federal entitlement to one that operates under a per-capita cap. A cap would not account, for instance, for rapidly rising drug costs, a big part of a state's Medicaid budget. GOP governors have suggested that any change in the law should give them more autonomy to account for such changes.

Like other GOP governors, Maine Gov. Paul LePage wants Congress to allow states to broadly rewrite Medicaid rules to allow, for example, work requirements and a personal financial stake in the coverage.

"The only way you will truly repeal and replace  and reform  Obamacare is if you act with as much boldness as those who created it," LePage said.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker echoed the more muted response from his peers, calling the House bill "an important first step."

"We will continue working with the Trump administration, the Congress and governors across the country, as we seek a personalized, patient-centered plan that treats people as humans and not like numbers," he added.

Walker, as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has been working with governors such as Kasich to draft a proposal that would effectively put states in charge of their Medicaid programs but require the federal government to continue financing them.

The governors' alternative could become a viable measure in the legislative debate, should it gain Senate sponsorship. The governors working on it have met with senators and staff on the Senate Finance Committee.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is already sounding some of Kasich's concerns. In a letter sent Monday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Portman wrote that House legislation "does not provide stability and certainty for individuals and families in Medicaid expansion programs or the necessary flexibility for states."

___

Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; and Michael Virtanen in Morgantown, West Virginia, also contributed to this report.
China offered a sobering warning Wednesday over a "head-on collision" if North Korea doesn't stop launching banned missiles and the U.S. and South Korea don't stop their join military drills, NBC News reported.

"The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming toward each other, with neither side willing to give way," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing. "The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply brakes on both trains."

Wang's cautionary statement comes after North Korea launched four ballistic missiles into the sky on Monday. The next day, on Tuesday, U.S. equipment for a missile defense system arrived in South Korea.

The North said the nations are headed toward a "nuclear disaster," while China said it would take "necessary measure" to protect itself and that the U.S. and South Korea should be prepared to bear the consequences.
Police have arrested two juvenile suspects after bottles filled with chemicals were found on MBTA tracks in Concord, Massachusetts on Tuesday evening.

Concord police responded to a small brush fire around 5 p.m. when they discovered the first bottle in the flames. The second bottle was set to explode but had not been ignited.

Police said the bottles contained two liquid chemicals that can be purchased over the counter. When the chemicals interact with one another, over a period of time, they heat up and cause a flash fire.

Nobody was hurt and no trains hit the bottles, but they did delay the evening commute for hundreds of passengers.

Police do not believe this was an act of terrorism.

The male juveniles, ages 14 and 15, are residents of Concord. They will be summoned into court for possession of incendiary devices and interfering with public transportation.
Gov. Charlie Baker is pushing legislation he said will give Massachusetts greater control over protecting the state's water supply.

The Republican filed a bill Wednesday to let the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection administer a federal water quality protection program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Massachusetts is just one of four states - along with New Hampshire, Idaho and New Mexico - that still rely on the federal government to run the program.

Known as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, the program regulates public and private discharges of wastewater and storm water.

Baker said his proposal would give the state direct oversight of water quality monitoring, assessment, and water quality standards programs.

"Massachusetts has a proud history of working to protect and improve water quality, and this legislation will provide greater certainty for the commonwealth once federal authority for this program is placed into the hands of our state experts," Baker said.

Baker said the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is the best agency to oversee the program given the agency's knowledge of local waterbodies.

Some environmental activists have questioned whether the state would commit the tax dollars needed to maintain the program.

"Unless it's adequately funded, and it's not, we have concerns," said George Bachrach, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts.

The administration has proposed spending $1.4 million in the 2018 fiscal year to begin making the switch, including hiring 12 new employees.

Baker said the state would commit $4.7 million annually once the change is complete.

Bachrach, citing prior budget cuts to state environmental programs, said he wasn't convinced.

"Once you make this switch there is no going back," said Bachrach. "Either you are going to commit to funding this or not."

State Auditor Suzanne Bump, a Democrat, suggested the Legislature approve "funding mechanisms" to ensure the program is financed.

State Environmental Protection Commissioner Martin Suuberg said officials weighed the possibility of imposing a fee on large commercial water users but decided against it, believing the state can cover the program's costs without new fees.

Bump said another argument in favor of the proposal "is the apparent intention of President Donald Trump to deprive the EPA of sufficient resources."

Baker acknowledged Trump's environmental priorities were a "concern," but not a major factor in the decision to push the bill, which must be approved by Beacon Hill lawmakers.

A similar bill filed late in the last legislative session was referred to a study committee and never reached Baker's desk.

Suuberg said Massachusetts already administers other federal environmental programs.

Adding the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System to the mix will let the state make holistic decisions about water resources, he said. As part of the change, he said the state must agree to meet federal clean water standards.

Suuberg said there are about 250 entities in Massachusetts - including municipalities and large industries - that require permits are issued through the program.
Some local businesses are closed or offering specials to customers who are supporting "A Day Without a Woman" and International Women's Day.

Jodi Bee Bakes in Salem, Massachusetts is closed, but the employees will still be paid.

On Facebook the owner of the store posted, "on March 8th my staff will have the day off with pay because as a woman, as a business owner and as an employer, I stand by them and our collective rights."

The Ugly Mug Diner also in Salem, Massachusetts, will be closed as well to help demonstrate "that women have pay equity, a livable wage and paid leave."

Naumkeage Ordinary in Salem and Violette Gluten-Free in Cambridge are also closed.

Some businesses are not closed for the cause, but are offering specials or deals for those who are supporting International Women's Day.

Finagle A Bagel is offering a free bagel and cream cheese to anyone who comes into one of the locations wearing red before 10:30 a.m.

Magie bits bakery in Arlington is giving away free Women's Day cake bites to all women who stop into the store.

Juliet in Somerville will offer free coffee from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m., with a suggested donation of $2 to Planned Parenthood.

Eataly Boston is allowing any employee to take the day off with pay in support of the cause.

Employees at Belly Wine Bar in Cambridge will be wearing red on Wednesday and also feature a list of wines all made by women. The list will be available for 8 weeks and the business will give 10% of their by the glass sales to a new organization.

Mei Mei Street Kitchen is open from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will be donating some proceeds to Planned Parenthood and Casa Verde in Boston is donating 100% of profits from their charity tap line to Planned Parenthood.

Whole Heart Provisions in Boston is donating 10 percent of their sales to Planned Parenthood and Basil Tree Catering & Cafe is donating 50 percent of sales to the organization.

Longfellows in Cambridge is encouraging patrons to wear red.

PA's Lounge in Somerville will hold a concert night in honor of International Women's Day.
A 74-year-old man was arrested after police say he destroyed several Kim Kardashian books at a Barnes & Noble in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

Carl Puia, of Glastonbury, turned himself in on Monday.

Puia was caught on security cameras on Oct. 13, 2016, pouring a "red liquid" all over several of Kardashian's "Selfish" books, according to police.

The coffee table books are a collection of selfies by the reality TV star. According to police, six books were "destroyed in the massacre and could not be revived."

Police said Puia also left a lengthy typewritten note for the staff at Barnes & Noble detailing his dislike for Kardashian and "people like her."

Puia turned himself in on Monday and was charged with criminal mischief. He was released on $2,500 bond and is scheduled to be in court on March 22.
A transgender equality bill is causing some controversy at the State House in New Hampshire.

If passed, New Hampshire would become the last state in New England to put transgender protections into law.

Lawmakers could vote on the bill as early as Wednesday night, but likely Thursday morning.

Advocates say those who vote against it have probably never met a transgender person.

It took 64-year-old Gerri Cannon decades, a wife, and children before finally revealing her lifelong secret.

It had eaten away at me, it was terrible, Cannon said during a Wednesday interview.

As a transgender woman in New Hampshire, Cannon says shes suffered the consequences.

I came out at work and I was laid off, actually, I was fired, Cannon said.

A bill being considered by lawmakers would make that kind of discrimination illegal by including gender identity to already existing anti-discrimination laws.

It means I can live my life normally, Cannon said.

The measure has already passed a Republican-controlled committee and is expected to pass the House. But we did find strong opposition from some Republicans representatives.

Look at all the pedophiles registered in the State of New Hampshire, said Rep. Al Baldasaro. This gives them an opportunity to walk into any ladies room and say, my state of mind is female.

Cannon says those fears are unfounded.

The transgender community does not cause these problems, she said.

She and her friend Linds Jakous, who is a non-binary transgender person, says the proof is in the 18 other states where the transgender community is protected by law.

The sky hasnt fallen and the sky wont fall here in New Hampshire, Jakous said.

When we asked Governor Chris Sununu his take on the bill, he told NBC Boston he has no personal opinion on it and will be monitoring what happens in the State House.
Police say a man was shot while trying to break through a front door of a neighbor's apartment in Richmond, Maine.

Police Chief Scott MacMaster says the victim, 42-year-old Shad Hembree, was wrestled out of the apartment and then shot when he broke the glass on the French-style door to regain entry.

MacMaster said the injured Hembree then smashed the windows of the victim's vehicle before being taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta with non-life-threatening injuries.

The chief identified the gunman as 28-year-old Trevor Whitney, a military veteran. The chief said Whitney was not charged because he fired in self-defense.
Police are investigating the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Authorities say the victim was found near the intersection of Forest and Crescent streets at about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday.

The victim was identified as Lawrence resident Juan Espinal. A memorial at the scene of the murder grew Wednesday morning.

Family and friends tell us Espinal was a humble kid who went to school and worked a couple of jobs.

The Essex district attorney says no suspects are in custody.

One neighbor reported hearing seven or eight gunshots.
Massachusetts police are searching for an elderly woman last seen Tuesday afternoon.

Natick Police said Carol Hines Gleason has not been heard from since 3:30 p.m. and was last seen in the area of Oakland Street in Wellesley.

Gleason may be driving a black Ford Five Hundred -- license plate 21BB65.

Police said she is familiar with the Newton area.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Natick Police Department at 508-647-9500.
A Providence, Rhode Island pastor is facing several charges stemming from an investigation into alleged child molestation.

Roy D. Bolden Jr., 33, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of first- and second-degree child molestation and third-degree sexual assault. Providence Police Sgt. Philip Hart says Bolden, referred to as Apostle of the Legions of Christ Ministries, will likely face more charges after the case moves to the Attorney General's Office.

Messages were left seeking comment from Bolden's church.

Providence Police Maj. David Lapatin says a 21-year-old man told police Friday that Bolden sexually molested him for six years, beginning when he was 12 years old. Bolden was arrested Monday.

Lapatin says police are distributing a photo of Bolden and meeting with church members to determine if there are more alleged victims.
It is a cold January afternoon as Father Richard Conway walks through the neighborhood surrounding St. Peters Parish in Dorchester like he does every week.

As he walks, he is constantly stopped by the many people he knows around the block and, in turn, he offers them the Portuguese blessing.

This regular exercise, often with a police officer by his side, isnt for the 79-year-olds own health. It is meant to diagnose and calm the troubles in his community that might need some spiritual medicine.

NBC Boston

This Boston neighborhood certainly has its fair share of problems, and Father Conway has seen them firsthand growing up in the city. He is not one to sit around and wait for solutions to arrive.

You look at the gospels, and what was Jesus doing? He was out there talking to people, said Conway. You cant do it behind the desk, you cant do it in the office. I think you have to be out where the people are.

Speaking in Portuguese, he stops into the local stores to see how the owners are doing and share a few jokes, but Father Conway is focused on a particular group of people in this neighborhood - gangs and the young men who might join them.

Here, the gangs are usually named after the streets on which they are formed, like Norton Street. It is these same streets that Father Conway has walked throughout the week to reach out to the gang members since he took a position at the church here nine years ago.

Whitney A. Irick

Some of these young men wont even cross through another neighborhood territory for fear of setting off a rival gang.

While things have improved in recent years, Dorchester is another Boston neighborhood struggling with the realities of gang violence.

Conways solution? Get to know the young men and their families, offer the, alternatives, and let them know the church is here to help them. He is armed with a booklet of after-school activities, job openings and other resources that will help keep them out of trouble.

The biggest problem we have, especially in neighborhoods like this, is single-parent families, said Conway. Fifty percent of the families in this neighborhood here are single parent. They dont have the time to get involved.

That is where Father Conway sees the church taking a role to fill that gap. He often visits young men in jail to show support during their incarceration and after they are released.

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan

Many of these men dont see a bright future in their lives, like one 25-year-old he visited who was in prison on a murder charge.

I asked him, Where do you see yourself in 10 years and how can I help you get there? He laughed and said, In 10 years from now Ill either be dead or doing hard time.

That man was soon released and moved out of town to escape the gang influence, which is what many in the neighborhood are forced to do if they want to stay out of trouble. Others dont escape this life and end up becoming victims of gang-related violence.

This means there are far too many visits to jail, the courthouse, and funerals. Father Conway has seen it all - a young man jailed for defending himself against a gang member, a college-bound man shot for being in the wrong neighborhood and a young man shot after being mistaken for his brother.

He constantly tries to work with different gangs to come up with truces to prevent further violence, but a ceasefire is usually impossible. He even had one man approach him asking Gods forgiveness prior to going after a rival gang member who had shot him in the foot.

Of course he refused that request, but he does often seek help from a higher power to help him with his work here in the city.

I pray for the neighborhood every day. I pray for the neighborhoods of our three parishes, two of the neighborhoods have had a lot of violence, I also pray every day for the people who have to work in those neighborhoods. The police, the fire, the street workers. They are there all the time and you hope they are going to be safe.
The small Vermont community most famous as the birthplace of President Calvin Coolidge abruptly canceled its Australian ballot vote on Tuesdays Town Meeting Day, and is now readying for a do-over.

This was an honest mistake, said Russ Tonkin of the Plymouth Select Board. And we will make it right.

Tonkin said about 90 of Plymouth's nearly 500 registered voters had cast their ballots in the local election when the select board shut down the process midday, voiding those votes.

We didn't want to waste anybody else's time, Tonkin added.

Tonkin said the polling place needed volunteers to help check people in and out of the facility during the voting. A candidate for select board and someone up for town lister ended up with those jobs, he said.

Finding people to work at the polls in a small town is difficult, Tonkin observed.

However, under Vermont election rules, those candidates were not allowed to also serve as poll workers while their names were on the ballot.

According to state statute, candidates may not serve as an election official unless they are the only candidate for the office, or unless the office is for certain positions, such as town moderator, town clerk, or justice of the peace.

In my six years as secretary of state, this is the first time we've heard this one, Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos told necn.

Condos said he did not tell the community it had to stop the election, but his office did warn Plymouth that the misstep could leave the town at risk of legal challenges to the vote results.

I think it was just strictly an error of judgment, Condos said. Someone didn't understand the law and thought they were doing the right thing.

Because a critical school district consolidation vote was affected, Plymouth's leaders decided it was best to not risk any court delays and just hold a take-two on the whole thing, with different people staffing the polling place next time.

While the school vote and the election of town officials were affected, a voice vote that happened at a public meeting Monday on other town business was not affected, Tonkin said.

They, Im sure, had no intention of trying to change the results of the election, Tonkin said of the candidates who served as poll workers. I know both of the people personally and theyre great people. Were glad to have people interested in running for a position in the town, because thats difficult sometimes in a small town to get people who are really interested.

It appears that a revote will happen sometime in April, because the town has to give at least a 30-day heads-up to voters.

Tonkin said residents can expect mailers letting them know about the do-over. The town website will also contain information on the new election once it is announced, Tonkin said.
President Donald Trump's administration rolled out a new travel ban aimed at overcoming the legal challenges of the first executive order, but intended to accomplish the same stated goal: keeping would-be terrorists out of the United States. The presidents revisions on Monday did little to halt criticism from Democrats and immigrants' advocates, who say the new travel order is as unconstitutional as the first order.

"We don't see any difference," Wilfredo Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Florida, told NBC South Florida. He said the "purpose was to manipulate the order to make it appear legal."

The new travel order differs from the first in several significant ways. This time around, the executive order doesnt go into effect immediately, giving the world time to assess its impact and avoiding the chaos sparked by the old.

The revised order makes clear that U.S. green card holders are allowed to travel into the country, which was ambiguous in Trumps original order.

The executive order takes Iraq off the list of countries subjected to a 90-day travel ban. But it still bars the issuance of new visas to citizens from Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria and Yemen. The ban no longer applies to people who have already obtained valid U.S. visas.

It also removes language that gave priority to refugees who are religious minorities in their home countries, a provision that critics say in effect gave Christians an advantage and excluded Muslims.

The revised ban has done little to quell fears of Muslims who live in the United States.

CAIR Florida's Ruiz, whose organization represents 700,000 Muslims in the state, said members are still scared to travel outside the U.S. and not be able to return or have their work visas not be honored.

Many others are concerned about how the new travel ban will affect family members from the banned countries.

"It's heartbreaking to know that if, God forbid, my family needs to escape, that they now are not necessarily going to be welcomed," said Ramah Kudaimi, who was born in the U.S. to Syrian parents, NBC Washington reported.

According to NECN, Mohammed Al-Bardan's brother was hoping to come to the U.S. from Syria to study dentistry in Boston, a dream that he now may not fulfill. Al-Bardan is unable to visit his family in Syria because he is still waiting for his green card to be approved.

"He's hurting people trying to make a name for himself, and he's bringing a lot of pain to people," said Virginia resident Deanna Bayer.

Farbod Papen owns Saffron & Rose, a Persian ice cream shop in Los Angeles, California, that his grandfather opened nearly 40 years ago. Papen's grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 1974. Today, Saffron & Rose is one of dozens of businesses in an enclave of Persian commerce in Westwood.

Think about all the businesses that wouldnt have started had this ban been in place four years ago," Papen said.

Outside the White House Monday evening, protesters gathered to express opposition to the new travel ban, calling it "Muslim ban 2.0."

Patricio Provitina, an Argentinian national who lives in D.C., said he hoped the president would hear the crowd and their messages, NBC affiliate WTOP reported.

As an immigrant, as a Latino, I am completely opposed to what he is doing, Provitina said.

The demonstrators were joined by the new leader of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez, who called on the protesters to continue to speak up about the immigration order.

America is at its best when we are building bridges of opportunity, and not walls of distrust, Perez said.

While President Trump and his team say the order is vital to national security, others are worried about the impact on refugees. Part of the new executive order reduces the number of refugees coming to the U.S. from 110,000 to 50,000.

"We are breaking our promise to 60,000 refugees who we were going to bring to this country and now they're going to be left in danger and desperate," Chris George, executive director of Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS) in New Haven, told NBC Connecticut. "This comes at a time when the world is facing the largest refugee crisis since World War II."

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel mirrored George's sentiments in a statement, calling the ban a "betrayal of our nation's values that our government would slam the door on refugees fleeing war, death and unimaginable conditions, that our government would divide families, and that our government would attempt to exclude people based on their religion.

New York's attorney general said he was ready to contest the order, while Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer demanded its repeal.

A watered down ban is still a ban, Schumer said. Despite the administrations changes, this dangerous executive order makes us less safe, not more, it is mean-spirited, and un-American. It must be repealed."
AI, big data and bots! Oh my! You dont need to be a troglodyte or tech-wary prognosticator to fear the future of work. Everywhere we look, the same trend is making headlines: less human, more artificial.

But is the future of work really inhuman? To answer that question, it is vital to understand the rise of tech at both the popular and professional level. While its certainly given us the ability to defy distance, only recent innovations have cracked the code, allowing us to truly relate. Many lament the perceived shallowness of this tide, but communication and collaboration are primitive desires.

We are, after all, tribal creatures who rally around shared purposes and common goals. Dangers exist, but the good news is technology is finally catching up with human nature.

Against naysayers, here are two trends shaping the future of work that promise to make us more humannot less.

The future of text

Any parent well understands how text messaging has radically reshaped communication. You call; they dont answer. But text, and the reply comes back in seconds. Why? Because theres a natural convenience to texting that phone calls and voicemail dont provide.

Asynchronous communicationthe ability to interact without being present in timefirst seeped its way into work via email, but it now exists primarily in the form of burst communication. Take Slack, for example. Slackand similar tools like Google Talk, Whatsapp, Jabber, HipChat and Teamsleverage the benefits of textual experiences to create virtual workspaces akin to both the watercooler and the team-meeting room.

By making text communication both instantaneous and archivable, few phrases are becoming as obsolete as I left you a voicemail or I sent it in email. Gartner predicts that by 2020, 50 percent of all team coordination and communication will take place on exactly these types of apps.

Not only will text dominate as the default medium of quick communication, but the future of work will belong to those who integrate content into text that goes beyond mere file sharing. We have already experienced this with the integration of multimedia on the consumer side. For enterprises, this will include works in progress along those same media-driven lines with extensions into interactive whiteboards and live co-creation of digital collateral.

Text excels as a gateway: the first line of communication. However, only when its combined with richer, though still asynchronous, elements does it mirror the kind of purpose-driven communication that fosters our humanity instead of negating it.

The future of video

When I was youngwhich is a dangerous thing to say in a piece about the futurephotographs were a formal affair that many people shied away from. Today, we are perpetually camera ready. Why? Because the smartphone changed everything.

The camera is now pervasive, and its not just still images were comfortable with, but moving pictures as well. The more candid, the better. Similar to the development of text, FaceTime, Snapchat and Facebook Live now mean people skip right over voice and go straight to video.

Its no surprise, then, that video has significantly impacted todays workplace. Skype didnt invent a new concept; rather, they carried over face-to-face communication from the real world into the workplace.

Before I worked at Polycom, I might have attended one video conference a week. But now my life revolves around them. Im far from alone. A recent study revealed that a mere 29 percent of executives disagreed with the claim that video will be the de facto form of communication within their organization in the next five years. People are comfortable with video, recognize its benefits and in many cases demand access.

The hurdles to video will come from two sources. First, the assimilation of content. Video collaboration must do more than allow you to see, talk and share a screen. When people are together in a room, they share, contrast, annotate and cocreate content. Working across distance should be no different.

Tech needs to get out of the way and demand zero geek skills. Between the technology in the room and access to the cloud, users should not be required to log into multiple platforms. Instead, we need to foster connections through invitations native to the text programs mentioned above.

Rather than a barrier, technology must be an enabler.

Second, bandwidth. Organizations that dont anticipate the mounting demands of access, prioritize compression and processing, and plant their flag on issues of net neutrality will be left behindor find themselves left out. The increased need for bandwidth stems from both the richness of the media as well as the megatrend of moving into the network or cloud. Again, all this is about more human interaction and instantaneous connection to everything, anywhere, all the time.

Fortunately, technology is helping there, as well as with a continued ability drive more and more bits through the same glass fiber, wireless, spectrum or copper wire. While not the most exciting area, leaders must constantly assess their bandwidth needs and the many ways to address them.

Is the future of work artificial?

Naturally, the future of work will be driven by technology, but technologyat home and at workis and always will be bound by the desires, wants, passions and needs of human beings.

Technology can do nothing apart from human approval. Its what Intel CEO Paul Otellini dubbed years ago the consumerization of IT. After all, technology is made by us, for us.

As Jeanne C. Meister put it in The Future Workplace Experience: Workers of all generations and cultures will increasingly come to expect a workplace that mirrors their personal lives, one that is transparent, connected, personalized, and offers choices.

The truth is we cant become less human. But technology can and will become more human within organizations whose eyes are open to the pitfalls and opportunities.
MASON CITY | A woman arrested on an outstanding warrant at the Cerro Gordo County courthouse on Tuesday faces an additional charge after allegedly leaving a purse containing drugs on a courthouse bench.

Faith Lohr, 40, of Charles City, was booked Tuesday into the Cerro Gordo County Jail for a felony count possession of a controlled substance  third offense and a misdemeanor contempt of court.

She was initially arrested Tuesday morning at the Cerro Gordo County courthouse for an outstanding warrant for contempt of court for nonpayment of child support.

Lohr allegedly left a pink purse or bag on a bench.

Investigators say the purse, which was found by an attorney, contained Lohr's Iowa identification card, cell phone and a baggie with a clear crystalline substance believed to be methamphetamine.

Courthouse video allegedly captured footage of Lohr bringing the bag into the courthouse and then leaving it on the bench.

 Molly Montag
Corporations concerned about the release of thousands of CIA documents detailing hacks against Apple iOS and Mac OSX, Googles Android, Microsofts Windows, Linux and Solaris need to conduct a fresh round of risk assessment that takes the new revelations into account.

While the trove of leaked data  known as Vault 7  doesnt include code for actual exploits, it does describe the types of vulnerabilities they take advantage of, which can still be of value to both defenders and potential attackers, says John Pironti, president of IP Architects, a security risk consulting firm.

The released documents give a view of the capabilities and targets of the CIA, but it also offers a broader perspective, says Michael Shaulov, head of Check Point Softwares mobile and cloud security products. Replace the CIA with any other entity and you have a blueprint of how sophisticated actors operate. The next step is for corporate security pros to figure out whether their current defenses protect against the range of threats the documents describe. They need to understand where they have gaps.

Pironti says theyll then need to come up with new compensating controls.

For now, given that the actual exploit code has not been released, but the vulnerabilities they take advantage of may still be unpatched, enterprises should consider security tools designed to detect zero day attacks in general, Shaulov says.

When, as Wikileaks promises, the specific exploits have been responsibly disclosed so vendors can patch against them, security pros should make sure they patch, he says. But given the spotty track record enterprises have for patching in a timely fashion, the new exploits are likely to be used for a long time. (The Open SSL exploit Heartbleed, for example, is still present on nearly 200,000 Internet exposed servers.)

Meanwhile, Pironti says details about vulnerabilities that are documented in the Wikileaks dump can be built into new threats by criminal reverse engineers. These details act as breadcrumbs that lead them to promising flaws. Youve just made their research time a lot shorter, he says.

A section of the released documents entitled Development Tradecraft DOs and DON'Ts could be used as a textbook by less experienced hackers, he says. The tips it includes help make it more difficult for victims to respond to incidents, perform forensic reviews and attribute attacks.

It offers tips such as keeping binary size small to avoid detection, hiding data being stolen by using common protocols and shutting down network connections that are no longer being used. Its information top hackers already know, but, Its information that would help raise the education level of the more novice adversary, Pironti says. And it can give experienced adversaries intelligence to increase the effectiveness of their attacks.

The leaks mean more and different types of attacks that will be based on information in these leaks, says Eric ONeill, National Security Strategist for Carbon Black. Attackers are brilliant and lazy, he says. Why develop when you can grab something out there and modify it to your use?

Criminals and national espionage agencies will try to make use of the tools described in the Vault 7 data. Its important to understand whats in there.

Not all of Vault 7 is current, says Kaspersky Labs. For example, one vulnerability mentioned in the leak known as heapgrd, was previously known and fixed in Kaspersky Lab products in 2009, Kaspersky says. The products mentioned in the Wikileaks report  are outdated versions of Kaspersky Lab software and have been out of the technical support lifecycle for several years.

Leak your comments to Facebook for all to see.

This story, "Wikileaks dump of CIA exploits exposes enterprises to new risks" was originally published by Network World .
Extreme Networks recent string of acquisitions  including its recent $100 million auction-buy of Avayas networking business, its purchase of Brocades Ethernet IP networking assets and its purchase of wireless vendor Zebra Technologies last year  should cause enterprise end users to potentially rethink their network infrastructure buying decisions when it comes time for their next hardware refresh, according to Forrester analyst Andre Kindness.

Kindness says in the immediate short term, there are not likely to be any major changes to offerings from these vendors; all current Avaya and Brocade networking gear will still be supported. But given Extremes acquisition spree, its expected there will be some consolidation and blending of products over the medium and long-term. As with anything, it will take some time to reconcile the moves and figure out the new direction, says Kindness.

+More on Network World: Top 10 questions about Avayas networking business; Open letter to Avaya management: Dont sell the networking business+

Some analysts are optimistic these assets will fit nicely together. Network World blogger Zeus Kerravala believes the move will be good for Avaya customers, with technologies from the companies complementing each other. Avayas strength in the data center and campus seems to align well with Extremes focus on both campus and LAN activities. Meanwhile, the acquisitions build out Extremes product portfolio, especially as it relates to wireless, which Avaya and Brocade customers could benefit from. Still, Kindness says already some customers hes spoken with are concerned about which products will be changing over the long-term.

Extreme was the only known bidder for Avayas networking business, which was sold off in an auction by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on May 31. Extremes President and CEO Ed Meyercord said the deal could generate over $200 million in annual revenue and will help the company broaden its reach into vertical markets such as healthcare and manufacturing.

Extreme bought Brocades Ethernet networking business for $55 million in late March. Networking chipmaker Broadcom late last year purchased Brocade, but Broadcom announced at the time of the acquisition its plan to spin off Brocades networking assets so that it would not be competing with its customers in offering network hardware.

Extreme also purchased Zebra Technologies wireless business for $55 million in cash last September. That move filled in some gaps in Extremes wireless LAN portfolio  such as security and managed services -- and entered Extreme into new vertical markets like retail and transportation.

With that purchase, Extreme got Zebras wireless LAN 802.11ac high-speed wireless access portfolio, which includes Zebras WiNG wireless operating system, NSight advanced network troubleshooting package as well as a managed service suite that Extreme did not offer.

The Zebra buy was just the latest piece of a rapidly changing and shrinking wireless LAN vendor environment. In the past couple years, HP bought Aruba, Fortinet grabbed up Meru and most recently Brocade nabbed Ruckus which has now been sold to Arris.

Avaya has a varied history as it was spun from Lucent Technologies in 2000. It went private in 2007 and bought Nortel technology in 2009.

Extreme acquired Enterasys in 2013 and continues to grow and compete effectively with Cisco, HPE, Dell EMC and Juniper.
The delay in last month's Patch Tuesday fixes has caused considerable angst given there were several known problems, including two disclosed by Google.

Microsoft is on track, as far as we know, for a patch release next week, but one company isn't waiting. It has issued its own fix for a minor bug.

A U.K. security company called ACROS Security has released what they call their first "nano-patch" for CVE-2017-0038, a bug in EMF image format parsing logic that does not adequately check image dimensions specified in the image file being parsed against the amount of pixels in the file.

If image dimensions are large enough, the parser is tricked into reading memory contents beyond the memory-mapped EMF file being parsed. An attacker could use this vulnerability to steal sensitive data in memory or as an aid in other exploits when ASLR needs to be defeated.

This is one of the two bugs Google publicly disclosed after 90 days passed from the time it informed Microsoft of its findings. Google's zero-day researchers have a strict rule: if a company does not patch a bug by 90 days after being informed of its existence, Google goes public to light a fire under them. It has done this twice in two weeks with Microsoft.

The programmer of the fix goes into excruciating technical detail on how the bug works, how it can be exploited and how it's fixed. The free patch is available for Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 8.1 (64-bit), and Windows 7 (64-bit and 32-bit) and is meant to serve as a temporary solution until Microsoft releases its own fix.

Needless to say, the dudes at Microsoft do not abide this patch. Were unable to endorse unverified third party security updates. Our security updates are tested extensively prior to release, and we recommend customers enable automatic updates to receive the latest protections when available, said a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to me.

The next scheduled Patch Tuesday will come in two weeks on March 21.
Award-winning North Hampshire eaterie contact MP at prospect

THE proprietors of an award-winning Baughurst restaurant claim that a planned 250-per-cent hike in rates from April is threatening the future of their business.

Manager of The Wellington Arms, Simon Page, who runs the restaurant with his partner, head chef Jason King, are very distraught by the proposed increase.

We believe we are going to suffer a 250-per-cent increase on our annual rates bill from April 17, which could be detrimental to the future of our business, said Mr Page.

He added that the rateable value of the property, in Baughurst Road, voted Hampshire Dining Pub of the Year in 2015 and 2016 was likely to rocket.

He said the rise was likely to impact on local employment as it could result in scrapping plans to take on more staff.

Mr Page has contacted the North West Hampshire MP, Kit Malthouse (Con), highlighting the concerns.

A spokesman for Mr Malthouse, Ethan Brooks, said in a statement on Monday: I can confirm that they have been in touch and that Kit has been in telephone and email contact with them. Kit is aware of the issue and is looking into their case.

The rise in rateable value of the property, which forced the business rate rise, is due to revaluations which usually happen every five years.

However, the 2015 reset was postponed ahead of the last general election.

Some businesses are expecting a fall in business rates from April.

The Wellington Arms celebrated its 10th anniversary in November 2015.

Awards at The Wellington Arms  where livestock including pigs, sheep, hens and bees are kept  include: two AA rosettes (2008); 2011 Jason King (Best Pub Chef, Good Food Guide); 2012 Jason King (Pub Chef of the Year, Morning Advertiser); 2015 and 2016 Hampshire Dining Pub of the Year.

For more information visit www.thewellingtonarms.com.

Are you a North Hampshire business owner affected by a rise in business rates? Email jane.meredith@newbury news.co.uk.
Gatehouse Capital, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, has built hotels all over the country for the past 20 years. It has been working since August 2016 on a proposed plan to build a hotel in the south parking lot of Southbridge Mall and connect it with a skywalk to The Music Man Square.

The hotel would be a brand name with typical amenities  indoor pool, fitness center and food and beverage outlets.

Mason City Council delays choice of hotel developer MASON CITY | City Council members agreed Wednesday night to delay a decision on a hotel developer until the March 21 council meeting.

The Music Man Square would be converted into a conference center with a 6,500-square-foot ballroom, a 1,500-square-foot banquet/catering kitchen, classrooms and breakout rooms. The streetscape would remain.

On Wednesday after months of putting plans together, Gatehouse learned the project could not be done because of parking commitments in the Southbridge lot the city has through a lease agreement.

City Administrator Brent Trout said the city owns the Southbridge parking lots. In a lease agreement that dates about 30 years, he said the city must make 996 parking spaces available for parking. In exchange, the mall pays the cost of lighting and snow removal.

David Rachie, who works out of Gatehouse's Minneapolis office and oversees public/private partnerships, said he doesn't understand why city officials didn't tell him last year the project couldn't be done.

"I'll own up to that," Trout said Wednesday. "I didn't tell him. But this doesn't mean he's out. It's another hurdle."

Chodur back in the running to build downtown Mason City hotel MASON CITY | The City Council will meet in special session Wednesday night to consider worki

Rachie said he has visited Mason City six times, has talked with city officials and other civic leaders, and has been working with Dean Snyder Construction, Clear Lake, on building plans.

Kolton Wagaman of Dean Snyder confirmed a lot of work has been put into the project.

In January, after G8 Development of San Diego defaulted on its plan to build a downtown hotel, the city sent out a request for new proposals. Gatehouse responded because it already had a plan in the works, the one the city had known about for months. The only other respondent was G8.

Rachie said the city wanted to meet with each of the applicants on March 8-9. He had a conflict but had tentatively rescheduled his meeting with the city for March 14.

On Tuesday, he learned of the special City Council meeting to be held Wednesday night at which time the G8 proposal was to get serious consideration.

Read the proposals: Mason City releases hotel development applications ahead of Wednesday meeting The City of Mason City released Wednesday the requests for proposals related to a downtown d

"I was baffled," said Rachie. "The last I heard from Brent Trout was last week and he said he'd get back to me  and he never did.

"When I called him today (Wednesday), he told me about the lease agreement with the parking spaces. He has known about our plan since last August. If he had told me then (about the parking), I could have tried to figure something out or just walked away," said Rachie.

Rachie said when he first came to Mason City, he realized it was an ideal place for the kind of convention center he wants to build.

"This would absolutely be one of the best mid-sized convention centers in the country. And The Music Man Square is so special," he said. "We have built 20 hotels all over the country, and this one would be great."

Elizabeth Allison, the new executive director of The Music Man Square, said she is excited about the Gatehouse Capital project and hopes the council gives it fair consideration.

She said the walkway from the hotel to The Music Man Square would be really good for business.
By Reuters

NEW DELHI: India is working on a formula that might act like a cap on iron ore prices, the country's steel secretary Aruna Sharma told CNBC TV18 on Wednesday.

"There needs to be some sharing of the profits. We are working on the end-formula, and maybe we will come up with the logic very soon," Sharma said.

The price of iron ore "should not move like the sensex" as such price fluctuations make it very difficult for an industry to work, she added.

Iron ore prices rose to their highest since August 2014 last month in China, the world's top producer and consumer of steel.

With Beijing expected to boost infrastructure spending, iron ore, which is used to make steel, could rally further.

NEW DELHI: India is working on a formula that might act like a cap on iron ore prices, the country's steel secretary Aruna Sharma told CNBC TV18 on Wednesday. "There needs to be some sharing of the profits. We are working on the end-formula, and maybe we will come up with the logic very soon," Sharma said. The price of iron ore "should not move like the sensex" as such price fluctuations make it very difficult for an industry to work, she added. Iron ore prices rose to their highest since August 2014 last month in China, the world's top producer and consumer of steel. With Beijing expected to boost infrastructure spending, iron ore, which is used to make steel, could rally further.
By Reuters

GENEVA: German carmaker Volkswagen is not open to merger talks with Italian rival Fiat Chrysler, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Wednesday, rebuffing an overture from FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne.

"We are not ready for talks about anything," he told Reuters on the fringes of the Geneva auto show. "I haven't seen Marchionne for months."

"We have other problems," Mueller added.

Marchionne said on Tuesday at the show Volkswagen could be an attractive prospective partner and may be interested in talks.

He has long advocated more car-industry mergers and has been rejected more than once by General Motors, which this week agreed to sell its European unit, Opel, to France's PSA Group.

GENEVA: German carmaker Volkswagen is not open to merger talks with Italian rival Fiat Chrysler, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Wednesday, rebuffing an overture from FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne. "We are not ready for talks about anything," he told Reuters on the fringes of the Geneva auto show. "I haven't seen Marchionne for months." "We have other problems," Mueller added. Marchionne said on Tuesday at the show Volkswagen could be an attractive prospective partner and may be interested in talks. He has long advocated more car-industry mergers and has been rejected more than once by General Motors, which this week agreed to sell its European unit, Opel, to France's PSA Group.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Three sanitation workers, who got into a 15-ft deep manhole to clean it, were suffocated to death in the wee hours of Tuesday. The tragedy occurred on Kaggadasapura main road in CV Raman Nagar. The workers hailed from Andhra Pradesh.

The men, who work for a private contractor, were asked to clear a manhole that was overflowing after Monday evenings rain. They reached the manhole around 12.30am. Anjaneya Reddy (34), a native of Ramachandrapura village, Prakasham district, first went in. When he didnt come out or respond to calls, the other worker Yerraiah (35) of Narasipete in Srikakulam went in to check on Reddy.



When he too did not emerge, Dhavathi Naidu (40), driver of a tractor which ferried the workers to the spot, panicked. After taking help from passersby, Naidu went in to rescue his co-workers but never emerged.



A cab driver and four others who witnessed Naidu entering the manhole alerted the fire brigade.

By the time, fire personnel arrived, all three were found asphyxiated to death. The bodies were shifted to Bowring Hospital, where post mortem will be conducted after kin of the deceased arrive on Wednesday morning.



The men were working for Hyderabad-based Ramkay Enterprises. Baiyyappanahalli police said the contractor was responsible for the deaths. A 2014 Supreme Court order had abolished manhole scavenging, but the practice remains rampant. Since 2008, 63 people have died in the state cleaning manholes.

BENGALURU: Three sanitation workers, who got into a 15-ft deep manhole to clean it, were suffocated to death in the wee hours of Tuesday. The tragedy occurred on Kaggadasapura main road in CV Raman Nagar. The workers hailed from Andhra Pradesh. The men, who work for a private contractor, were asked to clear a manhole that was overflowing after Monday evenings rain. They reached the manhole around 12.30am. Anjaneya Reddy (34), a native of Ramachandrapura village, Prakasham district, first went in. When he didnt come out or respond to calls, the other worker Yerraiah (35) of Narasipete in Srikakulam went in to check on Reddy. When he too did not emerge, Dhavathi Naidu (40), driver of a tractor which ferried the workers to the spot, panicked. After taking help from passersby, Naidu went in to rescue his co-workers but never emerged. A cab driver and four others who witnessed Naidu entering the manhole alerted the fire brigade. By the time, fire personnel arrived, all three were found asphyxiated to death. The bodies were shifted to Bowring Hospital, where post mortem will be conducted after kin of the deceased arrive on Wednesday morning.  The men were working for Hyderabad-based Ramkay Enterprises. Baiyyappanahalli police said the contractor was responsible for the deaths. A 2014 Supreme Court order had abolished manhole scavenging, but the practice remains rampant. Since 2008, 63 people have died in the state cleaning manholes.
Arathi Kannan By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In her 25 years of being an ATCO (Air Traffic Control Officer), Siby J T, from Kalady remembers this incident vividly.



It was a long time ago; a Kuwait flight had to make an emergency landing. It is a once-in-a-blue-moon event and the preparations behind it are massive - apart from coordinating with the pilot, ground based-officers, fire controllers and others, the ATCO has to be ready and on position.



I was handling the situation, but it isnt possible for me to watch whats going on. Once the landing was made, the first person to make it through the emergency exit was a pregnant woman. When the fire controllers told me this, I felt a deep sense of gratitude, and my respect for this job only multiplied, said Siby.



A day at the workspace of an ATCO can be best described as intense and hectic, for controlling air traffic is no laughing matter. And even today, when aviation as an industry is largely perceived to employ more men than women, its surprising to note the remarkable changes that have taken place over time.

The most recent admission saw nine new employees out of which five are women, said Anita C, assistant general manager at the Air Traffic Management. While most people still call it Air Traffic Control, it is officially known as Air Traffic Management.



When asked why she chose to join this industry in 1991, Anita had a simpler answer than expected. I saw the advertisement in the newspaper and thought of applying for the job. I did not know much about the nature of work here, but after the training, we all got a fair idea, she said, adding that even during their training session, close to one-third of the people were women.



The idea of working from different airports sounded thrilling, shares Siby, who also joined as early as 1991.



The buzzword is safety, and that cannot be compromised at any cost. Mistakes cannot happen for unlike any other industry, they are irrevocable.



This inevitably points to the gravity of each of their action and decision, which in turn would create a highly stressful environment. I dont see it as stressful because Im passionate about my job, said Siby. But yes, the times I have to wait to get things done in other offices make me realise how efficient and focussed my job is!



Women fare well as ATCOs because they are better than men at handling stress, said Shamla M B, who left her job at BSNL to join as an Air Traffic Control officer in 2011. This is my kind of job, where every moment offers an experience so different.



We are given a break every two hours to combat the stress. Refreshments, a walk, and were back in action. We are sometimes asked to take up other channels, such as runway management, Surface Movement Control (SMC), or aerodrome reporting, detailed Shamla, adding there are seven channels in all.



Are there moments of disagreements with the pilot? Very few, she said. We take into consideration all their concerns before passing them instructions, and finally, when they say weve done a great job, the feeling is incomparable!



Unlike other workplaces, bias against women employees seem to be non-existent here. Were all officers of equal standing here, and all decisions are taken after verifying everyones opinion. There hasnt been even one instance where we felt disrespected, shared Anita.



Most of them also agree that even though their families werent very aware of the possibilities of the job, they were all immensely supportive. After a fight at home, my kids are quick to reconcile when Im about to leave for work, because they know I cannot have distractions at work, laughed Siby.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In her 25 years of being an ATCO (Air Traffic Control Officer), Siby J T, from Kalady remembers this incident vividly. It was a long time ago; a Kuwait flight had to make an emergency landing. It is a once-in-a-blue-moon event and the preparations behind it are massive - apart from coordinating with the pilot, ground based-officers, fire controllers and others, the ATCO has to be ready and on position. I was handling the situation, but it isnt possible for me to watch whats going on. Once the landing was made, the first person to make it through the emergency exit was a pregnant woman. When the fire controllers told me this, I felt a deep sense of gratitude, and my respect for this job only multiplied, said Siby. A day at the workspace of an ATCO can be best described as intense and hectic, for controlling air traffic is no laughing matter. And even today, when aviation as an industry is largely perceived to employ more men than women, its surprising to note the remarkable changes that have taken place over time. The most recent admission saw nine new employees out of which five are women, said Anita C, assistant general manager at the Air Traffic Management. While most people still call it Air Traffic Control, it is officially known as Air Traffic Management. When asked why she chose to join this industry in 1991, Anita had a simpler answer than expected. I saw the advertisement in the newspaper and thought of applying for the job. I did not know much about the nature of work here, but after the training, we all got a fair idea, she said, adding that even during their training session, close to one-third of the people were women. The idea of working from different airports sounded thrilling, shares Siby, who also joined as early as 1991. The buzzword is safety, and that cannot be compromised at any cost. Mistakes cannot happen for unlike any other industry, they are irrevocable. This inevitably points to the gravity of each of their action and decision, which in turn would create a highly stressful environment. I dont see it as stressful because Im passionate about my job, said Siby. But yes, the times I have to wait to get things done in other offices make me realise how efficient and focussed my job is! Women fare well as ATCOs because they are better than men at handling stress, said Shamla M B, who left her job at BSNL to join as an Air Traffic Control officer in 2011. This is my kind of job, where every moment offers an experience so different. We are given a break every two hours to combat the stress. Refreshments, a walk, and were back in action. We are sometimes asked to take up other channels, such as runway management, Surface Movement Control (SMC), or aerodrome reporting, detailed Shamla, adding there are seven channels in all. Are there moments of disagreements with the pilot? Very few, she said. We take into consideration all their concerns before passing them instructions, and finally, when they say weve done a great job, the feeling is incomparable! Unlike other workplaces, bias against women employees seem to be non-existent here. Were all officers of equal standing here, and all decisions are taken after verifying everyones opinion. There hasnt been even one instance where we felt disrespected, shared Anita. Most of them also agree that even though their families werent very aware of the possibilities of the job, they were all immensely supportive. After a fight at home, my kids are quick to reconcile when Im about to leave for work, because they know I cannot have distractions at work, laughed Siby.
By IANS

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput on Tuesday rubbished rumours that his upcoming film "Raabta" is "visually" inspired in parts by Hollywood blockbuster "300".

At the launch of a new campaign, "Behtar India" by NDTV and DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance, the actor who plays the lead in the romantic drama said, "No it isn't inspired."

Industry hearsay is that Dinesh Vijan's "Raabta" that travels between two eras seeks inspiration from Hollywood fantasy war drama "300".

"I do films because I love acting. You put me on stage and give me just Rs 500 I would love to act. Even if I can't do theatre I can gladly do short films. Acting is something else for me," the "Kai Po Che!" actor said about his passion for acting.

Brand ambassador, Sushant Singh Rajput also spoke about "Behtar India" Campaign that aims at mobilising students, ordinary citizens and corporates to join a nationwide movement that focuses on health, hygiene, and environment.

"When you become a popular face and people start giving attention on what you say or do then it is important to do things that you are convinced with. That's why I am associated with this campaign. I think this is high time for all of us to understand how important it is," he stated.

"Raabta" also stars Kriti Sanon in the lead role and it's scheduled to release on June 9.

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput on Tuesday rubbished rumours that his upcoming film "Raabta" is "visually" inspired in parts by Hollywood blockbuster "300". At the launch of a new campaign, "Behtar India" by NDTV and DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance, the actor who plays the lead in the romantic drama said, "No it isn't inspired." Industry hearsay is that Dinesh Vijan's "Raabta" that travels between two eras seeks inspiration from Hollywood fantasy war drama "300". "I do films because I love acting. You put me on stage and give me just Rs 500 I would love to act. Even if I can't do theatre I can gladly do short films. Acting is something else for me," the "Kai Po Che!" actor said about his passion for acting. Brand ambassador, Sushant Singh Rajput also spoke about "Behtar India" Campaign that aims at mobilising students, ordinary citizens and corporates to join a nationwide movement that focuses on health, hygiene, and environment. "When you become a popular face and people start giving attention on what you say or do then it is important to do things that you are convinced with. That's why I am associated with this campaign. I think this is high time for all of us to understand how important it is," he stated. "Raabta" also stars Kriti Sanon in the lead role and it's scheduled to release on June 9.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: The Gadchiroli sessions court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and five others for their links with Left-wing extremist organisations and waging war against India.

Apart from the professor, the court also convicted Jawaharlal Nehru University student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi and three others under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Judge Suryakant Shinde, who awarded the sentence, held the accused guilty of waging war against the country and supporting the ideology of a banned Maoist organisation.

We could produce convincing evidence establishing links between Saibaba and the banned outfit as well as several other groups in and outside India, a senior officer investigating the case told Express.

We had gathered huge digital evidence from Saibabas residence in Delhi. Forensic experts proved in the court that the data was not tampered with and other investigating officials deciphered various documents therein. Several documents were in different names like Prakash, Chetan apart from Saibaba himself.

We were able to prove that Saibaba was active under various identities and the documents referred to him, he added.

MUMBAI: The Gadchiroli sessions court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and five others for their links with Left-wing extremist organisations and waging war against India. Apart from the professor, the court also convicted Jawaharlal Nehru University student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi and three others under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Judge Suryakant Shinde, who awarded the sentence, held the accused guilty of waging war against the country and supporting the ideology of a banned Maoist organisation. We could produce convincing evidence establishing links between Saibaba and the banned outfit as well as several other groups in and outside India, a senior officer investigating the case told Express. We had gathered huge digital evidence from Saibabas residence in Delhi. Forensic experts proved in the court that the data was not tampered with and other investigating officials deciphered various documents therein. Several documents were in different names like Prakash, Chetan apart from Saibaba himself. We were able to prove that Saibaba was active under various identities and the documents referred to him, he added.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Eighty six per cent voter turnout was recorded in Wednesdays second and final phase of Manipur elections even as six people were injured in a low-intensity blast that was triggered at an isolated place near Thangal bazaar in Imphal.

The States Director General of Police, LM Khaute, confirmed the blast but did not confirm the number of injured.

It was a low-intensity blast. Some people could have been referred to hospitals. Our personnel reached the spot right after the incident, but did not find any injured persons there, he told New Indian Express.

Khaute said stray incidents of violence were recorded on Wednesday, though he did not give details of the incident. The overall voter turnout in the last two elections in the State was around 80 per cent. The first phase polls on March 4 had recorded 86.5 per cent voter turnout.

The voter turnout today (Wednesday) was 86 per cent. However, this was based on reports received from 75 per cent of the polling stations. We are likely to receive reports from the remaining polling stations by tomorrow (Thursday) evening. The figure will surely go up, the States chief electoral officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan, told New Indian Express.

Asked about reports of damage caused to EVMs and attempts to capture booths, he said, Some complaints have been received from the Naga-majority districts of Chandel, Ukhrul and Tamenglong districts. The complaints will be examined by returning officers in the presence of observers when polling parties return.

The commission ordered re-polling at a polling booth in Phungyar constituency following the death of a booth level officer (BLO). The BLO, H Ramkating, who had sustained grievous injuries in an IED blast outside a polling station on Tuesday, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. Dewangan said the locals there could not turn up to cast votes due to mourning.

The Election Commission paid an ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased. The polling held on Wednesday will decide the fates of chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, his son Okram Surajkumar, iconic activist Irom Sharmila, deputy chief minister M Gaikhangam and BJP vice president Thokchom Jadumani Singh among others.

GUWAHATI: Eighty six per cent voter turnout was recorded in Wednesdays second and final phase of Manipur elections even as six people were injured in a low-intensity blast that was triggered at an isolated place near Thangal bazaar in Imphal. The States Director General of Police, LM Khaute, confirmed the blast but did not confirm the number of injured. It was a low-intensity blast. Some people could have been referred to hospitals. Our personnel reached the spot right after the incident, but did not find any injured persons there, he told New Indian Express. Khaute said stray incidents of violence were recorded on Wednesday, though he did not give details of the incident. The overall voter turnout in the last two elections in the State was around 80 per cent. The first phase polls on March 4 had recorded 86.5 per cent voter turnout. The voter turnout today (Wednesday) was 86 per cent. However, this was based on reports received from 75 per cent of the polling stations. We are likely to receive reports from the remaining polling stations by tomorrow (Thursday) evening. The figure will surely go up, the States chief electoral officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan, told New Indian Express. Asked about reports of damage caused to EVMs and attempts to capture booths, he said, Some complaints have been received from the Naga-majority districts of Chandel, Ukhrul and Tamenglong districts. The complaints will be examined by returning officers in the presence of observers when polling parties return. The commission ordered re-polling at a polling booth in Phungyar constituency following the death of a booth level officer (BLO). The BLO, H Ramkating, who had sustained grievous injuries in an IED blast outside a polling station on Tuesday, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. Dewangan said the locals there could not turn up to cast votes due to mourning. The Election Commission paid an ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased. The polling held on Wednesday will decide the fates of chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, his son Okram Surajkumar, iconic activist Irom Sharmila, deputy chief minister M Gaikhangam and BJP vice president Thokchom Jadumani Singh among others.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Wednesday served a 12-hour ultimatum to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to direct action against Subodh Biswas, the mastermind behind ransacking of AASUs local office at Silapathar on Monday.



Biswas, the president of hitherto lesser-known Nikhil Bharat Bengali Uddastu Samannay Samiti (NBBUSS), had allegedly instigated a mob with his speech that led to the incident in which at least 10 AASU activists sustained injuries. The mob, mostly NBBUSS members, had vandalised the AASU office during a procession.



So far, nine vandals have been arrested by the police. However, Biswas, who is said to be from Nagpur, is still at large and continues to evade the arrest.

Its been two days and the police havent been able to arrest him. The Chief Minister often talks about the protection of Assamese people and their land and culture. Our challenge to him is arrest Subodh Biswas within 12 hours, AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi told media at a protest meeting in Dhemaji. The meeting was attended by the leaders of 19 civil society groups.



Following the protests staged by AASU activists across the State demanding action against the culprits, the State Assembly on Wednesday sent a nine-member and all-party delegation of MLAs to Silapathar.



Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi alleged that the State government had facilitated Biswass escape. His accusation stemmed from photographs carried in a section of local dailies featuring Biswas along with Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and other BJP leaders from the State.



Condemning the incident, governor B L Purohit said the ransacking of AASU office was an act of cowardice. He assured that the perpetrators of the crime would be dealt with sternly.



Purohit appealed to people to not take law in their hands. He urged them to maintain peace and harmony to strengthen the States pride of being a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious society.

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Students Union (AASU) on Wednesday served a 12-hour ultimatum to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to direct action against Subodh Biswas, the mastermind behind ransacking of AASUs local office at Silapathar on Monday. Biswas, the president of hitherto lesser-known Nikhil Bharat Bengali Uddastu Samannay Samiti (NBBUSS), had allegedly instigated a mob with his speech that led to the incident in which at least 10 AASU activists sustained injuries. The mob, mostly NBBUSS members, had vandalised the AASU office during a procession. So far, nine vandals have been arrested by the police. However, Biswas, who is said to be from Nagpur, is still at large and continues to evade the arrest. Its been two days and the police havent been able to arrest him. The Chief Minister often talks about the protection of Assamese people and their land and culture. Our challenge to him is arrest Subodh Biswas within 12 hours, AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi told media at a protest meeting in Dhemaji. The meeting was attended by the leaders of 19 civil society groups. Following the protests staged by AASU activists across the State demanding action against the culprits, the State Assembly on Wednesday sent a nine-member and all-party delegation of MLAs to Silapathar. Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi alleged that the State government had facilitated Biswass escape. His accusation stemmed from photographs carried in a section of local dailies featuring Biswas along with Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and other BJP leaders from the State. Condemning the incident, governor B L Purohit said the ransacking of AASU office was an act of cowardice. He assured that the perpetrators of the crime would be dealt with sternly. Purohit appealed to people to not take law in their hands. He urged them to maintain peace and harmony to strengthen the States pride of being a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious society.
MASON CITY | More than 50 people gathered this week to start making plans for welcoming one or more refugee families to Mason City.

The Rev. Chuck Kelsey, pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ, said two families currently in hiding in the Central Africa nation of Cameroon have been identified as possible candidates to be relocated to Mason City.

"We have everything we need in this room," Kelsey said during Tuesday night's meeting at First Congregational UCC.

Those who attended the meeting included people who have experience working with refugees, as well as health care workers, linguists, English Language Learner teachers and other educators, social workers, pastors, landlords and immigrants.

Others indicated they were there simply because they want to help any way they can.

Kelsey said one of the families being considered for relocation has been targeted for assassination by radicals "due to their work in the community."

In one of the families the husband is a pastor married to a midwife. The husband in the other family is a physics teacher, while the wife is a nurse.

Both couples have young children.

Kelsey said he doesn't have all the answers to the refugee crisis, but among those who came to the meeting, "we have all the gifts we need" to relocate at least one family.

Those at the meeting began forming committees for helping refugees with needs such as housing, health care, education, social services, transportation, legal assistance and financial assistance.

Faruk Jessa and his wife, Savrigul Gulomalieva, who moved to Mason City from Atlanta in October, were among those who attended the group's first meeting.

Jessa said he was afraid only a few people would be there, and was pleasantly surprised to find such a large crowd.

He said it shows there's still a welcoming spirit in America, despite what is sometimes depicted in the news.

Jessa, who came to the United States from Tanzania when he was young, worked with refugees while he was serving in the U.S. military.

Gulomalieva also worked with refugees while she was an English professor at the University of Central Asia.

Jessa noted the families being considered for relocation to Mason City are educated and have a lot of skills to bring to the community.

"We can learn from the refugees, and the refugees can learn from us," Jessa said.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: In first such incident, a group of armed militants barged into the residence of senior police officer in South Kashmir and warned his family members that he should quit the job or face consequences.

The J&K police chief has asked militants that their fight is with police and they should not bring families into the conflict.

A police officer said a group of four militants barged into the residence of a DySP-rank officer in South Kashmirs Shopian district on Saturday evening.

The police officer, who is currently posted in Srinagar, was not present in the house.

The militants threatened the family members of the police officer. The militants told his family that he should quit the police force or face severe consequence, the officer said.

According to him, the militants told the family that the policemen and officers were harassing the family members of the militants and it wont be tolerated anymore.

The militants warned the family that in case police does not stop harassing their kith and kin, then they can also target family members of the police officers, he said.

The militants before leaving the place smashed the electronic appliances and broke window panes of the house.

Police have registered a case and launched a manhunt to track the militants, who had barged into the house and threatened the family of the police officer.

It is the first instance when militants have barged into the residence of the police officer and warned his family.

Reacting to the militant threat, J&K police chief S P Vaid told New Indian Express why should policemen and officers quit the job.

Instead the militants should give up the militancy, he said.

Vaid said police does not harass the family members of the militants. We dont involve the family members of the militants.

We dont harass families of anybody. We have involved the families in making the militants surrender. We never harassed the family members of the militants, he said.

Stressing that militants should not involve families, Vaid said, The fight is between militants and police and families should not be brought into this conflict."

Asked whether security at residences of police officers would be increased, he said, Necessary steps would be taken as per the requirement and threat perception.

In December last year, Hizbul Mujahideens Kashmir chief Zakir Rashid alias Moosa had released a video warning policemen that if they continue to harass their families, the militants too wont spare their families.

We will go after your families also if you continue to harass our families, he had said and warned, Do you think your families are safe because they are in Jammu or other parts of India. We can reach them anywhere, whether they are in Jammu or Kanyakumari and target them. We are very much capable of doing that.

Zakir, who was an engineering student in Chandigarh and joined Hizb four years back, took over as Hizb chief in Kashmir after killing of Kashmir militancys poster boy Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8 last year.

SRINAGAR: In first such incident, a group of armed militants barged into the residence of senior police officer in South Kashmir and warned his family members that he should quit the job or face consequences. The J&K police chief has asked militants that their fight is with police and they should not bring families into the conflict. A police officer said a group of four militants barged into the residence of a DySP-rank officer in South Kashmirs Shopian district on Saturday evening. The police officer, who is currently posted in Srinagar, was not present in the house. The militants threatened the family members of the police officer. The militants told his family that he should quit the police force or face severe consequence, the officer said. According to him, the militants told the family that the policemen and officers were harassing the family members of the militants and it wont be tolerated anymore. The militants warned the family that in case police does not stop harassing their kith and kin, then they can also target family members of the police officers, he said. The militants before leaving the place smashed the electronic appliances and broke window panes of the house. Police have registered a case and launched a manhunt to track the militants, who had barged into the house and threatened the family of the police officer. It is the first instance when militants have barged into the residence of the police officer and warned his family. Reacting to the militant threat, J&K police chief S P Vaid told New Indian Express why should policemen and officers quit the job. Instead the militants should give up the militancy, he said. Vaid said police does not harass the family members of the militants. We dont involve the family members of the militants. We dont harass families of anybody. We have involved the families in making the militants surrender. We never harassed the family members of the militants, he said. Stressing that militants should not involve families, Vaid said, The fight is between militants and police and families should not be brought into this conflict." Asked whether security at residences of police officers would be increased, he said, Necessary steps would be taken as per the requirement and threat perception. In December last year, Hizbul Mujahideens Kashmir chief Zakir Rashid alias Moosa had released a video warning policemen that if they continue to harass their families, the militants too wont spare their families. We will go after your families also if you continue to harass our families, he had said and warned, Do you think your families are safe because they are in Jammu or other parts of India. We can reach them anywhere, whether they are in Jammu or Kanyakumari and target them. We are very much capable of doing that. Zakir, who was an engineering student in Chandigarh and joined Hizb four years back, took over as Hizb chief in Kashmir after killing of Kashmir militancys poster boy Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8 last year.
YATISH YADAV By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Modi government is digging into details of at least 26 burning issues to counter oppositions offensive during the second part of budget session beginning Thursday.

The government documents exclusively accessed by the Express shows the Centre is putting together a comprehensive response on arrest of TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay in Rose Valley Chit Fund Case and effects of demonetization on Indian economy.

The government is expecting an uproar over printing of currency notes allegedly by a blacklisted firm as well as problems faced by the poor due to banning old Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes.

The government is also compiling information on relation with Sri Lanka with respect to issues related to Tamil fishermen. The move comes in the backdrop of killing of an Indian fisherman by Sri Lankan navy. DMK member Kanimozhi has already given a notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue.

The government is also expecting offensive from opposition over recent clashes between student groups in Ramjas College, Delhi and other associated issues related to heated nationalism debate.

Besides, government is expecting oppositions onslaught to counter its tall claims of being a torchbearer of farmers interests. The Supreme Court had last week questioned the sincerity of the government saying it was going in the wrong direction and not addressing the causes behind the farmers suicides happening since so many decades. According to the government sources, they have compiled details of action taken by the Modi government-short term, medium term and long term- to benefit the farmers and to ensure that their income is doubled by 2022. This includes proposed changes in the agricultural produce market committee act, which being discussed by all the stakeholders.

The government is also worried about Jat agitation that will hit the entry points to Delhi on March 20. The Jat leaders have threatened to block supplies to Delhi if the government does not accept their demand for OBC status for reservation in government jobs and education.

The government is scripting the details on recent killings and attack on NRIs and American-Indians in US. After Kansas killing, the Indian government had termed the incident as an individual act. The government, aware of controversy over former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister K.Pul suicide and Aadhar, which has been made mandatory for midday meal.

According to sources the concerned departments have been told to work on a detailed response, in case opposition demands a discussion. Safety and security of passengers in the trains, non-performing assets, ban on commercial surrogacy and triple Talaq are among the other issues, the government is expecting opposition outrage.

We are ready for the discussion on all the issues and looking forward to a constructive session, a senior government official said.

Government Ready With Legislative Business

The government has finalized the draft for the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2017 that will allow abortion of foetus and increase the legal limit for termination from 20 weeks to 24 weeks. The bill now seeking cabinet nod will ensure that upper gestation of termination of pregnancy does not apply in case of diagnosis of severe foetal abnormalities incompatible with life. Once cleared by the parliament, the new law will increase access to legal abortion services to women to reduce maternal mortality.

The government will also push for the Maternity benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was cleared by the upper house on August 11, 2016. The government will also introduce three subordinate legislations drafted after hectic consultations to operate the major reform Goods and Service Tax (GST).

The cabinet has cleared a new bill Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to further streamline the adjudication of Inter-State river water disputes by consulting standalone tribunal with permanent office space and infrastructure.

Another new legislation-the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill 2017 is in the priority list of the government to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in respect of Odisha and to modify the name of UT of Pondicherry to Puducherry. The Indian institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill 2017 cleared by the cabinet is likely to be taken up in the upcoming session of the parliament. The bill provides for inclusion of Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IITDM) , Kurnool along with other IITs in the principal act. Once cleared by the parliament, IITDM Kurnool will be declared as an institute of national importance with the power to award degrees to the students.

 There remains apprehension on the Enemy property bill, which will replace an ordinance., the government official further added.

NEW DELHI: The Modi government is digging into details of at least 26 burning issues to counter oppositions offensive during the second part of budget session beginning Thursday. The government documents exclusively accessed by the Express shows the Centre is putting together a comprehensive response on arrest of TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay in Rose Valley Chit Fund Case and effects of demonetization on Indian economy. The government is expecting an uproar over printing of currency notes allegedly by a blacklisted firm as well as problems faced by the poor due to banning old Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes. The government is also compiling information on relation with Sri Lanka with respect to issues related to Tamil fishermen. The move comes in the backdrop of killing of an Indian fisherman by Sri Lankan navy. DMK member Kanimozhi has already given a notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue. The government is also expecting offensive from opposition over recent clashes between student groups in Ramjas College, Delhi and other associated issues related to heated nationalism debate. Besides, government is expecting oppositions onslaught to counter its tall claims of being a torchbearer of farmers interests. The Supreme Court had last week questioned the sincerity of the government saying it was going in the wrong direction and not addressing the causes behind the farmers suicides happening since so many decades. According to the government sources, they have compiled details of action taken by the Modi government-short term, medium term and long term- to benefit the farmers and to ensure that their income is doubled by 2022. This includes proposed changes in the agricultural produce market committee act, which being discussed by all the stakeholders. The government is also worried about Jat agitation that will hit the entry points to Delhi on March 20. The Jat leaders have threatened to block supplies to Delhi if the government does not accept their demand for OBC status for reservation in government jobs and education. The government is scripting the details on recent killings and attack on NRIs and American-Indians in US. After Kansas killing, the Indian government had termed the incident as an individual act. The government, aware of controversy over former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister K.Pul suicide and Aadhar, which has been made mandatory for midday meal. According to sources the concerned departments have been told to work on a detailed response, in case opposition demands a discussion. Safety and security of passengers in the trains, non-performing assets, ban on commercial surrogacy and triple Talaq are among the other issues, the government is expecting opposition outrage. We are ready for the discussion on all the issues and looking forward to a constructive session, a senior government official said. Government Ready With Legislative Business The government has finalized the draft for the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2017 that will allow abortion of foetus and increase the legal limit for termination from 20 weeks to 24 weeks. The bill now seeking cabinet nod will ensure that upper gestation of termination of pregnancy does not apply in case of diagnosis of severe foetal abnormalities incompatible with life. Once cleared by the parliament, the new law will increase access to legal abortion services to women to reduce maternal mortality. The government will also push for the Maternity benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was cleared by the upper house on August 11, 2016. The government will also introduce three subordinate legislations drafted after hectic consultations to operate the major reform Goods and Service Tax (GST). The cabinet has cleared a new bill Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to further streamline the adjudication of Inter-State river water disputes by consulting standalone tribunal with permanent office space and infrastructure. Another new legislation-the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill 2017 is in the priority list of the government to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in respect of Odisha and to modify the name of UT of Pondicherry to Puducherry. The Indian institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill 2017 cleared by the cabinet is likely to be taken up in the upcoming session of the parliament. The bill provides for inclusion of Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IITDM) , Kurnool along with other IITs in the principal act. Once cleared by the parliament, IITDM Kurnool will be declared as an institute of national importance with the power to award degrees to the students.  There remains apprehension on the Enemy property bill, which will replace an ordinance., the government official further added.
By PTI

KANPUR: "A traitor cannot be my son, straight and simple," said Sartaj about Saifullah, a suspected ISIS terrorist who was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police today.

Feeling ashamed of his son's activities, Sartaj refused to take Saifullah's body, saying, "A traitor cannot be related to me, let alone be my son."

He said he would have handed over his son to the police if he had even "an iota of inkling" about his activities.

Saifullah, suspected to be self-proclaimed ISIS activist, was killed in Lucknow this morning in an exchange of fire with the police after a 12-hour stand-off. He was allegedly linked to the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said.

"My child has done a wrong thing and I have regrets for it...I would have handed him over to the police had I even an iota of inkling about it...The entire world would have seen and noticed how a father could put his own son in police hands," Sartaj told reporters.

"There is no need to hide a disease, else it becomes an incurable wound," Sartaj told reporters.

"We are Indian citizens. I was born here, my ancestors were born here," he said, adding, "Almost everyone in the family is sad. But it is more shame than sadness for what he has done."

He said even his neighbours are wondering as to how this could have happened to a son belonging to a decent family.

On his decision not to take the body, he said he was not concerned about what relatives would say.

Sartaj said he had heard this morning about the death of his son in the encounter.

He said Saifullah had left home about two-and-a-half months back after he beat him up for not finding work and not listening to him. Since then, he was not aware of his son's whereabouts, he said.

"On Monday, I got a call from Saifullah, who told me that he had got a visa to visit Saudi (Arabia) and he was preparing to go there. I told him go ahead," the father said.

When asked whether he had any regret for not taking proper care of his son, Sartaj said he feels he could have kept a better watch and saved him from all this.

Sartaj said after Saifullah left home, he was concerned but felt that he will return on his own as he was angry with him.

On Saifullah's mother, who is not alive, Sartaj said she would have been really pained. "It seems that she is not alive to see this bad day...If she had stopped him from moving out of the house he would not have left," he added.

On police seeking mediation of his other son Khalid to make Saifullah surrender, Sartaj said he has been told about it and that the conversation lasted for one hour but the voice on the other side was not clear.

Confirming that Sartaj had refused to take the body, Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said the police may again make an attempt to convince the family about it.

Meanwhile, the father of two other men, who have been arrested on terror-related charges, has claimed that they were innocent and has sought a fair probe.

KANPUR: "A traitor cannot be my son, straight and simple," said Sartaj about Saifullah, a suspected ISIS terrorist who was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police today. Feeling ashamed of his son's activities, Sartaj refused to take Saifullah's body, saying, "A traitor cannot be related to me, let alone be my son." He said he would have handed over his son to the police if he had even "an iota of inkling" about his activities. Saifullah, suspected to be self-proclaimed ISIS activist, was killed in Lucknow this morning in an exchange of fire with the police after a 12-hour stand-off. He was allegedly linked to the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said. "My child has done a wrong thing and I have regrets for it...I would have handed him over to the police had I even an iota of inkling about it...The entire world would have seen and noticed how a father could put his own son in police hands," Sartaj told reporters. "There is no need to hide a disease, else it becomes an incurable wound," Sartaj told reporters. "We are Indian citizens. I was born here, my ancestors were born here," he said, adding, "Almost everyone in the family is sad. But it is more shame than sadness for what he has done." He said even his neighbours are wondering as to how this could have happened to a son belonging to a decent family. On his decision not to take the body, he said he was not concerned about what relatives would say. Sartaj said he had heard this morning about the death of his son in the encounter. He said Saifullah had left home about two-and-a-half months back after he beat him up for not finding work and not listening to him. Since then, he was not aware of his son's whereabouts, he said. "On Monday, I got a call from Saifullah, who told me that he had got a visa to visit Saudi (Arabia) and he was preparing to go there. I told him go ahead," the father said. When asked whether he had any regret for not taking proper care of his son, Sartaj said he feels he could have kept a better watch and saved him from all this. Sartaj said after Saifullah left home, he was concerned but felt that he will return on his own as he was angry with him. On Saifullah's mother, who is not alive, Sartaj said she would have been really pained. "It seems that she is not alive to see this bad day...If she had stopped him from moving out of the house he would not have left," he added. On police seeking mediation of his other son Khalid to make Saifullah surrender, Sartaj said he has been told about it and that the conversation lasted for one hour but the voice on the other side was not clear. Confirming that Sartaj had refused to take the body, Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said the police may again make an attempt to convince the family about it. Meanwhile, the father of two other men, who have been arrested on terror-related charges, has claimed that they were innocent and has sought a fair probe.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was today adjourned for the day without transacting any business after it witnessed noisy scenes as Shiv Sena legislators joined Opposition Congress and NCP to demand loan waiver for distressed farmers.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, Leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil through an adjournment notice highlighted the plight of farmers across the state after consecutive droughts and said there was no alternative other than granting them a loan waiver.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar asked the BJP government to recall how its ministers, while in Opposition would raise farmers' woes.

"When industries are given loan waivers, why is the government not doing the same to farmers," he asked.

Subsequently, Opposition members entered the well of the House and began shouting slogans. They were later joined in the protest by Shiv Sena legislators. However, they were not seen sloganeering.

As noisy scenes ruled the House, it was adjourned first for 15 minutes by Speaker Haribhau Bagde and then for the second time till the end of the Question Hour.

When the House resumed, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde said the government was pro-farmer and wanted them to be debt-free.

Agriculture Minister Pandurang Phundkar said the Opposition's demand was "unrealistic".

"We have never opposed the demand for loan waiver.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already said loan waiver to farmers will be considered at an appropriate time. We want the farmers to be efficient in terms of agriculture production and then consider the loan waiver demand, he said.

As Opposition members remained firm on their demand and continued with their slogan shouting, presiding officer Sudhakar Deshmukh (of the BJP) adjourned the House for the day.

Sena had made a representation to the Chief Minister demanding loan waiver for farmers amidst heated and acrimonious campaign for the recent civic polls.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had even said that if their demand is accepted, his party would extend support to the BJP for the rest of the five-year term.

Congress, also in a representation to the CM on the issue, had earlier said that ever since the BJP government came to power, the condition of farmers has deteriorated and there has been a rise in farmer suicides in the last two years.

Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly after it was adjourned for the day, Vikhe Patil demanded that the state government bring a one line resolution in the Lower House tomorrow that it will make a provision for loan waiver to farmers in the state Budget to be presented on March 18.

He said the Opposition will not allow smooth

functioning of the House unless the government makes a commitment to announce a loan waiver in the Budget which will be presented by Sudhir Mungantiwar.

He charged that the government has lost the trust of the people as well as its allies like the Shiv Sena.

"Shiv Sena joined us in the demand for loan waiver in the Lower House. We are amazed that the government says it will announce a loan waiver at an appropriate time. What time can be more appropriate than this time when the farmers are distressed due to three years of consecutive drought, unseasonal rains and lack of good support price for their crop," he asked.

"Is Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis waiting for more farmers to commit suicide. Since January this year, 262 farmers have committed suicide. Similarly, 9000 farmers have committed suicide in the last two and half years," he claimed.

Vikhe Patil said the Opposition had demanded in the House that the day's business be set aside and the decision of loan waiver be taken by the government to provide relief to farmers.

"We had met the Governor before the start of the Budget session requesting that he issue directions to the government to provide relief to the farmers. We wanted the issue to be highlighted in the Governor's address to the Legislature on the first day of the session. But unfortunately farmers' welfare is not on the priority list of the government," he alleged.

On Sena joining the Opposition in the House, he said if Sena leaders were honest, they should submit their resignations to the Speaker, as BJP has not met the loan waiver demand.

Earlier, before the Assembly began, Congress and NCP members were seen protesting outside the House demanding immediate loan waiver for farmers. The agitation was led by Vikhe Patil, Ajit Pawar, NCP's Leader of Opposition in Upper House, Dhananjay Munde and Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad.

The leaders protested in the Assembly premises holding placards with demands highlighting farmer issues.

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was today adjourned for the day without transacting any business after it witnessed noisy scenes as Shiv Sena legislators joined Opposition Congress and NCP to demand loan waiver for distressed farmers. As soon as the House assembled for the day, Leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil through an adjournment notice highlighted the plight of farmers across the state after consecutive droughts and said there was no alternative other than granting them a loan waiver. NCP leader Ajit Pawar asked the BJP government to recall how its ministers, while in Opposition would raise farmers' woes. "When industries are given loan waivers, why is the government not doing the same to farmers," he asked. Subsequently, Opposition members entered the well of the House and began shouting slogans. They were later joined in the protest by Shiv Sena legislators. However, they were not seen sloganeering. As noisy scenes ruled the House, it was adjourned first for 15 minutes by Speaker Haribhau Bagde and then for the second time till the end of the Question Hour. When the House resumed, Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde said the government was pro-farmer and wanted them to be debt-free. Agriculture Minister Pandurang Phundkar said the Opposition's demand was "unrealistic". "We have never opposed the demand for loan waiver. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already said loan waiver to farmers will be considered at an appropriate time. We want the farmers to be efficient in terms of agriculture production and then consider the loan waiver demand, he said. As Opposition members remained firm on their demand and continued with their slogan shouting, presiding officer Sudhakar Deshmukh (of the BJP) adjourned the House for the day. Sena had made a representation to the Chief Minister demanding loan waiver for farmers amidst heated and acrimonious campaign for the recent civic polls. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had even said that if their demand is accepted, his party would extend support to the BJP for the rest of the five-year term. Congress, also in a representation to the CM on the issue, had earlier said that ever since the BJP government came to power, the condition of farmers has deteriorated and there has been a rise in farmer suicides in the last two years. Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly after it was adjourned for the day, Vikhe Patil demanded that the state government bring a one line resolution in the Lower House tomorrow that it will make a provision for loan waiver to farmers in the state Budget to be presented on March 18. He said the Opposition will not allow smooth functioning of the House unless the government makes a commitment to announce a loan waiver in the Budget which will be presented by Sudhir Mungantiwar. He charged that the government has lost the trust of the people as well as its allies like the Shiv Sena. "Shiv Sena joined us in the demand for loan waiver in the Lower House. We are amazed that the government says it will announce a loan waiver at an appropriate time. What time can be more appropriate than this time when the farmers are distressed due to three years of consecutive drought, unseasonal rains and lack of good support price for their crop," he asked. "Is Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis waiting for more farmers to commit suicide. Since January this year, 262 farmers have committed suicide. Similarly, 9000 farmers have committed suicide in the last two and half years," he claimed. Vikhe Patil said the Opposition had demanded in the House that the day's business be set aside and the decision of loan waiver be taken by the government to provide relief to farmers. "We had met the Governor before the start of the Budget session requesting that he issue directions to the government to provide relief to the farmers. We wanted the issue to be highlighted in the Governor's address to the Legislature on the first day of the session. But unfortunately farmers' welfare is not on the priority list of the government," he alleged. On Sena joining the Opposition in the House, he said if Sena leaders were honest, they should submit their resignations to the Speaker, as BJP has not met the loan waiver demand. Earlier, before the Assembly began, Congress and NCP members were seen protesting outside the House demanding immediate loan waiver for farmers. The agitation was led by Vikhe Patil, Ajit Pawar, NCP's Leader of Opposition in Upper House, Dhananjay Munde and Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad. The leaders protested in the Assembly premises holding placards with demands highlighting farmer issues.
By PTI

LUCKNOW: Over 60 per cent of the 1.41 crore voters today exercised their franchise in the seventh and last phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 40 seats, bringing down the curtain on a gruelling two-month-long process.

"60.03 per cent votes were polled till 5 PM," Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer T Venkatesh said.

The turnout for these seats was 57.92 per cent in the last Assembly polls in 2012.

The average turnout in the seven phases of polling that began on February 11 has been around 60-61 per cent compared to 59.48 per cent in 2012.

The poll percentage in the first phase was 64.22, in the second 65.16, third phase 61.16, fourth phase 60.37, fifth phase 57.37 and sixth phase 57.03.

Today's exercise passed off by and large peacefully and no untoward incident was reported from the three constituencies in the Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli. Poll percentage in these areas was Chakia 59, Duddhi 62 and Robertsganj 58.

All eyes were on the Assembly segments in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, where the turnout was 60.95 per cent till 5 PM.

Polling started amidst tight security arrangements in seven districts this morning and gained momentum as the day advanced.

Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling was held.

Voting concluded at 5 PM in all constituencies, barring the Naxal-hit areas where it ended at 4 PM.

In Jaunpur, BJP candidate from Jafarabad seat Harendra Pratap Singh and four others were arrested for allegedly taking voters to polling booths in two vehicles.

Singh, however, denied the charge.

The counting of votes in UP will be taken up on March 11, along with four other states -- Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, where Assembly polls were held.

Among the voters in this phase polling in UP, 64.76 lakh were women.

14,458 polling booths were set up for today's exercise which will decide the fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.

The BJP contested 32 seats and its allies - the Apna Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party - fought in four seats each.

The BSP fielded its nominees for all seats.

While the SP contested 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in the race for the remaining seats.

In the 2012 polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.

In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Congress (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) were in the fray.

While the maximum number of 24 candidates was from Varanasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates was contesting from Kerakat (SC).

Prominent candidates who were in fray include former cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari, and Seema Singh, wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

LUCKNOW: Over 60 per cent of the 1.41 crore voters today exercised their franchise in the seventh and last phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 40 seats, bringing down the curtain on a gruelling two-month-long process. "60.03 per cent votes were polled till 5 PM," Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer T Venkatesh said. The turnout for these seats was 57.92 per cent in the last Assembly polls in 2012. The average turnout in the seven phases of polling that began on February 11 has been around 60-61 per cent compared to 59.48 per cent in 2012. The poll percentage in the first phase was 64.22, in the second 65.16, third phase 61.16, fourth phase 60.37, fifth phase 57.37 and sixth phase 57.03. Today's exercise passed off by and large peacefully and no untoward incident was reported from the three constituencies in the Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli. Poll percentage in these areas was Chakia 59, Duddhi 62 and Robertsganj 58. All eyes were on the Assembly segments in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, where the turnout was 60.95 per cent till 5 PM. Polling started amidst tight security arrangements in seven districts this morning and gained momentum as the day advanced. Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling was held. Voting concluded at 5 PM in all constituencies, barring the Naxal-hit areas where it ended at 4 PM. In Jaunpur, BJP candidate from Jafarabad seat Harendra Pratap Singh and four others were arrested for allegedly taking voters to polling booths in two vehicles. Singh, however, denied the charge. The counting of votes in UP will be taken up on March 11, along with four other states -- Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, where Assembly polls were held. Among the voters in this phase polling in UP, 64.76 lakh were women. 14,458 polling booths were set up for today's exercise which will decide the fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women. The BJP contested 32 seats and its allies - the Apna Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party - fought in four seats each. The BSP fielded its nominees for all seats. While the SP contested 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in the race for the remaining seats. In the 2012 polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others. In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Congress (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) were in the fray. While the maximum number of 24 candidates was from Varanasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates was contesting from Kerakat (SC). Prominent candidates who were in fray include former cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari, and Seema Singh, wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: Shiv Senas Vishwanath Mahadeshwar was formally elected as Mumbais new mayor on Wednesday after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Saturday that the BJP will not field its candidate in the election and would play the role of a watchdog of transparency.



Mahadeshwar received 171 votes with 218 out of 227 corporators participating in the voting procedure. Sixteen corporators abstained from voting while eight corporators were absent from the meeting and one was not present inside the civic hall at the time of voting.



Shiv Sena has 84 corporators of its own and was supported by five independents. The BJP has 82 corporators in the house. This adds up to 171. The MNS has seven corporators who abstained, while the NCPs nine and the SPs two corporators remained neutral.



Mahadeshwar, a three-time corporator from Bandra was the Principal of Raje Sambhaji Junior college. He has been a member of the education committee in one of his earlier terms.



His last term had ended abruptly after an intense court battle over the validity of his caste certificate. This time he has won from a non-reserved ward.



However, controversies are still looming large. At least two petitions have been filed against him by opposition candidates. One petition raises fingers that he is a beneficiary of the corporation, as his junior college received funds from the corporations education department. The other petition has raised questions on his residence that is claimed to be a rented property.



Shiv Senas Hemangi Worlikar was elected as the deputy mayor of the city. This is the first time that both the posts have gone to the Shiv Sena, which has won the mayors crown for the fifth term in row.



Despite a show of unison, the tension was palpable between the BJP and the Shiv Sena corporators.

MUMBAI: Shiv Senas Vishwanath Mahadeshwar was formally elected as Mumbais new mayor on Wednesday after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Saturday that the BJP will not field its candidate in the election and would play the role of a watchdog of transparency. Mahadeshwar received 171 votes with 218 out of 227 corporators participating in the voting procedure. Sixteen corporators abstained from voting while eight corporators were absent from the meeting and one was not present inside the civic hall at the time of voting. Shiv Sena has 84 corporators of its own and was supported by five independents. The BJP has 82 corporators in the house. This adds up to 171. The MNS has seven corporators who abstained, while the NCPs nine and the SPs two corporators remained neutral. Mahadeshwar, a three-time corporator from Bandra was the Principal of Raje Sambhaji Junior college. He has been a member of the education committee in one of his earlier terms. His last term had ended abruptly after an intense court battle over the validity of his caste certificate. This time he has won from a non-reserved ward. However, controversies are still looming large. At least two petitions have been filed against him by opposition candidates. One petition raises fingers that he is a beneficiary of the corporation, as his junior college received funds from the corporations education department. The other petition has raised questions on his residence that is claimed to be a rented property. Shiv Senas Hemangi Worlikar was elected as the deputy mayor of the city. This is the first time that both the posts have gone to the Shiv Sena, which has won the mayors crown for the fifth term in row. Despite a show of unison, the tension was palpable between the BJP and the Shiv Sena corporators.
By Online Desk

A suspected ISIS terrorist was killed in a house on the outskirts of the city after a 12-hour long operation to capture him alive. The terror suspect Saifullah was killed in an exchange of fire with the police. He is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said.

Below is a detailed timeline of the ATS operation:

- At around 4 pm yesterday (March 7), the first alert was issued about an ongoing operation by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) tackling a holed up terror suspect Saifullah in Thakurganj area of Lucknow.

- Reports about shots being exchanged between the suspect and the security forces kept coming in.

- In a press conference, while the operation was still going on, UPs Law and Order additional director general (ADG) Daljit Chaudhury said that they had received inputs about the presence of some suspects in Kanpur and Lucknow. They had begun suspecting early on that the terror suspect, Saifullah, belonged to Lucknow.

- After the tip-off, ATS approached the house where the suspect was reportedly spotted. The moment we knocked the door, the suspect locked the room and then we heard a sound of cocking of pistol, ATS inspector general (IG) Aseem Arun said. And that was when the gun battle began.

The moment we knocked the door, the suspect locked the room and then we heard a sound of cocking of pistol: IG ATS #Lucknow pic.twitter.com/gjs1y7bsUb

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 7, 2017

- ATS, with the intention of nabbing the suspect alive, used chili bombs to force him out of his hiding. But that did not work. "He kept firing intermittently, Arun informed at around 6:30 pm, on Tuesday (while the operation was ongoing).

- In between the operation, there was a confusion if another suspected terrorist was also holed up inside with Saifullah. "Since we were using tube cameras to ascertain the details (of the suspected terrorists), the image was not very clear, and it appeared that there may be two terrorists holed up in the house," Arun said.

Also read: Agencies probing role of AQIS and SIMI, says IS role may be premature

- It was also reported by NDTV that a police tried to make Saifullah speak with his brother (via phone) at around 5:50 pm, who had urged the former to surrender. But the terror suspect reportedly replied, "I won't, I want martyrdom."

- The ATS commandoes eventually stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist), Arun said. "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandoes, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandoes. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead.

Watch video of the press briefing by the security forces:

- The operation continued till Wednesday morning and concluded after Saifullah was gunned down. He reportedly belonged to the ISIS Khorasan module.

- Eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammo, 50 fired rounds, explosives materials, gold, cash, passports and SIM cards recovered. Tracking 2 more persons: IG ATS Arun said on Wednesday afternoon.

#LucknowTerrorOp: Photo of ISIS Khorasan module terrorist gunned down in Thakurganj pic.twitter.com/G6D7CWCimG  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

- Accusations are false. Faisal took care of a shop and Imran is married with a daughter, says father of terror suspects Imran and Faisal who were arrested in Kanpur. Danish is also my son. He left home as I scolded him for not working, he further stated. While Danish was arrested in MP, Imran and Faisal were nabbed in Kanpur.

- Daljeet Chaudhary, ADG, Law and Order says: We will investigate all the suspects we have nabbed; all agencies are working together.

This was not in country's interest. We will not accept the body of an anti-national: Sartaj, father of Saifulla killed in #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/WxKiyKnee4  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

- Home Minister Rajnath Singh, meanwhile, may make a statement in the Parliament tomorrow on the killing of the suspected ISIS terrorist in Lucknow and blast in a train at Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh, according to official sources.

(READ HERE: Rajnath likely to make statement in Parliment on UP, MP incidents)

- The two suspected terrorists arrested from Kanpur and the neighbouring Unnao were today taken to Lucknow by a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad for further interrogation.

(READ HERE: Arrested terror suspects taken to Lucknow by Uttar Pradesh ATS)

-The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday said the youth killed in an anti-terror operation at Lucknow on Wednesday morning and his five arrested associates were "self radicalised" and were trying to build an Islamic State Khorasan module in the city.

(READ HERE: Slain suspected terror operative was self radicalised, no IS link: UP Police)

(With inputs from agencies)

A suspected ISIS terrorist was killed in a house on the outskirts of the city after a 12-hour long operation to capture him alive. The terror suspect Saifullah was killed in an exchange of fire with the police. He is suspected to be linked with the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train yesterday, police said. Below is a detailed timeline of the ATS operation: - At around 4 pm yesterday (March 7), the first alert was issued about an ongoing operation by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) tackling a holed up terror suspect Saifullah in Thakurganj area of Lucknow. - Reports about shots being exchanged between the suspect and the security forces kept coming in. - In a press conference, while the operation was still going on, UPs Law and Order additional director general (ADG) Daljit Chaudhury said that they had received inputs about the presence of some suspects in Kanpur and Lucknow. They had begun suspecting early on that the terror suspect, Saifullah, belonged to Lucknow. - After the tip-off, ATS approached the house where the suspect was reportedly spotted. The moment we knocked the door, the suspect locked the room and then we heard a sound of cocking of pistol, ATS inspector general (IG) Aseem Arun said. And that was when the gun battle began. The moment we knocked the door, the suspect locked the room and then we heard a sound of cocking of pistol: IG ATS #Lucknow pic.twitter.com/gjs1y7bsUb  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 7, 2017 - ATS, with the intention of nabbing the suspect alive, used chili bombs to force him out of his hiding. But that did not work. "He kept firing intermittently, Arun informed at around 6:30 pm, on Tuesday (while the operation was ongoing). - In between the operation, there was a confusion if another suspected terrorist was also holed up inside with Saifullah. "Since we were using tube cameras to ascertain the details (of the suspected terrorists), the image was not very clear, and it appeared that there may be two terrorists holed up in the house," Arun said. Also read: Agencies probing role of AQIS and SIMI, says IS role may be premature - It was also reported by NDTV that a police tried to make Saifullah speak with his brother (via phone) at around 5:50 pm, who had urged the former to surrender. But the terror suspect reportedly replied, "I won't, I want martyrdom." - The ATS commandoes eventually stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist), Arun said. "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandoes, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandoes. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead. Watch video of the press briefing by the security forces: window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[]; window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTAzMzI2fHw4fHw2fHwxLDIsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'100%', ratio:'4:3'}); - The operation continued till Wednesday morning and concluded after Saifullah was gunned down. He reportedly belonged to the ISIS Khorasan module. - Eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammo, 50 fired rounds, explosives materials, gold, cash, passports and SIM cards recovered. Tracking 2 more persons: IG ATS Arun said on Wednesday afternoon. #LucknowTerrorOp: Photo of ISIS Khorasan module terrorist gunned down in Thakurganj pic.twitter.com/G6D7CWCimG  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017 - Accusations are false. Faisal took care of a shop and Imran is married with a daughter, says father of terror suspects Imran and Faisal who were arrested in Kanpur. Danish is also my son. He left home as I scolded him for not working, he further stated. While Danish was arrested in MP, Imran and Faisal were nabbed in Kanpur. - Daljeet Chaudhary, ADG, Law and Order says: We will investigate all the suspects we have nabbed; all agencies are working together. This was not in country's interest. We will not accept the body of an anti-national: Sartaj, father of Saifulla killed in #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/WxKiyKnee4  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017 - Home Minister Rajnath Singh, meanwhile, may make a statement in the Parliament tomorrow on the killing of the suspected ISIS terrorist in Lucknow and blast in a train at Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh, according to official sources. (READ HERE: Rajnath likely to make statement in Parliment on UP, MP incidents) - The two suspected terrorists arrested from Kanpur and the neighbouring Unnao were today taken to Lucknow by a team of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad for further interrogation. (READ HERE: Arrested terror suspects taken to Lucknow by Uttar Pradesh ATS) -The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday said the youth killed in an anti-terror operation at Lucknow on Wednesday morning and his five arrested associates were "self radicalised" and were trying to build an Islamic State Khorasan module in the city. (READ HERE: Slain suspected terror operative was self radicalised, no IS link: UP Police) (With inputs from agencies)
By ANI

MALDA: At least one person was killed and two others injured in a mysterious bomb blast in Malda district of West Bengal.



The incident occurred last night at Malda's Paharpur village near NH-81.



The deceased has been identified as Joy Pandey.

The other two critically injured were admitted to Malda Medical College And Hospital.



Meanwhile, the police have launched a probe into the matter.



More than 100 crude bombs recovered from a house in West Bengal's Malda yesterday.

MALDA: At least one person was killed and two others injured in a mysterious bomb blast in Malda district of West Bengal. The incident occurred last night at Malda's Paharpur village near NH-81. The deceased has been identified as Joy Pandey. The other two critically injured were admitted to Malda Medical College And Hospital. Meanwhile, the police have launched a probe into the matter. More than 100 crude bombs recovered from a house in West Bengal's Malda yesterday.
By ANI

BENGALURU: Supporting Muslim girl Suhana Syeed who was trolled on the social media for singing a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada singing reality show, women activist Brinda Adige on Wednesday said the former is actually unifying different religions together and added radical men are, therefore, jealous.

She should continue to showcase her talent and because she is breaking a path, the people are jealous especially the radical men in Islam. She should not be bothered by them, Adige told ANI.

She further said that the people, who are condemning and trolling her on the social media, need to understand Islam is a beautiful religion.

She is actually unifying different religions together. Why would the radical men speak ill of her? They must not use religion to subjugate anybody, Adige asserted.

She further said all people trolling Suhana on the social media should be booked for stalking.

Why cant they look at her as an independent person and not only as a woman? Why cant they follow Islam as Islam teaches them to be, to be peaceful, peace loving and respectful to women? she asked.

She emphasized the United Nations slogan this year is be bold for a change.

I am very happy that this girl has portrayed her talent, her talent of music and her talent to sing. This should be appreciated by everybody, she said.

Suhana Sayeed sang a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada singing reality show where her performance was much appreciated by the judges.

Kannada music director Arjun Janya said she stood as a symbol of unity and showed to the world how all religions can remain in peace and harmony through music.

However, a Facebook page called Mangalore Muslims began trolling her and called her a disgrace to the community. They said she has tarnished the Muslim community by singing before men.

"You have not achieved a great feat. People who learn the Quran in 6 months are the real achievers. Your parents will not go to heaven (Jannat) as you have exposed your beauty to other men. Stop wearing the pardah as you don't how to respect it," read a comment on the page.

BENGALURU: Supporting Muslim girl Suhana Syeed who was trolled on the social media for singing a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada singing reality show, women activist Brinda Adige on Wednesday said the former is actually unifying different religions together and added radical men are, therefore, jealous. She should continue to showcase her talent and because she is breaking a path, the people are jealous especially the radical men in Islam. She should not be bothered by them, Adige told ANI. She further said that the people, who are condemning and trolling her on the social media, need to understand Islam is a beautiful religion. She is actually unifying different religions together. Why would the radical men speak ill of her? They must not use religion to subjugate anybody, Adige asserted. She further said all people trolling Suhana on the social media should be booked for stalking. Why cant they look at her as an independent person and not only as a woman? Why cant they follow Islam as Islam teaches them to be, to be peaceful, peace loving and respectful to women? she asked. She emphasized the United Nations slogan this year is be bold for a change. I am very happy that this girl has portrayed her talent, her talent of music and her talent to sing. This should be appreciated by everybody, she said. Suhana Sayeed sang a Hindu devotional song in a Kannada singing reality show where her performance was much appreciated by the judges. Kannada music director Arjun Janya said she stood as a symbol of unity and showed to the world how all religions can remain in peace and harmony through music. However, a Facebook page called Mangalore Muslims began trolling her and called her a disgrace to the community. They said she has tarnished the Muslim community by singing before men. "You have not achieved a great feat. People who learn the Quran in 6 months are the real achievers. Your parents will not go to heaven (Jannat) as you have exposed your beauty to other men. Stop wearing the pardah as you don't how to respect it," read a comment on the page.
Express News Service

MYSURU: Even as a fortune is being spent on the relocation of a Tipu armoury in Srirangapatna to make way for the completion of Mysuru-Bengaluru railway double line, eight more such armouries located in Tipus town lie in a state of utter neglect.

They are lesser known in public domain and crying for attention. Though all of them have been declared as protected monuments by Central and state archaeological departments, little or nothing has been done for its upkeep.

The armoury is full of water, which is currently being drained out. The armoury near Jayalakshmi Kalyan Mantap is being restored | Udayashankar S

They have turned into public toilets and den for illegal activities. Miscreants indulge in gambling and booze parties here and the lovelorn draw graffiti on the historical armouries. Even the guides show the monuments to the tourists only from a distance. They refuse to take them inside because of the sad affairs.



Prof Rangaraj, a retired professor of archeology at Mysore University, attributed the neglect mainly to the huge vacancies in the department concerned. There was no full-time commissioner in the department for the last two years, he added.



According to historian Prof. P V Nanjaraj Urs, there is no need to attach much importance to the armouries as they are not a great piece of heritage.



When contacted, Gavisiddappa, in-charge director, archaeology department, said out of the nine, one is well-maintained and the restoration of another is under way at a cost of `26.5 lakh. The others will be restored in a phased manner as and when budget provision is made.



He said he has brought to the notice of his senior officials the need for security and maintenance once the monuments are conserved.If not, the conservation efforts will go waste and the situation will be back to square one, he said.

MYSURU: Even as a fortune is being spent on the relocation of a Tipu armoury in Srirangapatna to make way for the completion of Mysuru-Bengaluru railway double line, eight more such armouries located in Tipus town lie in a state of utter neglect. They are lesser known in public domain and crying for attention. Though all of them have been declared as protected monuments by Central and state archaeological departments, little or nothing has been done for its upkeep. The armoury is full of water, which is currently being drained out. The armoury near Jayalakshmi Kalyan Mantap is being restored | Udayashankar S They have turned into public toilets and den for illegal activities. Miscreants indulge in gambling and booze parties here and the lovelorn draw graffiti on the historical armouries. Even the guides show the monuments to the tourists only from a distance. They refuse to take them inside because of the sad affairs. Prof Rangaraj, a retired professor of archeology at Mysore University, attributed the neglect mainly to the huge vacancies in the department concerned. There was no full-time commissioner in the department for the last two years, he added. According to historian Prof. P V Nanjaraj Urs, there is no need to attach much importance to the armouries as they are not a great piece of heritage. When contacted, Gavisiddappa, in-charge director, archaeology department, said out of the nine, one is well-maintained and the restoration of another is under way at a cost of `26.5 lakh. The others will be restored in a phased manner as and when budget provision is made. He said he has brought to the notice of his senior officials the need for security and maintenance once the monuments are conserved.If not, the conservation efforts will go waste and the situation will be back to square one, he said.
MASON CITY | Mason City voters turned down a capital improvements tax levy Tuesday, rejecting a plan city officials said would have saved them money in the long run.

The complete but unofficial totals were: 1,310-no, 53.9 percent, 1,119-yes, 46.1 percent. There were 2,429 voters, a turnout of 12.6 percent.

The vote was on whether to approve a levy of up to 67 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation. Finance Kevin Jacobson said the measure would have saved taxpayers money because it would have allowed pay-as-you-go for small purchases rather than having to bond for them and pay over a long period of time plus interest charges.

Also, he said the levy would have been tied to the debt service levy which has a limit of $3 per thousand. So while the maximum on the capital improvements levy would have been 67 cents, Jacobson said he estimated it would be about 30 cents and would not take effect until the next fiscal year.

Also, the City Council would have had the option on whether to use it from one year to the next.

But voters apparently saw a chance to vote against a tax, and they did.

Mayor Eric Bookmeyer said, "The citizens weighed in on how they want their money spent. We will follow their lead and continue to make sound budget decisions, all the while promoting growth in Mason City."
Babu K Peter By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Even as a deluge of support pours in for Fr Robin, accused in the Kottiyoor sexual abuse case, the Kerala Theological Association (KTA) has issued an apology while accepting the clergy may have deviated from the pious path.



KTA, an organisation of priests, members of religious congregations and laymen engaged in research in theology, has tendered the apology in a statement to the victim, her family, the Catholic community and to society. The unfortunate incident evokes nothing but apology. We apologise for deviating from the spiritual way and for misleading the people, a statement issued by Fr Vincent Kundukulam said.



It is an opportunity for priests to do a self-introspection. There is no point in covering it up by saying we are also humans, after all, he said.

Society holds priests in high regard as the people have great expectations from them. Emotional outbursts and reactions on media indicate how much trust and respect they have reposed in them, the statement said. Its a misconception a person becomes divine once he is ordained a priest. If you consider priesthood as a profession and drift away from Jesus and the poor, you will fall, he said.

The priests should introspect whether they should be active in market-driven spheres, the KTA president said.



Fr Kundukulam, a professor at the St Josephs Pontifical Seminary, Aluva, said it is relevant to review priestly formation.



It does not imply the present ways are outdated. But aspirants should be trained to adapt to the cultural changes in the modern world, he said. KTA also condemned social media posts by priests and laity accusing the victim girl and her family. Apologies by Cardinal George Alencherry and Fr Paul Thelakkattu and the family of Fr Robin were soothing act. Despite this, attempts to blame the girl are unacceptable. Blame-shifting in lieu of initiating corrective measures is not fair, Fr Kundukulam said.

The recent developments in Kerala is a pointer to the need for a new sexual culture.Those concerned should address the issue immediately. Sexuality is not discussed with due consideration within families and in religion because of pseudo morality and spirituality. Lets hope a better sexual culture will emerge in society through education, he said.

KOCHI: Even as a deluge of support pours in for Fr Robin, accused in the Kottiyoor sexual abuse case, the Kerala Theological Association (KTA) has issued an apology while accepting the clergy may have deviated from the pious path. KTA, an organisation of priests, members of religious congregations and laymen engaged in research in theology, has tendered the apology in a statement to the victim, her family, the Catholic community and to society. The unfortunate incident evokes nothing but apology. We apologise for deviating from the spiritual way and for misleading the people, a statement issued by Fr Vincent Kundukulam said. It is an opportunity for priests to do a self-introspection. There is no point in covering it up by saying we are also humans, after all, he said. Society holds priests in high regard as the people have great expectations from them. Emotional outbursts and reactions on media indicate how much trust and respect they have reposed in them, the statement said. Its a misconception a person becomes divine once he is ordained a priest. If you consider priesthood as a profession and drift away from Jesus and the poor, you will fall, he said. The priests should introspect whether they should be active in market-driven spheres, the KTA president said. Fr Kundukulam, a professor at the St Josephs Pontifical Seminary, Aluva, said it is relevant to review priestly formation. It does not imply the present ways are outdated. But aspirants should be trained to adapt to the cultural changes in the modern world, he said. KTA also condemned social media posts by priests and laity accusing the victim girl and her family. Apologies by Cardinal George Alencherry and Fr Paul Thelakkattu and the family of Fr Robin were soothing act. Despite this, attempts to blame the girl are unacceptable. Blame-shifting in lieu of initiating corrective measures is not fair, Fr Kundukulam said. The recent developments in Kerala is a pointer to the need for a new sexual culture.Those concerned should address the issue immediately. Sexuality is not discussed with due consideration within families and in religion because of pseudo morality and spirituality. Lets hope a better sexual culture will emerge in society through education, he said.
By Express News Service

KOZHIKODE: Following the footsteps of traders in Tamil Nadu, Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) has decided to stop sale of drinks produced by multinational cola companies to register their protest against exploitation of ground water by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies as the State is reeling under the threat of a severe drought.

The traders would make a formal announcement of the boycott on March 14 after seeking support of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said KVVES president T Nazaruddin. The traders have decided to promote local brands--mainly lime soda and tender coconut to fight against the aerated drinks produced by multinational companies. Around seven lakh shops and traders will join the boycott and it will be a major setback to the two companies.



Nearly 70 per cent members of the Tamil Nadu Vanigar Angangalin Peramaippu (TNVSP) had stopped selling products of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies through their shops in Tamil Nadu from March 1. The TNVSP has around 6,000 traders associations with membership of around 15 lakh across the State.

KOZHIKODE: Following the footsteps of traders in Tamil Nadu, Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) has decided to stop sale of drinks produced by multinational cola companies to register their protest against exploitation of ground water by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies as the State is reeling under the threat of a severe drought. The traders would make a formal announcement of the boycott on March 14 after seeking support of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, said KVVES president T Nazaruddin. The traders have decided to promote local brands--mainly lime soda and tender coconut to fight against the aerated drinks produced by multinational companies. Around seven lakh shops and traders will join the boycott and it will be a major setback to the two companies. Nearly 70 per cent members of the Tamil Nadu Vanigar Angangalin Peramaippu (TNVSP) had stopped selling products of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies through their shops in Tamil Nadu from March 1. The TNVSP has around 6,000 traders associations with membership of around 15 lakh across the State.
Siba Mohanty By

Express News Service

BHUBANESHWAR: In a first, a woman cadre of Niyamgiri Dalam, a maoist outfit surrendered before the Rayagada Superintendent of Police (SP) K Siva Subramani on Wednesday alleging serious gender prejudice and physical and mental exploitation of women cadre in the camps. She approached police after she refused the leaders command to abort her baby.

Reena Mallik (25), also known in the cadre as Rajita and Mitedka, belonged to the Bashdhara-Ghumshar North Division of the outlawed Communist Party of India (CPI) (Maoist). She is a suspect in five incidents of Maoist violence between 2009 and 2016.

Reena Mallik, who worked in Ghumshar Division along with maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda from 2008 to 2010, was brought to Niyamgiri by her husband Bikash. She continued to work in the Niyamgiri region as a party member in a maoist leader, Buntys group of the Niyamgiri Dalam.

Reena Mallik alleged violation of sexual and reproductive rights of women cadres in the camps. She got married to Bikash with Sabyasachi Pandas consent but Bikash was sent to Niyamagiri Dalam soon after their marriage. In 2011, when she returned to Niyamagiri, she conceived but was asked to abort her pregnancy under Buntys command.

Reena Mallik also told Rayagada Police that during pregnancy she could not cope with the conditions in the jungle with Niyamgiri Dalam, and was asked to abort it by Bunty. However, she decided against the abortion and left the party to surrender before police.

Siva Subramani said Reena Mallik also brought to the fore issues of gender discrimination in the camps as women members were mostly asked to perform sentry duties, cooking and cultural activities under the CPI (M) frontal organisation Jana Natya Mandali and are not given any role of importance.

Exposing the prejudiced functions rife within the maoist outfits, she said women were also not allowed to take part in open debates and cadres were mostly mishandled by their commanders, physically and mentally. They are not allowed to voice their problems during the decision-making process.

Reena Mallik also told police that many women members do not feel secure in the Maoist fold. Those in the lower ranks are given an impression that they are a mere part of the team and neither treated well nor allowed to speak. They are not even provided with minimum amount of food, clothing and other basic amenities.

BHUBANESHWAR: In a first, a woman cadre of Niyamgiri Dalam, a maoist outfit surrendered before the Rayagada Superintendent of Police (SP) K Siva Subramani on Wednesday alleging serious gender prejudice and physical and mental exploitation of women cadre in the camps. She approached police after she refused the leaders command to abort her baby. Reena Mallik (25), also known in the cadre as Rajita and Mitedka, belonged to the Bashdhara-Ghumshar North Division of the outlawed Communist Party of India (CPI) (Maoist). She is a suspect in five incidents of Maoist violence between 2009 and 2016. Reena Mallik, who worked in Ghumshar Division along with maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda from 2008 to 2010, was brought to Niyamgiri by her husband Bikash. She continued to work in the Niyamgiri region as a party member in a maoist leader, Buntys group of the Niyamgiri Dalam. Reena Mallik alleged violation of sexual and reproductive rights of women cadres in the camps. She got married to Bikash with Sabyasachi Pandas consent but Bikash was sent to Niyamagiri Dalam soon after their marriage. In 2011, when she returned to Niyamagiri, she conceived but was asked to abort her pregnancy under Buntys command. Reena Mallik also told Rayagada Police that during pregnancy she could not cope with the conditions in the jungle with Niyamgiri Dalam, and was asked to abort it by Bunty. However, she decided against the abortion and left the party to surrender before police. Siva Subramani said Reena Mallik also brought to the fore issues of gender discrimination in the camps as women members were mostly asked to perform sentry duties, cooking and cultural activities under the CPI (M) frontal organisation Jana Natya Mandali and are not given any role of importance. Exposing the prejudiced functions rife within the maoist outfits, she said women were also not allowed to take part in open debates and cadres were mostly mishandled by their commanders, physically and mentally. They are not allowed to voice their problems during the decision-making process. Reena Mallik also told police that many women members do not feel secure in the Maoist fold. Those in the lower ranks are given an impression that they are a mere part of the team and neither treated well nor allowed to speak. They are not even provided with minimum amount of food, clothing and other basic amenities.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: A Telugu girl from Warangal was reportedly shot at by an Afro-American national when she refused him money. The injured girl had been admitted to a hospital and is stated to be stable, sources said.



The girl, identified as Jyothika in her mid 20s, was in California since 2013 to pursue her masters course.



On Sunday, the girl went to Fermont for shopping. As she parked her car, an Afro-American national approached her demanded money from her. When she refused, he immediately pulled out a gun and shot at her. She suffered a bullet injury on one of her hands.

The suspect fled the spot, sources said adding that the locals shifted her to a hospital. She refused to share details regarding her nativity, sources said.

HYDERABAD: A Telugu girl from Warangal was reportedly shot at by an Afro-American national when she refused him money. The injured girl had been admitted to a hospital and is stated to be stable, sources said. The girl, identified as Jyothika in her mid 20s, was in California since 2013 to pursue her masters course. On Sunday, the girl went to Fermont for shopping. As she parked her car, an Afro-American national approached her demanded money from her. When she refused, he immediately pulled out a gun and shot at her. She suffered a bullet injury on one of her hands. The suspect fled the spot, sources said adding that the locals shifted her to a hospital. She refused to share details regarding her nativity, sources said.
By Associated Press

BEIJING: China's foreign minister said Wednesday that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, in an unusually public proposal that analysts said showed Beijing's growing alarm over the tensions.

The U.S. and South Korea resisted the idea. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said the U.S. has to see "some sort of positive action" from North Korea before it can take Kim Jong Un seriously. South Korea's ambassador called linking the annual drills to the North's provocations "unacceptable."

The ambassadors spoke after the Security Council condemned North Korea's latest volley of ballistic missile launches Monday that landed into ocean off Japan.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said frictions between the North and Washington and Seoul were like "two accelerating trains" headed at each other, with neither side willing to give way.

"The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" Wang told reporters. "Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains."

Wang said China has proposed that as a first step to defusing the looming crisis, the North might halt its nuclear program development and missile testing if the U.S. and South Korea suspended their military drills.

"This suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table," Wang said, describing the approach as trying to address all parties' concerns in a "synchronized and reciprocal" manner.

North Korea first floated the proposal in 2015, but it was swiftly dismissed by Washington and Seoul, who say the two issues are unrelated. Their view is that North Korea's nuclear and missile program is in violation of U.N. resolutions whereas the joint U.S.-South Korea drills are a long-standing practice.

Chinese scholars said Beijing has privately discussed this proposal with the countries involved but Wang's move to make it public could be a sign that China plans to take a more aggressive approach to the issue to prevent it from spinning out of control.

"China is becoming an utterly important victim of the turbulent situation on the Korean Peninsula, therefore it has unprecedentedly expressed its views in public," said Guo Rui, international relations expert at Jilin University.

China has been stepping up pressure on North Korea, its once-close Communist ally, to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Last month, Beijing suspended all coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year, a move that deprives the North of an important source of foreign currency. Beijing wants the U.S. in return to restart long-stalled negotiations with North Korea.

Wang's move to publicize Beijing's proposal could also be directed at Washington ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to China later this month.

At the U.N., Haley described North Korean leader Kim as irrational and seeking attention through provocative behavior.

Asked about China's proposal, Haley said: "We have to see some sort of positive action taken by North Korea before we can ever take them (North Korea) seriously."

South Korean Ambassador Cho Tae-yul said the military drills are defensive in nature, and said linking them to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations is "inappropriate and unacceptable."

"This is not a time for us to talk about freezing or dialogue with North Korea," Cho said. "All kinds of options have been exhausted so far, so the only available means to change the North Korean behavior fundamentally is to continue to keep up the pressure and sanctions."

Wang likely renewed the dual suspension proposal in the hopes that President Donald Trump might see it as an alternative approach, said John Delury, a North Korea expert at Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul.

"Wang Yi is putting it out there for Trump, saying 'here's an off-ramp to the current tensions,'" Delury said in a telephone interview from Seoul.

With tensions rising again, attitudes among officials and North Korea watchers are now diverging over how to approach the North, Delury said. While some want greater engagement, others are calling for stronger measures, possibly including military action, he said.

Trump, meanwhile, has yet to articulate a clear policy toward the North, other than to tweet that he wouldn't let it obtain nuclear weapons to attack America.

"The proposal is the same, but the context is different," Delury said.

Wang, who answered a range of questions at a briefing on the sidelines of China's annual national legislative sessions, also urged South Korea to suspend deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system, saying Seoul had made a "wrong choice."

Washington and Seoul say the system is defensive and not meant to be a threat to Beijing  a point reiterated by Haley on Wednesday. China is opposed to the system, saying it would allow U.S. radar to peer deep into its territory and monitor its flights and missile launches.

"We urge some forces in South Korea not to keep insisting on taking this path, otherwise the result can only be damage to others and harm to yourself," Wang said.

BEIJING: China's foreign minister said Wednesday that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, in an unusually public proposal that analysts said showed Beijing's growing alarm over the tensions. The U.S. and South Korea resisted the idea. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said the U.S. has to see "some sort of positive action" from North Korea before it can take Kim Jong Un seriously. South Korea's ambassador called linking the annual drills to the North's provocations "unacceptable." The ambassadors spoke after the Security Council condemned North Korea's latest volley of ballistic missile launches Monday that landed into ocean off Japan. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said frictions between the North and Washington and Seoul were like "two accelerating trains" headed at each other, with neither side willing to give way. "The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" Wang told reporters. "Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains." Wang said China has proposed that as a first step to defusing the looming crisis, the North might halt its nuclear program development and missile testing if the U.S. and South Korea suspended their military drills. "This suspension-for-suspension can help us break out of the security dilemma and bring the parties back to the negotiating table," Wang said, describing the approach as trying to address all parties' concerns in a "synchronized and reciprocal" manner. North Korea first floated the proposal in 2015, but it was swiftly dismissed by Washington and Seoul, who say the two issues are unrelated. Their view is that North Korea's nuclear and missile program is in violation of U.N. resolutions whereas the joint U.S.-South Korea drills are a long-standing practice. Chinese scholars said Beijing has privately discussed this proposal with the countries involved but Wang's move to make it public could be a sign that China plans to take a more aggressive approach to the issue to prevent it from spinning out of control. "China is becoming an utterly important victim of the turbulent situation on the Korean Peninsula, therefore it has unprecedentedly expressed its views in public," said Guo Rui, international relations expert at Jilin University. China has been stepping up pressure on North Korea, its once-close Communist ally, to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Last month, Beijing suspended all coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year, a move that deprives the North of an important source of foreign currency. Beijing wants the U.S. in return to restart long-stalled negotiations with North Korea. Wang's move to publicize Beijing's proposal could also be directed at Washington ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to China later this month. At the U.N., Haley described North Korean leader Kim as irrational and seeking attention through provocative behavior. Asked about China's proposal, Haley said: "We have to see some sort of positive action taken by North Korea before we can ever take them (North Korea) seriously." South Korean Ambassador Cho Tae-yul said the military drills are defensive in nature, and said linking them to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations is "inappropriate and unacceptable." "This is not a time for us to talk about freezing or dialogue with North Korea," Cho said. "All kinds of options have been exhausted so far, so the only available means to change the North Korean behavior fundamentally is to continue to keep up the pressure and sanctions." Wang likely renewed the dual suspension proposal in the hopes that President Donald Trump might see it as an alternative approach, said John Delury, a North Korea expert at Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul. "Wang Yi is putting it out there for Trump, saying 'here's an off-ramp to the current tensions,'" Delury said in a telephone interview from Seoul. With tensions rising again, attitudes among officials and North Korea watchers are now diverging over how to approach the North, Delury said. While some want greater engagement, others are calling for stronger measures, possibly including military action, he said. Trump, meanwhile, has yet to articulate a clear policy toward the North, other than to tweet that he wouldn't let it obtain nuclear weapons to attack America. "The proposal is the same, but the context is different," Delury said. Wang, who answered a range of questions at a briefing on the sidelines of China's annual national legislative sessions, also urged South Korea to suspend deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system, saying Seoul had made a "wrong choice." Washington and Seoul say the system is defensive and not meant to be a threat to Beijing  a point reiterated by Haley on Wednesday. China is opposed to the system, saying it would allow U.S. radar to peer deep into its territory and monitor its flights and missile launches. "We urge some forces in South Korea not to keep insisting on taking this path, otherwise the result can only be damage to others and harm to yourself," Wang said.
By Associated Press

GENEVA: The U.N. human rights chief said Wednesday he is "dismayed" by U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to "intimidate or undermine" journalists and judges, and expressed concerns about the impact of a Trump order that bans people of six mostly Muslim countries from entering the United States.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein chronicled a litany of human rights concerns worldwide, including "chilling indifference" among some leaders in the European Union toward migrants, a crackdown on lawyers and activists in China, and a new Russian law that may have been used "arbitrarily" to curb free expression.

Faced with upheaval, violence and repression in places as diverse as the Philippines, Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Venezuela and beyond, Zeid  a Jordanian prince  had no shortage of topics to decry in his 37-minute speech to the Human Rights Council on Wednesday.

Referring to the U.S., Zeid said "greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities," and pointed to the harm caused by "vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims."

"I am dismayed at attempts by the president to intimidate or undermine journalists and judges," Zeid said, referring to Trump. "I am also concerned about new immigration policies that ban admission of people from six predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days," he said, alluding to a new executive order affecting people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

After his office cited reports about over 100 people killed in clashes in central Congo last month, Zeid urged the council to investigate "recurrent reports of grave violations and the recent discovery of three more mass graves." He didn't elaborate on the discovery of the mass graves and his office could not immediately provide further details.

Zeid said Bahrain, Gambia, Indonesia, Jordan and Kuwait recently backed away from their commitments to halt the death penalty, lamenting "these retrograde trends." He said China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan account for nearly 90 percent of all executions worldwide, and said Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Turkey and the Philippines planned to reinstate capital punishment.

He said the rights office would soon release a report about suspected human rights violations in southeast Turkey, saying its "remote monitoring" has turned up "credible indications of hundreds of deaths" even though his teams have not had access to the area.

GENEVA: The U.N. human rights chief said Wednesday he is "dismayed" by U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to "intimidate or undermine" journalists and judges, and expressed concerns about the impact of a Trump order that bans people of six mostly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein chronicled a litany of human rights concerns worldwide, including "chilling indifference" among some leaders in the European Union toward migrants, a crackdown on lawyers and activists in China, and a new Russian law that may have been used "arbitrarily" to curb free expression. Faced with upheaval, violence and repression in places as diverse as the Philippines, Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Venezuela and beyond, Zeid  a Jordanian prince  had no shortage of topics to decry in his 37-minute speech to the Human Rights Council on Wednesday. Referring to the U.S., Zeid said "greater and more consistent leadership is needed to address the recent surge in discrimination, anti-Semitism, and violence against ethnic and religious minorities," and pointed to the harm caused by "vilification of entire groups such as Mexicans and Muslims." "I am dismayed at attempts by the president to intimidate or undermine journalists and judges," Zeid said, referring to Trump. "I am also concerned about new immigration policies that ban admission of people from six predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days," he said, alluding to a new executive order affecting people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. After his office cited reports about over 100 people killed in clashes in central Congo last month, Zeid urged the council to investigate "recurrent reports of grave violations and the recent discovery of three more mass graves." He didn't elaborate on the discovery of the mass graves and his office could not immediately provide further details. Zeid said Bahrain, Gambia, Indonesia, Jordan and Kuwait recently backed away from their commitments to halt the death penalty, lamenting "these retrograde trends." He said China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan account for nearly 90 percent of all executions worldwide, and said Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Turkey and the Philippines planned to reinstate capital punishment. He said the rights office would soon release a report about suspected human rights violations in southeast Turkey, saying its "remote monitoring" has turned up "credible indications of hundreds of deaths" even though his teams have not had access to the area.
By AFP

HAMBURG: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has asked Berlin not to preach about democracy and human rights amid a mounting row sparked by Germany's refusal to allow meetings aimed at gathering votes to extend the Turkish president's powers.

"Please, don't give us lessons in human rights and democracy," the minister yesterday said, as he spoke to a crowd of some 200 Turkish government supporters gathered at the residence of their country's consul in the northern city of Hamburg.

The comments came after German local authorities banned rallies that Turkish officials were due to address to raise support among expatriate voters for a referendum in April on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers.

"Germany must not intervene in our elections and our referendum," he said. "Those who want to say 'Yes' in the referendum are being blocked and that is not right."

Local authorities had called off a rally in Hamburg where Cavusoglu was due to speak, citing fire safety concerns.

Police said about 250 opponents of Erdogan gathered near the consulate, some of them brandishing signs that read "Dictator Erdogan -- Hayir," meaning "No" in Turkish.

Cavusoglu said he would meet today with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, whom he called a "friend", at a breakfast in Berlin and visit a tourism fair.

Tensions have been rocketing between NATO allies Turkey and Germany over the past week after the cancellation of several rallies where Turkish cabinet ministers were due to whip up support for a "yes" vote in the April 16 referendum.

Erdogan escalated the crisis over theweekend, likening the cancellations to "Nazi practices," drawing a sharp response from Berlin.

He also warned Germany not to block him from making an appearance if he wished.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's office firmly rejected the Nazi jibe as "absurd and out of place".

Cavusoglu said the rally cancellations were "unacceptable" and reminiscent of practices in the run-up to World War II.

He criticised Germany and several other European countries including the Netherlands, where politicians including Prime Minister Mark Rutte have condemned Cavusoglu's plans to attend a similar rally in Rotterdam.

"We are in a state of great fear," Cavusoglu said. "If we cannot stop the advance of racist parties, Europe will head (back) to the pre-World War II period."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday condemned Erdogan's "Nazi" comments in an interview with Luxembourg's RTL television.

"I am surprised by what I hear from Turkey. When the Turkish president and his foreign minister say that today's Germany is worse than Nazi Germany, I can't accept it," the former Luxembourg prime minister said.

"Our parents and grandparents lived through the Nazi occupation," said Juncker, who was born in 1954. Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik spoke yesterday with Michael Roth, state secretary at Germany's foreign ministry, sources in Celick's ministry said.

Cavusoglu accused countries "which we deem as friends" of openly taking sides, slamming it "unacceptable" and "embarrassing".

HAMBURG: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has asked Berlin not to preach about democracy and human rights amid a mounting row sparked by Germany's refusal to allow meetings aimed at gathering votes to extend the Turkish president's powers. "Please, don't give us lessons in human rights and democracy," the minister yesterday said, as he spoke to a crowd of some 200 Turkish government supporters gathered at the residence of their country's consul in the northern city of Hamburg. The comments came after German local authorities banned rallies that Turkish officials were due to address to raise support among expatriate voters for a referendum in April on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers. "Germany must not intervene in our elections and our referendum," he said. "Those who want to say 'Yes' in the referendum are being blocked and that is not right." Local authorities had called off a rally in Hamburg where Cavusoglu was due to speak, citing fire safety concerns. Police said about 250 opponents of Erdogan gathered near the consulate, some of them brandishing signs that read "Dictator Erdogan -- Hayir," meaning "No" in Turkish. Cavusoglu said he would meet today with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, whom he called a "friend", at a breakfast in Berlin and visit a tourism fair. Tensions have been rocketing between NATO allies Turkey and Germany over the past week after the cancellation of several rallies where Turkish cabinet ministers were due to whip up support for a "yes" vote in the April 16 referendum. Erdogan escalated the crisis over theweekend, likening the cancellations to "Nazi practices," drawing a sharp response from Berlin. He also warned Germany not to block him from making an appearance if he wished. Chancellor Angela Merkel's office firmly rejected the Nazi jibe as "absurd and out of place". Cavusoglu said the rally cancellations were "unacceptable" and reminiscent of practices in the run-up to World War II. He criticised Germany and several other European countries including the Netherlands, where politicians including Prime Minister Mark Rutte have condemned Cavusoglu's plans to attend a similar rally in Rotterdam. "We are in a state of great fear," Cavusoglu said. "If we cannot stop the advance of racist parties, Europe will head (back) to the pre-World War II period." European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday condemned Erdogan's "Nazi" comments in an interview with Luxembourg's RTL television. "I am surprised by what I hear from Turkey. When the Turkish president and his foreign minister say that today's Germany is worse than Nazi Germany, I can't accept it," the former Luxembourg prime minister said. "Our parents and grandparents lived through the Nazi occupation," said Juncker, who was born in 1954. Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik spoke yesterday with Michael Roth, state secretary at Germany's foreign ministry, sources in Celick's ministry said. Cavusoglu accused countries "which we deem as friends" of openly taking sides, slamming it "unacceptable" and "embarrassing".
By AFP

THE HAGUE: Some call him the "Justin Trudeau" of Dutch politics, others see an echo of a young John F. Kennedy, while his detractors call him arrogant.

But GroenLinks (Green-Left) party leader Jesse Klaver is on a mission to put his own stamp on the Dutch political landscape in the March 15 polls as an antidote to rising right-wing xenophobia.

As the only child of an absentee father of Moroccan descent and a Dutch-Indonesian mother, Klaver, 30, knows what growing up in The Netherlands as an outsider is like.

"I was shocked to be told on Twitter to go back to my own country, or told 'I will not vote for you because you are Moroccan'," Klaver said during a debate late Sunday.

"So many people have faced these kinds of comments. We should be judged based on what our future represents, not on the basis of our origins."

While far-right politician Geert Wilders campaigns on an anti-immigrant, anti-Islam platform including calling some Moroccans here "scum", Klaver is sending a message of tolerance.

Since taking over as party leader in May 2015, he has boosted his party's fortunes. Polls predict it may leap from six MPs in the outgoing parliament to possibly 18.

Although unlikely, some even give the bright-eyed Klaver an outside shot at becoming the next Dutch prime minister depending on how coalition talks go.

- 'Immigrant country' -

The country's youngest-ever party leader, Klaver was raised mainly by his grandparents in social housing, in a sprawling flatlands suburb of the southern city of Roosendaal.

Unlike "what certain politicians will lead you to believe, The Netherlands is an immigrant country," Klaver told AFP in a recent interview.

"I am a product of that immigration," added the curly-haired, olive-skinned Klaver.

His campaign mainly focuses on stopping what Klaver calls "the right-wing wind that's blowing through all of Europe".

And the Dutch vote is being seen as a key litmus test of the rise of populist and far-right parties ahead of other national elections in Europe this year.

Klaver first rose to prominence in 2009 when at just 23 he was elected the youngest-ever member of the influential Social and Economical Council of The Netherlands, which advises government and parliament on key policy.

Six years later, he was elected unopposed as the leader of GroenLinks, which had been haemorrhaging voters since a disastrous 2012 campaign.

With Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberal VVD party only slightly ahead of Wilders's Freedom Party in the polls, the young Klaver could emerge in a "kingmaker" role.

He has already called for closer cooperation between leftwing parties like Labour, the progressive D66 and the Socialist Party, seeking to form a powerful bloc against any potential government led by Rutte's Liberals, who will need a majority coalition to reign in the 150-seat house.

- 'JFK' -

Often compared to Canada's liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to whom Klaver bears a striking resemblance, he calls John F. Kennedy his biggest inspiration.

Even his full name, "Jesse Feras Klaver" echoes the initials of the famous US president, assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

Kennedy "was a man who said you should stand by your norms and principles," said Klaver, who has several pictures of a youthful Kennedy on his office walls alongside those of his own wife and two young sons.

But some of his critics are not impressed by his youthful assertiveness -- Labour Party leader Lodewijk Asscher has called him a "touch arrogant."

Klaver subscribes to many of the ideas of celebrated French economist Thomas Piketty -- the author of an unlikely bestseller on capitalism -- including that globalisation has created an unequal society and an unequal concentration of wealth.

"We need to make Europe work for everybody, not just for a small group of rich people who have been lucky and are just getting richer," Klaver said.

He is reminded every morning of his mission as he clasps his coffee mug, engraved with JFK's words: "One person can make a difference, and everyone should try."

THE HAGUE: Some call him the "Justin Trudeau" of Dutch politics, others see an echo of a young John F. Kennedy, while his detractors call him arrogant. But GroenLinks (Green-Left) party leader Jesse Klaver is on a mission to put his own stamp on the Dutch political landscape in the March 15 polls as an antidote to rising right-wing xenophobia. As the only child of an absentee father of Moroccan descent and a Dutch-Indonesian mother, Klaver, 30, knows what growing up in The Netherlands as an outsider is like. "I was shocked to be told on Twitter to go back to my own country, or told 'I will not vote for you because you are Moroccan'," Klaver said during a debate late Sunday. "So many people have faced these kinds of comments. We should be judged based on what our future represents, not on the basis of our origins." While far-right politician Geert Wilders campaigns on an anti-immigrant, anti-Islam platform including calling some Moroccans here "scum", Klaver is sending a message of tolerance. Since taking over as party leader in May 2015, he has boosted his party's fortunes. Polls predict it may leap from six MPs in the outgoing parliament to possibly 18. Although unlikely, some even give the bright-eyed Klaver an outside shot at becoming the next Dutch prime minister depending on how coalition talks go. - 'Immigrant country' - The country's youngest-ever party leader, Klaver was raised mainly by his grandparents in social housing, in a sprawling flatlands suburb of the southern city of Roosendaal. Unlike "what certain politicians will lead you to believe, The Netherlands is an immigrant country," Klaver told AFP in a recent interview. "I am a product of that immigration," added the curly-haired, olive-skinned Klaver. His campaign mainly focuses on stopping what Klaver calls "the right-wing wind that's blowing through all of Europe". And the Dutch vote is being seen as a key litmus test of the rise of populist and far-right parties ahead of other national elections in Europe this year. Klaver first rose to prominence in 2009 when at just 23 he was elected the youngest-ever member of the influential Social and Economical Council of The Netherlands, which advises government and parliament on key policy. Six years later, he was elected unopposed as the leader of GroenLinks, which had been haemorrhaging voters since a disastrous 2012 campaign. With Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberal VVD party only slightly ahead of Wilders's Freedom Party in the polls, the young Klaver could emerge in a "kingmaker" role. He has already called for closer cooperation between leftwing parties like Labour, the progressive D66 and the Socialist Party, seeking to form a powerful bloc against any potential government led by Rutte's Liberals, who will need a majority coalition to reign in the 150-seat house. - 'JFK' - Often compared to Canada's liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to whom Klaver bears a striking resemblance, he calls John F. Kennedy his biggest inspiration. Even his full name, "Jesse Feras Klaver" echoes the initials of the famous US president, assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Kennedy "was a man who said you should stand by your norms and principles," said Klaver, who has several pictures of a youthful Kennedy on his office walls alongside those of his own wife and two young sons. But some of his critics are not impressed by his youthful assertiveness -- Labour Party leader Lodewijk Asscher has called him a "touch arrogant." Klaver subscribes to many of the ideas of celebrated French economist Thomas Piketty -- the author of an unlikely bestseller on capitalism -- including that globalisation has created an unequal society and an unequal concentration of wealth. "We need to make Europe work for everybody, not just for a small group of rich people who have been lucky and are just getting richer," Klaver said. He is reminded every morning of his mission as he clasps his coffee mug, engraved with JFK's words: "One person can make a difference, and everyone should try."
By AFP

KABUL: Gunmen disguised as doctors stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital Wednesday, killing at least 38 people in a six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group as it makes inroads into the war-battered country.

More than 70 others were wounded in the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, with explosions and gunfire rattling Kabul's diplomatic district as dense clouds of smoke rose in the sky.

Medical staff hunkered down in the hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media, with television footage showing some of them trapped on the ledge of a top-floor window.

"Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us," a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

Hospital administrators told AFP three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats began spraying bullets after a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up at the backdoor entrance, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility.

"I saw one of the attackers, armed with an AK-47 and dressed as a doctor, shooting at patients and guards on the third floor," hospital nurse Abdul Qadeer told AFP.

"They shot my friend but I managed to flee... I had to jump over the barbed wire to escape."

At least two other loud explosions -- including what the defence ministry called a car bomb in the hospital's parking lot -- were heard as Afghan special forces launched a clearance operation that lasted around six hours.

The attackers were gunned down after special forces landed on the roof of the hospital in a military helicopter.

"The attack in the capital's central Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood has killed 38 people and wounded more than 70," the Italian-run Emergency hospital said in a statement, adding that a seven-year-old boy was among those seriously injured.

The raid highlights how Afghanistan's warring parties, including government forces, have repeatedly targeted medical facilities, decimating the country's fragile health system and preventing conflict-displaced civilians from accessing life-saving care.

"This egregious and morally reprehensible attack targeted people at their most vulnerable, while they were receiving treatment in the hospital, and also targeted the medical staff caring for them," said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

"This cowardly attack reflects a fundamental rejection of the most basic principles of humanity. Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable."

Islamic State jihadists claimed the attack via a verified Telegram account.

The more powerful Taliban said they were not behind the raid. The militant group, Afghanistan's largest, is known to distance itself from attacks on medical facilities or those that result in high civilian casualties.

The assault comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.

Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker sneaked in.

In the second attack last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The carnage underscores rising insecurity. The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government's repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payroll, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Kabul last month endorsed US General John Nicholson's call for thousands of additional coalition troops to hold off the militants before the spring offensive.

Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be President Donald Trump's first major test of military strategy.

KABUL: Gunmen disguised as doctors stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital Wednesday, killing at least 38 people in a six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group as it makes inroads into the war-battered country. More than 70 others were wounded in the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, with explosions and gunfire rattling Kabul's diplomatic district as dense clouds of smoke rose in the sky. Medical staff hunkered down in the hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media, with television footage showing some of them trapped on the ledge of a top-floor window. "Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us," a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook. Hospital administrators told AFP three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats began spraying bullets after a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up at the backdoor entrance, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility. "I saw one of the attackers, armed with an AK-47 and dressed as a doctor, shooting at patients and guards on the third floor," hospital nurse Abdul Qadeer told AFP. "They shot my friend but I managed to flee... I had to jump over the barbed wire to escape." At least two other loud explosions -- including what the defence ministry called a car bomb in the hospital's parking lot -- were heard as Afghan special forces launched a clearance operation that lasted around six hours. The attackers were gunned down after special forces landed on the roof of the hospital in a military helicopter. "The attack in the capital's central Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood has killed 38 people and wounded more than 70," the Italian-run Emergency hospital said in a statement, adding that a seven-year-old boy was among those seriously injured. The raid highlights how Afghanistan's warring parties, including government forces, have repeatedly targeted medical facilities, decimating the country's fragile health system and preventing conflict-displaced civilians from accessing life-saving care. "This egregious and morally reprehensible attack targeted people at their most vulnerable, while they were receiving treatment in the hospital, and also targeted the medical staff caring for them," said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. "This cowardly attack reflects a fundamental rejection of the most basic principles of humanity. Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable." Islamic State jihadists claimed the attack via a verified Telegram account. The more powerful Taliban said they were not behind the raid. The militant group, Afghanistan's largest, is known to distance itself from attacks on medical facilities or those that result in high civilian casualties. The assault comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul. Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker sneaked in. In the second attack last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul. The carnage underscores rising insecurity. The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government's repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed. Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payroll, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014. Kabul last month endorsed US General John Nicholson's call for thousands of additional coalition troops to hold off the militants before the spring offensive. Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be President Donald Trump's first major test of military strategy.
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON: The Latest on the publication by WikiLeaks of what it described as thousands of pages of confidential files about CIA hacking activities (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

The chairman of the House intelligence committee says he is "extremely concerned" about WikiLeaks' release of documents it says came from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., says he's asked the intelligence community for more information about the documents.

He told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that his committee may have to probe the matter.

So far, the CIA and the director of national intelligence have declined to comment.

The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., also has had no comment on the release.

___

12:55 p.m.

WikiLeaks claims Samsung smart TVs are among the CIA's weapons for surveillance.

WikiLeaks claims the CIA worked with U.K. intelligence officials to turn microphones in TVs into listening devices.

Samsung smart TVs have microphones so viewers can make voice commands, such as requests for movie recommendations. The commands typically aren't transmitted outside the home unless users activate the feature. If the TV is off, there's no listening being done.

But WikiLeaks claims that documents it obtained show that through a program called Weeping Angel, the target TV appears to be off when it is actually on  and listening.

WikiLeaks says the audio goes to a covert CIA server rather than a party authorized by Samsung. In such cases, audio isn't limited to TV commands but could include everyday conversations.

___

12:50 p.m.

WikiLeaks says documents it obtained show that the CIA targeted everyday gadgets such as smartphones as part of a surveillance program. The hacks have allowed the CIA to collect audio and other messages from apps such as Facebook's WhatsApp before the data got encrypted.

According to WikiLeaks, the CIA knew about several flaws in software made by Apple, Google, Samsung and others but didn't tell the companies about them. Disclosing such vulnerabilities is supposed to be common practice so companies could fix them before hackers use them.

But WikiLeaks says the CIA kept knowledge of the vulnerabilities to itself for use in bypassing the encryption on apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and Confide.

WikiLeaks says the CIA had two dozen such undisclosed vulnerabilities for Android gadgets alone.

___

11:23 a.m.

Among the confidential documents published by WikiLeaks were a series of files purportedly attached to the CIA's Operational Support Branch. They described tools and projects with exotic names, among them Time Stomper, Fight Club, Jukebox, Bartender, Wild Turkey and Margarita. Many of those tools contained no additional data, so it was unclear what the projects were designed to do.

But a separate accompanying file contains a welcome statement that hinted at the malware and intrusion instruments at the agency's command: "Ah yeah, OSB Projects y'all! You know we got the dankest Trojans and collection tools for all your windows asset assist and ORC needs."

It was not immediately clear what "ORC" stood for, although the acronym frequently refers to "Old Red Cracker," a mysterious, early hacking pioneer who openly published directions for reverse-engineering software blueprints in efforts to identify vulnerabilities in them.

___

10:59 a.m.

The WikiLeaks release poses one of the first big tests for Mike Pompeo, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, who is President Donald Trump's new CIA director. During his confirmation hearing, just two months ago, Pompeo was asked to assess America's preparedness in the cyber domain.

"We have an awful lot of work to do," Pompeo told members of the Senate intelligence committee. He said there is "no reason to expect that this threat is going to diminish" and that work was needed by all of government to "achieve better cybersecurity for the national infrastructure, as well."

__

9:18 a.m.

WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents that it says come from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, a dramatic release that appears to give an eye-opening look at the intimate details of the agency's cyberespionage effort.

The dump could not immediately be authenticated by The Associated Press. The CIA did not return repeated messages seeking comment, but WikiLeaks has a long track record of releasing top secret government documents.

One expert who examined the dump, Rendition Infosec founder Jake Williams, told the AP it appeared legitimate.

If it does prove legitimate, the dump will represent yet another catastrophic breach for the U.S. intelligence community at the hands of WikiLeaks and its allies, which have repeatedly humbled Washington with the mass release of classified material.

WASHINGTON: The Latest on the publication by WikiLeaks of what it described as thousands of pages of confidential files about CIA hacking activities (all times local): 4:30 p.m. The chairman of the House intelligence committee says he is "extremely concerned" about WikiLeaks' release of documents it says came from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., says he's asked the intelligence community for more information about the documents. He told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that his committee may have to probe the matter. So far, the CIA and the director of national intelligence have declined to comment. The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., also has had no comment on the release. ___ 12:55 p.m. WikiLeaks claims Samsung smart TVs are among the CIA's weapons for surveillance. WikiLeaks claims the CIA worked with U.K. intelligence officials to turn microphones in TVs into listening devices. Samsung smart TVs have microphones so viewers can make voice commands, such as requests for movie recommendations. The commands typically aren't transmitted outside the home unless users activate the feature. If the TV is off, there's no listening being done. But WikiLeaks claims that documents it obtained show that through a program called Weeping Angel, the target TV appears to be off when it is actually on  and listening. WikiLeaks says the audio goes to a covert CIA server rather than a party authorized by Samsung. In such cases, audio isn't limited to TV commands but could include everyday conversations. ___ 12:50 p.m. WikiLeaks says documents it obtained show that the CIA targeted everyday gadgets such as smartphones as part of a surveillance program. The hacks have allowed the CIA to collect audio and other messages from apps such as Facebook's WhatsApp before the data got encrypted. According to WikiLeaks, the CIA knew about several flaws in software made by Apple, Google, Samsung and others but didn't tell the companies about them. Disclosing such vulnerabilities is supposed to be common practice so companies could fix them before hackers use them. But WikiLeaks says the CIA kept knowledge of the vulnerabilities to itself for use in bypassing the encryption on apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and Confide. WikiLeaks says the CIA had two dozen such undisclosed vulnerabilities for Android gadgets alone. ___ 11:23 a.m. Among the confidential documents published by WikiLeaks were a series of files purportedly attached to the CIA's Operational Support Branch. They described tools and projects with exotic names, among them Time Stomper, Fight Club, Jukebox, Bartender, Wild Turkey and Margarita. Many of those tools contained no additional data, so it was unclear what the projects were designed to do. But a separate accompanying file contains a welcome statement that hinted at the malware and intrusion instruments at the agency's command: "Ah yeah, OSB Projects y'all! You know we got the dankest Trojans and collection tools for all your windows asset assist and ORC needs." It was not immediately clear what "ORC" stood for, although the acronym frequently refers to "Old Red Cracker," a mysterious, early hacking pioneer who openly published directions for reverse-engineering software blueprints in efforts to identify vulnerabilities in them. ___ 10:59 a.m. The WikiLeaks release poses one of the first big tests for Mike Pompeo, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, who is President Donald Trump's new CIA director. During his confirmation hearing, just two months ago, Pompeo was asked to assess America's preparedness in the cyber domain. "We have an awful lot of work to do," Pompeo told members of the Senate intelligence committee. He said there is "no reason to expect that this threat is going to diminish" and that work was needed by all of government to "achieve better cybersecurity for the national infrastructure, as well." __ 9:18 a.m. WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents that it says come from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, a dramatic release that appears to give an eye-opening look at the intimate details of the agency's cyberespionage effort. The dump could not immediately be authenticated by The Associated Press. The CIA did not return repeated messages seeking comment, but WikiLeaks has a long track record of releasing top secret government documents. One expert who examined the dump, Rendition Infosec founder Jake Williams, told the AP it appeared legitimate. If it does prove legitimate, the dump will represent yet another catastrophic breach for the U.S. intelligence community at the hands of WikiLeaks and its allies, which have repeatedly humbled Washington with the mass release of classified material.
MASON CITY | A Mason City man is planning to plead guilty in a federal methamphetamine dealing case.

Michael Adam Nalan, 33, initially pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

He now has a plea change hearing scheduled for March 20 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

Nalan is accused of conspiring with others to distribute meth from April 2012 through September 2016.

Local authorities arrested Nalan on a warrant Sept. 30 in Mason City.

Meth suspect arrested with $28,000 cash, Mason City police say MASON CITY | A Mason City man suspected of selling methamphetamine was found with drugs and 

Police said he was found with 24 grams of meth and $28,000 in cash.

He was charged in Cerro Gordo County District Court with felony meth possession and a drug tax stamp violation. Those charges are being dismissed due to Nalan's federal indictment.

 Mary Pieper
By PTI

TEHRAN: A senior official in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards today accused the United States of provoking tensions after two separate incidents in the Gulf last week.

"A US Navy ship crossing the Strait of Hormuz changed its international route and approached to within 550 metres of Revolutionary Guards' boats in an unprofessional way," Mehdi Hashemi told the Guard's website Sepahnews.

He said actions by the United States and the United Kingdom in recent days showed they have "harmful, illegitimate and provocative objectives".

"Not only do they not want stability and security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, but they seek to create tensions and a crisis," he said.

The Pentagon on Monday blasted the "unprofessional" behaviour of the Iranian navy.

It said an Iranian frigate last Thursday came within 150 yards (metres) of the civilian-crewed USNS Invincible.

Then on Saturday, a number of small assault craft came within 350 yards of the Invincible and other ships.

In both cases, the US ship had to change course to avoid a collision, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.

Davis accused Iranian forces of "a combination of unsafe or unprofessional behaviour" and warned that such incidents could cause a miscalculation or an accidental provocation.

He said Iranian actions in the crowded waters of the Gulf had been improving of late.

The Pentagon has previously voiced concern over a string of high-profile incidents in waters off Iran.

It has accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of conducting risky manoeuvres around US vessels, including some where the Americans have had to fire warning shots.

The USNS Invincible is equipped with powerful radar equipment to track ballistic missile trajectories.

The prefix "USNS" means the ship belongs to the US Navy but is unarmed or only lightly armed

TEHRAN: A senior official in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards today accused the United States of provoking tensions after two separate incidents in the Gulf last week. "A US Navy ship crossing the Strait of Hormuz changed its international route and approached to within 550 metres of Revolutionary Guards' boats in an unprofessional way," Mehdi Hashemi told the Guard's website Sepahnews. He said actions by the United States and the United Kingdom in recent days showed they have "harmful, illegitimate and provocative objectives". "Not only do they not want stability and security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, but they seek to create tensions and a crisis," he said. The Pentagon on Monday blasted the "unprofessional" behaviour of the Iranian navy. It said an Iranian frigate last Thursday came within 150 yards (metres) of the civilian-crewed USNS Invincible. Then on Saturday, a number of small assault craft came within 350 yards of the Invincible and other ships. In both cases, the US ship had to change course to avoid a collision, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. Davis accused Iranian forces of "a combination of unsafe or unprofessional behaviour" and warned that such incidents could cause a miscalculation or an accidental provocation. He said Iranian actions in the crowded waters of the Gulf had been improving of late. The Pentagon has previously voiced concern over a string of high-profile incidents in waters off Iran. It has accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of conducting risky manoeuvres around US vessels, including some where the Americans have had to fire warning shots. The USNS Invincible is equipped with powerful radar equipment to track ballistic missile trajectories. The prefix "USNS" means the ship belongs to the US Navy but is unarmed or only lightly armed
By PTI

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court chief justice has changed the bench hearing the petition filed by Jamaat-ud- Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and four others challenging their house arrest under the anti-terrorism act, a court official said today.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Syed Kazim Raza Shamsi will now hear Saeed's petition.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah changed the two-member bench headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan. Justice Khan had held the last hearing in the case on February 22.

"The hearing scheduled for March 7 (yesterday) could not be held because of the change of bench," a court official told PTI.

He termed the change of bench in Saeed's case as a "routine matter". The official said the next date of hearing will be fixed by the court by tomorrow.

In the last hearing, the court had served a notice on the Punjab government seeking a reply on Saeed's petition by March 7.

Mumbai attack mastermind Saeed, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid, Qazi Kashif Hussain and Abdullah Ubaid have filed the petition in the Lahore High Court and challenged their detention through senior advocate A K Dogar.

The government on January 30 had put Saeed and the four leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat (FIF) under house arrest in Lahore under the country's anti- terrorism act.

In their petition, Saeed and the four others had said the government in light of interior ministry's order detained them for a period of 90 days, with effect from January 30, in exercise of powers under the Anti Terrorism Act.

They requested the court to declare the government order malafide, without jurisdiction and one that voids the fundamental right to their life and liberty.

The names of Saeed and 37 other JuD and FIF leaders had earlier also been placed on the Exit Control List, barring them from leaving the country.

Earlier, the Lahore High Court had dismissed a petition filed by a senior advocate Erum Sajjad Gull on 'technical' grounds, observing that the petitioner had not furnished the impugned notification of Saeed's detention.

Saeed was also put under house arrest after the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, but he was freed by a court in 2009.

Saeed also carries a reward of USD 10 million announced by the US for his role in terror activities.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court chief justice has changed the bench hearing the petition filed by Jamaat-ud- Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and four others challenging their house arrest under the anti-terrorism act, a court official said today. A two-member bench headed by Justice Syed Kazim Raza Shamsi will now hear Saeed's petition. Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah changed the two-member bench headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan. Justice Khan had held the last hearing in the case on February 22. "The hearing scheduled for March 7 (yesterday) could not be held because of the change of bench," a court official told PTI. He termed the change of bench in Saeed's case as a "routine matter". The official said the next date of hearing will be fixed by the court by tomorrow. In the last hearing, the court had served a notice on the Punjab government seeking a reply on Saeed's petition by March 7. Mumbai attack mastermind Saeed, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid, Qazi Kashif Hussain and Abdullah Ubaid have filed the petition in the Lahore High Court and challenged their detention through senior advocate A K Dogar. The government on January 30 had put Saeed and the four leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat (FIF) under house arrest in Lahore under the country's anti- terrorism act. In their petition, Saeed and the four others had said the government in light of interior ministry's order detained them for a period of 90 days, with effect from January 30, in exercise of powers under the Anti Terrorism Act. They requested the court to declare the government order malafide, without jurisdiction and one that voids the fundamental right to their life and liberty. The names of Saeed and 37 other JuD and FIF leaders had earlier also been placed on the Exit Control List, barring them from leaving the country. Earlier, the Lahore High Court had dismissed a petition filed by a senior advocate Erum Sajjad Gull on 'technical' grounds, observing that the petitioner had not furnished the impugned notification of Saeed's detention. Saeed was also put under house arrest after the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, but he was freed by a court in 2009. Saeed also carries a reward of USD 10 million announced by the US for his role in terror activities.
By AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's prime minister on Wednesday ruled out severing ties with North Korea and said his government would seek to negotiate a way out of a rapidly escalating diplomatic row over the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam.

North Korea and Malaysia Tuesday banned each other's citizens from leaving their countries, with Kuala Lumpur saying its nationals were effectively being held "hostage".

The Malaysian foreign ministry said 11 of its citizens were currently in North Korea -- three embassy staff, six family members and two who work for the UN's World Food Programme.

Responding to questions from reporters outside parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Najib Razak ruled out severing ties with North Korea.

"At the moment [diplomatic ties are] still on because it provides us with a channel," he said.

"We have to maintain ties because we have means to negotiate," he added. "We now need to examine what are the needs of the North Korean government."

In the meantime the Malaysian government would stand by its decision not to allow North Koreans to leave the country, he said.

On Tuesday Najib condemned Pyongyang's ban, calling it an "abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage...in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms".

Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur had unusually strong links for years, but ties have rapidly deteriorated in the weeks since two women, who have been charged with the murder, wiped a deadly chemical on Kim Jong-Nam's face.

An autopsy revealed that to be VX nerve agent, a substance so dangerous it is classed as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN.

Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for the assassination, and Kuala Lumpur wants to question several North Koreans, although the only one it has arrested so far was released last week for lack of evidence.

The diplomatic dispute erupted last month when police rejected North Korean diplomats' demands to hand over Kim's body.

The North has never confirmed the identity of the dead man, but has denounced the Malaysian investigation as an attempt to smear it.

Kuala Lumpur announced the expulsion of the North's ambassador over the weekend and Pyongyang retaliated in kind.

"We are a friendly to them. We didn't pick a quarrel with them but when a crime has been committed -- especially when chemical weapons have been used -- in Malaysia, we are duty bound to protect the interests of Malaysians, " Najib said.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the security of Malaysians in North Korea was a primary concern, and he believed Pyongyang would be willing to negotiate to ensure the free movement of its citizens from Malaysia.

"So far we believe they're (North Korea) going to act rationally and we believe what is important is for us to maintain our diplomatic relationship with them," he told journalists.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's prime minister on Wednesday ruled out severing ties with North Korea and said his government would seek to negotiate a way out of a rapidly escalating diplomatic row over the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam. North Korea and Malaysia Tuesday banned each other's citizens from leaving their countries, with Kuala Lumpur saying its nationals were effectively being held "hostage". The Malaysian foreign ministry said 11 of its citizens were currently in North Korea -- three embassy staff, six family members and two who work for the UN's World Food Programme. Responding to questions from reporters outside parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Najib Razak ruled out severing ties with North Korea. "At the moment [diplomatic ties are] still on because it provides us with a channel," he said. "We have to maintain ties because we have means to negotiate," he added. "We now need to examine what are the needs of the North Korean government." In the meantime the Malaysian government would stand by its decision not to allow North Koreans to leave the country, he said. On Tuesday Najib condemned Pyongyang's ban, calling it an "abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage...in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms". Pyongyang and Kuala Lumpur had unusually strong links for years, but ties have rapidly deteriorated in the weeks since two women, who have been charged with the murder, wiped a deadly chemical on Kim Jong-Nam's face. An autopsy revealed that to be VX nerve agent, a substance so dangerous it is classed as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN. Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for the assassination, and Kuala Lumpur wants to question several North Koreans, although the only one it has arrested so far was released last week for lack of evidence. The diplomatic dispute erupted last month when police rejected North Korean diplomats' demands to hand over Kim's body. The North has never confirmed the identity of the dead man, but has denounced the Malaysian investigation as an attempt to smear it. Kuala Lumpur announced the expulsion of the North's ambassador over the weekend and Pyongyang retaliated in kind. "We are a friendly to them. We didn't pick a quarrel with them but when a crime has been committed -- especially when chemical weapons have been used -- in Malaysia, we are duty bound to protect the interests of Malaysians, " Najib said. Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the security of Malaysians in North Korea was a primary concern, and he believed Pyongyang would be willing to negotiate to ensure the free movement of its citizens from Malaysia. "So far we believe they're (North Korea) going to act rationally and we believe what is important is for us to maintain our diplomatic relationship with them," he told journalists.
By Associated Press

COLUMBIA: A series of catastrophic electrical and other failures may have led to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 over the Indian Ocean, according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. on behalf of the families of 44 people on board the still missing plane.

The lawsuit, filed Friday against Boeing in U.S. District Court in South Carolina, names seven malfunctions, from an electrical fire to depressurization of the plane's cabin, that could have led to the crew losing consciousness, the plane's transponder stopping its transmission and the plane flying undetected until it crashed after running out of fuel.

The suit was filed by Gregory Keith, a special administrator for families who lost loved ones on the flight. It names 44 victims as plaintiffs.

The lawsuit was filed in South Carolina because Boeing has built a massive new plant in the state to build the 787 Dreamliner. Flight 370 was a Boeing 777 and the lawsuit doesn't say where it was made.

Boeing doesn't comment on pending lawsuits, but the company's thoughts continue to be with the people who died on Flight 370, Boeing spokesman Tom Kim said in a statement.

One lawyer representing the Flight 370 families is Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation. She did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The jet disappeared March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. Malaysia, Australia and China suspended a nearly three-year search in the southern Indian Ocean on Jan. 17 after failing to find any trace of the plane.

The lawsuit notes that search efforts for the plane have ended and says the lack of finality has led to unprecedented levels of "economic and non-economic losses, emotional and physical pain, distress and mental pain and suffering" for the people on the airliner and their families. It does not ask for a specific amount of damages.

Boeing also didn't use available technology on its 777 planes that would have allowed them to be tracked at all times and made the flight and cockpit voice recorders easier to find, the lawsuit says.

Boeing knew of design flaws on the aircraft, including defective wiring near combustible sources like the emergency oxygen supply to the plane's crew, it says.

"The defects caused and/or allowed a massive and cascading sequence of electrical failures onboard the lost plane which disabled vital systems ... making it impossible for the crew to navigate the plane or for the plane to communicate with the ground stations leaving the aircraft to fly without the ability to communicate or control the aircraft until the plane ran out of fuel," lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

Victims' families have filed other lawsuits as well.

Among them, in March last year, a day before the deadline for litigation against Malaysia Airlines, 12 Chinese families whose relatives were aboard the flight filed a lawsuit in Beijing. It also named Boeing and jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Roys among the defendants. Another lawsuit on behalf of the families of 32 passengers was filed in Kuala Lumpur.

A month before, a Malaysian woman and her two young sons sued the airline seeking damages of $7.6 million for the loss of her husband, S.Puspanathan. An Australian-based woman, Jennifer Chong, whose husband Chong Ling Tan was on the flight, filed similar claims in Australia, alleging the airline was negligent in failing to ensure passengers' safety.

The families of four more Australian passengers are seeking $200,000 compensation from Malaysia Airlines, according to documents filed in the Federal Court of Australia in April 2016.

In June 2016, two Malaysian boys whose father, Jee Jing Hang, was a passenger secured an out-of-court settlement in the first legal case against Malaysia Airlines and the government.

COLUMBIA: A series of catastrophic electrical and other failures may have led to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 over the Indian Ocean, according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. on behalf of the families of 44 people on board the still missing plane. The lawsuit, filed Friday against Boeing in U.S. District Court in South Carolina, names seven malfunctions, from an electrical fire to depressurization of the plane's cabin, that could have led to the crew losing consciousness, the plane's transponder stopping its transmission and the plane flying undetected until it crashed after running out of fuel. The suit was filed by Gregory Keith, a special administrator for families who lost loved ones on the flight. It names 44 victims as plaintiffs. The lawsuit was filed in South Carolina because Boeing has built a massive new plant in the state to build the 787 Dreamliner. Flight 370 was a Boeing 777 and the lawsuit doesn't say where it was made. Boeing doesn't comment on pending lawsuits, but the company's thoughts continue to be with the people who died on Flight 370, Boeing spokesman Tom Kim said in a statement. One lawyer representing the Flight 370 families is Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation. She did not respond to an email seeking comment. The jet disappeared March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. Malaysia, Australia and China suspended a nearly three-year search in the southern Indian Ocean on Jan. 17 after failing to find any trace of the plane. The lawsuit notes that search efforts for the plane have ended and says the lack of finality has led to unprecedented levels of "economic and non-economic losses, emotional and physical pain, distress and mental pain and suffering" for the people on the airliner and their families. It does not ask for a specific amount of damages. Boeing also didn't use available technology on its 777 planes that would have allowed them to be tracked at all times and made the flight and cockpit voice recorders easier to find, the lawsuit says. Boeing knew of design flaws on the aircraft, including defective wiring near combustible sources like the emergency oxygen supply to the plane's crew, it says. "The defects caused and/or allowed a massive and cascading sequence of electrical failures onboard the lost plane which disabled vital systems ... making it impossible for the crew to navigate the plane or for the plane to communicate with the ground stations leaving the aircraft to fly without the ability to communicate or control the aircraft until the plane ran out of fuel," lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. Victims' families have filed other lawsuits as well. Among them, in March last year, a day before the deadline for litigation against Malaysia Airlines, 12 Chinese families whose relatives were aboard the flight filed a lawsuit in Beijing. It also named Boeing and jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Roys among the defendants. Another lawsuit on behalf of the families of 32 passengers was filed in Kuala Lumpur. A month before, a Malaysian woman and her two young sons sued the airline seeking damages of $7.6 million for the loss of her husband, S.Puspanathan. An Australian-based woman, Jennifer Chong, whose husband Chong Ling Tan was on the flight, filed similar claims in Australia, alleging the airline was negligent in failing to ensure passengers' safety. The families of four more Australian passengers are seeking $200,000 compensation from Malaysia Airlines, according to documents filed in the Federal Court of Australia in April 2016. In June 2016, two Malaysian boys whose father, Jee Jing Hang, was a passenger secured an out-of-court settlement in the first legal case against Malaysia Airlines and the government.
By PTI

LONDON: A 22-year-old Pakistan-born British terror suspect wanted to join Islamic State militant group to exorcise the "evil spirits" that plagued him, a UK court has been told.

Mubashir Jamil, described as a "gifted" student from Luton in the east of England, is on trial on terrorism charges at the Old Bailey Court in London.

The computer gaming enthusiast is said to have been radicalised through his interest in the internet, Luton Today reported.

"The defence will say the defendant sought to join ISIS as a way of exorcising the various evil spirits that plagued him, that he did not have any intention to commit acts of terrorism anywhere, that he had no intention to engage in violent jihad," Prosecutor Barnaby Jameson said at the ongoing trial this week, the report said.

"The Crown (Crown Prosecution Service) say there is clear evidence in this case of a radicalised young man who went out of his way to seek assistance online to join IS. He was caught, we say red handed, in the middle of an online conversation with Abu Hasan who turned out to be an undercover officer," the Prosecutor said.

Jamil was arrested in April last year and had denied charges of preparing for terrorist acts by travelling to Syria.

The court was told that he had become obsessed with the idea of martyrdom after surfing the internet for ISIS propaganda.

"It was through the internet that the defendant was drawn into a world poles apart from that of a gifted schoolboy with A* in both the arts and the sciences. Through the world wide web the defendant became an extreme jihadist radical and follower of Islamic State," Jameson said.

"He became a would-be ISIS recruit willing to sacrifice his life for ISIS and indeed the lives of others," he said.

Jamil had allegedly offered to put on a suicide vest to execute a terrorist attack in the UK and was arrested by counter-terrorist officers a few days before a planned flight to Turkey.

In encrypted chat with an apparent ISIS contact in Syria who in reality was an undercover security official, he allegedly said: "I mean if they need someone to do attack from UK I can do it tomorrow... if they can send someone to my house with explosive vest I can be the person to press the button on the same day if they need."

Jamil worked at a local Amazon warehouse in Luton and listed his interests as reading fiction, surfing the internet and physical training.

The trial is expected to last a few weeks.

LONDON: A 22-year-old Pakistan-born British terror suspect wanted to join Islamic State militant group to exorcise the "evil spirits" that plagued him, a UK court has been told. Mubashir Jamil, described as a "gifted" student from Luton in the east of England, is on trial on terrorism charges at the Old Bailey Court in London. The computer gaming enthusiast is said to have been radicalised through his interest in the internet, Luton Today reported. "The defence will say the defendant sought to join ISIS as a way of exorcising the various evil spirits that plagued him, that he did not have any intention to commit acts of terrorism anywhere, that he had no intention to engage in violent jihad," Prosecutor Barnaby Jameson said at the ongoing trial this week, the report said. "The Crown (Crown Prosecution Service) say there is clear evidence in this case of a radicalised young man who went out of his way to seek assistance online to join IS. He was caught, we say red handed, in the middle of an online conversation with Abu Hasan who turned out to be an undercover officer," the Prosecutor said. Jamil was arrested in April last year and had denied charges of preparing for terrorist acts by travelling to Syria. The court was told that he had become obsessed with the idea of martyrdom after surfing the internet for ISIS propaganda. "It was through the internet that the defendant was drawn into a world poles apart from that of a gifted schoolboy with A* in both the arts and the sciences. Through the world wide web the defendant became an extreme jihadist radical and follower of Islamic State," Jameson said. "He became a would-be ISIS recruit willing to sacrifice his life for ISIS and indeed the lives of others," he said. Jamil had allegedly offered to put on a suicide vest to execute a terrorist attack in the UK and was arrested by counter-terrorist officers a few days before a planned flight to Turkey. In encrypted chat with an apparent ISIS contact in Syria who in reality was an undercover security official, he allegedly said: "I mean if they need someone to do attack from UK I can do it tomorrow... if they can send someone to my house with explosive vest I can be the person to press the button on the same day if they need." Jamil worked at a local Amazon warehouse in Luton and listed his interests as reading fiction, surfing the internet and physical training. The trial is expected to last a few weeks.
By AFP

BILOXI: A freight train smashed into a charter bus in a coastal Mississippi city on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving at least four people dead, authorities said. Rescuers spent more than an hour removing passengers, cutting through the bus's heavily damaged frame to extract the last two.

The bus could be seen straddling the tracks, with a CSX Transportation locomotive pushed up against its left side. The bus was apparently stopped on the tracks when the 52-car train, pulled by three locomotives, slammed into it, said Biloxi Police Chief John Miller.

"We're not sure why," Miller said. "We don't know if there were mechanical issues or what was taking place."

Miller said passengers on the Echo Transportation bus had come from Austin, Texas, carrying passengers to one of Biloxi's eight casinos. Ameet Patel, senior vice president of regional operations for Penn National Gaming, owner of Hollywood Gulf Coast Casino in Bay St. Louis and Boomtown Biloxi Casino, said the bus was traveling from the Hollywood casino to the Boomtown casino at the time of the crash.

"It's a terrible tragedy," Miller said. "I know there's a lot of families that are going to be impacted here."

There were conflicting reports of the number killed in the crash. Officials initially said four people died and then revised it down to three. But Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city of Biloxi, later said after consulting with the coroner's office that four were killed.

Creel emphasized it's a "very fluid situation."

"Any time you have a major incident like this, the information can change," he said.

The names of the dead have not been released.

The bus was carrying people on a trip organized by a Texas senior center. A flier for the tour says some passengers boarded Sunday in Austin, Texas, and others boarded about 30 miles east in Bastrop, Texas.

Rescue personnel work to remove passengers from a charter bus that was

hit by a CSX train at the Main Street crossing in Biloxi (Photo | AP)

Michelle Crowley of the Biloxi fire department said 40 people were injured; of those, seven were in critical condition.

A woman who lives about a block from where the train and bus finally came to a stop after the train crashed into the bus says she heard a "loud boom" and knew immediately what had happened.

Cecelia McDonald said she ran out of her house and saw a scene of carnage.

Witnesses told the Sun Herald of Biloxi that the bus was stuck on the tracks for about five minutes before he saw the train hit it. Mark Robinson said some people were getting off the bus as the driver tried to move it, and at least one person was shoved under the bus when the train hit. A nearby car was used as a stepladder after the crash to get people off the bus, and emergency workers pulled passengers through windows.

Robinson said he thinks the train track, which is on an embankment, poses safety issues.

In addition to bells, warning lights and crossing arms, the crossing has yellow signs warning drivers that it has low ground clearance.

"It's too steep there," Robinson said.

Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney says rescuers needed one hour and four minutes to clear everyone from the wreckage. Two people had to be cut out of the bus.

Creel, the city spokesman, said 48 passengers and the driver were on the bus; a bus manifest had listed 50 passengers but two of them did not make the trip.

Medical workers from a hospital blocks away set up a triage area at the scene, and helicopters carried some of the passengers to other hospitals.

The train was headed from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, at the time of the crash, said CSX spokesman Gary Sease. He said the train crew was not injured. The single track is the CSX mainline along the Gulf Coast, passing through densely populated areas of southern Mississippi.

Federal Railroad Agency records show 10 trains a day typically use the track, with a maximum speed of 45 mph. Records show there have been 16 accidents at the crossing since 1976, including in 1983 and 2003, each of which involved one fatality. A delivery truck was also struck at the same crossing in January, WLOX-TV reports. No one was injured in that crash.

The bus was marked as belonging to Echo Transportation, which Texas corporate records show is a unit of a company called TBL Group, based in Grand Prairie, near Dallas.

"We can't confirm anything at this point," said Elisa Fox, a lawyer for the bus company. "We're trying to mobilize to assess the situation."

Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Marc Willis said the agency is sending three inspectors to investigate, while Mississippi is sending one. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is also investigating.

BILOXI: A freight train smashed into a charter bus in a coastal Mississippi city on Tuesday, pushing the bus 300 feet down the tracks and leaving at least four people dead, authorities said. Rescuers spent more than an hour removing passengers, cutting through the bus's heavily damaged frame to extract the last two. The bus could be seen straddling the tracks, with a CSX Transportation locomotive pushed up against its left side. The bus was apparently stopped on the tracks when the 52-car train, pulled by three locomotives, slammed into it, said Biloxi Police Chief John Miller. "We're not sure why," Miller said. "We don't know if there were mechanical issues or what was taking place." Miller said passengers on the Echo Transportation bus had come from Austin, Texas, carrying passengers to one of Biloxi's eight casinos. Ameet Patel, senior vice president of regional operations for Penn National Gaming, owner of Hollywood Gulf Coast Casino in Bay St. Louis and Boomtown Biloxi Casino, said the bus was traveling from the Hollywood casino to the Boomtown casino at the time of the crash. "It's a terrible tragedy," Miller said. "I know there's a lot of families that are going to be impacted here." There were conflicting reports of the number killed in the crash. Officials initially said four people died and then revised it down to three. But Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city of Biloxi, later said after consulting with the coroner's office that four were killed. Creel emphasized it's a "very fluid situation." "Any time you have a major incident like this, the information can change," he said. The names of the dead have not been released. The bus was carrying people on a trip organized by a Texas senior center. A flier for the tour says some passengers boarded Sunday in Austin, Texas, and others boarded about 30 miles east in Bastrop, Texas. Rescue personnel work to remove passengers from a charter bus that was hit by a CSX train at the Main Street crossing in Biloxi (Photo | AP)Michelle Crowley of the Biloxi fire department said 40 people were injured; of those, seven were in critical condition. A woman who lives about a block from where the train and bus finally came to a stop after the train crashed into the bus says she heard a "loud boom" and knew immediately what had happened. Cecelia McDonald said she ran out of her house and saw a scene of carnage. Witnesses told the Sun Herald of Biloxi that the bus was stuck on the tracks for about five minutes before he saw the train hit it. Mark Robinson said some people were getting off the bus as the driver tried to move it, and at least one person was shoved under the bus when the train hit. A nearby car was used as a stepladder after the crash to get people off the bus, and emergency workers pulled passengers through windows. Robinson said he thinks the train track, which is on an embankment, poses safety issues. In addition to bells, warning lights and crossing arms, the crossing has yellow signs warning drivers that it has low ground clearance. "It's too steep there," Robinson said. Biloxi Fire Chief Joe Boney says rescuers needed one hour and four minutes to clear everyone from the wreckage. Two people had to be cut out of the bus. Creel, the city spokesman, said 48 passengers and the driver were on the bus; a bus manifest had listed 50 passengers but two of them did not make the trip. Medical workers from a hospital blocks away set up a triage area at the scene, and helicopters carried some of the passengers to other hospitals. The train was headed from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, at the time of the crash, said CSX spokesman Gary Sease. He said the train crew was not injured. The single track is the CSX mainline along the Gulf Coast, passing through densely populated areas of southern Mississippi. Federal Railroad Agency records show 10 trains a day typically use the track, with a maximum speed of 45 mph. Records show there have been 16 accidents at the crossing since 1976, including in 1983 and 2003, each of which involved one fatality. A delivery truck was also struck at the same crossing in January, WLOX-TV reports. No one was injured in that crash. The bus was marked as belonging to Echo Transportation, which Texas corporate records show is a unit of a company called TBL Group, based in Grand Prairie, near Dallas. "We can't confirm anything at this point," said Elisa Fox, a lawyer for the bus company. "We're trying to mobilize to assess the situation." Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Marc Willis said the agency is sending three inspectors to investigate, while Mississippi is sending one. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is also investigating.
By IANS

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will discuss on Wednesday North Korea's latest missile test amidst high tension in the region resulting from the tests and the start of the installation of the THAAD anti-missile shield.

The meeting in New York is scheduled for 10.00 a.m., EFE News cited the UN as saying on Tuesday.

The meeting was urgently requested by Washington, Tokyo and Seoul on Monday, the day North Korea fired four missiles into the Sea of Japan.

The test was personally supervised by North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and poses a new challenge from Pyongyang to the international community, as the country is banned from such activities according to several UN resolutions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres immediately condemned the test, which is also what the Security Council is expected to do at the meeting.

The test coincided with the beginning of the deployment of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system in South Korea, jointly launched by Seoul and Washington to counteract threats from Pyongyang.

ALSO READ: North Korea could suspend nukes for halt in US drills: China

According to Seoul, the THAAD will be fully installed by 2017 end in an area located about 300 km southeast of Seoul.

On the other hand, in a letter to the Security Council on Monday, North Korean ambassador to the UN, Ja Song-nam, denounced the annual joint military manoeuvres between the US and South Korea, warning that this could push the region to a "nuclear disaster".

Pyongyang urged the Security Council to address the threat posed by such exercises and believed, if it does not, it will prove the Security Council to be an American tool.

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will discuss on Wednesday North Korea's latest missile test amidst high tension in the region resulting from the tests and the start of the installation of the THAAD anti-missile shield. The meeting in New York is scheduled for 10.00 a.m., EFE News cited the UN as saying on Tuesday. The meeting was urgently requested by Washington, Tokyo and Seoul on Monday, the day North Korea fired four missiles into the Sea of Japan. The test was personally supervised by North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and poses a new challenge from Pyongyang to the international community, as the country is banned from such activities according to several UN resolutions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres immediately condemned the test, which is also what the Security Council is expected to do at the meeting. The test coincided with the beginning of the deployment of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system in South Korea, jointly launched by Seoul and Washington to counteract threats from Pyongyang. ALSO READ: North Korea could suspend nukes for halt in US drills: China According to Seoul, the THAAD will be fully installed by 2017 end in an area located about 300 km southeast of Seoul. On the other hand, in a letter to the Security Council on Monday, North Korean ambassador to the UN, Ja Song-nam, denounced the annual joint military manoeuvres between the US and South Korea, warning that this could push the region to a "nuclear disaster". Pyongyang urged the Security Council to address the threat posed by such exercises and believed, if it does not, it will prove the Security Council to be an American tool.
By IANS

ISTANBUL: Tens of thousands of women took to the streets across Turkey, marching for women's rights while some also rallied against expanding the president's powers. In Istanbul over 10,000 people, mostly women, walked the long Istiklal Avenue yesterday, chanting "end male-perpetrated violence" and "Tayyip, Tayyip, run, run, we are coming". "Tayyip" refers to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is seeking to create an executive presidency which would see the post of prime minister abolished.

On April 16, the Turkish public will vote on whether to change the current system which the government argues causes instability while critics claim greater powers for Erdogan will lead to one-man rule. A deep purple dominated the colourful crowds in Istanbul who held placards saying "women are free" and "we are strong united".

The march was organised by multiple women's rights groups and attendees included LGBT individuals, young women, students and also men -- many of whom were carrying "No" posters. For Nurten Karanci who attended the march, being a woman in Turkey means a "fight to live, to survive". Last year, a woman was attacked in Istanbul for wearing shorts on a public bus while another woman wearing the Islamic headscarf said she was kicked and insulted last month.

Women's activists often call for an end to violence against women in a country where hundreds of women are killed every year, often by their husbands. Despite a heavy police presence and water cannon trucks on standby, the Istanbul march took place peacefully as they walked from the popular Taksim Square to Sishane on the other end of the avenue on the European side of Istanbul.

Members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), whose two co-leaders remain under arrest accused of terror links, also took part of the march in Istanbul. Meanwhile in Ankara women hit tambourines and held "No" posters shouting their opposition to giving "one man" all the power.

In the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakir, hundreds of people staged a demonstration for women's rights, dancing and playing music. One participant, Sabiba Akgul, said all women "should stand up and support each other. Hand in hand, they will find freedom".

Activist Ozlem Gul in Istanbul described the difficulty of being a woman in Turkey. "Being a woman anyhow is very complicated, especially today. We have to fight against many things. We have to fight against the attacks on our bodies, our work, our opinions. "We are in the streets, we won't let up, and we will keep on the fight as Turkish women."

ISTANBUL: Tens of thousands of women took to the streets across Turkey, marching for women's rights while some also rallied against expanding the president's powers. In Istanbul over 10,000 people, mostly women, walked the long Istiklal Avenue yesterday, chanting "end male-perpetrated violence" and "Tayyip, Tayyip, run, run, we are coming". "Tayyip" refers to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is seeking to create an executive presidency which would see the post of prime minister abolished. On April 16, the Turkish public will vote on whether to change the current system which the government argues causes instability while critics claim greater powers for Erdogan will lead to one-man rule. A deep purple dominated the colourful crowds in Istanbul who held placards saying "women are free" and "we are strong united". The march was organised by multiple women's rights groups and attendees included LGBT individuals, young women, students and also men -- many of whom were carrying "No" posters. For Nurten Karanci who attended the march, being a woman in Turkey means a "fight to live, to survive". Last year, a woman was attacked in Istanbul for wearing shorts on a public bus while another woman wearing the Islamic headscarf said she was kicked and insulted last month. Women's activists often call for an end to violence against women in a country where hundreds of women are killed every year, often by their husbands. Despite a heavy police presence and water cannon trucks on standby, the Istanbul march took place peacefully as they walked from the popular Taksim Square to Sishane on the other end of the avenue on the European side of Istanbul. Members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), whose two co-leaders remain under arrest accused of terror links, also took part of the march in Istanbul. Meanwhile in Ankara women hit tambourines and held "No" posters shouting their opposition to giving "one man" all the power. In the Kurdish-majority southeastern city of Diyarbakir, hundreds of people staged a demonstration for women's rights, dancing and playing music. One participant, Sabiba Akgul, said all women "should stand up and support each other. Hand in hand, they will find freedom". Activist Ozlem Gul in Istanbul described the difficulty of being a woman in Turkey. "Being a woman anyhow is very complicated, especially today. We have to fight against many things. We have to fight against the attacks on our bodies, our work, our opinions. "We are in the streets, we won't let up, and we will keep on the fight as Turkish women."
Part of this year's RAGBRAI route through North Iowa was announced Wednesday.

After their overnight stop in Clear Lake, cyclists making the annual ride across the state will travel through Thornton, Swaledale, Rockwell, Cartersville and Rockford July 26 on their way to their overnight stop in Charles City.

A different portion of the RAGBRAI route, including the pass-through towns, is being announced each day this week.

Routes from Orange City to Spencer, Spencer to Algona and Algona to Clear Lake were revealed earlier this week.

The route from Charles City to Cresco will be unveiled Thursday, with Cresco to Waukon announced Friday.

The final day's route  Waukon to Lansing  will be revealed Saturday.

Overnight stops for RAGBRAI were announced in January.
Who are Newport's top taxpayers? Take a look at the top 50.
MASON CITY | Nearly 30 people attended the Day Without a Woman rally in Central Park Wednesday, joining others throughout the United States and the world participating in similar events on International Women's Day.

Those at the Mason City rally, which included a few men, held signs stating, "Don't Make Policy About Us Without Us" and "Men of Quality Do Not Fear Equality."

Many of the attendees wore red. Those participating in the Day Without a Woman protest were encouraged to stay home from work if they could to demonstrate how vital they are to the economy, join rallies and wear red in solidarity.

Tahmyrah Lytle, co-organizer of the Mason City rally, said many women can't take a day off from work.

"We are here for them," she said.

Rally co-organizer Edith Haenel, head of the Worth County Progressives, said years ago she wanted to become a doctor, but was told "my training would be wasted" when she got married and had children.

"We've come a long way, baby," she said.

But there's a long way to go, according to Haenel.

She said America ranks surprisingly low among all the nations in the world when it comes to the percentage of women serving in elected office. She said countries such as Rwanda, Bolivia and Cuba all rank ahead of the United States.

Haenel also said millions of girls around the world still don't go to school.

Lytle, head of the Where Do We Go From Here group, said she wasn't expecting so many people to turn out on such a windy day.

"There are thousands of women standing with us today," she told the group.
The City of Mason City released Wednesday the requests for proposals related to a downtown development project.

The City Council has scheduled a special session Wednesday to consider working with G8 Development of San Diego for the hotel project.

The Globe Gazette requested the applications for the complex after city officials initially declined to release the names of the developers.

The other application was from Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital.

View the Gatehouse Capital proposal:

View the Gatehouse Capital proposal:
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
Autism will be better understood thanks to a substantial investment from a US philanthropic foundation to the University of Edinburgh.

The Simons Foundation has pledged 20 million for pioneering studies into the biological mechanisms that underpin changes in brain development associated with autism.

Researchers say the investment could eventually lead to new treatments for people with autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorders affect approximately 75 million people worldwide. Key symptoms include altered social interaction, communication and restricted and repetitive behaviour. The disorders are often associated with intellectual disability or impaired motor control.

The Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain will be based at the University of Edinburgh's Patrick Wild Centre for Research into Autism, Fragile X Syndrome and Intellectual Disabilities.

Experts will use advanced techniques to probe brain development in the presence of DNA changes that are known to cause autism.

They will investigate how variations in the wiring of the brain can impact on way the brain processes information, which ultimately underlies our intellectual and social abilities.

The initiative will enable brain scientists to work more closely with clinical teams that care for children and their families and will facilitate the development and testing of new therapies.

Professor Peter Kind will serve as Director of the new Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, and also of the Patrick Wild Centre, established by private donations from families affected by Fragile X Syndrome and other forms of autism.

Professor Kind said: "This is an amazing opportunity to bring together a range of scientific and clinical expertise at the University with the aim of understanding how the brain develops on multiple levels, including molecular biology, neural circuitry, genetics, behaviour and cognition.

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"By combining these approaches, we will learn how a healthy brain matures and gain valuable insights into the developmental origins of autism.

"Using this knowledge, we aim to deliver new diagnostic tools, better therapeutics and new interventions to the clinic that will address the causes and consequences of autism."

Louis F. Reichardt, director of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative said, "The Patrick Wild Center has already made seminal contributions to understanding how RETT and Fragile X genes control brain development, and they have even identified promising approaches to treatment. We hope the foundation's support will enable them to apply these types of studies to other conditions on the autism spectrum."

"Professor Kind and his colleagues have been doing outstanding, innovative work, both in the lab and in their clinical studies," said Marilyn Simons, president of the Simons Foundation. "We are proud to support this further exploration into the biology of the developing brain."

Jim Simons, chair of the Simons Foundation, added, "We are confident that the great scientists already in place, coupled with the comprehensive facility being developed, will accelerate understanding of autism and hasten the development of meaningful treatments."

Professor Sir Timothy O'Shea, Principal of the University of Edinburgh said: "We are tremendously grateful to the Simons Foundation for their generosity and vision. Their investment is a landmark commitment amidst an on-going effort from donors at all levels to deepen our research programmes and accelerate progress in medical science."
Could lung cancer be hiding in kidney cancer patients? Researchers with the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center's Kidney Cancer Program studied patients with metastatic kidney cancer to the lungs and found that 3.5 percent of the group had a primary lung cancer tumor that had gone undiagnosed. This distinction can affect treatment choices and rates of survival.

"Kidney cancer spreads primarily to the lungs making the detection of a primary lung cancer difficult. Lung cancer is typically more aggressive than kidney cancer. Undetected, lung cancer may spread and eventually kill the patient," said Dr. James Brugarolas, Director of the Kidney Cancer Program and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Mel Moffitt, an Army veteran who survived serving in Vietnam, is among those now fighting both lung cancer and kidney cancer.

Mr. Moffitt, 70, was initially diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2008, leading to removal of one of his kidneys. By 2012, the cancer had spread to his lungs and lymph nodes. Before coming to UT Southwestern, he had been told he had less than a year to live. In 2015, a new primary tumor was found in his lung.

"It was like we turned around, and the cancer said 'By the way, I'm over here too,'" said his wife of 47 years, Kennon Moffitt, whom he met at the officer's club in El Paso before shipping off to Vietnam.

"I will keep fighting," pledged Mr. Moffitt, who has been through molecularly targeted drug therapy, stereotactic radiotherapy, and is combating his latest lung and kidney cancer diagnosis with immunotherapy and chemotherapy treatment.

Still, he said, he is grateful to have survived so many years since his initial diagnosis, years that included the birth of his three grandchildren, now ages 8, 6 and 4, and the chance to restore a 1969 red Corvette, which the couple plans to drive in a Fourth of July parade this summer.

Nearly 400,000 Americans are now living with a diagnosis of kidney cancer and more than 60,000 people are expected to be diagnosed with kidney cancer this year, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Five-year survival rate averages range from more than 80 percent for stage 1, when cancer is contained in the kidney, to about 53 percent for stage 3, when it has spread beyond the kidney, to just 8 percent for stage 4, when the cancer spreads to more distant parts of the body or other organs.

Texas has the fifth-highest rate of this cancer in the U.S. and it is the fourth most common cancer treated at the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, where survival rates for patients with stage 4 kidney cancer are double national benchmarks, noted Dr. Brugarolas, a Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research at UT Southwestern.

In this retrospective study of 151 patients at the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, investigators identified 85 people who had kidney cancer metastasized to the lungs, and three who had a primary lung cancer. Investigators found only four previous cases described in the literature, leading them to suspect the incidence of lung cancers in kidney cancer patients may be underreported.

Because UT Southwestern is a tertiary care referral center, investigators noted that rates could be different in the general population. Up to 6 percent of patients with metastatic kidney cancer also may have a lung cancer, investigators noted in the study, published in Clinical Genitourinary Cancer.

"Our report raises an important flag for medical oncologists and radiologists to be on the lookout for a hidden lung cancer," said Dr. Brugarolas.
Mr. Raymond Moody - a 4th year doctoral student in Health Psychology and Clinical Science training program at the CUNY Graduate Center and a graduate student researcher at Hunter College's Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST; http://www. chestnyc. org) - has been awarded a two year grant totaling $155,972 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to support his dissertation research.

Gay and bisexual men continue to account for a significant majority of all new HIV infections in the U.S, with condomless anal sex in the absence of PrEP being the most common HIV transmission risk behavior. An HIV syndemic has been identified that consists of several factors (e.g., substance use, sexual compulsivity, depression, partner violence, and trauma from childhood sexual abuse) that have high levels of comorbidity and work synergistically to increase risk. The primary goal of Mr. Moody's dissertation is to examine three potentially linking mechanisms of syndemic factors: emotion regulation, executive attention, and attentional bias.

The grant will include two distinct studies of HIV-negative gay and bisexual men. Study one will examine the mechanisms as part of One Thousand Strong, an ongoing NIDA-funded study of more than 1,000 gay and bisexual men from across the U.S. Study two will involve the recruitment of a New York City based sample of 90 men stratified by substance use and sexual compulsivity and examine these mechanisms using a combination of online and laboratory based methods. The dissertation aims to advance syndemic research and to inform the development of interventions to reduce the burden of HIV among gay and bisexual men.
Biomedical scientist Rajkumar Lakshmanaswamy, Ph.D., has received a $1.1 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to study how early pregnancy reduces a woman's risk for breast cancer.

"We've known for centuries that women who don't have children run a high risk for breast cancer," says Lakshmanaswamy, a professor of biomedical sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso). "So what is it about pregnancy, particularly early pregnancy, that reduces a women's lifetime risk of breast cancer?"

Studies have shown that if a woman gives birth to her first child before the age of 20, her risk of developing breast cancer is half that of a woman who has never undergone a full-term pregnancy, or a woman who had her first child after the age of 35. The biological processes that cause this protective effect, however, are not well understood.

With the grant, Lakshmanaswamy hopes to better understand the natural processes behind the phenomenon, which could lead to new prevention and treatment strategies for breast cancer.

The TTUHSC El Paso research team will specifically study growth hormone and prolactin, two hormones known for stimulating breast cancer growth, but that dramatically dip in women after pregnancy. Lakshmanaswamy believes this hormonal reduction in postpartum women affects tissue within the breast, causing it to permanently alter and become resistant to mammary cancer.

"If you think about it, by design, mammals are wired to make babies as soon as they achieve puberty  except humans, who choose to have babies at later ages," he explains. "So when a woman opts to hold off on children, she may be delaying an important natural process."

The biomedical scientist emphasizes that he does not recommend for women to get pregnant early to avoid breast cancer; he only hopes to gain more knowledge on the protective phenomenon so that it can be translated into a new therapy for breast cancer.

Source: http://eptechview.ttuhsc.edu/ttuhsc-el-paso/gsbs-dean-awarded-1-1-million-dod-grant/
The common cold is a major source of annoyance for most of us, but new research has found that the most prevalent respiratory infection can be far worse than a stuffy nose for one sector of the population  bone marrow transplant patients.

These vulnerable patients, whose immune defenses have taken a dramatic double hit from both their original disease and the treatments required to repopulate their immune system with donor cells, are especially susceptible to a wide range of infections that typically don't cause major problems in healthy people. But rhinovirus, the most common respiratory virus, has traditionally been overlooked in this population, said Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center infectious disease specialist Dr. Michael Boeckh.

"This is such a prevalent virus  about 25 percent of stem cell transplant patients get infected [with rhinovirus] during the first year," said Boeckh, who heads Fred Hutch's Infectious Disease Sciences Program. "The virus was always considered kind of a common cold, a mild virus. People shrugged their shoulders, what should we do about it, it comes and goes."

Now, a new study led by infectious disease researcher Dr. Sachiko Seo, formerly of Fred Hutch and now a physician at the National Cancer Research Center East in Chiba, Japan, and Boeckh and published last month in the journal Haematologica has found that like more "serious" viruses, rhinovirus can cause pneumonia  and when it does, it can be deadly to those recovering from transplantation.

The results not only point to the importance of strong infection prevention measures for transplant patients and better care for those with rhinovirus-related pneumonia but lend a rationale for drug companies and researchers to prioritize developing effective antiviral drugs for this most common of common cold-causing viruses, Boeckh said.

"Just to treat people like you and me who are irritated by the sniffles, that's not good enough for the market," he said. "For a company or anybody to step forward and say, 'I'm going to make this a priority,' you have to show that there's a real disease."

This virus 'can't be disregarded'

Their study was not the first to show that transplant patients get rhinovirus but the first to definitively link the virus to pneumonia in these patients. That new discovery is thanks to modern virus detection methods  rhinovirus was difficult to pinpoint using older technologies, Boeckh said. Over the past decade, with the advent of better viral detection, he and other clinicians started to see evidence of rhinovirus in the lungs in transplant patients with pneumonia. But they didn't know if the virus was causing the complication or if it was just along for the ride.

In their recent study, the researchers took a retrospective look at 697 patients who'd received transplants at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Fred Hutch's clinical care partner, between 1993 and 2015 and who had also tested positive for rhinovirus. They compared the 128 patients with rhinovirus in the lower respiratory tract to those infected with viruses already known to cause pneumonia  and sometimes death  in transplant patients, namely, influenza; parainfluenza virus, or PIV; and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

In contrast to what researchers believed in the past, their study showed that rhinovirus is linked to pneumonia and death even without any other co-existing infections, strongly suggesting that the so-called mild virus can be dangerous all on its own.

Boeckh and his colleagues found that rhinovirus infection led to pneumonia less often than the other viruses. About 15 percent of patients with an upper respiratory tract infection  the type of infection we typically think of as a "common cold"  went on to develop pneumonia, or an infection of the lower respiratory tract. Progression from cold-like symptoms to pneumonia for patients infected with RSV, for example, happened about twice as often.

But once patients developed pneumonia, rhinovirus turned out to be just as deadly as the other viruses, the researchers found. About 40 percent of patients in their study who developed pneumonia from any viral infection died.

Even though rhinovirus is less likely on a case-by-case basis to lead to pneumonia, it's actually the most common cause of pneumonia caused by respiratory viruses in transplant patients, Boeckh said. That's because the virus is so common and because it's present year-round, unlike the other, more seasonal viruses.

Overall, their results point to the need for better preventions and treatments for the virus, Boeckh said.

"This is an important pathogen," he said. "It can't be disregarded as a common cold virus."

How to prevent complications  now and in the future

In fact, the scientists believe the pathogen is so important they've started an entire research program around it. Dr. Alpana Waghmare, one of the study authors who is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Seattle Children's and a Fred Hutch affiliate researcher, is launching a research project to better understand how and why rhinovirus is so dangerous to transplant patients.

For now, she's concentrating on understanding which patients are most likely to develop pneumonia from the virus. In a different study Waghmare presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation in Orlando, Florida, the researchers teased out a few risk factors that can drive the development of lower respiratory tract infections  namely, high levels of steroid use (commonly given to transplant patients for other complications such as graft-vs.-host disease) and a low white blood cell count.

Her team's next step will be to understand whether certain patients are at higher risk for getting infected with rhinovirus in the first place and to ask if there are other risk factors for pneumonia and other poor outcomes from the infection.

Even though there's no effective drug for rhinovirus on the market yet, understanding who is at highest risk of complications from the virus is still important, Waghmare said. The research field needs to provide evidence of how rhinovirus is harmful to spur such a drug's development as well as to understand which patients would benefit most once such a treatment is available so clinicians can know who should be monitored or treated more aggressively, she said.

"So many of our patients get rhinovirus, but most of the infections are mild and we want to know who would likely benefit from any potential therapies," Waghmare said. "You need to know how to stratify people to get the most bang for your buck in terms of whom you treat."

For now though, in the absence of an effective drug, there are a few steps transplant patients and their caregivers can take, Waghmare said.

Patients who are within the first year of receiving a transplant should always check with their doctor as soon as they develop any cold-like symptoms. "Don't wait things out," she said.

As a general infection control practice, any family members and friends with cold or flu symptoms should limit contact with post-transplant patients as much as possible. Waghmare acknowledges that's difficult in practice though, as for instance when the patient's caregiver comes down with a cold.

For cancer care facilities, it's important to keep employees with any cold symptoms out of the clinic, Boeckh said. He points out that the SCCA has a very aggressive infection control program and they all make infection prevention in this vulnerable population a top priority.
Navkiran Shokar, M.A., M.P.H, M.D., has received nearly $1.5 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in West Texas.

"Hispanic women in our region have a 30 percent higher risk of dying from cervical cancer," says Dr. Shokar, a physician and professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso). "They also have a higher incidence of cervical cancer and are typically diagnosed at later stages."

Dr. Shokar will use the grant to expand De Casa en Casa, a program that helps uninsured or underinsured Latinas access free cervical cancer screenings, or pap smears. Since its establishment in 2013, De Casa En Casa has provided more than 1,500 pap smears to women in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties.

The new CPRIT funds will help the program expand its service area to 105 additional rural U.S.-Mexico border counties in Texas, stretching from as far away as Big Bend country to the Panhandle plains. Cervical cancer test rates in the region lag far behind the national average of 82 percent; only 63 to 71 percent of qualifying residents in these counties have been screened.

"This area we've targeted has a population of about 2.8 million," says Dr. Shokar. "The region has high rates of poverty, low education, and low rates of health care coverage -- making it the ideal location for health education and free diagnostic screenings to save more lives."

Dr. Shokar and her team will begin the effort by organizing a convoy to visit a 19-county area between now and December. The TTUHSC El Paso team will offer cervical cancer prevention education, including a bilingual educational video, and free cervical cancer screenings to qualifying residents. During the visit, the team will also provide training for local nurses and community health workers to increase awareness of cervical cancer, its symptoms, and common barriers that women in these communities face to get access to cancer screening and care.

Dr. Shokar's ultimate goal is not only to have more women screened, but also to educate Hispanics about the importance of regular pap smears for early diagnosis -- when cervical cancer is most curable -- and thus, saving more lives.

De Casa en Casa's reach is possible thanks to a community-wide partnership that consists of over 150 organizations, including TTUHSC El Paso, the West Texas Area Health Education Center (AHEC), the Texas Department of State Health Services, and multiple food pantries and community centers across the region.

This is Dr. Shokar's fifth award from CPRIT as a principal investigator. Her grants have brought nearly $8 million to the El Paso community for cancer prevention and early detection services.
Implicit gender bias has long been suspected in many medical training programs, but until recently has been difficult to study objectively. Now, for the first time, a nationally standardized milestone evaluation system for emergency medicine residents is shining a light on these potential biases. In study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found that although male and female emergency medicine specialists start off residency on an equal playing field, by the end of the three-year training program male residents, on average, received higher evaluations on all 23 emergency medicine training categories - including medical knowledge, patient safety, team management, and communication.

During the first year of training, female residents actually scored slightly higher than males on 15 of the 23 areas, with notably higher scores in accountability, multitasking, and diagnosis. However, by the end of the third and final year of residency, males had gained higher scores in all 23 categories and had a 13 percent higher rate of milestone attainment per year - the equivalent of 3 to 4 months of additional training by graduation.

"We are concerned that the disparity we discovered in evaluations may point to an implicit bias," said co-lead author Daniel O'Connor, a student in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "Our finding, that female residents in emergency medicine receive lower scores than males across all sub-competencies really implicates bias rather than a deficit in specific skills or knowledge."

O'Connor and researchers from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine collected 33,456 "milestone" evaluations, from 359 emergency medicine residents over a two-year period. One-third (122) of the residents were female; two-thirds (237) were male. The training programs studied represent a mix of rural, suburban, and urban hospitals and included small, medium and large academic as well as community hospital programs.

About a third of the faculty physicians who evaluated the trainees were female (91) and two-thirds were male (194). Male and female faculty members evaluated residents similarly, consistently giving female residents lower scores throughout residency years two and three.

Although senior residents, for example, are expected to display stereotypically male characteristics such as assertiveness and independence, female residents who display such qualities may incur a penalty, even among their female role models, for violating customary gender roles.

"One way to interpret our findings is that a widening gender gap is attributable to the cumulative effects of repeated disadvantages and biases that become increasingly pronounced at the more senior levels of training," the authors wrote.

In light of recent national discussions calling for formalized competency demonstrations before residents can graduate in their specialty, this implicit bias could have long-term implications for female physicians.

"Based on our results," O'Connor said, "this would mean female residents could be required to complete additional training to graduate at the same level as their male counterparts."
Johns Hopkins researchers report that in-home occupational therapy appears to reduce the rate and severity of depression in people at higher risk for the disorder because of seriously impaired vision.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says older adults in the United States are already at an increased risk of depression as their health and social lives change. Vision-impairing diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, contribute to these changes for an estimated 1.6 million Americans.

The new study, described March 8, in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, used measures obtained from the previous Low Vision Depression Prevention Trial in Age-Related Macular Degeneration (VITAL) study to conclude that low-vision patients who improve in their day-to-day functions, such as cooking, reading mail or using a computer, through at-home training with an occupational therapist have less severe symptoms of depression than similar patients who did not train with an occupational therapist.

"Our goal for this study was to see if occupational therapy was a better investment than supportive therapy in preventing depression in low-vision patients," says Ashley Deemer, O.D., instructor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The study was based on information originally gathered for the VITAL study at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and included data on 188 patients with age-related macular degeneration. The patients' average age was 84, and 70.2 percent of the patients were women. The patients had an average visual acuity of 20/96, meaning that the average person in this study could see an object 20 feet away, while someone with normal vision could see the same object at 96 feet. All patients also reported borderline depressive symptoms, scoring greater than five on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, a clinical survey used to estimate depression risk. In this survey, a score of zero is an indication that the patient has no depression or is at a low risk, and a score of 20 or higher marks a patient as at risk for severe depression.

After enrollment in the study, all patients visited a low vision rehabilitation optometrist and filled out a questionnaire designed to assess the importance and difficulty of daily activities, such as cooking, driving, pleasure reading and using a computer.

Patients were then divided into two treatment groups -- an occupational therapy group and a supportive therapy group. The group of patients receiving occupational therapy met with an occupational therapist for six one-hour sessions in their homes. Utilizing tools like magnifying glasses, electronic devices and computer programs, the occupational therapist helped train patients to find new ways to achieve the tasks patients had ranked as both important and difficult.

"For example, if a patient had difficulty reading his or her mail, the therapist would use a magnification device to train and practice with the patient until he or she could successfully read the mail," says Deemer.

The supportive therapy group acted as a control group for comparison. These patients met with a social worker for six one-hour sessions of talk therapy, which emphasized personal expression about loss and disability. In essence, the researchers say, this group got attention and empathetic support but not specific occupational therapy directed to improve their ability to function.

Four months after treatment, the researchers followed up with the patients in the study. Before treatment, the occupational therapy group's average PHQ-9 score was 5.5, and the supportive therapy group's average score was 5.6, placing both groups at the borderline of having a depressive disorder. After re-administering the questionnaire after treatment, the researchers found that the occupational therapy patient group's average score decreased to 4.62 and the supportive therapy's score decreased to 4.54.

At this follow-up, the researchers found that 26 percent of the supportive therapy patients reported that their depression symptoms worsened, while only 12 percent of the occupational therapy patients reported worsening symptoms. In total, these data show that while both forms of therapy decreased depression in patients, the group that received occupational therapy reduced its risk of depression by much more.

Comprehensive low vision rehabilitative services typically incorporate specialized care from an optometrist and other rehabilitation therapists, including occupational therapists. Because the VITAL study was not originally designed to distinguish the differences among these particular low-vision rehabilitation services, Deemer says one limitation of her findings is the researchers were unable to measure visual function improvements from occupational therapy services alone. Rather, the effects on visual function seen here are the result of comprehensive low vision rehabilitative care, including services given by both the optometrist and the occupational therapist.

Deemer says the costs associated with occupational therapy are often covered by Medicare, but such services appear to be underutilized.

"Many caregivers and patients may not realize how prevalent depression is among people with low vision, and our duty as health care providers is to raise awareness of the problem and the availability of help," says Deemer. "It is good practice not only to refer low vision patients to a mental health expert, but to also suggest low vision rehabilitation and occupational therapy, which could have a huge impact on our patients' lives."

If you would like to view the video that accompanies this release please contact Rachel Butch. Reporters are welcome to demo the tools used in low-vision occupational therapy at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute upon request.

Source: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/in_home_occupational_therapy_curbs_depression_in_visually_impaired_patients
Tabassum Bano. (Photo: Ola)

Reshma Vinod Pandav. (Photo: Ola)

Jayalakshmi. (Photo: Ola)

There are women, and then there are women of pure strength and mettle; women who have battled all odds to establish their identity and place in the society. Their stories are incredible; their journeys an inspiration to many.On the occasion of International Womens Day, we look at some women drivers with stories of hardship and success, that could be a source of inspiration for many in India.Shobha (pictured above) has been driving her auto in Mysore city for 10 years and for the last one year has attached her vehicle to the Ola platform. She has seen the princely Mysore grow into the IT stronghold with many IT companies and software personnel making it home.When I started as an auto driver, it was difficult as a lady to survive in this industry. Being the sole bread winner, my earnings used to be very less because I had to decline late nights and long trips. Some men did feel threatened about their livelihood and accused me of taking away their trips, says Sobha.Her customers include women especially from the software campus of Infosys and college girls. Many strike a conversation and are keen to know more about her. Some are so encouraged that they tip her generously after the trip. I make more money through tips today than ever, smiles Sobha, revealing that she conducts over 13 trips every day through her Ola app alone.She feels that with platforms like Ola it is a great time to be in the business and hopes to provide a good education and life for her 12-year-old daughter to make her own way.In 2007, Tabassum Bano moved into Allahabad from her village in eastern UP to end her life on the Ghats. Her husband had given her talaq due to dowry issues and had kicked her out of their house. She along with her son tried finding a life in the big city but had failed miserably.An NGO saved her from the life on the streets and put her to work in their office. After a year, she worked up the courage and took a cycle rickshaw on rent. Rest is history, she is one of the few auto and rickshaw drivers plying on the streets of Allahabad.I drove the cycle rickshaw everywhere and saved every penny. I bought this Auto just a year before after raising a private loan. It supports my family which includes my aged mother, my brothers wife, sisters children and my son. Life is still tough but now we have hope, smiles Tabassum through her tears. Her son is doing extremely well in the school run by the NGO and is very proud of her.Tabassums life has been an inspiration to many. Many have followed her footsteps and are financially independent.Reshma Vinod Pandav always had an affinity for vehicles, but an early marriage and motherhood put a brake on all her ambitions. In a matter of two years, her marriage crumbled and her in-laws forced her out of her house when her husband moved to Mumbai for work. Reshma went back to her family who already consisted of four sisters and two brothers. They refused to have her back in the house and she was forced to take up alternative accommodation in a nearby slum.During this time, she found menial jobs job in a packing company and started life afresh. In due course, another man came into her life and she became pregnant with her second child. But this happiness was also short-lived when her second husband deserted her and absconded with the valuables of her house. With her parents turning their back on her and nobody to pay for food, Reshma was soon on the streets.There was a time I did not even have a rupee to buy milk for my baby. Then one day, I met a guy called Peter who worked for women in our colony. He counselled me and believed in me. He taught me to drive and I rented his auto for a month on a trial basis. This auto was the miracle I needed. I made 25000 rupees in two months, paid off all my debts and found a house for myself, remembers Reshma with pride.But Reshmas story does not end here. She struggled to manage her little children with nobody to care for them. I used to tie my baby on my back with my dupatta and drive. My nine-year-old daughter took care of the house with great maturity. She would make food, take care of the baby in the night and after school. Without her support I, would never have got this far, says Reshma, She is still my guiding light.Reshma today is an operator. She proved her detractors wrong. Working till dawn, Reshma today owns two autos and plans to buy a minibus. She has attached all her vehicles to the Ola platform. Her daughter is studying for her boards and is in the hostel. Her little son is going to school. With money, all her relations who turned their back have come back to her.It has been a heroic struggle. Today the whole city of Nashik salutes her courage.Jayalakshmi joined Ola two years ago when Ola Pink was launched. Before Ola, she worked as a valet driver with Savera Hotels and with a travel agency associated with a hotel. She has been driving for four years now. She lived in Chennai for most of her life, since 6th Grade but is originally from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Her family still lives there, her younger brother helps her parents with their fruit stall.With Ola, she does both local and outstation trips but she prefers outstation as she loves to travel. 90% of customers are very happy to see a woman driver and are very encouraging of her. About 10% have their doubts but after the ride sometimes tell her that she drives better than the male drivers.She began to drive just so that she wouldnt waste time sitting at home. But now, she is motivated when she does night drives and women leaving from IT jobs are overjoyed when they see a women driver. She feels good that she can make these women feel secure and so, prefers to do more night shifts within the city.She is earning for herself and for her family in Guntur and living an independent life.Additionally, she has trained 5 homemakers to drive. They already had driving licenses but werent confident of driving. Today, they drive their kids to and from school and are more independent in their lifestyle as they dont have to depend on someone to drive them around anymore.
"A traitor cannot be my son. We are Indians, we were born in India, our forefathers have been born in India. One who works against this country is not my son," he said.

Saifullah had rented a room in a five-room house in Haji colony in Thakurganj area of the state capital. He was living there for the past three months along with two other friends, who are now at large, police said.

: The father of suspected Islamic State operative Saifullah, who was killed in an anti-terror operation in Lucknow early on Wednesday, has refused to take the body of a "traitor".Sartaj, father of Saifullah told reporters, that his son had left home around two and a half months back after being scolded for not working. He said he had hit his son a day before he left home. Saifullah had contacted his family on Monday last week and told them he was going to Saudi Arabia for a job."What he has done is not in national interest. We will not the take the dead body of such traitor," Sartaj told reporters."I used to tell him to find some employment, but he would not listen to me. I used to be angry with him, scolded him many times," he said."Around two and a half months back, I slapped him for this. Next day I went to work, when I came back I got to know he has left," he said.Asked if Saifullah had contacted his family after leaving home, Sartaj said: "He called on last Monday, and said he has got visa to go to Saudi. I said it is your wish," he added.The suspected Islamic State operative was killed in an anti-terror operation in Lucknow early on Wednesday.According to police, six pistols of different make, two wireless sets, alarm clocks, steel pipes, an IS flag, two laptops, videos of how to make bombs, four knives, two passports and 600-plus live cartridges were recovered from the site.His elder brother Khalid said that Saifullah had told the family that he was going to Mumbai to get a visa for Saudi Arabia, where he wanted to go and get some experience in the leather industry.He had taken the Aadhar card, passport and other papers before leaving three months back, the elder brother told reporters, adding that he did not answer calls thereafter and his mobile phone was usually switched off. He had studied accounts and was a deeply religious youth who offered namaaz five times every day.The four-year-old house belongs to some Badshah Khan and is looked after by caretaker Abdul Qayyum who lived in the same house with his family.Qayyum, a madarsa teacher, had fixed the rent at Rs 3,000 after approval from the landlord, the care taker told the police. After police raided the hideout on Tuesday evening, the terror suspect opened fire on the police and refused to surrender despite repeated warnings. Police officials said they tried to neutralize the IS operative and catch him alive but that was not to be.A National Investigative Agency (NIA) team arrived earlier in the day to take the probe forward. The NIA will look into the items recovered from slain Saifullah's hideout, where he was killed by the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorism Squad in an 11-hour-long gunfight.
"The Ujjain train blast appears to be a dress rehearsal for something big," the official added on the condition of anonymity.





Thakurganj operation: Intemittent firing continues from both sides, chilli bombs and tear gas also being used by security forces #Lucknow pic.twitter.com/FBMTYSdz84

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 7, 2017



Thakurganj: Pistol, revolver, ammunition, knife recovered among other things from the killed ISIS Khorasan module terrorist #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/Zek26wJAUz

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

ISIS Khorasan module terrorist gunned down in Thakurganj operation that lasted for nearly 10 hrs, visuals from the room where he was present pic.twitter.com/epZ924enUq  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

Hours after the UP Police gunned down an alleged terrorist from a house in Thakurganj in Lucknow, preliminary investigations have revealed that the suspect was linked to the Ujjain train blast in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh was their next target, intelligence sources close to the Telangana police said.Sources privy to the interrogation said that the terror operation in Madhya Pradesh was a trailer.All 3 terrorists involved in the train blast have been arrested. The mastermind was Atif Muzzaffar who is a resident of Kanpur along with Mohammad Danis also from Kanpur and Sayyed Meer Hussain from Kannuaj.According to reports, it all began with a tip-off that the UP ATS received from Madhya Pradesh police about the presence of terror suspects in Kanpur and Lucknow around 5:15 pm.Police then carried out raids, arresting two men in Kanpur and one from Etawah. A third raid targeted the Thakurganj, Lucknow home.Around 5:30pm the Madhya Pradesh Inspector General of Police confirmed that the ISIS suspect hiding inside the building in Thakurganj, Lucknow was behind the low-intensity blast in Bhopal-Ujjain train on Monday morning that injured 10 passengers.By 6:15pm the terror suspect in Thakurganj had been cornered. Policemen and a squad of commandos in black uniforms swooped down at a single storey house to take down the suspect. Uttar Pradesh Anti Terror Squad members take positions near a building where a suspected terrorist is holed up in the Thakurganj area of Lucknow on Tuesday (PTI Photo)Forces first made all efforts to nab the suspected terrorist alive, but when it didn't materialize, they had to fire chilly bombs in an attempt to flush him out.Speaking to the media after the anti-terror operation ended, Arun said, "Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately it didnt materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilli bombs so that he comes out. But, he did not come out."After this the ATS commandos stormed inside the house and started firing, which continued till 8 pm, with several rounds of shots being fired. Commandos had drilled open a wall and used micro tube cameras to get a sense of what was going on inside where Saifullah was holed up. At one point of time during the operation the commandos felt that there are more than one person inside the house which turned out to be false in the end.The siege finally ended at around 3 am on Wednesday morning.The police said that the terror suspect, identified as Saifullah, a resident of Kanpur, was a member of the ISIS Khorasan module and was getting directions from a handler abroad.They also suspect that the train blast at Jabri railway station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh was the first instance of a terror strike by an IS module in India.Suspect Saifullah had rented this particular house for the last 3-4 months and was living there with two others and did not mingle with anyone, an ATS official said.Police suspect that at least 11-12 people are supposed to be part of the larger module.UP Police recovered, eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, materials, gold, some cash, passports and SIM cards.Also recovered from the site were pages from the dead terrorist's diary after the encounter which detailed his daily schedule and flags of India and Israel. They followed a strict regimen where days were split into mundane chores while preparing for the terror operation, an official said.On a normal day the terrorist would wake up at 7 am but on certain special days their regimen would begin at 4am with break for exercise, cooking, Quran recitation and lectures, an official added.The terrorists' to-do list was very tightly planned, starting 4 am to 8.30 at night.UP police is now on the lookout for the remaining suspects in the case and the NIA teams have reached Thakurganj in Lucknow and Bhopal respectively to conduct further probe.
Female participation in the public employment programme has been higher than the stipulated 33%: Nationwide it is 51.8%, with higher rates in some states like Rajasthan (80%) and Kerala (79%), according to Manju Singh, who teaches at Symbiosis University and studies gender inclusion in public employment programmes.



NREGA was an important intervention, especially in North India, because the opportunities for paid work for women were limited, Reetika Khera, who teaches economics at IIT-Delhi and has conducted field surveys on NREGA told News18.



Till about three to four years ago, the wages that NREGA offered were higher than what was on offer outside. This, coupled with the higher participation rates of women, saw a rise in the share of money going to women. In fact, some worksites have women overseers supervising the work done by both men and women.

NREGA is not entirely gender blind, but the wage gap between men and women is lower than in other types of unskilled work, he told News18.

India is one of the emerging economic giants of the 21st century. It is also paradoxically one of the most unequal countries when it comes to gender relations, ranking 87 out 144 countries in the World Economic Forums 2016 Global Gender Gap report.In 2005 the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was enacted and it has since played an outsize role in increasing rural womens workforce participation and ensuring equal pay for equal work. By empowering women economically it has also had tangential benefits on child literacy and health.NREGA has had a disproportionate impact on closing the rural wage gap. Starting with its stated goal of ensuring no discrimination on the basis of gender in payment of wages, studies have shown the positive impact of the pro women provisions in the Act.Equal wages, predictable working hours, female involvement in the social audit process, work sites at manageable distances and direct payment of wages into bank accounts helps to further empower women.The Act provides for worksite creches in case there are at least 5 children under the age of six at the site. One woman will be designated to provide childcare and be paid the full days wage.Further, NREGA has also addressed the pay gap by mandating that equal work will get equal pay. And although the payment at worksites is benchmarked to the NREGA minimum wage, transferring it online to individual bank accounts has ensured an income stream for women independent of their husbands.In the Pre-NREGA era employment opportunities for rural woman ranged from agricultural work (which is seasonal), mid day meal or anganwadi centres. And the pay gap for men and women was high. NREGA has reduced it to a large extent.The wage gap in NREGA tends to be lower, almost the same for men and women, Khera added.NREGA consists of manual labour at work sites which have to be located within 5 km of the applicants residence. The workers are paid the minimum wage, which differs statewise, but ranges from Rs 180-250 per day.Till 2008-09 payments were made by cash and women would go independently to pick up their wages. But since then payments can only be made into bank accounts through online transfers. Although this has reduced corruption to some extent, it may also have affected women getting their hands on their money since a lot of accounts tend to be joint accounts, or are in the husbands name.Abhijit Sen, a former member of the Planning Commission and an economics professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, sounds a note of caution.There are also indications of improved outcomes in health, education and infant malnutrition through the Employment Guarantee Act. Studies have found evidence of reduced infant malnutrition because of improved food security due to NREGA wages and improved height-for-age among older children.The belief among some researchers is that women with an independent income source will prioritize their own health and the health and well-being of their children before spending it on other items of consumption.
Srinagar: The Kashmir police on Wednesday claimed to have busted a Hizbul Mujahideen module linked to Jehangir Saroori militant. Saroori has been active in Chenab valley for nearly three decades.



Police also arrested three militants, Riyaz Ahmad Wani, Ikhlaq Khanday and Towseef ul Nabi, all from Kishtwar, during a surprise checking at Bemina near Srinagar.



A naka team was deployed to nab them, police said.



Two pistols, 20 rounds and four grenades and wireless set were recovered from their possession.



Javeed Geelani, inspector general of police, told News 18 that the militants were carrying a consignment when apprehended.



Geelani did not give details about what the trio were planning to do or who handed them the arms and ammunition or where it was to be taken.



"We are investigating from where from they have got the consignment," he said.



The three accused were in touch with Saroori at one time or other and would act as his couriers, police sources said.



Saroori, who operates mostly from the jungles of Daccan, Marwah and the borderline of Anantnag and Kishtwar, has been active since the last 27 years. He has never been arrested and the last time his name cropped up was in 2009 when one of his close associate was arrested in Kishtwar.



''There is no fresh picture of Saroori available with police though many older ones are in police stations of the area,'' said a police officer.



The officer also said that Saroori has been active since last 27 years and is wanted for many subversive activities. "Even as we killed many of his associates, he remains a mystery," he added.



"Few years back there were reports that he had fallen ill and would give up militancy but we could not establish that. We have lost track of him because fresh batches of militants keep on coming from Pakistan," he said.






Around 200, people from all walks of life including students, lawyers, physicians, working professionals and housewives have joined in the campaign of ridding Bhopal of the filth and garbage.



I used to supply food products to parties and get together since 1995 but on my familys insistence, I started my catering business in year 2000.

More than six months before Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan on Oct 2, 2014, this businesswoman from Bhopal had laid the foundation of clean Bhopal campaign and continues to strive for the goal with similar zeal till date.Inspired by Bangalores volunteer group Ugly Indians which laid the foundation of spot fixing campaign through social media networking, Kalpana Kekre had started the I-Clean Bhopal chapter in January 2014 along with her son Ameya and five others.Three years after the initiative, there is no dearth of neat and clean public places in Bhopal which are painted with I-Clean trademark patterns and designs.The members who stay in connect to each other with online and offline means, gather at designated spot which needs to be fixed and discharge their volunteer duties every Sundays from 7am to 11am. Since the PM Narendra Modi launched the Swachch Bharat campaign, the awareness for cleanliness has surged among authorities and public, Kekre said.She and her determined Swachchta warriors have been felicitated by union ministry of Urban Development at India Gate in 2015 and by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Bhopal on Oct 2, 2016.Bhopal Municipal Corporation also extends every possible co-operation to I-Clean endeavours.Besides, Kekre who completed studies in Rajasthans Bhilwara and Udaipur before getting married into a Bhopal family, is a successful entrepreneur.As usual she had to face taunts like if she had financial issues or what she was doing in catering business instead of taking care of her family at home.However a determined Kalpana never allowed these obstructions to hinder her way and 16 years after she runs a small catering firm Ameya Provisions. Her son a software professional-and husband who is a liaisoner with BHEL Bhopal and runs flavours business, never thought for a second when Kalpana consulted them before starting I-Clean campaign in 2014.After all these years, I feel that the social perception for working women has changed 360 degrees, said Kalpana who thinks now doing a job or business is considered mandatory for women these days which was not the case in her times.
Bengaluru: Suhana Sayed, 22, from Shimoga district was attacked online on various social media platforms for taking part in a Kananda singing reality show and singing a Hindu devotional song. Suhana got a standing ovation from the judges and the audience for her performance.



A page called Mangalore Muslims on Facebook said: Suhana you have tarnished the Muslim Community by singing in front of men. Do not feel that you have achieved a great feat; people who learn to recite Quran in 6 months have achieved more. Your parents have encouraged you to show your beauty to other men, they will not go to heaven because of you. Please give up the pardah that you are wearing as you don't respect it.



The judges after hearing Suhana sing appreciated her and urged her to become a symbol of unity between Hindu and Muslims. Kannada Music Director, Arjun Janya told her, Your voice is really good; you have done a great job. By singing a Hindu devotional song you have become the symbol of unity and music is a medium where people can unite.







Taken aback from the developments, Suhana has gone underground and is not reachable. However, many have come out in support of her taking on the Mangalore Muslim page.
: A special court in Jaipur on Wednesday acquitted former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist Swami Aseemanand and 6 others in the Ajmer Shrif Dargah blast of 2007.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court convicted Bhavesh Patel, Devendra Gupta and Sunil Joshi who was murdered in December 2007. Three of the total 14 accused are still missing and on the run.The quantum of punishment will be announced on March 16, 2017.Hearing in this case was completed in the first week of January in which 149 witnesses were examined and 451 documents were produced before the court. The court was due to announce the verdict on February 25 but had postponed it to March 8.The accused were charged with hatching a conspiracy for the blast, murder, causing communal disharmony under sections of IPC and Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act and Explosive Substances Act. Out of 149 witnesses in the case 26 turned hostile. The first accused in the case was arrested in 2010. The case was handed over to ATS, before being transferred to NIA in 2011. After the ATS Chargesheet, NIA filed three supplementary chargesheets. The case saw a twist some years ago when Bhavesh Patel said he was being pressurised to name senior RSS leaders by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.Two FIRs were registered in 2007 in Ajmer in this matter. However, investigations in this case were transferred to the NIA only in 2011 and the investigative agency filed the chargesheet in the case in the same year. After the filing of supplementary chargesheets in the case, the probe agency accused Aseemanand of masterminding the blast that rocked the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti shrine in the month of Ramzan on October 11, 2007, which left 3 people dead and 17 injured.
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday released two Pakistani schoolboys, who were arrested in connection with Uri terror attack after no incriminating evidence was found against them.



NIA handed over the two schoolboys, Ahsan Khursheed and Faisal Hussain Awan, to Jammu-based Army corps who would, in turn, facilitate their return to Pakistan.



Investigation carried out by the NIA revealed that the two suspects had crossed over to the Indian side after altercation with their parents due to pressure of studies,'' said an NIA spokesman.



The NIA said evidence collected in the form of statements, technical analysis of their mobile phones, seized GPS devices and other circumstantial evidence collected did not reveal any link of the suspects with the attackers at Uri. Further investigation is continuing in the case, he said.



On the night of September 22 and 23, two "intruders" from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Ahsan Khursheed and Faisal Hussain Awan, were arrested in the Uri sector when they crossed into the Indian side.



Later, the duo was dubbed as guides of Jaish-e-Mohommad who helped the four fidayeens cross into the Indian side and attack the 12 brigade headquarters at Uri that left 19 soldiers dead and 20 others injured. Even New Delhi had used their arrest to expose Pakistans terror factory on the diplomatic level.



The chances of their deportation had brightened after Pakistan released 22-year-old soldier of 37 Rashtriya Riffles (RR) Chandu Babulal Chauhan, who had inadvertently strayed into Pakistan occupied Kashmir, after Indian army carried out surgical strikes on the terror launch pads on the other side of Line of Control in September last year to avenge the fidayeen attack on Uri brigade headquarters.



Ahasan and Awan were detained by Indian Army on September 21, 3 days after Uri attack and handed over to NIA.



A source in the NIA had earlier confirmed to CNN-News18 that boys had strayed into the Indian side on the Line of control (LoC), and will be handed over to Pakistan once the court formalities were over.



Tensions have been simmering between India and Pakistan along the LoC ever since the four heavily-armed fidayeen attacked an Indian post on September 18, 2016, leaving 19 soldiers dead and 20 injured.



Soon after the attack, the army claimed that the attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and that Ahasan and Faisal had confessed to being the members of the group. The army also said the teenagers had confessed that were guides for the 4 terrorists, who had carried out the attack.



The NIA investigation has now established that the attack was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and not JeM. On condition of anonymity, NIA officers, who are part of the investigation, had earlier told CNN-News18 that these boys were schoolgoers from the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) -- who could have crossed over inadvertently, and then confessed under duress.
Kochi: While the entire world celebrated International Women's Day with great fervour, Shiv Sena workers on Tuesday 'chased away' young couples from Kochi's Marine drive as a mark of protest against the spread of western culture.



Lathi-wielding Sena workers reportedly threatened and shooed away girls and boys who were sitting at Marine Drive. Even, the couples were asked to leave the place immediately or face consequences.



Local policemen turned mute spectators as about 20 Sena workers attacked youngsters on the pretext of women safety during a protest march in Kochi.



However, the Assistant Police Commissioner of Ernakulam has warned that the accused will not be spared and strict action will be taken against those who took law into their own hands.



He also made it clear that probe will be initiated if policemen deployed at the spot acted swiftly or not.



Kochi Mayor Soumini Jain condemned the incident and asked the police to take strong action against the accused.
He was accompanied by trust Chairman Keshubhai Patel and BJP national president Amit Shah, who is also one of the trustees, during the puja which went on for nearly 15 minutes.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Somnath Temple in Gujarat's Gir-Somnath district on Wednesday morning and offered prayers.Modi, who is one of the trustees of the Somnath Temple Trust, performed 'Jalabhishek' to offer his respects to Lord Shiva amid chants by the temple priests.The PM along with Patel and Shah then headed to the temple's office to attend a meeting of the trust.Modi is on a two-day visit to Gujarat since Tuesday.He had dedicated ONGC Petro additions Ltd's (OPaL) Rs 30,000 crore plant to the nation at Dahej Special Economic Zone on Tuesday.He had also unveiled a plaque to dedicate to the nation a four-lane cable-stayed (extradosed) bridge over river Narmada in Bharuch district.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked all high courts not to keep the applications seeking review of any order pending for long, as it delays matters in every court.



The apex court's observation came as it was dealing with a matter in which the Kerala High Court had kept a review plea pending for almost four years.



It said the review plea should be disposed of as expeditiously as possible and it is the duty of the high court registry to place the matter before the concerned judge so that the application can be dealt with "in quite promptitude".



"An application for review, regard being had to its limited scope, has to be disposed of as expeditiously as possible," a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Mohan M Shantanagoudar said.



"Though we do not intend to fix any time limit, it has to be the duty of the registry of every high court to place the matter before the concerned judge/bench so that the review application can be dealt with in quite promptitude," it said.



The apex court said a "reasonable period" can be spent for disposal of the review, "but definitely not four years".



"We are compelled to say so as the counsel for petitioner has submitted that there is a delay of 1700 days in preferring the special leave petition against the principal order as he was prosecuting the remedy of review before the high court. The situation is not acceptable," it noted.



"We request the high courts not to keep the applications for review pending as that is likely to delay the matter in every court and also embolden the likes of the petitioner to take a stand intelligently depicting the same in the application for condonation of delay," the bench said.



It said an endeavour has to be made by high courts to dispose of review pleas with expediency and it is the duty and obligation of a litigant to file a review and not to keep it defective "as if a defective petition can be allowed to remain on life support, as per his desire".



"There may be absence of diligence on the part of the litigant, but the registry of the high courts is required to be vigilant. Procrastination of litigation in this manner is nothing but a subterfuge taken recourse to in a manner that can epitomise 'cleverness' in its conventional sense," it said.



While dismissing the plea, the bench said that a copy of its order be sent to the registrar general of all the high courts so that it can be placed before the Chief Justice or Acting Chief Justice to do the needful in the matter.


New Delhi: The Supreme Court would on Thursday hear the plea of real estate baron Gopal Ansal seeking extension of time to surrender for serving one-year jail term in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.



Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, representing Gopal Ansal, told a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha that the apex court had on February 9 asked Gopal to surrender within four weeks and the time would expire on Thursday.



Jethmalani said he would not be available on March 9 and 10 as he has to go to Pune for teaching assignment and the bench can fix Gopal's appeal for hearing immediately after the reopening of the apex court post Holi vacation on March 20. The senior counsel said as the time to surrender would expire on Thursday, the bench can extend it.



"We know that the period is expiring tomorrow and that is why the matter has been listed for tomorrow. It is very unlikely that we (two-judge bench) will extend it. The matter has been earmarked and fixed before a different combination (of judges), so this combination cannot pass any order on extending the time," the bench said.



"It (matter) is coming up tomorrow before the bench and we will see," the bench said.



A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in a 2:1 majority verdict on February 9, had granted relief to 76-year-old Sushil Ansal considering his advanced age-related complications by awarding him jail term already undergone and had asked younger sibling Gopal to surrender in four weeks to serve the remaining jail term.



The apex court would also hear Gopal's plea in which he has sought a relief similar to the one given to his elder brother, Sushil Ansal, who was awarded the jail term already undergone by him due to "advanced age-related complications".



Besides this, the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) has moved the apex court seeking modification of the order sentencing Sushil Ansal to the period already undergone by him in jail in the case relating to the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy that had killed 59 people on June 13, 1997.
Lucknow: Scotching rumours, the UP Police ruled out the suspected ISIS hand in the anti-terror operation in Lucknow. The operation which began in the afternoon on Tuesday ended early Wednesday morning.



"We have no such evidence yet of any ISIS link," said Daljit Chaudhary, ADG, Law and Order.



The UP Police claim that the alleged terrorist, Saifullah, was a self-radicalised operative. The police said Saifullah 'read radical literature and watched bomb-making videos online'.



"Eight pistols, more than 600 cartridges, bomb making instruments, pellets, timers, wires etc were recovered," said Daljit Chaudhary, ADG, Law and Order.



According to the police, 45 grams gold and foreign currency were also recovered form the terror operation site.



Earlier, Sartaj, the father of Saifullah, refused to take the body of the 'traitor'.



"What he has done is not in national interest. We will not the take the dead body of such traitor," Sartaj told reporters.



"A traitor cannot be my son. We are Indians, we were born in India, our forefathers have been born in India. One who works against this country is not my son," he said.



Reportedly, Saifullah had told the family that he was going to Mumbai to get a visa for Saudi Arabia, where he wanted to go and get some experience in the leather industry.



He had taken the Aadhar card, passport and other papers before leaving three months back, Saifullah's elder brother told reporters, adding that he did not answer calls thereafter and his mobile phone was usually switched off. He had studied accounts and was a deeply religious youth who offered namaaz five times every day.



A National Investigative Agency (NIA) team arrived earlier in the day to take the probe forward. The NIA will look into the items recovered from slain Saifullah's hideout, where he was killed by the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorism Squad in an 11-hour-long gunfight.
Many wonder why the fuss over women and their indulgences? Why is there a concept like an International Womens Day on the 8th of March? Do women really need all the pampering and do these special concepts work in restaurants and spas for women? In the run-up to International Womens Day, Bakstage, a restaurant cum pub in Salt Lake in Kolkata dedicated an entire Sunday to pamper women with do it yourself cocktails, indulgence in retail therapy with bags and Indo-western apparel to choose from and even a shoulder or back massage to sit back and relax. A touch of Kolkatas street food was on offer with puchka shots and muri served from a cycle cart.To add mystic there was also an astrologer with a parrot to predict the future. If the astrologer wasnt someone the ladies believed in, the fashion blogger and stylist was available to give out some style tips. The evening was dedicated to more woman power with some Bollywood Tamasha as ladies danced to actress Kangana Ranauts songs. Bakstage owner Sudhir Ahuja said, While we have both men and women as customers, we decided to have a womens day special where it is about pampering the women and the feel good factor that comes with spending a day out with their group of girls. We wanted women to indulge and make them walk away feeling relaxed at the end of the weekend with a day that was just about them. A restaurant cum pub in Salt Lake in Kolkata dedicated an entire Sunday to pamper women with do it yourself cocktails (Photos: Prema Rajaram)Telecom professional Tanuja Chowdhury, was one of those who walked into Bakstage with her six girl pals. Apart from indulging in some retail therapy and dancing to actress Kangana Ranauts movie tracks, the atmosphere created a mood for conversation on womens empowerment with her gang which ranged from women in the age group of 25 to 40 years of age.For corporate women like Tanuja with strict discipline at the workplace, there is another avatar to unleash-her fun side which is unlike the mechanical routine of bringing up her son at home and balancing work too. I like coming here as it is innovative in thought and I watch out for finer details too like the menu. We enjoyed going about the stalls and grabbing some Kolkata style puchka shots too. says Tanuja.While they appear to be successful women with all the money to spend, pampering themselves is not just about International Womens Day. It is about balancing various aspects of their life and finding me time, sometimes with their girl gang or sometimes even alone.It goes beyond spending power. It is about the feel good factor they take away. It is simply about breaking the monotony, more so for those who are married with children and have to be sensitive to their in-laws too.36 year old Rajalakshmi Mohta who manages her husbands FMCG business, says it is a balancing act while catering to all facets of her life. While she is blessed with good in laws, for her it is more about me time. I am a person who needs space to myself. I spend time at work, home, with my son, socialize with my friends too. But sometimes I like going to a restaurant alone or watching a movie on my own. I also go in for a spa every fortnight. Says Rajlakshmi.While playing the balancing act, the monotony of life also sets in. Most often there are certain responsibilities to fulfill and their families expectations women have to meet. Performing at the workplace adds a sense of stress sometimes that occasionally warrants quality alone time. Rajlakshmi also hopes to join the pan India Women on Wanderlust or WOW club which has all women holiday packages to exotic locations. The WOW club has a Womens Day special vacation to the Maldives which is a welcome break from mundane life.Lomasi, a skin boutique in Kolkata is offering special packages to pamper women on the 8th of March, the perfect way to retain their clients.There are restaurants offering delectable food and a relaxing ambience, skin clinics offering special discounts and spas welcoming women to walk in and pamper themselves. Beyond the business of it all, the working woman often looks to just spend some time away from responsibilities she shoulders and walk into a world where she can spend time on her own to reinforce the beauty of being the person she is.
Lucknow: The reticent and soft-spoken 'bahu' of the first family of the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP, Dimple Yadav, has finally found her groove, emerging as a major crowd puller in election rallies all over the state.



From the fumbling leader who repeatedly corrected herself while going through her written text in Parliament on Kaushal Vikas mission some months ago to proper utilisation of manpower, the 39-year-old Kannauj MP has come a long way.



The new Dimple - the star campaigner - has learnt how to keep the audience especially the youth involved and impress them.



Aptly donning the role of the 'bahu' and 'bhabhi', she has gone about endearingly reprimanding the young enthusiasts with warnings that she will complain about them to their 'bhaiya' (Akhilesh Yadav) and at the same time taking care of the elders among the electorate seeking 'muhdekhaiye' (gift) for her in terms of votes.



When party workers went berserk in Allahabad, she said, "I will tell bhaiya (Akhilesh) that you did not let me speak.



I will complain...bhaiya is coming here tomorrow."



Addressing another election rally in Jaunpur, she won over the elders and young alike when she started her speech seeking 'muhdikhai' -- a ritual where family members give a gift to a bride when they see her face for the first time.



"...Main pehli baar poorvanchal aayee hoon...mujhe muh dikhai milegi...poora vishwas hai (I have come to Poorvanchal for the first time. I am confident I will get the gift of votes as muhdikhai)," she said striking an instant chord with the people.



In the face of dissent in the family which had left Chief Minister and party president Akhilesh Yadav almost alone to lead the campaign, he found sufficient support in his wife who took to electioneering on her own and with ease.



The shy daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav has not desisted from attacking even the high and mighty political opponents but with dignity and decorum in the times when electioneering touched a new low.



"Mere angney mein tumhara kya kaam hai?" she questioned in a clear reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's adopted son remark.



She was firm when she remarked in Bhadohi: "I am the daughter of an armyman, these people are taking credit for the martyrdom of our soldiers...they are politicising the army...



never seen such a government earlier."



She also paid back when she said, "The Modi government which had promised 'achchy din' did the 'karnama' of note ban.



...you were made to run around for taking out your own money from banks...that was your hard earned money...till date there is no detail of how much black money has been detected."



In the over two dozen meetings that she addressed, Dimple's interaction with the surging crowds had been extempore and personal and the response was surprising.



According to party insiders, Dimple's involvement in these elections had not just been confined to campaigning but she had also worked back channels on behalf of her husband.



She is said to have met the Congress leadership, carrying message from Akhilesh, for finalising the SP-Congress alliance around which the party built up its election strategy.



Shedding the tag of a reluctant politician, Dimple led a sustained attack on political opponents.



Not only did her presence add colour to the SP's campaign, she also connected well with the youth and the women.




Unseasonably warm winter may have farmers itching to get into the fields. But winter lingers and another frost or two is likely, keeping farmers anxious.

Complicating the uncertainty of Mother Nature is America's relationships with key trade partners.

The Iowa economy depends heavily on farm income, which is dependent on exports to the world.

According to Iowa.gov, Iowa's top export is corn and varieties of swine. Soybeans and farm machinery also are in the top 10. The top destinations for these items are Canada, Mexico and China.

President Donald Trump's adversarial relationship with Mexico is not helping. With his immigration roundup and wall of shame, he is not closing the sale.

He dumped the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal with the swoosh of his Cross pen. TPP affected nearly 40 percent of the world's economy, and promised new markets for Iowa farmers.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack pointed out it would streamline more than 18,000 taxes and tariffs placed on U.S. products by countries included in the TPP.

"Agriculture is going to be a winner with TPP," he said in the lead-up to last year's election.

While President Trump prefers bi-lateral deals, he offended the Chinese with his giddy, pre-inauguration call to Taiwan. This is no "Art of the Deal."

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley is trying to calm rural investors. He's "keenly aware our state has an export-dependent economy," as noted in one of his many press statements.

It added "Iowa farm exports from the harvest and herds grown and raised on 89,000 family farms generate more than one-third of Iowa farm receipts. Iowa is the nation's largest exporter of farm commodities, including soybeans, pork, corn, feed, and processed grain products. One out of five jobs in Iowa is trade-dependent and every third row planted in our fields is exported."

Still, Grassley has done nothing to stand up to the president. Indeed, he's been one of the point people for Trump on Capitol Hill.

In the wings is another Iowan, Gov. Terry Branstad. He's biding his time before he is confirmed to be Trump's ambassador to China. Can he bridge the divide?

He is a favorite son of the most populous nation on earth. At a recent gathering in Muscatine, as reported by Elizabeth Meyer of The Hawk Eye, he was greeted fondly by Hong Lei, Chinese general consul in Chicago.

"My mission here is to join hands with you to make our relationship even stronger during the Lunar New Year," Hong told Branstad and Iowans in attendance. He noted China is Iowa's third-largest trading partner, investing about $1 billion in the state's economy over the past 16 years.

Hopefully, Branstad can use his connections to steady the waters, if not improve trade relations.

Anything less will be bad news. It will be bad news for farmers and bad news for Iowans. Certainly it won't be great for America.

Every year, farmers place a bet on the weather and plant rows and rows of corn, soybeans and other crops in our fertile soil. Being beholden to the bumbling whims of the newly elected president is heartache they don't need, Iowans don't need and America doesn't need.

This editorial appeared in the March 1 edition of the Burlington Hawk Eye.
Colourfully decked-up men and women came out in huge numbers to mark their democratic choice, as over 78 percent votes were cast in the first seven hours of polling for the second and final phase of the Manipur Assembly elections on Wednesday.

Polling was generally peaceful notwithstanding a few stray incidents in the 22 constituencies spread over five districts  Thoubal, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati, officials said.

Even before voting centres opened at 7 a.m., people assembled before booths, and patiently stood for their turn  despite long queues at many places.

Heres the recap:

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New Delhi: Manipur on Wednesday witnessed a record turnout of 86 per cent in the second and last phase of polling in 22 Assembly constituencies, the highest since 2009 general elections.



The polling went off peacefully "barring a couple of stray incidents", Election Commission Director General Sudeep Jain told reporters in New Delhi.



Jain said the polling percentage could go up as the figures were available for 75 per cent of the total 1,151 polling stations covering 10 districts of the northeastern state.



The number of people who turned up to vote in the remaining 25 per cent polling stations will be known later as these are located in far-flung areas where no means of communication is available, he added.



The official said that the first phase polling, held on March 4 in 38 seats, recorded 86 per cent turnout.

"The percentage of males who voted today was 84 per cent. Female voter turnout was 89 per cent. There was no boycott of polling reported," Jain said.



The state had recorded overall 79.80 per cent turnout in 2012.



The official said that 16 electronic voting machines and 5 voter verifiable paper audit trail systems had to be replaced during the second phase polling, for which 5,800 polling personnel and 8,600 security men were deployed.

The counting of votes in Manipur will be taken up on March 11, along with four other states -- Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly polls were held.



The election authorities seized Rs 35.40 lakh cash, liquor worth Rs 22.85 lakh and 252 kg of drugs worth Rs 2.46 crore from people trying to influence voters during the last phase.



In the previous phase, Rs 1.93 crore in cash, liquor worth Rs 77.38 lakh and 109 kg of drugs worth Rs 76.02 lakh were seized.



Jain said the 53.6 percent of licensed guns were deposited with the authorities as part of preventive action.

Meanwhile, he said that Rs 20 lakh ex-gratia have been granted to the kin of a booth-level officer who died in a bomb explosion while on poll duty yesterday in Aishi village of Ukhrul district.


But the politics over Jaya's death continues even now. O. Panneerselvam and his camp organised a one-day hunger strike across Tamil Nadu demanding a judicial probe into the 'mysterious death' of J.Jayalalithaa.

C. Ponnaiyan, former Minister who joined the OPS camp, said: "The report submitted by AIIMS clearly said that Amma was unconscious from September 28. The report said that when Amma was taken to Apollo on Sept 22, she was breathless. This is not what Sasikala camp or Apollo mentioned. O.Panneerselvam was not allowed inside Apollo and was not given any briefs on Jayalalithaa. Some of Sasikala's loyalists were allowed but not Panneerselvam."

: On Monday, Tamil Government released the medical reports of former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha. In the discharge summary, it was stated that: It was clinically concluded that there was no heart function and there was also no neurological improvement denoting futility of life support.Hence, after following all procedures, the position was conveyed to senior Ministers and Political Leaders (Thiru O Panneerselvam, DrVijayabhaskar, Thiru M. Thambidurai), MsSasikala, and Government Officials (Chief Secretary and Health Secretary). All of them understood the situation, and asked the medical team to act as per the standard protocol. The late Honble Chief Minister passed away at 11:30 PM on December 5, 2016."In Chennai's Egmore, where O.Panneerselvam spearheaded the fast, more than 3000 people participated in the hunger strike. Panneerselvam reacted to the report released by TN Government and said: "In the report released by TN Govt, it is said that I was informed about Amma's health. It is completely baseless. If the Health Secretary does not retract his statement, I will sue him... When certain channels started saying Amma was no more, I was at home. It was around 5:30 pm. I rushed to the hospital after seeing this. I asked doctors at Apollo, but they didn't tell me anything. I was informed about her death only around 11 PM.He also attacked Tamil Nadu's Health Minister Vijay Bhaskar saying that he should be the first person to be probed with regard to Jaya's treatment and health. "Vijaya Baskar would be the first guilty person if there's a probe on Jayalalithaa's death. Let them enquire me. I'll tell everything that happened during those 75 days."OPS camp also highlighted the fact that the Apollo medical bulletins and the report released by TN Government are contradictory.DMK has time and again asked for a judicial probe into Jaya's death. Now, OPS camp is also planning to fight till their demands are met. O. Panneerselvam said: "Our struggle will continue till there's a probe into Jaya death mystery. The battle will not stop till we retrieve the party from Sasikala family. Amma lived for the people of Tamil Nadu. AIADMK was always a people's party, but now, it has become a benami party with Sasikala's family controlling both the party, and the Government."It is not just O.Panneerselvam, who claims he and his loyalists are the real AIADMK, even Deepa Jayakumar, the niece of the late Jayalalithaa, claims that she is the political heir of Jayalalithaa. Deepa told CNN-News 18: "Sasikala hurt Jayalalithaa. There was something that led to the sudden demise of my aunt. There should be a probe over my aunt's death."
Lucknow: Polling in 40 Uttar Pradesh Assembly seats spread across seven districts in the seventh and final phase started today with all eyes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.



Prominent candidates who are in fray include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari brother of Mukhtar Ansari and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.



A total of 1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are eligible to exercise their franchise in 14,458 polling booths and 8,682 polling centres to decide fate of 585 candidates, including 51 women.



Three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus.



Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Bhadoi are the other districts where polling is going on in this phase.



Tight security has been put in place in these seven districts.



Polling will be held between 7 AM to 5 PM in all constituencies, except the Naxal-hit Duddhi, Robertsganj and Chakia seats, where polling will end at 4 PM.



Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.



The BJP is contesting 32 seats and its allies - the Apana Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party - are contesting on 4 seats each.



The BSP has fielded its nominees for all seats. While the SP is contesting 31 seats, its ally the Congress is in race for the remaining seats.



In the 2012 state Assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to the SP, 5 to the BSP, 4 to the BJP, 3 to the Congress and 5 to others.



In all, 535 candidates, including BSP (40), BJP (32), SP (31), Cong (9), RLD 21, and NCP (5) are in the fray.



While the maximum number of 24 candidates are from Varanasi Cantt seat, the minimum number of 6 candidates are contesting from Kerakat (SC).



The turnout on these seats in 2012 was 57.92 per cent in 2012 Assembly polls.
Sixty percent of voters cast their ballot in the seventh and last phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh till 5 pm on Wednesday, the poll panel said.

The final figure may go up, Deputy Election commissioner Vijay Dev said.

The voting was largely peaceful, he said.

As it happened.

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Tubes are shown in a storage area at Hyperloop One in North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. May 11, 2016. (Image: REUTERS/Steve Marcus)

Hyperloop One released never-before-seen images of its development site (DevLoop) in the Nevada desert at Middle East Rail, held in Dubai.Providing the international keynote address at the 11th annual conference, CEO of Hyperloop One, Rob Lloyd, shared a birds-eye view of how construction is progressing at the worlds only full-system and full-scale Hyperloop test site.The 500 meter-long DevLoop, which has a diameter of 3.3 meters is located 30 minutes from Las Vegas in the Nevada desert. The company is expected to perform a public trial in the first half of 2017.The DevLoop trial will follow Hyperloop Ones first public test of a prototype propulsion system, which took place in the same area less than twelve months ago in May 2016.A Hyperloop system is a new mode of transportation, capable of connecting to all modes of existing transportation and helping individuals be anywhere and move anything with on-demand autonomous transport.A Hyperloop One system would ease pressure on existing infrastructure and present the potential for the Middle East to reinvent and transform transportation.While technology is revolutionising many facets of our lives, we have not seen a radical change in transportation since the Wright brothers introduced air travel over 100 years ago, said Lloyd. Tying together the Middle East region would produce greater virtual density, without congestion and pollution, spurring innovation, productivity, job growth and more powerful sharing of knowledge, labour and investment. Building a Hyperloop would vastly impact the economy and make any major city in the GCC accessible within one hour.Josh Giegel, President of Engineering and Co-founder of Hyperloop One, joined Lloyd during his presentation at Middle East Rail via video from the DevLoop location in North Las Vegas, Nevada.Our team of more than 150 engineers, technicians and fabricators have been transforming what was, just over five months ago, a barren stretch of desert, into a hive of activity and now home to the world's first full-scale Hyperloop test site, said Giegel.Not only will a Hyperloop system benefit the GCC economically, but socially, by facilitating easier access to critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools, expanding access to city attractions and unlocking urban development. It could create a UAE pan-urban area within a 30-minute Hyperloop reach between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain.With a Hyperloop One system in place, there is ability to further unify the alliance of the GCC, socially, culturally and economically, said Shervin Pishevar, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Hyperloop One.As per the company, the benefits of Hyperloop include higher standards of safety than a passenger jet, close to half the construction and lower maintenance costs than high-speed rail and energy usage that is similar to a bicycle per kilogram-kilometer.Hyperloop One estimates that around 4,000 vehicles travel every day between Abu Dhabi & Dubai, with traffic congestion in Dubai costing the economy $800 million in lost working hours. Reducing this commute to 12 minutes opens a whole new realm of options, and Hyperloop One shows an investment in a UAE Hyperloop network could unlock economic value 3.5 to 4 times over high-speed rail.One week ago, Hyperloop One convened a landmark innovation summit  The Hyperloop One Vision for India  in New Delhi, discussing how the company could integrate with and augment Indias vast transportation network with reliable, clean and on-demand autonomous transport.
Nokia, once an undisputed market leader, made big announcements at Mobile World Congress 2017 (MWC) in Barcelona and left its fans waiting for the Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and Nokia 3 apart from the much-celebrated Nokia 3310. However, according to new rumours, Nokia is likely to release a flagship smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC as early as June. The new Nokia flagship is expected to come in two sizes.Read more: WikiLeaks Says CIA Can Hack Into Apple, Android Devices and Smart TVs According to a report , the upcoming Nokia-branded flagship smartphone will sport a full-metal body, and it will be powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor. Also, two variants of Nokia flagship smartphone will be launched on the market, with a 'small' and 'big' display in tow.Read more: Moto G5 to Launch on March 15, Will be Available Exclusively on Flipkart Two versions based on either 4GB or 6GB RAM are also expected.Rumour mills are abuzz that the Nokia flagship is likely to feature a dual-camera setup that will feature neither Carl Zeiss nor PureView technology and that the primary camera will feature a 23-megapixel sensor.Read more: Lodhi Garden to Offer free Wi-Fi From April It is still not clear whether it will come with a dual-lens setup.The smaller version of the Nokia flagship is likely to cost around 4000 yuan (roughly Rs 38,600) and 4500 yuan (roughly Rs 43,500).
"Being a major world power, China is a main stakeholder and wants to play its vital role for peace and stability in Afghanistan. That is why it invited the Taliban," another Taliban leader said.

: China hosted a delegation of top Afghan Taliban leaders recently as part of its efforts to encourage the militant group to join the peace process in the war-torn Afghanistan, a media report said on Tuesday.The five-member delegation led by Afghan Taliban's Qatar office chief Sher Abbas Stanikazai included Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, Jan Muhammad Madani, Salam Hanafi and Saleh, the Express Tribune newspaper reported, quoting Taliban sources.People who are aware of the activities of the Taliban Qatar office also confirmed the visit, the report said. "The visit was part of the relations of the political office with European countries such as Norway, Germany, France, Britain as well as neighbouring and regional countries," a Taliban source said."But these relations are focused on bringing about peace in Afghanistan and resolving the issue through negotiations," said the source who did not want to be mentioned by name.Days after the Taliban trip that was made last month, Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Deng Xijun, visited Kabul and met senior Afghan leaders including President Ashraf Ghani.Deng told Ghani that China has "encouraged the Taliban during our contacts with them to join the peace process," Ghani's office had said after the meeting last month. "China has always conveyed to the Taliban during meetings that it recognises the Afghan government and the president and that talks are the only option for them," Deng said.The Taliban visited China days after a trilateral meeting of senior diplomats from China, Pakistan and Russia in Moscow that supported lifting of international sanctions on the Taliban leaders.Regional experts are of the view that China has been actively trying to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan, particularly in view of the vacuum that has emerged in the country and the region due to the failure of American policy and subsequent drift and confusion in the US-Afghan policy. Pakistan Senate's Committee on Defence Chairman Mushahid Hussain Sayed listed some of China's interests and objectives for its Afghan peace initiatives."Firstly, to stop Afghanistan from being a springboard for any possible spillover into China of the lingering instability due to the Afghan civil war, particularly on the sensitive Xinjiang province of China that shares a border with Afghanistan," Sayed said."Secondly, to coordinate Afghan policy with Pakistan, given the Beijing-Islamabad strategic partnership, so that Afghanistan is not a venue or battleground for a new round of proxy war or a new Cold War detrimental to both the allies' interests," he said."Thirdly, to provide for a more conducive regional environment and to ensure peace, security and stability via a peace process involving the Kabul regime and the Taliban," he added.
Road construction.

No one likes it, but for the upkeep and safety of our city we all need it.

In April, a major project to rebuild Burr Street in Mitchell gets underway. It's a three-year project expected to cost about $15 million. And while that project would be enough of a hassle for most cities our size, we'll likely have another large-scale renovation kick off in 2018 when Sanborn Boulevard is reconstructed for about $9 million.

That sounds like headaches for the next two-plus years of driving in Mitchell, but we're rather optimistic about both projects. And the safety improvements provided by the Burr project, which will eliminate the dangerous intersection of service roads at Burr and Norway Avenue, will bring an added benefit after years of construction.

Patience will be key while these roads are being torn up and replaced, because they're both worth the investment. By late 2019, two of Mitchell's major roads that hold several businesses will be essentially brand new.

Look at two recent road construction projects, Spruce Street in 2015 and Fifth Avenue in 2016, which both went smooth. Despite the frustrations at the time of construction, those two projects turned out great for Mitchell motorists.

We also appreciate Mitchell City Council members thinking about rerouting tourists to alternative routes while Burr and Sanborn are under work. Since both roads are heavily traveled by tourists, we need to give people visiting our city the best possible picture we can  even during road construction.

While it's not ideal in the summer of 2018 to have both Burr and Sanborn both getting work, we're looking at it like ripping a Band-Aid off quickly.

So, gear up, Mitchell drivers.

The next few years are going to be anything but ideal for driving in our city. But we all need to remember to be patient and know the headaches will be worth the work.

This editorial appeared in the Feb. 28 edition of the The Daily Republic of Mitchell, South Dakota.
Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday executed five "terrorists" convicted by special military courts for carrying out attacks on army and security forces.



The five were hanged in Kohat district jail in Khyber-Pakhtukhwa province, according to a statement by army. Army said the convicted terrorists were involved in attacks on army and other law enforcement personnel and admitted their offences before the magistrate and the trial court.



The execution came in the midst of a debate about reviving the controversial military courts for another two years for speedy trial of terrorists, after a fresh wave of suicide attacks killed over 125 people recently.



The military courts were set up in January 2015 for a two year term after a constitutional amendment following a terror attack on an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014 that killed over 150 people, mostly students.



Since their expiry in January, government has been trying to bring the political parties around the idea of another tenure for military courts.
Washington: Five mosques in the US have received intimidating messages, including a bomb threat and one saying "death is waiting for you and your kind", prompting calls for increasing security at Muslim facilities.



A mosque in Lexington, Kentucky, stepped up security following a bomb threat it received this weekend.



The bomb threat against Lexington's Masjid Bilal was received through the mail on Saturday from Sheffield, England, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a Facebook post.



The letter contained a green index card wrapped in a blank sheet of paper with the words, "An explosive device will be placed at your mosque very soon!" written on it.



The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on leaders of local mosques to improve their security measures after four mosques were threatened.



One mosque received a message threatening "death for you and your kind" from a self-declared "Muslim slayer", Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell was quoted as saying by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.



Three other mosques received identical emails threatening widespread attacks against American Muslims on March 15, Mitchell said.



The Greenview Madani Center, a mosque in Lawrenceville, recently received a mailed handwritten letter from a 'Muslim slayer' with the message, "Death is waiting for you and your kind," along with a crudely drawn picture of a decapitated person. The mosque alerted local law enforcement about the letter.



Masjid Omar bin Abdul Aziz in Norcross, Al-Farooq Masjid and another Atlanta-area mosque received a threatening email on February 18.



The emails, with the subject line "your one warning," stated in part, "...Muslims, Mexicans, blacks will (be) hunted nationwide until (they) are dead and gone... plan to run or die, this is a kindness that we give you all warning, take it and go."



"While the perpetrators are being sought, mosque leaders should do all they can to protect their houses of worship by working with local law enforcement authorities, installing security cameras and employing security officers during the daily prayers," Mitchell said.



Also recently, two mosques in the US state of Maryland received threatening letters calling for the 'slaughter of Muslims'. Two Islamic centres in Silver Spring, Maryland, received the violent threats by mail.



The mosque incidents come amid a wave of bomb threats to Jewish community centres in New York, Michigan, New Jersey and other states.
HARDY  Political beef between Republican gubernatorial contenders Ed Gillespie and Corey Stewart took center stage at a Tuesday candidates forum for the four Republicans vying for the nomination.

As the candidates tried to discuss economic development, immigration, transportation and voting rights at a forum put on by Franklin County and Smith Mountain Lake Republicans, Stewart and Gillespie sniped at each other, overshadowing the other two contenders  state Sen. Frank Wagner and Denver Riggleman  and substantive responses to the issues.

Starting with his opening statement, Stewart, a member of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, criticized Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, for his stance on removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville .

Last month, Stewart, who prides himself on being a political wild card similar to President Donald Trump, rallied at the Confederate statue after the Charlottesville City Council voted to remove the figure from Lee Park.

According to Mr. Gillespie, apparently, its just fine if Charlottesville takes it down, Stewart said. Hes not going to do a single thing as governor to stop that locality from taking down a real Virginia, a real American hero  Robert E. Lee.

In front of about 75 people at The Westlake country club, Gillespie fired back that while he opposes the councils decision to remove the statue, state government should be wary of overriding local government decisions.

Weve got to adhere to our conservative principles, Gillespie said. I think those city council members should be voted out of office for voting for that, but at the same time, to have the state come in and say were going to mandate through the cities and counties what they can do relative to their statues sets a very dangerous precedent for the future.

As debate continued, the two candidates sparred on immigration, sanctuary cities and Gillespie chided Stewart for being fired from the Trump campaign.

In October, the Trump campaign fired Stewart, a campaign co-chairman, after he protested in front of Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., while Republican support for their candidate wavered after the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape that featured Trump making lewd comments about women.

"When I call the Trump administration, I will get my calls returned because I was not fired for incompetence by the Trump folks," Gillespie said.

In response, Stewart said that while Gillespie was getting a head-start preparing for the governor's race, he was supporting Trump across the commonwealth for 10 months.

Stewart also criticized Gillespie and other "establishment Republicans" who condemned Trump in the aftermath of the scandal.

"As I stood up for President Trump against the RNC, and got fired for it. I stayed loyal," Stewart said. "I stayed loyal, and that's the difference. He [Gillespie] has no courage."

Gillespie, the front-runner in the Republican race for governor in terms of polling and campaign finance, was the only candidate to bring up Democratic gubernatorial candidates Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello. The Republican chided Northam for his deciding vote that briefly killed a bill to ban sanctuary cities in the commonwealth, and he stressed the importance of electing a Republican governor to stop vetoes on conservative legislation like the "Tebow" bill that would allow homeschool students to participate in school sports.

Wagner, a longtime state senator from Virginia Beach, was the lone candidate to cater to the audience and address specific plans for Southwest and Southside Virginia. While all the candidates talked about job creation and economic development, Wagner stressed the importance of additional broadband and transportation planning for the rural areas.

He stressed prioritizing funding for Interstate 73, which would connect Roanoke to the North Carolina border. Wagner also proposed turning east-west U.S. 58 into an interstate to grow jobs and economic development in Southside.

"We put those investments in and we have the opportunity to turn Southside Virginia back into the manufacturing center that its always been," Wagner said.

Tuesday's fiery debate was second in a string of six debates set up for the Republican gubernatorial candidates. The next event will be on March 25 in Fairfax County.
Airplanes, economic development and hunting dogs were among the issues Lynchburg-area legislators recapped for the Hill City business community Tuesday morning.

The Lynchburg Regional Business Alliances annual Pancakes and Politics breakfast provides the business community access tolegislators to askquestions following the 2017 General Assembly.

In attendance at Liberty University, which hosted the event, were Sens. Steve Newman, R-Bedford County; and Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg; as well as Delegates Kathy Byron, R-Bedford County; Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg; Matt Fariss, R-Rustburg; and Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge.

Regarding a question about air travel, Newman referred to a bill he and Garrett worked on meant to ensure regional airports only spend state money on capital projects.

The bill came after Gov. Terry McAuliffe requested $50 million for investments to Dulles International Airport prior to the 2016 General Assembly, Newman said. The state also is investigating the Peninsula Airport Commission in Newport News regarding the use of state money to pay off an airlines loan, according to reports by The (Newport News) Daily Press.

While the bill does not come with a funding package, Newman hopes it will lead to a change in how regional airports receive state money.

We want to understand what the priorities are at the local level for airports, how that money is being spent, Newman said.  We were getting our arms around and building the base of what the future of airline service would be.

He compared the bill to the Smart Scale program, originally made law by the General Assembly in 2014as HB2, which is meant to spread state transportation money throughout the commonwealth efficiently and fairly.

The airline bill, which passed both houses but was not yet signed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe as of Tuesday, would require the state aviation board to report annually on how airports use state money.

In a brief recount of the session, Cline highlighted a humorous fictional yarn Fariss spun on the House floor bringing levity to a very stressful debate over a bill carried by Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford. The bill, which failed in the House by one vote, would have added a civil penalty for owners of hunting dogs that trespass on private property.

Fariss worked behind the scenes to find a solution, Cline said, before publically opposing the bill.

He didnt just stand up just to tell a little story, Cline said.  The speaker doesnt introduce bills very often, and when he does, there is enormous pressure on all members of the caucus but to fall in line.

Rather than address the bill head on, Fariss let us all exhale a minute in laughter collecting our thoughts about it, realizing that the bill, while serous, was not going to make or break the commonwealth, Cline said.

Now working for the events host, former 5th District Rep. Robert Hurt found himself on the opposite side of a legislative breakfast dais, which are held by many localities as meet-and-greets with elected representatives.

Hurt, who is early in his role leading Liberty Universitys new center for law and government, reflected on the transition.

I can say that going from having 700-plus-thousand employers to having just one employer is a also refreshing change for me, Hurt quipped. I can say that I loved my time in public office.

The News & Advance is one of the breakfasts several sponsors.
RUSTBURG  When Brookneal Supervisor J.D. Puckett went to his mailbox Feb. 28, he found an envelope inside marked with the Campbell County Board of Supervisors return address in the upper left corner.

Puckett said at the supervisors regular meeting Tuesday he thought it was a note on zoning, but it was a letter from the Virginia First Foundation and a survey asking him to answer questions on transgender issues. Recipients were asked to fill out the survey and forward it to the Campbell County Republican Committee.

He called County Administrator Frank Rogers to ask if Rogers was aware the letter was mailed via county offices and stationery.

Rogers said at the meeting he was unaware of the issue until Puckett notified him.

I am writing to express concern that a supervisor improperly used county resources. Moreover, by using county stationery, this supervisor has caused confusion among supervisors, Puckett said in a letter he wrote before the meeting and read aloud.

Thats a harsh review you have leveled. I want to make sure you have checked your facts  Is it possible it was not meant to be sent via county stationery? Timberlake Supervisor Mike Rousseau asked Puckett.

Sunburst Supervisor Bob Good said he did not construe the letter as from the county. He was asked on his position on social issues, and he is not ashamed of them, Good said.

Rustburg Supervisor Eric Zehr, who is chairman of the Campbell GOP, had emailed the letter and survey to a Campbell County administration secretary, asking them to distribute it to the county supervisors.

Zehr received the survey from the Virginia First Foundation, a far-right evangelical group, and the surveys intention is to press county supervisors on the definition of sex and its connection to policy.

Altavista Supervisor Stanley Goldsmith asked at the meeting what Zehr plans to do with the information in the surveys.

Zehr said because of President Donald Trumps administrations rollback of Title IX-related guidance on transgender rights put in place by former President Barack Obama, the survey simply will be kept on the committees records.

The Obama guidance letter issued in May 2016 said federal agencies should treat a students sex as the gender with which they identify for the purposes of Title IX.

I think staff acts under general routine. In this instance, staff got a request and acted on their best judgment, Rogers said.

Rogers added staff realizes many supervisors do not check their email, which is why the staff member mailed the letter.

Zehr said he did not intend for the letter to be mailed and was willing to reimburse the county for the cost of the postage.

Puckett said he did not want to see a situation such as this happen again. He added the supervisor should have sent out the letters as the Republican Committee chairman, not in his capacity as supervisor.

Timberlake Supervisor Mike Rousseau asked if its possible the issue was simply a misunderstanding.

I did this by email, knowing that it is [subject to Freedom of Information Act]. I have nothing to hide, Zehr said.

Spring Hill Supervisor James Borland added he originally had the same concerns as Puckett, but after hearing the explanation from Rogers, he realized county staff did what they thought was appropriate.

In June 2016, county supervisors approved a resolution requesting legislation to give counties the authority to regulate the use of bathroom facilities by anatomical sex. The resolution also was suggested by Zehr. It was included in the countys 2017 legislative agenda.

Zehr is up for re-election in November. The Timberlake and Brookneal seats on the board also are up for election.

Staff writer Alex Rohr contributed to this report.
A GOP example for Goodlatte

As News & Advance readers contemplate the recent actions of Rep. Bob Goodlatte, some may be fondly remembering Rep. M. Caldwell Butler. Like Goodlatte a conservative Republican from Roanoke, Butler represented the Sixth Congressional District from 1972 to 1983. Widely admired for his integrity, bipartisanship and courage, Butler gained national recognition when he supported articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon  one of the few Republicans to do so  after hearing the evidence of the presidents wrongdoing.

In announcing his vote, Butler stated, For years Republicans have campaigned against corruption and misconduct in the administration of the government of the United States by the other party. But Watergate is our shame. Those things happened in the Republican administration while we had a Republican in the White House, and every single person convicted to date has one way or another owed allegiance to the Republican Party. We cannot indulge ourselves the luxury of patronizing or excusing the misconduct of our own people.

Butler made these remarks in 1974 as a freshman representative and a member of the House Judiciary Committee. His words were characterized by syndicated columnist Mary McGrory as the single most fiery and liberating sentence spoken during the Watergate investigation. Butlers mother, a GOP loyalist, told him in a letter that his political future would go down the drain if you do not stand with your party at this critical time. Butler replied, You are probably right. However, I feel that my loyalty to the Republican Party does not relieve me of the obligation which I have.

For three years during Butlers service in the House, his Sixth District office manager was Bob Goodlatte. In 1993, Goodlatte was elected to represent the same district his former employer had served. Goodlatte now chairs the powerful House Judiciary Committee, with jurisdiction over legislation affecting federal courts, administrative agencies, and law enforcement entities. Goodlatte has often expressed his pride in following Butlers footsteps. At Butlers funeral in 2014, Goodlatte said, When you did things right for him, you could be very proud of what you did.

One wonders what Butler would think of the following actions taken by Goodlatte.

 In a secret meeting at the beginning of the current Congress, Goodlatte led an attempt to severely limit the power of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) in two ways: by giving the partisan House Ethics Committee the power to stop any OCE inquiries with the potential to lead to criminal charges, and by blocking OCE staff from speaking with members of the media. This measure passed during the secret meeting but was scrapped when it became public the next day.

 Goodlattes office secretly drafted President Trumps executive order limiting Muslim immigrants and refugees who could enter the U.S. This executive order has been found to be unconstitutional by the federal courts.

 The House Judiciary Committee, which Goodlatte chairs, voted down on straight party lines a motion to force the Justice Department to produce documents and records related to the investigation into whether President Trump and his campaign had conflicts of interest and secret ties to Russian operatives. Goodlatte said that instead he would send a letter to Justice requesting a briefing on alleged Russian interference with the U.S. election.

 Goodlatte voted to kill a House resolution that would have forced the IRS to turn over President Trumps tax returns to determine whether he is continuing to profit from his business empire.

 Following the forced resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Goodlatte joined House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz in requesting the Justice Department inspector general to begin an immediate investigation to determine who leaked the information about the Russian connections that led to Flynns resignation. This position would be like Rep. Butlers having said that Deep Throat, and not Watergate, was the problem.

Many of Goodlattes Sixth District constituents are understandably unhappy/disappointed/outraged that their representative has failed to live up to the standards set by his mentor.

ALEX W. BELL

Lynchburg
ROCKY MOUNT  When Michael Burnette drives through the sprawling 550-acre property thats the future home of Franklin Countys business park, he sees more than the rolling hills.

He can imagine an employee who gets to appreciate a view of Cahas Mountain from his office, who heads to the ball field for a pick-up game during lunch or a free concert on Friday evening after work.

And he does it all without ever leaving the business park.

The county has a clear vision for the modern, campus-style park it wants to create. It will be a place for both work and play, for business and the community.

This year the county will take several significant steps toward implementing its vision.

Much has been done since the board of supervisors voted to purchase the first property for the park in November 2015. The park has grown in size from 350 to 550 acres. A master plan for the park has been completed. The property was rezoned as a regional enterprise park. The county has submitted numerous grant applications. Its also in talks with prospective businesses.

The progress thus far has been largely intangible and behind the scenes, but thats likely to change in 2017, as Burnette said preparation of pad sites and business announcements are on the horizon.

The county hopes to put out a request for proposals later this month for utility, road and grading work in the northern region of the park. The plan is to start with two pad sites, approximately 10 acres and 25 acres. The county hopes to have this first phase of the project complete by the end of the year, Burnette said.

Businesses that choose to locate in the park will build their own facilities. But they wont really be able to do so until the county has completed some infrastructure work, Burnette said.

Some prospects already have been out to visit the park. Burnette said three have been on site and while the county lost out on one of the businesses, its still in talks with the two others who are looking pretty intently.

Were having ongoing discussions with prospects right now and hope that well have something announced here in the next few months, he said.

The economic development director said he wasnt able to share any information about the businesses yet.

Its important to secure prospects early, as the county needs to show businesses are interested in locating in the park before it can begin its work. A road that will be built in the first phase of the project will cross a small stream on the property, Burnette said, and because a body of water will be affected, the county needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which doesnt allow speculative work and requires a letter of intent.

The county is looking for three types of businesses, Burnette said: those that will invest a lot of money in the county, those that will create many jobs and finally those that bring jobs with higher-than-average wages.

The two businesses the county is in talks with now are not large, but they will offer jobs with wages significantly higher than the average for Franklin County.

Cline Brubaker, chairman of the county board of supervisors, said hes most looking forward to having that first contract signed, which he hopes will be soon. He expects securing the first business will jump-start the whole project, and get others thinking about locating in Franklin County.

That will be a really exciting thing to have happen, Brubaker said.

He said he believes the parks proximity to both Roanoke and Virginia Tech will help the county to recruit good employers.

Brubaker described the views at the park as amazing, and said he expects the companies the county is hoping to attract will appreciate that, along with the other community benefits the park will provide.

Its not an industrial park, Brubaker said  its something more upscale and modern, that will appeal to a certain type of business.

Nearby residents like Dave Werner are anxious over what kind of businesses the park will attract. Werner and others have voiced concerns about how the park will be developed, but Werner said after seeing the master plan, hes feeling more optimistic about the project.

While he didnt move to Franklin County to live beside a business park, Werner said, he does understand the need for economic development.

If youre going to do it, make it as much park-like as you can, he said. And from what Ive seen from the master plan, it looks pretty good.

The park will have recreation and event spaces, with walking trails, a produce auction and perhaps the countys agricultural fair, among other things.

Design work for the event and recreation spaces are under way. Burnette said he hopes the first draft for the events area will be complete by the end of March, and the recreation area by May. There are also plans for public safety services at the park.

The county plans to pay tribute to its agricultural heritage, restoring silos on the property, largely for aesthetic reasons.

The county hopes to use the wood from barns and some structures that will be taken down for new buildings at the park, like picnic shelters.

Were pushing the authenticity of Franklin County, Burnette said.

It also plans to renovate some of the propertys buildings, such as a house in the northern part that will serve as office space and a visitor center. Visitor centers are currently located at Smith Mountain Lake, in Rocky Mount and Ferrum, Burnette said, but none on U.S. 220, the main thoroughfare for tourists.

Despite the effort to provide community amenities, some neighbors have opposed the project.

Tim Poindexter, who owns a house on Pleasant Breeze Road, opted to put his property up for sale when he learned the business park was moving into the neighborhood. But he hasnt had much luck in selling it, even after reducing the price by $10,000.

I even offered that house to one of my daughters and she said no, Poindexter said.

Now, hes looking into rezoning his property to allow for commercial uses. With the development thats coming, Poindexter said, he thinks he might have more luck selling it that way.
Executed contracts total $106 million



Pipeline written notification of award for $45 million

HOUSTON, March 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Willbros Group, Inc. (NYSE:WG) today announced that it has executed two contracts and finalized an extension of another Master Service Agreement (MSA) in Canada. These awards have an estimated value of $106 million and will be added to backlog during the first quarter of 2017:



Our Utility Transmission & Distribution segment has been awarded a $37 million contract to construct a 110-mile transmission line for a new client. Our Chapman business unit will commence construction immediately and anticipates completion by the end of 2017.



In addition to the five year MSA award announced in December 2016, the Construction & Maintenance business unit in our Canada segment was awarded a three-year extension on an existing MSA contract to continue maintenance work in the Alberta oil sands region with an estimated value of $56 million over the duration of the extension. Work under this extension commenced March 1, 2017.



Also, our Canada segment finalized the $13 million contract to construct a 48-inch, eight kilometer pipeline that was announced as a written notice of award in December 2016. Construction has begun and is anticipated to be completed during the third quarter of 2017.

Further, a unit of our Oil & Gas segment has received a written notification of award to construct a pipeline in the Northeast. Terms for this $45 million award are near agreement and we anticipate contract signing to occur within the next week. Work is expected to commence in mid-March and is anticipated to be completed during the third quarter of 2017.

Mike Fournier, President and CEO, said These awards, coupled with the increase in our Q4 2016 backlog, reflect the ongoing efforts across the organization to build quality backlog. While a significant portion of this work will be completed during Q2 and Q3 2017, we sense strong markets for our services and continue to see bidding opportunities that look appealing.

The above awards are in addition to our January 2017 twelve-month and total backlog amounts of $426 million and $776 million, respectively.

About Willbros

Willbros is a specialty energy infrastructure contractor serving the oil and gas and power industries with offerings that primarily include construction, maintenance and facilities development services. For more information on Willbros, please visit our web site at www.willbros.com.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, which address activities, events or developments the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including unanticipated accounting or other issues regarding any material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting; inability of the Company or its independent auditor to confirm relevant information or data; unanticipated issues that prevent or delay the Companys independent auditor from completing its review of financial statements or that require additional efforts, procedures or review; the untimely filing of financial statements; pending and potential investigations and lawsuits; the identification of one or more issues that require restatement of one or more other prior period financial statements; ability to remain in compliance with, or obtain additional waivers or amendments under, the Company's existing loan agreements; the existence of other material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting; contract and billing disputes; availability of quality management; availability and terms of capital; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations; the promulgation, application, and interpretation of environmental laws and regulations; future E&P capital expenditures; oil, gas, gas liquids, and power prices and demand; the amount and location of planned pipelines; development trends of the oil and gas, and power industries; as well as other risk factors described from time to time in the Company's documents and reports filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Revisit the founding of the JSA and foreshadow its future in The New Golden Age #1 preview

And see what lies ahead in the future of the DC Universe
NEW YORK, March 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against NantHealth, Inc. (NantHealth or the Company) (NYSE:NH) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Central District of California, and docketed under 17-cv-1824, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired NantHealth securities: (1) pursuant and/or traceable to NantHealths false and misleading Registration Statement and Prospectus, issued in connection with the Companys initial public offering on or about June 2, 2016 (the IPO or the Offering); and/or (2) on the open market between June 2, 2016 and March 3, 2017, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), seeking to recover damages caused by defendants violations of the Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act).



If you are a shareholder who purchased NantHealth securities between June 2, 2016 and March 3, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until May 8, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

NantHealth, a transformational healthcare cloud-based IT company, purports to provide cloud-based platform solutions that converge science and technology through an integrated clinical platform to provide actionable health information at the point of care for critical illnesses.

In September 2014, the Companys founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Defendant Patrick Soon-Shiong, announced a $12 million donation to the University of Utah in connection with an initiative to find genetic clues for the cause of diseases, including several cancers and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The donation came from three different tax-exempt entities controlled by Soon-Shiong: $9 million from two private foundations, and the remaining $3 million from the NantHealth Foundation, a medical research organization.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Defendant Soon-Shiong funneled business to NantHealth through his donation to the University of Utah, pursuant to the contractual terms of which the university was effectively required to spend $10 million on genetics analysis performed by the Company; (ii) consequently, the number of test orders that NantHealth reported to investors was artificially inflated; (iii) the contracts governing Soon-Shiongs donation to the university violated federal tax law; and (iv) as a result, NantHealths public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On March 6, 2017, STAT, a news organization focused on medical industry reporting, published an article alleging that pursuant to the terms of Soon-Shiongs donation to the University of Utah, the university was effectively required to spend $10 million on genetics analysis performed by NantHealth, an arrangement which enabled NantHealth to inflate by more than 50 percent the number of test orders it reported to investors in 2016. In addition, the article quoted two tax experts stating that the deal appeared to violate federal tax rules governing certain charitable donations and amount[ed] to indirect self-dealing by Soon-Shiong and his foundations.

On this news, NantHealths share price fell $1.67, or 23.29%, to close at $5.50 on March 6, 2017.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com
Rene prevailed

Pr?val, who died on Friday at the age of 74, had the distinction of being the only democratically-elected president to win and complete two terms in a country plagued by political upheaval and natural and human disasters.

When Pr?val completed his first term in 2001 and transferred power to Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Pr?val became Haitis first democratically elected president to leave office after completing a full term. Then, after his second term, Pr?val on May 14, 2011, handed over power to Michel Martelly, marking the first transfer of power from a Haitian president to a member of the opposition.

Pr?val was intimately aware of the challenges facing his country.

His childhood gave him insight into the dangers of tyranny. He was born on January 17, 1943, in the town of Marmelade in northern Haiti. His father, Claude, was an agronomist under former president Paul Magloire. Claude fled the country during the early years of the dictatorship of Fran?ois Papa Doc Duvalier.

Pr?val earned a degree in agronomy from Gembloux Agricultural University in Belgium. He then studied geothermal sciences at the University of Pisa in Italy. In 1970, he moved to New York. There, he worked as a waiter and a messenger.

In 1975, he returned to Haiti and worked at the National Institute for Mineral Resources.

In 1988, two years after a popular uprising ousted Duvaliers son, Jean-Claude Baby Doc Duvalier, Pr?val opened a bakery in the capital Port-au-Prince. This bakery supplied bread to an orphanage run by Aristide, then a Roman Catholic priest, who led a movement to oust the younger Duvalier. Aristide later became the countrys first democratically elected president.

Pr?val became a leading figure in Aristides Lavalas political movement, which enjoyed a huge following among the poor. At the same time, the movement was reportedly feared and hated by a community of elites who have long dominated the countrys economy and government. When Aristide was elected president in 1990, he appointed Pr?val as his prime minister.

But this foray was short-lived.

A military coup ousted Aristide seven months into his term and the two leaders went into exile.

A US-led invasion restored Aristide to power in 1994 and he was allowed to complete his term in office. Running as Aristides successor, and with his endorsement, Pr?val won 88 per cent of the vote in 1995 though only a quarter of eligible voters cast ballots.

Pr?vals first term was marked by political infighting. Aristide was seen as the power behind the throne. Still, Pr?val completed his term in 2001 and transferred power to Aristide, becoming Haitis first democratically elected president to leave office after a full term.

Fate would have it that Preval would serve a second term. He won an election in 2006 that nearly headed to a runoff. Amid protests, the electoral council recounted ballots and found he had an outright majority.

Pr?vals second term was marked by a dramatic spike in crime, riots over soaring food prices and a series of tropical storms. But it was the January 12, 2010, earthquake that destroyed much of the capital, including the National Palace.

Pr?val has been both praised and criticised for his handling of this catastrophe which killed more than 310,000 people and displaced more than a million.

Still, Haiti enjoyed a rare political stability. The economy started improving, with growth reaching almost three per cent in 2009, the second fastest rate in the hemisphere.

Today, we commemorate this leader.
We will find you

On Monday, a group of teachers led by TTUTA president Lynsley Doodhai, protested outside the schools gates calling for the principal to be temporarily removed pending an investigation into certain allegations. As this went on, some students threw bottles at the protesting teachers after forming an anti-protest group, beating drums and waving placards in support of the principal Joy Arjoon-Singh.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia and senior ministry officials yesterday held an emergency meeting with the principal and members of staff to begin investigations into the incident. A group of about ten police officers were present at the school for the duration of the visit at Garcias request.

In an address to the students in their hall after the meeting, Francis said while he believes in their right to free speech, he also believes they should act like students and show respect for their teachers.

What happened yesterday, we will investigate, Francis said.

We will find out who is responsible and we will take the appropriate measures to deal with those who have misbehaved. Francis told students they are fortunate to live in a country where the State funds their education which, he said, is absolutely expensive.

We do not ask much of you.

We ask that you come and you act like a student and that you learn.

But we also ask that you display a certain amount of decorum as a student and when you fail to behave like that - well, then there are consequences. Garcia told students although he was disturbed by media reports of their behaviour on Monday, he did not visit the school to cast blame.

I have also taught at a junior secondary school just like this so I can safely say that I know schools like these very well. I have been boasting that some of my best years of teaching were spent when I taught at Five Rivers Junior Secondary School, Garcia said.

Before addressing the students, Garcia spoke with reporters just after he met school officials and staff. He said an independent investigator would be appointed to investigate Mondays incident and the underlying issues at the school. He said teachers raised a number of issues they are facing at the school, but he declined to disclose what those issues are because they are quite sensitive. We have engaged the assistance of our legal department to advise us as to whether the actions of teachers who took part in the protest action were calculated to bring the school into disrepute.

I await the advice of our legal department before we move forward. As to TTUTAs request to have the principal temporarily removed while investigations are ongoing, Garcia said such a move constitutes disciplinary action which can only be taken by the Teaching Service Commission.
Carmona: Are women their worst foes?

Women must encourage, inspire and uplift each other by their words, deeds and actions, demanding respect and not disrespecting each other, their Excellencies said. It is becoming the norm for women to engage in denigrating each other on social media and even mainstream media and other females and even the men in our society look on and simply laugh.

This must not become the standard of our social dialogue. The duo said women must be their sisters keeper and offer encouraging and inspiring words to other women engaged in critical analysis, and must speak out against social injustices facing women and young girls.

Cohesive and collective collaboration between and among women of the world, can create that tour de force needed to effect that revolutionary, transformational change that every society seeks. The couple urged men also to take up the mantle of fighting for womens empowerment. Womens empowerment is not about emasculation or challenging or testing the innate strength of our men folk. It is a unifying force based on what is fair, just and real for a society to progress. The statement supported female advancement at home, in the education system and in the professional realm. The Carmonas cited United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres IWD message to urge support for the progress of women via both official governance structures and intrinsic tenets of our daily lives.

By using not a male standard but the standard of our own humanity, women should be enjoy equal participation, opportunities and access in economic, political and public life, said the statement.

The Carmonas urged protection for womens safety, including sparing girls from child marriage. TT can only boast of being civilised if it meets United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5 to treat its women and girls with the same dignity, equality, respect and honour as its men and boys.

This means ending child marriages; protecting our women and girls against all forms of discrimination and abuse including domestic violence, human trafficking and other forms of suppression; and providing our women and girls with equal access to quality education and healthcare. It means, in Trinidad and Tobago, individual and collective leadership in showing, by action and example, that in the atrocity of inequality and scant disregard for women and violence against women, there exist no grounds for tolerance, lame excuses or skewed reasoning.
Murdered woman, daughter buried

The funeral service which was attended by family, friends and President Anthony Carmona heard an impassioned plea from Fr Martin Sirju for the police to bring the killers to justice. Also at the service, son of the elder Bernard, Lester Bernard told mourners that people are running scared in this country because of crime.

Mother and daughter were chopped and stabbed to death in their house which was also ransacked.

Delivering the eulogy for his mother and sister, Bernard said, People are scared to live in this country. These murders pull on the heartstrings of everyone. I cannot combat the anger I feel, the hate, the regret...someone has ripped my heart out. It has been an emotional roller-coaster. People are no longer safe. My mom and sister were forcefully taken by an animal or animals, he said, adding that the murderers took the lives of the two strongest women he knew. Bernard said his mother and sister were God fearing citizens. My mom was a compassionate woman who would probably forgive the people who did this to her. But I have not reached that level where I can forgive them, he said.

Fr Sirju, who delivered the homily, prayed for the police to find the killers. S aying the circumstances surrounding the murders had filled him with outrage, Sirju said it was not uncommon for criminals to remain on the run without ever being charged.

He said however that one must show mercy despite the circumstances and not add to the violence existing in the society.
English Korean

RESTON, Va., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Globally, women represent a greater share of the applicant pool than men in many of the business masters programs, such as marketing, accounting and management. Women, however, are still underrepresented in MBA classrooms in the United States and around the world. What Women Want: A Blueprint for Change in Business Education is a new white paper from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) that identifies drivers of this continued lack of gender parity in MBA programs. The paper explores the biggest challenges women face in the business school application process and the differences between men and women in their motivations to pursue graduate business degrees. The white paper was issued in recognition of International Womens Day celebrated globally and National Womens History month in the United States.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/50396ac9-be43-4119-8366-27af01d7448f

Women have made phenomenal progress in attaining business masters degrees, yet they have not yet caught up with men in the share of MBAs earned, said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC. Our extensive global segmentation research and market intelligence looked at several important underlying factors that contribute to this growing participation of women in business masters and lack of parity in MBAs, with financial concerns being the number one issue cited by female applicants.

Key Findings

The papers key findings draw upon insights collected from GMACs Global Graduate Management Education Candidate Segmentation Study conducted in 2016 in partnership with IPSOS, a global market research firm. The survey sample included a total of 5,900 female and male applicants representing 15 countries worldwide.

Motivations and Approaches to the Application Journey Differ by World Regions

Women in Western countries differ in their motivations and approaches to the application journey from women in emerging economies like China and India, and the motivational profiles of Western women differ noticeably from their male counterparts. In India and China, womens motivations and application behaviors more closely resemble those of male applicants from these countries.

Women Plan Earlier and Are More Outcomes-Focused

Women are more likely than men to begin considering graduate management education as undergraduates. Overall, women are more pragmatic and outcomes-focused in their approach to pursuing graduate business education. They are more likely than men to apply to a specific school because it offers flexible program formats and its graduates get better job opportunities. Especially in Western countries, women are more likely than men to be motivated by the desire to advance more quickly and earn more money.

Funding Is a Significant Barrier

Globally, 29 percent of female survey respondents cited financial issues as the key reason they had not yet accepted their admissions offer to graduate business school. Seeking scholarships and financial aid were top of mind. Men, on the other hand (33 percent), cited that they were waiting for an offer from additional schools as their reason for delaying acceptance.

The greatest gender difference on this issue was seen in the U.S. More than a third (38 percent) of female survey respondents cited financial reasons as their number one reason for not yet accepting their admissions offer compared with 20 percent of male respondents. Yet, obtaining funds to pay for schools is a bigger challenge for men than for women in both India (8 percent Indian women vs. 14 percent Indian men) and China (9 percent Chinese women vs. 11 percent Chinese men).

MBA Is Still Relevant to Women Despite Higher Numbers Obtaining Non-MBA Business Masters Degrees

Women are already achieving parity (52 percent) in masters programs such as Master of Marketing, Master of Accounting, and Master in Management, and the number of these programs has grown exponentially in recent years. The share of women in MBA classrooms, however, has consistently remained well below parity with men at 37 percent. Despite greater shares of women choosing non-MBA masters programs over MBA programs, the data show that women hold the MBA degree in higher regard than men, and view the degree as a passport to wider career advancement.

Its easy to make the mistake of thinking of women as a monolithic block and to view their lack of parity in MBA classrooms as a failure on the part of business schools, said Chowfla. The insights in this white paper clearly reveal that women are distinct from men in what they are seeking from their business education experience, and their behaviors differ between countries and behavior types. In our opinion, business schools have made great strides in inclusivity and shaping their recruiting and admissions processes to ensure a diverse classroom. We hope that equipped with this papers data and insights, business schools can develop even bolder strategies for increasing the number of women in their classrooms and achieve the gender parity seen in other sectors of graduate education.

To download the GMAC white paper, What Women Want: A Blueprint for Change in Business Education, visit: http://www.gmac.com/womeninbusinessschool.

About GMAC: The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is a nonprofit organization of 220 leading graduate business schools from around the world actively committed to advancing the art and science of admissions. The Council provides the solutions necessary for business schools and candidates to discover and evaluate one another to ensure that talent never goes undiscovered. GMAC owns and administers the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) exam, used by more than 6,500 graduate programs worldwide, as well as the NMAT by GMAC exam, used for entrance into graduate management programs in India. The Council is based in Reston, Va., with offices in London, New Delhi and Hong Kong. Additional information about the GMAT exam is posted on mba.com. For more information about GMAC, visit gmac.com.
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Robert Foisie has donated $63 million to Massachusetts' Worcester Polytechnic Institute over the years, making him the largest donor in its history, per the Worchester Business Journal. His ex-wife, however, says some of that money should instead be in her pockets. In a lawsuit, Janet Foisie explains she and Robert were married for 50 years before they opted to divorce in 2010. The couple agreed to split their assets and eventually did so; during the process, Robert stated he did not have "any offshore assets," the lawsuit says. But that wasn't in fact the case, alleges Janet, who claims Robert had $4.5 million hidden in a Swiss account and transferred the money to WPI as part of a $40 million donation in 2014, per the Telegram & Gazette.

"Like one laundering the proceeds of a criminal enterprise, Robert sought to dispose of the funds for a purpose of his personal preference and choosing, rather than give it to his legitimate creditor Janet," who "agreed to a smaller award of marital assets than she would have agreed to had she known the truth," per the lawsuit, which names WPI but not Robert. The suit asks that a temporary injunction be issued to keep WPI from using any funds given to it by Robert since 2011, and that a receiver be appointed to control the money. In a statement, WPI says, "We have no knowledge of any of the improper conduct alleged in the lawsuit" and "hope the Foisies are able to work out their differences." MassLive notes the Foisies divvied up their homes and each walked with $20 million worth of securities. (Read more Massachusetts stories.)
The House is moving forward with an investigation into Russia's alleged attempts to tamper with the US election, scheduling the first public hearing on the matter for March 20, Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes announced. FBI Director James Comey, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former Attorney General Sally Yates have been invited to testify, CNN reports.

Nunes also told reporters he has not seen any evidence to support President Trump's accusation that Obama wiretapped him, but that his panel will investigate the allegations, Reuters reports. On the Senate side, Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr told CNN Tuesday that he was not ruling out the possibility his panel would also look into Trump's allegations. "We're going to go anywhere there is intelligence or facts that send us," he said. "So I'm not going to limit it one way or the other. But we don't have anything today that would send us in that direction, but that's not to say that we might not find something." (Read more Russia stories.)
Senate Judiciary Committee member Al Franken thinks Attorney General Jeff Sessions committed perjury during his confirmation hearingsand he wants him to explain himself in another appearance before the committee. With his failure to disclose talks with Russia's ambassador under questioning, "it's hard to come to any other conclusion than he just perjured himself," the Democratic senator tells CNN. Sessions wrote to the committee Monday denying he had answered questions incorrectly, and Franken says the "ridiculous response" is what he was waiting for before accusing the attorney general of lying. Sessions has recused himself from any investigation into alleged Russian election interference.

"Senator Franken ... I did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it," Sessions said during the January confirmation hearing after being asked about possible Trump campaign ties to Russia. "I did not mention communications I had had with the Russian ambassador over the years because the question did not ask about them," Sessions said Monday, per the Hill. In a tense Judiciary Committee exchange Tuesday, Franken rejected Republican Sen. Charles Grassley's accusation that he had asked a "gotcha" question, the Washington Post reports. "Look at the tape," Franken told Grassley. (Read more Jeff Sessions stories.)
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

Commercial Update

Frontier Exploration Licence 2/14

Southern Porcupine Basin

PROVIDENCE/SOSINA SIGN FARM-IN AGREEMENT WITH CAIRN FOR FEL 2/14



CAIRN TO SECURE A 30% WORKING INTEREST IN FEL 2/14



PROMOTED CARRY FOR ONE FIRM EXPLORATION WELL AND ONE CONTINGENT APPRAISAL WELL

Dublin and London - March 8, 2017 - Providence Resources P.l.c. (PVR LN, PRP ID), the Irish based Oil and Gas Exploration Company, today provides an operational update on the Frontier Exploration Licence ("FEL") 2/14, which lies in c. 2,250 metre water depth in the southern Porcupine Basin and is located c. 220 kilometres off the south west coast of Ireland. The licence is operated by Providence Resources P.l.c. ("Providence", 80%) on behalf of its partner Sosina Exploration Limited ("Sosina", 20%). FEL 2/14 contains the Paleocene "Druid", Lower Cretaceous "Drombeg" and Jurassic "Diablo" exploration prospects.

Frontier Exploration Licence 2/14 Farm In

Providence has signed a Farm-in Agreement ("FIA") with Capricorn Ireland Limited ("Capricorn"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn Energy Plc ("Cairn") over FEL 2/14 with an effective date of July 1, 2016.

In consideration for Capricorn taking a 30% working interest in FEL 2/14, Capricorn will pay:

45% of the costs of drilling the 53/6-A exploration well in 2017, subject to a gross well cap of $42 million

A cash payment of $2.82 million (being 30% of the total sunk costs of $9.4 million incurred through June 30, 2016 by Providence / Sosina on FEL 2/14) on a pro rata basis

The 53/6-A well is planned to spud in June 2017 (subject to all regulatory consents) using the contracted Stena IceMAX drill-ship targeting the Druid and Drombeg prospects.

In the event that the JV partners agree to drill a subsequent appraisal well in FEL 2/14, Capricorn will pay 40% of the appraisal well costs subject to a gross well cap of $42 million and will have the right to take over Operatorship.

As a result of this transaction, the resulting equity in FEL 2/14 will be Providence (Operator - 56%), Capricorn (30%) and Sosina (14%). Closing of the farm-in is subject to the approval of the Minister of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.

Speaking today, Tony O'Reilly, Chief Executive of Providence said:

"We are extremely pleased to have agreed this farm-in transaction with a world class partner such as Cairn, who have recently enjoyed considerable success with their Atlantic deep-water exploration programme offshore Senegal. The addition of Cairn brings additional technical capabilities to the JV partnership, whilst providing Providence with additional financial and operational flexibility. This licence has attracted considerable interest and we continue to discuss possible further equity divestment with other material industry players.

With the Stena IceMAX drill-ship already contracted, the JV partners are currently carrying out a pre-drill well site survey as well as finalizing all other key service contracts, together with requisite permitting and regulatory approvals, for the planned drilling operations in June."

INVESTOR ENQUIRIES Providence Resources P.l.c. Tel: +353 1 219 4074 Tony O'Reilly, Chief Executive Officer Cenkos Securities plc Tel: +44 131 220 9771 Neil McDonald/Derrick Lee J&E Davy Tel: +353 1 679 6363 Anthony Farrell MEDIA ENQUIRIES Powerscourt Tel: +44 207 250 1446 Lisa Kavanagh/Peter Ogden Murray Consultants Tel: +353 1 498 0300 Pauline McAlester

ABOUT PROVIDENCE RESOURCES

Providence Resources is an Irish based Oil and Gas Exploration Company with a portfolio of appraisal and exploration assets located offshore Ireland. Providence's shares are quoted on AIM in London and the ESM in Dublin.

ABOUT CAIRN

Cairn Energy PLC is one of Europe's leading independent oil and gas exploration and development companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Cairn has discovered and developed oil and gas reserves in a variety of locations around the world. Cairn's business operations are focused on opportunities across a growing resource base in Senegal, the UK and Norway. Cairn's portfolio also includes assets in Africa and the Mediterranean. Cairn is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland with operational offices in London, Norway and Senegal.

ABOUT FEL 2/14 - DRUID & DROMBEG

During the initial pre-FEL 2/14 authorisation phase (Licensing Option 11/9 - 2011 through 2013), Providence and Sosina identified two large vertically stacked Paleocene ('Druid') and Lower Cretaceous ('Drombeg') fan systems with notable Class II amplitude versus offset ("AVO") anomalies primarily from 2D seismic data acquired in 2008. Providence and Sosina subsequently agreed to underwrite a multi-client 3D seismic survey over the area. This 3D survey was acquired by Polarcus in the summer of 2014 and was subsequently processed by ION Geophysical in 2014/15. In September 2015, Providence and Sosina entered into a Strategic Exploration Collaboration Project with Schlumberger.

In April 2016, the results of the Strategic Exploration Collaboration Project with Schlumberger were announced:

DRUID (PALEOCENE)

Two fans located c. 1,750 m BML and structurally up-dip from a potential significant fluid escape feature from the underlying pre-Cretaceous Diablo Ridge

Cumulative in-place un-risked prospective resources of 3.180 BBO (PMean); Fan 1 - 984 MMBO (PMean); Fan 2 - 2,196 MMBO (PMean)

Pre-stack seismic inversion and regional rock physics analysis shows Druid is consistent with a highly porous (30%) and high net-gross, light oil-filled sandstone reservoir system up to 85 metres thick

A depth conformant Class II AVO anomaly is present and synthetic forward modelling of an oil-water contact correlates with the observed seismic response

Spectral decomposition, seismic compactional drape and mounding are reflective of a large sand-rich submarine fan system with no significant internal faulting and clear demonstration of an up-dip trap mechanism

Geomechanical analysis using regional well and high resolution seismic velocity data indicates that Druid is normally pressured and the top seal is intact

DROMBEG PROSPECT (LOWER CRETACEOUS)

Located c. 2,750 m BML and structurally up-dip from a potential significant fluid escape feature from the underlying pre-Cretaceous Diablo Ridge

In-place un-risked prospective resource of 1.915 BBO (PMean)

Pre-stack seismic inversion and regional rock physics analysis shows Drombeg is consistent with a highly porous (20%), light oil-filled sandstone reservoir system up to 45 metres thick

A depth conformant amplitude anomaly is present and spectral decomposition is reflective of a large sand-rich submarine fan system with no significant internal faulting, and supports an up-dip trap mechanism

Geomechanical analysis using regional well and high resolution seismic velocity data indicates that Drombeg is over-pressured with an intact top seal
In what appears to have been a weird "Day Without Women" coincidence, Lady Liberty mysteriously went dark Tuesday night. The Statue of Liberty was dark apart from her crown and torch for more than an hour, starting at 11pm, the New York Daily News reports. Amid speculation on social media that the lights had been put out ahead of Wednesday's protest, the Statue of Liberty National Monument tweeted that the outage was likely "related to new emergency generator/Hurricane Sandy recovery project work," the AP reports. Officials say they will find the cause when crews return to work Wednesday. (Last month, activists unfurled a "Refugees Welcome" banner from the statue.)
A paid hit man was executed Tuesday night in Texas for gunning down a San Antonio woman in a life insurance scheme 25 years ago. Rolando Ruiz was given a lethal injection for fatally shooting Theresa Rodriguez, 29, outside her home in 1992 as she was getting out of a car with her husband and brother-in-law, who both orchestrated her murder, the AP reports. Ruiz was paid $2,000 to carry out the killing. Ruiz, strapped to the Texas death chamber gurney, looked directly at two sisters of his victim and their husbands and apologized profusely. "Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am and the hurt I have caused you and your family," he told them. "May this bring you peace and forgiveness."

His execution was delayed for nearly five hours until the US Supreme Court rejected three appeals. "It's not going to bring her back, so it really doesn't mean very much," Susie Sanchez, whose daughter was killed in the contract murder, said Monday. After the murder, the victim's husband and brother-in-law accepted life terms in plea deals. Brother-in-law Mark Rodriguez was paroled in 2011 but husband Michael Rodriguez later joined Ruiz on death row as one of the notorious "Texas Seven," a group of seven inmates who escaped from a South Texas prison in 2000 and killed a Dallas-area police officer. Michael Rodriguez was executed in 2008. He blamed his infatuation with a younger woman for the murder plot. (Read more Texas stories.)
Six days after he was released from prison for the shooting death of a 2-year-old boy, a Turkish man was himself shot deadat his own wedding on Saturday. Daimi Akyuz, 46, had been sentenced to a maximum of 36 years in prison after he opened fire at a cafe in the Turkish town of Foca in 2003, killing one man and injuring two others reportedly seated at his table, reports the Daily Record. Scottish toddler Alistair Grimason was also killed when a stray bullet pierced his lung as he slept in a stroller next to his Turkish mother, reports the BBC. Despite serving less than a third of his sentence, Akyuz was freed late last month; a source says prison overcrowding as a result of last year's failed coup spurred Akyuz's early release. His freedom, however, was swiftly cut short.

According to reports, Akyuz was gunned down outside his wedding in Izmir as he smoked a cigarette. Few other details are known, but authorities say they're in the process of interviewing five suspects. "It is ironiche was not scared to use guns and that is how he was killed himself," says Alistair's father, David Grimason, who has campaigned for tighter gun controls since his son's death, per Yahoo News. But Grimason recalled that Alistair's killer had two children himself, "and they have lost their father. I don't take any joy in what has happened. I would rather that he was in prison and being punished for what he did," he continues. Grimason says his understanding was that Akyuz was to serve the entirety of his sentence. Instead, "they've let him out to be killed." (In the US, a bride lost her life just minutes after her wedding.)
North Korea and President Trump are like two accelerating trains bound to crash into each other, according to China, which sees itself as the only "signalman" able to avert catastrophe. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Wednesday of a "looming crisis" on the Korean peninsula and wondered: "Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision?" reports the Guardian. Wang, speaking the day after the US deployed the controversial THAAD anti-missile system, said that to avoid the collision, Pyongyang should stop missile tests and "nuclear activity," and the US should stop conducting "military exercises of enormous scale" with South Korea.

John Delury, a North Korea expert at Seouls Yonsei University, tells the Washington Post that the "suspension for suspension" idea is one that has been pitched before, though not with Trump as president. "We don't know what Trump is going to do about North Korea," he says. "There is a policy review underway now, and it looks like all options are on the table." Other analysts say it appears that with China increasingly worried about Korean developments, Wang has publicly raised the issue now to put pressure on the Trump administration ahead of Rex Tillerson's visit to China later this month. (North Korea says its recent missile launches were practice tests for strikes on American bases.)
Tim Kaine's youngest son probably wouldn't have gotten arrested had his dad fared better in the November election, and not exactly because of the privilege of the vice presidency: The Pioneer Press reports that six people were arrested or cited Saturday at a "March 4 Trump" rally of about 400 in St. Paul, Minn., and 24-year-old Linwood Michael Kaine was one of them. The younger Kaine was arrested on suspicion of second-degree rioting at the state Capitol, where cops say a group of 50 or so anti-Trump protesters raised a ruckus by blaring air horns, being verbally disruptive, setting off fireworks, and even a smoke bomb that reportedly hit a 61-year-old woman in the head when it was thrown into the crowd.

A St. Paul police rep says "some force" was needed to haul "Woody" Kaine to the Ramsey County jail. He wasn't charged, nor were the others, though the St. Paul city attorney is looking into whether any misdemeanors are warranted. Kaine was released Tuesday morning while the case is further investigated. Per WCCO, the Minnesota Republican Party put out a statement Monday blaming Democrats for "coordinating disruption and violence" both during the election and afterward. The senator, meanwhile, issued his own statement to the Press, noting he and his wife "love that our three children have their own views and concerns about current political issues," adding his kids know well how to "express those concerns peacefully." (Tim Kaine once ran for his Senate seat against a cat.)
Ten years after a former FBI agent working on an unauthorized CIA mission disappeared in Iran, his family hopes President Trump will be the one to finally bring him home. Robert Levinson's family tells the AP that Trump's background as a deal-making businessman and his harder line on Iran could be an asset in finally determining what happened to the investigator, whose 69th birthday is Friday. They described the heartbreak of seeing other American prisoners in Iran freed while the mystery surrounding his disappearance remains, and acknowledged the challenge of keeping his case in the public eye as he now has been held captive longer than any American in history, if he remains alive. "We believe people can survive 10 years under any circumstances. In the worst places, people survive. We know Bob is alive," says his wife, Christine Levinson.

Levinson disappeared from Iran's Kish Island on March 9, 2007, while on a mission for CIA analysts who had no authority to run spy operations, per the AP. The last evidence of him emerged in 2011, but his family believes he is still alive and that his diabetes and high blood pressure could be under control with his weight loss. The UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a report in January that held Iran responsible for addressing the situation. But "it's going to require negotiating with the Iranians to get him out of there," Levinson's son says. Trump is "very well-suited to be able to do this. We're hopeful for that." White House press secretary Sean Spicer says the Trump administration is in contact with Levinson's family. (Read more Robert Levinson stories.)
Islamic State militants donned doctor uniforms before forcing their way into a hospital not far from the US Embassy in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 38 people and leaving more than 50 injured, report NBC News and the Guardian. The BBC reports the attack began with an explosion at a gate to the 400-bed military hospital around 9am local time. At least three militants dressed as doctors are said to have then entered the building with guns and grenades. One staff member reported seeing a gunman "wearing a white coat holding a Kalashnikov and opening fire on everyone, including the guards, patients and doctors" as people inside fled to window ledges.

The attackers then gathered on the upper floors and engaged security forces in "heavy fighting," per the Guardian. Six hours after the first explosion, a rep for Afghanistan's interior ministry reported all attackers had been killed after authorities were able to land on the roof. ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attack, the first in which militants engaged directly with Afghan forces in Kabul, which suggests they "now have the resources and the military training to expand their attacks," per the BBC. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says the attack "trampled all human values," noting attacking a hospital is like "attacking the whole of Afghanistan." (ISIS has recently shifted targets.)
A police dispatcher in Cincinnati was recently caught with "approximately a couple hundred pounds of marijuana" in her basement, police say. Teneal Poole, 36, faces two felony drug charges, but she told authorities the pot, which was found by the DEA per Fox 19, actually belonged to her live-in boyfriend. Per court records, she said she was aware the drugs were in the house. Damian Gray, 40, was also arrested and faces drug trafficking and possession charges, Cincinnati.com reports. The city manager, who says Poole has worked for the city since 2007, is reviewing her employment status. (Read more weird crimes stories.)
Scarlett Johansson's husband was "shocked" by the star's divorce filing and sees the move as a "pre-emptive strike" in a battle over custody of the couple's toddler daughter, his lawyer says. Johansson filed for divorce from Romain Dauriac in a New York City court Tuesday, following a January announcement that the couple split last summer after less than two years of marriage. Johansson is asking for joint custody of their daughter, Rose, but also wants the child to live with her, the AP reports. Dauriac's lawyer, Hal Mayerson, told the AP Wednesday that he and Dauriac were taken aback by the request because he has been the "primary parent" for Rose while Johansson has been involved with her career. Dauriac plans to petition the court to take the child to live with him in his native France, Mayerson said, adding that Johansson will have "access to her daughter any time she wants to come to Paris."

"Mr. Dauriac is tired of having to run his life and his child's life based on Ms. Johansson's shooting schedule," Mayerson said. Johansson responded in a statement to the AP that she is a "devoted mother and private person" who knows her daughter will one day be old enough to read the news about herself. "I would only like to say that I will never, ever be commenting on the dissolution of my marriage. Out of respect for my desires as a parent and out of respect for all working moms, it is with kindness that I ask other parties involved and the media to do the same," she said. The divorce filing notes that the couple signed a prenuptial agreement in September 2014, but Mayerson said the pact does not address custody or financial issues regarding their daughter. (Read more Scarlett Johansson stories.)
Strategic long-term plan expands McDermotts capabilities and capacity to service its growing Middle East and other regional markets



Phased approach includes building state-of-the-art, technologically advanced fabrication facilities with increased automation and a new marine base

Saudi Arabias talented workforce combined with McDermotts world-class training programs will further enhance McDermotts Middle East operations



HOUSTON, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) announced today it plans to construct offshore production solutions in Saudi Arabia. McDermott signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Aramco for a long-term land lease at the new maritime facility at Ras Al Khair in Saudi Arabia, currently being developed by Saudi Aramco.

With a long-term phased approach, McDermott plans to build a new fabrication and marine complex expected to use state-of-the-art facilities, increased automation and an optimized layout to increase McDermotts abilities to service its growing Middle East and Caspian markets.

We are excited about this strategic move and believe it expands and strengthens our ability to service all our growing Middle East markets and our decades-long leadership position with Saudi Aramco and in the Middle East, said David Dickson, McDermotts President and Chief Executive Officer. When we look at our next 50 years of business in the Middle East, we see strong benefits to moving our business operations to Saudi Arabia, including the opportunity to modernize our facilities, move closer to Saudi Aramco and other key customers in the region as well as provide McDermotts world-class training programs to Saudi Arabias talented workforce to further enhance McDermotts Middle East operations.

McDermott expects to expand its capabilities and capacity in the region to serve its customers in offshore and subsea markets throughout the Middle East, Caspian and other markets in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and offshore India and East Africa. The future fabrication facility at Ras Al Khair is expected to provide up to 16-million manhours of capacity, up from 8-million manhours at McDermotts current Jebel Ali facilities, with a gradual transition from McDermotts operations in Jebel Ali expected by the mid-2020s.

The move also demonstrates McDermotts support of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 and Saudi Aramcos In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) program. The IKTVA program intends to expand KSA-based business operations to help drive domestic value creation and maximize long-term economic growth, diversification, job creation and workforce development, to support a rapidly changing Saudi economy.

For more information about the MOU, visit the Investors page of McDermotts website at www.mcdermott.com.

About McDermott

McDermott is a leading provider of integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) services for upstream field developments worldwide. The Company delivers fixed and floating production facilities, pipelines and subsea systems from concept to commissioning for complex offshore and subsea oil and gas projects to help oil companies safely produce and transport hydrocarbons. Our customers include national and major energy companies. Operating in approximately 20 countries across the world, our locally focused and globally integrated resources include approximately 12,400 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels, fabrication facilities and engineering offices. We are renowned for our extensive knowledge and experience, technological advancements, performance records, superior safety and commitment to deliver. McDermott has served the energy industry since 1923. As used in this press release, McDermott includes McDermott International, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. To learn more, visit our website at www.mcdermott.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott cautions that statements in this press release which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties that may impact McDermott's actual results of operations. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about: the details regarding the transactions contemplated by the MOU; the three bullet point statements at the beginning of this press release and the expected benefits to be derived from those transactions (including the expansion and strengthening of its ability to service its growing Middle East and Caspian markets, the modernization of its Middle East facilities and ability to recruit from Saudi Arabias talented workforce); and the timing and results of the development of the new fabrication yard and marine base at Ras Al Khair and the transition of McDermotts Middle East operations from Jebel Ali. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: our inability to agree with Aramco and other third parties on the contractual arrangements referred to in this press release, the effects of competition, actions of third parties and changes in conditions and other factors affecting our industry. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see McDermott's annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. This press release reflects management's views as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.
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FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Rathbone Brothers PLC (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Booker Group PLC (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 07/03/2017 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" No





2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:







Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 19,912,039 1.12 (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL: 19,912,039 1.12

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit (p) 1p Ord Sale 13,100 199.404143 1p Ord Sale 17,000 199.404143 1p Ord Sale 2,000 199.8

(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit





(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)





4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"









(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"









(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO

Date of disclosure: 08/03/2017 Contact name: Simon Walker - Compliance Department Telephone number: 0151 236 6666

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
New Delhi:

Upon completion of its two years in power, the AAP government on Tuesday projected its "taint-free" governance in Delhi, which, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed, has been achieved despite Centre's "unprecedented hostility".

The government released a booklet detailing the work done in various sectors, which also contained a message from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal where he resisted "the temptation of offering any excuse for hurdles being created by the powers that be".

The document was released at an event at the Delhi Secretariat in presence of the Council of Ministers, Chief Secretary M M Kutty, AAP MLAs and officials. Kejriwal is undergoing naturopathy treatment in Bengaluru. The ministers, including Sisodia, highlighted the major developments in their respective areas while Kutty urged the officers to put their best foot forward in the days to come.

Words of mutual praise replaced the usual acrimony that marks this government's relationship with the bureaucracy with Sisodia and Gopal Rai lauding the role of officials in executing flagship projects of the Kejriwal dispensation like mohalla clinics.

"There may have been procedural differences and you can set Shunglu Committee, put the CBI after us but you can not question our financial probity. We have not bent even once despite pressure and offers to that effect. "Apart from historic achievements, we have withstood unprecedented level of hostility too. Never in the past has the Supreme Court has had to use such language against the Delhi Police and the CBI for framing false cases," Sisodia said.

The AAP government, following a stupendous victory in the2015 Assembly polls where it bagged 67 out of 70 seats of theDelhi Assembly, had taken oath at Ramlila Maidan on February 14. Contrary to its claims, the AAP government, however, is yet to implement some of its key schemes including Wi-Fi in public zones, installing 10-15 lakh CCTV cameras across Delhi, bringing a law for devolution of power to mohallas and setting up subsidised canteens.

In his speech, Sisodia briefly touched upon the issue ofWifi, saying connecting a populous city like Delhi through wireless Internet was challenging. In any case, this promise was to be fulfilled in five years, "not two years", he said.

"Work is in progress on this front. We have zeroed in on few models," he said. In 2015, Kejriwal had removed Asim Ahmed Khan as minister after allegations of him demanding bribe surfaced. Sisodia said the scale of the victory was indicative people's desire for a radical change.

The AAP has managed to change the way of governance and plugged the disconnect between the common men and the administration. Rai drew parallel of Kejriwal with 'Eklvaya', a character in the Mahabharata, in claiming that the AAP government is marching forward despite the Centre "clipping its wings" and"creating hurdles" in the way of smooth governance.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Lucknow:

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist squad on Tuesday launched an operation to catch a suspected terrorist holed up in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow. There are inputs that this terror suspect, identified as Saifullah, may have links with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast that took place earlier on Tuesday.

According to a Delhi Police special cell source, the suspect is linked to the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast. The Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Police had reportedly received a tip off from South India about an ISIS module but the blast was carried out in the train even before the police could take any action.

Following the blast, the police arrested suspected ISIS terrorists from whom they received tip off about Saifullah, reports said.

Saifullah, hiding in a house in Kakori area, may be linked to ISIS, reports have said, adding, they might have planned a bigger terror attack like Mumbai.

According to inputs from Kerala and Telangana shared by Intelligence Bureau, more terrorists are suspected to be hiding in Lucknow and surrounding districts.

Several terrorists of ISIS module have been arrested from various states in India in the past but Saifullah is first to reportedly possess weapons like AK-47, which is why it is important for the security agencies to capture him alive. Catching him alive will help the security agencies get information about the sleeper cells of ISIS.

ALSO READ | Suspected ISIS terrorist hurt in encounter with ATS in Lucknow; chilli bomb used but suspect refuses to surrender

The owner of the house where Saifullah is hiding lives in Saudi Arabia and according to the neighbours few youths live here as tenants, said reports. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh has been put on high alert in view of the polling for 40 assembly seats in seven districts on Wednesday.

As per reports, Saifullah has been injured in the operation in which 20 commandos are involved.

Video | Blast in 59320 Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train in MP, 9 hurt | See pics inside

UP DGP Javeed Ahmed said the UP Police was trying to convince the person holed up in the house to surrender.

ALSO READ | MP top cop confirms Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train explosion as terrorist attack

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) gunned down IS terrorist Saifullah in 12hour encounter in the early morning hours of Wednesday.

As per the last reports coming in, out of 13 ISIS terrorists, six are still on the run. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams rushed to Bhopal and Lucknow to dots the link of ISIS terror module. The teams would also probe Bhopal-Ujjain train blast in the backdrop of Lucknow terror operations. It will interrogate the nabbed terrorists from Pipariya.

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist squad on Tuesday launched an extensive operation to nab the suspected terrorist holed up in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow. There are inputs that this terror suspect, identified as Saifullah, may have links with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast that took place earlier on Tuesday.

According to a Delhi Police special cell source, the suspect has been strongly linked to carrying out Bhopal-Ujjain train blast. The Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Police had reportedly received a tip off from South India about an ISIS module but the blast was carried out in the train even before the police could take any action.

Following the blast, the police arrested suspected ISIS terrorists from whom they received tip off about Saifullah, reports said.

Saifullah, hiding in a house in Kakori area, is alleged to have strong links with the ISIS, reports have said, adding, they might have planned a bigger terror attack like Mumbai.

Video | Blast in 59320 Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train in MP, 9 hurt | See pics inside

Dreaded terror group Islamic State appears to have perceptible footprints in Afghanistan-Pakistan region, a UN report has said.

The report said that ISIS continues to recruit from the troubled Afghanistan-Pakistan border region even as the terror outfit is struggling to hold onto their positions across West Asia.

The 19th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team about the terror group was submitted to the Security Council Sanctions Committee this week.

ALSO READ | MP top cop confirms Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train explosion as terrorist attack

The report noted that a UN Member State reported that ISIS had around 2,000 to 3,500 fighters overall in Afghanistan but that number had not fallen significantly despite heavy losses sustained in 2016.

According to inputs from Kerala and Telangana shared by Intelligence Bureau, more terrorists are suspected to be hiding in Lucknow and surrounding districts.

Several terrorists of ISIS module have been arrested from various states in India in the past but Saifullah is first to reportedly possess weapons like AK-47, which is why it is important for the security agencies to capture him alive. Catching him alive will help the security agencies get information about the sleeper cells of ISIS.

ALSO READ | Suspected ISIS terrorist hurt in encounter with ATS in Lucknow; chilli bomb used but suspect refuses to surrender

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Ocean View, Delaware, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



The research report Circuit Breakers Market Size, By Technology (Air, Vacuum, Oil, SF6), By Voltage Level (LV, MV, HV), By End-Use (Power Transmission, Power Distribution), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Peru), Application Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024 by Global Market Insights, Inc. says Circuit Breakers Market size is forecast to surpass USD 13.5 billion by 2024.

Growing demand for the modular and packaged substation primarily across commercial and industrial end users will stimulate the global circuit breakers market share during the forecast timeframe. In 2016, Qatar had awarded USD 12.4 million contract to Siemens for the supply of integrated E-House substations for Hamad Port megaproject.

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Development of numerous green corridors projects for exporting electricity generated from renewable energy sources to national grids will positively impact the industry landscape. In 2014, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) had announced the investment of over USD 7 billion to facilitate the integration of clean energy plants with the national and state grids.

Rising investments towards the renovation of conventional transmission grid infrastructure by utilities and other private participants will augment global circuit breakers market revenue. In 2015, Government of China announced a USD 315 billion investment towards the refurbishment of power grid infrastructure over the next five years. Rural electrification programs designed by countries including China, India, South Africa, and Nigeria will further influence the business outlook.

LV circuit breakers market was valued over USD 1 billion for 2015. Strong investment outlook towards deployment of new low voltage substations across remote areas will augment the industry size. SF6 is expected to witness significant growth of over 10%, owing to its high dielectric strength and efficient arc quenching properties.

Browse key industry insights spread across 150 pages with 232 market data tables & 11 figures & charts from this 2017 report Circuit Breakers Market in detail along with the table of contents at:

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U.S. circuit breakers market share is anticipated to expand over 7%. Government programs to enhance the safety of existing T&D grid infrastructure coupled with the deployment of new HVDC lines for long distance power transmission will augment the industry growth

For Europe circuit breakers market, UK 2015 revenue was in excess of USD 140 million. Investment for the development of new smart grid infrastructures will complement the industry outlook. China circuit breakers market looks set to exceed USD 2 billion by 2024. Numerous programs including China Township Electrification Program and China Village Electrification Program for providing renewable electricity to household consumers will enhance the countrys business landscape.

India circuit breakers market is expected to witness significant growth of over 8% over the forecast timeframe. Initiatives including One Nation, One Grid, One Price will enhance business size. 2015 Saudi Arabia revenue was over USD 100 million, rising demand for modular and packaged substations across the remote onshore oil and gas drilling areas will favor the industry demand.

Brazil circuit breakers market size is predicted to exceed USD 450 million by 2024. Integration renewable energy generation sources with the state and national grid will boost the demand over the forecast timeframe.

Key industry players in Circuit Breakers Market include GE Alstom, Powell Industries, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, BEL Fuse Inc., Schneider Electric, Toshiba, Siemens, Eaton Corporation, TE Connectivity and ABB.

Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/1172

Circuit breakers market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry with estimates & forecast in terms of revenue in USD Million from 2014 to 2024 , for the following segments:

Global Circuit Breakers Market, By Technology

Air

Vacuum

Oil

SF 6

Global Circuit Breakers Market, By Voltage Level

LV

MV

HV

Global Circuit Breakers Market, By End-Use

Power Transmission

Power Distribution

The above information is provided on a regional and country basis for the following :

North America US Canada Mexico

Europe UK France Germany Russia

Asia Pacific China India Japan South Korea Australia

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE South Africa

Latin America Brazil Argentina Peru



Browse Related Reports:

Power Transformer Market Size By Product (501 MVA to 800 MVA, 100 MVA to 500 MVA, 801 MVA to 1200 MVA), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook, Application Development Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2015  2022

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Power Transmission Components Market Size By Product (Transformers, Circuit Breakers, Isolators, Insulators, Arrestors, Transmission Lines , Transmission Towers), By Voltage Level (132 kV, 220 kV, 440 kV, 660 kV, 765 kV & above), By Current Level (HVDC, HVAC), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Peru), Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024

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About Global Market Insights

Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.

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New Delhi:

Poling ends in 40 seats of Uttar Pradesh state assembly spread over seven eastern districts, including five in Varanasi, bringing curtains down on the two month-long exercise staggered in seven phases.



The stake are highest in the final phase as Prime Minister Narendra Modis Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi goes to polls. While BJP is looking at reviving the magic and win of 2014 general elections, Samajwadi Party and Congress alliance hope to maintain the edge in the legislative assembly.



The three Naxal-affected districts of Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli, along with the five Assembly segments under Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, will be in prime focus in this phase. Tight security has been put in place in these districts.

Also Read: Assembly elections 2017 Live: Final phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur begins



A total of 1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, will exercise their franchise in the last phase.



14,458 polling booths have been set up in this phase.



In the 2012 state Assembly polls, out of these 40 seats, 23 went to SP, 5 to BSP, 4 to BJP, 3 to Congress and 5 to others.



The seven districts going to polls in this phase are Ghazipur, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Bhadoi and Sonebhadra.



In all, 535 candidates, including 40 (BSP), 32 (BJP), 31 (SP), 9 (Congress), 21 (RLD) and 5 (NCP) are in the fray in this phase.



While the maximum number of candidates (24) are from the Varanasi Cant seat, the minimum number of candidates (six) are contesting from Kerakat (SC).

Also Read: Manipur elections 2017: Its Sharmila vs Ibobi Singh in phase-II on Wednesday

The counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on .

Important details about UP Phase VII Elections



# Total Assembly Constituencies: 40



# Date of Polling: March 8 (Phase VII of VII)

# Total Electorate: 1.41 crore voters (including 64.76 lakh women)

# Number of Polling Stations: 14,458



# Major Parties:

- SP-Congress alliance

- BJP-Apna Dal

- BSP

-RLD

-NCP



#2012 Assembly Election Results:

- SP: 23 Seats

- BSP: 5 Seats

- BJP: 4 Seats

- Congress: 3 Seats

- Others: 5 Seats

Here is the LIVE COVERAGE:

#06:19 PM: Voter turnout of 60.03% recorded in 7th phase of polling in UP elections till 5 PM

#04:50 PM: Around 56 per cent voting till 4 PM in the last phase of #UPpolls.

#02:30 PM: Over 41 per cent voting till 2 PM in UPPolls phase-VII.

#12:35 PM: Over 26 per cent voting till 12 noon in the last phase.

#11:55 AM: 22.84 percent polling till 11 AM

#10:38 AM: BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote at booth number 76 of Varanasi North.

#10.24 AM: 65-year old woman dies before casting her vote at polling booth number 357 of Mughalsarai assembly constituency-ANI

#9:48 AM: Apna Dal leader & Union Minister Anupriya Patel casts her vote at polling booth no. 335 of Mirzapur, says "we will win all 40 seats".

Apna Dal leader & Union Minister Anupriya Patel casts her vote at polling booth no. 335 of Mirzapur, says "we will win all 40 seats". pic.twitter.com/Sfoma30RkZ  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

#9:35 AM: 11.97 per cent voting in PM Modi's Varanasi till 9 AM.

#8:57 AM: Congress leader Ajai Rai casts his vote at polling booth no. 389 of Varanasi South, says "7th phase is going to vote against 'Jumlebaazi'".

#8:22 AM: Voting begins at booths. 269 & 260 in Chandauli (Sakaldiha Assembly constituency) after one hour, technical glitch rectified.

#8:06 AM: People queue up at polling booth no. 68 in Varanasi North; BJP's Ravindra Jaiswal, BSP's Sujit Kumar Maurya contesting from the seat

#7:49 AM: People cast their vote at polling booth 127 in Mohammadabad, Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sibakatullah contesting from the seat as BSP candidate

#7:45 AM: Voting has not begun at polling booth number 240 in Mirzapur due to technical glitch in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)

#7:20 AM: Voters queue up at polling booths 176,177,178 in Mirzapur to cast their vote in the last phase of Uttar Pradesh elections.

# 7:00 AM: Voting begins in UP for 40 assembly seats in 7th and the final phase of elections.



Campaign blitzkrieg: Of roadshows, rallies and press conferences



March 4-6 saw the most intense campaign of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. A highly-charged final phase of campaigning for the Uttar Pradesh polls witnessed the show of strength by the BJP, the SP-Congress combine and the BSP in PM Narendra Modi's Varanasi constituency taking centre stage where he camped for three days.



Over the course of three days, the Prime Minister visited temples, held a roadshow and attended a number of public events in the holy city along with several rallies in the region, in the final push by the BJP to reach out to voters.



Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi also matched it with their own campaign blitz in the region.



Joined by Akhilesh's wife Dimple, the two leaders held a roadshow, hours after Modi arrived in the city and paid obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath and Kal Bhairav temples with much fanfare.



BSP chief Mayawati, who is seeking a fifth term as Chief Minister, also addressed a rally in Rohaniya, around 20 km from Varanasi the same day.



A galaxy of BJP veterans and Union ministers also made a beeline to Varanasi towards the fag end of electioneering, making the poll atmosphere highly charged.



Leading BJP's campaign from the front, Modi mocked Akhilesh and Rahul as "delicate" people incapable of taking hard decisions while pitching himself as a grassroots leader who can bring development to the 'Purvanchal' region and the state.



Modi said the SP and the BSP are two sides of the same coin -- the former being A (Akhilesh) SP and the latter B (Bahujan) SP.



Taking potshots at the Congress over its run of losses in the recent polls, he said one day research would have be done to find out if it ever existed, as it is "disappearing from everywhere."



During his election rally in Sonbhadra towards the end of the campaign, Akhilesh ridiculed Modi's roadshows saying these were bound to fail like the earlier ones and would lead the PM "somewhere else."



"A roadshow was held...it failed. He is doing one more...it too will fail and then again a roadshow will be held...Now he will go somewhere else by doing his roadshow," he said at a rally in Varanasi.



Rahul, in his address, alleged that Modi has waived loans worth Rs 1.40 lakh crore owed by 50 rich people but refused to write off Rs 50,000 crore due of poor farmers.



At her rally, Mayawati claimed the people at Modi's roadshow were "mere spectators" brought from neighbouring states like Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.



She said the joint roadshow by Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi reflected they had "reconciled to defeat" and added that prayers being offered at temples and shrines "will be of no avail".



Modi on wrapped up his hectic campaign with a rally at Rohaniya, where he made an impassioned plea to voters to defeat SP-Congress combine and BSP, blaming these parties for the plight of Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh, meanwhile lined up 13 rallies on the last day of campaigning.



The blitzkrieg is over. The counting for all state assembly elections held in last two months will be held on .



(With inputs from PTI)
Berlin/New Delhi:

Qatar Airways plans to set up an airline in India along with the Gulf nations sovereign wealth fund, its chief executive Akbar Al Baker said on Wednesday.

This will be the first of its kind airline venture in India that would be fully-owned by overseas entities and the proposal comes nearly nine months after the Indian government allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the airlines segment.

Qatar Airways, which is among the top three Gulf carriers, has been exploring investment opportunities in the fast-growing Indian aviation market.

We are joining hands with the investment arm of State of Qatar to start a domestic airline in India with a 100 per cent investment, Al Baker said at a press meet in Berlin.

We are doing this because Indian government has opened up the foreign direct investment in (setting up) an airline in India, he added.

While announcing the plan, Al Baker said it is yet to apply to the Indian government.

Last June, India allowed foreign investorsbarring overseas airlinesto own up to 100 per cent stake in local carriers by liberalising FDI regulations.

Currently, foreign airlines are allowed to invest only up to 49 per cent in Indian carriers.

However, the revised norms provide room for overseas airlines to partner with a foreign non-airline player to set up a 100 per cent foreign-owned carrier in India.

While the FDI norms have been relaxed, the government is yet to amend the regulations with respect to Air Operator Permit (AOP).

At present, AOP is granted only to an airline where substantial ownership is with Indian entities.

On several occasions earlier, Qatar Airwayswhich operates a significant number of flights from India to Qatars capital city Dohahad explored the possibility of buying stake in Indian budget carrier IndiGo.
New Delhi:

Delhi police have arrested the driver of Mercedes in hit and run case which claimed the life of a 17- year old boy. The accused Savneet Singh, a businessman of West Delhi area was on his way home when the incident occurred.



A 17-year-old boy died after his scooty was hit by a vehicle in outer Delhi's Mianwali area, police said on Monday. The incident occurred last night around 10.30 PM when the victim, Atul, was on his way home, they said.

Atul was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead, also he wasn't wearing a helmet while driving.

Also Read: 17-year-old killed by speeding Mercedes in Delhi's Paschim Vihar
New Delhi:

Ranbir Kapoor, who is busy with his Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt's upcoming biopic, might go behind the bars now. According to the media reports, the young actor will go to jail for a week to get a first-hand experience for Dutt's biopic.

Ranbir, who will be portraying Sanjay Dutt in the movie, is putting in every single effort to give the movie his best shot.

He has not just put in 13 kgs of weight but is also seen building up a physique like the 'Khalnayak' actor.

In order to give his performance a real touch, RK is planning to spend a week in a prison, to get an experience about how Sanjay Dutt spent years behind the bars.

Also Read | Revealed: Ranbir Kapoor, Paresh Rawal's look from Sanjay Dutt's biopic (see pics)

Sanjay Dutt has spent years in Punes Yerwada Jail while serving the sentence for possession of illegal arms.

In fact, if the reports are to be believed, Ranbir has even got in touch with Bhopal police authorities to get the permission to stay in jail for a week.

While News Nation independently couldn't verify the authenticity of these reports, but if it turned out to be true, it will indeed be a major step by Ranbir Kapoor depicting his sheer dedication towards Dutt's biopic.

Talking about Sanjay Dutt's biopic, the movie will focus on the actor's entire life, his jail term, love affairs and Bolylwood journey too.

Interestingly, the movie will also feature the original scene of Dutt's release from Yerwada Jail in February 2016.

Apart from Ranbir, Dutt's biopic will also feature Paresh Rawal, Sonam Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Anushka Sharma and Manisha Koirala in key roles.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Television actor Karanvir Bohra is thanking his lucky stars has he had a narrow escape from near fatal accident.

The accident took place while the actor was on his way to Bhuj on Tuesday for his upcoming movie 'Hume Tumse Pyaar Kitna'.

Reportedly, Bohra was accompanied by his sister Meenakshi and co-star Priya Banerjee and the three suffered minor injuries.

According to the media reports, the team has cancelled the shoot in Bhuj and headed back to Mumbai after the accident.

Talking about his miraculous escape for the fatal accident, Karanvir Bohra, told a leading daily, With the grace of God there are no injuries except for a slight back pain due to the sudden jerk. A speeding truck was coming from the wrong side and we managed to swerve to the right on to the pavement in an attempt to avoid the truck and hit a lamppost. The speed of the car was roughly 90-95 kms/hr, as I had asked my driver to not drive above 100kms/hr.

Also Read: Naagin 2 actress Aashka Goradia gets engaged to her American boyfriend Brent Goble

Maybe for 50 meters we kept driving on the pavement. The car is completely smashed and its a miracle we survived. We were actually going to shoot just the title track of the movie and that is all that is left for the film to complete, Karan added.

Bohra, who is currently seen on Colors' popular daily soap 'Naagin 2', even shared a video on Instagram thanking his fans for their best wishes.

In the caption he wrote, "Thank you for all your wishes....@priyabanerjee @shivangibohra and my driver all are fine and in one piece. Is only god's grace how the car to the entire impact on itself....really thankful to my soldier of a car @nissan #sunny This is the second time this car has taken such an impact My only advice to all the young drivers out there that please don't drive at night. We may be great drivers, but we cat be sure of the other person. In any case, we in India don't follow any rules, so please take precaution. God bless and thank his grace. Om namo shivaya".

Apart from his work commitments, Karanvir Bohra is busy taking care of his two daughters along with wife Teejay Sidhu. The couple became parents for the first time in October 2016.
New Delhi:

The voting for last phase of election is presently underway in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. In seventh and last phase of election, voting is going on in 40 seats of seven districts in the state. Elections were conducted in seven phases on 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Political parties are leaving no stone unturned in the important UP elections. Their seriousness towards UP elections can be made out from the fact that political leaders have addressed 336 rallies in total.

UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has addressed a total of 211 rallies which is maximum for a political leader. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is at second spot with 55 rallies. BSP supremo Mayawati has addressed 51 rallies for UP assembly elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was very active with 31 rallies during Bihar assembly polls, was behind Akhilesh, Rahul and Mayawati in UP elections. He was at number four in total number of rallies in UP polls.

Akhilesh Yadav remained as the sole super star campaigner for Samajwadi Party. He addressed 211 public gatherings in Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh even addressed three to seven rallies in a single day and also participated in roadshow. Mulayam Singh Yadav only addressed four rallies whereas Shivpal confined himself to his area.

Rahul Gandhi who is at second spot has addressed 55 public gatherings and also participated in roadshows. It was for the first time that Sonia Gandhi has not addressed a rally. Priyanka Gandhi has addressed only two public gatherings.

Mayawati has addressed 51 public gatherings and hence she is at number 3 spot. BSP General Secretary Satish Mishra and Nasimuddin Siddiqui was not behind in addressing public gatherings.

PM Narendra Modi was not successful in breaking his own record of addressing rallies. Despite living in his constituency Varanasi for three consecutive days, PM Modi has only addressed 24 rallies in the state. PM Modi has started his campaign from Meerut on January 4. He addressed rallies in Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Bijnor, Badayun, Lakhimpur Khiri, Kannauj, Hardoi, Barabanki, Fatehpur, Urai, Allahabad, Gonda, Bahraich, Basti and Mau

Prime Minister has addressed most number of rallies in Awadh region at Khiri, Hardoi, Barabanki, Gonda and Bahraich.

PM Modi has addressed rally in Mirzapur on March 3. He addressed rally in Jaunpur and participated in roadshow in Varanasi on March 4. PM Modi also addressed rally in Varanasi and Rohania on March 5 and 6.

During the campaign for seventh phase, PM Modi stayed in Varanasi for more than three days. As a Prime Minister, he made record for spending most amount of time during elections.

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New Delhi:

To promote the national capital as a destination for film shooting, the Delhi government on Wednesday proposed introduction of a single window clearance mechanism for completion of all formalities under one roof.

The government is planning to bring in a system so that legal formalities to shoot in the city can be completed by visiting only one government office.

A smooth system is being developed for granting permission to film producers and to provide them with consolidated information for shooting and to make film shooting a hassle-free experience, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said while presenting the annual budget.

It remains to be seen whether the government will initiate a move to include all stakeholders under the single window clearance mechanism.

For shooting in monuments in the national capital and Lutyens Delhi, filmmakers have to apply for permission from the Archaeological Survey of India and the New Delhi Municipal Council respectively, that do not come under the Delhi government.

Filmmakers also need to procure a no-objection certificate from Delhi Police, which comes under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is a film buff and regularly praises films on his Twitter handle.

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New Delhi:

The 'Khorasan Project' has been a long-lived dream of the dreaded Islamic State (IS). The project is intended to expand group's footprints in areas comprising Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India.



Details emerging in the aftermath of 's encounter in Lucknows Thakurganj reveal that the suspect named Saifullah was a devout member of the Kanpur-Lucknow unit of IS's Khorasan module.



When the UP ATS sleuths stormed the Thakurganj hideout of Saifullah after hours of gunfight, they were shocked to know that the operative was heavily-armed with a clear set of guidelines laid out for an active member of such groups.

Read | Lucknow encounter Live: UP ATS looks for ISIS chief of Hindi belt Atif Muzaffar after neutralising Saifullah



The group had meticulously planned its expansion in India by handpicking self-radicalised youths who had pledge their alliance to its leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.



And, six of the suspect nabbed by the UP and MP Police were playing their part actively on social media platforms. They were in regular touch with their handlers hiding at some undisclosed location in Syria.



Role of Shafi Armar



Security agencies discribe Shafi Armar, the self-appointed emif or Junud-al-Khalifa-e- Hind (Soldiers of Indian Caliphate) and Abu Sulemain as the chief recruiters and motivators of the Islamic State.



Amrar was earlier associated with Indian Mujahideen. He joined IS after fleeing the country. He finally settled down in Syria's Raqqa, IS's self-declared Capital.



His brother Sultan too joined the group but was killed in a drone strike.

Read | Lucknow enconuter shows ISIS's plans to expand its footprints in India



The security agencies were closely monitoring his encrypted chats with his Indian followers.



According to reports, the module receives its motivational dose by visiting ISIS links on social media platforms but none of them had stepped out of India or expressed their intention to fight jihad in Syria or Iraq.

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PTI:

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Wednesday sat on hunger strike along with his supporters demanding CBI probe into former Tamil Nadu CM and former party general secretary Jayalalithaas demise.

A few days back, Panneerselvam had questioned the treatment being given to Jayalalithaa and had revealed that they were planning to take ailing party supremo to abroad for the same.

While talking to reporters at his residence, he had said a few doubts coerced him and he decided to go against party general secretary V K Sasikala.

He had alleged that he had a conversation with leaders to take Amma to US or UK for treatment, but the permission was not given.

Panneerselvam and supporters stage a hunger strike at Chennai's Rajarathinam Stadium, demanding CBI probe into Jayalalithaa's death pic.twitter.com/Mis6yEwCmt





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New Delhi:

The government has voiced concern over the delayed progress in setting up of medical colleges in the country with only five of the proposed 58 colleges coming up in the last three years.

In a recent meeting, the Union Health Ministry has directed 19 states and a Union territory, where these medical colleges will come up, to expedite the work.

The Centre had in 2014 announced its plans to set up 58 government medical colleges in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Bihar by December 2018.

These 58 colleges are being set up in northern and northeastern states which have inadequate number of government medical colleges despite some of the states being densely populated.

There are only 16 government medical colleges in a geographically large state like Uttar Pradesh while states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have only eight and six colleges, respectively, a health ministry official said.

Northeastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tripura have 2, 1, 1 and 2 government medical colleges, respectively.

It is a matter of concern that only five of the planned 58 medical colleges have come up so far. Of these, two are in Chhattisgarh and one each in Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the official said.

The Centre has already released Rs 1,500 crore fund of the total allocation of Rs 7,500 crore.

The ministry reviewed the progress of construction of the colleges in a meeting held last month. In around 10-12 cases, the ground work has not yet started while construction of around 30 medical institutes are in different phases, the official said.

According to the official, southern states have more government medical colleges than northern parts of India, with Tamil Nadu topping the list with 24 medical colleges, followed by Karnataka 18, Andhra Pradesh 12 and Kerala nine colleges.

Maharashtra has 22 medical colleges.

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KENNETT SQUARE, Pa., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genesis HealthCare today announced that George V. Hager, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, and Tom DiVittorio, Chief Financial Officer, are scheduled to host a fireside chat at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference on Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference is being held at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, FL.



A live webcast and replay of the Companys fireside chat will be available on the Companys website at www.genesishcc.com/investor-relations.

About Genesis HealthCare

Genesis HealthCare (NYSE:GEN) is a holding company with subsidiaries that, on a combined basis, comprise one of the nations largest post-acute care providers with approximately 500 skilled nursing centers and assisted/senior living communities in 34 states nationwide. Genesis subsidiaries also supply rehabilitation and respiratory therapy to approximately 1,700 healthcare providers in 45 states and the District of Columbia. References made in this release to Genesis, the Company, we, us and our refer to Genesis Healthcare, Inc. and each of its wholly-owned companies. Visit our website at www.genesishcc.com.




New Delhi:

Voting is underway in the final phase of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday while in Manipur, the polling ended at 3pm. In this phase, polling is held to elect 40 members of Uttar Pradesh Assembly and 22 seats of Manipur state assembly. The counting will take place on March 11.

The highlight of the acrimonious campaign for the March 8 polls for 40 seats in eastern Uttar Pradesh was the show of strength by the BJP, the SP-Congress combine and the BSP in PM Narendra Modis Varanasi constituency where he camped for three days.

Manipur will see polling in 22 seats across five districts in its second and final phase, where the fate of almost all the big names in the north east states politicsincluding Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Deputy CM Gaikhangam and human rights activist-turned-politician Irom Chanu Sharmila will be decided.

Full Coverage: Voting for Phase 7 begins in Uttar Pradesh

Full Coverage: Voting for Phase 2 begins in Manipur

LIVE COVERAGE

#04:50 PM

Around 56 per cent voting till 4 PM in the last phase of #UPpolls.

#3pm

Polling ends in Manipur for final phase of assembly elections- ANI

#2:34pm

Voter turnout of 78% recorded in Manipur till 2pm - ANI

#2.30pm

Over 41% voting in UP till 2pm, Manipur records 67% polling till 1pm- PTI

#1.31pm

Around 67% polling recorded till 1pm in Manipur-ANI

#12.36pm

Farmers in UP's Mirzapur boycott voting at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly segment alleging lack of irrigation facilities and development- ANI

#11.30am

22.84% voting recorded in Uttar Pradesh till 11am, 45% polling in Manipur-ANI

#11:24am

45% Voter turnout recorded till 11 AM in Manipur - ANI

#10.44am

BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote at booth number 76 of Varanasi North-ANI

#10.24am

65-year old woman dies before casting her vote at polling booth number 357 of Mughalsarai assembly constituency-ANI

#10.05am

10.43% voter turnout recorded in UP till 9am, 21% polling in Manipur-ANI

#9.55am

Apna Dal leader and Union minister Anupriya Patel casts her vote in Mirzaupr-ANI

Apna Dal leader & Union Minister Anupriya Patel casts her vote at polling booth no. 335 of Mirzapur, says "we will win all 40 seats". pic.twitter.com/Sfoma30RkZ  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

#7:58 AM

People cast their vote at polling booth 127 in Mohammadabad, Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sibakatullah contesting from the seat as BSP candidate

#7:40 AM

Final phase polling begins for assembly elections in Manipur covering 22 constituencies, CM Okram Ibobi Singh casts his vote.

#7.30 AM

Polling underway for 40 seats in final phase of UP elections, and remaining 22 constituencies in Manipur assembly

People cast their vote at polling booth 378 in Mohammadabad, Mukhtar Ansari's brother Sibakatullah contesting from the seat as BSP candidate pic.twitter.com/ERo4y4xOhU  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

#7:00 AM

Polling begins for 40 seats in final phase of UP elections, and remaining 22 constituencies in Manipur assembly

The high-stake campaign in Uttar Pradesh

In Uttar Pradesh, the Prime Minister visited temples, held a roadshow and attended a number of public events in the holy city along with several rallies in the region, in the final push by the BJP to reach out to voters ahead of the seventh and last phase.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi also matched it with their own campaign blitz in the region. Joined by Akhileshs wife Dimple, the two leaders held a roadshow, hours after Modi arrived in the city and paid obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath and Kal Bhairav temples with much fanfare.

BSP chief Mayawati, who is seeking a fifth term as Chief Minister, also addressed a rally in Rohaniya, around 20 km from Varanasi the same day.

A galaxy of BJP veterans and Union ministers also made a beeline to Varanasi towards the fag end of electioneering, making the poll atmosphere highly charged.

Manipur: Its incumbent Congress vs BJP vs activist Irom Sharmila

The poll in Manipur this time is billed as a major test for the 15-year-old Congress regime which is facing a stiff challenge from the BJP.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has not been keeping well, did not campaign in the state. The task of spearheading the Congress campaign was left to party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who addressed a rally in Imphal on February 28.

BJP held rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 25 and by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on February 19 in Imphal.

Sharmila, who fasted for 16 years for repealing the AFSPA from the state, is in the election fray for the first time and is pitted against Ibobi Singh himself in Thoubal constituency.

After the final phase of the polling on March 8, all eyes will be riveted on March 11 when results of elections in all five states, dubbed as a litmus test for the Narendra Modi government, will be declared.

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New Delhi:

Uttar Pradesh Polices ADG on law and order addressed media on Wednesday and gave the details about Lucknow encounter in which 24-year-old Saifullah was killed.

Speaking about the 12-hour long battle that gunned down Saifullah, Daljit Chaudhary said, They were not provided any external financial aid and were mostly self-radicalised. Atif Muzaffar who was arrested from Madhya Pradesh was helming the ISIS module, he added.

ALSO READ | From 4am walk to 8.30pm food: Here's the daily schedule slain ISIS terrorist Saifullah used to follow before being killed in Lucknow encounter

Here are the Live updates:

We have no such evidence yet of any #ISIS link: Daljit Chaudhary,ADG on #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/kMHQuifJIr  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

45 grams gold and foreign currency also recovered: Daljit Chaudhary,ADG on #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/geUfbYmwxc  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

8 pistols, more than 600 cartridges, bomb making instruments, pellets,timers,wires etc recovered: Daljit Chaudhary,ADG on #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/I3QWuzjzGw  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

#3:30 PM

If it can happen on election eve,where can it not?Situation is so serious that neither PM nor HM has control of things-Chacko #LucknowAttack pic.twitter.com/4gO2TW4MrO  ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017





#WATCH: Sartaj, father of Saifulla says,"Ye desh-hitt mein nahi tha hum usse naraz hain,aise deshdrohi ki laash nahi lenge" #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/bGMxHlokJM

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

The family members of slain ISIS terror accused Saifullah have refused to accept the body of their 24-year-old son who was killed in an encounter carried out by UP Police and Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) in wee hours of Wednesday.

This was not in country's interest. We will not accept the body of an anti-national, said Sartaj, Saifullas father. Everyone is shocked. He was well behaved; he performed Namaz five times, we didnt expect this, said another relative of Saifulla.

The search operation was carried out by ATS, moments after a blast took place in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train which left nine people injured. Saifullah was killed after a long 12-hour fierce battle.

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan congratulated the officials for nabbing the terrorists and said that a timer was used for the blast in train.

Everyone is shocked.He was well behaved;performed Namaz 5 times. We did not expect this: Relative of Saifulla killed in #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/uVXeZu8q7j  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

He also stressed that the paraphernalia recovered from the terrorists showed ISIS links.

ALSO READ | What Lucknow terror encounter tells us about ISIS' long-lived Khorasan dream

The police have nabbed two other suspects. We will investigate all the suspects we have nabbed, all agencies are working together, said Daljeet Chaudhary, ADG, Law and Order. There were total 13 suspects, 1 was killed out of which 6 are still on the run, according to reports.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL COVERAGE

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Lucknow:

Alarming the nation by making its official presence, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) gunned down the IS terrorist Saifullah in 12 hour encounter in the wee hours of Wednesday. Out of 13 ISIS terrorists, six are still on the run. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams have reached to Bhopal and Lucknow to dots the link of ISIS terror module. The teams would also probe Bhopal-Ujjain train blast in the backdrop of Lucknow encounter. It will interrogate the nabbed terrorists from Pipariya.

Even, the villagers in Unnao claimed that they have seen two armed people in their locality. They have informed the police officials about the same.

On the other hand, Saifullah's father, Sartaj, has refused to take his body for last rites. Sartaj said that he had beaten Saifullah a couple of months back for not doing job, and Saifullah informed him last Monday that he had no plans to leave for Saudi Arabia. Saifullah's father added that he would not take his body as it will not be in national interest. A close relative said that he was shocked to know about the encounter as Saifullah was well-behaved and performed five times Namaz.

This was not in country's interest. We will not accept the body of an anti-national: Sartaj, father of Saifulla killed in #LucknowTerrorOp pic.twitter.com/WxKiyKnee4  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

Uttar Pradesh DGP Javeed Ahmed visited chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's official residence to brief him on the terror operations.

#LucknowTerrorOp DGP UP Javeed Ahmed reaches 5 Kalidas Marg to meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. pic.twitter.com/WFYmCiIW3u  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

The Uttar Pradesh police will conduct more search operations on Wednesday and it could apprehend more people in connection with the encounter.

It was an eye-opener for the police officials as they found that Saifullah was running the outfit from Lucknow which was inspired by self-radicalised group ISIS and owing allegiance to its elusive leader Baghdadi. As per reports, ISIS chief of Hindi region, Atif Muzaffar alias Al-Qasim is still absconding. it is said that he was planning to attack Barabanki's Deva Sharif shrine and others. Some media reports suggested that he was arrested by the police and one of the six members held in Pipariya.

It was discovered that six suspects, who were nabbed in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, were active on social media and were in regular touch with ISIS handlers.

Also Read: Are ISIS sleeper cells increasing in India? Suspected terrorists nabbed in Hoshangabad, Kanpur, Lucknow had 'some big plans', say reports

The police accessed their chats and it was found that the perpetrators were used to deceive investigators like in previous cases. Madhya Pradesh home minister Bhupendra Singh said that a high-level probe is being carried out in the matter.

The suspects got indoctrinated by regularly visiting ISIS link social media sites and none of them had ever stepped out of India.

Here are the Live updates-

# 01:59 PM

Everyone is shocked.He was well behaved; performed Namaz 5 times. We did not expect this: Relative of Saifulla-ANI

#01:55 PM

We will investigate all the suspects we have nabbed; all agencies are working together: Daljeet Chaudhary, ADG, Law&Order-ANI

#01:42 PM

Danish also my son;he left home as I scolded hm fr nt working-Father of terror suspect Danish arrested in MP&Imran,Faisal arrested in Kanpur-ANI

# 01:40 PM

Accusations false. Faisal took care of a shop & Imran is married has a daughter: Father of terror suspects Imran & Faisal arrested in Kanpur-ANI

# 01:15 PM

Paraphernalia shows terrorists' links with ISIS,they sent a photo to handler via social media;came frm Lucnkow-MP CM-ANI

#01:11 PM

Timer was used; terrorists nabbed;congratulate officials,was possible due to coordination of Police & ATS-MP CM on Bhopal-Ujjain train blast-ANI



#12:02 PM

Cache of arms recovered in Kasganj during combing operations-ANI

#11: 39 PM

ATS UP sealed Lucknow terror Operations site-ANI

#11:14 PM

DGP UP Javeed Ahmed reaches 5 Kalidas Marg to meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. -ANI

#10:32 PM

Lucknow: NIA team reaches Lucknow terror operation site.-ANI

#10:23 PM

NIA team reaches Bhopal for investigating Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train explosion that took place on Tuesday-ANI

#9:32 PM

8 pistols,650 rounds of ammo,50 fired rounds, explosives materials, gold,cash, passports&SIM cards recovered.Tracking 2 more persons: IG ATS UP

#9:11 PM

Three persons have been apprehended from Kanpur and nearby area: DGP UP Javeed Ahmad



#8:32 AM

UP DGP Javed Ahmed reached at encounter site

The police officials are investigating that how these suspects of two states, ie UP and MP met and planned the attack. It is being said that possibly that they met in an online chat room.

Successful end to a major anti terror op in Lko. Imp arrests in Knr. Great work by UP ATS. Good example of intr agency cooperation.  Javeed (@javeeddgpup) March 8, 2017

On Tuesday, the bomb that went off in Bhopal-Ujjain train was standard explosive using metal pipe and locally procured urea to make a bomb. The Forensic examination will reveal the true contents.

IS plans strategy via chat site

Shafi Amrar , a self-appointed emir of Junud Al Khalifa e Hind (soldiers of Indian Caliphate) and Abu Sulemain, are chief recruiters or 'motivators' for ISIS.

Amrar, a fugitive, was first associated with IM and then joined ISIS. Sultan Amrar, his elder brother, too had joined ISIS but was killed in a drone strike. Amrar is based in Raqqa, Syria.

In past NIA has seen Shafi Amrar recruiting motivating people to join ISIS. He is active in posting literature and material in support of IS. Unconfirmed reports say Shafi too died in a drone strike in April 16.

#LucknowTerrorOp Exclusive pics of suspected ISIS terrorist's room in Thakurganj @NewsNationTV | Log on to https://t.co/9MCvrWc9kG for more pic.twitter.com/nGLS1tErNb  Pratyush Ranjan (@pratyush_ranjan) March 8, 2017

Click here to know what happened on Tuesday in Lucknow's Thakurganj

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Ahemdabad:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Somnath Temple in Gujarat's Gir-Somnath district this morning and offered prayers. Modi, who is one of the trustees of the Somnath Temple Trust, performed 'Jalabhishek' to offer his respects to Lord Shiva amid chants by the temple priests.

He was accompanied by trust Chairman Keshubhai Patel and BJP national president Amit Shah, who is also one of the trustees, during the puja which went on for nearly 15 minutes.

The PM along with Patel and Shah then headed to the temple's office to attend a meeting of the trust.

Modi is on a two-day visit to Gujarat since Tuesday. He had dedicated ONGC Petro additions Ltd's (OPaL) Rs 30,000 crore plant to the nation at Dahej Special Economic Zone on Tuesday.

He had also unveiled a plaque to dedicate to the nation a four-lane cable-stayed (extradosed) bridge over river Narmada in Bharuch district.

Also Read: Lucknow encouter Live: After Saifullah's death, UP ATS says ISIS module had 13 terrorists; 6 still absconding

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New Delhi:

Twitter is buzzing with news alerts from India and rest of the world. Here are the latest updates from the micro-blogging site in one scroll:

#10:37 PM

Kansas Governor writes to PM Modi, expresses regret at the incident: MEA Spokesperson - ANI

#09:23 PM

All of us should be united & ready to face the onslaught of ISIS. Such tricks are being used by our neighbour: V Naidu on #LucknowTerrorOp - ANI

#09:21 PM

Our neighbour is aiding, abetting, training, funding terrorism. India has to be alert: Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on #LucknowTerrorOp - ANI

#09:05 PM

SKODA warranty states that manufacturer is not responsible for any aftermarket fitments to the vehicle:Skoda on Ludhiana incident - ANI

#09:04 PM

The car specifications have been altered by the customer which has led to invalidating the SKODA warranty: Skoda statement - ANI

#08:59 PM

Virat Kohli receives the Polly Umrigar award from former Indian cricketer Farokh Engineer - ANI

#08:55 PM

No obstruction in services at booking counters at New Delhi, Old Delhi & Nizamuddin railway stations on March 13 #Holi - PTI

#08:54 PM

All #railway booking counters will resume service from 2 PM till 10 PM on March 13 #Holi - PTI

#08:53 PM

Majority of #railway booking counters under Northern Region, including in Delhi, to remain closed from 8 AM - 2 PM on March 13 #Holi - PTI

#08:53 PM

Sri Lanka & India agree to release fishermen held in each other's custody after a high-level discussion post killing of an Indian fisherman - PTI

#08:49 PM

J&K: Divisional Administration issued an avalanche warning for next 24-hours for avalanche prone areas of Kashmir Valley and Kargil district - ANI

#08:36 PM

Government makes Aadhaar must for availing crop insurance policies from kharif sowing season onwards. - PTI

#08:30 PM

We have more than 10 crore small or Jan Dhan accounts.To manage this huge number, there is a cost:SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya - ANI

#08:16 PM

ICC says it will not be taking any action against Virat Kohli and Steve Smith

#07:07 PM

Even when husband and wife go for shopping, man spends money as he chooses, but wife spends what the husband allows her: JS Khehar, CJI - ANI

#07:05 PM

Birth of a son is celebrated in the family, but birth of a daughter is not seen as jubilant JS Khehar, CJI - ANI

#06:55 PM

1700gm gold worth a49 lakh seized in 3cases at Delhi Airport;in one case gold recovered frm passenger's sandals&from one's rectum in another - ANI

#06:44 PM

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback writes to PM Narendra Modi, expresses profound regret at terrible act of violence agnst #Indians. - PTI

#06:38 PM

Imphal: Blast near Kasturi Bridge in Imphal Bazar at 6.15pm; 8 injured out of which 2 are critical -ANI

#06:32 PM

Shiv Sena's Hemangi Worlikar elected BMC Deputy Mayor with 166 votes. - ANI

#06:18 PM

UK budget sharply hikes 2017 economic growth forecast - AFP

#06:14 PM

Three terror suspects arrested from Pipariya (MP) yesterday have been sent to Police remand till 23 March by local court. - ANI

#06:06 PM

NGT warns officials appearing in matters related to river Ganga cleaning of strict consequences if they try to pass the buck on others - ANI

#06:03 PM

Gujarat: Minor disruption at Swachh Shakti 2017 in Gandhinagar as a woman sarpanch from UP who tried to meet PM Modi was stopped by security

#06:00 PM

Indian Coast Guard apprehends 10 Sri Lankan fishermen & 2 boats, 50 miles South East of Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu) - ANI

#05:45 PM

45 grams gold and foreign currency also recovered: Daljit Chaudhary, ADG on Lucknow Terror Operation - ANI Read More

#05:35 PM

8 pistols, more than 600 cartridges, bomb making instruments, pellets, timers, wires etc recovered: Daljit Chaudhary, ADG on Lucknow Terror Operation - ANI



#05:30 PM

Voting for seventh phase of Uttar Pradesh elections ends - ANI

#05:20 PM

Hyderabad : CBI arrests a Superintendent of Central Excise from Basheerbagh, & a private person in alleged bribery case of Rs.4 lakh. - ANI

#05:18 PM

PM Narendra Modi announces scheme for giving loans up to Rs 1 crore to small & marginal fishermen for buying modern boats. - PTI

#04:58 PM

NIA hands Faisal Awan & Ahsan Khursheed over to Jammu-based army corps to facilitate handing over to Pakistan: NIA spokesperson. - PTI

#04:53 PM

Congress protests in Raipur, Chattisgarh demanding shutting down of liquor shops on state highways. - ANI

#04:52 PM

4 #Naxals killed in gunbattle with security forces in jungles of #Gaya district of Bihar. - PTI

#04:48 PM

Around 56 pc voting till 4 PM in last phase of #UPpolls. - PTI

For more details read: Assembly elections 2017 Live: Final phase of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur begins



#04:38 PM

Ajmer blast case: Swami Aseemanand acquitted, three people found guilty - ANI

#04:31 PM

Requested ICC to take cognizance of fact that Steve Smith in his press conference admitted to brain fade at that moment:BCCI - ANI

#04:30 PM

Kohlis action was supported by Umpire Nigel Llong who rushed to dissuade Steve Smith from taking recourse to inappropriate assistance: BCCI - ANI

#04:29 PM

Mr. Virat Kohli is a mature and seasoned cricketer and his conduct on the field has been exemplary: BCCI - ANI

#04:28 PM

After due deliberation and seeing the video replays, we steadfastly stand with the Indian Cricket Team and Captain Virat Kohli: BCCI - ANI

#04:19 PM

Delhi Police files forensic report in case of RK Pachauri, who has been accused of sexual harassment. Next date of hearing is 14 July. - ANI

#04:15 PM

'Germany must decide if Turkey is a friend or not': Cavusoglu - AFP

#04:15 PM

INLD leader Ajay Chautala's DA matter: Decision on transfer of case to another judge deferred till 15 March by a Delhi court. - ANI

#04:02 PM

Jammu & Kashmir: Heavy rainfall, hailstorms hits Udhampur - ANI

#03:54 PM

Gandhiji also said cleanliness is more important than political freedom. You can imagine the commitment he had towards cleanliness: PM - ANI

#03:53 PM

2019 we will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He always said India lives in the villages: PM Modi - ANI

#03:52 PM

Faisal Awan & Ahsan Khursheed, arrested by NIA for terror attack at Uri Brigade Hqrs on Sep 18,2016 have been released, as NIA found no evidence - ANI

#03:44 PM

ShivSena's Vishwanath Mahadeshwar elected as Mayor of Mumbai

#03:38 PM

PM Narendra Modi gives away Swachh Shakti 2017 awards at a conclave of women Sarpanchs in Gandhinagar, Gujarat - ANI



#02:44 PM

Killing of Indian fisherman by SL Navy a grave human rights violation; strong feeling Centre nt forthcoming to protect them: Stalin to EAM - ANI

#02:25 PM

South Korea's highest court says it will rule on impeached president's fate on Friday. - ANI

#01:54 PM

Gaya(Bihar): Security forces eliminated four Naxals and recovered four weapons in Baskatwa area. - ANI

#01:34 PM

Reject any commentary tht suggests our integrity was brought into disrepute or systemic unfair tactics are used:J Sutherland,CEO,Cricket Aus - ANI

#01:24 PM

Voter turnout of 67% recorded till 1 pm in second & final phase of voting in #ManipurElection2017 - ANI

#01:20 PM

Interior Ministry spokesman says fighting still on b/w security forces & attackers at hospital in Kabul, reports TOLO news - ANI

#01:17 PM

Finance Ministry to move Cabinet for approval of GST Laws (CGST, IGST & SGST) on 22 March: Finance Ministry Sources - ANI

#01:14 PM

Paraphernalia shows terrorists' links with ISIS,they sent a photo to handler via social media;came frm Lucnkow-MP CM #BhopalUjjainTrainBlast - ANI

#01:13 PM

Timer was used; terrorists nabbed;congratulate officials,was possible due to coordination of Police & ATS-MP CM on Bhopal-Ujjain train blast - ANI

#01:09 PM

Australia's all-rounder Mitchell Marsh ruled out of the remaining tour of India due to recurrence of a shoulder injury. - ANI

#01:03 PM

Delhi government presents Rs 48,000 crore #budget for 2017-18 - PTI

#01:02 PM

Clean India mission has become mass movement, over 100 districts across the country have become open defecation free (ODF): PM Narendra modi - PTI



#12:58 PM

Uttar Pradesh: 2 officials of National Investigation Agency (NIA) reach #LucknowTerrorOp site - ANI

#12:58 PM

Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh ruled out of the remaining two Tests against India due to a shoulder injury - PTI

#12:58 PM

James Sutherland, Chief Executive of @CricketAus termed allegations against @stevesmith49 as "outrageous". - ANI



#12:57 PM

MNS corporators are absent during Mumbai Mayor's election in BMC house - ANI

#12:56 PM

Govt makes #Aadhaar mandatory for poor women to get free cooking gas (#LPG) connection under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana #PMUY. - PTI



#12:46 PM

Maharashtra ACB will now investigate Bhosari land scam complaint against BJP leader Eknath Khadse. - ANI



#12:45 PM

BJP corporators extend support to Shiv Sena's BMC Mayor Candidate Vishwanath Mahadeshwar - ANI

#12:36 PM

J&K: During checking at Srinagar's Bemina bypass crossing last night, Police busted Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit & arrested 3; arms&ammo seized - ANI

#12:29 PM

Pune's Bundgarden Police tells complainant Hemant Gavande,no cognisable offence can b made against Ekanath Khadse&othrs in alleged land scam - ANI

#12:22 PM

Further hearing on 11 Apr. Anand Chauhan has also moved several miscellaneous applications on which a reply has been sought from Tihar Jail. - ANI

#12:21 PM

HP CM Virbhadra Singh's DA case: Delhi Court completes scrutiny of documents related to CM's LIC agent Anand Chauhan's money laundering case- ANI

#12:08 PM

Doctors say 2 were killed & 15 injured in attack on Kabul's Sardar M.Daud Khan Hospital, reports TOLO News -ANI

#11:58 AM

#UPpolls Voter turnout of 22.84% recorded till 11 am in 7th phase of polling - ANI

For more details read: Live Updates | UP polls 2017, Phase 7: BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote, 22.84 per cent polling till 11 AM

#11:52 AM-ANI

Indias Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have become first pair of spinners to jointly top in ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers. - ANI

#11:06 AM

5 suicide bombers targeted army hospital in Kabul. One bomber detonated his explosive at main entrance gate, reports TOLOnews - ANI

#11:02 AM

Forest fire that broke out on 5th March in Sikkim's Reythang continues to rage; it has now spread to Rabdentse forest.- ANI

#10:58 AM

No relief to Gopal Ansal in Uphaar fire tragedy case from SC, he had sought more time to surrender- ANI

#10:49 AM

Uttarakhand: IT department raids house of Udham Singh Nagar's Deputy Collector, DP Singh in Rudrapur.- ANI

#10:41 AM

Panneerselvam and supporters stage a hunger strike at Chennai's Rajarathinam Stadium, demanding CBI probe into Jayalalithaa's death- ANI

#10:38 AM

Jammu Srinagar National Highway closed due to fresh snowfall at Jawahar Tunnel- ANI

#10:31 AM

Explosion and gunfire reported in Kabul, reports #Afghanistan Media- ANI

#10:27 AM

NIA team reaches Bhopal for investigating Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train explosion that took place yesterday.- ANI

#10:22 AM

More than 100 crude bombs recovered from a house in West Bengal's Malda, yesterday. - ANI

#10:17 AM

Higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh receive snowfall; visuals from Kufri - ANI

#10:03 AM

10.43% voting recorded till 9 am in the 7th phase of UP elections 2017 - ANI

#9:53 AM

West Bengal: One killed, two injured in a mysterious bomb blast last night in Malda's Paharpur village near NH 81, investigation underway - ANI

#9:49 AM

PM Narendra Modi visits Somnath Temple in Gujarat, offers prayers - ANI

#9:48 AM

PM Narendra Modi offered tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue in Somnath, Gujarat. - ANI

#9:46 AM

Apna Dal leader & Union Minister Anupriya Patel casts her vote at polling booth no. 335 of Mirzapur, says "we will win all 40 seats". - ANI

#9:31 AM

8 pistols,650 rounds of ammo,50 fired rounds,explosives materials,gold,cash, passports&SIM cards recovered.Tracking 2 more perons: IG ATS UP - ANI

#9:14 AM

#LucknowTerrorOp: Three persons have been apprehended from Kanpur and nearby area: DGP UP Javeed Ahmad

For more details read: Live updates | Lucknow terror encounter ends as suspected ISIS terrorist Saifullah killed by UP ATS in Thakurganj, pics of his room released

#9:06 AM

Delhi police arrests businessman Savneet Singh in Paschim Vihar Mercedes hit and run case, that claimed life of a 17- year old boy. - ANI

#8:45 AM

ISIS Khorasan module terrorist gunned down in Thakurganj operation that lasted for nearly 10 hrs - ANI

#8:15 AM

Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Somnath Temple today, will also address a public meeting near Triveni Sangam.



#7:07 AM

Okram I Singh casts vote at polling booth 35/41 at Athokpam Makha Leikai PO in Thoubal, PRJA's Irom Sharmila also contesting from this seat- ANI

#7:00 AM

Final phase polling begins for assembly elections in UP & Manipur covering 40 & 22 constituencies respectively. - ANI

#7:00 AM

Final phase polling begins for assembly elections in Manipur covering 22 constituencies, CM Okram Ibobi Singh casts his vote - ANI

#6:45 AM

Lucknow: Thakurganj operation ends, ISIS Khorasan module terrorist gunned down - ANI

#6:37 AM

Final phase polling to conclude assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur covering 40 and 22 constituencies respectively. - ANI



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New Delhi :

The iconic dialogue -- picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost -- from Shah Rukh Khan's Bollywood movie 'Om Shanti Om' could well describe the current poll scenario in Uttar Pradesh where a hung assembly is a possibility.



Even before the election results are declared on March 11, party insiders do not discount chances of a fractured verdict after the seven phases of polling that will come to an end on Wednesday in the absence of any wave.

After all the key players talked about notching up 300 plus of the 403 seats, talks of a hung house suddenly gained momentum in the last phases of polling with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself flagging the possibility of a hung assembly in the state.

Modi said SP and BSP were waiting for such an opportunity for bargaining, prompting Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to comment that after dreaming of 300 plus seats, Modi was now talking about a fractured verdict.

The contest is between the BJP, the ruling Samajwadi Party along with partner Congress and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, which is looking to script a comeback in the state.

To win 202 or 50 per cent seats this year, a party will need to get 35 per cent of the vote share. Five years ago, the Samajwadi Party had needed just 29 per cent of the vote share to win 226 seats.

Mayawati's party had won only 80 seats with 26 per cent votes. The two regional heavyweights saw a steep fall two years later, with the BJP and its ally Apna Dal sweeping the 2014 general election, winning 73 of UP's 80 seats with 42 per cent of the vote share.

The BJP can afford to lose 7 per cent of its vote share from 2014 to still win this year, while SP-Congress must gain 6 per cent to reach 35 per cent, and BSP will have to stretch about 15 per cent to win. The BJP is counting on its core support base - urban voters, the youth and upper caste voters, while Akhilesh hopes to consolidate his party's traditional Muslim-Yadav vote bank with his partnership with the Congress and is also targeting the Muslims who may vote for the BSP.



Confusion over the chief ministerial face of BJP and not giving tickets to any Muslim candidate could affect the prospects of the saffron party in addition to note-ban pain, feel political pundits. Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Uma Bharti and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi have said on record that BJP could have given tickets to the community.

Rajnath also said BJP's position would have been stronger if SP had not forged alliance with Congress. His remarks came amid reports that Muslims might support the fledging coalition. The political scene in Uttar Pradesh has been dominated by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party since 1990s, and if the BJP came to power in the state, it was courtesy the BSP or by breaking small parties to cobble up a majority in the state assembly.

Voters threw hung house in the state for 14 years and that trend changed from 2007 when people decided to deliver a clear mandate. Experts believe that the communication network played an important role in this as voters are connected across the length and breadth of the state. The ruling Samajwadi Party could have performed better had the family feud not played a spoiler.

Also Read: Narendra Modi govt deriving political mileage from Army's accomplishments, says Dimple Yadav

The party has been battered by bitter power struggle between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal, who is supported by his father and party patriarch Mulayam, and the feud between the warring factions refused to die down. The chief minister took control of the party on January 1 after ousting Mulayam at an "emergency national convention" and also sacked his uncle as the party's state unit chief. He also did not want parliamentarian Amar Singh in the party. Then came the fight for its symbol 'bicycle' over which both the factions had laid claim before the Election Commission, giving enough indication that any reconciliation was unlikely.



The BSP led by firebrand Mayawati was considered a strong claimant for the chief minister's post till it was hit by an exodus of senior leaders from the party. The BSP's core vote of 21.5 per cent Dalits is not intact.

The rainbow coalition of Dalits, Muslims and Brahmins that had brought her to power in 2007 has also split up. Though the BSP's Brahmin face S C Misra extensively toured the state, her party's fate is in the hands of the Muslims.

The BJP has been eyeing UP ever since its spectacular victory in 2014. Its national president Amit Shah launched a spate of public mobilisation programmes including the Parivartan Yatra.

However, their trump card is Narendra Modi who remains a popular figure in the state. He has also been working on stitching alliances with various castes as well as smaller parties.

The state's senior leader Rajnath Singh has appealed to the masses to end their 14-year-long 'vanvaas' (exile). The party's demonetisation gamble, seen as a national movement against corruption and black money, could boomerang given the hardships faced by people in the countryside post-note ban.

The Congress, on its part, has been making desperate and sincere efforts to revive the party in the state it ruled for about 40 years. Since 1990 it has been living with a tag of an 'also ran party' in the elections.

The party high command hired Prashant Kishor to do a miracle, a la Bihar in UP.

There are other smaller players who will be taking away votes and playing spoilers on seats heading for a close finish, thereby raising the possibility of a hung Assembly, political observers noted. UP has the dubious distinction of being placed under President's Rule 10 times.

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New York:

A 42-year-old Indian in the US has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for plotting terror attacks in India by providing material support and resources to the Khalistan movement.

Balwinder Singh was a member of two terrorist groups and provided material support to intimidate the Indian government and harm persons who were not supporting the terrorist groups cause, said US Attorney Daniel Bogden for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C Rouse for the FBIs Las Vegas Division.

Singh was sentenced on Tuesday by US District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno to 180 months in prison, Bogden said.

This case is an example of multi-law enforcement agencies working collaboratively together to protect the United States and our foreign allies from a terrorist act, Bogden added.

Singh, who also went by the alias Jhaji and Baljit Singh is a citizen of India and a permanent US resident. He had pleaded guilty in November last year.

According to court documents, between September and December 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India as part of the Khalistan movement to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region.

Singh agreed to provide material support by helping facilitate a co-conspirators travel to and within South Asia, to provide necessary funding and to provide materials necessary to carry out the attack, the court documents said.

On occasions, Singh traveled from Reno to California to meet a co-conspirator in person.

In October 2013, Singh and his co-conspirators agreed that one of them would travel to India and carry out a terror attack likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian governmental official. The final target was to be determined after the co-conspirator arrived in South Asia.

In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles and a laptop computer and provided these items to a co-conspirator who was going to carry out the planned terror attack., the documents said.

The co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok in December 2013 in order to carry out the terror attack but US law enforcement prevented the co-conspirator from boarding that flight, thwarting the planned terror attack, it said.

After these events, Singh and his co-conspirators continued to discuss and plan the terror attack in India until Singhs arrest in December 2013, the court documents said.

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Washington:

G is for gun, S is for sniper and B is for battle in ISIS English textbooks for kids, according to a media report. The textbooks, which Iraqi troops found at an orphanage when they liberated eastern Mosul last month, are titled English for the Islamic State, Fox News reported.

They are unlike other textbooks most people grew up with as the courses in reading, writing and arithmetic are also an introduction to war, jihadism and terrorism.

In the alphabet, B is for battle and G for gun ?- with a picture of an AK-47. The letter S is for sniper, with a picture of an ISIS fighter aiming his rifle. The letter W, or woman, shows a black figure presumably a burqa-clad female.

And then there are the pictures of AK-47s and bombs used for math exercises.

The orphanage where the school books were found was used to groom children to become ISIS child fighters or informants, Iraqi military officials were quoted as saying.

ALSO READ | Lucknow Encounter: It's self-radicalised, self-proclaimed ISIS Cell with no external financial aid, says UP Police

Ruth Feldman, a child psychologist at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv who has counselled children traumatised by war and terrorism, said the toxic education of these so-called cubs of the caliphate only stokes the distress of living in a harsh environment, making them easy prey.

This makes their brain very open, very susceptible to propaganda and influence, Feldman was quoted as saying. Those messages in the textbook help them divide the world in two, Feldman said.

ALSO READ | Lucknow encounter | ISIS terrorist Saifullah's father: 'A traitor can't be my son, won't take his body'

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New York:

An Indian citizen has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiring to support terrorist attacks in India, including assassination of an Indian government official, as part of the Khalistan movement to create an independent Sikh state.

42-year-old Balwinder Singh was sentenced on Tuesday by US District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno to 180 months in prison for conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists for the movement to create the independent Sikh state, US Attorney Daniel Bogden for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C Rouse for the FBIs Las Vegas Division said.

Bogden said, Singh, a Reno resident, was a member of two terrorist groups and provided material support to intimidate the Indian government and to harm persons who were not supporting the terrorism groups cause.

This case is an example of multi-law enforcement agencies working collaboratively together to protect the United States and our foreign allies from a terrorist act, Bogden added. Singh, who also went by the alias Jhaji and Baljit Singh is a citizen of India and a permanent US resident. He had pleaded guilty in November last year.

According to court documents, between September and December 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India as part of the Khalistan movement to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region.

Singh agreed to provide material support by helping facilitate a co-conspirators travel to and within South Asia; to provide necessary funding; and to provide materials necessary to carry out the attack.

On occasions, Singh travelled from Reno to California to meet a co-conspirator in person.

In October 2013, Singh and his co-conspirators agreed that one of them would travel to India and carry out a terror attack likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian governmental official. The final target was to be determined after the co-conspirator arrived in South Asia.

In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles and a laptop computer and provided these items to a co-conspirator who was going to carry out the planned terror attack.

The co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok in December 2013 in order to carry out the terror attack but US law enforcement prevented the co-conspirator from boarding that flight, thwarting the planned terror attack.

After these events, Singh and his co-conspirators continued to discuss and plan the terror attack in India until Singhs arrest in December 2013.

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Islamabad:

Nearly 5,000 women in Pakistan are killed annually mostly for reasons linked to social issues of honour and harassment, a human rights activist has said.

On an average, 5,000 women are murdered every year compared to 1,442 men. While the male casualties are primarily related to terrorism, the womens killings are mostly linked to social issues of honour and harassment, rights activist Sarwar Bari said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a consultation workshop, Making workplace safe for women, on the eve of the International Womens Day, Bari said Pakistan has deviated from the vision of its founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah as political parties never dared to stand against so-called religious scholars who have been opposing pro-women laws in the country.

Bari said that in 1928, women of the subcontinent held a demonstration against early marriages. Jinnah reached the spot to express solidarity with the protesters, he said.

Today religious scholars resist all kinds of legislation in favour of women which is a deviation from the vision of the Quaid (Jinnah). Last year, the Punjab government passed a women protection bill but the religious parties did not accept it, he added.

Hundreds of women are killed every year in Pakistan often by their family members on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour.

Pakistans National Assembly in October last year passed a much-anticipated new law that mandates a minimum 25-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of carrying out an honour killing, and prohibits families of victims from forgiving the killer, a common occurrence in these tragic crimes.

At least 40 clerics of the Barelvi school of thought in Pakistan on June 12 last year issued a fatwa against honour killing, declaring it un-Islamic and unpardonable sin.

The clerics under the banner of Sunni Itehad Council said that honour killing is kufr (infidelity).

The Conservative Council of Islamic Ideology - an Islamic body that enjoys constitutional status and gives non-binding proposals to Parliament to make laws according to Islam - last year declared killing of women in the name of honour as un-Islamic.

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FRISCO, Texas, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR) today announced that Thomas Hook, president & chief executive officer, will participate in a fireside chat at the 2017 Barclays Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at approximately 3:50 p.m. (Eastern Time) at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami, FL.



A live webcast of this event will be available on Integers investor relations website at http://investor.integer.net. The webcast replay will be available approximately one hour after the live webcast ends and will be accessible for approximately 90 days following the conference.

About Integer

Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE:ITGR) is one of the largest medical device outsource (MDO) manufacturers in the world serving the cardiac, neuromodulation, orthopedics, vascular, advanced surgical and portable medical markets. The company provides innovative, high-quality medical technologies that enhance the lives of patients worldwide. In addition, it develops batteries for high-end niche applications in energy, military, and environmental markets. The company's brands include GreatbatchTM Medical, Lake Region MedicalTM and ElectrochemTM. Additional information is available at www.integer.net.


THE drop in temperature has sent hedgehogs all over the country scurrying to find more food before they hibernate.

They are travelling further afield than usual ,which is why we are seeing more of them dead on the roads. To save hedgehogs from foraging across so many roads, please leave out a little,meat-based pet food and a tip-over-proof bowl of water for them. Hedgehogs need to weigh at least 600gms to survive hibernation, so every extra meal is a help.

Anyone who wishes to learn more about our society and the wide range of hedgehog goods which are sold should send a stamped addressed envelope to the address below.

A H Coles

British Hedgehog Preservation Society

Knowbury, Ludlow

Shropshire
ATHENS, Greece, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX), (the Company), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, today announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Koch Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore, for one of its Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Philadelphia. The gross charter rate is US$15,500 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum ten (10) months to about thirteen (13) months. The charter is expected to commence on March 14, 2017.



The Philadelphia is a 206,040 dwt Newcastlemax dry bulk vessel built in 2012.

The Company also announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Transgrain Shipping B.V., Rotterdam, for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Calipso. The gross charter rate is US$9,000 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about eleven (11) months to maximum fourteen (14) months. The charter is expected to commence on March 14, 2017.

The Calipso is a 73,691 dwt Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2005.

The employments of Philadelphia and Calipso are anticipated to generate approximately US$7.49 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charters.

Diana Shipping Inc.s fleet currently consists of 48 dry bulk vessels (4 Newcastlemax, 14 Capesize, 3 Post-Panamax, 4 Kamsarmax and 23 Panamax). As of today, the combined carrying capacity of the Companys fleet is approximately 5.7 million dwt with a weighted average age of 7.77 years. A table describing the current Diana Shipping Inc. fleet can be found on the Companys website, www.dianashippinginc.com. Information contained on the Companys website does not constitute a part of this press release.

About the Company

Diana Shipping Inc. is a global provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership of dry bulk vessels. The Companys vessels are employed primarily on medium to long-term time charters and transport a range of dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words believe, anticipate, intends, estimate, forecast, project, plan, potential, may, should, expect, pending and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our managements examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.
The engineering, design and consultancy company delivered a strong result in 2016. Operating profit before goodwill amortisation was the highest achieved in the companys history and EBITA margin improved considerably. Ramboll is now in a solid position to deliver on the new four-year Group strategy Winning Together.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



The Ramboll Group delivered a strong performance in 2016. Operating profit before goodwill amortisation (EBITA) increased by 27% to DKK 602 million - the highest in the companys history. EBITA margin was 5.7%, an increase of 1.2% point compared to 2015. For the second consecutive year, a cash conversion above 100% was achieved. Ramboll is now net debt-free despite having made the largest acquisition in the companys history two years ago.

The satisfying result can be attributed in particular to solid performances in the Nordic business units and in the global Energy business unit.

I am pleased with the good operational performance across our businesses in 2016, says Rambolls CEO Jens-Peter Saul. Despite the extremely challenging Oil & Gas market, we managed to deliver a significantly higher EBITA and EBITA margin than in 2015 due to strengthened focus on efficiency and project execution.

We have good reason to look positively at 2017, which marks the start of our new strategy period. We have a solid basis to continue our journey with a global presence, a strong market position in key markets, financial strength and an organisation of dedicated, passionate and capable employees. We are determined to overcome the continued challenging market situation due to the low oil price, Brexit and the geopolitical instability. Together we will focus on excellent delivery to our clients using the full expertise of our global talent.

World-class solutions for sustainable development

Ramboll won several high profile projects in 2016.

Project wins include the design of one of Chinas largest offshore wind farms consisting of 100 turbines with a capacity of 400 megawatts, which amounts to the total energy consumption of 350,000 households.



In Denmark, Ramboll was appointed lead consultant for the establishment of a new artificial island, Kronlbsen, which will include a spectacular housing development in Copenhagens North Harbour. Ramboll was also chosen as technical consultant for the public client Banedanmark for the upcoming electrification of the railway line between Fredericia and Aarhus.



In the US, Ramboll will help MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) convert their steam system to hot water district energy and will conduct a low carbon energy supply study for the entire city of Cambridge. Ramboll is also supporting New York City with its important efforts to adapt to a changing climate through more effective storm water management and flood protection.

New Group strategy will bring Ramboll even closer to clients

2016 marks the final year of the Group strategy Stronger Together and in January 2017 Ramboll launched its new four-year strategy Winning Together.

Over the last five-year strategy period, Rambolls revenue increased by 54% and EBITA by nearly 70% despite the negative impact of the challenging Oil & Gas market on Rambolls Oil and Gas unit, as well as on those units operating in adjacent markets and geographies. In addition, Ramboll has maintained a leading position in the Nordics, made large inroads outside Denmark with 74% of revenue now generated internationally - in particular due to reinforced presence in the US, Asia and Europe - and established two new global practices within Environment & Health and Water.

Winning Together sets Rambolls direction from 2017 through 2020 and builds on the journey established by the Stronger Together strategy.

"We are launching a new strategy that will ensure we realise the potential we have built up over the last five years, says Jens-Peter Saul. We will achieve this by enhancing our client-centric culture, further strengthening our presence in the Nordics, UK and US as well as creating international growth through globally recognised Spearhead Services, especially in sustainable solutions. Our leading expertise in Spearhead Services will help us accelerate profitable growth in key markets such as Germany, the Middle East and Asia and help us to compete successfully even in those regions where we dont have the benefit of a broad and strong presence.



Driving digitalisation is also a top priority. This means using digitalisation to gain efficiency in our operations and developing new and competitive digital services to the benefit of our clients. And it also means further enhancing our digital expertise in consulting to support our clients who are facing the opportunities and threats of digitalisation, he says.





Key figures and financial ratios 2016 2016 2015 Income statement EUR m DKK m DKK m Revenue 1,423.9 10,607.7 10,589.3 Operating profit before depreciation and amort. (EBITDA) 105.0 782.5 652.2 Operating profit before goodwill amort. (EBITA) 80.8 602.1 474.7 Profit for the year 23.7 176.9 76.3 Balance sheet Total assets 856.9 6,383.8 6,837.5 Shareholders' equity 290.2 2,162.3 2,113.1 Net interest bearing cash/(debt) 3.7 27.3 (194.1 )

Cash flow Cash flow from operating activities 60.9 453.6 515.8 Investment in tangible assets, net (16.7 )

(124.6 )

(166.7 ) Free cash flow 44.2 329.0 349.1 Employees Number of employees, end of year 13,024 13,074 Number of full-time employee equivalents 12,497 12,269









Financial ratios in %

2016

2015 Revenue growth 0.2 27.7 Organic growth 0.4 1.5 EBITDA margin 7.4 6.2 EBITA margin 5.7 4.5 Cash conversion ratio 119.9 125.8 Equity ratio 33.9 30.9





About Ramboll

Ramboll is a leading engineering, design and consultancy company founded in Denmark in 1945. The company employs 13,000 globally and has especially strong representation in the Nordics, UK, North America, Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.



With 300 offices in 35 countries, Ramboll combines local experience with a global knowledgebase constantly striving to achieve inspiring and exacting solutions that make a genuine difference to our clients, the end-users, and society at large. Ramboll works across the following markets: Buildings, Transport, Planning & Urban Design, Water, Environment & Health, Energy, Oil & Gas and Management Consulting. www.ramboll.com



Ownership

The Ramboll Foundation is the main owner of Ramboll Group A/S and its main objective is to promote the companys continuance alongside the long term development of the company, its employees and the communities it serves. All shares in Ramboll Group A/S are owned either by the Ramboll Foundation (98%) or by employees in Ramboll (2%).




TORONTO, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maropost, the leading global provider of on-demand digital marketing, sales, commerce, and infrastructure solutions, today announced that its new product, the Maropost Sales Cloud, has already generated over $5 million in pre-sales since its announcement last month.



"Our clients and partners have been asking us to build this product for years, and while we never intended to enter the CRM or Commerce space, we couldnt ignore the demand any longer," says Ross Andrew Paquette, CEO and Chairman of Maropost. "When we finally started taking them through the Sales Cloud last month, almost everyone signed on immediately. In terms of innovation, integration, and functionality, our platform eclipses every other solution on the market."

The Maropost Sales Cloud will span CRM, commerce, customer service, acquisition, and automation to serve as an all-in-one, inclusive platform for all sales and commerce needs. Like Maroposts flagship Marketing Cloud, the Sales Cloud was designed and built completely in-house for consistency and cross-functional integration.

The overwhelming demand isnt too surprising given the lack of innovation in the field, says Paquette in response to the pre-sales. We built our Sales Cloud on the same principles behind the success of our Marketing Cloud. Leading edge technology, ease-of-use design, and first class customer service are what define Maropost, and will continue to define us as we enter this space.

Maropost unveiled the Sales Cloud website last month at msc.maropost.com. Visitors can sign-up for the Sales Cloud waiting list on the new Sales Cloud website. The Maropost Sales Cloud will be officially made available to the public at this years Traffic and Conversion Summit on March 10  12. The 3-day summit is the largest conversion summit in North America with Maropost as the title sponsor of the event.

"We spent years looking for the perfect business solution that could meet our sales needs," says Ryan Deiss, founder of Digital Marketer and host of the Traffic and Conversion Summit. Maropost delivered. Sales Cloud is the product we've been dreaming about."

Demand and sales are only going to increase once the platform officially launches, says Paquette. The global industry is due for disruption, which is exactly what were starting with the Maropost Sales Cloud.

Maropost is the fastest growing company in Toronto and among the fastest growing companies in North America. In 2016, Maropost was ranked 4th in Deloitte's Canadian Technology Fast 50, 7th in the annual PROFIT 500 of Canada's fastest-growing companies, and 37th in the North America-wide Deloitte Fast 500.

About Maropost

Maropost is the leading global provider of on-demand digital marketing, sales, commerce, and infrastructure solutions. We have over 300 clients including SHOP.COM, News Corp, the Golden State Warriors, and Mercedes-Benz. Maropost is headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London, UK and Chandigarh, India. Learn more at www.maropost.com.
TROY, Mich., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altair has announced that four new judges from around the world have joined the already impressive list of renowned automotive industry leaders serving on the 2017 Altair Enlighten Award panel. The award, which promotes innovative lightweighting strategies employed by automotive manufacturers and suppliers, welcomes Dr. Mark White, former Chief Body Complete Business Unit, Body Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, Dr. Frank Zhao, Professor and Director of Automotive Strategy Research Institute at Tsinghua University in China, Dr. Ichiro Kageyama, Professor and Director of the Center for Automotive Research at Nihon University in Japan, and Ken Fouhy, Managing Director of VDI Verlag GmbH and Editor in Chief of VDI nachrichten to the judging panel.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f1f25c41-7d01-45c1-9f5c-4b3c9069651c

Now in its fifth consecutive year, the Altair Enlighten Award is the automotive industrys only award program created specifically to acknowledge achievements in vehicle lightweighting. The addition of these four individuals not only enhances the breadth of knowledge of the awards judging panel, but also more accurately reflects the increasingly international profile of the Altair Enlighten Award.

Weight reduction is one of the keys to successful automotive design, said Mr. Fouhy. As Europes best read publication for engineers, VDI nachrichten is happy to extend the reach of the Enlighten Award to design engineers in Germany, Europes automotive heartland.

Returning judges from the 2016 award panel are:

Dr. Jay Baron , President and CEO, Center for Automotive Research and Director of CARs Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials (CALM)

, President and CEO, Center for Automotive Research and Director of CARs Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials (CALM) James Brancheau , Member of the Board of Directors and former Chief Technical Officer at Altair

, Member of the Board of Directors and former Chief Technical Officer at Altair Harvey Bell , Clinical Professor of Engineering Practice and Co-Director, Multidisciplinary Design Program at the University of Michigan

, Clinical Professor of Engineering Practice and Co-Director, Multidisciplinary Design Program at the University of Michigan Gary Latham , Director of Design Engineering at Pratt & Miller Engineering

, Director of Design Engineering at Pratt & Miller Engineering Dr. Imtiaz Haque , Founding Chair and Executive Director of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research

, Founding Chair and Executive Director of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research Dr. Clemens Schmitz-Justen , Founder and Head of Strategic Consulting, CSJ Schmitz-Justen & Company, former director of international programs at the Clemson University College of Business and Behavioral Science, and former president of BMW Manufacturing LLC in Spartanburg, S.C.

, Founder and Head of Strategic Consulting, CSJ Schmitz-Justen & Company, former director of international programs at the Clemson University College of Business and Behavioral Science, and former president of BMW Manufacturing LLC in Spartanburg, S.C. Chris Theodore , President of Theodore & Associates automotive industry consulting; former CEO of ASC, Inc., vice president of Ford Motor Co. and senior vice president of DaimlerChrysler; and former executive director of North American advanced vehicle development at General Motors.

, President of Theodore & Associates automotive industry consulting; former CEO of ASC, Inc., vice president of Ford Motor Co. and senior vice president of DaimlerChrysler; and former executive director of North American advanced vehicle development at General Motors. Ryan Gehm, Editor-in-Chief, Truck & Off-Highway Magazine at SAE International.

Were extremely happy to welcome our new judges to the panel for this years Altair Enlighten Award, said Dr. Jay Baron, President and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). Together the 2017 judging panel will be tasked with debating and separating nominations from across the automotive world. With lightweighting technologies and methodologies ever evolving in the automotive industry to meet weight and emissions targets, Im very excited to see the diversity in this years entries.

This years judging panel brings even more talent to our panel, with the addition of four highly respected individuals from APAC and EMEA, together representing a broader perspective of lightweight design applied in the global automotive industry, said Richard Yen, Senior Vice President, Automotive and Global Markets Team at Altair. While choosing the most innovative lightweighting solutions from such highly acclaimed automotive OEMs and suppliers is never an easy decision, the relevant experience and knowledge of these individuals guarantees that they are the most qualified to make the call.

The award program honors companies in full vehicle and module categories for innovative examples of lightweighting. The winners will be announced during the CAR Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI on July 31st, 2017. The award is held in collaboration with CAR, media partners SAE International and media sponsor Automobil Industrie.

Manufacturers and suppliers interested in submitting a nomination for the Enlighten Award are able to access additional information about the process, or submit an entry, at www.altairenlighten.com/award. Nominations are being accepted now through May 26, 2017. To allow sharing of innovation while respecting the business and technical confidentiality of all applications, designs submitted must be implemented on a production vehicle produced between August 2014 and August 2017, with no geographical restrictions.

About Altair ProductDesign

Altair ProductDesign is a global, multi-disciplinary product development consultancy of more than 700 designers, engineers, scientists, and creative thinkers. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Altair Engineering Inc., this organization is best known for its market leadership in combining its engineering expertise with computer aided engineering (CAE) technology to deliver innovation and automate processes. Altair ProductDesign firmly advocates a user-centered, team-based design approach, and utilizes proprietary simulation and optimization technologies (such as Altair HyperWorks) to help clients bring innovative, profitable products to market on a tighter, more efficient time-scale.

About Altair

Founded in 1985, Altair is focused on the development and application of simulation technology to synthesize and optimize designs, processes and decisions for improved business performance. Privately held with more than 2,600 employees, Altair is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA with more than 50 offices throughout 22 countries, and serves more than 5,000 corporate clients across broad industry segments. To learn more, please visit www.altair.com.
Redding residents will have the opportunity to exchange lightbulbs for more energy efficient bulbs for free at the Redding Community Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Participants can exchange up to five incandescent light bulbs for energy-efficient ENERGY STAR LED bulbs. Residents must bring identification to the swap. Additional LED bulbs and lighting products will be sold there at a discounted rate.
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RIDGEFIELD While women across the country took the day off and avoided spending money to observe A Day Without a Woman, local groups encouraged residents to show their support in other ways.

Organizers of the national Womens March chose International Womens Day, celebrated annually on March 8, as A Day Without a Woman to demonstrate the value women add to the economy and to support womens rights. The group encouraged women to take the day off from paid and unpaid labor, to avoid shopping and to wear red in solidarity with the cause.

But the Ridgefield chapter of the Womens March encouraged residents to shop at local businesses that support women and minorities. The nearly 900-person group, which brought nearly 300 people from the area to the Jan. 21 march in Washington, D.C., distributed signs reading We support women and minorities to almost 50 businesses in town to let supporters know where to shop.

Aimee Berger-Girvalo, who created the group along with Jessica Mancini, said they came up with the idea after realizing the national approach could hurt local businesses.

We decided rather than say, Dont shop at all, we would take the part of the directive that said, If you do shop, make sure the businesses are local and support women and minorities, Berger-Girvalo said.

Many businesses requested the signs after the idea was floated in the Ridgefield and local business Facebook pages, Berger-Girvalo said. Volunteers from the Womens March group called and visited stores asking them to display the signs.

Several women business owners who posted the signs said doing so was a better alternative than closing their stores for the day, which many couldnt afford to do.

Susan Buzaid, the owner of Olley Court on Main Street, said closing was not an option. By staying open, she added, she was continuing the work her business does to support women.

Im here every day working hard to support women, Buzaid said. When youre a small-business owner, you have to work.

Olley Court works with women-owned businesses locally and worldwide, she said, and all jewelry and almost all artwork featured in the store is produced by women.

Babbie Peters and Jacqui Ellin, who work at Books on the Common, wore red to work instead of taking the day off. The store, owned by Ellen Burns and Darwin Ellis and staffed by about 90 percent women, featured the sign in the window.

Its a good idea especially since we cant afford to not be working, Ellin said. But were still supporting those that do decide to take the day off and supporting women in general.

Organizers said A Day Without a Woman was inspired by the national Day Without Immigrants last month. In Danbury, dozens of immigrant-owned businesses closed for the day to demonstrate the importance of immigrants.

Wednesdays event coincided with several statewide International Womens Day events, including a discussion on Intersectional Feminism in Hartford, a series of activities at the New Haven Public Library and events on college campuses.

Bethel residents took a similar approach to Ridgefield by creating a list of area women-owned businesses on a Bethel community Facebook page.

Nationally, women observed the event by attending rallies, including a few hundred protesters in Washington, D.C. and marchers near the Trump International Hotel in New York City. At least two school districts in the country closed because many female teachers and staff decided to stay home.

The event was meant to reaffirm the goals of the Womens March on Washington, which gathered an estimated 500,000 people the day after President Donald Trumps inauguration to protest his policies.

aquinn@newstimes.com
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DANBURY  One of the prosecutions star witnesses Tuesday failed to identify Garfield Sanderson as the man she saw holding a gun after a downtown fight that left a Bridgeport man dead.

The woman, who is in federal custody on conspiracy charges, said she was at the Mambo Cafe in May 2014 when she saw a man in a gray sweatshirt pointing a gun at Jeiel Kingston, who was running across the street screaming he had been hit.

Kingston, 23, later died from his injuries. Sanderson, also of Bridgeport, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the shooting.

Although the woman testified Tuesday afternoon that she had positively identified Sanderson in a photo lineup after the shooting, she could not point him out in the courtroom.

Do you see that person in the courtroom today? asked Senior Assistant States Attorney Jason Germain.

No, the witness replied after surveying the courtroom.

Most of the days proceedings, however, involved allegations that defense attorneys, including Michael Courtney and Drummond Smith, represented themselves as law enforcement officials to potential witnesses.

Prosecutors said they had been approached by a third-party about the allegations.

Courtney and Smith filed to withdraw from the case, citing concerns that an investigation into their conduct could undermine their representation of Sanderson, who filed his own motion to have the attorneys withdrawn.

(Sanderson) is uncomfortable to have a lawyer who has to protect himself and his client, said Aaron Romano, an attorney who was representing Sanderson for Tuesdays hearing.

States Attorney Stephen Sedenesky said there is little to no evidence to support the claims, adding that he would not prosecute Courtney or Smith. However, Sedensky refused to rule out any investigation into future activity.

While Courtney agreed to remain on Sandersons defense team after Sedenskys assurances, Smith did not consent and was removed from the case.

The woman who testified Tuesday said that while she was living in North Carolina, two men and a woman approached her relatives saying they were police officers. The woman said she later received a phone call from an alleged police officer and told him she wasnt going to testify in the case.

Prosecutors and court officials have taken great care to protect witnesses in the case from potential retaliation for their cooperation. At least one witness has been accepted into the witness protection program, Germain said.

Testimony in the case is expected to continue Wednesday.

Staff writer Katrina Koerting contributed to this story.
We have a new president in this country, a man who wants to make this country great again, yes, great again! We have to be honest, our country is not like we remember it once was. We stood tall when we talked about our country and president.

Other countries listened when we talked and they took our advice. The Cold War was over and peoples fears were lessened. We were leaders in produce production and we were exporting a large amount of produce. Made in the USA was attached or stamped on produce being sold around the world. Today it should be stamped sold in the USA and made elsewhere. We import too much from other countries and illegal aliens are one of the large imports we dont need.

Our military is depleted, under supplied, worn-out and out-dated weapons. We have a great military, but it is down in personnel and we have to put it back to a large and great military. We have to be able to move when needed and not break down on the way.

Our police should not be targets for the under-educated who think the only life is drugs, alcohol and that guns are the answer to all solutions. Rape should not be the first step in dating. Women should be able to go for a walk or jog without fear. When a police officer observes what he thinks a questionable person, the officer should not be restricted in asking the people a few questions, without being labeled a racist, a Gestapo. We have to win our streets back and we do this by having judges who make decisions according to written law and not personal feeling. Immigration laws have to be enforced.

Illegal aliens are not supposed to be here, thats the law and that law should be enforced plain and simple. We have people who are here and dont belong here and they brag about it. They were born to illegal aliens and now throw it up in our face. They stand up and say I was born here, I am a citizen and my mother has been a criminal all my life, so I spit on you. Criminals should not be allowed to walk our streets. They should be weeded out and send them back where they were not breaking the law by being in their country, not my country. Make this your country by doing it the right way. As to the line that they pay taxes and help our country: well, if they werent here the taxes and the jobs would be done by Americans and legal aliens who belong here.

In the 60s and 70s we had an influx of people escaping from Vietnam from the invasion from the north. That was different than the immigrants of today. We messed up the war in Vietnam, we made the peoples lives different by the mishandling of the war. Today we owe these people from the Muslim countries nothing; they messed their own countries up. Obama did mess things up by moving troops out of Iraq too soon. We might owe the the people of Iraq some space. We have enough problems here, we dont have to import them. We dont need bleeding hearts causing trouble here, think our country first.

Under Obama our race relations went into the dumper and he created an unhealthy atmosphere between the Whites, Blacks and Hispanics by making it look as if they were being unfairly picked on by these police. He hyped our problems by implying they were being picked on. It will be great not having to listen to him. You Obama fans can read about him in his book to come.

Mr. Trump is trying to make the USA great again. He is trying to work with all you dissenters. We do not need the Bernie Sanders and his Sandinistas stirring up trouble with their demonstrations. Give Mr. Trump a chance to do things; he cant do worse than the Big O did.

The newspapers and newscasters most dont show Mr. Trump respect. About 43 percent of these people report negative on our president, The News-Times in Danbury is one of those.

Thomas Peters Sr. is a resident of Bethel.
NEW YORK, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorney Advertising -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC reminds investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Under Armour, Inc. (Under Armour or the Company) (NYSE:UA) (NYSE:UAA) and certain of its officers, and is on behalf of purchasers of Under Armour securities between April 21, 2016 and January 30, 2017, inclusive (the Class Period). Such investors are advised to join this case by visiting the firms site: http://www.bgandg.com/uaa.



This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act).



The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that Under Armour's revenue and profit margins would not be able to withstand the heavy promotions, high inventory levels and ripple effects of numerous department store closures and the bankruptcy of one of its large retailers. Instead, Under Armour promoted itself as a growth company that would continue to develop and market game-changing products.



On January 31, 2017, Under Armour revealed its lower-than-anticipated fourth-quarter revenues and announced the resignation of CFO Chip Molloy. Roughly $2.7 billion, or one fifth, of Under Armour's market capitalization disappeared on January 31, 2017 after Under Armour said its quarterly revenue growth dropped more than 20% for the first time in 26 quarters and that it was replacing its CFO after only 13 months. Following this news, Under Armour stock dropped, damaging investors.

A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint you can visit the firms site: http://www.bgandg.com/uaa or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484. If you suffered a loss in Under Armour you have until April 10, 2017 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firms expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
OTTAWA, March 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Plan International Canada is marking International Women's Day by encouraging Canadians to change the story to unite for gender equality.

The organization is challenging all Canadians to acknowledge the deep-seated gender norms that influence our lives  from our roles at home to the workplace  and to dive deeper into how gender stereotypes perpetuate a harmful cycle of inequality.

"None of us will have the opportunity to thrive if we don't change the story about how gender norms influence all of our lives," said Plan International Canada President and CEO Caroline Riseboro. "We must all come together to invest in gender equality and end harmful gendered expectations so that we can build a better world for all of humanity."

Plan International drives gender parity by ensuring girls have access to education and vocational training, envisioning a world in which all children, realize their full potential in societies that respect people's rights and dignity.

Creating equal opportunities for girls starts by acknowledging the barriers to female empowerment. Millions of girls around the world are still denied their right to education, healthcare and safety. These inequities contribute to high infant and childhood mortality rates, low education achievement and increased risk of physical and sexual abuse.

Today at an International Women's Day event in Ottawa, Global Ambassador Sophie Gregoire Trudeau joined a group of youth to meaningfully discuss what gender equality means to them and how gender stereotypes hold everyone back.

"Achieving full gender equality will take the efforts of everyone," said Plan International Canada Global Ambassador Madame Gregoire Trudeau. "We have achieved so much, but there is a still a long road ahead of us and we all need to actively participate in challenging the status quo."

Fifty youth from Plan International Canada Champions of Change Clubs in the Ottawa region gathered today at the University of Ottawa and engaged in a frank conversation about gender inequalities and offered suggestions about how to spur change in their own communities.

Plan International Canada is calling on all Canadians to join the conversation online and share how they will #ChangetheStory to unite for gender equality.

Additional photo and video resources are available for download.

Join our International Women's Day conversations online:

ABOUT PLAN INTERNATIONAL CANADA AND THE BECAUSE I AM A GIRL INITIATIVE

Founded in 1937, Plan International is one of the world's oldest and largest international development agencies, working in partnership with millions of people around the world to end global poverty. Not for profit, independent and inclusive of all faiths and cultures, Plan International strives for a just world that advances children's rights and equality for girls. Because I am a Girl is Plan International's global movement to transform power relations so that girls everywhere can learn, lead, decide and thrive.

Visit plancanada.ca and becauseiamagirl.ca for more information.

SOURCE Plan International Canada

For further information: MEDIA CONTACTS: Kaili Colford, Senior Manager, Media and Public Relations Manager, Plan International Canada, T: 416 920-1654 ext. 350 | C: 647-459-7557 | [email protected]; Allison Dewhirst, Senior Account Director, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, T: 416-413-4751 | C: 416-898-8113 | [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.plan-international.org/canada


OTTAWA, March 7, 2017 /CNW/ - Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women will be celebrating International Women's Day, on March 8, by participating in the following events in Ottawa:

Mayor's Breakfast Reception in Celebration of International Women's Day

Where: Jean Pigott Place, City Hall

110 Laurier Avenue West Time: 8:00 a.m.



Announcement of the Leadership Accord on Gender Diversity in the Electricity Industry



Where: Canadian Museum of Nature

Barrick Salon, 3rd floor

240 McLeod Street



Time: 9:55 a.m.



Daughters of the Vote



Where: National Arts Centre

Theatre

1 Elgin Street



Time: 3:30 p.m.



Event celebrating Daughters of the Vote



Where: National Arts Centre

Lobby

1 Elgin Street Time: 5:00 p.m.



Please note that this advisory is subject to change without notice.

SOURCE Status of Women Canada

For further information: Alex Wellstead, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Status of Women, 613-618-0314; Nanci-Jean Waugh, Director General, Public Affairs and Communications, Status of Women Canada, Tel. : 819-420-6810, [email protected]
OTTAWA, March 7, 2017 /CNW/ - The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, will deliver remarks at a reception celebrating International Women's Day. The reception is co-hosted by the CanadaIndia Centre for Excellence and Carleton University. The Minister will speak about how the changes proposed in Bill C-25 could boost the ranks of women in corporate boardrooms. He will also highlight the importance of supporting women entrepreneurs and innovators. Following his remarks, the Minister will participate in a panel discussion and a Q&A session with the audience.

Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2017



Time: 6:30 p.m.



Location: Carleton University

Residence Commons Building

Rooms 270 and 272

Ottawa, Ontario

Follow Minister Bains on Twitter: @MinisterISED

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

For further information: Nilani Logeswaran, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, 343-291-2500; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/home


The South China Morning Post reports that China will not adopt highly advanced electromagnetic take-off technology on its second domestically built aircraft carrier but instead rely on a conventional steam system, naval experts say.

The next carrier (TYpe 002) after the Liaoning and the Type 001A carrier under construction in Dalian  would be equipped with at least three natural steam launch catapults, a source close to the navy told the South China Morning Post.

But it would be the first Chinese aircraft carrier to use this type of launch system.

There are still some technical problems with Chinas magnetic launcher, so the Type 002 will still use steam catapults, the source said.

In 2013 the deputy chief-of-staff of the Peoples Liberation Army confirmed China was developing new aircraft carriers that would be much larger and more capable than the old Soviet design.

Little is known about Project 002. The South China Morning Post says work began on the ship in 2015, in the Shanghai Jiangnan Changxingdao shipyard.

It will be much larger. It may even be nuclear powered.

Beijing may have gained access to steam catapult technology when it took possession of Australias last aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. It was sold to be scrapped in 1985, but its World War II era technology would have still been of great interest to the PLA.

Only the currently-under-construction USS Ford carries shipboard electromagnetic catapults at this stage. And theyre demonstrating an unwelcome tendency to toss aircraft into the sea.

The next Chinese carrier (001a) will likely look very similar to the current Liaoning. The carrier group will have updated destroyers and frigates that provide a more advanced layered defense and missile strike system. It will likely be accompanied by an arsenal of drones.

Certain weapons were excluded from the Type 001A platform to allow more carrier-based J-15 parking. The hanger was also expanded to allow the new carrier to carry between six and eight more J-15 fighter jets than the Liaoning.

The control tower island on the deck was shrunk 10 per cent, which allow the deck to dock more helicopters and fixed-wing early-warning aircraft, he said, adding that four weapons sponsons, or projections, on the aft deck had Dismantled

S-band radars with four large antennae would be installed on the top of control tower, he said.

The system is Chinas most advanced and is capable of covering a 360-degree search field to scout dozens of targets in the air and at sea.

Four HQ-10 short-range air defence missiles systems with 24 tubes would also deployed on the new ship

The Type 003 carrier will likely look a lot like the Nimitz or Ford class US aircraft carriers. It will have nuclear powered propulsion.

The Type 003 itself would likely have a displacement of around 90,000-100,000 tons and carry anywhere from between 70-100 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, and have multiple aircraft elevators and a single island superstructure. With a nuclear-powered reactor, the Type 003 could reach speeds in excess of 30 knots. The reactors could also provide the power for electromagnetically assisted launch system (EMALS) catapults (the preceding conventional Type 002 carrier may use steam catapults). EMALS catapults have improved efficiency and are less maintenance intensive than steam catapults.

The EMALS catapult could allow the Type 003 to launch aircraft with a takeoff weight of up to 50 tons, including aerial tankers, airborne early warning aircraft (especially useful to guiding long range missiles against distant aircraft), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) planes, smaller cargo planes and strike aircraft. Given Chinese interest in unmanned vehicles, the Type 003 could come with a UAV for surveillance and reconnaissance. The Type 003s air group will also have helicopters for ASW and search and rescue missions.

The CVBGs escort elements will likely consist of Type 055 destroyers and a future Chinese frigate (Type 057?) with an integrated mast. The improved Type 055, upgraded from the current hulls under construction, would have integrated electric propulsion system to increase onboard power generation for sensors and direct energy weapons. It will likely also be armed with over a hundred long-range anti-air and surface attack missiles, in addition to carrying helicopters. Given Chinese interest in unmanned naval vehicles, those surface combatants would likely carry UAVs, UUVs, and USVs for mine countermeasure. For underwater escort, the accompanying submarine would likely be a Type 095 nuclear attack submarine, stealthier and more heavily armed than current Chinese attack boats.

SOURCES- South China Morning Post, News Corp Australia. Popular Science
Softbank is about to sell 25 percent of ARM  roughly $8 billion  to a new, Saudi-backed $100 billion investment fund, the Financial Times reported today. The Japanese shelled out $32 billion to purchased ARM only six months ago. In the global semiconductor industry. Mubadala (Abu Dhabi / UAE state-backed), which owns 100 percent of Globalfoundries, reportedly wanted the $100 billion Vision Fund to own a portion of ARM.

Japans Softbank announced last fall an ambitious plan to create the Softbank Vision Fund  a financial vehicle that would allow CEO Masayoshi Son to invest in the technology sector globally. The Fund, set up to raise $100 billion, aims to become one of the worlds largest of its kind, said Softbank last year.

While Softbank expects to pump at least $25 billion into the fund over the next 5 years, its biggest investor is Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund, which last year committed to contribute up to $45 billion. The deal is the fruit of long negotiations between Son and Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabias deputy crown prince.

In order to hit the Vision Funds self-imposed $100 billion target, Son reportedly wanted to secure the backing of Mubadala.

Softbank CEO Son also has made news with the promise of a $50 billion job creating investment in the USA.

SOURCES- EETimes
INDIANAPOLIS, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eli Lilly and Company, Dow AgroSciences, and the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) announce a multiparty collaboration to generate a shared data platform for early assessment of the potential effects of different molecules on human health and the environment. This initiative will ultimately accelerate research by enabling timely decisions on the safety of compounds early in the discovery process based on shared data sets, new tools, and the collective understanding of molecular structure.



The high cost of developing any molecule for use as a new drug or agricultural product makes accurate early assessment of the safety of those molecules critical. More accurate early predictions about the safety of a molecule can potentially save companies time and millions in development costs with a fail fast model, while focusing research activities on molecules that are more likely to meet regulatory requirements and societal expectations.

This is great example of a collaboration that combines the expertise of two leading life science companies focused on different areas of innovation to create unique capabilities that will improve the speed and quality of future development, said David Broecker, President and CEO of IBRI. While Dow AgroSciences and Lilly will use this technology for their own purposes, we will be creating a capability that will be made publicly available to expand learning and accelerate discovery not only here at the IBRI, but with other academic research institutions.

The toxicological or safety assessment of a molecule generates enormous amounts of complex data. These data need to be analyzed to determine whether a molecule or a compound is safe and warrants the investment of additional development and research efforts. Working in conjunction with the IBRI, Dow AgroSciences and Lilly will develop a shared platform to analyze the data from past toxicological assessments that will assist more rapid and accurate assessment of new molecules. It also will capitalize on best practices to more effectively and efficiently analyze data going forward.

Developing world-class toxicogenomics tools and capabilities is our goal through this collaboration with Lilly and the IBRI. This can reduce the time from discovery to commercialization of sustainable and innovative products for the benefit of farmers and broader society alike, said Scott Hutchins, Global Leader, R&D, Dow AgroSciences. In addition, we are modelling the best practice of horizontal integration of technologies across diverse businesses that IBRI stimulates through engagement with the broader scientific community.

As new data in deep and complex biological data is becoming available to the research community, there is a lack of standard capabilities to analyze, collaborate, and reproduce the emerging methods for early risk assessment across organs, tissues, and species. Generating a shared platform for early risk assessment using toxicogenomics and making that methodology available widely can accelerate scientific discovery and increase adoption of new risk assessment tools by the broader research community.

This collaboration provides us with an opportunity to engage in joint development of an informatics platform that will impact how we conduct experiments and generate, collect and analyze data, said Carl McMillian, Ph.D., Lillys vice president of toxicology, drug disposition and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics. Ultimately, we hope it drives research that allows us to more quickly develop innovative medicines for people.

About Indiana Biosciences Research Institute

The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) is an independent, nonprofit discovery science and applied research institute focused on innovation targeting cardio-metabolic diseases, diabetes and poor nutrition. Inspired by the state and Indianas leading life sciences companies, research universities and philanthropic community, the IBRI is building a world-class organization of researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs that will catalyze scientific discovery and its application, resulting in improved health outcomes for patients. For more information about IBRI and donation or collaboration opportunities, please visit www.indianabiosciences.org or follow us on Twitter.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and www.lilly.com/newsroom/social-channels.

About Dow AgroSciences

Dow AgroSciences discovers, develops, and brings to market crop protection and plant biotechnology solutions for the growing world. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and had annual global sales of $6.2 billion in 2016. Learn more at www.dowagro.com. Follow Dow AgroSciences on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.
08.03.2017: Borregaard ASA ("Borregaard", OSE ticker: BRG)

Reference is made to the stock exchange notice of 27 February 2017 where Borregaard announced the intent to repurchase up to 300,000 of its outstanding common stock.

Borregaard has today purchased 46,012 own shares through broker at an average price of NOK 96,0505 per share.

After this transaction Borregaard holds a total of 370,076 own shares, representing 0.37% of total shares outstanding.

Contact

Lotte Kvinlaug, Investor Relations Officer, +47 922 86 909

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
SAN DIEGO, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bionano Genomics, Inc., a company focused on genome structure analysis, today announced results from a first-of-its-kind study demonstrating that next-generation mapping (NGM) accurately identified potentially clinically-relevant oncogenes and pathogenic driver mutations never before detected by next-generation sequencing (NGS). The study, Next-generation mapping reveals novel large genomic rearrangements in prostate cancer, was published in the March 1, 2017 online issue of the peer-reviewed journal Oncotarget (DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.15802).



The study was led by Dr. Vanessa Hayes, Lab Head of Human Comparative and Prostate Cancer Genomics at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Hayes and her team demonstrate the significance of physical genome mapping as an essential tool to identify large structural variations (SVs) implicated in the progression of prostate cancer. The study found that NGM using Bionanos Irys System at 35x genome coverage identified 10 times more SVs larger than 1,000 base pairs than the Illumina X10 platform at 60x genome coverage. Of those novel SV calls otherwise missed by NGS, 94% were validated using a combination of analysis tools. Importantly, of the large SVs detected on the Bionano system, half were in or near genes with oncogenic potential. Of the sequence variants detected with NGS, only 0.5 percent were in or near such genes.

Dr. Vanessa Hayes commented, These findings validate the importance of Bionanos NGM and demonstrate that NGS is not enough to identify all genome variations that may cause disease in patients. This study has generated promising results that help in understanding previously undetected prostate cancer genomic driver events and progression. We expect next-generation mapping to be critical in obtaining a more complete clinical picture of cancer patients at the Garvan Institute. This NGM technique is highly complementary to NGS platforms and other long-range platforms, such as PacBio and 10x Genomics, capturing a unique size range of SVs. In this study, we found 10 times more SVs using NGM compared to short-read NGS, which further strengthens our confidence in our search for funds to open a first-in-the-world Cancer Genome Mapping Facility based around the Bionano Genomics technology.

Erik Holmlin, Ph.D., CEO of Bionano Genomics, added, We are excited by these data obtained for complex human genomic rearrangements in prostate cancer. Cancer is one of the most studied diseases, yet there is an urgent need to find more relevant genomic information that can aid in the development of effective therapies and strategies for precise patient management. With the use of our NGM technique in cancer and other clinical translational studies, researchers can discover the large SVs that would be missed with NGS alone. This validation comes at a perfect time since we have just launched Saphyr, our newest system for NGM, which brings substantial improvements in speed and throughput making it the ideal solution for applying NGM to human genome research.

About the Garvan Institute of Medical Research

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research is one of Australias leading medical research institutes. Garvans researchers pioneer studies into some of the most widespread diseases affecting the community today. Research at Garvan is focused upon understanding the role of molecular and cellular processes in health and disease as the basis for developing future preventions, treatments and cures, and Garvan is at the forefront of next-generation genomic sequencing in Australia.

Garvans scientists work across six major research divisions: Bone Biology, Cancer, Diabetes and Metabolism, Genomics and Epigenetics, Immunology, and Neuroscience.

About Bionano Genomics

Bionano Genomics, Inc. provides the Irys and Saphyr systems for next-generation mapping (NGM), which is the leading solution in physical genome mapping. NGM offers customers whole genome analysis tools that reveal true genome structure and enabling researchers to capture whats missing in their data to advance human, plant and animal genomic research. NGM uses NanoChannel arrays to image DNA at the single-molecule level with average single-molecule lengths of about 350,000 base pairs, which leads the genomics industry. The long-range genomic information obtained with NGM detects and deciphers structural variations (SVs), which are large, complex DNA segments involving repeats that are often missed by sequencing technologies and which are a leading cause of inaccurate and incomplete genome assembly.

As a stand-alone tool, NGM enables the accurate detection of SVs, many of which have been shown to be associated with human disease as well as complex traits in plants and animals. As a complementary tool to next-generation sequencing (NGS), NGM integrates with sequence assemblies to create contiguous hybrid scaffolds for reference-quality genome assemblies that reveal the highly informative native structure of the chromosome. NGM also provides the additional ability to verify, correct and improve a NGS-generated genome assembly.

Only Bionano provides long-range genomic information with the cost-efficiency and high throughput to keep up with advances in NGS.

NGM has been adopted by a growing number of leading institutions around the world, including: National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, BGI, Garvan Institute, Salk Institute, Mount Sinai and Washington University. Investors in the Company include Domain Associates, Legend Capital, Novartis Venture Fund and Monashee Investment Management.

For more information, please visit www.BionanoGenomics.com.

Notes: Bionano Genomics is a trademark of Bionano Genomics, Inc. Any other names of actual companies, organizations, entities, products or services may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
As Nigeria confronts its development challenges, Senate President Bukola Saraki has urged the Federal Government to look up to Igbo technology for an early exit from the current economic recession.

Saraki, who made the admonition on Monday, declared that Igbo technology has the capacity to refuel the economy and bring the country out of recession.

Saraki lamented the abandonment of Igbo technological prowess by past administrations in championing the countrys economic development.

In a speech he sent to the opening ceremony of the fourth Made-in-Aba Trade Fair holding at the Arts and Crafts Village, Abuja, Saraki said that the country needs Igbo technology now more than ever to wriggle out of the present economic recession.

Represented by the Senate Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Naallah (Kebbi South), the Senate President asked the Federal Government to promote made in Nigeria goods, especially those manufactured in Aba.

He noted that Nigeria has been paying the price for neglecting the technological prowess of the Igbo, adding that such mistake should not to be repeated.

Saraki said: If there is any time that the Federal Republic of Nigeria needs the Igbo, it is now. Nigeria ought to have realised this very dependable people for its industrial growth but for whatever reason, the country abandoned them; it didnt give the Igbo the seriousness they deserve and today we are paying the price.

You see, whatever God does has always been the correct thing, that is why we say, God is good, all the time.

Saraki promised that the Senate and the National Assembly as a whole will continue to do everything within its mandate and powers to ensure that the domestic manufacturers and service providers have the enabling environment that they need to thrive.

He said: Working with the Executive arm of government, we will push for improved infrastructure, financial investment and technology to boost our domestic manufacturing value chain.

We are partners in this process; we will continue to be partners. I believe in Made-in-Nigeria, I believe in Made-in-Aba. The possibilities ahead of us are endless.

In his remark, the Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, urged the Federal Government not to approve funds for foreign goods that are produced in Nigeria.

He said: There is no need to appropriate money for goods that can be produced here, yet they are imported from overseas.

The Federal Government should encourage made-in Aba products through the provision of infrastructure. Electricity supply is critical to the success of made in Aba products and beyond power, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are required to make their goods.

So, if government, through the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) provides the necessary machines and equipment, the sky will be our limit.

The initiator of the Made-in Aba Product Fair, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia North) said about 200 of the Aba traders came to Abuja to display their products at the event.

According to him, the traders would be at the fair till Friday to represent other groups which were not opportuned to be at the show to display their products.

Earlier, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Dikko Umar Radda, called on Ikpeazu to consider public-private partnership options to bring succour to the operators.

He reiterated SMEDANs commitment to working with stakeholders to find cost-effective solutions to recurring infrastructural deficit at both leather and garment clusters.
'All Malaysian citizens in the DPRK will be temporarily prohibited from leaving the country until the incident that happened in Malaysia is properly solved, the state-run Korea Central News Agency said, quoting a foreign ministry. 'In this period the diplomats and citizens of Malaysia may work and live normally under the same conditions and circumstances as before,' the statement added.

Due to the controversy surrounding the murder of King Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korea's leader, the country's foreign ministry has issued a temporary ban on Malaysians leaving the country in order to ensure the safety of its own diplomats and citizens in Malaysia. King Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un was murdered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13 by assassins using VX nerve agent, a chemical listed by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction.According to a Police report, eight North Koreans have been declared wanted in connection with the murder, including a senior North Korean diplomat and a state airline employee - who are believed to be hiding in the embassy.The only people charged so far are a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman.
Prof. Grace Akinola, the acting Dean, Student Affairs (DSA), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, says only one group is recognised as Mus...

Prof. Grace Akinola, the acting Dean, Student Affairs (DSA), Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, says only one group is recognised as Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) on the campus.Akinola made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, in Ile-Ife.She said that a muslin group alleged to be operating like extremist was not recognised and had been warned to stop their activities. The officials, made the clarification after the OAU Muslim Community and University of Ife Muslim Graduates raised a disclaimer on a factional group of the MSSN.Speaking at the sideline of a retreat organised for newly elected leaders of  the OAU Students Union, the acting DSA explained that a disciplinary panel had been set up to look into the development.Narrating her experience when she visited the students mosques, she said, we first went to Awolowo mosque, when we got there, we met some demarcation in the mosque.There was one that we told them to open, they refused.We told them that if they dont open it, we are going to force it open.After 15 minutes, one of them just made a signal and the place was opened. We went there at exactly 11am.When it was opened, there were 12 girls locked there and others in the room. Meanwhile, the MSSN national came and said that was how Boko Haram started in Nigeria.And they came to disown them that they dont know about any evil they are perpetuating. The Muslim Community also disowned them, she said.Akinola explained that efforts to shut the mosque had not been successful because of alleged intervention by an alumnus of OAU currently serving in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.We made moves to lock the mosque at that time.Even recently, they held a programme without taking permission from the university. Despite that we called them to order and warned them not to continue with the programme.I think they have people supporting them and one of them is in the current cabinet of President Muhammad Buhari.The university has set up a disciplinary committee to look into the matter. They will have to face disciplinary action and whatever comes out of it, will be the final.Akinola said. Mr Babatunde Oyatokun, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of OAU also debunked the rumour of Boko Haram, but confirmed that there was a MSSN disclaimer on the campus. He said that this illegal group led by one AbdulRasheed Bakare neither registered nor was recognised by DSA, adding that the group had no logo and a constitution.The CSO further said that the only registered body of MSSN was the one headed by Akeem Idowu as recognised by the MSSN at all levels from the branch to the national. Earlier, before the commencement of disclaimer of illegal programme, they were invited on Feb. 14 at the instance of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Anthony Elujoba and a riot act was read to them.And despite this, they were still bold enough to hold the programme, so in view of this, we have reported to the management for further reaction, in which we are waiting for their response, he said.The CSO clarified that the university management was taking necessary decision on the matter, saying that the group members were under surveillance.The way they flattered the matriculation oath means they were being indoctrinated and if university fails to expedite action on them, it might degenerate and turn to something else entirely, he added.Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, the University Public Relations Officer (PRO) reiterated the position of the DSA and CSO, saying that only the registered Muslim students group was recognised and permitted to operate within the university.While attributing the blame on some parents for abandoning their children in schools without bothering to check on them, he insisted that there is nothing like Boko Haram on OAU campus.
Ms Stephanie Otobo, the lady arrested for claiming that the General-Overseer, Omega Fire Ministry Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman had ...

Ms Stephanie Otobo, the lady arrested for claiming that the General-Overseer, Omega Fire Ministry Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleman had an amorous affair with her has failed to get bail following the Judges absence to sign the documents for her bail.Chief Magistrate Kikelomo Bukola Ayeye had left the court premises to attend the swearing-in ceremony of some Judges by the Lagos state Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode when the bail documents for Ms. Otobo came in.Stephanie and Wisdom Godstime, a Canadian resident detained with her were brought before Magistrate Ayeye accused of terrorism in an attempt by policemen working in concert with Apostle Suleman to secure a prison remand warrant but the judge denied the application, stating there was no substantial evidence to deny the duo their freedom.They have been in prison custody since Friday last week. Recall that Ms. Otobo had accused the clergyman of impregnating her, adding that he breached his promise to marry her.Recall also that she had demanded aN500 million as damages, claiming she lost the bay. She also released several photos alleged to be that of Apostle Suleman and her during their raunchy affairs.However, the Apostle vehemently denied such ever happening, saying while the pictures are fake, the lady is only capitalising on his generosity to rob and tarnish his good name.Recall also that, Apostle Sulemans wife, Dr. Lizzy Suleman had in a video yesterday backed her husband, saying Ms. Otobo is only capitalising on her husbands generosity to break her home. She equally alleged that the persecution is not unconnected with the powers that be who felt that their toes were stepped upon when the Apostle voiced against the killings of Christians in some parts of the country.
Arsene Wenger has informally told his Arsenal stars that he's leaving the club, according to reports.Italian news outlet SNAI sport say the Frenchman has informed his stars that he'll be quitting the north Londoners.However, Arsenal supremo Stan Kroenke is reportedly still a huge fan on Wenger and might be able to convince him to stay.Wenger was involved in a bust-up with star player Alexis Sanchez last week.The Chile international was then dropped for the clash with Liverpool on Saturday.But it's claimed some other players are fiercely loyal to Wenger and could request transfers if the experienced manager moves on.Wenger has come under even more pressure from the fans this term.The Premier League giants have faltered in the title race.And they are out the Champions League having been battered 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.Juventus chief Max Allegri has been hotly tipped to take over from Wenger if he does depart.Allegri has an impressive record in Turin but has recently fallen out with a number of senior players.Last season he led Juve to Serie A and Coppa Italia glory.In 2015 he also guided his side to the Champions League final - but they lost 3-1 to Barcelona.Last night could be Wenger's final taste of European action with Arsenal.His team were battered by Bayern Munich in the second-leg of their Champions League tie.Arsenal went ahead through Theo Walcott but another collapse ensured a second 5-1 defeat to the Bundesliga champions.Source: SNAI sport
Chocolate City boss, Audu Maikori, on Tuesday collapsed at the 2017 Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) holding at the Muson Center in Lagos.The doctors at the venue revived him, before he was taken to St Nicholas Hospital for further treatment.One of his close associates confirmed the incident to newsmen: Yes, it is true, he said.Audu slumped at the event and was rushed to the hospital. But he is okay now and is recovering well, he added.When pressed on what exactly was the cause of his collapse, Ayide-Israel simply said: I dont know.The music entrepreneur had just finished moderating a question-and-answer session with Mo Abudu and was taking pictures with fans, when it happened.Maikori was arrested and detained recently for his tweets about the purported killing of five students in Kaduna by Fulani herdsmen.He was released following the intervention of former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili.Governor Nasir El-Rufai has, however, insisted he must be prosecuted.
The ECOWAS court sitting in Abuja, has reportedly dismissed the application filed by the federal government asking that the suit filed by ...

The ECOWAS court sitting in Abuja, has reportedly dismissed the application filed by the federal government asking that the suit filed by the Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) be quashed.The action by the court is reported to have caused jubilation among members of IPOB and those sympathetic to its plight.Channels Television reports that Kanus suit seeks the court to grant him an unconditional release from detention as well as damages to the tune of $800 million.The federal government had asked the court to dismiss the case because it is a subject matter before the Federal High Court and the appeal court.The government said as a result, Kanus application constitutes an abuse of court process.The presiding judge, Micah Wright-Williams, dismissed the application of the government for lacking in merit. The court said it has the jurisdiction to hear cases of infringement of human rights.
The former governor of the now defunct Western State of Nigeria, Robert Adeyinka Adebayo, is dead.

The former governor of the now defunct Western State of Nigeria, Robert Adeyinka Adebayo, is dead.Family sources said the 89-year-old died in his sleep.The late Adebayo became governor after Col. Francis Adekunle Fajuyis death in the 1966 coup detat, ruling from 4 Aug 1966 to April 1971.Adebayo was born in 1928, the son of a Public Works employee from Iyin Ekiti, near Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.He was educated at All Saints School, Iyin-Ekiti, and later attended Eko Boys High School and Christs School Ado Ekiti. He joined the West African Frontier Force in 1948 as a regiment signaler and later completed the Officer Cadet Training Course in Teshie, Ghana from 1950 to 1952.After passing the War Office Examination for Commonwealth cadets in 1952 as well as the West African qualifying examination in 1953.He was commissioned as an officer in the Royal West African Frontier Force as the 23rd West African military officer with number WA23 and 7th Nigerian military officer with number N7 after completing the War Office Cadet Training in Eaton Hall, England.He later attended the Staff College course in Camberley in 1960 and the prestigious Imperial Defence College, London in late 1965 where he was the only African officer.
Newtec brings first-ever VSAT modem on the market supporting 500Mbaud forward carriers with DVB-S2X, thanks to ST technology

Geneva, Switzerland - March 8, 2017 -STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, today announced the volume production of the world's first 500Mbaud High Symbol Rate (HSR) integrated tuner-demodulator chip, selected by its lead customer Newtec, a specialist in designing, developing, and manufacturing equipment and technologies for satellite communications.

Designed to increase bandwidth-usage efficiency and throughput in high-end satellite and hybrid broadband-broadcast applications, the STiD135 demodulator supports the DVB-S2, DVB-S2X, and DVB-S2 Annex-M standards and is intended to complement terrestrial networks to provide a performance equivalent to fiber-optic links, taking advantage of the universal accessibility of satellite signals.

Newtec will use the STiD135 in its wideband VSAT modem portfolio. The Newtec MDM2210 IP Satellite Modem, which is the latest addition to the Newtec Dialog multiservice platform, is the first-ever VSAT modem on the market supporting 500Mbaud forward carriers with DVB-S2X.

"The long-term cooperation with our lead customer Newtec has now resulted in bringing the unique capabilities of our satellite demodulator to the market," said Jocelyne Garnier, Group VP, General Manager, Aerospace, Defense, and Legacy Division, STMicroelectronics. "When designing the chip, we took into account the market's demands and worked with many partners, including CNES, the French Space Agency."

"We are delighted to cooperate with ST, which, as far as we are concerned, provides the only chip available on the market capable of handling such high rates, the likes of which are enabled by our new wideband modems," said Frederik Simoens, Chief Technology Officer at Newtec. "The cooperation will make our products the first on the market to support 500Mbaud forward carriers with DVB-S2X, guaranteeing our customers the highest performance and efficiencies."

The ST chip implements quad full-band tuners, dual HSR demodulators with up to eight narrow-band demodulators, and provides hardware support for Network Clock Recovery (NCR). It optimizes the use of Ka-band and multi-spot beam technology carried by the latest High-Throughput Satellites (HTS) by enabling single-carrier usage of these transponders. This delivers a 30% increase in channel efficiency over multi-carrier solutions.

The STiD135 is capable of demodulating two independent wide-band carriers and up to eight narrow-band carriers providing the capability to simultaneously receive high throughput data whilst receiving multiple broadcast channels, useful for example, in hybrid broadband-broadcast systems. The total useful data throughput is over 600Mbits per second, furthermore the on-chip data filtering ensures that only the wanted bits need be sent for further processing in the host system.

The design took into full account the demands of the market for low power and extended temperature range increasing the scope and application of the device to include out-door units, Smart LNBs, hybrid broadband-broadcast home gateways, VSAT terminals, small home-office modems, mobile platforms, data center modems, and so on.

The STiD135 demodulator chip is now in production and will be available for mass-market deployment by May 2017. Further information is available on www.ST.com and under NDA.

About STMicroelectronics

ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power and automotive products and embedded processing solutions. From energy management and savings to trust and data security, from healthcare and wellness to smart consumer devices, in the home, car and office, at work and at play, ST is found everywhere microelectronics make a positive and innovative contribution to people's life. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.

In 2016, the Company's net revenues were $6.97 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.

For Press Information Contact:



DVB-S2 (ETSI EN 302 307 part 1), DVB-S2X (ETSI EN 302 307 part 2) and DVB-S2 Annex-M parts of the DVB-S2 standard. According to Wikipedia, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3 meters

STMicroelectronicsMichael MarkowitzDirector of Technical Media Relations+1 781 591 0354
Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says he is proud to be a Nigerian.

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says he is proud to be a Nigerian.The minister said this after a facility tour of the plant of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited on Bonny Island, Rivers state.He described the NLNG as a shining example of the Nigerian success story in management and technical competence.Until I came here I did not know that Nigeria has a humongous asset as the NLNG. I have been reading about NLNG but coming here and having a firsthand experience and information, the briefing and the tour of the place have actually changed my mind completely about the NLNG, he said in a statement issued by Segun Adeyemi, his media aide, on Wednesday.I am inspired, excited and proud to be a Nigerian. This probably is the best success story of this country and my pride largely derives from the fact that this company is run by Nigerians. The management entirely represents Nigeria and when you look at the complexity of the operation, Im also very proud that this is coming from Nigeria.Mohammed said the NLNG was the incubator for the growth of the nations oil and gas industry, and that if adequately encouraged, the company would replicate in Nigeria the kind of transformation that Qatar did with its gas reserves.He urged the media to continue to project the NLNG positively to ensure that the vision of the company is realised.In his remarks, Tony Attah, managing director of the NLNG, said the time had come for Nigeria to unleash its gas potential and power the economy, especially as the country has the ninth largest gas reservoir in the world with a proven 187 trillion cubic feet.Attah said in order to realise the dream, the NLNG was embarking on the ambitious project for the construction of trains seven and eight, which would attract $25 billion foreign direct investment and the creation of 18,000 jobs in the construction phase alone.Its time for gas and its time for Nigeria and we believe this is possible. We see that opportunity from trains seven and eight unleashing the gas potential. We see deliberate opportunities of the country going after the 600TcF of gas (reserve). In building trains seven and eight, potential investment that will be coming is about $25 billion, he said.Attah said the country, through the NLNG, had succeeded in reducing gas flaring from 65 percent to 20 percent, and that it would continue to diversify the energy resources and monetise gas in the country.According to him, the NLNG has so far paid $5.5 billion in taxes and $15 billion in dividends to the federal government and has spent $13 billion on the purchase of gas to process into liquefied form.
90 min+5 GOAL! Barcelona 6-1 PSG (Roberto)

90 min+1 GOAL! Barcelona 5-1 PSG (Neymar, pen)

90 min PENALTY BARCELONA!

88 min GOAL! Barcelona 4-1 PSG (Neymar)

62 min GOAL! Barcelona 3-1 PSG (Cavani)

50 min GOAL! Barcelona 3-0 PSG (Messi, pen)

40 min GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 PSG (Kurzawa OG)

3 min GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 PSG (Suarez)

Good evening and welcome tolive commentary of the Champions League last-16 second leg between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.PSG are currently in a commanding position in the tie after recording a 4-0 win when the two teams met in Paris last month.Indeed, no team has ever overturned a first-leg 4-0 defeat in a Champions League knockout tie, which is an indication of the task facing the Spanish champions at Camp Nou tonight.Follow live minute-by-minute updates of the clash from Spain below.Ter Stegen; Mascherano, Pique, Umtiti; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Rafinha; Messi, Suarez, NeymarTrapp; Meunier, Marquinhos, Silva, Kurzawa; Rabiot, Verratti, Matuidi; Lucas, Cavani, DraxlerOh my word. It is just crazy. Barcelona were out when PSG scored an away goal, but the Spanish champions have scored six times tonight to book their spot in the quarter-finals. It is one of the most incredible stories in Champions League history. Absolutely crazy stuff tonight! Thanks for joining our live coverage of the match!It is just ridiculous. I am not sure what to say, but it is utter heartbreak for PSG.This is quite incredible. Barcelona have their sixth as Roberto converts a chipped pass from Neymar! The Spanish giants are heading into the quarter-finals in quite incredible fashion.OH MY WORD!Ter Stegen is forward for Barcelona and this might be their last chance.Super header from Matuidi clears PSG's lines!Free-kick Barcelona!PSG SUB! Krychowiak replaces Meunier for the away side.Pique nods the ball into the arms of Trapp!We are into the second of five additional minutes here!What a sensational game, and Barcelona still have time for one more!Incredible! Neymar scores from the spot and Barcelona need one more!Marquinhos (PSG) is booked for fouling Suarez in the box!Sensational from Neymar as the Brazilian picks out the top corner with a super free kick!Di Maria fells Neymar and Barcelona have another free kick outside the PSG box...Stunning chance for Di Maria to score a second for PSG after breaking into the Barcelona box, but the Argentine gets it all wrong and scoops wide of the post!Andre Gomes replaces Rakitic.Just that little edge is missing for Barcelona at the moment as PSG continue to sit deep and absorb the pressure. Cavani's away goal is going to take the French side into the quarter-finals.Barcelona continue to enjoy possession in the final third of the field, but PSG are clearing their lines time after time and the French champions are close to having a quarter-final spot confirmed.Di Maria wants a penalty for a Pique handball, but the referee is not interested and play continues. You still get the feeling that there might be another goal in the latter stages of this game.Little over 10 minutes of the second period remaining and Barcelona need three goals in order to advance to the quarter-finals. There is not too much happening at the moment, however, and PSG are taking their time when they have the chance. Whistles around the stadium here.Roberto replaces Rafinha for the home side.Aurier replaces Draxler for PSG.Messi sends a low effort wide of the post after breaking into the PSG box!Trapp drops to the ground to keep out a long-range strike from Neymar.Little over 20 minutes of this last-16 second leg remaining and Barcelona need to score three times in order to advance to the quarter-finals. That away goal from Cavani was absolutely massive.Suarez (Barcelona) is booked for diving in the PSG box.Marquinhos clears off the line after Turan had sent one towards the bottom corner! It is all happening with 66 minutes on the clock at Camp Nou.Turan replaces Iniesta for Barcelona.Neymar (Barcelona) is booked for a foul on Marquinhos.Ter Stegen keeps out Cavani after the striker had broken into a one-on-one situation! That just about keeps Barcelona in the tie here!And there is the away goal! PSG make it 3-1 on the night as Cavani smashes the ball into the top corner after a smart header from Kurzawa. It is a wonderful finish from the striker!Rakitic (Barcelona) is booked for a foul on Draxler.The ball bounces around inside the Barcelona box as Cavani smashes a low cross towards Matuidi, but Barcelona survive what was a dangerous moment. Just one goal for the visitors could kill this tie.Little over 30 minutes of normal time remaining at Camp Nou, and Barcelona only need one goal to level the tie, which is just incredible. PSG really need to find something on the counter-attack.PSG commit five players forward on the counter-attack, but Di Maria cannot find the pass and Barcelona break down the other end once again. Messi tries to dance into the PSG box, but there are enough white shirts around to make the clearance. What an incredible game of football!PSG SUB! Di Maria replaces Lucas for the away side.Neymar goes down in the box once again under pressure from Meunier, but the referee is not interested. That would have been very harsh and Neymar is fortunate to escape a yellow card.Trapp collects a deep cross from Rafinha as PSG just look to survive in this match.Oh my word! Cavani hits the post from close range after making contact on a low cross from Meunier. So close to PSG finding the all-important away goal at Camp Nou!Messi sends his penalty past Trapp!The referee takes his time awarding a penalty, but after speaking with the official behind the goal, points to the spot! Meunier slips inside the penalty area and pulls Neymar to the deck!Draxler drives into the Barcelona box before poking the ball towards the bottom corner, but Rafinha manages to make contact and it goes behind for a PSG corner. The resulting set piece is delivered towards the near post and eventually comes for Draxler, but his effort is high and wide.no changes from either side at the break, which is not too much of a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will already have alterations in mind for the second 45 minutes of action.PSG resume the action at Camp Nou...The referee brings the first period to a close with Barcelona leading 2-0 on the night courtesy of an early header from Luis Suarez and own-goal from Kurzawa five minutes before the break. PSG still lead 4-2 on aggregate, but the French champions are wobbling at Camp Nou!PSG clear their lines and it does appear that 2-0 Barcelona will stand at the break.PSG just cannot seem to keep the ball at the moment as Barcelona continue to force the issue late in the first period. This has been a really poor first half from the French champions.We are into the first of three additional minutes at the end of the first period.Cavani just needs to be careful here after clashing with Mascherano, who will do his best to wind up the already-booked striker. Barcelona are seeking a third in the latter stages of the first period.Cavani (PSG) is booked for dissent.Good grief! Shocker! Barcelona have their second of the match as Iniesta keeps the ball alive inside the PSG box and Kurzawa turns into his own net after making contact with his own goalkeeper. It is a bizarre goal, but Barcelona have their second and that could be a massive moment in this tie.Lucas is back on his feet and should be fit to continue here.Lucas has a problem for PSG after taking a knock in a challenge with Umtiti.Little over five minutes of the first period to play and PSG have managed to keep the score down to 1-0, which is no problem approaching the mid-point of the first leg. Barcelona would have wanted to build on that early Suarez goal, but the visitors have been nice and compact at the back.Busquets (Barcelona) is booked for dissent.Half-chance for Luis Suarez, but his effort is straight at Trapp. It was sloppy work from Rabiot to concede possession in a dangerous position, but PSG managed to survive once again.Neymar is seemingly pulled to the ground inside the PSG box, but the referee is not interested. Again Meunier took a bit of a chance, although it would have been a soft award!It was a poor start from PSG tonight, but they have managed to weather the storm and they would accept being 1-0 behind at the interval. A second for Barcelona in the latter stages of the first period, however, would paint a very different picture. It is still very delicately poised here.Ter Stegen stands still to collect a long-range Lucas strike.Neymar is seeing plenty of the ball down that left, and the Brazilian has had some rough treatment in terms of challenges. Meunier again dives into the attacker and is a tough fortunate not to pick up a yellow card. Little under 15 minutes of the first period remaining and Barcelona still lead 1-0.Iniesta hits one from distance, but his effort was always clearing the PSG crossbar. It is important that Barcelona do not force things and take shots from distance, which plays into PSG's hands.Messi's free kick is straight into the wall.Barcelona have another free kick in a dangerous area as Kurzawa fells Rafinha...It is like a training session at the moment as Barcelona continue to dominate the ball, with PSG sitting in and defending their lines. It is a classic attack versus defence situation, and it is up to Barcelona to find the goals tonight. The atmosphere remains absolutely electric at Camp Nou.Pique (Barcelona) is booked for a late tackle on Cavani.Pass, pass, pass from Barcelona as they look to work the ball into the final third, but PSG are nice and compact at the moment, and are making it difficult for the Spanish champions to find that yard. Eventually Busquets attempts to force it, and PSG can resume the play from the dead-ball line.PSG are keeping Draxler and Lucas up the field with Cavani, and I am just finding it difficult to imagine the away side not scoring tonight. I expect Barcelona to win on the night, but they still have a lot of work to do to change this tie around. It is a fascinating game of football at Camp Nou.Neymar whistles a curling effort just wide of Trapp's post!Marquinhos goes up with Pique, but the PSG centre-back was in an offside position. Better from the visitors in the last few moments as they start to ask some questions of the Barcelona defence.We have not seen an awful lot from PSG in the opening 17 minutes of this match, but they now have a free kick in a decent position after Lucas is brought to the ground by the challenging Busquets.Messi's effort whistles over the crossbar. Trapp had it covered.Messi and Neymar are both standing over the Barcelona free kick.Draxler (PSG) is booked for fouling Messi just outside the Barca box...Much better from PSG in the last couple of minutes as they start to threaten the Barcelona goal. An away goal for the visitors tonight would leave Barcelona needing to score six times without reply.Mascherano handles a Draxler cross inside the Barcelona box and PSG want a penalty, but the referee is not interested. It would have been a little bit harsh for me.Half-chance for Mascherano as the ball falls for the Argentine outside the PSG box, but his effort was always wide of the post. PSG are really struggling to settle in these early minutes.Neymar wants a penalty after smashing a cross into the PSG box, but the referee is not interested and on second look, it was the right decision from the official. Neymar is back on the ball moments later, however, and Meunier is having a lot of problems controlling the Brazilian at the moment.PSG are just about surviving at the moment as Barcelona continue to flood numbers forward in search of a second goal on the night. I still fancy PSG to score at some point tonight, but this has been the perfect start from the home side, who are absolutely full of it in the final third of the field.Matuidi (PSG) is booked for a late challenge on Umtiti.Just what the doctor ordered! Barcelona lead on the night inside three minutes as Luis Suarez heads home from close range after some terrible defending inside the PSG box. A high ball was not cleared by the visitors and Luis Suarez was on hand to flick his header past the isolated Trapp!... Barcelona have scored four or more goals on 15 separate occasions this season, and that is the task facing them tonight. The problem, however, is that they are coming up against a very strong PSG outfit. As expected, Barcelona have taken control of the possession in the early moments here.Barcelona kick things off at Camp Nou...
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has successfully destroyed a logistics base concealed by fleeing Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) in Sambisa.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has successfully destroyed a logistics base concealed by fleeing Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) in Sambisa.Two fleeing terrorists were tracked by NAF Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft to the concealed location where they had gone to retrieve some items before fighter aircraft were called-in for strike.The coordinated attack was carried out by a formation of two Alpha Jet and an F-7Ni fighter aircraft while the ISR aircraft remained overhead the target location to guide the attacking aircraft as well as provide battle damage assessment.The huge inferno generated by the attack suggests that the target location was either a fuel or ammunition dump as can be seen from the declassified footage of the air strike.The latest air strike is another major feat in the renewed air effort by the NAF to neutralise the fleeing terrorists as well as decimate their capability to regroup for attack on own surface forces and people within the nearby communities. You are please requested to disseminate this information through your medium for the awareness of the general public. Thank you for your usual support and cooperation.
The Nigerian Customs Service has said it is going ahead with it planned car duty payment despite resolution by the Senate for it to halt t...

The Nigerian Customs Service has said it is going ahead with it planned car duty payment despite resolution by the Senate for it to halt the policy.The Senate had on Tuesday ordered the Customs to halt the auto duty payment policy, and summoned representatives of the Service to appear before it to throw more light on the issue.But the service on Wednesday said it had made some adjustments to the policy and believed the senate would give its endorsement, especially after the Comptroller General meets the lawmakers to explained the details.Acting Public Relations Officer of the Customs Service, Joseph Attah, explained some of the changes to the policy while addressing a press conference at the Customs headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.He explained that the point of payments for vehicles whose duty have not been paid will now be at the nearest Customs Area Command, with the exception of Lagos and Port Harcourt.
The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra on Wednesday said the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu would have ...

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra on Wednesday said the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu would have waged another war against the country should he be alive over the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.The MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu stated this in a statement made available to newsmen in Awka, Anambra state.The MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu stated this in a statement made available to newsmen in Awka, Anambra state.He blamed the Nnia Nwodo-led Ohanaeze Ndigbo for not finding time to visit Kanu in prison.Madu wondered what had kept Nwodo and other Igbo leaders from visiting Kanu even when it had become visible that they had been gallivanting about, paying solidarity visits to those who did not deserve such courtesies.His statement read in part , If truly these men in Ohaneze Ndigbo leadership love our people knowing fully well that 90 percent of Ndigbo prefers Biafra to staying in Nigeria, what has kept Chief Nnia Nwodo, his executive and Ime Obi from visiting or showing solidarity to Nnamdi Kanu, the most loved Igbo man today?What has been keeping the leadership of Ndi Eze in Igbo land from visiting Nnamdi Kanu in prison or his father, a fellow member of the southeast traditional council? Why is it that Igbo National Assembly caucus has never shown any sign of affection to the travails of Nnamdi Kanu and others?The group which said it was missing the father figure of the late Ojukwu, asked the Nwodo leadership of Ohanaeze to emulate the likes of late Senators Uche Chukwumerije, Ikechukwu Obiora, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Joy Emodi, Annie Okonkwo who would storm the court in solidarity during my detention, Uwazuruike and others.He added that During my three years, six months and two weeks detention in Suleja, Keffi and Kuje prisons from 2006 to 2009, Senator Uche Chukwumerije and others severally visited me and others in prison.It added,What is still holding the Southeast CAN and other Religious leaders from showing solidarity to our brother, Nnamdi Kanu and others in prisons.If Gov Fayose of Ekiti state were to be Igbo, he would have visited Nnamdi Kanu in prison, if Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is still alive, he would have fought for the release of Nnamdi Kanu.
One person who was alleged to be a rice smuggler was said to have been killed by the operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service along Siun-...

One person who was alleged to be a rice smuggler was said to have been killed by the operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service along Siun-Sagamu-Abeokuta road this morning.Unconfirmed reports say the operatives of the NCS had pursued the alleged rice smugglers to a certain point along the road around Kobape when the tragic event occurred.The situation in the area was said to be volatile as at the time of filing this report.The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident but he said details were still sketchy.He said, The area commanders of Sagamu and Abeokuta, the Divisional Police Officer, Owode-Egba and other police officers are now on ground to maintain peace and order.
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has called for Nigerias educational system to allow for the inclusion of Arabic education into the...

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has called for Nigerias educational system to allow for the inclusion of Arabic education into the mainstream.The emir said this on Monday while delivering the Thomas Hodgin Memorial Lecture at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.The lecture, titled Tradition, Modernization and Reform  The Institution of Emir as Change Agent, focused on the reform agenda the monarch is pursuing in Kano, which he hopes will see the codification of family law, reforms in education and the use of Zakkah, the mandatory alms giving in Islam, to set up foundations to systemically deal with some of the problems that bedevil Northern Nigeria.On education in particular, the emir said it didnt make sense and was indeed counterproductive that millions of children and adults who can already read and write Arabic are classified as illiterate.The refusal to recognise and value this learning, he said, is a costly by-product of British colonialism, which only recognised English-language literacy.According to him, it feeds the structure of power and inequality that currently exists and leads to resentment because these millions, who in many nearby countries would be counted as literate, feel marginalised. The practical outcome of this is of course not only a population of millions that is limited from being useful and productive, but one which is susceptible to manipulation by extremists, he said.He therefore called on reform of the system that would allow some sort of certification for this learning which then allows those with this education to join mainstream schools to learn. The other option he said would be to employ teachers who could teach various disciplines in Arabic and make them part of the mainstream.When asked during the question and answer session why he was not making a case for learning in indigenous languages like Hausa, he said in an ideal situation, that would be his preference; but insisted provisions have to be made for the millions that are already literate in Arabic. Ignoring these people, he said, has serious social consequences some of which are already evident.On family law, the emir cited the recent existence of child marriage in countries such as the U.S. to underline the need for broad social acceptance of change, which he is pursuing by fostering a process of debate between Islamic scholars, lawyers, NGOs and wider society.Pointing to overcoming resistance to polio eradication as an example, he said that engaging communities directly and winning trust brings results. In the past, he suggested, loud campaigning and stigmatising of traditional values had proved counterproductive and held back progress.Prominent personalities that attended the lecture included Professor Murray Last, the first person to obtain a PHD from a Nigerian University; a former head of Nigerias Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Attahiru Jega; and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abubakar Mahmud.Thomas Hodgin was an Oxford trained historian who engaged deeply with Nigeria and is believed to have done more than anyone to establish the serious study of African history in the United Kingdom. He was married to Nobel prize-winning chemist, Dorothy Hodgkin.
Nollywood actor, Uche Maduagwu has called out OAP Freeze to stop criticizing men of God and focus on his job.Earlier today, Freeze said there may just be truth in Stephanies claim against Apostle SuleimanThe actor wondered what freeze stands to gain by tarnishing the image of great man of God just because a girl accused him wrongly of having an affair with her.He pleaded with the controversial OAP to let Nigerians free themselves from whatever bondage of men of God rather than capitalize on passing judgments on them.On his Instagram page @Uchemaduagwu, he wrote: A letter to the king of sheeps: Please stop pulling down great men of God in Nigeria You are someone I respect so much but Im beginning to wonder why you love criticizing men of God!If I may ask sir, have you ever been sexually molested by a clergyman? If no, then why are you always writing trash about different men of God?You had said all manner of evil things against my Pastor, the General overseer of The Redeemed Christian church of God,(RCCG), a great man of God, who had dedicated all his life to serving God and humanity, you had also fabricated lies against the general overseer of Winners Chapel, and now you are tarnishing the image of another great man of God just because a girl accused him wrongly of having an affair with her.Please what do you stand to gain by pulling down men of God?Are you a saint? Who made you a spokesman for Christians? Even the bible clearly states that judge not So why do you take pleasure in condemning these men of God?Or have you forgotten that even the Vice President of Nigeria is also a PASTOR?Please, this has to stop, focus on your O.A.P job and let the sheeps free themselves, thats even if they are in bondages in the first place.You are not God, neither are you perfect, so please sir, let this stop.Stop criticizing the administration of President Buhari, stop criticizing the great men of God in Nigeria, please sir stop it. This is not to put you down, but its just a candid advice, so you can make heaven when the trumpet blows, and thats if youre a true believer anyways.
Two Chinese nationals, Tao Shen and Jing Yau, were on Wednesday arraigned before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of a Federal High Court in La...

Two Chinese nationals, Tao Shen and Jing Yau, were on Wednesday arraigned before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of a Federal High Court in Lagos, over charges bordering on alleged importation of fake tyres.Shen, 36, and Yau, 22, were charged alongside a Nigerian, Chinedu Madubuike and two companies, Sino Nig. Import and export Ltd, and Nedeca International Ltd, on four counts bordering on importation of substandard products.Mr Babatunde Alajogun appeared for the prosecution, while Mr Victor Okpara announced his appearance for the defendants.The case, however, did not go on due to the absence of a Chinese interpreter, who was expected to translate the charges to them in Chinese language.The trial judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, consequently, ordered that an interpreter be produced in court at the next adjourned date for the accused to take their plea.In the charge sheet, the accused were said to have committed the offence in February (this year) by conspiring to import tyres which did not meet the relevant Nigeria industrial standard.They were alleged to have stuffed various sizes of tyres into one, knowing same to be in a dangerous state, or been injurious to human life.The accused were said to have imported the tyres, which did not comply with the mandatory Nigeria standard, on account of their stuffing different sizes into one, thereby making the tyres unfit for their purposes.The tyres were said to have failed to meet the relevant Nigerian industrial standards and were likely to endanger human lives.Also, the accused were alleged to have failed to furnish returns on the conditions of the imported tyres as required by law.The counts contravened the Sections 320 and 510 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation, 2004.They were also said to have contravened Sections 26 and 32 of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act, No 14, Laws of the Federation, 2004.Justice Olatoregun while adjourning their arraignment to March 20, said that the accused be returned to where they were brought from.
Apostle Suleman, General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries is currently embroiled in an alleged scandal with a Canadian lover, Stephan...

Apostle Suleman, General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries is currently embroiled in an alleged scandal with a Canadian lover, Stephanie Otobo.His church, The Omega Fire Ministries, yesterday, denied that Suleman had a hand in the arrest and detention of Ms. Otobo by the police last Friday.Apostle Suleiman in a statement signed, by his Communications Manager, Phrank Shaibu, in Abuja, also denied that there was a so-called amorous relationship between the said Miss Otobo and the General Overseer, including a promise to marry her.Instead, the church stated that the lady was arrested by operatives acting on a tip off that she had repeatedly tried to blackmail the preacher, including demanding N500 million from him, failing which she threatened to expose a purported amorous relationship between her and the pastor.The statement of Omega Fire Ministries was in reaction to two letters by Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, demanding the same N500 million on behalf of the said lady and also accusing Apostle Suleiman of procuring policemen to intimidate and detain his client unlawfully, having earlier promised to marry her.But Phrank Shaibu said the lawyer was misled into believing that there was an amorous relationship between Apostle Suleiman and the said Miss Otobo, pointing out that the lady was caught up by her machinations as she was arrested while trying to withdraw money paid into her account by the church in a sting operation coordinated by the police.However in a reaction, Keyamo said that there was no such thing as blackmail, adding that there was enough evidence to support the ladys claims. He told newsmen in a telephone call.
Recruiting Veteran Will Lead Levers Overall Talent and Employee Experience Teams and Strategy



SAN FRANCISCO, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lever, the recruiting software for more than 1,200 fast-growing companies around the world, has named Mike Bailen its first Vice President, People. A recruiting industry veteran, Bailen will oversee Levers recruiting and employee experience teams with a focus on finding, attracting, developing, and retaining talent.

Bailen first met Lever while leading recruiting efforts for Eventbrite, where he drove the selection and implementation of Lever as the companys primary recruiting platform. During his tenure at Eventbrite, Bailen overhauled the companys recruitment practices across recruitment marketing, employer branding, candidate experience, and hiring manager and interviewer training. Bailen previously held multiple recruiting and HR roles at Zappos, where he led the companys innovative decision to remove all job postings in favor of building a talent community among their passionate user base.

Mike has an incredible track record as an innovator in the talent space, having worked for Zappos and Eventbrite, companies known for their creative approaches and unyielding commitment to hiring the best people, said Sarah Nahm, CEO of Lever. Whats more, Mike shares Levers dedication to caring for and nurturing employees. I am confident the combination of Mikes experience and worldview will be instrumental in guiding Lever through our next phase of growth.

In 2015, Bailen was named to LinkedIns Next Wave list, which recognizes the top professionals under 35 across different industries. Bailen often speaks on HR and recruiting topics, and has presented at multiple industry conferences including LinkedIn Talent Connect, the Australasian Talent Conference, and Levers own Talent Innovation Summit.

Throughout my career Ive seen that culture is critical, not only to finding and retaining talent, but also to a companys overall success, said Bailen. Levers culture, which encourages feedback, champions cross-functional empathy, inspires collaboration and values the contribution of each and every employee, attracts the best and the brightest. Having also seen firsthand the role that Lever plays in powering a proactive talent strategy for their customers, I am honored to be a part of this team.

Named to RecruitingDailys list of the top 10 HR Technology and Recruiting Tools in both 2015 and 2016, Levers suite of talent acquisition products helps companies of all sizes prepare for the future of employment. With an overall gender ratio of 50:50, Lever is also fiercely committed to providing its team with a culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion.

About Lever

Built from the conviction that recruiting is the responsibility of everyone at the company, Levers applicant tracking and sourcing technology draws the entire team together to source, engage, interview, and hire top talent through effortless collaboration. Lever was founded in 2012 in San Francisco. The company has raised more than $32 million in funding from Scale Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, Y Combinator, Redpoint Ventures, and Correlation Ventures among others. Lever supports the hiring needs of over 1,200 companies around the globe including the teams at Netflix, Eventbrite, Lyft, and Quora. For more information, visit https://www.lever.co.
Women in Sokoto State are drumming up support for the emergence of a woman as Nigerias President in 2019.

Women in Sokoto State are drumming up support for the emergence of a woman as Nigerias President in 2019.The women made their feelings known at a rally in Sokoto on Wednesday to mark the International Womens Day.Prof. Aishatu Madawaki, who spoke on behalf of the women, lamented over the continued marginalisation of women in all spheres of life in the country, including the political space.She contended that only the emergence of a woman President would end such marginalisation and allow women contribute more meaningfully to national development.She, therefore, said women in the state would push for the emergence of a woman president in Nigeria in 2019.Madawaki, a Professor of Educational Psychology at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto said women should be given more space to exercise their rights in the country.For any development to take place, there has to be gender equity, hence, women should be given more chances to contribute to the political and socioeconomic development of the country. Women are very peaceful, tolerant, incorruptible and patriotic.Gov. Aminu Tambuwal, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bashir Garba, said the government had given priority to issues of women, children and other vulnerable groups. Tambuwal noted that women have been playing creditable roles in the political and socio-economic development of the state, assuring that the administration would not discriminate against them.The governor challenged women in the country to participate more actively in party politics and other spheres of national development.Also, the Speaker, Sokoto State House of Assembly, Alhaji Salihu Maidaji, said women had contributed immensely to humanity, literature and warfare.Represented by the House Leader, Alhaji Garba Bello, the speaker, however, noted that over the years, women have been relegated to the background in politics, education, public service and businesses.In a message to the event, the Executive Director, United Nations Fund For Population Activities (UNFPA), Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, declared that gender equality is a human right.Represented by the Head of UNFPA Kaduna Sub Office, Mrs Mariama Darboe, Osotimehin stressed that women were entitled to live in dignity and freedom from want, fear and discrimination.Gender equality is also vital to sustainable development and security. It is not just a women issue. It is an issue for all humanity. `Sadly, despite some progress, the world still has a long way to go to achieve full gender equality.
COVINGTON, La., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Globalstar (NYSE:GSAT) and Inmarsat, two leading providers of mobile satellite and voice data communications services, announced today their intention to form a new partnership to cross-sell their respective products and services, increasing their global reach. The future partnership aims to provide additional service options for the growing and diverse needs of the companies expanding international customer bases.



Inmarsat and Globalstar are working towards a formal agreement, which will provide both companies with new and complementary capabilities. Both organizations own and operate their own satellite constellations, with Globalstar using a new low-earth orbiting (LEO) type that launched in 2013, and Inmarsat using geostationary (GEO) satellites, including its Global Xpress high-speed mobile broadband constellation, which entered global commercial service at the end of 2015. This partnership combines the best of both proven satellite technologies, making it a mutually beneficial alliance.

This strategic partnership with Inmarsat will allow us to enhance our product offerings and provide transformative communications services to more people worldwide, said Jay Monroe, Chairman and Chief Executive Office of Globalstar. We are looking forward to the positive impact we can make together and are optimistic about what the future holds with this groundbreaking partnership.

Paul Gudonis, President of Inmarsat Enterprise, commented on the development: This partnership will bring significant benefits to both Globalstars and Inmarsats customers, allowing them to access a wider range of satellite products from anywhere on the globe. As a key partnership, it will have an impact that is mutually beneficial to both organizations, and we are excited to work with Globalstar to develop the relationship.

Both companies will continue to operate independently of each other and the completion of the agreement will be effective in the coming weeks.

About Globalstar, Inc.

Globalstar is a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services. Customers around the world in industries such as government, emergency management, marine, logging, oil & gas and outdoor recreation rely on Globalstar to conduct business smarter and faster, maintain peace of mind and access emergency personnel. Globalstar data solutions are ideal for various asset and personal tracking, data monitoring, SCADA and IoT applications. The Company's products include mobile and fixed satellite telephones, the innovative Sat-Fi satellite hotspot, Simplex and Duplex satellite data modems, tracking devices and flexible service packages.

About Inmarsat

Inmarsat plc is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air. Inmarsat operates in more than 60 locations around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:ISAT.L). For more information, please visit www.inmarsat.com.

The Inmarsat press release newsfeed and corporate updates are on @InmarsatGlobal.
ST and Eutelsat complete development of state-of-the-art chip for Eutelsat's next-generation SmartLNB

Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland - March 8, 2017 - Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL), one of the world's leading satellite operators, and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, have achieved a new milestone with a new-generation chip that will power Eutelsat's SmartLNB interactive terminal.

ST's advanced, low-power System-on-Chip (STiD337) represents a big step down in the overall cost of interactive satellite terminals. The STiD337's first adoption is in Eutelsat's SmartLNB, lowering cost, upgrading service, and significantly reducing power consumption.

The SmartLNB is an electronic feed that replaces the traditional Ku-band reception of DTH satellite signals, embedding one or more satellite tuners/demodulators directly inside the LNB (low-noise block) and adding a narrowband return link optimized for transmissions of IP packets. The SmartLNB enables a wide range of connected TV applications, providing a transparent bidirectional IP link compatible with existing services. Not limited to the TV and broadcast market, applications also cover the exploding sector of connected objects (Machine-to-Machine, Internet of Things, SCADA, home-automation, Smart Buildings, etc.) with a cost-effective solution via satellite.

ST has employed its very low-power 28nm FD-SOI (Fully Depleted Silicon on Insulator) process technology that enables deep sleep and auto wake up for the system. With a maximum 3.5W power dissipation at full speed and less than 50mW (typical) during sleep, the STiD337 is the most power-efficient device available today to take the SmartLNB to a new level of performance and efficiency.

The STiD337 adds the latest DVB-S2X satellite standard for the forward link, as well as GSE (Generic Stream Encapsulation) for efficient data handling; it can achieve throughput of over 100Mb/sec. The return path implements a software-radio approach that is optimized for the enhanced spread-spectrum technique with asynchronous access typically used for the SmartLNB. The device also includes the full complement of hardware mechanisms to support real-time multiple-access techniques. The return modulation is calculated on the internal processors. The platform includes a dual ARM Cortex-A9 core with NEONTM co-processors and four ST231 DSP offload coprocessors to enhance its compute power and ensure complete flexibility in the choice of return-channel modulation type.

The new SoC will be available in secure and standard versions. The secure version includes pre-loaded encryption keys, serial numbers, safe-boot, and many other features to increase the level of protection of data-delivering and gathering operations by the SmartLNB.

"We wanted a step change in the cost and performance for the next generation of our SmartLNB interactive service. We know from our customers that security is a major concern and we wanted to address that head on. Furthermore, with satellite terminals becoming more ubiquitous and employed in a greater range of use cases we needed to pay even greater attention to power consumption," said Antonio Arcidiacono, Director of Innovation at Eutelsat. "The design objectives we set have all been met and we're aiming to roll out higher-performance, lower-cost, secure, and above all, lower-power consumption SmartLNB terminals based on ST's new satellite SoC by the end of 2017."

"Working closely with Eutelsat, we've developed the lowest-cost, lowest-power, secure, and most advanced interactive satellite-modem SoC to date," said Jocelyne Garnier, Group VP, General Manager, Aerospace, Defense, and Legacy Division, STMicroelectronics. "From the outset we knew we could bring innovations to the market that played to many of the strengths we have in ST, especially in digital satellite systems, our system-on-chip experience, our low-power technologies, and of course, our security IP."

ST provides a hardware evaluation platform, a Linux-based operating system, and a basic driver set. Final production samples of the STiD337 are available now and full production is scheduled for May 2017. Further information is available on ST.com and under NDA.

About STMicroelectronics

ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power and automotive products and embedded processing solutions. From energy management and savings to trust and data security, from healthcare and wellness to smart consumer devices, in the home, car and office, at work and at play, ST is found everywhere microelectronics make a positive and innovative contribution to people's life. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.

In 2016, the Company's net revenues were $6.97 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.

About Eutelsat

Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world's leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 39 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies.

Eutelsat's satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user's location.

Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com
LOS ANGELES, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Absorption Pharmaceuticals has filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court seeking over $150 million in damages and a halt to sales of K-Y Duration. The lawsuit is against British conglomerate Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (LON:RB), the maker of household products such as Frenchs Mustard, Lysol, Mucinex, Air Wick, Woolite and K-Y.

The 32-page complaint alleges Reckitt Benckiser approached Absorption Pharmaceuticals in 2014 and engaged in a sham acquisition and due diligence process to steal its proprietary information. Reckitt Benckiser then used the information it stole from Absorption to bring to market a product called K-Y Duration, which is a competitor to Absorption Pharmaceuticals' popular product, Promescent. Both Promescent and Duration are sexual health sprays designed to help men who suffer from premature ejaculation, or PE. Promescent was developed by prominent California urologist Dr. Ron Gilbert and continued to be marketed after his tragic death in 2013.



This is a case about theft and fraud. For nearly two years, Reckitt Benckiserpart of a large and global conglomerate that owns such household brands as Lysol, Mucinex, Air Wick, Woolite, Durex, and K-Yextracted a wealth of confidential sales, marketing, product, and manufacturing information about Absorptions highly successful premature ejaculation (PE) productPromescentunder the guise that Reckitt Benckiser was considering acquiring Absorption. . . . Nonetheless, in September of 2016, Reckitt Benckiser launched its own competing PE product called Duration, and misappropriated the confidential sales, marketing, product, and manufacturing information that Absorption had shared. After developing its own product using Absorptions confidential and proprietary information, Reckitt Benckiser broke off negotiations to purchase Absorption, according to the Complaint.



Reckitt Benckiser approached our company in 2014, expressing an interest in buying Absorption Pharmaceuticals, said Jeff Abraham, Absorption Pharmaceuticals CEO who was also close friend and business partner to Dr. Gilbert. We already had an exciting offer on the table valued at approximately $150 million for our business, but Reckitt Benckiser asked us to hold off because of its stated desire to acquire Absorption. At Reckitt Benckiser's request, we shared our proprietary sales, marketing, and technical data as part of 'due-diligence' for Reckitt Benckiser's supposed acquisition. We were shocked when we later learned the whole thing was a sham. As alleged in detail in our complaint, Reckitt Benckiser had never intended to buy our company. Instead, they intended to steal our proprietary information so they could launch a competing product using our marketing strategy and other trade secrets. Even worse, they have since set about to destroy Promescent as a competitor by having our listing on Amazon.com hidden from the general public and stealing shelf space at key retailers.



The Complaint alleges that when Reckitt Benckiser first approached Absorption Pharmaceuticals in 2014, Reckitt Benckiser stated it did not believe that a lidocaine-based PE spray could work or that the market for a PE spray was large enough to justify entry. Reckitt Benckiser had previously marketed a PE spray under its Durex label that was a failure and had written off the PE market.



The Complaint quotes an email from a Reckitt Benckiser executive who had tried samples of Promescent provided by Absorption, as did other very senior colleagues. IT REALLY WORKS, the executive exclaimed in the email. The Complaint further alleges, also quoting from a Reckitt Benckiser executives email, that having satisfied itself of the efficacy of the product, Reckitt Benckiser identified assessing the potential size of the market as the core exercise we need to run.



According to the Complaint, Absorption proceeded to provide Reckitt Benckiser with confidential customer sales information, purchasing patterns, and other data that confirmed the enormous size of the market. After extracting these and other valuable trade secrets in an extended sham due diligence process, Reckitt Benckiser broke off negotiations to purchase Absorption, claiming that an outside market study commissioned by Reckitt Benckiser showed the market was too small to justify entry.

Months later, Reckitt Benckiser launched its competing Duration product on an unprecedented scale, with a marketing campaign that was the largest in the history of its K-Y line of products.



This is not the first-time Reckitt Benckiser has come under scrutiny for its behavior. In 2016, 41 states (including California) and the District of Columbia, sued Reckitt Benckiser for fabricating safety claims to maintain its monopoly over Suboxone, a treatment for heroin and opioid addiction that has accounted for as much as 20-percent of Reckitt Benckiser's global profits in recent years. The Colorado Attorney General, who is one of dozens of state Attorneys General suing Reckitt Benckiser in the lawsuit, accused the company of, shamelessly preying on patients in need of help and decried, their unconscionable tactics.



This lawsuit is as much about ensuring Rons remarkable legacy, as it is about making sure that they never do this to anyone else, said Abraham. Giant companies like Reckitt Benckiser need to learn that they cant swindle small companies out of their valuable proprietary information with false promises and lies.

Among other relief, the Complaint seeks compensatory damages in excess of $150 million, exemplary damages, attorneys fees, and an injunction that enjoins Reckitt Benckiser from, among other things, selling, distributing, marketing or otherwise commercially using its Duration product.



The case was filed in federal District Court in Nevada, where Absorption Pharmaceuticals is headquartered. [Docket 2:17-cv-00513] To view a copy of the complaint, click here.

Editors note: Dr. Gilbert, 52, was shot and killed in a tragic case of mistaken identity on January 28, 2013, leaving behind a wife and two young sons. Elizabeth Gilbert remains a part owner of Absorption Pharmaceuticals, with Jeff Abraham, a close friend and business partner to Dr. Gilbert, now the companys CEO.



About Absorption Pharmaceuticals

Absorption Pharmaceuticals is the maker of Promescent, a lidocaine spray made with careful consideration for the people who use it. Promescent is the only over-the-counter PE treatment option in North America whose efficacy has been clinically proven. Its revolutionary TargetZone technology adheres to all regulations from the FDA placed on health products. This privately held company was founded in 2011 and has seen tremendous growth within the U.S. and internationally. Promescent is now available through doctors' offices, retailers, pharmacies and online at http://www.promescent.com. Promescent is a registered trademark of Absorption Pharmaceuticals.
English French

2016 Annual Results Strong growth in earnings





The Board of Directors of the Societe de la Tour Eiffel met on 8 March 2017, chaired by Hubert Rodarie, and approved the financial statements for fiscal 2016. The audit procedures on these accounts have been carried out. The certification reports are being issued.

Consolidated figures

31/12/2016 31/12/2015 Portfolio value exluding transfer duties  1 133.5m  915.3m Portfolio value at amortised cost  934.4m  751.6m Net financial debt  410.1m  343.8m Financial debt rate 1.8% 3.2% Net LTV 36.2% 37.6% EPRA NNNAV (in /share) 58.9 58.1 2016 2015 Rental income  59.6m  53.0m EPRA financial occupancy rate 87.5% 89.7% Net profit/loss  17.1m  12.4m Net recurring profit/loss  16.6m  10.4m EPRA earnings  35.4m  26.3m Cash-flow  38.9m  32.3m in /share 3.2 3.4

Operating indicators up sharply

2016 Turnover

The consolidated turnover for Societe de la Tour Eiffel at 31 December 2016 was  75.8 million including  59.6 million of rental income (against  53.0 million in 2015), the balance mainly consisting of rental expenses re-invoiced to tenants.

Several factors contributed to this strong increase in rental income of +12.5% compared with 2015:

The change in the scope of the property portfolio:



The recent acquisitions in Velizy-Villacoublay (March 2015), Guyancourt (2 assets acquired in April 2015 and March 2016), Puteaux (2 assets acquired in November 2015 and in March 2016) and Nanterre (an office property and a business park acquired in December 2016) had an impact of + 8.8 million compared with the consolidated rental income for 2015. These acquisitions are in line with the new investment strategy implemented since mid-2014.

The Group generated  7.5 million of disposals of non-strategic properties in 2016 ( 10.5 million in 2015). These sales of property had no impact on rental income because they involved vacant land or buildings in 2016 as in 2015.

The change in the tenancy schedule

The impact of net reletting is - 2.2 million compared with 2015.

Two buildings became available on 1st January 2016, a mixed-use building with offices and light industrial space in Bobigny (93) and a warehouse in Etupes (25). The disposal of these two buildings is currently in process. These vacations had a negative effect of - 2.4 million on the change in rental income from 2015 to 2016.

The reletting of the asset in Rueil Malmaison in turn generated an increase in rental income of  0.5 million.

The EPRA financial occupancy rate stood at 87.5% at 31 December 2016 against 89.7% at 31 December 2015. The decrease is due in particular to the acquisition of the Nanterre Seine business park in December 2016 whose occupancy rate is, on average, slightly lower than the average for the Group's portfolio.

The indexing effect on rental income remained neutral in 2016, as was already the case in 2015.



Operating income on ordinary activities grew 2.4% to  25.2 million.



Current cash flow rose sharply (+20.3%) to  38.9 million for 2016, against  32.3 million for 2015. This very positive development reflects the increase in rental income, the satisfactory property occupancy and charge recovery rates, and the significant decline in net financial interest paid as a result of the new terms renegotiated for the entire debt mid-2015.



Developments

In 2016, the company pursued its development plan for its land reserves, with the programming of construction projects adapted to rental demand:

in Orsay in the Parc Eiffel, this involves an immediate construction project of 13,000 sq. m of offices, the first phase of which consists of three buildings (7,000 sq. m of offices, 4,000 sq. m of offices and 2,000 sq. m of services). The building permit is to be filed during the 1 st quarter 2017;



quarter 2017; in Massy within the Ampere Atlantis integrated development zone (ZAC), benefiting from the largest transport hub in the outskirts south of Paris, the "Eiffel Massy Campus" project includes the construction of over 23,000 sq. m of offices. The objective of this campus, with its focus on modular offices, services and medium-size areas, is to provide a commercial alternative to existing buildings.



In 2016, the growth of the company was also supported by the signature of several forward lease agreements (BEFA):

the Parc du Golf in Aix-en-Provence: signature of a 9-year BEFA including a firm 6-year lease agreement for CapGemini (already a tenant on one of the Group's sites in the Hauts-de-Seine) for which a new 4,300 sq. m building is being constructed. The building, which will be certified BREEAM Good, will be delivered in Q4 2017;



the Parc des Aygalades in Marseille: signature of a 12-year BEFA for the construction of a turnkey 1,967 sq. m building, with BREEAM Very Good certification and which is scheduled for handover in Q2 2018. The occupancy rate of the Parc des Aygalades will thus be increased to 98%;



the Parc des Tanneries in Strasbourg: signature of a 9-year BEFA for the renovation of a 1,351sq.m building.

High portfolio growth

The IFRS value (excluding transfere rights) stood at  1,133.5 million at 31 December 2016, increasing significantly by almost 24% compared with 31 December 2015 ( 915.3 million). The impact of acquisitions on the increase was more than  208 million, of which 3/4 come from acquisitions made late in the year in Nanterre Seine and in Nanterre Prefecture.

In the Company's portfolio, offices account for virtually all of this value (more than 96%), 86.4% of which are located in the Ile-de-France region, which makes Societe de la Tour Eiffel one of the strong players in the Greater Paris development project.

On a like-for-like basis, the portfolio appraisal values are up by  10 million.

The average net portfolio yield (EPRA topped up) stands at 5.5%.

The Group's LTV (Loan To Value) stood at 36.2% at 31 December 2016 against 36.7% at year-end 2015, and the EPRA NNNAV reached  58.9 per share against  58.1 per share at 31 December 2015.

A successful second capital increase since 2014 take-over bid

After a first capital increase carried out early in 2015 for an amount of  180 million, the Company strengthened its capital position with a second capital increase of  140 million in 2016.

This increase in capital is part of the Group's intention to rebalance the ratio between its equity capital and its external financing to support the development of its business in accordance with its strategy. It underlines the full support of the company's shareholders in the strategy decided at the end of 2014.

A suitable financing structure

After the complete debt restructuring carried out in 2015, on a full-year basis 2016 resulted in renewed market conditions and a significant lengthening of its average maturity. As a result, the combination of restructuring and lower rates over the period helped reduce the average cost of the Group's financing to 1.8% in 2016, against 3.2% in 2015.

It is recalled in this context that the funding arrangements in place do not involve any collateral security on the Group's assets.

An attractive dividend will be proposed in shares or cash

The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting the distribution of a dividend of  3 per share in shares or cash, payment of which will be made within the legal time-frame. The share represents a yield of 5.6% calculated on the 2016 average stock price.

Achievements in line with the commitments made and outlook consistent with the strategic plan

In an uncertain economic environment which encourages extreme caution, the Group's objective is to increase the value of its assets to  1.5 billion in the coming years. Building on its achievements in 2015 and 2016 that have helped raise the value of the portfolio to more than  1.1 billion, the property company thus began 2017 with the aim of pursuing its development plan. The growth objective will be achieved through the acquisition of secure assets, by developments on the land reserves currently available and those that have yet to be acquired, but also through acquisitions of assets already established, compatible and consistent with the existing portfolio.

As a result, in 2017, the Group will once again be in line with a trend of significant growth in its cash flows.

"The company's transformation phase is now completed and 2016 showed that the property accumulation model, supported by a strong and long-term shareholding structure is relevant, when serving a sound and ambitious project," stated Hubert Rodarie, Chairman of Societe de la Tour Eiffel.

"Our property portfolio has reached  1.1 billion in less than two years and is now refocused on our strategic assets, 96% of which are industrial premises, 86% of which are located in the Ile-de-France region based on business parks, campuses and clusters, said Philippe Lemoine, CEO of Societe de la Tour Eiffel. In 2017 we shall continue our growth operations through search for secure assets and implementation of in-house developments on our parks. We are and remain an integrated operator, whose primary objective is to make occupiers the core concern of our real estate strategy."

Dates to note: 22 May 2017 - Annual General Meeting

About Societe de la Tour Eiffel

A listed real estate investment company (SIIC) on NYSE Euronext Paris, the company pursues a strategy focused on the ownership and the development of quality offices capable of attracting a wide range of quality tenants. The company's portfolio stood at 1.133bn Euros for 490,000 sq. m of assets mainly located in the Paris region as at 31 December 2016.

Societe de la Tour Eiffel is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris (Compartment B) - ISIN Code: FR0000036816 - Reuters: TEIF.PA - Bloomberg: EIFF.FP - Indexes: IEIF Foncieres, IEIF Immobilier France

Press contact www.societetoureiffel.com Jean-Philippe MOCCI - Capmot Tel : +33 (01) 81 70 96 33/+33 (0)6 71 91 18 83 jpmocci@capmot.com

Attachments:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5002814f-1352-4eca-83dd-b1111ab32d90
NEW YORK, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP:



To: All persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired American Depositary Receipts of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) between February 5, 2015 and October 27, 2016.

You are hereby notified that a securities class action lawsuit has been commenced in the USDC for the District of New Jersey. To get more information go to:

http://www.zlk.com/pslra/novo-nordisk-as

or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@zlk.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. There is no cost or obligation to you.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Novo Nordisk issued materially false and misleading earnings and forecasts; said reports were inflated by collusive price fixing concerning the Companys insulin drugs. The complaint further alleges that the Company misrepresented and concealed the true extent of the pricing pressures it was experiencing from pharmacy benefit managers.

If you suffered a loss in Novo Nordisk you have until March 13, 2017 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesnt require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. The firms attorneys have extensive expertise and experience representing investors in securities litigation, and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CHICAGO, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aligning with International Womens Day, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) released a special issue of SWE Magazine this week, which includes SWEs Annual Literature Review on women in engineering and a focus on the evolution and state of gender bias in engineering. SWEs literature review summarizes current research on women in engineering as part of a continuing effort to deepen understanding of the current realities by improving access to the best research in the field. Click here to view SWE Magazines special issue and literature review digitally. A hard copy of the issue can be purchased on Amazon.



We know that women continue to be underrepresented in engineering, but the question remains: Why? said Karen Horting, CAE, executive director and CEO of SWE. This literature review is intended to shed light on how that question is being answered, and ultimately inspire evolution and progress in the advancement of women in engineering and technology.

This years Literature Review pulls from more than 125 books and articles published in 2016, located by an extensive search of the social scientific and engineering literature. Two themes were identified from the Literature Review:

Women are underrepresented in engineering because women are less likely than men to pursue an educational pathway that leads to an engineering degree, despite having appropriate academic preparation and capability; and

Women who are attracted to engineering as a field and start down the road toward an engineering career are more likely than their male counterparts to leave. This is due, at least in part, to a lack of opportunity, negative experiences at the hands of managers and co-workers and a lack of support.

The Literature Review provides a deeper understanding of these issues with specific findings from studies published throughout the year.

The special issue also includes an editorial analysis of gender and its role in engineering and technology fields, including:

A refocus in the discussion from gender bias to gendered innovations, and advancement in research of sophisticated methods of sex and gender analysis

An intersection of gender, engineering and sustainability

Advancements in policies in Europe and Canada that are taking direct and uncompromising approaches toward resolving gender-based inequities

The evolution of Title IX and importance of supporting educational institutions with the resources and staff they need to ensure compliance and implementation of diversity programs.

A deeper look at gender and racial bias from SWEs recent study, Climate Control: Gender and Racial Bias in Engineering

Media coverage of the state of women in engineering certainly highlights womens important contributions to STEM, and its clear that progress has been made toward gender integration, said Roberta Rincon, PhD, manager of research at SWE. But only through careful, objective attention to scholarly research can we identify the causes of womens underrepresentation in engineering, and appreciate how much progress has been made to eliminate traditional barriers to gender equity as well as how much more still needs to be done to address the inequities that remain.

SWE Magazine is the official publication of SWE, providing technical tips, professional development, job listings and developments in the engineering profession. For more information about SWE Magazine and to subscribe, visit http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/swe-magazine-new. For more information about the Society of Women Engineers, visit swe.org.

About SWE

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), founded in 1950, is the worlds largest advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology. The not-for-profit educational and service organization is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. To ensure SWE members reach their full potential as engineers and leaders, the Society offers unique opportunities to network, provides professional development, shapes public policy and provides recognition for the life-changing contributions and achievements of women engineers. As a champion of diversity, SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in their personal and professional lives. For more information about the Society, please visit www.swe.org or call 312.596.5223.




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.
PLANO, Texas, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Twenty-seven percent of employers are using a high deductible plan with coinsurance as part of their specialty drug benefit, according to the 2017 Trends in Specialty Drug Benefit Report published by the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI). Although this strategy helps to lower insurance premiums, it can come at a price of members not following their prescribed drug therapy regimen due to affordability. The report, sponsored by Walgreens for the sixth year, was released yesterday at PBMIs 22nd Annual Drug Benefit Conference and includes responses from 298 employers representing 10 million covered lives.



As our research shows, the growing use and cost of specialty drugs continues to be of great concern to employers, says Jane Lutz, Executive Director of PBMI. As a result, employers are faced with tough decisions to continue to offer an affordable benefit to their members.

Summary of Key Findings:

Not surprising, managing specialty drug cost trend remains the number one goal for employers (51%), followed by reducing inappropriate utilization (13%).

The top two specialty-drug related problems employers face are the cost of new specialty treatments and the changes in manufacturer pricing on existing specialty medications. More than 60% of employers are in favor of government controls on manufacturer pricing of specialty medications.

Ninety percent of employers are concerned with the impact direct-to-consumer advertising has on patients pressuring physicians to prescribe specific medications.

For the first time since the inception of this report, the percentage of employers with coinsurance cost-sharing designs has surpassed those using copayment structures (51% vs. 43%).

In addition to the use of high deductible plans and coinsurance strategies, 54% of employers have implemented formulary exclusions to manage costs for specialty drugs. Fertility, hepatitis C, and inflammatory conditions were the most common specialty drug classes with formulary exclusions.

However, 53% of employers rate member dissatisfaction as the greatest challenge with formulary exclusions

Yet, 38% are considering implementing or increasing the use of exclusions on their formulary

Ninety-three percent of employers cover hepatitis C medications (83% cover Solvaldi).

Employers are mixed on the future of hepatitis C cost trend (29% say it will decrease; 19% say it will stay the same, and 52% say it will increase)



PBMI will host a free webinar on March 16, 2017 at 1:30 pm Eastern to discuss the results of this report. Register today. To request a copy of this report, click here.

About PBMI

The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute provides research and education to help healthcare and benefits professionals work with pharmacy benefit managers to design prescription drug benefit programs. Learn more at www.pbmi.com.
For 10 years, the Charles E. Lakin Foundation has recognized Iowa teachers for going above and beyond in the classroom.

Continuing the foundations annual awards tradition this year, four teachers will be awarded the Charles E. Lakin Outstanding Teacher Award.

Nominations are currently being accepted through March 31. The nomination form can be found online by visiting kmaland.com and clicking on the Nominate A Teacher banner found on the homepage.

In years past, the foundation awarded one secondary teacher and one elementary teacher each with a $10,000 award. One secondary runner-up and one elementary runner-up were also selected to receive $5,000 each year.

In honor of this years 10-year anniversary of the awards program, the organization is making a few changes.

The organization will now award four teachers  two elementary school teachers and two secondary school teachers  with the Outstanding Teacher Award. No runners-up will be selected.

Each winner will receive $10,000 to use for themselves and their families, and their respective schools will also receive a $2,500 prize as well.

It says thank you to teachers, and it honors a profession that, many times, while appreciated by students and parents, is not a high-paying profession, said Lane Plugge, Green Hills Area Education Agency administrator. We encourage the winners to spend that $10,000 on themselves and family.

Since the awards creation in 2008, area teachers and their school districts have received more than $330,000 in award money.

Plugge said Lakin created the award with rural districts in mind, so eligible teacher nominees must work at a school district thats within a 40-mile radius of Emerson  Lakins hometown. The award program doesnt cover the Council Bluffs or Lewis Central School Districts.

Its the generosity of Charles Lakin and his appreciation for teachers is evident in trying to support them through this annual award, Plugge said. Its a great honorable profession.

The Lakin awards are presented annually by KMA Radio and the Green Hills Area Education Agency.

KMA has been honored to be a partner these 10 years with the Lakin Foundation on this project, said Chuck Morris, digital manager of KMA Radio. Its unbelievably amazing to hear from the winners when they are surprised with the award. Their passion for making a positive difference in the lives of children is truly inspiring.

Last year, the 2016 winners included Shenandoah High School chemistry and physics teacher Nicole Grindle and Tri-Center Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Michelle Baatz.

Runners-up included Jaime Konz at Treynor Elementary School and Dyan Larse at Sidney Elementary School.

I strongly feel that teachers are some of the hardest working individuals and a lot of things teachers purchase come from their own incomes because of the financial situations that rural schools are facing, Baatz said. This was a real morale booster for me and gave our community a sense of pride. Several Tri-Center teachers have been awarded in the past and any financial award that rural schools can receive is appreciated.

Iowa public school districts within 40 miles of Emerson include: Atlantic, AHSTW, CAM, Clarinda, East Mills, Essex, Fremont-Mills, Glenwood, Griswold, Hamburg, Red Oak, Riverside, Shenandoah, Sidney, Southwest Valley, Stanton, South Page, Treynor, Tri-Center and Underwood.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced Tuesday findings that more than 4,200 untested sexual assault evidence kits are in storage  but Pottawattamie County authorities are confident they are not part of what the state office called a backlog.

The findings are the result of a yearlong survey of city and county law enforcement agencies, conducted by the Crime Victim Assistance Division of the attorney generals office.

The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative audit stems from legislation passed in 2016 requiring the survey and a report, submitted Tuesday to the Iowa Legislature. It was funded by a $3 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a nationwide initiative to address a backlog of untested kits.

Our law enforcement partners across the state are working with us to help us get a handle on this issue, with a goal of bringing offenders to justice while supporting and empowering Iowas sexual assault survivors, Miller said.

The report states there are 4,265 untested sexual assault kits in Iowa and that 168 of 287 law enforcement agencies in the state are storing untested kits.

The Council Bluffs Police Department is storing 260 kits. The Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office has 22, while Carter Lake Police Department has four.

Elsewhere in southwest Iowa, the police departments in Altantic had 10. Clarinda had seven, Denison had two, Glenwood had seven and Woodbine had one. The Shelby County Sheriffs Office also had one kit.

No untested kits were reported in the Avoca, Dunlap, Harlan, Logan, Missouri Valley, Monona, Red Oak, Shenandoah and Tabor police departments as well as in the Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Onawa, Page county sheriffs offices.

Nine police departments serving Iowas largest cities account for 63 percent of the untested kits.

The report stated the top three reasons departments did not submit kits for testing were because the victim didnt wish to file charges, law enforcement doubted the truthfulness of the accusation or the victim did not cooperate with investigators.

Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said local law enforcement isnt affected by a backlog of untested kits. He clarified, stating any kits that need to be tested do get tested.

Sometimes, the victims say they dont want to press charges, Wilber said. We dont have any cases languishing for us because the evidence hasnt been tested.

If there is any backlog being dealt with, he said its when the county seeks to submit evidence  along with 98 other counties needing evidence examined.

Im happy to know theyre working on this issue, but fact is we dont have any prosecutable cases waiting right now from a lack of DNA testing, Wilber added.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker echoed Wilbers statements that the kits they have are in storage because they werent needed for evidence. In fact, some of them are past the statute of limitations for the crimes to which they are connected, he said.

Its not because of price or some backlog, Danker said.

When a sexual assault is reported, authorities try to get an evidence kit done immediately  but sometimes the victims later dont pursue the case.

We save (the kits) and keep them in case the need is there later, Danker said.

The survey stated state law requires law enforcement agencies to retain the kits for 10 years for adult victims or 10 years following a minor victims 18th birthday.

Iowa law also has a separate statute of limitations for older rape cases. A three-year timer begins to run if, through a DNA profile, investigators discover the identity of a previously unknown suspect.

The report said the survey team will evaluate the circumstances of each untested kit to determine which kits will get tested. Since testing each kit through the state lab would overwhelm it, testing will be sought through outside labs.

A lab administrator will decide which DNA results will be added to the Combined DNA Index System for profiling. The team will also decide how to notify and support sexual assault victims whose untested kits may be candidates for testing, they said.

Further updates for a system which oversees the tracking of the evidence is also being sought to track the status of each kit.

Were working collaboratively on a plan to improve and standardize sexual assault evidence kit procedures to help ensure we dont see a backlog like this again, Miller said.

Council Bluffs Police Capt. Todd Weddum took exception to the words backlog, untested, or unsubmitted, as the words imply there are kits in storage that need to be tested  but never were due to an oversight or other factors.

He added their stored kits were not submitted for testing because of any number of circumstances like those given by Wilber and Danker.

In our case, there is no backlog, Weddum said. If there is a kit we need to use for evidence, we will submit it. Everything we have that needs to be tested gets tested.
Council Bluffs Police are searching for a male suspect they believe carjacked a woman at gunpoint Monday morning.

According to a statement issued by the police, at about 11 a.m. Monday officers were dispatched to the 3200 block of 23rd Avenue for a carjacking report.

The alleged victim told officers she was in her car at the parking lot of Buckys gas station near South 24th Street and I-80 when a man exited a vehicle and approached her vehicle carrying a gun.

The suspect got into the passenger side of her vehicle and told her to Drive while pointing the handgun at her, the report reads.

On South 35th Street near Nebraska Avenue, the suspect told the woman to pull over so he could drive. When she stopped the vehicle, she got out and attempted flee the area by running across a field at the southeast corner of the intersection.

The suspect then drove the car into the field after the woman and may have possibly fired at her with the handgun, police said.

The woman was not injured and ran back to South 35th Street where she flagged down a passing motorist who gave her a ride to a nearby business, where she notified authorities.

The case is currently being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Council Bluffs Police Department. Anyone who witnessed this incident or has information is encouraged to call detectives at (712) 328-4728 or (712) 328-STOP (7867) if they wish to remain anonymous.

The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 30 years old, 6 foot tall, with a medium build.

The stolen car is a white 2007 Acura TL, 4 door, with Iowa plates FFW306. Please call 9-1-1 if you see this vehicle.
AS Pro Kapital Grupp informs that it has prolonged the redemption date of 382 778 Pro Kapital Grupp convertible bond PKG6 08.03.2015 (hereinafter referred to as Convertible Bonds PKG6) by 2 years and the new redemption date is 08.03.2019 (hereinafter referred to as the redemption date). AS Pro Kapital Grupp will redeem 186 495 Convertible Bonds PKG6 with issue price of 522 186 EUR.

On 08.03.2017 AS Pro Kapital Grupp has submitted the Estonian Central Register of Securities the application to change the redemption date and the total issue amount of Convertible Bonds PKG6.

In total convertible bonds were prolonged with total issue price of 1 071 778,4 EUR and convertible bonds with total issue price of 522 186 EUR will be redeemed.

The convertible bonds bear an annual interest of 7% and give the holders of the convertible bonds the right to exchange one convertible bond for one shares of AS Pro Kapital Grupp. The issue price of each convertible bond is 2,80 euros.

In order to subscribe for the shares of AS Pro Kapital Grupp and exchange the bonds, the bondholder must submit an application to the Company at least 10 (ten) Business Days before the Exchange Date. The Exchange Date shall be each Business Day (a day other than (a) a Saturday, (b) a Sunday, (c) Estonian national holiday, (d) public holiday or (e) another day when the registrar of the Register does not register securities) until the expiration date of the Bond, i.e. until the date of its redemption.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) new operating division, Technical Solutions, has announced its leadership team. Technical Solutions was formed in December 2016 after HII acquired Camber Corp. and consolidated it with HIIs services subsidiaries, including AMSEC, Continental Maritime of San Diego, Newport News Industrial, SN3, Undersea Solutions Group and UniversalPegasus International.



This is a very exciting time for Technical Solutions, said Andy Green, executive vice president of HII and president of Technical Solutions. We have a very strong team in place, and I look forward to working with them to continue our strong performance on existing contracts and to pursue new business opportunities to grow the division.

The new Technical Solutions leadership team includes:

Brad Mason, President, Fleet Support Group

Mason previously served as president of HIIs AMSEC subsidiary, where he was responsible for all aspects of AMSECs daily operations. Mason joined AMSEC in 1998 and held positions of increasing responsibility on both the East and West coasts. Most recently, he was director of operations for AMSECs Maintenance, Modernization and Technical Services (MMTS) operation, which specialized in engineering and technical support services for the U.S. Navy.

Mason retired as a captain from the U.S. Navy after a 23-year career. He served as business officer for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard; officer-in-charge of Planning and Engineering for Repairs and Alterations of Carriers (PERA CV); chief engineer of USS George Washington (CVN 73); project superintendent at Norfolk Naval Shipyard; commander, Naval Forces Atlantic staff; and chief engineer of USS Turner Joy (DD 951).

Joe Reale, President, Integrated Mission Solutions Group

Reale previously served as senior vice president at Camber Corp., a government services provider acquired by HII in 2016. He joined Camber in 2012 with more than 20 years of government services experience focused on new business growth, shared services delivery and strategy.

He previously served as vice president for the Defense Solutions Group at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). He has a broad range of experience and capability covering M&A integration, change management and margin improvement. Prior to working in the defense services market, Reale was a small business entrepreneur, starting several successful businesses.

Michael Lempke, President, Nuclear & Environmental Group

Lempke previously served as vice president of energy programs at HIIs Newport News Shipbuilding division, where he was responsible for overseeing Department of Energy programs, as well as commercial nuclear and industrial products businesses and formulating strategy to yield new energy and inorganic growth markets.

Before joining Newport News in June 2016, Lempke was vice president of Integrated Strategic Decision Support at Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. and held positions of increasing responsibility within the DOE. In 2012, he was named associate principal deputy administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the associate administrator for infrastructure and operations. Lempke had a long and successful career at Naval Reactors, where he held senior leadership positions, including manager of the Naval Reactors Laboratory Field Office, and director of Acquisitions at Naval Reactors Headquarters.

Tom Davison, President, Oil & Gas Group

Davison served as president of HIIs UniversalPegasus International subsidiary and has more than 38 years of pipeline and upstream oil and gas experience. Domestic projects include major cross-country transmission pipelines and facilities as well as major crude oil developments, gas production facilities and CO2-enhanced oil recovery projects.

Davisons international experience includes projects in South America, Africa, India and the Middle East.

Billy Jahn, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Business Management

Jahn joined AMSEC in 2002 and has served as chief financial officer and director of business management since 2008. He has worked in positions of increasing responsibility in financial and accounting management, financial planning, capital budgeting, and governmental accounting functions. Previous assignments with AMSEC included controller and director of information technology.

Jahn has more than 32 years of experience in finance, accounting, contracts, human resources and information technology. Before joining AMSEC, he served as vice president for finance and accounting for the communications engineering group at Titan Systems and as vice president for finance and administration for Advanced Communication Systems.

Kelly Carlan, Vice President, Human Resources

Carlan joined AMSEC in 1987 and served in various senior management roles within the human resources department until being named the director of HR in 2007. In her current role, Carlan has overall leadership responsibility for overseeing the functional areas of benefits, compensation, employee relations, talent acquisition, ethics and business conduct, as well as all laws, compliance and regulatory requirements that govern each area.

Carlan has 30 years of experience in human resource management in the defense contracting arena and has led several acquisitions, divestitures and mergers, including the HR component of the HII acquisition of Camber Corp.

Nick Thomas, Vice President, Integration Management Office and Business Operations

Thomas is responsible for the integration of HIIs services businesses. He is also responsible for business operations, including IT, contracts, procurement, estimating, pricing, compliance, quality, facilities and security.

Thomas has been with the company for 20 years, most recently serving as corporate director of strategy and development. He has been responsible for leading many of HIIs corporate development activities, which included exploring strategic alternatives for the Avondale shipyard, business development, mergers and acquisitions, integration of acquired companies, and developing HIIs strategic plan. He has held a number of senior leadership positions in program management, business management and supply chain management at HIIs Ingalls Shipbuilding division.

Christian Ortego, Chief Counsel

Ortego joined HII in 2013 and has served as counsel to Newport News Shipbuilding in various capacities. In his current role, he provides legal advice and counsel to senior management and across all Technical Solutions business units. Prior to joining HII, Ortego worked in private practice and at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He is an active member of the Commonwealth of Virginia and State of Colorado Bars and the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Ortego is currently a captain (select) in the U.S. Navy Reserve and has served in a variety of command and non-command positions on active duty and in the reserves, including onboard USS Gettysburg (CG 64) and USS Doyle (FFG 39) and a 2011 mobilization to Baghdad, Iraq.

Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/technical-solutions-leadership-team.

HII Technical Solutions is a professional services business providing solutions to a wide variety of government and commercial customers worldwide. The division provides agile software development and network engineering, training systems, logistics support, information technology, fleet maintenance and modernization, unmanned undersea systems, nuclear engineering and fabrication, and oil and gas engineering.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is Americas largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HIIs Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HIIs Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Integrated Missions Solutions, Nuclear & Environmental, and Oil & Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs nearly 37,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:


PORTLAND, Ore., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pinnacle, one of the nations leading multifamily management firms, announces that pre-leasing is underway in the first of four unique residential buildings at Goat Blocks, a luxury mixed-use community in Portlands hip central eastside neighborhood. Located at 975 SE 11th Avenue, the modern upscale property targets a distinct mix of market segments and caters to an array of lifestyle needs. When completed in June 2017, Goat Blocks will be comprised of 347 total apartments, around 100,000 square feet of grocery, fitness, food and retail providers and liberal parking.



The two superblocks that host the development were once home to a herd of goats strategically placed on the land to keep the grass manicured after construction was stalled during the recession. The Belmont Goats, as the 14 goats are still called, became wildly popular in the area. After being relocated to another field prior to the groundbreaking, their history on the site was thoughtfully incorporated into the communitys brand.

In discussions with folks in the central eastside neighborhood, it was clear that they, along with most of the public, did not know what project we were talking about until we referred to it as the Goat Blocks, explained Jeremy McPherson, Killian Pacific development manager. That name would elicit upbeat reactions from people who had fond memories of the animals. We never intended Goat Blocks to be the name but with that much equity and buy-in, we knew it would be a mistake not to use it.

Goat Blocks broke ground in early 2015 and is being rolled out in phases.

Ten10 is the first of the four residential buildings to lease at the new development. The floor plans were created to suit any lifestyle with studios, one- and two-bedroom lofted townhome options. Interiors feature 400-year-old reclaimed wood detailing, plentiful modern quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and carefully considered built-in storage space. The essence of Ten10 is simple and refined with Scandinavian-inspired aesthetics, contemporary elements and high contrast. This segment of the community is being marketed to residents who seek a quieter and more sophisticated environment.

Three other residential buildings at Goat Blocks will be available for leasing soon.

Opening in March, Ten25 pays homage to vintage Portland with 132 units, cozy balconies and downtown-facing views. A more vibrant and spontaneous option with an April opening date will be the 76-unit 975 building, which is in the center of the development and close to all the action. Offset from the main Goat Blocks area is 888, which will embody an edgy attitude in each of its 100 apartments when it opens in June. All residences will share upscale exterior amenities, including a 16,000 square foot party deck, year-round rooftop decks, a community lounge, fitness center, bike racks and repair stations and dog wash facilities. Residents will also benefit from free wifi throughout the community, smart home capabilities, full size washers and dryers within the units and more.

Intermingled with each building are carefully curated retailers who will provide a balanced blend of high-end and daily functional services to the community. The major anchors, Eugene-based Market of Choice grocer and the 70-store Orchard Supply Hardware chain, support the nearly 100,000 square feet of shops available to Goat Blocks residents and the surrounding area. Ample car and bicycle parking are also available on-site.

The commercial aspect of Goat Blocks was well thought out to draw retailers who would appeal to the target resident in each distinctly different apartment building, said Pinnacles Regional Vice President, Russ Peterson. Whether residents want a hand-crafted, Russian cocktail at Katchka or a quick ice cream run to Market of Choice, each is only a few steps from home.

Finding ways to nurture an exceptional resident and retail tenant experience at Goat Blocks has also been a full-time focus. The property has dedicated staff who will plan collaborative activities, such as a pop-up ice cream cart social in Yamhill Alley or community yoga on the residential decks. Larger scale block parties or holiday market bazaars featuring local artisans and delicious food are also in the works.

Goat Blocks is all about leveraging our local partnerships and sharing them with the rest of Portland, said Pinnacles Regional Property Manager, Virginia Barden. The synergy created by the layers of daily activities will help us remain successful at this project. We want this place to create connections for people and our activities will be reflective of that.

Well-positioned in the fashionable southeast Portland area, Goat Blocks residents benefit from easy access to the city via Highway 26 and Interstates 5, 84 and 405 when they want to get away. The property also sits within minutes of the Willamette River, Rose Quarter/Moda Center, the Lloyd Center Mall and major employment hubs such as Adidas, Nike, Intel, and Legacy Hospital. The immediate area also hosts Distillery Row with a number of small scale microbreweries, custom furniture and art manufacturers, and exceptional restaurants. Craftsman and Foursquare homes, which set the style of the neighborhood, are sprinkled throughout the friendly streets alongside numerous bike routes and city parks.

For more information about leasing an apartment in Goat Blocks or to view floorplans and a complete list of amenities, visit www.goatblocks.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5243de16-9405-49ad-895a-fbea1e14f585

About Pinnacle Property Management Services, LLC

Pinnacle Property Management Services, LLC, (Pinnacle) is a privately held national real estate provider specializing in third party management of multifamily residential communities. As one of the nations preferred third-party managers, Pinnacles portfolio includes over 165,000 residential units and 2.5 million square feet of commercial assets. With the Corporate headquarters located in Dallas, Texas, Pinnacle has more than 4,000 employees located in 32 states. For more information, visit www.pinnacleliving.com.
DENVER, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hemp Oil Liposomes in Citrus Twist flavor, by global cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil producer, Elixinol, has received the Best tasting CBD Tincture award for its robust and pleasant citrus flavor in the 3rd annual Best of Edibles awards presented by Edibles List Magazine. The Edibles List Magazine award ceremony took place on February 26, 2017 in Los Angeles. Over 30 other edible category winners were also announced.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cd09e760-7a52-4382-b6e6-16e1abd19b76.

We really have our customers to thank for this award, said Chris Husong, Elixinols Marketing Director.

We developed Hemp Oil Liposomes with real citrus flavor because of customer feedback about the taste of CBD tinctures, this award combined with 300% increase in product sales is confirmation that weve succeeded, Husong continued.

In addition to refreshing citrus taste, Hemp Oil Liposomes also use a water-based liposome which increases the bioavailability of the organic CBD hemp oil, enabling customers to use less and see more benefits from each serving.

A complete list of Edible Awards winners is located: http://ediblesmagazine.com/edibles/winners-announced/

About Elixinol:

Colorado-based Elixinol, founded by Paul Benhaim, hemp entrepreneur since 1991, is widely regarded as one of the most influential CBD brands in the world. With a proven track record of growing and manufacturing high-quality hemp, Elixinol also conducts rigorous laboratory testing and quality control. A global leader in hemp distribution, Elixinol distributes CBD products globally in the United States, Japan, Puerto Rico and the UK. More information available at Elixinol.com.
NEW YORK, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAP Portugal is investing more than $73 million in a new onboard cabin for the airlines A330 fleet. Seven A330s will be retrofitted by the end of the year. The first A330 to be completed, named Joao Goncalves Zarco, has commenced flying between the U.S. and Lisbon this week.



This A330 upgrade program represents TAPs commitment to improving comfort and improving its onboard product for passengers in all classes, bringing the cabins into line with that of the A330neo, which will soon be joining the fleet.



TAPs proud Portuguese identity is recognizable through the aircraft interior, thanks to partnerships with Portuguese companies such as Almadesign, which selected the materials and developed the finishing, and with Couro Azul, which supplied the leather used in the Executive class seats.



New Comfort in Economy Class



The economy cabin now comprises two categories: Economy and Economy Plus. The configuration and design provide a fresh atmosphere, with more legroom, deeper seat recline, and new seat covers in shades of green and grey in Economy, and green and red in Economy Plus.



More Modern and Comfortable Executive Class



In Executive Class, the changes are even more pronounced, with 25 new fully-flat reclining chairs that are more than six feet long when fully reclined.



Also, TAP has powered up its new business class chairs to include USB slots and individual electrical sockets, connections for headphones, individual reading lights, tables with storage space, and supports for bottles.



Video of the cabin retrofit is available at: https://youtu.be/jEf9ts1UYI4

About TAP Portugal



TAP is Portugals leading airline, and member of Star Alliance, the global airline alliance to offer customers worldwide reach, since 2005. In operation since 1945, TAP celebrated 70 years on March 14, 2015, and completed its privatization process in 2015, with the Atlantic Gateway Group now as new private shareholders of its share capital. TAP hub in Lisbon is a key European gateway at the crossroads of Africa, North, Central and South America, where TAP stands out as the international leading carrier in operation to Brazil. During the current IATA Summer period, the companys network will comprise 76 destinations in 29 countries worldwide. TAP currently operates about 2,500 weekly flights in average on a modern fleet of 61 Airbus aircraft and 17 aircraft operating in TAP Express livery, TAP regional branded product, adding up to a 78 aircraft fleet. As of June 2016, the company took delivery of two additional A330s, thus increasing its fleet to 80 aircraft in total. Within the vast restructure program currently going across the company as the outcome of its privatization process, TAP has announced its Network restructure, its medium and long haul fleet renewal program as of 2017 and the retrofit of the fleet currently in operation as well as the launch of the new branded product TAP Express, which replaces PGA and operates a new fleet of 8 ATR 72 and 9 Embraer 190. In the pursuit of its customer-focused policy, TAP continuously invests to deliver safe, reliable and upgraded products & services, tailored to meet customers expectations. Retaining the Portuguese character of the Companys brand and quality service as the basic concept has been the main driver of TAP strategy in most recent years. Recognized and awarded as Europes Leading Airline to Africa as well as Europes Leading Airline to South America by the World Travel Awards in 2015 and 2014, the company was also awarded as the WTA Worlds Leading Airline to Africa in 2011 and 2012 and the WTA Worlds Leading Airline to South America in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Voted Best Airline in Europe in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and again in 2016 by the Global Traveler, USA, the company was also honored by UNESCO and by the International Union of Geological Sciences with the IYPE Planet Earth Award 2010, in the category of Most Innovative Sustainable Product. TAP was also voted Best Airline by Conde Nast Traveller Magazine in 2010, Best Portuguese Tourism Company by the specialized magazine Marketeer, in 2011 and also the airline with Best Reputation by the Reputation Institute in 2014, while its Inflight Magazine UP was voted Best European Inflight Magazine by the WTA awards in 2015 .

For further information, please go to www.flytap.com.
LAS VEGAS, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Smithfield Foods Helping Hungry Homes initiative, a program focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure, joined forces with Albertsons to donate more than 35,000 pounds of protein to Three Square Food Bank. The donation, equivalent to more than 140,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across Southern Nevada where one in seven individuals are food insecure.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0200e159-f24b-4ab6-ac01-2af8e67bb3d5

Each day, thousands of our neighbors must choose whether to feed their families or pay their bills, said Dan Williams, chief operating officer of Three Square Food Bank. Todays donation from Smithfield and Albertsons will help bring meals to those families dinner table for weeks to come.

Smithfield and Albertsons representatives presented the donation to Three Square Food Bank this morning at the grand reopening of the new Albertsons store. Members from all three organizations discussed food insecurity in the local community and the significance of this donation in helping the nearly 300,000 individuals who face hunger each day in Southern Nevada.

Albertsons is honored to partner with Smithfield Foods on this massive donation of protein to Three Square Food Bank, said Nancy Keane, spokesperson for Albertsons Southwest Division. As a proud community partner and supporter of food banks, we know firsthand how far this food donation will go to help families in need throughout the Las Vegas area. We salute Smithfield Foods in their commitment to help eliminate hunger.

Smithfields donation to Three Square Food Bank was a part of the Helping Hungry Homes 2017 nationwide donation tour. Throughout the annual tour, Smithfield will provide large-scale protein donations to more than 50 food banks across the country. This donation adds to the more than 49 million servings of protein donated since the programs inception in 2008.

At Smithfield Foods, we feed people  its what we do, said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. We are proud to partner with Albertsons and leaders in this community for todays donation, which will provide thousands of meals to those who face hunger in Southern Nevada.

Following todays event, Helping Hungry Homes will visit Lowell, Arkansas Tuesday, March 14 before traveling to Austin, Texas Tuesday, March 21 and then to Dallas, Texas Thursday, March 23. For more information about Helping Hungry Homes and a list of upcoming donation events, visit helpinghungryhomes.com.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, John Morrell, Cook's, Kretschmar, Gwaltney, Curly's, Margherita, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Three Square Food Bank

Established in 2007 to provide hunger relief, Three Square Food Bank offers wholesome, nutritious food to nonprofit and faith-based organizations, schools and feeding sites that serve a wide range of Southern Nevadans. A national model project inspired by Founder Eric Hilton with a grant provided by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Three Square is a community collaborative partnership with businesses, nonprofit agencies, food distributors, higher education institutions, the Clark County School District, governmental entities, the media and thousands of volunteers to efficiently and effectively work together to serve those in our community struggling with hunger. Three Square currently provides more than 40 million pounds of food and grocery product  the equivalent of more than 33 million meals  per year through a network of more than 1,300 community partners. Three Square is a member of the Feeding America network of food banks. For additional information visit threesquare.org. For the latest news and events on Three Square, visit Facebook and follow them on Instagram and Twitter (@threesquarelv).

About Albertsons and Vons

Albertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. The company operates stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 19 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs. Albertsons Companies is dedicated to helping people across the country live better lives. In 2015 alone, with the help of generous customers, Albertsons Companies and the Albertsons Companies Foundation gave more than $270 million in food and financial support to the more than 2,300 communities they serve, improving the lives of millions of people in the areas of hunger relief, education, cancer research and treatment, programs for people with disabilities, and veterans outreach. Albertsons Companies is committed to making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood.
Math educators will be happy to know their teaching was not in vain when they see that math is basic to the art of crochet.

Christine Pfortmiller, of North Platte, has been a professional crocheter for about 10 years and said there is a lot of math involved in crocheting, which is very structural.

She recently had two of her patterns published in Love of Crochet, a national magazine published in Colorado.

About a year ago, I was taking a design class and we were supposed to go around the room and talk about our process, Pfortmiller said. Not necessarily related to print media, but the teacher took me aside afterwards and said I needed to start writing my patterns and publishing them.

From that inspiration, Pfortmiller decided to submit some of her work to the magazine. She thought writing the pattern would be similar to what she was already doing for herself, which generally takes about a week.

The pattern developing for this project, I thought would be similar, Pfortmiller said. But to do it so that someone else can read what youve written down without all the shortcuts you do when youre writing it for yourself, it ended up taking about two weeks of writing for each pattern, working 8 to 5  it was a lot of work.

This was her first submission to a magazine.

It went through a couple of review processes, Pfortmiller said. Then when the magazine came out and I was able to look through  because once you submit it to them, its theirs, they own it, they can do whatever they want with it  they only made one change.

She said she was pleased with her effort.

I was pretty proud I had written it well enough and I had done all the math correctly, Pfortmiller said. There was only one change and it was the name of what I called a stitch, so not even a technical change, just a name change.

Pfortmillers mom taught her to crochet at the age of 12.

Ive been making clothing since I was around 15 from my own patterns, Pfortmiller said. Mostly because there were a lot of patterns that had mistakes in them, so instead of having to work out their problems, I would just make my own.

Over the years, she has developed a process that works for her.

Usually I start with a sketch or a story, Pfortmiller said. Like, what do I want this person to be able to do with what theyre wearing, since its clothing. I use fictional characters as inspiration a lot  like Hansel and Gretel. If you were Hansel or Gretel, what would you need to wear while you were lost in the forest?

She takes into account that Hansel or Gretel might want clothing that blends in with the environment or that stands out to avoid hunters.

Then I sketch out, Pfortmiller said. After the sketch is made, I usually do a couple steps backwards compared to other designers because of how Ive been making things forever. I go to a sample and make a sample first.

She then troubleshoots through several different designs until she comes up with what works for her project.

Then I do the writing afterwards, Pfortmiller said. When you do a diagram, there are universal recognized charting symbols for crocheting. There are codes that we use, so we chart it out how it would look.

The patterns also vary in difficulty from easy to experienced.

The shawl pattern is rated experienced, Pfortmiller said of one of her designs for the magazine. There are 29 different rounds, so this would be fun for an experienced crocheter.

She said the bag pattern that was published is an easy pattern.

Its one you can do while sitting in front of the TV, Pfortmiller said.

One thing she discovered is that not everyone can develop their own patterns.

There are people who need help in the do-it-yourself world to create something, Pfortmiller said. Ive been doing it so long I can look at something and see how it was made and know how to make it. Its nice to be able to share that, and I didnt realize there was kind of a hole in the industry that I could fill.

There is an aspect of fashion that Pfortmiller thinks people should know.

The most important part is that I think people should be conscious of where their clothing comes from and realize that just like knowing where your food comes from, you should know where your clothes come from, she said. Because there are hands that made your clothing, usually in another country, but once you know how much work goes into making your clothing, it becomes less of a disposable resource.

She said part of her goal is also to encourage others to try it.

Everyone can make their own, Pfortmiller said. You dont have to be a creative person or an artistic person in order to follow the patterns that someone else has written. Its empowering the people so they can do this for themselves, and we dont have to be such a consumer society that we cant generate the things that we need.

Pfortmiller has a website at rhinosaurusrexknits.etsy.com where her creations can be purchased. She said she makes about 500 hats and scarves a year.

I love it, Pfortmiller said. I dont like being idle, so I try to constantly be doing something and making something. I like that after the work, youre left with something tangible that lasts.
After World War I, veterans and military personnel didnt have the opportunities or benefits of today. So 98 years ago, many came together to form the first American Legion.

The community of North Platte formed its own post in 1920.

North Plattes current American Legion Post 163 members  with area law enforcement and first responders  celebrated the Legions 98th birthday at a ceremony Sunday evening. In addition to honoring members of the North Platte fire and police departments, as well as the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office and Nebraska State Patrol, the Legion recognized members and auxiliary members who gave up to 77 years of service.

It was an American Legion commander from Kansas who wrote what became the GI Bill, said Marvin Donnelly, American Legion District 5 Commander. Since 1944, the bill has granted a range of benefits to soldiers.

The American Legion is open to veterans and any service member who was enlisted during war or peacetime, said Scott Bell, commander of Post 163. Many are also members of the VFW, which is open to those who served in a foreign war. The Legion also has groups for sons and grandsons of service members, and the Auxiliary, traditionally consisting of soldiers wives, is also open to daughters and granddaughters of service members and veterans.

On the national front, Donnelly expects soon to see the Legions Auxiliary also open up to veterans or service members husbands who havent actually served themselves, he said. He added that next years national commander will be the first woman to be in that position. Nebraskas current commander is also a woman.

In addition to serving as primary lobbyists at Congress for veterans, the Legion does a lot of service at home. Bell said the legion sponsors scholarships and provides an honor guard at funerals and ceremonies such as Memorial Day. Members place flags on graves each year for Flags Across America and host two students to attend Girls and Boys State each year, where the students learn about state government.

Before first responders received their awards  an annual ceremony, Bell said  North Platte Fire Chief Dennis Thompson spoke about what its like to work as a first responder. Thompson said being on the scene of a tragedy takes skills like compassion and empathy, which cannot be learned in a classroom. He said the life of a first responder is truly a calling.

The recipients of the first responders awards were firefighter and paramedic Blake Anthony for the North Platte Fire Department, Investigator Dale Matuszczak of the North Platte Police Department, Deputy Sheriff Derek Hanna of the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office and State Trooper Nathan Hadaway of the Nebraska State Patrol.
A man was flown to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney Monday night after a shooting at a North Platte residence.

North Platte police were called to the 1100 block of West 11th Street just before 8:45 p.m. Monday. Officers found an 18-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his forehead. Officers provided medical attention until EMTs arrived, Investigator John Deal said in a statement Tuesday morning.

The victim was taken to Great Plains Health and later flown to Kearney. His condition was unknown Tuesday morning.

According to Deal, witnesses told police that a group was playing video games when a man, identified as Christian Vera, 19, produced a handgun to show to the 18-year-old.

During the process of showing off the handgun, Christian negligently discharged one round, which struck the victim in the head, Deal said.

Officers learned that Vera was in the alley behind the residence. He was taken into custody without incident. Police found a midsized handgun nearby.

There is nothing to indicate at this time that any disagreement or quarrel occurred prior to the shooting, and the incident is believed to be accidental, Deal said.

Vera was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

One of the definitions of second-degree assault in Nebraska is recklessly causing serious bodily injury to another with a dangerous weapon, Deal said.

Vera and the victim are related to each other, Deal said. He added that the handgun is suspected to have been stolen. The investigation continues.
HERNDON, Va., March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Command Security Corporation (NYSE MKT:MOC) today announced the election of Jerry L. Johnson as a member of the Board of Directors, effective March 6, 2017. Mr. Johnson will also serve on the Boards Audit and Compensation Committees.



Jerry L. Johnson is a founding member and Managing Director of the private equity firm RLJ Equity Partners. Mr. Johnson has been involved in all aspects of RLJ Equity Partners development since 2007.

RLJ Equity Partners acquires controlling positions in crucial economic sectors including business services, value-added manufacturing and logistics. Johnson has led RLJs control investments in several business services companies, including Media Source (exited), Naylor Association Solutions, MarketCast, Phase One and Envirovac. Mr. Johnson has supported the firms portfolio by sourcing and/or executing several add-on investments which include Boxwood (which was acquired by Naylor), Timberlake (which was acquired by Naylor) and Zak (which was acquired by LAI International). In addition, he led the international co-investments alongside the Carlyle Group in Tok & Stok, and CVC International (which undertook an exit IPO as CVCB3). Mr. Johnsons early career includes experience advising Fortune 500 Companies as an investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

In 2004, Mr. Johnson was appointed by President George W. Bush as a White House Fellow to serve as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Mr. Johnsons work on the Quadrennial Defense Review earned him the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.

Mr. Johnson received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering, summa cum laude, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Thomas Kikis, Chairman of the Board of Command Security, said, "Command Security is extremely fortunate to have someone of Jerrys experience, integrity and knowledge to serve on our Board. He will add valuable insights and oversight over a wide range of financial, operational and strategic topics important to our Company's future.

I am honored to have been asked to join Command Securitys board, said Jerry Johnson. They have a great reputation and Command Security is very well positioned in the areas of homeland security and physical security to achieve significant success and I look forward to adding my perspective to their strategic thinking.

About Command Security Corporation

Command Security Corporation and its Aviation Safeguards division provide uniformed security officers and aviation security services to commercial, financial, industrial, aviation and governmental customers throughout the United States. As our credo states Securing All You Value, we safeguard against theft, fraud, fire, intrusion, vandalism and the many other threats that our customers are facing today. By partnering with each customer, we design programs customized to meet their specific security needs and address their particular concerns. We bring years of expertise, including sophisticated systems for hiring, training, supervision and oversight, backed by cutting-edge technology, to every situation that our customers face involving security. Our mission is to enable our customers to operate their businesses without disruption or loss, and to create safe environments for their employees. For more information concerning our company, please refer to our website at www.commandsecurity.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement by Command Security Corporation (the Company) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about the Company, including regarding the potential value added by the election of Mr. Johnson and the potential for the Company to achieve success in the areas of homeland security and physical security, that are based on managements assumptions, expectations and projections about the Company. Such forward-looking statements by their nature involve a degree of risk and uncertainty. The Company cautions that actual results of the Company could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to the factors described under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, and the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, each of which has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), and such other risks disclosed from time to time in the Companys periodic and other reports filed with the SEC. You should consider the areas of risk described above in connection with any forward-looking statements that may be made by the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any additional disclosures the Company makes in proxy statements, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports on Form 10-K and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, which are publicly available at the SECs website at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
When it comes to the U.S. steel industry and international trade, the talk is usually about imports.

The focus is on which countries are shipping steel to the United States, at what price, if they've gotten subsidies, are dumping it below price and whether the U.S. government will impose tariffs meant to deter dumping. Domestic steelmakers like U.S. Steel, Chicago-based ArcelorMittal USA and Fort Wayne's Steel Dynamics have pursued a number of trade cases against foreign steelmakers as steel layoffs have mounted and mills have been idled.

But U.S. steel mills also export metal to foreign countries. For instance, in 2011 ArcelorMittal's Burns Harbor steel mill sent 18,000 metric tons of Northwest Indiana-made steel through the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor to Macedonia in southeastern Europe.

Most of the exports, however, go to North American neighbors in Canada and Mexico.

"While the majority of our domestic steel production stays in the United States, ArcelorMittal does ship to locations throughout North America from our U.S. facilities," ArcelorMittal USA spokeswoman Mary Beth Holdford said.

The main reason why U.S. steel gets exported is that the auto industry is one of its biggest customers, and automotive plants are spread across North America. About 27 percent of steel shipments last year went to the automotive industry, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota operate 16 automotive plants in Canada, employing 120,000 workers and producing $83 billion worth of goods. Ford last year announced plans to move all its small car production to Mexico. It remains to be seen if those plans will be upended by the Trump administration's hostility to Mexican trade.

In anticipation of higher demand, ArcelorMittal recently restarted a blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor West in East Chicago to produce raw metal that will be finished at AM/NS Calvert in Alabama for auto plants across the South and in Mexico. ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal said during the company's third quarter conference call that much of that steel made in East Chicago would end up in auto plants in Mexico.

Exports to Mexico and Canada account for nearly 90 percent of all steel exports out of the United States, according to the American Institute for International Steel.

Canada acquired 3.59 million tons of American-made steel over the first nine months of last year, while Mexico purchased 2.77 million net tons of steel from U.S. mills.

Overall U.S. exports were down 8.5 percent through the end of September compared to the same period in 2015.

Economic growth in both Canada and Mexico has been slow lately, with Mexico experiencing its slowest quarterly growth in two years in the third quarter. Canada's economy contracted in the second quarter and only grew by 0.2 percent in August, according to the American Institute for International Steel.

The trade association, which claims to be the only association representing the U.S. steel industry that supports free trade, cautioned the election could have an impact of the flow of steel and other goods between borders. President Donald Trump has proposed tariffs of 35 percent to 45 percent on products coming out of other countries, such as cars made in Mexico.
VALPARAISO  A jury found Portage resident Matthew Richardson guilty of murder Wednesday night in the Dec. 18, 2015, shooting of Lake Station resident Joshua Smith.

The jury deliberated for six hours before also finding Richardson guilty of pointing a firearm and not guilty on a felony count of theft.

A sentencing date has not yet been set in the case.

Richardson had been arguing self-defense in the trial.

"Because someone died does not mean Matthew Richardson is guilty of murder," defense attorney Larry Rogers told jurors following lengthy closing arguments in the case Wednesday morning.

The closing arguments came after a week and a half of evidence, including home surveillance footage of the shooting.

"He did not shoot at the ground," said Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Cheryl Polarek. "He shot him exactly where he aimed at him."

Richardson claims he shot at the ground, attempting to scare Smith following a road rage dispute that spilled over to Richardson's house in the 5400 block of Mulberry Avenue in Portage.

Jurors heard different versions of the road rage incident and subsequent confrontation outside Richardson's house.

Rogers said his client came out of the house with the Soviet Union-built Mosin Nagant 7.62 rifle, yelling for Smith and his fiancee to leave the area.

"I think you need to think of Matthew's state of mind at the time," Rogers said.

Polarek said Smith was retreating and had left Richardson's property to Mulberry Avenue when he was shot in the leg and femoral artery, causing him to die seven days later.

"He is killed in a public roadway," she said. "At that point, he is not a threat  if he ever was one  to Matthew Richardson."

Rogers told jurors that prosecutors could have charged Richardson with lesser counts of reckless homicide or aggravated battery for the shooting. But they chose murder or a lesser count of voluntary manslaughter, either of which requires proving Richardson knowingly and intentionally shot to kill Smith.

Porter County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost said Richardson had the backing of his two brothers during the dispute at his house.

"That ain't self-defense, that's an ambush," he said.
LAPORTE  A Michigan City man is charged with welfare fraud after collecting unemployment benefits from the state for about six months while gainfully employed, court documents show.

Jason Leslie, 44, of the 900 block of Elm Street, could face anywhere from six months to two and a half years if convicted.

According to LaPorte Circuit Court documents, the charges stem from an inspection of payroll records by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

The inspection allegedly showed Leslie had income from at least one employer, R&L Roofing Inc. in Michigan City, for the entire time he collected benefits.

He first applied for benefits in February 2015, claiming he was laid off from his job, then a week later collected his first check for $125, DWD officials said.

According to court documents, he had to file for benefits weekly and update any change in his employment status and wages to continue receiving checks, which he did until August of that same year.

DWD officials said a representative from his employer verified his earnings.

Court records said Leslie owes the state $3,125 in compensation he allegedly received fraudulently and an equal amount in penalties.
CROWN POINT  A 54-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated battery, a level 3 felony, in the stabbing of his boss in December at a home in Highland.

Timothy R. Lewis entered the plea in an agreement with the state. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges of attempted murder and battery committed with a deadly weapon as part of the deal.

Judge Salvador Vasquez took the plea under advisement and set a sentencing date for April 12.

Lewis faces between three to 16 years in prison if the judge accepts the agreement.

Lewis is alleged to have stabbed his boss Dec. 17 at the boss' residence in the 2800 block of 37th Place in Highland, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The man told police he allowed Lewis to sleep in his garage for more than a year before the incident, but the men got into an argument the night of the stabbing that turned into a fistfight, the affidavit states.

The man said he ordered Lewis to leave, but Lewis instead grabbed a knife and plunged it into his chest, the affidavit states.

Doctors at Munster Community Hospital told police the knife narrowly missed the man's heart and lung, according to the affidavit.

Lewis has been jailed since his arrest Dec. 19, according to court records.
LAPORTE  David Lane, who was sought in connection with a burglary and battery case, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon.

Lane was found hiding in a wooded area in the 4500 East block of Scholl Road, very near where his vehicle had been found the day before, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

LaPorte County Sheriffs Sgt. Brett Swanson, assigned to the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, followed up leads in the case Wednesday morning. Following a debriefing on the previous day's search, Swanson called for assistance from the Porter County Sheriffs K-9 unit.

Porter County Sheriffs Cpl. Brian Gill and his partner Bumpus met with Swanson in the area where Lanes vehicle had been located. Using a grid pattern in his search, Bumpus alerted on the suspect who was found concealed in a hole and covered with debris. Swanson took Lane into custody without incident.

Detectives are continuing to work on the case and are meeting with deputy prosecutors to determine exactly what Lane will be charged with, Boyd said.
CROWN POINT  Jessica S. Pichon, the co-defendant charged in the Feb. 15 police pursuit that ended in a 13-year-old Whiting girl's death, faces new charges on allegations she failed to register as a sex offender.

Pichon, 27, was charged Tuesday in Lake Criminal Court with six counts of failure to register as a sex offender.

Pichon is required to register due to a juvenile conviction for criminal sexual abuse by force on Oct. 21, 2002, in Vermillion County, Illinois, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Pichon last registered as a sex offender in Illinois on Dec. 20, 2016, but had allegedly lived for several months in a vehicle with Donnell Howard Jr. in East Chicago, the affidavit states.

The Lake County Police Department discovered Pichon had not updated her registration after she was arrested Feb. 17 in the vehicle crash that killed Julianna Chambers and injured Chambers' grandmother, Theresa Paramo.

Pichon and Howard, 31, are alleged to have fled East Chicago police Feb. 15 after stealing a case of beer from a grocery store at 4725 Indianapolis Blvd. in East Chicago, according to court records.

Officers initiated a police pursuit that ended after Howard allegedly crashed his vehicle into another vehicle, occupied by Chambers and Paramo, at Columbia Avenue and Gostlin Street in Hammond, records state.

Police allege Howard nearly struck a police officer as he fled the grocery store, records state.

Both defendants are jailed on $100,000 bonds, according to court records.

Howard is scheduled to make a formal appearance Thursday in court. Pichon is scheduled to next appear in court April 20.
Danish English

Company announcement No. 12/2017  8 March 2017

As mentioned in the Annual Report for 2016, the Board of Directors of Royal Unibrew A/S has decided to initiate a share buy-back of up to DKK 560 million.

Objective

The objective of the share buy-back is to adjust the capital structure of Royal Unibrew A/S in accordance with the target of this.

The Board of Directors expects to recommend to the AGM in 2018 that the shares bought back be cancelled.

Authorisation

The share buy-back programme is initiated within the authorisation granted to the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting of the Company on 27 April 2016, which will enable the Company to buy back shares for up to 10, recognising that the Companys total holding of treasury shares following the acquisition cannot exceed 10 per cent of the share capital. The Share Buy-back Programme will be executed in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on Market Abuse and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of 8 March 2016 (the Safe Harbour Regulation), which ensures that the Company is protected against violation of insider legislation during the buy-back process.

Share buy-back programme

The share buy-back programme is expected to be realised in the period from 9 March 2017 through 28 February 2018.

The maximum total share buy-back in the period will represent a market value of DKK 560 million. Based on the share price at 8 March 2017, this will correspond to approx. 2.1 million shares of DKK 2 each at a total nominal value of DKK 4.2 million, corresponding to approx 3.9% of the share capital. Royal Unibrew has entered into an agreement with Nordea Denmark, branch of Nordea Bank AB (publ), Sweden for Nordea to handle the share buy-back as Lead Manager on behalf of Royal Unibrew. Nordea will make all trading decisions independently of and without involving Royal Unibrew. The shares bought back on each trading day will not exceed 25% of the daily average trading volumes over the 20 trading days preceding the date of purchase.

No shares will be bought back under the share buy-back programme at a price exceeding the higher of the two following prices:

the price of the latest independent transaction; and

the highest independent bid on Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S.

Royal Unibrew will be entitled to suspend the share buy-back programme in the event of material changes to the Companys circumstances or in the market. Should the programme be suspended, Royal Unibrew will announce this in a Company Announcement, and Nordea will stop buying back shares in the market.

Royal Unibrew will announce the number of shares bought back and their value in separate weekly Company Announcements in a detailed and summarized form.

Please direct any queries to me at tel. +45 29 23 00 44.

Yours sincerely

Royal Unibrew A/S

Lars Jensen

CFO
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Police are searching for a 74-year-old New Chicago woman with dementia who caught a South Shore Line train Sunday at the Gary Metro Center and was last seen on surveillance video at Millennium Station in Chicago.

Maria Ramos left the home she shares with her daughter Rosemary Herrera Meza about 10:30 a.m. Sunday to buy tortillas at a nearby store, Herrera Meza said.

By 9 p.m., Ramos had not returned home and Herrera Meza became worried, she said.

Ramos doesn't like to be tied down and walks around the neighborhood, she said.

"She's always had her exercise," she said. "This is the first time she's done this. It just gets me worried that all of the sudden she'd take a train."

Herrera Meza reported her mother missing, and learned Monday from New Chicago police that Ramos had approached an officer Sunday for a ride to the train station.

New Chicago police did not give Ramos a ride, but she somehow made it to the Gary Metro Center, Herrera Meza said.

Herrera Meza contacted Northern Indiana Transportation District Police, who located a surveillance images of her mother at Millennium Station. Ramos may have been trying to visit Herrera Meza's sister's house on Chicago's South Side, but she has not been heard from since Sunday.

Herrera Meza said her mother was diagnosed with dementia in 2014 and survived being hit by a car several years ago, she said.

NICTD Police confirmed Ramos was at the Metro Center about 11:30 a.m. Sunday and likely boarded a westbound train about 1:38 p.m. She arrived in Chicago about 2:45 p.m.

NICTD Police have asked Metra Police to check cameras for additional images that could show which direction Ramos headed and under what circumstances, NICTD Police Chief Robert Byrd said.

Anyone who spots Ramos should immediately call 911. Anyone with information is asked to call New Chicago police at 219-962-1550.
EAST CHICAGO  City officials estimate they need at least $56 million to adequately address the ongoing lead crisis.

In a report submitted Friday to Gov. Eric Holcombs office, Mayor Anthony Copeland outlined the citys priorities to aid residents living in the lead- and arsenic-contaminated USS Lead Superfund site and remove lead service lines and water infrastructure deficiencies elsewhere in the city.

The city wants to provide water filters to Superfund site residents; replace lead piping in the city, along with faucet fixtures and drinking water fountains throughout the school district; expand blood lead testing to include arsenic; and remove lead-based paint hazards in homes.

Governor, I want you to know that while we did not cause the problems in Calumet, we are committed to working with you and others to resolve them, Copeland wrote to Holcomb in the Friday report.

On Feb. 9, Holcomb issued an emergency declaration, which provides increased state assistance to the city during the ongoing lead crisis.

Though Holcombs emergency declaration is meant to aid families in the 322-acre USS Lead Superfund site  comprising of the West Calumet Housing Complex, the emptied Carrie Gosch Elementary School, and two neighborhoods to the east  the breadth of the citys request for funds extends beyond the sites legal boundaries.

The citys most significant request is about $40 million to replace lead lines and underground utilities for an estimated 5,300 residential properties  including 1,086 in the Superfund site and an estimated 4,221 homes in East Chicago built before lead-based paint was banned by the EPA in 1978.

Copeland also proposes coordinating lead pipe replacement efforts in the Superfund site with the EPA as the federal agency excavates and cleans contaminated properties. The $40 million also covers sequential water testing  more rigorous than testing required under the federal Lead and Copper Rule  for an estimated 5,776 properties elsewhere in the city.

Those estimates are by the city's utilities director.

The EPA in December said it found elevated lead levels in 18 homes within the USS Lead Superfund site through sequential testing due to lead plumbing materials and insufficient use of corrosion control chemicals. EPA has said the results indicate a system-wide problem.

Several community groups petitioned the EPA last week to use its emergency powers, as the agency did in Flint, Michigan, to immediately provide, or order the city or state to provide, free faucet filters that meet EPA standards or distribute bottled water.

The report also calls for $473,000 for water filters for those living in the Superfund site; $22,806 for home water test kits, and $382,500 for arsenic testing for an estimated 2,500 Superfund residents.

The city estimates $1.2 million is needed to replace the School City of East Chicagos decades-old plumbing, including 87 drinking fountains that were original to the construction for most buildings in use  a move described as preventative by the school districts director of facilities in the report. Another $5 million is needed to replace faucet and bathroom fixtures for all public buildings, including City Hall, according to the city.

Another $2.5 million could help the city expand its housing rehab program to prioritize lead hazard abatement.

The city, listed as defendants in several potential lawsuit filings, has run up about $260,000 in legal expenses through March 1, the report states.

A Holcomb spokeswoman said his office is reviewing the report and will "have more to share soon regarding next steps."
HIGHLAND The Highland Redevelopment Commission is seeking bids to raze the Town Theatre.

Redevelopment Director Cecile Petro said she has requested quotes from three contractors for demolition. The firms have been asked to provide four options in their quote packages, she said.

The first option will be the cost of tearing down the theater and the two adjacent buildings to the north.

The second option includes tearing down the adjoining building south of the theater, along with the other three.

The third will include demolition of the theater and the two north buildings at the same time and the south building at a later date.

The final option is to demolish the four buildings individually over a period of time.

All four buildings are owned by the town.

Petro said the quotes are due on March 17.

"Demolition will include taking down the building(s), loading and removal of the debris from the area and backfilling to grade," Petro said in a letter to the firms.

Once all four buildings are gone, two will remain at the corner of Kennedy and Garfield avenues. These two privately owned buildings are occupied by an equipment rental service and barber shop.

The commissioners said one business remains in operation within the town-owned building south of the theater.

Maria's Buena Cocina, a Mexican restaurant, has a lease through 2018 that is now held by the town.

"Maria is aware now of the relocation," Petro said, adding the owner is upset at the prospect of moving because she likes her current spot.

But the eventual teardown of the building makes the move necessary, board members said.

"We're going to work with her and find a different location," said Commissioner and Town Council President Dan Vassar, D-3rd. "We want to keep her in Highland."

Petro said she is very hopeful the town will be able to help her keep the restaurant in Highland.

In the meantime, the commission said it is getting professional appraisals of every property from the south side of Garfield to the south side of Condit Street, from Kennedy to the bike path.

"The Town Council will be reviewing the appraisals and then make the determination to purchase," Petro said.

She also said most of the building owners do not mind having the appraisals done.

The ultimate plan is to flatten this five-acre section to entice private developers to make offers to the town.

In conducting their first meeting as the Redevelopment Commission, the Highland Town Councilmen also elected officers for the commission.

Serving as Redevelopment Commission president is Councilman Bernie Zemen, D-1st.

Taking the vice president's chair is Council Vice president Steve Wagner, D-4th; while Vassar is the new commission secretary.

The commission also said it will conduct study sessions on the first Monday of each month with business meetings on the third Mondays.
LOWELL  It's possible the long-awaited curbs and sidewalks project on the town's east end along Ind. 2 could begin in June.

Lowell Town Manager Jeff Sheridan cautions, however, that the focus is on infrastructure downstate, so it will be a busy season for contractors. The project launch date could be later, he said.

For the same reason, Sheridan said he would expect the project to take at least until the end of the year to complete.

To that end, the Lowell Town Council has entered into an agreement for inspections for the project to be done by First Group of Northwest Indiana. The firm handled land acquisition for easements for the Indiana Department of Transportation-funded project. The town pays 20 percent.

Looking to the future, Councilman Chris Salatas, R-4th, told council members they should make certain the town is prepared to come up with $1 million to match funds from the state for transportation needs.

In another transportation-related topic, the Town Council is watching other communities as they consider the monetary commitments they made to support the South Shore rail extension.

A previous Lowell Town Council eagerly got on board because Lowell was part of the South Shore's planned growth. Councilman Edgar Corns, R-5, the only council member remaining on the council when that decision was made, said the town agreed to pay $27,000 annually.

Paying that amount for 30 years makes less sense because Lowell is no longer a destination in the South Shore expansion.
Indiana officials have taken the time to carefully study the growing population centers around the country, and in every case, they found local officials working together and focused on a common goal  to create an environment where people want to live.

That usually includes downtown amenities to attract shoppers and tourists with parks and green spaces where people can gather. It also includes a transportation system that doesnt require a car to get everywhere.

In my travels around our country and elsewhere, I found that those places I enjoyed the most offered easy transportation. I was able to move about to different locations and points of interest with relative ease, whether by train, bus, automobile or boat. This kind of mobility connects people and businesses, restaurants and recreation. Thats what builds an economy and a desirable place to live.

Ive been a proponent of the South Shore commuter rail extension and improvement because I believe it begins to move us in that direction of growth and connects us to a great metropolitan economy  not to export jobs, but to import residents.

The better connected we are, the more development we will see along these transit lines with Chicago workers becoming Hoosiers, taking advantage of what we have to offer.

Business locates around people, either to sell services or to find skilled workers. I remember downtown Indianapolis in the 1970s when it was only populated during the day. They began a campaign to encourage renovation of downtown homes as well as incentives to keep and bring business offices downtown. Young people jumped at the opportunity to acquire a handyman special for a dollar and fix it up. Stores, restaurants and service businesses followed.

Chicago often is referred to as a city of neighborhoods, but so is Northwest Indiana. Our diversity is our strength and an asset to promote. Our many towns are unique with residents proud to call their community home. But this also is separating us. Our officials concern themselves with their individual districts while few consider the collective responsibilities. Unlike a big city, we dont have a mayor to focus on a vision who is concerned for all of our neighborhoods. Even our county executives are elected from different geographic areas with no single executive responsible for all.

Ive polled residents in my district, and they are overwhelmingly skeptical of a single county executive because they fear someone with too much authority  or a county government that would limit local authority. Yet cities have mayors, and states have governors.

It is difficult for Northwest Indiana because we do not speak with one voice. Imagine the strength we would have if we could. Right now, we have a strong group of mayors and town councils representing our neighborhoods. This is a unique opportunity for our county executives to work with them to build a common vision  one that would attract people to live here.

Leaders around the state are taking notice of our accomplishments in Northwest Indiana. Rather than complaining about what we deserve, we are carrying a message of what we are doing. Our new governor is talking about us and how the state can help.

I believe that we are at a turning point for Northwest Indiana. If we focus our effort toward common goals, improving our transportation infrastructure and building desirable community amenities, we will once again grow our population and realize success that benefits us all.
The president became the leading exemplar for children on how to stand up to bullies, even when youre shunned and disrespected. It is clear he wants to improve Americas infrastructure, employment levels and overall safety. He asked Congress to put country before grudges and work together for the future of our youth. I hope Indiana's congressional delegation works with the president rather than obstructing him.
Cathie Bledsoe, a youth educator for the Indiana State Police Internet Crime against Children Task Force (ICAC), will speak on cyber bullying at World Civility Day.

The special day, April 13, will include civility-themed workshops at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond and an evening awards dinner at Avalon Manor in Merrillville.

Community Civility Counts, which started as a partnership of the Gary Chamber of Commerce and The Times Media Co. in 2015, is hosting the activities of World Civility Day for a second year.

Bledsoe has more than 10 years of teaching experience that includes K-12 and college-level courses. She has been a presenter on Internet safety and cyber bullying for over a decade.

The Indiana State Police provides age-appropriate cyber safety presentations to schools, churches and youth organizations. These presentations focus on accurate and timely information relevant to youth from ages 8 to 18.

Bledsoe will speak from 3:30 to 4 p.m. April 13 at the Indiana Welcome Center.

Tickets can be ordered through the Gary Chamber of Commerce. Call 219-885-7404. Tickets are $25 for the day sessions and lunch and $60 for the celebration and awards dinner. Tables of 10 for the dinner can be reserved for $550.

Sponsorships also are available through the Gary Chamber.
EAST CHICAGO  Police are seeking public's help identifying a man accused of fraudulently withdrawing more than $3,100 from a bank Feb. 28.

East Chicago police were called about 5 p.m. Feb. 28 to Peoples Bank, 4901 Indianapolis Blvd., in reference to a fraud complaint. The suspect allegedly deposited $3,160 in a bank draft, according to East Chicago police Lt. Marguerite Wilder.

The suspect then went to an ATM machine outside and withdrew the amount issued to him. The draft presented to the bank teller was later proved to be fraudulent, according to police.

The suspect has reportedly been involved with similar fraudulent transactions at other branch locations in various jurisdictions.

East Chicago Detective Angelo Machuca is asking the for public's assistance in identifying this suspect. He can be reached at 219-391-8523. To leave an anonymous tip, call the department's crime tip line at 219-391-8500.
PHILADELPHIA, March 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Penn Capital Management Company, Inc. (Penn Capital) is pleased to announce Lisa Matson, Esq., Robert McLaughlin, Peter Moran and Richard Simons have each been promoted to Partner.



Lisa Matson, Esq., Partner, General Counsel

Ms. Matson joined Penn Capital in 2014 and is responsible for oversight of the firms legal and compliance departments. Previously, Ms. Matson was a senior counsel and assistant vice president with Lincoln Financial Group and also spent 10 years with The Vanguard Group, Inc. She began her legal career in private practice with the Philadelphia law firm Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young, LLP. Ms. Matson holds a BA with honors from Carleton College and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Robert McLaughlin, CFA, Partner, Director of Operations

Mr. McLaughlin joined Penn Capital as Manager of Business Operations in 2011. He is responsible for the management and oversight of the operations and client reporting functions of the firm. Mr. McLaughlin has over 15 years of experience in the investment management industry and was most recently a Director with Evergreen Investments Global High Yield team, serving as a Trader and Portfolio Analyst. Prior to Evergreen, he held various positions at Deutsche Asset Management. He received a BS in Accounting from Villanova University and a MBA with a concentration in Finance from Widener University. Mr. McLaughlin also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Peter J. Moran, Partner, Executive Vice President, Global Distribution

Mr. Moran joined Penn Capital in 2016 and is responsible for oversight of the firms marketing and client service functions as well as the firms intermediary and institutional distribution channels. He also serves as Chairman of the Product Management Committee, charged with overseeing the firms product development as well as serving on the firms Executive Committee, which drives overall strategy and management of the firm.

Mr. Moran brings over 25 years of financial services experience covering asset management, brokerage, banking and insurance for both foreign and domestic firms. He has worked for Pacific Financial, the holding company of PIMCO, Pacific Life, Montgomery Asset Management, J.P. Morgan Investment Management and Turner Investment Partners. Mr. Moran was President of Constellation Funds Group and founding partner of BHR Fund Advisors, which was acquired by Dundee Wealth of Toronto, Canada. In 2014 he began consulting for various asset management companies with a focus on institutional, foreign and alternative firms.

Mr. Moran is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a degree in Economics.

Richard Simons, CFA, Partner, Senior Research Analyst

Mr. Simons began his career with Penn Capital in 2013 and in his research capacity focuses on the Healthcare sector. Prior to joining Penn Capital, Mr. Simons served as a portfolio manager for Turner Investments Partners and as an analyst at Tryphon Capital Advisers focusing on the Healthcare sector in both positions. He received a BS in Biophysics from The State University of New York at Geneseo and a Masters of Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Penn Capitals Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Richard A. Hocker, says, Lisa, Robert, Peter and Richard have earned this partnership through their contributions to Penn Capitals growth and sustainability. For that we are honored to recognize them.

Since Penn Capital was founded in 1987, ownership in the firm has been consistently distributed to Penn Capital employees. With these newest additions, Penn Capital now has 21 partners.

Penn Capital, founded in 1987, is an independent investment management firm located in Philadelphia, PA. Penn Capital maintains a fully integrated credit and equity research process and emphasizes Complete Capital Structure Analysis when analyzing investment opportunities. Penn Capital has approximately $5.5 billion in assets under advisement (as of December 31, 2016) and specializes in high yield fixed income and micro-to-mid capitalization equity portfolios for institutions and individuals.
A recruitment process to fill vacant positions at four top organisations has started after their executives either retired or were transferred to other offices.

The private sector is grappling with a harsh business environment dotted with high power tariffs and the general slowdown of the economy.

The persons who will take up the three positions are expected to have lasting impact on reviving business buoyance in the economy. ALI TWAHA looks at issues that await whoever takes up any of these positions.



Uganda Manufacturers Association

Former executive director Mustapha Ssebagala Kigozi left UMA for the Electoral Commission when manufacturers are seething with a host of issues, including high power tariffs.

Last year, manufacturers petitioned President Museveni during a mining conference over excessive taxes. The new executive director is expected to lobby government to address tax issues affecting manufacturers.

Visitors at the Uganda Manufacturers Association trade fair. The association is looking for a new executive director

Electricity Regulatory Authority

Dr Benon Mutambi left ERA, the electricity sector regulator, for a permanent secretary role at the ministry of internal affairs at a time when the issue of high power costs remain thorny.

During his reign at ERA, he showed unwavering authority, making sure sector players didnt make up numbers just to drive up tariff for higher profit.

In January, ERA raised the annual base power tariff by 9.2 per cent. According to Gideon Badagawa, the executive director at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda, there is need for policies to push for affordable power across the board.

We used to have only 240MW generated but now we are generating 850MW. However, we are only using 600MW. As private sector, what we want

to see is a debate on how we can push for affordable power, Badagawa said.

Whoever takes over ERA is expected to look deeply into the costs suggested by players like power distributor Umeme and Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd to see that they are not exaggerated to push up the tariff.

Uganda Investment Authority

According to the World Banks forecast for 2017, Ugandas doing business ranking will improve from its current 122nd position in 2016 to about 115th.

This might not be achieved if wrangles between the Uganda Investment Authority and the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) are not amicably settled. The disagreement comes from the joint funding initiative to establish the online one-stop center solution.

The service links at least seven government entities related to business formalization and registrations. Both the acting executive director at UIA, Lawrence Byensi, and officials at the URSB are already trading insults over which entity has the mandate to manage the One-stop centres.

Frank Sebbowa concluded his four-year tenure as the executive director at UIA after he clocked the retirement age of 60. Solving such a stand-off quickly must be on the in-coming directors first to-do list.

Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Electing a president for the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry remains a tall order after numerous attempts to hold elections were blocked.

A bitter row between the current president, Olive Kigongo, and another contender, Andrew Rugasira, left some stains on the image of the body. There is still hope that the elections might be held at some point this year.

UNCCI remains the oldest nationwide umbrella organization for the private sector in Uganda. The body says its main role is to protect the interests of the private sector.

alitwaha9@gmail.com
WASHINGTON  Days after the Senate confirmed him as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference and was asked about addressing a group that probably wanted to eliminate his agency.

I think its justified, he responded, to cheers. I think people across the country look at the EPA the way they look at the IRS.

In the days since, Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general who built a career out of suing the agency he now leads, has moved to stock the top offices of the agency with like-minded conservatives  many of them skeptics of climate change and all of them intent on rolling back environmental regulations that they see as overly intrusive and harmful to business.

Pruitt has drawn heavily from the staff of his friend and fellow Oklahoma Republican, Sen. James Inhofe, long known as Congress most prominent skeptic of climate science. A former Inhofe chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, will be Pruitts chief of staff. Another former Inhofe staff member, Byron Brown, will serve as Jacksons deputy. Andrew Wheeler, a fossil fuel lobbyist and a former Inhofe chief of staff, is a finalist to be Pruitts deputy, although he requires confirmation to the position by the Senate.

To friends and critics, Pruitt seems intent on building an EPA leadership that is fundamentally at odds with the career officials, scientists and employees who carry out the agencys missions. That might be a recipe for strife and gridlock at the federal agency tasked to keep safe the nations clean air and water while safeguarding the planets future.

Hes the most different kind of EPA administrator thats ever been, said Steve J. Milloy, a member of the EPA transition team who runs the website JunkScience.com, which aims to debunk climate change. Hes not coming in thinking EPA is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Quite the opposite.

Gina McCarthy, who headed the EPA under former President Barack Obama, said she too saw Pruitt as unique. Its fine to have differing opinions on how to meet the mission of the agency. Many Republican administrators have had that, she said. But here, for the first time, I see someone who has no commitment to the mission of the agency.

The agencys policy agenda is coming into focus: Last week, Trump signed an executive order directing Pruitt to begin the legal process of dismantling a major Obama-era regulation aimed at increasing the federal governments authority over rivers, streams and wetlands in order to prevent water pollution. Also last week, Pruitt ordered the agency to walk back a program on collecting data on methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas wells.

This week, Trump is expected to sign an executive order directing Pruitt to begin the legal process of unwinding Obamas EPA regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming pollution from coal-fired power plants, and Pruitt is expected to announce plans to begin to weaken an Obama-era rules mandating higher fuel economy standards.

A draft White House budget blueprint proposes to slash the EPA budget by about 24 percent, or $2 billion from its current level of $8.1 billion, and cut employee numbers by about 20 percent from its current staff of about 15,000.

Agency employees say morale has already been damaged. After working for years to draft climate change regulations under the Obama administration, many of those same career scientists and lawyers will be ordered to go back and undo them.

McCarthy, who oversaw the writing and execution of those major water and climate change regulations, said it would be difficult and time-consuming to reverse them, especially if Trump succeeds in greatly downsizing the agency.

If you want to do these executive orders that require a whole rewrite of the rule, you have to get that right, legally, she said. It took years to do those rules. To now ask for those things to be undone with less staff and low morale  how are they going to do it?

There is one area in which Pruitt has vowed to continue the traditional work of the EPA: a long-standing program for sending funds to states to clean up brownfields  former industrial sites that have been contaminated by pollution. Although Trumps budget blueprint would slash funds for that program, Pruitt pledged to a gathering of mayors in Washington last week that he would fight to save the program.

With the White House and Congress I am communicating a message about brownfields, he told mayors. I want to hear from you about successes and communicate them.
MARCH 11

Tiki Beer Festival: Featuring Firkfest, a cask-only beer event, with 30-plus SoCal independent craft brewers to bring one-of-a-kind beers inspired by Tiki cocktails and tropical vibes. Noon-4 p.m. at Anaheim Packing District, 440 S. Anaheim Blvd. Tickets are $55. Info: firkfest.com

MARCH 16

Tres Sabores Wine Makers Dinner: Julie Johnson, winemaker and owner of Tres Sabores will attend a four course dinner paired with new releases from her vineyard in Napa. Benny the Wine Pup to make an appearance. Colony Wine Merchant, 280 S. Lemon St., Anaheim. Reservations: 657-208-1860

MARCH 18

Curries in a Hurry class: Inspired by annual curry festival. 11 a.m. at ADYA, 440 S. Anaheim Blvd. #201, Anaheim. $35. Reservations: 714-533-2392

MARCH 24

California Wine Night: Guests will feast on farm-to-table cuisine at a four-course dinner with wines from Claiborne & Churchill Vintners. 6:30-9 p.m. at EATS Kitchen & Bar at Hotel Irvine, 17900 Jamboree Road. $60. Reservations: 949-225-6780 or eatskitchen.com/#events
Running a small business isnt easy. Being your own boss might sound appealing, but it means putting in lots of hard work to make it happen. Among the many things an owner has to think about are balancing the books, hiring and keeping employees, and pleasing customers. Increasingly, something else weighs on the minds of owners: regulations.

Small business owners frequently cite regulations as one of the largest obstacles in operating their company. Every four years, the National Federation of Independent Business asks small business owners to evaluate and rank 75 potential business problems. In 2016, they told us that their second biggest problem was unreasonable government regulations.

A new NFIB survey delves deeper into the red tape problems faced by small businesses. We asked small employers across the country a variety of questions about how regulations impact their business.

First, about one in two small employers says that regulations are a very serious or somewhat serious problem for them. Also, half of small employers tell us that in the last three years theyve experienced an increase in the number of regulations they must comply with. By contrast, only 2 percent of respondents said they had seen a decline in regulations.

So how do regulations make it difficult to run a business? Twenty-eight percent of small employers say that the cost of compliance is the biggest problem. For others, 18 percent, the largest problem is the difficulty understanding what they are supposed to do to be in compliance. Close behind that, 17 percent of small business owners find the extra paperwork to be the biggest hassle. Other issues for employers include the time delays caused by regulations and the difficulty discovering new regulations.

We asked small employers about what level of government gives them the most regulatory headaches. Only 15 percent said local government is the biggest problem. Double that number, 30 percent, said state rules had the biggest impact. A full 50 percent said it was the federal government that caused them the most stress when it comes to rules and regulations.

Big companies hire a legion of lawyers, accountants and compliance specialists to make sure they are following all the rules. At a typical small business, however, the owner must wear all these hats alone. According to our survey, 69 percent of small employers research compliance requirements themselves. Only 15 percent rely on an expert for information.

With all that said, there are positive developments for small business owners on the regulatory front. One of the first executive orders signed by President Donald Trump asked federal agencies to identify two regulations that can be rolled back for each new regulation proposed. To us, that sounds like a worthy idea, and well be closely watching how that order is implemented.

Also, the president nominated federal Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. In his previous opinions, Gorsuch has stated his distaste for court precedents that defer to regulators interpretations of the law. He could be a powerful voice defending small businesses from creeping bureaucracy.

If legislators want to unleash small business growth, they must push forward regulatory reform. Most small businesses operate with thin margins. Every new requirement, every moment of their time spent on a new rule, means less time an owner must focus on their business. Reducing the time and expense of regulations and giving small business owners more freedom to innovate would pay off in solid economic growth and increased employment. We need to remove the regulatory ball-and-chain holding back small business.

Tom Scott is the state executive director for NFIB California, which represents 22,000 dues-paying small business owners across the state.
The parents of a 13-year-old boy involved in an altercation with an off-duty Los Angeles policeman in an Anaheim neighborhood last month have filed a civil rights lawsuit against the officer.

In the Orange County Superior Court suit, Alma Jimenez and John Dorscht say their son was brutally attacked during a Feb. 21 scuffle with 33-year-old Kevin Ferguson during which Ferguson fired his gun downward.

The lawsuit, filed last week, says the boy was walking home from school with a group of other students when Ferguson, standing outside of his home drinking a beer with an older man, became irate as one girl walked on his lawn.

Ferguson allegedly yelled a profanity at the girl, prompting the boy to respond to the officer that he should ask the student in a nicer manner, according to the suit. The event traumatized the boy, the suit says.

(Warning: video contains foul language.)

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The incident escalated into a scuffle captured on video that went viral. It shows Ferguson detaining the boy and pulling him across a yard.

At one point, other teenage boys rush at the officer, pushing him over a hedge. Ferguson, in plain clothes, reached into his waistband and pulled out the handgun. Nobody was hit, but the incident would draw hundreds of protesters to the neighborhood.

Fergusons lawyer, Larry Hanna, could not be reached Wednesday but has said the officer feared for his and his sick fathers safety and believed that the boy might have a weapon.

Hanna said the officer heard the boy say, Im going to shoot you. Another teen has said that the boy actually said, I am going to sue you.

In the lawsuit, the boys parents say he suffers from a speech impairment.

While Hanna had said his client acted within his duties as a police officer, the lawsuit alleges negligence, assault and battery, false imprisonment and excessive force.

According to the lawsuit, Ferguson ferociously tackled the boy, choked him in a headlock, struck him in the private area and dragged him across multiple lawns.

The lawsuit notes that Anaheim police arrived at the scene but failed to arrest Ferguson. Instead, they took the boy to juvenile hall, causing further emotional distress, according to the suit.

So far, neither the Los Angeles and or the Anaheim police department is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The parents filed the suit on behalf of their son and are seeking an unspecified amount in damages. Their attorney, Elena Medina Torres, could not be reached for comment.

The Anaheim Police Department has said it is investigating the incident and will present its findings to the Orange County District Attorneys Office.

Dustin DeRollo, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, issued a statement about the issue.

It comes as no surprise that a lawsuit seeking to shake down the officer for money has been filed, he said. We hope that this lawsuit determines why multiple young adults chose to physically assault a police officer and what the parents of these young adults could have done to teach their children right from wrong.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com

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I work with the superheroes of dance, said Hope Boykin, a 17-year member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, in a recent phone interview. I say that all the time because I am just in awe of the artists around me.

And with Alvin Ailey widely regarded as one of the worlds most accomplished dance companies, Boykin has every right to hold herself and her colleagues in this regard.

But despite their celebrity status in the dance scene, Boykin assures that she and the other dancers are still very much a part of the real world  a world that Boykin describes on her blog as one that is fraught with tensions.

Let me remind you that we are human, Boykin said. Some days we struggle and sometimes we wonder what our purpose is and if were doing enough. But these are part of the experience. Heartbreak is a life experience, being sick is a life experience and you just have to ask, How do you make the best of all that youre doing? 

When Boykin and the rest of the company come to Los Angeles this week for a performance at The Music Centers Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, they bring a mixed repertoire that includes three West Coast premieres as well as the iconic Revelations piece from 1960.

These pieces, though created over a span of five decades, remain relevant as they cover topics relating to the history of African-American cultural heritage, the impact of the prison system on black families and the barriers people construct in various relationships.

Advertisements for the companys appearance in Los Angeles proclaim, Now, more than ever, we need dance to bring us together. This simple sentiment continues the late Alvin Aileys charge to, according to the companys mission, (use) the beauty and humanity of the African American heritage and other cultures to unite people of all races, ages and backgrounds.

And while the company continues to perform historic works, it makes every effort to connect with a contemporary audience. It has tapped into pop culture with a dance video set to Beyonces Freedom as well as a tribute to the recent Academy Awards best picture winner, Moonlight.

More than just hopping on trends or trying to go viral, though, Boykin said, engaging with what is going on in the world is part of the dancers job as performers.

An artists duty is to represent the time and life that they are living in, she said. We must be aware of our surroundings and in doing that, someone, somewhere in some seat will receive something that they need.

Among the works being presented this week is Boykins own piece, r-Evolution, Dream which features original music by Ali Jackson from Jazz at Lincoln Center and Leslie Odom, Jr. from Broadways Hamilton. Boykin said she was inspired by the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. particularly his 1968 drum major instinct sermon about drawing attention for the right reasons.

When comparing what it is like to perform a new work such as r-Evolution, Dream and a staple piece like Revelations, Boykin said she approaches each as if its new, giving 100 percent effort during each performance.

This is life  you dont get to phone it in, you dont get to pause or press rewind, Boykin said. My platform is the stage. I get to scream through movement when someone else might be screaming out loud, and ultimately its about giving lovers of art something to see.
Cruz Ramirez lost her health insurance when her husband lost his job. But thanks to Obamacare, she says, she didnt lose her health.

Ramirez, 51, of Santa Ana, underwent treatment for stomach cancer that was covered by Medi-Cal, which she qualified for two years ago because of the Affordable Care Acts Medicaid expansion.

She shared her experience Tuesday at a press conference held to denounce the new Republican proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. The event took place outside the Irvine office of Republican Congresswoman Mimi Walters, who was in Washington, D.C., Tuesday.

Medical care is very expensive, Ramirez said. Its going to affect children, adults, everyone in the community.

About a dozen people, most of them health care workers, attended the event, which was organized by a statewide coalition of unions and nonprofit health groups.

Speakers called on Walters to oppose the legislation which would no longer require Americans to buy health insurance, offer tax credits in place of subsidies and roll back the Medicaid expansion. The insurance plan for low-income residents is called Medi-Cal in California.

The repeal and replace legislation was released Monday by Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee. Walters is a member of the committee, which is scheduled to hold a meeting on the bill Wednesday.

We are keeping our promise to repeal Obamacare and implement a better system, Walters said in a statement Tuesday. The plan put forward by Congressman Walden will put forth real solutions that will allow Americans to have health care plans that work for them, not Washington. You can read the bill online at readthebill.gop.

Dr. Irmina Sultana Haq, a family medicine resident at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said shes seen firsthand how patients have benefited from coverage through the Affordable Care Act. She criticized lawmakers lack of transparency because the legislation has not yet been analyzed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

They are not telling us how much the plan will cost, who will gain and who will lose coverage, Haq said. The costs will be human.

Bernice Benally, a respiratory therapist at Chapman Global Medical Center in Orange, said the legislation will take quality health care away from the people who need it.

Congresswoman Walters needs to do a little bit more research, get down to the grassroots, community level, maybe visit some hospitals, Benally said. This Obamacare has been working good for a lot of patients.

Contact the writer: cperkes@scng.com 714-796-3686
SANTA ANA  A superior court judge granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday forcing Santa Ana to briefly reinstate a police officer involved in a controversial marijuana dispensary raid, tipping the case in the officers favor.

Santa Ana police Officer Brandon Sontags attorney, Corey Glave, filed the temporary restraining order in Orange County Superior Court on Monday, while the City Councils appeal of its personnel boards earlier decision to reinstate Sontag was pending.

Sontag, one of three Santa Ana police officers who raided Sky High Holistic in May 2015 and were caught on video eating snacks, was fired by Chief Carlos Rojas effective May 6, 2016. The citys personnel board, however, heard Sontags appeal in November and on a 5-2 vote ruled that was not the appropriate remedy, but rather he should have been suspended and reassigned.

City Council members on a 4-3 vote last month appealed the personnel boards decision, but the temporary restraining order granted by Judge James Crandall on Tuesday obligates the city to reinstate Sontag immediately and pay him back salary and benefits as if he had not been discharged.

Based on the record before the Court, the Court finds that Plaintiff is likely to prevail on the merits of his claims, and/or the balance of hardship tips in his favor and/or Plaintiff would be likely to suffer irreparable injury, absent an ex parte temporary restraining order, and the requested relief serves the public interest and legislative intent related to the relevant statutes, the courts order states.

The order remains in effect until a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for March 30, after which the court could affirm the temporary restraining order by granting a preliminary injunction, or deny the motion.

Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said the citys policy is not to comment on personnel matters. However, please rest assured that we will comply with the courts lawful order, he said.

Sontag and fellow officers Nicole Lynn Quijas and Jorge Arroyo were captured in a surveillance video, released by the pot dispensarys lawyer, ordering customers and employees to the ground, and two of the officers made demeaning remarks about an amputee in a wheelchair who was volunteering at the shop.

The Orange County District Attorneys Office in March 2016 filed charges of petty theft against the trio, and Sontag was also accused of vandalism for allegedly breaking some of the dispensarys surveillance cameras. Prosecutors said there was no evidence the snacks the officers consumed contained any drugs.

Glave, an attorney for the Santa Ana Police Officers Association who sued the city on behalf of Sontag in February, said his clients case was headed toward settlement until council members voted to appeal.

So now theyre spending public funds to win a case they cant win, Glave said. The city can engage in settlement talks whenever they want  were willing to listen.

Councilman Jose Solorio, who along with Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilman Juan Villegas voted against appealing, said City Attorney Sonia Carvalho had all along advised that the citys likelihood of victory via the court was very low.

For me and some of my colleagues, we dont question that there was misconduct and that theres a need for some major discipline, Solorio said. But the reality is that the whole discipline process was botched by the police department leadership and has put the city in a very bad situation, especially in terms of financial liability.

Solorio called the citys case unwinnable and said council members should consider another settlement that is fair to the city but that also makes it very clear that there was conduct unbecoming of an officer.

In an email to council members, Carvalho said the cases of Quijas, whose last day on the force was May 6, and Arroyo, relieved on April 20, are on Tuesdays closed session agenda. Both officers appealed their terminations to the personnel board. Arroyos closed hearing was scheduled to begin March 2 and run through May 2; Quijas is slated May 16 through June 1.

The preliminary injunction hearing around Sontags case will take place 1:30 p.m. on March 30 in Department C33 of the superior court.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7762 or jkwong@ocregister.com or on Twitter: @JessicaGKwong
COSTA MESA City employees will see small pay raises and lower pension contribution rates over the next four years after the City Council approved a new union contract.

In a narrow 3-2 vote Tuesday night, with council members Jim Righeimer and Allan Mansoor dissenting, the council approved a 2.5 percent pay raise in the first two years and a 2.75 percent bump in the third and fourth years for members of the Costa Mesa City Employees Association.

The employees would contribute 14 percent toward their pensions in year one. The amounts would be reduced to 13 percent in year two and 12 percent in years three and four, according to the contract.

Supporters of the changes said the contract will help the city recruit and retain employees.

Mayor Katrina Foley said some in the business community had concerns about the shortage of city employees.

This contract allows us to continue to be fiscally conservative but functional, she said. It addresses the retention and recruitment issues head-on and it allows us to rebuild so that we can do more.

The city had about 90 vacant positions as of Tuesday, up three from two weeks ago, and city employees have lower salaries than their counterparts in surrounding cities.

I learned that we have 911 operators that have left our city for other cities because of compensation issues and we cant fill the gaps, said Councilman John Stephens.

Righeimer, a longtime critic of public unions, argued the terms wont help the city with its increasing pension debt, which stood at around $245 million.

Were paying people way too young to retire and theyre living longer, he said. We have a firehose of money coming through this city and were about to go through it.

However, a city staff report said the provisions would not impact the citys pension liability as the recommended salary increases are within the California Public Employees Retirement System assumptions.

Beginning next year, California cities will not be allowed to require certain employees to pay more than 8 percent toward their pensions.

Were asking the employees to pay more than we can mandate and theyve agreed, Foley said. Theyre doing their fair share and we need to do ours.

Taxpayers will pay an extra $5.65 million more over the lifetime of the contract than the previous one, which expired in June.

The council also struck down a provision included in the Employees Associations previous contract that required paying 60 percent of any increases in the citys mandated contributions to the California Public Employees Retirement System.

The new contract expires in 2020.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2478 or lcasiano@scng.com
ANAHEIM  Patrick Eaves was in the middle of it all for the Ducks and also there at the end when they needed it.

Eaves played a key role in their second-period rally and scored the only goal in the shootout while Jonathan Bernier made saves on four of the Nashville misses as the Ducks scored a 4-3 comeback victory over the Predators on Tuesday night.

After both teams missed on their first four opportunities, Eaves snapped a wrist shot past Predators goalie Pekka Rinne. Bernier responded by making a pad save on Ryan Johansens try to lift the Ducks (34-22-10), who overcame two two-goal deficits to gain a critical victory at Honda Center.

Hes so big and hes always on his angle, Eaves said. I was just going to try to get a quick shot and hopefully make it so he has to react to it and it just doesnt hit him. Fortunately, I got it up over the pad a little bit there and it went in.

It didnt look good for the Ducks midway through the second period as Nashville grabbed a 3-1 lead when the scorching Filip Forsberg used Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf as a screen and snapped a shot past Bernier for a shorthanded goal. Forsberg got his chance on a Cam Fowler turnover.

Instead of being crushed by the deficit and fading away, the Ducks stepped up their attack and kept charging back.

The newest member continued to leave an impact. Eaves willingness to occupy space in front of the net had P.K. Subban defending him and it allowed Nick Ritchie to jump up to put in a rebound created by Getzlafs shot.

Getzlaf earned his third point of the night in the final minute of the second when Eaves again created havoc in front, this time grabbing a loose puck and feeding Rickard Rakell as the winger put a shot in off Predators center Vernon Fiddler for his team-leading 27th goal and a 3-3 tie.

Patty works hard, Getzlaf said. Hes always around the puck all the time and hes around the net. Thats one thing that our group was lacking in a ways. Just that feistiness in front of the net. I thought hes done great with that. Retrieving pucks and being around the net.

With his two assists, Eaves has four points in his three games since joining the Ducks in a trade with Dallas.

I dont know if they lacked that at all, Eaves said. From playing them, theyre always around the net, big and heavy. Thats just where I like to play and hopefully cause a little havoc. Get a stick on a puck here and there and get a rebound.

Thats where I want to try to be. It seems like we have that here already.

The Ducks faced their first two-goal deficit just a little more than six minutes in. Colin Wilson scored on a neat backhand shot off a pass from James Neal as the winger was falling to the ice.

Ryan Ellis, who missed Nashvilles game Saturday against Chicago due to a lower-body injury, followed with a slap shot past Bernier on the power play.

But that seemed to fire up the Ducks, who became ornery and started stirring things up with the Predators. And then they got their dormant power play out of its long hibernation.

Rinne couldnt close down Sami Vatanens point shot with his glove and Getzlaf jumped on the rebound and swept it in for the Ducks first man-advantage goal in 10 games. It also snapped a 1-for-35 drought spanning 13 games to Jan. 31.

Near the end of the first, Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa won a spirited fight with Nashvilles Austin Watson. It seemed to charge them up for the rest of the night as they often controlled play from the start of the second on.

We stuck with it, Getzlaf said. I felt like earlier in the year at these times, I thought we maybe let things get away. We started taking more and more penalties. We took our fair share tonight but we were able to kind of rally and get a couple of bounces.

Contact the writer: estephens@scng.com
The prospect of stricter immigration enforcement did not discourage undocumented students in California from applying for financial aid to attend a college or university in the state.

This years volume of on-time applications filed by undocumented students seeking Cal Grants or other state assistance exceeds the number submitted in 2016, according to preliminary data from the California Student Aid Commission.

California educators had expressed concerns last month that students may have been afraid to out themselves as being undocumented if they applied for aid.

We are on Cloud Nine right now, Lupita Cortez Alcala, executive director of the California Student Aid Commission, said Friday.

Undocumented students turned in nearly 36,000 aid applications by Thursdays deadline. One year prior, undocumented students turned in a little more than 34,000 applications.

The Department of Homeland Security, following new executive orders from President Donald Trump, has adopted new enforcement policies that generally do not provide for any categories of undocumented immigrants to be exempt from deportation proceedings.

The new policies, however, do not apply to undocumented immigrants who came into the United States illegally while they were children and who later received protections from removal proceedings under an Obama Administration policy.

California is one of a handful of states where young undocumented immigrants can receive student aid. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a pair of laws that together are known as the California Dream Act in 2011. One of those laws, A.B. 131, allows undocumented students who are also eligible for in-state tuition rates under California law to receive publicly-funded student aid.

Other states where undocumented students can obtain publicly-funded student aid are Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas and Minnesota, according to the National Conference of State Legislature.

California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, formerly the leader of Long Beach City College, issued a February statement expressing worries that the national conversation surrounding immigration and deportation has created an environment that is confusing and threatening to many of our students.

Oakley went on to encourage undocumented students to apply for college, with the assurance that California officials do not share Dream Act applicants information with the federal government.

Two weeks ago, the volume of financial aid applications from undocumented students amounted to some 40 percent of what the California Student Aid Commission had received in 2016, Alcala said.

As the deadline approached, the commission received some about 8,000 applications in a 48 hour period, Alcala said. She said media coverage and officials efforts to encourage students to apply for aid were likely factors in the late rush of applications.

I think it was pretty close, probably the last few days, she said, referring to the time when student aid officials realized they may have avoided a drop-off in aid applications. It really jumped.
Orange County would save $42 million a year in health care, law enforcement and other expenses by placing people who chronically live on the streets into housing, according to a first-ever countywide study of the costs of homelessness.

The study, conducted by UC Irvine researchers and released in summary form Tuesday, aimed to pinpoint how much money was spent on services and other costs related to homelessness during a 12-month period in 2014-15 by local cities, the county and non-governmental agencies. Overall, the price tag came to about $299 million, with the lions share  roughly $120 million  borne by the 34 cities that comprise the county.

While this is the first such analysis conducted in Orange County, similar studies have been done in other parts of California, including Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento, although those were not as comprehensive, the UCI researchers said.

The full UCI report is due in May but among key findings: It would be much cheaper to invest in a housing first approach to get homeless people off the street than to continue to pay for a revolving door of emergency and interim services.

The study was led by sociology professors David A. Snow and Rachel Goldberg at UCI and is the outcome of a partnership involving the university and two nonprofits, Orange County United Way and Jamboree Housing Corp.

The cost analysis was discussed during United Ways update on the organizations FACE 2024 initiative, which aims to dramatically make a difference in housing, health and the financial stability of families. Special emphasis was put on homelessness with the release of the cost study and a keynote address by Nan Roman, who heads the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

The studys aim was twofold: Estimate the economic outlay for homelessness in Orange County by government agencies and non-governmental organizations and show how costs vary from people who live on the streets, in shelters and in housing programs.

The UCI analysis put the financial burden on local hospitals and emergency departments at $77 million. The county government spends an estimated $62 million. Non-governmental agencies that serve the homeless, such as housing agencies like Jamboree, made up the $40 million balance.

The study assigned an average annual cost of $45,000 per homeless individual in Orange County for all services provided. Care related to health and medical issues was the most costly, and homeless people on the street who use those services most heavily drive up the expense disproportionately, researchers found.

If the most costly 10 percent are dropped from the analysis, the mean annual cost per person drops to approximately $10,000, the study states.

And 70 percent of Orange Countys homeless have lived here 10 years or more.

These are our residents, Carla Vargas, chief operating officer for United Way, told the audience Tuesday at UCIs Beckman Center. Theyre not folks that are coming here from somewhere else.

Other key findings include:

 Evictions and foreclosures, insufficient income and job loss combine as the top reasons for homelessness in the county.

 Substance abuse of alcohol and/or drugs was a factor cited by 22 percent of those surveyed, with mental health mentioned by 17 percent. Only 7 percent had been recently released from jail or prison.

 The average annual cost of services for the chronically homeless steeply declines when they are housed, a 40 percent drop when they are placed in permanent supportive housing from the $85,000 when they live on the streets or in emergency shelters.

In addition to questionnaires sent to the 34 cities, local hospitals and service agencies, Snow, Goldberg, and UCI research assistants Sara Villalta and Colin Bernatzky interviewed 252 homeless people around the county. Most were living in shelters or some type of housing program. But 89 of them were on the street.

Snow recalled one older man in a wheelchair that he met at the Newport Beach bus center near the citys civic center. The man, whom Snow could not identify because of confidentiality rules governing his research, told Snow he had been homeless for 17 years and in the past year had been brought by ambulance to an emergency room eight times.

Snow estimated the cost of those ambulance trips and ER visits at $300,000. He called the man Orange Countys version of Million-Dollar Murray, a homeless alcoholic named Murray Barr in Nevada who was featured in a seminal 2006 New Yorker magazine article by Malcolm Gladwell: over 10 years time, Barr had racked up $1 million in costs for emergency room visits, jail time and policing, shelter stays, and other treatment and services.

The Orange County man had lived with his parents until his mother died and his stepfather kicked him out of the house, he told Snow. He has mental health issues and suffered heart attacks and other ailments.

Based on the Registers interviews, it appears that the man Snow referenced is Peter Rowley, 64. Rowley is someone that Newport Beach Police Officer Anthony Yim, the departments sole full-time homeless liaison officer, has been trying to help.

In an hourlong conversation last week at the bus plaza with Yim present, Rowley shared details of his life that match what Snow discussed. Yim said Rowley can walk but for some reason chooses to stay in a wheelchair. Rowley said he had paralysis in his legs but theyre coming back.

He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and has had at least two heart attacks. He is missing multiple teeth. He often quotes the Bible. He said he doesnt drink and stopped using drugs, mostly marijuana, years ago. Yim confirmed that he has never seen Rowley inebriated. Mentally disabled since his youth, Rowley said he was mostly raised in Orange County and always lived with his parents until his mother died and his stepfather threw him out.

He cried when he spoke of needing and wanting rest from life on the streets.

I mean, Im 64 years old, going on 65, he said, choking up. I dont know how much longer Ill be here.

Rowley, who still holds a patent for a non-slip guitar pick he invented, gets a monthly disability check of $980. That money is typically spent in a week, he said, most of it to rent a motel room and buy food and hygiene products. Mostly, he spends his days riding the bus to Dana Point and Seal Beach. He returns to Newport Beach at night, sleeping on the ground across the street from the bus center, with two homeless buddies nearby.

We protect each other, he said, puffing on a cigarette.

Yim has hope that Rowley will get housing soon with the help of an outreach worker from the nonprofit Mercy House.

Well get through it, right Pete? Yim said, smiling at Rowley.

Yeah, we sure will, Rowley said, bouyed by Yims words. He added about his police officer friend, Hes done everything he can do, and hes done it well.

Across the way from Rowley, sitting in his own wheelchair was George Harvey Brundage III, another homeless man who stays at the bus center. Brundage, 78, has trouble getting out of his wheelchair  his legs and feet are severely swollen, red and scaly from a bacterial infection.

Brundage, too, has been in and out of hospitals. He also gets a monthly disability check of $940. He was unsure when he became homeless, perhaps in the late 1990s. He said he was recently released from a lengthy hospital stay and wanted to return because his feet continued to hurt.

I go into the hospital and its corrected, Brundage said.

Yim finds Brundage more difficult to help than Rowley: Hell come here, then hell be gone for awhile. So its hard to keep track of him.

In recent years, investment in permanent supportive housing has increased in Orange County, driven by a shift in emphasis from the federal government. Most of the money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development earmarked to address homelessness is now tied to providing long-term subsidized housing for the chronically homeless.

Based on their own research and other data, the UCI studys backers are convinced that chronically homeless people like Rowley and Brundage would not only benefit from permanent housing, but so would the bottom line for local spending on homelessness. Other programs that include rapid re-housing for struggling families also should be expanded, they say.

There is a need for emergency shelter, but many homeless people he spoke with would rather be on the street than in a shelter, Snow said.

Its really a stop-gap. Its not any kind of solution.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7793 or twalker@ocregister.com
LONDON  Europes simmering backlash against immigration came into sharp relief on Tuesday when the Hungarian Parliament approved the detention of asylum-seekers in guarded and enclosed camps on the countrys southern border, in what human rights advocates called a reckless breach of international law.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary justified the measure on the grounds that it would secure the European Unions borders from migrants and act as a powerful deterrent against migration, which he called the Trojan horse of terrorism.

Orban is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, who on Monday signed an executive order that bars people from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.

We are under siege, Orban said Tuesday at an induction ceremony for border guard officers. The flood of migration has slowed down but has not stopped. Laws apply to everyone. This includes those migrants who want to cross Hungarys border illegally. This is the reality, which cannot be overruled by charming human rights nonsense.

The new law, which Parliament approved by a vote of 138-6, with 22 abstentions, would allow the government to detain asylum-seekers, including children, for potentially long periods of time in mobile housing units, which look like shipping containers, in camps surrounded by razor-wire fence, while their applications were processed.

Human rights advocates, including the United Nations refugee agency, condemned the move.

The agency said that the new law would have a terrible physical and psychological impact on refugees, and it emphasized that Hungary had a legal obligation to consider less coercive measures.

Some of Orbans anti-migrant talk seems to be for political show. Relatively few migrants have tried to settle permanently in Hungary; a vast majority who entered or tried to enter in recent years were hoping to use the country as a gateway to more welcoming countries, like Germany and the Netherlands.

Todor Gardos, a researcher at Amnesty International in London, said that the new law in Hungary violated regulations that prohibit detaining an individual just because he has claimed asylum. The blanket detention of all asylum-seekers breaches the law, which requires that detainment be justified on an individual, case-by-case basis, he said.
The Walt Disney Co.s annual shareholders meeting turned political Wednesday when activists asked CEO Bob Iger to step down from President Donald Trumps Strategic and Policy Forum.

Several activists questioned Igers participation, saying being on the presidents business advisory council runs counter to Disneys family-friendly core values of equality, diversity and inclusion, and may appear as if he is passively endorsing Trumps controversial positions.

Robel Worku, a community organizer at Colorado Peoples Alliance, said half a million people have signed a petition asking for Iger to step down.

There are Latino communities in both the state of Colorado and throughout the country that face a daily fear of being deported and having their families torn apart, Worku said. People in our communities are afraid to get out of their houses and drop their kids off at school, because they are afraid of being picked up by ICE and never making it back home. Disney holding this relationship with Trump is an endorsement of these policies.

Said Jennifer Epps-Addison, president of The Center for Popular Democracy: We believe the bottom line will be hurt if you do not step away from this president  this racist, xenophobic, anti-immigrant administration.

Only shareholders or their proxies can ask questions during these meetings; shareholders allowed the activists to talk as their proxies.

Iger, multiple times during the meeting in Denver, said he would not step down, that being part of the council is a great opportunity to get in the presidents ears about Disneys values.

I did not believe, nor do I believe, my membership in that group in any way endorses or supports any specific policies of the president or his administration, Iger said. I think its actually a privileged opportunity to have a voice in the room (and that its) in the best interest of this company and its shareholders.

Iger is one of 17 members on Trumps Strategic and Policy Forum, made up of high-level executives and business leaders such as Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX; Indra Nooyi, chairwoman and CEO of PepsiCo.; and Jamie Dimon, president of JPMorgan Chase.

The council will advise Trump on job creation, business growth and expanding economic opportunity.

Trumps recent executive order to ban six Muslim majority countries from traveling into the U.S. and crackdown on immigration has received a backlash from immigrant advocates and civil rights leaders.

We are who we are as a country because of great immigration, Iger said. The stories that we tell are from all walks of life, from all over the world. A policy open to the world is vital to the future of The Walt Disney Co. and to this country.

In other shareholder news:

 Shanghai Disneyland, which opened last June, has already brought in 8 million people in attendance.

 Iger said 2016 was the best year ever for The Walt Disney Studios, which is now the only studio in history to exceed $7 billion in a single year in global box office sales.

 This was The Walt Disney Co.s sixth consecutive year posting record results. Revenue, up 6 percent from the previous year, was $55.6 billion. Net income, up 12 percent from the previous year, was $9.4 billion.
There have been years when Orange County Democrats had a hard time finding a candidate to run against Republican Congress members, once a sacrificial duty in a county where GOP House members were usually a shoo-in.

Those days appear to be over.

Veteran Democrat Mike Levin announced Wednesday, March 8, that hell be challenging Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista. Levin joins Democrat Doug Applegate in an election more than 20 months away  even though Applegate mounted a surprisingly strong campaign, coming within 0.7 percentage points of beating Issa last year in the district that straddles the Orange-San Diego county line.

There are also already two declared Democrats candidates to challenge Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, and two more Democrats whove expressed interest in challenging Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Beach.

With Hillary Clinton winning all four of the countys long-time GOP House districts last year, Democrats smell blood. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, through the state party, is paying for two organizers in the county this year and considerably more funding from the national party is expected.

Theres no question that Darrell Issa is one of the most vulnerable Congress members in the country, but we see a lot of opportunity in all four Republican districts, said committee spokesman Tyler Law.

Clinton won 23 House districts held by Republicans nationwide and four of them are in Orange County, making this historically GOP stronghold ground zero for Democrats congressional push.

Applegates unexpectedly strong showing in his first-ever campaign last year left him well poised for a repeat challenge. But Levin says he can draw on his extensive experience and contacts, present a strong message and run a better campaign.

Ill be able to stay on offense against Issa, said Levin, 39. Ive tried to live a life of the highest personal integrity.

Last year, Issa campaign mailers took aim at Applegate for a host of issues, including two restraining orders and an order to surrender his firearms, the result of his then-wife accusing him of threatening her in the early 2000s.

Applegates ex-wife, Priscilla Greco, issued a statement calling the Issa mailer disrespectful and uninformed, and said she supported Applegates congressional bid.

I have a great deal of respect for Doug and the race he ran, Levin said. This is about Darrell Issa. When Donald Trump became president-elect, I rethought the whole urgency of the impact I wanted to make on the world. Issa is a full-blown Trump apologist.

Applegate campaign manager Robert Dempsey brushed aside the idea that his candidate could be hurt by repeats of last years attacks.

Darrell Issa  did everything he could to disparage Doug, Dempsey said. And still we came withing 1,600 votes of taking out the richest man in Congress. If (the attacks) come up again, we will address it with the truth and move onto issues more important to voters of the district.

Dempsey pointed to Applegates pedigree as a retired Marine colonel as a key selling point.

With Camp Pendleton in this district, its going to be hard for somebody who hasnt served in the military to represent the district, he said.

Jack Pandol, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, called Levins entry into the race as a sign that Democrats are in disarray.

Republicans are organized and motivated to stand behind Darrell Issa, a fighter for Southern California families, Pandol said.

Levin, who grew up in Lake Forest and now lives in San Juan Capistrano with his wife and two children, is making his first bid for elected office since he was elected student body president at Stanford University. But he has extensive behind-the-scenes experience, including serving two years as executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County and working as a volunteer on Clintons 2016 campaign.

Hes made a career largely working on environmental issues, including a stint as a lawyer helping clients with regulatory compliance and co-founding Sustain OC. hes currently director of government affairs with FuelCell Energy, a clean-energy company.

Levin said he expects to raise $3 million to $4 million, and hopes to have $100,000 by the end of the month. Applegate raised $2.1 million last year, although Dempsey pointed out that fundraising was slow in the beginning because few thought Issa was vulnerable.

Issa, the wealthiest House member in the country, spent $6.3 million to beat Applegate.

Its unclear how much Applegate has remaining from last year as the campaign is in the process of preparing amended campaign finance statements after receiving multiple requests from the Federal Elections Commissions for corrections.

Meanwhile, businessman Harley Rouda and real estate broker Boyd Roberts  both Democrats  have announced that theyll challenge Rohrabacher. And gearing up for possible runs against Rep. Mimi Walters are Democrats Rob Schneiderman, an Orange Coast College professor whos set up a CrowdPAC fundraising page, and Ron Varasteh, who lost to Walters by 17-percentage points last year.

Contact the writer: mwisckol@scng.com
Whole Foods Market is debuting a do-it-yourself juice bar in 11 Southern California stores.

The Juicero Juice bars uses a countertop cold-press system. Each Whole Foods will have one to three of the presses. Customers purchase a Juicero Produce Pack, then press their own beverage. It costs $5 per serving.

In Orange County, Juicero will be offered at Whole Foods locations in Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Brea.

The self-service option is in addition to existing juice bars at Whole Foods stores.

The company was founded by Doug Evans, the former chief executive of Organic Avenue. He built the first Juicero press in 2013 in his kitchen.

Juicero offers our customers a new and unique cold-pressed juicing experience, said Patrick Bradley, president, Whole Foods Market Southern Pacific region said in a statement. Juicero allows for a convenient, affordable cold-pressed juice that meets our high quality standards and were excited for our customers to have this new option for grabbing a juice on the go.

The Juicero system, which is not available for sale at Whole Foods, costs about $400. Its available online to buyers in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
LOS ANGELES  The Los Angeles County district attorneys office has decided not to pursue criminal charges against former USC linebackers Osa Masina and Don Hill for allegedly assaulting a 19-year-old woman last July.

Prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, according to a copy of the charge evaluation worksheet.

Masina is scheduled to stand trial later this year in Salt Lake City on one charge of first-degree rape and two charges of first-degree forcible sodomy in an alleged assault involving the same woman later in the month in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Masina has pled not guilty.

The date of trial has been postponed to July 26, said Greg Skordas, Masinas Salt Lake City-based attorney. It was originally set to begin this month.

Masina and Hill were initially suspended by USC for the first two games of the 2016 season before they were removed from the roster.

The alleged victim told investigators at the time that Masina and Hill had raped her at an apartment near USCs campus in July after she was provided with two Xanax pills and alcohol, according to a copy of the search warrant and affidavit obtained by the Southern California News Group.

Masina told investigators the sex was consensual, according to the district attorneys office report, and said that Hill did not have sex with the woman. Hill did not provide them with a statement.

The report said the district attorneys office had not obtained physical evidence or toxicology reports due to delayed reporting, resulting in what was found to be the lack of sufficient evidence.

In order to prove the sexual assault by intoxication, the People must prove that the victim was unable to legally consent because she was so intoxicated that she was not able to exercise reasonable judgement, it read. In addition, it must be proven that the suspects knew or reasonably should have known that the victim was impaired to that extent.

Due to the victims description of the amount of controlled substances and alcohol consumed by the suspects, as well as Masinas statements, there is insufficient evidence to prove they knew or should have known that she was unable to legally consent.

Skordas, Masinas attorney, called the process very fair.

Hill, or an attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Neither Masina nor Hill has returned to the team since they were removed.

In January, a Title IX preliminary investigation also recommended that Masina be released from the university, according to Skordas,. It was since appealed. Masina was originally suspended in September when the investigation began.

Hills status with the university is not known.

Contact the writer: jkaufman@scng.com
Unbelievable Democrats

Re: Memory of war should include Vietnamese voices [Opinion, March 2]: I read of Janet Nguyens ejection from the Senate floor but didnt know the history of this issue. California Democrats are not only supporting sanctuary cities but are also ejecting from their meetings those who speak against communist brutality, and embracing those who supported it? I would say unbelievable, but, hey, were in California.

Im not holding my breath while Sen. Kevin de Leon looks into it. Its time to throw the Democrats out of office.

 Linda Dean, Santa Ana

The Russian nonstory

Re: Sessions spoke twice last year with Russias ambassador to the U.S., Justice officials say, [News, March 2]: The media are carrying the water for the Democrats by implying that Jeff Sessions was working for the Russians to throw the election.

I went to Walmart several times last year as a customer. I talked with associates on the floor and with cashiers. Does this mean that I was working for Walmart? Nancy Pelosi, send me a paycheck.

In the last paragraph of the story, it is revealed that, in the course of his job, Sessions talked with ambassadors from 25 countries last year. If this had been in the first paragraph, we would have known that all of the implications in the story were lies.

 Mark Cameron, Santa Ana

Kabuki theater

Re: Neil Gorsuch should be required to answer questions [Opinion, March 2]: Regarding Erwin Chemerinskys recent column on Neil Gorsuchs Supreme Court nomination, he writes, Gorsuch can and should refuse to answer questions about how he will vote in specific cases that might come before the court, but then states, he should be required to answer the question: If you were on the court in 1973, how would you have voted inRoe v. Wade? This is the equivalent of sneaking in the back door when the front door is locked. Joe Biden was right when he described it as Kabuki theater.

 Jon Railsback, Brea

Equal standard?

I wonder if Erwin Chemerinsky will advocate the same detailed questioning about judicial philosophy the next time a liberal is nominated for the Supreme Court. Of course, we may not get the chance to find out for some time  hopefully eight more years!

 John Thomas Dzialo, Santa Ana
PARIS  One or more poachers shot and killed a 4-year-old white rhinoceros in a wildlife park near Paris, sawed off one of its horns and then escaped, officials at the park said Tuesday.

Thierry Duguet, the head of the Parc Zoologique de Thoiry, told a local radio station that he and his staff were extremely shocked.

There has never been a case like this in a zoo in Europe, an assault of such violence, evidently for this stupid trafficking of rhinoceros horns, Duguet said.

The wildlife park, which is about 30 miles west of Paris, said in a statement on Facebook that the rhinoceros, a male named Vince, was found dead by one of his caretakers Tuesday morning with gunshot wounds to the head.

No one has been arrested in the incident. The zoo said that a fence and several doors, including one made of metal, had been broken, and that a chain saw had probably been used to remove the horn.

His second horn was only partially sawed, which suggests the criminals were interrupted or that their tools were faulty, the park said. This odious act was perpetrated despite the presence of five members of the zoological staff who live on site, and of surveillance cameras.

Two other white rhinoceroses at the park, Gracie, 37, and Bruno, 5, were unharmed. Vince was born at a zoo in Arnhem in the Netherlands, and he was brought to the park in Thoiry in 2015.

A representative of the French gendarmerie, the national police force that patrols small towns and rural areas, told Agence France-Presse that the estimated value of the stolen horn on the black market was between 30,000 and 40,000 euros, or about $31,700 to $42,300.

In many Asian countries, especially Vietnam and China, rhinoceros horns are valued highly on the black market and are believed to cure ailments like headaches and hangovers.

The French environment minister, Segolene Royal, said on Twitter the killing of the rhinoceros was a criminal slaughter, and she called upon countries to ban the ivory trade.
As you probably could tell if youve visited a theme park recently, parks in Southern California and Central Florida no longer believe in anything called the off season anymore. Parks that stay open year round are looking to keep their parks as filled on a random day in March as they are in the heat of summer.

Unfortunately for whats traditionally been a family-driven business, pesky schools continue to insist that children attend classes for most of the year. Sure, some parents will take their kids out for a trip now and then, but parks need to go after a more grown-up audience to keep their queues  and bank accounts  filled during the weeks when schools keep their students in class.

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And thats why theme parks love food festivals.

The Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival is back at the Disneyland Resort. Knotts Berry Farm is bringing back its Boysenberry Festival starting April 1, expanding it to 23 days this year. SeaWorld in San Diego will offer its Seven Seas Craft Beer and Food festival on weekends in April, too.

In Orlando, Walt Disney Worlds Epcot now offers various festivals with specialty food and drink booths pretty much every week outside of summer. Starting each February, Universal Studios Florida puts on a Mardi Gras festival that runs well into Lent, and SeaWorld Orlando offers a Seven Seas food festival, as well. Most of the Florida theme parks also throw in concerts series with their food fests, featuring headliners aimed at the older visitors the parks hope will buy plenty of craft beer flights and wine samplers while they wait for the show.

Those small plates of steak or gourmet mac and cheese might be tasty, but its the booze that the parks find most appetizing. Drinks equal profit in the food and beverage business, and among the many skills that theme parks have mastered over the years, making money is near the top of that list.

But parks try to tempt their visitors with high-profit treats and indulgences throughout the year. For their food festivals, parks need to up their game to develop stuff that will bring new fans into the park while encouraging all visitors to spend more. Thats how we end up with deep fried alligator bites with boysenberry aioli at Knotts Berry Farm and duck confit with Meyer lemon preserves at Disney California Adventure.

Disney discovered a long time ago with its animated movies how it could make money by limiting when its product was available. Disney would release a film, then put it back in the vault for re-release to a new generation of children years later. When home video became a thing, Disney put its titles into a release rotation, never offering all its animated classics at once.

That might be a helpful example to understand how parks can maximize their income from food festivals. Instead of just putting a bunch of new items on its menus permanently, the parks can feature a few of them at a time in a festival. If the fried alligator bites are always going to be there, its easier to justify putting that crazy purchase off until another visit. But if theyre going away in 23 days, well heck, why not? You better eat it now before its gone.

(For the record, I like fried alligator and am thrilled that Knotts offers it at its festival each year.)

Ultimately, theme parks are in the business of selling you an incredible experience. Whether its a ride on a roller coaster that flips you upside down, a trip through a pirate battle, or the chance to eat a deep-fried delicacy that would warm Captain Hooks cold heart, theme parks want to tempt you with experiences you cant find anywhere else.

With food festivals, theme parks hope to lure an adult crowd with the promise of not just an unusual menu of tastes and treats but also the opportunity to enjoy them during a time when the park isnt crawling with so many little kids.

OK  maybe one out of two.

Robert Niles is the founder and editor of ThemeParkInsider.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThemePark.
Before Danica Paulos was a member of world-class modern dance company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the 23-year-old, like most kids who grew up in Huntington Beach, enjoyed going to the beach, riding her bike and eating tacos at Fiesta Grill.

I can seriously smell the ocean from my grandmas house, said Paulos. Its the greatest thing.

Unlike most kids, though, Paulos was also studying dance intensively at Orange County Dance Center and later at the Yuri Grigoriev School of Ballet in Los Angeles. She was also earning top honors in Americas premier classical dance competition, the Youth American Grand Prix, and was even named a 2012 Young-Arts finalist.

Paulos, who now lives in New York where the company is based, will return to the West Coast this week when Ailey makes a stop at The Music Center in Los Angeles. Despite her many achievements, Paulos said she is anxious but excited about the hometown performance.

Im pretty nervous, she said. A lot of people I know are going to be in the audience, but Im incredibly thankful because it feels like all this hard work and sacrifice is worth it. I can show and share my growth as a dancer with them.

For Paulos, returning to The Music Center stage feels a little like coming full circle.

The first time I saw Alvin Ailey perform, it was at The Music Center, said Paulos, who before that was set on becoming a professional ballet dancer. That moment changed my whole life. It really opened my eyes to another form of dance.

That summer, Paulos auditioned into the Professional Performing Arts School in New York, where she completed her senior year of high school while training at The Ailey School.

Before moving to New York, Paulos attended the Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts in Huntington Beach, and she said being around other artists her age is what encouraged her to take the plunge into professional dance.

Hoping to pass along some of that encouragement she received years ago, Paulos will teach a master class to students at the Grigoriev School.

This summer, she will even have a chance to choreograph a piece for students from the Academy for the Performing Arts when they visit New York.

For her, making these connections with her past are her way of spreading the wealth of her success.

I think its completely necessary to go back and share what youve learned with the next generation, said Paulos. Its like saying were human too. We came from wherever you came from.
SANTA ANA  A motion to consider renegotiating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements contract at Santa Ana Jail failed Tuesday night, but the evenly split vote shows that the councils commitment to staying out of the jail business may be waning.

Tuesdays City Council vote  the first following ICEs pivotal contract termination notice to Santa Ana on Feb. 23  was brought forth by Councilman Jose Solorio, who has pledged support for the immigrant community but also showed concern over how the city will repay its jail debt.

Solorio said he wanted staff to negotiate a contract with ICE consistent with the terms of the 2006 deal, under which $7 million to $8 million in revenue went to the community that drastically needs resources.

In addition, Solorio wanted city staff to meet with the Santa Ana Police Officers Association and Service Employees International Union Local 721 to negotiate reductions or increases in staffing to adjust to the scope of the ICE contract, and restart discussions with other federal and state agencies to pursue use of jail space that isnt being used for ICE.

Some of you, unfortunately, dont know what real hurt is, Solorio said. You dont know that when a detention occurs, you want your families to be local.

After Latino Trump chants directed at him, Councilman Jose Solorio who wants to reinstate ICE contract steps out for 15 min. break. Video: pic.twitter.com/LW5cfQ4zjy  Jessica Kwong (@JessicaGKwong) March 8, 2017

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That comment enraged immigrants rights activists, whove pressured officials to push ICE out of Santa Ana and for detainees to be released. They began chanting Latino Trump! at Solorio, prompting Mayor Miguel Pulido to call a 15-minute recess.

When the meeting reconvened, they immediately conducted a roll-call vote, in which Solorio, Pulido and Juan Villegas voted in favor of the motion, and Sal Tinajero, David Benavides and Michele Martinez opposed. Councilman Vincent Sarmiento was absent.

The 3-3 vote killed Solorios motion, to the delight of the immigrants rights activists, two dozen of whom spoke at the meeting. They characterized Solorios rationale that ICE could transfer detainees to facilities as far away as Adelanto in San Bernardino County, or Texas, as being disingenuous.

Its a victory that members of the council have reassured their commitment to get out of the immigrant detention business and its disappointing that Solorio is very dishonest on the reasons why hes bringing this up, said Carlos Perea, 25, policy and programs director for immigrants rights group Resilience OC. He has been more than clear that this is a business model.

ICE issued a 90-day notice to end the existing contract, which was set to expire June 30, 2020, citing recent actions by Santa Ana to decrease the number of beds for immigration detainees.

The outgoing council voted 5-0 on Dec. 6 to reduce the number of beds from 200 to 128, resulting in the closure of one jail module. Though it followed the councils directive in May to phase out the contract, ICEs pullout caught some city officials by surprise.

Santa Ana faces a $3 million debt annually through 2024 for building the jail it opened in 1997. It receives about $340,000 in monthly revenue from the ICE contract.

While the option to explore reinstating the contract was removed Tuesday, it can be brought back for consideration in the future.

All three council members who voted in its favor were endorsed in the November election by the police officers association, which spent nearly $300,000 on its slate, spurring allegations from Tinajero that those elected officials must pay back a political debt.

Neither Pulido, Villegas, nor Solorio have admitted to that, and Solorio pointed out the police union has spent money on other candidates campaigns in the past.

It was a tight vote and the issue was still real and the impacts are going to be real, he said after the meeting. So the discussion will continue.
Whats happening hometown? Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis asked the loud and rowdy fans after ripping through Cant Stop during the bands first of three sold-out shows at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday night.

He playfully asked bassist Flea where hed be sleeping that night.

My house in Los Feliz, he replied to a cheering crowd. Were so happy to be here. Damn, I love Los Angeles.

The group, which formed in L.A. in the early 80s, didnt disappoint its most loyal devotees. After exhausting so much energy during its nearly two-hour set Tuesday night its hard to believe that theyre going to be doing it again tonight and Friday at Staples Center. Flea seemed confident that fueling up on burritos from some of his favorite local spots and feeding off of the massive amount of energy coming from the audience would coast them through it.

Out in support of its 11th studio album, The Getaway, which dropped last June, a few new tracks were peppered into the set list including the title track, the single Dark Necessities, the fun sing-a-long Go Robot and it slipped Goodbye Angels into the encore.

For the most part it was a fast paced, hit-filled set delivered by a well-oiled machine with very few noticeable technical or musical flubs. The older material such as Suck My Kiss, Under the Bridge, Scar Tissue, Californication, By the Way, Parallel Universe and Right on Time mixed in well with the newer material from Tell Me Baby and The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie to all of the songs from the new record. Of course the band saved Give It Away for its finale.

The music and the performance were definitely solid, but the real star of the evening was the epic light show provided by hundreds of small cylinder shaped color-changing lights that were dropped on cables from high up in the rafters to sometimes just a couple of feet above the heads of the audience and band. Each light moved independently and throughout the set they were choreographed to be lowered and lifted in a variety of mesmerizing shapes and patterns that left those hitting up the weed-filled vape pens seriously tripping out.

In 2015, rock band Muse brought some synchronized drones into Staples Center for its tour, but RHCP might have outdone them with this spectacular display of light and imagery that at the start of the show just looked like a ginormous 80s Lite Brite glued to the ceiling.

Opener Trombone Shorty and New Orleans Avenue was an excellent choice to pump up the crowd. The 31-year-old trombone virtuoso showcased his skills by playing a blend of metal, R&B, pop, rock and even punk rock music.

As he wailed along on the trombone and trumpet, his stellar backing band followed him through instrumental versions of songs like Rage Against the Machines Bulls on Parade and Green Days Brain Stew. There was also plenty of original material as well, with Shorty displaying his vocal range on songs like The Craziest Thing and One Night Only.
Hussein Mohammed reported from Mogadishu, and Sewell Chan from London.

The secretary-general of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, arrived in Somalia on Tuesday and appealed for $825 million in aid to address drought and cholera in the East Africa nation on the brink of famine.

Guterres said the money was needed to help 5.5 million people, about half of Somalias population, survive the next six months.

A former prime minister of Portugal who was picked in October to lead the United Nations, Guterres announced his visit on Twitter.

Last week, he declared that famine was underway in part of South Sudan and warned that people in areas of Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen were also at risk of dying from hunger.

At the airport in Mogadishu, Somalias capital, Guterres met with President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a former prime minister who was elected last month.

Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said that droughts and cholera had killed more than 200 people in southern and central Somalia.

The country has already had two consecutive years of drought, and meteorologists expect crops to fail again this year. Famine was last declared in Somalia in July 2011, after an estimated 260,000 people died, most during a two-month period.

In a joint news conference, Mohamed and Guterres pleaded for assistance.

The reason Secretary-general Guterres came here today is to show support and solidarity with the Somali people at this time of humanitarian crisis, Mohamed said.

Guterres said: We need massive support from the international community to avoid a repetition of the tragic events of 2011.

He added that this was a moment of tragedy but also a moment of hope, because prompt action would make it possible to avoid the worst and allow the country to be able to turn the page and for Somalia to, finally, find the way to stability, peace and prosperity that Somalis have always been able to manage by themselves.

Guterres recited a litany of statistics: Some 330,000 acutely malnourished children, a number that could rise to 1 million; 3.3 million people in need of medical care to deal with diseases in a country that lacks health infrastructure; and 7,731 cases of cholera  183 fatal  in the past two months.

Just last week, 1,352 cases of cholera and 38 people dying  its a process in acceleration, he warned.

The U.N. leader also visited the town of Baidoa, where a deadly cholera strain has struck.

Ahmed Abdi Hassan, the Somali consul general in Aden, Yemen, who was part of a delegation that welcomed Guterres, called the visit historic, likening it to one last year by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who opened an embassy in Mogadishu and called for deeper ties between the nations.

The Somali government has created an emergency committee of federal and regional levels to handle fundraising and to register people affected by drought.

Ahmed Abdallah, a Somali nomad, said in an interview that he had lost 60 camels and 180 goats in the past three months in Somaliland, a semiautonomous region in the northwest of the country.

Abdallah and his family are among an estimated 46,000 Somali families who lost most of their animals since the start of the year.

The government is functioning but does not control the entire country, and there are vast pockets where militants from al-Shabab group are active. Somalia is one of six predominantly Muslim countries whose citizens are blocked from entering the United States under President Donald Trumps revised travel ban.

Before President Barack Obamas term ended, the U.S. government intensified a largely clandestine war in Somalia, using Special Operations troops, airstrikes, private contractors and African allies in an escalating campaign against al-Shabab militants.

Mohamed is widely known by the nickname Farmajo, derived from formaggio, the Italian word for cheese: His father was said to have acquired a taste for cheese when Somalia was an Italian colony.
FRESNO  An elephant at a California zoo has been cured of a bad habit of cracking its tusks thanks to some added bling.

Officials at Fresno Chaffee Zoo say VusMusi, a male African elephant, was outfitted six months ago with a pair of special brass tusk caps. They say the pachyderm hasnt broken a tusk since.

The Fresno Bee reported Monday that the caps act like crowns for human teeth.

Elephants use tusks to dig, lift and rub against trees, causing damage to what are essentially external teeth. Cracks in tusks can lead to infections.
Muriel Fox, longtime Carl Byoir exec and co-founder and initial PR director, National Organization for Women in 1966, will be on a panel in New York tomorrow that will discuss womens issues.

Muriel Fox

Today (March 8) is International Womens Day, a day for women to demand gender equality, says NOW. Tomorrow is the start of Womens PR History Month, organized by the Museum of Public Relations, New York.

NOWs website says Women around the country will strike to demand gender equality. NOW will proudly take action for human rights alongside them.

Today is being promoted as "A Day without Women." Women are urged to wear red, not report for work and not spend money.

St. Petersburg, Other Cities Have Events

In downtown St. Petersburg, organizers from the Women's March Pinellas Chapter are hosting a series of speakers at Williams Park in downtown from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In Tampa, a forum is scheduled at the John F. Germany Library at 900 N Ashley Dr. at 6 p.m. The event, hosted by the Women's March Hillsborough Chapter and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, will have presentations until around 7:15 when the group will set off on a candlelight march to Gaslight Square Park, 410 N. Franklin St.

The candlelight vigil and special ceremony will "honor the important women in our lives," according to the event's Facebook page.

"The goal of A Day Without a Woman is to highlight the economic power and significance that women have in the U. S. and global economies," said Marina Welch, captain of the Tampa chapter, "while calling attention to the economic injustices women continue to face."



Demonstrations took place in New York City, Washington, D.C., and others including foreign capitals.



The New York demonstration started at 59th St. and Fifth Ave. at noon today.

The International Women's Day official color is purple  in connection with the women's suffrage days of the early 1900s  but the #ADayWithoutAWoman organizers ask participants to wear red. Organizers also tell women who want to get involved not to work that day and avoid spending money at businesses that don't support gender equality.

While the #ADayWithoutAWoman protest was planned to occur on International Women's Day, it is not the holiday's official theme.

According to the International Women's Day website, this year's theme is "Be Bold For Change."

The website refers to the World Economic Forum prediction that the gender gap won't close entirely until the year 2186.

"This is too long a wait," the site's statement reads. "For International Women's Day 2017, we're asking you to #BeBoldForChange. Call on the masses or call on yourself to help forge a better working world  a more gender inclusive world.

"IWD can be an important catalyst and vehicle for driving greater change for women and moving closer to gender parity."

Fox, who headed the Radio-TV dept. of Byoir and became its youngest VP in 1956, will discuss womens issues on a panel with Anne Bernays, novelist, teacher and daughter of Doris Fleischman Bernays; historian Karen Miller Russell, professor, University of Georgia; Meg Lamme, professor, University of Alabama, and Karla Gower, professor, University of Alabama and director, the Plank Center.

Fox Gave Desk to Friedan Secretary

Fox, who was NOW president Betty Friedan's main lieutenant and director of operations in its earliest years, according to Wikipedia, installed Friedan's secretary at a desk near her own at the Byoir offices.

Wikipedia says She wrote numerous letters under Friedans signature to government officials demanding faster action to reduce sex discrimination  including the letter that helped persuade President Lyndon Johnson to sign Executive Order 11246 in October 1967, the order that added sex to Affirmative Action and thus opened up Americas corporate pipeline for millions of women.

Fox Joined Byoir as Publicist

Fox had joined Byoir, one of the nations largest PR firms, as a publicist in its Radio-TV Department. She became head of the department and Byoir's youngest VP in 1956.

Wikipedia says she was then told she had gone as far as she could go "because corporate CEOs can't relate to women. She remained on that plateau until she had helped NOW to change the laws and the business climate for all women.

Fox became group VP in 1974 and executive VP in 1979. She was also president of Byoir units ByMedia, communications training, and ByMart, smaller accounts.

She was described in Business Weeks list of 100 Top Corporate Women in June 1976 as the "top-ranking woman in public relations." She retired from Byoir in 1985.

Headed PR for NOW

Fox was PR director of NOWs founding conference Oct. 29, 1966, and the two years following, She directed the nationwide publicity effort that resulted in coverage of the new movement.

She was later elected NOW vice president (196770), national chairwoman (197173), and chair of the National Advisory Committee (197374). She served as president of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund (197881) and chair of its board (198192) and since that time remains its Honorary Board Chair.

Russell will lead a panel discussion on the role of women in PR. It will start at 6 p.m. at the Genome Center, 101 Sixth Ave.

Bernays will speak about the role her mother played in the PR industry. She has said that the contributions of Mrs. Bernays have not been recognized.

Registration is required.
Legal experts are calling it the next frontier when it comes to business compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act: the Internet.

Lawsuits are proliferating against business websites  civil suits citing lack of compliance with the law requiring companies to not discriminate against people with disabilities. In brick-and-mortar cases such as those involving stores, restaurants and workplaces, the objection is often over restroom ramps and parking spaces.

But when it comes to the Internet, it is usually a matter of visual aspects. This month, Omaha Steaks was sued by a nonprofit advocacy group that alleges the companys website isnt compatible with screen-reading software that converts text to audio, the method by which blind and visually impaired people navigate the Internet.

Screen reader software provides the primary method by which a blind person may independently use the Internet, reads the suit filed this month in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. Unless websites are designed to be read by screen reader software, blind individuals are unable to fully access websites and the information, products and services available through the site.

The lawsuit, filed by the advocacy group Access Now and three blind people, cites 13 access barriers for blind people on OmahaSteaks.com. They include not providing a text equivalent for every non-text element and that text cannot be resized up to 200 percent without assistive technology.

The suit asks for a court order requiring Omaha Steaks to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and payment of attorney fees for Access Now and the people who filed the suit.

Omaha Steaks declined to comment on the matter, citing the pending nature of the litigation, the companys staff attorney said.

But the employer of more than 5,000 people during the peak holiday season has spoken on the matter in its own court filing. The company filed papers in U.S. District Court in Omaha late last month saying Access Now in January sent a letter outlining its objections and offering to not file a lawsuit in exchange for payment of certain attorney fees and expenses.

The letter from the Access Now attorneys, the lawsuit said, proposed the Pittsburgh law firm Carlson Lynch Sweet & Kilpela would represent Omaha Steaks for the next two years to ... assist and cooperate in the prevention of the Additional Potential Website Claims against Omaha Steaks.

The Pittsburgh firm didnt return requests for comment.

The Omaha Steaks filing says Access Now has filed 18 similar lawsuits. The company asks a judge to clarify the legal standard that applies in the case and determine if the suit should progress.

The legal standards are somewhat unclear, some ADA lawyers say. Joe Lynett, a lawyer for the Jackson Lewis law firm who defends companies against ADA claims, said the U.S. Department of Justice in 2010 issued a notice on regulations governing website access as it applies to people covered by the disability law.

A final determination has been pushed back until next year, Lynett said. And now, he said, the policy of the Trump administration that two old regulations must be scrapped for every new one adopted puts even that in jeopardy.

What is clear is that what started out as a trickle of litigation has turned into a growing wave, Lynett said. Certain industry groups view them as a nuisance and are taking an aggressive stance.

In practical terms, the controversy lies within the computer code on which websites operate, the instructions that govern the operation of elements such as buy now buttons, drop-down menus and the appearance of graphics when rolled over by a mouse or other navigation device. Generally speaking, to be ADA-compliant for the blind, such elements must operate as easily with screen-reading software as they do when clicked on with a mouse by a person with clear vision.

Richard Baier, president and chief executive of the Nebraska Bankers Association, said a couple of Nebraska financial institutions have been contacted regarding their websites compliance with ADA requirements.

He said the organization and its member institutions are aware of the issues and are working diligently with IT vendors to be sure their websites meet the needs of visually impaired customers.

As for Omaha Steaks, the company says in its court filing that amid the ambiguity of how the Justice Department will enforce the website aspect of the ADA, its has hired a specialist company to assist with compliance and that progress is being made.

Omaha Steaks asserts that its ongoing efforts at compliance are sufficient under the guidelines, and that it should not be held to a higher standard or earlier deadline than federal agencies must meet, the company said in court papers.

Jim Butler, an ADA defense lawyer for the Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell firm in Los Angeles, said, The average business owner isnt focused on website compliance with the law.

But everyone with a commercial website should. Butler said the law applies as evenly to a tiny bed-and-breakfast as it does to the largest international hotel chain. He specializes in representing hotels, whose websites are among the most heavily trafficked commercial ones.

Butler said it is easy to believe in the concept of making sure websites are accessible to everyone. But it is another, he said, when the lawsuits are excessive and abusive and the law firms handling the cases take on the appearance of extortion artists.

World-Herald staff writer Cole Epley contributed to this report.

Correction: Joe Lynett's name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
American businesses must relentlessly pursue female talent to fill leadership positions and adopt flexible workplace policies to attract and keep women on the job, a Gallup executive said Tuesday.

If businesses dont change  and right now men are in a majority of leadership positions and they arent listening to this  theyre going to be left in the dust because theyve got to make these changes to be able to recruit, said Jane Miller, chief operating officer of the Gallup Group. Miller works in Gallups Omaha office.

With a nod toward March as national womens history month and Wednesday as international womens day, Miller discussed her recent Gallup report titled Our Women in America: Work and Life Well-Lived. She spoke to about 150 people Tuesday at a meeting of the Omaha Business Ethics Alliance at the Holland Center.

At a time when there are 5.6 million job openings in the United States, she said, Gallups research shows that a declining share of women are working outside the home  56 percent, down from 59 percent over the past seven years.

Women want to work, Miller said, but workplace policies can discourage them.

Gallups survey of 323,500 U.S. adults showed that of working mothers with school-age children, 54 percent would rather stay home. For those women, the report says, the love and responsibility they feel for their children and families trumps even their best days at the office.

When organizations lack flexibility and use outdated standards to reward and recognize performance, they make staying at home an even more attractive option for women.

At the same time, Miller said, among all U.S. women, whether they have kids or not, 70 percent want to work outside the home.

Everyone wants to help people have good jobs, but its really a difficult thing to do, Miller said. While many business leaders say its up to women to change to meet job demands, she said, Were saying, its incumbent upon organizations to change.

She said women hold about 20 percent of the leadership jobs in the country, but 40 to 45 percent of women want those positions and are willing to work the required hours, travel and move across country to hold top leadership jobs.

So we could double the amount of women in leadership and have more women in relational roles like middle management and senior management, Miller said.

She said that, on average, Gallups research shows that women make better managers because they are more engaged in their work and are better at engaging both men and women. The report said employee engagement improves absenteeism, turnover rates, productivity and profit.

But Miller said only 30 percent of women choose to work more than 40 hours a week, compared with 47 percent of men, partly because of workplace policies. So we really have to look at what were choosing to do, and also align pay with what people accomplish during the hours they work.

Time matters, but other things matter more than time, Miller said. Thats the really controversial one.

One of Gallups services is determining individuals personal strengths so they can find the right occupations.

For men, a major strength is taking responsibility. For women, its empathy.

But the four other top strengths  learning, seeking input, relating to people and accepting responsibility  are the same for both, although in somewhat different orders.

Gallup uses a set of 12 questions to evaluate how engaged people are in their jobs. Women outscored men on all of the questions except one: At work, my opinions seem to count.

While having a strong sense of empathy can pull a women into a certain job, such as nursing, it also can pull her out of the workforce to take care of her children, Miller said.

She said men report working about 10 percent more hours per week than women. That might be part of the reason why, according to government figures, women are paid about 80 cents for every $1 paid to men.

Adopting flexible work schedules is not easy and often depends on the character of the industry.

She mentioned a company that had given demerits to people who missed the 8:30 a.m. starting time by more than 3 minutes. For that company, a flexible schedule meant allowing people to come to work as late as 9 a.m. and making up the time later.

Other companies let people show up early or late because of family duties, knowing they would make up their work later in the evening.

Younger workers of both genders, sometimes called millennials, also are calling for flexible work schedules, Miller said. Some may string together a 40-hour workweek by contracting with two or three employers, taking themselves completely outside the system of time-keeping and promotions.

Gallup asked workers and executives to rate the flexibility of their workplaces on a scale of 1 to 10. Executives rated the flexibility at 9 or 10, but workers at the same companies gave a rating of 3 or 4 because they didnt feel free to actually exercise that flexibility.

Many of our front-line people are scared to death to use any form of flexibility, she said, for fear it might hurt chances at a promotion or cause a job loss.

Although a flexible work schedule may be easy to articulate, she said, its a pretty hard task to execute. Customers have to come first, and every company is different. But it can be done, Miller said.

Its OK to exercise that flexibility, she said. You want to make a case that people can live their whole lives.
Omaha trucker Werner was named to the unsecured creditors committee Wednesday as being among the companies owed the most money who dont hold any collateral. It was the only Omaha company named to the committee. Also, Nebraska Furniture Mart turned up in a list of landlords possibly owed money from leasing property to Gordmans.
Bankruptcy might be what it takes to keep Omaha-based Gordmans afloat for the time being.

The struggling retailer is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as this month, according to a Monday report from Bloomberg News citing anonymous sources.

Gordmans declined to comment to Bloomberg and to The World-Herald.

The retailer could file two types of corporate bankruptcy: Chapter 11 or Chapter 7.

If Gordmans files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company probably already has a plan in place that would mean either a sale of the company to take it off the public stock market and back to private ownership; a reorganization plan that may involve closing underperforming stores; or liquidation and winding down of operations.

If the company files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it will head straight for liquidation  shuttering all stores and closing its headquarters office, where it employed 350 people late last year before a round of layoffs that affected an undisclosed number of people.

Gordmans isnt alone in its retail struggle: A number of other retailers have declared bankruptcy already this year. Electronics retailer Hhgregg and mall retailer Vanity have filed within the past week. The industry, and especially department stores, has been hard-hit by sales moving online and sluggish foot traffic.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy doesnt always mean the death of a brand or its stores, but it can drag out. Sears, for instance, sold some assets, closed some stores, found a new buyer and reorganized under new leadership, but the retailer continues to struggle.

Time also isnt on Gordmans side: Because of a 2005 change in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, retailers have only 210 days to figure out a sale or reorganization, or to liquidate assets.

The time usually isnt enough to implement operational fixes or re-strategize, according to a report by New York consulting firm AlixPartners. Prior to the code change retailers could spend years in bankruptcy tweaking their business models or implementing changes to merchandising or other operations.

Here are three likely scenarios for Gordmans:

Reorganization

If Gordmans can reorganize around a core group of profitable stores, itll keep those locations and get rid of the underperforming ones, said Frank Monaco Jr., a former bankruptcy attorney and managing director at Gavin Solmonese, a Delaware consulting firm that helps companies through restructuring and bankruptcy.

It can also be a chance for a company to change its business model  as Gordmans predecessors, Richman Gordman and Price Stores, did in 1992. The chain reorganized under Gordmans when it declared bankruptcy that year.

The whole process allows for the company reorganizing to choose the method they deem best to try and save the company, said Jim Zipursky, a middle-market investment banking adviser with Corporate Finance Associates in Omaha. For most retail companies, that involves consolidating stores.

Gordmans grew rapidly, from 74 stores in 2012 to 102 in 2016.

A sale

Gordmans could sell the company  and it may even have a likely buyer in its majority owner, Sun Capital Partners, based in Boca Raton, Florida, which owns half of the company.

Such buyers are referred to as a stalking-horse bidder, which is already lined up before filing, and funds the bankruptcy process.

Sun Capital has made a name dealing in troubled companies. They may also be more than happy to buy out the balance of the float of shares, Zipursky said.

Sun Capitals portfolio also includes Shopko, Boston Market and Gem Shopping Network. Sun Capital said it wouldnt comment on reports of a possible bankruptcy filing.

A buyer might purchase a chain solely for the brand, but thats not likely to be the case for Gordmans, which doesnt have much name recognition outside of the Midwest, Zipursky said.

Buyers in such cases can also be nonconventional: Mall retailer Aeropostale, which declared bankruptcy last year, was purchased by a group of investors that included Simon Property and General Growth Properties, the two largest mall operators in the country.

Liquidation

According to the report by AlixPartners, 55 percent of retail bankruptcy filings since 2012 have ended in liquidation.

If they cant reorganize, theyre going to try to sell it to another chain, or just liquidate. Theyll sell as many locations as they can, have a going-out-of-business sale and close up, Monaco said.

Liquidating is an attractive option for retail companies because of how easily they can sell off a bulk of inventory and pay back creditors. The 210-day period also sometimes leaves liquidation as the only option.

If the concept was bad, or the economy is bad, will they be able to turn themselves around? Zipursky said. With retailers, its just a little bit harder to make the kinds of changes necessary to effect the change youre looking for in the business.

Most retail companies have exhausted all other options  cost-cutting, closing stores or retooling their merchandising  before filing for bankruptcy, said Spencer M. Ware, a director of AlixPartners. And many retail companies file for bankruptcy multiple times.

One, its a tough industry and two, Ware said, the stigma over time of bankruptcy has gone away.
The 19-year-old former Creighton University student accused of cutting a female students neck in a dorm room will stand trial.

Christopher Wheeler, who is charged with second-degree assault and weapon use, waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Prosecutors have said Wheeler entered a womans room in a Creighton dorm about 1 a.m. Feb. 11 and asked for Dana. As Wheeler went toward the door to leave, the prosecutors said, he swung around with a pocketknife in his hand and cut the neck of an 18-year-old woman.

Wheelers parents and one of his attorneys have said that before the incident, Wheeler may have been forced to take or unknowingly took drugs as part of a hazing incident because he had performed poorly on a Phi Kappa Psi fraternity test. The attorney has said Wheeler doesnt remember anything from that night.

Representatives for the local fraternity have denied claims of wrongdoing and said any drug or alcohol use on Wheelers part appeared to have been voluntary.

The university has banned Wheeler from campus and suspended the fraternity.

Another of Wheelers attorneys, Steve Lefler, said after court Wednesday that he had planned for a hearing Wednesday and attempted to subpoena witnesses, including an adviser and the student president of the local chapter of the fraternity.

He said, however, that his investigator wasnt able to serve the subpoenas because Creighton students are on spring break.

Lefler also said he thinks the judge wouldnt have granted a continuance, so he chose to waive the hearing.

Lefler declined to comment more, other than to reiterate that Wheeler has no recollection of the incident.

Witnesses said he clearly was acting disoriented, Lefler said. He has been a great kid his entire life.

Wheeler is living in Kansas with his parents, attending community college and working a part-time job, Lefler said.
Fewer people were shot in Omaha last year than in any year in the past decade, a trend that police officials say is a testament to the Omaha communitys anti-violence efforts.

Its encouraging to see a lot of the collaborative efforts that have been going on over the last 10 years are having an impact, said Willie Barney, president of the Empowerment Network.

Overall crime increased slightly between 2015 and 2016  violent crime by 6 percent and property crime by 3 percent. And forcible rape reports were up 40 percent.

But police officials and community leaders saw largely good news in the 2016 crime statistics, which the Omaha Police Department provided to The World-Herald this month.

They noted that they saw a steep drop in crime rates between 2014 and 2015, and last years figures are well below crime rates from two years ago.

Other than the shooting statistics, highlights include:

 Double-digit percentage increases in both reported forcible rapes and motor vehicle thefts.

Police officials and community advocates say the 244 reported forcible rapes in 2016  up from 174 in 2015  is a sign that more people are reporting sexual assault. They say they dont believe there are more rapes happening in the community.

The 3,125 motor vehicle thefts reported in Omaha last year are a large jump from 2015s 2,546 reported crimes. But that was a steep drop from the previous year, and the 2016 total is less than the 3,146 reported in 2014.

 Police report that theyve cleared more cases than the national average in all categories: homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny theft and motor vehicle theft. Clearing a case means the police have either arrested a suspect or in some cases identified a suspect who was not prosecuted.

 The city saw a steep drop in homicides, with 29 last year, down from a record high of 50 in 2015. However, police officials said shooting figures are generally a better indicator of a pattern than the number of homicides, because it can be chance that determines whether a shooting becomes a homicide.

Christopher Herrmann, an assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and a former crime analyst supervisor with the New York City Police Department, agreed.

Whether the bullet kills the person or not is kind of luck, Herrmann said.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said the shooting statistics are the best indication of gang violence in the community.

In 2016, there were 135 shooting victims and 119 reported shooting incidents in Omaha.

Thats down from a 10-year high of 197 incidents with 243 victims in 2008.

Schmaderer attributed the steady drop in shootings to a communitywide push for prevention and intervention, plus the departments enforcement efforts.

Schmaderer mentioned the work of Omaha 360, a group of leaders of community groups who, led by Barney, get together every week to discuss violence in the city.

Schmaderer and Barney praised the results of the Step-Up summer jobs program for at-risk youth, saying theyve seen the summer months become calmer in Omaha since the program began.

They also pointed to the departments hiring of two gang specialists and the work of community groups that go into high schools and middle schools to speak to gang members.

And Schmaderer noted changes in how the police department approaches gangs. The gang unit has been reorganized so that each officer is an expert on specific gangs. The department has also begun specifically targeting the small number of offenders who commit the most violent crimes, Schmaderer said.

And the city has increased Crime Stoppers rewards for shootings and homicides, which Schmaderer said has prompted more witnesses to come forward.

Weve taken a well-rounded, dedicated approach to enforcement, prevention and police-community relations and partnerships, Schmaderer said.

On the forcible rape statistics, both police officials and the sexual violence program manager of the Womens Fund of Omaha say they believe that the uptick in reported rapes is a sign that more people are reporting the crime.

Police rape statistics generally dont show the whole picture  experts say about one-third of sex assault victims report the crime to the police.

Christon MacTaggart of the Womens Fund said theres been more awareness of the issue.

As somebody who works in this field, Im not concerned by this increase, she said. I welcome seeing that increase and seeing more victims being able to utilize the resources or being more comfortable reporting.

And she noted studies that show 1 in 5 women experiences sexual assault in her lifetime. She said the 244 reported forcible rapes is still likely far less than the actual number of rapes that occurred in Omaha in 2016.

But Herrmann said 40 percent is a large increase. He questioned whether awareness alone could explain the change.

Thats a big uptick, he said.

Overall, Herrmann said, any double-digit percentage change  increase or decrease  is likely to be more than normal fluctuation.

He said if more awareness is the reason, the increase should remain through the 2017 crime statistics.

Barney said theres always more work to be done.

It takes everything. Its not one thing or the other, its all of it working together and we need more of it, he said. Even with all of that progress, I think we know that we have a long way to go. Any incident is one too many because it just has a huge impact on families and neighborhoods.
WASHINGTON  A federal judge in Washington, D.C., refused to issue a preliminary injunction Tuesday to stop construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, making it increasingly likely that the nearly complete pipeline will be cleared to start carrying crude oil.

The Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes had challenged the pipeline on the grounds that running it under Lake Oahe in North Dakota would violate their religious freedom because of beliefs linked to the lake's waters.

District Court Judge James Boasberg said that the challenge was unlikely to succeed and that a preliminary injunction on that basis would cause an unreasonable delay in the project.

But Boasberg will continue to weigh the tribes' other challenges, including the obligations of the Army Corps of Engineers to the Native American tribes under the Fort Laramie Treaties signed in the mid-19th century.

"The ruling is disappointing but not surprising  it is very difficult to get an injunction under these circumstances," Jan Hasselman, a lawyer for the tribes, said in an email. "However, the Court has yet to hear our primary legal case that the Trump-issued permits were illegal. We think we have a strong case and look forward to our day in Court."

The Fort Laramie Treaties ceded a larger area of land to the tribes than those included in the modern reservations created later by Congress. And the tribes have asserted that the Army Corps has obligations to protect the tribes' rights to hunt, fish or gather on those lands and to guarantee protection from oil spills in the vitally important Missouri River and Lake Oahe.

"Once again, the federal government and the army are treating the original inhabitants of this land as though we are less than human, as though our lives and lands are something to be ignored and discarded in the never-ending quest for profit," Chase Iron Eyes, the lead counsel of the Lakota People's Law Project.

The Dakota Access pipeline is a 1,170-mile-long, multibillion-dollar project that would carry crude oil from North Dakota through the Dakotas and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. The pipeline is virtually completed except for the last segment running under Lake Oahe. Construction has continued while Boasberg deliberated, and the company has said that oil could flow in as soon as a couple of weeks.

Iron Eyes said that Sunoco, a partial owner of the pipeline, would be the operator and he said that the company has a dismal track record for leaks over the past decade, "despoiling Grandmother Earth."

The tribes have fought against the easement the company used for the final segment. The easement was blocked by President Barack Obama, who asked the Army Corps of Engineers to look for alternatives and to do an environmental-impact statement. But President Trump ordered the Army Corps to expedite the pipeline permits, and the Corps complied by saying it no longer needed to reexamine the environmental impact.

"It's reprehensible that Mr. Trump has fast-tracked this threat," Iron Eyes said.
LINCOLN  Should Nebraska lawmakers require public school students to repeat third grade if they struggle with reading?

For the overwhelming majority of people who testified Tuesday on a bill before the Education Committee, the answer was a resounding no.

I do not believe retention is the answer, said Gina Miller, an Omaha mother. We dont help failing systems by punishing the kids who are being failed by that system.

She and other opponents found little to like in Legislative Bill 651, except the goal of making sure early elementary school children learn to read.

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha, who introduced the bill, said the measure is about more than retaining children in school.

She pointed to provisions that would require schools to identify and work with struggling students long before they reach third grade.

I just think its so important to catch them early and not wait until the third grade, Linehan said. The idea is not to hold kids back.

LB 651 is similar to bills introduced twice before in Nebraska. Neither got out of committee.

Linehan said the measure draws from policies that have been successful in other states.

It would require that schools test every students reading ability at the beginning of kindergarten, first, second and third grade.

If a child has a reading deficiency in those grades, the school would have to provide an accelerated reading intervention program, an individual reading improvement plan and notice to the childs parents.

The retention provision would kick in if a child does not read at or above third grade level by the end of third grade, based on a statewide test.

Children who fall into one of the exemptions in the bill could move on, however, if the superintendent of the district approves.

For students who are held back or promoted under an exemption, the proposal spells out several types of reading instruction and support that must be provided.

Christy Hovanetz, a policy director at the Florida-based Foundation for Excellence in Education, said that after Florida adopted similar policies, reading test scores improved, fewer children had to be retained and fewer were identified with learning disabilities.

She said a key part of that states effort was to provide support and training for teachers.

But McCook Public School Superintendent Grant Norgaard said most of LB 651 is unnecessary for Nebraska. Fourth- and eighth-graders in the state already outscore most of the nation in reading test scores.

While the bill includes effective methods for teaching reading, most are already in use in Nebraska, he said.

Other school officials objected to the Legislature mandating specific teaching methods or the process of testing students and determining the best way to help them learn.

As for holding students back, Chad Dumas, a Hasting Public School administrator, said multiple studies over many years have shown that retention tends to hurt, rather than help, student achievement.

Jeannette Eileen Jones-Vazansky, president of the NAACP of Lincoln, said the approach taken by LB 651 would disproportionately affect children of color and disadvantaged students, including those with disabilities.

Education Committee members quizzed opponents about the value of teaching reading in the early grades.

Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, the Education Committee chairman, expressed frustration about the number of children who dont learn to read adequately and then struggle as they reach adulthood.

Poor reading skills are a common factor among prison inmates and high school dropouts.
LINCOLN  A majority of Nebraska state senators, 33 of 49, have signed a letter urging a state agency to green-light construction of the Keystone XL pipeline across Nebraska.

The letter was hand-delivered Wednesday to the Nebraska Public Service Commission. The letter urges the commission to approve the proposed 275-mile pipeline route across the state, citing the positive impact the Keystone XL would have on job growth, the states economy and property taxes.

Whenever we as a state have the opportunity to create jobs, we need to seize it, said first-year State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha.

Papillion Sen. Jim Smith, a long-time supporter of the pipeline project, said the Keystone XL also would ease the property tax burden for those living along the route.

Construction alone will generate over $16 million in use taxes, Smith said. The taxes would be paid on pipe and other construction materials.

The 36-inch-diameter Keystone XL pipeline would carry crude oil produced in Canadas tar sands region to oil refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The pipeline is viewed as critical for sustaining the jobs in Canada required to mine, process and thin the thick tar-sand oil.

The immediate reaction from a leading pipeline opponent, Jane Kleeb, was that the letter was premature, since TransCanada has yet to file its plans with the Public Service Commission and no public hearings on the proposal have been held.

This is a foreign-owned pipeline using foreign-produced steel to send oil to foreign markets, Kleeb said. We know this is not a good project for Nebraska.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking action designed to resurrect the Keystone XL project, which had been rejected by former President Barack Obama because of concerns over its impact on global warming.

But to begin construction, pipeline developer TransCanada Inc. must gain approval of a route across Nebraska.

The routing has generated controversy and has resulted in changes in the route to avoid Nebraskas groundwater-rich Sand Hills region.

TransCanada three weeks ago applied with the Public Service Commission for approval of the same route that had been approved in 2013 by another state agency, the Department of Environmental Quality. The new review process could take up to a year.

Critics of the pipeline have said the route, which cuts diagonally across the state from Keya Paha County on the north to Jefferson County in the southeast, still impacts the Sand Hills.

They dispute the economic benefits, saying the Keystone XL will create only about 35 permanent jobs and that most of the benefits will go to foreign oil companies.

Kleeb, who is the head of the Bold Alliance and is chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, also said that Trump promised on the campaign trail that the Keystone XL would be built with American steel.

A spokesman for the president recently backed off that pledge, saying the American-steel-only promise applied only to new pipeline projects, and that TransCanada already has purchased its pipe.

According to the DEQs final report in 2013, the Keystone XL project would create $418.1 million in benefits to the states economy and generate $13 million in property tax revenue the first year.

That report also said that the route proposed by TransCanada avoided the Sand Hills and would have minimal impact on the environment.

Kleeb has said that to minimize the impact on landowners and avoid fragile soils, the Keystone XL should be rerouted to parallel a currently operating Keystone pipeline that dissects eastern Nebraska.

Lawsuits, both on the national and state level, are expected to be filed that could delay the start of construction.
Democrat Heath Mello accused Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert of getting her facts wrong about the state budget Wednesday, while Stothert accused Mello of hiding from last years state budget woes.

The two mayoral candidates tangled after Stothert criticized Mello over the states budget shortfall, which occurred when predicted tax revenues dropped. Stothert said Mello, who was a state senator at the time, never tried to work with Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts to rewrite the budget.

Mr. Mello had no contact whatsoever with the governors office once the session was adjourned, said Stothert, a Republican. The bottom line is my opponent took the easy way out and hid from the mess he helped to create.

Mello said Stothert was simply wrong. He said he talked frequently with the governors staff and talked at least twice with the governor. Mello also said that he and Ricketts agreed in a telephone conversation that there was no need for a special session last year and that the new Legislature in January could rework the budget.

Its unfortunate the mayor is trying to recreate how state government works in Nebraska, Mello said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference.

The dispute centers on Mellos former role as chairman of the Legislatures powerful Appropriations Committee. An eight-year veteran lawmaker, Mello helped oversee the budget that his colleagues passed in the 2016 legislative session.

Gov. Ricketts signed it into law without a veto, which is very rare, said Mello.

After the budget was passed, however, tax revenues began to drop. The resulting budget shortfall was resolved earlier this year by state lawmakers. By then, Mello had left the Legislature.

Stothert contended that Mello should have worked with the governor last year to rewrite the budget.

She also noted that Mello has said on the campaign trail that his term ended in April 2016 when the session ended, yet he actually remained a state senator until early January. Mello acknowledged Wednesday that he misspoke.

As for the budget issue, Mello said Stothert does not understand the legislative process.

When the state budget passed last year, it was balanced. But once the session ended, Mello said, it became the governors job to manage the budget. And, he said, Ricketts took effective steps to address the shortfall that arose.

Mello said it isnt true that he didnt talk to the governors office, as Stothert asserted.

He said he had numerous conversations last year about the budget issue with Matt Miltenberger, the governors chief of staff. He also said he spoke to the governor on the telephone. And he publicly supported Ricketts decision to control spending through a variety of ways, including a hiring freeze and curtailing spending.

Stotherts campaign said later that she was referring specifically to Mellos involvement with the new budget that the Legislature passed in January. David Boomer, a Stothert spokesman, said the governors office has said Mello was not involved in any discussions last year about what should be in the new budget.

In response to a reporters question, Stothert said Wednesday that she was not blaming Ricketts or the way his administration handled the budget shortfall last year as the chief executive officer of the State of Nebraska.

The issue, she said, was that Mello has been touting his budget-writing efforts in the Legislature on the campaign trail, while distancing himself from the state budget shortfall.

Stotherts news conference came shortly after the mayors office put out a press release touting a $9 million surplus in the 2016 city budget.

Stothert said the press releases timing had nothing to do with her subsequent campaign press conference. However, she said the surplus was a byproduct of efficient year-round management by her office, working with city departments to ensure they stayed within the budget passed by the City Council.

This represents sound budget management, said Stothert.

Mello is attempting to deprive Stothert of a second term in City Hall. The two candidates are expected to advance easily in the April 4 primary. Voters will choose the next mayor at the May 9 election.
WASHINGTON  Six Republican senators are sending a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to oppose any congressional effort to restore earmarks.

The letter from GOP Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain of Arizona, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ben Sasse of Nebraska comes as House Republicans are expected to soon begin holding hearings on the idea of allowing earmarks to make a comeback after congressional Republicans, led by then-Speaker John A. Boehner, banned them in 2011.

Earmarks represent the pay-to-play culture you have pledged to end, the senators said in the letter, an early copy of which was provided to Roll Call. It is unfathomable to those of us who fought to end earmarks and witnessed our colleagues go to jail for corruption that pork barrel politics would return, especially at this time when Americans are clearly fed up with business-as-usual.

The earmark debate resurfaced last year when a few House Republicans sought to add an amendment to their conference rules packaging to allow a limited restoration of earmarks. Speaker Paul D. Ryan urged the conference not to vote on such a change behind closed doors. In exchange, he pledged to revisit the issue early this year.

To honor that promise, the House Rules Committee is expected to soon begin a series of hearings on the matter. Rules Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas said last month that the committee would hold a series of hearings  none of which have yet been scheduled  and then issue a recommendation on whether House Republicans should move to soften the current ban.

A Rules Committee aide said the panel is still working on scheduling hearings with witnesses from all sides of the issue and does not yet have a timeline.

Flake, McCain, Cruz, Lee, Paul and Sasse said in their letter to Trump that with the national debt set to soon top $20 trillion, processing thousands or even hundreds of pork requests will only distract and delay addressing pressing national needs and push spending decisions once again into the murky shadows.

We respectfully urge you to make it clear that you will veto any bill Congress sends to you containing earmarks within the legislative text or the accompanying report, the senators said. We look forward to working with you to make Washington more accountable and stop wasteful spending where it starts, which is often right here in Congress.
The proper functioning of American government depends on capable men and women stepping forward to give of their time and talents in service to the nation.

Nebraskans can find a laudable example of such civic dedication in native son Clayton Yeutter, who died Saturday at age 86 after a four-year battle with cancer.

Yeutter, a native of Eustis, served as chief of staff for then-Gov. Norbert Tiemann in the late 1960s as one of the administrations energetic up-and-coming whiz kids, a group that also included Doug Bereuter, who went on to serve as 1st District congressman.

In Washington, Yeutter held Cabinet and sub- Cabinet posts under four presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He served as chief U.S. trade negotiator under Reagan in 1985-89 and as U.S. secretary of agriculture under Bush from 1989 to 1991.

James Baker, who was secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, last year called Yeutter a first-class example of the model American public servant. A man who always placed his countrys best interests above any other consideration.

Darci Vetter, a Nebraska native who was U.S. trade ambassador in the Obama administration, described Yeutter as an elder statesman and a patriot in the very best sense of the word.

Yeutter held bachelors and law degrees plus a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

As his friend and Nebraska business leader Duane Acklie noted to The World-Herald, Yeutter never left the farm. He kept his hand in farming while getting his Ph.D. at UNL and  in addition to a 1978-85 stint as president and CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange  maintained a lifelong interest in the practical day-to-day happenings of the nations ag economy.

A fitting part of his legacy was the $2.5 million donation he and his family made in 2015 to the University of Nebraska Foundation to create the Clayton K. Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance.

Last fall, UNL announced three endowed chairs as the foundation of the Yeutter Institute: the Duane Acklie Chair in the College of Business Administration, the Michael Yanney Chair in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Clayton Yeutter Chair in the College of Law.

With his decades of high-level public service, Clayton Yeutter stands as an exemplary role model for service to country.
A smart effort to boost job skills and get more people into the workforce is moving forward in the Omaha area.

The initiative promotes the National Career Readiness Certificate, which helps potential employers see job seekers proficiency in math, reading and other topics.

More than 1,300 men and women in Douglas County have received the certificate so far, and more than 25 Nebraska businesses have expressed support for the certificate. Additional businesses are being encouraged to do so.

The certificate helps people who might otherwise think poorly of their employment possibilities understand their skill level and receive help in addressing shortcomings.

First Data has already hired more than 25 certificate holders, Daryl Teitler, the companys vice president for human resources, said at the initiatives March 2 kickoff event, attended by more than 100 civic and business leaders.

Earning the certificate involves taking a free, three-hour test administered by the nonprofit Heartland Workforce Solutions. Metropolitan Community College will provide free, short-term classes to help people raise their skill levels in areas needing improvement.

The City of Omaha has appropriated $400,000 to support the initiative. City leaders said a particular benefit is the outreach to low-income residents.

This worthwhile program deserves support. Its good for our areas economy and, above all, good for the individuals who find gainful employment.
Grief is good teacher

I have always hoped legislators would think, only for a moment, about losing one of their family in a motorcycle accident. How terrible that would be. Then maybe there wouldnt be the annual challenge to the very effective, 26-year-old helmet law.

James L. Manion, Omaha

Health care shouldnt be a luxury

I have lived and worked in Omaha for more than 30 years and am one of the tens of thousands of Nebraskans who fall into the Medicaid gap. I work for Omaha Public Schools and receive survival benefits through Social Security, so I make too much money for Medicaid but not enough money for the Affordable Care Act.

My husband also fell into the Medicaid gap. He began showing symptoms of an illness, but because he didnt have insurance, he could not afford to see a doctor regularly to get tested.

We didnt know what was causing his health issues until he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He lived for just five months after his diagnosis. If he had access to health insurance at the first signs of his symptoms, he could have gotten earlier screenings and specialized treatments. He might have survived, or at least had a longer life span.

Nebraska needs to expand its Medicaid program. Thousands and thousands of people in our community are facing a difficult decision: See a doctor or buy groceries? Get cancer screenings or pay rent?

I believe Nebraska becomes a stronger state if we work together and choose to do the right thing, by passing Legislative Bill 441.

Diana L. LaCroix, Omaha

The real threat to The Good Life

For a number of years, citizens have voted down building casinos in Nebraska. The reason: a fear of addiction and financial ruin of families.

How is this different from the situation in Whiteclay, Nebraska (Hearing on beer sales delayed, Feb. 28 World-Herald)?

Approximately 3.5 million cans of beer a year are sold there. The results: not a fear of, but actual children born with fetal alcohol syndrome.

The four beer-only liquor stores arent improving the conditions of the unincorporated village. They dont provide for health care for people who are afflicted with alcoholism and they dont contribute to the cost of law enforcement. They just suck the life out of Whiteclay and the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Ernie Boykin, Omaha

Mello will mean stable budgets

It is important to consider what State Sen. Heath Mello will bring to Omaha City Hall if he is elected mayor.

During his time as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Mello helped balance a state budget that created millions of dollars in property tax relief for Nebraskans. Mayor Jean Stothert should have done more to address the increased property tax. We need someone in office who will take more initiative on important issues like this.

Omahans should not have to worry about whether or not they can afford to pay the bills. I believe that Heath Mello will make the right choices in City Hall when it comes to implementing balanced tax cuts and handling the budget. That is why I support Heath Mello for mayor.

Catie Zaleski, Omaha

Stothert was ahead of the curve

I had to chuckle slightly after reading Michael Berrys Feb. 26 Public Pulse letter (Mellos ideas are popular) that Mayor Jean Stothert is taking ideas from Heath Mello, one of her opponents.

Yes, Mello proposed in December that the city put its checkbook on the Internet. Mayor Stothert began working on this particular project in November 2015. It is now completed, and the public will soon be able to access this information.

Linda Freeman, Omaha

A familiar protest vote

I am disappointed that Mayor Jean Stothert did not fulfill her campaign goal of repealing the restaurant tax. I can no longer trust her to fulfill any of her promises. I am planning on writing in John McCain for Omaha mayor in the primary.

Bill Petersen, Omaha

Always striving to do better

Feb. 19 Public Pulse writer Jonathan Renteria asks, if Omaha is indeed a mecca for millennials, as Mayor Jean Stothert has stated, then why would she create an advisory committee on the issue?

I attended the mayors Dec. 6 millennial roundtable where she addressed this very issue. Even though we are doing very well with millennials, one can always do better. My grandma used to say that all the time about life in general  it is a good lesson for all of us.

Benjamin Boll, Omaha

Read the curriculum

March 3 Public Pulse writer Anne Armstrong recently likened the Omaha Public Schools human growth and development curriculum to pornography (Not suitable for children).

I would invite Armstrong to read the entire curriculum standards for grades 4 through 10 available on the OPS website. In doing so, she will find that OPS students are taught not only about the reproductive organs but also essential and critical social skill sets for healthy bodies and minds. Students are allowed to engage in independent and collaborative dialogue in a safe and nonjudgmental environment.

This curriculum is very stimulating, but not in the erotic fashion Armstrong expressed.

Sherry Peterson, Omaha

Nice, but not normal, weather

During our abnormally warm February, enjoying the 70-degree weather did not feel right. We might appreciate the early relief from winter, but if we do not take action, it will be the new normal.

Dangers of climate change outweigh the benefits, such as increased spread of insect-born disease, damage to fruit crops, strong storms, sea level rise, droughts, floods, etc. The frequent extreme conditions are completely consistent with what scientists have said would result from climate change.

We are reaching a gradual tipping point. But there is hope if we switch to clean energy soon enough. A carbon tax, which would gradually make fossil fuels more expensive, is the best way to make that transition in time.

Kathleen Hughes, Omaha

Carter looks pretty good

In the fallout of the hate-inspired rhetoric that is the never-ending story of our current president, count me in as someone who truly misses Jimmy Carter. As other former presidents fade in the limelight, Jimmy continues on his path to glory by helping others throughout the world. In my list of top five former presidents, hes right there.

Ben Salazar, Omaha

A secret no more

About 18 months ago I came to a very personal and controversial realization about myself. Yes, there are people who will call me names and maybe even hate me for what I am revealing about myself. But I must come clean with my real feelings even if my own family does not understand. Here it goes: I really like Donald Trump. There, I said it.

David Littlewood, Omaha

Trump cant keep quiet

Just after President Donald Trump started to look and act like the president of the United States, he has again started to act like a teenager with a cell phone sending things without thinking.

Dennis Bruns, Omaha

Sessions must go

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is clearly unfit to hold his position. It is not relevant that he met with the Russian ambassador, nor is the topic of the conversation relevant.

What is relevant is that, under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee, he lied that those meetings took place.

The very department he heads must lodge perjury charges against him.

Robert L. Chambers, Shenandoah, Iowa

Give him the honor he deserves

I read with great pride and extreme sadness the article about Bert Crum (Veteran who defied death in Vietnam will get birthday salute, March 3 World-Herald).

In 1967, as a 19-year-old soldier in a foxhole in Vietnam, he suffered a severe brain injury that changed his life. He did not get to raise a family, was unable to have a career and has endured lifelong physical disabilities. It is hard to fathom, but he said he volunteered and would do it again.

The article stated that this brave man did not get a Purple Heart. Someone from the Marine Corps needs to expedite a request for Crum to finally get his much deserved recognition and Purple Heart. We should be ashamed that we have not honored this wonderful man before now.

Sandie Yeaman, Omaha
Why is the DMK continuing to oppose the imposition of Hindi? - 50 years of struggle and the truth!

11.30 pm or 4.30 pm? Did TN govt lie about Jayalalithaa's time of death?

India

oi-Anusha

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam did what was expected out of him on Wednesday when he dropped a bomb. Speaking during his day-long hunger strike demanding probe into Jayalalithaa's death, O Panneerselvam said that he was informed of Jayalalithaa's death at around 6.30 pm on December 5.

Panneerselvam also denied being part of the decision-making group that Apollo Hospital's discharge summary claimed to have taken a call on pulling the plug on Jayalalithaa. The same was released by the Tamil Nadu government on Monday to negate allegations levelled by Panneerselvam.

It may be noted that while an official press release from Apollo hospital on December 5, 2016, claimed Jayalalithaa's time of death to be 11.30 pm, O Panneerselvam on Wednesday claimed that he was informed of her death as early as 6.30 pm. In his speech, Panneerselvam said that Jayalalithaa had passed away by 4.30 pm, but he was informed by 6.30 pm and had no say in the medical procedures that she was undergoing.

OneIndia News
After denial of ambulance, kin carry body for 500 metres

India

oi-Gulam Rabbani

By Gulam Rabbani

Muzaffarpur, March 8: After Muzaffpur hospital officials refused to provide an ambulance for transportation of the dead body, the relatives had to carry the dead body of a woman for 500 metres after the Muzaffarpur Sadar Hospital officials denied ambulance to carry the dead body.

According to sources, the woman, identified as Shyama Devi was admitted to hospital for treatment on February 18. However, she succumbed to her illness on Tuesday evening. Her husband, identified as Suresh Mandal, is said to have approached the hospital management to arrange an ambulance to carry her body, but the authorities refused.

[Also read: Dana Majhi did not seek help to take wife's body: Odisha government]

Suresh said that he and his relatives had to carry the body for 500 metres on foot until a kind-hearted autorickshaw agreed to take them home.

Reacting to the incident, Dr NK Chaudhary, deputy superintendent of the hospital, said that he was not aware of the incident and added that the ambulances are meant to shift the patients from one hospital to the another and not for bodies.

Sources said that it was not the first incident in the hospital. A few months ago, a patient who leg was severely injured was left to crawl on the floor to go out and catch an ambulance. In an another incident, police had to support the injured youth to shift him to the next ward after the hospital denied to provide a stretcher to the patient.

It is to be mention that in August 2016, a tribal man identified as Dana Majhi in Odisha had to carry his dead wife on his shoulder after the hospital officials refused to provide an ambulance.
After TN, Kerala traders' union calls for ban on Coke and Pepsi

India

oi-Anusha

Coke, Pepsi and their subsidiary cola drinks are all set to fizzle out in Kerala post March 14. The traders and farmers union in Kerala called for a statewide ban on the sale of cola drinks of multinational companies on Wednesday. Members of the association told media persons in Thiruvananthapuram that retailers and wholesalers affiliated to the union will stop the sale of aerated drinks from March 14 in protest of alleged water exploitation by the companies.

[Tamil Nadu: Ban call on Coke, Pepsi comes into effect]

Drought-hit Kerala has been seeing acute water shortage with farmers bearing the brunt. Accusing the multinational companies o exploiting water resources in the state, the union has called for a ban. The members also claimed that the decision was absolute and no talks will be held with the companies' representatives.

"We will not hold any discussions with the soft drink companies but are willing to hold discussions with the government on the matter. We hope that the government supports out decision," members told media persons

Just like in Tamil Nadu, no ban whatsoever was sought on domestic cola products. It may be recalled that the Kerala government had moved to ban the production and sale of Coca-cola and Pepsi back in 2009 when the same LDF was in power.

OneIndia News
No, L K Advani did not says he regretted handing over country to Modi-Shah

PM Modi, Shah meet Advani at his residence to wish him on birthday

Akhbar mein kahin padha tha, Advanis casual remark on Babri Masjid case

India

oi-Maitreyee

New Delhi, March 8: As the 25-year-old Babri Masjid demolition case once again haunts veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani, the former deputy prime minister decided to 'casually' react to the latest statement made by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

"I have not received any information yet. Akhbar mein kahin padha tha maine (I have read somewhere in the newspaper)," ANI quoted Advani as saying.

Have not received any information yet, akhbar me kahin padha tha maine: LK Advani on Babri Masjid case pic.twitter.com/iRrNrH598e  ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

The apex court on Monday said that conspiracy charges against Advani and others in the decades-old Babri mosque demolition case may be revived. The SC said it will not accept the discharge of Advani and others in the case only on technical grounds and kept the option open on reviving the conspiracy charge against them.

The SC was hearing an appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, challenging the May 2010 Allahabad high court decision. The apex court while making oral observations on discharge of Advani and other also came up with the option of ordering a joint trial of cases arising out of the two FIRs lodged in the wake of the demolition of the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri structure in Ayodhya in 1992.

The high court had acquitted Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti and then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh of the charge of criminal conspiracy in the demolition of the Babri Masjid. A bench of Justices PS Ghosh and RF Nariman has posted the matter for further hearing on March 22.

OneIndia News
Dalit, OBC leader detained ahead of PM Modi's visit

India

pti-PTI

Ahmedabad, Mar 8: Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani along with OBC leader Alpesh Thakor, who had planned protests during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's event here, were detained from different locations on Wednesday.

Apart from Mevani and Thakor, around 50 Congress workers, who had planned a march to Mahatma Mandir to register their protest against Modi, were held from Gandhinagar this afternoon. Mevani was detained as soon as he landed at city airport from New Delhi, said Inspector H B Zala.

"Since he had threatened to disrupt PM's event, we detained Mevani upon his arrival at the airport from Delhi. He was released after the programme in Gandhinagar ended in the evening," said Zala. Mevani had earlier announced of taking out a march to Mahatma Mandir with agitating Anganwadi workers, who were demanding significant pay hike since some time.

President of OBC-SC-ST (OSS) Ekta Manch Alpesh Thakor was detained from outside district collector's office by police to thwart his attempt to disrupt the event. Since some time, Thakor has been agitating against state government on the issue of unemployment, lack of proper liquor prohibition and wage issues concerning Anganwadi workers.

"Thakor along with 800 of his supporters, including women, was detained from outside collector's office, as he was planning a march towards Gandhinagar to disrupt the event. All of them were released in the evening," said Inspector of Ranip area, V B Patel. In Gandhinagar, around 50 Congress workers, including women, of local district unit were detained before they could hold a protest march till Mahatma Mandir, said a Gandhinagar police control room official.

PTI
Govt to move maternity leave bill in LS on Thursday

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Mar 8: The government will move a bill that seeks to enhance paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was passed by the Rajya Sabah in August last year, provides for increasing maternity benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and is aimed at benefiting about 1.8 million women in the organised sector.

"Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya will move the Bill tomorrow in the Lok Sabha to amend the Maternity Benefit Act," a senior official said. The amended Act will be applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more people.

Once the amendments to the Act are passed and notified, India will jump to the third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Canada (50) and Norway (44). The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her full paid absence from work, to take care for her child.

In August last year, when the Maternity Benefit Bill, 2016, was passed in the upper house, some members had sought norms for paternity leave also so that parents can share the responsibility of raising children. Dattatreya had said in the Rajya Sabha that the very purpose of the bill was to increase participation of women, which was decreasing day by day. The central government has already amended its service rule and is providing 26 weeks maternity leave to its employees.

PTI
Hamid Ansari takes up fisherman killing issue with Sirisena

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Mar 8: The issue of killing of an Indian fisherman allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy was taken up by Vice President Hamid Ansari with its President Maithripala Sirisena who told him that he has ordered a thorough probe into the incident.

Our Navy did not shoot Indian fishermen, says Sri Lanka

Ansari raised the issue during a bilateral meeting with Srisena in Jakarta on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Summit of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). "Yes, it was discussed," the Vice President had said when asked whether the killing of the Tamil fisherman allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy figured in his meeting with Srisena.

Ansari, during his interaction with the accompanying media persons while returning from Jakarta after a two-day visit last night, said, "The President said he had heard about it this morning and that he had spoken to the Chief of the Sri Lankan Navy who had said that no such incident from the side of the Sri Lankan forces took place." He said Srisena told him that he has ordered "full investigation" into the matter.

Sources told PTI that the Vice President had candidly conveyed to Srisena that something must be done by Sri Lanka about the recurring problem related to the Tamil fishermen as part of confidence-building measures.

The 22-year-old fisherman was shot dead on Tuesday while he was fishing in a mechanised boat at a short distance off Katchatheevu islet. Fishermen in Tamil Nadu alleged that he was killed by the Lankan navy while another was injured. Apart from this incident, as many as 76 Indian fishermen are in captivity of Sri Lanka. The incidents related to the Tamil fishermen have been leading to rise in passions in Tamil Nadu off and on.

PTI
How confusion marred the Lucknow encounter

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The encounter at Thakurganj near Lucknow which began on Tuesday evening finally came to an end at 3.00 am on Wednesday. The suspected Islamic State militant believed to have carried out the blast on the Bihar-Ujjain passenger train at Jabri railway station in Madhya Pradesh was gunned down by the Uttar Pradesh ATS.

[Lucknow encounter ends, suspected IS militant killed]

There was plenty of confusion during the encounter. The ATS had managed to drill a micro tube camera through the roof of the house in which the IS operative Saifullah was holed up. Imagery suggested that there was another person. However, at the end of the encounter it was found that Saifullah was alone. During the course of the encounter, the police managed to nab two persons, Faizan and Imran who are believed to have assisted Saifullah in executing the train bombing.

The IG of the ATS Assem Arun said that they tried to get Saifullah to surrender. However he refused to do so and said, " I want to attain shahdat." The ATS then used chilli bombs to flush him out, but he continued to fire intermittently.

All through the encounter the residents said that they could hear bursts of fire. The area is residential, so it had to be cordoned off, as the ATS feared that the suspect would escape.

OneIndia News
In UP, these candidates are trying their luck from jail

India

pti-PTI

Abhinav Pandey Lucknow, Mar 8: Come polls and many jailbirds land in the poll arena in Uttar Pradesh. While there are many musclemen who are trying their luck in the ongoing state polls from behind the bars, there are others who are supporting their kin from behind the prison walls. Mafia Mukhtar Ansari, a four-time member of legislative assembly from Mau Sadar, tops the chart in the league. He is contesting polls from the Mau seat against Alka Rai (Bharatiya Janata Party), whose husband Krishnanad Rai was killed allegedly by Mukhtar.

Not only Mukhtar, his son Abbas and brother Sigbathullah Ansari are also in the fray from Ghosi and Mohammadabad seats and the don himself is trying his best to ensure they emerge victorious after he was denied parole by the court. Aman Mani Tripathi lodged in Dasna jail (Ghaziabad) in connection with the murder case of his wife Sara is contesting as an independent candidate from Nautanwa seat (Mahrajganj).

His father Amar Mani Tripathi and mother are also in jail in connection with the poetess Madhumita Shukla murder case. His campaign was managed by sisters Tanushri and Alankrita, who left no stone unturned to ensure the victory of their brother. Another candidate, Shyam Narain Singh alias Vineet Singh who is lodged in Ranchi jail in connection with a kidnapping case, is in the fray from Sayedraza seat in Chandauli on a BSP ticket.

For Vineet, his family is campaigning while he is managing things from jail. There are some like Sanjeev Maheswari, who is lodged in Mainpuri district jail and is facing several cases including that of murder. They are not in the fray directly but are very much in the poll arena. Sanjeev managed to get a Rashtriya Lok Dal ticket for his wife Payal Maheshwari from Muzaffarnagar and kept an eye on her campaigning.

Another accused in the Krisnhnand Rai murder case, Prem Singh alias Munna Bajrangi is in Jhansi jail but his wife Seema is contesting from Madiyahun seat in Jaunpur on Apna Dal (Krishna Patel faction) ticket. Munna is lodged in Jhansi district jail and faces trial in eight criminal cases. Former BJP MLA Udaybhan Karwariya lodged in Mirzapur jail is managing the poll campaign of his wife Neelam Karwariya contesting from Meja seat in Allahabad on a BJP ticket.

Some other known musclemen have also fielded their wards in these assembly polls. While in Raebareli, five-time MLA and muscleman Akhilesh Pratap Singh's daughter Aditi Singh is trying her luck, another mafia-turned-politician Rizwan Zaheer's daughter Zeba Rizwan is contesting for the first time from Tulsipur assembly constituency in Balrampur.

According to an analysis of self-sworn affidavits of the total 4,823 candidates in this election (out of the 4,853 overall in the fray) by the Uttar Pradesh Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 859 have disclosed criminal cases against them (18 per cent) and further 704 have serious criminal cases (15 per cent) pending against them.
Operative had a schedule

One of the recoveries was a piece of paper which had a schedule. It included walking, exercising, praying and also training. The paper has been sent to the forensic sciences laboratory for examination.

Flag of the Islamic State

The ATS found a flag of the Islamic State in the house. There was plenty of other material to prepare bombs. Gunpowder, ammonium nitrate and pipes were among some of the material that has been seized. Several cell phones were found too.

Many targets on the list

The police learnt that they had plans of carrying out blasts at the Deva Shareef, shrine of Sufi saint Waris Ali Shah, on March 27. Jihadi videos of attacks in other places, the layout of several shrines were also found at the house.

UP ATS on their target list

There were also several pistols that were seized from the house. Saifuallah had refused to surrender and said that he preferred to attain Shahadat.

Map of Indian railways

The ATS also found a map of the Indian Railways in the house. The accused is suspected to have carried out the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast in which 9 persons were injured. Newspapers and diaries too were seized by the UP ATS.
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Jats to move to Delhi for protest on March 20

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

Chandigarh, March 7: Jat leaders on Tuesday announced that their ongoing agitation would be intensified and the protest launched in Delhi too on March 20.

The All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) core committee, which held its meeting in Jassia in Haryana's Rohtak district, said that Jat protestors will protest at the entry points of Delhi from seven sides on March 20.

The AIJASS, led by Jat leader Yashpal Malik, has been agitating for its demands in Haryana since January 29.

Malik said that if Jat protestors, coming from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, were stopped on way to Delhi, they would start their protest at those very points.

He said that male members of the Jat community will move towards Delhi for the agitation, while the women will continue their protests across Haryana.

Talks between the state government and the Jat leaders hit a roadblock last month as the Haryana government made it clear that it has no jurisdiction to withdraw cases being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation against some Jat leaders over violence during the agitation last year.

Haryana Chief MInister Manohar Lal Khattar accused the Jat leaders of increasing their demands and changing goalposts.

Their demands include reservation for Jats, jobs to the next of kin of those killed in violence in the Jat agitation last year, compensation to those injured, withdrawal of cases against them and action against the officers who ordered action against the Jats, among others.

Violence during the agitation last year had left 30 people dead and over 200 injured. Government and private property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was damaged during the violence in February 2016.

--IANS

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UP, Manipur elections 2017 updates: 60.03 percent voting in UP, 86 in Manipur

India

oi-Vicky

It is the final phase of the Grand Assembly Elections 2017. Uttar Pradesh and Manipur would be voting in the final phase of the assembly elections on Wednesday. In UP, polling will be held in 40 seats while 22 constituencies in Manipur will go to poll in this final phase. The UP and Manipur polls were held in seven and two phases respectively.

[UP elections 2017: 115 candidates with criminal back ground in the fray]

In the final phase, the big test will be for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his Parliamentary seat of Varanasi will go to polls. In Manipur the fate of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Deputy CM Gaikhangam and Irom Sharmila will be decided.

Phase seven of the UP poll will see 538 candidates contesting. The districts that will go to polls are Bhadohi. Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and Varanasi. The highest number of constituencies are in Varanasi at eight.

Who will come out toppers in this phase, and will Manipur be able to repeat the high voter turnout of the first phase, of which 86 per cent polled? Stay tuned for the fastest updates here:

6:20 pm:60.03 per cent turnout in 7th phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections

86 per cent recorded in second and final phase of Manipur elections.

5:50 pm: Voting for 7th phase of Uttar Pradesh elections ends.

4:00 pm: 56% viting recorded until now.

3.50 pm: 51.69 % voting recorded till 3 pm in Uttar Pradesh.

3.38 pm: Voting percentage till 3 pm:

Mirzapur-55.92%,

Jaunpur-52.82%,

Ghazipur-54%,

Sonbhadra-53.2%

3.15 pm: Polling ends in the second and final phase of Manipur elections.

2.40 pm: Voter turnout of 78% recorded in Manipur till 2 pm.

1.24 pm: Voter turnout of 67% recorded till 1 pm in second and final phase of voting in Manipur election.

12.43 pm: 26 per cent voting recoded in UP till 12 pm and 56 % voter turnout recorded in Manipur till 12 pm.

12.30 pm: Farmers boycott voting at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly, allege lack of irrigation facilities and development.

Mirzapur: Farmers boycott voting at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly segment alleging lack of irrigation facilities & development pic.twitter.com/jQvik9PX5t  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

12.22 pm: RSS's Indresh Kumar casts his vote at polling booth number 49 of Varanasi Cantt.

RSS's Indresh Kumar casts his vote at polling booth number 49 of Varanasi Cantt. pic.twitter.com/i8Aqu5FzIN  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

11.55 am: Voter turnout of 22.84% recorded till 11 am in 7th phase of polling of UP polls.

11.34 am: 45% voter turnout recorded till 11 AM in Manipur.

10.42 am: Special arrangements made for women at polling booth no 394 in Aurai (Bhadohi) in Uttar Pradesh on the ocassion of Women's Day.

#UttarPradeshpolls2017 Special arrangements for women at polling booth no 394 in Aurai (Bhadohi) #internationalwomensday pic.twitter.com/B6iASeivKI  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

10.37 am: BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote.

BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi casts his vote at booth number 76 of Varanasi North. pic.twitter.com/KSQtloFFfn  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

10.24 am: Brisk voting is reported on Wednesday in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the first two hours in the seventh and final phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh. A large number of women and senior citizens were seen queued up outside the polling stations to cast their votes.

10.20 am: 21% voter turnout recorded till 9 am in the final phase of Manipur elections.

10.05 am: 10.43% voting recorded till 9 am in the 7th phase of UP elections.

9.05 am: Congress leader Ajai Rai casts his vote at polling booth no. 389 of Varanasi South

Congress leader Ajai Rai casts his vote at polling booth no. 389 of Varanasi South, says "7th phase is going to vote against 'Jumlebaazi'": pic.twitter.com/GriRKqx9vf  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

8.28 am: Voting begins at booths. 269 & 260 in Chandauli (Sakaldiha Assembly constituency) after one hour, technical glitch rectified.

8.00 am: First time voters cast their vote at polling booth 35/41 at Athokpam Makha Leikai PO in Thoubal.

#ManipurPolls2017: First time voters cast their vote at polling booth 35/41 at Athokpam Makha Leikai PO in Thoubal pic.twitter.com/uUP5UEPu0I  ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

7:50 am: Technical problem in one of the polling booths in Mirzapur because of which voting has not yet begun there.

7.45 am: PM urges people to vote in large numbers

7:11 am: We are confident of a clear mandate says Manipur CM, Okaram Ibobi Singh.

Will get a clear mandate, this election is something like a referendum, both hill and the valley: Manipur CM Okram Singh after casting vote pic.twitter.com/ctR2ierxsv  ANI (@ANI_news) March 8, 2017

7:00 am: Polling begins for final phase of UP and Manipur elections.

Parties 2012 Results Samajwadi Party 23 BSP 05 BJP 04 Congress 03 Others 07

OneIndia News
Meet the IS Khorasan of Lucknow and Kanpur

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Was the plot to bomb the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train hatched in Telangana? The police said that a seven-member module of the Islamic State known as the Kanpur and Lucknow ISIS Khorasan Module hatched a plot to bomb the train and also carry out a series of attacks in Uttar Pradesh.

Sources privy to the investigation tell OneIndia say that a seven-member module was formed earlier this year in UP. The Emir or chief of the module was Atif Muzzafar. The others in the module were G M Khan, Danish Akthar, Azhar Khalifa, Saifullah, Faizal Khan and Hamza Khan.

It may recalled that Saifullah was gunned down at Thakurganj in Lucknow following a 11-hour encounter that ended at 3 am on Wednesday. While probing the case, the weapons trail led to the operatives by Rishu and Rocky.

[How confusion marred the Lucknow encounter]

Several media outlets have been reporting that the train blast was a dry run. However Intelligence Bureau officials say that terrorists normally do not do trial runs as it tends to wake up security officials.

OneIndia had first reported

OneIndia News
Moral policing in Kochi, couples thrashed on Women's day

India

oi-Anusha

Members of Shiv Sena attacked youngsters at Kochi Marine drive on Wednesday afternoon. Swinging lathis at men and women, Shiv Sena members indulged in moral policing even as the public remained mute spectators. In brazen disregard for the law and little care for the cameras recording them, the uncouth gang unleashed violence targeting even women on a day when the world celebrated women.

Even as cameras were rolling, police at the spot were seen refusing to act. It was only after couples were thrashed that the police intervened and arrested five members of the shiv sena. Incidents of moral policing have been on the rise in Kerala with self-proclaimed protectors of 'culture' assault youngsters. It may be recalled that a victim of moral policing, who was pulled up on Valentines' day for accompanying a female friend, committed suicide in Kerala, unable to bear the embarrassment.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 18:47 [IST]
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Narendra Modi offers prayers at Somnath temple

India

oi-Sandra Marina Fernandes

Ahmedabad, March 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday visited the Somnath Temple in Gujarat and offered prayers. Modi also paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue.

Modi arrived at the Diu airport on Wednesday and then took a helicopter to reach the temple. Modi on Tuesday night met his mother and spent about 20 minutes with her and other family members. Here are some images of Modi at the Somnath temple:

Narendra Modi performs aarti at Somnath temple Narendra Modi was seen offering prayers and performing aarti at the Somnath Temple in Gujarat. Photo courtesy: @PIB_India Modi performs Jalabhishek at Somnath temple Modi performed 'Jalabhishek' to offer his respects to Lord Shiva amid chants by the temple priests.Photo courtesy- @PIB_India Modi on a two-day visit to Gujarat Modi is on a two-day visit to Gujarat since Tuesday. He met his mother on Tuesday night and spent some time with other family members as well. Narendra Modi was accompanied by Amit Shah Narendra Modi was accompanied by trust Chairman Keshubhai Patel and BJP national president Amit Shah. Photo Courtesy-@PIB_India

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 11:33 [IST]
Why Punjab farmers burn stubble at this scale when others do not

No work, no vote: Farmers in Chunar, UP boycott election en masse

India

oi-Maitreyee

Lucknow, March 8: Finally, the farmers of Uttar Pradesh have broken their silence against alleged discrimination practiced by all political parties. A group of farmers in the state decided to boycott voting during the seventh and final phase of UP assembly elections on Wednesday--protesting against lack of development and irrigation facilities in their village.

"Farmers boycott voting at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly segment in Mirzapur alleging lack of irrigation facilities and development," reported ANI.

Mirzapur: Farmers boycott voting at polling booth number 283 of Chunar assembly segment alleging lack of irrigation facilities & development pic.twitter.com/jQvik9PX5t  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 8, 2017

In a letter--Boycott of Voting--addressed to the media and political parties--the farmers' association of Chunar explained various reasons behind taking the decision to protest the assembly elections.

The letter in Hindi says, "All our parliamentarians and legislators--irrespective of their party affiliation--have always been a person from the Patel community. And no one in our village belongs to the community. This is our village's biggest tragedy. That is why we have been always discriminated when it comes to our development and well-being."

"Since the last 25 years, we have been asking for irrigation facilities in the village, however, nobody heard our pleas. Thus we have decided to boycott the election," the letter adds.

The letter also mentions that the village lacks good roads, drainage and toilets facilities. The farmers say none of the government-run irrigation facilities are functional in the village. Moreover, most of the villagers still live in mud houses, without any proper housing facilities. The poor in the village have no access to ration cards, states the letter.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 13:58 [IST]
Imran Khan discharged from hospital, to resume long march from same point where he was shot

Pakistan apprehends 747 Gujarat fishermen in two years

India

pti-PTI

Gandhinagar, Mar 8: The Gujarat Government on Wednesday revealed on the floor of the assembly that as many as 747 Gujarat-based fishermen have been apprehended by Pakistani authorities during the last two years.

Replying to a question raised by BJP MLA from Bharuch Dushyant Patel during the Question Hour, Gujarat Fisheries Minister Babu Bokhiria informed the House that 747 fishermen from Gujarat were apprehended by the neighbouring country during the last two years (as on December 2016).

Bokhiria in his written reply stated that the state government has made 23 written representations to the Centre for the release of these fishermen, captured by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency near International Maritime Border Line in the Arabian Sea.

The minister also informed the members of the House that 858 fishermen were also released by Pakistan during last two years. Raising concern over the recent incidents of apprehension by PMSA, Congress MLA Punja Vansh gave a short call notice to seek reply from the government.

In his response, Bokhiria stated that as per the latest government records, PMSA has apprehended only 10 fishermen on board 2 boats on March 1. He also informed the House that state government is taking various steps to prevent such incidents in the high seas, such as awareness drives in coastal areas and financial assistance for fishermen to buy GPS devices and Distress Alert Transmitters.

PTI
Lack of development in J&K for decades was one of the reasons behind rise of terrorism: Rajnath Singh

Rajnath likely to make statement in Parliament on UP, MP incidents tomorrow

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Mar 8: Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to make a statement in Parliament tomorrow on the killing of a suspected ISIS terrorist in Lucknow and blast in a train at Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh. The Home minister is expected to make a detailed statement in Parliament on the two incidents in Lucknow and in Shajapur, official sources said.

The second half of the Budget session will begin on Thursday. A suspected Islamic State terrorist was killed in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow early today after a 12-hour long operation. The terror suspect Saifullah is suspected to be linked to the blast in the train in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, police said. Ten people were injured, three of them seriously, in the IED blast in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Shajapur.

PTI
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Rajnath Singh to make statement in Parliament on UP, MP incidents

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, March 8: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to make a statement on Thursday in Parliament on the killing of a suspected IS terrorist in a Lucknow gunfight and train blast in Madhya Pradesh, a ministry official said.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Police said the youth killed in the anti-terror operation in Uttar Pradesh's capital as well as five arrested accomplices were "self- radicalised" and were trying to build an Islamic State Khorasan module in the UP city.

The police statement came hours after its Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) killed Saifullah, a resident of Manohar Nagar in Kanpur, in an 11-hour-long gunfight in Thakurganj's Haji colony in Lucknow.

On Tuesday, a blast occurred in the general compartment of the 59320 Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train near Jabdi station in Madhya Pradesh's Shajapur district, injuring 10 persons.

--IANS


The Islamic State has arrived in India

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The police in Madhya Pradesh were quick to suggest that the train explosion on the Bihar-Ujjain express was an act of terror. However, what is more important is that the police said that Saifullah, the man killed in the Lucknow encounter had links with the Islamic State's Khorasan province, and was getting directions from a handler abroad.

With the police and the Intelligence Bureau both stating that Saifullah was an IS operative, it marks the first attack by the dreaded group in India. For several months now, the IB has been warning of a buildup of the IS in India. IB officials had even said that the IS would stage an attack several times.

The explosion that took place on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train at Jabri railway station on Tuesday was low in intensity. "It may have been a trial run," said an IB officer who was involved in the probe. The train explosion comes in the wake of several cases of sabotage on the tracks being probed by multiple agencies including the National Investigating Agency.

In the past year, several modules of the IS have been busted by the police. Modules in West Bengal, Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh had planned big attacks. However they were stopped from executing the attacks as they were busted just in time by the police with the help of central agencies.

The IS modules which are guided by Syria-based Indian origin handler Shafi Armar had planned both coordinated as well as lone wolf attacks. The chatter that had been picked up suggested that a series of attacks were being planned in a bid to set up the Islamic Caliphate in India.

OneIndia News
Why Islamic State in India is similar to Indian Mujahideen

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The entry of the Islamic State in India has always been spoken about in intelligence circles. With the police claiming that the blast on the Bihar-Ujjain track was the handiwork of the IS, it must be also noted that the attack bore the signature of the Indian Mujahideen. The use of a pipe bomb, the ideology talk, the conversation with the handler by prime accused Saifullah -- all indicate that these are former Indian Mujahideen men who have joined the IS. It is important here to draw a similarity in the thought process of the IS and the IM. A book titled The Black Flags From The Islamic State is what one must look into to draw the comparison. A reading of the book gives the indication that the same was written by a member of the IM.

There is a specific mention made regarding the use of communication and this appears to be a very IM-styled manner of operating. The manual states that the use of communication devices must be avoided at any cost as it would lead to them being tracked. While the book quotes how the Paris attack was successful because the attackers never used communication devices, one may also recall that this was a similar style in which the IM functioned.

When Yasin Bhatkal was leading the IM, he had instructed that the best way to plan an attack was by communicating with each other on a direct level. Use of mobile phones and emails need to be avoided since they would leave a trail, he had said. Apart from this, the e-book appears to be a desperate attempt to rake up communal sentiments.

Just like the Indian Mujahideen did, there is a lot of Modi in this book as well. IB officials say that it appears to be a desperate attempt on the part of some individual to rake up communal tensions. "There is really no major cause that has been cited in the e-book barring passing references to the Dadri incident. We believe that it could be a member of the IM or its sympathiser who has released this e-book," the officer adds.

Oneindia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 11:42 [IST]
Won't accept the body of an anti-national: Slain IS operative's father

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The father of suspected Islamic State operative who was killed in the Lucknow encounter said that he will not accept the body of an anti-national. Saifullah's father Sartaj told the media that this was not in the country's interest. "We will not accept the body of an anti-national," he said.

Saifullah was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh ATS on Wednesday. He was cornered at a house and the encounter last 11 hours before he was killed. An accused in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train bombing, Saifullah had refused to surrender and said that he wanted to attain shahdat (martyrdom).

Sartaj told ANI that around 2 months back, his left home after he beat him for not working. "He called me last Monday and said that he was going to Saudi Arabia. Saifullah's relatives, however, expressed shock. They said that he was a well-behaved person. He performed Namaz five times a day. We did not expect this from him," he said.

OneIndia News
Indian-origin man gets 15 years in US for planning terror strikes in India

International

pti-PTI

From Yoshita Singh New York, Mar 8: A 42-year-old Indian in the US has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for plotting terror attacks in India by providing material support and resources to the Khalistan movement. Balwinder Singh was a member of two terrorist groups and provided material support to 'intimidate' the Indian government and harm persons who were not supporting the terrorist groups' cause, said US Attorney Daniel Bogden for the district of Nevada and special agent-in-charge Aaron C Rouse for the FBI's Las Vegas Division.

Singh was sentenced on Tuesday by US District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno to 180 months in prison, Bogden said. "This case is an example of multi-law enforcement agencies working collaboratively together to protect the United States and our foreign allies from a terrorist act," Bogden added. Singh, who also went by the alias Jhaji and Baljit Singh is a citizen of India and a permanent US resident. He had pleaded guilty in November last year.

According to court documents, between September and December 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India as part of the Khalistan movement to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region. Singh agreed to provide 'material support' by helping facilitate a co-conspirator's travel to and within South Asia, to provide necessary funding and to provide materials necessary to carry out the attack, the court documents said. On occasions, Singh travelled from Reno to California to meet a co-conspirator in person.

In October 2013, Singh and his co-conspirators agreed that one of them would travel to India and carry out a terror attack -- likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian governmental official. The final target was to be determined after the co-conspirator arrived in South Asia. In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles and a laptop computer and provided these items to a co-conspirator who was going to carry out the planned terror attack, the documents said.

The co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok in December 2013 in order to carry out the terror attack but US law enforcement prevented the co-conspirator from boarding that flight, thwarting the planned terror attack, it said. After these events, Singh and his co-conspirators continued to discuss and plan the terror attack in India until Singh's arrest in December 2013, the court documents said.

PTI
Kansas governor writes to PM Modi, expresses regret against Indians

International

oi-PTI

Washington, March 8: Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing 'profound regret' at the terrible act of violence against Indian nationals last month and said that acts of hate and intolerance have no place in his state.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and Alok Madasani, another Indian of the same age, injured in a shooting by navy veteran Adam Purinton, who yelled 'terrorist' and 'get out of my country' before opening fire on them in Kansas last month.

The Kansas incident and other hate crime incidents against Indians and Indian-Americans since then has sent shock waves among the large Indian community in the US.

"As governor of the State of Kansas, I would like to express my deep sadness and profound regret at the terrible act of violence committed against Srinu Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani. The people of Kansas share in my shock and horror. Words cannot express the sorrow that we feel for Srinu's wife, Sunayana, and his family in Hyderabad," Brownback, who is also a Republican like President Donald Trump, wrote.

"In the time since Srinu's death, we have reflected on his life, and the words I have heard most often to describe him are that he was courageous, and that he loved his family, and that he respected elders. We strive to live in Srinu's example of courage and love and respect," he wrote in the letter dated March 3, a copy of which has been seen by PTI.

[Hateful actions of one man don't define us; Indians are welcome in Kansas: Governor]

Brownback wrote that Kansans has been awed by Sunayana's grace and determination. Her indomitable spirit has moved the entire community and they pray for her comfort and peace in this time of grief.

Telling the prime minister that open arms of friendship are the very hallmarks of being a Kansan, the governor said Srinu embodied the essence of what it means to be a Kansan. "His friends describe him as charming, caring and loving. He brought with him his immense talents and education and passion. His story is similar to the thousands of Indian diaspora who have called Kansas home over generations," he wrote.

[After Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an Indian-origin businessman shot dead in US]

"They have enjoyed tremendous success through their ingenuity, hard work, and determination. Our state has thrived because of their contributions," Brownback wrote, adding that he would like to personally welcome Indians to his state.

"Before they moved here, Sunayana said: 'Kansas was (the) instant choice.' We are humbled that this was the case. I would like to personally welcome Indians to Kansas, and assure them that Kansas is a welcoming, hospitable place," he said.

Noting that Sunayana also spoke about being without her family in Kansas, Brownback wrote in the letter that it is their solemn hope that the community in Olathe and all of Kansas may nourish and love her in the difficult months ahead.

"Acts of hate and intolerance have no place in Kansas. Since our founding, Kansas have fought against injustice and senseless hatred. We are recommitted daily to protecting our family, our neighbours, our guests. We find wisdom and peace in the Sanskrit mantra 'Satyameva Jayate'," Brownback said.

The governor had met the Indian Consul General Dr Anupam Ray in Topeka and expressed his sincere condolences and reiterated his strong commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment in Kansas.

PTI
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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.
Al Jazeera 09 Jun 2020

Iran judiciary says Iranian citizen who provided information to CIA, Mossad about General Soleimani to be executed soon.
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. Guatemala is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Honduras; to the southeast by El Salvador and to the south by the Pacific Ocean, respectively. With an estimated population of around 17.6 million, it is the most populous country in Central America and is the 11th most populous country in the Americas. Guatemala is a representative democracy; its capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de la Asuncion, also known as Guatemala City, the largest city in Central America.
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to guarantee another party compensation in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.
Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva: According to Deutsche Bank's 15th annual Alternative Investment Survey, investors expect better performance from hedge funds this year, as well as lower and better-aligned fees. They also have greater belief in manager selection, and are more interested in systematic, global macro and alternative beta strategies. The survey reviews the current sentiment and allocation plans for 2017 of 460 global investors, representing almost $2tln in hedge fund assets. Here are the key highlights of the survey's findings: Close to three quarters of investors expect their hedge fund portfolios to perform better this year than last year. Performance-based gains are expected to drive industry assets to reach $3.14tln by year-end.

As performance dispersion has increased, more investors believe manager selection is of crucial importance.

Three quarters of investors negotiate the managers' fees, especially pension funds. They want lower fees and fees that are aligned with their portfolio needs; and they like hurdle rates.

79% of the respondents allocate to systematic strategies, up from 70% last year. Almost half the respondents plan to increase their allocation to such strategies, which now come in a wider variety, this ye...................... To view our full article Click here
Matthias Knab, Opalesque:

During the 6th Amsterdam Investor Forum at ABN AMRO's Amsterdam head office, five alternative fund managers competed giving a 3 minute pitch to the audience at the "AIF Factor", one of the highlights of the day. The Delegates - 250+ professional investors and managers - casted their votes and appointed DIM Funds PV Buyback USA fund as the most convincing pitch and the 2017 AIF Factor winner.

The other shortlisted funds were:

Ashenden Trend Plus Fund

BlackRock, BFS Multi Manager Alternative Strategies Fund

ABR Dynamic Blend Equity and Volatility Fund

Tolomeo SquarePoint Global Equities

All other funds, selected from over 100 applicants, deserve interest as well:

Ashenden Trend Plus invests in futures, but also in single name stocks. The fund can also exploit intra-day opportunities. Breakdown: Daily Trend Follower: 45% Intraday Trend Follower: 25% Intraday Reversion: 19% Intraday Directional Trader: 10% Intraday Carry: 1%.

The Blackrock BSF Multi-Manager Alternative Strategies Fund (MMA) seeks to generate returns acros......................

To view our full article Click here
Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva: Despite the focus on diversity initiatives, fund management has remained stubbornly immune to gender balance, says Columbia Threadneedle Investments on International Women's Day. Research conducted by Citywire in May 2016 found that only 7% of funds worldwide are managed by women, accounting for just 4% of assets. If you include teams that have at least one woman, the figure goes up to 14%. The figures are higher in continental Europe: in Spain, 27% of fund managers are female, while France and Italy tally 18% and 15% respectively. But not in the US. Morningstar research shows that only 10% of fund managers in the US are women, a figure which has been falling consistently since 2008. Only 2% of US industry assets are managed exclusively by women. "These discrepancies matter deeply for a number of reasons," writes Alison Jefferis, head of corporate affairs at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. "Placing concerns about fairness of access to a highly rewarding career to one side, the industry is missing out on a huge pool of talent and resources. This pool is not only populated with individuals who are just as capable as those who currently work in the industry, but it could potentially bring an entirely different and valuable skill set into the mix." Evidence shows that characteristics of female brains may in fact make them particularly well-equipped to be fund managers. For example, women are less prone ...................... To view our full article Click here
Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva:

The number of CIMA fund registrations in 2016 was about 1,230, slightly down from the prior year but holding up well compared to other jurisdictions, said participants at the recent Opalesque Cayman Roundtable.

Internal statistics also show a lower number of launches as well as a shift in geographical regions for Cayman fund launches, said Craig Smith, partner at large auditing house PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). "For example, the numbers from Europe are down but they increased a lot from Asia, to the point where Asia is somewhat bucking the trend and now represents almost half of the new launches that we are taking on as far as audit clients at PwC."

This trend, he explains, comes from creation of new wealth in Asia, particularly China, leading people to look for partners to manage money in different asset classes. There are also a lot of younger participants looking to invest long term.

"So all these mega trends as far as urbanisation and people moving from the countryside to the cities, creating a new middle class and becoming more sophisticated, are still happening," he continued. "At some point it's also about gaining more access to professional, alternative investment managers. These factors still feed into the increase in demand for managed investment products."

Enthusiasm still there despite hurdles

"I think we a......................

To view our full article Click here
Opalesque Industry Update - Garraway Capital Management, a London-based asset management firm, announced that after strong 2016 performance Garraway Financial Trends is pushing ahead with its asset building programme. Garraway Financial Trends, an Irish domiciled managed futures UCITS fund, was launched in 2012, becoming a 'pure' UCITS strategy in February 2014. The Fund employs a proprietary systematic trend-following strategy to trade across global UCITS-eligible exchange-traded futures, including currencies, stock indices and government bonds. Darran Goodwin, Fund Manager of Garraway Financial Trends, commented: "After a solid 3-year track record trading its current strategy and excellent performance in 2016, we are now at the stage where we are actively seeking to scale up the Fund. Garraway Financial Trends is already growing its assets, recently attracting a number of new investors, aligning with the increased interest which we see in the alternatives UCITS sector as a whole". In 2016, Garraway Financial Trends (Class B GBP) was the best performing managed futures UCITS fund within the Financial Express Managed Futures Sector, generating a return of 19.37% (and 38.92% over three years to the end of December 2016) net of fees. The Fund ranks highly in the top quartile over one, two and three years within the sector, receiving the maximum 5 Crown rating, the only UCITS fund in the sector to hold this rating. Garraway Financial Trends Fund Class A GBP was awarded a Top Ten Performance Award for 2016 by BarclayHedge in its peer group rankings and recently has been shortlisted for the 'Emerging Systematic Fund of 2016' in the Investors Choice Awards 2017. The Fund aims to provide capital appreciation over the medium term with a target annualised volatility of 15%. It aims to perform independently of traditional stock and bond investments, taking long or short positions in highly liquid exchange listed contracts; across global stock indices, government bonds and foreign exchange rates. The strategy provides valuable diversification benefits potentially improving the risk/reward profile of a traditional portfolio. The Fund does not trade commodity futures and therefore has no need to use total return swaps or certificates. The fund has daily liquidity and share denominations in US Dollar, GB Sterling, Euro, Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen. Garraway Capital Management is part of UK-based Anath Capital group of companies, which has approximately $436m under management as of 31 December 2016. It provides investment strategies across traditional and alternative asset classes.
Opalesque Industry Update - Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd announced the launch of the Quadratus Fund effective immediately. The Fund will trade under the tickers QUADREI and QUADRUI. The Quadratus Fund offers investors access to a balanced portfolio, diversified globally across three asset classes - equities, fixed income, currencies. The fund focuses on asset class allocation rather than (single) security selection, focusing on return drivers intended to isolate true sources of risk and return. A strict risk management perspective aims to deliver all-weather behaviour for the portfolio, by utilising full asset class bandwidth and shorting capabilities. The Fund's objective is to preserve capital and outperform a 50/50 balanced benchmark over a period of 3 years. The portfolio will typically hold 20-40 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and certificates (ETCs), offering cost-efficient exposure to multiple asset classes globally, together with index futures and listed options, providing hedging overlay opportunities. The Fund is managed by Adrien Blavier, a 20-year veteran in derivatives and alternative asset management. Most recently, he worked for Galena Asset Management (Trafigura Group), a commodities-centric alternative asset manager and, prior to that, ran cross-asset derivatives desks for Bear Stearns, Barclays Capital and Banco Santander. Adrien Blavier, portfolio manager of the Quadratus Fund, commented: "The performance and risk metrics achieved while running the Quadratus strategy as a privately-held managed account led us to believe that we should make it accessible to accredited and institutional investors. We chose the UCITS structure for its liquidity, transparency and marketability. Most importantly, with my significant investment in the fund and a deliberately competitive fee structure, I'm demonstrably aligning my interests with those of investors in the Fund." "The fund incorporates an unconstrained asset allocation strategy and has been created to provide accredited and institutional investors with a flexible investment mandate that can adapt to changing risk environments. As a sub-fund of Hector SICAV, managed by Degroof Petercam Asset Services SA, this is our first offering of a Luxembourg UCITS fund and we're very pleased to be broadening our capabilities with this product. Adrien brings over 20 years of cross-asset experience in capital markets and a strong background in derivatives that ideally suits the fund's investment mandate" said Mark Voumard, CEO of Gordian Capital.
The Price of Empire

NEW DELHI  Indians tend not to dwell on the countrys colonial past. Whether through national strength or civilizational weakness, India has long refused to hold any grudge against Britain for 200 years of imperial enslavement, plunder, and exploitation. But Indians equanimity about the past does not annul what was done.

Britains shambolic withdrawal from India in 1947, after two centuries of imperial rule, entailed a savage partitioning that gave rise to Pakistan. But it occurred curiously without rancor toward Britain.

India chose to remain in the Commonwealth as a republic, and maintained cordial relations with its former overlords.

Some years later, Winston Churchill asked Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who had spent nearly a decade of his life in British jails, about his apparent lack of bitterness. Nehru replied that a great man, Mahatma Gandhi, had taught Indians never to fear and never to hate.

But, notwithstanding appearances to the contrary, the scars of colonialism have not fully faded.



I learned that firsthand in the summer of 2015, when I delivered a speech at the Oxford Union decrying the iniquities of British colonialism  a speech that, to my surprise, inspired a powerful response across India.

The speech quickly went viral on social media, with one post racking up more than three million hits in just 48 hours, and with websites across the globe reposting it. My right-wing opponents stopped trolling me on social media just long enough to hail my speech. The speaker of the Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan, went out of her way to compliment me at a function attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who then congratulated me publicly for having said the right things at the right place.

Schools and colleges played the speech to their students. One university, the Central University of Jammu, organized a daylong seminar, at which eminent scholars addressed specific points I had raised. Hundreds of articles were written in response, both in support of and in opposition to my statements.

Two years later, strangers still approach me in public places to praise my Oxford speech. My book on the same theme, An Era of Darkness, has remained on Indian bestseller lists since its publication three months ago. The British edition, Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India, hits bookshelves next month.

Given Indias longstanding attitudes about colonialism, I did not expect such a reception. But perhaps I should have. After all, the British seized one of the richest countries in the world  accounting for 27% of global GDP in 1700  and, over 200 years of colonial rule, reduced it to one of the worlds poorest.

Britain destroyed India through looting, expropriation, and outright theft  all conducted in a spirit of deep racism and amoral cynicism. The British justified their actions, carried out by brute force, with staggering hypocrisy and cant.

The American historian Will Durant called Britains colonial subjugation of India the greatest crime in all history. Whether or not one agrees, one thing is clear: imperialism was not, as some disingenuous British apologists have claimed, an altruistic enterprise.

Britain has been suffering from a kind of historical amnesia about colonialism. As Moni Mohsin, a Pakistani writer, recently pointed out, British colonialism is conspicuously absent from the United Kingdoms school curricula. Mohsins own two children, despite attending the best schools in London, never had a single lesson on colonial history.

Londoners marvel at their magnificent city, knowing little of the rapacity and plunder that paid for it.

Many British are genuinely unaware of the atrocities their ancestors committed, and some live in the blissful illusion that the British Empire was some sort of civilizing mission to uplift the ignorant natives.

This opens the way for the manipulation of historical narratives. Television soap operas, with their gauzy romanticization of the Raj, provide a rose-tinted picture of the colonial era.



Several British historians have written hugely successful books extolling the supposed virtues of empire.

In the last decade or two, in particular, popular histories of the British Empire, written by the likes of Niall Ferguson and Lawrence James, have described it in glowing terms. Such accounts fail to acknowledge the atrocities, exploitation, plunder, and racism that underpinned the imperial enterprise.

All of this explains  but does not excuse  Britons ignorance. The present cannot be understood in terms of simple historical analogies, but the lessons of history must not be ignored. If you dont know where youve come from, how will you appreciate where youre going?

This goes not just for the British, but also for my fellow Indians, who have shown an extraordinary capacity to forgive and forget. But, while we should forgive, we should not forget. In that sense, the powerful response to my 2015 speech at the Oxford Union is encouraging.

The modern relationship between Britain and India  two sovereign and equal countries  is clearly very different from the colonial relationship of the past. When my book hit bookstores in Delhi, British Prime Minister Theresa May was just days away from a visit to seek Indian investment. As Ive often argued, you dont need to seek revenge upon history. History is its own revenge.
Asked to think of a virtuoso cellist, many of us immediately imagine Yo-Yo Ma, not just because of his considerable skill but also because of the sheer length of his residency in popular culture. Though only 61 years old, barely middle-aged by classical musician standards, hes been famous for well over half a century, starting with his entry into the prestigious child-prodigies-who-perform-for-American-presidents circuit. Seven years after his birth in Paris, Mas family relocated to New York, by which time hed already been at the cello for nearly half his short life. From there, it took him no time at all to command an audience whose members included Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.

The event, a benefit concert called The American Pageant of the Arts, happened on November 29, 1962. Its other guests, a whos-who of the Cold War cultural scene, included Marian Anderson, Van Cliburn, Robert Frost, Fredric March, Benny Goodman, and Bob Newhart. As master of ceremonies, Leonard Bernstein introduced the evenings wee entertainers.









Yo-Yo came to our attention through the great master Pablo Casals, who had recently heard him play the cello. Yo-Yo is, as you may have guessed, Chinese, and has lived up to now in France  a highly international type. The same could be said of his sister Yeou-Cheng, who accompanies him on the piano in a performance of Jean-Baptiste Brevals Concertino No. 3 in A Major.

Three years later, the still extremely young but much more famous Ma would write a letter to the conductor:

Dear Mr. Bernstein, Do you still remember me? Now I am ten years old. This year I learned with Prof. Leonard Rose three concertos: Saint-Saens, Boccherinis and Lalos. Last week my sister and I played in a Christmas Concert in Juilliard School. We are invited to give a joint recital in Brearley School on January 19 1966 at 1:45 p.m. If you have time, I would be glad to play for you. Yo-Y0 Ma

Not only did Bernstein remember him, he also, by presenting him as a vision of humanitys artistic future, ensured that everyone else at The American Pageant of the Arts would as well. Now heres a cultural image for you to ponder as you listen, he said just before letting Yo-Yo and Yeou-Cheng take it away. A seven-year-old Chinese cellist playing old French music for his new American compatriots. Did Ma recall those words of decades and decades ago when he formed the Silk Road Ensemble, subject of the recent documentary The Music of Strangers, which brought into the fold musicians from Syria, Mongolia, Japan, Armenia, Galicia, and elsewhere, all to share, mix, and reinterpret the music of one anothers homelands? Now theres a cultural image for you.

via Peter B. Kaufman

Related Content:

Yo-Yo Ma & the Goat Rodeo Sessions

Collaborations: Spike Jonze, Yo-Yo Ma, and Lil Buck

Leonard Bernsteins Masterful Lectures on Music (11+ Hours of Video Recorded at Harvard in 1973)

Leonard Bernstein Demystifies the Rock Revolution for Curious (if Square) Grown-Ups in 1967

Leonard Bernsteins First Young Peoples Concert at Carnegie Hall Asks, What Does Music Mean?

Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities and culture. Hes at work on a book about Los Angeles, A Los Angeles Primer, the video series The City in Cinema, the crowdfunded journalism project Where Is the City of the Future?, and the Los Angeles Review of Books Korea Blog. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.
1248 Capital Introduces Golden Visa Program for Spain

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMulti Family Office, 1248 Capital has added a Golden Visa Program for Spain to its services. The firm has already established a track record in obtaining such visas for its clients, which gives the holder residency in Spain once approved by the Spanish government.We asked Jerry Thompson of 1248 Capital what the steps are to obtain a Golden Visa for Spain:"You can come to Spain with your t ravel visa and look for a property. Once the pre-agreement (contrato de arras) is signed and cor responding funds are deposited, you can apply for the golden visa. I f needed, the authorities can grant you a permit for six months so you can complete the process of buying your property. I f your golden visa application is accepted, you will receive a visa for one year . As opposed to other visas, the golden visa application can be presented while you are in Spain. After receiving your golden visa, you can keep renewing the visa, as long as you do not sel l your property. At 1248 Capital we f ind you a property and facilitate the purchase of the property for you, eliminating the need to come to Spain".Congress in Spain approved legislation for the Golden Visa (or "Property Visa") on September 27, 2013. The golden visa grants automatic residency in Spain when you purchase property for 500,000 or more.This can be any type of property: home, commercial, land, or a combination ofproperties. As opposed to the wealth visa, the golden visa does not require you to be in Spain 183 days of the year.In 2015, the golden visa experienced an easing in the criteria for its concession and renewal. This has helped overcome the bureaucratic hurdles that characterized the prior procedure. The government has also expanded the beneficiaries to include unmarried couples (parejas de hecho) and children of the buyers who are over 18.1248 Capital has quickly become one of the leaders in Spain of identifying properties suitable for the Golden Visa Program.-----IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICES-----Safe Harbor StatementOur discussion may include predictions, estimates or other information thatmight be considered forward-looking. While these forward-lookingstatements represent our current judgment on what the future holds, theyare subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results todiffer materially. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on theseforward-looking statements, which reflect our opinions only as of the date ofthis release. Please keep in mind that we are not obligating ourselvesto revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward looking statements in light of new information or future events.No Offer, Solicitation, Investment Advice or RecommendationsThis release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation for any security, nor does it constitute an offer to provide investment advisory or other services by 1248 Capital. No reference to any specific security constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell or hold that security or any other security. Nothing on this release shall be considered a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any security, future, option or other financial instrument or to offer or provide any investment advice or service to any person in any jurisdiction. Nothing contained on the release constitutes investment advice or offers any opinion with respect to the suitability of any security, and the views expressed on this release should not be taken as advice to buy, sell or hold any security. In preparing the information contained in this release, we have not taken into account the investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances of any particular investor. This information has no regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any specific recipient of this information and investments discussed may not be suitable for all investors. Any views expressed on this release by us were prepared based upon the information available to us at the time such views were written.Changed or additional information could cause such views to change. All information is subject to possible correction. Information may quickly become unreliable for various reasons, including changes in market conditions or economic circumstances.1248 Capital is a private equity firm specializing in real estate, high technology and other sectors with a Global footprint.1248 CapitalBoulevard Totleben 53-551606 Sofia, Bulgaria
Dermal Regeneration Template Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024

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Dermal Regeneration Template Market Overview:Dermal regeneration template is a two-layered skin regeneration system. The outer layer of dermal regeneration template is made of thin silicone film act as the epidermis of skin. The outer layer of dermal regeneration template helps in protecting wound from infection and controls in loss of both heat and moisture. The outer collagen Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) thermal layer functions as a biodegradable template that helps in regeneration of dermal tissue neodermis by the body. The inner layer of dermal regeneration template is made of complex matrix of cross-linked fibers. The porous material of the template helps in regeneration of skin. The cross-linked fiber material of dermal regeneration template acts a scaffold for the re-growth of skin layer. Once the dermal skin layer is regenerated the outer layer of template is removed and is replaced with a thin epidermal skin graft. This procedure leaves the wound to a flexible, growing and allows permanent regeneration of skin. It allows faster healing of wound with minimum scarring. Using dermal regeneration template allows immediate wound closure without risking any loss of donor material. In 2005, Integra LifeSciences received FDA approval for its INTEGRA Dermal Regeneration Template as a treatment for life-threatening burn injuries and reconstructive surgery for the repair of scars when other therapies fail.Get Free PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:Recently, In January 2016, Integra LifeSciences received FDA approval for treatment of Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFU) with dermal regeneration template. The application of this template is typically completed in two operative sessions involving the product applied to the excision sites and the second procedure performed 3 to 6 weeks after the placement of product to remove silicone layer and for an epidermal autograft applied to the neodermis.Global Dermal Regeneration Template Market TaxonomyThe global market is classified on the basis of following segments:Indication Type:-Burn Injuries-Chronic Diabetic Foot Ulcers-Trauma Injuries-OthersEnd Users:-Hospital-Ambulatory Surgical Centers-Emergency Care Units-OthersFuture Market Outlook for Dermal Regeneration Template MarketThe global dermal regeneration template market is expected to witness significant growth due to increase in incidence of burn injuries and prevalence of diabetes globally. As per the report of WHO in 2016, burns result in around 265,000 deaths every year. Low income and middle income countries contribute majority to the total number of burns every year. In India alone, over 1,000,000 people suffer from moderate to severe burns each year. In Bangladesh, Egypt, Columbia and Pakistan, around 17% of children with burn have temporary disability where as 18% have permanent disability. The increasing cases of burns and awareness among the population of low and middle income countries provides opportunity for dermal regeneration template industry. The growing concern with burning cases and governments initiatives to grow awareness among patients related to burn treatment through campaigns and national burn Awareness week to act as a fuel to the growth of dermal regeneration template market. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services initiated medical countermeasures (MCMs) program, aimed to improve burn treatment for mass causality. The increasing research fund and grants associated for burn research is creating opportunity for dermal regeneration template manufacturers to come up with products with more innovations. American burn association (ABA) is one of such organization of the U.S. that offers awards, grants and fellowship opportunities to practitioners for education, prevention and rehabilitation of burn. The growing usage of skin grafts and skin replacement substitutes are expected to act as a restrain to the global dermal regeneration market. Dermal regeneration template usage in chemical, radiation or electrical burns are limited and can only be used after thorough evaluation by surgeon. The product can be only used in excision therapy and are contraindicated for infectional wounds. Their limitation for incision use and usage in chemical and radiation is expected to hamper the overall growth. North America, Europe and Asia Pacific contribute major revenue to the overall market. Asia Pacific is expected to grow with high CAGR as compared to other region.Browse Global Strategic Business Report :Market PlayerThe global dermal regeneration template market has only one FDA approved product from Integra LifeScience. The growing research related to innovation in material and design is expected to penetrate many companies in the market. In 2016, a research funded by Welcome Trust described a novel approach to increase the thickness of elastic- layered fiber for geriatric patients and created a hybrid of Integra dermal regeneration template.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit Coherent Market Insights Blog @Connect with us on LinkedIn @
Smart Home Medical Device Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024

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Post-discharge care plays an extremely important role in ensuring speedy and effective recovery of the patient. This is especially a matter of concern for the elderly as well as pediatric population who mostly spend their time at home and are usually dependent on someone else to ensure continued care. However, due to busy lifestyle of the populace in developed and emerging economies, post-discharge care is often hampered. This concern of family members as elderly people living alone is expected to favor growth of the market for smart home medical devices, such as fall detection system, bathroom sensors, monitoring and detecting systems and assisting systems. According to a Welfare Ministry Survey, in 2016, there were around 6.24 million people aged 65 and above were living alone in Japan. The increasing lonely deaths in the region is also a vital factor that is expected to favor the smart home medical device market.Get PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:Global smart home medical device market taxonomyThe global smart home medical device market is classified on the basis of following segments:Product Type:Detection and monitoring systemsAsthma detection kitGlucose monitoring systemOthers (blood pressure, weight variations)Back therapy kitDigital pillsWearableClothesWrist watchesAlert patchSmart contact lensOthersMattressBathroom accessoriesApplications:Medication ManagementGlucose managementDiagnosesTherapyAssistanceInfant careTelehealth managementOthers (feeding, voiding)Data StorageCloudOn-premisesModalityBenchtopWearableStandaloneGrowing internet penetration favors growth of smart home medical devices market:Smart home medical device is latest and futuristic approach towards making life easier and secure. This revolutionary step by the medical devices company has affected the healthcare industry and the adoption rate for such technology in a positive way. While most consumers and healthcare organizations were skeptical about the technology, the scenario is rapidly changing, with higher adoption rate of such devices, a trend that is expected to continue over the forecast period. Furthermore, the wide availability of the smart home medical devices is a crucial block to fill the loop hole for acceptance of such devices and services. Easily available personal monitoring system and other electronic devices are expected to favor rise in adoption of smart home medical devices. Smart home basically defined as the residence that uses controllers to integrate the functions of the device installed at home. The controllers are connected through a computer that is connected via internet and the data of the respondent is recorded on cloud or on-premises data bank, which can be further monitored by the physician or caretaker accordingly.Growth in adoption of health caregiving is expected to underpin the smart home medical device marketAccording to American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), in 2016, around 80% growth has been observed in the medication management segment in the health caregiving market, which in turn is expected to support growth of the smart home medical device market in the near future. Medical technology utilized in home care settings, where the caregivers are active, ranges between complex and simple materials that are also used for administering first aid to sophisticated devices and advanced medical treatment. The products involved in home care settings can vary from tiny wireless devices to massive machines. Smart home medical devices such as blood pressure measuring equipment, sugar level measuring equipment and devices are widely used.Browse Global Strategic Business Report :Highly fragmented market due to dominance of ICT organizations in smart home medical device manufacturingThe global smart home medical device market is highly fragmented market as encompasses pharmaceuticals, healthcare and information and communication technology industries. Growth in internet of things segment and its acceptance globally is expected to support the market for smart home medical device. Although, it is a difficult task to align the technology to the human vitals, incorporating the appropriate features into a medical device that are utilized by the patient or the care recipient at home is the most challenging factors for such devices. Major players involved in the smart home medical device market include ViVO Smart Medical Devices Ltd., Health Care Originals, Hocoma AG, VitalConnect, Proteus Digital Health, Cyrcadia Health, Qardio, Inc., and Neurometrix.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit Coherent Market Insights Blog @Connect with us on LinkedIn @
Radial Head Resection Implants Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024

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Elbow is a complex joint and a crucial part for forearm function. It has a unique anatomy comprising limited ball-and-socket joint and a hinge type of synovial joint, which allows for hand movement and control. Though radial head fractures are usually not too complicated in nature, various devices and radial head resection implants are available in the market that help address any issues related to the same. Products used in radial head resection are approved and are widely used by orthopedic surgeon and few of the techniques are under section of limited study. However, there are couple of medical procedures that are executed in case of radial head fractures such as closed reduction with casting or early motion and open reduction with internal fixation or resection in which radial head resection implants are mainly used. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, radial head fractures are common worldwide with around 2.5 to 2.8 per 10,000 of incidence per year. Also, due to the patient benefits in terms of no deformity and regaining normal functionality after a relatively short period following the surgery, the radial head resection therapy is gaining wide acceptance across the globe. The use of radial head resection implants are strictly recommended by the orthopedic surgeon by looking at the severity of type III and type IV fractures.Get PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:Global Radial Head Resection Implants Market TaxonomyThe global radial head resection market is classified on the basis of following segments:Product Type:StandardReconLateralFracture Type:Type IIIType IVMaterialTitaniumSiliconeEnd User:Orthopedic and Trauma CentersHospitalsOrthopedic ClinicsSignificantly accepted radial head implants: CO5 Series (IMECO), Solar (Striker), RHS (Tornier), Evolve (Wright), Explor (Biomet), etc.Limited data available regarding the upper extremity limb discrepancy under radial head resection implants market:Although the location of the fracture is very crucial in the upper extremity, data regarding the same is limited, which shortens the horizon for market growth in the radial head resection implants segment. However, rise in awareness among the population about consequences of limb deformity if not treated using appropriate implant is projected to support growth of the radial implants market. Furthermore, the concern is more on the altering length of the limb. However, lower extremity is more susceptible in terms of limb-length discrepancies, including abnormal body posture and various other problems. Deformity is a common phenomenon in upper limb fractures as compared to the limb length discrepancies. Furthermore, studies related to radial head fractures further highlight the importance of the radial head resection by the help of prosthesis and implants. Some such studies are short- to medium-term outcomes of radial head replacement Arthroplasty in posttraumatic unstable elbows mentioned in Chang Gung Med Journal in 2010 and resection of the radial head after mason type-III fractures of the elbow mentioned in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery published in 1998.Rising incidence of radial head fractures in geriatric population supporting radial head resection implants market growthWeakening of bones is a continuous process with the progression of age, which is further catalyzed by inappropriate healthcare infrastructure and unhealthy lifestyle, especially in emerging economies. Most economies are not balanced with either of the above mentioned criteria. For instance, most economies with a sound healthcare infrastructure have an unhealthy lifestyle and vice versa. In 2015, according to the Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, University of Freiburg Medical Centre, Freiburg, Germany, the radial head fractures contributes to around 4% of all types of fractures, and within all elbow fractures the radial fractures constitutes to around 30%. It is also diagnosed in around 75% of all proximal lower-arm fractures, securing an incidence of around 25 to 30 cases per 100,000 patients among the adult population. Rapidly aging population in the U.S., Japan, and China are projected position these as major markets for radial head resection in the near future. Incidence rate of radial head resection is especially high among people aged above 44 years.Browse Global Strategic Business Report :Highly consolidated radial head resection implants market with high growth potentialThe global radial head resection implants market is less fragmented as major players account for major share of the market. High entry barriers and stringent regulations such as Medical Device Amendments of 1976 requires mandatory FDA approval to obtain reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness before marketing may hamper the entry of new players as only the well-established players can focus and invest on improving their existing radial head resection implants products, which further brings accuracy in the device. Furthermore, in 2013, there was a product recall for DePuy Synthes Companies, a Johnson & Johnson Company. The reason for recall as cited by the manufacturer was loosening trial head from the implant stem during manipulation of the arm during surgery. However, this incidence has not adversely impacted demand for radial head resection implants. However, it highlights the important checkpoints during production that need to be considered by market players in order to ensure sustainable growth. Major players involved in the radial head resection implants market include Biomet, Inc., Wright Medical Technology, Inc., Smith & Nephew Plc, and Stryker.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit Coherent Market Insights Blog @Connect with us on LinkedIn @
Regenerative Artificial Skin Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024

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Incidence of accidental skin burns are increasing across the globe. Life threatening skin injuries, traumas, and burns require immediate surgical procedure to restore skin and avoid future complications. Skin burns are broadly classified into three levels, namely 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns. In third degree of burns where there is little or no intact skin, artificial skin graft is the most useful treatment option. Artificial skin covers and protects the wound and also promotes regeneration of natural skin.Get Free PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:Artificial skin is usually prepared from collagen, which is easily resorbed by the body and facilitates generation of new skin on the affected area. According to the American Burn Association, 486,000 people received medical treatment for minor burns and 70,000 people were hospitalized for severe skin burn requiring acute care in the U.S, in 2015. Various players in the market are carrying R&D activities to develop new technology related to artificial skin regeneration. One such instance is an autologous spray on skin, Recell, by Avita Medical.Artificial Skin TreatmentsVarious skin repair devices are available, which are used to heal the affected part. These include Dermagraft, OrCel, Integra, Biobrane, Apligraft, Matriderm, Hyalomatrix, Renoskin, and Composite Cultured Skin. Dermagraft is used to help in wound closure of diabetic foot ulcers. Orcel is used to cover and aid in wound healing. Composite Cultured Skin also contains living cells and is specifically used in children with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Integra is used for treatment of severe burns.Regenerative Artificial Skin Market TaxonomyThe global regenerative artificial skin market is segmented on the basis of material type, end user and region.On the basis of material type, the regenerative artificial skin market is segmented into temporary skin material, permanent skin material, and composite skin material.Temporary skin material: Its effect lasts between several months and 2.5 years, depending on the type, quality, and quantity of injected material.Permanent skin material: These are epidermal skin and dermal skin materials. Bio-Alcamid is a synthetic polymer that contains 97% water. It is injected into the inner tissue to fill and thicken it.Composite Skin Material: These are further sub-segmented into skin graft and engineered skin material.On the basis of end user, the global regenerative artificial skin market is segmented into hospitals, clinics, and burn care center. In hospitals, regenerative artificial skin technology is used in the treatment of deep skin wounds and also in plastic surgery. Healthcare providers use artificial skin to treat chronic wounds. Specialized burn care center extensively use artificial skin technology to treat burnt skin.Inadequate Medical Infrastructure and Low Access to Medical Facilities in Developing Economies a Major Restrain for Market GrowthThe market for regenerative artificial skin is growing in the U.S., mainly driven by increasing number of patients with skin diseases. According to Skin Cancer Foundation, each year over 5.4 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are reported and over 3.3 million people are treated for the same in the U.S. Also, there are more new cases of skin cancer reported than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung, and colon each year. Regenerative artificial skin market in Europe is growing due to skin disease being a very pertinent issue in the region. Robust medical infrastructure, presence of global players, and advancements in technology also contribute to market growth of the regenerative artificial skin in the region. In Asia, the market for regenerative artificial skin is projected to grow in the near future due to increasing number of people opting for skin treatment procedures.Browse Global Strategic Business Report :Lack of Essential Sterile Environment Restricts Access to Regenerative Artificial SkinRegenerative artificial skin market is expected to grow, with increasing incidence of burns. In addition, rising prevalence of skin diseases, growing number of harmful acid accidents, and increasing number of major body surgeries conducted is projected to positively impact regenerative artificial skin market in the near future. However, issues with acceptance by the recipient body and lack of sterile product and nutritional supply to regain the natural structure restricts growth of regenerative artificial skin market, especially in developing regions.Rapid Advancements in TechnologyResearchers and biotechnicians at the U.S army institute of surgical research are developing artificial skin that can be stored in a spray bottle and would regenerate and grow as applied on the body. This new technology would be of great aid in emergency situations, especially for military personnel during war situations. Furthermore, several companies in the market place are increasing their product portfolio related to regenerative artificial skin market. Some of the key players in the global regenerative artificial skin market are Integra Life Sciences Corporation, Mylan N.V., Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. Smith & Nephew and Mallinckrodt plc.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit Coherent Market Insights Blog @Connect with us on LinkedIn @
Cervical Cancer Screening Market: Emergence of Advanced Technologies and Global Industry Analysis 2024

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The cervical cancer starts in the cells of the cervix, the lower part of the uterus (womb). Cervical cancer occurs when the cervical cells become abnormal and over a period of time grow out of control in the cervix. These abnormal cancer cells spread deeper into cervical tissue and form a mass, called as tumor. Sometimes in advanced cases, these cells spread to other parts of the body. Squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and mixed carcinoma are the three types of cervical cancer.The squamous cell carcinoma is the most common form of cervical cancer and is followed by the adenocarcinoma. The mixed carcinoma is a rarely detected cervical cancer. A major cause of the cervical cancer is infection due to human papillomavirus (HPV). Cervical cancer screening is conducted to detect any changes in the cells of the cervix that could lead to the cancer. The screening is made for testing pre-cancer and cancer in women.Obtain Report Details @The screening can detect low-grade changes in cervical cells and can easily be treated to avoid cancer. This screening further helps to detect the cancer at early stages and can be cured to facilitate quality life. As it takes 3 to 7 years to develop low-grade cells to cancer, screening is the only effective way to prevent cancer and mortality. Conventional Pap test, liquid-based cytology (LBC), visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), and HPV testing for high-grade changes in cervical cells are the different types of cervical cancer screening test available.The global cervical cancer screening market is expected to be driven by increasing prevalence of cervical cancer patients in less developed countries. According to Globocan, 19.3 million new cases of cervical cancer are estimated each year by 2025. Out of these, 85% of patients are from less developed countries. Initiatives taken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with other global health institutes to promote cervical cancer screening programs in less developed countries boost the growth opportunity of the market in these countries.Increase in awareness about cervical cancer in developed countries and in developing countries through socio-economic activities, cancer policies, and health care policies are projected to boost the market growth during the forecast period. The cervical cancer death rates in the U.S. have decreased to 50% over the last 40 years mainly due to increased use of the Pap test. However, lack of awareness among women in less developed countries, lack of accessibility for appropriate screening test, and shortage of skilled medical staff to perform tests and good laboratories are estimated to restrain the growth of the market during the forecast period.For more information on this report, fill the form @The global cervical cancer screening market is segmented by test, end-user, and geography. The cervical cancer test is segmented into Pap test, HPV test, and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) test. Out of these tests, the Pap test is the most commonly used test for detection of pre-cancer stages, followed by VIA. The HPV test is performed for screening high risk cancer cells and is less frequently used for cervical cancer detection. These screening tests are used and performed by different end-users such as hospitals, clinics, home care, diagnostic centers, and laboratories. The clinics segment dominates the market for cervical cancer screening, which are followed by the hospitals and laboratories segments.On the basis of geography, the global market is distributed over North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Developed countries such as the U.S., the U.K., and Germany are expected to dominate the market during the forecast period mainly due to growth in awareness about cervical cancer in women and high quality health care facilities. The market growth in developing countries are likely to be at a higher rate as a result of increasing expenses in health care facilities, government policies, and initiatives taken by health care institutes for awareness about cervical cancer. The African countries and the Latin America region exhibit a huge potential for the growth of the market as majority of the cervical cancer cases are detected in these regions.The key leading players of the market providing cervical cancer screening tests and kits are Hologic, Inc., QIAGEN, Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Roche), Femasys Inc., Onko Solutions, TruScreen Ltd., and ACM Medical Laboratory. Among these, BD, Roche, and Onko Solutions are the dominating players of the global cervical cancer screening market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Psoriasis Treatment Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024

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Psoriasis Treatment Market OverviewPsoriasis is a non-communicable autoimmune disease characterized by patches of abnormal skin. These skin spots are red, itchy, and scaly which may be small and localized or cover the entire body. Skin injury may cause psoriatic skin changes at that spot, a phenomenon called Koebner phenomenon.Get Free PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:There are five main types of psoriasis namely Plaque, Guttate, Inverse, Pustular, and Erythrodermic. Plaque psoriasis, also known as psoriasis vulgaris, is the most prevalent type of psoriasis, accounting for around 90% of reported cases. Most commonly affected areas of the body include back of the forearms, shins, around the navel, and the scalp. Guttate psoriasis has drop-shaped lesions. Pustular psoriasis is characterized by the presence of small non-infectious pus-filled blisters. Inverse psoriasis forms red patches in skin folds. Erythrodermic psoriasis occurs when the rash become widespread and can develop from other types. Fingernails and toenails are affected in most people at some point of time. This may include pits in the nails or changes in nail color.Treatment options for Psoriasis fueling growth of the psoriasis treatment marketVarious treatments can help control the symptoms fueling growth of psoriasis treatment market. These treatment methods include administering steroid, vitamin D3, exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) light, and immunosuppressive like methotrexate. Around 75% of cases can be managed with creams alone. Cream and ointments of corticosteroid, and calcipotriol can effectively treat mild-to-moderate psoriasis. However, when condition become more severe, creams are combined with oral medications such as methotrexate, acitretin, and cyclosporin.Topical drugs used in treatment of psoriasis include corticosteroids, vitamin D, hydroxyanthrone, and retinoid aiding in growth of the psoriasis treatment market. Topical corticosteroids are frequently prescribed for treating mild-to-moderate psoriasis. Low-potency corticosteroid ointments are recommended for sensitive areas such as face or skin folds and for treating widespread patches of damaged skin. Medicated foams and scalp solutions are available in market to treat psoriasis patches on the scalp. Vitamin D analogues are synthetic forms of vitamin D and they slow the growth of skin cells. Calcipotriene (Dovonex) is a cream or solution a vitamin D that contains analogue, used by itself to treat mild-to-moderate psoriasis or in combination with other topical medications. Anthralin (Hydroxyanthrone) is used to normalize DNA activity in skin cells. Anthralin (Dritho-Scalp) also can remove scale, making the skin smoother. Topical retinoids normalizes DNA activity in skin cells and decreases inflammation.Browse Global Strategic Business Report :Light Therapy (Phototherapy) for psoriasis treatmentThis psoriasis treatment involves use of natural or artificial ultraviolet light. Phototherapy involves exposing skin to controlled amounts of natural sunlight. Other forms of light therapy include use of artificial ultraviolet A (UVA) or ultraviolet B (UVB) light either alone or in combination with medications.Increasing prevalence of psoriasis coupled with early diagnosis to propel growth of psoriasis treatment marketThe growth of psoriasis treatment market is projected to gain traction in North America owing to large patient pool in this region. Also, better medical facilities, commercialization of new diagnostic technology, medical policies, and favorable reimbursement policies are factors fueling growth of psoriasis treatment market. According to the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA), around 3% of the worlds population has some form of psoriasis. According to a study published in Cleveland Clinic in September 2013, there are around 150,000 new cases of psoriasis reported each year in the U.S. According to a study published in Medical Journal of Malaysia, in 2015 prevalence of psoriasis varies between 2.0% to 3.0% worldwide. Incidence rate is highest among Caucasians and lowest among Japanese and Africans. The study states that prevalence rate of psoriasis in Japan is 0.05% to 0.1%, as compared to China 0.5% and Taiwan 0.2%, and in India, the prevalence of psoriasis was reported in the range of 0.4% to 2.8%. High prevalence and increasing incidence propels growth of the psoriasis treatment market.Key players involved in psoriasis treatment marketThere are many global players operating in the global psoriasis treatment market. This includes Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Johnson & Johnson, Rowan Bioceuticals Private Limited, Stiefel Laboratories Inc. (GlaxoSmithKline plc), Win Medicare Pvt. Ltd., and Novartis AG. Novartis AG acquired Ziarco Pharma Ltd a U.K.-based dermatology therapeutics firmin December 2016 to acquire a pipeline of oral and topical products for treatment of psoriasis. Acquisition of the potentially first-in-class therapy would bolster dermatology portfolio and pipeline of Novartis. Ziarco completed Phase II trial, a proof-of-concept study with ZPL-389.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit Coherent Market Insights Blog @Connect with us on LinkedIn @
Training Experts Italian AF, German AF, US Marine Corps and RAF confirmed for Close Air Support Conference 2017

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SMi Groups third annual Close Air Support (CAS) conference will have a key focus on training and simulation, covering established and emerging technologies; for the needs of the solider, both on the ground and in the air.Training and Simulation Presentations at CAS 2017:1. The Italian Air Ground Operations Schools use of Advanced Synthetics for JTAC & CAS TrainingLieutenant Colonel Luca Restelli, Chief, Forward Air Controller Section, Air Ground Operations School, Italian Air Force2. French/German Air-Land Theatre Simulation and Training for FAC PersonnelMajor Nader Samadi, Commander, German Air Ground Operations School, French/German Air Ground Operations School, German Air Force3. Provision of Training to Support Tactical Air Control Personnel and Combat AirMajor Nicholas Dimitruk, Course Chief and Standardization Officer, TACAIR Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific, United States Marine Corps4. Tactical Air C2 and Battlespace Management Training in Support of Close Air OperationsSquadron Leader Tim Brown, Officer Commanding, Advanced Training Squadron, School of Aerospace Battle Management, Royal Air ForceIn addition there will be a dedicated pre-conference workshop on live and synthetic close air support training entitled: Close Air Support Collective Training and the Changing Role of Simulation, Led by Mr Nick Sparks, Principal Consultant, Air Land Integration Ltd.Taking place in London on the 7th and 8th June 2017, these training leaders will be joining an unrivalled international speaker line-up of military and industry experts involved in Close Air Support. Expert speakers for 2017 include senior representatives from: Royal Air Force, German Army, French Air Force, Royal Netherlands Air Force, Italian Air Force, United States Marine Corps, Czech Air Force, NATO Air Command, NATO Joint Air Power Competence Centre, and Joint Helicopter Command and many more.The audience will include, but not be limited to Industry developers of next generation CAS: Close air support platforms, Avionics and sensors, smart and guided munitions, Air and ground based targeting, Command and control, Mobile deployable communications.As well as Military personnel involved in: Combat air, joint fires and targeting, joint air land organisations, Targeting and ISR, Joint forward air control, Joint terminal attack control, Joint forward air component commander.For further information on the workshop and two-day conference, or to register, please visit the event website.Close Air Support7th-8th June 2017London, United KingdomSponsorship enquiries, contact Andrew Gibbons on +44 (0) 207 827 6156, agibbons@smi-online.co.ukMedia enquiries, contact Shannon Cargan on +44 20 7827 6138 or scargan@smi-online.co.ukEstablished since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the worlds most forward thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found atGround & First Floor 1 Westminster Bridge Road
Agricultural Robots Market to Reach US$ 75.00 Billion Globally By 2025

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Florida, March 07: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Agricultural Robots Market Analysis by Application, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2016  2025.Market Research Engine (MRE) expects that the market for agricultural robots will develop rapidly in the next 5 years, as compared with the previous 5 years, while providing significant market opportunities to various market participants. MRE anticipates that the overall agricultural robot market will reach $3 billion by the end of 2015. The market is anticipated to maintain a healthy growth rate and will reach $16.8 billion by the end of 2020. MRE forecasts that the market will continue its momentum further to reach $75 billion by 2025.Browse Full Report here:Due to the recent development in the advanced automated technologies there are many attention-grabbing companies who are researching and developing new machines like Driverless Tractors, Aerial Surveying of Farmlands via variety of drones, Data Collection, Field Management systems, and Cow Milking Systems.Where these Agricultural Robots Technology can be used? In Agricultural Land Harvesting In Weed Control In Pruning In Sorting In Seeding In Spraying Chemicals In Material HandlingDownload Free Sample Report:Why there is Need of Agricultural Robots?There is immense need of this technology due to below reasons; High Population Growth Rate. Strain on Food Supply due to the increased living standard in the APAC region. Poor Availability of Farm Workers. Increasing Cost of Farm Labors. Shrinking Agricultural Lands. Rising Climate Change Problems.Segmentation of this Report:Agricultural Robots Market is segmented as below;By Application Driverless Tractors Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Field, Crop and Forest Management Systems Soil Management Systems Dairy Management Systems Material Management Systems Animal Management SystemsBy Geographical Region North America Europe Asia Pacific RoWCompany Profiled in this report are as below; John Deere AMAZONEN-Werke Trimble NavigationYamaha Motor Company Autonomous Tractor Corporation CLAAS DeLaval Harvest Automation Autonomous Solutions (ASI) Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. Yaskawa Electric CorporationAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Website:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Police are looking for a man who is accused of assaulting two men while using anti-gay slurs at a Bed-Stuy restaurant.

The incident occurred on Sunday, March 5th, around 5 a.m.. According to the NYPD, the suspect approached a 34-year-old man inside the Crown Fried Chicken at 1147 Fulton Street and "proceeded to display a cutting instrument, which he used to slash" him on the "left side of his face while uttering anti-gay slurs."

Then, police say, the man stabbed a 24-year-old man "in his right torso and slashed him in his right shoulder while in front of the location while also uttering anti-gay slurs." The first victim was treated for his facial laceration at Kings County Hospital while the second victim was taken to Methodist Hospital for two stab wounds to his torso and a laceration to his shoulder.

Authorities released surveillance footage of the suspect, who is described as 20 to 26 years old and approximately 150 pounds.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market Worth US$ 4.5 Billion Globally by 2024

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New York, March 07: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market By Product Type (Embolization Coils, Embolization Particles, Coiling Assist Devices, Flow Diverter Devices, Liquid Embolics, and Accessories); By Application (Peripheral Vascular Disease, Neurology, Oncology, Urology); By End-users - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2024How Big is the Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market?The Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices market is expected to exceed more than US$ 4.5 Billion by 2024; Growing at a CAGR of more than 7.5% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:Transcatheter embolization is a method of insertion synthetic material or medication called embolic agent into blood vessel during catheter to block the blood flow in the direction of a specific area of the body. Embolization is a very efficient method to prevent anomalous bleeding and is simply enveloping as compared to open surgery. The transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market have observed physically powerful development in the past few years because of the increasing focus on improvement, resulting in superior product approvals and product launches around the word. The market is also differentiating by considerable research and progress leading to numerous technological innovations.The major driving factors of Transcatheter Embolization & Occlusion devices market are as follows: Increasing prevalence of cancer Rising approval of minimally invasive surgeriesThe restraining factors of Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion devices market are as follows: High rate of the products. Need of skilled professionalsThe transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market is segmented on the lines of its product, end user, application and regional. Product is further segmented into accessories, embolization particles, embolization coils, liquid embolics and flow diverter devices. Accessories consist of catheters, guidewires and others. Under embolization particles segmentation it covers drug eluting beads, microspheres, radio embolization particles and others. Under embolization coils segmentation it covers balloon assisted coiling, stent assisted coiling, coiling assist devices, detachable and pushable. Based on end user segmentation it covers hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and clinics. Based on application segmentation it covers peripheral vascular disease, neurology, oncology, urology and others. The transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market on geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.Download Free Sample Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Transcatheter Embolization and Occlusion Devices Market with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include St. Jude Medical, Inc., Abbott Laboratories,Medtronic plc, BTG plc, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cook Medical, Inc., Edwards Lifesciences, Johnson & Johnson, Merit Medical Systems, Inc., Penumbra, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Sirtex Medical Limited, Stryker Corporation, and Terumo Corporation. Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Transcatheter Embolization & Occlusion Devices Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment Analysis Accessorieso Catheterso Guidewireso Others Embolization particleso Drug eluting beadso Microsphereso Radioembolization particleso Others Embolization coilso Balloon assisted coilingo Stent assisted coilingo Coiling assist deviceso Detachableo Pushable Liquid embolics Flow diverter devicesBy End-user Analysis Hospitals Ambulatory Surgical Centers ClinicsBy Application Analysis Peripheral Vascular Disease Neurology Oncology Urology OthersBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices data.4) Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution.About MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
When it comes to your safety, Its important to stay sharp

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Women are the backbone of society. The jagged tractor taking on the hefty work granting for the world to rush come what the weather. Women have tendency that grant for social flexibility to overcome brittle dissonance. As we all appreciate that India is a most well-known country all over the world for its tremendous custom and culture where women are given most admired place in the society from the early time. It is the country where women are treated as secure and most honored. Women are given the position of Goddess Lakshmi in the Indian community.It is an accepted fact that brutal crimes against women are occurring in India daily so MADE EASY SCHOOL, Gurugram in collaboration with Open Hand Combat has organized a one-day self defence workshop, PRAHAR to ensure woman safety.The workshop is focused on the role to learn the basic skills necessary to protect yourself through self defence moves in case of attack and how to gain self-confidence through a free self defence learning workshop being held at MADE EASY SCHOOL, Gurgaon near sector 56 on 26th March, Sunday.Self-defence, especially for women, is of utmost importance in the kind of the world we live in today. In India many cases go unreported, Women are usually examined as easier targets. Self-defence for women has become a necessity more than ever. Rape, molestation, kidnapping and murder are the most familiar forms of crime against women in India. The women in India are also vulnerable to acid attacks, domestic violence and eve-teasing.We cannot say that women are safe in India by viewing the last few year crimes facing women exclusively in the national capital. Women usually feel afraid while going alone out to the home. It is a very wistful truth of the country that its women citizens are living with anxiety all time. Personal safety of women has been the matter of concern for every Indian citizen.Self-defence skills prepare you to fight rather than freeze and such workshops are the place to retain how to put up a splendid fight against the assaulter. Its time to take an intense step towards courage & women power. Take a stand for yourself and other women. Register yourself for the Prahar on the link given below:Register Here:About MADE EASYMADE EASY  a name synonymous for success in ESE, GATE & PSUs exams, is more than a decade old success partner of engineering graduates for written examinations and personality tests, which are integral to the selection process. MADE EASY has maintained its exclusivity by consistently producing toppers and highest number of good rank holders in ESE, GATE and PSUs right since its inception in the year 2001. The group also has MADE EASY Preschool in Chatarpur & MADE EASY School in Gurugram. Recently, MADE EASY Preschool has won Standalone Preschool of the Year Award from Indian Education Congress at Indian Education Awards 2017.MADE EASY SCHOOL, Near sector 56 Gurgaon, Haryana-122011
United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021

Market Research Reports

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.The report on the Meal Kit Delivery Services deals with the all its critical facts and figures that will help in creating an in-depth and insightful analysis. The market is elucidated in a holistic fashion that allows the users to gain a thorough analysis of the market, as developed using the factors that are likely to have a significant effect on its development over the coming years.The report offers an illustrative overview of the Meal Kit Delivery Services and its competitive set-up as well as the regulatory framework surrounding the market. This provides a reader with a richer understanding of the state of major opportunities, threats, competition, and the major plans, regulations, rules, and policies impacting the market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report provides valuable data to all its readers that may aid businesses as well as investors in taking advantage of the markets stronger suits and handle key problems with relative ease. The report additionally provides a colorful assessment of the Meal Kit Delivery Services in a qualitative and quantitative manner, pertaining to the precise elements responsible for the progress of the market. This data is something that organizations and players of all sizes will be interested in. An organization using this report can have gain easy access to the nuances of the Meal Kit Delivery Services and knowing these details are a reinforcing way to have a very visible and significant bearing on its overall development. The report is created with the vision of gratifying and customizations and other needs that vendors and readers may require. The report thus generates a highly practical repository of information that allows top decision makers to form highly effective business strategies.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Meal Kit Delivery Services1.1 Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Overview1.1.1 Meal Kit Delivery Services Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Meal Kit Delivery Services Market by Type1.3.1 Meat Type1.3.2 Vegetable Type1.3.3 Fruit Type1.3.4 Other Type1.4 Meal Kit Delivery Services Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Household1.4.2 Office1.4.3 Others2 Global Meal Kit Delivery Services Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size (Value) by Players (2015-2016)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Chefd, LLC3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Meal Kit Delivery Services Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Din Inc.3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Meal Kit Delivery Services Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 FreshDirect LLC3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Meal Kit Delivery Services Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Gobble3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Meal Kit Delivery Services Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Green Chef3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Meal Kit Delivery Services Revenue (Value) (2011-2016)3.5.5 Recent Developments12 Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Dynamics12.1 Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Opportunities12.2 Meal Kit Delivery Services Challenge and Risk12.2.1 Competition from Opponents12.2.2 Downside Risks of Economy12.3 Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Constraints and Threat12.3.1 Threat from Substitute12.3.2 Government Policy12.3.3 Technology Risks12.4 Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Driving Force12.4.1 Growing Demand from Emerging Markets12.4.2 Potential ApplicationList of Tables and FiguresFigure Meal Kit Delivery Services Product ScopeFigure Global Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size (2011-2016)Table Global Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure Global Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Share by Regions in 2015Figure United States Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure EU Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure Japan Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure China Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure India Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure Southeast Asia Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size and Growth Rate by Regions (2011-2016)Figure Global Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Share by Type in 2015Figure Meat Type Market Size (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)Figure Vegetable Type Market Size (Value) and Growth Rate (2011-2016)For Latest QYResearchreports Press Release Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States
Vascular Access Devices Market to Cross US$ 8.0 Billion Globally by 2024

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New York, March 07: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Vascular Access Devices Market By Product Type (Central Catheters ( PICC, CVC, Dialysis Catheters, Implantable Ports), Peripheral Catheters ( PIV Catheters, Midline Catheters), Accessories); By Application (Medication Administration, Administration of Fluid & Nutrition, Transfusion of Blood Products, Diagnostic Testing); By Route of Insertion (Subcutaneous and Intravenous); By End-users - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2024How Big is the Vascular Access Devices market?The Vascular Access Devices market is expected to exceed more than US$ 8.0 Billion by 2024; Growing at a CAGR of more than 6% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:Vascular access devices are medical apparatus used to gain access to the bloodstream which are flexible and hollow tubes. These tubes are made by silicone, latex and other materials introduce in veins, to deliver medicine, nutritional compounds, administer fluids and collection blood products and blood. The expansion of the global vascular access devices market will be attributed to growing geriatric population and the rising frequency of kidney failure, diabetes, cancer and many diseases. Technical development in the field of vascular access has resulted in the expansion of new and an inventive product includes drug coated catheters and anti microbial coated catheters which minimized the occurrence of catheter related infections and complications.The major driving factors of Vascular Access Devices Market are as follows: Technological innovations Enhance in the number of lifestyle diseases Rising medical tourism Reimbursement policies Demographic changes Governments changing focus towards providing better healthcare services. Increase in incidences of target diseasesThe restraining factors of vascular access devices market are as follows: Lack of regulatory approvals. Catheter associated risks. Pricing pressureThe vascular access devices market is segmented on the lines of its product type, application, route of insertion, end user and regional. Product type is further segmented into accessories, central and peripheral. Central type consists of implantable ports, dialysis catheters, CVC and PLCC. Peripheral type contains midline catheters and PIV catheters. Based on application segmentation it cover diagnostic testing, transfusion of blood products, administration of fluid and nutrition and medication administration. Under end user segmentation it covers hospitals, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic centers. The vascular access devices market's geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.Download Free Sample Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for vascular access devices and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for vascular access devices.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Vascular Access Devices Market with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Becton, Dickinson and Company, Fresenius Medical Care, C. R. Bard, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Cook Medical Inc., Siemens Healthineers, Baxter International, and Medtronic, Inc.Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide the buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Vascular access devices Market has been segmented as below:By Product Type Analysis Accessories CentralImplantable portsDialysis cathetersCVCPLCC PeripheralMidline cathetersPIV cathetersBy Application Analysis Diagnostic testing Transfusion of blood products Administration of fluid and nutrition Medication administrationBy Route of Insertion Analysis Subcutaneous IntravenousBy End User Analysis Hospitals Clinics Ambulatory Surgery Centers Diagnostic CentersBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all vascular access devices.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of vascular access devices market data.4) Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution.About MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Cooling Management Systems 2017 Global Key Players - Emerson Electric, Rittal GmbH & Co KG, Schneider Electric, Siemens AG, Johnson Controls Market Analysis and Forecast to 2022

Cooling Management Systems

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Cooling Management SystemsWiseGuyReports Publish a Latest Market Research Report On  Cooling Management Systems 2017 Global Key Players - Emerson Electric, Rittal GmbH & Co KG, Schneider Electric, Siemens AG, Johnson Controls Market Analysis and Forecast to 2022.Report Details:Global Cooling Management Systems market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingEmerson ElectricRittal GmbH & Co KGSchneider ElectricSiemens AGJohnson ControlsAiredale International Air ConditioningBlack Box CorporationStulz GmbHVigilant CorporationIT AireClick here for sample report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Cooling Management Systems in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoLiquid CoolingsIn-Row CoolingsIn-Rack CoolingsOverhead CoolingsRear Door CoolingsOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Cooling Management Systems for each application, includingIT and TelecomBanking & FinancialHealthcareGovernmentEnergy & PowerChemical IndustryOther.......Some Major Points from Table of content:Global Cooling Management Systems Market Research Report 20171 Cooling Management Systems Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Cooling Management Systems1.2 Cooling Management Systems Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Cooling Management Systems Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Cooling Management Systems Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Liquid Coolings1.2.4 In-Row Coolings1.2.5 In-Rack Coolings1.2.6 Overhead Coolings1.2.7 Rear Door Coolings1.3 Global Cooling Management Systems Segment by Application1.3.1 Cooling Management Systems Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 IT and Telecom1.3.3 Banking & Financial1.3.4 Healthcare1.3.5 Government1.3.6 Energy & Power1.3.7 Chemical Industry1.3.8 Other1.4 Global Cooling Management Systems Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Cooling Management Systems Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)For Detailed Reading Please visit @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/1026348-global-cooling-management-systems-market-research-report-20177 Global Cooling Management Systems Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Emerson Electric7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Cooling Management Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Emerson Electric Cooling Management Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Rittal GmbH & Co KG7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Cooling Management Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Rittal GmbH & Co KG Cooling Management Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Schneider Electric7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Cooling Management Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Schneider Electric Cooling Management Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Siemens AG7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Cooling Management Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Siemens AG Cooling Management Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Johnson Controls7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Cooling Management Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Johnson Controls Cooling Management Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Airedale International Air Conditioning7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Cooling Management Systems Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Airedale International Air Conditioning Cooling Management Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview..ContinuedBuy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPh: +91 841 198 5042info@wiseguyreports.com
Global Rice Bran Oil Market 2016 Analysis and Forecast to 2021

Rice Bran Oil Market

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Request a Sample Report @The Global Rice Bran Oil Industry Report 2016 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Rice Bran Oil industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Rice Bran Oil market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states importexport, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (India, Thailland, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Rice Bran Oil industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Browse Full Report Details@Some Major Points from Table of Content:Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Rice Bran Oil 11.1 Definition and Specifications of Rice Bran Oil 11.1.1 Definition of Rice Bran Oil 11.1.2 Specifications of Rice Bran Oil 21.2 Classification of Rice Bran Oil 41.2.1 Rice Bran Oil Made by Extraction 51.2.2 Rice Bran Oil Made by Squeezing 71.3 Applications of Rice Bran Oil 71.3.1 Application in Food 81.3.2 Application in Cosmetic 91.3.3 Application in Industry 101.4 Industry Chain Structure of Rice Bran Oil 121.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Rice Bran Oil 121.5.1 Industry Overview of Rice Bran Oil 121.5.2 Global Major Regions Status of Rice Bran Oil 131.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 131.7 Industry News Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 142 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 152.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 152.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 152.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 162.4 Other Costs Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 172.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 202.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 203 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Rice Bran Oil 233.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Rice Bran Oil Major Manufacturers in 2015 233.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Rice Bran Oil Major Manufacturers in 2015 243.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Rice Bran Oil Major Manufacturers in 2015 243.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Rice Bran Oil Major Manufacturers in 2015 265 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Rice Bran Oil by Regions and Manufacturers 525.1 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Rice Bran Oil by Regions 2011-2016 525.2 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Rice Bran Oil by Manufacturers 2011-2016 53Purchase a Copy of This Report @CONTINUEDMore about WiseGuyReports:Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune  411028Maharashtra, India
Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market Worth US$ 4 Billion Globally by 2024

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New York, March 03: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market By Product type (Breast Cancer, Lymphedema, Osteoporosis, Introduction, Orthopedic, Urinary Incontinence, Pelvic Pain, Pregnancy and Post-partum) - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2024How Big is the Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market?The womens health rehabilitation products market is expected to exceed more than US$ 4 Billion by 2024; Growing at a CAGR of around 5% in the given forecast period.Browse Full Report:In the most recent couple of years, the frequency of constant diseases has significantly expanded among ladies. Be it the adjustment in way of life or the rising geriatric populaces, specialists extends this predominance to keep ascending in the imminent years too, hence making ladies well being recovery more basic than any other time in recent memory. Medical rehabilitation is an exceedingly checked movement considered essential for helping with the change general well being status after a drawn out ailment. Interest for women restoration has in this way considerably expanded in the late years. The expanding maternal passing, particularly in creating countries, rising wounds because of street mischance, and the expanding commonness cardiovascular sicknesses bringing on death of women have constrained governments to concentrate more on women rehabilitation and health.The major driving factors of womens health rehabilitation products market are as follows:Rising developments for community based rehabilitation centersTechnological developmentIncreasing aging female populationThe restraining factors of womens health rehabilitation products market are as follows:Low approval of some productsHigh product costThe womens health rehabilitation products market is segmented on the lines of its product and regional. Based on product segmentation the womens health rehabilitation products market covers osteoporosis, lymphedema, breast cancer, pregnancy and post partum, pelvic pain, urinary incontinence and orthopedic. The womens health rehabilitation products markets geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geographic market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.Download Free Sample Report:This report provides:1) An overview of the global market for womens health rehabilitation products and related technologies.2) Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013, estimates for 2014 and 2015, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2024.3) Identifications of new market opportunities and targeted promotional plans for womens health rehabilitation products.4) Discussion of research and development, and the demand for new products and new applications.5) Comprehensive company profiles of major players in the industry.REPORT SCOPE:The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Marketfor variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Access Health (Victoria, Australia), GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, U.K.), Carib Rehab Ltd. (St. Michael, Barbados), GPC Medical Ltd. (New Delhi, India), Meyer Physical Therapy (New York, U.S.), Pelvic Health & Rehabilitation (San Francisco, U.S.), Rehab Plus (Timmins, Canada), Sportstek (Oakleigh, Australia), Win Health Medical Ltd. (Jedburgh, U.K.). Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary,business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players.The Womens Health Rehabilitation Products Market has been segmented as below:By Product Segment AnalysisOsteoporosisLymphedemaBreast cancerPregnancy and post partumPelvic painUrinary incontinenceOrthopedicIntroductionBy Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldReasons to Buy this Report:1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all womens health rehabilitation products.2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry.3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of womens health rehabilitation products data.4) Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution.About MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:
Global CVT Chain Market Research Report Analysis and Forecasts 2017 to 2022

CVT Chain Market

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CVT Chain MarketSummaryWiseguyreports.Com Adds CVT Chain -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Manufacturers, Analysis of Top Suppliers and Forecast to 2021 To Its Research DatabaseGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of CVT Chain in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaIndiaFor Sample report @Global CVT Chain market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingBoschSchaeffler...On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoBeltChainOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of CVT Chain for each application, includingBelow 1.5 L1.5 L - 3 LAbove 3 LEnquiry before buying @Table of ContentsGlobal CVT Chain Market Research Report 20171 CVT Chain Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of CVT Chain1.2 CVT Chain Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global CVT Chain Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global CVT Chain Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Belt1.2.4 Chain1.3 Global CVT Chain Segment by Application1.3.1 CVT Chain Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Below 1.5 L1.3.3 1.5 L - 3 L1.3.4 Above 3 L1.4 Global CVT Chain Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global CVT Chain Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 EU Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 South Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of CVT Chain (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global CVT Chain Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global CVT Chain Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)..7 Global CVT Chain Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Bosch7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 CVT Chain Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Bosch CVT Chain Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Schaeffler7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 CVT Chain Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Schaeffler CVT Chain Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business OverviewBuy This Report @Continued...Contact Us:NORAH TRENTSales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Pharmaceutical Hot Melt Extrusion Market to Expand at a CAGR of 3.90% from 2016 to 2024

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This report provides forecast and analysis of the pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion market on the global and regional levels. It provides historical data of 2015 along with forecast from 2016 to 2024 in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) and volume (units). The report also includes macroeconomic indicators along with an outlook on hot melt extrusion equipment consumption globally. It includes drivers and restraints of the pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion market and their impact on each region during the forecast period.Browse Market Research Report @The report also comprises the study of current issues with end users and opportunities for extruder manufacturers. It also includes detailed pricing analysis by product type and value chain analysis with a list of vendors and industry stakeholders at each node in the value chain. In order to provide users of this report with comprehensive view of the market, we have included detailed competitiveness analysis and company players with unique selling propositions. The dashboard provides detailed comparison of hot melt extruder manufacturers on parameters such as collective market share and geographic concentration. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, by product, by end users and region.The report includes revenue generated from sales of hot melt extruders in all regions and important countries in these regions. By product, the global pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion market has been segmented into twin screw extruder, single screw extruder, laboratory extruders and RAM extruders. On the basis of end users, the global pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion market is segmented into research laboratories, contract manufacturing organizations and pharma companies. On the basis of region, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa.Market numbers have been estimated based on average procurement of new units and average pricing of hot melt extruders by product type and the revenue is derived through regional pricing trends. Market size and forecast for each segment have been provided in the context of global and regional markets. The pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion market has been analyzed based on expected demand. Prices considered for the calculation of revenue are average regional prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous regional hot melt extruder manufacturers and distributors. Most of the key end users have been considered and potential applications have been estimated on the basis of secondary sources and feedback from primary respondents.For more information on this report, fill the form @Regional demand patterns have been considered while estimating the market for various end users of hot melt extrusion in different regions. Top-down approach has been used to estimate the hot melt extrusion market by regions. Market numbers for global products have been derived using the bottom-up approach, which is cumulative of each regions demand. Company-level market share has been derived on the basis of revenues reported by key manufacturers. The market has been forecast based on constant currency rates. A number of primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Secondary sources include Factiva, NCBI, Google books, company annual reports, websites, and publications.The report provides detailed competitive dashboard and company profiles of key participants operating in the global market. Some of the players in the global pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion market includes Baker Perkins Limited, Coperion GmbH, Gabler GmbH & Co. KG, Leistritz AG, Milacron Holdings Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., and Xtrutech Ltd.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Smoke Evacuation System Market: Advanced Technologies & Growth Opportunities in Global Industry by 2024

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Since the past decade, a large number of surgical procedures are moving out of the traditional ways, and they are replaced by minimally invasive techniques which is driving the market of smoke evacuation system globally. Use of electrocautery and electrosurgery devices is unavoidable in minimally invasive surgery which produces surgical smoke. Researchers have found more than 80 organic compounds in surgical smoke such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide that can cause upper respiratory infection, nausea, and other short-term symptoms.Smoke evacuation system has been developed to overcome this problem. The system is intended to remove smoke, aerosol, and noxious odors produced during electrosurgical procedure. Smoke evacuation systems are high-flow vacuum sources used to capture, at the surgical site, the smoke aerosols and gases generated during the use of lasers and electrosurgical units.There are a number of factors that affect the growth of the smoke evacuation system market. Some of the key factors include growth in demand for minimally invasive surgical procedures; development and advancement of energy based electrocautery and ultrasonic devices; and rise in global geriatric population. Other key growth drivers include technological advancements in smoke evacuation system, increase in the number of cosmetic procedures, and high or sudden rise in the number of surgeries related to elderly population.The market is further witnessing restraints, or challenges in its path such as development of other non-invasive surgery technologies, alongside stiff competition among existing smoke evacuation system manufacturers. Moreover, product recalls and government regulations for reduction of overall health care cost are restraining the growth of this market.The global smoke evacuation system market is segmented on the basis of product, application, modality, end-user, and region. Based on product, the smoke evacuation system market is categorized into smoke evacuation filters, pencils & wands, smoke evacuation fusion products, and accessories. The smoke evacuation filters segment is further divided into ULPA filters, HEPA filters, charcoal filters, in-line filters, and pre-filters. The ULPA filters sub-segment is expected to hold a significantly large share of the smoke evacuation filters segment.A significant share of this segment is attributed to technological advancement and extraordinary evacuation capacity as compared to other filters. The smoke evacuation accessories segment comprises adapters, reducers, sensors, and smoke evacuation tubing. Among the accessories, the smoke evacuation tubing sub-segment is expected to account for a significant share in the near future. Rise in number of surgeries performed and recent product launches in this sub-segment is contributing to the large share in this market.On the basis of application, the smoke evacuation system market is divided into electrosurgical devices, electrocautery units, radiofrequency units, ultrasonic devices, laser units, and others. The electrocautery devices segment is anticipated to hold a significant share of the market during the forecast period. Increase in demand for minimally invasive surgeries and rise in geriatric population are expected to fuel the demand for the electrocautery devices segment during the forecast period.Based on modality, smoke evacuation systems are available in portable evacuation systems and centralized evacuation systems. High cost associated with maintenance of centralized evacuation systems and less efficiency as compared to portable evacuation systems are estimated to hamper the growth of the centralized evacuation systems segment. New launches and product innovation in portable evacuation systems are further expected to drive the growth of the market of this segment.On the basis of end-user, the smoke evacuation system market is segmented into hospitals, specialized clinics, and ambulatory surgery centers. The hospitals segment accounted for a major share of the market in 2015 due to increasing demand for electrosurgical devices from corporate hospitals. Globalization of health care and pharmaceutical standards is likely to support the growth of better hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers in developing regions such as Asia Pacific and Latin America. This in turn is expected to propel the growth of the smoke evacuation system market in these regions.Geographically, the global smoke evacuation system market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to dominate the global smoke evacuation system market during the forecast period. Large geriatric and obese population facing cardiac and orthopedic problems and rise in incidences of cancer are anticipated to drive the market in this region. Asia Pacific has a high growth rate and is expected to offer growth opportunities in this market. Improved health care infrastructure and rise in health care spending by government are estimated to increase adoption of smoke evacuation system in this region.Key players operating in this market include Bovie Medical Corporation, Medtronic, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH, Boston Scientific Corporation, Olympus, Johnson & Johnson, Symmetry Surgical Inc., ConMed Corporation, KLS Martin, and Bowa-electronic GmbH & Co. KG.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
On Thursday morning, Ravi Ragbir will arrive at Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan for his annual check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After passing through airport-style security, Ragbir, who was born in Trinidad, will head to a familiar room on the 9th floor, undecorated but for a small television typically tuned to Fox News. Here, an ICE deportation officer will decide if Ragbir can remain in the country he's called home for 26 years.

"I'm preparing for the worst," says Ragbir, who has faced the looming threat of deportation since his conviction for wire fraud in 2001. "I'm not planning any appointments after March 9th. I've cleaned out my apartment."

It's the Friday before the check-in and Ragbir and I are riding an express train to his office at Judson Memorial Church, where he serves as executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition, an interfaith network of congregations and activists working to protect New York's immigrant families from detention and deportation. Ragbir started as a full-time organizer for the coalition in 2010, and has since become one of the city's most visible immigrant rights activists.

"Ravi is the most connected leader around," Donna Sprecher, minister at Judson and a founder of the coalition, told Gothamist. "He knows by name more undocumented people than just about anybody in the five boroughs."

At Times Square, Ragbir's phone lights up with news of a reported ICE raid in Queens. He fires off a few texts, then looks up from his phone. "What do you do in the last weekend?" he asks.

Ragbir says that he has promised his wife they'd do something special on what might be their last weekend together in the city. People have suggested Coney Island, but it's bitterly cold outside. They've never been to the top of the Empire State Building, but like most New Yorkers, they have no real interest in doing so.

"That's the easiest question, you would think, to answer, but it might be the most difficult," Ragbir says. "I can think about immigration and legal [matters] and all of this stuff and come up with some solution or strategy. But this, I don't know."



Volunteers attend an accompaniment training at the B'nai Jeshurun synagogue on the Upper West Side. (Scott Heins/Gothamist)

Earlier that morning, Ragbir was on the Upper West Side, addressing some 50 congregants of the B'nai Jeshurun synagogue. They were gathered to receive training in the coalition's Accompaniment Program, through which volunteers provide support to immigrants facing imminent deportation. At least once a day, Ragbir will lead a new group of volunteers through training, explaining the ways in which their presence at a check-in is helpful, and what to do in the event a client is detained.

"Our volunteer base has exploded," Ragbir told the group. "People are coming to us because we actually have something they can do that can make a difference immediately."

In addition to accompaniment trainings, Ragbir runs a weekly immigration clinic and occasional sanctuary town halls. Over the past few months, I've observed Ragbir lead half a dozen of these meetings in rec rooms and religious institutions throughout the city.

When he presents at these meetings, Ragbir describes the existential threat posed by the Trump administration, but places this moment in broader context, reminding his audiences that President Obama presided over an unprecedented number of deportations. "In one year, Obama deported as many people as there are in Staten Island," he says. ("Though maybe we want Staten Island to disappear," he jokes, apologizing.) He never mentions Trump by name, instead referring to him as "this guy."

Ragbir explains that the philosophy of the New Sanctuary Coalition is that no person should be deported, regardless of her past. It's for this reason that he speaks openly about his own criminal record. "A lot of the people we work with have criminal convictions," he says. "The first rule is no judgment."

Juan Carlos Ruiz, a Lutheran minister at St. Peter's Church and co-founder of the New Sanctuary Coalition, sees Ragbir as a protagonist in the struggle to counter the narrative that an immigrant who makes a mistake should lose her right to remain in the U.S. "Ravi is the face of the movement," he says.

Ragbir's story, according to many of his colleagues, demonstrates the worst flaws of our legal system, and the precarious existence of the immigrants caught in its crosshairs. And as flawed as this system is now, under the Trump administration, things will only get worse.



Ragbir presents at the volunteer training. (Scott Heins/Gothamist)

Ragbir immigrated to the United States from Trinidad in 1991. In his mid-twenties at the time (Ragbir won't disclose his age), he moved to Crown Heights and quickly fell in love with a U.S. citizen. They married soon after, and had a daughter together in 1994. During her early childhood, Ragbir worked odd jobs as a window cleaner and street vendor, while earning his degree in financial management.

In 2001, while working as a loan processor at a now-defunct mortgage lender, Ragbir was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. While the higher-ups who actually reviewed the fraudulent loan accepted plea bargains, Ragbir took his case to court, where he was ultimately found guilty. He spent three years on house arrest, and an additional 30 months in federal prison. To this day, Ragbir maintains that he was just a low-level employee following the bank's own rulesthe same rules, he notes, that "caused the collapse of the economy."

Following his release from prison in 2006, an immigration judge ordered Ragbir deported without a hearing, a decision that Ragbir appealed. While his appeal was being considered, he was placed in mandatory indefinite detention in Bergen County, New Jersey. His family was free to visit, but they had to speak to him from behind a thick glass wall. "I knew my daughter couldn't take it, so I told her not come," he recalls. After a few months, he was moved to a private prison in Perry County, Alabama, 1,000 miles from his wife and daughter.

There, he lived in constant terror that a final removal order would come through. "You expect them to come knocking on your door at a certain time, and once that time has passed, only then you can breath," Ragbir says. "But then it starts all over again."

Throughout the country, 40,000 immigrants sit indefinitely in detention as they await deportation proceedings. (This is what happened to Ragbir.) These individuals have not been charged with a crime, and many advocates argue that this detention therefore violates their right to due process. Last week, MSNBC reported that the Trump administration is planning to increase by 500 percent the number of beds available for the detention of asylum-seekers.

After two years, Ragbir was released from detention, thanks to a legal team committed to taking the order through the appeals process. As the case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court (which ultimately declined to hear it), Ragbir was forced to observe a curfew, wear an electronic ankle monitor, and attend mandated ICE check-ins three times a week.

Ragbir attempted to return his normal life, but the threat of expulsion hung over him constantly. At one ICE check-in, he says, an officer accused him of abusing the system by seeking due process. He said nothing, but thought of his fellow immigrants still in detentionsome denied necessary medicines, others locked in solitary confinement. It was around this time that Ragbir began working with the New Sanctuary Coalition.

Ragbir finally caught a break in 2011, thanks to a legal policy known as prosecutorial discretion. Clarified through two Obama-era memos, the policy allowed ICE deportation officers to differentiate between violent criminals and low-level offenders, and to toss out certain cases, like those involving an immigrant with a "very long-term presence" in the country or children who are U.S. citizens. As a result of PD, Ragbir was granted a one-year stay of removal, which he's been able to extend on a bi-annual basis through 2018.

Under the Trump administration, the policy that permitted Ragbir to remain in the U.S. may soon be abandoned. In an interview with Gothamist last month, an ICE spokesperson denied that prosecutorial discretion has been suspended, but several defense attorneys said that all applications for PD appear to be on hold.



Ragbir returns to his office at Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village. (Scott Heins/Gothamist)

"There's been a clear and distinct shift," Michael Musa-Obregon, managing attorney for the New York-based immigration firm MusaObregon and Associates, told Gothamist at the time. "Before January 20th we would go into court and there were legal accommodations being made under PD. After January 20th, applications are not being accepted."

That shift in the legal framework, combined with nationwide reports of aggressive ICE actions toward immigrants once considered low-priority, has kept Ragbir very busy over the past few months. He spends his hours organizing, splitting time between recruiting new activists and advising fellow immigrants on their options.

When I reached Ragbir by phone Monday, he was rushing uptown, headed to a town hall at Rutgers Presbyterian Church to answer questions about the role that churches can play in offering sanctuary to immigrants.

I asked him what him and his wife had ended up doing over the weekend.

"We caught up on rest for most of Saturday, then went to a favorite restaurant and had a few drinks," Ragbir said. After church on Sunday, they took a stroll through their Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, and later got massages. Then they went home, threw on a Carlos Santana record, and danced. "We didn't think about it at all," he said.
Hemophilia Treatment Drugs Market - Evolving Technology, Trends and Industry Analysis  2024

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Hemophilia is a rare blood disorder. Hemophilia is a combination of two Greek words that is haima (blood) and philia (affection). Hemophilia is a hereditary disorder, passed from parents to the child. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder which causes excess bleeding and poor blood clotting. The people with hemophilia are generally known as hemophiliacs. There are two main type of hemophilia, hemophilia A and hemophilia B. Hemophilia A or classical hemophilia is the most common type of hemophilia, caused by lack of factor VIII in blood.Hemophilia B also known as Christmas disease, as it was firstly diagnosed in person named Steven Christmas. Hemophilia B is caused by lack of factor IX in blood. Other hemophilia are hemophilia C, Acquired Hemophilia etc. Hemophilia A & B is passed from mother to child, but hemophilia C is passed from both mother and father to child. This report analyzes the current and future prospects of the hemophilia treatment drugs market based on type of product, disease indication, distribution channel and geography.Obtain Report Details @The research is a combination of primary and secondary research, conducted for understanding and arriving at trends, used to forecast the expected revenue of the major radiography techniques in the near future. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts with information collected from in-depth interviews and discussions with a number of key industry experts and opinion leaders. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, investor presentations, analyst presentation and various international and national databases.The report provides estimated market size in terms of US$ Mn for each Product type, disease indication, distribution channel, and geography for the period 2015 to 2024, considering the macro and micro environmental factors. The revenue generated from each product was calculated by considering number of products used in the procedures and their market demand as per their use, number of product launched, average cost of products of each sub segment, trends in industry, end user trend, and adoption rate across all the geographies. The revenue generated for disease indication was calculated on the basis of prevalence of diseases in humans.The market report comprises an elaborated executive summary, which includes market snapshot that provides information about various segments of the market. It also provides information and data analysis of the market with respect to market segments based on type of product, disease indication, distribution channel and geography. The market overview section of the report analyzes market dynamics such as drivers, restraints and opportunities that influence the hemophilia treatment drugs market in the current and future scenario. The report also provides value chain analysis of the market that describes the sequence of activities involved from manufacturing to their final reach to the end users.For more information on this report, fill the form @Market share analysis among the market players is analyzed to signify percentage share of the major players operating in the market. All these factors will help the market players to decide about the business strategies and plans to strengthen their positions in the global market. Based on geography, the market has been analyzed for countries of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.The report also profiles the major players in the market and provides various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, and recent developments. Major companies profiled in the hemophilia treatment drugs market report are Novo Nordisk A/S, CSL Behring, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Bayer AG, Pfizer Inc., Biotest AG, Kedrion Pharma, Inc., Octapharma AG, Shire Plc, Biogen and some other players who are involved in the hemophilia treatment drugs market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Polyols Market 2017 - Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Cargill Incorporated, Dow Chemicals, BASF SE

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The Global Polyols Market 2017 Industry Research Report focused on global and regional market, major manufacturers, as well as the current state of the Polyols industry. First, "Global Polyols Industry 2017" report analyzed the basic scope of this industry like definition, specification, classification, application, industry policy, news analysis and Polyols industry chain structure.Major Companies Covered in this report:-Request For Report Sample @The analysis on Polyols industry is provided including the up and down stream industry also with the major market players., Polyols industry competitive landscape analysis.Second, Polyols industry manufacturing process, cost structure and major plants distribution is conducted for Polyols market. This report "Worldwide Polyols Market 2017" also states major market data like capacity, gross margin, supply, price, revenue, import/export, consumption and Polyols market's growth rate by regions (Europe, North America, South America, Asia, China and ROW), as well as other regions can be added in Polyols Market area.Then, the report focuses on global Polyols market key players with information such as company profiles, contact information with product picture as well as specification.Enquiry Before Buying the report @Related information to Polyols market- Capacity, Production, Capacity Utilization Rate, Price, Revenue, Cost, Gross and contact information. Also includes Polyols industry's - Upstream raw materials, equipment, Manufacturing and downstream industry consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Polyols market development trends and Polyols industry marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, "worldwide Polyols market" report is a valuable source of guidance for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, customers, investors and individuals who have interest in this market.About UsMarkets Planet offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezBusiness Development HeadMarkets Planet155 North Wacker Drive,Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606USA+17739042683
Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market Expected to Reach $2,647 Million, Globally, by 2022

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Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market Report, published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global market is expected to reach $2,647 million by 2022 from $2,012 million in 2015 with a CAGR of 3.9% from 2016 to 2022. Oncology segment held more than two-thirds share of the global market in 2015.Access Full Summary at:Nuclear medicine equipment, such as PET/CT and SPECT scans, are used to capture radiation from small amount of radioisotopes that are introduced into the body. These equipment thus help to diagnose diseases and assess the response of treatment provided to the patient. The major factors that drive the market growth are emergence of new and advanced equipment, increase in prevalence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, rise in investment in modernization of diagnostic imaging centers, and development of radiotracers.Oncology is anticipated to dominate the global nuclear medicine equipment market throughout the analysis period, owing to the rise in incidence of cancer and increase in awareness about its early diagnosis. Neurology segment has witnessed highest growth rate as these equipment are used to diagnose and assess the treatment response for various neurological disorders such as Alzheimers disease, brain death/injury, vascular dementia, stroke and transient ischemic attack, and others.Hospitals dominated with around two-fifths of the global market value in 2015, and are expected to continue this trend during the forecast period. The number of patients visiting hospitals is growing to due increase in the occurrence of chronic diseases, which has fueled the market growth for this segment.North America dominated the market in 2015, and is maintain its position in the future, due to the presence of a large geriatric population, technological advancements, availability of favorable imbursement policies, and affordability to purchase modern and expensive nuclear medicine equipment.NUCLEAR MEDICINE EQUIPMENT MARKET KEY FINDINGS: Hybrid PET segment is projected to grow at the highest rate during the analysis period. Argentina nuclear medicine equipment market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.0%. Oncology dominated the global nuclear medicine equipment market in 2015. U.S. was the largest market in 2015, and is projected to maintain its lead until 2022. Hospitals segment is projected to dominate throughout 2022.Key players in the global nuclear medicine equipment market include General Electric Company, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Digirad Corporation, Mediso Medical Imaging Systems, Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, Bozlu Holding, Neusoft Corporation, Compaa Mexicana de Radiologa CGR, S.A. de C.V., and SurgicEye GmbH.More Info:About Us:Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1 (800) 792-5285 (U.S. & Canada)Fax: +1 (855) 550-5975E-mail: sales@alliedmarketresearch.comWebsite:
Zigbee Enabled Devices Market to Witness Steady Growth During the Forecast Period 2017-2027

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Increasing demand for low cost and low power wireless technologies forced to develop new standards like ZigBee. It is the one of the important technological advancements happened in the field of wireless communication. ZigBee standard works on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 physical radio specification in different bands such as 2.4 GHz, 900 MHz, and 868 MHz for device to device communication in the IoT market.Zigbee Enabled Devices Market: Market DynamicsIncreasing focus on flexibility and mobility of different application increase the demand for ZigBee-enabled devices, it also experienced that most of the people are moving towards devices which have the wireless intelligence capabilities to provide real time communication feature. This approach enables devices manufactures to develop Zigbee Enabled Devices to cope up with consumer demand.Rising demand for energy saving wireless technologies drives the ZigBee-enabled devices market. ZigBee technologys ability to connect to a large number of devices in smart homes and industries provides with low cost and low power consumption increases the demand for Zigbee Enabled Devices market. Rapidly increasing IoT market is prompting companies to develop products compatible with the ZigBee technology. Substitute and competition technologies such as Z-waven Insteon etc. could pose a threat to the global demand of ZigBee-enabled devices marketRequest For Sample@Zigbee Enabled Devices Market SegmentationZigbee Enabled Devices Market can be segmented on the basis of Devices, Application and GeographySegmentation of Zigbee Enabled Devices Market on the basis of Devices:Zigbee CoordinatorZigbee RouterZigbee End DeviceOthersSegmentation of Zigbee Enabled Devices Market on the basis of Application:Industrial AutomationHome AutomationSmart MeteringSmart Grid MonitoringOthersSegmentation of Zigbee Enabled Devices Market on the basis of geography:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia)Asia-Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)JapanThe Middle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa, N. Africa)Request For TOC@Regional OverviewOn the basis of geography, ZigBee-enabled devices market can be segmented into seven key markets namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APAC, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America is expected to dominate the market for ZigBee-enabled devices because of large demand from industrial automation and home automation segments from the region. Western Europe and APAJ are 2nd and 3rd largest markets in ZigBee-enabled devices due to increasing adoption of smart technologies in the region. APAJ region is expected to drive the demand for ZigBee-enabled devices supported by increased spending on applications such as smart grid, smart home, industrial automation etc.Competitive LandscapeSome of the major players in the field of Zigbee Enabled Devices market include Microchip Technology Incorporated, Digi International Inc, NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics Corporation and Texas Instruments Incorporated.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Yacht Charter Market (Under 24m length) Surpass US$ 18 Bn in Revenues by 2026

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The global yacht charter market, valued at US$ 8.5 Bn in 2015, is set to increase at over 7% CAGR through 2026, surpassing US$ 18 Bn in revenues. Yacht chartering is gaining popularity as a leisurely activity, especially among corporate consumers. Sailing yachts have a massive lead over motor yachts, with the former accounting for nearly 80% revenue share of the market in 2014. These insights are part of FMIs new research, Yacht Charter Market (Under 24m length): Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026.Yacht charter service providers are using the reach of online mediums, such as websites and social media platforms to showcase their offerings. Increase in the number and range of yachts available for booking, and collaboration between yacht companies and leading travel agencies are key factors driving the growth of the global yacht charter market.FMIs report has segmented the global yacht charter market on the basis of cabin, consumer, yacht type, end-use, mode of operation, and region.On the basis of cabin, the report has segmented the market into 2 cabin, 3 cabin, 4 cabin, and others. Yachts with 3 cabins and 4 cabins are popular among consumers -- in 2015, these two segments collectively accounted for over 70% of revenue share.Request For Sample@In a bid to identify the motive for chartering yachts, FMI has segmented the market on the basis of end-use. The key segments under end-use include instructional, events, vacation, adventure and sports, honeymoon, and others. FMIs research revealed that nearly 80% of consumers in the yacht charter market could be classified as vacationers. Owing to rising popularity of yacht chartering for annual events and adventure activities, vacation as an end-use segment is expected to witness a 90 BPS decline in its market share by the end of 2026 over 2015.Yacht charter consumers have been broadly segmented into corporate and retail, with the former segment expected to increase at a higher CAGR during the forecast period 2016-2026. The retail consumer type has been further sub-segmented into individual, family/group, couple, and others. Among these, family/group consumers accounted for the bulk of retail bookings, representing nearly 65% revenue share in 2015.Key segments on the basis of yacht type include sailing yacht and motor yacht. Motor yachts are further sub-segmented into displacement, semi-displacement, planing, catamaran, and trimaran, whereas key segments under motor sailing yacht include sloop, schooner, catamaran, and ketch. Sailing yachts are highly sought-after and represented nearly 80% revenue share in 2014.On the basis of mode of operation, FMIs report offers 10-year forecast on the segments - operative and bareboat. Yachts with bareboat mode of operation are expected to increase at a higher CAGR than operative yachts.Send An Enquiry@Region-wise, the report offers market forecast for Mediterranean, Caribbean, Asia Pacific, Americas, and Rest of Europe, and Middle East and Africa. Mediterranean is the most popular yacht charter destination, with the region accounting for nearly 40% revenue share of the global market in 2014. Asia Pacific is emerging as a yacht charter destination, and is expected to offer significant opportunities to key players during the forecast period.Leading players in the global yacht charter market include Yachtico Inc., Boatbookings, Sailogy S.A., Antlos S.r.l, Collaborative Boating Inc., Fraser Escape Bareboat Charters, Princess Yacht Charter, TUI Group, and Zizooboats GmbH.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Good Growth Opportunities in Global Food Sorting Machines Market Till 2025

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Automation is becoming more of a requirement than an option in the food processing industry. The rigorous quality and cost controls required in the food industry is making it more critical. Production of high grade food requires capable and efficient inspection and sorting systems, in the operations and production line. The food is sorted by color, size, shape, specific gravity prior to inspection and other criteria depending upon the raw material and application.Global interest is increasing towards the quality of food consumed along with the stringent legislations on product quality and operating procedures. In the food industry, the product specification is extremely important, and is one of those area where new developments are crossing the boundaries. The food industry is under immense pressure of meeting the demands of growing world population.Request Report Sample@The global population is becoming urbanized and there is heavy industrialization seen in the emerging economies. This leads to an upward trend towards convenience foods that are healthy, nutritious and easy to prepare. Food security is an emerging challenge for policy makers and companies in the food supply chain. Over the period food production will be under threat from climate change, competing land uses, erosion and diminishing supplies of clean water. One of the solutions to this dilemma is increased efficiency and waste reduction in the food supply chain. Food sorting machines offer increase in efficiency by selectively filtering out the undesired materials from the main food. The main purpose is separation of foreign seeds and bodies, such as unhealthy or spotted grains. The insertion of optical sorter into strategic positions of the milling process facilitates and optimizes the whole cleaning process. Worldwide the optical sorters are being used in the food industry. Its highly adopted in the processing of harvested foods such as fruits, potatoes, vegetables and nuts where it achieves non-destructive,100% inspection on full production volume. Since manual sorting is subjective and inconsistent, its not preferred. Optical sorting helps to improve the product quality, increase yields, maximize throughput while reducing labor costs. Since few years the trend is of integration of the traditional mechanical cleaning process with optical sorting machines.Food Sorting Machines Market: Drivers & RestraintsGrowing population, rising urbanization, growing technological awareness, industrialization of emerging economies and increasing per capita income are some of the key factors driving the growth of the food sorting machines market.Environmental Protection Agency regulations on disposal of food waste, changing consumption patterns and smaller households are few of the probable factors restraining the growth of the food sorting machines market.Visit For TOC@Food Sorting Machines Market: SegmentationThe global food sorting machines market is broadly classified on the basis of product type, technology and geographies.Based on product type, the global food sorting machines market is segmented into:Channel SortersFreefall SortersBelt SortersADR SystemsBased on technology, the global food sorting machines market is segmented into:LaserCameraLEDX-rayFood Sorting Machines Market: OverviewThough food sorting machines is a new technology for emerging economies like India, but in the developed economies like North America and Europe the same technology is in use for years.With growing global population and increasing pressure on food industry to meet the customer demands, the acceptance of food sorting machines is gaining popularity. The global food sorting machines market is expected to expand at a promising CAGR during the forecast period (2015-2025).Food Sorting Machines Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global food sorting machines market is expected to register a double-digit CAGR for the forecast period. Depending on geographic regions, global food sorting machines market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. As of 2015, North America dominated the global food sorting machines market in terms of market revenue followed by Europe. Asia Pacific & Japan are projected to expand at a substantial growth and will contribute to the global food sorting machines market value exhibiting a robust CAGR during the forecast period, 2015?2025.Food Sorting Machines Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market participants in global food sorting machines market are Tomra Systems ASA, Sesotec GmbH, Buhler AG, Key Technology, BarcoVision, Satake USA Inc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Permeate Market 2015-2025 Shares, Trend and Growth Report

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Permeate is a dairy ingredient rich in lactose content which is produced after the removal of protein and other ingredients from milk or whey. Whey and milk permeates are used in various food application to enhance the salty flavor. Permeate is considered as the cost effective alternative to the other expensive ingredients used to add salty flavor to the food products. Owing to the rising demand of consumers for low sodium products, which results to the increasing use of permeate in various applications including bakery, prepared meals, soup and others. Moreover, high lactose in permeate results in brown appearance and caramelized aroma in baked products. Whey permeate is formed as a co-product of whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate. However, milk permeate is a formed as the co-product of milk protein isolate and milk protein concentrate. Permeate is used as an alternative to ingredients such as whole milk powder and skim milk. Overall dairy industry is much consolidated market with various small players operating in it. Permeate market is expected to contribute significant growth in the next four to five years due to the evolving needs related to the milk coupled with the rising population in the forthcoming years.Request Report Sample@Permeate Market SegmentationGlobal permeate market is segmented on the basis of product type, application and region. Based on the product type global permeate segmentation includes whey and milk. Of which, whey permeate is expected to be the dominating segment over forecast period ,followed by the milk permeate segment due the various benefits associated with it such as it is less sweet than sucrose, absorbs synthetic and natural pigments, absorbs volatile flavor compounds and comparatively more moisture resistant. On the basis of application permeate market is segmented into, soups and sauces, dairy foods, beverages and meat. Among all the segments of permeate market dairy food is the leading segment, followed by other segments over the forecast period. Permeate market is expanding especially in Asia Pacific due to the rising awareness among consumers regarding the health benefits associated with the consumption of dairy products which includes high protein content coupled with increasing number of upper middle class population in the Asia Pacific region. Global permeate market is segmented on the basis of region into North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Japan.Permeate Market: Region-wise OutlookThe Global permeate market is expected to witness robust growth over the forecast period due the various health benefit related to the consumption of permeate. Globally, among all regions, North America is expected to contribute the maximum market share during the forecast period. In North America, U.S is the dominating segment that contributes highest market share owing to the increasing production of permeate in U.S. However Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness significant growth owing to the rising awareness among consumers related to benefits of dairy ingredient such as permeate coupled with rising high income consumers in region such as India and China.Visit For TOC@Permeate Market: DriversMajor factors that fuel the growth of permeate market includes increasing consumption of milk and rising awareness among the consumers related to the health benefits associated with the consumption of permeate in the mature markets. However factor that hinder the growth of permeate market include lack of awareness among consumers in the emerging countries related to the benefits of the dairy ingredient such as permeate.Permeate Market: Key PlayersMajor companies operating in permeate market are Arla Foods Ingredients Inc., American dairy product institute, Fonterra Co-Operative Group, Nestle S.A, Silwan International General Trading LLC , La Belle Inc. and Volac International LimitedABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Market Research on Edible Films and Coating Market 2015 and Analysis to 2025

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Edible films and coating are thin layer of material which provides a barrier to moisture for the various food application. Generally edible films and coating thickness is approximately 0.3 mm. It also helps in extending the shelf life of the final product. Edible films and coating are prepared from proteins, polysaccharides and/or lipids to alter the surface characteristics of a food. It possess a wide application in various food industry which is expected to drive edible film market during the forecast period.Edible Films and Coating Market SegmentationEdible films and coating is segmented on the basis of ingredient types which includes protein base, polysaccharides base and lipids base. Among all these segments protein base edible films is expected to be the major segment in terms of revenue generation as compared to others. Protein base edible films comprises high advantages such as it can be used for the individual packaging of small portions of food, can be applied inside heterogeneous foods at the interfaces between different layers of components, can function as carriers for antimicrobial and antioxidant agents and many others is predicted to support its growth during the forecast period. Moreover, polysaccharides base is expected to show a substantial growth in the near future. On the basis of type protein base edible films is sub segmented as collagen films, gelatin films, wheat gluten films, soy protein films and others (corn zein films and casein films). Among all these sub segment soy protein is expected to contribute major share in edible protein edible films market. Polysaccharides edible films is also sub segmented as pectin chitosan, alginate, starch, cellulose and dextrin. In addition lipids for use in films include fatty acids, acylglycerol and waxes.Request Report Sample@Edible films and coating is further segmented on the basis of application which includes meat and poultry products, bakery products, confectionery products, fruits and vegetables, flavor encapsulation and nutraceutical products. Among all these segment bakery product is expected to contribute major share in edible films market followed by confectionery products. Moreover, nutraceutical industry is predicted to show a healthy growth during the forecast period. Edible films are ultra-portable and convenient, especially for children and the elderly who may have difficulty swallowing pills, which is expected to support the growth of edible films market in nutraceutical products.Geographically North America edible film and coating market is well established. The region is expected to contribute highest in terms of revenue. In North America Us is expected to account for major market share followed by Canada. Europe is expected to be emerging market for edible films and coating during the forecast period. Growing nutraceutical industry in the European countries is expected to be the driving factor for edible films and coating market in the future. In developing region such as Asia Pacific is predicted to show a healthy growth during the forecast period. China is expected to be the major contributor in terms of revenue in edible films and coating market followed by Japan.Visit For TOC@Edible Films and Coating Market DriversHigh advantages of edible films and coating material such as it act as masking agent, it is ultra-portable convenient and others is expected to fuel the growth of edible films and coating material market during the forecast period. Moreover, increased demand for those edible products with long shelf life is also predicted to fuel the growth of edible films and coating market during the forecast period.Edible Films and Coating Market Key PlayersSome of the major players operating in edible film and coating material market includes Tate and Lyle Plc, WATSON-INC, Tsukioka Film Pharma Co., Ltd, JRF Technology, LLC, MonoSol, LLC among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
New Trends of Aerogel Market with Worldwide Industry Analysis to 2025

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The global aerogel market is on the rise due to increased applications of aerogel in industries such as oil & gas, marine, automotive, and aerospace. Aerogel is an extremely low density solid material, mainly composed of air, and is manufactured using conventional gel. Global aerogel market consists of material exhibiting numerous properties, making it suitable for the applications in aforementioned industries. These properties include thermal & acoustic damping, low density, high degree of porosity and other desired properties in various applications industries. In addition to the abundant uses of aerogel in industrial applications, one of the key reasons for increasing global aerogel market is due to the fact that the material is being witnessed as a good replacement for thermal insulation materials, since it is providing cost competitiveness to other high performance thermal insulating materials.Aerogel Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe increasing demand of aerogels by the end users such as oil & gas, automotive, marine & aerospace , etc. are driving the global aerogel market. Growing globalization leading to an increase in investments, new establishments for construction and properties of aerogel such as high insulation, being cheap and abundant availability of the raw material are some of the factors driving the growth of global aerogel market. High production cost is the major challenging factor for the growth of global aerogel market.Request Report Sample@Aerogel Market: SegmentationIn terms of application industry, the global aerogel market is segmented into key applications:Oil & gasMarine & aerospacePerformance coatingsLVHSDay-lightingAutomotiveConstructionWithin these applications, the oil & gas industry accounts for a leading share in the global aerogel market. Among other applications, wherein significant growth is likely to be witnessed is automotive and construction applications, wherein thermal insulation properties of aerogel material are being exploited.On the basis of product types, the global aerogel market is can be segmented into:SilicaPolymerCarbonVisit For TOC@These different types of aerogel are being utilized in the global marketplace, wherein polymer type of aerogel is expected to witness the highest growth in coming years. In terms of market share, the global aerogel market has been dominated by silica type aerogel, which is likely to continue its dominance through the forecast period as well.On the basis of forms, the global aerogel market has been segmented into:MonolithBlanketArticlePanel formThe global aerogel market is dominated by blanket form of aerogel, which is widely used for thermal insulation applications across the industries. The global aerogel market is expected to witness the tremendous growth in particle form of aerogel, which is expected to contribute towards the growth in demand for aerogel in global aerogel market during the forecast period.On the basis of processing segment, the global aerogel market has also been segmented into:Virgin processedFabricatedIn terms of processing, within the global aerogel market, virgin aerogel is witnessed to be the dominating processing segment. This is due to the fact that virgin aerogel is free from composites and additives, which enables its applications in research & development activities. Further virgin aerogel is accompanied with high commercial availability in the global aerogel market.Aerogel Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global aerogel market has witnessed increased growth in North American region, which accounts for a leading share in the global aerogel market. Followed by North America, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region accounts for the second leading regions in terms of aerogel consumption across the globe, which is due to high amount of consumption in China. However, the European market is likely to be the leading region, in terms of annual growth, in years to come.Aerogel Market: Key PlayersThe global aerogel market is dominated by major players such as Cabot Corporation, Aerogel Technologies LLC, Aspen Aerogels, Inc. and BASF SE, to name a few.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Cultured Sugar/Vinegar Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2026

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Cultured sugar/ Vinegar market is a food additives used in variety of food products, from meat, poultry products to salad dressing, and it is used to extend shelf life. Vinegar is often used as a natural preservative in poultry items and processed meat. Processing of different types of meats for feeding the global population has paced up speedily because of the rapid increase in globalization. Demand for high protein food and trend for ready to eat meat products are driving the global cultured sugar/vinegar market.in developing countries rise in the income of middle class consumers is growing the demand for convenience foods and ultimately driving the cultured sugar/vinegar market. To increase the consumer appeal many food producers are preferring the use of cultured sugar/ vinegar for obtaining food safety and prolonged shelf life. This application of cultured sugar/vinegar is good for consumers and extended shelf life in such products will optimize the supply chain efficiency and costs too. Increase in beverage industry across the globe is also anticipated to drive the cultured sugar/vinegar market as it prevents microbial spoilage in beverages.Rising popularity of bakery products due to changing food consumption trends will benefit the cultured sugar/vinegar market as cultured sugar is used for a function of mold inhabitation in baked goods. Also growth in market for culinary such as dressing and dips, sauces, salad and sandwich spreads etc. is likely to drive the cultured sugar/ vinegar market in near future. Cultured sugar/vinegar is used as agent which helps in suppressing bacteria and pathogens in food. However lack of awareness about the processing technology and modern methods in developing countries are the main hindrances in the growth of global cultured sugar/ vinegar market. in addition to this economic crises faced by many countries of the world and health risk associated with the processed foodstuffs are the factors which act a restraints for cultured sugar/vinegar market.In terms of geography, the global cultured sugar/vinegar market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. The global cultured sugar/vinegar market is expected to register healthy CAGR during the forecast period. North America is anticipated to be the dominant market for global cultured sugar/vinegar market followed by Asia Pacific and Europe. The market in Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at highest CAGR over the forecast period.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the key players in the global cultured sugar/vinegar market are Corbion, PROTERIA etc.Request to view table of content @The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections done using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, type, machine size and end use.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
An immigration judge has denied an emergency deportation stay and motion to reconsider for 37-year-old Joel Guerrero, a father-to-be from New Paltz, according to his wife and family.

Guerrero was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Manhattan last week during a routine biannual check-in. The construction worker and native of the Dominican Republic had an outstanding final deportation order stemming from a missed court date in January 2011, according to ICE. His family has since stressed that last week's arrestduring Guerrero's first check-in since President Trump took officemarked a stark shift in enforcement.

"I have moments of great hope and moments of absolute despair," Jessica Guerrero, 35, told Gothamist this week. "Being six months pregnant without your husband over something like this, I wouldn't know what words to even use."

Both motions were filed on March 2nd, according to court documents shared with Gothamist. The motion to reconsider states that Guerrero missed his January 6th, 2011 hearing because he was "struggling with an illness of substance abuse and dependency" but has since "completely turned his life around, and has completed a rehabilitation program with success."

Guerrero's family says attorney James Castiblanco is filing additional motions today, though the lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. ICE also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Guerrero's status.

Jessica and Joel were married on February 16th of this year, in New Paltz, according to Jessica. She works full time as an administrative assistant, but stressed this week that Joel is the "breadwinner" of the family.

Guerrero immigrated to the United States legally in 1997, when he was 17 years old. He was living in North Carolina in 2004 when he was arrested on a marijuana-related charge. According to ICE, Guerrero has a felony conviction on his record for possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a schedule VI controlled substance (marijuana or a synthetic equivalent). Guerrero's family contests this, however, saying the charge was a misdemeanor.

According to Jessica, North Carolina police discovered a marijuana plant inside Guerrero's apartment, where he lived with his brother and another roommate. "It was a plant, and unfortunately it was in North Carolina, which ten years ago was a difficult place for him as a Hispanic person," Jessica said.

According to Guerrero's brother Edward, Guerrero was later detained returning from a vacation in the Dominican Republic, at which point his green card was confiscated. (Green card status is also revoked upon the issuance of a final order of removal.)

"Long story short, he got an immigration lawyer, and it's been going on for years," Edward said. "The judge... allowed him to report every six months to the ICE office. He was doing that faithfully, and the last time he was just taken."

"Up until recently ICE has been allowing some individuals who have prior orders of removal to remain in the country because of some sympathetic fact or factor in their cases," Ward Oliver, supervising attorney for the Immigration Law Unit at the Legal Aid Society, told Gothamist recently. "Given Trump's executives orders, it is hard to say what, if any, discretion ICE will be exercising in the future."

According to Jessica, an ICE officer addressed the shift in enforcement the day her husband was taken into custody. "His exact words to me were, 'This is what the new administration is telling me to do,'" she said.

Guerrero is currently being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, New Jersey.

"I told him on the phone yesterday that I would trade places with [him]," Jessica said on Tuesday. "Why won't they detain me?"

She added that if her husband is deported, she will leave the country with him.

"If it came down to it, I would go," she said. "What am I going to do, visit him for a week every two months? That's not a family."
Business Email Market Poised for Steady Growth in the Future

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Electronic mail solution or preferably called email solution, specializes in the day-to-day management of your email services which allows users to remain focused on more critical operations of business. Email solution providers make it simple for organizations and enterprises to communicate across as well as get tasks implemented by offering a reliable, business suited email software to meet such needs. The business email solution offers multiple layers of premium virus and spam protection and keep hosted email advertisement free. Business organizations across the globe are now steadily adopting the strategy of migrating their email to cloud to reduce costs. The enumeration of organizations migrating to cloud-based email and collaboration services has continued to build over the past few years, where previously small and medium business (SMB) were the key end-users of business email solutions, now larger organizations are aggressively moving to the cloud. The current number of email users worldwide in 2015 is recognized to be about 2.6 billion, and this figure is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR till 2026. While total worldwide email traffic estimated to about 200 billion email per day in 2015, the corporate emails represent the major share of this total value.Business Email Market: SegmentationBusiness email market is segmented on the basis of deployment model, end-user and region. According to deployment model, business email market can be segmented into on-premise and cloud-based deployment. On the basis of end-user, business email market can be segmented into small business, medium business and large enterprises. Regionally, business email market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) and Japan.Request Report Sample@Business Email Market: Regional OutlookBusiness email market is witnessing stable growth and is expected to grow steadily during the projected period. North America is the dominating region in business email market and is expected to remain dominant followed by Western Europe during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is expected to exhibit highest CAGR due to rapid progress in enterprise sector across evolving economies of countries like India, China and Philippines.Business Email Market: DriversBusiness email market is being primarily driven by organizations need for a formal communication platform. Growing influx of SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) and SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses) across the globe is driving the growth of business email market. Furthermore, increasing popularity of cloud-based business email solutions is expected to fuel the growth of business email market during the projected period. However, security concerns regarding cloud-based email solutions coupled with need for dedicated internet connection are expected to restrain the growth of business email market amidst the forecast period 2016-2026.Visit For TOC@Business Email Market: Key PlayersThe key vendors in the Business email market include Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Yahoo Inc., Rediff.com India Ltd., Rackspace Hostings Inc., GoDaddy Inc., IBM Corporation, Intermedia.net Inc., Fastmail, Zoho Corporation and others. Major players in the business email market boost their market share by mergers & acquisitions with other players in the market. Furthermore, long-term collaboration with cloud-based storage providers is another strategy followed by major business email providers to gain competitive edge.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Food Bulking Agents Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2026

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Food bulking agents market are non-nutritive additives that increase the bulk (volume or weight) of a food without affecting its taste and keeping its utility and functionality intact. An additive is a substance added to something in small quantities to improve or preserve it. Guar gum, psyllium husk and starch are some commonly used bulking agents. Carnuba Wax, Glycerin, Beta, Glucan, Mannitol, Maltitlol, Polydextrose, Methylcellulose and Pectin are other examples of food bulking agents. Widely used in low calorie foods, meal replacements, pastries, cereals and most processed foods bulking agents can be used as weight loss aid for their ability of delivering fullness and decreased appetite. Food bulking agents cause significant increase in the volume of food while there may not be very significant contribution to available energy. Bulking agents can also be used in convenience foods and processed meat along with pet foods and dairy products such as desserts and ice cream. Since they are added to increase the bulk of food and pass through the intestine without getting digested, they are especially used in foods for weight reduction.There are several factors and trends that drive the growth and market performance of the global Food Bulking Agents Market.With increasing emphasis on health, fat content and calorie control, food product designers need bulking agents that fill many more requirements. Wide usability of bulking agents in slimming foods, beverages, bakery products, condiments, seasonings, and as filler in vitamins further drive the Food Bulking Agents Market. Since the main aim is increasing the products volume keeping its functionality and taste intact, its usability and effectiveness increases manifold.The manufacturing cost of more sophisticated food bulking agents is high which passes onto the end consumer thus keeping this product out of the reach of market with lower disposable income. Though additives are not harmful, some will only cause serious harm to the human body when taken in large doses or if someone is sensitive to a particular additive. These factors are likely to restrict the growth of the Food Bulking Agents Market.Request to view table of content @Sayona Colors Pvt Ltd, Ningbo Pangs Chem Int'L Co.,Ltd., Sumimoto Technology Corporation, A Zhengzhou Natural Chemical Co., Ltd., Acroyali Holdings Qingdao Co Ltd., Adhya Biotech, aftab rooyan abnoos, Ali, alico, Allenco are some of the suppliers operating in the Food Bulking Agents Market.A sample of this report is available upon request @The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, types and applications.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Software Defined Radio (SDR) Market Intelligence Report Offers Growth Prospects

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With the evolution of digital electronics the radio market and communication technologies have evolved a lot. Though the concept of software defined radio (SDR) is not new, in the recent years, this market has undergone many changes in terms of technology and uses. SDR is a type of radio communication system where communication is carried out by the use of software on embedded system or personal computer instead of implementing hardware such as filters, amplifiers, mixers, detectors, demodulators and modulators, among others. SDR are capable of transmitting and receiving a wide spectrum of frequency. When the data from a source is converted into digital format, the remaining activities involved in radio communications are carried out with the help of software driven automated functions.SDR optimizes the tactical information system as embedded software used in SDR helps in the dynamic selection of the communication channel. The number of digital service users is increasing resulting into the improved adoption rate of software defined radio. Public safety, military and commercial use are the three major end-use applications of SDR systems. The demand for SDRs in expected to increase in coming years owing to efficiency and cost effectiveness offered by them. The industry has undergone transformation from analog to digital. Thus, the advance capabilities of digital radio are expected to drive the growth of SDR market. Multiple regulations govern the SDR market and this affects the market growth and trends. For instance, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) legally created a newer class for equipment of SDRs that had streamlined equipment authorization procedure.Request Report Sample@Military modernization programs being carried out by several countries such as South Korea, India, Germany, Japan and the U.S and the interoperability provided by SDR are major driving forces for SDR market. The issues faced in the integration of the various sub systems pose a challenge to the SDR market. Further, the development of software platforms, technologies and tools, which allow flexible specification, design and implementation of radio systems, is another significant challenge. Players in software defined radio market have potential opportunity in technical advancements of SDR technology such as resolving the problem of frequency congestion, wide frequency range (spectrum) and improved broadcasting services in future.Software defined radio market is segmented on the basis of type, end-user application and geography. On the basis of type of SDR, the market is segmented into ideal software defined radio, baseband software defined radio (BBSDR) and high frequency software defined radio (HFSDR). On the basis of end-user industry, SDR market is segmented into defense industry, telecom industry, manufacturing plants, public safety vendors and personal use. U.S. Canada, Japan, France, Brazil, South Korea, India, Germany and Italy have emerged as the leading countries for software defined radio market.Request For TOC@Some of the key vendors in software defined radio market are BAE Systems PLC, Elbit Systems Ltd., IndraSistemas, L3 Communications Corporation, Raytheon Co., Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co KG, Thales Group, Viasat Incorporated, SAAB AB, Rockwell Collins, Northrop Grumman Corp., ITT Corporation, Harris Corporation and Datasoft Corporation, among others.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
ASEAN Hard Luxury Goods Market Intelligence Report Offers Growth Prospects

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Luxury goods comprises of products such as accessories, footwear, apparel, watches and others which are quite expensive and target those consumers who belongs to premium class. The market for luxury goods consist of three types of end consumers, which includes kids lying between the age of 0-12 years, teenagers belonging to the age group of 13 to 19 years and the rest lies in adult group. Luxury goods market can also be segmented on the basis of application which includes soft luxury goods and hard luxury goods. Soft luxury goods includes designer apparel and leather goods such as hand bags and others, which is easily available for the customers in the hypermarket stores or directly operative outlet. Whereas hard luxury goods comprises of jewellery and premium watches. The hard luxury goods are offered to the consumers through premium class outlets, stores or sell out through internet.Thus the market for hard luxury product is also segmented on the basis of mode of distribution channel used for offering products to the consumers. The mode of Distribution channel is segmented into retail outlets, sell out through internet, companys brand outlet and others. Among all these distribution channel online retailing is expected to be most preferred mode for distribution in the forecasted period. This is due to consumer convenience preferences and availability of the products at lower price. Furthermore, the second most preferred mode is expected to be the companys brand retail outlets as they provide better offerings at less price.Request Report Sample@Globally, the demand of hard luxury goods are showing robust annual growth of 10% to 12%.North America and Europe is the highest contributor in the market share of hard luxury goods market. Increasing demand of accessories coupled with rising middle class disposable income has supported the growth of emerging markets in Asia-Pacific. It is expected to account for the fastest CAGR growth as compared to other regions. Among all the countries in Asia Pacific China is expected to be the most lucrative market followed by Japan. India is also expected to show a healthy growth in the forecasted period by registering a single digit CAGR growth. Whereas in ASEAN region Singapore is expected to be the most dominant market. The rising growth for hard luxury goods in Singapore is supported by the new entrants of jewellery brands and rising sales of watches. Rapid urbanization coupled with increasing disposable income in Thailand and Malaysia is predicted to boost the customer base and prominent contributor in the revenue of hard luxury good market in ASEAN region followed by Indonesia and Philippines.Expanding middle class income group coupled with the urge of consumers for premium class products are the key drivers for the market growth of hard luxury goods in ASEAN region. Moreover, wide varieties of product offerings in each segments and continuous innovation and product launch is also expected to influence the consumers of ASEAN region to fuel the market growth of hard luxury goods in the forecasted period.Request For TOC@However, the market of hard luxury goods in ASEAN region possess some restraining factors. This includes the weak distribution channel and limited availability of the products. Furthermore, the consumers perceives these products as quite expensive and also it is considered as a premium class product and not an absolute necessity.The key international market players for hard luxury goods operating in ASEAN region includes Gianni Versace S.p.A., LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, Prada S.p.A., Hermes International SCA, Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A, Prada S.p.A, Ralph Lauren Corp, Christian Dior SE, Gucci, Rolex SA, Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton Malletier, Tod's S.p.A. and others.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Corrugated Boxes Market Analysis, Trends, Forecast, 2014-2020

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Corrugated boxes are boxes where a wavy layer of cardboard, also known as fluting, is sandwiched between two thin outer layers. Corrugated boxes are available in various shapes and sizes and are extensively used in the packaging of various goods such as foods, beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hazardous chemicals and other materials. These boxes are the preferred means of packaging as they posses high durability, light-weightiness, high strength, appealing aesthetic value, cost effectiveness and recyclability. Corrugated boxes are majorly used for shipping of goods.Rapid industrialization, particularly in emerging economies such as China, Brazil and India, is expected to increase trade activities in this region, thus, subsequently driving the demand for corrugated boxes market. In addition, growth of the electronics and automotive sectors is expected to boost the growth of the corrugated boxes market over the next few years, as these boxes provide protection to the various delicate parts of these equipments. Furthermore, innovation in design of corrugated boxes has led to its increased demand in packaging of various foods & beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, thus boosting the growth of the corrugated boxes market. The growth of these sectors is expected to fuel the demand for corrugated boxes market over the next few years. However, the economic turndown in 2008  2009, which led to a lowering in trade activities, impacted the corrugated boxes market adversely. Slow economic recovery and trade activities in several nations are expected to restraint the growth of the corrugated boxes market. Moreover, increasing price of corrugated boxes is expected to be another vital factor hampering the growth of the corrugated boxes market over the next few years. Growing concept for corrugated boxes as a point-of-sale display is expected to open opportunities for the growth of the corrugated boxes market.Request Report Sample@Foods & beverages was the largest end-use segment of the market. However, personal care products, household care products, electronics and chemicals are expected to show a significant growth in demand for corrugated boxes over the next six years.U.S. had the largest for corrugated boxes market; however, China is expected to surpass the U.S. within the forecast period making Asia Pacific the largest corrugated boxes market. On a regional level, Asia Pacific was the largest market and the trend is expected to continue over the next few years, owing to the high prevalence of industrial activities.Request For TOC@DS Smith plc, International Paper, MeadWestvaco Corporation, Mondi Group, Nampak Limited, Nine Dragons Paper, Packaging Corporation of America, Smurfit Kappa Group and VPK Packaging Group are some of the key players present in the global corrugated boxes market.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Carbon Steel Market to register a healthy CAGR for the forecast period, 2015-2025

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Carbon steel which is also known as plain carbon steel is an alloy which is manufactured using the combination of iron and carbon. Carbon steel is also the term used to refer steel which is not stainless steel. Carbon steel also contains other metals in extremely small quantities. Other alloying metal used in the manufacturing of carbon steel includes manganese, copper and silicon. The proportion of carbon is increased in the steel in order to increase the physical properties of the product. High carbon content in the metal increases the hardness as well as strength of the product. However, increased proportion of carbon reduces the ductility of the product making it extremely difficult to weld. High carbon content usually lowers the steels melting point and also its temperature resistance. The carbon content in the steel varies from 0.1 to 1.5%. However, there are steels that contain above 2% of carbon content but they are rarely used and have extremely specific applications. Carbon steels are mainly classified as low carbon steel, medium carbon steel and high carbon steel depending on the carbon content in the steel alloy. Carbon steel is one of the most widely used steel alloys. Low carbon steel or mild steel is the most common form of carbon steel used owing to its easy availability and cheap price.Medium and high carbon steel is widely used in many common applications. High carbon steel are used to manufacture a wide range of tools and equipments which includes knives, saw blades, chains, brackets, wear parts,pneumatic drill bits, railway wheels, shear blades, wire for structural work and jaws for vices among others. Carbon steel is majorly used in manufacturing a range of cutting tools owing to their great hardness and brittleness. Carbon steel is used in sheeting and in various structural forms owing to its amenability to tooling and wielding. Carbon steel is also used to in the construction industry. Carbon steel is widely used in the construction of bridges. Thus, the growing construction industry is expected to drive the growth of the carbon steel market. Carbon steels also find applications in the automobile industry. Carbon steel is an important material used in the manufacturing of automobiles framework. The automobiles body is usually manufactured using carbon steel. Carbon steel is used in manufacturing ships and rail roads.Thus, the growing automobile industry is expected to boost the overall demand for carbon steel market.Request Report Sample@Asia Pacific is the largest manufacturer of carbon steel. Presence of many carbon steel manufacturers in China is expected to boost the overall demand for carbon steel market. Asia Pacific is also the largest consumer of carbon steel. The increase in urbanization coupled with the growing economies in the region is expected to augment the overall demand for carbon steel in the region. Asia Pacific is followed by Europe in terms of consumption of carbon steel. Presence of many automobile manufacturers in the region is expected to boost the demand for carbon steel in the region. The demand for carbon steel is expected to grow rapidly owing to the high demand for the steel alloy in the railway and ship industry.Request For TOC@Curtis Steel Co., Inc., Omega Steel Company, Afarak Group, ArcelorMittal SA and Bushwick Metals LLC are some of the participants of the global carbon steel market.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Green Coating Market is Expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% by 2022

Green Coating Market

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Market research future published a half cooked research report on global green coating market. The green coating market is expected to grow over the CAGR of around 5% during the period 2016 to 2022.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 85 market data tables and figures spread in 140 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Global Green Coating Market Research Report - Forecast to 2022".Market Highlights:Coating is a layer of a substance spread over a surface as for protection or decoration. Any coating that does not pollute the environment or indirectly reduces pollution during any of its stages can be termed as green coating. Increasing awareness about volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions and stringent environmental regulations by the government fueling the growth of this market. On the basis of region, Asia-Pacific region is the largest market by value. The green coating market is expected to grow at CAGR of about 5% by 2022Key Players of Green Coating Market: Axalta Coating System Allnex S.a r.l. Momentive Omnova Solutions Bayer Material Science Valspar Corporation Arkema Inc. Sherwin-Williams Company DSM PPG IndustriesRequest a Sample Copy @Market Research Analysis:The market is highly application based. The factors contributing to the growth of the green coating market are, growing the end use industries, rising the consumer awareness and stringent government regulation. The market is expected to have higher growth rate as compared to the previous years. Asia-Pacific is the largest region for the green coating market.Scope of the Report:This study provides an overview of the global green coating market, tracking two market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the global Green coating market as Types and Application.By Materials Powder Coatings Radiation Cure Coatings Water-Borne Coatings High Solids CoatingBy Application Industrial Architectural Automotive Packaging othersBrief TOC for Green Coating Market:1 Executive Summary2 Scope Of The Report2.1 Market Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Research Objectives2.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations2.3 Markets Structure3 Market Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Secondary Research3.3 Primary Research3.4 Forecast Model4 Market Landscape4.1 Five Forces Analysis4.1.1 Threat Of New Entrants4.1.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.1.3 Threat of substitutes4.1.4 Segment rivalry4.2 Value Chain of Global Green coating Market5 Industry Overview of Global Green coating Market5.1 Introduction5.2 Growth Drivers5.3 Impact analysis5.4 Market Challenges5.5 Impact analysisContinueAccess Report Details @Target Audience: Material Manufacturing Organizations Distributors & Suppliers Research Institute / Education Institute Potential Investors Government agencies & research organizationAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash AnandMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Cellular Rubber Market Growth with Worldwide Industry Analysis to 2025

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Cellular rubber, also known as foam rubber is manufactured using a foam agent which creates an air filled matrix structure. They are porous, closed-cell rubbers which are manufactured in accordance with expansion process with the help of gas developing agents. Cellular rubber are based on synthetic or natural rubber which include elastomer and EPDM. The cells in the rubber are not tight and are not linked to each other. This property of cellular rubber makes it watertight and airtight. Cellular rubber is manufactured on a very large process in the form of blocks. The composition of rubber mixture possesses varied properties and hence, the product is fit to suit the requirements of specific applications.Some of the physical and technical properties of rubber include , good insulation property, excellent sealing properties, high compressibility, low heat conducting values, low water absorption, NBR/CR mixture along with high resistance to oils and high flame retardance rating, EPDM mixture with ageing resistance and high temperature.Request Report Sample@The key drivers for the cellular rubber market include the rubber industry, electronic and automotive industry. Cellular rubber is especially used in the end use industries such as, the automotive industry to manufacture door seals and tubes, body and chassis parts, weatherstripping among others. In the space industry, cellular rubber is used for sealing, shock absorption and confinement among others..The key segments for the cellular market include North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Rest of the World (RoW). Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market for cellular rubber owing to the major rubber and automotive industries in China.Request For TOC@The major players of cellular rubber industries include: Chicago Wilcox Mfg. Co. Inc., Rogers Foam Corp, Stockwell Elastomerics, American Foam Rubber, LP, Foam Rubber LLC, Saint Gobain Performance Plastics, Metro Industries, McMaster-Carr, Monmouth Rubber & Plastic Corp and Ace Hose & Rubber Co.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Cosmetic Ingredients Market To Make Great Impact In Near Future by 2025

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Cosmetic ingredient market has changed a lot over the course of time. Since time immemorial, human beings are using different types of cosmetics to enhance their physical appearance, which in turn makes people feel more confident and pleasing in nature. It is due to growing demand for beauty products that market is flooded with various cosmetic products. The multibillion dollar industry is growing at a lightning speed to meet the consumer demand. Cosmetic ingredients are the specific sets of substance that are used in the formulation and composition of cosmetics. Any kind of impurities in raw materials and subsidiary technical materials are not considered as ingredients, hence water is also considered as separate ingredient. At present, various cosmetic business entrepreneurs use more than 5000 available cosmetic ingredients to offer selected cosmetics products.Cosmetic Industry: Drivers & RestraintsThe demand for good quality cosmetic products is fuelling the cosmetic ingredient market. Changing lifestyle specially in developing regions of Asia Pacific and Latin America brings a sea of opportunities to cosmetic ingredients manufacturers and suppliers. Increase in per capita income, rising awareness about beautification and increasingly urbanized population is offering momentum to the growth of overall cosmetic industry which in turn is escalating the cosmetic ingredients market to its zenith. Though cosmetic industry market size is growing at an impressive rate, various regulations prohibiting the use of certain chemicals as ingredients is a major challenge to the cosmetic ingredients manufacturers. In APAC, China and ASEAN regions are some of the most lucrative regions for increase in consumer spending and rise in GDP.Request Report Sample@Cosmetic Ingredients Market: SegmentationOn the basis of product type, the global cosmetic ingredients market is segmented into,SurfactantsEmulsifiersAntimicrobialsUV absorbersEmollientsConditioning PolymersOthersAlpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxyl acids and talc are some of the examples of commonly used cosmetics ingredients. Among all these product type, surfactants are expected to hold the market dominance throughout the forecast period, however, conditioning polymers is projected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2015 and 2025.On the basis of end-use applications, cosmetic ingredients market is segmented intoSkin CareNail CareMake upOthersSkin care and make up are the two most lucrative markets for chemical ingredients manufacturers. Together, they account more than onefourth of total cosmetic ingredients market. Changing lifestyle and increasing awareness about skin care is boosting the demand for skin care applications.Cosmetic Ingredients Market: Region-wise OutlookOn the basis of region, cosmetic ingredients finds its market scope in North America, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, Europe and Asia-Pacific. North America and Europe dominates the cosmetic ingredients, however, Asia Pacific and Latin America are expected to be the most promising region in terms of incremental opportunities lying ahead for generating high revenue. Cosmetic ingredient market is highly regulated in Europe and North America. China, India and ASEAN are the key promising countries driving the cosmetic ingredients market in Asia-Pacific. Rapid growth of urbanization coupled with growing desire for skin care is expected to offer above average growth to cosmetic ingredients market in Asia-Pacific. Brazil leads the cosmetic market followed by Mexico in Latin America. As per the CANIPEC, the Mexican personal care industrys national chamber and association, there are more than 64 business enterprises operating in personal care market that are worth approximately US$ 14 billion in Mexico.Request For TOC@Cosmetic Ingredients Market: Key PlayersCompany needs to meet the stringent quality norms before marketing their key ingredients. It is due to these factors that the market in North America and Europe is consolidated and is dominated by list of key cosmetic ingredient manufacturers and suppliers.Some of the market participants in the global cosmetic ingredients market are BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Co., Ashland Inc., Rhodia, DuPont Tata & Lyle Bio Products, Sederma Inc., Sumitomo Group, etc. Companies are investing heavily and are entering into mergers and acquisitions to tap the cosmetic ingredient market potential globally. For instance, Sumitomo Group is expected to acquire active cosmetic ingredient business from Kyowa Hakko Europe GmbH in order to advance its cosmetic ingredient business in Europe.Going through these points, there is no doubt that cosmetic ingredients market hold good market prospects in near future, thereby is anticipated to grow at impressive CAGR during the forecast period, 20152025.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.compress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Craft Beer Market Competitive landscape, Company profile, Key Players By 2016- 2027

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Market Synopsis of Craft Beer MarketThe global craft beer market predicted to have a strong growth in the coming years. As per MRFR analysis, in the global market, the popularity of craft beer has risen and the consumers interest is shifting towards craft beer due to change in taste and innovation in recipe. The other factor which has driven the global craft beer market is increasing demand of malt as a raw material in food industry. Also innovations in enzyme technologies that are being used for manufacturing craft beer have also supported the growth in this market over the past couple of years.Major Key Players The Craft Beer Co., Boston Beer Co., Yuengling & Son Inc, New Belgium Craft Brewery, Gambrinus, Deschutes Brewery, Bell's Brewery, Duvel Moortgat USA, Sweetwater Brewery and others.Request a Sample Copy @SegmentationOn the basis of types, Ale Lager Beer Others.On the basis of raw materials Malt (barley, wheat and rice), Yeast Enzymes.Study Objectives of Craft Beer Market To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Craft Beer Market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To Analyse the Global Craft Beer Market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, Porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW) To provide country-le vel analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country-level analysis of the market for segment by types, raw materials and region To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analysing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the marketRequest TOC, Tables, Figures @The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.The reports also cover country level analysis: Americas (North & Latin) Europe Asia  Pacific Middle East & AfricaRelated ReportGlobal Savory Ingredients Market Information- by Product Type, by Ingredient Type, by Wellness Perspective, by Application, by Region - Forecast to 2022.Know more about this report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.comAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
NYC's collection of niche museums grew by one this week with the opening of the Museum of Chocolate, spearheaded locally by French chocolatier Jacques Torres. The museumfully titled "Choco-Story New York: The Chocolate Museum and Experience with Jacques Torres"operates like a natural history exhibition, examining the origins of chocolate from Mayan and Aztec civilizations and looking into the process of transforming the cacao bean into chocolate.

On display are pottery and tools related to the cultivation of cacao alongside artifacts that show the bean's importance in many cultures across what's now Central America and later in Europe. Another section follows the cacao pod from an Amazonian rainforest through fermentation and into its final, edible state.

Also included in the tour are chocolate tastings, Mayan hot chocolate, and chocolate truffles; along with samples of dark, milk and white chocolates, both blends and single-origin. Classes in chocolate-making will also be offered.

Choco-Story New York is located at 350 Hudson Street. Open Wednesday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Market Size of Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market, Forecast Report 2015-2025

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Real-time e-healthcare system is one of the best ways to keep your health records and track it anytime, without any geographical constraint. Patients can always stay in touch with their doctors and communicate with them about any health issue. They can self-check also for an immediate result without any third partys dependence. With advanced technology and rapid innovation, these days products are being made in such a way that it should be more consumer friendly and easy to use. Real-time e-healthcare system fulfills all the above criteria and hence, the market is growing at a positive rate.Recently, Kaiser Permanente implemented an EMR protocol in Community Health Centres in Oregon, US, to improve clinical decision support for patients with diabetes, which can remind them to prescribe hypertension medications to reduce heart attack and other strokes. iPatientCare EHR, Praxis, EMR, Insta HMS, e-MDs Chart, WRS Health, AccuMed, WEBeDoctor, A.I.med are some of the top Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software products.Request Report Sample@Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: Drivers & RestraintsTechnological advancement, increasing disposable income, increase use of online services, increase use of mobile devices, increased health cost and expenditure, increasing need of an integrated healthcare system are the most important driving factors in real-time e-healthcare system market. Sine real-time e-healthcare system reduces medical errors and easily accessible information, the demand for real time e-healthcare system has increased regardless of the geographical location.Lack of inexperienced professionals, high maintenance and service cost, privacy concerns, the complexity of systems, less presence of real-time e-healthcare system in rural areas including developed nations like Europe and are acting as a barrier for real-time e-healthcare system market.Request For TOC@Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: SegmentationReal-time e-healthcare system is broadly classified on the basis of the following segments By Product:Fitness Bands/wristband deviceClip on monitor devicesThermometerBlood-pressure monitor deviceM-health applicationsBlood glucose monitor devicesBy End-user:Public/Private HospitalsPharmacyIndividualsOthersReal-Time E-Healthcare System Market: OverviewThe real-time e-healthcare market has grown substantially at a healthy CAGR due to rising disposable income, increasing health awareness by consumers, ageing population and increasing healthcare expenditure. With rapid technological advancement and variety of options available in the market, real-time e-healthcare market is expected to grow globally. North America represents the largest market for this product category. Asia Pacific will emerge as the fastest growing region in real-time e-healthcare market.Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: Region-wise OutlookThe real-time e-healthcare market is expected to register a double-digit CAGR for the forecast period. Depending on geographic regions, real-time e-healthcare market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market due to the improved healthcare infrastructure and high healthcare cost and rising disposable income. Increase demand of cloud computing from the developed nations like Europe and North America may also increase the demand for real-time e-healthcare systems by the end of forecast period.Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market players in real-time e-healthcare market are Fitbit, Garmin, Jawbone, Misfit Wearables, DexCom, Medtronic, Abbott, Cerner Corporation, GE Healthcare, Epic Systems Corporation, Medical Information Technology Inc. (MEDITECH).ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Trends in the Galvanic Isolation Market 2015-2025

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Global Galvanic Isolation Market: OverviewGalvanic isolation is a designing technique that isolates functional sections of electrical systems to eliminate stray current. Optical isolators and transformer are generally used for galvanic isolation, which ensure AC signals to pass through the circuit but not stray current. Various galvanic isolation components such as relays and capacitors are used in intrinsic safety isolators, and healthcare equipment and monitoring system. In addition, galvanic isolation can be used in medical imaging devices, UPS, and invertors etc.Global Galvanic Isolation Market: SegmentationGalvanic isolation market is segmented into vertical and region. On the basis of vertical the global galvanic isolation market is segmented into telecom sector, healthcare sector, public sector, industrial sector, manufacturing sector, energy and utility sector, and transportation sector. FMI forecasts, telecom sector is expected to create a huge market opportunity for key players operating in the galvanic isolation market. Region wise the global galvanic isolation market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, and Middle East and Africa (MEA).Request Report Sample@Global Galvanic Isolation Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global galvanic isolation market is expected to witness a considerable growth in CAGR during the forecast period from 2015 to 2025. North America held the lead in terms of relative market share consumption value of galvanic isolation market in 2014. As per FMI projection, the galvanic isolation market in APEJ region is expected to grow at a fastest CAGR during the forecast period.Global Galvanic Isolation Market: DriversGalvanic isolation device is easy to install, provides signal conversion options and is cheaper than other isolators. In addition, long-term performance of galvanic isolation device and application specific design are some of the major factors identified in the market that are driving the growth of galvanic isolation market across the globe.Global Galvanic Isolation Market: RestraintFailure of galvanic isolation devices without any notification, alert or symptoms can act as a restraint which is expected to hinder the growth of the galvanic isolation market.Global Galvanic Isolation Market: Competitive LandscapeMajor players in the global galvanic isolation market focus on investing on research and development activities in order to come up with advanced products. For example, Avago Technologies limited launched dual-channel R2Coupler optocoupler devices, the ACFL-621xT and ACFL-521xT in 2015. These optocoupler have especially been designed for automotive applications. Additionally, in the same year, Avago Technologies limited launched a wide range of latest industrial fiber optical products in Europe.Request For TOC@Global Galvanic Isolation Market: Key PlayersSome of the major players operating in the global galvanic isolation market are Corrpro Companies Inc., Avago Technologies limited (AVGO), STMicroelectronics N.V., ROHM Semiconductor, Perle Systems Europe Ltd., Infineon Technologies AG, Professional Mariner LLC., Pepper+Fuchs GmbH and Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) etc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Soy Protein Ingredient Market Forecast and Segments, 2015-2025

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Soybean is processed primarily into three forms which includes soy protein isolates comprise ~90% protein, soy protein concentrates with ~70% protein, and soy flour with ~50% protein. Soy protein ingredient is considered to be the best substitute for animal protein. Soy protein ingredient comprises amino acids and are also rich in fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, polyunsaturated fats and lecithin, magnesium and vitamin B. Thus it contains high health-related benefits and functional properties. Due to its characteristics it primarily used as emulsifier, gel, tenderizer, binder, stabilizer, and thickener by food and beverages processing industry. Soy protein ingredients are also environmental friendly as they require less amount of water while processing.Soy Protein Ingredient Market SegmentationOn the basis of type soy protein ingredient can be segmented as soy protein isolates, soy protein concentrates and soy flour. Among all these product type soy protein isolates is expected to account for the potential market share followed by soy protein concentrates. Due to high percentage of protein content in soy protein isolates is supporting the demand for the same during the forecast period. Soy flour is also expected to show a substantial growth in the near future. However due to less protein content in the soy flour is expected to restrain its growth in the near future.Request Report Sample@Furthermore the soy protein ingredient market is segmented on the basis of application which includes bakery and confectionary, processed meat products, functional foods, dairy replacers, infant foods and others. Among all these segment functional food is expected to be the major contributor in supporting the growth soy protein ingredient followed by processed meat products. Rising awareness among the consumer for health beneficiary products is supporting the demand for soy protein ingredient market during the forecast period. Moreover, infant food is also expected to support the demand of soy protein ingredient market. This is due to the increasing parental concern for providing the nutritious and healthy food to their child.Geographically Europe and North America is expected to account for the major market share in the forecast period. However these region is expected to record moderate growth. In North America, U.S. is expected to be the major contributor in terms of revenue followed by Canada. Moreover Asia pacific is expected to show the double digit CAGR growth during the forecast period followed by Latin America. In Asia pacific region China and India is expected to account for the substantial growth due to increased demand for nutritional food among the consumers. Moreover in Latin America, Brazil is expected to be the major contributor in terms of revenue followed by Mexico.Soy Protein Ingredient Market DriversHigh functional properties of the soy protein ingredient coupled with ecofriendly and natural health benefits is driving the demand of soy protein during the forecast period. Moreover it is cost effective than the animal protein and reflects the same protein content. This is expected to enhance adoption of soy protein across various end-use industries resulting in increasing the shelf life of the processed food, so it is also considered as the most sustainable protein ingredients which is favoring its growth in alternate way.Request For TOC@Soy Protein Ingredient Restraining FactorsHowever, its anti-nutrients and allergic nature of soy protein ingredients is restraining its growth during the forecast period. Moreover, negative impact of genetically modified (GM) soy coupled with the availability of various alternatives such as milk proteins, pea proteins and other animal proteins are also effecting the growth of soy protein ingredient in the forecast period.Soy Protein Ingredient Market: Key PlayersKey international players operating in the soy protein ingredient market are, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company, Dean Foods Company, Armor Proteins, Gelita Group, Bunge Alimentos SA, Kerry Ingredients Inc., Burcon NutraScience, Cargill Health & Food Technologies, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Kellogg Company, Doves Farm Foods, Kraft Foods Group Inc., Manildra Group, MGP Ingredients, Omega Protein Corporation, George Weston Foods and others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Meat Packaging Market with Current Trends Analysis, 2015-2025

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Demand for meat packaging is projected to witness single digit growth during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to the increased production of meat in the global market. Packaging is anything which is used to contain, handle, protect, and deliver raw material and processed goods. The main purpose of packaging is to provide products to consumer in perfect condition i.e, in intact form of food without spoilage. In addition, the advantages of packaging includes providing space for sharing information about the product such as nutrition, usage and direction.Meat Packaging Market: Drivers and RestraintsMeat packaging market is flourished worldwide due to various factors such as urbanization especially in developing economies such as India, Russia, Brazil and China, increase in demand of convenience products due to the time constraint. However, some of the factors which are restraining the market growth of meat packaging includes environment issues such as recyclability and sustainability coupled with hygienic packaging and rising concern regarding the health. The major trends of global meat packaging market are demand for smaller packaging size, new packaging material development and increase awareness towards environmental issues. Nano packaging also plays an important role in meat packaging as meat needs an aseptic packaging that lasts for maximum days for extended shelf life.Request Report Sample@Meat Packaging Market: SegmentationMeat packaging market is segmented on the basis of type, material, distribution channel and region. On the basis of type meat packaging market is segmented into On the basis of material meat packaging market is segmented as plastic wraps and storage wrap which includes three major categories of plastics: polyethylene (PE), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), oven cooking bags which are made from heat-resistant nylon, aluminium foil which primarily is made from iron and silicon, freezer paper which is white paper coated on one side with plastic to help keep air out of frozen foods, parchment paper made from cotton fibre and/or pure chemical wood pulps and wax paper made with a food-safe paraffin wax. Further on the basis of distribution channel it is segmented into hypermarket/supermarket, grocery stores, online retailing, departmental stores and others. Lastly, on the basis of region the market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan and Middle East and Africa.Meat Packaging Market: Regional OverviewNorth America is the largest market for meat packaging followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. China meat packaging is expected to show a significant growth due to rise in personal disposable income coupled with rise in consumption of beef, pork and other meat. Developed market such as North America, Europe are expected to exhibit faster growth rate by 2025.Request For TOC@Meat Packaging Market: Key PlayersThe major players in the meat packaging market Amcor Ltd, Crown Holdings, Dupont, Nuconic Packaging Llc, Tetra Pak International S.A., Silgan Holdings, Inc., Reynolds Group and Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd to name a few. The big multinational companies in this category are investing heavily in the expansion development of product portfolio in meat packaging material in order to maintain a position in the packaging market. The companies are also focusing on merger and acquisition as strategies to enhance their production facilities and expand its global presence. For instance, in 2013, Crown holding acquired Mivisa Envases, SAU, a Spanish two- and three-piece food cans and ends manufacturing company.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
World Grinding-polishing Machine Market Research Report 2021(Covering USA, EU, China, South East Asia, India, Japan and etc)

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SummaryICRWorlds Grinding-polishing Machine market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.The report includes the forecasts, Analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.Global Grinding-polishing Machine Market: Application Segment AnalysisGlobal Grinding-polishing Machine Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaThe Players mentioned in our reportBuehlerAlliedLOESER GmbHGARBOLINS Maquinas IndustiaisLapmaster Wolters GmbHLangzaunerATM GmbHMEPSASTRUERSAUTOPULITOptoTechScantool GroupSurface EngineeringARCOS SRLGHIDINI FELICESatislohBretonEisenblatterGet Sample Report @Table Of Contents:Chapter 1 About the Grinding-polishing Machine Industry1.1 Industry Definition1.1.1 Types of Grinding-polishing Machine industry1.2 Main Market Activities1.3 Similar Industries1.4 Industry at a GlanceChapter 2 World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Grinding-polishing Machine Markets by Regions2.1.1 USAMarket Revenue (M USD) by Types, Through 2021Market Revenue (M USD) by Applications, Through 2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20152.1.2 EuropeMarket Revenue (M USD) by Types, Through 2021Market Revenue (M USD) by Applications, Through 2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20152.1.3 ChinaMarket Revenue (M USD) by Types, Through 2021Market Revenue (M USD) by Applications, Through 2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 2015Buy Complete Report Visit @About Us:Reportbazzar.com is your trusted source for the most inclusive and informative assortment of market research reports designed to empower you with the latest in industry information that translates to time and cost savings for your business. We not only help you give wing to your latent business ideas but also facilitate you in taking the best informed and strategic decisions that guarantee success in your most promising business endeavors.Contact Us:ReportBazzar30 Wall Street, 8th floor,New York, NY 10005.United States.US: +1 (212) 389-6363India: +91 20 66528525Email Id: sales@reportbazzar.comWebsite:
Global Arthroscopy Columns Market 2017 : Seeuco Electronics Technology, SOPRO-COMEG, Medstar, Ackermann Instrumente, Laryngograph, Olympus America

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A market study based on the " Arthroscopy Columns Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Arthroscopy Columns Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Arthroscopy Columns industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Arthroscopy Columns market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research Report1. Olympus America2. Laryngograph3. Orlvision Medical Solution4. XION5. Vimex Endoscopy6. Seeuco Electronics Technology7. SOPRO-COMEG8. Medstar9. Ackermann InstrumenteThe report studies the industry for Arthroscopy Columns across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Arthroscopy Columns market & dynamics of demand and supply of Arthroscopy Columns into consideration. The ' Arthroscopy Columns ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Arthroscopy Columns market globally, which starts from the definition of the Arthroscopy Columns industry and develops towards Arthroscopy Columns market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Arthroscopy Columns market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Arthroscopy Columns market. The geographical segmentation of the Arthroscopy Columns industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Arthroscopy Columns is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Arthroscopy Columns market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Arthroscopy Columns market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Arthroscopy Columns market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Arthroscopy Columns production volume, data regarding demand and Arthroscopy Columns supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Arthroscopy Columns across the globe.Market and Research are a trusted brand in the research industry with capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At Market and Research, we believe in building long term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries including Energy, Chemicals and Materials, Automotive and Aerospace.Contact Us :Market and ResearchUnited States
Global Diesel Engines Market for Non-Automotive Applications 2017-2021: Market Size, Shares, Growth and Future Report

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Albany, NY, March 08, 2017: Diesel engines offer better operational performance, which makes them a preferred choice over petrol engines. The market is predicted to experience high growth due to the rising demand for diesel engines from APAC. China, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Japan are the key countries contributing to market growth in the region. These countries provide opportunities to global vendors to increase their market reach and establish their manufacturing plants to gain cost advantages.The global diesel engines market for non-automotive applications to grow at a CAGR of 5.82 % during the period 2017-2021. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global diesel engines market for non-automotive applications for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the demand for diesel engines from the non-automotive sector worldwide.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEAGet a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Technavio's report, Global Diesel Engines Market for Non-Automotive Applications 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- Caterpillar- Cummins- MAN- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries- WrtsilOther prominent vendors- Detroit Diesel- DEUTZ- Deere & Company- Daihatsu- Doosan Infracore- Fairbanks Morse Engine- GE Transportation- HATZ Diesel- Henan Diesel Engine- Industry- Kubota- Kawasaki- Kirloskar Oil Engines- Kohler- Liebherr- Lombardini- MEGATECH PowerEnquiry at:Key questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Global Smart Coffee Maker Market 2017-2021: Latest Technology Innovations, Size, Growth and Forecast Report

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Albany, NY, March 08, 2017: A coffee maker is a countertop appliance that brews hot coffee. Smart coffee makers are the part of automatic coffee brewing machines. Smart coffee makers are enabled with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and can be operated by using an app on a smartphone. These smart coffee makers can be used from distant locations and offer the benefit of remotely controlling the device through smart connectivity.The global smart coffee maker market to grow at a CAGR of 38.81% during the period 2017-2021. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global smart coffee maker market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of smart coffee makers by the global vendors.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEAGet a Sample Research PDF with TOC:Technavio's report, Global Smart Coffee Maker Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- BEHMOR- Jarden Consumer Solutions- Nestl Nespresso- Koninklijke Philips- SMARTER APPLICATIONSOther prominent vendors- Auroma Brewing Company- DeLonghi Appliances- FANSTEL- POPPY- REDMOND Industrial groupMarket driver- Remote access convenience and growing market for automatic coffee brewing machines- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- App interface issues and less user-friendly layouts- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Players collaborating with other technology companies for integrating smart features- For a full, detailed list, view our reportEnquiry at:Key questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Global Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market Research Report 2016 - 2024

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market - Global Industry Analysis Size Share Growth Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.Increasing demand for printed electronics is one of the prime factors which areanticipated to boost the market of semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment in the short, medium, and long term. Increasing demand for single wafer processing is expected to fuel the market in the emerging economies from 2016 to 2024. In addition, manufacturers of semiconductor devices are focusing on expanding their production units in different countries which in turn is considered to be a major driving factor for the Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment globally.Single wafer processing is apt for minifab operations. The application of single wafer spin processing technology using hydrogen fluoride and ozonated water primarily accommodates a developer's shift to minifab operations, where shorter cycle times are possible. Increasing demand for single wafer processing is expected to fuel the market. Increasing application of semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment in production of various kinds of smart gadgets and smartphones, in-vehicle systems and a wide range of other electronic devices is one of the prime drivers for the market. Metallic contamination adversely affects semiconductor device performance, which in turn is fueling the application of wafer cleaning equipment across different industries globally. Growing concern for upgrading or improving product efficiency and production standard of semiconductor devices is boosting the demand for semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment. Growing demand for ICs, printed circuit boards (PCBs) other semiconductor equipment along with spurring demand for tablets and other semiconductor devices in developing economies, manufacturers of semiconductor devices are focusing on expanding production units in different countries which in a way is considered to be a major driving factor for the wafer cleaning equipment globally.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment: Scope of the StudyBased on product type, the market is segmented into single wafer processing systems, scrubbers and auto wet stations. In addition, by technology, the market is categorized into wet chemistry-based cleaning technology; etch cleaning technology and front side up wafer cleaning technology among others. Moreover, based on equipment type, the market is segmented into rotary wafer etching system and manual wet batch system. Furthermore, based on end use, the market is segmented into metallic contamination, chemical contamination, and particle contamination. Geographically, the global Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment market is categorized into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. The market report offers the forecast of the market in terms of revenue (USD million) along with a broad study of the market.Global Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market: Competitive LandscapeThe key players in this market have been competitively profiled across the five broad geographic regions. This competitive landscape is inclusive of the various business strategies adopted by these major players and their recent developments in the field of semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment. Moreover, the report includes the patent analysis of semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment. Further, the report includes the market attractiveness analysis of different product, technology equipment types and end use of semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment and insight into the major end use area of the wafer processing equipment. A comprehensive analysis of the market dynamics of the global market that is inclusive of the driving factors, restraint and opportunities is covered under the scope of the research.The companies involved in this market are focusing on extensive research and development along with acquisitions and mergers to strengthen its foothold in this market. Furthermore, strategic partnership agreement with other companies is also one of the prime business strategies adopted by the semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment companies across different regions globally. SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd. (Japan), Modutek Corporation (The U.S.), Cleaning Technologies Group (The U.S.), Akrion Systems LLC (The U.S.), Lam Research Corporation (The U.S.), Speedline Technologies, Inc. (The U.S.), ONBoard Solutions Pty Ltd. (Australia), Falcon Process Systems (The U.S.), AP&S International GmbH (Germany), MEI Wet Processing Systems and Services LLC (The U.S.), Tokyo Electron Limited (Japan) among others are operating in the this market globally.Thesemiconductor wafer cleaning equipment markethas been segmented as follows:Global Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market by Product Type- Auto Wet Stations- Scrubbers- Single Wafer Processing SystemsGlobal Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market by Technology- Wet Chemistry Based Cleaning Technology- Etch Cleaning Technology- Front Side Up Cleaning Technology- OthersGlobal Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market by Equipment Type- Rotary Wafer Etching System- Manual Wet Batch SystemGlobal Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market by End Use- Metallic Contamination- Chemical Contamination- Particle ContaminationGlobal Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market by Region- North America- The U.S.- Canada- Mexico- Europe- U.K- Germany- Eastern Europe including Russia- Italy- Rest of Europe- Asia Pacific- China- Japan- South Korea- India- Taiwan- Rest of APAC- Middle East and Africa- UAE- Saudi Arabia- Rest of Middle East and Africa- Latin America- Brazil- Argentina- Rest of Latin AmericaMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Dominance of LMR or PMR technologies the Public Safety LTE Market In The US to grow at a CAGR of 19.15% Between Forecast 2016-2020

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LTE is widely used by enterprises as well as public safety agencies for communicating with convenience. Due to the bandwidth limitations of traditional voice-centric LMR network systems, public safety agencies are interested in leveraging commercial cellular network technology to support the growing requirement of broadband applications. Considering its booming network, spectrum flexibility, and performance metrics, LTE has emerged as the leading entrant for public safety mobile broadband networks.The public safety LTE market in US to grow at a CAGR of 19.15% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the public safety LTE market in US for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of public safety LTE devices and , sales of enhanced Node B (eNB), handheld devices, routers, and modules.The market is divided into the following segments based on devices:eNodeBHandheld devicesRouter and modulesDownload Sample Copy Of This Report:Public Safety LTE Market in US 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsGeneral Dynamics Mission SystemsHarrisMotorola SolutionsRaytheonOther prominent vendorsAlcatel-LucentAlvarionAirbus Defense and SpaceAirspan NetworksAviat NetworksAviat NetworksCisco SystemsEricssonFiretideGilatHuawei Technologies USANokia Siemens NetworksWest Safety ServicesZTEMarket driverExtended LTE networks with real-time accessFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeDominance of LMR or PMR technologiesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse More Technavio Market Research Reports:Market trendImproved VoLTE device batteriesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?You can request one free hour of our analysts time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
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Global Telemedicine Technologies and Services Market Key Trends & Industry Forecast 2015 - 2023

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Key players in the global telemedicine technologies and services market are dealing in multiple segments in order to overcome geographical barriers and increase access to untapped healthcare facilities in emerging markets. Transparency Market Research (TMR) identifies that service and product diversification are among the key strategies adopted by players to consolidate their position in the market. Some of the key players in the market are Aerotel Medical Systems Ltd. Inc., McKesson Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., Global Media Group LLC, and General Electric Company.North America to Remain Frontrunner Owing to Increasing Demand for Customized Healthcare ServicesThe global telemedicine technologies and services market was valued at US$24.45 bn in 2015 and is anticipated to reach US$86.75 bn by 2023, expanding at an impressive CAGR of 17.2% from 2015 to 2023. North America will be the leading regional market throughout the forecast period. Factors such as the growing demand for customized healthcare services, rapid technological advancements, and the increasing interest for healthcare setup at home are supplementing the growth of the region. Asia Pacific will rise at a phenomenal CAGR of 20.3% during the same period, thanks to conducive government initiatives and improving healthcare infrastructure.On the basis of component, services will continue to dominate the market until 2023. Telemedicine services are gaining popularity due to their ability to offer high-quality medical services in remote areas. Developing regions, in particular, are offering promising growth opportunities to the segment owing to the dearth of trained and experienced medical professionals in remote areas and low disposable income that makes it difficult for consumers to afford technologically advanced products. Owing to these factors, the segment is expected to exhibit a 17.3% CAGR during the forecast period.Obtain Report Details @Declining Prices of ICT Services and Advances in Mobile Penetration to Augment Telemedicine Technologies and Services MarketThe rising global geriatric population is leading to the increasing incidence of chronic diseases including diabetes, COPD, cardiac failure, and hypertension. This is creating a pressing need for quality, cost-effective, and innovative health care services for faster recovery, thereby driving the demand for telemedicine technologies and services. The market is estimated to receive a significant revenue boost as the established players are capitalizing on the ubiquity of mobile access and the declining prices of ICT services across the globe, says TMRs lead analyst. Moreover, amidst the growing demand for healthcare, telemedicine services are being increasingly acknowledged as they are reducing the burden on existing hospital setups.Legal and Privacy Issues associated with Telemedicine Services to Take its Toll on Market GrowthThe electronic storage and transfer of patient records in telemedicine services can potentially lead to security and privacy breaches. Ineffective management of privacy and security problems can provide invaders the access to confidential information and possibly alter, steal, or even delete patient records. These issues are, thus, limiting the widespread adoption of telemedicine technologies and services. Telemedicine requires dedicated service by medical staff for whole day, which is not possible for many service providers and medical institutes. The dearth of dedicated medical staff is, therefore, disrupting these services, which in turn is hindering the growth of the market.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog:
World Metal 3D Printer Market Research Report 2021(Covering USA, EU, China, South East Asia, India, Japan and etc)

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SummaryICRWorlds Metal 3D Printer market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.The report includes the forecasts, Analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.Global Metal 3D Printer Market: Product Segment AnalysisPowder BedWireOtherGlobal Metal 3D Printer Market: Application Segment AnalysisMedicalAerospace & DefenseAutomotiveFashion & AestheticsOtherGlobal Metal 3D Printer Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaThe Players mentioned in our reportEOSConcept LaserOptomecSLM Solutions3D SystemsGet Sample Report @Table Of Contents:Chapter 1 About the Metal 3D Printer Industry1.1 Industry Definition1.1.1 Types of Metal 3D Printer industry1.1.1.1 Powder Bed1.1.1.2 Wire1.1.1.3 Other1.2 Main Market Activities1.3 Similar Industries1.4 Industry at a GlanceChapter 2 World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Metal 3D Printer Markets by Regions2.1.1 USAMarket Revenue (M USD) by Types, Through 2021Market Revenue (M USD) by Applications, Through 2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20152.1.2 EuropeMarket Revenue (M USD) by Types, Through 2021Market Revenue (M USD) by Applications, Through 2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20152.1.3 ChinaMarket Revenue (M USD) by Types, Through 2021Market Revenue (M USD) by Applications, Through 2021Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 2015Buy Complete Report Visit @About Us:Reportbazzar.com is your trusted source for the most inclusive and informative assortment of market research reports designed to empower you with the latest in industry information that translates to time and cost savings for your business. We not only help you give wing to your latent business ideas but also facilitate you in taking the best informed and strategic decisions that guarantee success in your most promising business endeavors.Contact Us:ReportBazzar30 Wall Street, 8th floor,New York, NY 10005.United States.US: +1 (212) 389-6363India: +91 20 66528525Email Id: sales@reportbazzar.comWebsite:
Global Automatic Milking Equipment Market 2016 BouMatic, Bob-White System, Bartec Benke GmbH, DeLaval

Automatic Milking Equipment Market

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MRS Research Group addsGlobal Automatic Milking Equipment Market 2016 Share,Size,Trends and Forecast to 2022 Market Research Reportreports to its database.This report provides a strategic analysis of the Automatic Milking Equipment market and the growth estimates for the forecasted period.The market research analyst projects the global Automatic Milking Equipment market to grow at a considerable CAGR,in terms of revenue,over the forecast period.The report will provide the client with market insights and in-depth analysis of multiple market segments on the basis of applications,end-users,and geographical cross-sectional study across the globe.Get Free Sample Research Report @The report provides detailed information with respect to competitive landscape along with the top competitors in the Automatic Milking Equipment market.Furthermore,to help the clients make strategic decision,the report highlights a comprehensive profiling of leading players,their detailed analysis,their key developments along with the market positioning.The report also foregrounds current and future market trends in order to justify the forthcoming attractive markets within the Automatic Milking Equipment market.Moreover,clients are also provided with segment-wise,region-wise,and country-wise analysis of the Automatic Milking Equipment market.To convey a proper analysis of all the data,the report comprises a number of figures,graphs,tables,and diagrams,which will help the clients get a crystal clear idea of the current trends in the market.Additionally,the report also strategically analyzes the Automatic Milking Equipment market with regards to individual growth trends,future prospects, and contribution of each segment to the market.Access Full Research Report @This research study incorporated the use of extensive secondary sources,directories,and databases in order to identify and gather information useful for the technical,market-oriented,and commercial study of the market.This report is an effort to identify driving factors for the Automatic Milking Equipment market and sub-markets in the near future.The research report also presents an exhaustive evaluation of the market and comprises contemplative insights,historical data,facts,and statistically supported market data that is industry-validated.Notes:Production, means the output of Automatic Milking EquipmentRevenue, means the sales value of Automatic Milking EquipmentThis report studies Automatic Milking Equipment in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringBartec Benke GmbHBob-White SystemBouMaticDairymasterDeLavalFullwoodGEAMRS Research Group is the worlds giant collection of the Market research Reports. Where we specialized in global publisher, tailor made reports and specialists consulting. Global Publisher provides in-depth analysis of global and Chinese market. Tailor-made reports represent methodologies deliverable to proper insight of the client. While, expertise research specialist helps to provide strategic solution in specialists consulting.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free : +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@mrsresearchgroup.com
Global Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryMotor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Report by Material, Application, and Geography  Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the worlds major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).The report firstly introduced the Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the worlds main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) basic information;2.) the Asia Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Market;3.) the North American Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Market;4.) the European Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Market;5.) market entry and investment feasibility;6.) the report conclusion.Get Sample Report @Table Of Contents:Chapter One Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Industry Overview1.1 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Definition1.2 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Classification Analysis1.2.1 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Application Analysis1.3.1 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Product Market Development Overview1.6 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Motor Charged Spring Operating Mechanism Global Market Development Trend AnalysisBuy Complete Report Visit @About Us:Reportbazzar.com is your trusted source for the most inclusive and informative assortment of market research reports designed to empower you with the latest in industry information that translates to time and cost savings for your business. We not only help you give wing to your latent business ideas but also facilitate you in taking the best informed and strategic decisions that guarantee success in your most promising business endeavors.Contact Us:ReportBazzar30 Wall Street, 8th floor,New York, NY 10005.United States.US: +1 (212) 389-6363India: +91 20 66528525Email Id: sales@reportbazzar.comWebsite:
Flat Steels Market will cross USD 640 billion Mark by 2022

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Flat Steel Market size was valued at around USD 380 Billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at CAGR of approximately 6% by 2022. Flat steel refers to the sheet, coils or other flat-rolled steel product. Rapid growth in the construction & infrastructure sector is the key factor for the flat steel market. It not only reduced the cost of the construction but also reduced the maintenance cost of the building. Additionally, transportation sector & renewable energy sectors are also growing significantly which is another key driver for the flat steel market. On the basis of region, Asia-Pacific is the largest market by value.Request for Sample Report @Key Players United Steel Corporation Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation Essar Steel Tata Steel Ltd Hyundai Steel Co. POSCO SSAB ArcelorMittal Voestalpine ThyssenKruppRegional Analysis of Flat Steel MarketAsia-Pacific region is the largest market for flat steel, followed by Europe. In developing countries especially like China, India, and Japan, the construction & infrastructure sectors are growing rapidly which promotes the flat steel market. This region is expected to grow at a highest rate during the forecasted period.Scope of the ReportThis study provides an overview of the Insulation Products market, tracking two market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the Insulation Products market as Product Types, and End Users.By Product Types Plates Coated Sheet Hot Rolled Sheet Cold Rolled SheetBy End-Users Construction & Infrastructure Automobiles Transport OthersTaste the market data and market information presented through more than 85 market data tables and figures spread in 140 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Flat steels Market Information from 2014 to 2022"Market Research AnalysisThe market is highly application based. The factors contributing to the growth of the flat steel market are, surge in construction & infrastructural activities, and growing transport & renewable energy sector. The market is expected to have higher growth rate as compared to the previous years. Asia-Pacific is the largest region for the flat steel market, followed by Europe.Asia-Pacific is the largest growing marketAsia-Pacific region dominates the market with its largest market share for flat steels. In APAC region vehicle manufacturing, construction & infrastructural sector is growing rapidly because of rapid urbanization which is ultimately driving the flat steel market.Access Full Report@Table of Content1 Executive Summary2 Scope of the Report2.1Market Definition2.2Scope of the Study2.3Markets Structure3 Market Research Methodologies3.1Research Process3.2Secondary Research4 Market Landscape4.1Five Forces Analysis4.2Value Chain of Flat Steel Market5 Industry Overview of Flat Steel Market5.1Introduction5.2Growth Drivers5.3Impact analysis6 Market Trends6.1Introduction6.2Growth Trends6.3Impact analysis7 Flat Steel Markets by Region8 Flat Steel Markets by Product Type9 Flat Steel Markets by End UsersContinued.About Market Research FutureAt Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Akash AnandMarket Research FutureMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Hydraulic Accumulator Market Manufactures and Key Statistics Analysis 2017

Hydraulic Accumulator Market

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Hydraulic Accumulator market is in boom now. The latest Hydraulic Accumulator Market report contains complete Industry outlook, market manufacturers and key statistics analysis. The industry sales & Share, industrys trends are all discussed, explained and analyzed. It provides marketing strategy analysis, distributors/traders list, raw materials analysis, import & export analysis.This report studies Hydraulic Accumulator in Global market, especially in United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, India, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, Brazil, Middle East and Africa.Browse Full Report with TOC @The report focuses on the top Manufacturers in each country, covering Eaton Parker Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Bosch Rexroth NOK HYDAC NACOL PMC STAUFF Buccma Aolaier Hydraulic Ningbo Naise Wanrong Accumulator Xinhua Hydraulic Xunjie HydraulicSplit by Product Types, with sales, revenue, price, market share of each type, can be divided intoBladder Hydraulic AccumulatorPiston Hydraulic AccumulatorDiaphragm Hydraulic AccumulatorSplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Hydraulic Accumulator in each application, can be divided intoAutomotiveConstructionMachine ToolsAgricultureDownload Free Sample Report of Hydraulic Accumulator Market @Table of Contents - Snapshot1 Market Overview2 Global Sales, Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Manufacturers3 Global Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)4 Global Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis5 North America Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)6 Latin America Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)7 Europe Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)8 Asia-Pacific Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)9 Middle East and Africa Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)10 Manufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and Conclusion16 AppendixPurchase the Complete Hydraulic Accumulator Market Research Report @Other Reports by DecisionDatabases.com:Global Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Market Research Report @About Us:DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains.Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed.3rd Floor,Fountain Chambers,Nanabhai Lane,Fort, Mumbai - 40001E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.comPhone: +91 99 28 237112Web:
Global Blood Processing Devices and Consumables Market - Global Industry Insights, NextGen Technological Advancements, Professional Survey & Future Industry Trends - 2024.

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Blood processing devices are an integral part of blood banks and diagnostic laboratories in order to maintain blood components in their actual form for storing and blood transfusion process. Alteration in the blood components may make it unusable. As blood is an integral requisite in stem cell therapy and organ transplant, demand for blood processing devices and consumables is directly proportional to number of surgical procedures, which is increasing rapidly.Get Free PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:Market DynamicsNeed for blood processing devices and consumables is projected to continue along an upward growth trajectory, owing to increasing number of blood banks and growing incidence of blood infection and blood disorders. Moreover, number of blood transfusion surgical procedures is increasing due to increasing incidence of immunodeficiency diseases. According to the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, around 112.5 million units of donated blood are collected every year globally. WHO recommends implementation of a national blood policy to ensure maintaining quality (free from infection) of the blood collected. This in turn ensures consistent demand for blood processing devices and consumables globally.Get This Report Now :Market TaxonomyThis report segments the blood processing devices and consumables market on the basis of devices and consumables. On the basis of device type, the global blood processing devices and consumables market is analyzed for plasma freezers, blood bank refrigerators, lab refrigerators, lab freezers, ultra-low temperatures, shock freezers, grouping analyzers, warmers, hematocrit centrifuges and cell processors. Consumables include blood administration sets, blood bags, blood collection needles, blood collection tubes, slides, sedimentation tubes, slide stainer and blood grouping reagents among others.Key features of the study:This report provides in-depth analysis of the blood processing devices and consumables industry and provides market size (US$ million) and Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) (%) for the forecast period (2016  2024), considering 2015 as the base yearIt elucidates potential revenue opportunity across different segments and explains attractive investment proposition matrix for this marketThis study also provides vital insights about market drivers, restraints, opportunities, new product launches or approval, regional outlook, and competitive strategy adopted by the leading playersIt profiles leading players in the global blood processing devices and consumables market based on the following parameters  company overview, financial performance, product portfolio, geographical presence, distribution strategies, key developments and strategies and future plansBrowse Global Strategic Business Report :Key companies covered as a part of this study include Abbott Laboratories, Becton, Dickinson And Company, Roche Holdings AG, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Biomerieux SA, Immucor, Inc., Danaher Corporation, Terumo Corporation, Macopharma SA, Grifols International, Haemonetics Corporation, and Thermogenesis CorporationInsights from this report would allow marketers and the management authorities of the companies to make informed decision with respect to manufacturing or research outsourcing, cost reduction opportunities, and operational strategiesThe global blood processing devices and consumables market report caters to various stakeholders in this industry including investors, device manufacturers, consumable manufacturers, raw material suppliers, distributors, new entrants, and financial analystsStakeholders would greatly benefit from various strategy matrices used in analyzing the blood processing devices and consumables market, which would aid them in making effective decisionAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit Coherent Market Insights Blog @Connect with us on LinkedIn @
Europe Lead the Global Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) Device Market Due to Technological Advancements and Aging Population

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The global point of care (PoCUS) device market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% during 2015 - 2025. The growth of the global market is largely driven by increasing awareness about the benefits of portable ultrasound devices in point-of-care. Several beneficial features such as size, weight, performance and battery life of portable ultrasound devices are increasing their popularity among healthcare providers. Healthcare providers and patients are getting aware about these benefits of portable ultrasound devices in point-of-care. This has created huge traction in the diagnostic imaging industry for developing portable ultrasound devices for point-of-care. Different companies are investing huge capital for miniaturization of ultrasound devices for their efficient use in point-of-care. Some of the other factors driving the growth of the global market include prevalence of chronic diseases, and technological advancements. Increasing penetration of PoCUS device manufacturers in emerging economies is expected to create ample growth opportunities for the global market. However, lack of skilled sonographers and stringent regulatory requirements are the key barriers for the growth of the global market.Explore Report with Detailed TOC on Global Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) Device Market at:Among the two types of PoCUS devices, the diagnostic PoCUS device segment was the larger contributor to the global PoCUS devices revenue in 2015; whereas, therapeutic PoCUS device is expected to witness the higher growth during the forecast period. Increasing adoption of therapeutic PoCUS devise for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders is the major factor driving the growth of therapeutic PoCUS device market. Therapeutic PoCUS devices helps to relief pain and inflammation, reduce muscle spasm, speed healing and increases range of motion.Explore Report Sample at:Europe accounted for the largest share in the global market in 2015 due to the technological advancements and high compliance for portable ultrasound devices in point-of-care. The U.S., Japan and Germany were the top three market for PoCUS devices in 2015. The U.S. contributed largest revenue to global PoCUS device market. The country is expected to remain the largest market for PoCUS devices globally during the forecast period. The huge capital investments along with the significant development for portable ultrasound devices in point-of-care are the key driving factors of the U.S. PoCUS device market.Browse Other Related Report at:Some of the players operating in the global market include Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Siemens AG, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Esaote SpA, General Electric Company, Samsung, Mindray Medical International Limited, FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, and Analogic Corporation.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.As one of the top growing market research agency, were keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.Contact:AbhishekExecutive  Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-Free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016
Food Colorants Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2024

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Food colorants market are coloring additives also known as dye or pigments which are added to food or beverages to impart color and give an attractive appearance to the food and beverages. Food colorants are added in the food and beverages to maintain and improve safety, freshness, nutritional value, taste, texture and appearance of foods and beverages. Natural colorants segment is expected to hold a significant market share in terms of value owing to easily availability of fruits and vegetables. The global food colorants market is anticipated to witness significant CAGR during the forecast period.Easily availability of raw materials such as fruits and vegetables and edible plants, coupled with rising consumer demand for natural colorants, which is driving the growth of global food colorants market. Furthermore, increasing applications of food colorants in food and beverage industry is expected to boost the consumption of food colorants. In addition, increasing consumer demand for processed foods leads to increase consumption of food colorants.However, stringent and expensive certifications and regulations regarding use of food colorants, and side effects associated with synthetic colors on health are expected to limit the growth of global food colorants market.Based on the geographies, the global food colorants market is segmented into five key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is anticipated to dominate among all the regions owing to increasing demand for food colorants in US and Canada. Europe is expected to hold the market share of global food colorants market at a second position in terms of value. This is attributed to increasing consumer awareness for natural products coupled with regulatory support for coloring food stuff in European countries. Owing to the increase in consumption of processed and ready to eat foods in India and China, the Asia-Pacific market is anticipated to contribute significantly to the global food colorants market. The Latin America and MEA regions are expected to contribute collectively in the global food colorants market.This is due to the increasing disposable incomes coupled with changing lifestyles in Brazil, GCC countries and South Africa which is fuelling the consumption of processed foods, resulting in an increase in demand for food colorants.Some of the major players identified in the global food colorants market include Cargill Incorporated BASF SE Koninklijke DSM N.V. FMC Corporation DDW The Colour House Hansen Holding A/S GNT Group Naturex Lycored San-Ei Gen F.F.I., Inc. Sensient Colors LLC Sethness Caramel Color WILD Flavors and Specialty Ingredients RIKEN VITAMIN Co., Ltd.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types, technology and applications.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Bone Replacement Market 2017 Top 5 Manufacturers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East, and Africa

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The market research report Bone Replacement Market Research Report 2022 (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) aims to offer insights into new business opportunities for companies active in Bone Replacement as well as for those players that are aiming to get an entry into the industry.This report studies Bone Replacement in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, focuses on the top 5 Bone Replacement Players in each region, with sales, price, revenue and market share for top 5 manufacturer, covering Zimmer Biomet, DePuy Synthes, Stryker, Smith & Nephew, Wright Medical, Aesculap, Exactech, Mathys, Waldemar LINK, Lima CorporateBone Replacement market of 121 pages having tables and figures is available for purchase atMarket Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales, revenue, market share of top 5 players in these regions, from 2012 to 2017 (forecast), like North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Korea), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia etc., South America (Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina), Middle East and Africa (Egypt, South Africa, Saudi Arabia)Split by Product Types, with sales, revenue, price, market share of each type, can be divided into Hip Replacement, Knee ReplacementThe listed pricing for this Bone Replacement Market report starts at $ 4960. Request Discount for Bone Replacement Market Research Report @Table of Contents in Bone Replacement Market Research Report:2 Global Bone Replacement Sales, Revenue (value) and Market Share by Players2.1 Global Bone Replacement Sales and Market Share in 2015 and 2016 by Players2.2 Global Bone Replacement Revenue and Market Share by Players in 2015 and 20162.3 Global Bone Replacement Average Price by Players in 2015 and 20162.4 Global Bone Replacement Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types by Players2.5 Bone Replacement Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Bone Replacement Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Bone Replacement Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Bone Replacement Sales, Revenue (Value) by Regions, Type and Application (2012-2017)3.1 Global Bone Replacement Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.1.1 Global Bone Replacement Sales and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.1.2 Global Bone Replacement Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.2 Global Bone Replacement Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2012-2017)3.2.1 Global Bone Replacement Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.2.2 Global Bone Replacement Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.2.3 Global Bone Replacement Price by Type (2012-2017)3.3 Global Bone Replacement Sales and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)3.4 Global Bone Replacement Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 North America Top 5 Players Bone Replacement Sales, Revenue and Price4.1 North America Top 5 Players Bone Replacement Sales, Revenue and Market Share in 2015 and 20164.1.1 North America Top 5 Players Bone Replacement Sales and Market Share in 2015 and 20164.1.2 North America Top 5 Players Bone Replacement Revenue and Market Share in 2015 and 20164.2 North America Bone Replacement Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2012-2017)4.2.1 North America Bone Replacement Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.2.2 North America Bone Replacement Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.2.3 North America Bone Replacement Price by Type (2012-2017)4.3 North America Bone Replacement Sales and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)4.4 North America Bone Replacement Sales and Market Share by Country (US, Canada and Mexico) (2012-2017)4.5 North America Bone Replacement Import & Export (2012-2017)Request a sample copy of Bone Replacement Market Research Report @Split by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Bone Replacement in each application, can be divided intoMarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
India Toilet Soap Market 2016 Industry Analysis, Demands, Shares, Growth, Sales, Trends, Supply, Forecast to 2021 - Unilever, P&G, Jahwa

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The India Toilet Soap Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Toilet Soap industry.The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Toilet Soap market analysis is provided for the India markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and Bill of Materials cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report focuses on India major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Toilet Soap industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With 147 tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Get a Free Sample Copy of this Report @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview1.1 Definition and Specifications of Toilet Soap1.2 Classification of Toilet Soap1.3 Applications of Toilet Soap1.4 Industry Chain Structure of Toilet Soap1.5 Industry Overview of Toilet Soap1.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Toilet Soap1.7 Industry News Analysis of Toilet SoapQYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Construction in Bahrain Research Report and Opportunities to 2021

Market Research Hub

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Albany, New York, March 08, 2017: Market Research Hub has recently announced the addition of a new report to it broad database titled as Construction in Bahrain Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021. In real terms, the Bahraini construction industrys output grew by 6.4% in 2016, following an average annual growth of 5.2% during the preceding four years.Request for Sample Report:This increase can be attributed to favorable macroeconomic conditions, improvements in business confidence and consumer demand, and public and private sector investment in infrastructure and residential construction projects, leading to an increase in demand for the Bahraini construction industry. Consequently, in real terms, the construction industrys contribution to the countrys GDP increased from 6.7% in 2012 to 7.0% in 2015.The construction industry is expected to continue to expand over the forecast period (20172021), with investments in infrastructure, residential and energy projects continuing to drive growth.The focus on the development of transport infrastructure and the construction of affordable housing units will be key growth drivers. The industry growth will also be driven by the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, under which the government aims to diversify the countrys economy away from oil and support economic growth.The industrys output value in real terms is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.01% over the forecast period, compared to 5.73% during the review period (20122016).Low oil prices are expected to undermine growth prospects during the early part of the forecast period. However, the governments early efforts to diversify the economy away from oil by focusing on non-oil sectors will create growth opportunities for the construction industry.SummaryTimetrics 'Construction in Bahrain, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021' report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights into the Bahraini construction industry, including:The Bahraini construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activityMake an Enquiry:Analysis of equipment, material and service costs for each project type in BahrainCritical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, and the risks and opportunities they present to participants in the Bahraini construction industryProfiles of the leading operators in the Bahraini construction industryData highlights of the largest construction projects in BahrainScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in Bahrain. It provides:Historical (2012-2016) and forecast (2017-2021) valuations of the construction industry in Bahrain using construction output and value-add methodsSegmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by project typeBreakdown of values within each project type, by type of activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by type of cost (materials, equipment and services)Analysis of key construction industry issues, including regulation, cost management, funding and pricingDetailed profiles of the leading construction companies in BahrainReasons To BuyIdentify and evaluate market opportunities using Timetric's standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies.Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts.Understand the latest industry and market trends.Formulate and validate strategy using Timetric's critical and actionable insight.Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures.Evaluate competitive risk and success factors.Browse Full Report with TOC:Key HighlightsThe government is focusing on improvements to the countrys infrastructure to boost the performance of non-oil sector. As a result, the countrys non-oil economy is expected to record growth of 2.4% in 2017. According to the Economic Development Board (EDB), the country is currently in the process of implementing infrastructure construction projects with a value of BHD12.0 billion (US$32.0 billion).Housing supply in Bahrain is relatively low compared to demand, which provides opportunities for residential developers. Accordingly, in a bid to provide affordable housing to meet demand from lower- and middle-income groups, the government set a target of constructing 65,000 social housing units across the country by 2020 under the Government Action Plan.The government is focusing on the expansion and modernization of airport infrastructure, with an aim to improve airport services and build a world-class aviation infrastructure to meet the expected rises in passenger, cargo and air traffic. Accordingly, the government is developing Bahrain International Airport (BIA) under the Airport Modernisation Programme. In 2016, a joint venture of the Dubai-based Arabtec Construction and Turkey's TAV Construction won a contract to construct a new terminal at BIA.The Bahraini construction industrys growth will be driven by government plans to increase the share of renewable energy in terms of total energy consumption, and encourage investment in renewable energy infrastructure. Accordingly, the Bahraini cabinet approved the National Plan for Renewable Energy in January 2017, to achieve sustainable development and energy efficiency.The government is seeking help from foreign investors to improve the countrys infrastructure. In August 2016, the Bahraini government signed seven contracts worth BHD148.5 million (US$395.0 million) with Kuwait and the UAE to carry out housing and infrastructure construction projects in the country.About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Follow Us on:Twitter: twitter.com/MktResearchHubLinkedIn:Facebook:
Seaweed Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2024

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Seaweed market is species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae, which are found in oceans and seas across the globe. The hydrocolloids such as alginate, agar, and carrageenan, gelatinous substances are extracted from seaweed. Seaweed is beneficial to health to fight against illness and diseases. Seaweed is used in food, medicines, cosmetics and organic fertilizers and feed additives. The red seaweed is a source for carrageenan hydrocolloid, which is highly used in food industry owing to its improved gelling and thickening property. The red seaweed segment is anticipated to dominate among the product type segment, due to the increasing demand for agar and carrageenan from the food industry. The brown seaweeds is expected to follow red seaweeds owing to the growing use of brown seaweed in animal feed additives and fertilizers. On the basis of form type, the liquid form seaweed is expected to account for larger market share in terms of value and volume, this is owing to rising demand from agriculture and pharmaceutical industries across the globe. On the other hand, the human food segment is expected to hold significant market share among the application segment, this is due to increase in seaweed consumption in human food coupled with increasing demand for seaweed derived snacks. The global seaweed market is anticipated to witness significant CAGR during the forecast period.Increasing consumption of seaweed as a food extract, medical use, and for bio-refining is expected to drive the demand for seaweed. Furthermore, growing consumer awareness regarding nutritional benefits of seaweed, rising demand for alginate in food, pharmaceutical industries is expected to boost the growth of global seaweed market. In addition, increasing demand for seaweed derived snacks is anticipated to fuel the demand for seaweed.However, lack of awareness of harvesting various species of seaweed among the manufactures is expected to hinder the growth of global seaweed market.Key trends are observed in the production of seaweeds are, the manufacturers are implementing growth strategies such as merger and acquisition, partnership, and agreement.Based on the geographies, the global seaweed market is segmented into five key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Owing to the increase in harvesting and consumption of seaweed in China, Japan and Indonesia, the Asia Pacific seaweed market is anticipated to hold major revenue market share. North America and Europe is anticipated to collectively, contribute in the global seaweed market, this is due to increasing seaweed harvesting coupled with consumption in US, Germany, UK and France. Also, rising demand for seaweed in food industries coupled with increasing investments in R&D activities by key manufacturers in US, and increasing popularity for seaweed baths coupled with increasing use of seaweed in German beer (contains agars, carrageenans and alginates) in Germany and UK are making these regions as favorable regions. Owing to growing consumer awareness regarding medical and other benefits of seaweeds in Brazil, GCC countries and South Africa, the Latin America and MEA are expected to witness modest growth rate.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the major players identified in the global seaweed market include Cargill, Incorporated DuPon Acadian Seaplants Limited (ASL) Biostadt India Limited Brandt Consolidated, Inc. COMPO Expert GmbH Gelymar Lonza Group Ltd. Marinalg International Ocean Harvest Technology Ocean Rainforest Sp/F Qingdao Bright Moon Group Co., Ltd. Groupe Roullier Seasol TBK Manufacturing Corporation W Hydorcolloids Inc. CP Kelco High Hope Foods (Nanjing) Co., Ltd.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types, technology and applications.Request to view table of content @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Cheese Powder Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2024

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The global cheese powder market has anticipated to register a significant CAGR over the forecast period. The cheese powder is very convenient in handling, storage and has shelf stability as compared to hard cheese, which drives the growth of the global cheese powder market. Powder cheese is majorly used as a flavoring agent in the various food recipes which also boost the demand for the cheese powder and drives the global cheese powder market. The suppliers add whey, milk fat, salt and even non-dairy ingredients for the cheese powder which either enhance or reduce the fats, minerals, and proteins as per consumer necessity, leads the demand for the cheese powder and drives the growth of the global cheese powder market.However, during the process of converting cheese to a cheese powder, some volatile flavor compounds such as diacetyl and dimethyl sulfide may be lost which are quite important to cheese flavor, may hamper the demand as well as the growth of the global cheese powder market. The price of the cheese powder is also high as compared to hard cheese, which may divert the purchasing criteria of the consumer and restrain the growth of the global cheese powder market.The global cheese powder market has segmented on the basis of the type of the cheese powder, the source of the milk, applications of the cheese powder and region.In terms of geography, the global cheese powder market has been divided into five key regions, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East & Africa (MEA). The North America contributed the leading share to the global cheese powder market in terms of value as the demand for the cheese powder is more of the countries from the North America. Followed by North America, the Europe also contributed the significant share in terms of the revenue to the global cheese powder market. The APAC region contributed the descent shares to the global cheese powder market as the trend of the cheese powder has become emerging in the countries such as India and China and demand may increase over the forecast period. MEA is also expected to register a healthy growth in the global cheese powder market over the forecast period.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the key players of the global cheese powder are Lactosan A/S, All American Foods, Aarkay Food Products Ltd., Commercial Creamery Company, Land O'lakes, Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Company, Kanegrade Limited, Kerry Group PLC, Dairiconcepts, L.P. and Kraft Foods Group, Inc.Request to view table of content @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Thaumatin Market 2016 Industry, Analysis, Research, Share, Growth, Sales, Trends, Supply, Forecast to 2021

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The Global Thaumatin Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Thaumatin industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Thaumatin market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Thaumatin industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Get a Free Sample Copy of this Report @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Thaumatin1.1 Definition and Specifications of Thaumatin1.1.1 Definition of Thaumatin1.1.2 Specifications of Thaumatin1.2 Classification of Thaumatin1.3 Applications of ThaumatinQYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.QYResearchReports1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Global Market Industry Report 2016

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Albany, New York, March 08, 2017: Market Research Hub has recently announced the addition of a new report to it broad database titled as Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) World Market Report 2016. This Report 2016 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the dichloromethylvinylsilane industry.Request for Sample Report:Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The dichloromethylvinylsilane market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions, and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the dichloromethylvinylsilane industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Make an Enquiry:Table of Contents1 Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Overview and Each Type 11.1 Product Overview of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 11.1.1 Definition and Product Scope of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 11.1.2 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 2015-2020 21.1.3 China Market Size (Value and Volume) of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 2015-2020 51.2 Classification of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 71.3 Industry Chain Structure of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 81.4 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 81.4.1 Industry Overview of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 81.4.2 Global Major Regions Status of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 91.5 Industry Policy Analysis of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 91.6 Industry News Analysis of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 122 Competition Analysis by Manufacturers in Global and China 142.1 Global Market Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Sales and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2011-2016 142.2 Global Market Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Sales Value and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2011-2016 162.3 Global Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Average Price List of Key Manufacturers 2011-2016 182.4 China Market Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Sales and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2011-2016 192.5 China Market Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Sales Value and Share List of Key Manufacturers 2011-2016 212.6 China Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Average Price List of Key Manufacturers 2011-2016 233 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) 263.1 Sales and Establishment Date of Global Dichloromethylvinylsilane (CAS 124-70-9) Major Manufacturers in 2016 26CONTINUED@...Get Full Report With TOC:About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Follow Us on:Twitter: twitter.com/MktResearchHubLinkedIn:Facebook:
Global Fast Rescue Boats Market Volume Analysis, Region, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast to 2017-2022

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Global Fast Rescue Boats Market 2017, presents a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Fast Rescue Boats market globally, providing basic overview of Fast Rescue Boats market including definitions, Classifications, Applications and Industry chain Structure, Fast Rescue Boats Market report provides development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. Fast Rescue Boats market size, share and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies.Download Free Sample Report @Global market research report of Fast Rescue Boats 2017 mainly focuses on Sales, means the sales volume of Fast Rescue Boats and Revenue, means the sales value of Fast Rescue Boats in market. Fast Rescue Boats market research report studies sales (consumption) of Fast Rescue Boats in Global market, Fast Rescue Boats market report gives detail analysis of regions especially in United States, China, Europe and Japan. Global Fast Rescue Boats market report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with their Business perspective which consist of Fast Rescue Boats Capacity, Production, Price, Revenue and Fast Rescue Boats market share for each manufacturer.Global Fast Rescue Boats Market segment by Regions, Fast Rescue Boats market report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), Fast Rescue Boats revenue, Fast Rescue Boats market share and growth rate of Fast Rescue Boats in these regions, from 2011 to 2021. Fast Rescue Boats Market report split by Product type and Application, with Fast Rescue Boats Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross margin, Market Share and Growth rate of each Type, according to Application Fast Rescue Boats Market report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Fast Rescue Boats in each application.Access Full Report @Fast Rescue Boats Market Research Report Split by Type,Type IType IIFast Rescue Boats Market Research Report Split by ApplicationApplication 1Application 2Table of ContentsGlobal Fast Rescue Boats Market Report 20171 Fast Rescue Boats Overview2 Global Fast Rescue Boats Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application3 United States Fast Rescue Boats (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4 China Fast Rescue Boats (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5 Europe Fast Rescue Boats (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6 Japan Fast Rescue Boats (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7 Southeast Asia Fast Rescue Boats (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8 India Fast Rescue Boats (Volume, Value and Sales Price)9 Global Fast Rescue Boats Manufacturers Analysis10 Fast Rescue Boats Maufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global Fast Rescue Boats Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and Conclusion16 Appendix16.1 Methodology16.2 Analyst Introduction16.3 Data SourceFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Fior Markets provides you the full spectrum of services related to market research, and corroborate with the clients to increase the revenue stream, and address process gaps.Mark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:
Global and India Insulin Lispro Market Research Industry 2016 Report

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Albany, New York, March 08, 2017: Market Research Hub has recently announced the addition of a new report to it broad database titled as Global and India Insulin Lispro Industry 2016 Market Research Report. The Global and India Insulin Lispro Industry is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the insulin lispro industry.Request for Sample Report:The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The insulin lispro market analysis is provided for the India markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and bill of materials cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report focuses on major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The insulin lispro industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With 95 tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Make an Enquiry:Table of Contents1 Industry Overview 11.1 Definition and Specifications of Insulin Lispro 11.2 Classification of Insulin Lispro 11.3 Applications of Insulin Lispro 31.3.1 Type 1 Diabetes 41.3.2 Type 2 Diabetes 51.4 Industry Chain Structure of Insulin Lispro 51.5 Industry Overview of Insulin Lispro 61.5.1 Global Diabetes Facts 61.5.2 India Diabetes Facts 71.5.3 India Industry Overview of Insulin Lispro 71.5.4 India Industry Overview of Insulin Aspart 91.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Insulin Lispro 91.7 Industry News Analysis of Insulin Lispro 102 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Insulin Lispro 152.1 Bill of Materials (BOM) of Insulin Lispro 152.2 BOM Price Analysis of Insulin Lispro 162.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Insulin Lispro 162.4 Other Cost Analysis of Insulin Lispro 182.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Insulin Lispro 192.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Insulin Lispro 193 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis 203.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of India Key Manufacturers in 2015 203.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of India Key Insulin Lispro Manufacturers in 2015 203.3 Products of India Insulin Lispro Key Manufacturers in 2015 213.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of India Insulin Lispro Key Manufacturers in 2015 214 Global Consumption Analysis of Insulin Lispro 224.1 Global Consumption of Insulin Lispro by Regions 2011-2016E 224.2 Global Consumption Growth Rate of Insulin Lispro by Regions 2011-2016E 245 India Consumption Analysis of Insulin Lispro 275.1 India Consumption Volume of Insulin Lispro by Regions 2011-2016E 275.2 India Consumption Value of Insulin Lispro by Regions 2011-2016E 29CONTINUED@...Get Full Report With TOC:About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Follow Us on:Twitter: twitter.com/MktResearchHubLinkedIn:Facebook:
Surabi bullion has launched an e-commerce mobile application for android and iOS platforms

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Surabi bullion has announced the launch of its e-commerce application for iOS and android platforms. The mobile application provides the interactive features to pre-book the gold bullion through android or apple devices.Surabi bullion is one of the leading gold bullion providers in India, announces the release of latest e-commerce mobile platform for apple, android smartphones, and tablet devices. The application is the newest series of e-commerce platform introduced for the gold bullion buyers.The application features the live streaming widget to deliver the current international and local market rates of gold and silver bullion. It initiates the automated gold booking through the smart order option. Users can save their desired gold price and quantity and confirm the booking when the market price matches the chosen gold rate.The app also features the option for the market order to enable the user to book the gold bullion at current market price whenever the user login. The app administrator can send push notifications to the individual or bulk users in real-time. The administrator also receives the offline notifications regarding the user actions.The live streaming feature will update the users with market price fluctuation of gold bullion. Surabi has implemented the advanced algorithm to produce a large volume of data in real-time. Its multifaceted layout empowers the user to place bar/FT gold bullion order and keep track on the placed order. The application is suitable for gold marketers, gold wholesalers, and gold business owners.Surabi bullion is a gold marketing firm thrives on providing the purest form of gold in the form of bar/FT. They broaden their service around TamilNadu to offer a transparent and customer-friendly environment for gold purchase. They ensure security in customer investment and import gold from reputed refineries and bullion banks.#98,Vysial streetNear Axis Bank
Capillary Rheometer Market 2017 Top 5 Manufacturers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East, and Africa

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The market research report Capillary Rheometer Market Research Report 2022 (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) aims to offer insights into new business opportunities for companies active in Capillary Rheometer as well as for those players that are aiming to get an entry into the industry.This report studies Capillary Rheometer in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, focuses on the top 5 Capillary Rheometer Players in each region, with sales, price, revenue and market share for top 5 manufacturer, covering Malvern, Goettfert, Dynisco, Alpha, Instron, SHIMADZU, Thermo FisherCapillary Rheometer market of 126 pages having tables and figures is available for purchase atMarket Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales, revenue, market share of top 5 players in these regions, from 2012 to 2017 (forecast), like North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Korea), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia etc., South America (Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina), Middle East and Africa (Egypt, South Africa, Saudi Arabia)Split by Product Types, with sales, revenue, price, market share of each type, can be divided into Single-barrel, Multi-barrelThe listed pricing for this Capillary Rheometer Market report starts at $ 4960. Request Discount for Capillary Rheometer Market Research Report @Table of Contents in Capillary Rheometer Market Research Report:2 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales, Revenue (value) and Market Share by Players2.1 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales and Market Share in 2015 and 2016 by Players2.2 Global Capillary Rheometer Revenue and Market Share by Players in 2015 and 20162.3 Global Capillary Rheometer Average Price by Players in 2015 and 20162.4 Global Capillary Rheometer Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types by Players2.5 Capillary Rheometer Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Capillary Rheometer Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Capillary Rheometer Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales, Revenue (Value) by Regions, Type and Application (2012-2017)3.1 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.1.1 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.1.2 Global Capillary Rheometer Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.2 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2012-2017)3.2.1 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.2.2 Global Capillary Rheometer Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.2.3 Global Capillary Rheometer Price by Type (2012-2017)3.3 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)3.4 Global Capillary Rheometer Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 North America Top 5 Players Capillary Rheometer Sales, Revenue and Price4.1 North America Top 5 Players Capillary Rheometer Sales, Revenue and Market Share in 2015 and 20164.1.1 North America Top 5 Players Capillary Rheometer Sales and Market Share in 2015 and 20164.1.2 North America Top 5 Players Capillary Rheometer Revenue and Market Share in 2015 and 20164.2 North America Capillary Rheometer Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2012-2017)4.2.1 North America Capillary Rheometer Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.2.2 North America Capillary Rheometer Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.2.3 North America Capillary Rheometer Price by Type (2012-2017)4.3 North America Capillary Rheometer Sales and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)Request a sample copy of Capillary Rheometer Market Research Report @Split by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Capillary Rheometer in each application, can be divided into Universities, Research Institute, FactoriesBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Capillary Rheometer Market Report @Related Reports: -World Electronic Cumulative Timer Market Research Report 2021(Covering USA, EU, China, South East Asia, India, Japan and etc)Electronic Cumulative Timer market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Global Pet Food Packaging Sales Market Research and Market Report 2016

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Albany, New York, March 08, 2017: Market Research Hub has recently announced the addition of a new report to it broad database titled as Global Pet Food Packaging Sales Market Report 2016. The Global Pet Food Packaging Sales Market Report 2016 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the pet food packaging market.Request for Sample Report:The report provides a basic overview of the pet food packaging industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report then analyzes the global pet food packaging market size (volume and value), and the sales segment market is also discussed by product type, applications and region.The major Pet Food Packaging market (including Americas, Europe, China, Middle East/Africa, etc.) is analyzed, data including: market size, import and export, sale segment market by product type and applications. Then we forecast the 2016-2021 market size of pet food packaging.The report focuses on global major leading companies providing information such as company profiles, sales, sales revenue, market share and contact information.Finally the marketing, feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With 187 tables and figures the report provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Make an Enquiry:Table of Contents1 Industry Overview 11.1 Definition and Specifications of Pet Food Packaging 11.1.1 Definition of Pet Food Packaging 11.1.2 Specifications of Pet Food Packaging Product 11.2 Classification of Pet Food Packaging 21.3 Applications of Pet Food Packaging 51.4 Industry Chain Structure of Pet Food Packaging 61.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Pet Food Packaging 71.5.1 Industry Overview of Pet Food Packaging 71.5.2 Global Major Regions Status of Pet Food Packaging 71.6 Industry Standard Analysis of Pet Food Packaging 71.7 Industry News Analysis of Pet Food Packaging 82 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Pet Food Packaging 102.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis of Pet Food Packaging 102.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis of Pet Food Packaging 102.3 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Pet Food Packaging 112.4 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Pet Food Packaging 133 Global Market Size (Volume and Value), Analysis of Pet Food Packaging 143.1 Global Market Size (Volume and Value) and Growth Rate of Pet Food Packaging 2011-2016E 143.2 Global Market Size (Volume and Value) of Pet Food Packaging by Regions 2011-2016E 15CONTINUED@...Get Full Report With TOC:About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Follow Us on:Twitter: twitter.com/MktResearchHubLinkedIn:Facebook:
Jojoba Oil Derivatives Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2024

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Global jojoba oil derivatives market is segmented on the basis of product type, application and region. Based on Product type, global jojoba oil derivatives market is segmented into lipids, esters, alcohol, wax, proteins, and others. Among these jojoba oil derivatives segments, lipids and wax segments contributes major market share. Based on the application, global jojoba oil derivatives market is segmented into cosmetic & personal care products ingredients, food, lubricants, waxes, other applications. Among these jojoba oil derivatives segments, cosmetic & personal care products ingredients contributes to higher market share in terms of value. On the basis of region, global jojoba oil derivatives market is segmented into five regions, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.North America and Europe is the leading market for jojoba oil derivatives due to increasing demand of surging alternative bio lubricant feedstock, rapid technological innovations, and high investment on research and development in these regions. Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at a substantial growth due to large consumer base, and high disposable income will contribute to the global jojoba oil derivatives market value exhibiting a robust CAGR during the forecast period, 2016-2024.Jojoba oil is a liquid wax which composed of acids and contains no glycerides which makes it unique vegetable oil. Due to high nutrient properties of jojoba oil in comparison to other vegetable oil such as corn, olive, peanut, soybean and castor makes it healthy substitute.Jojoba oils pureness, resistance to rancidity, and lack of smell, sort it as natural base for ointments and creams. Jojoba oils sulfurized or sulfurhalogenated derivatives can have high lubricity and a long performance life. Jojoba oil can also have positive use in antifoaming agents, detergents, disinfectants, driers, emulsifiers, fibers, plasticizers, protective coatings, resins, and surfactants.The factors driving the jojoba oil derivatives market are significant growth in overall cosmetic industry, increasing alternative bio lubricant feedstock demand particularly in developed markets of North America and Europe, high nutritional value of jojoba oil derivatives, and Increasing concern regarding side effects of chemicals and synthetic additives used in food and beverages and in cosmetics is fuelling demand for natural alternatives like jojoba oil derivatives in the market.However, long-term jojoba oil production varies on the regular supply of resources and capabilities to replace industrial oil with various applications at comparable price. Production yield of the crop highly varies on the farming method. The seeds takes more than five years to become completely accessible. This possibly will act as a major barrier for the market.Request to view table of content @The global jojoba oil derivatives market is anticipated to expand at a healthy CAGR in terms of value and volume, during the forecast period (20162024). Factors such as increasing urge of the consumers for living a healthy lifestyle, coupled with increasing alternative bio lubricant feedstock demand, is fuelling the market growth across the globe.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the key participating player in global jojoba oil derivatives market are Vantage Specialty Ingredients, Inc., Charkit Chemical Corporation, ECO OIL ARGENTINA, Desert Whale Jojoba Company, Purcell Jojoba International, Egyptian Natural Oil Co., Mosselman s.a, LaRonna Jojoba Company, and others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
United States Tissue-Processing Systems Market Report 2017 - Key Players are Leica, Roche, Thermo Fisher, Agilent, Biogenex and More

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This report studies sales (consumption) of Tissue-Processing Systems in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player, coveringLeicaRocheThermo FisherAgilentBiogenexSakura FinetekIntelsintBiocareMarket Segment by States, coveringCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaIllinoisSplit by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoFluid Transfer ProcessorsTissue Transfer ProcessorsSplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Tissue-Processing Systems in each application, can be divided intoHospitalsPharmaceutical?CompaniesResearch?LaboratoriesOthersDownload Sample Copy of Report atTable of ContentsUnited States Tissue-Processing Systems Market Report 20171 Tissue-Processing Systems Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Tissue-Processing Systems1.2 Classification of Tissue-Processing Systems1.2.1 Fluid Transfer Processors1.2.2 Tissue Transfer Processors1.3 Application of Tissue-Processing Systems1.3.1 Hospitals1.3.2 Pharmaceutical?Companies1.3.3 Research?Laboratories1.3.4 Others1.4 United States Market Size Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) of Tissue-Processing Systems (2012-2022)1.4.1 United States Tissue-Processing Systems Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Tissue-Processing Systems Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 United States Tissue-Processing Systems Competition by Manufacturers2.1 United States Tissue-Processing Systems Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 United States Tissue-Processing Systems Revenue and Share by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.3 United States Tissue-Processing Systems Average Price by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.4 Tissue-Processing Systems Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 Tissue-Processing Systems Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 Tissue-Processing Systems Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
WGS Announces New Server Management Services

Whmcs Global Services announces new services launch Hire Linux Administrator & Hire Dedicated support Server. Unbelievable but true that we are ready for our product launch. In Hire Linux Administrator we are giving the services of setting up AWS, Digital Ocean, OVH, Linode, Rackspace servers etc. We are ready with a talented, dedicated and expert team. Who can do the one-time setup for you? This service is available for Linux platform only. In this service, we do a one-time setup for our clients. They have expert hands on setting up of your cloud, VPS or dedicated server.Features:1.) Excellent communication skills (Written & Verbal)2.) Expert Hands on the subject3.) Deep knowledge about server handling & troubleshooting.4.) Familiar with CMS setup & configuration.5.) Good quality internet connection so no connectivity issues.6.) Quick Support7.) Same time solution provider.Next Service: Hire Dedicated Server Support: The Dedicated Server Support Staff at WGS, works exclusively for you, independently Or along with your in-house Technical Support. Our technical support team is here for you 24*7. Our ticket response time is very less. We are trying to provide you best support with no waiting time. We are providing support to our clients via different channels i.e. Skype, phone call support, our ticket support, via Tawk to.We are launching this product because we have been working in the market since last ten years. We do have expert hands and command over the subject. We got the suggestions of our clients that we should start supporting the clients. As we are already working in different segments like VMware, SoYouStart etc.. We are doing the same thing from such a long time, so idea clicked and stated the services for our clients.WHMCS Global Services established in 2010. We started with WHMCS theme customization for ccihosting.com. From the year 2010 to 2014 WHMCS Global was a single development company, which was then formed into WHMCS global services. After starting our journey we never looked back. We are continuously moving forward and expanding our services. We surprise our clients with latest development and updating in the modules. We are a customer oriented company whose first priority is customer satisfaction and valuable feedback of clients. By getting the feedbacks we improved our services and we are continually working on it. Whmcss first earning is client satisfaction. Our main focus is to make our client happy and satisfied. We achieved it with our dedication in a short time. We mark our presence in the market with latest launches. Now WHMCS is coming to market with some new services.Whmcs Global Service, Plot NO F-353, Phase - 8B, IND Area, Near Quark City, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab 160071
Pecan Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2024

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Global pecan market is segmented on the basis of application and region. Based on the application, global pecan market is segmented into bakery, snacks, beverages, confectionary, and others. Among the application segments bakery and confectionery products collectively contribute to more than 50.0% market share. On the basis of region, global pecan market is segmented into five regions, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.Pecans are edible tree-nut crop which is cultivated for its delicious and buttery yet rich flavour, which contains minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and health beneficial nutrients. Pecan contains 690 calories/100g which makes them good source of energy, regular consumption of pecan helps to decrease cholesterol level in the blood. Pecan contain polyphenolic antioxidant ellagic acid, vitamin E, beta-carotene, lutein and zea-xanthin, which makes them rich source of many phyto-chemicals and helps to remove toxic like oxygen-free radicals that helps to decrease the risk of diseases like cancer as well as help to prevent body from various infections.Pecan mainly produced in Georgia, followed by New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. According to National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), in 2014, Georgia produced 76 million pounds of pecan. Whereas, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona produced 67 million pounds, 61 million pounds, 21 million pounds of pecan, which is 17% low from previous year for Georgia, and 7% for New Mexico and Arizona.According to FAS, in 2014, The U.S. exports of pecan increased by 28% in comparison to previous year. In 2014, the U.S. exports of pecan was valued more than US$ 445 million and imports are valued at US$ 370.6 million which is 52% higher than previous year. In 2014, Canada was largest market for shelled pecans valued at more than US$ 45 million. In 2015, Mexico produced 270,535.4 Mn pounds of pecan, which is 400,000 lbs higher than previous year.According to USDA's Economic Research Service, in 2014, per capita consumption of pecan was ranging from 0.3 pounds to 0.6 pounds.The factors driving the pecan market are high nutritional value of pecan nuts, increasing focus towards preventive care, consumers are rapidly shifting towards consumption of healthy food. Increasing urge of the consumers for living a healthy lifestyle, coupled with increased usage of edible nuts as an ingredient by various food industries such as bakery & confectionery, dairy, snacks and others. Increasing concern regarding side effects of chemicals and synthetic additives used in food and beverages is fuelling demand for natural alternatives like pecan in the market. However, lack of product quality standard and uniform packaging and quality standards will act as a barrier for global pecan market. In recent years, pecan industry is dealing instability due to uneven supply.The global pecan market is anticipated to expand at a healthy CAGR in terms of value and volume, during the forecast period (20162024). Currently, the major trends witnessed in the global pecan market are: increased consumption of nut based spreads and shifting consumer preference towards plant based beverages. Pecan provides a good and easy option for snacking, different coated, flavoured and seasoned pecans are available in retail market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Some of the key participating player in global pecan market are Pecan Producers International, Missouri Northern Pecan Growers, Linwood Nursery, Navarro Pecan Company Inc., The Green Valley Pecan Company, SA Pecans, Kalahari Desert Products (Pty) Ltd., Hudson Pecan Company, and others.Request to view table of content @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Cananga Odorata Flower oil Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2024

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The market of Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) flower oil is expected to be driven by its high perfumery and medicinal values. Owing to its gentle fragrance, it has found wide application in the perfumes and aromatherapy treatments. It provides various health benefits such as relief from anxiety, stress, blood pressure and depression. The flower oil can also heal the wounds, and treated as a remedy in hair fall. Some of the macro-economic factors such as population growth, recovered GDP, and increased disposable income are fueling the growth of Cananga Odorata (ylang ylang) flower oil market during the reviewed period. Apart from this, rising demand of aromatic flavors in perfumes, shift from synthetic to natural products, and growing emphasis of preventive health care practices among health conscious consumers also propels the growth of Cananga Odorata (ylang ylang) flower oil.The segmentation of Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) flower oil market is based upon application, and geography. On the basis of application, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower oil market is segmented into food & beverages, medical, personal care, and others. Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower oil is used as a preservative and flavoring agent in the food and beverages application. The increasing health consciousness of consumers has escalated the demand of Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower oil in the medical segment. The personal care segment is expected to grow at a rapid pace in the Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) flower oil market owing to the rising demand of aromatic flavors as well as fragrances in personal care products such as perfumes and cosmetic products. Additionally, the increased demand of spa and relaxation applications due to the change in life-style is anticipated to fuel the market growth in upcoming years.On the basis of geography, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) flower oil market is segmented into five different regions namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa. The market size of Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) flower oil is expected to be prominent in the European region owing to the rising awareness and increasing demand of cosmetics and beauty products, medicines, and nutraceuticals. Europe was followed by North America to emerge as the second major region in the Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower oil market. Factors such as highly developed industries, increasing per capita income, subsidies and tax benefits from the government, contribute vitally to growth of the market in the North America region. Asia Pacific region is projected to be the fastest growing market owing to the change in life style and increased awareness about health benefits of the products derived from natural sources.A sample of this report is available upon request @The players in the Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower oil market focuses upon the integration across the value chain to attain cost-benefit ratio in the longer run. Some of the key players in the Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower oil market include Biolandes SAS, doTerra International, Sydney Essential Oils Co., The Lebermuth Co., Inc., Young Living Essential Oils, Farotti Essenze, and Essential Oils of New Zealand, among others.Request to view table of content @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Food Ingredients Sterilization Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2024

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Some of the key drivers influencing the demand for food ingredients sterilization the global market are driven by the food safety and health protection. Proper sterilization of food keeps the food products safe and also increases the potential of food manufacturers to deliver quality food with extended shelf life. On the other side, the increasing trend of packaged and prepared food in developing region has led to increasing in demand for food sterilization among food manufacturers as it adds significant shelf life to food ingredients and keeps the packaged food safe for the longer period of time. Demand for food ingredients sterilization also increasing in the global market due to stringent food safety norms of government regarding the use of sterilization equipment in food and beverage industry. In near future, the demand for food ingredients sterilization is expected to create better opportunities in food industry as advancement in sterilization technology and development of new sterilization products is creating opportunities for the food manufacturers to develop new food products to meet growing demand of consumers.Food ingredients sterilization segment have been segmented on the basis of ingredients and sterilization method. Market segment by ingredients, it includes spices, herbs and seasonings, dried fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, seafood, dairy ingredients, cereals and pulses, tea blends and nuts. Market segmentation, on the basis of sterilization method, its market is segmented by heat, moisture, radiation and others. Further, on analyzing the demand for food ingredients sterilization market, it assessed that the demand for food ingredients sterilization equipment is expected to increase in spices, herbs and seasonings as they have wide application in food processing industry. On the other side, food ingredients sterilization by heat is expected to account largest share in the global market followed by radiation method. Moreover, the regulations of government regarding food safety and health concern led to support the growth of food ingredients sterilization equipment in the global food industry.A sample of this report is available upon request @On the basis of regional segment, food ingredients sterilization market is segmented into five regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific & Japan and the Middle East and Africa. On analyzing the demand for food ingredients sterilization market, it is expected that North America and Europe accounts for the largest market share in the global food ingredients sterilization market in terms of value. Moreover, demand for food ingredients sterilization is also expected to increase in Asia-Pacific & Japan in near future due to an increasing number of food manufacturing plants in the region.Request to view table of content @Some of the key players in food ingredients sterilization market are Sterigenics International LLC, Croll Reynolds, Balchem Corporation, Global Sterilization and Fumigation, Wenda Ingredients, Namah Steam Sterilization, Napasol AG, Cosmed Group, Safe Spice and ATTEC Food Technology among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Soy Sauce Powder Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2024

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Demand for soy sauce powder in the global market is driving from increasing demand for health conscious consumers as soy sauce powder is rich in protein, and amino acids. Due to health and wellness trends, soy sauce manufacturers are also introducing the new range of powders in the market to meet the consumer demands. Growing consumer concerns towards different flavor and taste preferences and changing consumer eating habits are the key factors increasing the demand for soy sauce powder. Currently, the demand for soy sauce is increasing especially among food manufacturers, fast food retail chains and restaurants as they use soy sauce powder for flavor enhancement, coating, seasoning, soups and for many other purposes. Food manufacturers also used soy sauce powder in dry or in rehydrated form which has wide application in seasoning mixes, sauces, dips, gravies, soups, snacks etc.Soy sauce powder market is segmented on two different basis, on the basis of type and on the basis of application. Soy sauce powder market segment on the basis of by type, it includes fermented soy sauce powder and roasted soy sauce powder. Another market segmented for soy sauce powder is on the basis of by application, it includes soups, sauces, seasonings, snacks, meat items and others (salad dressings, gravies, and dips). The demand for soy sauce is primarily increasing from food manufacturers, food catering, households, and an increasing number of fast food chains as it has wide application in food products as it gives authentic flavor, aroma of soy sauce, color, crust formation and also function as umami food recipes. Soy sauce powder has become the ideal base for sauces, snacks, dips, dressings, gravies, instant seasoning food products for flavor enhancement purpose and to offer the better taste in food items.A sample of this report is available upon request @On the basis of the regional segment, the market of Soy sauce powder is segmented into five regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Japan, and the Middle East & Africa. On analyzing the demand for soy sauce powder market in the graph, it is expected that Asia-Pacific and Japan account for majority of market share in the global market in terms of volume and in terms of value North America accounts the majority of share in global soy sauce powder market.Request to view table of content @Some of the key players operates in business of soy sauce powder are Nikken Foods USA, Inc., Shanghai Hensin Industry CO., Ltd., Chaitanya Group of Industries, SEEWOO FOODS LIMITED, Halcyon Proteins Pty. Ltd., La Herbal (india), AmTech Ingredients, PHILIPPINE AMINOSAN CORPORATION, YAMASA Corporation, and Kikkoman Corporation among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Polyphthalamide Market Rests Hopes of Advancement on Automobile and Electronic Applications

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"The Report Global Polyphthalamide Market 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"The global polyphthalamide (PPA) market is prophesied to take advantage of a wide variety of applications in leading end-user sectors, including personal care, cables and wires, electronics and electrical, and automobile. In a detailed report, titled Global Polyphthalamide Market 20172021, added by MarketResearchReports.biz, the world PPA market is prognosticated to reap a rich harvest in terms of growth at a CAGR of 7.38% during the forecast period. Along with an all-embracing analysis of key companies operating in the PPA industry, the report has exposed the growth prospects and expected nature of the market landscape by the end of 2021.Apart from the profit-making applications in a host of prevailing industries, the international PPA market is anticipated to take charge of a princely revenue growth on the back of a few more driving factors. These are slated to be the towering requirement of PPA in Asia Pacific as a result of its economic advancement and industrial appliances and machinery sector witnessing the advent of lightweight substitutes for metals. Vendors are deemed to be on high expectations with this prediction of the effectiveness of the aforementioned factors in driving the market.A few challenges are foreseen by the analysts on the part of the PPA market in the form of PPA being priced higher than the other types of high-performance nylons and the volatile costing of raw materials. Howbeit, market players could look to gain traction while riding on opportunities birthing from the aggressive usage of bio-based PPA. A bundle of reliable market opportunities could also be anticipated with the augmenting employment of PPA in various transpiring application domains.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @The electronics and electrical and automotive industries are envisaged to be the most favorable areas of growth for the world PPA market. With the introduction of the PPA material in the production of new mobile phones, the electronics and electrical application segment could lay a reliable foundation for an increased demand in the market. The automotive segment, on the other hand, is expected to hike up its PPA consumption with research and development activities performed to enhance efficiency with lightweight automobiles. The low moisture absorption and heat resistance characteristics of PPA are foretold to attract ample of opportunities with their application in extreme temperature conditions and chemical environments.With optimistic economic conditions taking precedence in the Asia Pacific PPA market, the region is predicted to show strong signs of growth. The market is also foreseen to leverage the trend of rising industrial development and manufacturing activities. The other geographies extensively studied in the global PPA market report are North America, Europe, and Rest of the World.View Press Release @On account of a significant presence of foreign players, the world PPA market is anticipated to hold a diversified and highly competitive nature. Some of the top names making their mark in the PPA industry are Solvay, Evonik Industries, DuPont, BASF, and ArkemaMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Network as a Service Market Players Analysis, Industry Technologies and Forecast to 2022

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Market Research Future published a half cooked research report on Network as a Service MarketMarket HighlightsNetwork as a Service (NaaS) Market is expected to grow at CAGR of 28.4% during the forecast period and expected to reach market size of US $126.8 Billion by the end of forecast period. The network as a service (NaaS) market is growing rapidly with the emerging need of connecting various devices wirelessly. The growing demand of the NB-IoT solutions among the enterprise companies help to increase the utilization of their assets in the optimum way, the usage of these solutions caters in creating the standardization in 3rd generation partnership projects, provides robust authentication and for global coverage.During the study it was found that the network function visualization (NFV) in the network as a service market is emerging rapidly. It enables the smartphone to interact with something in close proximity. It provides connectivity between two devices which are active at the same time and are able to send and receive data in the real time. The technology helps in transmission and receiving of data by the use of radio waves. This is followed by bandwidth on demand which is utilized for network connectivity service that allows the user to request bandwidth at the desired level as and when they are required. It also allows the individual to customize the connectivity parameter by providing the control to the user.Request a Sample Copy of Report @Competitive Analysis-Major Key Players in Network as a Service Market are Alcatel Lucent (U.S.), Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (U.S.), Ciena Corporation (U.S), Cisco Systems (U.S.), IBM Corp. (U.S.), Juniper Networks (U.S.), NEC Corp. (Japan), VMware (U.S.), Aryaka Networks Inc. (U.S.), AT&T (U.S.)Network as a Service (NaaS) MarketGlobal Network as a Service (NaaS) Market has been segmented on the basis of type, service, component, deployment and end-user. Type comprises of local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN). Service comprises of network virtual function (NVF), WAN connection, Data Center, Bandwidth On Demand, and others. Component comprises of Infrastructure and technological service. Deployment comprises of On Cloud and On Premises. Whereas, end-user includes IT & telecommunication, BFSI, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Retail, Transportation and others.Browse Report Details @Market Research Analysis:Market Research Future Analysis shows that the growing demand of cloud based service in small and medium business units acts as a major contributor in the growth of global network as a service market. Implementation of wireless connectivity helps in improving the connectivity among the devices and ensures the smooth usage of transfer of the data. The market is further followed by transportation industry, where the wireless connectivity is further utilized to reduce the travel time by connecting the automobiles with the Google maps. The efficient use of the GPS technology in the automobiles helps the passengers to avail the real time mapping of traffic, for the accurate arrival time of public transport which helps to improve the experience of the travelers.Geographically, Asia pacific is expected to grow the in the Network as a Service Market with the growing concept of connecting more and more industrial processes with the internet. The factors such as growing broadband penetration and the emergence of local players in the region will fuel growth opportunities in this region during the forecast period.Access the market data and market information presented through more than 25 market data tables and 25 figures spread over 100 numbers of pages of the project report Global Network as a Service Market Research Report- Forecast 2022LIST OF TABLESTABLE 1 Global Network as a Service Market, by TypeTABLE 2 Global Networks as a Service Market, By ServiceTABLE 3 Global Networks as a Service Market, by ComponentTABLE 4 Global Networks as a Service Market, by DeploymentTABLE 5 Global Networks as a Service Market, by End UserTABLE 6 Global Networks as a Service Market, by RegionsContinued..Browse Related Report:Global Virtual Private Network Market Analysis- by Products (Routers, Switches, Firewalls), by Type (Cloud, Hosted, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), IP), by Deployment (On Premises, On Cloud/Remote) and Verticals (Government, Telecommunication, Manufacturing, Healthcare, BFIS) - Forecast 2016-2022About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.ContactAkash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Construction in Bahrain Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021 | Now Available at Researchmoz.us

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Construction in Bahrain Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.In real terms, the Bahraini construction industrys output grew by 6.4% in 2016, following an average annual growth of 5.2% during the preceding four years. This increase can be attributed to favorable macroeconomic conditions, improvements in business confidence and consumer demand, and public and private sector investment in infrastructure and residential construction projects, leading to an increase in demand for the Bahraini construction industry. Consequently, in real terms, the construction industrys contribution to the countrys GDP increased from 6.7% in 2012 to 7.0% in 2015.The construction industry is expected to continue to expand over the forecast period (20172021), with investments in infrastructure, residential and energy projects continuing to drive growth.The focus on the development of transport infrastructure and the construction of affordable housing units will be key growth drivers. The industry growth will also be driven by the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, under which the government aims to diversify the countrys economy away from oil and support economic growth.The industrys output value in real terms is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.01% over the forecast period, compared to 5.73% during the review period (20122016).To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Low oil prices are expected to undermine growth prospects during the early part of the forecast period. However, the governments early efforts to diversify the economy away from oil by focusing on non-oil sectors will create growth opportunities for the construction industry.SummaryTimetrics 'Construction in Bahrain, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2021' report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights into the Bahraini construction industry, including:The Bahraini construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activityAnalysis of equipment, material and service costs for each project type in BahrainCritical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, and the risks and opportunities they present to participants in the Bahraini construction industryProfiles of the leading operators in the Bahraini construction industryData highlights of the largest construction projects in BahrainScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in Bahrain. It provides:Historical (2012-2016) and forecast (2017-2021) valuations of the construction industry in Bahrain using construction output and value-add methodsSegmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by project typeBreakdown of values within each project type, by type of activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by type of cost (materials, equipment and services)Analysis of key construction industry issues, including regulation, cost management, funding and pricingDetailed profiles of the leading construction companies in BahrainReasons To BuyIdentify and evaluate market opportunities using Timetric's standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies.Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts.Understand the latest industry and market trends.Formulate and validate strategy using Timetric's critical and actionable insight.Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures.Evaluate competitive risk and success factors.Key HighlightsThe government is focusing on improvements to the countrys infrastructure to boost the performance of non-oil sector. As a result, the countrys non-oil economy is expected to record growth of 2.4% in 2017. According to the Economic Development Board (EDB), the country is currently in the process of implementing infrastructure construction projects with a value of BHD12.0 billion (US$32.0 billion).Housing supply in Bahrain is relatively low compared to demand, which provides opportunities for residential developers. Accordingly, in a bid to provide affordable housing to meet demand from lower- and middle-income groups, the government set a target of constructing 65,000 social housing units across the country by 2020 under the Government Action Plan.The government is focusing on the expansion and modernization of airport infrastructure, with an aim to improve airport services and build a world-class aviation infrastructure to meet the expected rises in passenger, cargo and air traffic. Accordingly, the government is developing Bahrain International Airport (BIA) under the Airport Modernisation Programme. In 2016, a joint venture of the Dubai-based Arabtec Construction and Turkey's TAV Construction won a contract to construct a new terminal at BIA.The Bahraini construction industrys growth will be driven by government plans to increase the share of renewable energy in terms of total energy consumption, and encourage investment in renewable energy infrastructure. Accordingly, the Bahraini cabinet approved the National Plan for Renewable Energy in January 2017, to achieve sustainable development and energy efficiency.The government is seeking help from foreign investors to improve the countrys infrastructure. In August 2016, the Bahraini government signed seven contracts worth BHD148.5 million (US$395.0 million) with Kuwait and the UAE to carry out housing and infrastructure construction projects in the country.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Buttermilk Market Report Analysis To 2022

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Originally, buttermilk referred to the liquid left over from churning butter from cultured or fermented cream. Traditionally, before cream could be skimmed from whole milk, the milk was left to sit for a period of time to allow the cream and milk to separate. During this time, naturally occurring lactic acid-producing bacteria in the milk fermented it. This facilitates the butter churning process, since fat from cream with a lower pH coalesces more readily than that of fresh cream. The acidic environment also helps prevent potentially harmful microorganisms from growing, increasing shelf-life. However, in establishments that used cream separators, the cream was hardly acidic at all.Download Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Buttermilk in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversAmulArla FoodsDairyAmericaSodiaal GroupFonterraDairy Farmers of AmericaGlanbiaValley MilkAssociated Milk ProducersArion Dairy ProductsInnova Food IngredientsSterling Agro IndustriesGrain MillersAgri-MarkLand O LakesMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversLiquid ButtermilkButtermilk PowderMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoConfectioneryIce CreamBakeryDairy-based SaucesOtherOther Complete Report Details @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Buttermilk market.Chapter 1, to describe Buttermilk Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Buttermilk, with sales, revenue, and price of Buttermilk, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Buttermilk, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the market by countries, by type, by application and by manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Buttermilk market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Buttermilk sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source....ContinuedTo Get Discount on Full Report @For more information, please visitMarket Reports Center is an e-commerce platform obliging the needs of knowledge workers, experts, professionals who are subject to market research information for their work, or to make strategic business decisions. Market Reports Centers team consistently works to update and extend our existing repository of market research reports by partnering with new publishers and adding their studies to our website.Sam Collins303, Astral Court,Aundh, Pune,MH - 411045, Indiainfo@marketreportscenter.com
Global Halogen-Free Flame Market 2016: Focuses on top players Clariant International Ltd., Lanxess AG, Nabaltech AG., BASF SE, Israel Chemicals Limited (ICL)

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The Halogen-Free Flame research report by QY Research represents an inclusive evaluation of the Global Halogen-Free Flame Market and comprises considerable insights, historical data, facts, and statistical and industry-validated data of the global market. Additionally, it consists of estimated data that is evaluated with the help of suitable set of methodologies and assumptions. The research report highlights informative data and in-depth analysis of Halogen-Free Flame market and its corresponding segments that are based on technology, geography, and applications.The examination on value chain of Halogen-Free Flame market is provided which covers the growth factors and restraints of the industry along with the key market competitors.To Request Sample Copy Of This Report:The report comprises precise information, comprehensive analysis in two waysqualitative and quantitativeindustry experts inputs, and information provided by industry analysts and industry participants involved in the entire value chain. The report highlights exhaustive study of major market and their present trends, along with corresponding market segments. The Halogen-Free Flame report also provides data regarding various market factors and their impact on the overall market and its segments.Global Research report analyzes the scope of Halogen-Free Flame industry including size, share, analysis, sales, supply, production, definition, specification, classification, demands, application, forecast trends, industry policy, and news. The report focuses on regional as well as global market, its key players, along with market segments including detailed study on various divisions and its applications. The report provides comprehensive information on each and every segment covered of the Halogen-Free Flame market.Furthermore, the report evaluated major market points such as production, revenue, capacity utilization rate, gross, price, capacity, gross margin, supply, cost, demand, export, consumption, import, growth rate, market share, and so on.Browse Complete Report At:The global Halogen-Free Flame market report is a helpful source which assists manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, customers, and individuals and investors who have interest in this market.SummaryNotes:Sales, means the sales volume of Halogen-Free FlameRevenue, means the sales value of Halogen-Free FlameThis report studies sales (consumption) of Halogen-Free Flame in Global market, especially in United States, China, Europe, Japan, focuses on top players in these regions/countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these regions, coveringClariant International Ltd.Lanxess AGIsrael Chemicals Limited (ICL)Albemarle CorporationNabaltech AG.Chemtura Corporation LimitedBASF SEAbout Us:MRS Research Group is the worlds giant collection of the Market research Reports. Where we specialized in global publisher, tailor made reports and specialists consulting. Global Publisher provides in-depth analysis of global and Chinese market. Tailor-made reports represent methodologies deliverable to proper insight of the client. While, expertise research specialist helps to provide strategic solution in specialists consulting. It consists of head such as, latest report, category, niche market and news. Reports published on the million of category like chemical, machinery and equipment, consumer goods, manufacturing and construction etc. Latest national, international, business News published under news portal.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,Tel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651
Global Flexible Packaging Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report (2016-2020)

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Flexible Packaging Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2016-2020)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled Global Flexible Packaging Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2016-2020) presents a thorough study of the global flexible packaging market with comprehensive analysis of market sizing & growth and market share analysis. The analysis covers market by value, market share by substrates, region and segment.An in-depth study of market share by segment has been provided in the report which covers consumer flexible packaging market and industrial flexible packaging market in terms of value.The report encompasses a brief regional analysis of the Asia-Pacific flexible packaging market covering the market in terms of consumption and volume. Asia-Pacific is the largest market for flexible packaging globally.Furthermore, the report also assesses the key opportunities available in the market and summaries the dynamic forces that are and will be accountable for growth of the industry. Growth of the global flexible packaging market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration previous growth outlines, growth drivers and the existing and forthcoming trends.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @A brief company profiling of Amcor Group, Berry Plastic Group and Bemis Company Inc. has been provided in the report. This section briefs about business overview, financial summary and business policies of these major companies.Company CoverageAmcor Ltd.Berry Plastic GroupBemis Plastic Inc.Country CoverageAsia-PacificExecutive SummaryAnything that offers protection, information, promotion and waste reduction to the products are known as packaging. The main purpose of packaging is to deliver products in perfect condition to the ultimate consumers. Packaging fulfills the necessities of the product while reducing commercial and ecological effects of both the product and its package. One of the primary functions of packaging is promotion of the product as it depicts products features & benefits, list of ingredients and promotional message & branding.Container or package made of flexible or elastic materials that when filled and closed can be readily change in shape. Bags, envelops, pouches, sachets and wrap etc. are some of the examples of flexible packaging which are generally made up of materials such as film, foil or paper sheeting. There are four types of packaging namely primary, secondary, tertiary and service. Main advantages of flexible packaging are convenience & portability, cost saving, sustainability and health benefits.The global flexible packaging market is rising at a rapid pace with substantial growth rate over the previous few years and is projected to grow further over the forecasted period (2016-2020). Drivers that are supporting the growth of the market are rising urban population, increasing number of small households, growing & ageing population, technological advancements, increasing health awareness, changing life style and eating habits, rising disposable income of population in developing economies like India and China etc. Apart from these key factors there are considerable numbers of other factors that are propelling the demand of the flexible packaging.In the forecasted period market is expected to grow on the back of increasing awareness towards reduction in food waste, rising shelf-appeal of products, health snacking practices by consumers and introduction of smart packaging etc. Yet the market is facing some challenges which are dampening the growth of the market. Some of the challenges faced by the industry are volatile prices of raw materials, lack of substantial e-packaging and environmental & regulatory issues.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Malignant Melanoma Market With Focus on Nevisense System: 2015-2020 | New Release

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Malignant Melanoma Market With Focus on Nevisense System: 2015-2020" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled Global Malignant Melanoma Market With Focus on Nevisense System: 2015-2020 provides an in-depth analysis of the global malignant melanoma market with detailed analysis of the volume of patients and deaths caused due to melanoma. The report also provides the market size of the global melanoma diagnosis and therapeutics market.The report provides detailed regional analysis of Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa for the malignant melanoma market. Regional analysis includes the melanoma diagnosis and therapeutics market, total volume of melanoma patients and deaths caused by melanoma along with the gender segmentation. The report also includes the country analysis of the U.S. and Australia for malignant melanoma market. It provides the analysis of melanoma patient volume along with the deaths caused.The report also provides detailed information and analysis on the first objective diagnostic support tool, named, Nevisense system manufactured by SciBase company. This section provides the detailed information about the features and clinical benefits of the device along with the technology of the device and its clinical procedures. This also includes the global and regional analysis of the number of devices sold since its invention, i.e. 2014, its installed base and the competitors.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Furthermore, the report assesses key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall global melanoma market has also been forecasted for the period 2015-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The competition in the global melanoma market is stiff and dominated by the big players like Bristol. Further, key players of the melanoma market, Merck and Navidea are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.Regional CoverageEuropeAmericasAsiaOceaniaAfricaCountry CoverageUnited StatesAustraliaCompany CoverageBristol-Myers Squibb CompanyMerck & Co., Inc.Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.Executive SummaryThe global malignant melanoma market is expected to have increased at the significant CAGR during 2012-2015 and projections are made that the market would rise in the next five years i.e. 2016-2020 tremendously. The most affected regions around the world include Americas and Europe followed by Asia, Oceania and Africa. The most common environmental factors resulting in the high prevalence of melanoma include, sun exposure, artificial UV rays and social-economic status of individuals.The growth drivers for the market are: rise in melanoma cases. Effective immunotherapies and targeted therapy drugs. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as: lack of awareness among people, high treatment cost and challenges in the developing countries such as insufficient political priorities and funding issues.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
New Survey on Global Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Market with Focus on the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) (2016-2020)

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Market with Focus on the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) (2016-2020)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report entitled Global Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Market with Focus on the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) (2016-2020), provides analysis of the global MCS market, with detailed analysis of market size and growth, penetration, market share and economic impact of the industry. The analysis includes the market by value, by volume, by segments, etc. The report also includes the analysis of the United States MCS market by value, by volume, etc.The report further highlights key market figures for Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), which is a key device in the MCS market.Furthermore, the report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall global MCS market has also been forecasted for the years 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Thoratec (St. Jude Medical), HeartWare International and ReliantHeart are some of the key players operating in the global MCS market, whose company profiling has been done in the report. In this segment of the report, business overview, financial overview and business strategies of the companies are provided.Country CoverageUnited StatesCompany CoverageThoratec (St. Jude Medical)HeartWare InternationalReliantHeartExecutive SummaryHeart failure occurs when the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen. It is a chronic and progressive condition in which the heart cannot keep up with its workload.Treatment alternatives available for the heart failure are: Medical Management, Coronary Angioplasty, Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery, Heart Restraint Devices, LV Reduction Surgery, Total Artificial Heart, Heart Transplant, Intra-aortic Balloon Pumps and Mechanical Circulatory Support.A mechanical circulatory support (MCS) device is designed to take over the pumping function (a part or full) of the heart by mechanically pumping blood into the aorta. In this process, blood is allowed to flow from the left ventricle to the pump chamber via the cannula, which is powered by an electric source outside the body.MCS therapy can be segmented into Chronic MCS and Acute MCS. A ventricular assist device, or VAD, is a mechanical pump used to support heart function and blood flow in people with weak or failing hearts. The VAD treatment for chronic MCS can be divided into Bridge-to-Transplantation (BTT) and Destination Therapy (DT) and in acute MCS, the same can be divided into Post-Cardiotomy Myocardial Recovery Following Cardiac Surgery and Cardiac Surgery Support.The global mechanical circulatory support (MCS) market is expected to increase at significant growth rates during the forecasted period (2016-2020). The global MCS market is supported by various growth drivers, such as, long waiting list for heart transplant treatment, launches of new products, better results of MCS relative to other treatment options etc. Yet, the market faces certain challenges, such as, low awareness, side effects of LVAD, etc.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Luxury Sunglass Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report (2016-2020)

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Luxury Sunglass Market: Size, Trends and Forecasts (2016-2020)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled Global Luxury Sunglass Market: Size, Trends and Forecasts (2016-2020) provides an in-depth analysis of the global luxury sunglass market with detailed analysis of market size on the basis of value and volume along with the growth in the global average selling price if the luxury sunglasses.The report provides detailed regional analysis of the developed and emerging markets. The analysis of developed markets includes Europe and the U.S., while emerging markets include, China, Mexico, India, Brazil and Australasia. The regional analysis of the developed markets includes market size by value and volume along with the average selling price of the product and the analysis of emerging markets include the market size on the basis of the value.The report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall global luxury sunglass market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The competition in the global luxury sunglass market is stiff and dominated by the big players like Luxottica. Further, key players of the market Safilo and Fielmann are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Regional CoverageEuropeUnited StatesChinaMexicoIndiaBrazilAustralasiaCompany CoverageLuxottica Group SpASafilo Group SpAFielmann AGExecutive SummaryLuxury Sunglasses also known as premium sunglasses have been characterized as sunglasses that are fitted with non-solution lenses, and subsequently are not utilized for vision correction. They are fundamentally utilized for stylish purposes and for securing the eyes against hurtful bright (UV) beams.The global luxury sunglass market increased at a significant CAGR during the span of 5 years, i.e., 2010-2015 and projections are made that the market would rise in the next five years i.e. 2016-2020 tremendously. The market is highly concentrated in Europe and the U.S., accounting a significant proportion of the market as European countries are popular as tax free shopping destinations among tourists and growing number of consumers who can afford branded sunglasses in the United States. In fact, the market is emerging in the developing nations such as China, Mexico, India, Brazil and Australasia at an increasing annual growth rate.The major growth drivers for the global luxury sunglass market are: premiumization, airport retail channel, rising consumer holidays and health benefits of using sunglasses. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as: availability of counterfeit products and bad economic conditions.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market (CGM) Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report (2016-2020)

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market (CGM): Size, Trends & Forecasts (2016-2020)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled Global Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market (CGM): Size, Trends & Forecasts (2016-2020), provides an in-depth analysis of the global CGM market. The report also gives an insight of the global CGM market by value, by penetration, by products, by components, by region, etc.The report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall global CGM market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.The competition in global CGM market is dominated by the two big players, DexCom Incorporation and Medtronic. Further, key players of the CGM market DexCom, Incorporation, Medtronic and Abbott Laboratories are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Country CoverageNorth AmericaWestern EuropeChinaCompany CoverageAbbott LaboratoriesDexCom IncorporationMedtronicExecutive SummaryContinuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) is a small glucose sensor (electrodes) inserted under the skin that keeps in check the glucose levels in interstitial fluid. The sensor stays in body for several days to a week before being replaced. A transmitter that is placed on the body sends information about the level of glucose via radio waves from the sensor to a wireless monitor that could be in the form of a wristband or it could be an app on the smartphone that allows the patient to view their glucose measurements. The CGM system basically has been designed to target the type1 diabetic population, for the early detection of hypo and hyperglycemia. The CGM system is made of three parts: a wireless monitor (receiver), a transmitter and a sensor. The CGM market has several advantages and disadvantages.Global CGM market has increased at a significant CAGR during the years 2014-2015 and projections are made that the market would rise in the next four years i.e. 2016-2020 tremendously. The CGM market is expected to increase due to increasing population with type1 diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, rising population with obesity, etc. Yet, the market faces some challenges such as, intense competition in the market, lack of penetration in type 2 diabetes, lack of reliability and accuracy in data.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global IoT Security Market is Estimated to Grow with 31 % CAGR during Forecast Period 2016-2022

IoT Security Market

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Market Highlights and OverviewMarket Research Future published a half-cooked research report on IoT Security Market. The Global IoT Security Market is expected to grow over ~31% CAGR during the period 2016 to 2022 with USD ~41 billion market value in 2022.The Global IoT Security market has been evaluated as growing market and expected that the market will touch high growth figures in Asia-Pacific region during forecast period.IoT Security is a solution protecting connected devices and networks from cyber-attacks. Device manufacturers are offering security solution into their products from a mix of hardware and software features. The high growth in adopting cloud technology by businesses especially to protect financial information of the company is propelling the growth of IoT security market during forecast period 2016-2022. Other factors such as high usage of smartphones for data transmission, via various apps and growing initiatives by major market players to introduce security solutions is also supporting the market to grow in the upcoming future.Request a Sample Copy of Report @Key Players:The major participants of this market are Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.), IBM Corporation (U.S.), Verizon enterprise solutions (U.S.), Symantec AG (Germany), Infineon Technologies AG (Germany), Intel Corporation (U.S.), AT&T Inc. (U.S.), Gemalto NV (U.S.), General Electric (U.S.), Sophos Group PLC (UK) and, others.Competitive Analysis:The Global Key Market Players such as Cisco systems, Inc., IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and other industries are offering wide range of products and services to their end-user industries. Recently, in February 2017, Symantec AG, a leading cyber security company, launched a new cloud security solution to protect enterprise information from cyber threats. This security solution is expected to bring greater visibility and better control over critical assets, and users. Other prominent company Infineon Technologies AG, a leading semiconductor solution provider, has partnership with Chinese electronic manufacturers namely Midea, Huawei Consumer, and CESI to develop security solutions for smart home application sector. These growing advancement in product categories and high involvement of small & large market players in developing IoT Security systems & software services is creating high growth opportunity for IoT Security market in the upcoming future.Access the market data and market information presented through more than 40 market data tables and figures spread over 100 numbers of pages of the project report Global IoT Security Market Research Report -Forecast to 2022Browse Report Details @Market Research Analysis:Geographically, North America is expected to dominate the IoT Security market during forecast period 2016-2022. The early adoption of IoT security devices by organization and growing deployment of IoT technology & analytical devices in manufacturing sector is fuelling the market of IoT security in the region. Europe is also showing high growth opportunity in the IoT security market as the government is taking many initiatives to implement security solutions in order to reduce cyber-crime in the region. Furthermore, Asia-pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing region in forecast period 2016-2022 due to growing investment by vendors such as Verizon Enterprise, Symantec, and IBM to provide network and cloud based data security services to the organization in the region.Make an Enquiry for Report @IoT Security Market Segmentation:The IoT Security market can be segmented into its types and end-users. IoT Security is offering three types of security solution namely network security, cloud security and application security among others. End-user segment is categorized into Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Transportation, Energy & utilities, IT, BFSI and others.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Easy Peel Film Packaging Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024

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The revenue form the packaging industry sales globally is expected to continue to show strong growth as both increased consumption and demand for consumer goods and food has driven the needs for more sophisticated packaging, such as easy peel film packaging, supported by growing middle class and rising disposable income. Packaging film and even packaging product manufacturers are offering products with additional focus given to the convenience aspect for consumers, ultimately creating profitable market opportunities for companies providing easy peel film packaging. Easy peel film packaging has been one of the most innovative product offering from packaging companies, vastly benefitting the food and beverage industry in a very short span of time.Obtain Report Details @Moreover, easy peel film packaging allows the customer to handle the product safely and with ease and also ensure consumers that the packaging can be separated from the product without leaving any residue and that it can be fully emptied, minimizing the wastage of the content. Easy peel film packaging is also moisture resistant, enhances product quality and also benefits both consumers with convenience and aids manufacturers in relation to its sustainable, and easy disposal nature. In addition, easy peel film packaging is also an economical solution for manufacturers, as it reduces the shipping and logistics cost during transportation, ultimately maximizing the profitability margin of suppliers.Easy Peel Film Packaging: Market DynamicsGrowth in demand for easy peel film packaging is anticipated to remain steady for various reasons. Firstly, the food & beverage industry is constantly striving to offer its products that not only make the packaging attractive but also offers convenience. Secondly, rising investment in product innovation, among packaging film and machinery manufacturers, expansion of production capacity to meet the demand is expected to drive the demand of easy peel film packaging throughout the forecast period. The trend of replacing conventional rigid plastic film with easy peel film packaging has been rather safe and economical option for packaging manufacturers, as they consume relatively less space during inventory and transportation.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Moreover, offering customized easy peel films with dimensions and printing options as per the customer requirement is the new trend observed in the global easy peel film packaging market. Easy peel film packaging can be used for various types of plastic containers and cups and leaves no residue behind. The packaging form is non-sticky and perform well with all sorts of temperature. Despite growth opportunities, the manufacturing cost of such packaging is relatively high, resulting into low profitability margins for packaging film suppliers.Easy Peel Film Packaging: Market SegmentationThe global easy peel film packaging market is segmented on the basis of application, material, packaging and region. On the basis of application, the global easy peel film packaging market is segmented into food & beverage, medical application segment, industrial application segment and other consumer products segment. The food and beverage segment is further sub-segmented into seafood products, frozen food, dairy products, bakery & confectionary, microwaveable food products, and beverages. The medical application segment is further sub-segmented as syringes, catheter packaging film and infusion bags. Further the industrial application segment is sub-segmented into toner containers, ink cartridges and other industrial products. The consumer products is further segmented into air fresheners, deodorizers, washing detergents, wet wipes and other consumer products. Demand of easy peel film packaging from food application segment is anticipated to offer lucrative opportunities to the global easy peel film packaging market in terms of growth prospects. Moreover, on the basis of material type, the global easy peel film packaging market is segmented into linear low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and others. On the basis of packaging type, the global easy peel film packaging is segmented into cups, trays, pouches and other containers.Easy Peel Film Market: Regional outlookEasy peel film packaging market has been segmented on the basis of region into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America. Among these region, North America and Europe are expected to collectively dominate the market throughout the forecast period. However, many packaging film suppliers and converter companies are investing in Asia Pacific to tap the growing unmet demand and potential, easy peel film packaging offers to packaging film manufacturers in the region. Furthermore, Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness maximum CAGR over the forecast period primarily driven by China, Japan and India. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are expected to witness sluggish growth and over the forecast period. In Latin America, Brazil and Mexico are expected to create maximum incremental opportunities in terms of revenue for companies involved in easy peel film packaging.Easy Peel Film Packaging Market: Key playersSome of the key players in the global easy peel film packaging market are J-Film Corporation, Evonik Industries, Mitsui Chemicals, Bemis Company Inc., Shrinath Rotopack Pvt Ltd, Tilak Polypack Pvt Ltd. A majority of easy peel packaging companies are largely headquartered in Europe and North America. However, China and India based packaging film manufacturers are looking to grab most of the opportunity offered in terms of revenue from the global easy peel film packaging market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Flow Battery Market By Manufacturers, Countries, Type And Application, Forecast To 2022

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A flow battery, or redox flow battery (after reductionoxidation), is a type of rechargeable battery where recharge ability is provided by two chemical components dissolved in liquids contained within the system and separated by a membrane. Ion exchange (providing flow of electric current) occurs through the membrane while both liquids circulate in their own respective space. Cell voltage is chemically determined by the Nernst equation and ranges, in practical applications, from 1.0 to 2.2 volts. The performance of these devices is governed by the considerations of electrochemical engineering. Figure Picture of Flow BatteryRequest Sample Report:Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Flow Battery in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversSumitomo ElectricDalian Rongke PowerPrimus PowerEnSyncImergyGildemeisterEnerVaultredTENERGY StorageUniEnergy TechnologiesMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversVanadium Liquid BatteryZinc Bromide BatteryIron Chromium BatteryOtherMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoPower StationNew Energy StorageIndustryOtherBrowse report summery with TOC:There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Flow Battery market.Chapter 1, to describe Flow Battery Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Flow Battery, with sales, revenue, and price of Flow Battery, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Flow Battery, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Flow Battery market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Flow Battery sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceEnquiry before Buying:About Us:Reportbazzar.com is your trusted source for the most inclusive and informative assortment of market research reports designed to empower you with the latest in industry information that translates to time and cost savings for your business. We not only help you give wing to your latent business ideas but also facilitate you in taking the best informed and strategic decisions that guarantee success in your most promising business endeavors.ReportBazzarUnited States30 Wall Street, 8th floor,New York, NY 10005.US: +1 (212) 389-6363India: +91 20 66528525Email Id: sales@reportbazzar.comWebsite:
Global Atorvastatin Market Trends, Growth, Size, Analysis, Outlook by 2017

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Global Atorvastatin Market Research Report 2022 (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) is the latest market intelligence on growth drivers, industry and regional trends, competitive landscape scenario as well as upstream and downstream sectors.Atorvastatin is a pharmaceutical raw material in the production of atorvastatin drug (trade name: Lipitor), which is a prescription medicine that lowers the LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood and can raise HDL cholesterol as well.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Atorvastatin in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Global Atorvastatin Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversPfizerDSM Sinochem PharmaceuticalsInd-SwiftCadila PharmaceuticalsMorepenGlobal Atorvastatin Market of 119 pages having tables and figures is available for purchase atGlobal Atorvastatin Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Global Atorvastatin Market Segment by Type, coversChemical SynthesisBiocatalysisThe listed pricing for this Global Atorvastatin Market report starts at $ 4880. Request Discount for Global Atorvastatin Market Research Report @Table of Contents in Global Atorvastatin Market Research Report4 Global Atorvastatin Market Analysis by Regions4.1 Global Atorvastatin Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions4.1.1 Global Atorvastatin Sales by Regions (2012-2017)4.1.2 Global Atorvastatin Revenue by Regions (2012-2017)4.2 North America Atorvastatin Sales and Growth (2012-2017)5 North America Atorvastatin by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers5.1 North America Atorvastatin Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries5.1.1 North America Atorvastatin Sales by Countries (2012-2017)5.1.2 North America Atorvastatin Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)5.1.3 USA Atorvastatin Sales and Growth (2012-2017)6 Europe Atorvastatin by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers6.1 Europe Atorvastatin Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries6.1.1 Europe Atorvastatin Sales by Countries (2012-2017)6.1.2 Europe Atorvastatin Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)6.1.3 Germany Atorvastatin Sales and Growth (2012-2017)Request a sample copy of Global Atorvastatin Market Research Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoTablet (including dispersible tablet and general tablet)CapsuleOthersBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Global Atorvastatin Market Report @Related Reports: -North America Atorvastatin Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022Atorvastatin is a pharmaceutical raw material in the production of atorvastatin drug (trade name: Lipitor), which is a prescription medicine that lowers the LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood and can raise HDL cholesterol as well.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Global Business Process Management Market Players and Regional Data Coverage Report

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The Business Process Management Market 2017 research offers a feasibility analysis for investment and returns supported with data on development trend analysis across important regions of the world.The global Business Process Management (BPM) market stands at USD 6.96 Billion in 2016, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.52% during 2016-2021 to reach USD 14.89 Billion by 2021. The Business Process Management market is showing rapid growth.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Business Process Management in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Global Business Process Management Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversRicohIBM Corp.Microsoft Corp.Oracle CorpSAPSETIBCO SoftwareGlobal Business Process Management Market of 121 pages having tables and figures is available for purchase atGlobal Business Process Management Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Global Business Process Management Market Segment by Type, covers AutomationProcess ModellingContent & Document ManagementMonitoring & OptimizationThe listed pricing for this Global Business Process Management Market report starts at $ 4880. Request Discount for Global Business Process Management Market Research Report @Table of Contents in Global Business Process Management Market Research Report6 Europe Business Process Management by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers6.1 Europe Business Process Management Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries6.1.1 Europe Business Process Management Sales by Countries (2012-2017)6.1.2 Europe Business Process Management Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)7 Asia-Pacific Business Process Management by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers7.1 Asia-Pacific Business Process Management Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries7.1.1 Asia-Pacific Business Process Management Sales by Countries (2012-2017)7.1.2 Asia-Pacific Business Process Management Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)8 South America Business Process Management by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers8.1 South America Business Process Management Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries8.1.1 South America Business Process Management Sales by Countries (2012-2017)Request a sample copy of Global Business Process Management Market Research Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoBFSIIT & TelecomRetailManufacturingHealthcareGovernment & DefenseBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Global Business Process Management Market Report @Related Reports: -North America Business Process Management Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022This report focuses on the Business Process Management in North America market, especially in United States, Canada and Mexico. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Green Cement Market: Green Construction for Environmental Sustainability to Aid Growth By 2024

Green Cement Market

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The leading five players held a 51% share in the global green cement market in 2015, notes a recent market study by Transparency Market Research. The key leading players are Heidelberg Cement AG, Lafrage S.A., Taiheyo Cement Corporation, China Building Material, and CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V. Mergers and acquisitions for capacity expansion is the focus of key players in this market, says a TMR analyst. Continual focus on technological advancements and product differentiation are the sought-after winning strategies of these companies, says the lead author of the study.The global green cement market is projected to reach a valuation of US$38.10 bn by 2024 increasing from US$14.80 bn in 2015 at a CAGR of 11.3% therein.Asia Pacific to Remain at Forefront Due to Booming Construction SectorIn terms of application, residential sector is expected to lead the market due to the growing population density in urban areas. The increasing demand for residential projects is expected to propel growth of the global green cement market.Obtain Report Details @On the basis of geography, Asia Pacific is expected to acquire a share of 31.1% by 2024 increasing from 26.8% in 2015, owing to growth of the construction industry in the region. The region will experience a surging demand for green cement due to fast-paced urbanization and rapid industrialization. The mounting demand for residential and non-residential buildings is expected to propel the demand for green cement across the region. In this region, the rising need for infrastructural development in developing countries combined with increasing enforcement of mandates for green solutions are the key drivers for the increasing demand for green cement in the non-residential segment.The market share of North America green cement market is expected to decline during the forecast period, due to the limited usage of cement in the residential sector. Europe share in the global green cement market is also expected to decline between 2015 and 2024 due to stringent regulations for carbon emissions and the growing apprehensions about taxes that could be levied on industrial emissions.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Demand for Green Alternatives to Reduce Carbon Footprint Drives GrowthThe booming construction activities, which includes construction of residential buildings, non-residential buildings, and infrastructural development is the primary factor driving the growth of the global green cement market. The demand for green cement is increasing due to the uptake of alternate fuels that are derived from waste matter such as used oils, solid recovered fuels, foundry sand, filter cakes, fly ashes, and animal meals. Moreover, the need of the hour to cut down carbon emissions is promoting the use of these fuels. Several governments around the world are also encouraging green architecture for sustainable development, which receives a certification under Leader in Energy and Environment Design (LEED).The use of green cement also safeguards buildings from heat stress and sulfate attacks due to contact with water and moisture. Green cement offers superior resistance for residential as well as commercial construction projects due to low alkali concentration as compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which is expected to play a significant role in the markets growth. In several parts of the world, developmental projects, which include construction of pavements and bridges, infrastructural developments, and nuclear power plants are expected to extend a plethora of growth opportunities to the market.The growth of the green cement market faces certain restraints as well. The strength of green cement is entirely dependent on the type of industrial waste utilized during the manufacturing process, thus it has been debatable amongst several end users. For example, use of low calcium fly ashes compromises the strength in early stages in comparison to OPC.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog:
Global Hospital Lighting Market Development, Key Opportunity, Application & Gross Revenues 2017

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Global Hospital Lighting Market 2017 Research Report was a professional and depth research report on Global Hospital Lighting Market that you would know the world's major regional market conditions of Hospital Lighting industry, the main region including North American, Europe and Asia etc, and the main country including United States, Germany, Japan and China etc.Hospital lighting means the lighting devices in hospital. These devices are used in corridors, normal care area, intensive care area, operation room, parking areas and garages etc.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Hospital Lighting in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Global Hospital Lighting Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversPhilipsTRILUXZumtobelCreeGlobal Hospital Lighting Market of 118 pages having tables and figures is available for purchase atGlobal Hospital Lighting Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Global Hospital Lighting Market Segment by Type, coversType 1Type 2The listed pricing for this Global Hospital Lighting Market report starts at $ 4880. Request Discount for Global Hospital Lighting Market Research Report @Table of Contents in Global Hospital Lighting Market Research Report7 Asia-Pacific Hospital Lighting by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers7.1 Asia-Pacific Hospital Lighting Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries7.1.1 Asia-Pacific Hospital Lighting Sales by Countries (2012-2017)7.1.2 Asia-Pacific Hospital Lighting Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)7.1.3 China Hospital Lighting Sales and Growth (2012-2017)8 South America Hospital Lighting by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers8.1 South America Hospital Lighting Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries8.1.1 South America Hospital Lighting Sales by Countries (2012-2017)8.1.2 South America Hospital Lighting Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)8.1.3 Brazil Hospital Lighting Sales and Growth (2012-2017)9 Middle East and Africa Hospital Lighting by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers9.1 Middle East and Africa Hospital Lighting Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries9.1.1 Middle East and Africa Hospital Lighting Sales by Countries (2012-2017)9.1.2 Middle East and Africa Hospital Lighting Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)9.1.3 Saudi Arabia Hospital Lighting Sales and Growth (2012-2017)Request a sample copy of Global Hospital Lighting Market Research Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoCorridorsNormal care areaIntensive care areaOperation roomParking areas and garagesBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Global Hospital Lighting Market Report @Related Reports: -North America Hospital Lighting Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022This report focuses on the Hospital Lighting in North America market, especially in United States, Canada and Mexico. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Ionone Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024

Ionone Market

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Ionones are cyclocitrylildene acetones with the molecular formula C13H20O. They are an important and versatile class of aroma chemicals. They exist in two forms: alpha and B forms. Ionones are generally found in the form of a colorless to pale-yellow colored liquid and have a molecular weight of 192.3. Ionones and methyl ionones were discovered in 1893 by Tiemann, a German scientist, while investigating the compounds responsible for the fragrance of violets.This discovery changed the nature of the perfume industry, as it demonstrated that synthetic aroma chemicals could be used in fragrance formulations that until then relied exclusively on natural products. In the contemporary perfume industry, ionones and methyl ionones along with their derivatives such as iso E super, irones, koavone, timberol, and damascones are used in virtually all commercial fragrances. The ionones scent ranges from violets to a scent of soft wood mixed with violet tones.Obtain Report Details @Ionones also occur naturally in a wide variety of flowers, fruits, and leaves. About 57% of the volatile components of violet flowers are -and -ionones and both isomers occur widely in nature. Ionones are manufactured through the aldol condensation of citral. This reaction is followed by cyclization of the intermediate y-ionones. The sources of the above key substances fall into three main categories: natural extracts, turpentine, and petrochemicals. Most commercial production is undertaken using petrochemicals as the source material. Ionones are partially soluble in alcohol, which is used as a base for many of its fragrance applications. Apart from their application as synthetic perfumery chemicals, ionones are also used as starting raw materials in the production of Vitamin A. Ionones are also used as modifiers in many floral compositions. Other products containing ionones include detergents, bathing soaps, cosmetics, and shampoos.Expansion in the perfume industry across the world is expected to drive the demand for ionones during the next decade. Increasing demand for vitamin supplements due to the growing health awareness is also likely to drive the demand for ionones used in pharmaceuticals. Europe is the leading market for ionones due to the presence of a large number of perfume manufacturing companies in the region. Germany, Italy, and France are the dominant consumers of ionones in Europe, as many of the worlds leading perfume houses have manufacturing centers in these countries. Rise in usage of fragrance products by the growing middle class in emerging countries such as China and India is estimated to be a key driver of the global ionone market.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @Consumption of ionones in vitamin formulations is also expected to increase in the next few years due to the rising demand for vitamin supplements and technical foods. Demand for ionone is also high in developed countries in Northeast Asia such as Japan and South Korea. GCC is a major consumer of ionones due to the presence of large perfume manufacturing industry in the region. Growth of the ionone market in the U.S. is projected to be moderate due to the growing health concerns regarding the use of synthetic aroma chemicals. In Latin America, Brazil and Mexico are anticipated to be important players in the ionone market owing to to expansion of key end-use industries.Key players operating in the ionone market are The Good Scents Company, Givaudan, L'Oreal S.A., Mubychem Group, International Flavors and Fragrances, SDV Suisse SA, and Takasago International Chemicals.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog:
Fluoroapatite Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024

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Fluoroapatite, a hard crystalline phosphate mineral, is the fluorine end-member of the apatite group, which also encompasses chlorapatite and hydroxylapatite. The extended apatite supergroup includes additional minerals such as pyromorphite, mimetite, and vanadinite. Pure fluoroapetite is a hard crystalline solid which generally appears colorless or white when pure and is also available in green, brown, blue, yellow, violet, and pink colors.Fluorapatite is a highly common type of phosphate minerals which occurs as an accessory in igneous as well as calcium-rich metamorphic rocks. Generally, it is found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary deposits. In sedimentary marine ores, the phosphate is usually a carbonate and in lateritic soils, it is a residual mineral. It also occurs as a detrital or diagenic mineral in sedimentary rocks and is an essential component of phosphorite ore deposits.Obtain Report Details @Fluoroapetite is found in the teeth of sharks and other fish in varying concentrations. It is also present in human teeth that have been exposed to fluoride ions, for example, through water fluoridation or the usage of fluoride-containing toothpaste. Fluroapatite helps prevent tooth decay or dental caries. During the production of phosphoric acid, fluoroapatite generates hydrogen fluoride as a byproduct which in turn is used as a source for the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid. The latter is employed as a starting agent for the synthesis of a range of pharmaceutical and industrial fluorine compounds. The market for fluoroapatite is driven by the increasing demand for phosphate minerals in the production of fertilizers.On account of its extensive stiffness, resistance to acid damage, and biocompatibility, fluoroapaptite is the ideal choice for biomedical as well as dentistry applications such as crowns, inlays, dentin simulators, coatings, and cements. Additionally, it is used as a biomaterial in orthopedic applications for bone regeneration. Fluorapatite is mined as the primary source of phosphate fertilizers and therefore used to make fertilizers, acids, and chemicals. It is a common phosphate mineral and the main source of phosphorous for plants. Fluoroapatite is also a popular collectors mineral, especially some of its transparent specimens. Its reddish and gemmy violet forms command very high prices and are much valued by collectors.Make an Enquiry @Fluoroapaptite is available in Europe in Russia, Germany, and Portugal. Panasqueira in Portugal is well-known for its thick and gemmy tabular fluoroapatite crystals. In Canada, large glassy fluoroapaptite crystals in orange calcite originate from the Yates mine in Quebec. Extremely large crystals are also found in Ontario and at Cardiff. In the U.S., Maine is home to several fluoroapaptite localities. Globally, North America is the dominant fluoroapatite mineral producer driven by the extensive number of fluoroapatite zones in the U.S and Canada.Other significant producers of phosphate minerals include Australia, Brazil, and Algeria. In Asia Pacific, fluoroapaptite is produced in significant volumes by Australia, China, and India. This high demand stems from the need for fertilizers in this region. China and India are two densely populated countries and hence consume a substantial amount of fertilizers. In Latin America, Brazil and Peru are major fluoroapaptite producers. It is also manufactured in Egypt, Jordon, Syria, and Tunisia.Key players operating in this market include GB Minerals Ltd., Dakota Matrix, and Crystal Classics Ltd.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog:
Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Share and Forecasts Research Report 2017

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For overview analysis, the report introduces Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market basic information including definition, classification, application, industry chain structure, industry overview, policy analysis, and news analysis, etc.Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is an electronic system designed to monitor the air pressure inside the pneumatic tires on various types of vehicles. Aftermarket TPMS refers to TPMS which is used in a car after the owner purchased the car.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversSchrader (Sensata)ContinentalZF TRWPacific IndustrialSate Auto ElectronicHufNIRA DynamicsGlobal Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market of 115 pages having tables and figures is available for purchase atGlobal Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Segment by Type, coversDirect TPMSIndirect TPMSThe listed pricing for this Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market report starts at $ 4880. Request Discount for Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Research Report @Table of Contents in Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Research Report3 Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Competition, by Manufacturer3.1 Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer (2016-2017)3.2 Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer (2016-2017)3.3 Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Price by Manufacturer (2016-2017)4 Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Analysis by Regions4.1 Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions4.1.1 Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Sales by Regions (2012-2017)4.1.2 Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Revenue by Regions (2012-2017)5 North America Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers5.1 North America Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries5.1.1 North America Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Sales by Countries (2012-2017)5.1.2 North America Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)Request a sample copy of Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Research Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoPassenger VehicleLight Commercial VehicleHeavy Commercial VehicleBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Global Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market Report @Related Reports: -North America Aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is an electronic system designed to monitor the air pressure inside the pneumatic tires on various types of vehicles. Aftermarket TPMS refers to TPMS which is used in a car after the owner purchased the car.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | TwitterMarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.
Global DHA from Algae Market, Share, Trends and Analysis, Growth and Forecast 2017 - 2022

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Global DHA from Algae Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the DHA from Algae market.DHA, Docosahexaenoic acid, with molecular formula C22H32O2, is a primary structural component of the human brain, cerebral cortex, skin, sperm, testicles and retina. DHA can help lowering lipid, lowering blood pressure, anti-inflammatory, enhancing the activity of brain cells, improving eyesight and other effects. DHA is a kind of both Omega-3 essential fatty acids, which is rich in fish oil and microalgae.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the DHA from Algae in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Global DHA from Algae Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversDSMLonzaCellanaDaesangJC BiotechBIOCOGlobal DHA from Algae Market of 118 pages having tables and figures is available for purchase atGlobal DHA from Algae Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Global DHA from Algae Market Segment by Type, coversDHA PowderDHA OilThe listed pricing for this Global DHA from Algae Market report starts at $ 4880. Request Discount for Global DHA from Algae Market Research Report @Table of Contents in Global DHA from Algae Market Research Report5 North America DHA from Algae by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers5.1 North America DHA from Algae Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries5.1.1 North America DHA from Algae Sales by Countries (2012-2017)5.1.2 North America DHA from Algae Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)5.1.3 USA DHA from Algae Sales and Growth (2012-2017)6 Europe DHA from Algae by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers6.1 Europe DHA from Algae Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries6.1.1 Europe DHA from Algae Sales by Countries (2012-2017)6.1.2 Europe DHA from Algae Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)6.1.3 Germany DHA from Algae Sales and Growth (2012-2017)7 Asia-Pacific DHA from Algae by Countries, Type, Application and Manufacturers7.1 Asia-Pacific DHA from Algae Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries7.1.1 Asia-Pacific DHA from Algae Sales by Countries (2012-2017)7.1.2 Asia-Pacific DHA from Algae Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)Request a sample copy of Global DHA from Algae Market Research Report @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoInfant FormulaNutritional SupplementsFood & BeverageBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Global DHA from Algae Market Report @Related Reports: -North America DHA from Algae Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022This report focuses on the DHA from Algae in North America market, especially in United States, Canada and Mexico. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.MarketSizeForecasters.com, a Skyline Market Research LLP brand, is an online aggregator of market research reports. MarketSizeForecasters.com offers a comprehensive collection of full length reports on global and regional markets in 100+ industry verticals. We have partnered with some of the leading business and market research publishing houses and regularly update our online library to offer wide range of reports to our customers.Market size forecastersThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketsizeforecasters.comWebsite:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
FPSO Market size to hit $117 Billion by 2024

Norway FPSO market size, by volume, 2014 - 2024 (Units)

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The report FPSO Market Size By Product (Converted, Redeployed, New Built), By Water Depth (Shallow, Deep, Ultra-Deep), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Norway, UK, Indonesia, China, Brazil, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Nigeria, Angola), Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024 FPSO Market size is expected to reach over USD 117 billion by 2024, according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.Increasing demand of tank vessel conversion into offloading and floating production storage owing to its low cost coupled with enhanced productivity will drive the global FPSO market during the forecast period.Converted FPSO market in terms of volume was 9 units in 2015, projected to witness gains over 18% subject to its low cost when compared with new built construction. These vessels find wide applications in shallow and deep-water offshore field.Request for a sample of this research report @As of 2016, over 260 floating vessels units are installed mainly in offshore field out of which semis represent 15%, FPSO accounted for 64%, tension lag platform accounts for 10%, production barges represent 2% and production spars 8% of installation.Redeployed FPSO market size was valued over USD 719 million in 2015, anticipated to witness gains at above 22.3%. It reduces the execution timeline when compared with new built.Increasing production and exploration in ultra-deep offshore fields will drive new built FPSO market in the near future. Shifting of E&P activities toward offshore field has witnessed moderate growth rate subjected mainly by ultra-deep activities.Increasing exploration activities in ultra-deep water of offshore field will further compliment the industry in near terms. Global FPSO market size is classified on the basis of products as converted, new-built, and redeployed. Converted product accounted for over 63% of global revenue in 2015 owing to increasing offshore E&P activities.On the basis of water depth, FPSO market size has been segmented into shallow water and deep-water, and ultra-deep-water. Deep water segment accounted for over 59% of global revenue share in terms of water depth in 2015.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Key insights from the report include: Norway is forecast to reach above USD 3.1 billion in 2024. Growing exploration activities in the country is likely to drive industry growth up to 2024. U.S. FPSO market size may exceed USD 20 billion by 2015. Increasing exploration and production of natural gas, increasing offshore activities, discovery of unexploited reservoirs will further compliment the growth. Shallow water depth FPSO is projected to expand at over 19.5% during the forecast period. Angola is estimated above 11 units in 2024 in terms of volume and is estimated to grow at over 26.4% CAGR subjected to increasing exploration and production of deep-water reserves. Exxon Mobil and Chevron have offshore project in Angola adding capacity is approximately 1MMbbl/d. China was valued at over USD 687 million in 2015 and is expected to witness a significant growth. Increasing production and exploration activities at onshore and offshore fields will propel the China FPSO market over the near future. Major industry participants include Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (South Korea), SBM Offshore, MODEC Inc. (South Korea), (Japan), BW Offshore, Yinson Holdings Berhad (Malaysia), Teekay Corporation (Bermuda), Bluewater Energy, and Aker Solutions ASA (Norway).FPSO market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry, with estimates & forecast in terms of volume in units & revenue in USD million from 2013 to 2024, for the following segments:FPSO Market By Product Converted Redeployed New BuiltFPSO Market By Water Depth Shallow Water Deep Water Ultra-Deep WaterThe above information is provided on a regional and country basis for the following: North Americao U.S. Europeo Norwayo UK Asia Pacifico Indonesiao China Latin Americao Brazilo Venezuela Middle Easto Saudi Arabiao Iran Africao Nigeriao AngolaBrowse Related Reports: Hydraulic Fracturing Market Size By Well (Horizontal, Vertical), By Technology (Plug-And-Perforation, Sliding Sleeve), By Application (Crude Oil, Shale Gas, Tight Gas, Tight Oil) Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, Russia, Norway, China, Brunei, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, Argentina), Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024About Global Market InsightsGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:Connect with us: Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter
Europe Food Safety Testing Market 2017-2022 Analysis & Forecast Research Report

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The European food safety testing market is likely to sustain the slowest growth compared to other global regions. Germany dominates the market for food safety testing in Europe and is followed by the United Kingdom and France. In terms of fastest growth, too, Germanys food safety testing market is slated to surpass other European regions.Pathogen testing dominates the European food safety testing market, with fruit & vegetable testing for contaminants being the largest application area.The practice of food safety testing has gained considerable significance over the past years in view of growing incidences of food-borne illnesses and poisoning caused by contaminated food products. Companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of food products are mandated by respective regional and international regulatory agencies to implement food safety testing and certification. Such tests are carried out on a range of food products that include dairy, fruits & vegetables, meat & poultry and processed foods, among others, such as cereals and food additives. Major causes that result in food contamination include inadequacy in treating and processing food to destroy contaminants and other impurities, improper handling of food and contaminated input food materials. Pathogens have been implicated in the maximum occurrences of food-borne illnesses on a global basis, thereby signifying the largest share accorded to pathogen testing in the food safety testing market.Request a sample of this report @Primary factors driving the market for food safety testing include rise in the number of food-borne illnesses, stringent regulations, greater consumer awareness and globalization of the food trade, to name a few. Prospects offered by emerging markets of Asia-Pacific and South America in the area of food safety testing are the most attractive, with the developed economies of North America and Europe expected to maintain slower growth over the 2014-2020 analysis period.What the Report Offers1) A key insight into the market size, share and forecast for Food Safety Testing2) Analysis of the major global regions, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and Rest of World3) North American market analysis by United States and Canada4) Type of contaminant analyzed by GMOs, Pathogens, Pesticides, Toxins and Other Contaminants5) Type of food analyzed by Dairy, Fruits & Vegetables, Meat & Poultry, Processed Foods and Other Foods6) Factors instrumental in changing market scenarios and prospective opportunities7) Extensively researched competitive landscape sectionReasons for Buying this Report1) For gaining an exhaustive understanding of the worldwide Food Safety Testing market2) Would be of assistance in providing a comprehensive analysis of the major trends and associated prospects for market growth over the coming half a decade3) An ideal opportunity for industry consultants, food safety testing market players and other interested and allied parties to gain a critical insight into the factors driving and restraining the market, in addition to opportunities offered4) Wide-ranging information provided about the leading market players and the major strategies adopted by themPlace a purchase order of this report @Major Points from Table of Content:1. Introduction2. Executive Summary3. Market Overview4. Market Segmentation5. European Market Analysis6. Policies and Regulations7. Competitor Analysis8. Company Profiles9. AppendixContact sales@orbisresearch.com for more information.Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market: 2017 Global Trend and 2021 Forecast Research Report

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This market analysis includes a detailed segmentation of the Global Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market by development trend and by application.The report covers the present year 2017 scenario and the growth prospects of the Global Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market for 2017-2021.The report Global Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market 2017-2021 has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. The report also covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years.The Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market By Geography North America Asia-Pacific EuropeRequest a sample of Global Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market Research Report @The Global Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market research report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Global Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market key players are: Company A Company B Company C Company DBrowse the full Global Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market Research Report @The report provides an extensive analysis of current and future market status of the world Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market.Some of the points from table of content:Industry Overview Definition Classification Share Analysis Application AnalysisMarket Analysis Product Development History Process Development History Competitive Landscape AnalysisIndustry Development Trend Capacity Production Overview Production Market Share Analysis Demand OverviewMarket Status and Forecast Supply Demand and Shortage Import Export Consumption Cost Price Production Value Gross MarginReasons for Buying this Global Air Traffic Control (ATC) Equipment Market Research Report This report helps to analyzed the world's main region market conditions It provides product manufacturing processes It provides industry policies and plans It provides overview of product specification It provides cost structures & so on.The Report Contains: 167 Pages.Price of the report: 2850$ (single user license)Check discount @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Follow us on G+ :
Global ERP Software Market: Rising Demand from Enterprises to Integrate Large Amount of Operational Data to Fuel Market Demand

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The featured report on QYResearchReports, titled Global ERP Software Market 2015 Industry Research Report, provides an in-depth analysis of the ERP software industry across the world and especially in China. The report covers the present scenario of the ERP software market and analyzes the growth exhibited by the market worldwide and in China. The report offers an overview of the ERP software industry and studies the industry in terms of technologies, applications, and regions. To describe the competitive landscape of the ERP software market, the report profiles some of the key players operating in the market.Browse Complete ERP Software Market Research Report 2015 with TOC @ERP or enterprise resource planning software is a business management software used by organizations to maintain and combine the data necessary for operations. ERP software unifies an organizations key operations such as manufacturing, distribution, and others into one software system. The report analyzes the basiccharacteristics of ERP software and describes the various classifications of the software. Tracing the history of the ERP software market, the report mentions the product and technology developments related to the software in China and aroundthe world. The report further discusses the technology source and the research and development status of the key enterprise ERP software products in the overall market.The report analyzes the characteristics of the marketing channels of the global ERP software market and evaluatesthe prevailing market trends. The report further analyzes the development technology, product status, and the industry chain of the global ERP software market. The report also studies the upstream and downstream components of the supply chain of the ERP software market.The report segments the global ERP software market on the basis of key technologies employed and the softwares applications across various industries. The report assesses the demand from each of the application segment and forecasts the size of the global ERP software market.The report studies the ERP software market across key regions such as the U.S., Europe, China, India, Japan, and others. The report points out the several micro- and macro- economic factors affecting the growth of the ERP software market across these regions. In China, the ERP market will be impacted by the current slow growth of the economy. The Chinese governments efforts to decrease the dependence on software products made by foreign firms and its favorablepolicies towardsthe software solutions developed by local companies will also impact the ERP software market in the region.Highlighting the competitive landscape of the global ERP software market, the report profiles some of the key players in the market such as IBM, SAP, Infor, Oracle, Epicor, Sage, NETSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, TGI, Aptean, Syspro, IQMS Corporate, Synergy, ECI, Kingdee Software, Yonyou Software, Digiwin Software, and Neusoft. The report provides insightful information about the players covering product specification, and revenue generated by the sales of ERP software products.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @About Us :QYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Worldwide Economic Development to Drive Global Electrical Steel Industry

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The research report provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of the global electrical steel industry, with focus on development trends, competition analysis, and development status of key regions in the international market.The introductory part of the report offers a basic overview of the industry, with terminologies, definitions, applications, classifications, and industry chain structures.Employing a holistic approach, the research report discusses development policiesand plans, manufacturing processes, and cost structures that have a bearing on the global electrical steel industry.Using primary and secondary research sources and insightful inputs from industry experts, the report presents a detailed analysis of import/export consumption, demand and supply values, cost price analysis, gross margins, and revenue in the global electrical steel industry.On the vendor landscape, the report profiles major players operating in the global electrical steel market,including information such as company profile, product portfolio and specification, production capacity, revenue, cost price, and contact information of each of the vendors.With a collection of 168 tables and figures, the market study presents comparative analysis of current and forecast values of key trendsfor individuals and companies interested in the market.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Additionally, the report provides detailed analysis of the manufacturing cost structure of electrical steel with respect to raw material prices, equipment cost, labor cost, manufacturing process, and other costs.Included in the report is comprehensive data pertaining to production capacity, R&D activities, and technology source, andraw material procurement sources for key manufacturers of electrical steel globally.For the key geographical regions in the global electrical steel market, the report covers production analysis on the basis of technology and applications.The U.S., China, the EU, and Japan are the key regional markets discussed in the report, with factors such as production capacity and revenue discussed for each regional market for electrical steel for the 2010-2015 period.For each of the regional markets, estimates pertaining to import, export, and domestic consumption of electrical steel for the 2010-2015 periodare included in the report. Additionally, sales and revenue analysis of electrical steel for the key regional markets is covered in this report.The report includes information on major players operating in the global electrical steel market, namely Wuhan Iron & Steel Group, Nippon Steel, Arcelor Mittal, JFE Holdings, Baosteel, Anshan Iron & Steel Group, Techint (Tenaris), AK Steel, Tata Steel, China Steel Corporation, ATi, Thyssenkrupp, and Posco,The report is a valuable tool for understanding the price structure and gross marginsin the electrical steel market, which ispresented on the basis of product types, regions, and applications. Moreover, the various marketing channels, distribution networks, and trader groups that have a bearing on the global electrical steel market are covered in the report.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @About Us :QYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Internet of Things (IoT) in Manufacturing Market By Software, Connectivity, Services, Technology, Application, Industry, Geography, Trends and Forecast 2017-2022

http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/217463

http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-internet-of-things-iot-in-manufacturing-market-by-software-application-security-software-data-management-and-analystics-software-monitering-software-network-management-connectivity-satellite-network-cellular-network-rfid-nfc-wi-fi-services--profess

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The Internet of Things (IoT) in Manufacturing Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 29.68% during the forecast period of 2017-2022. Every gadget we own is getting smarter. The interconnected network of computing devices has completely changed the way we live. Now it is the turn of the Internet of Things.Download PDF Sample of Internet of Things (IoT) in Manufacturing Market@IoT in Manufacturing- Global Distribution of Companies w.r.t. Annual RevenuesSeveral major enterprises around the world are investing billions of dollars in the Internet of Things. In the year 2014, manufacturing firms achieved the highest revenue from their investments in the Internet of Things.The world average of IoT spending per company in 2015 in the manufacturing industry was USD 110.35 million, which was 0.45% of the average revenue earned by the companies in the manufacturing industry. By 2018, manufacturing companies around the world are expected to spend 10% more on IoT initiatives.Percentage of manufacturing companies employing IoT related technologies for data collectionThe pressure on manufacturing firms to reduce costs, find innovative business models to reach their customers, and create smart products is mounting day by day. With companies giving importance to the first mover advantage, the market for the Internet of Things in the manufacturing industry is growing rapidly.The advancements in data analytics have been a major driver for the growth of the Internet of Things in the manufacturing market.Browse Full Report with TOC:With the amount of data generated in the world increasing at a whopping annual rate of 40%, we will generate approximately 35 zettabytes annually by 2020. The untapped potential of big data, which is currently booming in data analytics, will be unleashed by 2020 and the IoT will have a major role in data collection from multiple facets of the value chain. As the general public gets access to information on latest developments in technology, the demand for more customer-friendly solutions and products will continue to drive the market forward.We expect that by 2020, there will be a shift in the focus from capital expenditures to operational expenses. Customers value service offerings just as much as or even more than actual products. The IoT technology enables companies to establish loyal customer relationships, increase customer-lifetime-value, maintain quality standards throughout the product's lifecycle, and inform the customers about future designs.Place Purchase Order for this Report@Currently, the lack of a standardized interface and limited integration and scalability in IoT platforms is a major restraint for the growth of the industrial Internet of Things market.There should be standardized IoT solutions with interoperability at various levels in the value chain. A few first steps have been taken regarding this issue in the industry already. The International Standard for Metadata Registries (ISO/ IEC 11179) and its implementation supports semantic interoperability between structured data.The Internet of Things in the manufacturing market is segmented on the basis of applications (supply chain monitoring, products and services, customer monitoring, premises monitoring, and others), connectivity technology used (RIFD, NFC, optical tags and QR codes, cellular and satellite networks, and others), services (identity-related services, information aggregation services, collaborative-aware services, ubiquitous services), industry verticals (automotive manufacturing, industrial equipment manufacturing, electronics and communication equipment manufacturing, food and cultivating equipment manufacturing), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa).Market Research analysts at Mordor Intelligence observed that amongst the major industry segments, the application related to supply chain monitoring is expected to grow the maximum (4%) during the next five years. Our observations show that in the APAC region, the percentage of manufacturing companies investing in the IoT technology was the highest in 2015. Surprisingly, North America came last in this list.Industry leaders like General Electric are investing significantly to make their products smarter and transform their businesses to offer new services. We expect that by 2018, nearly 36% of the top 100 major firms will implement IoT in manufacturing and will rely on IoT-connected products. With IoT, predictive diagnosis and performance prognosis are soon going to be common features in the manufacturing supply chain of industry giants.Some of the key players in the market are: AT&T Bosch Cisco General Electric Hitachi Data Systems Huawei IBM PTC Qualcomm VerizonWhat the Report Offers Market definition for the Internet of Things in manufacturing market along with identification of key drivers, restraints, and opportunities for the market. Market analysis for the Internet of Things in manufacturing market, with region-specific assessments and competition analysis on a regional scale. Identification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenario, rising prospective opportunities and identification of key companies that can influence the market on a regional scale. Extensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their strategic initiatives and market share. Identification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the Internet of Things in manufacturing market on the global and regional scale. A comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial information.Table of Content:1. Introductuion1.1 Study Deliverables1.2 Study Assumption2. Research Methodology3. Executive Summary4. Market Overview4.1 Overview4.2 Drivers4.2.1 Rapid growth and technological advancements in data analytics4.2.2 Demand for traceability and transparency from customers4.2.3 Improved supply chain management and logistics at lower operational costs4.3 Restraints4.3.1 Lack of standardized interfaces and limited integration and scalability4.3.2 Security and Privacy Issues4.3.3 Requirement of complex infrastructure of data storage5. Technology Snapshot6. Global Internet of Things in manufacturing Segmentation, Forecasts and Trends6.1 By Software6.1.1 Application Security software6.1.2 Data management and analystics Software6.1.3 Monitering Software6.1.4 Network Management6.1.5 Others6.2 By Connectivity6.2.1 Satellite Network6.2.2 Cellular Network6.2.3 RFID6.2.4 NFC6.2.5 Wi-Fi6.2.6 Others6.3 By Services6.3.1 Professional Services6.3.2 System Integration and Deployment Services6.3.3 Managed Services6.3.4 Others7. Competitive Intelligence - Company Profiles7.1 Cisco Systems, Inc.7.2 General Electric7.3 Intel Corporation7.4 IBM Corporation7.5 Verizon7.6 At&T7.7 Qualcomm7.8 Siemens AG7.9 CSC7.10 Hitachi Data Systems7.11 Microsoft Corporation8. Investment Analysis9. Future of Internet of Things in Manufacturing MarketOrbis Research is a single point aid for all your Market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customised reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialisation. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required Market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com
Rising Allocation of Funding by Numerous Governments to Boost Physical Security Market

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http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-physical-security-market-professional-survey-report-2016.htm

QYResearchReports.com announces the addition of a new research report, titled Global Physical Security Market Professional Survey Report 2016. This study presents a comprehensive understanding of the market and also presents the markets segmentation, market sizing, and market share analysis. The study also presents a perspective on the numerous opportunities and the key trends in the market for physical security. Key insights have also been presented into the competitive landscape, detailing the prime vendors dominant in the market.To get sample copy of report visit @The report starts by giving an overview on the market for physical security. This section encapsulates the specifications, definition, and classification of physical security. Physical security covers physical security personnel and technologies such as cameras and scanners. The growing occurrence of crime and terror activities has resulted in an increased demand for physical security solutions in institutions, agencies, and enterprises. As per the study, physical security is being implemented mainly in three sectors, namely civil, national defense, and aviation.Moving next, the segmentation of the physical security market has been presented. In terms of hardware, the market can be categorized into intrusion detection and prevention, access control, and others. Intrusion detection and prevention can further be segmented into video surveillance, intruder alarms and locks, and intrusion detection.On the other hand, access control can further be categorized into card-based access control, RFID, and biometrics. The others segment includes backup power systems, visitor management, and fire and life safety. Moving further, on the basis of geography, the report segments the physical security market into North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, China, and India.In the following section of the study, the key dynamics shaping the growth of the market for physical security have been presented. The rising allocation of funding by several governments in order to enhance physical security and the growing concerns on security globally are amongst the prime factors fuelling the growth of the market for physical security.In addition, the rising regulations implemented by governments for increasing the levels of security globally will also positively impact the development of this market. Furthermore, upcoming technologies including cloud and intelligent analytics have emerged as key opportunities in the market.Contrariwise, the growing concerns about privacy owing to the installation of surveillance cameras may inhibit the development of the market for physical security. In addition, the device interoperability problems involved in physical security systems may also negatively impact the growth of the market, as per this study.To Browse a Complete Report with TOC Visit @In the last sections of the report, the key manufacturers in the global physical security market have been analyzed in terms of their product specifications and pictures and company profile. Cisco Systems, Anixter International, EMC Corporation, Honeywell International, Genetic, and Hewlett-Packard, among others, are the chief companies dominant in the market, as stated in the report.About Us :QYresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
1248 Capital Retained by 3 Billionaire Investors from China and Russia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE1248 Capital has been retained by 3 billionaire investors from China and Russia to purchase real estate in Spain in order to facilitate the Golden Visa in Spain.Since the inception of its Spain Golden Visa Real Estate Program, 1248 Capital was able to secure mandates from 6 billionaire investors from China, Russia and the United States.1248 Capital offers a comprehensive Golden Visa Real Estate Program for Spain, which is unsurpassed by any of its competitors.Jerry Thompson, spokesman of 1248 Capital explains:"The founder of 1248 Capital is very hands-on and doesn't compromise on quality of service and most importantly transparency and privacy. The firm has employed cyber-security experts to keep communication between client and firm 100% secure and encrypted. 1248 Capital doesn't compromise when client data is shared and sent over the internet."1248 Capital has quickly become one of the leaders in Spain of identifying properties suitable for the Golden Visa Program.-----IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICES-----Safe Harbor StatementOur discussion may include predictions, estimates or other information thatmight be considered forward-looking. While these forward-lookingstatements represent our current judgment on what the future holds, theyare subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results todiffer materially. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on theseforward-looking statements, which reflect our opinions only as of the date ofthis release. Please keep in mind that we are not obligating ourselvesto revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward looking statements in light of new information or future events.No Offer, Solicitation, Investment Advice or RecommendationsThis release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation for any security, nor does it constitute an offer to provide investment advisory or other services by 1248 Capital. No reference to any specific security constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell or hold that security or any other security. Nothing on this release shall be considered a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any security, future, option or other financial instrument or to offer or provide any investment advice or service to any person in any jurisdiction. Nothing contained on the release constitutes investment advice or offers any opinion with respect to the suitability of any security, and the views expressed on this release should not be taken as advice to buy, sell or hold any security. In preparing the information contained in this release, we have not taken into account the investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances of any particular investor. This information has no regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any specific recipient of this information and investments discussed may not be suitable for all investors. Any views expressed on this release by us were prepared based upon the information available to us at the time such views were written.Changed or additional information could cause such views to change. All information is subject to possible correction. Information may quickly become unreliable for various reasons, including changes in market conditions or economic circumstances.1248 Capital is a private equity firm specializing in real estate, high technology and other sectors with a Global footprint.1248 CapitalBoulevard Totleben 53-551606 Sofia, BulgariaContact:Jerry Thompson ir@1248capital.com
Marine Coatings Market will cross $15 billion by 2024.

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https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/marine-coatings-market

Marine coatings market has been segmented into anti-fouling, foul release, anti-corrosion, and other coatings. Anti-fouling coatings are extensively used during repairing and overhauling activities as well as in new ship building to prevent growth or attachment of marine organisms on the outer layer of the hull of the vessel.Asia Pacific shipbuilding industry, led by China, will be the principal driver for the global marine coatings market in the forecast spell. In 2015, China shipbuilding industry registered over 20 gross tons, followed by other countries of the region including Japan, South Korea, Philippines, and Taiwan. Mandatory use of the products to enhance the performance and longevity of the ship will promote the application of good quality and environment friendly coatings, hence boosting the overall industry in the coming years.In addition to the new orders, there is also a significant amount of drydocking activities, increasing the anti-fouling marine coatings market demand in the forecast span. Though, there may be a decline in the new shipbuilding demand, several vessels manufactured in the past decade will require maintenance in the recent future. Maintenance and overhauling activities will likely account for the majority of the market in the next few years.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Fluctuating raw material prices such as crude oil derivatives, copper, and titanium dioxide will restrain the global marine coatings market in the coming years. Multiple applications of the raw materials, coupled with political and regulatory pressures regarding raw material mining activities, may intensify the bargaining power of the suppliers, increasing the overall product manufacturing cost for industry participants.Also, the volatile organic compounds (VOC) limit for marine coatings, set by the EPA, may curb the overall marine coatings market. Paints and coatings use several toxic and high VOC content additives for manufacturing. Rising environmental concerns, resulting into several government initiatives may have a negative impact on the industry development in the coming years.Browse key industry insights spread across 120 pages with 152 market data tables & 16 figures & charts from the report, Marine Coatings Market Size By Product (Anti-Fouling, Anti-Corrosion, Foul Release), By Application (Coastal, Containers, Deep Sea, Leisure Boats, Offshore Vessels), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, China, India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, GCC), Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2024 in detail along with the table of contents:Anti-fouling coatings will be a significant product segment owing to extensive application to prevent fouling growth on the ship hull that may damage the physical and chemical properties of the vessel body. This product segment accounted for more than 40% share of the global marine coatings market size in 2015.Anti-corrosion coatings, used to prevent rusts on the hull body, garnered a significant market share in 2015, registering a revenue beyond USD 3 billion and will witness a healthy growth at over 6% CAGR up to 2024.Marine coatings in coastal applications generated over USD 3 billion in 2015. Manufacturing and overhauling activities of tugs, dredgers, offshore supply boats, passenger boats, cargo ferries, defense ships, fishing vessels, and coasters signify the application segment.Growing consumer purchase parity in the U.S., Canada, and Western European countries will enhance the leisure boats demand in the coming years, making this application for marine coatings market a high growing segment with close to 7% CAGR.Asia pacific will hold sway the global marine coatings market with nearly two-third of the overall share in 2015. This heavily active shipbuilding industry in countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Philippines signify the growing demand in this region.AkzoNobel N.V., Jotun, PPG Industries, and Hempel are the top marine coatings industry players along with Kansai Paint, Nippon Paint, DuPont, Sherwin-Williams, BASF, KCC Corporation, Chugoku, RPM International, and several other important manufacturers.About Global Market Insights, Inc.Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.29L Atlantic Avenue, Suite L 105
Kick-off for the 8th edition of the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards

Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards - Dolphin Trohpy (photo credits - Filmservice International)

www.cannescorporate.com

Kick-off for the 8th edition of the Cannes Corporate Media & TV AwardsEntries possible until June 2nd, 2017Vienna, March 8th, 2017. The Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards invite film producers, client companies, agencies, TV stations, as well as students to submit their productions and take part in the 8th festival edition.The Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards annually honour the worlds finest corporate films, online media, documentaries and reports in Cannes, the legendary city of films. During an exquisite Gala Dinner, the winners receive the coveted Dolphin Trophies in gold, silver and black. The best film of the festival receives the White Dolphin, the Grand Prix. Since 2015, there is also a Blue Dolphin which is awarded to the best production company of the year.A panel of experienced jury members consisting of film experts, including Oscar and Emmy winners, as well as marketing and communication professionals will evaluate all submitted productions.This year, the Awards Days will take place in Cannes on September 27th and 28th, 2017. Before the Awards Gala takes place at Palm Beach Cannes, all submitted productions can be viewed again in the Cannes Corporate Media Center. Due to the high interest, the lecture series, which has taken place for the first time in 2016, will also be continued.New categoriesThe following categories are new this year: 360-Degree Documentaries and Best Use of 360-Degree as well as Social Media & Short Videos (Snack Content, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat). The Dolphin Trophies are awarded in a total of 41 categories which can be summarized in the following five main categories: Corporate Films and Videos, Documentaries and Reports (TV, Online, Cinema), Corporate Online Media, Production Arts & Crafts and Student Films.Participation and Early Bird discountFor all entries which have been submitted before March 29th, 2017, there will be an Early Bird discount of 10 per cent. Submissions can be made online via the entry tool. All productions which have been aired produced or posted online after January 1st, 2015 can take part in the competition.About the Cannes Corporate Media & TV AwardsThe Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards are honoring every year the worlds best corporate films, online media and documentaries, in one of the most important film centers: Cannes, France. It is the only festival for corporate films taking place in Cannes, the city famously known for feature films and advertising productions. The festival has been founded by Filmservice International in 2010. Since then the Festival has constantly grown, becoming one of the top festivals for corporate films worldwide.Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awardsc/o Filmservice InternationalSchaumburgergasse 18, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Small Satellite Market Expected to Reach $7,179 Million, Globally, by 2022

Small Satellite

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/small-satellite-market

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-free-sample/1951

Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period, owing to the expansion of agriculture and civil engineering industries, which utilize Earth observation services. In addition, governments, NGOs, and research organizations are increasingly utilizing satellite imagery to map, monitor, and analyze environmental degradation and disaster management. Use of small satellites in technological demonstration and communication sector is also expected to supplement the growth of the small satellite industry in this region.Small Satellite Market Report, published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global small satellite market is expected to reach $7,179 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 19.8% from 2016 to 2022. In 2015, the Earth observation application dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period.Access Full Summary at:The global small satellite market is driven by the increase in need to reduce costs related to space missions. Organizations around the world are investing in small satellite market for imaging and communication services. However, lack of dedicated launchers for small satellites and privacy of data related to Earth observation limit the small satellite industry growth. Application of small satellites across diverse sectors such as defense, civil, commercial, and government is expected to present numerous opportunities for market growth.Among the various types of small satellites, minisatellites accounted for a major market share in 2015, owing to their widespread application, ease of use, and ability to perform similar functions as medium and large satellites. The minisatellite market is expected to generate $3,012 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 17.4%. The nanosatellite market is expected to register a high growth rate due to their low cost, lightweight nature, ease of building and development, and high capability of performing complex computational tasks. CubeSats, which are increasingly being used by academia and research, have supplemented the growth of the small satellite industry.Earth observation accounts for the largest share in the small satellite market, and is expected to generate $4,045 million in 2022, growing at the highest CAGR of 21.3%. High demand for satellite imagery in the government sector, including federal agencies, local, and state governments for urban planning, border mapping, infrastructure security, and homeland security, has increased the adoption of small satellites in the market.Request for sample copy of this report at:Various end users, including defense, government, commercial, and civil sectors, use small satellites to improve infrastructure and offer enhanced services to users. In 2015, the commercial sector accounted for the largest share in the global small satellite market size, and is estimated to $3,601 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 21.3% during the forecast period. This is attributable to the reduced cost and weight associated with small satellites, in addition to investments by small and medium enterprises, and startups in the market.North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2015, accounting for $819 million, and is projected to reach $2,643 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 18.3%. This is due to rise in applications of small satellites in agriculture, real estate, defense, and government sectors in the North American region. Increasing investment in the defense sector, along with technological advancement in telecommunication industry have boosted the small satellite market growth during the forecast period in the region.Key Findings of the Small Satellite Market: In 2015, Earth observation application accounted for the major share in the global small satellite market, in terms of revenue, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 21.3% during the forecast period. The commercial sector generated the highest revenue in 2015. In 2015, North America generated the highest revenue in the market. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 22.1%.The well-known companies profiled in the report include Sierra Nevada Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Airbus Defense and Space, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Harris Corporation, Aerospace Corporation, Planet Labs Inc., The Boeing Company, Thales Alenia Space, and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. These companies consistently launch products and explore novel technologies to meet the customers increasing needs and requirements. Rise in investments for R&D by private and public organizations involving product innovation and development of customized solutions has been also observed.About Us:Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.Contact Us:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220,United States.Int'l: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285Fax: +1-800-792-5285help@alliedmarketresearch.com
Cosmetic Packaging Market: Worldwide Industry Analysis 2024

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The focus of cosmetic product manufacturers on innovative and alluring packaging has significantly increased in the past few decades. Key cosmetics and personal care brands have started considering effective packaging as a critical attribute of product marketing. The strategy has translated in enhanced brand visibility, increased sales, reduced brand recall rates, as well as a larger footprint in the respective target geographies.The factors have significantly benefitted the global market for cosmetic packaging and are expected to lead to the development of healthy growth opportunities for the market in the next few years as well. Transparency Market Research estimates that the global cosmetic packaging market will exhibit a 4.4% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024. If the prediction holds true, the market will rise from a valuation of US$23 bn in 2015 to US$33 bn by 2024.Obtain Report Details @Global Cosmetic Packaging Market: Scope and MethodologyThis report provides forecast and analysis of the cosmetic packaging market on the global and regional levels. It provides historical data of 2015 along with forecast from 2016 to 2024 in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) and volume (Million units). The report also includes macroeconomic indicators along with an outlook on packaging consumption globally. It includes drivers and restraints of the cosmetic packaging market and their impact on each region during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of current issues with end users and opportunities for cosmetic packaging manufacturers. It also includes detailed pricing analysis by container type and value chain analysis.For more information on this report, fill the form @In supply chain analysis the report also provides approximate profit margins garnered by industry stakeholders such as cosmetic packaging product raw material suppliers and cosmetic packaging product manufacturer. The report also enlists some of the key buyers of cosmetic packaging products across the globe.In order to provide users of this report with comprehensive view of the market, we have included detailed competitiveness analysis and company players with unique selling propositions. The dashboard provides detailed comparison of cosmetic packaging manufacturers on parameters such as operating margin, unique selling propositions, collective market share, and geographic concentration. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, by material type, application type, container type, declared capacity type and region.Volatile Prices of Raw Materials to Hinder Market GrowthThe volatile prices of raw materials such as plastic, paper, glass, and metals result in the increased costs of cosmetic packaging and a reduction in the profit margin of the manufacturers. Along with this, the market features a highly consolidated base of suppliers, particularly in terms of metals and glass. As a result, with increasing demand for cosmetic products and their packaging, raw material sourcing requirements have emerged as a key concern for most cosmetic packaging manufacturers preferring glass and metal packaging for premium product varieties. The situation becomes particularly challenging for smaller cosmetic companies wanting to pack their products at low costs and maintain overall profitability.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Eyewear Market: Middle East Industry Analysis 2023

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The eyewear market in the Middle East is marked by the rising use of disposable contact lenses, increased affordability, an enhanced sense of fashion, and high consumption of luxury sunglasses and high-end spectacle frames. With contact lenses and frequent replacement of corrective spectacle lenses coming under the realm of a constantly expanding middle class population, the Middle East eyewear market is projected to witness healthy expansion in the years to come.Obtain Report Details @According to Transparency Market Research, the Middle East eyewear market is set to expand at an 8.8% CAGR over the period between 2015 and 2023 in terms of revenue. Growing at this rate, the market is expected to expand from US$2.75 bn in 2014 to US$5.86 bn by 2023. In terms of volume, the market is expected to exhibit a 4.8% over the same period. The vast deficit between revenue- and volume-wise growth prospects of the market point at the possibility that the consumers in the region are rapidly shifting towards opulent choices for eyewear.Corrective Eyewear Remains Key Determinant of Market GrowthBased on the type of products in the Middle East eyewear market, the segment of corrective eyewear, comprising spectacles and contact lenses, accounts for a dominant share in the overall market. Of these, the spectacles segment has a clear lead, in terms of both valuation and volume.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @The segment accounted for a share of nearly 75% in terms of value and 60% in terms of volume of the overall market in 2014. Spectacle lenses and spectacle frames come under the purview of the spectacles segment, of which, the high frequency of replacement aid the increased demand for spectacle lenses, enabling them to account for a dominant share. The rising prevalence of a number of vision-related problems at younger ages and rising geriatric population have aided the healthy growth of the spectacles segment in Middle East eyewear market in the past few years.Contact Lenses to Witness Heightened PopularityOver the forecasting horizon, contact lenses will emerge as the most promising product segment, expanding at a CAGR of 9.6% through 2023. The growth will be enabled by the introduction and increasing popularity of colored and daily disposable contact lenses in the region. Additionally, shift in consumer preference from spectacles to contact lenses owing to the latters high style quotient and added comfort will also favor the growth of contact lenses in the Middle East eyewear market.UAE and Saudi Arabia to Remain Attractive MarketsOn the basis of geography, the market for eyewear in UAE emerged as the leading contributor to the overall revenues of the Middle East eyewear market in 2014, accounting for over 39% in the market. In terms of volume as well, UAE led the Middle East eyewear market, accounting for a 38% share. The UAE marker for eyewear benefits from the high population of affluent consumers, strengthening economy, and the easy availability of luxury brands.With over 23% share in the Middle East eyewear market, Saudi Arabia emerged as the second leading regional market in 2014. Over the forecasting horizon as well, UAE and Saudi Arabia are expected to remain the dominant regional markets, with the share of UAE rising to 39% and Saudi Arabia nearing 24% of the Middle East eyewear market by 2023.The competitive landscape of the Middle East eyewear market features mostly foreign companies such as Luxottica S.p.A, Carl Zeiss A.G, Essilor International, Safilo Group, and Johnson and Johnson Vision Care. Luxottica S.p.A., the company having luxury brands such as Prada, Ray-Ban, and Oakley under its portfolio, rules across most regional markets, accounting for over 40% share of the overall market in countries such as Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Grab-crane barge Market 2017 -2022 Research Report Explores Economic Impact in Global Industries Manufactures, Growth, Size, Share, Trends

Global Grab-crane barge Market 2017-2022

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The MRS Research Group Global Grab-crane barge Market 2017-2022 report by Prof Research offers a comprehensive assessment of the Grab-crane barge market and consists of historical data, scope, significant approaches, and statistical data of the global market. Besides these, it also includes anticipated facts that are assessed with the aid of an appropriate set of postulations and techniques. The MRS Research Group Research brings to light the comprehensive study and factual information of Grab-crane barge market. The report also provides the global market segmentation based on applications, end-users, technology, and geography.Get Free Sample Report @The report includes rigorous data, in-depth analysis in two ways, namely, quantitative and qualitative, industry professionals inputs and data given by the industry members and industry analysts involved in the complete value cycle. The report features thorough study of important market and their current trends, coupled with respective market segments. Information about the numerous factors and their influence on the global market and its segments is also mentioned in the reportThe report emphasizes on the regional market, the keyplayers in the market, and the various market segments with an in-depth analysis on different divisions and their applications. The report offers inclusive data on the respective segments of the Global Grab-crane barge Market 2016-2022 market.The research report provides an in-depth systematic study of the Grab-crane barge market, covering key areas such as future prospects of the market, growth drivers, market restraints,Size, Share, Trends, Demand, Supply, Application, Segmentation, Opportunity, Market Development, production, capacity utilization, supply, Analysis and Forecast by 2022.Read Complete Research Report of Grab-crane barge Market 2017 :Some Important Things Covers in Global Grab-crane barge Market 2017-2022 Research Report Market OverviewSegment by ApplicationMarket by RegionMarket Size (Value)Market Competition by Manufacturers.Raw Materials Sources of Major Manufacturers.Production and Share by Manufacturers.Revenue and Share by Manufacturers.Average Price by Manufacturers.Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product TypeMarket Competitive Situation and TrendsMarket Concentration RateMarket Share of Top 3 and Top 5 ManufacturersMergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionManufacturing Cost AnalysisIndustrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersIndustrial Chain AnalysisUpstream Raw Materials SourcingDownstream BuyersMarketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersMarket Effect Factors AnalysisAppendix Methodology Analyst Introduction Data SourceSend us Enquiry Before Purchasing Research Report @MRS Research Group provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Prof Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free : +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@mrsresearchgroup.com
Green Tea Market to increase steadily by 2016-2024

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Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled "Green Tea Market: Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2015  2021"Green tea is a type of tea that is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, which have not undergone any of the withering and oxidation applied when processing Camellia sinensis as in other types of tea. Although green tea is originated in China, its production has proliferated to many countries in Asia. Green tea can be classified into various types based on different factors such as the variety of the tea plant, growing conditions, production processing, horticulture, and time of harvest. Some of the Japanese green teas are sencha, gyokuro, kabusecha, matcha, tencha, genmaicha, and hojicha.Request Free Sample Report @Owing to its properties such as health benefits provided to the consumers, green tea is witnessing high demand globally. Also, regular intake of green tea helps in reducing the overweight of body. Factors such as growing consumer awareness for healthy and safe products, the increasing number of people suffering from obesity, cancer digestive disorders, and many more diseases, and advantages by the regular consumption of green tea are acting as growth driving factors of the global green tea market. Green tea also reduces the effect of cancer cells, LDL cholesterol, cures body and headaches, and helps in fat reduction. These properties of green tea will spur the demand in the near future.The global green tea market is segmented on the basis of type, flavors, and by region. On the basis of type, the global green tea market is segmented as green tea bags, green tea instant mixes, iced green tea, and other types. Based on the flavors, the market is segmented as lemon, cinnamon, aloe vera, vanilla, basil, jasmin, wild berry, and others. Geographically, the global green tea market is segmented as North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World (RoW).Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Asia Pacific is considered to represent the largest market for green tea. Also, China is the biggest producer and exporter of green tea. Countries such as China, Middle East, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan are the major markets for green tea in Asia Pacific. Furthermore, Europe is anticipated to the fastest growing market for green tea due to rising health awareness among consumers.Some of the major companies dominating the global green tea market are Arizona Beverage Company, AMORE Pacific Corp., Associated British Foods LLC, Celestial Seasonings, Cape Natural Tea Products, Finlays Beverages Ltd., Hambleden Herbs, Hankook Tea, Frontier Natural Products Co-Op., Honest Tea, Inc., Kirin Beverage Corp., ITO EN, Metropolitan Tea Company, Numi Organic Tea, Northern Tea Merchants Ltd., and Oishi Group Plc. Othe key players influencing the global market are Oregon Chai Inc., Pukka Herbs Ltd., PG Tips, Qi Teas, The Republic Of Tea, The Kent Tea & Trading Company, The Stash Tea Company, Yogi Tea, and Uncle Lees Tea, Inc.Browse detail report @Green tea Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAsk for a customized report @About Us:Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:
Oncology Information System Market Analysis by Key Growth Factors and Opportunities Forecasts to 2024

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Oncology information system is an image and information management system that allows to check all parts of oncology care for patients. Oncology information system combines medical, surgical, and radiation oncology information into a comprehensive, oncology electronic medical record that allows to manage patient's details from start of the patients admission through diagnosis and follow-up details.Obtain Report Details @The factors driving the growth of the oncology information system market are increase in technological adaption and technological advancement. Increase in health care infrastructure in developing nations, growth in prevalence of secondary tumor, and rise in incidence of cancer are the other factors anticipated to propel the growth of the oncology information system market during the forecast period. According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide; in 2012, there were 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths worldwide. However, lack of health care IT professionals and strict regulation are likely to restrict the growth of the oncology information system market.According to a report by the American Cancer Society, 50% of men and 30% of women are estimated to develop cancer in some form or the other in their lifetime. Increase in amount of cancer patients is a major driver of the sales of the oncology information system market. Additionally, rise in amount of tobacco consumption and increase in amount of carcinogens present in the polluted air or in any other form are projected to drive the oncology information system market in the near future. Some of the factors driving the growth of the market are rising disposable income, which enables patients to avail expensive treatments, easily available medical insurance policies, and growing medical tourism activities. Heavy investments in R&D further act as an opportunity for the growth of the market since innovative and technologically advanced products always have the capability of substituting its predecessors.The oncology information system market has been segmented by product, application, end-user, and geography. Based on product, the oncology information system market is classified into patient information system, treatment planning system, consulting/optimization, implementation, maintenance, services, and others. Based on application, the market is segmented into care management, treatment management, and knowledge management. Based on end-user, the oncology information system market is segmented into hospital, government institution, research center, and others.Geographically, the oncology information system market in segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to account for a large market share in terms of revenue, followed by Europe. The oncology information system market in North America is expected to grow due to technological advancement and increase in demand for advanced product. The growing need to implement advanced systems in the health care sector in the region and, at the same time, deliver quality care to patients are the factors likely to drive the market in the near future. Asia Pacific is expected to rise at a high CAGR owing to increase in adoption of technological advanced products, growth in disposable income, and rise in health care infrastructure in countries such as India, China, Australia, and other countries in the region. The Latin America oncology information system market is mainly driven by the increasing adoption of technological products in countries such as Brazil and Mexico. The Middle East & Africa oncology information system market is estimated to grow in the near future due to rise in incidence of cancer. According to World Health Organization, women in the African region had the highest incidence of cancer of the cervix uteri.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Major players operating in this market include CureMD Healthcare, Varian Medical Systems, Inc., Flatiron Health, Inc., Epic Systems Corporation, Bogardus Medical Systems, Inc., Cerner Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Elekta AB, and Accuray Inc.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
YES Bank Joins hands with JMA Pilani for International Womens Day Celebrations

YES Bank Joins hands with JMA Pilani for International Womens Day Celebrations

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Revealing Statistics of Women in the Global workforce: Share by Sector - Services 61.5%, Agriculture 25% and Industry 13.5%; Women in Leadership: Seats in Parliament 23% women, women CEOs Fortune 500 Companies 4%.Whats more, an overwhelming majority of women are in the informal economy, subsidizing care and domestic work, and concentrated in lower-paid, lower-skill occupations with little or no social protection. The 2017 theme for United Nations International Womens Day, 8 March, aptly focuses on Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030.India ranks abysmally low in terms of economic participation of women. The Global Gender Report 2015 by the World Economic Forum ranked India at 139 out of 145 countries. India with 62 Women members in Lok Sabha out of 543 is at the 103rd place out of 140 countries with a mere 11% representation. Out of 243 members in the Rajya Sabha, only 27 are women. In state Legislatures also out of 3720 strength, only 363 are women and several states have no women legislators at all.According to a November 2015 report by McKinsey Global Institute, against 37% global average, women contribute just 17 percent of Indias GDP while in China its 41%, 39% in Sub Saharan Africa and 33% in Latin America. If India comes on a par with the best-in-region in terms of gender equality, $700 billion could be added to the countrys annual GDP by 2025. In USA women represent 47% of the workforce.Right from its inception, Smt Jamuna Mishra Academy  JMA which is one among the top ranking schools in Pilani has embarked on a rich tradition of celebrating various days of national and international significance. On 08 Mar 2017, the Pilani branch of YES Bank which has been recognized amongst the Top and Fastest Growing Banks in various Indian Banking League Tables by prestigious media houses and Global Advisory Firms and recipient of several national and international honours joined hands with JMA to celebrate International Womens Day.Bank manager Mr Rajesh Yadav addressing the teachers gave salient features of YES banking system including their special services and gave a clarion call Be Bold for Change. He also congratulated the school management for providing a good quality education at affordable costs and gave each teacher a special memento from the bank. Dr Suman Mishra President of the School management committee from USA also graced the occasion.Earlier in the day at the school assembly, Principal Mrs Booma Natarajan pointed out that Literacy rate of India is 74.04% with Male literacy rate at 82.14%, Female literacy rate at 65.46% and to bridge the gender gap in workforce, it is essential to bridge the literacy gap. Prof BR Natarajan presently advisor to Sangam University Bhilwara gave statistical details of women in global workforce, leadership and women contribution to GDP as against the Indian scenario. What emerges is that as they grow up, girls must be exposed to a broad range of careers, and encouraged to make choices that lead beyond the traditional service and care options to jobs in industry, art, public service, modern agriculture, science and technology.For more details about JMA Pilani seeAbout JMA Pilani: Smt. Jamuna Mishra Academy (JMA) established in the year 2004 which has been making rapid strides in early childhood education is presently one of the most sought after schools at Pilani considered as Oasis in the desert state of Rajasthan well known in India today for one among top in world ranking BITS Pilani University as well as CSIR Laboratory CEERI and globally renowned Birla Science Museum. JMA Pilani is a Co-educational English Medium School with Experienced Teachers, Spacious Classrooms and Modern Amenities designed to impart Quality Education combined with All Round Personality Development and lay the Best Foundation for the Childs Future. JMA which started in 2004 with an enrollment of 60 students for the Nursery, LKG, First Junior and Class I has grown today till Class XII and enrollment of 900. While the school admits both boys and girls, the girl student enrollment has been steadily rising every year and is presently nearly 50% of the total strength. The school has boys NCC, girls band which has been winning laurels every year too. Yoga and Fine arts are not just part of school routine but a way of life for the students.Mrs Booma Natarajan, M.Sc., M.A., B.Ed.Principal, Jamuna Mishra Academy  JMANear Old Pilani Post OfficePilani Rajasthan 333031 IndiaPhone 91-1596-242314Email booma_pilani at yahoo.co.inWebsite:
United States Construction Chemicals Market is Expected to Grow at CAGR of 5%-5.5% Over the Forecast Period 2017 - 2022

United States Construction Chemicals Market

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The United States market for construction chemicals is anticipated to maintain a CAGR of 5%-5.5% over the (2017 - 2022) analysis period. Although concrete & cement admixtures form the largest segment, the demand for flame retardants and protective coatings is likely to leave behind the other segments. In terms of end-user area, infrastructure and commercial applications dominate the scenario for construction chemicals in the United States, a faster growth in demand is expected to be recorded by residential construction.Request a sample of this report @The construction industry needs a lot of research that goes into establishing and assuring the quality of the products that are being used so as to provide improved properties to the structures. Designers of buildings and other projects earn from the flexibility provided by those chemicals which are used in construction. The chemicals used are expected to have properties such as durability, compression rigidity, surface finish and the capability to endure the hostile climate and the working environments. Additionally, they must be able to safeguard themselves from natural calamities and instances of fire. Demand for construction chemicals has a direct correlation with the condition of the new structures and renovations of the older ones. This has been evident through the scale of infrastructure as well as the industrial and commercial activity in these regions. Requirements of adequate housing for the growing populations can fuel demand for residential construction, which, in turn, would be instrumental in propelling other areas, such as development of infrastructure, industries and commercial spaces to catch up.In terms of product, concrete & cement admixtures form the largest segment, with non-residential construction such as commercial, industrial and infrastructure taking the lead in terms of application areas for construction chemicals. While demand for concrete & cement admixtures is likely to maintain fastest growth, the expansion in terms of application areas is expected to vary on a region-to-region basis. The growing population and industry require a larger infrastructure. These serve as the drivers of this market.The global construction materials market can be segmented based on product (Adhesives & sealants, concrete and cement admixtures, flame retardants, protective coating, waterproofing materials and other construction materials), by application (Commercial construction, industrial construction, infrastructure construction and residential construction material). The key players are 3M company, Aldo Co., Albemarle Corporation, BASF SE, Bostik Inc., Henkel AG & Co. KGaA.Get More Information of United States Construction Chemicals Market Report @Drivers:There is an increasing demand for infrastructure, residential and commercial construction in countries like the Unites States which has a developed economy. There is also a growing demand for the reliability and the improvisation of the available commodities. All these prove to be the driving forces for this markt.Restraints:The construction industry is turning to be sluggish in countries like the Unites States.What the report offers?1) Market Definition for the specified topic along with identification of prime drivers and restraints for the market.2) Market analysis of the United States construction chemicals market with region specific assessments and competitive analysis on a global and regional scale.3) Identification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios offering prospective opportunities and also, the identification of key companies which can influence the market on a global and regional scale.4) Extensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of prime companies along with their strategic initiatives and market shares.5) Identification and analysis of the macro and micro factors that affect the United States construction chemicals market on both the global and the regional scale.6) A comprehensive list of all the paramount market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and pivotal financial information.Purchase a copy of United States Construction Chemicals Market visit @. For more information contact sales@orbisresearch.com .Some Points of TOC:1. Introduction1.1 Description1.2 Research Methodology1.3 Report Outline2. Executive Summary3. Market Overview3.1 Current Market Scenario3.2 Factors Driving the Construction Chemicals Market3.2.1 Developing Markets Leading Growth in Demand3.2.2 Construction Activity Increases after a Lull3.2.3 Increased Adoption of Innovative Construction Procedures3.2.4 Development Plans of Governments to Spur Further Growth3.2.5 Water-Based Products to Witness Greater Demand Despite Higher Prices3.2.6 Quality Assumes Greater Significance3.3 Restraints in the Construction Chemicals Market3.4 Opportunities for the Construction Chemicals Market3.5 Porters Five Forces3.5.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers3.5.2 Bargaining Power of Consumers3.5.3 Threat of New Entrants3.5.4 Threat of Substitute Products and Services3.5.5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry3.6 Industry Value Chain AnalysisFor any enquires before buying, connect with us @ enquiry@orbisresearch.comAbout Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Information:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Like us on Facebook:
Virtual 3D Nanorobots Market: Industry Insights with Key Companys Profiles - Forecast to 2025

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Nanorobots are emerging technology in the field of medical science. Nanorobots involve the administration of tiny devices to the arteries used for diagnostic and treatment purpose. Nanorobots are mostly used for the neurology and oncology treatment. Currently, the application of nanorobot for medical science is limited; however, it is expected to make a great impact in the near future. Researchers demonstrated that nanorobots prevent side effects for cancer treatment caused due to chemotherapy and other biological therapies. Hence, virtual 3D nanorobots are projected to be a viable alternative for cancer treatment in the future. Although substantial breakthroughs have been made, there is still much work to be implemented before the concept becomes a reality. The medical applications of 3D nanorobot include dentistry, brain aneurysm, cancer detection and treatment, and gene therapy.Obtain Report Details @The global market for virtual 3D nanorobots has a substantial growth worldwide due to technological innovations, introduction of advanced medical equipment, and advancement of health care infrastructure in developed nations. Moreover, advances in mobile penetration, connectivity, and ICT services are estimated to further accentuate the market growth. Mobile access is becoming ubiquitous worldwide. Developed markets such as Australia, Korea, the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, and Germany already have mobile penetration greater than 100%. This offers significant growth opportunities in the market. Additionally, favorable government support, rise in health care infrastructure, and rapid technological innovations toward health care services accentuate growth of the market.The virtual 3D nanorobots market, with advancement in technology, in developing countries is anticipated to expand at a promising rate during the forecast period. According to the UN Telecommunication Unions (ITU) annual ICT report Measuring the Information Society 2011, the Republic of Korea is one of the worlds most technologically advanced economy for health care. Moreover, the mobile devices, if effectively leveraged, can help drive health care accessibility and affordability across the world. Therefore, rise in technological advancement and increase in efforts toward the development of innovative medical (mobile) technologies are expected to fuel demand for virtual 3D nanorobots for health care across the world.Geographically, the global virtual 3D nanorobots market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America (LATAM), and Middle East & Africa (MEA). North America accounted for a significantly large share of the global virtual 3D nanorobots market in 2014. The U.S. accounted for majority of the market share in the region. The virtual 3D nanorobots market offers immense growth potential in this region owing to timely technological upgrade, increase in awareness among patients, and continuous evolution of information technology. Countries in Western Europe (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) offer lucrative opportunities in the field of 3D nanorobot, majorly due to increase in implementation of technologically advanced devices and rise in government initiatives toward development of well-equipped health care centers. Moreover, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa are expected to expand at a fast growth rate during the forecast period. Untapped opportunities, improvement in health care infrastructure, increase in awareness about available and innovative nanorobotics services, and favorable government initiatives are the major factors fueling the growth of the virtual 3D nanorobots market in these regions. Latin America majorly includes countries in Central and South America such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Latin America is one of the lucrative markets for virtual 3D nanorobots. Brazil and Mexico are significantly large markets in the region.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Key players operating in the global virtual 3D nanorobots market include Zymergen, Gingko Bioworks, and Synthace.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Hepatitis C Drug Market to Reach Around USD 27.63 Billion in 2021

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Zion Research has published a new report titled Hepatitis C Drug Market for (Hospitals, Private Labs, Physician Offices, Public Health Labs and Blood Banks) by Application - Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2015  2021 According to the report, global demand for hepatitis C drug market was valued at USD 11.81 billion in 2015, is expected to reach USD 27.63 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 17% between 2016 and 2021.HCV is a major public health problem that attacks the liver and leads to inflammation. Certain drugs, toxins, heavy alcohol use, bacterial and viral infections can cause hepatitis infection. The most common types of hepatitis infections are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C and they are caused by three dissimilar dissimilar viruses. Although each virus can cause similar symptoms, they have different modes of transmission and can affect the liver differently. Hepatitis C infection can bring both acute and chronic hepatitis disease. Approximately, 80% of patients get chronically infected with hepatitis C disease. Hepatitis C infection (HCV) spreads through the blood of infected individual by the use of shared needles or supplies used to infuse drugs. Vaccines are available only for Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B viruses. Research into the development of a vaccine for hepatitis C is under way.Browse the full report at:The prevalence of the infection, new productive treatments, relatively lesser time of treatment from before, and rising government subsidizing, can drive the hepatitis C drug market. Lack of awareness and information about HCV and treatment expense of disease can influence the hepatitis C market. In the last few years a couple of new drugs have been launched in the market which has huge success and captured maximum market share of the hepatitis C market. However, cost of these drugs is too high. Hospitals, private labs, physician offices, public health labs, and blood banks are the key application of hepatitis C drug market.North America was one of the fastest growing hepatitis C drug markets across the world with more than 40% share of the total revenue generated in 2015. U. S. is the largest revenue contributor for worldwide Hepatitis C market. Government funding for drug development will continue to play an essential role in the growth of U.S. HCV treatment market. Europe was the second major market for Hepatitis C in 2015.Ongoing research and development in pharmaceutical industry for hepatitis C drug development is expected to propel the market growth in the coming years. Moreover, interest for Hepatitis C medication is expanding in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa due to prevalence of the disease in the regions combined with expenditure on healthcare infrastructure.Get a copy of Sample Report:Harvoni and Sovaldi are newly discovered drugs for Hepatitis C. Marketed by pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences and has more than 95% cure rate. The problem with this drug is its high cost, Harvoni drug is one of the expensive drug in the world. Some of the key player in the hepatitis C drug market includes Merck & Co, Kenilworth, Roche, Basel GlaxoSmith, Gilead Sciences, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb.The report segments the global hepatitis C drug market asHepatitis C Drug Market: Application Segment AnalysisHospitalsPrivate labsPhysician officesPublic health labsBlood banksHepatitis C Drug Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeGermanyUKFranceAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAbout UsZion Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Zion Research experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants uses proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@marketresearchstore.comWebsite:
Cardiovascular Information System (CVIS) Market Analysis, Size, Development and Demand Forecast to 2022

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The global cardiovascular information system market is witnessing significant growth due to increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, growing government initiates towards electronic health record system implementation and growing rate of medication errors. The remote access to data and images, and reduced IT burden in the diagnostic center and hospitals are supporting the demand of CVIS. Moreover, better interoperability and increasing healthcare cost are further expected to boost the market. Based on mode of operation, web-based segment leads the global market in terms of size, owing to high rate of awareness, improved interoperability, reduced IT burden in hospitals and relatively less cost. Based on component, the market for service segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period, due to upgradation of services for the complex software introduction and requirement for extensive training.Explore Report at:The increasing demand for cloud based solutions is expected to create opportunities for the players in the market. The unexplored market in developing economies is also creating abundant opportunities for the cardiovascular information system market to grow at a significant rate in the coming years. However, high cost of cardiovascular information, lack of standard healthcare protocol towards implementation of CVIS solution in developing countries and reluctance of healthcare provides to implement cardiovascular information system are the key factors hampering the growth of the global market.Request for Table of Content at:Geographically, North America has been the largest market for cardiovascular information system, owing to increasing incidence of cardiovascular disease, well established healthcare infrastructure, and strict privacy and security regulation in the region. The U.S. contributed largest revenue to the North American as well as global cardiovascular information system market. The increase in integration of the electronic health record maintenance system and favorable government policies are driving the growth of the U.S. cardiovascular information system. Globally, the cardiovascular information system market is expected to witness the fastest growth in Asia-Pacific during the forecast period. The highest growth in the region is attributed to large pool of patient, improving healthcare infrastructure, increasing incidence of cardiovascular disease, and growing medical tourism in the region.Browse Other Related Report at:The key players operating in the global cardiovascular information system market are Philips Healthcare, McKesson Corporation, Philips Healthcare, General Electric Company, Siemens AG, AGFA Healthcare and Cerner Corporation.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.As one of the top growing market research agency, were keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.Contact:AbhishekExecutive  Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016
Renal Denervation Market Assessment 2017-2021

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Renal denervation is a minimally invasive catheter based procedure for treatment of resistant hypertension, a condition when at least three hypertensive drugs prove to be ineffective. Although the market experienced appreciable growth in the introductory phase, the method has been proven to be ineffective in treating resistive hypertension. Currently more clinical trials are being conducted which would decide fate of renal denervation market in the future.Renal denervation technology was initially launched in Europe and Australia. However the study did not prove to be effective in clinical trials conducted in lucrative U.S. market. In 2014, Medtronic announced that the Symplicity trail did not meet primary and secondary end point. Symplicity renal denervation system was launched in April 2010, and is currently available in some parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Covidien also took an exit from its clinical trials for OneShot renal denervation program. However, currently Medtronic is conducting clinical trials in U.S., U.K., Germany, Austria, Greece, Japan, and Australia. ReCor has also initiated RADIANCE -HTN study for Paradise System in patients with hypertension in the U.S. U.K., France, Germany and the Netherlands. Success in clinical trials, may fuel the renal denervation market in the future.Report Sample@In 2016, ReCor Medical signed a development and commercialization agreement with Otsuka Holdings, Japan. The agreement gives exclusive rights to commercialization of ReCor Paradise ultrasound based renal denervation system in Japan, China, Korea and other key Asian countries. These events indicate a positive future for renal denervation technology. Improved physician training, refined patient selection and refinement in the novel technology is expected to restore the market growth. Currently there is no treatment available for refractory hypertension patients. Regulatory clearance of renal denervation systems is therefore expected to gain rapid acceptance, considering already existing distribution channels in lucrative markets of Europe and Asia.Hypertension is expected to cause over 7.5 million mortalities globally which accounts for 12.8% of the total mortalities. An article published by CNN in 2016 mentions that U.S., U.K., Canada and South Korea recorded lowest rate of hypertension globally; while Australia, China, and Russia were among the top countries with high hypertension prevalence. The data also stated that over 400 million hypertension patients were found in India and China alone. However, the level of patients diagnosed with hypertension is low in low- and middle-income countries. This data suggests that there exists enormous scope of renal denervation market development in the Asia countries.Click For TOC@About UsSpearhead Acuity Business Research & Consulting Private Limited (SA-BRC) is a premium Life Science business intelligence and data analytics firm. SA-BRC team offers a wide range of business intelligence services to multiple stakeholders such as Medical Device Manufacturers, Service Providers (Hospitals, Payers, etc.), Suppliers, Group Purchase Organizations, Distributors and all other individuals in the entire value chain of healthcare industry. Our research and consulting capabilities extend across several sub-domains within the sphere of Life Sciences such as Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Medical Devices, Veterinary Sciences, Wellness Products and Pharmaceuticals.Contact UsJohn Whitmore10685-B Hazelhurst Drive,Suite 17411Houston, Texas 77043,United StatesPhone: +1(832)-426-3701Email: sales@sa-brc.comWebsite:
Anesthesia Endotracheal Tubes Market is Expected to Witness Highest Growth by 2024

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Anesthesia endotracheal tube is a tube implanted in trachea to administer anesthesia, maintain the airway passage of lungs, prevent aspiration into the lungs, and allow mechanical ventilation. It also establishes the aspiration of secretions and anticipation of the pathway of extraneous material into the tracheobronchial tree. The endotracheal tube is of two types: orotracheal tube and nasotracheal tube. The orotracheal tube is rooted through the mouth, while the nasotracheal tube is rooted through the nose into the trachea. Both are used for anesthesia management.Obtain Report Details @With the advancement of health care facilities and modern technologies, surgery of vital organs such as lungs has become easy. Anesthesia endotracheal tubes make it easy for the surgeons to sedate the patient and perform the surgical procedure. Also, these tubes are accepted and used by the patients of all age groups with breathing or lung problems. This is a major factor driving the market for anesthesia endotracheal tubes. Growing industrialization leading to rise in air pollution and habits such as smoking are responsible for increasing incidence of respiratory diseases. This can be considered as a factor propelling the anesthesia endotracheal tubes market. Rising incidence of other respiratory diseases, lung diseases, and breathing disorders also drives the market.. Introduction of advanced technology in the medical field, which enables easy performing of critical surgeries and usage of high-quality consumables in the field are the recent trends in the global anesthesia endotracheal tubes market. However, availability of an increased number of alternative disposable devices and upcoming better options may act as a barrier for the anesthesia endotracheal tubes market. The anesthesia endotracheal tubes market has been segregated into organized and unorganized as well as global and regional players. The unorganized local market in developing countries may give a tough competition to the global players by maintaining high quality standards at reasonable pricing. The dealers in the developed market are targeting back with product innovations.Based on the product type, the global anesthesia endotracheal tubes market can be segmented into: orotracheal tubes and nasotracheal tubes. Orotracheal tubes are implanted in the patients trachea through the mouth. Nasotracheal tubes are implanted in the trachea through the nose. These tubes are employed in the cases wherein the patients mouth needs to be operated.Based on the end-user, the anesthesia endotracheal tubes market can be segmented into: hospitals & clinics and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs).High demand for home-based therapy and modernization in video laryngoscopes also drive the global anesthesia endotracheal tubes market. However, complications in the anesthesia delivery system, availability of a small number of skilled medical practitioners to perform critical surgeries with perfection, and growing preference to laryngeal masks over anesthesia endotracheal tubes are likely be major factors restraining the growth of the market during the forecast period.Based on the geographical region, the anesthesia endotracheal tubes market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is a major market for anesthesia endotracheal tubes, due to respiratory disorder-prone lifestyle of people in the region and a large number of elderly population. Asia Pacific is an expanding market due to increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases in the region.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Some players operating in the global anesthesia endotracheal tubes market are Medline Industries, Medtronic, C. R. Bard, ConvaTec, GE Healthcare, Smiths Medical, KindWell Medical, ROYAX, Fuji Systems, Teleflex, Neurovision Medical, and Intersurgical.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Light Therapy Market Assessment, Forecast, Trends And Share Report

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Light therapy market is gradually making its way from being popular in skin and aesthetic treatment, to treatment of depression and sleep related disorders. Light therapy or photo therapy has been used for treatment of skin disorders such as psoriasis, acne vulgaris, atopic dermatitis and others. Certain studies have also shown that exposure to ultraviolet light has been beneficial in treatment of skin cancer. Light therapy for diabetic retinopathy has also been found beneficial in improving retinal blood flow which further helps in vision correction.The global light therapy market has been segmented on the basis of application as follows:DepressionSleep disordersRetinal disordersSkin disordersOthersReport Sample@Majority of the market for light therapy has been dominated by generic product manufacturers. China has become a home for low-cost photo therapy lamp, and other products manufacturers. Turnkey products are exported from China to companies in western countries, which further engage in branding and product promotion. Products are available for home use, as well for commercial applications in therapy centers. Various light therapy clinics have also evolved in the recent past for treatment of depression, and skin rejuvenation and acne treatment. Noctura 400 sleep mask manufactured by PolyPhotonix Medical Ltd. a U.K. based company is claimed to show positive results in 66% of the diabetic retinopathy patients. The CE market product reduces retinal thickness and intra-retinal cysts within three months of use.Light therapy market is mainly driven by growing tendency to opt for drugless therapy, mainly to avoid drug effects. Psychological treatment of depression, and sleep disorder through exposure to bright light has although not been fully supported by scientific data. Phototherapy has been beneficial in treatment of jaundice in neonatal. It helps in conversion of bilirubin in the body into water soluble byproducts, which can be easily excreted from the body. Publication of more studies on effect of phototherapy on treatment of depression and sleep related disorders would help the market grow rapidly in other parts of the world. Increasing disposable income and rising trend for cosmetic treatment has provided necessary traction for light therapy products in this segment. Light of varied colors such as red, blue, green and yellow have shown effective acne reduction and improved skin tone. Currently U.S., Europe and countries in South-East Asia such as Korea, Thailand and China are leading geographies in light therapy market. The Middle East and Africa contribute minimally to the market and also represent sluggish growth.Click For TOC@About UsSpearhead Acuity Business Research & Consulting Private Limited (SA-BRC) is a premium Life Science business intelligence and data analytics firm. SA-BRC team offers a wide range of business intelligence services to multiple stakeholders such as Medical Device Manufacturers, Service Providers (Hospitals, Payers, etc.), Suppliers, Group Purchase Organizations, Distributors and all other individuals in the entire value chain of healthcare industry. Our research and consulting capabilities extend across several sub-domains within the sphere of Life Sciences such as Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Medical Devices, Veterinary Sciences, Wellness Products and Pharmaceuticals.Contact UsJohn Whitmore10685-B Hazelhurst Drive,Suite 17411Houston, Texas 77043,United StatesPhone: +1(832)-426-3701Email: sales@sa-brc.comWebsite:
The mHealth (Mobile Healthcare) Ecosystem: 2015 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Analysis & Forecasts

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ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " The mHealth (Mobile Healthcare) Ecosystem: 2015 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts " to it's Large Report database.With more than 7 Billion Mobile Network subscriptions worldwide, the mobile communications sector is rapidly gaining traction from a diverse range of vertical sectors. Healthcare is no exception to this trend.As healthcare providers seek to maximize their patient outreach while minimizing costs, many view mobile healthcare (or mHealth) as the solution to improve healthcare costefficiency. mHealth refers to the usage of mobile communications technology & devices to enhance access to healthcare information, improve distribution of routine and emergency health services and provide diagnostic services.Mobile network operators also view mHealth as a lucrative opportunity for the monetization of their mobile connectivity services as a growing proportion of their subscribers adopt healthcare centric wearables. Given that most operators have established themselves as reputable consumer brands, they are also eyeing on opportunities to offer services beyond simple connectivity. Many operators already offer branded or co-branded end-to-end mHealth solutions to their customer bases.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:In addition, mHealth offers a multitude to opportunities to the pharmaceutical industry ranging from R&D activities to securing the supply chain and, in the battle against counterfeit drugs.Driven by the thriving ecosystem, SNS Research estimates that the mHealth market will account for nearly $18 Billion in 2016 alone. Despite barriers relating to regulation, patient acceptance and privacy concerns, SNS Research estimates further growth at a CAGR of 40% over the next 5 years.The mHealth (Mobile Healthcare) Ecosystem: 2015  2030  Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts report presents an indepth assessment of the global mHealth market. In addition to covering key market drivers, challenges, future roadmap, value chain analysis, deployment case studies, service/product strategies and strategic recommendations, the report also presents comprehensive forecasts for the mHealth market from 2015 till 2030. The forecasts and historical revenue figures are individually segmented for 5 individual submarkets, 29 use case categories, 5 ecosystem player categories, 6 geographical regions and 34 countries.The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report.Read All Healthcare Market Research Reports @Table of Content1hapter 1: Introduction1.1Executive Summary1.2Topics Covered1.3Forecast Segmentation1.4Key Questions Answered1.5Key Findings1.6Methodology1.7Target Audience1.8Companies & Organizations Mentioned2 Chapter 2: An Overview of mHealth2.1What is mHealth?2.2The Evolution from eHealth to mHealth2.3Telemedicine2.4Health Informatics2.5The mHealth Business Case2.6Key Market Drivers2.6.1Increasing Penetration of Smartphones, Tablets & Wearables2.6.2Proliferation of Mobile Broadband Networks2.6.3The Rise of Chronic Diseases2.6.4Growing mHealth Applications: Reduction in Lead Time2.6.5Government & Regulatory Initiatives2.6.6Physicians at Forefront of Mobility Adoption2.6.7The Cost Saving Potential of mHealth2.6.8Increasing Adoption of Open Source Software2.6.9The Role of Developed Economies2.6.10The Role of Emerging EconomiesAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at:
Glycobiology Market - Trends and Opportunities for the Industry by 2026

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Global Glycobiology Market: SnapshotThe world glycobiology market is envisioned to sense a strong lead in the biotechnology sector with the mutual advantage of glycobiology and proteomics proliferating their applications in different fields. Due to the capacious overlap and interdependency of both glycobiology and proteomics markets on the part of instrument sections, the global market could gain a sound impetus from the episode.Obtain Report Details @With regard to segmentation, the global glycobiology market could be analyzed on the basis of product, application, and end user. The geographical segmentation can provide an outlook of the key regions that practice the various applications of glycobiology.The authors of the report have taken to thoroughgoing primary and secondary research to provide a reliable platform for both new entrants and established players to make intelligent decisions. Besides this, the analysts have provided critical data on the forecast of future trends and present market size.Global Glycobiology Market: TrendsThe international glycobiology market is foreseen to be motivated by the enlarging research and development spending on the part of biotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations. One of the most influential motive powers for the growth of the global market is the heightening private and government funding initiated for forwarding research activities related to proteomics and glycomics.The drug discovery and development division by application was anticipated to hold a gargantuan share in the world glycobiology market in 2016. The advancement of this possible segment could be accredited to the rise in the evolution of unconventional therapies and drugs through thorough research and development. Other segments such as immunology, oncology, and diagnostics could be listed under the application category.Out of the many probable product type segments, enzymes are predicted to register a higher CAGR and growth on the back of their extensive applications in drug discovery and research and development operations. While they can be further segregated as sialyltransferases, neuraminidases, glycosyltransferases, and glycosidases, the other glycobiology products could be reagents, kits, and instruments.If the end users are concerned, a larger share of the global glycobiology market was expected to be secured by academic research institutes in 2016. The success of this end-user segment could be attributed to the strong private and government support offered through funding. Other end users such as contract research organizations and pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms are foretold to stay in the run.Global Glycobiology Market: GeographyAlthough the world glycobiology market could be geographically divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World, Asia Pacific is envisaged to outshine while riding on a sharp CAGR. Much of the demand for glycobiology in Asia Pacific could be ascribed to the uprising significance of companion diagnostics, maturing want for customized medicine, and escalating research and development commercialization by biotech and pharma firms.North America may not lag behind in terms of growth, mainly due to the increasing incidences of herpes, AIDS, cancer, and other infectious and chronic illnesses. The sedentary lifestyle and multiplying geriatric population in this region is deemed to be responsible for the prevalence of such diseases. Moreover, citizens are being able to access well-assembled reimbursement programs and afford expensive medication, which is expected to further push the rise of North America.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Global Glycobiology Market: CompetitionThe report presented here for the perusal of the buyers could include an unfathomable study of the competitive landscape along with the future trends of the glycobiology industry. Some of the epoch-making players of the world glycobiology market could be Waters Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Takara Bio, Inc., Merck KGaA, Shimadzu Corporation, ProZyme, Inc., New England Biolabs, Danaher Corporation, Bruker Corporation, and Agilent Technologies.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Research Methodologies of Waterborne Ink Market in Global Industry : Trends & Forecast 2017 - 2024

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ALBANY, NY, March 8, 2017 : ResearchMoz presents professional and in-depth study of "Waterborne Ink Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024".Waterborne ink is also known as water-based ink. Its drying speed is sluggish compared to solvent-based inks. Ink is a blend of colorant, vehicle (resin), solvent, and additives. Waterborne ink contains 60% water or other solvents, 20% resin, 15% colorant and 5 % additives. The main solvent is water, but there could also be other co-solvents present - typically VOCs.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @The report estimates and forecasts the waterborne ink market on the global, regional, and country levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) with 2015 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the product segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. The study includes drivers and restraints for the waterborne ink market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the waterborne ink market on the global and regional level. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitutes of waterborne ink. It also provides the global average price trend analysis.Global Waterborne Ink Market: Research MethodologiesThe report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the waterborne ink market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein resin, technology, application and countries have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market.In-depth interviews and discussions with wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.Global Waterborne Ink Market: Scope of the StudyThe study provides a comprehensive view of the waterborne ink market by dividing it into resin, technology application and geography. In terms of resin, the waterborne ink market has been segmented into acrylic, polyester, maleic and others. In terms of technology, the waterborne ink market is segmented into flexography, gravure, digital and others. In terms of application, the waterborne ink market has been segmented into packaging, publication, flyers & brochures and others. The packaging segment has been further bifurcated into flexible and corrugated. The publication segment has been further divided into newspapers, magazines & periodicals and books. Application segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends, and the market has been estimated in terms of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) between 2016 and 2024.Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for waterborne ink in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report comprises country-level analysis in terms of volume and revenue for product and application segments. Key countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., Spain, Italy, Japan, India, China, Mexico, South Africa, and Brazil have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual resin, technology and application in all the regions and countries.Global Waterborne Ink Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Sun Chemical Corporation, Flint Group, Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA, Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd., Huber Group, Wikoff Color Corporation, Doneck Euroflex S.A.,Sebek Inks, Dolphin Inks, BCM Inks and Chimigraf. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).The waterborne ink market has been divided into the following segments:Waterborne Ink Market  Resin AnalysisAcrylicStyrene AcrylicPolyesterMaleicOthers (Including polyurethane resin, phenolic resin, etc.)Waterborne Ink Market  Technology AnalysisFlexographyGravureDigitalOthers (Including screen printing and sheet-fed offset printing, etc.)Waterborne Ink Market  Application AnalysisPackagingFlexibleCorrugatedPublicationNewspapersMagazines & PeriodicalsBooksFlyers & BrochuresOthers (Including decorative printing and product printing, etc.)Make an Enquiry of this report @Waterborne Ink Market  Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeFranceU.K.SpainGermanyItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanASEANRest of Asia Pacific (APAC)Latin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin America (LATAM)Middle East & AfricaGCCSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & Africa (MEA)ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMoz90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States
Inkjet Coders Market - Evolving Industry Trends and key Insights by 2024

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The inkjet technology is a reliable and cost-effective method used to mark and code a whole range of products. Inkjet coders are most commonly used in the packaging industry to differentiate products. These are a non-contact printing coders that can generate dates and batch numbers, and time any information to a variety of packaging products including containers, cartons labels, etc.Browse Market Research Report @Inkjet coders are used in industries, such as food and beverages, automotive, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and electronics, for marking purpose. The inkjet coders cost less but have higher maintenance cost, whereas laser coders have high cost and low maintenance cost. Inkjet coders are cost effective and are recommended for economical color printing. The substitute for inkjet coder is laser coder. Inkjet coders comprise different chambers containing different colors of ink. Recently, Videojet Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of coding, marking, and printing products, launched six new inks for larger inkjet printers. Making an innovation in coding solution, Hitachi America, Ltd. recently developed its latest generation of continuous ink jet printers, the UX Series.Drop on Demand (DOD), Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) and Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) are the three types of ink-jet technologies used in the packaging industry for coding applications. The drop on demand technology uses aqueous or UV curable inks to print on a wide range of products; it has a number of chambers which contains ink. Continuous ink jet is a non-contact coding and durable method. The small characters of CIJ coders generate expiry dates, lot codes, graphics, and bar codes on a variety of primary packaging and the large character of CIJ coders generate same for secondary packaging, i.e. for cartons, etc. Thermal ink jet coders make use of print cartridges. They contain a series of small electrically heated chambers, which can be controlled by a flex-circuit, and involve high speed coding for serialized data. (TIJ) technology is usually for generating high-quality graphics and high-grade two-dimensional symbologies such as DataMatrix codes. Generally, industries such as pharmaceuticals, tobacco, health, and beauty make use of TIJ coders.The global inkjet coder market is segmented based on product technology, end user, and geography. By product technology, the global inkjet coder market is segmented into Drop on Demand (DOD), Continuous Inkjet (CIJ), and Thermal Inkjet (TIJ). By end user, the global inkjet coder market is categorized on the basis of different industries, including food and beverages, cosmetics, personal and home care, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, tobacco, automotive and aerospace, building materials, chemicals, commercial printing and addressing, electrical components and electronics, and wire, cable and pipeFor more information on this report, fill the form @Technological developments in inkjet coders, such as advancement in software that controls and monitors ink viscosity and automatic flush systems that help save time by stopping and cleaning daily print head, are anticipated to create excellent growth opportunities for the inkjet coder market. Rise in demand for minimization of solvent evaporation and reducing mixing of air with ink are the major factors expected to drive growth of the inkjet coders market over the forecast period. However, factors such as high running cost and low quality of marks that result in non-permanent mark are expected to hinder the market growth. Also, inkjet coders spill some tiny droplets of ink while printing; therefore, their resolution is lower than the laser printers. Significant factors that influence the demand for ink jet coders are reduced downtime, which helps customers expand the visual and functional coding capabilities. Currently, increasing number of manufacturers are seeking high performance printing and coding equipment, thereby creating significant growth and investment opportunities for players in the inkjet coders market.By geography, the global inkjet coder market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. Currently, North America and Europe dominate the market, accounting for the highest share of the global inkjet coders market in terms of volume. However, most of the major manufacturers in the market are from China, in view of the low capital cost required in the country, advancements in technology, and changing trends and requirements of players in the market. The global commercial and industrial markets play an important role in the development of the overall ink jet coder market.Some of the key players in the global inkjet coding market are Videojet Technologies, Inc., FoxJet, an ITW Company, Hitachi America, Ltd., ID Technology, LLC., KGK Jet India., Linx Printing Technologies, Domino Printing Sciences plc, Shanghai Rottweil Handyware Printing Technology Co., Ltd, Media Data Systems Pte Ltd, Elmark Packaging, Koenig & Bauer AG, Squid Ink Manufacturing, Inc., Markem-Imaje, a Dover Company, and Xaar plc.About TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
At a CAGR of 10.16%, Global Industrial Robotics Services Market will grow during 2017-2021: Key Vendors are ABB, FANUC, KUKA, Yaskawa Motoman etc.

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ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global Industrial Robotics Services Market 2017-2021 " to it's Large Report database.About Industrial Robotics ServicesIndustrial robots can be classified into many types such as material handling, welding, assembling, painting, and for other purposes based on their area of application. Major demand will increase from companies in sectors such as automotive, electrical and electronics, chemicals, food and beverages (F&B), and industrial machinery.Technavios analysts forecast the global industrial robotics services market to grow at a CAGR of 10.16% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global industrial robotics services market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of industrial robotics services.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Industrial Robotics Servcies Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsABBFANUCKUKAOmron Adept TechnologiesRemtec AutomationYaskawa MotomanRead All ICT Market Research Reports @Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportMarket overviewKey vendorsOther prominent vendorsPART 03: Market research methodologyResearch methodologyEconomic indicatorsPART 04: IntroductionKey market highlightsPART 05: Market landscapeMarket size and forecastFive forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by service typeGlobal industrial robotics services market by service typePART 07: Market segmentation by applicationGlobal industrial robotics services market by applicationGlobal industrial robotics services market by material handlingGlobal industrial robotics services market by weldingGlobal industrial robotics services market by assembly lineGlobal industrial robotics services market by othersPART 08: Geographical segmentationGlobal industrial robotics services market by geographyAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at:
Global Artificial Intelligence Market in the Industrial Sector to grow at a CAGR of 52.65% during the period 2017-2021

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ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global Artificial Intelligence Market in the Industrial Sector 2017-2021 " to it's Large Report database.About Artificial IntelligenceAI technologies are being developed to assist human beings in deliberating, deducing, analyzing, and inventing new technologies that can guarantee the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The availability and widespread adoption of graphical processing units due to innovation in technology, increased power capacity, and reduced costs have been an impetus for the adoption of AI technologies in sensor systems.Technavios analysts forecast the global artificial intelligence market in the industrial sector to grow at a CAGR of 52.65% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global artificial intelligence market in the industrial sector for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the top four vendors operating in the market.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Artificial Intelligence Market in the Industrial Sector 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsAmazon Web ServicesIBMSiemensOmron Adept TechnologiesRead All ICT Market Research Reports @Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportMarket overviewVendors in the marketPART 03: Market research methodologyResearch methodologyEconomic indicatorsPART 04: IntroductionKey market highlightsPART 05: Market landscapeMarket overviewFive forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by end-userMarket overviewProcess industriesDiscrete industriesPART 07: Geographical segmentationMarket overviewAmericasEMEAAPACPART 08: Market driversRise in the use of expert systemsGrowing popularity of AI start-upsDevelopment of deep-learning technologyAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at:
Laser Coders Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast For 2016 - 2024

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Innovation in coding technology continues to become more computerized and integrated into the production line. Laser coding is mostly used to differentiate products and mark them accordingly. Laser coding functions by removal of surface coating from the packaging or product; this results in permanent changes in the surface of the product. Laser coding is a non-contact printing method and ensures quality marking. In laser technology, the galvanometer enables laser coding and making mark on moving or static products.Obtain Report Details @Laser coding can be done on various materials such as glass, paper, foils, plastic, cardboard, coated metals, etc. Laser coding does not contain any inks or chemicals; it is cost-efficient and a low maintenance and eco-friendly method for marking the product. The laser coder software allows users to do barcoding, change and delete text easily, add graphics, etc. The substitutes for laser coders are continuous inkjets and thermal inkjets. In packaging, laser coding is usually used for marking serial or batch number, expiry dates, etc. Laser coding is done in the end after the production process. The laser coder is used for marking various materials in the packaging industry, such as paper, cardboard, and polymers.The major laser coding types are CO2 lasers, fiber lasers, and vanadate lasers. CO2 lasers include carbon dioxide gas mixture, and are mostly applied on non-metallic materials and on most plastics. They are suited for wood, glass, textiles, foils & films, stone, acrylic, paper, plastics and leather. Fiber lasers are solid state lasers; they are used for contrasting plastic marking and metal marking. They are suited for coated metals, metals, and plastics. Vanadate lasers (Crystal laser) can emit 3 different wavelengths and are suited for ceramics (to some extent), metals, plastics, and coated metals. Domino Laser GmbH is the largest international producer of laser coders; the company has presence in the U.S., Europe, North America, and China.The global laser coders market is segmented based on product type, application, and geography. By product type, the global laser coder market is segmented into CO2 lasers, fiber lasers, Nd:YAG flash lamp (solid state), Nd:YAG diode pumped, and vanadate lasers. By end user, the global laser coder market is segmented into food and beverages, cosmetics, personal and home care, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, tobacco, automotive and aerospace, building materials, chemicals, commercial printing and addressing, electrical components and electronics, and wire, cable and pipe.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The growth opportunities for players in the laser coders market growth lie in bringing innovation in terms of the faster execution of coding and that too on a wider range of products, and in producing products that are cost effective and occupy less space. There is an increasing need for high quality marking with improved traceability being witnessed across the globe, which in turn is expected to drive growth of the laser coder market over the forecast period. However, advances in coding and marking applications are still limited and the capital cost incurred on the same is high, in turn acting as restraints for the market growth. Consumables and maintenance costs are low in case of laser coders, which are among the major factors expected to further drive growth of the laser coder market over the forecast period. Meanwhile, the FDA is increasingly demanding permanent identifying mark solutions from the manufacturers in view of improving the product traceability, thereby creating further growth opportunity for the players operating in the market.By geography, the global laser coder market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. There have been significant new developments being witnessed in the global laser coders market over the last few years in view of the increasing demand for high speed and reliability. Currently, China dominates the global laser coders market due to the presence of an innovative, cost efficient, environment friendly, and high efficient supply chain in the country. Most of the key market players are based out of China. The laser coder market in North America and Europe is also expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period due to increasing demand for laser coders in packaging industries in these regions.Some of the key players in the global laser coding market are Domino Printing Sciences PLC, Linx Printing Technologies, Telesis Technologies, Inc, Matthews Marking Systems, MACSA ID S.A., Markem-Imaje - a Dover Company, Videojet Technologies, Inc., Trotec Laser, Inc., and Liquid Packaging Solutions, Inc.About TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Folding Cartons Market - Competitive Landscape & Technological Breakthroughs Analysis in Next Few Years

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Folding cartons are used for packing materials of different sizes and shapes, and can be said to be the pioneers in the packaging industry. Folding cartons are available in the form of paperboard with creasing, and are folded, cut, printed, and laminated to achieve a particular structure as per the packing requirements of the material. These cartons can be made from recycled paper stock, virgin wood pulp, or other fibres. These folding cartons find application in the field of food and beverages, cosmetics, confectionaries, pharmacy, and others. The healthcare industry is the largest user of folding cartons, followed by the tobacco industry.Browse Market Research Report @Carton manufacturing companies are coming up with new designs, processes, and innovative techniques to enable the brand owners to distinguish their products from competitors through attractive packaging. Similarly, there has been an advent of innovative printers and converters in the market, which adopt new printing technologies that are capable of offering more impactful finishing techniques such as spot varnishing, embossing and hot foiling.The constant significant growth witnessed in the healthcare, tobacco, and food processing industries is the major driving force for the anticipated growth of the global folding cartons market in the near future. Introduction of migration barriers to avoid contamination of carton board materials as a result of the food packed inside it, has made folding cartons a safer packaging option in the food industry. With technological advancements, carton packaging of products can now be modified and made more attractive and handy for the customers, thereby giving a competitive edge to the brand owners, thereby driving its market growth. However, folding cartons producing unit is an expensive project to start up. Hence, many entrepreneurs are not easily willing to invest in this industry. Also, these units need to achieve high volume production in order to recover their investment as well as to achieve a wafer-thin profit margin. These economic limitations related to folding cartons manufacturing could hinder growth of the global folding cartons market over the forecast period.The growth opportunity for players in the global folding cartons market lies in achieving cost savings on packaging materials by packing the products in folding cartons. The trend of industries to move towards single serve packs and introduce smaller packs of their products are increasingly driving them towards using folding cartons. However, the availability of substitutes for folding cartons packaging, such as plastics packaging materials, that offer a more flexible packing option than the folding cartons is a major factor that could hamper growth of the folding cartons market over the forecast period. The global folding cartons market is expanding at a modest growth rate currently, and is anticipated to expand at a single digit CAGR over the forecast period.Make an Enquiry @The global folding cartons market is segmented based on product type, structure, and application. By product type, the global folding cartons is segmented into paperboard folding cartons, green folding cartons, and plastic folding cartons. By structure, the global folding cartons is segmented into rectangular sleeve, french reverse tuck, standard reverse tuck, airplane style straight, standard straight tuck, mailer lock, bellows tuck, and tuck & tongue. By application, the global folding cartons is segmented into tobacco, dairy products, hardware and electrical, personal care, confectionary, frozen food, dry food, and others.By geography, the global folding cartons market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. Asia Pacific is currently the leader in the global folding cartons market, owing to the flourishing industries in this region, such as food and beverages, tobacco, and pharmacy. North America is the second largest contributor to growth of the global folding cartons market currently, due to the thriving healthcare industry in the region. The upcoming personal care and confectionary industries in Europe and Latin America mark their significant presence in the global folding cartons market. The Middle East and Africa market is still at a nascent stage; however, it is anticipated to account for a considerable share of the global folding cartons market over the forecast period.Some of the key players in the global folding cartons market are Amcor Limited, Graphic Packaging International, Inc, WestRock Company, All Packaging Company, Artistic Carton Company, Bell Packaging, Caraustar, Cherokee Packaging Inc, Craftsman Packaging, Inc, F.P.Woll & Co, Menasha Packaging Company, LLC, and Midlands Packaging Corporation.About TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Special Cement Market 2017 - Holcim, Cemex, Lafarge, Heidelberg, Tongli Cement, Jidong Cement, Datong Cement, Sichuan Shuangma Cement, Shanxi Qinling Cement

Special Cement Market

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A market study based on the "Special Cement Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Special Cement Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Special Cement industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Special Cement market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This ReportHolcimCemexLafargeHeidelbergTongli CementJidong CementDatong CementSichuan Shuangma CementShanxi Qinling CementAnhui Chaodong CementThe report studies the industry for Special Cement across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Special Cement market & dynamics of demand and supply of Special Cement into consideration. The 'Special Cement' research study covers each and every aspect of the Special Cement market globally, which starts from the definition of the Special Cement industry and develops towards Special Cement market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Special Cement market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Special Cement market. The geographical segmentation of the Special Cement industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Special Cement is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Special Cement market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Special Cement market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Special Cement market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Special Cement production volume, data regarding demand and Special Cement supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Special Cement across the globe.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
ESR Analyzers Market: Technological Upgrades Leading to the Development of Automated ESR Analyzers would Contribute to the Growth of the Market

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Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) can be defined as the rate at which red blood cells or erythrocytes sediment in a period of one hour. ESR is usually measured in millimeter per hour (mm/hr) and a value above 100 mm/hr indicates a disease condition, such as a disease that causes inflammation, active infection, cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, blood disease, diabetes, and collagen vascular disease. However, ESR is a non-specific test for inflammation and is used in conjunction with other tests such as C-reactive protein.Browse Market Research Report @Normal ESR result does not rule out the possibility of inflammation. Similarly, an elevated ESR without any symptoms of the disease does not aid in making any medical decision. ESR analyzers are devices employed to measure the sedimentation rate of erythrocytes for an accurate reading. Automated ESR analyzers need to comply with the 2011-published Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines for measuring ESR. The analyzer works on the basic principle of Westergrens method followed to determine ESR.The ESR analyzers market can be segmented based on modality, end-user, and region. In terms of modality, the market can be segmented into automatic analyzers, semi-automatic analyzers, and manual analyzers. Based on end-user, the ESR analyzers market can be segmented into hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and academic institutions. In terms of region, the ESR analyzers market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa.ESR is one of the basic hematology tests performed to identify various disease conditions, which would contribute to the growth of the ESR analyzers market. Technological upgrades leading to the development of automated ESR analyzers from manual ESR analyzers would also contribute to the growth of the market. In addition, the increasing number of infections leading to various health hazards would contribute to the rising number of ESR tests, which in turn would drive the ESR analyzers market in the near future.However, the non-specificity of the tests and the necessity for other tests to be performed to confirm the diseased condition could have a negative impact on the ESR analyzers market, as demand for specific tests increases. Furthermore, false negative results of ESR due to the effect of drugs such as oral contraceptives, dextran, methyldopa, penicillamine procainamide, theophylline, vitamin A, aspirin, cortisone, and quinine also make ESR less desirable, thereby impacting the growth of the ESR analyzers market.For more information on this report, fill the form @Automatic analyzers are expected to dominate the ESR analyzers market during the forecast period, owing to their abilities to enhance the workflow and turnaround time. Diagnostic laboratories and hospitals are expected to be the leading segments of the ESR analyzers market. Geographically, North America is expected to be the major market for ESR analyzers. Growth of the market in the region can be attributed to the well-developed health care infrastructure in the region.Asia Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period, owing to increasing infections, evolution of new diseases, and poor sanitation conditions which lead to increased infections among the population. In addition, government focus on enhancing the health care infrastructure and providing better health care facilities to the population contribute to the growth of the ESR analyzers market in Asia Pacific.Leading players in the ESR analyzers market include Sysmex, R&R Mechatronics International B.V., TRANSASIA Bio Medicals Ltd., Diesse Diagnostica Senese Spa, Vital Diagnostics, Caretium Medical Instruments Co, Limited, Grifols, S.A., Beckman Coulter, Inc., ALCOR Scientific, Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Perlong Medical, BPC Biosed Srl, and SFRI.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Metal Packaging Industry: Global Analysis, Share, Growth and Forecast 2022

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The Global Metal Packaging Market Application Segment Outlook (2016-2022) statistical report, published by Market Research Future contains succinct information on global metal packaging, segmented by application (beverages, food, personal care, pharmaceuticals and others). Rise in consumption of beverages and in usage of aerosol cans are major drivers of global metal packaging market. However environmental issues related to steel mining and increasing cost of materials are certain restraints that will hinder the growth of this market. The report provides information on global metal packaging market and forecast from 2016 to 2022.Request an Inquiry Report @Beverage segment in global metal packaging market accounts for USD 33,333.2 Million in 2015 with 3.17% CAGR.Browse Report Details @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028
Varnishing Machine Market 2017 - KOMFI, LORETTA, Wen Chyuan, Beijing Kangde Xin, New Star Machinery, Wenzhou Guangming, Zhejiang Niming

Varnishing Machine Market

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A market study based on the "Varnishing Machine Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Varnishing Machine Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Varnishing Machine industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Varnishing Machine market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This ReportKOMFIWen ChyuanBeijing Kangde XinNew Star MachineryWenzhou GuangmingZhejiang NimingLORETTAThe report studies the industry for Varnishing Machine across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Varnishing Machine market & dynamics of demand and supply of Varnishing Machine into consideration. The 'Varnishing Machine' research study covers each and every aspect of the Varnishing Machine market globally, which starts from the definition of the Varnishing Machine industry and develops towards Varnishing Machine market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Varnishing Machine market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Varnishing Machine market. The geographical segmentation of the Varnishing Machine industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Varnishing Machine is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Varnishing Machine market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Varnishing Machine market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Varnishing Machine market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Varnishing Machine production volume, data regarding demand and Varnishing Machine supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Varnishing Machine across the globe.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Bye Bye Hay Fever: The natural power of medicinal mushrooms can help allergy sufferers

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Watery and itchy eyes, a runny nose and sneezing attacks: With the beginning of the pollination, the annual hay fever season starts. This marks the beginning of a suffering period for more and more people. In the UK alone, about 10 million people suffer from pollen allergies. Hay fever is the most frequent form of allergies and causes severe complaints. The complaints are often so heavy that sufferers experience a massive decrease in their quality of life. The good news is: The treatment of allergies with medicinal mushrooms is a natural and  as experienced in naturopathy  effective therapy.The cause is a faulty regulation of the immune systemAs with all other allergies, the cause of pollen allergies is a overreacting immune system. Our bodys defense reacts to completely harmless substances and fights them as if they were dangerous pathogens. When it comes to pollen allergies, it is all about the pollen or more specifically the contained proteins.Multiple and serious symptomsIf the conjunctiva or respiratory mucous membranes of the affected persons come into contact with the pollen, then a cascade of allergic reactions starts. Connected with it, is a heavy release of histamine. If mucous membranes of the eyes and the respiratory membranes come into contact with pollen, the immune system literally reacts allergic through an increased release of histamine. Watery eyes, itchy throat and nose, swollen mucous membranes, a congested or a runny nose or even bronchial asthma are the consequences. Also, headache, sensitivity to light, exhaustion and insomnia can occur.Advantages of causal therapyWhat can be done? It is often advised to avoid pollen. But it is nearly impossible to completely dodge pollen. Conventional therapies and medications often only aim at the symptoms. Alternatives are holistic therapies which aim at the causes of allergies. For example, medicinal mushrooms are an alternative. Medicinal mushroom powder capsules obtained from the whole mushroom have proven effective to ease the symptoms. Moreover, observational studies of the MykoTroph Institute for Medicinal Mushrooms have shown that medicinal mushrooms can counteract the recurrence of pollen allergies in the medium-term.Medicinal Mushrooms help the immune system to stay in balanceMedicinal mushrooms belong to the oldest and most effective natural remedies in the world. They have been successfully used for centuries in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) against many complaints and diseases. They have particularly proven effective against allergies. Medicinal mushrooms can rebalance the excessive immune system.Important medicinally active mushroomWhen it comes to the treatment of pollen allergy or other allergies, medicinal mushroom Reishi is very important. Reishi regulates the immune system, has anti-inflammatory properties, improves the oxygen supply and reduces the histamine release - which is responsible for many allergy symptoms  through its cortisone-like acting triterpenes. This is a great relief for pollen allergy sufferers because histamine is responsible for many allergic symptoms.More significant medically active mushroomsMedicinal mushrooms Hericium and Pleurotus have also proven to be effective. They contribute to the stabilization of the intestinal mucosa and support the structure of the mucous membranes. This is especially important for pollen allergy sufferers because a healthy intestinal mucosa is a decisive factor for a balanced and powerful immune system. Hericium can also have regenerative effects on the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.If the pollen allergy goes hand in hand with exhaustion and depression, medicinal mushroom Cordyceps proves helpful due to its soothing and mood-improving effects. Furthermore, Cordyceps is considered as lung-strengthening tonic which makes it very helpful against allergic asthma. Medicinal mushroom Polyporus is helpful against allergic rhinitis and excessive fluids or mucus.RecommendationMedicinal mushrooms are available as mushroom powder capsules. MykoTroph Institute advises to take great care in the selection. The so-called "mushroom powder made from the whole mushroom" has proven its effectiveness. Only here are all the active ingredients of the healing and vital mushrooms contained. Another quality feature is the cultivation of mushrooms in Germany in organic quality. Please consult your therapist. Further information on Mycotherapy can be found onor via +49 6047 988530The MykoTroph AG, Institute for Medicinal Mushrooms based in Limeshain was founded in 2003 by Franz Schmaus. Over the last 30 years, the agricultural engineer has gathered extensive knowledge about the effects and use of medicinal mushrooms and is one of the most renowned experts in this field. MykoTroph Institute aims to spread the knowledge of the mushrooms preventative and healing effects and make it accessible to a wide public.Further information and studies can be found on the institutes website. Additionally, Franz Schmaus and his team, consisting of mycotherapists and naturopaths, are available for extensive advice from Monday to Friday between 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. CET via the hotline +0049 (0) 6047-98 85 30. People who are interested can also arrange a personal consultation at the institute via that number. Telephone consultations are free of charge. Comprehensive information on fungal medicine can also be requested for free at MykoTroph Institute.MykoTrophInstitute for Medicinal MushroomsAm Forsterahl 3AD-63694 LimeshainPhone: +49 6047-988530Web:Email: info@mykotroph.comPresscontact:Alpha One AGSaalburgstrae 361138 NiederdorfeldenDeutschlandTelefon: +49 6101 33785Web:central@alpha1.de
Markus Singethan new head of HR at UTA

Markus Singethan is the future head of human resources at UTA.

 New head of HR responsible for development in human resources Acceleration of strategic HR issues such as talent management and employer brandingKleinostheim  08 March 2017. With Markus Singethan, UNION TANK Eckstein GmbH & Co. KG (UTA) brought a seasoned HR professional on board. As of 15 March 2017, the 47-year-old new head of Human Resources will be responsible for national and international development and personnel work, and he will accelerate talent management and employer branding. In this role, the business economist reports directly to UTA's CEO Volker Huber. He is taking over from Simone Schmucker, who had taken on the role of HR manager temporarily."In Markus Singethan we have gained a seasoned HR expert with more than 20 years of experience in human resources management; his expertise will help us make crucial developments", says Volker Huber, CEO at UTA. "He not only covers the full range of operational and strategic personnel work, he also has in-depth knowledge of corporate co-determination."Most recently, Singethan worked at FinTech Group AG in Frankfurt am Main, where he had been the head of human resources since the beginning of 2015 and held overall responsibility for all areas of human resources at the group. Prior to that, Singethan, who is originally from Rhineland Palatinate, worked as Director Human Resources Global at Paderborner Systems GmbH, where among other things he was responsible for the restructuring and implementation of the company's international human resources strategy and designed and rolled out a global employee appraisal process. He also worked at the institute for health protection and health management in Bonn  first as a senior consultant and later as managing director. He began his career after completing his degree in business administration as a personnel developer and head of commercial training at Bull AG in Cologne.UNION TANK Eckstein GmbH & Co. KG (UTA) is one of the leading providers of fuel and service cards in Europe. Commercial customers can use the UTA card system to refuel, independent of brand and without cash, at more than 54,000 service stations in 40 European countries and use other en-route services. These include toll invoicing, repair shop services, breakdown and towing services as well as the refund of VAT and fuel tax. The company, which was founded in 1963 by Heinrich Eckstein, will be majority owned by Edenred SA (51 percent). The Eckstein and van Dedem families hold 34 percent, and Daimler AG is another shareholder (15 percent). The company is headquartered in Kleinostheim/Main. Some 400 employees of the UTA group generate annual sales of almost 2.6 billion euros. For the tenth time running, UTA was voted one of the most friendly and customer-oriented service providers in Germany by the consulting company ServiceRating, the Institute for Market-Oriented Management (IMU) in Mannheim, the opinion research institute YouGov and the business newspaper Handelsblatt.UNION TANK Eckstein GmbH & Co. KG, Stefan Horst, Head of MarketingHeinrich-Eckstein-Strae 1, D-63801 Kleinostheim/Main, telephone: +49 6027 509-106Email: stefan.horst@uta.com
Global Frozen Fruits Market Industry: By Region- Trends, Future Demand, Market Analysis & Outlook To 2027

Frozen Fruits Market

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The global frozen fruits market by region statistical report published by Market Research future contains a brief overview of global frozen fruits market by region. The market has been segmented on the basis of regions in globe as North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific to provide a clear picture of frozen fruits industry in world. The global market for frozen fruits has witnessed continued demand during the last few years and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.34% from 2016 to 2027. Increase in versatile demand across various food and beverage segments particularly convenience foods and beverages are likely to drive the global frozen fruits market.Make an enquiry before buying this Report @North America will witness maximum growth in the frozen fruits market followed by Europe. However, volume wise market size will continue to be higher under Asia Pacific region. With increasing disposable incomes in India and China and growing demand for healthy foods will drive higher demand for frozen fruits. South America will witness maximum growth in the musk melon market but volume wise Asia Pacific is having more market share in frozen musk melon market. Asia Pacific is also have maximum market share water melon market and is growing at higher rate compare to North America and Europe. From last few years frozen tropical fruits market is witnessing significant growth in South America and Europe region.Browse Report Details @Through this report Market Research future aims to provide understanding of the global frozen fruits market and assists identification of ongoing trends along with anticipated growth in the coming years. For this research extensive primary research was conducted to gain a deeper insight of the market performance. Various industry experts and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were contacted from both supply side and demand side of global frozen fruits market. The supply side industry experts consisted of CEOs, Directors, Marketing Managers, Sales Mangers, R&D Specialists, Country Manager, Regional Managers frozen fruits companies, Retailers, and Distributors amongst others.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Alkylglycidyl Ether Market 2017 - Du Pont, The Dow Chemical Company, Jiangsu Shisheng, Shanghai Fine Chemicals, LG Household & Health Care

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A market study based on the "Alkylglycidyl Ether Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Alkylglycidyl Ether Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Alkylglycidyl Ether industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Alkylglycidyl Ether market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This ReportThe Dow Chemical CompanyDu PontShanghai Fine ChemicalsLG Household & Health CareJiangsu ShishengThe report studies the industry for Alkylglycidyl Ether across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Alkylglycidyl Ether market & dynamics of demand and supply of Alkylglycidyl Ether into consideration. The 'Alkylglycidyl Ether' research study covers each and every aspect of the Alkylglycidyl Ether market globally, which starts from the definition of the Alkylglycidyl Ether industry and develops towards Alkylglycidyl Ether market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Alkylglycidyl Ether market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Alkylglycidyl Ether market. The geographical segmentation of the Alkylglycidyl Ether industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Alkylglycidyl Ether is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Alkylglycidyl Ether market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Alkylglycidyl Ether market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Alkylglycidyl Ether market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Alkylglycidyl Ether production volume, data regarding demand and Alkylglycidyl Ether supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Alkylglycidyl Ether across the globe.About UsApexResearch offer reports from top publishers and update to serve you with immediate on-line access to professional insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezBusiness Development Executive| sales@apexresearch.biz
Metal Packaging Market is expected to reach USD 136,137.5 Million by 2022 with a CAGR of 3.29%

Metal Packaging Market Application

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The Global Metal Packaging Market Application Segment Outlook (2016-2021) statistical report, published by Market Research Future contains succinct information on global metal packaging, segmented by application. Rise in consumption of beverages and in usage of aerosol cans are major drivers of global metal packaging market. However environmental issues related to steel mining and increasing cost of materials are certain restraints, which shall hinder the growth of this market. The report provides information on global metal packaging market and forecast from 2016 to 2022.Browse Report @Global Metal Packaging Market is expected to reach USD 136,137.5 Million by 2022 with a CAGR of 3.29%.Make an enquiry before buying this Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
North America Micro-Pump Market, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.0% during the period of 2016-2027

North America Micro-Pump Market

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North America Micro-Pump Market, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.0% during the period of 2016-2027. United States commanded the largest share of the North America micro-pump market in 2015 and it is expected to reach $3.02 Billion by the end of 2027.North America has been the largest market for micro pump ever since the technology came into existence. US being the major contributor in the North American Micro-pump Market acquiring the largest market share in 2015. There are several factors for tremendous growth of the Micro-pump market such as wider acceptance of the technology, the micro-pump technology was initially adopted by the North American countries, over the years the use of the micro-pumping systems has increased. The major market players such as Cole Palmer, IDEX Corporation, Bio-Chem Fluidics and World Precision Instruments among others are based in USA, which has led to the development of the state of the art infrastructure required for the micro-pumping technology. The government funding is another crucial factor in the overall market growth. With the rise in overall healthcare expenditure and the applications of these micro pumps in various industries including pharmaceutical, medical, microfluidics, chemical and few others; moreover because of the benefits such as high accuracy, reliability and quick results in the various fluid handling processes, the use of these devices has increased which has led to the growth of the micro-pump market in the North American Region.Browse Report @The North America micro-pump market statistical report published by Market Research future contains a brief overview of micro-pump market in the North America region. United States has majorly dominated the North American market for micro-pumps and is expected to grow continuously during the forecasted period of 2016-2027. The report analyzed the North America micro-pump market and presents systematic data of market share on the basis of segments and countries and its growth rate for 2016 to 2017, along with forecast till 2027.Market Research future through this report aims to provide understanding of the North America micro-pump market on the basis of country, and also assists identification of ongoing trends along with anticipated growth during the forecasted period. For this report, extensive primary research was conducted to gain a deeper insight of the market performance. Various industry experts and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were contacted and interviewed to get an idea of North America micro-pump market.Make an enquiry before buying this Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Low-Cost Data Logger Software Proves 21-CFR Best Practices

www.DataLoggerInc.com

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Solutions for Food & Beverage, Life Science and more!Do you need a low-cost 21-CFR temperature monitoring device for your Food & Beverage application? Now Lascar and CAS DataLoggers have partnered to deliver an affordable 21-CFR Part 11 compliance solutionEasyLog 21-CFR software. Fully compatible with models such as Lascars EL-21CFR-2-LCD Temperature, Humidity and Dew Point Data Logger, this complete solution is available at a low price any business or organization can afford.21 CFR-Compliant Software for Peace of MindLascar now offers all the software security required by 21-CFR Part 11! EasyLog 21-CFR software ensures digital security and compliance. Features include: Full software & session data audit trails of all activities and actions Assign individual users with specific permissions Receive email alerts for failed login attempts Electronic signatures added to all reports Add comments to specific readingsEasyLog 21-CFR software stores data in compliance with all regulations concerning electronic signatures and documentation. EasyLog also allows users to login to the software with specific permissions. Additionally, your data is securely stored in a tamper-free encrypted format.The software also includes a new Summary Report giving users a quick overview of data. Using a wizard format to guide the user through data logger setup and subsequent download of collected data, this software is a snap to use!Provided free of charge with each Lascar data logger, EasyLog control software is easy to use and runs under Windows 2000, XP, Vista & 7. The software is used to setup the data logger as well as to download, graph and export data to Excel.Full Range of Temperature Data Loggers for Less than $100!Whether you need a temperature monitoring system thats 21-CFR Part 11-compliant, or whether you just need to monitor one or more values, LASCAR USB data loggers provide an inexpensive and simple solution. Lascar is ideal for stand-alone data recording of temperature, humidity, voltage, current, and more. The built-in USB interface makes connection to a PC for setup and downloading data a snap.Lascar WiFi loggers automatically communicate readings back to a PC using the Wi-Fi network, instantly registering alarm breaches on both the device and the PC screen.The EL-GFX Series of standalone USB data loggers measure and store up to 250,000 readings per parameter. A high-contrast graphic screen allows instant on-board graphing of data with three buttons to start, stop and restart the logger. Programmable visual and audible alarm states alert users to unsafe conditions.For more information on Lascars new EL-21CFR-2-LCD logger, or to find the ideal solution for your application-specific needs, contact a CAS DataLoggers Application Specialist at (800) 956-4437 or visit our website atComputer Aided Solutions, LLC. dba CAS Data Loggers is a distributor of data loggers, paperless recorders and data acquisition equipment.Computer Aided Solutions8437 Mayfield RoadChesterland, OH 44026(440) 729-2570
Luca Bolliger, Vice-President and Director Corporate Licensing, Recordati, joins Intellisness Scientific Committee

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Grenoble, March 3, 2017 - Luca Bolliger, Vice-President and Director Corporate Licensing, Recordati, joins the Intellisness Scientific Committee. The Intellisness Scientific Committee is comprised of independent representatives from the academic research environment, the pharmaceutical industry and the financial sector. This committee provides a strategic overview combined with insider knowledge on scientific and technological advances, as well as major trends in the market. It advises which themes should be given priority to. The members of this experienced team represent the core values held by Intellisness.Luca Bolliger studied biochemistry at the ETH in Zurich and completed his undergraduate studies with a Master in Immunology. He graduated at the Biocenter in Basel in biochemistry, and then became Member of the Basel institute for immunology. He then joined the pharmaceutical industry as a Global discovery portfolio manager in the Pharma Strategy Unit at Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. He then pursued his career in the financial industry as a Fundamental analyst at BT&T asset management, and as a freelance consultant. He established Biopolo Ticino where he also participated in the creation of the Swiss marketing platforms Swiss Biotech and Swiss Medtech before becoming Director Business Development at Actelion. Luca Bolliger joined Recordati from Novimmune where he was director Business DevelopmentIm so delighted as Luca joins us. His expertise and creativity are impressive and Im fully convinced that his contribution will be very positive for the company says Philippe Fornies, President of Intellisness. He joins a committee with incredible members, inspired and inspiring. Theyre not only experts, they share values of integrity, curiosity and open-mindedness.Luca Bolliger commented that he is honoured to be joining such a distinguished team and he looking forward to an inspiring collaborationIntellisness helps its customers to take the best strategic decision by providing high added value information, market research, business insight and intellectual property intelligence services.The French based company is specialized in Life Sciences and defends a clear bias: a sustainable business in the life sciences industry implies science, market and intellectual property. Taking only one side of this trilogy into account can lead to erroneous conclusions. Intellisness integrates those three dimension to provide best in class tailored services and syndicated reports.The members of the Scientific Committee are:Franck Atienzar, Associate Director, Non-clinical development - UCBLuca Bolliger, VP and Director Corporate Licensing - RecordatiDaniel Christiaen, Director of Research - CNRS, Director of Economic Development  Observatoire Oceanologique de BanyulsAnita Marguerie de Rotrou, Translational Research Program Manager - University of CambridgeJacque-Bernard Taste, Founder and President  Biotech & FinancesIntellisness38560 JarriePhilippe Fornies, +33 (0)09 72 57 61 44, contact@intellisness.com,
Cardiac Holter Monitor Market Research Report by Regional Analysis - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa : forecast 2024

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Key Players Mentioned in this Report are:The report also profiles major players in the Global cardiac holter monitor market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, SWOT analysis, and recent developments. Major players profiled in this report include GE Healthcare, FUKUDA DENSHI, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Spacelabs Healthcare, Welch Allyn, Schiller, BTL, Nasiff Associates, Inc., LifeWatch AG, Biomedical Instruments Co.,Ltd., and The ScottCare Corporation.Global Cardiac Holter Monitor Market: OverviewThis report on the Global Cardiac Holter Monitor market analyzes the current and future scenario of the global market. Rise in prevalence of cardiovascular disorders, patients preference for minimally invasive diagnostic techniques, and rising demands for technologically innovative medical devices are boosting the growth of the Global cardiac holter monitor market. Rising geriatric population and increasing investments in healthcare industries for R&D and manufacturing of holter monitors are some of the factors expected to drive the growth of Global cardiac holter monitor market during the forecast period.The Cardiac holter monitor market report comprises an elaborate executive summary, which includes market snapshot that provides information about various segments. It also provides information and data analysis of the global market with respect to the segments based on product type, end-user, and geography. A detailed qualitative analysis of drivers and restraints, and opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. Additionally, the section comprises Porters Five Forces Analysis to help understand the competitive landscape in the market. This section also provides market attractiveness analysis in terms of geography and market share analysis by key players, thus presenting a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the Global cardiac holter monitor market.Browse full report on Cardiac Holter Monitor Market -Global Cardiac Holter Monitor Market: Segmentation AnalysisBased on product type, the market has been segmented into 1-Channel, 2-Channel, 3-Channel, 12-Channel, and Others. 3-Channel and 12-Channel are projected to be lucrative segments of the cardiac holter monitor market, due to increasing government initiatives for cardiovascular disorder awareness programs. The segments are expected to grow at a highest CAGR rate during forecast period. The market segments have been analyzed based on cost-effectiveness of the product types, prevalence of the diseases, and growing demand for the ECG monitoring devices. The market size and forecast for each of these segments have been provided for the period from 2014 to 2024, along with their respective CAGRs for the forecast period from 2016 to 2024, considering 2015 as the base year.Different types of end-users are present in the cardiac holter monitor market. The end-users are Hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, clinics, and homecare settings. Under the end-user segment, hospital segment accounted for the largest share of the Global cardiac holter monitor market in 2015 & is expected to dominate the market by 2024.Global Cardiac Holter Monitor Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global Cardiac holter monitor Market has been categorized into five major regions and the key countries in the respective region: North America (U.S. and Canada), Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (India, Japan, China, Australia & New Zealand, and Rest of Asia Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America) and Middle East & Africa (South Africa, GCC Countries, and Rest of Middle East & Africa).Request for Sample of this report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Micro Guide Catheters Market Research Report by Regional Analysis - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa : forecast 2024

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Global Micro Guide Catheters Market: Players Mentioned in the ReportKey market players profiled in this report include, Cardinal Health, Asahi Intecc Co., Ltd, Cook Medical, Boston Scientific Corporation, Penumbra, Inc., Merit Medical Systems, Inc., Terumo Europe NV, Medtronic Plc, Integer Holdings Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V. among others.Global Micro Guide Catheters Market: OverviewMicro Guide Catheters are used to treat difficult invasive lesion in hospitals, specialty clinics and ambulatory surgery centers etc. Micro guide catheters are designed with hydrophilic coating tip. The selection of micro guide catheter depends on the severity of lesion, location of lesion in human body. Micro guide catheters are available in different coating and different tip shape. The report on micro guide catheters market, analyzes the current and future prospects of the market. Micro guide catheters are used for treatment such as chronic total occlusion, brain aneurysm and other life style disease. The report consists of an executive summary that provides information about the products, its segments along with a market snapshot and comparative analysis by geography, in terms of revenue %, for 2015.A detailed overview of market dynamics, including the drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the micro guide catheters market, along with porters analysis, value chain analysis, of the global market, has been provided in this report. Market revenue analysis for all the above mentioned segments has been provided for the forecast period of 2016-2024, considering 2015 as the base year, and 2014 as the historical year, along with compound annual growth rate (CAGR %), for the forecast period of 2016-2024. Market share estimations were based on in-depth analysis and study of products, and their features etc.Browse full report on Micro Guide Catheters Market -Global Micro Guide Catheters Market: Research MethodologyThe research methodology is a combination of primary and secondary research. Primary research includes information collected via e-mails, and telephonic interviews of key opinion leaders (KOL), and forms the bulk of our research. Secondary research includes information collected from various sources, by study of company websites, annual reports, stock analysis presentations, press releases, and various national and international databases.This report provides in-depth analysis of the micro guide catheters market. The stakeholders for this report include companies involved in the manufacturing of micro guide catheters. Executive summary section is included snapshot on stakeholders in this report, which summarizes the market size, trends and competition in different regions. Market players and Market share analysis is analyzed to signify percentage share of the major players operating in the micro guide catheters market. Furthermore, the report includes market attractiveness analysis by geography that depicts the most attractive and significant region in the global market in 2015.Global Micro Guide Catheters Market: Scope of the StudyBased on product type, the micro guide catheters market has been segmented into over-the-wire micro guide catheter and flow directed micro guide catheter. Over-the-wire catheter is growing at a considerable CAGR from 2016 to 2014 due to it several advantages and application. Based on indication, the micro guide catheters are segmented into cardiovascular diseases, neurovascular diseases and others. The cardiovascular segment is expected to grow at a highest CAGR between 2016 and 2024. Based on end users, the market is segmented as hospitals, specialty clinics, and ambulatory surgery centers.Based on geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The regions are further segmented into major countries which include, U.S., Canada, Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, rest of Europe, China, Japan, India, Australia, Rest of Asia Pacific, Brazil, Mexico, Rest of Latin America, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa. The report also comprises list of major players in the market, their SWOT analysis, market share of these players in the Micro guide catheters Diagnostic market, key business strategies, product portfolios, and recent developments.Request for Sample of this report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Psoriasis Treatment Market Research Report and Forecast 2024(Regional Analysis - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa)

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Global Psoriasis Treatment Market - SegmentationIn this report, the market segments have been analyzed based on availability of approved products, cost-effectiveness, and preference for technological systems by physicians and patients. The market size and forecast for each of these segments have been provided for the period from 2014 to 2024, along with their respective CAGRs for the forecast period from 2016 to 2024, considering 2015 as the base year.Based on product type, the market has been segmented into TNF Inhibitors, Vitamin D analogues or its combination, Interleukin Blockers and Others. Interleukin blockers segment is likely to be the most attractive segment in the near future due to its increasing use and its ability to act selectively by targeting the proteins. The segment is expected to grow at a highest CAGR rate during forecast period.Based on Therapy type, the global Psoriasis Treatment market has been segmented into Topical Therapeutic Drugs, Systemic Therapeutic Drugs, Combinations of therapies & others. The market segments have been extensively analyzed based on increase in demand for the therapies, availability of the drug products, and cost of therapy and severity of the disease.Different types of distribution channels are responsible for making the psoriasis treatment available in the market. The distribution channels are Hospital pharmacy, Retail pharmacy and the online sales. Under the distribution channel segment, hospital pharmacy plays a major role followed by retail pharmacy and online sales.Geographically, the global Psoriasis Treatment market has been categorized into five major regions and the key countries in the respective region: North America (U.S. and Canada), Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (India, Japan, China, Australia & New Zealand, and Rest of Asia Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America) and Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Rest of Middle East & Africa).Browse full report on Psoriasis Treatment Market -Global Psoriasis Treatment Market - OverviewThis report on the Psoriasis Treatment market analyzes the current and future scenario of the global market. Approval of new biologics, increase in access for the treatment in developing market, increase in the number of psoriasis patients, are boosting the growth of the global Psoriasis Treatment market. Increase in the incidence of Psoriasis and skin disorders, and novel pipeline drugs are some of the factors expected to drive the growth of global Psoriasis Treatment market during the forecast period.The Psoriasis Treatment market report comprises an elaborate executive summary, which includes market snapshot that provides information about various segments. It also provides information and data analysis of the global market with respect to the segments based on products, distribution channel, therapy type and geography. A detailed qualitative analysis of drivers and restraints, and opportunities has been provided in the market overview section.Additionally, the section comprises Porters Five Forces Analysis to help understand the competitive landscape in the market. This section also provides market attractiveness analysis in terms of geography and market share analysis by key players, thus presenting a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the global Psoriasis Treatment market.Companies Mentioned in the ReportThe report also profiles major players in the global Psoriasis Treatment market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, SWOT analysis, and recent developments. Major players profiled in this report include Amgen Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis AG, Merck & Co., Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Inc., AstraZeneca, AbbVie Inc., LEO Pharma A/S and Biogen.Request for Sample of this report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Alpha Mannosidosis Market Research Report by Regional Analysis, Key Players, Applications, Share Size and Forecast 2024

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Key Players Mentioned in this Research Report are:Zymenex, a company focused on R&D on biologics designed to fight rare and life-threatening genetic diseases has developed recombinant enzyme indicated for patients with alpha-Mannosidosis known as Lamazym (velmanase alfa). Zymenex has been acquired by Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. Lamazym has received orphan drug designation is Europe and the U.S.Global Alpha Mannosidosis Market: OverviewWith increase in the incidence of alpha mannosidosis worldwide the market for treatment is expected to grow in coming years. Alpha Mannosidosis is a rare inherited condition that leads to problems in organs and tissues of the body. The disease is of three types such as Type I, Type II and Type III. Type I is a mild form, type II is moderate form of disease and most commonly observed, whereas, type III is the severe form of disease. Alpha Mannosidosis affects 1 in every 10, 00,000 people worldwide. Alpha-mannosidosis affects men and women equally across the globe. Bone marrow transplant (BMT) and Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) are the two treatment options for alpha mannosidosis. Bone marrow transplant (BMT) has been conventionally used universally to treat patients suffering from alpha mannosidosis.Some of the factors driving this market include market exclusivity of orphan drugs, fee reductions and tax credits, increasing investment in the rare disease treatment etc. However, the factors such as high cost of orphan drugs and lack of awareness are expected to hamper the market demand.Browse full report on Alpha Mannosidosis Market -Global Alpha Mannosidosis Market: SegmentationThe alpha mannosidosis market has been segmented based on treatment, indication, end-user and geography. Based on treatment, the market has been segmented into bone marrow transplant (BMT) and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is expected to dominate the market with a considerable share in 2017. With the expected increase in the incidence of alpha mannosidosis the market is expected to grow at a high rate in the next few years. BMT is expected to grow steadily due to the morbidity issues connected with the treatment. In terms of indication, the market has been categorized into type I, type II and type III. The market for type III segment is projected to expand at the maximum rate during the forecast period. Type II accounts for a considerable market share at present. Based on end-user, the market has been segmented into hospitals and specialty clinics. The hospitals segment dominated the market and the trend is likely to continue driven by increasing patient burden due to rise in patient burden.Global Alpha Mannosidosis Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the market has been segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the market in 2017 with a considerable market share. North America and Europe also account for substantial portion of the market. The report identifies and explains key market drivers, restraints and opportunities. The report also provides Porters five forces analysis for comprehensive market understanding. Furthermore, market attractiveness analysis provides insights to most attractive regional markets to invest in the future.Request for Sample of this report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Diabetes Injection Pens Market: Growing Number of Insulin Syringe Needle Stick Injury Cases

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Diabetes Injection Pens Market: SnapshotThe global diabetes injection pens market has expanding at a remarkable pace over the years owing to the soaring number of diabetics around the world and a consequent rise in awareness about this disease and its management. The development of smart insulin pen technology products such as pen caps connected with mobile apps has also significantly propelled this market. In addition to this, the preference for insulin pens over syringes has greatly increased owing to the rising incidence of needlestick injuries.The opportunity in the global diabetes injection pens market was pegged at US$4.9 bn in 2015 and is expected to be worth US$9.7 bn by 2024. If these values hold true, the market is poised to expand at a healthy CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period.Download Exclusive Brochure of This Report :Insulin Pens Gain Preference over Pen NeedlesInsulin pens and pen needles are the two major product types in the diabetes injection pens market. Among these, insulin pens garnered the larger share, accounting for just over 65.0% in 2015. Europe and Asia are among the leading consumers of insulin pens, where 90.0% of the diabetic population prefer these devices to pen needles. Although the U.S. lagged behind in the usage of insulin pens in the past, the country is likely to gain prominence in the coming years owing to the many benefits these devices offer. Pen needles also generate significant revenue; although these products are lower in cost, they are sold in large numbers among the diabetic population.Based on distribution channel, diabetes injection pens are sold via retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, online methods, and diabetes clinics and centers. Hospitals form the distribution channel of choice for patients and this segment accounted for a share of over 33.0% in 2015. The online channel is gaining much prominence in recent years owing to a thriving e-commerce sector across the globe. This segment is slated to witness immense growth through the forecast period as its adoption rises in developed markets such as the U.K., the U.S., and Germany.On the basis of usage, diabetes injection pens are of two types: reusable and disposable. Both the segments account for an almost equal share in the global market, with reusable pens enjoying a slightly larger share. It has been noted that disposable pens are preferred in developing economies such as China and India, while patients in developed countries such as the U.K., Japan, and Germany prefer reusable injection pens.Despite Major Share in Diabetes Injection Pens Market, Europe to Witness Slow GrowthFrom a geographical point of view, the global market for diabetes injection pens comprises Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Rest of the World. In 2015, North America and Europe accounted for the dominant share in the overall diabetes injection pens market, followed by Asia and Latin America.The U.S. takes the lead in the diabetes injection pens market in North America, accounting for a massive 94.0% share in 2015. This can be attributed to an extensive diabetic population in the country, various technological advancements, surging research and development practices and growing healthcare awareness about the treatment and management of glucose levels.Although Europe accounts for a significant share in the diabetes injection pens market, it is a saturated industry and is likely to expand at a slow rate. On the other hand, Asia is projected to exhibit strong growth during the forecast period, with major contribution from countries such as India, Japan, and China. New product launches, favorable regulations, the ability of patients to pay for advanced medical products and devices, and growing awareness levels are likely to drive the market for diabetes injection pens in Asia.Sanofi S.A., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Owen Mumford Ltd., Novo Nordisk A/S, Biocon Ltd., Wockhardt Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company, AstraZeneca plc, and Jiangsu Delfu Co. are the leading players in the global diabetes injection pens market. The market is known to be highly consolidated, with just a handful of companies dominating the vendor landscape.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Europe Neurological Disorders Drugs Market Is Expected to Reach a Valuation of Us$32.0 Bn by the End of 2024

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Europe Neurological Disorders Drugs Market: SnapshotNeurological drugs are developed to treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, cerebrovascular diseases, and others. The growing prevalence of these disorders across the European region is anticipated to drive the demand for neurological disorder drugs market in the coming few years. The research report projects that intensifying concerns about living an adjusted life have prompted several patients to seek help. According to the study, the Europe neurological disorder drugs market was valued is expected to reach a valuation of US$32.0 bn by the end of 2024 as compared to US$18.3 bn in 2015. During the forecast years of 2016 and 2024, the overall market is expected to surge at a CAGR of CAGR of 6.4%.Download Exclusive Brochure of This Report :Increasing Research and Development Fuels Market GrowthThe Europe neurological disorders drugs market will be fueled by the growing initiatives taken by governments of several countries to educate the masses and to develop new drugs. For instance, European Parkinson's Disease Association in Europe is offering affordable medications to patients, campaigning to raise awareness, and supporting research and development activities to drive the overall neurological disorder drugs market. The market has also seen a steady emergence of several research and development programs that are focused toward developing effective drugs that come at affordable prices. The collective rise in the spending of countries on developing neurological disorder drugs is expected to improve the markets revenue in the coming few years.On the basis of various disorders, the market caters to disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebrovascular disease and others. Out of all of these segments, the cerebrovascular disease held the dominant share in terms of revenue in 2015. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the cerebrovascular diseases, which can manifest as a stroke, migraine and headache is the common cause of worry for several patients. About 80% of the patients suffering from cerebrovascular diseases across EU% show these symptoms. Thus, this segment is expected to exhibit a robust growth rate in the coming few years.Germany Stands out as Highest Consumer of Neurological Disorder Drugs in EuropeIn terms of geography, the Europe neurological disorder drugs market is segmented into Germany, France, Italy, Spain, U.K., Russia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, and Rest of Europe. The research report states that Germany held a significant share in the market in 2015, closely followed by France. The regions will dominate over the forecast period due to the rising prevalence of neurological disorders and improving the awareness about the diseases due to support groups and government initiatives. Furthermore, the rising pool of geriatrics in Germany will also boost the uptake of neurological disorders drugs in the coming few years.Presently, Germany, the U.K., France, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain are the leading countries in Europe in the neurological disorder drugs market. The study indicates that Switzerland will offer several growth opportunities to the overall market as awareness about these life-altering diseases grows.The leading players operating in the Europe neurological disorders market are Merck & Co., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Bayer AG, Astra Zeneca, F-Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Novartis AG, and GlaxoSmithKline plc. Among these, Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline plc and Novartis AG. The research report states that the market is consolidated due to the presence of several small players in who hold significant share in the market. Most of these companies are focusing on improving their pipelines and expanding their geographical outreach to retain their dominance.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Biodegradable Stents Market Is Anticipated to Be worth Us$1.7 Bn by 2024

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Global Biodegradable Stents Market: SnapshotThe biodegradable stents are used for treating cardiovascular conditions pertaining to the coronary artery. These stents are also known as bioabsorbable or bioresorbable vascular scaffolds and are surgically placed in the coronary artery for eluting the drug that is administered for vascular restoration and the polymer coating. The biggest advantage of these stents is that they get entirely absorbed in the vessels over a period of time, reducing the risk of complications or infections. This advantage is the primary reason for the growth of the global biodegradable stents market. According to the research report, the global biodegradable stents market was valued at US$18 mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$1.7 bn by 2024, as the market progresses at a CAGR of 30.1% between 2016 and 2024.Download Exclusive Brochure of This Report :Advantages of Biodegradable Stents Keep the Sentiment in Global Market PositiveAs compared to predecessors of biodegradable stents, the newer technology has significantly reduced the risk of thrombosis, in in-stent restenosis, dual anti-platelet therapy, and second surgery for removal of the stent. These factors have played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of the global market in a positive direction over the past few years. The efficiency of biodegradable stents has won the market numerous consumers in the recent past. Thus, several patients and cardiologists have shown a keen interest in the uptake of biodegradable stents in the treatment of coronary and peripheral artery diseases.The two type of stents available in the global market are the coronary artery stents and peripheral artery stents. Of these, the coronary artery stents held a dominant share in the global market in 2015. The segment is expected to continue its dominance in the coming years due to the exponentially rising number of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases. The high prevalence of coronary artery diseases across the globe around the world, rising preference of cardiologists towards percutaneous coronary intervention procedures, and increasing uptake of use of stents are expected to make a significant contribution to the soaring revenue of this segment in the forecast period.Asia Pacific Paces Ahead due to Vast Unmet Medical NeedsIn terms of geography, the global biodegradable market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Europe held a lions share in the global biodegradable stents market in 2015. Asia Pacific closely followed as the developing nations of the region are showing keen interest in uptake of newer technologies. These regions are expected to show continued progress in the overall market due to high adoption rate of biodegradable stents due to quick approvals from regulatory bodies. Furthermore, high incidence of diabetes and hypertension across Asia Pacific are also expected to spike the demand for biodegradable stents as patients suffering from these conditions are highly susceptible to cardiovascular diseases. The report indicates that North America biodegradable stents market will also show considerable progress with recent approvals from the U.S. FDA.The key players operating in the global biodegradable stents market are Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, Inc., Kyoto Medical Planning, Biotronik, Elixir Medical Corporation, Sahajanand Medical Technologies, and Terumo Europe NV. The competitive landscape in the global biodegradable stents market is likely to remain consolidated all throughout 2016 and 2024 as major players will hold a dominant share.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Mar 07, 2017 12:00 AM

Author: Zach Robinson

Recently I was browsing the internet when I came across two facts about blood donation. The first: Every two seconds someone in the United States needs to be given blood. That means if it takes you two minutes to read this post, 60 people will have needed or received a transfusion.

The second: Each year, 38 percent of Americans are eligible to give blood  but only 10 percent do so.

This is concerning. Concerning to me as a person, concerning to me as a blood donor, but most importantly, concerning to me as a person who works at a Level I Trauma Center.

When a trauma patient enters the doors of the University of Utah Hospital, blood is one of the most precious resources that our trauma team has. It saves lives. We have protocols that surround blood use in the trauma bay because we as a trauma team understand the benefits and preciousness of this resource.

ARUP, which is the organization that is responsible for the blood bank at University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, is a close member of our trauma team. Together, we have worked tirelessly to make the process of getting blood to our patients as streamlined as we can. I know I continue to say this, but we recognize that this is a precious resource that we do not want to waste. Our trauma providers dont want to waste blood as it may mean life or death not only to the patient who has presented to the trauma bay but to the one who is coming in next.

This is where the public can come in. The public is where a tremendous amount of donor blood comes from. According to ARUP's website, there are a few qualifications that you need to be able to donate your blood.

You must be at least 16 years of age

You must weigh at least 110 lbs (50kg)

You need to bring a photo ID

You must NOT have donated blood within the last 56 days

ARUP asks that you DO NOT donate blood if:

You have a cold or flu symptoms or dont feel well the day of donation

Have taken oral antibiotics in the past seven days

Have had hepatitis after the age of 11

Have received blood transfusions within the last 12 months

Have had a tattoo, body piercing, acupuncture, an accidental needle stick, or have come in contact with someone elses blood in the past 12 months

Have had malaria or have traveled to a malarial-risk area within the past 12 months

Are pregnant

Have been treated for syphilis or gonorrhea in the past 12 months

Have ever used a needle to inject nonprescription drugs (including steroids)

Have or are at risk for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS

Blood is an important component of resuscitating a trauma patient after being severely injured. Blood is one of the most essential tools that our trauma surgeons have to utilize to save someones life. If there is a shortage of blood, then people can die.

If you are able, please take the time to donate. Your donation could mean life or death to a trauma patient.
Vial Adaptors for Reconstitution Drug Market Is Expected to Reach Us$1.3 Bn by the End of 2024

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Global Vial Adaptors for Reconstitution Drug Market: SnapshotThe global market for vial adaptors for reconstitution drugs has been experiencing a steady demand as these vial adaptors have come to be the safest solutions for quick transfer for drugs between vials. The demand for these vial adaptors is also expected to shoot up as they are exceptionally cost-effective and come with a reduced the risk of needlestick injuries. The growing prevalence of infectious diseases, widening pool of geriatrics, and increasing safety concerns have all triggered a demand for vial adaptors for reconstitution drugs. According to the research report, the global vial adaptors for reconstitution drug market was valued at US$780 mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$1.3 bn by the end of 2024. Between the forecast years of 2016 and 2024, the global market is expected to progress at a CAGR of 7.5%.Download Exclusive Brochure of This Report :Autoimmune Diseases to Drive Global Vial Adaptors for Reconstitution Drug MarketOn the basis of therapeutic area, the vial adaptors for reconstitution drug market has been segmented into autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, metabolic conditions, reproductive health and others. Currently, the infectious diseases segment holds a major share in the global vial adaptors for reconstitution drug therapeutic area segment. However, the autoimmune diseases segment is expected to show robust growth rate in the coming years. As of 2015, it was the second largest segment in the overall market in terms of revenue. The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) states that more than 50 million individuals are affected by autoimmune disorders in the U.S. every year. This is expected to drive the autoimmune diseases segment in the coming years.North America to Remain the Leading Regional Market during Forecast PeriodIn terms of geography, the global market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. Out of these regional markets, North America remained dominant in the global vial adaptors for reconstitution drug market in 2015. Europe followed this lead closely. The high incidence of autoimmune diseases, rising technological advancements, and growing demand for needle-free products likely to support the growth of the vial adaptors for reconstitution drug market in North America. On the other hand, the demand in Europe will be fueled by increasing advancements in healthcare technology amidst rising safety concerns.Analysts estimate that Asia Pacific is also likely to be a lucrative market for the vial adaptors for reconstitution drugs during the forecast period. The growing adoption of technology, high prevalence of autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, and increasing adoption of technology are all expected to make a significant contribution to the soaring vial adaptors for reconstitution drug market in Asia Pacific. This regional market will also be propelled by the swelling pool of geriatrics, who are prone to various medical conditions and a vast pool of unmet medical needs. The strengthening economies of Asia Pacific and improving access to healthcare in the region are also likely to augment the demand for vial adaptors for reconstitution drugs.The key players operating in the global vial adaptors for reconstitution drug market are Baxter International Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Cardinal Health, Inc., Sensile Medical AG, Unilife Corporation and West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. The market is largely consolidated as major players hold a dominating share.Browse Global Strategic Business Report:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians could lose their health care coverage under House Republicans' health care bill, shifting the multibillion-dollar price tag to the state.

The proposed legislation would roll back the 2014 Medicaid expansion that added 400,000 Oregonians to the federal system's rolls. Though Oregon Congressman Greg Walden, a key proponent of the bill, vowed "not to pull the rug out" from any Medicaid member, the legislation would slash the federal government's contribution to the cost of insuring Oregon's poor after 2020.

The cutback would create a multibillion-dollar funding gap the state almost certainly couldn't fill.

State officials are still going through the bill to determine the precise impact. "The numbers are very large, there's no question (the gap) is in the billions of dollars," said Lynne Saxton, director of the Oregon Health Authority. "We're gravely concerned."

The Republicans presented their long-awaited repeal and replacement for the Affordable Care Act late Monday, and most insurers and health care providers were still grappling with its implications on Tuesday. But it's clear that the legislation dramatically changes the health care landscape, eliminating the individual mandate that all adults buy health insurance and instituting dramatic tax credits and subsidy changes that critics say favor the rich and comfortable over the poor and sick.

The bill drew the quick support of President Donald Trump, who made dismantling Obamacare a central pledge of his campaign. Tom Price, the secretary of Health and Human Services, said the measure "aligns with the president's goal of rescuing Americans from the failures of the Affordable Care Act."

Despite the Republicans' control of the White House and both branches of Congress, the bill faces an uncertain future. It was roundly condemned Tuesday by both the left and the far-right. The fiscally hawkish Club for Growth called the legislation "warmed over government-run health care."

Meanwhile, the health care industry is getting set for another round of sweeping rule changes while they're still adjusting to the Affordable Care Act. "It's like turning the Titanic around again," said Andy Van Pelt, executive vice president of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. He predicted a return to higher uninsured rates, which will make emergency rooms the de facto primary care resource for many Oregonians.

Medicaid expansion

The epic expansion of Medicaid in Oregon began in 2014, two years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. State officials were anticipating an additional 250,000 residents would qualify under the new standards; instead, they were overwhelmed by 400,000 new enrollees.

In some rural counties, as much as 39 percent of the population made so little money they qualified for Medicaid.

But it was all good as far as Oregon officials and the Obama administration were concerned. The feds would pay 100 percent of the cost, and the uninsured rate plummeted from 17 percent to 5 percent.

But then came 2017, and Oregon was on the hook for 5 percent of the cost of the Medicaid expansion. Suddenly, the state had a $350 million problem it's still trying to solve, contributing to its $1.7 billion budget shortfall.

The new health care legislation will make that $350 million gap look like child's play. Starting in 2020, the federal share of "new and returning" Medicaid members in Oregon will plunge from 95 percent to around 65 percent - and it will be up to the state to cover the difference.

Saxton said the state is still doing the math to determine the size of the resulting financial hole. But it's highly doubtful Oregon has the resources to fill it.

Aviva Aron-Dine, senior adviser and senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the same scenario would play out in all 32 states that expanded their Medicaid populations, leading to an aggregate federal funding cut of $250 billion.

Rolling back the expansion is just the beginning of the proposed changes to Medicaid. The bill calls for changing the way the entire program is funded so that the federal government gives a flat sum of money to states and leaves it to them to manage.

Oregon is particularly vulnerable in the ongoing political debate because it is so reliant on Medicaid. According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Oregon is the fourth most Medicaid-dependent state in the country. In 2015, it got 77 percent of its total health care money -- about $6.2 billion -- from Medicaid.

"We've been so progressive in Oregon, we got 95 percent of the population covered," said Van Pelt, of the hospital association. "You rip out the federal framework that supports that, it puts all that into doubt. We're very concerned."

Conservatives argue that someone has to stop the unrelenting spending increases at Medicaid. The agency's 2017 budget is $587 billion. It could soon top the Defense Department in size and could hit $1 trillion in 2026.

Andrew Malcom, a spokesman for Walden, said the bill gives Americans on Medicaid the time they need to make a change. "Anyone who is on expanded Medicaid today (or next year, or the year after that) will not lose that," he said. "The federal government will continue to cover them at the higher rate until they cycle off due to life circumstances (such as finding a higher paying job). Period."

Malcom added that the proposal doesn't necessarily kill the Medicaid expansion. States would simply have to pay a much greater share of the cost.

Insurance changes

The bill brings equally momentous changes to the insurance market.

Gone would be the individual mandate requiring adults to buy health insurance. Also to be jettisoned are the financial penalties for people who failed to comply.

S&P Global reported Tuesday that the number of insured Americans could drop by as many as 10 million if the bill becomes law. Though most of that decline will come out of the smaller Medicaid rolls, as many as 40 percent of them could come out of the private insurance market.

Locally, health care experts speculated that much of that decline could be a matter of personal choice. Without the mandate, the young and healthy might choose to go uninsured and gamble they stay healthy, secure in the knowledge that the insurance companies won't be able to reject them if they later apply.

The Republican bill keeps the Affordable Care Act provision prohibiting insurance companies from excluding applicants due to pre-existing conditions.

There is language in the bill that would allow insurers to hit customers with a 30 percent surcharge if there's a 60-day break in coverage in their recent past. Malcom, the Walden spokesman, said this so-called "continuous coverage" provision "is important to ensure individuals cannot unfairly game the system and pay for coverage only when they have medical bills."

Others aren't so sure. Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kriedler said the continuous coverage provision is a "weak" substitute for the mandate. "Dropping the individual mandate for coverage could prompt insurers to flee the market if not enough healthy people buy insurance," Kriedler added.

The Republican bill also is packed with tax breaks, subsidies and tax credit changes that critics say reward the wealthy and penalize the old and sick. Dr. Bruce Goldberg, a champion of the Affordable Care Act in Oregon, was harshly critical.

"It's a bad thing," he said. It will diminish coverage and it will disadvantage older and sicker individuals. I don't think it heads us in the right direction."

-- Jeff Manning

503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com
CRC rendering

Officials released a rendering of the proposed Columbia River Crossing before it was shelved in 2014. Washington lawmakers are taking another swing at replacing the span that connects Portland to Vancouver.

(Columbia River Crossing)

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Washington's House of Representatives has passed a bill seeking to jumpstart plans for replacing the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.

KOIN-TV reports that the measure, filed by Vancouver Democrat Sharon Wylie, aims to start preliminary planning work related to the project. It's one of the first steps in getting a new bridge project going after the last effort, the proposed Columbia River Crossing, fell apart in 2014 after tens of millions of dollars were spent.

Wylie said bridge congestion is worsening due to increased truck traffic and the construction of a new casino north of Vancouver.

The bill, along with a related one in the Senate, passed 60-38 Monday. It calls for an inventory of work done for the Columbia River Crossing project and would create a committee of stakeholders and Department of Transportation employees in Oregon and Washington.

Engineers say the existing bridge could collapse in a big earthquake. Cost estimates for the last bridge project neared $3 billion.

Sen. Annette Cleveland, who co-sponsored the Senate version, told The Oregonian/OregonLive last month that not dealing with the aging bridge "would be really irresponsible."

"It is limiting our ability to grow our economy, to move freight," the Vancouver Democrat said. "We have a future generation that is expecting us to act responsibly."

The Columbia River Crossing had been in development for more than a decade before its demise. It was to include light rail into downtown Vancouver, bike and pedestrian lanes, a new bridge and a significantly widened freeway and multiple new interchanges along a five-mile stretch of I-5. The federal government agreed to kick in more than a third of its estimated cost.

But the light rail and plans to charge tolls inspired a conservative, anti-government backlash, according to reports in The Oregonian/OregonLive. Washington pulled out of the project in summer 2013. Oregon tried for months to complete the project on its own but eventually gave up in March 2014.

By then, project sponsors had spent $190 million.

-- The Associated Press
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A teacher discovered a death threat inside a gender neutral bathroom on Feb. 27 at Grant High School.

(Casey Parks/The Oregonian)

The week after President Donald Trump retracted government guidelines that allowed transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice, someone scrawled a death threat to gay students inside a gender neutral bathroom at Grant High School.

A week has gone by, but Grant families haven't been told about the Feb. 27 graffiti, which has since been covered over with paint.

Principal Carol Campbell said she plans to inform families of the "hurtful" graffiti this week and has already begun reassuring any students who may feel threatened.

Grant student Callie Quinn-Ward, in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, questioned why families haven't been told. The message was terrifying and incidents of hate shouldn't go unremarked upon, she said

The graffiti, written in sloppy letters using magic marker, says gay people who use the gender-neutral bathroom "are going to burn in hell" and "gonna get shot." There is no evidence known to show that a Grant student or someone other than a Grant student penned the hateful threat.

"I am disgusted that a classmate of mine would write this," Quinn-Ward wrote on her Facebook page. "How are other queer students and I supposed to go to class knowing that the person sitting by us may think that we would be better off dead? I can't claim that this graffiti came as a complete shock. Grant administration and many self-proclaimed 'allies' like to think that our school is 'progressive' and accepting of the queer community, but this is not an isolated incident. Almost everyday, I and others hear homophobic slurs as we go about our daily routine."

Principal Carol Campbell sends weekly messages to families, yet the death threat was not mentioned, Quinn-Ward pointed out.

Campbell wouldn't say Tuesday why she hadn't told families earlier. But she said she will be telling them this week.

"Any time there is vandalism in our schools it is hurtful, especially when directed at a particular group of students," Campbell wrote in a text message to The Oregonian/OregonLive. "We are investigating this internally, and we are meeting with any students who may feel threatened by this and re-assuring them that they are welcome at Grant."

Shown above is the death threat someone scrawled on a gender neutral bathroom in Grant High School.

Finn Hawley-Blue, a senior and president of the school's Queer Straight Alliance club, said he met with Campbell and the school's vice principal about the matter this week. Both were supportive and receptive, but didn't seem to grasp that some students were staying home out of fear.

Campbell said she did not have time to talk to The Oregonian/OregonLive Tuesday and did not answer questions about the timing of the message to families. She had originally declined through a district spokesman to communicate with the news outlet at all.

Hawley-Blue was also critical of the school's failure to communicate the incident, noting the school is constantly sending emails out about all sorts of things. For example, today, they got an email about the school's heating system failing to work.

"Is heat more important than the lives of our students?" Hawley-Blue said.

"I don't want to personally call (Campbell) out, but more the system and (Portland Public Schools) for not giving her a platform to deal with these things."

The incident came at a time when Portland Public Schools is trying to stress its support of transgender students.

Days before the graffiti, Portland Public Schools Interim Superintendent Bob McKean sent a letter assuring families that attempts by the federal government to reduce protections for transgender students wouldn't change Portland Public Schools' stance or Oregon law, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

"We each have a role in ensuring that all students, including those who are transgender, can learn and succeed in school without fear of bullying, harassment or isolation," McKean wrote. "If you suspect or witness any behavior that runs counter to our values of equity and inclusion for all, please report it immediately to a school leader or to the central office."

The Northeast Portland high school garnered national attention in 2013 when it created gender neutral bathrooms. In fact, the bathrooms have become so ingrained in the culture at Grant the massive modernization of the high school will include making all bathrooms gender-neutral.

The school's current single-stall gender-neutral bathroom singles out students who use it, rather than group restrooms like most students, critics say. When Grant reopens in 2019 after renovations, its communal restrooms will no longer be labeled as "boys'" or "girls.'" Instead, they will be labeled as restrooms and will include communal sinks and individual stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors.

"There has been overwhelming support," Campbell told KOIN about the bathrooms. "I haven't heard from anyone who's not supportive."

-- Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com
Chris Russo.jpg

Chris Russo, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, is departing in June. His is among a raft of vacancies in Oregon's largest school district.

(courtesy of Portland Public Schools)

Another top Portland Public Schools official is leaving Oregon's largest school district.

Chris Russo, Portland Public Schools' assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, will leave the job at the end of the school year to become director general for an international school in Paraguay.

His departure, after just two years in the post, adds to the raft of high-level vacancies in a district under fire for its inability to manage problems including environmental hazards, personnel performance and lagging achievement among students of color.

Russo's resignation comes just days after the district announced the school board's top choice to become the next superintendent, but he says the timing is coincidental and new leadership didn't factor into his decision.

"I don't know him well, I just know his history," Russo said of Donyall Dickey, the Atlanta school administrator whom the board is planning to hire, provided a vetting trip to Georgia next week and contract negotiations go well. "If I was going to stay, I would be happy to work for him. I think there would be some symmetry there."

He does, however, see his move as an opportunity for the district.

"For a new superintendent to come in and have one of those key positions available for him to fill with somebody he or she can work with -- I think it's crucial," Russo said. "I imagine it's something he would really be quite excited about."

Dickey, if hired, will be expected to hire for many key positions. Amanda Whalen, a 13-year veteran of the district, left the chief of staff position without a job lined up in January. The top communications job has been vacant for almost a year. The district is also without general counsel and relies on another lawyer to handle the job on an interim basis. In October, a skeleton crew was listed as one of the reasons for delaying plans to open two new middle schools. At that time the district said there were 55 managerial vacancies. As of January, that number was pegged at around 43.

Russo has been a key player in the district's plans to break away from the K-8 model and move back toward middle schools. Hunkering down to create a new middle school curriculum was also one of the reasons given to delay opening new middle schools. Russo said that work remains on track and shouldn't be disrupted by his departure as a foundational plan is mostly in place.

Undoing the K-8 system has become a key feature of the district's plan to address inequities in its schools. Most K-8 schools slated to be replaced by larger elementary and middle schools struggle with low enrollments that translate to fewer advanced classes and electives for students.

That said, it is unclear if the conversions will continue as planned under new leadership.

Dickey told the Portland Tribune on March 3 he is unsure he wants to continue the conversions back to elementary and middle schools until he sees hard data on student achievement in the K-8s.

Russo is leaving to be director general at the American School of Asuncion, an international school in Paraguay.

Russo said international education has always been a passion of his, having started his career teaching in Poland and Turkey. He and his wife had discussed going abroad, he said. Following his mother's death this year, Russo said he felt it was a move his family could make.

Unless something changes before the Portland's next superintendent, the new leader will need to fill three of the six top positions that report directly to the superintendent, including Russo's.

Portland Public Schools started the school year with three superintendents, but by the end of it only one will remain. Interim Superintendent Bob McKean eliminated Harriet Adair's assistant superintendent position and she plans to retire at the end of the year as well.



The remaining assistant superintendent, Antonio Lopez, told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Tuesday he isn't planning to leave and enjoys his work, even though the pace at Portland Public Schools is quick.

On Lopez's lanyard was a pin, which read, "I heart my job."

-- Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com
Bement trial.jpg

Brian Bement testifies during his trial in Washington County Circuit Court in 2012 on charges of aggravated murder, murder and other charges for the shooting death of David Greenspan. He was later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Brian Daniel Bement testifies Wednesday morning at his own trial for aggravated murder.

(The Oregonian/File/2012)

The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned the 2012 conviction of a heroin dealer who killed a business partner near Cornelius, saying the trial judge should have allowed four emails from the victim that could have backed the defendant's claim of self-defense.

Brian Bement, 39, was sentenced in Washington County Circuit Court to life without parole for shooting David Greenspan three times in the head in March 2010 while they were in a car parked at a cemetery. A jury found Bement guilty of aggravated murder, murder, first-degree robbery and felon in possession of a firearm.

Bement argued the excluded emails, sent by Greenspan to Bement between November 2009 to January 2010, were relevant because they showed Greenspan's state of mind at the time of the shooting. Greenspan, 46, was a naturopathic physician with a private practice who also was an investor in Bement's heroin-selling operation. He gave Bement money to buy drugs, which Bement then resold.

Bement claimed the messages showed Greenspan was distressed over perceived thefts by his employees, believed he was going bankrupt, and so was motived to rob Bement.

Emails from February and March 2010 were admitted in which Greenspan expresses concern over his finances and perceived employee thefts, but prosecutors argued the earlier messages weren't relevant. A judge agreed, ruling the statements weren't pertinent to Greenspan's state of mind or too old to be germane.

The appeals court found the earlier emails were relevant to the case and further illustrated Greenspan's state of mind in the months leading up to his death. The naturopath's motivation to act violently was a central issue in Bement's trial defense, and the statements provided evidence of that motive, the court opinion said.

Among the earlier emails, Greenspan talks finance-related concerns including possibly needing to liquidate his gold to stay solvent and considering selling his home if he wasn't able to earn more money by that spring.

The appeals court ruling returns the case to Washington County for a new trial. Jeff Lesowski, a Washington County senior deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the district attorney's office plans to appeal the ruling.

Bement and Greenspan drove to a cemetery together with $20,000 of Greenspan's money, prosecutors said. Bement told Greenspan they would be conducting a drug deal there, but he actually planned to rob Greenspan, shoot him and make his death look like a suicide, according to prosecutors.

But Bement testified during trial that the money was his, and Greenspan pulled a gun on him when they parked and demanded the cash. Bement claimed he shot Greenspan after they both fought over the gun. Bement also said he wiped the gun clean, took the cash and fled.

Prosecutors claimed Bement owed Greenspan possibly as much as $300,000 and was being pressured by the naturopath to repay him. Their relationship soured soon after. Bement claimed while he did owe Greenspan money, it wasn't a large amount of money.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
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In this Thursday, March 2, 2017, file photo, Middlebury College students turn their backs to author Charles Murray during his lecture in Middlebury, Vt.

(AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

By Stephen L. Carter

Here's what's scariest about the last week's incident at Middlebury College, where protesters shouted down the social scientist Charles Murray and injured a professor who was escorting him from the venue: It felt like an everyday event. So common has such odious behavior become that it's tempting to greet it with a shrug.

According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, 2016 saw a record number of efforts to keep controversial speakers from being heard on campus -- and that's just in the U.S. To be sure, not all of the attempts succeeded, and the number catalogued, 42, is but a small fraction of the many outsiders who give addresses at colleges and universities each year. The real number of rejected speakers is certainly much higher, once we add in all the people not invited in the first place because some member of this or that committee objects to their views, or because campus authorities fear trouble. But even one would be too many.

I could write a paean to the vital importance of dialogue, both on campus and in a democracy, but I have done that before, sometimes at considerable length. I could remind the loud and increasingly violent mobs of campus censors that the university should be treated as a space where even outrageous ideas are treated with respect, and the mode of opposition is rational dialogue. I could warn them that their fits are increasing the chances of President Donald Trump's re-election. Or that people not blessed with the opportunity to attend an elite college might begin lining up behind Trump's impish suggestion after the Berkeley riot that campuses where invited speakers are turned away be denied federal funds. And I might point to the risk that states will adopt such rules as the Campus Free Speech Act, allowing someone whose speech was restricted to sue colleges and universities for damages.

But I won't. I will assume that the downshouters, as we might as well call them, are aware of the risks, and that they have no more interest in the traditional purpose of the campus than they have in the man in the moon. I have no reason to suppose that anything I say will dissuade them from acting so deplorably.

Instead, I want to say a word about the ideology of downshouting. Students who try to shut down debate are not junior Nazis or proto-Stalins. If they were, I would be content to say that their antics will wind up on the proverbial ash heap of history. Alas, the downshouters represent something more insidious. They are, I am sorry to say, Marcusians. A half-century-old contagion has returned.

The German-born Herbert Marcuse was a brilliant and controversial philosopher whose writing became almost a sacred text for new-left intellectuals of the 1960s and 1970s. Nowadays, his best-known work is the essay "Repressive Tolerance." There he sets out the argument that the downshouters are putting into practice.

For Marcuse, the fact that liberal democracies made tolerance an absolute virtue posed a problem. If society includes two groups, one powerful and one weak, then tolerating the ideas of both will mean that the voice and influence of the strong will always be greater. To treat the arguments of both sides with equal respect "mainly serves the protection and preservation of a repressive society." That is why, for Marcuse, tolerance is antithetical to genuine democracy and thus "repressive."

He proposes that we practice what he calls a "liberating" or "discriminating" tolerance. He is quite clear about what he means: "tolerance against movements from the Right, and tolerance of movements from the Left." Otherwise the majority, even if deluded by false consciousness, will always beat back efforts at necessary change. The only way to build a "subversive majority," he writes, is to refuse to give ear to those on the wrong side. The wrong is specified only in part, but Marcuse has in mind particularly capitalism and inequality.

Opening the minds of the majority by pressing one message and burdening another "may require apparently undemocratic means." But the forces of power are so entrenched that to do otherwise -- to tolerate the intolerable -- is to leave authority in the hands of those who will deny equality to the workers and to minorities. That is why tolerance, unless it discriminates, will always be repressive.

Marcuse is quite clear that the academy must also swallow the tough medicine he prescribes: "Here, too, in the education of those who are not yet maturely integrated, in the mind of the young, the ground for liberating tolerance is still to be created."

Today's campus downshouters, whether they have read Marcuse or not, have plainly undertaken his project. Probably they believe that their protests will genuinely hasten a better world. They are mistaken. Their theory possesses the same weakness as his. They presume to know the truth, to know it with such certainty that they are comfortable -- indeed enthusiastic -- at the notion of shutting down debate on the propositions they hold dear. Marcuse, as I said, was a brilliant philosopher, but on this question he was simply wrong. My own old-fashioned view is that a "truth" that will not debate is a truth that deserves to lose.

Of course the actions of the downshouters might be a signal instead of weakness and uncertainty, not confidence. Perhaps when they object to the airing of views they find disagreeable, they are worried that the other side would outstrip them in a set argument. If so, they should find ways to strengthen their case.

Either way, Marcuse lives. The downshouters will go on behaving deplorably, and reminding the rest of us that the true harbinger of an authoritarian future lives not in the White House but in the groves of academe.

Carter is a Bloomberg View columnist. He is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include "The Emperor of Ocean Park" and "Back Channel," and his nonfiction includes "Civility" and "Integrity."

For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/view.

(c) 2017, Bloomberg View
A 28-year-old East Helena woman is accused of trying to shoplift from a store while in possession of drugs.

Tawnee Michelle Salminen is jailed on a felony charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs for allegedly having lorazepam, a prescription sedative.

On Monday afternoon, police were called to a store on Broadway Street for a report of a shoplifter. Salminen is accused of trying to steal a sweatshirt and other items, court documents state.

While searching Salminen's belongings, police found two loose lorazepam pills, a syringe and a metal spoon. She also faces two misdemeanor charges of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia and theft.
pge.jpg

PGE's Tucannon River wind farm in Washington (Courtesy of PGE)

Ted Ferrioli

A fortune teller couldn't have told me a better time to introduce the "Ratepayers Protection Act." Portland General Electric (PGE) shares hit a 52-week high and they brazenly celebrated the good news by proposing higher electric bills for working Oregonians. Investor-owned utilities must be stopped.

Shares of Portland General Electric Co (POR) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday, reaching a peak of $46.05. Shares closed at $45.75 after opening at $45.27 for a move of 0.84 percent. The company now has a market cap of a whopping $4.07 billion. While they received good news this week, we all received bad news. This is unfair.

How is this even possible you might ask? Look no further than Senate Bill 16-1547. This dangerous proposal was passed under the guise of carbon reduction, but was crafted by a cabal of Big Energy and other political interests. Shrouded in secrecy, these meetings resulted in a complex, controversial bill that was eventually signed into law. Every time you pay your skyrocketing electric bill, you can send a thank you note to Gov. Kate Brown.

A bipartisan team of lawmakers did everything we could to stop it, but the majority and the governor used their power to pass the bill. We must ask: why?

Per the Portland Business Journal, PGE told the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) it needs a $99.9 million in extra revenue. This is a moral outrage. When we have Oregonians being evicted because of out-of-control costs of living the last thing we should be allowing is a big business to squeeze them for more money, with seemingly no acceptable explanation.

Bob Jenks, executive director of the Citizen's Utility Board of Oregon, said in an interview that his organization will be calling for PGE to justify why residential customers are being hit the hardest by their rate hikes. We agree, that all Oregonians deserve answers, not excuses.

The Ratepayers Protection Act will do many things to end Salem's culture of corruption which allows special interests and political interests to get rich by trading power. Under the Ratepayers Protection Act, politicians will no longer be able to profit at the expense of the taxpayers by getting cozy positions in the companies they helped enrich.

Salem is steeped in secrecy and special interests. And thus, to satisfy their appetite, PGE says we must suck up another rate hike.

The proposal will also put responsible, practical limits on energy companies so that they do not get away with proposing whatever rates they claim they need. One other key component of the proposal is that it will stop surcharges that are not spent on what they're designed for and makes sure that Oregonians get their money back.

Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli represents John Day.
UO Tuition Increase

Graduate teachers listened to a meeting of University of Oregon's Board of Trustees, which recently approved a 10.6 tuition increase. University and student leaders are appealing to state lawmakers for more money to hold off the tuition increase.

(AP photo via Andy Nelson/The Register-Guard)

Quinn Haaga and Michael H. Schill

Last week, the University of Oregon's Board of Trustees approved a 10.6 percent tuition increase for resident undergraduate students next year. The board accepted the university's recommendation from a tuition and finance committee that worked for months looking for ways to close the university's looming budget gap.

No one -- not the board, university leadership, faculty, staff or students -- wanted to see such a significant increase in tuition. However, this amount is not set in stone. It is based on the proposed state budget drafted by Oregon legislative budget writers that leaves funding to higher education flat and does not account for considerable increases in expenses that are largely out of public universities' control. The state budget may not be finalized until June or July.

As the presidents of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) and the University of Oregon, we are deeply concerned that, without additional funding, this double-digit tuition increases will create significant hardship for UO students and their families, potentially leaving some talented and deserving Oregon students on the higher education sidelines.

Two decades of cuts to higher education have taken a toll on Oregon families. The burden of paying for a college education has shifted to students and their families as levels of state support delivered to the UO and other institutions have not returned to where they were before the economic downturn in 2008. This trend is not sustainable for Oregon's universities or the students they serve.

The research is clear that those who earn a four-year college degree are likely to be more productive, financially stable, and even healthier and happier than those who do not go to college. Yet Oregon is on the wrong end of the national spectrum for higher education funding. There are only four states that provide less funding for higher education than Oregon, and this is crippling some Oregonians' ability to afford a college degree.

When you combine 20 years of budget cuts with significant cost increases that are outside the control of universities, you inevitably face severe challenges in balancing the budget. The UO is planning to continue to cut costs and look for more efficiencies, but with tuition accounting for more than 80 percent of the university's operating budget, the institution has no choice but to raise tuition to bridge the budget gap.

Later this week we, the ASUO students and university leaders, will rally in Salem for UO Day at the Capitol as we urge Oregon lawmakers to reconsider their draft budget and reinvest in higher education. If lawmakers increase funding to Oregon universities, the UO can potentially cut that tuition increase in half.

Oregon universities have estimated that an additional $100 million in state funding is needed to keep tuition increases manageable for students and to protect critical services at the University of Oregon, including financial aid and student success programs. The current proposed level of state support threatens the affordability and accessibility of a college education for Oregonians.

Every $20 million addition in state higher education would translate roughly to a 1 percentage point decrease in tuition at the University of Oregon.

A vibrant public education system is a vital component of a thriving economy and prosperous future for Oregon. The UO is educating the workforce of tomorrow and preparing our state's future leaders. This campus fosters innovations and discoveries that make the world a better place.

Students and administrators do not always see eye to eye. But this year, we stand united in the belief that Oregon must find a way to provide additional support for our higher education system and reduce the size of tuition increases. There is still time to address this issue, and we are committed to working proactively with lawmakers to find solutions that protect students and do not close the doors of opportunity to future generations Oregonians.

Quinn Haaga is president of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon. Michael H. Schill is president of the University of Oregon and a professor of law.
By E.J. Dionne, Jr.

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump's astonishing and reckless accusation that he was wiretapped on orders from President Obama should finally be the tipping point in how the country views him and his presidency.

Obama, through a spokesman, said the charges were "simply false." It appears that Trump issued his wild tweet storm Saturday morning largely on the basis of reports in conspiracy-minded right-wing media.

He signaled his lack of evidence first by reportedly pushing his White House staff to ransack sensitive intelligence information to find support for his claim. Then on Sunday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump wanted Congress to look into the matter and that the administration would offer no further comment.

Trump has a problem either way. If he was not wiretapped, he invented a spectacularly false charge. And if a court ordered some sort of surveillance of him, on what grounds did it do so?

Every time the issue of the relationship between Trump's apparatus and Moscow comes up, he is moved to unleash unhinged counterattacks. This only underscores how urgent it is to get to the bottom of this story quickly.

We need to understand why those in Trump's orbit who engaged with Moscow stick with lies and misdirection until the moment their falsehoods are publicly revealed. The truth has to be dragged out of them by the media, working in concert with those in government (aka "leakers") who refuse to sit by while the system they serve is endangered.

No wonder Trump hates leakers and the press. With so many Republicans in Congress prepared to abandon everything they said about accountability before Jan. 20, 2017, the main lines of defense against executive abuses have to come from journalists, those who supply them with information, and courageous judges.

The Washington Post's revelation last week that Attorney General Jeff Sessions misled the Senate about his two meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak came after Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, lied about the nature of his own Russian contacts. Flynn stuck to false claims about his conversations with Kislyak until the Post and other media blew them out of the water. Flynn had to resign.

Sessions' convenient memory lapse ("I didn't have -- did not have communications with the Russians") was especially jarring because it came after an inquiry from Sen. Al Franken in which the Minnesota Democrat did not even ask Sessions whether he met with Russians.

Franken's query ended this way: "... if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do?"

Why did Sessions think he had to respond to a question that wasn't even posed?

And during his news conference announcing his recusal from investigations into the Russia connection -- Trump, by the way, was enraged because he didn't want Sessions to pull back -- the attorney general remembered many things Kislyak had said, but used the phrase "I don't recall" five times about various other aspects of the encounters.

The Sessions moment was followed by the confirmation of previously undisclosed meetings with Kislyak, one involving Flynn and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, another with former campaign advisers Carter Page and J. D. Gordon.

The crucial issue is how all this affects our national security. But this saga also reminds us that a crowd claiming to place "America First" does not really believe its own slogan. They place only about half of America first, the part that opposed Obama and supported Trump. When it comes to the other half, they feel only contempt.

This is why Russian interference in our democracy appears to matter far less to Trump than saving his own skin. It's also why he could compare Obama unfavorably to a foreign autocrat during the 2016 campaign. He said Vladimir Putin had been "a better leader than Obama because Obama's not a leader" and ominously praised Putin for having "very strong control over a country." What do such statements have to do with American patriotism as we have traditionally understood it? And now Trump has accused Obama of violating the law.

Trump seems to assume that the truth doesn't matter anymore, that a leader just needs enough voters to believe the "alternative facts" his side invents.

If there is any good news here, it's this: Alternative facts can take you only so far. A president can't just make up charges against his predecessor, call him a "Bad (or sick) guy," and then get away with it.

Can he?

E.J. Dionne's email address is ejdionne@washpost.com. Twitter: EJDionne.

(c) 2017, Washington Post Writers Group
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A man wears a hat that reads "Trump De-Greating America" as people gather for a protest against President Donald Trump's new travel ban order in Lafayette Park outside the White House, Monday, March 6, 2017, in Washington.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

By The Washington Post Editorial Board

Such was the urgency of President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries that he characterized its suspension by federal courts last month as a grave threat to national security. Then his administration moved rather deliberately in formulating a replacement. Three times Trump and his spokesmen announced the imminent issuance of a new order; three times they postponed it. Now, three weeks after the president first said a new order was imminent, he has signed it - a watered-down version of the original, tweaked to withstand court challenges but no less arbitrary and misguided as a means of enhancing national security.

Fortunately, federal courts had the spine to stand up to Trump's verbal assault on the judicial system's integrity, forcing the administration to strip some blatant excesses from the original ban, such as the exclusion of people holding valid green cards and previously issued visas. In other cases, specific cohorts of immigrants would be granted travel or visa waivers on a case-by-case basis, replacing the original order's blanket ban. Those are significant changes.

The new order also drops Iraq from the targeted list of countries whose citizens are barred from traveling to the United States, not because the administration suddenly deemed them a diminished threat but because alienating Iraq was a grievous diplomatic and military blunder. With U.S. forces fighting alongside Iraqi troops against a common enemy, the Islamic State, it dawned on the White House that it could ill afford to antagonize a critical ally.

However, in the case of the six countries that remain on the new temporary travel blacklist - Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Syria - the justification for their inclusion remains as flimsy as it was before.

It is still the case, as a report last month from the Department of Homeland Security reiterated, that few people from the banned countries have mounted or tried to mount terrorist attacks in the United States. It is still the case that most of those convicted or killed attempting such attacks in recent years were U.S.-born citizens. And it is still the case, as U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found in regard to Trump's first order, that a travel ban "may be counterproductive to its stated goal" of keeping the nation safe.

That's because the ban, while doing virtually nothing to deter terrorist attacks in this country, aids the recruitment efforts of the Islamic State and other extremist groups by substantiating their case that anti-Islamic bigotry thrives in the United States.

At least this time, the Trump administration subjected the executive order to careful legal vetting before the president signed it. By limiting the order mainly to people with few personal connections to or roots in the United States, the administration hopes to deter fresh lawsuits by states and others arguing that the order inflicted harm on them.

The courts will decide whether the order, which renews the suspension of all refugee resettlement for 120 days, passes legal muster. Already clear is that it remains antithetical to American interests, values, tradition and security.
Im gravely concerned about President Trumps nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch. When it comes to checking extreme politicians overreach into our most personal health care decisions, I hope both of Montanas senators will prioritize women and strongly oppose his confirmation.

Judge Gorsuchs record on womens rights is deeply disturbing. Ruling in the original Hobby Lobby decision, the case that undermined the Affordable Care Acts birth control insurance mandate, Gorsuch joined the majority, affirming that corporations are persons who can exercise the freedom of religion for the purposes of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In Gorsuchs view, corporations have more rights than individual women and can impose their extreme religious views on our bodies.

He also sought to uphold Utah Gov. Gary Herberts decision to block Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU) from receiving state-administered federal funds. This decision came on the heels of misleading smear videos that falsely portrayed Planned Parenthood, and the governor claimed he was not acting on the basis of his opposition to abortion. But Gov. Herberts statements after he issued the ban made it clear that the decision was clearly a punishment for Planned Parenthoods role in providing comprehensive healthcare for women, including abortion care. In fact, in trial court briefs, Gov. Herbert admitted three things: 1) PPAU did nothing illegal; 2) No federal funding administered by the state even went to abortion care; and 3) The videos were totally false.

Judge Gorsuchs dissent in Planned Parenthood Association of Utah v. Herbert (2016) illustrates how dangerous he would be when it comes to womens ability to access healthcare. A circuit court panel directed the district court to issue a preliminary injunction against enforcing the funding ban. Thats when Gorsuch, writing in dissent from the courts decision not to reconsider the panel decision on the ban, displayed his support for taking Gov. Herbert at his word that he was not trying to punish PPAU for providing abortion care.

Gorsuch accused the majority in the decision of lacking the sort of comity this court normally seeks to show the States and their elected representativesimplying the court should defer to the executive power of the governor. Seeing how Trump has already abused his executive power during his short time in office, such statements fly in the face of an independent judiciary. We must ensure an independent judicial branch willing to stand up for individual rights.

Trump promised during the campaign to appoint justices that would overturn Roe v. Wade. According to a recent op-ed in the Kansas City Star, longtime anti-choice activist Kristan Hawkins, who has led Students For Life for the past decade, gushed about Gorsuchs nomination. This is someone who has admitted that she would like to make birth control and IUDs illegal. Also troubling is that the white supremacist website, The Daily Stormer, expressed support for Gorsuch as a hardcore religious right-winger, which is exactly what we wanted.

Women in Utah, Montana, and across the U.S. have received life-saving care from Planned Parenthood. Had Judge Gorsuch been in the majority in the PPAU case, women would have had compromised access to health care, gotten sick and likely died. We cant take such a risk with the highest court in the country. Join me in calling Senators Tester and Daines and asking them to strongly oppose Gorsuchs confirmation. You can reach Sen. Daines at (406) 453-0148 and Sen. Tester at (406) 452-9585.

Martha Stahl is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana.
In 2016, Ryan Zinke claimed he was a Teddy Roosevelt Conservationist, then voted to transfer management of four million acres of national forests to state-committees. Theodore Roosevelts multiple-use forests were to be sacrificed to industrialization. It was this very activity that Roosevelt (TR) sought to reduce in setting them aside. The March 3rd edition of several Montana newspapers carried two news stories featuring now Secretary of Interior Zinke. One had him riding a horse to work; the other signing an order allowing toxic lead ammunition on wildlife refuges.

In the picture of Zinke authorizing toxic ammunition, he had propped a picture of TR in front of his table. TR created the Refuge System in 1903 for wildlife restoration and conservation. In a staged photo opportunity, with a host of political swamp dwellers, Zinke opened those places to an activity known to kill waterfowl and eagles. On the very day he assured the death of eagles, his agency was engaged in sending a near record number of Yellowstone buffalo to slaughter.

In his first days as Secretary of Interior, Zinke demonstrated he is little more than a political lemming eager to please Donald Trump while ducks, eagles and buffalo bite the dust. How appropriate to ride a horse to work when all you intend to do as the Secretary of Interior is politically horse-around. By claiming Roosevelts legacy with his words and image while, defying that legacy with his actions, Zinke proved he will fit the swamp nicely.

Jim Posewitz of Helena spent 32 years with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, leading the agencys ecological program for 15 years. He then founded Orion the Hunters Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of ethical hunting and wild resources essential to that purpose.
BUTTE -- Three Butte lawmakers are hopeful that funding for a long-sought retirement home for military veterans will finally win approval in the Legislature and say if it happens, construction could start in Butte this year.

But state Sen. Jon Sesso and Reps. Jim Keane and Ryan Lynch are realists, too. They were optimistic at this point in the 2015 legislative session, only to see the veterans home and other state projects crash amid flaring tempers and partisan wrangling that April.

I was as confident last time in mid-March as I am this time, said Sesso, the minority leader in the Senate.

But in a lengthy sit-down with The Montana Standard on Monday, the three Democrats said there are reasons to be hopeful this session, including new legislative approaches and a perception among more lawmakers that capital projects are affordable and beneficial.

Republicans have sizable majorities in both chambers as they did in 2015, but not enough of them joined Democrats in the House last session to get an infrastructure package across the finish line. During a key House tally in the end, it failed by one vote.

I think there has been a change in the House people, said Keane, a longtime lawmaker who is back in the House this year after previous tenures in both chambers.

There are a number of them that recognize that we are being fiscally responsible in the Legislature by doing this and we are actually benefiting the whole state.

Legislators from Butte, along with Democrats and Republicans from other counties in southwest Montana, have been discussing or pushing for the veterans home since 2009.

They secured $5 million in state funding several years ago and have been looking for another $10 million until federal money comes through. The project has been authorized by the U.S. Veterans Administration, but has ranked too low to get federal dollars.

The facility has been designed to go on a 10-acre parcel in Butte and local government has prepared the area for water and sewer connections.

Gov. Steve Bullock had funding for the home in a package that included about $66 million in cash and $227 million in bonding for projects around the state. They cleared a long-range planning committee and are now in House Appropriations, of which Keane and Lynch are both members.

The package is being separated into several measures now, and members of the House and Senate are negotiating ways to move forward.

Butte lawmakers would like to see a bonding bill that includes a handful of major projects, including the veterans home, renovation of Romney Hall at Montana State University in Bozeman, a building at MSU in Billings and $30 million in building improvements at schools around the state.

They also would like to make approval of numerous smaller bonding projects contingent on the larger bonding bill passing. The idea is to give more lawmakers a stake in the legislation.

Keane also wants to produce a map of Montana showing lawmakers where all projects  both cash and bonding  would be located and their funding amounts.

Instead of looking for the one project in your area, you can see the whole state of Montana and see how the cash and bonding affects the whole state, Keane said.

The map, Sesso said, will show where every dollar is going in every town and every county.

The bonding measures require approval by two-thirds of members in each chamber  meaning 34 votes in the Senate and 67 in the House.

Lynch said legislative leaders were fractured going into the final days of the 2015 session and that made it easy for some rank-and-file Republicans to balk at a final infrastructure bill, in part by saying it didnt include money for schools.

It was just an excuse to pull out of the air, he said.

If they can get a package of bills out of the House by the end of March, the hope in the Senate  Sesso said  is to keep it intact as much as possible to enhance its chances in the end.

There will still be lawmakers who oppose bonding, saying the state cant afford to borrow more money, Keane said. But he and Lynch and Sesso say the state can and should invest in the projects.

The state has never defaulted on bonds and the current payment schedule is going down, Keane said.

It is important to show them that we can afford it at this time, he said.

No matter any twists and turns, Lynch said, "We're all in on the veterans' home."
Wednesday 8 March 2017 2:37pm



Dr Mikkel Andersen

University of Otago physicists have found a way to control individual atoms, making them appear wherever they want them to.

The accomplishment, by a team of six from Otagos Department of Physics, follows an international breakthrough in 2010 when they isolated and captured a neutral rubidium-85 atom, and then photographed it for the first time.

Lead Otago researcher Dr Mikkel Andersen says their results may be beneficial in the future development of a wide range of technologies, including incredibly fast quantum computers for calculations of extreme complexity.

Time will tell what the applications will be. It is likely the main applications will be in technologies we have not yet thought about.

To achieve their successes, the team uses seven lasers, with components from compact disc players, and precision mirrors.

They work in an air-conditioned laboratory from which as many kinds of noise  electromagnetic, sound, temperature contrasts  that can affect the equipment and results have been minimised or eliminated using Kiwi ingenuity.

Dr Andersen says laser light is the key.

We cool the atoms, hold them, change how they affect each other and make them visible by shining laser light, with different frequency and intensity, on them. We make repeated use of the phenomenal degree of control one can have over the frequency of laser light, which is a truly astounding feature of lasers.

The Kiwi ingenuity is how we circumvented the fact that we do not have a low-noise laboratory as would usually be considered a necessity for experiments like ours. Naturally, finding out how to do things that have never been done before involves lots of hard work.

The tables on which the experiment has been built float on air, one way of keeping down the noise, he says.

Dropping the temperature of the atom to almost absolute zero (minus 273 degrees Celsius), eliminates its random wobbling, allowing it to reach a quantum state with high purity.

This represents the ultimate control over individual atoms.

We are pushing the boundaries for the level of control that scientists can have over microscopic systems. Technical revolutions our society has undergone in past decades largely, if not entirely, originate from being able to control systems at a smaller and smaller scale.

This has been a long journey. This is what we have been trying to get to for 10 years, Dr Andersen says.

The Marsden Fund supported the research with $717,391 over three years. The teams findings are about to appear in Physical Review A, Rapid Communications.

The next steps are investigations of how two atoms being brought together can exchange properties, and building molecules in particular quantum states from individual atoms.

The other members of Dr Andersens team are Dr Pimonpan Sompet, Dr Yin H Fung, Dr Eyal Schwartz, Matt Hunter and Jindaratsamee Phrompao. They also collaborate with Massey Universitys Professor Joachim Brand.

For more information, please contact:

Dr Mikkel Andersen

Dodd-Walls Centre and Department of Physics, University of Otago

Tel 03 479 7805

Email mikkel.andersen@otago.ac.nz
DECATUR  City leaders praised the most recent expansion of the Akorn Inc. operational footprint in Decatur.

The ribbon was cut Tuesday on a 30,000 square foot expansion to Akorn's existing packaging facility on Wyckles Road. The $5.6 million project helped to retain 200 jobs and created an additional 25 positions.

Construction on the expansion started in 2016 after the company chose Decatur for the project instead of expanding its existing facilities in New York.

This ribbon cutting ceremony follows the ground breaking we held just a few short months ago, said Mirinda Rothrock, Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce president. We are extremely pleased Akorn Pharmaceuticals continues to invest and expand their manufacturing and warehousing operations in Decatur.

Akorn, which is a specialty generic pharmaceutical company, had broken ground on a $25 million expansion of its Grand Ave. facility in October. The expanded facility at 1222 W. Grand Ave. will include a new lab and pilot plant on property that previously held a church and other businesses.

That expansion project is expected to be completed next year.

The company is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of multi-source and branded pharmaceutical products with a worldwide manufacturing footprint.

The products manufactured and packaged at Akorn's two Decatur facilities are used in local hospitals and physicians' offices, in addition to other places across the country to help patients in need of quality, affordable pharmaceutical products.

The additional investment in Decatur shows Akorn's commitment to the city and the quality of the local workforce, Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said.

It will lead to the creation and retention of jobs, it will allow for the company to expand in the future and it also signals that one of our long-standing community partners will be here for years to come, Moore Wolfe said.

Akorn has worked with the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County along with other groups to utilize existing economic development programs to support the investment, EDC President Ryan McCrady said.

Their commitment to our community is evident and valued, McCrady said.

Akorn Vice President and General Manager Jon Shoemaker has praised the work of employees in Decatur, which he said enables the expansions to occur.

This is a credit to the hard-working people we have at our Decatur facilities, Shoemaker said.

He said the projects opens the capacity to give Akorn the capability to continue growing the business, which it has been doing in Decatur since 2010.

It has been operating in Decatur since 1992.
DECATUR  The National Weather Service is warning of an elevated risk of fire through much of Central Illinois this evening.

Low humidity, strong winds and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior, the weather service said. Grass fires that do develop will spread quickly.

The weather service issued a red flag warning until 5 p.m. for the western part of Central Illinois, including Sangamon, McLean and Peoria counties. Other parts of the region, including Decatur and Macon County, are included in a hazardous weather outlook.

This weekend, snow is likely to fall from late Friday night into Saturday, with light accumulation possible.
With tax season in full swing, Consumers Energy is encouraging eligible Michigan residents to claim thousands of dollars in assistance by filing for the Michigan Home Heating Credit and federal Earned Income Tax Credit.

Consumers Energy, its charitable foundation and Michigan nonprofit organizations have worked to provide access to assistance for heating bills this winter. The Consumers Energy Foundation is also a strong supporter of free tax preparation services through Michigan 2-1-1 and the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan. Learn more at www.michiganfreetaxhelp.org

The average credit that Consumers Energy customers received in 2015 was nearly $150. The credit:

 Is the only heating assistance that does not require applicants to fall behind on paying their energy bill.

 Can be used for all types of primary heating fuels, including natural gas, electricity, propane and other deliverable fuels such as oil and purchased firewood.

 Bases credit amounts on household income and size.

 Is available to households whose income does not require them to file traditional income taxes.

 May be available to renters who pay their own heating bills.

 Can be submitted beyond tax season since it has a Sept. 30, 2017, filing deadline.

Customers can find their 2016 total heat cost on December, January and February Consumers Energy billing statements. This information is required to complete the form. It is also available by calling Consumers Energy toll-free at 800-477-5050.

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit is another benefit for working people with low to moderate income. For income guidelines, contact your employers, call the Internal Revenue Service at (800) 829-3676, or www.irs.gov
The Women of Michigan Action Network (WOMAN) protesters were back in action on Tuesday carrying posters and chanting in front of U.S. Rep. John Moolenaars office at 200 E. Main St. The protest came about after the House of Representatives voted, on Monday evening, to repeal the Affordable Care Act, including defunding Planned Parenthood.

People are passionate about this because Planned Parenthood is going to be defunded. We know it saves lives and does good work for so many people and were just appalled it is going to be defunded, said protest organizer Carolyn Mahaffey.

In a quickly organized rally, Mahaffey stood on the corner of Main and McDonald with about 35 other supporters, chanting, Ho! Ho! Hey! Hey! Federal fundings got to stay!

We posted if we got 20 people by 3 p.m. we would come. But, then we thought, No. Were going to come anyway, said Mahaffey as a couple of cars honked while passing by.

Repeal of the ACA was also a serious concern for the crowd.

Its all about people, Mahaffey said. What I wish would have happened was that the Affordable Care Act would have been tweaked. There were some bad things about it. A lot of people couldnt use it because the deductible was so high. Under my sons plan, he doesnt get anything until it hits $6,000.

Almost every protester, including Kitty Middleton, came with sign in hand. One said, Affordable Care Act: Fix, not repeal. Another, Being a woman is not a pre-existing condition.

I saw Sean Spicer on TV today and he is a really arrogant man, Middleton said. What he was saying to me, personally, was that my Medicaid card was worthless (under the ACA). He was saying to me that I couldnt go to any doctor I wanted to. Im sorry he lied. I live in Midland County and have my choice of doctors. I have Medicare and Medicaid and never pay a co-pay. I am disabled. Ive very concerned that they are going to strip that away piece by piece.

Planned Parenthood receives $500 million annually in Medicaid reimbursement from the government. At issue are abortions. The GOP is against abortions, except in the case of incest, rape or if the mothers life is in danger. Federal law already prevents taxpayer dollars being used to pay for abortions, however Planned Parenthood is reimbursed for health care services it provides to low-income women. Those funds help pay for non-abortion related health services the organization provides, for women, such as breast exams, birth control, Pap smears and STI tests. The Republican health plan would deny funds to any entity that provides for abortions in any case besides the life of the mother, incest or rape. Planned Parenthood would probably fall under the classification of an entity.

The Planned Parenthood website states that the plan would cut off its 2.5 million patients from lifesaving care. With 650 health care centers across the county, 3 percent of all Planned Parenthood health services are abortion services.

The local WOMAN group also protested on Thursday, Feb. 23 calling for Moolenaar to hold an open forum, town hall meeting or listening session, which he agreed to do.
The South Carolina man who entered a no contest plea to a summer home invasion and shooting at a Midland home has been sent to prison.

Christopher Donald Lally, 19, was sentenced on charges of first-degree home invasion, discharging a firearm inside a building causing injury, receiving and concealing a stolen firearm and carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent.

Midland County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Beale levied between seven and 20 years in prison for the home invasion charge, between five and 15 years for discharging a firearm causing injury, two to 10 years for receiving and concealing, and two to five years for carrying a weapon with unlawful intent. Beale granted credit for 180 days already served, and left restitution open.

The remaining counts against Lally  larceny in a building and five counts of felony firearm  were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

A no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea in court, and is used in cases where a defendant does not remember his or her actions or where there is potential for a civil lawsuit.

The incident occurred on Aug. 1 in the 700 block of East Carpenter Street. A suspect entered a home through an unlocked door and stole a wallet, money and a knife, as well as shot one of the residents, a 62-year-old woman, Midland Police reported.

Also home at the time was the womans son, age 31. He awoke to his mothers screams, and went to check on her in her bedroom. Both had been asleep when the incident occurred.

A small caliber round was found lodged in the womans left wrist.

Lally was arrested after police received an anonymous tip. He was represented by attorney Dan Duke of Midland, who was appointed to the case.
To the editor:

U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar and representatives from the Women of Michigan Action Network  WOMAN  met Feb. 24. Moolenaar agreed to participate in a local open public forum before the end of the April congressional recess. WOMAN looks forward to the opportunity to speak with the representative further about the issues that are most important to all of his constituents in a time and place that is open to all community members.

At the meeting, Moolenaar reprimanded WOMAN members for using the term Muslim ban when describing the presidents executive order banning entry into the U.S. by individuals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, stating that we were creating fear by using that term. On that, WOMAN offers three points.

First, members of WOMAN are engaged citizens while the president is arguably the most powerful person in the world. Our ability to incite fear is nonexistent compared to his powerful use of fear to convince citizens to undermine our democratic values like providing aid to refugees, due process, free press, womans rights and voting rights. The comparison is laughable and a perfect example of false equivalency.

Second, while the ban did not include all Muslims, all those banned are Muslim. The executive order, struck down by the courts, provided for sanctuary for religious minorities (Christians) of those seven countries. Therefore, to be precise, it was a ban of Muslims from specific countries.

Third, Candidate Trump himself called for a Muslim ban using those terms during the campaign. His campaign website still posts his call for a Muslim ban and his political surrogate, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed President Trump asked for a way to get the Muslim ban legally which led to the executive order. We at WOMAN and engaged voters everywhere do not forget these things. Candidate Trump and President Trump are the same person. We connect the dots. So, while the executive order did not use the term Muslim ban, it is clear that is what it was.

Follow this link to the video of this portion of the meeting between WOMAN and Rep. Moolenaar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OegVUJ8xo98

JEN CIOLINO

JODY LIEBMANN

SARAH SCHULZ

And the Women of Michigan Action Network  WOMAN
On Feb. 17, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (MCRC) issued the report of its investigation into the Flint Water Crises. In addition to finding that Flint was a victim of systemic governmental racism, which the legislatures Joint Select Committee on the Flint Water Crisis also identified, the MCRC recommended the need to structure government so that this crisis does not happen again.

The commission recommended the adoption of a robust environmental justice plan and mechanisms for greater public access to government decision-makers. The Joint Select Committee was more specific in recommending the creation of an environmental quality commission to serve this purpose.

Our local state senator, Jim Stamas, sat on that Joint Select Committee. At last contact with Mr. Stamas, there was no plan or schedule to implement any of the recommendations.

I worry that time will erode the strong motivation to create an environmental quality commission that would provide better public access and institutionalize the Michigan Constitution requirement establishing public health and environment of paramount concern. It boggles my mind that the legislature can find time to change the maximum speed law in Michigan while delaying the needed changes to protect public health and the environment in which we live.

In the MCRC review of the historical governmental actions impacting the living and health conditions of Flint residents, it was sobered and determined to initiate change. We also offer recommendations intended to ensure that another Flint does not happen again  in Flint or anywhere in Michigan. We urge those with authority to carefully consider and act upon these recommendations.

MCRC proposed the writing and adoption of a robust environmental justice plan that provides (1) meaningful public (community) participation, (2) integration of governmental decision-making, (3) interagency cooperation and (4) a means for the public to request responsive state action, i.e., to appeal certain decisions. When the last of the civil lawsuits and attorney general criminal investigations are completed, and relief dollars from state and federal sources are exhausted, what will remain is a city and its people who will continue to fight against built-in barriers but whose voices  as a matter of public right  must never be stifled or quelled again. The lack of political clout left the residents with nowhere to turn, no way to have their voices heard.

MCRC determined that government caused this crisis. Government should not see this as a disaster that can be followed by a short period of recovery and then ended. Governments responsibility here is not merely to help people address their problems  because the problems were caused by government. Governments responsibility is deeper.

Now is the time to implement the recommendations for an environmental quality commission. As a state employee who worked under and saw the benefits of a Natural Resources Commission, I challenge our senator, Jim Stamas, to introduce legislation to implement the recommendation to establish a Michigan Environmental Quality Commission and to do it in this legislative session.

Currently, there exists more public access and influence in issues of fish and wildlife management than exists for clean air, land and water. As stated by the MCRC, If we are to prevent governments failures from causing similar crises in the future, our responses must be broader, deeper and more complex as well. As noted earlier, fixing the problems that originated in Flints latest chapter will address the tumor but not the cancer.

Low income neighborhoods have traditionally borne the public health and environmental damages resulting from decisions predicated on economics and politics. Current government mechanisms structurally allow those least able to combat economic development pressures to bear the burden of pollution and other results of environmental degradation. The MCRC concluded that well off communities seldom bear these burdens, if at all.

Delay in implementing the recommendations of the MCRC and the Joint Select Committee wastes important time and, even worse, if politically intentional, sets a stage for ignoring the need for structural change. This happened in 2007 when Gov. Jennifer Granholm issued an Executive Directive ordering the MDEQ to develop and implement an environmental justice plan that included requirements to identify and address discriminatory public health or environmental effects of state laws, regulations, policies and activities, And to recommend mechanisms for members of the public, communities and groups to assert adverse or disproportionate social, economic or environmental impact upon a community and request responsive state action.

That 2007 order was never fully and effectively implemented and likely resulted in the Flint Water Crisis. Have we not learned? We look to Sen. Stamas and our other elected officials to right these wrongs quickly and effectively. We should also voice our concern to President Trump, who despite proposing to be an advocate for the unrepresented and disenfranchised low and middle class, has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate its environmental justice program. If President Trumps actions succeed, it is even more important for our state to take responsibility for its citizens.

Greg Eagle is a Midland resident and retired employee of both the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources where he served as a conservation officer specializing in the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes. He also served as an assistant to the director of MDEQ. He remains active in environmental issues as a member of the Michigan Resource Stewards, an advocacy organization of environmental and natural resources professionals.
Airmen from the 35th Fighter Wing returned to Misawa Air Base, Japan, March 4, after a month long exercise.



The wing sent approximately 130 Airmen and 14 F-16 Fighting Falcons to exercise COPE NORTH 17 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, improving aerial and ground-based combat readiness and developing interoperability between the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Air Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force.



"We strengthened our ties with our partner nations two fold, said Lt. Col. Mark Heusinkveld, 14th Fighter Squadron commander. By living and working next to our partner nations, Japan and Australia for almost a month, we got to know the people, not just the weapon systems. We made friendships that are incredibly long lasting and important to our future.



Being in Guam gave pilots and maintainers the opportunity to forge friendships but also hone skills by integrating tactically with their Pacific partners.



We become a stronger fighting force by integrating our strengths in the air battle, Heusinkveld continued. By mission planning, executing, and debriefing with the partners we learned each other's system capabilities and strengths.



The exercise included 22 total flying units and more than 1,700 personnel from the three countries, focusing on growing interoperable relationships within the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.



It was my first time at CN17 and had a great experience, said Sergeant Jeff McLaughlin, Royal Australian Air Force Tactical Fighter Systems Program Office maintenance liaison coordination. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the U.S. Air Force and JASDF personnel in the maintenance workforce to coordinate and effectively support the aircraft.



Each piece of CN17 was designed to integrate all nations in wartime and peacetime scenarios.



We flew dissimilar air combat training missions with our partner nations and U.S. forces in the beginning of the exercise to learn similarities and differences in how our partner nations operate, said Capt. Aaron Koveleskie, a 14th FS fighter pilot.



The exercise featured a full spectrum of fighter, bomber, airlift, tanker, rescue and command and control aircraft, allowing Airmen to experience high tempo mission operations in a controlled environment.



The biggest benefit is the ability to mix up the playing field a bit, said Airman 1st Class Jamie Smith, a 14th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 dedicated crew chief. Instead of always integrating with the same people every day, you're taking different aircraft, with different capabilities and tasking them all to accomplish the same mission. In a real world scenario, being able to work together at a moments notice is pivotal to achieving success.



Now in its 87th iteration, the long-standing multilateral training exercise helped to improve combat readiness and multinational interoperability among participating militaries.



The 35th Fighter Wings dedication and support to enhance our combat readiness is second to none, said Col. R. Scott Jobe, 35th FW commander. Through this exercise we developed our comradery amongst ourselves and our partner nations, continuing our fight tonight mindset across the Indo-Asia-Pacific.
DECATUR -- As director of Macon Countys Emergency Management Agency, Jim Root said it is not unusual to receive calls from concerned residents letting them know theyve spotted a funnel cloud.

While the sentiment is appreciated, Root also knows from looking at the radar and by weather conditions that most of the time there is no funnel actually developing in the area. But with proper training, Root is hoping that local residents and businesses can learn a bit more about storm awareness that can help protect them and their families.

The agency, in partnership with the National Weather Service, will be holding a training class at 6:30 p.m. today at the Richland Community College Shilling Center. The class is free and open to the public.

Were hoping to help people with storm awareness, Root said. It is very beneficial for people to know weather patterns.

Conditions in the past week have highlighted the importance of storm awareness, as several tornadoes have torn through parts of Southern Illinois and areas northeast of Peoria. The storms have left two people dead and destroyed several houses in their path.

The Decatur area has been spared from the more severe elements, though winds up to 50 mph late Monday night and early Tuesday morning reportedly damaged several residences and businesses. No major damage was reported by the Macon County Sheriff's Office, Decatur Fire Department or the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

Recent storms have just been another part of what has been an unusual winter season for Central Illinois. In the last three months, temperatures have peaked at 71 degrees and have averaged four to eight degrees above average for this time of year.

Its a significant number, compared to other years, said Matt Barnes, a meteorologist at the Weather Service in Lincoln.

Total snowfall has also been below average, with areas such as Champaign seeing about five inches less than normal.

Higher temperatures, as well as increased amount of moisture in the atmosphere, have set the perfect stage for the storms that have occurred, Barnes said.

Those warning signs for potential storms and even tornadoes are what Root is hoping people will learn from training. Once armed with that education, Root believes it will allow residents to understand storm systems and better gauge when they need to seek shelter or make other critical decisions.
Question: Two of Bloomington-Normals leading developers in the building boom of the 1980s and 90s were Jack Snyder and William Brady, Sr. Can you name the area in Bloomington-Normal where only two blocks separate streets named after the two B-N real-estate pillars?
BLOOMINGTON  Mayor Tari Renner is reviving the city's three-member Liquor Commission.

The Illinois attorney general's Public Access Bureau previously ruled that Renner did not violate the state's Open Meetings Act by consulting with one or both liquor commissioners outside of a public meeting.

Renner was notified of the decision in a letter he received Feb. 27 from Assistant Attorney General Leah Bartelt. She determined the commission serves an advisory role and is not a public body regulated under the meetings law.

Because of that decision, the mayor is re-forming the commission, he said Wednesday.

"I liked having a three-person commission because you have differing perspectives, and the meetings don't go on too long," said Renner.

Renner has asked Twin City businessman Jack Bataoel and Lindsey Powell, a Growmark manager, to assist him on the commission.

"Mr. Bataoel is excited to provide a business perspective with knowledge and experience of the industry while supporting his community," said Renner in a news release.

Bataoel has been a real estate agent for 11 years and spent 16 years in the bar and restaurant business, including 10 years as an owner-operator, Renner noted.

Powell has been Growmark's marketing communications manager for 10 years. She is an active member of Sunrise Rotary, a mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a member of The Baby Folds Festival of Trees steering committee, the mayor noted.
NORMAL  Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem canceled plans Tuesday to merge after a federal judge put a hold on the merger effort.

The two Chicago-area-based health care systems decided jointly to abandon merger efforts announced in September 2014.

"We have determined with NorthShore leadership that the time, cost and uncertainty of pursuing any additional appeals would not be worthwhile," Advocate Health Care CEO Jim Skogsbergh wrote in a message to employees shared with The Pantagraph.

Advocate Health Care includes Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, Advocate Eureka Hospital in Eureka and Advocate Medical Group offices throughout Central Illinois. Tuesday's decision is expected to have no direct impact on those operations.

When Advocate and NorthShore announced merger plans 2 years ago, Advocate BroMenn President Colleen Kannaday told The Pantagraph that a merged system would use the strengths of each system while lowering costs of health care.

"Nationally, you'll see more mergers," she said.

But a federal appeals court last year sided with the Federal Trade Commission and the state  which challenged the proposed merger  and sent the matter back to district court.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso granted the request from the FTC and the state for a preliminary injunction to stop the merger while the commission had administrative proceedings on the matter, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"I'm disappointed to share the news with you today that Federal Judge Alonso ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission's efforts to block our merger," Skogsbergh wrote to employees. "As a health care ministry, we pursued this merger because it aligned with our mission and values to advance care and lower costs for the patients and communities we are privileged to serve."
BLOOMINGTON  Colleagues were still coping with the shock of the sudden death of BCPA Director Tina Salamone Tuesday, and city officials said it's too soon to think about how to replace her.

"Right now we plan to use our existing staff and get through this weekend with the shows that we have," said Jay Tetzloff, director of the Bloomington Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department. He was Salamone's immediate supervisor at Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

"There is still shock ... but we're focused on getting this weekend's shows open and done as normal and then figure out what our plans are for the next couple of months," he added. "But right now I don't have an answer."

Salamone, 58, suffered a heart attack and died Sunday at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, according to McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis.

Using an interim director is a possibility, but Tetzloff said he has not discussed that with his bosses, City Manager David Hales and Assistant City Manager Steve Rasmussen.

The BCPA's slate of programming this weekend, including Black Violin on Friday and an Artists Lounge Live presentation, "I Gotta a Right to Sing the Blues" on Sunday, will go on as scheduled, which is what Salamone would have wanted, said Tetzloff.

Salamone took over directorship of the city's BCPA and Creativity Center in December 2013. She said last year she took the job because she wanted to open the dormant Creativity Center.

She saw the center as a hub for community arts organizations and after-school arts programs "geared toward underserved youth, providing a positive outlet to channel their creative energy."

Salamone previously was executive director of The Capitol Theater in Burlington, Iowa, and the historic Palace Theatre in Marion, Ohio. She spent nine years at Joliet's Rialto Square Theatre as the technical director and also later added the role of director of programming.
BLOOMINGTON  A man accused of raping two women apologized to the first alleged victim in a text message sent from the police interrogation room, according to evidence provided Tuesday to the jury considering criminal sexual assault charges against William Gyang.

"I'm so sorry hearing your statement being read back to me, there are so many red flags that I didn't pick up on," Gyang wrote to a woman who told police he had forced her to engage in sexual activity on Sept. 9, 2015.

The jury watched about an hour of a four-hour interview Illinois State Police conducted with the 19-year-old suspect in late October 2015.

Gyang told detectives the sexual contact was consensual.

Earlier Tuesday, the jury heard from the first of Gyang's alleged victims. The former ISU student said her initial opposition to a police investigation into her encounter with Gyang turned to cooperation after she learned that another woman had made a similar claim against him.

The woman said she met the suspect through a mutual friend on campus shortly after she started her freshman year.

The woman said she invited Gyang to her room at Watterson Towers on Sept. 9, 2015, after the two talked earlier in the evening. Once in her room, Gyang ignored her requests to stop his aggressive sexual advances, said the woman.

"I remember telling him I didn't want to go that fast," she said.

Gyang stopped kissing the woman after her roommate walked in, the woman said during her 90 minutes on the witness stand.

The encounter moved to Gyang's dorm room in another area of Watterson after the woman agreed to accompany him there. He told her his roommates were home, according to her testimony.

The woman said she faced a second sexual assault lasting several hours after she arrived at Gyang's empty dorm room.

In response to questions from defense lawyer Stephanie Wong, the witness admitted that Gyang may have received "mixed messages" from her during the incident.

"I think it was pretty clear when it comes down to it that I was uncomfortable" with the sexual activity, said the woman, who said she realized several weeks later that she was suffering symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.

In October 2015, the woman mentioned Gyang to police when she reported her assault by another man, but she said she became upset when she learned from Gyang that ISU wanted to question him.

The woman said she apologized to Gyang for the police involvement that she had tried to avoid.

But things changed when the alleged victim heard from authorities that a second woman had accused Gyang of a similar attack.

"When it happened, I thought it was an isolated case," until she heard "he did it to someone else, too," said the woman.

In text messages exchanged with Gyang, the woman referred to the incident as "a one-time thing" that would not continue beyond friendship.

"I was just uncomfortable when we were hooking up," she said in a text message read in court.

The second alleged victim is expected to testify Wednesday as the state continues its case.
Murder charges have been filed against a 9-year-old in connection with a fatal mobile-home fire near Goodfield. Woodford County States Attorney Greg Minger said the juvenile is not in custody. Specifics on where the juvenile is and living arrangements were not available.
LINCOLN  A long-time Route 66 landmark will reopen as a Route 66 museum next month.

The Mill in Lincoln will open April 29 said Geoff Ladd, secretary for the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County, which owns the building.

The Mill originally opened in 1929 under the name of the Blue Mill and closed for good in 1996. By that point, it had already turned into a part-time museum. Ten years later, the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County was formed to promote and preserve The Mill and other Route 66 sites in Logan County.

Its an iconic former restaurant and bar that sprang up along the original Route 66 alignment in Lincoln in 1929, he said. It was originally a sandwich stand and evolved into a restaurant, a bar and even a dance hall with live music.

The museum will feature Route 66 memorabilia and floor plans for the museum displays are being completed. The plans include a gift shop, featuring unique local items and Route 66 souvenirs, Ladd said.

Its great when an iconic Route 66 property like The Mill in Lincoln is restored and can again be shared with visitors from around the world, said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway. A lot of hard work, creativity and cooperation will be rewarded when The Mill resumes its proper place as one of the great stops anywhere on the Mother Road.

The Lincoln City Council will consider a proclamation marking April 29 as Route 66 Day in Lincoln later this month.

Also, we have asked them to allow for a parade from downtown Lincoln to The Mill for a formal ribbon-cutting and grand opening of the museum, Ladd said.

Ladd said a number of organizations that have supported The Mills restoration project have expressed interest in participating in the parade.

He added that the Logan County Tourism Bureau has offered a grant to help with advertising and collateral materials for the grand opening. Lincoln-based technology firm Integrity Data will donate a computer system and monitor to the museum, and ExploreLoganCounty.com will provide smartphone technology enhancements that allow visitors to access a code for additional audio and video materials.

The museum will feature transportation themes from Logan Countys Route 66 history, including food, fuel and lodging, he said. In addition to items from The Mill, the museum will also house a collection of items from the former Pig Hip Restaurant in Broadwell.
Early March seems like a good time to have Severe Weather Preparedness Week, although severe storms Monday night and three deadly tornadoes on Feb. 28 gave us an early and vicious reminder.

Eerily, the Feb. 28 storms hit on the five-year anniversary of the 2012 Leap Year tornado that killed eight people in downstate Harrisburg.

In Illinois, severe storms and tornadoes can hit any time of the year, not just during spring and summer. They can be as destructive at midday as they can at midnight; indeed, most of last week's damaging tornadoes struck in the early evening. Monday night's storms set off weather radio alarms after midnight.

That's why early warning sirens and announcements are crucial in keeping the largest number of people safe.

Last week's storms, part of a system that stretched across the Midwest, produced EF-3 tornadoes in northern and southern Illinois (killing two in Ottawa and one in Crossville) and an EF-4 tornado in Perryville, Mo., that killed one. Aerial photos of the Perryville damage looked more like a swirl of cracker crumbs than what used to be a subdivision. Missouri was hard hit again Monday night.

The National Weather Service and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency have designated this week as Illinois Severe Weather Preparedness Week. Most of us hear monthly sirens, but don't practice drills in basements or interior hallways.

Hopefully, families also go over emergency plans so they can find each other in the wake of a devastating weather.

Make sure you have a stash of first aid supplies, water, cash, a blanket and nonperishable food available either in your car or basement, or both. Have a pair of sturdy shoes at hand or in your emergency kit. Take a first aid class and learn CPR. Take a weather-spotter class from the National Weather Service and buy a weather radio.

Illinois averages 47 tornadoes and hundreds of reports of large hail and wind damage each year, according to the weather service, and your first order of safety is to know what's what: A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. A funnel cloud does not reach the ground. A severe thunderstorm can produce hail 1 inch in diameter or larger, and/or wind gusts around 60 mph or higher.

A "watch" means tornadoes or severe thunderstorms are possible. A "warning" means a tornado or severe thunderstorm has been detected by radar, or has been reported by a trained storm spotter.

In McLean County, sirens are sounded when a severe thunderstorm warning is issued by the NWS and winds of 70 mph or greater are forecast or occurring in the area.

But sirens and warnings mean little if you don't pay attention. When you hear a warning siren, get a cellphone warning or learn about a warning via media, take cover in a sturdy building and stay away from windows.

Severe weather and tornadoes can, and will hit again. Make sure you are prepared.
DECATUR -- The jury trial of Elliott T. Murphy for the 2009 murder of 61-year-old Jerry Newingham and attempted murder of 46-year-old Kevin S. Wilson was continued Tuesday, due to the illness of the lead detective in the case.

The jury had been selected on Monday, with the exception of the alternative jurors. Due to the continuance, a new jury will be seated for the trial, scheduled for April 24.

Murphy was sentenced to 80 years in prison after a jury convicted him in 2011 for the mob attack on the two men in Decatur.

Murphy and his half brother, Deonta Johnson, were identified as the leaders of a group of teens who robbed their victims and stomped on their heads and bodies. Johnson, 21, was also convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder and sentenced to 65 years in prison.

Their convictions were overturned by the 4th District Appellate Court in 2013. The three-judge panel ruled that Murphy's lawyer had a conflict of interest. It also ruled that the judge who transferred Johnson to adult court did not consider treatment advantages in the juvenile justice system.

At the time of the attack by nine teens on the innocent victims, beginning shortly after school let out on Aug. 24, 2009, the Decatur community was shocked by the crimes.

The two half brothers were tried together in 2011, but will face separate trials this time. Johnson will be tried after the conclusion of the Murphy trial. Six other teens were convicted in the case and sentenced to serve terms in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
It's not often you find an artist whose oeuvre of work is so intuitive and atmospheric that it has the ability to ease you into a fantasy world of their own careful creation  however, this is something Hot Sugar (aka Nick Koenig) is particularly adept at doing.

That said, his production work is (counterintuitively) never just about sound. Instead, it's an all-encompassing visceral experience that has a strange way of eliciting a nostalgic longing for situations you've actually never encountered. So it only feels right that Koenig's latest dive into the deepest corners of his listeners' psyches is The Melody of Dust, a 13-track album that serves as the gateway to a much larger, more complex world brought to life via virtual reality.





As such, the word "album" in this case feels limiting, especially since The Melody of Dust breaks new ground as the first musical release whose true contents are exclusive to VR. In reality (or at least the supercomputer-generated one Koenig has created), the full album is 87 tracks, all of which are meant to seamlessly blend together based on your actions within the virtual reality world.

But how exactly does one decide to make an album of this scope? Let alone execute it? In Koenig's case, what started as an idea for a movie was put aside after the Viacom rep he was pitching to introduced him to the company's brand new VR division, Viacom NEXT. "I realized there were so many other dynamic points to VR," Koenig said. "The sensory control being the most important one. So I came up with an idea for VR based on that sort of thing."

What resulted a year-and-a-half later was The Melody of Dust, an immersive, interactive experience that invites the viewer to create their own Hot Sugar track by throwing objects  think roses, switchblades, etc.  scattered around a room straight out of one of his videos into a tornado. Within this scenario, you are given the ability to trigger one of the aforementioned 87 songs via different combinations of objects thrown into the vortex (in our premiere's case, it's a dove, medusa bust and nail polish).

It's a process that's reflective of his theory of associative music, "a modernized branch of musique concrete" that champions the idea that any object in the universe is an instrument whether you know how to play it or not ("it makes a sound and therefore you can turn it into music"). But it is also a unique way of connecting with listeners who are able to participate by providing the elements in the creation of these compositions.

"In a way, they can hear the origins of the song in the objects that they picked up, so it kind of communicates that message even more," Koenig explained. "When you shake the dove, you hear the sound of a dove. Then you throw it into the tornado, that melody has the voice of that dove hitting different notes. That was the original idea, to romanticize what I'm trying to do with music by turning it into a fantasy game."

That said, accessibility is still an issue  seeing as how there are only about 100,000 of these VR units currently in existence  but it's one that's Koenig feels is worth it in favor of creating "something new that hopefully will stand the test of time". Or at least something that will eventually reveal itself as the ultimate participatory experience once commercial VR technology makes it to the masses.

And while Koenig says there are tentative plans for some sort of set-up at future shows, the only public showing currently on the books is at SXSW. That said, if you're not one of the lucky few able to catch the whole set-up IRL, you can still listen to the haunting, hazy-hued dream that is "The Life of a Goldfish" below, exclusive to PAPER.

The Melody of Dust is out on March 31st via Steam, Spotify and vinyl.

The Melody of DustVR experience is on Tuesday, March 14 from 11am-6pm at the JM Marriott Salon 5 in Austin, Texas.




Lawmakers in Florida Senate have signed their support for a parenting bill aimed at establishing and streamlining arrangements between moms and dads. If the bill successfully receives votes to move forward, it will help parents, who are either unmarried, divorced or no longer together, come up with an agreed and proper child support and parenting time plan.

The bill aimed at eliminating the need to go to court for a custody battle. Sen. Jeff Brandes introduced SB 590: Child Support and Parenting Time Plans on Monday and in the coming weeks, it is expected that the bill will still undergo deliberation with the Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs, as well as the Senate floor.

Brandes patterned his bill based on the Office of Child Support Enforcement's Title IV-D. Stipulated in the bill were child support costs as monitored and mandated by the Department of Revenue, as well as parenting time for separated moms and dads. "The bottom line is that this bill is not just about money, it's about spending quality time with kids," Brandes said, per Florida Politics.

One senator, however, already voiced her opposition to the bill citing that such a blanket policy might not work as families have different situations. Some senators also wondered how the bill, should it become a law, will cover parents who live out of state or those who simply refuse to comply with the mandate. Brandes said, however, these details should be ironed out during the deliberation and he is confident his proposal will be a success.

The bill comes as a new study showed children who grow up equally between the two homes of separated parents cope better as adults. A dad's role in a child's life even in infancy was also deemed as equally important as the mom's role, as previously reported on Parent Herald.
A single dad living in Phoenix, Arizona for the last 20 years was deported to Mexico last Thursday. The U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent Juan Carlos Fomperosa Garcia, 44, back to his native country after his annual check-in with the agency. He left three children, two of them minors, without any parent.

Yennifer Sanchez, the eldest daughter at 23, is temporarily taking care of her siblings, a 17-year-old brother and a 14-year-old sister, according to Inside Edition. The family, however, plans to fight the deportation order because Garcia has no grave criminal record and his work permit is in order.

The family believed the only reason their dad was deported was because of a prior deportation record years ago. Garcia apparently "previously repatriated to Mexico three times, including a formal deportation in 2014," according to an ICE statement, The Guardian reported.

Sanchez is pushed to work harder as a caregiver for her brother and sister without a parent to support the minors. Family members from Arizona are helping raise funds for the family as well, via YouCaring.

"They're going to keep going to school and I'm going to work," Sanchez said of their current situation. It's still unclear how the eldest sibling will be able to have legal guardianship should their father end up being permanently barred from entering the U.S. but immigration lawyers have dealt with similar situations like this before.

Five million minors have parents who are illegal immigrants in the U.S., according to the Migration Policy Institute. Cases of minors who are U.S. citizen but who could lose their parents are expected to increase under President Donald Trump's toughened immigration policy.

Children of immigrants whose parents could be deported might likely end up in the foster care system, especially if they do not have extended family in the U.S. capable of caring for them. Even so, the current process is deemed temporary and policies might change in the coming months.
Bathroom laws designed to not allow transgender teens to use the bathrooms that do not correspond to their gender when they were born continue to be a hot issue and the latest concerns the transgender Virginia teen named Gavin Grimm. The case was refused to be heard by the Supreme Court and was sent back to the lower court.

Grimm fought the transgender bathroom bill in his state in the past as he fought for his right to use the boy's bathroom at his high school. The Supreme Court decided on Monday that the case will not be heard by them and this disappointed not only Grimm but also his many supporters.

The decision came days after the Trump administration revoked the federal guidance issued by President Barack Obama. The guidance directed public schools to let transgender students use the bathrooms they are most comfortable with. The Supreme Court relied on the guidance when they sided with Grimm in the past and because the guidance was revoked, the case was sent back to the lower court for reconsideration, The Washington Post reported.

Many advocated for transgender students feared Donald Trump's decision will affect how the pending cases regarding transgender bathroom bills will be decided. They also said they believe Trump's decision will embolden schools to further ban transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice. Eliza Byard, the executive director of the national Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, said the announcement of the Supreme Court could lead to further confusion to other individuals who might think the decision is a license to discriminate.

Sarah Warbelow, the legal director of the Human Rights Campaign, also shared, "Thousands of transgender students across the country will have to wait even longer for a final decision from our nation's highest court affirming their basic rights." Grimm or his family did not release any statement regarding the announcement yet, The New York Times noted.

Other cases regarding bills against transgender people and their use of bathrooms included those in North Carolina. Government buildings also required transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender and not their gender identity. North Carolina was the first state that implemented the controversial law and due to that, many artists refused to perform in the area and businesses also stayed away from investing or expanding in the state.
Casey Anthony, the mother of a two-year-old girl named Caylee who died years ago, recently broke her silence regarding the issue. Anthony, who was accused in the death of the child but was acquitted, said in a new interview that until now she does not know what happened to her little girl.

Following her acquittal in 2011, the Florida woman got candid for the first time in the latest interview about the matter. The interview was with the Associated Press but it was only an audio.

Anthony said she knows much of the world still believes she killed her daughter despite her acquittal because of lying to the cops. According to USA Today, she lied about a number of things such as her employment, leaving her child with a babysitter and receiving a call from her daughter before she went missing.

As per Anthony, her daughter was with her father when she went missing. The remains of the child were found months later in the woods near the home of Anthony. The cause of death was not determined but prosecutors said Anthony dumped her daughter's body and tried to resume her normal life, Chicago Tribune reported.

When Anthony was asked by the Associated Press about the theory that Caylee died from drowning and her death was covered up, she said she really does not know to this day what happened. She also said everyone has their own theory regarding her daughter's death.

One of the most recent theories regarding the death of Caylee was that of the judge who presided the case. The retired Florida judge said in a statement last week Anthony might have killed her daughter but not intentionally with the use of chloroform.

Anthony then said she does not care about what other thinks about her and she is okay with herself. She also revealed she sleeps "pretty good at night." Caylee would have been 12-years-old now and Anthony said her daughter would have been a "bad-ass."
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DECATUR  The alleged victim of an October armed robbery, who was planning to testify at the trial of Robert L. Howell Tuesday morning, was sent to the hospital with multiple injuries after a pickup truck crashed into his motorized bicycle Monday night and fled from the scene.

Police are investigating the hit-and-run accident, but had no suspects Tuesday afternoon.

The victim's injuries caused a delay in Howell's jury trial, in which the jurors were selected and sworn in on Monday.

Howell, 54, is charged with two felony counts, including Class X armed robbery, punishable by 21 to 45 years in prison, for allegedly robbing the 41-year-old man of $10 and slashing him in his face and chest with a switchblade knife.

Howell is also charged with aggravated battery, punishable by two to five years in prison.

Assistant Macon County State's Attorney Jane Foster argued in support of a motion to continue the case in light of the robbery victim's injuries.

The victim is in St. Mary's Hospital. He has been placed in the (medical) system in the emergency room, Foster said. We don't know if he will be admitted.

Foster said the victim was in the courthouse all day Monday and his injuries were sustained after he left the courthouse. He would have testified on Monday if the jury selection and opening statements had been completed earlier that day.

Assistant Public Defender Scott Rueter objected to the request for a continuance. He said he objected to the state's prior request for a continuance, which the state had been granted Jan. 31, and wanted no further delay.

Associate Judge James Coryell granted the state's motion.

They're asking to start the evidence March 8, not March 7, Coryell said.

Once the matter of the continuance was settled, the lawyers argued over a defense motion to exclude the presentation of tapes of Howell's jail calls, which the state believes will show jurors that Howell tried to intimidate the victim.

Foster said Howell's comments in the jail calls showed a consciousness of guilt, because of references he made which implied he desired his acquaintances to contact the victim.

(This witness's) name is never used, however he is the only witness to testify, Foster argued. The state does believe they are relevant and they should be admitted.

In jail calls made during the days immediately before the trial began, Howell told an acquaintance that he would be going to trial at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning and you need to get up and go over there and handle my business, Foster said.

Rueter argued that witness tampering is a crime and that evidence of other crimes committed by the defendant would not be admissible.

We have no evidence that (the victim) was contacted in any way, Rueter argued.

Coryell ruled that some of the jail calls would be admissible. He said the jury should be allowed to hear the defendant talking about taking care of business and about something happening in March, apparently referring to the trial.

Obviously someone is not going to say, 'Take care of (victim's name),'  Coryell said.

Inmates are repeatedly warned that their phone calls are recorded.

The robbery victim was interviewed by police in the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital.

He said he was riding his motorized bicycle at about 9:30 p.m. Monday, in the vicinity of East Clay and South Webster streets, when he heard the exhaust of a pickup truck as it was approaching from behind.

He started to turn into the driveway when he was hit from behind by the pickup, causing him to fly off his bike and onto the pavement of the driveway, said Decatur patrol Sgt. Brian Earles. He thinks he was knocked unconscious.

The victim suffered bruising to his face, a bump to his forehead and skinned up knees, Earles said. He reported to police that there was no damage to his bicycle as far as he could tell.

The victim told police that an unknown man woke him up after he lost consciousness in the driveway.

He mentioned that he had court today, Earles said.

Howell, a parolee who was most recently released from prison in October 2014, is being held without bond in the Macon County Jail. He has been convicted in 10 felony cases since 1989, including convictions for robbery, aggravated battery/great bodily harm, domestic battery/bodily harm and narcotics possession. He has served nine terms in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Yesterday Patently Apple posted a report titled "WikiLeaks Exposes CIA Hacking Program 'Vault 7' Capable of Tapping into iOS, Android and Windows." Today Apple saying that they're working fast to fix vulnerabilities in the iPhone and other products after WikiLeaks released material said to show the Central Intelligence Agency was stockpiling malware to break into devices, reports the Financial Times.

The report further notes Apple stating that "While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues leaked were already patched in the latest iOS [operating system for iPhones and iPads], we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities.

Apple is deeply committed to safeguarding our customers' privacy and security. The technology built into today's iPhone represents the best data security available to consumers, and we're constantly working to keep it that way. We always urge customers to download the latest iOS to make sure they have the most recent security updates.'

The most powerful of these weapons are so-called zero day exploits  code that takes advantage of new flaws in software that no one else has yet spotted, potentially creating secret back doors that can be used over long periods.

Gus Hosein, executive director of the Privacy International campaign group, said: 'The fact that the US government was identifying ways to undermine security of commonly used consumer devices and are even talking about hacking automobiles, that flies in the face of the Obama administration's response to the Snowden revelations.

They promised that if intelligence agencies knew of any zero day vulnerabilities, they would notify the companies, so open wounds in the systems can be shut. Otherwise, they can be taken advantage of by foreign entities.'"

Does this news of the Obama administration really surprise anyone? Wasn't the Snowden revelations enough to show that the U.S. intelligence under Obama was spying on foreign governments and others that caused an uproar?

Mr Hosein told the Financial Times that "We are all realists about this, and I doubt this will be surprising to any technology company. Unfortunately, perfect security is impossible and it's a constant arms race against hackers. It's just that Apple shouldn't be in an arms race with its own government."

As a side note, it was interesting to see how CNN and most news networks were falling over themselves to report on the latest WikiLeaks report, when during the Presidential race they refused to cover the leaks found in the Clinton camp, claiming it was Russian information. Apparently hypocrisy has no bounds.

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Patently Apple is first to discover a new patent infringement lawsuit filed against Apple. We've learned that the Patent Troll going by the name 'Prowire LLC' had acquired a patent from Taiwan for the sole purpose of suing profitable high profile companies like Apple, and not to make a product of any kind. Prowire claims that Apple's iPad 4 infringes on their acquired patent relating to inductors. The acquired patent notes in its background that "Inductors are considered one of the most common devices in the electronic/electric industry." And yet somehow, even though Apple owns IP covering inductors that work in their patented iDevices, Prowire believes that Apple had to steal or infringe their acquired invention from Taiwan to make an iPad run right.

Sarcasm aside, Prowire's patent infringement lawsuit is based on October 20004U.S. patent 6,137,390 titled "Inductors with minimized EMI effect and the method of manufacturing the same." The patent, as noted below, was originally assigned to Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan and invented by two Taiwanese citizens.





Prowire states in their complaint before the court, that the iPad 4 infringes on at least claim 1 of their patent that states the following: An inductor with enhanced inductance comprising: (a) a magnetic core; (b) an electrically conducting coil wound about said magnetic core; (c) a magnetic resin layer compression-molded to embed at least a portion of an outer periphery of said electrically conducting coil; and (d) wherein said magnetic resin layer contains a magnetic powder dispersed in a polymer resin.

Prowire claims in their filing specifically that "The inductors used in Defendant's consumer electronics products including, for example and without limitation, its line of iPad 4 tablet computers, meet each and every element of at least claim 1 of the patent-in-suit. For example and without limitation, the inductors shown in the following photographs [below] meet each and every element of at least claim 1 of the patent-in-suit:



The inductors used in Defendant's iPad 4 tablet computers have enhanced inductance.

The inductors used in Defendant's iPad 4 tablet computers contain a magnetic core.







The inductors used in Defendant's iPad 4 tablet computers contain an electrically conducting coil wound about said magnetic core.

The magnetic resin layer contained in the inductors used in Defendant's iPad 4 tablet computers contains a magnetic powder dispersed in a polymer resin.





Defendant has infringed and continues to infringe (literally and/or under the doctrine of equivalents) one or more claims of the patent-in-suit in this judicial district and elsewhere in the United States, by importing into the United States consumer electronics products that incorporate inductor devices made by a process patented in the United States, including, for example and without limitation, its line of iPad 4 tablet computers.

Claim 11 of the patent-in-suit states:

A method for making inductors with enhanced inductance comprising the steps of: (a) winding an electrically conducting coil about a magnetic core; (b) forming a magnetic resin layer by compression molding to embed at least a portion of an outer periphery of said electrically conducting coil; and (c) wherein said magnetic resin layer matrix contains a magnetic powder dispersed in a polymer resin.

The inductors used in Defendant's consumer electronics products imported into the United States including, for example and without limitation, its line of iPad 4 tablet computers, were made using a method that practices each and every step of claim 11 of the patent-in-suit.

The inductors used in Defendant's iPad 4 tablet computers have enhanced inductance.

The inductors used in Defendant's iPad 4 tablet computers were made using a method that includes winding an electrically conducting coil about a magnetic core.

The inductors used in Defendant's iPad 4 tablet computers were made using a method that includes forming a magnetic resin layer by compression molding to embed at least a portion of an outer periphery of said electrically conducting coil.

Defendant has been at no time, either expressly or impliedly, licensed under the patent-in-suit.

Defendant's acts of infringement have caused damage to Prowire. Prowire is entitled to recover from Defendant the damages sustained by Prowire as a result of the wrongful acts of Defendant in an amount subject to proof at trial.

To the extent required by law, Prowire has complied with the provisions of 35 U.S.C.  287.

Prowire reserves the right to amend to assert a claim of willful infringement if the evidence obtained in discovery supports such assertion."

The patent infringement case presented in today's report was filed in the Delaware District Court, Wilmington Office, New Castle on March 2, 2017. At present, no Judge has been assigned to the case. The patent in this lawsuit can be reviewed in full here

Notice: Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of certain legal cases/ lawsuits which are part of the public record for journalistic news purposes. Readers are cautioned that Patently Apple does not offer an opinion on the merit of the case and strictly presents the allegations made in said legal cases / lawsuits. A lawyer should be consulted for any further details or analysis. About Making Comments on this Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
Patna: Authorities in Patna on Tuesday busted an inter-state gang of vehicle thieves by arresting seven men from Danapur and seizing six previously stolen vehicles along with three pistols, several live cartridges, and ten cell phones, City Superintendent of Police (SP)  West  Ravindra Kumar Bharati said.

Alarmed by the growing case of auto thefts in Patna district in the last few months, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj had earlier sent out an alert to all police stations to be in the lookout for any suspicious person or gang involved in such crime.

On Tuesday, the City SP (West) received an anonymous tip that some criminals had gathered near Saguna Mor to commit a major crime in the area. They were also said to be armed.

A team of policemen led by Danapur police station in-charge Ranjit Kumar Singh was formed to ambush the criminals.

As the criminals tried to escape seeing a police vehicle approaching them, law enforcement officials were able to apprehend gang leader Manager Kumar, Asad Khan, Monu Kumar, Santosh Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Akshay Kumar, and Anil Kumar without any incident.

Based on their confessions, police recovered a pickup van, three Indigos, and one Bolero  all reported stolen from Patna a few months ago.

The criminals told the police that the stolen vehicles were sold in Delhi, Mumbai, West Bengal and other northeastern states.
Patna: Threatening to shut down over 45,000 public distribution centers in Bihar if their demands were not fulfilled without further delay, members of the Fair Price Dealers Association (FPDA) in Patna on Tuesday took out a rally and a public meeting to put pressure on the Nitish government to submit to their long-pending demands.

The rally began at the Gate Public Library on Khagaul Road and ended at Gardanibagh where it took the form of a public meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohammed Ramjan Ansari said that if their 8-point demands were not fulfilled soon then they would be forced to go on a statewide strike in April that would essentially shut down over 45,000 distribution shops in Bihar causing much inconvenience to everyone.

"Poor people will be largely affected by this strike but it will be the government of Bihar that would be responsible for their plight, not us," Ansari said.

The rally got boost by the presence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and the leader of the opposition in Bihar Assembly Prem Kumar, legislators Sanjeev Chaurasia, Sanjay Saraogi, and Braj Kishore Bind who assured them of raising their issue in both Houses to get justice to them.

Among the eight demands, the members of the FPDA are also seeking permanency in their jobs and the status of government servants so they could also take avail of the perks given to the government job holders.

Later, a six-member delegation of the FPDA met with Bihar Consumer Protection Minister Madan Sahni and handed him over a copy of their charter of demands.
DECATUR -- Tomorrow, Chicago Cubs fans in Decatur will get to see the prize that has eluded their beloved team for 108 years.

The 2016 World Series Trophy will be on display at the Decatur Civic Center from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, and the Herald & Review will be there to capture the emotions of Decatur's Cubs fans.

In today's paper, there's a Cubs hat on page A5 that can be cut out, worn and shared on social media (#CubsinDecatur). On Thursday, the H&R will be at the event with live video on Facebook.com/HeraldandReview. Visit herald-review.com for videos and a photo gallery, plus a column from Mark Tupper that tops off our complete coverage.

The civic center will open its doors at 6 a.m. for people to begin lining up. Those arriving earlier should line up outside, along the front of the building, then east of the main entrance on the sidewalk and continuing east toward Jackson Street. Parking will be available in the civic center lot free of charge.

The rst 500 fans in line will receive wrist bands and are guaranteed to have their moment with the trophy -- there is no cost to see the trophy. If the line moves quickly, more fans will be accommodated -- 1,000 or more if things go smoothly.

After the trophy leaves Decatur, it's headed to Peoria. The trophy will have made close to 140 stops by the time Chicago plays its Wrigley Field opener on April 10.
To Veil or Not to Veil -- That is a Complex Question

03/07/17

by Sussan Tahmasebi (source: LobeLog)



Iran, Sweden high level meeting in Tehran on February 11, 2017

(photo by Islamic Republic News Agency)

Ann Linde, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs and Trade tweeted:

I'm proud of my delegation to Iran, which consisted of a large majority of women, 12 of 15!



Over the last two years, countless trade and diplomatic delegations have traveled to Iran to kick off economic cooperation in diverse sectors from the auto industry and the gas and oil sector to agriculture. In fact, Iran is embarking on trade and economic agreements at an unprecedented rate, including with many European countries, but also with China, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia and even some Latin American and Persian Gulf countries.

Two weeks ago, however, when a Swedish political and trade delegation visited Iran, it faced an avalanche of criticism. When pictures of the women in the delegation donning headscarves appeared in various media, the delegation and the Swedish government came under attack for appearing to appease the Iranian government on its policy of compulsory veiling, failing to take a stand for Iranian women and their right to choose their own dress, and maintaining contradictory policies in support of women at home and abroad. Many claimed that the female delegates should have refused to travel to Iran if it required wearing a headscarf. Others on social media were more radical in their demands, expecting the female delegation to condemn the practice, refuse to wear the headscarf, or subversively remove the headscarf while in the country.

The issue of compulsory veiling and unveiling has been a politically and emotionally charged issue in Iran for close to a century ever since Reza Shah, the founding monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty, forcefully "emancipated" women from the veil, in an effort to "modernize" Iran. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Reza Shah, later relaxed the law. During the reign of the second Pahlavi ruler, women were no longer required by law to uncover, but the practice of veiling was viewed largely by the political elite as a sign of backwardness. In the lead up the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the veil became a sign of resistance for female political objectors who identified themselves with political Islam.

Following the Iranian revolution in 1979, the policy was reversed and veiling for women became mandatory by law. Over the years the state and especially hardliners have claimed that the veiling of women represents the Islamic nature of the country and should be promoted as a sign of chastity and purity of not only women, but Iran as a whole. To this day the issue remains controversial and highly politicized, with ultra conservatives pushing for more rigorous and harsher enforcement of veiling and an increasingly vocal sector of Iranians and non-Iranians objecting to the policy. In fact, the issue is so charged that it is difficult to talk about veiling in more complex and nuanced ways, without being attacked by those on both sides of the debate.

Reaching Out to Iranian Women

As a women's rights activist and a feminist I too am opposed to any form of compulsory veiling or control of women's dress or bodies. Everyone should have the right to make decisions about their own bodies and dress, including Iranian women and non-Iranians who visit Iran. Female politicians choosing to go to Iran should object to the practice of compulsory veiling and if they are uncomfortable about it they should bow out of the mission. But more sensational and controversial objections by diplomats should be tied directly to the end result. The question that should be asked is this: will harsh condemnation of compulsory veiling by diplomats and governments who want to politically and economically engage with Iran benefit Iranian women and end the practice?

Many, myself included, believe that this type of approach would cause diplomatic strife and add to the controversy and sensationalism that surrounds the issue, which may backfire, emboldening conservatives to pressure women further. By claiming that the demand for ending compulsory veiling is a Western-imposed demand, they would be able to push for harsher treatment of women who do not observe a strict dress code as well as harsher treatment of women on other rights issues while also limiting international cooperation, especially on issues of rights. This would isolate Iran further and hamper the efforts of moderates trying to slowly open up the country and rebuild Iran's economy.

In fact, all protests and actions should be weighed against the potential benefits to women. Reducing the competing priorities of Iranian women to a single issue, as in the recent case of the Swedish delegation, is not only a mistake but a disservice to those working on these issues and also those living in Iran. Just like women everywhere, Iranian women have many aspirations for themselves and their country. A few years ago, for instance, they went to the polls to vote in a president who promised to end Iran's isolation and the sanctions that had crippled the Iranian economy.

Iranian activists who welcome trade delegations as a signal of an end to Iran's isolation and the promise of economic improvements approach current developments with trepidation. They wonder if these trade agreements will result in the international community turning a blind eye to human rights abuses and Iranian aspirations for a more democratic society. What will happen if Western governments that are more supportive of human rights, refuse to engage with the Iranian government? What will happen if all the trade agreements are with countries such as China and Russia, who not only will not engage with Iran on human rights, but will actively support political crackdowns? How can Iranians ensure that engagement with Europe is not limited to trade alone?

Women as Diplomats

Along these lines, during their visit to Iran, the Swedish delegation met with Shahindokht Mowlaverdi, Iran's vice president for women's affairs. Mowlaverdi, an expert on international law, has a long history of working in Iran's civil society sector and has a reputation as a strong advocate for women. The Swedish delegation, which boasts of its feminist approach to foreign policy, signed a cooperative agreement with Iran on women's issues. The positive possibilities of such cooperation and the details of it were lost in the cacophony created around the headscarf issue. If the Swedish delegation had been all male, however, the meeting with the VP on women's affairs may have never taken place much less resulted in bilateral cooperation on women's issues.

In fact, if female politicians don't mind wearing the hijab on their trips to Iran, they can bring a much-needed gendered and even feminist perspective to diplomatic and trade discussions. After all, a feminist foreign policy should not be limited to protest alone, but should also embrace and support those like Mowlaverdi, who are working under extremely difficult circumstances to create positive change for women.

For example, they can push the Iranian government and also their own private sector to adopt fair employment practices in Iran and hire from the incredibly talented and well-educated workforce of Iranian women as well as Iranian minorities, both suffering from disproportionate unemployment rates. Female diplomats can insist that Western companies adopt policies that ensure equal pay for equal work and prohibit sexual harassment in the workforce. In negotiating trade agreements, the female diplomats can also insist on the establishment of social responsibility and social investment programs, providing support to independent civil society, but especially for women's groups and programs. Governments like Sweden are right to sign cooperative agreements with Iran on women's issues, but they should not silo women's issues from trade issues. Trade and economic engagement present unique opportunities for improving the lives of Iranian women, increasing their workforce participation rates and their presence in decision-making roles.

The large number of women in the Swedish delegation sent a strong message to Iranians that they too should have more women in decision-making roles. Among Iranians and especially on social media the juxtaposition of a row of mostly female negotiators facing a row of exclusively male negotiators was especially interesting and worthy of discussion. It would have been difficult for a delegation of only men to send a similar message or to advocate for measures to improve living conditions for women.

Female politicians traveling to Iran who face criticism on the issue of compulsory veiling should take the opportunity to expand the conversation, to make it more complex and nuanced. They should do so not by excusing practices that take away women's choice, or by attributing those practices to culture, but by including in the agenda a range of other issues as critical as the first, which are important to Iranian women and will certainly increase their opportunities and choices.



About the author:

Sussan Tahmasebi is an Iranian civil society and women's human rights defender. Currently she is the director of the MENA/Asia Program at the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), which she co-founded in 2006. ICAN works to support women's civil society organizations in the Middle East and North Africa and in Asia, to advocate for rights, peace, and security with a focus on countries impacted by conflict, extremism, and shrinking civil society space. Follow her on twitter @sussantweets
Eurasian Economic Union agrees to form free-trade zone with Iran

03/08/17

Source: Press TV

The prime ministers of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have signed a directive ordering preparations for a temporary agreement on forming a free-trade zone with Iran.

The Eurasian Intergovernmental Council members held a meeting in the Kazakh capital of Bishkek on Tuesday with the presence of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.



In the Bishkek meeting, the prime ministers also discussed issues pertaining to the development of cooperation among EAEU members and making use of their capabilities to promote the union's interaction with other countries.



Among other orders issued in Kyrgyzstan, the council attendees signed instructions to pave the way for the implementation of the integration community's digital agenda by 2025.



Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries





The EAEU is an international organization for regional economic integration. It has international legal personality and is established by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union.



The EAEU provides for the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor, pursues coordinated, harmonized and single policy in the sectors determined by the Treaty and international agreements within the Union.



Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation are the current member states of the union.



The union has been created to comprehensively upgrade, raise the competitiveness of and cooperation between the national economies, and to promote stable development in order to raise the living standards of the nations of the member states.
IRGC warns U.S. of 'irreversible consequences' after vessel encounter in Persian Gulf

03/08/17

Source: Tehran Times

TEHRAN - An official with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' navy said that unprofessional acts by the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf may have "irreversible consequences."





The comments come after IRGC fast-attack vessels forced on Saturday the USNS Invincible and three ships from the British Royal Navy accompanying it to change direction in the Strait of Hormuz.



"Such provocations can have irreversible consequences," Admiral Mehdi Hashemi said, dismissing claims by U.S. officials that it was the IRGC boats that had come within 600 yards of the U.S. warship.



"A U.S. warship from the American and British fleet that was passing the traffic zone of the Strait of Hormuz, changed direction from the international route toward the boats of the IRGC navy."



While warning, the U.S. warship had acted "unprofessionally" and had come within 550 meters of the boats, Hashemi added, accusing Washington of resorting to "lying" and "propaganda techniques."



Iranian speedboats in Persian Gulf



The U.S. Navy presence in the Persian Gulf, Iran says, has jeopardized the security and stability of the strategic region which the U.S. Energy Information Agency calls "the world's most important oil chokepoint."



This is the first time under the tough-talking U.S. administration that the two navies have an encounter in the Persian Gulf waters where the IRGC navy keeps regular patrols in Iran's territorial waters.



The last serious naval incident was in January when a U.S. destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels near the Strait after they closed in at high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down, according to Reuters.



Also, in January 2016, 10 Americans, including one woman, were arrested by the naval forces of the IRGC after entering Iranian waters, released hours later.



The peaceful settlement of the development was itself the result of an international nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., which removed sanctions against the Middle East powerhouse in exchange for it rolling back its nuclear program.
Putnam Legislature Approves 2023 Budget by 8-1 The Putnam Legislature concluded its budget process Friday night by approving a 2023 county budget that was $54,000 more than...

Brief Budget Hearing Before Legislators It took as long to read the public notice and lay the ground rules for the 2023 budget hearing as...

Minor Changes in Putnam Budget for 2023; The Putnam Legislature has concluded its budget review of County Executive MaryEllen Odells fiscal spending plan for 2023 minor modifications....
March Air Reserve Base may find it has a somewhat stronger voice now that a local businessman has been named to an Air Force citizen liaison group.

Jamil Dada is the first Inland Empire resident to serve on the 14-member Air Mobility Command Civic Leader Program. Hes hoping to help steer more resources to March.

It provides a little extra access and a face-to-face with Gen. (Carlton) Everhart, Dada said, referring to the commander of Air Mobility Command. Ive been invited to be on a conference call with Gen. Everhart, and hes going to discuss in particular the KC-46. So thats access.

The KC-46 is the next generation of refueling tanker and is just beginning to roll off the assembly line. March has been in line to receive an allotment of the planes but has not yet gotten the nod. The planes would replace the bases aging fleet of 14 KC-135 tankers. One of Marchs primary missions is refueling.

The civic leader program was started in 2008 to allow greater access to top military brass and to help disseminate information at the community level.

Dada was nominated for the program by Brig. Gen. Russell Muncy, commander of March and Maj. Gen. John Flournoy, the previous 4th Air Force commander. Dada is the only member of the group representing the Air Force Reserve and said he was surprised to hear from Muncy in February that hed been nominated.

I didnt have a clue, Dada said.

Air Force officials announced the program members Monday. The group will meet with Everhart once every six months for three years. They will tour military facilities and will be expected to return to their communities and share what theyve learned, either through opinion pieces in local news publications or community forums.

As the only Air Force Reserve representative, Dada said he is hoping to give that part of the Air Force a greater voice, rather than being the odd man out. He has been lobbying lawmakers for years, locally and in Washington, promoting the March base.

Ive been doing this advocacy stuff in Washington for 15 years, he said. Clearly the reserves have already shown they can do almost the same amount of effort and impact for a lot less money. I think as we go forward, (military officials and lawmakers are) going to be looking for more Reserve impact. My hope also is to get March a higher profile.

Dada is vice president of investments for Provident Bank and serves as the board chairman of the March Field Air Museum. He sits on or has been part of the board of numerous community organizations, including serving as chairman of the March Joint Powers Authoritys Redevelopment Oversight Committee.

One of the top things on his list is helping to secure funding for improvements at March.

March has a big ramp and could take more missions and that could reduce the (Reserves) overall cost, he said. But one of the reasons we didnt get the KC-46 in the first round is they told us a big part of the ramp is not strong enough. The plane is too heavy. We need funding to strengthen the ramp.

With President Donald Trumps plans to increase military spending by as much as $54 billion, he said, We think we have an opportunity to tap some of that extra money.

As an immigrant from Pakistan, Dada said his inclusion in the program sends a message.

It shows you how amazing this country is, he said, and that we value everybody equally in this country.
Riverside County supervisors Tuesday, March 7, were reluctant to close a fire station as they considered an unappealing set of options to close a budget shortfall and gird for tens of millions of dollars in unavoidable new expenses.

The Board of Supervisors did not take any formal action on Fire Chief John Hawkins cost-cutting suggestions, including closing the Poppet Flats fire station, eliminating 42 positions and in some cases, going from three-firefighter engines to medic patrol units staffed by two firefighters.

Its all part of a difficult dilemma for supervisors, whose already fragile budget is threatened by new costs that threaten to create a shortfall of more than $100 million.

Among the hurdles is a projected $44 million hit from a state budget plan to shift the cost of in-home supportive services for adults from Sacramento to county governments.

Without more help, IHSS costs could hamstring the county Department of Public Social Services, including its ability to conduct child welfare investigations, Susan Von Zabern, the departments director, told supervisors.

The Fire Departments woes are another issue. The department currently has a $2 million-plus shortfall, and firefighter raises negotiated between Cal Fire and its union could add $2.5 million to county costs this fiscal year and $11.8 million in fiscal 2017-18.

A 2014 salary survey found that pay for Cal Fire firefighters lags behind 20 other agencies.

The board asked Hawkins to come up with ways to save money. He suggested closing Poppet Flats and converting a handful of three-person engines to two-person crews in rural and outlying areas  possibly stations serving the Ortega Highway, Garner Valley, Winchester and Temecula Valley Wine Country  a move he admits is not ideal and has consequences for firefighting and medical calls.

Other ideas including eliminating one of the countys two HAZMAT teams, keeping vacant battalion and division chief positions open and raising $3.6 million by hiring a private company to recover the cost of EMS services from patients or their insurers.

Mike Alvarado, Riverside district vice president of Cal Fire Local 2881, told supervisors the proposed cuts put firefighters and the public at risk. He expressed support for recovering EMS costs, noting the practice is already pursued by agencies throughout Southern California.

Union members and supporters wore red T-shirts and sat in the audience as Alvarado spoke.

Members of the public urged the board not to close Poppet Flats. Please dont put the safety of my guests, my employees and my Poppet Flats neighbors at risk, said Patrick Buhrer, director of the Silent Valley Club RV resort.

Supervisors expressed a desire to keep Station 63 open, even if its with a two-firefighter unit.

I wont vote for any plan that takes away service from Station 63, said Supervisor Marion Ashley. Its got to have some service there.

Supervisor Kevin Jeffries offered a plan to preserve front-line fire service. His ideas include changes to make it cheaper to staff fire engines and giving the Fire Department a waiver from most charges levied by other county departments for services rendered.

Jeffries also lamented the administrative fee  expected to approach $21 million after July 1  the county pays to Cal Fire in Sacramento. For what it pays, the county doesnt get the investment it deserves, said Jeffries, who suggested the board only authorize a one-year contract with Cal Fire until the matter is addressed.

Jeffries said he had a problem with sending EMS bills to patients since they stood to fight with their insurers to cover the cost.

Supervisor Chuck Washington was more open to the concept. I dont think were in a position to provide every service everyone wants and put the burden on all the taxpayers, he said.

Supervisor John Tavaglione, the boards longest-serving member, said the countys ongoing budget problems scare him.

Weve always been supportive of public safety and we always will be, he said. But its going to be a tough balance.
Dont cut firefighters

Riverside County could make cuts to fire service, says the headline of March 6.

Wow! Chief John Hawkins is the latest member of the Good Old Boys Club of Riverside County. Move over, supervisors, and make room for a new member!

How dare John Hawkins recommend cutting our already overburdened firefighters? I believe the heads of our fire departments and law enforcement agencies are supposed to be advocates for their employees.

Last fire season, the wonderful county fire crews saved Cherry Valley from a fire that, if not controlled, would have been a deadly for this small, rural community. We watched for hours as the big planes, helicopters and ground crews worked their magic.

Perhaps the county board and the fire chief need to re-evaluate their own salaries and job duties. To the citizens of Riverside Countys unincorporated areas, our first priority is having a safe place to live.

That means that our Cal Fire heroes and our wonderful Riverside County Sheriffs Department come first. They are the ones risking their lives on a daily basis, not sitting in nice, comfortable chairs making very bad decisions. Find your cuts elsewhere.

 Cappi Duncan, Cherry Valley

Whiggish decline

So Cardinal Carl Cannon accuses Democrats of shooting their wad over the Jeff Sessions problem (Time to unwrap some mysteries, [Opinion, March 5]). Or does he just have basic anger issues over the past?

After Bill Clinton was elected, Republicans used the independent counsel statute to criminalize policy differences, instead of legitimate infractions, because the right has fully lost its virtue. Exchanging liberty for dollars, the right has abandoned the core Christian principles upon which the nation was founded.

The independent counsel statute is not the real issue. The real issue is that Republicans control all levers of power of government, including the steering wheel, but insist on taking the ditch and complaining about the bumpy ride.

Cannon is not being objective in pretending Democrats have had any real power in Congress over the last half century.

Hubert Humphrey did not win in 1969, the Republican Party did, and our nation has been in Whiggish decline ever since Spiro Agnew first declared war on the media.

 John Phillip Doddridge, San Jacinto
When we think of crying, we usually relate it to grief, pain (whether it be emotional or physical), shame and sometimes, even guilt. We cry for a lot of reasons.

Sometimes we cry because Ill never let go, Jack happens in a movie. When I was pregnant with my daughter Samara in 1989, I remember crying at some totally inappropriate moment during the whale movie, Orca. It was so odd, but to this day I recall how good it felt to let those tears out and blow my nose. Its funny looking back. Personally, Im not a crier, it takes a lot, but I have, and I do, and on occasion its provoked by normal things such grief, or the fear of losing someone I love, or if I really really hurt myself. I once started crying after pain induced by cutting open my finger while chopping an onion.

Any type of emotional surge, whether it is positive or negative, can trigger tears. When weve finished crying, we feel so much better! That feeling of relief you experience after crying comes from feel-good hormones and neurotransmitters that are released during the episode. Emotional crying contains leucine-enkephalin, an endorphin which improves mood and reduces pain. Your tears contain endorphins, so when you cry, you can feel yourself start to settle down almost instantly after shedding some tears. As an added effect, our emotional pain tolerance increases after we have cried. This is human nature. Some other interesting benefits associated with crying include enhanced communication, better coping skills and antibacterial effects. Let me explain:

Crying releases stress. Stress-crying releases toxins that assist the body in ridding itself of chemicals that are known to raise cortisol levels. Cortisol is the hormone that puts fat around your belly and so controlling that could contribute to weight loss. Controlling cortisol helps you cope with stress. Do not allow your stress or emotions to remain bottled up inside you.

Tears are antibacterial. As for the killing off of bacteria, an article published by Medical Daily found that tears (which contain lysozyme) can kill up to 95 percent of bacteria in under ten minutes!

Crying improves communication. Babies cannot speak, so they let you know about their discomfort by crying. As for adults, seeing another persons tears quickly sums up the extreme level of anger, frustration or sadness, that words fail to convey. I have a longer article at my website which explains why some people prefer to cry alone in the shower.

Wherever you cry, it would be a disservice to yourself, your mental health and your physical body to prevent the occasional vulnerable state (and euphoria) that emotional crying provides. In order to restore balance to both your body and mind, you should try to embrace the lacrimation. Men especially, it is a sign of a kind-hearted sensitive man and theres nothing wrong with letting your guard down. It is not a sign of weakness like you might think.
A convicted felon who attacked a Hemet police officer, grabbing and using the lawmans badge as a weapon, pleaded guilty Tuesday, March 7 to resisting arrest and was immediately sentenced to 10 months in jail and three years probation.

Gerald Owen Peachie, 46, admitted the misdemeanor count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorneys Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped felony charges against Peachie of assault on a peace officer and battery on a peace officer.

The plea deal was reached just as a preliminary hearing was slated to get underway to determine whether the defendant should stand trial. The judge imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

According to Hemet police, on the morning of Sept. 8, 2016, Peachie was contacted by an officer, who was not identified, in the 2100 block of Florida Avenue after the defendant harassed members of a gas station cleaning crew, prompting one of them to call 911.

Police said Peachie left the business before the officer arrived, but as the officer rolled up, the 911 caller pointed out the transient in a wheelchair across the street.

The officer approached and attempted to speak with Peachie, who suddenly jumped out of the wheelchair and attacked the officer, Lt. Eric Dickson wrote in a news release.

The officer and Peachie fell to the ground, and during the altercation, Peachie pulled the officers badge off his uniform and grasped it so that the approximately three-inch steel pin portion of the badge was positioned between his knuckles, Dickson wrote.

He alleged that Peachie swung at the officer several times, but the officer was able to dodge the swipes and deployed his baton, ordering Peachie to drop the badge and surrender, ultimately gaining his compliance.

Neither the officer nor Peachie was injured, Dickson wrote.

According to court records, the defendant has a prior felony conviction for grand theft, as well as misdemeanor convictions for battery and resisting arrest.
The injuries that a San Jose woman suffered in last weeks Riverside plane crash were so severe that her legs had to be amputated, and she is not able to breathe or eat on her own, her husband said.

But as Stacey Pierce remains hospitalized in critical condition, with her husband and four children staying unflaggingly by her side, her family has reason to hope shell pull through.

MARCH 8 UPDATE: Stacey Pierce dies

The 46-year-old medical laboratory executive  known as an active and vibrant member of her community  suffered third-degree burns over 90 percent of her body in the Feb. 27 crash that killed three people, including Stacey Pierces parents, injured one other person and destroyed two houses.

A ventilator and feeding tube are sustaining Stacey, and she hasnt been able to talk, said her husband, Richard Pierce.

Last week, he said, Stacey had a bad night: Her blood pressure dropped dangerously low and her temperature rose above 104 degrees.

But she made it through the night, and the past few days have been mostly good days, Pierce said Tuesday.

For the most part, when I go in and talk to her she opens her eyes, he said. Shes responding.

However, there was nothing doctors could do to save her legs, Pierce said.

Her legs were too badly damaged, he said. I asked if there was anything (her doctors) could do to save them, and they said without a doubt, no.

Richard Pierce said he hasnt yet told his wife that her mother and step-father, Dana and Nouri Hijazi, both died in the crash. He wants to wait until she further recovers.

The past week has been trying on Pierce and their children: 15-year-old Bradley, 19-year-old Brandon and 12-year-old twins Brooke and Blaine. Theyve spent several nights sleeping on the floor in her room in the burn center at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.

Some of Stacey Pierces other relatives have come to see her, including her cousin from Sweden, Richard Pierce said. Her sister lives in Poland, where Stacey was born, and has not yet been able to secure a visa to travel here, he said.

Stacey Pierce and her parents were among five San Jose residents on Nouri Hijazis 43-year-old Cessna 310 when it crashed into a Riverside neighborhood shortly after takeoff from Riverside Municipal Airport.

RELATED: Plane that crashed had engine that wouldnt start, witness says

Nouri Hijazi, 83, Dana Hijazi, 67, and Adine Farelas, 22, were killed.

The two survivors  Stacey Pierce and Silvia Farelas, 46  were ejected from the plane.

Silvia Farelas was taken to Riverside Community Hospital. A spokeswoman there did not return calls Tuesday seeking an update on her condition, which on Friday had been critical.

The two families had traveled to Southern California to watch a cheerleading competition at Disney California Adventure Park the weekend before the crash. Stacey Pierces and Silvia Farelas middle-school-age daughters competed, but were not on the plane; they got to and from Anaheim on a bus with their classmates.

As the plane came down and set off a fireball, it destroyed two houses on Rhonda Road just east of the airport.

Several neighbors who rushed to the scene saw Silvia Farelas, partially on fire, crawling out of one of the homes. As they came to her aid, some said she was screaming for her daughter.

Stacey Pierce wound up in the bedroom of the house that the plane came to rest inside. Firefighters who went in looking for victims heard her moaning and got her out through a window.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash. It is expected to release a preliminary report in the coming days, but it could be some time before a cause is determined. The investigation could take up to 18 months, authorities have said.

RELATED: Engine problems, smoke hint at cause of Riverside plane crash

Silvia Farelas 19-year-old son, Brandon Farelas, said last week that the loss of his sister and the condition of his mother have been tough on him and his 12-year-old sister, for whom he is caring. An outpouring of support from the community has helped, though, he said.

Online fundraisers have been set up to help both the Farelas and Pierce families with expenses:

 www.gofundme.com/stacey-pierce-family-relief-fund

 www.gofundme.com/farelas-family-fund#
Plenty of cannabis festivals charge admission, but Kushstock, which comes to the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino on Saturday, March 11, wants you to feel the good vibes for free.

Organizer Kadan Borg, known in the industry as Dr. K., looks at Kushstock as an event with the potential to grow beyond Southern California, eyeing future events in Washington and Nevada. The festival is the third in the series, after events in Van Nuys in April and October 2016 attracted 3,600 and 7,600 people, respectively.

Borg has high hopes for the San Bernardino event and thinks Kushstock 3 could draw a crowd of 15,000-20,000.

Part of that attraction is music, with a main stage that will feature sets from artists including the Long Beach Dub Allstars, as well as a second stage for local bands.

Were trying to mimic Woodstock, he said.

While admission is free, attendees to Kushstock need to be at least 18 with a valid ID. Signing up in advance will net visitors quicker access, Borg said.

For those who want to partake, a medical recommendation is required to obtain products. Borg said there would be doctors on-site.

Ponying up for a VIP pass  priced at $200 before fees  grants more access, including to a judging competition where you can sample flower, concentrate, vaporizers and edibles. The winners are decided by the VIP pass holders who partake in the products. The VIP package also comes with a gram of concentrate and an eighth of flower, Borg said.

Gates open at 10 a.m. and the event runs until 2 a.m. The NOS Events Center is at 689 S. E St. in San Bernardino. Visit kushstockfestival.com for more information.

Kushstock

When: 10 a.m., Saturday, March 11

Where: NOS Events Center, 689 S. E St., San Bernardino

Tickets: Free for general admission, $200 for VIP passes. 18 and older only.

Information: www.kushstockfestival.com
Thieves continue to target vehicles tires and rims at a popular Redlands shopping center and police urge owners to stay vigilant and take precautions.

In the past few weeks, two people returned to their vehicles after parking at the Mountain Grove shopping center on San Bernardino Avenue and Citrus Plaza Drive to find their cars up on blocks and their wheels and tires gone.

On Feb. 25, a witness spotted someone meddling with the tires on a vehicle and managed to frighten the suspicious person off. The unidentified man ran off, however, with half the vehicles lug nuts.

The thefts may be part of a larger trend, according to some industry professionals.

Tires are getting kind of pricey and people are always looking for a way to make money, said Andrew Garcia, an employee at Daehan Tire, 528 Texas St. Weve even had some of our used tires that we take off cars stolen out from the back.

Brand new rims and tires can cost thousands of dollars and even used sets can run several hundred dollars.

According to Garcia, thieves looking to make quick money try to sell the used tires and rims to unscrupulous tire shops who will then resell them to unsuspecting customers.

Weve had people come and ask if we wanted to buy tires but we just tell them no, Garcia said. We have certified people we get our tires from.

According to a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, organized crime rings are targeting vehicles and reselling them on the black market.

While statistics on the number of wheel and rim thefts are hard to track down, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence about the crime.

An off-duty police officer in New Jersey had his wheels stolen and his Honda left up on blocks, according to a report from NJ.com. Many car owners in Chicago also reported missing tires and rims last year.

Garcia said a friend of his also fell victim to the recent crime trend.

He found them posted for sale online on Facebook, Garcia said. Theyre just taking them left an right.

In response to the Feb. 25 theft in Redlands, STAR Auto parts donated lug nuts, and a police officer secured the wheels on the vehicle so the victim could drive home, according to a Redlands Police Department post on Facebook.

Car owners can protect their wheels by installing locking lug nuts, advised Carl Baker, spokesman for the city. In addition, we encourage everyone to report any suspicious activity to the police immediately.

Garcia agreed with Baker.

Garcias shop does not sell the locking devices but said they can be purchased at auto parts stores locally. His shop can then install them.

Well put the wheel locks on and we also recommend alarm systems, Garcia said. Anything to slow them down.

The thieves in the first two Redlands incidents have been described as two white men in their 20s with thin builds. A description of the man who ran off with the womans lug nuts on Feb. 25 was not released.

Anyone with information on any of the incidents is asked to call the Redlands Police Department at 909-798-7681.
Dear Mary: I am out of money. There won't be a dime left after I pay my bills. I have been considering credit counseling to get some breathing room. My credit is shot, and I'm feeling desperate. By enrolling in credit counseling, at least the creditors would get regular payments and checks that don't bounce. Am I wrong to consider this kind of help?

-- Sandy

Dear Sandy: You're not wrong at all. In fact, credit counseling could be the way out of your financial straightjacket. I am a big fan of credit counseling, but it is not for everyone. And not all credit counselors are trustworthy. There are lots of sleazy groups out there masquerading as charitable nonprofit counselors. Make sure you are working with a reputable organization you can trust.

You want to speak with a credit counselor or agency that is certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, or NFCC, such as Consumer Credit Counseling Services. Go to the NFCC website (or call the number on the website) to be connected with a certified credit counselor near you.

Expect an initial interview to determine whether you are likely to be successful in the program (that typically means you are unable to meet your current minimum payments, you are several months behind, you are employed and, if you are married, your spouse agrees to enter the program). The counselor will work with your creditors to come up with a payment plan you can handle, which could include lower interest, waived fees and restructured payments. The tricky part is that instead of paying your creditors every month, you will write one check to the organization and it will make the payments. The last thing you want is to give your money to a company that you have not checked out and that has not proven itself.

Even reputable credit counseling does not come without side effects. While your creditors may agree to a scaled-down payment plan, they will likely report you as a deadbeat to the credit bureaus. That could blemish your credit report for at least seven years, but that's the price you might have to pay to get yourself back on a good financial track. On the other hand, many people report that credit counseling had a positive effect on their credit history.

Credit counseling is not going to be a walk in the park. It's hard work to get out of debt. But doing the right thing by repaying your debts will make you a better person and give you hope and a future. And it won't cost you a cent to find out whether it can help you.

Cosmetic shelf life

Dear Mary: I wear contact lenses, so I am diligent to discard mascara after three months of use. What is the shelf life for other cosmetics and skin care products? I want to make sure I don't throw away products unnecessarily.

-- Reese

Dear Reese: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises that liquid foundation can be used for up to two years, or until it begins to separate. Toss face powder and eye shadow after three years. Lipstick is OK for three years, but discard it if oil beads up on the sides of the product. Replace mascara and liquid eyeliners every three months because they are prime targets for bacteria, whether you wear contact lenses or not.

Sealed cosmetics have a shelf life of three to four years, so take advantage when you see a great sale. But no matter how great the bargain, don't buy beyond your ability to use the products within a reasonable period of time.


SIC Insurance Company Limited, Ghanas largest and preferred general insurer has presented a cheque for GHS200,000.00 to the Ghana 60 years On Planning Committee towards the various activities planned for the year-long celebrations.



Presenting the cheque on behalf of SIC Insurance at the Flagstaff House, the Acting Managing Director, Mr. Faris Attrickie, said following calls by the government to corporate Ghana to support the 60th Independence Celebration activities the company felt the need to contribute towards the Diamond Jubilee activities as a worthy gesture.



He added that SIC Insurance is a Ghanaian heritage and still the Nations biggest insurer of choice. Our company is therefore proud and ready at all times to partner government in mobilizing for Ghanas future.



Receiving the cheque, the Chairman of the Ghana 60 years on Planning Committee, Mr. Ken Amankwah commended SIC Insurance for its generous contribution and show of patriotism. He further recounted the major roles the insurance giant has played in shaping the Insurance and Financial industry in Ghana.



Mr. Amankwah called on other corporate bodies to emulate the example of SIC Insurance to enable the committee achieve the goals set for the year-long activities.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The government must declare a state of emergency following perennial flooding in some parts of Accra including the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, former Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), has said.



According to him, the John Mahama administration developed some road maps to deal with the flooding situation in the capital and some other parts of the country, therefore, the government must declare a state of emergency to implement those plans.



Mr Vanderpuije, who is the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, told Class91.3FMs parliamentary correspondent Ekow Annan on Tuesday 7 March: You saw how the vehicle went down last week on the Circle Interchange. But for God do you know how it would have landed on our people? When I was in office I said no trading in that area. When they finish trading every day do you know the amount of refuse that is pumped into the Odaw River? We are not dredging now so if you went to Odawna right now, I can tell you the volume of waste that you will see already settled into the Odaw River.



It is a matter of ensuring standards, standards that will inure to our benefits, not just the hawkers. Go to the TUC area and see the people selling on the pavement. Do you know the amount of refuse they leave behind every night? The rains that came last night, do you know the amount ofpanties, shirts, that they left behind and the rain sweeping all of it into the Odaw? These are the practical things that if we dont put our foot down to address they will create problems for us.



We need to declare a state of emergency and support the Ministry of Works and Housing to solve this problem because we dont want people to die.



However, the Bureau of Public Safety has disagreed with Mr Vanderpuijes call for a state of emergency to be declared following the likelihood of floods in the country.



Nana Yaw Akwada, Executive Secretary for the Bureau of Public Safety, speaking on 505 on Class FM on Tuesday 7 March, said: The problems in Accra, as far as flooding is concerned, are not any new things. Perhaps, if per the ex-mayors judgement with the fact that there is probably no mayor in place at this time there is going to be an administration gap and so he is calling for the central government to assume immediate administrative oversight of the city or the capital, I think its in order.



But to call for a declaration of state of emergency over issues that we are aware of, the citizens are well aware of, the agencies that are concerned with such emergencies are all aware of the situation, I think its too much to call for and on that note we will disagree with that.

Source: classfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was marketing the Northern attire, fugu, to the international community during the Independence Day anniversary, and, so, the backlash from critics that he refused to wear the [email protected] anniversary cloth is sad, presidential spokesperson Mustapha Hamid has said.



Some Ghanaians have criticised Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and their spouses for not wearing the anniversary cloth. Former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings and John Dramani Mahama were among some of the prominent personalities who wore the cloth during the 6 March anniversary at the Black Star square in Accra.



Explaining the choice of the presidents wardrobe on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM on Wednesday, 8 March, Mr Hamid said Nana Akufo-Addo had an opportunity to sell a Ghanaian attire to the world and he did just that.



The president had the opportunity on that day when we had all these international guests and visitors from everywhere to showcase the northern fugu. That one too has become a crime? The president had an opportunity to sell these our northern artisans who are toiling every day and dont have international market for our fugu. Ive been weeping [over the criticism], he stated.



So, now this president who wears our traditional dress to market it to our international guest and creates a market for our hard working northerners who weave the smoke has become [a bad person]? ...It is sad in this country, he lamented.

Source: Classfmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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It is improper for parents to push their teenage children, especially females, into early marriage, Joyce Aryee, founder of Salt & Light Ministries, has said.



According to her, there is the need to educate parents on the dangers that come with early child marriage and to apply the laws against the practice.



Speaking on the International Womens Day edition of Joy FMs Super Morning Show on Wednesday 8 March, Ms Aryee, who is a former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, said: First of all, I think we have to let parents know that it is actually inhumane to get your little girl to marry usually somebody who is as old as her grandfather or father.



It is very inhumane to do that, parents have to understand that. A lot of times parents think that it is a cultural thing that needs to be done, but culture is very dynamic, it doesnt stay static. So as development comes, culture also reshapes itself  you pick the good things.



Why will a child get married at 12, 13, or 14 and 15? Sometime ago when we needed a lot of children to help with our farming and our other communal activity, we thought it was good while the child was young.



So I think we should start with the parent and then from the parent let us go to the community leaders who should understand that and then we come to the legal systems in the country. We have to apply all of them at the same time because you cant just talk to the parents and refuse to apply the law. The law must be applied and I think that when the law is applied and people have been spoken to, they will understand that you pay a price for breaking the law.

Source: Classfmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Prophet Isaac Owusu-Bempah, leader of the Glorious Word Ministry, has asked Ghanaians irrespective of their political affiliation to pray for the Akufo-Addo-led government to succeed.



According to the outspoken man of God, President Akufo-Addo will be able to deliver all his promises to Ghanaians if we all give him the necessary support.



Speaking in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, Prophet Owusu-Bempah revealed that there are some people in the current government who are working tirelessly against Nana Addo, explaining that the detractors aim is to enrich themselves and not to support the president to achieve his aim for Ghana.



He warned government officials who have started taking bribes from businesses to desist from the act or he will expose them one after the other.



Nana Addo is not corrupt so we will not allow officials in this government to engage in corrupt practices and go scot-free. They should learn from their leader. Nana has a good heart so his followers must also have a good heart and be truthful, the man of God stated.



Prophet Owusu-Bempah expressed worry about the unjustified criticism against President Akufo Addo, stating, It is even too early for anyone to begin judging Nana Addo.



I am not saying nobody should criticise Nana Addo, what I am saying is that the criticism should be constructive. We should stop criticising unnecessarily, he added.



The leader of the Glorious Word Ministry assured Ghanaians that whatever President Akufo-Addo has promised, he will fulfill to make Ghana a better place for all, urging all religious bodies not to cease praying for Nana Addo and a prosperous nation.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Expatriate-owned eatery, Marwako Fast Food Limited, has said it is ready and willing to fully cooperate with Ghanaian authorities to probe the alleged assault by one of its Lebanese supervisors, of a Ghanaian kitchen staffer at its Abelenkpe branch in Accra.



The victim, Evelyn Boakye, alleged that Mr Jihad Chaaban, her supervisor, forcefully dipped her face in a paste of freshly blended pepper. She also said Mr Chaaban locked her up for several hours after the incident.



Ms Boakye reported the case to the police who arrested Mr Chaaban, interrogated him and later granted him bail. He was subsequently charged with assault on Tuesday, 7 March.



The incident has been widely condemned by Ghanaians on social media, leading to a call for a total boycott of Marwako.



On Tuesday, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba, Labour and Employment Relations Minister Ignatius Baffour-Awuah and MP for the area, Kyeremateng Agyarko met with the management of Marwako over the matter. The Labour Minister ordered an intensive audit of Marwakos labour practices.



Ive tasked the Labour Department to do an investigation and give me a report within one weeks time. So when we have the report, we will study it and then know which action to take. We are sending a signal to all employers that business will never be as usual as perhaps it may have happen over the period, Mr Barffour-Awuah stated.



What we are saying is that if somebody comes to you for employment and you decide to accept to work with that person the relationship then becomes employer-employee, it is not master-servant. The employer has his rights in the same way as the employee also has his right, he said.



For his part, Mr Agyarko said the visit shows governments commitment of taking care of Ghanaians.



The good people of Ghana voted for this party to take care of them and this is part of our taking care of the good people of this country. Its imperativethis is a matter that has happened to a Ghanaian, and it is important that government that has the power, that has been elected to take care of the people must be seen to be interested in the matter. This is exactly why we are here, he added.



Amidst all this, Marwako said in its latest statement issued on Tuesday and signed by CEO Alhaji Marwan Mohammed that management appreciate the visit by the state officials promising that: We wish, especially, to assure the Honourable Gender Minister as well as the Employment Minister that we will continue to give our fullest cooperation to the police and officers of the labour ministry tasked to also investigate the unfortunate incident at our Abelenkpe branch on the night of the 26th of February 2017.



The statement said both Ms Boakye and Mr Chaaban continue to be workers of the restaurant, except that Jihad is on suspension and in police custody pending his appearance in court, while Evelyn was granted leave to allow her sufficient time for proper care while assisting police and all other processes in dealing with this matter.



Despite the fact that she [Evelyn], understandably, will not answer phone calls, allow delivery of letters to her, or a chance for us to extend the needed support, we assure once again that we are willing and ready to assist in anyway.



We wish to assure our cherished customers and all that we are taking extra steps to ensure incidences such as happened are completely avoided among staff as well as management.

Source: classfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Counsel for Jihad Chaaban, Lawyer Augustine Asarfo-Adjei has said that the case of alleged assault by his client has been misconstrued by the media and as a result has incited unnecessary public reaction.



According to him, the victim, Evelyn Boakyes face was not dipped in a bowl of blended hot pepper as media reports suggest, instead he says, it was a splash and was purely accidental. He added, that the damage resulting from the splash was very little as the girl was present at work the next day.



the facts as we have it now, is that it was just a splash of pepper into the face of the lady, it cannot be intentional, have you bothered to ask if she came to work the next day?, she was at work the following day, when the incident happened, she was on the night shift, the following day, 7am, she was at work, he explained.



According to him, the media has conveyed misrepresented facts which in no way depict the actual details of the story as it happened. This he says has incited public rage and created unnecessary tension.



The media has been engulfed with so much falsehood and I dont know why the media will allow their space to be used to propagate fraud. Ive been hearing a lot of things on the radio that he has been detained for 6 hours, and the victims face was pushed in blended pepper, question is, was it when the pepper was in the blender? Could the face have entered the blender? Those are some of the issues you should ask and get answers for but you just take the information and incite everybody against him, the incident that happened has been misrepresented, He said.



Lawyer Adjei revealed that the accused, Jihad Chaaban is a Ghanaian and not Lebanese as media reports have suggested. He explained that, despite the fact that they are fair skinned, Jihad and his uncles are all Ghanaian.



we dont even know who the people are, in the media, a Lebanese, Lebanese, Lebanese, we should also look at people who commit crime by themselves, and not to generalize, if we put people in groups and say they criminalize, is that fair? The company is a Ghanaian company and his uncles you see with fair skin are Ghanaians.



Lawyer Adjei said the misrepresentation of facts by the media could lead to the destruction of the same company employing several of Ghanaians.

video below-

Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has reportedly frozen the bank accounts of Daniel Ohene Agyekum, former Board Chairman of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) during the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.



A source at EOCO told DAILY GUIDE yesterday that the action had been taken as part of efforts towards the investigation of alleged financial irregularities during the tenure of Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD.



Mr. Ohene Agyekum, who was Ghanas former Ambassador to the United States and former Ashanti Regional Minister, was appointed board chairman of COCOBOD in January 2014.



Recently, the assets and bank accounts of Dr. Opuni were also frozen by EOCO as part of a similar investigation into some contracts the ex-COCOBOD boss reportedly signed during his tenure and financial irregularities uncovered by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.



Specifically, government intends to probe some supposed fraudulent multi-million dollar contracts hes believed to have signed before leaving office.



EOCO, under its new Executive Director, ACP KK Amoah, recently sent invitations to some businessmen who won some contracts from COCOBOD.



One of them is Seidu Agongo, who was invited in connection with an ongoing investigation into shady COCOBOD contracts about which so much has been published in the media in recent times.



Ali Seidu and Kofi Job were the first to be invited by EOCO regarding the contracts awarded them during the NDC regime because of their supposed links with former President John Dramani Mahama and his brother Ibrahim.



The COCOBOD contracts to construct roads and supply fertilizers were sole-sourced and in a manner thought to have breached value for money principles, with a chunk of the contracts going to the three individuals.



Dr. Stephen Opuni is at the centre of the alleged instances of financial impropriety at the national cocoa management institution and under whose aegis many contracts were awarded in breach of best procurement practices.



In the next few days important details of the investigations, it is believed, would be made public, considering the grounds covered by the investigators so far, a source has hinted.



Many calls had been made on the government of President Nana Akufo-Addo to without delay take action on the many instances of shady contracts at COCOBOD.



It is alleged that some of the fertilizers supplied under one of the contracts turned out to be ironically killer inputs which caused enormous anguish to farmers.



Dr. Opuni was on January 12, 2017 asked to vacate office barely a week after the NPP government was inaugurated.



The former CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) was appointed by former President John Mahama on November 30, 2013 to head COCOBOD.



Since then the sector has never been the same again, with cocoa production alarmingly dropping under his tenure as well as allegations of malfeasance leveled against him.



Currently, issues of alleged corruption in the cocoa sector are being investigated and he can be brought before the court of law if EOCO finds any concrete evidence of financial malfeasance against him.



There have been calls for probe into the administration of the former COCOBOD boss since the New Patriotic Party, led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, took office about six weeks ago.



Some staff of COCOBOD alleged that Dr. Opuni awarded contracts without following laid-down regulations and that fertilizers meant for cocoa farmers were also alleged to have been smuggled into neigbouring countries.



The workers claimed Ghana lost more than $10 million because of the alleged dealings of Dr. Opuni.



Managers Sacked



About 11 top managers of COCOBOD were also directed by the government to proceed on leave after the dismissal of Dr Opuni.



The directive, which was contained in a letter signed by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, asked the affected managers to proceed on leave effective January 30, 2017.



The managers included Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration), Deputy Chief Executive (Agronomy & Quality Control), Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) and the Director of Finance.



The rest were Deputy Director of Finance, Deputy Director of Audit, Director of Civil Works and the Procurement Manager.



At the Cocoa Marketing Company Ltd, the Managing Director (MD), Deputy MD, Director, Legal Services, Deputy Director and the Finance Director have reportedly been asked to go home.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Despite his pledge to do right to all manner of people without ill will or malice and to uphold rule of law, President Akufo-Addo, in less than two months in office has aggressively been shopping for evidence to nail family members and associates of immediate past President, Mr John Dramani Mahama.



Unrelenting in his determination to see to the disgrace of his predecessor whose administration he has been touting as the worse thing ever to happen to Ghana, the President, The aL-hAJJs ongoing investigations have uncovered, has tasked the various state intelligence agencies to conduct forensic investigations into business activities of some persons with links to the former first family.



Documents in the possession of this paper details how the Akufo-Addo government has profiled some appointees of the Mahama administration, members of his family and the ex-presidents supposed friends to be investigated by National Security, the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and other security and intelligence agencies.



The aL-hAJJ last week reported how President Akufo-Addo and his advisers are plotting to terrorize and disgrace immediate past President, John Mahama; using state machinery to persecute persons linked to him and his family.



Since being sworn into office as President, close pal and financier of Nana Akufo-Addos campaign, who is also NPP MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has intensified his unproven allegations of Mr Ibrahim Mahamas fraudulent deals during the NDC era in the media against.



A letter currently in the possession of The aL-hAJJ, from EOCO and written to SSNIT requests the pension fund administrator to furnish it (EOCO) with some information on some companies suspected to be fronting for former first lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama and the former Presidents brother, Mr Ibrahim Mahama and his company, Engineers & Planners.



The former first lady, who turned 54 yesterday, and Mr Ibrahim Mahama have long been the envy and target of Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP even in opposition as the duo are seen as the backbone of former President Mahama.



Taking a dig at Ex-President Mahama at an NPP fundraising in the Ashanti Region on January 16, 2016, Mr. Akufo Addo had this to say; My wife will not be in charge of the distribution of contracts in this country.



She will never distribute contracts in the country, adding; I wont operate a family and friends government in Ghana and I can assure that every person in the country will have his fair share of the national cake.



Angrily dismissing reports making rounds on social media platforms that then President Mahamas brother, Ibrahim Mahama was footing his medical bills, Nana Akufo Addo, then, flagbearer of the NPP, in a statement said for the avoidance of doubt, we want to state that Ibrahim Mahama does not pay Nana Akufo-Addos medical bills, let alone pay them on a monthly basis. Mr. Ibrahim Mahama makes no contribution of any sort whatsoever to Akufo-Addo. Again, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama has not donated any vehicles to the NPP flagbearer or to his wife.



The EOCO letter dated February 27, 2017 and signed by its acting Executive Director, ACP (Rtd) KK Amoah requested the Director General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to furnish the spy agency with SSNIT file of Mr Ibrahim Mahamas company, Engineers and Planners to facilitate ongoing investigations.



The letter also instructed the Director General of SSNIT to furnish EOCO with all contract documents between SSNIT and two other private companies, Perfect Business Systems and Pro-Vision Consulting Limited before March 8, 2017.



The Akufo-Addo government, sources in government told this paper, included Perfect Business Systems and Pro-Vision Consulting Limited in the list of companies to be examined because it is suspected that the two companies have ties with Lordina Mahama.



Both Perfect Business Systems (a subsidiary of Perfect Business Services Limited) and Pro-Vision Consulting Limited are IT software companies incorporated in Ghana in 1996 and 1995 respectively, and have been providing, among others, IT services to several private and state owned companies including SSNIT.



Another government source told The aL-hAJJ that both Ibrahim Mahama and Lordina are among some of the targets of this governmentIt is a way to get President Mahama humiliated.



The EOCO letter to SSNIT titled: Request for Information and Production of Documents Pursuant to section 19 of the Economic and Organized Crime Office Act, 2010 (Act 804) our source disclosed; was part of the governments agenda of evidence gathering to implicate them.



The Letter reads: We would be grateful if you could furnish this Office with the following documents to facilitate ongoing investigation:



1. All contract documents between SSNIT and Perfect Business Systems including all Change Requests and Services Level Agreements (SLA) for the provision of your Operations Business Suite (OBS) software



2. All contract documents between SSNIT and Pro-Vision Consulting Limited including all Change Requests and Service Level Agreements (SLA) for the provision of all Oracle-based software.



3. Records of all payments made by SSNIT to Prefect Business Systems and Pro-Vision Consulting Limited on all legacy and currently used systems.



4. SSNIT file of E&P Company Limited.



Your response is kindly expected by March 8, 2017 We appreciate your continuing support.



Since his appointment last month, the new EOCO boss, on the instructions of President Akufo-Addo, according to insiders, has been tasked to investigate appointees and close associates of former President Mahama. The agency in some instances is alleged planting stories in pro-NPP tabloids over invitations or impending invitation; to be extended to appointees of the former NDC administration, allies and acquaintances of former President John Mahama.



ACP (Rtd) KK Amoah, who is a retired police officer, is also on record to have written letters to other state agencies including State Transport Corporation to furnish it with valuation documents involving purchase of state vehicles by former EOCO boss, Mr Kweku Mortey among others.



The spy agency together with National Security, The aL-hAJJ has gathered, are also reviewing all contracts and vehicles purchased by the Ministry of Transport for its agencies under Madam Dzifa Ativors watch in a bid to gather enough evidence for her prosecution.



Few weeks ago, the spy agency, in its bid to disgrace President Mahama, caused to be published in NPP acting National Chairmans paper, Daily Guide, a supposed invitation of some close associates of the former President.



Among those purported to have been invited by the ACP Amoah-led EOCO, according to the pro-NPP media house included; Ali Seidu, Seidu Agongo, Kofi Job and Ibrahim Mahama, all associates and family member of President John Mahama.



According to the report, they were invited in connection with alleged fraudulent deals at COCOBOD under the tenure of its immediate past Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni. Opuni himself has been placed under investigation whiles his assets and bank accounts have been frozen by EOCO.



The latest move by EOCO comes less than a week after The aL-hAJJ reported in its last edition plot by President Akufo-Addo and his advisers to disgrace former President Mahama.



The President has tasked EOCO to gather enough evidence on persons linked to John Mahama who benefitted from government contracts during his tenure in office. This is to shop for evidence to prosecute them, a source in government told this paper.



State security agencies, the source told The aL-hAJJ, are to investigate the operations of companies of members of John Mahamas family and friends, with the aim of gathering evidence to prosecute them.



The source added Ibrahim Mahama, in particular, is high on the agenda. Aside SSNIT, other institutions have been asked to submit documents on his transactions with government executed during his brothers tenure. They are seeking to unearth if monies were wrongfully paid to his company.



What is however not clear is if EOCOs secret investigation of the E&P CEO is at the instigation of the Presidents right hand man, Hon Kennedy Agyapong, who has variously threatened to get Mr Ibrahim Mahama jailed and his brother, Mr John Mahama and his family disgraced.

Source: The Alhajj









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Alfred Okoe Vanderpujie, has called for the constitutional amendment to increase the tenure of the President to a six- year one term of office.

According to him, a critical consideration must be given to the Article 66(1) and (2) which seeks to limit the term of office of government in Ghana to a term of four years unless re-elected for a second term. Speaking on the floor of parliament on Tuesday, March 7, the Ablekuma South legislator argued that every government in Ghana has four years in which to serve and achieve all manifesto promises made to electorates. The second year of administration of every government is the active period within the governments term of office.

He further stated that the third year is characterized by gathering financial resources and marshalling political strategies towards general elections, summing up that the fourth year is an electioneering period. He advanced his argument with a quote from Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah: Ghana face neither East not West: we face forwardand that the best way for learning to be an independent sovereign state is to be an independent state. This statement proposes for the consideration of this House, a six (6) year one term of presidency without any opportunity for re-election, the former Accra mayor stressed. This will save the nation from huge financial burdens in organizing elections and promote proper accountability to the electorates.

Source: 3news.com









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Vice-President Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia has called for the combination of resources and energy for Africa to become developed economically and self dependent.



He said the issues of building self sustaining independent economy was key for all and could not be done individually and called for stakeholders including the citizenry coming together to build it.

Vice President Bawumia said the issues of building self sustaining independent economy was key for all and could not be done individually.



This, he said called for stakeholders including the citizenry coming together to build it and particularly the resources we have in the Diaspora.



Dr Bawumia made the call in Accra on Tuesday at the opening of the African Diaspora Homecoming Conference.



The conference which is slated for March 5 to March 11 seeks to evoke the spirit and memory of 1957, when Ghanas independence, which was a source of pride for peoples of African descent was attained,



He said the link with the Diaspora was very key to development and tapping through the human resources, investment resources, trade resources, science and technology.



Our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora have brought it is very significant that we can make a lot of strides and make up for separation that took up during slavery and colonialism, he said.



Dr Bawumia said notwithstanding all the ups and down Ghanaians were going through what remained unshakeable was the countrys heritage and culture.



He said heritage and culture was the one thing nobody could compete with from the world being a unique commodity and it needed to be held dearly by Ghanaians and sure it shined through economic development.



We need to bring back that ties that was broken for the Africa continent, he said.



Dr Bawumia called on Africans to understand that the way they were looked at in the Diaspora and on the continent was much linked and the underlying link was the economic development of Africa.



No matter what we do out there in the Diaspora, we are going to be seen in the backdrop of Africa, he said.



Madam Johanna Onkonkor Svaniker, the President of Heritage and Cultural Society Africa (HASCA), and Chairperson of the conference, said the event aimed at celebrating Ghanas 60th anniversary of independence in a significant and meaningful way, the achievements of Ghanaians and indeed all peoples of African descent in the Diaspora and the achievements of the young nation Ghana after 60 years of independence.



She said Ghana being one of the freest, safest and most stable countries on the African continent was good news because Ghanas heritage and history had always been significant beyond the shores of Ghana.



The fortunes of Ghana have always been linked to the destiny of the continent therefore our independence celebration can never be complete with a Diaspora Homecoming to celebrate with us, she said.



Madam Onkonkor Svaniker therefore called on the citizenry to celebrate what they had achieved in the face of adversity saying: Lets keep the flame alight of the spirit of 1957, let us all celebrate the heritage and culture of Africa, she said.



Mrs Catherine Afeku, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, said the conference was promoting economic emancipation through culture and the deepening of arts and culture through HASCA.



She urged Ghanaians and the Ministry to tap into the power of Diaspora by focusing on touristic opportunities across the continent.



I call on all to be ambassadors of the Ghanaian story by celebrating the tenacity of African Diaspora, she said.



Mrs Afeku noted that going forward there would be a partnership programme between the Diaspora and the Ministry to show the power of the return the Ghanaian history through an investment and culture forum.



She called on other partners to get involved as the tourist sector was seriously not developed.



Let us join as we enter the 70th decade of Ghana, let us tell a story, she said.



In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Lord Paul Boateng, a representative of the House of Lords, United Kingdom, lauded Ghana for being a beacon for the rest of the country and charged leaders to build intra African trade that would invest in the youth.



It is important for leaders to use the 60th anniversary as a goal to build sustainable life and recognise the contribution of the young people, Mr Boateng said.



The seven days conference is organised by HASCA and partnered by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, National Commission for Civic Education and the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation, brought participants from London, Paris, Washington DC, New York, LA and beyond to engage and reflect on Ghanas achievements over the past six decades, celebrate Ghanaian excellence at home and abroad and form a common vision for the progress of people of Africa descent.



It also offered participants the opportunity to build networks for trade, commerce and investment on the continent.



There were panel discussions on legacy, politics in historical context, education and leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation across borders, creative arts among others with Mr Boateng, being one of the speakers.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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NPP Loyal Ladies, a group within the governing party, has expressed confidence in the Akufo-Addo-led government to deliver.



The NPP Loyal Ladies strongly believe in the competence, commitment, and capabilities of the current administration led by H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



We believe that the President has the welfare of Ghanaians at heart and will work assiduously with his team to ensure socio-economic prosperity for all, the group said in a statement co-signed by Perpetual Lomokie Akwada and Martha Kodua to mark its first anniversary.



Below is the full statement:



NPP LOYAL LADIES CELEBRATE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY



We, the popular female youth group of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), NPP Loyal Ladies, are marking our first anniversary today, as a political mobilising wing of the Party ahead of the 2016 elections.



As we celebrate one year of strong showing on the countrys political scene, leadership of the party wishes to express its appreciation to the Almighty God for seeing its members through a year of struggle, hard work and the quest to put Mother Ghana back on its path of prosperity.



The Group would also like to extend its unblemished thanks to the Ghanaian people for rallying behind them since its inception  particularly during the electioneering period  and showing massive support and commitment to the beliefs, ideologies, vision and welfare of the Group. The group believes that this support and subsequent victory of the NPP in the December polls show the extent to which the country believes in the philosophy of the Group and the NPP in general as well as the principle of multi-party democracy. The group would like to say, without any equivocation, that it deeply appreciates the unflinching support of the Ghanaian people.



The NPP Loyal Ladies strongly believe in the competence, commitment and capabilities of the current administration led by H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. We believe that the President has the welfare of Ghanaians at heart and will work assiduously with his team to ensure socio-economic prosperity for all.



Again, the NPP Loyal Ladies believe that the commitment and support of hundreds of thousands of our membership across the country have been the cornerstone of the partys victory in the just-ended polls. We would like to assure our members that our quest has not ended and that we will continue to work together even as the party has won power to help put the country and the good people of Ghana on the path of economic prosperity. This is based on our conviction that it is only through teamwork and collective efforts of membership of the group that the change which Ghanaians voted for can be realised and actualised.



We firmly believe in the role of women and for that matter the youth in bringing about social change. Therefore, the Loyal NPP ladies is assuring the public of nationwide mobilisation of women and marginalised groups to be engaged in skills training activities in order to empower them for their socio-economic growth and development. Through this, we believe we can contribute our mite to the development of the country.



Long live the NPP Loyal Ladies; long live the NPP, long live Ghana.







Source: Ghana Web









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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In modesty but with class, Ghana celebrated its 60th Independence Anniversary on March 6 to showcase to the world our democratic achievements since independence.



The event which took place successfully under the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration wouldnt have been the same had the National Democratic Congress (NDC), remained in power.



The above, was a remark passed by the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako.



According to the NPP scribe, had the NDC put together the event, damaging controversies would have been up for major discussions- outshining the milestone the nation has chalked.



Prior to the [email protected] celebration, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, inaugurated a 30-member Committee to plan the celebration of event.



The Committee had just six weeks to plan the event and Mr. Antwi Boasiako, has congratulated them for the wonderful work they have done.



Speaking to Peacefmonline.com in an interview, Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako noted that the event would have looked like a Kiddafest show for children rather than one that complements the countrys age if the NDC had been in charge.



KIDDAFEST is an event which gives children the platform to exhibit their creative talents in various forms including dance.



He took a swipe at the deputy General Scretary of the NDC, Mr, Anyidoho noting that he would have looted state properties if they were in power.



According to him, Koku Anyidoho would have been busy for nothing going round looking for opportunities to do the country in. Stan Dogbe would have also shifted his attention on printing souvenirs like presidential dairies and end up incurring huge debt for the nation to pay whilst lining his pocket.



NDC wouldnt have acted serious in organising a national event so in the end we would have a disorganized event that only children can enjoy. It would be like the kiddafest show, though educative and fun, only children of a certain age can enjoy, he said.



He went further to state that to make matters worse, NDC foot soldiers would have forced their way to the Independence grounds in their party colours without caring about its implication if they were still in power.



They (NDC foot soldiers) would have been at the parade grounds in their party t-shirts and marched alongside our security forces. If you dare stop them, Aseidu Nketia would tell you that he has instructed them to do it and ex-president Mahama would have watched on haplessly, Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako added.

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









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On Monday, March 6, 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo joined thousands of Ghanaians at the independence square in Accra to celebrate Ghana's 60th anniversary.



Delivering his speech to mark the event, President Nana Akufo-Addo educated Ghanaians on the history of Ghana and complimented the fore fathers for their enormous contributions to the formation and progress of the country.



"We are met here, today, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our nations independence, to celebrate our freedom from the clutches of British imperialism, to celebrate the final achievement of the struggle of successive generations of Ghanaian patriots to establish a free, sovereign Ghana. Today is a celebration of our independence. Being independent means you have the freedom and ability to make informed decisions in life without having to ask other people for permission, help or money and you take full responsibility for seeing things through.



"Our founders chose this day, March 6, as the date of our independence, in order to repudiate the Bond of 6th March 1844, which led to our land becoming a British colony...The founders of the UGCC, then, met to demand independence from the British and 70 years after that event, one still marvels at the clarity of thought and the passion that they displayed. Some of the names of that momentous day have survived in our written history and folk memory...The speech, the Ghanaian colossus, Danquah, made on that day, deserves to be quoted liberally on a day like this," he said.



"...Danquah captured the mood of the time and set our country on the path to independence," the President added.



The President's historical account in his speech seems to have not sunk down well with the NDC Central Regional Chairman, Allotey Jacobs as he claims the speech was marred with deceptions.



According to him, the President was giving a fine speech on the day till he sought to apparently credit J.B Danquah for the name "Ghana" which the country gained after independence.



Speaking on Peace FM's Kokrokoo, Allotey Jacobs insisted that Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is the only founder of Ghana and no person else should be credited for the hard work that he (Dr. Nkrumah) did.



Allotey Jacobs explained that though Dr. Nkrumah fought the battle with the help of the big six, it still holds that he is the true founder.



The credit goes to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. You can never run away from that fact, he replied President Akufo-Addo and begged him to accept that "the founder of Ghana is Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Period! Nothing else



To him, the President's speech lost a bit of salt because he wanted to set the spotlight on J.B Danquah despite talking about Dr. Nkrumah in parts of his speech.



Step by step, paragraph by paragraph, the deceptive nature of his speech; it was like it was centered on J.B Danquah. It was centered on J.B Danquah. A statement the President gave (the name Ghana); who gave the name Ghana has been in disputeIt is giving recognition to J.B Danquah as the man who mooted the idea that should we have our independence, it means we should have the name Ghana. So, that is being credited to him and not to President Kwame Nkrumah but to him, the question is who gave Ghana independence?





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi /Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Happy International Womens Day! That most wonderful time of the year where the most outrageously smug men alive crawl out of the woodwork to screech about one day on the calendar being in celebration of a gender who have been socially and economically disadvantaged for thousands of years. Its great.

If that part doesnt ruin the day for you, we also have brands attempting to leverage the day for personal gain in hamfisted and bizarre ways. Take this pearler from the Australian Chamber of Commerce:

Women stand to benefit from changes to penalty rates. Underemployment disproportionately affects women. #BeBoldForChange pic.twitter.com/N7Hb5GhIbR  Australian Chamber (@AusChamber) March 8, 2017

What better way to honour women than by celebrating cuts to penalty rates to service industry jobs  cuts that will disproportionately affect women due to their higher representation in hospitality and retail? If you cant quite follow their logic (understandable), their argument is that it will see an increase in employment in those sectors.

Sounds good, right? Well, no. If it leads to more hours for existing employees, it essentially means they will have to work more hours to earn the exact same amount of money (happy International Womens Day!). If it leads to the employment of new staff, it means that those existing employees will just be earning less for doing the same work they were before. Yay! Women! Yay!

As Dr Jim Stanford of the Centre for Future Work told The Huffington Post, theres no evidence the penalty rate cuts will even increase staff hours:

In retail and hospitality the economics are very clear, its the amount of consumer spending that determines whether a store will stay open and you cannot increase demand by contributing lower level wages. This is not going to suddenly encourage more stores and restaurants to open on Sundays, all its going to do is impose a bit more hardship on people whose incomes were already inadequate.

Not to mention this is coming from one of the many lobby groups that, despite heavily arguing that were a secular society and Sundays dont mean anything anymore, refused to answer their phones on a Sunday when the Sydney Morning Herald tried to get comment. Nice.

Understandably, people online are pretty pissed:

@AusChamber Your logic is disingenuous at best & you celebrate cutting womens pay on #IWD2017? Back inside your cave.  Sandi Logan (@SandiHLogan) March 8, 2017

@AusChamber Now they can be underemployed and underpaid at the same time Bravo  Socialist Wombat (@3wombats) March 8, 2017

@AusChamber tldr paying women less will help women happy womens day  Nick Names Nuts (@nicknamesnuts) March 8, 2017

.@AusChamber me thinking how paying women less is a good thing pic.twitter.com/NIF0PzdRM5  )))TG o((( (@TG_Chrono) March 8, 2017

@AusChamber counterpoint, women will still be underemployed just paid less to work at inconvenient times.  Jacob King (@jamaising) March 8, 2017

Even Greens senator Scott Ludlam got in on the action:

.@AusChamber unless this is intentional self-parody, you should strongly consider deleting your account  Scott Ludlam (@SenatorLudlam) March 8, 2017

Be bold for change my ass.

Photo: Twitter.

Source: Huffington Post.
America is doomed.

Weve suspected it since He got into power, and his recent, disgusting attacks on immigrants and healthcare have only strengthened our fear that the country is going straight to Socialist Hell / Republican Heaven.

Now, we have absolute, unequivocal proof that the US is no longer the land of the free: friends, the State of Liberty has gone dark.

Yep, for apparently no reason other than she bloody well felt like it, Lady Liberty turned her lights later Tuesday night (or Wednesday arvo here in Australia).

Why has the Statue of Liberty gone dark tonight? pic.twitter.com/hfnbZkNOox  Jon Passantino (@passantino) March 8, 2017

Considering the statues iconic status as the first thing immigrants see when coming into Ellis Island (give me your huddled masses, wretched refuse etc etc), people quite naturally thought this was some very timely, if extremely unsubtle, social commentary re: Trumps whole fuck these particular immigrants policy.

And while the whole thing was down to a simple power outage, according to a National Park Service officer, you best believe Twitter hooked its cynical little claws in and refused to let go.

The Statue of Liberty, a symbol of Americas values & our mission of inclusion, has gone dark. A sign of the times. pic.twitter.com/t4kEuj3Y9g  Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) March 8, 2017

For what its worth, if someone cut the power to the statue of liberty as a protest of immigration policy, that would be just stunning.  David Solimini (@CommsDirector) March 8, 2017

The Statue of Liberty has gone dark? Seriously? If this was in a movie youd think it was too on the nose.  Emily V Gordon (@emilyvgordon) March 8, 2017

Statue of Liberty went dark tonight.Trump? pic.twitter.com/PFaY5o0VeA  Randall Balsmeyer (@randybals) March 8, 2017

The fact Wednesday was also International Womens Day (woo women!) was also lost on precisely no one.

The lights are out at the Statue of Libertythats ONE MORE woman America CANNOT do without. #adaywithoutwomen #LightsOut  Girls Really Rule. (@girlsreallyrule) March 8, 2017

Wow! The Statue Of Liberty is dark tonight. Looks like someone is getting an early start to #ADayWithoutAWoman. ?????? #ImWithHer @womensmarch pic.twitter.com/odLbMHFFvS  Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) March 8, 2017

Im not going to strike tomorrow cause the library needs to be open, BUT Im excited to see the statue of liberty getting in on the action ??  dolly (@loather) March 8, 2017

So you can take your temporary, unplanned outage excuse and shove em, National Park Service.

We know what Lady Liberty is about.

Lady Liberty got the memo. On 3/8, we strike! #DayWithoutAWoman #StatueOfLiberty (Anyone know who this amazing artist is? Pls let us know!) pic.twitter.com/AGaHvk3gOj  Womens March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017

Source: Fusion.

Photo: Twitter / Randall Balsmeyer.
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The Universal Society of Hinduism is calling for the withdrawal of an art exhibit in Sydney over a piece that reportedly depicts the Hindu deity Krishna with a meth pipe.

The exhibit at ESD Gallery, by artist Leon Fernandes, is called Krishna In Erskineville and is a series of embroidered works that cheekily represent some of the issues around ethnicity, religion, sexuality and drug use.

The Mardi Gras website describes the work as follows:

Krishna is the Hindu god of love, sex, knowledge and beauty smoking a pipe outside the Imperial Hotel, Erskineville. He is a God-child, a prankster, a model lover, and a divine hero. The work also reflects the artists mixed heritage  a colourful Indian culture contrasted against an Australian one that is comparatively prosaic. The pieces are created with a hybrid of machine-based embroidery, embedded directly into traditional paint on canvas.

President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed, issued a statement today saying that the work trivialised the depictions of Krishna, who is highly revered in Hinduism, alongside other deities such as Ganesh and Durga.

Zed said that while Hinduism is supportive of free speech, he would like artists to be sensitive of how these depictions impact people who practice Hinduism.

The ESD Gallery is located at East Sydney Doctors, a medical clinic in Erskineville. The show opened on the 21st of February and runs until March 20th.

Photo: Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Well, this is a bit fucked. Overnight, intruders broke into a zoo in Thoiry just outside Paris and shot dead a rare white rhino, hacking off its horn, in what has been described as the first such incident in Europe.

The animal, a four year old named Vince, was shot three times in the head in his enclosure, where at least two other rhinos are kept. Staff left the rhino enclosure on Monday. When they returned on Tuesday, an animal had been killed and its two horns had been sawn off, a police spokeswoman told AFP.

It is believed that the horn was cut off with a chainsaw. A second horn was partially cut, suggesting the intruders were either disturbed or suffered some kind of equipment failure.

The manager of the zoo, Thierry Duguet, said that the zoos community is distraught over the act. This has never happened before in a zoo, either in France or in Europe. We are extremely shocked and upset  this is supposed to be a sanctuary for the animals.

Rhino horn is expensive  more expensive pound for pound than cocaine. A kilo of rhino horn fetched just over $70,000 on the black market as of 2015. It is popular in some Asian markets for its believed medicinal properties. Global trade in rhino horn is banned by the UN.

The zoo had security measures, including overnight staff members and security cameras, though it is believed that none were actually active in the area surrounding the rhino enclosure.

The world population of southern white rhino, which was once severely endangered due to poaching, has now recovered to around 20,000 due to intensive conservation efforts.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald.

Photo: Thoiry Zoo.
In the wake of the backpackers kidnapping and sexual assault ordeal in Queensland, the mother of murdered British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung has come out and said Australia must do more to ensure the safety of tourists in remote areas.

Rosie Ayliffe said she was horrified about the news about the recent attack, in which a man is alleged to have raped and assaulted a British backpacker over the course of two months, most of which took place during a road trip.

I imagine her family is traumatised by this. Its absolutely awful, its so frightening what they must be going through, she said.

Though Ayliffe said that on the whole, statistically speaking, Australia is safe for travellers, she pointed to the system by which backpackers are expected to perform 88 days of agricultural labour to maintain their visa as a system which needs more safety oversight.

In the UK, this would involve safety checks and stringent laws related to any accommodation involved in running that program. As the Australian Government is aware, the appropriate checks and balances are not in place in Australia.

She said that because the program is established by the Australian Government, they should be expected to absorb or at least minimise the risks on that program.





Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind said that backpackers and tourists should still feel safe in the state. He rejects the assertion that this woman was targeted because she was a backpacker.

I think this is less about the fact that she was a backpacker and more about the fact that she was a woman that apparently found herself in a vulnerable situation. We dont want to frighten everybody but we have to of course always be aware of the circumstances and make sure that we have company that we can trust when we go to places that were not familiar with.

Source: ABC.

Photo: Facebook.
NORMAL  The day Gov. Bruce Rauner welcomed Rivian Automotive to Illinois, state officials finally detailed their incentives that helped to bring the company to Normal's former Mitsubishi Motors North America plant.

Rivian, which operates research facilities near Detroit and San Francisco but plans to make Normal the manufacturing core of its upcoming line of electric cars, will receive state tax credits worth about $49.5 million for creating 1,000 jobs over 10 years, said a Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spokesperson.

The award is a tax credit assessed on income tax for the created jobs, taking into account salary for each position and how many jobs were jobs created at the end of each year. The estimated total is for 10 years of credits assuming Rivian hits its performance goals.

The credits are through the state's EDGE, or Economic Development for a Growing Economy, program.

Rivian also is in line to receive $1 million from the town of Normal and a five-year property tax abatement, both also based on performance. That abatement was approved by taxing bodies that receive property taxes from the plant, including McLean County Unit 5 schools and Heartland Community College.

Rivian bought the plant for $2 million in January  that figure does not include any personal property, including the contents of the plant  and plans to begin manufacturing electric cars there in 2019 to bring to market in 2020.

Rauner toured the plant before addressing local officials on Tuesday, saying, "This plant is an incredible asset, and now, thanks to the creativity and hard work of an American, innovative entrepreneur ... we have an opportunity to create a better economic future for hundreds and hundreds of people here in Central Illinois," he said.

Rauner said he hopes Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe also can help bring other automotive companies to the plant.
All boys, be cool for once in your lives. Go back, back, back.

International Womens Day is here and its the one day out of 365-ish that we take up space to speak about women and non-male issues that always take a backseat to whatever the fuck the men of the world wanna talk about.

This conversation is not pleasant, but it is necessary.

Weve seen this week that theres still a bloody huge disparity between genders when it comes to the music industry, and the communities that exist around it. Festivals are still booked with men dominating the lineups (yes Im looking at you, Days Like This Festival) and Hack published their yearly review of the gender gap in music and well, as a nation were still doing pretty shit.

When we think about women in music we tend to think about those that write and perform and are on the stage. But let me tell you, that unfair imbalance skewed towards dudes extends beyond the stage. It hits the floor and expands out to green rooms, sound desks, and tour vans.

This imbalance of representation is rife throughout every single facet of music communities and to be honest, its pretty fucking abysmal.

A post shared by Black Wire Records (@blackwirerecords) on Apr 23, 2016 at 2:11am PDT

Ive heard plenty of cases of tour bookers being misgendered over and over because people cant seem to even fathom that a woman is able to book a gig full of hardcore punk acts, and others being told that they cant do their jobs simply because theyre not a man.

PEDESTRIAN.TV had a chat with a couple of women that work tirelessly behind the music of the DIY communities in Australia, and how not being a man has affected the perceptions that others have on them and the work that they are extremely qualified to do.

Shannon ORiley is an audio engineer at the Red Rattler Theatre in Marrickville. Shes been working as an engineer for seven years, and mixes sound just about every night of the week at The Rat. Working that venue over the last two and a half years, shes mixed everything from thrashy hardcore, to throbbing techno.

Shannon knows her shit, and shes pretty sick of being undermined about something that shes worked hard on for numerous years.

I quite often find that people are shocked when I tell them what I do for a living. I always get comments like isnt that a man job or you must be a lesbian because you work in such a male dominated industry. Shannon tells PEDESTRIAN.TV. I also find that I have to work 10 times harder to prove myself because people just dont believe a female can be an audio engineer. The same people also downgrade what I do and unfortunately I dont think they do it as a conscious thing.

Shannon believes a lot of the micro-aggressions she receives as a woman working behind the sound desk is ingrained in a lot of people that come to shows that she works  and theyre unconsciously making comments about her ability to do her job.

Ive had numerous production companies knock me back from employment because they think I cant lift and carry things that are heavy. Shannon says. Little do they know Im lifting and carrying speakers and amps all weekend long without any help.

My work place is a thousand times better than yours. #houseofmince #theredrattler #therat #work A post shared by Shannopunk (@shannopunk) on Apr 24, 2016 at 3:06am PDT





Tara Jayne is a bike mechanic by day, but is also the vocalist for Sydneys punk outfit, Canine, and works her arse off running touring/record company, One Brick Today.

With the underrepresented communities of non-male and queer folk in mind, One Brick Today nurtures and promotes music and artists that very likely wouldnt get the support of bigger labels or touring companies.

I wanted to help contribute to creating space and platforms for peoples marginalised identities to be celebrated and seen, for bullshit stereotyped gender roles to not have a place within these shows, for people to be able to pick up an OBT release  perhaps not even knowing who or what the band was about  but to know that they were supporting voices that are so often drowned out. Tara tells us. I wanted it to be completely centred around women and queers, something thats constantly lacking within the music industry.

Tara has copped gross sexism in literally every part of her work. Her job, her business, and her band. She tells us her experiences go from being groped onstage and not taken seriously as a musician, being completely dismissed as a mechanic (while literally wearing her work apron and holding tools), to being grossly undermined as a booking agent and label owner.

Its bad behaviour and yes, in 2017 when we are all thinking well surely this doesnt happen anymore  it does. Its real and its gross AF and we all need to take a good hard look at ourselves and our behaviour toward the people that are keeping our music communities running.

A post shared by One Brick Today (@onebricktoday) on May 15, 2016 at 1:33am PDT

The negativity that both Shannon and Tara have had to put up with over the years of being active in music community doesnt deter them from wanting to continue the work that they do. If anything, it spurs them on  adding fuel to the flame in their passion.

Whats the most satisfying thing about being a woman in a severely male-dominated industry? Shannon tells us that its knowing that her clients are having a good time while shes mixing them, and being able to contribute to the DIY community in a way that she feels is helpful and needed.

Specifically being a woman in the industry I feel rewarded when people walk away and think this girls done an alright job. Shannon tells us. Hopefully it will show people that being an audio engineer is not just for the men. Bad ass babes can do it too.

For Tara, the most gratifying and reassuring thing for her with One Brick Today is constantly being inspired by the women and non-male folk that she supports.

Ive had the chance to meet, play and work with some of the people who originally inspired or encouraged me when I was young, and had the chance to be that person for others also. Having people express feeling comfortable, motivated or inspired at OBT events feels so good. Tara tells us. I often feel really burnt out, but its those people who are really getting something out of it that make me keep going. Its a really nice feeling knowing that we can push each other further in really different ways.

But how can we cultivate and encourage more non-male folk to get into their communities and follow where their passions lie? Its understandable that after learning about countless people that are continuously challenged and forced to prove their worth in the music industry simply because theyre not a man, others would feel intimidated and discouraged.

If anything, we need to be more supportive of each other. We need to recognise that good work is bloody good work and needs to be celebrated and praised.

We need to quit this toxic behaviour of putting others down because we assume that they are incapable of doing their own job because I can assure you theyve been busting their arse doing it much longer than you know.

Photo: Facebook / ZKPhoto.
CCTV footage from a roadhouse in the outback has has shown the British backpacker held hostage for two months only moments before her rescue.

The 22-year-old woman is shown in the footage appearing to be in a visible state of distress as she talks to Beverley Page, the manager of the roadhouse in Mitchell.

She was very frightened, she was upset and shaking, Page said. You could see two black eyes and marks on the side of her throat she seemed too upset to be simply upset about not being able to pay for fuel.

After she left the shop, police pulled over the vehicle on the nearby Warrego Highway, where her alleged captor and rapist was discovered hiding in the back of the car.

CCTV of the British backpacker who was rescued from a hostage situation in outback Queensland. https://t.co/VnnMI2eRGT #7News pic.twitter.com/3WXRNaTlqn  7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) March 7, 2017

Police will allege that the woman was beaten and continuously raped between February 3 to March 5, most of which occurred on a on a road trip from Cairns to Mitchell, a distance of around 1400km.

The accused, who is a 22-year-old man from the Cairns suburb of Manunda, is facing more than 20 charges. They include four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four of strangulation, two of deprivation of liberty, and one charge of obstructing police.

Detective Inspector Paul Hart said the traffic stop potentially saved this young girls life.

Source: 9 News.

Photo:
Honestly, do TV journalists have the best job or what?

In what looks like the most fun The Project gang has ever had, the perpetually 3.5-year-old Elmo has popped in to celebrate the 47th year of Sesame Street. As an aside, spending 47 years as a toddler sounds like a very special kind of hell, but dammit if hes still not the happiest little muppet around.

Complete with the most adorable suit ever, bar none, Elmo starts off with a chat about that ridiculous goldfish yarn. Hilariously, we learn he is a big fan of explaining (and improving) the joke:

Waleed Aly: If you saw it before, we did a story about a person who had their goldfish replaced by carrots? Elmo: That was hilarious! [laughter] Waleed: You have a goldfish called Dorothy, do you Elmo: BECAUSE THEY PUT THE CARROTS IN THE FISHBOWL! [much louder laughter] Im sorry what were you saying?

Everyones favourite red monster also chats hanging out with Sia (goddamn braggart!), housing prices on Sesame Street, and, thanks to Peter Helliar sullying his beautiful tiny red ears, Australias epidemic-levels of koala chlamydia.

Did you see what Peter did to young Elmo? Did you see him break a poor, sweet little muppets heart with marsupial STD talk?!

Finally, Elmo puts out a request for an Adele collab (complete with the hashtag Adelmo, naturally), before showing off some surprisingly, uh, deep pipes for Rolling In The Deep.

Source: The Project.

Photo: The Project / Getty / CBS Photo Archive.
One of the wonderful things about being a celebrity is that you can crash peoples weddings/birthdays/funerals without people saying things like who is that guy? and why is he naked? Ahh. The life of privilege.

Perth couple Anneka and Kent has a suitably twee wedding in Byron Bay over the weekend, and were having their wedding photos taken on the beach when they were apprehended by Thor himself.

Well, not so much *apprehended* as Chris Hemsworth has having a surf nearby and graciously consented to appearing in the wedding photos.

spotted: the sting in operation

According to Anneka, she actually didnt know who the enormous, ripped bloke who appeared in their photos actually was until after the shot. It was Chris Hemsworth on the beach and he was like, Hey, do you think you could get a photo with the bride and groom? And he said, No worries,

I was wondering, Why we were getting a photo with a random person? I was saying, Who is this person? she said.

[Kent] was getting embarrassed that I kept asking who this person was and he said, Chris Hemsworth.

What the happy couple dont actually realise here is that by taking a photo with Hemsworth, hes actually legally married to them too. Thor is now their husband. Which means its a polygamist marriage, and therefore extremely illegal in Australia.

Heartbreaking stuff.

Source: News.com.au.

Photos: bluetulipimaging.com.au.
So ah we dont want to say that Ed Sheeran is following in the footsteps of Prince, but Look, where hes headed the forecast calls for a fair chance of Purple Rain, is all were saying.

Much like the dearly departed Purple One, Sheeran spends a fair whack of his time outside of his own touring and recording by writing tunes for other people on a fairly prolific level. Hes already penned tunes for the likes of the Biebs, 1-D, and Swifty Cent. But now it would appear that hes cutting out the middle people altogether and putting together his own band as an outlet for the tunes that dont quite fit the Sheeran-bill.

A new cover piece in Rolling Stone reveals that Sheeran is in the process of putting together a boy band supergroup that would play a whack of songs that hes penned specifically for them.

Sheeran has been holding auditions for the group, which will end up being a three or four piece act, with plans to take them on a stadium tour with him as chief support, before he sods off into obscurity for a few years.

The Rolling Stone article notes that he is in the process of auditioning members of a boy band hes creating and has already written lots of songs for the group. So sayeth Big Ed:

[The songs are] really, really decent. Superpop, but obviously credible. Im gonna put three or four boys together and do all the songs, take them on the stadium tour with me.

And as for Sheerans future touring plans, he has a remarkably specific ideal goal schedule in mind, inspired  somewhat oddly  by an American country music icon:

I want to do stadiums everywhere. Like George Straits level  he tours every four years, does a couple of stadiums and then fucks off again.

The last time George Strait toured the US he finished it up with a show at AT&T Stadium in Dallas that drew a crowd of 104,793 people. So, yknow, it aint the worst plan in the world, thats for sure.

Ed Sheeran putting together a boyband is a great concept for a number of reasons, but mainly its because that somewhere, at some point, hes memorised some synchronised dance moves. And the thought of King Ginger pulling off a side-to-side stage slide is immensely good.

Course itll never be able to hold a candle to the greatest boyband of all time

but then again what will?

Source: NME.com.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty.
Don't expect to be served by a woman at one Pittsburgh restaurant tonight.

Scratch F&B, 1720 Lowrie St., is giving seven of its 11 workers the day off to participate in the "Day Without a Woman" action. The seven women will all be paid for the day, too.

Owner Don Mahaney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he is working with Farm to Table Pittsburgh to fill the women's shoes for a special event that evening. In addition, Mahaney decided to donate the night's proceeds and tips to Planned Parenthood.

The Post-Gazette reports:

"There are precious little things that I as a male business owner could do to be supportive of this," said Mr. Mahaney, noting that some of his female employees had asked him about taking the day off. "I just really wanted to do this to support the people who work for me. It gave me an opportunity and I went with it."

He chose Planned Parenthood as the beneficiary of the funds because "they're a great organization that does a lot to offer general health and reproductive health services and they're more or less under constant attack," he said. "It just made sense to me."

The "Half the Sky" event will offer food specials as well as local spirits, mead, wine and beer poured by guest bartenders. A $20 suggested admission includes one cocktail. The event runs from 6 to 11 p.m.

"A Day Without a Woman" coincides with International Women's Day and is organized by the same group who planned the Women's March after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Spokeswoman Cassady Findlay told The Associated Press organizers were inspired by the "Day Without an Immigrant" protests. Participants are encouraged to take the day off work and not spend money in order to show the economic impact women have on society.
Those familiar with Red Sky Cafe at Ever Grain Brewing Company in Hampden Township will soon have more options to order the coastal Carolina cuisine.

In April, chef Wes Stepp will expand the Red Sky Cafe name with the addition of a sit-down restaurant at 4444 Carlisle Pike. It will open in the Hampden Terminal in the same complex where the brewery operates.

Red Sky will focus on cutting-edge Carolina-inspired foods such as shrimp and grits, crab cakes and pulled pork served in a rustic, industrial atmosphere.

"It's central Pennsylvania with a Carolina kiss," Stepp said.

For the past couple of months, Stepp has overseen the food service at Ever Grain, operating as the commissary for the brewery. He will continue to provide food for Ever Grain but expand on those offerings at Red Sky.

"Basically, what I have been doing is introducing the southern cuisine of the Outer Banks to central Pennsylvania," Stepp said.

He is from North Carolina, where he has owned a Red Sky Cafe in Duck for 14 years. Stepp arrived in central Pa. via Mike Kennedy, a friend and one of the partners of the Hampden Terminal.

The self-taught chef prides himself on a diverse menu of pub foods to fine dining. Each dish is perfectly plated.

"My mantra is the first bite is taken with your eyes. I am really big on presentation. I want to surprise your senses," he said.

For the menus, he combines North Carolina seafood with ingredients such as produce and pork sourced from central Pennsylvania.

A Low Country BLT is made from fried green tomatoes, Applewood smoked bacon, iceberg lettuce, smoked tomato and a remoulade. A NC Flatbread is topped with roasted pulled pork barbecue, while shrimp and grits is prepared risotto style and topped with North Carolina green tail shrimp.

Diners will be able to bring their own beverages, whether it be beer from Ever Grain or a bottle of wine or spirits. Mixers for cocktails, including fresh juices, will be on hand and the staff will assist diners with their cocktails.

Stepp also will serve several "clean" food menu items based off "Tastefully Fit," a cookbook he wrote.

On Sunday's diners can stop by for Sunday brunch. The menu will be similar to the one offered at Ever Grain with chalkboard menu items such as Crabby Eggs Benedict with buttermilk biscuit, crab cake and poached egg; Wes' shrimp and grits with shrimp and bacon tomato cream; French toast; and huevos rancheros.

In addition, Stepp caters both on-site and off premise and has already booked several weddings at the Hampden Township complex. Red Sky also will be the exclusive caterer at the new Allenberry Resort Inn & Playhouse in Boiling Springs.

Red Sky will be open Tuesday-Sunday, serving lunch and dinner.
laurahunter.png

(Facebook/screenshot)

A Washington woman has sued an online "news" site, alleging it stole her identity and transformed her into a blogger who loves Trump, hates Obama, and espouses anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant views.

Laura Hunter is actually a photographer and former beauty queen who says she leans to the liberal side,

She won the Ms. World pageant in 2016,

Her name and photo were used above articles published by a site called the Conservative Daily Post. The fictitious identify and articles have attracted nearly a million Facebook followers. An accompanying online bio said she lived with her dog in eastern Tennessee.

The real Laura Hunter has filed a lawsuit seeking $50,000 in damages from the Conservative Daily Post and and injunction blocking it from using her name and picture.

The owners of the Conservative Daily Post have been hard to locate. Hunter's lawsuit was mailed to a post office box listed as the publication's business address, but has received no response, according to CBS News, which also was unable to reach the site's owners.

The Washington Post reported: "The Conservative Daily Post has a simple business model, according to court documents: use blood-boiling stories to channel hyperpartisan outrage into wads of advertising cash."

Hunter is urging Facebook users to verify the source of information before believing it or sharing it.
Wildfires across several states have killed six people and charred hundreds of square miles of land.

Florida

A portion of Interstate 75 that's also known as Alligator Alley remains shut down Wednesday due to smoky conditions from a wildfire that is burning in southwest Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Lt. Gregory Bueno said in an email that motorists should seek alternatives routes on the highway that runs between Naples on Florida's Gulf Coast to the Fort Lauderdale area on the Atlantic Coast. It's the major east-west route across southern Florida.

The road was closed Tuesday after smoke from a 6,000-acre brush fire in Collier County's Picayune Strand State Forest caused poor visibility, Bueno said.

Florida Forest Service spokeswoman Samantha Quinn tells the Naples Daily News the fire has destroyed two homes in eastern Collier County. No injuries were reported.

Oklahoma & Kansas

Kansas wildfires have burned about 625 square miles of land and killed one person. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Corey Holt, of Oklahoma City, died Monday when his tractor-trailer jackknifed as he tried to back up because of poor visibility on a Kansas highway, and he succumbed to smoke after getting out of his vehicle.

Most of the state's charred land is in Clark County, where 30 structures were damaged, said Allison Kuhns, a county emergency management office spokeswoman. Kuhns said there also have been significant cattle losses as entire ranches were engulfed.

That fire started in Oklahoma, where it burned an estimated 390 square miles in Beaver County. Officials say a separate blaze scorched more than 155 square miles of land in neighboring Harper County, Oklahoma, and was a factor in the death of a woman who had a heart attack while trying to keep her farm near Buffalo from burning.

The largest evacuations elsewhere were in Reno County, Kansas, where 10,000 to 12,000 people voluntarily left their homes Monday night, said Katie Horner, a state Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman.

Texas

In the Texas Panhandle, three fires burned about 500 square miles of land and killed at least four people. One of them near Amarillo threatened about 150 homes, while a larger fire in the northeast corner of the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border was 50 percent contained as of late Tuesday morning, according to Texas A&M Forest Service. That larger fire was responsible for a death on Monday, authorities said Tuesday without providing details.

A wildfire in Gray County, also in the Texas Panhandle, killed three ranch hands trying to save cattle, said Judge Richard Peet, the county's head administrator. One of the three apparently died of smoke inhalation Monday night and the other two were badly burned and died on the way to hospitals, he said.

Forest Service spokesman Phillip Truitt said as many as four firefighters were hurt battling the fires Monday.

Colorado

In northeastern Colorado near the Nebraska border, firefighters battled a blaze that burned more than 45 square miles. Officials said the fire had destroyed at least five homes and 15 outbuildings, with no serious injuries.
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The youngest son of former vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine was among a group of people arrested over the weekend when a rally for President Donald Trump in Minnesota turned chaotic, according to media reports.

(File and Twitter)

The youngest son of former vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine was among a group of people arrested over the weekend when a rally for President Donald Trump in Minnesota turned chaotic, according to media reports.

Linwood Michael Kaine, 24, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of felony second-degree riot during the "March 4 Trump" rally at the State Capitol in St. Paul, according to the Pioneer Press. He was among four others that were arrested for the same charge.

EXCLUSIVE: Son of Sen. Tim Kaine was one of six arrested during Trump rally at state Capitol Saturday https://t.co/eIsUeu2g6B pic.twitter.com/aCYM4go0R5  Pioneer Press (@PioneerPress) March 8, 2017

Kaine was released Tuesday morning without being charged with a crime. However the police are still investigating the incident, according to the Pioneer Press.

The Washington Post reported that the Minnesota rally became disorderly when pro- and anti-Trump supporters clashed inside the State Capitol on Saturday.

Counter protesters set off fireworks, lit a smoke bomb and sprayed a chemical irritant into the crowd.

Police spokesman Steve Linders told the Pioneer Press that Kaine ran from the scene and was arrested down the street from the building, along with four others suspected to have lit fireworks. The arresting officer had to use "some force" to restrain Kaine as he was resisting, Linders said.

"He turned around and squared up to fight with the officer," Linders said. "The officer was able to place Mr. Kaine under arrest and take him to the Ramsey County jail for booking."

Reuters reported that pro-Trump rallies, called "Spirit of America Rallies," were held in 28 states. While many of the events were peaceful, Reuters reported that there were several violent interactions -- including the one in St. Paul.

Numerous fights broke out at a rally in Berkeley, Calif. Reuters footage of the rally showed people bloodied following the violent encounters.

Tim Kaine currently represents Virginia in the United States Senate. He ran as Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 presidential election.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Organizers of January's Women's March have called for women to take the day off and encouraged them not to spend money to show their economic strength and impact on American society.

"A Day Without a Woman" on Wednesday is the first major action by organizers since the nationwide marches held the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration that drew millions of women into the streets in protest against misogyny, inequality and oppression. Though it is unclear how many women could participate, thousands across the country have signaled their support and interest online and to employers.

The event coincides with the U.N.-designated International Women's Day, and organizers say they want to "stand with women around the globe" who supported their efforts Jan. 21 with similar protests in cities around the world.

Spokeswoman Cassady Findlay said organizers were inspired by the recent "Day Without an Immigrant" protests held last month. She said the action is aimed at highlighting the effect of women on the country's socio-economic system and would demonstrate how the paid and unpaid work of women keeps households, communities and economies running.

"We provide all this value and keep the system going, and receive unequal benefits from it," Findlay said.

Findlay said it is important for white women to be in solidarity with minority women.

"Throughout history, the strikes that have the biggest impact are the ones when people who are already the target of oppression participate," she said. "It's when women of all backgrounds strike and stand together that we're really going to see the impact."

Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday and asked followers to join him in "honoring the critical role of women" in the U.S. and around the world. He tweeted that he has "tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy."

I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

On International Women's Day, join me in honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2017

Ivanka Trump echoed her father's sentiments, tweeting: "Today, we celebrate women and are reminded of our collective voice and the powerful impact we have on our societies and economies."

Today, we celebrate women and are reminded of our collective voice and the powerful impact we have on our societies and economies. #IWD2017  Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 8, 2017

Unlike the Women's March, Wednesday's protest focuses on the absence of women, who are being steered to local rallies and community groups and away from work or shopping in stores or online. Organizers also are asking women to wear red to signify love and sacrifice.

More than a million people, mostly women, turned out nationwide for the Women's March. In New York, organizers are planning a gathering in Central Park at noon. International Women's Day rallies also are planned in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Washington and Berkeley, California.

School districts including Prince George's County in Maryland, the Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools in North Carolina, have canceled classes in anticipation of employee participation. In Utah, as many as 1,000 women are expected to gather at the Capitol to remind lawmakers they are watching their actions on women's issues

In Providence, R.I., the municipal court plans to close because the demonstration in the city would leave the court without enough staff to open. Lovely Monkey Tattoo, a woman-owned tattoo parlor in Whitmore Lake, Mich., is offering female-centric tattoos with messages like, "Neverless, She Persisted" for $50 to $100, with proceeds going to the Ann Arbor chapter of Planned Parenthood.

Some businesses have said they will either close or give female employees the day off. The event website provides templates for "out of office" emails, and an employer letter. The site has had more than a half-million visitors, and more than 60,000 had clicked on the letter template by Tuesday afternoon.
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A Lancaster County man was convicted of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and failing to file tax returns on Tuesday after not filing his taxes for decades.

(kuzmafoto via Shutterstock)

A Lancaster County man was convicted of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and failing to file tax returns on Tuesday after not filing his taxes for decades.

James Kerr Schlosser, 59, of Bird-in-Hand, purposely stopped filing federal income tax returns in 1995. Schlosser, a manufacturer's representative for companies that sold medical equipment and surgical devices to various health care providers, had accrued approximately $2.3 million from 1994 to 2014.

Schlosser faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $450,000 and the cost of prosecution. United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl is scheduled to sentence Schlosser on June 10, 2017.

Acting United States Attorney Lou Lappen said Schlosser testified in his own defense during the trial. Schlosser told the jury that he refused to file tax returns because he concluded that the use of a social security number represented the "mark of the beast" alluding to a passage in the Bible.

"The legality of our income tax laws has been challenged time and time again and the courts have consistently upheld these laws," said IRS Criminal Investigation Acting SAC Gregory Floyd.

"Convictions, like the one returned against James K. Schlosser, send a loud and clear message that regardless of their opinions, people who willfully defy the tax laws will be fully investigated, prosecuted, and subjected to the full punishment of the law for their actions."

Schlosser had tried to revoke his American citizenship and social security number, in addition to declaring himself a sovereign human being to shield himself from federal income taxation, even though he earned an income, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

To hide his income, Schlosser tried to assign his earnings to multiple foreign business trusts and corporate entities he created and registered with the Nevada Secretary of State.

To obtain the money, he entered into contracts with Nevada-based mail forwarding services that sent the income from the foreign trusts and corporate entities to Schlosser in Pennsylvania, and to others he convinced to act as trustees for one or more of the foreign business trusts, according to the DOJ.

After obtaining the money, Schlosser deposited it into non-interest earning investment accounts he established at two investment companies, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Schlosser also purchased gold coins from at least four coin dealers, which he then converted to cash through multiple purchases.
Rob McCord

Former state Treasurer Rob McCord

With his trial set to begin Thursday, a Pennsylvania businessman accused of bribing former state Treasurer Rob McCord is asking a federal judge to block prosecutors from eliciting some types of testimony from McCord.



Specifically, Richard W. Ireland wants U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III to bar McCord from testify regarding what he thought was going on during wire-tapped conversations with Ireland that authorities will use as evidence in the bribery case.



The "opinions" of McCord, who will be the prosecution's star witness, are irrelevant to the charges against Ireland, defense attorney Brian M. Heberlig contends.



"It is Ireland, not McCord, who is on trial, and Ireland's state of mind that the jury must determine," Heberlig wrote in a memorandum to the judge this week. "McCord cannot know Ireland's state of mind or opine on it."



Jones hadn't ruled on Heberlig's request as of Wednesday afternoon. Jury selection for Ireland's trial is scheduled to start at the federal courthouse in Harrisburg Thursday morning.



Federal authorities charged Ireland last year. They claim the 80-year-old Coatesville man made more than $500,000 in secret campaign contributions to McCord to steer millions of dollars in state investments to firms affiliated with Ireland. Investigators claim Ireland also promised to put the Democrat on his payroll after McCord left office.



As it turned out, McCord left office sooner than he had planned. He resigned as treasurer and pleaded guilty in early 2015 to federal charges for threatening to use the power of his office against potential donors who didn't contribute to his failed campaign for governor.



McCord, whom Heberlig described as a federal "informant," has been cooperating with the feds in investigating government corruption. He is still awaiting sentencing in his own criminal case.



In his memorandum to Jones, Heberlig claims prosecutors want to secure improper opinion testimony from McCord under the guise of clarifying the content of the wiretapped calls for the jurors.



The U.S. Attorney's Office claims such interpretation is necessary because the calls involve jargon and the names of people the jurors are unlikely to know. That includes two people authorities say were involved with charities Ireland used to funnel campaign money to McCord.



While McCord can be allowed to identify those people, that doesn't mean he should be permitted to give his own interpretations of what was said, Heberlig contends. Nor, he argues, should McCord be allowed to do more than clarify any jargon.



Any determination as to whether the tapped conversations revealed a pay-to-play deal between Ireland and McCord "belongs to the jury," Heberlig insists.



"Permitting McCord to inject his assumptions on the ultimate issue would be highly and unfairly prejudicial," Heberlig wrote. "The jury is perfectly capable of listening to the recordings, listening to McCord's testimony about what was said...and weighing other credible and relevant evidence to determine whether there was an impermissible quid pro quo exchange."
apgym.jpg

Associated Press photo.

(Associated Press)

The Greater Scranton YMCA has banned cable news from its premises over concerns its was sparking arguments that threaten the safety of members.

It's board, following a vote, recently sent a letter to members stating that cable news channels including Fox News, CNN and MSNBC have provoked political discussions and disputes that threatened to turn physical, according to an article published by philly.com.

The CEO said that while there have been no fights, several members have reported feeling threatened after political discussions turned "boisterous," with participants raising their voices and using "colorful" language.

YMCA members quoted in the article agreed arguments have arisen, but tended to feel the board overreacted.

One member told WBRE, "I understand why they did it because there was a lot of controversy with a lot of people talking and arguing ... There was a lot of arguing going on, but I don't think it was right."

YMCA leaders said they were acting preemptively, and noted that heated political talk and possible consequences weren't a concern prior to about six months ago.
Identity Thief

Police in Cumberland County are looking for a man whom they say used a cloned debit card at an area pharmacy.

The Silver Spring Township Police Department is asking the public to help them identify the pictured man, who was caught on surveillance video at the CVS on the 6700 block of Carlisle Pike.

Police say he committed credit card fraud Friday by withdrawing cash from an ATM at the store, using a cloned debit card.

The victim still has the original card, police say.

Anyone who can identify the pictured man should contact Officer Cory Keen, 717-238-9676, or by email at ckeen@sstwp.org.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Randall McFadden

The U.S. Marshals Service is searching for a convicted bomb maker who left his federal parole residence in Pittsburgh and didn't return.

Randall McFadden, 62, is charged with violating parole conditions by recently absconding from his residence at the Salvation Army, 44 S. Ninth St., Pittsburgh. He was charged March 3.

McFadden completed a 30-year federal prison sentence after he was convicted on charges of mailing a destructive device with the intent to kill or injure, possession of a firearm and damaging and destroying by explosive a building owned by the U.S. Post Office.

He also was charged with possession of an explosive device while in custody in federal prison.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of McFaden is asked to contact Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. All callers remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Eleuterio Catalan

State police continue their search for Eleuterio Urrutia Catalan.

Catalan, 38, sexually assaulted two juveniles numerous times in West Nottingham Township, Chester County, between April and July of 2009, police said. Eleuterio Catalan, whose last known address was in Nottingham, fled the area, according to police.

Catalan, also known as "Tello," is known to frequent La Palma and Guerrero, Mexico, police said.

He is described as a Hispanic male who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 155 pounds. Catalan has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on Catalan's whereabouts is asked to contact Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. All callers remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Keyon Lucas

The U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Task Force is searching for 14-year-old homicide suspect Keyon Lucas.

Lucas, also known as "Lil Bill," "Jackson," "Rondo," "Keyon" and "Edward," is wanted for the shooting death of Lavelle Beason in Erie on Jan. 23. Beason was shot to death while sitting in a van in the 500 block of East 22nd Street.

Lucas is described as a black male who is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 120 pounds and has a scar on his forehead.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Lucas is asked to contact the U.S. Marshals, Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force in Erie at 814-464-9682 or 814-464-9683. Information also can be emailed to wpaftf@comcastnet.

Information is kept confidential and tipsters could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,500, the U.S. Marshals Office said.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Home Invasion Suspects

Philadelphia police are searching for two male suspects, one who was armed with a handgun, who allegedly broke into a 53-year-old man's home and bound and gagged him before fleeing on Feb. 17.

The suspects, two black males, entered the home in the 4200 block of Nelson Street through the garage at about 8:08 p.m., police said.

Once inside, the suspects forced a 53-year-old man to the rear bedroom, where he was gagged and bound with electrical tape and plastic ties, according to police.

After they spent about an hour inside the home, the suspects fled in an unknown direction.

It was immediately unclear whether the suspects stole anything from the home, as an investigation continues.

The victim was taken to Aria Frankford Hospital and was later transferred to Aria Torresdale hospital for treatment of bruises/contusion to his face and a broken nose.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Det. Buck with the Philadelphia Police Department's east detective division at 215-686-3243/3244 ext. 9027.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Julius Stackhouse

Police are searching for one of two suspects accused in the Aug. 31 homicide of a 25-year-old man in Pittsburgh.

Julius Stackhouse, 33, is wanted for the shooting death of Domanek Cabbagestalk. Police said Stackhouse and Dymond Locke, 20, are suspects in the case. Locke turned herself in to police on Jan. 24.

Cabbagestalk was shot in the chest and leg as he stood on the porch of a home in the 1400 block of Steuben Street, police said. The shooting followed an altercation at Woodlow Street and Cherry Street, according to police. Cabbagestalk fled to the home on Steuben Street following the fight, police said.

He was rushed to Allegheny General Hospital, but ultimately died.

Stackhouse may have relocated to the Cleveland area.

He is from Crafton Heights, but is known to frequent Beltzhoover, the Hill District and Shadyside, police said.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call Pittsburgh police at 412-323-7800, or the U.S. Marshal's Western PA Fugitive Task Force at 412-422-4722.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Kenneth Diaz-Castro

East Lampeter Township police have issued arrest warrants for Kenneth X. Diaz-Castro, 33, of Lancaster.

Diaz-Castro, whose last known address was in the 500 blk of Zook Avenue, Lancaster, is wanted for felony fleeing or attempting to elude police and multiple retail thefts.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact East Lampeter Township police at 717-291-4676.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Patrick McEvoy

Crime stoppers in Lancaster County is offering a reward up to $1,000 for information in a heroin overdose case from last July.

Authorities are seeking Patrick C. McEvoy, 25, of Ephrata, in connection with a July 27, 2016, overdose death in a public restroom on the 100 block of East Main Street in the borough. Callie C. Bowen, also of Ephrata was implicated in the death of 25-year-old Brandon Lied of Ephrata.

Police said Bowen and McEvoy conspired to get Lied his fatal dose of heroin, which was laced with fentanyl. Evidence against McEvoy and Bowen includes texting conversations between them and Lied, police said.

Bowen surrendered earlier this month and is free on $200,000 unsecured bail. She is scheduled for formal arraignment at 9 a.m. March 24 in Lancaster County Court.

Anyone with information as to McEvoy's whereabouts is asked to contact Det. Ken Lockhart of Ephrata police at 717-738-9200 or lockhark@police.co.lancaster.pa.us; call Lancaster City-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-1913; submit a tip button on the Lancaster police website; or text a tip to Crime Stoppers by texting LANCS plus your message to 847411.

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Donald Kriegsman Jr.

Police have charged 45-year-old Donald L. Kriegsman Jr. with the crimes. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Police in Lower Allen Township are attempting to find 45-year-old Donald L. Kriegsman, who is suspected of grabbing cash out of the registers at two gas stations in Lower Allen Township, police said.

The first incident occurred at about 10 p.m. on Jan. 30 at the Exxon station along Gettysburg Road, and the second was at about 8 p.m. on Jan. 31 at the Gulf Station along Simpson Ferry Road, police said.

"The actor came to the business and asked for change for a dollar. When the clerk opened the drawer, the actor reached across the counter, grabbed money from the drawer, and fled," according to police.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 717-238-9676 or Cumberland County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-628-8477 and by email at contact@cumberlandcrimestoppers.net.

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Serial Bank Robber

The FBI is assisting midstate police in finding a bank robber suspected of four recent heists.

The bank robberies were:

Oct. 14 at the M & T Bank on Simpson Ferry Road in Hampden Township

Dec. 9 at the M & T Bank in the 5000 block of Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township

Dec. 23 at Fulton Bank on North 12th Street in Lemoyne

Jan. 6 at M & T Bank on Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township

"We are working with all the agencies involved," said Lt. Justin Depasqua of Lower Paxton Township police.

The suspect is described at 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall with a stocky build, weighing about 200 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI's Harrisburg office at 717-232-8686.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Abduction Suspect

Investigators are searching for a male suspect who police said temporarily abducted a baby during a car theft in Philadelphia on Feb. 2.

Philadelphia police responded to an abduction report at Eight and Market streets at about 5:35 p.m. on Feb. 2.

Upon arrival, responding officers were met by the complainant, a 30-year-old woman who reported that she had left her 2014 Toyota Rav4 running with her 1-year-old daughter in the backseat while she went back inside the McKean Laundromat to get her daughter a toy, police said.

As the woman left the Laundromat, she said she saw an unknown black male enter her vehicle and drive southbound on Eighth Street, nearly striking her as she attempted to stop him, according to police.

The woman chased her vehicle to the corner of Eighth Street and Snyder Avenue, where she began to bang on a window of the vehicle, screaming that her baby was in the backseat, police said.

The suspect then turned west on Snyder Avenue and the mother lost sigh of her vehicle, according to police.

Shortly after, someone found the baby on the southwest corner of Ninth and Emily streets, police said. The baby was unharmed.

Police said the suspect is described as a black male with a light complexion, between the ages of 30-35. He had a thin build and a goatee and was wearing a black jacket, gray hooded sweatshirt and black Nike sneakers.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Philadelphia police South Detective Division at 215-686-3013/3014 and dial ext. 745 for Det. Courtney.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Homicide Suspect

Police in Philadelphia are searching for a suspect accused of shooting and killing a man outside of a business in the 4500 block of Melrose Street on Jan. 12.

The suspect, described as a black male who appears to be in his mid-to-late 30s, entered a business for a short period, left and returned about 15 minutes later, police said. When he returned, police said the suspect shot and killed a 35-year-old man multiple times as he stood outside of the business. Police said the victim was shot multiple times in the head and torso.

The suspect had a full beard and mustache, was wearing a green Philadelphia Eagles (with the old style emblem) baseball hat, a grey hooded sweatshirt under a black leather jacket with zippers on the sleeves and dark denim pants with padded patches on the front and back of the legs.

After shooting the man, the suspect is believed to have fled in a black 2015-2016 Hyundai Sonata.

Anyone who sees the suspect should not approach him, police said. Contact 911 immediately.

To submit a tip to police via phone call 255-686-TIPS, or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847. dial 215.686.TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.

Use this electronic form to submit a tip anonymously. All tips are confidential.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Purse Snatchers

Bensalem Township police are attempting to identify two suspects in a strong arm robbery that occurred in the parking lot of Parx Casino Sunday

At about 8:20 p.m., the victim, a 73-year-old woman, was walking in the casino parking lot when a black male approached her, police said. The suspect ripped the victims purse from her shoulder and ran toward Mechanicsville Road, according to police. The suspect stole an undisclosed amount of money and the victims cell phone, police said.

Police said surveillance helped them determine that two male suspects had followed the victim from inside the casino. The two suspects were drove a silver 2007 Audi Q7, with New Jersey registration K52GEN. Police believe the suspects are from Newark, NJ. a

Anyone with information about these suspects is asked to submit a tip , please submit a tip on the Bucks County Crime Watch website.

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Damien Dabney

Bensalem Township police investigators are searching for Damian Dabney, 32, who is one of two suspects accused of stealing personal information and using fake IDs to get loan at a bank.

The other suspect was arrested. A warrant has been issued for Dabney's arrest.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Dabney is asked to contact Bensalem police at 215-633-3719.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Dine-and-Dash Suspect

East Lampeter Township police are searching for a male suspect who is accused of intentionally running out of a Texas Roadhouse restaurant, 2317 Lincoln Highway East, without paying for his bill.

The suspect, described as a white male between the ages of 30-40, was last seen running into the nearby woods.

The suspect has straight brown hair and a light mustache and goatee, police said.

Anyone with information on the identity of the suspect is asked to submit a tip or contact East Lampeter Township police officer Jennifer Leya at 717-291-4676.

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Eric Veronikis | everonikis@pennlive.com

Timothy Bazemore

Pittsburgh police are searching for attempted homicide suspect Timothy Bazemore.

Detectives from the department's Group Violence Intervention Unit are seeking the whereabouts of Bazemore, who is wanted in connection with an attempted homicide that occurred in Homewood in July.

Pittsburgh Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Bazemore is asked to call crime stoppers at 412-255-8477. Callers may remain anonymous.
Annville Township, South Annville Township, South Londonderry Township, Palmyra Borough police departments, the state police and the College's Office of Public Safety, hold two active shooter training sessions in Lebanon Valley College's Neidig-Garber Science Center on Wednesday, March 8 during LVC's spring break.

The training combines a classroom session with hands-on searches and room entries. The focus is on the school environment, with the principles applicable to any large populated venue.



This joint training session is an important opportunity to gather area police personnel who would likely respond in a real-world event.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Three men who were previously deported have been indicted on illegal re-entry charges after being found in York County, the U.S. attorney says.

Alberto Juarez-Hernandez, 32, who had been deported to Guatemala in August 2010, is accused of illegally re-entering the U.S. sometime afterward. He was found in York County after eluding examination or inspection by immigration officers, said U.S. Attorney Bruce Brandler.

Gregorio Perez-Canceco, 31, who was previously deported to Mexico five times between November 2005 and July 2006, is accused of illegally re-entering the U.S. and was also found in York County.

Elvis Ivan Tzul-Lopez, 36, who was previously deported to Mexico in March 2016 and October 2010, is accused of re-entry sometime after March 2016 and was found in York County,

The maximum penalty under federal law is two years in prison, supervised release and a fine.
EXETER, Pa. (AP) -- Three teenagers have delivered an anonymous apology note and $50 to the Pennsylvania library where they sprayed a swastika using shaving cream in a parking lot.

Teenagers anonymously apologized for graffiti at the Exeter Community Library in Reading.

The teens left the envelope containing the note and the money in a book depository at the Exeter Community Library. Police and firefighters were called to wash away the graffiti on Friday. The envelope was found by library workers on Monday.

The Reading Eagle reported that the vandalism upset library staff:

"You don't expect it, you don't expect people to be that evil," said Mallory Hoffman, the library's director. "We've had some very upset staff, very confused staff."

Hoffman said she's not sure why the library was targeted other than that it has a large parking lot.

The teens' note says they are "three stupid teenagers apologizing for our heinous acts."

The teens go on to say that they didn't intend to offend or hurt anyone.

The teens say they "all have religious roots and did not intentionally mean this as any form of hate speech or dislikeness towards any culture."

The teens apologized and say they'll never do anything like that again.
JERSEY SHORE -- Two Marcellus Shale natural gas companies accused of causing the death of 169 salamanders in Lycoming County have settled the criminal charges against them.

Anadarko E&P Onshore of Woodlands, Texas, and Oil States Energy Services of Clearfield pleaded no contest Wednesday to misdemeanor charges of disturbance and pollution of waterways.

An agreement with the state Attorney General's Office requires each company to pay $10,000 to the Pennsylvania Fish Fund, make a $40,000 charitable contribution to the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy and pay restitution of $3,078.

Deputy Attorney General Rebecca S. Franz said she was confident of a conviction had the case gone to trial but the resolution was beneficial to all parties.

The amicable solution avoids a trial, defense attorneys said. By pleading no contest before District Judge Jerry C. Lepley, the defendants did not admit guilt.

Anadarko and Oil States were accused of polluting an unnamed tributary to Bonnell Run and Little Pine Creek in northwestern Lycoming County in February 2015.

Oil States was Anadarko's contractor for disposal of wastewater from Bonnell Run Pad D that contains six gas wells.

Despite a verbal agreement with Bonnell Run Hunting and Fishing Corp. not to store contaminated water at the pad on its property, Anadarko placed 65 tanks in which flow-back water from fracking operations was kept until trucked off site.

The two companies were accused of allowing the discharge of an estimated 1,050 gallons of liquids from the tanks. An investigation determined overfilling caused the discharge, the charges state.

A Fish and Boat Commission biologist estimated the dead salamanders, some as long as five inches, were worth $6,156. He also discovered dead amphibian egg masses, the charges state.

The contaminated soil around the well pad has been removed and the stream is being monitored, the defense attorneys said.

Tests of the unnamed tributary had revealed the presence of barium, chloride and strontium, the charges state.
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A state appeals court has ordered the Workers Compensation Appeal Board to reconsider its denial of benefits for the widow of a volunteer fire chief who died of cancer.

(Barbara Miller)

The widow of a volunteer fire chief has won another shot at securing workers compensation benefits on a claim that her husband contracted fatal cancer from the smoke and diesel fumes he inhaled during decades on duty.



Cheryl Steele got that second chance Wednesday when a state Commonwealth Court panel ordered the state Workers Compensation Appeals Board to reconsider its refusal to award her benefits for the August 2011 death of her husband, Roy.



Cheryl Steele claimed her husband contracted the stage 4 lung cancer that killed him during his service as a chief, and finally a captain with the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department in Allegheny County.



A workers compensation judge had awarded her benefits, but the board overturned that decision, finding that she didn't provide required documentation to prove her husband's death resulted from carcinogens to which he was exposed during his fire company service.



Specifically, the board found that Cheryl Steele hadn't submitted data from the Pennsylvania Fire Information Reporting System to document the fires her husband helped subdue. Such reports from the system, known as PennFIRS, are required for workers comp claims filed by volunteer firefighters, it noted.



The compensation judge had acknowledged that no PennFIRS report was submitted in the Steele case, but instead credited the testimony of other volunteers with the Imperial department who said Roy Steele was exposed to carcinogens while serving with the unit from 1968 until a year before his death.



The worker's comp claim was opposed by Findlay Township, which funds the company's insurance. Township officials argued that by law, the Steele claim can't be granted without a PennFIRS report.



Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer noted in the Commonwealth Court's opinion that the fire company's current chief testified before the comp board that he never saw Roy Steele personally enter a building to fight a fire. However, that chief said Steele would have entered fire-damaged buildings after the flames were extinguished.



Jubelirer also noted that state law specifically mandates that PennFIRS reports be submitted for claims such as Steele's.



However, Jubelirer concluded that, even without a PennFIRS report, Cheryl Steele still might be able to support her claim through other information. So her court sent the dispute back to the comp board to determine if Steele is entitled to benefits under another provision of the law that allows for compensation when volunteer firefighters contract "occupational diseases."




Donald Trump's promise to repeal Obamacare and its individual mandate took steps forward this week when republicans in the House of Representatives unveiled their replacement plan. The GOP plan is significantly different than the Affordable Care Act, so let's take a closer look at how it would work.

Some background

Obamacare successfully reduced the uninsured rate in America, but it's been panned for failing to curb runaway increases in insurance premiums and deductibles. The mandate requiring all Americans to have healthcare insurance has also been a big sticking point with conservatives, who believe that decision should be up to the individual.

As a refresher, the Affordable Care Act created state marketplaces through which uninsured Americans could select insurance plans of varying coverage. Bronze level plans are the lowest-cost plans available on these exchanges, but they provide limited healthcare coverage. Silver level plans are more expensive, but they provide more coverage, and they've proven to be the most popular plans. Gold and platinum level plans are also available, but they cost the most, and as a result, they're less popular.

People earning income that is below four times the poverty level receive subsidies that significantly reduce their monthly insurance premiums. Overall, about 8 in 10 people enrolling in Obamacare plans receive subsidies that reduce their premiums to about $100 per month.

In order to ensure insurance patient pools aren't comprised solely of sick, and therefore high-cost members, Obamacare included a provision that mandates all Americans get insurance, or face a penalty at tax time. The penalty has steadily increased since Obamacare's launch, and currently, it stands at $695 per adult, or $347.50 per child, per person, up to a maximum $2,085 for a family.

Although the individual mandate was designed to boost the number of healthy people signing up for health insurance, insurers have struggled to turn a profit on plans sold on the Affordable Care Act's exchanges.

In 2016, losses on Obamacare plans prompted UnitedHealth Group, the nation's biggest health insurer, to exit the majority of its ACA markets in 2017. Similarly, Humana and Aetna also decided to reduce their exposure to the exchanges because of losses. Because of these decisions, people in some counties were left with only one or two insurance options this year, prompting steep criticism. Insurers that chose to remain in the exchanges this year were forced to increase their premiums, drawing additional ire from patients and Obamacare critics.

A new approach to health insurance

Instead of mandating that Americans must buy health insurance, the GOP plan would provide refundable tax credits that it believes will entice people to enroll, without the threat of a bigger tax bite.

People who are younger will receive a smaller tax credit than older Americans, and tax credits phase out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and couples earnings more than $150,000. The value of the credits ranges between $2,000 to $4,000 per individual, or up to $14,000 per family.

The bill promises to provide more flexibility for insurers to provide plans that offer varying levels of coverage, at different price points, and that could make it profitable for insurers. Insurers will still have to cover people with pre-existing conditions, and children under age 26 will be able to remain on their parents' plans.

Americans enrolled in Medicaid states that expanded enrollment criteria under Obamacare can still be covered under state programs, too -- with a caveat. The Federal government will provide financial support to Medicaid expansion states, but the amount will be fixed at a per-person figure after 2020.

However, it's unclear if the GOP's Medicaid plan will pass muster with republican members of Congress who represent expansion states. More than 10 million people have enrolled in Medicaid since Obamacare's passage, and as a result, republican lawmakers in expansion states are already telling republican leaders that they'll be scrutinizing the plan's Medicaid language carefully.

To help cover the cost of refundable tax credits, the bill keeps the Cadillac tax, and it allows insurers to increase premiums by 30% if someone doesn't continually maintain their coverage.

Looking forward

President Trump has said in the past that he wants an Obamacare replacement plan that's better, and ostensibly, that means cheaper, while still covering most Americans. The Congressional Budget Office should finish its evaluation of the GOP plan soon, and that should shed light on whether this plan delivers on those two goals. If it doesn't, then republicans may need to make some changes in order to get this bill passed.

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Police officers guard outside the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Malaysia says the North Korean Embassy staff are barred from leaving country after Pyongyang blocked Malaysians from leaving North Korea in the bitter diplomatic dispute between North Korea and Malaysia over the poisoning death of leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother in Kuala Lumpur. (AP Photo/Daniel Chan)
Harbor Springs girls take 5th at D4 finals, Boyne's Maginity all-state again in D3

BROOKLYN  With all the local talent and teams taking on the Division 4 state championships Saturday, there were expected to be some medals and hardware brought back north.
Oil little changed Tuesday as growing U.S. supply offsets bullish Saudi comments

NEW YORK

Petroleumworld.com 03 08 2017

Oil prices ended little changed on Tuesday, as growing U.S. production expectations offset earlier gains after Saudi Arabia's oil minister said market fundamentals were improving.

The market, however, fell in post-settlement trade after data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude stocks last week rose 11.6 million barrels, or more than five times analysts' forecast.

If the build is confirmed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) on Wednesday, it would be the ninth straight weekly rise in inventories that are already at record highs.

At the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih said last year's agreement by OPEC and non-OPEC countries to curb supplies and boost prices has improved oil market supply and demand fundamentals.

But Falih said that happened only because Saudi Arabia cut beyond what it pledged, bringing the kingdom's output below 10 million barrels per day (bpd). He also said the Organization for the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would not let rival producers take advantage of the cuts to underwrite their own production investments.

The group is expected to meet again in May, when it could consider extending the production cuts.

Brent futures slipped nine cents, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $55.92 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost six cents, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $53.14.

Both benchmarks were about 0.7 percent lower after the API data.

Oil prices have been stuck in a $3 band since February, failing to take off after OPEC implemented, to a surprisingly high degree, the first production cut in eight years.

Prices came under pressure as U.S. shale oil drilling increased after WTI rose firmly above $50 a barrel in December after OPEC sealed the deal with Russia and other non-OPEC producers.

"OPEC has unrealistic expectation as to what their production cuts can achieve," said Phil Davis, managing partner at PSW Investments in Woodland Park, New Jersey, noting U.S. production over the next two years is expected to wipe out much of the OPEC cuts.

The EIA projected U.S. oil production would rise to an average of 9.2 million bpd in 2017 and 9.7 million bpd in 2018, which, if correct, would top the current record high of 9.6 million bpd set in 1970.

Fund managers have doubled their net long positions in Brent, WTI and options to 951 million barrels between the start of November and Feb. 21, betting OPEC's output cuts would lift prices.

But that bullish sentiment has wavered with Russia's lackluster participation in the cuts, rising U.S. shale output and signs OPEC countries began increasing crude exports in February.

Russia promised to implement its 300,000 bpd share of production cuts by the end of April. But brokerage Marex Spectron predicted Russian production and exports would rise gradually, which would lead to "a quick deterioration of the short-term supply conditions."


Maersk with a Danish North Sea oil deal within days - sources

COPENHAGEN

Petroleumworld.com 03 08 2017

Oil and shipping conglomerate A.P Moller-Maersk could land a deal with the Danish government on oil and gas operations in the North Sea within days, political sources with knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters on Tuesday.

The deal will secure continued production in the Danish part of the North Sea and is seen as crucial for Maersk as it seeks to focus its operations on the North Sea and spin off its energy assets via a listing or merger.

The Danish state has agreed to improved fiscal terms, the sources said. That would allow Maersk to continue operations at Denmark's largest gas field, Tyra, where more than 90 percent of the country's gas production is processed.

However, Maersk would have to agree that if the oil price goes above $75 per barrel the company would pay 5 percent more of its profit to the state. If the oil price rises above $85 per barrel, this would be 10 percent. The current tax rate is 52 percent.

The sources also said that in separate negotiations the minority government was close to securing a majority in parliament for the deal, which is needed for its final implementation.

The deal would apply to the companies in the Danish Underground Consortium, which include Shell, Chevron and state-owned Nordsofonden, as well as Maersk.

"No new North Sea deal has been agreed. There are still negotiations with the parties," the finance ministry said on Twitter. It has no further comment for the time being, a spokesman said.

Maersk Oil declined to comment.


Grupo de Energia de Bogota to invest $530 mln in 2017

BOGOTA

Petroleumworld.com 03 08 2017

Colombia holding company Grupo de Energia de Bogota will invest $530 million this year across several Latin American countries, sell stakes in certain companies and expand into renewable energy, Chief Executive Officer Astrid Alvarez said on Tuesday.

Some $171 million will go toward energy transmission projects in Colombia, while the remainder is earmarked for investments in Peru, Brazil and Guatemala.

Grupo de Energia, which is controlled by the government of Colombian capital Bogota, is also looking to invest in Argentina and Chile, especially in the natural gas sector, Alvarez told journalists.

"We want to consolidate our transformation as one of the most important Latin American multi-laterals in energy and gas," she said at a presentation in Bogota. "Electricity transmission and communication in Central America will also be important for analysis by the group."

The company is seeking buyers this year for 20 percent of principal affiliate Empresa de Energia de Bogota, leaving it with 56.3 percent. It values the 20 percent stake at 3.35 trillion pesos ($1.1 billion).

Grupo de Energia expects to begin selling off its participation in gas and electricity distributor Promigas , electricity company ISA, food producer Nutresa and Banco Popular bank in April. Taken together those stakes are worth around 1 trillion pesos.

The company is eager to invest in renewable energy, Alvarez said.

($1 = 2,966.67 Colombian pesos)


CERAWeek: Al Falih Says worldwide demand will reach 100 million barrels a day very soon.



Khalid al-Falih, Saudi energy minister and Saudi Aramco chairman, speaks with CNBC's Brian Sullivan at CERAWeek -see video

HOUSTON

Petroleumworld.com 03 08 2017

Saudi Arabia 's top oil official dismissed the notion that global demand may soon peak and leave billions of barrels of untapped crude stranded in fields that will never be drilled.

Khalid Al Falih, energy minister for the world's biggest oil-exporting nation, called talk about peak demand among energy executives, analysts and activists misguided, and predicted worldwide demand will reach 100 million barrels a day very soon. Al Falih made his remarks Tuesday in a packed-house address at CERAWeek by IHS Markit in Houston, the most influential oil industry conference of the year.

Although Al Falih framed his comments in the wider context of the need to invest in future oil production, his warning comes as the kingdom prepares to sell shares in its state-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco . The Aramco public offering is on track for a 2018 listing, he said. The company and government officials are working on bringing internal accounting in line with standards observed by publicly traded companies, he said.

Al Falih's assessment drew support from powerful voices in the international energy sphere.

There is no peak in oil demand we see, said Fatih Birol, the executive director at the International Energy Agency , during a CERAWeek panel discussion later in the day. Maybe the growth is slowing down, but no peak. OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo at the same meeting said he doesn't believe a peak will occur in the foreseeable future.

Endangering Growth

Assumptions that demand will stop growing or even atrophy could discourage investment in new oil exploration projects, crimping future supplies and triggering price shocks that would endanger economic growth, Al Falih said.

The statements follow comments by Royal Dutch Shell Pl c 's Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry on March 2 that demand for oil could peak in as little as five years, a rare statement in an industry that commonly forecasts decades of growth.

Even as the costs of renewable energy sources decline and alternatives grab an every-bigger share of the pie, climate change concerns and technological advances won't be enough to sideline crude oil, Al-Falih said.








CERAWeek: Pemex, Lukoil continue talks on potential joint projects



Pemex CEO Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya says that talks between Mexico's state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos and Russia's Lukoil about potential joint projects are ongoing. - see video

HOUSTON

Petroleumworld.com 03 08 2017

Talks between Mexico's state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and Russia's Lukoil about potential joint projects are ongoing, Pemex CEO Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya told Sputnik on the sidelines of the IHS CERAweek conference in Houston.





Russia's Lukoil became the first foreign company to tap into Mexico's oil market after signing a cooperation agreement with Pemex in January 2014.

"The teams are still in talks with Russian companies to see if there is an opportunity in the future," Anaya said Tuesday. "We are still in talks with the people from Lukoil. We have not concreted one yet. We are working." .

In 2014, Mexico's parliament approved legislation to allow private oil contracts as the country's market began to open up to foreign oil firms.

State-owned Pemex petroleum company lost its monopoly over the country's oil reserves, with foreign companies planning to enter the Mexican oil market through profit-sharing and production-sharing contracts, as well as through licensed drilling.








Vegan eating has skyrocketed in popularity over the course of recent decades, with more than 1,400 plant-based restaurants opening all across the US. While Philadelphia is historically known for cheesesteaks, countless vegan restaurants now call the city home. This is
Hollywood operates under the assumption that bigger is better, and usually ends up proving the opposite.

Its new Kong, though, is a happy exception. In Kong: Skull Island, the "monster" has been super-sized, reportedly for a pending matchup with Godzilla for a sequel down the road. For now, though, he has his big hands full -- rousingly so -- with Samuel L. Jackson, who plays an Army Air Cavalry colonel assigned to guard a scientific expedition to recently discovered tropical locale called (dunt-dunt-dunt dah!) Skull Island.

Jackson is bald, a bit mad, and recently pulled from the jungles of Vietnam, and if that has you film buffs thinking the movie is making a cheeky reference to Apocalypse Now, you are correct.

Right down to the helicopters, photographed Coppola-style against a setting sun, outfitted with speakers that blare music -- here, it's a collection of early '70s hits to establish the movie's time frame. It's 1973, and shadowy government operatives (John Goodman, Corey Hawkins) have persuaded the United States to pay for the mapping expedition to the mysterious island. They are to be accompanied by the colonel and his men (Tony Kebbell), an Oscar-winning actress (Brie Larson), a British guy (Tom Hiddleston), and Asian woman (Tian Jing) so that the film can be sold in foreign markets.

The bland dialogue seems written so as to be easily translated and dubbed, but it also sounds the right note of hokum and sets the right tone for the old-fashioned Saturday matinee fun to come.

The cursory character sketches that mark the opening moments also speak to the movie's efficiency -- it wastes no time getting to the feature attraction. Kong makes a quick, witty, action-packed entrance, dispatching invaders with a verve that suggests he doesn't like the dialogue or stock characters any better than you.

His attack scatters the survivors, and the movie follows separate groups as they hack through the jungle, where they discover that Kong is the least of their problems. Skull Island may be a knockoff, but it has a knack for knocking people off.

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts delivers one fresh and imaginative surprise after another, cleverly framed, nicely paced, and he even offers a good performance: John C. Reilly pops up as a marooned island inhabitant, doing an amusing riff on a man driven bonkers by isolation, a funny yin to Jackson's increasingly demented and Kong-hating yang.

As for Kong himself -- nice going, Industrial Light & Magic. He's not (just) a special effect here, he's a character. The look and movement of the creature are first-rate, and he looms large as a metaphor for the dangers of tampering with the natural order of things.

All who gaze upon him do so with awe and wonder.

Except for Hiddleston, who looks relieved to be on an island with a celebrated figure who is not Taylor Swift.

EndText
So you're on PATCO during rush hour, crossing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and the train suddenly stops. You're stranded  nearly 13 stories above the Delaware River. Now what?

That's what PATCO crews and passengers had to figure out Tuesday, when a crowded eastbound train stalled on the bridge and forced at least 480 passengers to disembark and enter a "rescue train."

The outcome was a last resort.

A PATCO operator and dispatchers tried for 15 minutes to make the six-car train move. It had stalled around 5:40 p.m. But a mechanical issue  which PATCO officials are still trying to identify  prevented the brakes from releasing.

So they moved to Plan B.

Another eastbound train unloaded passengers at Eighth and Market Streets, and headed up the bridge, stopping within inches of the stranded train.

This new train  the "rescue"  was the way out.

Police officers and PATCO operators helped passengers walk between the doors of the stranded cars and enter the rescue train. Most people remained calm, but a few panicked.

"This poor lady, she would get up to the door  she was really upset, but her friend kind of nudged her through," said Jennifer Volin, 44, a nurse at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who was heading home to Cherry Hill. "And we all cheered for her."

Volin, who crossed through several cars before entering the rescue train, said that crews kept passengers updated and that the evacuation was orderly.



"I've got to be honest, at least on the train, I thought they handled it great," she said.

Susan Galeone, 31, who was headed home to Maple Shade, snapped pictures of the view while she was stranded.

"It was a little disconcerting to look down and see how far it was," she said. "It was a great view, though."

Altogether, the train was stuck on the bridge for about 50 minutes.

The fallout rippled across PATCO's 13 stations, causing delays of at least 20 minutes in both directions. Riders complained of large crowds and wait times that exceeded the lengths announced on loudspeakers at the stations.

PATCO general manager John Rink said the delay times evolved as crews realized a rescue train was needed. The stranded train  one of PATCO's refurbished units  was eventually taken to the Lindenwold train yard, where it is now out of service.

Rink said that he had no concerns about other refurbished cars having issues and that officials would review Tuesday's incident to see what worked and what didn't.

The last time PATCO passengers were rescued on the bridge was in 2013, when a train full of St. Patrick's Day revelers  many intoxicated  became stuck for more than an hour.
Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
The "Black Girl Magic: Loving the Magic in You" conference was created to leave African-American girls radiating with self-love, confidence and sisterhood.
The Amazon Echo is always listening for its wake word. (Photo: Police Magazine)

Amazon agreed to hand over user data of an Amazon Echo speaker for a murder trial in Arkansas, after it spent months pushing back against a warrant for the information. Amazon changed its position after the user, defendant James Andrew Bates, consented to the disclosure, according to a court filing that was made public Monday.

Before Bates consented, Amazon just last month offered a strong defense against releasing the user information, with the company saying Bates' audio recordings with the Echo were protected under the First Amendment, reports CNET.

Amazon on March 3 handed over the data, which amounted to any audio recordings stored by the company that came from Bates' Echo from November 21 to 22, 2015. Its motion in the case will be dismissed and a hearing set for Wednesday on the Echo dispute was canceled, the filing stated.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to offer additional comment Tuesday. In a tweet Tuesday, Kathleen Zellner, Bates' attorney, said they agreed to release the Echo data, adding: "My client James Bates is innocent."

Amazon's disclosure of the recordings by the device sidesteps a potentially significant legal battle pitting users' privacy against law enforcement's needs to investigate major crimes.
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Sen. Al Franken told CNNs Jake Tapper that he thinks Trumps Attorney General Jeff Sessions committed perjury, and he wants Sessions back in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain himself.

Video:

Sen. Franken (D-MN) said, He answered a question that he asked himself, which is, did I meet with any Russians? And he answered it falsely. He said no. I hadnt. Listen, Ive been cutting him a lot of slack. Ive been refusing to say that he lied. I wanted to wait for this letter to come out. Its hard to come to any other conclusion than he just perjured himself.

Even when the White House tries to change the subject, and they have been trying to change the subject for two days now, the subject always eventually returns to Russia.

It is plain as day to anyone who isnt looking at Sessions answer through a deeply partisan lens that Attorney General made a false statement and perjured himself. So far, Senate Republicans have been protecting their former colleague, but there is only so much protection that they can offer for so long.

A United States Senator just accused of the Attorney General of the United States of perjury.

In any other time, this would be at the top of the headlines, but the Trump administration has so many scandals going on that the belief Jeff Sessions perjured himself is a subplot in a bigger thread.

The Attorney General lied under oath, which is why if the American people are going to get answers on the Trump/Russia scandal, the nation needs a special prosecutor.
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On MSNBCs Rachel Maddow Show on Tuesday, the liberal superstar dropped another Russian reality check on viewers, telling America to get back to the main point, which is that its slowly looking like the Trump campaign was working with Russia to topple Hillary Clinton last year.

In her opening segment, Maddow focused on a so-far unsubstantiated dossier released in January that details damning links between Trump and high-ranking Russian officials. While Trump and his apologists try to muddy the waters, point fingers, and deny any wrongdoing, more and more of that controversial dossier has become verified as truth.

As Maddow said, pieces from that document continue to fall into place, which is slowly raising the likelihood that Russia and Trumps campaign worked together.

Maddow connected the dots here:

Rachel Maddow with another Russian reality check pic.twitter.com/RN7S9ld1dd  Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) March 8, 2017

Maddow said:

Forget all the salacious personal stuff. Forget all the stuff that made the White House so mad when this was published. The bottom line of this dossier, the bottom line allegation, the point of it is that the Trump campaign didnt just benefit from Russia interfering in our presidential campaign. The point of this is that they colluded, they helped, they were in on it. The money quote from this dossier is, The operation had been conducted with the full knowledge of Trump and senior members of his campaign team. Thats basically what this whole dossier alleges  that the Trump folks were in on it. There were multiple people close to Trump, involved in the Trump campaign, who were in contact with the Russian government about the Russian governments attacks on Hillary Clinton, while those attacks were happening, while Russia was waging these attacks. Overall, yes, we still have to describe this as a sheaf of uncorroborated allegations, but little pieces supporting that bottom line thesis really do keep falling in line.

Maddow then listed the series of Russian revelations  and secret meetings between Trump associates and the Russian officials  that have come out over the past several weeks, despite initial claims from the president that nobody on his team met with the Russians during the campaign.

It turns out that more than a half-dozen Trump associates are linked to Russia, including Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn, Carter Page, J.D. Gordon, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Michael Cohen.

As Maddow noted in her coverage, it was reported by Politico on Tuesday that one of those associates, Carter Page, was given permission by the Trump campaign last year to make a visit to Russia in the heat of the 2016 election cycle.

The president himself even met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak before giving a campaign speech last year.

All of these bits of information are turning what was previous an unverified dossier into a credible document implicating Donald Trumps presidential campaign in what would be the biggest political scandal in U.S. history.

Even though there is so much going on in our politics right now, much of it disturbing and distracting, we must not lose focus on this scandal.
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Former President Barack Obamas home state of Hawaii is moving quickly to file a lawsuit against Donald Trumps second attempt at enacting a travel ban that targets Muslims and refugees.

According to CNN, attorneys in the state said in legal filings that they are planning to ask a federal judge on Wednesday to quickly issue a temporary restraining order which would, like was done with the previous ban, block the new directive from being implemented.

Hawaii plans to file a lawsuit on Wednesday against President Donald Trumps new travel ban, court filings show. https://t.co/pZgA1bLIo9  CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 8, 2017

While the new Trump order does, in fact, reduce the number of people targeted and removes Iraq from the list of banned Muslim-majority countries, the unconstitutional intent remains the same.

To be sure, the new executive order covers fewer people than the old one, Hawaiian attorney Neal Katyal told CNN, adding that the updated ban suffers from the same constitutional and statutory defects as the first one, which the president was forced to abandon as it suffered repeated legal losses.

Ultimately, even if the new executive order is upheld in the courts, which remains an unanswered question, this is still a bad policy that hurts Americas reputation and targets the most vulnerable people in the world  specifically women and children seeking safety from violent, war-torn regions.

According to a New York Times story published Tuesday, the order leaves few spots for refugees, even the hunted.

The new order is the same bad, constitutionally questionable policy as the first one, and it looks like it will face the same legal fights as well.
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Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called killing Obamacare and throwing millions of children, people with disabilities, seniors, and low-income families off of Medicaid an act of mercy.

Video of Speaker Ryan:

"Obamacare is collapsing," Speaker Ryan says. "We are doing an act of mercy" by replacing it https://t.co/XU3Gj7NSg7 pic.twitter.com/1XLP3CHp3l  CBS News (@CBSNews) March 7, 2017

During a press conference that appeared designed to save his sinking bill, Speaker Ryan said, Obamacare is collapsing. Obamacare isnt staying. If we did nothing, the law would collapse and leave everybody without affordable health care. We are doing an act of mercy by repealing this law and replacing it with a patient-centered reforms that we as conservatives have been arguing for and fighting for for years.

Speaker Ryan is doing the poor, seniors, and disabled people a favor by taking away their health care. Youll thank him later when you or your children are sick and cant afford to see a doctor.

None of what Speaker Ryan said was true.

Obamacare is not collapsing. This is the rationale that Republicans have created to justify taking away health care from millions of people.

Speaker Ryans act of mercy involves taking away health care from millions of children and disabled Americans by ending the Medicaid expansion and capping federal Medicaid payments to the states.

Medicaid currently provides health care for, 33 million children, 27 million adults (mostly in low-income working families), 6 million seniors, and 10 million persons with disabilities.

Children, seniors, and people with disabilities make up 3/5ths of those on Medicaid.

A 2012 Urban Institute Study found that Ryans plan for Medicaid would cut enrollment by 25%-36%. In human terms, 14.3-20.5 million people would lose their health care on top the 11 million on Medicaid who will lose their health care after the Medicaid expansion is killed.

The mercy killing that Speaker Ryan is performing involves throwing millions of children and disabled people off of health care. Many of these people wont be able to get insurance, so they will join TrumpCares growing masses of uninsured in America.

Paul Ryan isnt performing a mercy killing. He is attacking some of the most vulnerable people in America society, and if he is successful, his effort could prove fatal for millions of Americans.
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Following Donald Trumps Electoral College victory last fall, the U.S. is no longer viewed by the rest of the world as one of the top five best countries, according to a survey from U.S News and the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School, which the president attended.

After being previously ranked the fourth best country in the world, the United States has tumbled three spots to number seven, behind Switzerland, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Sweden.

According to the report, More than 70 percent of survey respondents lost respect for U.S. leadership as a result of the toxic nature of the U.S. election, with many respondents expressing distaste for Donald Trump.

More from U.S. News:

If the election had been global, about 60 percent of people would have backed Hillary Clinton, according to the survey of more than 21,000 people from 36 countries in all regions of the world. Support for Donald Trump was lowest in Mexico, where only 4.6 percent of people supported Trump, and South Korea, where only 8.6 percent of people backed the president. His approval ratings were also low in European countries like France, Germany, Norway and Denmark.

To many people outside the U.S., the election of Donald Trump represents an unpredictable and dangerous move in U.S. foreign policy, says Jacob Parakilas with the British think tank Chatham House.



The U.S. election may have had many ramifications for the U.S. brand. Aside from the overall ranking, the U.S. fell among the Best Countries for Adventure, Open for Business and Citizenship, where its scores decreased the most. The countrys performance also dropped in the Best Countries for Education, the Most Transparent Countries and the Best Countries to Headquarter a Corporation.

While Donald Trump campaigned on the idea that former President Barack Obama has weakened Americas image abroad and no other countries respect us anymore, its quickly becoming apparent that the rest of the world is missing Obama and still wishing that Hillary Clintons popular-vote win last fall translated to an electoral victory.

Instead, we got Trump, who has spent his short time in office emboldening our enemies and alienating our allies  all while leading what is already shaping up to be the most incompetent and corrupt administration in recent memory.

Its disappointing that the new president has already hurt our reputation abroad, but its not surprising.
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After a poll came out Wednesday showing that a majority of voters say Attorney General Jeff Sessions should resign because they believe he lied under oath about his meetings with a Russian ambassador, oops, he did it again  there was that one other time!

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday revealed that 51% of voters think Sessions should resign, versus 42% who say he should stay on. 52  40 percent think Sessions lied under oath during his confirmation hearings about his contact with the Russian ambassador.

Senator Al Franken accused Sessions of perjuring himself after Sessions perjured himself.

But hang on because gosh darn it, its just hard to remember all of those Russian meetings when youre a person implicated in Russian contacts with the Trump campaign during a time when the Russians were actively working to help Trump get elected.

Noting that Sessions just revised his inaccurate Senate testimony to reflect that he actually did meet with that Russian Ambassador twice, Huffington Post reports there was that third time. Sessions appears to have left out a third instance in which they crossed paths. In April of 2016, Sessions attended a VIP reception at a hotel in Washington, D.C., with President Donald Trump and roughly two dozen guests, including four ambassadors. One of them was Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The cocktail meet-and-greet took place in a private room at the Mayflower Hotel near the White House.

Oh, so April huh? Nothing to see here.

Just a third contact that was forgotten by someone who is implicated directly in the Trump Russia scandal, but thought he should oversee it still and will still be the boss of the person overseeing it, because Republicans dont see a need for a special prosecutor. After all, its just our country.
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With all of the Congressional investigations being controlled by Republicans affiliated with the Trump campaign, MSNBCs Rachel Maddow showed why it would be up to the people and the press to find the answers on the Russia scandal that could bring down Trump.

Video:

Maddow said,

Does this mean that we are finally going get access to what he knows? That we are finally going to get hear what backs this up? Is the Senate Intelligence Committee going to call him and have him testify like NBC reported late last week? Well, we called the Senate Intelligence Committee tonight, and they told us no, probably not. The press secretary to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee told us, It is not at all likely. At least, not at this moment. Christopher Steele is back. Hes alive. Hes out there. You guys investigating this wanna talk to him? So far, it is us as American citizens. It is us in the press who are connecting the dots on this story, who are figuring this out. Do we have any reason to believe that any government official investigation into this scandal is doing the same? Honestly, it is a DOJ controlled by a Trump campaign official, or its two intelligence committees each controlled by a Trump, campaign official. Support your free press. It is really starting to feel like were going to have to do this ourselves.

The statements from the Republicans leading the intelligence committees that they will look at Trumps allegation that Obama wiretapped him strongly suggest that the Congress cant be trusted to do an independent investigation. With Jeff Sessions looming over the DOJ, it is unlikely that the FBI will be able to conduct an independent investigation.

If you want to understand why Democrats are demanding a special prosecutor, look no further than who is overseeing the investigations.

There is a giant scandal hanging over this White House. It is the kind of scandal that ruins a president and his party.

Republicans have a vested interest in protecting Trump.

They might be able to bury this scandal in Congress, but they cant stop the free press and the American people from uncovering and spreading the truth.
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With fall in the air, cyclamen start peeking through the leaf litter, giving the woodland garden a splash of color when most plants have finished blooming. As those pink, white or magenta blooms unfurl and appear, it is a memorable sight to see. Read moreFall charmers and winter wonders
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The oft-told story of a frog perishing in a pot as the water slowly warms and then cooks him is not actually based in fact; the metaphor persists because it describes something that is true: We are less aware of change that occurs gradually than when it happens all at once. Read moreEditorial: Referendums based on slow evolution: Berkeley, Dorchester aren't so rural anymore
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RED WING  With Goodhue County about to double its number of county parks, the public works department, with the help of Hoisington Koegler Group Inc. and input from county residents, is working on its first parks master plan since 1994.

Greg Isakson, public works director for Goodhue County, updated the county board Tuesday with the preliminary master plan for Lake Byllesby Park and the new Kenyon area park. The county, he said, is hoping to add new features to its side of Lake Byllesby  the county shares the lake with Dakota County to the north  and turn the undeveloped 75 acres southwest of Kenyon into a second regional park.

"Dakota County, they've got a whole lot more money they can put into their park system," Isakson said. Consequently, Goodhue's northern neighbor has remade its parks master plan every 10 years as opposed to having a 23-year-old master plan for one park. "Even that plan, as limited as it was, we still haven't built it out."

For Byllesby, Isakson said the county has two pieces of land adjoining the park  one on the west, one on the east  that give the county some flexibility to add new features. On the east side, the county is looking to add camping areas  either RV pads or tent camping.

"We're trying to have it make sense with what's going on with the Dakota County side," he said. "We feel there's a little more need for camping."

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The terrain on the west side of the park might lend itself more to a scenic overlook or some hiking with primitive campsites.

"It'd be phenomenal on a weekend evening after you've had a hot dog by the campfire to hike up there," he said.

For both parks, Goodhue County still is looking for more public input. There will be a stakeholders meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 23 at Schweich Restaurant in Kenyon to get more public input on the Kenyon Park. A similar meeting will be held the following week in Cannon Falls to discuss Lake Byllesby Park.

Right now, Isakson said, not all the items on the preliminary master plan for Lake Byllesby Park are high-ticket items. A dog park, for example, would be a minimal investment for the county.

"The real question is how do we use this blank slate that's out there," he said.

The park 2 miles southwest of Kenyon  bordered by Rice County on the west and the North Fork of the Zumbro River on the south  is even more of a blank slate, he said. On land mostly donated by the estate of Harold Neilsen, the 75-acre tract is undeveloped.

"We're thinking and hoping we could work with some Boy Scouts on some of the projects," Isakson said, referring to the required projects for Eagle Scouts. "We're kind of even hoping that they can do the design and help with construction."

Abby Held, a member of the city of Kenyon Park Board who has attended several meetings of the county's advisory committee on the parks, said the use of scouting groups would fit in with the discussions on the direction of the Kenyon park. "From what I understand, they are hoping for group activities and a nature preserve for classes for Boy Scout groups to go out and learn about nature," she said.

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That can be seen in the preliminary plans, which call for features such as an outdoor learning lab, an outdoor amphitheater where lectures could take place, an archery range and a ropes course.

"I believe it'll be nice for us," Held said. "There will be trails and areas families can do some walking and picnicking."

The Kenyon Parks Board has offered to help the county with any planning it may need. "We're trying to help out any way we can," she said.

Kenyon City Administrator Mark Vahlsing said plans for features such as mountain bike trails, if properly promoted, could help drive visitors to Kenyon.

"Any of those things (in the preliminary plan) would benefit the city and bring people in here," he said.

The main concept for the park is to keep it primitive and utilize it as a nature preserve during hunting seasons, Isakson said.

"Harold Nielsen insisted that wildlife needs a place to live, too," he said. "The concept is in the hunting season, we'd shut this park down."

No matter what the plan calls for, Isakson said, the county will need to commit some resources to building the features of each park. Hopefully, both parks will qualify as greater Minnesota regional parks. That, along with a master plan, could help them qualify for Minnesota Legacy Fund money.

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"The Kenyon park, that's only 75 acres, and for regional parks they generally want them to be 100 acres or more," Isakson said. "But there's not a whole lot else in the area other than Nerstrand State Park to the northwest."
Olmsted County commissioners approved an agreement that could spur future investment in one of Southeast Minnesota's watersheds.

The One Watershed, One Plan program for the Root River watershed combines parts of Dodge, Olmsted, Winona, Houston, Fillmore, and Mower counties, as well as six soil and water conservation districts and a watershed district under a single plan. The regional approach could be a key to future funding.

"We're getting strong indications that the funding will come on a watershed basis," said John Helmers, director of Olmsted County Environmental Resources.

While the current state model offers funding directly to counties, Skip Langer of Olmsted County Public Works told commissioners there is a push to target each if the state's 65 watersheds as whole units.

In the Root River Watershed, Fillmore County is providing some structure for the program and Winona County is serving as a fiscal agent, but minimal work is being done before state funding is provided.

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While the plan comes with a proposed $19.4 million price tag over 10 years, Commissioner Jim Bier noted what is actually spent will depend on state funding.

"For now, until we get some government money  if that ever happens  there will be minimal costs," he said.

Langer said current funding used by the counties can be pooled into regional projects, but added funding will be sought for full implementation of the plan.

Helmers said the goal is to eliminate competition between counties that currently exists as they compete for a share of state funding. Under the combined effort, funds earmarked for the shared watershed is expected to benefit all users in the region.

"The concept is we all work together, which we should be doing anyway," Commissioner Matt Flynn noted.

Olmsted County accounts for 7.5 percent of the 1.1 million acres in Minnesota that make up the Root River watershed, which also includes approximately 300,000 acres outside the state's borders.

The Root River agreement is the first of three potential agreements for Olmsted County. Fifty-seven percent of the county sits in the Zumbro River Watershed, and 20 percent is in the Mississippi River-Winona Watershed, which is also known as the Whitewater Watershed.

In other county business, the board:

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 Held a public hearing on plans to update floodplain regulations and maps, which will be addressed during the board's March 21 meeting.

 Proclaimed March as Social Work Month.
Joined by, from left, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Ron Johnson, Vice President Mike Pence meets March 3 with Blain Supply CEO and owner Jane Blain Gilbertson, right, during a short tour of the company's headquarters and warehousing facility in Janesville. PHOTO BY ANTHONY WAHL\JANESVILLE GAZETTE
For Kimberly Cromey, 2010 was a year of crisis. That's when the single mom from St. Paul with four kids at home lost her job as an education assistant at a charter school. Just keeping a roof over their heads became a sudden impossibility. She recalled that time after testifying at a state Capitol hearing last week.

"I was just thinking about that whole life of survival. We lived in this house for nine years, and all of a sudden, I'm unable to get a stable job."

Cromey and her children weren't forced out on the street; they were able to move in with her mother for a time. But the family was among thousands in Minnesota considered highly mobile and housing unstable. The situation was especially stressful for her son, who was in fifth grade. Cromey says he started getting in trouble at school and missing class.

"He's being labeled as a bad child. He doesn't want to listen. He's defiant. He's leaving the classroom, he's taking off. He's running."

Cromey said she's renting a home of her own now and her son is doing better at school. And last year, she landed a steady job at a Twin Cities nonprofit.

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Cromey said this turnaround in her life was possible because of a pilot project through the Wilder Foundation, the Northside Achievement Zone, and several other community organizations.

In 2013, state lawmakers set aside $2 million from the state's housing trust fund for families with children in pre-K through 12th grade who've moved schools or homes at least once during an academic year. The program, CLASS Act, focused on Moorhead, North Minneapolis, and the Summit-University and Frogtown neighborhoods of St. Paul.

The state provided housing subsidies for Cromey and 120 other families. That meant they had to spend just 30 percent of their income on rent, freeing the rest for other expenses. The program also helped with employment training.

Patrick Ness is public policy director at the Wilder Foundation which helps run the rental assistance pilot. He says a comparison of school attendance rates before and after students' families received housing showed a measurable improvement.

"The results are solid. It has reduced chronic absenteeism for kids who are in the pilot compared to other homeless kids across the state. So we know that this works. This is about the state making a smart investment both for academic achievement and also for family well-being."

Ness says it's still too early to tell whether classroom performance is on the upswing too; measuring that requires long-term tracking.

The Wilder Foundation is pushing Minnesota lawmakers to pass a bill that would set aside $5 million dollars a year to expand CLASS Act to other cities. And backers have found strong support on both sides of the aisle.

The measure allocates $10 million from the state's housing trust fund over two years to secure stable housing for families with children in pre-K through grade 12. The bill expands a pilot program that helped 277 students over the past two school years.

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Republican Bill Weber of Luverne is chief author of the measure in the Senate. Even with a $1.65 billion budget surplus, Weber said lawmakers need to be careful about how they spend taxpayer money.

He said the rental assistance pilot is worth funding because it has a proven track record.

"I think as we approach these issues in Minnesota, and as we look at what's happened to the growth of the state budget, and as we look at the needs that we have in the future, we need to be concentrating on those programs that do produce long-term results."

Weber added he hopes to make the rental assistance program a permanent part of the state budget. The measure also has bipartisan support in the House. It's already cleared one Senate committee and faces another hearing Wednesday.
PRINCETON  Two police officers are suing the owner of a Princeton gun store for selling a gun through a third party to a man who shot at them at New Hope City Hall. Both officers were injured. It's believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind in Minnesota.

Lawyers for the officers contend the ultimate buyer, Ray Kmetz, was known to the gun dealer, who could have run a background check.

On Jan. 26, 2015, Police Officer Joshua Eernisse was at the suburban Minneapolis city hall celebrating his first anniversary on the force. More than a dozen of his fellow officers were there with their families. Some had just been sworn in during the evening's council meeting.

Eernisse stepped outside the chambers as council members continued with their agenda. Cameras from the local cable access channel were rolling.

Outside the chamber, Kmetz fired his shotgun into the group of officers. More than 50 pellets struck Eernisse as he stood next to his wife. Surgeons were unable to remove all of the shot; 35 pellets remain embedded in his shoulder.

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Officer Beau Schoenhard was also at New Hope City Hall that evening. He described what happened at a news conference at his lawyer's office in Minneapolis.

"I saw Ray and I went. I didn't think. I didn't have to think. And I went after him and the gun," Schoenhard said.

As he struggled with Kmetz, a bullet from another officer's gun struck Schoenhard in the wrist, shattering his bones. It took four surgeries and 75 physical therapy sessions to repair the damage.

Police shot and killed Kmetz.

Schoenhard grew up in South Dakota. He said he learned to hunt as a child and strongly supports the Second Amendment, but said Kmetz should never have been allowed to buy that shotgun.

Attorney Chris Messerly with the Robins Kaplan firm is representing the officers pro bono along with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Kmetz was involuntarily committed to the Minnesota Security Hospital in 2009 after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer. That commitment, Messerly said, made Kmetz ineligible to own a firearm.

Messerly said Kmetz bought three guns online and sent another man to pick them up at the Full Metal Gun Shop in Princeton. Messerly added that Kmetz's name was on the order, and store owner Troy Buchholz should have been able to determine easily that Kmetz was buying the guns illegally.

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"They choose not to check Kmetz's background for the transfer of Kmetz's gun. Instead, he chooses to give all three weapons, including the semiautomatic shotgun to Kmetz's straw man buyer," Messerly continued.

Buchholz did not return a call seeking comment.

A 2005 federal law generally prohibits negligence suits against gun manufacturers and dealers. But Jonathan Lowy, an attorney with the Brady Center, said that doesn't apply in this case.

A similar suit was successful in Wisconsin. In 2015 a jury in Milwaukee ordered a gun store to pay $6 million to two police officers injured by a 15-year-old shooter who illegally obtained a gun through a straw purchase. The officers later settled for $1 million.

Lowy said this is the first straw-purchaser lawsuit against a gun store in Minnesota.

"They're in it for political reasons," Andrew Rothman from the Minnesota Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance said of the Brady campaign involvement in the suit.

"It's pretty clear that the Brady campaign isn't looking out for the individual rights and the welfare of those people who got shot," he added.

The plaintiffs both say suffering life-altering injuries has not changed their stance on gun rights; they say they just want to ensure that people in the gun business follow the laws already on the books.

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Both officers are back at work. Eernisse is still with the New Hope department. Schoenhard, who was Minnesota officer of the year in 2016, now serves in Edina.
No, not Jeff Sessions. Sessions was asked whether representatives of the Trump campaign had been in contact with Russian officials on behalf of the campaign, and Sessions said he didnt know anything about that. He hadnt had such contact on behalf of the campaign. His answer was completely and fully accurate. No one asked Sessions whether he had ever met a Russian.

I am talking about Eric Holder, who almost certainly did commit perjury when testifying under oath before the House Judiciary Committee. We wrote about it here. The story is worth remembering. Holder was asked whether DOJ could prosecute reporters under the Espionage Act:

Two weeks ago, testifying under oath before the House Judiciary Committee, Holder was asked whether the Justice Department could prosecute reporters under the Espionage Act of 1917. His response (emphasis added) was: In regard to potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material  this is not something Ive ever been involved in, heard of, or would think would be wise policy. When he gave this testimony, Holder had personally signed a request to a court to authorize a wiretap on Fox News reporter James Rosen. The request stated that Rosen may have acted as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator by obtaining national security materials from a government official also under investigation.

I followed up on this post, pointing out that the affidavit that Holder submitted in order to obtain a search warrant for James Rosens email accounts specifically said that Rosen was a potential criminal defendant:

As has been widely reported, the affidavit says repeatedly that there is probable cause to believe that Rosen is guilty of a crime, and that his email account will provide evidence of a crime, as well as fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed. But the affidavit goes even beyond that. It specifically says that the FBI is looking for evidence of both Kims and Rosens guilt: Mr. Kims missing responses to the Reporters emails would materially assist the FBIs investigation as they could be expected to establish further the fact of the disclosures, their content, and Mr. Kims and the Reporters intent in making them, and could be expected to constitute direct evidence of their guilt or innocence. Emphasis added. But the real clincher is Paragraph 45, which states in part: Because of the Reporters own potential criminal liability in this matter, we believe that requesting the voluntary production of the materials from Reporter would be futile and would pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation and of the evidence we seek to obtain by warrant. Emphasis added. Paragraph 46 sums up: Based on the above, there is probable cause to believe that the Reporter (along with Mr. Kim) has committed a violation of 18 U.S.C.  793(d) either as Mr. Kims co-conspirator and/or aider and abettor, and that evidence of that crime is likely contained within the [email protected] account. So the issue is rather squarely posed: Holder testified that he had never been involved in or even heard of any potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material. And yet, he participated in extensive deliberations, discussed and approved of the filing of an application for a search warrant that specifically represented to the court that a reporter has potential criminal liability in this matter. It is hard to imagine a more direct contradiction.

Either Eric Holder was suffering from acute memory loss at a young age, or he committed perjury. But, because the press was slavishly devoted to Barack Obama and his minions, no matter how corrupt or dishonest they may be, hardly anyone knows about this shameful episode.
I found this analysis of the proposed House Obamacare repeal and replace legislation to be a useful starting point in understanding the proposal. The author is Asclepius, a sensible sounding guy.

His verdict: The proposal contains sound and much needed Medicaid reforms; sensible but very modest insurance market reforms; and the entirely misguided creation of new subsidies, in the form of tax credits, for participants in the ACA exchanges.

In this post, Ill focus on the good of the proposed legislation  the Medicaid reforms. Avik Roy has this to say about them:

The [proposed legislation] takes important steps to strengthen the Medicaid program by converting its funding into a per-capita allotment that would give states the flexibility they need to modernize the program. Its an idea that was first proposed by Bill Clinton in 1995 as an alternative to block grants, and one that could give Medicaid enrollees the access to physicians and specialists that they struggle to have today. . . . It. . .preserv[es] the 90 percent federal match rate past 2020 for people who had signed up for the expansion prior to that year. That helps expansion states cover those individuals without significant disruptions in funding.

The first feature would give states more discretion over eligibility requirements and provide them more flexibility to target funds at the neediest individuals. The second feature should be viewed as a clever compromise intended to bridge the divide on the Medicaid expansion between hard-core conservative Republicans and more moderate ones.

As Asclepius explains, conservatives opposed the Medicaid expansion because of its cost, because they believe it does little to expand access to care, and because they represent states that have not received additional funds from it. More moderate Republicans like the expansion because they represent states that have expanded Medicaid. These states have millions of residents that would lose health coverage if the expansion were rolled back.

The proposed legislation tries to bridge this gap:

By grandfathering the Medicaid expansion at the level of individual eligibility, the House GOP proposal transcends the stark dichotomy between expansion and non-expansion states and prevents sudden disruption to state budgets. But it also provides a glide-path towards a system of per capita caps at an intermediate level, as individuals cycle out of the programs eligibility through employment and cohort replacement. This is a very clever solution to a very knotty political problem, which also puts policy on a sounder course. It doesnt completely lock future Congresses into spending specific amounts of money on the program, but allows states to better-target their funds, and begins to establish a more equitable distribution of resources across the country.

Given the cost of the Medicaid expansion and legitimate doubts as to whether it has improved health care outcomes, a good policy case can be made for simply repealing it. However, after the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not force states to accept it, more than half of them opted for the expansion.

Moreover, it is the biggest driver of the increase in the number of people who have health insurance as a result of Obamacare, making repeal politically perilous. Repeal would also be inconsistent with some of President Trumps pronouncements on health insurance.

Only a week ago, Trump told Congress, we should give our great state governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out. The proposed House bill attempts to do just that.

Whatever defects the House proposal contains, its Medicaid provisions should be applauded.
You have been watching......

I would have loved it if that famous caption had appeared at the end of the live outside broadcast from Horse Guards and then the embankment.

But it was not to be.

I'm a little clearer though in my mind about it though. It was as I thought- an brilliantly stage managed event which gave out the impression that all is well with the British establishment.

But I felt uneasy watching it on telly with the sound down, somehow. The Royal family arriving in an old Roller, then a new one. Carefully selected VIPS -a mix up of top brass, politicians old and new, all the Royal Family that count in the inner circle. Way out in a separated enclosure were the others- all ranks at the back, civvies including what looked like families and others at the front.

Sketching this out a bit further..no black people at all, or brown people that I could see anywhere except for a well dressed red striped trouser uniformed gent who seemed to arrive with the Queen then faded out..

Boris Johnson is an embarrassment with his unkept shock of hair. Blair was there and he looks old now. But where there's a camera...

Prince Charles was wearing an FAA tie.

Segregation. The whole area had been cleared for hundreds of feet. Highly cordoned.

The service was done by establishment highly frocked up vicars with very obvious crucifixes on show, one of whom I recognised from the old days.

At minute 15 I think, an attractive young women dressed in black spoke very briefly. Widow-must have been.



Somehow at the end the Queen was teleported over to the embankment at rapid knots to unveil the piece.

The memorial itself looks to be of a very large piece of stone about the size of Stonehenge sarson. Not sure the type of stone. Its been totally cleft into two pieces.

Within the gap lies a large circular bronze coin the size of a big wheel. On one side is a cast of a kneeling squaddy bedecked with a mark six helmet, osprey, bowman and an L85. Think there was a hint of a Chinook in there as well, hard to see.

Again, massive separation at the unveiling (from the plebs). It was just the Queen and about 3 in TV picture

Got to say, its pretty militaristic as a memorial (for Britain-unusually so actually for these days).

Its not a sorrowful memorial to the dead, at all - its a memorial to the wars and the people that fought in them- no doubt about it. It reminded me of something I've seen in Rome but I cant remember what it is.



When it was all going on TV, I had some old school Chicago house music blasting around the manor, and I was on cleaning the cooker and then the bogs etc. The ceremony and the memorial are about 1 million miles away from my experiences of the reality of operations. But I've moved on in some ways, and life goes on.

Good afternoon-HS.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-03-08 17:41:01

Medsis Donates Solution to the Government of Colombia for the Reparation of Victims

Medsis

Sara Cabrera

Sara@medsis.com

Through a recently signed Agreement between MEDSIS and the NATIONAL VICTIMS REPAIR UNIT, represented by its director general Alan Jara, the multinational company undertakes to modernize the entire database system by means of the Donation of the use of its big data management technology and database platform CEREBRO, to convert all existing databases into a single unified civil registry. In this way, using the platform, along with extremely advanced and state-of-the-art security protocols and algorithms, the identities of all registered victims can be safely verified and stored, maximizing efficiency in all programs within the UNIT OF VICTIMS and potentially beyond.

This project, together with its partners in technical-financial services, WAIV and Orangehook will provide a platform for the distribution of benefits to the more than 8 million victims of the internal conflict, collaborating in the distribution of approximately 1200 Billion Pesos in the course of the next ten years.

WAIV will be the financial bridge between the UNIT OF VICTIMS and the persons registered in it. Together with a known payment network for the card and an important Colombian bank, with the largest possible National presence, WAIV will be responsible for integrating with the MEDSIS: CEREBRO platform in order to be able to accurately disperse the reparations and financial humanitarian aid to the people registered in the database. The integration with WAIV as a processor is what makes it possible to manage and disperse the 1200 billion pesos contemplated for the victims in the next 10 years.

Orangehook is an identification authentication company based in the US and brings its unique experience and vision to the project to help MEDSIS keep the identity and information of each individual victim registered and their transactions completely secure.

DAX CABRERA, President and CEO of MEDSIS states, This historic project, to help heal the nation of Colombia, is exactly what Medsis was designed for. The vision of Colombia and of director ALAN JARA to provide humanitarian aide throughout Colombia is such an important alignment with the global goals of MEDSIS.

Likewise, John Fenga CEO of WAIV expressed his satisfaction at being part of this incredible opportunity that will allow to help victims of Colombia's unfortunate internal conflict, Were excited to be a part of this incredible opportunity, said Fenga, Helping the less fortunate is a key part of the WAIV philosophy.

Today, the Colombian Government has signed a peace agreement with the FARC and is on its way to achieving peace, it is imperative to fully repair all victims and our company MEDSIS will contribute to this noble purpose with all its experience and technology.

About the players:

The Victims Unit (UnidadVictimas.gov.co) is a branch of the Colombian Government whose objective is to help and integrally repair the victims of war, with the objective of completing social inclusion and reparation of all victims for the year 2021.

Medsis (Medsis.com) is an international information technology company that provides platforms for data management, integration, consolidation and analysis. Their systems are designed to operate in environments with volatile infrastructure such as remote, rural and conflict areas.

WAIV (WAIVCard.com) is an international technology company offering a comprehensive payment system designed to make banking online safer, faster and cheaper. Its aim is to increase global financial inclusion for the 2 billion unbanked people worldwide.

OrangeHook (orangehook.com) is a global leader in identity solutions. Through its suite of proprietary technologies, OrangeHook helps health, government, and corporate entities with cloud-based validation, accreditation, and verification services.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201703080059

Medsis signs contract with Colombian entity for the reparation of Victims in the wake of the peace accords.
After a protracted battle with diabetes and kidney ailment, veteran Nollywood actor, James Uche, is dead.

The actor died on Wednesday, two days to his scheduled trip to India for surgery.

The actors fund raising team confirmed that his death on Wednesday evening was due to complications from diabetes and a kidney-related ailment.

A member of the team, actress Chioma Okoye, broke the news on Instagram on Wednesday evening.

He had been experiencing fever, strange blood infections and blisters on his legs for the past three days just before he secured his Visa to India for more treatment. He passed on in the ambulance on the way for his Dialysis at about 2PM.He was scheduled to travel on Saturday, March 11th, Chioma wrote.

The Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, and his wife had in January donated N3 million to offset the medical bills of the actor.

The actor has been bedridden for several months and was in dire need of an urgent kidney transplant and eye surgery. He had been ill for eight years. He was down with high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney failure. He also needed to undergo an urgent kidney transplant and eye surgery in India, which cost about N15 million.

The actor was recently evicted from Godspower Hospital in Festac Town, Lagos State, having owed the hospital about N2.5 million.

The actor was famous for his role in Nollywood blockbusters like Igodo, Coronation, Lost Kingdom and The Councillor.

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Controversial Nollywood star, Tonto Dikeh, has released evidence of domestic abuse in a new video.

In the video, which is reminiscent of Tiwa Savages infamous interview, Tonto also accused actress, Rosaline Meurer, of sleeping with her estranged husband, Olakunle Churchill.

Meurer could not be immediately reached.

Tonto said she endured domestic violence from her estranged husband in Nigeria and Ghana. She said the Nigerian Embassy in Ghana have photo evidence of battery.

She said she had to run to the embassy one time to save her life.

The actress also said she has been hurt when people said she took hard drugs while nursing her son.

She also talked about Churchills alleged illicit affairs and added that she had evidences to back her claims.

The interview also touched on motherhood, her marital meltdown, and career.

The 31-year-old film star said she left movies before she gave birth to find God. She also added that she would definitely return to acting.

The actress confirmed the cracks in her 17-month-old marriage in an open letter to a concerned fan on Instagram in February.

In the lengthy letter, the mother-of-one revealed that she had moved out of the house and taken her son with her.

Prior to this time, rumour mill went agog on how the actresss husband was allegedly cheating on her and having an affair with Meurer, who was said to be his Personal Assistant.

He was said to have gone on a three-week holiday with the Rosaline who is also an actress in an African country.

This was coupled with Tontos swift change of profile bio data on Instagram and reverting to her maiden name, Tonto Dikeh.

Watch Video Below:

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To attract fresh investments to Nigerias oil and gas free zones, the Oil & Gas Free Zones Authority, OGFZA, has announced plans to grant tariff cuts to prospective investors.

The managing director of OGFZA, Okon Umana, who disclosed this on Saturday, said the process to bring a downward review of tariffs paid by investors in the oil and gas zones in the country has since begun.

Mr. Umana was speaking during an interaction session with investors in Onne, Rivers State.

The session became necessary following complaints by licensed investors about high tariffs applicable in the countrys free zones.

The licensees concern was that the Industry Wide Standard Tariffs being enforced in the free zones were negotiated and signed only by the National Investments Management Services, NAPIMS, and the joint venture operators in the oil and gas industry without input or involvement of other investors in the free zones.

The joint venture operating companies inxlude Exxonmobil, Shell, Intels, Addax, Agip, Total and Chevron.

The licensees argued that it was unfair to impose such tariff regime on everyone when the process that produced it was not inclusive.

They demanded the review of the tariffs for all parties, by involving NAPIMS, OGFZA, the international oil companies and other licensees.

During the session, Mr. Umana told the investors that their case deserved adequate consideration.

He noted that the downward review of the statutory levies was necessary to justify the very idea of a free zone as an enclave where investors enjoy low cost and ease of doing business.

The difficult economic times also calls for a second look at the tariff regime in the free zones, Mr. Imams said.

He told the investors that a meeting was being planned with NAPIMS, Intels and other relevant interest groups in the industry to agree on a regime of tariffs that would be fair to all parties involved.

Mr. Umana explained that the schedule of the tariffs being implemented at the moment was approved by NAPIMS without the input of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority,

This arrangement, he pointed out, was contrary to section 25 of the Oil & Gas Free Zone Act Cap 05, LFN 2010 and section 11 and 39 (4) of the Oil & Gas Export Free Zone Regulations 2003.

Section 11 of the Oil & Gas Export Free Zone Regulations 2003 states that: The Authority shall issue schedule of tariffs which shall apply in the Free Zones and which shall be reviewed from time to time and copies made available to the licensees or operators.

Besides, section 32 (4) of the same regulation gives OGFZA the right to review tariffs for operations in the Free Zone from time to time.

The proposed reduction in tariffs is one of the measures being taken by OGFZA to boost economic activities in the oil and gas free zones.

Last month, OGFZA launched its strategic roadmap to transform its operations, and a marketing brochure that unveiled a bouquet of incentives to free zone investors.

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The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, was the countrys best success story because it was 100 per cent run by Nigerians.

The minister said this when he visited the NLNG plant on Tuesday in Bonny, Rivers State.

Mr. Mohammed said: When you look at the complexity of its operations, you will be surprised and be proud that the company is being run by Nigerians.

All patriotic Nigerians should therefore ensure that the NLNG does not die because what we are looking at is actually the incubator for our growth in the oil and gas industry.

He said that although people saw Nigeria as an oil producing nation, the country had more potential in gas.

The minister added that all hands must be on deck to encourage NLNG for the growth of the sector.

He said that if the NLNG was encouraged and nothing was done to stifle its operations, the country could take a cue from what Qatar had done with gas.

Mr. Mohammed said that the nation had huge asset in the NLNG, adding that every patriotic citizen must ensure its survival.

I have been hearing about the NLNG, but coming here, having a first-hand experience, information, briefing and tour of the place has actually changed my mind completely.

I have come out awed, inspired, excited and proud to be a Nigerian, Mr. Muhammed said.

Before conducting the minister round the complex, the NLNG Managing Director, Tony Attah, said the company was incorporated in 1989 to harness Nigerias vast natural gas resources.

He said the company produced Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for export and local consumption.

According to the NLNG boss, the company was established after over 30 years of unsuccessful efforts to attract foreign investors in the LNG sectors.

He said the company was owned by four shareholders: The Federal Government represented by NNPC (49 per cent), Shell (25.6 per cent), Total LNG Nigeria Ltd (15 per cent) and Eni (10.4 per cent).

Mr. Attah said from the initial investment of six billion dollars, the company now had an asset base of over 11 billion dollars and had generated over 90 billion dollars in revenues.

He said NLNG had grown from one to a six-train operation with capacity of 22 million tonnes per annum and it was on the verge of achieving two more trains for its operation.

The NLNG chief said that the company contributed 15 billion dollars to the federal government in dividends over the last 12 years and had also paid over 5.5 billion dollars in taxes.

He said that the proposed amendment of the NLNG Act by the National Assembly to force the company to remit three per cent of its annual budget to fund the Niger Delta Development Commission would stifle its operation.

Mr. Attah said the amendment was an anomaly that threatened to negate the guarantee and assurance which inspired the shareholders to invest in the company.

He said the amendment would portray Nigeria as a promise-breaker and untrustworthy, damaging the countrys reputation and hamstringing its ability to attract further foreign investment.

According to him, the amendment will lead to immediate loss of foreign investment of 25 billion dollars in respect of Trains Seven and Eight, which the company was actively working to take a final investment decision on.

Mr. Attah said the three per cent NDDC levy the amendment sought to introduce should not apply to NLNG because it was not an upstream oil and gas company.

The NLNG chief added that the company did not produce gas but bought gas like fertiliser companies and power producers which do not pay such levy.

He argued that NLNG had contributed immensely to the nations economy and had the potential to contribute more, adding that any action taken to stifle its operation would be counter-productive.

(NAN)

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A Portage man was arrested Sunday, accused of harassing and threatening a woman over contact with his girlfriend on Facebook.

Zachary Michel James Johnston, 21, appeared in Columbia County Circuit Court on Monday, charged with felony intimidation of a victim, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and misdemeanor bail jumping.

The charges stem from an incident on Saturday in which a Portage police officer was called to a DeWitt Street home where a woman accused Johnston of barging into her house. The issue started when Johnston, whom she had a previous relationship with, found out that she had been messaging his current girlfriend through Facebook.

The woman reported receiving a Facebook message from Johnston late Saturday afternoon telling her to stop messaging his girlfriend, followed several minutes later by him banging on her door.

When Johnston was at the door, the woman told the police, she yelled through the door for him to leave or she would call the police, while he reportedly told her to open the door or that he would kick it down.

The woman picked up her 16-month-old son in the bedroom when she said she heard Johnston coming into the house, at which point she picked up her phone, that he then took and threw across the room, allegedly grabbing her by the arm and pushing her against the wall and telling her, if you dont put him down hes going to get hurt too.

She said that she was able to get to the door and start yelling outside, at which point Johnston left and drove away.

Judge Alan White ordered Johnston to be released on a $2,500 signature bond with a condition of having no contact with the alleged victim. Johnston is scheduled to next appear in court on the case for a May 8 return hearing.

Johnston is due in court on April 6 for a trial in which he is charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct, from an incident on Sept. 26, 2015. In that case, Johnston is accused of punching a man in the face and shoving his 36-week pregnant girlfriend to the ground in the parking lot of the Portage Walmart.

Johnston told officers that he had been upset that the man had hit his vehicle several months before.
Despite securing a partnership agreement with a key organ of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, about eight years ago, and raising billions of naira in cash and materials from public and private donors, the International Cancer Centre Abuja, ICCA, a pet project of a former Nigerian First Lady, Turai YarAdua, is in a state of abandonment overtaken by weeds.

At the sprawling centre built on 7.3 hectares of choice land donated by the Federal Government of Nigeria, rotting equipment, including about 200 donated mini-buses, scream a sad story of unfathomable waste at passers-by.

Last December, investigation by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that burglars stormed the centre strategically located along the Abuja airport expressway and carted away power cables worth millions of naira. It is not known how many other equipment have been pilfered from the locked up buildings that gape at the public from the centre.

Mrs. YarAdua had in July 2009, two years after her husband, the late President Umaru YarAdua, took office, flagged off the project with an elaborate fundraising event to mobilise N10 billion for the construction of the centre.

The exact amount raised from donors, including public and private officials, was not disclosed.

According to the then First Ladys speech on the occasion, the ICCA emanated from her deep concern for the vulnerable and less-privileged Nigerians suffering from the burden of cancer.

My resolve to stand up to the menace of cancer is occasioned by the devastating effects of the disease on our population, she had stated.

The more enlightened and financially capable among Nigerians suffering from cancer have been able to travel out to seek professional and medical attention in the form of diagnosis and treatment, she added to emphasise she had been motivated to embark on the project by a concern for poor Nigerians.

This concern apparently resonated across the public and private sectors, given the support Mrs. YarAdua instantly received for the project from the federal government and state governors who donated huge sums, as well as from other philanthropists.

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

More support quickly flowed in from beyond Nigerian shores as Mrs. YarAdua in September 2009 signed an agreement with the Division of Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT), a department of the IAEA.

According to a press release on PACTs website, the agreement covers public awareness raising and education, assessment of the cancer incidence profile, interventions and targets to strengthen national capacity, determination of priority actions, identification of successful projects/programmes in the short-term, resource mobilisation, including the elaboration of joint grant applications as appropriate, and monitoring and evaluation practices.

The then IAEA Deputy Director, Werner Burkart, was on hand to sign the agreement, which the agency believed was a major step towards fighting the cancer scourge in Nigeria and on the African continent.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted PACT on the current status of the 2009 agreement with the ICCA, an official said no work has been undertaken under the agreement. The agency however stated that it considers the agreement to still be in force.

GREAT AMERICAN MODEL

According to reports, Mrs. YarAdua conceived the idea of the ICCA after an official visit to MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, Texas on March 17, 2008.

The MD Anderson Cancer Centre has an interesting historical background which could have provided the ICCA a guide to becoming a centre of excellence for cancer care and research in sub-Saharan Africa.

The MD Anderson Cancer Centre was established with equal funding from the Texas Legislature and a private organisation, MD Anderson Foundation. The only condition made by the foundation for contributing fund was for the centre to be situated in Houston and named after Anderson.

Moreover, the centre was created by an act of the state legislature as part of The University of Texas system. It is currently affiliated with two research-based medical schools, The University of Texas Health Centre and Baylor College of Medicine.

On its part, the ICCA is totally under the private control of its funder and has no affiliation with any public institution in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that Mrs. YarAdua ceased to be First Lady of Nigeria following the death of her husband in 2010 following a prolonged illness. Since then, she has kept out of public view and has not attracted any further public support for the ICCA.

CANCER CARE AND MEDICAL TOURISM

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES during the World Cancer Commemoration event organised by Project Pink Blue, a participant, Mohammed Usman, suggested that the founders change of political fortunes could have affected the ICCA.

It is unfortunate. For instance, part of our problem in Nigeria is lack of continuity. If that cancer centre was completed, probably the number of deaths we have had would not have happened. But it was abandoned, maybe for political reasons, Mr. Usman, the deputy chairman of the House of Representatives committee on health services, stated.

I read that our former president, Ibrahim Babangida, just returned from outside the country where he went to receive medical attention and today, our dear President also is outside receiving what? Medical attention! You see, it is an embarrassment to Nigeria.

Ironically, many of the enlightened and financially capable Nigerian cancer patients that travel abroad for medical attention mentioned by Mrs. YarAdua in her 2009 fundraising speech may no longer afford to do so because of the recession in Nigeria. Still, the ICCA that could have provided them succour has not been able to take off.

Efforts by PREMIUM TIMES to speak with Mrs. YarAdua for this report were unsuccessful as we were told she was in London.

Security men did not allow reporters into the centre or agree to facilitate contact with any of the officials.

The Director-General of the Shehu YarAdua Centre in the Central Business District of Abuja, Jackie Farris, agreed to forward our inquiries to Mrs. YarAdua and her spokesperson.

The questions were sent and no reply gotten after several weeks.

Meanwhile, the 200 mini-buses parked in the premises of the ICCA have been caked by dust.

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The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has called for Nigerias educational system to allow for the inclusion of Arabic education into the mainstream.

The emir said this on Monday while delivering the Thomas Hodgin Memorial Lecture at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

The lecture, titled Tradition, Modernization and Reform  The Institution of Emir as Change Agent, focused on the reform agenda the monarch is pursuing in Kano, which he hopes will see the codification of family law, reforms in education and the use of Zakkah, the mandatory alms giving in Islam, to set up foundations to systemically deal with some of the problems that bedevil Northern Nigeria.

On education in particular, the emir said it didnt make sense and was indeed counterproductive that millions of children and adults who can already read and write Arabic are classified as illiterate.

The refusal to recognise and value this learning, he said, is a costly by-product of British colonialism, which only recognised English-language literacy.

According to him, it feeds the structure of power and inequality that currently exists and leads to resentment because these millions, who in many nearby countries would be counted as literate, feel marginalised. The practical outcome of this is of course not only a population of millions that is limited from being useful and productive, but one which is susceptible to manipulation by extremists, he said.

He therefore called on reform of the system that would allow some sort of certification for this learning which then allows those with this education to join mainstream schools to learn. The other option he said would be to employ teachers who could teach various disciplines in Arabic and make them part of the mainstream.

When asked during the question and answer session why he was not making a case for learning in indigenous languages like Hausa, he said in an ideal situation, that would be his preference; but insisted provisions have to be made for the millions that are already literate in Arabic. Ignoring these people, he said, has serious social consequences some of which are already evident.

On family law, the emir cited the recent existence of child marriage in countries such as the U.S. to underline the need for broad social acceptance of change, which he is pursuing by fostering a process of debate between Islamic scholars, lawyers, NGOs and wider society.

Pointing to overcoming resistance to polio eradication as an example, he said that engaging communities directly and winning trust brings results. In the past, he suggested, loud campaigning and stigmatising of traditional values had proved counterproductive and held back progress.

Prominent personalities that attended the lecture included Professor Murray Last, the first person to obtain a PHD from a Nigerian University; a former head of Nigerias Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Attahiru Jega; and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abubakar Mahmud.

Thomas Hodgin was an Oxford trained historian who engaged deeply with Nigeria and is believed to have done more than anyone to establish the serious study of African history in the United Kingdom. He was married to Nobel prize-winning chemist, Dorothy Hodgkin.

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While running for president in 2007, former President Umar YarAdua looked clearly weak. But former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who tapped Mr. YarAdua to succeed him, said he threw his support behind the late president because he understood he was medically fit to govern Nigeria.

Mr. Obasanjo said he became confident of Mr. YarAduas ability to govern Nigeria after he pored through his health records and sought the opinion of medical experts.

Mr. Obasanjo said he believed Mr. YarAdua had a clean bill of health report when he tapped him as his replacement in 2007.

But during the campaign, Mr. YarAdua gave Nigerians a hint of his health crisis when he suddenly dashed out to Germany, fuelling rumours of his death.

The rumour ushered in the infamous Umaru! Are you dead? question on the campaign trail, when Mr. Obasanjo placed a call through to Mr. YarAdua in Germany to ask about his situation.

Mr. YarAdua won the election, albeit hugely disputed. But three years into his tenure, he passed on in office.

In his 2014 book, My Watch, Mr. Obasanjo criticised Mr. YarAduas handling of his health crisis, accusing him of deceiving Nigerians by keeping details of his illness secret.

In the book, Mr. Obasanjo described the manner with which Mr. YarAdua and his administration officials handled the situation as shoddy, tardy, unpatriotic, selfish, and reckless.

No nation should be left hanging in such a manner, he added.

In contrast to Mr. YarAduas early signs of ailment, President Muhammadu Buhari, as a candidate, seemed agile and alerted, even though he was way older. But the lingering anxiety over the presidents health less than two years in office has left many pondering how information on a presidents health status should be managed.

Also, unlike when the late President YarAdua was sick, Mr. Buhari constitutionally transferred power to his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, who now leads the country as acting president; a factor his supporters say distinguishes the two scenarios.

However, for nearly 50 days, Buhari administration officials have provided different versions of the presidents true health situation, even as a cloud of anxiety hangs over the country.

Mr. Buhari wrote to the Nigerian Senate on January 19, disclosing his intention to travel abroad on a 10-day vacation and that hed handed over to his vice-president.

Although the letter said he will commence the vacation on January 23, Mr. Buhari departed Nigeria on the same day he wrote the lawmakers, an indication all may not have been well with the president.

No sooner had Mr. Buhari left the country than his aides came under attack for their alleged refusal to disclose the true state of the presidents health.

PRESIDENT NOT SICK

The presidential aides and officials then released statements assuring Nigerians the president was not sick.

On January 22, barely two days after the president left, presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, declared the president fit on Twitter, and even mocked former President Goodluck Jonathan while at it.

He is alive and well! President Buhari is not magical. He cannot be holidaying in the UK & be in Germany, dead or alive at the same time.  Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) January 21, 2017

He is unlike a past President who was at Ota, w/ Chief Obj & attending the Trump inauguration in D.C, being in two places at the same time!  Garba Shehu (@GarShehu) January 21, 2017

At some point, senior media aide, Femi Adesina, quoted a passage from the Holy Bible to forestall raging insinuations around the presidents health.

On February 5, a day before Mr. Buhari was due back in the country, his media aides again put out statements to quell rumours of his critical health situation, or worse.

Mr. Shehu said of the president: He and his delegation were ready to come home today but for the delayed test result which came in today which necessitated that he delays his return. There is nothing to worry about as far as his condition is concerned.

This was hours after the president was said to have written to the National Assembly to extend his vacation.

Also on February 6, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo declared Mr. Buhari hale and hearty following a telephone discussion.

Let me first say the President is hale and hearty. I spoke to him just this afternoon and we had a fairly long conversation, he is in good shape and very chatty, Mr. Osinbajo said.

Three days later following a Federal Executive Council meeting, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, slammed Nigerians for fuelling rumours about Mr. Buharis health.

I can say it without any equivocation, Mr President is well, he is hale and he is hearty; no question about that, Mr. Mohammed said. I want to assure you, Mr President is well and he is in absolutely no danger.

The minister said the president was a victim of his own transparency, adding that Nigerians should not judge him by the standards he applied when he was in opposition and Mr. YarAdua took ill.

Mr. President, like I said elsewhere, is probably a victim of his own transparency, the minister added. Mr President is not ill, he is not in hospital and there is no reason to give anybody any bulletin about his health, pure and simple.

On the same day, Mr. Buharis sister, Rakiya Adamu, implored Nigerians to keep her brother in serious prayers.

On February 9, Christian and Muslim leaders urged their respective fellows to pray for the president. The Sultan of Sokoto reiterated the need to pray for Mr. Buhari on March 1.

On February 14, Mr. Shehu said Nigerians should be getting ready to see the president in flesh, as soon as possible.

On February 15, the president received principal officers from the National Assembly, who immediately declared him healthy, witty and himself.

On February 16, senior media aide, Femi Adesina, said on TVCs This Morning that Mr. President will not speak to Nigerians because he has the right to his vacation, we dont need to intrude.

At different media appearances between February 16 and March 1, Mr. Buharis administration officials maintained the president was in good health.

OFFICIALS ADMIT BUHARI IS SICK

On March 2, officials admitted for the first time that the president told the King of Morocco that his health was improving during a telephone discussion.

Two days later, the president took a call from Alpha Conde, the chairperson of the AU and president on Guinea.

Mr. Adesina said in a statement after the call that Mr. Conde wished Mr. Buhari good health and speedy recovery.

Within the last two weeks, Mr. Buhari had placed calls to a wide array of personalities within the country, including Mr. Obasanjo who he called on March 5.

Two weeks after Mr. Buhari left the country and speculations about his health raged, Mr. Obasanjo castigated the rumour mongers as abnormal.

If you dont like him, wait for another election, not going about to say he is dead. No matter his health situation, we should pray for him to recover quick and come back stronger and better, the former leader said.

While speaking on a Channels Television programme, radical lawyer Femi Falana, blamed presidential aides for the controversy surrounding the presidents health.

Mr. Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, questioned how Nigerians were supposed to pray for the president when they did not know if he was truly sick or the nature of the illness.

While the presidency continues to keep mum on the presidents true health status and the nature of his illness, Nigerians remain divided on his continued absence from office.

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Several people are believed to have died and many others injured in an ethnic clash in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Properties worth millions of Naira were also destroyed in the violence described by residents as a clash between Yorubas and Hausas which reportedly started in Sabo area of the ancient town.

The crisis was said to have started on Tuesday in Sabo, and was still raging as at Wednesday afternoon

Although Ife, the ancestral home of the Yorubas has a majority Yoruba population, the Sabo part of the city is mainly occupied by Hausas.

While the exact number of persons killed has not been ascertained, residents said at least five people were killed.

On Wednesday, some Ife indigenes were seen mobilising in their dozens, holding instruments like machetes, knives and other dangerous equipment.

Soldiers and police officers were seen around the city trying to restore calm.

Some residents accused the soldiers of bias, a development which made calming the situation more difficult.

When a PREMIUM TIMES correspondent visited Sabo, many shops were seen to have been razed.

The crisis also caused panicked as several parents on Wednesday rushed to schools to pick their wards, with some of the children taken to the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Enitan Ogunwusi.

On Wednesday, the Osun State government declared a dusk to dawn curfew in the ancient city.

A statement by the Director of Communication and Strategy in the office of the governor, Semiu Okanlawon, said the curfew takes effect from Wednesday and would be sustained until Friday.

The statement also said the curfew would be between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. daily.

POSSIBLE CAUSE

Residents reported that the crisis began after a vehicle driven by a Yoruba man hit the wife of a Hausa trader, which led some youths to attack the driver with machete.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that while the situation was temporarily brought under control, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, went for a reprisal attack, resulting in the escalation of the crisis.

Attempts by the angry mob to gain entrance into the Sabo community was foiled by the police mobile force, but the vulnerable Lagere community was not spared, as the mob went in and attacked a number of Hausa traders.

The government stated, however, that the continued breach of the peace in the area had compelled it to declare the two-day curfew.

It said it had ensured the deployment of heavy security forces to the area, in Ife Central West Local Council Development Area of the state.

This is to assure all and sundry that the breach of the peace in Ile Ife is not beyond the control of our highly mobilised security forces, Mr. Okanlawon said.

To this end, the Governor of the state of Osun, upon receiving reports of the fracas the exact cause of which is still under investigation, has ordered deployment of adequate security forces and is getting minute-by-minute situation reports.

The Government therefore warns those involved in this act of criminal breach of public peace to end it immediately as the full weight of the law would be brought to bear on anyone arrested.

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The Italian government has deported another batch of Nigerians for committing immigration-related offences in the country, just two weeks after it deported 33 Nigerians.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the fresh 37 deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMlA, Lagos, on Tuesday night.

The deportees, all males, were brought back in a chartered aircraft with registration number OM-IEX.

Joseph Alabi, the spokesperson of the Lagos Airport Police Command, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria.

The deportees were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, and the Police.

Also on ground to receive them were officials the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

NAN gathered that the deportees were profiled by immigration authorities and were each given a stipend to facilitate their transportation to their respective states.

On February23, Italy also sent 33 Nigerians back home.

(NAN)

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A 17-year-old girl, Fatima Baba, has appealed to the Niger Child Right Protection Agency to dissolve her one-month-old marriage.

Fatima, who is married to 35-year-old Salihu Mohammed, told the agency on Tuesday in Minna, that she was no more in love with her husband, a resident of Shaba Legbo village in Gbako Local Government Area of the state.

She pleaded with the agency to dissolve her marriage to enable her further her education.

I was given in marriage to Salihu by my family, who thought I will have a better life with him.

I do not want this marriage; I do not love this man. I want a divorce because I want to go to school and it is only when I am divorced that I can return to school, she said.

In his response, Mr. Mohammed said that he married his wife legally, and with the consent of her family.

He said that Salihu Mustapha, his wifes uncle, gave her to him in marriage after she consented.

At first, my wife was happy with the marriage until she suddenly changed her mind and opted for a divorce.

I still love my wife and I want to spend my life with her, but if she wants a divorce, I have no objection. I cannot force her to remain in the union, he said.

Halilu Shaba, the District Head of Shaba Legbo, in his reaction, told the agency that parents in the community were fond of forcing their children into early marriage.

Some also send their children to become house-maids, thereby denying them the opportunity to go to school, he said.

He commended the agency for its intervention, adding that such step would serve as deterrent to parents.

The Director-General of the agency, Maryam Kolo, commended Fatima for the courage to seek for divorce, and gave both families a two-week ultimatum within which to dissolve the marriage.

If you fail to do so within the two weeks, the agency will file for divorce on behalf of the girl in a Sharia Court, she said.

Mrs. Kolo warned parents and community leaders against forcing children into early marriage thereby denying them the opportunity to acquire western education.

She said that early marriage had many disadvantages including the risk of Vesico Vaginal Fistula, VVF, diseases.

Mrs. Kolo advised other girls to emulate Fatimas bravery and report similar matters to the agency.

(NAN)

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An Ethiopian Airlines flight landed at Kaduna International Airport at 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday as the first international airline to land at the airport.

Azman Airlines, a domestic operator, also landed at 11.45 a.m. to mark the commencement of six weeks operations at the facility following the closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Federal Government plans to close the Abuja airport at midnight to enable the rehabilitation of the runway, a decision that has raised concerns among stakeholders.

The Ethiopian Airlines flight was a Boeing 787 Dream Liner with 286 passenger capacity, while Azman flew in a Boeing 737.

A passenger on the Ethiopian Airlines plane, Anselm Johnson, said the flight was a pleasant experience.

He expressed delight with facilities at the airport.

Mr. Johnson said he was satisfied with the arrangements being put in place by the Federal Government to ease the difficulties of passengers travelling to and from Abuja.

A Rome-bound passenger of the airline, Jio Vanni, said that the airport terminal was good and commended the government for the alternative arrangement it made for the Abuja airport.

Mr. Vanni said that he did not feel any sense of insecurity while travelling from Abuja to Kaduna on Wednesday morning.

He said a lot has been done by the government in recent times and I think many people will travel through Kaduna.

Meanwhile, a large number of passengers transported from Abuja to Kaduna by road in buses arrived at the airport at noon.

The buses were escorted by a large number of security vehicles.

At the terminal, all the relevant agencies, including Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service and Aviation Security were available to ensure the successful take-off of the six- week operations.

(NAN)

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A 70-year-old man, Bello Talliat, who allegedly assaulted an eight-year-old girl sexually, was on Wednesday in Lagos released on a N200, 000 bail.

A Surulere Chief Magistrates Court, which gave the ruling, also granted Mr. Talliat a surety as part of the bail condition.

The  Chief Magistrate, Ipaye Nwachukwu, said the surety must be either a community leader or a cleric.

She said the surety should also show evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

Mrs. Nwachukwu said the case file should be duplicated and a copy sent to the State Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, for legal advice.

Mr. Talliat, who resides at No. 10, Eleku St., Ikorodu, Lagos, is facing a charge of defilement which he denied.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Anthonia Osayande told the court that the accused committed the offence on February 22 at about 10.15 p.m. at his residence.

She said the accused, who reside in the same compound with the girls parents sexually assaulted the eight-year-old girl by using his penis to rub the girls private part.

The accused used his manhood to rub the girls private part with the intent to penetrate, but she stopped him.

She told her mother about the incident, who reported the incident to the police and the accused was arrested, he said.

The offence contravened Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that sexual assault carries a penalty of three years imprisonment. 

The case was adjourned to May 8 for mention.

(NAN)

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A 200-level student of Lead City University, Ibadan, Moshood Owolabi, is to die by hanging for stabbing his fellow student to death.

Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Adegboye Gbolagunte of an Ibadan High Court sentenced Mr. Owolabi to death by hanging for causing the death of one Seun Kolawole, two years ago.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mr. Owolabi of the Physical and Health Education Department caused the death of Mr. Kolawole by stabbing him with a bottle.

Mr. Gbolagunte said the counsel prosecuting the case, A. Olawale, a Deputy Director in the Oyo State Ministry of Justice, had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge said that the evidence before him showed that the accused committed the offence as charged.

He ruled that the accused be sentenced to death by hanging to serve as deterrent to others.

Mr. Gbolagunte advised parents to always monitor their children to prevent them from misbehaving.

Mr. Olawale had earlier told court that the convict stabbed his victim with a broken bottle in the neck, following a misunderstanding between him and the deceased.

He said that the injury sustained as a result of the stabbing resulted to the death of Mr. Kolawole.

Mr. Olawale said that the incident happened on January 12, 2014 at toll-gate area of Ibadan.

The offence is punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Cap. 38 Vol. II Law of Oyo State 2000.

(NAN)

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The Senate has announced the cancellation of plan to send a delegation to South Africa over the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in that country.

Briefing plenary after a closed-door session of the upper legislative chamber Wednesday morning, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, said the cancellation became imperative to avoid multiple delegations to the Southern Africa nation.

On our trip to South Africa, we noted that the House of Representatives insists on going to South Africa independently. We thought we could lead a single and harmonized delegation of the National Assembly to avoid the embarrassment of multiple delegations. The Senate, therefore, decided to pull out to allow the House delegation to proceed.

The Senate had on February 28 resolved to dispatch a delegation on a parliamentary diplomatic mission to the Parliament of South Africa to register Nigerias displeasure over the resurgence of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in that country and to dialogue with their South African counterparts on how to end the perennial attacks.

The resolution was sequel to a motion by Rose Oko (PDP, Cross River North) entitled Resurgence of Xenophobic Attacks and Extra-Judicial Killings of Nigerians in South Africa.

The delegation was to be led by the Deputy President of the Senate, Mr. Ekweremadu.

Others named on the aborted delegation were Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan; the Chief Whip, Sola Adeyeye; Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Shehu Sani; Stella Oduah; Magnus Abe; and Shaaba Lafiaji.

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Senegalese authorities have arrested the mayor of the capital of Dakar, a potential rival to President Macky Sall in elections expected in 2019 on suspicion of embezzling 1.8 billion CFA francs ($2.87 million), his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Last week, a public prosecutor summoned the mayor, Khalifa Sall, who is no relation to the president, to give evidence on how he spent the money between 2011 and 2015.

The mayor, who denies any wrongdoing, was arrested late on Tuesday, the lawyer said.

Khalifa Salls socialist party is part of a coalition backing the president, but he has since distanced himself.

He has not publicly announced he plans to run against Sall, but has been tipped by his supporters.

This arrest was made by invoking fallacious arguments about the embezzlement of public finds. but in fact its aimed at preventing him from carrying out his political ambition, lawyer Cire Cledor said.

A justice ministry spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

With few natural resources, Senegal does not suffer from kleptocracy on the scale of the mineral-rich countries in the region, but has nonetheless been dogged by scandals in the past.

Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, served three years in prison for corruption, including hiding funds in offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Panama.

He was freed in June last year.

(Reuters/NAN)

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A Former PDP spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, said on Wednesday that gunmen stormed his residence in Abuja, in an attempt to take his life.

Mr. Metuh, in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday afternoon, said the gunmen, about eight of them, forced their way into his premises inside Prince and Princess Estate, Abuja, shortly after midnight on Wednesday, leaving his security guards with bruises.

When they could not gain access into the main building, they beat up the security guards and ordered them at gunpoint to call out Chief Metuh using their phones, but the guards insisted that he was not at home but had travelled to the East, Mr. Metuh said in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Richard Ihediwa.

Mr. Ihediwa said the frustrated bandits broke into Mr. Metuhs small library attached to his residence after their attempts to enter into the main building failed.

Out of frustration, the invaders broke into other buildings in the premises including Chief Metuhs out-office where they carted away some documents and electronic equipment.

Their escape route trailed with blood as one of the armed men got injured in the course of their breaking through the spiked security fence.

The aide said Mr. Metuh was traumatised after the incident and immediately reported it to the police outpost in Apo, Abuja.

The police confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday evening but said they will be treating it as armed robbery and not attempted murder.

I heard about the matter around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday and immediately dispatched a team to the scene, C.Y. Jega, Apo Divisional Police Officer, told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone. Weve launched investigation into the armed robbery.

Mr. Jega, a chief superintendent of police, said he met with Mr. Metuh in his office around 4:00 p.m.Wednesday.

He visited my office with his spokesman at about 4:00 p.m. today and I told him a thorough investigation will be carried out and the culprits will be arrested.

The police chief said security had been tightened around Mr. Metuhs premises.

We have a team currently stationed there to monitor the area and calm the nerves of residents.

Mr. Metuh was named the PDP spokesman in 2012 and resigned early last year after the EFCC slammed a seven-count charge of fraud on him.

The politician pleaded not guilty and the case is currently ongoing at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.

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The Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, has noted that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has been able to achieve only one of 13 campaign promises he made to fight corruption in Nigeria.

The group stated this in its February report on the performance level of the administration on corruption-related campaign promises made during the 2015 general elections.

According to the report, of the 13 specific campaign promises of Mr. Buhari to fight corruption in the country, he has only been able to achieve one, which represents 7.7% of the 13 promises, being the official declaration of asset of the President and Vice President.

In addition, the government is in the process of achieving six promises, representing 46.2% of the anti-graft promises, the report stated. These include the implementation of some vital recommendations of the NEITI report, entrenchment of accountability mechanism among MDAs, audit of government workers to weed out ghost workers, reduction of cost of governance through stringent spending, banning of first class flight travel and presentation of national plan to fight corruption.

On the other hand, the group said noticeable actions were yet to be taken towards the achievement of six of its 13 promises, which represent 46.2% of government campaign promises on corruption.

In the report titled Buharimeter: PMB Performance Report #Corruption, CDD also noted several concerns that may mar governments effort in pursuing its anti-graft war in Nigeria.

Amongst issues raised are governments misplacement of priorities that sees vital issues left unattended to.

More so, evidence is yet to be seen under the present administration of punitive measures meted to public officials who are non-compliant to procedures of declaring their asset and liabilities with constituted authority as well as directive on a ban of first class travel by some government officials.

The report also raised critical issues of blatant disregard by the administration to principle of rule of law and respect for human rights in its anti-graft war.

According to the report, the credibility of the anti-corruption war seems to be withering following the Presidents approach to unravelling corrupt allegations against Babachir David Lawal (Secretary to the Government of the Federation) and Abba Kyari (Chief of Staff to the President).

It also draws governments attention to the need to work towards the passage of Whistle Blower Act as means of providing protective measure for whistle blowers who are using the recently formulated policy to expose corrupt Nigerians.

It concludes by establishing the imperativeness of a release of the governments anti-graft strategy document.

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Nigerian and Cameroonian troops have cleared seven villages of Boko Haram terrorists in the border between the two countries in a two-day joint operation.

The towns and villages, according to a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by Sani Usman, the Nigerian Army spokesperson, are: Siyara, Kote, Sigawa, Bulabundibe, Adeleke, Tchatike and Lamukura.

Mr. Usman, a brigadier general, said that two officers of the Cameroonian Defence Forces led the operation which ended on Tuesday.

He said that the troops were drawn from Cameroons Battalion Rapid Intervention (BRI) and the 151 Task Force Battalion of 21 Brigade, Nigerian Army.

While conducting the operation the troops came in contact with Boko Haram terrorists and neutralised many of them, apprehended two others, while many others escaped with gunshot wounds.

The Troops further recovered an unserviceable Toyota Canter; seven Dane guns and five Boko Haram terrorists flags; four vehicle tyres; two motorcycles and vehicle spare parts, Mr. Usman said.

(NAN)

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The Nigerian Navy on Wednesday said it dismissed a rating found in possession of 14.55 kg of cannabis sativa (Indian Hemp) and handed him over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for prosecution.

The Navy disclosed this in a statement issued by the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT spokesperson, Elizabeth Ibrahim.

She said that the officer was dismissed after he was found guilty of the offence.

The statement read: On June 7, 2016, 0ne Ex Seaman H. Umar X13555 was arrested for being in possession of about 14.55kg of illicit substance suspected to be canabis sativa.

The ex rating was summarily tried and the legal review of the trial indicated that the accused was properly charged and due process was complied with during the trial.

He was found guilty and the sentence of dismissal was awarded to him for peddling of illicit drugs.

Accordingly, the ex rating was handed over to the NDLEA for necessary action.

This is to inform the general public that the ex rating is no longer a member of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Anyone who transacts business with him does so at his or her own risk, the statement said.

(NAN)

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One person died Wednesday after being chased by personnel of the Nigeria Customs Services, Ogun State Command, witnesses said.

The victim was conveying bags of rice when Customs officials gave him and other rice dealers.

Four other people were injured in the encounter.

The Ogun State government condemned the death that resulted from the Customs operation.

A witness, Shola Josiah, said he and the deceased, identified as Saubanna, and three other drivers, had left Kuto market in Abeokuta around 9:30a.m with their vehicles loaded with 25 bags of rice, heading to Sagamu.

He said Customs officials intercepted them at Sowo Village along around 9:30a.m Kobape road and gave them a hot chase.

We had left Kuto Market in Abeokuta with our vehicles loaded with 25 bags of rice each. When we got to Sowo Village, we saw Customs vehicle with men inside it, he said.

I thought there wont be any issue because we normally pay them N5, 000 on each trip. Before I knew what was happening, they had started giving us hot chase. They caught up with me, while Saubanas car tyres were blown out with gunshot and his Mazda 626 car eventually somersaulted into a ditch, Mr. Josiah said.

He alleged that Customs operatives still shot Saubana at close range, after he had managed to crawl out the car wreckage.

Mr. Josiah said his vehicle was seized and driven to the state command of the customs, while the other two other drivers escaped.

The incident caused pandemonium in the area as colleagues of the dead driver mobilised, took the corpse of Saubana Customs office Quarry Road in Abeokuta and tried to force their way into the Command.

It, however, took the combined effort of men of Nigeria Army, police and men of Ogun state Vigilance Service, to prevent the irate protesters from gaining entry into the Command.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the command, Usman Abdulahi, said the information at his disposal was that smugglers were sighted by customs operatives along Siun-Kobape Road and in an attempt to escape arrest, one of the smugglers had an accident.

The information at my disposal is that one of our patrol teams went on routine patrol this morning along Kobape-Sagamu Interchange. Based on credible information to them that some smugglers were coming through that route, they waylaid the smugglers, he said.

On sighting Customs vehicle, the occupants of those vehicles now started on top speed. In the course of the operation, one of the vehicles fell into a ditch. The occupants of that vehicle left and ran away. Our men now brought the vehicle down to Abeokuta station. So, that is the information I have, Mr. Usman said.

There was no shootout with anybody. Our men have no cause to shoot anybody. They are well trained and they operate according to international best practices, he claimed.

He however said the matter was being investigated by Customs and the Police.

In his own comment, Ogun State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the command haD deployed its personnel to the scene to avoid any bloody clash.

The Commissioner of Police has already deployed officers and men of the command to the scene to calm frayed nerves. Right now, the Area commanders Of Shagamu and Abeokuta metro are there with other senior police officers. We are on top of the situation, he said.

Ogun State Government condemned the death in strong terms.

While we do not support economic sabotage, we condemn the needless killing and will not tolerate recklessness and unprofessional conduct by officers of the Customs Service, a statement signed by Secretary to State Government, Adeoluwa Taiwo, said.

You will recall that only two weeks ago, the State woke up to the unpleasant news of shops of rice broken into overnight by Customs officers in a market at Sango purportedly to recover smuggled bags of rice in questionable circumstances.

While we have been trying to manage public perspective trailing that incident, this dastardly incident occurred again. We maintain that this bravado use of power hundreds of kilometres inland away from the international borders by Customs Officers cannot be justified by any logic.

We are of the belief that if these officers had demonstrated this level of patriotic zeal in the discharge of their duties at the border posts and several custom checking points located along the roads leading from the borders, the public would have been saved these agonies and loss of lives, the statement said.

We hereby further appeal to the top echelon of the Customs Service to call their officers in the State to order and embrace proper decorum and civility in their operations so as to avoid acts capable of breaching public peace and putting Government in a bad light among the people.

As a matter of urgency, we also demand a detailed and transparent investigation into the unprofessional conduct of the Customs Officers involved with a view to bringing them to book as a deterrent to others.

In the meantime, we appeal to our people to remain calm as Government continues to engage everyone concerned to prevent a recurrence, the government stated.

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Justice Mohammed Idris of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Tuesday turned down the objection raised by the lawyers to Orji Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, and two others, to the witness summoned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to give evidence in their trial.

Mr. Kalu, his company Slok Nigeria Limited, and his former aide, Udeh Udeogu, are facing a 34-count amended charge bordering on money laundering and fraud amounting to N3.2 billion.

The accused persons were alleged to have diverted the money from Abia State governments treasury between 2001 and 2005.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Mohammed ruled that a witness, Onovah Ovenevoh, is competent to give evidence in the proceedings.

There is no dispute that this witness is listed as number twelve in the proof of evidence, the witness is competent to give evidence in this proceedings, the judge said.

I hold that this witness being a witness under subpoena shall be allowed to give evidence in this matter.

After being cleared to give evidence, Mr. Onovah, a staff of Fidelity Bank PLC, narrated to the court how the EFCC in Lagos had on September 29, 2006, ordered the bank, for customers information in respect of 27 bank drafts issued by the then Manny bank branch in Umuahia, Abia State.

They requested for the customers names and account numbers, copies of customers instructions, the drafts issued and the beneficiaries. So upon receipt of the letter we reviewed our records and responded to EFCC via our letter dated October 13, 2006, forwarding copies of the instructions as well as the managers draft.

When prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, sought to tender the document as exhibit before the court, Mike Ozekhome objected to the admissibility of the document.

I am objecting to the admissibility of this document on the grounds that the names on the document are in M.A Udeh and not the witness and that the document was also stamped and certified by the EFCC and not any of Manny or Fidelity banks, Mr. Ozekhome said.

How did the EFCC become a certifier of bank documents and not engaged in their investigative duties. My lord should reject this document in its totality.

The other defence counsels aligned with Mr. Ozekhomes submission.

According to Mr. Nwofor, Its not just sufficient to endorse an amount on the face of a document sought to be certified. There should be evidence of payment. My lord will notice that there is no receipt number and there is also no evidence of endorsement of a revenue receipt and no attachment of revenue receipt. The issue of payment is compulsory and theirs is no exception.

Justice Idris adjourned till March 8 to rule on the admissibility of the letter and attached documents, as well as continuation of trial of the defendants.

In the charge, Mr. Kalu and other accused persons were alleged to have diverted about N3.2 billion from Abia State government treasury between 2001 and 2005.

They were also alleged to have used the following banks to perpetrate the alleged fraud, Manny Bank, Spring Bank Plc, the defunct Standard Trust Bank and Fin Land Bank, now First City Monument Bank (FCMB).

In counts one to 10, Mr. Kalu was alleged to have between August 13, 2003 and August 10, 2005, while he was the Abia State Governor, procured Slok Nigeria Limited. The company solely belonged to him and his family members, the EFCC said; and the company retained N2.5 billion in its accounts, money allegedly belonging to the state government.

In counts 11 to 20, Slok Nigeria Limited and one Emeka Abone, said to be at large, were also alleged to have between April 29, 2003 and August 10, 2005, retained in their various accounts domiciled with the Apapa branch of First Inland Bank, now FCMB, the total sum of N2.493 billion, on behalf of Mr. Kalu; and that the money formed parts of funds illegally derived from the treasury of the state government.

In count 22 to 33 of the charge, Mr. Kalu and others were alleged to have between August 13, 2003 and August 10, 2005, collaborated and concealed the genuine origin of the total sum of N2.2 billion, which formed parts of funds illegally derived from the treasury of Abia State government and converted and paid the said sum into the account of Slok Nigeria Limited.

The alleged offences according to the prosecutor, Adeniyi Adebisi, are contrary to sections 17(c) 16, 14(1)(b)17(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2003, and section 427 of the same law.

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The Nigerian government on Tuesday said that it has not re-opened the N-Power Volunteer Corps online portal for new applications.

Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Media and Publicity, disclosed this in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES.

According to Mr. Akande, there had been false and fraudulent reports circulating especially on social media that new N-Power applications are now being received on the N-Power portal.

The statement also said that there are also equally false reports and claims about an unauthorised request for vital personal information of beneficiaries on web portals not known to the presidency or any arm of the federal government.

The statement, therefore, implored beneficiaries of the scheme to ignore such fake sources.

Nigerians, especially beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries of the N-Power Volunteer Corps should ignore such reports emanating from fake sources and outlets and only relate with bonafide presidency and FG sources and web portals, Mr. Akande said.

He added that legitimate communication about the N-Power is done through the website, selection@npower.gov.ng, or the relevant focal persons appointed by each of the 36 states and the FCT.

Any information that does not emanate from this identified sources or directly from the Presidency should be simply and outrightly dismissed, he said.

The N-Power Volunteer Corps is part of the Federal governments Social Investment Programmes, SIP, under which it plans to hire 350,000 unemployed graduates.

In February, President Muhammadu Buhari had requested appropriation of N157.75 billion in the 2017 budget for the N-Power scheme.

A statement by Mr. Akande had said that in addition to the 350,000 unemployed graduates to be hired and trained, 50,000 non-graduate youth would be engaged as artisans and in other creative ventures.

Meanwhile, in his statement on Tuesday, Mr. Akande disclosed that the government would soon announce plans to ramp up the number of beneficiaries of the scheme to the public.

In due time, we shall announce information regarding the Buhari administrations plan to ramp up the number of N-Power beneficiaries from the current 200,000 to 350,000 under the 2017 budget proposals now before the National Assembly, the statement said.

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Born on March 8, 1957 in Lagos, today marks the 60th birthday anniversary of Yemi Osinbajo, Nigerias Acting President.

Mr. Osinbajo is an alumnus of the University of Lagos, where he was appointed Professor of Law in 1994 at age 37, and an alumnus of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

As expected, Nigerians in positions of public responsibility have been extending goodwill messages to Mr. Osinbajo, extoling his virtues and praying he pilot the affairs of the country well as he acts on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari who has been on an extended sick leave in the United Kingdom for 48 days.

Leading the felicitators, Senate President Bukola Saraki congratulated him on his birthday and wished the celebrant good health, wisdom and enduring grace to serve the nation and humanity.

On behalf of all members of the 8th Senate of the Federal Republic, I wish our Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, a happy birthday as he turns 60 today.

We pray to Almighty God to continue to give you good health, great wisdom and enduring grace to serve the nation, in particular, and humanity, in general, for many more years, said Mr. Saraki, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Yusuph Olaniyonu.

Mr. Osinbajo is married to Dolapo, a granddaughter of the iconic first Premier of the Western region, now south-west and some parts of south-south Nigeria, late Obafemi Awolowo. The union is blessed with three children.

Before his inauguration as the Vice-President in May 2015, he was the Pastor in charge of the Lagos Province 48, Olive Tree provincial headquarter parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, while at the same time, serving as the senior partner, Simmons Cooper Partners, a law firm.

While extoling Mr. Osinbajo, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in his congratulatory message, said the pastor cum public administrator had left no one in doubt as to his capacity to handle matters of national interest, development and progress, since his emergence as the vice president and chairman of the countrys economic council.

You have brought your vast knowledge, experience and worthy ideals to bear in the discharge of the functions of your high political office as Vice President and number two citizen of the country.

It is therefore no surprise that you have been able to continue leading the country on the path of economic recovery and growth through constructive engagement and partnership with relevant stakeholders even in the temporary absence of Mr. President.

While wishing Your Excellency a happy birthday celebration, I pray God Almighty to continue to keep you in good health and bless you with many more years of robust service to Nigeria, said the Speaker.

Similarly, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, praised Mr. Osinbajo for his leadership qualities, achievements and peace as well as bridge building efforts.

He described him as an erudite scholar with humble dispositions, and commended his handling of the nations affairs as acting president.

He said: I congratulate Professor Osinbajo on this landmark birthday and commend him for the leadership qualities exhibited as Nigerias Vice President and so far, as Acting President.

I, therefore, commend the acting president for his peace shuttles across the country and unrelenting efforts at resuscitating the troubled economy and rebuilding the badly fractured bridges that connect us as a people.

Mr. Ekweremadu wished the acting president a happy birthday and the grace to continue on the path of success.

Mr. Osinbajo, whom UNILAG appointed Law lecturer in 1981 when he was 24 years old, is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He was first handed opportunity to serve in government in 1988, when he was appointed by the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Bola Ajibola, to serve as his (Mr. Ajibolas) adviser on legal service and litigation.

Between 1999 and 2007, Mr. Osinbajo served Lagos State under then Governor Bola Tinubu as the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, and earned the reputation of a reformist.

The All Progressives Congress, on whose behalf he joined Mr. Buhari to contest for Nigerias presidency in 2015, noted that Prof. Osinbajo has demonstrated a high level of loyalty and commitment to the change agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Party. No doubt, his wisdom, vigour and innovativeness have been essential to the numerous achievements recorded by this administration.

At 60, Professor Osinbajo has recorded several landmark achievements as a man of God and a man of the law. These accomplishments have no doubt shown through as he holds forte for our dear president. He has visited crisis-prone areas, stabilised the economy and promoted good governance. We commend and congratulate President Buhari for the vision and wisdom of choosing Professor Osinbajo as his running mate; only the deep calls to the deep.

We pray that God continue to bless him with good health, wisdom and many more years in the service of God and country.

Several governors have also hailed Mr. Osinbajo at 60.

Your selfless service to humanity and the nation at large as well as the many achievements you have recorded in both personal and public life, are some of the reasons we cannot but celebrate you on this occasion of your birthday, said Ibikunle Amosun, the Ogun State Governor.

Describing him as one prominent promoter of selfless leadership, Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, said Mr. Osinbajos trajectory of service to the people had seen him take up worthy causes for no personal gains as long as they serve humanity well.

In public and personal lives, Prof Osinbajo has demonstrated that the most worthy service is that carried out for the good of fellow human beings even for no personal gains and comfort, said Aregbesola, also a member of the Lagos cabinet, as the commissioner for works, under Mr. Tinubu.

Recalling his roles in the pioneering efforts of Lagos State in law reforms, the Osun governor said the face of judiciary did not remain the same after eight years of Osinbajos intensive reforms as the Chief Law Officer.

Today, it is gratifying to note that his pioneering efforts in that sector has influenced in no small dimension, similar reforms in other parts of the country. This is one crucial aspect of our national life as a people where the acting President has had tremendous impact.

A member of the House of Representatives, Ahmad Kaita, said it is gratifying that our own GMB (General Muhammadu Buhari) and of course APC chose a worthy running mate for the task of restoring the glory of this country. The combination is perfect, and Prof. Osinbajo has been doing a great work, implementing the change agenda, since the President commenced leave.

I wish to rejoice with Professor Osinbajo and wish him more success in his service to God and the country.

Previously, Mr. Osinbajo was a staff member, United Nations Operations in Somalia, Justice Division, UNOSOM II; Member, United Nations Secretary Generals Committee of Experts on Conduct and Discipline of UN, Peacekeeping Personnel around the globe; an independent director of CitiBank, Nigeria; and an ethics adviser to the board of the Africa Development Bank.

He founded Orderly Society Trust, involved in literacy programme for children in public primary schools; and co-founded Justice Research Institute (Gte), a justice sector think tank as well as the Convention On Business Integrity.

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The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, has appealed to the Federal Government to upgrade all polytechnics to universities of technology to end discrimination against technological education in the country.

Adeyemi Aromolaran, Yaba College of Technology branch chairman of ASUP, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Lagos.

The ASUP chairman said that governments discriminatory policies against polytechnics were retarding the development of technical education in the country.

We need to look at the British example of running educational programmes, because that is where Nigeria copied the polytechnic education system from.

Britain had abolished polytechnics long time ago; all polytechnics have been turned to universities of technology in that country, Mr. Aromolaran said.

He noted that admission figures into the nations polytechnics and colleges of education were dropping every year due to unfavourable government policies.

As long as we continue with the system we are running, discrimination will persist and consequently admission into polytechnics will continue to dwindle.

This is part of what the union has been agitating against, he said.

The ASUP official said that with the dichotomy between the polytechnic diploma and the university degree, no enlightened person would want his or her child to go to the polytechnic.

According to him, most of the youths are drifting toward acquiring the university education.

ASUP has not been keeping quiet but government response has not been favourable.

Recently, another level of discrimination came again from JAMB, since we now have one JAMB examination for polytechnics and universities.

JAMB now request that a candidate who made polytechnic second choice pay additional fee of N2500 or N3000 before being offered admission into the polytechnic.

This is the latest form of discrimination against polytechnic education.

Ordinarily, that is sufficient to discourage any young person from going into polytechnic, not to even talk of college of education.

When we are agitating that government should remove the dichotomy and other discriminatory policies against polytechnics, now JAMB created another discriminatory policy against the polytechnic, Mr. Aromolaran said.

The ASUP chairman said that until all the unfriendly policies were abolished, the country would not have an effective polytechnic system that would be acceptable by all.

Mr. Aromolaran said the union would continue to protest and resist all attempts to diminish the progress and development of the polytechnic education in the country.

(NAN)

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The United States Embassy in Abuja on Wednesday allayed the fears of Nigerians about a possible travel ban, assuring that those with valid visas have no reason to either postpone or cancel their trips to their country.

The U.S. Embassy in Abuja wishes to clarify that there is no reason for Nigerians with valid visas to postpone or cancel their travel to the United States, the Embassy said in a one-paragraph statement.

Nigeria is not named in the Executive Order on Immigration issued on March 6, and there is no prohibition against Nigerian lawful permanent residents or persons with a valid visa or other U.S. government authorization from entering the United States, the statement added.

Confusion trailed a travel advisory issued on Monday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Foreign Affairs and Diaspora), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, advising Nigerians without any compelling or essential reasons to visit the U.S. to consider rescheduling their trips until there is clarity on the new immigration policy.

In the advisory signed by her media aide, Abdurrahman Balogun, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said her statement was informed by reports received by her office in the last few weeks from some Nigerians about cases where those with valid multiple-entry U.S. visas were denied entry and sent back to Nigeria.

Although she did not mention details about such affected persons sent back immediately on the next available flight and their visas cancelled, the presidential aide said the U.S. immigration authorities did not give any reasons for their decision.

However, in a counter advisory, less than 24 hours later, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, debunked the report that any Nigerian with full valid entry visa was denied entry to the U.S.

The minister said Nigerians should ignore the travel advisory and go about their normal business, assuring that Nigerians were free to travel to U.S.

Mr. Onyeama said he was in touch constantly with the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S. and the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, and was not aware of any report on Nigerians being denied entry into the U.S.

On the issue of Nigerians being turned back from the U.S., this is not the case. I am in touch with the U.S. Embassy and the Ambassador said no there was nothing of such nature. I can tell you to ignore any call or advice to reconsider travelling to the U.S. because there is no basis for that.

We have absolutely no report whatsoever from the U.S. that people are being turned back from the U.S. or any of our consulate or any Nigerian that any of our people are being turned back, he said.

Apparently suggesting Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa may have overstepped her brief, the minister said if there was any need for the government to speak on any external relations, it would have been from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Presidency that Nigerians would have heard from, as any other source was not governments.

The U.S. government has been reaching out to Nigeria. Nigeria is on no list and Nigerians are on no list ban by the U.S. government and it is always business as usual and very good business with the U.S. government.

Anything you hear in respect of the U.S. is incorrect, so anyone that has valid document to go to the U.S. or any other country should please proceed to do so, he said.

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The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has redeployed a corps member, Michael Uwakwe, serving in Zamfara to Anambra, following his assault by a police officer.

Victoria Okakwu, the NYSC Director, Corps Welfare and Inspectorate, made this known to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.

Mrs. Okakwu explained that the corps member was redeployed to ensure his safety and security while carrying out his national assignment.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the briefing was designed to keep the public abreast on the outcome of investigations conducted by the scheme on the slapping of a corps member serving in Zamfara as earlier reported by some media.

The reports had alleged that Mr. Uwakwe was brutalised and manhandled by the police for punishing a student who happened to be a rich mans ward by simply asking him to go on his knees.

Ms. Okakwu said that after proper investigations and resolution of the matter, the scheme has also ordered the immediate withdrawal of 11 other corps members who were serving along with Mr. Uwakwe at Nasara Standard Academy, Gusau.

She said that the 11 corps members have been re-posted to serve in other establishments in Gusau as a proactive measure to ensure their safety and security.

On Wednesday last week we got information from Zamfara state that a corps member was beaten by the police, arrested, detained and later released.

When we got this information I had to speak to the state coordinator to investigate the matter thoroughly. From our investigations, the corps member had a problem in the school he was posted to serve.

He came into the class and said he was going to give the students a test asking them to put their books away and get ready but that this student was not just cooperative.

In the process of doing the test she hissed and he asked why she will hiss in the class because it was a rude behaviour but she had nothing to say after a while she hissed again and he went to her to ask why again.

The next thing he saw written on her script was `Nonsense Tes. That got him infuriated and he asked the student if the questions he set were out of what he had taught them.

The girl will not answer so he instructed her to kneel down. In the process he asked her to crawl with her knees and after that he left; later he came to look for the girl and she was nowhere to be found.

The girl went home, spoke to her father and he went to the police. The corps member was in the staff room when he was called that he was needed in the principals office.

When he got there he was asked to go with the police but he declined stating that he was just doing his job but he later agreed to go to the police station if the principal will go with him.

He went with the principal to the police station and in the station he was slapped and detained for six hours, Mrs. Okakwu said.

She said that the scheme made a formal report to the state commissioner of police expressing dissatisfaction over the way the police handled the matter as the police was meant to maintain peace and not cause harm.

Mrs. Okakwu explained that with efforts of the NYSC State Coordinator, the local government and zonal inspector, the state commissioner of police waded in to the matter and it was settled amicably among all parties.

According to her, the commissioner said it was not an issue for the police but one that would have been settled in the school.

The police commissioner apologised for the way his personnel handled the matter, she said.

She said that Mr. Uwakwe was redeployed to Anambra State in order to ensure his safety and protect him from any further harm and any phobia which would prevent him from carrying out his duties.

However, the director maintained that Mr. Uwakwe was not brutalised as speculated but just slapped as he did not have any bruises on his body.

Mrs. Okakwu said the scheme was very concerned with the security, safety and wellbeing of its corps members, assuring that wherever corps members are serving in the country the scheme will continue to ensure their welfare and security.

(NAN)

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The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday said his administrations plan to carry out a total reconstruction of the International Airport Road from Oshodi was being frustrated by the Federal Ministry of Works.

The current Minister of Works is Babatunde Fashola, Mr. Ambodes predecessor as Lagos governor.

Mr. Ambode, who spoke to Government House Correspondents at the Lagos House, shortly after carrying out an extensive inspection of some critical projects in the state, said the present state of the Muritala Muhammed International Airport Road was a national disgrace and required immediate attention to salvage the nations image.

He said the state government presently has a design for the reconstruction of the road as well as the funds to embark on the project but the federal government was yet to grant approval.

The road linking Oshodi to the International Airport, you would all agree with me is a national embarrassment. In the spirit of the regeneration and urbanisation that this administration has set out to achieve, we believe strongly that the image that is exhumed by the decadence of that road must be repaired and we took it upon ourselves to appropriate the 2017 budget that the House of Assembly should approve the total reconstruction of the Airport Road from Oshodi to the International Airport.

The state currently has a design of 10 lanes to come from Oshodi to the international airport with interchange and flyover that would drop you towards the local airport. The contractor is already set to go and everything as I said has been completed and we already have the cash, but alas we are having challenges with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. This is a federal and not a state road. The Federal Ministry of Works believes that they should do the road, but they have not been able to do it all these years past.

He lamented that despite the fact that the federal government was indebted to the state to the tune of N51 billion, which was spent on repairing federal roads over the years, the state governments effort to immediately transform the airport road to world class standard was being frustrated.

Governor Ambode said if given the approval, his administration was ready to hit the ground running and begin construction of the airport road within two weeks and finish same within a period of six months.

Besides, the governor also implored the federal government to avail the state of the N2 billion appropriated for the airport road in the 2017 national budget to carry out the project.

I just want to remind Lagosians that prior to my becoming governor, the Federal Ministry of Works has been owing Lagos State a total of N51billion as reimbursement for reconstruction that was carried out by the state government on federal roads in the State.

So obviously, what we are asking for is that whatever it is that we are asking for, it can never be up to the N51 billion that they are owing us.

I just want to appeal to the Federal Ministry of Works, to let go or reimburse us with whatever it is that they are owing us and even if they are not willing to pay us now, we have the money to do it. It is a national disgrace and we would not be part of it. We would like to do it as part of the celebration of Lagos at 50, Governor Ambode said.

The governor also expressed frustration that six months after President Muhammadu Buhari approved the handover of the Presidential Lodge, Marina, the state government was yet to gain access into the premises.

He said that the inability of the state government to access the lodge was seriously frustrating the programmes outlined for the Lagos @ 50 celebrations.

One of the key venues that we need to celebrate the real essence of Lagos, the historic place that we refer to as Presidential Lodge is still more or less being tossed about in terms of being handed over to us. We believe strongly that by May 27, 2017, we should be able to invite Mr. President and other people who have actually made Lagos what is it today to that Presidential Lodge for the final banquet and dinner to mark Lagos at 50.

As we speak, we are yet gain entrance into that place and this is frustrating our programme. So I want to use this medium to appeal and say that the approval of Mr. President should be rightly honoured and the agencies concerned, that is the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the Security Services should honour that promise by Mr. President. We just believe strongly that we must proceed to gain access into that place so that we can roll out our programmes for Lagos at 50, Governor Ambode said.

On the projects inspected, the governor expressed satisfaction with the pace of work by the contractors, saying that they would be commissioned as part of the states Golden Jubilee celebrations.

While noting that his administration has fully paid compensation to owners of properties that had to give way for the Oshodi and Ojodu Berger regeneration projects, the state government has concluded plans to pay property owners at Abule Egba within the next four weeks.

Among projects inspected include the Ojodu Berger regeneration project, Abule Egba Flyover Project and also the Aboru Abesan Link Road and Bridge Project.

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Nigerias Acting President Yemi Osinbajo will pay an official visit to Sokoto on Thursday.

This is contained in a statement issued on Wednesday in Sokoto by Imam Imam, Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs to Governor Aminu Tambuwal.

He said while in the Seat of the Caliphate, the Acting President will take part in a two-day nationwide clinic organised for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), which is being hosted by the Sokoto State Government.

During the events, the Acting President will hold interactive sessions with government agencies, financial institutions, operators and stakeholders in the MSMEs sub-sector.

The statement added that Osinbajo would also inspect sample of works by small and medium scale enterpreneurs from across the federation.

It added that the Acting President would pay homage to the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad-Abubakar III, at his palace in Kanwuri, Sokoto.

(NAN)

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Women in Sokoto State are drumming up support for the emergence of a woman as Nigerias President in 2019.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the women made their feelings known at a rally in Sokoto on Wednesday to mark the International Womens Day.

Aishatu Madawaki, who spoke on behalf of the women, lamented the continued marginalisation of women in all spheres of life in the country, including the political space.

She contended that only the emergence of a female president would end such marginalisation and allow women contribute more meaningfully to national development.

She, therefore, said women in the state would push for the emergence of a female president in Nigeria in 2019.

Ms. Madawaki, a Professor of Educational Psychology at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto said women should be given more space to exercise their rights in the country.

For any development to take place, there has to be gender equity, hence, women should be given more chances to contribute to the political and socioeconomic development of the country.

Women are very peaceful, tolerant, incorruptible and patriotic.

Governor Aminu Tambuwal, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Bashir Garba, said the government had given priority to issues of women, children and other vulnerable groups.

Tambuwal noted that women have been playing creditable roles in the political and socioeconomic development of the state, assuring that the administration would not discriminate against them.

The governor challenged women in the country to participate more actively in party politics and other spheres of national development.

Also, the Speaker, Sokoto State House of Assembly, Salihu Maidaji, said women had contributed immensely to humanity, literature and warfare.

Represented by the House Leader, Garba Bello, the speaker, however, noted that over the years, women have been relegated to the background in politics, education, public service and businesses.

In a message to the event, the Executive Director, United Nations Fund For Population Activities, UNFPA, Babatunde Osotimehin, declared that gender equality is a human right.

Represented by the Head of UNFPA Kaduna Sub Office, Mariama Darboe, Mr. Osotimehin stressed that women were entitled to live in dignity and freedom from want, fear and discrimination.

Gender equality is also vital to sustainable development and security. It is not just a women issue. It is an issue for all humanity.

Sadly, despite some progress, the world still has a long way to go to achieve full gender equality.

(NAN)

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The World Bank and Sokoto State government are committing N9 billion to the rehabilitation of Lugu Dam and resuscitation of the Wurno Irrigation scheme in Wurno LGA of the state.

Of the sum, Sokoto is committing N1.33 billion while the World Bank and other partners will provide the balance.

According to a press statement by his spokesperson, Governor Aminu Tambuwal disclosed this when he led the state government officials on an inspection visit to the area.

As you can see, the people here are mostly farmers and have been adversely affected by the collapse of the dam as a result of serious flooding some few years back. We are working with the World Bank under the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) to fix the collapsed potion of the dam at Gidan Modi Lugu and in generally revive the Wurno irrigation scheme.

The renovation work comprises construction of spill ways, rehabilitation of reservoirs and river bank embankment, construction of additional canals and desilting of existing ones as well as construction of access roads, the governor said.

According to him, the importance of the dam to socio-economic development of the area cannot be over-emphasised, adding that the project would be completed so as to provide job opportunities for the people and enhance food security.

Mr. Tambuwal commended the residents of Lugu and surrounding areas for their dedication to farming, saying the state government gets a large chunk of revenue from cash crops cultivated in the axis.

He said the government is encouraged by the success of crops like wheat and sesame in surrounding areas like Illela, and is introducing similar crops to Wurno.

You have made a name for yourselves in the cultivation of onions and garlic. But due to its high economic value and demand, government will encourage you to introduce sesame and wheat. We have the farmlands to mix them with our traditional crops. We are giving necessary incentives to farmers to cultivate these crops in the state, he added.

In his remarks, the state commissioner of environment, Bello Sifawa, said government would ensure the completion of the project within a reasonable time frame.

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A federal court in Lagos has ruled that documents tendered by a prosecution witness in the trial of former Abia State governor, Orji Kalu, and others are admissible.

The defence lawyers had objected to the document, tendered by Onkvah Ovenevoh, a staff of Fidelity Bank Plc, on the grounds that it was stamped and signed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and not the bank.

The defence had earlier objected to Mr. Ovenevoh giving evidence in the trial, but their objection was turned down by the judge on Tuesday.

I agree that the written document by Fidelity Bank is an original document, Mr. Idris said in his ruling on Wednesday morning.

This document is admissible since it is an original document and needs no certification by the EFCC

I hold that once the letter dated October 13th, 2006, has been validly accepted, the documents attacked goes with it. The letter of October 13th, 2006, and its attachment are hereby admitted as a whole in evidence and marked as exhibit A1.

Details later

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In a bid to resolve the lingering leadership crisis in the Ondo State House of Assembly, the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has summoned a meeting of the two factions slated to hold in his office on Wednesday.

The 26-member house is torn in equal halves with each claiming it has the authentic leadership.

One faction led by Malachi Coker, which claimed to have impeached the Speaker, Jumoke Akindele, and her principal officers, earlier met with the governor, seeking to be recognised.

But Mr. Akeredolu recommended a peaceful resolution of the crisis rather than back a faction of the house.

PREMIUM TIMES, however, gathered that the embattled speaker and her group met with the governor in Ibadan on Sunday during a thanksgiving service held in his honour, and again met with him on Monday at his office.

A source close to the office of the governor, revealed that the meeting had in attendance all the 13 lawmakers in the group of Speaker Jumoke Akindele and was presided by the governor with his deputy in attendance.

The source, who would not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak for the governor who is yet to appoint a spokesperson, said Mr. Akeredolu told the lawmakers that he decided to meet with the two groups separately before meeting with them together in order to hasten the reopening of the Assembly for legislative business.

The governor, the source said, urged both groups to sheath their swords and reconcile in the interest of the state, adding that there was the need for compromise on both sides to move forward.

He said his administration needed the House of Assembly for some urgent legislative business on some important bills, some of which are outstanding from the last administration.

It was gathered that Akindele-led group had earlier congratulated the governor and his deputy on their inauguration and promised the cooperation of the House of Assembly in ensuring a smooth running of the government.

The group was said to have explained its side of the crisis in the Assembly, insisting that due process was not followed by the Coker group in impeaching the leadership of the house.

They declared before the governor, their loyalty to Ms. Akindele as speaker of the house, yet agreed that a peaceful change of leadership in line with the rules of the Assembly would be encouraged after the resolution of the ongoing crisis.

The meeting of a full house of the lawmakers with the governor was then scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday where both sides are expected to lay on the table their conditions for reconciliation.

Meanwhile, the police which had earlier locked the house of assembly complex due to the crisis, has opened it for workers, but is still keeping watch over the chambers to ensure no faction gains access separately.

The police spokesperson, Femi Joseph, said the police was ready to cooperate with the lawmakers once they reach a peaceful resolution on the crisis.

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Two well-known Madison specialty food product companies, RPs Pasta Co. and Yumbutter, are merging, along with a Loveland, Colorado, snack food business, Ona Treats.

The three brands are all part of Tribe 9 Foods, a new company whose CEO is Brian Durst, a Green Bay native and UW-Madison graduate who now lives in Edina, Minnesota.

It became clear to me there were a lot of real wins that could be created by bringing these businesses together, Durst said. Their products are healthy, nourishing options that we feel improve the lives of our consumers; there is a real innovative force within each of the businesses; and they are all value-based, with a social mission.

They are strategically on track with what todays consumers are looking for, he said.

RPs, 1133 E. Wilson St., has been making fresh pasta since 1995 and now produces about 2 million pounds a year, sold in all 50 states, with revenues north of $5 million a year and 28 full-time employees, founder and chief creative officer Peter Robertson said.

Yumbutter, founded in 2010, makes nut butters. Its administration and product development are based in Madison; production is contracted out in California and is expected to continue there. Yumbutter is available nationwide at Target stores.

Ona started operating in 2012, its website says. Its snack bars and cookies are sold in several Western states.

Founders of Yumbutter and Ona could not immediately be reached.

Durst, a longtime investor, led a group of more than 30 investors who raised $5.9 million, according to documents filed with federal regulators.

The plan is to bring the three food businesses together under one roof, combining resources, distribution channels and sales efforts.

They will also expand contract manufacturing under the name Real Food Innovations, Durst said.

RPs Robertson said the search for a new site is still in progress but he expects to be moved in by June, and to add staff. Thats absolutely the plan. If were going to increase our output, were going to need more people, he said.

RPs and Yumbutter already were sharing a president and chief financial officer  Rich Ciurczak, former president of Nasco International, a Fort Atkinson educational supply company.

Robertson said the merger idea emerged last August and was finalized Feb. 23. Im actually really happy about it, he said.

I think were all really excited, added Durst. Im thrilled to have three food visionary entrepreneurs all coming with different strengths, but all strategically on-target brands ... It will be a fun time ahead for Tribe 9.
RioContentMarket 2017 market and convention begins officially today, Wednesday 8, after a warm-up day with sessions and master classes held yesterday. At BRAVI Meeting Session the entity presented the national and international objectives for 2017, and it was organized the welcome opening with local and international stars from TV and cinema, and over a thousand executives.

Mauro Garcia, executive president of BRAVI, said RCM aims to build bridges and make connections between the different audiovisual business segments. We are plural and we celebrate the good businesses for the sector, no matter the origins, countries or ideology.

After him, the municipal secretary of Culture from Rio de Janeiro, Nilcemar Nogueira, affirmed: RCM has an enormous relevance for us and for the city: it demonstrates the strength of Rio as an audiovisual pole that has been growing a lot in the last decade. Between 2009 and 2014, RioFilme has invested R$ 185 millions (close to USD 60 millions) in almost 500 local initiatives.

It was important the presence of the Brazilian actors Lazaro Ramos and Camila Pitanga, who highlighted the conflict over the representation of the color people on the audiovisual productions. Well-narrated stories from all social segments can make happy everyone, and the color audience consumes a lot of contents, but it has not been well represented, said Ramos.

In a country like Brazil, where half of the population is black, the participation is very small, adds Pitanga. They are not well reflected on the media. Not only actors and talents, but also director, writers, producers, editors, etc.

RCM has become one of the highest-growth audiovisual markets in the last years and also a benchmark in local production for Brazil. It has gradually consolidated its position as an international content market with the larger global presence in each of its editions since 2011.

The tradeshow exploits to the maximum the opportunities in the county following three business lines. First, a winning formula between local producers + pay TV channels to which Free TVs have joined, empowered by the resources provided by SeAC Law, where all them can take advantages of the funding plans.

Second, RCM has become a key place for international governmental entities that are focusing in partnerships within Brazil, such as PACT (UK), INCAA (Argentina), Canadian Media Found (Canada), CinemaChile or Institue Francais (France). Third, calling the attraction of international co-producers that associate to local companies in search of public funding benefits.

At this seventh edition, there is again a huge presence of the leading global OTT services like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Vimeo, Viu and Studio+, as well as key buyers from Channel 4 (UK), Canal + and France Televisions (France), ZDF (Germany), First HDTV (Russia), Al Jazeera (Qatar), EBS and SK Broadband (South Korea), Sony and Telemundo (USA), RCN and Caracol (Colombia) and TVN (Chile), who are providing exclusive conferences.

Players like HBO, Netflix, Discovery, Canal+, AMC and the local broadcasters Globo, Record and SBT, participate in one-to-one meetings. Each previously selected companies can show up to three programs to five of these companies in a 20 interview. In 2016, near 1.200 meetings were completed, of which 63% generated business.

Today, Angelica Coutinho, coordinator of selective support, at Ancine will answer all the questions about Prodav 05, the development project of serial and non-serial audiovisual projects and audiovisual formats, while Manoel Rangel, president, will provide a summarize about the 15 years of the Ancine, achievements and challenges for the development of the audiovisual industry in Brazil.

Rodrigo Cantisano, from Rio de Janeiro
Atlantic County

'METAMORPHIS: THE HUMAN STORIES': exhibited through March; exhibition of works by college students around the world; addresses the current refugee crisis; Ocean City Arts Center, 1735 Simpson Ave., Ocean City. 609-399-7628.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GLYNNIS REED: exhibited through April 2; "That Shadow My Likeness"; artist Glynnis Reed presents women in harmony with and in contrast to the natural landscape; The Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University, 2200 Fairmount Avenue, Atlantic City. 609-626-3420 or ArtsGarageAC.com.

L'ART DE FRANCE: exhibited April 5 through 22; artists with works in a variety of media; 5 to 7 p.m. April 7, Meet and Greet with wine tastings; Great Bay Gallery, 829 Bay Ave., Somers Point. 609-653-4991 or GreatBayArtGallery.com.

CELEBRATING 32!: 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. Saturdays, through April 22; artwork by participants from 32 years of Continuing Education Studio Arts Workshops; Atlantic Cape Community College Art Gallery, Spangler Library, 5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing. 609-625-1111 or Atlantic/ArtGal.

'APPLE PIE & BASEBALL': exhibited through April 14; pop-up exhibit "Apple Pie and Baseball," alongside ongoing exhibit "Just Desserts"; baseball and food-themed art; Nashville North Studios, 210 New Road, Suite 8, Linwood Greene, Linwood. 609-504-5044 or NashvilleNorthStudios.com.

RAW 2017: JURIED PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION: exhibited through May 1; showcases the work of 20 talented photographers selected by jury from throughout the state of New Jersey; The Noyes Gallery at Stockton's Kramer Hall, 30 Front St., Hammonton. 609-626-3420 or NoyesMuseum.org.

Cape May County

*****

MOSAIC PIN ART WORKSHOP: 10 a.m. to noon April 3, 4; with art instructor Michele Pascuillo; create a unique piece of wearable art with bits of tile, glass, beads and other interesting materials; Public Library, 235 32nd St., Avalon, registration required. 609-967-7155 or AvalonFreeLibrary.org.

*****

FEARLESS WATERCOLORS FOR BEGINNERS: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 5; six-week program for new painters or painters who have some basic experience; call for supply list; Public Library, 4800 Central Ave., Sea Isle City. 609-463-6386 or CMCLibrary.org.

*****

FEARLESS WATERCOLORS FOR INTERMEDIATES: 1 to 4 p.m. April 5; six-week program for the painter with some experience painting in watercolor who has completed the beginner workshop; call for supply list; Public Library, 4800 Central Ave., Sea Isle City. 609-463-6386 or CMCLibrary.org.

*****

MIXED MEDIA ART: exhibited through month of March, Ocean City Fine Arts League, 608 Asbury Ave., Ocean City, free. 609-814-0308 or OceanCityFineArtsLeague.org.

ART PARTY CLASSES: two-hour paint lessons, led by teacher Juliana Jost, create your own artistic reproduction; 6 to 8 p.m. Fridays adult classes, $35; 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays Mommy & Me and Daddy & Me classes for kids, $40; 106 S. Decatur St., Cape May. 609-364-5304.

Cumberland County

'INSPIRED BRUSHSTROKES' EXHIBIT: exhibited through March; works by local artists, all students of award winning artist and teacher Marie Natale; Public Library, 1058 E. Landis Ave., Vineland. 856-794-4244 or VinelandLibrary.org.

Ocean County

'GETTING DIRTY IN THE CERAMICS STUDIO': 7 to 9 p.m. first Friday of each month, BYOB, instructor Kerith Creo walks participants through a few introductory projects, LBI Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, 120 Long Beach Blvd., Loveladies, $45. 609-494-1241.

Items for Artsy Attractions should be sent two weeks in advance to pdollak@pressofac.com or mailed to Pamela Dollak, The Press of Atlantic City, 1000 W. Washington Ave., Pleasantville, N.J. 08232.
Intrigued by the ingredients in a new bread recipe, something happened in my kitchen a few weeks ago worth sharing today as a lesson learned. While waiting for recent request recipes to arrive, and because many of my days begin with coffee and homemade sweet bread, a recipe for amaretto cherry bread, handwritten by me with a red ball-point pen on a 4x6 index card, was placed on my kitchen counter to make later in the day.

Unfortunately, it was next to a plastic bag of frozen meat set out to thaw. You can only imagine my surprise hours later when the card rested in a puddle of melted frost that had turned the recipe into a red watercolor disaster. With only half of the recipe legible, I gave thought to throwing the card away, then changed my mind and left it to dry on another counter.

After checking the card every day for a week, it became dry and lighter red in color making it possible to read most of the words while leaving a few still in question. Determined to celebrate my patience, I made the bread and soon filled four greased 3x5-inch loaf tins, making them easier to slice when cooled. The finished product using amaretto and tart cherries created a moist bread that my father would have confessed to having enjoyed it immensely, and the day was off to a good start. The only thing missing was a sentence explaining how to prepare the glaze  which didnt seem to be of any great importance.

Amaretto cherry bread

1 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

 teaspoon salt

 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

 cup amaretto liqueur

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans???)

1 cup sour cherries drained, pitted and halved

Glaze: Mix together 6 tablespoons sugar and 6 tablespoons amaretto.

Sift dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Fold in dry ingredients, amaretto, nuts and cherries.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until testing done in greased 9x5-inch pan.

While warm, pierce the top of bread loaves, pour the glaze over, and cool.

Note: If using four 3x5-inch loaf tins, bake 30 minutes or until testing done.

Also, Id make the bread again, next time substituting chopped maraschino cherries for a touch of color and because I happen to like them.

Another lesson learned took place while waiting for recently requested favorite mushroom soup recipes. Always having fresh mushrooms on hand prompted me to find a soup recipe in a very credible stack of cookbooks compiled by members of out of state organizations. There was nothing wrong with the finished product, but I wondered what could be added to make it thicker and more robust. What was left after the first serving was refrigerated and the next day I began to experiment by adding other ingredients.

Sherry cream of mushroom soup

1 pound fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced

1/3 cup onion, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

 cup butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup chicken bouillon (15-ounce can broth)

 cup cooking sherry

1 teaspoon salt

 teaspoon pepper

2 cups light cream

Saute mushrooms, onion and garlic in butter in 3-quart kettle. Stir in lemon juice and flour. Gradually stir in broth, sherry and seasonings. Cook over low heat until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in cream and continue cooking until hot, being careful not to let soup boil.

Note: After the first serving, I added cornstarch and a small amount of water to thicken the soup further by stirring in while boiling, and because there was a cooked potato in the refrigerator, it was chopped and added. Also added was a tablespoon of brown sugar, Penzeys Fox Point Seasoning, a few dashes of soy sauce, and more garlic. Again, it was just experimenting and having fun in the kitchen.

Reader Linda Martin, Edgerton, once asked for a poppy seed kringle recipe similar to what was enjoyed at a party she attended. Because many recipe requests are saved, just in case a reader responds at a later date, this one recently arrived. Although there is no mention of using poppy seeds, it belonged to Colleen Royals father-in-laws mother who was born and raised in Denmark. Remembering it as being simple, beautiful and delicious, she also added that you should make the dough and refrigerate at least 1-2 days in advance.

Danish kringle

1 cup butter

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup sour cream

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups brown sugar

1 cups chopped English walnuts, divided

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons water

In a large bowl, cut 1 cup butter into flour until crumbly, leaving pea-sized chunks. Stir in sour cream, and mix well; dough will be very sticky. Form dough into a ball. Cover tightly and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Prepare the filling by combining 1 cup butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup chopped walnuts. Divide dough into three equal parts; return two parts to the refrigerator to keep cold. Quickly form 1/3 of the dough into a rectangle, and flour lightly. On a heavily floured surface, roll out to approximately 12x17 inches. Position lengthwise on the work surface. Along the long edges of the dough rectangle, use a sharp knife to cut 4-inch long angled lines about  inch apart. Spoon 1/3 of the filling along the length of the rectangles uncut center. Alternating from one side of the dough to the other, fold each -inch wide strip toward the center, crisscrossing the filling in a braid-like fashion. Lightly press together the ends of the strips to seal. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining walnuts. Repeat with remaining ingredients to form 3 braided danishes. Arrange danishes on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool for approximately 30 minutes. While the danishes are cooling, prepare the icing: mix confectioners sugar and water until smooth. Drizzle in fine streams over warm danishes.

For my husband Dick, who loves a good bleu cheese dressing, this recipe is quoted as being one of the best. There are many Chart House restaurant locations in 16 states across the country, but none that Im aware of in Wisconsin.

Chart House bleu cheese dressing

 cup sour cream

 teaspoon dry mustard

 teaspoon black pepper

 scant teaspoon salt

 scant teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 1/3 cup mayonnaise

4 ounces imported aged Danish bleu cheese

Yield: 2 cups

Chill for 24 hours before serving.

Recent request: A chocolate cake from the 1940s using no oil, no oleo, but maybe Crisco. Chocolate was bittersweet and melted, no cocoa, baking soda in boiling water. Soupy batter, and all-purpose flour for the best, moist chocolate taste.
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MAYS LANDING  A Bridgeton man indicted Tuesday, March 7 on charges of sex-trafficking a child and two adults was the subject of a federal investigation for several years before his arrest last year in Atlantic City.

Marcus E. Tukes, 47, of Bridgeton, was indicted by a grand jury on first-degree charges of trafficking a child for sex and trafficking two adults for the purposes of prostitution, according to acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton.

The FBIs Child Exploitation Task Force has been investigating Tukes for years, said special agent Dan Garrabrant, who coordinates the task force. Authorities arrested Tukes Dec. 2 along with Courtney H. Glose, 31, of Brigantine, at the Knights Inn, Ruberton said.

Both Tukes and Close were originally charged with promoting the prostitution of a child under 18, endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy, according to a release from the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office. The task force located and ensured the protection of the underage victim, a girl, two weeks before the arrests of Tukes and Glose.

Tukes and Glose were put in the Atlantic County jail on $250,000 full cash bail with no 10 percent option, set by Absecon Municipal Court Judge John H. Rosenberger. Glose was later released on her own recognizance, while Tukes remains jailed.

Glose waived her indictment by a grand jury in February and will be tried on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child, a third-degree offense, the Prosecutors Office said.

According to court records, Tukes pleaded guilty to a narcotics charge in 2003. He also pleaded to a 2006 drug charge under the name Marcus Neal, records show.

Garrabrant has been working cases for 12 years out of the Northfield FBI office, which covers Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties.

Numerous minors are victims of human trafficking during the course of a year, Garrabrant said. In some years, there are as many as 40 new cases, he said.

The Child Exploitation Task Force was staffed by the FBI, the state Department of Human Services Police, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office and the Atlantic County Sheriffs Office.

In New Jersey, a conviction for trafficking a minor carries a sentence of 20 years to life in prison, with at least 20 years served before parole eligibility. Trafficking adults carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years, and third-degree crimes carry three to five years.

Anyone with information on the exploitation of children for prostitution in Atlantic County is asked to call the task force at 800-CALL-FBI, the local FBI office at 609-677-6400 or the Prosecutors Office at 609-909-7800.
CAMDEN  A New Jersey man was sentenced Wednesday to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a mortgage-fraud conspiracy ring that helped unqualified buyers borrow millions of dollars to buy oceanfront property in Wildwood Crest.

Instead, the money borrowed by the straw buyers, which prosecutors said totaled nearly $41 million, went into various accounts of Joseph Witkowski, of Flemington, and other conspirators, prosecutors said.

Witkowski, 70, was sentenced Wednesday, three years after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He was charged in 2012 with conspiring to defraud lenders by taking out fraudulent mortgages and wiring a portion of the proceeds to private accounts while never paying the monthly mortgage premiums and faced up to 40 years in prison.

In addition to the prison term, Witkowski was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $13,105,570 in restitution. As part of his plea agreement, he must forfeit $2,412,899, representing the proceeds of the fraud, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez imposed the sentence in Camden federal court. Public defender Maggie Moy, who represented Witkowski, was not immediately available for comment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Carrig represented the government.

Witkowski is a former lawyer who, according to the indictment from 2012, conspired with nine other people between 2006 and 2008 to sell oceanfront residences at four Wildwood Crest condominiums, which were overbuilt by financially distressed developers, and at resorts in South Carolina and Georgia.

Witkowski and his co-conspirators recruited the straw buyers to purchase the properties, offering to pay them for using their names and promising them they would never have to make a payment on the mortgage.

The group created fake documents to obtain the mortgages in the names of their straw buyers, who had good credit but not the financial means necessary to take on the mortgage.

Once the loans were approved and the mortgage lenders sent the loan proceeds in connection with real estate closings on the properties, Witkowski and his conspirators had some of the funds wired or checks deposited into various accounts that he and his conspirators controlled, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

The FBI and IRS assisted in the investigation.
A small town like Avalon doesnt have many instances of violent crime, but police Chief William McCormick believes body cameras will help both police and the public maintain accountability.

I think it helps everybody, really. I have the highest confidence in my officers, and this just makes them one step higher on the professional level. And it helps with the citizens, because they know theyre being recorded, McCormick said.

The 21 full-time police officers in the borough last month began wearing body cameras funded by a $10,000 grant from the state Attorney Generals Office. They also purchased cameras for 22 seasonal officers.

Spurred by a push from the Attorney Generals Office to increase transparency, over the past two years, about half of New Jerseys more than 500 police departments have received funding through the state to purchase body cameras, up from 50 departments in 2014.

The benefits are going to be the same through all the police departments, said Atlantic City police Sgt. Kevin Fair. Its going to provide an unbiased record of our contact with individuals in the public.

Atlantic Citys body camera program began in 2014 with about five cameras and has expanded to include about 120 cameras for all of the departments patrol officers. The city, which received $30,000 in state grant money for body cameras, had 3,465 crimes in 2014, 541 of which were classified as violent.

Fair said the information collected through the body cameras has become a vital part of the discovery process in criminal cases. It also helps the city collect audio evidence not collected through normal surveillance video.

Theres thousands of cameras throughout the city casinos, housing projects, businesses. Not all of them have audio capabilities, Fair said. The audio is a key part of the interaction.

Fair said body cameras have come into play in internal affairs investigations in Atlantic City. He cited an instance in 2016 in which an officer was cleared of assaulting a suspect after a review of body camera footage. The suspect, Anthony J. Farnham, was then charged by the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office with providing false information to law enforcement.

In another incident under investigation, an officer was recorded by a cellphone making profane remarks to a subject in a vehicle. The department said it will use body camera footage to find out what prompted the situation. The officer, who has not been identified, has been placed on administrative leave.

Avalon  which had 196 crimes in 2014, only one of which was violent, state data show  received its funding from the 2015 round.

McCormick said statistics show the body cameras reduce internal affairs investigations and unfounded complaints about officers by suspects.

Theres no he-said, she-said now. Its all recorded now. Its all on file, McCormick said.

In 2015, New Jersey issued best-practices guidelines for the use of body cameras. That year, the state issued $2.5 million in grants to 176 police departments and allocated $1.5 million in funding to equip the State Police with body cameras.

In January, the Attorney Generals Office announced an additional $566,000 in grant money for 37 law-enforcement agencies, including Hamilton Township, Longport and Northfield, from the federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

Bridgeton began phasing in body cameras in January, after being awarded money in December 2015 from a $57,000 pool split among that city, Vineland and Millville.

Attorney General Christopher Porrino said the new round of funding puts New Jersey at the forefront in use of technology by law enforcement.
ATLANTIC CITY  Joseph Polillo is again seeking the citys highest office.

Polillo said Wednesday he will challenge incumbent Mayor Don Guardian on the Republican ticket.

I dont like the predicament my city is in with this (state) takeover, Polillo said. I want my hometown back.

The municipal Republican Party committee will interview him. It decides who will be the Column A mayoral candidate in the June primary, committee Chairman Jesse Kurtz said.

Small kicks off campaign for mayor with rally ATLANTIC CITY  Council President Marty Small kicked off his campaign for mayor in the cold 

Polillo, 70, has unsuccessfully run for mayor several times since 1990, usually as an independent. He said residents encouraged him to run again after a Jan. 25 appearance at a City Council meeting, where he opened his coat and flashed the public with a Polillo For Mayor T-shirt.

Polillo blamed the state for the citys financial problems. He said the nearly $500 million debt belongs to the state, not the city, since the state has not given the city revenue from luxury, parking and room taxes.

Its their debt, and they better shuffle their money around in their three-card monte shell game and pay off the debt and give the city back to its residents, he said.

He also is against a law that lets casinos make fixed, predictable payments in lieu of property taxes and said he would explore bankruptcy for the cash-strapped city.

Polillo is the fourth rival for Guardian. Council President Marty Small, Councilman Frank Gilliam and Fareed Abdullah are facing off in the Democratic primary.

Gilliam announces candidacy for Atlantic City mayor ATLANTIC CITY  City Councilman Frank Gilliam officially jumped into the mayors race Monday

Mayor Guardian said, I have known Joe for many years going back to my days at SID. We met recently and both agreed that America is such a great place because anyone can run for office. I know he has run for office before, and I look forward to hearing any new ideas he has to share with us. I wish him the best of luck.

Polillo, whos retired, was a city license inspector for 30 years. He is known for his portrayals of King Neptune and was the host of The Postcard Show, which ran on the South Jersey Regional Television Network in the 1990s.

I want people to know that Im not a joke and that Im serious, he said. Its for real. And Im going to challenge Guardian for the top spot.
Former Dane County Sheriffs Deputy Andrew Steele, who was found not legally responsible for the shooting deaths of his wife, Ashlee Steele, and her sister, Kacee Tollefsbol, in 2014, died Tuesday morning, said his lawyer, Jessa Nicholson Goetz.

Steele, 42, who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect for the August 2014 deaths after a jury trial. Steele had pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide but not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Nicholson Goetz said that Steele had been at UW Hospital for the past week after experiencing breathing complications and died there. The breathing problem is a common complication of ALS, she said. No extraordinary livesaving measures were taken at the hospital, she added.

Steeles death came on Tollefsbols birthday, which has caused mixed emotions, said Brad Putnam, brother of Tollefsbol and Ashlee Steele.

He said his family had planned to celebrate Tollefsbols birthday but then got word of Steeles death.

Once again, of course, Andys name comes up, Putnam said.

Putnam and his wife, Rachelle, have adopted the Steeles two children, and Putnam said theyre doing well and have adjusted to their new family and surroundings.

But with Steeles death, he said, we close the book on Andy. Maybe its selfish, but I hope hes in a horrible place, because he never apologized to us.

At a last meeting with Steele about a year ago, he said, the children said their goodbyes, and Putnam asked Steele to explain why he killed Ashlee Steele, 39, and Tollefsbol, 38. He said he came away with no answers but a sense that Steele knew much more than he had ever explained.

In January, a Dane County judge approved a plan that allowed Steele to live his remaining days with his parents at a home, the location of which was not disclosed at the time.

Nicholson Goetz said Tuesday that it was an apartment in Monona. Steele was receiving what Nicholson Goetz described as palliative care from his parents, which was something they were grateful to be able to do.

Steele had been kept at Mendota Mental Health Institute after he was committed in April 2015, then was ordered released from the institution in March 2016 after it was determined he no longer presented a threat to his own safety or that of others, due to the progression of his illness.

But it was difficult finding a care facility that would take Steele, due to the notoriety of his case.

ALS is a terminal neuromuscular disorder. Steele was diagnosed with the disease in June 2014, and then shot and killed his wife and sister-in-law on Aug. 22, 2014, at the Steele home in Fitchburg. He never told authorities why he killed them.

Nicholson Goetz said his family is not holding a funeral here but is planning a memorial service at a later date in Saginaw, Michigan, the Steele familys hometown.
In 2008, the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute issued a report asserting that teachers are paid less than comparable private-sector workers. The conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute responded with assertions that EPI had misleadingly manipulated what was already less reliable self-reported federal data to achieve its desired result.

In October, the Economic Policy Institute updated its report and repeated its finding that public school teachers are underpaid and the gap with the private sector is widening. AEI responded with an analysis of EPIs methods, what it called Debunking the myth of the teacher pay gap, again.

That should have been the last of this dispute for another several years, but last month EPI issued a New Jersey version of Octobers report, written by Jeffrey Keefe, a former Rutgers labor-relations associate professor.

Keefe previously authored nearly a couple dozen EPI reports supporting pay levels for public employees in various states. He told The Press he prepared the one on N.J. teachers largely in response to Gov. Chris Christies criticism of teachers. Last year, Christie firmly opposed a constitutional amendment requiring that teacher and other public worker pensions be funded ahead of all other state spending, and Democrats subsequently abandoned the effort to put the referendum on Novembers ballot.

Keefes report said the average annual 2012-2014 wage of teachers in New Jersey was $68,301 vs. the $82,223 wage of comparable full-time private workers.

The American Enterprise Institute said this latest report by EPI repeats most of the shortcomings of its original 2008 version. For example: Only about a third of the value of teacher pensions, which pay defined benefits for life, are included in the calculation. The value of health coverage for retirees  full until they reach normal retirement age and then supplementary thereafter  isnt included at all. Comparable workers were chosen as if a teaching degree was worth as much as an engineering degree.

AEI said the current EPI reports drop a previous disputed claim that teachers work at least as many hours each week as comparable college graduates. And Keefe said he thought it odd the high number of weeks (47.5 a year) teachers reported as working.

Teachers contract to work 180 classroom days plus five others, or 37 weeks a year.

If the $68,301 is for 37 weeks, the annual wage for working the 51.2 weeks reported by private-sector employees would be $94,514.

Statistics can be disputed endlessly and conclusions based on them must remain tentative.

The labor market for teachers, though, suggests AEI criticisms might be valid.

In most labor markets, fair compensation levels are determined by demand for and supply of qualified workers. But for public school teachers, union and political restrictions on the market prevent that from happening.

For a sense of the above-market value received by teachers, consider the tens of millions spent by the teachers union in just a single state legislative election to ensure that value is preserved and enhanced. The union spent $3 million on just the most recent Assembly races in two South Jersey districts.

If school boards were paying only what was needed to ensure the employment of quality teachers, there would be no need for massive campaign spending and logistical support to ensure the election of politicians who will deliver current or better levels of pay and benefits.
The state plans to allocate more money for lead removal and treatment after adopting the most up-to-date benchmark for blood-lead levels in children from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gov. Chris Christie announced in his budget address that $20 million will go toward lead remediation assistance for low- and moderate-income households and to help support county and city health departments in meeting the new regulations for identifying elevated blood-lead levels in children.

Public-health officials recommend treatment and intervention for children who test at elevated lead levels of 5 or more micrograms per deciliter of blood. Before, case management was required for children who tested at 10 or more micrograms.

State officials said 630,000 children under the age of 6 are at risk of lead poisoning in New Jersey, but health records show fewer than half of the children in many counties get screened for lead.

Health experts said research finds even low levels can lead to developmental problems.

Lisa Gulla, president of the New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials, said health officials on the local and state levels agreed that lowering the benchmark was necessary.

However, the lowered benchmark has health officials anticipating increased case loads of children testing above 5 micrograms. Cumberland County Health Officer Megan Sheppard said she expects cases to double, possibly triple.

This (funding) will definitely help, because we know what our numbers are going to be, she said. It would help go toward salaries and services, because right now we only have two nurses working for the lead program part time, and theyre managing all the inspections, education and follow-up with court and home abatement.

Gulla said the funding, $10 million specifically for the support of the new regulations, addresses early concerns about how health departments could handle the increases.

State Department of Health officials said half of the total lead funding, $10 million, will be distributed as grants to county and local health departments based on population need and can be used starting July 1 at the beginning of fiscal year 2018.

The department will use 2016 lead data to determine how much money communities need for services such as testing, retesting, environmental assessment and case management, officials said.

Gulla said she hopes funding will help health departments get more children tested for lead.

Program looks at education through the eyes of eighth-graders LINWOOD  Quinton Sullivan, of Somers Point, wishes his school could have more field trips s

Lead has been banned from house paint for nearly 40 years, but state reports show children are still at risk for poisoning by paint chips or inhaling dust left in homes.

Its a real testament to the (state health) department and government that local health means a great deal, Gulla said. And moving forward, to stay in accordance with the CDC, which is already considering lowering it to 3.5 micrograms, more funding is a good start to helping the local health departments.

The state Department of Health launched its #kNOwLEAD public education campaign in October to increase awareness of lead hazards for children and the risks of lead exposure in children.
A man who police said was seen on surveillance video fi ring a gun toward people last month in an incident at a gas station in which four men were injured has been charged with first-degree reckless endangerment.

Claude D. Knight, 28, of Hanover Park, Illinois, appeared in Dane County Circuit Court Wednesday. He was arrested last month by U.S. marshals in Chicago.

A criminal complaint filed on Feb. 21 but unsealed on Wednesday states a man identified as Knight was seen on the video holding and firing what appeared to be a gun in the direction of several occupied cars at the BP gas station, 4222 E. Washington Ave., on Feb. 19.

Police have said that the shootings stemmed from a party in Beaver Dam earlier that night.

Court Commissioner Jason Hanson ordered Knight jailed on $150,000 bail, citing his lack of ties to Madison and the fact he was extradited from Illinois.

A second man who was arrested by Madison police, Christopher Somersett, 22, of Madison, remains in the Dane County Jail. A criminal complaint hasnt been filed against him yet, at least not one that has been made public. Somersett is not mentioned in the complaint against Knight.

According to the complaint:

The shooting occurred about 3:07 a.m. Four men were taken to local hospital emergency rooms. One of them required surgery for a gunshot that passed through his lower abdomen.

Reviewing surveillance video from the gas station, Detective Diane Nachtigal saw a man she recognized, and a second man, later identified as Knight, standing next to him. Knight was holding and firing a gun in the video.

Police found 11 .380 caliber bullet casings on the ground near the southeast corner of the gas station parking lot, which appeared to be where Knight was standing when he fired the gun.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said police are looking for others who they say were involved in the shooting.
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.




The Humane Society of the United States is offering up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in a dog poisoning case in Mineral Point, in which three family pets were found dead on Feb. 5.

The dogs belonged to Travis Halvorson and Tracey Butson of Mineral Point. The couple found their dogs in the yard, showing no signs of trauma but having foam around their mouths.

"The preliminary necropsy report indicated the dogs had been poisoned," said Katie Feldman of the Humane Society. "The attending veterinarian believed the poisoning to be intentional."

Two dogs showed evidence of eating raw ground beef laced with a pesticide.

"There is no excuse for killing defenseless family pets like these three dogs," said Melissa Tedrowe, Wisconsin director of the Humane Society of the U.S. "We hope the reward will help find the perpetrator of this horrible crime."

The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office is investigating the poisoning. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers, 800-606-8477, or the Sheriff's Office, 776-4870.
A Madison man who ran into Lake Mendota Tuesday night after crashing his car on Sherman Avenue had to be pulled from the icy waters by police officers and firefighters.

The 39-year-old man was taken to a local hospital after being in the water for about a half-hour, his body temperature dropping to about 87 degrees.

The incident happened shortly after midnight near the Tenney Lock area on Lake Mendota, a block from where the man crashed his car in the 1600 block of North Sherman Avenue.

Police said:

The unidentified man's car was being chased by a Maple Bluff police squad car after a routine traffic stop. Madison police were called to back up the Maple Bluff officer.

"An officer was quickly on scene after the car hit the tree," said Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

The Madison officer saw the man in the water but decided he should contact the Madison Fire Department to bring a rescue boat because of thin ice concerns near where the man went into the water.

"After the fire department arrived, two officers boarded the craft with the firefighters and the team set off in heavy winds," DeSpain said.

The man was in water about chest high, 75 feet off shore. He refused to follow orders to come to the boat.

"Instead, he moved toward the large fan which propels the boat," DeSpain said. "The two firefighters jumped into the water to keep the man from the fan, and pulled him toward the officers in the boat."

One officer said he plunged his hands into the icy water and grabbed the man, with the other officer also taking hold while the two firefighters pushed the man up from below.

"The man didn't resist but he offered no assistance getting himself into the boat," DeSpain said.

Maple Bluff Police Sgt. Jay Sugden said the man had been stopped for a traffic offense but fled the officer at a high rate of speed.

"We believe the situation was related to a domestic incident in Madison," Sugden said.

The man likely faces several traffic charges.
TURKU, Finland, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Rolls-Royce will establish its Marine R&D Centre for Remote Control & Autonomous Ships and Artificial Intelligence in Turku, Finland. The centre will be opened this year.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/476184/RollsRoyce_Tekes.jpg )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411187LOGO )



Rolls-Royce's strategic partners will be the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) and Tampere University of Technology (TUT), together with numerous SMEs and start-ups specialising in novel technologies.

Remotely controlled and autonomous ships represent a fundamental change in shipping over the next decade and are driving the digital transformation in the sector.



"Finland is the home of top ICT expertise and a strong maritime cluster. That is why Rolls-Royce has decided to establish the centre in Turku", says SVP Sauli Eloranta of Rolls-Royce.

Investments in autonomous shipping will increase in Finland

Rolls Royce's Centre of Excellence for autonomous shipping collaborates with the Autonomous Shipping Alliance, an ecosystem bringing together global forerunners and agile ICT start-ups. The aim of the Alliance is to provide the world's first autonomous maritime products, services and a flourishing ecosystem by 2025. Rolls Royce is already a partner in the Alliance.

The Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (Tekes) is committed to funding the work of the Alliance, its ambitious research and development projects, and its innovations in order to achieve the aim of remotely operated and autonomous shipping in the forthcoming years. An example of an amazing, recently funded joint project is 'DIMECC Design for Value (D4V)', which had the objective of understanding and exploiting the opportunities of digital disruption in maritime logistics value chains.

Rolls Royce's decision to focus autonomous shipping R&D in Finland is motivating Tekes to increase its investments in enabling technologies, such as artificial intelligence and communication technologies, and companies that create leading knowhow and synergies with autonomous shipping.

"Remotely operated and autonomous shipping projects provide unique opportunities to develop pioneering solutions alongside lead users", says Piia Moilanen, Program Manager of the Tekes Arctic Seas programme.

Pekka Sivonen, Executive Director of Digitalisation Strategies and Programmes at Tekes, is also very satisfied with Rolls-Royce's decision. "Autonomous shipping and logistics offer significant customer interface. It is natural to direct development to meet those needs", Sivonen says.

"The maritime industry is inherently international. It is therefore natural that the ecosystem around the research and development centre is international too. We welcome all innovators to collaborate with us. We have outstanding platforms here!" says Ecosystem Lead, DIMECC Ltd, Paivi Haikkola of the Autonomous Shipping Alliance.

Rolls-Royce announces investment in Research & Development for Ship Intelligence

DIMECC: Value driven ecosystem for digitally disrupting supply chain

Arctic Seas Programme

For further information



Piia Moilanen

Arctic Seas Program Manager

piia.moilanan(at)tekes.fi

Puh. +358-(0)-50-5577-748



Pekka Sivonen

pekka.sivonen(at)tekes.fi

Puh. +358-(0)-45-895-0966

SOURCE Tekes
STRASBOURG, France, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

In an open letter to all members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Azerbaijani MP and PACE member Elkhan Suleymanov, the President of the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ACSDA), called for wide-ranging reforms given the current "dark atmosphere" at the institution.

Suleymanov said he felt compelled to write his letter following revelations by the Brussels think tank The European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center (ESISC), which on Monday published a comprehensive report (http://www.esisc.org/publications/analyses/11791 ) uncovering an "Armenian Connection" network inside PACE that "has led a merciless propaganda campaign against Azerbaijan to benefit Armenia".

"My country and I were at the receiving end of these attacks and anti-Azerbaijani collusion," Suleymanov said, detailing in his letter how a "patchwork of fact and fantasy spread well-prepared slander all over the international media, unfortunately causing irreparable damage to PACE."

In particular, he pointed out a Milan court decision, which decided not to bring any charges against Italian politician Luca Volonte, who had been investigated for allegedly accepting bribes by Azerbaijan. "All PACE members without exception should respect the Rule of Law, which includes respecting the clear decision by the Milan court, which dropped all charges of corruption," Suleymanov demanded.

He also noted the Legal Affairs Report on Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan by special rapporteur Christoph Strasser, which was rejected in January 2013 by a sizable majority of 125 against and 79 in favour. "Recently launched false corruption allegations claim that voting was influenced by so-called bribery," Suleymanov said, adding that this is "totally ridiculous", given the information that can still be reviewed in the minutes from all political group meetings.

"All members should show more respect to each other's political positions and should respect the free vote of each colleague, without pretending that one position is morally more superior than another," Suleymanov maintained. "We shouldn't always look back. Questioning voting results and voting behaviour by MPs is equal to questioning PACE itself. Our Assembly will get stronger through genuine cooperation, not through organised distrust."

Suleymanov further called for clarity on lobbying, if it should be prohibited or not, and whether donations to PACE-related NGOs should be allowed, which could compromise MPs cooperating with those NGOs. "PACE should not allow double-standards," his letter stated.

Suleymanov concluded by noting that "deliberately spreading false rumours of corruption is strongly undermining global credibility of the Assembly towards the outside world and new rules should urgently be adopted."

SOURCE ACSDA
That corresponds to previous surveys done in the west that say women are more likely to donate to charity than men, sometimes by as much as a factor of two. "As a result, marketers in China should target women more than men if they want their philanthropic projects to be successful," said Juliet Zhu , Professor of Marketing at the Beijing-based Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), which exclusively analyzed the survey's data.

Two of the highest-rated philanthropy projects, as selected by Jin Ri Tou Tiao users, were led by actor Chen Kun and TV anchor Chen Weihong, current and former students of CKGSB's EMBA Program, respectively. Chen Weihong's initiative, titled "Backpack of Love" targets China's so-called "left behind children", whose parents have moved to larger cities in search of work, by helping to re-build the bonds between those children and their parents.

"These are great examples of how CKGSB encourages its students to do philanthropic projects," says Zhu, who in 2014 pioneered the first mandatory philanthropy course to be offered by a business school in China. "Every year, our students are involved in hundreds of projects. Additionally, the celebrity effect can be very powerful in drawing attention to worthwhile causes, perhaps more so in China than elsewhere," Zhu added.

About CKGSB

Established in Beijing in 2002, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business is China's first faculty-governed, independent business school. CKGSB boasts more than 40 full-time professors, who have earned their PhDs or held tenured faculty positions at leading schools such as Harvard, Wharton and Stanford. CKGSB also stands apart for its unmatched alumni network. More than half of CKGSB's 10,000+ alumni are at the CEO or Chairman level and, together, their companies accounted for one sixth of China's GDP in 2015.

CKGSB is located in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, New York, Hong Kong and London. The school offers MBA, Finance MBA, Executive MBA, Business Scholars Program (DBA) and Executive Education programs.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475952/CKGSB_Chinese_Women_Insights_Infographic.jpg

SOURCE CKGSB
KAISERAUGST, Switzerland, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Breakthrough for animal nutrition to reduce impact on ocean resources and making it more sustainable

Commercial-scale facility for algal oil for salmon aquaculture and pet food to be buil t in the United States

Further develop and produce a high value algal oil with a natural balance of EPA and DHA

Royal DSM and Evonik today announced their intention to establish a joint venture for omega-3 fatty acid products from natural marine algae for animal nutrition. This breakthrough innovation will, for the first time, enable the production of omega-3 fatty acids for animal nutrition without using fish oil from wild caught fish, a finite resource. Evonik and DSM's alternative omega-3 source is the first to offer both EPA and DHA and will be aimed at initial applications in salmon aquaculture and pet food. The companies will together build a commercial-scale production facility in the United States.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160803/395298LOGO )

DSM Nutritional Products and Evonik Nutrition & Care will each hold a 50% share in the joint venture and co-own the production facility, which will be built at an existing site of Evonik and is expected to come on stream in 2019. The joint venture plans to invest around US$ 200 million in the facility (USD 100 million by each party over circa 2 years). The initial annual production capacity will meet roughly 15% of the total current annual demand for EPA and DHA by the salmon aquaculture industry. The set-up of the joint venture, to be named Veramaris and headquartered in The Netherlands, will be finalized subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Evonik's and DSM's highly concentrated algal oil is a high value and pure source that will enable the animal nutrition industry to keep up with the increasing demand for these two essential omega-3 fatty acids without endangering fish stocks, contributing to healthy animal nutrition as well as to the ecological balance and biodiversity of the oceans.

The text of the full press release can be found at http://www.dsm.com and http://www.evonik.com

For more information:

DSM Nutritional Products

Herman Betten

tel. +31(0)45-5782017

e-mail herman.betten@dsm.com



Evonik Industries

Matthias Ruch

tel.: +49(0)201-177-3348

e-mail: matthias.ruch@evonik.com



Video:

http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475939/DSM_and_Evonik.pdf





SOURCE Royal DSM
DUBLIN, Mar. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Aquafeed Market Analysis & Trends - Industry Forecast to 2025" report to their offering.

The Global Aquafeed Market is poised to grow at a CAGR of around 11.3% over the next decade to reach approximately $265.3 billion by 2025.

This industry report analyzes the global markets for Aquafeed across all the given segments on global as well as regional levels presented in the research scope. The study provides historical market data for 2013, 2014 revenue estimations are presented for 2015 and forecasts from 2016 till 2025.

The study focuses on market trends, leading players, supply chain trends, technological innovations, key developments, and future strategies. With comprehensive market assessment across the major geographies such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Latin America and Rest of the world the report is a valuable asset for the existing players, new entrants and the future investors.

The study presents detailed market analysis with inputs derived from industry professionals across the value chain. A special focus has been made on 23 countries such as U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, Spain, France, Italy, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, etc. The market data is gathered from extensive primary interviews and secondary research.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Market Outline

1.1 Research Methodology

1.2 Market Trends

1.3 Regulatory Factors

1.4 Strategic Benchmarking

1.5 Opportunity Analysis



2 Executive Summary

3 Market Overview

3.1 Current Trends

3.1.1 Trend towards the development and deployment of safety and quality standards

3.1.2 Growing trade of seafood fueling the demand for aquafeed

3.1.3 Improving fish quality and production capability in the Aquaculture sector

3.1.4 Recent Technology Developments of Aquafeed

3.1.5 Growth Opportunities/Investment Opportunities

3.2 Drivers

3.3 Constraints

3.4 Industry Attractiveness

4 Aquafeed Market, By Aquatic Animal Type

4.1 Mollusks

4.2 Carps

4.3 Crustaceans

4.4 Shrimps

4.5 Other Aquatic Animal Types

4.5.1.1 Eels

4.5.1.2 Milkfish

4.5.1.3 Trouts

4.5.1.4 Cyprinids

5 Aquafeed Market, By Additive Product

5.1 Feed Enzymes

5.2 Vitamins

5.3 Antioxidants

5.4 Antibiotics

5.5 Amino Acids

5.6 Feed Acidifiers

5.7 Binders

5.8 Other Additive Products

6 Aquafeed Market, By End Use

6.1 Fish oil

6.1.1.1 Poultry

6.1.1.2 Aquatic animals

6.1.1.3 Pet animals

6.1.1.4 Swine

6.1.1.5 Cattle

6.2 Fishmeal

6.2.1.1 Poultry

6.2.1.2 Pet animals

6.2.1.3 Aquatic animals

6.2.1.4 Swine

7 Aquafeed Market, By Ingredient

7.1 Fish Meal

7.2 Additives

7.2.1.1 Amino Acids

7.3 Corn

7.4 Fish Oil

7.5 Soybean

7.6 Other Ingredients

7.6.1.1 Emulsifiers

7.6.1.2 Pellet binders

7.6.1.3 Preservatives

7.6.1.4 Attractants

7.6.1.5 Ancillary supplements

7.6.1.6 Hormones

7.6.1.7 Probiotics

7.6.1.8 Colorants

7.6.1.8.1 Colorants Market Forecast to 2025 (US$ MN)

8 Aquafeed Market, By Geography

9 Leading Companies

9.1 BASF SE

9.2 Biomar Group A/S

9.3 Coppens International Bv

9.4 Cargill, Inc.

9.5 Zeigler Bros., Inc.

9.6 Marvesa Holding N.V.

9.7 Water Base Ltd

9.8 Ridley Corporation

9.9 Nutriad-Ad International N.V.

9.10 Alltech Inc.

9.11 Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited

9.12 Evonik Industries

9.13 Avanti Feeds Limited

9.14 Nutreco N.V.

9.15 Aller Aqua A/S

9.16 Biomin Holding GmbH

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hj624f/global_aquafeed

Media Contact:

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com



SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Mar. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global and China 3D Glass Industry Chain Report, 2016-2020" report to their offering.

In 2016, global 3D glass market is worth approximately USD190 million, with an estimated growth rate of over 60.0% year on year; the Chinese market contributes RMB170 million (about USD30 million) and occupies 15.8%. With the maturity of 3D glass production technology and higher penetration in the downstream application markets, the global market is expected to show a CAGR of 102.1% in 2016-2020.

The Chinese 3D glass market is now in a state of oligopolistic competition with more than 95.0% market share together seized by the early entrants Biel Crystal Manufactory and Lens Technology that have developed mature production technologies and advanced 3D glass processing & production equipment e.g. hot bending machine.

Besides, Samsung Galaxy S6/S7 and Xiaomi 5 pioneered in the use of 3D glass, and iPhone intends to adopt glass shell in 2017. Driven by this, many domestic enterprises such as O-Film Tech, Weibai Technology and Firstar Panel Technology have made their presence in 3D glass field.



3D glass is primarily used in smartphone, wearable device, VR, automobile and other fields. Among them, smartphone is the biggest application market.



Smartphone: In 2016, global demand for smartphone 3D glass is approximately seven million pieces, including one million pieces from China. So far, Samsung, LG, Xiaomi and Vivo have launched smartphones with 3D cover glass or back glass. Along with the trend, the penetration of 3D glass is expected to rise from 0.5% in 2015 to 23.1% in 2020.



Wearable Device (the second largest application of 3D glass, mainly relatively mature smartwatch field): Global wearable device shipments reached 79 million units in 2015, are expected to outnumber 100 million units in 2016, and register a growth rate of more than 20% in 2016-2020. China's wearable device market growth is slightly higher than the global average.



VR: The industry is in its infancy with relatively small demand for 3D glass and concentrated primarily in head-mounted VR. In 2016, global head-mounted VR shipments total three million units or so, accounting for roughly 30% of the total VR equipment shipments.



Key Topics Covered:

1. Overview of 3D Glass

1.1 Definition

1.2 Advantage

1.3 Production Process

1.4 Industry Chain

1.5 Industry Characteristics

1.5.1 Periodicity

1.5.2 Seasonality

1.5.3 Regionality

1.5.4 High Processing Barrier

2. Global 3D Glass Industry

2.1 Market Size

2.1.1 Supply

2.1.2 Demand

2.2 Market Structure

3. 3D Glass Industry in China

3.1 Market

3.1.1 Market Size

3.1.2 Market Structure

3.2 Patent

3.2.1 Total Quantity

3.2.2 Pattern

3.3 Competitive Landscape

3.4 Market Price

3.5 Market Driver

4. 3D Glass Production Material

4.1 Glass Substrate

4.1.1 Market Size

4.1.2 Competitive Landscape

4.2 Polishing Material

4.2.1 Market Status

4.2.2 Competitive Landscape

4.3 Other

4.3.1 Coating Materials

4.3.2 Ink

5. 3D Glass Processing Equipment

5.1 Hot Bending Machine

5.1.1 Market Size

5.1.2 Competition

5.2 CNC Engraving Machine

5.2.1 Market Size

5.2.2 Competition

5.2.3 Processing Technology

5.2.4 Core Technology

5.3 Flat Grinding Machine

6. Main Applications

6.1 Smartphone

6.1.1 Market Size

6.1.2 Advantages of 3D Glass Phone Screen

6.1.3 Trends of Phone Screen

6.1.4 Mobile Phone Brands Adopting 3D Glass

6.2 Wearable Device

6.2.1 Market Size

6.2.2 3D Glass Application

6.3 VR

6.3.1 Market Size

6.3.2 3D Glass Application

7. Key Players

7.1 Lens Technology

7.2 CPT Technology

7.3 Firstar Panel Technology

7.4 O-Film Tech

7.5 Triumph Science & Technology

7.6 Holitech Technology

7.7 G-Tech Optoelectronics

7.8 Corning

7.9 RBD Technology

7.10 Other

7.10.1 Biel Crystal Manufactory

7.10.2 Samsung Corning Precision Glass

7.10.3 Wuhu Token Sciences

7.10.4 Truly International

7.10.5 Shenzhen DJN Optronics

7.10.6 Henan Comyoung Electronics

7.10.7 JANUS (Dongguan) Precision Components

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/j44r4c/global_and_china

Media Contact:

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com



SOURCE Research and Markets
LONDON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Eurobank, Greece's third-largest lender, have announced the adoption of Unily to support its transition to a digital workplace. The new system will support a high-performing culture, drive innovation and growth and enhance effective communication and collaboration.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475517/Unily_by_BrightStarr_Logo.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/475518/Eurobank_Logo.jpg )



Sotiris Sirmakezis, Group Chief Digital & Technology Officer said of Eurobank's decision to adopt Unily:

"As a part of an always connected, instant access environment, to accurately reflect our employees' changing work experience, we needed to explore the latest digital workplace solution to drive employee engagement, enable knowledge sharing across the organization, facilitate integration, enhance productive business relationships and build effective communication and collaboration. Unily's combination of experience design and Microsoft expertise will help ensure Eurobank provides a great user experience that will ultimately improve the level of care we provide to our workforce and our customers".

Eurobank, profitable for third straight quarter in 2016, holds a strong market position by being innovative, forward-thinking and strategic with acquisitions. With a total network of 900 branches in Greece and abroad, the Group offers a comprehensive range of financial products and services to its retail and corporate customers, while at the same time recognizing the need for a central digital workplace platform to facilitate further global growth.

Unily will provide the bank with a cutting-edge internal site which combines the best of Microsoft's Office 365 stack; SharePoint, Yammer, OneDrive, Skype and Delve to deliver a unified enterprise portal. BrightStarr, the creators of the digital workplace solution commented:

"Unily enables global enterprises to implement cutting-edge intranet functionality as part of a monthly subscription service, with no up front development costs. Combined with inclusive customer success services and an on-going customer-driven roadmap, Unily ensures that organizations such as Eurobank are equipped with a future-proof intranet that will continue to add value.

Unily's ability to provide all users with a high-quality user experience, regardless of language, location or device was one of the major factors in Eurobank's choice over competitor products. Paul Jackson, Managing Director of BrightStarr said of Eurobank's decision to adopt Unily:

"We are delighted to have another major European organization choose Unily as their modern intranet, helping to take their business forward with better staff communication and collaboration. Their desire to adopt the very best technology for both their customer and their staff is a testament to the bank's commitment to be a digital leader in the financial services sector."

The Eurobank project is currently underway with a roll out planned for early 2017 to the bank's 9,800 Greek staff as part of a ten-year agreement. Eurobank's Athina Dessypri, Head of Group Human Resources said of the decision to purchase Unily:

"Our primary mission and commitment is to continuously improve our client relationships and sustain and improve our client reach, capitalizing on our universal banking expertise. At the same time, we operate in an industry that is vastly reshaping in terms of client offering, working methods, structures and job content. We need to strengthen the infrastructure that will help us connect the dots and allow for digital business transformation, new working culture incubation, new workspaces, collaboration and interaction. In this change journey, we need to increase employee access to information and resources and also build employee capabilities to meet our goals. The Unily digital workplace solution will assist in transforming our workforce capabilities and experience, while achieving a breakthrough in productivity and engagement."

Eurobank's Unily configuration will be directly onto a highly anticipated version of the platform that extends the social and collaborative functionality further for complex, multi-layered organizations like Eurobank. Unily's ability to provide the right solution for different user needs from its cloud-hosted core is one of the reasons it is credited with such success across such diverse and demanding international organizations.

About Eurobank

The Eurobank group is a dynamic banking group active in eight countries, with total assets of 68.2 billion and 15,935 employees. Established in 1990, the Group expanded through organic growth and acquisitions to become a leading force in recent years' developments and the shaping of the banking sector.

In Greece, Eurobank is one of the four pillars of the banking system. The Group also holds a strategic position in retail and business banking in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, offers distinguished Wealth Management services in Cyprus, Luxembourg and London and is also present in Ukraine.

About Unily

Unily is owned and operated by BrightStarr, an award-winning technology consultancy and Microsoft Gold Partner. BrightStarr specializes in digital solutions for the enterprise including intranets, extranets and websites. With offices in the US, UK, EMEA and South America, the company has a team of dynamic user experience and SharePoint consultants, with years of expertise handling enterprise scale projects. For more information, visit: http://www.brightstarr.com and http://www.unily.com.

Media Contact:

Katy Smith

+44-(0)-1483-239-240

Katy.smith@brightstarr.com



SOURCE BrightStarr
AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

TO ALL STOCK EXCHANGES

BSE LIMITED

NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA LIMITED

NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

EURONEXT LONDON

EURONEXT PARIS

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please find enclosed the press release titled "Infosys Public Services and Texas Department of Family & Protective Services to Modernize State's Child Welfare Information System".

The same will be made available on the Company's website at the following weblink

https://www.infosys.com/newsroom/press-releases/Pages/child-welfare-information-system.aspx

This is for your information and records.

Yours sincerely,

For Infosys Limited

A G S Manikantha

Company Secretary

Infosys Public Services Inc., a US-based subsidiary of global consulting, technology and next-generation services company Infosys, today announced its partnership with the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services (DFPS) to modernize the agency's IMPACT (Information Management Protecting Adults and Children of Texas) system. IMPACT is the primary case management and administrative system used by DFPS to deliver child welfare related services. It is the core system used by over 10,500 employees working across 250 different locations to service over 12 million children, the elderly, and the differently-abled.

In Phase 2 of IMPACT Modernization, the IMPACT system will be modernized into a modular, mobile-enabled application with automated workflows and self-service capabilities for Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, Child Care Licensing, and Prevention and Early Intervention program areas. This will improve efficiency and effectiveness of caseworkers, streamline operations, and reduce their administrative burden, enabling them to spend more time with their clients.

Once the modernization program is operational, IMPACT will continue to comply with the federal Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) standards, including the State's business, data security, and technical requirements.

The following benefits are expected to accrue from this initiative:

 Improved usability of the system for case workers

 Streamlined business processes and reduction in time required to perform investigations

 Automation of manual processes like routing and tracking of cases, approval procedures for supervisors and administrators

 Increased data accuracy, availability, and security for services provided to families

 Increased agility of the application to quickly adapt to new requirements

Quotes

Eric Paternoster, President and CEO of Infosys Public Services:

"DFPS provides vital resources in the community, working to protect the children, elderly, and differently-abled of Texas while also ensuring that its children are properly cared for. Modernizing the IMPACT system will enable caseworkers to be much more responsive to these clients, families, and the broader community through timely access to accurate data, deeper insights into information collected by caseworkers and greater collaboration with external partners such as law enforcement - thereby enabling and amplifying the DFPS staff with the power of technology to better serve the needs of Texans."

About Infosys Public Services, Inc.

Infosys Public Services (www.infosyspublicservices.com), a North-American subsidiary of Infosys (NYSE: INFY), is a leader in business consulting, technology solutions, and next-generation services. We partner with public sector organizations in the US and Canada to help them stay ahead of the innovation curve. Our solutions, combined with execution excellence and proven best practices allow clients to renew themselves while also creating new avenues to generate value.

About Infosys Ltd

Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of 199,000+ innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies that we bring to every project we undertake.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.

For further information, please contact:

Asia Pacific

Sarah Gideon

Infosys, India

+91 80 4156 3998

Sarah_Gideon@infosys.com

EMEA

Nicola Brocksiepe

Infosys, Europe

+49 69 269566116

Nicola_Brocksiepe@infosys.com

Americas

Chiku Somaiya

Infosys, USA

+1 408 375 2722

Chiku.Somaiya@infosys.com

This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire.

SOURCE Infosys Limited
A man was stabbed several times early Wednesday morning at a Sun Prairie movie theater, with the suspect taken into custody.

The incident was reported shortly before 2 a.m. at the Marcus Palace Cinema, 2830 Hoepker Road in Sun Prairie.

"Police got a 911 call regarding an altercation that ended in the stabbing of an adult male," said Sgt. Brandon Lingle. "Upon arrival, we found the man who had been stabbed several times."

The man was taken to a local hospital. Police said he was expected to survive.

Police said there was no continued threat to the community.

The investigation into what caused the fight and stabbing is continuing.
GENEVA and TOKYO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A new exhibition "Transforming Lives: The Power of Human Rights Education" was launched on March 6 at the Palais des Nations, home of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

On display until March 17, the exhibition raises awareness of the role of human rights education in promoting dignity, equality and peace, and preventing human rights violations and abuses. It marks the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training in December 2011.

The exhibition is co-organized by Soka Gakkai International (SGI), HRE 2020, the NGO Working Group on Human Rights Education and Learning, and the states comprising the Platform for Human Rights and Training, with thanks to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Panels can be viewed at http://www.sgi.org/in-focus/2017/transforming-lives.html

At the opening, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations Office at Geneva Ambassador Maria Nazareth Farani Azevedo commented, "Human rights education and training are critical to achieving a society of peace, tolerance and sustainable development in which the human rights of all are respected, protected and fulfilled."

Abdulaziz Almuzaini, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in Geneva, added, "I wish to commend the organizers for their shared commitment to raising awareness and promoting action in support of human rights education around the world."

Hirotsugu Terasaki, SGI Director General of Peace and Global Issues, quoted SGI President Daisaku Ikeda, stating: "It has never been more important to create and solidify a movement for human rights education that will foster the social conditions in which people treasure human diversity and dignity."

Other speakers included Craig Mokhiber, Chief of the Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch of OHCHR, and Emma Melander Borg of the HRE 2020 global coalition for human rights education.

The 25-panel exhibition shows how human rights education has transformed the lives of people in Australia, Burkina Faso, Peru, Portugal and Turkey. It invites citizens, governments and civil society organizations to take action to nurture a culture of human rights.

SGI is a community-based Buddhist association with 12 million members around the world. Its members promote peace, culture and education as part of the long-standing tradition of Buddhist humanism.

Contact:

Joan Anderson

Office of Public Information

Soka Gakkai International

Tel:+81-80-5957-4711

E-mail:anderson[at]soka.jp

SOURCE Soka Gakkai International
MUNICH, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

On February 22, 2017, Nichia Corporation ("Nichia") filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany at the District Court Dusseldorf against the Germany-based distributor EBV Elektronik GmbH & Co. KG and EBV Management GmbH (both "EBV").

In the lawsuit, Nichia is seeking permanent injunction, rendering accounts, damages, recall and destruction, alleging that the white LED product "XI3535-KT577J1-03201-000P" manufactured by Taiwanese LED manufacturer Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. and distributed by EBV in Germany infringes Nichia's YAG patent EP 0 936 682 (DE 697 02 929).

Nichia seeks to protect its patents and other intellectual property rights and takes actions against alleged infringers in any country where appropriate and necessary.

Contact information:

Public Relations, Nichia Corporation

Tel: +81-884-22-2311

Fax: +81-884-23-7717

SOURCE Nichia Corporation
CALGARY, Alberta, March 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pembina Pipeline Corporation ("Pembina" or the "Company") (TSX: PPL; NYSE: PBA) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a common share cash dividend for March 2017 of $0.16 per share to be paid, subject to applicable law, on April 15, 2017 to shareholders of record on March 25, 2017. This dividend is designated an "eligible dividend" for Canadian income tax purposes. For non-resident shareholders, Pembina's common share dividends should be considered "qualified dividends" and may be subject to Canadian withholding tax.

For shareholders receiving their common share dividends in U.S. funds, the March 2017 cash dividend is expected to be approximately U.S. $0.1194 per share (before deduction of any applicable Canadian withholding tax) based on a currency exchange rate of 0.7460. The actual U.S. dollar dividend will depend on the Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate on the payment date and will be subject to applicable withholding taxes.

Suspension of the Dividend Reinvestment Plan

Pembina also announced today that its Board of Directors has suspended, until further notice, its Premium DividendTM[1] and Dividend Reinvestment Plan ("DRIP"), effective April 25, 2017. Accordingly, the March 2017 dividend will be the last dividend to be reinvested through the DRIP and dividends starting in respect of the April 2017 dividend, payable on May 15, 2017 to shareholders of record on April 25, 2017, will not be reinvested through the DRIP. Shareholders who were enrolled in the program will automatically receive dividend payments in the form of cash. If Pembina elects to reinstate the DRIP in the future, shareholders that were enrolled in the DRIP at suspension and remained enrolled at reinstatement will automatically resume participation in the DRIP.

Pembina is electing to suspend its DRIP in light of the near-term completion of the largest capital spending program in its history and the strength of its balance sheet. These projects are largely underpinned by long-term, fee-for-service contracts, which supports the Company's ability to internally fund new capital projects going forward, without further equity investment, and continue generating sustainable shareholder value on a per share basis.

Confirmation of Record and Payment Date Policy

Pembina pays cash dividends on its common shares in Canadian dollars on a monthly basis to shareholders of record on the 25th calendar day of each month (except for the December record date, which is December 31st), if, as and when determined by the Board of Directors. Should the record date fall on a weekend or a statutory holiday, the effective record date will be the previous business day. The dividend payment date is the 15th of the month following the record date. Should the payment date fall on a weekend or on a holiday the business day prior to the weekend or holiday becomes the payment date.

About Pembina

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation is a leading transportation and midstream service provider that has been serving North America's energy industry for over 60 years. Pembina owns and operates an integrated system of pipelines that transport various products derived from natural gas and hydrocarbon liquids produced primarily in western Canada. The Company also owns and operates gas gathering and processing facilities and an oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure and logistics business. Pembina's integrated assets and commercial operations along the majority of the hydrocarbon value chain allow it to offer a full spectrum of midstream and marketing services to the energy sector. Pembina is committed to working with its community and aboriginal neighbours, while providing value for investors in a safe, environmentally responsible manner. This balanced approach to operating ensures the trust Pembina builds among all of its stakeholders is sustainable over the long-term. Pembina's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under PPL and PBA, respectively. For more information, visit www.pembina.com.

Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements that are based on Pembina's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. In this news release, such forward-looking information and statements can be identified by terminology such as "should", "may", "will", "continue", "if", "to be", "expects", and similar expressions.

In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to: future dividends which may be declared on Pembina's common shares, the dividend payment and the tax treatment thereof, Pembina's ability to fund capital programs and its intentions with respect to the DRIP and its possible reinstatement. These forward-looking statements are being made by Pembina based on certain assumptions that Pembina has made in respect thereof as at the date of this news release, regarding, among other things: oil and gas industry exploration and development activity levels; the success of Pembina's operations and growth projects; prevailing commodity prices, margins, volumes and exchange rates; that Pembina's future results of operations will be consistent with past performance and management expectations in relation thereto; the continued availability of capital at attractive prices to fund future capital requirements relating to existing assets and projects, including but not limited to future capital expenditures relating to expansion, upgrades and maintenance shutdowns; the success of growth projects; future operating costs; that any third party projects relating to Pembina's growth projects will be sanctioned and completed as expected; that any required commercial agreements can be reached; that all required regulatory and environmental approvals can be obtained on the necessary terms in a timely manner; that counterparties to material agreements will continue to perform in a timely manner; that there are no unforeseen events preventing the performance of contracts; and that there are no unforeseen material construction, integrity or other costs related to current growth projects or current operations. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: the regulatory environment and decisions; non-performance of agreements in accordance with their terms; the impact of competitive entities and pricing; reliance on key industry partners, alliances and agreements; the strength and operations of the oil and natural gas production industry and related commodity prices; the continuation or completion of third-party projects; actions by governmental or regulatory authorities including changes in tax laws and treatment, changes in royalty rates or increased environmental regulation; adverse general economic and market conditions in Canada, North America and elsewhere; fluctuations in operating results; construction delays; labour and material shortages; and certain other risks detailed from time to time in Pembina's public disclosure documents including, among other things, those detailed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Pembina's management's discussion and analysis and annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2016, which can be found at www.sedar.com.

Accordingly, readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. Such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the above statements. Pembina does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws.

1 TM denotes trademark of Canaccord Genuity Corp.

For further information: Investor Relations: Hayley McKenzie / Ian McAvity, (403) 231-3156, 1-855-880-7404, e-mail: investor-relations@pembina.com, www.pembina.com

Related Links

http://www.pembina.com



SOURCE Pembina Pipeline Corporation
LONDON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Personetics, the leading provider of cognitive applications for the financial services sector, will present at Fintech 2017, Switzerland's most influential fintech conference, which will take place in Zurich 9 March.

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/476413/Personetics_Logo.jpg

Personetics will be presenting a session entitled "Personalized Guidance: Turning Customer Data into a Delightful Customer Experience" at 10:50.

"We are excited for the opportunity to meet with the leaders of Switzerland's financial and fintech sector," said Eran Livneh, VP Marketing for Personetics. "This conference would be a great venue for Personetics to share our vision for the role of AI and cognitive applications in the financial sector and the work we are doing with many of the world's leading financial institutions to turn this vision into a reality."

"This year's edition of Switzerland's top fintech conference FinTech 2017  Drivers of Change' gathers visionaries and high level decision makers from finance, tech and research to provide exclusive insights regarding what the future of finance will look like and how it is being built," said Christian Lundsgaard-Hansen, conference chair. "The conference is hosted by the most influential financial newspaper in Switzerland  Finanz und Wirtschaft  and brings together 200 representatives of the most relevant players in finance and fintech."

About Personetics

Trusted by millions of customers, Personetics' Cognitive Financial Services applications provide personalized guidance, conversational self-service, and automated self-running programs that help customers reach their financial goals.

Combining built-in financial intelligence and conversational proficiency with advanced cognitive capabilities, the Personetics framework is able to engage in natural conversions and knowledge-rich interactions, execute tasks on behalf of the customer, and constantly adapt and improve based on prior behavior. Ready-to-deploy within existing digital channels and across popular messaging platforms, Personetics' Cognitive Financial Services applications enable financial institutions take a leadership position by delivering a highly engaging branded customer experience, reducing the cost of service, and increasing share of wallet with innovative new products and services.

Led by a team of seasoned FinTech entrepreneurs with a proven track record, Personetics has been named a Gartner Cool Vendor, a Top Ten FinTech Company by KPMG, and a Top Ten Company to Watch by American Banker.

For more information, visit http://personetics.com.

SOURCE Personetics
LONDON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

QS name world's top universities for 46 subjects

#QSWUR

QS Quacquarelli Symonds, global higher education analysts, have named the world's best universities for the study of 46 subjects. The 7th QS World University Rankings by Subject sees Harvard University ranked as the leading institution for 15 different disciplines. It is followed by its perennial rival, MIT, which is ranked number one for 12 subjects this year.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140618/691283 )



The tables feature 1127 universities from 74 countries, providing the most comprehensive global overview of higher education performance at discipline level. Key findings include:

The University of Oxford is number one for four different subjects;

is number one for four different subjects; The UK and US cumulatively take a smaller share of overall places, while countries in Asia -namely China - and Eastern Europe see their share increase in 2017;

-namely - and see their share increase in 2017; Singapore leads Asia in terms of the number of top-20 places achieved;

leads in terms of the number of top-20 places achieved; Four new subjects are featured this year: Anatomy & Physiology , Hospitality , Sports-related Subjects , and Theolog y ;

, , , and ; The below table provides a list of all subjects ranked, and the global leader in that subject:

Subject #1

Accounting & Finance - Harvard

Agriculture & Forestry - Wageningen University

Anatomy & Physiology - Oxford

Anthropology - Harvard

Archaeology - Oxford

Architecture - MIT

Art & Design - Royal College of Art

Biological Sciences - Harvard

Business & Management Studies - Harvard

Chemistry - MIT

Communication & Media Studies - University of Southern California

Computer Science & Information Systems - MIT

Dentistry - University of Hong Kong

Development Studies - University of Sussex

Earth & Marine Sciences - ETH Zurich

Economics & Econometrics - MIT

Education - UCL Institute of Education

Engineering - Chemical - MIT

Engineering - Civil & Structural - MIT

Engineering - Electrical - MIT

Engineering - Mechanical - MIT

Engineering - Mining & Mineral - Colorado School of Mines

English Language & Literature - Oxford

Environmental Sciences - University of California, Berkeley

Geography - Oxford

History - Harvard

Hospitality - University of Nevada

Law - Harvard

Linguistics - MIT

Materials Science - MIT

Mathematics - MIT

Medicine - Harvard

Modern Languages - Harvard

Nursing - University of Pennsylvania

Performing Arts - Juilliard School

Pharmacy & Pharmacology - Harvard

Philosophy - University of Pittsburgh

Physics & Astronomy - MIT

Politics & International Studies - Harvard

Psychology - Harvard

Social Policy & Administration - Harvard

Sociology - Harvard

Sports-related Subjects - Loughborough University;

University of Sydney

Statistics & Operational Research - Harvard

Theology - Harvard

Veterinary Science - University of California, Davis



(c) QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2017 http://www.TopUniversities.com/

QS analysed:

185 million citations;

citations; 43 million papers;

papers; 194,000 responses to their global Employer Survey;

to their global Employer Survey; 305,000 responses to their global Academic Survey.

Bibliometric data is provided by Scopus/Elsevier. The full tables can be found here.

SOURCE QS Quacquarelli Symonds
TEL AVIV, Israel, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Marius van Vuuren, Paratus Telecom: "JET's unique Bi-Directional Beamforming fights interference and allows us to provide greater coverage with less infrastructure"

RADWIN (http://www.radwin.com), the global wireless broadband provider, today announced that Paratus Telecom - a leading service provider in Zambia with international points-of-presence - has deployed RADWIN's JET Bi-Directional Beamforming wireless broadband solutions. Paratus Telecom is using JET to provide high-capacity last mile connectivity to residential and enterprise users in Zambia's capital Lusaka and in other provinces, and has also installed RADWIN 2000 Point-to-Point for high-capacity backhaul. Beacon Telecom, RADWIN's partner in Zambia, is responsible for project design and implementation.

Marius van Vuuren, Country Manager Zambia, Paratus Telecom: "We chose JET after a thorough competitive evaluation. JET allows us to realize fast time-to-market and is a fraction of the cost of fiber. One of the biggest challenges that we face in our network is interference, mainly in densely populated areas, because many of our points-of-presence and high sites are shared sites with other operators. JET's unique Bi-directional Beamforming technology fights interference and allows us to provide greater coverage with less infrastructure. With JET PtMP we are delivering up to 50 Mbps at ranges of up to 15 Km/9 miles, even in challenging non-line-of-sight conditions. The combination of RADWIN's advanced technology and the presence of our country partner Beacon Telecom led to the successful fruition of this project. As our network continues to grow, JET will scale to accommodate more subscribers."

Helit Bauberg, Technical Director, Beacon Telecom: "Service providers that we work with appreciate RADWIN's carrier-grade solutions because of their advanced feature-set and the fact that they are extremely simple to install and maintain. Powered by Bi-Beam bi-directional beamforming technology, JET also dramatically reduces interference in congested areas."

Nicholas Ehrke, Sales Director Southern African Region, RADWIN: "JET is adopted by leading service providers in the world. Built-to-last, JET allows operators to deliver high-speed broadband rapidly and cost-effectively, and reach areas where fiber cannot go or is not financially viable."

CONTACT US FOR PRICING & TECHNICAL INFO ON JET

About RADWIN

RADWIN is a leading provider of Point-to-Multipoint and Point-to-Point broadband wireless solutions that are deployed in over 170 countries worldwide.

Visit RADWIN: http://www.radwin.com

RADWIN Sales

HQ: +972-3-769-2820

South Africa: +27-74-1142805

Email: sales@radwin.com



Media Contact

Tammy Levy

RADWIN

Tel: +972-3-766-2916

Email: pr@radwin.com



About Paratus Telecom

Paratus Telecom was founded as Internet Technologies Namibia in 2005 as the first privately and 100% wholly owned Namibian telecommunications operator. Since inception, Paratus Telecom has established a prolific network that delivers exceptional customer service at all times.

Visit Paratus Telecom: http://www.paratustelco.com



Contact Paratus Telecom

Tel: +264-83-300-1000

Email: info@paratustelco.com



About Beacon Telecom

Beacon Telecom has been operating in the African market since 2009, providing high quality, cost effective wireless broadband services and solutions for Corporates, ISPs and cellular operators in 7 African countries.

Visit: http://www.beacon-telecom.com





Contact Beacon Telecom

Tel: +260-971-239840

Email: info@beacon-telecom.com



SOURCE RADWIN
Canadian businessman guilty of contempt of court for illegal dredging

NASSAU, Bahamas, March 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian clothing manufacturer Peter Nygard was fined $50,000 today by a Bahamian judge for violating a court order to stop environmentally damaging dredging near his beachfront home in the Bahamas.

Supreme Court Justice Rhonda P. Bain found Nygard in contempt of court for violating her 2013 order to stop dredging the seabed around his property on the western edge of Nassau Island. Justice Bain gave Nygard until March 21 to pay the fine or be remanded to Fox Hill prison for 14 days.

"This is an extraordinary triumph for environmental justice in the Bahamas," said attorney Fred Smith, who argued the case on behalf of Save the Bays (STB), a local environmental group. Over the years, according to Mr. Smith, Nygard has almost doubled the size of his property by digging up sand off-shore and spreading it along his beachfront, harming reefs and other natural habitats.

"Mr. Nygard has been damaging the environment for years, but instead of enforcing our laws, the government of Prime Minister Perry Christie has looked the other way," Smith said. "Today, everybody should be thankful that the Supreme Court of the Bahamas has once again upheld the rule of law and held Mr. Nygard accountable."

Justice Bain ruled that Nygard must remove the sand he piled along his beach in violation of her order by April 7 or pay another $50,000 fine, plus $1,000 per day for every day he violates her ruling. Nygard also was ordered to pay Save the Bays' court costs.

The issues surrounding Nygard's dredging have drawn intense international attention. Last year, when a Bahamian cabinet minister read purloined emails from STB during a session of Parliament, a Supreme Court justice ruled that the minister had violated the group's constitutional right to privacy and fined the minister $150,000. Following the ruling, the government threatened to hold the judge and STB in contempt of parliament, throwing the country into a constitutional crisis that has yet to be resolved.

Last week, in its annual human rights report on the Bahamas, the US State Department said that "the climate for civil society groups appeared to be worsening" and cited "government intimidation of nongovernmental organizations," referring to the public reading of Save the Bays' emails.

Contact: Paco Nunez at media@savethebays.bs

Related link: http://www.savethebays.bs/

Related Links

http://www.savethebays.bs



SOURCE Save the Bays
SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The global scar treatment market is expected to reach a value of USD 34.5 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Scar treatment industry is developing at a fast rate due to the growing awareness among people regarding esthetics. Appearance of different types of scars poses a huge impact on the day-to-day lifestyle of the victim, thereby affecting their esthetic appeal. Hence, this factor is expected to develop an increased need for scar treatment. Acne scars are one of the most common concerns for women, which disrupt their esthetic appeal making them uncomfortable. Consequently, the demand for scar treatment products is expected to rise owing to the growing concern for esthetics.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 )



Rise in number of road accidents also results in several marks, which many a time require surgical treatment. Hence, patients who have undergone such surgeries are generally provided with topical products for scar reduction. Cosmetic surgeries with laser instruments are also being undertaken for treating severe marks from road accidents. Post burn marks also hamper the daily lifestyle of a victim. In order to remove these marks, plastic surgeries or resurfacing laser therapies are being performed.

Technologically advanced scar removal products are widely available in the market, which minimizes pain and makes scar treatment a hassle-free process. For instance, UltraPulse by Lumenis uses CO 2 laser for the treatment of acne scars, which reduces the risk of pain during the treatment process.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Scar Treatment Market Analysis By Product (Topical, Laser, Injectables), By Scar Type (Stretch Marks, Atrophic, Contracture, Hypertrophic & Keloid Scars), By End Use (Hospitals, Clinics, Retail Pharmacies), And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/scar-treatment-market

Further key findings from the report suggest:

Topical products dominated the market in 2015 due to higher adoption of creams and gels for treating scars, such as acne, surgical marks, and burns

Laser products are anticipated to witness lucrative growth over the forecast period due to the continuous introduction of technically advanced laser instruments

Atrophic scars held the largest share in 2015. This is because acne is experienced by most of the women, who constitute majority of the target population

North America dominated the market in 2015 owing to the high penetration of laser-based products in scar treatment and skin rejuvenation

dominated the market in 2015 owing to the high penetration of laser-based products in scar treatment and skin rejuvenation Some of the key companies include Merz, Inc.; Smith & Nephew plc; Lumenis; Sonoma Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Scarheal Inc.; Enaltus LLC; Molnlycke Health Care; CCA Industries, Inc.; and Cynosure, Inc.

Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Blood Clot Retrieval Devices Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/blood-clot-retrieval-devices-market

Brain Cancer Diagnostics Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/brain-cancer-diagnostics-market

Cardiac Prosthetic Devices Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cardiac-prosthetic-devices-market

Clot Management Devices Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/clot-management-devices-market

Grand View Research has segmented the scar treatment market on the basis of product, scar type, end use and region:

Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) Topical Products Creams Gels Silicon Sheets Others Laser Products CO2 Laser Pulse-dyed Laser Others Injectables Others

Scar Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) Atrophic Scars Hypertrophic and Keloid Scars Contracture Scars Stretch Marks

End-Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) Hospitals Clinics Retail Pharmacies/ E-commerce

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK Asia Pacific China India Latin America Brazil Mexico MEA South Africa



Read Our Blog: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/blog/scar-treatment-market-size-share

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.



Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com



Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com

SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.
H&M group becomes the first global fashion brand to join the United Nations' Better Than Cash Alliance

NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Swedish fashion company H&M group announced today that it will encourage its suppliers to pay their workers through mobile money or other digital forms to improve the livelihoods of its workforce, enhance transparency and cut factory costs.

This effort comes as the company officially joins the Better Than Cash Alliance, a United Nations-based partnership of governments, companies and international organizations accelerating the transition from cash to digital payments.

"Digital payments are an efficient and scalable way to improve the lives of the employees of our suppliers. They offer a faster, safer and more transparent way to receive their salary, increase financial inclusion and support women's economic independence," said Gustav Loven, Social Sustainability Manager at H&M group. "Also, for our suppliers, paying wages digitally can generate savings, increase security and provide more accurate data on wages."

Sixty-five percent of the 1.6 million people employed along H&M group's supply chain are women, many of them with limited access to the financial services they need to create a better life for themselves and their families. Many factory workers worldwide are paid entirely in cash, which entails cumbersome, expensive and dangerous processes for both factories and workers. Encouraging suppliers to pay wages through digital channels, such as bank accounts, cards or mobile money, will build on H&M group's sustainability commitment to work with its business partners to promote good working conditions, fair living wages and sustainable economic growth.

As the majority of the benefits will be realized by female workers, this move is a prime example of a corporation working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8).

"H&M group is taking a bold step in recognizing how cash-heavy supply chains limit efforts to empower workers and prevent companies from increasing transparency. And, it's inefficient," said Dr. Ruth Goodwin-Groen, Managing Director of the Better Than Cash Alliance. "H&M group's leadership will help inspire other companies in the industry, and beyond, to make the shift to digital payments and contribute to inclusive growth, as well as to the Sustainable Development Goals, in emerging markets."

In addition, H&M group is one of the leading users of organic cotton and Better Cotton in the world, and it adheres to socially and environmentally sustainable standards and actions. Expanding digital payments to the world's cotton supply chain could potentially reach 250 million people, including smallholder farmers who currently have limited access to digital payment systems and financial services in general. Digitizing payments, when designed responsibly and responsively to consumer needs, can enable H&M group to grow its supplier base and help create a sustainable, productive agricultural sector, the promotion of which is a cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Agenda.

The Better Than Cash Alliance has published new research examining a selection of garment manufacturing factories in Bangladesh that have transitioned workers' wage payments from cash to digital in the past five years. From a factory perspective, the analysis shows that transitioning to digital payments can save factories approximately 750 hours of production a month, due to workers spending less time away from the production line and reduce costs by more than 85 percent within two years of paying workers via a hybrid mobile money/bank account model. At the same time, moving toward a digital economy supports financial inclusion by drawing previously unbanked workers into the formal financial system and building financial skills.

H&M group joins 55 other Better Than Cash Alliance members, and will have access to the knowledge and technical expertise offered by the Alliance and its members to accelerate the shift to digital payments, helping to advance economic growth and expand financial inclusion.

About Better Than Cash Alliance

The Better Than Cash Alliance is a global partnership of governments, companies, and international organizations that accelerate the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth. The United Nations Capital Development Fund serves as the secretariat. To learn more, visit www.betterthancash.org, follow @BetterThan_Cash and subscribe for news.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120919/CG77018LOGO





SOURCE Better Than Cash Alliance
State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says a one-time draw from the states general fund is no long-term funding fix for Wisconsins roads and bridges  a fix he has insisted lawmakers must find.

But Vos, R-Rochester, signaled at a Tuesday news conference that shifting more money toward transportation on an ongoing basis might pass muster.

The comments point to one potential bridge for the divide between statehouse Republicans over how to fund transportation in the states next budget.

Vos was responding to state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who last week said lawmakers might need to look to the general fund to find enough money to pass a state transportation budget through the Senate.

Gov. Scott Walker has proposed spending $325 million in general fund revenue on transportation in the next budget, but Fitzgerald was talking about expanding that number.

Vos on Tuesday said a larger, ongoing transfer would certainly be better than having a one-time funding source which does nothing more than buy two years.

If we did it where it was a percentage of the sales tax or a percentage of the income tax or something, that would be a long-term revenue source, Vos said.

Currently the vast majority of state transportation costs are paid through the transportation fund, which is filled by fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees.

The general fund, filled by the income and sales taxes, pays for the vast majority of other state programs, including for schools, colleges and universities and health care. Opposition from those quarters almost certainly would meet any legislative proposal to draw more money out of the general fund on a long-term basis.

Vos and Assembly Republicans have said more money is needed for roads and are open to raising the gas tax or vehicle fees to pay for it.

Walker and some GOP lawmakers, meanwhile, oppose increasing taxes or fees and instead prefer to delay highway projects and search for other ways to cut other costs. Walker reaffirmed that position in his state budget proposal released last month.

Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said last week that Walkers transportation budget might not pass the Senate because some lawmakers are disappointed in its levels of funding for highway projects in their districts.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect the amount of general fund money proposed under the governor's budget for transportation.
(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/476184/RollsRoyce_Tekes.jpg )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160923/411187LOGO )



Rolls-Royce's strategic partners will be the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) and Tampere University of Technology (TUT), together with numerous SMEs and start-ups specialising in novel technologies.

Remotely controlled and autonomous ships represent a fundamental change in shipping over the next decade and are driving the digital transformation in the sector.



"Finland is the home of top ICT expertise and a strong maritime cluster. That is why Rolls-Royce has decided to establish the centre in Turku", says SVP Sauli Eloranta of Rolls-Royce.

Investments in autonomous shipping will increase in Finland

Rolls Royce's Centre of Excellence for autonomous shipping collaborates with the Autonomous Shipping Alliance, an ecosystem bringing together global forerunners and agile ICT start-ups. The aim of the Alliance is to provide the world's first autonomous maritime products, services and a flourishing ecosystem by 2025. Rolls Royce is already a partner in the Alliance.

The Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (Tekes) is committed to funding the work of the Alliance, its ambitious research and development projects, and its innovations in order to achieve the aim of remotely operated and autonomous shipping in the forthcoming years. An example of an amazing, recently funded joint project is 'DIMECC Design for Value (D4V)', which had the objective of understanding and exploiting the opportunities of digital disruption in maritime logistics value chains.

Rolls Royce's decision to focus autonomous shipping R&D in Finland is motivating Tekes to increase its investments in enabling technologies, such as artificial intelligence and communication technologies, and companies that create leading knowhow and synergies with autonomous shipping.

"Remotely operated and autonomous shipping projects provide unique opportunities to develop pioneering solutions alongside lead users", says Piia Moilanen, Program Manager of the Tekes Arctic Seas programme.

Pekka Sivonen, Executive Director of Digitalisation Strategies and Programmes at Tekes, is also very satisfied with Rolls-Royce's decision. "Autonomous shipping and logistics offer significant customer interface. It is natural to direct development to meet those needs", Sivonen says.

"The maritime industry is inherently international. It is therefore natural that the ecosystem around the research and development centre is international too. We welcome all innovators to collaborate with us. We have outstanding platforms here!" says Ecosystem Lead, DIMECC Ltd, Paivi Haikkola of the Autonomous Shipping Alliance.

Rolls-Royce announces investment in Research & Development for Ship Intelligence

DIMECC: Value driven ecosystem for digitally disrupting supply chain

Arctic Seas Programme

For further information



Piia Moilanen

Arctic Seas Program Manager

piia.moilanan(at)tekes.fi

Puh. +358-(0)-50-5577-748



Pekka Sivonen

pekka.sivonen(at)tekes.fi

Puh. +358-(0)-45-895-0966

SOURCE Tekes
COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) today unveiled a new corporate logo and tagline as part of its focus on providing innovative energy solutions for customers and communities.

"AEP is investing in smarter energy infrastructure and new technologies to provide better service and cleaner energy for our customers. We're committed to developing innovative energy solutions that power communities and improve lives. The energy industry is changing, and our customers' expectations also are evolving, so we must adapt to meet those new expectations. As we become an energy company for the future, it's time to adopt a new logo and a new tagline  Boundless Energy  to reflect that transformation and our aspirations," said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer.

In addition to the AEP corporate logo, AEP's subsidiary logos have been updated with the new look. AEP's seven electric utility subsidiaries serve more than 5.4 million customers in 11 states. Additionally, the company operates separate subsidiary companies that provide competitive electric and gas service in seven states, and custom energy solutions and renewable energy resources nationwide.

The new logo represents AEP's first logo change since 1987 and is the result of research conducted by engaging customers, employees and other stakeholders as part of an extensive brand review. AEP and its subsidiaries will change logos on their main buildings in the coming months. Full adoption of the new logo will be phased in over the next two years.

The Shipyard, based in Columbus, Ohio, worked with AEP on the brand review and to develop the new logo and tagline.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 224,000 miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning approximately 26,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP supplies 3,200 megawatts of renewable energy to customers. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.

SOURCE American Electric Power

Related Links

http://www.aep.com


Dr. Norins, who says he has been a "loyal subscriber" to the Times for four decades, said his curiosity was aroused in the summer of 2016, when he read of staff cutbacks at the Times, but noticed that the number of names in the masthead (the listing of key staff) of his Magazine issue seemed high. He decided to gather data, and collected weekly issues until the end of 2016., eighteen in all.

The final issue analyzed, December 25th, had 66 pages, and 46 "editors" were displayed in its masthead. There were 30 "editors" who could examine text, plus 13 photography/art/design editors, and 3 production editors.

Of the 1,352 pages of the accumulated issues, Dr. Norins classified 578 as "long article" pages. But not all these needed text-editing, because 294 were taken up by photos or graphicswhich have their own editors. That left 284 pages of text to be edited. Dividing this by the 18 issues yielded an average 15.7 pages of "long article" text to be edited per weekly issue.

Thus, in a 40-hour work week a lone editor could spend up to 2.5 hours editing each "long article" text page, and single-handedly prepare that portion of the weekly issue. So, he asks, why are there 30 editors who can work with text?

Dr. Norins believes that all Times staff are professional, but theorizes their time has been usurped by creeping distractions and excessive deliberations. He also cites Parkinson's Law: "Work expands to fill the time allocated for its completion".

Dr. Norins concludes by proposing a zero-based budgeting scenario, wherein the Magazine is restructured to utilize only a "Magnificent Seven" of staff.

Dr. Leslie Norins has a 40-year medical publishing career, successfully creating and growing over 80 subscription newsletters. He received his AB from Johns Hopkins University, his MD from Duke Medical School, and his PhD from University of Melbourne, where he trained with Sir Macfarlane Burnet, Nobel Prize-winner.

Analizer.com (www.analizir.com) is an independent website presenting analysis and commentary, and is a unit of Medvostat, LLC. Dr. Norins is its founder and publisher.

SOURCE Dr. Leslie Norins

Related Links

http://www.analizir.com


CLEVELAND, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ancora Advisors LLC announced today that it has sent a letter to the Board of Directors of Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE: VPG). The letter, written by Ancora's Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman Mr. Fred DiSanto, states that Ancora intends to actively urge the company's shareholders to support Ancora's 14a-8 proposal to eliminate the company's dual class structure. The letter also urges the company to immediately do either of the following: (1) re-engage the strategic alternatives process in order to find a buyer for the company; or (2) replace current CEO Ziv Shoshani with an external highly-qualified and independent chief executive officer.

Please click the following link to access Ancora's full letter: LINK TO ANCORA LETTER TO VPG BOARD

About Ancora Advisors

Ancora Advisors LLC is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States. Ancora offers comprehensive investment solutions for institutions and individuals in the areas of fixed income, equities, global asset allocation, alternative investments and retirement plans. A more detailed description of the company, its management and practices are contained in its "Firm Brochure" (Form ADV, Part 2A). A copy of this form may be received by contacting the company at: 6060 Parkland Boulevard, Suite 200 Cleveland, Ohio 44124, Phone: 216-825-4000, or by visiting the website, www.ancora.net/adv

SOURCE Ancora Advisors

Related Links

http://www.ancora.net


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bahamas Development Corporation (OTC PINK: BDCI) has begun formal steps to establish operations in Freeport, Bahamas.

The President of BDCI visited Freeport and held several successful meetings to begin operations. The Grand Bahamas Port Authority ("GBPA") hosted BDCI at their offices and made available one of their conference rooms for BDCI's use.

While in Freeport BDCI met Counsel to establish the Bahamian Corporation for all Island operations. All assets, including real estate, will be 100% BDCI owned. The Corporation, business licensing, and work permits are estimated to be completed in 8 weeks.

BDCI met with Officials from the Grand Bahamas Utility Company ("GBUC"). Health properties of Freeport's water quality were discussed, and a favorable price per gallon was established with GBUC. Freeport's water flows from a 'lens'. It is pure and loaded with naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. Water is filtered through the Island's limestone foundation, creating naturally fresh pure high alkaline water, and does not require reverse osmosis filtering.

One of the more critical meetings held was with the Bahamas Technical & Vocational Institute ("BTVI"). The discussion centered on building a labor force capable of manufacturing BDCI's t-shirts and high performance apparel. BDCI and BTVI collectively will offer a personnel training course sponsored by BCDI. All applicants will be pre-screened by the BVTI, then put through the course. Students who successfully complete the course will be offered employment at the local BDCI manufacturing facility. BTVI is currently developing the course with the goal of having it on their summer schedule.

Before leaving the Island BDCI toured sites in Freeport to house both operations. BDCI is focused on two 5,000 square foot buildings that are for sale and is currently working through Bahamian real estate brokers.

Freeport receives over 500,000 visitors monthly looking for Island made products. BDCI is positioning itself to be the only Company on the Island manufacturing and selling Bahamian made products, while offering the only official Water of the Bahamas.

Recent Acquisition Native Outfitters:

Native Outfitters is a fast-growing wholesale turnkey performance lifestyle apparel company that uses proprietary blend Anti-Snag SPF50+ Sun Protection fabrics to provide, comfortable high performance apparel. The Company is focused on the "HOT" Athleisure category and has established distribution channels in the U.S. and Caribbean.

https://www.nativeoutfitters.com/

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in Section 27(a) of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, estimates of services and equipment markets, release of corporate apps, growth of platform, target markets, product releases, product demand and, business strategy. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects and development stage companies. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also consider that any investment in securities is at risk.

SOURCE Bahamas Development Corporation
SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This past month, Beacon Hill Technologies opened in San Francisco and Sacramento, joining Beacon Hill Legal in Northern California. With this addition, the Technologies division now operates in 27 Beacon Hill locations including Boston, Boston  West, Alpharetta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Chicago  West, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Madison, Minneapolis, Nashville, Orange County, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and now San Francisco and Sacramento.

Leading the teams on a regional basis is John Barker. With over 11 years in the IT staffing industry, he is known for building and developing highly successful sales and recruiting teams in some of the largest IT markets in the country. Prior to joining Beacon Hill, Mr. Barker led one of the top performing divisions for one of the largest IT staffing firms in the US. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Tech, where he majored in management.

"We are thrilled to be a part of such an amazing company, and are looking forward to establishing a footprint for Beacon Hill in one of the largest IT staffing markets in the country," noted Mr. Barker.

Leading the Sacramento team is Bryan Verduzco. He brings over five years of experience in the staffing industry, coming from one of the biggest technology markets in the world, San Francisco. While there, he consistently delivered top technology talent to Fortune 500 clients and was responsible for managing an office for one of the nation's largest IT staffing firms. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State University where he majored in Business Management.

Beacon Hill Technologies places IT contractors in all 50 states by seamlessly coordinating recruiting resources in local and regional markets with Beacon Hill Technologies National Recruiting & Delivery, a dedicated national recruiting team that focuses exclusively on national accounts.

Beacon Hill Staffing Group's niche brands provide direct hire, executive search, temporary staffing, contract consulting and temp/contract-to-hire solutions to emerging growth companies and the Fortune 500 across multiple market sectors and all industries. Over time, office locations, specialty practice areas and service offerings will be added to address ever changing constituent needs.

SOURCE Beacon Hill Staffing Group

Related Links

http://www.beaconhillstaffing.com


RESTON, Va., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bechtel, the leading global engineering, procurement, and construction firm today announced the formation of a global coalition aimed at improving worker safety and productivity standards for construction and engineering projects as well as for their relevant supply chains. Together with Amec Foster Wheeler, CH2M, Fluor, Multiplex, and Vinci, Bechtel is launching the Building Responsibly initiative focused on advancing efforts of construction and engineering firms to more effectively align with international human rights frameworks, promote a healthier environment for workers, and further improve project delivery and quality for customers.

"Working with industry is one of the best opportunities we have to progress worker welfare, especially as supply chains and subcontractor relationships are vast, complex, and interconnected," said Tam Nguyen, Bechtel's Global Head of Sustainability. "Through greater collaboration, member companies can better achieve our common goal of safety, productivity, and responsible engagement with our workers and suppliers."

Building Responsibly also enables companies like Bechtel to accelerate their current efforts aimed at sustainability by sharing best practices, developing industry standards and tools, and engaging diverse stakeholders on all aspects of promoting worker welfare.

With a specific focus on marshaling the private sector's role in sustainability efforts, the global non-profit organization Building for Social Responsibility, (BSR) will facilitate the initiative with support from Humanity United.

"Demonstrating the respect for human rights in operations and supply chains will become a minimum requirement to win work in the future," said BSR Managing Director Margaret Jungk. "Companies in Building Responsibly will be able to align their activities and benefit from their collective knowledge and capacity on this issue."

Membership in Building Responsibly is open for engineering and construction companies that are committed to respecting the rights and welfare of workers.

"Humanity United believes companies play a vital role in protecting workers in their supply chains," said Catherine Chen, Director of Investments at Humanity United. "We are pleased to support the formation of Building Responsibly to harness the engineering and construction sector's ingenuity to promote the welfare of workers."

Bechtel, along with the other founding members, participated in the first General Assembly meeting on the 27th February in London.

About Bechtel:

Bechtel is one of the most respected global engineering, construction, and project management companies. Together with our customers, we deliver landmark projects that create long-term progress and economic growth. Since 1898, we've completed more than 25,000 extraordinary projects across 160 countries on all 7 continents. We operate through four global businesses: Infrastructure; Nuclear, Security & Environmental; Oil, Gas & Chemicals; and Mining & Metals. Our company and our culture are built on more than a century of leadership and a relentless adherence to our values, the core of which are safety, quality, ethics, and integrity. These values are what we believe, what we expect, what we deliver, and what we live. www.Bechtel.com

BSR is a global non-profit organization that works with its network of more than 250 member companies to build a just and sustainable world. From its offices in Asia, Europe, and North America, BSR develops sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration.

Research. Humanity United is a foundation dedicated to bringing new approaches to global problems that have long been considered intractable. We build, lead, support efforts to change the systems that contribute to problems like human trafficking, mass atrocities and violent conflict. Humanity United is part of the Omidyar Group, which represents the philanthropic, personal, and professional of the Omidyar family.

Media contact:

Adi Raval

t. 571 392-3861

[email protected]

SOURCE Bechtel

Related Links

http://www.bechtel.com


"BJ's is excited to partner with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to help families meet essential needs, such as access to fresh food," said Kirk Saville, senior vice president of corporate communications at BJ's Wholesale Club. "Our Team Members are thrilled to be a part of the food bank's effort to end hunger and its mission to nourish lives."

With disproportionally high rates of chronic disease in low income communities, combined with increasing healthcare costs, Second Harvest Food Bank plays a central role in the health and wellness of the Central Florida community. Through programs like the Healthy Pantry Boxes and farm-fresh produce distributions, the food bank is focusing on providing healthy, fresh food options and nutrition education to its clients so that they are not only fed, but fed right.

"Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is grateful for BJ's generous donation, which will help increase access to nutritious meals for our neighbors in need," said Greg Higgerson, vice president, development, at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. "As an organization, SHFBCF is committed to inspiring and engaging our community to end hunger, and our partnership with BJ's and its Team Members helps bring this vision to life."

The BJ's Charitable Foundation is committed to nourishing communities and helping families thrive by meeting essential needs such as wellness, education, and access to food. Over the years, BJ's has donated more than 50 million pounds of food and helped deliver 13 million meals to help alleviate hunger. Through its partnership with Feeding America, the BJ's Charitable Foundation has provided grants to help agencies along the east coast distribute fresh, nutritious food.

To learn more about BJ's Charitable Foundation, visit www.bjs.com/charity.

About BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.

Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's is the leading operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States. The company currently operates 214 clubs and 130 BJ's Gas locations in 15 states.

BJ's provides a one-stop shopping destination filled with top-quality, leading brands, including its exclusive Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen brands, along with USDA Choice meats, premium produce and delicious organics, many in supermarket sizes. BJ's is also the only major membership warehouse club to accept all manufacturers' coupons and, for greater convenience, offers the most payment options.

Visit www.BJs.com, and for exclusive content find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

BJ's is wholly owned by affiliates of Leonard Green & Partners, CVC Capital Partners and its management team.

About Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

SHFBCF is a member of Feeding America  the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. SHFBCF secures and distributes food and grocery products to approximately 550 local nonprofit feeding programs throughout Central Florida. Last year, with the help of food and financial donors, volunteers and a caring, committed community, the food bank distributed 52 million meals to partner programs such as food pantries, soup kitchens, women's shelters, senior centers, day care centers and Kids Cafes. In addition, Second Harvest's 14-week culinary program teaches foodservice-based technical, life and employability skills to economically hard-pressed adults. Our community turns to Second Harvest's partner agencies more than 71,000 times per week. To learn more about SHFBCF, visit www.FeedHopeNow.org.

SOURCE BJ's Wholesale Club

Related Links

http://www.bjs.com


"After a review and analysis of our fund lineup, we have determined a reduced expense ratio for the BMO Pyrford International Stock Fund is in our investors' best interest," said Ben Jones, Managing Director of Intermediary Distribution for BMO Global Asset Management. "This fund has a solid track record of performance, and we are proud to make this decision in an effort to better serve our clients."

The BMO Pyrford International Stock Fund's expense ratio has been reduced as follows:

Share Class I A Y R3 R6 Ticker MISNX BPIAX MISYX BISDX BISGX New Expense Cap 0.94% 1.19% 1.19% 1.44% 0.79%

To learn more about the BMO Pyrford International Stock Fund, visit https://www.bmo.com/gam/funds/g/us/international/bmo-pyrford-international-stock-fund.

For more information on BMO Global Asset Management, visit https://www.bmo.com/gam or call 1-844-BMO-Fund (266-3863).

About BMO Global Asset Management

BMO Global Asset Management is a global investment manager with offices in more than 25 cities in 14 countries, delivering service excellence to clients across five continents.

Our four major investment centers in Toronto, Chicago, London and Hong Kong are complemented by a network of world-class boutique managers strategically located across the globe: BMO Real Estate Partners, LGM Investments, Monegy, Inc., Pyrford International Ltd., and Taplin, Canida & Habacht, LLC. BMO Global Asset Management is a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment initiative (UNPRI).

BMO Global Asset Management is a part of BMO Financial Group, a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America with total assets of CDN $692 billion as of January 31, 2017, and over 45,000 employees. BMO Wealth Management has worldwide assets under management of CDN $402 billion.

BMO Global Asset Management is the brand name for various affiliated entities of BMO Financial Group that provide investment management and trust and custody services. Certain of the products and services offered under the brand name BMO Global Asset Management are designed specifically for various categories of investors in a number of different countries and regions and may not be available to all investors. Products and services are only offered to such investors in those countries and regions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. BMO Financial Group is a service mark of Bank of Montreal (BMO).

All investments involve risk, including the loss of principal.



Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the BMO Funds. This and other important information is contained in the prospectuses and/or summary prospectuses, which can be obtained by calling 1-800-236-3863. Please read carefully before investing.

BMO Asset Management Corp. is the investment advisor to the BMO Funds. BMO Investment Distributors, LLC is the distributor. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Media Contact:

Mark Beazley, [email protected], 416-867-3996

SOURCE BMO Financial Group
A fire in a dryer at a South Side laundromat Tuesday night could have been caused by static electricity.

The fire was reported at about 9:50 p.m. at the Little Big Load laundromat, 2815 Todd Drive.

A witness was moving some clothes around when she noticed a fire in a dryer that was operating.

"She grabbed a fire extinguisher and opened the dryer door to put out the fire," said Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster. "She then tossed some water on the fire."

The laundromat's owner told firefighters he's used the same appliances for 15 years and never had a fire in a dryer.

"He did say cotton and polyester, which these clothing items were made of, will create static electricity if a dryer sheet isn't used," Schuster said.

Nobody was injured in the fire, and no damage estimate was given.
PHOENIX, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brighter Way Institute has received a $250,000 award from The Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation to provide comprehensive dental care to Veterans at the Brighter Way Dental Center. The Dental Center is the organization's main clinic for adults and offers comprehensive oral healthcare to homeless individuals as well as underinsured and uninsured adults. Care for Veterans is provided at no-cost while services for other patients are significantly reduced.

The U.S. Veterans Administration traditionally covers Veterans' medical needs, but dental and oral healthcare is only offered for oral injuries sustained during military service or for oral/dental disease that complicates a medical condition under treatment.

"Diane and Bruce Halle have invested in Veterans in Arizona. Unfortunately, veterans are more likely to be homeless than the general population  they comprise approximately 10 percent of our homeless population," said Dr. Kris Volcheck, Brighter Way Dental Institute CEO and founder. "Basic oral health care is one of the greatest unmet needs of our homeless veterans. Even if basic care were available, it still would be woefully lacking in its ability to treat those veterans who are often missing all of their teeth. Because they have no teeth and no smile, their health is poor and so is their self-esteem. Brighter Way is honored to provide comprehensive care to men and women who have served our nation. Simply put, restoring these patients' health and self-esteem is the very best possible care available. And these veterans should be getting our very best efforts."

The grant from the Foundation complements a recent, innovative program that is also geared towards restoring Veterans' oral health. Brighter Way Institute has partnered with Affordable Dentures & Implants to deliver free dental implant, oral surgery and prosthetic treatment to hundreds of U.S. veterans and homeless individuals. About 400 volunteers, including affiliated practice owners, dental technicians and other auxiliary staff members, will travel from throughout the United States to Phoenix for six pro bono sessions in 2017. Dr. Volcheck will oversee clinical care to Brighter Way patients.

"Brighter Way meets a real and pressing need for veterans and others in our community. We appreciate this opportunity to partner with Brighter Way and support its work to better the lives of those who have served our nation with courage and sacrifice," said Diane Halle, president of The Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation.

About Brighter Way Institute

The Brighter Way Institute comprises three dental programs that were previously under the auspices of Central Arizona Shelter Services. Brighter Way Dental Center, the Parsons Center for Pediatric Dentistry at Murphy, and the Canyon State Academy Dental Center now comprise Brighter Way Institute's programs. Brighter Way Institute offers dental homes to uninsured and underinsured men, women, and children, delivering comprehensive dental care.

SOURCE Brighter Way Institute

Related Links

https://www.brighterwaydental.org


NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CBRNE markets are poised to achieve significant growth with the use of detectors that are implemented as platforms, many of them handheld, used to help implement precision detection of intent to do harm to civilian populations or military personnel. Chemical warfare agents (CWAs), toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), toxic industrial materials (TIMs), hazmat agents are problems in civilized society when terrorists target civilian populations as has happened recently in Boston, Paris, Asia, Syria, London, and Belgium. The risks associated with terrorist use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) warfare are

tremendous.





Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04134231-summary/view-report.html





Growing use of CBRNE detection devices to try to protect civilians is encouraging, because it gives a sense of being able to protect people, whereas previously everyone has felt terribly vulnerable. Watchfulness in the context of terrorist threats is encouraging because the terrorist behavior is concerning. Expanding threats require more first responder CBRNE detection devices and more vigilance from the first responders as they learn to use the devices. CBRNE detection teams and hazmat response are provided by first responders to help protect civilian populations. Advanced handheld analytical technology permits first responders to be capable of proactive performance in a hot zone. Handheld devices allow for faster detection, response and continuous monitoring of both conventional and unconventional threats helping to ensure public safety and response team protection.



An abundance of new research and development in sensors and technology permits detection of a hazardous substance that may have been planted by a terrorist. Detection and identification of CBRNE at a distance becomes a way to protect first responders responsible for finding the hazmat. The significance of detection is increasing as governments and military organizations recognize the need to more efficiently identify and categorize chemicals, explosives, biological agents, radiology and nuclear materials and other threats. The ability to manage separate detection devices creates the need for device integration. Worldwide, government agencies and military branches are tasked with the formidable job of identifying evolving threats to national security such as concealed explosives, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and airborne chemical and biological materials  without putting equipment or people in harm's way. Lasers and optical techniques are of critical importance as they are used to implement standoff detection technology for their ability to passively and actively probe threats near and far.



Threat Detection: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive detection is a fundamental responsibility of governments worldwide. New technology is necessary, less expensive techniques for detection are needed. Domestic and foreign terrorists continue to pose serious threats to the United States. U.S. citizens at home or traveling abroad can be targets, as can infrastructure (roads, bridges, IT systems) and trade ports. CBRNe detection devices are on the front line of evolving protection practices. Emergency responders are distributed throughout every country are the primary users of the CBRNe devices along with the military. The first responders work in the military and they work in small communities; they work in large cities. All first responders need reliable and interoperable chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) detectors to protect life and property. Since September 2001, emergency responders are far better equipped to face these threats. Their detection systems, communication and protective gear are better designed for counterterrorism.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04134231-summary/view-report.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





__________________________

Contact Clare: [email protected]

US: (339)-368-6001

Intl: +1 339-368-6001

SOURCE Reportlinker

Related Links

http://www.reportlinker.com


MONTREAL, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Today Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and SUEZ announced that they have entered into an agreement with General Electric Company to acquire its Water & Process Technologies business ("GE Water"), a leading provider of water treatment solutions. The transaction values GE Water at approximately USD 3.4 billion. As part of the transaction, CDPQ will invest over USD 700 million for a 30% stake. SUEZ will have a 70% stake and will contribute its industrial water business to GE Water to create a new self-standing business unit within SUEZ encompassing all industrial water activities with a global focus.

With operations in 130 countries and over 7,500 employees, GE Water is a global leader in the provision of equipment, chemicals and services for the treatment of water and wastewater. In order to address its industrial clients' increasingly complex needs, GE Water invests heavily in research and development of unique solutions. Its innovative technology has made it one of the most sophisticated players in its industry.

Long-term demand for water treatment equipment, chemicals and services are expected to remain strong both as a consequence of growing water scarcity and the impact of global warming on the water cycle. Furthermore, there are increasing global concerns related to industrial wastewater and its impact on the environment which make advanced treatment of water an absolute necessity. In this context, CDPQ is looking to increase its exposure to the water sector and views this investment as a way to generate long-term value.

"With an emphasis on industrial applications, GE Water has positioned itself as a key player in the water treatment industry thanks to its cutting-edge technology and a management team that has proven itself highly skilled at leveraging that competitive advantage," said Michael Sabia, President and Chief Executive Officer at CDPQ. "Operating in a core industry, GE Water has built a premier business with recurring revenues and a high-quality and diversified customer base. This investment is therefore highly aligned with CDPQ's long-term vision and its strategy of increasing its emphasis on stable assets anchored in the real economy, alongside a world-class operator such as SUEZ."

Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO of SUEZ, said: "I am very proud to announce the acquisition of GE Water, which will accelerate the implementation of SUEZ' strategy by strengthening its position in the promising and fast-growing industrial water market. This combination will create further value for both our clients and shareholders. Clients will benefit from the combined knowledge, expertise, geographic footprint and leading edge products and services available. The transaction will also deliver strong value to our shareholders by enhancing SUEZ' profitable growth profile. I look forward to integrating GE Water's highly skilled staff to our teams to form an unparalleled industrial water platform. We are also thrilled to join forces with CDPQ, a financial investor which shares our long term vision for our business."

SUEZ is a French, publicly-listed industrial services and solutions company focused on water optimization and waste recovery. By teaming with SUEZ, CDPQ gains a strong partner which can help accelerate the growth and success of GE Water.

ABOUT CAISSE DE DEPOT ET PLACEMENT DU QUEBEC

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2016, it held $270.7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

ABOUT SUEZ

We are at the dawn of the resource revolution. In a world facing high demographic growth, runaway urbanization and the shortage of natural resources, securing, optimising and renewing resources is essential to our future. SUEZ (Paris: SEV, Brussels: SEVB) supplies drinking water to 92 million people, delivers wastewater treatment services to 65 million, recovers 16 million tons of waste each year and produces 7 TWh of local and renewable energy. With 82,536 employees, SUEZ, which is present on all five continents, is a key player in the sustainable management of resources. SUEZ generated total revenues of 15.3 billion in 2016.

SOURCE Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec

Related Links

http://www.cdpq.com/


ROCKVILLE, Md., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's largest hotel companies, joined Fillmore Capital Partners and developer Fillmore Hospitality to open the new Cambria Southlake DFW North in Southlake, Texas today.

Located at 2104 E State Hwy 114, the 175- room Cambria Southlake DFW North is part of Kimball Park, a development minutes from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The hotel is also steps away from Southlake Town Square, a unique open-air lifestyle shopping district with more than 120 shops and dozens of fine restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

To commemorate the opening, brand representatives and guests celebrated with a ribbon cutting and local craft wine, beer and bourbon, as well as a taste of Southern cooking. Guests also shopped at the Kendra Scott Give Back Trunk Show and participated in two Texas Hold'em games, both benefiting the Southlake Women's Club Foundation. Featured speakers included Choice Hotels President and COO Pat Pacious; Choice Hotels Senior Vice President of Upscale Brands Janis Cannon; and Fillmore Capital Partners President and CEO Ron Silva, who all discussed the impact of this new hotel and appeal to business and leisure travelers.

"In an area with so much new development, Southlake is an ideal next stop for the Cambria brand," said Pat Pacious. "We are thrilled to open our second property in Texas as part of Cambria's rapid expansion of upscale offerings well suited for the needs of business and leisure travelers."

Like all Cambria hotels, the property will feature contemporary onsite dining from Social Circle, serving a menu comprised of local specialties; liquor, wine, and local craft beers, as well as freshly prepared grab-and-go gourmet salads and sandwiches; and a barista bar. The hotel also features a state of the art fitness center and an outdoor area with cabanas and a fire pit. In addition, the hotel boasts more than 5,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and complimentary shuttle service to Southlake Town Square, as well as other select destinations. The property is equipped with 55" smart televisions in every room for unlimited streaming and a guest texting platform that allows guests to communicate with the hotel staff quickly and easily.

Cambria again partnered with Fillmore Hospitality, a management company that provides a full spectrum of development, investment and property management services to owners of hotels and resorts throughout North America.

"We could not be more excited to add another property to the Cambria portfolio," said Ron Silva. "The Southlake property comes on the heels of our successful conversion project of Cambria Chicago Magnificent Mile, and we're poised to help the brand expand to Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Nashville."

Cambria hotels are designed to provide a unique and distinctive experience with the services and amenities that travelers demand, including chic decor, flexible spaces for meeting or socializing, stunning standard rooms that feel like an upgrade, and of course, free WiFi, allowing guests to stay fully connected while they travel.

About Cambria hotels & suites

Cambria hotels & suites makes business travel easierand more funthan ever before. Offering modern decor, rooms that feel like an upgrade, and fresh, local cuisine at our Social Circle restaurant, Cambria makes every guest feel like a VIP. There are currently 29 properties open across the country and 50 under development in the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit www.cambriahotelsandsuites.com.

About Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the world's largest lodging companies. With more than 6,500 hotels franchised in more than 40 countries and territories, Choice Hotels International represents more than 500,000 rooms around the globe. As of December 31, 2016, 775 hotels were in our development pipeline. Our company's Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria hotels & suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, and Vacation Rentals by Choice Hotels brands provide a spectrum of lodging choices to meet guests' needs. With more than 30 million members and counting, our Choice Privileges rewards program enhances every trip a guest takes, with benefits ranging from instant, every day rewards to exceptional experiences, starting right when they join. All hotels and vacation rentals are independently owned and operated. Visit us at www.choicehotels.com for more information.

About Fillmore Capital Partners

Fillmore Capital Partners, LLC, is a private investment company that engages in the development, management, and distribution of investment vehicles for institutional and select private-client investors. FCP invests on behalf of its clients in lodging, healthcare, and operating company platforms, as well as opportunistic investments in other real estate asset classes. To learn more, visit www.fillmorecap.com.

About Fillmore Hospitality

Fillmore Hospitality, LLC is a management company that provides a full spectrum of development, investment and property management services to owners of hotels and resorts throughout North America. The firm's principals and executives have worked together for more than 25 years to deliver consistently superior financial results for their clients. Visit www.fillmorehospitality.com for more information.

 2017 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.choicehotels.com


KALISPELL, Mont., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ClassOne Technology (www.classone.com), manufacturer of wet processing equipment for 200mm and smaller wafers, announced that Scientech Corporation of Taipei, Taiwan, will become the company's new representative for China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, starting immediately.

ClassOne Technology processing equipment

"Asia is an extremely active and important region for us," said Byron Exarcos, President of the ClassOne Group. "We wanted a respected and thoroughly experienced sales and support operation there, and Scientech filled the bill perfectly. They have all the necessary infrastructure and well-established field service teams, having served the industry for over three and a half decades  including many years representing Semitool. We're proud and delighted to now have them on the ClassOne team."

"We're very impressed by the rapid success ClassOne has been achieving, bringing high-performance wet processing solutions to the emerging markets  with more than 100 tools already installed across the U.S. and Europe," said M.T. Hsu, President of Scientech Corporation. "It's great to represent products that are in high demand, and we're looking forward to helping expand ClassOne's presence in Asia."

Scientech Corporation (www.scientech.com) was established in 1979 and has headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, with five additional offices across Taiwan and Shanghai. Scientech will provide full sales, installation, service, parts, process development assistance and technical support for all ClassOne Technology equipment  including the Solstice family of electroplating systems and the Trident families of Spin Rinse Dryers and Spray Solvent Tools.

ClassOne stated that the company's mission is to provide advanced wet processing performance at an affordable price for users of 200mm and smaller substrates. Many of these users are in budget-limited emerging markets producing a range of devices such as MEMS, LEDs, RF, power and sensors. ClassOne's pricing is often less than half that of similarly configured 300mm systems outfitted for 200mm from the large manufacturers  which is why ClassOne tools have been described as delivering "Advanced wet processing for the rest of us."

For additional information about ClassOne Technology and the company's products, visit www.classone.com.

About ClassOne Technology

ClassOne Technology (www.classone.com/) develops and delivers innovative wet-chemical equipment solutions specifically for the cost-conscious users of smaller substrates, who traditionally have been underserved by the larger equipment manufacturers. Based in Kalispell, Montana, ClassOne Technology is built upon many decades of experience from industry veterans who continue the ClassOne tradition of delivering first-class quality and performance at budget-friendly prices. The ClassOne Group also includes ClassOne Equipment (ClassOneEquipment.com), long respected as the industry's premier provider of refurbished processing tools, with over 2,500 systems installed worldwide.

For more information, contact:

Byron Exarcos

ClassOne Technology

109 Cooperative Way, #101

Kalispell, MT 59901

tel: +1 (678) 772-9086

email: [email protected]

Solstice and Trident are trademarks of ClassOne Technology.

SOURCE ClassOne Technology

Related Links

http://www.classone.com


LOS ANGELES, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- JAFRA Cosmetics International, Inc. is pleased to announce Clint McKinlay as the new Vice President of Sales Development for International Markets. McKinlay will provide support and guidance to markets in Brazil, Indonesia, Central Europe, Italy and Russia, working to build a strong consultant salesforce while also helping to define the commercial model for markets in new countries. He will report to JAFRA Chief Executive Officer, Mauro Schnaidman, in addition to acting as a member of the JAFRA Executive Committee.

McKinlay comes to JAFRA from Shaklee Corporation, a billion dollar direct sales company that focuses on healthy lifestyles. There, he served as the Vice President of Field Development, responsible for revenue generation and growth, worldwide annual conferences, field training programs, and field communications.

Prior to Shaklee, McKinlay was the National Director of Field Development & Training at Rodan + Fields, where he directly managed sales growth from just under $25 million annually to more than $300 million annually. He played a key role in developing and implementing revenue generation and field activities resulting in Rodan + Fields growing into the direct selling force it is today. He has also operated his own direct sales consulting company.

"Clint will be a phenomenal asset to our company as we move forward in 2017," says Mauro Schnaidman. "His strong communication techniques and direct sales experience will help us actualize our vision of transforming the lives of women in new markets around the world."

JAFRA is proud to have McKinlay join the team and looks forward to his contributions, as the company embarks on a journey of growth.

ABOUT JAFRA Cosmetics International, Inc.

JAFRA Cosmetics International is one of the world's leading manufacturers of beauty products, offering a complete range of skincare, fragrance, makeup and bath & body lines. Founded in Malibu, California in 1956 by Jan and Frank Day, JAFRA creates beauty products and business opportunities that cater to all that women need, allowing them to explore, discover, reinvent and reveal their true selves and their potential. In 2004, the privately-held JAFRA joined the Vorwerk Group, a German-based, multi-billion dollar international direct sales company, represented in over 70 countries worldwide.

Boasting over 600,000 Independent Consultants worldwide and annual revenues approaching half a billion U.S. dollars, JAFRA sells its product portfolio globally in 16 countries within North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. With the slogan "freedom to be you," JAFRA celebrates the unique spirit within every woman, and all the things that make her imperfectly perfect and individually beautiful.

For additional information, please contact:

Hala Nasr

Sr. Manager, Marketing Communications & Digital Strategy

[email protected]

805.449.2966

www.JAFRA.com

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE JAFRA Cosmetics International

Related Links

https://www.jafra.com


WASHINGTON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Speaking before Congressional staff on Tuesday, March 7th, 2017, Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX) - who chairs the House subcommittee on Non-proliferation and Terrorism - introduced a special briefing about Pakistan's nuclear weapons development program by one of America's foremost experts, Ambassador Robert Gallucci.

Organized by the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC), the invitation-only event was hosted in the Rayburn House Office Building. The two hour briefing, also included a presentation by AFPC Asia specialist Jeff Smith about the second of Pakistan's "twin dangers" - transboundary terrorism. James Clad, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia, moderated the discussion.

Known for his tireless efforts to list Pakistan as a terrorist state, Congressman Poe spoke about repeated but failed efforts to apply conditionality to billions of US aid to Pakistan. "It's way past time to apply serious focus on both threats - nuclear and terror - coming out of Pakistan," he said.

"Pakistan's production of nuclear weapons has accelerated in recent years", said Amb. Gallucci, a past president of the MacArthur Foundation. "While other countries have also sought nuclear weapons, Pakistan's headlong accumulation of so many warheads amounts to a unique non-proliferation challenge so far unrestrained by outsiders' diplomacy. Pakistan's government structure remains vulnerable to extreme ideologies."

Cong. Poe welcomed the renewed anxiety about Pakistan's direction, a worry reflected in recent analysis by foreign affairs scholars and government specialists. "The problem cannot be ducked any longer," he said, urging a new series of Pakistan-focused hearings on Capitol Hill in upcoming months.

SOURCE Office of Congressman Ted Poe
GENEVA, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The World Sindhi Congress (WSC) hosted a conference titled 'Erosion of Sindhi Culture in Pakistan' at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 6, 2017. Among the participants were Rubina Greenwood, President, WSC, Lakhu Luhana, Vice President, Ms. Viorica Dancila, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and Paulo Casaca, Executive Director, South Asia Democratic Forum, Brussels.

Ms. Rubina Greenwood opened the conference with reference to the February 2017 terrorist attack by Islamic fundamentalist forces on the Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar at Sehwan in Sindh province of Pakistan. She stated that the attack on the shrine, which killed at least 80 people, was a severe blow to Sindhi culture that prided itself for its secular and tolerant heritage. She charged Pakistan of systematically eradicating Sindhis, who were once in majority in the province of Sindh but now constituted a mere 6-8% of the total population. She lamented that Sindhi culture that had evolved from an amalgamation of Hindu and Islamic traditions had been invalidated by the Pakistani government, specially with the widespread establishment of madrasahs that encouraged the spread radicalism.

Paulo Casaca in his presentation spoke of Sindh's rich heritage, with deep links to the Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest. He expressed concern that Sindh's vibrant culture was facing extinction due to growing intolerance and a general sense of apathy towards various communities and religious groups by the Sunni Muslim and Punjabi dominated majority. He also stated that the government of Pakistan had failed to act and take measures for the strict implementation of the universal human rights guidelines, in spite of formally adopting these guidelines.

Viorica Dancila, MEP in her speech mentioned that as a member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality in the European Parliament, I am all the time interested on the rights of women. In fact, the gender discrimination is a global problem, not only in European Union, but also in all countries in Europe and in the world and for this reason I believe that national and international authorities must seek solutions to reduce this phenomenon. In the European Parliament, we discuss a lot about the situation of the women in other countries. The European Union is aware of the poor condition of the children and young population in Pakistan and the limited access to the education and has provided aid to improve the condition of education and other social development related issues. She also touched upon the decay of the education system in Sindh and the problem of gender inequality. She held Pakistan responsible for perpetrating human rights violation against the ethnic communities by preventing individuals from these communities from following their own culture. In this context, she touched upon how the neglect of Sindh's education system had resulted in the erosion of Sindhi language.

Lakhu Luhana also spoke on the cultural genocide in Sindh, citing article 7 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of indigenous people. He called for an end to this genocide and pressed for the need to respect Sindh's land, its natural resources and values.

All speakers called on the international community to pay attention to this serious human rights violation against the Sindhi people who were faced with a threat to their very identity in Pakistan.

SOURCE World Sindhi Congress
"The NAFE Top 60 Companies for Executive Women are the leaders in the U.S. that have moved women into top executive positions and created a culture where talented women are nurtured, promoted and thrive," says Betty Spence, president of NAFE. "We are very proud to honor their contributions to the advancement of women in the workplace."

Cardinal Health was recognized for its work to help develop female entrepreneurs and executives both inside and outside its organization. NAFE specifically highlights the company's employee resource groups, access to formal mentoring, sponsorship and leadership programs, and a co-ed speakers' bureau that travels the country to promote gender partnership. NAFE also lauds the Cardinal Health Women in Pharmacy program, which supports the future of independent pharmacy by encouraging female pharmacy students to pursue entrepreneurship, ownership and community leadership positions.

"We're proud to be recognized for our efforts supporting women," said Pam Kimmet, chief human resources officer at Cardinal Health. "We have a strong focus on fostering an inclusive environment because we know it enables us to better serve our customers and their patients. Leveraging the unique skills and capabilities of each team member allows us to be more innovative and adaptable, which is so critical to our company's long-term success."

This marks the sixth consecutive year Cardinal Health was listed among the NAFE Top 60 Companies. The full list of this year's winners is available at workingmother.com/nafe and featured in the February/March 2017 issue of Working Mother.

About the Methodology

The 2017 NAFE Top Companies application includes some 200 questions on female representation at all levels, especially the corporate officer and profit-and-loss ranks. The vetting process includes tracking access and usage of programs and policies that promote the advancement of women as well as the training and accountability of managers in relation to the number of women who advance. In order to be eligible for the NAFE Top Companies survey, entrants must have a minimum of 1,000 employees, two women on the Board of Directors and be a public or private company. NAFE also separately names the Top 10 companies in the nonprofit sector.

About NAFE

The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), founded in 1972, serves 20,000 members nationwide with networking, tools and solutions to strengthen and grow their careers and businesses. Working Mother magazine publishes the annual NAFE Top Companies list. NAFE.com provides up-to-date information, a community for women in business, and access to member benefits. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media, owned by the Bonnier Corporation.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospital systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The company provides clinically-proven medical products and pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions that enhance supply chain efficiency. Cardinal Health connects patients, providers, payers, pharmacists and manufacturers for integrated care coordination and better patient management. Backed by nearly 100 years of experience, with more than 38,000 employees in nearly 60 countries, Cardinal Health ranks among the top 25 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit cardinalhealth.com, follow @CardinalHealth on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/cardinal-health.

SOURCE Cardinal Health

Related Links

http://www.cardinalhealth.com


Independent oversight of Wisconsins judges and court commissioners is at risk in Gov. Scott Walkers proposed state budget.

The governor, citing potential but unspecified administrative efficiencies, has asked the state Legislature to remove the independent standing of the Wisconsin Judicial Commission and instead put it, and its budget, under the jurisdiction of the state Supreme Court.

The commission is charged with investigating complaints against state judges  and that includes Supreme Court justices. Each year, the Judicial Commission reviews 400 to 500 complaints against judges and court commissioners and, if it finds probable cause of misconduct, either issues a warning or seeks disciplinary action from a three-judge panel.

The panels recommendations go to the state Supreme Court, which is the ultimate arbiter in deciding whether a judge or commissioner is reprimanded, suspended, censured or removed from office.

It is of note that in the past decade, the Judicial Commission has alleged misconduct against sitting high court justices three times  one of which resulted in a Supreme Court reprimand against Justice Annette Ziegler for failing to avoid conflict of interests when she was a circuit judge in Washington County. Ziegler had presided over nearly a dozen cases involving a West Bend Bank when her husband was on the board of the bank.

In perhaps the most notorious case, the Judicial Commission recommended action against Justice David Prosser for allegations that he placed his hands on the neck of Justice Ann Walsh Bradley during a heated argument. Seven justices were present at the mini-melee and after Prosser called on them to recuse themselves because they were witnesses, the high court couldnt reach a decision because it lacked a quorum.

Suffice to say that such pesky complaints by the Judicial Commission would probably dwindle if the Judicial Commission was placed under the control of the high court itself. Instead of a judicial watchdog, the Judicial Commission would lose its independence, and its teeth, and become a cozy lapdog for the court.

But the Legislature doesnt have to listen to us  they should listen to the commission itself. Earlier this month, the nine-member Judicial Commission urged lawmakers to oppose Walkers proposed change.

The proposed budget degrades the independence of the Judicial Commission by transferring the budgeting and position authority over the commission from the Legislature to the Supreme Court, commission executive director Jeremiah Van Hecke warned.

It should also be noted, the Judicial Commission is not made up of a partisan left-wing cabal operating out of some cellar in the city of Madison: five of the commissions members were appointed by Gov. Walker. The other four were appointed by the state Supreme Court.

They see what we see  that putting the commission under the aegis of the high court would not only jeopardize fair and even-handed judicial oversight, it would pose real conflicts of interest for both the Supreme Court and the commission members.

The Legislature should pull this proposal from the budget and keep the oversight of Wisconsins court as free and independent as practicable.
Alongside the show, the very first edition of CPhI China Pharma Week will take place from 19-23 June 2017, covering 6 streams of the pharmaceutical industry, including Leadership, Business, Networking, Recognition, Knowledge and Innovation. CPhI China Pharma Week 2017 represents a celebration of the pharmaceutical industry and will offer a full range of opportunities to understand and trade with one of the biggest Pharma markets, China. Conferences and forums like the 8th China-World CEO Summit , the CPhI & ICSE China Innovation and Development Forum, and the 6th P-MEC Summit, and 2017 CPhI & P-MEC Green Pharma Summit will gather global leaders of the pharmaceutical industry to have conversations about new development trends in technology and the pharmaceutical economy.

CCCMHPIE will select and present their list of the Top 100 Internationalized Companies in 2016 to raise their international recognition and emphasize the influence & importance of Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises leading the internationalization process. InnoPack, EP & Clean Tech, and the NEX Innovative Product Show and Discovery Tour will all take place, showcasing Chinese and overseas quality innovative products and advanced technology, to encourage pharmaceutical technological innovation in China. Moreover, events like a plant visit, the Women in Leadership Forum, and the Huangpu River Cruise Networking Dinner will build a more effective networking event for Chinese and global pharmaceutical enterprises. The 5-day China Pharma Week will show the present and set the scene for the future of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry in multiple ways. For another consecutive year, Shanghai will become the center of China's pharmaceutical industry for one week, attracting the attention of the global pharmaceutical industry.

A world-renowned show for the pharmaceutical industry, CPhI & P-MEC China has now developed into an industry chain covering APIs, fine chemical and intermediate, excipients and dosage forms, preparations, natural extracts, biopharmaceuticals, contract research, pharmaceutical machinery, packaging materials, laboratory instruments, pharmaceutical environmental protection and cleaning, and pharmaceutical logistics. More than 2,800 exhibitors will greet over 40,000 professional visitors from more than 120 countries and regions at this high value-added sharing platform to create unlimited business opportunities.

For more information, please visit the official website: www.cphi.com/china

Contact:

Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co., Ltd

Ms. Tina Zheng

Tel: +86-21-33392261

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co., Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.cphi.com/china


CHICAGO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Credico has provided face-to-face sales solutions to a wide-range of more traditional industries like financial services, telecommunications and energy for more than 25 years. To further diversify its market reach, Credico has expanded into a new exploding industry that caters to consumer convenience.

The surge comes in the form of carefully curated cook-at-home meal kits, which currently dominate the subscription-based food market. The need for pre-portioned meal kit deliveries has risen due to the shift in the traditional way goods and services are purchased. This poses a change in demand for grocery stores and the food service industry alike as smarter consumers shift toward alternative buying options.

"Credico grows with our clients as their need for accessible, independent outsourced sales professionals become a priority," said Jesse Young, president of Credico. "We've been fortunate to connect with brands that are pushing boundaries and doing new and innovative things in a very traditional market space," added Young.

The main disrupter of the food industry are millennials who are notoriously known for the instant gratification, low-stakes lifestyle they lead. The food industry is adapting to the busier lives people lead by changing the way they reach customers. Customers no longer need to plan meals or do their own grocery shopping, and now can have meals delivered right to their doorstep. To keep up with the sales demand, subscription meal kit companies have turned to the direct sales industry for face-to-face sales and marketing solutions.

Credico works with the leading food industry disrupter to supplement its online sales base to garner customer acquisition through face-to-face sales. Credico facilitates the direct sales relationship with its client and is able to accelerate growth by reaching a broader audience.

Credico supports immense global growth through business-to-business, business-to-consumer, events and kiosk sales to increase brand visibility and customer acquisition. The partnership, while still in its infancy, has already permeated the subscription meal kit industry for the better.

About Credico

Founded in 1991, Credico connects internationally recognized brands with high-quality, local-market outsourced sales teams that help clients acquire new customers via retail, events, business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales. Credico has quadrupled its partnerships around the world over the past 10 years and has increased new customer acquisition at a generous rate year-over-year. Visit www.credico.com to learn more.

SOURCE Credico

Related Links

http://www.credico.com


EAST NORWICH, N.Y., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brittle Diabetes Foundation in its search of medical literature found information of importance to all. Medical research journals publish 2,000 to 4,000 articles per day. It is estimated that a physician specializing in diabetes would have to read 19 articles/day to keep abreast. Scientists and physicians can't keep up with the papers being generated without the use of sophisticated information-flow technology.

It presently takes 17 years for a medical researcher's findings considered beneficial to patients to be incorporated into routine use by practicing physicians.

John Ioannidis M.D., whose acclaimed 2005 paper "Why most published research findings are false" continues to challenge his peers by exposing bad science. His position, recognized by the medical community, suggests that at least 50% of the information relied on by physicians is "flawed". This raises serious questions regarding the quality of research being performed and the billions in taxpayer dollars wasted.

Patients assume that medical service currently being provided is based on the latest relevant information available. Such is not the case.

The solution rests with translational medicine which is evolving to accelerate the transfer of biomedical research findings into clinical practice. It serves to bolster the "evidence-based medicine" movement presently making in-roads into medical diagnosis.

Brittle Diabetes Foundation (BDF) wonders "How can an organization, like the American Diabetes Association (ADA), claim to be seeking a cure for diabetes for the last 76 years without investing in an informational flow system that can discern relevant information while accelerating the process for incorporating research advances into clinical practice." On a Feb. 6, 2016 call with the now former VP for Communications, Dr. Jane Chiang indicated that ADA "does not have the resources to create what you're proposing" despite having raised nearly one billion dollars in the past five years.

BDF, as part of its March 2016 proposal to ADA for recognition of Brittle Type 1 Diabetes as a rare disease, again suggested the development of a high-speed information platform to accelerate data flow. Both proposals met with no response from an organization claiming to improve the lives of all those afflicted with diabetes.

In contrast, one of the first things CZI (Chan Zuckerberg's Initiative) did in its quest to cure diseases was to acquire META. Meta, a search-engine employing artificial intelligence, reads millions of research articles, selects relevant papers, sorts, and disseminates information while uncovering impactful discoveries years ahead of time. It can also be integrated into existing platforms. Once fully implemented, it will be free. If Dr. Ioannides' key factors for flawed research are combined with Meta A.I. programming, assuming they haven't already, sorting relevant papers from those considered bad science should be enhanced.

It is unlikely that the American Diabetes Association will fulfill its mission to find a cure, if it continues to follow its current operational program.

Contact Information

Emanuel V. Sorge Ph.D.

President

Brittle Diabetes Foundation

917-355-3486

[email protected]

www.bdtype1.com

SOURCE Brittle Diabetes Foundation
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Continental Cafe Inc. (Continental) on its recapitalization with New Heritage Capital, LLC (New Heritage), a Boston, Massachusetts-based private equity investment firm. The transaction closed Jan. 27, 2017.

Founded in 1989 and based in Troy, Michigan, Continental is a diversified provider of food services, including vending, cafe and on-site dining, catering, micro-markets and event hosting services. Continental ranks in the top 25 largest food service providers nationally.

"Deloitte Corporate Finance did an excellent job managing the process for us, and in finding the right partner for the next phase of the business," said Jim Bardy, CEO of Continental Cafe Inc. "Their understanding of the food service industry and strong industry relationships were key to a successful outcome."

"Working with Continental has been a rewarding experience as we continue to expand our food service practice," said Matt Preece, managing director, Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC.

About Continental Cafe Inc.

Founded in 1989, Continental is a leading provider of vending, cafe and on-site dining, catering, micro-markets, and event hosting services in the Michigan-region. Continental brings over two decades of experience working with blue-chip clients from a variety of industries, including auto manufacturing, education, healthcare, financial services, aviation, retail and technology. For more information on Continental, visit the Continental website at continentalserves.com.

About New Heritage Capital, LLC

Founded in 1993, New Heritage aims to partner with founder and family-owned business through innovative minority recapitalization and growth equity structures. With flexible capital solutions designed to create true partnerships with entrepreneurs tailored to fit each situation. With their unique Private IPO and other structured equity solutions, New Heritage can help accelerate growth and bring a company to its full potential. For more information on New Heritage, visit the New Heritage website at www.newheritagecapital.com.

About Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC

Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC provides strategic advisory services and M&A advice that help corporate, entrepreneurial, and private equity clients create and act upon opportunities for liquidity, growth and long-term advantage. With an in-depth understanding of the marketplace and access to a global network of investment bankers, we help clients confidently pursue strategic transactions in both domestic and global markets. DCF, together with the Corporate Finance Advisory practices within the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited network of member firms, include in excess of 1,900 professionals, who work collaboratively across 150 international locations. With our significant experience providing investment banking services across key industries, we are able to offer our clients solutions that help them to achieve their strategic objectives. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com.

Prior engagement performance is no guarantee of future performance and may not be representative of the experience of other clients. This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of a security.

Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC, an SEC registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP and affiliate of Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP. Investment banking products and services within the United States are offered exclusively through Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of our legal structure. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Shelley Pfaendler

Public Relations Deloitte

+1 212 492 4484

[email protected]

SOURCE Deloitte

Related Links

http://www.deloitte.com/us


TechPOP is powered by Digital Trends as your exclusive opportunity to experience the newest and coolest tech from VR to drones to 3D printers and much more. Digital Trends strives to provide attendees with a hands-on approach to tech for the way you live, but also, it's a great party. The main attraction will center around VR. Anyone more interested in escaping reality can step inside our HTC's Vive experience and try out the hottest VR hardware on the market.

"We're thrilled to be partnering with TechfestNW for our first hometown event of the year," said Ian Bell, CEO and Publisher of Digital Trends. "They deliver a great conference, and we'll deliver their attendees some great tech in return."

TechFestNW (March 23-24, Portland Art Museum) explores the best of tech trends- from Artificial Intelligence to cannatech- in an up-close and personal way. Focusing on Virtual Reality, artificial intelligence & robotics, lifestyle tech, and digital storytelling, there's truly something for everyone with an eye and ear for the tech universe.

"TechPop has been a great way for us to reach out to the community and showcase all the awesome tech we get to play with daily," added Pete Jacobs, Vice President of Integrated Marketing for Digital Trends.

Digital Trends launched its pop-up event series, TechPop, in its hometown of Portland, Oregon in early 2016. Digital Trends latest event, dubbed the Drone Show, filled an entire outdoor rooftop with all things tech, including specific focuses on drones and virtual reality. By mid-2017, Digital Trends aims to have a TechPop event happening every month in a different major city, opening Digital Trends gear box and putting cutting-edge tech into the hands of its readers.

TechPop will be held Thursday, March 23 at The Evergreen in Portland, Oregon. Entry will only be available to TechfestNW badge holders. Music, light snacks, beer & wine, and of course cool tech will be served. For more information visit http://techfestnw.com/

About Digital Trends

Digital Trends is a leading consumer technology publisher helping people navigate an increasingly digital world. With easy-to-understand product reviews, entertaining news and videos, Digital Trends serves more than 30 million unique visitors each month. Digital Trends reaches 90 million tech influencers through their own media network, and its syndicate partners include Yahoo!, FOX News and more than 200 broadcast news stations. Digital Trends is headquartered in Portland, OR with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Chicago. For more information, visit www.digitaltrends.com.

SOURCE Digital Trends

Related Links

http://www.digitaltrends.com


VISTA, Calif., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dr. Bronner's, family-owned maker of the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America looks forward to Natural Products Expo West 2017 in Anaheim, CA. The company will sponsor and participate in three events on the topic of climate action, release its third annual All-One (CSR) Report and launch its peppermint toothpaste in a new travel size. An important week for the company, this March 7th marks 20 years since the passing of company founder Emanuel Bronner. To coincide with Expo West, David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner's, has published a new editorial at the company's All-One blog. To read Regenetarians Unite! see: http://www.drbronner.com/all-one-blog/2017/03/regenetarians-unite/.

Dr. Bronner's Stands Up for Climate Action

Dr. Bronner's is a founding partner of the Climate Collaborative, founded to leverage the power of the natural products industry to reverse climate change. The new effort will officially launch March 8 as it co-hosts the first ever Climate Day with New Hope, producers of Natural Products Expo West. The Climate Collaborative is encouraging the natural products industry to combat climate change by making a commitment to one or more of these nine commitment areas: Agriculture, Energy Productivity, Food Waste, Forests, Packaging, Policy, Renewable Energy, Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, and Transportation. Dr. Bronner's will be making commitments in eight of nine areas. For more information, see: www.climatecollaborative.com.

For Dr. Bronner's, the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim is always an important opportunity to promote sustainable and ethical practices. This year the top-selling brand is partnering with other industry leaders to sponsor discussions on how regenerative organic agriculture and raising animals on pasture while eating less meat overall can sequester huge amounts of excess carbon from the atmosphere and build it into healthy soil, while increasing crop productivity. Regenerating soils on our farm and rangelands is one of the most significant steps we can take to mitigate climate change. CEO, David Bronner and other company representatives will participate in the following three events at Expo West. For more information, see: http://climateactionnow.drbronner.com/.

Climate Day Film Screening: Kiss the Ground & Panel Discussion

Wednesday, March 8

6:30pm  8:00pm

Marriott, Grand Salon F

For more information: https://tinyurl.com/h2uyyw4.

Climate Workshop: Implementing Carbon Farming in Your Supply Chain

Friday, March 10

2:30pm  3:45pm

Marriott, Elite 1

For more information: https://tinyurl.com/gvr72co.

Eating Animals: A Panel Discussion Exploring the Realities of Contemporary Animals

Saturday, March 11

11:30am  12:30am

Marriott, Marquis Ballroom N.E.

For more information: https://tinyurl.com/z2pryxe.

Dr. Bronner's 2017 All-One Report

Dr. Bronner's has published its third annual All-One Report to document the company's commitment to corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability. Dr. Bronner's All-One Report includes data on the brand's sustainability programs and progressive business practices as well as its financial contributions to charitable and activist causes including regenerative agriculture, drug policy reform, animal advocacy, and the commercialization of industrial hemp. The report explains the company's progressive business practices; its commitment to organic and fair trade sourcing; as well as future sustainability goals and details on how Dr. Bronner's plans to reach them. To view the 2017 All-One Report, visit the company's website, at: https://www.drbronner.com/all-one-report/.

Dr. Bronner's New Travel Toothpaste

Dr. Bronner's All-One Toothpaste low-foaming formula reduces plaque, whitens teeth and freshens breathyielding a tingling clean feeling unlike any other. Made with 70% organic ingredients, including fair trade and organic coconut flour and coconut oil which aid as a mild abrasive, Dr. Bronner's All-One Toothpaste is vegan, fluoride-free, non-GMO certified, NSF certified, and contains no synthetic foaming detergents or synthetic flavors. Dr. Bronner's peppermint flavored toothpaste is now available in a 1 oz. travel size and will ship to distributors July 1st. For more information, see: https://shop.drbronner.com/toothpaste.

Dr. Bronner's commitment to progressive business practices including promoting sustainable agriculture, fair trade, corporate accountability, and consumers' right to know is part of the company's mission to put into practice the social and ecological principles that inform Dr. Bronner's philosophy printed on the company's iconic soap labels.

For further information on Dr. Bronner's, please visit the website: http://www.drbronner.com.

SOURCE Dr. Bronners

Related Links

http://www.drbronner.com


According to the Department of Health and Human Services , the U.S. is in the midst of an addiction crisis. To address this national emergency, healthcare professionals nationwide must adopt strategies proven to combat substance use in their patients, and MBC is considered a core component of numerous evidence-based practices, has transtheoretical and transdiagnostic relevance with broad reach across clinical settings, provides insight into treatment progress, highlights ongoing treatment targets, reduces symptom deterioration and improves patient outcomes.

Dr. Tonmoy Sharma has been recognized with numerous awards, honors and grants for his work in advancing mental health and its treatment in the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia. He is a prolific researcher and scientist as well as the author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and five books on schizophrenia and mental illness. Dr. Sharma has served on numerous editorial boards, acted as peer reviewer for 14 international medical journals, and has been on various advisory boards governing the development of antipsychotics. He currently co-hosts KABC 790 AM's "In Your Right Mind," a cutting-edge, weekly radio show that covers various topics in behavioral health.

Sovereign Health currently operates nine treatment facilities in five states: California, Arizona, Florida, Texas and Utah. The facilities are licensed in accordance with the regulations of the state where the facility is located. Sovereign facilities have been awarded Gold Seal accreditation by The Joint Commission, the highest level of accreditation available in the behavioral health field.

About Sovereign Health

Sovereign Health's mission is to provide a broad spectrum of high-quality behavioral health treatment services for adults and adolescents, including support services for family members. One factor that differentiates Sovereign from other treatment providers has been the company's ability to offer separate mental health and addiction or dual diagnosis treatment programs at its facilities. For more information, visit www.sovhealth.com.

SOURCE Sovereign Health of California

Related Links

http://www.sovhealth.com


SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property, casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that EPIC has been recognized among an elite group of U.S. specialty brokers by Insurance Business America (IBA).

According to IBA, "The foundation of a specialty insurance broker's work is the thorough knowledge of an industry completely separate from their own. Armed with years of education and experience, insurance specialists know the ins and outs of various industry segments, and as such, are able to guide their clients through every risk and exposure. These specialists are the cream of the crop in their respective areas, giving themselves a competitive edge in the modern insurance world."

EPIC points to several factors that were critical in establishing their Construction and Design Solutions specialty practice:

Building a team of top industry specialists, many of who have worked in Construction and Design or in other professions (e.g. law firms) having a specialty focus on Construction and Design.

Focusing on their clients' needs using a comprehensive, consultative enterprise risk management approach, rather than simply selling insurance and bonds.

Staying relevant and not being complacent, and focusing on news, trends and issues that may impact a client's growth and success.

Creating innovative programs to support their clients in risk management, safety and loss control, insurance products, specialty services and alternative risk financing strategies.

Building strong, successful, long-term partnerships with underwriters, surety companies and ultimately their clients.

"Construction and Design is a dynamic, innovative and constantly evolving business," said Brian McDonnell, EPIC's National Construction and Design Solutions Practice Leader. "To effectively serve and support clients in this specialty area, you have to constantly continue building knowledge and expertise, stay alert to future trends and opportunities, and move forward with new, unique and creative solutions  or you simply get left behind."

According to EPIC, current challenges facing Construction and Design professionals include limited carrier markets for insurance and bonding, particularly for large, complex construction and design companies designing and building mega projects; a shortage of craft labor; environmental issues that delay projects; government regulations and compliance requirements; onerous contracts and legal issues; promoting and maintaining safety in dangerous work environments; new and evolving risks (e.g. cyber, drones, BIM, LEED, Integrated Project Delivery); an aging construction workforce and its impact on insurance costs and safety; and ever-changing statutory and jurisdictional case law and its effect on insurance coverage and contracts.

"We have worked hard and invested significantly in building our Construction and Design Solutions Practice," said Peter Garvey, President of EPIC. "We are honored and proud to have our commitment to service excellence and status as a trusted and valued client advisor validated by IBA through their recognition of EPIC as a Top Specialist Broker."

About EPIC:

EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC now has more than 850 team members operating from offices across the U.S., providing Property Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 13,000 clients.

With more than $200 million in revenues, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the United States. Backed by the Carlyle Group, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit http://www.epicbrokers.com/.

*LOGO for media: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/16-0308-epic-insurance-300dpi.jpg

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants

Related Links

http://www.epicbrokers.com


DENVER, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Discerning Design. Impeccable Craftsmanship. Unsurpassed Service. The Showroom @ Furniture Row is the ultimate luxury home shopping and design experience. Opening Summer 2017, The Showroom brings a one-of-a-kind shopping experience to the city of Denver, state of Colorado, and the entire Mountain West.

Baker, Bernhardt, Century, Christopher Guy, Hancock & Moore, and Marge Carson are some of the industry-leading brands coming to The Showroom @ Furniture Row. Their collections will be showcased in dedicated galleries painstakingly designed, constructed, and decorated to elevate the customer experience. Other top furniture brands include Jessica Charles, Lexington, Massoud, Theodore Alexander and more.

"There has never been anything like The Showroom in this marketplace," states Furniture Row COO, Woody Boyd. "Let's start with an impressive 170,000 square feet of retail! Now bring in the best offerings from the best furniture brands," Boyd continues. "Then create a customer-centric environment guaranteed to delight and inspire. And finally, provide the highest level of service from an industry-certified professional staff."

The Showroom's lead buyer, Amy Foster, is confident that The Showroom @ Furniture Row will quickly become the premier choice among style-conscious homeowners as well as designers, builders, and architects. Says Foster, "We will be doing everything possible to consistently provide the unique, curated assortment this diverse and discerning clientele expects. Combined with first-class service, they will have unparalleled access to the very best the industry has to offer. We cannot wait to open our doors."

Located at 5445 North Bannock Street, construction on The Showroom is entering the final stages. Renowned architect Peter Wormser envisioned its bold exterior elevation. Respected retail designer Connie Post is bringing The Showroom's vast interior to life. Locally, Intergroup Architects and ECKO Construction complete the design-build team of professionals.

Multiple grand opening events are planned for the media, industry, and general public. For media inquiries, please contact Diane Morrow at 800.927.1517.

For general information please visit www.theshowroom.com

About Furniture Row Companies

The specialty stores of Furniture Row include Denver Mattress, Sofa Mart, Oak Express, and Bedroom Expressions. Family-owned and operated with more than 330 stores in 30 states, Denver-based Furniture Row is one of America's largest furniture and bedding retailers. Visit www.FurnitureRow.com.

Contact Diane Morrow 800.927.1517

[email protected]

SOURCE The Showroom @ Furniture Row

Related Links

http://www.theshowroom.com


LONDON, March 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Extruded snack foods are made by the extrusion of various ingredients such as corn, tapioca, oats, potatoes, wheat, etc. Some of the most prevalent extruded snack foods include breakfast cereals, corn curls, onion rings, pasta, fish paste, jelly beans, macaroni, processed cheese, breads, etc. The extrusion process offers the ability to choose the ingredients and the ways of processing them. Manufacturers use this in order to produce healthier snacks with varied ingredients. Moreover, the extrusion process eliminates some of the naturally occurring toxins and reduces the micro-organisms present in the final product, thereby making them safer for consumption. According to IMARC Group, the global extruded snack food market reached a value of around US$ 50 Billion in 2016, growing at a CAGR of around 3% during 2009-2016.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4715165/



Despite reaching maturity levels in the developed markets, the demand for extruded snack foods is expected to increase in the emerging markets over the forecast period driven by a number of growth inducing factors. As a result of the rising urbanisation, a vast majority of population lives a fast-paced lifestyle. Since the long working hours make it difficult for most people to have proper meals, they resort to ready-to-eat food products such as extruded snack foods. Growing number of young population and increasing disposable income in the emerging regions are also expected to drive the demand for extruded snack foods.

IMARC Group's latest study, titled, "Extruded Snack Food Market  Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2017-2022", has segmented the global extruded snack food market on the basis of key regions covering Asia, Europe, US, etc. Currently, Europe represents the largest consumer. The report has also analysed the competitive landscape of the market covering the key global players. Some of the major manufacturers include Nestle, Kellogg's, Diamond, General Mills, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, etc.



The report gives a detailed roadmap for starting an extruded snack food manufacturing plant. The study, done by one of the leading research and advisory firms, covers all the requisite aspects of the global extruded snack food market. This ranges from a comprehensive view of the market to minute details of the industry performance, processing & manufacturing requirements, project cost, project funding, project economics, expected returns on investment, profit margins, etc. This report is a must-read for entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who are planning to foray into the extruded snack food market in any manner.



Key Questions Answered in This Report?

How has the snack foods market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the key regional markets in the global snack foods industry?

What are the key product types in the global snack foods industry?

How has the extruded snack foods market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the key regional markets in the global extruded snack foods industry?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the extruded snack foods industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the extruded snack foods industry?

What is the structure of the extruded snack foods industry and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the extruded snack foods industry?

What are the profit margins in the extruded snack foods industry?

What are the key requirements for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

How is extruded snack food manufactured?

What are the various unit operations involved in an extruded snack foods plant?

What is the total size of land required for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

What are the machinery requirements for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

What are the raw material requirements for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

What are the packaging requirements for extruded snack foods?

What are the transportation requirements for extruded snack foods?

What are the utility requirements for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

What are the manpower requirements for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

What are the infrastructure costs for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

What are the capital costs for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

What are the operating costs for setting up an extruded snack foods plant?

What will be the income and expenditures for an extruded snack foods plant?

What is the time required to break-even?

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Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

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CARROLLTON, Texas, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Catherine Monson, CEO of FASTSIGNS International, Inc., will be the keynote speaker at the 50th Annual Canadian Franchise Association's (CFA) National Convention in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Sunday, April 2. Monson will also present at the "CEO Session" on April 3.

Monson will speak about transformational leadership and will review the process she undertook to reposition the FASTSIGNS brand, grow franchisee unit level sales and profitability, improve franchisee support services and franchisee satisfaction, and increase the number of FASTSIGNS locations through targeted franchise development  all resulting in record EBITDA growth for the company. Monson will share the metrics she uses to manage the business today and will talk about how the team focuses on achieving their key business objectives.

Based on the results achieved under her leadership, Monson successfully led the sale of FASTSIGNS International from one private equity firm to another in 2014.

"It is an honor to be the keynote speaker at the Canadian Franchise Association's National Convention." said Monson. "FASTSIGNS has terrific Canadian franchisees and a growing network in Canada. I look forward to sharing the FASTSIGNS International, Inc. story and to meeting and hearing the success stories of Canadian franchisors and franchisees."

About the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA)

The Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) is the recognized authority on franchising in Canada. With over 600 corporate members representing many of Canada's best- and lesser-known brands and 40,000 franchisees nation-wide, CFA is the indispensable resource for the franchise community and advocates on behalf of franchisors and franchisees in Canada to enhance and protect the franchise business model. CFA promotes excellence in franchising and educates Canadians about franchising, specific franchise opportunities and proper due diligence through its many events, programs, publications, and websites (www.cfa.ca, www.LookforaFranchise.ca, and www.FranchiseAwareness.ca).

About Catherine Monson

Catherine Monson is the CEO and President of FASTSIGNS International, Inc. She joined FASTSIGNS in 2009 and has more than 30 years of franchising and management experience in sales and marketing, operations, development, training and advocacy. Monson is on the Executive Committee of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and currently serves as Secretary. In 2015, she received the IFA's inaugural Franchise Action Network FAN of the Year award for her advocacy work in the franchising community. She is also a past recipient of the International Franchise Association's prestigious Bonny LeVine Award. She has been recognized by the Dallas Business Journal as one of the top 25 Women Industry Leaders, as an "Innovator and an Influencer" by Sign & Digital Graphics magazine, among the first to receive the "Woman In Print" award by Big Picture magazine, and most recently, she was honored with the prestigious Leadership Award at the 2016 Women Who Soar Awards. Catherine appeared on the two-time Emmy Award-nominated reality series, Undercover Boss, to learn new ways to further advance the FASTSIGNS brand. She is on the Board of Directors of the early childhood development franchisor, The Learning Experience.

About FASTSIGNS

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. is the largest sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of more than 650 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS centers in nine countries including the US, Canada, England, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Grand Cayman, Mexico and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE).

FASTSIGNS locations provide comprehensive sign and visual graphic solutions to help companies of all sizes and across all industries attract more attention, communicate their message, sell more products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points including decor, events, wearables and marketing materials. Learn more about sign and visual graphic solutions or find a location at fastsigns.com. Follow the brand on Twitter @FASTSIGNS, Facebook at facebook.com/FASTSIGNS or on LinkedIn. For information about the FASTSIGNS franchise opportunity, contact Mark Jameson ([email protected] or call 214.346.5679).

Contact:

Vanessa Davidson

Corporate Communications

FASTSIGNS

214-346-5744 or [email protected]

SOURCE FASTSIGNS International, Inc.
PITTSBURGH, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- University Veterinary Specialists continues to advance veterinary medicine in Western Pennsylvania with its debut of the first animal-specific mid-field strength MRI in the United States. The Magnus AIP-Vet MRI is only the second of its kind with the first installed in Perth, Australia. A great balance of high quality imaging and affordability.

First Animal-Specific Mid-Field Strength MRI in Country Debuts at University Veterinary Specialists

"University Veterinary Specialists is raising the bar in veterinary medicine with the introduction of this groundbreaking technology. Our pet-specific MRI is the first of its kind in the US, and it's right here in Pittsburgh," said University Veterinary Specialists President Dr. Apryle Horbal.

Animal hospitals providing MRI imaging commonly use pre-owned human MRI machines. The brand new Magnus AIP-Vet MRI is designed exclusively for companion animals using veterinary-specific software.

"The advancements that were utilized when building this MRI are incredible. We are producing images comparable to a high-field machine, but with better affordability and faster, thus safer, scans. The machine is specifically designed for use with pets, and even the table has a special shape to accommodate veterinary patients. There are many upsides to having an MRI performed with this unit," said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dimitri Brown.

The Magnus MRI uses state-of-the-art electronics and fiber optic cabling to decrease scan times, which leads to a shorter amount of time that an animal needs to be anesthetized. And at only 50dB, the machine is significantly quieter than a high-field MRI, which can reach decibel levels of up to 120  or the equivalent of being at a live rock concert.

MRI scans from the Magnus MRI at University Veterinary Specialists are priced at just $1,295; roughly half of what a high-field MRI scan costs, with comparable imaging.

About University Veterinary Specialists: University Veterinary Specialists offers small animal 24-hour emergency and trauma care, specialized surgical procedures, advanced internal medicine and oncology, routine and advanced equine dentistry, rehabilitation, and more. Located at 2810 Washington Road McMurray, PA 15317. More information can be found at http://UVSCares.com.

Media Contact: AJ Owen | 315-558-1349 | [email protected]

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This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE University Veterinary Specialists

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http://www.uvscares.com


OTTAWA, Ontario, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GENBAND, a leading provider of real time communications solutions, today announced that it has joined Canada's CENGN, (Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks). This independent and internationally recognized interoperability center enables companies to test and validate new and emerging SDN, NFV and IoT technologies before moving them to production.

"Network evolution is one of our strategic pillars and an area in which we continually invest," said Paul Miller, Chief Technology Officer, GENBAND Networks. "We take our position as industry leaders and customer enablers seriously. Our membership in CENGN will help us expand on that leadership and engage in ongoing dialogue with the rest of the ecosystem."

Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are turning to Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) to drive efficiencies, improve service agility and fundamentally change the way they do business. GENBAND's NFV solutions enable CSPs to realize cost efficiencies and increase service velocity.

"We look forward to working with GENBAND, and know they'll be a great addition to our membership," says Ritch Dusome, CENGN President and CEO. "Our members are key to accomplishing our objectives. Based on GENBAND's global leadership and NGN expertise, we are confident that they will provide significant value to the ecosystem and help support the acceleration, development, and introduction of new SDN and NFV products and services."

CENGN is funded by the Networks of Centre of Excellence (NCE) through the CECR program. CECR works to bridge the gap between innovation and commercialization, helping with the advancement of research, and to facilitate commercialization within the ICT sector. Through this funding and the contributions received from members, CENGN is able to provide a unique environment to commercialize advanced products, applications and services for its partners as well as small to medium enterprises.

"Ottawa continues to grow as a tech hub and we're thrilled to be a part of it," added Sacha Gera, Senior Vice President, Cloud Products, GENBAND. "Joining CENGN gives us the opportunity to discover the talent emerging in the Canadian ICT sector while offering additional avenues for us to contribute to the growth and sustainability of the communications industry as a whole."

CENGN's vision is to ensure Canada is a global leader in the commercialization of technologies that will underpin the next generation of converged global communications networks. The organization is structured to support the innovation continuum from idea to commercialization. A large part of CENGN's success comes from its strong student placement program. CENGN ensures the continued growth of the ICT sector through placing approximately 40 students per year in roles that offer fundamental experience and training in next generation networks.

About GENBAND

GENBAND is a global leader in real-time communications software solutions for service providers, enterprises, independent software vendors, systems integrators and developers in over 80 countries. Kandy, its award-winning, disruptive real-time communications software development platform, is built from the company's global telecommunications network and security technologies. The platform enables these companies to easily embed a full suite of voice, video, chat, screen-sharing and collaboration capabilities into their existing business, web and mobile applications. The company's Network Modernization, Unified Communications, Mobility and Embedded Communications solutions enable its customers to quickly capitalize on growing market segments and introduce differentiating products, applications and services. GENBAND's market-leading solutions, which are deployable in the network, on premise or through the cloud, help its customers connect people to each other and address the growing demands of today's consumers and businesses for real-time communications wherever they happen to be. GENBAND's award-winning Marketing Advantage Program offers partners free resources, training and campaigns to fuel their success in implementing GENBAND powered services. To learn more visit genband.com.

About CENGN  Canada's Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks

Canada's Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN), is a consortium of industry, academic and research leaders dedicated to accelerating the commercialization of next generation communications solutions. CENGN's internationally recognized testing centre employs interoperability between multiple software and hardware products, providing a unique environment to commercialize advanced products, applications, and services. Our fully operational data centre is running a production OpenStack environment with multiple connections to a real-world WAN including a dark fibre connection that enables connectivity speeds of more than 100Gbps. CENGN services include; Proof of Concept (PoC) validation and hosting, interoperability/performance/ certification testing, technical training (SDN, NFV, IPv6, ODL, OpenStack, Innovation) for Hire and Commercialization Acceleration. CENGN members include: CISCO, EWA Canada, EXFO, Fujitsu, GENBAND, Invest Ottawa, Juniper Networks, Nokia, Rogers, TELUS, Viavi, Wind River, and Zayo.

GENBAND, the GENBAND logo and icon are trademarks of GENBAND.

SOURCE GENBAND

Related Links

http://www.genband.com


RESTON, Va., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a global science and technology company, was awarded a prime contract by the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide healthcare information technology and a range of cybersecurity services through the GSA IT Schedule 70 vehicle. The multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract has a period of performance through December 12, 2032, including all options. There is no dollar ceiling limit on this flexible contract vehicle. Leidos is one of 25 companies that have been authorized to provide services to the government under all four "highly adaptive" cybersecurity service special item numbers (SINs).

The GSA Schedule 70 is the largest, most widely used acquisition tool in the federal government and provides direct access to products, services, and solutions from more than 4,700 certified industry partners. Leidos has demonstrated experience in delivering high-quality healthcare IT and cybersecurity services to numerous federal, civil, and commercial customers. Under the contract modification, Leidos will offer support to government agencies through the health IT, penetration testing, incident response, cyber hunt and risk and vulnerability assessment SINS.

"The health IT and cybersecurity scope additions to our GSA IT 70 Schedule will allow for dynamic growth within those core Leidos markets," said Leidos Chief of Business Development & Strategy, Gerry Fasano. "This vehicle provides our customers with a quick way to meet their mission requirements and provides Leidos with a key contract vehicle to pursue important markets."

About Leidos

Leidos is a global science and technology solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $7.04 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 30, 2016, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE Leidos

Related Links

http://www.leidos.com


PLANO, Texas, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The pitches are flying in, but $1 million is still within reach for flavor fans nationwide. All it takes is one new and inspiring idea for the next great potato chip flavor  but time is running out.

Lay's, one of the marquee brands from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, issued a call for flavor idea submissions in January for the fourth installment of its iconic "Do Us a Flavor" contest. Over the years, flavor fans have submitted some of the most inventive chip flavors  many inspired by their own personal experiences, passions and food history. Fans have until 11:59:59 p.m. (CDT) on Sunday, March 19 to "pitch" their best Lay's potato chip flavor ideas and the inspiration behind them for a chance to be the next $1 million grand prize winner. Fans have the option to submit a video, photo, and/or written inspiration to bring their flavor idea to life.

Later this summer, 10 semi-finalists will be selected and America will be introduced to the flavorful personalities behind this year's most creative flavors. From there, three delicious finalist flavors will be fully developed by Frito-Lay culinary experts and brought to store shelves for fans to try and enjoy. The last chip standing will be up to America's votes to determine which lucky flavor enthusiast will take home the $1 million to help make their life more flavorful. Semi-finalists will receive $10,000 in prize money, the two runner-up finalists will each win $50,000, and the grand prize winner will be awarded the coveted $1 million.

Fans can submit their flavor suggestions at www.Lays.com.

Brief Contest History

PepsiCo has held "Do Us a Flavor" contests in numerous countries with consumers suggesting millions of ideas for chip flavors around the world. In July 2012, the Lay's brand launched its first "Do Us a Flavor" contest in the U.S., which resulted in Lay's Cheesy Garlic Bread submitted by Karen Weber-Mendham, a children's librarian from Land O'Lakes, Wis., being selected as the first million-dollar winner. The contest returned to the U.S. for a second time in Jan. 2014, which resulted in Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger submitted by Meneko Spigner McBeth, a nurse from Deptford, N.J., as the second grand-prize winner. And in January 2015, the third installment began, which later crowned Lay's Southern Biscuits and Gravy the winner. The winning submission was from Hailey Green, a travel agent from Noblesville, Ind.

For more information and official contest rules, please visit www.Lays.com.

About Lay's

Lay's is one of the brands that makes up Frito-Lay North America, the $14 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fritolay. Learn more about Lay's by visiting www.facebook.com/lays or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lays. You can also follow Lay's on Instagram by visiting http://instagram.com/lays.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2015, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose  our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth and shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

Follow PepsiCo:

SOURCE Frito-Lay North America

Related Links

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MINNEAPOLIS, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Working with open innovation platform OpenIDEO, U.S.-based GHR Foundation is seeking social innovators working to address urgent global challenges at the intersections of peace, prosperity and planet in radically new ways. The partnership's first BridgeBuilder Challenge opened Monday, March 6, kicking off a five-month collaborative process inviting the global community to contribute, test and improve upon ideas. Challenge participants will benefit from the OpenIDEO human-centered design process and connections to potential partners, with top ideas sharing a US$1 million prize as part of an ongoing cohort within the highly collaborative design-build philanthropy framework GHR is pioneering.

GHR Foundation

"Our partnership with OpenIDEO on the BridgeBuilder Challenge series will help us discover social innovators doing critical work often beneath the purview of traditional public or private funders," said Amy R. Goldman, chief executive officer and chair of GHR Foundation. "We believe new ideas profoundly impacting global development concerns here in the United States and around the world will emerge from the BridgeBuilder initiative, as GHR practices design-build philanthropy and shares learnings from this innovative approach to grant-making."

GHR Foundation is anchored by a belief in responsibility, action and the knowledge we are all deeply connected regardless of race, religion, nationality or economic status. GHR sees faith as a powerful resource for gooda unifier and lever for positive social change, and a driver for building more authentic connections between people, networks, issues and resources. Stemming from its own Catholic roots, GHR aims to leverage this Challenge as a means to answer the universal call of Pope Francis to "build bridges" and contribute to making the world a better place for all humankind.

"The global community's ability to address open challenges, like GHR's BridgeBuilder Challenge, reflects the power of creativity, collaboration and common purpose," said Jason Rissman, managing director of OpenIDEO. "Radical solutions, unlikely partnerships and hope emerge through OpenIDEO challenges. We can't wait to see the ideas presented for BridgeBuilder and how they get refined through open source collaboration. More importantly, we can't wait to see the profound changes those ideas bring to our global society."

OpenIDEO Challenge Process: The BridgeBuilder Challenge includes four phases before the Top Ideas are chosen:

Ideas Phase: A global call to action to share ideas that bridge solutions in two of the three issue areas: peace, prosperity and planet. Beneficiary Feedback Phase: Contributors test ideas in their communities and apply feedback to their proposals. Expert Feedback Phase: Shortlisted ideas receive feedback from issue experts and leaders in international development. Improve Phase: All ideas have 2 weeks to apply expert feedback to their proposals.

Eligibility: The Challenge is open to any nonprofit/nongovernmental or for-profit organization that has been operating within its sector for at least one year and is proposing a new approach to a problem or using an existing approach in a new way. For additional perspective on what comprises a winning idea, see the ideas phase criteria.

The BridgeBuilder Challenge: BridgeBuilder is a series of three innovation Challenges bringing increased collaboration and a human-centered design approach to development concerns. The program is a joint initiative of OpenIDEO and GHR Foundation, made possible through GHR funding.

OpenIDEO: OpenIDEO is a global open innovation platform that builds collaborative communities to address pressing social and environmental issues. In online Challenges, offline Chapters and targeted programs, OpenIDEO enables innovators anywhere to apply design thinking towards generating social impact. www.OpenIDEO.com

GHR Foundation: GHR Foundation improves lives by working toward a just, peaceful and healthy future. Built on faith in entrepreneurial creativity, the foundation accelerates systemic change by nurturing promising new possibilities and partnerships in the areas of global development, education and health. For more than 50 years, the pioneering design-build legacy of Opus Group founders Gerald and Henrietta Rauenhorst has guided GHR's philanthropic approachcollaborating with the world's experts to design and build opportunities for change to take hold. www.GHRfoundation.org

Media Contact: Amy Nugent, 651.450.9222 or [email protected]

SOURCE GHR Foundation

Related Links

http://www.ghrfoundation.org


LONDON, March 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This report provides all the information you require to better understand Gilead Sciences and its partnering interests and activities since 2010.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3605585/



Description

The Partnering Deals and Alliance since 2010 report provides an in-depth insight into the partnering activity of one of the world's leading life sciences companies.



On demand company reports are prepared upon purchase to ensure inclusion of the most up to date deal and company data.



The report will be delivered in PDF format within 1 working day of receipt of order. If the CD-Rom version purchased, the report will be sent by courier using express service.



One of the key aspects of partnering is finding those companies that are potential candidates for the development and commercialization of the next generation of therapies. A lot of resources are spent on finding partners, identifying their interests and making contact to initiate discussions.



Using this report, dealmakers will effectively and efficiently target their partnering activities to deliver the company's business development objectives.



The initial chapters of this report provide an orientation of deal making and business activities. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the report, whilst chapter 2 lists the top companies partnering with the company since 2010. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the leading partnering and M&A deals since 2010 to present date based on headline value.



Chapter 4 provides details on how to approach biopharma companies with partnering opportunities whilst chapter 5 lists forthcoming partnering events and conferences where biopharma companies will be present to discuss opportunities face to face.



The main body of the report is provided in chapter 6 providing a infographic visual summary of the company's partnering activity since 2010 according to deal type, industry sector, phase of development, and therapy area.



The deals are listed by deal type, stage of development and therapy focus, allowing easy access to deals and alliances of interest. Every deal record links to an online, live version of the deal record at the Current Agreements deals and alliances database. Where available, deal records also include the contract document as disclosed at the SEC.



One of the key aspects of partnering is conducting due diligence on a partner to determine under what terms a prospective partner agrees to a partnering relationship.



Understanding the flexibility of prospective partners' negotiated deals terms provides critical insight into the negotiation process in terms of what you can expect to achieve during the negotiation of terms. Whilst many smaller companies will be seeking details of the payments clauses, the devil is in the detail in terms of how payments are triggered  contract documents provide this insight where press releases and databases do not.



In addition, contract documents provide the answers to numerous questions about a prospective partner's flexibility on a wide range of important issues, many of which will have a significant impact on each party's ability to derive value from the deal.



Each contract document is accessible through a link to an online version of the actual contract document as filed with the Securities Exchange Commission.



Analyzing actual company agreements allows assessment of the following:

- What is actually granted by the agreement to the partner company?

- What exclusivity is granted?

- What is the payment structure for the deal?

- How are sales and payments audited?

- What is the deal term?

- How are the key terms of the agreement defined?

- How are IPRs handled and owned?

- Who is responsible for commercialization?

- Who is responsible for development, supply, and manufacture?

- How is confidentiality and publication managed?

- How are disputes to be resolved?

- Under what conditions can the deal be terminated?

- What happens when there is a change of ownership?

- What sublicensing and sub-contracting provisions have been agreed?

- Which boilerplate clauses does the company insist upon?

- Which boilerplate clauses appear to differ from partner to partner or deal type to deal type?

- Which jurisdiction does the company insist upon for agreement law?



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3605585/



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

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NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Hospitals, medical research institutes, as well as governments, across the globe are hiking their healthcare IT spending to bring reforms in both, operations and outcomes. Instating databases is turning out to be more of a necessity for healthcare institutions, particularly for the field of radiology. Criticality of data produced and used by radiologists is compelling them to utilize speedy & error-proof data transference systems. Correspondingly, the transformation of global healthcare industry through digitization trends is also necessitating the deployment of radiology information systems. In its latest publication, Persistence Market Research has compiled more of such factors that will keep driving the growth of global radiology information system market in the years to come. According to this report, the global market for radiology information systems, which is presently valued at US$ 580.2 Mn, is anticipated to soar at 8.3% CAGR and reach US$ 1,179.2 Mn value by the end of 2024.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161114/438683LOGO )

Titled as "Global Market Study on Radiology Information Systems: Software Segment Projected to Gain Significant Value Share by 2024 End (http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/radiology-information-systems-market.asp)," the report reveals that global demand for radiology information systems continues to grow on the account of rising incidence rate of lifestyle-related diseases. Increasing consumer awareness to radiological procedures, and easy accessibility to these technologies are also serving as proponents for adoption of radiology information systems. Since installing radiology information systems supports a value-based healthcare model, medical practitioners are also promoting it as the immediate future of "digitalized" radiology.

The report reveals that in 2017 and beyond, the demand for cloud-based radiology information systems will remain considerably higher than on-premise systems. Deployment of cloud-based radiology information systems is projected to bring more than US$ 800 Mn by the end of 2024, while revenues emanating from on-premise deployment will soar at 7.3% CAGR. During the forecast period, a little over 45% of global revenues will be accounted by sales of radiology information software. The adoption of radiology information services is also slated to grow robustly, while radiology information hardware is likely to incur a moderate dip in revenues.

A sample of this report is available upon [email protected] http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2816

Through 2024, medical institutions adopting radiology information systems will continue to do so on integrated platforms. Similar to the current scenario, integrated radiology information systems will procure over three-fourth of global market value by the end of

2024. Standalone radiology information systems, however, will be valued at just over US$ 280 Mn by the end of projection period. And, hospitals will undoubtedly be the largest end-users of radiology information systems. More than US$ 600 Mn worth of global radiology information system revenues will be emanating from hospitals spanned across the globe. Adoption of such systems will also be considerably high in diagnostic labs and ambulatory surgical centers.

By the end of 2024, North America will remain as the largest market for radiology information systems in the world. In 2016, the region's radiology information systems market was valued at US$ 269 Mn. Meanwhile, Europe's advanced healthcare infrastructure will also work in the favor of radiology information system adoption. Throughout the period, Europe's radiology information system revenues will soar at a health CAGR, and contribute to nearly 23% share. Although, fastest revenue growth is expected to be recorded by Latin America and the Asia-Pacific regions - revenues from which will surge at more than 8% CAGR.

View Report Table of Contents, Figures, and Tables

Ten of the leading companies developing radiology information systems in the world are profiled in the report, and they include Cerner Corporation, Siemens AG, Merge Healthcare Incorporated (IBM), Koninklijke Philips NV, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., Epic Systems Corporation, Novarad Corp., General Electric Company, McKesson Corporation, and Medinformatix Inc.

Queries regarding these research findings can be addressed to Persistence Market Research's analysts at [email protected]

Persistence Market Research Overview

Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.

To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.

Contact

Persistence Market Research

U.S. Sales Office:

305 Broadway, 7th Floor

New York City, NY 10007

United States

USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353



Web: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

SOURCE Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd.
(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/476100/GCC_Cyber_Security_Panel.jpg )



Under the endorsement of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the National Cyber Security Center NCSC, representative of Ministry of Interior, in partnership with Naseba organized the 2nd International Cyber Security Conference on February 27th and 28th 2017.

The conference was the largest gathering of IT and security professionals ever in the Kingdom focused on combating the rising cyber security threats in the Gulf region and beyond.

During the conference's official opening address, HRH Prince Dr. Bandar bin Abdullah Al Mishari Al Saud, Assistant Minister of Interior for Technology Affairs, highlighted the Kingdom's commitment to battling digital security threats, and that they are working hard to bring these people (hackers) to justice and fight this war against electronic threats.

The complexity of cyber security threats has increased significantly from the 1988 Morris Worm. Battling these threats, stated Prince Bandar, is a shared responsibility and called for collaboration amongst regional Governments, international experts and industry stakeholders.

As reported by AFP, Dr. Saleh Al Motairi, Director General, National Cyber Security Center Saudi Arabia highlighted "there is an increase in targeting GCC countries", noting that different government and private sectors have been targeted.

"If we cooperate we will be able to protect all sectors," he added, reporting that the NCSC responded to 124 "breaches" last year.

The conference agenda featured 74 Government officials and cyber security experts, representing a host of national cyber security programs such as Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Estonia, Malaysia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, and Oman and 46 international cyber security vendors, who were presenting the latest technologies to combat these threats.

Conrad prince, UK Cyber Security Ambassador, further emphasized the need for collaboration stating, "Governments need to tie-up to make cyber security policies common. The need to fight this cyberwar on a global scale is critical."



As noted by Prince Bandar, a successful cyber security combat plan requires the active participation of industry stakeholders. Exemplified through the participation of global oil and gas behemoth, Saudi Aramco as a national lead sponsor of the conference. Chief Information Security Officer of Saudi Aramco Abdulrahman Al-Muagle added that "the dynamic nature of the cyber security field and the culture of change the digital Information age is constantly introducing to the business and private environments are today two of the major challenges the cyber security teams have to contend with on a second by second basis. Collaboration and information sharing are key elements that can be very effective mitigation measures in the fight against cyber-attacks and adversaries. I strongly believe that this venue plays a major role in the success of our continued integrated efforts to mitigate the threats posed to our cyberspace. The collaboration of experts from multiple private, commercial and government sectors of our critical national infrastructure is key towards the success of the overall efforts to secure the kingdoms cyberspace."

In the closing remarks of the conference, Dr. Abbad M. AlAbbad, Executive Director of Strategy and Communications, National Cyber Security Center, Saudi Arabia highlighted key national recommendations and said "we need to find mechanisms to require government and private security organisations to establish cyber security standards. The need to fight this cyber war on a global scale is critical."

Among the cyber security vendors presenting their solutions and services to the participating delegates and buyers were global leaders Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Spire Solutions, Tahakum (TCC), Raytheon, Security Matterz, Advance Electronic Company (AEC), Attivo Networks, BT Al Saudia, Cisco, Fortinet, Huawei, Innovative Solutions, Kaspersky Labs, Phishme, Saeedurity, Smart Solutions Star, Darktrace, EY, IBM, Northrop Grumman, PaloAlto, PGI, RSA, Symantec, Tamkeen Technologies and Virtual Forge.

For further information, please contact: ICSC Team, +971-50-525-3862

SOURCE International Cyber Security Conference
WeInfuse helps doctors, nurses and administrators by coordinating patient scheduling and insurance pre-authorization as well as inventory and delivery of non-chemotherapy infusion medications. Doctors providing in-office infusion services  usually in neurology, rheumatology and gastroenterology  expect demand for their services to grow, as many biologic medications currently in the FDA pipeline must be administered by infusion or injection.

Providing medications in an office setting has risks because of the cost to acquire and administer medicines with complex pharmaceutical protocols that must be followed before and during treatment. "Infusion practices are high risk from a medical standpoint, as well as a business or financial perspective," says Dr. Jeffrey Feinstein, a rheumatologist in San Antonio, Texas, who began using WeInfuse in his practice in February 2017.

For Kim Blasingame, CMPE, a practice administrator at Kane Hall Barry Neurology in Bedford, Texas, WeInfuse software replaced their existing process that was prone to complications because it relied on paper and shared spreadsheets. Blasingame says their practice is ready to grow as more drugs are approved and prescribed.

"What WeInfuse offers is real efficiencies into ambulatory infusion," Blasingame says. "It's a cheaper delivery model than hospital and is better for patients. As new drugs come to market, we are prepared to help people get them. The emerging MS drugs are an example of what it's all about: keeping patients at the highest level of function for as long as possible."

Co-founder and CEO Bryan Johnson began operating Infusion Centers in 2003 and led the design of WeInfuse to improve patient care and office efficiencies. He sees WeInfuse as a way to help more doctors provide better care. "WeInfuse makes it simple for even the smallest physician office to provide these medications to patients in their practice," he says.

Popular features of the WeInfuse software include insurance verification tools, chair-based scheduling, infusion medication nursing notes and inventory management. Together they help ensure patients can receive the right medicine exactly when they need it, and the center minimizes or eliminates the financial risk of lost or broken inventory and unbilled medications.

"An Infusion Center has the potential to be the most profitable part of a doctor's practice, but it has the least amount of technology systems in place," explains Johnson. "That leaves a lot of room for costly errors. For example, an 8-chair practice buys $13M in medication each year. If as little as five percent of its medications are unbilled  whether that's broken, lost or sloppy paperwork -- that's a little over a quarter million a year. WeInfuse helps prevent that."

Founded in 2016 by three experienced Infusion Center owners and operators, WeInfuse is built on two decades of experience with this unique model of medication delivery. Its web-based application simplifies and reduces the complexity involved with managing Infusion Centers, improving patient care and reducing risk for owners, administrators and doctors. WeInfuse is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

SOURCE WeInfuse
SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- "We're really excited to bring HR Tech World to San Francisco," said Marc Coleman, CEO of HRN, organizer of HR Tech World shows. "We've assembled an awesome and uniquely influential group of visionaries and business leaders to share practical and ground-breaking perspectives. Our innovative and exclusive agenda offers an exclusive mix of insight and debate, and a networking opportunity that creates a vibe not found at any other show. As people seek innovation that is authentic and real, and hunt down technology that works, our community will inspire you to Optimize, Enable, and Unleash Your People!"

HR Tech World - the fastest growing show on the future of work - opens in the city by the bay June 14-15, 2017. HR Tech World offers access to the greatest and largest community focused on the Future of Work.

HR Tech World will gather the Who's Who of the industry - innovators, thinkers, and doers from across the globe - to share ideas on how to transform organizations, and identify the best technologies and ways to apply them for maximum impact and increased value.

We are happy to introduce our first release of speakers at HR Tech World San Francisco that includes inspirational and disruptive speakers Peter Hinssen, Francine Katsoudas, Gary Vaynerchuk, Josh Bersin, Pat Wadors, Vivek Wadwha, Karen Parkin, Kate Brocock and other business leaders and thinkers whose opinions are shaping and driving the debate on the Future of Work.

In addition HR Tech World San Francisco will feature two exclusive leadership workshops and the first Unleash event on June 13th. Thought leader and author, Jason Averbook will lead a group on the consumerizaton of HR. Vivek Wadhwa will present a full-day workshop on how to thrive in today's era of exponentially advancing technologies. The third, Unleash, will gather recruitment and startup organizations to discuss and debate the future of recruitment and the future of work.

Companies at HR Tech World represent over $12 trillion in combined revenues. Our shows feature impressive business visionaries including Sir Richard Branson, Rachel Botsman, Gary Hamel, Sir Ken Robinson, Arianna Huffington, and Dan Pink.

Insight, inspiration, vision, and innovation define HR Tech World shows. Many thousands of enterprise practitioners have already enjoyed this unique experience. A world away from tired carpeted halls with little daylight, Fort Mason will enable delegates to enjoy a uniquely Bay Area experience that celebrates San Francisco and the age of innovation.

Only the true global market leaders are present at HR Tech World San Francisco including SAP SuccessFactors and Workday. Among our other clients expect to meet Crossknowldge, ADP, Smartrecruiters, Avature, NGA HR, Adobe, Workforce, Cornerstone, IBM, Phenom People, Restless Bandit, Deloitte, alongside firms such as Microsoft, General Electric, Pfizer, Kraft, Google, Facebook, and many other innovative organizations.

HR Tech World San Francisco: The event not to miss! It will be the most exclusive gathering of senior enterprise leaders in the U.S. in 2017.

Follow us on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/hrtechworld

Stay up to date at: #HRTechWorld

Read our Industry Blog: https://blog.hrn.io

Visit our website at: https://hrtechcongress.com/SanFrancisco

Contact us at: +1-415-795-7022

Inquiries: pr(at)hrn(dot)io

ABOUT HRN

Founded in 2011, HRN is a growth company, expanding organically. Our growth has earned us the reputation of producing the fastest growing events in the world on the Future of Work that have helped change the industry. Our goal is to help organizations optimize, enable, and unleash their people and make the world of work a better place. Since 2011. HRN shows have become the marketplace of choice for the HR Community.

The HR Tech World portfolio combined ranks HRN as the largest Corporate HR Network focused on the Future of Work & Technology. No other community is having such a powerful impact on shaping the Future of Work. Our clients include the most exciting brands and forward thinking organizations in the world. We have set our sights on the future and how to help change the Future of Work, blazing the trail for others to follow.

SOURCE HR Tech World

Related Links

https://hrtechcongress.com/SanFrancisco


WESTCHESTER, Ill., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (IAA), today announced the strategic expansion of auction locations in Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Pennsylvania and Oregon. IAA facilities now occupy 173 locations in the U.S. and Canada. IAA is a business unit of KAR Auction Services (NYSE: KAR) that provides a global marketplace for vehicle liquidation, logistics, title processing, and inventory sourcing channels for damaged and lower value vehicle consignors.

"Our increased land capacity enables us to proactively meet the growing inventory needs of our vehicle sellers," said John Kett, CEO and president of IAA. "We continuously evaluate opportunities in strategic locations and add resources and capacity where our customers need it most. We're proud of our diverse and expanding presence, and we look forward to serving our customers in these important and active markets."

This continued growth in key locations demonstrates IAA's commitment to providing additional acreage for day-to-day seller storage and maintaining reserve storage for acute inventory increases due to natural disasters and/or catastrophic events. These expanded locations also allow the company to offer a wider selection of vehicles to physical and online buyers. Registered buyers can preview vehicles live at the individual auction locations or online via IAA's newly redesigned vehicle details page that loads 60-percent faster and requires 50-percent less network data.

The IAA expansions announced today include: IAA-Fayetteville, Ark.; IAA-Boise, Idaho; IAA-South Bend, In.; IAA-Shreveport, La.; IAA-Gorham, Maine; IAA-Bridgeport, Pa.; and IAA Portland West, Ore. Additional strategic auction expansions or new locations scheduled for 2017 include: Fredericksburg, Va.; Kansas City, Kan.; Flint, Mich.; Ogden, Utah; and Spokane, Wash.

IAA Branch details for live and live-online auctions include:

IAA-Boise is located at 1881 W Marcon Ln Meridian, Idaho; auctions held biweekly on Fridays at 9:00 A.M.

IAA-Bridgeport is located at 396 E Schuylkill River Rd., Bridgeport, Pa.; auctions held every Thursday at 9:00 A.M.

IAA-Fayetteville is located at 2801 E. Pridemore Dr, Lincoln, Ark.; auctions held biweekly on Thursdays at 9:00 A.M.

IAA-Gorham is located at 9 Moody Drive, Gorham, Maine; auctions held every Monday at 10:30 A.M.

IAA-Portland West is located at 10498 Vancouver Way, Portland, Ore.; auctions held every Tuesday at 9:00 A.M.

IAA-South Bend is located at 25631 SR2, South Bend, Ind.; auctions held every Tuesday at 10:00 A.M.

IAA-Shreveport is located at 4836 McGee Rd., Greenwood, La.; auctions held every Monday at 9:00 A.M.

For more information on listings for branch dates and times, please visit www.iaai.com/locations.

For four decades, IAA has been dedicated to meeting and exceeding the needs of its global clients and giving back to the communities in which it operates. This philosophy of giving provides IAA's more than 2,800 team members with opportunities to volunteer, mentor and financially support multiple global, national, and local charitable causes. This commitment is also reflected in IAA's National Vehicle Donation division that, since 1994, has assisted not-for-profit organizations monetize donated vehicles to fund and support their missions.

IAA Contacts

Media Inquiries:

Jeanene O'Brien

708.492.7328

[email protected]

KAR Contacts

Media Inquiries:

Tobin Richer

(317) 249-4521

[email protected]

About Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.

Founded in 1982, Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA), the leading live and live-online salvage vehicle auction company, is headquartered in Westchester, IL and employs over 2,800 employees in more than 170 auction facilities throughout the U.S. and Canada. IAA is a business unit of KAR Auction Services (NYSE: KAR), a FORTUNE 1000 company, with approximately 17,400 employees and 310 operating locations. IAA is part of an end-to-end remarketing solution providing global buyers opportunities to bid on and purchase total loss, donated, higher mileage, damaged, and clean-title vehicles utilizing cutting- edge technology. IAA's multi-platform model enables insurance companies, fleet and rental companies, banks, finance companies, car dealerships and the general public to simultaneously participate in multiple auctions online and in-person. Additional services include registration, financing, towing and title services. Go to www.IAA-Auctions.com to learn more, and follow IAA on Facebook and Twitter.

About KAR Auction Services

KAR Auction Services (NYSE: KAR) provides sellers and buyers across the global wholesale used vehicle industry with innovative, technology-driven remarketing solutions. KAR's unique end-to-end platform supports whole car, salvage, financing, logistics and other ancillary and related services, including the sale of more than 5 million units valued at over $40 billion through our auctions. Our integrated physical, online and mobile marketplaces reduce risk, improve transparency and streamline transactions for customers in 110 countries. Headquartered in Carmel, Ind., KAR has approximately 17,400 employees across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. www.karauctionservices.com.

SOURCE Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.
TULSA, Okla., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IC Bus today announced Leonard Bus Sales as the company's North American School Bus 2016 Dealer of the Year. The award focuses on excellence in dealership performance, as well as industry and community leadership.

"We are proud of Leonard Bus Sales for earning our top award as the 2016 IC Bus Dealer of the Year," said Trish Reed, vice president and general manager, IC Bus. "The Dealer of the Year award recognizes the energy and commitment of all the dealership's employees, the commitment to growing their business and the recognition by customers as the dealership of choice in their market."

Founded in 1965 by Gerald and Helen Leonard in Hancock, N.Y., Leonard Bus Sales is a third generation family-owned company and leader in the distribution and support of IC Bus. Prior to becoming an IC Bus dealer in 2001, Leonard Bus Sales began as a Blue Bird distributor serving 13 counties in eastern New York State with only six employees. Today, Leonard Bus Sales has grown and expanded to more than 200 employees with facilities across the entire state of New York. IC Bus recently recognized the dealership with its "Pursuit of Excellence" award, acknowledging Leonard Bus Sales for outstanding growth and exceptional customer service. This is the fourth time that Leonard Bus Sales has earned the "Pursuit of Excellence" award. In addition, Leonard Bus Sales has earned the Diamond Premier Dealer recognition in 2016.

"Winning the IC Bus Dealer of the Year award is a tremendous honor for our company and our people," said Mike Leonard, president and CEO, Leonard Bus Sales. "This is a huge win for the entire Leonard Bus Sales team and a reflection of our commitment to making it easy for our school transportation partners by providing them support like our Diamond and Master Certified technicians, proprietary fleet planning tools, and one-stop-shop service and warranty support."

Leonard Bus Sales operates four full-service facilities in Deposit, Bergen, Rome, and Saratoga Springs, N.Y. In addition, to bus sales and support, Leonard Bus Sales is an active community partner and contributes to a variety of community programs, including the Bountiful Backpack program and the Leonard Family Scholarshipa program established to assist students enrolling in a technical or college education program to help them reach their goals.

"Our dealers consistently go beyond the bus itself to provide exceptional service and support that customers demand and deserve," Reed added. "We are proud to recognize Leonard Bus Sales for their dedication to customers and their communities throughout 2016."

About IC Bus

IC Bus, LLC of Lisle, Ill., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navistar, Inc. (NYSE: NAV). The nation's largest integrated manufacturer of school buses, IC Bus is a global leader in passenger protection, chassis design, engines and ergonomics. The company is also a producer of commercial buses. All IC Bus buses are sold, serviced and supported through a renowned dealer network that offers an integrated customer program encompassing parts, training and service. Additional information is available at www.icbus.com.

About Navistar

Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) is a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates produce International brand commercial and military trucks, proprietary diesel engines, and IC Bus brand school and commercial buses. An affiliate also provides truck and diesel engine service parts. Another affiliate offers financing services. Additional information is available at www.Navistar.com.

SOURCE IC Bus

Related Links

http://www.icbus.com


The VECTRA WB360 utilizes a combination of polarized and non-polarized lighting and the Canfield-designed custom lighting modules use proprietary xenon flash technology tuned for capturing skin surface images. The system is scalable and offered in two configurations. The VECTRA WB180 creates a front-of-the-body image and then a back-of-the-body image, providing full body visualization for clinical review. With multiple patents pending, the innovative design enables unprecedented simplicity and standardization of patient photography, eliminates the need for skilled medical photographers, and delivers tremendous patient benefit by reducing the photographic time to take both polarized and non-polarized captures to less than a second.

The advanced DermaGraphix Body Mapping Solution is designed to maximize the unique, high resolution 3D body images of the VECTRA WB360. The powerful and elegantly designed dashboard provides a complete view of the patient photographic history at a glance. Wireless lesion tagging with the VEOS DS3 dermatoscope provides unmatched user convenience and links all images associated with a lesion to the 3D body map for efficient exams and follow-ups. The DermaGraphix Visualizer takes all visible segmented lesions and displays them with a powerful interface that reveals the "ugly duckling" lesion. The DermaGraphix Tracker identifies new and changed lesions and will be available in the second half of 2017. The DermaGraphix Viewer, provided on a secure drive, empowers individuals to monitor their own lesions between visits, increasing the chances that they will identify suspect lesions in their early, and most treatable stages.

"We believe the VECTRA WB360 will revolutionize how physicians monitor high-risk patients," said founder and President Doug Canfield. "Our technology can help improve and even save lives." The VECTRA WB360 is available worldwide directly from Canfield Scientific. For detailed information and pricing on all of the applications and capabilities of the system please visit www.canfieldsci.com.

About Canfield Scientific: For over 30 years, Canfield Scientific has been the worldwide leader in the design and development of imaging systems, services and products for the medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and skin care industries. Early users of VECTRA WB360 include Skin Cancer research leaders, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. For more information contact Dennis O'Neal at 800-815-4330.

Contact: Dennis O'Neal - Canfield Scientific, 800-815-4330

SOURCE Canfield Imaging Systems

Related Links

http://www.canfieldsci.com


PLAYA VISTA, Calif., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) announced today the signing of an agreement for a feasibility study with a contract value of 2.5 Million USD with private investors. This agreement marks the immediate exploration of the feasibility for a Hyperloop system for Indonesia with an initial focus on Jakarta, and a full exploration of Hyperloop transportation connecting Java and Sumatra.

Indonesia Route 2 Indonesia Route 2

This is the first Hyperloop agreement in Southeast Asia. In the past year HTT has made multiple historic deals and is currently working directly with regulators and governments including:

Development of a route from Bratislava, Slovakia to Brno, Czech Republic .

to Brno, . A research and development center in Toulouse, France .

. Development of a route connecting Abu Dhabi to Al Ain under the patronage of HH Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan .

A multitude of similar government agreements is expected this year as HTT continues to create private public partnerships to develop route studies and the necessary regulatory framework for the Hyperloop systems worldwide.

With a population of over 260 million, Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world. The city of Jakarta, with a population of over 10 million people, faces some of the worst traffic in the world with a commonplace daily four hour commute. An estimated 70% of the air pollution comes from vehicles. A Hyperloop system would go to great lengths to help solve these issues. For example, a Hyperloop route from Jakarta to Yogyakarta would take approximately 25 minutes, compared to nearly 10 hours via automobile. Jakarta to neighboring Bandung would take 9 minutes, versus the current 2.5 hours, and a Hyperloop connecting Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to the Jakarta city center would take 5 minutes, compared to 30 minutes.

"Indonesia, and Jakarta in particular, is one of the most densely populated areas in the world," said HTT Chairman, Bibop Gresta. "With traffic and congestion being such a big issue there, the Hyperloop will be a welcome transformation for the region."

"The Hyperloop will affect the full spectrum of life, from business to quality of life to sustainability," said Dwi Putranto Sulaksono, Founder of The Dwiyuna Jaya Foundation, the local partner. "We are happy to create this partnership with HTT which will create a positive impact for Indonesia."

"We have been in negotiations directly with a wide multitude of governments around the world for over two years now," said Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of HTT. "Now that we are ready to build our first system, developing the necessary regulatory framework is the most important step."

About HTT

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc. (HTT) was founded in November, 2013, birthed of JumpStartFunda unique crowdfunding and crowdsourcing incubator platform that uses collective knowledge and assets to make ideas like Hyperloop a reality. HTT is a collaborative organization built within the egalitarian ecosystem of a company that values every one of its contributorsboth individual and entity. Collaborations with groups such as Atkins, Leybold Corporation, and Deutsche Bahn have resulted in tremendous advancement of the Hyperloop transportation system, setting the stage for commitments to installations in Quay Valley, California, Slovakia, Toulouse, Brno, Czech Republic, and Abu Dhabi in partnership with the Sheikh. More agreements are set to be formally announced during 2017.

HTT has an exclusive agreement with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for use their passive magnetic levitation system as the core of low-cost, safety-conscious construction and design in the Hyperloop. The company is partnered with more than 600 professional team members who provide the company with engineering, physics, legal, human resources, media relations, logistics, and construction talent to fuel a company that is uniquely collaborative and talent-laden. In support of these endeavors and the global team, HTT announced the surpassing of $100 million in investments in December of 2016.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies' images and assets can be found here

Contact:

Ben Cooke

Director of Media Relations

(310) 720-1214

[email protected]

SOURCE Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc.

Related Links

http://hyperloop.global


VANCOUVER, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (TSX: ITH; NYSE-MKT: THM) today announced that it has corrected previously reported all- in sustaining costs (AISC) downward to conform with World Gold Council guidance. The effect of the error was to overstate AISC at $1,263. As a result of the restatement, the AISC for the Livengood Gold Project (the "Project") located near Fairbanks, Alaska, is projected to be $976/oz.

The results of the Pre-Feasibility Study (the "PFS") set forth in a news release on September 8, 2016 and as filed with the NI 43-101 report on October 24, 2016 had included, contrary to World Gold Council guidance, both initial capital costs and mining and income taxes in the $1,263 previously reported as all-in sustaining costs. All dollar figures in this news release are stated in US Dollars.

The table below identifies the correct costs over the life of the Project based on the PFS:

Costs of Production



$/Ounce

As previously

reported $/Ounce

As corrected LOM

($Million)

As previously

reported LOM

($Million)

As corrected Operating Costs $ 877 $ 877 $ 5,934 $ 5,934 Capital Expenditures (1) 370(2) 99(3) 2,501(2) 665(3) All-In Sustaining Costs $ 1,247 $ 976 $ 8,435 $ 6,599 Capital Expenditures (1) - 271(4) - 1,836(4) Mining and Income Taxes 16 - 104 - All-In Costs $ 1,263 $ 1,247 $ 8,539 $ 8,435

Rounding of some figures may lead to minor discrepancies in totals.

(1) Excludes $18M upfront funding included in operating costs above and $37M of recoverable initial stores inventory.

(2) Includes initial and sustaining capital expenditures

(3) Includes sustaining capital expenditures only

(4) Includes initial capital expenditures only

Qualified Persons

Colin Hardie, P. Eng. (Ontario APEO No. 90512500), a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Hardie is independent of ITH as independence is described in Section 1.5 of NI 43-101.

On behalf of

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

(signed) Karl Hanneman

Chief Executive Officer

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements with respect to the mine plan, economic analysis (including CAPEX and OPEX) and production and design details described in the Pre-Feasibility Study; the potential to convert mineral resources to mineral reserves; additional optimization and exploration efforts and the results thereof; the ability of the Company to satisfy the derivative liability and the consequences of any failure to do so; the ability of the Company to potentially include refined and updated results in a subsequent full feasibility study; the ability of the Company to advance environmental baseline work in support of future permitting; the ability of the Company to advance the Livengood Project either as projected or at all; the potential for the Company to make a construction decision, whether when warranted by market conditions or at all; the potential for market conditions to be such that they warrant the making of a production decision; the potential development of any mine at the Livengood Project; business and financing plans and business trends are forward-looking statements. Information concerning mineral reserve/resource estimates and the economic analysis thereof contained in the Pre-Feasibility Study also may be deemed to be forward-looking statements in that it reflects a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered, and the results of mining it, if a mineral deposit were developed and mined. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate, proposed, planned, potential and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital (including, as required, to satisfy the derivative liability) or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Information Form filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and the Company's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and its United States public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sec.gov, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical report filed with respect to the Company's Livengood property.

Cautionary Note Regarding References to Resources and Reserves

National Instrument 43 101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates contained in or incorporated by reference in this news release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on May 10, 2014 (the "CIM Standards") as they may be amended from time to time by the CIM.

United States shareholders are cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the SEC set forth in the SEC's Industry Guide 7 ("SEC Industry Guide 7"). Accordingly, the Company's disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Without limiting the foregoing, while the terms "mineral resources", "inferred mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "measured mineral resources" are recognized and required by NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not permitted to be used in documents filed with the SEC by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7.

Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource will ever be converted into reserves. The preliminary assessments on the Livengood Project are preliminary in nature and include "inferred mineral resources" that have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that such inferred mineral resources at the Livengood Project will ever be realized. Further, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher resource category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility study, except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists or is economically or legally mineable.

The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit amounts. The term "contained ounces" is not permitted under the rules of SEC Industry Guide 7. In addition, the NI 43-101 and CIM Standards definition of a "reserve" differs from the definition in SEC Industry Guide 7. In SEC Industry Guide 7, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made, and a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis of designated reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority.

This news release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

SOURCE International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.ithmines.com


ATLANTA, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, March 8, 2017, a Hall County State Court judge awarded Pope McGlamry's client, Paul Love, $86,715.00 in damages arising from an assault incident instigated by Micah "Katt" Williams, that took place on February 29, 2016. Mr. Love was working at Leslie's Pool Supplies in Gainesville, Georgia when Mr. Williams came into the store. Mr. Williams piled 30-35 items on the counter and as Mr. Love began to ring up the merchandise, Mr. Williams left the store. Mr. Williams returned to the store quite a while later, and accused Mr. Love of not ringing up the items because he, Mr. Love, was a racist. Mr. Williams flew into a rage, berating Mr. Love, punching him in the face, hurling merchandise at him, and interfering numerous times with Mr. Love's attempts to call 9-1-1. Mr. Love, who had undergone brain surgery just two months prior to the assault, feared for both his safety and his health, testifying that he "didn't know what [Katt Williams] was going to do" or whether he had a weapon. On behalf of Mr. Love, Pope McGlamry brought claims for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, slander and punitive damages against Mr. Williams. After Mr. Williams failed to answer the Plaintiff's complaint, the Court entered a Default Judgment on February 2, 2017. On Wednesday, March 8th, 2017, the Court heard arguments from Pope McGlamry attorneys Caroline McGlamry and M.J. Blakely on the issue of unliquidated damages, and awarded Mr. Love damages for past medical expenses, pain and suffering, intentional infliction of emotion distress, and punitive damages, as well as court costs.

Media Contact:

Anthonia Spencer

1-404-523-7706

[email protected]

SOURCE Pope McGlamry

Related Links

http://www.popemcglamry.com


WASHINGTON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR) -- the Society of Interventional Radiology's peer-reviewed scientific journalpresented the 2016 JVIR Editor's Best awards during the March 7 general session of the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting, March 49 in Washington, D.C. The annual awards, supported by SIR Foundation, are made after a comprehensive review of all papers submitted to JVIR during the prior year.

2016 JVIR EDITOR'S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CLINICAL RESEARCH PAPER

Raghuram "Ram" Posham, MPA, a fourth-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, was honored with the award for outstanding clinical research paper for "Transradial Approach for Noncoronary Interventions: A Single-Center Review of Safety and Feasibility in the First 1,500 Cases."

In citing why this paper stood out JVIR Editor-in-chief Ziv J Haskal, M.D., FSIR, noted, "Numbers matterespecially when reporting validating new clinical research and techniquesand this paper reported the results of transradial approaches in a remarkable cohort of 1,500 patients. While this approach is common in cardiac interventions, it has not been widely used in other interventional radiology treatments. In this paper, Mr. Posham, Dr. Fischman and their colleagues have quantified the clear safety and ability to accomplish the span of IR procedures using a wrist approach, firmly emplacing it in IR routine."

"The paper has driven broad adoption in the specialty, training programs, workshops, tools and reconfiguration of hospital recovery areas," Haskal added. "This is good for IR patients worldwide, allowing them to return to their daily activities quickly, with minimal discomfort and risk."

2016 JVIR EDITOR'S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LABORATORY INVESTIGATION

Pauline Lequoy, MSc, of the CHUM Research Center in Montreal, was honored with the award for outstanding laboratory investigation for "In Vitro and Pilot In Vivo Evaluation of a Bioactive Coating for Stent Grafts Based on Chondroitin Sulfate and Epidermal Growth Factor."

Haskal, a professor with the department of radiology and medical imaging at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, said, "The majority of abdominal aortic aneurysms are routinely repaired using endovascular means; however, the therapy requires lifelong imaging to monitor for continued aneurysm perfusion, late device malfunctions or other risks of rupture, which could result in more invasive procedures. In this methodical, multi-stage research, Ms. Lequoy, Dr. Lerouge and their partners reported the ability of a bioactive coating and epidermal growth factors to attach to common stent-graft materials, suggesting a path to enhance graft incorporation and healingpotentially reducing late aneurysm risks in patients."

"This research clearly demonstrates how interventional radiologists are constantly innovating to achieve better patient outcomes," Haskal said.

Haskal also recognized the authors of an additional 10 clinical and six laboratory papers for their contributions.

More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology, finding an interventional radiologist in your area, minimally invasive treatments, and the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology can be found online at sirweb.org.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation

SIR Foundation is a scientific foundation dedicated to fostering research and education in interventional radiology for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators in interventional radiology and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life. Visit sirfoundation.org.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology

The Society of Interventional Radiology is a nonprofit, professional medical society representing more than 7,000 practicing interventional radiology physicians, trainees, students, scientists and clinical associates, dedicated to improving patient care through the limitless potential of image-guided therapies. SIR's members work in a variety of settings and at different professional levelsfrom medical students and residents to university faculty and private practice physicians. Visit sirweb.org. The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its Annual Scientific Meeting March 49 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. Visit sirmeeting.org.

2016 JVIR Editor's Award for Outstanding Clinical Research Paper:

"Transradial Approach for Noncoronary Interventions: A Single-Center Review of Safety and Feasibility in the First 1,500 Cases." Posham R, Biederman DM, Patel RS, Kim E, Tabori NE, Nowakowski FS, Lookstein RA, Fischman AM. J Vasc Interv Radiol 2016, 27:159166

2016 JVIR Editor's Award for Outstanding Laboratory Paper:

"In Vitro and Pilot In Vivo Evaluation of a Bioactive Coating for Stent Grafts Based on Chondroitin Sulfate and Epidermal Growth Factor." Lequoy P, Savoji H, Saoudi B, Bertrand-Grenier A, Wertheimer MR, Crescenzo G, Soulez G, Lerouge S. J Vasc Interv Radiol 2016, 27:753760.

SOURCE Society of Interventional Radiology

Related Links

http://www.sirweb.org


SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kalray, a leading provider of acceleration solutions for data centers will demonstrate an NVMe-oF (Non-Volatile Memory express over Fabrics) JBOF (Just a Bunch of Flash) system in the SK Hynix booth at the OCP Summit. The Summit will be taking place at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California, on March 8-9.

The remote storage system will consist of 2 JBOFs, each with 13 SKHMS M.2 PCIe Carriers integrating 4 SKHMS PE3110 SSDs each, as well as 6 Kalray KONIC40 SmartNICs.

This configuration yields 104 SSDs in a 4U form factor, and achieves greater than 3 million IOPS.

"As an industry leader in providing many core solutions for data center acceleration, we are proud to be demonstrating how our KONIC40 enables NVMe-oF storage systems to exploit the full performance of flash memory," said Eric Baissus, CEO of Kalray.

"This demonstration is one further step toward the matured NVMe-oF technology deployment environment paired with SK Hynix JBOF all flash array of high performance NVMe SSDs. Active collaboration with Kalray enabled to achieve low latency of NVMe-oF technology on top of low latency, high performance N VMe SSDs," said Vice President SooHwan Choi, Head of NAND Product Planning Office at SK Hynix.

Kalray has developed a family of high-performance storage acceleration solutions, based on its unique MPPA2-256 high-speed I/O processor. These MPPA-based solutions fully offload the NVMe-oF traffic, eliminating CPU and DDR bottlenecks. Additionally, logical volume management (LVM), encryption, compression, deduplication, erasure coding, and other functions, can be performed in-line.

About Kalray

Kalray Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company and pioneer in manycore processor solutions. Its innovative MPPA architecture uniquely delivers high-speed I/O processing, enabling real-time acceleration for cloud applications in security, networking and storage. For more information, visit http://www.kalrayinc.com

About SK Hynix

SK Hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world's top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (DRAM), Flash memory chips (NAND Flash) and CMOS Image Sensors (CIS) for a wide range of customers globally. The company's shares are traded on the Korean Exchange and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK Hynix is available at www.skhynix.com

Press Contact

Andrea Busch

[email protected]

+1 650-469-3729

SOURCE Kalray

Related Links

http://www.kalrayinc.com


MELVILLE, N.Y., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leviton announced today the release of five new Z-Wave Plus certified lighting control devices, including 600W and 1000W in-wall dimmers, 15 Amp switches, as well as plug-in outlets and plug-in dimmers. The Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology devices universally support LED, CFL and incandescent bulbs, are certified to work with both Samsung SmartThings and Wink hubs, and are backwards compatible to Leviton Vizia RF + systems. All Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology devices are supported by an industry-leading five year limited warranty.

These new Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology devices feature state-of-the-art Z-Wave Plus commands such as network wide inclusion and beaming, faster installation, and stronger communication, all while using less energy. The devices have also been engineered for compatibility with extremely sensitive low-wattage LED bulbs. With standard dimmers, these types of bulbs can glow even after lights are turned off, but the new compatibility feature will eliminate this, so off really means off. Additionally, the plug-in modules feature a new, local on/off push button that offers real-time communication to hubs.

In addition to new functionality and compatibility features, a new, enhanced in-wall Decora Smart aesthetic has been created. The new 600W and 1000W dimmer hardware features an all-new dim/bright bar placed vertically alongside the on/off rocker paddle for ease of use. The vanishing LEDs on the left side of the paddle show current and target light levels with real-time feedback. Both white and light almond faceplates are included with the in-wall devices, and a variety of color change kits are also available. Optional screwless Decora wallplates ensure a sleek, matching appearance with an end-user's other Decora dimmers and switches.

"Leviton has been a pioneer and believer in Z-Wave technology for well over a decade, beginning with the existing Vizia RF + product family," said Tom Morgan, Director of Product Management for Leviton Energy Management, Controls, & Automation. "Therefore, it's only natural to bring our wide-ranging product line into the future with a new look and enhanced Z-Wave Plus technology."

Multi-location (3-way) dimming is achieved using up to four remote units referred to as DD00R-DLZ. Multi-location (3-way) switching is achieved using a DD0SR-1Z coordinating remote (no LED indicator) or a DD0SR-DLZ matching remote (with LED indicator).

Available for sale now in all channels are the DZ1KD Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology 1000W Dimmer, DZ6HD Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology 600W Dimmer, DZ15S Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology 15 Amp Switch, DZPA1 Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology Plug-In Dimmer and the DZPD3 Decora Smart with Z-Wave Technology Plug-In Outlet. Additionally, within the US and Canada distribution markets, there is a new Samsung SmartThings and Leviton bundle available. The STKIT-2DS now includes a DZ6HD 600W Dimmer and DZ15S 15 Amp Switch along with the Samsung SmartThings hub.

Learn more at http://www.Leviton.com/Z-Wave.

About Leviton

Leviton is the smart choice, delivering the most comprehensive range of solutions to meet the needs of today's residential, commercial and industrial customers in more than 90 countries across the globe. From simple switches and receptacles, to networking systems and smart home automation, Leviton exceeds market needs by delivering innovative products to create sustainable, intelligent environments through its electrical wiring devices, network and data center connectivity solutions, LED lighting and lighting energy management systems, and security and automation applications. For Leviton, it is clear the FUTURE IS ON. For more information, visit www.leviton.com, www.facebook.com/leviton, www.twitter.com/leviton or www.youtube.com/Levitonmfg.

SOURCE Leviton

Related Links

http://www.leviton.com


NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Shoptalk, the groundbreaking new retail and ecommerce event, today announced it will kick off its 2017 event with 50 speakers on Sunday, March 19, including main stage interviews with multi-Grammy Award winning recording artist Lionel Richie and VP of Amazon Prime Now, Stephenie Landry. Sunday's content will also include a startup pitch contest with significant cash prizes.

Shoptalk's impressive lineup of more than 330 speakers features top industry executives including Mindy Grossman, CEO & Director of HSN, Inc.; Devin Wenig, President & CEO of eBay; Michael Evans, President of Alibaba Group; Calvin McDonald, President & CEO of Sephora Americas; Brian Cornell, Chairman & CEO of Target; and Kevin Mansell, CEO & President of Kohl's. More than 60% of Shoptalk speakers are C-Level executives.

Shoptalk continues to lead the industry narrative centered on the evolution of how consumers discover, shop and buy, and is on track to sell out at more than 5,000 attendees. The event will take place at the Aria, Las Vegas on March 19-22.

Additional Shoptalk speakers include:

Adidas Group  Nic Vu , GM, Adidas Group North America

 , GM, Adidas Group North America Adorama  Barry Litwin , CEO

 , CEO Allbirds  Tim Brown , Co-Founder

 , Co-Founder Amazon  Peter Faricy , VP, Amazon Marketplace

, VP, Amazon Marketplace Aritzia  Oliver Walsh , CMO

 , CMO Away  Steph Korey , Co-Founder & CEO

 , Co-Founder & CEO Best Buy  Mary Lou Kelley , President, Ecommerce

, President, Ecommerce Boxed Wholesale  Chieh Huang , CEO

 , CEO Casper  Luke Sherwin , Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer

 , Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer Chubbies  Rainer Castillo , Co-Founder

, Co-Founder Cornerstone Brands  Bryon Colby , SVP, Digital Commerce

, SVP, Digital Commerce Crate and Barrel  Michael G. Relich , Chief Operating Officer

 , Chief Operating Officer Crocs  Harvey Bierman , VP Ecommerce Technology & Operations

 , VP Ecommerce Technology & Operations Dick's Sporting Goods  Rafeh Masood , VP, Customer Innovation Technology

 , VP, Customer Innovation Technology eBags  Mike Edwards , CEO

, CEO eBay  Bridget Davies , VP, GM eBay Advertising

 , VP, GM eBay Advertising eBay  Bob Kupbens , VP, Seller Experience & Global Trust

 , VP, Seller Experience & Global Trust Elizabeth Arden  JuE Wong , President, Elizabeth Arden Brand

, President, Express  Jim Hilt , CMO & EVP Ecommerce

, CMO & EVP Ecommerce Facebook  Martin Barthel , Global Head of Ecommerce & Retail Strategy

 , Global Head of Ecommerce & Retail Strategy Facebook  Anand Chandrasekaran , Head of Messenger Partnerships

 , Head of Messenger Partnerships Flipkart  Kalyan Krishnamurthy , CEO

 , CEO Google  Jonathan Alferness , VP Product Management, Shopping & Travel

, VP Product Management, Shopping & Travel Halston  Suzanne Hader , CMO

 , CMO Harry's  Jeff Raider , Co-Founder & Co-CEO

, Co-Founder & Co-CEO Harry's  Andy Katz-Mayfield , Co-Founder & Co-CEO

, Co-Founder & Co-CEO Houzz  Adi Tatarko , CEO & Co-Founder

, CEO & Co-Founder Hudson's Bay/HSNi  Matthew E. Rubel , Board Member

, Board Member Hudson's Bay Company  Anu Penmetcha, VP Omnichannel & Chief of Staff Digital

 Anu Penmetcha, VP Omnichannel & Chief of Staff Digital Keds  Emily Culp , CMO

, CMO Kimberly-Clark Corporation  Suja Chandrasekaran , Chief Information Officer

 , Chief Information Officer Kohl's  Charlie Holmes , VP  Product Development Analytics & Operations

 , VP  Product Development Analytics & Operations Levi Strauss & Co.  Marc Rosen , EVP & President of Global Ecommerce

 , EVP & President of Global Ecommerce Lowe's Companies  Kyle Nel , Executive Director, Lowe's Innovation Labs

 , Executive Director, Lowe's Innovation Labs Memebox  Hyungseok Dino Ha , Co-Founder & CEO

 , Co-Founder & CEO Minted  Mariam Naficy , CEO & Founder

 , CEO & Founder Modcloth  Matt Kaness , CEO

 , CEO Modell's Sporting Goods  Tami Mohney , SVP & CMO

 , SVP & CMO Mondel e z  Neil Ackerman , Global Director, Ecommerce Technology & Supply Chain Innovation

 , Global Director, Ecommerce Technology & Supply Chain Innovation Naturebox  Gautam Gupta , CEO & Co-Founder

 , CEO & Co-Founder Nordstrom  Ken Worzel , President, Nordstrom.com

, President, Nordstrom.com OfferUp  Nick Huzar , CEO

, CEO PepsiCo  Kristin Patrick , SVP, Global Brand Development

, SVP, Global Brand Development PetSmart  Mike Molitor , SVP of Digital

 , SVP of Digital Plated  Nick Taranto , Co-Founder

 , Co-Founder Poshmark  Manish Chandra , Founder & CEO

 , Founder & CEO Postmates  Bastian Lehmann , Co-Founder & CEO

 , Co-Founder & CEO Quidsi  Emilie Arel Scott , CEO

 , CEO Rebecca Minkoff  Uri Minkoff , Co-Founder & CEO

, Co-Founder & CEO Reformation  Yael Aflalo , Founder & CEO

, Founder & CEO Rent the Runway  Vijay Subramanian , Chief Analytics Officer

 , Chief Analytics Officer Sam's Club  Jamie Iannone , President & CEO, Samsclub.com

, President & CEO, Samsclub.com Samsung Electronics America  Zach Overton , GM, 837 & VP of Experiential Marketing

, GM, 837 & VP of Experiential Marketing Samsung Electronics America  Bill Lee , VP Smart Home Product Marketing

 , VP Smart Home Product Marketing SeatGeek  Jack Groetzinger , Co-Founder

 , Co-Founder Sephora  Mary Beth Laughton , SVP Digital

 , SVP Digital Spring  Alan Tisch , CEO & Co-Founder

 , CEO & Co-Founder Staples  Faisal Masud , Chief Technology Officer

 , Chief Technology Officer Stitch Fix  Eric Colson , Chief Algorithms Officer

 , Chief Algorithms Officer Talbots  Rob Schmults , SVP Ecommerce & CRM

 , SVP Ecommerce & CRM Target  Gene Han , VP of Consumer IoT & Head of Target's San Francisco Innovation Office

 , VP of Consumer IoT & Head of Target's San Francisco Innovation Office True&Co.  Michelle Lam , Co-Founder & CEO

 , Co-Founder & CEO Tumi  Charlie Cole , Chief Digital Officer

, Chief Digital Officer Ulta Beauty  Prama Bhatt , VP, Digital & Ecommerce

 , VP, Digital & Ecommerce Ulta Beauty  Dave Kimbell , Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer

, Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer Under Armour  Sid Jatia , VP, Omnichannel Digital

 , VP, Omnichannel Digital Unilever North America  Doug Straton , VP, Digital, Ecommerce & Data

 , VP, Digital, Ecommerce & Data Walker & Company Brands  Tristan Walker , Founder & CEO

 , Founder & CEO Walmart  Seth Beal , SVP, Incubation & Strategic Partnerships

 , SVP, Incubation & Strategic Partnerships Walmart  Marc Lore , President & CEO, Walmart eCommerce U.S.

, President & CEO, Walmart eCommerce U.S. Walmart  Ram Rampalli, Global Head of Content Acquisition

 Ram Rampalli, Global Head of Content Acquisition West Elm  Peter Fowler , VP of Hospitality & Workspace

 , VP of Hospitality & Workspace Williams Sonoma Inc.  John Strain , Chief Digital & Technical Officer

 , Chief Digital & Technical Officer Wish  Peter Szulczewski , CEO & Co-Founder

"Building on the tremendous success of last year's inaugural event, we have once again created an exceptional forum for the retail and ecommerce ecosystem to interact in a meaningful way," said Anil D. Aggarwal, founder and chief executive officer of Shoptalk. "With 2017's attendance at 175% of what it was in 2016, we have an unparalleled representation of senior level executives from a wide range of industry verticals, stages and sectors. And just as in 2016, we're confident that the content, dialogue and networking will help shape the future of retail and ecommerce."

Shoptalk provides a unique platform for large retailers and brands, venture-backed direct-to-consumer startups, tech and Internet companies, investors, media, Wall Street analysts and others to come together in an open and friendly environment. The agenda includes more than 100 carefully curated sessions across a wide range of formats, including 20-minute keynote speeches and interviews as well as 35-minute track sessions such as moderated panels, talk show-style group interviews, case studies, demos and research presentations.

More than 150 announcements will be made at this year's Shoptalk and more than 125 media and analysts will be at the event. Shoptalk 2017 will also feature a variety of networking programs, including the Hosted Retailers & Brands Program, Funding Founders, Tech Tours and Peer Dinners, which will collectively facilitate thousands of new interactions among attendees.

The final Shoptalk agenda can be seen at http://shoptalk.com/agenda.

Shoptalk was founded by the creators of Money20/20, the world's largest consumer payments and FinTech event with over 10,000 attendees.

About Shoptalk

Shoptalk organizes the world's most important events for retail and ecommerce innovation. Held annually in both the U.S. and Europe, Shoptalk events represent unprecedented gatherings of individuals and companies reshaping how consumers discover, shop and buy. Each event provides a platform for large retailers and branded manufacturers, startups, tech companies, investors, media and analysts to learn, collaborate and evolve. The next Shoptalk will be held on March 19-22, 2017 at the Aria in Las Vegas, followed by Shoptalk Europe, which will take place on October 9-11, 2017 at the Bella Center in Copenhagen. For more information, visit www.shoptalk.com and www.shoptalkeurope.com. Follow @shoptalk. Like facebook.com/shoptalk. Get tickets for Shoptalk here: http://shoptalk.com/register.

SOURCE Shoptalk
NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Late Monday evening (March 6), a jury ruled in favor of a former Marshall County Schools administrator, Dr. Patsey Thomas, in her employment discrimination suit against the school system, finding that the school had a pattern and practice of bias and awarding her more than $500,000 in damages. Morgan & Morgan attorneys Kathryn Barnett, Brian Winfrey, and Jason Gichner represented Dr. Thomas in the crucial case against a school district known for its racial hostility.

A Tennessee federal jury found the school district guilty of racial discrimination, retaliation, fostering a hostile work environment and constructive discharge, which involves creating an environment so bad for an employee that the employee's resignation was effectively a discharge.

Dr. Thomas, who is African-American, has a Doctorate of Education in School Administration and was Coordinator of Health in the district until 2012, alleged in her complaint that the school board and district exercised a pattern and practice of discrimination against African-American administrators, setting Dr. Thomas and the other African American supervisors in the Central Office up to fail, by voting to deny them assistants, subjecting them to increased and unwarranted scrutiny and placing increasing demands on them.

In January 2012, the board voted in a new director of schools. Within three months the new director of schools, Jackie Abernathy, had fired or demoted 100 percent of the African American supervisors from the Central Office. Dr. Patsey Thomas, who had served the school district for more than 20 years, was demoted to middle school Physical Education teacher  the same job she had when she started working for the schools in 1989. After her demotion, Dr. Thomas applied and was rejected for ten supervisor-level jobs in the school system, including assistant principal, principal and Central Office administrator vacancies.

Barnett, one of her attorneys, praised the jury's decision.

"We shined a light on something dark and ugly," Barnett said, "and I am proud to have been a part of helping to right the serious wrong of the way the Marshall County school system mistreated Dr. Thomas."

"We added well-known employee advocate Brian Winfrey to our team so that we can pursue justice for mistreated workers in cases just like this  wherever and whenever they occur," Barnett added.

Allegations of racism are nothing new to Marshall County schools. In 1993, the district entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, because the agency found poor treatment of African-American students.

For more information on this case, and to speak with the attorneys:

Erika Nedwell/Karine Lim

Morgan & Morgan, P.A

[email protected] / [email protected]

212-738-6254/212-738-6265

SOURCE Morgan & Morgan

Related Links

http://www.classaction.com


GREENBELT, Md., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA is partnering with the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and the Northrop Grumman Corporation to highlight the James Webb Space Telescope at South by Southwest (SXSW) from March 12 to 18, 2017. The Webb telescope exhibit will be located at the Austin Convention Center, 500 E. Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, Texas.

Visitors can talk with scientists and engineers who will share how Webb will be the premier space observatory for astronomers worldwide, extending the tantalizing discoveries of the Hubble Space telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope exhibit at SXSW will feature an augmented reality version of the telescope, an infrared camera demonstration, 3-D animation of the Telescope's deployment and some of the unique materials used to construct the Webb telescope.

The Webb telescope is NASA's top science program in development that will allow scientists to peer ever farther into the cosmos, seeing things no previous telescope has been able to see and explore the formation of the first stars and galaxies.

1. March 14 at 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. CT: SXSW Interactive Panel: "New Eyes on Our Home System: NASA's Next Telescope," SXSW Festival, J.W. Marriott, 110 E 2nd Street, Room: Salon AB, Austin, TX 78701

Panelists include:

Dr. Alberto Conti , astrophysicist and innovation manager, Northrop Grumman

, astrophysicist and innovation manager, Northrop Grumman Dr. Amber Straughn , astrophysicist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

, astrophysicist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. Stephanie Milam , planetary scientist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

, planetary scientist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. Joel Green , astrophysicist and project scientist, Space Telescope Science Institute

They will discuss the innovative technologies behind and fascinating science expected from the Webb telescope that will push the boundaries of what is capable for spacecraft. Panel topics will address the unique telescope's infrared capabilities to measure varying conditions and atmospheres of other planets.

Media RSVP, contact Connie Reese by 12 p.m. CT on March 13, 2017 at 661-618-4391 or [email protected].

For additional panel and SXSW required credential information:

http://schedule.sxsw.com/2017/events/PP62619 (Badge holders)

2. March 12 to 15: Webb telescope material and presenters at the NASA Exhibit in the SXSW Trade Show, Austin Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 2, 3 & 4, All Badges (Platinum, Interactive, Film, Music)

http://www.sxsw.com/exhibitions/trade-show/ (Badge holders)

For more information, including a full list of events, visit the SXSW event website at: http://www.sxsw.com/attend/getting-around/austin-convention-center

For more information about South by Southwest, visit: http://sxsw.com/

For more information about the James Webb Space Telescope, visit: www.jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mesothelioma Compensation Center says, "We are incredibly passionate about making certain that a person who was exposed to asbestos at a nuclear power plant that now has mesothelioma receives the very best possible financial compensation. The attorneys we recommend for nuclear power plant workers with mesothelioma also specialize in accelerating a significant portion of the diagnosed person's potential financial compensation as we would like to discuss anytime at 800-714-0303.

Asbestos Warning Sign Nuclear Power Plant

"We also offer our vital services based on the best possible mesothelioma compensation results for a person who was exposed to asbestos in the process of decommissioning a nuclear power plant. Nuclear power plant workers who were electricians, plumbers, insulators, or even maintenance crew members who now have mesothelioma could very easily be looking at a financial compensation settlement that exceeds one million dollars.

"The mesothelioma attorneys we suggest typically get their clients a significant portion of their financial compensation settlement on an expedited basis." http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com

Before a nuclear power plant worker who has been recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma hires a lawyer/law firm to advance a mesothelioma financial claim, they are urged to contact the Mesothelioma Compensation Center anytime at 800-713-0303 for instant access to some of the nation's most skilled mesothelioma attorneys who consistently get the best compensation results for their clients and they do not overcharge their clients. http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com

For a listing of decommissioned US nuclear power plants please refer to the following website: https://publicwatchdogs.org/list-decommissioned-nuclear-power-plants-usa/.

For a list of all operating nuclear power plants in the United States please refer to the following website: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/list-power-reactor-units.html.

The average age for a diagnosed victim of mesothelioma is about 70 years old. This year between 2500, and 3000 US citizens will be diagnosed with mesothelioma. The Mesothelioma Compensation Center says, "Based on our experience frequently mesothelioma is initially misdiagnosed as pneumonia."

The Mesothelioma Compensation Center specializes in assisting specific types of people who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma. These people include the US Navy Veterans, oil refinery workers, power plant workers, nuclear power plant workers, public utility workers, hydro-electric workers, chemical plant workers, plumbers, electricians, welders, or oil and gas production workers. In most instances these people were exposed to asbestos in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, or 1980's. http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com

The states with the highest incidence of mesothelioma include Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Washington, and Oregon. However, a nuclear power worker with a confirmed diagnosis of mesothelioma could live in any state including California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, or Alaska.

The Mesothelioma Compensation Center says, "If you call us at 800-714-0303, we will see to it that you have instant and direct access to the nation's most experienced, and skilled mesothelioma attorneys who typically obtain the best possible financial compensation settlements for their clients." http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com

For more information about mesothelioma please refer to the National Institutes of Health's web site related to this rare form of cancer: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mesothelioma.html

Media contact

Michael Thomas

[email protected]

800-714-0303

SOURCE Mesothelioma Compensation Center

Related Links

http://mesotheliomacompensationcenter.com


MSC for Me will bring to the sea some of the very latest advances in customer-centric technology, in a program designed to meet the needs of guests for years to come. It will debut on MSC Meraviglia , the cruise line's first next-generation new mega-ship coming into service this June in the Mediterranean, which will be fitted with 16,000 points of connectivity, 700 digital access points, 358 informative and interactive screens, and 2,244 staterooms with RFID/NFC access technology. The program will next be rolled out on MSC Seaside when the ship launches in November.

MSC Cruises' Business Innovation team  supporting the vision and leadership of the Company's Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago  has overseen the integrated development, design and construction of the new ships. There will be three new classes of ships2 built from three new prototypes under the Company's ten-year investment plan. As a result, MSC Cruises will ensure that state-of-the-art technology is fully incorporated into every step of the development process of each prototype, from conception and construction through to the coming into service of each individual ship.

"From day one, innovation has been at the very core of what MSC Cruises stands for," said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises. "Each time we bring to the market a new class of ship we develop a brand new prototype, so that we can best address the evolving needs of guests. This distinct approach has led to over 800 percent growth over the first ten years since we entered the cruising business."

"The length and scale of our investment plan is unprecedented in the industry and it means that we aren't just planning ships and experiences relevant to our cruise guests in the next few years, but to those we will welcome on board as far out as 2030 and beyond," continued Vago. "Technology at the service of the guest experience is advancing at a rapid pace and that is why we've already invested about $21 million in the first two ships alone, to develop technology and infrastructure that is capable of meeting the needs of guests for years to come."

The holistic and guest-centric program is focused on connecting guests to their desired vacation experience through cutting-edge technology that is specially engineered to meet their every need, regardless of how they prefer to use technology when traveling.

"This journey started three years ago and today guests are less than 90 days away from experiencing a whole new cruise experience," said Luca Pronzati, chief innovation officer for MSC Cruises. "Together with more than eleven of the world's leading digital, tech and behavioral science experts, among which Deloitte Digital, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Samsung, we are bringing some of their latest and most-advanced solutions and technology on board our ships  in fact, this is where most of these will be available for the first time ever on a cruise ship. Like smart, connected cities, but with the added complexity of being at sea, our fleet will demonstrate MSC Cruises' commitment to true innovation today and for years to come, making our ships a holiday destination in their own right."

WHY: The Need for More Connectivity and Digitally Enhanced Guest Experiences

Guest needs have informed and driven MSC Cruises' investment in MSC for Me, directly shaping the cruise experience of the future. A research study carried out in partnership with Deloitte Digital identified some of the following key findings:

Technology must enable our crew in providing an even better service to our guests, and ultimately must enrich human contact.

With 170 different nationalities sailing with MSC Cruises, the challenge for communicating effectively with guests is complex. There is a need to provide relevant information based on the guest profile, and the digital channels must facilitate the effective delivery of this information.

To simplify and optimize planning before and during the cruise to help guests better understand all of the offerings available, leaving more time to enjoy their vacation.

To enhance the experience beyond 'the life on board' by integrating the guest experience before and after the cruise as part of a complete customer journey.

Additionally, research showed that more than one in two guests are increasingly looking at customizing their vacation experience both before and during their cruise (59%), with one out of six guests (17%) claiming to do so only once they're on-board. Furthermore, nearly three quarters (73%) of guests claimed to be interested in a vacation at sea on a more connected cruise ship.3 The research also identified that more than two out of three guests (69%) wish to use a smartphone on board, and more than one in three (36%) uses a tablet while at sea.

MSC for Me Key Features

In response to increasing demand for real-time flexibility, some of the innovative features that are available from MSC for Me are:

Navigation: digital way finder that provides guests on board with advice, guidance and information on what's on. The technology is similar to smart maps and helps them find their way on the 1000+ foot long ships with a 16 foot precision. It also allows guests to locate their children, as needed.

digital way finder that provides guests on board with advice, guidance and information on what's on. The technology is similar to smart maps and helps them find their way on the 1000+ foot long ships with a 16 foot precision. It also allows guests to locate their children, as needed. Concierge: allows guests to easily book services, restaurants, excursions and more in real time, 24/7.

allows guests to easily book services, restaurants, excursions and more in real time, 24/7. Capture: digital immersive discovery through virtual reality to preview excursions and a gallery with interactive screens showing the unique story of a guest's trip, which they can share in real time.

digital immersive discovery through virtual reality to preview excursions and a gallery with interactive screens showing the unique story of a guest's trip, which they can share in real time. Organizer: a planning tool for guests to check in with their mobile device, book trips, seats for shows, or the best dinner table, before embarking or when on board.

a planning tool for guests to check in with their mobile device, book trips, seats for shows, or the best dinner table, before embarking or when on board. TailorMade: digital, personal advisor that will provide tailored recommendations, based on preferences. Intelligent face recognition4 will help staff take care of guests in a highly personalized way. Interactive bracelets will connect guests to the ship's services and will activate geo-located suggestions through 3,050 bluetooth beacons.

Overall, MSC for Me will provide guests with over 130 smart features geared toward a fully optimized vacation experience. These include a dedicated app to help guests tailor their vacations at any point on their journey, whether they are booking their excursions prior to embarkation or a specialty restaurant while relaxing by the top-deck pool. This will improve the overall guest experience, while also freeing up more time to enjoy one's vacation at sea.

MSC for Me will see its initial roll-out across the Company's new builds, with further refinement and enrichment taking place as each ship comes into service. Its key features will then be rolled out to all 12 ships comprised in MSC Cruises' existing fleet.

In 2016, MSC Cruises welcomed on board its ships 1.8 million guests from 170 countries. By 2026, the Company expects to welcome over 5 million guests a year.

As the market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa, this year marks a milestone for MSC Cruises as the Company will celebrate the christening of MSC Meraviglia in Le Havre on June 3 and MSC Seaside in Miami on December 21. Two more ships, MSC Seaview and MSC Bellissima are currently under construction and will come into service in June 2018 and March 2019, respectively.

To find out more about MSC For Me click here or watch a video about MSC for Me here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4HwYJevOEM&feature=youtu.be

ABOUT MSC CRUISES

MSC Cruises, part of the MSC Group, is the Swiss-based, world's largest privately-owned cruise line and brand market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa, sailing year-round in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Seasonal itineraries cover northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, Cuba and the French Antilles, South America, southern Africa, and Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman.

MSC Cruises' fleet is currently comprised of 12 of the most modern ships at sea: MSC Preziosa; MSC Divina; MSC Splendida; MSC Fantasia; MSC Magnifica; MSC Poesia; MSC Orchestra; MSC Musica; MSC Sinfonia; MSC Armonia; MSC Opera and MSC Lirica.

MSC Cruises has significant plans for future expansion through a nearly $10 billion investment plan, which consists of up to 11 new, next-generation MSC Cruises ships coming into service between 2017 and 2026. MSC Cruises is the first global cruise line brand to develop an investment plan of this length and magnitude, spanning a horizon of over ten years.

1 Partners also include Accenture, Kodak, Bell, and Bosch, among others.

2 The Meraviglia Class, the Seaside Class, and the World Class

3 Research carried out online by Deloitte Digital. A representative global sample of past MSC Cruises guests participated in the survey in 2016.

4 This technology is designed in line with the most stringent privacy laws, and will also offer increased security at sea.

SOURCE MSC Cruises USA

Related Links

http://www.msccruisesusa.com


While Safaricom's Lipa Na M-PESA service, a solution that allows consumers to pay for goods and services daily through their phones, has revolutionized the way Kenya does business, there remains a significant portion of the economy that is cash dependent. These invisible, hard-to-quantify transactions make it difficult for local and multinational businesses, entrepreneurs and investors to understand consumers and offline shopping habits and trends and develop products that would be of value them.

mSurvey's mobile research platform allows the two companies to have scalable and measurable conversations with individual consumers on a daily basis. To analyze the flow of cash in real-time, simple questions about spending behavior are sent as chats to the mobile phones of millions of consumers, resulting in a dynamic, visualized and nuanced data stream that provides businesses, entrepreneurs and investors instant insight into offline consumer spending habits in Kenya and a comprehensive measurement of their 'share of wallet.'

"To invest in Africa, you have to understand its consumers," said Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom. "The in-depth, high-integrity data we are unlocking with this new Consumer Wallet platform is extremely valuable and helps us and other businesses and institutions around the globe make better decisions, relate to consumers, identify opportunities, navigate the terrain and fuel growth and transformation. Traditionally it would take extensive in-person questionnaires or physical diaries to scratch the surface of this kind of data, a method that is cumbersome, expensive and subject to low response rates and human error."

With Consumer Wallet data, which is tracked and analyzed daily, businesses, entrepreneurs and investors are empowered to understand how choices evolve over time, and can build sales models that predict how consumers will behave based on geographic location, living standard measurement and time of year. It also provides insight into how external factors and stressors like weather, climate change, and current events (such as elections) impact demand. By showing how consumers prioritize their purchases, what categories compete for spend and what tradeoffs consumers make, it supports competitive analysis as well. Consumer Wallet captures complex information directly from consumers  whether bustling Nairobi or the smallest villages  via simple, fast, scalable, mobile-first technology, satisfying a global appetite for visibility into Kenya's elusive cash economy.

"Research, big data, social listening and market monitoring are critical to business development," said Dr. Victor Ikawa, Head of Research and Insights at Safaricom. "With the Consumer Wallet, we not only holistically quantify how much cash consumers are spending on goods and services, we can also now understand and track the 'why'  the emotional and practical variables that drive and impact consumer spend. This is a powerful value-add for Consumer Wallet users that unlocks unprecedented insights that get richer and more nuanced over time."

"The team of scientists at Safaricom and mSurvey bring rich experience in research, data and consumer insights and understand how, when and what to ask consumers to gain powerful insights that companies around the world need to make transformative decisions," said Kenfield Griffith, CEO and founder of mSurvey. "By perpetually engaging in intimate conversations with consumers, we are able to understand their everyday spending journeys and uncover powerful trends. For example, the product highlighted that in January 2017, rent went from 10% to 19% of the wallet, and school fees from 8% to 16% compared to 2016. Such key insights allow a deeper dive into the drivers of the change."

mSurvey's simple and sophisticated mobile-first research platform makes the Consumer Wallet highly scalable. By integrating with representatives of numerous industries in Kenya  from fast moving consumer goods and retail to financial services, healthcare and agriculture  mSurvey and Safaricom will continue to evolve the data feed over time to include sector-specific insights and takeaways. Users can also use mSurvey's platform for customized, tailored research of their own to overlay insights and data. The Consumer Wallet is in live beta in Kenya, with plans to scale across the continent and other emerging markets.

About mSurvey

Launched in 2012, mSurvey is the only global mobile-first research platform leveraging SMS and mobile messaging technology to simplify access to credible, on-demand data from the emerging world. Leveraging the growing reach of mobile phones, mSurvey's robust platform enables users to engage in real time conversations at scale, connecting them directly to people anywhere and on any topic. Delivering elusive data from hard-to-reach communities, mSurvey is quenching the thirst for fresh, credible data that powers growth, ideas, and innovation. mSurvey's proprietary mobile-first research platform serves customers across the globe, providing unprecedented access to rich, real time data from select or random populations in Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Caribbean. Currently, mSurvey connects with communities in Kenya, the Philippines, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti, with plans for continued rollout across the globe. Headquartered in Nairobi, mSurvey continues to grow with regional offices in San Francisco, USA and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.

About Safaricom

Safaricom transforms lives.

We provide voice, data, financial services and enterprise solutions for a range of subscribers, small businesses and government, using a variety of platforms.

As the biggest communication company in East and Central Africa, Safaricom delights over 26.6 million subscribers, providing over 200,000 touch points for its customers and offering over 100 different products under its portfolio.

Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and with annual revenues in excess of Kshs 150 Billion, Safaricom invested Kshs 32.13 billion in infrastructure this year, providing over 80% of Kenya's population with 3G coverage and providing 2G coverage to 95% of Kenyans. Safaricom has harnessed its proprietary fibre infrastructure to build a dedicated enterprise business, which provides managed IT services to clients in the East African region.

Safaricom pioneered commercial mobile money transfer globally through M-PESA, the most successful service of its kind anywhere in the world. Launched in March 2007, M-PESA now has over 24 million customers and over 114,000 M-PESA Agent outlets countrywide.

http://www.safaricom.co.ke/press-release

For photos, visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/safaricom_pr

Media Contacts

mSurvey

McKenzie Hurst

[email protected]

646-461-1077

Safaricom

[email protected]

+254 722 005211

SOURCE mSurvey

Related Links

http://msurvey.co.ke


HOUSTON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural Resource Partners L.P. (NYSE: NRP) announced today that the 2016 tax packages for unitholders, including the individual K-1 tax information is now available on its website www.taxpackagesupport.com/naturalresource. The K-1 tax information will be mailed commencing March 10, 2017. For additional K-1 tax information and unitholder support, unitholders may call (888) 334-7102.

Investors may register on the website to:

Download or print K-1s from the website;

Receive notifications by email when K-1s are available in the future; and

Enroll in electronic delivery of future K-1s by choosing the "Eliminate Paper K-1s" option.

Company Profile

Natural Resource Partners L.P., a master limited partnership headquartered in Houston, TX, is a diversified natural resource company that owns interests in coal, aggregates, and industrial minerals across the United States. A large percentage of NRP's revenues are generated from royalties and other passive income. In addition, NRP owns an equity investment in Ciner Wyoming, a trona/soda ash operation and owns VantaCore, one of the top 25 aggregates producers in the United States.

For additional information please contact Kathy Roberts at 713-751-7555 or [email protected] Further information about NRP is available on the partnership's website at http://www.nrplp.com.

SOURCE Natural Resource Partners L.P.

Related Links

http://www.nrplp.com


NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- FAIR Health announced today the availability of its FH Episodes of Care Benchmarks productan innovative resource that sheds new light on the costs related to the full range of services associated with common procedures and conditions.

This new dataset offers both benchmark charges and allowed costs, specific to 493 regions across the country, for procedures related to defined episodes. The benchmarks are based on market-level data from privately billed healthcare claims contributed to FAIR Health by insurers and claims administrators; they represent the claims experience of more than 150 million individuals nationwide.

Benchmarks are available for more than 40 common procedures and illnesses, ranging from hip replacement to diabetes care. For each episode, the product identifies the costs of treatment based on the total costs for all procedures and services that compose a patient's beginning-to-end treatment path for a specific condition or procedure. For example, in the case of a hip replacement, the episode might include the cost of physician and surgeon consultations, anesthesia, the surgery itself, medications, physical therapy and other required services.

The FH Episodes of Care Benchmarks product also allows users to adjust cost estimates based on a patient's specific profileincluding up to five common comorbidities and five risk factors per episodeproviding an exceptionally precise, real-world view of overall expenses. Thus, depending on the severity of patients' conditions and associated comorbidities, tailored, risk-adjusted cost estimates can be developed. FAIR Health's versatile product will be of particular utility to insurers, policy makers, government entitles, providers, healthcare systems and others seeking insight into value-based reimbursement and related pricing studies, provider budgeting, network building and more.

The FH Episodes of Care Benchmarks uses the PROMETHEUS Payment model of Altarum Institute. Francois de Brantes, vice-president and director of Altarum's Center for Payment Innovation, stated, "Pricing transparency is a necessity for consumers to make informed decisions and to make the healthcare market work. FAIR Health's use of the PROMETHEUS episode definitions allows them to leverage an industry standard when exposing critically important pricing information to consumers."

"It is truly exciting to marry FAIR Health's massive claims data collection with this platform for defining episodes," noted FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd. "While the FH Episodes of Care Benchmarks product is especially suited to the needs of health plans, healthcare systems, consultants, researchers and others studying the healthcare sector, it also represents a major step forward in FAIR Health's mission of improving the general public's understanding of the true cost of healthcare through the dissemination of transparent, independent market-level data. Consumers, like other healthcare stakeholders, benefit from gaining a three-dimensional view of medical procedures and conditions."

About FAIR Health

FAIR Health is a national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health oversees the nation's largest repository of private healthcare claims data, comprising over 23 billion billed medical and dental charges that reflect the claims experience of over 150 million privately insured Americans. FAIR Health licenses its data and data productsincluding data visualizations, custom analytics, episodes of care analytics and market indicesto commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. FAIR Health has been certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Qualified Entity, eligible to receive all Medicare Parts A, B and D claims data for use in nationwide transparency efforts. FAIR Health data are referenced in statutes and regulations around the country and have been designated as the official, neutral source of cost information for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. Many states have approached FAIR Health with respect to proposed consumer protection laws governing balance billing for surprise out-of-network bills and emergency services, and two states have made FAIR Health a standard in their balance billing legislation. FAIR Health uses its database to power a free consumer website, available in English and Spanish and as an English/Spanish mobile app, that enables consumers to estimate and plan their healthcare expenditures. FAIR Health also offers a rich educational platform on health insurance on its website and app. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

Contact:

Dean Sicoli

Executive Director of Communications and Public Relations

FAIR Health

646-664-1645

[email protected]

SOURCE FAIR Health

Related Links

http://fairhealth.org


Able to intelligently detect the type of mobile device attached and charge at the fastest and safest possible speed for your smartphone, tablet or slim notebook featuring Type-C connectivity thanks to Powerloop smart-sensing technology, the sleek, button-less NIFTY mobile charger remains on standby and wakes with just a tap, charging your mobile devices up to four times on one full charge- enough to keep you powered up all day.

"We're excited to launch the NIFTY mobile charger, as we think it's something the market has been missing- it not only offers a stunning design, but it's also able to charge an array of mobile devices with true multi-device fast-charging compatibility. The NIFTY ensures our customers experience the world's best charging solution, enabling them to stay connected at all times," says Charlie Mora, Co-Founder, NIFTY Electronics. Carl Bolanos, Co-Founder, states, "We're the first company to offer these speeds via TriCircuitry in a mobile charger, enabling customers to charge their various devices at their fastest speeds."

The NIFTY features the world's first smart circuitry on a mobile charger that allows four different charge types in one device:

Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Powerful 3Amps via Type-C for smartphones, tablets and the latest MacBooks 2.4Amps Fast Charging for Android devices 2.1Amps Fast Charging for iPhones and iPads

NIFTY's innovative TriCircuitry is the most advanced chipset on the market, able to deliver 33% more power than other chargers- up to a combined 24W of power output, paired with a 15W input, all in a small, lightweight unit. NIFTY's TriCircuitry is the only chip on a mobile charger that offers Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatibility while simultaneously and safely providing fast charging capabilities of 2.1Amps for iPhone & iPad.

The NIFTY comes standard with tangle-free power cables. The sleek, FlatLine cable series offers a flat, tangle-free profile, aluminum, seamless, oval-shaped connectors and precision-welded internals for extreme durability. Able to withstand up to 6,000 bends, the FlatLine cables last up to six times longer than other cables.

In the box:

NIFTY mobile charger with Powerloop, TriCircuitry, Dual-C Port Technology, Lumi I/O

with Powerloop, TriCircuitry, Dual-C Port Technology, Lumi I/O FlatLine Cable Series: 3ft Type-C to USB-A cable + 1ft micro USB cable

NIFTY features an intuitive five level multi-function, button-less battery level indicator that lets the user know the status of the battery level, current charging or recharging status, and also lets the user know when the NIFTY is low on power. Lumi I/O, the world's first LED illuminated USB port conveniently lights up for easy use under dark or low light conditions, and Boost Recharge allows the NIFTY to recharge itself to 100% in less than 2 hours when charged with a Type-C power adapter.

The NIFTY mobile charger will be available in three colors: Signature Stone Red, Suede Black, and Stone Gray from mynifty.com for $79.99 this month.

About NIFTY Electronics

NIFTY Electronics was established in 2015 by Co-Founders Charlie Mora and Carl Bolanos. NIFTY Electronics aims to provide cutting-edge electronics through innovative circuitry and smarter technology, paired with beautiful designs. For more information visit www.mynifty.com.

Press Contact

Priya Bhambri

[email protected]

SOURCE NIFTY Electronics
WASHINGTON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over 130 organizations across the country announced today that they will oppose nominees made by the Trump Administration to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The move reflects the growing resistance nationwide from residents, farmers, business owners, physicians, and environmentalists to FERC's practice of recklessly permitting pipelines that put hundreds of communities and the drinking water of millions of Americans at risk, in addition to the global climate.

The 135 groups range from dozens of local community organizations and activists to national nonprofit organizations (Beyond Extreme Energy, Center for Biological Diversity, Food and Water Watch, and Green America). At a time when citizens are increasingly calling on Senators to oppose appointed officials that support the fossil fuel industry, the pledge signers, representing over a million people nationwide, pledge to work against each nominee to FERC made by the Trump Administration, and to call on U.S. Senators to use the nomination process to highlight FERC's rubber stamping of pipeline projects and refusal to listen the legitimate concerns of community groups. For the group sign-on statement and full list of signers go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLFwOPKc3Qc85YrNVItTnK4n1FDhnPr_yex5PUqkFfeuRDwg/viewform.

FERC is the agency primarily responsible for reviewing applications for pipelines and conducting environmental assessments, and the agency has been increasingly criticized by local communities impacted by pipelines for its failure to take into account community concerns and independent environmental impact analyses documenting the risks.

Awareness of the dangers of pipeline construction has been heightened with the opposition to the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines. These are just two of the dozens of pipelines nationwide that are being planned and constructed. The risks are clear: Over 1,000 pipeline accidents occurred between 2010 and 2015 across the U.S. Yet, FERC has rejected only one gas pipeline in 30 years, and relies extensively on the industry's chosen experts for environmental impact data.

Beyond Extreme Energy, one of the groups coordinating the campaign to oppose Trump's nominations to FERC, says they are exploring different ways to stop or delay the nominations, including through petition, call-in days to Senators, Senate office visits and rallies, and nonviolent civil disobedience.

"FERC serves the industry it supposedly regulates instead of the American public, and its rubber stamping of pipelines nationwide puts millions of people at risk," said Todd Larsen, executive co-director of Green America. "It is imperative that all Americans voice their opposition to business as usual at FERC and oppose any Trump nominees to the agency."

"FERC is abusing its powers and the law in how it reviews, approves, and greases the wheels for pipelines cutting through communities across America," said Maya van Rossum, of the Delaware Riverkeeper and leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. "Given the level of harm pipelines inflict on communities, Congress should be working hard to prevent new nominations to the FERC commission in order to prevent restoration of the quorum they need to approve new pipelines, rather than working with President Trump to advance them."

"Five days ago, Pruitt's EPA cancelled all the regulations on venting methane and dumping coal ash in streams," said Maggie Henry, an anti-fracking activist from Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. "Something must be done to stop the insanity and hold polluters accountable for devastating impacts on people's lives and the environment."

"It is important that Americans understand these pipelines are being used to export our resources, not for us to use them for our energy independence," said Briget Shields, outreach director, Friends of the Harmed. "I work with families who have been harmed by the extraction of fossil fuels. We need to stop promoting the O&G industry and start protecting the people and the future for our children. It's time to do away with FERC and fossil fuel expansion and invest in renewable safe energy."

"Pipelines promote and enable increased fracking, which puts our climate in peril," said Heather Cantino, Athens County [Ohio] Fracking Action Network. "With methane being 86 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2 (at the 20-year time frame) and methane leakage at high rates unavoidable at all stages of production, fracking is worse for the climate than coal. There is no place for fracking in a livable future."

"Despite numerous conflicts of interest, strong evidence of harm, demands by Senators and the Governor, FERC permitted Spectra to build their 'Algonquin' Pipeline expansion only 105 feet from critical safety infrastructure at Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant." said Dr. Courtney Williams, coordinator with Resist Spectra. "This egregious disregard of public health and safety must be investigated and rectified before FERC is free to act again. We must not empower FERC to harm with impunity."

"We cannot allow this or any administration to hold the American people and the environment hostage while a handful of oil and gas billionaires develop an energy policy based on climate change denial," said Tim Spiese, Lancaster Against Pipelines.

"At every step of the way, FERC has worked against efforts to protect people's health and safety from harms caused by the gas industry," said Donny Williams, We Are Cove Point. "FERC gave the go-ahead for a $3.8 billion industrial behemoth to be built directly in our community, with homes as close as across the street. FERC allowed Dominion to use safety standards that were written when LNG export terminals didn't even exist in the US to help the company avoid the stringent review processes that are required by modern standards. The safety and well-being of people and ecosystems across this country are helped by FERC not being able to issue permits due to lack of a quorum."

"In our work to keep our communities healthy and safe from the Northeast Energy Direct proposed gas pipeline, we were continually affronted by the ways in which the FERC process looked like it might protect citizen and community interests, but always turned out to whitewash our concerns and favor industry," said Becky Meier, Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline. "It is a process which gives the illusion of fairness, but precludes real meaningful considerations. We were also dismayed that it gave Eminent Domain powers to private-for-profit pipeline corporations at the expense of private property landowners."

"The clear intent of the current administration to further disempower and block a truly independent regulatory review process, which gives proper weight to those most impacted by the permitting process and most at risk of decisions that do not weigh factors of environmental justice and human well-being, means appointments to fill vacancies on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission need to be made by parties independent of the administration," said Mark C. Johnson, executive director, The Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice. "A new way must open."

"Over the past few years, thanks to the efforts of environmental advocates and impacted citizens, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's willful disregard for the public it was charged with protecting has become one of Washington's worst-kept secrets," said Karen Feridun, founder, Berks Gas Truth. "The Senate has a rare opportunity to address the issues while the lack of a quorum has stopped the clock on the Commission's ability to make its reckless and devastating decisions. For the sake of our communities now and in the future, the Senate must act."

"The evidence is clear: fossil fuels put the health and well-being of workers and many communities at risk," said Maureen McCue, Iowa Chapter Physicians for Social Responsibility. "Extraction sites involve serious environmental damage and occupational risk. The health of those living along transport routes and pipelines, like those living near refineries is adversely affected; health impacts associated with fossil fuel induced climate change are complex and widespread. Fortunately, there are cleaner, healthier alternatives. Efficiency and clean fossil-free fuels like wind and solar bring well-paying jobs and minimal to no health or adverse environmental impacts. It's time to consider the real costs and benefits of our dependence on fossil fuels."

"To take more than we need and leave a ransacked world is not worthy of us as moral beings" said Cathy Strickler, Climate Action Alliance of the Valley. "FERC must change."

"China, most of Europe, Japan, and even impoverished Island, Central American, and African nations have made substantial progress in transitioning off fossil fuel towards renewable energy," said Ed Griffith, New Progressive Alliance. "Thanks to FERC, however, the United States is not among the leaders. It matters not whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House or which party controls congress, FERC acts as an irrational anchor to the past."

"What does it say about the tyranny of the pipeline profiteers who use eminent domain for private gain when just one pipeline, Energy Transfer's Rover, filed a recent lawsuit against resistant landowners with 258 pages of the complaint dedicated to the names of all the people who are being sued?" said Lea Harper, managing director, FreshWater Accountability Project. "FERC is plundering human rights, and the antiquated Natural Gas Act is being used to destroy democracy in the U.S. for the sake of the multi-national investment community that cares nothing for our long-term environmental protection and economic prosperity."

"Faced with an onslaught of fossil fuel infrastructure buildout, environmental activists have stepped up their pressure on FERC over the past few years, but FERC has responded by digging in to reinforce their pro-industry stance," said Stuart Anderson, Concerned Citizens of Otego NY. "Despite overwhelming public opposition, FERC has almost invariably sided with the companies that they are supposed to regulate. We need regulators who understand that the damages done by the fossil fuel industries will haunt all humanity for decades to come."

"If even the former FERC chairman Bay recognizes that FERC is set to cause even more economic and environmental damage unless a different path is chosen, 'analyzing the downstream impacts of the use of natural gas and to performing a life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions study,' then we must insist on waiting for new commissioners who will manifest a much higher standard of environmental care," said B. Arrindell, director of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability along the Delaware River

"New fossil fuel infrastructure, from extraction sites through pipelines, shipping lanes and railroads to refineries, locks us into decades of growing fossil fuel use," said Janet Scoll Johnson, Sunflower Alliance. "Such expansion means both additional global impacts of rising GHG emissions and worsening public health of front line communities. In defense of our communities and the future of life here on earth, Sunflower Alliance opposes all such projects."

"The Citizens' Climate Collaborative of North Carolina absolutely opposes the environmentally reckless permitting of gas and oil pipelines by FERC," said Tana Hartman Thorn, Citizens Climate Collaborative, North Carolina. "The health of people and planet are infinitely more important than the profits of big energy investors."

"We oppose the appointment of any and all commissioners to FERC until the agency establishes an Office of Public Participation," said Dave Elder, VeRSE (Vestal Residents for Safe Energy). "Congress passed a law in 1978 directing the agency to create such an office, but for almost 4 decades, FERC has refused to comply. The agency clearly does not care about how pipeline projects might hurt the public, as evidenced by its recent approval of a 42-inch high-pressure natural gas pipeline passing dangerously close to a nuclear power plant only 25 miles north of NYC. That project alone presents catastrophic risks for the entire NYC area, and demonstrates FERC's total lack of concern for public safety."

SOURCE Green America, Washington, D.C.
"John has a strong track record in delivering business value, developing high performing teams and leading companies from vision through execution. As we continue to expand our presence in the Midwest region, his reputation as an effective corporate strategist and as a partner to the C-suite will be an asset to North Highland," said Alex Bombeck, North Highland President.

Norkus comes to North Highland from Deloitte Consulting, where he was a Principal. With more than 27 years of global business experience, he has a deep background in managing complex transformation projects for clients, successfully building consulting practices, and scaling across multiple geographies.

"In a sense, I'm going back to my roots to help build something in the Midwest, and at our firm, for the future. I chose North Highland because its model is the optimal growth platform for right now," said Norkus. "This is only possible through a firm that champions collegiality and nurtures an environment designed to create value across the full spectrum of consulting."

Norkus received his Bachelor of Science in Aero/Astro Engineering and his MBA from University of Illinois  Urbana/Champaign, IL.

About North Highland

North Highland is a global management consulting firm known for helping clients solve their most complex challenges related to customer experience, performance improvement, technology and digital, and transformation. We add value and support our clients across the full spectrum of consulting, from strategy through delivery. We bring the big ideas, then we make them real. North Highland is an employee-owned firm, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., with more than 3,000 consultants worldwide and 60+ offices around the globe. The firm is a member of Cordence Worldwide (www.cordenceworldwide.com), a global management consulting alliance. For more information, visit northhighland.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Marsh

404-975-6335

[email protected]

SOURCE North Highland

Related Links

http://www.northhighland.com


Ohio currently ranks 43 out of 50 states for the most significant infant mortality rates across the nation. According to Ohio Infant Mortality Data report , Ohio's infant mortality rate rose to 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015, compared to 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014 -- with black infants in Ohio dying at nearly three times the rate as white infants.

To combat this, the statewide Ohio Baby Box program is being launched in partnership with the Cincinnati Health Department, Richland County Health Department, University Hospitals (UH) MacDonald Women's and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospitals, Muskingum Valley Health Centers, and Babies Need Boxes among other community health organizations. In 2017, the Ohio program will distribute up to approximately 140,000 Baby Boxes annually, ensuring that every expecting family in Ohio has access to this free resource regardless of socioeconomic background.

"Research tells us that two of the biggest contributors to sudden, unexplained infant death are premature birth and unsafe sleep arrangements," says Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, UH Clinical Diversity Officer and Associate Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "This phenomenal safe sleep space program for newborns will help hospitals and nonprofits provide optimal, safe care to all expecting families in Ohio. We are grateful that The Baby Box Co. and Babies Need Boxes Ohio share in our mission to improve outcomes for mothers and their babies and to help solve the infant mortality crisis."

The Baby Boxes, which are made from a durable cardboard, can be used as a baby's bed for the first months of life. While parents appreciate the Baby Boxes and quality care products included, it is the educational component and closer communication with local healthcare providers that is at the center of the Baby Box University distribution model. Families will be required to view their community's online curriculum related to prenatal health, breastfeeding, safe sleep practices and newborn care before receiving a free Baby Box. In this way, the Baby Box University program model pays its ultimate homage to the Finnish tradition, which is committed not just to universal product distribution, but to supporting families with access to healthcare and education.

Hospitals and Nonprofits to Hold Launch Events Across Ohio to Give Away First Baby Boxes

Experts at UH MacDonald Women's and UH Rainbow Babies & Children's hospitals in Cleveland helped develop the Baby Box University syllabus for Ohio parents and are hosting a special Baby Box launch event open to all new and expecting families on Friday, March 10 at 10:30 a.m. in the Atrium at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (valet parking available at the main entrance of UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, 2101 Adelbert Rd., Cleveland OH 44106). To find out more details about the Cleveland event visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1846292352297309/.

A second launch event will be held in partnership with the Richland County Health Department in Mansfield at 2:30 p.m. at the Mansfield Area YMCA located at 750 Scholl Road, Mansfield, OH 44907 (parking lot is located off Scholl Road).

"Richland Public Health supports this collaborative approach to educate families and safeguard the health and well-being of our babies," said Richland Public Health Commissioner, Martin Tremmel. "The Baby Box Co. recognizes that a safe sleep environment coupled with parenting education is vital to provide to all families."

To find out more details about the Mansfield event visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1457768654248095/.

How Ohio New Parents Can Get Their Free Baby Box

It takes only 3 easy steps for Ohio's expecting and new parents to get their free Baby Box:

Ohio resident. Be sure to include your correct contact information, including mailing address. Register for free online at babyboxuniversity.com as anresident. Be sure to include your correct contact information, including mailing address. Watch the Ohio syllabus at 10-15 minutesyllabus at babyboxuniversity.com . After taking a short quiz, you will receive a certificate of completion and be able to select local pick-up or direct delivery of your Baby Box. If you select direct delivery, your Baby Box will ship to the address you provided when you registered on Baby Box University. If you select local pick up, bring your Baby Box University certificate to the closest participating distribution partner to collect your Baby Box.

"I'm so proud to empower new parents in Ohio with the physical and educational resources they need to feel confident," said Jennifer Clary, the CEO of The Baby Box Co., which is supplying Ohio with the Baby Boxes and Baby Box University memberships. "Every parent has a right to the necessary tools to care for their infant and every child deserves a safe and supported start in life."

The brands included in the Baby Boxes are also committed to the program's education mission, with every product featuring a scientifically proven baby brain-boosting activity parents can do while using the item.

"We are proud to be part of the Baby Box programs, especially here in Ohio - Pampers' home state," said E. Yuri Hermida, vice president, North America Baby Care, P&G. "As a brand dedicated to the happy, healthy development of babies for more than 50 years, we share Baby Box Co.'s important mission to support expecting parents with health education, and support new babies with a safe sleep environment."

All expecting parents living in Ohio are eligible to receive a Baby Box which includes newborn essentials such as Pampers Swaddlers diapers, Pampers baby wipes, Vroom activity cards from the Bezos Family Foundation, Lansinoh breast pads and nipple cream for breastfeeding mothers, onesie, and more.

The Baby Box Movement

The use of Baby Boxes has been credited with helping Finland achieve one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates. The initiative, which enables every expecting woman in the country to claim a free Baby Box once she receives prenatal care and parenting information from a healthcare professional, is credited with helping to decrease Finland's infant mortality rate from 65 deaths for each 1,000 children born in 1938 to 1.3 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013, according to the World Health Organization.

The success of the Finnish Baby Box intervention inspired the founders of The Baby Box Co. to adapt this tradition with enhanced multimedia parenting curricula through Baby Box University to the benefit of nonprofits, hospitals, government institutions and individual families worldwide. The Baby Box University program's exponential growth has solidified the model as an impactful safe sleep and parenting education intervention for millennials.

About The Baby Box Co.

Entrepreneurs Michelle Vick and Jennifer Clary founded The Baby Box Co. to offer a safe sleep environment to babies everywhere. The Baby Box Co. is an innovative, integrated program to support parents and improve maternal and infant healthcare outcomes globally. The Baby Box Co. partners with hospitals, government agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide Baby Boxes, quality products, resources and ongoing education to families on a large scale. Baby Boxes are also available direct to consumer either as a standalone item or filled with new baby essentials. Serving families in 52 countries, The Baby Box Co. has offices in USA, UK, Canada, and Singapore. For more information or to purchase a Baby Box, please visit www.babyboxco.com and www.babyboxuniversity.com.

SOURCE The Baby Box Co.

Related Links

http://www.babyboxco.com


ROANOKE, Va., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Optical Cable Corporation (Nasdaq GM: OCC) ("OCC" or the "Company") today announced financial results for its first quarter ended January 31, 2017.

First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

Consolidated net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017 were $14.6 million, a 4.0% increase compared to net sales of $14.0 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016. These results were driven by an increase in net sales in the Company's enterprise markets, including a double-digit increase in fiber optic cable sales.

Net sales to customers in the United States increased 10.8% compared to the same period last year, while net sales to customers outside of the United States showed continued weakness. Net sales outside the U.S. continue to be negatively impacted by a strong U.S. dollar relative to other currencies, particularly in certain geographic regions.

Gross profit increased 37.3% to $4.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, compared to $3.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016. Gross profit margin, or gross profit as a percentage of net sales, increased to 32.9% compared to 24.9% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016. Gross profit margin was positively impacted by a shift in product mix toward certain higher margin products.

OCC recorded a net loss attributable to the Company of $616,000, or $0.09 per basic and diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, compared to a net loss attributable to the Company of $1.7 million, or $0.28 per basic and diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016.

Revolving Credit Facility Renewed

OCC renewed its revolving credit facility with the Bank of North Carolina on February 28, 2017 (after the end of the first quarter), extending the maturity date to March 31, 2019 and maintaining the credit availability under the facility at $7.0 million until maturity. The revolving credit facility previously was scheduled to expire on February 28, 2018, with the maximum credit availability scheduled to reduce to $6.5 million and $6.0 million, on February 28, 2017 and February 28, 2018, respectively.

Management's Comments

Neil Wilkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of OCC, said, "Our results in the first quarter reflect our continued efforts to operate efficiently and drive growth through sales and marketing initiatives as well as product innovation. Despite expected seasonality and currency exchange rates that impacted our international sales, in the first quarter, we delivered year-over-year improvements in net sales, gross profit and gross profit margin, as well as improvements to the bottom line. As we move forward, we will continue providing customers and end users with OCC's integrated product offerings and solutions. Through the continued successful execution of our plan, we are confident we will create value for shareholders."

Conference Call Information

As previously announced, OCC will host a conference call today, March 8, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Individuals wishing to participate in the conference call should call (866) 610-1072 or (973) 935-2840 internationally, passcode 81945676. For interested individuals unable to join the call, a replay will be available through March 15, 2017 by dialing (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406, passcode 81945676. The call will also be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by visiting the investor relations section of the Company's website at www.occfiber.com .

Company Information

Optical Cable Corporation ("OCC") is a leading manufacturer of a comprehensive range of top-tier fiber optic and copper communication cabling and connectivity products and solutionsprimarily for the enterprise market, various harsh environment and specialty markets, and the wireless carrier market.

OCC is internationally recognized for pioneering innovative fiber optic and copper communications technologies, including fiber optic cable designs for the most demanding environments and applications, copper connectivity designs to meet the highest data communication industry standards, as well as a broad product offering built on the evolution of these fundamental technologies.

OCC uses its expertise to deliver cabling and connectivity products and integrated solutions that are best suited to the performance requirements of each end-user's application. And, OCC's solutions offerings cover a broad range of applicationsfrom commercial, enterprise network, datacenter, residential and campus installations to customized products for specialty applications and harsh environments, including military, industrial, mining, petrochemical and broadcast applications, as well as for the wireless carrier market.

Founded in 1983, OCC is headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia with offices, manufacturing and warehouse facilities located in Roanoke, Virginia, near Asheville, North Carolina and near Dallas, Texas. OCC's facilities are ISO 9001:2008 registered and OCC's Roanoke and Dallas facilities are MIL-STD-790F certified.

Optical Cable Corporation, OCC, Procyon, Procyon Blade, Superior Modular Products, SMP Data Communications, Applied Optical Systems, and associated logos are trademarks of Optical Cable Corporation.

Further information about OCC is available at www.occfiber.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release by Optical Cable Corporation and its subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company" or "OCC") may contain certain forward-looking information within the meaning of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking information may include, among other information, (i) statements concerning our outlook for the future, (ii) statements of belief, anticipation or expectation, (iii) future plans, strategies or anticipated events, and (iv) similar information and statements concerning matters that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown variables, uncertainties, contingencies and risks that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from our expectations, and such known and unknown variables, uncertainties, contingencies and risks may also adversely affect Optical Cable Corporation and its subsidiaries, the Company's future results of operations and future financial condition, and/or the future equity value of the Company. A partial list of such variables, uncertainties, contingencies and risks that could cause or contribute to such differences from our expectations or that could otherwise adversely affect Optical Cable Corporation and its subsidiaries is set forth in Optical Cable Corporation's quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") under the heading "Forward-Looking Information." OCC's quarterly and annual reports are available to the public on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. In providing forward-looking information, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update this information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by applicable laws and regulations.

(Financial Tables Follow)

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (thousands, except per share data) (unaudited)



Three Months Ended

January 31,

2017

2016







Net sales $ 14,606

$ 14,048 Cost of goods sold 9,796

10,546







Gross profit 4,810

3,502







SG&A expenses 5,192

5,087 Royalty expense, net 31

15 Amortization of intangible assets 6

3







Loss from operations (419)

(1,603)







Interest expense, net (148)

(158) Other, net (69)

18 Other expense, net (217)

(140)







Loss before income taxes (636)

(1,743)







Income tax expense (benefit) (20)

24







Net loss $ (616)

$ (1,767)







Net loss attributable to





noncontrolling interest 

(22)







Net loss attributable to OCC $ (616)

$ (1,745)







Net loss attributable to OCC





per share: Basic and diluted $ (0.09)

$ (0.28)







Weighted average shares outstanding:





Basic and diluted 6,487

6,261

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA (thousands) (unaudited)



January 31,

October 31,

2017

2016 Cash $ 1,246

$ 1,879 Trade accounts receivable, net 8,534

8,916 Inventories 16,041

15,024 Other current assets 496

503 Total current assets 26,317

26,322 Non-current assets 13,799

14,344 Total assets $ 40,116

$ 40,666







Current liabilities $ 4,577

$ 4,126 Non-current liabilities 11,268

11,775 Total liabilities 15,845

15,901 Total shareholders' equity 24,271

24,765 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 40,116

$ 40,666

AT THE COMPANY:



Neil Wilkin Tracy Smith Chairman, President & CEO Senior Vice President & CFO (540) 265-0690 (540) 265-0690 [email protected] [email protected]



AT JOELE FRANK, WILKINSON BRIMMER KATCHER:



Andrew Siegel Aaron Palash (212) 355-4449 ext. 127 (212) 355-4449 ext. 103 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Optical Cable Corporation

Related Links

http://www.occfiber.com


PLANO, Texas, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OS National LLC (OSN), a national title provider, welcomes the Plano real estate community to the Grand Opening and Open House for the new Plano location at 2701 Dallas Pkwy., Suite 340, Plano, TX on Thursday, March 9th at 4:00 p.m. The Plano location joins OSN Texas' existing locations including Arlington, Houston, and the soon-to-open Southlake location.

"We are thrilled to open the Plano office to expand our locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to serve our customers locally," said Jamie Wunder, managing partner of OS National. "It is our plan to continue our company mantra and approach business in the DFW area as we do in every market as a true partnership. We truly believe that relationships and service are the foundation of every interaction and transaction, and we will work to ensure that our customers receive the best possible service  every time."

The OSN DFW locations are led by Lisa D. Lemke-Rodriguez, EVP, DFW Division President, and Dan Hassen, Regional Manager.

"OSN is dedicated to providing the absolute best customer experience possible. We understand the many expectations and emotions felt when buying or selling a home. Our Plano Team has created a welcoming environment for anyone who visits our new Plano location," said Lisa Lemke-Rodriguez. "We are honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve our customers in the Plano area and the DFW metroplex."

With offices in Atlanta, Houston, DFW (Arlington and Plano), Phoenix and Las Vegas, OSN is rapidly expanding their national operations with local offices to better serve the niche real estate needs of local communities.

For more information on OS National, visit https://www.osnational.com.

About OS National LLC

OS National LLC is redefining title solutions as a nationally recognized provider of residential and commercial title and settlement services. OSN provides services to national lenders and banking institutions, REITs, private equity firms, mortgage servicers and institutional investors to facilitate real estate transactions and title insurance-related services.

OS National provides services in certain jurisdictions in partnership with its wholly owned subsidiaries and/or its related entities, OSN Texas LLC and OSN Escrow LLC (known together as "OSN"). OSN is a licensed agent for most of the country's major national title underwriters, with work ranging from single property transactions to multi-million dollar, multi-site transactions. For more information, visit http://www.osnational.com.

From:

OS National LLC

2170 Satellite Blvd., Suite 200

Duluth, GA 30097

(770) 497-9100

http://www.osnational.com



Contact:

Jamie Wunder, Managing Partner

[email protected]

SOURCE OS National LLC

Related Links

https://osnational.com


ROSEMEAD, Calif., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Panda Express, America's favorite Chinese kitchen, introduces Five Flavor Shrimp, a limited-time entree, to its better-for-you WokSmart menu. Five Flavor Shrimp is the latest evidence of Panda Express' focus on bringing simply delicious and healthful meals to guests through quality ingredients skillfully prepared by Panda chefs.

As Americans increasingly seek nutritional dishes with bold flavor combinations, the Panda Express culinary team took inspiration from Shanghainese cuisine and blended rich, savory and pungent ingredients to create a multi-dimensional sauce that pairs perfectly with the dish's large, succulent shrimp, fresh cut green beans, red bell peppers and onions.

"We've captured a delicious blend of five tastes to produce a new menu item that pleasantly surprises the palate," said Chef Jimmy Wang, director of Culinary Innovation at Panda Express. "As the home of American Chinese cuisine, we are constantly working to introduce our guests to inventive flavor combinations that are rooted in Chinese origins and shaped by American originality. I'm very proud of what the team has created with Five Flavor Shrimp."

Five Flavor Shrimp is packed with 14 grams of protein and only 210 calories per serving. Guests can order the dish online at www.PandaExpress.com/Order, through Panda's mobile app or by visiting any of Panda's 1,900 locations from now through August 1.

Panda Express is also known for delivering guests delicious American Chinese cuisine in its famous Panda Bowls. Paired perfectly with Five Flavor Shrimp, the Panda Bowl's single-serving size provides guests the opportunity to indulge while ensuring their meal is still balanced and nutritious. In 2016, more than 75 million Panda Bowls were sold in the U.S.

For more information on Panda Express, please visit www.PandaExpress.com. For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

About Panda Express

Panda Express, America's favorite Chinese kitchen, is best known for its wide variety of original recipes including its Original Orange Chicken, SweetFire Chicken Breast, award-winning Honey Walnut Shrimp and Shanghai Angus Steak. Founded in 1983 and now with more than 1,900 locations throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam, Guatemala, Canada, Mexico, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Korea, and Japan, Panda Express is part of the family owned and operated Panda Restaurant Group, the world leader in Asian dining experiences that also includes Panda Inn and Hibachi-San. For more information, visit pandaexpress.com, or follow on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram.

SOURCE Panda Express

Related Links

http://www.PandaExpress.com


DUBLIN, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Perrigo Company plc (NYSE; TASE: PRGO) today announced the first-to-market launch of the over-the-counter ("OTC") store brand equivalent to Women's Rogaine 5% minoxidil foam (minoxidil topical aerosol, 5% foam). First shipments of this new store foam have already been initiated. This product is packaged and marketed as a store brand or retailer 'own label' brand and provides consumers a high-quality, value alternative to the Women's Rogaine 5% minoxidil foam product.

Women's Rogaine 5% minoxidil foam (minoxidil topical aerosol, 5% foam) is indicated to regrow hair on top of the scalp. Annual sales for the 12 months ending February 2017 were approximately $20 million.

Perrigo's CEO John T. Hendrickson stated, "This final approval and OTC launch is another example of introducing new store brand products that are equivalent to the national brand while providing consumers with a lower cost alternative in the marketplace. As always, Perrigo is committed to making quality healthcare more affordable for our customers and consumers around the world."

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc, a leading global over-the-counter ("OTC") consumer goods company, offers patients and customers high quality products at affordable prices. From its beginnings in 1887 as a packager of generic home remedies, Perrigo, headquartered in Ireland, has grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of OTC healthcare products and supplier of infant formulas for the store brand market. The Company is also a leading provider of generic extended topical prescription products in the U.S. and currently receives royalties from sales of the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri. Perrigo provides "Quality Affordable Healthcare Products" across a wide variety of product categories and geographies primarily in North America, Europe and Australia, as well as in other markets, including Israel, China and Latin America. Visit Perrigo online at (http://www.perrigo.com).

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements." These statements relate to future events or the Company's future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including the time, effort and expense to complete its 2016 Form 10-K, future impairment charges, the ability to achieve its guidance, the ability to execute and achieve the desired benefits of announced initiatives, and the timing, amount and cost of share repurchases. In addition, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to file its 2016 Form 10-K within the fifteen calendar day extension provided by Rule 12b-25, or that the Company may not identify one or more material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting, need to restate its financial statements, conclude that investors should no longer rely upon previously issued financial statements or maintain compliance with the NYSE continued listing rules. Furthermore, if the Company and/or its subsidiaries are required to restate their financial statements, it and/or its subsidiaries may incur additional tax liabilities in respect of 2016 and prior years or may be found to have breached certain provisions of Irish company legislation in respect of prior financial statements and if so, may incur additional expenses and penalties. These and other important factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-KT for the six-month period ended December 31, 2015, as well as the Company's subsequent filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Perrigo Company plc

Related Links

http://www.perrigo.com


NEWINGTON, N.H., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) ("Planet Fitness" or the "Company") today announced that certain of its existing stockholders (the "Selling Stockholders") intend to offer for sale 15 million shares of its Class A common stock pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

The Selling Stockholders will receive all of the net proceeds from this offering. No shares are being sold by the Company.

J.P. Morgan will act as underwriter for the offering.

An automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (including a prospectus) relating to the offering of the Company's Class A common stock was filed with the SEC on December 23, 2016 and became effective upon filing. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and the documents incorporated by reference in that registration statement, as well as the prospectus supplement related to this offering. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, when available, copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus related to the offering may be obtained by contacting J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by calling toll-free at (866) 803-9204.

The offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. Any offer to buy the securities may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind, at any time prior to notice of its acceptance given after the effective date.

About Planet Fitness

Founded in 1992 in Dover, N.H., Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the United States by number of members and locations. As of December 31, 2016, Planet Fitness had approximately 8.9 million members and 1,313 stores in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada and the Dominican Republic. The Company's mission is to enhance people's lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, which we call the Judgement Free Zone. More than 95% of Planet Fitness stores are owned and operated by independent business men and women.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements, expectations, beliefs and projections with respect to future events or future results ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future events or future results. Instead, they are based only on the Company's current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of the business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company's control. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, risks and uncertainties associated with the consummation of the proposed offering by the Selling Stockholders and general economic conditions and the other factors described, or incorporated by reference, in the prospectus supplement or accompanying prospectus. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates or representatives undertake any obligation to provide additional information or to correct or update any information set forth in this release, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

SOURCE Planet Fitness, Inc.
The table below sets forth our project pipeline by location:

Project Location Projects to be

Constructed in 2017

(MW) Projects Under

Construction (MW) USA 108 6.8 UK 14.3 9.9 Poland 13 -- Canada 8.9 -- Turkey 12.7 12.7 France 2.3 2.3 China DG 393 303 Total 552.2 334.7

In the U.S., the Company plans to construct 108 MW of projects in 2017, of which 70 MW are community solar projects. The projects are located in California , North Carolina and Minnesota .



, and . In the U.K., the Company intends to construct approximately 14 MW of projects this year, of which 10 MW are under the 1.2 Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) program and expected to be connected to the grid in March 2017 .



. In January 2017 , the Company won 13 solar utility projects in southern Poland , each with an installed capacity of 1 MW. The projects are eligible for a guaranteed tariff of PLN 408.8/MWh under a 15-year power purchase agreement and are expected to be connected to the grid by December 2017 .



, the Company won 13 solar utility projects in southern , each with an installed capacity of 1 MW. The projects are eligible for a guaranteed tariff of PLN 408.8/MWh under a 15-year power purchase agreement and are expected to be connected to the grid by . In Canada , the Company plans to construct approximately 9 MW of small-scale utility projects under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) 3.0 in the current calendar year.



, the Company plans to construct approximately 9 MW of small-scale utility projects under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) 3.0 in the current calendar year. In Turkey , the Company intends to construct 13 MW of projects this year. All of the projects are unlicensed, thus qualifying for the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) of $134 /Mwh.



, the Company intends to construct 13 MW of projects this year. All of the projects are unlicensed, thus qualifying for the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) of /Mwh. As of January 31, 2017 , the Company had over 393 MW of solar rooftop projects in "shovel-ready" stage in China. All of the projects have been filed with National Development and Reform Commission, and the Company has obtained legal rights to develop these projects. The projects are located in Zhejiang , Jiangsu , Anhui , Jiangxi , Shandong , Hubei , Henan , Hebei , Shanxi , Fujian and Guangdong Provinces. The Company plans to commence construction of all of these projects within the current calendar year.

Xianshou Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ReneSola, commented: "We now anticipate fewer external module shipments in the first quarter of 2017 as we had redirected more module sales to our own downstream projects. That said, we expect project sales to pick up in the second quarter. Overall, we remain optimistic about our project development business. We continue to gain traction in the domestic Chinese distributed generation market and remain focused on executing our efforts in developed markets which are expected to have stable returns and healthy cash flow. We look forward to further growing this business in the quarters ahead."

About ReneSola

Founded in 2005, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2008, ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) is an international leading brand and technology provider of energy efficient products. Leveraging its global presence and expansive distribution and sales network, ReneSola is well positioned to provide its highest quality green energy products and on-time services for EPC, installers, and green energy projects around the world. For more information, please visit www.renesola.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Whenever you read a statement that is not simply a statement of historical fact (such as when the Company describes what it "believes," "plans," "expects" or "anticipates" will occur, what "will" or "could" happen, and other similar statements), you must remember that the Company's expectations may not be correct, even though it believes that they are reasonable. The Company does not guarantee that the forward-looking statements will happen as described or that they will happen at all. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 20-F. The Company undertakes no obligation, beyond that required by law, to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made, even though the Company's situation may change in the future.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:

ReneSola Ltd

Ms. Rebecca Shen

+86 (21) 6280-9180 x106

[email protected]

The Blueshirt Group Asia

Mr. Gary Dvorchak, CFA

+86 (138) 1079-1480

[email protected]

In the United States:

The Blueshirt Group

Mr. Ralph Fong

+1 (415) 489-2195

[email protected]

SOURCE ReneSola Ltd.
LONDON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Resilience.io will present at CleanEquity Monaco 2017 on March 9th & 10th at the Fairmont Monte Carlo.

CleanEquity is an annual invitation-only event hosted by Innovator Capital, the London based specialist investment bank. The conference provides an intimate and collegiate setting for inventors and entrepreneurs to share their stories with delegates - key decision makers looking to assist them with reaching their commercial and strategic goals.

Other partners and sponsors include Prince Albert II of Monaco's Foundation, Covington & Burling, Cisco EIR, Cision, Cranfield University, Deloitte, Hobbs & Towne, the Monaco Economic Board, Parkview and the Social Stock Exchange.

Resilience.io has been identified by an expert panel as one of the world's most innovative sustainable technology companies and has been selected to present to senior financial and strategic cleantech investors, policy makers, legislators, end users and media.

The Ecological Sequestration Trust is a UK based NGO set up in 2011 to speed up and scale up transformative city region development towards Disaster Risk Reduction and the Global Goals.

In its "Resilience Broker" capacity, the Trust has brought together leading experts within the World Urban Campaign to create Roadmap 2030, a comprehensive action plan for financing and implementing the Global Goals in City Regions worldwide.

At the heart of this plan is resilience.io, described by leading experts as the most sophisticated city-region modelling platform being developed in the world. A software solution that connects developers, innovators and technology providers, with city stakeholder demand for collaborative risk informed investment and policy decision making, and to support infrastructure and technology design and procurement.

Key innovative elements of this platform enable users to overcome the limitations of existing data mapping, city visualisation and even big data tools connected to smart city sensors, by helping them to understand the interlinkages between systems and to put value to social, environmental and economic impacts.

The resilience.io prototype has been successfully piloted in Ghana by local users to create a lower cost investment plan for water supply and sanitation for 4m people. The Trust is also working on demonstrators in Europe, China, India, South America and SE Asia and is now seeking investment partners to benefit from a new commercial fund which will help complete the development and deployment of this unique, prototyped software platform and then scale it's use virally for up to 70% of city-regions globally by 2023.

Andre Head, Head of Communications, The Ecological Sequestration Trust, [email protected]

+44(0)7860535218

www.resilience.io

http://ecosequestrust.org/roadmap2030.pdf

About Innovator Capital

Innovator Capital, established in 2003, is a specialist investment bank advising emerging technology companies on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions. Its expertise includes intellectual property and multi national strategic partnering.

About Resilience.io

Resilience.io is the world's first collaborative, humanecologyeconomicsresource systems (CHEER) modelling platform using insurance grade data, supporting resilient, disaster-risk sensitive land and infrastructure planning, policy-making and investment for city-regions.

A cloud-based GIS digital platform, resilience.io provides an integrated systems view of a city-region. It combines computer visualisations of resource flows, human and ecological activities and infrastructure. The platform contains a library of process models of human, industrial and ecological systems, which can be selected locally to create a tailored integrated systems model for any region. It is able to show how clean technology innovations can improve outcomes economically and for human well-being. Product Apps, purchased by innovators, enable users to assess and access the best technologies within pipelines of projects.

www.cleanequitymonaco.com

SOURCE Innovator Capital
BURLINGTON, Mass., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 128 Technology, a leader in advanced secure networking, today announced that Revation Systems, a leading provider of secure collaboration, messaging, and unified communication services, has deployed the 128T Networking Platform (128T) to enhance security and improve the performance and reliability of its managed connectivity services. 128 Technology's session-oriented approach meets Revation's strict requirements for compliance and network resiliency, allowing Revation to provide secure, multi-path routing and enhanced service levels to its healthcare, financial services, and small business customers.

More than 300 customers across 20 states and three countries rely on Revation to secure their most important connections with customers through its LinkLive solutions, including HD voice/video, web chat, SMS, email, and file transfers. The latest version of LinkLive includes LinkLive Connection Intelligence (LLCI), powered by 128T. This industry-first approach to connectivity intelligence includes real-time session failover, which provides Revation customers with assured, continuous access to its applications and services. By using 128T, Revation delivers augmented connection resiliency, improved real-time streaming quality, and enhanced security with route authentication and payload encryption. 128T also enables Revation to easily migrate from legacy routing technologies, and even leapfrog "new" WAN technologies that rely on complex tunneling or overlay techniques  all without having to buy expensive new infrastructure.

"Our customers require secure, uninterrupted connectivity and often must adhere to stringent compliance regulations. We knew we needed to invest in a next-generation network solution that would allow us to more securely deliver our applications across network boundaries while meeting ever-evolving regulations," said Perry Price, CEO of Revation Systems. "Using 128 Technology's session-oriented networking platform, we've been able to extend our service level agreements from the edge of our data center to the customer LAN  delivering unmatched security and quality of experience for our customers."

128T relies on a fundamentally different approach to networking called secure vector routing. The platform focuses on sessions to enable visibility into the unique two-way exchange of information between source and destination endpoints. This allows 128 Technology customers to build context-aware networks that can easily, dynamically, and securely stretch across network boundaries  without relying on costly tunneling and overlay technologies. The solution works alongside (or in place of) existing routers, and runs on general-purpose compute platforms that allow for a wide range of deployment models, from remote branch offices to high-capacity network edges to hyper-scale data centers.

"Cloud computing, mobility, modern applications, and a new security mindset are forcing organizations to completely rethink their network architectures. We believe that session-oriented networks offer a dramatically simpler, more secure, and lower-cost path for customers looking to futureproof their networks without completely replacing what they already have," said Andy Ory, co-founder and CEO of 128 Technology. "We are excited that Revation is building the network of tomorrow with the 128T Platform alongside their existing network in order to provide their customers with a differentiated, best-in-class experience."

About Revation Systems

Revation Systems (http://www.revation.com) develops electronic messaging application services, using its unique SAFEc architecture to create the first all-in-one system that provides secure, encrypted communications for all mediums: live-chat, email, instant messaging (IM), IM hunt groups, SMS, real-time Voice over IP and video. Additionally, the company is the first to offer 'presence' capabilities, which alert customers real-time to service personnel's availability. This is important to the marketing, sales and support center functions of contact centers. LinkLive products are compliant with GLBA, SEC, Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA requirements for logging, privacy and security.

About 128 Technology

128 Technology is an advanced secure networking company on a mission to fix the Internet. The 128T Networking Platform natively provides network-based security, control and insight across data centers, wide-area networks and edge locations for enterprises, service providers, and cloud companies alike. The company's software-based approach disrupts the traditional networking paradigm, but doesn't disrupt existing network infrastructures. To learn more about 128 Technology's unique approach to networking, visit www.128technology.com, and follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Media Contact:

Meghan Locke

LEWIS

[email protected]

SOURCE 128 Technology

Related Links

http://www.128technology.com


VANCOUVER, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE and TSX: RBA) has published its February 2017 auction metrics on the company's website. This information can be accessed at the following link:

https://investor.ritchiebros.com/historical-auction-metrics

Monthly auction metrics should not be considered indicative of quarterly, annual or future performance. Auction metrics and corporate performance vary considerably month-to-month, due to the number of auctions held each month and seasonal factors. Ritchie Bros.' actual results could differ materially from those implied by this monthly auction disclosure. Investors are encouraged to review Ritchie Bros.' performance on a 12-month rolling or annual basis before making investing decisions.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, and one of the world's largest sellers of used equipment for the construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, mining, forestry and other industries. Ritchie Bros.TM asset management and disposition solutions include live unreserved public auctions with on-site and online bidding; EquipmentOneTM, an online auction marketplace; Mascus, a global online equipment listing service; private negotiated sales through Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty; and a range of ancillary services, including financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. Ritchie Bros. has operations in 19 countries, including 45 auction sites worldwide. Learn more at rbauction.com, EquipmentOne.com, mascus.com, rbauction.com/privatetreaty and rbauction.com/financing.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Related Links

http://www.rbauction.com


HOUSTON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Russo's Restaurants, the chef-driven parent company of Russo's New York Pizzeria and Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, will expand throughout the U.S. and Middle East over the next 10 years with an aggressive multi-unit franchise growth strategy.

Russo's Restaurants, founded by Chef Anthony Russo, focuses on authentic, hand-tossed New York-style pizzas and Italian pastas, soups and salads made with family recipes and ingredients like house-made mozzarella, imported artisanal Sicilian olive oil, cheeses from Italy and hand-crushed pear tomatoes from California. Russo's customizes each menu and recipe to fit local trade areas, both domestically and internationally.

"Russo's concepts appeal to franchisees nationally and internationally because the food quality  our recipes, our sourcing, our authenticity  speaks to the way people the world over want to eat today," said Russo. "We are growing because the appetite for our style of food is increasing with the trend for clean eating, and we've been doing it for 25 years with proven success."

With an AUV of 1.2M, an average food cost of 22 percent and a flexible design-build prototype concept for franchisees at an average investment of $550,000, the restaurant concepts have attracted both international and national franchisee interest. Russo's has more than 50 new restaurants in development in the U.S. and abroad.

The company recently opened its first Russo's New York Pizzeria in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with franchisee Abdulrahman Al Arifi, who plans to open up to 60 more in the next 10 years. Recent U.S. franchise agreements will bring more than 25 new restaurants to Houston, Texas and Florida.

Russo's is also targeting new domestic markets such as Maryland/Washington, D.C., and Hawaii and expansion markets throughout Florida and Texas. International plans include new markets like Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt.

For more information on Russo's Restaurants, Russo's New York Pizzeria and Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, go to www.nypizzeria.com.

About Russo's Restaurants

Founded by Chef Anthony Russo, the Houston-based restaurant company was built on Russo family recipes and a passion for fresh, authentic handmade pizzas and Italian dishes created from the finest imported and house-made ingredients. The first Russo's New York Pizzeria opened in Houston to rave reviews in 1992, and the concept was franchised two years later. In 2008, Russo added sibling concept Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, offering a more in-depth Italian menu prepared in authentic coal-fired ovens. Russo's Restaurants has nearly 50 company-owned and franchised restaurants in the U.S. and the Middle East. Each Russo's location offers dine-in, take-out, delivery and catering. For menu, location and franchising information go to www.nypizzeria.com or connect on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Media Contact:

Kerrie Sparks or Carson Cline

[email protected]

[email protected]

817-329-3257

SOURCE Russo's Restaurants

Related Links

http://www.nypizzeria.com


DALLAS, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ryan, a leading global tax services firm with the largest indirect and property tax practices in North America, has been named one of the 2017 100 Best Arizona Companies by BestCompaniesAZ. Companies were selected for their sense of purpose, how they hire, how they lead, how they delight their customers, how they create their employer brands, and how they partner with their communities. Ryan was specifically recognized for its innovation, empowerment, freedom, and creativity.

"We are honored to be recognized as one of Arizona's top 100 companies, and I sincerely thank all of our Scottsdale associates for their votes of confidence," said G. Brint Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Ryan. "Ryan's work environment empowers our employees with incredible freedom and flexibility, and they continue to respond by delivering exceptional client service and results."

"BestCompaniesAZ has been at the forefront of recognizing sought-after employer brands and creating prestigious workplace awards programs in Arizona since 2002. As we celebrate 15 years, we are proud to recognize companies across our state who are making a positive difference in the lives of their employees and our communities," said Denise Gredler, Founder and CEO of BestCompaniesAZ.

BestCompaniesAZ's 15th anniversary listing honors well-known employer brands. For the full list, visit http://bestcompaniesaz.com/100-best-companies-in-arizona/.

About BestCompaniesAZ:

BestCompaniesAZ is a consulting firm dedicated to identifying, developing, and promoting great workplaces. BestCompaniesAZ has been at the forefront of building sought-after employer brands and prestigious workplace awards programs since 2002, including the 2003 Best Companies to Work for in the Valley program (published by the Phoenix Business Journal), Arizona Most Admired Companies (published by AZ Business Magazine and BestCompaniesAZ), and Top Companies to Work for in Arizona (published by azcentral and Republic Media). BestCompaniesAZ provides consulting services for organizations committed to workplace excellence, including employee surveys, best practices, national and local public relations, employer branding, culture development, and promotional services.

About Ryan

Ryan is an award-winning global tax services firm, with the largest indirect and property tax practices in North America and the seventh largest corporate tax practice in the United States. With global headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the Firm provides a comprehensive range of state, local, federal, and international tax advisory and consulting services on a multi-jurisdictional basis, including audit defense, tax recovery, credits and incentives, tax process improvement and automation, tax appeals, tax compliance, and strategic planning. Ryan is a five-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the dynamic myRyan work environment, which is widely recognized as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan's multi-disciplinary team of more than 2,100 professionals and associates serves over 12,000 clients in more than 40 countries, including many of the world's most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at ryan.com.

PRESS INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carol Vieira

Senior Manager, Public Relations and Communications

Ryan

401.871.7676

[email protected]

SOURCE Ryan

Related Links

http://www.ryan.com


SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanford Heisler, LLP filed a class action against Overland Solutions, Inc. ("OSI") on behalf of its California insurance inspectors for violations of the California Labor Code. The complaint alleges that OSI, an industry leader in insurance underwriting support services, willfully misclassifies California field inspectors as independent contractors to avoid paying inspectors wages and business expenses, despite exercising extensive control over how inspectors perform their work.

According to the complaint filed in the California Superior Court, County of Alameda, insurance inspectors are the field workforce in OSI's Survey Division, and are an integral part of OSI's business. Inspectors conduct inspections of insured property and provide reports to OSI's clients, which are major insurance carriers nationwide. As field representatives of OSI, inspectors go through an extensive hiring and onboarding process, including a rigorous background check, an orientation program, training modules, and quizzes. On the job, inspectors are under the control and supervision of OSI, and must follow the company's strict Standard Operating Procedures.

"This level of control constitutes an employer-employee relationship," says Michael Palmer, Co-Chair of the Firm's Wage & Hour Practice Group. "By mislabeling an entire workforce as non-employees, OSI tried to avoid paying inspectors their lawful wages. This lawsuit challenges this unfair practice and seeks to ensure that the workers are not denied their rights and protections under the law."

Lead Plaintiff Martin Fletscher, a current OSI insurance inspector in California, alleges that he and other inspectors are paid only for time spent conducting onsite inspections and writing inspection reports. Inspectors are not paid for time spent on various other types of work, such as training, preparing for and scheduling the inspections, travel to and from inspection sites, or time spent re-inspecting and re-writing reports. They are also not reimbursed by OSI for expenses like gas and various inspection equipment.

"As employees, Mr. Fletscher and the class are entitled to be paid for all time worked and to reimbursements for business expenses," says Xinying Valerian, Senior Litigation Counsel at Sanford Heisler. "This is wage theft, and California law does not allow for it."

The complaint seeks to recover unpaid wages and penalties and to enjoin OSI from continuing misclassification of its workforce.

About Sanford Heisler, LLP

Sanford Heisler, LLP is a public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C, San Francisco and San Diego.

The Firm specializes in civil rights litigation, representing plaintiffs with employment discrimination, labor and wage violations, whistleblower, consumer fraud, and other claims. The firm also represents individuals and has achieved particular success in the representation of executives and attorneys in employment disputes. More at http://www.sanfordheisler.com/ or call 202 499-5200 or email [email protected]. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @sanfordheisler

For more information contact: Jamie Moss, 201-788-0142; [email protected]

SOURCE Sanford Heisler, LLP

Related Links

http://www.sanfordheisler.com


A total of 16 excavator models are being exhibited at SANY's booth, including new models and many of the most popular ones. In recent years, SANY has gained more and more power in the global heavy machinery industry. Among the exhibits, 13 models are all equipped with Final Stage IV engines, to meet the emission standards of the high-end US market. SY26U is a brand new mini zero-tail swing excavator with its zero-tail swing radius and independent boom swing allowing operation in extremely confined spaces. SY50U is another newly launched 5 tonnage zero-tail swing hydraulic excavator. The updated SLSS hydraulic system, optimal power control and working modes selection further improve speed and power while reducing fuel consumption with the Tier 4 final engine. BL70C is a new-generation backhoe loader, which will be available in the North American market at the end of 2017. The customized DEUTZ TCD3.6L4 engine with efficient, strong and high torque provides power and responsiveness for both travel and multi-function hydraulic system operation.

The exhibits also include popular models in the US market, with SY75C as an example. The 7.5 ton star small-sized excavator, powered by a reliable, efficient Isuzu Tier 4f engine, comes with extra reinforcements in the boom, arm, swing platform and undercarriage as well as increased stability and service life.

The SY235CLC, renowned as the King of Reach, is designed especially for ultra-long reach work, with the maximum digging reach extending to 18 meters. The SW405K is the only loader to be put on display. Equipped with an environmentally friendly DEUTZ T4F engine., it boasts multi-functional configuration of loader arm ride control model, independent hydraulic driven temperature controlled fan, quick coupler operated from the cab, emergency backup steering and more.

It's worth mentioning that SANY America will also unveil significant discounts for these excavator models, including 5-year or 5,000-hour warranty service and 0% financing up to 48 months. Come visit us at Booth No. G2877 in the Gold Lot and Booth No. G74002 in the Gold Hall and experience the power of SANY excavators.

About SANY Group

SANY Group (SANY) is a leading global heavy machinery manufacturer with plants in the USA, Germany, Brazil and India, and business covering over 150 countries and regions worldwide. The company has been recognized as one of the most innovative and successful companies in the world, and its concrete machinery is ranked No. 1 globally.

For more information, please visit: www.sanyglobal.com, or follow SANY Group on Facebook and YouTube.

Rebecca Zhou

Phone: (+86) 010-60737480

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE SANY
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. and HENDERSON, Nev., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Select Medical Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE: SEM), today announced a joint venture agreement with Dignity Health to construct and operate a 60-bed acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital in the greater Las Vegas metro area. The new hospital, expected to open in 2018, will be built directly adjacent to the existing St. Rose Dominican Siena Campus, the largest hospital in Henderson, Nevada. Select Medical is the majority owner in the joint venture and will manage operations of the new hospital. The agreement also includes joint operation of 12 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in the Las Vegas market, including 11 existing Select Medical locations and one Dignity Health center.

Nationally, Select Medical operates 20 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and more than 100 hospitals specializing in long-term acute care, as well as approximately 1,600 outpatient rehabilitation centers and more than 300 occupational medicine centers through its Concentra subsidiary.

"We are thrilled to partner with Dignity Health to provide an exceptional patient care experience for those needing physical and cognitive functional recovery throughout the region," said Select Medical Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital Division President Jeffrey Ruskan. "Our clinical leadership and outcomes in rehabilitation combined with Dignity Health's reputation of providing outstanding system-wide care is a powerful partnership. Together, we will deliver top-notch inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services for patients as they strive to restore strength and independence in activities of daily living."

The Select Medical partnership enables St. Rose to grow its diverse package of health services to include care for patients who have experienced a stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, neurological condition, amputation, orthopedic injury or have other rehabilitation needs.

"This joint venture brings together two health care providers that are committed to excellent patient care," said Brian Brannman, senior vice president of operations for Dignity Health in Nevada. "For patients being treated in one of our hospitals, the partnership with Select Medical will make additional long-term medical and rehabilitation resources available to help them return to a full, healthy life."

About Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican

As the community's only not-for-profit, faith-based health system, Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican has been guided by the vision and core values of the Adrian Dominican Sisters for more than 65 years. As the Henderson and Las Vegas communities grow, the three St. Rose Dominican hospitals (the Rose de Lima, Siena and San Martin Campuses) and nearly 4,000 employees will continue the Sisters' mission of serving people in need. St. Rose Dominican is a member of the 22-state Dignity Health network of more than 9,000 physicians, 62,000 employees, and 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics. For more information, visit our website at strosehospitals.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or our Blog.

About Select Medical Holdings Corporation

Select Medical began operations in 1997 and has grown to be one of the largest operators of specialty hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics and occupational health centers in the United States based on the number of facilities. As of December 31, 2016, Select Medical operated 103 long term acute care hospitals and 20 acute medical rehabilitation hospitals in 27 states and 1,611 outpatient rehabilitation clinics in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Select Medical's joint venture subsidiary Concentra operated 300 centers in 38 states. Concentra also provides contract services at employer worksites and Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinics. At December 31, 2016, Select Medical had operations in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Information about Select Medical is available at www.selectmedical.com .

Media Contacts:

Shelly Eckenroth for Select Medical

717-920-4035 or [email protected]



Kate Grey for Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican

702-616-4865 or [email protected]

SOURCE Select Medical Corporation

Related Links

http://www.selectmedicalcorp.com


SAN FRANCISCO, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SEPHORA, the global leader in prestige beauty retail, announced today the entrepreneurs selected to participate in the 2017 Sephora Accelerate Cohort, SEPHORA's program supporting a growing community of female founders in all areas of the beauty industry through a collaborative structure with a focus on social impact. This year's participants were selected from among hundreds of applicants across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil and will be mentored by beauty industry leaders, including Pamela Baxter, Founder of Bonafide Beauty Lab, and Dianna Ruth, Chief Operating Officer of Milk Makeup.

"The 10 female leaders chosen for our 2017 Cohort represent an exciting mix of product brands, cutting edge technology, and sustainability-focused entrepreneurs," said Corrie Conrad, Head of Social Impact & Sustainability for Sephora. "We're excited to mentor this next generation of leaders, as we march towards our goal of supporting more than 50 women-led beauty businesses with a social impact through bootcamps, mentorship, and funding by 2020."

Even in the beauty industry, where most customers are women, female founders are underrepresented. Sephora Accelerate is SEPHORA's commitment to encourage female founders in the beauty industry. Through an intensive bootcamp and more than six months of mentorship, founders join an ecosystem of support and are offered insight, instruction and access to the relevant networks to take their business to the next level and help design the future of beauty.

Meet the 2017 Sephora Accelerate Cohort:

Adriana Oyevides, founder and CEO of Aloe Vida (Mexico City, Mexico)

Aloe Vida is a line of self-care products using organic, Ecocert, Kosher, and food-grade Mexican Aloe Vera as a main ingredient. This high-quality line of products combines selected natural ingredients to give skin nourishment, health, and beauty.

"We have a strong commitment to use sustainable and natural ingredients to lower our footprint as a company and to help people to have healthy skin while caring for the earth and respecting animals."

Barb Stegemann, founder and CEO of The 7 Virtues (Halifax, Canada)

Motivated to act after her best friend was severely wounded serving the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, Barb wanted to carry on his mission of peace and created The 7 Virtues as a "socially responsible fragrance" company. The company sources fair market essential oils from nations rebuilding after war or strife, including Rwanda, Afghanistan, Haiti, India, and the Middle East.

"Social impact is the goal of our company, our raison d'etre, it is our why. I want to leave a better footprint on this earth than I found and communicate new stories of harmony and peace."

Dana Rae Ashburn, founder and CEO of ABLE Cosmetics (Brooklyn, NY)

ABLE Cosmetics is a solution-oriented beauty brand aiming to solve everyday beauty problems through user-friendly tools, instructions and tutorials. Dana's own experiences with a learning disability inspired her to create a line of patented color tools as a way to provide hands-on learning experiences for her clients.

"ABLE's primary goal is to empower and enABLE others to believe in and apply their individual skills. Bringing social awareness to people with disabilities will be very fulfilling for both the brand and me."

Jihan Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Swivel Beauty (New York, NY)

Swivel Beauty is a digital platform that's revolutionizing how women of color discover and book hair appointments with talented stylists who are equipped to work with their unique hair type and texture. A veteran editor of top women's magazines, Jihan and her co-founder designed a "Yelp-like" listing system which curates stylists based on referrals.

"As a female entrepreneur focusing on the black haircare market, it can be hard to convince people who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of the black hair space that the problem we're solving mattersbut we're proving that it does."

Kirsty Williams, co-founder and co-CEO of DashHound (San Francisco, CA)

DashHound is a data-science backed social commerce platform for beauty, making it easier for users to follow their favorite influencers and purchase the products they recommend.

"The biggest challenge has been explaining to people outside of our target market what our vision for DashHound is and having them see how disruptive it can be to the beauty community."

Marta Cros, founder and CEO of The Ritualist (Brooklyn, NY)

The Ritualist offers in-home, professional skincare treatments performed by licensed estheticians. Appointments replicate the spa experience in your own home and include full-service facials with APTO skincare, the in-house line of plant-based fermented skincare products

"I am most proud that I am able to support my network of beauty professionals through a decent pay that triples the national average, and offers the sometimes much needed flexibility to balance their passion for skincare with family obligations."

Mary Futher, founder and CEO of Kaia Naturals (Toronto, Canada)

Kaia Naturals is an indie eco-beauty brand that produces 100% non-toxic and cruelty-free products. Applying her minimalist beauty principals to her brand, Mary created Kaia's Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloths, offering a completely natural alternative to rayon cleansing cloths, as well as a line of natural deodorants made from charcoal.

"The isolation when building a business on your own is often difficult. I'm excited for the opportunity to be mentored and have access to the executives with experience in the beauty business."

Pollini Jorio, co-founder and CEO of Brandlovers (San Paulo, Brazil)

Brandlovers is an app that matches users with the best beauty products for them, using big data and machine learning.

"Our goal is to understand and help every single user in a customized way. Finding the best product is a global need, regardless of skin and hair type, income, and store location."

Sara Panton, co-founder and CEO of Vitruvi (Vancouver, Canada)

At Vitruvi we believe that products should be multipurpose and that they should be good for both people and the planet. We source traditional essential oils from over 30 countries and formulate them in contemporary ways for every facet of a women's day.

"I believe that being a female founder in our industry has helped me. I relate to the women who use our products, and I'm able to see the company through the perspective of the customer when navigating large company decisions."

Yve-Car Momperousse, founder and CEO of Kreyol Essence (Homestead, Florida)

Kreyol Essence is an eco-luxury brand that creates 100% natural and ethical beauty products from Haiti with a focus on hair and skin. Their signature product is black castor oil, a century old wonder cure sustainably harvested by farmers, produced by over 50 women, and exported to the US, Canada, and Europe.

"Being ethical is part of our DNA and comes very natural for us. By nature, I am a coalition builder that enjoys creating an environment where people feel safe to be themselves and connect."

Please visit SEPHORA STANDS to learn more about the program, its benefits and this year's Cohort.

@Sephora @SephoraStands #SephoraStands

About Sephora

Sephora is a leader in global prestige retail, teaching and inspiring clients to play in a world of beauty. Sephora has earned its reputation with its expertise, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit, and has been a pioneer in an unbiased approach to experiential retail since its debut in Paris in the early 1970's. A year after its acquisition by luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 1997, Sephora expanded to North America with a revolutionary store model that broke the beauty experience mold, and continues to evolve today. Now with more than 430 stores in the Americasincluding US, Canada, Mexico, and Brazilplus nearly 600 inside JCPenney, Sephora has become a leading international beauty destination with over 2,300 locations in 33 countries, plus an award-winning website, and intuitive mobile apps. At Sephora, whether beauty is an obsession or part of a routine, clients have the opportunity to play with 14,000 products from 200 carefully curated brands, featuring indie darlings, emerging favorites, trusted classics, and Sephora's own, SEPHORA COLLECTION. In store, the client can access personalized recommendations at the Beauty Studio through interactive technology like the IQ systems, and garner a new look with makeovers, complimentary classes, hands-on events, and one-on-one consultations, all assisted by Sephora's expertly trained beauty advisors who offer unbiased advice on every brand, in every beauty category. Online clients interact with an inclusive beauty community on the award-winning Beauty Board, interactive Beauty Talk, and through social media @Sephora. On their mobile device, clients can get inspired to try new looks through groundbreaking digital innovations, like Sephora Virtual Artist, and access one-of-a-kind, mobile-first experiences, like The Beauty Uncomplicator and Swipe It Shop It. And Sephora Beauty Insider clients feed their beauty addiction with unique rewards and customized on-of-a-kind experiences. Sephora offers endless ways to explore beauty. With Sephora Stands, Sephora's multi-pronged social impact program, the retailer continues to support its community and its people via Sephora Accelerate, Classes for Confidence and Sephora Stands Together. For the latest, visit Sephora.com.

SOURCE SEPHORA
GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Aster Angagaw, Sodexo's CEO of Healthcare, North America, was selected by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the "Most Powerful Women in Business." This exclusive listing ranks the most influential African-American female executives from across the country. The feature coincides with the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, which begins tomorrow, March 9-12 in Phoenix, where honorees will be acknowledged for their professional achievements.

At a time when African-American women make up less than 1.5 percent of senior-level executives in the private sectori, forward-looking companies are ratcheting up overall efforts around gender parity, diversity and inclusion. Sodexo for example, which specializes in facilities management and food service operations, has set aggressive targets to reach 35 percent of women in its senior leadership ranks of the top 1,400 by 2020 and to achieve an optimal gender balance range (40 - 60 percent) by 2025. Recruiting and retaining top female talent from all walks of life remains a strategic imperative for Sodexo globally.

"Women account for 45 percent of the S&P 500 labor force, but still only represent about 25 percent of executive or senior-level officials and managers, 19 percent of board seats, and just 4 percent of CEOs," said Angagaw. "Those figures dip further when looking at women of color in leadership positions. Companies intent on gender balance and recruiting top talent from diverse backgrounds are actually better positioned see bottom-line improvements in business performance."

Women remain underrepresented in leadership roles, in spite of research indicating that gender-balanced leadership has a positive impact on the bottom line. It is important to note, however, that gender balance impacts performance only when the optimal balance is reached. Angagaw points to a recent Sodexo study which confirmed that this balance corresponds to a male-female ratio between 40 percent and 60 percent, reinforcing that diversity is key to enhanced performance.

Prior to her current position, Angagaw was senior vice president, global head of sales and business development for Sodexo, responsible for directing business development for the global Healthcare segment. Previously, she served as Sodexo's Group vice president for global transformation. In this role, Ms. Angagaw led the design and coordination of the change management effort globally as the company underwent a transformation to become the leader of Qualify of Life services.

Angagaw's experience in organizational and operational leadership spans more than 20 years. Currently a member of the North America Regional Leadership Committee for Sodexo, she has held various senior leadership positions within the company, including corporate market strategy, offer and business development and strategic client relationship management. She has also won a number of awards for her roles at Sodexo, including the 2014 Diversity Leadership Council's Leadership Excellence award, the 2014 Uptown Professional's Top 100 Executives in America and Savoy Magazine's Top Influential Women in Corporate America in 2014.

Black Enterprise, the publication recognizing Angagaw's accomplishments, is the premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for AfricanAmericans. Since 1970, Black Enterprise has provided essential business information and advice to professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision makers.

"You could not find a better example of women of power than the female executives represented in this issue. Our editorial team developed this list to not only celebrate the black female business elite," said Black Enterprise President and CEO Earl "Butch" Graves Jr. "But to demonstrate that it requires unparalleled expertise and resilience to break through barriers that female executives continue to face today."

Sodexo delivers more than 100 services across North America that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life. The Fortune Global 500 company is a leader in delivering sustainable, integrated facilities management and foodservice operations.

Learn more about Sodexo at its corporate blog, Sodexo Insights.

i According to a March 2016 report released by the American Association of University Women

SOURCE Sodexo

Related Links

http://www.sodexoUSA.com


PHOENIX, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Spear Education is honored to be named one of the "100 Best Arizona Companies" by BestCompaniesAZ as part of their 15th anniversary serving Arizona's business community.

Spear Education is recognized within the category of "Best of Future," which honors companies for demonstrating great potential for growth and representing a new era of businesses in Arizona. These are the organizations to watch for the future.

Spear Education's entire team helped the organization make the "100 Best Companies in Arizona" list. Here the team poses for a group photo at Spear's campus.

"Spear is committed to being a best-in-class organization and we look forward to our continued growth as an Arizona-based employer," said Kaleim Manji, Spear's CEO. "We truly appreciate being nominated and recognized as a 'Best Company for the Future.' You can expect great things from Spear."

It was the entire team that truly earned the company this honor, said Heather Wood, Spear's director of human resources.

"We recognize that our people are what drives the culture and makes Spear such an amazing place to work," Wood said. "Without people to innovate product ideas, pass down knowledge and commit to serving our community of clients impeccably, we would not be the high-growth, mission-and-values-driven company that we have become."

"BestCompaniesAZ has been at the forefront of recognizing sought-after employer brands and creating prestigious workplace awards programs in Arizona since 2002," said Denise Gredler, the founder and CEO of BestCompaniesAZ. "As we celebrate 15 years, we are proud to recognize companies across our state who are making a positive difference in the lives of their employees and our communities."

BestCompaniesAZ's 15th anniversary listing honors well-known employer brands. For the full list, visit http://bestcompaniesaz.com/100-best-companies-in-arizona/

About Spear Education

At Spear, our mission is to help dentists and their teams in the pursuit of "great dentistry." As the market leader in clinical and practice growth solutions we offer our clients' practices holistic solutions ranging from a full Learning Management System and CE eligible content for every role in the practice, to practice consulting with a robust analytics platform to support meeting practice objectives. We partner with our customers and provide solutions that complement their normal workflows such as annual subscriptions for patient engagement tools including: waiting room videos, website videos, and chair side patient engagement videos to improve patient case acceptance. For more information, visit https://www.speareducation.com

About BestCompaniesAZ:

BestCompaniesAZ is a consulting firm dedicated to identifying, developing and promoting great workplaces. BestCompaniesAZ has been at the forefront of building sought-after employer brands and prestigious workplace awards programs since 2002, including the "2003 Best Companies to Work for in the Valley" program (published by the Phoenix Business Journal), Arizona Most Admired Companies (published by AZ Business Magazine and BestCompaniesAZ), and Top Companies to Work for in Arizona (published by azcentral and Republic Media). BestCompaniesAZ provides consulting services for organizations committed to workplace excellence, including employee surveys, best practices, national and local public relations, employer branding, culture development and promotional services. For more information, visit http://www.bestcompaniesaz.com or phone 480-545-5151.

Media Contact:

Ben Rojek: [email protected]

SOURCE Spear Education
"Stacy's was founded by a woman with incredible talent, passion, and determination," said Jennifer Saenz, chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay North America. "She is just one of the millions of women who have paved the way toward the ultimate goal of equality. These bags and our partnership with Step Up are our way to stand with women everywhere."

Inspired by the artwork and signs from pivotal moments throughout history, the bags will be available for a limited time to consumers who register at StacysStandsWithYou.com starting March 8, 2017. For each consumer registration while supplies last, the Stacy's brand will make a $10 donation to Step Up to support critical work mentoring young women and helping them become confident, career-focused and prepared to achieve their full potential in business and in life.

"Inspiring teen girls to dream big has been our mission for decades," said Jenni Luke, CEO of Step Up. "These donations will help ensure girls use their voice in shaping the narrative of women today and in the future."

Stacy's is also inviting people to submit their own inspirational signs and poster artwork for a chance to see a small number of designs featured on the bags released nationally at the end of the month.

How You Can Get Involved

Each bag houses a Snapchat Snapcode that, when scanned, provides a way for people to get involved such as supporting women's causes like Step Up and engaging their local representatives.

People can go to StacysStandsWithYou.com to learn more about the campaign, order bags, make a donation or submit their artwork.

About Stacy's Snacks

Stacy's Snacks is one of the many brands that make up Frito-Lay North America, the $14 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo business units include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana. Learn more about the Stacy's brand online: www.stacyssnacks.com and www.facebook.com/stacyspitachips.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated approximately $63 billion in net revenue in 2016, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose  our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the world is what enables PepsiCo to run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

Follow PepsiCo:

About Step Up

Step Up propels girls in under-resourced communities to fulfill their potential by empowering them to become confident, college-bound, career-focused, and ready to join the next generation of professional women. Connect at suwn.org.

SOURCE Frito-Lay North America

Related Links

http://www.pepsico.com


BALDWIN PARK, Calif., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This Spring StemCyte will mark its 20th anniversary as a global leader in the cord blood therapeutic industry. To honor all of its incredible accomplishments of the past 20 years, StemCyte will host a "Grand Open House" celebration at the company's Baldwin Park, CA Headquarters on March 25, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Expectant parents, existing clients and the prestigious group of doctors and staff that StemCyte has worked with through the years, are welcome to attend the event. Guests will enjoy complimentary food, beverages, 4D sonograms and a special guest appearance by PBS KIDS character Curious George, as seen on PBS SoCal KOCE.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who have played a role in our success and all those who we have been privileged to serve for the last 20 years," said Jonas Wang, StemCyte's CEO and Chairman. "We have remained committed to our core values, and we look forward to working together for many more years to come."

About StemCyte

StemCyte's rich history started with a mission of being dedicated to helping the world's physicians save more lives by providing high quality, safe and effective stem cell transplantation and therapy to all patients in need. Located in the US, India and Taiwan, StemCyte has supplied over 2100 cord blood products for over 40 life-threatening diseases to over 300 leading worldwide transplant centers. StemCyte is actively involved in the development of stem cell therapies. StemCyte was the first to donate umbilical cord blood units (UCB) to Dr. Jaing of Chung Gung Memorial Hospital for his clinical trial to use UCB to treat and cure Beta Thalassemia. More excitingly is the work and accomplishments of Prof Wise Young, MD, PhD. Prof. Young has completed Phase II clinical trials on patients with chronic spinal cord injury with UCB and the results are extremely encouraging. StemCyte is chosen by the US Department of Health and Human Services to help establishing a public National Cord Blood Inventory. Its headquarters are located in Baldwin Park, CA. To learn more visit www.StemCyte.com.

Media Contact:

StemCyte

626-646-2500

[email protected]

SOURCE StemCyte

Related Links

http://www.StemCyte.com


NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

NetworkNewsWire Editorial Coverage: Any fast-growing business needs an operational framework to help it develop and better serve its customers, and the marijuana industry is no different. As the legal cannabis market continues its impressive expansion, a growing number of companies are emerging to form a legal support framework of related technology and ancillary services that are driving the industry toward an efficient and profitable structure. Companies such as SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) (SING Profile), MassRoots, Inc. (OTC: MSRT), mCig. Inc. (OTC: MCIG), Rocky Mountain High Brands, Inc. (OTC: RMHB) and Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE: IIPR) are branching out into different segments of the industry, determined to make the most of one of America's fastest growing markets.

SinglePoint (SING) is an ancillary service provider that does not directly touch the cannabis plant. Based in Nevada, SinglePoint has been involved with the legal marijuana market for a while, and, as the market showed signs of exponential growth, the company has taken a more active role. As a direct result of last year's election, which made marijuana legal in a greater number of states, SinglePoint reactivated its SingleSeed Payments subsidiary, with the goal of providing legal cannabis business operators with much-needed non-cash payment processing and mobile marketing tools.

SinglePoint (SING) is also interested in expanding its reach in the market, as confirmed by its recent Letter of Intent to acquire a stake in Convectium. The acquisition will give SING access to a unique, proprietary machine that has the potential to drive the industrialization of cannabis production nationwide. With an impressive capacity to fill more than 100 disposable cartridges or vape pens in as little as 30 seconds, the system can have a significant impact on the industry as a whole by making the cannabis production process easier, more efficient, and, ultimately, more profitable.

Operating one of the largest technology platforms for the legal cannabis industry, MassRoots (OTCQB: MSRT) has created a complex mobile network that allows medical cannabis users to make informed purchasing decisions based on product reviews, as well as connect with other users and the marijuana legalization movement. The network is available via free iOS and Android mobile apps, as well as the MassRoots website. With affiliations with leading market players such as the National Cannabis Industry Association and ArcView Group, MassRoots also operates a free portal that allows specialized dispensaries to access market analytics, gain insight into customer preferences, and more. The company is based in Denver, Colorado - one of the few states that allow both medical and recreational marijuana use.

While MassRoots is focused on the software side of the business, Nevada-based mCig (OTCQB: MCIG) is more involved with the actual cultivation process, via its Grow Contractors division. Originally a manufacturer and distributor of vaporizers, electronic cigarettes, and accessories, mCig has become a full-service cannabis cultivation construction company that provides state-of-the-art modular and commercial buildings to cannabis growers, allowing them to significantly expand operations and production. The company is also looking to expand its services and competencies to further support the ancillary legal hemp, cannabis and cannabidiol markets.

One of the most active players in the hemp market, Dallas, Texas-based Rocky Mountain High Brands (OTCQB: RMHB) is a great example of a company that's actively involved in the manufacturing and distribution of its products. As a fully-reporting consumer goods company, Rocky Mountain High Brands specializes in the development, manufacture, distribution and commercialization of hemp- and cannabidiol-infused food and beverages. Its product line includes hemp-infused edibles such as energy and protein bars, but mostly naturally flavored hemp-based beverages such as black tea, lemonade and energy drinks.

Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR)'s approach to the cannabis industry is to acquire specialized industrial real estate assets used for growing medical-use cannabis. IIPR's leases are long-term, triple-net arrangements in which tenants pay taxes, maintenance, insurance and structural repairs, in addition to base rent. In December 2016, IIPR closed on its first sale-leaseback transaction by acquiring from PharmaCann LLC a 127,000-square-foot medical-use cannabis cultivation and processing facility in New York. PharmaCann is now leasing the property from IIPR and, in a press release, said the arrangement frees up capital needed for expansion.

Despite legal concerns owing to the fact that marijuana is still considered an illegal substance by the U.S. federal government, even though it is allowed in 28 states, a strong technical interface is being built around the cannabis business. Ranging from software solutions and service providers that do not actually touch the cannabis plant, to actual machinery and manufacturing platforms such as Convectium's innovative oil filling machine for disposable vape pens and cartridges, this interface is expanding as fast as the actual market it serves and pushing cannabis production - and cannabis businesses - to new heights.

For more information on Singlepoint, Inc. (SING) please visit: Singlepoint, Inc. (SING)

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SOURCE NetworkNewsWire
BOULDER, Colo., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Surna Inc. (OTCQB: SRNA) today announced the completion of a $2,225,000 private placement of 13,906,250 equity units at a price of $0.16 per unit. Each unit consisted of one share of common stock and a three-year warrant exercisable at $0.26 per share. No placement agent was used in the offering.

"We believe the ability of the company to rapidly complete a private placement at a modest discount to the current market price demonstrates the confidence of our shareholders and the investment community in our organization and our business plan," said Surna CEO Trent Doucet. "Coupled with the recent elimination of 95% of our long-term debt, this financing further strengthens our balance sheet. We are now financially positioned to aggressively pursue our vision for growth and to meet the rapidly increasing market opportunities we are seeing in both the U.S. and international markets."

Doucet also noted last week's announcement of an $835,000 contract with Vancouver's Sante Veritas Therapeutic as a further validation of the expanding geographic market potential for Surna's products.

Following the private placement, Surna now has approximately 177 million shares of common stock issued and outstanding, and approximately 205 million shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis.

The company intends to conduct additional closings to accommodate investors with whom it has already been in discussions and who have executed paperwork. The company is not seeking or accepting additional new investors for this offering.

This press release is issued for informational purposes pursuant to Rule 135c of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Surna

Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, Surna Inc. (OTCQB: SRNA) develops and markets novel energy and resource-efficient solutions, including the company's signature water-cooled climate control platform, which meet the highly specific demands of the cannabis industry for temperature, humidity, light and process control. Surna's solutions aim to improve the efficiency, reliability, and overall yield of controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Though many of its clients do, Surna neither produces nor sells cannabis. For more information, please visit www.surna.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company's future business expectations, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including the uncertainties as to the timing of the transactions described above, uncertainties as to how many holders will agree to the terms of a transaction and the possibility that various closing conditions for the transactions may not be satisfied or waived. Other risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to new products, services, and technologies, government regulation and taxation, and fraud. In addition, the current global economic climate amplifies many of these risks. More information about factors that potentially could affect Surna's financial results is included in Surna's filings with the SEC, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

Statement About Cannabis Markets

The use, possession, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis is prohibited by federal law. This includes medical and recreational cannabis. Although certain states have legalized medical and recreational cannabis, companies and individuals involved in the sector are still at risk of being prosecuted by federal authorities. Further, the landscape in the cannabis industry changes rapidly. What was the law last week is not the law today and what is the law today may not be the law next week. This means that at any time the city, county, or state where cannabis is permitted can change the current laws and/or the federal government can supersede those laws and take prosecutorial action. Given the uncertain legal nature of the cannabis industry, it is imperative that investors understand that the cannabis industry is a high-risk investment. A change in the current laws or enforcement policy can negatively affect the status and operation of our business, require additional fees, stricter operational guidelines and unanticipated shut-downs.

SOURCE Surna Inc.

Related Links

http://www.surna.com


The Act! v19.1 release provides subscribers with six new eCommerce Connections: BigCommerce, Ecwid, Etsy, Shopify, Volusion, and WooCommerce. The eCommerce Connections are available exclusively to active Act! Premium subscribers. Subscribers must sign up for the eCommerce Connection of their choice via Cloud Elements. Once the connection has been made, the user will have a more comprehensive view of their contacts with access to all order history details.

"Worldwide retail ecommerce sales are forecasted to reach $4 trillion by 2020. Surprisingly, it has been reported that only 26 percent of small businesses have an ecommerce platform, meaning that nearly three quarters of all small businesses still do not have an ecommerce-enabled website. With this release, we're looking to make it as easy as possible for our customers to add a range of ecommerce platforms to their technology stack  one that best fits their business's needs," said Lorcan Malone, president and COO of Swiftpage.

Act! v19.1 also delivers enhancements to the Act! Companion mobile app and numerous updates to ensure an improved user experience. While utilizing the Act! Companion mobile app, users can now quickly create history from the "Business Card" view and easily capture details on the go. A complete list of updates can be found here.

Social Media and Website Links

About the Act! Portfolio

Act!, the award winning customer & contact manager trusted by more than six million businesses globally, enables business owners to manage their relationships, interact and follow-up with their customers effectively and efficiently. Small and medium sized businesses rely on the Act! portfolio daily to run, manage and grow their business. Learn more at www.act.com.

2017 Swiftpage ACT! LLC. All rights reserved. Swiftpage, Act!, and the Swiftpage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Swiftpage ACT! LLC, or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Press Contacts  North America

Mallory Bowers

Swiftpage

(720) 490-4332

[email protected]

Dave Feistel

LF|PR

(949) 502-6200 x 224

[email protected]

SOURCE Swiftpage

Related Links

http://www.swiftpage.com


CAPITOLA, Calif., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Local florists across the United States are celebrating Women's Day March 8th by giving away flowers to honor women in their community. For the third consecutive year participating local florists in conjunction with members of CalFlowers (California Association of Flower Growers and Shippers) and ASOCOLFLORES (The Association of Colombian Flower Exporters) helped raise awareness for Women's Day by promoting the website www.womensdayholiday.com as a platform for sharing stories of Love, Honor and Respect in celebration and recognition of Women's Day March 8th. When people share a story of love, honor and respect about the special women in their life they are entered to win flowers compliments of the local floral community.

Love Honor and Respect Women's Day is March 8th

In addition to the website, the floral community has taken its message of love, honor and respect for women to social media by raising awareness of Women's Day on Facebook at www.facebook.com/womensdayholiday and Twitter at www.twitter.com/womensdayusa. In less than 1 week the Women's Day Holiday social media campaign has reached more than 2 million people and generated over 5 million impressions. "The mission of the Women's Day Holiday campaign is to provide a platform for the community to show respect, appreciation and love for all the amazing women that make a difference in our lives on a daily basis," said Michael LoBue, CEO of CalFlowers.

Women's Day, observed annually on March 8th, is a day to celebrate the achievements of women from around the world. More than 100 nations recognize Women's Day and 35 have declared it a national holiday with thousands of events held by organizations, governments, charities, educational institutions, women's groups, corporations and the media. "Every woman deserves Love, Honor and Respect. Whether mother or daughter, young or old, amazing women deserve to be honored this day and every day. In addition to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of women on March 8th, our goal is to raise awareness for the non-profit organization Where Hope Lives," said Cheryl Denham, CEO of Arizona Family Florist located in Phoenix Arizona.

The purpose of Where Hope Lives is to rescue trafficking victims, offering them love, hope and a way off the streets. Established in 2009, the non-profit Where Hope Lives formerly The Rescue Project, is a national leader in the rescue, recovery and prevention of human trafficking and relies on donations and support from both the public and private sector. In addition to helping raise awareness, the floral community donates flowers year round that are used in their heroic outreach efforts as an expression of love when rescuing young women. To learn more about how you can make a difference by donating to Where Hope Lives, go to http://www.wherehopelives.org

About CalFlowers

The California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers (CalFlowers, formerly known as NORCAL) was founded in 1941 by a small group of flower shipping companies to foster the success of the California floral industry within the United States. Today CalFlowers is the leading floral trade association in California serving growers and the entire supply chain in the state and in 45 states across the nation. For more information about CalFlowers, please visit www.cafgs.org

About ASOCOLFLORES

ASOCOLFLORES was established in 1973 as a non-profit trade organization, to represent and promote the Colombian flower industry in international markets and seek comprehensive development of floriculture, mainly in areas of market access, research, transport, Florverde (socio-environmental label certification) and social responsibility programs to improve the quality of life of workers and their families. ASOCOLFLORES membership represents growers who handle about 80% of total Colombian flower exports. For more information about ASOCOLFLORES, please visit www.asocolflores.org

Contact: Eileen Watters

Phone: 602-509-9609

E-Mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Women's Day Holiday

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vance Thompson Vision, a refractive surgery and research facility specializing in laser vision correction, is proud to introduce ReLEx SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction) by Zeiss. The SMILE procedure was recently approved by the FDA and is a form of laser vision correction that gives patients the newest technology with a gentle, minimally invasive vision correction. ReLEx SMILE can be a vision solution for patients with myopia (nearsightedness).

As the third generation in laser vision correction, ReLEx SMILE builds on the benefits of LASIK, laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis. Vance Thompson Vision was involved in the clinical trial process for SMILE, and worked towards its FDA approval in 2017. Patients in those clinical trials have had continued success with SMILE.

Dr. Vance Thompson, an ophthalmologist at Vance Thompson Vision in Sioux Falls, S.D., assisted with the clinical trials for the SMILE procedure. The procedure will complement LASIK and PRK as another option for treating nearsightedness for some patients age 22 or older.

"Our research and results from the clinical trials demonstrate that this procedure provides excellent visual outcomes for patients," Dr. Thompson says. "We are excited to bring this technology to the area."

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, nearsightedness affects more than 40% of the US population, a number that has increased from 25% in 1970. "The number of people affected by nearsightedness is increasing," says Dr. John Berdahl, a surgeon at Vance Thompson Vision. "The addition of SMILE gives us more power to help more patients see more clearly. I'm honored to be a part of so many new procedures that fit patients' vision and lifestyle."

A common refractive procedure and the predecessor to SMILE, LASIK uses a laser to reshape a person's cornea. LASIK can provide clearer vision for patients with nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.

SMILE uses the principles of LASIK in a minimally invasive procedure, so the surgeon is able to perform the correction without creating a flap. During the SMILE procedure, the surgeon uses a femtosecond laser to make a small incision in the cornea. The incision needed for SMILE is up to 80 percent smaller than the incision needed for LASIK, and the procedure has a lower occurrence of dry eye and other complications after surgery.

SMILE can help you achieve clear vision with the assurance that you are receiving the world's highest technology in laser vision correction. To determine your candidacy for SMILE, or any laser vision correction procedure, a patient will need to be evaluated by an ophthalmologist specializing in refractive surgery. For more information, visit www.vancethompsonvision.com.

About Vance Thompson Vision

Vance Thompson Vision, Sioux Falls, SD and Fargo, ND, is a world-class refractive surgery center and research institute. Vance Thompson Vision provides and participates in developing the world's most exceptional technologies to improve outcomes in surgical care; all while creating a patient experience that is second to none. With more than 100,000 procedures, more than 80 FDA monitored clinical trials, and having traveled the world to advance the learning of providers everywhere, Vance Thompson Vision is the standard in quality and innovation. For more information on the international reputation of the doctors that lead studies such as this one visit the biographies of Dr. Vance Thompson, Dr. Alison Tendler, Dr. John Berdahl, Dr. Michael Greenwood, Dr. Doug Wallin, Dr. Keith Rasmussen, Dr. Justin Schweitzer, Dr. Jason Schmit, and Dr. Mitch Ibach.

CONTACT: Vance Thompson Vision, 1-605-361-3937

SOURCE Vance Thompson Vision

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http://www.vancethompsonvision.com


LONDON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to The Economist's 2017 glass-ceiling index (GCI), a yearly assessment of where women have the best-and worst chances of equal treatment at work, in the OECD, a mostly-rich country club, women's labourforce participation rate of 63% has increased only 3 percentage points since 2005 while men's labour-force participation rate has stayed the same at 80%. And the gender wage gap has not moved substantially over the last five years with women still earning around 85% of what men do.

The GCI, which combines data on higher education, labour-force participation, pay, child-care costs, maternity and paternity rights, business-school applications and representation in senior jobs to create a ranking of 29 OECD countries, shows that the Nordics are the best places to work if you are a woman. Iceland leads the pack overall and many of the indicators including higher education, women on company boards and women in parliament. Turkey, Japan, and South Korea fall into the last three spots of the overall index.

Digging deeper, The Economist's interactive chart reveals the Index's winners and losers within the different indicators:

Higher education: In Iceland , women's tertiary education attainment is 14.9%-points higher than men's; in Switzerland , it is 9.7%-points lower than men's

In , women's tertiary education attainment is 14.9%-points higher than men's; in , it is 9.7%-points lower than men's Labour-force participation rate: Finland has the smallest gap between male and female labour-force participation rates; Turkey has the highest

has the smallest gap between male and female labour-force participation rates; has the highest Gender wage gap: South Korean women have the highest pay gap (36.7%) in the index and Belgian women have the lowest (3.3%)

South Korean women have the highest pay gap (36.7%) in the index and Belgian women have the lowest (3.3%) Women in managerial positions: The US has the highest percentage (43.4%) of women in managerial positions while South Korea has the lowest (10.5%)

The US has the highest percentage (43.4%) of women in managerial positions while has the lowest (10.5%) Women on company boards: Iceland has the highest share of women on boards (44.0%), while South Korea has the lowest (2.4%)

has the highest share of women on boards (44.0%), while has the lowest (2.4%) GMAT exams taken by women: Finland has the highest share of GMAT exams taken by women (47.5%); Japan has the lowest (21.6%)

has the highest share of GMAT exams taken by women (47.5%); has the lowest (21.6%) Women in parliament: Iceland has the largest percentage of women in its parliament (47.6%) while Japan has the lowest (9.5%)

has the largest percentage of women in its parliament (47.6%) while has the lowest (9.5%) Net child-care costs: Britain has the highest net child-care costs at 45.7% of the average wage; South Korea has the lowest at zero

has the highest net child-care costs at 45.7% of the average wage; has the lowest at zero Paid leave for mothers: Hungarian women have the most generous maternity leave at 71 weeks of paid maternity leave while the US ranks last at zero weeks

Hungarian women have the most generous maternity leave at 71 weeks of paid maternity leave while the US ranks last at zero weeks Paid leave for fathers: Japanese men are given the greatest paid paternity leave at 30 weeks; the US ranks last at zero weeks

According to the Index's author, Roxana Willis, this year's GCI data shows that pipeline problems and gender gaps persist across the OECD: "With few women climbing up the ranks, and strong old-boys' network effects, The Economist's glass-ceiling Index shows that representation in typically well-paid and high-status jobs is closer to a third than half." Willis goes on to write that despite being in the top spot of the index, Icelandic women still think they have further to go before reaching parity: "On October 24th last year, in an act of protest, many Icelandic women left their workplaces early to reflect their gender pay gap of 14%."

This is the fifth year that The Economist has released its glass-ceiling index. When it was launched in 2013 there were five indicators and 26 countries; today it consists of ten indicators including maternity and paternity leave for 29 OECD countries.

To view the full index, please visit:

http://econ.st/2mU2W58

About The Economist (www.economist.com)

With a growing global circulation and a reputation for insightful analysis and perspective on every aspect of world events, The Economist is one of the most widely recognised and well-read current affairs publications. The paper covers politics, business, science and technology, and books and arts, concluding each week with the obituary. In addition to the web-only content such as blogs, debates and audio/video programmes available on the website, The Economist is available to download for reading on Android, Blackberry PlayBook, iPhone or iPad devices. The Economist Espresso, our daily briefing smartphone app, is also available for download via iTunes App Store or Google Play.

SOURCE The Economist

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Browse 66 market data Tables and 41 Figures spread through 193 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Top 10 Power Generation Technologies Market"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/top-10-power-generation-technologies-market-146140050.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

Factors such as increase in electricity consumption and subsequent investment in power generation capacity and modernization of existing power generation systems are driving the market globally.

Download PDF Brochure: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=146140050

The diesel and gas generator sales market is the largest segment in the power generation technologies category

In terms of the market, by power generation technology, the diesel and gas generator sales market held the largest market size in 2015. Factors such as rapid urbanization in developing countries, growing demand for data centers and IT facilities, growth of healthcare infrastructure, and growing demand for uninterrupted and reliable power supply are positively influencing the diesel and gas generator sales market.

Make an Inquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=146140050

The gas turbine market is the second largest segment in the power generation technologies category

In terms of the market, by technology, the gas turbine market held the second largest market size in 2015. Factors such as lower carbon dioxide emissions, efficient generation technology, boom in gas production, and increasing electricity consumption and consequent investments in generation capacity, would necessitate the growth of the market for gas turbines.

The Asia-Pacific market is the dominant market for most power generation technologies.

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for most of the products in the Power Generation Technologies Market. Within the Asia-Pacific region, the growth of the Power Generation Technologies Market can be attributed to factors such as increase in electricity consumption and subsequent investment in power generation capacity, especially in developing economies such as China and India. China has established itself as an industry dominating country with the industrial sector contributing more than 50% of its GDP. The growth of the industrial sector has tremendously increased power production and consumption in China. These factors have made China one of the most lucrative markets for the power industry.

To provide an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of companies, namely, Siemens AG (Germany), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Japan), Alstom S.A. (France), Ansaldo Energia S.p.A (Italy), Caterpillar, Inc. (U.S.), Cummins, Inc. (U.S) , Yanmar Co., Ltd. (Japan), General Electric Company (U.S.), Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (Japan), Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd. (China), Dongfang Electric Corporation Ltd. (China), Harbin Electric International Company (China), Abengoa Solar (Spain), Capstone Turbine Corporation (U.S.), Northern Power Systems (U.S.), Wind Energy Solutions (Netherlands), BDR Thermea Group (Netherlands), and Viessmann Group (Germany).

Browse Related Reports:

Gas Turbines Market By Design Type (Heavy Duty &and Aeroderivative), Rated Capacity (1-40 MW,40-120 MW,120-300 MW, &and Aabove 300 MW), Application (Oil & Gas, Power, &and Other), Technology (Open Cycle &and Combined Cycle), and Region - Forecast and Trends to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/gas-turbines-market-94641697.html

Steam Turbines Market By Type (Steam Cycle, Combined Cycle, and Cogeneration), by Rated Capacity (1--120 MW, 121--350 MW, 351--750 MW, and Aabove 750 MW), by Exhaust Type (Condensing and Noncondensing), by Application (Coal, Nuclear, Biomass, and Others) and by Region (Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa) - Global Trends and Forecasts to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/steam-turbines-market-235206532.html

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M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Towne Park announced today that it has acquired CitiPark, a leading provider of hospitality and parking solutions for hotels, hospitals and special events with operations in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Together the companies will offer the most comprehensive healthcare and hospitality services platform in the market, helping clients to build better patient and guest experiences and improve business performance.

The transaction represents a key milestone in Towne Park's strategy to strengthen its position and open new opportunities in large, growing markets in the northeastern U.S. The combination creates the region's largest service network with an on-call event staff that features over 700 associates, enabling Towne Park to respond to the heavy demand periods or special needs of any of the more than 60 portfolio clients it now serves.

"CitiPark is one of the best-run, fastest-growing parking management companies in the area with a culture similar to ours and a number of high-profile clients," stated Towne Park President and Chief Executive Officer Chuck Heskett. "The deal will expand our base in critical markets and provide an exciting boost to the record organic growth we expect this year, with potential upside from cross-selling and scale synergies."

"Towne Park brings world-class operations quality, unmatched scope and scale with outstanding technical and professional resources, and one of the best training programs in business," added CitiPark President and former owner Clifford Hoinowski. "We will now be able to offer more extensive, more valuable solutions to clients and stronger career opportunities to employees."

The acquisition by Towne Park is its third in the past three months as it continues to increase both its diverse range of services and its service capacity in the hospitality and healthcare industries. Towne Park's portfolio of services is unlocking synergies in the healthcare and hospitality verticals, helping hospitals, hotels and other businesses create new business models, maximize growth opportunities and enhance their brands.

In February, Towne Park announced that it expects record performance in 2017, driven largely by organic growth of its leading hospitality services business as it continues to capitalize on the rapid professionalization of the industry and strong demand for more sophisticated, value-added services.

About Towne Park

Towne Park is America's leading hospitality and healthcare services company with over 13,000 employees at more than 700 sites nationwide, including approximately 450 hotels and 300 hospitals. We build better guest experiences, touching the lives of over 15 million people every year. For nearly 30 years we have been partnering with some of the most respected corporations in the world, including premiere global hospitality brands and state-of-the-art hospitals, offering a broad array of world-class, high-impact services and solutions. See what happens when you extend your brand and add new services that matter. Deeper connections. Greater efficiencies. Made Simple. Towne Park has been honored as a "Best Run Company," a "Best Place to Work" and frequently been named one of "America's Fastest Growing Companies." For more information on Towne Park, please visit our website at www.townepark.com.

SOURCE Towne Park

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DOVER, Del., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Last month, a former employee of global translations company, TransPerfect who is also a current member of Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, filed a class action lawsuit in New York after learning that their personal identifying information (PII) had been disclosed to cyber-criminals, jeopardizing their identities for the rest of their lives and leaving them questioning the competence and viability of the court custodian to run the thriving private business. By transferring power over the Accounting and Payroll departments of TransPerfect to Joel Mostrom of consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal, away from TransPerfect's CFO and COO each with over a decade worth of experience at the company, Court Custodian Bob Pincus appointed highly-paid consultants who were unfamiliar with TransPerfect operations, and failed to engage in training and take other precautions necessary to prevent the data breach.

The end result is that countless employees had personal information stolen - a serious and permanent loss to their own security and well-being. There is a growing pattern with this case that the consultants and lawyers continue to reward themselves at the cost of thousands of employees.

"For over a year, TransPerfect employees have warned that this court-appointed custodian with unlimited power to interfere would threaten the livelihood of the company and its employees," said Chris Coffey, campaign manager for Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware (CPBD), the advocacy group supporting TransPerfect employees and Delaware's incorporation-driven economy and its pro-business reputation. They formed in April 2016 to focus on raising awareness among Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented TransPerfect case, in which a court has seized control of private company and empower a Custodian to auction the firm off the highest bidder.

"Now, in light of the worst data incident in the company's history, we are finally seeing cold hard proof that the Custodian and the Court put profits for friends and cronies over the well-being of the company and the employees. By cutting corners, hiring underqualified colleagues and charging whopping $1400 per hour for custodial costs instead of putting TransPerfect employees first, Custodian Pincus is demonstrating flagrant negligence and violating the rights of TransPerfect employees. We also appeal to Judge Bouchard to take a look at their hourly rates. They are out of whack with any other custodian in the state. This case is turning into a boondoggle" Coffey added.

Presumably looking to steal the identities of employees, cyber-criminals posing as TransPerfect's CFO requested 2015 W-2 form tax information and payroll information for the period ending in January 2015. The cyber-criminals requested names, direct deposit bank account numbers, routing numbers, and Social Security numbers for some thousands of current and past employees. Based on similar cases, the damages suffered by TransPerfect current and former employees could be claimed to exceed $48 million.

TransPerfect employees are first and foremost jolted by the massive data breach that put their identity in risk for the rest of their lives. But they are also questioning the growing waste of the custodian, who makes $1,400 an hour, far exceeding the typical $400 per hour for custodians.

The Delaware Court of Chancery ordered an appointed custodian to sell TransPerfect after an internal dispute between company owners earlier last year. Defendant TransPerfect Global, Inc. is a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Delaware with its principal place of business in New York, New York. TransPerfect employs over 4,000 people around the world.

This recent lawsuit is only the tip of the iceberg. TransPerfect employees have been battling what they see as interference in their company for the past year  in the courts, in the state house and out in the community. To date, hundreds of TransPerfect employees have banded together to fight for their jobs by forming CPBD. The group has proposed legislation that would amend Delaware law to require a three-year waiting period before forcing the sale of a solvent company.

For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware visit DelawareForBusiness.org.

Contact: Mary Urban, [email protected]

Julijana Englander, [email protected]

SOURCE Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware

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WASHINGTON, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following Congressman Peter Welch's scheduled meeting today at the White House with President Trump to discuss lowering prescription drug pricing, among other issues, the Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC) praised the Vermont Democrat for playing a leading national role in helping to boost prescription drug pricing transparency -- the lack of which is negatively impacting elderly Vermont citizens.

Specifically, SCPC President and CEO Alan G. Rosenbloom praised Welch for working in bipartisan fashion last week with U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) to introduce H.R. 1038, the "Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Drug Spending Act."

H.R. 1038 will curtail the ability of drug industry middlemen -- Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) -- from extracting retroactive direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees in post-point of sale transactions with long term care (LTC) pharmacies, and other pharmacy providers.

"We applaud and strongly support Congressman Welch's bipartisan effort to crack down on PBMs' ability to reach into the pockets of elderly patients and the long-term care (LTC) pharmacies who serve them weeks and even months following a prescription drug transaction," Rosenbloom said.

"Passage of Rep. Welch's bill into law will begin to address DIR fee abuses -- and other dishonest practices such as "switching fees" -- that negatively affect patients, LTC pharmacies, and the Medicare program itself, he continued."

Concluded Rosenbloom: "We look forward to working with Congressman Welch in the coming weeks to further detail the extent to which PBM middlemen wrongly siphon resources from elderly patients and the providers who serve them. The fact he was invited to the White House today to discuss health policy matters of such importance to Vermont consumers reflects well on his leadership skills, and understanding as to why enhanced drug pricing transparency must be a 2017 congressional priority."

The SCPC is the national association for independent LTC pharmacies. Our member pharmacies provide care and services to patients in LTC facilities in across the country occupying approximately 675,000 beds across the country. Visit us at www.seniorcarepharmacies.org to learn more.

SOURCE Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition

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http://www.seniorcarepharmacies.org


WELLESLEY, Mass., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Women develop Alzheimer's disease at twice the rate of men, and by the age of 75 a woman is three times more likely to have Alzheimer's than a man. Now a new website created by one of the nation's premier Alzheimer's research support organizations, Cure Alzheimer's Fund, is committed to providing women with information dedicated to their struggle with this devastating illness. The website link is http://womenandalzheimers.org.

"We need to better understand why Alzheimer's so disproportionally affects women and what it means for those who are afflicted and their families," said Tim Armour, President and CEO of Cure Alzheimer's Fund. "Most important, the website WomenandAlzheimers.org will provide information about the latest research on women and Alzheimer's  and raise funds to increase the level of research."

WomenandAlzheimers.org will also provide information about events centered on women and Alzheimer's. The Heroines section of the website will offer inspiring stories of women on the front lines fighting Alzheimer's through research, outreach and fundraising.

"What makes the plight of women with Alzheimer's especially devastating is the simple fact that women are the primary caregivers to the vast majority of those who have the disease," said Barbara Chambers, Senior Engagement Officer for Cure Alzheimer's Fund. "The burden to the caregiver is not only emotional, it is also physical and financial. This makes it even more difficult to deal with the large number of women afflicted by this disease as they age."

Research is bearing out the fact that the prevalence of Alzheimer's in women is not, as once thought, simply a function of a longer lifespan. Now the search is on for the biological reasons of the higher numbers and, by finding the reasons for the inequity, we may find new clues as to the origins of the disease.

In 2016, the organization funded two major projects focused on the relationship between women and Alzheimer's disease. In conjunction with Rotary, Cure Alzheimer's Fund co-funded a grant of $375,000 for a research project to search for female-specific genetic and other factors contributing to women's risk for Alzheimer's disease. Funds for the project were also provided by Maria Shriver's Women's Alzheimer's Movement. The research team for that project is headed by Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D., Chairman of the Cure Alzheimer's Fund's Research Consortium, Vice Chair of Neurology and Director of the Genetics and Aging Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Kennedy Chair at Harvard Medical School.

Additionally, Cure Alzheimer's Fund provided a grant of $151,000 for a study looking at the relationship between sex and the risk for Alzheimer's disease. This project, by Murali Doraiswamy, M.D. of Duke University Medical Center, is using novel "big data" computational methodologies to look at the relationship between sex and cognitive decline in people at risk for Alzheimer's. Some recent findings suggest that women with mild cognitive impairment may progress to Alzheimer's disease at faster rates than men. However, the biological basis of the gender differences in Alzheimer's is debated and warrants a more detailed examination, which this project will pursue.

"It's clear that we need to understand better the relationship between sex, gender, and Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Tanzi. "The evidence indicates that more women suffer from the disease, and that their decline is more precipitous. As we look to find ways to more effectively treat the disease, understanding how women are impacted by it becomes very important."

For more information on Cure Alzheimer's Fund, and women and Alzheimer's, please visit the organization's new website on the subject at http://womenandalzheimers.org.

About Cure Alzheimer's Fund

Cure Alzheimer's Fund is a non-profit dedicated to funding the most promising research to prevent, slow or reverse Alzheimer's disease. Since its founding in 2004, Cure Alzheimer's Fund has contributed over $50 million to research, and its funded initiatives have been responsible for several key breakthroughs  including the groundbreaking "Alzheimer's in a Dish" study. Cure Alzheimer's Fund has received a score of 100 percent regarding its overall financial health from Charity Navigator and a four star rating from the organization five consecutive times. With 100 percent of funds raised going directly to research, Cure Alzheimer's has been able to support some of the best scientific minds in the field of Alzheimer's research. For more information, please visit http://www.curealz.org/

SOURCE Cure Alzheimer's Fund

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, YourMechanic announced a new partnership with Veterans Advantage to offer discounted access to mobile car repair services for United States Military Active Duty, retirees, Veterans, Guardsmen, Reservists and their families.

"We are proud to partner with Veterans Advantage to offer their members access to more than 600 car repair, maintenance, and diagnostic services at the convenience of their home or place of work," said Lee Senderov, Vice President and General Manager, North America. "We support Veterans Advantage and the resources they offer to veterans and active military."

Through the program, Veterans Advantage members will receive a discount on the first appointment they book.

"We are delighted YourMechanic will join our national coalition of benefit partners," said H. Scott Higgins, Vietnam War Veteran and founder and CEO of Veterans Advantage. "Along with our other benefit providers in the car industry, the new YourMechanic benefit will reward our current and former service members with new military savings plus deliver preferred access to car care."

YourMechanic and Veterans Advantage both hold an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

ABOUT YOURMECHANIC

YourMechanic is the industry leader in mobile car repair, offering more than 600 repair, maintenance, and diagnostic services. YourMechanic is available in the top 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. YourMechanic connects mobile mechanics to customers who seek affordable, convenient, and honest car repair services at their home or office, seven days a week. Mobile mechanics enjoy flexible hours and higher pay than at a shop or dealership.

Founded in 2012, YourMechanic has secured $32 million in funding. YourMechanic won TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco in 2012 and holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, YourMechanic is funded by SoftBank Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, Ashton Kutcher, Data Point Capital, and others. For more information on YourMechanic, to book a service, or to view current career opportunities, visit www.YourMechanic.com.

ABOUT VETERANS ADVANTAGE, PBC

Veterans Advantage is a registered public benefit corporation with the mission of advocating greater respect, recognition, and rewards for U.S. military veterans, active and retired U.S. military, guardsmen, reservists and their family members. Founded in 2000 by Scott Higgins, a Vietnam War Vet, Veterans Advantage partners with a national coalition of trusted retailers, travel industry leaders, and service providers to create new benefits and discounts for the men and women who have sacrificed for our freedoms. In addition to exclusive benefits, Veterans Advantage has issued over one million VetRewards Cards, which offers security from identity theft and fraud by offering free, real-time verification of military service, making it easy for members to redeem military and veteran discounts online, in mobile apps, by toll-free phone, and at point-of-sale nationwide. Visit Veterans Advantage at www.Facebook.com/VetRewards, www.Twitter.com/Vetrewards, and www.VeteransAdvantage.com.

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The awards were accepted by Tyler Williams, Fungineer and Lead Link for Brand Aura at Zappos.com who was accompanied at The Gathering summit by Zappos.com CEO, Tony Hsieh.

"You really can't host a summit of brands that have won such fanatical levels of customer devotion and not include Zappos.com," explained The Gathering co-founder and CEO of Calgary-based Cult Collective, Chris Kneeland. "Each year, our panel judges hundreds of brands on their cult-like merits, but only a handful are truly special enough to honour. These awards represent a significant accomplishment, and have become an opportunity for peers from around the world to celebrate and pay homage to those brands who are so deserving of the recognition." Since inception, The Gathering has been hosted and curated by Kneeland's Cult Collective, with the first summit taking place in February, 2014.

Zappos.com CEO, Tony Hsieh, who wrote and published the New York Times Bestseller "Delivering Happiness" in 2010, also delivered a keynote presentation at The Gathering, detailing the past, present and future of the Zappos.com brand. Other keynote sessions were delievered by author and customer experience expert, Jeanne Bliss, ex-Apple executive and Chief Evangelist of Canva, Guy Kawasaki, and Jonathan Mildenhall, Chief Marketing Officer at Airbnb. Chris Kneeland of Cult Collective also gave a keynote.

The Gathering summit was held at the Fairmont Banff Springs resort from February 22-23, 2017, in the heart of Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While only Zappos.com received The Pinnacle Award, other brands honored at The Gathering 2017 included Fender, Make-A-Wish, Canada Goose, Mountain Dew, Levi's and Chapstick. Past honorees include Red Bull, GoPro, Cirque du Soleil, UFC, Converse, Carhartt and Lululemon. Nominations are open to the public each year until May 30 at www.cultgathering.com

About Zappos

Established in 1999, Zappos.com has quickly become a leading destination in online apparel and footwear sales by striving to provide shoppers with the best possible service and selection. Zappos currently showcases millions of products from over 1,000 clothing and shoe brands. Zappos is also proud to be rated ELITE by STELLAService and was named a J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champion, one of only 40 companies so named in the U.S. More information about the customer service philosophy, unique culture and job openings can be found at http://about.zappos.com. More information about Zappos Insights, and its business membership program can be found at zapposinsights.com. Zappos.com Inc. is a subsidiary of (AMZN) Amazon.com, Inc. Official press kit and photography is available at http://www.zappos.com/about/presskit

About The Gathering

Founded in 2013, The Gathering is an exclusive summit focused on exposing the principles and practices employed by the world's most successful brands. The event brings together respected thought leaders and senior executives behind brands who've dominated their industries or categories by winning the irrational loyalty and devotion of customers and fans the world over. The Gathering is supported by its valued sponsors, including Air Canada, SAP Hybris, CULT, and is produced in partnership with e=mc2 Events. Learn more at www.cultgathering.com.

About Cult Collective LP

Cult Collective is a leading marketing consultancy helping brands engage consumers in ways that lead to higher customer loyalty and profitability. Cult works with consumer facing brands in high affinity categories such as retail, tourism, packaged goods, post-secondary and financial services, and has offices in Vancouver, BC, Calgary, AB, Kingston, ON and Atlanta, GA. Learn more at www.cultideas.com.

SOURCE The Gathering
Kolkata, March 3 : A pregnant woman lodged a police complaint against fast food chain McDonald's after allegedly finding a deep-fried lizard in her French fries at an outlet here, police said on Friday.

Priyanka Moitra visited the outlet on Eastern Metropolitan bypass with her mother and four-year-old daughter and ordered French fries only to discover the deep-fried lizard in her snack.

"While having the French fries, I suddenly saw a burnt lizard in the packet. I ran to the washroom and started vomiting instantly. Thankfully, my daughter did not eat the fries as she was busy playing with her toys," Moitra said.

She further alleged that when they drew attention of the employees at the outlet, they responded very casually to the incident.

"When we called in the attendants at the outlet, they responded in a very casual way as if it was a small incident. I wonder what would have happened if my kid had eaten that. Also, I am six months' pregnant myself but they did not give any importance to it," Moitra claimed.

The woman took a picture of the food with the lizard and lodged a police complaint at Kolkata's Phoolbagan Police Station the same day.

"Moitra lodged a complaint on February 28 as they allegedly found a dead lizard in their packet of French fries at the McDonald's outlet in an E.M. bypass-based shopping mall here. She also gave a picture of the contaminated food item," said an officer from the police station.

Meanwhile, the MacDonald's India issued an official statement saying they are taking the situation seriously and have immediately initiated a thorough investigation to gather the facts about the incident.

They also said that the accused restaurant was allowed to be reopened only after a full inspection by the Food Safety Authority.

"We are taking the situation seriously. Immediately upon being made aware of the complaint, we launched a thorough investigation in an effort to gather the facts of the matter...it is still on-going.

"Meanwhile, the officials from Food Safety Authority have also fully inspected our restaurant including the kitchen, and have given us permission to reopen the restaurant. We are fully cooperating with the authorities involved," the official spokesperson of McDonald's India (North & East) said.

The officials at Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said the incident has come to their notice and they are moving to the Municipal Affairs Department to see what steps can be taken.

"We are aware of the incident. Though we haven't received any written complaint, we are getting in touch with the Municipal Affairs team to see if any facts can be given to the Corporation, so that we can take adequate steps against these incidents," said Pranay Kumar Roy, Mayor in-council (Health) of the civic body.

"We generally conduct a periodical inspection at the food outlets to check the standard of food. We are discussing to make the process more frequent," he added.
New Delhi, March 3 : The Supreme Court on Friday put on hold a Bar Council of India (BCI) notification to fix an upper-age limit at 22 for the five-year LLB course and 45 for the three-year course.

A bench of Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice L. Nageswara Rao put on hold the notification of September 17, 2016, saying the court will examine the validity of the decision on the upper age limit for admissions to law colleges.

The BCI, as an interim measure, decided to raise the upper age limit from 20 and 30 for entrance exams for the five- and three-year courses respectively.

The court was hearing a plea by law aspirant Rishabh Duggal and others, who said the BCI notification violates the fundamental rights of aspiring law students.

The court posted the matter for hearing in July.
Mumbai, March 3 : The US Agency for International Development (USAID), Kiawah Trust and Dasra on Friday launched a new initiative to empower more than five million adolescent boys and girls in the country by 2021, an official said here.

Titled '10 to 19: Dasra Adolescents Collaborative' is targeted at girls and boys between the ages of 10-19 years and will work directly with them to help girls stay in school, delay their marriage age, nutrition, menstrual hygiene, reproductive rights, awareness about gender-based violence, improve decision-making skills and increase employment opportunities.

Speaking at the launch, DAC as part of the Dasra Philanthropy Week-2017, USAID/India Director for Health Xerxes Sidhwa said there are 250 million adolescents in the country, making it the largest youth population in the world.

Yet they face a variety of challenges daily with implications beyond their level of understanding and the DAC feels there is no greater investment than our youth.

"Only 47 per cent of girls enroll in secondary school, out of which 18 pe rcent of girls drop out even before they complete secondary school. India also ranks highest globally in adolescent pregnancies, with 12 per cent of pregnancies among girls ages 15-19," Sidhwa said.

Besides, there are issues of early pregnancy and childbirth which has significant consequences on health, social wellbeing and economic opportunities for the young mothers and their kids, he added.

Co-Founder of Kiawah Trust Lynne Smitham said the new collaborative wants every girl to have an education, be healthy and safe, have skills, a choice about her life and ability to make those decisions.

Launched by USAID, Kiawah Trust, a Britain-based family foundation, and Piramal Foundation, India, as the Girl Alliance in 2013, the DAC expands on that initiative as a $14 million multi-year programme.

In three years, the alliance created a network of more than 200 civil society organisation and leveraged more than $20 million in funding with support from strategic funders like Children's Investment Fund Foundation.

Dasra - meaning 'enlightened giving' in Sanskrit was founded in 1999 as a strategic philanthropic organisation aiming to transform India, accelerate social change by driving collaborative action with strong partnerships among various various stakeholders.
Panaji, March 6 : Bollywood actor Amit Sadh looked handsome in an all-white suit as he walked the ramp for Mumbai-based designer Amrose D'souza here.

The 33-year-old actor, who was welcomed with loud cheers and whistles, donned a white printed suit for the fourth edition of India Beach Fashion Week 2017 (IBFW) here on Monday evening.

Amit says the ensemble crafted by the designer is comfortable.

"I am wearing a white coloured outfit and what I like about it is that it's very comfortable yet stout...the fabric feels really good on me yet I think it has the stoutness," Amit told IANS here.

Asked why she chose Amit as her showstopper, D'Souza said: "I have always liked Amit in his movies...he's a fun person and has a really good personality. I thought he would be the right one to carry out the suit."

The designer added that the "Kai Po Che!" star carried the suit fabulously on the catwalk.

D'Souza showcased a menswear collection, which consisted of coats, jackets, shorts and suits in neutral, limes, blues and whites.

Talking about her creation, the designer said: "I have been travelling and I have brought that in and kind of done this collection. That's why I call this as the wanderlust collection."

The three-day fashion event, which started on Monday, will conclude on Wednesday. Fashion connoisseur Suneet Varma will be bringing the curtains down on the gala.
Seoul, March 7 : South Korea is considering filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against China for boycotting its products and companies over the decision to deploy an anti-missile defence system in Seoul.

The installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) began on Tuesday after Seoul had accepted Washington's proposal to deploy it on its territory last year to combat a growing security threat from North Korea, Efe news reported.

"With regard to the issue of filing a complaint with the WTO, (the government and the party) agreed to actively weigh the option," Lee Hyun-jae, the policy chief of the ruling Liberty Korea Party, said Tuesday.

"(We) also agreed to strengthen government efforts to minimize the damage on local industries," he added.

Last week, several Chinese travel agenciessuspended the sale of tourist packages to South Korea.

Beijing also banned South Korean airline carriers from operating charter flights in the country.

The Lotte Group, which approved a land swap deal with the South Korean government to facilitate the installation of the Thaad, has been one of the main targets of the boycott.

The company's website was reportedly hacked, and several of its stores in China have been closed for alleged violation of local regulations.

China also did not screen a single South Korean movie in 2016, while K-pop bands have disappeared from Chinese television since summer of last year, and their concerts have been postponed.

South Korea considers these measures reprisals by Beijing to oppose the deployment of the Thaad in the Korean peninsula.

Seoul claims the missile system is a defence mechanism to protect itself from possible missile launches from North Korea but China fears the powerful Thaad radars could be used to obtain intelligence data from its military bases.

Lee also said China "needs to make efforts to restrict Pyongyang's nuclear program", adding that if that is done, "there is no need for Thaad".

He added South Korea will work to forge a "constructive future" with China.
New Delhi, March 7 : Veteran fashion designer Madhu Jain's work will be celebrated by Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), India's apex fashion body, at the upcoming Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW) Autumn-Winter (A/W) 2017.

FDCI, in association with Maybelline New York, will commemorate 30 years of the Madhu Jain label, read a statement from FDCI.

Jain will unveil her designs on the first day of the four-day extravaganza, which will be held from March 15 to 18 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

"FDCI has been the wind beneath the sail of many in the Indian design fraternity. It gives me immense hope that there are others who share my deep, abiding respect for our varied and rich crafts heritage. My dream is to optimise India and artisanal wealth and change the face of the handlooms sector," Jain said in a statement.

Jain will showcase 22 ensembles celebrating three decades of her journey in the world of Indian textiles.

The audience will get to see her signature work using fabrics like ikat, kalamkari and central Asian embroideries in a contemporary context.

President of FDCI Sunil Sethi said: "Today, when India has carved its space on the global map of fashion, we have veteran designers like Madhu Jain to thank for its recognition beyond borders. She has been influential in championing a cause, that we at FDCI hold dear to our heart - craft revival and textile conservation."
Mumbai, March 8 : Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput on Tuesday rubbished rumours that his upcoming film "Raabta" is "visually" inspired in parts by Hollywood blockbuster "300".

At the launch of a new campaign, "Behtar India" by NDTV and DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance, the actor who plays the lead in the romantic drama said, "No it isn't inspired."

Industry hearsay is that Dinesh Vijan's "Raabta" that travels between two eras seeks inspiration from Hollywood fantasy war drama "300".

"I do films because I love acting. You put me on stage and give me just Rs 500 I would love to act. Even if I can't do theatre I can gladly do short films. Acting is something else for me," the "Kai Po Che!" actor said about his passion for acting.

Brand ambassador, Sushant Singh Rajput also spoke about "Behtar India" Campaign that aims at mobilising students, ordinary citizens and corporates to join a nationwide movement that focuses on health, hygiene, and environment.

"When you become a popular face and people start giving attention on what you say or do then it is important to do things that you are convinced with. That's why I am associated with this campaign. I think this is high time for all of us to understand how important it is," he stated.

"Raabta" also stars Kriti Sanon in the lead role and it's scheduled to release on June 9.
Imphal, March 8 : Polling began at 7 a.m. on Wednesday for 22 constituencies in the second and final phase of the Manipur Assembly elections, amid heightened security following a bomb blast that left two persons wounded a day ago.

An electorate of over 7.59 lakh is eligible to make their democratic choice from among 98 candidates -- four of them women -- in 1,151 polling stations spread over five districts: Thoubal, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong and Senapati.

All eyes will be on Thoubal, where Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh is seeking re-election as a Congress candidate in a five-cornered contest that also features human rights activist and People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRAJA) nominee Irom Sharmila and Bharatiya Janata Party's Leitanthem Basanta Singh.

Sharmila, who in 2016 ended a 16-year-long fast demanding the revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, has now entered politics promising to repeal the legislation through constitutional means.

Another star constituency is Nungba, from where Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam of Congress is in the race.

The Ibobi-led Congress has ruled Manipur for the past 15 years, with the BJP emerging as the main challenger in the ongoing elections.

The security has been beefed up after the twin bomb blasts on Tuesday, that injured a polling official and an Assam Rifles trooper near the India-Myarnmar border in Kamjong district.

"Helicopters were used to airlift polling officials, security personnel for the hard-to-access polling stations in the hill areas," said state Chief Electoral Officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan.
Lucknow, March 8 : A suspected IS operative was killed here in the wee hours of Wednesday after a 11-hour-long anti-terror operation conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Police's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) commandos.

Many efforts to persuade the suspect, who was holed up in a house in Haji colony of Thakurganj area, to surrender went in vain, an official said.

After the initial exchange for fire, the ATS commandos lobbed chilly bombs inside the house to incapacitate him, but to no avail.

Police teams bored a hole in the roof and blew up the back wall of the building to enter the house.

Senior police officials were camping at the site to oversee the operation, which was also being monitored by the Union Home Ministry.

Initially, it was suspected that there were two IS operatives inside the house but that turned out to be a false alarm as police found the body of only one. One pistol and a revolver was found in person of Saifullah, the suspect.

Earlier, the ATS, based on "concrete" information from intelligence, had gone to apprehend Saifullah, suspected of involvement in a train blast in Madhya Pradesh, when he suddenly opened fire on the team from the house.

Following this, ATS commandos returned fire at Saifullah, who was on the first floor.

An official at the site had said that they were trying to ensure that he is arrested alive and there is no collateral damage as this is a residential area.

"We got a lead on these operatives from outside the state and we are on the trail," said Additional Director General (Law and Order) Daljeet Chowdhary.

At least eight persons were injured in an explosion in a passenger train, going to Ujjain from Bhopal, in Madhya Pradesh's Shajapur district on Tuesday, authorities said.

Sources said the house belonged to Badshah Khan, resident of Malihabad, and the accused had been living there with two others for the past two months. They posed as students and did not mingle with the neighbours, an ATS official told IANS and informed that efforts were now underway to nab the two accomplices who were at large.

In a related development, another suspect of a sleeper module has been held from Kanpur by the ATS.

Police picked up two suspects from Lakhna in Etawah and three in Kanpur. Following the Lucknow gunfight, an alert has been sounded at the Lucknow International Airport and at prominent railway stations across the state.

Police and intelligence officials have been directed to step up vigil and keep a close watch on busy thoroughfares, malls and markets.
United Nations, March 8 : The UN Security Council will discuss on Wednesday North Korea's latest missile test amidst high tension in the region resulting from the tests and the start of the installation of the THAAD anti-missile shield.

The meeting in New York is scheduled for 10.00 a.m., EFE News cited the UN as saying on Tuesday.

The meeting was urgently requested by Washington, Tokyo and Seoul on Monday, the day North Korea fired four missiles into the Sea of Japan.

The test was personally supervised by North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and poses a new challenge from Pyongyang to the international community, as the country is banned from such activities according to several UN resolutions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres immediately condemned the test, which is also what the Security Council is expected to do at the meeting.

The test coincided with the beginning of the deployment of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system in South Korea, jointly launched by Seoul and Washington to counteract threats from Pyongyang.

According to Seoul, the THAAD will be fully installed by 2017 end in an area located about 300 km southeast of Seoul.

On the other hand, in a letter to the Security Council on Monday, North Korean ambassador to the UN, Ja Song-nam, denounced the annual joint military manoeuvres between the US and South Korea, warning that this could push the region to a "nuclear disaster".

Pyongyang urged the Security Council to address the threat posed by such exercises and believed, if it does not, it will prove the Security Council to be an American tool.
Agartala, March 8 : The Bar Council of Tripura on Wednesday said it has barred 260 lawyers, who have not practiced in any court for the last five years, from further practice.

"On the direction of the Bar Council of India (BCI), the state bar council initiated the process last year to identify non-practicing lawyers. Accordingly, 260 advocates who did not practice in courts in the last five years were identified," Bar Council of Tripura chairman Pijush Kanti Biswas told IANS.

He said that the bar council on Monday displayed the names of these lawyers in all courts, including the High Court, in the state and barred them from practice.

"If the debarred lawyers wish to restart the practice in court, their case would be examined as per the Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015 and after that, the Bar Council would take a final decision," said Biswas, a senior lawyer of Tripura.

The bar association membership of these 260 lawyers would also be invalidated.

Biswas said that following the Supreme Court directions in 2010, BCI had asked all the state bar councils to identify and debarred the non-practicing and non-serious lawyers.

"There were many people who had taken law degree many years ago, and enrolled themselves in the profession as an advocate. But for certain reasons, while some of them switched over to other professions, some became full-time politicians and some people remained out of practice for numerous reasons."

The important personalities whose names were revoked as advocates for not practicing in courts in the last five years include, Tripura assembly Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath, Trinamool Congress leader and legislator Sudip Roy Barman, his father and former Chief Minister Samir Ranjan Barman, and Bharatiya Janata Party state Vice President Subal Bhowmik.

The BCI, on the direction of the apex court, initiated the process to weed out fake and non-practicing lawyers by implementing the Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules and issued guidelines to state Bar Councils in this regard.

Biswas also said that those lawyers took a law degree from any institution while working in government jobs or doing other service and processions, would also be disallowed from practicing in the courts but noted that advocates of these category have not yet been identified.

He said that several lakh of such non-practising lawyers from across the country also met the same fate.
New Delhi, March 8 : Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday announced an increase of over 15 per cent in its support to the local bodies.

"For the 2017-18, government proposes support of Rs 7,571 crore to local municipal bodies, that makes up to 15.8 per cent of the budget," said Manish Sisodia, while delivering his third consecutive budget for the Delhi government.

He also announced measures to increase the capacity of Delhi government-run schools, and the construction of 10,000 new classrooms in the upcoming financial year.

Sisodia announced hiking the payment of guest lecturers from Rs 17,000-Rs 21,000 to Rs 25,000-Rs 36,000.

The pension for handicapped and women from this financial year has been increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500.

Delhi government's budget for financial 2017-18 breaks away from the tradition of Plan and Non-Plan category.

The Budget allocation in this financial has been marked only between capital and revenue.

Calling the budget as the first Outcome Budget, Sisodia said that the Outcome Budget is a contract between government and its department. Government's work is to not only spend the budget money but to ensure the results of the expenditure, he added.
Riyadh, March 8 : A suspected member of the terror organisation Islamic State (IS) was killed and another detained in a raid in Riyadh, the Saudi Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when a security patrol team checked on an al-Rayyan apartment where two men were found allegedly showing support for the terror group, Ministry Spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki said in a statement, Efe news reported.

During the arrest, the suspect reportedly pointed a weapon at the police officers, causing them to "neutralise the threat he posed" said the statement.

Al-Turki said that security forces detained another person who was with him and seized the weapon the suspect was carrying.
United Nations, March 8 : The United Nations Security Council has condemned the latest ballistic missile launches by North Korea and urged the country to refrain from further action.

Pyongyang shall "refrain from further actions, including nuclear tests, in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, and comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions", Xinhua news agency cited the 15-nation UN body as saying on Tuesday.

The UN body condemned the March 5 missile launches, saying the launches violated North Korea's "international obligations" under relevant Security Council resolutions.

Pyongyang has been banned from testing any ballistic missile technology. The latest launches have sparked strong condemnation from a string of nations.

The Security Council deplored North Korea's ballistic missile activities which contributed to Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increased tension in the region, the statement said.

The UN body regretted that North Korea was diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles when its people "have great unmet needs".

North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the eastern waters on Sunday. The missiles flew eastward some 1,000 km on average, and three of them fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The council members expressed "serious concern" over Pyongyang's "increasingly destabilising behaviour and defiance" of the UN body, urging the Asian country to "comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions".

It emphasised the importance of North Korea's showcase of "sincere commitment to denuclearisation and stressed the importance of working to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula".

The UN body agreed to "continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures, in line with the council's previously expressed determination".
Beijing, March 8 : The Brics mechanism will not lose its lustre but will shine more brightly if its members stay united, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.

The development of the Brics mechanism has seen ups and downs over the past years, and each member faces its own set of challenges, Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying.

"The Brics countries are like five fingers, short and long if extended, but a powerful fist if clenched together," Wang said, citing remarks of President Xi Jinping.

This year opens the second decade of the emerging market bloc which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. China will host the ninth Brics leaders' summit in September.

As the rotating chair of Brics this year, China will work with other members to review its experience, plan the future, usher in the second golden decade of cooperation and provide "Brics plans" for world peace and development, he said.

The member countries will expand pragmatic cooperation. "We will fully implement the strategy for Brics economic partnership, enhance macro policy coordination and connection of development strategies, and work out a batch of solid measures for cooperation," Wang said.

"We will widen the circle of friends of the Brics and turn it into the most influential platform for south-south cooperation in the world," Wang said.
New Delhi, March 8 : Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of IANS Executive Editor Arvind Padmanabhan, describing it as a "huge loss to the media fraternity".

"Saddened by the sudden and untimely demise of veteran and seasoned journalist Arvind Padmanabhan. Huge loss to the media fraternity. May God give strength to his family," Naidu tweeted.

Padmanabhan died of cardiac arrest here early on Wednesday at the Holy Family Hospital. He would have turned 50 next month.

He is survived by his mother Shanta, wife Ponna and daughter Tara.

His father was the late G. Padmanabhan, who worked for many years with the Press Institute of India and the Indian & Eastern Newspapers Society (IENS, now INS).
Seoul, March 8 : South Korea's constitutional court on Wednesday said it will make a final ruling on President Park Geun-hye's impeachment later this week.

The ruling on whether to permanently remove Park from office or reinstate her will be made at 11 a.m. on Friday, Yonhap news agency quoted court spokesman Bae Bo-yoon as saying on Wednesday.

The motion to impeach Park was passed on December 9 through the National Assembly by an overwhelming support.

If six out of the eight justices uphold the motion, Park will be forced out of office. If more than three judges reject the bill, Park will be reinstated immediately.

The ruling date was set for Friday as the acting chief justice is scheduled to retire next Monday. Former chief judge retired on January 31.

A presidential election must be held in 60 days if the impeachment is upheld.

Park would then be subject to indictment and detention as she loses the immunities as head of state.

Special prosecutors, who had investigated the corruption scandal embroiling Park for 70 days, identified the impeached President as an accomplice to her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil for multiple charges, including bribery.

Choi is now in custody for meddling in state affairs behind the scenes and peddling undue influence for personal gains.

She was also accused of neglecting her duty to protect citizens' lives during a 2014 ferry sinking that killed more than 300.

The scandal has prompted millions of South Koreans to take to the streets to demand her ouster or reinstatement.

It also led to the indictment of 30 people suspected of involvement in the crimes, including Samsung's de facto leader Lee Jae-yong.

Park is the second South Korean president to be impeached.

In 2004, then President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached on charges including of illegal electioneering, but he was reinstated by the court two months later.
Bhopal, March 8 : Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said that the perpetrators of the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train bomb blast had suspected Islamic State (IS) links.

Chouhan also revealed that the explosion was caused by a pipe bomb, whose pictures were sent to Syria through their mobile phones. A timer was also used in the bomb.

"The terrorists planted pipe bombs in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train and have links to the IS and we have proof. The explosives discovered have IS markings," he told reporters.

The three terrorists arrested from Pipariya in Hoshangabad district -- mastermind Atif Mujaffar, Danish and Sayed Mir Hussain -- hail from Uttar Pradesh. They learnt the technique of making a bomb from the internet.

"The terrorists reached Bhopal from Lucknow by the Pushpak Express on Tuesday morning and placed the bomb on the baggage rack above the seat in the passenger train around 7.30 a.m. The terrorists had set a two-hour timer," the Chief Minister said.

According to Chouhan, the bomb caused less damage as it was placed above and the effect could have been greater if it was put under the seat.

He added that the terrorists had plans to escape to Lucknow via Jabalpur before they were arrested by the police.

On Tuesday morning, a blast occurred in the general compartment of the 59320 Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh, which injured 10 persons.
Kuala Lumpur, March 8 : The son of Kim Jong-nam, the murdered half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a mysterious video posted on Facebook has said that his father was killed.

In the short and censored clip, the man says: "My name is Kim Han-sol, from North Korea, part of the Kim family."

According to him, he is with his mother and sister, but there are no details on the date or location.

It is the Kim family's first public comment since the murder at the Kuala Lumpur airport on February 13. The attackers smeared Kim Jong-nam's face with deadly VX nerve agent.

According to South Korea's Unification Ministry and National Intelligence Service, the man in the video is Kim Han-sol.

The 40-second clip features Kim Han-sol introducing himself and saying: "My father has been killed a few days ago. I'm currently with my mother and my sister."

He showed a North Korean diplomatic passport to confirm Kim's identity, though the details have been blocked out.

The man in the video said he was "grateful to..." before the audio and image were censored. He ended by saying: "We hope this gets better soon."

It is unclear when and where the video was filmed, and what Kim Han-sol's current whereabouts are.

It was put online by a group called the Cheollima Civil Defence (CCD). South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the group presumably assists escaping North Koreans -- there is a town south-west of Pyongyang named Cheollima.

A message in English on the CCD website said it had responded to a request for protection from "survivors of the family of Kim Jong-nam".

"We have in the past addressed other urgent needs for protection. This will be the first and last statement on this particular matter, and the present whereabouts of this family will not be addressed."

Kim's son is believed to be 21, and has lived a low-profile life since his father's exile, growing up in Macau and China.

In 2012, he appeared in a TV interview from Bosnia, where he was studying, saying he had never met his powerful uncle or his grandfather, the late Kim Jong-il.

According to the BBC, he said he had "always dreamed that one day I would go back and make things better and make it easier for the people" of North Korea.

Kim Jong-nam was once seen as a potential future leader of North Korea, but was bypassed for succession in favour of his younger half-brother. He has since lived in exile.

Though it fiercely denies this, North Korea is widely assumed to have carried out the attack with the deadly toxin, potentially to remove a threat to the leadership.

Kim's body remains in a mortuary in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia has said it will not release it until the Kim family provides DNA samples.

Two women have been charged with KIm's assassination -- one Indonesian, one Vietnamese. Both say they were duped into killing Kim, and believed they were taking part in a televised prank.

Malaysia is seeking seven North Koreans, including a diplomat -- it believes three suspects are hiding in North Korea's embassy in Kuala Lumpur, which has been surrounded by the police.

North Korea has yet to confirm the dead man is Kim -- he was travelling under a passport in a different name.

The communist nation said the man died of a heart attack, not chemical attack, and is furious that a post-mortem examination was carried out.

It has accused Malaysia of conducting a biased investigation and colluding with its enemies, and is demanding to be given the body.
Imphal, March 8 : Two women were wounded when suspected insurgents lobbed a Chinese-made hand grenade inside a pharmacy at Thangal market here on Wednesday, police said.

The unidentified assailants escaped before police could rush to the spot.

Hospital sources said the women, customers at the shop, were stable and out of danger.

Police suspect the grenade attack was carried out as a warning after the pharmacy owner did not cough up money despite an extortion demand.

Almost all shops and pharmacies here get extortion threats from some armed groups.
Shillong, March 8 : Opposition legislators in Meghalaya on Wednesday questioned the government over the collection of road tax on the incomplete Jorabat-Umiam Expressway, in violation of the Supreme Court ruling.

The Jorabat-Umiam Expressway, which is also known as National Highway-40, is the lifeline for Mizoram, Tripura and parts of Manipur and Barak Valley of Assam.

Raising the issue during the Question Hour, opposition National People's Party (NPP) legislator James K. Sangma attacked the state government for violating the Supreme Court ruling that toll should not be collected on the highway as it is incomplete and in a dilapidated condition.

Commuters on the expressway have been paying road tax for the past two years.

However, Public Works Department (Roads) Minister Martin M. Danggo informed the assembly that the toll was being collected only for the completed stretch of 56.56 km of the toal 61.80 km of the four-lane road.

Danggo said that the construction of the bypass at Umsning would be completed by June this year.

Supporting the NPP legislator, opposition Independent legislator, Saleng A. Sangma informed the assembly that the Supreme Court in its order of August 27, 2015, had noted that the National Highways Authority of India and concessionaires cannot collect toll from commuters if the road is in bad shape.
New Delhi/Lucknow/Imphal, March 8 : Over sixty per cent polling was reported across seven districts of Uttar Pradesh for 40 assembly seats in the final phase of state assembly elections, while 86 per cent votes were cast in the second and final phase of the Manipur Assembly polls on Wednesday.

The seventh phase saw 60.03 per cent balloting, bringing to an end the long-drawn polling process for the 17th Vidhan Sabha.

Heavy balloting was logged in the last phase in all the 40 seats spread across seven districts in the Poorvanchal region, with the Maoist infested areas also doing exceedingly well in terms of participation in the electoral process. Varanasi, the political constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saw 63 per cent polling while neighbouring Mirzapur recorded 62.6 per cent.

While 61.35 per cent voting was registered in Jaunpur, 63.78 per cent was reported in Chandauli and 62.5 per cent in Sonebhadra, which is part of the Maoist belt. Due to security reasons, polling was held here between 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. unlike other places where voting was underway till 5 p.m. and people in the queue were also allowed to cast their votes.

Bhadohi, known for its high carpet exports, logged a poor 57.9 and so did Ghazipur where only 59 per cent votes were cast. The Prime Minister during his roadshows in Varanasi had appealed to the people of Poorvanchal to turn up in large numbers and vote for 'parivartan' (change). Buoyed by the high turnout, state BJP leaders said it was a signal that the people had dismissed the incumbent Samajwadi Party and were yearning for change and that they had voted for good governance promised by the BJP.

"The polling in Uttar Pradesh passed of peacefully without any untoward incident," Deputy Election Commissioner Vijay Dev told media in New Delhi.

Out of total number of 535 candidates, 51 were women candidates, he said.

The electorate comprises 76.87 lakh men, 64.99 lakh women and 706 voters of the third gender.

As many as 8,682 polling stations with 14,458 polling booths were set up, a poll official said.

Forty candidates of the BSP and 32 of the BJP were in the fray for the last phase of the elections in Uttar Pradesh, Dev informed.

In Uttar Pradesh Rs 21.63 crore in cash, 1.40 lakh litre of liquor worth Rs 2.79 crore and gold and silver worth Rs 2.14 crore were seized, Dev said, adding that in total Rs 122.26 crore have been seized from various parts of Uttar Pradesh during electioneering.

The Deputy Election Commissioner said that elaborate security arrangements were made to ensure free and fair electrons in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur.

Some snags in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were reported from some places while polling agents of the BJP in some seats in Varanasi accused the polling officers of deliberately delaying the voting, to benefit the ruling Samajwadi Party.

In the second and the last phase of elections, Manipur had 837 hyper sensitive and 529 sensitive assembly constituencies whereas Uttar Pradesh had 12 sensitive assembly seats.

Sudeep Jain, Director General of the Election Commission said that in Manipur it was a "difficult phase" as poll officials had to travel long distances on foot in difficult areas and their teams had to be dispatched in two-three days in advance to the polling stations.

Eighty six per cent of total 19,02,562 electorate cast their vote in Manipur, Jain said, adding that no boycott call was given by any group for the polling.

Jain said that since 2009, 86 per cent voting in this phase of elections in Manipur, was the highest.

Polling was generally peaceful notwithstanding a few stray incidents in the 22 constituencies spread over six districts - Thoubal, Ukhrul, Chandel, Tamenglong, Kamjomg and Senapati, officials said.

Even before voting centres opened at 7 a.m., people assembled before booths, and patiently stood for their turn - despite long queues at many places.

Two tribal militants entered the Mantri Pantha polling station in Chandel district and damaged EVMs. They were overpowered by women voters and handed over to the authority. The K. Thel polling station in the same district was vandalised by some miscreants.

There were clashes between the Communist Party of India and the Congress workers in Wangjing Tentha in Thoubal district. Police had to resort to firing in the air to bring the situation under control.

In Ukhrul district, polling was stalled for some time in a booth following protest by a few voters. However polling officials managed to restore peace.

Polling in some polling stations in Tamenglong district started several hours behind schedule as the EVMs developed technical defects.

Security had been beefed up after the twin bomb blasts on Tuesday, that killed a polling official and injured two Assam Rifles troopers near the India-Myanmar border in Kamjong district. No untoward incident has been reported from the district so far.

Polling was also held peacefully at the border town of Moreh, officials said.
New Delhi, March 8 : President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for gender equality and equal opportunities for women as International Women's Day was celebrated across India on Wednesday.

The President presented Nari Shakti Puruskars for the year 2016, and said it is inexcusable that women in India do not feel as secure and safe as they should.

"Government is equally concerned at the rising rate of violent crimes against women," he said.

"It is inexcusable that women in India do not feel as secure and safe as they should. Gender biases have no place in modern India where inclusive development is a key objective," the President said, pitching for early sensitisation of youth in schools and institutions.

"A greater emphasis on early sensitisation of children and youth in schools and institutions of higher learning would help inculcate due respect for the female gender. This should be taken up through appropriate measures in our rural and urban populations and through well-conceived and coherent government programmes," he added.

Mukherjee said that on the International Women's Day, it is "important to reiterate that every girl child and woman in our country should be assured that Government of India is fully committed to providing her an enabling environment that affords equal opportunity".

Prime Minister Modi also lauded woman power, and said: "Saluting the indomitable spirit, determination and dedication of Nari Shakti on International Women's Day."

Later, at a conclave of women village heads in Gandhinagar, the Prime Minister said gender discrimination should not be accepted.

"A discriminatory mindset cannot be accepted. We are seeing how girls are shining in the board exams and in so many other areas," he said.

At the same event, however, a woman was dragged out of the event venue by women SPG commandos when, protesting against the prevailing situation of women, she tried to reach the podium where the Prime Minister and others were sitting.

Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, meanwhile, had a different suggestion.

At an award function to celebrate International Women's Day, she suggested to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that there should be one day dedicated to men.

"The Delhi Chief Minister has taken so many initiatives. He should now start a men's day in the state," she said at Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Annual Awards, where Kejriwal was present.

Kejriwal had earlier on Wednesday advised Modi to unfollow those who threaten and abuse women on social media.

"Happy Women's Day to all. On this day, I urge the Prime Minister to unfollow all those who abuse and threaten women and (urge) take strong action against them," Kejriwal said in a tweet on Wednesday morning.

Maneka Gandhi also urged the women in the country to join the WCD Ministry's "I am equal" campaign on Twitter.

"We should start by saying -- I am equal -- and I am sure there will be equality one day," she said.
Toronto, March 9 : An Indian origin Canadian citizen was barred from entering the US and told to get a valid visa if she wanted to cross the border, a media report said on Wednesday.

Manpreet Kooner, who lives in Candian city of Montreal, said she was turned away at a crossing along the Quebec-Vermont border on Sunday after a six-hour wait where she was fingerprinted, photographed and questioned before being refused, The Huffington Post (Canada) reported.

Thirty-year-old Kooner said an officer told her that she was an immigrant without a valid US visa and claimed that the border agent told her, "I know you might feel like you're being Trumped".

"Unbelievable. Refused entry to the States. Because I'm apparently an Immigrant who now requires a Visa to enter the States. While informing me that I cannot enter the States. The office told me 'I've been trumped'", she wrote on her Facebook Page.

"At the end of it, they told me I was not allowed going in and that I would need a visa if I ever went in the States again," Kooner was quoted as saying.

Last time she had an issue entering the US was in December last year when a computer glitch prevented her from crossing into New York State for 24 hours.
Washington, March 9 : US Senator Tim Kaine's 24-year-old son was one of the five people arrested for protesting against US President Donald Trump in Minnesota, a media report said on Wednesday.

According to a report in Pioneer Press, Linwood Michael Kaine, Tim Kaine's youngest son, was released on Tuesday from the Ramsey County Jail where he was kept after he was arrested on Saturday.

The group allegedly invaded a pro-Trump demonstration at the Minnesota state capitol. The group set off a smoke bomb, blew air horns, chanted and whistled. The five were arrested on suspicion of second-degree rioting.

Linwood Kaine said that an officer chased him down but was unsuccessful. He was later sprayed with a chemical irritant and struck by an officer's knee before finally being apprehended and arrested.

The senator later issued a statement: "We love that our children have their own views and concerns about current political issues. They fully understand the responsibility to express those concerns peacefully."

Tim Kaine served as Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 presidential election, chosen for his moderate appeal and experience as Virginia's governor, lieutenant governor and mayor of Richmond, Virginia.
Wash on Western, Hollywood, Calif. Michael and Western State Design turned out to be a perfect match to help us with our rebuild and relaunch,"

Two years ago, after a nine month search, Ross Dodds and his partner, Russel Pinkard, finally closed on their coin-op laundromat, Wash on Western, in centrally located and densely populated Hollywood. They opened for business while conducting relatively minor renovations, which initially included repairing rather than replacing laundry equipment. At the same time, they were formulating big plans for the future.

One of their first steps was to establish themselves as a good neighbor to the community by partnering with non-profit, A Million Drops, which sponsors their regular "Laundry Night" providing free laundry service to homeless youth.

The day our new store sign was delivered was one of the proudest of my life," said Dodds. I went to sleep that night filled with joy, all the while plotting out my work schedule for the next day, he continued. Dodds was awakened by a phone call at 3:41 am the next day, informing him that the restaurant next door had started fire and had destroyed his coin-op laundry. Initially, I was devastated, said Dodds, but then I got busy trying to figure out how to rebuild, he continued.

In order to gain knowledge about best practices and the latest technology in the vended laundry industry, Dodds attended the Clean Show, the Coin-Op Laundry Industrys bi-annual Trade Show in Atlanta in June 2015. Dodds met a number of Coin-Op Laundry vendors and equipment Distributors representatives at the show.

Shortly after returning from the show he met with the Southern California Dexter Sales Rep from Western State Design (WSD), Michael Ambrose, about rebuilding the store with Dexter equipment. Ambrose immediately impressed him with his enthusiasm for their project and his wealth of knowledge about WSDs line of American-made Dexter coin-op laundry equipment. Michael and Western State Design turned out to be a perfect match to help us with our rebuild and relaunch, Dodds said.

Among all of the commercial laundry equipment he considered at the show, Dodds chose the Dexter C-Series line of coin-op washing machines and dryers based on their operating efficiency and multitude of features. Dodds decided that the Dexter machines would not only be reliable, they would allow his customers to complete their laundry in a minimal amount of time, using a minimal amount of water and energy. Based on Ambrose's recommendation, he reconfigured his initial equipment mix to add extra drying capacity to avoid bottlenecks during peak times, resulting in the best washer-dryer capacity ratio in the immediate area.

Dodds said he is impressed with the other Dexter features, including the programmable DexterLive Controls which allow him to control his machines from anywhere using his phone or computer.

"With DexterLive networking, we can change the pricing and run specials whenever we want, as well as monitor revenue for each machine. We are also able to re-boot and re-start a machine remotely at the push of a couple buttons," he explained.

The Dexter C-Series laundry machines Dodds purchased include the following:



Dodds discovered other equipment at the show that make his coin-op more customer-friendly, including a flexible hybrid payment system and a state-of-the-art vending machine containing both dry and cold goods.

I was really pleased with my decision to attend the Clean Show, said Dodds. I learned a tremendous amount and met a lot of good people who provided good advice, he continued.

With the help of WSD and Ambrose, Dodds was able to make the important laundry equipment decisions with dispatch. This allowed the partners to turn their attention to the actual design and rebuild of their laundromat which included skylights and other features to make the space bright and open. They were able to acquire the 500 sq. ft. of space formerly occupied by the restaurant next door to use for their drop-off wash and fold service. The additional space provides ample room not only for folding laundry but for organizing and storing finished laundry which allows for a more efficient value-added service business.

To further add to their coin-ops appeal to its busy urban market, Dodds and Pinkard added a pickup and drop off service, called WashClub LA, modeled after one of the original services of its kind, WashClub NYC. Dodds & Pinkard even spent a weekend in New York accompanying the WashClub NYC employees on their routes learning the ropes.

Since Wash on Westerns grand Re-Opening, Dodds and Pinkard reflect on their odyssey.

Though the fire seemed devastating at the time, it provided us with the opportunity to start from scratch, building a much better, more competitive Coin-Op Laundry than we started with, said Dodds. I know so much more than I did when I first started out in this business which has allowed us to hit the ground running, he continued. And, we plan on increasing our involvement with A Million Drops, moving forward, as its important to us to be a contributing member of the community, he added.

About Wash on Western

Wash on Western, a subsidiary of parent company, Laundry Outlet L.A., is located at 1548 North Western Avenue in Hollywood, Calif. It is a brand new, full service coin-operated laundry featuring state-of-the-art Dexter Laundry machines that are easy-to-use, fast and efficient. Wash on Western offers same-day wash and fold service as well as pickup and drop off service. Its on-site self-service laundry features Wi-Fi, TVs, a wide variety of vended dry goods, snacks and beverages, as well as comfortable seating and folding space. It is open 24/7.To see latest developments and events go to http://www.washonwestern.com

About Western State Design

With over 40 years experience as a premier, full-service distributor to the coin-op laundry industry, Western State Design has grown to become one of the largest coin laundry equipment distributors in the world. Western State Design is proud to be a Dexter Authorized Distributor, and has been recognized as the No. 1 Dexter Distributor Worldwide since 2009. Dexter Laundry, located in Fairfield, Iowa, is an employee owned leading manufacturer of commercial laundry equipment. All equipment is manufactured in Iowa. Visit WSD online at http://www.westernstatedesign.com or call toll free at 1-800-633-7153.
Dr. Odry Agbessi from Benin (center) works alongside surgeons onboard Mercy Ships as a part of the medical capacity building program offered in her country. There was not one plastic surgeon to help her in Benin, and the family did not have enough money  so people pitched in to send her abroad. I was so touched by that story, she says. Thats when I chose my profession

On International Womens Day, Mercy Ships spotlights Dr. Fifonsi Odry Agbessi, the first and only plastic surgeon in the West African nation of Benin. When I was 12, I saw a woman on TV  her husband had burned her with acid  her face had become fused to her neck, so she could never look a person in the eye. Dr. Agbassi mimics the condition, tucking her chin in close to her throat. There was not one plastic surgeon to help her in Benin, and the family did not have enough money  so people pitched in to send her abroad. I was so touched by that story, she says. Thats when I chose my profession.

That was years ago, but it steered Agbessis course. After graduating from secondary school, she began her medical studies in Benin. Eight years later, she finished her general degree in medicine and won a scholarship to study plastic surgery in Northern Africa. But my father was afraid of how Id be treated, she says, alluding to her race and gender. He wouldnt let me go. Forced to turn down the opportunity, Agbessi practiced general medicine at home for another eight years. Then I was offered the opportunity again, she says. By this time, her father had passed away, and she was finally able to pursue her goal. It was in 2015 that I finally succeeded in becoming a plastic surgeon, she says. Of course, there were many times it wasnt easy, times I wanted to give up, she recounts. But I finally got here.

Dr. Agbassi recently completed her second stint onboard Mercy Ships where she participated in a Medical Capacity Building (MCB) mentoring program. In West Africa, its rare that medical professionals have the opportunity to gain advanced training, practice on newer technology, and liaise with experts in their field. For that reason, many medical professionals leave to study abroad. Dr. Agbessi took advantage of the opportunity to work alongside Mercy Ships surgeons in 2009 and again on the ships return to her country in 2016/17. She spent as much time as she could with us, said Dr. Tertius Venter, a South African plastic surgeon. I was certainly impressed with her knowledge.

Dr. Agbessi was passionate about increasing her skills and knowledge with as many of the courses and training offered by Mercy Ships MCB program as possible. She sought me out and told me that she needed to attend our pain management class, recounted Abby Watrous, a Mercy Ships volunteer from Washington, D.C. and a member of the Mercy Ships MCB team. Afterwards, Dr. Agbessi thought it was such important knowledge to have that she taught the course to 20 nurses at her own hospital.

As Dr. Agbessi puts her newly minted skills to work back in her own operating theater, shes not blind to the challenges shell face. We see a lot of things here, she says  and that probably includes women as badly burned as the one who inspired her in the first place.

###

ABOUT MERCY SHIPS:

Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, capacity building and sustainable development to those with little access in the developing world. Founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at more than $1.3 billion, treating more than 2.61 million direct beneficiaries. The Africa Mercy is crewed by 400 volunteers from up to 40 nations, an average of 1000 each year. Professionals including surgeons, dentists, nurses, healthcare trainers, teachers, cooks, seamen, engineers, and agriculturalists donate their time and skills to the effort. With offices in 16 nations, Mercy Ships seeks to transform individuals and serve nations one at a time. For more information click on http://www.mercyships.org

For More Information Contact:

For USA: Pauline Rick

US Public Relations Coordinator

Mercy Ships

Office Tel: (903) 939-7000

Mob: (972) 922-5442

Email: us.media(at)mercyships(dot)org

For Intl: Diane Rickard

International Media Manager

Mercy Ships

Diane.rickard(at)mercyships(dot)org

http://www.mercyships.org

Hi-res photos and general Mercy Ships B-Roll video footage are available upon request.
We know that substantive changes will visit the world of physician payment with the advent of MACRA/MIPPS, Primaris chief executive officer Richard A. Royer said. "Our program will enable them to make the leap to the new environment.

Primaris, a national healthcare consulting company, will provide on-the-ground training and education about the Quality Payment Program as a subcontractor to TMF Health Quality Institute. TMF, a leading non-profit health care consulting company based in Austin, has been contracted to help small medical practices in generally underserved areas prepare for and participate in the new Quality Payment Program (QPP), which was established by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

QPP is a new approach to paying physicians and clinicians who treat Medicare beneficiaries. Through the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), clinicians will be paid for providing medical care based on four performance categories: advancing care information, clinical practice improvement activities, cost and quality of care.

The five-year contract was awarded to TMF by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). TMF and supporting subcontractors will provide the practices with technical assistance and services in a region comprising Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico.

We know that substantive changes will visit the world of physician payment with the advent of MACRA/MIPS, Primaris chief executive officer Richard A. Royer said. Were pleased to be able to offer the assistance to smaller practices. Our program will enable them to make the leap to the new environment.

As part of the TMF team, Primaris will provide customized technical assistance to MIPS-eligible clinicians, which may include, but is not limited to, the following:



Evaluating practice readiness for participating in a new payment model

Engaging practices in continuous quality improvement

Assessing and optimizing Health Information Technology

Supporting change management and strategic planning

Developing and disseminating education and training materials

Enabling peer-to-peer learning and local partnerships

About Primaris:

Primaris is a healthcare consulting firm that works with hospitals, physicians and nursing homes to drive better health outcomes, improved patient experiences and reduced costs. For more information, visit http://www.primaris.org and follow @primaris_health.
Lenders focused on significantly reducing costs to manufacture a loan have guided FinLocker on what digital mortgage capabilities it wants..., which led us to identify Equifax as a key alliance partner.

FinLocker, a financial data and analytics company, today announced a connector relationship with Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), a global information solutions provider. The relationship between FinLocker and Equifax will now enable lenders to easily order Equifax products through FinLocker`s platform, which will help eliminate the need for many borrowers to collect, copy and submit paper documents. FinLocker captures data electronically to help lenders validate against mortgage guidelines and identify areas that may require additional review. FinLocker facilitates the clearing of certain conditions between the lender and borrower to dramatically reduce processing times and increase operational efficiency. FinLockers integration to Equifaxs products allows lenders to utilize the reps and warrants relief from Fannie Mae with its Day 1 Certainty program for income.

Lenders focused on significantly reducing costs to manufacture a loan have guided FinLocker on what digital mortgage capabilities it wants from FinLocker, which led us to identify Equifax as a key alliance partner, said Peter Esparrago, FinLocker CEO & Co-Founder.

Our verification service today is considered a gold standard in the industry and delivers data that can offer lenders additional confidence in their lending decisions, said Craig Crabtree, general manager of Equifax Mortgage Services.

About Finlocker

FinLocker is a secure financial data and analytics platform that eases the pains of the mortgage process for both lenders and consumers. FinLocker enables access to consumer financial data electronically and applies business rules and other algorithms to verify and analyze employment, income, assets, credit, taxes and other information. FinLocker provides the consumer a re-usable financial locker to utilize for mortgages, auto loans, student loans, small business loans, and other consumer transactions. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, visit http://www.FinLocker.com .

About Equifax

Equifax powers the financial future of individuals and organizations around the world. Using the combined strength of unique trusted data, technology and innovative analytics, Equifax has grown from a consumer credit company into a leading provider of insights and knowledge that helps its customers make informed decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its databases include employee data contributed from more than 6,600 employers.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,400 employees worldwide.

Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Ranked 13 on the American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2015); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2015); named one of Fortunes Worlds Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes Worlds 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015). For more information, visit http://www.equifax.com
The Indian Government released a stamp in honor of the 100th anniversary of Paramahansa Yogananda's life work. What [Paramahansa Yogananda] has given to the world, what he has achieved in his life, very few can achieve.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Paramahansa Yogananda  on the 65th anniversary of his passing on March 7, 1952  by issuing a commemorative postage stamp in honor of the 100th anniversary of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), the non-profit spiritual organization he founded on March 22, 1917. Three years later, Sri Yogananda traveled to the West and established, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF). SRF and YSS together have more than 800 temples, centers, and ashrams around the world today.

Paramahansa Yogananda  the author of the best-selling classic "Autobiography of a Yogi" and the subject of the award-winning documentary "Awake: The Life of Yogananda"  is widely regarded as the father of Yoga in the West. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Paramahansajis passing in 1977, the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in his honor, and stated: Though the major part of his life was spent outside India, still Paramahansa Yogananda takes his place among our great saints. His work continues to grow and shine ever more brightly, drawing people everywhere on the path of the pilgrimage of Spirit.

Citing the outstanding spiritual achievements of Yogoda Satsanga Society and its founder Paramahansa Yogananda, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated during the official postal stamp release function on March 7 at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi: Looking at [Paramahansa Yoganandas] life, it is evident that he does not merely stress the ways to outer freedom, but focuses on the inner journey.Removing rigid dogma, he made spirituality so approachable and tangible that in these hundred years since he started it, his work has become a world-wide movement, a perennial resource of spiritual understanding.

Swami Smaranananda, General Secretary of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, spoke about some of the contributions that Sri Yoganandas organization has made over the century, and said, In faithfully safeguarding and carrying forward the 100-year-old legacy of Paramahansa Yoganandaji, YSS is dedicated to continuing to bring peace and light into the lives of millions struggling with the challenges of the modern world, thus serving mankind as our larger Self.

A message from SRF/YSS President and Sanghamata Sri Mrinalini Mata was presented by Swami Vishwananda, a member of the SRF/YSS Board of Directors based at the international headquarters in Los Angeles, which included the following closing words: Paramahansa Yoganandaji predicted that an ideal world civilization will emerge by combining the spirituality of India with the material efficiency of western nations. India therefore has an important and necessary role to play in helping elevate human consciousness in its upward evolutionary cycle. It is my ardent prayer that through the practice of the unity-bestowing spiritual teachings exemplified by Sri Sri Yoganandaji and other great masters of India we may move toward an era of global peace, divine harmony, and prosperity for every member of our human family.

Early History of YSS in India

Inaugurated on March 22, 1917 as the Yogoda Satsanga Brahmacharya Vidyalala, Yogoda Satsanga Society began as a one-story school in the West Bengal town of Dihika, India, with only a few teachers and seven students at its inception. Yogoda, a word coined by Sri Yogananda, is derived from Yoga, union, harmony, equilibrium; and da, "that which imparts." "Satsanga" is composed of Sat, truth and Sanga, fellowship.

The founding of this school marked the beginning of Paramahansa Yoganandas lifelong work and world mission, which has as one of its aims to foster a spirit of greater understanding and goodwill among the diverse peoples and religions of the world, and to help those of all cultures and nationalities to realize and express more fully in their lives the beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit.

In his "Autobiography of a Yogi," Sri Yogananda writes: The ideal of right education for youth had always been very close to my heart. I saw clearly the arid results of ordinary instruction, aimed at the development of body and intellect only. Moral and spiritual values, without whose appreciation no man can approach happiness, were yet lacking in the formal curriculum. I determined to found a school where young boys could develop to the full stature of manhood. My first step in that direction was made with seven children at Dihika, a small country site in Bengal.

Initially reluctant to formally establish an organization, Sri Yogananda was prodded by his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, from whom he received 10 years of spiritual training, to create a spiritual society that would serve mankind. In "Autobiography of a Yogi," Yogananda recalls Sri Yukteswars words: Do you want the whole divine channa for yourself alone? God is the Honey, organizations are the hives; both are necessary. Any form is useless, of course without the spirit, but why should you not start busy hives full of the spiritual nectar?

As his initial Yogoda school rapidly expanded, it was moved in 1918 to Ranchi with the financial support of Sir Manindra Chandra Nundy, the Maharaja of Kasimbazar. By the end of the first year in Ranchi, applications for admission had grown to 2,000. The school offered a curriculum that comprised academics, physical education, and the philosophy of yoga and its scientific techniques of meditation.

Shortly after the founding of his school in Ranchi, Yogananda was invited by Indias beloved poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindrinath Tagore to visit with him at his school, Santiniketan, to share their educational ideals. At the time of his writing "Autobiography of a Yogi," the Ranchi school had been honored by visits from many highly revered individuals, ranging from Swami Pranabananda (the Banaras saint with two bodies) to Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1920, Sri Yogananda traveled to the U.S. as the invited delegate representing India to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening in Boston, where he delivered a speech on The Science of Religion, and established Self-Realization Fellowship that same year, the first Hindu teacher of yoga to make America his permanent home (from 1920 until his passing in 1952). His line of gurus had foreseen that he would be the one to go to the West to spread the ancient teachings of Kriya Yoga, which includes a sacred technique of meditation that serves to quiet both body and mind, and through devoted practice leads to realization of God.

After spending several years on the East Coast, Sri Yogananda realized that expansion of his work was meant to develop from another part of the country, and, thus, he set off for California. When in 1925 he reached Los Angeles, which he often described as the Banaras of the West (Banaras being Indias holiest city), he was enthusiastically received. The "Los Angeles Times" reported: The Philharmonic Auditorium presents the extraordinary spectacle of thousandsbeing turned away an hour before the advertised opening of a lecture with the 3,000 seat hall filled to its utmost capacity. Swami Yogananda is the attraction. A Hindu invading the United States to bring God in the midst of a Christian community, preaching the essence of Christian doctrine.

With the help of generous students, he established that same year the SRF/YSS International Headquarters atop Mount Washington, overlooking downtown Los Angeles, which continues to serve as the worldwide headquarters for the society today.

During the 1920s and 30s, Sri Yogananda undertook numerous transcontinental journeys throughout the U.S., giving lectures on the science of yoga and inspiring thousands of western spiritual seekers with teachings that included underlying truths between the original Christianity of Jesus Christ and the original Yoga of Bhagavan Krishna. In 1927, he became the first Hindu swami to be received at the White House, meeting with President Calvin Coolidge. During his one return trip to India in 1935, he met with Mahatma Gandhi, at whose request Sri Yogananda initiated into Kriya. Upon reuniting there with his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, Sri Yogananda received the highest spiritual title of Paramahansa, superceding his former title of swami.

Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society Today

Under the direction of the societys president, Sri Mrinalini Mata, SRF/YSS publishes the writings, lectures, and informal talks of Paramahansa Yogananda, and of his close disciples; produces audio and video recordings on Yoganandas teachings; oversees its temples, meditation centers, retreats, and youth programs; conducts annual lecture and class series in cities around the world; and coordinates the Worldwide Prayer Circle, a network of groups and individuals dedicated to praying for those in need of physical, mental, or spiritual aid, and for global peace and harmony.

The SRF/YSS monastic order that Sri Yogananda established along the lines of the ancient swami tradition of India, consists of monks and nuns who take formal vows of renunciation and are responsible for serving the spiritual needs of members, friends and spiritual seekers around the globe.

SRF has more than 600 temples, retreats and meditation centers around the world. Its sister organization, YSS, has 23 YSS schools throughout India; more than 200 YSS ashrams, retreats, and centers (offering weekly services, group meditations, and other inspirational programs); and a number of YSS charitable medical dispensaries. The headquarters of YSS, Yogoda Satsanga Math, is in Dakshineswar, near Kolkata, with a branch headquarters at Ranchi.

The teachings of Sri Yogananda are made available, today as during his lifetime, through the printed SRF Lessons. These nonsectarian teachings embody a complete philosophy and way of life for achieving all-round success and well-being, as well as scientific techniques of meditation achieving life's ultimate goal  union of the soul with Spirit, Self-realization. This comprehensive home-study series  studied by many thousands of people all over the world  gives instruction in the meditation techniques of the Kriya Yoga science, as well as in the many other aspects of balanced spiritual living taught by Paramahansa Yogananda. For more information for those who reside in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, please visit https://yssofindia.org. For residents in all other parts of the world, please visit Yogananda-srf.org.

Please visit Youtube to view Prime Minister Modis release of the YSS Centenary Commemorative Stamp.
David J. McIntyre Jr. accepts the Navy SEAL Foundation patriot award on behalf of TriWest Healthcare Alliance at the Ninth Annual Navy SEAL Foundation Benefit in New York City, March 2, 2017 Ladies and gentlemen, there is no other organization that more effectively leans in for those whom it is charged to support than the Navy SEAL Foundation. It has few, if any, peers in terms of its commitment, focus and effectiveness.

An estimated 1,900 patriots gathered at the New York Marriott Marquis on March 2, 2017, for the ninth annual Navy SEAL Foundation New York City Benefit Dinner to recognize the courage, commitment, and sacrifice of U.S. Navy SEAL community and its families. Under the leadership of this year's Benefit Chairman, Joel S. Marcus, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and Alexandria Venture Investments, the dinner event raised a record-shattering $12.75 million dollars.

The evenings keynote address was delivered by former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and U.S. Secretary of Defense, Leon E. Panetta who was introduced by former Commander of Special Operations Command North and Rear Admiral (SEAL), Kerry M. Metz, (Ret.). Secretary Panetta spoke about his personal experience working with the SEAL Teams.

TriWest was chosen as this year's Navy SEAL Patriot Award honoree for its leadership in the active duty and veterans healthcare space. Robin King, the Navy SEAL Foundation's Chief Executive Officer, along with former SEALs Mark Greene and Alexander Oliver, presented the award to David J. McIntyre Jr., President and CEO of Triwest. He accepted the award on behalf of the company.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is not an organization that more effectively leans in for those whom it is charged to support than the Navy SEAL Foundation. And, this organization has few, if any, peers in terms of its commitment, focus, and effectiveness," said David McIntyre upon accepting the award.

TriWest has seen and taken care of over 750,000 Veterans, and they are gearing up to tackle the well-documented backlog of millions of appointments plaguing the malfunctioning VA, said David Janke, a former SEAL, and McIntyres long-time friend. David McIntyre not only treats the Veterans, but he also hires veterans to service their fellow service people.

The evening also commemorated the 15th anniversary of OPERATION Anaconda, which occurred on March 3, 2002. OPERATION Anaconda, known as the Battle of Takur Ghar, was the opening salvo in the U.S. War on Terror and also marked the beginning of operations in Afghanistan for SEALs and the current sustained period of intense work for the Special Operations Forces. OPERATION Anaconda, also known within military circles as the Battle of Roberts Ridge, was named after Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer First Class (SEAL) Neil C. Roberts, who was killed in action in OPERATION Anaconda.

Joel S. Marcus was joined by Trident Presenting Sponsors that included Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., the Alexandria Real Estate Team, BNBuilders, Barbara and Joel Marcus and TriWest Healthcare Alliance. Co-Chairs included William A. Ackman, AECOM Tishman, BTIG, CBRE/New England, Vanessa and Henry Cornell, Metka and Jack Daly, DPR Construction, Caroline and Ed Hyman, Eugenia and David Janke, Daniel S. Loeb, Nancy and Howard Marks, Michael Muldoon, The Richmond Group, Harvey Schwartz, Cindy and Tom Wagner, Samuel D. Paksal, PhD, Charlotte and Alan Waxman, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Wilmerhale and Zide Family Foundation. The Benefit Host Committee was led by Mark Edgar and Drew Fox, and the Ring Out After Party Host Committee was led by Kevin Coleman and Michael Zapata.

"We could not be more pleased. The collective efforts of the sponsors, donors, the volunteer committees, and of course, Marcus, resulted in the event selling out well in advance of March 2," said retired Rear Admiral Garry Bonelli, Chairman of the Navy SEAL Foundation. The dinners record-breaking proceeds represent nearly 90% of the Foundations annual programs budget, and we are truly humbled by the generosity of everyone involved.

The Navy SEAL Foundation supports all active-duty Naval Special Warfare (NSW) personnel, including U.S. Navy SEALs, and their families. They also provide critical programs for NSW Gold Star families and NSW veterans.

About the Navy SEAL Foundation

The Navy SEAL Foundation's mission is to provide immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community and its families.

U.S. Navy SEALs have been in sustained combat for over 15 years, performing hazardous work in unforgiving environments at an unrelenting pace. SEALs are currently deployed in over 30+ countries across the globe and spend up to 270 days each year in harm's way. The Navy SEAL Foundation stands behind these warriors and their families by providing a comprehensive set of programs specifically designed to improve health and welfare, build and enhance resiliency, empower and educate families and provide critical support during times of illness, injury or loss.

Like the community it serves, the Foundation is a solid, high performing organization committed to excellence. For every dollar donated 93 cents of goes directly to current or future programs. The Navy SEAL Foundation has maintained a 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, a top charity watchdog, for sound fiscal management, commitment to accountability and transparency since 2011 and a perfect charity score of 100 which places it within the top .6% of all rated charities.

To learn more, visit http://www.navySEALfoundation.org

The Navy SEAL Foundation is a 501c3 national non-profit charitable organization. TAX-ID 31-1728910. The Navy SEAL Foundation is a non-federal entity. It is not a part of the Department of Defense (DOD) or any of its components and has no governmental status.

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Team Conversational at Bowl for Kids Sake 2017 Mentoring matters. The right mentor can really change the direction of a child's life for the better, and we enjoy being able to take a small part in that.

This year, virtual receptionist provider Conversational Receptionists worked hard to raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) PEI, a local organization part of a larger global network that focuses on building connections between local youth and mentors the organization calls big brothers and big sisters. BBBS holds the annual Bowl for Kids Sake community fundraiser to raise money for its programs in the area in a way that's fun for participants.

"Bowl for Kids Sake is an important community fundraiser. Throughout January and February, nearly 250 corporate and community teams from across the Island work together to raise much needed funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters of PEI." - Big Brothers Big Sisters PEI

Team Conversational enjoyed last years Bowl for Kids Sake fundraiser so much that they wanted to get involved again this year. Last year, Conversational team captain and Sales Manager Tawnya Thompson-McConkey took home a prize in the team captain division. This year, the team brought their A-game to the local bowling alley once again in an effort to raise awareness and funding for Big Brothers Big Sisters PEI, the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters. The non-profit organization relies on community donations and fundraisers to stay in operation, making events like BFKS essential for the organizations survival.

When asked why the company has taken an interest in working with BBBS to raise funds with events like Bowl for Kids Sake, CEO Tanya Lamont says it's about the mentoring and opportunities this organization makes possible for local kids.

"Mentoring matters. The right mentor can really change the direction of a child's life for the better, and Conversational enjoys being able to take a small part in that. Many of the employees at Conversational are parents. Supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters PEI is something Conversational is proud to take part in, and especially community events like Bowl for Kids Sake as they bring workplaces, families, friends - the whole community - together with a common goal." - Tanya Lamont, CEO

BBBS PEI talks about the ways these positive connections benefit the community on their website: "Mentoring helps kids stay in school, avoid risky behavior such as bullying, and grow up to have more respect for family, peers and community. By raising money for Bowl for Kids Sake, you help local youth develop the confidence to achieve more."

Bowl for Kids Sake 2017 has been a great success for all teams and Big Brothers Big Sisters PEI. Team Conversational hopes to make it back to the alley again next year.

Each team that participates in Bowl for Kids Sake receives a Team Kit. This includes a team captain sheet, prize list, fundraising tips, online fundraising info, 6 pledge sheets, 4 Subway Restaurant cookie cards, pins, stickers, temporary tattoos, screen cleaners, seedling voucher, raffle tickets and raffle ticket poster (if applicable).

Visit the Big Brothers Big Sisters PEI website to learn more about this event.
We have been working restlessly to optimize collection inventory management and excel our customers expectations by improving their ROI.

GAO RFID is excited to introduce an integrated business solution for tracking the checkout and return of important assets from within a cabinet. GAO now offers a Smart Checkout Cabinet that is a self-service system designed for businesses that require employees and contractors to borrow assets in order to complete their day-to-day tasks. Assets such as portable tools, safety items, technology devices, and keys can be inventoried, checked out, and tracked automatically in real-time using RFID technology that works with any cabinets fitted with an electronic strike. The result is automation and insight: employees and contractors check out and return items, while the systems flexible reporting features provide managers visibility on asset use.

We understand the challenges of a fast paced industry that requires constant and efficient asset tracking. We have been working restlessly to optimize collection inventory management and excel our customers expectations by improving their ROI, said GAO RFIDs CEO.

This intelligently integrated solution optimizes the management and monitoring of important assets by improving speed and functionality of the tracking process. Compared to other traditional approaches for tracking checkout and return of assets, the Smart Checkout offers an automated solution that reduces the risk of loss and theft while assigning accountability for their use. The system offers a simple workflow: just check out, return, and reconcile. Item removal and return is automatically recognized by the cabinet, and the system summarizes the items borrowed, assigns them to the user, and records the transaction in the database.

The Smart Checkout System for Cabinets is available as a Tap (contact required checkout) and Air versions (contactless checkout) and includes a badge reader, item reader, access badges, asset tags, an industrial-grade touchscreen, and the GAO RFID Smart Cabinet Checkout software.

GAO RFID Inc. and GAO Tek Inc are members of Canada based GAO Group of companies with over 20 years of experience providing solutions for clients in more than 40 countries. GAO RFID Inc. is a global provider of leading RFID hardware, software, and systems that improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and heighten personnel safety."
I realized early on that the most rewarding aspect of my job is working with great team members and inspiring them to achieve their highest potential. Joining Sierra Pacific Mortgage was a natural next step.

Sierra Pacific Mortgage is excited to announce that Al Crisanty has joined the company as a Wholesale Sales Manager. Based out of the corporate office in Folsom, CA, Mr. Crisantys focus will be on growing the companys presence in the Southwest and Midwest by expanding the Account Executive sales team as the company continues to build its nationwide presence.

With 35 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Al spent several years as a loan originator and wholesale account executive for a large California mortgage banker. He has also held senior level positions in secondary marketing as well as correspondent lending. For the last 18 years, Al has focused on wholesale mortgage lending by helping mid to large sized mortgage bankers build and expand their national wholesale sales platform. Most recently, Al served as the National Wholesale Director for Michigan Mutual, Inc.

On working in the mortgage industry, Al said, I realized early on that the most rewarding aspect of my job is working with great team members and inspiring them to achieve their highest potential. Joining Sierra Pacific Mortgage was a natural next step as they are a recognized service lender as well as an exceptional place to work.

Al brings a wealth of management knowledge, leadership, and mortgage expertise to Sierra Pacific Mortgage, affirmed Chuck Iverson, Executive Vice President. With his experience and adaptive sales approach we know he will be a dynamic addition to our leadership team.

Sierra Pacific Mortgage is thrilled to have Al join the team and look forward to his impact as the company grows their Wholesale presence throughout the Midwest and Southwest.

With over 30 years in business, Sierra Pacific is continuously focused on adding experienced team members across the country! If you are looking for an opportunity at Sierra Pacific Mortgage, please visit http://www.joinsierrapacificmortgage.com.
LapTimer is another cool feature after our recent release of Waylens Go!, which captures a cars 0 to 60 performance and tracks your results with a leaderboard. Both add gamification aspects to the camera and makes the experience more social, fun and engaging, said Haowei Zhang, co-founder and CEO. The LapTimer feature uses GPS coordinates to map out a custom loop or track. Simply mark your starting point with the Horizon remote and complete a loop in advance. Your latest lap times are recorded and stored by date. You can share your best lap time or all of your times on the Waylens cloud or other social site. Weve also added a new LapTimer gauge in the Waylens Studio with multiple layout options, continued Mr. Zhang.

Multiple overlays are available including Date/Time, Lap Map, Lap Records, Lap Times, Current Best Lap, MPH/RPM/Throttle and G-Force gauge.

See it in action here.

Waylens began shipping its flagship Horizon Camera System in October of last year. Horizon captures every aspect of your drive with a high-performance camera, a remote control, and an on-board diagnostic system (OBD-II) data module that overlays real-time performance data over stunning HD video. The system also includes mobile and desktop applications which enables drivers to identify, edit and share their best moments right from the road. The Horizon Camera System is available direct for $499.95 MSRP at Waylens.com.

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The Horizon Camera System is enabling car enthusiasts to capture and share their passion for driving

Waylens Horizon Camera System $499.95 MSRP



Stunning 1080p 60fps video with car performance data overlays

7-element camera lens, and an OLED touchscreen display with 286 ppi

318 million pixels per second image signal processing

Advanced suite of internal sensors: 10 Hz GPS, 9 axis motion sensor (gyro, accelerometer, magnetometer), and barometer

Free mobile app (iOS and Android) features effortless video editing and sharing with advanced smart-remix, and a social network for car enthusiasts

Camera package includes OBD-II data module, remote control and strap, camera mount, rechargeable battery pack, charging cable and car charger

For more information about the Waylens Horizon, please visit: http://www.waylens.com.

About Waylens Inc.

Waylens Inc., the high-performance automotive camera company, is transforming the way people capture their love of driving. The companys flagship product, the Waylens Horizon Camera System, enables drivers to easily capture, edit, and share their best moments right from the road. Waylens is headquartered in Boston, MA. For more information about Waylens email: info(at)waylens.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Both the overwhelming investment interest and the anticipated strength of our bond rating are testaments to our proven approach to underwriting and managing small business loan performance through the Kabbage Platform.

Kabbage, a pioneering financial services, technology and data platform, today announced that on March 7, 2017, it priced $525 million of fixed-rate, asset-backed notes in a private securitization transaction. The facility is expandable to $1.5 billion. The notes will be issued in four classes by Kabbage Asset Securitization LLC, a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Kabbage Inc. The senior class of notes is anticipated to be rated A(sf) on the closing date by Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA). Guggenheim Securities is serving as sole structuring advisor and initial purchaser of the notes. The securitization is expected to close on or about March 20, 2017, and is subject to customary closing conditions.

The securitization was significantly oversubscribed with interest from top-tier institutional investors. This represents the largest asset-backed securitization of small business loans in the online lending industry, next to Kabbages prior, expandable, ABS note issuance in March 2014. This new facility will enable Kabbage to continue to broaden its product mix by offering larger credit lines and longer term loans.

In a time when the FinTech industry has experienced challenges, our automated technology and data platform has demonstrated to investors Kabbages ability to deliver superior and predictable performance on small business loans as an asset class, said Kevin Phillips, Head of Corporate Development for Kabbage. Both the overwhelming investment interest and the anticipated strength of our bond rating are testaments to our proven approach to underwriting and managing small business loan performance through the Kabbage Platform.

In March 2014, Kabbage was the first technology-enabled, financial services company to issue asset-backed notes secured by small business loans. This transaction was initially $270 million and was subsequently expanded to $545 million by the issuance of additional notes to multiple capital markets investors. This facility enabled Kabbage to dramatically scale its volume to extend over $2.7 billion through the platform.

The anticipated KBRA rating of A(sf) reflects an upgrade from the rating on Kabbages prior securitization. Kabbages strong historical performance over the last three years played a key part in KBRAs upgrade, said Anthony Nocera, Managing Director at KBRA. The upgrade is based on several structural improvements and the existence of more historical performance data relating to Kabbages collateral.

About Kabbage

Kabbage Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, has pioneered a financial services data and technology platform to provide automated funding to small businesses in minutes. Kabbage leverages data generated through business activity such as accounting data, online sales, shipping and dozens of other sources to understand performance and deliver fast, flexible funding in real time. Kabbage is funded and backed by leading investors, including Reverence Capital Partners, SoftBank Capital, Thomvest Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, ING, Santander InnoVentures, Scotiabank and TCW/Craton. All Kabbage U.S.-based loans are issued by Celtic Bank, a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank, Member FDIC. For more information, please visit http://www.kabbage.com.

The notes will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from, or a transaction not subject to, registration requirements. The notes were offered only to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A and to persons outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to sell the notes, nor shall it constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such an offer or solicitation or sale is unlawful.
Kinsa, (http://www.kinsahealth.com), today announced $17 million in additional financing from GSR Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, FirstMark Capital and others. The latest financing will be used to develop additional smart products and services to further Kinsas mission to better track and stop the spread of illness.

With this investment, Kinsa is excited to expand our services so we can take a big step forward in our mission to keep families and communities healthy, explained Inder Singh, founder and CEO of Kinsa. From the start, our vision has been to use connected health products to engage with people the moment they fall ill, helping them get better and stay well. Were thrilled that the success of our Smart Thermometers has allowed us to reach this inflection point.

2016 marked a period of strong growth for the company. Just two years after launching its original Smart Stick thermometer, Kinsas family of smart thermometers, which include the Smart Ear and Sesame Street thermometers, are now sold online and in more than 7,000 North American retail stores, including Target, Babies R Us, buybuyBaby and CVS.

As distribution and usage continues to grow, Kinsa is utilizing this new investment to increase app engagement and communication with users, ultimately helping those who are ill from their first sign of sickness, through recovery and beyond. Kinsa has worked with hundreds of thousands of users to determine additional services that are helpful in the moments that matter. Features such as wellness tips, real-time fever guidance, medication reminders, connection to physicians, local health information and more are being launched.

Kinsa sits at the intersection of healthcare, technology and the internet of things movement, said Richard Lim, Managing Director, GSR Ventures. We see tremendous potential in Kinsas vision to offer users additional health services through their products and are excited to lead this investment.

The funding announcement brings Kinsas total financing to $28.6 million.

About Kinsa

Kinsa offers a suite of smart products and services, including its family of smartphone-connected thermometers, that guide users from the first sign of sickness through recovery and beyond by quickly and accurately recording illness details and offering guidance on what to do next. Kinsa also shows common illnesses circulating within communities, and is advancing efforts to create a real-time health map to help track and stop the spread of illness. Kinsa has won numerous awards, including the Grand Prize in Medical Innovation by the Cleveland Clinic, and is available in more than 7,000 retail locations in the US and Canada. http://www.kinsahealth.com.

For enterprise sales, please reach out to sales(at)kinsahealth(dot)com.

About GSR Ventures

GSR Ventures is a China focused venture capital firm that invests primarily in early-stage software enabled companies. Some of its notable investments include DiDi Chuxing, Qunar, Shanghai Great Wisdom, ele.me, and Funplus. The firm has about $1.5 billion under management and has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Silicon Valley.
PandaDocs Leading Digital Transaction Management Platform now Available on Microsofts AppSource Marketplace PandaDocs solution provides Microsoft Dynamics 365 customers immediate value by automating key steps in the opportunity to close process.

PandaDoc, the premier digital transaction management solution, today announced that its document automation platform is now available on Microsofts AppSource marketplace HERE. AppSource customers can close more deals with better quotes, proposals and contract management processes by purchasing and installing the PandaDoc extension.

Microsoft AppSource is a new marketplace to help business users find, try and use line-of-business software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps and add-ins, expanding the possibilities of Dynamics 365. PandaDoc features include: eSignature, data merge, along with data-driven feedback to build, edit, execute and track documents. And, with the new AppSource release, customers no longer have to manually install PandaDoc. It is a one-click installation from the Microsoft AppSource page.

We are thrilled to announce this latest integration with Microsoft, stated PandaDoc CEO, Mikita Mikado. We believe it will extend the capability of Dynamics 365 users and allow them to more quickly and effectively deliver critical, revenue generating documents. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Microsoft long into the future.

PandaDoc is an all-in-one document automation platform that integrates with existing CRM, ERP, payment processing and other industry specific systems. PandaDoc increases the productivity and close rates of sales professionals by giving them more effective sales documents at the final stage of the buying cycle. The PandaDoc solution brings document creation, CRM merge, analytics, configure price quote (CPQ) and eSignature together in one seamless offering.

Microsoft proudly welcomes PandaDoc to the growing family of AppSource integrated solutions, said Anu Agarwal, Principal Architect at Microsoft. PandaDocs solution provides Microsoft Dynamics 365 customers immediate value by automating key steps in the opportunity to close process.

Users can leverage pre-existing templates and easily merge data directly from any field in Dynamics 365 into their PandaDoc sales quotes, proposals and contracts. Companies spend less time re-entering data that already exists within Dynamics 365  eliminating the need to work from two disparate platforms. Additionally, Dynamics 365 users can leverage PandaDocs powerful analytics to track open and views of all sales collateral.

To learn more about PandaDoc, simply visit PandaDoc.com.

About PandaDoc

PandaDoc helps organizations close more deals with better quotes, proposals, and contract management processes. Features include eSignature, data merge, and data driven feedback to build, edit, execute, and track documents. Founded in 2013 and based in San Francisco, California, PandaDoc is backed by Altos Ventures. Learn more at PandaDoc.com.

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IXL Center announced today that Andre do Valle would be joining its senior leadership team. As IXL Center, a leading innovation management firm, expands its efforts in Latin America and Globally, Andre do Valle is tasked, among other duties, to take the helm of its IXL Innovation Olympics program and jumpstart its IXLerator program in Miami, FL.

Hitendra Patel, Managing Director of IXL-Center welcomed the new arrival: Andre brings a perfect combination of advisory and execution from his consulting days at Monitor Group along with his entrepreneurial experience starting companies and executing private equity deals.

The IXL Innovation Olympics is already a globally recognized program that has already generated hundreds of millions of dollars in impact for hundreds of companies worldwide, including giants like IBM, Verizon, and 3M, stated do Valle. The challenge will be to take the program, which crowd-sources business concepts from consulting teams of top MBA students, to an even wider audience.

Andre do Valle will also be creating the IXL Center Latam hub in Miami and plans to partner with local universities and companies to create a city-wide acceleration program for small and medium enterprises in the region. Miami has incredible clusters in healthcare and logistics that have amazing potential. We hope to bring out a lot of that potential through IXL Centers IXLerator and 10X SME programs.

About IXL Center: IXL Center is an innovation management firm and think tank based in Cambridge, MA. The firm builds innovation capabilities for companies and manages world-class programs like Innovation Olympics and 10X SME to generate new concepts and take them to market. Its partners sum up more than 50 years in innovation management, have taught at the worlds top business schools, and have authored ten books on innovation including The Innovation Premium, Innovation Book of Knowledge, Connectivate!, Greenovate!, Health-ovate! and Robovate!.
Specialty Technical Consultants

Specialty Technical Publishers (STP) and Specialty Technical Consultants (STC) announce the availability of the newly updated International Audit Protocol Consortium (IAPC) EHS audit protocol for Malaysia. Leading companies around the world use IAPC EHS audit protocols to understand the scope of their EHS regulatory obligations and rapidly collect, share, archive, and export audit findings in a cost effective manner. IAPC EHS audit protocols are now prepared by STC in partnership with STP and continue to focus on those national (plus, in some cases, regional or provincial) EHS requirements that have site-specific application for manufacturing operations. As a leading EHS management consulting firm with a global network of experienced EHS teaming partners, STC has indepth knowledge and technical expertise of local/regional EHS requirements.

STP and STC maintain leading-edge EHS audit protocols for more than 30 jurisdictions. The protocol documents are written in English and are available in MS Word, Adobe Acrobat and Excel formats, as well as through STPs web-based portal or can be integrated into an existing company platform. Using the protocols custom templates and advanced functionality features, auditors can easily track audit findings and manage data over time to improve compliance, risk management and safety performance. In addition, STPs formatting is compatible with leading risk management and sustainability platform providers.

Highlights of selected legislation covered in the newly updated protocol include:



"Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order, 2015" replaced the "Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order, 1987." In the schedule of prescribed activities, a distinction was made between those activities that require public display or comment and those that do not requirement public display or comment during the development of an environmental impact assessment report.

Most of the content in Section 6, Above and Below Ground Tank Management of the protocol was removed due to copyright issues associated with the Malaysian Standard "Code of Practice for the Storage and Handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids, 1982, MS 761: 1982."

Additional revised requirements for waste management were issued under the mandatory "Guidelines for Packaging, Labelling, and Storage of Scheduled Wastes in Malaysia 2014." These requirements include record keeping provisions for waste inventories and inspections, as well as the establishment of documented emergency procedures.

The "Factories and Machinery (Exemption of Certificate of Fitness for Hoisting Machine) Order 2015" was added to the protocol to provide a list of hoisting machines that are exempted from obtaining a certificate of fitness.

The "Road Transport (Construction and Use) (Dangerous Goods Vehicles) Rules 2015" were adopted to include requirements regarding the use of dangerous goods vehicles and obtaining approval to transport Class 1 or Class 7 dangerous goods.

The "Schedules to the Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Order 2012" and the "Poisons Act, 1952" were updated.

For more information on all International EHS audit protocols offered by STP and STC click here.

About Specialty Technical Publishers

Specialty Technical Publishers (STP) produces technical resource guides covering environmental, health & safety, transportation, accounting, business practices, standards and law, offering comprehensive guidance on key compliance and regulatory issues. STP is a division of Glacier Media Inc., a Canadian information communications company that provides primary and essential information in print, electronic and online media. Glaciers Business and Professional Information Group publishes directories, technical manuals, research and development materials, medical education, electronic databases, investment information and specialty websites.

About Specialty Technical Consultants

Specialty Technical Consultants, Inc. (STC) is a specialized management consulting firm working to enhance environmental health and safety (EHS) performance. Through its consulting services, STC partners with clients to strengthen management systems' design and implementation, and identifies needs and implements solutions to meet business objectives. Services provided include: EHS compliance support; risk assessment; EHS auditing; corporate responsibility and sustainability; EHS management systems development and implementation; EHS regulatory information tools; and EHS training.

STC is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and the Supplier Clearinghouse for the California Public Utilities Commission, and as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program.
Its wiser to wait until you return home before posting photos  because nothing will ruin a vacation like returning to a burglarized house.

Following the cold, blistery months of December, January and February, millions of Americans are anxiously awaiting March 20, 2017  the first official day of spring.

For with spring comes another American tradition: traveling somewhere warm and sunny for spring break.

The tradition began in the 1930s, but it wasnt until author Glendon Swarthouts classic novel, Where the Boys Are, that spring break became a permanent part of the American lexicon. Swarthouts fictional account of college students vacationing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was a national best-seller, and was later adapted into a 1960 movie for MGM.

But its not just college students who will be enjoying spring break festivities: In 2017, 61 percent of vacationers will be families traveling with a spouse and/or children. What was once a college-aged rite-of-passage has become family-fun for Americans of every conceivable age, profession and demographic.

In celebration of the upcoming spring break festivities, eConsumer Services, a national organization that mediates credit card disputes between merchants and consumers, has prepared the following advice for spring breakers (young and old!) who will be formalizing their travel plans over the Internet:

1. NEVER secure travel accommodations at a website with an http URL: Only make purchases on websites that are https, advised Monica Eaton-Cardone, the cofounder of eConsumer Services. The s indicates a higher level of security. Nowadays, all reputable eCommerce sites are https, including the major airlines and national hotel chains. If you receive an email solicitation to use at a website thats http, be extra careful. It could be a scam.

2. AVOID using a debit card for online purchases: A surprising number of people still shop online with debit cards, said Eaton-Cardone. Thats a huge mistake. If youre the victim of fraud, a debit card offers scant protection. Credit cards protect you far more comprehensively. In certain situations, a debit card can cost you everything in your bank account. So be smart, and when you purchase airline tickets, rent a car, or book a hotel room, use a credit card.

3. When you shop on your smartphone, NEVER use public Wi-Fi: Mobile commerce is exploding in popularity, said Eaton-Cardone. Theres roughly a 50-50 percent split between those who shop on tablets and desktops, and those who shop on smartphones. In fact, smartphones are the go-to device for last-minute travelers, particularly men. The problem is, many smartphones are configured to automatically sync with available Wi-Fi networks, to limit data overages. Lots of hotels and airports use unsecured Wi-Fis. This can lead to disaster, because transmitting financial data can lead to your account getting swiped. Your private information might be compromised  and you wont even know it. Never use a public Wi-Fi to transmit sensitive information.

4. BEWARE of fake online stores: During the first few weeks of March, you might receive highly-tempting emails from travel sites that promise amazing savings, noted Eaton-Cardone. Some of these emails could even appear to come from reputable, trustworthy companies. But beware: Fraudsters will design email offers and create fake websites that look very similar to legitimate stores. They do this to phish for your financial information, so they can steal from your bank account. Consumers should proceed with caution and use common sense: Is the URL misspelled? When you Google the site and/or the offer, are people warning you of fraud? Are the images low-resolution? Does the verbiage include spelling errors and grammatical mistakes? Is the offer too good to be true? And is it a website that youve never visited before? These are the telltale signs of a fake online store. Delete the email, and do not submit your financial information. It isnt worth the risk.

5. WAIT until you return home before sharing vacation photos on Facebook or Twitter: We love to share family photos of exotic destinations with our friends on social media, said Eaton-Cardone. Many vacationers will immediately upload images from hotels, airports and beautiful beaches, giving minute-by-minute updates of their trip. But depending on your privacy settings, you could be announcing to the entire world that your home is unoccupied. Criminals specifically look for empty residences to burglarize. Some social media sites, like Twitter, can automatically list the city or country youre tweeting from. Its wiser to wait until you return home before posting photos  because nothing will ruin a vacation like returning to a burglarized house.

For interview opportunities with eConsumer Services cofounder Monica Eaton-Cardone about travel, public policy and/or cyber-fraud, please contact Scott Pinsker at s.pinsker(at)chargebacks911(dot)com or 727.871.3204.

###

About eConsumer Services: eConsumer Services is a division of Global Risk Technologies, a leading provider of dynamic risk management solutions for the international payment industry. With a range of services targeted to merchants, banks and consumers, Global Risk Technologies manages over 200 million transactions worldwide each month and has offices in Europe and the United States. eConsumer Services mediates credit card transaction disputes between consumers and merchants. The firm helps consumers quickly resolve customer service issues and secure a refund or replacement with minimal time and effort, and at little to no cost. Merchants, issuing banks and credit card companies also benefit from eConsumer Services dispute mediation expertise by avoiding costly chargebacks and freeing up internal resources. To learn more, visit http://www.econsumerservices.com.
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The law firm of Schochor, Federico and Staton, P.A. (SFSPA) has donated $25,000 to the Baltimore University School of Law to be designated for scholarships awarding high achieving law students. SFSPA is a prominent team of legal professionals serving victims of medical malpractice and their families in the Baltimore, Maryland and Washington D.C. area. This philanthropic effort aligns with the firms commitment to improving the field and community they serve.

Schochor, Federico and Staton, P.A. founding partner Philip Federico states, Its truly an honor for our law firm to partner with such a fine academic institution. We hope this donation will enable exceptional, committed students to have access to the high-quality education University of Baltimore provides. A recent Trial Lawyer of the Year in the field of medical malpractice, Mr. Federico is a University of Baltimore School of Law graduate.

Partner Jim Cardea graduated from University of Baltimore School of Law with high honors and, through the solid training he received there, has become an esteemed legal professional. Partner Jonathan Goldberg remains involved with the school as a member of their law bar review after obtaining his juris doctor from UB Law and joining SFSPA. Other members of the firm that call the University of Baltimore their alma mater are Associate Brent Ceryes, Attorney Medical Investigator Tara Clary, and Attorney Medical Investigator Nicole Szeliga.

The School of Law at the University of Baltimore opened in 1925 and has grown tremendously since its inception. One-third of the sitting judges in Maryland are University of Baltimore Law graduates, among a network of over 13,000 alumni. Most recently, the school opened the John and Frances Angelos Law Center, which serves as a hub for the schools clinical services and law-related centers and has generated over one thousand jobs in the last three years.

University of Baltimore School of Law Dean Ronald Weich comments, We are very grateful to our friends at Schochor, Federico and Staton for this generous donation. The firm boasts several outstanding University of Baltimore law graduates. Their success reflects well on our school, and the firms support for the next generation of UB Law students is commendable and very much appreciated. SFSPA looks forward to an ongoing partnership with the University of Baltimore.

To learn more about the comprehensive medical malpractice legal services provided by Schochor, Federico and Staton, P.A., visit the firms website: https://www.sfspa.com. They can also be reached by phone at 410-234-1000.

Contact:

Baltimore, Maryland Office

1211 St Paul Street,

Baltimore, Maryland 21202

(410) 234-1000

Washington D.C. Office

1050 Connecticut Avenue NW #500

Washington DC 20036

(202) 408-3300
Nelly Awkar-Lazo, M.D. Dr. Nelly Awkar-Lazo and our staff express their excitement over expanding the practice in the San Bernardino area.

In order to provide better coverage in the Orange County area, The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation opened a Mission Viejo location. The office is located at 26732 Crown Valley Pkwy., Suite 271 in Mission Viejo located next to Mission Hospital and South Orange County Orthopedics. The official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will be on Wednesday, April 12th, 2017. Refreshments will be served and the public is welcomed. The cancer center is equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment plus all of the top-notch care already offered in all of their locations. The Oncology Institute accepts all insurances including Medicare, Medi-cal, PPOs and HMOs. Dr. Nelly Awkar-Lazo and our staff express their excitement over expanding the practice in the Mission Viejo area.

For appointments, please call (949) 427-7933.

About The Oncology Institute:

The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation is committed to providing superior, compassionate and state-of-the-art medical care. Offering programs to help patients and families cope with the challenges that are brought on by cancer and strive to optimize their quality of life, comprehensive and realistic treatment goals are tailored to every person's unique needs and decided upon in partnership with the patients and their families. Dedicated to excel in cancer prevention, diagnosis and education through our exceptional team of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, medical assistants and office staff, The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation 19 Southern California locations in the cities of Anaheim, Corona, Downey, Glendale, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Lynwood, Los Angeles, Mission Viejo, Montebello, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Pedro, Santa Ana, Torrance, Tucson, Upland, West Covina and Whittier. For more information please visit http://www.theoncologyinstitute.com
The big news is that Meetings.com has a comprehensive offering to work with organizations that send net/non-commissionable groups to the hotels

Meetings.com, the premier site for information on meeting and banquet venues worldwide, is excited to announce the companys latest suite of technology and services now available for corporations, associations, and meeting planners to streamline their work flow. The service is designed to provide corporate and event planners that source hotels using net/non-commissionable rates with leading edge technology to secure the best options for their meeting or event.

As demands on event planners and procurement specialists increase, there needs to be a continuous process of adopting technology to grow productivity to meet ever evolving higher customer expectations. To meet these expectations, Meetings.com is introducing new services and technology that will shape the meetings industry.

The big news is that Meetings.com has a comprehensive offering to work with organizations that send net/non-commissionable groups to the hotels, stated Ross Hosking, President of Meetings.com. These services are being offered to meet the demand of our clients that want to book hotels at net rates. These services are part of our larger strategy to be the preferred RFP sourcing tool for all types of event and meetings. We anticipate our brands will be sourcing $30 billion in group/event RFPs by 2020, continued Mr. Hosking.

This service offering consists of a menu of services and includes the following:

Sourcing Technology: Meetings.coms technology licensing options features eRFP sourcing technology, allowing event planners to source hotel rooms and meeting space easily and more efficiently worldwide. Event requests can be translated into 27 languages and into 99 currencies instantly. The platform is responsive meaning requests can be made on any device from a smartphone, tablet to desktop.

Group Pricing: Event planners are demanding an increasing for actionable, concise and accurate information in regards to pricing. Meetings.com now offers a rate protection program that guarantees the lowest quoted rates to meeting planners versus any published rates anywhere else. The system checks rates immediately at the time of the initial quote and then continues to check rates on an ongoing basis leading up to the event to make sure lower rates are not available over the requested dates. If a published rate is lower versus the group rate, the hotel and the event planner are notified about any pricing changes. This way the planner and the hotel can react to meet the changing marketplace dynamics.

City Reporting and Pricing Statistics: Event planners can better source the dates needed to contract the best rates and terms for any size group with Meetings.coms city reports and pricing statistics services. Information on group and individual booking rate trends are provided in easy to read reports for any destination city in the future and in the past. This allows for easy date or destination comparison and sourcing requests to meet a proposed budget.

Book in Block: This new technology helps when it comes to group reservations and housing. Once the group block is set up, all reservations can be made online within the block at the negotiated rate which includes an instant confirmation delivered online and via email/text. For larger events, Book-in-Block technology allows planners to upload rooming lists directly into the block without the tedious process of manually sending email lists. This technology enters reservations into the hotels property management system and provides an instant confirmation back to the meeting planner.

eContracting & Reporting: All event contracting can be completed efficiently using the Meetings.coms electronic signature technology that allows planners and hotels to negotiate and sign agreements online. All data flows through the technology and is available to customers real time in any custom format that is needed for reporting.

Customization: Meetings.coms newest suite of technology can be customized to meet the needs of a specific organization. All branding will remain with the look and feel of the customers web sites and specifications. There are many additional customizations available such as reporting, 24x7 call center option and integration with internal systems.

Regional Planners: Meetings.com has 70+ regional event planners located around the world in key markets that are available to assist corporate/event planners with hotel negotiations and to provide local expertise and advice.

About Meetings.com

Meetings.com is a sister brand of HotelPlanner, focusing on business travel and helping corporate event planners book space for meetings plus hotel rooms. Through direct, collaborative relationships with the leading meeting and banquet venues around the world, Meetings.com will quickly find clients the perfect space and the best price. Combining technology with an experienced worldwide client-focused team, Meetings.com provides exceptional service to help each client select the optimal venue and/or develop an exclusive corporate hotel travel program always delivering the best price for their hotel travel needs. With a global team of travel specialists specializing in specific markets plus robust sourcing/hotel booking tools, Meetings.com is a one stop shop for all hotel program needs. Founded in 2002, the company has offices in West Palm Beach, FL (USA Headquarters), Las Vegas, Nevada, London, England, (European Headquarters) and Hong Kong (Asia Headquarters). Meetings.com is wholly owned subsidiary of HotelPlanner. For more information on Meetings.com or to become an affiliate, please visit: https://www.meetings.com/Become-Meeting-Planner/
Oakbrook Solutions, one of the USAs foremost systems, process, and delivery experts for the wealth management industry, was crowned Best Family Office Management Consulting Firm for the second year at the 4th Family Wealth Report Awards 2017. The glittering awards dinner was held at the exclusive Mandarin Oriental, New York.

One of five firms to be shortlisted in the Family Office Management Consultancy category, the triumph is yet another milestone in Oakbrook Solutions drive to be recognized as one of the pre-eminent players in the competitive family office space.

Showcasing best of breed providers in the global private banking, wealth management and trusted advisor communities, the awards were designed to recognize companies, teams and individuals which the prestigious panel of judges deemed to have demonstrated innovation and excellence during 2016. Judges recognized Oakbrook as a powerhouse in serving the family office sector that offers a clear signature process that is logic based.

Commenting on the firms triumph, Craig Cook, President, Oakbrook Solutions, said: "We are delighted to have been voted the winner of this prestigious award for the second consecutive year by so many of the industrys best and brightest. It is a great honor to be recognized in these awards and a testament to the hard work that our team has put in over the last 12 months. Our team continues to work together to ensure we deliver the highest level of service and best consulting solutions to our family office and wealth management clients.

ClearView Financial Medias CEO, and Publisher of Family Wealth Report, Stephen Harris, was first to extend his congratulations to all the winners. He said: The firms who triumphed in these awards are all worthy winners, and I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations. These awards were judged solely on the basis of entrants submissions and their response to a number of specific questions, which had to be answered focusing on the client experience, not quantitative performance metrics. That is a unique, and I believe, compelling feature. These awards recognize the very best operators in the private client industry, with independence, integrity and genuine insight the watchwords of the judging process - such that the awards truly reflect excellence in wealth management.

About Oakbrook Solutions

Since 2000, Oakbrook Solutions has been a leading systems, process, and delivery expert for the wealth management industry. The firm provides consulting services and software solutions to solve common problems within our industry. Through focus, expertise, and commitment to their clients, Oakbrook has successfully serviced firms of all sizes, from start-up organizations to the worlds largest financial institutions. For more information, visit http://www.oakbrooksolutions.com.

About ClearView Financial Media Ltd (ClearView)

ClearView Financial Media was founded by Chief Executive, Stephen Harris in 2004, to provide high quality need to know information for the discerning private client community. London-based, but with a truly global focus, ClearView publishes the Familiy Wealth Report group of newswires, along with research reports and newsletters, while also running a pan-global thought-leadership events programme.

With teams based in London, Singapore, Switzerland, South Africa and the Philippines, the company is one of the fastest-growing media groups serving the financial services sector.
J. Prater A lot of knowledge is going out the door, said Prater. And that means that there is a steep learning curve that costs the company time and money."

As more and more Baby Boomers retire, industry is discovering the loss of these workers is also the loss of key business knowledge; knowledge that no one has previously thought to capture. In response, a new clause has been developed in ISO Quality Standards addressing this issue. Martin Business Consulting, Inc. (MBC, Inc.) is now offering training on the new standard. The class has been created and will be taught by Jessica Prater of J. Prater Consulting.

ISO 9001:2015 Clause 7.1.6 introduces the need to systematically retain organizational knowledge, said Martin. Companies seeking guidance on how to meet compliance with this addition to the standard will benefit from attending the class. The class will also address the business case for knowledge retention, and how a good system can ensure smooth operation of the business through retirements, promotions, and turnover.

Prater offers an example of why this knowledge retention is so important, A business acquaintance worked at a manufacturing plant that had originally been low-tech, but had experienced quite a bit of automation over several years. There had been a single IT guy that had helped with all the installations. He was unexpectedly killed in a freak accident off the job. The organization realized after his death that he was the only person that knew how to troubleshoot the machines. Contractors were hired to not only fix problems, but the company also had to have someone re-learn how to maintain the system on a daily basis.

The objective of this ISO class is to introduce the new standard regarding organizational knowledge and to help companies develop individual application on company compliance. It will also cover the implications of the new clause, as well as address identifying both internal and external sources of knowledge, creating a learning culture that insures smoother transitions, and a means of retaining and passing knowledge from one person to another.

A lot of knowledge is going out the door, said Prater. And that means that there is a steep learning curve that costs the company time and money. This class will provide businesses with strategies that will lead to time and cost savings caused by knowledge drain.

Prater holds a Master of Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University with emphasis on industrial and organizational psychology. She has seven years of experience with Bridgestone Americas, where she was a Master OTJ Trainer, holding roles in both the Human Resources and Manufacturing Education departments. She carries professional certifications of PHR and SHRM-CP. She is a national member of ATD.

For more information about training concerning, knowledge retention, contact Martin Business Consulting, Inc. (MBC, Inc.) at BMartin@MBCIncorp.com  Web Site  http://www.MBCIncorp.com/Knowledge-Retention/

For related video please click this YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/ibviPgdqizQ
Chart Industries will ship two cryogenic tanks weighing 260 tons each for use at the Port of Jacksonville. "The start of construction marks a milestone as we continue making progress with our partners, supplier Eagle LNG and Chart Industries, manufacturer of cryogenic storage tanks."

Crowley Maritime Corp. and Eagle LNG Partners recently began construction of a new shore-side, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on Crowley-leased property at JAXPORTs Talleyrand Marine Terminal in Jacksonville. The LNG bunker fueling facility will serve Crowleys new Commitment Class, LNG-powered, combination container/Roll-on Roll-off (ConRo) ships, which are under construction for use in the U.S. Mainland-Puerto Rico trade.

As featured in a new Crowley video, Crowleys Matt Jackson, vice president, LNG, highlighted the project and how it fits into Crowleys overall expansion and modernization plan for its Puerto Rico service. Within the month, Chart Industries is expected to deliver two of its new, 1-million liter Decinske Giant cryogenic tanks for LNG storage at the site. Including the Jacksonville project, Crowley is investing more than $550 million in the two new, innovative ships, along with a new 900-foot pier, three new gantry cranes and a multitude of terminal improvements at its Isla Grande terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The start of construction marks a milestone as we continue making progress with our partners, supplier Eagle LNG and Chart Industries, manufacturer of cryogenic storage tanks, said Jackson. LNG will provide a cleaner, efficient fuel source for our industry-leading Commitment Class ships, and our new JAXPORT bunkering terminal will support efficient operations with state-of-the art technology for bunkering operations."

Crowleys LNG and logistics groups are supporting construction of the Jacksonville facility by providing engineering expertise and transportation solutions for the equipment at the site. The facility will serve as the fueling station for the LNG-powered ships.

Weighing 260 tons, each cryogenic storage tank holds enough LNG to cover an average familys electricity demand for 1,000 years. The tanks are en route to Jacksonville from Europe, as featured in this recent video by Chart Industries.

Because of its multiple benefits, including being cleaner for the environment, we expect LNG demand for ship fuel to increase to 30 million tons a year (MTPA) by 2030. We recognize Crowleys leadership as an early adopter of this fuel, said Eagle LNG President Sean Lalani.

LNG is a stable gas that is neither toxic nor corrosive and is lighter than air. It is the cleanest fossil fuel available, netting a 100-percent reduction in sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter (PM), and a 92-percent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx). LNG also has the ability to significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2), a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, as compared with conventional fossil fuels.

The ConRo ships will begin service in the second half of 2017 and first half of 2018, respectively. The ships, which are are some of the worlds first to be powered by LNG, are designed to travel at speeds up to 22 knots and carry containers ranging in size from 20-foot standard to 53-foot-long, 102-inch-wide, high-capacity units, along with hundreds of vehicles in enclosed, weather-tight car decking.

Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 125-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides project solutions, energy and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico liner services, international liner services, logistics services, petroleum services, marine services and technical services. Offered within these operating lines of business are: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response through its 50 percent ownership in Ardent Global; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture through its Jensen Maritime subsidiary; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. Additional information about Crowley, its subsidiaries and business units may be found at crowley.com.
Today, Chaos Group released V-Ray 3 for SketchUp, a photorealistic rendering plugin that is fast and easy to use. Built for architects and designers, the intuitive new interface lets users create great-looking renders quickly, with no training required. V-Ray 3 for SketchUp is interactive and significantly faster, taking full advantage of CPU or GPU acceleration. From quick design models to fully detailed and photorealistic scenes, V-Ray 3 is designed to be SketchUps most powerful rendering solution.

Our users want as much rendering power as they can get, but in the most streamlined form possible, said Corey Rubadue, VP of AEC and Design at Chaos Group. V-Ray 3 for SketchUp has been rebuilt from the ground up to make the entire user experience simpler, so anyone can create professional-level renders on day one.

V-Ray 3 for SketchUp includes a full suite of tools for lighting, materials and rendering. Now, any natural or artificial lighting scenario can be created with built-in light types, a physical sun and sky system, and HDR environments. For realistic interior scenes, these tools can be paired with V-Rays unique global illumination methods, resulting in the most accurate representation of light possible.

This new version also includes a drag-and-drop library of over 200 physically accurate materials, perfect for adding realism to any project. Real-world camera controls let designers work like a photographer, with settings for exposure, perspective correction and depth of field. V-Ray 3 for SketchUp includes everything users need to render anything they want.

"SketchUp users tend to have a eye for detail. They know their models in and out, and exactly what they want to convey in an illustration. So it's no surprise to us that so many of them choose V-Ray to bring their projects to life, said Chris Keating, General Manager of Architecture and Design at Trimble. Now, with V-Ray 3, these designers can pair SketchUp 2017's vastly improved graphics pipeline with the high-touch visualization tools they need to compose jaw-dropping illustrations faster than ever."

Gensler has used V-Ray for years, not only for its quality and speed, but for the way it works with all our design applications, said Scott DeWoody, Firmwide Creative Media Manager at Gensler. With all the new features, including VR Rendering, this new version of V-Ray for SketchUp is a substantial addition to our design toolset.

New tools and feature highlights include:



Virtual reality  Render VR-ready content for the most popular virtual reality headsets (Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift).

V-Ray Swarm  Introducing a powerful, scalable distributed rendering system that's simple and fast.

Section cuts  Easily create quick cutaways and section renders with V-Ray Clipper.

Aerial perspective  Quickly add realistic atmospheric depth and haze.

Denoiser  Automatically remove noise and cut render times by up to 50%.

Grass  Create realistic grass, fabrics and carpet with V-Ray Fur.

Proxy objects  Bring more detail to your project with memory-efficient proxy models of complex objects like grass, trees, cars and more.

Render elements  Render as separate layers for more artistic control in your image-editing software.

Frame buffer  Track render history and fine-tune color, exposure, and more directly in V-Rays frame buffer.

V-Ray Scene export  Share complete, ready-to-render V-Ray 3 for SketchUp files with any V-Ray 3.4 or higher application.

Learn more at the V-Ray 3 for SketchUp product page.

PRICING/AVAILABILITY

V-Ray 3 for SketchUp is available now for Windows & Mac OS. Workstation licenses are $695 and are fully compatible with SketchUp version 8, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Upgrades are also available; please contact your local reseller for more information.

ABOUT CHAOS GROUP

Chaos Group is a worldwide leader in computer graphics technology, helping artists and designers create photoreal imagery and animation for design, television and feature films. Chaos Group specializes in physically based rendering and simulation software used daily by top design studios, architectural firms, advertising agencies and visual effects companies around the globe. Today, the company's research and development in cloud rendering, material scanning and virtual reality is shaping the future of creative storytelling and digital design. Founded in 1997, Chaos Group is privately owned with offices in Sofia, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Seoul and Tokyo. For more information, visit: chaosgroup.com.
Our success depends on the products and service our employees provide to our customers and we strive to make Brandt a place where our people feel they can communicate their ideas, work collaboratively, and truly appreciate the type of work they do.

Brandt Information Services started 2017 on a high note by being recognized as one of 2016s Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation.

We are honored to be recognized as one of the Best & Brightest Companies to Work For, says Brandt CEO, John Thomas. Our success depends on the products and service our employees provide to our customers and we strive to make Brandt a place where our people feel they can communicate their ideas, work collaboratively, and truly appreciate the type of work they do.

The award is presented by The National Association of Business Resources (NABR), a leading service organization dedicated to providing operational benchmarked practices, tools and resources to the business community in order to enhance their operations and create positive employee impact.

Richard Wise, President of Brandt, said, It has been a great year for Brandt in terms of employee satisfaction and overall comradery and we hope to continue nurturing this relationship with our employees in 2017.

The company is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, has offices in Nashville, Tennessee and Richmond, Virginia, as well as multiple offices in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to the National award, Brandt was also recognized in 2016 as one of Atlanta's Best & Brightest Companies to Work For.

The results of the program showed that Brandt scored highest in the areas of employee professional education and development; recruitment, selection and orientation; diversity and inclusion; and Work-Life balance.

To learn more about Brandts culture and career opportunities, please visit the Brandt Careers page at http://www.brandtinfo.com/#!Careers.

About the Best & Brightest Companies to Work For Program

The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For competition identifies and honors organizations that display a commitment to excellence in their human resource practices and employee enrichment. Organizations are assessed based on categories such as communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, retention and more. http://www.101bestandbrightest.com

About Brandt

Brandt Information Services offers innovative technology solutions to support natural resource agencies by promoting outdoor participation, customer outreach, marketing, and streamlining business operations through customized recreational licensing & registration solutions. For over 32 years, Brandt has offered local, state, and federal agencies and private organizations best in class technology solutions and services.
The FSSC 22000 Certification ensures safe Spirulina products and provides peace of mind to customers around the world.

DIC Corporation today announced that on January 23, 2017, wholly owned subsidiary Hainan DIC Microalgae Co., Ltd. earned Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000. Hainan DIC Microalgae manufactures edible algae Spirulina-based nutritional supplements and Spirulina-derived natural blue food coloring phycocyanin (trade name: Linablue) on Hainan Island, in the Peoples Republic of China. FSSC 22000 is a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognized scheme. As a result, all of the Spirulina cultivated by the DIC Group for use in its Spirulina-based products, as well as Linablue, are now supplied from FSSC 22000-certified facilities.

FSSC 22000 is a comprehensive global scheme for all types of organizations that assesses food safety management systems across the entire supply chain - from development and manufacturing to marketing, sales, transport and storage. With rising consumer concerns for food safety and security, major global food and beverage product manufacturers and retailers with in-house brands increasingly demand that suppliers earn certification.

California-based Earthrise Nutritionals LLC, the DIC Groups U.S. Spirulina production subsidiary, earned FSSC 22000 certification in July 2016. Earthrise Nutritionals is currently expanding its production capacity for Linablue by building new facilities in accordance with FSSC 22000 standards and scheduled to complete in 2018. Experts in operations, Hainan DIC Microalgae has created a reliable system for ensuring product safety and quality for customers, reinforced facility access management and production floor surveillance to prevent product contamination, and modified the layout of its production floors, thus ensuring qualification for FSSC 22000 certification.

Spirulina continues to earn attention as both a superfood and a rich source of vegetable protein. Phycocyanin is the first natural blue food coloring to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. With major food product manufacturers in the United States and Europe promoting a shift from artificial to natural food colorings, the demand for phycocyanin is expected to increase dramatically.

In the 1970s, the DIC Group became the worlds first successful commercial producer of Spirulina nutritional supplements and Linablue. The Group has since leveraged its integrated production capabilities, which encompass everything from the cultivation of high-grade Spirulina to the manufacturing of finished products, to ensure product quality and traceability. Introducing the FSSC 22000 perspective has further strengthened the Groups food defense framework. As a pioneer of Spirulina-based products, the Group will continue working to ensure the safety and quality of its products and provide peace of mind to its customers.

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1. Spirulina is a blue-green algae that is rich in more than 50 vitamins and minerals, including calcium and iron and grows naturally in lakes in Africa and Central and South America. DIC was the first company to succeed in cultivating Spirulina.

2. Superfood is a term applied to foods that boast a superb nutritional balance and are richer in nutrients than ordinary foods, or that contain a high level of certain nutrients or constituents offering health benefits. (Source: Japan Superfoods Association)

Hainan DIC Microalgae Co., Ltd.



Hainan DIC Microalgae is a wholly owned subsidiary of DIC. The company produces approximately 350 metric tons of Spirulina annually.

Earthrise Nutritionals, LLC


Duty free and travel retail industry association Tax Free World Association (TFWA) is set to launch a new digital exhibition at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes in October 2017. Called TFWA DIGITAL VILLAGE, the exhibition will showcase creative digital solutions and services to the 12,000 duty free and travel retail professionals attending TFWA World Exhibition & Conference 2017.

The latest figures value the duty free and travel retail sector at an impressive USD 62 billion (50 billion), and that figure, according to sector research specialist Generation Research, is expected to rise to a very notable USD 120 billion (90 billion) by 2025. With more people expected to be taking to the skies and seas every year, it is becoming ever more important for retailers to explore innovative ways to communicate and engage with their customers. The sector has never presented more opportunity for the providers of cutting-edge technology.

Commenting on the new initiative, TFWA president Erik Juul-Mortensen said; The travelling consumer is a connected consumer, and with growth in this substantial sector driven to a considerable extent by the increasing number of millennial travellers, the scope for the development of digital technology is huge. For example, according to a study conducted by research company m1nd-set for TFWA, nine out of ten travellers always take their smartphones with them, whether they are travelling for business or leisure. On average, passengers take two or three devices, and almost half of travellers also claim they use their smartphone while shopping at the airport, whether thats to find more information on products, asking for advice from friends and family or to compare prices. Now is the time to stop talking, and start doing. This new event is a practical, pragmatic and concrete forum to move the duty free and travel retail sector forward to a new era. Our industry, which is currently celebrating its 70th anniversary, has a proud past, and its future is undoubtedly digital.

TFWA DIGITAL VILLAGE will form a new part of the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference, the annual duty free and travel retail event that has been running for over thirty years. The new digital exhibition will occupy a space of 840m2 and will have the capacity to host approximately 30 exhibitors. The event will run for three full days, from Wednesday 4th October through to Friday 6th October, beginning with an opening cocktail at Cannes Majestic Hotel on the evening of Tuesday 3rd October.

For more information visit http://www.tfwa.com/digitalvillage. Companies interested in exhibiting who have relevant digital technology offers (including applications, services and hardware) for use in CRM and retail environments can pre-register at the same address.
This program will help Consulate and trade representatives understand the role of the REALTORS here in Illinois and what we can do for international real estate investors, customers and clients.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group has announced that Mikus Kins was named by the Illinois REALTORS Association as one of a select few members who will work with foreign consulates to promote the states real estate business.

Kins was selected to represent the association as it works to build ties with The Republic of Lithuania. The partnership is through the associations Consulate General Liaison program, which matches members with experience in international real estate with foreign consulates.

Increasingly, the business of real estate is international, said Doug Carpenter, Illinois REALTORS 2017 president. Our members know the market well, and for a foreign investor working with a consulate office, having our expertise is invaluable.

Now in its second year, the program has grown to include liaisons working with China, India, Philippines, Great Britain and Poland. Kins will work with the Republic of Lithuania consulate based in Chicago. In all, the program has forged connections with over 20 consulates in Illinois, representing countries on six continents.

Lithuanian Consul General Marijus Gudynas has noted that cooperation with Illinois REALTORS could help intensify mutually beneficial relationships. It would expand bilateral real estate cooperation as well as share best practices and knowledge. I believe that could result in new business opportunities both in Illinois and Lithuania, said Gudynas.

Consulates are important links between the home country and the U.S. Overseen by a Consul General, these offices provide varying levels of assistance for their citizens while in the U.S. and also help foster commercial, cultural, and economic relations.

Illinois REALTORS has been a longtime supporter of building international trade in the state. The Association annually participates in the MIPIM real estate conference in Cannes, France, one of the largest in the world, and has sponsored training for members to obtain their Certified International Property Specialist designation.

I am really excited to be able to help market Illinois as a destination for foreign direct investment, said Kins. This program will help Consulate and trade representatives understand the role of the REALTORS here in Illinois and what we can do for international real estate investors, customers and clients.

Mikus Kins has over 15 years of experience in real estate and global financial services including four years working in London, UK. Kins is a native of Chicago, but holds dual U.S. and E.U. citizenships. Kins earned his Masters of Business Administration in Finance with minors in Real Estate and International Business from The Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University and his Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations and European History from Brown University.

Illinois REALTORS represents more than 44,000 members engaged in all aspects of the real estate business. Celebrating its 100th year of service, the association provides services to members in the areas of professional standards, education and advocacy for private property rights.

About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group is a full-service real estate firm with nearly 1,500 real estate professionals and staff in 23 offices serving customers throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, the North Shore, Western Suburban communities and Harbor Country, Michigan. Deep local roots are complemented by the extensive global reach of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, the top real estate brand in the nation. Affiliated and ancillary services in the form of HomeServices Lending, Fort Dearborn Title, and Fort Dearborn Insurance complete the comprehensive services offered to clients. Visit KoenigRubloff.com.
A therapeutic elevation of Adrenomedullin has been attempted by others. However, they all tripped over the shock-triggering side-effect. Only Adrecizumab fulfils all desired pharmacological properties.

Adrenomed AG announces the successful completion of a first-in-human study (Phase-I) that demonstrates excellent safety and tolerability of Adrecizumab in healthy volunteers.

The monoclonal Adrenomedullin-specific antibody Adrecizumab was developed to selectively support the beneficial effects of Adrenomedullin, an endogenous hormone that maintains endothelial integrity and prevents vascular leakage. The efficacy of Adrecizumab will be assessed in a first clinical proof-of-concept study (Phase-II) in patients with early septic shock. Septic shock is an acute circulatory breakdown that frequently occurs in patients with inflammation-induced endothelial dysfunction and leads to death in up to 80% of the cases.

According to Dr. Andreas Bergmann, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Adrenomed AG, the successful Phase-I represents an important milestone. "In addition to Adrecizumabs excellent safety and tolerability profile, the fact that the mode of action, which was derived from animal data, could be confirmed in humans makes us very confident for the proof-of-concept study in patients with early septic shock that is already underway, says Dr. Bergmann.

In humans, Adrecizumab provokes the same characteristic increase in plasma Adrenomedullin level, which is known to improve blood vessel integrity. At the same time Adrecizumab prevents Adrenomedullin from exerting its vasodilatory, blood pressure-reducing actions. "A therapeutic elevation of Adrenomedullin has been attempted by others. However, they all tripped over the shock-triggering side-effect. Only Adrecizumab fulfils all desired pharmacological properties," Dr. Bergmann says.

Preventing the leakage of fluid into the surrounding tissue is an unmet medical need in a variety of medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure. Dr. Andreas Bergmann is convinced, "Adrecizumab and its unique mode of action will be of great use here as well." Adrenomed is hence planning an additional clinical Phase-II study in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).

About Adrecizumab

Adrecizumab is a proprietary humanized monoclonal Adrenomedullin-specific antibody, as first-in-class therapy for the treatment and prevention of impaired vascular integrity, which is a hallmark of septic shock. Adrecizumab was developed by Adrenomed AG, a biopharmaceutical company based in Hennigsdorf near Berlin, Germany. The preclinical development has been supported by a research grant of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with more than 1.6 million euros. Adrecizumab showed excellent safety & tolerability as well as high efficacy in a variety of preclinical animal models, mimicking human standard of care treatment on ICU. The excellent tolerability and safety of Adrecizumab could be confirmed in a clinical Phase-I study in healthy subject (see below). Adrecizumab will now be tested in a first Phase-II proof-of-concept study in patients with early septic shock.

About the Phase-I Study

The randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase-I study on the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics/-dynamics of escalating single intravenous doses of Adrecizumab (HAM8101) in healthy male subjects was conducted at the Radboudumc University Hospital Nijmegen (NL), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Peter Pickkers (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02991508). Adrecizumab was applied in three doses (0.5, 2.0 and 8.0 mg/kg) by single short-term intravenous infusion. The infusion was, without exception, very well tolerated. No adverse effects occurred during the observation period of 90 days.

Contact

Dr. Frauke Hein (CBO)

Adrenomed AG

+49 (0)3302 2077814

fhein(at)adrenomed(dot)com
This project is an opportunity for BUILDER & Meritage to lead the industry in never-been-used-before practices, design collaboration & innovation to produce a home that is a demonstration in resilience & renewal," said Peter Goldstone, CEO, Hanley Wood

Hanley Wood, the premier information, media, event, and strategic marketing services company serving the residential, commercial design and construction companies, is teaming up with Meritage Homes, the eighth largest homebuilder in the United States, to produce the Meritage reNEWable Living Home. The project is a pioneering venture in innovative design, engineering, materials science and construction practices that coalesces around transforming the idea of homeownership by delivering homes that renew, grow, change and adapt. The home will be unveiled at the 2018 National Association of Home Builders International Builders Show in Orlando, FL.

The Meritage reNEWable Living Home project team will work together over the course of the next year, incorporating existing and proven technologies in a more cost-effective manner so that the homeowner reaps the benefits of those advanced features and technologies at a significantly reduced costa price point comparable to similar new homes that do not have those features. In keeping with Meritages brand promise of LIFE. BUILT. BETTER., the home will allow its residents to live bettermore comfortable, quieter, cleaner, safer and healthier.

BUILDER and Meritage  alongside the nations leading manufacturers, materials and trade partners  are proud to undertake this 12-month content, marketing, research and strategic development initiative that will culminate in a first-of-its-kind concept home at the 2018 International Builders Show, said Peter Goldstone, CEO of Hanley Wood. This project is an opportunity for BUILDER and Meritage to lead the industry in never-been-used-before practices, design collaboration and innovation to produce a home that is a demonstration in resilience and renewal.

The Meritage reNEWable Living Home will be built at The Estates at Parkside, a 111-home community ranging in price from $545,990 - $679,990 in Orlando, FL, a short drive from the Orlando Convention Center. BSB Design, led by Dan Swift, will adapt the Granada elevation, a two-story 5,188 sq. ft. plan featuring 7 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, and 4 garages.

Once confined to the luxury, custom-built home realm and affordable only to the very well-to-do homebuyer, we are proud to be aligned with world-class partners to unpack the design, engineering, development and construction process that make renewal attainable  to bring renewal from the exclusive realm of the aspirational to the wide-world of realistic, said Steve Hilton, CEO of Meritage.

Visit http://www.builderonline.com/renewable to stay up-to-date with the Meritage reNEWable Living Home project developments.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes is the seventh-largest homebuilder in the United States, based on homes closed in 2015. Meritage Homes builds and sells single-family homes for first-time, move-up, luxury and active adult buyers across the Western, Southwestern and Southeastern United States. Meritage Homes builds in markets including Sacramento, San Francisco Bay area, southern coastal and Inland Empire markets in California; Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio, Texas; Phoenix/Scottsdale, Green Valley and Tucson, Arizona; Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado; Orlando, Tampa and south Florida; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg and York County, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Atlanta, Georgia.

Meritage Homes has designed and built over 100,000 homes in its 31-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and positive customer experience. Meritage Homes is the industry leader in energy-efficient homebuilding and has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence Award every year since 2013 for innovation and industry leadership in energy efficient homebuilding. For more information, visit http://www.meritagehomes.com.

About Hanley Wood

Hanley Wood is the premier company serving the information, media, and marketing needs of the residential, commercial design and construction industry. Utilizing the largest analytics and editorially driven Construction Industry Database, the company provides business intelligence and data-driven services. The company produces award-winning media, high-profile executive events, and strategic marketing solutions. To learn more, visit hanleywood.com.
All it took was one caring teacher to be excited about the program and motivate other teachers, administrators and parents to act.

Imagination Playground, LLC  creators of the breakthrough Big Blue Blocks that encourage child-directed free play, is thrilled to announce its second winner of the highly successful program called Submit To Win! With a total of 15 Big Block Sets awarded, this is their largest and most generous program in the companys history.

Joining Submit To Wins first winner, Middletown Recreational Center, Rita Miller Elementary School located in Massachusetts was excited to hear of their victory and look forward to receiving their Big Block Set. Teacher Lillian Lelless was instrumental in creating awareness and participation for the contest within the school. She offers, We are excited to begin playing with the blocks and discovering all the ways students can use them for recess and other activities. We are a school of 400 students, so I am sure we will want event more blocks in the future. Thank you again!

She goes on to express her delight in the versatility of the product, With our school located in Massachusetts, it will be great to have an indoor play option on bad weather days!

Dave Krishock, President & CEO of Imagination Playground offered his thoughts on the success and popularity of the program, when we developed this program we knew it would generate interest due to the many prizes, and prize levels available. I had no idea that we would receive thousands and thousands of entries each week. Schools and Family Centers feel like they really have a shot to win  and they do! There are more than 5000 prizes being offered!

He goes on to add, its really great when a school like Rita Miller Elementary wins. All it took was one caring teacher to be excited about the program and motivate other teachers, administrators and parents to act. Im thrilled their school will have the opportunity to discover the joys of Imagination Playgrounds Big Blue Blocks!

With the Rita Miller Elementary and Middletown Recreation Center victories, there are 13 remaining opportunities to win an Imagination Playground Big Block Set. The sets will be awarded weekly through the end of May. Along with the Big Block Sets, there are 3 other generous prize levels and no limits on the number of times participants may enter the contest.

Anyone interested in learning more about Imagination Playground  our Submit To Win Promotion - or any of their creative products or programs are encouraged to call 1-678-604-7466 or email ContactUs(at)ImaginationPlayground.Org.

About Imagination Playground, LLC

Imagination Playground is a breakthrough play space concept developed to encourage child-directed, creative free play. The kind of play that experts say is critical to childrens intellectual. Social, physical, and emotional development. Invented by architect and designer David Rockwell and the Rockwell group, Imagination Playground enables children to play, dream, build and explore endless possibilities. Imagination Playground finds its home in daycare centers, kindergartens, elementary schools, childrens museums  and science, nature, discovery centers, camps, community centers, childrens hospitals, hotels and resorts, public parks and more  in North America and over 70 countries around the world.

For more information, visit http://www.imaginationplayground.com
Norwich University has formed a strategic partnership with The Affordable College Public Benefit Corporation. Norwich Universitys College of Graduate and Continuing Studies is proud to work with Affordable College in order to shape the advancement of students academically, professionally and personally.

Norwich University has formed a strategic partnership with The Affordable College Public Benefit Corporation to help more students afford and attain a high-quality degree, certificate, or credential. The partnership brings the transfer-friendly leadership team from Norwich and the entrepreneurial talent from Affordable College together into a network of leaders from other institutions to collaborate on the new national community college platform. The partnership will emphasize helping more students transfer with more credits, earning a degree in less time for less money. The network also focuses on increasing readiness, enrollment, and retention at community colleges.

Other colleges and universities around the country have also been invited to join the network and collaborate on the new platform in an effort to address the challenges with student transfer and mobility well-documented in the National Student Clearinghouse Signature Reports. Christina Robinson, the Chief Strategist for Innovation at Lone Star College-University Park, and Sean O'Brien, the Founder and CEO of Affordable College, will be speaking about the process of openly innovating across institutions at noon today at SXSWedu during a session in the Leadership track entitled, Open Innovation in Community Colleges WIIFM? Us?

Robinson said, More than 10 million students enroll at community colleges every yearnearly 50% of all undergraduates. This session at SXSWedu will address what is unique about community colleges and how we can spark more open innovation among community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, edtech companies, foundations and investors to benefit all stakeholders, starting with students.

The partnership between Affordable College and Norwich University launches the first feature of the new national community college platform, a Transfer Student Marketplace, to help community college students find the 4-year college or university with the right degree program that will award them the most transfer credit. The Transfer Student Marketplace incorporates many of the recommendations of the Transfer Playbook published in May by The Aspen Institute and The Community College Research Center namely: prioritizing transfer, creating clear programmatic pathways with aligned high-quality instruction, and providing tailored transfer advising.

Vice President and Dean of the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies at Norwich University, Dr. William Clements stated, Norwich Universitys College of Graduate and Continuing Studies is proud to work with Affordable College in order to shape the advancement of students academically, professionally and personally. Affordable College offers streamlined management of the inquiry to matriculation process on behalf of the student and institutions, which impact the transfer student and overall transfer market.

OBrien said, We are delighted that Norwich University is joining our cause. Like other transfer-friendly universities, Norwich understands that community colleges are a strategic source of proven learners, and that simplified and successful transfer admissions leads to higher completion rates.

OBrien added, Former university president and education consultant, Dr. Michael Hillyard, has said that, Those of us who have worked with students have long known through experience  that students have many and varied educational interests, limited time, and scarce resources; yet they share a burning desire to achieve a degree. The path to a degree is oftentimes complicated by their personal factors, and our job as higher education leaders is to alleviate the additional burdens currently experienced in transferring of credits and institutions to help these people achieve their lifelong goal and enable them to more fully contribute to society. Todays announcement is a giant step in that direction.

About The Affordable College Public Benefit Corporation

The Affordable College Public Benefit Corporation is a B Corp founded to help more students afford and attain a high-quality degree, certificate or credential through its national community college success platform that brings together community colleges and universities in a transfer student marketplace. The community college success platform is designed to increase readiness, enrollment, retention and transfer at community colleges. The Public Benefit Corporation also provides financial support for community colleges through the Community College Success Fund. For more information, visit http://affordablecollege.org.

About Norwich University

Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates traditional-age students and adults in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. Norwich offers a broad selection of traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in Baccalaureate and Graduate Degrees. Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of the U.S. Army and is the oldest private military college in the United States. Norwich is one of our nations six senior military colleges and the birthplace of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).

Norwich Universitys College of Graduate and Continuing Studies (CGCS) builds upon the institutions 198-year academic heritage with innovative online programs. CGCS offers masters degrees in a variety of areas; bachelors degree completion programs; graduate certificates and continuing education opportunities. The programs are recognized throughout the industry for their rigor, small class size, high student satisfaction and retention. online.norwich.edu
The increasing number of sophisticated threats to confidential information means that CDS must ensure client data is protected to the highest standards available." - Nyi Htwe, Chief Technology Officer

Complete Discovery Source (CDS), a leader in eDiscovery, announced today that it has been recertified for the ISO 27001 standard for its information security management system (ISMS) supporting its Electronic Discovery Hosting Services. This recertification includes the companys New York City, Washington, DC, and Chicago locations as well as its London data center and hosting operations.

ISO 27001 is a globally recognized standard for the establishment and certification of an information security management system (ISMS). The standard specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining, and improving a documented ISMS within the context of the organizations overall business risks. It sets forth a risk-based approach that focuses on adequate and proportionate security controls that protect information assets and give confidence to clients whose sensitive data resides on CDSs systems.

In the case of CDSs certification, the evaluation is specifically focused on the ISMS of the eDiscovery process. CDSs security benchmarks include ISO 27001, Type 2 SOC 2, and a pending FedRAMP Authority to Operate (ATO). These standards validate that CDS utilizes agreed upon, exacting standards for data security that are repeatable and sustainable.

CDS has demonstrated a methodical and consistent approach to managing sensitive information through a rigorous testing and evaluation process. Additionally, CDS has a formal, ongoing program to maintain its security-related certifications. The ISO certification was performed by Schellman, an ANAB accredited Certification Body based in the United States.

The increasing number of sophisticated threats to confidential information means that CDS must ensure client data is protected to the highest standards available. Our commitment to complying with strict standards such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, and FedRAMP demonstrates that security is our priority, said Nyi Htwe, Chief Technology Officer at CDS.

For more information about CDSs comprehensive focus on security visit http://cdslegal.com/security

About Complete Discovery Source

Complete Discovery Source (CDS) is a leading eDiscovery company, providing litigation technology and hosting, advisory services, and managed services to support complex discovery matters. CDS is the first choice of the Am Law 100 and Fortune 500 and is recognized as Best in End-to-End eDiscovery by the National Law Journal and New York Law Journal. With a team of seasoned legal experts and technicians, CDS uses advanced, tested, and defensible services and software to support all stages and types of eDiscovery. Supporting a number of eDiscovery tools, CDS is an Orange-Level Best-in-Service Relativity Provider and provides one of the largest and highest volume footprints delivering that platform. CDS is headquartered in New York with regional offices in Chicago and Washington DC. The company maintains highly secure ISO 27001 certified hosting and Type 2 SOC 2 audited data centers in the US and Europe. Complete Discovery Sources web site is http://www.cdslegal.com.

About Schellman

Schellman, formerly BrightLine, is a global provider of assurance and compliance services. As the only company in the world fully accredited to provide a suite of services that includes SAS 70 audits, SSAE 16 examinations, PCI DSS compliance validations and ISO 27001 certifications, Schellman offers clients a unique opportunity to achieve multiple compliance objectives through a single third party assessor. For more information, visit https://www.schellmanco.com.
This is one of the most exciting projects that I have been a part of!

The Women Veterans Monument will be established in Las Cruces, NM, where it will honor all military women. A project of this size has been in the works for the past couple of years. Big Statues LLC of Provo, UT, has been commissioned to create six life size bronze military women. The six statues will represent: the Army, and World War I; the Marines, and World War II; the Navy, and the Korean War; the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Cold War period; and the National Guard, and Iraq and Afghanistan wars. While construction of the monument is anticipated to take about 10 months, Karen Woods, President of the United Military Women of the Southwest, said casting the one-of-a-kind statues could take about a year to complete.

The creation of six bronze military women will require immense amounts of expertise and an eye for detail. Matt Glenn, the lead designer and sculptor on this project, will be putting his focus on accurately depicting the distinct qualities of each branch of military service by adding in individual and unique details. "This is one of the most exciting projects that I have been a part of," stated Glenn. "These women have done so much for this wonderful nation and I am honored to be able to give back to them through the art of sculpting and craftsmanship. My team and I hope to create an unforgettable memory of these military women and what they stood for in order to protect our freedoms and beliefs."

The $406,500 cost to build the monument will be through capital appropriation funding from the New Mexico Legislature. The monument will include the sculptures of servicewomen representing all military branches and eras during which they served in the military. Two prefabricated shade structures will frame the monument and cultured stone will clad the walls. The dedication is projected to take place near the end of 2017.
These courses are great because they are easy to learn, have financial benefits, and your patients will love the results.

With their dedication to reaching students nationwide, Empire Medical Training has announced new courses they will be offering this year. Empire Medical Training invites medical practices to expand their business by signing up for one of the new courses or registering for a VIP class. By taking Continuing Medical Education courses like aesthetics and pain management, and adding them to a practices repertoire, Doctors and Dentists become more valuable to their patients.

For the first time, Empire Medical Training will host their One Day Complete Dermal Filler and Botox class in Chicago, Illinois. This course will be on April 1, 2017 in the Westin Hotel. By combining the Dermal Fillers Workshop and the Botox Workshop into one day, members and students will become proficient in all injection techniques discussed in this one course.

Empire Medical Training will be in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 11th through March 13th for their VIP training courses. These VIP courses are unique because these classes offer one-on-one training with the instructor and the student. For this weekend, the courses will include Botulinum Toxin Training, Advanced Botox and Dermal Fillers (Level II), and Complete, Hands-on Dermal Filler. Any Physician, Dentist, or Nurse looking to receive Botox and Dermal Filler Aesthetic Training would be a good fit for these courses. As Dr. Stephen Cosentino, President and Founder of Empire Medical Training, says, These courses are great because they are easy to learn, have financial benefits, and your patients will love the results.

To cover the demand for their courses, Dr. Stephen Cosentino will also expand Empire Medical Training by offering three VIP classes in New York City, New York from March 31st through April 2nd. This weekend will include Platelet Rich Plasma for Aesthetics, Botulinum Toxin Training, and Complete, Hands-on Dermal Filler courses.

Empire Medical Training has been training Physicians and Health Care Practitioners since 1998, longer than any other procedural training institution. With over 45,000 graduates in specialties such as Aesthetics, Anti Aging/Weight Management Medicine, and Pain Management, Empire Medical Training is renowned throughout the United States and abroad as the premier academy for providing academic excellence. Dr. Stephen Cosentino pioneered ways to add new procedures and services as well as business strategies to a practice and improve patient care. With Dr. Cosentinos commitment and dedication to the specialty and the field of medicine, Empire Medical Training is steadfast to developing new training programs and topics to broaden the scope of the primary care practitioner. All Empire courses are created through mainstream medicine using the most current technologies and standards of care.

For more information on the cities and courses offered at Empire Medical Training please visit their website or call 866-366-1576.
M08SY-II with Gantry This machine can run for a long time without any operator intervention and users can machine finished parts from slug stock or cast blanks while achieving the same high productivity as if they were machining from bar stock.

Tsugami/Rem Sales, the exclusive North American importer of Precision Tsugami machine tools, announced today the details of its Precision Machining Technology Show (PMTS) technology display, which features three machines that have never been displayed at this show.

The company will showcase the new, next generation Tsugami B0205-III Swiss style CNC Lathe. The machine on display will feature robot loading and unloading systems integrated by Tsugami/Rem Sales sister company, Tsugami Automation.

The loading system allows you to load shaped, headed blanks or premachined shaped parts, Tsugami Automation Vice President Graham Noake explained. The unloading robot facilitates parts washing, gaging, or palletizing. Overall, these integrations increase the machines versatility for the user.

The focus on automation continues with the PMTS launch of the new M08SY-II with Gantry. The robot-fed Multitask Lathe comes with a parts conveyor and catcher. This machine can run for a long time without any operator intervention, Tsugami/Rem Sales Product Manager Marcus Imes said, and users can machine finished parts from slug stock or cast blanks while achieving the same high productivity as if they were machining from bar stock. The M08SY-II has a Y axis, sub spindle and live tooling. Its ideal for milling, drilling, cross-drilling and boring.

The Tsugami BW209Z is also new to the show this year. The 9-axis, 20 mm capacity split-slide CNC precision Swiss style lathe can house 28 tools and is equipped with a Fanuc 31i-B CNC.

The benefit of a 9-axis machine, Tsugami/Rem Sales Vice President Mike Mugno said, is that it has three cutting tools, all cutting the part simultaneously, and all three tools have independent feed rates. This means shorter cycle times, Mugno explained. The machine is frequently used for pinch turning and pinch milling.

The SS327-5AX on display is one of Tsugamis most popular machines. Its a high-performance 7-axis Swiss Turn with a Servo-driven B axis. The B-axis live tools (four front and four rear) machine in coordination with the C axis, delivering the ability to cut precise angles and sculpted contours on parts up to 32 mm in diameter.

Visitors can also see the S206-II 20 mm 6-Axis Swiss Turn. The machine features a Y-axis tool post, allowing users to machine complex parts using the main and back spindle simultaneously.

All machines will perform live cutting demonstrations throughout the show, which runs from April 25  27 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, OH.

To see the Tsugami products at PMTS, visit the Tsugami/Rem Sales booth in the East Hall, booth 101. Tsugami machine tools are sold and supported by Technical Equipment (http://www.techequip.com) in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

About Tsugami/Rem Sales

Tsugami/Rem Sales (http://www.remsales.com) is the exclusive North American importer of Precision Tsugami machine tools. A division of Morris Group, Inc. of Windsor, Connecticut, the company sells new Tsugami machine tools via national distribution channels and direct sales agents. The company also provides application engineering, service and customer training.

About Technical Equipment

Technical Equipment (http://www.techequip.com) is a division of Morris Group, Inc. The company is the exclusive distributor for Hwacheon, Hermle, Makino, Muratec, and Tsugami in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. In addition to new machine tools, Technical Equipment provides metrology equipment, engineered solutions, replacement parts, service, and preventive maintenance. Services include financing, installation, and training.

About Morris Group, Inc.

Morris Group, Inc. (http://www.morrisgroupinc.com/), whose history dates to 1941, is one of the largest machine tool distribution networks in North America. Based in Windsor, Connecticut, the family-owned and operated company has 14 business units in the United States.
The MIAMI Association of REALTORS (MIAMI) opened its third, state-of-the-art Broward office recently for its growing Broward County membership, which now totals more than 11,000 Realtors. The new, Northeast Broward office at 6451 North Federal Highway, Suite 116 in Fort Lauderdale will host Realtor training, educational seminars, events and answer membership questions.

Its an exciting day as our members now have three full-service offices to use in Broward County, said Hollywood Realtor Ellen Mitchel, the 2017 Broward President of MIAMI. Each of the offices are located in convenient locations and are perfect for the on-the-go lifestyle of Realtors. Now with three Broward County offices, Realtors have more options to take Realtor training, engage in educational seminars and more.

The new, Northeast Broward office is located on the first floor of the 6451 North Federal Highway building. The facility boasts a 50-seat training center, conference room and ample parking. As with every MIAMI facility, the office serves free Starbucks coffee to members.

MIAMI, which is the largest local Realtor association in the United States with more than 46,000 members, has seven offices in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Other MIAMI offices:



MIAMI headquarters (700 S. Royal Poinciana Blvd., Suite 400, in Miami Springs)

Coral Gables office (245 Alcazar Avenue in Coral Gables)

West Broward-Sawgrass office (13680 Northwest 14th St. in Sunrise)

East Broward-DCOTA office (1815 Griffin Road, Suite 104 in Dania Beach)

JTHS-MIAMI office (2151 Alternate A1A S., Suite 1100 in Jupiter)

Northwestern Dade (415 West 51st Place, Suite 200 in Hialeah)

MIAMI has five computer labs with 200 total computers for member training. A sixth computer lab is planned for Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe Sound Association of Realtors (JTHS-MIAMI) members at the Jupiter office. JTHS, which comprises more than 2,500 members in Palm Beach and Martin counties, merged with MIAMI on September 22, 2015. MIAMI continues to increase educational opportunities for the new JTHS Council which are specifically focused on their members needs and interests.

MIAMI hosts more than 4,000 member educational seminars each year with about 82 percent offered free to members. Conference centers at each location hold between 80 and 150 participants for each of the seminars hosted there. MIAMI also provides more than 100 premium marketing tools and services to each of its 46,000 members, contributing to their success and helping better serve their customers.

About the MIAMI Association of REALTORS

The MIAMI Association of REALTORS was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 97 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of six organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward Council, the Jupiter Tequesta Hobe Sound (JTHS) Council, the Young Professionals Network (YPN) Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents more than 46,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S., and has official partnerships with 160 international organizations worldwide. MIAMIs official website is http://www.miamire.com.
Ambassador Susan Elizabeth Rice, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2009-2013) and President Barack Obamas National Security Advisor (2013-2017), has joined American University as a Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow in the School of International Service (SIS). During her residency at AU, Ambassador Rice will work primarily on her next book and mentor SIS students on careers in national security.

We are honored and incredibly proud to welcome Ambassador Rice to AU and SIS, said James Goldgeier, Dean of American Universitys School of International Service. She brings decades of direct, high-level experience in international relations, foreign policy, and national security. I am excited that our students will have a unique opportunity to interact with Ambassador Rice, learn from her, and develop the skills that are truly essential to tackling the most critical global challenges.

I am very pleased to become a part of SIS and the AU family, said Ambassador Rice. I look forward to joining this distinguished community.

As the 24th National Security Advisor, Ambassador Rice directed NSC Staff and chaired the Cabinet-level National Security Principals Committee. She provided the President with daily national security briefings and was responsible for coordinating the formulation and implementation of all aspects of the Administration's foreign and national security policy, intelligence, and military efforts.

As U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and as a member of President Obama's Cabinet, Ambassador Rice worked to advance U.S. interests, defend universal values, strengthen the world's security and prosperity, and promote respect for human rights. In a world of 21st Century threats that pay no heed to borders, Ambassador Rice helped rebuild an effective basis for international cooperation that strengthened the United States ability to achieve its foreign policy objectives and made the American people safer.

Ambassador Rice also held positions as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1997 to 2001; Special Assistant to President William J. Clinton and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House; as well as Director for International Organizations and Peacekeeping on the National Security Council staff. From 2002-2008, Rice was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she conducted research and published widely on U.S. foreign policy, transnational security threats, weak states, global poverty and development.

Ambassador Rice began her career as a management consultant with McKinsey and Company in Toronto, Canada. She has served on numerous boards, including the Bureau of National Affairs, National Democratic Institute and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Rice received her Master's degree (M.Phil.) and Ph.D (D.Phil.) in International Relations from New College, Oxford University, England, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She was awarded the Chatham House-British International Studies Association Prize for the most distinguished doctoral dissertation in the United Kingdom in the field of International Relations in 1990. Ambassador Rice received her B.A. in History with honors from Stanford University in 1986, where she was awarded junior Phi Beta Kappa and was a Truman Scholar. In 2017, French President Francois Hollande presented Ambassador Rice with the Award of Commander, the Legion of Honor of France, for her contributions to Franco-American relations.

A native of Washington D.C., Ambassador Rice is married to Ian Cameron, and they have two children.

-AU-

American University is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student body from throughout the United States and nearly 140 countries. Located in Washington, D.C., the university provides opportunities for academic excellence, public service, and internships in the nations capital and around the world.
Over 20 leaders of manufacturing were in attendance for the Roundtable discussion at Balluff on February 13th 2017. Governor Bevin was genuinely interested and completely engaged with how automation technologies can improve manufacturer's competitiveness in the state of Kentucky and across the country.

On Monday, February 13, 2017, Balluff, Inc. hosted a Manufacturing Roundtable event at their Independence, KY location. This event, attended from around the Commonwealth, included over 20 Kentucky manufacturing leaders, as well as government officials, such as Independence Mayor Chris Reinersman and Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin. The purpose of the Roundtable was to discuss the goals of local manufacturers and how the Governor's administration is working to support the success and growth of Kentucky manufacturing.

Workforce skills development, improving the overall image of the state of Kentucky, investments in engineering education and technical vocations, were on the minds of those in attendance. For the Governor, manufacturing is a strong component of his agenda, "It is my vision for Kentucky that we become the hub of excellence for engineering and manufacturing. There is no state that owns it right now. No state owns that the way Kentucky has the opportunity to do so." Governor Bevin intends to cut the red tape that many see as impeding growth for Kentucky manufacturing companies. Manufacturing leaders in attendance repeatedly emphasized support for investments in workforce development & vocational education. They see this as one of the most important components to bridging the Commonwealth's workforce skills gap.

As an automation technology provider, Balluff, Inc. supports & participates in manufacturing education programs through training experiences, providing student tours of their facility and donating automation equipment to technical labs & projects. "Governor Bevin was genuinely interested and completely engaged with how automation technologies can improve manufacturer's competitiveness in the state of Kentucky and across the country," stated Tony Canonaco, Balluff, Inc. President and CEO. "Our intent with this meeting was to have an open discussion about the concerns of local manufacturers and our opportunities for growth."

To learn more about Balluff visit http://www.balluff.us

About Balluff

Balluff Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Balluff GmbH, Neuhausen, Germany, is a leading manufacturer of a wide range of inductive, photoelectric, vision, capacitive and magnetic sensors as well as linear position transducers, RFID systems, and networking products. Balluff products for OEM and factory floor solutions are used to control, regulate, automate, assemble, position, and monitor manufacturing, assembly, and packaging sequences for industries including: metalworking, automotive, plastics, material handling, wood processing, aerospace, alternative energy, medical, electrical, and electronics. For more information, visit http://www.balluff.us
Medix College of Healthcare, a leading provider of healthcare training, today announced that they have received 2-year accreditation approval from the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Conjoint Accreditation Services for the Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician program (MLA/T) located at the Toronto Campus. We hope to receive the same positive results at our other campuses.

This significant achievement was the result of a team of dedicated professionals working together to ensure quality assurance of one of the most popular healthcare programs which Medix currently offers. This is a great milestone for Medix, said Peter Dykstra, Vice President of Career College Group, which owns Medix College of Healthcare. We are very pleased that the CMA Conjoint Accreditation Services has recognized the value of our MLA program. This accreditation approval is the result of our commitment to quality training for our students and will motivate us to continue achieving success.

Medix College of Healthcare has been providing healthcare training in Ontario for 40 years. Medix is known for delivering programs such as Medical Laboratory Assistant/Technician and Intra-Oral Dental Assistant, which take students an average of one year to complete. Medix is in a great position to provide appropriately trained graduates to meet the increasing demands of healthcare employers. We are definitely on our way to achieve our companys goals for quality assurance and growth, added Dykstra. The company has recently indicated plans to add new programs for the coming year to stay ahead of the employment curve.

About Career College Group

The Career College Group (CCG) is an Ontario-based educational training company which aims to supply leading Canadian industries with skilled qualified workers. For over 40 years, CCG has been providing industry leading diploma programs and has grown to become one of the leaders in Canadian vocational education with brands such as Medix College of Healthcare, Medix Online, and North American Trade Schools. For more information visit http://www.careercollegegroup.com

For more information please contact:

Peter Dykstra, Vice President Operations

Phone: (647) 220 8783 Email: pd(at)careercollegegroup.com
EnTitle Insurance Company (Entitle Direct), a national title insurance company, recently performed a detailed study by using data on residential real estate transactions, including mortgage refinances that occurred in the state of Pennsylvania during 2015 to quantify the amount of savings property owners and buyers in Pennsylvania could have enjoyed by purchasing their title insurance policies from EnTitle Insurance Company.

The study compared EnTitle Insurance Companys title insurance premium rates relative to those offered via the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania (TIRBOP). TIRBOP is a title insurance rating organization that, among other things, files proposed rates, policies, endorsement forms, and publishes a Rate Manual which includes a schedule of rates for title insurance premiums.

By not being a TIRBOP member, Entitle Direct has taken advantage of its ability to file title insurance premium rates directly with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) subject to PIDs approval. PID approved title insurance premium rates for Entitle Direct that are 35% below the title insurance premium rates for members of TIRBOP.

Our company has always strived to create the same pricing transparency in the title insurance industry that exists in the vast majority of all other industries in the United States, says Steven Palmer, CEO of Entitle Direct Group, Inc., parent company of EnTitle Insurance Company. In that process, we constantly have to challenge myths such as that title insurance premium rates are set by the state in PA and everyone has to charge the same, which is not true.

The purpose of Entitle Directs pricing study of the Pennsylvania market, which can soon be downloaded directly from its website, was to use objective data to demonstrate the total aggregate savings that state residents could have enjoyed by purchasing their title insurance policy from EnTitle Insurance Company.

We were amazed that the estimated total savings in 2015 was $135 million, and more importantly averaged $440 per transaction, says Palmer. That kind of savings can go a long way for a family buying a new home and can make the economics of a potential refinance transaction make a great deal more sense.

For several years, EnTitle Insurance Company, with an office in Pittsburgh, PA, has been operating in the keystone state providing outstanding customer service and charging up to 25% to 35% lower title insurance premium rates than its competitors.

The Company launched its direct operations in the Commonwealth in 2009 to enable smart home owners and buyers to purchase title insurance at a significant discount to the price being charged by other providers in the market.

We became one of the first title insurance companies in the country to sell the product directly to consumers via our website," explains Lee Baskey, President of EnTitle Insurance Company. Consumers who visit our site can get a free quote on their upcoming home purchase or mortgage refinance transaction and compare that quote to the one on their Loan Estimate Form.

Currently, Entitle Directs title insurance premium rates are roughly 35% below those of competitors in Pennsylvania, which represents savings of hundreds of dollars per transaction. Entitle sells the same American Land Title Association licensed policy, which provides identical coverage as what is offered on its competitors policies.

The difference is that our policies are notably less expensive, adds Baskey.

Entitle Direct strongly recommends that home buyers and homeowners refinancing their mortgage begin shopping for the best deal on title insurance as early as possible. A good way to do so is to visit the websites of multiple providers and obtain online quotes to see which one provides the lowest all-in cost.

About Entitle Direct Group, Inc.

Entitle Direct Group is the parent company of the country's first direct-to-consumer title insurance underwriter, EnTitle Insurance Company. Currently operating in 40 states and the District of Columbia, EnTitle Insurance Company has attempted to file title insurance premium rates up to 25% lower than the standard rates of our competitors wherever possible, saving consumers hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in closing costs. For more information, visit http://www.ENTITLEDIRECT.com.

CONTACT: Bill Shaughnessy, Director of Marketing

Entitle Direct Group, Inc.

203-724-1142

bill.shaughnessy(at)entitledirect.com

http://www.entitledirect.com
Masstech is heading to the 2017 NAB Show with its widest array of media management innovations and enhancements in years. Exhibiting in booth SU3202, the company will showcase how media organizations can seamlessly integrate the Cloud into their operations, maximize their contents value, and move media files more easily between production, distribution and archive processes.

For media businesses looking to minimize on-premises equipment, all Masstech media asset management, workflow and archive solutions can now be hosted in the Cloud. Customers can choose to deploy the MassStore technology platform or individual components in public or private clouds, or locally on 100% virtualized or physical systems. This flexibility allows companies to adopt the Cloud at their own pace, starting with the particular workflows where it can best benefit their operations.

Cloud-hosted Masstech solutions integrate seamlessly with customers existing environments without adding complexity, shielding users from the underlying details. Masstechs new CloudFlex technology enables hybrid workflows for tasks such as transcoding, processing media primarily on-premises and bursting into the Cloud dynamically for additional computing capacity as varying workloads require.

Masstech is similarly expanding its comprehensive storage technology support to the Cloud, including integration with Amazon S3 and services such as Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS) that are compatible with the industry-standard S3 API.

The Cloud offers attractive collaboration, scalability and sustainability benefits, and the declining costs of cloud hosting and storage enable both established and startup media organizations to take advantage of those opportunities," said Mike Palmer, Vice President of Business Strategy at Masstech. Were excited to now offer the option for customers to manage, process and archive their content in the Cloud.

Automated Metadata Creation and Expanded Integrations

Two new enhancements automate the creation of rich metadata for MAM and newsroom users, making stored content easier to find and sort without the expense, inconsistency and time-consuming effort of manual metadata entry. New speech-to-text capabilities convert dialogue within media clips to indexed text, enabling automated tagging and categorization of the assets.

Masstech MAM solutions already include rich support for unstructured metadata, enabling free-form documents such as production scripts to be associated with media assets and fully searched. New functionality intelligently identifies core concepts within these unstructured attachments, automatically creating structured metadata that users can leverage to find, sort and group content in new ways.

Users of Avid production solutions gain a wealth of new efficiencies and abilities. MediaCentral|UX integration provides access to all of Masstechs rich MAM functionality within the MediaCentral framework, while a completely re-engineered transfer engine delivers the fastest transfer speeds of any archive solution for moving content into and out of the Avid Interplay platform: three to four times faster than earlier approaches. MassStore can also now extract and store metadata such as markers from Avid assets.

Integration in news environments is likewise enhanced, with an updated, HTML5-based plug-in for popular third-party newsroom computer systems that brings the elegant interface, advanced searching and embedded video manipulation capabilities of Masstechs latest MAM solution to NRCS users. Meanwhile, deep interoperability with the SAM News Solution from Snell Advanced Media empowers SAM users with the ability to efficiently and automatically archive, restore and share content between sites.

The 2017 NAB Show will take place April 24-27 in Las Vegas. To book a meeting with Masstech at the event, please visit info.masstech.com/nabmeeting. For more information about Masstech, please visit http://www.masstech.com.

About Masstech  Masstech provides innovative software solutions and proven expertise that media organizations trust to manage their valuable digital media content and related information throughout its lifecycle. Committed to exceeding expectations, Masstech delivers superior user experiences, unmatched ROI and efficient workflows that enable our customers to maximize operational performance and realize the full value of their content. Masstech is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with international offices serving a marquee customer base that spans the globe. For more information, visit http://www.masstech.com.
We are excited to have Guy Davant, a renowned NERC compliance expert, join the Certrec team. His regulatory expertise and operations experience will greatly assist our compliance clients.  Ted Enos, President of Certrec.

Certrec, a leading regulatory compliance provider for NERC and FERC compliance, announced today that Guy Davant, a noted engineering, regulatory affairs, and compliance expert has joined its Office of NERC Compliance practice.

We are excited to have Guy Davant join Certrec, says Ted Enos, President of Certrec. Guy is known throughout the regulatory community for his broad industry knowledge, engineering, regulatory affairs, and compliance experience. He joins us at an important time in the power industry when many generators are juggling a variety of energy sources, changing technology, workforce retirements, cyber security challenges, and a dynamic NERC regulatory environment.

Guys experience adds to the Certrec team that continues to grow. Guy is an asset to the services team with a solid understanding of engineering, operations, and regulatory affairs, says Bob Biggs, Certrecs Office of NERC Compliance Services Director.

Mr. Davant has held various supervisory and oversight positions at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (GGNS), River Bend Station (RBS), Echelon, Entergy Operations, Inc.s nuclear headquarters, and DOEs Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC). Guy was responsible for providing and managing resources to address regulatory and licensing issues in support of operation, maintenance, and refueling of a corporate fleet of nuclear facilities. Activities have included developing, submitting, and negotiating license amendment requests (LARs), ASME Code relief requests, and other regulatory-based items.

He has also been involved in various activities pertaining to New Nuclear projects, including being an integral part of the team that developed the Combined Operating License Application (COLA) for GGNS Unit 3 and later, providing consulting support for Dominions North Anna Unit 3 COLA. As an active participant on the NEI New Plant Construction Inspection Program Task Force, working with the NRC developed industry guideline NEI 08-01, Industry Guideline for the ITAAC Closure Process under 10 CFR Part 52.

Mr. Davant is a Registered Professional Engineer licensed in the state of Mississippi.

Certrecs experienced team supports a variety of clients including wind, solar, fossil, and nuclear power generators, says Davant. I consider Certrec a premier leader in providing regulatory services and support.

CERTREC

Founded in 1988, Certrec is an engineering and technology based organization providing regulatory support services in the electric power industry. With over 1200 cumulative years of direct industry experience (including wind, solar, nuclear, and fossil), Certrec has developed exceptional capabilities to support regulatory activities emanating from regulatory entities such as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Regional Entities (NERC), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other regulatory agencies. Certrec's Office of NERC Compliance (ONC), Office of Licensing and Compliance (OLC), Office of Assessment and Recovery (OAR), and Office of New Plant (ONP) services are used by utilities and entities across the United States to help manage the regulatory process to their advantage.
The Australian company Organic Response has developed technology that allows individual luminaires in large lighting installations to communicate with their immediate neighbors  just like a school of fish would do. Communication is based on modulated infrared light signals that are emitted by high power infrared LEDs  the Oslon SFH 4725S line  from Osram Opto Semiconductors.

Organic Response Lighting Control Systems are designed to operate wide area lighting installations with maximum energy efficiency while still maintaining a high level of comfort. The key lies in a system of Distributed Intelligence that enables the system to react to the presence of persons in the immediate vicinity of sensors, as well as to those further away.

How it works

At the heart of the system are sensor nodes integrated in each luminaire. They comprise a motion sensor, an ambient light sensor and an infrared transmitter/receiver pair used for communication. The moment a sensor node detects occupancy, the luminaire reacts by putting out a predetermined light level. At the same time, it communicates that occupancy to its neighbors by emitting an infrared signal. Subsequently, the neighboring sensor nodes respond by setting their luminaire to a predetermined light level appropriate to an occupant in that vicinity. They then simultaneously relay another infrared signal to their own neighbors, informing them there is an occupant two light fittings away.

Ultimately, each sensor node knows how close a person is and sets the luminaire to an appropriate brightness. In this way, it is not just the spot the person is in that is illuminated, but also adjacent areas. This also eliminates the sensation of literally stepping into darkness when entering currently unoccupied spaces.

Using light as a means of communication ensures that only luminaires within the persons field of vision are turned on while systems in neighboring rooms, for instance, will not be triggered. In case a room or an office is reorganized, newly positioned walls will automatically block the infrared signal and thus adapt the system response automatically to any adjustments.

High-power infrared emitter with short switching times

This solution is designed to address a broad range of applications of different scales, therefore requiring high power infrared emitters. The infrared light signal must be set in a way that it reaches all of its immediate neighbors, but does not affect the units beyond. This operating distance first of all depends on the strength of the light signal. But it is also affected by ambient light conditions, the height of the ceiling, and the reflectivity of the floor. As such, signal strength must be adjusted individually according to environmental and structural conditions. In contrast to lighting installations that require IDs assigned to each luminaire and which therefore need to be programmed, the organic response solution uses the adjustable range of the IR signal to address specific luminaires, eliminating the need for programming during installation.

The infrared (IR) LED Oslon SFH 4725S provides enough optical power to ensure communication for all possible setups. The IR LED is based on stack technology, which was developed by Osram to provide one chip with two emission centers, thereby doubling its output. Driven at 1 Ampere, the SFH 4725S yields 990 milliwatts of optical power. Its narrow emission angle of 45 results in a radiant intensity of 425 mW/sr. The emitted light has a wavelength of 940 nanometers, which is completely invisible to human eyes but a perfect match for the spectral sensitivity of silicon photodetectors. The SFH 4725S features short rise and fall times of 10 and 15 nanoseconds, respectively, and thus permits modulated light signals.

We initially designed this emitter for infrared illumination and 3D camera applications. But with its high power, narrow emission angle and fast switching time, it provides a great solution for optical communication, too, says, Espacio Munoz, Marketing Manager, Infrared at Osram Opto Semiconductors.

Dean Campbell-Smith, Technical Director at Organic Response reports: While developing our product, we evaluated a number of suppliers for the infrared LED component. Considering the trust associated with the brand and the strength of their IR LED product, we chose Osram. This turned out to be an excellent decision for us as it allowed us to address the varying requirements of our clients through Osrams ongoing product support and their ability to deliver.

Press Contact:

Kate Cleveland

Tel. 248-277-8018

Fax 248-596-0395

Email kate.cleveland(at)osram-os.com

Technical Information:

Tel. 866-993-5211

Email: support(at)osram-os.com

Sales contact: http://www.osram-os.com/sales-contacts

ABOUT OSRAM

OSRAM, based in Munich, is a globally leading lighting manufacturer with a history dating back about 100 years. The product portfolio includes high-tech applications based on semiconductor technology such as infrared or laser lighting. The products are used in highly diverse applications ranging from virtual reality, autonomous driving or mobile phones to smart and connected lighting solutions in buildings and cities. In automotive lighting, the company is the global market and technology leader. Based on continuing operations (excluding Ledvance), OSRAM had around 24,600 employees worldwide at the end of fiscal 2016 (September 30) and generated revenue of almost 3.8 billion in that fiscal year. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Munich (ISIN: DE000LED4000; WKN: LED400; trading symbol: OSR). Additional information can be found at http://www.osram.com.
SAE is excited about supporting the development of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle through its recently organized Defense Automotive Technologies Consortium. - Dave Porreca, Executive Director of DATC

The Next Generation Combat Vehicle Prototype (NGCV) - US Army TARDEC is seeking to collaborate with a team comprised of innovative engineering organizations from industry, academia and defense communities, to create the Army's next generation ground combat vehicle. The NGCV prototyping effort is a multimillion dollar and multi-year project focused on the design and integration of component technologies into a prototype combat vehicle platform. Solicitation of this effort will be made through the Detroit Arsenal Automotive Other Transaction Agreement (DA2 OTA), managed by the Defense Automotive Technologies Consortium (DATC), US ARMY TARDEC, and Army Contracting Command - Warren.

Dave Porreca, Executive Director of DATC, an affiliate of SAE ITC (Industry Technologies Consortia) states, SAE has a long history of supporting the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense. The technology the Army depends on has come a long way since SAE designed the first Standardized truck- Liberty Truck, exactly one hundred years ago, but the mission remains the same- provide the military with the best technology available. SAE is excited about supporting the development of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle through its recently organized Defense Automotive Technologies Consortium.

The Army is looking to collaborate with a team comprised of innovative engineering organizations from industry, academia and defense communities. DATC anticipates a Request for White Paper (RWP) to be released to DATC members that is expected to result in a Project Award to a single team. DATC members will self-organize teams and identify a Lead Member to assemble and submit the team's proposal. The Lead Member will collaborate and coordinate with the team's subject matter experts and the TARDEC NGCV leadership regarding the project.

There will be a briefing on Wednesday, March 29 from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Macomb Community College, South Campus, Building K regarding the Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) Prototype. To register for the March 29 Industry Day from 1:00 p.m.  5:00 p.m. at Macomb Community College, please use this link: Mar29DATCIndustryDay.

The March 29 Industry Day is open to all interested organizations. However, only DATC member organizations are eligible to participate in the NGCV solicitation (RWP).

DATC membership is open to all organizations, non-traditional and traditional defense contractors, meeting following criteria:



Must possess technology expertise in one or more of the eight identified technology objective areas (technology objective areas can be viewed at: http://datc.saeitc.org/)

May not be on Department of Defense suspended or debarred contractor list

DATC membership dues are $1,000 per year. To download a DATC membership application go to: http://datc.saeitc.org/membership/

For more details regarding DATC, please plan to attend the upcoming March 22 DATC Membership Recruitment Workshop. For information on how to participate in person or virtually, please visit the DATC events website: http://datc.saeitc.org/events/

For additional questions, please feel free to contact Mr. David Porreca at david.porreca@sae-itc.org.

DATC is an affiliate of SAE ITC (Industry Technologies Consortia). The SAE ITC team specializes in establishing and managing consortia by providing proven processes, tools and resources. ITC enables public, private, academic and government organizations to connect and collaborate in neutral, pre-competitive forums thus empowering the setting and implementation of strategic business improvements in highly engineered industries globally.

SAE ITC is an affiliate of SAE International. SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including programs like A World in Motion and the Collegiate Design Series.

The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government.
Kyle Sykes, Financial Advisor The reason were in business is to help people grow and preserve their life savings for their retirement years.

Belmont Capital Advisors is proud to announce Kyle Sikes has joined its team of outstanding financial advisors and will work primarily from its new location in the Historic District of Belmont, NC at 123 N. Main Street.

For nearly a decade, Sikes has helped clients address their financial concerns and develop strategies by focusing on each individuals specific needs. After graduating from Western Carolina University, Sikes began his career as a Banker with BB&T, where he developed a well-rounded understanding of the financial industry. He then transitioned to the world of financial advisement, where he helped manage over $300 million in client assets, working with high net worth individuals and local businesses.

Were excited to have Kyle as part of our team of exceptional financial advisers here in Belmont. NC. His experience and areas of expertise will benefit our clients and our community immensely, added JoePat Roop, President and Founder of Belmont Capital Advisors. Sikes holds his Series 7 and Series 66 securities licenses, as well as Life, Health and Variable Annuity licenses through the North Carolina DOI.

The reason were in business is to help people grow and preserve their life savings for their retirement years. Retirement is a life-event and can cause anxiety for people. We want to be their partner - and start early - to help make sure they go into retirement confidently and have the big picture covered, added Roop. Kyle Sikes experience and track record is aligned with who we are as a company; were excited to welcome him to the team.

Sikes is active in the communities he serves; he is currently a member of the Caromont Care Council, The Next Generation Fund, and The Community Foundation of Gaston County.

About Belmont Capital Advisors

Founded in 2009, Belmont Capital Advisors has grown as an independent firm with solutions ranging from wealth management to retirement planning. The advisors at Belmont Capital Advisors have a reputation for safeguarding, enhancing, and passing on a legacy of financial security built over a lifetime of hard work.

Belmont Capital Advisors seeks to offer sound advice and added peace of mind to its clients. As an independent company, it offers solutions to help clients through retirement. Rather than approaching the future with a one-size-fits-all approach, Belmont Capital Advisors works one-on-one with clients to assess their unique financial situation and provide the right tools to achieve the retirement its clients deserve. As a financial adviser with a legal fiduciary responsibility, BCA will always put its clients best interest first.

For more information, visit http://www.belmont-capital.com/

Securities offered through Kalos Capital, Inc. and Investment Advisory Services offered through Kalos Management, Inc. both located at 11525 Park Woods Circle, Alpharetta, GA, 30005 (678)-356-1100. Belmont Capital Advisors, Inc. is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Kalos Capital, Inc. or Kalos Management, Inc.
Democrats keep banging the same drum against President Trump, which harkens on his perceived Russian connections and his labeling as a racist maniac, as unhinged Democrats continue to grab at all the straws they have to wrest control of this nation from Trump and his millions of supporters.

But what about Republican "leadership" that can ruin Trump by hamstringing everything he wants to do, or by goading Trump into breaking his promises, which are mostly the promises of the Republican platform.

The American Thinker featured a blog by Fran Fawcett Peterson on March 3, 2017, entitled, Trump's Senate soboteurs. The article blamed the Republican-controlled Senate for only 17 Trump confirmations so far, and how Trump has a number from 500 to 1,242 individuals needing Senate approval for different positions in his administration to replace Obama appointee holdovers. Given the amount of time the Senate is in session, the figure of 500 appointees would take nearly two years of round-the-clock work!

Not only are there Senate soboteurs, they also exist in the U.S. House. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan is not in tune with the president's agenda, but instead seems to be marching to the beat of lobbyists, big business, Republican elite, and big donor Republicans on the issue of Obamacare. The health care plan Ryan is pushing has been called "Obamacare Lite" and is being looked upon as a partial repeal that would be met with anger by Trump voters. So is the way Speaker Paul Ryan views the illegal immigration issue.

Might it be time for those House and Senate members who can't support Trump's policies, which enabled many of them to be elected on his coattails, to follow this well-known comment of General Patton: "Lead me, follow me or get out of the way"?

A crucial Trump promise on the campaign trial, which he repeated at every campaign rally, is that he would appoint a Supreme Court Justice in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia's pro-life position helped Trump become president, as millions of Evangelical Christians voted for Trump as single issue voters. What would happen if Judge Gorsuch were confirmed because Trump advisors, and now Senate members, are being led to believe that Gorsuch's pro-life credential mirror those of Scalia?

Nominee Gorsuch Spills the Beans Politico

Very disturbing is that nominee Neil Gorsuch told Senator Susan Collins that Gorsuch would be the fifth vote to uphold Roe v. Wade, rather than overturn it. As explained by Politico :

When [Gorsuch] met with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) earlier [in February], she pressed him on his views on judicial precedent: If five current justices disagree with a previous Supreme Court decision, is that sufficient grounds to overturn the ruling? Gorsuch said no.

Its important to me generally, but it also is important to me because of Roe v. Wade, Collins, who supports abortion rights, said of asking Gorsuch about precedent. Its an important principle.

David Souter and Anthony Kennedy used the same excuse to perpetuate Roe v. Wade in 1992 in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. I doubt Senate Republicans will eliminate the filibuster rule just to accommodate Gorsuch, and Democrats have enough votes to filibuster him. So the Senate may block Gorsuch.

As to why Judge Gorsuch was highly recommended to Trump by his advisors? It is easier to confirm a nominee who has a pro-life record because he would have a strong base of support. No one would feel deceived by him. The record is 5 out of 5 in confirming pro-life nominees: Scalia, Rehnquist (to Chief Justice), Thomas, Roberts and Alito. Democrats are less likely to filibuster a nominee who has strong support, which Gorsuch lacks. There are many fine pro-life candidates, such as Sen. Mike Lee and Judge Janice Rogers Brown, who have political support and would be confirmed.

President Trump was misled by the Federalist Society strategy of nominating someone who lacks a pro-life record for the unborn and who believes in adhering to mistaken liberal precedent. But the unborn may get a second chance, and we should speak out to help Trump honor his pro-life pledge.
BlackDoctor.org

BlackDoctor.org (BDO), the leading online health destination for Black consumers, is definitively on the path to changing the face of health and getting every family in Black America healthy based on recent findings from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute. For the first time, premature death rates have declined in the U.S. among Blacks, according to a comprehensive study of premature death rates for the entire U.S. population from 1999 to 2014.

African Americans have higher incidences of nearly every major disease and condition, as well as shorter life spans overall. According to the American Cancer Society, African Americans have the highest death rate of any racial and ethnic group in the U.S. for most cancers. These include prostate, colorectal (colon) and breast cancers.

Researchers from the study believe the decline in premature death rates reflects successes in public health efforts to improve diagnosis and treatment during the course of the study. Since 2005 when BDO was launched, the focus has been on raising awareness which in concert with many other public health efforts has resulted in this good news.

Today, BDO reaches more than 40 million readers monthly and is the primary destination for Black health news and life-saving information.

For the first time in my lifetime, Black deaths have decreased; thats great news. I am delighted that BlackDoctor.org has been a strong advocate to achieve this kind of outcome, said Reggie Ware, Founder and CEO of BlackDoctor.org. Our content helps people modify behavior, and its rewarding that national data reflects what our internal and third-party research has shown for years.

Creating content that is relatable, engaging and timely is how BDO excels ahead of similar health sites. In 2016, BlackDoctor.org was awarded a prestigious Stevie Award from the American Business Association for its My Story editorial series, which highlights the health testimonies of BDO readers.

Executive Editor, Sandria Washington, explained, What this study shows is the beginning stages of Black people closing the health gap. When given the right information in the right way, we can truly do better when we know better. BlackDoctor.org is motivated to continue giving our community the information they need.

While the decreased premature death rates for African Americans is a promising milestone, the work is far from over. Early death rates have increased for whites. The recent NIH report detailing changes in premature death (age 25-64) brings both encouraging and distressing news, said Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and expert contributor to BlackDoctor.org.

Dr. Yancy reminds us that, the overall rate of premature death remains high in the U.S. and is now driven by new public health burdens, including accidental deaths, drug overdoses and liver disease. The fight must continue. All populations at risk should be targeted and newly emerging threats should be diligently addressed.

The research findings appeared Jan. 25, 2017 in The Lancet.
As an accomplished sales executive with tremendous industry experience, Terry brings a wealth of knowledge on how to develop and execute sales strategies that support business growth for us and our customers and drive value for the end user.

OEConnection (OEC), a leading technology provider for OEM distribution networks, has announced the appointment of Terry Cummins as Executive Vice President, Sales. Cummins will manage the Direct Sales team and is responsible for driving increased sales through automotive dealers and dealer groups.

OEC web-based solutions help automakers, heavy-duty truck manufacturers and their franchised dealer networks increase OEM parts sales, drive greater operational efficiencies and enhance overall customer satisfaction.

We are delighted to welcome Terry to the team, said Chuck Rotuno, OEC Chairman & CEO. As an accomplished sales executive with tremendous industry experience, Terry brings a wealth of knowledge on how to develop and execute sales strategies that support business growth for us and our customers and drive value for the end user.

Prior to joining OEC, Cummins was Vice President, Sales at Dealer-FX Group in Michigan, where he designed and built the US sales force and launched the companys solution suite into Canada. Cummins also previously worked at Oracle and at Reynolds & Reynolds, where he served most recently as Senior Vice President, Sales.

OEC is an industry leader and a top tech company due to its commitment to providing innovative technology solutions, Cummins said. They have an excellent track record of customer satisfaction and retention.

Cummins holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of South Dakota and a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University.

###

About OEC

OEC (OEC) is the leading parts ecommerce technology provider for OEM distribution networks, serving over 20 OEMs and 100,000 dealership and repair customers. Customers use OEC solutions millions of times each month to access real-time, dynamic pricing and to market, manage and move original equipment parts, facilitating an estimated $20 billion in annual replacement parts trade. The company is headquartered in the greater Cleveland area at 4205 Highlander Parkway, Richfield, Ohio, 44286. Additional information is available at http://www.oeconnection.com or by emailing Geo Money at Geo.Money(at)oeconnection(dot)com.
"With ScyllaDB we were able to reduce hardware cost and achieve great throughput and latency. " - Andrew Sweeney, VP of Engineering at AppNexus

ScyllaDB announced today that it secured $16 million in Series B funding led by Western Digital Capital, Samsung Ventures, Magma Ventures, and Qualcomm Ventures, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners. ScyllaDBs drop-in replacement for Apache Cassandra has completely redefined the performance expectations that both internet and enterprise developers demand from their existing Cassandra deployments. The funding round will be used to accelerate sales and marketing and to expand both open source and enterprise product features.

Several major companies have deployed ScyllaDB in production, including:



IBM. "ScyllaDBs NoSQL database offers a powerful combination of low latency and high availability, making it an attractive option for customers of our Watson Data Platform offering, says Derek Schoettle, general manager, IBM Watson Data Platform.

AppNexus. We have a 47 node cluster across 5 data centers, said Andrew Sweeney, VP of engineering at AppNexus. With ScyllaDB we were able to reduce hardware cost and achieve great throughput and latency. Had we used Apache Cassandra for the same use case, we estimated that the cluster would have been at least twice as large."

CPI Card Group. In short, ScyllaDB rocks, says Mac Smith, engineer at CPI Card Group. It does exactly what we need [distribute a Cassandra load] runs very fast, and allows us to generate reports against historical data without waiting a monthLove it.

Investing.com. When we heard of a Cassandra drop-in-replacement, we were skeptics, says Gabriel Mizrahi, CTO at Investing.com. But very quickly we found it is all true. ScyllaDB completely eliminated latency and garbage issues and its high availability utilization allowed us to shrink the cluster size by half!

ScyllaDB redefined Apache Cassandra, says Dor Laor, founder and CEO of ScyllaDB. We invite the Apache Cassandra community to join us in our mission to be the number one NoSQL database in performance and availability.

Previously, database users were forced to choose between Apache Cassandra for availability and Redis for performance. ScyllaDB eliminates this compromise by redesigning Apache Cassandra from scratch. By replacing JVM with performance-enhancing C++ and leveraging the very best from Apache Cassandra in high availability, fault tolerance, and protocol, ScyllaDB offers developers a dramatically higher-performing and resource-effective drop-in replacement resulting in:

10x higher throughput. ScyllaDB was written in C++ with performance in mind and an aim to squeeze every bit of performance from hardware. Shard-per-core, shared-nothing and lock-free designs allow for perfect scale-up linear performance of up to 1,000,000 read/write operations per node.

Low and consistent latency. Lockless implementation and a completely independent memory management stack remove the inefficient reliance on JVM or Linux page cache to deliver consistently lower latency at <1 msec levels.

High scalability and high availability. Auto-sharding, homogeneous servers, and native multi-datacenter implementation allow seamless linear scaling without compromising on application downtime or performance.

Ease of use. ScyllaDB uses Apache Cassandra's wire protocol, a rich polyglot of drivers, and integration with Spark, Presto, and Graph tools for resource-efficient and performance effective coding. Fully automated and dynamic tuning requires zero configuration and enhances performance straight out of the box.

Compaction, streaming, and repair solved. ScyllaDB enables consistent high performance by providing strict service level agreements (SLAs) between foreground and background jobs. ScyllaDBs workload conditioning provides an umbrella of dynamic scheduling algorithms to minimize database operation latency jitter and reduce compaction, streaming, and repair time.

Every once in a while there is a team that decides to tackle an intractable technology problem from a completely new angle, says Adam Fisher, partner at Bessemer Ventures. ScyllaDB didnt take any shortcuts in developing an uncompromising NoSQL database that will upend the high-performance database market and we are proud to be investors.

Launched in 2015, open source ScyllaDB has quickly gained traction within the Apache Cassandra community. Internet and traditional enterprises alike, including Arista Networks, Eniro, and mParticle use ScyllaDB in production for its consistency, performance, and high availability. The ScyllaDB team consists of the technologists behind Qumranet, the company that developed the KVM hypervisor (acquired by Red Hat in 2008) and open source specialists from 13 countries.

We see exponential demand for compute and storage, said Mark Long, president, Western Digital Capital. We chose to invest in ScyllaDB because of the companys unique approach to data center efficiency, storage and networking, and they align well with our strategy to improve how data is generated, managed and consumed.

About ScyllaDB scylladb.com @scylladb

ScyllaDB is an open source NoSQL database that enables developers to build mission critical applications at light speed throughput and ultra low latency. Leveraging a low latency and C++ powered drop-in Apache Cassandra replacement, ScyllaDB offers a consistent, high throughput, highly available, and highly scalable NoSQL database, and is trusted by companies such as IBM, AppNexus, Investing.com, mParticle, and many others.
Havis Inc., a leading manufacturer of mobile office solutions, has added vehicle-specific computer docking and mounting solutions designed to increase mobile productivity in work trucks, vans and SUVs. Havis will display the solutions at booth #2700 at the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) Work Truck Show, which will take place from March 14-17, 2017, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Havis offers vehicle-specific solutions for a number of top-selling brands, including Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Nissan and more. Havis will display a total mobility solution installed in a 2016 Nissan Frontier at booth #2700 during the 2017 NTEA Work Truck show, including the following:



Havis Touch Screen Display and Dash Mount Solution includes a lightweight display that mounts directly to a vehicles dash panel and functions as an external monitor so that computing devices can be docked and mounted elsewhere in the vehicle to save space in the cabin. The vehicle-specific Dash Monitor Mount allows drivers to easily adjust the display, with a tilt swivel motion to simply and securely access to the OEM control panel.

Havis Rugged Keyboard & Integrated Keyboard Mount System includes an IP65-rated, backlit keyboard and patent-pending mount. The rugged keyboard mount is made of high-performance PC-ABS thermoplastics for outstanding strength, heat resistance, feature definition and surface finish, and reinforced with a mount plate of glass fiber polymer for added durability. The mount has a quick release function from the front for easy keyboard removal.

Havis Flex Arm and Mounting Base is ideal for keyboards and lightweight tablets. A flexible shaft is included with a swivel ball joint on top that provides multiple positioning options. The vehicle-specific base mounts easily under the passenger seat bolt.

Havis Screen Blanking Solutions powered by Blank-It provide easy, safe and legally-compliant ways to prevent driver distraction and manage mobile computer displays when a vehicle is in motion.

The following will also be on display in Havis booth #2700:



Havis Docking Solutions for numerous specific computing devices including Apple, Dell, Getac, Microsoft Surface, and Panasonic Toughpads and Toughbooks. Havis wide range of computing and mounting solutions and peripheral accessories provide solutions for any mobile workstation. Havis works closely with computer manufacturers to develop computer device specific docking stations and cradles.

Havis Passenger Side Mounts bundle all the necessary parts to create a safe and comfortable rugged mobile workstation mounted on the passenger side of the vehicle. Havis series of Passenger Side Mounts includes solutions with swing arms or tilt-swivel motion devices to allow drivers, front seat passengers or both to use computing devices comfortably. The vehicle-specific base mounts are designed with built-in OEM seat bolts for an easy and low-impact installation.

Havis Heavy Duty Pole Mounts mount to vehicle-specific bases to provide simple and secure up and down adjustment for universal laptop, keyboard and docking station mounts in Heavy Duty applications.

Havis works directly with OEMs to develop vehicle-specific mounting solutions that create more comfortable, safe and productive mobile offices. Havis docking and mounting products are ergonomically designed to maximize safety and comfort, and tested to the industrys highest safety standards to ensure quality performance in the most rugged conditions.

For more information, please visit Havis' Search by Vehicle page at http://www.havis.com.

Follow Havis

Stay up-to-date on the latest products and announcements from Havis through the Havis Equipped Blog, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Havis

Havis Inc. is a privately held, ISO 9001:2008-certified company that manufactures in-vehicle mobile office solutions for public safety, public works, government agencies and mobile professionals. For more than 80 years, the Havis mission has been to increase mobile worker productivity with industry-leading products that are built to the highest safety and quality standards and are designed with comfort in mind. Havis is dedicated to responsible intellectual property management, and fosters ongoing innovation. Havis patent and trademark portfolio demonstrates commitment to consistently researching and developing unique products and solutions for mobile industries around the world. With headquarters in Warminster, Pa., a location in Plymouth, Mich., and Havis Europe Ltd. based in in the United Kingdom, Havis currently employs more than 300 people. For more information on Havis, please call 1-800-524-9900 or visit http://www.havis.com.
Today, market research group Radius Global Market Research announced the results from its first Digital Sexism survey. Digital Sexism is discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex or gender - online. The report findings, based on 1,083 adults between the ages of 18-44 nationwide, found that Digital Sexism, specifically with voice-activated personal-device assistants (as found in Amazon, Google, Apple products), is definitely still prevalent in the United States. However, its not the women that think so.

On the heels of Susan Fowlers expose in February 2017 detailing her experience with Uber as well as a recent CBC News article on Why are all virtual assistants women in January 2017, it could easily be assumed that women are the ones who feel that sexism is still prevalent. In the CBC article, technology columnist Ramona Pringle stated that these virtual assistant devices are designed to be subservient, and the creators send a clear message by making them all female. Pringle explained that When you consider that the majority of early adopters of these tools are men, this is troublesome, especially as their preferences will surely continue to shape these powerful tools as they become adopted more broadly. Will they? If the data is correct, more male voices should be heard through household windows and offices nationwide.

However, the idea is contradictory. According to the study, nearly half (46%) of men believe that defaulting all voice activated personal assistant devices to female voices sends the wrong message about womens place in society - but theyre not willing to change the settings. Why? The majority of men (55%) see a female voice as more trustworthy. This was across the board. 71% of women stated that they also did not trust the male voice. Even the majority of owners of these devices agree with them; 51% of them trust a female voice. But surprisingly, 61% of those that believe that defaulting all devices to female voices sends the wrong message would trust a male voice over a female.

Most men would consider the fact that virtual assistants are designed to be subservient, sexism, said Jamie Myers, Global Director, Client Services at Radius Global Market Research. Its an interesting phenomenon, but the data supports that just like Stanford Communications professor Clifford Nass told CNN in 2011, its much easier to find a female voice that everyone likes than a male voice that everyone likes. Its a well-established phenomenon that the human brain is developed to like female voices.

The report also found that 23% (18 million people, roughly) had no idea whether or not their voice activated assistant was a male, or a female. However, this is something that technology companies have often struggled with - finding a voice that is genderless. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article by Joanna Stern in an interview with Nuance Communications Inc., creating a genderless voice is hard. Nuance was able to create a childlike, less-gendered voice for SoftBanks Pepper, however, Pepper is still identified as male.

We understand that it is difficult to create genderless voices; however, it was quite startling to hear that nearly a quarter of America couldnt identify whether they were hearing a woman or a mans voice, said Myers. That truly begs the question, is it really Digital Sexism, if they dont even know what the voice is?

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Radius Global Market Research from February 9 - 13th, 2017 among 18-44. The sample is representative of US adult population. The survey was conducted utilizing an online panel of respondents. A complete survey method is available upon request.

About Radius Global Market Research

Radius Global Market Research (http://www.radius-global.com) is one of the largest independent market-research companies. For more than 50 years, the business has partnered with global marketers to develop insight-based strategies that drive brand performance. A superior level of senior team involvement is the hallmark of Radius GMR's approach. Radius GMR is based in New York. Global operations include London-based Radius Europe, Radius MEA in Dubai, and Radius Asia in Beijing.
El Dorado Hills, CA, March 8th, 2017: Consensus Orthopedics, a joint reconstruction manufacturer, proudly announces its entry into the orthopedic wearable devices market. TracPatch is a groundbreaking wearable device that remotely monitors a patients post-surgical activities by continuously sending activity data, including range of motion (ROM), ambulation, exercise compliance, and wound site temperature trends. Healthcare Providers will now have insight 24/7 into how a patient is recovering from total joint surgery, thus improving outcomes and reducing costs. The TracPatch wearable device system will be debuted at next weeks American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, March 14th-17th, 2017, Booth #1233.

The first six weeks of at-home recovery after total joint surgery are critical for a positive outcome. Visibility into the patients at-home activity is nonexistent. This limited insight along with the emergence of value-based medicine, including programs such as Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR), signifies a new paradigm shift in cost control and responsibility for hospitals and surgeons. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, is sending a clear message with CJR: they want hospitals and post-acute providers to partner and coordinate for a patients entire 90-day episode of care. Through an IoT (Internet of Things) approach, TracPatch helps both the patient and healthcare provider coordinate care and accountability.

The TracPatch device is placed on the lower leg just below the joint line, using non-allergenic adhesive disposable pad. TracPatch is designed to enable any healthcare provider to collectively and continuously monitor their TracPatch patients progress. TracPatch will record patients range of motion (ROM), ambulation, exercise compliance, and temperature trends regardless of what implant system is used.

This machine learning device optimizes the patients entire episode of care by enabling a proactive approach. Whether the recovery is going well or needs immediate attention, the healthcare provider can adjust the patients post-surgical activities and goals anytime, anywhere to better facilitate and improve the patients recovery. The device transmits key post-surgical data points directly to a secure cloud-based platform, where healthcare providers can track patient progress on the TracPatch mobile app or web dashboard. The TracPatch app features an intuitive interface for easy operation on any smart phone or tablet with Bluetooth technology.

Dr. Shervin Oskouei, MD, Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, said TracPatch can add tremendous value to the entire episode of care. This technology allows a healthcare provider insight into never-before-seen data for post-surgical rehabilitation. Being able to monitor your patients range of motion progress and exercise compliance daily is a game changer. TracPatch is making proactive care easy, so every patient has an excellent outcome.

Curt Wiedenhoefer, President of Consensus Orthopedics, says, In this new value-based healthcare environment, to be able to combine the exploding adoption of wearable technology and apply it to the total joint industry is going to revolutionize the way we deliver care. For the first time in the history of joint surgery, we are using microelectronics to passively capture valuable post-surgical recovery information. Now, healthcare providers have objective data for every patient, especially during those critical six weeks of post-acute care.

With the launch of TracPatch, Consensus Orthopedics is ideally positioned to partner with all healthcare providers looking to improve outcomes, reduce costs and enhance patient satisfaction. With CJR bundled payments rolling out nationwide, TracPatch is a truly innovative product for the value-based healthcare market as well as any provider looking to redefine their episode of care.

Explore TracPatch by visiting Consensus Orthopedics Booth #1233 at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 15-17. See for yourself how this device can revolutionize the way you deliver care.

To learn more about the TracPatch wearable device system, visit tracpatch.com, call 916-355-7131, and visit Booth #1233 at AAOS.

About Consensus Orthopedics, Inc.

Consensus Orthopedics was founded in 1992 as a medical device consulting company. In 1996, Consensus Orthopedics acquired US Medical Products, becoming a global manufacturer of reliable large joint orthopedic devices. In 2016, Consensus Orthopedics launched its innovative TracPatch division focused on creating transformative wearable technology designed for real time continuous post-surgical patient monitoring. With a focus on patient care, Consensus is dedicated to creating one team and providing exceptional outcomes. Learn more at http://www.consensusortho.com.
Oklahoma Wildfires Never has there been any type of destruction to our state of this caliber. A Chief Firefighter

The Woodward County emergency management team said the residents in Buffalo, Laverne and north central Woodward County are being evacuated and are urged not to try and stay in their homes due to the widespread fires. The City of Woodward is currently safe but residents are asked to monitor conditions in case there is a change of wind direction.

About 7:30 p.m., an evacuation warning was issued for the town of Fort Supply. Residents are asked to go to a shelter at the Pioneer Room, 1212 9th Street, in Woodward. If your home is affected by #okwildfires, report it to #RedCross volunteers @ Pioneer Room evacuation center or call 580-256-3828.

Multiple wild-fires were reported near Laverne and Buffalo, the Harper County emergency management team confirmed. The Laverne fire moved into Woodward County, and the fire line is about 25 miles in length. Three of the local fire departments from Woods County responded to the fire. Major and Custer counties also have sent for the usage of more task forces to assist with Harper and Woodward county wildfires.

There have been reports of assistance from many US and neighboring states volunteering to help fight the fires and disaster cleanup. One nursery located near Nashville, Tennessee is also wanting to help restore all the burned up trees in the path of the wildfire's destruction. Tammy Sons, CEO of Tennessee Wholesale Nursery (http://www.tennesseewholesalenursery.com) has recently contacted the Forestry Department offering a massive donation of 10,000 tree seedlings to help replant the forest and provide some much needed shelter for all the small animals that lost their home. Tammy says it's not as valuable as helping needy families but it's a way she can help utilize what she does to help the environment.

Contact:

Susan Green

sales(at)tnnursery(dot)net

Main St

Nashville Tn

USA
Digital credential pioneer Credly and Portfolium, an ePortfolio platform that makes a students academic and co-curricular experience searchable by employers, announced today a new partnership that enables learners to demonstrate evidence of their learning and competencies to potential employers. The new integration allows Portfolium users to access and display digital badges earned through Credly in their ePortfolio, and enables employers to search and find candidates based on badges that match specific job opportunities and targeted skillsets.

There are more students graduating with degrees or certificates than ever before, and yet 60% of employers claim these students aren't graduating with the skills they need to fill their jobs, said Adam Markowitz, CEO of Portfolium. Portfolium is solving this problem by allowing employers to match their jobs to the proven skills within students' portfolios via our employer recruiting platform, TalentMatch. This partnership with Credly will allow millions of Portfolium users to showcase verified achievements in the form of digital credentials alongside examples of their best work, helping pave the way for the evidence-based hiring revolution.

Among the first to take advantage of the new integration are the nine colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), the nations largest community college district. As part of the Los Angeles Healthcare Competency to Career Consortium (LA H3C) project originally funded by a TAACCCT grant, the consortium developed an innovative training model designed to recognize students interested in the health science profession, retrain adults new to the healthcare field, or upskill current professionals on new specializations. Students receive digital badges that recognize achievement in industry-aligned, competency-based programs in eleven health science career pathways.

The demand for healthcare professionals is rising at an unprecedented rate, and finding candidates with the necessary training to meet this demand is becoming increasingly difficult, said Linda Delzeit, education technology instructor leading the digital credentialing efforts at Los Angeles Trade-Tech Community College (LATTC). Digital badging and ePortfolios have made it possible to demonstrate the relevant, industry-specific skills students are developing, and to do so in a timely manner. Going digital has enabled us to more quickly connect well-prepared individuals to jobs in our rapidly changing sector.

To date, the program has issued over 6,400 badges to students who have demonstrated industry-specific skills, including senior care, BLS CPR, safe practice and infection control, as well as soft skills, including diversity and cultural awareness, customer service, compassion and empathy, and professionalism and ethics. The new integration enables students to showcase evidence of these skills by importing the digital badges, managed through Credly, into their individual ePortfolio, hosted by Portfolium, where employers can find candidates based on their skills for open health care professions.

Todays employers are looking for more effective ways to identify candidates with the right skills to meet the rapidly-changing demands of the workforce, said Jonathan Finkelstein, founder and CEO of Credly. But traditional transcripts and resumes often fall short in communicating the depth of a learners experience and qualifications. Our integration with Portfolium makes it easy for job-seekers to provide hiring managers with a robust portfolio of work, bolstered by verified digital credentials, creating a more agile and transparent way to link education and training to career opportunity.

To learn more about the Credly and Portfolium integration, join our webinar on Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 2 pm ET. Register here: http://crd.cr/credly-portfolium.

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About Portfolium: Portfolium partners with colleges & universities to help students transform learning into opportunity. Our ePortfolio network helps millions of students and alumni from over 2,000 colleges and universities manage their skills and launch their careers. Portfoliums cloud-based platform empowers students with lifelong opportunities to capture, curate, and convert skills into job offers, while giving learning institutions and employers the tools they need to assess competencies and recruit talent.

About Credly: Credly is a leading digital credential service provider, helping the world recognize lifelong achievement with the most popular platforms for verifying, sharing and managing digital credentials and badges. The enterprise-class system allows organizations to officially verify skills and competencies; distribute portable and secure digital credentials and open badges; and gain actionable data and insights. Thousands of education institutions, industry associations, employers and workforce development programs use Credly to make achievements visible. For more information about Credly, visit https://credly.com.
College Success Arizona released a new policy brief today, "Investing in College Access, Supporting Completion: How Need-Based State Grant Aid Can Help Increase Higher Education Attainment Rates in Arizona," that explains the characteristics of well-designed state grant aid programs. The brief provides insight to state leaders, legislators, and policymakers on the important role that state-sponsored, need-based grant aid programs play in Arizonas efforts to increase its statewide postsecondary attainment rate and grow its economy.

Postsecondary attainment is essential to the success of Arizonas students, particularly those from low-income and minority backgrounds, said Rich Nickel, CEO of College Success Arizona. Ensuring that low-income students have access to robust need-based state grant aid programs will help so many more of our states students to enroll in college and complete their course of study.

Targeting low-income students with need-based aid can lower the cost of college, thereby increasing affordability and the likelihood these students will enroll in a postsecondary degree program. The brief concludes with recommendations for policymakers regarding how Arizona can best design and implement effective state-sponsored need-based grant aid programs.

Our ability to increase postsecondary attainment rates in Arizona will undoubtedly shape the future success of our state, Paul Luna, President and CEO of the Helios Foundation. Research from College Success Arizona has consistently found that increasing higher education access and success not only offers economic and social benefits for individuals and their families, but also for the state as a whole.

When young people in Arizona are able to access and complete postsecondary education programs, their opportunities for well-paying jobs and supporting our states economy increase substantially, said Vince Roig, Chairman of the Board of Directors of College Success Arizona. Providing state grant aid to more students will help Arizona to strengthen its workforce and create sustainable economic growth.

This brief is the third in a series of non-partisan and evidence-based policy briefs, and College Success Arizonas fourth major publication on college attainment. It builds off of the previous policy brief, "How State Grant Aid Increases College Participation and Drives Attainment," which provided an analysis of grant and financial aid as a barrier to attainment. Read College Success Arizonas other publications here.

About College Success Arizona

College Success Arizona is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, building public will for college completion and providing a unique combination of scholarships and mentoring that increase college graduation rates among low-income and first-generation students across the state. Their work is done by: providing scholarships and mentoring support services, building partnerships with college access programs and scholarship programs, raising awareness of the importance of college completion and the support of more than 200 college access and success organizations throughout the state. For more information about College Success Arizona and its partners, visit http://www.collegesuccessarizona.org.

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I have been proud to advocate on behalf of the security industry and to assist with the implementation of public policy that helps to save lives and protect property,

The Security Industry Association (SIA) has selected John Steele, Senior Director of Government Relations, Johnson Controls, as 2016 SIA Committee Chair of the Year for his work with the SIA Government Relations State and Local Policy Working Group.

With this award, SIA honors Steele for his work in advocacy on behalf of the security industry in dialogues with state and local governments. SIA Chairman Denis Hebert will present the 2016 Committee Chair of the Year Award to Steele at The Advance, SIA's annual membership meeting, scheduled to occur on Tuesday, April 4, 2016, during ISC West.

I have been proud to advocate on behalf of the security industry and to assist with the implementation of public policy that helps to save lives and protect property, Steele said. I share this award with the entire State and Local Policy Working Group, who make tremendous investments of their own time and expertise to boost the entire industry. I look forward to continuing to press forward on important issues with state and local governments in collaboration with SIA Government Relations.

John Steeles leadership of the State and Local Policy Working Group has benefited the security industry tremendously, said Hebert. John has been particularly watchful on state Buy America bills that could deter the use of proven security technologies while being equally proactive in support of legislative proposals to spur the adoption of security technologies for use in the residential market and by schools, public transit agencies, heath care institutions, and other critical infrastructure facilities in local markets. John has demonstrated the acumen deserving of the 2016 Committee Chair of the Year Award.

Hebert will present SIA award recipients, including the SIA Committee Chair of the Year Award, Sandy Jones Volunteer of the Year Award and SIA Chairman's Award, at The Advance, held during ISC West at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday, April 4.

Honorees and all SIA Members are welcome to gather for the program from 3:30-4:30 p.m. SIA Members who attend The Advance also receive free transportation and early VIP entry to SIA Market Leaders Reception immediately afterward. Find more info and register at http://www.securityindustry.org/advance.

The Advance is co-located with ISC West, produced by ISC Events. Security professionals can register to attend the ISC West trade show and conference, which runs April 4-7, at http://www.iscwest.com.

About the Security Industry Association

The Security Industry Association (SIA) (http://www.securityindustry.org) is the leading trade association for global security solution providers, with more than 700 innovative member companies representing thousands of security leaders and experts who shape the future of the security industry. SIA protects and advances its members' interests by advocating pro-industry policies and legislation at the federal and state levels; creating open industry standards that enable integration; advancing industry professionalism through education and training; opening global market opportunities; and collaboration with other like-minded organizations. As a proud sponsor of ISC Events expos and conferences, SIA ensures its members have access to top-level buyers and influencers, as well as unparalleled learning and network opportunities. SIA also enhances the position of its members in the security marketplace through SIA Government Summit, which brings together private industry with government decision makers, and Securing New Ground, the security industry's top executive conference for peer-to-peer networking.
Every day, the public relies on federal websites to access information and services from the U.S. government, yet 92 percent of its most popular sites fail to meet basic standards for security, speed, mobile friendliness, or accessibility, according to a first-of-its-kind study released today by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

Despite years of progress in digital government, a striking number of federal websites do not even meet many of the U.S. governments own requirements, let alone private-sector best practices, said Alan McQuinn, ITIF research analyst and the reports lead author. Considering that many constituents rely on federal websites to interact with government, it is incumbent upon the new administration, supported by Congress, to make websites more convenient, accessible, and secure.

McQuinn and co-author Daniel Castro analyzed 297 of the most popular federal websitesall U.S. government websites in the top 1 million websites globallyassessing them on four criteria: security, speed, mobile friendliness, and accessibility. In addition to scoring the sites in each of these areas, the authors ranked them using a composite score to give an overall view of how well the most popular government websites adhere to federal requirements and industry best practices.

Overall:

The five highest-performing websites are:

1. healthdata.gov

2. healthfinder.gov

3. consumerfinance.gov

4. whitehouse.gov (Trump administration)

5. usembassy.gov

(The Obama administrations version of whitehouse.gov is ranked 55.)

The five worst-performing websites among those studied are:

293. usphs.gov

294. fmc.gov

295. osti.gov

296. trade.gov

297. ipcc-wg2.gov

Overall, 92 percent of the 297 websites that the authors reviewed failed in at least one category.

Security:



33 percent of the reviewed websites failed the test for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates, which underpin most Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) connectionsa common standard for encrypted Internet communications that all executive-branch websites are required to use.

Of surveyed websites, 14 percent lacked SSL certificates (and therefore did not have HTTPS), and an additional 19 percent had SSL, but failed the test due to poor implementation.

Websites that failed the test for SSL certificates include the Department of Defense (defense.gov), the International Trade Administration (trade.gov), and the United States Courts (uscourts.gov).

10 percent of federal websites failed to enable Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC)a set of protocols that add security to domain name system lookup and exchange processes. Executive-branch domains are also required to enable DNSSEC.

Websites that failed the DNSSEC test include the House of Representatives (house.gov), the Speaker of the House of Representatives (speaker.gov), and the U.S. Forest Service (fs.fed.us).

Overall, 61 percent of websites passed both the SSL and DNSSEC tests.

Speed:



While 22 percent of websites failed the speed test for desktops, 64 percent failed the speed test for mobile devices.

Websites that failed both mobile and desktop speed tests include the General Services Administration (gsa.gov), the Federal Trade Commissions IdentityTheft.gov, and the National Cancer Institute (cancer.gov).

Mobile Friendliness:



41 percent of the reviewed websites were not mobile-friendly.

Websites that failed the mobile-friendliness test include the National Weather Service (weather.gov), the Treasury Department (treasury.gov), and the International Trade Administration (trade.gov).

Accessibility:



42 percent of the reviewed websites failed the accessibility test for users with disabilities.

Websites that failed the accessibility test include the International Trade Administration (trade.gov) and the Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov).

The report proposes several policy recommendations to help the federal government build fast, convenient, secure, and accessible websites, starting with a series of website modernization sprints to fix known problems with the most popular government websites. From there, McQuinn and Castro suggest the White House mandate that federal agencies establish page-load speed requirements for their websites and monitor and share detailed website analytics. They also urge the Office of Management and Budget to launch a website consolidation initiative to build on past efforts to eliminate duplicative or unnecessary websites. Together with Congress, the White House should establish a capital fund for federal agencies to upgrade their IT. Finally, Congress should encourage nonexecutive agencies and other branches of government to adopt federal government website standards and best practices, too.

Federal websites still have a long way to go to comply with the requirements that past administrations have set for them and to match the performance of best-in-class, private-sector websites, said McQuinn. These efforts will only come to fruition when federal CIOs identify problems with their domains and create plans to address them, tracking improvement in a transparent and accountable way. Only by taking stock of the gaps in federal website compliance can the White House push federal agencies to make their websites great again.

Read summary.

Read report.
Alpha Epsilon Pi We want our brothers to stand up and proactively support our Jewish communities. Truly, the brothers of AEPi are playing a role in healing the world through their actions and deeds, not just their words.

In a message sent to its nearly 10,000 undergraduate members on 190 campuses across the world, Alpha Epsilon Pi Executive Director Andy Borans urged brothers to be extra cautious during these increasingly concerning times.

As one of the most visible Jewish institutions on nearly 190 campuses around the world, we must be both vigilant in our efforts to make our houses, brothers and fellow Jews safe and, at the same time, we should take a role in helping to repair the damage done by this hatred, said Borans.

Brothers across the world have taken the fraternitys mission  developing leadership for the Jewish community  to heart. Brothers from Washington University in St. Louis and Drexel University in Philadelphia volunteered to help clean up the Jewish cemeteries which were recently desecrated by anti-Semitic acts. In Florida, AEPi groups, in conjunction with other local groups, have sponsored response training to active-shooter scenarios for their campus Jewish community. In response to anti-Semitic graffiti scrawled on campus near its house, the AEPi chapter at the University of Nevada  Las Vegas organized a campus-wide rally against anti-Semitism which brought the entire campus together, along with local elected officials and others, in support of the Jewish community. This weekend, dozens of chapters across the world are volunteering at local Purim carnivals on their campuses or in their communities to show support for Jewish institutions and to ensure that, no matter what, Jewish people who wish to come together can do so without fear.

Issuing press releases with strongly worded condemnations is not enough. We want our brothers to stand up and proactively support our Jewish communities, said Borans. Truly, the brothers of AEPi are playing a role in healing the world through their actions and deeds, not just their words. For this, I am amazingly proud and eternally in debt to our undergraduate brothers.
Gianguan Auctions is holding the first sale of Asia Week on Saturday, March 11. The collections of fine Chinese ceramics, historic and contemporary scroll paintings, carved jades and personal touchstones can be previewed now at Gianguan Auctions, 39 W. 56th Street.

According to Kwong Lum, Founder and President of the fifteen-year old gallery, "The sale features the finest of the year's consignments. They reflect the reasons why China has historically revered its scholars, artisans, and painters. Collectors will find values at all levels."

Highlights of the highly coveted upper tier properties begin with a rare Ming fish jar with cover, a favorite genre of Emperors Jiajing, Longqing and Wanli. The jar's wucai tableau of golden carp in a lotus pond plays out on a white ground with underglaze blue enlivened by enamels of golden yellow, green, red, brown. The jar has the Jiajing six-character mark. Lot 97. Value: $3M.

A stunning Qing Dynasty famille rose bottle neck vase also takes the podium. It has a unique black ground on which a field of Famille-rose is embedded with gilt wire outlines of six Buddhist lions. The blue reign mark and the Qianlong six-character mark are on its base. The estimate is by request.

The paintings lead with Gathering Beneath the Sycamore Tree" by Qiu Ying (1495-1552). Painted in gongbi (realistic) style, it depicts life among women of the Ming court. Signed Qiu Ying, it is inscribed with one artist seal, seven emperors seals, six collectors seals and colophon by Gao Shiqi. Lot 72. Value: $1.3M.

"Visiting Friends, by Tang Yin (1470-1523), one of the Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty, is the top landscape. Set against a mountain range, it offers an outsider/insider view of a rural man about to receive a guest. The work is inscribed and signed Tang Yin, has two artist seals, twelve collectors seals and six emperors seals. Colophons are by Pan Zhengwei, Liang Shizheng and Qian Chenqun. It is Lot 103, It will bring upwards of $500,000.

The carved jades date from neolithic to contemporary. For instance, a Warring States ritual vessel of polished dark brown jade with variegated hues incised with dragons and modeled after a bronze pan has already attracted enthusiastic viewers. It is Lot 123. The starting bid is $12,000.

Personal jades in the form of touchstones and jewelry include an elegant, cylindrical bangle of translucent green with vivid emerald streaks. It is Lot 7, valued at $20,000. A pendant carved to resemble bamboo with a silver squirrel atop is both detailed and charming. It is Lot 9, valued at $5,000. Both carry GIA certificates assuring color and quality.

One of the unusual offerings is a Western style, gilt silver vase, 10" tall, incised with two Phoenix with outstretched wings and stylized tail feathers, flanked by two beast handles. It carries the Yongzheng four-character mark and is of the period. It is Lot 69, valued at $40,000.

A delightful collection of Korean ceramic water droppers makes a rare appearance. Of the Josean Dynasty, when spareness signaled a new taste among the literati, the properties include Lot 283, an abstract lion with supressed spout, Lot 280, a white with blue circular dropper with Daoist trigrams around a yin/yang symbol, Lot 281, a peach shaped dropper with blue floral flourishes and Lot 282 a sleek, octagonal dropper. Values range from $400$1,000.

Cinnabar, a favorite of collectors and decorators, makes its statement in the form of a 16-lobed box with cover, carved with dragons amidst clouds. It is similar to examples in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is of the Qing Dynasty. Lot 160. Value: $8,000.

For details on these and the other outsdanding properties in Gianguan Auctions', March 11 sale, please visit http://www.gianguanauctions.com or preview the items at Gianguan Auctions, 39 W. 56th Street. Previews are running now, 11 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. For condition reports, contact the gallery at info(at)gianguanauctions(dot)com or 212-867-7288. The sale will be conducted live at Gianguan Auctions and online at invaluable.com and liveauctioneers.com.
McCoy Elkhorn After seeing American Resources eastern Kentucky coal operations, I have a much better understanding of the scale and growth potential of these operations, commented Mr. LaVerghetta.

American Resources Corporation (OTCQB: NGFF) today announced that it has hired Mark J. LaVerghetta as the companys Vice President of Corporate Finance & Communications. In his role, Mr. LaVerghetta will oversee all company communications with current investors, potential investors, and the financial community in general. As part of the companys commitment to growth and expansion in the energy sector, with a particular focus on coal production and processing, including metallurgical coal, American Resources Corporation is expanding its management team, with Mark LaVerghetta being a key component of that growth.

After seeing American Resources eastern Kentucky coal operations, I have a much better understanding of the scale and growth potential of these operations, commented Mr. LaVerghetta. With the companys potential for significant expansion beyond its current operating mines, I am excited about being a part of this growth.

In addition to its currently operating coal mines and preparation facilities, American Resources Corporation has a large number of idled mining permits held by its coal operating subsidiaries, McCoy Elkhorn, Deane Mining, and Knott County Coal. As the company expands its production and growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, Mark LaVerghetta will assist American Resources Corporation in communicating its strategy and growth with the public.

About American Resources Corporation

American Resources Corporation is engaged in diversified energy services including mining, processing and logistics, with a primary focus on traditional energy sources such as coal and oil and gas. American Resources Corporation plans to expand its business by continuing to develop its currently leased properties and further expanding its processing and logistics business, and through the pursuit of strategic acquisitions.

http://www.americanresourcescorp.com

Contact:

Mark LaVerghetta

investor(at)americanresourcescorp.com

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Companys actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The words believes, may, will, should, would, could, continue, seeks, anticipates, plans, expects, intends, estimates, or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved.
Karlan Tucker, CEO, Tucker Financial Solutions If you're going to quit your job, you need income.

Tucker Advisors, one of the nations largest insurance field marketing organizations, recently held a national training conference for top insurance producers in Littleton, Colorado. The keynote speakers included Karlan Tucker, CEO, Tucker Financial Solutions and Tom Hegna, PBS TV host and best-selling author of Dont Worry, Retire Happy.

Tucker and Hegna reviewed retirement topics including income planning, annuities, and happiness in retirement.

According to Tucker, most retirees are concerned with outliving their life savings, because they [retirees] dont know how long theyre going to live. Hegna agreed, The long-term care threatcan wipe out your life savings.

To lower longevity risks, Tucker recommends that an individual self-fund a pension with their 401K accounts. An individual can create a pension by converting a 401K with a fixed index annuity into a safe opportunity to grow for the purpose of generating income.

Hegna recommends that individuals work with a financial advisor to assist in developing a retirement income plan. In his book, Dont Worry, Retire Happy he provides seven simple steps to plan for retirement

Hegna stated that individuals should use life insurance as the most efficient way to transfer wealth. Tucker recommends fixed index annuities to many of his clients as a way to produce income in retirement. Tucker said, If youre going to quit your job, you need income.

Hegna noted, Todays media is all about investing in the market. Hegna reminds Baby Boomers, once you hit retirement, youre in the distribution phase and its all about guaranteed income while taking key risks off the table. A key to a happy retirement is eliminating or lower the longevity risks.

Tucker noted, An individual doesnt know how long they are going to live. Thats a longevity risk and most retirees never get the income right. They have a pile of assets. They either take too much and run out of money, or take too little, and then they sacrifice the quality of their retirement. Tucker said, Every day I help individuals with retirement income plans. This is the first step in having a happy and quality retirement.

About Tucker Financial Solutions:

Tucker Financial Solutions, a retirement planning, financial advisory and investment firm, specializing in fixed index annuities, life insurance, asset management, and college funding. Tucker Financial Solutions, founded in 1991, is located in Littleton, Colorado. Tucker Financial Solutions is part of the Tucker companies, which include Tucker Advisors, Tucker Asset Management, and Tucker College Solutions.
"The very act of participating in this job fair moves companies into the nationwide network of colleges that are producing the best and brightest minds in cybersecurity."

The Community College Cyber Summit (3CS) brings together community college educators and leaders to exchange information on cybersecurity in all technology fields. The event is scheduled for June 28 to 30 to be held at Prince Georges Community College and National Harbor, Maryland, with a job fair on the first day.

The job fair, on June 28 from 9 to 11:30 a.m., will enable students to speak with potential employers that have job openings in the IT and security-related fields while also learning what job skills are needed in these careers. Faculty also are invited to attend to understand what kind of positions are available and what skills their students need to be hired.

With this job fair, 3CS is not only providing the opportunity for students to meet with prospective employers, but just as importantly, for companies and governmental agencies to see first-hand the depth of cybersecurity knowledge that these recent or near-grads have acquired. Additionally, the very act of participating in this job fair moves companies into the nationwide network of colleges that are producing the best and brightest minds in cybersecurity. It is a huge win for everyone involved, said Barbara Huffman de Belon, director of Scholarship for Service: 2-Year Colleges at National CyberWatch Center.

The 3CS educates teachers and focuses on the role of cybersecurity in all technology fields. It is the only national academic conference focused on cybersecurity education at community colleges. Even for colleges that may not have cybersecurity programs yet but are interested in implementing them, 3CS has options. The learning tracks include colleges and faculty new to cybersecurity; people who teach cybersecurity or colleges preparing to become Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Two-Year Education; those wanting to incorporate elements of cybersecurity in various curricula; and a student track.

For more information on the Pre-Summit Job Fair, visit my3cs.org/pre-summit-job-fair

About Community College Cyber Summit:

The Community College Cyber Summit (3CS) is organized and produced by the National CyberWatch Center, National Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA), CyberWatch West (CWW), Cyber Security Education Consortium (CSEC), Broadening Advanced Technological Education Connections (BATEC), and Advanced Cyberforensics Education (ACE) Consortium, which are all funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The outcomes of 3CS will leverage community college cybersecurity programs across the nation by introducing the latest technologies, best practices, curricula, products, and more. To learn more, visit my3CS.org.
Mitchell Englander, Harvey Englander and Arnie Berghoff prepare for the 20th Los Angeles Political Roast the trio originally founded in 1997 benefiting the American Diabetes Association. This event, a Los Angeles tradition, has raised millions of dollars for the ADA, while bringing together the political and business worlds for an evening of great fun.

The American Diabetes Association announced Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell will be this years honoree at the 20th annual Los Angeles Political Roast on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel located at 9876 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, California. Cocktails begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m.

District Attorney Jackie Lacey and Councilman Joe Buscaino will serve up wit and humor as the roasters for the evening. Doug McIntyre, host of McIntyre In The Morning on KABC 790 Los Angeles and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News, emcees the event.

The Los Angeles Political Roast celebrates its 20th year this month, said Arnie Berghoff, a local business leader and co-founder of the event. This event, a Los Angeles tradition, has raised millions of dollars for the ADA, while bringing together the political and business worlds for an evening of great fun.

Created in 1997 by Berghoff, Harvey Englander and Los Angles City Councilmember Mitchell Englander after Berghoffs daughter Laura was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, the roast has raised $8 million for the Association.

Diabetes is a serious disease that strikes nearly 30 million Americans including 1 in 10 people living in and around Los Angeles. This annual fundraiser benefits the work of the American Diabetes Associations Los Angeles chapter to stop diabetes and help those living with the disease.

For more information or to purchase tickets, sponsorships or tribute journal opportunities, contact Donna Lieberman at 800.676.4065, ext. 7437.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to Stop Diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit http://www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish. Find the Los Angeles office on Facebook (adalosangeles), Twitter (@ada_losangeles) and Instagram (@adalosangeles).
Painting by Kathy Sharpe Art is such a wonderfully immersive experience in Carmel-by-the-Sea, said Kathy Sharpe, local artist and gallery owner.

Even though Carmel-by-the-Seas roots as an artists colony date back more than 110 years, today art is around every corner you turn in the village. And visitors to the charming town along the Pacific can make art of their own with a choice of hands-on creative experiences.

Whether its artists busy at work in their galleries (where there are more in one square mile than any other city in the country), award-winning chefs creating works of edible art in the villages world-class restaurants, or shop owners crafting head-turning storefronts, the essence of art is as defining to Carmel as its white-sand beaches and fairytale cottages.

Art is such a wonderfully immersive experience in Carmel-by-the-Sea, said Kathy Sharpe, local artist and gallery owner. It may be an altogether different experience than when the artists colony got its start here in 1906, but art is indeed alive and thriving in so many ways today.

Heres a closer look:

-The Carmel Art Festival, an annual event in Carmel-by-the-Sea since 1994, will be held Friday, May 19 to Sunday, May 21. Founded by a group of local gallery owners, the Carmel Art Festival  free to the public  has become one of the most prestigious juried plein air events in the country. The Festival was started not only to have artists immortalize the beauty of the scenic Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur coastline, but also to promote youth art programs to encourage the next generation of talented artists.

At this years event, Steven Whyte, an internationally acclaimed figurative sculptor whose work is displayed at the Smithsonian, will be creating a large sculpture in Devendorf Park, ideally situated in downtown Carmel where additional Sculpture-in the-Park exhibits and exhibitions are scheduled. Live bands will be entertaining crowds as they enjoy the festivities. All official Festival events will be held on Mission Street between Ocean Avenue & 6th Avenue, turning the downtown area into a bustling haven for art, whether enjoyed by avid collectors or those simply stopping to admire.

Innkeepers are offering special Carmel Art Festival hotel packages with discounted rates and free gifts.

-The Carmel Art Association (CAA) is the second oldest art cooperative in the country and has defined Carmel-by-the-Seas art community as it celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2017. To commemorate the occasion, the Association is presenting an Historical Exhibition with a show featuring some 200 works of paintings, graphic arts and sculpture created by more than 50 CAA members since 1927.

The exhibit is available to the public through April 4. The CAA gallery, located on Dolores between 5th and 6th Avenues, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

-Staged by Carmels 21 artist-owned galleries, the Carmel Art Walk is held the second Saturday of every month. Over a three-hour period, artists can be found in their galleries, showing their works and answering questions, while many are giving free demonstrations.

The next two Art Walks are scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. for April 8 and May 13.

-For a closer look, Carmel Art Tours offers 90-minute guided, informal walking tours to as many as eight of the villages art galleries, where artists are not only found working but telling stories about the process behind their creations. And many local artists offer private sessions and retreats where even beginners can immerse themselves in creative expression.

-Even the store windows in Carmel-by-the-Sea are often works of art, such as the storefront at Carmel Bay Company, on the corner of Lincoln and Ocean. Several other stores  those up and down Ocean Avenue, on the side streets, and in Carmel Plaza  also feature dazzling visual appeal.

-Then there are Carmel-by-the-Seas restaurants, which boast a host of talented executive chefs who could hold their own on the world stage but opt for Californias Central Coast, where they can marry fresh, local foods with Monterey Countys award-winning wines. For instance, Justin Cogley, executive chef at Aubergine, showcases a broad combination of flavors and textures with a balance of innovation and deference to the finest local ingredients. The restaurant has received the Forbes Travel Guides highest five-star rating of excellence, and Cogleys creations are as appealing to the palate as they are to the eye.

Its never been easier to book a lodging reservation at one of the villages quaint inns. A newly introduced Book Direct feature on the Visit Carmel website allows travelers to quickly and conveniently make reservations, with special rates, directly with innkeepers.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is accessible via Monterey Regional Airport (MRY) is just a 10-minute drive away and served by direct flights to and from San Francisco (SFO, United Express), Los Angeles (LAX, United Express, Alaska Airlines), Las Vegas (LAS, Allegiant Air), Phoenix (PHX, American), and San Diego (SAN, Alaska Airlines). San Jose International Airport (SJC) is 75 miles north.

Visit Carmel http://www.carmelcalifornia.com is the official destination marketing organization for the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The mission of Visit Carmel is to promote Carmel-by-the-Sea as a top-rated, world-renowned destination where one-of-a-kind visitor experiences and discoveries are within walking distance of a variety of charming hotels, inns and B&Bs.
Barbara Kavovit, CEO of Evergreen Construction

Barbara Kavovit, Founder of Evergreen Construction, continues to be a force in the New York City General Contracting and Construction Management industry. As the founder of Anchor Construction in 1995, she became a recognized CEO of one of the Citys first female-owned General Contracting companies. Kavovit continues to move forward with the energy, courage and determination resulting in the completion of new corporate and retail projects, the launch of a new website http://www.EvergreenConstructionCorp.com and yet another upcoming book.

We recently completed a highly-detailed corporate project in midtown Manhattan for a leading think tank to major corporations, states Barbara Kavovit, CEO of Evergreen Construction. She continues, We are true partners with each client, and work tirelessly from the pre-construction planning phase, all the way through completion to closeout phase. It is incredibly rewarding when we team up with clients, Owners Reps and Architects that have a strong passion, and requirement, for such quality and detail.

Kavovit also garnered incredible success and recognition with the launch of her Barbara K brand, and line of DIYVA tools for women. She is proudly known as the Girl in a Hard Hat, and likes to tell the story of a woman enduring a fierce battle to gain equal opportunity in the world of New York City construction. Located in midtown Manhattan, Evergreen will focus its projects mostly in the tri-state area, and is certified as a WBE Company with the State and City of New York.

One of Evergreens recently completed projects is the renovation of the corporate Headquarters of Bionic Solution at 4 Columbus Circle in NYC. Along with the Owners Rep, Architect, and Construction team, a highly detailed, cutting-edge office was created.

I was fortunate to have been awarded this contract, and have a team with me at Evergreen that understands hard work, coupled with proper planning and brilliant technical precision. We take a diligent and transparent approach. This makes a major difference in each project, as well as client relationships, states Kavovit. She continues, We also recently completed an overhaul of our website http://www.EvergreenConstructionCorp.com so we can now offer a simple, yet comprehensive story of who Evergreen Construction is, and who I am, as well as the journey and accomplishments that make construction management in New York City such a passion in my life.

About Barbara Kavovit

Barbara Kavovit is the CEO of New York City-based General Contractor and Construction Management Company Evergreen Construction. In 1995 she was recognized as a pioneer as owner of one of the first female owned construction management companies in NYC, Anchor Construction. In 2001 Barbara was chosen by Crains as one of 100 Most Influential Women in Business. In 2001 and 2002 she was a finalist in the Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Barbara is a former NY Post columnist, and author of two books, Room for Improvement: Change Your Home! Enhance Your Life! With: Tools, Tips and Inspiration from Barbara K! (Rodale 2005) and Invest In Your Nest: Add Style, Comfort, and Value to Your Home (Rodale 2006) (Amazon). Her name has also been associated with countless books about entrepreneurs.

Barbaras expertise is fully recognized. She has appeared numerous times on Good Morning America, and The Today Show. Barbara has been featured in publications around the country, and internationally including O The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Parade and Forbes and CNBCs campaign I Am American Business.

Barbara Kavovit may be contacted at 212-575-8777, or online at http://www.EvergreenConstructionCorp.com
Ian M. Ross, a shareholder with the Litigation Practice at the Miami office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig, was recognized by the Dade County Bar Association during the We Can Dream pro bono celebration dinner at the Rusty Pelican on March 2 in connection with his nomination for the Florida Bar pro bono award for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

The event featured distinguished members of the judiciary and Florida Bar, along with a showcase of pro bono opportunities to benefit Put Something Back, a joint pro bono project of the Dade County Bar Association and Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Cuban American Bar Association Pro Bono Project, and Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.

I am honored to be recognized by the Dade County Bar Association, Ross said. At Greenberg Traurig, we have a long-standing commitment to giving back to the community and helping to ensure equal access to justice. We are dedicated to helping underserved Miami-Dade residents and believe our pro bono work can make a positive impact on their lives.

Ross is a shareholder in the Litigation Practice of the firm's Miami office. He represents corporations, directors, and officers, as well as professional service and accounting firms, in commercial and securities litigation, professional liability actions, and government investigations. Ross has experience defending against claims brought in federal securities class actions, state securities actions, shareholder derivative suits, breach of fiduciary duty actions, and claims arising out of financial or commercial transactions. He also has represented clients in connection with investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Ross also is active in pro bono matters, and has successfully represented refugees seeking political asylum in removal proceedings in immigration court.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GTLaw) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. One firm worldwide, GTLaw has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the second largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2016, and among the Top 20 on the 2016 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.
InvestmentBank.com, an innovative software and services provider for middle-market companies, is pleased to announce the creation of an editorial board for the companys M&A blog. The new board includes editors for writing, editing and managing the companys growing repository of only blogs and other expert content in the M&A field. The new editorial board also includes additional openings for written content from expert writers and influencers across the M&A ecosystem from attorneys to CPAs to investment bankers.

We are excited to announce the launch of our editorial board, says Carl Christensen, VP of Strategy for Deal Capital Partners, LLC and InvestmentBank.com. It represents significant growth in the scope and scale of the content we continue to produce for our company website(s). It is also reflective of our desire to effectively put the right systems and controls in place for compliant content as the volume of content continues to grow.

Because part of the expansion of its online presence now includes the opportunity to on-board other guest writers across the investment banking ecosystem, the company expects the quality and quantity of the firms expert articles to continue to grow. With the creation of our editorial board, we now are able to provide guest writing and guest article opportunities for expert accountants, attorneys, wealth managers, M&A advisors and other investment bankers, says Christensen. We are ultimately looking for the best way to streamline the quality and quantity of the content being published on our website.

Those considering the option of potentially writing and posting content will need to keep in mind that each published article will be subjected to editorial and compliance oversight. Consequently, not every writing or content piece will be accepted for publishing on the companys website. Only the best and most professional writers are invited to apply for the opportunity to publish on the firms site.

About InvestmentBank.com

InvestmentBank.com is a website owned and operated by Deal Capital Partners, LLC, a firm dedicated to software and services for investment banking, mergers & acquisitions and capital formation. The company assists middle-market business operators and issuers in the sale of company securities and assets. The firm works with issuers, investors and other intermediaries to provide the right resources to complete the most equitable transactions for their clients. More information is available on the companys website at http://investmentbank.com/
The AGILE R100 Label-Free Graphene Biosensor The ability to manufacture graphene biosensors at scale will enable us to create significant cost reductions for many life science and healthcare applications, as well as introduce game-changing capabilities that have never been seen before.

Biotech company Nanomedical Diagnostics teams with full-service MEMS foundry Rogue Valley Microdevices to deliver the only mass-produced graphene biosensor available, AGILE R100. Previously, the benefits of graphene biosensor technology were restricted to specialized, well-funded university labs building one-off platforms. The new partnership between Nanomedical Diagnostics and Rogue Valley Microdevices has opened the novel sensing technique to any pharmaceutical company seeking to characterize biomolecules quickly and easily, transforming the field of drug discovery.

Graphene has been touted as the worlds most versatile material capable of revolutionizing biomedical applications due to its excellent electrical conductivity, high surface area, and unique biocompatibility. Studies on the detection of biomolecules using lab-produced graphene-based biosensors have shown the sensors to exhibit high sensitivities, wide linear detection ranges, and low detection limits. Numerous efforts have been made by companies to commercialize graphene biosensors at scale, but the process was hampered due to the difficulty of integrating delicate graphene material into standard high-volume production processes.

Nanomedical Diagnostics together with Rogue Valley Microdevices has solved the riddle, overcoming substantial manufacturing hurdles to bring the label-free kinetic binding assay AGILE R100 to market. AGILE R100 is designed to provide biophysical data to pharmaceutical and biotherapeutics companies seeking more informed decisions earlier in the drug discovery process. However, with the most difficult piece of the puzzle  cost-effective large-scale manufacturing  solved, the company plans a significant impact on the healthcare industry with innovative new products that enable cutting-edge life science research, drug discovery applications, and diagnostic and health monitoring platforms.

Rogue Valley Microdevices has been a true partner in developing a viable large-scale fabrication process for our AGILE biosensor chips, says Nanomedical Diagnostics founder and CEO, Ross Bundy. Their world-class process engineers enabled AGILE R100 to be manufactured with high reproducibility, quality, and throughput, which provides better data and lower costs for our customers. In the long run, the ability to manufacture graphene biosensors at scale will enable us to create significant cost reductions for many life science and healthcare applications, as well as introduce game-changing capabilities that have never been seen before.

When Nanomedical Diagnostics approached us with the AGILE R100 design, we recognized the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a revolution, says Jessica Gomez, founder and CEO of Rogue Valley Microdevices. We have codeveloped the only graphene biosensor fabrication process in existence and are now the pre-eminent experts in that field.

Nanomedical Diagnostics will be at the 2017 American Chemistry Society National Meeting in San Francisco to present AGILE R100 and the unique graphene biosensor technology behind the platform. Visit booth 1434 from April 2 through 4 to learn more.

About Nanomedical Diagnostics

Nanomedical Diagnostics (Nanomed) is a biotech company based in San Diego, CA. Nanomed has developed a breakthrough electronic assay based on Field Effect Biosensing (FEB) technology that provides real-time, label-free kinetic binding and affinity data. Biosensors at the heart of the assay leverage the highly sensitive nanomaterial graphene to unite biology with electronics, delivering the unique ability to sense molecules >1 Da in complex media such as DMSO, and use unprecedentedly small amounts of sample.

About Rogue Valley Microdevices

Rogue Valley Microdevices is a full-service precision MEMS foundry that combines state-of-the-art process modules with the engineering expertise to go seamlessly from custom design to manufacturing. Specializing in MEMS and biomedical device manufacturing, Rogue Valley Microdevices offers a flexible equipment set and smaller batch sizes, playing a critical role in the commercial MEMS manufacturing ecosystem.
P3 Systems buys and sells certified pre-owned Cisco hardware

Personal Sales- Not just a number

With a majority of P3s inventory housed at their Northeast facility, it made perfect sense for P3 to expand to locations in which there is a high demand for a steady and reliable source for IT infrastructure. Now in Midtown Manhattan, P3 is continuing to provide exceptional product and services, while adding a unique one-on-one interaction with current and prospective customers. Companies in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the surrounding communities now have a local vendor from whom to receive custom quotes on both New and Pre-Owned hardware & services at substantial affordable pricing.

Asset Recovery

To further enhance the customer service experience in NYC, P3 continues to push and promote their Asset Recovery Program, a service in which theyll buy-back network & datacenter hardware no longer being used. NYC Metro companies can contact P3, and a local sales representative will assess a valuation on the equipment, often times providing a quote within the next business day. Companies with equipment in volume can request an on-site visit, and a P3 Representative will come there to assess and inspect the inventory.

About P3 Systems

P3 Systems was founded in 2007, and is privately held. P3 Systems has been recognized by the Rochester Business Alliance as one of the Rochester Top 100 fastest growing companies in the region for the past 5 years in a row. For a full list of products and services offered, visit P3 Systems online at P3Online.com
Benjamin R Roberts Ben Roberts is one of the finest young lawyers in Texas. I am proud to call him my friend, colleague, and now partner, said firm founder, Chad Pinkerton

C. Chad Pinkerton and The Pinkerton Law Firm, PLLC are pleased to announce that attorney Benjamin R. Roberts has been named partner at the firm.

Benjamin R. Roberts joined the firm as an associate trial attorney in 2010, and has held the position of senior trial attorney since 2013. He is a graduate of South Texas College of Law, and has a Bachelor of Arts from Texas Tech University.

Since joining the firm, Mr. Roberts has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of those injured due to another individual or corporations negligence. He has focused on representing clients injured by dangerous and defective products, chemical exposure, plant explosions and construction accidents, as well as those who are dealing with commercial litigation involving contractual disputes, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.

Ben Roberts is one of the finest young lawyers in Texas. He may look like a preppy, young frat boy, but he is a beast to deal with on cases, turning over every rock and pushing hard to recover every last cent for each client he represents. I am proud to call him my friend, colleague, and now partner, said firm founder, Chad Pinkerton.

Currently, Mr. Roberts holds the position of Liaison Counsel for over twenty thousand plaintiffs in the coordinated In Re Chevron Refinery Fire litigation in the Contras Costa Superior Court in Martinez, California (1). This litigation arose after a ruptured pipe caused a fire at the Chevron Richmond Refinery across the bay from San Francisco, and resulted in a subsequent release of smoke, vapors, particulate matters, and other harmful chemicals, causing approximately 15,000 people from the surrounding communities to seek medical treatment at nearby medical facilities for various symptoms related to chemical exposure. In addition to the Chevron Refinery Fire litigation, Mr. Roberts has assisted Mr. Pinkerton in representing wrongful death claimants and injured individuals that were harmed as a result of the April 17, 2013 fire and explosion of the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility in West, Texas (2).

Because of his outstanding efforts on a variety of personal injury and business cases, Mr. Roberts has been named as a Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star since 2015.

About the Pinkerton Law Firm, PLLC

The attorneys at The Pinkerton Law Firm, PLLC handle a diverse range of cases throughout the state of Texas, with a focus primarily on personal injury and mass torts. Learn more at ChadPinkerton.com, or email broberts(at)chadpinkerton(dot)com.

(1) The Chevron Refinery Fire is before Judge Barry P. Goode in Department 17 of the Contras Costa Superior Court in Martinez, California. Lead Case No. is: C12-01841

(2) The West Fertilizer explosion matter is before Judge Jim Meyer in the 170th Judicial District Court in McLennan County, Texas CASE NO. 2013-1721-3
Rouse Law PC Funds raised from this event go a long way in helping the district to meet the demands of a growing and dynamic school district like Waukee. Past News Releases RSS

The Waukee Community Schools Foundation 20th Annual Dinner & Auction Gala recently raised $83,000 for the Waukee School District to benefit schools, teachers and students. It was our second-largest fundraiser in the twenty years this event has been held, said West Des Moines attorney Ward Rouse, who sits on the board of the Waukee Community Schools Foundation. Funds raised from this event go a long way in helping the district to meet the demands of a growing and dynamic school district like Waukee.

Waukee Community Schools Foundation supports the school district in three primary areas: scholarships to each Waukee graduate that qualifies, and to date has awarded over $726,000 to its graduates; grants to teachers and staff for professional development and continuing education, and since 2012 has granted nearly $70,000 in continuing education and professional development funds for teachers and staff; and classroom grants for items and technology not supported by district funds.

Since 2012, the foundation has given nearly $40,000 for classroom items such as 3D printers, router tables, early literacy programs, digital cameras, programs for PE, theater sets, and computer software, added Rouse.

This years event was also the first time the foundation granted the Dr. David Wilkerson award, which went to recently retired superintendent Dr. Wilkerson. Next year, and each year thereafter, this special award will be granted to one teacher in our school district that displays the same selflessness, community awareness and innovative leadership that Dr. Wilkerson has shown throughout his years with the school district, concluded Rouse. The winner gets a $1,000 classroom grant.

About Ward Rouse, Rouse Law PC

Ward Rouse has been named to the Top 100 Lawyers in Iowa by the American Society of Legal Advocates and has an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Rouse Law PC focuses on personal injury and criminal defense. For more information, call (515) 223-9000, or visit http://www.rouselaw.us. The law office is located at 4940 Pleasant Street, West Des Moines, IA 50266.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
Arlington House of Vape Storefront We are excited to provide the DC Metro area with our friendly and clean approach to retail vape stores. All locations offer our innovative testing system for all of the juices we manufacture and sell. Tasting units were custom designed and 3D-printed...

House of Vape, one of the fastest growing retail vape chains in the Mid-Atlantic region, has opened a new brick and mortar store in Arlington, Virginia, near the Ballston Metro station. The official grand opening event will be held at the new location on Friday, March 10th.

House of Vape is the largest manufacturer of house-made vape juice in the DC metro area. The new location in Arlington features an integrated laboratory in which they have formulated and mixed over seventy-two unique house juices.

The Arlington location, conveniently located in the heart of Ballston, was opened just a year after the first store in Vienna, Virginia. Three additional locations in the DC metro area are anticipated to follow by the end of 2017.

The new Arlington location offers a vast selection of juices, with sixty house mixes and thirty name brand flavors from other popular manufacturers. All juices are sold in three different strengths and are available for tastings in custom designed 3D-printed testing units.

We are excited to provide the DC Metro area with our friendly and clean approach to retail vape stores. All locations offer our innovative testing system for all of the juices we manufacture and sell. Tasting units were custom designed and 3D-printed to provide our customers with a convenient and sanitary method to experience the full flavor profiles of all our juices, says House of Vape Founding Partner Chris Hawley.

The brand has been touted as the regions leading luxury vape retailer, catering to both expert and new clients alike. Customers often describe House of Vape as "the Apple Store of vape shops." Each store is stylishly designed with a sophisticated, open floor plan. All locations are serviced by knowledgeable staff members, readily available to assist with any and all issues. Staff members are also trained to build and re-wick custom coils.

All House of Vape retail locations offer a handpicked selection of the industrys leading vaporizer hardware, including mods, tanks, RDAs, coils, batteries, and more. In the months following the grand opening event, custom 3D-printed box mods and accessories will also be available.

About House of Vape

House of Vape is a vaporizer and e-liquid retailer in Northern Virginia. The chain is currently comprised of two Northern Virginia locations in Vienna and Arlington. The company has plans to open three additional retail locations and an e-commerce store by the end of 2017. House of Vape storefronts provide of-age clients with safe cigarette and tobacco alternatives and only carry the highest quality e-liquids and devices on the market. Every store features state of the art design, innovative tasting devices, and knowledgeable staff members. In the near future, House of Vape will also be offering custom designed 3D-printed box mods and accessories.
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A cookie is a small text file that a website saves on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site. Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.Website use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google") to help analyse the use of this website. For this purpose, Google Analytics uses"cookies", which are text files placed on your computer.The information generated by the cookies about your use of this website - standard internet log information (including your IP address) and visitor behaviour information in an anonymous form - will be transmitted to and stored by Google including on servers in the United States. Google will anonymize the information sent by removing the last octet of your IP address prior to its storage.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website and compiling reports on website activity.We not use, and not allow any third party to use the statistical analytics tool to track or to collect any personally identifiable information of visitors to this site. Google may transfer the information collected by Google Analytics to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google`s behalf.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.You may refuse the use of Google Analytics cookies by downloading and installing Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics.Cookies are also used to record if you have agreed (or not) to our use of cookies on this site, so that you are not asked the question every time you visit the site.You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed.Most browsers allow you to:If you chose to delete cookies, you should be aware that any preferences will be lost. Also, if you block cookies completely many websites (including ours) will not work properly and webcasts will not work at all. For these reasons, we do not recommend turning cookies off when using our webcasting services.
As Family Christian Stores closes approximately 240 stores around the country, indie Christian bookstores are ramping up efforts to attract new customers.

Baker Book House, an independent Christian bookstore located a mile from one of three Family Christian stores in Grand Rapids, Mich., is planning a week-long promotion called Discover Baker Book House from March 6-11. One store section is highlighted each day, with special pricing on books and gifts throughout the week

Family Christians closing gives the indies an opportunity to step up and be noticed, said Sue Smith, store director at Baker Book House. This is an opportunity to capture the sales of disappointed Family Christian customers.

Heather Trosts store, the Greatest Gift and Scripture Supply in Pueblo, Colo., is located an hour south of Colorado Springs where two Family Christian stores are closing. Shes hoping to draw customers to her store instead of losing them to internet retailers.

Its been interesting to listen to customers. As much as people love the convenience of online shopping, they are still into personal relationships, said Trost, who is considering a mailing to Colorado Springs residents to introduce her store. She is making sure the stores online presence is strongup-to-date website and active Facebook pagehoping customers will drive a distance to buy.

The Parable Christian Store of St. Joseph, Mich., is within an hours drive of five Family Christian outlets: three in northern Indiana, one in Kalamazoo and one in Holland, Mich. Lorraine Valk bought the store from her parents in 2006, who had run it for 18 years.

Shes planning to visit those nearby Family Christian stores to see if theyll provide customers with a postcard with her stores name and location. She is also checking into cable TV ads, and is pounding Facebook quite a bit to get the word out about her store.

I think were enough of a destination store that if I can let people know were here, we will draw them in, said Valk.

All three stores have fielded numerous questions, via Facebook and in person, about whether they will be closing, too. To have people put us in the same boat as them is harmful to us, said Valk.

Curtis Riskey is president of Christian Booksellers Association (CBA), the sponsor of UNITE, the annual convention for the global Christian products industry formerly known as the International Christian Retailing Show (ICRS). He said that the feeling from Christian retailers about the closings is a general sense of surprise and initial sadness. Hes not heard of specific plans for other Christian bookstores to step into vacant Family Christian spaces, but there are definitely some options and opportunities to be considered.

Family Christian has long been a presence at UNITE, but Riskey doesnt forecast huge changes there because that network is much larger than one company.

Ultimately, Riskey interprets Family Christians closure as a reminder of changes in both the marketplace and in consumer behavior. [This news] can be a catalyst that encourages us in the Christian products industry to find new ways to work together and learn from each other, he said.

Meanwhile, Family Christian Stores, which operates in 36 states and employs over 3,000 people, is currently offering items at 30% off, with no refunds or exchanges. Announcing the closure on Feb. 24, president and CEO of Family Christian Chuck Bengochea cited two very difficult years post-bankruptcy, but no details were made available about the timeline of the store closings. Family Christian has not responded to requests for information about when it will begin closing stores, and a retail employee in Grand Rapids did not know when the location would close. According to the Northwest Herald, a Family Christian store outside of Chicago is expected to close within eight to 12 weeks, while the Holland Sentinel reported that the company plans to shut down its headquarters in Grand Rapids and its distribution center in Kentwood, Mich. by the end of April.
Abingdon Press acquired world rights in all formats to Strong For a Moment Like ThisThe Daily Devotions of Hillary Rodham Clinton, a collection of daily devotions written for the former secretary of state and the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. Slated to publish on August 15, each of the 365 devotions are written by pastors who provided Clinton with spiritual support during the presidential campaign, including her pastor and friend, Rev. Dr. Bill Shillady.

During the campaign, the emails from Bill were the first I opened each morning. They gave me strength, Clinton said in a statement released by Abingdon.

In addition to the devotions, Strong For a Moment Like This will include personal notes from Clinton, parts of her speeches, and headlines that provide context for that days devotion. Clinton is also writing the foreword, and the book will be organized into 12 themes including forgiveness, courage, and women. A portion of the proceeds will go to the United Methodist City Society in New York.

Marketing plans are not yet finalized, though an Abingdon spokesperson said the publisher is planning a national marketing and publicity plan for the book with retailers playing a key role.

News of the devotions written for Clinton arrives just one month after Simon & Schuster announced plans to publish her personal essays in fall 2017.
Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life by Craig Groeschel debuted at #1 on our February Religion Nonfiction List after publisher Zondervan offered a special pre-order incentive where readers could set their own price for the book. There was a base $5 price point, and the deal ran from January 23 to February 6. Further, Groeschel offered two copies of the book for $10 at each of his 26 Life.Church campuses during the month of February.

Deepak Chopra's latest title, You Are the Universe, written with physicist Menas Kafatos, debuted at #5 on our Religion Nonfiction List. The book was promoted through giveaways on social mediaChopra has over five million followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram combinedas well as with a print and digital advertising campaign with media companies such as The New York Times, Fortune magazine, National Geographic, Nautilus, and Huffington Post.

Also new at #6 is Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen. The book is her first since starting the Christian women's conference, IF: Gathering, which took place Feb. 3-4the weekend following the book's publication. Marketing and publicity for Nothing to Prove also included print advertisements in Christian and secular media outlets, Facebook and Twitter giveaways, an eight-city book tour, and promotion at additional conferences such as Catalyst and the International Christian Retailing Show (ICRS).

Two new Amish titles debuted on our Religion Fiction List in February. The first book is Wanda Brunstetter's new Amish Cooking series, The Seekers, landing at #4 after the publisher placed print ads in Amish tourist and Christian women's magazines. The publisher also did a Billboard promotion in Amish tourist areas including Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Secondly, Amish novelists Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Kathleen Fuller, Ruth Reid came in at #7 with An Amish Home: Four Novellas.
U.K. Novel Takes Int'l Market by Storm

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh, originating with Lizzy Kremer at David Higham Associates, has been racking up a flurry of foreign sales. The book sold to Pam Dorman in the U.S. at the end of February (via Allison Hunter at Janklow & Nesbit) and, at press time, had been sold in a total of 20 foreign deals. In addition to the U.S. sale, the book has been sold to Goldmann (Germany) and Longanesi (Italy), among others. Set to be released in the U.K. in spring 2018, under the title The Man Who Didnt Call, the novel follows a woman who falls in love with a man who disappears. (The book is also slated to be released in the U.S. in spring 2018.) Walsh has previously written four books under the pseudonym Lucy Robinson; Ghosted marks her first book written under her real name. David Higham Associates controls foreign rights.

Italian Trilogy Sells in the Netherlands

The Soul of The Frontier by Matteo Righetto recently sold to Dutch house Atlas Contact in a three-book deal. Italys Piergiorgio Nicolazzini Literary Agency, which is handling foreign rights, said the book is a coming-of-age tale, set in the late 19th century, about a girl who must continue her father's line of work--smuggling tobacco--after he goes missing. Mondadori is publishing the book in Italy later this year. Righetto is the author of The Bear Skin, which was adapted into an Italian film and is in its eighth edition in print in Italy.

Swedish Debut Travels to Germany

Swedens Hedlund Agency has accepted a preempt from German publisher Rowohlt, in a two-book deal, for Anna Tell's Four Days in Kabul. The book is the first entry in a new series about hostage negotiator and military instructor Amanda Lund. The launch title of the series follows what happens when two Swedish diplomats go missing from the embassy in Kabul. Swedish house Wahlstrom & Widstrand will publish the novel in June. Tell has spent over 20 years serving in the Swedish military and as a policewoman.

Bestselling Finnish Novel Attracts Buyers

Antti Tuomainens The Man Who Died has recently sold to Zlin (Czech Republic), and U.K. publishing house Orenda (for world English rights). Released in Finland in September by Like, the book is being handled by the Salomonsson Agency. The novel, which the Salomonsson Agency compared to the film Fargo, follows a 37-year-old man who, after learning he is being slowly poisoned, sets out to learn who wants him dead. The book was on numerous Finnish bestseller lists for the first three months after it was published.

Danish Novel Sells In Germany

Kaspar Colling Nielsen's Mount Copenhagen recently sold to Markus Naegele at Germany's Heyne in a two book-deal. (The second book in the deal is a forthcoming work called European Spring.) Other sales have been made in Norway, Czech Republic and Iceland. Gyldendal, the original publisher, released the title in Denmark in 2010; the book went on to win the Danske Bank First Book Award. Salomonsson Agency is now handling all foreign rights. According to the agency, the book is about a 3,500-meter mountain being built in Copenhagen.
INDIANAPOLIS  Indy Audio Labs, a high-end home audio systems startup based in the Purdue Technology Center of Indianapolis, plans to further expand its sales in the international market.

We already have global representation and expect that to grow by over 30 percent in the near future, said Ted Moore, CTO and company co-founder. It is a golden opportunity for our made-in-Indiana products to expand to markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Indy Audio Labs is the producer of the Acurus and Aragon brands for home theater systems, and its components are manufactured at Jeffersonville, Indiana-based Key Electronics Inc. The company competes with large worldwide brands such as Yamaha, Denon and McIntosh.

We offer top-level performance, radically simple ease of use and the rugged reliability of a product made in the USA, said Rick Santiago, company CEO and co-founder. And some of our products are lower priced than those of our competitors. We would be considered at the low-cost end of the high-end component marketplace.

The companys products already have a strong overseas market, especially in China, where Indy Audio Labs-owned Aragon amplifiers are used in a Star Wars-themed home theater that was recognized by CEDIA as a global award winner in 2016.

Indy Audio Labs was one of the first to move into the Purdue Technology Center of Indianapolis in 2011.

For a company starting out, the Purdue Technology Center allowed us to focus on building our company with minimal distractions, Santiago said. The infrastructure was already there along with many programs and technical assistance that helped get us off the ground.

Indy Audio Labs also took part in the recent Integrated Systems Europe exposition in Amsterdam, one of the largest audio-visual trade shows in the world.

We met with dozens of potential new distributors and believe that when we tally up the results of this show over the next six months, we will find that our ISE 2017 return on investment will be outstanding, Santiago said.

About Indy Audio Labs

Indy Audio Labs began shipping its new generation of award-winning Acurus and Aragon products in late 2011. The company, founded by two industry veteran technologists, saw a vision for complementing high-performance audio with Internet-of-Things (IoT) control. All products are designed and manufactured in Indiana, USA. Indy Audio Labs maintains its headquarters in the Purdue Research Park of Indianapolis and sells its products in both the USA and around the world.

About Purdue Research Park of Indianapolis

The Purdue Research Park of Indianapolis is one of five sites across Indiana operated by the Purdue Research Foundation. The Indianapolis site includes the Purdue Technology Center near the Indianapolis International Airport. Other park locations are West Lafayette, Merrillville and New Albany. The park network has more than 260 companies and about 4,500 people working in high-tech sectors. With a combined 500,000-square-feet incubation space, the park has four of the top 10 incubators in Indiana. An independent study reports that the Purdue Research Park network contributes $1.3 billion annually to Indiana's economy.

Writer: Curt Slyder, 765-588-3342, caslyder@prf.org

Sources: Rick Santiago, 317-542-3146, rick.santiago@indyaudiolabs.com

Ted Moore, 317-542-3097, ted.moore@indyaudiolabs.com
NEW YORK (AP)  The hiring freeze at small businesses looks like it's finally thawing.

The factors behind companies' decisions to hire vary. But the pickup in hiring was clear in a report Wednesday from payroll provider ADP, which said its small business customers added 104,000 jobs in February, following a January gain of 62,000.

That compared to an average monthly increase of 33,000 from September through December. Hiring gains for all of 2016 averaged 60,000 a month after fluctuating from 2011 to 2015.

A January survey by the National Small Business Association showed 43 percent of owners expect to hire in the next 12 months, up from 33 percent last summer. Other surveys also have also shown big increases hiring plans.

Rob Basso, the owner of a New York company that provides human resources and payroll services to small businesses, said he sees his 3,000 clients adding jobs.

"My clients are more willing to invest in the products and services I offer because they're more optimistic about how well their small businesses are," said Basso.

The rising price of gas and the prospect of increased defense spending are encouraging New Eagle in Ann Arbor, Mich., to double its staff, including engineers and it support team, from 24 to 50 in the next 18 months. The company helps small businesses convert gas-powered vehicles to electric or hybrid power.

Co-founder Mickey Swortzel said interest in electric or hybrid vehicles is expected to increase. The firm also expects more business from the Pentagon, which has invested in clean energy equipment to reduce its fuel needs, including in combat areas.

Many small online retailers also expect sales to grow; some are hiring to be sure they have enough workers. StoreYourBoard.com -- which sells products for storing skateboards, snowboards, skis, kayaks and other items -- had a 50 percent revenue increase last year from 2015.

The Charlottesville, Va.-based business hopes to repeat that performance this year. It plans to hire at least four workers in 2017, adding to its staff of six, said Andrew Mavraganis, a vice president of the firm.

Business has surged at Rachel Beider's two massage businesses in Brooklyn after President Donald Trump's inauguration, with revenue rising 50 percent that first week. Beider, who has 46 part-time massage therapists, needs four more to keep up. She's also hired a full-time receptionist.

"I wasn't expecting the volume or frequency of appointments," she said. "People are making more visits."

Business has been growing 80 percent annually at Eco Branding, a Washington, D.C. marketing firm whose clients include companies involved in clean energy and information technology for cities. CEO Jake Rozmaryn expects revenue to keep rising, so it's time to bring in more staffers to lighten the workload. The company has seven full-time employees, including two recent hires, and is looking for one more.

"We'd rather have a group of happy and healthy employees that have a great work-life balance than a group of stressed and overworked employees that will get burned out after a year and leave," said Rozmaryn. He said President Trump's call for $1 trillion in public and private spending on infrastructure could mean even more business.
DAVENPORT  His yard strewn with debris, northwest Davenport resident Jeff Dietz walked past his three crumpled grain silos, past his two smashed barns, and surveyed his broken landscape on a sunny, windy Tuesday afternoon.

The night before, Mr. Dietz was the victim of a tornado with peak winds of 120 mph that ripped through his homestead at 6535 Wisconsin Ave. about 10:30 p.m.

The abrupt violence of the storm threw wood and metal alike into his backyard and nearby fields. His wind break of pine trees to the north did little, other than "hold some of the tin so I don't have to go as far to pick it up."

His ordeal was part of a long night that saw parts of northwest Davenport and Scott County hit hard by at least one tornado that was reported shortly after 10 p.m. in the Blue Grass-northwest Davenport-Eldridge areas, according to the National Weather Service of the Quad-Cities.

The NWS said severe storms moved over northeast Missouri, eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois on Monday evening.

Besides the tornado in the Blue Grass-northwest Davenport-Eldridge area, the NWS confirmed a tornado in Muscatine and another in Dubuque County. The maximum width of the northwest Davenport tornado was 1,000 yards and stretched for 25 miles, according to NWS meteorologist Terry Simmons.

The maximum width of the Muscatine tornado was 200 yards with a length of 1.8 miles, according to the NWS.

The damage was visible throughout northwest Davenport and parts of Scott County on Tuesday.

MidAmerican Energy Co. spokeswoman Debora Blume said more than 120 power poles were knocked down or snapped in the Iowa Quad-Cities area. Much of the damage occurred along Wisconsin Avenue, West Kimberly Road and West 60th Street in Davenport along with northwest portions of Scott County.

Ms. Blume said customers in those areas could expect to see their power return early Wednesday morning but added that crews would be working well into the day to finish repairs.

Ms. Blume said a total of 16,800 Quad-Cities customers were without power early Tuesday morning, with 10,400 of them in Iowa. As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, there were about 550 customers without power in the Quad-Cities, Ms. Blume said.

Mr. Dietz said he was lucky despite all of the damage his property sustained. He no longer farms and now drives a truck. He has lived at the family homestead for more than 50 years. He said the grain silos will not be replaced.

In one of the barns, two old firetrucks he let a friend park inside and use for parades "were crushed," Mr. Dietz said.

Despite the destruction, Mr. Dietz had to smile at a small playhouse for his grandkids left untouched by the destruction.

"Mother Nature holds the hammer, but life goes on," Mr. Dietz said.

The Scott County Sheriff's Department had multiple calls during Monday's storms. From 10:21 p.m. to 12:08 a.m., deputies responded throughout the county to downed power lines, trees on fire, truck rollovers and rescue calls.

Lt. Joe Caffery said much of the damage was in northwest Scott County. Deputies responded to the 11,000 block of 190th Street where a roof blew off a house with an elderly female inside.

"It was a tough time getting to her because of the downed trees and downed lines," Lt. Caffery said.

He said there were four truck rollovers in the county, including one at the Walcott Truck Stop, where a man inside his parked sleeper cab was trapped and had to be extricated through his front window. Lt. Caffery said the driver sustained a possible broken arm.

A sheriff's deputy was responding to a call north of Blain's Farm and Fleet near New Liberty Road and 210th Street when a power line hit his windshield and sheared off the light bar on his squad car.

Ms. Simmons said the Quad City International Airport reported winds of 58 mph at 10:36 p.m.

Ms. Simmons said employees at the NWS took shelter at 10:30 p.m. for about five minutes while backup offices in LaCrosse, Wis., and Des Moines assumed responsibilities.

Mr. Dietz said he was watching television when his power went out Monday evening.

"It got real quiet," he said. "And, I said, 'that ain't good.' I went down to the basement quick."

Mr. Dietz said as he made his way to the basement when he heard a "hellacious roar."

He said the house shook a little and, after the storm passed, he looked through his basement window, where he could see broken shapes in the darkness.

"Oh, my God, my silos are gone!" he said.
WASHINGTON  The man expected to oversee any possible Department of Justice case involving Russian interference in the American election got his first public grilling Tuesday and admitted not knowing more about events than Ive read in the newspapers.

Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. attorney for Maryland, gave that answer in response to questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering his nomination to be deputy attorney general, a post from which he would supervise the Russia investigation in place of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the probe last week.

Rosenstein said his lack of detailed knowledge of the Russia case prevented him from being able to answer questions about whether he would appoint a special counsel to oversee the investigation, a step Democratic senators favor.

I do not know the details, and I would not reach any conclusions based on what I read in the newspapers, he said. He pointed out, under questioning from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that he did not have access to the full classified intelligence community report on Russian interference and said he had not read the unclassified version.

Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota expressed frustration that Rosenstein had not at least read the unclassified version. I find that very, very disturbing, Franken said.

It was Frankens questioning during Sessions confirmation hearing in January that led to the attorney generals recusal last week after it was revealed that, contrary to his testimony, he had met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during last years presidential campaign, when Sessions was an adviser to Donald Trump.

Franken repeated to Rosenstein the question he had asked Sessions: If there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign had contact with the Russian government, what would you do?

Rosenstein responded that if there were an indication that the communications had violated federal law, I would ensure an appropriate investigation.

Rosenstein noted that neither former Attorney General Loretta Lynch nor current acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente, both of whom have had oversight of the Russia probe previously, had appointed a special prosecutor, despite having the authority to do so.

They made their decisions not to appoint a special counsel and they have access to information that I do not have, he said.

The nomination of a deputy attorney general is usually a routine, low-key affair. But Rosensteins confirmation hearing was packed, evidence of the hold that the prospect of Russian meddling in Novembers election has on Washington, where two congressional investigations and one by the FBI are underway. In addition to Sessions recusal last week, Trumps first national security adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, was fired last month for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Kislyak.

The sensitivity was on display when the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, clashed with Franken over his call for Sessions to return to the committee to answer questions about his contacts with Kislyak. Grassley accused Franken of having asked Sessions a gotcha question.

It was not a gotcha question, sir, Franken objected. The two talked over each other until Grassley pounded his gavel, signaling an end to the exchange.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

Despite the Democrats concerns, Rosenstein appeared to be on track for confirmation. He was introduced to the committee by Marylands senators, Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, both Democrats, who praised his record and character.

If their praise translates to support in a Senate vote, that would mean the remaining 46 Democrats in the Senate would need to be united in opposition and convince five Republicans to join them, to defeat his nomination.

Rosenstein is a career prosecutor who has been U.S. attorney in Maryland since 2006. He was an associate independent counsel in the early years of the Whitewater investigation led by Ken Starr but had left that office before the Monica Lewinsky scandal led to President Bill Clintons impeachment, and acquittal, on perjury charges.

On Tuesday, Rosenstein told senators that political affiliation is irrelevant to my work. He said he often reminded himself of his responsibility to answer three questions with every case: What can we do? What should we do? And how will we explain it?
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Kevin Meyer Bio Lean A Short History of Lean It has far deeper roots than you think

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Author Archive To many people, lean manufacturing was invented in Japan and is synonymous with the Toyota Production System (TPS). They will tell you that the TPS is the manufacturing philosophy that enabled Toyota to effectively conquer the global automobile market by reducing waste and improving quality. While that is true, it is not the whole story. Lean has far deeper roots and broader potential. Fundamentally, lean is about creating value and empowering people, not just eliminating waste. It was developed long before Toyotalong before the 20th century, in fact. Some trace the roots of lean all the way back to the Venice Arsenal during the 1500s, when Venetian shipbuilders could roll complete galley ships off the production line every hour, a remarkable achievement enabled by several weeks of assembly time being sequenced into a continuous, standardized flow. (The genius that helped the military engineers at the Venice Arsenal was none other than Galileo himselfperhaps the first-ever lean consultant!)

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Quality Digest Discuss About The Author Kevin Meyer Kevin Meyer has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience, primarily in the medical device industry, and has been active in lean manufacturing for more than 20 years serving as director and manager in operations and advanced engineering, and as CEO of a medical device manufacturing company. He consults and speaks at lean events; operates the online knowledgebase, Lean CEO, and the lean training portal, Lean Presentations; and is a partner in GembaAcademy.com, which provides lean training to more than 5,000 companies. Meyer is co-author of Evolving ExcellenceThoughts on Lean Enterprise Leadership (iUniverse Inc., 2007) and writes weekly on a blog of the same name.
When Jacinda Ardern was rattling off the things that matter most to all of us incredible Kiwis - it rang a little hollow when held up against Labours record.

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To North Korea, the chemical warfare agent VX may have looked like an ideal weapon for assassination. So little would be required to kill, it could easily be smuggled into Malaysia sealed in a pen cartridge or other small object. The tasteless and odorless oil-like substance also offered the opportunity to kill cleanly and quickly without the immediate appearance of murder.

Two womenone from Vietnam, the other Indonesiawere charged Wednesday in last month's killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader at the Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia. Airport surveillance video caught the attackers dashing up to victim Kim Jong Nam and rubbing his cheekseven a drop would contain tens of lethal doses, according to tests conducted decades ago.

Many in the national security community suspect North Korea is behind the attack and are taken aback by the use of VX, a chemical weapon once common in superpower military arsenals. With the advent in 1997 of the Chemical Weapons Convention, a treaty that bans such weapons and requires their destruction, most of the world complied.

Since it is not a chemical that can be safely concocted in a kitchen laboratory, it likely was not made in Malaysia. Authorities there are trying to determine how the attackers came to possess VX. It could have sprung from North Korean chemical weapons laboratories or been purchased from third partiesperhaps a leftover stash from the Cold War.

One key question at this point: How will China respond to the murder of Kim Jong Nam with an outlawed chemical warfare agent? The country had reportedly provided him protection and warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to leave his older half-brother alone. Even though this assassination was carried out in Malaysia, it appears to be a serious affront to China.

Details of the murder are still being uncovered. North Korea may have wanted the death to look like it was due to a heart attack, which is what the North Korean embassy in Malaysia initially claimed. The North Korean embassy sent personnel to the hospital to claim the body soon after the death. They also reportedly tried to claim it before an autopsy was completed, or after only a superficial autopsy that would likely have suggested heart failure as the cause of death.

If the diabolic plan had succeeded, the greater world may have never known that Kim Jong Nam had been murdered. But the plan did not.

Malaysia conducted a thorough autopsy, which showed the nerve agent caused a very serious paralysis that killed Kim Jong Nam, the country's health minister said. North Korea has denounced the autopsy results and claimed the two women could not have used such a deadly toxin without harming themselves or those around them. Not true.

Those long-ago tests showed that the cheek was the most lethal place for a drop of VX. And that's what the women didthey applied the viscous liquid on Kim Jong Nam's cheeks and sprinted away. About 20 minutes later, he was dead. He likely experienced some combination of coughing, chest tightness, blurry vision, fatigue and eventually seizures as his nervous system was thoroughly disrupted.

The attackers did have ways to avoid contamination, including simply washing their hands thoroughly. The tests on humans also showed that 25 times as much VX would have to get on someone's hands to have the same effect as it would on the cheek. In addition, the attackers could have taken known antidotes to counter the effects of VX. Meanwhile, VX creates little vapor so it would pose no significant threat to bystanders, unlike other nerve agents.

However, the attackers had little room for error. They reportedly practiced the attack in test-runs at shopping malls. They had to avoid spilling the VX and properly deliver the fatal dose on Kim Jong Nam's face. And they had to avoid putting so much on him that it would affect othersthose giving him care or unsuspecting people in the crowd.

Malaysian authorities have yet to assign responsibility to a specific country for this assassination, though the number of North Koreans who are suspects leads to the appearance of responsibility.

If a firm connection to North Korea can be made, Malaysia and other countries in East Asia should want to react strongly to the country's role in the crime. If the response does not pose grave costs for North Korea, Kim Jong Un may conclude that further serious provocations may be worth it because North Korea is unlikely to suffer significant costs.

The appearance that North Korea is responsible for this assassination with a chemical warfare agent also may have another gruesome upside for the country: It puts all North Korean defectors on notice that any one of them could be the next target of assassinationa threat that may serve to quiet many of them.

Bruce W. Bennett is a senior defense analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.

This commentary originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report on March 3, 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 schools network of Northern Argentina is to get free-to-air (FTA) digital TV via satellite until DTT coverage expands.





As part of the Belgrano plan , Argentinas public telco Arsat is deploying a direct-to-home (DTH) infrastructure to enable the schools to watch digital FTA TV. The strategy, which is only to be deployed for the rural schools of Northern Argentina, could be implemented in future to compensate for the lack of DTT coverage in remote areas.Under the plan, which will also connect around 2,000 schools to the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network, every rural school will get an aerial and DTH decoder to gain access to FTA TV.In the meantime, Arsat will continue to build the necessary infrastructure for increasing DTT coverage. As part of the strategy, unveiled earlier this year , 15 new broadcasting towers will be built across the country in 2017, nine of which will be placed in the countrys northern regions.The broadcasting stations will be built in the provinces of Corrientes, Salta, Chaco, Misiones, La Rioja and Jujuy, enabling over 900,000 people to receive DTT TV for the first time.
Insight TV has sealed a major distribution deal with Vodafone Spain to feed the telcos new Ultra HD HDR line-up.





Were the first operator in Spain to launch a 4K HDR TV service. We want to provide our subscribers with original UHD content made to the highest technical standard with vivid cinematography; Insight TV captures these qualities perfectly, said Vodafone TV Spains director, Ignacio Garcia-Legaz.The announcement follows Vodafones revamped UHD TV strategy, launched two weeks ago. Along with five 4K-only linear networks, the British telco has added one La Liga game per week in 4K . The UHD service is currently available to customers via the new TiVo box, with a wider roll-out planned in the next few weeks.Featuring original programming in the form of innovative documentaries, reality series and factual programmes, Insight TV provides Vodafone TV subscribers with hundreds of hours of unscripted content in Ultra HD.Were very excited to be chosen by Vodafone Spain as a key part of its new 4K UHD platform. Consumers want the latest technology to enjoy the unparalleled picture quality brought by natively shot and produced UHD, added Rian Bester, CEO, Insight TV
Altice USA and i24NEWS have announced an experiential media programme for local NY tri-state area high schools, dubbed Altice Connects Global Voices.





The programme invites students from local high schools to engage with the i24NEWS team to discuss current events, develop informed opinions, and understand the importance of global awareness, tolerance and journalistic integrity. Students will also participate in the creation of media content that they can share via social media and on AlticeConnects.com Altice USA is the fourth largest cable operator in the US. i24NEWS, available on Optimum TV Channel 102, is an international television news organisation with studios in Tel Aviv, New York City and Paris.Now, more than ever, we need to empower students to think critically about the events within their communities and across the globe, said Lee Schroeder, SVP, government and community affairs, Altice USA. Through Altice Connects Global Voices, high school students will be exposed to a variety of perspectives as they form their own opinions on current events and actively engage in dialogue on global issues with i24NEWS.To kick-off the programme launch, Lawrence High School students participated in a behind the scenes experience at the i24NEWS studio in Times Square, New York City. The students produced short video pieces that include interviews with the i24NEWS talent and leadership teams, learned about the inner workings of a live broadcast, and conducted interviews on the value of the global perspective and non-partisan news.As the media landscape changes rapidly, it is critical to emphasise the importance of well-informed, unbiased journalism and we are thrilled to work with Altice USA to help shape the next generation of journalists and leaders within our communities, said Frank Melloul, CEO of i24NEWS.
Here Be Dragons, a specialised experience studio comprised of creative innovators in virtual and augmented reality, has hired former Tumblr president John Maloney as networks producer.





Maloney will expand the companys reach into all aspects of the content, experiential and installations business with an aim to see what the VR medium can accomplish for creators, brands, businesses, and traditional media platforms alike.Previously, he was employee No 3 at the now-ubiquitous Tumblr  acquired in 2013 by Yahoo for $1.1 billion. From 2008-2012, Maloney oversaw Tumblr as president. In 2015, Maloney was the interim president of Circa, a tech news start-up, which was acquired by Sinclair Broadcasting Group. Later, Maloney founded Terrapin Bale, a seed stage venture fund with a current portfolio of 30 companies.John is a rare force  one who sees where the market is headed before others do, said Patrick Milling-Smith, co-founder and president of Here Be Dragons . Together, were going to test the boundaries of what storytelling and experiences in this medium are capable of  engaging, empowering and educating a community form a practical technical and creative standpoint.I'm excited to jump in with this accomplished, talented team, said Maloney. VR is in need of a new standard. There are many creatives and brands doing inspiring work in the medium  but it's still early days. We want to be a force that unifies and emboldens  we will focus on unlocking the medium's potential that consumers and content creators are ready to experience.
The 2016 elections handed Republicans record political power at the state level. In Kentucky, the land of thoroughbreds, they're running with it.

After winning back control of the state legislature and governorship, Republicans are on the cusp of passing Senate Bill 1, legislation that would take a large chunk of education decision-making out of the hands of the federal and state government and return it to Kentuckys local districts and schools.

The bill's sponsor, Republican state Sen. Mike Wilson of Bowling Green, said in an interview that the law seizes upon the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), to transfer power from Washington to the people. In rare bipartisan fashion, the bill unanimously passed the Kentucky Senate. It cleared the state House education committee Tuesday and is expected to be approved by the full House and signed by Gov. Matt Bevin within the next several days. Some House Democrats have voiced support for Wilson's legislation while reports indicate that others are using their political capital to fight a separate bill that would permit charter schools in the state for the first time.

Among other things, Wilson's legislation would reform the states accountability system and change the way teacher evaluations are conducted. It would also overhaul how the states education standards are reviewed and amended. Here is where Wilson has drawn the most attention.

Under ESSA, the federal government is prohibited from imposing a set of standards on a state. Republicans, in particular, celebrated this change and the fact that it decoupled the Common Core State Standards from any federal intervention, such as the Obama administrations effort to link the Common Core to Race to the Top funding.

Notably, Kentucky was the first state to adopt the Common Core standards. However, critics on the right believed the state had acquiesced to a federal overreach. Thanks to ESSA and Senate Bill 1, the standards will likely soon be firmly in the control of the citizens of Kentucky.

It [Senate Bill 1] gives Kentucky the ability to take control of its own standards, to change them, to adjust them and not to be bound by anything that has been pushed on us from U.S. Department of Education, said Wilson.

Some in the media have been quick to claim that Wilsons bill completely repeals the Common Core. For example, one local headline read: Kentucky Senate approves repeal of Common Core standards in schools.

Wilson says that its not that simple. His legislation does not immediately or entirely repeal the Common Core. Rather, it establishes a process to regularly review and, if necessary, change the state standards, a process that many other states already have in place.

To be specific, the bill would establish advisory boards and committees made up of teachers and members of higher education to review the standards in four subject areas: English language arts, math, science and social studies. (The Common Core only encompasses English and math.) Once the review process commences, it would be staggered. In year one, English language arts would be up for review, in year two math, and so on. The process would repeat every six years.

Along with the rigorous review process, a group of teachers will take the same state exams that are administered to students and review them to see if they are demanding enough and properly aligned to the state standards. If they are not, a new test provider can be found or the existing vendor can adjust the test. Wilson believes this is the first teacher-led program of its kind in the country.

The law also makes significant changes in how the state handles failing schools. The law empowers local school districts to find their own remedies for turning schools around instead of automatic intervention from the department taking over a school, stated Wilson. In addition, it grants schools and districts the authority to evaluate teachers rather than the state department of education.

Substantial changes are made to the state's testing procedures as well. The legislation would require all high school students to take the SAT or ACT twice. (Other tests will be rolled back and these exams will take their place.) Wilson claims that these changes will help the state better calculate and understand how it is meeting ESSAs postsecondary readiness requirements.

Finally, the legislation allows local workforce investment boards to focus and prioritize industry certifications so that students are better equipped to identify and pursue the best paying vocations.

Wilson pointed to the fact that many students in Kentucky dont even realize there are four auto assembly plants in the state with an average wage of $58,000 a year. By contrast, a teacher in Kentucky with a four-year degree and certification will start at approximately $36,000 a year. Wilson wants to ensure that students are equipped with this type of knowledge in order to make smart career choices.

All in all, Wilson believes the legislation, if passed, would firmly plant control of standards, testing and accountability in the hands of those who matter most: parents, teachers, local districts and schools. How these changes are received and implemented remains to be seen.

Christopher Beach is the editor of RealClearEducation.
On March 8, 1971, a group of eight Vietnam War protestors broke into a Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Media, Pennsylvania and stole hundreds of government documents. The burglars were never caught but several are now stepping forward and claiming responsibility for the break in. The stolen memos, reports and internal correspondence they found provided the first tangible evidence that J. Edgar Hoover's FBI was systematically targeting and harassing hundreds of American citizens then known collectively as the New Left.
Mark your calendars: another day of reckoning is drawing near. On March 15 it will be Dutch voters' turn to head to the ballot box. And the Netherlands has its own far-right populist waving a red flag at the established order: Geert Wilders, whom pollsters are now putting neck and neck with prime minister Mark Rutte, leader of the conservative VVD.
NATO has long described the Black Sea region as important for Euro-Atlantic security, but it was not until the July 2016 NATO Summit in Warsaw that NATO leaders pledged to increase alliance presence in the region through the creation of the Tailored Forward Presence (TFP).
"Irrational" North Korea has done it again. Even with U.S. and South Korean forces gathered on the peninsula for their largest annual joint military exercises, Pyongyang launched four ballistic missiles early on March 6. Three landed in the sea west of Japan, within Tokyo's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. As expected, the "irrational" Pyongyang's actions elicited the usual cries of condemnation, triggered a brief dip in the South Korean stock market and led South Korea's acting president, Hwang Kyo Ahn, to reiterate the need for South Korea to rapidly deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system  something that will undoubtedly further perturb North Koreas closest friend, China.

I use "irrational" in quotation marks for a reason. I have already discussed the use of "provocation" as a lazy term for describing North Korea's actions. But Pyongyang's latest moves, as well as the current U.S. review of North Korean policy, offer an opportunity to talk about the idea of the rationality of nations, governments and leaders. North Korea provides what could be a textbook case of the mixed perceptions of rationality and irrationality  a tool with utility beyond todays feisty standoff between the hermit state and its geopolitical rivals.

More Than Just Emotion

At Stratfor, we are often asked why we default to attributing rationality to the behavior of governments. Many argue that the behavior of other governments (or our own at times) appears irrational. Think of the economically devastating land reform instituted by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in 2000, or former British Prime Minister David Camerons decision to hold a referendum on the Brexit, or the U.S. plan in Iraq that assumed the country's disparate ethnic and sectarian divides would simply be overcome by the downfall of a dictator. We all know individuals who act in an irrational manner, whether because of emotional stress or stimuli, fatigue, mental conditions or any number of other reasons. Few of us can honestly say that we have never acted on impulse, out of emotion (be it anger or love), or out of a failure to think things through before engaging in some ill-advised endeavor that we hope will end in minor embarrassment and a funny story rather than in tragedy.

If individuals are susceptible to such irrational behavior, why not governments? Deploying secret agents to assassinate someone who was apparently such a low-level threat that he traveled without a security team seems irrational, or at least purely emotional. All the more so when the attack was done with a banned chemical weapon in an airport of one of the few countries with relatively good diplomatic relations with North Korea, and a key hub for the nations sanctions-skirting economic activity. Launching four ballistic missiles a few days after positive meetings with China (which eased tensions after Beijing had recently hit the North Korean economy by cutting off coal imports), and thus further justifying Seouls pursuit of the THAAD system to the detriment of Chinas interests, just seems irrational. Why hurt the one country that continues to give North Korea international support and appeared intent on strengthening its relationship with Pyongyang rather than isolating it even more?

Our assertion of rationality as the default analysis does not claim that all decisions are perfect, or that errors cannot be made. Irrational or responsive decisions are possible, and even "rational" decisions can lead to catastrophes. But we do assert that choices made by governments are generally based on more than emotion or randomness. Rationality differs based on one's point of view, place and time. If I assume irrationality on the subjects of my inquiry, if I find their behavior illogical or unwise, my first job is to reassess my understanding of their perspective of rationality. This is the obligation of the analyst: to challenge the impulse to impose one's own sense of rationality upon others. What is it that has shaped those subjects' worldview, their perception of risk and reward, of threat and opportunity?

Back to the Geopolitical Basics

Even a cursory glance at North Korea reveals a worldview molded by geography and history. North Korea is a tiny country with insufficient arable land that is squeezed between China and South Korea, the latter of which hosts tens of thousands of U.S. forces. Historically, the unified Korea was caught between China and Japan, the proverbial minnow between whales. Today North Korea remains squeezed between whales, though this time the United States and China, and its basic question is whether it wants to subsume its national authority and identity to one of its neighbors or remain independent in policy and ideology. If Pyongyang prefers the latter, it can neither draw too close to China nor allow its economy and culture to open up fully to the West. Historically, North Korea has followed a path of isolation, of nominal fealty to China while maintaining domestic control  an approach that has been called the "poison-shrimp" strategy of being more dangerous to invade than to ignore.

This leads to a perspective of rationality that is very different than that of most analysts in the United States. Even if South Korea can partially understand the Norths sense of rationality, it does not match the national interests of Seoul, which in many ways is in the same position as Pyongyang but has allowed itself, much like Japan, to cede its national independence to the United States for years. The attribution of rationality to North Koreas leadership is not a justification for its actions, nor does it argue that the North has only one path to pursue. Rather, it seeks to understand the behavior of the country's rulers  a vital step toward predicting both action and reaction.

The second component is to assess the structure of power within the nation's leadership. No leader, no matter how dictatorial, operates alone. There are bureaucracies, formal and informal systems of relationships, and power, money, finances and resources that shape how a government or ruling group works. For a leader to lead, there must be those willing to carry out orders, and shy of a very small organization, that requires several layers of power and control. So, policy goes beyond the actions of a single individual. The system itself, then, provides in some ways a check on irrationality. Any decision, any command, must pass through this often complex system of power. By their very nature, governments slow down action, providing the equivalent of counting to 10 before responding to an emotionally charged situation.

A Careful Balance

In North Korea's case, elections are certainly a bit of a sham, but Kim Jong Un doesn't stay in power simply because of his family name. He is the third generation of Kim leadership in North Korea, and the least prepared or qualified of any for the task of leading the country, since his father delayed training or anointing a successor for fear that power would begin to form around the son, rather than himself. But the Kims are not divine leaders, holding power because none dare to challenge their right to lead. Instead, they must constantly manipulate, balance and counterbalance the various interest groups and power centers in North Korea.

The primary task of a Kim leader is to ensure that no single faction or small group of factions becomes too powerful. This involves a combination of reward (access to foreign funds and opportunities), punishment (death, at the extreme) and distribution of power among different groups as well as inducements to spy on one another. A perception of unpredictability by Kim may be beneficial to a point, but complete unpredictability would undermine the balance quickly, since there would be no way to ensure long-term power or influence, and the system would quickly turn against the leader. In many ways this is similar to the story that Thae Yong Ho, the recently defected deputy ambassador to the North Korean Embassy in London, has been telling in media interviews in South Korea and beyond.

One of the most striking things about North Korea is that its apparent irrationality has nonetheless allowed it to continue down a fairly independent path under three different paramount leaders, even as the world around them changed (at times, dramatically). This alone should suggest that there is rationality hidden in North Korea's behavior. Pyongyang has shown continuity of action, continuity of policy and, most important, continuity of leadership but for a few executions. North Korea has pursued variations of this policy since the end of the Cold War, seeking cooperation with the South to create a stronger single Korean confederation, playing various regional players off of one another, and pursuing in earnest a nuclear deterrent to reduce the perceived threat of U.S. military and political action to destabilize the government and force its collapse.

Assuming irrationality in the actions of North Korea, or of any other government, is often based on the cognitive error of mirror imaging  believing that others hold the same cultural, political, economic or moral norms as you, your culture or your government. Even among Western countries, there are many different ways that nations perceive rationality and their national interests. How much more misleading is it to apply Western or U.S. norms to North Korea's perception and decision-making? Assuming irrationality, then, is simply a poor analytic practice. Again, seeking to understand another's basis for rationality does not imply that all decisions are the "right" ones, or the most effective. Governments rarely have the luxury of a complete set of options, of time, or of full information when making choices or planning strategy. And in many cases, objective desire plays a role. Rationality does not exclude bad decisions, or more commonly, limited options.

One of the most important values to presuming rationality in others, particularly "foes," is that irrationality, by its very nature, is unpredictable. But rationality provides context within which to predict behavior, or at least to understand general patterns of behavior. That said, rationality must then be matched with reality. Governments are large entities. Decisions are being made at many levels, within many time frames. Contradictory actions are entirely possible, even frequent. Mistakes are made. Insufficient information, time or resources constrain decision-making and action. Internecine struggles for power or influence can lead to all sorts of chaos. But assuming irrationality is just lazy analysis.

North Korea is not irrational. But understanding its unique rationality is no small task.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/08/2017



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/09/2017



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

star Nick Viall has narrowed his list of potential bachelorettes matches to only two suitors.Nick, a 36-year-old former software salesman from Wisconsin, sent Rachel Lindsay packing during a Rose Ceremony in Finland after enjoying a romantic fantasy suite date with her.Rachel got her heart broken after confessing to the Bachelor that she was falling in love with him. Nick even said in reply, "Rachel, I am falling for you, like, 100 percent.""It's hard to hear how great you are and [about] how much love somebody has got for you but then they still don't choose you, and that's the story of my life. I know how great it could've been," Rachel said in tears following her ouster."Maybe I didn't show all that. Maybe he didn't get that. I wanted someone to have that undeniable, unconditional, unexplainable love for me, and I want to feel the same way for them, so it's back to square one."Rachel will, however, get another shot at love as ette's upcoming thirteenth-season star.With Rachel gone, two bachelorettes remain in the running for Nick's heart: Vanessa Grimaldi and Raven Gates In the latest episode, Nick and Vanessa had a playful date in which they ran back and forth from a steamy sauna room to an ice bath. It wasn't until they completed multiple rounds of this torture that they got to relax and get to know one another better in a hot tub.Raven enjoyed her fantasy suite date with Nick in last week's broadcast.While Raven seems completely smitten with Nick with no hesitations or reservations, Vanessa is just the opposite. There is no doubt in Vanessa's mind she could envision spending the rest of her life with Nick, but at the same time, the couple hasn't decided where they would live since Nick resides in Los Angeles, CA, and Vanessa is from Montreal, Canada.Vanessa also wants to be able to have lunch with her large Italian family in Montreal every single Sunday, which Nick must have realized would be a big undertaking if he doesn't decide to move there.Nick's bond with both women appears strong, but they certainly bring different things to the table -- challenges and positives.Both women, however, are strong, feisty, intelligent and beautiful. And most importantly, Raven and Vanessa are both truly in love with star.Nick has one more huge decision to make about his future wife and partner in life. Will he choose Raven or Vanessa, and will he propose marriage? If he chooses to get engaged, will the bachelorette be on the same page and accept his offer?According to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, Nick rejects Raven in favor of Vanessa at the final Rose Ceremony. As a result, Vanessa walks away from the process with Nick's final rose and a Neil Lane diamond engagement ring!As for the current status of Nick and Vanessa's romance, Reality Steve claims they are still happily engaged. Apparently Nick's fourth attempt at finding love on a reality dating series truly was the charm!Below are the two bachelorettes still in the running for Nick's heart: Vanessa Grimaldi , a 29-year-old special education teacher from Montreal, Quebec, Canada Raven Gates , a 25-year-old fashion boutique owner from Hoxie, AR
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/07/2017



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: The Women Tell All was explosive and heartwarming all at the same time.Monday night's The Women Tell All special for Nick Viall 's season of was pretty wild, mainly thanks to the Corinne Olympios vs. Taylor Nolan showdown and some cheese pasta that was passed around the studio.While Corinne was accused of being disrespectful at times -- like when she napped through a Rose Ceremony after receiving a group date rose -- the girls who fought for Nick's heart this season all ganged up on Taylor for allegedly walking around with her nose in the air and treating people like she's better than them."Everyone naps like everyone poops. Read about it!" Corinne announced as laughter erupted all around her.The event also included Rachel Lindsay Danielle Lombard and Kristina Schulman talking about their broken hearts and hopefully finding love again in the future. All of that, plus bloopers and extended previews for 's Season 21 finale.Below is a list of highlights from the memorable The Women Tell All broadcast: Liz Sandoz explained that when she first met Nick at Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert's wedding, they were in completely different places in their lives. She cared about someone else at the time but he didn't feel the same way, so Liz needed time to heal and admitted she used Nick -- whom she had sex with that night -- as a bandaid, so she regretted that and therefore wanted to see if she still had chemistry with Nick once she was ready for a new relationship.- Liz said she tried to cross paths with Nick before appearing on but it simply didn't happen. She also didn't really know what she had signed up for, as life after the show was difficult since she became known as "the girl Nick slept with." Liz said she learned that nothing is more important than being true to yourself. It was clear all the bachelorettes from Nick's season adored Liz and continue to support her.- Taylor was asked to define "emotional intelligence." She said it's a person who can regulate emotions, empathize and pick up on emotions other people are feeling. Corinne didn't want to listen to a word Taylor was saying and yelled that the mental health counselor was "horrible" to her.- Taylor insisted she was careful with her words when approaching Corinne on the show, but with that said, the girls called Taylor out on her "bullsh-it" and Corinne walked off the stage to get a glass of champagne.- Taylor got emotional and said she shouldn't be shamed for wanting to help people. Things Corinne said about Taylor on TV apparently negatively impacted her career, and she wanted some sort of apology, which Corinne declined to give. Josephine Tutman said Taylor used her profession as a mental health counselor to "patronize Corinne." Taylor wanted some sort of apology for things Corinne has said.- Once Corinne sat in the hotseat, she told host Chris Harrison she came across more promiscuous on TV than she had planned, although she tried hard to always be sexy, flirty and fun. Corinne also said she never said a bad word about any of the girls in the house until she was target, and she never had vicious intent.- Corinne revealed she had no choice but to nap through one of this season's Rose Ceremonies because she suffered a panic attack beforehand.- Corinne accused Taylor of saying she didn't want to be her friend because she's not intelligent enough. Taylor felt overwhelmed with all of the accusations and said she felt bad if she gave people the impression she was better than everyone. Taylor explained that she distanced herself from the group on the show but was happy to be around them now.- Corinne never apologized to Taylor, but Taylor apologized for any mean things she had said.- Corinne said she called Raquel her "nanny" because she always thought "cleaning lady" or "housekeeper" were disrespectful terms. Corinne said Raquel is part of her family and stood by her side once her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.- Bowls of cheese pasta, one of Raquel's special dishes, was passed around to everyone in the audience and to Nick's bachelorettes onstage.- Kristina told Chris that Nick really hurt her because she doesn't normally let people in. Kristina allowed herself to be vulnerable with Nick despite keeping walls up her entire life to protect herself. After all, Kristina spent years in an orphanage in Russia before getting adopted by a couple in the United States.- Chris pointed out that Kristina embodies the American dream and is going to do great things in life. Liz cried upon hearing Kristina's story again and complimented her strength and bravery. In light of all the catty arguments, Liz announced that women need to build each other up rather than tear each other down. Liz also reminded everyone how lucky and privileged they are when comparing their childhoods to what Kristina went through.- Kristina grilled Nick when the Bachelor was in the hotseat. She made Nick answer "yes" or "no" to the following questions: Did we have chemistry? Did we have fun? Did we have intellectual conversation? After Nick answered "yes" to everything, she asked, "Then what was missing?" Nick basically said nothing but his relationships with other women were stronger at the point he let her go. Nick said it was more about the other women and less about Kristina.- Danielle L. couldn't contain her emotion. She cried to Nick about how he could possibly say he could envision himself proposing to her and then suddenly dump her. Danielle didn't understand how Nick could have lost his feelings for her so quickly, and she made it known she didn't appreciate being taken on a two-on-one date. Danielle also didn't like it how Nick eliminated her right after she confessed she was falling in love.- Nick told Danielle L. that other relationships surpassed what they had developed. Nick apologized to her for maybe not handling that situation great. Dominique Alexis accused Nick of rejecting qualities in women he preached about wanting the most. She said he lacked empathy -- especially having been in their shoes before -- and rejected women who were challenged him, like Jasmine Goode , and opened up to him about their feelings, like Danielle L. and Danielle Maltby . Nick said that sometimes tangibles get crossed off a checklist but intangibles are not there. Rachel Lindsay is humbled and appreciative to be the next ette star, and she said being chosen was "surreal." Astrid Loch joked that Nick's ex-girlfriends will gladly take her "leftovers" after Season 13 films.- Rachel is honored to represent African American women in her position and she's so happy people are supportive. While she doesn't want her race to be the focus of her journey to find love, she definitely acknowledges it.- Rachel learned so much about herself on and Nick opened her eyes. He made her believe in this process.- Chris teased "one of the most dramatic and emotional finales ever" will air next week on ABC.- "I'm in love with [ Raven Gates ] and [ Vanessa Grimaldi ]," Nick said in the preview clip.
Tata Motors' Nano may be struggling to survive, but Renault Nissan alliance chairman and chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn is glad the group followed the lead of "visionary" Ratan Tata's dream project as it has contributed to Renault's success in India.

"I was the first one, may be the only one, to say he (Ratan Tata) was a visionary on launching the Nano," Ghosn told reporters at the Geneva Motor Show.

He was responding to a query on whether the story of low cost cars is coming to an end as Nano is struggling while the alliance's Datsun brand has not met with the success it was expecting.

He said the alliance reacted to the potential when Nano was brought to the market.

"Nano, we acted on it. This whole A platform, we did Kwid which is a Renault car and will be followed by a Nissan car on the same platform," Ghosn said.

Giving credit for the success of Renault Kwid to the path shown by Tata, he said: "We followed and I am glad we followed the Nano because the success of Renault today in India is mainly based on the success of the Kwid."

Nissan is going to be following with products on the same platform, he added.

On Datsun, Ghosn said: "We are not as successful with Datsun as we would have liked it to be but when you are in a long term strategy we don't expect success to come immediately."

He said Datsun will have to try, analyse what is good, modify and perform until it achieves success.

"The success of Renault today, which is the number one European brand in India, followed many failures. We started with Mahindra and it didn't work. We are learning our way," Ghosn said.

He said nobody is successful in a new market in the first attempt and patience is needed, particularly in a country like India which is a "complicated and competitive market for those who are not Indians and have come to the Indian market".

"That's why I am amazed at some car makers getting out of some important markets. If you are not ready to invest and accept failures and learn from them and try again many times, it is better not to go there at all," he said.

"So expect us to continue to be relentlessly trying again until we are successful," Ghosn added.

IMAGE: Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance at the 87th International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters.
The Trump administration has sought 60 days to respond to a court case that challenges the decision of the previous Obama administration to authorise spouses of H1B visa holders to work in the US.

While the move by the Obama administration during its last phase was welcomed by the large H-1B community which mainly included Indians, several American groups challenged this decision in a federal court in Washington, DC.

On February 1, the department of justice had filed an appeal with the court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit entitled Consent motion to hold proceedings in abeyance for 60 days.

The government has asked for a 60-day pause in the case to allow incoming leadership personnel adequate time to consider the issues.

In a statement, Immigration Voice on Tuesday said this is especially concerning because Attorney General Jeff Sessions, when he was a US senator, called the H-4 rule a change (in) immigration law in a way that hurts American workers.

Even though this rule has actually allowed many H-4 visa holders, including named intervenors, the ability to start businesses in the United States that employ American workers that would otherwise not have jobs if the rule had not been promulgated, Immigration Voice said.

Immigration Voice also announced its intervention in the Save Jobs lawsuit arguing that this was the only option to protect the rights of its members and their families, including children who are US citizens.

"There is nothing for the department of justice attorneys to confer with their leadership about given the district court's clear decision stating that this case had no basis for ever being filed," said Aman Kapoor co-founder and president of Immigration Voice.

The recent statements from the government present an unacceptable risk for Immigration Voice members that the DoJ might decide after 60 days to adopt the position of Save Jobs USA.

"Any failure to provide the strongest possible defence of the district court's decision risks establishing a precedent prohibiting H-4 visa holders from working under the current statutory regime. Under these circumstances, Immigration Voice felt compelled to act to protect the existing and future work permits of our members," Kapoor said.

One of the petitioners ,Sudarshana Sengupta, said she has been involved in biomedical research for the last 13 years in the country, initially as a J2 dependent (work authorisation) and later on H-1B visa.

"In August 2015, I decided to use H4- EAD work authorisation to continue my research...I am currently involved in preclinical research and I am on the verge of launching my own startup developing cancer immunotherapy strategies based on my preclinical studies," Sengupta said.

If H4-EAD is taken away, I will not be able to launch my startup, she said.

Another intervenor, Anuj Dhamija, who has been legally working in the US since 2010 as a project manager for a reputed Fortune 100 company, said due to decades long wait to get green card, he made a switch to the H4 EAD programme as it was the only option for him to pursue his business ventures in the interim.

"On this programme, I was able to keep my existing job and also start up my small high-end luxurious home remodelling business. As per my business plan, I targeted to generate USD 775k revenue in year 1, USD 1.6m in year 2 and USD 1.9m in year 3," he said.

"Along the way, I expected to create 5-10 new American jobs in the construction industry. If this programme ceased to exist, I will lose all my investment in the new business and also my job as there will be no other legal option for me to work in the USA," Dhamija said.
Travels to Gulf accounted for 40% of India's international air traffic in 2016.

Unfazed by the slowdown in West Asia, Indian carriers are expanding their network in the region.

IndiGo is launching flights to Sharjah later this month and plans to launch a service to Doha its seventh international destination in April.

GoAir is likely to begin its international operations with flights from Kochi to Doha and Dammam in the second half of the year.

Around 22 million passengers travelled between India and countries in the West Asia accounting for nearly 40 per cent of all international air traffic from India in 2016.

This does not include passengers who travelled onward to other destinations from hubs such as Dubai or Doha.

Indian aviation boom in Gulf  Kochi airport sees the largest passenger traffic flow between India and Gulf region with around 3.2 million passengers in 2016. Mumbai and Delhi are ranked second and third respectively

 Dubai is the busiest destination followed by Muscat and Kuwait. Around 6.7 million passengers travelled to/from Dubai to India.

 Jet Airways is the largest airline on India-West Asia routes followed by Air India Express and Emirates

 Mumbai-Dubai is the busiest route with over a million passengers annually followed by Kochi-Dubai and Delhi-Dubai.

This makes the region an attractive bet for Indian airlines.

However, business was impacted last year and demand growth did not match the growth in capacity. Airline yields, which are revenue charged per passenger, came under pressure as low crude oil price impacted local economies.

Both Air India Express and Jet Airways have said their financial performance was impacted due to weakness in Gulf market.

But this is not turning to be a dampener for Indian carriers' plans. While the demand may not be at its peak the market assures a steady year-long traffic.

Air India Express which earns about 90 per cent of its revenue from Gulf routes is introducing a Delhi-Bahrain-Doha service in summer. Recently it added flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi from Delhi besides increasing frequencies on Gulf routes from Kerala.

"We have recently announced Sharjah as our 6th international destination. We have also introduced new flights to the existing Muscat network. Middle-East has been an important market for IndiGo and expanding operations to Sharjah and Muscat is a testament to the growing demand from the sector," said IndiGo's chief commercial officer Sanjay Kumar in a statement.

Jet Airways flies wide body Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 aircraft to destinations such as Doha, Kuwait and Dubai. Sources say there is no immediate plan to redeploy the aircraft to other destinations as the airline expects the Gulf economies to bounce again.

"The slowdown in Gulf region is on expected lines and is likely to impact Indian carriers more than their Gulf peers. We see the slowdown impacting yields and later even volumes," said Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO of Centre for Aviation.
A C Narayanan Nambiar's name will not ring a bell because he operated in the shadows where statecraft and secrecy overlap.

An anti-colonial warrior, he was imprisoned in concentration camps and lived an extraordinary life, intricately linked to momentous turns in history.

Having lived in Europe for five decades, he was witness to and entangled with what we today -- with the benefit of hindsight -- call recent history.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

There are not many people who will tick the following boxes:

A close aide of Netaji.

A close associate of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Someone who Indira Gandhi relied on and trusted.

But add to the above list a person who was also an Indian journalist in Europe in the tumultuous days preceding and during the Second World War, there is really no one, one can pinpoint.

But then, Arathil Candoth Narayanan Nambiar is not a name that will ring a bell, simply for the fact that for the most part, he operated in the shadows where statecraft and secrecy overlap, and he preferred to live in the shadow, maintain a low profile.

In April 1980, when Vappala Balachandran, a senior intelligence officer who was special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, was assigned the task of keeping a discreet eye on the health and welfare of Nambiar -- Nanu to friends -- he had no idea that the meeting will form a solid bond that will last beyond the latter's death six years later.

Nambiar's life was extraordinary, to say the least, intricately linked as it was to momentous turns in history, when he was both a player and an observer.

Having lived in Europe for five decades, he was witness to and entangled with what we today -- with the benefit of hindsight -- call recent history.

Yet, even as the two men spent time together, discussing, dissecting the days bygone, and the characters that shaped the world we inhabit today, Balachandran would realise only 15 years later that what he had been told was not the complete picture.

Or that unravelling it would become a mission for him.

"I came across startling details during my long research into his life first by reading published literature and then scouring through declassified secret intelligence records."

A Life in Shadow, The Secret Story of CAN Nambiar, then, is the outcome of the long and hard pursuit by Balachandran to fill in the gaps in Nanu's life. His wonder at what he managed to find out about Nambiar's remarkable life comes through in the book, published recently by Roli Books.

"Mr Nambiar was a treasure trove of information on European history, governance, security and power play of European nations from the 1920s to the 1980s. This helped me in learning more about the turbulent history of that region," Balachandran tells Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com in a revealing interview about a lesser known Indian.

What impelled you to tell the story of ACN? I mean, his life was shrouded in secrecy -- as I am sure that of many others who have done yeoman service from the behind the shadows. So why did you feel you had to tell his story in particular?

Although I was in constant contact with him from 1980 till his death in 1986 I did not realise that he was responsible for a major operation organised by Subhas Chandra Bose in pre-Second World War Germany.

This became clear only in 2001 when I read a book written by German writer Rudolf Hartog about the 'Indian Legion' in Nazi Germany raised by Subhas Chandra Bose as his future Indian Army.

Hartog was the interpreter in the Legion. It gave vivid details on how the Legion was run as a disciplined army although all trainees were Indian POWs (Prisoners of War) captured by Germany.

I was rather surprised to know that Mr Nambiar was the main person administering this 4,000-strong army.

That gave a new dimension to Mr Nambiar's life story which I did not know earlier although I was meeting him regularly between 1980 (when I first met him) and 1986 (the year of his death).

During our regular meetings, first at Zurich and later in Delhi, Nambiar did not tell me all these details except that he had worked for Bose.

Hence I decided to investigate further. I came across startling details during my long research into his life first by reading published literature and then scouring through declassified secret intelligence records.

IMAGE: Hotel Kaiserhof, Berlin 1942. Nambiar addresses a gathering on the founding of the pro-Axis provisional government of Free India. Photograph: Kind courtesy Harilal Rajgopal, Mathrubhumi, Kozhikode, via V Balachandran

One feels an almost avuncular relationship between the two of you. Would you call him the most unusual figure you have met in your long years in intelligence?

Perhaps yes. He was very kind and considerate to me although he was on a first name level with Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

When I first met him in 1980 he was 84, I was 43. Despite this age difference he was very polite and friendly, exhibited no arrogance despite knowing that I was a middle level officer who was assigned this work as part of my duty.

On the other hand he was unfailingly courteous, always enquiring about my comforts. At the same time he was a treasure trove of information on European history, governance, security and power play of European nations from the 1920s to the 1980s.

This helped me in learning more about the turbulent history of that region.

ACN's life was a secret because that's the way he probably wanted it to be. Were he alive, would he have consented to a book on his story, you think?

I am asking this since from your book I am unable to make out if he expressly authorised a book on his life, despite giving you the oral transcripts, etc.

I brought up the subject of suggesting him to write his memoirs only when I saw him in deep depression after Mrs Gandhi's assassination.

I thought that this would lift him up.

Even earlier, he used to be depressed at the very thought of shifting his location from Europe where he had lived since 1919. In fact, he had written to me from Zurich on February 2, 1984: 'There are moments, Balachandran, when I think that it would not be a bad development if I passed away quietly here, thereby not making necessary thoughts relating to the trip now under discussion...' (Page 257).

I had, however, assured him that everything would be taken care of in New Delhi.

But the death of Mrs Indira Gandhi shattered him. He refused to write his memoirs since his health would not permit. I then suggested to him to dictate his memoirs to a tape recorder. His mood improved since he was busy in dictating his memoirs.

However, I am not too sure whether he would have written his memoirs on his own, had this contingency (Indira Gandhi's death) not arisen.

He used to parry that suggestion saying that he was an ordinary man and had done nothing great. But he consented to dictate his memoirs on my request.

I cannot say whether he would have permitted me to write this book had he been alive. But I felt that I owe a duty to posterity to record the story of a less-known freedom fighter after I read Rudolf Hartog's book.

IMAGE: Nambiar beside Indira Gandhi. Dinner at the Indian consulate in Geneva (date not known). Photograph: Kind courtesy: Harilal Rajgopal, via V Balachandran

One of the things that stand out in your book that both Nehru and Bose -- who Indians are repeatedly told were antagonistic to each other -- respected ACN immensely.

Two questions arise: One, was the so-called animosity between them, fiction?

Two, what does this tell about ACN?

I have already made this clear in my book. Both were friends.

Bose was the first person to receive the ailing Kamala Nehru on her arrival in Vienna in May 1935. Nehru was in prison.

I have written: 'As Nambiar saw it, Nehru and Bose differed not on the aim of independence but on the modalities. Nehru, although doubting certain assumptions and conclusions of Bose, never doubted his patriotism nor harboured any hatred.'

'Bose on his part recognised Nehru's importance and influence in India's struggle although he felt that Nehru's pro-British attitude could be a problem.' (Pages 261-62).

No doubt Bose felt unhappy that Nehru sided with Gandhiji when he had differences with him.

One of the first acts of Nehru on becoming prime minister was to enquire through Nambiar about Emilie Schenkel (Netaji's wife) and to arrange to send help to her.

Also, Anita Bose (Bose's daughter) stayed with Nehru during her visit to Delhi in 1960 (pages 167-169).

In my 'Notes' (pages 287-88) I refuted the recent allegation that Nehru had 'snooped' on Bose and his family.

Did his close association with Bose make ACN privy to what really happened to Netaji?

Did you two discuss his end? What was ACN's view on the last days of Bose?

Mr Nambiar did not know the full details regarding Netaji's death as he was under Allied troops' custody.

His last letter dated January 12, 1945, to Bose sent through German submarine U Boat 234 did not reach him as the boat surrendered to the American navy on May 14, 1945.

Mr Nambiar, who was on the run after the Allied bombing, was arrested on June 7, 1945.

Bose is reported to have died on August 18, 1945. Mr Nambiar did not have any contacts with Bose's colleagues in the Far East after the very traumatic war period when he was rendered stateless.

The British government did not want him to stay in Europe. Nor did they want him to go to India where he would have become a hero. It was at this juncture Nehru saved him and asked him to come back to India.

IMAGE: Ambassador Nambiar, second from left, with Jawaharlal Nehru during the prime minister's State visit to West Germany in 1956. Photograph: Kind courtesy Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, via V Balachandran

The question that remains on one's mind while reading your book: Was ACN a foreign spy? How much of certainty does your answer have?

He was never a spy for the British, German or Soviets.

The voluminous declassified British Intelligence records that I purchased from a library in Leiden (Holland) in 2005 for the period 1912-1950 prove this.

Had he been a spy there would have been references about his actual activities as a spy like clandestine meetings, passing on secrets etc.

The allegation that he was a 'suspected Soviet spy' arose when a particular London-based Indian journalist saw the caption of a bunch of declassified British intelligence records in October 2014, which among others described the contents of this group as 'Soviet intelligence agents & suspected agents.'

Anyone who knows the bureaucratic practice of keeping intelligence files would have realised that such generic file captions are given to all the suspects and routinely continued even if there is no evidence.

Also, British intelligence kept all those having 'Leftist' sympathies as 'Communist agents.' Unless one reads the contents of all files one will not know whether really a person was an agent.

I have studied all these files, especially the long interrogation report of Mr Nambiar by Major Bains after his capture.

There is no shred of evidence that he was a 'spy.'

The description of Nambiar in British files swings from him being a suspected 'Soviet agent' to a 'Nazi collaborator.' That is ridiculous, to say the least.

ACN's end: unsung, lonely, and virtually abandoned. Is that how it always ends for those living in the shadows?

Did he make peace with it in his last days?

I would not call that he was 'unsung, lonely and abandoned.'

On the other hand he preferred that type of low profile life. That was why he resigned from hectic diplomatic life twice.

Nehru wanted him to take an active part in his government, but he preferred to be a journalist. He joined the diplomatic service in 1948, but resigned in 1952.

He was again appointed as ambassador in 1952 but resigned in 1958.

When I met him in 1980 he was quite happy to be left alone. He had a small circle of dependable young friends.

It was only on Mrs Indira Gandhi's insistence and his own fears of his old age that made him shift to India in 1984.

He continued to tell me that he had not done anything to be famous.

What explains ACN's reluctance to return to India after the War/Freedom?

Did he fear being hounded here by political foes, or was there more to it?

He had no political foes. His reluctance to come back to India was because of his mental depression in the wake of long imprisonment in Allied forces' concentration camps and equally long internment.

He had cut himself off from his family and was not too sure what awaited him in India if he returned.

He preferred to be in Europe even in penury. That was until Nehru personally took initiative in sending emissaries to meet him, calming him down by making him stay with him and assuring him of his support.

Incidentally, he did not very much like the diplomatic job offered to him in Berne. but agreed to accept it since it was offered by Nehru.

IMAGE: Nambiar presents credentials as India's envoy in Sweden, 1954. Photograph: Kind courtesy The Hindu, February 28, 1954, via V Balachandran

One of the questions on everyone's minds is the surveillance on Bose's family for many years post Independence.

What exactly did Free India, that is, the Establishment, worry about?

Why had Bose become a bogeyman?

I have answered this question in my notes (Note No: 52).

The watch on Bose started in 1922 when the British government noticed Comintern sending Abani Mukherjee to Kolkata to influence Chittaranjan Das and Subhas Bose.

Abani Mukherjee spent 11 months in Calcutta. Later, Bose's close contacts with the Communist party were mainly through Soli Batliwala who was the link between the Communist Party of India and Subhas Chandra Bose.

This channel was used by Bose in 1939 to forward his proposals to the Soviet Union.

For the British government any link with Comintern was treason. Nehru did not start any surveillance on Bose or his family.

The question is: Why did independent India continue the watch?

The answer to this is given by British historian Christopher Andrew who was given full access to British intelligence records to write the 'authorised history' of MI-5.

One of the unwritten agreements during the transfer of power to India in 1947 was the secret positioning of a 'security liaison officer' (SLO) at New Delhi as MI-5's representative.

He was almost 'embedded' in the Intelligence Bureau.

As a result IB closely followed Britain's intelligence priorities even though an independent democratic country was born.

Andrew quotes instances: T G Sanjeevi Pillai, IB's first director, did not like V K Krishna Menon although he was a close confidant of Prime Minister Nehru.

Declassified British archives speak of a loud disconnect between the Nehru government's strategic policies and the priorities pursued by the IB.

Apart from the Krishna Menon episode, the disconnect was evident during the exchange visits of Soviet leaders Bulganin and Khrushchev to India and Nehru's visit to the USSR which heralded closer Indo-Soviet relations in 1955.

One year later there was a chill in Indo-UK relations when Nehru condemned the Anglo-French invasion on the Suez Canal.

Andrew says that this 'had little impact' on the IB-MI-5 collaboration.

IB even allowed an MI-5 officer to study their records on Moscow's subsidies to Indian Communists.

There is no record that Nehru was even aware of this relationship since he did not directly supervise the home ministry under which IB worked.

My assessment is that IB mechanically continued this practice of watching Indian Communists, their families and those who were communicating with them.

In your Afterword you refer to George Fernandes' remark about ACN, which was possibly born out of the puzzling reliance, Indira Gandhi -- who suffered very few men -- placed on the latter.

Was Fernandes hinting at a dark secret regarding ACN's ties to Bose and the Nehrus?

(On June 19, 1988, the Indian Express reported, Fernandes told the newspaper that unravelling of the activities of Mr Nambiar was the 'biggest story of the century'. 'The full account of the Nehru family, living and dead, will be known when we are able to get a complete dossier on Narayan Nambiar's activities abroad,' he said).

I have no idea why George Fernandes made this remark without knowing anything about Nambiar. It must have been blind hatred towards Nehru and Indira Gandhi, which unfortunately exists even now.

Nehru did appoint Nanu as envoy. But overall, did India benefit from the wealth of ACN's collective wisdom and relationships across the international spectrum?

Nehru valued Nambiar's contribution as his letter dated May 8, 1958, on his retirement would reveal (page 210).

Even after his retirement Nambiar used to send valuable suggestions to him and to Mrs Gandhi on the running of our foreign ministry. Both Nehru and Indira Gandhi acknowledged these letters and took action.

Even the German government had excellent comments to make on Nambiar's contribution towards Indo-German relations as Jan Kuhlmann had written in his book Subhas Chandra Bose und die Indienpolitik der Achsenmachte: 'Even before he was named ambassador to Germany, Nambiar had nurtured contacts with his friends there. With German ex-officers of the Indian Legion he founded an Indo-German Society in 1950.'
'Our religion had some important philosophies regarding trans people that cannot be ignored.'

'Contemporary India is refusing and ignoring transgender people.'

IMAGE: Kalki Subramaniam believes family rejection is the root cause of the transgender community's problems not only in India but around the world.

'When they are rejected and pushed out of their homes, they are forced to run away in search of their identity,' she says.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Kalki Subramaniam

She is an inspirational speaker.

She is a painter.

She is a poet and an author.

She is an actor.

She is an activist.

She holds two master's degrees -- one in journalism and mass communication and another in international relations.

On this day two years ago -- March 8, 2015 -- Facebook chose her as one of the 12 inspiring women of the world who use Facebook as a platform for community development and empowerment.

And last month, she was invited by students at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School to speak at the India Conference 2017, which focussed on 'India -- The Global Growth Engine'.

She is Kalki Subramaniam.

In this interview with Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier, Kalki, who is a transgender, speaks about the challenges and hopes of the transgender and LGBT community in India.

IMAGE: An Ardhanarishvara sculpture in Khajuraho.

'What does arthanaari (ardhanaari) mean?,' asks Kalki Subramaniam.

'It is one power with both male and female together; it is the oneness of male and female.'

'Transgender people are the symbol of that oneness and balancing.'

Photograph: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons

You have been speaking at various platforms on transgender rights and issues. How important was it for you to speak at a global platform like Harvard University?

It was very important; I was speaking at a global platform along with prominent personalities like (lawmaker) Omar Abdullah, (actor-filmmaker) Pawan Kalyan, (filmmaker) Deepa Mehta, (actor) R Madhavan, etc.

I wanted the world to listen to the concerns of my community and the issues we face. I spoke on the first day under the 'Inspired' series.

You said somewhere that the transgender movement in India had a spiritual context and that was why it differed from the global movement. Can you elaborate on this?

We have references and evidence in our scriptures that transgender people existed in ancient India.

Being gender non-conforming was okay then; being a different gender was okay then.

Our religion also had some important philosophies regarding trans people that cannot be ignored.

What does arthanaari (ardhanaari) mean?

It is one power with both male and female together; it is the oneness of male and female. Transgender people are the symbol of that oneness and balancing.

Because we are not common, society and family reject us.

This is against our culture, which worshipped such oneness.

Everything has changed drastically. Contemporary India has completely forgotten history and is refusing and ignoring transgender people.

It all started after the arrival of the British and them introducing the Criminal Tribes Act.

Do you feel the Western world is more accepting of the third gender than India where family and society are reluctant to accept them?

At present, India and America are going in different directions when it comes to LGBT rights.

While the Indian government and policymakers are more accepting, understanding and more broadminded to give us the place we deserve in society, it is not a happy one in the US right now.

I am talking about the atmosphere after (Donald) Trump came to power. For example, the Bathroom Bill is being reversed.

A lot of hate arising against LGBT community is indeed saddening.

In India, the day is not too far for gay and lesbian people to live with dignity.

But in the US, things are stalling right now. In fact, it is going in a reverse gear.

In India, even today family and society are not ready to accept a transgender child or a gay or a lesbian...

Indian society may be ready to accept a transgender person, but not a gay or a lesbian person, and that is because our religion, culture and history are linked to transgender people, which makes people more aware of us.

We are also trying so hard to sensitise the lawmakers, academicians and society. Today, people are trying to give us a space. But there is a long way to go.

It is said that rejection of a transgender person starts from the parents, then relatives and society.

Because they are rejected by family and ridiculed by children in school, most of them run away and don't get any education and they end up as beggars or sex workers. Is it not true?

It is hundred percent true.

Family rejection is the root cause for all the problems for transgender community not only in India but around the world.

When they are rejected and pushed out of their homes, they are forced to run away in search of their identity.

The major thing we lose is the support of parents and then education.

When we lose the opportunity to study, it completely changes our lives.

Think of how it will be for a non-educated person who is a transgender. Getting a job is difficult and surviving too.

How did you overcome rejection? You are one of the few educated people from the transgender community.

It took years for me to convince them, but they never rejected me. They wanted to understand me better and help me. I had to earn that respect from my family.

Also, I had to earn money to do my own transition as a woman.

If we are accepted by our family, all of those who are begging on the streets would have studied and had a life of their own.

What happens is we are on the street, ridiculed, persecuted, raped and attacked.

Even after accomplishing so much, were there instances when you were discriminated?

I don't allow anybody to discriminate against me.

Recently, I have not faced any situation where I was discriminated. That is because I have control of myself and the situation around me.

IMAGE: Kalki Subramaniam addresses the India Conference 2017 at Harvard University. Photograph: Kind courtesy Kalki Subramaniam

Do you have to try more than the others to prove to people that you are an achiever?

Yes, I have to because there is this high stereotype of a transgender person.

To break it, I had to achieve more than the others.

I have to break the stereotypical image of a transgender and for that I have to show the world that I am an achiever.

I will design my own life and will not let others decide for me.

Is it because society is not accepting of transgender people that they are aggressive outside?

Is aggression a defence mechanism to a society that is hostile to them?

A lot of people say transgender people are aggressive. I can also say that men are aggressive and some women are also aggressive.

Transgender people are aggressive for their survival and for their needs.

In fact, I would say society is aggressive to transgender people.

But I would say that Indian society is changing slowly. Schools also will change for the better.

As an activist, what do you do to sensitise parents, school and college children and society?

I have been an activist for 10 years and in these 10 years, I have met more than a million students in various parts of India and I have provided them with knowledge about gender inclusion.

I continue to meet thousands of students at various academic institutions and universities every month.

I am sure they will pass on this knowledge to their children, and their children and their children.

I think I am changing a generation and I am doing my work as a change maker in this society, breaking trans-phobia and shattering homo-phobia.

I teach them what is not in the text book; I enlighten them on gender and sexuality.

You founded Sahodari. In what way do you help children and people from your community through Sahodari?

We at Sahodari use art, literature and films and creating material to sensitise community.

Personally, I sell my painting for Rs 2 lakhs and 60 per cent of what I get is used to educate children.

You said the government is trying to help the transgender and LGBT community through laws while on the other side, we have a film certification board that refuses to give certificate to a film that is about gays...

The problem with our censor board is that some of the members are not at all sensitised. They have no idea about gender, sexuality, gender equality, etc.

Films like Udta Punjab, Lipstick Under My Burqa, Ka Bodyscapes, etc are having so much trouble with the censor board.

These are very important films that have to be seen by the public. While the censor board allows sex, violence against women, they are blind to such core issues.

In 2011, my film Nartaki also faced the same problem. There was no sex or violence in the film, but they gave an A certificate because there was a scene where the transgender person screams when the operation was conducted.

Mind you, we didn't show the operation; just the person screaming.

While there is some understanding of the transgender community now, the LGBT community is being discriminated against.

Which state in India is more accepting of the transgender people and which is not?

I would say Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are the two states that are very accepting of trans people.

Till recently, Kerala was one of the highest trans-phobic state, but it is changing.

North and east of India are quite difficult for trans people.

ALSO READ: They are changing the way India looks at transgender people
The perpetrators of Bhopal-Ujjain train bomb explosion were influenced by Islamic State ideology and the incident was a "trial blast" as the terrorists planned to carry out more attacks, the Madhya Pradesh government said on Wednesday.

Speaking in Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said said that those who orchestrated the blast arrived from Lucknow and planted the bomb in the passenger train as part of a "pre-planned conspiracy".

At least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously, in the Improvised Explosive Device blast in the train near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

"The terrorists were influenced by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria terror ideology and carried out the blast. It was a pre-planned conspiracy," Chouhan said in the assembly during the ongoing budget session.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said the IED explosion in the passenger train was a "trial blast".

"Yesterday's explosion carried out through IED was a trial blast. The police, however, smashed this terror network within five hours after the blast in train," Singh told media persons in the state assembly premises.

The terrorists had plans to orchestrate the blasts at some other places also, he claimed.

Earlier, speaking to mediapersons at Barwah town in Khargone district late Tuesday night, Chouhan said, "Police detained three terrorists who planted bomb in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train. It was revealed during initial interrogation from the arrested terrorists that they were connected to ISIS."

"The blast site smelt of deadly explosives. I would like to congratulate the ATS and police who immediately acted. Madhya Pradesh is a peaceful state and nobody would be allowed to create disturbance here," he said.

These terrorists had arrived in Bhopal from Lucknow and planted the bomb in the Bhopal-Ujjain train, he said.

Assuring concrete proof that the terrorists responsible for the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast were affiliated with the Islamic State, Chief Minister Chouhan had told ANI on Tuesday said that after placing the pipe bomb in the train, the terrorists had then proceeded to send the pictures to Syria.

Chouhan further informed that the terrorists, who hailed from Kanpur and Kannauj had made plans to rush back to Lucknow once their nefarious plans to set off the bomb had come through.

"The explosives recovered from them had inscriptions on it saying 'ISIS -- we are in India'. The terrorists even uploaded the picture of the pipe bomb they had placed in the train and the then sent it to Syria. So it's proof that they were related to ISIS," he said.

The chief minister also revealed that the terrorists had learned the mechanism of making a bomb on the internet and then trained to carry out the explosion.

"They had placed the timer of the bomb in such a way that it explodes in two hours. Fortunately the pipe bomb was placed in an upper berth, which significantly reduced the damage and loss of lives in the attack. Our ATS was in constant touch with central agencies and nabbed them. Ateef Mazaffar was their mastermind and Mohammad Danish and Sayyed Mir Hussain were also caught," he said.

Referring to the jail break by SIMI activists and the subsequent encounter in which eight men of the banned outfit were killed last year, the CM said, "Attempts have been made to disturb peace but it has been nipped in the bud by the alert state police. An act of terror won't be allowed to thrive in the state."

In an official statement released late Tuesday night, the UP police had said that three persons were arrested by Madhya Pradesh police in Piparia town in Hoshangabad.

Two of the arrested persons are from Kanpur, while one is from Aligarh.

Additional inputs: ANI
Experts say the 12-hour long anti-terror operation is incontrovertible evidence of the fact that Islamic State has developed its roots in the country.

Hinting at the involvement of the Islamic State in the Lucknow encounter, former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Vikram Singh on Wednesday said it is high time to give a befitting reply to such forces for the cause of Indias unity and solidarity.

The former top cop in Uttar Pradeshs Noida city said that the Lucknow episode is a wake-up call for the entire nation.

It is an incontrovertible evidence of the fact that Islamic State has developed its roots in the nation and the time has now come to give a befitting reply and have a perfect roll-back for counter operations, Singh said.

It is now a compulsion and no opposition should be tolerated by the nation because now it is the question of either you or the nation. Therefore, in national interest a befitting reply has to be given to such activities, he added.

Expressing shock over the recoveries post Tuesdays encounter, Singh said the youth in particular should fight for the cause of Indias unity.

Echoing similar sentiments, former Jammu and Kashmir Police chief MM Khajuria said India is under the radar of the IS, adding such national threats should, therefore, not be ignored.

I think IS has been operating for quite some time. And unfortunately some of the political class and the government and also some agencies are trying to downplay the threat and failing to take action that is required, Khajuria said.

It is the ideology that you have to fight. Youth is getting attracted towards the ISIS and their ideology. This is, therefore, the final wake-up call. One thing is certain that we are in the radar of the ISIS. We should reach out the vulnerable youth and should insulate them, he added.

Defence expert Major General PK Sehgal (retired) on his part lauded the security forces and said the success of this operation could translate into securing crucial information about existing terror networks and modules.

Major General Sehgal (retd) said, I would like to commend the security forces and intelligence agencies who got the information and acted with absolute professionalism, total swiftness and before any major damage could have happened, all of them were nabbed. Since all of them are caught have been caught alive, a lot of information is likely to be made available and their complete terrorist network and module could thereafter be broken.

This incident took almost 12 hours because every attempt was made to capture the terrorist alive. Had they carried out an operation to eliminate them then the operation would have ended in one or two hours, he added.

The terrorist holed up inside a house in the outskirts of Lucknow at Thakurganj locality under Kakori police station, was killed by security forces late Tuesday night following a 12-hour long anti-terror operation.

Additional Director General of Police Daljit Chaudhary said the force went inside house and found the suspect dead along with weapons. He said the operation stands closed now and rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place.

Inspector General of the Anti-Terror Squad Aseem Arun confirmed that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the Islamic State terror group.

Image: People gather near the site of the encounter between security forces and terrorist who was holed up inside a building in the Thakurganj area of Lucknow. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo
"A traitor cannot be my son, straight and simple," said Sartaj about Saifullah, a suspected Islamic State terrorist who was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday.

Feeling ashamed of his son's activities, Sartaj refused to take Saifullah's body, saying, "A traitor cannot be related to me, let alone be my son."

He said he would have handed over his son to the police if he had even "an iota of inkling" about his activities.

Saifullah, suspected to be self-proclaimed IS activist, was killed in Lucknow in an exchange of fire with the police after a 12-hour stand-off. He was allegedly linked to the blast in the Bhopal-Ujjain train, police said.

"My child has done a wrong thing and I have regrets for it. I would have handed him over to the police had I even an iota of inkling about it. The entire world would have seen and noticed how a father could put his own son in police hands," Sartaj told reporters.

"There is no need to hide a disease, else it becomes an incurable wound," Sartaj told reporters.

"We are Indian citizens. I was born here, my ancestors were born here," he said, adding, "Almost everyone in the family is sad. But it is more shame than sadness for what he has done."

He said that even his neighbours are wondering as to how this could have happened to a son belonging to a decent family.

On his decision not to take the body, he said he was not concerned about what relatives would say.

Sartaj said that he had heard this morning about the death of his son in the encounter.

He said that Saifullah had left home about two-and-a-half months back after he beat him up for not finding work and not listening to him. Since then, he was not aware of his son's whereabouts, he said.

"On Monday, I got a call from Saifullah, who told me that he had got a visa to visit Saudi (Arabia) and he was preparing to go there. I told him go ahead," the father said.

When asked whether he had any regret for not taking proper care of his son, Sartaj said he feels he could have kept a better watch and saved him from all this.

Sartaj said that after Saifullah left home, he was concerned but felt that he will return on his own as he was angry with him.

On Saifullah's mother, who is not alive, Sartaj said that she would have been really pained. "It seems that she is not alive to see this bad day. If she had stopped him from moving out of the house he would not have left," he added.

On police seeking mediation of his other son Khalid to make Saifullah surrender, Sartaj said he has been told about it and that the conversation lasted for one hour but the voice on the other side was not clear.

Confirming that Sartaj had refused to take the body, Superintendent of Police (Kanpur City) Somen Verma said that the police may again make an attempt to convince the family about it.

Meanwhile, the father of two other men, who have been arrested on terror-related charges, has claimed that they were innocent and has sought a fair probe.

IMAGE: Saifullah was linked to the group that was behind the blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain train, which injured 10 passengers. Photograph: ANI
The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday handed over to the army two Pakistani youths whom it had arrested in connection with the last year's terror attack on a military base in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri that had killed 19 soldiers.

A NIA spokesperson said that they have handed over Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed to the army's 16 Corps headquarters in Jammu and they will be sent back home.

The spokesperson added that the NIA's probe "revealed that the two suspects had crossed over to the Indian side after altercation with their parents due to pressure of studies".

"Evidence collected in the form of statements, technical analysis of their mobile phones, seized GPS devices and other circumstantial evidence collected by the NIA did not reveal any linkage of the suspects with the Uri attackers," the spokesperson added.

It was initially suspected that the two youths acted as guides for the Uri attackers.

On September 18 last year, four heavily armed militants had stormed the Uri army base camp in Jammu and Kashmir killing 19 soldiers and injuring few others.

The NIA had taken over the investigation in the case from the state Police.

The two youths were arrested by the Border Security Force and the army in a joint operation at Angoor Post at Gavalata village in Uri when they were trying to infiltrate into India.

They were also brought to the NIA headquarters in New Delhi for detailed interrogation.

The NIA has claimed that terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the Uri terror attack.

The spokesperson added that further investigation is continuing in the case.
What would happen in a world where women didnt exist?

From Ireland to Poland, Thailand to the United States, women from more than 50 countries are getting involved in the first International Womens Strike to show solidarity with an energised global womens movement.

The theme for 2017s International Womens Day -- which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women -- is #BeBoldForChange.

Check out the glimpses of the marches from the world over.

Thousands of demonstrators attend a rally for International Women's Day in Melbourne, Australia. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

There's been a call across the globe for women to skip work or school and avoid purchasing anything in stores or online to show just how critical a role women play in society. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

People attend a rally in the rain for International Women's Day in Los Angeles, California. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

The protest, coordinated in part by the same leaders of the January 21 Women's March on Washington, aims to illustrate "the economic power and significance that women have on the US and global economies," according to the organisers. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

In Melbourne, Australia, marchers are calling for an end to racism, economic justice for all women and reproductive justice, as well as supporting the struggle for the liberation of all women around the world, inclusive of trans women and sex workers. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

A woman holds a placard during a rally for gender equality and against violence towards women on International Women's Day in Kiev. Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

Different countries had different issues they were marching for. For instance, in South Korean, women are protesting against gender inequality and sexual harassment in the workplace. Photograph: Jean Chung/Getty Images

In Australia, around 1,000 early childcare workers, a predominantly female sector, walked off the job. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images



Organisers pointed out that only a fourth of participants in the Women's March signed up in advance to participate. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images



Women march in in Los Angeles, California. Women of different states in the US are going on strike to participate. Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images
Manipur on Wednesday witnessed a record turnout of 86 per cent in the second and last phase of polling in 22 assembly constituencies, the highest since 2009 general elections.

The polling went off peacefully "barring a couple of stray incidents", Election Commission Director General Sudeep Jain told reporters in New Delhi.

Jain said that the polling percentage could go up as the figures were available for 75 per cent of the total 1,151 polling stations covering 10 districts of the northeastern state.

The number of people who turned up to vote in the remaining 25 per cent polling stations will be known later as these are located in far-flung areas where no means of communication is available, he added.

The official said that the first phase polling, held on March 4 in 38 seats, recorded 86 per cent turnout.

"The percentage of males who voted today was 84 per cent. Female voter turnout was 89 per cent. There was no boycott of polling reported," Jain said.

The state had recorded overall 79.80 per cent turnout in 2012.

The official said that 16 electronic voting machines and 5 voter verifiable paper audit trail systems had to be replaced during the second phase polling, for which 5,800 polling personnel and 8,600 security men were deployed.

The counting of votes in Manipur will be taken up on March 11, along with four other states -- Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Uttar Pradesh, where Assembly polls were held.

The election authorities seized Rs 35.40 lakh cash, liquor worth Rs 22.85 lakh and 252 kg of drugs worth Rs 2.46 crore from people trying to influence voters during the last phase.

In the previous phase, Rs 1.93 crore in cash, liquor worth Rs 77.38 lakh and 109 kg of drugs worth Rs 76.02 lakh were seized.

Jain said that the 53.6 percent of licensed guns were deposited with the authorities as part of preventive action.

Meanwhile, he said that Rs 20 lakh ex-gratia have been granted to the kin of a booth-level officer who died in a bomb explosion while on poll duty yesterday in Aishi village of Ukhrul district.

All Photographs: PTI Photo
Shiv Sena's Vishwanath Mahadeshwar was on Wednesday elected as the Mayor of Mumbai with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party, marking a coming together of the two parties after contesting the civic polls separately.

IMAGE: Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray congratulates newly elected mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar and deputy mayor Hemangi Worlikar. Uddhav's son Aditya and wife Rashmi are also seen. Photograph: Sahil Salvi

Mahadeshwar defeated Congress nominee Vitthal Lokare by 171-31 margin.

He is the 76th mayor of the city. The 56-year-old third time corporator has earlier served as chairman of BMC's education committee and was also a member of the standing committee.

His election was a foregone conclusion with the BJP last week announcing that it would not contest for the post, despite finishing a close second to the Sena in the bitterly fought polls, which even cast a shadow on the stability of the Devendra Fadnavis ministry.

As the House assembled for electing mayor and deputy mayor, BJP corporators, sporting saffron turbans, entered it, chanting "Modi-Modi".

Corporators of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena did not turn up to the House for the elections. Those from the Nationalist Congress Party and the Samajwadi Party refrained from backing either of the contestants.

While 16 corporators remained neutral, eight remained absent and one from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen abstained from voting though he was present in the House.

Shiv Sena nominee Hemangi Worlikar romped home as the deputy Mayor of BMC.

In the election, 218 corporators out of total 227 voted.

Worlikar bagged 166 votes whereas her opponent and the Congress nominee Vinfred D'souza got just 31. Of remaining 30 votes, five votes were found to be invalid. While 16 corporators remained neutral, eight were absent whereas a AIMIM member abstained though he was present in the city hall.

Meanwhile, newly-elected Mayor Mahadeshwar has announced names of members of Standing Committees, Education Committee, Improvement Committee and BEST Committee, which are deliberative wings of the civic body.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackreay expressed happiness over the ruling party's gesture of support to get Sena install its Mayor in BMC.

However, Thackeray parried a query on whether the BJP-led state government was still on a "notice period".

"Our fight against 'Bhampakpana' (hyporcitical agenda) would continue," Thackeray said.

In run-up to the bitterly-fought civic polls, including Mumbai, Thackeray had last month said the Fadnavis government was on a notice period, fuelling speculations about its stability as the Sena is an important alliance partner in the NDA dispensation.

Thackeray addressed reporters at Hutatma Chowk in South Mumbai after paying tributes to the martyrs of joint Maharashtra movement, along with the newly-elected Mayor and deputy Mayor of BMC.

On the BJP corporators voting in favour of Sena nominee Vishwanath Mahadeshwar in the BMC general body meeting, who was elected Mayor, the Sena chief said it was really "pleasing".

"We got full mandate in Thane, but fell marginally short in Mumbai (civic polls). But it's good to have got their (the BJP's) support in Mumbai," he said.

Thackeray also thanked the BJP government for the progress it had made in implementing the Bal Thackeray memorial project.

"Whatever right is right and we must accept it. I appreciate the state government for moving forward in the right direction in setting up the memorial," he said.

In a hung verdict in the 227-member BMC, Sena had won 84 seats while the BJP 82. The next largest bloc in the civic body was Congress (31).

However, due to rupture in their alliance ahead of the civic polls last month, the Sena and BJP couldn't secure any understanding in the BMC until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that BJP would not contest the Mayoral poll or lay claim to crucial committees in the civic body.

Thackeray, however, evaded queries on the formation of alliances in Zilla Parishads, which went to polls last month, where the BJP has done well.

The relations between the BJP and the Sena, partners in the state and central government, hit a new low during the campaign for civic elections across Maharashtra, which saw them hurling charges at each other.

The Sena had even threatened of pulling out of the BJP-led government in the state anytime.

The BJP put up a splendid performance in all parts of the state and shook Sena's citadel Mumbai, its political heartland land right from its formation in the 1960s.
A suspected Islamic State terrorist was killed in Lucknow on Wednesday after 12 hours of anti-terror operation to capture him alive, police said.

"After opening the doors of the house (where the terrorist was holed up), the force went inside and found the suspect dead along with weapons," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said.

"At one point of time it appeared that more than one person was holed up inside the house," he said.

Chaudhary said that the operation "stands closed now. Rest of the legal formalities will subsequently take place."

The IG ATS Aseem Arun confirmed that the slain terror suspect was an active member of the ISIS.

"The slain terror suspect belongs to the Khurasan module of the ISIS and was an active member. But, whether he has been indoctrinated or not is a matter of investigation," Arun said.

Anti-terror operations were carried out to get hold of terrorists, suspected to be linked with the Bhopal-Ujjain train blast near Jabdi station in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday in which at least 10 people were injured, three of them seriously .

Speaking to the media after the anti-terror operation was over, Arun said, "Efforts were made to catch the suspected terrorist (identified as Saifullah) alive, but unfortunately this did not materialise. We fired tear gas shells and chilly bombs, so that he comes out. But, he did not come out."

The ATS commandos then stormed inside the house (after issuing a warning to the terrorist), Arun said, adding "The suspected terrorist then fired at the ATS commandos, which was then appropriately retaliated by the ATS commandos. After this, two rooms were thoroughly searched and checked, and the person identified as Saifullah was found dead."

"A pistol, revolvers, knife and ammunition have been recovered," he said.

The commandos also saw a wire wrapped around the stomach of the terror suspect, Arun said.

"We suspect that it could possibly be an explosive. Hence, the Bomb Disposal Squad has been called to clear the room first. After this the investigations would commence," he said.

On earlier reports of two terrorists being holed up in the house, the IG ATS, said, "Since we were using the tube cameras to ascertain the details (of the suspected terrorists), the image was not very clear, and it appeared that there may be two terrorists holed up in the house. But, when the search and clear operations were carried out, only one dead body was found."

Asked to comment on the possible terror linkage of the slain terrorist, Arun said that this would be answered during the course of investigation.

IMAGES: (Top) Uttar Pradesh anti terror squad personnel and commandos during their operation against suspected terrorists holed up inside a building in the Thakurganj area of Lucknow. All photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo; (Below) the weapons and bomb-making material recovered after the operation. Photographs: ANI
An Indian citizen has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiring to support terrorist attacks in India, including assassination of an Indian government official, as part of the Khalistan movement to create an independent Sikh state.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Larry Hicks sentenced 42-year-old Balwinder Singh in Reno to 180 months in prison for conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists for the movement to create the independent Sikh state, US Attorney Daniel Bogden for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C Rouse for the FBI's Las Vegas Division said.

Bogden said, Singh, a Reno resident, was a member of two terrorist groups and provided material support to "intimidate" the Indian government and to harm persons who were not supporting the terrorism groups' cause.

"This case is an example of multi-law enforcement agencies working collaboratively together to protect the United States and our foreign allies from a terrorist act," Bogden added.

Singh, who also went by the alias Jhaji and Baljit Singh is a citizen of India and a permanent US resident. He had pleaded guilty in November last year.

According to court documents, between September and December 2013, Singh conspired with others to support terrorist attacks in India as part of the Khalistan movement to create an independent Sikh state in the Punjab region.

Singh agreed to provide "material support" by helping facilitate a co-conspirator's travel to and within South Asia; to provide necessary funding; and to provide materials necessary to carry out the attack.

On occasions, Singh travelled from Reno to California to meet a co-conspirator in person.

In October 2013, Singh and his co-conspirators agreed that one of them would travel to India and carry out a terror attack -- likely an assassination or maiming of an Indian governmental official. The final target was to be determined after the co-conspirator arrived in South Asia.

In November 2013, Singh purchased two sets of night vision goggles and a laptop computer and provided these items to a co-conspirator who was going to carry out the planned terror attack. The co-conspirator attempted to board a flight from the San Francisco International Airport to Bangkok in December 2013 in order to carry out the terror attack but US law enforcement prevented the co-conspirator from boarding that flight, thwarting the planned terror attack.

After these events, Singh and his co-conspirators continued to discuss and plan the terror attack in India until Singh's arrest in December 2013.
Rediff.com's Utkarsh Mishra reports on the real reason why Narendra Modi carpet-bombed Varanasi for 3 days.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi feeds cows during a visit to the Garwaghat Ashram in Varanasi, March 6, 2017. Photograph: PTI Photo

The five assembly segments falling under the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency -- which Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents -- voted in the seventh and last phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections, but the Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting only four of the five: Varanasi Cantonment, Varanasi South, Varanasi North and Rohaniya.

The fifth, Sevapuri, has been given to the BJP's ally, the Apna Dal.

That this is a battle for prestige for the BJP in general and Modi in particular is no secret.

A dozen ministers, BJP President Amit Shah and other star campaigners camped in the holy city for over a week, with the prime minister himself campaigning for three days.

Even before Modi's arrival, every visible advertising space in the city was occupied by massive BJP hoardings showing Modi and the message 'Na Gundaraj, Na Bhrashtachar, Abki Baar, Bhaajapa Sarkar (no goonda rule, no corruption, it's now time for a BJP government).

Though Samajwadi Party hoardings with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's slogan 'Kaam Bolta Hai' (work/action speaks), and hoardings of the SP-Congress alliance with the faces of Akhilesh and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi with the tagline 'UP ko yeh saath pasand hai' (UP likes them together) competed with those of the BJP, after Modi's visit only the BJP billboards were visible in Varanasi.

BJP campaigners were enthusiastic and hopeful -- nay, even confident -- of a majority. Even the most modest guesses at the city's chai and paan shops give the BJP 190 to 200 seats in the 403-seat UP assembly.

At least two of the four seats contested by the BJP in Varanasi are crucial for the party and the situation there explains why Modi campaigned for three consecutive days in his parliamentary constituency.

IMAGE: Varanasi's skyscape is plastered with BJP hoardings, with the Samajwadi-Congress ones coming a distant second. Photograph: Utkarsh Mishra/Rediff.com

Ironically, the two seats -- Varanasi South and Varanasi Cantt -- are traditional BJP seats and have been held by the party for more than 25 years.

But this time round, things are not so easy.

In Varanasi South, current and seven time MLA Shyamdev Roy Chaudhari was denied a ticket by the BJP, leading to protests by his supporters within the party.

The reason for the denial of a ticket to the veteran is said to be a dispute over an idol immersion in the Ganga that took place in 2015. The Congress sided with the protesters and the BJP MLA was pushed on the back foot. The party has fielded a fresh face here, Neelkanth Tiwari.

The SP-Congress candidate is former Varanasi MP Rajesh Mishra, a formidable opponent for Tiwari.

On the other hand, the BJP's candidate for the Varanasi Cantt seat is Saurabh Srivastava, son of former party legislator Jyotsana Srivastava and former UP finance minister Harishchandra Srivastava. Though he comes from an influential family, the BJP candidate is said to be not very popular among the masses.

Achyutanand Chaturvedi, a traditional BJP voter, said the people of Varanasi Cantt "expected a better candidate."

"I'm not very inclined to vote for the BJP this time only because of the candidate. He might win riding on the Modi wave, but he is very unpopular. People want a BJP government this time in the state. This might help him (Saurabh Srivastata) get the votes he otherwise couldn't have," Chaturvedi said.

There are other reasons which may worry the BJP Demonetisation not only hit small businesses and crushed Varanasi's weavers, it resulted in heavy losses to occupations in the temple town which run only on cash payments, like the boatmen or nishads at the ghats.

The period from early November to late January is peak season for these boatmen. The weather allows tourists to take a boat ride all day long, but the note ban, whose effects are visible even now, hit the nishad community hard.

Initially hesitant to speak, Babulal, a 55-year-old boatman, revealed how the note ban affected his earnings, after some prodding.

Babulal rents a boat and the owner takes Rs 200 from him for every ride. If he doesn't earn at least Rs 500 a day, it is very difficult for him to sustain himself and his family.

"Earlier, during the November-January period, I used to earn Rs 600 to Rs 800 per day. But after the note ban it came down to Rs 300 to Rs 400 per day. Customers used to say, 'arre, itne paise tumhe de denge to hume phir se ATM ki line me lagna padega (If we give you so much money, we'll have to stand in the ATM queue again)," Babulal said.

Asked who he would vote for, Babulal asked, "Aap hi batao kise de? (you tell me whom to vote for?)"

When I told him he should vote for whoever he thinks is the best, he said, without missing a heartbeat, "Hume to lagta hai Akhilesh ko ek mauka aur de (I think Akhilesh should get another chance)"

Babulal might be in a minority in this city.

A shopkeeper on Assi ghat is annoyed by journalists constantly asking him whom will he vote for or who will win the state this time.

"Aap patrakaar log bas yahi poochte hain ki hawa kiski hai? Arey, hawa kiski hai sabko pata hai (you journalists only ask whose wave is there. Everybody knows the answer)," he said.

IMAGE: Everyone agrees that Varanasi's Ganga ghats have been cleaned up like never before. Photograph: Utkarsh Mishra/Rediff.com

Near the Assi ghat is the Banaras Hindu University, whose student politics is dominated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.

Bhupendra Singh -- the ABVP's pradesh mantrifor Varanasi -- is a scholar in the physics department at BHU, but has little time for studies these days.

After making it clear that the ABVP generally keeps off party politics, Singh said, "This time we are meeting people in every constituency and telling them to vote for the BJP as all the anti-national forces have consolidated themselves against one man -- Narendra Modi."

When other students point to the tough fight in the Varanasi South and Varanasi Cantt seats, Singh felt Modi's road shows will ensure that people vote for the BJP.

Singh refused to accept the SP-Congress alliance as a competitor. "Only the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) will pose a little challenge," he said, adding, "the SP-Congress is not competition at all."

The BJP, he estimated, will win at least 230 seats.

The BHU students felt the SP-Congress alliance would benefit the latter party, but hurt Akhilesh.

"The Congress wouldn't have won a single seat otherwise," Singh said. Other students said traditional SP voters were dismayed that Akhilesh had allied with a party which coined the '27 saal, UP behaal' (UP laid waste in 27 years) slogan.

As Singh left for a public meeting, the chaiwallah at whose shop we were assembled said the BJP would not win a majority but will emerge as the single largest party.

"Akhileshji sahi hain lekin unke MLAs acche nahi hain. Agar woh haare to unhi ki wajah se haarenge (Akhilesh is good, but not his MLAs. If he loses, it will be because of them)," he said.

Apart from ardent BJP supporters, whoever I met hesitated in predicting a sweep by the party, but everyone accepted that it stands a bigger chance of winning than its rivals.

Perhaps the shopkeeper at Assi ghat was right, the people of Varanasi do know "hawa kiski hai."
'Dr Kalam had tears in his eyes when he saw the girls perform and, during the reception, insisted on serving everyone.'

'The waiter would come with the tray and he would stand beside him and ask the girls, "What would you like?" and serve it himself.'

'He has done so much for India, but I feel India didn't value him enough.'

Dancer-choreographer Astad Deboo continues our special series on India's Treasures, listing his favourite Indians to Swarupa Dutt/Rediff.com

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

I am a people person, so for me people are India's treasures, more than monuments.

India's treasure No 1 for me is President Abdul Kalam.

I met him when he conferred the Padma Shri on me in 2007 and again a couple of weeks later when I was invited to perform with my group of deaf dancers.

I stayed at Rashtrapati Bhavan for four days. What really touched me about the man was his simplicity, despite being the person he was.

He had tears in his eyes when he saw my girls perform and, during the reception afterwards, he insisted on serving everyone.

The waiter would come with the tray and he would stand beside the waiter and ask my girls, "What would you like?" and serve it himself.

There are so many receptions thrown where my artistes have attended, but never have they been given the kind of personal attention Dr Kalam gave.

I went to see him in the office after my performance to talk about my work and for funding. He got up to greet me and he was barefoot!

What a simple man. He was special. It was his persona, he was so warm.

He was a great scientist; I couldn't talk to him about his subject, but he could talk to me about dance. He understood what I was trying to do.

You don't get very many people like that. I have danced in front of other presidents and heads of State, but I have never encountered that kind of warmth.

He was such a genuine person. He has done so much for India.

But I feel India didn't value him enough after he returned to civilian life.

Maybe because he was his own person and did not bow to political diktats.

IMAGE: Astad Deboo receives the Padma Shri from President A P J Abdul Kalam.

I treasure the Dalai Lama as well.

I met him over a two-hour session with a small group of 20 people in Dharamsala. We were sitting a few feet apart and, when the photo-op happened, he held my hand and didn't let go.

I felt an aura emanating from him. He blessed me, hand on head, and we exchanged scarves. I still have the scarf.

Though he is a religious head, he endears himself to you.

There is a lot of truth in what he says.

There was this energy which emanated from him and I felt a sense of calm.

There is something pure, something spiritual, in his presence.

M F Husain, of course.

I worked with him during the making of the film Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (which Mr Husain directed), which I choreographed. I encountered him many times before Meenaxi.

I met him in Berlin with Madhuri Dixit when Gajagamini premiered (also written and directed by Mr Husain); I've been to his house for Eid.

He was always very warm, always asked me, "Kya ho raha hai?"

With Meenaxi, I saw him in a work environment. He was extremely observant, and again I was stuck by his simplicity.

He sat in when I was choreographing and after the shot was done he told me how happy he was that I was a part of the film. He would sketch each scene of the set.

This was a man who was never arrogant, never talked down to people.

IMAGE: Mrinalini Sarabhai performs with her daughter Mallika in New Delhi in 2004. Photograph: PTI Photo

And there was Mrinalini Sarabhai.

She is directly a part of my world as she was also a dancer.

She did a lot to bring art and dance alive in this country and took it places where it had not gone before.

She was a part of social causes and look at her lineage! (Her sister is Colonel Lakshmi Sehgal of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army. The dancer was married to Dr Vikram Sarabhai, father of India's space programme).

The last time I went to see Mrinalini, she had written her autobiography. We met several times. She would be curious about what I was working on.

She would want to know why I was working on a particular theme... You know you breathed culture with her.

She was all about aesthetics, yet cloaked in simplicity. She was always very well dressed.

She respected me for what I have pursued and the respect is, of course, mutual.

IMAGE: Astad Deboo performs at the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. Photograph: Courtesy, Amit Kumar.

As for monuments, for me our biggest treasure is the Meherangarh Fort in Jodhpur.

It was a site-specific performance, which means I didn't just use it as a backdrop, but incorporated the space into the performance. I danced on the ramparts.

I have been to other forts, but Meherangarh is special.

It has a magnificent history to it and it is certainly more imposing then other forts.

I was performing to a small crowd of 250 and I had been told not to use the rampart.

The rampart is just 4 feet wide and there is a 50 feet drop on the other side!

Everybody freaked out when I suggested dancing there. So I said OK, I won't, but just before I went on, I said I am using the rampart.

It is so ironic that I had gone to raise money for the head injury foundation and if I had fallen down... it would have been quite something.

I didn't do a twirl, so my movements were controlled, not careless.

I have gone to Meherangarh twice, once as a tourist and the other as a performer. The fort is so majestic!

Finally, Ladakh!

If you have the army with you, you get to see much more.

In the late eighties, I had performed solo for the troops in Leh. It was a week's visit and I went as a tourist and a dancer.

I have driven from Leh to Kargil to Srinagar. The monasteries, the thankas... are so beautiful.

When you go to these religious places, there is a certain blessing you receive.

Ladakh is actually more a pilgrimage of sorts.

The second time I went back to Ladakh, I went as a tourist. I saw a performance at the Tosh palace. I think the natural beauty is outstanding.

I feel very sorry when I see our monuments with graffiti. Yes, they are being taken better care of now, and at least they are better lit.

In the West, heritage sites are interactive for the performing arts, which is lacking here because of the Archaeological Survey of India, the bureaucracy and the concern over vandalism.

I think people at large have no respect or concern for their heritage. Maybe because there is so much around? They grab their photoop and they move on.

We don't value what we have.

Astad Deboo, pioneer of contemporary dance in India, met Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain on February 27, 2017. You can read an account of his encounter here.
Washington, Mar 8 (IBNS): Projected increases in the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves in the desert of the southwestern United States are putting songbirds at greater risk for death by dehydration and mass die-offs, according to a new study.

Researchers used hourly temperature maps and other data produced by the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS)a land-surface modeling effort maintained by NASA and other organizationsalong with physiological data to investigate how rates of evaporative water loss in response to high temperatures varied among five bird species with differing body masses, read the NASA website.

Using this data, they were able to map the potential effects of current and future heat waves on lethal dehydration risk for songbirds in the Southwest and how rapidly dehydration can occur in each species.

Researchers homed in on five songbird species commonly found in the desert southwest: lesser goldfinch, house finch, cactus wren, Abert's towhee and the curve-billed thrasher.

Under projected conditions where temperatures increase by 4 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit), which is in line with some scenarios for summer warming by the end of the century, heatwaves will occur more often, become hotter, and expand in geographic range to the point where all five species will be at greater risk for lethal dehydration.



Birds are susceptible to heat stress in two ways, said co-author Blair Wolf, a professor of biology at the University of New Mexico. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Wolf investigated heat tolerance for each of the five species in the study as well as for other bird species in Australia and South Africa. When its really hot, they simply cant evaporate enough water to stay cool, so they overheat and die of heat stroke, he said. In other cases, the high rates of evaporative water loss needed to stay cool deplete their body water pools to lethal levels and birds die of dehydration. This is the stressor we focused on in this study.

What happens is at about 40 degrees Celsius [104 degrees Fahrenheit], these songbirds start panting, which increases the rate of water loss very rapidly, explained co-author Alexander Gerson, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. At the time of the study, he worked with Wolf as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of New Mexico. He added, Most animals can only tolerate water losses that result in 15 or 20 percent loss of body mass before they die. So an animal experiencing peak temperatures during a hot summer day, with no access to water, isnt going to make it more than a few hours.

As expected, they found that the small species are particularly susceptible to lethal dehydration because they lose water at a proportionately higher rate. For example, at 50 degrees Celsius [122 degrees Fahrenheit], the lesser goldfinch and the house finch lose 8 to 9 percent of their body mass to evaporative water loss per hour, whereas the larger Curve-billed thrasher only loses about 5 percent of its mass per hour. By the end of the century, the number of days in the southwest desert where lethal dehydration poses a high risk to the lesser goldfinch increases from 7 to 25 days per year. For larger species, those days will also increase, but will remain rare.

Despite their physiological disadvantage, house finches and lesser goldfinches might actually fare comparatively better, the researchers noted, because they can survive in a number of ecosystems and they have a more expansive range. But desert specialists such as the curve-billed thrasher and Aberts towhee have more specific habitat needs and so have a more limited range, restricted in the United States mostly to the hot deserts of the Southwest. That means that a greater proportion of their population is at risk for lethal dehydration when severe enough heatwaves occur.

When you get into a situation where the majority of the range is affected, thats where we start to become more alarmed at what we are seeing, said lead author Tom Albright from the University of Nevada, Reno, noting that this increases the risk of lethal dehydration affecting a large proportion of the population.

According to the researchers, given this warming scenario, climate refugiamicroclimates such as mountaintops, trees and washes with shade that allow songbird body temperatures to cool to safe levelsmight prove very important in management plans for certain vulnerable species. Using this type of data, managers identifying the best refugia can have a better idea of the temperature profile that will be suitable for these birds, Gerson said.

This research is part of a global effort among researchers from the US, South Africa and Australia to more thoroughly understand the physiological responses of birds to increasing temperatures, with the goal of broadening our understanding of how rising temperatures will affect individuals, populations, and community structure. A three-year, $350,000 NASA New Investigator award also funded University of Nevada, Reno-based modeling aspects of this research.

Image Credits: copyright Don Faulkner (CC BY-SA 2.0)


UN envoy urges protection of children as key to peace-making and conflict prevention

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 7 March 2017 Related Document(s) Annual report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Cite as UN News Service, UN envoy urges protection of children as key to peace-making and conflict prevention, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfbf954.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The rights of children must also be a cornerstone of conflict prevention, peace-making and peace building efforts, the United Nations focal point on children in armed conflict today told the UN Human Rights Council, expressing deep concern at the scale and severity of grave violations committed against children in the past year.

"In Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen thousands of children were killed and maimed as result of intense conflict," said the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, said presenting her latest report to the Geneva-based rights body.

Recruitment and use continued at "high levels" in those countries, as well as in the conflicts in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Nigeria, Ms. Zerrougui said.

She also warned of the impact that attacks on schools and hospitals have on children's education and health, as well as the denial of humanitarian aid for children and even besiegement.

In her address, Ms. Zerrougui called on the Human Rights Council and the UN Member States to take all available measures to prevent violations from reoccurring.

In addition, the senior UN official also urged Member States to protect the rights of children associated with armed groups and to treat them as victims instead of perpetrators, saying Member States "cannot lock up a child for his or her entire life and that prolonged detention will only create and feed grievances."

She urged Governments to follow Niger's lead to adopt protocols for the handover of children encountered in military and security operations to child protection officers.

Of particular concern is the safety of girls who are targeted for sexual violence and trafficking, and who are often stigmatized and rejected by their communities when they return after being kidnapped by armed groups.

"Priority should be given to preparing and sensitizing communities to their plight," Ms. Zerrougui said.

She also detailed a number of successes during the past year - as the mandate of the Office of the Special Representative marked its 20th anniversary - including through the campaign Children, Not Soldiers and the peace process in Colombia.

Today's presentation to the Human Rights Council was the last for Ms. Zerrougui, who steps down this year as the Special Representative.
New Delhi, Mar 7 (IBNS): As Womenas Day approaches, womenas countless courageous battles and stories of their successes make headlines. But thereas one battle that women wage that is getting increasingly skewed.

Despite rise in preventive healthcare and medical progress, cancer is advancing brutally, destroying lives and spreading misery.

However, with the advent of robotic surgery, there are stories of hope now emerging in womens fight against cancer. Increasingly gynaecologists in India are deploying this surgical option to treat all types of malignant cancers that affect women.

While breast cancer and cervical cancer are the two most prevalent forms of female cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer are claiming a lot of lives as well. It is estimated that one in two women diagnosed with breast cancer in India dies early, while every 8 minutes one woman dies of cervical cancer. Just imagine, in 2016, nearly 70,000 Indians died of cervical cancer  the second most common cancer among women, accounting for 23 per cent of all cases. Breast cancer, according to the National Cancer Registry, is the most common cancer in women in India, with 27 per cent of all cases.

A host of reasons, mainly lifestyle related, have led to the growing incidence of cancers among women. According to a study, obesity is one of the primary reasons for the rise in cancer cases  while it affects both sexes, women are more likely to be affected by the obesity-related cancer types.

But to root out cancer, new tools are at hand. According to gynaecologists, robotic surgery is now fast becoming the preferred option to treat cancer as it scores over conventional surgery in terms of minimizing blood loss, drastically reducing post operative recovery time and bringing precision to the procedure, thus saving healthy tissue from damage.

Says Dr Anshumala Shukla-Kulkarni, Consultant Gynaecology Robotic Surgery, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute, Mumbai, Robotics is beneficial in endometrial cancer surgery, in early cervical cancers and Stage 1 ovarian cancers. She points out that robotic surgery offers doctors an improved vision and maneuverability when compared to conventional surgery.

Open surgery has a lot of morbidities post surgery, pain is more, blood loss is more and often due to poor visualization, the outcome is not as good. Robotics gives us the ease of 3D vision which has a magnified view, the hand instruments have more than human hand rotation providing more precision and flexibility, adds Dr Anshumala.

Apart from ovarian cancer, cervical cancer and endometrial cancer robotic surgery is also used for groin node dissection for cancer of the vulva says Dr Sabhyata Gupta, Director Gynaecology at Medanta, and also the first gyanecologist to perform robotic surgeries on malignant and benign conditions affecting women.

According to Dr Sudhir Rawal, Director Surgical Oncology Chief of Urogenital Oncology at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre, New Delhi, Robotic surgeries are most useful in gynaecological malignancies where the application of laparoscopy is hindered by the heterogeneity of cancer patients who are often elderly obese and have multiple co-morbidities.

The Vattikuti Foundation has helped expand Robotic Surgery to nearly 50 hospitals in a dozen Indian cities, in just five years, while the number of trained robotic surgeons has grown to 220.

Vattikuti Foundation began promoting Robotic Surgery in the US in 1997 and has since played a stellar role in spreading it across the USA, Europe and India. Under the Vattikuti Foundation program, surgeons working at the Vattikuti Urology Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit developed procedures for Prostate Cancer surgery which has become the Gold standard--Robotic Prostatectomy--in the US. Since then the Foundation has been working with surgeons around the world to pioneer various Robotic procedures including one for kidney transplant, developed co-operatively by Indian surgeons from Hospitals in Delhi and Ahmedabad. Indian surgeons have been adapting to this new age tool with great enthusiasm and skill.

As its contribution, Vattikuti Foundation, is committed to offering 100 paid fellowships to super specialist surgeons, over the next 5 years, to become Robotic surgeons.

Vattikuti Foundation organises Robotic Surgeons conference every six months, with over 100-125 Robotic Surgeons participating and sharing their experience and techniques.
Hungarian law that could detain all asylum-seekers violates country's legal obligations  UN agency

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Hungarian law that could detain all asylum-seekers violates country's legal obligations  UN agency, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfbfe04.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The United Nations refugee agency voiced deep concerned at a new law voted today by the Hungarian Parliament that could lead to mandatory detention of all asylum-seekers, including many children - for the entire length of the asylum procedure - and warned that it would have a terrible impact on people who have already suffered greatly.

"In practice, it means that every asylum-seeker, including children, would be detained in shipping containers surrounded by high razor wire fence at the border for extended periods of time," Cecile Pouilly, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the media today at a news briefing at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG).

"The new law violates Hungary's obligations under international and European Union (EU) laws, and will have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who had already greatly suffered," she added.

According to the UN agency, under international and EU laws, the detention of refugees and asylum-seekers could only be justified on a limited number of grounds, and only where it was necessary, reasonable and proportionate.

That requires authorities to consider whether there were less coercive or intrusive measures to achieve those goals, based on an assessment of the individual's particular circumstances, explained Ms. Pouilly, adding that alternatives to detention should always to be considered first.

"Failure to do so could render detention arbitrary," she said.

Until now, asylum-seekers had been allowed to stay in open reception centres across the country. However, with the new law the people who had entered the country, having passed through the transit zones, would be moved back to those zones and confined to the containers.

"This is extremely worrying, especially thinking about children being detained," noted Ms. Pouilly, adding: "Children should never be detained under any conditions as detention was never in a child's best interest."

She also said that the Government had also already erected a razor wire barrier along the entire border with Serbia and, now, only 50 asylum seekers were allowed to enter the country per week, at two crossing points.

Lack of legal pathways to access Europe and because of the closed borders, many people are resorting to smugglers, which make them, and especially children, event more vulnerable and harder to track.

The UNHCR spokesperson further told the media that the physical barriers already erected, together with legislative and policy obstacles, make it nearly impossible for asylum-seekers to enter the country, apply for asylum and receive international protection.
UN agency expanding camps around Mosul to cope with surge in displacement

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 7 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN agency expanding camps around Mosul to cope with surge in displacement, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc0554.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Amid a spike in new displacement triggered by the Iraqi military offensive to recapture western Mosul, the United Nations refugee agency is setting up new camps and expanding existing ones to shelter new arrivals, many of whom are visibly traumatized, hungry and dehydrated.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), its newly opened Chamakor camp will help manage the up tic.

"[The camp] received its first 200 residents [yesterday] and more arrivals are expected [today] and through the week." Cecile Pouilly, a spokesperson for the UN agency, said at a media briefing today at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG).

"It is ready to immediately receive 6,600 people," she added.

The UN agency is also building two additional camps - one to the east of Mosul and the other, south - for some 39,000 people and setting up 19 tented halls in the Iraqi Government-built Hammam al-Alil, that will serve as reception centres and transit area.

Ms. Pouilly also said that UNHCR is exploring expanding capacity in camps north of the city but is facing serious challenges finding suitable land to build the camps.

Hunger and insecurity biggest reason to flee

Hunger and insecurity have been cited as the key factors in the decision to flee by newly displaced families, who told the UN agency of armed groups attacking areas recently retaken by Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), causing sustained civilian casualties.

"The newest arrivals are in a desperate condition, visibly traumatized, hungry and dehydrated. Many arrived without shoes and wearing soaking clothes, having walked long distances to reach safety at government checkpoints," said the UNHCR spokesperson.

"Some had left relatives behind, hoping to be reunited once they are able to find safer exit routes from west Mosul. Families recounted surviving on one meal a day - flour and water, sometimes supplemented by bread or tomato paste - over recent weeks."

Currently there are 211,572 Iraqis displaced by the fighting in Mosul, with over 50,000 added since the beginning of the latest operations in west Mosul, launched on 19 February.
UN migration agency seeks $25 million to aid families in Eastern Ukraine

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 7 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN migration agency seeks $25 million to aid families in Eastern Ukraine, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc08e4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

To meet the emergency needs of 180,000 people in Eastern Ukraine, the United Nations migration agency today announced plans to provide aid ranging from blankets to money to cover electricity costs and psychological support at a cost of $25 million.

Many of the people who need urgent help are trapped in villages along the contact line without fuel for heating and cooking, hot water, food, or basic necessities, said said Manfred Profazi, the Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Ukraine.

Since April 2014, nearly 10,000 people have been killed in fighting in Eastern Ukraine and nearly 23,000 injured.

In addition, an estimated 3.8 million people are in need of humanitarian aid, according to IOM figures. More than half of those people are displaced across the country jobless, struggling to pay their utility bills and lacking funds for food and medical expenses, according to information released today.

One of the worries is that mass displacement elevates the risk of human trafficking. In addition to humanitarian concerns, the UN agency is aiming to help the displaced communities come together to strengthen mutual trust.

Traffickers know the market and cynically move in to exploit vulnerable people who are desperate to provide for their families. We will work with communities both to prevent it happening and to assist victims, Mr. Profazi said.
Nepal: Investigation urgently needed after security forces shoot protesters dead

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 7 March 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Nepal: Investigation urgently needed after security forces shoot protesters dead, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc1124.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Nepal's authorities must promptly investigate the security forces who opened fire on a crowd of protestors in Saptari district in the Tarai, Nepal's southern plains, killing three people and injuring 16, Amnesty International said today.

"This was an unlawful use of lethal force. There must be a prompt, effective and impartial investigation, and those responsible must be held accountable," said Aura Freeman, Amnesty International's Nepal campaigner.

On Monday, supporters of the Samyukta Loktrantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) gathered to protest against an election rally of the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party. The SLMM, an alliance of Madhes based parties, are boycotting the election as no changes have been made to the constitution. There were clashes between protesters and the security forces policing the rally. Some of the protesters allegedly threw stones and other objects at the security forces, who then fired tear gas grenades and used firearms against them. According to a government official, police had first tried to disperse the protesters with batons and tear gas before firing their guns.

Under international law, police may not use firearms except in defence against an imminent threat of death or serious injury, and only when there is no other less extreme means to achieve this. Firearms must never be used as a tactical tool for the management of demonstrations or other public assemblies, and are not an appropriate tool to contain widespread violence. Arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials must be punished as a criminal offence.

"These deaths are not an isolated incident. They fall within a pattern of Nepal's security forces resorting to unlawful use of lethal force," said Aura Freeman. "In the lead up to local elections, when further protests are likely to occur, it is imperative that security forces refrain from using excessive force once and for all.

Background

In 2015, at least 50 people were killed in clashes between protestors and security forces in the Tarai region of Nepal. Madhesi and other marginalized groups in the Tarai were demonstrating against the 2015 Constitution and its amendments which, they claimed, discriminated against them and denied them fair political representation. Amnesty International repeatedly called for restraint to be exercised by security forces policing protests, and for the government of Nepal to investigate the incidents of disproportionate, excessive and unnecessary force and killings. To this day, no one has been brought to justice.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Southeast Asia: As governments fail on human rights, women stand up

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 7 March 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Southeast Asia: As governments fail on human rights, women stand up, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc1c94.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

As the world marks International Women's Day, Amnesty International recognizes the work of six distinguished women human rights activists who have faced harassment, threats, imprisonment, and violence for standing up for human rights in the region.

"In Southeast Asia, there are few governments who can be proud of their human rights records, but there are countless women across the region who have braved great dangers to take a stand against injustice," said Champa Patel, Amnesty International's Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

"On this International Women's Day this year, we want to recognize five women, from five different countries, whose heroism inspires many in the region and whose contributions to society should commended, not condemned."

Thailand: Sirikan Charoensiri

Lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri regularly defends clients who are being investigated and prosecuted for peacefully defending human rights guaranteed by international law. She is also a leading member of Thailand's civil society. She faces fifteen years' imprisonment under charges of treason and violating a ban on "political" assembly of five or more persons. The charges were filed in connection with her defence of her clients, penalised for acts of peaceful protest.

Other women human rights defenders working for justice in Thailand have faced targeted criminal charges and harassment, including Pornpen Khonkachonkiet and Anchana Heemina.

Malaysia: Maria Chin Abdullah

Last November, Maria Chin Abdullah was detained without trial and held in solitary confinement for 11 days. A soft-spoken 60-year-old mother of three, she was arrested under Section 124C of the Penal Code for activities "detrimental to parliamentary democracy" and held under the Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA).

This draconian law allows detention for prolonged periods without judicial oversight in secret locations. Her only crime was to have led the Bersih ("clean" in Malay) protest, where thousands took to the streets to peacefully call for electoral reform and good governance.

Abdullah was the most prominent of 15 civil society activists who were arrested under various penal code offences for their connection with the Bersih rally. She has also been repeatedly investigated and charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 for the organization and participation in the other peaceful rallies.

Cambodia: Tep Vanny

Since August 2016, Tep Vanny, a housing rights activist, has been detained in Phnom Penh's Prey Sar CC2 Prison. Her incarceration is meant to silence her and send a chilling message to other activists.

Vanny and her community have been peacefully protesting the forced evictions of thousands of people from the Boeung Kak Lake area in Cambodia's capital city for almost 10 years, attracting the hostile attentions of the authorities.

She and the other women activists from Boeung Kak have been subjected to arbitrary arrest, violence from security guards, unfair trials and imprisonment for their peaceful protests. Yet they are still determined to stand up for their rights and justice.

Philippines: Leila de Lima

Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte expanded his "war on drugs" to silence his most prominent critic. Senator Leila de Lima, a former justice secretary and former chair of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, was arrested on politically-motivated charges. Currently held at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Manila, she could face 12 years imprisonment if convicted.

Duterte made de Lima the target of his divisive rhetoric when she convened Senate hearings last August, when the wave of extrajudicial executions of alleged drug offenders had already claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people. Since then, de Lima has been the target of vilification. Last month, Duterte told a crowd of his supporters: "If I were De Lima, ladies and gentlemen, I'll hang myself."

De Lima has remained resolute. "My arrest," she said, before being taken away by the police, "is an appalling sign of the return of a power-hungry, morally bankrupt and abusive government."

Viet Nam: Tran Thi Nga

Tran Thi Nga is a land rights activist and pro-democracy advocate from Ha Nam province, Viet Nam. In January, Nga was arrested under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code for "spreading propaganda against the state", a provision that is regularly used to jail dissidents for lengthy periods. Nga joins 93 other prisoners of conscience behind bars in Viet Nam.

While recovering from a serious traffic accident she was involved in while working in Taiwan, where she suffered abuse as a migrant worker, Nga taught herself about human rights.

She returned to Viet Nam where she has relentlessly advocated for human rights, joining the independent Vietnamese Women for Human Rights network. Nga has been targeted and physically assaulted on a few occasions by men in plain clothes, as well as police. These attacks have happened in front of her four children.

Myanmar: Wai Wai Nu

Wai Wai Nu, her two siblings and her parents were prisoners of conscience under Myanmar's military rulers. In 2005, they were shown to a closed door room, where there was no lawyer present and they were not allowed to speak, to be "tried" and convicted. At the time, Wai Wai Nu was an 18-year-old law student, and she was told she would have to spend the next 17 years behind narrowly spaced bars.

In 2012, as Myanmar creaked open to reforms, Wai Wai Nu walked out of her cell determined to rid her country of the injustices she grew to know so intimately in jail. At the age of 25, she completed her law degree and founded two human rights organizations, the Women's Peace Network-Arakan and Justice for Women.

Wai Wai Nu, a member of Myanmar's repressed Rohingya minority, is now widely regarded as an eloquent and fearless advocate for promoting equality and tolerance.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Indonesia: Government must investigate Wilmar labour practices as company attempts to cover up abuse claims

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 7 March 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Indonesia: Government must investigate Wilmar labour practices as company attempts to cover up abuse claims, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc21a4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Agri giant Wilmar's campaign to cover up labour abuses exposed in a damning Amnesty International report is being aided by the Indonesian government's failure to investigate claims against the palm oil company.

Despite reports that the authorities would create a special task force to probe human rights abuses detailed in the report, 'The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labour Abuses Behind Big Brand Names', no progress has been made. Meanwhile, Wilmar has tried to intimidate staff into denying the claims.

"Workers on plantations live in fear of reprisals for speaking out about their poor working conditions. Such reprisals could include being moved away from their families to a different plantation, or even losing their job entirely," said Seema Joshi, Head of Amnesty International's Business and Human Rights team.

"Their predicament is not being helped by the government's complete failure to act on the gross human rights abuses detailed in our report."

At a meeting with trade union representatives in January, Wilmar asked workers to sign a document which stated that the abuses outlined in the Amnesty International report were not taking place on their plantations.

"Any signed statements that Wilmar obtains from its staff under such duress, including the threat of being fired, are not legally valid." Seema Joshi said.

"Wilmar's approach to addressing the abuses flagged in our report is deeply worrying.The company is patently seeking to publicly discredit Amnesty International's evidence."

Wilmar resorted to such tactics following a media report that the Indonesian government would carry out a thorough investigation into the issues highlighted in Amnesty International's report.

"We are encouraged by the commitment the Indonesian government has shown towards holding corporates to account for human rights. But in the three months since the report's release we have seen no action. An urgent investigation is needed," said Seema Joshi.

"In light of Wilmar's attempts at discrediting our report and their ongoing failure to address any of the concerns it raised, the Indonesian authorities must now make good on the pledge to establish a task force to investigate Wilmar's labour practices."

Wilmar's Singapore office has stated that the issues raised by Amnesty International are being actively discussed by Wilmar Plantation Operations Management and that their investigation continues.

The company said it will continue with this process until it is able to address all the issues highlighted, and will publish its full findings. It also says that trade union signatures were provided voluntarily.

Wilmar's public response, however, seems to be at odds with their approach behind the scenes.

Background:

- The report 'The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labour Abuses Behind Big Brand Names', revealed that labour practices used at Wilmar plantations include child labour, forced labour, exposure to dangerous conditions and endemic discrimination against women. These practices are in contravention of Indonesian law, some of which are criminal.

- Three months on from the publication of the report, none of the companies named have taken active steps to stop the labour abuses on their plantations, nor have they provided any remedy for those who have suffered abuses.

- Despite making a commitment to investigate the findings of the report and announcing that would it hire a consultancy for this purpose, Amnesty International has found no convincing evidence that Wilmar has addressed key issues including the use of high targets and piece rate which contributes to child labour, exploitation of female workers, nor non-payment of the minimum wage.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Thailand: Defamation Cases Dropped Against Activists

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 7 March 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Thailand: Defamation Cases Dropped Against Activists, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc2724.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The Thai military's dropping of frivolous defamation lawsuits against three prominent activists should be the first step toward ending government intimidation, censorship, and retaliation against human rights defenders in southern Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today.

On March 7, 2017, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4, which covers security operations along the southern border with Malaysia, announced it would end legal action against the activists, who accused Thai security personnel of torturing suspected ethnic Malay Muslim insurgents over more than a decade.

"This decision to drop charges against three activists is welcome but will be quickly forgotten if the military continues to interfere with human rights monitoring in Thailand's southern border provinces," said Brad Adams, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. "The military's willingness to undergo independent scrutiny will determine whether this is just one case to spruce up its image - or a genuine commitment to accountability."

In May 2016, ISOC Region 4 officials filed a criminal complaint against Somchai Homlaor, Pornpen Khongkachonkie, and Anchana Heemmina, accusing them of criminal defamation under the Penal Code and publicizing false information online under the Computer Crimes Act. The complaint was related to a report by the Cross Cultural Foundation, Duay Jai Group, and the Patani Human Rights Network that documented 54 cases of torture and mistreatment in military custody between 2004 and 2015. If convicted, the activists faced up to five years in prison and a 100,000 baht (US$2,850) fine.

Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment are prohibited under international law. The Convention against Torture, which Thailand ratified in 2007, obligates governments to investigate and prosecute acts of torture and other ill-treatment committed by government officials. However, the Thai government has yet to successfully prosecute any security personnel for abuses against ethnic Malay Muslims alleged to be involved in the insurgency.

In June 2014, the United Nations Committee Against Torture recommended that Thailand "take all the necessary measures to: (a) put an immediate halt to harassment and attacks against human rights defenders, journalists, and community leaders; and (b) systematically investigate all reported instances of intimidation, harassment and attacks with a view to prosecuting and punishing perpetrators, and guarantee effective remedies to victims and their families."

The Thai government has an obligation to ensure that all people and organizations engaged in the protection and promotion of human rights are able to work in a safe and enabling environment, Human Rights Watch said. The right to file complaints about torture and mistreatment, and to have the complaint promptly and impartially investigated, is provided for under international treaties to which Thailand is party. In addition, the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders affirms the prohibition against retaliation, threats, and harassment of anyone who takes peaceful action to oppose human rights violations, both within and beyond the exercise of their professional duties.

Contrary to Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha's promise to criminalize torture in fulfillment of Thailand's international obligations, the military has regularly dismissed allegations of torture and other serious abuses committed by security personnel in the southern border provinces. Military agencies have also retaliated against human rights activists by filing lawsuits accusing critics of making false statements with the intent of damaging the military's reputation. The number of legal cases brought against activists for reporting and addressing human rights violations is increasing across Thailand. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly raised concerns that Thai authorities, private companies, and individuals often retaliate against those reporting alleged abuses by filing defamation lawsuits accusing activists and victims of making false statements.

In addition, Thailand's Computer-Related Crime Act, adopted by the junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly on December 16, 2016, gives overly broad powers to the government to restrict free speech and enforce censorship. Articles 14(1) and (2) of this law provide grounds for the government to prosecute anything they designate as "false" and, in the case of article 14(1), "distorted" information, terms which are very broad. Past prosecutions have shown such provisions in law are readily open to abuse.

"Now that the military accepts that the allegations against them aren't defamatory, they should ensure an impartial investigation of the alleged abuses outside the military chain of command," Adams said. "Permitting monitoring is just the first step. Now the authorities need to fairly prosecute those responsible and begin to restore their reputation in the deep south provinces of Thailand."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Algeria: Don't Prosecute a Writer for Insulting Islam

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Algeria: Don't Prosecute a Writer for Insulting Islam, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc2c04.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Algeria's prosecutor's office should drop its criminal blasphemy investigation of a writer over his 2016 novel, Human Rights Watch said today. The Algerian authorities should uphold freedom of expression and take immediate steps to abolish the blasphemy law.

The judicial police in Tipaza, a city 70 kilometers from Algiers, interrogated Anouar Rahmani, a 25-year-old law student and novelist, on February 28, 2017. They told him that the public prosecutor had opened an investigation into "The City of White Shadows , " a novel he published online in August 2016. They filed a report accusing him of insulting Islam in his novel. Rahmani is free pending a decision by the prosecutor on whether to charge him.

"It is not the business of the prosecutor to question the author about their religious beliefs," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Rahmani told Human Rights Watch that he received a police summons on February 27, 2017 at his house. When he went to the Tipaza police station the following morning, seven policemen interrogated him about his novel. In one chapter, a child converses with a homeless man who calls himself "God" and claims that he has created the sky out of chewing gum. The novel also depicts a gay romance between a freedom fighter and a French settler during the Algerian war for independence.

Rahmani said the policemen asked him questions such as, "Do you pray?" "Why did you insult God?" "Why did you write such a novel?" They told him that the novel's mocking tone insulted Islam and that its sexual vocabulary contravened good morals.

Rahmani said that after ten hours of interrogation he signed a police report that stated that he is under investigation pursuant to Article 144bis of the penal code, which provides for a prison term of three to five years and a fine of up to 100,000 dinars (US$914) for "offending the Prophet" and "denigrating the dogma or precepts of Islam." The prosecutor must now decide whether to charge Rahmani.

Rahmani said he was the target of threats and slander campaigns on the internet and in the Algerian media for defending the LGBT community, criticizing the use of religion to restrict rights, and defending religious minorities on his blog, Journal of an Atypical Algerian. On June 2, 2016, the international nongovernmental group Frontline Defenders denounced the accusations of blasphemy and apostasy against Rahmani on the social media pages of students in his university, as well as in an Algerian daily journal.

"The biggest blasphemy is to think that God could be hurt by a novel, and that he is so weak that he needs to be defended by the police," Rahmani told Human Rights Watch

Laws that criminalize the "defamation" of religion or religious groups are not compatible with norms of freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, in its general comment on Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Algeria has ratified, stated that it is not permissible for "prohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief system, including blasphemy laws  to be used to prevent or punish criticism of religious leaders or commentary on religious doctrine and tenets of faith."

Article 42 of the Algerian Constitution guarantees freedom of thought and conscience. Article 44 protects the freedom "of artistic creation."

In September 2016, the Setif Appeals court sentenced Slimane Bouhafs, a Christian convert, to three years in prison for Facebook posts under the same penal code article for "insulting Islam." Bouhafs is currently serving his term.

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Fake News: government weapon for destroying independent media

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 7 March 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Fake News: government weapon for destroying independent media, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc33f4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

An online controversy erupted after The Guardian published a story on 1 March by Rossalyn Warren about "fake news" in Burundi. Its aim was to describe the activities of exile journalists and the government's control of the news. But, because of reporting errors, it ended up being used for the government's manipulation of information against its opponents.

Warren interviewed three Burundian journalists who have fled to Rwanda, erroneously reporting that they worked for the SOS Media Burundi network, which has no journalists in Rwanda.

In fact, the journalists she interviewed work for the exile web radio Humura, an offshoot of Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), a popular radio station that was shut down for good by President Pierre Nkurunziza's government in April 2015.

Created in the wake of an abortive coup against the Nkurunziza regime in May 2015, SOS Media Burundi consists of a network of journalists who are still in the country. As Warren's article said, it operates clandestinely to avoid exposing its reporters to danger.

Warren subsequently acknowledged that she had confused SOS Media Burundi with Humura and her article was amended on 4 March so as to state that her three interviewees worked for Humura. But it was still inaccurate, because it continued to describe Humura as a secret network operating inside Burundi (a description applicable to SOS Media Burundi) rather than as an exile radio.

SOS Media Burundi issued a statement the next day taking issue with the Guardian article and denying that any of its journalists were based in Rwanda. The matter would have ended there if the Burundian government had not decided to exploit it in support of its control and manipulation of news and information, which have assumed an important role since 2015.

Twitter storm

The Guardian's story circulated widely on social networks and endangered SOS Media Burundi's journalists, who now find themselves being assailed from all quarters. Journalists in Burundi felt threatened because it linked them with Rwanda - a dangerous association given the current tension between the two countries.

But the Guardian's erroneous article and SOS Media Burundi's denial have above all served as grist for the mill of the government's propagandists. The president's media adviser, Willy Nyamitwe, has turned Warren's mistake into "lies" that support the government's claims about international media bias and an "international conspiracy" against Burundi.

Twitter trolls have meanwhile used SOS Media Burundi's statement criticizing the Guardian article as grounds for claiming that SOS Media Burundi's journalists and coordinator, Eloge Willy Kaneza, support the government's denunciation of the international media. This is very damaging for these journalists, who constantly strive to report the truth about what is happening on the ground in Burundi.

In Burundi, any report or statement is nowadays interpreted as being for or against the regime. This has been the case since 2015 and the ensuing flight of around 360,000 of the country's inhabitants (a UNHCR figure that is disputed by the government). The space for critical, measured and objective opinion is shrinking by the day. The regime's aim is to impose its version of events as the only one.

Facade of pluralism

The offensive began in April 2015 with the closure of RPA, one of the regime's leading critics. It peaked the following month with the closure of all the other independent radio stations, the flight of many journalists and repeated, serious harassment and violence against the journalists who stayed. And it continued until journalist Jean Bigirimana's still unsolved disappearance in July 2016.

The government finally realized that its persecution of journalists and media outlets was affecting how it is seen by the international community, whose funding it needs. So it tried to persuade some of the closed radio stations, above all Isanganiro and Radio Bonesha, to reopen.

This worked in the case of Isanganiro, which resumed broadcasting in March 2016 after signing an undertaking that imposes considerable restrictions on its editorial freedom. Government officials often call Isanganiro's director to discourage coverage of certain stories. The instructions issued to the station's journalists limit the freedom with which they cover stories and many of them censor themselves as a protective measure.

The government has also created new media outlets such as Buja FM and a newspaper called Ikihiro (Kirundi for "How it is"). But they do not cover violence and human rights abuses.

This is left to the exile media (described as "enemies of the nation" by the government) and to the two independent media outlets still operating inside the country, Iwacu and SOS Media Burundi. But, to protect themselves, Iwacu and SOS Media Burundi just report the hard facts and refrain from any comment or analysis that could lead to reprisals. Political discussion and analysis can only be found on social networks.

As a result, coverage of events in Burundi is usually incomplete and manipulated, with biased terminology and virulent comments only too often replacing objective reporting that serves the general interest.

Burundi is ranked 156th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
Lithuanian Popular Militia Expands to Defend Against Russian Threat

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Paul Goble Publication Date 7 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 30 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Lithuanian Popular Militia Expands to Defend Against Russian Threat, 7 March 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 30, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc94b4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

The Donald Trump administration has repeatedly suggested that the true measure of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member country's commitment to the Allianceand hence of the Alliance to itis defense spending equal to at least 2 percent of GDP. But often, such fixation on the relative size of military budgets obscures the additional measures many member states are taking to increase their ability to defend themselves and the North Atlantic Alliance itself against threats from Russia.

Though it already meets NATO's 2 percent spending requirement, the Baltic republic of Estonia has been notable for its additional contributions to Alliance security, such as by integrating its Armed Forces with NATO, promoting economic development in ethnic-Russian-majority Narva region, as well as better incorporating its Russian population into Estonian life (see EDM, February 21). Some similar "beyond 2 percent" measures are also worth exploring when it comes to Lithuania. Not only is Lithuania increasing defense spending to reach the 2 percent level and constructing a wall along its border with Russiawith Kaliningradbut activists are rapidly expanding a popular militia capable of resisting any "hybrid" war actions by Russia, either alone or in combination with its ally Belarus (RIA Novosti, Svobodnaya Pressa, March 4).

Lithuania has a long tradition of popular militias: they played an active role in the early years of the republic and again in resisting the Soviet occupation. As a result, when tensions with Russia rose after Vladimir Putin launched his aggression in Ukraine, ever more Lithuanians joined its units. Three years ago, there were only about 50 people in such militias; now, there are "more than 3,000," according to commanders (Svobodnaya Pressa, March 4). Many of them are convinced that they are already on the frontlines against Russian aggression. Moreover, because Lithuania is overwhelmingly Lithuanianethnic Russians and ethnic Poles form no more than 7 percent eachsuch popular militias within the country are unifying rather than divisive.

The Lithuanian militia has attracted relatively little attention in the West, apparently because of the focus on state defense structures and the 2 percent rule. But it is a real matter of concern among Russian defense experts, including three that Sergey Aksyonov has surveyed for the Svobodnaya Pressa portal (Svobodnaya Pressa, March 4).

Vladimir Sytin, one of their number, says the rise of the militia shows that "Lithuania is preparing for defense. Today, this countryif one excludes of course Ukraineis at the epicenter of the process of preparation for responding to a possible attack from Russia. Universal military obligation has been restored, the presence of NATO forces [in the country] was increased, and the entire complex of defense measures is being elaborated  Of course, Lithuania hopes for assistance from NATO under Article Five" because any attack on it would be an attack on the Western Alliance, Sytin pointed out.

A major reason that Lithuania is in the lead in this regard, Sytin continued, lies in the personality of the country's president, Dalia Gribauskaite. Not only has she had more experience in Russia than her two Baltic counterparts, but Lithuania, being "the southernmost of the Baltic countries" and bordering directly on Kaliningrad, "considers the situation for itself dangerous"more than the other two appear to.

Stanislav Byshok, a Russian analyst for the CIS-EMO Monitoring Organization, said that Lithuania's tough talk about Moscow and the formation of the national militias reflect the fact that "the struggle with Russia is the most important part of the national myth" in Lithuania and that "all aspects of the current situation there are interpreted in an anti-Russian key." He added that stirring up such feelings also helps distract attention from the economic problems in Lithuania that are prompting many young Lithuanians to emigrate and even contributes to the idea that expanded defense spending will trickle down and improve the lives of ordinary Lithuanians.

Vladimir Abramov, a political analyst from Kaliningrad, agreed, saying that "a foreign enemy always distracts attention from the lack of meat in the soup," an observation that could with far greater force be applied to the militarist rhetoric of Putin's Russia. Abramov was dismissive of the wall being built between Lithuania and Kaliningrad because 90 percent of that border is along waterways and, according to him, no wall will do much to change things. It may protect wildlife but nothing more. Nonetheless, the formation of militias represents a potentially serious force in the event of a hybrid war of one kind or another.

Obviously, in any serious clash in Lithuania, it would be the Lithuanian Armed Forces, backed by NATO units, which would play the key role in countering Russian actions. But the rise of the militia is important not only because it promotes national unity among Lithuaniansmaking it far more difficult for Moscow to succeedbut also because it will put in place a force able to continue to fight in the forests against any successful Russian occupation.

It took Soviet forces more than a decade to wipe out the "Forest Brothers" in Lithuania after World War II. That Putin's Russia might face a similar challenge in the future may, therefore, be one of the main constraints against Kremlin action now. At the very least, such "beyond 2 percent" actions should be counted as part of Lithuania's contribution to its own defense and that of NATO as a whole.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Kolkata, Mar 8 (IBNS): What happens when maestros like Pandit Viswamohan Bhatt, Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya and Pandit Daya Shankar join ace percussionist Bickram Ghosh on stage to stir up a symphony for an audience in a city known for its discerning music lovers?

Well, the answer was in the entrallment and applause betrayed by a full audience at the Calcutta Rowing Club on Friday last as the acclaimed musicians, better known as The Golden Trio performed for more than 950 people on the lawns of the 150 year old establishment.

Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan, started the ensemble with a speech, remembering his mentor, the Late Pandit Ravi Shankar who created the concept of 'The Golden Trio' back in the mid 1980's.

He recollected the instant success of 'The Golden Trio' concept as he took a trip down memory lane, at the different prestigious venues like The Royal Albert Hall, London, Jubilee Auditorium, Canada and Theater De la Vel, Paris to name a few.

The Mohan Veena (modified Hawaiian side guitar) artist also expressed his elation at having the opportunity to perform beside a lake, as he felt that music and water are somewhat interconnected.

As the evening progressed with the tunes of the Mohan Veena, Pandit Daya Shankar's shehnai, Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya's santoor, accompanied by the beats of Bickram Ghosh's tabla, it didn't take much of an effort to feel the charged atmosphere by the loud applause following each rendition.

The Santoor Ashram, a brainchild of Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya, was also brought to focus during the event.

A modern-day Gurukul situated in a village near Kolkata, its objective is to instill love for Indian Classical music amongst the young minds, train the gifted but financially impoverished music students for free; thus keeping the ancient, pure form of the Guru-Shishya Parampara alive.

The evening of musical extravaganza was managed by PLAY ON, while the musicians were felicitated by Chandrashekhar Ghosh, Founder, MD, CEO of Bandhan Bank, Chandra Surana, Goutam De, Regional Director, ICCR and Sudip Mullick from Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick.



(Reporting by Sagar Ghosh)
Russia Progressively Pulls Georgia Tighter Into Its Orbit by Way of New Transit Routes

Publisher Jamestown Foundation Author Devi Dumbadze Publication Date 7 March 2017 Citation / Document Symbol Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 30 Cite as Jamestown Foundation, Russia Progressively Pulls Georgia Tighter Into Its Orbit by Way of New Transit Routes, 7 March 2017, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 30, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfc9c34.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Link to original story on Jamestown website

After Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili met with his Armenian counterpart, Karen Karapetyan, in Tbilisi, on February 2324, the initial reports in the Georgian media were vague. Kvirikashvili provided general statements on the meeting's purpose: "Armenia is a country with which we share centuries-old good-neighborly traditions," adding words about an "interesting suggestion on tapping the common market potential in various sectors" and a "readiness to work actively in this area" of "regional cooperation" (Civil Georgia, February 24). The hidden elephant in the room was disclosed by foreign reports. They made clear that the two sides, in fact, agreed on developing new transit routes linking Russia and Armenia, and going through Georgia (Azatutyun.am, February 24).

The largest portion of trade traffic between Russia and Armenia operates through the single crossing point at Zemo Larsi, on the Russian-Georgian border. This mountainous road is frequently blocked in the snow-heavy winter months. In early February, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin met in Prague, Czech Republic, with Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian prime minister's special representative for relations with Moscow (Kommersant.ru, February 7). Citing the regular blockages of the road, the two sides agreed to expand transport corridors between Russia and Georgia by adding two new routes passing through the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The firsta railroad via Abhkaziawill begin close to Sochi (Russia) and end in Zugdidi (Georgia); the second will start in the North Ossetian town of Nar, go through South Ossetia, and terminate in Gori (Georgia).

Karasin and Abashidze referred to the November 9, 2011, "Agreement Between the Governments of the Russian Federation and Georgia Concerning the Main Principles of Customs Administration and Monitoring of Trading Goods" as the basis for developing the above-cited transit routes (Kommersant, February 7). This document originates from the complicated negotiations regarding Russia's admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO). At that time, Russia's entry was blocked by the Georgian government of then-president Mikheil Saakashvili. But ultimately, Georgia agreed to reverse its veto if the Swiss government, as an impartial party, took over control and registration of the flow of goods along new trade corridors to be introduced between Russia and Georgia, via Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Such a system would have sidestepped the sensitive questions of customs registration at the border or of explicitly acknowledging the trade as occurring between Russia and Georgia. Moreover, Moscow would be spared formally recognizing the breakaway territories as part of sovereign Georgia. In the end, however, the agreement fell through.

Elements of that plan have apparently now been revived during Karasin's meeting with Abashidze; the two officials announced their intention "to act by a method of small steps." While subsequent negotiations between Kvirikashvili and Karapetyan have evidently culminated in extending these routes through to Armenia. The Armenian prime minister stated: "If you are interested in whether there will be an alternative to the Lars road, then I can assure you that yes, there will be" (Azatutyun.am, February 24). "We reached agreements on both the Lars issue and the energy corridor," Karapetyan added. The latter must relate to the "offer to the Georgian side to use Armenia as platform to enter the markets of Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union." These measures are part of an overall strategy for Armenia and Georgia to "appear as a joint market vis-a-vis the outside world," Karapetyan said (Accent.com, March 1), which would sideline Azerbaijan.

The Georgian opposition United National Movement (UNM) denounced the plan, stating that the reopening of the railroad connection across Abkhazia is "completely unacceptable." (Civil.ge, February 27). "This will be disastrous for the country's territorial integrity," UNM's Nika Rurua underscored. "The reopening of the Abkhazia railway is an overt betrayal of [Georgia's] national interests [], an adversarial step, which will benefit the Russians and the separatists only," Rurua stressed. It "will worsen" Georgia's economic standing and "exacerbate" relations with Azerbaijan. Indeed, an "Agreement" not implemented in 2011 appears more questionable in 2017. During these past six years, particularly through its actions in Ukraine, Russia has demonstrated aggressive and expansionist policies along its western and southwestern borders. Simultaneously, Russia continues to significantly increase its permanent troop deployments there (Militarynews.ru, February 22).

Sergi Kapanadze, of the Movement for LibertyEuropean Georgia, added that the ruling party's behind-the-scenes negotiations with Russia come on the heels of the government's recent deal with Gazprom (Civil Georgia, February 27; see EDM, January 19). Those talks were similarly opaque for the Georgian public and opposition parties, and the resulting agreement was condemned as detrimental to national interests. Such clandestine dealing by the ruling Georgian DreamDemocratic Georgia seems to fit a pattern. It also plays into Russia's hands as Moscow seeks to improve the links among its military bases in Crimea, South Ossetia and Armenia (see EDM, February 1). Furthermore, the danger of escalation in Armenia and Azerbaijan's conflict over Karabakh is ongoing. On February 26, Azerbaijan reported the death of five soldiers, and exchanges of fire continued over the following days (Militarynews.ru, February 27, March 1). In case of a full-scale war, Russia's involvement in this conflict as a mediator, including militarily, would be more than likely. And if Georgia opens new transit corridorsespecially railwaysto Russia, the latter will almost certainly seek to use them to transport military supplies and, possibly, troops.

This would draw Georgia tighter into the Russia-Armenia-Iran axis and away from its transregional alliesthe United States, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Israel. Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze's recent meetings, in Washington, DC, with members of Donald Trump's administration, as well as Defense Minister Levan Izoria's talks with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials, in Brussels and at the Munich Security Conference, yielded no publicly apparent breakthroughs. Georgia did not announce its involvement in NATO drills in the Black Sea region, nor did it actively commit itself to join the US's new Iran sanctions. Tbilisi also has not pledged any military assets to US-led antiIslamic State coalition efforts (Civil Georgia, February 16). Rather, the ruling party, citing some experts who keep claiming that the US is itself purportedly befriending Russia, justifies carrying on with a "balanced approach" of both pro-Western integration and "normalization" with Russia, now including Iran (Accent.ge, February 14). Yet, the presumed equidistanceGeorgia's foreign policy course since 2012has instead become Tbilisi's own rapprochement with Moscow and Tehran. The US, especially in light of Ukraine and Syria, continues to regard Russia as an adversary. If Georgia does not clearly set its foreign policy priorities on the side of the US and its allies, it leaves room for a growth of Russian influence in Georgia. Aided by the undisclosed plan to reopen transit routes linking the two countries, Russia's actions may have a disproportionately more powerful effect on Georgia. The country may increasingly find itself being pulled deeper into the Russia-Iran orbit.

Copyright notice:  2010 The Jamestown Foundation
Title Hungary: Law no T/13976 On the Amendment of Certain Acts Related to Increasing the Strictness of Procedures Carried out in the Areas of Border Management

Publication Date 20 February 2017

Country Hungary

Citation / Document Symbol T/13976

Other Languages / Attachments Hungarian

Cite as Hungary: Law no T/13976 On the Amendment of Certain Acts Related to Increasing the Strictness of Procedures Carried out in the Areas of Border Management [Hungary], T/13976, 20 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfcbef4.html [accessed 7 November 2022]
Regular Procedure - Hungary

Publisher European Council on Refugees and Exiles Author Hungarian Helsinki Committee Publication Date 2016 Cite as European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Regular Procedure - Hungary, 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfccee4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

General (scope, time limits)

The asylum procedure in Hungary starts with assessment whether a person falls under a Dublin procedure. If this is not the case, the IAO proceeds with examination of whether the application is inadmissible or whether it should be decided in accelerated procedure. The decision on this shall be made within 15 days.1 If the application is not inadmissible and it will not be decided in accelerated procedure, the IAO has to make a decision on the merits within 60 days.2 In some cases e.g. involving age assessment for unaccompanied children, the procedure can last longer up to 2-5 months. Due to the big increase of the asylum applications in 2015 and 2016, there are cases where the time limits are not respected. The drop in asylum applications only occurred recently, therefore there are still cases where the time-limits are not respected.

First instance decisions on the asylum application, are taken by so-called eligibility officers within the Refugee Directorate of the IAO. A decision of the IAO may:

Grant refugee status;

Grant subsidiary protection status;

Grant tolerated status where non-refoulement prohibits the person's return; or

Reject the application as inadmissible or reject it on the merits.

In practice, the average length of an asylum procedure, including both the first-instance procedure conducted by the IAO and the judicial review procedure, is 4-9 months.

In 2016, 29,432 applications were lodged and 3,413 were pending at the end of the year. In 2015 a total 177,135 asylum seekers applied for international protection in Hungary, in 2014 42,777 and in 2013 18,900.3

Prioritised examination and fast-track processing

According to Section 35(7) of the Asylum Act, the cases of unaccompanied children should be prioritised. However, this prioritisation is not applied in practice.

In case of a detained person seeking recognition, the asylum procedure shall be conducted as a matter of priority. This is usually applied in practice.4

Personal interview

The personal interview of the asylum seeker is mandatory in the asylum procedure. The IAO may omit the personal interview in the following cases, where the asylum seeker:5

(a) Is not fit for being heard;

(b) Submitted a subsequent application and, in the application, failed to state facts or provided proofs that would allow the recognition as a refugee or beneficiary of subsidiary protection. The personal hearing cannot be dispensed with, if the subsequent application is submitted by a person seeking recognition whose application was submitted earlier on his/her behalf as a dependent person or an unmarried minor.

Section 36 of the Asylum Act and Section 66 of the Decree 301/2007 set out rules relating to the right to use one's native language in the procedure and on gender-sensitive interviewing techniques. A person seeking asylum may use their mother tongue or the language he or she understands orally and in writing during his or her asylum procedure. If the asylum application is submitted orally and the asylum seeker does not speak Hungarian, the asylum authority must provide an interpreter speaking the applicant's mother tongue or another language understood by that person. There may be no need for using an interpreter if the asylum officer speaks the mother tongue of that person or another language understood by him or her, and the asylum seeker consents in writing to not having an interpreter.

The asylum seeker has a first interview usually within a few days after his or her arrival. During the asylum procedure, the asylum seeker can have one or more substantive interviews, where he or she is asked to explain in detail the reasons why he or she had to leave his or her country of origin. The HHC's lawyers observed that in Bekescsaba asylum detention asylum seekers often undergo an excessive amount of interviews, 4, 5 or 6, in one case even 9. The HHC believes that the IAO does this in order to find contradictions in asylum seeker's statements to be able to reject his or her claim.

Where the applicant requests so, a same-sex interpreter and interviewer must be provided, where this is considered not to hinder the completion of the asylum procedure.6 For asylum seekers who are facing gender-based persecution and make such a request, this designation is compulsory.7 Nevertheless, HHC is not aware of any gender or vulnerability-specific guidelines applicable to eligibility officers conducting interviews.

The costs of translation, including translations into sign language, are borne by the IAO.

There is no specific code of conduct for interpreters in the context of asylum procedures. Many interpreters are not professionally trained on asylum issues. There is no quality assessment performed on their work, nor are there any requirements in order to become an interpreter for the IAO. The IAO is obliged to select the cheapest interpret from the list, even though his quality would not be the best. For example, in the Vamosszabadi refugee camp, the HHC lawyer reported that in all his cases regarding Nigerian clients, none of the English interpreters understood fully what the clients said; the lawyer had to help the interpreter. The same happened at the court. There was another case, where the interpreter did not speak English well enough to be able to translate; for example, he did not know the word "asylum". In another case before the Budapest court, the interpreter was from Djibouti, and the client from Somalia did not understand her. The interpreter said the client was lying and the judge decided that there would be no interview. In another case the client claimed that he converted to Christianity and the interpreter was Muslim. He did not know the expressions needed for the interview, not even in Farsi, not to mention Hungarian; for example: disciples, Easter, Christmas and so on. The lawyer had to help him.

In Bekescsaba, Pakistani asylum seekers complained about the quality of Urdu spoken by their Afghan interpreter and Iranian asylum seekers complained about the quality of Persian spoken by their Afghan interpreter. When the Bicske refugee camp was still open, there was a case officer who could not properly write in Hungarian, so she had to be supported by the legal representatives of the asylum seekers. However, when there were no legal representatives present, mistakes were probably made by this case officer. The HHC's lawyer also complained about a Chinese interpreter working with the IAO who made unwanted comments about the asylum seeker and this interpreter was later fired.

Moreover, the case officers are reluctant to phrase the questions or any information in a non-legalistic way so as to enable the client to understand what the case officer is talking about. If case officers were less formalistic, interpreters would have an easier task in the procedure. Interpreters also sometimes overstep their limits, for example by making comments such as that the asylum seeker comes from different part of a country, because the pronunciation is not used in the area he or she claims to be from.

Interviews are not recorded by audio-video equipment. The questions and statements are transcribed verbatim by the asylum officers conducting the interview. The interview transcript is orally translated by the interpreter to the asylum seeker who will have an opportunity to correct it before its finalisation and signature by all present persons. However, the HHC has observed that minutes of the interviews are systematically not read back to the asylum seekers in different locations, e.g. in Bekescsaba and in the transit zones. Furthermore, there was a case when the Afghan interpreter had so many interviews on the same day that she wanted to leave just before the read-back of the record. There are several cases where the courts would annul the IAO's first instance decision and to order a new procedure to be carried out due to the inadequate interviews.8

Appeal

A decision must be communicated orally to the person seeking asylum in his or her mother tongue or in another language he or she understands. Together with this oral communication, the decision shall also be made available to the applicant in writing, but only in Hungarian. The HHC's attorneys working at the transit zones and Kiskunhalas observe that most of decisions are not translated to the clients by interpreters. Instead the IAO uses case officers or even other clients to announce the main points of the decision. The justification for a decision reached is never explained to the asylum seeker.

Decisions taken by the IAO may be challenged in a single instance judicial review procedure only; there is no onward appeal. The Public Administrative and Labour Law Courts, organised at the level of regional courts (at the judicial second-instance level), have jurisdiction over asylum cases, which are dealt with by single judges. Judges are typically not asylum specialists, nor are they specifically trained in asylum law.

From 1 July 2013 onwards, the deadline for lodging a request for judicial review is only 8 days, following amendments to the Asylum Act.9 The drastic decrease of the time-limit to challenge the IAO's decision has been sharply criticised by UNHCR and NGOs such as HHC, which have argued that this will jeopardise asylum seekers' access to an effective remedy.10 For example, the short deadline is problematic when a person receives subsidiary protection and is not sufficiently informed about the opportunity to appeal and about the benefits the refugee status would bring him or her (e.g. possibility of family reunification under beneficial conditions). Within 8 days, it is sometimes impossible to meet a lawyer and the person might miss the deadline for the appeal.

The request for judicial review has suspensive effect.

Section 68(3) of the Asylum Act provides that the court should take a decision on the request for judicial review within 60 days. However, in practice, the appeal procedure takes a bit longer, around 3 months or even more, depending on the number of hearings the court holds in a case.

The hearing is only mandatory if the person is in detention. And even this is subject to some exceptions, where:11

The applicant cannot be summoned from his or her place of accommodation;

The applicant has departed for an unknown destination; or

The appeal concerns a subsequent application presenting no new facts.

Interpreters are provided and paid for by the court.

Hearings in asylum procedures are public. Individual court decisions in asylum cases are published on the Hungarian court portal.12 However, the personal data, including nationality, of the appellant are deleted from the published decisions.

The court carries out an assessment of both points of fact and law as they exist at the date when the court's decision is made. The court may not alter the decision of the refugee authority; it shall annul any administrative decision found to be against the law - with the exception of the breach of a procedural rule not affecting the merits of the case - and it shall order the refugee authority to conduct a new procedure if necessary.13

Legal assistance

Under Section 37(3) of the Asylum Act, asylum seekers in need have access to free legal aid according to the rules set out in the Act on Legal Aid Act or by an NGO registered in legal protection. The needs criterion is automatically met, given that asylum seekers are considered in need irrespective of their income or financial situation, merely on the basis of their statement regarding their income and financial situation.14

The Legal Aid Act sets out the rules for free of charge, state-funded legal assistance provided to asylum seekers. Sections 4(b) and 5(2)(d) provide that asylum applicants are entitled to free legal aid if they are entitled to receive benefits and support under the Asylum Act. Section 3(1)(e) provides that legal aid shall be available to those who are eligible for it, as long as the person is involved in a public administrative procedure and needs legal advice in order to understand and exercise his or her rights and obligations, or requires assistance with the drafting of legal documents or any submissions. Legal aid is not available for legal representation during public administrative procedures. Therefore, in the asylum context, the presence of a legal representative during the asylum interview conducted by the IAO is not covered by the legal aid scheme. At the moment, legal aid in the administrative phase of the asylum procedure is provided only occasionally by HHC lawyers, depending on the HHC's capacity.

Section 13(b) of the Legal Aid Act also provides that asylum seekers may have free legal aid in the judicial review procedure contesting a negative asylum decision. Chapter V of the Legal Aid Act sets out rules on the availability of legal aid in the context of the provision of legal advice and assistance with drafting of legal documents for persons who are eligible for legal aid.

Section 37(4) of the Asylum Act provides that legal aid providers may attend the personal interview of the asylum seeker, have access to the documents produced in the course of the procedure and have access to reception and detention facilities to contact their client.

Legal aid providers may be attorneys, NGOs or law schools who have registered with the Legal Aid Service of the Judicial Affairs Office of the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration.15 Legal aid providers may specify which main legal field they specialise in, i.e. whether in criminal law, or civil and public administrative law. As a general rule, beneficiaries of legal aid are free to select a legal aid provider of their own choice. This is facilitated by the legal aid offices around the country, which maintain lists and advise clients according to their specific needs.

Although asylum seekers have been eligible for free legal aid since 2004, very few have availed themselves of this opportunity due to several practical and legal obstacles. Firstly, with very few exceptions, asylum seekers are not aware of the legal aid system and do not seek the services of legal aid providers. Secondly, the legal aid system does not cover translation and interpretation costs, hence the opportunity to seek legal advice in the asylum procedure is rendered almost impossible. In addition, most Hungarian lawyers based in towns where reception and detention facilities are located do not speak foreign languages.

In the past, legal aid was made available to asylum seekers both as part of the general legal aid system (which was hardly ever used) and also through projects funded by the ERF National Actions scheme.

Between 2004 and 2012, HHC was the NGO implementing a legal assistance project for asylum seekers funded by ERF, covering all reception centres and immigration detention facilities. In 2013 and 2014, free legal aid for asylum seekers was also provided through a project funded by the ERF National Actions scheme, run by the Legal Aid Service of the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice. ERF's contribution covered translation and legal representation costs in the first instance asylum procedure, while the state budget covered the legal counselling costs. The figures show that very few clients actually received assistance from legal aid lawyers involved in this project. There were some problems with the recruitment of lawyers, while the asylum seekers still do not have sufficient information about the lawyers' existence. Lack of language skills among certain lawyers was also reported. After one year of implementation of this scheme, there was still lack of legal assistance in several reception and detention centres. According to the statistics, in 2013 the lawyers working under this scheme provided only 312 legal consultations and 155 legal representations to asylum seekers.16 After two years of implementation of this project, still only a limited number of asylum seekers benefited from free legal service (only 9% of asylum seekers received state legal aid in the first half of 2014). Legal aid providers are not at all available in 2 reception centres (Vamosszabadi and Balassagyarmat) and in Debrecen, which is the biggest reception centre in the country, as well as in the asylum detention facility. Only 24 persons benefited from State legal assistance in first half of 2014 in Debrecen.17 The project officially failed, as the grantee (the Office of Administration and Justice) decided to cease the project due to insurmountable difficulties. Thus, in 2016 legal assistance to asylum seekers is still entirely dependent on the HHC.

Since 1 September 2016, the Legal Aid Service has been run by the Ministry of Interior. According to the data of the Ministry,18 asylum seekers before the IAO were granted state legal aid in 114 cases, while before the courts they were represented in 73 cases. According to the Ministry's letter, in the transit zones, 1,500 asylum seekers were granted oral legal aid. Given the large number of asylum seekers arriving to Hungary in 2016, state legal aid has covered an extremely low proportion of asylum seekers (5.7%).

The low financial compensation for legal assistance providers is also an obstacle for lawyers and other legal assistance providers to engage effectively in the provision of legal assistance to asylum seekers.

HHC continues to provide legal assistance in all reception centres, as well as in all immigration and asylum detention facilities. This legal assistance however is project based and its sustainability is not assured. In 2014, the HHC's lawyers provided legal counselling to 924 asylum seekers. Between January and September 2015, the HHC Refugee Programme provided 1,201 foreigners in need with free-of-charge legal assistance, 390 of whom (1/3) were in detention. Among these beneficiaries 912 were asylum seekers (assisted in their asylum procedure), 56 refugees (in family reunification), 273 detained irregular migrants (concerning their alien policing procedure and detention) and 14 Hungarian citizens (in family reunification with foreign relatives). In 2016, the HHC's lawyers provided legal counselling to 2,093 asylum seekers. In 477 cases the HHC's lawyers provided legal representation before the courts in asylum procedure, and in 37 cases they assisted beneficiaries of international protection in the Family Reunification procedure.

1. Section 47(2) Asylum Act.

2. Section 47(3) Asylum Act.

3. IAO, Asylum Statistics available at: https://goo.gl/ZvXF1G.

4. Section 35/A Asylum Act

5. Section 43 Asylum Act.

6. Section 66(2) Decree 301/2007.

7. Section 66(3) Decree 301/2007.

8. See e.g. Metropolitan Court, S.M.R. v. Office of Immigration and Nationality, 17.K.30.302/2010/18-II, 4 February 2011, available at: http://bit.ly/2kMoA6Y; Metropolitan Court, S.W.J. v. Office of Immigration and Nationality, 24.K.32 957/2009/23, 30 September 2010, available at: http://bit.ly/2knDzGO.

9. Section 68 Asylum Act. Before 1 July 2013, the time-limit for applying for judicial review was 15 days.

10. UNHCR, UNHCR Comments and Recommendations on the Draft modification of certain migration-related legislative acts for the purpose of legal harmonisation, 12 April 2013, available at: http://bit.ly/1B8gZG5, 14.

11. Section 68(4) Asylum Act.

12. Asylum cases published on the Hungarian court portal are available in Hungarian at: http://bit.ly/1IwxZWq.

13. Section 68(5) Asylum Act.

14. Section 5(2)(d) Legal Aid Act.

15. Chapter VIII Legal Aid Act.

16. Statistics provided by the Ministry of Interior upon request of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, April 2014.

17. Statistics provided by the Ministry of Interior upon request of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, September 2014.

18. Letter of the Ministry of Interior of 25 January 2017.
Attacks on Afghan hospitals hit children the hardest

Publisher IRIN Author Christine Monaghan Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as IRIN, Attacks on Afghan hospitals hit children the hardest, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfce044.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

An Afghan father recently described how his 15-year-old son lost both feet after stepping on a mine. He couldn't get proper care in Kunduz City  the only trauma centre there had been destroyed  so he took a taxi more than 200 miles to Kabul. By the time his son received treatment, it was too late.

"Both of his legs had to be cut off from just below the waist, because the bones were ruined and he had a serious infection," the boy's father said. "For one week, he was ok, but then, from the infection, he went into a coma. Ten days later, he died in the hospital."

This is one of the many brutal stories I heard during a trip to Afghanistan, where I travelled in November to research the impact that targeted attacks on medical facilities have on children's health. Children and their parents, health workers and humanitarian staff repeatedly told my colleagues and I how these attacks have compromised access to critical healthcare and devastated children's lives. In a country already among the world's most dangerous for aid workers, clinics have become battlegrounds and medical professionals are on the front lines of the conflict.

New report

Over the last two years, the Taliban, Afghan government forces and other groups have committed more than 240 attacks on medical facilities. These violate humanitarian laws and erode an already extremely fragile health system. In a report released today, we show how these unlawful attacks have damaged or destroyed clinics and hospitals, and killed or injured many health professionals. Others have been forced to leave their jobs or flee, and many patients have been afraid to seek care. Children have suffered greatly: casualties have increased, along with rates of malnutrition, diarrhoeal disease and vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and polio.

Instead of places of healing, clinics and hospitals have become targets in Afghanistan's escalating conflict. Attacks have been so frequent that one health director told us that many go unreported. Attacks have taken place in at least 20 of the country's 34 provinces, making it difficult, if not impossible, to access healthcare in many areas. In one case, a 15-year-old girl suffering from meningitis took a week to reach a hospital. She died shortly after getting treatment.

Warring parties have also closed medical facilities, and stolen medical supplies and ambulances. They have threatened, detained and killed medical personnel. A health vaccinator told us that when the Taliban caught him administering polio vaccines, they warned him they would kill him if he continued. He felt threatened again when fighters with the so-called Islamic State entered the area, and he later left his job.

"I have seen with my own eyes, in an area of 100 metres there are three kinds of leaders: Taliban, IS and government," he said. "Our clinic was in the middle of the conflict, so even though it is my job, I had to stop, otherwise I thought either the IS or Taliban would kill me."

Such cases of threats and extortions are far from unique. In February 2015, a group of unidentified men shot and killed a social mobiliser for a polio programme run by UNICEF. In August 2016, Taliban fighters abducted a staffer of a NGO overseeing a polio vaccination programme.

Impact

The impact of these systematic assaults on the healthcare system and health professionals has been profound. The World Health Organization reported 169 measles outbreaks in 2015  a staggering 141 percent increase from 2014. More than one million of Afghanistan's children now suffer from acute malnutrition, an increase of more than 40 percent since January 2015, according to WHO.

In Afghanistan, clinics and hospitals are the only places where children can be treated for malnutrition (unlike in Yemen, for example, where there are standalone nutrition centres). When medical facilities are occupied or forced to close, children lose access to treatment for malnutrition as well as other preventable illnesses, such as acute respiratory infections and diarrhoeal disease. These diseases are easily treated if there's access to healthcare, but become deadly without access. When vaccinators cannot immunise children, disease rates also go up.

In 2016, armed opposition groups carried out 95 attacks on healthcare, while Afghan forces were responsible for 23 attacks, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. At Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, we are calling on all parties to immediately stop these attacks. We're asking the UN secretary-general to name, for the first time, the Afghan forces among those responsible for the attacks (only Taliban forces have been cited for attacks on hospitals until now). Parties listed in the secretary-general's annual report must enter into an action plan with the UN to be de-listed. Action plans include concrete steps regarding preventing attacks, responding to attacks when they occur, as well as showing that attacks have decreased or stopped altogether.

The Afghan government must establish a permanent and dedicated body to investigate these incidents. The government can help stop these attacks by training troops, investigating any incidents and holding government troops accountable. Even during wartime, basic elements of humanity must prevail, and few are more important than ensuring sick and injured children can get medical care.
A Birth That Felt Like Death

Publisher IRIN Author Mariam Ibrahim Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as IRIN, A Birth That Felt Like Death, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfcf2b4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

When I woke up on that morning in August 2015, all I could think about was returning home. We had fled our village because of the relentless bombing of the regime aircraft. At the time, I was living with my stepmother in a village far away from my husband, my family and my mother.

But still, I felt optimistic because I was about to give birth to a boy. I already had two children and soon there would be three. I thought that my husband would be very happy. I used to dream of his joy and that of our families when I gave birth.

In the evening, I felt a heaviness in my stomach. I told my stepmother and she said that the baby was coming. I was so far from my family, but when the time comes to give birth there is no escape from it. While my father, his wife and my two young daughters slept, I endured my labour pains. I could hardly wait for sunrise. I kept thinking about my husband and my mother and my home until the next day finally came.

I woke up my stepmother and told her that I could no longer bear the pain. So she woke my father, who said to me, "Come, my daughter, pack your stuff and I will call Um Khaled to go with you [to the hospital]."

Um Khaled was a good woman who lived alone because all her children had grown up and got married. She accepted my father's request to accompany me. Um Khaled and I walked down the street to search for someone to take us to al-Suqaylabiyah national hospital, and finally found a minibus heading in that direction.

At the first regime checkpoint, they took our IDs to check them. One soldier even searched through all my things and treated me rudely, probably because of the information he found on my ID about my religious affiliation and where I came from.

Although we managed to cross that checkpoint, there were more problems when we reached the al-Nahel checkpoint at the al-Suqaylabiyah roundabout. The soldier there carefully examined my ID, which said I was from Qabr Fidda. There were violent confrontations ongoing between the regime and Free Syrian Army factions there. The soldier asked me about my husband, indicating his different religious affiliation which was clearly stated on my ID. I couldn't find the words to answer him because my husband, along with my brothers and all the other young people of the village, was fighting on the frontlines there. I was terrified.

Um Khaled took control of the situation and told him, "Her husband works in Lebanon."

We managed to cross the checkpoint and continued quickly towards the national hospital, where I entered the women's clinics. A lady examined me and asked how far along I was. I told her I had completed the ninth month.

She replied, "You will not give birth today nor even in a week's time, go back to your home rather than staying here."

I was very concerned but had to leave along with Um Khaled. Where was I going to give birth to my child when I didn't have enough money to go to a gynecologist? I looked inside my wallet and found 4,000 Syrian pounds, which was far too little. I raised my eyes up to the sky and said, "Oh my God, what can I do?"

I asked Um Khaled, "Can you lend me some money which I'll return as soon as I get home?"

"Yes, my daughter," she said. "I will take you to a gynecologist".

I went with her to a doctor, Fida al-Akkad and told her my story. I also told her that I didn't have much money and that I was a displaced person.

She was sympathetic and decided said she would only ask for a small sum in payment.

I entered the delivery room and a nurse gave me an injection to help accelerate the birth. A few minutes later I felt that my stomach was about to explode from the pain. I asked the nurse to help relieve this agony but she told me that anesthetic was expensive and asked if I could pay for it.

I remained silent and endured the continuous pain. Its severity made me feel as if my soul was about to leave my body. I kept screaming and crying for three hours.

After strenuous attempts to help labour progress, the doctor discovered that my uterine muscles were shrunken, so she gave me an injection to relax me and a few minutes later she said, "Your son is about to be born, will you help me?"

I began to scream loudly. I thought of the people closest to me in the world, my mother and my husband.

I heard the doctor giving thanks to God. I gave my newborn child a miserable look then closed my eyes and passed out.

When I woke up, I saw that Um Khaled had dressed the baby. She told me that the doctor wanted to close the clinic and that we had to leave. I told her that I was in great pain and couldn't walk. She said that we had no choice but to go. We gave the doctor 8,000 Syrian pounds and left.

I was tired, I needed to sleep and the weather was so hot.

"I can no longer walk," I told Um Khaled and sat down in the street. I sat there for two hours in the blazing sun, crying, while passers by looked at me.

I felt that I was about to lose consciousness, about to die.

All of a sudden a lady put her hand on my shoulder and blessed me. She gave me a glass of water and a chair to rest on until the minibus arrived.

As soon as I arrived at my father's village I went to his house, took a shower and slept after my long and painful day.

There was nothing happy about giving birth so far away from my husband, my mother and my home. It was a birth that felt more like a death, filled with pain and displacement. This is the reality for the poor people of my country.

Maryam Ibrahim, 24, is from Qabr Fidda village in Hama. When she was pregnant with her third child, the regime occupied her village and she was forced to flee with her two daughters to a neighbouring village. She is currently still displaced in the Idlib countryside.
Faten's Story

Publisher IRIN Author Mariam Ibrahim Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as IRIN, Faten's Story, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfcf8f4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

"My father and mother married 20 years ago. My mother was then aged 35 and considered old, so she agreed to marry my father even though he already had two wives and many children.

My mother suffered a great deal due to poverty, hard living conditions and the presence of these two other women. She fought a lot with my father because he broke his promise to provide her with a house of her own.

Eventually my mother could no longer bear the situation and decided to leave him and file for divorce. Already pregnant with me, she returned to her family home where she gave birth.

But my father made her return home. Three years later, my mother was heavily pregnant with my brother Mohammed. Once again, the problems with my father had become so bad that she left and asked my father for a divorce.

Six months later, my father made her return again; not because he loved her, but so that she could take care of my brother and I.

Time passed but our pain and suffering remained the same. Our half brothers and sisters treated us badly but we had no choice but to remain silent.

My mother gave birth to my sister Sawsan just as the Syrian revolution began. I was 14 years old and my brother was 11.

The following year, the regime army approached our village and my mother took all three of us and fled to her parent's village in Jisr al-Shughur.

But just a few days later, the army also began bombarding Jisr al-Shughur with missiles.

My little sister Sawsan, just a year-and-a-half old, got hit by shrapnel and was killed. By some miracle, the rest of us survived.

We buried my sister and fled with my mother's parents to the border with Turkey.

The Turkish government sent us to Nizip camp in Gaziantep, where we spent the next four years.

When I reached the age of 18, a young man back in Syria approached my father to ask for my hand in marriage.

My father called my mother and told her to send me back.

My mother, brother Mohammed and I obtained permission to return to Syria, and began a long tiring journey.

I finally met the groom at my father's house. But then, to my shock, my prospective husband rejected me - my father said that he had just not liked me.

My mother and brother decided to return to the camp. Life was tough in Syria and my father could not afford to host us amid the harsh war conditions.

Then came another shock: my older half-brother refused to allow me to return with them, insisting that the refugee camp was no place for a young girl.

I cried a lot, but it was all in vain and I stayed there alone.

My half-brother was married with children, and I lived in his home for nearly a month.

Then, one night my brother came to my room to wake me up. It was about one o'clock in morning and he was clearly sad.

"Where are we going, brother?" I asked.

He didn't answer, he just took me to my father's house.

There my father lay, covered in a shroud. He was dead.

I bent over him, weeping and asking, "Why did you leave me alone, father?"

I was fatherless, and my mother was a long way away. I spent many miserable nights feeling like I was about to die from loneliness.

When a young man proposed to me, I agreed to marry him in order to forget the pain I was suffering.

Shortly afterwards, we married. For the first few days, my husband was kind and respectful.

But then he started to beat and insult me for no reason.

It was only after I was pregnant with our first child that I discovered he was addicted to some kind of drug. It was hard to find, and he was so frustrated that he became violent.

Oh my God, what can I do?

Do I leave him and repeat my mother's story of separation? Or do I stay and take care of this child, who has nothing to do with this?

I will leave it to God and go back to my loneliness."

Mariam Ibrahim, 24, is from Hama. She is a housewife and a mother of three children who had to leave her home due to poor security and now lives with her family in Idlib's countryside.
Kyrgyzstan: Challenging Submissive Stereotypes

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Timur Toktonaliev Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Kyrgyzstan: Challenging Submissive Stereotypes, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfcfd54.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Eliana-Maryam Satarova is editor-in-chief of Umma, Kyrgyzstan's only Muslim affairs magazine, established two years ago to counter stereotypes about the community.

The glossy quarterly has proved popular among younger Muslims for its progressive stance and support of issues such as women's rights.

Although Kyrgyzstan is a secular republic, religion is growing as a force amongst its majority Muslim population and the two forces are often at odds with each other.

Satarova told IWPR that her aim was to show the Kyrgyz public the difference between traditional Islam and extremism, as well as challenging views of Muslim women as weak and submissive.

What are you trying to achieve through this magazine?

In the magazine we try to neutralise stereotypes about Muslim women. We try to give great, motivational examples of women who are engaged in business, successful in the family, in society and in sport, who break down stereotypes. We also try to educate people about women in Islam. We created the magazine because society has the wrong understanding of Islamthe entire magazine is designed to show that Islam is a modern religion that calls for education, progress, peace.

Kyrgyz law provides ample opportunities for women to achieve their ambitions in all areas of their lives. Is the reality the same as the theory?

Women's rights are not respected despite the democratic system, secular laws, various projects, support provided by international organisations and the existence of different conventions and declarations on women's rights. First of all, this is due to women's ignorance of their own rights, and also due to men's ignorance. Social pressure and the inability to part with anachronistic principles are also reasons why we keep seeing this problem.

Women's awareness of their rights in law should be improved. The majority of the population consider themselves to be Muslims, so we also need to talk more about women's rights in Islam. Such outreach activities should be held both among women and among men, who are the heads of households.

Men attend Friday sermons, so we need to raise the issues of women's rights at these sermons. We need to broaden the outlook of imams; they should have an academic qualification and have an understanding of these issues. We should speak about it in the media, make relevant TV programmes, open dedicated centres. Our muftiate should also support existing women's organisations. We need to embark on a complex effort with the participation of both the government and Muslim organisations. The issue of women's rights in our country can be solved only through education.

What rights does a woman have according to Islamic law?

In Islam, a woman and a man are equal before God, so they have equal rights but different responsibilities. A woman in Islam to some degree is even higher than a man. A woman in Islam has an elevated position, but it's all about the understanding and interpretation by believers in our society.

According to Islam, family support is the responsibility of men, ie a woman doesn't have to work, or at least doesn't have to do hard labour. If a woman wants to work, she can do it, but the main thing is that it doesn't harm her physically and that it benefits society.

Speaking about domestic violence, you know that Islam prohibits any violence, especially against women. Family relations should be based on a decent treatment of each other. There's no such thing as "if you are a daughter-in-law, then you must do what I say". If a woman wants to do something, she can do it. A man shouldn't be disrespectful to his wife or make her do anything against her will. As to public rights, both women and men have equal political rights, both have the right to vote and fulfil themselves in various positions.

This is the ideal picture of what should be. But in practice we see that many countries, including Muslim countries, face a problem of understanding and interpretation. For the sake of the political system, society distorts Islam and women's rights in general.

Nevertheless, society has developed an opinion that a Muslim woman has a subordinate role.

This is a stereotype. Muslim countries where Islam dominates also differ in their political regime, traditions and customs. Some people get their information about Islam not from actual sources but through the lens of these countries, where it has been a custom that a woman may not realise her potential and can only sit at home, while a man is the head of the family.

These are stereotypes and misunderstandings. The man is indeed the head of the family in terms of provision, but it doesn't mean that he is superior or better before God. Both man and woman stand equal before God, and they will be valued for their deeds only. In Muslim countries women hold various positions. In the Persian Gulf countries, women are maintained by men and few work [outside the home]. In Malaysia, Iran and other countries, women are active, even politically. They participate in protests and movements, stand for their rights, hold senior positions and so on.

So the understanding of Islam comes from the country that spreads it?

Yes, absolutely. Our Islamic literacy is low, and the perception of Islam comes from certain countries, where not Islam, but traditions and customs that pre-date Islam dominate. Therefore, we have a warped conception. When our society talks about Islam, many relate it to women in Pakistan or Afghanistan although, in fact, this is not about Islam, this is about traditions and customs that existed there already.

How do you change the attitude of young religious women who think that they must only stay home and take care of the family?

In general, our society is active and our women have always been active. A woman wearing hijab should not isolate herself. When we carry out various activities where we explain that a woman should develop her own potential, we see good trends, generally.

Working as the editor of this Islamic magazine I see the enormous potential in young Muslim women. Every day I discover new talents. Women, even those who stay at home, are involved in various activities, such as volunteering, charity work, the arts, business. The image of [powerless] women in hijabs is gradually disappearing but it takes time.

Interview conducted by Timur Toktonaliev, IWPR editor in Kyrgyzstan.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Kazakstan: The Pain of Polygamy

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Kazakstan: The Pain of Polygamy, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfd05c4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Sholpan, 54, (not her real name) has known for the last six years that her husband has someone else in his life.

This woman is not just a mistress; she has the status of a tokal, or unofficial wife.

Sholpans's hopes that the relationship would fizzle out have come to nothing. The tokal, who is just a few years older than their daughter, now frequently replaces her at social and business events.

"It's degrading to hear other people say they saw my husband at a restaurant [with the tokal]. It's appalling, they don't hide and we all live in the same city," she said.

"I could have ended [my marriage] but I don't want my child, our friends and relatives to know that I chose to give in," Sholpan said. "My daughter said she just wanted to leave the country after she graduates."

Although polygamy is prohibited by law in Kazakstan, the custom of taking an extra wife remains widespread.

"Almost each Kazakstani has either experienced it herself as a tokal or as a first wife or has relatives that did," said Kazak-American film director Gaukhar Noortas, who recently made a film on the subject.

Tokal or My Husband's Wife, tells the story of a well-off family in which the main character Kairat, played by Yerik Zholzhaksynov, takes a second wife.

Although in the film it's Kairat's character who loses both wives as well as his business, in real life it is usually the women involved who pay the price.

Psychologist Natalya Imtossimi said she had counselled both baybishe - the Kazak term for official wives - and tokals.

She said that the women involved faced "intolerable pain, disappointment, loss of meaning of life and continual competition".

"The women constantly check each other on social media, compare the gifts they receive and the trips they're taken on and end up suffering," Imtossimi said, adding that women sometimes attempted suicide in despair.

Such complex relationships often resulted in trauma for the family's children, she continued.

"Based on my experience, children brought up in such marriages are often not at all keen to have their own a family because they are too scared to enter relations they consider traumatic," she said.

"Kids are often told not to tell anyone how things are at home. They are forced to keep [their feelings] secret. In the end, they might take their anger out on someone else or suffer from neurosis," the psychologist said.

"In cases of polygamy, it's not clear whether one's father has left for good or not, whom he values more, and how long it's going to last. There is no ending to this situation. It's more difficult to live with that than if the parents were divorced," Imtossimi concluded.

Lawmaker Irina Unzhakova, a member of the national state committee on women's rights, family and demographic policy, said there were no government statistics on polygamy.

"Having a tokal is a way of proving one's prestige among the elite," she said, adding, "Polygamy is spread only among high earning men that are capable of supporting several families."

Noortas said that based on her own research, the phenomenon was more widespread, including in the regions. Nonetheless, she noted that a first wife had a lot to lose if she sought a divorce, not least because of low rates of alimony. In 2014, the average payment was 27,160 tenge or 84 US dollars a month.

In Kazakstan's patriarchal culture, it's men who mostly own such assets, and it is left to their discretion as to whether or not to share them with an ex-wife.

"Imagine the situation: an official wife in Kazakstan discovers that her husband has been unfaithful and she wants a divorce," she said. "But there is something that stops her: as soon as she gets a divorce, she loses everything - her social status and the property [commonly only registered in the man's name]. So it's not the one who cheated but the one who was cheated on who faces a double burden."

Supreme court judge Elena Maksyuta told IWPR that it was rare for women to successfully sue for support and the division of property.

"On average, there are not more than ten cases a year in each Kazak region," she said.

Unofficial wives have even less protection.

"There is no such definition as a tokal in Kazak law," said lawyer Svetlana Romanovskaya, who chairs the National Board of Mediators of Kazakstan.

She said that mediation often helped to calm tensions and "find a common language between all members of a family," with the issues of property and child support the most common stumbling blocks.

"As a result [of consultation], the parties sign a mediation agreement which helps to set priorities and finalise details," Romanovskaya continued.

Beyond that, a tokal can expect little recourse to the law. Maksyuta said that an unofficial wife could at best claim payments to support the delivery of a child, if a court was able to prove paternity.

"A woman [in an unregistered marriage] is not by law entitled to anything else," Maksyuta said.

Children, however, are entitled to maintenance regardless of their status as long as a court also certifies their paternity.

"Children born outside of official marriage, have the same rights to support as the ones born in official marriage. The same goes for property rights," she continued.

Noortas said that this was a sad reflection of the way in which Kazak women saw themselves. Women became tokals simply so they could be supported financially and materially.

"There are no other motivations beyond that. If women were more self-reliant, things could have been different," she said.

"Society itself should openly condemn such cases until these people realise it's not ok to act like that towards women. This movie was shot for this reason. It's an attempt to take this issue from being talked about around the kitchen table and put it on the public agenda."

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Kyrgyzstan: Female Convicts Face Harsh Future

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Kyrgyzstan: Female Convicts Face Harsh Future, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfd0bd4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The day starts early at Kyrgyzstan's only women's prison.

Around 300 inmates are woken at 6.30am at the facility in Stepnoe, a village close to Bishkek.

The youngest convict is 15 while the oldest is over 70. Most have been convicted of murder or fraud. There are also three women living here with young children.

After breakfast at 7am, they fill their day doing menial tasks including sewing, baking, making army boots and producing soya milk.

Begayim, 35, is a single mother-of-five who was convicted for her part in a criminal enterprise.

She said she was grateful for her job in a prison workshop sewing uniforms for the Kyrgyz military and other government agencies.

Not only does she earn some money that she can either use to purchase goods at the prison store or save for her release, but keeping busy distracted her from gloomy thoughts.

"My eldest daughter is 17, the rest are nine, eight, five years old, the youngest one is only a year and eight months. All of them are now in an orphanage," she said.

She has nine more years to serve.

Compared to male penal colonies, the Stepnoe facility is well maintained. A typical cell has relatively new beds, basins, curtained windows, and nightstands with framed family photos.

(See A Month in Prison in Kyrgyzstan)

But while prison conditions are not too onerous, convicts face further problems when they finish serving their sentences.

More than 2,000 women are convicted of criminal and civil offences each year in Kyrgyzstan, a country of six million, with around 15 per cent going on to serve a jail term.

Although the numbers of female inmates are not large, the social repercussions of serving time in prison can be far-reaching.

According to the Kyrgyz Penal Service, 30 per cent of women released from prison go on to reoffend.

"[Those who reoffend] are mainly married women with children who have been imprisoned in their 30s and served from between ten to 15 years in jail," explained Jamal Frontbek kyzy, who heads the women's NGO Mutakalim and who has worked with female offenders for many years.

Often rejected by their families, women faced a bleak future after their release from prison, she continued.

"While [women] serve their sentence in prison, their husbands marry other women. Children conceal the fact that their mothers are in prison and prefer to say that they are working in Russia or Kazakstan," Frontbek kyzy said. "Upon release, mothers are usually not welcome in their own families and are asked not to interfere in their children's lives. These women are left with no families, no children. Many commit another crime and end up in jail again."

Another serious obstacle to rehabilitation was difficulty finding work, Frontbek kyzy continued.

Even those with university degrees could only hope for low-paid physical jobs, she stressed.

"Those who served five to 10 years in prison find it difficult to adapt to society unless their relatives are ready to help them [with jobs]," Frontbek kyzy concluded.

Former justice minister Marat Kaiypov also told IWPR that Kyrgyz women found it extremely hard to find work after they were released.

"If one is imprisoned once, he or she joins the ranks of potential criminals [forever]," he said.

Mayram (not her real name) was recently released from prison after serving a six-month sentence for drug-dealing. She fears that her time inside has marked her for the rest of her life.

Despite working as a schoolteacher for 30 years, the 55-year-old told IWPR she now doubted she would ever find another job within the largely state-run education system.

"I sold drugs because of poverty. Life is complicated. Only after I was imprisoned did I realize that it was possible to survive on a teacher's salary," Mayram said.

"If you have a criminal record, you won't be employed by the state," she continued. "Now I don't know what will happen, it is unlikely I will ever be employed again. I can just retire."

WIDER REFORMS

Efforts are already underway to improve Kyrgyzstan's criminal code. A reform process initiated in 2015 led to a year of expert consultations, with a new draft published on October 5, 2016. The public is now welcome to make suggestions.

Some experts think that greater efforts should be made to keep female criminals out of prison, suggesting, for instance, that more minor economic offences be covered by civil rather than criminal law.

Shoola Kachkyn kyzy, the head of the women's prison unit, told IWPR that while most female convicts were serving time with murder, the second largest group were serving sentences for fraud.

"We have a lot of women caught for fraud. Everyone takes out loans nowadays. Those that fail to pay back on time [are convicted]," Kachkyn kyzy said.

Kayipov argued that debtors should be given a chance to repay debt under the civil code instead of being incarcerated.

"If a person commits a minor offence for the first time, he or she should be eligible for a non-custodial punishment[even repeat offenders] must pay the damage caused to the aggrieved party. If the damage is fully paid, there should be no imprisonment," the former justice minister said.

Kyrgyz ombudsman Kubat Otorbaev questioned the use of bringing criminal charges against people for non-payment of debts.

"I visited the women's prison and talked to convicts. I looked at their cases. Thirty to 40 per cent of [them] were convicted for fraud. Many of them used to sell stuff on the market. When prices fall, they borrow money from someone, then they fail to pay, and the other party files a claim against them. That's how they get arrested," Otorbaev told IWPR.

"That's not how it should be. It should be the civil court's prerogative to consider these trade relations," Otorbaev said.

His office has established a working group to mitigate punishment for women committed for minor crimes because of the wider societal impact.

Sometimes, entire families fall apart.

Anara (not her real name) was sentenced to eight and-a-half years for fraud after she was unable to repay a bank loan she had taken out to develop her business.

"I will turn 60 in September. My heart aches," Anara said. "My arrest had a dreadful impact on my family. My husband left me. Upset at what his father had done, my son left for Russia. I have two-and-a-half more years to serve."

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
New Afghan Law Targets Sexual Harassment

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Mina Habib Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, New Afghan Law Targets Sexual Harassment, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58bfd0f04.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Leeda stood waiting at a Kabul bus stop, braced for a daily commute that she said inevitably involved sexual comments and snide remarks from male passers-by.

The young woman said she knew about recent legislation that would make such harassment a crime under Afghan law for the first time. However, she did not have high hopes for it.

"Making laws is very easy in Afghanistan, but implementing them is impossible," she explained, smiling. "I face many problems and am disrespected and pestered every day during my journey."

Told that the law would mean that she could make a formal complaint to the police about such harassment, she smiled again.

"That would make me happy," she said. "But what would really be a big help is if the policemen themselves didn't harass me."

Opinions are divided over new Afghan legislation banning the harassment of women and children that was passed by parliament on November 9, 2016.

Supporters hail the move as a landmark moment in the fight for gender rights in Afghanistan, while others say it is unlikely to ever be implemented.

The law encompasses what it terms "illegitimate demands" such as verbal abuse, sexual requests or inappropriate physical contact as well as harassment over the phone or via social media.

In addition, the ministry of interior is supposed to provide a special contact number so that women can report violations.

Those convicted of harassment in public places or vehicles can be fined between 80 to 150 dollars, while similar behaviour in the workplace or educational or healthcare centres can be punished with a fine of between 150 to 300 dollars. Repeat offenders are liable for a custodial sentence.

Although there have been major improvements in the field of women's rights in Afghanistan over the last 15 years, particularly in access to education, conservative social traditions mean that progress remains extremely slow.

The entire judicial system remains riven by corruption and operates under extreme pressure amid an ongoing insurgency.

Despite repeated requests, IWPR was unable to find a police official who was willing to be interviewed on this subject.

And although the latest legislation has been approved by parliament, it has yet to be signed into law by the president.

Activists note that they have prior experience with apparently groundbreaking gender rights legislation that has failed to have any impact.

The Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, enacted by presidential decree in 2009, prohibited a range of abuses from assault and rape to marriages that are coercive, involve minors or amount to a transaction between the two families. However, this law was rejected by parliament in May 2013, and has been shelved ever since.

Even legislators themselves are dubious about the degree of difference the legislation might make.

Lawmaker Nazifa Zaki was one of the law's backers and told IWPR that while she was happy it had been approved, she was far from sure it would actually be applied.

"Many laws have been made to protect the rights of women in Afghanistan, but in practice these laws were never implemented. People need to put pressure on the government so that it enforces the law," she said, adding, "It's our responsibility to monitor the enforcement of this law and others."

Abdul Hai Akhundzada, who represents Helmand in the Wolesi Jirga, also said that the law was unlikely to be put into practice.

"When the constitution, which is considered the mother of all laws, is not enforced, how will people believe that this law will be put into practice?" he said.

Akhundzada said that simply enforcing Sharia law would be a more effective way of reducing harassment.

"I think that the contents of this law are too weak," he continued. "Is it logical that a person who harasses women or children physically or verbally should be fined [only] 80 to 150 dollars?"

Some rights defenders noted that administrative corruption had become so extensive that laws of this kind were open to abuse.

"The fines that are part of the anti-harassment law could serve as a good excuse for police to illegally boost their incomes," said Lal Gul, chairman of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). "Maybe police will start harassing and fining innocent people in order to increase their arrest rate."

He continued, "When high-ranking government officials and authorities violate the laws, we can't expect the common people to respect the laws of the country. Justice will be served only if the law is implemented on every single member of society equally, without impunity."

Yet despite the obstacles, others are more upbeat about the law's possible effect.

Qadriya Yazan, head of women's rights at the (AIHRC) said the legislation marked a milestone in the fight to protect women and children.

The law sent an important message to the public about acceptable behavior in Afghanistan, she continued, even if putting it into practice would take time.

Yazan continued, "I am sure that as levels of insecurity decrease, our country's judicial system will advance and become more active."

She stressed that getting the law through parliament was only the first step of a long process.

"The AIHRC along with the Afghan parliament should monitor the law's implementation and also put pressure on the country's judicial institutions to enact it," Yazan said, adding, "It will be even more effective if sermons in mosques [addressed the topic] and if the ministry of education began public awareness campaigns about the law's details.

"The ministry could also launch school programmes to inform students about the articles of this law."

Parwin Khaliqi, head of legislation at the ministry of women's affairs, said they were also planning outreach campaigns.

"We plan to launch seminars and conferences to explain the contents of this law to all the women of Afghanistan," she said, adding, "We are really optimistic about this law and we are sure that the level of harassment of children and women will decrease after its implementation.

"It takes a long time for a law to be enacted in Afghanistan but we are sure that implementation will start gradually."

The first challenge may be to convince women that it is worth their while to come forward and report incidents of harassment.

"I don't believe that men who pester women will be prosecuted and punished," said one woman, Shabnam, adding that she was subject to persistent workplace harassment at a state-run news agency in Kabul.

Although she knew about the new law, she too had little faith it would help her.

"My boss pesters me all the time, so who will listen to me if I lodge a complaint about harassment?" she asked. "I'm sure that no one would listen and that if I lodged a complaint I'd either be dismissed or transferred to other office."

The problems were too deep-rooted to be affected by one new law, Shabnam continued.

"Afghan culture is male-dominated and women can't get really get ahead within this kind of society," she said, adding, "The harassment of women on the street and at work has only increased. If conditions at my work continue as they are, I will just have to leave my job."

Mina Habib is an IWPR contributor in Kabul.

This report was produced under IWPR's Promoting Human Rights and Good Governance in Afghanistan initiative, funded by the European Union Delegation to Afghanistan.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Lucknow, Mar 8 (IBNS): After a 12-hour-long standoff, an operation by the Uttar Pradesh police ended on Wednesday with the terror suspect holed up in a house on the outskirts of Lucknow found dead.

Uttar Pradesh ADG Daljit Chaudhary said they found one person dead inside the house after breaking in. Police said despite best efforts of the anti-terror squad the suspect could not be caught alive from the house in Thakurganj.

Police earlier told media that there were at least two terrorists holed up in the house. But police found one body.

While attempts were being made to capture the suspect alive, the latter refused to surrender.

Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad was engaged in the operation to flush out suspect Mohammed Saiful from the Thakurganj house.

The area was cordoned off to capture the terrorist who could be ISIS operative and linked to a train blast Tuesday morning in Madhya Pradesh in which nine were wounded.

Reports said the terrorist used "chilli bombs" against the cops engaged in the operation in which some 20-odd commandos were active.

Senior police official Daljit Chaudhary earlier told media: "Had received inputs about presence of some suspects in Kanpur and Lucknow."

He said one person was arrested from Kanpur.

The incident occurred at a time when Uttar Pradesh is gearing up to vote in the last phase of polling on Wednesday.

The result is scheduled to be announced on Mar 11.
Disclaimer

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
Bahrain: King must not ratify constitutional amendment allowing military courts to try civilians

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 7 March 2017 Reference MDE 11/5832/2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Bahrain: King must not ratify constitutional amendment allowing military courts to try civilians, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c002674.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Amnesty International has today called on the King of Bahrain to refrain from ratifying a constitutional amendment that would enable military courts to try civilians, paving the way to further human rights violations. This call comes after the Shura Council, Bahrain's Consultative Council, voted unanimously in favour of the amendment to Article 105 (b) of the Constitution on 5 March and after it had been voted in favour by Parliament on 21 February. The amendment has now been passed to the King for ratification and could be ratified imminently.

Amnesty International is gravely concerned that the purpose of the amendment to Article 105 (b) of the Constitution, which removes the restriction of the military court's jurisdiction to military and security personnel, is to allow military courts to try civilians. Amnesty International unequivocally opposes the trial of civilians before military courts as they are contrary to the fundamental requirements of international law and standards for fair trial, including the right to be tried before a competent, independent and impartial court.

In 2011, when Bahrain was under martial law, military courts sentenced scores of opposition and human rights activists, teachers, doctors and nurses for participation in demonstrations, treating wounded protesters and other non-violent activities in grossly unfair trials.

According to the current Constitution, unless martial law is declared, "the jurisdiction of military courts shall be confined to military offences committed by members of the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF), the National Guard and the Security Forces." However, the new amendment does not explicitly restrict the jurisdiction of military courts to crimes committed by members of the military, as it reads: "The military judiciary shall be regulated by law, and shall delineate its jurisdiction and competencies with regards to the BDF, the National Guard, and Public Security Forces."

It is unclear from the amendment what cases would be tried before the military court. However, according to the

explanatory note

Minister of Justice

Amnesty International is therefore alarmed that the new amendment and explanatory note is vaguely worded and could be used to try before a military court any critic deemed to be a threat to Bahrain's national security or its "independence, sovereignty or integrity", including -- as has been the case in the past - peaceful activists prosecuted on trumped-up charges. Additionally, if military courts are deemed to exist to "maintainthe secrecy of information", this could pave the way for closed trials, denial of right to counsel of choice and other violations of the right to fair trial.

Amnesty International is further concerned that military courts will also speed up trial proceedings in a way that further violates the defendants' right to a fair trial. According to the explanatory note, a military court can "quickly address these offences in terms of investigation and litigation in the shortest time possible." According to the Minister of Justice, "military justice is well capable of identifying military and armed acts against civilians swiftly and decisively."

Background

During a period of martial law in 2011, military courts tried on trumped-up charges and sentenced scores of peaceful

opposition and human rights activists

nurses, doctors

teachers

Trials before military courts violate fundamental requirements of international law and standards for fair trial, as recognised by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Bahrain is a State Party. This includes the right to be tried before a competent, independent and impartial court established by law and the right to appeal to a higher court. The manner and criteria for the appointment of military judges is not yet known, nor whether there will be an appeal process, and if so, what the procedure will be.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
TV channel ownership dispute threatens media freedom in Georgia

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 6 March 2017 Reference EUR 56/5833/2017 Cite as Amnesty International, TV channel ownership dispute threatens media freedom in Georgia , 6 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c005074.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Dispute over the ownership of the major opposition TV channel in Georgia - Rustavi 2 raises concerns over the right to freedom of expression and could jeopardise media freedom in Georgia.

The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the decision of lower court and ruled on 2 March 2017 that the ownership of Rustavi 2 should be taken away from the current shareholders and transferred to the former shareholder, who is a supporter of the current Georgian government.

The government officials in the past have heavily criticised the pro-opposition editorial policy of Rustavi 2. Georgian NGOs and the management of Rustavi 2 fear that the recent Supreme Court judgment will result in the change of the editorial policy, leaving Georgian media without a major critical voice.

Georgia has a variety of media outlets, however, many are politically polarised and are not immune from political interference in their editorial policy, leading to concerns about their actual independence. Rustavi 2 is one of the largest and the most popular media channels in the country and also one of the most outspoken government critics with a consistent proopposition editorial policy.

The Supreme Court of Georgia has yet to release the full reasoning of its judgment. The Rustavi 2 lawyers had appealed to the Constitutional Court of Georgia. The appeal, if successful, could effectively invalidate the judgment of the Supreme Court.

The lawyers also filed the case with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 3 March and requested the Court to indicate interim measures. On the same day, the ECtHR granted interim measures and asked Georgia to temporarily suspend the execution of the judgment of the Supreme Court and abstain from interfering with the editorial policy of Rustavi 2.

Threats against the Executive Director of Rustavi 2

On 21 October 2016, as the legal dispute between the shareholders had been ongoing, the Rustavi 2 Executive Director said security services of Georgia blackmailed him with release of covertly filmed videos of his personal life unless he resigned. This was preceded by discovery in May 2016 that the premises of Rustavi 2 were allegedly subject to surveillance. None of these incidents have been investigated.

Mass surveillance has been a major issue in Georgia since its previous government and the current government has retained direct access to communications surveillance.

Concerns over the politically motivated nature of the lawsuit with the aim to change the editorial policy of Rustavi 2 are serious. The Georgian authorities must respect and ensure the right to freedom of expression and ensure that the legal dispute is solved without any political or other external pressure. The authorities must effectively investigate threats against the Rustavi 2 Executive Director and the discovery of surveillance equipment in the premises of the TV channel.

Background Information

The former Rustavi 2 shareholder launched a suit against the current shareholders to reclaim his shares on 4 August 2015. The suit argued that the claimant was coerced in 2006 by the former government officials, who are currently in opposition, to sell the TV Company substantially below the market price. Since 2006, Rustavi 2 changed owners several times.

Georgian NGOs believe the suit aimed to silence Rustavi 2 as a major critical media channel and change its stark pro-opposition editorial policy while highlighting problems in lack of judicial independence and impartiality in Georgia.

Local NGOs in Georgia expressed concerns about alleged procedural irregularities during the case. Serious concerns were also reported over the interim ruling of the first instance court in 2016, which directly contested the editorial policy of Rustavi 2, which was seen as a violation of media freedom.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Amnesty International rebukes Wilmar's tactics and calls on Indonesian Government to Investigate Abuses by Palm Oil Sector

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 6 March 2017 Reference ASA 21/5819/2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Amnesty International rebukes Wilmar's tactics and calls on Indonesian Government to Investigate Abuses by Palm Oil Sector, 6 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c0060b4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

In November last year, Amnesty International published the report, The Great Palm Oil

Scandal: Labour Abuses Behind Big Brand Names.(1) The report investigates labour

exploitation on plantations in Indonesia that provide palm oil to Wilmar International (Wilmar), the world's largest palm oil trader (43%). The report also traces the palm oil produced in Indonesia for Wilmar to nine global firms: AFAMSA, ADM, Colgate-Palmolive, Elevance, Kellogg's, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever.

Indonesia produces 35 million tonnes of palm oil per year, making it the largest producer of palm oil in the world. The palm oil sector is a significant source of revenue for the government of Indonesia, particularly through taxes on exports and an important source of employment for Indonesian workers.

Systematic abuses in supply chain of major firms

Amnesty International spoke to 120 workers who work on palm plantations owned by two

Wilmar subsidiaries and three Wilmar suppliers in Kalimantan and Sumatra in Indonesia.

The investigation exposed a wide range of abuses including:

 Women forced to work long hours under the threat of having their pay cut, paid

below minimum wage - earning as little as US$2.50 a day in extreme cases - and

kept in insecure employment without pensions or health insurance,

 Children as young as eight doing hazardous, hard physical work, sometimes

dropping out of school to help their parents on the plantation,

 Workers suffering severe injuries from paraquat, an acutely toxic chemical still used

in the plantations despite being banned in the EU and by Wilmar itself,

 Workers being made to work outdoors without adequate safety equipment despite

the risks of respiratory damage from hazardous levels of pollution caused by forest

fires during August to October 2015,

 Workers having to work long hours to meet ridiculously high targets, some of which

involve highly physically demanding tasks such as operating heavy manual

equipment to cut fruit from trees 20 meters tall. Attempting to meet targets can

leave workers in significant physical pain, and they also face a range of penalties

for things like not picking up palm fruits on the ground and picking unripe fruit.

Companies failing to respect human rights

In 2012, Wilmar publicly committed to ending exploitation in its supply chain. Despite all its promises, workers continue to suffer severe labour rights abuses. Wilmar, and most of the global firms who purchase Wilmar's palm oil, are also members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body set up in 2004 to clean up the palm oil sector after environmental scandals. These companies publicly claim to use "sustainable palm oil". However, evidence gathered by Amnesty International, tells a different story. Wilmar and the other suppliers have been exploiting gaps in Indonesian labour law and weak legal enforcement, using these to their advantage, but to the detriment of their workers.

The report concludes that Wilmar and its suppliers are committing a number of offences under the Manpower Act and other Indonesian laws, some of which amount to criminal offences. Wilmar, and those companies that buy from it, do not have adequate due diligence processes in place to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for adverse human rights impacts linked to their business operations. Amnesty International found that all the companies investigated are benefiting from, and contributing to, severe labour abuses in their palm oil supply chain. (2)

Wilmar's attempted cover up

Amnesty International continues to monitor developments to see what, if any, steps Wilmar is taking to address the serious concerns raised in our report.

In response to our report, Wilmar told us that it had hired a consultancy and would

investigate our findings. Instead of addressing the alleged abuses, we are deeply concerned that Wilmar, through its subsidiaries (as named in our report), is seeking to discredit their existence by using under-handed tactics.

On its website, Wilmar says that it "has been made aware of labour rights issues in our operations in North Sumatra".(3) Given that these abuses are also happening on its own plantations, Wilmar should have known (if it did not) of these long before Amnesty International brought them to its attention. These abuses - which are illegal according to Indonesian law - are systemic, long-standing, and the result of working policies and practices in place on their own plantations.

Wilmar says that it is looking into the allegations raised by Amnesty International. As part of the evidence gathering process, Wilmar says that it met with union representatives on 9 January 2017 to " clarify labour issues in PT Milano and PT DLI" and to "obtain feedback and suggestions".(4) To seek clarification, it showed the Amnesty International video Fruits of their Labour(5)to union representatives and asked them to confirm if the abuses, as shownin the video, exist on the plantations. In the closing statement a representative of Wilmar states:

"From all the responses gathered, the management hopes that all points of allegations raised by Amnesty International (about labor rights violations) can be cleared immediately to prove that the allegations was false."(6)

At this meeting, trade union workers were asked to sign a statement asserting that the human rights abuses documented by Amnesty International and presented in the

organisation's video are not happening on their plantations.

This document referred to by Wilmar as "Minutes of Meeting (Notulensi Meeting)" (7) cannot be taken at face value. In parts, it looks like a copy and paste exercise.

Wilmar says that signatures provided by trade union representatives were done so voluntarily. Amnesty International has heard a very different account of events, which amounts to intimidation. We call on Wilmar to immediately stop this practice. We consider that any statements obtained from workers under duress, including the fear of being fired, are not legally valid. Wilmar should take steps to ensure that there are no reprisals against workers and to end intimidation tactics.

Wilmar has the power and control to stop the abuses and to improve the working conditions on its plantations and those of its suppliers. This can be done by eradicating or substantially modifying the use of piece rates, targets, penalties, casual work arrangements and use of hazardous chemicals which create risks to workers' safety".

Wilmar's Singapore office stated that the issues raised by Amnesty International are being actively discussed by Wilmar Plantation Operations Management and that their investigation continues. The company said it remains committed to continue with this process until it is able to address all the issues highlighted and will publish its full findings.

Urgent need for a credible investigation

Amnesty International welcomes positive meetings it recently had with key officials from the President's office (Kantor Staff Kepresidenan or KSP), as well as from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komisi Nasional Anti Kekerasan Terhadap Perempuan). While the

organisation attempted to meet with the Ministry of Manpower, this has not yet materialised despite repeated requests. We would welcome the opportunity to meet. We call on this ministry to act immediately to investigate our findings and ensure that workers, whose rights have been abused, have access to redress.

The serious human rights abuses uncovered demonstrate that RSPO certification is insufficient. Amnesty international calls for a credible investigation into these serious issues.

In December, Indonesian media reported that the Ministry of Manpower had announced that it would set up a Task Force to look into these issues. The establishment of a Task Force would symbolise a significant and welcome shift by the Indonesian government to hold palm oil companies to account.

Amnesty International calls for this Task Force to be multi-partied, transparent and have adequate sanctioning power.

Given the importance of the palm oil sector to Indonesia and the millions of workers, who depend on it for survival, it is vital that palm oil companies be forced to comply with Indonesian law. When they don't, companies must be legally held to account.

Measures must also be taken by the government to ensure that trade union members or

workers do not face reprisals from the companies named in our report, for speaking about labour abuses on the plantations.

For more information see: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/Palm-OilGlobal-brands-profiting-from-child-and-forced-labour/

Full report available here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/5184/2016/en/

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Nigeria: Help end discrimination by passing Gender and Equal Opportunity bill

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 7 March 2017 Reference AFR 44/5836/2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Nigeria: Help end discrimination by passing Gender and Equal Opportunity bill, 7 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c008654.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

On International Women's Day, March 8th , Amnesty International calls on Nigeria's National Assembly and other stakeholders to ensure the speedy passage of the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill.

More than 30 years after Nigeria ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), women still experience various forms of discrimination in law and practice.

Nigeria ratified CEDAW in 1985, and ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Women's Protocol) in 2004, but is yet to domesticate either of these treaties. The two treaties contain vital provisions that will protect women from discrimination and ensure they live with dignity and fully enjoy their human rights.

Attempts to incorporate these treaties into domestic law continue to generate public and parliamentary debates.

Earlier attempts were defeated by strong opposition; some legislators, religious groups and leaders have argued that the provisions would erode local customs and religious beliefs. Yet, some of the customs and practices in question have already been invalidated by Nigerian Courts.

Domestication of these treaties will strengthen the prohibition of gender-based discrimination, already enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution. The Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill (GEO Bill) which is presently before the National Assembly is yet another attempt to complete this process and hopefully this time it will sail through.

The objective of the bill is to secure much needed freedoms and rights for women, so that women and girls may for example exercise their right to be free from discrimination and be able to enjoy their rights to education, healthcare and to own property without barriers and exclusions because of their gender.

Passing the GEO Bill into law will provide a firm legal basis to render void existing laws, policies and practices which discriminate against women. Examples of these include customary practices that preclude women from inheritance; Section 55 of the 1990 Labour Act of Nigeria which bars women from being employed in night work, except as nurses; and Section 360 of the Criminal Code Act which makes the indecent assault of a woman a misdemeanour punishable with a two year prison term, as opposed to the three years prison term imposed for indecently assaulting a man, which is a felony in section 353.

The provisions of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill will also address the systemic sexual exploitation of women and girls by men who abuse their positions of power and authority. Examples of this type of exploitation include the practice of police officers demanding sex in exchange for bail which is common in some police stations; and the ongoing sexual exploitation in some IDP camps where women are forced to have sex with security operatives and fellow male IDPs, in exchange for food rations.

Furthermore, the Bill sets out positive measures to actively promote equality. In a context in which youth literacy rates are almost twenty per cent lower for women than men, in which women remain under-represented in the work force, and where women hold less than ten percent of seats in national parliament, such provisions are nothing short of urgent.

Amnesty International therefore calls on the National Assembly to ensure the speedy passage of this bill by engaging all stakeholders through public hearings and community consultations. The organization also urges the federal government to put in place strong mechanisms for its implementation.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Belarus: Reprisals against Participants in Recent Peaceful Rallies

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 8 March 2017 Reference EUR 49/5842/2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Belarus: Reprisals against Participants in Recent Peaceful Rallies, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c009764.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Thousands of people joined peaceful street rallies under the slogan "My nie darmoyedy!" ("We are not spongers!") in Minsk, Homel, Vytebsk and other cities and towns across Belarus between 17 and 26 February. Contrary to the common practice in recent years, these had not been expressly authorized in advance by the authorities but were still allowed to proceed, in central locations, by the police.

However, whilst no one was detained during the rallies, the Belarusian police have since summoned for questioning numerous activists who took part in the demonstrations in in Minsk and Homel. According to the information received by Amnesty International, at least 18 individuals have been summoned by the police and issued with fines in connection with these rallies, while some others have been called in for questioning only. The questioning concerned the reasons for them joining the street protest, and appeared to be intended as a form of intimidation.

Summoning or fining participants for their peaceful participation in rallies, or in any other way taking steps seeking to suppress such reflection of peaceful dissent, is contrary to the Belarus authorities' obligation to respect these individuals' right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Reprisals against peaceful protesters must stop, and this right should be fully respected in Belarus.

Background

The recent demonstrations, some of which were spontaneous, were prompted by the tax bills that hundreds of thousands of unemployed Belarusians had received in recent months under the Presidential Decree "On Prevention of Social Dependency". The Decree, adopted in 2015, stipulates a special tax for those who have been unemployed and not payed any tax contributions for over 183 days per any given tax year, or administrative arrest and compulsory community service in lieu of the tax, may amount to a form of forced labour. Since the beginning of 2016, more than 400,000 people who have not been in any regular employment, have received notices from the tax authorities that they are required to pay BYR 460 (US$ 245) under this provision, which is commonly known as the "tax on parasites".

On 2 March, members of the informal coalition of political and civil society groups who spearheaded the demonstrations reported that at least 18 people who had helped organise the protests in Minsk and Homel had since been summoned by police and issued with fines for violating Article 23.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus (violation of the rules governing public assemblies and street protest).

All public gatherings in Belarus require a prior explicit authorization from the authorities. The law "On Mass Gatherings in the Republic of Belarus" adopted in 1997 and repeatedly amended since to introduce increasingly restrictive regulations, requires all organisers of assemblies to submit an application to the authorities 15 days before the date of the planned assembly for approval. For many years, permission to hold public assemblies have often been routinely and arbitrarily denied to those who intended to hold protest.

The exercise of the right to a free and peaceful assembly should not require prior authorisation from the authorities. According to international human rights law, states may require notice of assemblies in order to facilitate the right of peaceful assembly and in order to take measures to protect public safety and order or the rights of others. However, failure to comply with notice requirements should not lead to fines or imprisonment. Those organizing or participating in peaceful assemblies should not be asked to bear the costs of public services (such as policing) for the assembly and should not be held liable for the conduct of others.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Iran: Repression of those seeking truth and justice for 1980s killings needs to stop

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 8 March 2017 Reference : MDE 13/5840/2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Iran: Repression of those seeking truth and justice for 1980s killings needs to stop , 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c00abf4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The Iranian authorities should stop the harassment, intimidation and prosecution of human rights defenders seeking truth and justice on behalf of individuals who were summarily executed or forcibly disappeared during the 1980s and their families, said 20 human rights groups.

Over the past few months, several human rights defenders, including Mansoureh Behkish, Maryam AkbariMonfared and Raheleh Rahemipour, have been subjected to harassment, reprisals or prosecution on vague national security-related charges for their peaceful efforts to learn the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. The persecution signals renewed efforts by the authorities to suppress the struggle that has been ongoing for over three decades to reveal the truth about the gross human rights violations that were perpetrated by the Iranian authorities during the 1980s, including the extrajudicial executions of several thousands in 1988 and their burial in unmarked mass graves.

The latest wave of persecution of those seeking truth and justice appears to have been triggered by the release in August 2016 of an audio recording of a meeting in 1988 in which senior officials are heard discussing and defending the details of their plans to carry out the 1988 mass executions.

The audio recording has sent shockwaves across the country and prompted the authorities to admit for the first time that the mass killings of 1988 were planned at the highest levels of government. Ahmad Montazeri, the son of the late Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who was at that time the Deputy Supreme Leader, has since been sentenced to imprisonment for posting the audio file on his father's website.

The undersigned human rights organizations are deeply concerned about these developments and call on the Iranian authorities to quash the convictions and sentences issued against Maryam Akbari-Monfared, Raheleh Rahemipour and Ahmad Montazeri; close the criminal case opened against Mansoureh Behkish; and immediately and unconditionally release Maryam Akbari-Monfared. The authorities should also ensure a safe and enabling environment in which it is possible for human rights defenders, including family members, to seek information about the mass killings, express themselves without any fear of persecution, and defend the rights to truth, justice and reparation, as a first step to ending impunity in Iran.

The undersigned human rights organizations urge the Iranian authorities to stop their attempts to silence human rights defenders and others seeking to shed light on past atrocities. Instead, they should respect their obligations under international human rights law to carry out thorough and impartial investigations into the serious human rights violations committed in the 1980s, including the 1988 extrajudicial executions, and ensure the rights to truth, justice and reparations for the victims and their families.

Cases of individuals targeted

Individuals who have been targeted in recent months for seeking truth and justice include human rights defenders Mansoureh Behkish, Maryam Akbari-Monfared and Raheleh Rahemipour, and the son of the late Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, Ahmad Montazeri.

Mansoureh Behkish was informed on 29 October 2016 that she had been charged with "gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security" and "spreading propaganda against the system". The charges stem solely from her peaceful human rights work to seek truth and justice, including her work with the Mothers and Families of Khavaran, a group comprised of mothers and other family members of political prisoners summarily executed during the 1980s, and from holding commemorative gatherings at her home and going with other families to Khavaran, a deserted mass gravesite in the south of Tehran where Iranian authorities buried some of the thousands of political prisoners extrajudicially executed in the 1980s, including Mansoureh Behkish's sister, four brothers and brother-in-law.

Maryam Akbari-Monfared has faced reprisals since October 2016, when she filed a formal complaint from inside prison requesting an official investigation into the mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s, including her brother and sister; the location of the graves where their bodies were buried; and the identity of the perpetrators involved. Officials have cancelled her medical care arrangements for her rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid problems and restricted visits from her family, including her three children, in retaliation. The prosecution authorities have also threatened her with new charges. According to her family, the Associate Prosecutor of Evin prison has said: "What does she want to know? Those who executed her brothers and sister have either died or become elderly and her brothers and sister are probably buried in Khavaran Such complaints are of no use. They would only make her conditions in prison more difficult and impede her release or access to [prison] leave."

Maryam Akbari-Monfared is serving a 15-year sentence in Tehran's Evin prison on several charges, including "enmity against God" (moharebeh), after a May 2010 sentencing. Amnesty International's research indicates that her conviction was based on the fact that she had made several phone calls to her siblings, who are members of the banned opposition group known as the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), and had once visited them near the PMOI-run Camp Ashraf in Iraq. She has consistently denied her alleged membership in the PMOI. She was never provided with a written judgement, setting out the evidence and legal reasoning relied upon to convict her. Her husband has said that during her trial session, the judge told her "she was paying for the activities of her brother and sister with the PMOI". Her appeals were dismissed in a summary fashion with no reasons provided. Her request for judicial review is currently pending before Iran's Supreme Court.

Raheleh Rahemipour was sentenced to one year's imprisonment in January 2017 after Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran convicted her of "spreading propaganda against the system" for her peaceful efforts to learn the truth about the whereabouts of her brother Hossein Rahemipour, who was summarily executed in 1984, and his baby daughter Golrou Rahemipour, who was forcibly disappeared 15 days after she was born in Evin prison. The prison authorities took the baby away, ostensibly for medical tests, but never returned her to her mother. The family was subsequently told that baby Golrou Rahemipour had died, but the authorities never provided a death certificate, information about her death, or where she had been buried.

The court verdict issued against Raheleh Rahemipour cites her media interviews, her participation in peaceful gatherings while holding a sign that read "You killed my brother! What did you do to his daughter?", and her signature on a petition in support of demands for truth and justice for those summarily executed as "evidence" of acting against national security. In May 2016, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances sent a communication to the Iranian authorities with regard to the case of Raheleh Rahemipour's brother and niece. The authorities had not responded by the end of February 2017. Raheleh Rahemipour remains at liberty, awaiting the outcome of her appeal.

Ahmad Montazeri, the son of the late Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, was sentenced to 21 years' imprisonment in November 2016 after the Special Court of Clergy convicted him of several charges including "spreading propaganda against the system" and "revealing plans, secrets or decisions regarding the state's domestic or foreign policies in a manner amounting to espionage". The court ruled that in light of Ahmad Montazeri's family history and lack of a criminal record, he only needs to serve six years of the sentence. Ahmad Montazeri's conviction stems from the publication of the audio file on his father's website, which the authorities said advanced the interests of the enemies of the Islamic Revolution, and the media interviews that he subsequently gave to media outlets based outside Iran. Ahmad Montazeri was imprisoned on 22 February 2017 to begin serving his sentence, but was granted temporary prison leave the next day. He was informed several days later that his prison sentence had been suspended.

Background

Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri was once in line to become the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's successor but he lost his status after he voiced strong opposition to the 1988 mass killings. In the audio file released by his son in August 2016, Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri is heard saying: "The greatest crime committed in the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed at your hands and, in the future, your names will go down in history as criminals."

Under international law, individuals against whom there is evidence of criminal responsibility for serious international crimes, including those with command responsibility, should be prosecuted and tried before a court established by law and with all necessary procedural guarantees, in accordance with international fair trial standards.

If found guilty, they should be punished with appropriate penalties, which take into account the grave nature of the crimes but which do not include the death penalty or corporal punishments.

Signatories:

1. Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation

2. All Human Rights for All in Iran

3. Amnesty International

4. Article 19

5. Association des Chercheurs Iraniens - ACI

6. Association for the Human Rights of Azerbaijani People in Iran(AHRAZ)

7. Association of Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran-Geneva - KMMK-G

8. Front Line Defenders

9. Human Rights Activists in Iran

10.Human Rights Watch

11.Insight Iran

12.International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

13.Iran Human Rights

14.Justice for Iran

15.Kurdistan Human Rights Network

16.Small Media

17.The Baloch Activists Campaign

18.United4Iran

19.Universal Tolerance

20.Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Kyrgyzstan: A Haven for Reporters amid Love and Strife

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Zukhra Iakupbaeva Publication Date 22 February 2017 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Kyrgyzstan: A Haven for Reporters amid Love and Strife, 22 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c00ff04.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

In a rough neighborhood for journalists, Kyrgyzstan is a relative safe haven. Over the years, reporters from various parts of Central Asia have made their homes there - often for safety and professional growth, other times for more personal reasons.

The Reporters Without Borders press freedom index for 2016 tells a clear story. Central Asia is not hospitable territory for the free flow of information and independent journalism. Nations like Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan languish at the bottom of the list, alongside such places as North Korea and Ethiopia. Meanwhile, media outlets in Tajikistan have long endured pressure, but repression has intensified since late 2015 and has prompted the flight of dozens of journalists.

The stories of three journalistic migrants from various spots in Central Asia are illustrative of how Bishkek has established itself as the chief destination for those seeking creative and intellectual freedom.

Diana Rakhmanova, a 27-year-old journalist from Tajikistan, said a visit to Kyrgyzstan in 2010 to attend a three-month course organized by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle completely changed her understanding of journalism.

"What shocked me most when I was in Bishkek were the ordinary educated people interested in politics, who had access to information from state officials. State officials are the ones who are afraid of journalists, and there was an active use of social networks," Rakhmanova told EurasiaNet.org as she sipped coffee in one of Bishkek's many cafes.

A lucky break enabled Rakhmanova to get to know a local journalist who offered her a job in Bishkek, where she returned a year after her course. She had to make tough adjustments, she said. "I could not remember any of the Kyrgyz surnames and had no clue whatsoever about parliamentary factions," she said.

Her ethnic Tatar background helped her get to grips with some aspects of the language. "I understand when people reply to me in Kyrgyz when I have asked my question in Russian. This is because I know Tatar very well; my family back in Tajikistan speaks it freely."

Occasionally, regional tensions have created bureaucratic hassles. "One time I was not allowed to cross the Kyrgyz border from Kazakhstan because of a border shooting incident in a disputed section of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border," she said. "I am also a citizen of Russia, so the Russian passport helped me get across that time."

Rakhmanova said she had no plans to return to Tajikistan.

"I do not want to go back to Tajikistan because I wouldn't be able to get used to a lack of freedom of speech," she said. "And I have a family here, a husband and a one-year-old son."

In other cases, family matters and relationships sometimes trump professional motivations for journalists.

Elyor Nematov, a 28-year-old photojournalist from the city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan, said his friends were surprised when he decided to move to the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. He explained that he wanted to be nearer to his fiancee, who lived in the Kyrgyz capital, and only later discovered opportunities to hone his skills as a documentary photographer.

Nematov said that back in Uzbekistan it was not his work, but his Bahai faith that caused him problems.

"When I was a student, police suspected I could be an extremist because I am a Bahai. In Tashkent, police detained me for 15 days because I supposedly resisted them when they were conducting an anti-extremism special operation. In fact, they were recording me and I asked them to show me their documents and explain to me why I was being arrested," he said.

Nematov embraces a relaxed philosophy about where he lives. "I do not feel borders, my base is Kyrgyzstan, but I am reporting on Central Asia," he said.

Like Rakhmanova, Nematov has no immediate plans to leave Kyrgyzstan. Instead, his dream for now is to set up a documentary photojournalism hub in Bishkek that would support people doing his line of work across all of Central Asia.

The most unforgiving place in Central Asia for independent-minded reporters and researchers is Turkmenistan. The very few people there who have dared to dabble in independent journalism have found themselves on the receiving end of intimidation, arrests and physical assault.

Olga, 33, came to Bishkek from Turkmenistan in 2001. She now works as a political analyst at a Bishkek educational institution and writes occasional commentary pieces on human rights, education, and oil and gas issues in Turkmenistan.

Olga first traveled to Kyrgyzstan as a student. "I spent almost the whole time of my freshman year at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek in the library. I would read avidly, it was such a pleasure," Olga told EurasiaNet.org, requesting she be identified only through a pseudonym.

The mid-2000s were a dark era for learning in Turkmenistan. In February 2005, the late President Saparmurat Niyazov decreed that provincial libraries were useless since most villagers did not read anyhow. In line with that reasoning, Niyazov ordered the closure of almost all of the country's libraries with the exception of a few larger ones and student libraries.

This and other policies engineered to ensure Turkmenistan's isolation from the world led Olga to understand that her options would be limited at home. "I remained in Kyrgyzstan because it was difficult to find a job [relevant to my qualifications] in Turkmenistan," Olga said, adding that she was limited by not knowing Turkmen. "Oil and gas companies, which were flourishing at that time, would have been the most likely option, but I was looking more at the area of social development."

Asked if she had plans to ever return to Turkmenistan, Olga said she preferred not to think about it, and is focusing instead on her further studies and her six-year-old son. The sense of freedom instilled in her by her experiences in Kyrgyzstan would be hard to reconcile with the pervasive repression in Turkmenistan.

To underscore how challenging the environment is back home, Olga recalled that when Kyrgyzstan's revolution unfolded in 2005, she was a student at the American University of Central Asia. Her parents received a call from the security services. "They [security agents] were interested to know if I was involved in the revolution," she said.

Editor's note: Zukhra Iakupbaeva is a journalist based in Bishkek.

Copyright notice: All EurasiaNet material  Open Society Institute
Uzbekistan: Poet Speaks Out Against Karimov Cult

Publisher EurasiaNet Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as EurasiaNet, Uzbekistan: Poet Speaks Out Against Karimov Cult, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c011054.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

One of Uzbekistan's best-known poets has made a bold statement criticizing what he sees as the creeping post-mortem cult of personality devoted to the late leader, Islam Karimov.

In a Facebook appeal addressed to the new president, Jamol Kamolov dwelled on the recent adoption of an official resolution recognizing Karimov as the founder of the nation who "liberated the motherland from totalitarianism."

"For a person who ruled the country for just 25 years and, as you called him, was 'the builder of the democratic foundations of the state,' it seems rather excessive to be naming museums, parks, colleges and streets after him, and to be putting up monuments in his honor," Kamolov wrote.

Kamolov was particularly concerned by proposals to name the airport after Karimov.

"Our state has a millennium of history behind it. On this land we have had many states and rulers. We had the great Amir Timur (Tamerlane). So it is by rights his name that should given to the international airport," he wrote.

Kamolov, 79, holds the honorific title of People's Poet of Uzbekistan, which lends his words a certain implied authority, although they clearly go against the official line. His best known works are collected in the the anthologies "Poems" (1982) and "World of Hope" (1988). In addition to writing poetry, Kamolov has also translated numerous foreign classic works of literature, including some by William Shakespeare and Bertolt Brecht, into Uzbek. In 2014, he rendered the Koran into a poeticized Uzbek translation, but that work was not published over objections of the state religious committee.

As exiled Uzbek poet Yadgar Obid told EurasiaNet.org, the practice of installing a post-death cult of personality is a holdover of Soviet custom - most notably Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.

"If the lending of Karimov's name to many things, including mosques, provokes irritation with Jamol Kamolov, who himself assisted in bolstering Karimov's power, then it should be noted that this cult of personality will not last very long. We all remember how the name of Usman Yusupov (First Secretary of the Communist Party in the Uzbek SSR during World War II) was also given to collective farms, districts and factories. But this was later all erased," Obid said.

Karimov is officially said to have died on September 2. His passing gave rise to days of ostentatious and largely state-generated mourning. On January 25, the government adopted a decree on "perpetuating the memory of Islam Karimov" - in essence forming the bureaucratic cornerstone for the personality cult. That document mandated that two higher education institutions in Tashkent, the GM Uzbekistan automobile factory and streets in the capital and regional centers be named after the late leader.

Copyright notice: All EurasiaNet material  Open Society Institute
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Kazakhstan: Memories of the Chechen Exodus Don't Fade

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Joanna Lillis Publication Date 23 February 2017 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Kazakhstan: Memories of the Chechen Exodus Don't Fade, 23 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c0116e4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Polina Ibrayeva is now a frail old lady with sparkling brown eyes. Seventy-three years ago, she was a three-month-old infant suddenly uprooted from the Chechen mountain village where she was born and deported thousands of kilometers east to the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.

Ibrayeva was one of over half a million souls - the entire population of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic - who were bundled into cattle cars, and endured a 2,500-kilometer journey into Central Asian exile. Chechens and Ingush are marking the anniversary of the deportation this week.

"They called us enemies of the people," Ibrayeva said plainly in a quavering voice, sitting dressed in a tulip-patterned headscarf and polka-dot dress in her neat wooden cottage in the village of Krasnaya Polyana, a plump gray cat snoozing contentedly beside her.

February 23, 1944, is etched into the memory of the Vainakh people - the collective name for Chechens and Ingush - as the traumatic start of the Aardakh: the Exodus. The mass deportation to Central Asia was the collective punishment devised by Josef Stalin and his secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria for perceived treachery to the Motherland.

The expulsion happened during the Great Patriotic War (the Soviet name for World War II), two years after Nazi troops had invaded the Caucasus in a doomed bid to gain control of oilfields there. "They supposedly deported us to save the Caucasus," explained Ansar Ibrayev, Polina Ibrayeva's son, who currently serves as the mayor of Krasnaya Polyana, where many deportees were settled and their descendants live on 70 years later.

"The policy was that Chechens could go over to the side of the Germans in the Caucasus, although the Germans didn't reach Grozny and didn't reach the [River] Terek. But Russian policy labeled them traitors and enemies of the people," Ibrayev said.

Chechen communities in Kazakhstan have clung faithfully to their native customs and retain strong ties to the homeland. Sitting in the town hall, dressed in a traditional blue velvet Chechen skullcap, Ibrayev displayed photos on his computer of his visits to Chechnya.

The insults against Chechen pride sting even after seven decades. "We were not traitors!" said Ibrayev, a historian by training. "There were 50,000 [Chechens] fighting on the front, heroes, yet their wives and mothers were deported!"

Having struggled to quell a Chechen insurgency that began in 1940, when the Soviet Union was allied with Hitler under a non-aggression pact, the Kremlin perceived the Chechens a fifth column that might side with the Nazis - although the tide in the Battle of the Caucasus had turned in the Red Army's favor a year before the Aardakh was set into motion.

Ibrayeva was too young to have first-hand recollections of Operation Lentil, as the Soviets codenamed the deportation. The Russian for lentil is chechevitsa, making the codename a cruel piece of wordplay.

But Ibrayeva lucidly recounted memories passed down by her mother, who traveled from Chechnya to Kazakhstan alone with five children, her husband having disappeared in Stalin's purges, presumed shot. They were dumped in a village in Kazakhstan's Kostanay Region. But for the Kazakhs that fed and clothed them, the family might well have perished. "My mother always tells me: Ansar, you're alive because the Kazakh people didn't let us die," said the mayor, who recounted the hardships experienced by his paternal relatives amid the deportation.

His father "would always remember how  they arrived [in Kazakhstan] in March, him aged 14, and his sister and mother died of starvation, on the same day. He took them to the cemetery, buried them, came home, and his second sister was lying there dead. They're buried here, at our cemetery."

Krasnaya Polyana is 300 kilometers northwest of Astana in Kazakhstan's agricultural heartlands, where fields of wheat - plump and golden in the late fall - seem to stretch to the horizon.

The road from the nearest town, Atbasar, turns into a muddy track that passes through villages where old German ladies in headscarves tend their hay bales - another legacy of Stalin's deportations, for the Chechens were neither the first nor last to suffer deportation from their homeland.

Ethnic Germans from Russia and Ukraine, Koreans from the Far East, Kurds from the Caucasus, Tatars from Crimea were all among those deported in the 1930s and 1940s to Central Asia, which became a dumping ground for peoples singled out for collective punishment.

Many died during the arduous journey. The survivors toiled in factories and on collective farms, serving as cogs that powered Stalin's agricultural and industrial revolutions.

The deportations left a demographic imprint that reverberates to this day on Kazakhstan, where President Nursultan Nazarbayev has made a virtue of the legacy of diversity inherited from the Soviet Union. Minorities accounted for around 60 percent of the population when the country gained independence in 1991, but the emigration of ethnic Slavs, Germans and others, combined with the inflow of ethnic Kazakhs from other countries, including Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China and Mongolia, has lowered the ratio to around one-third.

Astana preaches ethnic harmony and tolerance as national values - and certainly in Krasnaya Polyana, Chechen culture is thriving. The village's school is the only one in Kazakhstan offering the Chechen language on the curriculum. Vibrant cultural traditions, such as dancing the zikr - the Chechen version of a Whirling Dervish dance - are faithfully preserved. "We shouldn't lose our culture," said the mayor, who says Kazakhstan will always be home for him and his children. "That's our rich asset."

The Chechens of northern Kazakhstan have also fashioned new traditions: they are known as the beloshapochniki, the White Hats, after the shaggy sheepskin papakha headgear they wear.

The village has another distinguishing feature: it is dry. Drinking alcohol is not prohibited, but it is not sold. Prohibition is not motivated by religious beliefs (Chechens are Muslim), but to discourage alcoholism - often a blight in rural Kazakhstan.

Krasnaya Polyana was founded by Slavic settlers in 1863, but after the great migratory shifts of the 1990s, the village is these days almost entirely Chechen. In addition to just over one thousand Chechens, the village has 14 Russian, three German and three Kazakh residents.

Polina Ibrayeva also has a namesake. She was named after a Russian nurse billeted on her family with a Soviet captain in their Chechen village in 1943. Later, her mother realized they were part of an advance party to prepare for the Aardakh.

In 1957, four years after Stalin's death, Chechens were allowed to return home. Ibrayeva returned with her family to Chechnya, although not to their home village, Lyunki, which was by then occupied by "other people."

She lived her teenage years in Chechnya and expected to spend the rest of her life there, but fate intervened. In 1962, her family came to Krasnaya Polyana to visit relatives and betrothed her to a local Chechen. Tradition dictates that the bride join the husband's family, so she stayed behind when the rest of her family returned to Chechnya.

The old lady says she loves Kazakhstan (and its president too), but her eyes glitter with longing when she talks of Chechnya. "I've been living here for 54 years, but I still miss it. It's my place, where my people are," she said.

"Sometimes I sit up at night and cry and I think: why are those [siblings] in a different place and I'm here? That's not something you forget. We were cast adrift."

Editor's note: Joanna Lillis is a freelance writer who specializes in Central Asia.

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Georgia: Retail Workers' Protests Give Labor Movement Momentum

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Inge Snip Publication Date 24 February 2017 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Georgia: Retail Workers' Protests Give Labor Movement Momentum, 24 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c011cf4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Unprecedented protests by workers at two of Georgia's largest retailers are calling attention to the poor conditions under which many service-industry employees in the country work, advocates and experts say.



On February 7, employees at one of Georgia's largest supermarket chains, Fresco, posted a statement on Facebook, describing the "exploitative conditions" under which they work. Two days later, employees at Biblius, Georgia's largest chain of bookstores, followed suit with a similar video post. Both items went viral and were accompanied by real-life protests in front of shops across Tbilisi.



The protests, and the degree to which they resonated across Georgia, suggest a potentially major shift is underway in a sector that had previously been relatively quiescent, said Lina Gvinianidze, Social Rights Program Director at the Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center.



Two years ago, two employees from another supermarket chain, Ioli, protested against their working conditions, "but besides a few protests after their dismissal, nothing changed," Gvinianidze said. "Now, after two isolated cases spoke out, they were not only shared hundreds of thousands of times online, but people also started sharing their experiences in the service industry, and several protests are taking place."

Georgia has seen a rise in labor-related protests over the past few years, most notably a strike by coal miners in western Georgia last year. But the service industry, which is not represented by a trade union, is the largest sector in Georgia's economy, and, as such, plays a large role in society, Gvinianidze said.



Management at the companies dismissed the protests. Fresco's CEO Vasil Sofromadze said the reports were not made by current Fresco employees and, therefore, were false. Biblius fired back with a long Facebook post arguing that the employees were leaving important facts out, and that the company treats its employees well.

But after the online protests went viral, hundreds of ordinary Georgians, having faced similar conditions in the service industry, are now sharing their experiences with the hashtag # ("dare to speak up").



One Facebook user, for example, wrote that her manager deducted 50 laris (about 19 USD) out of her 350 laries (135 USD) monthly salary after she took a two-minute break after receiving some bad news. "Sitting down, bending down to tie my shoes, speaking with my colleagues, it was all prohibited by the terms of our contract," the user's post said.



Observers trace the rise in labor discontent to politics. Under the previous regime, led by President Mikheil Saakashvili, the government eliminated a number of protections for workers, making it easier for companies to fire employees, cutting the social tax paid towards pensions, and abolishing various forms of benefits.

One particularly consequential reform was the dismantling of the Labor Inspection Department, which had been tasked with ensuring employers' compliance with labor laws. The reforms were implemented in the name of eradicating corruption, streamlining bureaucracy and spurring economic growth. But they ended up leaving workers unprotected.

"There were many corrupt institutions in Georgia, such as the police force, the education system," Gvinianidze said. "But the difference is that [the Saakashvili government] decided to transform those institutions. The Labor Inspection Department was abolished, and nothing was put in its place."



"The deregulation on labor rights of the previous government has been devastating for all sectors," said Gocha Aleksandria, Vice President at the Georgian Trade Union Confederation, Georgia's largest union. "They killed the labor movement in Georgia."



The Georgian Dream coalition, which replaced Saakashvili's United National Movement in 2012, came to power on campaign promises of improving social conditions. In 2013, the government reintroduced several mechanisms for the protection of workers' rights, including the Labor Inspection Department.



But expectations that things would substantially improve under the new government proved illusory, and by the end of 2013, workers realized that "they could not rely on the government to punish the employers," Gocha said. Labor protests continued to gain momentum, including multiple miners' strikes in the past five years.



The retail protests seem to be shifting Georgians' perceptions of labor rights, Gvinianidze said. "The current service industry protests have clearly shown society, basically educated everyone, that labor rights affect all of us, and not only people working in mines, for example."



Gocha agreed, saying that social media has played a vital role in exposing the severe conditions the service industry workers face on a daily basis.

The government has thus far abstained from commenting on the new wave of protests. But there are indications that they have raised awareness among Georgians about their working conditions, potentially making the issue a more politically salient one.



"Every month, I work two weeks straight, every day, from 8:30 in the morning until 11:30 at night, and the other two weeks I am free," said 31-year-old Tamuna, who has worked in a cramped corner shop in central Tbilisi for almost 10 years. "I never thought my rights were being violated, but perhaps I should see if I can, too, improve my situation."

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Kyrgyzstan: Showdown Deepens Between Government and Opposition

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Nurjamal Djanibekova Publication Date 27 February 2017 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Kyrgyzstan: Showdown Deepens Between Government and Opposition, 27 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c012494.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The crowd that gathered on Bishkek's Ala-Too Square on February 27 was modest, belying the gravity of the latest political crisis gripping Kyrgyzstan.

Some of the demonstrators waved the red flag of the opposition Ata-Meken party, led by Omurbek Tekebayev, who was detained by state security agents as he flew into the country over the weekend. It appears Tekebayev will face corruption-related criminal charges.

The choice of location for the rally - the launch pad for two popular uprisings that toppled two presidents, Askar Akayev in 2005 and Kurmanbek Bakiyev in 2010 - was pointed and symbolic. Later in the day, the crowd marched round the block and relocated for a short while in front of the old parliament building, a structure that stands in the shadow of a statue of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.

Recent events have been pointing inexorably to the arrest of President Almazbek Atambayev's most dogged and vocal opponent, although the suddenness of it, occurring in the very early hours of February 26, appears to have taken many by surprise.

The arrest is turning up the heat in a political environment filled with uncertainty. Kyrgyzstan is entering a pivotal point this year. Due to a constitutional provision that limits him to one term in office, Atambayev will not be running in this November's president election. Thus, the election is expected to mark the first time in Kyrgyzstan's post-independence history that the country experiences a peaceful handover of power from one chief executive to another.

Critics contend that Atambayev is trying to eliminate political rivals and ensure that a status-quo candidate wins the election. Natalia Nikitenko, an MP with the Ata-Meken party, described the arrest as "political repression."

"When you have arrests in the middle of the night with large numbers of police officers in tow, this is very reminiscent of political repression," Nikitenko said. "This is a hounding of the opposition directly linked to criticism of [recent amendments to] the constitution and for the statements made by deputies about illegal acts and other schemes involving people in the president's entourage."

Protesters have said they intend to rally again on February 28 in a call for Tekebayev's release and for the resignation of authorities at the State Committee for National Security, the agency that carried out the politician's arrest. Police told the Kloop.kg news website that they will not break up that meeting, even though it coincides with a visit by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Politics aside, the unfolding confrontation appears to stem to a great extent from the personal enmity between Tekebayev and Atambayev.

While the two have never been close, they did join forces during the turbulent season in 2010 that led to the toppling of the widely reviled former leader, Bakiyev. The clashes that centered on Ala-Too Square in early April of that year claimed dozens of lives after government forces opened fire on protesters.

Commenting on the sporadic protests that have taken place since Tekebayev's detention, Atambayev revealed that this current face-off is partly about claiming ownership over that historical turning point - an event both men see as a cornerstone of their political legacies.

Speaking on February 26, Atambayev revived oft-aired allegations that Ata-Meken supporters engaged in looting in the wake of the April 7 revolt. Citing purported relatives of people killed and injured on that day, he harshly criticized people rallying for Tekebayev.

"[The relatives] said that it was offensive for them to see how people involved in corruption and marauding are not only throwing a shadow over the glowing memory of the heroes of the April revolution, but are continuing to use their names for cover when the time comes to answer for their thieving and bribe-taking," Atambayev said.

Medet Tiulegenov, a professor of international and comparative politics at American University of Central Asia, noted that selective arrests of opposition figures began in the wake of confrontations over last year's tinkering with the constitution. "The constitutional reforms were objected to quite unequivocally by Tekebayev, who resisted the president in quite a rude manner," Tiulegenov said.

Accusations leveled at Tekebayev and his allies - often through dubiously documented hatchet-job reports planted in government-friendly media - have intensified in recent months. In the latest expose, which emerged in the hours before Tekebayev's arrest, the politician was alleged to have accepted $1 million in bribes while he was acting deputy prime minister in 2010 in exchange for granting a Russian businessman special favors during the sale of a nationalized mobile phone company.

Little by way of firm evidence has been released so far to substantiate such accusations. Investigators have claimed that while serving as interim deputy prime minister in 2010, Tekebayev used his authority to pressure a Russian investor, Leonid Mayevsky, into giving him $1 million in cash in exchange for granting preferential access to the sale of a part-nationalized mobile phone service provider. Tekebayev is then said to have kept the money without fulfilling his side of the bargain.

For reasons that are not clear, Mayevsky waited until this past week to reveal this story.

Former prime minister Temir Sariyev, who has announced he intends to run for president in an election slated for November, agreed with the emerging consensus that the Tekebayev corruption case appeared to be politically motivated.

"Only an objective trial in court can give a definitive answer as to whether this man is innocent, or if he has been slandered," Sariyev said in a video appeal to Atambayev. "Over the last few months, Tekebayev has been engaged in a rough confrontation with Atambayev, so these accusations and Tekebayev's detention have a political flavor to them."

Marat Kazakbayev, a political analyst who typically adheres to the government line, downplayed the role of political motives in the case.

"Tekebayev's arrest has been brewing for a long time, so what has happened now could have happened a long time ago. There is no political persecution here - there is already firm evidence provided here by a Russian businessman. The facts have been proven," Kazakbayev said.

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Azerbaijan Grapples With the Rise of Turkish Language

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Durna Safarova Publication Date 28 February 2017 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Azerbaijan Grapples With the Rise of Turkish Language, 28 February 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c012d64.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Five-year-old Mehdi Rahimi watches his favorite cartoons on TRT Cocuk, a Turkish channel for children that his family gets on satellite TV in their home in Fatmayi, a village just outside of Baku.

"There aren't many interesting things on Azerbaijani TV, plus there is no special cartoon network," said his mother, Zhale Rahimi, by way of explanation. "While I'm busy with my work, I turn on the TV and leave him there."

Mehdi's viewing habits have had an effect on how he speaks: he uses Turkish more than Azerbaijani, his mother says, for example favoring the Turkish salatalk over the Azerbaijani xiyar (cucumber) or using the Turkish word uzay instead of the Azerbaijani kosmos (space).

Rahimi says she is not worried: for one, most of the children in their neighborhood and family are in the same situation, so they all communicate easily with each other. Secondly, her older son had also picked up Turkish from watching cartoons, but largely switched back to his native tongue after starting school, where instruction is in Azerbaijani. "Now he speaks in Azerbaijani almost without any mistakes," Rahimi said.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, all of the successor states moved to strengthen their indigenous languages, which had been overshadowed to varying degrees by the dominance of Russian during the Soviet era.

But Azerbaijan, having forged strong economic and cultural ties with Turkey in the years since gaining independence, faces a unique challenge. Its language is so similar to that of its powerful neighbor and ally that it risks if not the loss of Azerbaijani altogether, at least an erosion of the language's distinctive qualities.

Azerbaijani children are picking up the habit of Turkish early. "In second-grade, third-grade classes, some pupils, for example, don't know the names of colors in Azerbaijani," said Ruhiyya Movsumova, a teacher in Fatmayi. "I see them saying orange, pink, black, white in Turkish," she said. That is, turuncu, pembe, siyah, and beyaz, rather than narnc, chray, qara, and ag.

The rise of Turkish is seen not only among cartoon-watching-age children. Bookstores offer volumes translated into Turkish rather than Azerbaijani. And often translations into Azerbaijani are done from Turkish rather than from the original. Meanwhile, many Turkish restaurants do not bother translating their menus into Azerbaijani.

"Turkish has already started to take over the national and natural dialects of Azerbaijan," Agalar Mammadov, a leading public intellectual, wrote in a recent blog post for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "If the government of Azerbaijan doesn't intervene strongly, we will lose our language."

To a certain extent, the discussion about the Azerbaijani language vis-a-vis Turkish is picking up these days where it left off before the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917 and imposed a communist system on the Caucasus. Early 20th century Azerbaijani intellectuals argued over the merits of one or the other: the pan-Turkist magazine Fuyuzat, founded in Baku in 1906, used and advocated for the Istanbul variant of Turkish, while the pioneering satirical journal Molla Nasreddin mocked advocates of Turkish while trying to support Azerbaijani and codifying it into a proper literary language.

In the Soviet era, Azerbaijan's ties with Turkey were limited and the Azerbaijani language was more influenced by Russian: Azerbaijanis adopted the Cyrillic alphabet in 1939 and kept it until gaining independence in 1991.

Post-independence, the Azerbaijani government has cultivated close political and economic ties with Ankara, under the motto "One Nation, Two States." But it has been more ambivalent about Turkish cultural influence, including the Turkish language.

In 2007, when Azerbaijan's broadcasting regulator decided to forbid foreign-language films from being aired unless they were dubbed into Azerbaijani, it made an exception for Turkish on the grounds that it was so similar to Azerbaijani. But it eventually reversed that decision, and in 2012 required Turkish-language films to be dubbed, too. Yet, the government at the same time funds the Ataturk Center in Baku, which promotes Turkish culture and language.

Nizami Jafarov, the director of the center, as well as an MP and chair of the Department of Linguistics at Baku State University, said parents should not be worried about the influence of Turkish-language television on their children. "It is the same language, there is no dominance of Turkish onto Azerbaijani," he told EurasiaNet. He suggested that Turkish and Azerbaijani were part of a single spectrum. "Can we say that the Baku dialect is keeping down the Qazax dialect?" Jafarov asked, referring to a district in western Azerbaijan.

The opposition newspaper Yeni Musavat frequently uses Turkish words, for example favoring the Turkish ilac over the Azerbaijani drman (medicine) and the Turkish ilginc over the Azerbaijani maraqli (interesting).

This is a political choice, the newspaper's editor Rauf Arifoglu says. "There are over 200 million Turkic people spread over the world and they need a common Turkic language for communication," he told EurasiaNet. "There is no [Turkic] state as great and powerful as Turkey, and its strong television networks broadcast all over the world to Turkic communities. This is a useful, effective base for integrating Turkic people."

Ali Novruzov, a blogger and translator who has written a novel in Azerbaijani, contends that Turkish and Azerbaijani are distinct languages. "Turkish and Azerbaijani languages have gone through completely different paths of development at least for the last hundred years. Without sentimentality, we have to admit that there are two different languages - each with its own grammar and vocabulary," Novruzov said.

Turkish need not be either actively rejected or encouraged, Novruzov said. "A puritanical attitude towards Azerbaijani is not acceptable," he said. "Language shouldn't be used as a political instrument; it's a live creature, formed by speaking and writing. It's inappropriate to spoil and clean a language artificially, especially an established language like Azerbaijani."

Others note that Turkish is still far less prevalent in Azerbaijan than Russian. Movsumova, the teacher, said that she does not allow her own children to watch Turkish cartoons, not just for language reasons but because she believes Soviet cartoons are more educational and inculcate values like friendship and kindness to others.

Language differences can create amusing moments. Movsumova's children, for instance, understand the Russian meaning of the word "bardak" - an expressive term for a huge mess. "When they heard that 'bardak' means 'cup' in Turkish, they laughed a lot," she said.

Editor's note: Durna Safarova is a freelance journalist who covers Azerbaijan.

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Russia: The Specter of Revolution  Part 1

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Igor Torbakov Publication Date 1 March 2017 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as EurasiaNet, Russia: The Specter of Revolution  Part 1, 1 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c0135a4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The centennial of the Russian revolutionary events of 1917 is presenting the Kremlin with a difficult dilemma. Vladimir Putin's regime simply cannot ignore one of key points of Russian history, and yet it seems to be struggling to fit the story of 1917's political upheaval into its preferred historical narrative, which puts a premium on stability.

One saying goes that revolutions are started by politicians, but it is historians who end them. Myths often shroud revolutions, and it is left to historians to peel away the layers of fable to expose facts that can disturb long-held assumptions. This was the case with the French Revolution: Francois Furet, an outstanding 20th-century French historian, challenged revolutionary myths in a series of highly influential books, and famously liked to proclaim that "the French Revolution is over." It also holds true for the American Revolution. The understanding of the American rebellion against King George III has undergone a vast shift in the past 50 years, thanks to historians like Bernard Bailyn, who famously recast the revolution not only as a war for home rule, but also one over who should rule at home.

In present-day Russia, however, historians are not in the lead when it comes to interpreting the past. It is Russia's political and security elite that is in charge of elaborating a "correct" interpretation of history.

According to Russian media reports, Putin's Kremlin considers the question of how the 1917 centennial is observed to be a matter of national security. Late last year, media outlets reported that experts on the scientific committee at Russia's Security Council discussed the centennial, and determined that the government needed to take steps to control the narratives, driven by a belief that outside forces were intent on intentionally distorting the revolutionary era, as well as other important periods of Russian history. The committee reportedly concluded that historical memory becomes an object of "deliberate destructive actions on the part of foreign government agencies and international organizations which seek to pursue their geopolitical interests through conducting the anti-Russian policy."

Besides the Russian revolutions of 1917, the Security Council's experts identified several other significant historical themes as vulnerable to falsification and in need of protection. These are the nationalities policy of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union; the Soviet Union's role in the defeat of Nazi Germany; the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact; and the Soviet reaction to the political crises in the GDR, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and other former East bloc countries.

It is eminently telling that the Russian General Staff drafted the key presentation at the Security Council's session on the national security implications of the manipulation of history. Remarkably, speaking in late January at the first meeting of the Jubilee Committee for the preparation of the 100th anniversary of the Great Russian Revolution, Vitaly Tretyakov, a conservative political commentator, bluntly suggested that Russia's national interests would be better served if historians were sidelined in the process of appraising the sociopolitical outcomes of 1917. It would be "unwise and unfair," he contended, to give historians a free hand in shaping public attitudes towards the revolution. Tretyakov cited two reasons to support his argument: "First, for the most part today, as always, historians are ideologically biased.  And second, they are not political thinkers."

Whatever the shortcomings of professional historians, Russian authorities appear to be at a particular loss when it comes to marking the centennial of the Bolshevik Coup in November 1917 (October under the old style). Prior to that event's 90th anniversary, the Kremlin opted for a seemingly "simple" solution: in 2004, it swapped an old revolutionary holiday on November 7 for a newly invented nationalist one on November 4 - National Unity Day, which commemorated the expulsion of Polish occupation forces from Moscow in 1612.

Curiously, this decision coincided with the publication of a book, titled Sociosophy of Revolution, by Igor P. Smirnov, a Russian literary scholar based in Germany. In his study, Smirnov offered a highly unorthodox interpretation of False Dmitry's reign and the Time of Troubles, contending that it was Russia's first revolution. It is unlikely that the Smirnov study had any impact on the Kremlin's politics of memory, but the routing of the Poles, and the establishment of an autocracy in the form of the Romanov dynasty's 300-year rule obviously seemed like a good thing to celebrate.

However, the new holiday idea proved to be highly unpopular, and the Kremlin, unnerved by "color revolutions" in Georgia and Ukraine, shifted its approach in a clear attempt to bring subversive revolutionary ideology into public disfavor. On February 27, 2007, the government daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta published Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Reflections on the February Revolution. For Solzhenitsyn, a conservative-monarchist, February 1917 was nothing more than a ruinous prelude to the catastrophic October. So his essay (originally penned in the early 1980s) unambiguously cursed the entire revolutionary period and mourned the loss of stability, sovereignty and the statehood of "historic Russia."

Ten years on, political upheavals in the world, including Ukraine's Euromaidan uprising, seem to indicate that the specter of revolution cannot be ignored. At the same time, Russian leaders do not have a clear message to convey. A sign of this confusion is a recent article written by Sergei Mironov, a Putin ally in the State Duma.

Mironov's essay, titled February - a Harbinger of October and published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, seems to demonstrate the Kremlin's growing "poverty of philosophy." It is a disjointed assembly of contradictory theses. Mironov acknowledges the February Revolution's positive achievements, including the establishment of a republican form of government and the recognition of political rights. But he also bemoans the downfall of tsarism, claiming the February Revolution caused the erosion of traditional Russian values. "Power lost its sacredness" in 1917, he also laments. He goes on to add, referring to the chaos that accompanied the Soviet collapse, that "the same devastating effect of the spiritual and ideological crisis we observed in the 1990s."

The chief lesson Mironov draws in his analysis of 1917 is that Russia requires a strong hand at the helm of state. "Russia is not a country that can afford to have a weak power, led by such a weak-willed ruler like Nicholas II," he wrote. "It is a great boon for all of us that in the current difficult times the country is ruled by such a strong personality as President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin."

Mironov's conclusion fails to take into account an important fact: as 1917 (and 1991) showed, autocratic regimes may be outwardly strong, but can be inwardly brittle, and can therefore collapse with startling speed. Autocracy tends not to supply enough glue to keep the social fabric together during times of economic and political stress. "Rus' has faded away within two days. At most, within three," the Russian writer Vasily Rozanov incredulously noted in 1917.

The divergence between the image of the Russian Empire's greatness and its ingloriously swift demise should raise uncomfortable questions for those who support a new form of autocracy in Russia. The history of the 20th century shows that autocracies and authoritarianism can be more brittle and more susceptible to sudden breaks than other systems that allow for broader public participation.

Editor's note: Igor Torbakov is Senior Fellow at Uppsala University and at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Georgia: With TV Station Takeover, Is Free Speech at Stake?

Publisher EurasiaNet Author Giorgi Lomsadze Publication Date 3 March 2017 Cite as EurasiaNet, Georgia: With TV Station Takeover, Is Free Speech at Stake?, 3 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c0142b4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Journalists at Georgia's last major opposition broadcasting company are digging in and refusing to comply with a court order altering the outlet's ownership structure. Doing so, they say, would sound the death knell for independent media in the country.

Defiant supporters pitched tents outside the studios of the television channel Rustavi2, forming a human shield in front of the building in response to a March 2 Supreme Court decision to return ownership of the broadcaster to businessman Kibar Khalvashi. "We will continue our work and we are staying on the air," said Rustavi2's General Director Nika Gvaramia, who was flanked by the company's news crews as he spoke.

The governing party, the Georgian Dream, has long criticized Rustavi2 as a hyperpartisan outlet, supportive of Georgia's self-exiled ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. But Rustavi2 also has been a must-watch for its critical coverage of the Georgian Dream's performance. The station may now be headed toward a standoff with law enforcement officials, given that it has mobilized opposition political parties, civil society groups and prominent public figures to defy execution of the court verdict.

The Supreme Court on March 2 rejected the company's appeal of an earlier verdict to reinstate Khalvashi as majority owner. The company and its supporters allege that the Georgian Dream party and its founder, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, influenced the Supreme Court's decision in order to bring the recalcitrant channel to heel. Government officials deny meddling in the case, insisting that the ownership dispute is strictly commercial in nature.

However, Georgia's leading human rights watchdogs and freedom of information advocacy groups joined forces in criticizing the Supreme Court's judgment and earlier verdicts by lower courts, describing the decisions as legally dubious. "All three instances of judicial proceedings, as well as the final result, do not meet the requirement of independent court decision-making, and strengthen our doubts about the government's crude interference," several of Georgia's most prominent civil society groups, including Transparency International Georgia, said in a joint statement.

The United States Embassy in Tbilisi said that it "views with concern" the Supreme Court's decision that "could effectively limit the access to opposition voices to Georgian broadcast media." Similar concerns were voiced by international media freedom watchdogs - like Freedom House.

Rustav2's chief, Gvaramia, said that he and his staff are eager to buy the company back from Khalvashi - an offer the businessman was quick to decline. He said such a buyout could land the station back in the hands of self-exiled ex-president Mikhail (Misha) Saakashvili. "So long as there is a Misha menace, I am not selling the TV company," Khalvashi said.

The businessman claims that he was improperly strong-armed by then-president Saakashvili to relinquish his majority stake in Rustavi2 in 2006. Gvaramia served as a minister of justice and, later, headed the Education Ministry during Saakashvili's administration. Leaked phone conversations last year suggested that Gvaramia and Saakashvili maintain close contact, including engaging in strategy sessions to stave off what they describe as a government takeover of Rustavi2.

Many media analysts charge that the court decision could mark the final act in an assiduous campaign carried out by the Georgian Dream to neutralize mass media's watchdog function. Initially, during the early days of its rule, the Georgian Dream was credited with breaking the Saakashvili-era government's control of the national airwaves, which were at that time dominated by three news channels: Rustavi2, Imedi and Public TV. But observers say that the Georgian Dream later carried out its own takeover of television news broadcasts, via which the vast majority of Georgians obtain information about the doings of the government.

"We have seen the [Georgian Dream] government slowly but surely moving to usurp the media space, focusing primarily on television," said Nino Danelia, a media studies professor at Tbilisi-based Ilia Chavchavadze University.

Imedi TV dropped two major current-affairs talk shows in 2015 amid claims of government pressure. The network moved to absorb a small, mostly free-wheeling station, Maestro, and then merged with GDS, a station owned by billionaire Ivanishvili's son, Bera. Imedi TV now leans toward celebrity gossip and infotainment, and is largely government-friendly. In February, Public TV announced controversial plans to suspend political talk shows citing the need to upgrade both the equipment and content.

Rustavi2 has been seen as the last holdout operating beyond the influence of Georgian Dream officials. One opposition group, the Republican Party, went so as far as to warn in a March 3 statement that the court ruling on Rustavi2 marks a pivotal moment in Georgia's post-Soviet experience, in which a pluralistic system is giving way to the "formation of an authoritarian regime."

"The Georgian Dream already has full control of other democratic institutions, like the executive government, the parliament and, as we've seen, the judiciary, so full submission of the news media is its goal now," Danelia said.

The Georgian Dream and Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili refuted those allegations and called for the court's decision to be respected. The government will "spare no efforts to protect the freedom of the media in the country," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

The dispute over Rustavi2's ownership dates back to the Saakashvili era, when the company went through byzantine, reportedly government-orchestrated, ownership changes. Founded in 1994 in the town of Rustavi, about a 20-minute drive outside of Tbilisi, Rustavi2 gained popularity for broadcasting exposes on corruption and stagnation during the administration of the late president, Eduard Shevardnadze. Eventually becoming the nation's most watched news channel, Rustavi2 played an instrumental role in catalyzing the Rose Revolution, which brought Saakashvili to power.

Two of the company's original founders, entrepreneurs Davit Dvali and Jarji Akimidze, claimed they were robbed of the station by the Saakashvili government in 2004. Khalvashi was then seen as one of the government's many hand-picked favorites to take over Rustavi2, but he too was allegedly forced to sell his stake under duress after a falling-out with the government.

Khalvashi and the two original founders became unlikely allies in the current ownership dispute, with the businessman promising to give half of his shares to Dvali and Akimidze should the court reinstate him as the channel's majority owner. Following the Supreme Court's decision, though, Khalvashi appeared to back away from that promise.

With the court decision in place, many media observers and opposition leaders are painting a dark future for free speech in Georgia. Gvaramia said that what was ultimately at stake was "whether free speech will exist in Georgia, whether democracy will have a chance in Georgia, [and] whether Georgia will become a part of the Euro-Atlantic space."

Other observers remain guardedly optimistic that the government will be unable to control the flow of information. "No Georgian government has won a battle with the media," said Danelia, the media studies professor. "It may take a long time, but ultimately the government will lose."

Editor's note: Giorgi Lomsadze is a freelance journalist and a frequent contributor to EurasiaNet.org's Tamada Tales blog.

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Recent initiatives important milestones towards greater peace in Mali, say UN, regional partners

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Recent initiatives important milestones towards greater peace in Mali, say UN, regional partners, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c0395f8.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Commending recent progress, including the launch of interim authorities in Kidal, northern Mali, the United Nations together with regional blocs urged the parties to the peace agreement in the African nation to overcome the difficulties which are impeding the establishment of such authorities in the Taoudeni and Timbuktu regions.

The UN, the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the European Union (EU) - in their capacity as members of the Mediation Team supporting the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali resulting from the Algiers Process - also welcomed the successful conduct by the parties of the first mixed patrol in Gao on 23 February, within the framework of the Operational Coordination Mechanism, and called on them to extend the patrols in Kidal and Timbuktu without delay.

"[These] initiatives represent important milestones towards the successful implementation of the Agreement and towards greater peace and stability and the return of state services," read a joint declaration issued by the four organizations.

Noting the important steps still to be taken, the organizations further invited parties to the Agreement to continue to honour the commitments made, in particular at the high-level meeting of the Agreement Monitoring Committee held in the capital, Bamako, last month, as well as to implement all the provisions of the Agreement for the interim period so as to support in a consensual manner the ongoing State reform and the new political and security architecture.

SEE ALSO: UN News focus page on Mali

"In that regard, [we] call on the parties to establish without delay the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reinsertion, the Integration Commission, and the National Council for Security Sector Reform which are key to advancing the peace process," added the joint declaration.

Rwandan Peacekeepers from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) patrol the streets of Gao, in northern Mali. UN Photo/Marco Dormino

Also in the declaration, the organizations also welcomed the establishment of a consultative framework involving all parties as well as the international Mediation Team, as well as commended progress towards preparing for a national conference, the Conference d'entente nationale and called for broad and inclusive participation for its preparation and organization.

The organizations, however, noted concern at the recent increase in attacks and clashes, particularly in north and central regions of Mali, such as those in Boulkessi, in Timbuktu as well as terrorist attacks in border areas in Burkina Faso and Niger, and underlined the need to bring the perpetrators to justice.

They also called on the parties to the Agreement to work closely together to improve intercommunal relations, share information about security threats, and take concrete steps to prevent and counter violent extremism and terrorism and spill-over into the region.

"In this regard, [we] welcome the initiative of the G5 Sahel Member States to more effectively fight violent extremism in support of the Malian parties," said the parties.

They also reiterated their commitment to support, in coordination with the lead and the other members of the Mediation Team, the implementation of the Agreement as well as their determination "to counter those who take actions to obstruct or threaten the implementation of the Agreement."
Afghanistan: UN mission condemns terrorist attack on Kabul military hospital

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Afghanistan: UN mission condemns terrorist attack on Kabul military hospital, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c039e14.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has condemned today's terrorist attack on a military hospital in Kabul for which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) claimed responsibility.

This egregious and morally reprehensible attack targeted people at their most vulnerable, while they were receiving treatment in the hospital, and also targeted the medical staff caring for them, said Pernille Kardel, the acting head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in a new release.

This cowardly attack reflects a fundamental rejection of the most basic principles of humanity, Ms. Kardel, who also serves as the UN Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for that country. Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

According to UNAMA, Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital treats sick and wounded members of the armed forces and their family members, and is the largest military medical facility in Afghanistan.

The release said that attackers reportedly disguised as medical doctors detonated a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device at the entrance gate to the hospital, after which several attackers armed with AK-47s, grenades and suicide vests entered the facility. The armed attackers proceeded to target patients and medical workers before Afghan security forces ended the assault. The number of civilian casualties is reportedly high.

UNAMA stresses that attacks on hospitals are violations of international humanitarian law that may amount to war crimes, urging all warring parties to respect and protect all medical workers, clinics and hospitals.

UNAMA expresses its condolences to the families and colleagues of those killed in the attack and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.

Afghanistan has been in protracted conflict for more than three decades, which has seen an ever-growing number of civilians killed and poverty reduction and development efforts seriously hampered.

UNAMA is mandated to support the Afghan Government and the people of Afghanistan as a political mission. It also promotes coherent development support by the international community; assists the process of peace and reconciliation; monitors and promotes human rights and the protection of civilians in armed conflict; promotes good governance; and encourages regional cooperation.
Journalists repeatedly attacked in Macedonian political crisis

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Journalists repeatedly attacked in Macedonian political crisis, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c03a414.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the many attacks against Macedonian journalists at demonstrations in the capital Skopje and provincial cities in recent weeks and urges the authorities to shed light on the violence.

The unrest is being fuelled by a three-month-old political crisis that has created a hostile climate for media freedom in Macedonia.

Many journalists say they have been attacked during demonstrations by supporters of the nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE, which has ruled for the past decade. It won the largest bloc of parliamentary seats in large December's elections but not an absolute majority.

Ten days ago, VMRO-DPMNE called on its supporters to take to the streets to prevent the opposition social democratic party (SDSM) from forming a government in alliance with parties that represent Macedonia's Albanian minority. Such a coalition would threaten Macedonia's unity, the nationalist party said.

A1 TV journalists Aleksandar Todevski and Vladimir Zhelchevski were attacked by five demonstrators while covering a protest against the formation of an SDSM-led coalition on 28 February. Their equipment was smashed and both had to be hospitalized with concussion. Neither has so far been able to return to work.

Other journalists say they have often been the targets of intimidatory acts and insults that are being filmed and posted on social networks by the perpetrators - small groups egged on by VMRO-DPMNE.

Ana Patrusheva of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) said her personal details were posted on Twitter, while NovaTV journalist Borjan Jovanovski said he had been insulted and spat on.

The lack of an imminent solution to the political crisis and the virulence of the statements being made by some party leaders suggest that the attacks will continue and could become even more frequent.

Fearing a new threat to Balkan stability, several European Union leaders have urged Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov to act quickly to resolve the crisis.

"In this tense context, we call on all politicians to act with restraint and to avoid an escalation in violence," said Pauline Ades-Mevel, the head of RSF's EU-Balkan desk. "We also ask the authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists, so that they are able to work properly."

Macedonia is ranked 118th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
Sudan: TRACKs-affiliated rights defenders sentenced, fined and finally released after ten months of arbitrary detention

Publisher International Federation for Human Rights Publication Date 8 March 2017 Cite as International Federation for Human Rights, Sudan: TRACKs-affiliated rights defenders sentenced, fined and finally released after ten months of arbitrary detention, 8 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c03ad74.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

After twenty-four court sessions, the Khartoum Central Criminal Court sentenced human rights defenders Khalafalla Al-Afif Mukhtar, Midhat A. Hamdan and Mustafa Adam to one-year imprisonment and a fine. The three men were released on time served after paying their fines. The court decision exposes the shrinking space in which Sudanese civil society operates, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an FIDH-OMCT partnership) and the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) said today.

On March 5, 2017, Judge Osama Ahmed Abdullah of the Khartoum Central Criminal Court convicted TRACKs Director Khalafalla Al-Afif Mukhtar and TRACKs trainer Midhat A. Hamdan of dissemination of false information (Article 66 of the Criminal Code) and possession of immoral material (Article 14 of the Sudan Information Crimes Law of 2007) and Director of Zarqa Organisation for Rural Development (ZORD) Mustafa Adam of espionage (Article 53 of the Criminal Code). The three were sentenced to the same punishment: one-year imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 SDG (approx. 7,376 Euros) each. Detained since May 2016, the three men were released the following day from Al-Huda prison in Omdurman after their fines were fully paid.

"Although we welcome the long-awaited release of Khalafalla Al-Afif Mukhtar, Midhat A. Hamdan and Mustafa Adam, we strongly condemn their conviction and the punitive fines handed down and reiterate that they should never have been prosecuted in the first place", said Alice Mogwe, FIDH Secretary General. "Furthermore, the court order to legally confiscate the equipment seized by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) during its raid of TRACKs' premises because these allegedly constitute a danger to the State is very worrisome."

The three men originally faced charges together with seven other activists affiliated with TRACKs in two overlapping criminal cases. The 2016 trial targeted three other human rights defenders affiliated to TRACKs apart from Mr. Mukhtar, Mr. Hamdan, and Mr. Adam. The three others were not detained throughout the course of the trial, and the charges against them were eventually dropped in January 2017. The trial proceedings were marked by serious concerns not only regarding the baselessness of the leveled charges, but also the non-compliance with international and regional human rights standards on the right to a fair trial, including the right to a public hearing. The defendants were not given a written list of the charges they face, or copies of the evidence for the alleged crimes in order to prepare a defence for court sessions. A number of civil society activists, including journalists, were obstructed from attending the trial by court police and subjected to harassment and intimidation, including having their photos taken during court sessions.

"We are deeply concerned that the staff and affiliates of TRACKs were targeted for their peaceful engagement in civil society efforts to promote human rights", said Mossaad Mohamed Ali, Executive Director of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies. "The presentation of evidence of peaceful human activities in support of serious criminal charges highlights the dire situation faced by Sudanese civil society and human rights defenders today."

On August 25, 2016, the detention of Mr. Mukhtar, Mr. Hamdan, and Mr. Adam was found to be arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), due to the non-observance of international norms related to the right to a fair trial.

"Defending human rights is not a crime. This trial was marred by irregularities since the very beginning and this sentence exposes the failure of Sudanese judicial authorities to effectively protect human rights standards in the country. Moreover, the fact that the three were not released months ago, in line with the UNWGAD opinion, tells a lot about the real aim of their detention", concluded Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
New Delhi, Mar 8 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a conclave of women sarpanch and Swachh Bharat volunteers on the occasion of International Women's Day.

"Looking forward to addressing a conclave of women Sarpanchs & honouring trailblazers who have worked towards a Swachh Bharat. #MyCleanIndia," the Prime Minister's tweet read.

"GoIs various initiatives seek to facilitate economic empowerment, self-reliance & social equality as far as Nari Shakti is concerned," a subsequent tweet read.

The Prime Minister also took to social media to announce 100 districts as open defecation free.

"I am glad that the Swachh Bharat Mission is a mass movement, with over 100 districts now Open Defecation Free. #MyCleanIndia," his tweet read.

Image: twitter.com/narendramodi
Azerbaijan: Crackdown on Free Expression Accelerates With Conviction of Prominent Blogger

Publisher International Federation for Human Rights Publication Date 6 March 2017 Cite as International Federation for Human Rights, Azerbaijan: Crackdown on Free Expression Accelerates With Conviction of Prominent Blogger, 6 March 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58c03b3a4.html [accessed 7 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The undersigned organisations condemn in the strongest possible terms today's sentencing of Mehman Huseynov, Azerbaijani journalist and chairman of the country's leading freedom of expression group, Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety, to two years in jail on defamation charges. He was taken into custody from the court room, without being allowed to speak in his defence.

The 24 organisations are deeply concerned by the continued targeting of Mehman Huseynov and call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him and all other political prisoners, and to reverse the continuous clampdown on freedom of expression occurring in the country.

"Today's sentencing and jailing of Mehman Huseynov is outrageous - another example of Azerbaijan's best and brightest being targeted for expressing opinions critical of the ruling Aliyev regime. It also shows that nothing has changed since the release of a number of high-profile political prisoners last year. The revolving-door policy of politically motivated arrests is still very much in place. Huseynov is now one of at least 13 journalists, bloggers, and media workers jailed in Azerbaijan. They must all be immediately and unconditionally released, in accordance with Azerbaijan's international obligations", said Rebecca Vincent, UK Bureau Director for Reporters Without Borders.

Huseynov's conviction stems from criminal defamation charges in a private case brought by the chief of the police department, related to a report he published in which he wrote about his experience of torture, after he was detained overnight by police in January, Mehman Huseynov was detained in Baku on 9 January by plain clothed police officers and held incommunicado overnight. Huseynov has reported that while in police custody, police placed a sack over his head and used force against him. He was convicted of disobeying police orders; and although the Court released him on 10 January, he was fined, and continued to face police harassment. The court has imposed a formal travel ban on Huseynov who already has been deprived of his travel documents for the past five years.

Notably, Mehman Huseynov has been critical of the appointment of first lady Mehriban Aliyeva to the post of the Vice President on 21 February 2017.

Detentions of Political Opposition

Ahead of the Vice-Presidential appointment, since the amendment was passed in September, authorities have arrested several representatives of the political opposition on false, politically-motivated charges, including ten members of Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, one member of the Republican Alternative Movement (REAL) and one member of the D18 movement.

There are credible allegations of torture and other cruel and degrading treatment of the detainees. For example, Rahim Shaliyev, a REAL Movement member detained on 20 February and subsequently sentenced to 30 days administrative detention on charges of resisting police, reported to his lawyer that he was subject to beatings and humiliation, resulting in an injury to his skull.

Crackdown on media

Journalists have also been subject to arbitrary detention and harassment. On 17 February 2017 Elchin Ismayilli, founder and editor of Kend.info, an on-line news portal known for its reporting on corruption and human rights violations in the Ismayilli region of Azerbaijan, was detained by police. He is accused of threatening a local government employee and has been charged with extortion and abuse of a position of influence. Ismayilli denies all the charges. On 18 February, the Nasimi District Court sentenced Ismayilli to pre-trial detention for an initial period of 24 days. Ismayilli is currently being held in the Kurdakhani pretrial detention centre.

On 22 February, cable TV channels stopped all the authorities officially suspended all broadcasts by the Turkish affiliate of FOX TV, after the channel aired a satirical discussion on the appointment of the new Vice President. A spokesperson for the National Television and Radio Council (NTRC) of Azerbaijan stated that this decision was made at the sole discretion of cable providers; however, anonymous sources within the cable providers have reported that they faced pressure from the NTRC to drop the channel.

At the same time, the authorities have continued their harassment of opposition newspaper Azadliq, which was forced to cease abandon print publication in September 2016, following ongoing financial pressures from state-owned or affiliated companies. In the second half of February 2017, over ten staff members were summoned and interrogated by the Serious Crimes Investigation Department. The publication's Financial Director, Faiq Amirov, and prominent journalist, Symur Hezi, have been incarcerated on trumped up charges since August 2016 and August 2014, respectively.

Activists expressing critical views on the internet and social media, the last bastion of freedom of expression, have also been subject to police pressure, aimed at forcing them to delete dissenting posts. For example, on 21 February Nisakhanim Valiyeva, the Chair of the Classical Popular Front Party was held in police custody for four hours, the same day that Merhiban Aliyeva was appointed Vice President, and released only after deleting her critical Facebook posts about the appointment.

This has been accompanied by calls for increased regulation of the internet and online content. The chair of the Press Council Aflatun Amashov, whose official mandate is to safeguard independent media and rights of journalists, has submitted a proposal to the Milli Majlis (Parliament), calling for mandatory registration of bloggers and activists, aimed at ensuring greater control over those expressing themselves online.

Harassment of critics in exile

The government of Azerbaijan is also pursuing government critics living in exile abroad. Shortly after giving a speech at the European Parliament on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan on 6 February, Emin Milli, head of Meydan TV, a critical TV channel operating in exile from Berlin, reported to German Police receiving threats of physical violence from the Azerbaijani authorities.

Where the authorities are unable to reach their critics, they have sought to harass family remembers remaining in Azerbaijan. Most recently, on the 22nd of February, the brother Dadashov Khanlar and nephew Sabuhi Zanalov of Netherlands-based blogger Ordukhan Teymurkhan, known for his criticism of the Aliyevs, were sentenced to 30 days detention on entirely bogus charges of disobeying police orders.

We, the undersigned organisations, call on the government of Azerbaijan to cease its harassment and detention of government critics. Allegations of torture must be investigated, and all political prisoners must be immediately and unconditionally released.

The relentless campaign waged by the authorities against media workers, bloggers, political activists, civil society and others that are deemed to threaten the power of the ruling regime must stop immediately.

We also call on the international community to exert political pressure and take all the necessary measures until Azerbaijan fully honours its human rights commitments.

ARTICLE 19

CEE Bankwatch Network

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Crude Accauntability

Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

FIDH - Indernational Federation for Human Rights

Freedom House

Freedom Now

Front Line Defenders

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights

Human Rights First

Human Rights House Foundation

IFEX

Index on Censorship

International Media Support

International Partnership for Human Rights

Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety

Netherlands Helsinki Committee

Norwegian Helsinki Committee

PEN International

People in Need

Polish Green Network

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Lucknow/Manipur, Mar 8 (IBNS) : Voting is underway in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur as respectively 13 and 45 per cent of the electorate have exercised their franchise in the two states till 11 am in a conflicting show of polling pattern.

In the seventh and last lap of election, Uttar Pradesh goes to polls for 40 Assembly seats while 22 seats are at stake in Manipur in the second and last phase.

Prominent candidates who are in fray in Uttar Pradesh, the state that has become the field for a fierce battle between the BJP and its rival forces, include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari brother of Mukhtar Ansari and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

A total of 1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are expected to vote to decide fate of 585 candidates.

Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

In Manipur, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, who is contesting from Thoubal seat, cast his vote at a polling booth.

Altogether 98 candidates, including rights activist Irom Sharmila, are in the fray in this phase.

The first phase polling to the 60-member Manipur Assembly was held on March 4 last.
Lucknow, Mar 8 (IBNS) : A ISIS flag, a local time table and a huge cache of arms and ammunition were among other things found along with the body of the terror suspect, who was found dead early on Wednesday after a 12-hour operation by security forces on the outskirts of Lucknow, NDTV reported.

According to reports, besides the flag, eight pistols, 650 rounds of ammunition, 50 fired rounds, explosives, gold, cash, passports, SIM cards and a train time table were found.

The terror suspect, identified as Saifulla, is believed to be a part of group hatching plans for major terror attacks in Uttar Pradesh .

Anti terror squad personnel found his body from a house after blowing away a wall of the building in Thakurganj around 3 am.

The police said he was an active member of the terror group ISIS and was believed to be involved in a train blast in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

Reports said the terrorist used "chilli bombs" against the cops engaged in the operation in which some 20-odd commandos were active.

Senior police official Daljit Chaudhary earlier told media: "Had received inputs about presence of some suspects in Kanpur and Lucknow."

He said one person was arrested from Kanpur.

The incident occurred at a time when Uttar Pradesh is gearing up to vote in the last phase of polling on Wednesday.

The result is scheduled to be announced on Mar 11.
Prime Minister Hun Sens Cambodia Peoples Party (CPP) has threatened the opposition with legal action for suggesting ruling party commune chiefs have neglected the interests of their constituents ahead of local elections in June.



In a statement issued late on Monday and signed by a CPP Spokesperson, the ruling party accused the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) of sowing incitement and troublemaking with its campaign slogan, adopted during an extraordinary congress session held last week.



The ruling party said it would file a lawsuit against the CNRP if it does not modify the slogan, which reads, Replace the commune chiefs who serve the party with commune chiefs who serve the people."



The CPP considers the contents of said slogan as characterized by incitement and troublemaking, and that it seriously insults countrywide commune  officials who have worked hard to serve the people while complying with their duties without any political discrimination, the statement said.



The CPP demands CNRP leaders to promptly have their slogan modified so as to maintain a sound environment and security for the country. In the event that there is no modification, the CPP reserves its right to bring the matter to the court in accordance with the law in force.



The CPP statement followed a recent Facebook post by Chiem Khoy, the chief of Takhmao commune in southern Cambodias Kandal province, condemning the CNRP slogan, which he called an accusation without merit. He has made several requests to the CNRP to remove or modify it.



In response to the CPP statement, CNRP vice president Eng Chhay Eang said Tuesday that the slogan bears no ill-intention and encourages commune chief candidates to heed the concerns of local residents, not simply to serve their party.



This slogan did not originate with the CNRPthe people came up with it and it has now been widely discussed on Facebook, so the CPP should understand this, he said.



No laws prohibit the use of such a slogan and it is neither based on insults nor expletives.



Sam Kuntheamy, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC), said that according to the countrys electoral laws, parties are entitled to use any political message with the exception of those that compromise national security or stability.



[The slogan] doesnt damage the [honor] of commune chiefs as a whole, although it might to a certain degree because, in fact, many of the commune chiefs act this way, he said.



I dont think the message seriously compromises national security or stability either.



CNRP officials have warned that the CPP seeks to prevent the opposition from standing in the countrys upcoming elections through a variety of different measures, including the passage of a political party law approved by the National Assembly on Feb. 20, despite an opposition boycott of parliament in protest.



The new law bars anyone convicted of a crime from holding the top offices in a political party and forced former CNRP president Sam Rainsyin exile since late 2015 after his conviction on defamation charges supporters say were politically motivatedto resign last month to preserve the party.



Call for release



Also on Tuesday, Wan-Hea Lee, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) representative in Cambodia, urged Hun Sens government to release four officials with the human-rights group ADHOC and a National Election Commission (NEC) official who were charged in the governments wide-ranging probe into an alleged affair by CNRP leader Kem Sokha.



Speaking to reporters after attending an event marking International Womens Rights Day, Lee dismissed the pre-trial detention of the fivenow in its 313th dayas arbitrary, and said the OHCHR would continue to advocate for their release.



Various U.N. human rights mechanisms  pronounced that their detention is arbitrarythat there are no grounds and no evidence of wrongdoingand therefore we will continue to raise their matters, she said.



The findings by the U.N. human rights mechanism have been communicated to the government. I always welcome a dialogue on the various human rights issues including the  five and wherever there is opportunity, I will pursue that dialogue with the views to finding solutions.



ADHOC officials Lim Mony, Nay Vanda, Ny Sokha, and Yi Soksan were charged with bribery, while NEC deputy secretary-general Ny Chakrya was charged with accessory to bribery for attempting to keep Kem Sokhas alleged mistress quiet.



While the court case against them continues, Kem Sokha and a local CNRP official were granted royal pardons in the case.



Cambodias Supreme Court is expected to rule on an appeal against the continued detention of the four ADHOC officials by March 13.



Reported by Thai Tha and Savi Khorn for RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.



Correction: An earlier version of the story incorrectly identified the CNRP campaign slogan as specifically referring to the chief of Takhmao commune.
Lucknow/ Imphal, Mar 8 (IBNS) : Voting was well past midway in the last phase of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur on Wednesday as respectively 41 and a record 78 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in the two states till 2 pm, reports said.

In the seventh and last lap of election, Uttar Pradesh goes to polls for 40 Assembly seats including those falling under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi Parliamentary constituency, while 22 seats are at stake in Manipur in the second and last phase.

Prominent candidates who are in fray in Uttar Pradesh, the state that has become the field for a fierce battle between the BJP and its rival forces, include former Cabinet minister Om Prakash, Parasnath Yadav, Ajay Rai, former MP Dhananjay Singh, Sigbatullah Ansari brother of Mukhtar Ansari and Seema Singh wife of jailed mafia Munna Bajrangi.

A total of 1.41 crore voters, including 64.76 lakh women, are expected to vote to decide fate of 585 candidates.

Counting of votes polled in all the seven phases of the Assembly polls will be taken up on March 11.

In Manipur, large number of people thronged the booths making it a brisk polling all through the day.

Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh, who is contesting from Thoubal seat, cast his vote at a polling booth.

Altogether 98 candidates, including rights activist Irom Sharmila, are in the fray in this phase.

The first phase polling to the 60-member Manipur Assembly was held on March 4 last.
One year after China brought in new legislation aimed at curbing domestic violence, women's rights groups say it has yet to be fully implemented.



In an open letter on International Women's Day, the Beijing Yuanzhong Gender Development Center, the Beijing Weiping Women's Rights Group, the Beijing Tongyu and New Media Women's groups said the authorities have a long way to go to ensure the law is doing its job to protect women from domestic violence.



The groups said that in Shanghai, a city with a population of more than 10 million, police had recorded 5,700 cases of reported domestic violence.



But they had subsequently categorized just 2,200 as actual cases of domestic violence, and the groups said that just 41 restraining orders were issued through mid-November last year.



Meanwhile, courts in the northwestern province of Shaanxi issued a total of 54 restraining orders, while 53 were issued in the eastern province of Anhui, 60 in the central city of Changsha and nine in the central city of Wuhan, official media reported.



The All-China Women's Federation, which is backed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, estimates that some 25 percent of Chinese women have suffered domestic violence to some extent in their marriages, though the organization receives just 40,000 complaints a year.



Women's rights activist Ye Haiyan, known by her online nickname "Hooligan Sparrow," said there is widespread public support for the law, however.



"Support is extremely strong, so it's a shame that there still doesn't seem to be enough recognition of this issue in the ranks of government," Ye told RFA on Wednesday.



"I have heard of a lot of cases of domestic violence that get reported to the police, who then don't take the steps they are supposed to take to deal with it," she said.



"For example, appropriate processes aren't in place for them to offer the victim a place in a refuge, or to issue a restraining order, or it takes a very long time," Ye said.



Ye said the law doesn't seem to be doing its job.



"I think it's just empty words on a piece of paper right now," she said. "The government needs to do more; it made a bit of noise when it passed the law last year, but it hasn't really done much more than that."



She said the government needs to set up an integrated process for police and courts to follow in domestic violence cases.



"Without that, the police can't implement the law because they don't know what the next step should be," Ye said.



The head of China's LGBT Rights group, Yan Zi, told RFA that while she welcomed the domestic violence law, there had been little concrete impact on the ground, and that it is still unclear if LGBT people are covered by the law at all.



"In cases of domestic violence between partners who are sexual minorities, the domestic violence law depends on gender," she said. "I think women's groups were hoping that they would be a bit more specific about that."



Voices 'muffled'



New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the administration of President Xi Jinping has continued to "muffle" women's voices since the detention two years ago of five feminists who were planning an anti-sexual harassment campaign.



Citing the closure of the social media accounts linked to the Women's Voices group, HRW China researcher Maya Wang said the authorities are still preventing women from speaking out about issues that affect them.



"It is certainly a more subtleand less drastictactic than taking these women into custody, but the intention is unmistakably similar: to silence independent womens voices and replace them with tame ones trumpeting the governments achievements," Wang wrote in an article on HRW's website.



Concerns are mounting over the fate of rights activist Su Changlan, who has been held in pre-trial detention for more than two years on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power."



Her husband Chen Dequan said the local authorities are retaliating against Su after she supported local residents in a complaint over a government land grab in her home town.



"Only the lawyer is allowed to meet with her; they won't let [the family] visit her," Chen said. "They have been dragging this case out all this time."



"We keep applying to visit her, and they say they'll ask their bosses [but then we hear nothing back]," he said.



HRW's Wang said while the Chinese authorities deserve credit for introducing the domestic violence law, as well as improvements in maternal mortality rates and girls literacy rates, many repressive practices remain.



"The government continues to restrict womens reproductive freedoms including dictating how many children they can have and when," Wang said.



"Authorities fail to legislate a precise definition of discrimination that would allow women to file a lawsuit, and they label single women older than 27 as 'leftovers' and wage publicity campaigns to get them to marry," she wrote.



The Chinese government has a long way to go before it can live up to its boast of being a nation that "implements equal rights as a basic state policy," Wang said.



Widespread discrimination



Rights lawyer Wang Shengsheng said that Chinese women, even very highly qualified ones like herself, still face widespread discrimination in the country's labor market.



"When clients are looking for a lawyer, they want a man, because they think they'll do a better job," she said. "They think that they will work harder on the case, and because they are looking to get a problem sorted, they will look for a man."



"They think that men are better at organizing their time, and will put in more effort," she said. "They always think men will have the edge."



Wang said that the most powerful jobs in the legal profession are usually held by men, while the women hold lower-status positions in law firms.



Reported by Ding Wenqi for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
People in Seoul, South Korea, watch a TV news report showing a video of a man claiming to be Kim Han Sol, the son of the assassinated half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, March 8, 2017.

The United States on Wednesday joined Malaysia and South Korea in blaming North Korea for assassinating the half-brother of Pyongyang leader Kim Jong Un at a Kuala Lumpur area airport last month.

Outgoing U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel openly condemned Pyongyang for the assassination of Kim Jong Nam. His condemnation came a day after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak became the first official from his government to publicly accuse North Korea of being behind the fatal poisoning with a banned nerve agent.

"The hijacking of the territory of a country by a foreign power for the purpose of murder  for the purpose of political assassination is reprehensible, Russel said Wednesday during a farewell conference call from Washington with reporters in Asia, referring to Kims murder.

Until the phone interview, no American official had made such an on-the-record accusation. Russel also praised Malaysian authorities for their professionalism in conducting an impressive investigation into the case where diplomatic tensions between Malaysia and North Korea have risen sharply in recent days.

We have not taken any negative action against North Korea. What we are facing now is the result of their action in assassinating their own citizen in Malaysia, on Malaysian soil, using a strictly banned chemical weapon, the Malaysian state-run news service Bernama quoted Najib as telling reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Malaysian police have charged two Southeast Asian women with Kims murder and have identified at least seven North Korean citizens as suspects in his killing, including a second secretary stationed at Pyongyangs embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Najib was speaking before he flew back to Kuala Lumpur to convene an emergency meeting of Malaysias National Security Council over an escalating diplomatic crisis with North Korea.

Amid diplomatic fallout from the case, both countries have expelled their respective ambassadors and, earlier on Tuesday, Pyongyang barred Malaysian citizens from leaving North Korea. Malaysia reciprocated by imposing a similar exit ban on North Korean citizens in Malaysian territory.

On Wednesday, 11 Malaysian citizens were said to be stuck in North Korea, while officials in the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak announced immigration officials the day before had detained 140 North Korean migrants because of expired work permits. The migrants work in the local coal mining and construction industries.

The 11 Malaysians in North Korea were safe and able to continue with their daily routines, Najib said in a blog post on his website Wednesday. He pledged that his government would do all it could to bring them home safely.

Victims family in hiding?

The diplomatic feud between the two Asian countries, which have maintained diplomatic ties for 44 years, stemmed from Malaysias refusal to release Kim Jong Nams body unless his next-of-kin came forward to claim the remains and provide investigators with DNA needed for a positive identification.

Najib pointed out Wednesday that no one has come forward, perhaps out of fear, according to Bernama.

But on the same day, a video of a young man claiming to be Kim Han Sol, the dead mans son, emerged when a South Korean group posted it online. Kim Jong Nam, the older half-sibling of Kim Jong Un, had been living with family in exile in Macau.

My name is Kim Han Sol from North Korea, part of the Kim family.  My father has been killed a few days ago. I am currently with my mother and my sister, and we are very grateful.  We hope this gets better soon, the young man said in the undated video clip, which was redacted in parts and during which he held up his passport.

Cheollima Civil Defense, the group responsible for the video, claimed to look after North Korean citizens who seek protection. On its website, the group said it received an emergency request by survivors of the family of Kim Jong Nam for extraction and protection.

The three family members were met quickly and relocated to safety, the group said.

It also expressed its gratitude to the governments of the Netherlands, China, the United States and an unidentified fourth country for helping provide Kims family with emergency humanitarian assistance.

An official with South Koreas National Intelligence Service  which, in the immediate aftermath of Kims murder, alleged North Korean agents had poisoned him fatally  confirmed to Reuters news agency the young man in the video was Kim Han Sol.

On Wednesday, BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, contacted the Dutch, Chinese and U.S. embassies in Kuala Lumpur but their spokesmen declined to comment about the video.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
North Korean Embassy official Kim Yu Song looks on from behind police tape blocking the entrance to the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, March 7, 2017.

North Korea announced Tuesday it was barring Malaysians from exiting its territory and Malaysia reciprocated with a similar ban on North Korean visitors, as the two nations sharply escalated a feud following the murder of Kim Jong Uns half-brother.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who convened an emergency session of the National Security Council after flying home from a Jakarta summit of Indian Ocean states, condemned North Koreas move and likened it to holding his countrymen as prisoners.

This abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage, is in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms, Najib said in a statement Tuesday.

As a peace-loving nation, Malaysia is committed to maintaining friendly relations with all countries. However, protecting our citizens is my first priority, and we will not hesitate to take all measures necessary when they are threatened, he said.

The prime minister said he had instructed Malaysias police chief to block all North Korean citizens in Malaysia from leaving the country until we are assured of the safety and security of all Malaysians in North Korea.

The prime minister also called on North Korea to allow Malaysian citizens to leave that country and avoid any further escalation.

The Malaysian police followed suit by mounting a barricade in the street in front of North Koreas embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and sealing the gate to the diplomatic mission with yellow Do Not Cross tape.

Heightened tensions

Tuesdays dramatic turn of events followed Malaysias expulsion of the North Korean ambassador.

The two countries had enjoyed long-standing diplomatic relations until the row erupted last month. Malaysia was among a handful of countries that maintained ties with Pyongyang, which has been under international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program. On Monday, Malaysia joined a chorus of international condemnation over North Koreas launch of four ballistic missiles.

That same evening, North Korean Ambassador Kang Chol left Malaysia after Malaysian officials had declared him persona non grata for publicly criticizing a local probe into the Feb. 13 assassination of Kim Jong Nam at a Kuala Lumpur area airport, and because North Korea had not apologized for the envoys outbursts.

Soon after, Pyongyang fired back by declaring Malaysias ambassador to North Korea officially unwelcome. On Tuesday, the regime under dictator Kim Jong Un announced it was preventing Malaysian citizens from leaving North Korea.

Pyongyangs foreign ministry notified the Malaysian embassy that the exit ban would stay in effect until the safety of the diplomats and citizens of the DPRK in Malaysia is fully guaranteed through the fair settlement of the case that occurred in Malaysia, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.

An official at Malaysias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 11 Malaysian citizens are in North Korea, including three staffers at the embassy, two who work there for the U.N. World Food Program, and their families.

All 11 of them are currently safe. This is all I can say at the moment, Reezal Merican Naina Merican, Malaysias deputy foreign minister, said Tuesday on national television.

We have no tourists, no students there. At the moment, the foreign ministry is in touch with them.

Not hurrying the probe

Before he was kicked out, the North Korean envoy had appeared twice before the medias cameras to criticize the integrity and neutrality of the Malaysian investigation into the fatal poisoning of Kim Jong Nam with a banned nerve agent, as local police have ruled.

Ambassador Kang was also angry because Malaysia had refused a North Korean request to turn over Kims body without a post-mortem and not without his next-of-kin coming forward to claim the body and provide a DNA sample.

So far, no one has come forward. Last week, a high-level delegation from North Korea arrived in Malaysia to hold discussions with local officials over taking custody of his remains.

Malaysian officials have not commented about such negotiations. They are waiting for Kims next-of-kin to come forward and give DNA needed for a positive identification of the body, Police Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar said Tuesday.

We are confident of getting a DNA sample, Khalid told a news conference Tuesday in George Town, Penang state, where he was taking part in a regional meeting on international narcotics enforcement.

It would be soon. For security reasons, we cannot tell you, he said, adding, We will have to give them [the family] some time. We are not hurrying the probe. But we will only settle for the DNA sample.

Malaysian authorities, meanwhile, have two women in custody, an Indonesian and Vietnamese who have been charged with murder as Kims suspected assassins.

Police also identified seven North Koreans as being wanted for questioning in the case, including the second secretary at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur and an employee at Air Koryo, North Koreas state-run airline.

These two men and a third North Korean suspect are thought to be hiding out inside the embassy, and officers were standing watch outside the embassy for them to come out, the police chief said.

We will wait, even if it takes five years, Khalid said.

Meanwhile, four of the seven North Koreans left Malaysia on the day of Kims murder and an eighth North Korean, a trained chemist who was arrested as a suspect in the case, was deported last week after police released him because of a lack of evidence.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Displaced persons from the Kokang conflict take shelter in a monastery in Lashio in Myanmar's northern Shan state, March 7, 2017.

Fighting between Kokang rebels and Myanmar troops in Laukkai in northern Shan state has forced a wave of more than 20,000 refugees across the border into China, and another roughly 1,600 residents to seek refuge in the town of Lashio, Myanmar monks and villagers said Wednesday.

We have settled them in a temporary camp near the Chinese border about a mile from [border] milestone 125, a Myanmar Buddhist monk named Kathera who resides in China told RFAs Myanmar Service on Wednesday. They are being well looked after.

Others sought shelter in the homes of friends and relatives, he said.

Administrative officials and nongovernmental organizations are providing assistance to those who fled to Lashio, the largest town in Shan state, said Ponnyananda, the Buddhist abbot of Aungmingalar Mansu Monastery.

We had more than 1,600 people here during the first two days [after the attack], he said. We gave them meals and later arranged cars for them to return home. About eight or nine cars took some of them back yesterday, and another eight or nine will leave today.

Some shots were still heard on Tuesday evening, and about 20 shells have landed on Chinese territory, said a Myanmar villager who did not give his name.

Shrapnel from the fighting injured a migrant worker on Wednesday, he said.

Fighting broke out early Monday when 30 soldiers from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the formal name of the Kokang army, attacked police and military posts and civilian buildings, leaving about 30 peoplepolice, civilians, and insurgentsdead.

Ongoing hostilities between Kokang fighters and government forces on Tuesday left six more civilians dead and forced thousands of residents and migrant workers to leave Laukkai, locals said.

Shells and bullets are flying

Residents of the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan, meanwhile, have shut themselves inside their homes amid the intense fighting just across the border, sources told RFA on Wednesday.

Local Chinese residents said there is now a strong military presence at the border checkpoint in Nansan, which now appears to have been closed.

An ethnic Chinese resident of Kokang surnamed Feng told RFA that he had crossed the border into the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan to escape the recent fighting.

He said he is now in the border township of Nansan along with many other refugees.

"We are all hiding here in our rooms," Feng said. "We dare not go out to shoot any video, because the shells and bullets are flying around."

"We are just hiding out here in the room; this is a war," he said. "We have been lucky just to get back to China safely."

A volunteer surnamed Yuan who was helping the refugees said his group has been scrambling to provide food and shelter for civilians who poured across the border when the fighting started.

"The clashes are continuing in Kokang, with shelling which we can hear from this side of the border," he said. "Some shells fired by the Myanmar government troops are falling on this side of the border, and some of the buildings have been damaged."

"You can see houses that have sustained shell damage here and there, but nobody has been killed or injured," Yuan said. "The firing is coming from the government troops positions and the Kokang government positions, not from the Chinese side."

Yuan said schools in Nansan were closed on Wednesday because of the fighting, but would likely resume class on Thursday.

Police patrols have also been stepped up around the township, most of which is out of the line of fire, he said.

"Everyone here wants peace, the security of their country," he said. "Nobody wants war."

"We have been hearing reports of deaths filtering through in the past couple of days, but the figures are those issued by the Myanmar government troops, so it's very hard for the real figures to reach the outside world," Yuan said.

"Nobody really knows how many casualties the Kokang side has sustained, but there haven't been any on the Chinese side of the border," he said.

China is housing refugees from Laukkai in Myanmar's northern Shan state in camps in Yunnan province in the southwestern part of the country, March 6, 2017. Photo courtesy of a volunteer surnamed Yuan Chinese troops on the streets

An official who answered the phone at the Chinese embassy in Myanmar declined to comment on the situation.

"I don't know what's going on with them; that's not the job of our department," the official said. "I'm not the embassy spokesperson."

A resident of Nansan surnamed Liu confirmed the closure of local schools on Wednesday.

"We are a few hundred meters from the national border, and there is a strong security presence there; they're not letting anyone through," Liu said.

"There are Chinese troops on the streets, but not very many. I think they were heading to the border crossing to protect it," she said.

"The schools have closed today because the teachers thought the kids wouldn't be able to focus on their studies," Liu said. "The parents are all keeping a close eye on their kids, not letting them go outside and run around."

"There are a lot of stray bullets flying around near the border, but nobody is allowed to report it," she said.

China has called for an immediate cease-fire and restoration of order along the border area.

A second refugee surnamed Liu said the majority of refugees are ethnic Chinese who are being well-treated by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, even though they live and work in Myanmar.

"The government is particularly concerned about the refugees because they are all ethnic Chinese, and they are providing emergency aid," Liu said.

"Some came across before the fighting started, because they knew there was going to be fighting beforehand," he said. "Some Chinese came through yesterday; they do business on the other side."

"There were a lot of them," he said.

He said reports had emerged of heavy losses after government troops failed to hold Laukkai, capital of the Kokang region.

The MNDAA are said to have initiated the assault on government troops and police in retaliation for Myanmar army troops attacking Kokang territory.

Brigadier General Nyo Tun Aung, a spokesman of the Northern Alliancea coalition of four ethnic armed groups including the MNDAAtold RFA on Tuesday that the ethnic militias will not lay down their arms, but are open to political discussions to resolve the conflict.

Shan State Army clash

In a related development, insurgents from the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) clashed with government army troops on Tuesday night near the town of Hsipaw in northern Shan state, said lieutenant Colonel Sai Meng, the militias spokesman.

Government troops from Light Infantry Regiments Nos. 502 and 243 launched an attack on our RCSS camp near the Homu village tract in Hsipaw township, he told RFA.

They have been saying that the Tatmadaw [government army] is under the government according to the present constitution, but what we are seeing is the Tatmadaw doing whatever they want, he said.

The RSCC/SSA seized some weapons from the government troops, but casualty numbers are not known, Sai Meng said.

Though the fighting in the township has subsided, and the situation calmed down this morning, the two sides are poised for more clashes near RCSS camps in the Htanseng and Pahkar areas north of Hsipaw, he said.

Calls to officials in Myanmars Ministry of Defense went unanswered.

The latest hostilities in volatile northern Shan state come as the Myanmar government under de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi prepares for another round of peace talks scheduled for this month in a bid to end decades of civil wars that have plagued the country and prevented it from further development.

She has urged the ethnic armed groups to stop the fighting that has caused deaths and problems for citizens, and to move forward with peace talks.

Reported by Kan Thar and Wai Mar Tun for RFAs Myanmar Service, Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service, and Qiao Long for the Mandarin Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane and Luisetta Mudie. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin and Luisetta Mudie.
A prominent Myanmar journalist is facing a defamation case, police said Wednesday, after he took to Facebook last week to criticize a nationalist Buddhist monk who praised the January assassination of one of the nations leading Muslim attorneys.



Kyaw Myo Shwe, a follower of Ma Ba Tha Buddhist nationalist movement vice chairman Wirathu, lodged the complaint against Swe Win, chief editor of Myanmar Now, under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, according to Kyaw Thu, commander of the No. 7 Police Station in Mandalay.



Kyaw Myo Shwe said Swe Win, who is the owner of the Facebook account Ba Kaung, had defamed U Wirathu with his writings, Kyaw Thu told reporters, using a local honorific to refer to the nationalist monk.



Wirathu asked for an apology within seven days, but Swe Win didnt comply by the deadline, so they opened a case against him.



The maximum sentence for online defamation under Section 66(d) of Myanmars Telecommunications Law is three years in prison.



On Feb. 28, Swe Win used his Facebook account to slam Wirathu for praising the brutal murder of Ko Ni, a prominent Muslim lawyer and critic of Myanmars powerful military. In a post, the reporter said Wirathu had committed a major violation of parajika [the Buddhist monk code] by doing so.



Ko Ni was shot dead as he held his grandson on Jan. 29 outside Yangon airport in a murder that shocked the country. A taxi driver, Ne Win, was also killed trying to stop the gunman, who authorities said was hired by a former military officer who is on the run.



Wirathu had hailed the men accused of planning Ko Nis assassination as defenders of Myanmars race and religion.



Encouraging murder



On Wednesday, Swe Win defended his Facebook post and said he would see Kyaw Myo Shwe and Wirathu in court because he could not allow Ma Ba Tha to instigate hatred in Myanmar under the cover of religion.



They are committing hate crimes  they are distributing material which is not in line with Lord Buddhas teachings, he told reporters outside the Kyauktada township offices of Myanmar Now.



So whether we are Buddhists or not, we have to oppose and attack this organization.



In an interview with RFAs Myanmar Service, Swe Win said his post simply reflected comments given to Myanmar Now by Mandalay-based monk Sein Dago Wu when interviewed about whether Wirathus actions had violated parajika.



Wirathu had written that he thanked [Ko Nis] killer Kyi Lin for his act, and that amounted to supporting and encouraging murderwhich is contrary to the rules a monk has to follow, Swe Win said.



We included these remarks by a monk who is well-versed in Buddhist studies, so people would understand a monk cannot say such things.



Swe Win said Wirathu and Ma Ba Tha lawyers did not respond to requests for interviews.



He also questioned why the court had allowed the defamation case to be opened.



Frankly speaking, [Wirathu] is inhumane, a criminal  he should be disrobed and punished by society as he has committed far worse than breaking parajika, Swe Win said.



What right has he got to sue for defamation? He has nothing to be defamed, he said.



Lauded journalist



Swe Win has made a name for himself since being appointed chief correspondent at Myanmar Now in April 2016 and recently received an award from the government for his work reporting on the ruthless abuse of two maids working at a tailor shop in Yangon last year.



On Wednesday, he asked reporters why authorities have done so little to check hate speech from groups like Ma Ba Tha, adding that when the government does not address a crime, it is as if it is supporting the criminal.



Myanmar has transitioned from a country ruled by a military junta to one run by a civilian government under Aung San Suu Kyi, but rights groups say authorities have scaled up an attack on critical voices from the opposition.



At least 43 cases have been filed under Section 66(d) since March last year, when the current government came to power.



Reported by Aung Theinkha for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
A Tibetan monastery in northwestern Chinas Qinghai province is appealing for the return of property formerly leased to a teachers college but seized by local authorities after the college moved to a new location, Tibetan sources say.



The property, comprising one third of the total estate of Rongwo monastery in Rebgong (in Chinese, Tongren) county in the Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was confiscated in 2016, prompting monks to petition for its return, a local source told RFAs Tibetan Service.



But Chinese authorities have already locked and sealed the property, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



"Dismayed by the loss of their property, the monks are arguing that since Rongwo has so few resources of its own, the authorities should at least return the confiscated land if they cant offer any other help, the source said.



No reply to the petition has been received, though, and Rongwos nearly 700 monks are now asking the monasterys state-controlled management committee to handle their request, the source said.



And if the committee cant take the responsibility to do this, they should at least openly say so, the monks are saying.



In March 2016, authorities imposed sweeping new restrictions on Rongwo and other Rebgong monasteries, directing them to strictly follow the leadership of their management committees and strengthening a ban on the display of photos of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, sources in the region and in exile told RFA in earlier reports.



Chinese authorities set up the management committees in early 2012 in most Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, placing them under the direct control of government officials permanently stationed there, sources said.



The policy was enacted to ensure that monks and nuns do not participate in activities calling for an independent Tibet or disturb the social order by engaging in self-immolations or other protests, sources said.



Reported by Lhuboom for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Women who pursue complaints against the ruling Chinese Communist Party say they have suffered routine abuses at the hands of the authorities, amid concerns that women petitioners are particularly vulnerable to mistreatment if they cross local officials.



Speaking ahead of International Women's Day, Hubei petitioner Wu Lijuan told RFA's Mandarin Service that while women in some organizations are being celebrated, those left at the bottom of the social ladder still see routine violation of their rights.



"As a petitioner, I can say that this festival isn't for me," Wu said. "I have been under tight surveillance at my home recently, with several people watching the gates of where I live, and two police cars."



"Whenever I go anywhere, I am followed by seven or eight people. These police on surveillance duty received extra money for working on International Women's Day, while petitioners are detained and locked up in huge numbers."



"Every time I look at my phone in the past couple of days, I see reports of this or that person being detained," Wu said. "They are gradually detaining all of the petitioners in China."



"The petitioners haven't done anything wrong. All they did was travel to Beijing to make their complaints, but they are being detained as soon as they get off the train," she said.



"What sort of rule of law is that?"



"We spend our own money, time, and energy on petitioning, and still all we get is persecution."



Shanghai petitioner Zhou Xuezhen said she is also being held under surveillance in a "holiday village" for the duration of the National People's Congress (NPC) parliamentary session in Beijing.



"I have been a petitioner for more than 20 years, and my complaint has never been resolved," Zhou said. "All that has happened is more injustice and more false accusations."



"I have never celebrated International Women's Day in more than 20 years, because women petitioners, my sisters, have nothing to celebrate, unless it's being shut up in detention centers and black jails, and the loss of our liberty."



"Right now there is a group of Baoshan district government officials, special police, and hired muscle sitting watching outside the gates."



Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.




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On March 7, several thousand people protested in Macedonia's capital, Skopje, for the seventh day. They were demonstrating against a political agreement that would ensure wider official use of the Albanian language. (RFE/RL's Balkan Service, natural sound, no subtitles)
Pakistan's border police say more than 20,000 Afghans and Pakistanis have crossed into Afghanistan since March 7 since Pakistani authorities temporarily reopened two main crossings that were closed after a series of militant attacks.

The figures on the number of people making the crossing during the temporary reopening was announced on March 8 by Faiz Khan, a Pakistani official at the Torkham crossing into eastern Afghanistan.

Khan said thousands more people were waiting late on March 8 at Torkham and the Chaman crossing into Afghanistans southern province of Kandahar -- hoping to cross into Afghanistan before the two-day opening was set to end.

Islamabad closed its Torkham and Chaman crossings on February 16 after a series of suicide attacks in Pakistan that killed dozens of children, soldiers, and police officers.

Islamabad claimed that the attacks were carried out by militants who were crossing into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters
MINSK -- An activist who took part in a 15-day protest that halted a construction project near a protected historical site on the outskirts of the Belarusian capital has been sentenced to 10 days in jail.

Syarhey Palcheuski was found guilty of taking part in an unsanctioned public gathering and sent to jail late on March 7.

Christian Democratic Party Chairman Paval Sevyarynets told RFE/RL that it was not clear what Palcheuski was being punished for.

Palcheuski was an active participant in the protests at the Kurapaty preserve, where at least 30,000 people were killed and buried by the Soviet authorities under dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s and 1940s.

He handcuffed himself to a truck at the site in late February, and lay on the ground, blocking the construction work for two hours.

The protesters said the construction of a business center adjacent to the preserve would desecrate the memory of Stalin's victims.

Construction work was suspended on March 1 and the protesters removed their camp at the site on March 6.

Palcheuski also took part in a protest on February 17 in Minsk against legislation imposing a special tax on the unemployed.
New Delhi, Mar 8 (IBNS): Pemex has signed a farm out agreement with BHP Billiton; forms a consortium with Chevron and INPEX to compete for a block in the Mexican State.

State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Chevron and INPEX Corporation signed the contract for the deep-water exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons in the corresponding licensing modality for block 3 North of the Plegado Perdido Belt in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is the first time that Pemex formed a consortium to compete for a block in the Mexican State.

This alliance shows confidence in Mexico as a destination for investments, and in Pemex as a strategic partner.

With the signing of the deep water licensing agreement between Pemex, Chevron and INPEX, another important step is being taken in the opening process in the oil sector for the benefit of Mexico.

The consortium formed by Pemex, Chevron and INPEX, estimates a Total Expected Investment of 2 billion dollars.

In another historic development, Pemex continued aligning its operations to international best practices, and signed an agreement with the Australian company BHP Billiton to develop the deep-water Trion Block, at an event hosted by President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto.

Trion at 2,500 meters depth represents an investment of 11,000 billion dollars, similar to the total number of FDI that Mexico received at the beginning of the 1990's.

This is the first farm out agreement that Pemex has undertaken to explore and produce and is the result of a greater degree of flexibility and mechanisms stemming from the Energy Reform.

With these types of alliances, Pemex advances the implementation of its Energy Reform, which allows companies to share financial, technological & geological risks and work together in favour of Mexico.
Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says more than 30 people were killed 50 wounded when gunmen disguised as medical workers attacked a military hospital in Kabul.

Doctors, patients, and hospital staff were among the victims of the attack, which was claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

Medical officials said three gunmen wearing white lab coats began firing AK-47 assault rifles within the hospital compound after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the back entrance to the 400-bed facility.

General Dawlat Waziri, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said the attack set off a floor-by-floor battle with security forces at the facility, which is known as the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital complex and is across the street from the U.S. Embassy.

Witnesses inside the hospital at the time of the attack said it was a "massacre."

Zahir Khan, who hid under a table and later escaped, said he saw one gunmen who "was shooting at everyonedoctors, patients, and visitors."

Patient Zia Zabuli said he was lucky to escape.

Hospitalized with a leg wound, Zabuli and three others barricaded themselves inside a room when they saw one of the gunmen approaching.

Together we put beds, chairs, and whatever there was to barricade the door, Zabuli said.

After several hours of fighting, the attackers took up positions on the top floor of the hospital.

They were shot dead after special forces landed on the roof of the hospital in a military helicopter.

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on the site of its propaganda website, Amaq.

It said: "Islamic State commandos attack the military hospital in Kabul."

Although the attack came as the Taliban ramped up attacks before the start of its annual spring offensive, a Taliban spokesman told media outlets that the group did not know anything about the attack.

"Today's Kabul attack has no connection" with the Taliban, the spokesman said separately in a tweet.

Last week, dozens of people were killed and wounded in a series of Taliban attacks on a police building and an intelligence-service compound in Kabul.

The NATO-led Resolute Support mission said it was ready to assist Afghan security services.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack during a speech on the occasion of the International Women's Day, calling it "an attack on all Afghan people and all Afghan women."

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it "strongly condemns the attack and offered its condolences to relatives of the victims.

"The attack demonstrates the blatant disregard for human life by those seeking to disrupt Afghanistans democratic progress," the embassy said on its website. "Targeting a medical facility providing care for the brave Afghans working to protect their fellow citizens has no possible justification in any religion or creed."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
The Georgian Prosecutor's office said on March 8 that a high-profile priest planned to assassinate the Georgian Orthodox patriarch's personal secretary last month in a scandal that has rocked the dominant church in the former Soviet republic.

The prosecutor's office alleged in a report detailing an ongoing investigation that Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze attempted to transport cyanide to Berlin, where Patriarch Ilia II was undergoing medical treatment in February.

The prosecutor's report alleged that Mamaladze intended to poison Shorena Tetruashvili, a woman who is the patriarchs secretary.

The 84-year-old Ilia wields significant influence on social and political life in the predominantly Orthodox Christian South Caucasus country of 4.9 million people.

He underwent successful gallbladder surgery in Berlin on February 13.

Mamaladze was arrested on February 17 at Tbilisi International Airport when cyanide was found in his baggage as he attempted to travel to Berlin, where Tetruashvili was aiding the Patriarch after his operation.

The key witness in the case is Irakli Mamaladze, a Georgian man who alleges he was contacted by the cleric to help obtain potassium cyanide in exchange for a "good" work position.

He is not thought to be related to Giorgi Mamaladze.

The prosecutor's report alleged that Giorgi Mamaladze expected to gain power within the church once Tetruashvili was murdered.

The report said Irakli Mamaldze notified authorities after being approached by the archpriest, and secret recordings of meetings between the two were made.

It said Giorgi Mamaladze was in a hurry and eventually found a different source for the poison.

"Audio and video recordings confirmed that Giorgi Mamaladze intended to buy cyanide and use it against a human being," the Prosecutor's Office said.

The Prosecutor's Office said Mamaladze failed to provide "credible answers" to "significant" questions put to him by investigators, while some things he said were in "direct contradiction" with the evidence.

Giorgi Pantsulaia, a lawyer for Giorgi Mamaladze, rejected the allegations. He told Interpressnews on March 8 that the case against his client had been fabricated.

"The Prosecutor's Office has no evidence on buying cyanide by Giorgi Mamaladze or who the seller was," IPN quoted Pantsulaia as saying. "This information is the maximum the agency can reach and it has fabricated the recordings as it wanted."

If convicted of the charges, Mamaladze would face a prison sentence of between seven and 15 years.

With reporting by Interpressnews


Reporters Without Borders has launched a center to protect women journalists in Afghanistan, the second-most dangerous country for female reporters after Syria.

The center will lobby for better working conditions and rights for women reporters, including combating discrimination in the workplace. It will also work to change perceptions that journalism is no job for a woman.

"We want to support women journalists both in war zones and within the news organizations for which they work, to defend both their rights and their physical safety," the center's president, Farideh Nikzad, said.

The biggest challenges are security and sexual abuse in the workplace, Nikzad said.

"By protecting women journalists, we are defending media freedom in Afghanistan," the group's secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said.

The country currently has some 300 to 400 women journalists, mainly in the big cities.

They find themselves caught between Taliban militants on the one hand and their own families on the other, who often do not consider the job to be a suitable profession for a woman.

Four women journalists have been killed by relatives since 2002 for this reason, while 13 women media workers have been killed by outside forces since 2001, the center said.

With reporting by AFP
"If she is beautiful, tell her she is intelligent. If she doesn't look good, tell her she is beautiful. If she is neither, then tell her she's lost weight."

That's the advice given by Nursultan Nazarbaev, Kazakhstan's longstanding leader, during an event marking International Women's Day on March 8 at the Akorda presidential palace.

Addressing a gathering of women assembled for the occasion, Nazarbaev explained that compliments are key to getting a woman to like you, while noting that he is always teaching Kazakh men the arts of flattery and chivalry in dealing with the ladies.

Nevertheless, he joked about his fellow man, they still "don't know how to behave."

The audience included women from all walks of life -- from start-up entrepreneurs to housewives, to teachers, doctors, athletes, and lawmakers.

Later in the day, the president shared more poignant comments relating to his relationship with women on social media, posting a 2001 video in which he paid tribute to his late mother.

He said he regretted not having been able to spend as much time as he wanted with his mother, who died in 1977 as her son was rising through the official ranks, and that he had dreamt about her while making crucial life decisions.

"I'm not a mystic, neither do I believe in sorcerers, psychics, or astrologists," he said in the video. "But it has really happened that I dreamt about her and she told me: 'Rest assured, everything will be fine.'"

Tons Of Flowers

Kazakhstan annually marks International Women's Day with official meetings and gatherings, special TV programs, and also as a private family event.

Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, imported a record 8.6 tons of flowers ahead of the event this year, nearly three times the city's monthly average.

The figure showed that Kazakhs take Women's Day very seriously, local media said. And based on readers' comments on articles about Nazarbaev's salutations, it appeared that some were taking his advice on dealing with women to heart.

"Good advice, men should follow it," wrote one reader of Tengrinews.

A commenter identified as Erlan, however, seemed to take umbrage with the president's comments, writing that "In my opinion, all Kazakh women are intelligent and beautiful. They don't have to lose weight."

Another paid tribute to Kazakh women who "raise their children without help from the government, have to create jobs for themselves, pay taxes, and retire at 63."
Kosovar President Hashim Thaci says there is "no turning back" from his plan to transform the Balkan country's lightly armed security force into a national army, brushing off strongly voiced concern from NATO and the United States.

The security force "will be transformed into a Kosovo army," Thaci told RFE/RL on March 8, seeming to dismiss warnings from the U.S. Embassy and the Western military alliance against making the change without amending the constitution.

The plan is vehemently opposed by Belgrade and by ethnic Serbs in the northern part of Kosovo, a former province of Serbia that broke away in a 1998-99 war and declared independence in 2008.

Frustrated by resistance from ethnic Serbs in parliament to plans for a constitutional amendment to turn the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) into an army, Thaci introduced legislation on March 7 that would make the change without altering the constitution.

He called it a "normal step of a sovereign and independent state."

But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he had spoken to Thaci and Kosovar Prime Minister Isa Mustafa "to convey the serious concerns of NATO Allies" about plans to transform the KSF "into an armed force, without a constitutional change."

'Unilateral Steps'

"I made clear that unilateral steps such as these are unhelpful, and I urged the Kosovo authorities to remain in close contact with Belgrade," Stoltenberg said in a statement on March 8.

He warned that, if Kosovo goes ahead with the change, "NATO will have to review its level of commitment, particularly in terms of capacity-building."

NATO advises, trains, and has been helping to build up the security force.

The United States also said it was "concerned" and warned: "Adoption of the current proposed law would force us to re-evaluate our bilateral cooperation with and longstanding assistance to Kosovo's security forces."

"We support the gradual, transparent transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into a multiethnic force in line with NATO standards," the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo said in a statement. "However, this transformation should be done in accordance with the Kosovo Constitution and through an inclusive and representative political process that reflects Kosovos multiethnic democracy."

'No Turning Back'

Speaking to RFE/RL, Thaci said the proposed change was "not a unilateral step and if anyone thinks this step should be coordinated with Serbia, that will not happen. Belgrade cannot decide for Kosovo, Kosovo has its own institutions, its a sovereign and independent country.

He said that Kosovo has been waiting for ethnic Serb lawmakers to vote on the change for three years and accused them of dragging their feet.

"Therefore, there is no turning back. The KSF will be transformed into a Kosovo army," Thaci said.



A vote is expected in the coming days. Ethnic Serb deputies, who number just 11 in the 120-member chamber but whose support would be needed to change the constitution, said they would boycott the session.

Strained since the 1998-99 war and Kosovo's independence declaration, relations between Pristina and Belgrade have been particularly tense and could worsen further if Kosovo goes ahead with the plan.

Kosovo's independence has been recognized by 114 countries but not by Belgrade or by Russia, which supports Serbia on many geopolitical issues.

"Serbia will never agree with the formation of Kosovo's army," Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told a rally on March 7. Vucic is a candidate for president in an April 2 election.



Kosovo's existing security force, which was created in 2009, has about 4,000 lightly armed regular forces and 2,500 reservists.

Thaci's plan would increase regular forces to 5,000 and reserves to 3,000, and it would retain international military forces deployed in Kosovo to ensure its protection.

Some 4,500 troops from 31 countries have been deployed in Kosovo since June 1999, after NATO's 78-day air campaign to stop Serbia's crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists.

Serbia has about 50,000 people in its regular military, not including reserves.

With reporting by AP, dpa, and Reuters






The key to the current political crisis convulsing Macedonia might just be a single phrase heard on one of the leaked wiretap recordings that shook that Balkan country two years ago.

At one point in the tapes, then-Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski and other cabinet ministers are discussing the falsification of economic figures to cover up their corruption and incompetence. And Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska is heard to say: "One day, we will go to prison for all this."



Now, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has declined to invite opposition Social Democratic Union (SDSM) leader Zoran Zaev to form a new government, even though Zaev managed to form a coalition with three ethnic-Albanian parties that would control 67 seats in the 120-seat parliament.

Ivanov, who was supported for the presidency by the longtime ruling VMRO-DRMNE party, argued on March 1 that the Zaev coalition's platform -- which includes broader legal protections for the Albanian language -- was tantamount to "a platform of a foreign country" and a threat to Macedonia's sovereignty.

But such arguments ring hollow for many analysts.



"Suddenly they jump to the defense of some national interest and start talking about federalization or other matters that are completely unrelated to the current political situation," said Pero Dimshovski, a former state secretary with the Secretariat of European Affairs.

Dimshovski accused VMRO-DPMNE of trying to turn a political crisis into a civic crisis in order to prevent the opposition from taking power and beginning criminal proceedings into abuse-of-power allegations from the party's decade of rule under former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

'Politically Exposed'

Florian Bieber, director of the Center for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, agreed that Ivanov's gambit is "about preventing any kind of criminal investigation."



"If the party would lose power," Bieber told RFE/RL, "it would lose many instruments to prevent any kind of serious investigation into the abuses of the past."

The timeline of the current crisis in Macedonia began in February 2015 with the revelation that the VMRO-DPMNE had wiretapped some 20,000 people -- civilians, journalists, political opponents, and others. The revelations implicated Gruevski and many other high-ranking officials of the former government in serious accusations of abuse of office, including vote rigging, media manipulation, and embezzlement.

Massive antigovernment protests led to a European Union mediation effort that created a Special Public Prosecution (SJO) to investigate the wiretapping, the resignation of Gruevski's government, and the organization of early parliamentary elections that were held in December. The SJO's mandate expires in March and there is little expectation that a VMRO-DPMNE government would extend the probe.

In April 2016, Ivanov issued a preemptive pardon to Gruevski and 55 other politicians and associates who were, in Ivanov's words, "politically exposed." The pardons sparked another wave of mass protests, compelling Ivanov to back down and cancel the move in June, on the eve of a visit by Germany's special envoy for Macedonia, Johannes Haindl.

'Ethnicizing' The Crisis

Neither the VMRO-DPMNE nor the Social Democrats won a clear majority in December, leading to months of negotiations with the three small ethnic-Albanian parties, including the Albanian Democratic Union for Integration, which had been the ruling party's coalition partner for many years. In the end, Zaev and the Social Democrats were able to forge the coalition -- meaning that Ivanov was seemingly required by the constitution to give him a mandate to form a government.

But he didn't. And critics accuse him of playing the ethnic card instead, manipulating tensions between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians, who make up about one-quarter of the country's population of roughly 2 million. The fact that the SDSM and the Albanian parties have not publicized the text of their coalition agreement has given the ruling party an opportunity to manipulate public opinion against it.

"It seems to be an effort to 'ethnicize' a party conflict," Bieber said. "This was a conflict over democracy or over a lack of democracy. And there have been multiple efforts by the ruling party to ethnicize it -- to try to shift attention away from the crisis of democracy to some kind of ethnic issue."

"Yes, this is an artificially imposed topic," agreed Alexander Krzalovski, director of the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation. He said the platform of the Albanian parties amounts to nothing more than the implementation of the 2001 Ohrid Peace Agreement that the government signed after a brief conflict with ethnic-Albanian rebels.

Ironically, the anti-VMRO-DPMNE protests that developed after the wiretapping revelations included mass participation by all the country's ethnic groups -- Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Roma, and others. This movement, Bieber noted, indicated that Macedonian politics were becoming less driven by ethnicity.

WATCH: VMRO-DPMNE Protests In Skopje On March 7 (Natural Sound)



However, since Ivanov stirred up the issue, thousands of VMRO-DPMNE supporters have taken to the streets to protest the so-called Albanian agenda. On March 7, in the latest incident, unknown vandals damaged a museum of the Albanian language in Macedonia's second-largest city, Bitola.

The ruling party's tactics are "very dangerous," Bieber said, accusing it of "playing with fire" in order to hold on to power.

'Soft Partition' Of The Country?

Dimitar Bechev, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, agreed that the ruling party's actions could "further deepen divisions" and even lead to a "soft partition" of the country, undoing all the power-sharing mechanisms that have been created under Western guidance since the country gained independence.



On March 2, during a visit to Skopje to discuss the crisis, EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini warned of the potential to spark a conflict.

"This is a complicated country in a complicated region," Mogherini said. "We do not need fuel because we already had the fire."



The same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement accusing the EU and the United States of trying to overthrow the government by supporting the "ultimatum-like demands" of the Albanians and calling for an end to "outside interference in Macedonia's internal affairs."



Media in neighboring Serbia have been actively playing up the supposed Albanian threat and encouraging the VMRO-DPMNE protesters.



The way out of the crisis remains unclear. VMRO-DPMNE figures have called for another round of elections, but it is doubtful the opposition would agree to participate.



On the other hand, Ivanov and VMRO-DPMNE could back down, as they did on the pardons issue. This could come as part of a brokered deal under which the SDSM promised no "vendetta" against VMRO-DPMNE and the Albanian parties agreed to publicize and possibly moderate their platform, analyst Bechev said.

Bieber said such a deal would like have to provide "a pathway for [VMRO-DPMNE] to give up power and not fear jail."

In the absence of such a deal, Bechev predicted, the country is in for a period of constitutional limbo, paralyzed state institutions, and rising ethnic tensions.


Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai has called for gender equality in her native Pakistan, urging women and girls there to struggle for their rights through education.

Malala, 19, made her appeal in an interview with RFE/RL on March 7, ahead of UN-designated International Women's Day.

She said girls and women were particularly hurt by armed conflicts and poverty, as well as sexual violence and underage marriages.

"Cultural taboos are also bitterly affecting girls," she added, "and thats because the society is not giving equal status to girls and boys."

Malala survived a 2012 assassination attempt by fundamentalist Taliban fighters in Pakistan's Swat Valley that followed threats over the then-14-year-old's blogging and other high-profile activities to promote girls' education. She became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace laureate in 2014.

Malala said men should ensure education for their daughters and sisters and "give them the right to take their own decisions for themselves."

She also called on women and girls to "keep confidence in themselves."

"You have lots of talent and skills that can prove helpful for our country," Malala said. "If we want to progress, then you should come forward."

But she insisted that improvement would only come through education.

Only our struggle through pen can take us forward, she insisted. This is the biggest jihad we can do.

The Global Campaign For Education says more than 60 percent of the 5 million or so primary-school-aged children who don't attend school in Pakistan are women.

Malala now lives in Birmingham, England.
WASHINGTON -- The vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff says Russia has deployed a land-based cruise missile that violates the "spirit and intent" of a Cold War-era nuclear arms control treaty -- and that it did so to "pose a threat to NATO."

General Paul Selva, the second highest-ranking military officer in the U.S. armed forces, confirmed on March 8 that Russia had deployed its new ground-launched SSC-8 cruise missile.

U.S. officials have said Russia has been developing and testing the SSC-8 missile for several years, despite accusations from Washington that it violates the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty).

Selva told the House Armed Services Committee in Washington that "the system itself presents a risk to most of our facilities in Europe."

Selva said "We believe that the Russians have deliberately deployed it in order to pose a threat to NATO and to facilities within the NATO area of responsibility."

Former President Barack Obama has accused Russia of violating the ING Treaty, but Selva's testimony was the first public confirmation of recent news reports that Russia had secretly deployed the missile.

Selva said the United States already has raised the issue with Russia.

He did not say what options were being considered if the discussions do not lead to results.

Selva said "we have been asked to incorporate a set of options into the Nuclear Posture Review," a legislatively mandated report that establishes U.S. nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities, and force posture for the next five to 10 years.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at a March 8 briefing after Selva's testimony that the United States thinks Russia "remains in violation" of its INF commitments.

Toner declined to make any further comment, saying "it gets into intelligence matters."

Selva's remarks further complicate President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign promise to try to seek more conciliatory relations with Moscow.

The New York Times reported on February 14 that Russia now has "two battalions of the prohibited cruise missile."

It said one battalion was still located at the Kapustin Yar missile test range in southern Russia while the other "was shifted in December from that test site to an operational base elsewhere in the country."

The New York Times report said each missile battalion is thought to have four mobile launchers and "a larger supply of missiles."

The U.S. State Department first accused Russia of potential violations of the INF Treaty in a formal statement issued in July 2014.

That same month, Obama also informed Russian President Vladimir Putin in a letter about Washington's determination that Moscow was in violation of its INF obligations.

In 2016, in an attempt to push the issue of INF Treaty compliance further, U.S. arms control officials called for a meeting between U.S. and Russian technical experts under a treaty provision called the Special Verification Commission.

U.S. officials had resisted asking for such a meeting for years, in the belief that any key decisions or concessions would have to be approved first by the Kremlin.

Russia has responded to the allegations by accusing Washington of conducting "megaphone diplomacy.

Moscow has repeatedly denied that it is violating the INF treaty.

The Kremlin has also repeatedly pointed to the deployment of U.S. antimissile defense systems in Central and Eastern Europe, saying the technology is a potential violation.

When the INF treaty was implemented, it eliminated an entire category of U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons delivery vehicles -- including land-based missiles with ranges between 500 km and 5,500 km.

With reporting by Reuters and AP


Pakistan's military says it has executed five "hardcore terrorists" who were involved in attacks on army and other security personnel.

The military says the executions of the five Taliban militants, all members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, were carried out on March 8 at the District Jail Kohat in the northwestern part of the country.

Military trials of terrorism suspects were legalized in January 2015 for a two-year period amid arguments that civilian courts were too slow to deal with cases and that many judges feared becoming victims of reprisal attacks.

The courts were set up after the December 2014 Peshawar school massacre that left 147 people dead, most of them children.

But since then, the courts have been criticized for a lack of transparency and human rights abuses.

The Peshawar attack also prompted Pakistan to lift a moratorium on capital punishment.

With reporting from AP and Reuters


Police in Moscow have detained four activists who tried to hang a banner reading "Men in power for 200 years! Down with that!" on the Kremlin wall on International Women's Day.

The activists, all women, were detained on March 8 along with two correspondents and a photographer from the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta who were covering the protest.

International Women's Day was celebrated avidly in the Soviet Union and is a holiday in Russia.

Marking the holiday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev endorsed a five-year strategy to support women's interests outlined by the Labor Ministry. http://government.ru/docs/26698/

Officials said the plan called for measures to improve the position of women in political, economic, social, and cultural spheres, to be carried out between 2017-22.

A domestic-abuse law signed by President Vladimir Putin a month ago drew attention to the rights and treatment of women in Russia.

Rights groups say the law, which decriminalized domestic violence in cases when it is a first offense and does not result in bodily harm, increases the risk of abuse faced by women.

No woman has been the head of state in Russia since Empress Catherine the Great died in 1796.

With reporting by OVD-Info